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HISTORY 


ii  ii  wmii  mim, 


NEW  JERSEY, 


BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCHES 


OF   MANY   OF   THEIR 


Pioneers  and  Prominent  Men. 


EDITED   BY 

T^T.     ^VS^OODFOHr)     CLA.YT01Sr. 


I3L.XJTJSTK..A.TE3D. 


PHIIi  ADELPHIA  : 
EVERTS     &     PECK. 

188  2. 

FREE  Pl!OL!C  LIBRARY 


PRESS    OF    J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT   &    CO..    PHILADELPHIaCF      I'VOQODRSDGE 

^m  U3RARY 
GEO.'^GE  FRlCEBjCK  PLAZA 


""^ENCE  USE  ONfLf 


PREFACE. 


The  History  of  Union  and  Middlesex  Counties,  although  chiefly  a  compilation,  contains 
much  original  matter.  It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  editor  and  of  his  assistants  to  investigate  all 
original  sources  of  information  relating  both  to  the  general  and  local  histories  of  the  Counties, 
and  to  give  due  credit  for  all  that  has  been  borrowed,  from  whatever  source.  The  authorities 
which  have  been  consulted  are  numerous,  embracing  many  volumes  of  history  and  historical 
collections,  and  an  almost  endless  variety  of  lesser  papers  and  documents,  public  and  private, 
descending  to  the  minutest  details  of  social,  ecclesiastical,  and  family  records,  and  covering  a 
period  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  That  all  this  matter  could  he  handled  and  wrought 
into  a  volume  so  comprehensive  and  exhaustive  as  the  one  now  before  the  reader,  without  any 
errors  or  mistakes,  would  be  too  much  to  expect  of  human  vigilance  and  skill,  especially  when 
exercised  within  the  limits  prescribed  to  the  compilers.  We  have  done  the  best  we  could 
under  the  circumstances.  The  volume  doubtless  contains  some  errors,  but  we  trust  that  none 
of  them  are  of  so  grave  a  character  as  to  impair  the  general  accuracy  and  value  of  the  history. 

Materials  have  been  found  for  a  somewhat  larger  volume  than  was  originally  contemplated 
in  the  prospectus.  Indeed,  such  might  naturally  have  been  expected  from  counties  so  ancient 
and  important  as  Union  and  Middlesex, — counties  containing  the  first  English  settlements  in 
East  Jersey,  the  seats  of  the  Proprietary  and  Colonial  Governments,  and  the  scenes  of  some  of 
the  most  stirring  and  important  events  of  the  Revolutionary  period.  But  the  work  might  have 
been  swollen  to  much  larger  dimensions,  and  yet  been  of  less  value.  For,  while  it  has  been  the 
endeavor  of  the  editor  to  so  condense  the  material  introduced  as  to  eliminate  all  trashy  or 
worthless  matter,  he  has  been  no  less  solicitous  to  conserve  all  important  and  valuable  infor- 
matiou  relating  to  the  counties. 

The  authorities  consulted  in  the  volume  are  chiefly  referred  to  in  foot-notes.  Due  credit  has 
been  given  in  most  instances  for  the  borrowed  matter.  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  is  in  some 
cases  where  assistant  writers  in  furnishing  matter  to  the  editor  were  not  sufficiently  careful  to 
indicate  the  sources  whence  they  derived  this  data.  It  was  afterwards  found  impossible  to 
accurately  insert  the  proper  quotation  marks.  This  explanation  will  show  that,  whatever  may 
be  the  seeming,  there  has  been  no  intentional  plagiarism. 

Dr.  Hatfield's  "  History  of  Elizabeth,  New  Jersey,"  has  been,  with  his  permission,  freely 
used,  and  has  furnished  much  valuable  material  relating  to  Union  County  and  to  the  Borough 
and  City  of  Elizabeth. 

In  Middlesex  County  there  is  no  better  historical  authority  than  the  gentleman  whose 
accurate  and  graceful  pen  has  furnished  matter  for  some  of  the  most  important  chapters  in  that 


fl4 


PREFACE. 


department  of  the  work,— Mr.  Charles  D.  Deshler,  of  New  Brunswick.  Mr.  Deshler's  name  is 
a  sufficient  guarantee  that  his  part  of  the  work  at  least  has  beeu  well  done.  We  acknowledge 
our  indebtedness  to  him  for  valuable  information  and  assistance  in  many  ways,  also  to  Dr.  Cook, 
State  Geologist,  to  Professor  Smock,  and  to  the  members  of  the  press  and  the  county  and  local 
officials  generally.  The  couutenance  and  assistance  of  these  gentlemen,  and  others,  have  greatly 
lio-htened  our  task  in  compiling  the  volume  which  is  herewith  submitted  to  the  intelligent 
judgment  of  our  readers. 

W.  WOODFORD  CLAYTON. 

Philadelphia,  July  26,  1882. 


CONTBJSrTS. 


\ 


UXIO\  COUXTY. 


Nether- 


I. — Discovery  and  Occupation  of  Ni 

land  ........ 

II. — Attem]it  to  Colonize  Achter  Kull  under  the 

Dutch  Rule 

III. — First  English  Settlement  at  Elizabethtown 
IV. — Original  Patentees  and  Associates  of  Eliza- 
bethtown ...... 

v. — Indian  Occupation        .... 

VI. — Indian  Hostilities  .... 

VII. — Physical  and  Descriptive  Features 
VIII. — Government  of  Philip  Carteret    . 

IX. — Government  of  Philip  Carteret  (Continued) 

X.— Title  to  Lands 

XI. — Beginning  of  the  Revolutionary  Struggle 
XII.— War  of  the  Revolution 
XIII.— War  of  the  Revolution  (Continued)      . 
XIV. — War  of  the  Revolution  (Continued)     . 
XV.— War  of  the  Revolution  (Continued)      . 
XVI. — Early  Lawyers,  Courts,  and  Judges 
XVII. — Bench  and  Bar  of  Union  Couuty 
XVIII.— Civil  Organization         .... 
XIX. — The  Medical  Professsion 
XX.— Press  of  Union  County 
XXI.— Union  County  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 
XXII. — Union  County  in  the  War  of  the  Rebellion 

(Continued)       ..... 
XXIII.— Union  County  in  the  War  of  the  Rebell: 

(Continued) 
XXIV. — Record  of  Union  County  Soldie 

1865 

XXV. — Township  of  Elizabethtown 
XXVI. — Borough  of  Elizabethtown   . 
XXVII.— The  City  of  Elizabeth  . 
XXVIII.— City  of  Elizabeth  (Continued) 
XXIX.— City  of  Elizabeth  (Continued) 
XXX.— City  of  Elizabeth  (Continued) 
XXXI.— City  of  Elizabeth  (Continued) 
XXXII.— City  of  Elizabeth  (Continued) 
XXXIII.— City  of  Rahway    . 
XXXIV.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XXXV.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XXXVI.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XXXVII.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XXXVIII.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XXXIX.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XL.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XLI.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XLII.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XLIII.— City  of  Rahway  (Continued) 
XLIV.— Township  of  Plainfield 


1861   to 


CKAPTER  FAGI 

XLV.— Township  and  City  of  "Plainfield           .         .  297 

XLVI.— Township  and  City  of  Plainfield  (Continued)  302 

XLVII.— Township  and  City  of  Plainfield  (Continued)  312 

XLVIII.— Township  and  City  of  Plainfield  (Continued)  316 

XLIX.— Township  of  Westfield  .         .         .         .326 

L. — New  Providence 344 

LI.— Springfield 562 

LII.— Union  Township 37  " 

LIII.— Summit  Township 3.' 

LIV.— Linden  Township 3fl6 

LV.— Township  of  Cranford 40; 

LVI.— Clark  Township 40' 

LVII.— Fanwood  Township 41 


74 

CHAPTEtt 

79 

LVIII. 

S7 

LIX. 

100 

LX. 

108 

LXI. 

118 

LXII. 

120 

l.'.d 

LXIII. 

142 

LXIV. 

LXV. 

146 

LXVI. 

151 

LXVII. 

157 

LXVIIL 

173 

LXIX 

179 

184 

LXX 

187 

LXXI 

191 

LXXII 

195 

LXXIII 

244 

LXXV. 

246 

LXXVI. 

249 

LXXVII. 

251 

LXXVIIL 

257 

LXXIX. 

258 

LXXX. 

270 

LXXXI. 

272 

LXXXIL 

275 

LXXXIII. 

282 

LXXXIV. 

296 

LXXXV. 

MIDDLESEX   COUNTY, 

-Organization  of  Middlesex  County    . 

-A  Brief  Account  of  East  Jersey 

-Clay  District  of  Middlesex  County   . 

-Early  Roads 

-The  Partition  Line  between  East  and  West 
Jersey . 

-Courts  of  Middlesex  County 

-Middlesex  County  in  the  Revolution 

-Middlesex  County  in  the  Revolution  (Con- 
tinued)   

-Middlesex  County  in  the  Revolution  (Con- 
tinued)    

-Middlesex  Men  in  the  Revolutionary  War. 

-Bench  and  Bar  of  Middlesex    . 

—The  Medical  Profession  in  Middlesex 
County    

—Medical  Profession  (Continued) 

-The  Press  of  Middlesex  County 

-Middlesex  County  Civil  List 

—Middlesex  County  in  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution     ....... 

-Record  of  Middlesex  County  Men  in  the 
Civil  War 

— Woodbridge 

-Woodbridge  (Continued) 

—Woodbridge  (Continued) 

—Woodbridge  (Continued) 

—Woodbridge  (Continued) 

—Woodbridge  (Continued) 

—Woodbridge  (Continued) 

— Piscataway 

— Piscataway  (Continued) 

-Piscataway  (Continued) 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy 


PAGE 

417 
420 
422 
431 


437 
44L 
452 


539 
552 

560 
563 
565 
568 
572 
584 
586 
591 
595 
602 


CONTENTS. 


..^^       CHAPTER 

xxxvr.- 

^  ^"CXXVIL- 

our 'XXVIII.- 

LXXXIX.- 


S' 


» 


XC- 

XCI.- 

XCII.- 

XCIII.- 

XCIV.- 

xcv.- 

XCVI.- 


-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)    .  .  608 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)     .  .  614 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)    .  .  61S 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)    .  .  621 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)    .  .  628 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)     .  .  631 

-City  of  Perth  Amboy  (Continued)    .  .  633 

-City  of  New  Brunswick     .         .         .  .640 

-City  of  New  Brunswick  (Continued)  .  650 

-City  of  New  Brunswick  (Continued)  .  656 

■City  of  New  Brunswick  (Continued)  .  675 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XCVir.— City  of  New  Brunswick  (Continued)         .  711 

XCVIII.— North  Brunswick 739 

XCIX.— East  Brunswick         .         .         .         .         .757 

C. — South  Brunswick        .....  784 

CI.— Monroe 797 

CII.— Madison     ...'....  814 

cm.— South  Amboy 822 

CIV.— Raritan  Township 839 

CV.— Earitan  Township  (Continued)          .         .  842 

CVI.— Sayreville 852 

CVII.— Cranbury 862 


ILLUSTRATION'S. 


PAGE 

Adrain,  G.  B facing     507 

Allen,  George  W.,  Property  of  .         .         .        between  394,  395 
Appleby,  Leonard      ......        facing     782 

Appleby,  Leonard  L.  F between  782,  783 

Ayres,  John  R. 285 

Babcock,  John  F facing     530 

Baker,  Aaron  M "  3S7 

Baker,  Henry "342 

Baker,  James  C.         .....         .  **  384 

Barron,  John  C "584 

Bayles,  William  G "793 

Berry,  W.  H "  582 

Bigelow,  A.  B.,  Residence  of     ...         .  "  402 

Boice,  Cornelius         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .116 

Boiee,  D.  J facing     319 

Booream,  Henry  H.  .....         .  "  755 

Boynton's  Drain-Pipe  and  Tile  Works      .         .  "  570 

Braut,  William "376 

Brown,  H.  H "  821 

Brown,  Jiimes  M "  578 

Buckelew,  James       ......  '*  808 

Burnet,  Aaron  W between  378,  379 

Burnet,  Daniel "        378,  379 

Chapman,  James  M.  .....        facing     51(1 

Clark,  A.  H "  S.ll 

Clark,  Staats "736 

Clark,  William,  Sr "  328 

Clark,  William,  Jr "  330 

Conover,  Garret         ......  "  738 

Coriell,  R.  R "  321 

Coriell,  William  McD "326 

Coriell,  William  McD.,  Residence  of         .         .  "  309 

Cortelyou,  Peter "  784 

Cory,  Joseph "340 

Cory,  L "334 

Crane,  John "383 

Crane,  M.  B "  385 

Cruser,  John  S "796 

Cutter,  Hampton "  580 

Cutter,  J.  C between  580,  581 

Cutter,  W.  H .  "         580,  581 

Dally,  Samuel 583 

Daly,  John  J facing     133 

Darby,  Levi       .......  "  414 

Dayton,  Gen.  Elias "  96 

De  Forest,  W.  H.,  Residence  of         .         .         .  "  388 

Denman,  John 408 

Denman,  John  C 290 

De  Voe,  Isaac facing     781 

Disbrow,  Andrew  J.           ....        between  782,  783 
Disbrow,  S.  M. facing     526 


Doying.  I.  E.,  Residence  of      ...         .         facing  392 

Drake,  Lewis "  129 

Dunham,  D.  B "  253 

Dunham,  D.  B.,  Works  of         ...         .            "  256 

Dunham,  H.  V 602 

Earl,  William facing  382 

Elmer,  John  C.          .  ' "  128 

Essex  Felting  Mills "410 

j   Excelsior  Fire-Brick  and  Clay  Works      .         between  584,  585 

Flatt,  William  H 286 

Freeman,  John  L facing  255 

Freeman,  John  L.,  Factory  of 255 

French,  Robert facing  341 

Hait,  Seymour,  Residence  of     ...         .            "  304 

i   Hall,  Alfred "638 

Headley,  John  S "  380 

Higgins,  D.  S. 3S6 

Hill,  John  B facing  672 

;   Hough,  D.  C "  132 

'    How,  Henry  K 756 

1   Howell,  Martin  A facing  655 

I   Hutchinson,  John  T 387 

j   Hyer,  Lewis  S. 141 

Jardine,  Andrew facing  254 

Jardine  &  Co.,  Andrew,  Factory  of   .         .         .         .         .  254 

Jobs,  Eugene facing  125 

"  322 

"  126 

324 

"  300 

"  757 

"  294 

"  256 

"  294 

"  416 

between  322,  323 

facing  415 

"  660 

Ijeveridge,  (J.  A 407 

Long,  Dennis between  386,  3S7 

Lowry,  Robert facing  307 

Lufbery,  John  H "  293 

Lufbery,  Joseph  0 "  293 

Magee,  Joseph  C "  812 

Magie,  Edwin 385 

Male,  Job facing  325 

Male,  Job,  Residence  of  ....  .  "  298 
Map,  Outline,  of  Middlesex  County  .  .  .  between  12,  13 
Map,  Outline,  of  Union  County         .         .         .         "        12,  13 

Marsh,  S.  C facing  401 

Maurer,  Henry          ..,.,,           "  585 

vii 


Jones,  Evan 
Kinch,  Frederick  A. 
Kirkner,  J.        .         ,         , 
Kirkner,  J.,  Residence  of 
Kuhlthau,  Philip       . 
Laforge,  Ira    '   . 
Laforge,  I.  &.  J.,  Works  of 
Laforge,  Joel     . 
Lambert,  John 
Latimer,  Henry  G.    . 
Lee,  Thomas 
Letson,  Johnson 


ILLUSTKATIONS. 


PAGE 

Mersbon,  William •        facing     288 

Meyer,  Christopher  ..,,..  "  664 

Meyer  Rubber  Company  .         .         .         ,         .  **  662 

Miller,  John "333 

Morrogh,  Clifford  T "522 

Munn,  George  B "737 

National  Bank  of  New  Jersey 672 

Neilson,  John facing     468 

New  Jersey  Rubber  Shoe  Company  ...  "  657 

Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery  Company  "  658 

OgJen,  John "  195 

Osborn,  Corra "  124 

Osborn,  Isaac "292 

Parkhurst,  A.  M "  343 

Paxton,  John "  811 

Pierson,  Oliver  M "  338 

Pierson,  Scjuier "336 

Pillory  and  Stocks 450 

Plainfield  Academy 300 

Pope,  E.  R facing     323 

Porter,  Lucius  P "661 

Potter,  C,  Jr "         320 

Potter,  Jotham 361 

Potter  Printing-Press  Works     ....        facing     318 

Randolph,  Asa  F "602 

Richards,  John "374 

Rogers,  E.  Y 117 

Rowland,  Andrew      ......        facing     791 

Rowland,  Stryker "         790 

Runyon,  Mahlon "         674 

Ryno,  D.  K 295 

Salamander  Works facing     562 

Savage,  J.  W "         2S7 


Scudder,  I.  F 

Seeley,  E.  A.,  Residence  and  Works  of 
Smith,  Samuel  C.       .         .         .         . 
Snedeker,  Thomas  S.  .         .         . 

Spader,  Peter     ..... 

Squier,  William  C 

St.  John's  Church,  Elizabeth,  1850    . 


FAOE 

between  340,  341 

facing     413 

"         375 

788 

670 

"        289 

.     224- 


St.  John's  Church,  Elizabeth,  1882 226 

St.  John's  Church,  Elizabeth,  Parsonage  of,  1817      .         .  225 

.St.  John's  Church,  Elizabeth,  Parsonage  of       .         .         .  222 

Stites,  William facing  373 

Street,  Robert 383 

Sutphen,  John  C facing  130 

Taylor  &  Bloodgood,  Works  of .         .         .         .             "  410 

Teller,  Henry  W.        .      ' "371 

Thompson,  John  0 "  524 

Thornal,  Israel 851 

Titsworth,  I.  D 601 

Titsworth,  R 134 

Townley,  J 149 


Townley,  Robert  W. 

Tucker,  M 

Tucker,  William  B.    . 
Urmston,  John  .... 
Vanderventer,  J.  R. 
Voorhees,  Abraham  . 

Winans,  E.  P 

Winans,  Job      .... 
Winans,  Jonathan,  Jr. 
Withington,  I.  C.       . 
Withington,  I.  C,  Residence  of 
Woodruff,  Jonathan  . 
Woodruff,  Noah 


faci 


ng 


185 
332 
194 
252 
311 
671 
400 
398 
381 
786 
787 
291 


OUTLINE    MAP 
of 


^Tiffraved  e^ressly  ioriJiislVofli 
0 


XJiiiariV 


1 


HISTORY 

OF 

UNIOiN  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES, 

]SrE^V     JERSEY. 


UNION     COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    I. 

DISCOVERY    AND    OCCUPATION    OF    NEW  NETHEU- 
LAND. 

Union  County,  although  not  organized  under  this 
name  until  the  year  1857,  embraces  territory  very 
anciently  known  and  occupied  by  Europeans.  That 
portion  of  it  lying  along  the  western  shores  of  Achter 
Kull,  or  Newark  Bay,  was  discovered,  together  with 
the  North  Riverandthe  Bay  of  New  York,  by  Henry 
Hudson  and  his  companions  in  1609.  Hudson  was 
an  Englishman  by  birth,  and  previously  to  sailing 
upon  this  voyage  had  made  two  trips  to  America 
under  the  auspices  of  English  merchants,  with  a  de- 
sign of  discovering  a  northwest  passage  to  China  and 
the  Indies.  Failing  in  these  adventures,  but  not  dis- 
couraged, although  his  former  patrons  refused  tosupply 
him  with  a  vessel  for  another  voyage,  he  applied  to 
the  rivals  of  the  T-glish,  the  Dutch  East  India  Com- 
pany of  the  United  Netherlands,  by  whcmi  he  was 
fitted  out  with  a  two-masted  "  Vlie-boat"  of  eighty 
tons  burden,  called  the  "  Half-Moon."  This  adven- 
turous cralt,  manned  by  twenty  men,  part  of  whom 
were  Dutch  and  part  English,  anchored  in  Sandy 
Hook  Bay  on  the  3d  of  September,  l(i09. 

Three  days  later,  on  Sunday,  September  6th,  the 
eye  of  the  adventurous  stranger  from  the  Old  World 
first  rested  on  the  goodly  spot  afterwards  chosen  by 
the  Elizabeth  Town  Associates  as  the  site  of  the  first 
colony  planted  in  Union  County.  The  discoverers 
were  John  Coleman  and  four  others,  whom  Hudson 
had  sent  in  a  boat  through  the  Narrows  to  explore 
the  harbor,  and  who,  alter  finding  "very  good  riding 
for  ships,  and  a  narrow  river  to  the  westward  between 
two  islands,"  which  they  entered  and  followed  a  dis- 
tance of  "  two  leagues  to  an  open  sea,"  must  have  seen 
directly  before  them  across  that  sea,  which  was  New- 
ark Bay,  the  shores  of  that  beautiful  location  chosen 
at  a  later  time  for  the  first  English  settlement  in  East 
Jersey.  The  journal  of  the  voyage,  kept  by  Juet, 
says,  "  The  Lands  were  as  pleasant  with  Grasse  and 


Flowers  and  goodly  Trees  as  any  they  had  scene,  and 
very  sweet  smells  came  from  them." 

Coleman  was  slain  the  same  day,  on  his  return,  by 
the  treacherous  arrow  of  a  native,' and  his  body  was 
buried  on  Sandy  Hook,  at  a  place  which  still  bears 
the  name  of  Coleman's  Point.  Probably  these  hos- 
tile savages  were  of  a  different  tribe  from  those  who 
met  Hudson  in  so  pleasant  a  manner  at  his  first  land- 
ing, whom  the  journalist  describes  as  "  Very  glad  of 
our  comming,  and  brought  greene  Tabacco,  and  gaue 
vs  of  it  for  Kniues  and  Beads.  They  go  in  Deere 
skins  loose,  well  dressed.  They  haue  yellow  C()p|)er. 
They  desire  Cloathes,  and  are  very  ciuill.  They  haue 
great  store  of  Maiz  or  Indian  Wheate,  whereof  they 
make  good  bread.  The  Countery  is  full  of  great  and 
tall  Oakes." 

The  day  following  some  of  the  crew  landed,  who 
"saw  great  store  of  Men,  Women,  and  Children,  who 
gaue  them  Tabacco  at  their  comming  on  Land.  So 
they  went  vp  into  the  Woods,  and  saw  great  store  of 
very  goodly  Oakes,  and  some  Currants.  One  of  them 
came  aboord,  and  brought  some  dryed.  Many  others 
also  came  aboord,  some  in  Mantles  of  Feathers,  and 
some  in  Skinnes  of  divers  sorts  of  good  Furres.  Some 
women  also  came  with  Henipe.  They  had  red  Cop- 
per Tabacco  pipes,  and  other  things  of  Copper  they 
did  weare  about  their  neckes."  ' 

Returning  again  through  the  Narrows,  Hudson 
cast  anchor  on  the  11th  of  September  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York,  "  and  saw  it  was  a  very  good  harbor  lor 
all  winds."  His  first  landing  appears  to  have  been 
at  a  point  about  six  miles  up  on  the  New  York  side. 

Having  thus  familiarized  himself  with  the  bays  and 
inlets  about  Manhattan,  he  prepared  next  to  explore 
the  noble  river  which  bears  his  name,  and  which  he 
still  hoped  might  be  the  long-sought  passage  to  the 
Indies.  With  what  feelings  of  joy  this  thought  must 
have  inspired  him  for  a  time,  and  how  great  must 
have   been   the  disappointment  when    he  found  the 


L  N.  Y.  Hist.  toe.  tol.,i.  n5. 


14 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


river  gradually  growing  less  and  less  navigable,  and 
saw  before  him  the  lofty  mountain  ranges  among 
which  it  had  its  source!  The  precise  point  at  which 
he  terminated  his  voyage  northward  is  not  material, 
though  it  is  believed  that  he  stopped  at  a  point  in 
what  is  now  the  town  of  Half-Moon,  in  Saratoga 
County,  some  eight  or  ten  miles  above  Albany.'  He 
returned  on  the  2d  of  October,  and  in  consequence  of 
an  attack  from  the  Indiana  at  the  head  of  Manhattan 
Island,  "  he  bore  gradually  across  the  river,  and  an- 
chored in  Weeliawken  Cove,  just  above  Castle  Point.^ 
On  the  4th,  with  fair  weather  and  a  northwest  wind, 
be  weighed  anchor,  passed  through  the  Kills  to  Am- 
boy,  and  then  stood  out  to  sea." 

Occupation  of  New  Netherland.— The  report  of 
Hudson's  discovery  on  bis  return  to  Holland  created 
a  great  stir  among  the  merchants.  It  had  opened  a 
new  field  for  trade  which  they  were  eager  not  only 
to  occupy,  but  to  monopolize.  In  1610,  it  appears 
that  at  least  one  ship  was  sent  hither  by  the  East 
India  Company  for  the  purpose  of  trading  in  furs, 
which  it  is  well  Ihiown  continued  for  a  number  of 
years  to  be  the  principal  object  of  commercial  at- 
traction to  this  part  of  the  New  World.  Five  years 
after  Hudson's  voyage,  a  company  of  merchants,  who 
had  procured  from  the  States-General  of  Holland  a 
patent  for  an  exclusive  trade  on  Hudson  River,  had 
built  forts  and  established  trading-posts  at  New  Am- 
sterdam (New  York),  Albany,  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Rondout  Kill.  The  latter  was  a  small  redoubt  on  the 
site  of  what  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Kingston, 
N.  Y.  It  was  known  as  the  "  Ronduit,"  from  whence 
comes  the  name  of  Rondout.^  The  fort  near  Albany 
was  upon  Castle  Island,  immediately  below  the  present 
city,  and  the  one  at  New  York  was  erected  on  what 
is  now  the  Battery.  It  was  finished  and  occupied 
later  than  the  others,  on  account  of  the  hostility  of 
the  "  fierce  Manhattans,"  who  were  not  disposed  to 
allow  the  Dutch  to  gain  possession  of  the  island.  On 
the  expiration  of  the  grant  of  the  United  Company 
of  New  Netherland,  the  States-General  refused  to 
renew  it,  but  they  continued  to  trade  thither  until 
1623  or  1624,  when  the  Dutch  West  India  Company, 
a  powerful  mercantile  association  chartered  in  1621, 
took  possession  of  the  lands  temporarily  granted  to 
their  predecessors.  In  1624,  Peter  Minuit  was  ap- 
pointed Director  of  New  Netherlands,  built  Fort 
Amsterdam,  and  brought  over  colonists  who  settled  on 
Long  Island.  Staten  Island  and  Manhattan  were 
purchased  of  the  Indians,  and  up  to  1629  the  settle- 
ments were  merely  trading-posts.  In  that  year  the 
West  India  Company's  Council  granted  to  certain 
individuals  extensive  seigniories  or  tracts  of  land 
with  feudal  rights  over  the  lives  and  persons  of  their 
subjects.     Under  this  grant  Kiliaen  Van  Rensselaer, 

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

2  Juefs  Jouriml,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Coll.,  N.  S.,  i.  ;«1,  quoted  by  Winfield. 

3  Biodhead's  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  i.  p.  7. 


a  pearl-merchant  of  Amsterdam,  secured  in  1630  and 
subsequently  a  tract  of  land  twenty-four  by  forty- 
eight  miles  in  extent,  composing  the  present  counties 
of  Albany,  Rensselaer,  and  part  of  Columbia,  and 
other  wealthy  patroons  obtained  large  grants  for  sim- 
ilar seigniories  in  other  portions  of  New  Netherland. 

The  Dutch  at  the  same  time  were  engaged  in  col- 
onization on  the  Delaware,  which  they  called  the 
South  River,  and  regarded  as  a  part  of  New  Nether- 
land. This  river  had  also  been  discovered  by  Henry 
Hudson,  who  sailed  into  it  a  short  distance  prior  to 
entering  New  York  Bay.  The  West  India  Company 
attempted  to  settle  this  portion  of  their  colony  as 
early  as  the  portion  on  the  North  River,  and  to  put  it 
all  under  the  governaient  at  New  Amsterdam.  In 
1623  the  company  dispatched  a  ship  under  the  com- 
mand of  Cornelius  Jacobse  Mey,  with  settlers  fully 
provided  with  means  of  subsistence  and  with  articles 
of  trade.  Mey  entered  the  Delaware  Bay,  and  gave 
his  name  to  the  northern  cape, — Cape  May.  After 
exploring  the  river  he  landed,  and  effected  a  settle- 
ment below  Camden,  erecting  For/  Nassau  on  a  small 
stream  called  by  the  natives  Sassackon. 

On  the  12th  of  December,  1630,  David  Pieterson  de 
Vries  left  the  Texel  in  command  of  another  vessel, 
and  arrived  on  the  Delaware  in  the  course  of  the 
winter.  He  found  none  of  the  Europeans  who  had 
preceded  him,  and  Fort  Nassau  had  fallen  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians.  Misfortune  also  awaited  the 
new  settlers.  Having  erected  a  fort,  the  commander 
returned  to  Holland  ;  and  during  his  absence  a  feud 
arose  with  one  of  the  native  tribes  which  at  length 
terminated  in  the  massacre  of  every  one  of  the  col- 
onists. De  Vries  returned  shortly  afterwards  with  a 
new  company,  and  was  only  saved  from  a  similar  fate 
by  the  kindness  of  an  Indian  woman.  Disheartened 
by  repeated  disasters,  the  colony  soon  after  abandoned 
the  country,  and  for  some  years  not  a  single  European 
was  left  upon  the  shores  of  the  Delaware.  The  Swedes 
next  visited  it,  but  into  their  history  it  is  not  our 
purpose  here  to  enter. 

De  Vries,  having  been  driven  from  the  Delaware, 
next  turned  his  attention  to  the  Hudson,  where  in 
a  few  years  he  became  an  influential  patroon  of  New 
Netherland. 

About  1640  he  purchased  of  the  Indians  a  tract 
of  about  five  hundred  acres  at  Tappan,  to  which  he 
gave  the  name  of  "  Vriesendael."  "  It  was  beautifully 
situated  along  the  river-side,  sheltered  by  high  hills; 
and  the  fertile  valley  through  which  wound  a  stream, 
affording  hand.some  mill-seats,  yielded  hay  enough 
spontaneously  for  two  hundred  head  of  cattle.  Build- 
ings were  soon  erected,  and  Vriesendael  became  for 
several  years  the  home  of  its  energetic  owner." 

The  first  attempt  was  made  to  plant  a  colony  at 
Achter  KuU,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1651.  The  policy 
of  the  Dutch  government  had  been  to  encourage  the 
settlement  of  colonies  or  manors  similar  to  the  lord- 
ships  and  seigniories  of   the  Old  World  by  men  of 


ATTEMPTS  TO  COLONIZE  ACHTER  KULL  UNDER  THE  DUTCH  RULE.    15 


large  fortunes,  known  as  patroons,  to  whom  peculiar 
privileges  both  of  trade  and  government  were  ac- 
corded. These  manors  were  of  great  extent,  and 
their  proprietors  were  looked  upon  as  an  order  of 
nobility,  much  like  the  old  barons  of  the  feudal 
period.  The  most  desirable  tracts,  both  on  the  North 
and  South  Rivers,  had  thus  been  colonized  princi- 
pally by  several  shrewd  and  enterprising  directors  of 
the  Amsterdam  Chamber  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany. The  whole  of  the  neck  opposite  New  Amster- 
dam, as  far  as  the  Kills  and  Newark  Bay,  together 
with  Staten  Island,  had  been  appropriated  for  years. 

Directly  west  of  these  colonies  stretched  for  miles 
along  the  waters  of  Achter  Kull,  and  the  estuary  to 
the  west  of  Staten  Island,  one  of  the  most  inviting 
regions  in  all  New  Netherland.  To  this  land  was  now 
directed  the  eager  attention  of  the  Hon.  Cornells 
Van  Werckhoven,  one  of  the  schepens  of  Utrecht,  in 
Holland.  He  duly  notified  the  Amsterdam  Chamber 
of  his  intention  to  plant  two  colonies  or  manors  in 
New  Netherland.  A  commission  was  thereupon 
given  to  Augustine  Heermans,  of  Bohemia,  who  had 
made  New  Amsterdam  his  home  since  the  year  1633, 
and  had  become  an  influential  and  wealthy  citizen, 
to  purchase  these  lands  from  the  natives.  Accord- 
ingly Heermans  negotiated  with  the  resident  pro- 
prietors, and  purchased  for  Van  Werckhoven  the 
whole  of  the  tract,  extending  from  "  the  mouth  of  the 
Raritan  Creek  westerly  up  unto  a  creek,  Mankack- 
kewachky,  which  runs  northwest  up  into  the  country, 
and  then  from  the  Raritan  Creek  aforesaid  northerly 
up  along  the  river  behind  States  Isle  unto  the  creek, 
namely,  from  the  Raritan  Point,  called  Ouipoge,'  unto 
Pechciesse,  the  aforesaid  creek,  and  .so  the  said  creek 
Pechciesse  up  to  the  very  head  of  it,  and  from  thence 
direct  westerly  thorowe  the  Land  until  it  meets  with 
the  aforesaid  Creek  and  Meadow  Ground  called  Man- 
kackkewachky  aforesaid."  '' 

Possession  was  given,  and  the  trees  in  each  hook  of 
thetract  were  marked  with  the  initials  of  Werckhoven. 
The  land  thus  described  included  the  region  west  of 
Staten  Island,  irom  the  Raritan  to  the  Pa-sair  Rivers, 
and  extended  back  into  the  country  indefinitely.' 

Three  other  tracts,  one  to  the  south  of  the  Raritan, 
and  two  on  Long  Island,  were  purchased  lor  the  same 
good  old  Dutchman,  with  the  hojje  of  large  gains 
from  each.  But  objection  having  been  made  on  the 
part  of  other  as  greedy  speculators  against  the  ac- 
cumulation of  so  much  territory  in  the  hands  of 
one  owner,  the  case  was  referred  to  the  Amsterdam 
Chamber,  who  decided  that  Van  Werckhoven  could 
retain  but  one  of  the  tracts  in  question.  He  chose 
to  locale  himself  on  Long  Island,  and  so  commenced 
there  the  colony  of  New  Utrecht,  so  named  from  his 
native  city  in  Holland.  The  title  to  the  land  above 
described  reverted,  therefore,  to  the  original  owners.* 


..f  I'Bith  Alul.c.y. 


niallield's  Eliziil.eth. 


CHAPTER    II. 

ATTEMPTS  TO  COLONIZE  ACHTER  KULL  UNDER 
THE    DUTCH   RULE. 

The  lands  about  Achter  Kull  and  on  the  Raritan 
attracted  the  attention  of  people  in  New  England 
j  and  on  Long  Island,  and  desiring  to  found  an  Eng- 
lish colony  there,  they  applied  to  Governor  Stuyve- 
j  sant  for  a  grant  of  land.  The  circumstances  which 
j  led  to  the  application  were  these:  Certain  New  Eiig- 
landers  from  the  colony  of  New  Haven,  living  on  the 
poor  and  barren  soil  of  Long  Island,  where  they  could 
scarcely  gain  a  subsistence,  were  desirous  of  ex- 
changing their  situation  for  the  more  promising  lands 
of  this  section  of  New  Jersey.  They  may  also  have 
been  actuated  by  political  reasons.  Charles  II.  had 
been  restored  to  the  throne  of  England,  May  29, 1660, 
and  it  was  but  natural  that  the  people  of  New 
England,  who  under  the  Protectorate  had  enjoyed 
the  utmost  freedom  in  the  administration  of  their 
civil  affairs,  should  feel  some  misgiving  as  to  the  se- 
curity of  their  rights  and  liberties.  They  had,  indeed, 
good  reason  to  apprehend  a  serious  conflict  with  the 
new  government,  and  it  was  with  extreme  reluctance, 
especially  on  the  part  of  the  colonists  of  New  Haven, 
among  whom  republican  sentiments  had  been  most 
fully  developed,  that  they  consented  to  proclaim  the 
new  monarch  and  to  congratulate  him  on  his  acces- 
sion to  the  throne.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the 
thoughts  of  the  people  of  Connecticut  began  to  turn 
to  the  more  liberal  Dutch  government  of  New  Neth- 
erland, and  some  of  them,  together  with  their  friends 
who  had  crossed  the  Sound  and  settled  on  Long 
Island,  began  to  negotiate  with  Governor  Stuyvesant 
for  lands  at  Achter  Kull,  on  Newark  Bay.  The  first 
of  these  was  John  Stricklan  (Strickland),  a  resident 
of  Huntingdon,  on  Long  Island,  who,  in  behalf  of 
himself  and  a  number  of  other  New  England  people, 
addressed  the  following  letters  to  Capt.  Bryan  New- 
ton, one  of  Governor  Stuyvesant's  Council,  by  whom 
they  were  duly  presented  to  the  director-general  : 

"WoHTUT  Sin:  after  my  dm;  respects  presented  vnto  you  these  few 
lines  ur  to  request  a  keiudness  of  you.  taking  you  to  be  my  fpetiaU 
frend,  and  know  no  other  like  yi.ur  selff  to  intrtist  in  such  a  Ciise  as 
tliis :  the  thing  I  dezier  and  som  others  with  nie  is  tliis :  tliat  you  woulde 
be  pleai^ed  to  take  the  first  and  mostesutablenppertunity  to  speake  with 
tlie  lionered  goueruor,  diziring  him  to  resolue  you  in  these  particulars 
fiist.  wliitlier  or  no.  tllat  place  vpon  the  mayne  land  which  is  called 
Arther  Cull  be  Iree  from  any  iugMgernents:  secondly  if  free:  then 
whither  or  no  he  will  be  plesed  to  grant  it  to  a  Company  of  honest  men 
that  may  dezier  to  sit  doune  tlier  to  make  a  plautasion  Ynder  his  gouer- 
nient  and  that  you  would  be  pleased  hauing  so  done  to  return  an  answi  r 
by  the  first,  which  we  shall  waight  for,  and  hauing  incorngement  «.■ 
shall  forthwith  adres  our  selues  to  treat  further  with  him  ahoute  the 
matter  thus  not  doubting  of  your  faithfullness  herin  I  take  leaue  and 
rest  yours  to  Commande 

"from  Huntington  february  lo'h  1660. 

"  lelt  me  iulreale  you  to  send  the  answer  to  Samuwell  Mathies  at  Kus- 
dorpe,  that  it  maye  be  conveied  to  me  in  safety:  and  that  you  wonld(. 
be  pleased  that  it  may  be  kept  secret  houeuer  it  goe. 

"S'  if  you  can  n't  convenience  I  would  intreate  you  to^end  me  an 
answer  by  y«  bearer  of  this,  all  convenient  speeds  being  reijuisite." 


16 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY 


The  second  letter  follows : 

"Worthy  Sir:  afler  uiy  due  rpsppcts  p'eented  vnto  you,  these  few 
lines  ar  t«i  intieatea  Courtesi  of  yon,  tliat  yon  wouldelie  pleeed  toHpeake 
with  ttie  hollered  gouerner,  and  lolde  Ptenenson.  to  know  of  Iiim  if  that 
place  which  i»  called  Arther  Coll  he  Iree  to  he  disposed  of.  and  whither 
or  no  he  will  j;ine  iiicorngenieiit  to  a  Company  of  the  inglish  nasion 
there  to  settle  themselues,  if  vpun  a  vew  made  they  shall  lake  satisfac- 
tion, and  when  yon  know  his  n.inde  lierin.  that  yon  woulde  he  pleased 
to  return  me  a  few  wonles  in  answer  hy  this  hearer  saniwell  mathews, 
and  accordingly  "<y  se'ff  »'iih  sum  other  frt-nds,  whoe  have  an  J  that 
wajewill  address  our  seines:  I  shall  tniMde  jou  no  fnrder  at  ]i'«aiit, 
bnt  to  intreate  you  to  pardon  my  bowlduess  and  so  rest  yonr  lotting 
fiend  to  coniand 

"  JoUN  Stikland  from  huntington  Aprill  29:  1661." 

These  letters  were  received  by  the  director-general 
and  Council  of  New  Netherland  at  a  very  opportune 
time,  for  their  High  Mightinesses,  the  Dutch  rulers, 
had  decided  upon  the  policy  of  inviting  Republicans 
disaffected  on  account  of  the  restoration  of  the  Eng- 
lish monarchy,  both  in  Old  and  New  England,  to 
come  and  settle  in  their  dominions,  where  they  could 
enjoy  the  utmost  civil  and  religious  freedom.  In  the 
spring  of  1661  a  proclamation  was  issued  to  "all 
Christian  people  of  tender  conscience,  in  England  or 
elsewhere  oppressed,  to  erect  colonies  anywhere 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  Petrus  Stuyvesant,  in  the 
West  Indies,  between  New  England  and  Virginia,  in 
America."  A  charter  of  "  Conditions  and  Privileges'' 
of  a  very  liberal  character  had  been  drawn  up  by  the 
West  India  Company,  and  approved  Feb.  14,  1661. 

On  the  2d  of  June  following  Mr.  Strickland  received 
a  favorable  answer  to  his  application,  of  which  the 
following  is  a  translation  : 

"The  preceding  requests  being  delivered  to  Capt".  Lieutenant  Brian 
Niiton,  and  h.-ing  by  him  coniniunicat'd  to  the  Hoii""  Director  Gen- 
eral and  by  liia  Bxc"?  delivereil  to  the  Council,  it  is  afler  qnestii.n 
put  resolved  to  give  said  Cap«.  Lieutenant  fnr  Answei,  that  he  nniy  let 
the  Petitioners  know  that  they  may  freely  c.nne  to  look  at  the  indicated 
parcel  of  land,  and  if  they  like  it,  that  fnrllier  dispo-ilion  wnuld  then 
be  hail  on  their  application  and  proposal.    This  2  June,  1661. "i 

In  this  same  month  of  June  the  General  Court  of 
Connecticut  instructed  their  Governor,  John  Win- 
throp,  to  proceed  to  England  and  procure  from  the 
king  a  charter  for  the  colony,  to  include  the  whole 
territory  "  eastward  to  Plymouth  line,  northward  to 
the  limits  of  Massachusetts  Colony,  westward  to  the 
Bay  of  Delaware,  and  also  the  islands  contiguous." 
The  object  of  this  was  to  include  the  whole  of  Con- 
necticut in  one  strong  colony,  under  as  liberal  a 
charter  as  could  be  procured  from  the  king;  but  the 
proposition  excited  in  the  colony  of  New  Haven  no 
little  opposition  and  indignation,  several  of  the  magis- 
trates chosen  under  the  charter  declining  to  take  the 
jjrescribed  oath.  It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  the 
liberal  proposals  of  the  Dutch  government,  just  then 
made  public,  should  have  met  with  a  warm  reception 
in  New  Haven  and  the  adjacent  towns.  A  deputa- 
tion was  sent  to  New  Amsterdam  to  make  further  in-  j 
quiry,  and  to  ascertain  the  character  of  the  lands  to  1 
be  settled.     The  situation  proved  more  desirable  than 


had  been  anticipated.  The  deputation  was  so  "  cour- 
teously entertained"  and  made  so  favorable  a  report 
of  the  country  as  to  induce  Benjamin  Fennand  Robert 
Treat,  magistrates  of  Milford,  Dr.  Jasper  Gunn,  one 
of  the  deacons  of  the  church  of  Milford,  and  Mr. 
Richard  Law,  one  of  the  magistrates  of  Stamford,  all 
of  them  of  the  New  Haven  jurisdiction,  and  originally 
from  Weathersfield,  on  the  Connecticut,  to  come 
down  in  November,  1661,  with  full  powers  to  nego- 
tiate with  Governor  Stuyvesant  for  the  settlement  of 
a  plantation  in  these  parts,  "  within  the  limits  of  the 
company's  jurisdiction  behind  Staten  Island,  about 
the  Raritan  River." 

This  attempt  to  effect  a  settlement  failed  on  account 
of  one  condition  which  the  director-general  and 
Council  at  New  Amsterdam  were  unwilling  to  con- 
cede. The  New  Haven  people  wanted  an  absolutely 
independent  community,  with  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  self-government.  Among  the  conditions 
insisted  upon  by  them  were  liberty  to  gather  a  church 
in  the  Congregational  way,  such  as  they  had  enjoyed 
in  New  England  about  twenty  years  past ;  the  right  of 
calling  a  Synod  by  the  English  Churches  that  might 
be  gathered  in  New  Netherland  for  the  regulation  of 
their  ecclesiastical  affairs;  the  right  to  admini.ster 
justice  in  civil  matters  within  themselves  by  magis- 
trates of  their  own  selection,  without  appeal  to  other 
authorities ;  the  purchase  of  the  lands  by  the  Dutch 
government  from  the  natives,  and  a  full  conveyance 
thereof  to  the  associates  forever,  none  to  be  allowed 
to  settle  among  them  except  by  their  own  consent; 
the  right  to  collect  debts,  and  a  written  charter  stip- 
ulating these  rights  in  full.' 

All  these  conditions  were  freely  granted  by  the 
director-general  and  Council,  except  the  concession 
of  self-government  without  appeal.  This  the  Gov- 
ernor was  unwilling  to  grant,  as  it  would  confer  upon 
the  proposed  colony  greater  liberty  than  was  enjoyed 
by  the  other  towns  and  settlements  of  New  Nether- 
land. The  delegation  insisting  upon  the  fullest  con- 
cession of  popular  rights,  and  the  Governor  firmly 
resisting  the  demand,  the  conference  was  broken  off, 
but  was  renewed  in  March,  1662,  with  the  same  re- 
sult. The  matter  was  then  referred  to  the  directors 
at  Amsterdam,  who  reported  March  26,  1663,  saying 
they  would  have  been  pleased  could  the  settlement 
have  been  made,  inasmuch  as  it  would  "serve  as  a 
bulwark  to  our  nation  against  the  savages  on  the 
Raritan  and  Minisink."  The  chamber  directed  Stuy- 
vesant to  insist  on  retaining  appellate  jurisdictiim  in 
certain  criminal  cases,  but  to  treat  with  the  Eilglish 
on  such  terms  as  in  his  opinion  were  best  adapted  to 
promote  the  welfare  of  the  State  and  its  subjects. 
Although  negotiations  were  resumed  in  June,  16(>3, 
it  does  not  appear  that  any  satisfactory  result  was  ar- 
rived at  so  long  as  the  country  was  under  the  jurls- 


1  Albany  Records,  ix.  639,  641-43.     O'Oallagha 
ii.  446. 


■Netherland,    !       2  O'Callaglian,  N.  Noth.,  ii.  4478.    Albany  Records,  ix   897.  S99,  9117;  : 
73,  77.     Hatfield's  Hist.  Elizabeth,  24,  25. 


FIRST   ENGLISH    SKTTLEMENT  AT   ELIZABETH   TOWN. 


17 


diction  of  the  Dutch.  Later  in  1663  occurred  the 
revolt  against  the  Dutch  government  by  the  English 
people  of  Long  Ishmd,  who  placed  themselves  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  Connecticut.  "Earlyin  December 
a  party  of  twenty  Englishmen  from  Jamaica,  Flush- 
ing, and  Gravesend  proceeded  in  Stofl'el  Elsworth's 
sloop  to  tlie  Raritan  River,  with  the  intention  of  pur- 
chasing a  plantation  from  the  Indians.  But  the  de- 
sign wa.s  frustrated  by  an  armed  party  under  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Kregier,  sent  out  for  the  purpose  by 
Governor  Stuyvesant  in  the  company's  yacht."' 

No  further  attempts  appear  to  have  been  made  to 
settle  this  part  of  the  country  till  after  the  English 
conquest  of  1664. 

Events,  however,  had  been  shaping  for  several 
years  which  changed  very  materially  the  aspects  of 
colonial  aft'airs.  Charles  II.  had  for  some  time  after 
his  accession  to  the  throne  meditated  the  reduction 
of  the  American  colonies  to  a  state  of  immediate  de- 
pendence on  the  crown  and  the  extension  of  his 
power  along  the  whole  coast  of  North  America.  He 
was  ready  to  embrace  the  fir.st  opportunity,  therefore, 
that  might  ofler  for  extending  his  jurisdiction  over 
the  coveted  territory.  "The  Company  of  Royal  Ad- 
venturers of  England  trading  with  Africa,"  more 
commonly  known  as  "  The  Royal  African  Company," 
had  just  been  chartered  (Jan.  10,  1663),  with  the 
Duke  of  York  as  their  president.  They  were  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  slave-traders.  In  the  prosecution 
of  their  nefarious  traffic  they  had  been  greatly  an- 
noyed and  very  seriously  damaged  by  the  powerful 
and  monopolizing  West  India  Company  of  the  United 
Provinces.  Early  in  the  following  year,  therefore, 
an  expedition  was  secretly  sent  out  by  the  Royal  Af- 
rican Company  against  the  African  possessions  of  the 
Dutch  Company,  the  two  countries  being  at  peace.' 
In  order  the  more  successfully  to  compete  with  the 
Dutch  and  to  cripple  them  in  their  rivalry,  the  duke 
sought  and  obtained  from  his  royal  brother,  Charles 
II.,  March  22,  1664,  a  grant  of  Long  Island,  and  of 
all  the  land  from  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  River 
to  the  east  side  of  Delaware  Bay,  the  province  of 
Sagadahock,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Maine,  and 
the  islands  along  the  coast  of  New  England,  together 
with  the  right  of  government  or  sovereignty,  thus 
including  not  only  the  Dutch  province  of  New  Neth- 
erland,  but  a  large  part  of  the  territory  given  by 
royal  patent  less  than  two  years  previously  to  the 
colony  of  Connecticut.  The  duke,  as  lord  high  ad- 
miral, had  control  of  the  royal  navy.  An  expedition 
was  immediately  fitted  out,  consisting  of  four  ships 
of  war,  under  command  of  Col.  Richard  Nicolls,  a 
faithful  adherent  of  the  royal  family,  to  whom  the 
duke  gave  a  commission  to  serve  as  his  deputy  gov- 
ernor within  the  whole  grant.  With  him  were  asso- 
ciated also  Sir  Robert  Carr,  Knight,  George  Cart- 
wright,  Esq.,  and  Samuel  Maverick,  Esq.,  as  royal 

1  IlatfieW's  Hist.  ElizabeUi,  p.  26.     Wliitelieacrs  E.  Jersey,  p.  177. 
a  Brodhead's  New  York,  i.  735. 


commissioners  to  visit  the  colonies,  with  plenary 
powers  to  adjust  disputes,  appeals,  and  complaints  of 
every  description  and  provide  for  the  public  welfare, 
looking  well,  of  course,  to  the  rights  of  the  crown. 

On  Friday,  Augu.st  29th,  the  fleet  cast  anchor  in 
the  outer  bay  of  New  Amsterdam.  The  next  day 
orders  were  sent  for  the  surrender  of  Manhattan. 
After  various  negotiations,  protracted  through  the 
following  week,  the  terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed 
upon  on  Saturday,  August  27th,  and  on  the  following 
Monday  the  Dutch  authorities  surrendered  the  town 
and  fort  to  the  English,  who  immediately  took  pos- 
session. New  Amsterdam  became  New  York,  in 
honor  of  the  duke,  and  Fort  Amsterdam,  Fort  James. 
Nicolls  was  proclaimed  deputy  governor,  and  the 
people  quietly  submitted  to  the  sway  of  the  conquer- 
ors. A  few  weeks  sufficed  to  bring  the  whole  province 
of  New  Netherland  into  subjection,  and  to  give  the 
control  of  the  whole  coast,  from  Maine  to  the  Caro 
linas,  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER  III. 

FIRST  EN(5LISH  SETTLEMENT  AT  ELIZABETH  TOWN. 

The  Patent  Granted. — Immediately  upon  the  as- 
sumption of  the  government  by  Col.  Nicolls,  the 
attention  of  those  settlers  who  had  several  years  be- 
fore sought  a  removal  to  Achter  Kull,  west  of  Staten 
Island,  was  directed  again  to  this  inviting  region.  An 
association  was  at  once  formed,  and  several  of  their 
number  departed  to  go  down  to  New  York  and  se- 
cure of  the  Governor  liberty  to  purchase  and  settle  a 
plantation.  Four  weeks  had  scarcely  elapsed  since 
the  surrender  when  we  find  them  presenting  the  fol- 
lowing petition  : 

"To  the  Right  honour'^"  Col.  Kichnrd  Nicliolls  Esq'  Governour  of 
New-York,  &c.     The  Hnriil.le  peticon  of  us  subscribed  slieweth  : 

"That  severttl  of  us  Yor  Peticoners  being  Intended  formerly  to  have- 
purcliased  and  setled  a  plantation  upon  y  River  called  after-cull  River 
before  Yo'  arival  into  these  jiarts:  our  Intrntiuns,  notwithstanding  our 
making  some  way  with  tlie  Indians  Si  Charges  &  Expences  about  th& 
premisses,  was  oliatrucled  by  the  then  Ruling  Dutch.  And  some  of  ua 
by  Reason  of  not  having  any  Accommadali.ins  here  were  |>ut  upon 
thoughts  of  Removing  into  some  other  of  his  Majesti"^"  Dominions:  but 
now  upon  this  Yo'  happy  arival  and  the  Decease  of  the  Duch  Interest, 
we  would  Gladly  proceed  in  the  Design  affores"*.  In  order  whereunto, 
we  make  bold  w">  all  humility  to  petition  to  Yo'  Hono'  that  you  would 
Grant  ns  libei-ty  to  purchas  and  setle  a  parcel  of  land  to  Improve  our 
labour  ulwn  on  the  River  before  mentioned,  and  some  of  us  being  Desti- 
tute of  habitations  where  we  are,  we  crave  Your  Answer  with  as  much 
Expedition  as  may  be.  we  humbly  Take  our  leaves  at  Present  and  sub- 
scribe Yo'  Hono"  to  command. 

''  John  Bailies 
"  Daniel  Denton 
"  from  Jemaico  commonly  "  Thomas  Benydiek 

so  called  Sepl'  26, 1664.  "  Natlnin"'  Denton 

"John  Foster 
"  Luke  Watson." 

The  application  received  the  prompt  attention  of 
the  new  Governor,  and  the  paper  was  presently  re- 
turned with  the  following  indorsement: 


18 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"Upon  Perusal  of  this  PeticOn,  I  Do  Consent  unto  the  proposals  and 
Shall  Give  the  undertakers  all  Due  Encouragement  in  so  Good  a  work. 
Given  under  my  hand  in  fort  James,  this  3()t''  of  Septem'  1664. 

"  KiCHAHD    NiCOLLB."' 

Having  thus  secured  the  Governor's  warrant  for 
their  enterprise,  "  the  undertakers"  made  speedy  ar- 
rangements for  a  conference  with  the  native  owners 
of  the  soil.  Capt.  John  Baker,  of  the  city  of  New 
York,  it  is  said,  was  employed  as  the  English  and 
Dutch  interpreter,  and  one  of  the  natives  as  the  In- 
dian and  Dutch  interpreter.  The  conference  was 
held  at  Staten  Island,  where  the  chief  sagamores  of 
the  Indians  then  lived,  and  resulted  satisfactorily  to 
all  the  parties.  A  tract  of  land  was  purchased,  for 
which  the  following  deed  was  given: 

"  This  Indenture  made  The  28^^  Day  of  October  In  the  Sixteenth  Year 
of  the  Rt^iirn  of  our  Soveraign  Lord  Charles  By  The  Grace  of  God  of 
England,  Scotland,  France,  and  Irefand,  King  Defender  of  the  faith,  &c. 
Between  Mattano  Manamowaouc  and  Cowesconien  of  Staten  Island  Of 
the  one  part  and  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke  Watson  of 
Jamaica  In  Long  Island  Husband  Men  on  the  other  part  Witnesseth  Th&i 
the  said  MattHno  Mauaniowaouc  and  Coescomen  hath  clearly  Bargained 
and  Sold  to  the  said  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke  Watson, 
Their  Associates  their  heirs  and  Execu"  One  parcel  of  Land  bounded 
on  the  South  By  a  River  commonly  called  The  Raritana  River  And  on 
the  East  by  the  River  vt"^  Parts  Staten  Island  and  The  Main,  and  Tu 
Run  Northward  up  after  cull  Bay.  Till  we  come  att  the  first  River  w^^ 
setts  westward  out  of  the  said  Bay  aforesaid  And  To  Run  west  Into  the 
Countery  Twice  the  Length  as  it  Is  Broad  from  the  North  to  The  South 
of  the  atoremenlioued  Bounds,  Together'  with  the  Lands,  Meadows, 
woods,  waters,  feilds,  fenus,  fishings,  fowHngs,  wt»»  all  and  Singular  the 
Appurtenances,  w^t"  All  Gaines,  Prufitts,  and  advantages  arising  upju 
the  saiil  Lands  and  all  other  the  premisses  and  appurtenancfs  To  the 
Said  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke  Watson  wtb  Their  Associ 
ates,  w**!  their  and  Every  of  their  Heirs  Kxecutors  Admin"  or  Assignee 
for  Ever  To  have  and  To  /loM  The  said  Lands  with  the  Appurtenances  To 
the  said  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and  Lnke  Watson  with  their  Asso- 
ciates  their  Execu"  Assignes,  Ami  The  said  Mattauno  Manomowaouc 
covenant  proniise  Grant  and  Agree  To  and  w^^  the  said  John  Bayly, 
Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke  Watson  and  their  Associates  their  heira  and 
Execu"  To  Keep  them  Safe  in  the  Enjoyment  of  the  Said  Lands  from 
all  Expulsion  and  lucumbi-ances  whatsoever  may  arise  of  the  Said  Land. 
By  Any  ptrson  or  persona  By  Reason  of  Any  Title  had  or  Growing  be- 
fore the  Date  of  these  presents,  for  which  Bargain,  Sale,  Covenants, 
Grants  &  Agreements  on  the  behalf  of  the  ad  Matteno  manamowouc 
and  Conesconien  to  be  performed,  Observed  and  Done  the  fores'^  parties 
Are  at  tlieir  Enttery  upon  the  Said  Laud  To  pay  To  the  s'^  Matteno  Man- 
amowouc and  Conescoman,  Twenty  fathom  of  Trading  Cloath,  Two  made 
Coats,  Two  Guns  Two  Kettles  Ten  Bars  of  Lead  Twenty  Handfuls  of 
powder,  And  further  the  a^  John  Baily  Daniel  Denton  and  Lnke  watson 
Do  Covenant  Promise  Grant  and  Agree  to  and  with  the  s^  Mattano  Man- 
amowoauc  and  Couescoman  the  fores'^  Indians  four  hundred  fathom  of 
white  wampom  after  a  Years  Expiration  from  the  Day  of  the  said  Juhn 
Bayly  Daniel  Denton  and  Lnke  watson  Entery  upon  y  said  Lands.  In 
witness  whereof  we  have  hereunto  put  our  hands  and  seals,  the  Day  and 
Year  afureaaid. 

"The  Mark  of  Mattano 

"  The  Mark  of  Sewak  herones     N 

"The  Mark  of  Warinanco  -,....„^^,....,..,^,..,.^...^^ 

"Signed  Sealed  and  Delivered  iu  the  p'aenpe  of  us  witnesses 

"Charles  Horsley 
"  Tlie  Mark  of 

"Randal  R  Hewett."2 

Having  thus  made,  in  good  faith,  of  the  native  pro- 
prietors a  fair  and  equitable  purchase  of  the  desired 


1  E.  Town  Book,  B,  oth.  end,  14.    E.  Town  Bill  iu  Chancery,  25. 

a  E.  Town  Book,  B.,  oth.  end,  10-11.  E.  Town  Bill  in  Chancery,  pp. 
25-6.  Ans.  to  do.,  p.  7.  Grants,  Concessions,  Ac,  pp.  669-671.  The 
whole  cost  and  charges  were  estimated  by  Secretary  Bollen  at  more 
than  £154. 


territory,  and  procured  a  carefully-worded  deed  of  the 
said  purchase,  the  Associates  proceeded  to  submit  the 
transaction  to  Governor  Nicolls,  from  whom  presently 
afterwards  they  obtained  an  official  confirmation  of 
their  title  by  grant  in  due  form,  as  follows  : 

"  To  all  To  whom  These  p'sesents  shall  come,  I  Richard  Nicolls  Esq' 
Governour  under  his  Royal  Highness  ye  Duke  of  York  of  all  bis  Terri- 
tories In  anieiica  send  Greeting  Wheretis  there  is  a  parcel  of  Laud  w^Mn 
my  Government  which  hath  Been  purchased  of  Mattano  Manamowaouc 
and  Couesccomau  of  Staten  Isbind  By  John  Bayly  Daniel  Denton  &  Lnke 
watBon  of  Jemaico  In  Long  Island  for  a  Consideration  Expreas'd  In  a 
Certain  Deed  of  Indenture  Bearing  date  the2Sth  day  of  October  Last, 
wherein  the  said  paixel  of  Land  was  made  over  unto  the  said  John  Bayly 
Daniel  Denton  and  Lnke  watson  and  their  Associates,  their  and  Every  of 
their  heirs  Execu"  admin"  or  Assigns  for  Kver  as  In  the  said  Deed,  Re- 
liicOn  being  thereunto  bad  more  fully  and  at  Large  Doth  and  may  appear, 
Now  To  the  End  the  said  Lands  may  the  sooner  be  planted  Inhabited  and 
manured  I  have  thought  fit  to  Give  Confirme  and  Grant  and  by  these 
p'sent  Do  Give  Confiyne  and  Grant  unto  Cap*  John  Biiker  of  new  Yorke. 
John  Ogden  of  Norlh-hampton,  John  Baily  and  Luke  watson  of  Jemaico 
on  Long  Island  and  their  Associates  thair  heirs  Execu"  admin"  and  as- 
signs the  said  parcell  of  Land  Bounded  on  the  South  By  a  River  com- 
monly called  the  Raritans  River — On  the  E-ist  by  y  sea  whcii  jiartea 
Staten  Island  and  the  main,  to  Run  northwards  up  after  cull  Bay  Till 
you  come  to  the  first  River  weh  sets  westwards  out  of  the  S**  Bay  And 
To  Run  west  Into  the  Countery  Twice  the  Length  of  the  Breadth  thereof 
from  the  North  to  the  South  of  the  aforementioned  Bounds.  Together 
with  all  Lands,  Meadows  Pastures  woods  waters,  feilds  fenna  fishings 
fowling  with  all  and  singular  the  appurtenances,  with  all  Gaines  Profits 
atid  advantages  arising  or  that  shall  arise  upon  thes^  Lands  and  premises 
To  have  and  to  hold  the  s<i  Lands  and  appurtenances  To  the  s^  Cap*  John 
Baker,  John  Ogden  John  Bayly  and  Luke  watson  and  their  Associates 
their  heirs  Exec"  admin"  and  assigns  forever,  Rendering  and  paying 
Yearly  unto  his  R..yal  Highness  The  Duke  of  Yorke  or  biaiissigns  a  cer- 
tain Rent  according  To  the  customary  Rate  of yo  Countery  for  New  Planta- 
tions and  Doing  and  p'furming  such  Acts  &  Things  us  shall  be  appointed 
by  his  said  Ro>'aI  highness  or  his  Deputy,  and  The  sd  Capt  John  Baker 
John  Ogden  John  Bayly  &  Luke  watson  and  Their  Associates  tlieii- heirs 
Execu"  admin"  and  assigns  are  To  Take  Care  and  Charge  of  ye  s**  Lands 
and  pfniisses  That  People  he  carrie<I  thither  with  all  convenient  speed  for 
the  setting  of  plantacons  thereon  and  that  none  have  Liberiie  so  To  Do 
without  the  Consent  and  Approbation  of  ye  s*  Cap*  John  Baker  John 
Ogden  John  Bayly  and  Luke  watson  and  Their  Associates  Except  they 
shall  neglect  their  Planting  thereof  according  To  The  true  Intent  and 
meaning  of  These  p^sents,  and  I  Do  Likewise  promise  and  Grant  that  the 
persons  so  Inhabiting  and  planting  the  Lands  and  premises  afors*!  shall 
have  Equal  freedom  Iniui  unities  ami  privileges  with  any  of  hia  Ma^i"  sub- 
jeers  In  any  of  hiaCob.nys  of  America.  And  the  sJ  CapUohn  Baker  John 
Ogdeii  John  Baily  and  Luke  watson  and  their  Associates  liaveLibertie  to 
purchase  of  the  Natives  (or  Olbere  who  have  the  proprietie  thereof)  aa 
farre  us  Snake  lidl  to  the  End  and  purposes  afores^ — In  wUnem  wliereof  I 
have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  seal  this  first  Day  of  Decenii«er  in  the 
sixteenth  Year  of  the  Reign  of  our  Sovoraign  Lord  Charles  The  Second 
By  the  Grace  of  God  King  of  England  Scotland  Fnince  and  Irreland 
Defender  of  the  faith  i&c.  at  fort  James  In  New  York  on  the  Island  of 
manhatans. 

"Richard  Nicolls."* 

At  or  about  the  same  time  Governor  Nicolls  drew 
up  and  published  certain  proposals  by  which  property 
in  lands  might  be  acquired  in  any  of  the  unoccupied 
territories  of  the  Duke  of  York  in  America,  as 
follows : 

"The  Conditions  for  New  Planters,  in  the  Territories  uf  his  Royal 
Highness  tlie  Duke  of  York. 

"The  Purchases  are  to  be  made  from  the  Indian  Sachenia,  and  to  be 
Recorded  bt-fore  the  Governour. 

"  The  Purchasers  are  not  to  pay  for  their  Liberty  of  Purchasing  to  the 
Governour. 

"The  Purchasers  are  to  Set  out  a  Town  and  Inhabit  together. 

"No  Purchaser  shall  at  any  Time  Contract  for  himself  with  any  Sa- 


3  B.  Town  Book  B.,  oth.  end,  pp.  11, 12.    E.  Town  Bill  in  Chancery,  p. 
6.     Grants,  Concessions,  Ac,  pp.  U71-^ 


FIRST   ENGLISH    SETTLEMENT    AT  ELIZABETH  TOWN. 


19 


ctiem,  without  Consent  of  his  Associates :  or  Special  warrant  from  the 
Governnur. 

"The  Purchasers  are  free  from  all  manner  of  Assessments  or  Rates 
five  Yeiirs  after  their  Town  Piatt  is  Set  ont,  and  when  the  five  years  are 
Expired,  they  shall  only  be  LiaWe  to  tlie  PuWick  Rates  anil  payments, 
according  to  the  Custonie  of  other  InhaMtants  both  Eniilisii  and  Dutch. 

"  .\11  Lands  thus  Purchased  and  Posses'd,  shall  Remain  to  the  Pur- 
chasers and  tlieir  Heirs  as  free-lands  to  Dispose  of  as  they  Please. 

"In  all  Territories  of  his  R.iyal  Highness,  lilieity  of  conscience  is 
allowed;  Provided  such  liberty  is  not  Converted  to  licejitionsness  or  the 
Disturbance  of  Others  in  the  exercise  of  the  Protestant  Relitnon. 

"  The  several  Town-ships  have  liberty  to  make  their  I'articular  Laws, 
and  deciding  all  Small  Causes  within  themselves. 

"The  Lands  which  I  intend  shall  he  fir.t  Planted,  are  those  upon  the 
west  sitle  of  Hudsons  River,  at  or  adjoining  to  the  Sopes.  but  if  any 
Number  of  men  sufficient  for  Two  or  Three  or  more  Towns,  shall  desire 
to  Plant  upon  any  other  Lands,  they  shall  have  all  Due  Encouragement 
Proportionable  to  tlieir  Quality  and  undertakings, 

"  Every  Town-ship  is  Obliged  to  pay  their  Minister,  according  to  such 
Agreement  as  they  shall  make  with  them,  and  No  mati  to  refuse  his 
Proportion,  the  minister  being  Elected  by  the  Major  Pait  of  the  house- 
hold'". Inhabitants  of  the  Town. 

"  Every  Town-ship  hath  the  free  Choice  of  all  their  Officers  both 
Civill  and  military,  and  all  men  who  shall  take  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  his  Majestie  and  are  not  Seivants  or  Day-laboui-ers,  but  are  admitted 
to  Enjoy  a  Town  lott,  are  Esteemed  free-men  of  the  Jurisdiction,  and 
cannot  forfeit  the  same  without  Due  Process  in  law."  i 

These  proposals  were  all  that  could  be  expected, 
emanating  as  they  did  from  a  court  that  was  bitterly 
opposed  to  everything  like  democracy,  exceedingly 
jealous  of  the  power  and  privileges  of  the  people,  and 
so  hostile  to  the  Puritan  party  in  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land as  to  have  driven  more  than  two  thousand  non- 
conforming ministers  into  private  life.  They  were 
regarded  with  peculiar  favor  by  the  new  settlers  in 
the  duke's  territories,  and  accepted  as  a  liberal  con- 
stitution for  the  planting  of  new  towns  and  the 
organizing  of  new  municipalities. 

Encouraged  by  the  Governor's  concessions,  and 
furnished  with  every  requisite  document  to  establish 
their  right  and  title  beyond  all  doubt  and  contro- 
versy to  the  absolute  proprietorship  of  their  lands, 
the  four  purchasers  from  Long  Island,  with  their  as- 
sociates, took  measures  for  a  speedy  and  effective 
occupation  of  the  fair  domain  thus  lawfully  and 
honorabl}'  acquired. 

Settlement  of  the  Patent. — The  precise  date  of 
the  occupation  of  the  Elizabethtown  purchase  by  the 
original  proprietors  is  not  on  record.  Mr.  Hatfield  is 
of  the  opinion,  for  various  excellent  reasons  which  he 
gives,  that  the  settlement  was  actually  commenced, 
ground  broken,  and  something  of  a  habitation  at- 
tempted as  early  as  Nov.  24,  166-1. 

The  tradition  that  but  four  families  were  found  in 
occupancy  of  the  town  so  late  as  August,  166.5,  grew 
out  of  the  fact,  most  probably,  that  but  four  names 
are  recorded  as  purchasers  in  Governor  NicoUs'  grant. 
It  seems  to  have  been  erroneously  supposed  that  these 
four  were  the  sole  proprietors  of  the  purchase,  whereas 
the  Indian  deed  expressly  conveys  the  land,  as  also 
does  Nicolls'  grant,  to  the  associates  of  these  grantees 


'  E.  Town  Book,  1.  ; 
p.  6C7.  Smith's  Histor; 
p.  l:iO. 


.  to  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  6.    Grants  and  Concessions, 
r  New  Tork,  i.  35-G.    Mulford's  New  Jersey, 


as  well.^  The  whole  transaction  was  a  concerted  en- 
terprise, thought  of  and  talked  over,  and  agreed  upon 
by  a  considerable  number  of  persons  like-minded  and 
of  like  origin,  residents  of  the  same  neighborhood  on 
Long  Island.  Denton,  one  of  the  projectors  of  the 
undertaking,  writes,  four  or  five  years  afterward, — 

"  That  the  usual  way  is  for  a  Company  of  a  people  to  joyn  together, 
either  enough  to  nuike  a  Town  or  a  lesser  number;  these  go  with  the 
consent  of  the  Governor,  and  view  a  Tract  of  Land,  there  being  choice 
enough,  and  finding  a  place  convenient  for  a  Town,  they  return  to  the 
Governor,  who  upon  theirdesire  admits  them  into  the  Colony,  and  gives 
1  them  a  Grant  or  Patent  for  the  said  Land,  for  themselvesand  Associates. 
These  persons  being  thus  qualified,  settle  the  place,  and  take  in  what 
inhiihitants  to  themselves  they  shall  see  cause  to  admit  of,  till  their  Town 
be  full." 

The  settlement  at  first  was  a  compact  one,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  plan  which  had  been  adopted  in 
New  England  for  mutual  defense  against  the  Indians, 
and  which  had  been  first  applied  in  New  Jersey  in 
the  establishment  of  the  old  town  of  Bergen  in  1658. 
The  object  as  set  forth  in  the  "  Answer  to  the  Eliza- 
beth Town  Bill  in  Chancery,"  page  22,  was  as  follows: 

"  As  the  country  at  their  first  coming  was  inhabited  by  no  other  than 
the  native  Indians,  who  were  then  in  great  number's,  the  said  purchasers 
and  associates  agreed  at  first  to  make  small  divisions  of  their  lands,  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  and  custom  then  in  New  England,  to  the  end  that 
they  might  settle  and  plant  near  together,  so  that  in  case  any  attempt 
was  made  by  the  Indians  they  might  mutually  aid  and  assist  each 
other,  the  circumstances  of  the  inhabitants  at  that  day  being  so  dan- 
gerous and  troublesome  that  we,  at  this  time,  can  have  no  adequate 
ideas  of  the  hardships  ot."^ 

The  settlers  of  the  first  two  or  tliree  years  were 
mainly  of  one  class,  and  of  the  same  general  origin, 
almost  wholly  New  Englanders  from  Long  Island 
and  Connecticut.  Very  few  of  the  planters  for  the 
first  five  years  came  over  directly  from  the  mother- 
country.  This  will  appear  from  an  examination  of 
the  names  of  these  pioneers,  recorded  as  early  as 
February,  1666,  and  to  be  found  on  subsequent  pages. 

Very  soon  after  the  commencement  of  their  under- 
taking various  meetings  for  consuliation  and  agree- 
ment in  relation  to  the  division  or  allotment  of  the 
lands,  and  other  regulations  for  the  orderly  trans- 
action  of  the   business   of  the  town,  were   held,   a 

2  Appended  to  the  Indian  Deed  is  the  following  recei|it: 
"  Received  of  John  Ogden  in  part  of  the  above  specified  foure  hundred 
feet  of  wampum  I  say  Received  one  huudred  fathom  of  wampum  by 
mee  the  18  of  August  lUBo.  The  mark  of  Mattano 

"Witnesses,  Samuel  Edsall,  James  Bollen." 
Indorsed  on  the  deed  is  the  following  : 

"The  24  November,  16C5,  paid  to  the  Indians  in  full  payment  of  this 
obligation. 

"In  Wampum  one  hundred  and  ninety  fathom  190 

lu  a  fowling  piece  and  Lead 40 

for  ISuGllders  that  was  behind  fur  the  payment  of  Luke^ 
Watson's   oxen    that    were    killed    by    the    Indians  V70 
seaventy  fathom  of  Wampum f 

the  sum  of  three  hundred  fathom 3(10  J^^Jj 

(Witnesses)  The  mark  of  Mattano 

Henry  Creyk  Warehiim 

John  Dickeson  Sewnh  Herones 

Jereniiith  Osbone  Manamawaouc 

James  Bollen  Kawameeh 

— E.  J.  Rrcords,  B.  181,  2,  and  i.  1,  2  ;  ii.  12.  Lutonewach." 

»Ans.  to  E.T.Bill,  p.  22. 


20 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY 


record  of  which  was  made  in  a  book  provided  for  the 
purpose  by  one  of  their  number,  appointed  to  this 
service,  and  known  as  the  town  clerk.  The  char- 
acter of  this  Town  Book  and  the  nature  of  the 
record  may  be  seen  by  reference  to  the  Town  Book  of 
Newark,  published  in  1864  by  the  New  Jersey  His- 
torical Society.  This  book,  so  necessary  for  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  early  history  of  the  town,  was 
safely  kept,  and  records  continued  to  be  made  in  it 
until  the  year  1718,  when,  during  the  troubles  of  that 
period,  the  book  disappeared,  having  been  purloined 
or  destroyed,  or  both,  and  has  not  since  been  forth- 
coming. The  loss  is  irreparable.  Extracts  from 
this  book  have  been  preserved,  the  particularity  of 
which  deepens  the  regret  felt  at  the  loss  of  so  much 
invaluable  material.  The  earliest  record  of  which 
we  have  now  any  knowledge  is  the  following  : 

"At  a  Meeting  Court  held  »t  Elizalieth  Town  in  tlie  Province  of 
New  Jersey,  the  I'Jtli  of  Fel>niarj'  1666,  liy  tlie  B'reehuiaers  and  Inhab- 
itants thereof,  James  Bollen,  Fsq..  President,  by  tlie  approbation  of  the 
Governor  Pliilip  Carteret,  E-q. ;  it  was  conclnded  and  agreed  that  the 
aforesaid  town  shall  consist  of  fourscore  finiilies  for  the  present,  and 
that  if  hereafter  more  shall  present,  they  may  make  an  addrtion  of 
twenty  more,  according;  to  their  discretion  for  the  good  and  benefit  of 
the  town  [as  to  them]  shall  seeui  fit. 

"A  true  copy  from  Klisabeth  Town  Book  of  Records,  No.  A,fo!  14,  per 
"Samuel  Whitehead,  Town  CferX:."t 

Another  record  of  the  same  date  has,  in  like  man- 
ner, been  rescued  from  oblivion  : 

"  It  is  further  ordered  and  agreed,  by  the  consent  as  aforesaid,  that  all 
persons  that  have  taken,  or  shall  take  lots,  shall  come  and  settle  and  in- 
habit the  same  by  Ihe  tifteenlh  day  of  April  next,  otherwise  that  the 
said  lots  shall  be  disposed  of  to  any  other  person-*  that  will  cnme  and 
settle  thereon,  and  that  every  person  that  shall  take  up  a  home-l(»t  shall 
be  obliged  to  continue  nptui  the  same,  or  in  the  town,  for  the  space  of 
three  years,  either  by  himself  in  person  or  by  his  servants,  or  some  other 
person  that  he  shall  bring  into  the  town,  that  shall  be  approved  of;  and 
not  to  employ  any  for  that  purpose  that  are  already  belonp:ing  to  the 
town;  and  that  lie  shall  not  make  any  sale  of  the  said  lot  for  any  time 
during  the  space  of  three  years  to  come,  but  first  shill  make  proffer  to 
the  inhabitants  thereof  October  28th,  1667,  and  it's  fiirther  ordered  Tliat 
whosoever  sliall  break  this  order  shall  pay  four  pounds  a  month,  and  pro- 
portionately during  the  time  of  their  so  Entertainment."  ^ 

A  similar  regulation  was  adopted  by  the  Newark 
people  in  the  following  year.'  Some  division  of  the 
town  plot  into  lots  convenient  for  the  settlers  must 
have  been  made  on  their  first  coming.  At  this  same 
meeting,  or  possibly  at  an  earlier  date, 

*'  It  was  agreed.  That  small  parcels  of  land  should  be  laid  out  to  every 
inhabitant  wlio  came,  in  part  of  what  he  was  intitted  to.  To  wit.  To 
every  iuliabitant  in  the  Town  Plat  of  Klizabetli  TowTi  a  home  lot  con- 
taining about  four  acres,  and  a  pittle  or  addition  to  it  containing  about 

Every  settler,  whatever  proportion  he  may  have 
contributed  to  the  general  expense,  was  put  upon  the 
same  footing  as  regarded  his  homestead,  the  only  dif- 
ference being  in  the  choice  of  a  location,  and  this, 
probably,  was  determined,  as  at  Newark,  by  lot. 

1  E.  Town  Bill,  p.  32.    Ans.  to  do.,  p.  23. 

2  E.  Town  Bill,  p.  32.     Ans.  to  E.  T.  B.,  p.  24. 

3  Newark  Town  Records,  p.  6. 
<  K.  Town  Bill,  p.  :«. 


"They  agreed  amongst  themselves  to  go  over  and  fix  the  Lotts,  which 
was  before  by  the  whole  Committee  agreed  ujnin  to  be  Six  acre-,  and 
after  the  Lotts  prepared,  and  how  tlo-y  should  begin  and  Succeed,  the 
matter  was  solemnly  submitted  to  the  L«ird  fur  iiis  Guidance."^ 

The  lots  were  laid  out  on  both  sides  of  the  creek, 
beginning  with  the  first  upland  above  the  salt  mead- 
ows, and  extending  up  the  creek  some  two  miles. 
The  ordinary  dimensions  of  these  lots  were  four 
chains  in  breadth  and  ten  chains  in  length,  making  a 
front  on  the  street  of  two  hundred  and  sixty-four 
feet,  and  extending  back  six  hundred  and  sixty  feet. 
In  some  cases,  owing  to  the  irregular  course  of  the 
river  and  highways,  the  shape  of  the  lots,  which  was 
ordinarily  a  parallelogram,  varied  from  the  regular 
form  and  size,  but,  as  well  as  might  be,  equal  priv- 
ileges were  secured.  Owing  to  the  indefiniteness  of 
the  surveys  as  recorded,  and  for  want  of  everything 
like  a  map  or  diagram  of  the  town  plat,  it  is  quite 
impossible  to  determine  the  locality  of  each  settler. 

At  the  town-meeting  just  mentioned  the  male  in- 
habitants of  the  town  were  required  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance,  of  which  and  the  names  subscribed  a 
record  has  been  preserved,  as  follows: 

"The  Oath  of  A  Leagance  and  Fidelity  taken  by  the  Inhabitants  of 

Elizabeth  Town  and  the  Jurisdiction  thereof  beginning  the  19th  Feb- 
ruary 1665. 

"  You  doe  sware  upon  the  Holy  Evangelist  contained  in  this  book  to 
bare  true  faith  and  Alegiance  to  our  Soveraing  Lord  King  Charles  the 

Second  and  his  Successors  and  to  be  true  and  faitlifiill  to  the  Lords 

propryetors  their  Successors  and  the  Government  of  tiiis  Province  of 
New  Jersey  as  long  as  you  sllall  Continue  a[i  I>ihabitaut  under  tlie  same 

without  any  Equivocation  or  Mental!  Resei'vatiou   whatsoever  and  so 
help  you  God. 

"Mr.  J.din  Ogden  sen'  William  OHner 

Capt  Tlicmas  Young  Humphry  Spinage 

Michaell  Simpkins  Josepli  phrasie 

Abraham  Shotwell  Zackery  Graues 

Thomas  Skillmau  Peter  Woolnerson 

John  Woodrofo  Charles  Tucker 

Thomas  Leonards  Benjamin  Honian 

Jonas  Wood  Jefiry  Joaiies 

Jacob  Clais  Christopher  Yonng 

Riidi'ick  Powell  Jerreniy  03b<mrue 

Luke  Watson  John  Dickenson 

Stephen  Crane  Dennis  denis  White 

Joakini  Audris  Jolin  Ogdeu  Jun' 

Jolin  Waynes  Waynes  Dauid  Ogdden 

Jacob  Moullains  Robert  Vauqiiellin 

William  Johnson  Benjamin  Price 

John  Gray  Ben.  Concklin 

Nic<da8  Carter  Robert  Bond 

Tliomas  Pope  Joseph  Bond 

William  Cramer  Moses  Tonison 

Bariiaitaa  Wines  Ji>sepli  Osburne 

Thomas  TomsuQ  John  Bracketl  sen' 

Nathaniel  Tuttle  William  Meacker 

Robert  Mosse  Isaack  Whiteliead 

Peter  Mosse  Nathaniel  Bunnell 

William  Trotter  Matbias  Heatlifield 

Euan  Salsbury  Jonathan  Ogden 

George  Packe  Leonard  Headley 

Thr.mas  More  John  Parker 

Samuel  Marsh  Daniel  Harris 

Moses  Peterson  Richard  Paynter 

Ji>Iin  Hay  nee  Francis  Barber"* 
Caleb  Carwithy 


>  Newark  Towd  Records 


^  E.  J.  Rpcurds,  iii.  other  end,  7. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTEKS   AND  ASSOCIATES   OF   ELIZABETB    TOWN. 


21 


The  whole  number  is  sixty-five.  Oapt.  John 
Baker's  name  is  wanting,  on  account  of  his  absence 
in  the  service  of  Governor  Nicolls,  at  Albany.  Some 
names  are  found  in  this  list  not  included  in  the  list 
of  Associates.  They  were  the  names,  probably,  of 
temporary  residents  employed  as  laborers  or  helpers. 
Baily  and  Denton  had  sold  out;  the  former  to  Car- 
teret, and  the  hitter  to  Ogdeu. 

The  most  reliable  statement  of  the  names  of  the 
original  Associates  is  found  in  Elizabeth  Town  Book 
B,  some  fifty  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  towu, 
and  is  thus  expressed  : 

"  Ru'tiard  Nicolls,  I>y  virtue  of  the  Power  and  Authority  vested  in  him 
by  .  .  .  James  (llieii)  Dulie  of  York  &c  Did  thereby  Grant  Bargain  Sell 
and  Conlirin  unto  Cap'  John  Balier  (then)  of  New  York,  John  Ogden 
(thenjof  Nortli-Hnnipton.and  .  .  .  Jolin  Baily  and  Luke  Watson,  and 
their  Associates  the  Premises  afores"* — In  ffee-simple,  which  same  Asso- 
ciates (together  with  them  the  s't  Baker,  Ogden,  Baily,  and  Watson 
equally  seised  each  to  a  Third  Lot  Right  in  pmi^ses)  were,  the  said  John 
Baker,  John  Ogden,  Ju«  Ba  ly,  and  Lnke  Watson,  and  with  them  Thomas 
Young,  Benjamin  Price,  John  W.iodruff.  Pliilip  i  arteret,  Two  Third 
lotts,  Robert  Boiid,  Sealy  Champain  l  TransferM  to  Benjamin  Parkhuist) 
William  Meeker,  Thomas  Tliompsiin,  Samuel  Marsh,  Town  Lott  for  the 
Minister  Will"  Piles,  Peter  Couenhoven,  John  Brock,  t  (Trausfer'd  to 
Sitm^  Hopkins).  James  Btdlen,  Jacob  M'-lyen,  Nicholas  Carter,  and  Jere- 
miah Peck.  And,  To  each  a  Second  Lot-liighl  in  the  same  Premisses, 
Isiiac  Whitehead,  Joseph  Meeker,  Humphry  Spinning,  Jeoffry  Jones. 
George  Boss,  .loeeph  Bond,  Matthias  H.tfield,  Barnabas  Winds,  Robert 
White,  Peter  Morss,  John  Winans,  Joseph  Sayre,  Ricliard  Beach,  Mosee 
Thompson,  John  Gray,  William  Jolmson,  John  Brocket  Ju',  Simon 
Rouse,  William  Trotter,  Jolin  Ogden  Jun',  Jonas  Wood,  R..bert  Mores. 

M'  Leprary,  Caleb  Cam  ithe,  William  Pardon,  and  Stephen  flsborne. 

A7id  to  each  a  flrst  lot  Right  in  the  same  Premises,  Jonathan  Ogden, 
Abraham  Shotwell,  David  Ogden,  Nathaniel  Tuttle,  Benjamin  Piice  Ju', 
Roger  Lambert,  Aliraham  Lawrence,  John  Hindes,  Thomas  Moor,  Joseph 
ffraley,  Yokam  Andro»s.  Denis  While,  Nathanavl  Norton  (since  Trans- 
fer'd  to  Henry  Norris),  Great  John  Willsoii,  Hur  Thompson,  Benjamin 
Oman,  Evan  Salsbuny,  Little  John  Willson,  Stephen  Crane,  Henry  Lyon, 
John  Parker,  John  Ogden  for  John  Dickinson,  Leonard  Headley,  Na- 
thanael  Bonnel,  Gecnge  Morris,  Joseph  Osborn,  I'ardey  (Transfer'd  to 
Henry  Sorris),  George  Pack,  John  Pope,  ffrancis  Barber,  William  Oliver, 
Richard  Painter,  and  Charles  Tooker."  ' 

The  number  is  eighty,  of  whom  twenty-one  had 
third  lot-rights,  twenty-six  had  second  lot-rights,  and 
thirty-three  had  fir.st  lot-rights.  Carteret  had,  in 
addition  ttj  his  own  third  lot-right,  the  third  lot-right 
of  Baily,  of  whom  he  had  purchased  it.  Twenty-six 
had  been  admitted  subsequently  to  the  taking  of  the 
oath  of  allegiance  in  February,  1666,  of  whom  some 
were  sons  of  the  first  settlers. 

Carteret  brought  over  with  him  in  the  ship  "  Philip" 
eighteen  male  servants,  belonging  to  Sir  George  and 
himself,  a  portion  of  whom  were  Frenchmen,  proba- 
bly from  the  Island  of  .Jersey  : 


"John  Dejardiii 

John  Tavler. 

Doct'  Rowland. 

Jolin  t'larck. 

Claude  Vallot. 

Wm. . 

Bichi  Pewtinger. 

Claude  Barbour. 

Richard  Michell. 

Chas.  Seggin. 

Richard  Skinner. 

Dan  Perrin. 

Wm  Hill. 

John  Mitlins. 

Henry  Hill. 

Robert  Wallis. 

Erasmus  House. 

John  alias  Peti-r. 

besides  severall  others 

the 

same  tin, 

s  imported,  and  many  othei-B  since. 

I  E.  Town  Book 

B, 

pp.  2, 3. 

2  K.J.  Keronla,  Hi.  0.  e.  30. 

In  the  first  importation  must  have  been  included 
some  female  servants, — Mariah  Thorell,  Susannah 
Poulain,  and  Ellen  Prou  (all  French)  being  of  the 
number.  Of  the  male  servants,  two  were  subsequently 
admitted  as  Associates,  Claude  Vallot  and  William 
Hill.  Richard  Michell  had  land  given  him  by  the 
Governor,  but  was  not  admitted  as  an  Associate.' 


CHAPTER   IV.    • 

ORIGINAL    PATENTEES    AND    ASSOCIATES    OF 
ELIZABETH    TOWN. 

The  following  sketches  of  the  original  petitioners, 
of  the  other  patentees,  and  of  the  eighty  Associates  of 
Elizabeth  Town  have  been  condensed  from  Mr.  Hat- 
field's notices  of  them  in  his  "  History  of  Elizabeth"  : 

The  Original  Petitioners. — John  Strickland's 
name  occupies  the  first  place  among  those  who 
sought  here  a  home.  He  was,  as  already  seen,  a 
resident  of  Huntington,  L.  I.  His  application  was 
in  behalf  of  "  a  Company  of  the  inglish  na.sion."  He 
was  simply  their  agent.  The  names  of  the  "Com- 
pany" have  not  been  preserved.  Strickland  was  an 
Englishman.  He  came  over  in  1630  with  Win- 
throp's  company,  and  was  admitted  a  freeman  in  the 
Bay  Colony  May,  1631.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
church  of  Watertown,  Mass.,  from  which  he,  Jonas 
Wood,  and  others  were  dismissed  May  29,  1635,  to 
form  a  new  church  on  the  borders  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River.  Soon  after  he  removed  to  Wethersfield, 
Conn.  His  son  Thwait  settled  there,  but  the  father, 
after  a  short  sojourn,  removed  to  Uncowah  (Fairfield), 
Conn.  Subsequently  he  took  part  in  a  bloody  fight  at 
Greenwich  between  the  Dutch  and  Indians,  at  a  spot, 
since  known  as  "  Strickland's  Plain."  In  1644  he 
sold  his  estate  at  Uncowah  to  William  Frost,  and 
united  with  the  Rev.  Robert  Fordham,  John  Ogden, 
John  Karman,  John  Lawrence,  and  Jonas  Wood  in 
settling  on  "  the  Great  Plains  on  Long  Island,"  to 
which  they  gave  the  name  of  Heemstede.  In  the 
patent  obtained  Nov.  16,  1644,  he  is  called  "Stick- 
Ian."  In  1661  it  appears  that  he  resided  at  Hunting- 
ton, whence  he  sought  to  remove  to  this  place.  He 
was  induced,  however,  to  settle  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  and 
in  1663  was  one  of  the  freeholders  of  that  town.  Yet 
he  was  a  patentee  of  Huntington  in  1666,  and  still 
later  a  resident  of  Hempstead.  The  names  of  at 
least  four  of  his  associates  at  Fairfield  and  Hempstead 
are  found  among  the  Elizabeth  Town  Associates.  It 
is  quite  likely  that  they  were  interested  in  the  peti- 
tion of  1661.  The  petitioners  of  1664  were  all  of  them 
his  neighbors  at  Jamaica,  as  some  of  them  had  been 
at  Watertown,  Wethersfield,  Fairfield,  and  Hemp- 
stead.* 

»  HatHeld's  Elizabeth. 

*  Trumbull's  Connecticut,  i.  163-64.  Brodhead's  N.  York,  I.  391,  note. 
Ct.  Col.  Records,  i.  2,  465-66.  Thompson's  L.  Isld.,  ii.  4-5.  Macdonald's 
Jamaica,  p.  38 


22 


HISTORY    OP    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


John  Bailies  (Baylie,  Baily),  the  first  signer  of  the 
petition  of  1664,  was  probably  the  same  who  resided 
at  Guilford,  Conn.,  in  1642.  A  John  Baily  was  ad- 
mitted a  freeman  of  Connecticut  May  21,  1657,  and 
was  chosen  constable  at  Hartford  March  16,  1657. 
This  may  have  been  his  son.  Previous  to  1562  he 
had  removed  to  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  where  he  was  famil- 
iarly called  "Goodman  Baylie,"  and  was  licensed  to 
keep  an  ordinary  for  the  town.  He  was  one  of  the 
four  patentees  of  this  town,  but  probably  did  not  be- 
come a  resident,  as  he  disposed  of  his  interest  here 
Sept.  8,  1665,  to  Gov.  Carteret  for  "a  valuable  sum." 
He  was  still  living  at  Jamaica  in  1683.' 

Daniel  Denton,  the  next  in  order  of  the  petitioners 
of  1664,  and  his  brother  Nathaniel,  the  fourth  in  order, 
were  sons  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Denton,  "  a  Yorkshire 
man,"  first  setlled  at  Halifax,  in  England,  who  came  to 
Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1634,  then  to  Wethersfield,Conn., 
in  1635,  whence  he  removed  to  Stamford  in  1641,  and 
thence  to  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  in  1644,  having  been  the 
first  minister  of  each  of  the  last  three  towns.  He  re- 
turned to  England  in  1658,  and  died  in  1662  at  Essex. 
His  two  sons,  Daniel  and  Nathaniel,  were  among  the 
first  patentees  of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  in  1656.  Daniel  was 
the  first  clerk  of  the  town,  taught  school,  practiced 
medicine,  and  served  as  justice  of  tlie  peace.  He 
wrote  "A  Brief  Description  of  New  York,"  which 
was  published  in  London  in  1670,  and  was  the  first 
printed  work  on  the  subject  in  the  English  language. 
In  1673  he  was  a  resident  of  Piscataway  and  a  magis- 
trate. Nathaniel  continued  at  Jamaica,  and  was  liv- 
ing in  1683.  The  two  brothers  sold  their  rights  in  the 
Elizabeth  Town  purchase  in  1665  to  Capt.  John  Baker 
and  John  Ogden.  Another  brother,  Samuel,  was  also 
interested  in  the  purchase.^ 

Thomas  Benedict  (Benydick),  the  third  of  the  pe- 
titioners of  1664,  was  a  native  of  Nottingham,  Eng., 
where  he  was  born  in  the  year  1617.  He  was  bred  a 
weaver,  and  migrated  to  New  England  in  1638,  with 
his  step-sister,  Mary  Bridgum,  whom,  shortly  after, 
he  married.  She  was  the  mother  of  the  numerous 
American  family  of  Benedicts.  Not  long  afterwards 
they  removed  to  Southold,  L.  I.,  where  their  five  sons 
and  four  daughters  were  born.  In  June,  1656,  they 
were  residents  of  Huntington,  L.  I.,  and  were  neigh- 
bors of  the  Stricklands.  In  1662,  "Goodman  Bene- 
dick" was  one  of  the  leading  men  of  Jamaica.  With 
Daniel  Denton,  his  townsman,  he  represented  Jamaica 
in  the  Hempstead  Convention,  March  1,  1665.  Tlie 
same  year,  instead  of  carrying  out  his  original  design 
of  removing  with  his  neighbors  to  Achter  Kull,  he 
became  a  resident  of  Norwalk,  Conn.,  which  hence- 
forth became  the  home  of  the  family.' 


1  III.,  11.  X3.    Coiiii.  Cell.  Eecords,  i.  297,  326.    Tliomiison's  L.  I.,  i.  408. 
N.  V.  I)oc.  History,  ii.  621. 

2  MiicdoriaM'e  JaniHicii.  p.  46.    N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  ii.  687.    Cliapin's 
Glimlenliuiy,  |i.  m.     MaUler's  Magnalia,  B.  III.  c.  9.  vol.  i.  360.     N.  Y. 


John  Foster,  the  fifth  of  the  petitioners  of  1664, 
was  a  resident  of  Jamaica.  His  father,  Thomas,  was 
of  the  Hempstead  company,  whither  he  came  from 
Fairfield,  Conn.,  as  early  as  1644.  The  family  were 
dwelling  at  Jamaica  in  1663.  Foster  was  still  a  citi- 
zen of  Jamaica  in  1688.  His  interest  in  the  new 
purchase  was  disposed  of  to  another,  but  to  whom 
and  for  what  cause  does  not  appear.' 

Luke  Watson,  the  last  named  of  the  petitioners  of 
1664,  was  the  only  one  of  them  all  that  retained  an 
interest  in  the  Jersey  enterprise,  and  became  one  of 
the  founders  of  this  town.  His  father  married  Eliza- 
beth, the  daughter  of  William  Frost,  of  Fairfield, 
Conn.,  and  had  died  before  1645.  His  widow  was 
then  married  to  John  Gray,  and  with  her  husband 
and  son,  Luke  Watson,  removed  first  to  Newtown, 
and  then  to  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  whence  they  came  hither. 
Watson  was  a  man  of  some  consideration  at  Jamaica, 
being  one  of  the  "  four  men"  chosen,  Aug.  6,  1659, 
"  to  be  presented  for  magistrates  to  y'  governor." 
He  was  among  the  first  emigrants  to  this  place.  He 
was  located  next  north  of  Capt.  Baker.  He  had  an 
allotment  of  170  acres  of  upland  on  the  W.  side  of 
Railway  River,  and  N.  of  its  W.  Branch;  also  130 
acres  of  upland  on  the  E.  N.  E.  of  Rahway  River, 
and  W.  of  William  Johnson  and  Jefl'ry  Jones;  also 
100  acres  on  the  S.  side  of  the  creek ;  also  24  acres 
of  meadow  on  Rahway  River,  and  6  acres  elsewhere. 
His  wife's  name  was  Sarah.  He  sold,  July  22,  1673, 
to  "  William  Case  of  Road  Island,"  for  "  2000  Pounds 
of  good  and  Merchantable  Sheep  Wool,"  all  his  "  Neck 
of  Upland  and  Meadow  laying  and  being  on  the  East 
End  of  Elizabeth  Towne  River  and  known  by  the 
Name  of  Luke  Watson's  point  within  the  bounds 
of  Elizabeth  Towne,"  computed  to  be  100  acres.  He 
obtained,  Jan.  21,  1675,  a  warrant  for  the  survey  of 
400  acres.  The  next  year  he  removed  to  the  Hoar- 
kill  settlement  (Lewes),  in  Delaware,  renting  his 
house  and  lot  to  Benjamin  Wade,  to  whom  he  sold 
them,  March  16,  1677,  for  £24.  The  remainder  of 
his  interest  here  he  sold,  in  1678,  to  William  Broad- 
well  and  Joseph  Frazey.  He  was  an  active  and  use- 
ful citizen,  and  in  1683,  1687,  1689,  and  1690  he  was 
a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania, 
of  which  his  son,  Luke,  Jr.,  was  a  member  in  1697.^ 

Such  were  the  original  petitioners,  all  of  them 
originally  from  New  England,  and  in  full  sympathy 
with  the  prevailing  sentiments  of  that  region.  Two 
of  them  only,  Bailey  and  Watson,  became  patentees, 
and  of  these  only  one  a  settler,  and  he  but  for  ten 
or  eleven  years. 

Other  Patentees. — The  other  patentees  were  Capt. 
John  Baker  and  John  Ogden. 

Capt.  John  Baker  heads  the  list.  He  had  been  for 
some  time  a  resident  of  New  Amsterdam,  though  an 


Doc.  Hii 


>  HaU's  .V.inviilk,  pp.  309-11. 


*  Macdonalil's  Jamaica,  pp.  33,  38,  41,  42,  242.  Conn.  Col.  Bocords,  i. 
466.     E.  J.  Records,  ii.  17,  95,  and  10  o.  e. 

6  Conn.  Col.  Kecurds,  i.  46.1.  Macdonnld's  Jamaica,  pp.  32,  37,  46. 
Proud's  Pa.,  i.  236,  :«6,  340,  362,  417. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTEES   AND    ASSOCIATES    OF    ELIZABETH   TOWN. 


23 


Englishman  l)y  birth,  and  had  acquired  a  familiarity 
with  the  Dutch  language  that  made  him  on  several 
occasions  useful  as  an  interpreter  in  dealing  with  the 
Indians.  It  is  probable,  as  previously  intimated,  that 
he  was  thus  employed  by  Denton  and  his  associates 
in  the  Staten  Island  negotiations  for  this  town,  and 
so  became  interested  in  the  enterprise.  The  earliest 
definite  information  of  him  is  found  in  the  records 
(Dutch)  of  a  court  held  at  the  city  hall,  New  Orange 
(New  York),  Nov.  14,  1673,  in  an  action  against  Capt. 
John  Baker: 

"Jan  Sraedes  and  Jan  Mynderat-n,  Carters  declare  that  about  nine 
years  ag<»  shnrtly  after  the  surrender  of  this  place  [1664],  they  rode  3U0 
p's  of  firewood  out  of  the  bush  for  Clae'*  Dietlofson,  and  afterwards 
brouglit  the  same  firewood  to  Capt  Baclter's  house  witliiu  this  oily,  and 
tlie  liill  for  carting  has  not  yet  been  paid  them  by  said  Baclier  as  they 
are  prepared  to  declare  oi  oath.  Capt.  Baclter  resided  in  Broadway  in 
the  house  now  occupied  by  Willem  Van  der  Scheure  [Schuyren]." 

As  Capt.  Baker  belonged,  in  1673,  to  another  juris- 
diction, Ciaes  probably  gained  nothing  by  the  suit. 
The  house  that  he  occupied  in  Broadway  was  on  the 
east  side,  a  short  distance  below  Wall  Street.  After 
the  conquest  of  the  city  Governor  Nicolls  appointed 
him,  Sept.  25,  1665,  chief  military  officer  at  Albany- 
On  this  account  his  name  is  not  included  among  those 
who  took  the  oath  of  allegiance  here  in  February 
following.  In  August,  1669,  he  was  subjected  to  a 
court-martial  at  Fort  James,  New  York,  for  an  assault 
on  William  Paterson,  a  merchant  of  Albany,  and 
judgment  was  rendered  against  him  Oct.  6,  1669. 
He  continued  in  command  at  Albany  until  May  14, 
1670,  from  which  time  he  became  permanently  a 
resident  of  this  town.  His  house-lot  was  of  the 
ordinary  size,  bounded  S.,  E.,  and  W.  by  the  high- 
ways, and  N.  by  Luke  Watson.  Afterwards  it  came 
into  the  jjossession  of  Matthias  Hatfield,  Esq.,  the 
grandson  of  the  planter  of  that  name.  He  obtained, 
March  14,  1675,  a  warrant  for  the  survey  of  1200 
acres  for  "  himself  and  his  Wife  and  eight  other 
Persons"  of  his  family.  He  was  appointed  coroner 
March  28,  1683,  and  judge  of  small  causes.  He 
was  a  leading  man  in  the  community,  and  ever 
among  the  foremost  in  resisting  the  proprietary  as- 
sumptions.    He  died  in  1702.' 

John  Ogden,  the  other  patentee,  who  became  a  per- 
manent resident,  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
founders  of  the  town.  He  was  at  Stamford,  Conn., 
in  1641,  within  a  year  after  its  settlement.  He  had 
previously  married  Jane,  who,  as  tradition  reports, 
was  a  sister  of  Robert  Bond.  In  May,  1642,  he  and  his 
brother  Richard,  both  of  them,  at  the  time,  of  Stam- 
ford, entered  into  a  contract  with  Governor  William 
Kieft,  Gisbert  op  Dyck,  and  Thoma.s  Willett,  of  New 
Amsterdam,  church-wardens,  to  build  a  stone  church 
in  the  fort,  72  by  50  feet,  for  the  sum  of  2500  guilders 
($1000),  to  be  paid  in  beaver,  cash,  or  merchandise, 


1  Munsell's  Albany,  vii.  98, 101,  257,  259,  263.  Alb.  Records,  xxii.  78- 
94.  N.  Y.  Col.  DocnilB.,  iii.  117,  119,  14:i,  148.  E.  J.  Records,  i.  76;  ii. 
18 ;  B.  239  ;  0.  13,  19 ;  L.  3  ;  0.  88.     E.  T.  Book,  B.  163.     E.  T.  Bill,  p. 


one  hundred  guilders  to  be  added  if  the  work  proved 
satisfactory,  and  the  use  of  the  company's  boat  to  be 
given  the  builders  for  carrying  stone  a  month  or  six 
weeks  if  necessary.  The  work  was  duly  and  satisfac- 
torily completed.'^ 

It  was  probably  in  this  way  that  the  two  brothers 
became  acquainted  with  the  west  end  of  Long  Island. 
Early  in  1644,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  Robert  Ford- 
ham,  Rev.  Richard  Denton,  and  a  few  others,  they  re- 
moved from  Stamford  and  settled  at  Hempstead,  L.  I., 
of  which  John  Ogden  was  one  of  the  patentees.  At 
the  expiration  of  five  or  six  years,  not  liking  the  con- 
trol of  the  Dutch,  with  whom  he  had  considerable 
dealings  at  New  Amsterdam,  and  disgusted  with  the 
cruelties  practiced  upon  the  natives,  of  whom  scores, 
soon  after  his  settlement  at  Hempstead,  had  there,  by 
order  of  the  government,  been  put  to  death,  he  re- 
moved to  the  east  end  of  the  island  to  dwell  among 
his  own  countrymen.  In  1647  he  had  obtained  per- 
mission of  the  town  of  Southampton  to  plant  a  col- 
ony of  six  families  at  "  North  Sea,"  a  tract  of  land 
bordering  on  the  Great  Peconic  Bay,  opposite  Rob- 
bin  Island,  about  three  miles  north  of  the  village  of 
Southampton.  Some  two  or  three  years  elapsed  be- 
fore his  removal  and  the  planting  of  the  settlement 
at  the  North  Sea,  called,  in  the  colonial  records  of 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven,  as  well  as  in  Nicolls' 
grant,  "  Northampton." 

He  was  made  a  freeman  of  Southampton  March 
31,  1650,  and  was  chosen  by  the  General  Court  at 
Hartford,  Conn.,  May  16,  1656,  and  again  in  1657 
and  1658,  one  of  the  magistrates  for  the  colony.  He 
sat  in  the  General  Court  as  a  representative  from 
Southampton  in  May,  1659,  and  in  the  Upper  House 
May,  1661,  and  afterwards.  His  name  appears  re- 
peatedly in  the  new  charter  of  Connecticut  (obtained 
April  23,  1662,  by  Governor  Winthrop  from  Charles 
II.)  as  one  of  the  magistrates  and  patentees  of  the 
colony,  also  quite  frequently  in  the  records  both  of 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven.  He  was  held  in  high 
honor  at  home,  being  one  of  their  first  men. 

During  his  residence  at  Northampton,  Ogden,  by 
frequent  visits  as  a  trader  to  New  Amsterdam,  had 
kept  up  his  acquaintance  with  his  old  friends  and 
neighbors  on  the  west  end  of  the  island.  When, 
therefore,  after  the  conquest,  it  was  proposed  to  him 
to  commence  a  fourth  settlement  in  the  new  and  in- 
viting region  of  Achter  Kull  under  English  rule,  he 
readily  entered  into  the  measure,  and,  in  company 
with  his  old  friend,  Capt.  Baker,  purchased  the  inter- 
ests of  the  Dentons  and  Goodman  Benedict,  and  thus 
became,  being  a  man  of  substance  and  distinction, 
the  leading  man  of  the  new  colony.  He  was  among 
the  very  first,  with  his  five  full-grown  boj's,  John, 
Jonathan,  David,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin,  to  remove 
to  the  new  purchase  and  erect  a  dwelling  on  the 

2  Hinman's  First  Puritan  Settlers  of  Conn.,  i.  232.  All>.  Col.  Records, 
ii.l8, 169;  iv.  2411.  O'Callaghau's  New  Netherland,  i.  162.  Thompson's 
L.  Isld.,  ii.  4,  5.    Tlie  name  appears  at  times  as  "  Odgden,"  "  Ochden." 


24 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


town-plot.  He  located  his  house,  it  is  thought,  on 
the  Point  road,  now  Elizabeth  Avenue,  near  where 
Robert  Ogden,  his  great-grandson,  and  Col.  Barber 
afterwards  lived.  The  bounds  of  his  home-lot  are 
not  recorded. 

He  was  appointed,  Oct.  26,  1665,  a  justice  of  the 
peace,  and,  Nov.  1st,  one  of  the  Governor's  Council. 
In  the  Legislature  of  1668  he  was  one  of  the  bur- 
gesses from  this  town.  To  carry  forward  his  im- 
provements, or  to  meet  previous  obligations,  he  bor- 
rowed, Oct.  9,  1668,  of  Cornelius  Steenwick  (the 
mayor  of  the  City  of  New  York,  a  wealthy  mer- 
chant) £191  5s.  Orf.,  "one  fourth  part  thereof  to  be 
paid  in  good  Wheat  at  4/6  p'  Bushell  one  fourth  part 
in  good  drie  Ox  hides  at  6  stivers  p'  pound  dutch 
weight  One  fourth  part  in  good  merchantable  To- 
bacco at  4  stivers  p'  pound  like  weight  and  one  fourth 
part  in  Good  Corn  fed  fat  Pork  well  packt  in  casks 
and  delivered  at  New  Yorke  at  Three  Pounds  ten 
Shillings  p'  Barrell."  As  security  he  mortgaged, 
April  29,  1669,  "  a  Certain  Water  Mill  now  in  my 
Tenure  or  Occupation,"  as  the  mortgage  expresses  it, 
"  near  unto  the  Mansion  or  Dwelling  House  of  Gov. 
Carterett  in  Elizabeth  Towne." 

This  mill  was  located  immediately  west  of  the 
Broad  Street  stone  bridge,  and,  with  the  dam  across 
the  creek  just  above,  was,  doubtless,  constructed  by 
Mr.  Ogden,  whence  the  creek  was  frequently  called 
"  Mill  Creek,"  or  "  Mill  River."  The  Governor's 
house  was  located  east  of  the  bridge  and  north  of 
the  creek,  on  the  ground  latterly  occupied  by  the 
Thomas  house. 

Three  of  his  sons,  John,  Jonathan,  and  David, 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  February,  1666,  and  were 
numbered  among  the  original  Associates.  The  house- 
lot  of  John,  Jr.,  contained  four  acres,  and  was  twelve 
by  four  chains  in  length  and  breadth,  bounded  S. 
E.  by  John  Woodruff  and  Leonard  Headley,  N.  E. 
by  a  highway,  N.  W.  by  Mrs.  Hopkins,  Sr.,  and  S. 
W.  by  the  creek,  a  highway  between  him  and  Mrs. 
Hopkins.  He  had  also  twelve  acres  of  "  upland 
Lying  upon  the  way  that  goes  to  the  Governor's 
point,"  also  sixty  acres  of  "  upland  Lying  in  the 
plaines"  between  Henry  Norris  and  Leonard  Head- 
ley,  also  nine  acres  of  "  meadow  Lying  at  the  east 
end  of  y'  great  Island."  Jonathan  had  a  house-lot 
of  six  acres  fifteen  by  four  chains,  bounded  S.  E. 
by  his  younger  brother  Joseph,  and  on  the  other 
sides  by  highways.  He  had  twenty-two  acres  of 
upland  in  a  triangle,  bounded  by  the  Governor  and 
Benjamin  Parkis;  also  eighty-four  acres  of  upland 
"  Lying  in  a  plaine,"  bounded  by  Benjamin  Parkis, 
Leonard  Headley,  Isaac  Whitehead,  Jr.,  and  the  Mill 
Brook,  also  fourteen  acres  of  meadow  in  two  plots 
on  the  creek  and  on  the  great  island.  David's  house- 
lot  contained  five  acres,  and  was  bounded  east  by  the 
Mill  Creek,  north  by  Jeffry  Jones,  and  west  and 
south  by  highways.  He  had,  in  addition,  sixty  acres 
of  upland,  bounded  by  Joseph  Frazee,  William  Letts, 


Samuel  Marsh,  Jr.,  and  Capt.  Baker,  also  eight  acres 
of  meadow  on  Thompson's  Creek.' 

The  Eighty  Associates.— Such,  as  just  narrated, 
were  the  original  petitioners  and  patentees.  Who 
were  the  other  founders  of  the  town  ?  What  was  their 
origin,  what  were  their  principles,  and  where  did  they 
locate  ?  In  answering  these  inquiries,  those  who  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance,  including  all  who  were  on  the 
ground  during  the  first  year  of  the  settlement,  will  be 
considered  in  alphabetical  order. 

Joakim  Andris  (Yokam  Andross,  Andrews)  was 
probably  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  a  son  of  Wil- 
liam Andrews,  who  came  to  New  Haven  previous  to 
1643  with  a  family  of  eight  persons.  His  house-lot 
contained  4  acres,  and  was  bounded  N.  and  E.  by  a 
highway,  S.  by  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  W.  by  Dennis 
White.  He  had  died  in  1675,  and  his  widow,  Amy, 
.sold,  June  22,  1675,  to  Thomas  Moore  "  the  house 
Orchard  Garden  Home  Lott  Pasture  for  Calves,"  and 
all  that  might  be  claimed  by  the  concessions,  a  first 
lot-right,  except  20  acres  sold  by  her  husband  to 
Peter  Moss,  "  and  one  peare  tree  and  some  Gousberry 
bushes,"  reserved  for  her  use.^ 

Francis  Barber  has  left  no  memorial  of  his  origin. 
He  sold,  March  10,  1672,  to  Vincent  Ronyon,  carpen- 
ter, a  house-lot  (bought  of  William  Pyles,  who  had 
bought  it  of  Thomas  Moore),  40  rods  by  16,  bounded 
N.  by  George  Pack,  and  fronting  on  the  highway. 
He  was  still  here  in  the  following  year,  but  must  have 
removed  soon  after  to  Staten  Island,  where,  on  the 
W.  side  of  the  island,  on  Smoking  Point,  Dec.  21, 
1680,  88  acres  of  woodland  and  meadow  were  sur- 
veyed for  him,  and  where,  in  1686,  he  served  as  com- 
missioner of  excise.  The  Barber  family  of  a  later 
date  had  another  origin  and  a  more  illustrious 
record.' 

Robert  Blackwell  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  of 
this  town,  though  his  name  is  not  found  in  any  town 
document  now  extant.  In  a  deed,  on  record  in  New 
York,  Robert  Blackwell  is  spoken  of  as  "  late  of  Eliz- 
abeth-town in  New  Jersey,  merchant."  He  married, 
April  26,  1676,  Mary  Manningham,  step-daughter  of 
Capt.  John  Manning  (by  whom  the  city  was  surren- 
dered, in  1673,  to  the  Dutch),  and  so  became  the 
owner  of  Manning's  Island,  since  known  by  his  own 
name.* 

Robert  Bond  was  the  father  of  Joseph,  and  a  resi- 
dent of  Southampton,  L.  I.,  as  early  as  1643.  He  was 
appointed,   October,   1644,  by  the  General  Court  of 

1  Alh.  Records,  ii.  169;  iv.  240.  Hoadly's  New  Hiivon  Records,  i. 
178;  ii.  89,  191,  193,  29:),  393.  Tnimbulfs  Conn.  Records,  i.  280,  281, 
282,  295,  297,  314,  316  ;  ii.  3-11.  Doc.  Hist,  of  N.  Y.,  i.  684.  E.  T.  Bill, 
pp.  30,  106, 108,  110.  E.  J.  Records,  i.  8,  0.  e.,  2  ;  ii.  19,  22,  o.  e.,  21,  24, 
26,36,42,91,92,97;  iii.3,4;  L.  18,21.  Hinman,  i.  289,  7  29.  Howell's 
Soutliampton,  pp.  26,  90. 

3  Barler's  Hist.  Coll.  of  Conn.,  p.  lliO.  E.  J.  Records,  i.  46,  47.  E.  T. 
Bill,  p.  108. 

3  E.  J.  Records,  i.  24.  N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  iii.  409,  494.  Albany  Land 
Papers,  i.  190. 

<  N.  York  Deeds,  i.  130.  Alb.  Records,  xxxiii.  309.  N.  York  Mar- 
riages.  p.  31. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTEES   AND   ASSOCIATES   OF   ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


L'5 


Connecticut,  in  company  with  Mr.  More,  "  to  demand 
of  each  family  of  Southampton  the  amount  they 
would  give  for  the  maintenance  of  scholars  at  Cam- 
bridge College."  He  was  one  of  the  company  that 
settled  Ea.st  Hampton  in  1648.  He  came  originally 
from  Lynn,  Mass.,  and  was  doubtless  of  the  same 
stock  with  the  Watertown  family.  He  had  a  princi- 
pal part  in  securing  the  land  of  East  Hampton  from 
the  natives,  and  in  transacting  the  business  of  the 
town.  He  was  one  of  the  first  magistrates  of  the 
place,  and  repeatedly  represented  the  town  in  the 
General  Court  of  the  colony.  John  Ogden  and 
Capt.  John  Scott  having  had  some  differences  with 
the  town  about  Meantaquit  (Montauk)  in  1662,  Rob- 
ert Bond  was  chosen  one  of  the  commissioners  to 
settle  it.  His  intimacy  with  Ogden  (tradition  says 
that  each  married  the  other's  sister)  and  others  of  his 
neighbors,  who  were  about  to  remove  to  these  parts, 
led  him  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  them,  and  lend  his  val- 
uable counsels  to  the  settlement  of  this  town,  where 
his  influence  was  second  only  to  John  Ogden's.  Car- 
teret, at  his  coming,  was  glad  to  avail  himself  of  his 
mature  experience,  and  appointed  him,  Jan.  2,  1668, 
one  of  his  Council,  and  an  assistant  to  the  justices. 
Governor  Winthrop,  of  Connecticut,  highly  com- 
mended him.  He  was  appointed,  March  13,  1676, 
justice  of  the  peace.  His  first  wife  was  Hannah,  a 
sister  of  John  Ogden.  After  her  death  he  married  at 
Newark,  in  1672,  Mary,  the  widow  of  Hugh  Roberts. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  Hugh  Calkins,  an  emigrant 
from  Wales  in  1640,  and  a  resident,  first  of  Glouces- 
ter, Mass.,  and  then  of  New  London,  Conn.  He  thus 
became  interested  in  the  Newark  colony,  and  was 
elected  the  same  year  their  representative.  He  con- 
tinued still  to  reside  in  this  town,  where  he  died 
April,  1677.  His  wife  survived  him  twenty-four 
years.  Stephen  Bond,  of  Newark,  was  one  of  his 
sons.  The  father  received  a  warrant  for  360  acres  of 
land  at  E.  Town,  June  30,  1675,  but  a  caveat  was  en- 
tered against  it,  Jan.  16,  1677,  by  Benjamin  Price, 
Sr.  Joseph,  at  the  same  date,  received  a  warrant 
for  160  acres.' 

John  Brackett,  Sr.,  was  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  first  settlers.  He  assented 
to  the  covenant  there  June  4,  1639,  and  as  late  as 
1643  was  unmarried.  At  the  seating  of  the  congrega- 
tion in  1646  places  were  provided  for  him  and  "Sister 
Brackett,"  showing  that  previous  to  this  time  he  had 
taken  to  himself  a  wife.  He  was  frequently  employed 
in  laying  out  lands  about  the  town,  and  his  name  is 


1  Conn  Col.  Kec.rds,  i.  398,  400,  428.  HoweU's  Snntliampfon.  pp.  28, 
ISl).  N.  Y.  Duct  Ili«.,  i.  (>77,  B80,  fi«4.  HinniauV  P.  S.  of  loiin.,  i.  289, 
211(1,7-9.  N.'wark  Bicenteniirv.  p|i.  Ill,  l:il.  Newiiik  Town  E.-ccpril8. 
pp.  10,  2^,  49,  S3  Mis.s  Calknis'  Norwich,  p.  171.  Stearns'  Newurk,  p. 
7».  3  Mass.  His.  Soc.  Coll,  X.  84.  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  IU4.  E.  .1.  Reoonls,  il. 
3;  ill  2.n,  124,133. 

In  the  inventory  of  bis  estate,  April  18,  1C77,  liis  honse  anil  all  his  land 
were  valued  at  f 70;  two  oxen.  £12  Ins.;  two  cows  and  calves,  f '.I;  one 
"farrow  cow,"  £:<  Lis.;  two  tw...jear  old  lieifei-s,  £0  ;  a  cannon,  £1  5». 
The  whole  anionnled  to  £151  lis.  5.(. 


of  frequent  occurrence  in  the  colonial  records  until 
1660.  When  troops  were  rai.sed  to  resist  the  en- 
croaching Dutch,  he  was  appointed,  June  23,  1654, 
one  of  the  "  surgions."  He  was  probably  induced  to 
accompany  his  neighbors  to  this  colony  in  order  to 
aid  them  in  laying  out  their  lands.  Near  the  close  of 
1677,  several  of  the  planters  having  urged  the  Gov- 
ernor to  define  the  exact  bounds  of  their  several  pos- 
sessions, he  deputed  Brackett,  Dec.  19,  1667,  in  the 
absence  of  Vauquellin,  the  surveyor-general,  "  to  lay 
out,  survey,  and  bound  the  said  bounds  of  Elizabeth 
Towne  the  planting  feilds  towiie  lotts  and  to  lay  out 
every  particulars  man's  proportion  according  to  his 
allotments  and  the  directions"  of  the  Governor,  "for 
the  avoiding  of  all  controversies  and  disputes  hereafter 
concerning  the  same,  having  had  certain  notice  of  the 
good  experience,  knowledge,  skill,  and  faithfulness  of 
John  Brackett  in  the  surveying  and  laying  out  of 
land."  In  the  controversies  of  a  later  day  it  was 
affirmed  by  the  town's  party  that  they  had  "  not 
seen,  known,  or  heard  of  any  one  Survey  made  in  pur- 
suance of  that  commission."  The  surveys  were  prob- 
ably made,  but  were  superseded  by  later  and  more 
accurate  surveys,  and  hence  were  not  pre.served. 
Brackett  sold  out  his  rights  as  early  as  1670  to 
Samuel  Hopkins,  and  returned  to  New  Haven,  both 
he  and  his  son,  who  also  liad  been  admitted  as  an  As- 
sociate. John,  Jr.,  died  at  New  Haven,  Nov.  29, 
1676.  "  Brackett's  Brook,"  a  branch  of  the  E.  Town 
Creek,  in  the  north  part  of  tlie  town,  indicates  proba- 
bly the  locality  of  their  allotment.^ 

Nathaniel  Bunnell  (Bonnel)  was  undoubtedly  also 
from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  of  the  same  family  with 
William  and  Benjamin,  of  that  town.  William  was 
there  previous  to  1650.  Nathaniel  had  a  house-lot 
of  six  acres,  15  by  4  chains,  bounded  E.  by  Thomas 
Price,  W.  and  N.  by  Isaac  Whitehead,  Sr.,  and 
S.  by  a  highway.  He  had  also  an  allotment  of  120 
acres,  "  Lying  upon  the  South  Branch  of  Eliz""  Town 
Creek,  and  y'  plaiiie  which  said  above  mentioned 
Creek  passeth  through  ;"  also  "  12  acres  of  meadow 
Lying  in  the  great  meadows  ujiou  John  Woodruffe's 
Creek."  =■ 

Nicolas  Carter  came  from  Newtown,  L.  I.  His 
name  appears,  April  12,  1656,  among  the  purchasers 
of  that  place  from  the  n;itives.  His  allotment  there 
was  20  acres.  He  came  there  in  1652,  from  Stamford, 
Conn.  He  is  repeatedly  spoken  of  in  the  Newtown 
records,  among  the  leading  men  of  the  town,  until 
1665,  the  date  of  his  removal  to  this  place.  His  son, 
Nicholas,  born  1658,  was  apprenticed,  March  25,  1669, 
to  "Richard  Painter,  Taylor,"  of  Elizabeth  Town. 
The  indenture  says:  "  Unlawfull  Sports  and  Games 
he  shall  not  use.  Taverns  or  Tipling  houses  hee shall 
not  haunt  or  frequent,  his  Masters  Goods  he  shall  not 


2  New  Haven  Ci.l.  Records,  Index  of  v..l. 
E.  T.  Do.,k,  B.,  2M,  27.     Ans.  to  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  2i 

3. Savage's  Gelieal.  Die,  i.  3lM.  E.  J.  Itec 
p.  1U3. 


130.     E.  T.   Bill, 


26 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Imbezle  purloin  or  by  any  unlavvfull  means  diminish 
or  Impair,  his  Masters  Secrets  he  shall  not  disclose." 
His  house-lot  contained  five  acres,  10  by  5  chains, 
bounded  E.  and  S.  by  highways,  N.  by  the  creek, 
and  S.  by  William  Hill.  He  had  also  twenty  acres 
of  upland  on  Luke  Watson's  Point,  adjacent  to  Ed- 
ward Case  and  Jacob  Melyen  ;  also  forty  acres  of  up- 
land "in  a  swamp  lying  at  the  E.  side  of  the  blind 
Ridge,"  bounded  partly  by  Aaron  Thompson  and 
Jacob  Melyen.  This  tract  and  his  house-lot  he  sold, 
March  1(5,  1677,  to  Benjamin  Wade,  for  £30,  payable 
in  pipe-staves.  He  had  also  seventy  acres  of  upland, 
bounded  by  Roger  Lambert,  George  Pack,  and  the 
swamp;  also  193  acres  of  upland  on  the  Mill  Creek, 
bounded  by  Barnabas  Wincs,  the  plain,  a  small  brook, 
and  the  creek ;  also  22  acres  of  meadow  in  the  Great 
Meadow,  and  18  acres  on  Thompson's  Creek.  His 
allotments  contained  368  acres.  He  bought  also, 
March  9,  1677,  of  Jacob  Melyen,  then  of  the  city  of 
New  York,  101  acres  of  land  on  the  South  Neck.  The 
mo.st  of  his  lauds  he  sold.  May  18,  1681,  to  Samuel 
Wilson,  and  shortly  after  died.' 

Caleb  Carwithy  (Carwithe,  Corwith)  was  the  son 
of  David,  a  resident  of  Southold,  L.  I.,  where  he 
died,  November,  1665.  Caleb  was  a  mariner,  and 
quite  a  rover.  At  Hartford,  Conn.,  he  was  arraigned, 
October,  1646,  for  pursuing  an  absconding  debtor  on 
the  Sabbath-day.  Previous  to  1654  he  made  trading 
voyages  between  New  Haven  and  Boston.  In  1661 
he  resided  at  Southampton,  L.  I.  He  was  admitted 
in  1664  a  freeman  at  Huntington,  L.  I.  The  follow- 
ing year  he  came  to  this  place.  In  the  winter  of 
1669  he  entered  into  an  association  with  John  Og- 
den,  Sr.,  Jacob  Melyen,  William  Johnson,  Jeffry 
Jones,  and  others  of  this  town  for  whaling  purposes. 
His  house-lot  adjoined  Charles  Tucker  on  the  west, 
and  George  Ross  on  the  N.  west.  He  sold  thirty 
acres  of  land,  Feb.  8,  1671,  for  £11,  to  William  Piles. 
A  year  or  two  after  he  removed  to  Southampton,  L.  I., 
where  he  was  living  in  1683,  and  where  his  descend- 
ants have  been  quite  numerous  and  respectable.'^ 

William  Cramer  was  a  carpenter  from  Southold, 
L.  I.,  where  he  married  Elizabeth,  the  sister  of  Caleb 
Carwithy.  He  attached  himself  to  the  Governor's 
party,  and  seems  not  to  have  been  numbered  with  the 
Town  Associates.  He  was  appointed,  April  27,  1670, 
c(mstable  of  the  town,  in  place  of  William  Pilles. 
His  lumse-lot  contained  6  acres,  of  irregular  form, 
bounded  on  the  N.  W.  by  Evan  Salisbury,  and  on 
every  other  side  by  highways.  He  had  also  5  acres 
of  upland  adjoining  John  Little;  also  10  acres  of 
upland  lying  in  the  swamp,  bounded  by  Barnabas 
Wines,  Richard  Beach,  and  John  Little;  also  20 
acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Stephen  Crane,  Roger 

1  E.  J.  Rocurds,  i.  7,  73,  101;  ii.  92,  93;  iii  23:  iv.  34.  E.  T.  BiU, 
p.  1U4.     R.kei's  KewtuWli,  pp.  43,  46,  50,  02,  418. 

2  Ct.  Cul.  lti-coril«,  i.  143,  428;  ii.  120.  E.  J.  Records,  i.  66;  ii.  22, 
34;  iii.  22.  lluwell,  pp.  48,  217.  Bacon's  N.  Uaven,  p.  366.  N.  Y.  Uoc. 
lliBtorj-,  ii.  538. 


Lambert,  and  the  great  swamp ;  also  60  acres  adjoin- 
ing the  last  plot  and  Crane's  Brook,  bounded  also,  as 
before,  by  Crane  and  Lambert ;  also  80  acres  "  at  the 
two  mile  brook,"  bound  by  unsurveyed  land  and  the 
brook  ;  also  8  acres  of  upland  "  in  the  neck,"  bounded 
by  Caleb  Carwithy,  Luke  Watson,  and  the  creek 
meadow ;  also  6  acres  of  meadow  on  the  creek,  and 
14  acres  of  meadow  "at  Rahawack," — in  all  209 
acres.  He  sold  out,  Sept.  1,  1677,  to  John  Toe, 
weaver,  and  soon  after  removed  with  Luke  Watson 
to  the  Hoar-Kill  (Lewes),  Del.     He  died  in  1695.' 

Stephen  Crane  was  from  Connecticut,  and  was, 
probably,  nearly  related  to  Jasper  Crane,  of  Newark, 
who  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  in  1639,  was  at  Branford  in  1652,  and  at  New- 
ark in  1667.  The  family  is  quite  ancient  and  honor- 
able. Ralph  Crane  accompanied  Sir  Francis  Drake  to 
America  in  1577,  and  Robert  Crane  was  of  the  first 
company  that  came  to  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1630.  Sir 
Robert  Crane  was  of  Essex  County,  England,  in  1630; 
and  Sir  Richard,  in  1643,  of  Wood  Rising,  Norfolk, 
England.  Henry  and  Benjamin  Crane  were  of  Weth- 
ersfield,  Conn.,  at  an  early  day,  and  the  former  re- 
moved thence  to  Guilford.  Stephen  was  born  not  later 
than  1640,  and  was  married  as  early  as  1663.  His 
house-lot  contained  6  acres,  and  was  bounded  S.  E.  by 
Samuel  Trotter,  N.  W.  by  Crane's  Brook,  E.  by  the 
Mill  Creek,  and  W.  by  the  highway.  He  had  also 
60  acres  between  two  swamps,  and  adjoining  William 
Cramer  ;  also  72  acres  on  Crane's  Brook,  bounded  by 
the  brook,  William  Cramer,  Richard  Beach,  Nathaniel 
Tuttle,  and  William  Pardon;  also  18  acres  of  meadow 
"  towards  Rawack  Point," — in  all  156  acres.  He  died 
about  1700.* 

John  Dickinson  was  from  Southold,  L.  I.,  and  a 
son  or  brother  of  Philemon,  who  came  over  in  the 
"Mary  Ann,"  1637,  to  Salem,  Mass.,  was  admitted  to 
the  church  in  1641,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Payne,  of  Salem,  removed  to  Southold  about  1649, 
was  captain  of  a  sloop  in  those  parts,  and  resided  at 
Oyster  Bay  in  1653.  John  was  one  of  the  witnesses, 
Aug.  18,  1665,  to  the  payment  to  the  Indians  of  a 
part  of  the  purchase  money  for  the  town  lands,  and 
took  the  oath  of  allegiance  in  February  following. 
He  died  soon  after,  and  his  rights  were  transferred  to 
John  Ogden.' 

Joseph  Ffrazey  ( Frazee)  came  with  the  first  settlers, 
but  whence  does  not  appear.  His  house-lot  contained 
6  acres,  of  the  usual  form,  15  by  4  chains,  and  was 
bounded  S.  W.  by  David  Ogden,  N.  E.  by  William 
Letts,  S.  E.  by  a  highway,  and  N.  W.  by  a  swamp. 
He  received.  May  9,  1676,  a  warrant  for  120  acres. 
Feb.  1,  1685,  he  received  a  warrant  for  50  acres  ad- 
joining his  own  land,  "  betwixt  Raway  River  and  the 


SE.  J.  Records,  i.  109,  160;     ii.  19,33;   iii.  35. 
E.  T.  Bill,  p.  106. 
'  E.  J.  Records,  ii.  20,  35.    E.  T.  Bill,  p.  104.     Uiiiii 
'  Savage,  ii.  49.    Thompson's  L.  I.,  i.  486.    4  Mii 


T.   liook,  B.  56. 


ORIGINAL   PATENTEES   AND  ASSOCIATES   OF   ELIZABETH   TOWN. 


27 


branch,  in  Compensation  for  two  highways  made 
through  his  Land,  one  leading  to  Vincent's  and  the 
other  to  Woodbridge."  His  son  Joseph  had  also  135 
acres  on  "  Kaway"  River,  adjoining  Dr.  Robinson's 
land,  and  15  acres  of  meadow  between  Railway  River 
and  "  Emet's  Creek."  The  house-lot  he  sold  to  Wil- 
liam Looker,  then  of  Woodbridge.  Frazee  bought, 
Sept.  21,  1G78,  of  Luke  Watson,  182  acres;  and  July 
4,  1682,  William  Broadwell's  town  lands.  His  pos- 
sessions were  mostly  along  the  Rahway  River,  and 
the  family  settled  eventually  in  Westfield  and  New 
Providence.  A  tract  of  land  on  the  Passaic  River 
has,  in  consequence  of  their  locating  upon  it,  been 
called  "  Frazey's  Meadows."  Mr.  Frazey  sold,  Sept. 
7,  1698,  39  acres  E.  of  the  Rahway  to  Samuel  Pack. 
He  died  in  January,  1714.' 

John  Gray  was,  as  elsewhere  said,  the  step-father 
of  Luke  Watson,  having  married,  as  early  as  1644, 
Elizabeth,  Watson's  mother,  and  daughter  of  William 
Frost,  of  Uncowah  (Fairfield),  Conn.  He  was  one  of 
the  patentees  of  Newtown,  L.  I.,  being,  with  three 
exceptions,  the  largest  contributor  among  many  to 
the  expense  of  the  purchase.  He  incurred,  in  1653, 
the  wrath  of  the  Dutch  government  (for  what  does 
not  appear),  and  sentence  of  banishment  was  pro- 
nounced against  him  March  24th.  Again,  Aug.  10, 
1654,  he  was  on  trial,  "accused  of  divers  crimes,"  of 
which  "  abusing  the  magistrates"  of  the  town  alone 
is  specified.  He  confessed,  was  indicted,  and  sen- 
tenced. Jan.  26,  1656,  he  is  spoken  of  as  "  a  fugitive 
from  justice."  Yet  in  1658  he  was  still  residing  at 
Newtown.  His  oftense  was  probably  political.  He 
must  have  been  well  advanced  in  life  when  he  accom- 
panied Watson  to  this  town,  and  having  lost  his  first 

wife  had  married   Hannah  ,  to  whom  by  deed, 

Sept.  10,  1675,  he  gave  his  estate.  In  April,  1673, 
when  he  sold  his  meadow  land  to  William  Pilles,  he 
had  removed  to  New  Piscataway.  He  probably  died 
soon  after  the  gift  to  his  wife.  No  record  is  found  of 
his  allotments.- 

Daniel  Harris  was  from  Northampton,  L.  I.,  and  a 
.«ion  of  George,  who  was  one  of  the  neighbors  of  John 
Ogden.  He  came  on  with  the  first  emigration  (prob- 
ably unmarried),  induced,  it  may  be,  by  his  early 
companions,  Ogden's  boys.  He  has  left  no  memorial. 
Henry  Harris,  who  was  one  of  Mr.  Harriman's  parish- 
ioners in  1696,  may  have  been  his  son,  and  George 
Harris,  in  1725,  a  grandson.^ 

Leonard  Headley  has  left  no  memorial  of  his 
origin.  He  had  surveyed,  Oct.  14,  1678,  "  in  right  of 
himself  and  his  wife,"  150  acres.  His  house-lot  con- 
tained 4  acres,  10  by  4  chains,  bounded  northwest  by 
John  Ogden,  Jr.,  and  on  the  other  sides  by  highways. 
He  had  8  acres  of  upland  "  at  Brackett's  Spring,"  and 


,  i:i" ; 


.19;  r,.  137.     E.  T.  Bill.  p. 


I  E.  J.  Kecorda,  i.  87, 115 

7.     Wills,  No.  1. 

!  E.  J.  Reuorda,  i.  61.     Riker,  p.  43.     New  Haven  Cul.  Records,  i. 

leiidav  of  Dutch  MSS.,  pp.  46,  131,  139,  1.59,  166,  I9S. 

'  Howell's  Soutliamptoii, pp.  234-35.     Hiiniman's  Ledger,  p.  HH. 


along  the  brook,  adjoining  Hur  Thompson  and  a 
swamp;  also  6  acres  of  upland,  "lying  in  the  way 
going  to  the  point,"  bounded  in  part  by  John  Ogden, 
Jr.,  and  John  Woodruff';  also  20  acres  on  the  Creek, 
bounded  by  Daniel  Dehart  and  Robert  Vauquellin  ; 
also  33  acres,  "  in  the  plaine,"  bounded  by  George 
Morris  and  John  Ogden,  Jr. ;  also  65  acres  of  upland 
"at  the  North  end  of  the  plaine,"  "by  the  Mill 
brooke,"  and  bounded  by  Margaret  Baker,  Jonathan 
Ogden,  and  Benjamin  Parkis;  also  14  acres  in  the 
Great  Meadow.  He  died  February,  1683,  and  Sarah 
Smith  administered  on  his  estate,  which  was  valued 
at  £99  3s.  tid.* 

Matthias  Heathfield  (Hetfield,  Hatfield)  was  a 
weaver,  and  came  hither  from  New  Haven,  Conn., 
where  he  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  May  1,  1660.  In 
the  Record  of  Surveys,  Aug.  29,  1676,  he  is  called 
"  Hatfeild,"  and  in  his  will,  "  Hattfield."  He  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  a  son  of  Thomas  Hatfield,  of 
Leyden,  a  member  of  John  Robinson's  church,  and 
a  native  of  Yorkshire,  England.  Mr.  Thomas  Hat- 
field, who  settled  about  the  same  time  at  Mamaroneck, 
N.  Y.,  was  probably  his  brother.  His  house-lot  con- 
tained 5  acres,  10  by  5  chains,  bounded  east  by  the 
highway  and  Thomas  Moore,  north  and  south  by 
unsurveyed  land,  and  west  by  Dennis  White.  He 
had  also  22  acres  of  upland  "  in  a  triangle"  bounded 
by  William  Letts,  John  Winans,  Samuel  Marsh,  and 
a  swamp;  also  12  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Na- 
thaniel Bonnel,  Robert  Vauquellin,  and  a  way  that 
parted  him  from  Governor  Carteret;  also  112  acres 
of  upland  on  "  the  two  mile  brook ;"  also  40  acres  of 
upland  "  towards  the  west  branch  of  Elizabeth  Town 
River,"  bounded  by  John  Winans  and  an  Indian  path  ; 
also  14  acres  of  meadow  "atRawack,"  and  3  acres  of 
meadow  on  the  north  side  of  East  Town  Creek, — in  all 
208  acres.  He  was  a  boatman,  as  well  as  a  Weaver, 
and  seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  considerable  means. 
"For  twelve  hundred  gilders  secured  to  him  by  bill" 
(a  large  sum  in  those  days)  he  purchased,  Dec.  5, 
1673,  of  "Abraham  Lubberson,  of  New  Orania,  in 
the  New  Netherlands,  his  dwelling-house  and  home- 
lott,  with  all  other  accommodations  belonging  to  s'' 
first  Lott,  within  the  bounds  of  Elizabeth,  both  upland 
and  meadow." 

It  thus  appears  that  Mr.  Lubberson  was  among  the 
early  settlers  of  the  town.  He  had  been  a  citizen  of 
New  Amsterdam  before  the  conquest,  and  resided  in 
1665  in  De  Hoogh  Straat  (High  Street),  now  Pearl, 
east  of  Broad  Street,  having  previously  lived  for 
several  years  on  the  west  side  of  the  Prince  Graft 
(Broad  Street).  This  latter  residence  he  sold  Sept. 
5,  1671,  and  is  spoken  of  in  the  deed  as  "  Abram 
Lubberse  of  Elizabeth  towne  in  New  Jearsie."  He 
was  one  of  the  skippers  of  the  port,  having  command 
of  a  Hudson  River  sloop.  He  came  here  in  1666  or 
1667,  and  built  the  stone  house  on  the  lower  part  of 

••  E.  J.  Records,  ii.  3, 98  j  A.  181. 


28 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Pearl  Street,  at  its  junction  with  Hatfield  Street,  now 
in  tlie  possession  of  Abel  S.  Hatfield.  It  is,  un- 
doubtedly, the  oldest  house  in  town,  is  in  good  repair, 
and  has  never  been  alienated  from  the  family  since 
its  purchase  in  1(>73.  Mr.  Lubberson  had  three 
children  born  here, — Abraham,  Josias,  and  Andries. 
On  the  reconquest  of  New  York  by  the  Dutch,  in 
1673,  he  returned  to  his  old  home  in  New  Orange,  as 
the  city  was  then  called. 

Mr.  Hatfield  was  the  original  owner  of  the  land  on 
which  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  stands,  and  is 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  having  given  it  to  the  town 
for  a  church  and  burial-place.  When  the  church 
property  was  surveyed  in  1766,  the  trustees  affirmed 
"  that  the  first  Purchasers  and  Associates  did  give  the 
af  Tract  of  land  for  the  use  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  the  Record  of  wliich  on  or  about  the  year 
1719  was  either  lost  or  destroyed."  This  statement 
was  admitted  by  the  Town  Committee,  and  they  al- 
lowed, Aug.  27,  1766,  the  above  "  Lot  of  Land  to  the 
s''  Trustees  their  Heirs  and  Successors  on  the  right 
of  Matthias  Hatfield,  one  of  the  s''  Associates."  A 
grandson  of  Mr.  Hatfield  had  then  been  a  trustee  of 
the  church  for  twelve  years,  and  was  the  first  president 
of  the  board.  He  must  have  known  the  exact  state 
of  the  case.  Mr.  Hatfield  died  in  December,  1687, 
his  wife,  Maria  (of  Dutch  nativity),  and  three  sons, 
Isaac,  Abraham,  and  Cornelius,  surviving  him.  It  is 
not  known,  though  it  is  quite  probable,  that  he  left 
daughters  also.' 

Jolui  Hinds  (Heynes,  Haynes,  Haines)  and  his 
brother  James  were  "  East  Enders"  from  Long 
Island.  Tliey  were  sons  of  James  Hinds,  wlio  came 
over  from  England  to  Salem,  Mass.,  as  early  as  1637, 
when  he  was  admitted  a  freeman.  He  married  in 
1638,  and  at  an  early  day  removed  to  Southold, 
L.  I.,  where  he  died  March,  1653,  his  estate  being 
valued  at  £123  5s.  4f/.  He  had  eight  children,— John, 
James,  Benjamin,  Mary,  James  (2d),  Jonathan,  Sarah, 
and  Thomas.  His  widow  was  married  in  June, 
1656,  to  Ralph  Dayton,  of  Southold.  John  was  the 
oldest  son,  and  was  baptized  Aug.  28,  1639.  James 
was  baptized  Feb.  27,  1648.  Benjamin  Haines,  who 
was  at  Southampton  in  1639,  and  a  resident  of  North 
Sea  (Northampton)  in  1657,  was  probably  a  brother 
of  James,  Sr.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  Stephen, 
who  removed  to  this  town  as  early  as  1725,  and  was 
the  ancestor  of  Governor  Daniel  Haines. 

John  Hinds,  the  son  of  James,  Sr.,  of  Southold, 
was  bred  a  c<ioper.  No  record  remains  of  his  allot- 
ments of  land.  He  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of 
G(.odman  Thompson,  and  their  daughter  had  been 
married  as  early  as  1700  to  Isaac  Whitehead,  Jr. 
He  was  a  constable  of  the  town  in  1710  and  1711.  A 
curious  record  of  him  occurs  in  the  ledger  of  Rev. 

1  New  Hkv™  CoI.  Itecorcis,!.  141.  E.J.  Recuiilb,  ii.  2(,loe-7;  20.  o.e.; 
B.  »]li.  Vuk-uline's  N.  Y.  MauUiil  for  1S5U,  (..  J6i;  IVil,  |i  44(1;  ls.j;, 
pp.  4".'i.  47S,  4!!U;  IStia,  p.  TJ2;  18U6,  pp.  (jlil,  tJ7:i,  7Uli,  71U.  E.  T.  lii.uk, 
B.  47,  170. 


John  Harriman  :  "  1695,  ffeb.  28,  pr  acco' of  teaching 
my  son  Samuel  the  mistery  of  a  cooper,  tho""  not 
pformed  according  to  bargain — £4.  00.  00." 

James  was  also  a  cooper,  and  came  here  about  ten 
years  later  than  his  brother  John.  He  received, 
July  11,  1677,  a  warrant,  "in  Right  of  himself  &  his 
wile,"  for  120  acres  of  land,  on  account  of  which  he 
had  a  survey  of  108  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by 
Richard  Clark,  James  Emot,  and  the  Westbrook ; 
also  12  acres  of  "  meadow  in  the  great  Meadows." 
He  purchased  Sept.  4,  1676,  of  William  Looker,  then 
of  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  his  house,  garden,  orchard,  and 
house-lot,  probably  in  the  way  of  trade,  as  he  con- 
tinued still  to  reside  in  this  town,  and  was  living  in 
1703.^ 

Benjamin  Homan  (Oman)  was  from  the  east  end 
of  Long  Island.  John  Homan  was  at  Setauket 
(Brookhaven)  a  few  years  later,  and  was,  it  may  be, 
either  his  father  or  his  son.  He  was  one  of  the  As- 
sociates of  the  town,  and  had  the  usual  allotments 
of  laud,  but  no  mention  is  made  of  them  in  the 
records.  He  lived  a  bachelor  until  his  death,  April 
1,  1684.  He  gave,  by  will,  six  acres  to  Benjamin 
Meeker,  and  the  remainder  of  his  estate,  valued  at 
£63  5s.  6t/.,  to  Martha  I'arkis  (Parkhurst),  of  E.  Town, 
widow.     She  may  have  been  his  sister.^ 

William  Johnson  was  at  New  Haven,  Conn.,  as  early 
as  the  year  1648.  Thomas  and  John,  who  came  to 
Newark  in  16^6-67,  the  one  from  Milford,  and  the 
other  from  Branford,  the  .sons  of  Robert,  an  emigrant 
to  New  Haven  from  Hull,  England,  were  probably 
his  cousins.  They  had  a  brother  Willi. mi,  but  he 
continued  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  was  a  deacon  of  the 
church,  and  grandfather  of  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  John- 
son, of  New  York.  William  Johnson,  of  this  town, 
had  a  house-lot  of  four  acres,  10  by  4  chains,  bounded 
west  by  Humphry  Spinage,  south  by  Jacob  Melyen, 
and  north  and  east  by  highways;  also  12  acres  of 
upland  on  "the  little  Neck,"  bounded  by  George 
Ross,  Humphry  Spinage,  and  his  own  meadow;  also 
60  acres  of  upland  on  "  Rawack"  River,  bounded  by 
Symon  Rous,  the  .>>wamp,  the  river,  and  his  meadosv, 
— "  a  highway  to  pass  through  the  said  Land;"  also 
60  acres  of  upland  on  "  Rawack  plaine,"  bounded  by 
Luke  Watson,  Symon  Rous,  a  swamp,  and  uusur- 
veyed  land ;  also  100  acres  of  upland  on  "  the  W. 
branch  of  Rawack  River;"  also  6  acres  of  meadow 
on  Rawack  River;  also  6  acres  of  meadow  on  E.  T. 
Creek,  joining  his  12  acre  lot;  also  13  acres  of  meadow 
on  the  Rawack  River, — in  all  262  acres.  He  mort- 
gaged, Nov.  11,  1678,  his  whole  estate  in  the  town  to 
Roger  Lambert  to  secure  the  payment  of  £100,  and 
subsequently  Lambert  became  the  owner.* 


2  New  Haven  C.l.  Reuonls,  ii  ISf-SO.  Siiviige's  Geii.  Die,  ii.  3*8-Sa. 
Huufll,  pp  :ll,  -.iilli.  E.  J.  Ui'ortls,  ii.  lia;  0.  H'J.  Miicduiialil  8  jHuiaiut, 
p.  61.     E.  T.  Bill.  p.  lli.i. 

»  Thonip»irii's  1,.  I ,  ii.  :!!)9.     E.  J.  Rcconls,  B.    E.  T.  Bill,  p   llM. 

<  E.  J.  liecuiiU,  i.  1U«,  la7 ;  ii.  20,  130.  Ct.  Col.  KecoidB,  i.  94.  E.  T. 
Bill,  p.  1115. 


OKIUINAL   PATKNTKES   AND   ASSOCIATES    OF    ELlZABKTtI   TOWN. 


JeflVy  Jones  was  from  Southold,  L.  [.,  wliere  he 
was  made  a  freeman  May,  1664.  He  and  Edward 
Jones,  who  was  at  Sonthampton  as  early  as  1644,  it 
is  thought,  were  sons  of  the  Rev.  John  Jones,  wlio 
came  with  tlie  Rev.  Mr.  Shepard,  of  Camhridge,  and 
tlie  Rev.  John  Wil.son,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  from  Eng- 
land, arriving  Ot-t.  2,  1635;  was  a  colleague  of'Rev. 
Peter  Bulkley,  of  Concord,  Mass.,  from  1636  to  1644, 
when  he  came  to  Fairfield,  Conn.,  and  resided  there 
until  his  death,  1664,  being  over  seventy  years  of  age. 
One  of  the  sons.  Rev.  Eliphalet  (born  Jan.  9,  1640), 
was  the  first  minister  of  Huntington,  L.  I.  Jefl'ry 
J(mes  had  a  house-lot  on  the  west  side  of  Mill  Creek, 
between  David  Ogden  on  the  south,  and  William 
Cramer  on  the  north.  He  had  a  warrant  for  180 
acres,  but  no  return  of  the  survey  is  on  record.  His 
liouse-lot  he  sold,  Aug.  24,  1686,  to  Jonas  Wood.  He 
was  associateil.  May  20,  1668,  with  Ogden,  Bonil,  and 
Watson  in  running  the  boundary  line  between  this 
town  and  Newark.  He  was  also  one  of  the  Whaling 
Company,  incorporated  Feb.  15,  1669.  An  action  of 
trespass  and  ejectment  was  brought  against  him  by 
"the  Proprietors,"  in  the  name  of  James  Fullerton, 
in  1693,  because  of  his  refusal  to  take  out  a  |)atent 
Irom  them  for  his  lands,  and  to  pay  them  "Quit 
Rents."  Judgment  having  been  rendered  again.st 
him,  he  appealed  to  the  King  in  Council,  by  wlioni, 
Feb.  25,  1696,  it  was  set  aside.  He  outlived  the  most 
of  the  founders  of  the  town,  his  death  occurring 
in  December,  1717.' 

Thomas  Leonards  was  doubtless  of  the  South- 
ampton stock.  He  was  admitted  a  freeman  of  Con- 
necticut in  1658.  He  probably  died  soon  after  his 
coming,  as  no  subsequent  trace  of  him  has  been 
found.-' 

Samuel  Marsh  was  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  wliere 
he  took  the  oath  of  fidelity,  May  2,  1647.  He  came 
liere,  among  the  first  settlers  Ironi  Connecticut,  with 
his  wife  and  seven  children.  His  house-lot  contained 
seven  acres,  of  irregular  form,  6  chains  broad,  and  in 
length  15  chains  on  the  west  side  and  10  chains  on 
the  cast  side,  bounded  on  the  west  by  Jonas  Wood, 
and  on  the  other  sides  by  highways.  He  had  also  18 
acres  of  upland  "  in  the  Neck,"  bounded  by  John 
Winans,  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  William  Letts,  also 
100  acres  of  upland  "  at  R«wack,"  called  by  the  name 
of  Ragged  Neck,  bounded  by  JeHrv  Jones,  Simon 
Rouse,  and  bis  own  meadow  ;  also  60  acres  of  ujdand 
adj(»ining  the  100  acre  lot,  bounded  by  Jettry  Jones,  a 
great  swamp,  and  his  own  land;  also  14  acres  of 
meadow  on  the  north  .side  of  his  upland,  and  6  acres 
of  meadow,  at  Luke  Watson's  neck,  on  the  north  side 
of  Thompson's  Creek, — in  all  205  acres.  His  eldest 
son,  Samuel,  Jr.,  was  admitted  among  the  iSO  Associ- 
ates, and  had  an  allotment  of  80  acres  of  upland  at 

1  III.,  pp.  44,  Km,  ViO.  ]i2.  E  .1  Ri'corda,  i  89;  ii.  21 ;  iii.  XS,  ll». 
\VilU.A.rt).  SiivHgo,  ii.Sm.  N.^«iiik  Ricuiils.p.  10.  (Joiiu.  Col.  Keairilu, 
i.  4-.i7.     SliiilliK-k'a  Concord,  pp.  14S-1U4. 

2  Savnitf,  ill.  80. 

3 


"  Rahawack,"  bounded  by  Robert  Vauquellin,  Simon 
Rou.se,  Thomas  Moore,  Benjamin  Wade,  and  a  great 
swamp;  also  ten  acres  of  upland  on  the  two-mile  brook, 
adjoining  Matthias  Hatfield  and  David  Oliver;  also 
10  acres  of  meadow  "lying  at  Rahawack  in  the 
Meadow  of  Samuel  Mar.sh,  Sen''," — in  all  100  acres. 
"  Old  Marsh,"  as  the  lather  was  familiarly  called, 
died  in  September,  1683.' 

William  Meeker  was  also  from  New  Haven,  Conn., 
where  he  took  the  oath  of  fidelity,  July  1,  1644.  He 
was  propounded,  Oct.  7,  1646,  to  "  be  loader  to  mill" 
"  for  a  12  month,"  "  to  goe  in  all  seasons  e.xcept  vn- 
reasonable  weather."  Frequently  he  appears  in  the 
records  as  "Meaker"  and  "  Mecar."  His  house-lot 
contained  six  acres,  bounded  north  by  Henry  Norris, 
west  by  the  highway,  south  by  his  son  Jo.sepb,  and 
east  by  the  swamp.  He  had  also  thirleen  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  his  son  Benjamin,  Robert  Bond, 
and  Joseph  Osborne  ;  also  45  acres  of  upland  "  by 
Henry  Lyon,"  bounded  by  his  son  Benjamin  and 
Robert  Bond;  also  75  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by 
Hur  Thompson,  a  small  brook,  and  a  swamp;  also  12 
acres  of  meadow  on  the  south  side  of  Bcmnd  Creek, 
and  2.J  acres  on  E.  Town  Creek, — in  all  152  ai  res.  He 
was  appointed,  Oct.  13,  1671,  constable  ol  the  town, 
and  in  performance  of  the  duties  of  his  office  became 
obnoxious  to  the  Governor  and  his  party,  and  the 
property  just  de.-cribed  was  forfeited  in  lavor  of  Wil- 
liam Pardon,  as  related  on  a  subsequent  i^age.  His 
sons,  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  were  aiso  numbered 
among  the  eighty  A.ssociates.  Joseph  had  a  house-lot 
containing  six  acres,  bounded  norlh  by  his  lather, 
south  by  his  brother  Benjamin,  east  by  Robert  Vau- 
quellin, and  west  by  a  highway.  He  had  also  35 
acres,  bounded  by  Joseph  ISayre,  a  small  brook,  a 
fresh  meadow,  and  a  highway  that  goes  into  the 
meadows  ;  al.so  45  acres,  "  adjoining  to  Master  Bond," 
bounded  by  Henry  Lyon,  Robert  Bond,  Henry  Norris, 
and  John  Woodruff;  also  12  acres  "on  the  West 
Side  of  the  plaine,"  bounded  by  Moses  Thompson, 
Isaac  Whitehead,  Sr.,  Moses  Hopkins,  and  the  Mill 
Creek, — in  all  98  acres.  Benjamin  had  a  hou.->e-lot, 
containing  five  acres,  9  by  5-i  chains,  bounded  west 
by  a  highway,  east  by  George  Morris  and  Henry  Lyon, 
north  by  his  brother  Joseph,  and  .south  by  niisurveyed 
land.  He  had  also  24  acres  of  upland,  bnunded  by 
Joseph  Osborne,  Robert  Bond,  and  "  a  run  ;  '  also  60 
acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Robert  Bond,  Henry 
Lyon,  and  Isaac  Whitehead,  Sr. ;  also  tiii  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  Hur  Thompson,  two  small  brooks, 
and  a  swamp,— in  all  155  acres.  He  was  one  of  the 
town  constables  in  1711.  Joseph  kept  a  country 
store,  and  Benjamin  was  a  carpenter,  while  both  were 
planters.     The  father  died  in  December,  1690.* 


3  New  Haven  C..I.  Bei-oril»,  i.  140,  2i<),  2:«,  27U.-71,  :i7\  474.  K.  J. 
Reioiils,  i.  li'J;  ii.  2n,  ;ll,  3.i ;  A.  l'J2.  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  Hi.-,,  s.  S..VHgo, 
iii.  I. no. 

4  New  Hnveu  Col.  U.-uoids,  i.  122,  139,  273.  E.  J.  U,.iord.s.  ii.  1, 18,  24, 
6a,  146 ;  Iii.  47,  82 ;  U.  70,  71.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  103. 


30 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Jacob  Melyen  (Moullains,  Murline,  Melleyns, 
Melyn,  Meleins)  came  here  from  New  Haven,  Conn., 
but  was  previously  of  New  Amsterdam.  He  was  the 
son  of  the  patroon,  Cornelius  Melyn,  whose  name  is 
familiar  to  every  student  of  Dutch  American  history. 
The  father  was  born,  1602,  at  Antwerp,  Holland,  and 
emigrated  in  1639  to  New  Netherland.  He  returned 
in  1640  for  his  wife  (Janneken)  and  children,  and  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  Staten  Island.  There  he  planted  a 
colony  in  1641,  which  was  broken  up  by  the  Indian 
war  of  1643.  Removing  to  New  Amsterdam,  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  Broad,  between  Stone  and  Pearl 
Streets,  on  the  east  side.  He  espoused  the  popular 
side  in  ])olitics,  for  which  he  was  heavily  fined  by 
Governor  Stuyvesant,  and  banished  for  seven  years. 
He  returned  to  Holland  for  redress,  was  wrecked 
Sept.  27,  1647,  and  lost  one  of  his  sons,  barely  escap- 
ing with  his  own  life.  The  home  government  sus- 
tained his  appeal,  but  Stuyvesant  still  persisted  in  his 
opposition.  After  another  voyage  to  Holland,  he 
re-established  himself  in  1650  on  Staten  Island,  con- 
tinuing thereuntil  the  colony  was  again  dispersed  by 
the  Indians,  in  the  massacre  of  1655.  He  removed  to 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  and  iiis  son  Jacob  took 
the  oath  of  fidelity,  April  7,  1657.  In  1659  he  re- 
paired again  to  Holland,  eftected  a  settlement  of  his 
difficulties,  relinquished  Staten  Island  to  the  West 
India  Company,  and  soon  after  returned  to  New 
Netherland.  He  had  died  in  1674,  leaving  his  wife, 
three  sons, — Jacob,  Cornelis,  and  Isaac, — and  tliree 
daughters,— Marian  (married,  and  residing  at  New 
Haven),  Susanna,  and  Magdaleen,  wiio  were  married 
subsequently  to  Jacob  Schellinger  and  Jacob  Soper, 
merchants  of  New  York. 

Jacob,  the  eldest  son,  was  born  at  Antwerp,  Hol- 
land, about  1640,  and  came  an  infant  to  America. 
His  boyhood  was  passed  in  the  midst  of  the  exciting 
scenes  just  referred  to,  by  which  he  was  educated  in 
the  love  of  liberty  and  hatred  of  oppression.  He 
accompanied  his  father  to  Holland  and  back  in  1659, 
returning  to  New  Haven.  He  was  reprimanded.  May 
1, 1660,  by  Governor  Newman,  as  related  in  the  "  Blue 
Laws"  of  Connecticut,  lor  kissing  and  taking  other  im- 
proper liberties  with  Miss  Sarah  Tuttle.  He  married, 
in  1662,  Hannah,  the  daughter  of  George  Hubbard, 
of  Guilford,  Conn.  Her  sister  Abigail,  in  1657,  had 
become  the  wife  of  Humphrey  Spinning.  He  and 
Spinning  attached  themselves  to  the  band  of  pil- 
grims who,  in  1665,  emigrated  from  New  Haven  to 
this  town.  He  had  been  familiar,  doubtless,  with 
this  particular  locality  from  his  childhood,  by  reason 
of  his  residence  on  Staten  Island.  His  knowledge 
of  the  Dutch  language,  and  possibly  of  the  Indian 
tongue  also,  made  him  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
new  colony  of  Achter  Kull. 

His  house-lot  contained  four  acres,  10  by  4  chains, 
and  was  bounded  west  by  his  brother-in-law,  Hum- 
phrey Spinning  south  by  Joiin  Winans,  north  by 
William  Johnston,  and  east  by  a  highway.     This  lot, 


with  his  house,  barn,  orchard,  etc.,  he  sold,  Feb.  8, 
1678,  to  John  Winans.  He  had  100  acres  on  the 
South  Neck  of  Elizabeth  township,  which  he  sold, 
March  9,  1677,  to  Nicholas  Carter.  For  himself,  wife, 
and  two  servants  he  was  allowed  360  acres.  His 
patent  gave  him  450  acres.  He  was  a  partner  in  the 
Whaling  Company  of  1669.  During  the  Dutch  rule, 
1673-74,  he  was  in  high  favor,  being  appointed  one 
of  the  schepens  of  the  town,  and  captain  of  the 
militia  company.  He  removed  to  New  Y'ork  in  1674, 
and  resided  in  the  Mill  Street  Lane  (South  William 
Street).  Two  of  his  children,  Susanna  and  Jacob, 
were  baptized  in  the  Dutch  Church,  New  York,  Oct. 
3,  1674,  and  three  others,  Daniel,  Samuel,  and  Abi- 
gail, Aug.  7,  1677.  Subsequently  to  1683  he  removed 
to  Boston,  probably  for  the  convenience  of  educating 
his  son  Samuel  (afterwards  a  minister  of  this  town), 
who  graduated  in  1696  at  Harvard  College.  At  Bos- 
ton he  traded  in  leather,  and  served  several  years  as 
constable.  His  decease  occurred  in  December,  1706, 
his  wife  surviving  until  1717.  His  daughter  Abigail 
married  (1)  William  Tilley  and  (2)  Chief  Justice 
Samuel  Sewall.  His  daughter  Joanna,  born  in  1683, 
about  the  time  that  he  removed  to  Boston  became 
the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  of  this 
town.  In  his  will  he  affirms  that  he  had  spent  £300  on 
Samuel's  education.  In  the  Boston  News  Letter,  Oct. 
1,  1705,  is  an  advertisement  in  these  words:  "A 
House  and  Land  in  the  High- Fore-Street  at  the  Sign 
of  the  Buck,  in  the  South  End  of  Boston,  now  in  the 
Occupancy  of  Mr.  Jacob  Melyen,  to  be  Sold.'" 

Thomas  More  (Moor,  Moore)  was  from  Southold, 
L.  I.  He  was  the  son  of  Thomas,  who  came  over 
in  1630,  in  the  "Mary  and  John,"  to  Dorchester, 
Mass.  ;  joined  the  church  at  Salem,  was  admitted  a 
freeman.  May  18,  1631,  and  removed  with  his  brother. 
Deacon  John  Moore,  first  to  Windsor,  Conn.,  then  to 
Southampton,  and  then  to  Southold,  L.  I.  The  father 
was  a  man  of  influence,  and  represented  Southold  in 
the  General  Court  at  New  Haven  in  1658,  and  at 
Hartford  in  1664.  Thomas,  Jr.,  was  at  Newton  in 
1664,  whence  the  following  year  he  came  to  this 
town.  His  house-lot,  "  formerly  belonging  to  Joachin 
Andrissen,"  he  sold  to  William  Pyles  previous  to 
1672,  and  purchased,  June  22,  1675,  the  house-lot, 
containing  four  acres,  bounded  north  and  east  by  a 
highway,  .south  by  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  west  by 
Denis  White.  He  had  also  60  acres  of  upland,  "  to- 
warde  Rahawack,"  adjoining  Benjamin  Wade;  also 
42  acres  "on  the  South  side  of  Elizabeth  River," 
bounded  by  Benjamin  Wade,  Humphrey  Spinage, 
the  river,  and  the  plain  ;  also  60  acres  of  upland, 
'■  on  the  North  side  of  the  said  River,"  bounded  by 
Humphrey  Spinage,  Stephen  Osborne,  and  "the 
branch  of  the  said  Elizabeth  River;"  also  20  acres 

•  E.T.Bill,  p.  UI8.  E.  J.  Kecords,  i.  101,  8,163;  ii.  46;  iii.  25.  N. 
Y.  C.il.  DounitB,  ii.  ."iVI,  5H2,  608,  706.  Calendar  of  N.  Y.  His.  Mis.,  28, 
4U,  46,  l:d4,  181.  Savage,  iii.  195.  Valentine's  N.  T.,  186:i,  p.  795.  Bos- 
ton News  Letter,  Nu.  76. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTEES    AND    ASSOCIATES  OF    ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


31 


of  meadow,  adjoining  William  Pilles'  upland, — in  all 
187  acres.  Thomas  Moore  in  1676  had  80  acres  sur- 
veyed for  him  on  the  south  side  of  Staten  Island. 
He  survived  until  June,  1708.' 

Robert  Mosse  (Moras,  Morse)  and  his  son  Peter 
were  from  MassachusetU.  They  were  at  Boston  in 
1644,  at  Newbury  in  16'i4,  and  still  later  at  Rowley, 
whence,  in  166.5,  they  came  hither.  The  father  was  a 
tailor,  and  had  a  large  family.  His  house-lot  con- 
tained six  acres,  bounded  north  by  his  son  Peter, 
south  by  William  Pardon,  west  by  the  highway,  and 
east  by  Elizabeth  River  and  a  highway.  He  had 
also  12  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  William  Trotter, 
his  son  Peter,  and  Crane's  Brook  ;  also  44  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  the  river,  William  Pardon,  Wil- 
liam Trotter,  Daniel  Tuttle,  his  son  Peter,  and  the 
Common  ;  also  "  a  Neck  of  Land  Lying  between  two 
brooks,"  66  acres,  bounded  by  West  Brook,  Peach  Gar- 
den Brook,  and  Thompson's  Creek ;  also  another  plot  of 
66  acres,  adjoining  on  the  west,  lying  on  Peach  Gar- 
den Brook ;  also  6  acres  of  meadow  on  Thompson's 
Creek,  9  acres  on  the  Sound,  and  7  acres  on  Peach 
Garden  and  West  Brooks, — in  all  202  acres.  The 
tract  on  the  E.  T.  Creek  he  disposed  of,  Sept.  26,  1681, 
to  his  son-in-law,  William  Broadwell,  and  several 
other  tracts,  June  24, 1686,  to  Jonas  Wood.  The  next 
day  he  obtained  a  warrant  for  150  acres  more. 

Peter's  house-lot  contained  six  acres,  bounded  west 
by  a  highway,  north  by  William  Trotter,  south  by  his 
father,  and  east  by  E.  T.  Creek.  He  had  also  12 
acres  of  upland,  adjoining  his  father;  also  40  acres 
of  upland  "  near  the  Ash  Swamp  upon  a  hill," 
bounded  by  William  Pardon,  Stephen  Crane,  John 
Little,  and  the  Common ;  also  "  a  Neck  of  Land  at 
Rawack,"  140  acres  along  West  Brook,  Rawack 
Swamp,  and  the  Common  ;  also  18  acres  of  meadow 
on  Thompson's  Creek,  and  6  acres  on  Luke  Watson's 
Point, — -in  all  224  acres,  of  which  20  acres  were  "  in 
Right  of  Joachim  Andrissen."  The  homestead  was  on 
"Thompson's  Creek,"  hence  more  generally  known  of 
late  as  "  Morse's  Creek,"  long  the  boundary  between 
Rahway  and  Elizabeth.     Peter  died  in  May,  1702.- 

Nathaniel  Norton  was  from  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island,  but,  though  admitted  one  of  the  eighty  Associ- 
ates, was  induced  after  a  short  sojourn  to  return  to  the  j 
island.     He  took  up  his  abode  at  Brookhaven,  where  i 
he  was  living  in  1675,  and  in   1683  his  East  Town 
rights  were  transferred  to  Henry  Norris.'' 

William  Oliver  cannot  now  be  traced  with  any  cer-  | 
tainty.  He  was  probably  the  son  of  John,  who  died  ! 
in  1746,  or  of  Thomas,  who  died  in  1652,  at  Boston  or  I 
its  vicinity,  each  of  them  leaving  a  large  family,  i 
Thomas  was  of  Bristol,  and  came  over  in  1632  from 


1  N.  H.  Col.  Records,  ii.  52,  66, 159,  2:!U,  [as,  358,  392,  406.  Oulin.  Ck>l. 
Rpords,  i.  2S,  11-',  :iS6,  3s8.  Alb.  Records,  iii.  116.  Savage,  iii.  227, 
211.     E.  J.  Uecurds,  i    24,  46,  157;  ii. 'Jl,  31.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  108. 

2SHVage,  iii.  241.  E.  J.  Records,  i.  US,  149,160;  ii.r.1,23;  iii.  163, 159; 
B.  121,  132  ;  L.  90.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  104. 

3  New  York  Doc.  His.,  ii.  468,  633. 


London.  William  had  a  house-lot  containing  eight 
acres,  20  by  4  chains,  bounded  west  by  Charles 
Tucker,  south  by  Jonas  Wood,  and  north  and  east  by 
highways.  He  had  also  12  acres  of  upland  "  at 
Luke  Watson's  Point,"  bounded  by  Jeffry  Jones, 
Caleb  Carwithy,  the  meadows,  and  a  highway  ;  also 
84  acres  of  upland  "  at  Rawack,"  bounded  by  Peter 
Morse,  Samuel  Marsh,  Sr.,  David  Oliver,  and  William 
Pilles.     He  died  about  1694.* 

Joseph  Osborn  (Osbourne,  Osburne)  and  Jeremy 
Osborn  were  from  East  Hampton,  L.  I.  They  were 
the  sons  of  Goodman  Thomas  Osborne,  one  of  the 
founders  of  that  town  in  1649  or  16.50.  He  had 
been  also  one  of  the  founders  of  New  Haven,  Conn., 
in  1639,  where,  in  1643,  he  wa.s  rated  at  £300, 
and  had  a  family  of  six.  Richard,  then  of  New 
Haven,  and  afterwards  of  Fairfield,  was  his  brother. 
Thomas  was  at  Hingham,  Mass.,  in  1635,  and  le- 
moved  to  Connecticut  before  the  Pequot  war  of  1637, 
in  which  heserved.  Thomas,  John,  Jeremiah,  Joseph, 
and  Stephen  were  his  sons.  The  first  two  settled  in 
East  Hampton,  the  others  joined  the  company  of 
emigrants  to  Achter  KuU,  and  were  founders  of  this 
town.  Jeremiah  was  a  witness,  Aug.  18,  1665,  to  the 
payment  of  the  money  to  the  Indians  for  the  pur- 
chase of  the  town.  '  He  probably  died  soon  alter,  as 
his  name  does  not  appear  among  the  original  Associ- 
ates. His  brother  Stephen  had  taken  his  place  be- 
fore 1673.  Jeremiah  Osborn,  who  was  one  of  Mr. 
Harriman's  parishioners  from  1687  to  1705,  and  after- 
wards became  a  Quaker,  was  a  son  of  Stephen,  was 
born  in  1661,  removed  to  Morris  County,  and  lived  to 
an  extreme  old  age.  He  made  a  long  deposition, 
March  23,  1741,  in  the  celebrated  case  of  Daniel 
Cooper  vs.  John  Crain  and  others,  printed  at  length 
in  the  E.  T.  Bill  in  Chancery,  Schedule  X. 

Joseph  Osborn  received  a  warrant  for  150  acres  of 
land,  but  the  returns  of  the  survey  are  not  on  record, 
consequently  his  several  parcels  of  land  cannot  now 
be  located.  Stephen  had  two  house-lots,  "  Lying  and 
being  in  Elizabeth  Towne  Upon  the  Mill  Creek," 
containing  12  acres,  12  by  10  chains,  bounded  \V. 
by  the  creek,  S.  and  E.  by  highways,  and  N.  by 
an  unsurveyed  house-lot.  One  of  these  two  lots 
probably  was  Jeremiah's.  He  sold  them  both,  Oct. 
13,  1689,  to  Joseph  Wilson.  He  had  also  12  acres  of 
upland  on  "  the  little  Neck,"  bounded  by  Jeremiah 
Peck,  Joseph  Sayre,  John  Woodruff,  Moses  Thomp- 
son, and  a  swamp  ;  also  121  acres  of  upland  on  "  the 
South  branch  of  Elizabeth  Towne  Creek,"  bounded 
by  Nathaniel  Bonnel,  Thomas  Moore,  George  Ross, 
and  the  branch ;  also  three  acres  of  meadow  on  the 
E.  T.  Creek,  and  12  acres  "  in  the  great  Meadows  at 
the  upper  end  of  Forkey  Creek," — in  all  160  acres. 
He  died  July,  1698.     Joseph  was  living  in  1707.° 

<N.  E.  His.  and  Gen.  Register,  xii.  53.  E.  J.  Records,  ii.  19,  103;  25 
0.  e. ;  iii.  159.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  IDS.    Savage,  iv.  101 . 

'  Savage,  iii.  319.  Barber's  Conn.,  p.  loo.  Thompson's  L.  I.,  i.  295. 
E.  J.  Records,  ii.  21,  24,  129.     E.  T.  Bill,  pp.  106,  108,  113-15. 


32 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


George  Pack  came  with  the  first  colonists,  but 
whence  cannot  now  be  learned.  He  liad  a  house-lot 
containing  six  acres,  bounded  N.  W.  by  John  Little, 
and  on  the  other  sides  by  higlnvays.  He  had  also  30 
acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Barnabas  Wines,  John 
Little,  Nicholas  Carter,  and  unsurveyed  land;  also 
40  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Joseph  Sayre,  Nich- 
olas Carter,  two  small  brooks,  and  unsurveyed  land  ; 
also  4  acres  of  swamp  and  12  acres  of  meadow  on 
"  the  great  River"  (the  Sound), — in  all  118  acres. 
He  died  February,  1705.' 

Richard  Paynter  (Painter)  was  a  tailor,  who  came 
hither  from  New  York,  but  originally  from  South- 
ampton. Carter's  son  was  apprenticed  to  him  March 
25,  1 669.  His  house-lot  contained  three  acres,  10  by 
3  chains,  bounded  S.  by  Capt.  Philip  Carteret,  for- 
merly Abraham  Sliotwell,  and  N.  E.  and  W.  by  high- 
ways. He  had  also  20  acres  of  upland,  hounded  by 
a  round  hill,  the  Mill  Creek,  and  Mrs.  Baker;  also 
96  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Isaac  Whitehead, 
Jr.,  Leonard  Headley,  Joseph  Sayre,  and  the  Mill 
Brook  ;  also  15|  acres  of  meadow, — in  all  134i  acres. 
His  residence  here  was  of  short  duration.  In  the 
winter  of  1670-71  he  removed  to  New  York,  and 
sold,  April  3,  1671,  his  "  Plantation  with  the  Dwel- 
ling-House,  etc.,"  to  Balthazar  De  Hart,  of  New  York, 
merchant.  De  Hart  died  in  January,  1672,  and  his 
executors  sold,  July  4,  1672,  to  Richard  Skinner,  of 
E.  T.,  "  Joyner,"  the  house  and  i)roperty  bought  of 
Richard  Painter  ("  wherein  the  above  named  Richard 
Skinner  now  Liveth  and  was  servant  unto  the  said 
Richard  Painter  and  also  to  the  said  Balthazer  De 
Hart")  for  £48  ;  "  £16  in  Porke  at  Three  Pounds  the 
Barrell,  Wheat  at  lour  Shillings  the  Bushell,  Pease 
at  three  shillings  the  Bushell  Beef  in  Life  at  three 
Pence  the  Pound."  Skinner  must  have  forfeited  the 
property  for  want  of  fulfillment  of  the  conditions  of 
jiayment,  and  it  was  again  sold,  March  21,  1681,  by 
Daniel  De  Hart,  to  George  Jewell,  then  a  recent 
comer  from  Piscataway.  Painter  was  living  in  1679 
at  Southampton,  "  on  the  west  street  running  by  the 
swamp. "^ 

John  Parker,  it  is  thought,  was  from  the  east  end  of 
Long  Island,  probably  of  the  Bridgehampton  family. 
His  house-lot  contained  six  acres,  bounded  east  and 
north  by  Governor , Carteret,  south  by  the  highway, 
and  west  by  Jose|)h  Ogden.  He  had  also  six  acres  of 
upland  on  "  the  North  Neck,"  bounded  by  Leonard 
Headley,  John  Ogden,  Jr.,  and  "the  Common  pas- 
ture;" also  60  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  John 
Woodruff,  the  meadow  and  the  "Common  Land;" 
also  12  acres  of  upland  on  the  west  side  of  Mr. 
Woodruff,  and  between  two  swamps;  also  12J  acres 
of  meadow  in  the  same  vicinity, — in  all  96  acres.  His 
house-lot  he  sold  to  Carteret,  Aug.  15,  1675,  for  £8, 
probably  without  improvements.     He  died  in  Decem- 


ber, 1702,  leaving  his  property  to  Robert  Smith,  of 
Egg  Harbor,  Widow  Sarah  Browne,  Thomas  Headley, 
and  "the  Church  of  Christ  in  Elizabeth  Town;"  to 
the  latter  £3.' 

Thomas  Pope  was  an  associate  in  1644  of  Strick- 
land, Ogden,  the  Dentons,  and  Jonas  Wood  in  settling 
Hempstead,  L.  I.  He  seems  to  have  either  accom- 
panied or  Ibllowed  John  Ogden  to  the  east  end  of  the 
island,  as  in  1652  he  had  a  house-lot  of  3  acres  "  next 
to  Mr.  Stanbrough,"  granted  him  at  Southampton. 
His  son  John  also  is  named  among  the  early  settlers 
of  that  town.  His  house-lot  here  was  on  the  south 
side  of  the  creek,  adjoining  the  Governor.  He  sold  it 
February,  1669,  to  William  Pilles.  He  died  previous 
to  1677.  Mary,  his  widow,  and  her  son,  John,  sold, 
Feb.  25,  1677,  their  dwelling-house  and  lot  with  60 
acres  of  upland,  for  £39,  to  Benjamin  Wade.  John 
was  one  of  the  eighty  Associates.  He  received  March 
28,  1676,  a  warrant  for  100  acres,  and  July  9,  1686, 
another  for  150  acres.  Of  this  last  120  acres  were 
located  "on  Raway  River,"  bounded  by  the  river, 
"  Pope's  brook"  (iu  the  township  of  Springfield,  near 
Milltown),  and  unoccupied  land.  The  other  30  acres 
were  bounded  by  Jeffry  Jones,  William  Johnstone, 
and  "  Common  Land."  Of  the  first  grant,  a  plot  of 
80  acres  was  bounded  by  John  Miles,  Joseph  Frazee, 
and  unsurveyed  land.  He  had  died  in  1713.  He 
gave  the  name  to  "  Pope's  Corners.'" 

Benjamin  Price  was  from  East  Hampton.  He  came 
to  the  island,  it  is  thought,  with  Lion  Gardiner,  in 
1639.  He  -subscribed  as  a  witness  the  deed  given 
March  10,  1640,  by  James  Farret,  Lord  Stirling's 
agent,  to  Gardiner  for  the  island  that  has  ever  since 
borne  his  name.  He  settled  first  at  Southampton, 
but  in  1649  united  with  several  of  his  neighbors  in 
settling  East  Hampton.  He  resided  on  the  east  side 
of  the  main  street,  not  far  from  Gardiner  and  the 
Rev.  Mr.  James,  and  next  to  "  the  Parsonage  lot,  in 
the  hart  of  the  Towne."  He  took  a  leading  part  in 
town  affairs,  was  appointed  Oct.  7,  1651,  recorder  or 
town  clerk,  and  Aug.  1,  1660,  was  one  of  the  paten- 
tees of  Montauk  Point.  He  took  an  active  part  in 
furthering  the  emigration  of  so  many  East  Enders  to 
this  locality,  and  was  held  in  honor  by  his  townsmen 
here.  In  1676  he  represented  the  town  in  the  House 
of  Burgesses,  and  was  appointed  Dec.  13,  1682,  one 
of  Governor  Rudyard's  Council;  Feb.  4,  1683,  jus- 
tice of  the  peace  ;  March  28,  1683,  one  of  Governor 
Lawrie's  Council ;  and  Jan.  29,  1693,  one  of  the 
judges  of  small  causes.  He  outlived  the  most  of 
the  founders,  his  death  occurring  after  Aug.  30,  1705, 
when  his  will  was  made,  and  not  later  than  Oct.  7, 
1712,  when  it  was  admitted  to  probate. 

The  locality  of  his  house-lot  is  not  on  record.  He 
had  24  acres  of  upland  "  along  the  Road  Leading  to 
the  Point,"  adjoining  his  son  Daniel ;  also  50  acres 


1  E.  T.  Bni.v.  i"».    E.J.  Ho 

2  K  .1.  lli-u.inln,  i.  7,  25,  :ili;  i 
Hum  ell,  p.  168. 


•  >ril»,  li.  I'.l,  21,00. 
U',  7.i;  A.  111.     K.  T.  Bill,  pp.  102,  107. 


8  Howell,  p. 

*  E.  .1.  Rec.r 

lonV  L.  I.,  ii.  C 


E.  T,  Bill,  p.  lo.i.     E.  J.  R.cc.i.Ik.  i.  14!) ;  ii. .-),  •-•0, 
.  20:   B.  ;!7(l;  L.  00,  107.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  loO.     Tliullip- 
..well,  pp.  aOB,  7. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTP]KS    AND    ASSOCIATES   OF    ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


33 


of  upland  adjoining  "'  Henry  Lyon's  House,"  the 
Town  Creek,  "  a  Little  Creeke  on  wliich  Henry 
Bakers  Tannfatt  stands,"  Margaret  Baker,  Jolin 
Woodruff,  Leonard  Headley,  Epliraim  Price,  and 
Peter  Woolverton  ;  also  20  acres  of  upland  on  the 
Point  road,  adjoining  Margaret  Baker;  also  120  acres 
of  upland  near  the  Great  Meadow  ;  also  9  acres  of 
upland  in  the  Great  Meadow,  north  of  Capt.  Young; 
also  8  acres  of  upland  "  on  the  Long  Meadow  Island," 
on  this  side  Rahway  River;  also  25  acres  of  upland 
on  the  Point  road  adjoining  Margaret  Baker  ;  also  14 
acres  of  meadow, — in  all  270  acres. 

Benjamin,  Jr.,  his  son,  was  also  one  of  the  eighty 
Associates.  He  was  appointed,  Ang.  22,  1695,  one  of 
the  justices  of  the  peace.  His  house  lot  contained 
six  acres,  bounded  south  and  east  by  the  highway, 
west  by  his  brother  Thomas,  and  north  by  Isaac 
Whitehead,  Sr.  He  had  also  41  acres  of  upland, 
bounded  by  Robert  Bond,  Joseph  Bond,  and  unsur- 
veyed  land  ;  also  19  acres  of  upland  adjoining  his 
father,  and  unsurveyed  land  ;  also  14  acres  of  upland 
adjoining  his  father  and  Joseph  Ogden  ;  also  88  acres 
of  upland  "  near  the  Governor's  point,"  bounded  by 
his  father  and  Daniel  DeHart ;  also  lOacresof  upland, 
bounded  by  his  father  and  Col.  Richard  Townley; 
also  two  acres  on  "  y°  way  to  y'  meadows,"  adjoining 
his  father;  also  ten  acres  "of  Salt  Marsh  in  the 
great  Meadow;"  also  8  acres  of  meadow  "by  the 
Long  pond  &  forked  Creek  ;"  also  six  acres  of  meadow 
"  on  a  creek  called  Long  Creek  or  fforked  creek," — in 
all  200  acres.' 

Evan  Salsbury,  of  whose  origin  nothing  certain 
can  now  be  a-scertained,  was  probably  Carwithy's 
friend  and  associate,  coming  with  him  from  the  east 
end  of  Long  Island.  His  house-lot  adjoined  Wil- 
liam Cramer  on  the  southeast.  He  bought  Cramer's 
house-lot  and  his  second  lot-right,  but  sold  the  two, 
Dec.  26,  1670,  to  John  Little  for  .£65.  He  is  called 
a  "  brickmaker,"  but  was  bred  a  carpenter,  and  had 
previously,  it  is  thought,  followed  the  seas.  Capt. 
John  Young,  of  Southold,  L.  I.,  sold  him,  Oct.  4, 1671, 
his  shallop  of  eight  tons  burden,  "  or  thereabout," 
with  all  its  appurtenances,  the  mast,  sails,  rigging, 
cable,  anchor,  etc.,  for  "  18,000  good  Merchantable 
White-Oak  pipe  Staves,"  a  bond  being  given  for  the 
payment,  signed  by  Salsbury,  Carwithy,  and  Cramer. 
The  witnesses  were  Benjamin  Price  and  Joseph  Sayre. 
It  is  quite  likely  that  he  and  Carwithy,  who  disap- 
pears from  the  records  about  this  time,  became 
"  coasters,"  and  of  uncertain  residence.  Salsbury 
was  here  when  the  Dutch  enrollment  was  made  in 
1673,  but  no  further  mention  of  him  is  made.' 

Abraham  Shotwell,  whose  original  is  nut  known, 
was  certainly  in  sympathy  with  the  popular  party  of 
the  town.    In  the  contentions  between  the  people  and 

'  E.J  Records,  ii,  21;  A.  169;  C.  5,  75, 171,  2.3.1;  E.  119;  I/.  1,19;  0. 
4(1,  105.  lUf),  UI7.  E.  T.  Dill,  pp.  102,  IU9.  D.ic.  His.  of  N.  Y.,  i.  680,  686. 
Thompson's  L   I.,  29.>,  299.    Hedges'  E.  Hiimplon,  pp.  6.  82-84. 

-  E.  J.  Ri-cnrds,  i.  2.5-26,  59.     E.  T.  Bill.  p.  I(l7. 


Carteret,  described  in  succeeding  pages,  Shotwell  was 
bold  and  outspoken  against  the  Governor's  usurpa- 
tions. He  became  the  victim  of  Carteret's  wrath, 
his  house  and  grounds  were  confiscated,  and  he  him- 
self driven  into  exile.  His  house-lot  was  "  next  east 
of  the  mill."  In  July,  1683,  it  was  thus  described: 
"Bounded  on  the  North  by  Land  now  in  possession 
of  George  Jewell  and  runs  along  by  his  Fence  three 
Chains  and  one-third  of  a  Chaine  from  thence  run- 
ning upon  a  South  and  by  a  West  Line  twelve  Chains 
to  the  highway  which  Leads  towards  the  mill  or 
meeting  house  from  thence  it  runs  by  the  said  high- 
way westward  three  chains  and  one  third  part  of  a 
chain  and  from  thence  it  runs  along  by  the  highway 
that  leads  from  the  Mill  towards  Newark  upon  a 
North  and  by  East  Line  Twelve  chains  Containing  in 
all  four  acres.  Also,  a  small  peece  more  Containing 
One  Acre  English  measure  running  by  the  highway 
which  Leads  from  the  Mill  or  meeting  house  East- 
ward three  Chains  and  one  third  part  of  a  chain  from 
thence  it  runs  downward  to  tne  Creek  upon  a  South 
and  by  a  West  Line  Three  Chains  &  from  thence  it 
runs  away  Westward  as  the  Creek  or  highway  runs, 
three  Chains  and  one  third  part  of  a  Chaine  and 
from  thence  it  runs  by  the  highway  which  Leads  from 
the  Mill  towards  Newark  upon  a  North  and  by  Ea.st 
Line  three  Chains."  It  is  easy  to  identify  this  prop- 
erty as  including  the  whole  east  side  of  Broad 
Street  from  the  stone  bridge  to  a  point  792  feet  north 
of  Elizabeth  Avenue, — a  most  valuable  piece  of  prop- 
erty. Shotwell  retired  to  New  York,  and  appealed  to 
the  Lords  Proprietors.  In  the  mean  time  he  returned 
to  his  home  sustained  by  his  townsmen.  His  appeal 
was  not  sustained,  and  he  was  informed,  by  orders 
from  the  proprietary  government,  that  he  must  de- 
part the  town,  and  should  he  return  that  he  would  be 
subjected  to  severe  indignities.  His  property  was 
sold  at  public  auction,  Aug.  25,  1675,  for  £12,  to 
Thomas  Blumfield,  carpenter,  of  Woodbridge,  who 
resold  it  a  fortnight  later  for  £14  to  Governor  Car- 
teret. It  was  on  Shotwell's  one-acre  lot  that  the  Gov- 
ernor is  thought  to  have  built  his  new  house,  where 
he  resided  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  Shotwell  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  land  from  the  New  York  govern- 
ment, and  died  in  exile.  Daniel,  who  settled  on 
Staten  Island,  was  probably  his  son.  John,  another 
son,  married,  at  New  York,  October,  1679,  Elizabeth 
Burton.  After  Carteret's  removal  and  death,  John 
appealed  to  Governor  Rudyard,  who  restored  him  by 
order.  May  29,  168.S,  the  property  that  had  been  ar- 
bitrarily wrested  from  his  father.  The  Shotwell  fam- 
ily settled  mostly  in  the  south  and  southwest  parts  of 
the  town.^ 

Michael  Simpkin  was  from  Stamford,  Conn.  Nicho- 
las Simkins  in  1634  was  captain  of  the  Castle  at 
Boston.   VincentSimkins  (Smiking),  a  son  or  brother, 

I  »E.  J.  Records,  ii.  19:  iii.  64;  A.  61;  L.  1,4.  B.  T.  Bill,  p.  110.  N. 
Y.  Land  Calendar,  p.  309.    N.  Y.  Marriages,  p.  349. 


34 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


probably,  of  the  captain,  accompanied  the  early 
colonists  to  Wethersfield,  and  was  one  of  the  com- 
pany that  bought,  Oct.  30,  1640,  Rippowams  (Stam- 
ford) from  the  New  Haven  people,  where  he  married, 
1641,  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Henry  Ackerly.  He  had 
at  least  two  sons,  Daniel  and  John,  most  likely 
Michael  also.  He  had  died  in  1656.  Daniel  settled 
in  Bedford,  N.  Y.,  and  John,  with  his  widowed 
mother,  removed  to  this  town,  where  the  mother 
soon  after  became  the  wife  of  William  Oliver.  He 
had  an  allotment  of  80  acres  of  upland  on  the  West 
Brook,  bounded  by  William  Cramer  and  William 
Oliver,  a  swamp  and  the  "two-mile  brook;  also  4 
acres  of  meadow  adjoining  Aaron  Thompson  ;  also  3 
acres  of  meadow  on  "  Rawack  River;"  also  2  acres  of 
meadow  adjoining  Jacob  Melyen  and  George  Pack, — 
in  all  89  acres.  .John  died  unmarried  before  Septem- 
ber, 1679,  and  his  mother  administered  on  his  estate. 
Michael  must  have  died  soon  after  his  coming,  as  no 
further  mention  of  him  is  found.' 

Humphry  Spinage  (Spinning)  was  from  New 
Haven,  Conn.  He  was  a  nephew  of  Goodman  Hum- 
phrey Spinage,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  New 
Haven,  and  one  of  the  party  that  attempted  to  plant 
a  colony  on  the  Delaware  in  1651.  The  nephew  took 
the  oath  of  fidelity  at  New  Haven,  April  7,  1657; 
and  Oct.  14, 1657,  married  Abigail,  the  third  daughter 
of  George  and  Mary  Hubbard,  of  Guilford,  and  sister 
of  Hannah,  the  wife  of  Jacob  Melyen.  George  Hub- 
bard came  from  England  about  1635,  and  was  one  of 
the  early  settlers  of  Wether.sfield,  Conn.  He  re- 
moved in  1644  to  Milford,  and  in  1648  to  Guilford. 
The  house-lot  of  Humphrey  Spinning  contained  four 
acres,  12  by  4  chains,  and  was  bounded  northeast 
and  east  by  the  rear  of  the  house-lots  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  Jacob  Melyen,  William  Johnson,  and  John 
Winans,  and  on  every  other  side  by  a  highway. 
He  had  also  twelve  acres  of  upland  ''on  the  Neck," 
bounded  by  Jeffry  Jones,  William  Johnson,  the 
meadows,  and  a  highway  ;  also  80  acres  of  upland 
"  by  Peach  Garden  Hill,"  bounded  by  Jacob  Melyen, 
diaries  Tucker,  Peach  Garden  Brook,  and  his  own 
meadow;  also  40  acres  of  upland  on  the  south  side 
of  the  branch  of  Elizabeth  River,  bounded  by  Thomas 
Moore,  John  Winans,  the  plain,  and  Elizabeth  Creek; 
also  60  acres  on  the  north  side  of  the  branch,  bounded 
by  Benjamin  Wade,  Thomas  Moore,  the  plain,  and 
"the  said  River  into  Cranberry  meadow;"  also  7 
acres  of  meadow  on  Peach  Garden  Brook ;  also  6 
acres  of  meadow  on  Elizabeth  Creek ;  also  9  acres  on 
"  the  Point  of  Rawack  Neck," — in  all  218  acres.  He 
died  September,  1689,  leaving  an  estate  valued  at 
£223  8s.  Orf.- 

Thomas  Tomson  (Thompson)  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  East  Hampton,  L.  I.,  in  1649,  having  come  from 

'  Hiuniaii's  P.  S.  Conn.,  i.  2:i>.  Savage,  iv.  101.  B.  J.  Kecords,  ii.  41, 
102;  ■.!4,  o.  e.;  iii.  169.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  109. 

2  N.  H.  Cul.  Keiorde,  i.  :«i,  140,  202,411.  SnYHne,  iv.  ISO.  Chapici's 
Glaatenbuiy,  p.  172.     E.  J.  Becoid»,  il.  19,  :)G.     E.  T.  Bill,  pp.  106,  118. 


1  Lynn,  Mass.,  by  way  of  New  London,  Conn.  At 
East  Hampton  he  resided  on  the  west  side  of  the 
street,  near  Robert  Bond  and  the  two  Mulfords. 
Goodman  Thompson  was  one  of  the  deputies  of  Eliz- 
abeth Town  in  the  Legislature  of  1672.  He  was  active 
in  opposing  the  arbitrary  measures  of  Gov.  Carteret, 
and  was  mulcted  for  his  patriotism.     His  house-lot 

j  contained  six  acres,  bounded  north  and  south  by 
Barnabas  Wines,  west  by  a  highway,  and  east  by 
the  Mill  Creek.  He  had  also  18  acres  of  upland 
"on  Luke  Watson's  Neck,"  bounded  by  Jacob  Mel- 
yen, David  Ogden,  and  a  highway;  also  52  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  Stephen  Crane.  Dennis  White, 
George  Pack,  and  his  own  land  ;  also  20  acres  of  up- 
land adjoining  the  last,  bounded  by  his  son  Hur,  Jo- 
seph Sayre,  George  Pack,  and  unsurveyed  land;  also 
4  acres  "in  Rawack  Meadow ;"  also  18  acres  of  meadow 
on  a  creek,  which  was  named  for  him  "Thompson's 
Creek,"  and  since  "Moris  Creek," — in  all  118  acres. 
His  three  sons  also  were  among  the  original  Associ- 
ates. Moses,  who  took  the  oath  in  February,  1666, 
had  a  wai-rant  for  180  acres,  but  the  survey  is  not  on 
record.  Aaron  came  into  possession  of  the  homestead 
at  his  father's  death,  September,  1676.  and  had  a  war- 
rant for  60  acres  in  his  own  right,  of  which  no  return 
was  made.  Hur  had  a  house-lot  containing  four 
acres,  bounded  south  and  east  by  a  highway,  north 
by  Thomas  Osborn,  and  east  by  unsurveyed  land. 
He  had  also  12  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by 
I>eonard  Headley,  Joseph  Osborn,  John  Wilson, 
and  a  highway ;  also  45  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by 
Joseph  Sayre,  2  small  brooks,  and  unsurveyed  land; 
also  40  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Benjamin  Meeker, 
a  small  brook,  and  the  common  ;  also  45  acres  of  up- 
land, bounded  by  William  Pardon,  a  small  brook,  the 
West  Brook,  and  unsurveyed  land ;  also  6  acres  of 
meadow  on  the  bay,  4  acres  on  Woodrufl''s  Creek, 
and  10  acres  more, — in  all  161  acres.  The  father's 
estate  at  his  death  was  valued  at  £152  los.  Gd.^ 

William  Trotter  came  from  Newbury,  Mass.  It 
may  have  been  at  his  suggestion  that  so  many  of  his 
former  townsmen  came  on  in  the  course  of  1666-67 
and  settled  the  town  of  Woodbridge.  His  house-lot 
contained  four  acres,  bounded  east  and  west  by  a 
highway,  south  by  Peter  Morse,  and  north  by  Ste- 
phen Crane ;  also  an  addition  of  two  acres,  bounded 
east  by  the  river,  and  on  the  other  sides  as  the  house- 
lot;  also  13  acres  of  upland,  bounded  north  and  west 
by  Robert  Morse,  south  and  east  by  "Elizabeth  Town 
brook  ;"  also  138  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  William 
Broadwell,  a  swamp,  and  unsurveyed  land  ;  also  23 
acres  of  meadow  in  "the  Common  Meadow," — in  all 
180  acres.  In  1676  he  had  died.  His  name  was  given 
to  a  bridge  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town  plot.' 
Charles  Tucker  (Tooker)  was  also  a  New  Eng- 

s  Hedge's  E.  Haniptun,  pp.  4,  44.  E.  J.  Records,  ii.  21,  24,  29,  104;  26 
o.  e.     E.  T.  Bill,  pp.  104,  10.5. 

<  Savage,  iv.  :132.  Coffin's  Newlmry,  pp.  62,  116.  E.  J.  Kecords,  ii. 
60;  L.  85. 


ORIGINAL    PATENTEES  AND    ASSOCIATES   OF    ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


35 


lander,  coming  liither  with  tlie  East  Enders  of  Long 
Island.  His  parentage  has  not  been  determined. 
He  was  probably  the  son  (or  may  have  been  the 
brother)  of  John  Tooker,ofSouthold,  residing  as  early 
as  1655  in  that  part  of  the  town  that  was  called  River- 
head,  originally  from  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  Mass., 
and  made  a  freeman  at  Southold  Oct.  9, 16G2.  Charles 
had  a  house-lot  containing  eight  acres,  bounded  north 
by  the  highway,  east  by  William  Oliver,  west  by  Caleb 
Carwithy,  and  south  by  "  the  Swamp  in  Common  ;" 
also  21  acres  of  meadow  on  Thompson's  Creek,  and 
adjoining  "the  great  island."  He  had  at  first  a  plot 
of  upland  containing  86  acres;  but  as  this  was  found 
by  survey  to  be  included  in  Jacob  Melyen's  allot- 
ment, he  obtained  in  lieu  69  acres  of  upland  on  the 
two-mile  brook.  He  had  also  a  parcel  of  land  called 
"  Peach  Garden  Hill,"  containing  86  acres,  bounded 
by  Capt.  John  Baker,  Humphrey  Spinage,  Peach 
Garden  Brook,  and  the  Common, — in  all  184  acres.' 

Nathaniel  Tuttle  (Tuthill)  was  from  Southold,  L.  I. 
His  father,  John  Tuthill,  and  uncle,  William,  were 
from  Norfolkshire,  England.  The  latter  came  over 
in  1635  in  the  "  Planter,"  landing  at  Boston.  The 
two  brothers  settled  at  New  Haven  in  1639-40.  John 
came  to  Southold  in  1641  with  the  Rev.  John  Youngs. 
In  1647  he  was  one  of  the  four  patentees  of  Oyster 
Ponds,  L.  I.  Nathaniel  came  here  with  the  first 
emigration,  probably  a  young  and  unmarried  man. 
His  house-lot  contained  six  acres,  bounded  north  by 
William  Pardon,  east  by  the  Mill  Creek,  southeast  by 
Aaron  Thompson  and  Barnabas  Wines  (a  small  hol- 
low and  a  highway  lying  between),  west  and  south 
another  highway.  He  had  also  12  acres  of  upland 
on  the  south  side  of  Crane's  Brook,  adjoining  Rich- 
ard Beach  ;  also  34  acres  of  upland  adjoining  George 
Pack  and  William  Pardon  ;  also  75  acres,  bounded 
by  Richard  Beach,  William  Pardon,  Stephen  Crane, 
Robert  Morse,  and  the  Mill  Creek;  also  6  acres  on 
"the  great  river"  (the  Sound),  near  "the  Points  of 
Rawack ;"  also  20  acres  of  meadow  on  the  west  of 
Thompson's  Creek, — in  all  153  acres.  At  his  death, 
February,  1696,  his  estate  was  valued  at  £107  3.«.  Orf.^ 

Robert  Vauquellin  and  his  wife  came  over  with 
Governor  Carteret  in  the  ship  "  Philip,"  landing 
July  29,  1665,  at  New  York.  He  was  a  native  of  the 
city  of  Caen,  Lower  Normandy,  France,  and  a  grand- 
son, doubtless,  of  Jean  Vauquellin  de  la  Fresuaye, 
lieutenant-general  of  the  bailiwick  of  Caen,  and 
chief  justice  of  that  country,  whose  decease  occurred 
1606,  in  his  seventy-first  year.  Robert  is  styled  in 
the  East  Jersey  Records  "  Sieur  des  Prairies  [des  la 
Prairie],  of  the  city  of  Caen,  France,"  whence  he  is 
commonly  called  in  the  records  and  other  documents 
of  the  day  "  Laprairie."'     In  modern  histories  he  is 


>  E.  J.  Records, 
L.  I,i.  4()9. 
=  E.  J.  Records, 


177:  ii.  3, 


E.  T. 


Bill,  p.  1U5.    Thompson's 
Savage,  iv.  350. 


more  frequently  but  erroneously  called  Van  Quellin, 
as  if  he  had  been  a  Dutchman  and  not  a  Frenchman. 
Jersey,  the  home  of  the  Carteret  family,  was  inhab- 
ited principally  by  Frenchmen,  and  there,  most  prob- 
ably, Vauquellin  resided  before  his  emigration.  He 
accompanied  Capt.  Philip  Carteret,  January,  1665, 
to  England,  and  Feb.  10,  1665,  was  appointed  by 
Berkeley  and  Carteret  surveyor-general  of  their  new 
domain  in  America.  The  surveys  recorded  in  the 
Ea.st  Jersey  Records  from  1675  to  1681  all  bear  his 
signature,  generally  "  Ro  Vauquellin,"  and  sometimes 
"  La  Prairie."  He  was  appointed,  Feb.  2,  1666,  one 
of  Carteret's  Council,  and  adhered  faithfully  to  the 
Governor's  party  and  interests.  Though  admitted 
by  the  town  as  one  of  the  eighty  Associates,  he  had 
scarcely  any  interest  in  common  with  these  sturdy 
Puritans. 

He  had  a  warrant  for  300  acres  of  land  "  in  Right 
of  him  and  his  wife  that  came  with  the  Governor." 
He  had  a  house-lot  containing  12  acres,  30  by  4 
chains,  bounded  east  by  Philip  Carteret,  Esq.,  and 
Richard  Pewtinger,  west  by  William  Pardon,  Joseph 
Meeker,  Benjamin  Meeker,  and  George  Morris,  south 
by  a  highway,  and  north  by  his  own  land;  also  8 
acres  of  upland  or  swamp,  bounded  by  George  Mor- 
ris, Richard  Pewtinger,  Henry  Norris,  and  a  high- 
way;  also  4  acres  of  upland  "near  the  Gov'' point, 
on  the  S.  Side  of  Math.  Hatfeilds  Line  ;"  also  40 
acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  John  Woodruff,  Benja- 
min Parkhurst,  Samuel  Moore,  George  Morris,  and  a 
highway ;  also  40  acres  of  upland  "  at  Rawack," 
bounded  by  Simon  Rouse,  Samuel  Marsh,  Jr.,  un- 
surveyed  land,  a  small  brook,  and  "Rawack  River;' 
also  40  acres  of  upland  "at  the  two  mile  brook;" 
also  27  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Leonard  Head- 
ley,  Joseph  Sayre,  Isaac  Whitehead,  Joseph  Meeker, 
unsurveyed  land,  and  the  Mill  Creek  ;  also  4  acres  of 
meadow  on  Elizabeth  Town  Creek,  4  acres  on  "Rawack 
River,"  and  12  acres  "on  a  small  branch  in  Rawack 
River," — in  all  191  acres.  A  caveat  or  protest  was 
entered  by  Benjamin  Price  against  the  four  acres 
adjoining  Matthias  Hatfield.  He  was  naturalized 
March  8,  1669-70.  Finding  at  length  that  the  Puri- 
tanic townsmen  with  whom  he  was  compelled  to  a.sso- 
ciate  were  anything  but  congenial  company,  he 
concluded  to  change  his  residence.  In  1678  he  had 
removed  to  Woodbridge.  He  obtained,  Feb.  4,  1681, 
a  warrant  for  200  acres  of  land  and  meadow  on  the 
Rarjtan  for  himself,  "  in  Right  of  two  men  Servants 
and  one  Woman,  viz.  :  Elizabeth  Hallard,  Edward 
fox  &  Francis  the  Spaniard ;"  also,  shortly  after, 
another  warrant  for  500  acres  on  the  Raritan.  He 
had  obtained  a  patent  for  175  acres  in  Woodbridge 
as  early  as  Dec.  20,  1669.  He  received  a  warrant 
March  10,  1687,  for  200  more  acres  adjoining  his  own 


,  i.  ICO;  ii.  19,  24.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  lO.-!. 

.,  i.  374,  3SC. 

of  orlliojcniphy  at  this  period  are  sliown  by  the  fact  that 

riUeii  in  itt  IhtisI  twenty-two dififereiil  ways:  Vanquelio, 


Vatiqnfllin.  Vaiiffnellin,  Van  Qnellin.  Vanquillin,  Voclin  (as  pro- 
nounced). Vnclan,  Vorklaiti,  La  Prairie,  La  prairy,  La  prarij  Laparary, 
La  prerie.  La  Pi-ie,  La  priere,  Leprary,  Liprary,  Delaprary,  Delepray, 
Deleprierre,  Detapairs,  and  Delapierre. 


36 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLKSEX   COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


land  in  Woodbridge.  After  this  no  furtiier  mention 
is  made  of  liim  in  the  records. 

Dennis  White  was  from  Soutliampton,  L.  I.  John 
White,  the  first  settler  of  this  name  there,  was  at 
Lynn,  Mass.,  in  1630,  and  at  Southampton  in  1647. 
Dennis  was  either  his  son  or  his  brother.  He  had  a 
house-lot  containing  nine  acres,  bounded  east  by 
Thomas  Moore,  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  unsurveyed 
land,  south-southeast  by  Jonas  Wood,  west  and 
northwest  by  highways.  He  had  also  90  acres  of  up- 
land adjoining  Aaron  Thompson,  also  12  acres  of 
meadow, — in  all  101  acres.  In  1675  this  property  had 
come  into  the  possession  of  Governor  Carteret.  It  is 
likely,  therefore,  that  Dennis  White  had  removed 
from  the  town  previous  to  thatdate,  as  nothing  more  is 
heard  of  him.  Robert  White  (his  brother  it  is  thought) 
wa.s  also  numbered  among  the  eighty  Associates,  and 
had  come  in  at  an  early  date.  His  house-lot  con- 
tained 8  acres,  bounded  southwest  by  Roger  Lambert, 
northeast  by  John  Little,  southeast  by  William 
Letts,  and  northwest  by  a  highway.  He  had  also 
50  acres  of  upland,  bounded  "  by  a  little  brook  &  a 
highway  that  goes  to  Woodbridge,"  John  Winans,  his 
own  land,  unsurveyed  land,  and  the  mile  brook;  also 
34  acres  of  upland  adjoining  Jonas  Wood  ;  also  4 
acres  of  swamp,  and  12  acres  of  meadow, — in  all  108 
acres,  granted  him  "  in  Right  of  himself,  his  wife,  & 
Daughter."  The  latter,  whose  name  was  Ann,  was 
old  enough  in  March,  1676,  to  be  married.  His  wife, 
Agatha,  had  become  a  widow  in  1688.' 

Isaac  Whitehead  was  of  the  New  Haven  company 
of  immigrants.  He  was  the  son  of  John,  one  of  the 
founders  of  New  Haven.  Isaac  was  a  planter  there 
as  early  as  1643,  and  took  the  oath  of  fidelity  March 
7,  1648.  He  resided  on  the  east  side,  next  the  sea,  be- 
yond the  Cove  River.  He  came  hither  with  a  wife  and 
seven  children.  He  was  chosen  the  first  town  clerk, 
and  served  as  such  until  his  death.  He  was  appointed, 
March  22,  1680,  captain  of  the  military  company  ; 
also,  March  28,  1683,  one  of  the  judges  of  small 
causes,  also  in  1686  ;  also,  Dec.  3,  1683,  coroner  of 
the  county.  He  had  a  house-lot  containing  six  acres, 
bounded  southeast  by  Nathaniel  Bonnell,  northwest 
by  his  son  Isaac,  northeast  by  his  own  land,  and 
southwest  by  a  highway.  He  had  also  18  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  his  son  Isaac,  Benjamin  Price, 
Jr.,  Nathaniel  Bonnell,  and  his  own  house-lot;  also 
12  acres  of  upland  "at  the  W.  side  of  the  plain," 
bounded  by  Robert  Vauquellin,  Samuel  Hopkins^and 
Joseph  Meeker;  also  20  acres  of  upland  (m  "the 
Long  Neck,"  bounded  by  Robert  Bond,  Benjamin 
Price,  Jr.,  Nicholas  Carter,  and  Henry  Lyon  ;  also 
45  acres  of  upland  adjoining  Benjamin  Meeker  and 
Henry  Lyon  ;  also  55  acres  of  upland  "at  the  great 
pond,"  bounded  by  Rev.  Jeremiah  Peck,  Henry  Lyon, 
and  "the  Sinking  Marsh;"  also  8  acres  of  meadow 


,  310.  Thompson's 
286,  ^87.  B.  .1.  RpcordB,  i  1 60 ,  o.  e 
C.  C.  64.     E.  T.  Bill.pp   100,  110. 


L.  I.,  i.  »>.1.     Hnwfll,  pp.  15,  89,  96, 
1;  ii  :l,19,51,73;  o.e.4;  B.38S,384; 


on  Woodruff's  Creek  ;  also  10  acres  of  meadow  on 
"Arthur  Cull's  bay;"  also  3i  acres  of  meailow  on 
East  Town  Creek, — in  all  177}  acres.  His  decease 
occurred  in  February,  1691. 

His  eldest  son,  Isaac,  born  at  New  Haven,  Nov.  20, 
1652,  was  bred  a  cordwainer,  and  early  became  one  of 
the  As.sociates.  He,  too,  was  held  in  much  consider- 
ation ;  he  became,  Nov.4,  1693,  captain  of  the  militia ; 
was  appointed,  Sept.  16,  1692,  sheriff  of  the  town; 
also, .Ian.  29,  1693, one  of  the  judges  of  small  causes; 
also,  April  1, 1693,  coroner  for  the  county  ;  and  Aug. 
22,  1695,  a  justice  of  the  peace  for  Essex.  He  had 
a  house-lot  containing  four  acres,  bounded  east  by 
his  father,  and  on  the  other  sides  by  highways;  also 
another  house-lot  of  six  acres,  bounded  north  and 
west  by  his  father,  east  by  Thomas  Price,  and  south 
by  a  highway  ;  also  64  acres  of  upland  "on  the  East 
Side  of  the  Mill  Creek  of  Elizabeth  Town,"  bounded 
by  Jonathan  Ogden,  John  Ogden,  Jr.,  and  Baltus  De 
Hart;  also  65  acres  of  upland  "to  the  Northward  of 
the  Spring  hill,"  bounded  by  Henry  Lyon  and  Mar- 
garet Baker;  also  35  acres  of  upland  "on  the  North 
sideof  the  Country  road  to  Woodbridge,"  bounded  by 
John  Toe,  James  Hinds,  Robert  White,  and  Roger 
Lambert;  also  6  acres  of  fresh  meadow,  adjoining 
John  Woodruff;  also  20  acres  of  meadow,  a  part  "  on 
Sloping  Creek,"  and  another  part  on  "Oyster  Creek," 
—in  all  200  acres.     He  died  July  1,  1724.' 

John  Winans  (Wynes,  Waynes,  Winons,  Winnons, 
Wynons,  Wynens,  Wynans,  Wynnings)  was  doubt- 
less of  the  company  that  came  from  the  east  end  of 
Long  Island.  It  is  quite  likely  that  he  was  of  the 
same  family  with  Barnabas  Wines,  their  names  being 
frequently  spelt  alike.  He  was  bred  a  weaver,  a 
handicraft  in  great  request  at  that  early  day.  He 
had  a  house-lot  containing  5  acres,  10  by  5  chains, 
bounded  N.  by  Jacob  Melyen,  W.  by  Humphrey 
Spinage,  and  S.  and  E.  by  highways.  He  had  also 
16  acres  of  upland  "on  the  Neck,"  between  Matthias 
Hatfield  and  Samuel  Marsh,  Sr. ;  also  120  acres  of 
upland  "on  Peach  Garden  Brook,"  bounded  by 
Robert  Morse,  Matthias  Hatfield,  Robert  White,  and 
unsurveyed  land  ;  also  40  acres  of  land  on  "  the  S. 
branch  of  Elizabeth  Creek  or  River,"  bounded  by 
Humphrey  Spinage,  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  the  plain  ; 
also  4  acres  of  meadow  "  at  Ravvack,"  and  6  acres 
on  Elizabeth  Creek, — in  all  200  acres.  When  his  next 
neighbor,  Jacob  Melyen,  had  removed  to  New  York, 
Winans  bought,  Feb.  8,  1678,  his  house-lot,  house, 
barn,  orchard,  etc.  He  died  at  the  close  of  1694. 
His  estate  was  valued  at  £271  15s.  f>d? 

Barnabas  Wines  (Wynes,  Winds)  was  from  South- 
old,  L.  I.  He  was  the  son  of  Goodman  Barnabas, 
who  was  made,  May  6,  1635,  a  freeman  of  Water- 
town,  Mass.,  sold  out  in  1642,  and  removed  to  South- 


8  N.  H.  Col.  Records,  i.  94,  122.  12S,  1.19,  434,  446,  4,')9.  Savage,  iv. 
IB.  E  . I.  Records,  li.  18,94;  o.  e.  L'4 ;  C.  13.  106,  1.50,  171,233:  K.  46, 
17;  L.  70;  0.  104,  108,  117.     E.  T.  Bill,  pp.   :i3,  34,  lO). 

3  E.  J.  Records,  i.  108,  101 ;   ii.  22,  37  ;   D.  197.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  105. 


ORIGINAL   PATP:NTKES    and   associates    of    ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


37 


old,  where  Barnabas,  Jr.,  was  made  a  freeman  in 
1664.  His  brother  Samuel  remained  with  his  father, 
but  he  himself  joined  the  Achter  Kuil  band  of  emi- 
grants and  came  here  in  1665.  His  house-lnt  con- 
tained six  acres,  bounded  N.  by  Aaron  Thompson, 
S.  by  William  Cramer,  E.  by  the  Mill  River,  and 
W.  by  a  hifrhway  ;  also  two  acres  of  upland  adjoin- 
ing Aaron  Thompson;  also  four  acres  of  upland  "at 
Luke  Watson's  point;"  also  30  acres  of  upland  "in 
a  Swamp  between  Richard  Beach  and  William-Cra- 
mer;" also  86  acres  of  upland,  bounded  by  Nicholas 
Carter,  George  Pack,  Francis  Barber,  and  unsurveyed 
land  ;  also  12  acres  of  upland  "  Joyning  to  the  Calf 
pasture"  and  George  Ross ;  also  six  acres  of  meadow 
at  Thompson's  Creek  ;  also  six  acres  of  meadow  at  the 
S.  side  of  E.  T.  Creek,  and  12  acres  by  "the  hoggish 
meadow," — in  all  164  acres.' 

Peter  Wolverson   (Wolferzen,   Wolphertsen)   Van 
Couwenhoven   was  a  genuine  Hollander  from   New 
Amsterdam.     He  was  born  at  Amersfoort,  in  Utrecht, 
Holland,  and  was  a  step-son  of   Wolfert  Gerritsen, 
who  emigrated  to  New  Netherland  in  1680  as  over- 
seer of  Kilian   Van  Rensselaer's  colony  at  Rensse- 
laerwyck,    near   Fort    Orange.      Gerritsen    in    1633 
entered  the  company's  service,  and  removed  to  New 
Amsterdam.     Three  years  Jifterwards  he  took  up  his 
abode   at   New    Amersfoort,  or    Flathinds,  L.   I.,  of 
which  he  was  one  of  the  founders.     Young  Wolfer- 
zen, in   1639,   or  earlier,  came  to  New   Amsterdam, 
where  at  that  time  he  contracted  to  build  a  house 
for  Thomas  Hall.     The  next  year,  Dec.  2,  1640,  he 
married  Hester  Symons,  a  native  of  Amsterdam,  but 
then  of  New  York.     His  brother  Jacob,  also  a  resi- 
dent of  New  Amsterdam,  erected  in  1645  a  brewery 
in  Stone  Street.     Peter,  too,  became  a  brewer  and  a  t 
general  trader,  first  in  company  with  his  brother,  and  ! 
then  by  himself,  at  the  N.  W.  corner  of  Whitehall  ! 
and  Pearl  Streets.     He  served  one  term  of  two  years  i 
and  four  terms  of  a  year  each  as  one  of  the  '"  Wor-  | 
shipful  Schepens"  of  the  city.     In  March,  1655,  he  j 
was  appointed  city  surveyor ;  also,  June  30,  1663,  a  ' 
lieutenant  of  the  military  company  of  which  Martin 
Kregier  was  captain.     As  such  he  did  good  service  in 
the  Esopus  war,  in  the  latter  part  of  1663,  of  which 
Kregier  published  a  detailed  narrative. 

After  the  English  conquest,  Wolferzen  had  some 
difficulty  with  the  Court  of  Assizes,  and  concluded  to 
unite  with  his  friends,  John  Ogden  and  Capt.  Baker, 
in  founding  their  new  colony.  In  November,  1665, 
his  wife  having  died,  he  married  Alice  Sybrants,  of 
French  extraction,  with  whom  he  removed  at  once  to 
his  new  home.  She  died  the  following  year,  in  giv- 
ing birth  to  her  son  Peter,  and  was  buried  at  New 
York.  Her  child  was  baptized  in  the  Dutch  Church, 
Feb.  27.  1669.  In  the  list  of  Associates  he  is  called 
"  Peter  Couenhoven."     Having  built  a  brewery,  he 


1  N.  H  Col.  Rwords,  i.  97,  2»2  4(iO. 
Conn.,  i,  198.     K.  .1.  Ricnl:-.  ii.  2J,  9n; 


.  59:i.    Hinman's  P.  S. 


obtained  from  Governor  Carteret  a  license  "  for  the 
keeping  of  an  Ordinary  in  Elizabeth  Towne,  and  for 
the  selling  and  retailing  of  all  sorts  of  drink  and 
strong  Liquors,"  for  one  year  from  Sept.  29,  1666. 
To  meet  his  expenditures  he  borrowed,  July  12,  1667, 
of  the  G'lvernor,  "2727  gilders  17  stivers,"  mort- 
gaging, as  he  says,  "  all  my  Land  dwelling  hows  and 
out  houses,  Brewhows,  Copper  and  all  other  appur- 
tenances thereunto  belonging,  together  With  all  my 
goods  and  cattle  moveable  and  unmoveable  that  I  now 
have  or  may  hereafter  have  in  Elizabeth  Towne." 
When  the  Dutch  reconquered  New  York,  Wolferzen 
returned  to  the  city,  and  Carteret  came,  by  fore- 
closure, into  possession  of  the  property.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  "  well  versed  in  the  Indian  language." 

He  was  entitled  to  480  acres,  for  which  the  Gov- 
ernor issued  a  warrant  March  14,  1675,  to  himself. 
Of  this  amount  200  acres  were  surveyed  April  14, 
1677,  as  follows  :  The  house-lot,  "  formerly  belonging 
to  Peter  Woolverson,"  contained  eight  acres,  "being 
a  triangle  piece"  near  John  Woodruff's  landing  by  a 
small  creek;  also  40  acres  of  upland  on  the  neck, 
bounded  S.  W.  "  by  the  highway  that  goes  to  the 
point,  and  all  round  by  Governor  Philip  Carteret's 
land ;"  also  152  acres  of  upland  "  towards  the 
plaine,"  bounded  by  Daniel  De  Hart,  Elizabeth  Creek, 
Leonard  Headley,  and  unsurveyed  land  ;  also  3  acres 
of  meadow,  adjoining  the  house-lot  on  Elizabeth 
Creek  ;  also  6  acres  of  meadow  on  "  the  bay  of  Kill 
von  Kull,"  and  15  acres  of  meadow  on  Oyster  Creek 
and  the  great  pond, — in  all  224  acres.^ 

Jonas  Wood  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  were  neigh- 
bors of  John  Ogden  in  1652,  at  North  Sea,  or  North- 
ampton, in  the  town  of  Southampton,  L.  I.  Jonas 
and  Edward  Wood  were  members  of  the  church  at 
Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1635,  and  with  John  Strickland 
and  others,  were  dismissed  May  29,  1635,  to  plant  a 
colony  on  the  Connecticut  River,  to  which  they  gave 
the  name  of  "  Wethersfield."  In  1640,  Jonas,  Ed- 
ward, Jeremiah,  and  Jonas,  Jr.,  removed  from  Weth- 
ersfield, and  with  others  settled  Rippowams  (Stam- 
ford), Conn.  Jonas  and  Edward  are  thought  to  have 
been  brothers,  and  the  other  two  their  sons.  In  the 
spring  of  1644  they  joined  the  colony  that  crossed 
over  to  Long  Island  and  settled  Hempstead,  Jonas 
being  one  of  the  patentees.  Jonas  and  Jonas,  Jr., 
subsequently  settled  at  Huntington,  L.  I.,  and  were 
both  living  there  in  1675.  The  Jonas,  therefore,  who 
accompanied  John  Ogden  to  Northampton,  and  in 
1665  to  this  town,  must  have  been  a  son  of  Edward 
and  a  cousin  of  Jonas,  Jr.,  supposing  the  latter,  as  is 
most  natural,  to  have  been  the  son  of  Jonas,  Sr., 
there  being  three  persons  contemporaneous  bearing 
the  same  name,  and  thus  occasioning  confusion  in 


2  Valenlinp's  N.  T  ,  pp  89. 90.  O'aulaghan'a  N.  Neth.,  ii.  476, 479,  500. 
Br.iiihPiid'8  N.  T.,  i.  :i53.  .^)8,  571,  712-14.  Doc.  Hi«.  of  N.  Y.,  iv.  47-89. 
Valentine's  Man.  for  I8.)2,  pp.  3'.l3-9i.  Alb.  Records,!.  156,  22:i;  ii.  4; 
iv.l93:  X. 170.  39:!;  xxiii.  227.  E.  J,  Records,  i  167;  ii.  19,  50,  55;  iii. 
10,11.     E.T.Bill,  p.  109.     Riker's  Newtown,  pp.  .55.  360,  .361. 


38 


HISTOHV    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


tracing  their  genealogy.     He  appears  to  have  been  | 
much  respected  by  his  townsmen  here.     He  received  ! 
license  July  10,  1(579,  to  keep  an  ordinary,  and  was 
chosen  Nov.  3,  1693,  and  again  in  lt)94,  a  deputy  to 
represent  the  town  in  the  Legislature. 

He  had  a  house-lot  containing  six  acres,  bounded 
northwest  by  Richard  Mitchell,  southvyest  by  William 
Letts,  southeast  by  the  highway,  and  northeast  by 
Samuel  Marsh,  Sr.  He  had  also  nine  acres  of  upland, 
bounded  by  William  Oliver,  Charles  Tucker,  Richard 
Clarke,  and  CJeorge  Ross ;  also  3  acres  of  upland  ad- 
joining Dennis  White  and  the  Common  ;  also  150 
acres  of  upland  at  "  Rahawack,"  adjoining  Jeffry 
Jones  and  Capt.  John  Baker;  also  50  acres  of  up- 
land, "  a  Ridge  of  Land  between  two  Swamps,"  ad- 
joining Robert  White  and  tlie  Common  ;  also  six 
acres  of  meadow  on  Elizabeth  Creek,  bounded  by 
William  Johnson,  William  Cramer,  and  Richard 
Clark ;  also  14  acres  of  meadow  adjoining  his  ujiland 
at  "  Rahawack."  and  10  acres  of  meadow  on  "  Raha- 
wack River," — in  all  228  acres.  Several  of  these 
parcels  he  exchanged  May  29,  1678,  with  Simon 
Rouse.  In  company  with  his  son  Samuel  he  pur- 
chased, June  24,  1686,  several  parcels  of  Robert 
Morse,  and  sold  Aug.  25,  1686,  a  part  of  his  patent; 
also  June  29,  1687,  100  acres  to  "  Andrise  Prise  Gaer, 
of  E.  T.  ;"  and  Oct.  17,  1688,  the  half  of  his  house-lot 
to  James  Emott,  Esq.,  a  new-comer  in  1683.' 

John  Woodruff  (Woodrofe)  wasof  the  Southampton 
colony.  He  was  the  son  of  John  Woodruff,  who  was 
living,  1667,  on  the  E.  side  of  the  street,  between 
Thomas  Burnett  and  John  Foster.  The  father  died 
at  Southampton  in  May,  1670.  In  his  will,  May 
4,  1670,  is  this  bequest :  "  I  give  unto  my  Eldest  son 
John  Woodruff  of  Elizabeth  Town  one  halfe  Crowne 
piece  of  Money  in  full  of  all  portions  &  Patrimony 
whatsoever,  to  be  expected  from  mee,  or  out  of  any 
part  of  my  Estate."  At  the  close  of  will  he  says, 
"I  by  this  make  my  Wife  Anne  Woodruff  and  my 
youngest  son  John  Woodruff' joynt  Executors  of  this 
my  Last  Will  and  Testament."  Here  are  two  sons 
of  the  same  father  named  "John."  Were  they  chil- 
dren of  the  same  mother  also?  Or  was  one  of  them 
an  adopted  son?'  His  daughter  Elizabeth  was  mar- 
ried to  a  son  of  Ralph  Dayton  (probably  Robert),  of 
East  Hampton.  His  daughter  Anne  was  married  to 
a  son  of  Robert  Wooley.  Tlie  emigrant  son  brought 
with  him  to  this  town  his  wife  Mary,  with  "  two  men 
and  a  maid  servant."  His  children  were  born  after 
his  arrival.  He  was  appointed  constable  of  the  town 
Dec.  11,  1674,  ensign  July  15,  1675,  and  sheriff  of  the 
county  Nov.  28,  1684. 

His  house-lot  contained  but  \\  acres,  bounded  W. 

1  Conn.  Col.  Records,  i.  2, 172, 174,  190, 192,  27fi,  281.  28:1,  :)79,  3»(l,  401. 
Chapin's  Glasteiibury,  pp,  27,  47.  Hinnian's  P.  S.  of  Conn.,  i.  18,  2:)2,  4b5. 
Thonipsc.n's  L.  I.,  i.  iM,  467:  ii.  5,  6,  105.  HoWfll,  p.  :i05.  E.J.  Rec 
10:  iii.  158  :  B.  46,  121,  1:)2  :  D.  48.     E.  T. 


ord»,  i.  76.  109,  154; 
B.ll,  p.  1U5. 


1  reliited  in  tbe  Shattuck  family  of  Saybruok,  Codu., 

Sliatluck  Memorial,  p.  72. 


by  John  Ogden,  and  on  the  other  sides  by  highways, 
lie  had  also  "a  Farme  cont«  Two  Hundred  Ninety 
two  Acres,"  since  known  as  "  Woodruff's  Farms," 
bounded  N.  and  W.  by  a  great  swamp,  E.  by  the 
common  meadow,  and  S.  by  a  small  brook  and  John 
Parker ;  also  14  acres  on  the  North  Neck ;  also  5 
acres  bounded  by  the  common  pasture,  his  own  land, 
a  small  bnjok,  and  Leonard  Headiey ;  also  8  acres  of 
upland,  bounded  by  the  Governor  and  Jonathan  and 
Joseph  Ogden's  house-lots ;  also  6  acres  of  upland 
joining  John  Parker's  house-lot  "at  the  Farmes," 
bounded  by  John  Parker,  the  common  swamp,  John 
Wilson,  and  his  own  land,  "through  which  a  way 
must  be  Left  for  John  Parker  to  pa.ss  through  to  his 
Plantation;"  also  30  acres  of  meadow,  joining  the 
great  island  and  his  own  land  ;  also  4  acres  of  meadow 
adjoining  the  above  ;  and  oh  acres  of  meadow  on  Eliza- 
beth Town  Creek, — in  all  320  acres.  Still  later  he  ob- 
tained 120  acres  more, — an  island  or  hammock  in  the 
greatmeadow,  containing36  acres  ;  also  22  acres  by  the 
brook  in  the  swamp  ;  also  30  acres  of  hassocks  adjoin- 
ing George  Morris ;  also  14  acres  of  hassocks  adjoin- 
ing John  Parker ;  also  9  acres  of  meadow  on  Oyster 
Creek  ;  also  five  acres  of  meadow  on  the  bay,  and 
four  acres  on  Forked  Creek.' 

Capt.  Thomas  Young  and  Christopher  Young  were 
from  Southold,  L.  I.  They  were  sons  of  tlie  Rev. 
John  Youngs,  the  first  pastor  of  the  Southold  Church. 
The  father  was  born  in  1602,  and  Joan,  his  wife,  in 
1603.  They  married  early,  and  had  six  children  in 
1637, — John,  Thomas,  Anne,  Rachel,  Mary,  and  Jo- 
seph. Christopher  was  born  at  a  later  date.  John 
Young,  in  1637,  was  the  minister  of  "St.  Margretts, 
Suff."  in  England.  They  sought.  May  11th,  "  to  passe 
fo  Salam  in  New  England  to  inhabitt ;"  but  leave  was 
refused.  Three  years  later  they  succeeded,  and  with 
some  of  their  church  came  to  New  Haven,  whence 
they  crossed  to  Long  Island  and  founded  Southold. 
John  and  Thomas  were  both  mariners  in  command 
of  coasters.  Thomas  was  born,  1627,  in  England,  and 
married,  at  Southold,  Rebecca,  a  daughter  of  Thomas 
Mapes.  In  1654  he  removed  to  Oyster  Bay.  His 
wife  died,  and  he  married,  1658,  Sarah,  a  daughter  of 
John  Frost. 

It  is  quite  probable  that  it  was  in  Capt.  Thomas 
Young's  vessel  that  the  first  colonists  from  the  towns 
on  tbe  east  end  of  Long  Island  removed  to  this  place, 
and  in  the  same  way  others  afterwards  came,  encour- 
aged by  the  good  reports  brought  them  by  Capt. 
Young  of  the  new  home  so  happily  found  by  their 
old  neighbors. 

His  name  heads  the  list  of  those  who  took  the  oath 
of  allegiance,  February,  1666.  On  the  12th  of  the 
same  month  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Governor's 
Council.  Two  days  afterwards,  John  Day,  cooper,  of 
Elizabeth  Town,  binds  himself  as  a  servant  to  Capt. 


3  N.  y.  Book  of  WilU,  i.  131.     Howell,  p.  306.    E.  J.  Records,  i.  150 ; 
i.  14,  25 ;  iii.  20,  23,  105  ;  h.  406 ;  U.  87  ;  L.  1U3,  104.     E.  T.  Bill,  p.  102. 


ORiaiNAL    PATENTEES    AND   ASSOCIATES   OF   ELIZABETH    TOWN. 


39 


Philip  Carteret  and  Capt.  Thomas  Young,  of  Eliza- 
beth Town,  for  two  years  in  the  craft  or  trade  of  a 
cooper,  to  receive  "  competent  meat  Drink  and  house- 
room,"  and  "  the  halfe  p"  of  What  Coopers  Work  he 
shall  doe  and  earne."  By  indenture,  March  25, 1672, 
Scwanam,  a  Long  Island  Indian,  binds  himself  to 
"  Thomas  Young  of  Elizabeth  Town,  mariner,"  as  his 
servant  for  four  years,  "about  the  House  or  Family 
or  abroad  whether  by  Land  or  Water,"  on  condition 
of  being  supplied  "  with  sufficient  Meat  Drink  and 
Clothes  Washing  and  Lodging  according  to  his  Rank 
and  Qualitj',"  to  receive  for  his  services  a  mare,  and 
"  after  the  first  voyage  to  Europe  or  Barbados  one 
suit  of  apparel."  It  thus  appears  that  Capt.  Young 
wiis  in  the  European  and  West  India  trade,  and  quite 
a  venturesome  navigator  for  the  times. 

He  had  a  warrant  for  240  acres  of  land,  of  which 
only  112  acres  are  described;  100  acres  at  Young's 
Point,  bounded  on  three  sides  by  Sir  George  and 
Philip  Carteret,  a  great  pond,  and  unsurveyed  land, 
and  on  the  other  side  by  meadow,  one  line  running 
"  along  the  meadow  till  it  comes  to  a  point  of  laud 
near  the  Indian  wigwam  ;"  also  12  acres  of  meadow 
contiguous  to  the  above,  the  great  pond,  and  the 
swampy  meadows.  The  locality  was  chosen,  doubt- 
less, because  of  his  seafaring  pursuits.  It  was  at  the 
junction  of  Achter  Kull  Sound  and  Newark  Bay,  a 
point  of  land  then  called  "Thomas  Young's  Point," 
but  in  later  years  "  De  Hart's  Point,"  about  a  mile 
north  from  the  Governor's  or  "Old  Point,"  where 
the  Carterets  had  most  of  the  land.  A  lot  of  land 
was  laid  out  for  him,  in  1676,  on  the  south  side  of 
Staten  Island,  northeast  of  "  Seedar  Poynte."  His 
brother  Christopher  sold,  Nov.  20,  1667,  all  his  ac- 
commodations at  Elizabeth  Town,  being  a  first  lot- 
right  and  a  house-lot  of  four  acres,  bounded  south 
by  George  Pack,  north  by  the  Common,  west  "  by 
the  highway  that  goeth  to  Woodbridge,"  and  east 
by  another  highway,  to  Dennis  White  for  £10. 
On  the  8th  of  June  following  White  assigned  it  to 
Young  again,  by  whom,  not  long  afterwards,  it  was 
sold  to  John  Little.  Neither  of  the  brothers  became 
permanent  residents  here.  Capt.  Thomas  returned 
to  Oyster  Bay,  where  he  rested  from  his  earthly  pil- 
grimage in  1689.  Christopher  returned  to  the  island, 
and  settled  at  Southold,  his  former  home,  where  he 
was  living  in  1675  and  1683.' 

Benjamin  Concklin  came  with  his  East  Hampton 
neighbors,  but  for  some  unexplained  cause  soon  after 
returned  to  his  former  home.  .Joseph  and  Joshua 
Concklin,  of  the  same  lineage,  came  here  some  forty 
years  later,  and  founded  the  Concklin  family  of  this 
town.  They  were  probably  children  or  grandchildren 
of  the  Benjamin  here  noticed." '' 


1  4  Mass.  His.  Soc.  Coll.,  i.  101 :  ii.  .'iSS.  Thompson's  L.  I.,  i.  395;  ii. 
381-.i8.3.  E.  J.  Recoriis,  i.  1,  2.1,  :!fi;  ii.  18, 105;  (i.e.2fi;  iii.7,  8.  E.  T.Bill, 
pp.  61,  109,  no.     New  York  Doc.  Histoiy,  ii.  451,  455,  5.16. 

■  Hedgps'  E.  Haniptiiii,  pp.  4,  03.  Tbumpsuu's  L.  I.,  i.  295,  310.  Littell's 
Passaic  Valley,  pp.  8.)-!>0,  500-501. 


Roderick  Powell  was  a  servant,  and  in  the  May 
following,  having  run  away  from  his  master,  is  de- 
scribed as  "a  pitiful  fellow."  A  Richard  Powell,  of 
another  lineage  doubtless,  was  here  only  a  few  years 
later,  to  whom  the  Governor  sold,  January,  1678,  his 
Woodbridge  lands,  taking  Powell's  Elizabeth  Town 
house  and  lands  in  exchange,  and  selling  the  latter 
soon  after  to  Henry  Lyon.' 

■Jacob  Clais,  Zachary  Graves,  Moses  Peterson,  and 
Thomas  Skilhnan,  svho  all  took  the  oath,  were  either 
transient  persons,  or  were  mere  laborers,  and  not 
freeholders. 

Three  other  names  at  least  are  to  be  added  to  the 
list  of  those  who  were  settlers  during  the  first  year, — 
James  Bollen,  Robert  Sealey,  and  Philip  Carteret. 

James  Bollen  came,  over,  it  is  thought,  with  the 
English  fleet  in  1664.  As  he  was  styled  "captain," 
he  may  have  been  in  command  of  one  of  the  vessels. 
Col.  Nicolls  appointed  him  "  Commissary  of  the 
Ammunition"  at  New  York.  He  was  one  of  those  who 
were  deputed  by  Nicolls  to  receive  the  surrender  of 
the  fort  at  New  Amsterdam,  Sept.  8,  1664.  He  re- 
mained at  New  York  until  August,  1665.  In  the 
court  records  for  that  year  it  appears  that  he  fre- 
quently served  as  foreman  of  the  jury,  his  name 
being  written  "Bullaine"  and  "Balline."  When 
Capt.  Carteret,  on  his  first  voyage  to  America,  arrived 
at  "  Newjjortes  newes,  Virginia,"  he  sent  his  dis- 
patches, June  13,  1665,  "to  Capt.  James  Bullaigne  in 
New  York,"  indicating  previous  acquaintanceship, 
probably  in  the  island  of  Jersey,  and  quite  likely  a 
French  extraction  for  Bollen.  He  attached  himself 
to  Governor  Carteret  on  his  arrival  at  New  York,  and 
as  secretary  of  the  new  province  accompanied  him  in 
August  to  Elizabeth  town.  He  adhered  most  rigidly 
to  the  Governor  through  his  troublesome  administra- 
tion, and  was  rewarded  with  the  entire  confidence  of 
his  superior.  He  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace, 
Jan.  20,  1666,  and  as  such  ofiiciated  in  almost  every 
instance  in  the  marriage  services  of  the  period.  He 
presided  at  the  town-meeting  when  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance was  administered  in  February.  He  kept  the 
records  of  the  proprietary  government,  and  several 
of  the  early  volumes  are  the  work  of  his  fingers. 
Becoming  exceedingly  obnoxious  to  the  town  by  his 
readiness  to  do  all  the  Governor's  bidding  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  people,  he  exchanged  properties,  Sept.  30, 
1673,  with  John  Martin,  of  Woodbridge,  and  thence- 
forward ceased  to  reside  here.  His  house-lot  adjoined 
Abraham  Shotwell's  on  the  east.  Martin  .sold  the 
property,  Nov.  6,  1674,  to  Henry  Lyon,  who  resold  it 
May  1,  1675,  "  together  with  the  Cow  Yard  Orchard 
or  Garden,"  to  Carteret  for  £30.  He  died  intestate  in 
March,  1683,  having  survived  his  friend  Carteret  but 
a  few  weeks.* 

3  E  J.  Eecords,  i.  98, 131 ;  iii.  8. 

<N.  Y.  Col.  Dociuts,  ii.  470;  iii.  29:i-300,  752.  Valentine's  Manual 
for  18.52,  pp.  483,  492,  496.  3  Mass.  His.  Soc.  Coll.,  x.  82.  E.  J.  Records, 
i.  89;  iii.  6;  A.  1. 


40 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JEKSEY. 


Robert  Sealey  (Seeley)  came  over  probably  with 
Winthrop.  He  was  at  Watertown,  Mass.,  in  1630; 
was  employed  as  surveyor  in  1634  ;  came  to  Wetliers- 
field,  Conn.,  in  1636;  was  a  lieutenant  in  the  Pequot 
war  of  1637  ;  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  of  New 
Haven  in  1639;  returned  to  England  about  1646; 
came  back  and  joined  the  Delaware  Colony  that  was 
driven  off  by  the  Dutch  in  1651 ;  had  command  of  the 
troops  raised  by  New  Haven  to  resist  the  Dutch  in 
1654;  was  at  Saybrook  in  1662;  was  at  Huntington, 
L.  I.,  and  in  charge  of  the  militia  in  1663;  and  was 
at  New  York  iu  1664.  The  next  year  he  united  with 
Ogden  and  others  in  settling  Elizabethtovvn.  His 
house-lot  contained  six  acres,  bounded  north  by  Rev. 
Jeremiah  Peck,  west  by  the  Mill  Creek,  east  by  the 
highway,  and  south  by  "the  Parson's  house  Lott." 
John  and  Nathaniel  Seeley,  of  Fairfield  (1657),  and 
Obadiah,  of  Stamford,  Conn.,  it  is  thought,  were  his 
sons  by  his  first  wife.  In  December,  1666,  he  married 
Nancy  Walker,  at  New  York.  He  died  intestate  in 
October,  1668,  and  his  widow  sold,  Nov.  2,  1668,  his 
lands  and  rights  here  for  £45  to  Governor  Carteret 
The  latter  resold  it  Feb.  22,  1669-70,  to  one  of  his  old 
Jersey  friends,  Claude  Vallot,  "of  Champagne,  in  the 
kingdom  of  France,"  who  had  come  over  with  the 
Governor,  and  having  lived  here  five  years  as  one  of 
Carteret's  "  menial  servants,"  had  12  days  before  been 
naturalized.  In  the  list  of  Associates  "Sealy  Cham- 
pain"  is  mentioned;  it  should  be  "Robert  Sealy, 
transferred  to  Claude  Vallot,  of  Champagne."  Vallot 
exchanged  the  property  Aug.  8,  1672,  with  Benjamin 
Parkhurst,  of  Woodbridge,  and  thenceforward  made 
the  latter  place  his  home.' 

Capt.  Philip  Carteret,  the  Governor,  is  usually 
styled  "the  brother"  of  Sir  George  Carteret.  Philip, 
the  brotherof  Sir  George,  died  in  1665.  Consequently 
the  Elizabeth  Town  Philipcould  not  be  the  proprietor's 
brother.  Nor  could  he  be  a  brother-in-law.  Lady 
Elizabeth  Carteret,  the  wife  of  Sir  George,  had  also 
a  brother  Philip,  but  he  died  in  1662.  The  mother 
of  Sir  George  was  Elizabeth  Dumaresque,  and  the 
mother  of  the  Lady  Elizabeth  was  Ann  Dowse,  but 
Capt.  Philip,  the  Governor,  in  his  will  speaks  of  his 
mother  as  "  Rachel."  Samuel  Maverick,  one  of  the 
royal  commissioners,  who  knew  Governor  Carteret 
intimately,  says,  June  29,  1669,  "  As  Sir  George  Car- 
terett  writes  to  his  cosen,  the  present  Gouernor."  The 
confusion  may  have  been  owing  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  each  of  them  was  the  son  of  a  Helier  Carteret. 
But  the  father  of  Sir  George  was  the  great-grandson 
of  Edward,  and  the  father  of  Philip  was  the  great- 
grandson  of  Edward's  brother  Richard,  so  that  Sir 
George  was  but  the  fourth  cousin  of  the  Governor. 

Philip  Carteret  was  the  son  of  Helier  De  Carteret, 
attorney-general  of  Jersey,  and  of  Rachel .     He 


>  Muse  His.  Soc.  CoH.,  iii.  143, 1B3.  Bacon's  New  Havrn,  p.  315.  Cha- 
pin's  Glaateiibiiry,  p.  46.  N.  T.  MnrriugeK,  p.  345.  Savage,  iv.  49.  E. 
T.  Bill,  p.  108.     E.  J.  Records,  i.  6,  7  ;  ii.  9(i.     N.  Y.  Wills,  i.  64 


was  the  first  born  of  his  mother,  his  birth  having  oc- 
curred in  1639,  the  year  after  her  marriage.  As  such 
he  became  seigneur  of  the  manor  of  La  Houque, 
parish  of  St.  Peter,  Jersey.  He  was  the  grandson  of 
Peter  De  Carteret,  jurat  of  the  Royal  Court  of  Jer- 
sey, whose  father,  Francis,  was  the  second  son  of 
Richard,  seigneur  of  the  manor  of  Vincheles,  and 
brother  of  Edward,  the  ancestor  of  Sir  George.  Philip 
was  forty  years  the  junior  of  Sir  George,  being  only 
in  his  twenty-sixth  year,  lull  of  the  vigor  and  ela.stic- 
ity  of  early  manhood,  when  he  embarked  to  seek  his 
fortune  in  the  New  World.  His  subsequent  history 
is  elsewhere  in  this  narrative  related  at  length. 

The  family  and  their  friends  in  Jersey  were  origi- 
nally French,  and  the  language,  manners,  and  customs 
of  France  prevailed  on  the  island.  Most  of  those  who 
came  with  Carteret  iu  the  ship  "  Philip"  were  prob- 
ably from  the  Carteret  estates  in  Jersey,  and  of  French 
origin.  The  family,  as  has  been  seen,  had  been  ar- 
dently devoted  throughout  the  civil  war  to  the  for- 
tunes of  the  house  of  Stuart,  and  were  high  in  the 
favor  of  the  king  and  the  Duke  of  York.^ 

It  appears  from  this  review,  therefore,  that  the  num- 
ber of  planters  found  here  in  February,  1666,  or,  if 
not  on  the  ground,  yet  identified  with  the  settlement, 
was  about  seventy.  A  large  proportion,  nearly  all, 
had  brought  their  wives  with  them.  Some  of  them 
had  several  children  also.  A  small  number  were 
considerably  in  years.  The  most  of  them,  however, 
were  young,  vigorous,  robust  men,  between  the  ages 
of  twenty-five  and  forty, — just  the  men  to  lay  the 
foundations  of  many  generations. 


CHAPTER    V. 

INDIAN    OCCUPATION. 

It  would  seem  from  Hudson's  journal  that  the  In- 
dians on  the  east  side  of  the  Hudson  River  held  no 
intercourse  with  those  on  the  west  side,  and  that  the 
former  were  a  much  more  fierce  and  implacable  people 
than  the  latter.  This  probably  arose  from  the  fact 
that  those  east  of  the  Hudson  and  along  its  upper 
banks  were  allies  of  the  Iroquois,  which  were  then 
the  dominating  confederacy  of  the  red  republicans  of 
the  forest.  They  had  not  only  carried  their  conquests 
along  the  Hudson  to  the  ocean,  but  along  East  River 
and  Long  Island  Sound  to  the  Connecticut,  exacting 
submission  and  tribute  from  all  the  tribes  of  this 
region  of  country.  They  had  also  carried  their  con- 
quering arms  southward  along  the  Susquehanna  and 
the  Delaware,  reducing  to  submission  the  Andastes 
and  the  Leniii  Lenape ;  and  even  the  Anticokes,  or 
tide-water  people,  along  the  Delaware  and  Chesa- 
peake Bays,  trembled  at  their  vindictive  prowess. 


2  Collins'  Peerage  (eil.  of  17:)5),  iv.  321-326. 


INDIAN   OCCUPATION. 


41 


Rev.  Mr.  Abeel,  quoted  l)y  Moulton,  says  that  on 
the  point  where  New  York  is  now  built  Hudson  found 
a  very  hostile  people.  But  tliose  living  on  the  western 
side,  from  the  Kills  upward,  "  came  daily  on  board  of 
the  vessel  while  she  lay  at  anchor  in  the  river,  bring- 
ing with  them  to  barter  furs',  the  largest  and  finest 
oysters,  Indian  corn,  beans,  pumpkins,  squashes, 
grapes,  and  some  apples,  all  of  which  they  exchanged 
for  trifles." 

That  Hudson  and  the  traders  who  followed  him  had 
gained  some  knowledge  of  the  strength  and  resources 
of  the  Iroquois  country  is  eviilent  from  the  fact  that 
they  established  their  first  trading-post  at  Albany 
instead  of  Manhattan.  They  must  have  also  learned 
that  the  Iroquois,  especially  the  Mohawks,  the  eastern 
branch  of  the  confederacy,  held  an  ascendency  over 
the  lower  tribes,  and  on  this  account  sought  first  to 
gain  the  friendship  and  trade  of  the  former.  No 
doubt  such  an  alliance  with  the  masters  enabled  them 
the  better  to  control  the  subjects,  and  prepared  the 
WMy  for  their  successful  erection  of  a  trading-post  at 
Manhattan  after  they  had  carried  on  a  succe.ssfiil  and 
uninterrupted  commerce  at  Fort  Orange  for  at  least 
ten  years.  During  this  time  they  had  cemented  such 
a  triendship  with  the  Mohawks  as  availed  them  for 
assistance  in  their  subsequent  struggle  with  the  sev- 
eral tribes  inhabiting  this  region. 

The  Delawares,  or  Lenni  Lenape  — Most  writers 
on  Indian  antiquities  have  considered  the  tribes 
of  the  lower  Hudson  and  of  East  New  Jersey  as 
branches  of  the  general  Delaware  nation  or  Lenni 
Lenape,  which  means  oriiiinal  penp/e.  Those  most 
intimately  connected  with  this  region'were  the  Min- 
6ies  and  Mohicans — the  former  being  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  range  of  country  from  the  Slinisink  to 
ytaten  Island  and  from  the  Hudson  to  the  Raritan 
Valley.  The  latter  inhabited  the  east  side  of  the 
lower  Hudson  to  its  mouth.  The  Dutch  called  them 
respectively  the  Sanhikans  and  the  Manhikans.  Ac- 
cording to  Brodhead,'  the  former  were  also  called 
Wabingi,  or  Wappinges,  the  latter,  as  Heckewelder 
claims,  being  derived  from  the  Delaware  word  uyiping, 
signifying  opossum.  The-^e  were  divided  into  numer- 
ous tribes,  and  these  again  into  clans.  In  this  section 
of  New  Jersey  they  were  called  Raritans,  Hacken- 
sacks,  Pomptons,  and  Tappeans.  On  the  island  of 
New  York  dwelt  the  fierce  Manhattans,  whom  De 
Laet  calls  "  a  wicked  nation,"  and  "  enemies  of  the 
Dutch."  On  Long  Island,  called  by  the  natives  Se- 
wan-hacky,  the  land  of  shells,  were  the  savage  Meton- 
wacks,  divided  into  several  tribes.  The  names  of 
thirteen  of  these  tribes  have  been  preserved,  viz.,  the 
Canarse  and  Nyack  Indians,  settled  at  the  Narrows 
in  Kings  County  ;  the  Rockaway,  Merrikoke,  M.irsa- 
peagne,  and  Matinecoe  tribes  in  Queens  County; 
and  the  Nissaquage,  Setauket,  Corchaug,  Secalaug, 
Patchogue,   Shinnecoe,    and    Montauk,    in    Sufiblk 

>  Brodheiid.  i.  73. 


County.  These  Indians  sold  their  lands  to  the  whites 
in  1702-3,  except  about  five  hundred  acres,  on  which 
lived  a  remnant  of  the  Montauks  as  late  as  1829. 
Great  efforts  were  made  to  civilize  them  by  means  of 
missions  and  schools,  Rev.  Azariah  Horton  being 
missionary  among  them  in  1741;  but  all  these  efforts 
proved  unavailing;  they  gradually  became  extinct.' 

The  Delawares — the  Indian  people  with  which  this 
history  has  principally  to  deal — occu|)ie(l  a  domain 
extending  along  the  sea-shore  from  the  Ciiesapeake  to 
the  country  bordering  Long  Island  Sound.  Back  from 
the  coast  it  reached  beyond  the  Susquehanna  Valley 
to  the  foot  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  on  the 
north  joined  the  southern  frontier  of  their  domineer- 
ing neighbors,  the  hated  and  dreaded  Iroqois.  This 
domain,  of  course,  included  not  only  the  counties  of 
Bergen  and  Passaic,  but  all  of  the  State  of  New  Jer- 
sey. 

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

The  Indian  name  of  the  Delaware  nation,  Lenni 
Lenape,  signifies,  in  their  tongue,  "the  original  peo- 

2  Fiirnmn's  NotHs  to  Deiilnn's  "  Brief  Description  of  Nuw  York, '  pp. 
37 -4i. 

a"Tlie  Wolf,  (•oninionly  rallml  tlip  Minsi,  wliicli  we  have  corniptccl 
into  Mi>n.i-.vii,  liwl  tii.'sen  lo  live  buck  of  r lie  "llier  two  ti  iliew,  hiiiI  formed  * 
H  kind  i>f  I'lilwark  tor  their  pr-'tewtion.  watcliing  the  nioiioi  b  of  the 
Ment:u'eal>d  heing><t  hand  lo  atfiird  aid  in  raxe  ofa  iiiptnrp  w  lli  tlii'ln. 
The  Minsi  were  considered  tlie  most  warlike  and  active  l.ran.h  of  the 
Lenai.e  They  extended  their  sellhnients  from  the  Minisink.  a  ida.o 
uarne.l  after  ihe]n.  wlieTe  the)'  hail  their  conniilseat  iinil  lire,  quite  np 
to  the  Hudson  on  the  east,  and  to  the  west  and  sinith  far  lieynnn  the  Sns- 
(luehanna.  Their  northern  Isnindariea  were  snp|>oseil  orijiinall.v  to  he 
the  heads  of  the  great   rivers  Susquehanna  and    Delaware,  and  iheir 

6..ntliern  lliat  ri.lge  ,,|  hills  known  in  New  Jersey  li.v  the le  of  51m- 

kanicnni,  and  in  Pennsylvania  by  those  of  Leliigh,  O.nwtg,,,  etc. 
Within  Ihis  boundary  were  tlieii  principal  settlements:  and  even  as  late 
as  the  year  1742  they  had  a  town  with  a  peaeh-oicliard  on  llie  trail  of 
land  where  Nazareth,  in  I'ennsylvania,  has  since  been  l.nilt.  another  ..u 
the  Lehigh,  and  others  beyond  the  Blue  Kidge.  besides  n y  tani  ly  set- 
tlements here  and  there  scattered."'— /;i»ft.r/;.  Manner',  and  (>.("■■<»  iif 
Ihr  Inilian  Natimis  w/io  once  inhubiled  Peiimi/lvania,  hij  Bev.  Join  Hecke- 
weltivr. 


42 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


pie,"— a  title  which  they  had  adopted  under  the 
claim  that  they  were  descended  from  the  most  ancient 
of  all  Indian  ancestry.  This  claim  was  admitted  by 
the  Wyandots,  Miamis,  and  more  than  twenty  other 
aboriginal  nations,  who  accorded  to  the  Lenape  the 
title  of  grandfathers,  or  a  people  whose  ancestry  ante- 
dated their  own.  The  Rev.  John  Heckewelder,  in  his 
"  History  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Indian 
Nations,"  says  of  the  Delaware  nation, — 

"They  will  not  Kdmit  that  the  whites  are  superior  lieiiigs.  They  say 
that  the  hair  of  tlieir  heads,  their  features,  and  tlie  various  colors  of 
their  eyes  evince  that  they  are  not,  like  themselves,  Letini  Letinpi, — an 
orujimil p'ople,—n  race  of  men  that  has  existed  unchanged  from  the  be- 
ginning of  time ;  but  that  they  are  a  mixed  race,  and  therefore  a  trouble- 
some one.  Wherever  they  may  be,  the  Great  Spirit,  knowing  the  wick- 
edness of  their  disposition,  found  it  necessary  to  give  them  a  Great 
Book,  and  taught  them  how  to  read  it  that  they  might  know  and  ob- 
serve what  He  wished  them  to  do  and  what  to  al>8tain  from.  But  they 
—the  Indians— have  no  need  of  auy  such  book  to  let  them  know  the 
will  of  their  Maker:  tliey  And  it  engraved  on  their  own  hearts;  they 
have  had  sufflcient  discernment  given  to  them  to  distinguish  good  from 
evil,  and  by  following  that  guide  they  are  sure  not  to  err." 

Traditions  among  the  Delaware  Tribes.— Con- 
cerning the  origin  of  the  Lenapfi,  numerous  and 
essentially  difl'ering  traditions  were  current  among 
the  various  tribes.  One  of  these  traditions  is  men- 
tioned by  Loskiel  in  his  "History  of  the  Mission  of 
the  United  Brethren  among  the  North  American  In- 
dians," as  follows : 

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

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

There  was  another  leading  tradition  current  among 
the  nations  of  the  Lenape,  which  was  to  the  effect 
that,  ages  before,  their  ancestors  had  lived  in  a  far-off 
country  to  the  west,  beyond  great  rivers  and  moun- 
tains, and  that,  in  the  belief  that  there  existed,  away 
towards  the  rising  sun,  a  red  man's  paradise,— a  land 
of  deer  and  beaver  and  salmon,— they  had  left  their 
■  western  home  and  traveled  eastward  for  many  moons, 
until  they  stood  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Namisi 
Sipu  (Mississippi),  and  there  they  met  a  numerous 
nation,  migrating  like  themselves.  They  were  a  stran- 
ger tribe,  of  whose  very  existence  the  Lenape  had 
been  ignorant.  They  were  none  other  than  the  Meng- 
we  ;  and  this  was  the  first  meeting  of  those  two  peo- 
ples, who  afterwards  became  rivals  and  enemies,  and 
continued  such  for  centuries.  Both  were  now  trav- 
elers and  bound  on  the  same  errand.  But  they  found 
a  lion  in  their  path,  for  beyond  the  great  river  lay  the 
domain  of  a  nation  called  AUegewi,  who  were  not 
only  strong  in  numbers  and  brave,  but  more  skilled 
than  themselves  in  the  art  of  war,  who  had  reared 


great  defenses  of  earth  inclosing  their  villages  and 
strongholds.  In  the  true  spirit  of  military  strategy, 
they  permitted  a  part  of  the  emigrants  to  cross  the 
river,  and  then,  having  divided  their  antagonists,  fell 
upon  them  with  great  fury  to  annihilate  them.  But 
when  the  Lenape  saw  this  they  at  once  formed  an  al- 
liance, offensive  and  defensive,  with  the  Mengwe. 
The  main  body  crossed  the  river  and  attacked  the  Al- 
legewi  with  such  desperate  energy  that  they  defeated 
and  afterwards  drove  them  into  the  interior,  where 
they  fought  from  stronghold  to  stronghold,  till  finally, 
after  a  long  and  bloody  war,  the  AUegewi  were  not 
only  humiliated,  but  exterminated,  and  their  country 
was  occupied  by  the  victors.  After  this  both  nations 
ranged  eastward,  the  Mengwe  taking  the  northern 
and  the  Lenape  still  keeping  the  more  southern  route, 
until,  after  long  journeyings,  the  former  reached  the 
Mohicanittuck  (Hudson  River)  and  the  latter  rested 
upon  the  banks  of  the  Lenape  Wihittuck, — the  beau- 
tiful river  now  known  as  the  Delaware, — and  here 
they  found  that  Indian  elysium  of  which  they  had 
dreamed  before  they  left  their  old  homes  in  the  land 
of  the  setting  sun. 

These  and  other  similar  Indian  traditions  may  or 
may  not  have  some  degree  of  foundation  in  fact. 
There  are  to-day  many  enthusiastic  searchers  through 
the  realms  of  aboriginal  lore  who  accept  them  as  au- 
thentic, and  who  believe  that  the  combined  Lenape 
and  Mengwe  did  destroy  a  great  and  comparatively 
civilized  people,  and  that  the  unfortunate  AUegewi 
who  were  thus  extinguished  were  none  others  tlian 
the  mysterious  Mound-Builders  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  This,  however,  is  but  one  of  ihe  many  profit- 
less conjectures  which  have  been  indulged  in  with 
reference  to  that  unknown  peo|)le,  an<l  is  in  no  way 
pertinent  to  this  history.  All  Indian  tribes  were  fond 
of  narrating  the  long  journeys  and  great  deeds  of 
their  forefathers,  and  of  tracing  their  ancestry  back 
for  centuries,  some  of  them  claiming  descent  from  the 
great  Manitou  himself.  Missionaries  and  travelers 
among  them  who  were,  or  professed  to  be,  familiar 
with  their  language  and  customs  have  spoken  with 
apparent  sincerity  of  Indian  chronology  running  back 
to  a  period  before  the  Christian  era,  and  some  of  tiie 
old  enthusiasts  claimed  that  these  aborigines  were  de- 
scendants of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel.'      But  all  the 


^  In  asmiill,  quaint,  and  now  very  rare  volume  entitled  "An  Uist  rl- 
cal  Description  of  the  Province  and  Country  of  Wi-st  New  .Jersey  in 
America,  Never  made  Piiblick  till  now,  by  Gabriel  Thomas,  Lon.lon, 
11.98,"  an<l  dedicated  "To  the  Riaht  Houonrable  Sir  John  Moor,  Sir 
Thomas  Lane,  Knights  and  Aldermen  of  the  City  of  Lonilon,  and  to  the 
rest  of  the  Worthy  members  of  the  West  Jersey  Proprietors,"  is  found 
the  following  in  reference  to  the  aborigines  of  this  regi.>n:  "  The  first 
Inhabitants  of  this  Coniitrey  were  the  Itiditinn,  being  supposed  to  be  part 
of  the  Ten  dispersed  Tribes  of  iKruet,  for  indeed  they  are  very  like  Ihe 
Jews  in  their  Persons,  andsometliing  in  their  Practices  and  Wor-hi|i;  for 
they  (as  the  P,.nailvania  Indians;  olwerve  the  New  Moons  with  great  de- 
votion and  Reverence  :  And  their  first  Fruits  they  offer,  with  their  Oorn 
and  Hunting-Game  they  get  in  the  whole  year.to  a  l-alse  lieily  or  Sham 
God  whom  they  must  please,  else  (as  they  fancy)  many  mi-Hft,rtune8  will 
befall  them,  and  great  injuries  will  be  done  them.    When  tliey  bury  their 


INDIAN   Ol"CUI'ATION. 


43 


traditions  of  the  Indians  were  so  clouded  and  involved 
in  improbability  and  so  interwoven  with  superstition, 
and  the  speculations  of  antiquarian  writers  have 
almost  uniformly  been  so  baseless  and  cliiinerical,  that 
the  whole  subject  of  Indian  origin  may  be  dismissed 
as  profitless. 

Totems,  or  Tribal  Badges  of  the  Indians.— The 
Indians,  from  the  earliest  times,  considereil  tliemselves 
in  a  manner  connected  with  certain  animals,  as  is 
evident  from  various  customs  preserved  among  them, 
and  from  the  fact  that,  both  collectively  and  indi- 
vidually, they  assumed  the  names  of  such  animals. 
Loskiel  says, — 

"It  might  indeed  be  (iiipposed  tbat  those  animals*  names  which  they 
have  given  to  their  several  tribes  were  mere  batlges  of  dicstinrtiun,  or 
'  coats-of-anns,'  as  Pyrlaeus  calls  them  ;  but  if  we  pay  attention  to  the 
reasons  which  they  give  fur  ttio^e  denomir)ations,  the  idea  of  a  supposed 
family  connection  is  easily  discernible.  The  Tor/oyte— or,  as  tliey  are 
commonly  called,  the  Turtle — tribe,  annmg  the  Lenape.  claim  a  supe- 
riority and  ascendency  over  the  others,  becau.-<e  theii-  relation,  the  gi-eat 
ToWoise,  a  fabled  monster.tbe  Atlasof  their  mythology,  bears,  according 
to  their  traditions,  this  great  ixltnd  on  his  back,^  and  also  because  he  is 
amphibious  and  can  bve  both  on  land  and  in  tlie  water,  which  ueilher 
of  the  heads  of  the  other  tribes  can  do.  The  merits  of  the  TurA-i^j,  which 
gives  its  name  to  the  second  tribe,  are  that  he  i--^  stationary  anil  always 
remains  with  or  about  thi-ra.  As  to  IhelTo//,  after  which  the  third  tribe 
is  named,  he  isa  raml'ler  by  nature,  running  from  one  place  to  another 
in  quest  of  his  prey;  yet  they  consider  him  as  Iheir  lienefactor,  as  it  whs 
by  his  means  that  the  Indians  got  out  of  the  interior  of  the  eai  th.  It 
was  he,  they  believe,  who  by  the  a)ipolntment  of  the  Great  Spirit  Itilled 
the  deer  which  the  Mousey  found  who  tirsl  discovered  the  way  to  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  and  which  allured  them  to  come  out  of  their  damp 
and  dark  residence.  For  that  reason  the  wolf  is  to  be  honored  and  his 
name  to  be  preserved  forever  among  them. 

'-  These  animals'  names,  it  is  true,  they  all  use  as  national  badges,  in 
order  to  distinguish  their  tribes  from  each  other  at  home  and  abroad.  In 
thi-i  point  ot  view  Mr.  Pyrlaeus  was  right  in  considering  Ibem  as  *coats- 
of-arms.'  The  Turtle  warrior  draws,  either  with  a  coal  or  with  paint, 
here  and  there  on  the  trees  along  the  war-path,  the  whole  animal,  car- 
rying a  gun  with  the  muzzle  projecting  forward;  and  IT  he  leaves  a  mark 
at  the  place  where  he  has  made  a  stroke  on  his  enemy,  it  will  be  the 
picture  of  a  TurloUe.  Those  of  the  Turkey  tribe  paint  only  one  foot  of  a 
turkey,  and  the  Wolf  tribe  sometimes  a  wolf  at  large  with  one  foot  and 
leg  raised  up  to  serve  as  a  hand,  in  which  the  animal  also  carries  a  gun 
with  the  muzzle  forward.  They,  however,  do  not  generally  use  the  word 
'wolf  when  speakingof  their  tribe,  butcall  themselves  P'duk-sit,  which 
means  round  foot,  tbat  animal  having  a  round  fixit,  like  a  dog." 

Indian  Population  in  New  Jersey.— It  does  not 
appear  that  the  Indians  inhabiting  New  Jersey  were 
very  numerous.  In  an  old  publication  entitled  "A 
Description  of  New  Albion,"  and  dated  a.d.  1648,  it 
is  found  stated  that  the  native  people  in  this  section 
were  governed  by  about  twenty  kings  ;  but  the  in- 
significance of  the  power  of  those  "  kings"  may  be 
inferred  from  the  accompanying  statement  that  there 
were  "twelve  hundred  [Indians]  under  the  two  Rari- 
tan  kings  on  the  north  side,  next  to  Hudson's  River, 
and  those  came  down  to  the  ocean  about  Little  Egg- 
bay  and  Sandy  Barnegatte ;  and  about  the  South 
Cape  two  small  kings  of  forty  men  apiece,  and  a  third 

Dead,  they  put  into  the  Ground  with  them  some  House  Utensils  and 
some  Money  (as  tokens  of  their  Love  and  Affection),  with  other  Things, 
expecting  they  shall  have  Occasion  for  them  in  tlie  other  World." 

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


reduced  to  fourteen  men,  at  Roymont."  From  which 
it  appears  evident  that  the  so-called  "  kings"  were  no 
more  than  ordinary  chiefs,  and  that  some  of  these 
scarcely  liad  a  following.  Whitehead,  in  his  "  East 
Jersey  under  the  Proprietary  Governments,"  con- 
cludes, from  the  above-quoted  statement,  "that  there 
were  probably  not  more  than  two  thousand  [Indians] 
within  the  province  while  it  was  under  the  domina- 
tion of  the  Dutch."  And  in  a  publication^  bearing 
date  fifty  years  later  (1698)  the  statement  is  made 
that  "the  Dutch  and  Swedes  inform  us  that  they  [the 
Indians]  are  greatly  decrea-ed  in  number  to  what 
they  were  when  they  came  first  into  this  country. 
And  the  Indians  themselves  say  that  two  of  them  die 
to  every  one  Christian  that  comes  in  here." 

Conquest  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  by  the  Iroquois. 
— Beliire  the  European  explorers  had  penetrated  to 
the  territories  of  the  Lenape  the  power  and  prowess 
of  the  Iroquois  had  reduced  the  former  nation  to  the 
condition  of  vassals.  The  attitude  of  the  Iroquois, 
however,  was  not  wholly  that  of  conquerors  over  the 
Delawares,  for  they  mingled,  to  some  extent,  the 
character  of  protectors  with  that  of  masters.  It  has 
been  said  of  them  that  "the  humiliation  of  tributary 
nations  was  to  them  [the  Iroquois]  tempered  with  a 
paternal  regard  for  their  interests  in  all  negotiations 
with  the  whites,  and  care  was  taken  that  no  tres- 
passes should  be  committed  on  their  rights,  and  that 
they  should  be  justly  dealt  with."  This  means, 
simply,  that  the  Mengwe  would,  so  far  as  lay  in  their 
power,  see  that  none  others  than  themselves  should 
be  permitted  to  despoil  the  Lenape  They  exacted 
from  them  an  annual  tribute,  an  acknowledgment  of 
their  state  of  vassalage,  and  on  this  condition  they 
were  permitted  to  occupy  their  former  hunting- 
grounds.  Bands  of  the  Five  Nations,  however,  were 
interspersed  among  the  Delawares,''  probably  more 
as  a  sort  of  police,  and  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a 
watchful  eye  upon  them,  than  for  any  other  purpose. 

The  Delawares  regarded  their  conquerors  with  feel- 
ings of  inextinguishable  hatred  (though  these  were 
held  in  abeyance  by  fear),  and  they  also  pretended  to 
a  feeling  of  superiority  on  account  of  their  more  an- 
cient lineage  and  their  further  removal  from  original 
barbarism,  which  latter  claim  was  perhaps  well 
grounded.  On  the  part  of  the  Iroquois,  they  main- 
tained a  feeling  of  haughty  superiority  towards  their 
vassals,  whom  they  spoke  of  as  no  longer  men  and 
warriors,  but  as  women.  There  is  no  recorded  instance 
in  which  unmeasur.d  in.sult  and  stinging  contempt 
were  more  wantonly  and  publicly  heaped  on  a  cowed 
and   humiliated   people  than  on   the  occasion  of  a 


2  Gabriel  Thomas'  *•  Historical  Description  of  the  Province  and  Coun- 
try of  West  .I.-rsey  in   \m-rica" 

3  The  same  policy  was  pursued  by  the  Five  Nations  towards  the  Sha- 
wanese,  who  htd  been  expelled  from  the  far  Southwest  by  stronger 
tribes,  and  a  pot  tion  of  whom,  treveling  eastward  as  far  as  tlie  country 
adjoining  the  D.  lawares.  bail  been  permitted  to  erect  their  loilges  there, 
but  were,  like  the  Lenape,  held  iu  a  state  of  subjection  by  the  Iroquois. 


44 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESKX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


treaty  lield  in  Philadel|)hia  in  1742,  wiien  Connossa- 
tego,  an  old  Iroquois  cliiel,  having  been  requested  by 
the  Governor  to  attend  (really  for  the  purpose  of 
forcing  the  Deiawiires  to  yield  up  the  rich  lands  of 
the  Minisink),  arose  in  the  council,  where  whites  and 
Delawares  and  Iroquois  were  convened,  and  in  the 
name  of  all  the  deputies  of  his  confederacy  said  to 
the  Governor  that  the  Delawares  had  been  an  unruly 
people  and  were  altogether  in  the  wrong,  and  that 
they  should  be  removed  from  their  lands;  and  then, 
turning  superciliously  t(jwards  the  abashed  Delawares, 
said  to  them,  "  You  deserve  to  be  taken  by  the  hair 
of  your  heads  and  shaken  until  you  recover  your 
senses  and  become  sober.  We  have  setn  a  deed, 
signed  by  nine  of  your  chiefs  over  filty  years  ago,  for 
this  very  land.  But  liow  came  you  to  take  it  upon 
yourselves  to  sell  lands  at  all  ?  We  conquered  you  ; 
we  made  women  of  you  !  You  know  you  are  women 
and  can  no  more  sell  lands  than  women.  Nor  is  it  fit 
that  you  should  have  power  to  sell  lauds,  since  you 
would  abuse  it.  You  have  had  clothes,  meat,  and 
drink,  by  the  goods  paid  you  for  it,  and  now  you 
want  it  again,  like  childien,  as  you  are.  What  makes 
you  sell  lands  in  the  dark?  Did  you  ever  tell  us 
you  had  sold  this  land?  Did  we  ever  receive  any 
part,  even  to  the  value  of  a  pipe-shank,  from  you  for 
it  ?  This  is  acting  in  the  dark, — very  diftereiitly  Irom 
the  conduct  which  our  Six  Nations  observe  in  the 
sales  of  land.  But  we  find  you  are  none  of  our 
blood  ;  you  act  a  dishonest  part  in  this  as  in  other 
matters.  Y'our  ears  are  ever  open  to  slanderous  reports 
about  your  brethren.  For  all  these  reasons  we  charge 
you  to  remove  instantly  !  We  do  not  give  you  liberty  to 
think  about  it.  You  are  women  .'  Take  the  advice  of 
a  wise  man,  and  remove  instantly!  You  may  return 
to  the  other  side  of  the  river,  where  you  came  from, 
but  we  do  not  know  whether,  considering  how  you 
have  demeaned  yourselves,  you  will  be  permitted  to 
live  there,  or  whether  you  have  not  already  swallosved 
that  land  down  your  throats,  as  well  as  the  land  on 
this  side.  You  may  go  either  to  Wyoming  or  Shamo- 
kin,  and  then  we  shall  have  you  under  our  eye  and 
can  see  how  ytm  behave.  Don't  deliberate,  but  go, 
and  take  this  belt  of  wampum."  lie  then  forbade 
them  ever  again  to  interlere  in  any  matters  between 
white  man  and  Indian,  or  ever,  under  any  pretext,  to 
pretend  to  sell  lands;  and  as  they  (the  Iroquois),  he 
said,  had  some  business  of  importance  to  transact  with 
the  Englishmen,  he  commanded  them  to  injmediately 
leave  the  council,  like  children  and  women,  as  they 
were. 

Heckewelder,  however,  attempts  to  rescue  the  good 
name  of  the  humbled  Delawares  by  giving  some  of 
their  explanations,  intended  to  show  that  the  epithet 
"women,"  as  applied  to  them  by  the  Iroquis,  was 
originally  a  term  of  distinction  rather  than  reproach, 
and  "  that  the  making  women  of  the  Delawares  was 
not  an  act  of  compulsi(ni,  but  the  result  of  their  own 
free  will  and  consent."    He  gives  the  story,  as  it  was 


narrated  by  the  Delawares,  substantially  in  this  way : 
The  Delawares  were  always  too  powerful  for  the 
Iroquois,  so  that  the  latter  were  at  length  convinced 
that  if  wars  between  them  should  continue,  their  own 
extirpation  would  become  inevitable.  They  accord- 
ingly sent  a  message  to  the  Delawares,  representing 
that  if  continual  wars  were  to  be  carried  on  between 
the  nations,  this  would  eventually  work  the  ruin  of 
the  whole  Indian  race  :  that  in  order  to  prevent  this 
it  was  necessary  that  one  nation  should  lay  down 
their  arms  and  be  called  the  woman,  or  mediator,  with 
power  to  command  the  peace  between  the  other 
nations  who  might  be  disposed  to  persist  in  hostilities 
against  each  other,  and  finally  recommending  that 
the  part  of  the  women  should  be  assumed  by  the 
Delawares,  as  the  most  powerful  of  all  the  nations. 

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

"  We  dress  you  in  a  woman's  long  habit,  reaching 
down  to  your  feet,  and  adorn  you  with  ear-rings," 
meaning  that  they  should  no  more  take  up  arms. 
The  second  point  was  thus  expressed  :  "  We  hang  a 
calabash  filled  with  oil  and  medicine  upim  your  arm. 
With  the  oil  you  shall  cleanse  the  ears  of  other  na- 
tions, that  they  nmy  attend  to  good  and  not  to  bad 
words;  and  with  the  medicine  you  shall  heal  those 
who  are  walking  in  foolish  ways,  that  they  may  re- 
turn to  their  senses  and  incline  their  hearts  to  peace." 
The  third  point  l)y  which  the  Delawares  were  ex- 
horted to  make  agriculture  their  future  employment 
and  means  of  subsistence,  was  thus  worded:  "We 
deliver  into  your  hands  a  plant  of  Indian  corn  and  a 
hoe."  Each  of  these  points  was  confirmed  by  de- 
livering a  belt  of  wampum,  and  these  belts  were 
carefully  laid  away,  and  their  meaning  frequently 
repeated. 

"The  Iroquois,  on  the  contrary,  assert  that  they 
conquered  the  Delawares,  and  that  the  latter  were 
forced  to  adopt  the  defenseless  state  and  appellation 
of  a  woman  to  avoid  total  ruin.  Whether  these  dif- 
ferent accounts  be  true  or  false,  certain  it  is  that  the 
Delaware  nation  ha:-,  ever  since  been  looked  to  for  the 
preservation  ol  peace  and  intrusted  with  the  charge 
of  the  great  belt  of  peace  and  chain  of  Iriendship, 
which  they  niu-t  take  care  to  preserve  inviolate.  Ac- 
cording to  the  figurative  explanation  of  the  Indians, 
the  middle  ol  the  chain  of  friendship  is  placed  upon 
the  shoulder  of  the  Delawares,  the  rest  of  the  Indian 
nations  holding  one  end  and  the  Europeans  the 
other."  ' 

1  Niili-s  iiri  tlip  Itidiuiis,  l)y  David  Zcisbfigcr.    . 


/ 


INDIAN    HOSTILITIES. 


45 


It  was  not  a  lack  of  bravery  or  military  enterprise 
on  the  part  of  the  Delaware^  which  caused  their  over- 
throw ;  it  was  a  mightier  apjent  than  courage  or  en- 
ergy:  it  was  the  gunpowder  and  lead  of  the  Iroquois, 
which  they  had  procured  from  the  trading  Dutch  on 
the  Hudson  almost  immediately  after  the  discovery 
of  that  river,  which  had  wrought  the  downfall  of  the 
Lenape.  For  them  the  conflict  was  a  hopeless  one, 
waged  against  immeasurable  odds, — resistance  to  the 
irresistible.  Under  a  reversal  of  conditions  the  Del- 
awares  must  have  been  the  victors  and  the  Iroquois 
the  vanquished,  and  no  loss  of  honor  could  attach  to 
a  defeat  under  sucli  circumstances.  It  is  a  pity  that 
the  tribes  of  the  Lenape  should  vainly  have  expended 
so  much  labor  and  ingenuity  upon  a  tale  which,  for 
their  own  sake,  had  better  never  have  been  told,  and 
in  which  even  the  sincere  indorsement  of  Heckewelder 
and  other  missionaries  has  wholly  failed  to  produce  a 
general  belief 

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

The  Indians  were  great  sticklers  for  the  common 
right  which  they  held  in  the  soil.  They  did  not 
recognize  even  in  their  chiefs  any  right  to  convey  it 
away  without  the  general  consent  of  the  tribes,  and 
often  they  refused  to  submit  to  treaties  so  made. 
Usually,  treaties  were  made  by  their  representatives 
chosen  by  the  popular  voice,  who  met  the  whites  in 
council  and  for  their  respective  tribes  ratified  the 
deed  disposing  of  lands.  In  the  first  conveyances 
made  to  the  Dutch  in  East  Jersey,  conveying  the 
lands  where  Hoboken  and  Jersey  City  are  situated, 
Aromeauw,  Tekwappo,  Sackwomeek,  Hikitoauw,  and 
Aiarouw  represented  themselves  in  the  deeds  as 
"  inhabitants  and  joint-owners  of  the  lands"  named 
therein. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

INDIAN    HOSTILITIES. 

The  first  hostility  of  the  Indians  towards  the  Dutch 
wasdirected  against  their  plantations  on  the  Delaware, 
which  they  wholly  destroyed.  De  Vries  tells  us  that 
in  the  year  10.30  thirty-two  men  were  killed.  In  the 
year  1640,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  against  the 
Indians  on  the  Raritan,  who  had  been  accused,  though 


wrongfully,  of  committing  theft  and  other  trespasses. 
Some  of  the  chiefs  were  so  maltreated  and  abused 
that  retaliatory  measures  were  resorted  to  against  the 
settlers  on  Staten  Island,  who  were  killed  and  their 
plantations  broken  up.' 

The  outbreak  of  1643  was  induced  by  various  causes. 
One  cause  was  the  e-xacting  of  a  tribute  from  the  In- 
dians by  Kieft,  the  Director-General,  in  1639 ;  another 
was  the  killing  of  a  white  man  by  an  Indian  in  1641, 
in  retaliation  for  the  robbery  and  murder  of  one  of 
his  tribe  many  years  before.  While  the  fort  at  New 
Amsterdam  was  being  built  in  1626,  a  Weckquaesgeck 
Indian,  from  the  east  of  the  Hudson  River,  with  his 
nephew,  then  a  young  boy,  and  another  Indian  rela- 
tive, came  to  sell  his  beaver-skins  to  the  Dutch  traders. 
Before  he  reached  the  fort  he  was  met  by  some  of  the 
servants  of  Minuit,  who  robbed  him  of  his  peltries 
and  murdered  him.  According  to  Indian  custom, 
life  must  be  taken  for  life,  and  the  next  of  kin  must  be 
the  avenger.  He  is  the  young  boy  who  thus  witnessed 
the  wanton  murder  of  his  uncle.  But  he  is  a  boy, 
and  the  execution  of  vengeance  must  be  delayed  till 
he  should  reach  manhood.  Years  passed,  but  the 
outrage  done  his  relative  was  not  forgotten.  In  1641 
he  appeared,  now  grown  to  manhood,  to  execute  the 
behest  of  the  unwritten  law  of  his  people,  unheeding 
as  to  which  of  the  pale-faces  should  be  the  victim  of 
the  deadly  stroke  of  his  tomahawk.  It  happened  to 
be  an  inoffensive  old  man,  Claes  Cornells  Smits,  a 
"  raad  maker,"  living  near  Canal  Street.  Pretending 
to  desire  to  barter  some  beavers  for  duffels,^  he  watched 
his  opportunity,  killed  Smits,  robbed  the  house,  and 
escaped  with  his  booty.'  Satisfaction  and  the  sur- 
render of  the  savage  were  promptly  demanded.  But, 
as  he  had  only  acted  in  accordance  with  the  custom 
of  his  race,  the  sachem  refused  to  surrender  him. 
Kieft  wished  to  seize  upon  this  occasion  to  punish 
the  natives,  but  he  did  not  dare  to  act  independently 
of  the  people,  who  desired  peace.  He  therefore 
called  them  together  for  consultation.  They  chose 
twelve  select  men*  to  determine  everything  in  connection 
with  the  Director  and  Council.  This  popular  branch 
of  the  government  stayed  for  a  time  the  impetuosity  of 
the  executive  and  those  immediately  under  his  con- 
trol, and  for  a  brief  period  secured  peace.  But  the 
air  was  full  of  rumors  of  Indian  troubles.  In  1642, 
De  Vries,  who  had  established  a  colony  at  Tajjpean, 
in  passing  through  the  woods  towards  Ackensack,' 
met  an  Indian  who  said  the  whites  had  "sold  to  him 
brandy  mixed  with  water"  and  had  stolen  his  beaver- 
skin  coat.  He  said  he  was  going  home  fi)r  his  bows 
and  arrows,  and  would  shoot  one  of  the  "  roguish 
Swanskins,"  as  the  Indians  called  the  Dutch.    He 

1  New  York  Historical  Cunections. 
a  A  ciaree  kind  of  clutli. 
3Bn)dliBail,  i.  316. 

*Wiufield:  "This  was  the  first  repregentative  body  in  New  Nether- 
land." 
^  Hackeusack,  in  Indian  Low-land. 


HISTORY    OK    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


was  as  good  as  his  word,  and  shot  Garret  Jansen  Van 
Vorst,  who  was  roofing  a  house  at  Achter  Kull.  The 
chiefs  being  alarmed  at  what  was  done,  offered  to  pay 
two  hundred  fathoms  of  wampum  to  Van  Vorst's 
widow,  in  order  to  purchase  their  peace.  But  Kieft 
would  accept  of  nothing  but  the  surrender  of  the 
murderer.  The  chiefs  would  not  agree  to  this;  they 
said  that  he  had  gone  two  days'  journey  among  the 
Tankitekes/  and  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  chief. 

In  1643,  Kieft  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Mohawks, 
who  were  at  war  with  the  Weckquaesgecks,  Tankite- 
kes, and  Tappeans.  In  the  depth  of  winter  these  fierce 
warriors  swept  down  upon  their  enemies,  killing  sev- 
enteen and  making  prisoners  of  many  women  and 
children.  "The  remainder  fled  through  a  deep  snow 
to  the  Christian  houses  on  and  around  the  Island  of 
Manhattan.  They  were  humanely  received,  being 
half  dead  of  cold  and  hunger,  and  supported  for  four- 
teen days;  even  some  of  the  Director's  corn  was  sent 
to  them."  They  did  not  suspect  that  the  Director 
was  secretly  in  league  with  their  most  dreaded  and 
deadly  foes,  and  that,  although  the  people  were  friendly 
and  hospitable  and  treated  them  with  great  kindness, 
the  commander  of  the  army  of  New  Netherland  was 
about  to  let  loose  upon  them  his  ruthless  soldiery  to 
.murder  and  slaughter  them  indiscriminately.  But 
such  was  the  fact.  Being  alarmed  lest  the  Mohawks 
should  fall  upon  them  at  Manhattan,  they  fled,  most  of 
them,  to  Pavonia,  where  the  Hackensacks  were  bi- 
vouacked one  thousand  strong.^   Says  Mr.  Winfield, — 

"They  came  over  to  this  side  of  the  river  on  the  23d  of  February, 
164:'.,  and  encamped  on  the  westerly  edge  of  Jan  de  Laclier's  Hopck, 
behind  the  settlement  of  Egbert  Wuuterssen  and  .>djuiuiiig  the  hoiiwerie 

of  Jan  Ewersten  Bout The  light  of  tlie  2.ith  of  Febnmry,  1643, 

was  failing,  and  the  shadows  of  the  black  winter  night  were  drawing 
over  the  beautiful  bay.  Huddled  and  sbiveiiug  on  ihe  western  elope  (if 
Jan  de  Lacber'a  Hoeck,  under  the  protection  of  the  Dutch,  the  unsus- 
pecting Iridians  thought  themselves  safe  fi'om  the  fierce  Mohawks  But 
while  thoy  drew  around  the  camp-fires,  or  dreamed  t»f  their  forsaken 
wigwams,  Manhattan  was  all  a^tir  with  (he  movement  of  troops  and 
citizens.  The  noble-hearted  De  Vries  stood  beside  the  Director  as  the 
soldiers  under  Sergeant  Rudolf  paesed  by  the  f'-rr  on  theii-  way  t<i  Pavo- 
nia. '  Let  thirt  work  alone,'  said  he ;  '  you  will  go  to  break  the  Indians' 
heads,  but  it  is  our  nation  you  aro  going  to  murder.'  'The  order  has 
gone  forth  ;  it  shall  not  he  recalled,'  was  Kieft's  dogged  reply.  The  ser- 
geant, witb  his  eighty  st>ldiers  armed  for  slaughter,  manh'-d  down  to 
the  river,  and,  emiiarking  in  boats  prepared  for  the  purpose,  silently 
rowed  towards  the  shores  of  Pavonia.  Rounding  the  southerly  point  of 
Paulus  Hoeck.  under  the  guidwnce  of  Hans  Stein,  they  pulled  for  the 
high  point  at  the  mouth  of  Mill  Creek.  Here  they  landed.  Climbing 
the  bank,  they  passed  close  to  the  hi'U<e  of  Egbert  Wouterssen,  and  cau- 
tiously approached  their  sleeping  vicliois.  Suddenly  the  sound  of  tnus- 
ketry  and  the  wibi  shrieks  of  the  Indians  rang  out  in  the  midnight. 
Even  at  this  distance  of  time,  *  the  horrors  <>f  that  night  cause  the  flesh 
to  creep  as  we  ponder  over  them.'  Captain  De  Viie-;,  who,  in  contem- 
pliititig  the  consequences  ot  the  expedition,  could  not  sleep,  says,  'I 
remained  that  night  at  the  Governor's,  and  took  a  seat  in  the  kitchen 
near  the  fire,  and  at  midnight  I  heard  loud  shrieks.  I  went  out  to  the 
parapets  of  the  fort  and  looked  towards  Pavonia.  I  saw  nothing  but  Ihe 
flash  of  the  guns,  and  heard  nothing  more  of  the  yells  and  clamor  of  the 
Indians  who  were  butchered  during  their  sleep  '  Neither  age  nor  sex 
could  stay  the  hands  of  the  unrelenting  soldiers.  Sucklings  were  torn 
from  their  mothers'  breasts,  butchered  in  the  presence  of  their  parents, 
and  their  mangled  limbs  thrown  into  the  fire  or  water.    Others, 'while 


fastened  to  little  hoards,' — the  rude  cradle  of  the  pappooRe, — were  cut 
through,  stabbed,  and  nii-'erably  massacred.    Some  were  thrown  alive 

into  the  river,  and  when  their  fathers,  ubeying  the  pnimptingd  of  nature, 
rushed  in  to  save  them,  the  soldiers  prevented  their  coming  to  shore, 
auil  thus  parents  and  children  perished.  .  .  .  De  Vrii-e  says, 'Some  came 
running  U>  ua  fmm  the  country  having  their  hands  cut  off  Some,  who 
had  their  legs  cut  off,  were  supporting  their  entrails  with  their  arms, 
while  others  were  mangled  in  other  horrid  ways,  in  part  too  shocking 
to  be  conceived;  and  these  miserable  wretches  did  not  know,  as  well  as 
some  of  our  people  did  not  know,  but  they  had  been  attacked  by  the 
Mohawks.'  "^ 

Such  a  warfare  could  not  fail  to  exasperate  the 
natives;  and  as  soon  as  they  became  aware  that  these 
ma,ssaeres  were  by  the  whites,  they  resolved  upon  a 
relentless  war.  To  render  their  retaliation  more  effec- 
tive, seven  tribes  entered  into  an  alliance.  They  killed 
all  the  men  they  could  find,  dragged  the  women  and 
children  into  captivity,  burnt  houses,  barns,  grain, 
hay-stacks,  and  laid  waste  the  farms  and  plantations 
on  every  hand.  From  the  Raritan  to  the  Connecticut 
not  a  white  person  was  safe  from  the  murderous  toma- 
hawk and  scalping-knife  except  those  who  clustered 
about  Fort  Amsterdam.  The  war  continued  in  all  its 
fury  for  several  months.  In  March  a  peace  was  con- 
cluded, which,  however,  lasted  only  until  October, 
when,  three  or  four  soldiers  stationed  at  Pavonia  for 
the  protection  of  a  family  having  been  attacked,  war 
was  renewed  ;  and  so  serious  was  its  character  that 
in  March,  1644,  the  authorities  of  New  Amsterdam 
proclaimed  a  solemn  fast  to  placate  the  anger  of 
Jehovah.  Peace  was  permanently  secured  the  fol- 
lowing year, 

"This  liay,  being  the  30th  day  of  August,  1645.  appeared  in  the  Fort 
Amsterdam,  before  the  Director  and  Cuuni-il,  in  the  preseiu-e  of  the 
whole  commonality,  Ihe  sachems  or  chief-"  of  the  savages,  as  well  in  their 
own  behalf  as  being  authoi-ized  by  the  neighboring  savages,  namely : 
Oratanby,  chief  of  ^(.■A-iHAe*-/mcA:y(MackenBark),  Sksskkknii'K  and  Wil- 
liam, chiefs  of  Tiippean  and  Hvek'nomrauk ;  1'accham  and  Prnnrwink 
(who  were  here  yesterday  and  gave  tln-ir  power  of  attorney  to  the 
forme)-,  and  also  took  upon  themselves  to  answer  for  tin  we  of  Oitaiicy 
and  the  viciriTiy  of  Majanwetinneitiin,  of  Marechowick^  of  Nyack,  anil  its 
neighborhood),  aii<t  Aepjtni^  who  personally  appeared,  speaking  iu  behalf 
of  Wiippitve,  Wiiptnexkecks,  SinHtr"ck%  and  Kicfitumojix. 

"  First.  Tney  agreed  to  conclude  with  us  a  solid  and  durable  pence, 
which  they  promise  to  keep  faithfully,  as  we  also  obligate  ourselves  to 
do  on  our  part. 

"Second.  If  it  happpen  (which  God  in  his  mercy  avert)  that  there 
arise  some  difficulty  between  us  and  them,  no  warfare  shall  enrinu  in  con- 
sequence, but  Ihey  shall  complaiu  to  our  Governor,  and  we  shall  com- 
plain to  their  sachems. 

"If  any  person  shall  be  killed  or  murdered,  justice  shall  be  directly 
administered  upon  the  murderer,  that  we  may  henceforth  live  In  peace 


my. 


'  Haverstraw  Indians,  of  whom  Pacham  was  chief. 

^O'Callaghan,  N.  Y.,  i.  265. 


"Third.  They  are  not  to  cnme  on  Manhattan  I-*Iand,  nor  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Christian  dwellings,  with  their  arms;  neither  will  we 
approach  their  villages  with  our  gnus,  except  we  are  conducted  thither 
by  a  savage  to  give  them  warning. 

"Fourth.  And  whereas  there  is  yet  among  them  an  English  girl, 
whom  they  promised  to  conduct  to  the  English  at  Stamford,  they  gtill 
engage,  if  she  is  not  already  conducted  tliere.  to  bring  her  there  io 
safety,  and  we  pmni  se  in  return  to  pay  them  the  nmsoni  which  has 
been  promised  by  the  English. 

"  All  which  is  promised  to  be  religiously  performed  throughout  the 
wLuIe  of  New  Netherland. 

"Done  in  Fort  Amsterdam,  in  the  open  air,  by  the  Director  and  Council 
in  New  Netherland,  and  tlie  whole  commonality,  called  together  for  this 
purpose,  in  the  presence  of  the  Uaqvab^  anihaSBadors,  who  are  solicited 

3  Winfield's  History  of  Hudson  County,  .19,  40 


INDIAN  HOSTILITIES. 


47 


to  assist  in  tliis  negotiation  as  arbitrators,  and  Cornelius  Aotbonissen, 
ttieir  interpreter,  and  an  arbitrator  with  them  in  this  solemn  affair. 
Done  as  ahoTe." 

No  further  troubles  appear  to  have  occurred  with 
the  Indians  under  the  Dutch  rule  until  1655.  The 
nearest  approach  to  it  was  in  March,  1649,  when  Si- 
mon Walinges  was  found  dead  at  Paulus  Hoeck,  hav- 
ing been,  as  was  supposed  from  the  arrows  and  wounds 
in  his  head,  killed  by  the  Indians.  It  was  ascertained 
to  have  beon  done  either  by  the  Raritans  or  by  some 
stranger  from  the  south,  and  the  local  Indians  hast- 
ened to  renew  their  covenant  of  friendship.  Governor 
Stuyvesant  presented  them  with  about  twenty  florins 
and  some  tobacco,  and  a  gun  to  Oratamus.  The 
Indians  were  delighted,  reaffirmed  the  treaty,  and 
returned  to  their  homes.' 

In  1655,  during  the  absence  of  Governor  Stuyve- 
sant to  expel  the  Swedes  from  the  Delaware,  troubles 
again  arose  with  the  Indians  which  bore  disastrously 
upon  the  settlements  on  the  west  side  of  the  Hudson. 
Hendrick  Van  Dyck,  having  his  orchard  robbed  of 
some  of  its  tempting  fruit  by  Indians  who  lauded  at 
night  in  their  canoes  on  Manhattan,  attempting  to 
drive  off  the  intruders,  accidentally  in  the  darkness 
shot  an  Indian  girl.  News  of  the  outrage  spread,  and 
the  Indians  determined  on  signal  vengeance.  With- 
out giving  warning  of  their  purpose,  on  the  night  of 
tlie  15th  of  September,  sixty-four  canoes,  carrying 
five  hundred  armed  warriors,  landed  at  New  Amster- 
dam. They  searched  through  the  town  until  they 
found  Van  Dyck  at  the  house  of  a  neighbor  named 
Van  Diegrist,  whom  they  cut  down  with  a  tomahawk, 
and  in  the  affray  wounded  Van  Dyck  in  the  breast 
with  an  arrow.  The  town  and  garrison  being  aroused, 
the  Indians  were  driven  to  their  canoes,  and  sought 
safety  by  flight  to  the  west  side  of  the  river.  In  re- 
taliation they  set  the  houses  on  fire,  and  soon  all  Pa- 
vonia  was  in  ashes.  From  thence  they  passed  down 
to  Staten  Island  and  laid  that  waste.  In  this  assault 
one  hundred  persons  were  killed,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  carried  into  captivity,  and  over  three  hundred 
deprived  of  their  homes.  Thesavages  of  Hackensack, 
Tappaen,  Ahasimus,  and  others  were  present  in  this 
fearful  devastation,  and  perpetrated  inhuman  barbar- 
ities, notwithstanding  their  solemn  pledge  to  adiiere 
to  the  terms  of  their  treaty.  When  Governor  Stuy- 
vesant sought  to  bring  them  to  terms,  they  hesitated 
anddelayed,  promised  and  failed  to  fulfill  theirpledges, 
in  hopes  to  extort  from  the  government  a  ransom  for 
the  prisoners.  Finally,  the  Director  wished  to  know 
how  much  they  would  take  for  "  the  prisoners  en  masse, 
or  for  each."  "They  replied,  seventy-eight  pounds  of 
powder  and  forty  staves  of  lead  for  twenty-eight  per- 
sons." The  ransom  was  paid,  and  an  additional  pres- 
ent made  by  the  Governor.  This  proved  the  final 
settlement  with  the  Indians,  so  far  as  the  Dutch  were 
concerned.      During  all  these  troubles  most  of  the 

<  Talentine's  Manual  (1863),  548. 


mischief  was  done  in  that  part  of  New  Netherland 
included  in  the  ancient  territory  of  Bergen  County. 

The  Pomptons  and  Minsies,  having  sold  their  lands, 
removed  from  New  Jersey  about  1737. 

The  Pompton  Indians  were  engaged  with  the  Del- 
aware Minsies  in  the  war  of  1755,  under  Teedyes- 
cung.  This  war  was  waged  on  account  of  the  decep- 
tion practiced  upon  the  Indians  in  procuring  the  lands 
in  Northampton  and  Pike  Counties,  Pa.,  and  was 
carried  across  the  Delaware  into  New  Jersey.  During 
the  year  1757  and  the  first  part  of  1758  the  western 
borders  of  the  province  were  in  much  alarm  on  ac- 
count of  the  Indians  raiding  upon  the  settlers  across 
the  Delaware.  From  May,  1757,  to  June,  1758, 
twenty -seven  murders  were  committed  by  the  Indians 
in  Sussex  County .- 

Final  Disposal  of  the  Delawares.— In  June,  1758, 
Governor  Bernard,  of  New  Jersey,  consulted  with  Gen. 
Forbes  and  Governor  Denny,  of  Pennsylvania,  as  to 
the  measures  best  calculated  to  put  a  stop  to  this  un- 
pleasant warfare;  and,  through  Teedyescung,  king  of 
the  Delawares,  he  obtained  a  conference  with  the 
Minisink  and  Pompton  Indians,  protection  being  as- 
sured them.  .  .  .  The  conference  took  place  at  Bur- 
lington, Aug.  7,  1758.  .  .  .  The  result  was  that  the 
time  was  fixed  for  holding  another  conference  at 
Easton,  at  the  request  of  the  Indians,  that  being,  as 
they  termed  it,  the  place  of  the  "  old  council-fire." 

At  the  treaty  of  1758  the  entire  remaining  claim  of 
the  Delawares  to  lands  in  New  Jersey  was  extin- 
guished, except  that  there  was  reserved  to  them  the 
right  to  fish  in  all  the  rivers  and  bays  south  of  the  Rar- 
itan,  and  to  hunt  on  all  uninclosed  lands.  A  tract  of 
three  thousand  acres  of  land  was  also  purchased  at 
Edge  Pillock,  in  Burlington  County,  and  on  this  the 
few  remaining  Delawares  of  New  Jersey  (about  sixty 
in  number)  were  collected  and  settled.  They  remained 
there  until  the  year  1802,  when  they  removed  to  New 
Stockbridge,  near  Oneida  Lake,  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  where  they  joined  their  "grandsons,"  the 
Stockbridge  tribe.  Several  years  afterwards  they 
again  removed,  and  settled  on  a  large  tract  of  land 
on  Fox  River,  Wis.,  which  tract  had  Ijeen  purchiised 
for  their  use  from  the  Menominee  Indians.  There, 
in  conjunction  w'ith  the  Stockbridges,  they  engaged 
in  agricultural  pursuits,  and  formed  a  settlement 
which  was  named  Statesburg.  There,  in  the  year 
1832,  there  remained  about  forty  of  the  Delawares, 
among  whom  was  still  kept  alive  the  tradition  that 
they  were  the  owners  of  fishing  and  hunting  privi- 
leges in  New  Jersey.  They  resolved  to  lay  their 
claims  before  the  Legislature  of  this  State  and  request 
that  a  moderate  sum  (two  thousand  dollars)  might  be 
paid  them  for  its  relinquishment.  The  person  selected 
to  act  for  them  in  presenting  the  matter  before  the 
Legislature  was  one  of  their  own  nation,  whom  they 
called  Shawuskukhkung  (meaning  "wilted  grass"), 


3  See  History  of  Sussex  and  Warren  Countie 


48 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


but  who  was  known  among  the  white  people  as  Bar-  ' 
tholomew  S.  Calvin.  He  was  born  in  1756,  and  was 
educated  at  Princeton  College,  at  the  expense  of  the 
Scotch  missionary  society.  At  the  breaking  out  of 
the  Revolution  he  left  his  studies  to  join  the  patriot 
army  under  Washington,  and  he  served  with  credit 
during  the  Revolulionary  struggle.  At  the  time  when 
his  red  countrymen  placed  this  business  in  his  hands 
he  was  seventy-six  years  of  age,  yet  he  proceeded  in 
the  matter  with  all  the  energy  of  youth,  and  laid 
before  the  Legislature  a  petition  in  his  favor  signed 
by  a  large  number  of  respectable  citizens  of  New 
Jersey,  togetlier  with  a  memorial,  written  by  his  own 
hand,  as  follows  : 

"My  Brethrfn:  I  am  old  and  weak  and  poor,  and  therefore  a  fit 
repreBenlalive  of  nij'  people.  You  are  young  and  slrong  and  rich,  and 
therefore  fit  reiiresentatives  of  your  people.  But  let  me  beg  yon  for  a 
moment  to  lay  aside  the  recollections  of  your  strength  atid  of  our  weak- 
ness, that  your  minds  may  be  prepared  to  examine  with  candor  the  sub- 
ject of  our  claims. 

"Our  tradition  informs  ns — and  I  believe  it  corresponds  with  your 
records— that  the  right  of  fishing  in  all  the  rivei^  anil  Lays  south  of  the 
Raritan,  and  of  hunting  in  all  uninclosed  lands,  was  never  relinquished, 
but.  on  the  contrary,  was  expres-sly  reserved  in  our  last  treaty,  lield  at 
Crosswicks  in  175».  Having  myself  been  one  of  the  parties  to  the  sale, 
—I  believe,  in  1801,-1  know  that  these  rights  were  not  sold  or  parted 
with. 

"We  now  offer  to  sell  these  privileges  to  the  State  of  New  .Jersey. 
They  were  once  of  great  value  to  us,  and  we  apprehend  that  neither  time 
nor  distance  nor  the  non-use  of  our  rights  h.is  at  all  aflecled  them,  but 
that  tlie  courts  here  would  consider  our  claims  valid  wei'e  we  to  exercise 
them  ourselves  or  delegate  them  to  others.  It  is  not,  however,  our  w  ish 
thus  to  excite  litigatiou.  We  consider  the  State  Legislature  the  proper 
purchaaei-,  and  throw  onrpelves  upon  its  benevolence  and  magnanimity, 
truBtiug  that  feelings  of  justice  and  liberality  will  induce  you  to  give  us 
what  you  deem  a  compensation.  And.  as  we  have  ever  hioked  up  to  the 
leading  cliaracters  of  the  United  States  (and  to  the  leading  characters  of 
thi>  State  in  partieular)  as  our  fathers,  protectors,  aud  friends,  we  now 
look  up  to  you  as  such,  and  humbly  beg  that  you  will  look  u|ion  us  with 
that  eye  of  pity,  as  we  have  reason  to  think  our  poor  untutored  fore- 
fiithers  looked  upon  yours  when  they  first  arrived  ui>on  our  then  exten- 
sive but  uncultivated  dominions,  and  sold  them  their  lands,  in  many 
iustaui^es  for  trifles,  in  comparison,  as  Might  as  air.' 

"From  your  humble  petitioner, 

"  B.\RTHoi.oMEW  S.  Calvin, 
"  lit  behalf  of  Itimnelf  and  his  red  brethren.^' 

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


"It  is  under  the  best  clymate  in  the  whole  world;  seed  may  bee 
thrown  into  the  ground,  except  six  weeks,  all  the  yere  long ;  there  are 
five  sorts  01  grapes  which  are  very  good  and  grow  heere  natuially,  with 
divers  other  ex'-ellent  fruits  extraordiujtry  good,  and  the  fruits  trans- 
planted from  Europe  far  surpas-eth  any  there,  as  apples,  peara,  peaches, 
melons,  etc.  The  land  very  fertile,  produt-eth  a  great  increase  of  wheat 
and  all  other  gralie  whatsoever;  heere  groweth  tobacco  very  good,  it 
naturally  abounds,  with  several  sorts  of  dyes,  furrs  of  all  sorta  may  bee 
had  of  the  natives  very  reasonable;  store  of  saltpeter;  marvelous 
plenty  of  all  kinds  of  food,  excellent  veuesoii,  elkes  very  great  and 
large;  all  kind  of  hind-  and  sea-fonle  that  are  naturally  in  Europe  are 
heere  in  great  plenty;  the  mountenouse  part  of  the  country  stored  with 
deveiall  sorts  of  iniiieralls;  great  profit  to  be  derived  from  tralfique  with 
the  natives  (who  are  naturally  a  mild  people,  and  very  capable,  and  by 
the  Grace  of  God)  to  be  drawne  out  of  their  blind  ignorance  to  the 
saving  light  of  Jesus  Christ.  Heere  may  likewise  be  great  profitt  made 
by  fishing,  whereby  abundance  of  people  may  be  employed  with  great 
and  notable  advantages.^ 

This  description,  though  designed  to  cover  the 
whole  territory  between  the  Hudson  and  Delaware 
Rivers,  was  peculiarly  applicable  to  the  region  bor- 
dering on  Achter  Kull,  or  Newark  Bay,  and  its 
southern  estuary.  Daniel  Denton,  one  of  the  original 
Elizaltethtovvn  Associates,  writing  in  1670,  thus  en- 
thusiastically describes  the  country: 

"  I  may  say,  and  s.ay  truly,  that  if  there  be  any  terrestrial  happiness 
to  be  had  by  people  of  all  ranks,  especially  of  an  inferior  rank,  it  must 
certainly  be  here.  Here  any  one  may  turnish  himself  with  Laud  and 
live  rent  free,  yea,  with  such  a  quantity  of  Land  that  he  may  weary 
himself  with  walking  over  his  fields  of  corn  and  all  sorts  of  grain,  and 
let  his  stock  of  Cattle  amount  to  some  hundreds  he  need  not  f<-ar  their 
want  of  I'astnre  in  tlie  Summer  or  Fodder  in  the  Winter,  the  Woods  af- 
fording a  sutficient  supply.  For  the  Summer  season,  wheu  you  have 
gi-ass  as  high  as  a  man's  knees,  nay,  as  high  as  his  waist,  interlaced  with 
Pea-vines  and  other  weeils  that  cattle  much  delight  in,  as  much  as  a 
man  can  jiass  through,  and  these  woods  also,  every  mile  or  half  mile,  are 
furnished  with  frehh  ptuids,  brooks,  or  rivers,  where  all  sorts  of  Cattle, 
during  the  beat  of  the  day,  do  quench  their  thirst  and  cool  themselves. 
These  bn.i.ks  and  rivere  being  environed  on  each  side  with  several  sorts 
of  trees  and  Grapevines,  the  vines,  Arbor-like,  interchanging  places  and 
cros-iiig  these  rivers,  does  shade  and  shelter  them  from  the  scorching 
And  how  pioibgal,  if  I  may  so  say,  hath 
intry  with  all  sort.s  of  wilde  Beasts  and 
I  interest  in,  and  may  hunt  at  his  pleas- 
'e  in  hunting  he  may  furnish  his  house 
Heath  Hens,  Cranes,  Swans, 
ith  that  he  may  go  a  fishing. 


Natn 


if  Sol's  fiery  influence. 

been  to  furnish  the  (\ 
Fowie,  wtiicb  every  one  hath  i 
ure;  wheu  besides  the  pleasi: 
with  ixcellent  fat  Venison,  Tnikeys,  Ge( 
Bucks,  Pidgeons,  and  the  like,  and  wearii 


befo 
j    theAi 


■  the  rivers  aie  so  furnished  that  he  may  supply  himself  with  Fish 
I  lie  can  leave  otf  the  Recreation;  where  besides  the  sweetness  of 
ii  the  Country  itself  sends  forth  such  a  fnigrant  smell  that  it  may 
ed  at  sea  before  they  can  make  the  land ;  where  no  evil  fog  or 
vapour  doth  no  sooner  appear  but  a  Northwest  or  Westerly  winde  doth 
iininediiitely  dissolve  it  aud  drive  it  away.  I  must  needs  say  that  if 
there  be  any  terrestrial  Canaan  'tis  surely  here,  where  the  Land  floweth 
with  milk  and  honey." 

Van    Tienhoven,   secretary    of    New    Netherland, 
writing  in  1650,  says, — 


'Th-  distiicl  i 


fre-h- 


ihabiled  by  a 
that  fiows  till 


uation  called  Raritaugs  i 
uugh  tlie  centre  ol  the  li> 
vacant  territoiy  lies  betw 


CHAPTER    VII. 

PHYSICAL    AND    DESCRIPTIVE    FEATURES. 

Some  of  the  early  descriptions  of  this  county,  in- 
cluding adjacent  territory,  are  exceedingly  quaint 
and  graphic.  The  following  is  from  a  document  put 
forth  by  the  Dutch  government  in  1661  • 


}  situate  on  a 
V  land  which 
een  two  high 

mountains,  far  distant  the  one  from  the  other.  This  is  the  handsomest 
and  pleasantest  country  that  man  can  bell. Id.  It  lurnished  the  Indians 
with  abiiudiince  of  maize,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  other  fiuits."^ 

The  land  covered  by  this  county,  with  a  consider- 
able extent  beyond  it,  was  granted  by  Governor 
Nicolls,  in  1664,  to  the  Elizabethtown  Associates. 
The  territory  included  in  the  patent  extended  from 

1  New  York  Col.  Documents,  iii   :!S-:t!l. 
=  Ibid.,  i.  3G6-67.     N.  Y.  Doc.  Hist.,  iv.  29. 


PHYSICAL   AND    DESCRIPTIVE    FEATURES. 


49 


the  mouth  of  the  Raritan  on  the  south  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Passaic  on  the  north,  a  distance  in  a  straight 
line  of  not  less  than  seventeen  miles,  and  running 
back  into  the  country  twice  this  distance,  or  thirty- 
four  miles.  It  embraced  the  towns  of  Woodbridge 
and  Piscataway,  the  whole  of  the  present  Union 
County,  part  of  the  towns  of  Newark  and  Clinton, 
a  small  part  of  Morris  County,  aud  a  considerable 
portion  of  Somerset,  comprising  about  five  hundred 
thousand  acres,  upland  and  meadow,  in  fair  pro- 
portions, well  watered  by  the  Raritan,  the  Pa.ssaic, 
the  Rahway,  and  Elizabeth  Rivers,  Thompson's,  or 
Morse's  Creek,  and  Bound  Brook,  diversified  with 
level  plains  and  ranges  of  hills  of  considerable  eleva-  i 
tion,  ordinarily  classified  as  mountains  ;  the  soil  of 
the  upland  mostly  red  shale  and  clay  loam,  and  a  } 
large  part  of  it  susceptible  of  a  high  state  of  cultiva-  i 
tion. 

The  Elizabethtown  purchase,  at  the  time  of  its 
early  settlement,  was  proverbial  for  the  fine  and 
stately  oak-trees  which  covered  much  of  its  upland,  i 
The  following,  which  may  be  regarded  as  a  sort  of 
local  ordinance  for  the  protection  of  this  timber, 
'passed  by  several  of  the  proprietors,  among  wliom  j 
was  Governor  Philip  Carteret,  in  June,  1666,  is  among 
the  rare  documents  which  have  been  preserved.  It 
reads  as  follows  :  | 

"  Whereas  I  am  informed  by  way  uf  complaint  from  divrs  of  the  in- 
habitants of  tins  TuWD  tliat  tliere  are  several  persons  tliat  do  presume 
to  fell  and  cut  down  the  best  of  timber-trees  in  and  about  this  Town, 
without  any  license  or  leave  from  those  that  are  or  mny  come  to  I  e  the 
owners  thereof,  converting  them  to  their  own  private  advantage  and 
profit,  to  the  great  destruction  of  timber  for  building,  and  tlie  Lords 
Proprietors  Woods,  and  to  the  great  di-*couragement  of  tbo.se  that  are 
already  and  that  are  to  come  to  inhabit  this  Town  :  For  the  preventing 
tlieieof.  and  to  avoid  so  great  an  inconveiiiency  and  destruction  of  this 
plantation  as  may  ensue  from  permitting  such  disorderly  proceeifinga,  I 
have  thought  fit,  and  do  hy  these  presents,  together  with  tlie  advice  of 
my  Council,  will  and  command  that  no  person  or  persons  whats<»ever 
shall  presume  to  cut  down  or  fell  any  timber-trees  that  are  useful  either 
for  building,  fencing,  or  making  of  pipe-staves  in  any  house-lots  not 
properly  belonging  to  themselves,  nor  within  the  comp  'Ss  of  three  miles 
of  any  home-lot  belonging  to  this  T-iwri,  witliout  license  first  obtained 
from  the  Governor,  or  leave  from  the  owners  of  the  land,  upon  t!ie  pen- 
alty of  forfeiting  the  sum  of  Five  Pounds  sterling  for  every  such  tree  so 
fallen  or  cut  down  ;  Provided,  that  it  may  and  shall  be  1-iwtuI  tor  any 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  to  clear  their  own  lot.*  and  other  lands 
to  plant  upon,  according  to  the  act  made  the  :JOth  day  of  April  last  past, 
and  in  so  doing  it  shall  aud  may  be  lawful  for  any  of  them  to  convert 
the  wood  and  timber  growing  upon  the  same  to  their  best  use  and  ad- 
vantage, and  not  otherwise. 

■'  Given  under  my  hand  at  Elizabeth  Town  the  13th  of  June,  lfi66. 
"Ph.  C\rterrtt. 
"James  Boll  n, 
"John  OgdiiN." 

Daniel  Denton,  of  whom  a  brief  account  has  al- 
ready been  given  among  the  original  purchasers  of 
the  Elizabethtown  grant,  wrote  a  book,  which  was 
published  in  London,  England,  in  1670.  It  is  en- 
titled "  A  Brief  Description  of  New  York,  formerly 
called  New  Netherlands,  with  the  Places  thereunto 
Adjoining:  Likewise  a  Brief  Relation  of  the  Cus- 
toms of  the  Indians  there,  by  Daniel  Denton."  This 
work  has  been  called  by  the  late  Gabriel   Furman, 


Esq.,  one  of  the  members  of  the  New  York  Histor- 
ical Society,  and  himself  an  accomplished  historian, 
one  of  the  gems  of  American  history.  It  is  the  first 
printed  description  in  the  English  language  of  the 
country  now  forming  the  States  of  New  York  and 
New  Jersey.  A  new  edition  of  it  was  published  in 
London  in  1701,  and  in  1845  a  reprint  was  issued  in 
New  York  by  William  Gowans,  as  the  first  of  a  series 
of  American  historical,  biographical,  and  literary 
works,  entitled,  "  Gowan's  Bibliotheca  Americana," 
with  "  An  Introduction  and  Copious  Historical  Notes, 
by  Gabriel  Furman,  member  of  the  New  York  His- 
torical Society." 

Denton,  soon  after  the  purchase  of  the  Elizabeth- 
town  grant,  sold  his  share  in  the  patent  to  Capt.  John 
Baker,  of  New  York,  and  John  Ogden,  of  North- 
ampton, and,  it  is  believed,  went  to  England  some 
three  or  four  years  after.  In  March,  1665,  he,  to- 
gether with  Thomas  Benedict,  represented  Jamaica 
in  the  General  Assembly  of  deputies  held  at  Hemp- 
stead, in  pursuance  of  the  requisition  of  Governor 
Nicolls,  and  by  which  Assembly  was  formed  the  first 
code  of  laws  for  the  English  colony  of  New  York, 
known  as  the  "  Duke's  Laws."  At  the  same  Assem- 
bly the  deputies  adopted  an  address  to  His  Royal 
Highness  James,  Duke  of  York,  in  which,  among 
other  things,  it  is  stated,  "  We  do  publicly  and  unan- 
imously declare  our  cheerful  submission  to  all  such 
laws,  statutes,  and  ordinances  which  are  or  shall  be 
made  by  virtue  of  authority  from  your  royal  high- 
ness, your  heirs  and  successors  forever."  The  people 
of  Long  Island  were  displeased  with  this  address, 
regarding  it  as  too  servile  for  freemen,  and  were 
exasperated  to  such  a  degree  against  the  authors  of 
it  that  the  Court  of  Assizes,  in  order  to  save  the  dep- 
uties from  abuse,  if  not  from  personal  violence, 
thought  it  expedient,  at  their  session  in  October, 
1666,  to  declare  that  "  whosoever  shall  hereafter  any- 
ways detract  or  speak  against  any  of  the  deputies 
signing  the  Address  to  his  Royal  Highness  at  the 
general  meeting  at  Hempstead,  they  shall  bee  pre- 
sented to  the  next  Court  of  Sessions,  and  if  the  jus- 
tices shall  see  cause,  they  shall  from  thence  be  bound 
over  to  the  A.ssizes,  there  to  answer  for  the  slander 
upon  plaint  or  information." 

Denton's  preface  to  his  book  is  as  follows,  and 
shows  a  quaint  and  subtile  humor  in  his  style,  of 
which  we  get  frequent  glimpses  also  in  the  body  of 
the  work  : 

"  Reader, — I  Have  here  through  the  Instigation  of  divers  Persona  in 
England,  and  elsewhere,  presented  you  with  a  Brief  but  true  Relation 
of  a  known  and  unknown  part  of  America.  The  known  part  which  is 
either  inhabited  or  lieth  near  the  sea  I  have  descrilied  to  you, and  I  have 
writ  nothing  Itut  what  1  have  been  an  eye  witness  to  all  or  the  greater 
part  of  it.  Neither  can  I  safely  say  was  I  willing  to  exceed,  Imt  waa 
rather  willing  the  place  itself  should  exceed  my  Coumieudati.in.  which  I 
questiim  not  will  be  owned  by  those  that  shall  travel  thither.  For  the 
unknown  part,  which  is  either  some  places  lying  to  the  Northward  yet 
undiscovered  by  any  English,  or  the  Bowels  of  the  earth  not  yet  opened, 
though  the  natives  lell  us  of  Glittering  Stones,  Diamonds,  or  Pearl  in  the 
one,  and  the  Dutch  hath  boasted  of  Gold  and  Silver  in  the  other;  jet  I 


50 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEV. 


shall  not  feed  yowr  expectation  with  any  thing  of  that  nature;  bnt  leave 
It  till  a  better  di-cuvery  shall  make  way  for  such  a  Relation.  In  the 
mean  time  accept  of  this  from  him  wlio  desireth  to  deal  impartially  with 
every  one." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  descriptions  given 
in  his  book  :' 

"That  Ti-act  of  Land,  formerly  called  The  Sew  Setherlands,  doth  Con- 
tain all  Ihe  Land  which  lieth  iji  the  North  parts  of  America,  betwi.\t 
New  England  and  Maryhind  in  Virgin  a,  the  length  of  which  Northward 
into  the  country,  as  it  hath  not  been  fully  discovered,  so  it  is  not  cer- 
tainlyknowu.  The  breadth  of  it  is  alnjut  twohundred  miles.  Theprin- 
cipal  Rivers  within  this  Tract  are  Hudson's  River,  Raiitan  River,  and 
Delewerbay  Kiver.  The  chief  Islands  are  the  Manahatans  Islaud,  Long 
Island,  and  Staten  Island." 

*■  Within  two  leagues  of  New  York  lieth  Staten  Island,  it  bears  from 
New  York  west  something  6<mtherly.  It  is  about  twenty  miles  long, 
and  four  or  five  broad.  It  is,  most  of  it,  good  land,  full  of  timber,  and 
produceth  all  such  commodities  as  Long  Island  doth,  besides  tin  and 
store  of  iron-ore,  and  the  (Jalamine  slone  i*  said  lUewise  to  be  found 
there.  There  is  but  "Ue  town  upon  it  consisting  of  English  and  French, 
but  is  capable  of  entertaining  more  iidiabitants;  betwixt  this  and  Long 
Island  is  a  large  bay,  and  is  the  coming  in  for  all  ships  and  vessels  out 
of  ihe-ea.  On  the  north  side  of  this  i-land  After-skull  River  puts  into 
the  main  land  on  the  west  side,  whereof  is  two  or  three  fowus,  but  on 
the  east  side  but  one.2  There  is  very  great  niar-dies  or  meadows  on  both 
sides  of  it,  excellent  good  laud,  and  gooil  convenience  for  the  settling  of 
several  towns;  there  grow  blaok  walnut  and  locust,  as  there  doth  in  Vir- 
ginia, with  mighty  tall,  straight  limber,  as  good  as  any  in  the  north  of 
America.     It  pioduceth  any  cominoditie  Long  Island  doth 

"Westward  of  After-Kull  River  before  mentioned,  about  eighteen  or 
twenty  unles,  runs  in  Raiitau  Rivei-  northward  into  the  country  some 
sct)re  of  miles,  both  sides  of  which  river  is  adorned  with  spacious  mea- 
dows, enough  to  uiaiiitHio  tliou-aiids  of  cattle,  the  woodland  is  likewise 
very  good  for  corn,  stored  with  wild  b-  asts,  as  deer,  and  elks,  and  an  in- 
nunieralde  multitude  of  fowl,  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country.  This 
river  is  thought  very  capable  for  the  erecting  of  several  towns  and  vil- 
lager on  each  side  of  it,  no  place  in  the  ninth  of  Ameiica  having  better 
conveineuce  for  the  maintaining  of  all  sorts  of  cattle  for  winter  and 
sninuier  food.  Upon  this  river  is  no  town  settled,  bnt  one  at  the  mouth 
of  it.3  Next  this  river  westward  is  a  place  called  Newasons,  where  is 
two  or  three  towns  and  villages  settled  upon  the  seaside,^  but  none  be- 
twixt that  and  the  Delaware  Bay,  which  is  about  sixty  miles,  all  of 
which  is  rich  clmmpain  country,  free  from  sbnies  atid  iiulitferent  level; 
store  of  e.\celleut  good  timber  and  vety  well  watered,  having  brooks  or 

Denton's  instructions  to  immigrants  are  well  worth 
copying  for  the  light  they  throw  on  theearliesiiiiethod 
of  obtaining  lands  and  eft'ecting  settlements.  He 
says,— 

'*  To  give  some  satisfaction  to  people  that  shall  be  desirous  to  transport 
themselves  thither  (the  country  b.  ing  capable  of  enteitaining  many 
thonsaiids),  how  and  iifter  what  inantier  people  live,  and  how  land  may 
be  procured,  etc.,  1  shall  answer  that  the  usual  way  is  for  a  company  of 
people  to  jtiiu  together,  either  enough  to  m^ike  a  town,  or  a  lesser  num- 
ber ;  these  go  with  the  consent  of  the  Governor  and  view  a  tract  of  land, 
there  being  ctujice  enough,  and  finditig  a  place  convenient  lor  a  town, 
they  return  to  the  Governor,  wlio  U|ion  their  desire  admits  them  into  a 
cobiny.  anil  gives  them  a  grant  or  patent  for  the  said  land,  for  themselves 
and  associates,  The.™  persons  being  thus  qualified,  settle  the  place,  and 
take  in  what  inhabitants  to  themselves  they  shall  see  cause  to  ailmit  of, 
till  their  town  be  full;  these  a-sociates  thus  taken  iu  have  eqm.l  privi- 
leges with  themselves,  and  they  make  a  divisi  n  of  the  hind  suitable  to 
every  man's  occa-ions,  no  man  heitig  debarred  of  such  quantities  iis  he 
bath  occasion  for,  Ihe  rest  they  let  lie  in  common  to  the  whole  town." 


•  Denton's  work  was  originally  published  in  1670;  a  new  edition  was 
issued  in  London  in  17UI. 

s  The  last  mentioned  was  Bergen,  on  the  Neck.and  the  others  Newark, 
Elizabethtowii,  and  Woodbridge,  these  towns  having  all  been  founded 
previous  to  ItiVO. 

"  What  town  was  it? 

*  What  towns  and  villages? 
■■i  Denton,  pp.  14,  16. 


All  the  earliest  towns  in  Essex,  Union,  and  Mid- 
dlesex Counties— Newark,  Elizabethtown,  Wood- 
bridge,  and  Piscataway — were  patented  and  settled 
in  the  manner  described,  the  Associates  having  two 
principal  objects  in  view, — first  neighborhood,  and 
second  protection  from  hostile  Indians.  By  inducing 
their  neighbors  and  acquaintances  to  join  them  in 
settling  the  new  colony  they  could  have  congenial 
associates,  and  by  their  numbers  and  combined 
strength  could  better  protect  themselves  against  at- 
tacks from  the  savages,  and  overcome  many  of  the 
obstacles  of  wilderness  life  which  could  hardly  be 
successfully  encountered  by  single  individuals.  Dur- 
ing the  earliest  period  most  of  the  towns  and  settle- 
ments were  built  compactly  together  and  fortified  as 
a  defense  against  the  Indians,  and  it  was  made  a  con- 
dition that  the  settlers  should  provide  themselves 
with  arms  and  ammunition.  This  was  properly  the 
New  England  method  of  settlement,  adopted  first  by 
the  prudent  and  sagacious  people  of  those  colonies, 
and  carried  with  them  wherever  they  planted  new 
settlements  further  westward.  Wherever  this  mode 
was  adopted  in  New  Jersey,  it  was  either  wholly 
among  New  England  people  or  by  those  who  bor-' 
rowed  the  idea  from  them.  It  will  give  some  con- 
ception of  the  penetrating  power  of  the  now  all  but 
universal  Yankee  idea  to  say  that  this  method  of 
building  towns  in  a  solid,  compact  form  to  defend 
themselves  against  the  Indians  preceded  their  advent 
into  New  Jersey,  and  that  the  astute  Dutch  Governor 
Stuyvesant,  in  issuing  proclamation  for  the  erection 
of  the  compact  and  fortified  town  of  Bergen  in  1658, 
enforces  his  recommendation  by  quoting  the  example 
of  the  people  of  New  England.  Bergen  was  the  first 
town  of  this  sort  erected  in  East  Jersey,  but  the  idea 
was  a  "  Yankee  notion"  which  had  found  its  way 
among  the  Dutch. 

The  settlements  we  are  to  treat  of  in  Union  and 
Middlesex  Counties  were  originally,  to  a  very  large 
extent,  made  by  New  England  people.  Such  were 
the  earliest  settlers  throughout  all  of  Union  County, 
who  first  planting  themselves  where  the  city  of  Eliza- 
beth now  stands,  spread  northward  and  westward  to 
and  beyond  the  present  county  limits,  and  such  were 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway, 
which  formed  originally  most  of  the  county  of  Middle- 
sex. The  early  settlers  of  Amboy  were  mostly  Scotch 
and  English,  and  the  other  towns  were  settled  by  a 
more  composite  class  of  inhabitants.  Among  the  New 
England  and  English  emigrants  were  many  Friends 
or  Quakers,  who  came  at  an  early  time,  and  whose 
excellent  qualities  of  character  and  contributions  to 
the  general  weal  will  not  be  overlooked  in  making 
up  the  award  of  history. 


GOVERNMENT   OF    PHILIP   CARTERET. 


51 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

GOVERNMENT    OF    PHILIP  CARTERET. 

Elizabeth  Town  was  the  seat  of  the  first  English 
government  in  New  Jersey.  It  must  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  Duke  of  York  in  1664  sold  that  por- 
tion of  his  possessions  in  America  lying  west  of  the 
Hudson  River,  to  which  tlie  name  of  Nova  Cwsarea, 
or  New  Jersey,  was  given,  to  John  Lord  Berkeley  and 
Sir  George  Carteret,  two  of  the  lords  of  the  Privy 
Council  of  King  Charles,  and  that  upon  the  char- 
ter or  constitution  known  as  the  "Concessions  and 
Agreement"  the  Lords  Proprietors  established  a  gov- 
ernment for  the  province,  appointing  Philip  Carteret 
Governor,  and  sending  him  over  with  plenary  author- 
ity to  administer  the  civil  affairs  of  the  colony.  It  so 
happened  that  at  the  time  of  Carteret's  arrival  the 
enterprising  Elizabethtown  Associates  had  unwit- 
tingly prepared  a  capital  for  him  in  the  wilderness 
by  locating  their  town  and  making  a  promising  be- 
ginning in  the  way  of  improvements.  We  quote  the 
following  from  Mr.  Hatfield's  History : 

"Scarcely  has  the  new  settlement  got  fairly  under  way,  the  gronnd 
ahout  the  creek  heen  cleared,  und  the  soil  made  ready  fur  the  sowing  of 
the  winter  grain,  when  tidings  reach  them  from  New  York  of  a  serious 
change  in  their  [iro8|iects.  Word  is  brought  that  the  Duke  of  York  has 
sold  the  tonit.uy  west  of  Huilson's  River  to  two  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Council,  who  have  sent  over  a  deputy  to  arrange  the  matter  with  Gov- 
ernor Nicolls,  and  take  possession,  in  their  name,  of  the  newly-created 
province.  As  a  matter  of  course  the  coming  of  the  new  Governor  is 
awaited  with  no  little  anxiety. 

"  Early  in  the  mouth  of  August,  1665,  the  town  is  stirred  by  the  first 
exciting  event  in  its  history.  The  ship  'Philip,'  having  arrived  at 
New  York  July  '^Olh,  now  makes  her  appearance  at  the  Point,  or  en- 
trance of  the  creek  on  which  the  town  is  laid  out.  She  brings  Capt. 
Philip  Carteret,  a  sprightly  youth  of  six  and  twenty,  with  a  company  of 
emigrants  fr..m  the  Old  World.  Among  tliem  is  u  French  gentleman, 
Robert  Vauquelliti,  a  surveyor  by  profession,  with  his  wite.  Capt. 
James  Bollen,  of  New  York,  also  is  of  the  number.  With  these  come 
also  eighteen  men  of  menial  character,  of  the  laboring  class,  possibly 
a  few  others,  females  probably,  of  whom  no  special  mention  is  made, 
some  thirty  in  all.i 

"  The  settlers  gather  about  the  landing  to  receive  the  new-comers,  to 
learn  who  they  at  e,  and  why  their  steps  are  directed  hither.  Capt  Car- 
teret presetitly  submits  his  credentials  to  Ogden  and  his  townsmen.  He 
comes  accredited  with  papers  from  Governor  Nicolls,  and  a  Gitvernor's 
coinuiission  from  Lord  John  Berkeley,  Baron  of  Stratton,  Someiset 
County,  England,  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  Knight  and  Baronet,  of  Sal- 
trum,  in  Devon  (both  of  the  Privy  Council),  to  whom  the  Duke  of  York 
bad  granted  the  territory  lying  to  the  west  of  Hudson's  River  and  east 
of  the  Delaware,  to  be  known  henceforward  as  Nova  Cajsjirea,  or  New 
Jei-sey.  Mutual  explanations  follow.  The  Indian  deed  is  produced 
and  well  considered.  Governor  NicoU's  grant  is  brought  forward  and 
explained. 

**The  settlers  appear  to  have  had  a  fair  understanding  with  Carteret 
and  his  company,  and  to  have  procured  a  conces-ion  of  their  rights  and 
titles  as  proprietors  of  the  tenitory  described  in  their  deed.  Tradition 
tails  U!* — not  a  very  reliable  authority  when  not  suppoited  by  collateral 
evidence,  as  it  is  iu  the  present  caae — that  Carteret,  being  informed  of 
their  right  to  the  lands,  'approved  of  the  same,  and  readily  and  will- 
ingly consented  to  becouie  an  a.'tsoriate  with  them,  and  went  up  fi-om 
the  place  of  his  lamling  with  them,  carrying  a  hoe  on  his  shoulder, 
thereby  intimating  his  intention  of  becoming  a  planter  with  them,'  glad, 
no  doubt,  to  find  so  promising  a  beginning  iu  the  settlement  of  the  un- 
occupied and  unexplored  territory  over  which  be  was  to  exercise 
auihority.2 


K.  T.  Bill,  p  2S. 
'  Leatning  and  Spic 


-U,  26-27.     Ans.  to  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  2(1. 


"  Lord  Berkeley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  were  of  the  court  of  Charles 

j    II.,  a  monarch   of  whom   Batirroft  truly  says  that  his  reign   'was  not 

!   less  remarkable  for  the  rapacity  of  the  courtiers  than  for  the  debauchery 

i   of  the  monarch's    In  the  cunfiict  with  the  Parliamentarians  they  had 

:   both,  being  then  in  the  full  vigor  of  their  faculties,  adhered  to  the  for- 

I    tunes  of  thf-ir  king,  Charles  I.,  and  laid  their  royal   master  and  his 

I    profligate  smis,  Charles  and  James,  under  no  small  obligations  to  them. 

"Berkeley  was  the  youngest  son  of  Sir  Maur.ce  Berkeley.     He  was 

l)oru  in  1607,  joined  the  army  in  the  operations  a^ainstthe  Scots  in  16:18, 

and  was  knighted  (.lune  27th)  the  same  year.   In  the  Palliaiuentary  war 

j    he  serveii  as  eominis.saiy-general  for  the  king,  as  Governor  of  Exeter, 

I    and  general  of  the  royal  fences  in  Devon.     After  the  king's  death  he 

went  abroad  with  the  r..yal  family,  and  in  1S52  was  made  Governor  of 

I    the  Duke  of  York's  househohl.     May  19,  1658,  he  was  created  by  royal 

'   favor  Baron   Berkeley,  of  Stratbm,  and  at  the  Eestoiation  in  1660  he 

I    was  sworn  of  the  Privy  Council.-l 

"  Carteiet  was  the  eldest  son  of  Helier  Carteret,  Deputy  Governor  of 
the  Isle  ot  Jersey,  a  descendant  of  the  Lords  <ir  Carteret  in  the  Dnchy 
of  Normandy,  a  fanuly  of  great  respectability,  dating  bai-k  to  the  lime 
of  William  tlie  Conqueror  Philip,  eldest  son  of  Helier  Carteret,  mar- 
ried Rachel  Paub-t  ami  had  s'X  children,— Philip,  Helier,  Ani.ce.  Gideon, 
Rachel,  and  Judith  He  was  knighted  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  ami  lived  to 
I  a  great  age.    Sir  Philip,  the  eldest  son  of  Sir  Philip,  married   Anne 

Dowse  and  had  eleven  children,— Philip,  Peyton,  Zoncli,  Gide Erau- 

cis, Thomas,  Edward,  Margaret,  Anne,  Elizabeth,  Dowse.  Philip,  the 
first  born,  died  in  lli62.  Elizabeth  (for  whom  this  town  was  named) 
married  her  cousin,  Ge..rge  Cal  teiet.  Her  father,  Philip,  hail  (as  above) 
three  brothers.  Helier,  the  second  son  of  the  first  Sr  Philip,  married 
Elizabeth  Dnmaresipie,  and  had  two  children,  George  and  rhilip.  The 
latter  was  born  in  IblU,  and  died  in  1665. 

"George  Carteret  was  born  in  1599,  married  (as  above)  his  cousin 
Elizabeth,  and  had  three  sons  and  five  daughters.  His  sous  were  Philip. 
Jamvs.  and  George.  The  latter  ilied  unmarried  in  1656.  Philip,  his  el- 
dest son,  was  knighted  June  4,  1670,  and  killed  iu  a  naval  battle  May  28, 
1672.  George,  the  lather,  entered  the  navy  at  an  early  age.  In  16:i6  he 
was  appninteil  joint  Governor  of  Jersey,  and  in  1640  comptroller  of  the 
royal  navy.  In  11)42  the  post  of  vice-admiral  was  offered  him  by  Parlia- 
ment, but  declined  iu  ob"d.enee  to  bis  royal  master.  He  was  knighted 
May  9,  1646,  bavbig  rendered  the  king  great  service  iu  the  supply  of 
ammunition.  Withdrawing  to  his  home  in  Jersey,  his  house,  which  he 
bravely  defended  as  iliel.ist  stronglndd  (d  the  monarchy,  became  an 
asylum  to  the  Pi  ince  of  \Va|.  s  and  others  ol  the  parry.  He  followed 
his  sovereign  to  France  in  16.V2,  was  imprisoned  iu  the  Bastile  at  the 
instance  of  Cromwell  in  1657,  and  subsequently  banished  the  kingdom. 
He  repaired  to  Ch  tries  at  Brussels  in  16.=>9,  and  was  one  of  his  e8cort_ 
wlien  received  by  the  city  of  London  in  1660.  He  was  appointed  vice- 
chamlierlain  and  tieasurerof  the  navy,  wa,s  sworn  of  the  Privy  Coun- 
cil, and  in  1661  electetl  to  Parliament  for  Pttrtsmonth.  As  early  as 
1650.  wlien  the  royal  cause  ajipeared  quite  hopi.less,  he  is  said  to  have 
obtained  the  grant  of  an  island  in  Virginia,  and  to  have  fitted  out  a  ship 
with  all  sorts  of  gtiods  anil  tools,  with  many  passengers,  fur  the  settle- 
ment of  a  plantation  in  the  New  World.  It  is  thought  that  the  project 
was  abandoned  on  account  of  the  vigilance  of  the  Croniwellian  party .» 
"The  trials  through  wbicli  the  two  birds  liiiil  passed  during  the  civil 
wars,  in  which  circiiuistances  had  brouglit  them  into  great  familiarity 
wilh  the  royal  brothers,  Charles  and  James,  gave  them  great  influence 
at  court  after  tlie  Restoration.  Lucrative  nflices  were  awaiiled  them  in 
and  about  the  r..yal  household, and  tiequent  opportunities  given  of  pro- 
moting their  purposes  of  wealth  and  aggrandizement.  Tlie  New  World 
beyond  the  flood  was  attruiting  nunierous  adveitlnrers,  and  offering 
large  inducements  to  colonists.  The  gifted  Wintlirop,  on  the  occasion 
of  his  visit  to  England  in  1661-62,  to  procure  a  new  charter  for  ('on- 
necticut,  had  been  received  with  great  consideration  at  court,  and  by 
his  representations  of  what  had  already  been  accomplished  in  New 
England  had  unwittingly  excited  the  greed  of  many  of  the  cornipt  and 
wily  par-asitesof  Ihecrown.  Clarendon,  A Ibeinarle,  Ashley.  Colleton,  Car- 
teret, Craven,  and  the  two  B..rkeley8,  Lord  John  and  Sir  Williani.  banded 
together  and  readily  obtained  in  166:1  from  the  pleasure-loving  monarch 
a  grant  of  tlievasi  territory  in  America,  extending  from  the  thirty-sixth 
degree  of  north  latitude  to  the  river  Saint  Matheo,  and  from  the  At- 

»  Bancroft's  United  States,  ii.  129. 

*  N.  T.  Colonial  Doc,  Ii.  599.     Collins'  Peerage  (ed.  of  1785).  iii.  '270- 
281 
6  New  York  Colonial  Doc,  ii.  410.    Collins'  Peerage  (ed.  of  1785),  iv. 

321-28. 


52 


HISTORY   OF    UNIOX   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


lantic  to  the  Pacific,  as  proprietors  and  lords,  with  alDiost  absolute 
authority  and  the  right  of  assignment  or  sale,^— a  most  extraoidinary 
grant  of  power;  and  all  this  un  the  plea  of  '  being  excited  witli  a  land- 
able  and  pious  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel' among  a 'bar- 
barous people,  who  have  no  knowledge  of  God,'  h,vpocrit>B  that  they 
were!  '  Avavit-e,' says  Bancroft,  *  is  the  vice  of  declining  years;  most 
of  the  proprietaries  were  pa-t  middle  life.  They  beyged  the  country 
under  pretence  of  a  "  pious  zeal  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel,''  and 
their  s.de  object  was  the  increase  of  their  own  wealth  and  dignity.' i 

"  Not  satisfied  with  their  share  in  the  lordship  of  such  a  vast  domain, 
Berkeley  and  Carteiet  were  eeger  to  secure  for  themKelves  an  invest- 
ment in  western  lands  still  more  promising  if  possible.  The  notorious 
Capt.  Scott,  who  had  created  so  much  disturbance  on  Long  Island  and 
the  Main,  and  of  whom  Governor  Nicolis  wiote  that  he  '  was  borue  to 
work  mischeife  as  farre  as  bee  is  credited  or  his  parts  serve  biui,'  had 
sought  of  the  crown  a  patent  for  Long  Island;  but  not  sncieeding  in 
his  design,  and  conceiving  Ibat  he  had  been  wronged  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  is  reported  to  have  iudu-  ed  Berkeley  and  Carteret  to  secure  New 
Jersey  for  themselves,  knowing,  as  Nicolis  alxo  declared,  that  it  was  the 
most  valuable  portion  of  the  Duke's  territory.^ 

"The  two  lords  readily  caught  the  hail,  and  the  duke, '  for  a  compe- 
tent sum  of  money,'  having  by  his  patent  from  the  king  the  right  of 
sale  as  po>-session  and  rule,  conveyed,  June  24,  1664,  the  territoi-y  uow 
known  a-*  New  Jersey  to  Berkeley  and  Cart'-ret  'in  as  full  and  ample 
manner'  as  it  had  been  conveyed  to  himself,  transferring  to  these 
court  favorites  all  iiis  rights,  titles,  and  authority  to  and  over  the  laud 
in  question. 

"  In  the  course  of  the  summer,  as  lias  been  seen,  the  Dutch  were  dis- 
possessed, and  the  country  brought  under  the  sway  of  the  Englisli  crown. 
As  soon  as  tidings  came,  in  the  latter  part  of  October,  that  the  conquest 
was  complete,  the  two  lords  began  their  preparations  for  colonizing  their 
new  acquisitions.  Guided,  probably,  by  tlie  terms  of  Winthrop's  char- 
ter, and  the  concessions  silbst-quently  drawn  up  for  the  Caroiinas,  they 
prepared  a  plan  for  the  governuient  of  the  territory  (that  Carteret 
had  honored  with  the  name  of  bis  island  home),  which  was  completed 
and  signed  Keb.  lU,  16G5,  and  which  they  denominated, '  The  Concessions 
and  Agreement  of  the  Lords  Proprietors  of  New-C^sarea,  or  New-Jer- 
sey, to  and  with  all  and  every  of  the  adventurers,  and  all  such  as  shall 
settle  or  plant  there ;'  a  document  of  which  it  must  be  admitted  that 
wbiie  much  nuty  be  said  against  it  and  properly,  it  neverthless  contained 
principles  and  conveyed  privileges  far  in  advance  of  the  age,  and  much 
more  .'>ccordaut  with  democracy  than  with  the  imperialism  of  the 
Stuarts.-* 

"  Capt.  Philip  Carteret,  a  distant  relative  of  Sir  George,  was  more  than 
content  to  emigrate  to  the  New  World  and  become  the  Governor  of  the 
new  territory  for  the  proprietors.  His  commission  and  letters  of  instruc- 
tion bear  the  same  date  as  the  concessions.  Mr.  Robert  Vanquellin 
(Sieur  des  Prairie),  of  tlie  city  of  Caen,  in  France,  receives  the  same  day 
au  appointment  as  surveyor-general  of  tlie  province," 

On  the  8th  of  September,  1665,  Governor  Carteret 
became  a  landed  proprietor,  in  common  with  the  As- 
sociates, by  the  purchase  of  the  third-lot  right  of  John 
Baily,  the  deed  being  as  follows : 

"  Indenture  between  John  Bayles  of  Jamaica  in  Yorkshire  upon  Long 
Islaud  of  the  one  part  and  PfiiUp  Cttrteret,  Esqr,  Goveruorof  the  Province 
of  New  Jersey  upon  tlie  main  land  of  America  of  tlie  other  part.  For 
and  in  considemtiou  of  a  valuable  sum  to  liini  in  hand  paid  by  the  said 
Philip  Carteret,  the  said  Bayles  hath  sold  to  Philip  Carteiet  all  and 
every  my  Lott  or  Letts  part  or  parts  of  a  certaine  peii^e  of  land  scituate 
lying  and  being  on  the  Maine  Continent  of  America  commonly  called 
or  known  by  the  Name  of  Arthur  Cull  or  Euihoyle,  or  what  other  Name 
or  Names  soever  it  liath  been  or  now  is  Called  by  which  said  Parcell  of 
Land  he  the  said  John  Bayles  with  severall  othersdid  Lawfully  purchase 
from  the  Natives  or  Indians  as  by  his  said  Bill  of  Sayle  from  the  Indians 
bearing  date  the  28tli  day  of  October  1664  will  more  at  large  appear 
which  was  coflrmed  by  The  Right  Hon.  Col.  Richard  Nicholl  Governor 
of  his  Royal  Highness  Territoryes  in  America  his  Grant  bearing  date 
the  first  day  of  December,  1664.    To  have  and  to  hold,  &c"* 

1  Bancroft's  United  States,  ii.  130. 

2  N.  Y.  Colonial  Doc,  iii.  1(16.    Thompson's  Long  Island,  ii.  32(1-23. 

3  See  Smith's  New  Jersey,  pp.  512-521.  Grants,  Concessions,  etc.,  pp. 
12-25, 

*  E.  J.  Book  of  Surveys.  A.  I,  2 ;  ii.  J,  1»2. 


This  interest  of  Carteret  in  the  plantation  was  sold 
by  him  Feb.  10,  1668,  to  a  new-comer  by  the  name  of 
I  William  Pyles,  from  Piscataway,  N.  H.  The  lots  lay 
!  on  the  south  side  of  the  creek.  Again,  in  November, 
i  1668,  Carteret  purchased  the  third-lot  right  of  Capt. 
'  Robert  Sealey,  deceased,  for  £45. 

The  "Concessions  and  Agreement"  proved,  upon 
I  examination,  very  acceptable  to  the  people.  It  was 
an  instrument  guaranteeing  the  utmost  liberty  of 
conscience  consistent  with  the  preservation  of  public 
peace  and  order  in  all  things  pertaining  to  civil  and 
religious  matters,  and  offering  liberal  terms  to  immi- 
grants who  would  come  and  settle  in  the  country. 
As  to  government,  it  committed  the  work  of  legisla- 
tion and  taxation  to  a  Legislature,  of  which  the  pop- 
ular branch  should  be  chosen  directly  by  the  people. 
Thus  it  early  established  in  this  favored  colony  the 
doctrine  for  which,  a  century  later,  the  colonies  so 
strenuously  and  successfully  contended,  that  repre- 
sentation should  always  accompany  all  demands  of 
taxation  on  the  part  of  a  government,  or  the  govern- 
ment should  be  thrown  off  as  a  tyranny  and  a  usur- 
pation to  which  no  free  people  are  bound  to  sub- 
mit. 

No  general  government  or  Legislature  for  the  prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey  was  established  under  this  instru- 
ment until  nearly  three  years  after  the  arrival  of  the 
Governor.  His  Excellency  busied  himself  chiefly 
in  setting  in  order  the  local  affairs  of  the  town  which 
he  had  chosen  as  the  seat  of  his  government,  and  in 
attending  to  such  minor  executive  duties  as  seemed 
to  be  most  urgently  demanded.  John  Ogden  was 
commissioned  Oct.  26,  1665,  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
and  on  the  1st  of  November  was  appointed  one  of  the 
Governor's  Council.  Capt.  Thomas  Young  was  also 
appointed  a  member  of  the  Council  Feb.  12, 1666.  A 
military  company  was  organized  somewhat  later  for 
the  defense  of  the  town  against  the  Indians.  Of  this 
company  Luke  Watson  was  made  lieutenant  and  John 
Woodruff  ensign.  Watson  was  also  appointed  consta- 
ble of  the  town.^ 

Among  the  many  marriage  licenses  issued  by  the 
first  Governor  of  New  Jersey  the  following  has  been 
preserved  among  the  East  Jersey  records.  The  par- 
ties were  servants  who  had  come  over  with  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  afterwards  settled  on  Staten  Island.  This 
marriage  is  thought  to  have  been  the  first  that  ever 
occurred  in  the  Elizabeth  Town  plantation  : 

"  Licettse  of  Marriage. 

"  Whereas  I  haverec*  Infomiation  of  a  mutual  Interest  and  agreement 
betwene  Daniel  Perrin^  of  Elizabeth  Towne,  in  the  province  of  New  Jar- 
sey,  and  Maria  TAorei,  of  the  same  Towne,  Spinster,  to  solemnize  Mariage 
together,  for  which  tlioy  have  Requestetl  my  Lycense,  and  there  ap  ear- 
ing no  Lawfull  Impediment  for  y  Obstruction  tliereof,  These  are  to  Re- 
quire You,  or  Eytherof  You,  tojoyne  the  said  Daniel  Perrin  and  Marie 
Thorel  in  Matrimony  and  them  to  pronounce  man  and  Wife,  and  to  make 
record  thereof  according  to  tlie  Lawes  in  that  behalfe  provided,  tor  the 
doing  Whereof  this  shall  he  to  you,  or  Eytlier  of  yon,  a  sufiicibut  War- 


'  Eaat  Jersey  Becurda,  iii.  3,  4,  7,  z(l,  21. 


GOVERNMENT   OP   PHILIP   CAKTEKET. 


53 


milt.    Given  under  my  Imnd  and  s»elo  the  Twelft  day  of  fohruary,  Ani 
1065,  ami  iu  the  IKlh  Yi-are  uf  his  Ma""  Baigii  King  Charles  the  Second. 
"To  any  of  tlie  Justices  of  the  Peace 
or  Ministers  wMilu  the  Govi-rument  "  Ph.  Carterett. 

of  the  province  of  New  Jarsey. 

"These  Couple  Where  Joyned  together  in 
Matrimony  the  IS  feb.,  1066,  by  me,    J.  Bollen."' 

An  indenture  is  on  record  of  the  7tli  of  April,  1666, 
wherein  Robert  Gray  binds  himself  as  a  servant  for 
three  years  to  Luke  Watson,  the  latter  to  give  him, 
at  the  end  of  the  term,  "a  good  cowe."  This  is  fol- 
lowed, on  the  7th  of  the  next  month  (May),  with  "a 
Hue  and  Cry"  for  a  servant  belonging  to  Mr.  Luke 
Watson,  who  has  "  lately  absented  himselfe  and  runn 
away  from  his  Master's  service."  A  description  of 
the  fugitive  is  given  in  these  words : 

"  His  name,  Robert  graij.an  Eiiglishmati  bornd, about  2U  yearesof  age, 
a  lustij  bodied,  portely  fellow,  light  brownish  haire,  very  little  liaire  on 
his  face,  a  little  demij  Castor,  a  gray  broad  cloth  sute  the  breeches  tyed 
att  the  knees,  atid  a  led  coate,  besides  a  light  gray  graij  coulored  Serge 
breeches,  and  a  Snap  hansDiiuskell  that  he  hath  stollen  awaije  w"*  many 
other  things.  It  is  Supposed  that  hoe  is  in  Company  vi^^  one  Ruderic 
Powell,  a  pitiiful  fellow,  who  hath  also  absented  himselfe  and  mnn 
awaij." 

First  Legislature  of  New  Jersey.— In  accord- 
ance with  the  prnvi.si(ins  of  the  "Concessions  and 
Agreement,"  Governor  Carteret,  premising  that  "  by 
the  infinite  goodness,  providence,  and  blessing  of 
Almighty  God  the  province  of  New  Jersey  is  in  a 
probable  way  of  being  populated,"  issued  a  procla- 
mation April  7,  1668,  requiring  the  freeholders  in 
each  of  the  several  towns  of  the  province  to  make 
choice  of  two  of  their  number  to  meet  in  a  General 
Assembly  at  Elizabeth  Town,  May  25,  1668,— 

"For  the  making  atid  constituting  such  wholesome  laws  as  shall  be 
most  neeitful  and  necessary  for  the  good  government  of  the  said  prov- 
ince, and  the  maintaining  of  a  religious  communion  and  civil  society, 
one  with  the  other,  as  becometh  Christians,  without  which  it  is  impos- 
sible lor  any  Body  Polrtic  to  prosper  or  subsist."- 

It  is  almost  certain  that  up  to  this  time  the  people 
of  New  Jersey,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the 
Dutch  at  Bergen,  who  had  a  court  and  a  regular  ad- 
ministration of  justice,  according  to  the  laws  of  Hol- 
land, established  among  them  as  early  as  1661,  had 
lived  under  "  the  Duke's  Laws,"  so  called,  which  His 
Royal  Highness  had  caused  to  be  enacted  by  an  As- 
sembly convened  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island,  under 
a  warrant  from  Governor  Nicolls,  on  the  28th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1665.  This  code,  according  to  instructions, 
was  "  collected  out  of  the  several  laws  then  in  force  in 
his  Majesties  American  Colonyesand  Plantations,"  but 
were  chiefly  such  as  were  in  authority  in  Connecticut, 
and  some  of  them  in  the  very  words  of  the  Connecti- 
cut code  of  1650.'' 

The  first  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  convened 
in  accordance  with  the  Governor's  warrant  at  Eliza- 
beth Town,  and  was  constituted  May  26,  1668.  Three 
of  the  six  members  of  the  Council  were  residents  of 


>  E.  J.  Records,  iii.  p. 

2  Leainingand  S[iicei 

3  New  Yoik  Hist.  S..( 
Hildreth's  Uliitcd  Stnti 


Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  124. 
Tlnnnp«on's  L.  I.,  i.  131-35. 


the  town, — Robert  Bond,  Robert  Vauquellin,  and 
William  Pardon  ;  Bond  and  Pardon  having  been  ap- 
pointed, Jan.  2,  1668,  and  James  Bollen,  also  of  the 
town,  being  the  secretary.  The  town  had  chosen  John 
Ogden,  St.,  and  John  Brackett  to  represent  them  in 
the  House  of  Burgesses.  The  Legislature  remained 
in  session  five  days,  and  pa.ssed  several  acts  or  laws, 
by  some  denominated  "  the  Elizabeth  Town  Code  of 
Laws,"  of  which  it  has  been  said  that  "  Puritan 
austerity  was  so  tempered  by  Dutch  indifference 
that  mercy  itself  could  not  have  dictated  a  milder 
system."  The  laws  were  few  and  simple,  scarcely 
worthy  the  name  of  a  "  Code,"  and  were  taken  in 
almost  every  instance  and  nearly  verbatim  from  the 
Hempstead  Code,  or  the  Connecticut  Code  of  1650. 
The  Puritan  laws,  as  well  as  the  Puritan  manners  and 
customs,  prevailed  in  the  new  settlement.  Every 
possible  precaution  was  taken  to  preserve  the  rights 
of  property,  to  secure  the  orderly  administration  of 
justice,  to  regulate  the  intercourse  of  the  sexes,  to 
restrain  the  vicious  within  proper  bounds,  to  make 
human  life  as  sacred  as  possible,  to  prevent  disre- 
spect to  parents,  drunkenness,  and  profanity,  and  to 
enforce  obedience  to  the  constituted  authorities.* 

As  an  illustration  of  the  strictness  with  which,  at 
that  early  day,  they  watched  over  the  morals  of  the 
rising  generation,  the  following  enactment  is  cited  at 
length ; 

"  For  the  better  preventing  disorders  and  misdemeanors  iu  ytiung 
persons  and  others.  Be  it  also  enacted  by  this  present  General  Assembly, 
that  if  any  person  or  persons  shall  be  abroad  from  the  usual  place  of 
their  abode,  and  found  in  night-walking.  Drinking  in  any  tapp-house, 
or  any  other  house  or  place  at  unreasonable  times,  after  nine  of  the  clock 
at  night,  and  not  about  their  lawful  occasions,  or  cannot  give  a  good  ac- 
count of  their  being  absent  from  their  own  place  of  abode  at  that  time 
of  the  night,  if  required  of  tiiem,  shall  be  secured  by  the  Constable  or 
some  other  officer  till  the  morning,  to  be  brought  before  a  Justice  of  the 
Peace  or  Magistrate,  to  be  examined,  and  if  they  cannot  give  them  a 
satisfactory  account  of  their  being  out  at  such  unreasonable  times,  he  or 
they  shall  be  bound  over  to  the  next  Court,  and  receive  such  punishment 
as  the  Justice  upon  the  Bench  shall  see  cause  to  inflict  upon  them."  '•' 

Provision  was  made  for  an  annual  meeting  of  the 
General  Assembly  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November, 
and  for  the  election  of  deputies  on  the  1st  of  Jan- 
uary. The  rates  for  the  support  of  government  were 
to  be  five  pounds  for  each  of  the  towns,  to  be  paid  into 
the  hands  of  Jacob  Mollins  (Melyen),  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  in  country  produce  at  the  following  prices  : 

"  Winter  wheat  at  five  shillings  a  bushel  I ;  summer  wheat  at  four  shil- 
lings and  sixpence  ;  pease  at  three  i-hillings  and  sixpence;  Indian  corn 
at  three  shillings;  rye  at  four  shillings;  barley  at  four  shillings;  beef 
at  two  pence  half-penny  ;  pork  at  three  pence  half-penny  a  pound." 

Capt.  Bollen  was  to  receive  twenty  pounds  for  his 
services  as  secretary.  Little  time,  however,  could  be 
given,  Especially  in  the  planting  season,  to  matters  of 
legislation.  The  full  consideration  of  these  enact- 
ments was  referred  by  the  Governor  to  the  November 
session,  "  by  reason  of  the  week  so  near  spent,  and  the 


*  Learning  and  Spicer's  Grants,  etc.,  pp.  77-84.    Bancroft's  U.  States, 
ii.  319. 
&  Leaming  and  Spicer's  Grants,  etc.,  p.  80. 


54 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


resolution  of  some  of  the  company  to  depart."  The 
Assembly  met  here  again  by  adjournment  on  Tues- 
day, Nov.  .3,  1668.  Jacob  MoUins  (Melyen)  appeared 
among  the  burgesses  in  place  of  John  Brackett,  who 
had  probably  returned  to  New  Haven.  Mr.  Ogden 
was  appointed  "to  take  cognizance  of  the  country's 
charge  and  rates  ;"  and  Mr.  Watson,  of  the  town,  was 
appointed,  with  Mr.  Samuel  Moore,  of  Woodbridge, 
to  go  to  Middletown  and  Shrewsbury  to  collect  their 
proportion  of  the  rates  levied  on  the  towns.  Mr. 
Melyen  was  to  be  one  of  the  committee  to  treat  with 
the  Indians  "  for  the  preventing  of  future  damages 
and  wrongs  that  otherwise  may  accrue  to  the  towns 
or  inhabitants  in  reference  to  horses  or  cattle  that  may 
range  up  into  the  country,  to  the  indangering  the 
peace  in  respect  to  the  Indians."  Two  men  also  were 
appointed  "and  sent  to  tiie  Sachem  of  the  Indians 
that  killed  the  Indian  boy  at  Elizabeth  Town  to  de- 
mand the  murtherer  to  be  surrendered  to  the  Gov- 
ernor." A  few  other  acts  of  not  much  importance 
were  passed,  and  the  Assembly  was  brought  abruptly 
to  an  end.' 

A  radical  difference  of  opinion,  which  must  have 
been  foreseen,  between  the  Governor  and  the  people 
in  respect  to  the  rights  of  the  people  and  the  power  of 
the  Legislature  was  very  soon  in  the  course  of  the 
session  developed.  The  deputies  were  disposed  to 
exercise  the  right  of  originating  measures  for  the 
good  of  the  people  without  previous  consultation 
with  the  Governor.  The  latter  was  jealous  of  his 
own  prerogative,  and  sought  to  prescribe  the  course 
to  be  pursued  by  the  deputies,  as  he  was  accustomed 
to  do  with  the  Council,  who  were  creatures  of  his  own 
will.  On  the  fourth  day  of  the  session  the  deputies 
therefore  sent  a  message  to  the  Governor  and  his 
Council  to  this  effect, — 


*'  Honored  Geiitlenieii, — We  finding  so  many  and  great  in 
by  our  not  setting  together,  and  your  Apprehensions  so  diffeieiit  to  oure, 
and  your  expectalioiis  tiiat  tilings  must  go  according  to  yonr  opinions, 

wlierefore  we  tliinli  it  vain  to  spend  nmcii  time  ipf  returning  answers  by 
writings  tliat  are  so  exceedingly  dilatory,  if  not  Irnitle-s  and  endless, 
and  thererore  we  think  our  way  raiher  to  break  up  our  meeting,  seeing 
the  order  of  the  concessions  cannot  be  attended  unto."  = 


Carteret  received  the  message  on  Friday  evening, 
and  on  the  plea  that  it  was  "too  late  to-night  to 
entertain  so  long  a  debate,'"  asked  them  to  send  two 
of  their  number  to  discuss  their  difl'erences  on  Satur- 
day morning.  "  If  not,"  he  added,  "  you  may  do 
what  you  please,  only  we  advise  you  to  consider  well 
of  your  resolutions  before  you  break  up."  They  did 
"consider  well,  and  so  broke  up  on  Saturday,  the  fifth 
day  of  the  session.'  Carteret  disregarded  the  ex- 
press provision  of  the  concessions,  and  refused  to  call 
an  Assembly  for  the  next  two  years,  preferring  to 
rule  the  province  at  his  own  pleasure  by  means  of 
his  complaisant  Council. 


1  Learning  and  Spi( 

2  Ibid.,  p.  90. 


I  Grants,  etc.,  pp.  81,  85-89. 
'  Ibid.,  pp.  90,  91. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

GOVEKN.MKNT  OF   PHILIP  CARTERET.— (ConO;i«ierf.) 

Affairs  in  1669. — In  1669  the  affairs  of  the  prov- 
ince were  involved  in  much  uncertainty  on  account 
of  the  trouble  which  had  overtaken  the  Lords  Pro- 
prietors at  home.  Berkeley  had  "  been  detected  in  the 
basest  corruption"  and  deprived  of  his  office.  Car- 
teret had  long  been  under  the  accusation  of  Parlia- 
ment of  being  a  defaulter  to  a  large  amount  as  treas- 
urer of  the  navy,  and  after  a  rigid  investigation  of 
his  accounts  by  a  Parliamentary  committee  he  was 
expelled  from  the  House  of  Commons  in  the  autumn 
of  1669.  These  circumstances  led  to  a  renewal  of  the 
scheme  of  annexing  New  Jersey  to  the  province  of 
New  York,  in  which  Col.  Nicoll  had  always  been 
interested.  He  at  the  first  had  remonstrated  with 
the  duke  against  the  grant  of  New  Jersey  to  Berkeley 
and  Carteret,  and  being  now  in  England  he  renewed 
his  remonstrance  with  still  greater  earnestness.  Meas- 
ures were  accordingly  taken  by  the  duke  for  the  re- 
covery of  his  lost  territory.  Samuel  Maverick,  writ- 
ing to  Governor  Winthrop,  under  date  of  Feb.  24, 
1669,  says, — 

"Tile  Lord  Berkeley  is  uniler  a  Cloud  and  out  of  all  his  ofiices,  and 
oflfers  to  surrender  up  the  Patent  of  N.  Jersey.  Sir  G.  Carteret,  his  part- 
ner, U  in  Ir>-land,  but  it  is  thought  he  will  likew  ise  surrender,  and  then 
N.  Yorko  will  bo  inlarged." 

Later  he  writes, — 

"New  Jersey  is  returned  to  his  Royal  Highness  by  excliange  for  Dela- 
ware, as  Sir  George  Carteret  wiites  to  liis  <'ousin,  the  present  Governor : 
some  tract  of  bind  on  this  side  of  the  river  .tnd  on  tlie  other  side  to 
reach  to  Maryland  bounds."'  * 

At  this  time  the  Newark  people  were  in  evident 
perplexity  : 

"  At  a  Town  Meeting  28th  July.  1G69,  the  Town  made  choice  of  Mr. 
Crane  and  Mr.  Treat  to  take  the  first  opportunity  to  goe  over  to  York  to 
advise  with  Colonel  Lovelace  Concerning  ourStanding,  Whether  we  are 
designed  to  be  part  of  the  Duk.-'s  Colony  or  Not."^ 

Such  were  the  negotiations  for  the  transfer  of  New 
Jersey  to  the  Duke  of  York's  possession.  Though  so 
nearly  consummated,  they  failed  in  the  end.  Berkeley 
was  made  lord  lieutenant  of  Ireland,  of  which  Car- 
teret was  already  deputy  treasurer.  By  some  new 
turn  of  the  political  wheel  the  lords  retained  poises- 
sion  of  their  charter,  and  Elizabeth  Town  remained 
the  seat  of  government  of  the  province  and  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Governor  and  his  officials. 

Between  Carteret,  however,  and  the  popular  branch 
of  the  government  there  had  grown  up  an  irrecon- 
cilable diU'erence.  The  Governor  for  more  than  two 
years  refused  to  convene  the  Assembly  or  to  recognize 
the  legality  of  its  proceedings.  The  Assembly  met 
in  1670,  and  again  on  March  26,  1671,  and  held  an 
adjourned  meeting  on   the   14th  of   May   following. 


*  Pepys'  Diary,  H.  97,  114,  115.     N.  Y'.  Col.  Doc,  ii.  410;  iii.  1(15,  113, 
114.    Whitehead's  East  Jersey,  pp.  30,  31.    4  Mass.  Hist.  Col.,  viii.  315, 


6  Newark  Town  Records,  p.  21. 


GOVERNMENT   OF   PHILIP   CAKTERKT. 


55 


Deputies  for  Elizabeth  Town,  Newark,  Bergen, 
Woodbridge,  and  Piscataway  were  in  the  Assembly 
or  House  of  Burgesses,  as  it  was  then  called.  As 
the  Governor  refused  to  preside  over  the  Assembly, 
either  in  person  or  by  deputy,  the  members,  as  au- 
thorized by  the  Concessions,  appointed  Capt.  James 
Carteret,  the  son  of  Sir  George,  who  was  then  re- 
siding in  Elizabeth  Town,  to  preside  over  thera. 
William  Pardon,  the  secretary  of  the  House,  taking 
sides  with  the  Governor,  refused  to  deliver  up  the 
acts  and  proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  and  these 
records  were,  by  tVie  authority  of  the  Governor,  de- 
stroyed. By  virtue  of  his  appointment  as  president 
of  the  Assembly,  Capt.  James  Carteret  issued  the 
following  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  Pardon,  addressed 
to  the  constable  of  Elizabeth  Town  or  his  deputy, 
May  25,  1672 : 

"These  are  in  his  Ma^i"  Name  to  Will  and  require  Ynu  to  apprehend 
the  body  of  William  Pardon  and  him  to  keepe  ill  Safe  Ousted)' until  fur- 
ther order,  or  until  lie  deliver  up  the  Acts  of  Lnues  made  hy  the  Gen- 
eral A^semldy  at  llieir  Selt  ng  the  26th  of  March  Lust  the  Which  Laues 
the  said  Wni  Pardou  now  relusetli  to  deliver."  > 

Constable  Meeker  immediately  made  the  arrest. 
Governor  Carteret  fled  to  Bergen.  Pardon  escaped 
Meeker's  custody,  and  was  with  his  associate  mem- 
bers of  the  Council — Vauquellin,  Edsall,  Berry, 
Bishop,  Andrus,  and  Pyke — convened  by  the  Gov- 
ernor at  Bergen  on  May  28th,  when  the  following 
proclamation  was  issued : 

"  Whereas  we  are  certainly  inforDied  of  several  Eregular  and  Illegal 


ral  Pp 


ns  styling  themselves  the  Dep- 
in  Attpiii))ting  the  making  au 
nildiiig  together  at  Elizabeth 
indertlle  Denomination  afore- 
ir  witlniut  the  knowledge,  up- 
id  Council  aliovesaid,  and  hy 
id  uiakiiig  Pi'ocliiniation  pub- 
1  which  tends  only  to  Mutiny 


proceedings  and  Aclion 
uties  or  Kepre-eiitalives  f..r  the  Coiiiitiy, 
Alteration  in  this  Government  by  Ass< 
Towne,  the  fourteenth  day  of  Ma,\  Last 
said,  without  writts  from  the  Governor, 
probation  or  consent  of  the  Governor  a 
Electing  a  Presiilent  for  the  t'onntry  a 
lickly  of  the^e  their  Illegal  Actions,  Al 
and  Rebellion,  Ac." 

The  document  is  too  lengthy  to  be  quoted  in  full. 
In  it  the  Governor  declared  his  purpose  that  unless 
the  people  should  declare  their  submission  within 
ten  days,  he  should  "  proceed  against  them  as  Muti- 
neers and  Enemies  to  the  Government."  Pardon 
returned  to  read  the  proclamation  before  a  town- 
meeting;  an  order  was  issued  for  his  arrest;  the 
constable,  with  a  posse,  broke  into  his  house  and 
carried  away  "all  his  moveables  to  Goodman  Tom- 
son's  house,  except  his  writing-desk  and  papers,  which 
were  carried  to  Capt.  Carteret." 

The  Governor  had  already  been  advised  by  his 
Council  to  repair  to  England  and  lay  the  grievances 
of  the  province  before  the  Lords  Proprietors.  He 
concluded  to  act  upon  this  advice,  and  accordingly, 
in  July,  1672,  with  his  officials, — Bollen,  Vauquellen, 
Samuel,  Moore,  the  marshal,  and  Pardon, — he  left 
the  country  and  returned  to  England,  leaving  Capt. 
John  Berry,  Deputy  Governor,  in  his  place.  Capt. 
James  Carteret,  however,  occupied  the  government 
house  at  Elizabeth  Town.     On  the  9th  of  July  he 

1  E.  .1.  Records,  iii.  64.    Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  15. 


issued  a  writ  of  attachment  against  the  house  and 
lands  and  all  the  estate  of  William  Pardon,  "  escaping 
away  for  England."^ 

It  appears  that  Capt.  James  Carteret  arrived  in 
Elizabeth  Town  in  the  summer  of  1671,  on  his  way  to 
North  Carolina  to  take  possession  of  his  newly  ac- 
quired domain  as  landgrave.  He  was  the  son  of  Sir 
George  Carteret,  the  lord  proprietor  of  East  Jersey, 
and  probably  had  been  instructed  to  call  upon  Gov- 
ernor Philip  Carteret  and  confer  with  him  in  respect 
to  the  affairs  of  the  province,  then  getting  to  be  quite 
complicated.  The  fact  that  he  was  instructed  by  a 
council  convened  in  New  York  in  September,  1671, 
in  connection  with  Governor  Carteret,  to  "order  a 
General  Assembly  to  be  called"  in  East  Jersey  for 
the  purpose  of  prosecuting  a  war  against  the  Indians 
on  the  Delaware  shows  that  he  must  have  had  .some 
kind  of  co-ordinate  or  supervisory  authority  with  the 
Governor,  either  by  commission  or  as  the  representa- 
tive of  his  father.^  It  is  probable  that  his  father, 
knowing  the  unfortunate  state  of  affairs  in  the  prov- 
ince, had  intrusted  him  with  all  the  authority  which 
he  exercised,  and  that  at  his  suggestion,  in  order  to 
conciliate  the  aggrieved  planters,  he  had  taken  the 
popular  side  in  the  controversy  with  the  Governor. 
At  the  time  of  his  occupancy  of  the  government 
house  at  Elizabeth  Town  he  made  frequent  visits  to 
New  York,  the  result  of  which  was  his  marriage,  on 
the  15th  of  April,  1673,  to  Frances,  daughter  of  Capt. 
Thomas  Delavall,  merchant  and  mayor  of  that  city. 

"Capt.  James  Carteret  had  scarcely  completed  his 
honeymoon  before  he  received  by  Capt.  Bollen  dis- 
patches and  instructions  from  his  aged  father,  requir- 
ing him  to  retire  from  the  scene  of  conflict  in  New 
Jersey  and  look  after  his  patrimony  in  Carolina.  He 
was  now  the  only  surviving  son  of  his  father,  his  elder 
brother.  Sir  Philip,  having  been  slain  in  battle  almost 
a  year  before,  May  28,  1672.  Bidding  farewell,  there- 
fore, to  the  kind  people  of  the  town,  he  took^  passage 
with  his  wife  early  in  July,  1673  (after  nearly  two 
years'  sojourn  in  the  town),  on  board  of  a  sloop,  Sam- 
uel Davis  captain,  bound  for  a  Southern  port.  Sam- 
uel Hopkins,  one  of  the  planters  of  the  town,  accom- 
panied them. 


2  Hatfl.  Id's  Elizabeth,  p.  148. 

3  HatfieM's  Klizabeth,  note  to  p.  141 . — *'  Great  injustice  has  been  done 
to  the  memory  of  Capt.  James  Carteret.  The  Bill  in  CViawcer?/ (p.  35) 
callshim  'aweakanddissoluteyouth.'  He  could  scarcely  have  been  less 
than  4U  years  old.  Governor  Pliili|i  was  but:!3.  Tr//mie  chHs  him  'a  dis- 
solute son  of  Sir  G.-orge'  (i.  ill5).  Chalmers  speaks  of  him  as  '  a  natural 
son  of  the  Proprietor'  (p.  616).  GrtihameKfee  the  same  language  (i.  466).  , 
Gfirdtm  describes  him  as  'a  weak  and  dissolute  natural  son  of  Sir 
George'  (p.  2!)).  Wliileliead  makes  him  '  au  illegitimate  son  of  Sir 
George,'  *  a  weak  aud  dissiliated  young  man' (p.  55).  iVf«I/orrf  uses  the 
same  epitliels  (p.  152).  That  he  was  the  lawfid  son  of  Sir  George  and 
his  wife  Elizabeth  cannot  be  questioned.  Dankers,  the  Labadrst  jour- 
nalist, who  knew  and  uiet  witli  him  at  New  York  in  1679,  calls  him  'a 
person  of  quality,'  aud  gives  uot  the  least  intimation  of  his  being  other 
than  the  lawful  son  of  Sir  George,  but  much  to  the  contrary-  Dankers' 
Journal,  p.  l:)9.  Collins'  Peerage  (l7.io),  iii.  329;  iv.  :i27-8.  His  morals 
at  the  time  could  not  have  beeu  lunch  worse  than  those  which  generally 
prevailed  at  court ;  they  may  have  beeu  better." 


5(i 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NKW    JERSEY. 


Capt.  Berry  signalized  his  brief  authority  by  two 
or  three  bellicose  proclamations.  In  one  he  forbade 
the  people  to  purchase  any  of  the  estates  to  be  .sold 
by  Constable  Meeker;  in  another  he  called  upon  the 
"  malcontents"  to  make  their  submission  at  the  town 
of  Bergen  on  the  10th  day  of  June  next,  or  after  that 
to  "expect  no  favors  but  what  the  law  affords."  In  the 
third  he  declared  that,  in  accordance  with  the  declara- 
tion of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  no  person  or  persons 
whatever  shall  be  accounted  a  freeholder  of  the  pro- 
vince, nor  have  any  vote  in  electing,  nor  be  capable 
of  being  elected  for  any  office  of  trust,  either  civil  or 
military,  until  he  doth  actually  hold  his  or  their  lands 
by  patent  from  them. 

Governor  Carteret  returned  from  England  in  No- 
vember, 1674.  Meantime  the  Dutch  had  retaken  the 
country,  and  had  again  surrendered  it  to  the  English. 
Berkeley  had  sold  his  half  of  the  province  to  John 
Fenwick,  and  yir  George  Carteret  had  become  the 
sole  proprietor  of  Eiist  Jersey  by  a  new  patent  from 
the  Duke  of  York.  The  same  ship  which  brought 
over  Carteret  brought  also  Col.  Edmund  Andros,  the 
newly-appointed  Governor  of  New  York.  The  latter 
became  Governor  of  all  the  colonies,  and  in  his  at- 
tempt to  extend  his  jurisdiction  over  New  Jersey 
came  into  conflict  with  the  government  of  Carteret, 
no  less  than  with  the  desire  and  interest  of  the  people, 
who  now  made  common  cause  with  their  Governor 
against  a  formidable  enemy,  in  which  former  animosi- 
ties seemed  for  the  time  forgotten.  Andros  sent  his 
writs  to  all  the  towns  demanding  the  subjection  of 
the  people  to  his  authority.  In  March,  1680,  he  noti- 
fied Carteret  that  he  intended  to  take  military  posses- 
sion of  the  province  and  to  erect  a  fort  at  Sandy 
Point.     On  the  20th  Carteret  replied  as  follows : 

"  If  you  intend  to  set  a  fort  at  Sandy  Honk,  I  shiill  be  constrained  to 
•udeavor  to  prevent  the  tame,  and  shall  be  necessitated,  if  any  force  be 
used,  to  defend  ourselves  and  families  the  best  we  can.  which  if  any 
blood  be  shed  it  will  be  contrary  to  our  desires,  and  the  just  and  right- 
eous God  requii-e  it  al  your  haude  who  are  the  causes  thereof.  And 
therefore  we  intjeatyou  to  forbear  your  threats  or  any  other  acts  of 
hostility  towards  ns  until  his  Majesty  decides  this  controversy,  wiiich  we 
shall  endeavor  to  have  efiectedassoon  as  possible  may  be.  The  occasion 
that  hinders  this  flora  being  sent  you  sooner  is  the  foulness  of  the 
weather  hindering  the  councils  meeting,  iis  also  au  alarm  we  had  yes- 
terday of  your  being  come  with  your  sloops  and  a  considerable  number 
of  soldiers,  which  constrained  us  to  put  ourselves  in  a  posture  of  de- 

The  next  scene  in  the  drama  is  well  described  by 
Governor  Carteret  himself  in  a  letter  to  Sir  George, 
of  whose  decease  Jan.  14,  1679-80,  he  had  not  yet 
heard  : 

"Sir  Edmund  Audioss  came  hither  on  Wednesday  the  7lh  instant,  ac- 
companied with  seveial  of  his  officers,  councellors  and  merchants,  to 
demand  the  government  r.f  this  your  honour's  province,  supposing  to 
have  gained  il  either  by  threats  or  flattery,— and  having  notice  of  it  be- 
forehand I  had  gotten  together  a  matter  ol  15U  men  in  arms  to  receive 
him,  doubting  he  wouhl  have  brought  some  offensive  forces  along  with 
him  hut  did  not,  and  having  leave  with  his  train  to  come  a  shore,  he 
came  up  to  my  house  where  after  the  civilities  past,  he  began  to  show 
by  what  authority  he  had  to  lay  claim  to  the  government." 

Both  parties  presented  their  documents  and  pleas, 
ending  of  course  as  they  began  : 


"  His  last  answer  was  that  he  had  showed  what  authority  lie  had,  and 
according  to  his  duty  did  require  it  in  behalf  of  his  master,  and  if  we 
would  not  obey  him,  let  it  rest  at  our  perils;  for  that  we  answered  him 
we  had  sent  nway  our  appeal  to  his  majesty.and  should  be  ready  to  sub- 
mit to  what  his  Majesty  should  determine,  and  then  we  went  to  dinner, 
that  done  we  accompanied  hira  to  his  sloop,  and  so  parted." 

The  conduct  of  Andros  at  this  time  was  most  dis- 
graceful. Dankers,  who  was  in  the  country  at  the 
time,  and  cognizant  of  the  whole  affair,  says, — 

"  He  sent  boats  several  limes  to  AchterKuU  to  demand  the  submission 
of  the  place  to  his  anthol-ity,  which  the  people  of  Achter  Kull  jeered  at 
and  disregarded,  being  ready  to  uphold  the  king  and  their  own  gover- 
nor, whom  they  bound  thi-mselves  to  maintain.  At  night,  and  unseason- 
able hours,  and  by  surprise,  he  took  from  New  Jersey  all  the  staves  of 
the  constables  out  of  their  houses,  which  was  as  much  as  to  deprive 
them  of  the  power  to  act.  Seeing  he  could  accomplish  nothing  by  force, 
he  declared  the  inhabitants  released  from  their  oaths  to  the  Heer  Car- 
teret; they  answered  they  could  not  acknowledge  any  release  from 
their  oaths,"  etc. 

The  capture  of  Carteret  soon  followed,  in  the  same 
cowardly  manner.  The  story  is  told  by  Dankers,  as 
follows : 

"At  length  he  captured  one  of  Carteret's  domestics,  for  Carteret  had 
no  soldiers  or  fortiflcations,  but  resided  in  a  country  house  only.  He 
then  equipped  some  yachts,  and  a  ketch  with  soldiers,  arms,  and  ammu- 
nition, and  dispatched  then»  to  Achter  Kol,  in  order  to  abduct  Cnrteret 
in  any  manner  it  conld  be  done.  They  entered  his  house,  I  know  not 
how,  at  miduight,  seized  him,  naked,  dragged  him  through  tlie  window, 
struck  and  kicked  him  terribly,  and  even  injured  him  iuternally.  They 
threw  him,  all  naked  as  he  was,  into  a  canoe,  without  any  cap  or  hat  on 
his  head,  and  carried  him  in  that  condition  to  New  York,  where  they 
furnished  him  clothes  and  shoes  aud  stockings,  and  then  conducted  him 
to  the  fort  and  put  him  immediately  in  prison.  When  they  seized  him 
at  Achter  kol,  the  armed  boats  had  gone  home,  and  the  seizure  was  ac- 
complished through  treachery.  Two  of  the  head  men  of  Carteret  (Bol- 
len  aud  Vauqiiellin)  immediately  took  possession  of  his  papers,  such  as 
were  of  importance  to  him,  aud  travelled,  one  to  Maryland,  and  the 
other,  crossing  the  ujiper  part  of  the  North  River,  to  Boston  over  land, 
and  both  to  England,  in  order  to  remonstrate.  The  Governor  (.\ndro8) 
sent  immediately  to  Achter  kol,  took  possession  of  the  place,  posted  up 
orders,  and  caused  inquiries  to  be  made  for  the  man  who  had  set  Car- 
teret's man  (Bolh-n)  over  the  river,  but  without  success.  While  Carteret 
was  in  prison  he  was  sick,  very  sick,  they  said,  in  regard  to  which  there 


On  the  27th  of  May  he  was  brought  to  trial  before 
a  special  assize  for  presuming  to  exercise  jurisdiction 
and  government  within  the  bounds  of  His  Majesty's 
letters  patent  granted  to  his  Royal  Highness  the 
Duke  of  York.  The  jury  declared  him  "  not  guilty," 
and  he  was  acquitted.  But  an  order  was  appended  to 
the  judgment  of  the  court  requiring  him  to  give  se- 
curity that  he  would  not  exercise  jurisdiction,  either 
civil  or  military,  in  the  province  of  New  Jersey. 
Carteret,  thus  released,  as  it  were,  upon  parole,  imme- 
diately returned  to  his  home,  drew  up  the  necessary 
papers  for  an  appeal  to  the  home  government,  which 
he  sent  to  England  on  the  9th  of  July,  1680. 

On  the  2d  of  June,  only  five  days  after  the  conclu- 
sion of  Carteret's  trial,  Andros  called  a  General  As- 
sembly to  meet  at  Elizabeth  Town.  He  presented 
himself  personally  before  the  deputies,  unfolded  the 
king's  letters  patent,  bearing  the  great  seal  of  Eng- 
land, and  claimed  to  be  the  rightful  and  lawful  Gov- 
ernor.    He  gained  nothing,  however,  "  but  a  tacit  ac- 

1  Leaming  and  Spicer.  y.  1178.     llHiikein'  J..nniMl,  pp.  :147-:!.")2. 


TITLE  TO  LANDS. 


57 


quiescence  on  the  part  of  the  people  in  the  existing 
state  of  things  until  the  authorities  in  England  could 
be  heard  from." ' 

The  deputies  returned  to  him  the  following  answer: 

"  As  we  are  the  RepresenlMives  of  the  Fn-eholdere  of  this  Province, 
we  dare  not  grant  hi^  Majesty's  Letters  Patents,  though  under  the  Great 
Seal  of  Enghind,  to  be  onr  rule  or  j..int  safety  for  the  Gieat  Charter  of 
England,  alius  Magna  Charta.  as  [is!  the  only  rule,  privilege,  and  joint 
safety  of  evi-ry  freeborn  Englishman." 

Carteret  occupied  the  interval  in  the  improvement 
of  his  estate,  and  in  the  erection  of  a  new  house,  for 
which  he  had  been  making  preparation.  Says  Dr. 
Hatfield,— 

"  He  improved  his  leisure,  also,  in  making  some 
friendly  visits,  either  to  the  city  or  to  Long  Island,  re- 
sulting in  his  marriage,  April,  1681,  to  Elizabeth,  the 
widow  of  Capt.  William  Lawrence,  of  Tew's  Neck, 
L.  I.,  who  had  died  in  1680,  in  the  fifty-eighth  year  of 
his  age.  Mrs.  Carteret  was  the  daughter  of  Richard 
Smith^patenteeof  Smithtown,  L.  L,and  brought  with 
her  to  this  town  seven  children, — Mary,  Thomas,  Jo- 
seph, Richard,  Samuel,  Sarah,  and  James.  Samuel 
died  Aug.  16,  1687,  aged  fifteen  years,  and  Thomas, 
Oct.  26,  1687,  aged  nineteen  years,  and  both  were 
buried  in  the  rear  of  the  meeting-house.  Their  graves 
are  now  covered  by  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  their  monuments  adorn  the  rear  wall  of  the 
building,  being  the  most  ancient  stones  in  the  ceme- 
tery. This  was,  in  all  probability,  the  Governor's  first 
miirriage,  no  allusion  to  any  other  having  been  dis- 
covered. He  resumed  office  by  proclamation  March 
2,  1681. 

"The  remainder  of  his  administration  was  of  short 
duration  and  uneventful.  With  the  decease  of  Sir 
George  Carteret,  and  the  transfer  of  East  Jersey  to 
new  proprietors,  the  necessity  arose  for  a  new  admin- 
istration. This  was  inaugurated  under  Thomas  Rud- 
yard,  as  the  deputy  of  Governor  Barclay,  in  1682. 
Carteret  continued  to  occupy  the  government  house, 
which  he  claimed  as  his  own  property.^  He  survived 
his  retirement  from  office  only  some  four  weeks,  his 
will,  made  just  before  his  death,  bearing  date  Dec.  10, 
1682.    Of  the  cause,  occasion,  and  circumstances  of  his 


,  built 


1  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  194.     Learning  and  Spicer,  pp.  680-83. 

2  Scot's  Model  of  E.  N.  J.,  pp.  149,  I5U.  The  government  huusi 
by  Carteret  just  belore  his  death,  was  suhsequeiitly  known  as  the 
"White  House,"  sometimes  as  "Schuyler's  lloute,"  it  having  passed 
into  the  hands  of  Col.  Peter  Schuyler.  It  was  converted  into  a  public- 
house,  and  wa-s  kept  by  Mrs.  Margaret  Johnston,  foinierly  the  widow  of 
William  Williamson,  and  tlieu  of  Mr.  Hietwood,  a  daughter  of  Capt. 
Matthias  Dellart.  and  sister  of  Mrs.  Samuel  Mann.  It  was  then  called 
"  the  Nag's  Hearl  Tavern."  In  176li  it  iva.s  offeretl  for  sale  by  Jonathan 
Hampton.  In  1T84  it  was  again  adverliseil  (l.y  0.d.  Edward  Thomas)  for 
sale  as  "that  large,  commodious,  and  famous  Brick  House,  known  by 
the  name  of  the  White  House,  built  in  the  strongest  ami  Ix-st  manner, 
by  a  former  Governor  of  New  .(ersey,  f.ir  the  seat  of  government,  beau- 
tifnlly  situate.l  ou  the  river  running  tlircnigh  the  town,  on  which  is  a 
verv  good  ,>liarf"  It  u  thus  fully  identifted  us  Carteret's  house.  In 
n.-.9.  St.  .lohn's  parsonage  is  ilescribed  in  the  deed  of  sale  as  "on  the 
South  side  of  ihe  said  BI■^.d^eIll  Town  Creek,  ..ppo-ite  to  a  large  white 
house,  now  or  late  behmging  to  Mr.  Peter  Schuyler."  This  ■leterniineB 
the  locality.  Weynian'^  N.  Y.  Gazette,  N...  IV.I.  Holt's  X.  Y.  Journal, 
N.i.  ItiM.     I  lark's  St.  John's  Church,  il  180. 


death  no  record  remains.  It  may  have  resulted  from 
the  injuries  received  at  the  time  of  his  capture  by  An- 
dros.  However  well  qualified  by  gifts  and  attain- 
ments he  may  have  been  for  the  administration  of  the 
government  of  a  newly-founded  colony,  he  failed  to 
secure  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  town  and 
province.  Living  among,  and  associating  daily  with, 
a  community  in  full  sympathy  with  the  men  and  man- 
ners and  principles  of  the  Commonwealth,  he  was  ever 
exemplifying,  asserting,  and  upholding  the  social  and 
political  (if  not  the  ecclesiastical)  principles  of  the 
Stuarts,  and  exacting  a  deference,  as  the  repre-senta- 
tive  of  that  aristocratic  and  vicious  court,  which  the 
Puritan  colonists  of  the  town  and  province  were 
among  the  very  last  to  concede.  Instead  of  identify- 
ing himself  as  much  as  possible  with  his  townsmen, 
and  seeking  to  conciliate  them,  he  seems  to  have  pur- 
sued a  course,  almost  from  the  first,  that  he  must  have 
known  would  excite  their  prejuilices  and  thwart  their 
plans  and  purposes  in  founding  a  settlement  in  the 
wilderness.  From  the  time  of  the  first  collision  with 
the  people  in  1668  he  persisted  in  excluding  from 
his  Council  and  confidence  the  very  best  men  in  the 
community,  men  of  sterling  integrity  and  of  great 
moral  worth,  putting  in  office,  and  persistently  retain- 
ing when  notoriously  rejected  and  despised  for  their 
sycophancy,  such  parasites  as  Bollen,  Vauquellin, 
and  Pardon.  His  administration  must  be  regarded 
as  a  complete  failure,  opposed  as  it  was  almost  from 
the  beginning  by  the  worthiest  men  of  the  colony. 
He  seems  to  have  had  no  party  in  the  town  outside  of 
the  clique  that  came  with  him  and  lived  on  his  favor 
and  patronage." ' 


CHAPTER    X. 
TITLE   TO   LANDS. 


The  original  Associates  purchased  their  lands  of 
the  Indians,  and  obtained  a  patent  therefor  from  Col. 
Richard  Nicolls,  Governor  under  the  Duke  of  York. 
This  was  before  the  province  had  been  sold  to  the 
Lords  Proprietors,  Berkeley  and  Carteret.  These  pro- 
prietors and  their  successors  undertook  to  invali- 
date the  title  of  the  Associates  granted  by  Governor 
Nicolls,  and  to  compel  the  owners  to  take  out  new 
patents  under  the  proprietors,  and  pay  them  the 
usual  quit-rents.  This  controversy  began  in  Philip 
Carteret's  time,  who,  although  he  himself  had  become 
a  purchaser  under  the  Associates,  and  had  repeatedly 
acknowledged  the  validity  of  their  title,  eventually 
took  sides  with  the  proprietors,  causing  the  Asso- 
ciates great  trouble  and  annoyance  towards  the  close 
of  his  administration. 

After  thfi  sale  of  West  Jersey  to  John  Fenwick,  in 
trust  for  Edward  Byllinge,  of  the  Society  of  Friends, 
in  March,  1674,  Sir  George  Carteret,  by  a  new  patent 

3  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  212-13. 


58 


HISTOKY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


from  the  Duke  of  York,  became  the  sole  proprietor  of 
East  Jersey,  the  duke  granting  him  the  whole  prov- 
ince in  "  as  full  and  ample  a  manner  as  the  same  had 
been  granted  to  himself."  This  latter  clause  was 
evidently  designed  to  secure  to  Carteret  the  right  to 
all  the  lands  in  the  territory,  not  excepting  the  large 
tract  which  had  been  acknowledged  to  belong  to  the 
Elizabeth  Town  Associates.  That  such  was  the  con- 
struction of  the  new  patent  very  soon  appeared. 
Philip  Carteret,  who  had  been  absent  in  England 
more  than  two  years,  returned  to  his  government  in 
November,  1674.  Conscious  that  he  was  about  to  take 
a  decided  stand  against  the  Elizabeth  Town  people, 
and  therefore  ashamed  to  resume  his  old  seat  in  that 
town,  he  proceeded  to  Bergen,  where  he  called  to- 
gether his  Council.  With  his  new  commission  as 
Governor,  dated  July  31,  1674,  the  Concessions  had 
been  so  modified  as  to  give  him  entire  control  of  the 
Legislature.  Moreover,  he  had  come  with  express 
instructions  from  Sir  George  Carteret  to  enforce  his 
claim  against  the  lands  of  the  Associates,  who  had 
now  been  in  possession  of  them  about  ten  years. 
The  instructions  were  to  this  eftect: 

"  For  such  as  prctenil  to  a  right  of  propriety  to  land  and  goTernment 
within  our  Province,  by  virtue  of  any  patents  from  Governor  Col.  Rich- 
ard Nicolls,  as  they  ipnorantly  assert,  we  utterly  disown  any  sncb  thing. 
But  if  such  persons  as  have  not  already  received  patents  of  their  land 
from  us  shall  not  within  onf  year  afti-r  noli<'e  to  them  given  of  this  our 
pleasure  therein  desire  and  accept  patents  of  the  said  land,  we  do  hereby 
order  ourGovern'ir  and  Council  tt>  dispose  of  such  lands  and  tenements 
in  whole  or  in  pait,  foi-  our  best  advantage  to  any  other  persons." 

Thus  if  the  Associates  did  not  take  out  patents  for 
their  lands  from  Carteret  within  one  year  their  estates 
were  to  be  confiscated  and  sold,  with  the  tenements 
thereon,  to  purchasers  from  the  Governor  and  Coun- 
cil. The  town  held  a  meeting  on  March  11,  1675, 
and  voted  the  following  : 


"  We,  the  inhabitants  of  Elizabeth  Town,  a 
Proprietor  the  sum  of  Twenty  Pounds  per  a 
country,  in  considerat  ion  of  a  Township  eight 
according  to  our  Agreement  of  first,  second, 
firmed  by  Charter  to  ns  and  i 


liis  Co 


'  Isaac  Wh 


,  Clerk: 


The  Governor  and  Council,  determined  not  to  abate 
a  jot  of  their  exactions,  returned  the  following  answer, 
indorsed  upon  the  back  of  the  petition  March  15th: 

"  There  cannot  be  granted  any  variation  or  alteration  from  the  Proc- 
lamation dated  11th  December,  1674;  but,  accordingly,  the  Surveyor  is 
required  to  attend  at  the  time  appointed,  and  it's  expected  that  suitable 
persons  be  provided  for  bis  assistance,  according  to  the  said  Proclama- 


r  of  the  Gove 
"  Jame£ 


■nor  and  Council, 
BoLLEN,  Secretary:^^ 


"  Finding  no  prospect  of  securing  their  rights,  with 
no  means  of  redress  at  hand,  and  threatened  by  their 
imperious  rulers  with  a  confiscation  of  their  lands  and 

>  Elizabeth  Town  Bill,  pp.  42,  43. 


improvements,"  one  after  another  of  the  embarrassed 
planters  applied  for  surveys,  and  warrants  w'ere  given 
them  by  the  Governor.  We  give  below  a  list  of  those 
who  had  surveys  made  to  them,  with  the  dates  and 
number  of  acres  surveyed  to  each,  as  found  upon  the 
records : 

Acres. 

April      8,  1676,  Synmn  Rows 180 

May       3,  "  Robert  Vauquelliu  and  wile 300 

June  30,  •'  Charles  Tucker '. 140 

"          "  "  Robert  Bond 3(10 

"  *'  "  Joseph  Bond IliO 

"          "  "  Jacol.  Mellins 3(10 

Sept.  12,  "  Robert  While,  wife,  and  daughter 180 

Oct.         6,  "  Leonard  HeaUley  and  wife 120 

' John  Parker 90 

22,  "  Niih..la«  (  alter 360 

"  23,  "  William  Panlon  and  wife 200 

Not.       5,  "  John  \V,.odriifl,  wile,  and  three  servants 4.i0 

Jan.  21,1676,  Luke  Watsi.i, 4110 

March   8,  "  Henry  Lvon,  rights  and  purchase 3G0 

"  14,  "  VMIIiam  Letls 180 

"       "  "  Charles  Tinker  (a  2d  warrant) 180 

"       "  "  Benjamin  Parkis 180 

"       "  "  Heiirv  Norris,  self,  and  Juhn  Wilson,  Cal-p.'li' 210 

"       "  "  Dnniel  Uh  llaeit,  right  "f  Rh:lmrd  I'aliiter 120 

"       "  "  Wm.  Pard.ui,  right  ..f  Wni.  Meaker 120 

"  "  "  Isaac  Whitehead,  sen' 180 

"       "  "  Somiiel  Moore,  right  of  J.din  Wilson,  the  Less 90 

"       "  "  Capt.  Thomas  Young 240 

"       "  •'  Capt.  John  Baker,  wife,  and  8  others 1200 

"  "  •'  Sir  Ge.nge  and  Philip  Carteret,  and  18  servants 27li0 

"  "  "  Philip  Carteret,  right  of  Alo-aliani  Sholwell l.io 

"  "  "           "            "            "      '•    Peter  Widverson 480 

"       "  "           "            "            "       "    Dennis  White 120 

"       1,  "  Benjamin  Wade 120 

"  20,  "  E  chard  Beach 90 

"  "  "  Robert  Moss  and  wife 180 

"  22,  "  William  Cramer 180 

"       "  "  Nathani.  1  Tnilh  II 90 


willing  to  pay  the  Lord 
uni,  current  pay  of  this 
iles  square,  to  be  divided 
,d  third  lots,  to  be  con- 
I  forever,  wiih  all  such  privileges 
have  or  shall  have  ;  which  we  do 
apprehend  may  be  sufficient,  in  regard  of  the  badness  of  the  soil,  which 
has  deceived  us  all,  and  tlie  half  or  more  being  but  waste  land.  This 
was  voted  by  all  present  on  the  11th  of  March,  1675.  V.  ted,  Isaac 
Wliitehead  and  George  Ross  to  [ireseiit  this  writing  to  the  Governor  and 


■Mo 


■ile.. 


Roger  LamI.ert 120 

Stephen  Cuiue 120 

William  Hill  HO 


28, 


Wil 


Join 


240 


John  Lillle,  right  of  self  and  Stephen  Salsbnry  . 

"  "  "  George  Pack 120 

*'  "  *•  William  olliver 180 

"  "  "  Samuel  Marsh.  Sen' ISO 

"  "  "  Samuel  Malsh.Jun' IIIO 

"  "  "  John  Pope 100 

"  "  "  John  Carter 60 

"  "  "  David  Olliver 60 

April  8,  "  William  I'ilh  320 

"  "  '*  Benjamin  Price,  S'-ii' 


■    90 

10,  "      Stephen  Usboine 1x0 

"      '■      Nathaniel  Bonnel ISO 

11,  "      Joseph  Sears ISO 

14,  "      Jonas  Wood 


Th. 


i  Mo 


180 


J.  ffery  Jo 

27,"      Davnl  Ogd..n 120 

May        2,"      Hnr  Tompson 120 

"           9,  "     Jeremiah  Peck i>0 

"    "      Joseph  Kraize 120 

"    "      JohnWinons PiO 

"           "    "      Barnaby  Wines 240 

"    "      Richard  Mlchell p-o 

30,"      Math.  Hettield UO 

31,"      Joseph  Osborne If.Q 

"           "     "      Mo.ies  Tompson 1X0 

"          "     "      Joseph  Meaker 120 

June     12,  "     Benjamin  Meaker 120 

"          14,   "      Benjamin  Waide 144 

"     "      John  Ogden,  Jr 1.10 

"          "     "      Isaac  Whitehead,  Jr 120 

"          "     "     Jonathan  Ogdon  UO 

Sept.    12,    "      Aaron  TiiOisiHi,  right  or  his  father,  Thomas.. 120 

Sept.    12, 1676,  Aaron  Tonisoii,  right  of  self m 

"         "     "     John  Lanibird 1(k) 

Oct       27,    "     Joseph  Ogdon 90 

Nov.     23,    "      John  Sinikins so 

Dec.      27,     "      Samuel  Trotter,  right  of  his  father.  Win 90 

Feb.        1, 1877,  Margaret  Baker,  riglit  of  Peter  Wolvel-son 200 

July      II,    "     James  Havnes  and  wife 120 

Oct.      26,1678,  Mrs  Hanna  Hopkins,  wife  of  Samuel  Hopkins l-.'O 

29,     "      John  Ogden,  Sr 3110 

Th&se  surveys  were  made  under  the  Governor's 
warrant,  without  any  intention  on  the  part  of  the 
Associates  of  abandoning  the  rightfulness  of  their  title 
under  the  Nicolls  patent.     This  act,  however,  as  well 


TITLE  TO  LANDS. 


59 


as  the  petition  for  the  purchase  of  a  township,  was  so 
construed  by  the  opposition.  We  find  it  asserted  that 
"  the  Associates,  in  the  year  1675,  or  soon  after,  laid 
aside  a  pretension  by  Indian  purchase  and  Nicolls' 
grant,  and  continued  peaceable  and  quiet  inhabitants 
until  the  death  of  Carteret  and  until  the  year  1699, 
except  that  in  the  year  1684  John  Baker  and  some 
others  of  the  Associates  endeavored  to  impose  upon 
Governor  Laurie  at  his  first  arrival  in  the  country." 
This,  so  far  from  being  true,  as  Dr.  Hatfield  has 
shown,  was  a  matter  of  as  strenuous  controversy 
under  the  Quaker  rule  as  it  had  been  previously. 
Barclay  said,  in  1684,  "And  we  do  hereby  declare 
that  we  will  not  enter  into  any  treaty  on  this  side 
with  those  people  who  'claim  by  Colonel  Nicolls 
Patent,'  nor  with  any  others  that  challenge  land  by 
patents  from  the  late  Governor  Carteret."  ...  At 
this  date  the  same  claims  were  put  forth  by  the  town 
as  had  been  in  former  days.  "The  old  planters," 
saj-s  Dr.  Hatfield,  "  never  wavered  in  their  conviction 
of  the  lawfulness  and  equity  of  their  title,  and  never 
shrank  from  avowing  and  maintaining  it.  A  second 
generation  were  now  coming  forward,  in  whom  the 
conviction  had  '  grown  with  theirgrowth  and  strength- 
ened with  their  strength.'  If  po.ssible,  they  were  even 
more  resolute  than  their  fathers." 

It  is  said  that  Governor  Laurie,  so  far  from 
troubling  the  settlers  about  their  Indian  title  on  his 
coming  into  the  country,  "  he  asked  old  I.saac  White- 
head and  Capt.  John  Baker  (divers  others  of  the 
principal  men  of  Elizabeth  Town  being  present)  how 
they  held  their  lands,  who  answered  him  by  Nicholl's 
grant  and  an  Indian  Purchase  ;"  and  that  then  he 
asked  them  to  show  him  the  bounds  of  their  lands  so 
purchased  and  granted,  "  saying  he  had  a  Mind  to 
make  a  Purchase  of  some  Lands  Lying  Westward  of 
their  Purchase."  It  is  further  said  that  Stephen  Os- 
born  was  sent  by  the  town  to  call  the  Indian  saga- 
mores together  to  mark  out  the  bounds,  with  whom 
Laurie  and  others  had  a  conference  at  the  house  of 
Capt.  John  Baker ;  also  that  a  few  days  afterwards 
Kichard  Clarke,  Jr.,  Capt.  John  Baker,  Jonas  Wood, 
Stephen  Osborn,  Joseph  Meeker,  and  Joseph  Wilson, 
with  two  lads,  Richard  Baker  and  John  Cromwell 
(who  went  to  see  the  woods),  .set  out  with  the  Indian 
Wewanapo  (cousin  of  one  of  the  sagamores  that  sold 
the  land  originally)  to  mark  the  western  bounds  of 
the  town. 

Instructed  by  the  old  Indian  chief,  they  went,  "on 
or  about  the  16th  day  of  July,  1684,  to  a  plain  back 
of  Piscataway,  to  a  marked  tree  with  some  stones 
about  it,  and  a  stake  by  the  tree,"  and  thence  "for- 
ward towards  the  Green  River,  near  where  it  comes 
out  of  the  mountain,  and  lodged  by  the  river-side  that 
night ;  and  the  next  day  they  made  a  circle  or  com- 
pass along  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  by  the  directions 
of  the  Indian,  till  they  came  to  the  Minisink  path, 
and  then  came  down  to  Elizabeth  Town."  It  was 
affirmed,  however,  that  it  was  confessed  by  the  Indian 


(  chief  that  this  compass  included  only  a  part  of  the 
:  town  lands. 

In  this  conference  it  is  said  that  "  Capt.  Baker  was 
the  Dutch  Interpreter,  and  an  Indian  interpreted  the 
Indian  language  into  Dutch  to  said  Capt.  Baker,  who 
again  interpreted  into  English."  It  is  also  said  that 
an  Indian  who  had  been  at  sea  and  knew  the  use  of 
the  compass  was  of  the  exploring  party. 

This  transaction,  however,  became  the  source  of  a 
I  serious  litigation.  Baker  was  charged  with  having 
I  prevailed  on  the  Indians  to  include  a  much  larger 
I  tract  within  the  bounds  than  the  town  had  originally 
purchased,  and  so  with  having  contravened  the  act 
of  February,  1683,  forbidding  private  purchases  from 
I  the  Indians;  on  which  charge  he  was  indicted,  Aug. 
I  12,  1684,  and  on  the  28th  was  tried,  found  guilty, 
I  fined  ten  pounds,  and  bound  to  good  behavior  for  a 

year. 

!       Laurie  is  also  said  to  have  bought,  Oct.  .30,  1684, 

.  of  the  Indians  Seweckroneck,  Mindowaskein,  Canun- 

i  dus,  and  Wewonapee,  a  large  tract  about  Green  Brook 

and  the  Blue  Hills,  supposed  to  be  to  the  west  of  the 

Elizabeth  Town  purchase,  on  which  several  of  the 

most  considerable  Scotch  immigrants  presently  were 

'■  located  with  their  imported  Presbyterian  servants  of 

humbler  condition.     This  purchase  served  greatly  to 

complicate  in  after-days  the  question  of  land  titles, 

a  portion  of  the  territory  thus  acquired,  if  not  the 

whole  of  it,  lying  within   what   were   subsequently 

claimed  as  the  bounds  of  the  original  purchase  of 

1664,  and  therefore  distributed   by  allotment  to  the 

Associates,  their  heirs  or  assigns.' 

First  Litigation  ef  the  Land  Controversy.— 
During  the  long  controversy  respecting  the  land 
titles  of  the  town  no  regular  judicial  investigation 
of  the  points  at  issue  had  been  undertaken  until 
1695.  Hamilton  having  been  reinstated  in  the  pro- 
prietary government  had  returned  'from  England, 
and  the  affairs  of  the  province  having  been  settled 
in  favor  of  the  proprietors,  they  determined  to  bring 
the  matter  in  dispute  between  them  and  the  A.ssoci- 
ates  into  the  courts,  confident  that,  as  the  courts  were 
chiefly  under  their  control  and  the  judges  and  juries 
mainly  their  partisans,  the  case  would  be  decided  in 
their  favor,  and  the  planters  be  compelled  to  pay  the 
arrearages  of  quit-rents  from  1670  or  be  dispo.ssessed 
of  their  plantations  with  all  the  improvements  made 
upon  them. 

The  Fullerton  brothers— Thomas,  Robert,  and 
James — came  to  the  province  in  1684,  and  settled  on 
Cedar  Brook  on  the  plot  bought  by  Governor  Laurie  of 
the  Indians,  but  previously  claimed  by  the  Elizabeth 
Town  people  under  the  Nicolls  grant.  Jeflry  Jones, 
one  of  the  Associates,  had  by  conveyance  from  Lau- 
rie come  into  possessionof  land  there  on  which  James 
Fullerton  had  settled,  "upon  which  the  said  Jeff'ry 
Jones  did  enter  and  oust  him."     This  was  in  1693. 


I  E.  T.  Bill,  pp.  54-57,  113-16. 


60 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


FuUerton,  in  September  of  that  year,  brought  an 
action  of  trespass  and  ejectment  against  Jones,  and 
issue  was  joined.  The  case  came  to  trial  in  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  Perth  Amboy  in  May, 
1695.  The  whole  merits  of  the  case  were  brought 
out  before  the  judges  and  jury  on  both  sides.  The 
events  were  then  recent,  the  documentary  evidence 
was  ample  and  well  preserved,  the  first  Elizabeth 
Town  Book  was  in  the  hands  of  Samuel  Whitehead, 
the  town  clerk,  and  was  perfectly  accessible,  so  that 
the  facts  were  fully  before  the  court  or  within  their 
reach. 

A  special  verdict  was  agreed  upon,  but  the  jury 
gave  a  general  verdict  for  Jones.  The  court,  how- 
ever, pronounced  judgment.  May  14th,  on  the  special 
verdict  against  Jones,  who  thereupon  appealed  the 
case  to  the  King  in  Council.  In  the  court  at  Ken- 
sington both  parties  again  were  fully  heard,  William 
Nicoll,  Esq.,  being  attorney  for  Jones.  The  Commit 
tee  of  the  Privy  Council — Lord  Chief  Justice  Holt,  Sir 
Philip  Williamson,  and  Sir  Henry  Goodrich — offered 
their  opinion  to  his  Majesty  in  Council  that  the  judg- 
ment be  reversed  ;  and  his  Majesty  in  Council,  Feb. 
25,  1697,  reversed  and  repealed  the  said  judgment, 
and  also  declared  all  issues  thereupon  null  and 
void.  Nicoll  afterwards  declared  on  oath  that  in 
the  Council 


"The  8ule  dispute  was.  Whether  Col.  Richard  NichoIlB,  e 
uiidiT  Die  King  uf  England  in  those  pai'ts,  might  nut  grant  License  to 
any  (pf  tlie  Subjects  of  England  to  purchase  Lands  from  the  native  Pa- 
gans? and  if,  upon  such  License  and  Purchase,  the  English  Subjects 
shnuld  gain  a  Property  in  the  Lands  so  botight?  all  whicl)  was  resolved 
In  the  Affirmative,  and  the  Judgment  given  to  the  Contrary  accordingly 
revers.d." 

William  Nicoll  was  an  eminent  lawyer  of  New 
York.  Shortly  after  this  trial  he  obtained  a'third- 
lot  right  in  Elizabeth  Town,  but  never  resided  there. 
As  the  Associates  made  common  cause  with  Jones  in 
defense  of  his  title,  it  is  thought  that  this  right  was 
given  to  Nicoll  for  his  services  in  defending  the  suit. 

The  period  immediately  subsequent  to  the  decision 
of  the  Jones  case  in  1695  was  one  of  much  contusion 
and  excitement.  Great  indignation  of  course  was 
manifested  by  the  town  party  against  the  proprietors 
and  their  anomalous  government.  Restive  as  they 
had  been  under  it  from  the  first,  they  could  no  longer 
restrain  the  expression  of  their  dissatisfaction.  The 
reversal  by  the  king  and  his  Council  in  1697  of  the 
adverse  judgment  of  1695,  confirming  as  it  did  un- 
questionably the  validity  of  their  titles,  emboldened 
them  still  more  in  their  opposition  to  proprietary  rule 
and  in  the  determination  to  be  rid  of  it  and  come 
under  the  immediate  government  of  the  king,  whom 
they  had  learned  to  trust. 

The  surrender  of  the  right  of  jurisdiction  to  the 
crown  on  the  part  of  the  proprietors  in  1702  made 
no  change  in  respect  to  the  contest  growing  out  of 
the  conflicting  titles  to  lands  in  the  Elizabeth  Town 
grant.  No  suit  at  law  involving  the  issue  between 
the   proprietors  and  the   Associates  occurred   for   at 


least  twelve  years.  In  the  first  year  of  George  I.  a 
series  of  prosecutions  was  commenced  by  the  propri- 
etary interest  to  test  once  more  the  validity  of  the 
Nicolls  grant,  subjecting  for  a  long  term  of  years  the 
Associate  settlers  to  vexatious  annoyances,  great  dis- 
quietude, and  no  small  expense.  We  will  mention 
one  of  these  cases,  as  it  has  a  special  bearing  on  the 
interests  of  the  whole  town  and  the  settlements  now 
composing  Union  County. 

James  Emott  had  obtained  in  1686  of  the  pro- 
prietors a  patent  for  three  hundred  acres  of  land 
on  the  west  side  of  Rahway  River,  and  claimed  by 
the  Associates  as  part  of  their  lands  in  common.  In 
the  division  of  1699-1700  lot  No.  148,  containing  one 
hundred  acres,  surveyed  to  John  Harriman,  Jr.,  and 
the  town  committee,  was  assigned  to  Joseph  Wood- 
ruff". In  1714  it  came  into  the  hands  of  Rev.  Edward 
Vaughan,  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  by  his  mar- 
riage with  Mary  Lawrence,  the  step-daughter  first  of 
Governor  Carteret,  and  then  of  Col.  Townley.  At 
the  November  term  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
Jersey,  Mr.  Vaughan  brought  an  action  of  ejectment 
against  Joseph  Woodruffs  The  cause  came  to  trial 
in  May,  1716,  the  judges  being,  as  was  alleged,  in  the 
proprietary  interest.  A  special  verdict  was  found, 
and  for  several  terms  the  case  was  argued  at  length 
on  both  sides,  resulting  in  May,  1718,  in  a  judgment 
by  the  court  in  favor  of  Vaughan.  Thereupon,  by 
writ  of  error.  Woodruff  carried  the  case  before  the 
Governor  and  Council.  But  the  Governor  and 
Council  would  never  be  prevailed  upon  to  render  a 
judgment,  and  after  ten  or  twelve  years  of  great 
expense  the  case  was  dropped  without  being  decided.' 

About  the  time  of  this  judgment  and  appeal,  the 
old  town  books,  in  which  the  proceedings  of  the 
various  town-meetings  from  the  beginning  of  the  set- 
tlement for  more  than  fifty  years,  and  the  various 
surveys  ordered  by  vote  of  the  town,  had  been  regu- 
larly recorded,  to  the  irreparable  loss  of  the  town  • 
history,  disappeared,  and  have  never  since  been  re- 
covered. The  earliest  statement  of  the  loss  is  found 
in  the  initial  entry  of  Town  Book  B.  (which  happily 
has  been  preserved),  under  date  of  Aug.  2,  1720,  and 
which  is  as  follows  : 

"  WhrreM,  The  Books  of  Record,  Belonging  To  The  said  Elizaheth 
Town,  wherein  The  Important  aHairs  of  The  same  Towne  were  Re- 
corded from  the  beginning  Thereof;  have  Been  [irivately  Tnken  Away 
from  him  unto  whose  Care  and  Custody  They  were  Committed;  And 
Are  not  Likely  To  be  Again  Obtained;  It  is  now  Therefore,  By  A  free 
And  unanimous  Agreement  of  the  freehold's  afores*"  Concluded  anil  Re- 
solved ;  That  This  preseut  Book  Now  Is  And  Shall  Be  Improved  To  be, 
A  book  of  Records,  for  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  freeholders  of  Elizabelh 
Tuwn  Aloresi^,  And  for  no  Other  use  what'ioever." 

In  a  document  prepared  with  much  care,  and 
signed  Nov.  18,  1729,  by  one  hundred  and  eleven 
Associates,  with  their  seals  affixed,  the  story  of  the 
lost  books  is  thus  recited  : 

"  [lut  it  so  happened  that  the  s**  Books  wherein  the  8<*  Surveys  or  the 
greater  Number  of  them  were  Entered  by  Some  One  or  more  Designing 


liZiibeth  Town'Bill.  pp.  46,  122.     Also  answer  to  do.,  p.  32. 


TITLE  TO  LANDS. 


61 


Person  or  pprsoiiB  wert*  f'niftil.v  and  Maliciniisly  Stiile  and  C»a  tlicre  is 
noSniiill  rpamiii  to  believe)  were  Imnit  ur  otlierniue  ileslri>.v'<l.  So  llmt 
tlie  Ipenefit  llierel.j-  intenil.'d  lu  lli«  parlies  affnres''  ami  llieir  As-igns 
became  Wholly  ffni»tr«te  ami  Vi.i.l  ;  Yet  nut  s..  l.ut  ll.p  like  Gnmt  Kff.Tt 
nia.v  be  hoped  for.  from  Koiiietliiiig  of  a  Like  Nature  siiiee  the  oriifiiial 
Surveys  attorei.'i  are  as  Yet  Kxi»tiri);as  appears  N..t  Only  I'y  the  Oath 
of  tlie  Officer  who  was  Surveyor,  but  by  divers  Other  coucuiring  Cir- 
cuoiwlJiMces  to  the  Satisfaction  of  the  Parties  afforew*." 

The  town  made  common  cause  with  the  defendants 
in  these  litigations,  and  appointed  annually  their 
committee  of  seven  select  men  to  act  and  do  tor 
tliem  and  in  their  name  and  behalf,  by  themselves  or 
their  learned  counsel,  whatever  seemed  meet  and 
proper  in  all  thinj;s  touching  the  settlement  of  their 
rights  and  properties,  as  they  claimed  by  force  of 
grant  and  purchase  under  Governor  Richard  NicoUs.' 
At  the  May  term  of  the  Supreme  Court,  1731,  actions 
of  ejectment  were  brought  against  John  Robinson, 
Henry  Clarke,  Andrew  Craig,  Joshua  Marsh,  and 
others,  occupants  of  a  tract  of  land  held  under  the 
Nicolls  grant  west  of  the  Rahway  River.  The  cases 
came  to  trial  at  the  May  term,  1734,  when  a  general 
verdict  was  found  by  a  Middlesex  jury  for  the  de- 
fendants. This  gave  encouragement  to  the  Associates, 
and  many  of  them  ])ut  theitiselves  under  bonds  to  the 
town  committee  or  trustees  to  pay  (not  exceeding  ten 
pounds  proclamation  money)  such  sums  as  should  be 
duly  assessed  upon  them  by  the  said  trustees  towards 
defraying  the  charges  and  expenses  of  maintaining 
the  title  to  their  common  lands.  Not  only  this,  but 
a  large  majority  at  a  town-meeting  convened  on 
July  1,  1734,  voted  to  empower  the  committee  of 
seven  to  dispose  of 

"All  that  Tract  of  Land  or  any  part  or  parcel  Tliereof  Begining  iit 
Cellar  Brook  where  Kasex  Line  Oroses  the  said  Brook  and  IVojii  Thence 
Runing  went  six  miles  ami  Ironi  Thence  the  Nearest  l'ori<e  to  the  nionn- 

tuin  from  Thouce  as  lliu  s;ii  I  ui tain  Runs  to  tlie  linndreil  acres  Lots 

foi-merly  sin  veaa  according  to  the  Town  order  and  agreement  and  Ironi 
Thence  to  the  first  mentioned  place  to  the  said  Ued  ir  Bruuk.  (Also) 
To  Dispose  of  wlial  money,  shall  arise  from  the  Sale  of  The  said  Lands, 
oraliy  part  Thereof  for  llieOenoral  Intrust  of  the  said  Associates  and  free- 
lioldeis.  In  UefendingThenioranyofTlieiii  In  The  possession  ol  Their 
property  or  In  di'-possessitig  any  That  shall  unjustly  lulrnde  upon  any 
pal  t  of  the  aforesaid  piirchaae  and  (Jlalil."2 

In  1741  a  tract  of  three  hundred  acres  of  upland 
lying  near  Ash  Swamp  was  voted  to  defray  the  ex- 
penses of  a  suit  between  William  Penn,  Thomas  Penn, 
and  others  vs.  Chambers  and  Alcorn,  tried  at  Amboy, 
Aug.  14-16,  1741,  wherein  a  verdict  was  rendered  for 
the  plaintiffs,  on  the  ground  that  the  lands  in  question 
were  not  included  in  the  Elizabeth  Town  purchase. 
The  case  of  Cooper  vs.  Moss  came  to  trial  in  August, 
1742,  resulting  also  in  a  verdict  for  the  plaintiff, 
brought  in  by  a  Morris  County  jury.  Other  actions 
were  brought  of  a  similar  character,  some  of  which 
were  compromised  and  withdrawn,  others  went  to  trial 
with  like  results.  To  enumerate  them  all  would  re- 
quire more  space  than  we  have  at  command. 

A  petition  signed  by  three  hundred  and  four  pro- 
prietors, freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  a  tract  of 
land  called  Elizabeth  Town,  setting  forth  their  rights 


1  Town  Book,  B,  o.  and  i. 


,  '  Ibid.,  B.  3. 


under  the  Nicolls  grant,  and  the  difficulties  of  ob- 
taining impartial  justice  in  the  local  and  provincial 
courts,  was  prepared  and  forwarded  to  his  Most  Ex- 
cellent Majesty  George  IF.  in  1744,  jirobably  by 
Messrs.  Stephen  Crane  and  Matthias  Halfield,  the 
committee  chosen,  which  petition  was  read  in  coun- 
cil July  19,  1744,  referred  to  the  Lords  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Council  for  Plantation  Affairs,  and  by  them, 
August  21st,  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  for  Trade  and 
Plantations.  It  is  not  known  what  final  disi)Osition 
was  made  of  il. 

Meantime  excitement  ran  to  a  high  pitch.  Parties 
began  to  eject  proprietary  tenants  by  force.  In  an 
affidavit  made  by  Solotnon  Hoyle,  May  13,  1747,  an 
account  is  given  of  the  breaking  into  the  house  of 
Mr.  Dalrymple  and  the  expulsion  of  his  wife  and 
children,  on  the  8th  of  April,  by  persons  armed  with 
clubs.  The  affidavit  is  drawn  tmt  at  great  length, 
showing  that  the  people  of  Turkey  (New  Providence), 
claiming  by  the  Elizabeth  Town  right,  had  taken  the 
law  into  their  own  hands,  and  were  determined  to 
drive  off  all  other  claimants.  This  is  not  so  much 
to  be  wondered  at  when  their  enemies  were  .so  fre- 
quently gaining  verdicts  against  them  in  the  courts, 
and  that  in  a  manner  which  seemed  to  them  wholly 
unjust. 

The  Bill  in  Chancery.— For  several  years  prior 
to  the  events  mentioned  above  the  projirietary  party 
had  been  busily  engaged  in  preparing,  at  great  pains 
and  expense,  a  complete  and  labored  argument  in 
defense  of  their  long-litigated  pretensions  to  the  soil 
of  the  Elizabeth  Town  patent,  based  on  the  grant  of 
the  Duke  of  York  to  Sir  George  Carteret.  Like  most 
lawyers'  documents,  the  bill  had  a  special  purpose 
to  answer,  and  must,  therefore,  be  taken  with  some 
allowance  as  to  the  accuracy  of  its  history.  It  bears 
the  following  imposing  title: 

"  A  Bill  in  the  L'haucory  of  New  Jersey,  at  the  Suit  of  John  Earl  of 
Stair,  and  olheis,  Piopiieloiu  of  the  Eastern-Division  of  New-Jersey; 
Against  Benjamin  Bond,  and  Some  other  Peioous  of  Elizabeth- Town, 
dislingni-heil  by  tlie  name  of  the  (linker  Lot  Uiglit  Men.  WiilnThree 
large  Maps, done  irom  Uopper-l'lates.  To  which  is  added  ;  The  Publica- 
tions of  the  (Jonncil  of  I'roprietoi-s  of  Ba»l  New-Jeisey,  and  Mr.  Nevill's 
Speeches  to  the  G  .neral  Assembly,  concerning  Tlie  K.ots  committed  io 
New-Jersey,  and  The  Pretences  of  the  R  oters  and  their  Sedncei-s. 
These  Papers  will  g  ve  a  better  Light  into  tliellisloiy  and  Conslilulion 

of  New-Jei-sey,  II anytliing  liilborto  pub  ished,  the  Blatters  whereof 

have  been  chielly  collected  Irom  Records.  Published  by  Subscription. 
Printed  by  James  I'arker,  in  .New-Volk,  lli-17 ;  and  a  lew  copies  are  to  be 
sold  by  him  ami  Ueojainiu  Kianklin,  in  Pbiladelpli.a  :  Puce  bound,  and 
Jlaps  coloured,  Tnree  Pounds;  plain  and  slitclit  only.  Kilty  shillings, 
Proclamatiou  Money." 

This  famous  bill  purports  to  have  been  tiled  April 
13,  1745.  The  proprietors  employed  the  best  lawyers 
the  country  could  furnish,  viz. :  James  Alexander, 
[jreviously  surveyor-general  of  NeW  Jersey,  then  at 
the  head  of  the  New  York  bar,  and  Joseph  Murray, 
one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  the  land."  The  bill  was 
undoubtedly  prepared  by  the  former.  His  lainiliarity 
with  New  .ler.sey  records  and  with  the  transactions 
ol   the    land-offices  both    of   East   and   West  Jersey 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


gave  him  great  facilities  for  the  work.  It  was  written 
on  about  fifteen  hundred  folios.  The  printing  was 
finished  July  21,  1747,  the  form  of  the  book  being  a 
folio,  in  double  columns,  with  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  pages,  besides  the  maps  and  an  appendix 
of  forty  pages.  So  plausible  is  the  plea  that  nearly 
all  the  historians  of  the  State  have  relied  almost  im- 
plicitly on  its  statements,  and  in  many  cases  have 
thus  been  led  into  error.  It  is  a  special  and  one-sided 
plea,  and,  as  in  all  such  cases,  is  to  be  received  with 
caution,  and  its  statements  of  facts  are  to  be  subjected 
to  a  rigid  scrutiny.' 

Answer  to  the  Bill. — The  preparation  of  an  an- 
swer to  this  formidable  bill  was  intrusted  by  the  towu 
committee  to  William  Livingston  and  William  Smith, 
Jr.,  as  their  counsel.  Livingston  was  the  pupil  of 
Alexander,  and  if  employed,  as  is  likely,  in  1750,  was 
only  in  the  twenty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  but  he 
had  already  acquired  a  high  reputation  at  the  bar  in 
New  York.  The  interest  that  he  took  in  this  case 
was  probably  one  of  the  reasons  that  induced  him  a 
few  years  later  to  become  a  resident  of  Elizabeth 
Town.  Smith  was  still  younger,  in  his  twenty-third 
year.  Yet  he  was  associated  that  same  year,  Novem- 
ber, 1750,  with  others  in  preparing  the  first  digest  of 
the  colonial  laws  of  New  York.  He  wrote  the  his- 
tory of  the  province,  and  after  the  Revolution  was 
made  chief  justice  of  Canada. 

The  answer  was  read  in  town-meeting,  Aug.  27, 
1751,  and  filed  a  few  days  afterwards.  It  was  put  in 
print  the  following  year,  1752,  in  similar  form  with 
the  bill  itself  (but  contains  only  forty-eight  pages), 
with  the  following  title: 

"  An  Answer  to  h  Bill  in  tlie  Chancery  of  New  Jersey.  At  tlie  Suit  of 
John  Eurl  of  Stair,  anti  others,  commonly  called  Propiietors  of  the  East- 
ern Division  of  New  Jersey,  Against  Benjamin  Boinl,  and  others  claini- 
ingunder  the  oripriual  Prolirietorsand  Ass'pciatesof  Elizahelh-Town.  To 
winch  is  added;  Nothing  eitlier  of  The  Huhlicati.Mis  of  the  Council  of 
Proprietors  of  Ea-xt  New-Jersey,  or  of  The  Pretences  of  the  Rioters,  and 
tlieir  Seducers;  Except  so  far  As  the  Persons  meant  hy  Riolere,  pretend 
Title  Agiiin-t  The  Parlies  to  the  above  Answer;  Bui  a  great  Ileal  of  tlie 
Controveisy,  Though  much  less  of  the  History  and  Constitution  of  New- 
Jersey,  than  the  said  B  11.  Audi  alteram  partem.  Published  by  Sub- 
scription. New  York:  Printed  and  Sold  by  James  Parker,  at  the  New 
P.inlingOffice,  in  Beaver-Street.     nb'V 

It  professes  to  be  "  The  joint  and  several  Answer" 
of  four  hundred  and  forty-nine  freeholders  and  in- 
habitants of  Elizabeth  Town,  recorded  in  alphabeti- 
cal order. 

The  town  committee,  on  whom  was  devolved  the 
responsibility  of  conducting  the  defense,  were,  for 
1750,  Messrs.  John  Crane,  Andrew  Craige,  William 
Miller,  John  Halsted,  Stephen  Crane,  Thomas  Clarke, 
and  John  Chandler. 

At  the  time  of  the  preparation  and  the  filing  of  the 
bill  in  chancery  Lewis  Morris  was  Governor  of  the 
province.  He  had  long  been  conversant  with  the 
matters  in  litigation,  and  was  deeply  interested  in  the 

^  Anal.  Index,  p.  205.  "1500  acre?)  of  rights  had  been  sold  to  bear  the 
expense  of  Elizabethtown  suit."— i!>.,  p.  289. 


issue  of  this  most  important  case,  holding,  as  he  did, 
a  large  part  of  his  property  in  New  Jersey  by  pro- 
prietary rights.  Governor  Morris  had  presumed, 
without,  as  was  alleged,  due  authority,  to  erect  a 
Court  of  Chancery,  and  to  exercise  the  prerogatives 
of  chancellor.  It  was  feared  from  the  well-known 
proclivities  of  Governor  Morris  that  as  chancellor  he 
would  be  likely  to  give  judgment  upon  the  bill  in 
favor  of  the  plaintiffs.  But  that  apprehension  was 
removed  by  the  death  of  Governor  Morris  in  May, 
1746,  and  matters  took  a  favorable  turn  for  the  de- 
fendants by  the  accession  of  Jonathan  Belcher,  who 
was  a  New  Englander,  and  in  hearty  sympathy,  both 
in  his  civil  and  religions  principles,  with  the  people 
of  the  town.  He  entered  upon  his  office  as  Governor 
of  New  Jersey  in  August,  1747.  Before  the  answer 
to  the  bill  was  printed  Governor  Belcher  became  a 
resident  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  immediately  identi- 
fied himself  with  the  religious  and  social  interests  of 
the  place,  joining  the  church  of  which  most  of  the 
defendants  scattered  over  the  township  were  members, 
— the  Presbyterian  Church, — and  thus  bringing  him- 
self into  a  closer  bond  ofsympathy  with  them.  For  this 
reason,  probably,  among  others.  Governor  Belcher 
did  not  adjudicate  the  case.  Alexander,  who  had  the 
principal  management  of  the  bill,  died  April  2,  1756; 
Murray  died  April  2,  1757,  before  the  death  of  Gov- 
ernor Belcher  ;  the  French  war  succeeded  ;  then  came 
the  Stamp  Act  excitement,  followed  by  the  Revolu- 
tion. No  place  was  found  for  the  Elizabeth  Town 
bill.  It  died  from  neglect,  until  it  was  too  late  for  a 
resuscitation.  Such  was  the  end  of  this  famous  strug- 
gle, continued  for  a  whole  century,  and  resulting  in 
the  vindication,  together  with  the  triumph,  of  popu- 
lar rights  throughout  the  colonies,  of  the  original 
purchasers  of  the  soil  and  the  defeat  of  their  oppo- 
nents. 


CHAPTER    XL 


BEGINNING    OP   THE    REVOLUTIONARY    STRUGGLE. 

The  territory  embraced  in  the  present  county  of 
Union  was  the  theatre  of  stirring  events  both  pre- 
ceding and  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 
These  events  began  to  develop  themselves  at  Eliza- 
beth Town  immediately  upon  the  passage  of  the  Stamp 
Act  in  1765,  or  as  soon  as  intelligence  of  that  oppres- 
sive measure  of  Parliament  had  reached  the  province. 

The  General  Assembly,  being  in  session  at  Burling- 
ton, received  on  the  20th  of  June  a  communication 
from  the  General  Court  of  Massachusetts,  recommend- 
ing them,  together  with  the  representative  bodies  of 
the  other  colonies,  to  send  delegates  to  a  General 
Congress  to  convene  in  New  York  on  the  first  Tues- 
day in  October  following.  Robert  Ogden,  of  Eliza- 
beth Town,  was  Speaker  of  the  House.  It  was  the 
last  day  of  the  session,  some  members  having  left, 


BEGINNING  OF  TBE    REVOLUTIONARY   STRUGGLE. 


63 


and  others  being  anxious  to  return  to  their  homes. 
It  was,  therefore,  upon  a  hurried  conference,  deemed 
advisable  to  take  no  immediate  action  upon  the  com- 
munication, and  the  Assembly  adjourned.  Mr. 
Ogden,  who  had  been  a  member  of  the  House  by 
consecutive  elections  since  1751,  and  Speaker  since 
1763,  was  made  to  bear  the  chief  responsibility  for 
this  action.  He  shortly  after  called  a  meeting  of  the 
representatives  at  Amboy,  who  proceeded  to  elect  the 
delegates  to  the  Congress  at  New  York.  Hendrick 
Fisher,  of  Somerset,  .Joseph  Borden,  of  Burlington, 
and  himself  were  chosen.  It  was  in  this  body  that 
Mr.  Ogden  gave  offense  to  his  countrymen,  not  by 
any  act  that  in  the  least  impaired  the  sterling  integ- 
rity and  patriotism  of  which  he  had  always  been  a 
conspicuous  example,  but  by  a  mere  difterence  of 
opinion  as  to  methods,  which  it  seemed  difficult  for 
the  people  in  that  moment  of  excitement  to  tolerate, 
or  ever  after  wholly  to  overlook.  "A  Declaration  of 
Rights  and  Grievances"  had  been  drawn  up,  with  an 
address  to  the  king  and  a  petition  to  each  of  the 
Houses  of  Parliament,  all  admirably  and  skillfully 
prepared,  and  well  calculated,  it  was  thought,  to  pro- 
cure the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  law.  All  the 
members  voted  for  sending  the  documents  immedi- 
ately to  the  Court  of  England,  with  the  sanction  only 
of  the  body  whence  it  emanated,  except  Timothy 
Ruggles,  of  Massachusetts,  the  presiding  officer  of 
Congress,  and  Mr.  Ogden.  "  These  gentlemen  main- 
tained that  the  proceedings  should  be  submitted  to 
the  Assemblies  of  the  respective  colonies,  and,  if 
sanctioned  by  them,  forwarded  as  their  own  acts,"  a 
position  very  reasonable  certainly,  since  emanating 
from  the  regularly-constituted  Legislature  rather 
than  from  a  body  unknown  to  the  English  govern- 
ment, the  petitions  would  have  been  much  more  likely 
to  be  favorably  received  and  to  accomplish  their 
object.  This  was  probably  the  view  taken  by  Mr. 
Ogden  and  his  a.ssociate,  the  president  of  Congress, 
who  were  both  undoubtedly  conscientious  in  main- 
taining their  position,  but  popular  feeling  was  too 
much  excited  to  do  them  even  this  justice.  So  high 
did  it  run  in  New  Jersey  that  Mr.  Ogden  was  burnt 
in  effigy.  Feeling  the  indignity  and  injury  very 
sensibly,  he  resigned  his  position  and  membership  in 
the  Legislature,  Nov.  27,  1765.  The  people  of  his 
town,  however,  still  honored  him  with  their  confi- 
dence, and  when  the  time  came  for  earne.st  action  in 
1776  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  Elizabeth  Town 
Committee  of  Safety. 

In  the  election  to  fill  the  vacancy  in  the  Assembly 
Stephen  Crane  was  chosen,  and  became  Speaker  of 
the  House  in  1771. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Stamp  Act  was  treated 
in  this  locality  may  be  inferred  from  the  following 
notice,  which  appeared  in  a  New  York  newspaper 
Feb.  27,  1766: 

"A  large  pilluwi^  whs  trected  in  Elizabeth  Town,  last  Wi^ek,  with  a 
Hope  really  fixvd  thert* to,  and  the  Inhabitants  there  vow  and  declare  that 


the  first  person  that  eitlierilistriliuteH  <ir  takes  out  a  Stamped  Paper  shall 
be  hung  thereon  wilhuut  Judge  or  .Jury." 

A  very  summary  process,  but  probably  never  called 
into  requisition.    At  the  same  date  the  editor  says, — 

"  We  have  certain  Intelligence  fiuni  Elizabeth  Town,  in  New  .lei-sey, 
that  the  Magistrates  and  Lawyers  carry  ou  their  Business  in  the  Law  as 
usual  withoul  Stamps.''! 

With  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  March  18,  1766, 
much  of  the  excitement  and  alarm  of  the  people  came 
to  an  end.  A  series  of  measures  was  subsequently 
adopted,  however,  well  fitted  to  excite  the  fears  and 
provoke  the  resentment  of  the  colonists. 

The  non-importation  agreements  were  renewed,  and 
all  trade  with  the  mother-country  was  brought  to  a 
stand.  The  people  of  this  town  and  vicinity  entered 
with  all  their  heart  into  the  measures  of  the  day. 

The  coliiny  of  New  Jei-sey  broke  out  in  a  sininltaneous  lilaze  of  in- 
dignation from  Sussex  to  Cape  May,  and  tnintedi  «Ie  measures  were  taken 
to  organ  ze  the  varion.i  c.ninlies  into  a  combination  of  the  fri  iids  of 
liberty  wbicli  should  secure  promptitude  and  unity  of  action  throughout 
the  province. 

As  early  as  June  1,  1774,  a  "General  Committee  of  Oirrespondence" 
had  been  f<n  med.  which  was  selt'C'umtitnting  indeed,  inasmuch  as  it  ilid 
not  derive  its  existeme  or  its  powers  directly  from  the  people;  hut, 
nevertln-lesK,  it  was  actively  engaged  inconsnltatiMU  and  correspondence 
with  inllnenlial  men  in  a;l  the  c.innties,  with  a  view  to  a  concerted  plan 
of  ^icliun.  This  coinmitto-.  which  consis'ed  of  nine  members,  met  at 
New  liriinswbk  June  I,  1774,  and  the  m-eti  ig  is  thus  described  in  a 
l.-lt.r  dated  June  ■>,  1774,  which  has  bei'U  preserveil,  and  wlilcb  was 
written  by  on-ol  the  nn-ml.ersor  the  H.. use  of  A>eetnbly,  who  was  also 
one  of  the  c.nimitt-e:  "  [  returned  yeslerilay  Ir.mi  New- Brunswick, 
where  six  .if  our  committee  met.  Weiin-wered  the  B.iston  lellers,  in- 
f.irin  ng  thc-m  that  we  look  on  Ne»-J-r»ey  as  eveiitnally  in  the  same 
predicament  with  liosbin.  an. I  that  we  will  ilo  everything  which  tnay  be 
geneially  aareeil  "li.  We  have  signed  a  rennest  to  the  Governor  to  call 
theUeiielal  A»8..iid.ly,  to  meet  at  such  time  as  hi-  Excellency  may  think 

proper  lielore  tlie  tiist  of  Aiignst.2    Our  a itiee  is  well  ilispo-ed  in 

the  cause  of  American  fieedotii."— ytra.  .4rc;iiow,  vol.  i.,  3S0. 

Immediately  after  the  meeting  of  this  committee  at 
New  Brunswick,  and  undoubtedly  inspired  by  it,  a 
series  of  meetings  of  the  people  of  the  several  coun- 
ties was  called  by  prominent  men  therein,  to  take 
steps  for  the  more  perfect  organization  of  the  friends 
of  freedom  in  the  colony,  and  more  particularly  to 
l)rovide  for  the  selection  of  deputies  to  represent  the 
pi-ovince  in  the  Continental  Congress  in  September 
following. 

On  the  7th  of  June  the  following  call  was  posted  in 
various  pul)lic  places  in  the  county  of  Es-ex,  and  was 
also  published  in  one  of  the  New  York  papers: 

"  Essex  C'ouxTV.  N.  J.,  7th  June,  1774. 
"  All  the  inhabiMiit-  of  the  County  of  Essex,  in  New  Jcreey,  friends 
to  the  Cnstltnliin,  the  liberties  anil  properties  of  America,  are  hereby 
uiililied  and  dnsired  to  tneet  at  the  court-house,  in  Newark,  on  Saturday, 
the  lllb  III  June,  instant,  at  two  of  the  clock  in  the  afternoon,  to  cu- 
snlt  anil  d-liberal.,  and  Hi  inly  resnlvenpii  the  ino-t  prudent  and  salu- 
tary measines  to  secure  and  maiiitaiii  the  constitutional  rights  of  his 
Majesty's  subjects  in  America.  It  is,  therefore,  hoped  that  from  the  im- 
portaticeof  the  subject  the  meeting  will  be  general. 

"  Sianeil  by  order,  at  a  meeting  of  a  nntnber  of  the  freeholders  of  the 
Cotitity  of  Essex,  the  7th  day  of  Jutie,  1774. 

'■JoH.\   DeHart, 
'■  Isaac  Ogden." 


1  Holt's  N.  Y.  Journal,  No.  la)8. 

^This  reiiuest  Givertior  Franklin  refused  to  comply  with,  for  the 
reason,  as  assigned  in  a  letter  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  dated  Jnne  18, 
1774,  "  tliat  there  is  no  jmhl  c  business  of  the  province  which  can  make 
such  a  meeting  uecessary." — Forwi's  Am.  Archives,  vol.  i.,  428,  429. 


64 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESKX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


At  the  time  and  place  designated  in  this  call  a 
meeting  was  held,  of  which  tlie  following  is  Uie 
record  : 

"  At  a  Meeting  of  the  Fieeliolilera  and  InlmMtnuts  of  the  County  of 
E»Bex,  ill  tlie  Priivjuce  of  Nhw  Jersey,  iit  Newark,  iu  the  said  conuty, 
on  SKturday,  the  1  llh  day  of  June,  1774. 

'•  Tills  meeting  taking  into  Kerions  consideration  some  late  alftrniinp: 
moasiireH  adojited  hy Hie  British  I'a<  lianieiit  for  depriving  liis  Mii,i«<ty'8 
American  snljects  of  their  nndonlit'il  ami  constitutional  lights  and  prin- 
ciph-s;  and  piiiticnlarly  the  Act  for  l.lockading  the  port  of  Boston,  which 
appeal's  to  tliera  pregnant  with  the  mo^t  dangerons  conseqiienees  toall  hii 
M:ije.*ty's  D^aniiiiuiis  in  America,  do  unanimously  resolve  and  agree: 

"  1.  That  under  the  enjoyni-nt  of  imr  con-titiitional  privileges  and 
inimnnilies  we  will  ever  cheerfully  render  all  due  ohedience  to  the 
Drown  or  Great  Britain,  as  well  as  lull  failh  and  allegiance  to  his  m.ist 
gracious  Majesty,  King  Geinge  the  Tliinl,  and  do  esteem  a  flrni  depend- 
ence on  the  mother  country  essentia!  to  our  political  security  and 
happir.ess. 

'••2.  That  the  late  Act  of  Parliament  relative  to  Bo>tQn,  which  so  ab- 
solutely destroys  every  idea  of  salely  and  ctnifidHtice,  appears  to  us  big 
Vfilh  til"  ni  -St  dangerous  and  alarming  eoniennences;  especially  as  sub- 
versive of  that  very  dependence  which  we  should  earne-lly  wish  to  con- 
tinue as  our  best  sa  egiiard  and  protection  :  And  that  we  conceive  every 
well-wisher  to  Great  Britain  and  her  Cdoiiies  is  now  loudly  called  upon 
to  exert  his  utmost  abilities  in  piomoliiig  every  legal  and  prudential 
measure  towards  obtaining  a  repeal  of  the  said  Act  of  Parliament;  and 
allotlierssilbversireof  the  undoubted  riglits  and  liberties  of  hid  Majesty's 
Aniericati  subjects. 

"3.  That  it  is  our  unanimous  opinion  that  it  would  conduce  to  the 
re-toration  of  the  liberties  of  America  should  the  Cidoiiies  enter  into  a 
j.tint  agreement  not  to  purchase  or  use  any  articles  of  British  manufac- 
ture, antl  especially  any  coniinodit  es  inipio-tetl  from  the  East  Indies, 
under  such  restrict  ions  as  may  be  agreed  npou  by  a  general  Congress  of 
the  said  (Colonies  hereafter  to  be  appointed. 

-■4.  That  this  county  willniostrealilyand  cheerfully  Join  their  breth- 
ren of  the  other  counties  in  this  Province  in  pronioling  such  Congress 
of  Deputies  to  he  sent  from  each  of  the  t^olonies,  in  order  to  form  a  gen- 
eral plan  of  union,  so  that  the  measures  to  be  pursued  for  the  important 
ends  in  view  may  be  uiiilbrm  and  firm  ;  to  which  plan,  when  concluded 
upon,  we  do  agree  faithfiilly  to  adhere.  And  do  now  declare  ouiselves 
ready  to  send  a  conitliittee  to  meet  with  tle-se  from  the  other  counties, 
at  such  lime  and  place  as  by  them  in.iy  be  agped  upon,  iu  order  to  elect 
liroper  persons  to  represent  this  Province  in  the  said  gem-ral  (Congress. 

"6.  That  the  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  other  counties  in  this 
Proviie  e  be  rei|ne-ted  spaedily  to  convene  themselves  together  to  con- 
sider the  present  diotres-ing  slaleof  onr  public  affairs, and  to  correspond 
and  consult  with  such  other  committees  as  may  be  appointed,  as  well  as 
.  with  our  coiiiinittee,  who  are  hereby  directed  to  corre-pond  anil  consult 
with  such  other  committees,  as  also  with  those  of  any  other  province, 
imrlicnlarly  t..  meet  w  th  the  said  Comity  (•onimiltees,  in  order  to  nomi- 
nate and  appoint  Deputies  to  represent  this  Provin<-eiu  general  Congress. 

"G.  We  do  hereby  unanimously  re'iuest  the  following  gentlemen  to 
accept  of  thai  trust,  and  accurdtniily  do  appoint  them  onr  committee  for 
the  purp'ises  aforesaid,  viz.:  Stephen  Crine,  Henry  Garrit-e,  Joseph 
Riggs,  Will  am  Livingston,  William  P.  Smith,  Jolin  Dcllart.  John  Cliet- 
wood,  Isaac  Ogden,and  Elias  Boiidiuot,  Esquires." — Am.  Arch.,  vol.  i., 
mi,  4U4. 

Of  this  committee,  Mr.  Garritse  was  of  Acquacka- 
nonck,  Messrs.  Riggs  and  Ogden  were  of  Newark,  and 
the  remainder,  two  thirds,  of  Elizabeth  Town. 

Theseveral  county  committees  elected  in  accordance 
with  these  suggestions,  and  witli  a  circular  letter  issued 
by  the  Essex  committee,  met  at  New  Brunswick  July 
21,  1774,  and  appointed  Stephen  Crane  to  preside  over 
their  deliberations.  They  made  choice  of  James  Kin- 
sey,  William  Livingston,  John  DeHart, Stephen  Crane, 
and  Richard  Smith  delegates  to  a  General  Congress. 
A  standing  Committee  ol' Correspondence,  ten  in  num- 
ber (of  whom  two,  William  Peartree  Smith,  chairman, 
and  John  Chetwood  were  of  Elizabeth  Town),  was 
appointed  to  look  after  the  interests  of  the  country. 


The  several  county  committees  also  "  agreed  to  pro- 
mote collections  in  their  respective  counties  for  the 
relief  of  such  of  the  unhappy  inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Boston  as  may  be  now  reduced  to  extreinity  and 
want."  On  the  28th  of  July,  William  Peartree  Smith, 
as  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence,  ad- 
dressed a  letter  of  sympathy  to  the  Boston  Committee 
of  Correspondence,  asking  them  also  to  advise  in  what 
way  their  necessities  could  best  be  answered.' 

The  results  of  the  deliberations  of  the  General  Con- 
gress that  met  at  Philadelphia  in  September  and  Oc- 
tober being  published,  new  energy  was  imparted  to 
the  people  in  their  determination  to  resist  the  oppres- 
sive measures  of  the  British  ministry.  The  Essex 
County  Committee  of  Correspondence  issued  a  call 
for  town-meetings  to  organize  the  respective  towns 
for  the  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  measures 
recommended  by  Congress.  In  compliance  with  this 
call,  the  freeholders  of  Elizabeth  Town  met  at  the 
court-house  on  Tuesday,  Dec.  6,  1774,  Stephen  Crane, 
Esq.,  in  the  chair,  when  a  large  committee  was  chosen 
for  the  above-mentioned  purpose,  viz. :  Jonathan 
Hampton,  Matthias  Williamson,  Elias  Dayton,  Isaac 
Woodruff",  William  Barnett,  William  Herrinian, 
Oliver  Spencer,  George  Ross,  Edward  Thomas,  Cor- 
nelius Hetfield,  John  Blanchard,  Ephraim  Tyrrel, 
Abraham  Clarke,  Robert  Ogden,  Jr.,  Jeremiah  Smith, 
Richard  Townley,  Jr.,  Samuel  Shotwell,  David  Miller, 
Thomas  Woodruff',  John  Clawson,  Jonathan  Dayton, 
Ephraim  Marsh,  Recompense  Stanbury,  Jedediah 
Swan,  William  Parsons,  Samuel  Poller,  William 
Bott,  Jonathan  Williams,  Christopher  Marsh,  Isaac 
Wynants,  Daniel  Halsey. 

Stephen  Crane,  John  De  Hart,  William  Livingston, 
William  P.  Smith,  Elias  Boudinot,  and  John  Chet- 
wood, Esqs.,  were  unanimously  re-elected  for  the 
borough  of  Elizabeth  on  the  Esse.x  County  Com- 
mittee of  Correspondence.     It  was  then 


"  Voted,  That  two  t 
■A  Friendly  Ad  Iresi 


ntilled 


rtaiii  Pamphlets  lately  published,  the  c 
etc.,  and  the  oilier  under  the  signature  of  *  A 
Fanner,'  as  containing  many  notorious  falsehoods,  evidently  calculated 
to  sow  the  seeds  of  disunion  among  the  good  people  of  Anier  ca,  grossly 
misrepresent' ng  thep'  imiplesof  the  present  opposition  to  Parliamentary 
taxations,  v. II  lying  the  late  Ooiigr  .ss,  and  intended  to  faiilitate  the 
scheme  ot  the  Biitish  Ministry  for  enslaving  the  Colonies,  be  pnblickly 
burnt,  in  deteslntiou  and  abhorrence  of  such  infamous  pnlilications. 

''  And  the  same  were  accordingly  committed  to  the  flames  before  the 
Court-Ilouse,  with  the  universal  approbation  of  a  numerous  concoui'se 
of  people."  2 

1  Am.  Archives.  4th  S.,  i.  (a4.  Gordon's  N.  J.,p  156.  Mulford's  N.  J., 
pp.  :iS8,  :iS9.    Serlgwick's  Livingston,  iip.  168-7-2. 

2  Am.  Archives,  4lh  S.,  i  lOOa-llllU,  10I2-IU13.  The  former  of  theaa 
paniph  lets  was  entitled  "A  Friflnlly  Address  to  all  Reasonable  Amer- 
icans, on  the  subject  of  our  political  c.nl'usions.  In  which  the  neces- 
sary consequences  of  violently  op|iosing  the  King's  tnaqis  and  of  a  gen- 
eral non-importation,  are  fairly  stated."  Dr.  Hawkins  attributes  it  to 
the  Rev.  Dr.  T.  B  Chandhr,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  N  J.,  but  erroneously. 
It  was  the  pmduction  of  the  Kev.  Mylea  Cooper,  D.D.,  President  of  King's 
College,  N.  Y.  Such  was  the  popular  indignation  against  him  that  his 
house  was  sacked.  May  In,  I7TS,  and  be,  barely  escaping  tb<-  hands  of 
the  mob,  took  refuge  on  board  a  ship  of  war,  and  fled  to  Eniiland.  His 
Majesty  gave  him  a  pension  of  £2o0  per  year.  The  latter  pamphlet  was 
entitled  "  Free  thoughts  on  the  proceedings  of  the  Continental  Congress 


BKGINNING    (.W   THE   REVOLUTIONARY   STRUGGLE. 


63 


The  Committee  of  Observation  tlius  appointed  were  i 
not  idle.  As  the  town  had  denounced  the  two  pam- 
phlets just  mentioned,  they  called  the  attention  of  the 
people,  Dec.  19,  1774,  to  the  dangerous  character  of 
Rivinqton's  Royal  Gazetteer,  published  at  New  York, 
declared  their  determination  individually  to  patronize 
it  no  longer,  and  called  upon  all  the  iieople  to  follow 
their  example  and  banish  it  from  their  habitations. 
The  article  was  signed  by  "Jonathan  Hampton,  I 
Chairman.'" 

This  was  followed,  Feb.  13,  1775,  by  the  following 
interdict: 

"  Wlifreni  tlie  inlialiitnnts  of  St«ten  iRland  have  manifeoted  an  un- 
friendly disposition  lowanis  tlie  lilxTties  of  America,  and  Hniong  other 
tliiiigshiTe  rii-glvrted  to  juinin  tlie  G-neral  .*8soiiati.iii  pr..po»e.l  liy  tlie 
Coiitiiieiiial  Congress,  and  entered  into  l>y  must  of  the  Townsliips  in 
Anieiiia.  and  in  no  instance  liuve  acceiled  thereto.  Tlie  C<iniiiiiltee  uf 
Oliservation  for  this  T..wn,  taking  the  same  into  considenit  on,  are  of 
opinion  that  the  inha'dtants.if  their  District  onglit,  and  h.v  the  af..re- 
saicl  AsaMC'iation  are  bound,  to  lireiik  off  all  trade,  coninieree,  dealing», 
anil  intercourse  whal soever  with  the  inhaliitants  of  eiiirt  Island,  until 
they  shall  join  in  the  General  Associati'>n  albresiiid;  and  do  Resolre 
that  all  traile,  commerce,  dealings,  and  intercourse  whatsoever  he  sus- 
pended accordingly,  which  suspension  is  herel'y  notified  and  recom- 
mended to  the  inhai-itants  of  this  District  to  be  by  them  universally 
obsei^ed  and  adopted. 

"  George  Ross,  Clerk.'*  2 

A  day  or  two  afterwards  an  oyster-boat  belonging 
to  James  Johnson,  of  Staten  Island,  came  up  the 
creek  to  the  stone  bridge,  and  the  owner  endeavored 
to  make  sale  of  his  freight.  But  a  pair  of  horses  were 
speedily  attached  to  the  boat  by  the  indignant  people, 
and  the  poor  crafl  was  hauled  up  the  street  to  the 
court-house.  Johnson  was  advised  by  James  Arnet 
to  seek  redress  from  Jonathan  Hampton,  chairman 
of  the  Committee  of  Observation,  who  was  also  a 
magistrate.  Hampton  was  found  in  conference  with 
Joseph  Tooker  at  Samuel  Smith's  tavern,  next  to  the 
court-house.  Hampton  gave  him  a  protection,  al- 
lowed him  to  sell  his  oysters,  and  in  the  evening,  with 
his  skiff,  to  return  to  the  island. 

Effect  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington.— The  first 
blood  of  the  war  was  shed  at  Lexington,  Mass.,  on 
Wednesday,  April  19,  1775.  News  of  the  event 
reached  New  York  on  Sunday,  the  23d,  and  the  city 
rose  in  its  strength  to_  sustain  the  common  cause. 
Indeed,  the  whole  country  was  aroused  within  a  very 
few  days,  as  the  tidings  spread  from  East  to  West, 
and  soon  became  known  in  every  habitation  through- 
out the  colonies.  This  act  put  an  end  to  all  hope  of  fur- 
ther pacification.  "  It  roused  the  sleepers ;  it  fired  the 
populace;  it  united  the  people  as  one  man  to  resist 
unto  blood  the  tyranny  of  the  Lords  and  Commons  of 
Britain.     Loyalty  was  at  a  discount.     The  Tory  fac- 

held  at  Phila.,  5  Sept.  1774,  by  A  Farmer."  It  was  written  by  Isaac  Wil- 
kin.', subsequently  the  Kev.  Dr.  Wilkins,  of  Westchester  County,  N.  Y. 
He  wrote  also  "The  Congress  Canvassed;  or  an  Examination  into  the 
Conduct  i'f  tlie  Delegates."  It  may  have  been  this  last  to  which  the  vote 
of  censure  refer*.  He  loo  fled  to  Englanil,  in  May,  1775,  hut  returned 
the  next  year.  N.  Y.  ca.  Docnits.,  viii.  297,569,  581.  Sabine's  Loyal- 
ists. Ut  Ed.,  pp.  (i9i-7IW. 

1  Am.  Archives,  4th  Ser.,  i.  1051,  1052. 

«  Ibid.,  1234,  12:i5. 


tion,  till  then  exultant  and  defiant,  were  palsied  with 
dismay.  The  die  was  cast.  Nothing  remained  now 
but  the  sword,  and  he  who  would  not  gird  it  on  in  his 
country's  need  was  a  traitor  worse  than  Judas." 

The  excitement  of  the  time,  of  course,  took  a  deep 
hold  in  this  locality,  where  there  were  many  veteran 
patriots  nurtured   in   conflict  with   oppression,   and  ■ 
many  a  young  man  who  saw  that  his  hour  had  come 
for  action. 

Aaron  Burr  in  his  childhood  was  an  Elizabeth  Town 
boy.  His  mother's  brother,  Timothy,  the  eldest  son  of 
the  Rev.  Jonathan  Edwards,  had  married,  Sept.  2.5, 
1760,  Rhoda,  daughter  of  Robert  Ogden,  Esq.,  and 
granddaughter  of  Matthias  Hatfield,  Esq.,  of  this  town, 
"  and  made  a  home  in  Elizabeth  Town  for  the  family." 
Mr.  Edwards  resided  here,  highly  respected  and  in- 
fluential, from  1760  to  1771.  Burr  and  his  sister,  left 
orphans  in  1758,  were  received  into  their  uncle  Ed- 
wards' family,  the  former  in  his  fifth  year.  Here  the 
lad  grew  up,  and  was  fitted  for  Princeton  College 
under  the  instruction  of  Tapping  Reeve,  teacher  of 
the  grammar  school,  who  soon  after  married  Burr's 
sister.  Mrs.  Edwards  was  the  sister  of  Matthias  and 
Aaron  Ogden,  the  latter  being  of  Burr's  age,  and  the 
former  nearly  two  years  older.  They  grew  up  together 
as  children  of  the  same  family,  and  Matthias  became 
Burr's  bosom  companion.  In  1772  young  Burr  grad- 
uated, and  in  1774  began  to  study  law  with  his 
brother-in-law  at  Litchfield,  Conn.' 

In  his  retirement  among  the  hills  of  Connecticut 
he  heard  the  cry  of  Lexington,  and  immediately 
wrote  to  Ogden  to  come  on  and  accompany  him  to 
the  tented  field.  Ogden  caught  the  infection,  and 
rested  not  until  he  obtained  his  father's  leave  to  go. 
He  was  then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  and  Burr  a  little 
more  than  nineteen.  They  were  boys  in  years,  but 
men  in  spirit,  types  of  numerous  others,  their  towns- 
men and  associates,  who  panted  to  join  the  patriot, 
army  and  fight  their  country's  battles.  Nothing 
could  exceed  the  martial  ardor  that  pervaded  all 
classes  of  the  community.  It  was  not  safe  to  breathe 
a  word  against  the  patriot  cause.' 

The  Continental  Congress  were  to  meet  at  Phila- 
delphia, May  10,  1775.  As  the  delegates  from  Massa- 
chusetts, joined  on  their  way  by  their  brethren  from 
Connecticut,  drew  near  to  New  York,  on  Saturday, 
May  6th,  they  were  met  three  miles  from  the  city  by 
a  vast  concourse  of  military  and  citizens,  and  escorted 
to  their  lodgings  with  ringing  of  bells  and  loud 
huzzas.  On  Monday,  with  a  part  of  the  delegation 
from  New  York,  they  were  escorted  to  Newark,  where 

s  Davis'  Life  of  Burr,  i.  2.5.  26,  46,  47.  Parton's  Life  of  Burr,  pp.  60, 
53.     MiBS  .tones'  Stoukhlirlge.  pp.  160,  26:i. 

Three  of  President  Edwards'  children  were  married  here:  Timothy, 
his  eldest  son,  »s  noticed  above;  Ktinice  was  mariieil  here,  .laniiary,  1764, 
to  Thomas  Pollock,  and  after  bis  death,  about  17W),  to  R.pbert  Hunt,  of 
this  place;  Pierpont  manied,  May,  1760,  Frances,  the  eldest  daughterof 
Moses  and  Blary  (Cozzens)  Ogdeii,  and  sister  of  Naucy,  the  second  au(I 
aurviviiig  wife  of  Od.  Francis  Barber,  all  of  this  town. 

*  Davis'  Life  of  Burr,  i.  58. 


66 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JEllSEY. 


they  dined  ;  thence  they  "  were  escorted  to  Elizabeth 
Town,  and  on  their  way  they  were  met  by  the  gentle- 
men and  militia  of  that  place.''  Such  was  the  en- 
thusiasm of  the  people.' 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  met  at 
Trenton,  May  23d.  This  town  was  represented  by 
■  William  Peartree  Smith,  John  Stites,  John  Chet- 
wood,  Abraham  Clark,  and  Ellas  Boudinot.  Smith 
and  Boudinot  were  sent  to  Philadelphia  on  the  25th 
to  confer  with  Congress  on  some  joint  plan  of  action, 
and  returned  on  the  30th. 

The  combat  thickened.  British  reinforcements 
arrived  at  Boston.  The  cry  "  To  Arms!"  had  brought 
together  considerable  numbers  of  patriot  soldiers. 
Congress  was  loudly  summoned  to  create  an  army. 
They  assumed  the  charge  of  the  New  England  recruits, 
and  chose  George  Washington,  June  15th,  as  general- 
in-chief  of  the  Continental  army.  The  effect  of  these 
measures  was  electric.  Hope  was  invigorated,  confi- 
dence inspired.  The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  followed 
two  days  after,  June  17th.  That  Americans  would 
fight  was  no  longer  doubtful.  That  British  regulars 
were  not  invincible  was  certain.  The  yeomanry  took 
heart  at  once.  The  people  everywhere  flew  to  arms. 
Even  cowards  were  brave. 

Ammunition  was  greatly  needed.  But  for  this 
Bunker  Hill  would  have  been  a  greater  triumph. 
Powder  was  in  demand,  in  the  army  and  everywhere. 
The  committee  of  this  town  deeply  interested  them- 
selves in  procuring  and  furnishing  the  needed  supply. 
On  the  17th  of  July  they  forwarded,  by  way  of 
Dohbs'  Ferry,  fifty-two  quarter  casks  just  received 
from  Philadelphia.     On  the  same  day  they 

"  Resnlued,  TliHt  this  dimnnltee,  for  every  hundred  weiclit  uf  Saltpetre 
made  witliin  this  Town  for  the  first  tliree  months  after  this  day,  will 
pay  the  snni  of  twenty  pounds,  proclaniatioti  money  of  New  Jersey,  on 
the  delivery  thereof  to  tliis  Coniuiittee,  and  fifteen  ponnils  of  game  cur- 
rency for  the  like  qnanliry  of  Saltpetre  made  and  delivered  as  afore- 
said, within  the  next  three  mouths  tliereafter."2 

The  whole  stock  of  powder  at  Washington's  com- 
mand August  13th  for  the  use  of  the  army  around 
Boston  was  about  ninety  barrels  only,  "  not  more 
than  nine  rounds  a  man  ;"  they  had  "  but  thirty-two 
barrels  in  store."  The  destitution  continued  "  a  fort- 
night or  more,  till  the  Jersey  Committee  of  Eliza- 
beth Town,  upon  receiving  the  alarming  news,  sent  on 
a  few  tons,  which  they  were  obliged  to  do  with  the 
greatest  privacy,  lest  the  fears  of  their  own  people, 
had  it  been  known,  should  have  stopt  it  for  their  own 
use  in  case  of  an  emergency."  On  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust, Washington  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  "six 
tons  and  a  half  of  powder  from  the  southward."^ 

At  the  same  meeting  of  the  committee,  July  17th, 
the  following  action  was  taken  : 


1  N.  Y.  Mercury,  No.  IBU. 
Diary,  i.  70. 

2  N.  y.  Mercury.  No.  1241. 
1  Gordon's  Am.  Revolution 

ving*s  Waahington,  ii.  '.i6. 


Holt's  N.  T.  Journal,  May  11.    Moore's 


*'  The  chairman  of  thi.*  Committee  having  received  a  Iett«r  from  Mr. 
Richard  Lawrence,  a  Delegate  of  Ricliinond  C.unty  for  the  Provincial 
Congress  of  the  Cohmy  of  New  York,  inforinini:  that  the  iiihaliitauts  of 
said  County  liad,  in  general,  signed  the  Associati^in  recommended  by 
the  Committee  of  New  Yoik,  this  Committee  are  theiefi.re  of  opinion 
that  the  iuhahitants  i>f  said  County  be  re-^tored  to  their  commercial 
privileges  with  the  inhabitants  of  this  town."^ 

The  martial  spirit  that  prevailed  in  the  town  may 
be  seen  from  the  following  item  : 

"Elizabeth  Town.  October  4,  1775.  Yesterday  sixteen  Companies  of 
Foot,  and  one  of  Horse,  belonging  to  this  Borough,  were  reviewed  on  the 
Parade,  went  thr.,ugh  their  Military  Exercises  with  Alorlness  and 
Regnlaiity,  and  made  a  very  handsome  Appearance.'"  & 

The  following  pleasant  incident  occurred  nearly 
two  months  later : 

"  Dec.  4,  Vm.  Wednesday  evening  last  [Nov.  29],  arrived  at  Newark, 
in  their  way  to  the  Provincial  Carup  iit  Cainbrrdge,  the  Lady  of  his 
Excellency  General  Wiisliington,  the  Lady  of  Ailjniant  General  Gatei, 
John  Cnstis,  Esq.,  and  his  Laily  and  Warren  Lewi<,  Esq.;  They  were 
escorted  from  E.i»ila-Ih  Town  by  the  Company  of  Light  HoiBe,  and 
most  of  the  principal  Gentleiiieu  of  that  Korongh.  On  Thursday  morn- 
ing thny  ileparted  for  Uol.bs  Kerry,  escorted  by  a  i  atty  of  the  Klizabeth 
Town  Light  Uuise,  and  a  great  Number  of  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  from 


Mrs.  Washington  accomplished  the  whole  distance 
from  Virginia  to  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  her  own  con- 
veyance, "  a  chariot  and  four,  with  black  postillions 
in   scarlet    and   white   liveries,"    traveling    by  easy 


At  the  close  of  November,  by  order  of  Congress,  a 
recruiting  agency  was  establi.>hed  here,  and  the  town 
was  made  the  headquarters  of  the  First  New  Jersey 
Regiment  of  regulars,  under  the  command  of  William 
Alexander,  (titular)  Earl  of  Stirling.  He  had  been 
for  several  years  a  resident  of  Basking  Ridge,  had  re- 
cently been  chosen  colonel  of  a  Somerset  County 
militia  regiment,  and  had  carried  many  of  them  with 
him  into  the  Continental  service.  He  took  care  that 
all  vessels  coining  from  foreign  countries  to  New 
York  should  (on  account  of  restrictions  laid  on  the 
commerce  of  that  port  by  Capt.  Hyde  Parker,  of  the 
''  Phoenix"  man-of-war  in  the  harbor)  enteral  Amboy 
or  Elizabeth  Town,  and  at  the  latter  place  if  possible. 
Apprehensive,  therefore,  of  a  visit  from  some  of  the 
armed  boats  of  the  "  Phcenix,"  he  urged  Congress, 
Dec.  I'.l,  1775,  to  furnish  thp  town  with  "an  imme- 
diate supply  of  ammunition,  and,  if  possible,  half  a 
dozen  field-pieces,  with  some  round,  grape,  and  can- 
nister  shot ;"  and  soon  after,  Jan.  6,  1776,  he  wrote  to 
the  President  of  Congress, — 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  yon  that  several  vessels  with  valuable 
cargoes  frtmi  foreign  p^o'ts  have  arrived  in  this  Province,  ami,  utider 
the  proteirtioii  1  havi-  afl'orded  them,  have  landed  their  caigoes.  Among 
the  rest  are  some  hundred  barrels  of  gunpowder."^ 

On  the  recommendation  of  Lord  Stirling,  Wil- 
liam Barnet,  Jr.,  was  appointed  by  Congress  surgeon 
of  the  First  Jersey  Battalion,  and  Matthias  Halslead 
quartermaster.    Four  companies  of  the  battalion  were 

■>  N.  Y.  Mercury,  No.  1J41. 

5  Ibid.,  No.  1262. 

«  n.id.,  No.  1  -'60.     Trving's  Wiish.,  ii.  120,  121. 

'  Life  of  Stirling,  pp.  llli,  11«. 


BEGINNING  OF  THE   REVOLUTIONARY   STRUGGLE. 


67 


stationed  here,  such  of  them  as  could  not  be  accom- 
modated in  the  barracks  finding  quarters  among  the 
people.  Some  weeks  elapsed  before  they  were  fully 
equi()ped.' 

An  opportunity  soon  occurred  for  calling  into  re- 
quisition the  martial  ardor  and  energy  of  the  town. 
The  occurrence  i.s  related  at  length  by  Robert  Ogden, 
Esq.  (who  had  now  succeeded  Jonathan  Hani|>ton  as 
chairman  of  the  town  committee),  in  a  letter  to  John 
Hancock,  President  of  Congre.ss,  dated  E.  Town,  Feb. 
10,  1776: 

"Sia,— I  am  ordered  hj-  tlie  Committee  of  Eliziibelh  Town  to  acquaint 
tlie  O.iigiess  of  the  Captnre  and  state  of  the  ship  '  Blue-Mountain-Val- 
|t-y,'  now  lying  at  Elizabetli-Towu  Point,  and  to  desire  particular  direc- 
tions from  the  Ciingresa  wliat  is  to  be  done  with  the  said  ship,  cargo, 
officers,  and  seamen. 

"On  Monday,  the  -^'Id  of  Janmiry,  lietween  eleven  and  twelve  o'clock. 
Lord  Stii  ling,  with  about  thirty  men  of  his  regiment,  being  near  all  that 
were  then  armed  at  this  place,  the  rest  being  at  Long  Island.^  set  out 
for  AmiHiy  oti  a  serious  enterprise.  In  the  evening  uf  the  same  day  an 
express  arriveil  in  this  town  with  a  letter  directed  to  Lord  Stirling,Hnd. 
In  his  al«ence,  to  the  Chairman  of  the  dmniittee  of  this  place,  inform- 
ing th:<t  an  armed  vessel,  with  a  detaclinieut  of  marines  and  seamen, 
was  sent  off  from  New  York  that  day  from  the  ships  of  war  in  New 
York,  atid  to  the  tninspiirt  ship. 

"On  the  Chairman's  receipt  of  this  letter,  he  immediately  called  the 
Committee,  which  un't  aliout  six  o'cliH^k  in  the  evening,  and  from  the 
lettr-rand  express  c.dlected  and  concluded  that  Lord  Stirling  left  this 
place  with  an  inli-ntion  to  procure  a  vessel  at  Aniboy  and  go  in  quest  of 
the  tmnspirt-ship,  which  he  then  thought  was  in  a  defenseless  condi- 
tion  t  knowing  of  the  reiid'orcement  sent  from  New  York,  and  that 

if  intelligence  should  reach  him  that  night,  be  would  not  be  able  to 
procure  veasela  anil  assistance  in  season  at  Amboy  to  secure  success,  and 
might  be  repulsed  with  loss.  On  wh  ch  the  Committee  re^iolved  to  send 
a  detafhnient  of  one  hundred  volunteers  in  three  or  four  boats,  by  the 
way  of  the  Narrows,  to  take  or  a..siBt  Lord  Stirling  to  take  the  armed 
vessel  or  transport  of  which  they  immediately  notitied  Lord  Stirling  by 
an  express,  and  to  encourage  volunteers  to  enter  assured  them  they 
should  share  of  the  prize  or  prizes,  acconliug  to  the  regulations  that 
were  or  should  be  made  by  the  Continental  Congress  Volunteers  were 
soon  procured,  and  furnished  by  the  Oimuiittee  with  aniniuiiition,  pro- 
vi-ioii,aiid  what  anus  were  wantintr,  of  the  townsmen  about  eighty, 
and  of  the  CXinlineutal  troops  about  thirty.  The  Committee  also  pro- 
cnied  three  boats,  and  fitted  them  in  the  best  manner  the  niglit  and 
hurry  would  admit  of  Between  twelve  and  one  o'clock  at  night  tlie 
armament  was  ready  to  sail,  but  on  account  of  the  tide  and  ice  ^  they 
could  not  proceed  by  the  waj  of  the  Narrows ;  they  therefore  set  out 
with  a  fair  wind  by  the  way  of  Ainboy,  wliere  they  stopped,  ami  called 
npon  Lord  Stirling,  w  ho,  with  a  boat  procured  by  him  for  the  purpose, 
and  about  forty  of  his  regiment,  set  out  with  them  in  quest  of  the  ship 
and  armed  vessel.  At  sunrise  from  the  mast-head  Ihey  descried  the 
ship  at  sea,  stood  for,  met,  and  boarded  her  without  opposition  at  ten 
o'clock  111  the  morning;  they  found  her  to  be  a  transport  from  Loudon, 
wilh  coiils.  porter,  potatoes,  hogs,  and  horse-beans,  designed  for  the  Min- 
isterial troo{i8at  Hostoii,  coniniHUded  by  John  H.  Dempster,  brother  to 
Geo'ge  L).-nipster,  member  of  Parliament  for  Dundee,  elc,  in  Scotland. 
But  the  aimed  vessel,  by  great  good  fortune,  saved  herself  by  returning 
to  New  Yolk,  not  having  discovered  the  ship,  to  the  great  disappoint- 
ment ol  our  people.  Lord  Stiilim:  gave  the  command  of  the  ship  to  Mr. 
Rogers,  a  sea-captain,  i\ilh  orders  to  proceed  for  this  place,  but  being 
di-Iaiiied  by  tide  and  contrary  winds  on  Wednesday  nt-ar  Amboy,  the 
Coniiniltee  being  upprehensive  of  an  attempt  by  the  man.of-war  to  re- 
take her,  on  Wednesday  evening  sent  a  reinforcement  of  about  eighty 
men  to  secure  her  against  any  such  attempt,  and  on  Friday  she  arrived 
in  safety  ai  Elizabeth-Town  Point,  where  she  remained  under  the  coni- 

1  Am.  Archives,  4tli  Ser.,  iv.  165, 247,  iM. 

-  S'-ouring  the  country  to  disarm  the  Tories,  and  arrest  the  most  dan- 
gerous of  the   Loyalists.     N.  Y.  Col.  Doclnls.,  Tiii.  663,607.     Hildreth, 


mand  of  Lord  Stirling,  guarded  by  some  of  the  troops  under  his  com- 
mand, until  Tuesday  last,  when  he  and  his  troops  were  ordered  to  New 
York,  since  which  time  she  hath  been,  and  now  is,  under  the  are  of  the 
Committee.  By  order  of  Lord  Stirling  and  the  Committee,  the  porter 
and  beans  are  stored,  the  sails  and  rigging  are  taken  on  shore.  The  po- 
tatoes, which  are  chiefly  rotten,  and  coal  remain  on  lioard  the  ship.  The 
Captain  and  seamen  remain  prisoners  at  large  in  this  town.  The  Com- 
mittee expected  Lord  Stirling  would  have,  before  this  lime,  procured  the 
particular  directions  of  the  Congress  for  the  disposition  of  the  ship  and 
cargo,  but  in  this  thi-y  are  disappointed,  and  everything  respecting  the 
ship  is  in  suspense.  The  hogs  remaining  being  only  S"ven  (out  of 
eighty)  and  the  remaining  potatoes  they  have  concluded  to  sell.  The 
coal  is  in  great  demand  for  making  of  arms,  and  is  liable  to  lie  destroyed 
with  the  sliip  by  an  armed  force  which  may  be  dispatched  privately  in 
the  night  from  New  York,  which  is  but  about  fourteen  miles'  distance. 
The  seamen,  who  are  boarded  out  by  the  Committee,  are  uneasy  and  so- 
liciting the  Committee  for  their  wages,  which,  they  say,  were  promised 
by  Lord  Stirling.  The  Captain  is  anxious  to  know  now  long  he  is  to  be 
detaiued,aud  the  Committee  are  desirous  that  he  may  be  soon  dismi-sed, 
and  beat  liberty  to  return  home  and  inform  his  friends  and  country- 
men of  the  usage  he  has  received  from  the  .Americans.  This,  sir,  is  the 
state  of  affairs  relating  to  the  storeship  called  the  '  Blue-Mountaiii-Val- 
ley,'  and  brought  to  this  place." 

Appended  to  this  statement  is  a  list  of  the  ofBcers 
and  crew, — a  captain,  three  mates,  a  carpenter,  a  boat- 
swain, a  steward,  seven  seamen,  and  two  apprentices. 
Their  bill  for  wages  was  £123  Sa.  Id.,  of  which  £23 
6s.  7'/.  had  been  paid. 

The  manifest  is  also  given,  dated  Sept.  30,  1775, 
showing  1071  chaldrons  of  coal,  30  bundles  of  hoops, 
100  butts  of  porter,  branded  "  Calvert,"  225  bags  of 
beans,  156  sacks  of  potatoes,  10  casks  sour-krout,  80 
live  hogs,  and  35  empty  puncheons  for  water,  shipped 
by  Mure,  Son  &  Atkinson,  of  London,  by  order  of 
the  Right  Hon.  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Treasury.  The  vessel  had  sailed  from  Lou- 
don Oct.  13,  1775. 

An  accompanying  paper  gives 

"A  List  of  the  Officers  and  Men.  behuigiug  to  the  Militia  of  Eliza- 
beth-Town, wlio  entered  on  board  of  the  different  shallops  as  Volun- 
teers in  order  to  take  the  Ship  BIue-Monntain-Valley,  January  'i2, 
1776,  under  the  command  of  Elias  Dayton,  Colonel: 


Navigation  about  New  York  had 
cmts..  viii.  r.fiT,  674. 


•'  Elias  Diiyton.  Odonel. 

George  Weeks. 

Edward  Thomas,  Lieiit.-Col. 

Edwaid . 

Oliver  Spencer,  Captain. 

Beaty. 

William  Britlon.  Captain. 

David  Stewart. 

Francis  Barber,  Fii«t  Lieut. 

Daniel  Cr.iig. 

Anion  Hatfield,  First  Lieut. 

Thomas  Lee. 

Thomas  Morrel,  Second  Lieut. 

Stephen  Wheeler. 

George  Ever-on,  liuartermaster. 

Fairington  Fiice. 

Smith  Hetfleld,  Capt.  of  Boat. 

Elijah  Woodruff. 

John  Thomas,  Capt.  of  Boat. 

Dat  iel  Wooilrnff. 

John  Trail,  Capt  of  lioat. 

Aaron  Ogden. 

William  Burnet,  Suigeon. 

Ednaid  Jones. 

William  Higiiis,  Sergeant. 

William  Clark. 

David  Ross,  Sergeant. 

JonaIli.tn  Clark. 

Henry  Baker,  Sergeant. 

Jonathan  Nichols. 

Samnel  Smith. 

Samuel  Mann. 

Lewis  Blanchard. 

Sibu<  Freeman. 

Edmund  Thomas. 

William  Meeker. 

Thomas  Elstoiie. 

Samuel  Ogden. 

Ephraim  Marsh. 

Gabriel  Meeker. 

Adam  Lee. 

Jonathan  I'ierson. 

Thomas  t^nigley. 

Eliliii  I'arsotis. 

Macarly. 

Daniel . 

Henry  M.  Munagal. 

Robert  Spencer. 

Price  Parcel. 

Williatn  Ramsden 

Barney  Ogden. 

Samnel  Sealey. 

Timothy  B.  Stout. 

Samuel  Lee. 

Joseph  Meeker,  Jun. 

Thomas  Hoyt. 

IlISTOllY    OF    UxMON    AND    MIDDLKSEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSKY. 


Lewis  WiioiliuB. 

Ja 

lies  Clencliy. 

Isiiiah  Cray. 

J.. 

in  Miller. 

William  l.iviii:;8toTi.  Jr. 

Jn 

in  lliiii.vnn. 

BioukhulBt  LiviiigBtiiii. 

Ni 

Iioliis  IVane. 

Julin  UeiMliix. 

M. 

sesCnniiei. 

Siiriiiiel  Moieh.mse. 

lin 

ilre.v  Itlaekiiey. 

Jaci.l,  Carle. 

Til 

lotliy  Buriiri. 

Benjamin  \V.i..dnifr. 

Sii 

inn  Sinninsnll. 

Jonathan  Won.lrnlf. 

lii 

iianl  Miller. 

Bel]jaui  n  lliinls. 

Ju 

inSlillei,  tid. 

JnlinGiay. 

"The  ahnve  i8  a  true  list,  t 

n  the  best  o 

f  my  kuuttleilBe  ar 

.1  helief. 

"  Kdwaui 

THUMA8.1 

"ELIZABF.TII-TciWN,  Fell.  9,  177C." 

Several  of  the  men  whose  names  are  included  in 
this  list  afterwards  became  decided  loyalists  and 
some  of  them  malignant  Tories,  but  the  vast  majority 
of  them  ciintihued  true  to  their  country,  and  several 
of  them  became  highly  distinguished  for  their  mili- 
tary services.  The  names  of  a  few  are  not  familiar. 
These  were  of  the  Continentals  from  the  back  country. 

In  his  "Life  of  Lord  Stirling,"  Judge  Duer  gives 
the  credit  of  this  affair  to  Stirling,  as  having  "planned 
and  executed"  the  enterprise,  overlooking  the  fact 
that  the  town  committee  undertook,  of  their  own  mo- 
tion, without  even  a  sugge.stion  from  Stirling,  by  far 
the  heaviest  part  of  the  work.  Lord  Stirling's  letter 
to  Congress  also,  dated  Jan.  24,  1776,  is  given  incor- 
rectly.    It  should  read, — 

'*!  iinme(lirttel.v  set  out  for  AniI'oy,an'i  there  seized  a  pilot-hoat,  and 
wilh  ftirly  men  was  jn^t  piisliing  uut  about  two  yesterday  ntorniiif:, 
wheu  I  was  joined  by  three  oilier  boats  from  Elizabeth  Town,  with 
about  forty  nn-n  each,  many  of  tliem  jjenileinen  from  Elizabeth  Town, 
who  voluntarily  0. me  on  this  service, under  the  uoniinandof  Cul  Dayton 
and  Lieut  -(.'iil.  Thomas." 

He  describes  the  vessel  as  "a  ship  of  about  one 
hundred  feet,  from  stem  to  stern  above,  capable  of 
making  a  ship  of  war  of  twenty  six-pounders  and  ten 
three-pounders." 

On  the  Monday  following,  29th,  Lord  Stirling's  let- 
ters having  been  read  in  Congress,  it  was 

"  Remind,  That  the  alertness,  aetivity,  and  good  eonductof  Lord  Stir- 
ling, and  the  forwardness  and  8|iiiit  of  the  gentlemen  and  others  fiom 
Elizabeth  Town  wliu  voluntarily  assisleil  liiiii  in  lakiii).'  the  ship  Bine- 
Mouiitaiii'Valley,  were  laudable  ami  e.\eniiilar.v,  and  that  his  lordship 
bedirecled  lo  seeilie  the  capture  until  the  further  order  ol  Congress, 
and  that  in  the  mean  time  be  cause  such  part  uf  the  lading  as  wuuld 
otherwise  peiisli  to  lie  disposed  of  by  sale."2 

Lord  Stirling  received  orders  from  Gen.  Lee,  Feb. 
4, 1776,  to  transfer  his  regiment  to  New  York,  and  the 
next  morning  he  marched,  with  the  four  companies 
stationed  here,  to  the  North  River,  and  having  been  de- 
tained by  the  ice  on  the  following  day  arrived  at  New 
York.  On  the  9th  he  received  and  transmitted  from 
Congress  the  vote  of  thanks,  and  sent  orders  to  Mr. 
John  Blaiichard  to  take  charge  of  the  cargo  of  the 
transport,  with  a  request  to  Brig.-Gen.  Living.ston, 
and  John  DeHart,  Esq.,  to  aid  him  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  afl'air.  At  the  same  time  he  took  the  op- 
portunity of  requesting  Mr.  Ogden  to  give  his  best 
thanks  to  the  committee  of  Elizabeth  Town  for  their 


readiness  at  all  times  to  assist  him  in  carrying  on  the 
service  under  his  direction,  and  to  the  inhabitants  in 
general  for  the  many  instances  of  confidence  and 
friendship  received  from  them,' 

Finally  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  or- 
dered, March  2,  1776,  the  vessel  and  cargo  to  be  con- 
fiscated, a  commission  to  be  appointed  for  the  sale  of 
the  ship  and  its  contents,  and  the  proceeds  to  be  dis- 
distributed  among  the  captors.  John  Blanchard  ex- 
cused himself,  March  2d,  from  serving  on  the  com- 
mittee, because  he  was  so  much  occupied  in  building 
a  powder-mill,  and  on  his  recommendation  his  son 
Cornelius  was,  March  8th,  appointed  in  his  place.* 

Col.  Stirling  having  been  appointed,  March  1st,  a 
brigadier-general,  Robert  Ogden  wrote  him,  March 
4th,  a  letter  of  congratulation,  and  took  occasion  to 
add, — 

"There  are  many  fire-armi  lost,  or  at  least  at  present  missing,  that 
werelent  (by  tlie  inhabitants  of  the  town)  lo  lnriii>li  Capt.  Meeker  and 
the  pania'i  under  him  to  assist  your  lordship  in  taking  the  ship  '  Blue* 
Monntuin-Valley.'  He  lias  been  applied  to  fur  the  arms,  luit  says  he 
knows  nothing  about  llieni.  who  had  tlieui,  iinr  where  tu  be  found.  His 
ignorance  aud  high  temper  makes  it  difticiilt  to  treat  witli  liini.'*^ 

Stirling  wrote  March  1st  to  Blanchard,  authorizing 
him  to  deliver  thirty-four  chaldrons  of  the  coal  to 
Moses  Ogden  at  the  market  price,  Ogden  having  a 
contract  with  the  government  for  ironwork.  The 
remainder  of  the  cargo,  with  the  ship  and  its  appur- 
tenances, was  sold  at  auction  by  order  of  the  commit- 
tee of  Elizabeth  Town,  March  18th.  A  gratuity  was 
allowed  the  seamen,  who,  with  the  officers,  were  set  at 
liberty,  and  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  were  divided 
among  the  captors. 

By  order  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  February  2d, 
Edward  Thomas  and  Isaac  Woodruff,  barrack-masters, 
were  authorized  to  dispose  of  at  their  estimated  value, 
for  the  use  of  the  Continental  troop,  the  blankets  be- 
longing to  the  Elizabeth  Town  barracks.  On  the  .3d, 
Abraham  Ogden  was  appointed  lieutenant-colonel, 
and  William  Barnet  major  of  the  regiment  of  light- 
horse  in  the  eastern  division  of  the  State.  On  the 
23d,  Edward  Thomas  was  appointed  colonel,  .lere- 
miah  Smith  lieutenant-colonel,  and  Oliver  Spencer  first 
m.ijorof  the  first  regiment  of  Essex  militia.  On  the6th 
of  March,  Elias  Dayton  was  appointed  by  Congress 
colonel,  and  Francis  Barber  major  of  the  Third  Bat- 
talion of  New  Jersey  Continentals,  and  on  the  requi- 
sition of  Lord  Stirling,  at  New  York,  six  thousand 
cartridges  were  furnished  him  by  the  Elizabeth  Town 
committee.* 

Gen.  Clinton  arrived  at  New  York  from  Boston  Feb- 
ruary 4th,  in  the  ship  of  war  "  Mercury,"  in  company 
with  a  transport  brig  with  two  hundred  marines,  on 
his  way  to  the  South.  Shortly  afterwards  the  vessels 
weighed  anchor,  and  fell  down  to  the  watering-place 


1  Am.  Archives,  4th  Ser ,  iv.  !l«"-S9. 
s  Journal  of  Congress  for  177li.     Uui 


8  Stirling,  p.  124. 


'  Am.  Archives,  4th  ser.,  iv.  1199-1200. 
'  Ibid  ,  p.  1B06.     Stirling  MSS..  N.  Y.  His. 


.  15SU,  1582,  1689,  1B98,  1600. 


BEGINNING   OF   THK   REVOLUTION  All  V    STRUGGLE. 


69 


near  Staten  Island.  On  the  evening  of  Saturday, 
lOtli,  word  was  brought  to  this  town  that  the  marines 
were  intending  to  make  a  raid  on  Staten  Island  and 
carry  off  the  live-stock.  Gen.  Livingston,  who  had 
been  put  in  charge  on  Stirling's  transfer  to  New  York, 
called  out  three  hundred  of  the  militia,  sent  out  a 
part  to  reconnoitre  the  south  side  of  the  island,  and 
inarched  with  the  troops  at  three  in  the  morning.  At 
Ward's,  in  sight  of  the  light-house,  they  were  joined 
by  Capt.  Blanchard  and  his  company  of  light-horse. 
Learning  here  that  the  vessels  had  left  Sandy  Hook 
the  day  before,  a  squad  under  the  command  of  Col. 
Edward  Thomas  were  left  to  guard  the  coast,  for  fear 
of  a  feint,  and  the  remainder  were  ordered  home. 
The  militia  were  highly  commended  for  the  alacrity 
with  which  they  responded  to  the  call  of  their  com- 
mander on  this  occasion.' 

Owing  to  tlie  commotions  of  tlie  times,  and  the 
close  connection  of  the  town  with  New  York,  the 
place  was  visited  by  many  strangers,  some  of  whom 
rendered  themselves  liable  to  suspicion  as  unfriendly 
to  the  cause  of  the  country.  The  committee  of  the 
town  therefore  represented  the  case,  February  12th, 
to  the  Provincial  Congress,  then  in  session,  who 
passed  an  ordinance  requiring,  among  other  things, 

*'  Tllat  all  suspected  pel-sons  removing  into  the  c*>lon_v  slioulil  be  ini- 
meiiiately  relumed  to  tlie  place  wlience  tliey  came,  unless  their  deten- 
tion an  delinquents  should  be  proper,  or  unlesstliey  produced  certificates 
from  the  coinniitree  of  the  precinct  from  which  tln-y  cmue  Ihat  they 
had  signed  the  Association  recommended  liy  Congress,  and  had  not 
eiibsequently  contravened  it."  - 

Thus,  gradually  but  surely,  the  lines  of  demarka- 
tion  between  the  patriots  and  the  loyalists  were  be- 
coming more  and  more  distinct,  and  the  people  were 
compelled  to  show  their  colors  as  friends  or  foes  to 
Congress  and  the  country. 

On  the  14th,  William  Livingston  and  John  De  Hart, 
of  this  town,  were  re-elected  by  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress of  New  Jersey  members  of  the  General  Con- 
gress, which  had  continued  in  session  till  this  time.^ 

Fears  were  entertained  that  the  British  army  at 
Boston  were  about  to  be  transferred  to  New  York,  of 
which  Lord  Stirling  received  intimation,  March  13th, 
from  Gen.  Washington.  Stirling  immediately  called 
upon  each  of  several  adjacent  counties  in  New  Jersey 
to  send  forward  immediately  three  or  four  hundred 
men  to  aid  in  fortifying  the  city  and  harbor.  Lewis 
Ogden,  chairman  of  the  Newark  Committee,  replied 
on  the  14th  that  they  would  send  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men :  "  We  also  sent  a  Deputatitm  from  our 
Board  to  the  Committee  at  Elizabeth  Town  to  inform 
them  what  we  had  done  and  request  that  they  would 
furnish  150  more  :    they  have  agreed  to  do  it." 

Stephen  Crane,  who  had  succeeded  Robert  Ogden 
as  chairman  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  Committee,  wrote 
to  Stirling  also  on  the  14th,  to  the  effect  that  they 


had  no  right  to  send  a  detachment  out  of  the  province, 
urged  the  desperate  state  of  the  colony,  and  said, — 


'The  ArmiiiK  the  tivo  battalions  in  the  Oontinental  Service  hath 
lined  lis  of  our  l»est  Arms,  MUd  in  case  a  Decent  should  be  DiaOe  at 
w  York,  we  should  be  liable  to  continual  exciiD.ion8  of  the  enemy.'* 


V  York  Packet,  Febriniiy  iid 
.  Archives,  4tli  Ser,,  iv.  15!-n. 
d.iu's  N..I..  p.  201.     Moll.od'i 


William  Burnet,  chairman  of  the  Essex  County 
Committee,  wrote  on  the  15th  that  a  copy  of  Crane's 
letter  had  been  sent  to  him,  "from  which  we  are 
afraid  no  men  will  come  from  Elizabeth  Town;  .  .  . 
however  we  shall  Endeavour  to  prevail  witli  tliem  to 
furnish  their  quota,  and  hope  we  shall  .succeed."  The 
next  day  he  writes  that  "the  confusion  is  owing  to 
your  writing  to  the  Township  and  not  the  County 
Committee." 

Two  days  after  Stirling  acknowledges  the  services 
of  Burnet  and  the  Newark  people,  informs  him  of  his 
intention  to  fortify  East  Jersey,  and  says, — 

*'  1  ^hall  send  to  exidaio  my  des'Rns  to  you  and  to  eiigase  the  people 
of  Kli/.abetli  Town  to  carry  llnni  inloe.\eculion,  which  according  to  my 
plan  they  will  be  abb-  to  do  with  two  or  Three  hundred  men  in  a  few 
days.  SoDle  Intr'-nching  tools  will  be  necfssjiry,  and  it  wi  1  be  proper 
to  have  them  Collected  as  soon  as  possible  at  Newark  or  Elizabeth 
Town." 

And  SO  the  men  were  kept  at  home  to  work  on  their 
own  fortifications.  Stirling  knew  the  people  too  well 
to  believe  that  they  were  wanting  in  patriotism.  One 
of  the  stanchest  patriots  of  the  town,  Abraham  Clark, 
the  signer,  wrote  to  the  Committee  of  Safety  at  this 
very  time,  March  15th,  in  reference  to  a  resolution  of 
the  Provincial  Congress  calling  for  arms  to  equip  a 
battalion  for  Canada:  "  If  all  the  Congresses  upon 
the  Continent  required  us  to  disarm  ourselves  at  pres- 
ent, unless  we  are  deemed  dangerous  to  liberty,  I 
would  not  obey."  The  situation  of  the  town  was  be- 
coming exceedingly  critical,  and  they  needed  to  hus- 
band all  their  resources.' 

Col.  Uayton,  in  command  of  the  Third  Continental 
Regiment,  stationed  at  Elizabeth  Town,  in  the  mean 
time  had  received,  March  10th,  orders  from  Stirling 
to  put  his  regiment  in  marching  trim.  On  the  14th 
he  writes  that  "the  companies  of  Capts.  Bloomfield, 
Dickinson,  and  Potter  have  passed  muster,"  and  that 
the  others  are  nearly  full.  He  refers  to  the  scarcity 
of  arms,  and  says,  "The  militia  are  now  more  than 
ever  unwilling  to  part  with  their  Arms;"  and  adds 
that  he  and  Maj.  Barber  had  been  to  Congress  at 
Philadelphia  about  it,  but  without  success.  On  the 
23d  he  received  orders  to  march  forthwith  to  New 
York.5 

In  accordance  with  the  intimations  in  the  letter  to 
Burnet,  Lord  Stirling  came  over  on  the  22d  to  this 
town,  to  survey  the  ground  and  lay  out  a  line  of  fortifi- 
cations at  the  Point.  Alter  conference  with  Gen.  Liv- 
ingston in  relation  to  the  plan,  he  returned  to  the  city 
on  the  24th,  to  procure  engineers  to  be  employed  on 
these  works  under  the  direction  of  Gen.  William 
Thompson. 

Bostou  was  evacuated  by  the  British  army  March 


ii.lon'sN..r.,  171-74. 
.1  .  p.  A-lr.. 


lirling  MSS.,  N.  Y.  His.  Soc.  Aual.  ludex,  p.  451.      *  Stirling  MSS. 


70 


HISTORY    OF    UiNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY 


17th,  and  as  it  was  naturally  inferred  that  they  would 
make  a  vigorous  effort  to  establish  their  headquarters 
at  New  York,  the  American  army  was,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  weeks,  mostly  transferred  to  this  section  of 
the  country.  Gen.  Washington  arrived  and  took 
command  at  New  York  on  Saturday,  April  13th. 
The  work  of  erecting  and  strengthening  fortifications 
at  exposed  points  was  renewed  and  carried  on  with 
great  vigor. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  chosen  on 
the  lourth  Monday  in  May,  met  at  Burlington  on  the 
10th  of  June ;  and  John  De  Hart  having  been  per- 
mitted to  resign  his  seat  in  Congress,  Abraham  Clark, 
also  of  this  town,  who  had  served  for  some  time  as 
secretary  of  the  New  Jersey  Committee  of  Safety, 
was  chosen,  June  22d,  in  his  place.  William  Living- 
ston, another  member  from  this  town,  having  been  ap- 
pointed commander-in-chief  of  the  New  Jersey  militia, 
resigned  his  membership,  and  established  his  head- 
quarters at  Elizabeth  Town  Point,  while  his  own  fam- 
ily and  others  retired  into  less  exposed  portions  of 
the  country,  in  anticipation  of  the  near  approach  of 
the  British  army  and  the  full  realities  of  war. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION. 

The  decisive  step  in  the  progress  of  the  events  to 
be  narrated  in  this  chapter  was  the  measure  submitted 
to  the  General  Congress  June  7,  1776,  by  Richard 
Henry  Lee,  of  Virginia,  to  wit : 

"  That  these  United  Colonies  are,  and  of  right 
ought  to  be.  Free  and  Independent  States,  that 
they  are  absolved  from  all  allegiance  to  the  British 
crown,  and  that  all  political  connecti6n  between 
them  and  the  State  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to 
be,  totally  dissolved." 

After  lull  discussion  this  measure  was  adopted  on 
the  4th  of  July,  1776.  An  eloquent  writer,  speaking 
of  its  adoption,  says, — 

"The  die  was  now  cast,  the  state  of  vassalage  was  terminated.  The 
house  of  Kaiiuver  was  dethroned,  royaity  was  abolished.  All  depend- 
ence on  Britain  was  alijni-ed.  A  repuldic  was  inaugnrateil,  a  nation 
was  born.  Tile  struggle  ceased  to  be  a  civil  war.  Rebels  were  now 
patriots,  the  Biilish  were  lon-igu  foes.  The  war  was  henceforth  to  be 
wai;ed  by  rival  nations.  Loyalists  were  now  traitors,  ami  to  be  treated 
as  toes  t..  their  country.  Neutrality  could  no  longer  be  tolerated.  King 
or  Congress  must  rule.  Sides  must  be  taken ;  every  man  must  be  a 
friend  or  foe,  for  or  against  his  country :  he  could  not  be  neither." 

Abraham  Clark,  whose  name  appears  among  the 
immortal  signers  of  the  Declaration,  was  a  citizen  of 
Elizabeth  Town.  Four  days  after  the  signatures 
were  attached,  on  August  6th,  he  wrote  the  following, 
in  a  letter  to  Col.  Elias  Dayton,  then  on  service  at 
German  Flats : 


the  three  lepers.  If  we  continued  in  the  state  we  were  in  it  was  evident 
we  must  perish ;  if  we  declare  Independence  we  mit:ht  he  sjived,  w* 
conld  but  pei-ish.  I  assure  you,  sir,  I  see,  I  feel,  the  danger  we  are  in. 
I  am  far  from  exulting  in  our  imaginary  happiness;  nothingshort  of  the 
almighty  power  of  God  can  save  us.  It  is  not  in  onr  numbers,  our 
union,  nor  valour  I  dare  trust.  I  think  an  interposing  Provideuce  hath 
been  evident  in  all  the  eveuts  that  necessarily  led  us  to  what  we  are,— I 
mean  indepeudent  States, — but  for  what  purpose,  whether  to  make  us  a 
great  empire,  or  to  make  our  ruin  more  complete,  the  issue  only  can 
determine." 

While  the  representatives  of  the  United  Colonies 
were  adopting  this  great  measure  at  Philadelphia  the 
Britisli  were  gathering  their  military  and  naval  forces 
at  New  York.  Washington  wrote  from  that  city, 
June  29th,  to  Gen.  Livingston,  commanding  at  Eliza- 
beth Town  : 

"  I  have  received  certain  information  from  the  Hook  that  about  forty 
of  the  enemy's  fleet  have  arrived  there,  and  others  are  now  in  sight,  and 
that  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  hut  the  wln.le  fleet  will  be  in  this  day  aud 
to-morrow.  I  beg  not  a  moment's  time  may  he  lost  in  sending  forward 
such  parts  of  the  militia  as  Col.  Reed  shall  mention.  We  are  so  very 
weak  at  this  post  that  I  must  beg  you  (o  order  the  tliree  companies 
which  I  mentioned  in  my  last  for  Staten  Island  immediately  to  this 
city."  1 

These  ships  were  the  British  fleet  from  Halifax, 
under  the  command  of  Admiral  Shuldhain,  with  the 
British  army  under  Gen.  Howe,  recently  driven  out 
of  Boston,  with  six  transports  filled  with  Highlanders 
just  sent  over.  Orders  were  immediately  issued  for 
the  removal  of  the  live-stock  from  Staten  Island,  and 
the  people  of  Elizabeth  Town  were  called  upon  to  aid 
in  this  movement.  Washington  writes  from  New 
Y'ork,  July  3d,  to  the  President  of  Congress, — 

■'I  am  this  minute  informed  by  a  gentleman  that  the  Committee  of 
Klizabelh  Town  sent  their  Company  of  Light  Horse  on  Monday  to  effect 
it,  and  that  some  of  their  militia  was  to  give  their  aid  ye.sterdny  (Tues- 
day)." Heaildslhnthe  was  credibly  told  liisi  night  by  pirt  .if  the  niililia 
coming  to  this  tdace  that  yesterday  they  saw  a  good  deal  of  stock  driving 
off  the  island  aud  cros-iiig  to  the  Jerseys. - 

We  condense  the  followino-  from  Dr.  Hatfield's 
"History  of  Elizabeth":  "The  Staten  Islanders  had 
made  profession  of  patriotism,  and  so  were  allowed  to 
resume  trade  with  this  town.  The  value  of  their  pro- 
fessions may  be  seen  from  the  report  of  Governor 
Try  on,  of  New  York,  to  Lord  George  Germain,  dated 
'  Duchess  of  Gordon,  off  Staten  Island,  8th  July, 
1776':" 

"General  Howe  disembarked  the  troops  under  bis  coninnmd  on  Staten 
Island  the  :id  Instant  without  opposition,  on  which  occa>ion  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  isliinil  came  down  to  welcome  tlie  ariival  of  their  deliv- 
erel-8,  &  have  since  afforded  the  army  every  supply  &  acc..nimodaliou  in 
their  p<iwer.  Un  Sulurday  la-t  (6tli)  I  received  the  mililia  of  the  Island 
at  Richmond  Town,  where  near  four  hundred  a|ipeareil,  who  cheerfully, 
ou  my  Recommendation,  took  the  Oath  of  Allegiance  &  fidelity  to  his 
Majesty.  To-morrow  I  am  to  have  another  muster  tor  the  enlisunent 
of  Volnntiei-8  to  form  a  Pi-ovincial  Corps  for  the  defence  of  the  Island."" 

By  this  defection  and  the  occupation  of  the  island 
by  the  British,  Elizabeth  Town  was  brought  into  the 
very  forefront  of  the  field  of  conflict,  and  so  continued 
throughout  the  war.  Staten  Island  became  thence- 
forward not  only  a  British  po.st,  but  a  nest  of  Tories, 


111  be  exalted  on  »  high  gallu 


whether  it  will  be  honourable  or  d 

nnst  settle  it.     Perhaps  our  Congn 

We  were  truly  brought  to  the  case 


'  Sparks'  Wash 

ngton. 

ii ,  PP 

445 

446. 

2  Am  Arch 

ves 

4th  .Se 

.,  vi.  1 

iM. 

»  N.  Y.  Col 

Uocmls.,  V 

ii.  OSl 

WAR  OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


71 


and  the  common  resort  of  the  "Loyalists"  in  their 
flight  from  East  Jersey. 

The  day  after  their  landing  the  enemy  made  their 
appearance  on  the  western  shore  of  the  island,  oppo- 
-site  Elizabeth  Town  Point. 

"As  suon  86  the  truops  lauded  (nays  a  correspondent)  they  paraded 
tlie  north  ahure,  and  on  Wednesday  morning  (:Jd)  made  their  appearance 
near  Elizabeth-Town  point:  tnt  the  coniitry  I.eingsoon  alarm-d,  tliey 
retreated,  took  up  the  floor  of  the  drawbriilge  in  the  salt  meadows,  and 
immediately  threw  up  some  works.  Their  near  approach  to  Klizabetli- 
Town  point  greatly  alarmed  the  inhabitants  of  Essex  county,  atid  par- 
ticularly tlie  people  of  Elizabeth-Town  and  Newaik  ;  but  they  are  now 
in  a  condition  to  receive  them  whenever  they  may  think  proper  to  ap- 
proach. Two  young  men  from  Elizabetti-Towu  crossed  the  river  in  a 
canoe  last  Tliursday  (4th)  and  fired  upon  the  regulars;  but  a  nuuiher 
of  them  rushing  out  of  the  woods,  they  were  obliged  to  retreat  and  cross 
the  river  again. "i 

Livingston  writes  to  Washington  on  the  4th  that 
they  had 

**  Thrown  up  a  couple  of  small  breastworks  on  the  causeway  leading 
from  the  Point  over  the  Salt  Meadow.  We  have  between  four  and  Ave 
hundred  at  the  Point  who  have  thrown  up  a  line  from  the  Point  House 
eastward  to  answer  as  a  cover.  We  have  two  field-pieces,  witli  a  part  of 
the  Company  of  Artillery  of  this  Province  (Capt.  Neill's).  He  adds. 
Our  men  are  raw  and  inexperienced,  our  officers  mostly  absent,  want  of 
discipline  is  inevitable,  while  we  are  greatly  exposed  for  the  distance  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  miles."^ 

He  makes  an  urgent  appeal  for  troops  to  defend  the 
town  against  the  disciplined  troops  on  the  island, 
from  whom  an  invasion  was  constantly  expected. 
Washington  thereupon  writes  on  the  oth  to  the 
President  of  Congress, — 

"  General  Mercer  arrived  here  on  Tuesday,  and  the  next  morning  was 
ordered  to  Paulus  Hook  to  make  some  anangenieuts  of  the  militia  a.s 
they  came  in,  and  the  best  disposition  he  could  to  prevent  tlie  enemy's 
ci  os-ing  from  t^taten  Island  if  they  shoul.l  have  any  such  views.  The 
distressed  situation  of  the  inhabitants  of  Elisabeth  Town  and  Newark 
has  since  induced  me,  upon  their  appiicaliou,  to  give  up  all  Ihemililia 
from  the  Jerseys,  except  those  engaged  for  six  monthe.  I  am  hopeful 
they  will  be  able  to  repel  any  incursions  that  may  be  attempted."  ^ 

He  writes  to  Livingston  the  next  day,  6th, — 

"  Gen.  Mercer  has  just  set  off  for  Jersey.  In  his  experience  and  judg- 
ment yon  may  repose  great  confidence.  He  w  ill  proceed  to  .\ml'oy  after 
conferring  with  you.  You  will  please  to  keep  nie  ciuistaiitly  informed 
of  the  proceedings  of  the  euemy,  and  be  assured  of  every  assistance  and 
attention."* 

In  the  same  letter  he  writes,  in  answer  to  one  from 
Livingston  of  the  same  date,  a.s  follows: 

*' The  known  di-affection  of  the  people  of  .\mboy,  and  the  treachery 
of  those  of  Staten  Island,  who,  after  the  fiirest  professions,  have  shown 
themselves  our  most  inveterate  enemies,  have  indocetl  me  to  give  direc- 
tions that  till  persons  of  known  enmity  or  doubtful  chantcter  should  be 
removed  from  placeswhere  tliey  niiyht  enter  into  a  correspondence  with 
the  enemy  and  aid  them  in  their  schemes.  For  this  end  Gen.  Heard  (of 
Woodbri.ige)  has  directions  to  apprehend  such  persons  as  from  their 
conduct  liave  shown  themselves  inimical,  or  whose  situation,  connections, 
or  offices  have  given  just  cause  of  suspicion."^ 

This  order  had  a  very  salutary  effect,  resulting  in 
the  apprehension  of  a  considerable  number  of  sus- 
pected persons  in  this  town  and  vicinity,  but  more 
particularly    in   Ainboy.      Maj.    Duyckinek,   of  the 

1  Pa.  Eve.  Post,  No.  229.    Pa.  Journal,  No.  1753. 

2  Am.  Archives,  4th  Ser.,  vi.  I2r.2. 

3  Sparks'  Washington,  iii.  449-50. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  452. 

"  Ibid.,  pp.  451-52. 


Middlesex  militia,  had  arrested  nine  of  the  jirinci- 
pal  inhabitants  of  Amboy,  and  sent  them  here  to  Gen. 
Livingston,  giving  occasion  to  Livingston's  letter  to 
Washington.' 

A  Philadelphia,  paper  of  August  10th  relates  the 
following : 

"  On  the  late  alarm  at  Elizabeth  Town,  when  an  immediate  attack  of  the 
regulars  was  expected  (July  3d),  and  every  man  capable  of  bearing  arms 
was  snninioned  to  defend  it,  there  were  thiee  or  four  youni:  men 
(brothers)  goiug  out  fioni  one  house,  when  an  elderly  lady,  mother  or 
granilni'.ther  to  the  young  men,  witliout  betraying  the  least  signs  of 
timidity,  with  a  resolute  calmness,  encouraged  aud  assisted  them  to  arm. 
When  they  were  ready  to  go,  and  just  setting  out, she  addressed  them 
thus: 

" '  My  children,  I  have  a  few  words  to  say  to  you  :  Yon  are  going  out 
iu  a  just  cause  to  fight  for  the  rights  and  liberties  of  your  country. 
Ti'U  have  my  blessing  and  itrayers  that  God  will  protect  and  lussist  you. 
But  if  you  fall.  His  will  be  d.uie.  Let  me  beg  of  you.  my  children,  that 
if  you  fall  it  may  be  like  men,  and  that  your  wounds  m;iy  not  be  in 
your  back  parts.'"" 

The  two  field-pieces  of  which  mention  has  been 
made  very  soon  gave  a  good  account  of  themselves. 
Under  date  of  July  4,  1776,  twelve  o'clock  at  night,  it 
is  said, — 

"One  of  the  enemy's  armed  sloops  of  fourteen  guns  having  this  even- 
ing run  up  near  Elizabeth  Point,  was  attacked  fri'Di  the  shore  with  two 
twelve-pounders,  a  great  uumberof  her  men  killed,  she  set  on  fire  4nd 
entirely  destroyed."^ 

As  this  occurred  just  about  the  time  that  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence  was  adopted  by  Congre.ss,  or 
within  two  or  three  hours  of  that  event,  it  was  proba- 
bly the  first  military  exploit  of  the  new-born  nation, 
and  an  auspicious  omen  of  its  career. 

"  About  one  hundred  and  thirty  sail,"  as  Washing- 
ton informs  Gen.  Schuyler  on  the  11th,  had  now  ar- 
rived from  Halifax,  and  the  British  army  on  the 
island  numbered  "  between  nine  and  ten  thousand." 
The  next  day  several  ships  of  the  line  arrived,  and 
among  them  the  admiral's  ship,  who  had  been  daily  ex- 
pected. The  utmost  vigilance  now  became  necessary, 
the  more  so  as  two  British  men-of-war  had  the  same 
afternoon  run  up  Hudson's  River  and  taken  posses- 
sion ofTappan  Bay.  Livingston,  in  command  of  the 
militia  here,  and  Mercer  in  charge  of  the  Flying  Camp 
at  Amboy,  kept  their  eye  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
Sound,  and  prevented  all  foraging  incursions  from  the 
enemy  on  the  island.  Livingston  found  himself  very 
much  in  need  of  military  stores.  In  a  letter  to  the 
Provincial  Congress,  July  6th,  he  says, — 

"The  number  of  men  that  are  now  in  the  service  here  loudly  call  for 
more  ample  supplies  of  almost  every  necessary  (except  piovi-iona)  than 
can  be  obtained  here,  such  a-sammunitiuu,  11  nis,  arms,  and  indeed  stores 
of  every  kind,  an  attention  to  which  I  cauuot  give  in  the  manner  I 
ctmhl  choose  in  the  present  exigency."^ 

The  following  incidents,  taken  from  letters  written 
in  the  camp  at  Elizabeth  Town,  show  that  the  troops 
were  kept  continually  on  the  alert: 

«  Whitehead's  Aniboy,  p.  330. 
'  Pa.  Eve.  Post,  No.  243.     Pa.  Journal,  No.  1758. 
S  Am.  Archives,  4lh  ser.,  vi.  1272. 

'Sparks' Washington,  iii.  4B:i.  468.  Irviug's  Washington,  ii.  254.  Sedg- 
wick's Livingst*>ii,  p.  198. 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLKSKX    COUNTIKS.   NEW    JHRSKY. 


"  Last  Wfdiieediiy  noon  [10th]  a  soldier  betoTigin^  to  one  of  t!ie  regi- 
ments on  ^tatiMi  Uland,  lieing  in  liquor,  and  having  watidered  from  )iis 
cumimnions,  got  npon  the  nn-adows  near  Elizalietli  Town  Point,  wliich 
being  oligcrved  liy  Col.  Smith,  wliu  Iiad  the  eolnniand  tliat  day  at  the 
Point,  he  laent  over  a  party  of  men,  who  took  him  priBoiicr, 

"Yesterday  nine  of  our  UiHemen  crossed  the  river  fSiHind]  in  order 
to  lianiss  sinne  Td-BUlarn  wlio  wi're  th'owiuii  dp  a  liind  of  hreastwork 
on  a  liiidge  for  tlteir  enemies. ■wlio  kept  firing  on  our  men  for  some 
time  w.tliont  d..ing  any  exeiuti<ni,  till  one  of  tlie  brave  fellows  went 
witliinafew  yai'tls  of  the  enemy  and  desired  them,  to  surrender.  At 
that  instant  lie  received  a  hall  through  his  head,  which  kille.l  him  on 
the  spot.  The  Colonel  sent  over  a  Bag  of  truce  to  the  o.mmanding 
oflieer  on  the  Island,  desiring  leave  to  bring  off  his  man.  which  the 
ofitcer  very  politely  agreed  to,  and  let  him  take  man,  rifle  and  all  liis 
accoutrements. "1 

A  few  days  before  this  Gen.  Mercer  had  come  on 
here  from  Aniboy  in  order  to  surprise  the  enemy  on 
Staten  Island.  He  phinned  an  invasion  for  the  night 
of  the  ]8tli,  purposing  to  cross  the  Sound  from  the 
mouth  of  Thompson's  Creek,  a  little  below  the  Point,  I 
to  the  Blazing  Star.  Maj.  Knowlton  was  to  head  the 
Continental  troops.  The  first  division  marched  to 
the  creek  by  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening.  The  Penn- 
sylvania troops  attached  to  the  Flying  Camp  were  to 
follow, — in  all  about  thirteen  hundred  men.  But  the 
Pennsylvanians  had  marched  that  day  from  New 
Brunswick,  and  were  completely  exhausted  on  their 
arrival.  A  tremendous  thunder-storm  also  came  on, 
making  it  impracticable  to  cross  the  Sound,  and  the 
expedition  was  reluctantly  abandoned.' 

Abraham  Clark,  in  the  letter  to  Col.  Dayton,  Au- 
gust 6th,  referred  to  above,  in  giving  him  local  infor- 
mation, says  of  the  militia, — 

"They  form  a  chain  from  Elizabeth  Town  Point,  where  strong  works 
are  erected  at  an  amazing  exiiense  of  labour,  chiefly  effected  by  our  Mi- 
litia before  the  Pi sylvanians  ariived  to  their  assistance.      He  adds' 

Elizabeth  Town  was  in  great  coiisteruatiou  upon  General  Howe's  taking 
possession  of  the  Island,  but  at  present  1  believe  they  are  very  ensy.  I 
formerly  informed  you  that  Mrs.  Dayton  had  sent  the  chief  of  her  goods 
into  Spritigfiidd.  Many  that  moved  away  from  Elizabeth  Town  have 
since  returned. 

"  Our  election  for  Council  and  Assembly,  SherilTs,  Ac,  comes  on  next 
Tuesday  in  all  the  Counties  of  New  Jersey.  I  now  feel  the  want  of  you 
in  Elizabeth  Town.  I  sat  down  to  consi-ler  to  whom  I  might  venture  to 
write  on  pulitiiks,  and  have  none  tliat  I  dare  B|ieak  plainly  to.  Hail  you 
or  my  much  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  Caldwell,  been  there,  I  should  have 
been  at  no  hiss.  I  have  none  like-minded.  I  have  friends,  it  i«  true, 
hut  none  there  now  that  I  dare  speak  with  freedom  to."^ 

The  war,  brought  thus  to  their  very  doors,  had 
wrought  a  great  change  in  the  society  of  the  town. 
A  large  number  of  the  best  men  of  the  place  had 
taken  up  arms  either  in  the  militia  or  in  the  service  of 
Congress,  and  -so  were  of  uncertain  residence.  Inter- 
course between  families  had  become  much  more  re- 
served, a-s  no  one  knew  at  what  time  he  might  be 
betrayed  to  the  one  or  the  other  party  nor  which 
party  might  presently  be  in  the  ascenilant.  With 
the  vast  host  of  disciplined  troops  on  Staten  Island, 
the  very  flower  of  the  British  army,  and  daily  increas- 


>  Pa.  Journal,  No.  1764.    Am.  Archives,  5th  Ser.,  i.  575. 

«  Am.  Archives,  6th  Ser.,  i.  470.  Marshall's  Washington,  ii.  424. 
Sparks'  W'asliiugb.n,  iv.  2U. 

*  Am.  Archives,  5lh  Ser.,  i.  785.  Mr.  Caldwell,  his  pastor,  had,  about 
the  1st  of  May,  accompanied  Col.  Dayton  to  the  north  as  chaplain  of 
this  regiment. 


ing  in  numbers  by  the  arrival  of  reinforcements,  the 
Tories  had  great  reason  to  expect  to  be  shortly  restored 
to  their  homes  and  estates,  and  in  turn  to  vex  and 
dispossess  their  patriot  neighbors. 

Notwithstanding  the  failure  of  Gen.  Mercer's  at- 
tempt to  invade  the  island  on  the  18th  of  July,  Wash- 
ington wrote  on  the  27th  that  he  was  hoping  still  to 
"make  some  efforts  to  annoy  them"  from  this  direc- 
tion.    But  on  the  29th  he  informs  Congress  that 

"  By  the  advice  of  Gen.  Mercer  and  other  officers  at  Aniboy  it  will  bo 
impracticalde  to  do  anything  upon  a  large  scale  for  want  of  ciart.as  the 
enemy  have  the  entile  cunimalid  of  tlie  water  all  round  the  island.  I 
have  desired  (ir-il.  Mercer  to  liave  nine  or  ten  Hat-hutt..m-d  Imats  built 
at  Newark  Bay  and  Kl  ziii.eth  Town,  with  a  design  piincipally  to  keep 
up  the  communication  across  Hackiii>ac  and  Passaic  Kivers  " 

The  plan  alluded  to  contemplated  an  attack  from 
the  Point  with  a  force  of  three  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred men,  but  boats  could  not  be  procured  to  trans- 
port half  that  number  across  the  Sound,  and  so  it 
was  abandoned.* 

The  militia  from  Pennsylvania,  attached  to  the 
Flying  Camp  and  stationed  at  the  Point  and  its  vi- 
cinity, soon  became  so  disaffected  with  the  service 
that  "  many  were  daily  returning  home  without  or- 
ders," adding  greatly  to  the  gathering  gloom  that  was 
settling  over  the  town.  It  became  necessary  for 
Washington  to  make,  August  8th,  an  earnest  appeal 
to  their  patriotism  in  order  to  arrest  the  movement, 
representing  to  them  "that  the  fate  of  our  country 
depends,  in  all  human  probability,  on  the  exertion  of 
a  few  weeks."" 

The  First  Battalion  of  Philadelphia  and  the  Penn- 
sylvania rifle  battalions  were  at  this  time  stationed 
in  the  town  and  at  the  Point.  A  writer  at  New  York, 
August  26th,  says,  "Our  people  at  Elizabeth-Town 
and  the  enemy  on  Staten  Island  cannonaded  each 
other  yesterday  afternoon  [Sunday],  without  doing 
any  damage  except  disturbing  the  congregation."" 

The  foreign  mercenaries  from  Waldeck,  Hesse-Cas- 
sel,  and  Brunswick  were  now  arriving  by  thousands, 
their  numbers  being  greatly  exaggerated  in  the  re- 
ports that  were  alarmingly  spread  over  the  country. 
Governor  Tryon  wrote  from  Staten  Island,  August 
14th,  to  Lord  Germain, — 

"The  whole  armament  destined  for  this  part  of  America,  except  the 
last  division  of  the  Iles»i  ins,  being  now  assembled  here,  1  expect,  liy  the 
courage  and  strength  of  thi-i  noble  Army,  tyraiiny  will  be  crushed  and 
legal  govertimeilt  restored.  (15th  Aug.)  Yesterday  evening.  S'  Peter 
Paiker  liMUglit  into  the  Hook  a  Fleet  of  Tuenty-flve  Sail  from  the 
Southward."' 

These  last  were  the  forces  that  had  been  ineffectu- 
ally employed  against  Charleston,  S.  C.  They  num- 
bered three  thousand  troops,  and  were  under  the 
command  of  Lord  Curnwallis.* 

Battle  of  Long  Island.— On  the  2lst  of  August, 
Gen.  Livingston  wrote  ti>  Gen.  Washington  that  the 
enemy  were  in  motion  ;  that  he  had  sent  over  a  spy 

<  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  lsi-20.        '  Ibid.,  pp.  37-38. 

f'  Pa.  Journal,  N..8.  17.5.1,  176(1.  «  N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  viii.  084. 

"Irving's  Wasliington,  ii.  298-9!). 


WAR    OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


73 


the  iiiglit  before,  who  had  returned  in  safety  and 
reported  that  twenty  thousand  men  had  embarked  to 
make  a  descent  on  Louf;;  Ishmd  and  ascend  the  Hud- 
son ;  that  fifteen  thousand  Hessians  were  to  make  at 
the  same  time  a  diversion  at  Bergen  Point,  Elizabeth  1 
Town,  and  Amboy.  Owing  to  a  terrific  tluinder-storm 
that  came  up  the  same  evening  the  movement  was  | 
postponed  to  Tliursday  morning,  22d,  wlien  nine 
tliousand  Britisli  soldiers  under  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
effected  a  htnding  at  Gravesend,  Long  Island,  without  j 
opposition.  Others  followed  subsequently,  and  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Long  Island  was  fought  at  and 
near  Flatbush  on  the  27th,  compelling  the  American 
army  to  evacuate  the  island  on  the  night  of  the  29th.' 
At  this  date  and  before  the  real  nature  of  the  disas- 
ter to  the  army  was  fully  known  to  him,  Livingston 
wrote  to  William  Hooper,  of  North  Carolina,  in 
Congress,  from  the  "  Camp  at  Elizabeth  Town  Point," 
as  follows : 

"I  rpiniivcd  my  quarters  fnun  Ihe  town  liillier  to  he  with  the  men, 
and  tu  eiinre  Iheiii  t.MliKiii.line.  wh  cli  \,y  my  .Ustantu  from  Ihe  CHnip 
lier..re,c.Hi»iil.-ring  wlinl  mii:v.v  siil.Kllern  olticers  w-  are  ever  like  to 
bave  while  they  are  in  the  apiiolntlnei.t  of  llie  inohilily,  I  founil  it  im- 
possihle  1.1  int  oiln.e.  Ami  the  w.n*t  men  (was  there  a  ile^'ee  al.ove  the 
8u|ierhilive)  »„nl,l  he  si. II  |.ej,,rale,l  by  having  heeii  fellow-»..Miers  with 
thai  ilisci|.liiie.hali lit;.  i.-on.l-livi„K-luv'i I. );,■  to  eternal  fame  dalniiM,' co\. 
comhhal  Clew  we  lately  hail  here  t'rom  I'liilnhlpliia  My  ancient  cor- 
poreal fai'rii'  iti  aim  «l  tollerliig  nmler  the  l'atii;iie  I  have  lately  umler- 
gone, coMKtantly  lisiuK  at  2o'eloi'k  in  the  mnniint:  to  examine  onr  linen, 
till  ilayhreuk.  and  fl-oln  lliat  time  till  eleven  in  iriviiiK  orders,  seiidiii); 
dispati-lieti,  and  doin^  the  proper  hiii<inegs  of  quartermaster,  colonel, 
cuiiiiii.flaary,  and  I  know  nut  wliat."'- 

The  disastrous  campaign  on  Long  Island  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  abandonment,  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri- 
can army,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  on  Sunday,  Sep- 
tember l.Oth,  and  its  occupation  l)y  the  British.  A 
large  portion  of  its  inhabitants  fled  into  the  interior, 
and  many  of  them  into  New  Jersey,  while  the  Tories 
of  this  section  many  of  them  made  their  w-ay  as 
speedily  as  possible  to  the  captured  city.  More  and 
more  it  was  becoming  doubtful  whether  the  Whigs 
or  Tories  would  prevail.  It  was  in  this  gloomy 
period  of  apprehension  that  the  following  letter  was 
written  by  the  Hon.  Robert  Ogden,  of  this  town,  to 
liis  son-in-law,  Maj.  Francis  Barber,  in  service  with 
Col.  Dayton  at  German  Flats,  N.  Y.  : 

"  El.iz'li  Town,  Oct.  6,  1776,  Sni.day  Eve!  8  o'clock. 
"My  Deab  Son.  Mr.  IIaiibek. 

'■Through  divine  pood  onr  I'aniily  are  all  in  the  land  of  the  living,  and 
weslill  conliiine  in  the  old  l.a' ilalion  [on  the  Point  Roail]  thoii-ih  al- 
ni.pst  Hilironnd.d  hy  the  reKiilai'".  They  have  |..iig  heeii  on  Staten 
Island,  ahoiit  »  lii.oith  on  Long  Island,  three  weeks  had  the  possession 
of  New  York,  whieh  hy  Ihe  «.iy  Is  nearly  one.flitli  of  the  .  ity  hnrni  to 
the  ground;  who  set  ll  on  tire  is  unknown,  but  the  regulars  diarge  it  to 
the  WhigH, iilid  'lis  said  have  put  several  to  dealli  on  that  account, 
whether  just  or  unjust  the  great  day  will  decide." 

He  then  gives  some  account  of  the  battle  of  Long 
Island,  and  the  battle  near  the  Blue  Bell  ;  says  that 
he  has  been  sick,  and  adds, — 


"Throngh  div 


goodiie 


1  living's  Washinglo 


:!lll-a3.^.    Pa.  Journal,  August  28tli. 


the  fever  has  now  left  me,  hut  in  a  con- 
tinual huiry,  having  much  more  Imsiness  lliaii  a  mauof  my  yeareought 
to  do,  hilt  don't  at  pieseni  know  how  to  av.,id  it. 

"  In  the  hegiuningof  my  htter  I  told  you  »c  were  illmon  surrounded— 
hegan  ai  .Staten  IslamI,  and  led  you  round  hy  L.mg  IslamI,  N.  Y..  ami  Blue 
Bell  lint  now  come  to  a  very  serious  part  of  the  st.'ry.  our  tro'ps  yes- 
terday evacuated  Bergen,  carried  ofl'  the  stores  and  ariillery,  moved  off 
as  many  of  the  inlial.itaiits  as  they  could  get  away,  drew  the  wheat  and 
other  grain  logeiher,  and  5II  men  were  left  to  set  Are  to  it,  and  last 
ni;:ht  it  was  set  on  fire,  the  flames  were  seen  here. 

"  Yonr  mother'  still  seems  undetermined  whether  to  stay  here  by  the 
stuff  or  remove  up  to  Sussex.  A  f.^w  days  will  determine  li-r,  hut  per- 
liaps  in  a  tew  days  it  niay  be  too  late  lo  deierm  iie  a  matter  of  this  im- 
portance. Your  uncle  Davi.l  [Ogden  1  and  imdlier's  nia.iim  is,  'They 
that  live  by  faith  won't  die  Willi  fear.'  It  has  been  a  sickly,  d.>ing  lime 
in  this  lowu  for  a  month  past.  Stephen  Cianehas  lusi  his  wife  [Aug.  17, 
1776],  Daniel  WiHiims  bis,  Jidin  Harris  his,  Benjamin  Winans  his, 
Timolby  Wooilrnff  liis.  Sister  Osden,  Hannah  Ogden  [wile  of  David]  has 
lost  her  son  .Samuel,  Mis.  Stilbbsisdead.  Mr.  Noel,4aiid  last  night  Col. 
Dayton's  father  [.I. niathan]  .Ked  suddenly  in  his  chair,  besid.-s  a  great 
many  chihlien.  Also  Aunt  Betty.  Mother  U 'Ifield  has  been  very  sick, 
but  is  recovered.  Robert  is  and  has  been  very  pooily  this  fall,  and 
his  wife  ami  chihlren  are  moved  up  to  Morns  T.iwn.  and  most  of  our 
gentry  are  gone  off.  Mathia-' wife  [Hannah,  ilanghter  of  Col  Kl  as  Uay- 
tonj  and  her  granny  Thompson  are  moved  up  to  Sp' iiigfleld.  Friemis 
ill  geni'ial  well.     Hannah  ,  his  daughter,  lel.  l.'ij  has  been  sick,  but  is  got 

well,  and  is  grown  consiilerable  Ibis  s ler,  lives  at  D..ct.  Caleb  lla- 

lystead's  [his  brother-in-law]  with  her  aunt  [Mary,  wife.. r  J.. h]  Stockton. 

"  Your  mother  has  been  lying  for  a  m  .nth  past— the  old  sore  ankle— 
but  Ihe  s.ire  is  now  healed  up.  »Iaj.  M.n  ris  Hatfield  was  taken  pris.nier 
on  M,.nntnrse-s[M.nitre'ior's]Islan.l,and  is  sent  down  to  New  York  to 
be  cured  ..f  bis  w.nin.l,  as  he  wius  sln.t  tlmingh  the  cheek. 

"  It  is  sahl  Maj.  Hatfield  fought  vali.intly,  that  he  fired  his  musket  9 

times,  and  the  last  ace it  of  him  by  our  men  was,  a  greiia.lier  was 

cinniiig  np  hi  him  with  bayonet  fixed  to  run  biin  thnoigh,  and  theysiw 
the  m  .jor  fire,  ami  the  grenadier  drop  at  his  feet  I  1  have  ii..w  d'.ue  with 
my  story  for  this  lime,  having  wrote  as  I  generally  tell  luy  stories,  in  a 
blnmlering,  iiiuonnected  way.  .  .  . 

•*  Y.mr  mother  joins  me  in  teiiderest  affectionate  regards  to  you,  and 
all  the  family  desire  to  be  remembered  to  you  and  to  all  iiiy  friends. 
"  I  am  yuui*!),  affectionately, 

"  RoUF.BT  Or.DEM." 

On  the  31st  of  August  Gen.  Livingston  was  chosen 
the  first  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  Pres- 
ently after  he  resigned  his  military  i^ommand  and  en- 
tered upon  his  e.xecutive  duties.  The  command  of 
the  post  at  Elizabeth  Town  Point  devolved  upon  his 
friend  and  townsman.  Col.  Matthias  Williamson,  wiio 
received  a  few  days  after  from  the  Legislature  a 
commission  appointing  him  brigadier-general  of  the 
New  Jersey  militia. 

On  Tuesday,  September  24th,  four  transports  arrived 
at  Elizabeth  Town  with  four  hundr.d  and  twenty  Amer- 
ican soldiers  taken  prisoners  at  Quebec  the  previous 
winter.  They  had  been  liberated  on  parole.  From 
a  representation  made  by  Governor  Livingston  to 
Congre.ss,  it  ap|)ears  that  while  he  was  in  command 
of  this  post  so  many  prisoners  were  sent  to  him  from 
the  army  that  the  town  jail  could  not  contain  them, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  .send  them  to  Millstone,  Som- 
erset County.  In  all  its  dire  aspects  the  people  of  the 
town  were  brought  to  know  by  experience  the  intense 
excitements  and  the  awful  horrors  of  war.  In  the 
hospitals  here  eighty-two  were  re|iorted,  November 
1st,  its  sick,  of  whom  twentyrfive  were  from  Canada.* 


3  Phebe,  eldest  daughter  of  Matthias  Halfield,  Esq. 
<  Can  el  N..el,  previously  bookseller,  N.  Y.;  he  died 
'-  Am.  Archives,  .llh  S.'i'.,  ii.o»S,  55)7,  .S"i;i. 


September  22d. 


74 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    rOIJNTIES,  NKVV    JERSEY. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION.— ( ro»(;«i('rf.) 

Campaign  Transferred   to  New  Jersey.— The 

battle  of  Wliite  Plain.s  was  fought  on  tlie  28lh  of 
October;  Fort  Washington  was  taken  on  the  16th  of 
November,  and  Fort  Lee  evacuated  on  the  18th. 
The  campaign  was  now  transferred  to  the  soil  of  New 
Jersey.  Washington,  with  the  fragment  of  an  army, 
reduced  by  the  expiration  of  militia  enlistments,  and 
the  consequent  scattering  of  his  forces  to  their  homes, 
and  utterly  unable  to  obtain  new  recruits  or  levies, 
was  compelled  to  retire  before  the  vastly  superior 
troops  of  the  enemy.  A  slight  diversion  had  been 
made  by  Gen.  William.son  i'rom  the  Point  on  Staten 
Island,  Sunday,  October  IStli,  but  it  amounted  to 
nothing.  The  very  next  day  Uol.  Slough's  battalion 
of  Pennsylvania  Associators,  which  had  been  sta- 
tioned here,  was  discharged  to  return  home,  with  the 
thanks  of  the  general  for  their  decent  and  orderly 
behavior  while  at  the  Point  and  during  the  excursion 
of  the  day  before.  Thus  in  every  quarter  the  patriot 
army  was  melting  away.' 

In  anticipation  of  the  invasion  of  New  Jersey  by 
the  enemy.  Gen.  Washington  wrote  from  White  Plains, 
November  7th,  to  Governor  Livingston,  urging  the 
importance  of  placing  tlie  Jersey  militia  on  the  very 
best  footing,  and  to  forward  him  new  recruits.  He 
then  add-, — 

"Tlie  iiilial.itKi.ts  cunlijiuoiie 
movellici.  sturk,  B™i".'-fl<'i'».' 
If  Ihey  me  not  Butlinnitiiuiliri 
all  ilfsi;riiiii..n,  uud  the  ii.lviiiil 
great.  They  Imve  treiiti-il  all  In 
tion  i.fWIiigniiilT.iij-  lia.s  l.een 


lulaliuTi.  The  iiitlele  uf  luiage 
t  a  hiK.le  ^llOuM  i  euiniu  f.T  llieii 
iveiiieuce  »liuuhl  he  i 


I  the  Wiitershoiihl  ho  pr.'pare.l  t"  le- 

<l  eairiagi'S  n|>..ii  the  earlieat  nulhe. 

vhiih  the.v  will  snller  will   he   hev.ind 

!eB  ileiived  h.v   the  eiieniy   iiiiiiiehBel.v 

J  wilhniit  ilisei  iriiiiiMtiMii ;  the  iliHljiic- 

.«t  ill  ulie  Keliei-il  sueiie  of  liiv.ijje  and 

;ival   iliil.i.ltanc-  t..  them,  and 

eir  n»e.     What  ialili..t  he  leue.ved  with 

il  withiait  the  least  lie>itatiuli." 


He  urges  also  that  the  barracks  here,  at  Am  boy, 
and  at  Brunswick  be  put  in  order  "to  cover  our 
troops."  He  informs  Congress,  November  14th,  that 
the  army  has  lelt  the  other  side  of  Hudson's  River, 
and  that  he  intends  to  quarter  them  at  Brunswick, 
Amboy,  Elizabeth  Town,  Newark,  and  Hackensack. 
Fort  Washington  had  not  then  been  taken.^ 

Gen.  Williamson  at  once  wrote,  November  26th  (on 
hearing  of  the  capture  of  Forts  Wasiiington  and  Lee), 
to  the  brave  and  patriotic  Col.  Jacob  Ford,  Jr.,  of 
Morristown,  in  the  most  urgent  terms  : 

"  You  are  ordered  to  Iniug  out  all  the  militia  in  jour  eounty  ininie- 
diately,  and  march  tlieni  down  to  Kliwihetli  Town,  and  see  that  each 
man  is  fnmished  witli  a  t-uii,and  all  his  acc.nitienienls,  Mauket,  and 
four  days'  provision,  and  wlien  they  airive  to  j'dn  their  lespective  com- 
panies and  regiments."^ 

Washington  had  fallen  back  through  Hackensack 
upon  Aquackanonck,  on  the  right  hank  of  the  Pas- 
saic River,  November  21st,  and  the  next  day  he  fell 


Pennsylvaiii 

a  .liaiiii 

1,  So  nti'j. 

Sparks'  Was 

lington 

iv.,  pp.  I(i.i-C4,  174 

Am.  Archive 

s,  511.  se 

r.,  ill.  lUl. 

down  to  Newark,  where  his  army  remained  unmo- 
lested for  six  days.  The  interval  was  improved  by 
the  people  of  Newark  and  Elizabeth  Town  in  re- 
moving their  families  and  effects  beyond  the  Newark 
Mountains  and  the  Short  Hills  into  the  more  inacce.s- 
sible  interior.  The  distress  and  consternation  that 
prevailed  all  along  the  expected  route  of  the  two  ar- 
mies can  better  be  conceived  than  described.  It  is 
not  known  that  a  record  of  it  remains.  On  Thursday 
morning,  November  28th,  Washington  with  the  wreck 
of  his  army,  not  more  than  three  thousand  five  hundred 
in  number,  entered  the  almost  deserted  town  by  the  old 
road  from  Newark,  the  advanced  guard  of  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  entering  the  latter  town  as  the  rear  of  the 
American  army  left  it.  Pushing  on  to  secure  an  en- 
campment on  the  right  bank  of  the  Raritan,  so  as  to 
be  ready  to  oppose  any  troops  that  might  be  sent  by 
way  of  Staten  Island  to  Amboy  for  cutting  off  his  re- 
treat, he  reached  New  Brunswick  on  Friday,  remain- 
ing there  but  two  days,  and  then  on  Sunday,  Decem- 
ber 1st,  he  took  up  the  line  of  march  for  Trenton, 
arriving  there  on  Monday  morning.  Writing  from 
Brunswick  on  Saturday,  the  30th,  he  says, — 

"  From  intellgonce  received  this  morning,  one  division  of  the  enemy 
was  advanced  last  night  as  far  as  Klizaheth  To»  n,  and  some  of  their 
quarterma-sters  had  procee<led  ahont  four  or  five  miles  on  this  side  to 
provide  harns  for  their  accommodation.  Other  accounts  say  another 
division,  composed  of  Ue.-sians,a'  eon  the  road  through  Springfield,  and 
are  reported  to  have  reached  that  place  last  night."  ^ 

The  people  at  Aquackanonck  retarded  the  enemy 
by  cutting  down  the  bridge  over  the  Passaic. 

Col.  Huntington  writes,  December  2d,  from  Ramapo 
to  Col.  Heath,  that  not  more  than  a  hundred  of  the 
enemy  remained  at  Hackensack,  and  that  their  main 
body  was  at  Elizabeth  Town.  A  field-officer  in  the 
British  army  on  the  same  day  wrote  to  a  friend  in 
London, — 

"The  troftps  under  Gen.  Lord  Cornwallis,  after  driving  the  rebels  from 
Fort  Lee,  or  Fort  Constitution,  in  New  .lersey,  proceeded  from  Hacken- 
sack to  Newark,  and  from  Newark  to  Elizabeth  T..wn,  where  they  found 
great  qiiantilies  of  stores,  ainoiig  which  are  twenty  tons  of  musket- 
bullets.    The  rebels  continue  flying  before  our  army."s 

On  the  approach  of  the  enemy.  Gen.  Williamson, 
with  the  militia  under  his  command,  retired  up  the 
country.  Writing  from  Brunswick  on  the  1st  to  Gov. 
Livingston,  Washington  says, — 

"  I  have  not.  including  Gen.  Williamson's  militia,  more  than  four  thou- 
sanil  men.  I  wrote  to  Gen,  Williamson  last  nii^ht,  and  pressed  him  to 
exert  h  niself ;  hut  I  have  reason  to  believe  he  has  not  the  confidence  of 
the  people  so  much  as  could  be  wished." 

Gen.  Williamson  writes  from  Morristown,  Decem- 
ber 8th,  in  defense  of  his  apparent  inefficiency,  as 
follows  : 


"Very  few  of  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Bergeu  joined  my  ( 
I  have  it  from  good  intelligence  that  many  w-ho  bore  the  character  of 
warm  Wt'igs  have  been  foremost  in  seeking  protection  from  Gen.  Howe 
and  forsakiii!;  the  American  canse.  Col.  Thoma.<.  of  Essex  County,  is 
with  us,  but  has  no  command  of  met I  can  declare  before  God  1 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  189,  190,  1 93-06, '/inO. 
5  Am.  Archives,  .nth  ser.,  iii.  11B7,  1039. 


WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


75 


have  woiTieii  no'self  to  the  Iieart  in  ende 
tlie  extfiit  of  my  power.  Gen.  Mercer  j. 
]HlK>r<-il  under  to  keep  the  mililm  loxellit 
Eli/.Hlietlilown.     Upon  the  ulude,  I  nm  ! 


imnu  lo  serve  my  country  to 
nowing  to  many  difficnlties  1 
.vliile  he  hHd  the  command  Ht 
entirely  <li-iibled  from  doing 


my  dnty  in  tlie  brigade  by  my  lameness  tlnit  I  liave  wiute  to  Governor 
Livingston  to  reqnest  Iiis  accejitance  of  my  resignation."  ^ 

The  difficulties  witli  wbicii  he  liad  to  contend  were 
not  exaggerated.  The  most  disheartening  was  the 
defection  of  so  many  professed  })atriots.  Washing- 
ton wrote  on  the  5tli  to  Congress, — 

"  By  my  la.<t  a.lvices,  tlie  enemy  iire  still  at  Brunswick  ;  and  tlie account 
adds  that  Gen.  H.iwe  wa-i  e.\pected  at  K)izal*tli  Town  with  a  reinforce- 
ment to  erect  the  king's  standai'd  and  demand  a  submission  of  this 
State." 


The  next  day,  6th,  he  writes 


Mr.  Caldwell,  a  clergyman, 
s  fled  fr..m  Elizabeth  Town 
n  miles  from  hence  [thence?], 


"By  a  letrer  of  the  14th  ultimo  from 
and  a  slannili  friend  to  the  cause,  who  b 
and  taken  ret'ugein  tlie  nKuintaiiisal  ont  t 
I  am  inf..rmed  tlo.t  General  or  Lord  Howe  was  ex|iecled  in  that  town  to 
piiMisli  pardon  and  peace.  His  woids  aie,  'I  have  not  seen  his  pi-ocla- 
nialion.  but  can  only  say  he  gives  sixty  days  of  grace,  anil  paRlon.;  from 
the  Ciingie-s  dow  u  to  the  Committee.  No  one  man  in  the  continent  is 
to  be  denieil  his  nieit-y.'  In  the  language  of  this  good  man,  *Tlie  Lord 
deliver  us  fr.-m  bis  inercy.'"^ 

The  proclamation  by  tlie  brothers  Howe  was  issued 
on  Saturday,  November  30th,  the  day  after  the  British 
occupation  of  this  town.  It  commanded  all  persons 
who  had  taken  up  arms  against  his  Maje-ty  to  dis- 
band and  return  home,  and  offered  to  all  who  should 
within  sixty  days  subscribe  a  declaration  that  they 
would  be  peaceable  subjects,  neither  taking  up  arms 
themselves  nor  encouraging  others  so  to  do,  a  free  and 
full  pardon  for  the  past.  Cure  was  taken  to  give  every 
possible  publicity  to  this  document,  and  means  not 
always  gentle  were  used  to  induce  subscriptions.' 

The  people  had  witnessed  but  a  day  or  two  before 
to  what  a  sad  plight  the  army  of  Washington,  '"the 
grand  army"  that  so  recently  confronted  the  British 
forces,  was  reduced  as  in  tattered  array  it  tied  before 
the  enemy  to  the  Raritan.  They  were  at  that  mo- 
ment surrounded  by  the  well-caparisoned  troops  of 
Cornwallis,  whose  squadrons  were  spreading  them- 
selves over  the  whole  land,  and,  unresisted,  occupy- 
ing every  town  and  hamlet.  The  patriot  cause  ap- 
peared to  be  utterly  hopeless.  It  seemed  impossible 
for  Coiigre.ss  to  retrieve  the  disa-^ters  that  since  the 
fatal  field  of  Flatbnsh  had  come  upon  the  country. 
The  "  Declaration  of  Independence"  seemed  now  but 
an  idle  boast.  It  was  regarded  as  certain  that  the  au- 
thority of  King  George  would  soon  be  re-established 
in  all  the  States.  Such  was  the  confident  expecta- 
tion and  boasts  of  the  loyalists  at  New  York,  on  Long 
Island,  on  Staten  Island,  and  in  every  place  occupied 
by  the  British  troops.  Even  the  most  sanguine  of 
patriots  spoke  and  wrote  in  the  most  despondent 
terms.* 

In  these  circumstances  it  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered 
at  that  the  artifice  of  Lord  Howe  and  his  brother  met 

1  Am.  Archives,  Ith  ser..  iii.,  p.  1120. 

2  Sliarks'  Washington,  iv.  1!04,  2115. 

»  Ibid.,  p.  205.     Gordon's  Aui.  Rev.,  ii.  129. 
*  Il-ving's  Washington,  il.  446. 


with  very  considerable  success,  as  intimated  in  Gen. 
Williamson's  letter.     Dr.  Ashbel  Green  observes, — 

"  I  heard  a  man  of  some  shrewdness  once  say  that  when  the  British 
troops  overnin  tlie  State  of  New  Jersey,  in  the  closing  part  of  the  year 
17T6,  the  whole  population  could  have  been  bnngbt  for  eighteen  pence  a 
bead."  5 

The  main  body  of  the  British  army  was  pushed  for- 
ward beyond  the  Raritan  towards  the  Delaware.  But 
a  considerable  detachment  remained  to  occupy  this 
post  and  to  guard  against  any  surprise  from  the 
militia  of  the  interior.  Gen.  Charles  Lee,  with  rein- 
forcements for  Washington,  reached  Chatham  from 
Peekskill  on  the  8th  of  December,  and  on  the  11th, 
from  jMorristown,  wrote  to  Gen.  Heath,  on  his  way 
from  Peekskill,  that  at  Springfield,  seven  miles  west 
of  Elizabeth  Town,  .  .  .  "about  one  thousand  Militia 
are  collected  to  watch  the  motions  of  the  enemy." 
These  were  Col.  Ford's  troops.  They  were  stationed  at 
the  Short  Hills,  ju.st  back  of  Springfield,  from  which 
point  every  movement  of  the  enemy  on  the  plains  be- 
low could  readily  be  seen.  An  eighteen-pounder  was 
planted  subsequently  on  the  heights  near  the  residence 
(in  after-days)  of  Bishop  Hobart,  to  give  the  alarm  in 
case  of  the  enemy's  approach.  A  tar-barrel  was  fixed 
at  the  top  of  a  lofty  pole  near  by,  to  be  set  on  fire  when 
the  alarm-gun  was  discharged.  These  could  be  heard 
and  seen  over  a  great  extent  of  country.' 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell  had  found  an  asylum  for 
himself  and  family  at  Turkey  (New  Providence), 
where  he  soon  put  himself  in  communication  with 
Col.  Ford.  His  experience  the  previous  summer 
and  autumn  at  the  North  as  chaplain  of  Col.  Day- 
ton's regiment  enabled  him  now  to  be  of  great  ser- 
vice to  his  country.  Hearing  of  the  arrival  of  Gen. 
Lee,  he  wrote  him  on  the  12th  as  follows : 

"  Dkar  Sir, — I  thank  you  for  your  favour  from  Baskingridge  of  this 
morning,  and  intended  to  do  myself  the  honour  to  wait  upon  you,  and 
set  out  for  the  pui-pose,  but  found  my  horse  would  not  perform  the  jour- 
ney with  sulticient  expedition,  and  cannot  procure  anollier  horse.  And 
indeed  I  find  this  tlie  best  place  to  observe  the  enemy's  motions.  From 
sundry  persons  who  have  been  upon  the  roail  betweeu  Brunswick  and 
Princeton,  I  learn  llie  army  has  very  generally  marched  forward;  in- 
deed, all  except  guards  of  the  several  posts.  Yesterday  they  sent  a  re- 
inforcement to  Klizaheth  Town  from  Aniboy  of  near  one  thousand. 
Some  say  the  wliole  at  Klizabeth  Town  are  aiwiit  one  thousand;  others 
say  fifteen  hundred.  They  are  carrying  off  the  hay  from  Elizabeth 
Town  to  New  York.  ...  I  believe  Elizabeth  Town  is  their  strongest 
post,  as  they  were  afraid  of  our  militia,  who  have  taken  ofl'  many  of  the 
most  active  Tories,  made  some  piisoneis,  and  among  others  shot  their 
English  forageniaster,  so  that  he  is  mortally  or  very  illy  wounded.  A 
company  of  our  Alilitia  went  last  night  to  Woodbridge,  and  brought  off 
the  drove  of  stock  the  enemy  had  collected  there,  consi.^tiug  of  about 
four  hundred  cattle  tnd  two  hundred  .sheep.  Most  of  these  cattle  are 
only  fit  for  stock.  .  .  .  They  are  driven  up  the  country  to  be  out  of  the 
enemy's  way. 

"  At  a  Council  of  the  Field  Officers  this  morning,  a  m^'ority  of  thera 
advised  to  remove  the  brigade  of  31ilitia  back  again  to  Chatham,  for 
which  they  assign  these  reasons.  Many  of  the  Militia,  ratjier  fond  of 
plunder  and  adventure,  kept  a  continual  .tcouting,  which  kept  out  so 
many  detached  parties  that  the  body  was  weakened;  and  the  enemy  be- 
ing now  stronger  at  Elizabeth  Town  than  they  are,  they  thought  they 
would  better  serve  the  cause  by  lying  at  Chatham  till  the  expected  army 
approaches  for  their  support."' 

6  Jones*  Life  of  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  p.  122. 

«  Am.  Archives,  5lh  Ser.,  iiL  1167.    Jones'  Life  of  Dr.  Green,  p.  96. 

'  Am.  Archives,  5th  Ser.,  iii.  1189. 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


The  next  morning,  13th,  Gen.  Lee  was  uaptured  by 
a  surprise  party  of  the  enemy.' 

Gen.  Heath  having  readied  Hacken.<ack,  wrote  to 
Washington  on  the  15th,  in  respect  to  the  enemy, 
'•Several  thousands  landed  at  Elizabeth  Town  on 
yesterday  or  the  day  before."  The  movement  of  the 
troops  under  Lee  and  Heath  and  the  posting  of  the 
militia  under  Ford  at  tlieSliort  Hills  had  not  escaped 
tlie  eye  of  Cornwallis.  A  portion  of  liis  forces,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  following  correspondence,  were  ordered 
to  retrace  their  ste|)S  and  look  after  these  Americans. 
In  the  night  of  the  17th,  Ford  writes  from  Chatham 
to  Heath  by  express,  and  says, — 


'Welmv. 


iiimet  liH(l  a  lirnsli 


iile.s  Iteln 


■itii  thf  dieni.v, 

this,  in  wliirh  wp  have  sutlerrd.  unci  our  Miltix  liiiuli  il  ■•li.iiilcue.l. 
Tlipy  are  nil  rutivHtecl  t.i  this  |ilaci-,  ami  will,  ia  all  pr.il«''il  ty,  he  at- 
tackeil  hy  diiyhri-ak.  The  elipniy,  we  have-  r.-asoii  t.p  h^lii-ve,  are  Unilhlo 
our  miiiilieni.  If  in  yimr  wiBa..ui  jmi  can  a-«i«t  u-  we  nniy  pumihly 
ii'l  Nlan.l.  They  are  en.ainp.cl 
listi.-l,l,an.l«iin.e  j..ii.eil  l.y 
lilizahelh-Tuwu  by  the  next 


beat  them  yet.  hnt  willi.nt  your  al.l  we  i-; 
(>av  one  tlioiisanil  Uritish  troops)  at  Spi 
f.iur  hiinchvd   and  tilty  Waldeckorri   froli 


lings 


Khf 


TJie  next  day  he  again  writes  to  Heath, — 

"I  have  cerlain  iiitellinehce  that  tlo-  lnMp|a  we  ehKaiJed  last  ni^lit 

were  General  Le^lie■«  biiga.le,  «ho  niardn-d  » e   lew  ilays  sinee  Ironi 

Elizabeth  Town  to  the  Bonthard.  Th.-y  received  a iler  to  counter- 
march to  the  same  pliie.  The  brigade  is  Ir  in  twelve  to  thilteeii  hun- 
dred strong,  and  the  Walderkera  uliwards  id'  f..nr  l.undreil.  At  Spank- 
town  [Kahway].  six  miles  to  the  southard  of  Klizabelh  Town,  thi-re  is 

five  Imndied  Urili  li  troops.     This  is  all  the  enemy  you  have  to  co at 

in  this  country  at  present.  We  aie  not  cei-iain  wln-tln-r  the  ein-iny  who 
attacked  ub  have  or  have  not  yet  retunn-d  to  fcIli/.abetli-'l'owii."2 

Col.  Symmes,  in  a  sketch  of  Col.  Oliver  Spencer, 
of  this  town,  gives  a  much  more  detailed  account  of 
this  transaction  : 


"On  the  apliroach  of  Gen.  Lesley's  troops 
were  iliscovi-red  by  Maj.  Spencer's  \  idets  stati 
Maj.  Spencer  iiislanlly  dispatclied  a  light. ho: 
udles  toClialhani,  to  nolily  the  Colonel  com 
in  considerable  fone  were  ivllhiii  two  miles  o 
were  already  underarms,  and  were  ..rilered  ii 
Springfl'ld  to  »u-tain  Maj.  Spencer;  meant 
ahandtinedSpriligtiehl,  and  retreated 


rds  Sprintfiehl  tlipy 


I  lull 


iilaul  tin 


tlo 


;d   lour 
enemy 


lesof  SpiiigHehl.  The  brigade 
ed  inslanlly  lo  nuirch  lowal-ds 
eantime  the  M  Jor  prudently 
ds  I  'halbaln ,  he  met  the  brigade 


xinill  I 


■ateil  t-.  the  Col- 
iiig  Springfield, 

he  rinht  of  the 
d.  Capt.  Seely, 
■  a  warm  attack 


at  Brianis  tavern.    After  Major  Spencer  had 

onel  cinmandaut  Ihe  poritiou  of  I  he  enemy  111 

the  brigade  advanced  to  Ihe  attack,     (apt.  Iti 

the  flaliking  party  iru  the  loft,  made  the  fist 

enemy  extending  from  the  Uhuich  up  the  Va 

who  commanded  the  Hanking  patty  on  the  l 

upon  the  left  of  the  enemy  spread  ah.ng  the  Wnstfield  r,.ad.    The  cen- 

tie  of  the  enemy  occuphd  the  ground  in  front  ..f  and  the  in  aiL.w  beliitid 

Woodiufifs  tavern.   TheCdonel  con ludant  of  themritia,.upp.nted  by 

Col,  Lindslyouthe  lell.and  Maj,  Spencer,  who  ti..w  commanded  the  Essex 
regiment, on  the  light, br.)nglil  Ihe  cenlle ol  the  I.I igade,  r.  laiiii.ig their 
fire  until  within  pistid-shot  of  the  enemy;  the  conllict  cont  tilted  about 
an  hour,  when  the  darkness  forba.le  a  longer  contest  at  thai  t  me,  and 
the  filing  seemed  mutually  to  cease  on  Indli  sides.  On  Ibis  oec;,Bioii 
Major  Spencer  ilisplayed  b;  his  coniluct  the  calm  but  intrepid  soldier; 
his  horse  was  shot  under  him,  w  lieu  with  a  smile  on  his  couiileiiHuce  and 
a  pistol  in  each  hand  he  raiiie  up  to  tlh'  Col.niel  conim  iiidant  to  inform 
him  that  he  had  been  dismoiiiiled  by  Ihe  death  ofliis  horse.  The  brigade 
fell  back  that  evening  only  one  mile  to  Brianl's  tavern,  slliuk  up  files, 
and  lay  all  night  on  their  arms,  inletidiiig  lo  make  a  second  attack  in 
the  niortiiug.  But  in  the  morning  the  enemy  was  mit  lo  be  baiiid  ;  he 
had  withdrawn  in  the  night  with  all  |sissib|e  silence,  I  .king  ..ft' his  dead 
andwounde.iiii  wagons.   The  militia  pursued  him  1..  West  liel.l,  but  c.uld 

1  Irving's  Waahiiiglon,  ii.45U-(il. 

•  Am.  Archives,  5lli  Ser.,  iii.  liliS,  1200-01,  1277. 


not  come  up  with  him.  This  was  the  first  instance  in  the  State  of  New  .fer- 
sey  when  the  British  troops  turned  their  backs  an. I  fle.l  Irom  those  they 
called  rebels,  and  this  success,  sniaU  as  the  affair  was,  taught  the  Jersey 
militia  that  the  foe  was  not  iuvincilde."' 

Leslie's  brigade  entered  Newark  on  the  morning 
after  tlie  "brush."  Col.  Ford,  four  days  afterwards, 
found  his  forces  so  much  scattered  that  only  about 
two  hundred  remained.  Previous  to  this  affair  he 
had  done  good  service,  harassing  the  enemy,  "  sur- 
prising the  guards,  and  taking  their  wagons,  stores," 
etc.  Ford  was  so  much  exposed  and  exhausted  by 
this  short  campaign  that  soon  after  he  was  seized  with 
peii-pneiinionia,  and  died  on  the  11th,  at  Morristown, 
in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  age,  eight  days  before  his 
father,  Col.  Jacob  Ford,  Sr.* 

Washington,  learning  that  "about  eight  hundred 
militia  had  collected"  near  Morristown,  sent,  on  the 
2()th  of  December,  Gen.  Maxwell  "to  take  the  com- 
mand of  them,  and,  if  to  be  done,  to  harass  and 
annoy  the  enemy  in  their  quarters  and  cut  off  their 
convoys."  Gen.  McDougall  was  also  detailed  for  the 
same  purpose.  The  state  of  affairs  the  same  day  at 
Elizabeth  Town  is  thus  reported  from  Chatham: 

".lohu  Halsleail  left  Elizabeth  Town  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock. 
Says  there  is  no  troops  in  Elizabeth  Town  hut  Wahleckers,  the  sime 
thil  has  been  there  for  two  weeks  ast.  Says  Ihe. hums  be  it  this  m  .rn- 
iltit  about  daybreak,  and  he  uii.leisl..oil  they  were  to  have  uiarclied, 
l.ul  Unit  they  .li.l  not,  an.l  the  reason  why,  as  he  underslo.id,  was  the 
hadness  of  the  weather.  Knows  not  wli  ch  way  they  were  to  march, 
but  it  is  sa.il  they  were  to  have  a  little  march  out  o'  town  ;  that  he  thinks 
s.x  or  seven  liiiu.lre.l  Biilish  Iro..ps  went  tlir..ugh  biwii  Ihe  day  before 
yesierilay,  U'  ar  twelve  o'clock,  towards  Newark,  and  that  they  have  uot 


B  yet  1 


lied.' 


On  the  morning  of  Thur.-sday,  the  26th  of  Decem- 
ber, Washington  surprised  and  captured  nine  hundred 
and  eighteen  Hessians  at  Trenton,  parts  of  Anspach's, 
Rahl's,  and  Knyphausen's  regiments,  with  the  loss  of 
only  lour  wounded.  This  brilliant  manoeuvre  com- 
pletely turned  the  tide  of  affairs.  The  British,  who 
believed  themselves  masters  of  the  country  and 
scouted  the  idea  of  any  opposition,  were  painfully 
roused  from  their  reveries  and  began  to  be  alarmed 
for  their  safety.  The  Americans,  on  the  other  hand, 
were  electrified  with  delight  and  inspired  with  new 
life. 

On  the  30th,  at  Trenton,  Washington  wrote  to 
Maxwell  to  collect  as  large  a  force  as  po.ssible  at 
Chatham,  "and  after  gaining  the  proper  intelligence, 
endeavor  to  strike  a  stroke  upon  Elizabeth  Town  or 
that  neighborhood,"  instructions  that  Maxwell  pre- 
pared at  once  to  carry  out. 

Following  up  his  advantages,  Washington  once 
more  crossed  the  Delaware,  passed  around  the  British 
at  Trenton,  marched  forward  liy  night,  surprised  and 
captured  Princeton  on  the  morning  of  Jan.  3,  1777, 
and  then  took  post  for  two  or  three  days  at  Pluck- 
emin,  in  Somerset  County,  a  few  miles   below  Bask- 


IJ'jg,  131)5,  1419.     Morristown  Bill  of 


=  N..I.  Journal,  No.  40:16. 
<  Ain.  Arcliives,  5tli   Set., 
Mortality,  p.  2',i. 
'  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  iM,  24».    Adi.  Archives,  5tb  Ser.,  iii.  1316. 


WAR   OF   THE    REVOLUTION. 


77 


ing  Ridge,  thus  compelling  the  British  commander  to 
evacuate  all  his  posts  beyond  New  Brunswick,  and 
provide,  by  a  concentration  of  his  forces,  for  the 
safety  of  his  stores  at  the  latter  place.  On  Monday, 
the  6th,  Washington  removed  to  Morristown,  to  give 
his  wearied  troops  some  rest  and  to  watch  the  panic- 
stricken  foe.' 

Gen.  Sir  William  Howe  writes  from  New  York, 
Jan.  5,1777,  that  "Lord  Cornwallis  returned  with 
his  whole  force  to  Brunswick,  and  the  troops  at  the 
right  being  assembled  at  Elizabethtown,  Maj.-Gen. 
Vaughan  has  that  command."^ 

Taking  advantage  of  the  consternation  of  the 
enemy  and  the  advance  of  the  American  army,  Gen. 
Maxwell,  with  the  militia  under  his  command,  came 
down  from  the  Short  Hills,  ciimpelled  the  British  to 
evacuate  Newark,  had  a  brush  with  them  at  Spring- 
field, drove  them  out  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  fought 
them  at  Spank  Town  (Rahway)  a  couple  of  hours. 
Of  these  movements  a  meagre  record  only  is  pre- 
served. Washington  writes  to  Congress  on  the  7th, 
from  Morristown, — 

"  There  have  been  tw..  or  tliree  little  skirmishes  between  their  parties 
and  tiuMie  detHCliliieiits  of  tlie  uiilitiii,  ill  v'liieh  the  latter  have  been  suc- 
cessCul  and  niaile  a  lew  pris..ners.  Tlie  must  eousidei  able  was  on  Sunday 
murning  [.ilh],  when  eight  ur  ten  Waldeckeis  were  killed  and  wniiuded, 
and  the  remainder  of  tlie  paity,  thirty-nine  or  forty,  made  prisiniers, 
with  the  olliceru,  by  a  force  uut  superior  in  number  and  williuut  receiv- 
ing the  least  damage."  ^ 

This  was  at  Springfield.  The  troops  were  led  by 
Maj.  Oliver  Spencer,  and  for  his  bravery  on  this  oc- 
casion he  was  presently  after  promoted  to  a  colonelcy. 
Three  days  later  (8th)  our  forces  recovered  possession 
of  this  post: 

"Philadelphia,  Jan.  16,  1777.  Our  army  marched  from  Ptuckemin 
and  arrived  at  Moi  ri«  Town  ou  tlie  sixth.  Gen.  Maxwell,  with  a  cuu- 
siderable  body  uf  Cum  mental  troops  and  militia,  having  m.irclied  to- 
wards Elizabeth  Tuwn,seiit  lack  for  reinforcement,  which  liaviug  joined 
him,  he  advanced  and  took  p..sse.-*sion  uf  the  town,  and  made  prisoners 
fifty  Waldeckeis  and  forty  Hlglilanden^,  who  were  ipiartered  thi  re,aud 
made  prize  of  a  schooner  with  baggage  aud  some  blankets  uti  board. 
Abuut  the  same  time  one  thoiiBuud  bushels  uf  salt  were  secured  by  our 
tioops  at  a  place  called  Spank  Tuwu.al.oiit  five  miles  from  W.odbriilge, 
where  a  parly  of  our  men  attacked  the  enemy  at  that  place;  they  sent 
for  a  reiiitorcenient  to  Woudbiidge,  hut  the  Hessians  alisolntel.v  refused 
to  march,  having  heard  w.-  were  very  numerous  in  that  quaiter.  The 
English  tro..p.«at  Elizabeth  Town  would  uut  suffer  the  \Valdecker»  to 
stand  sentry  at  the  outiiost>,  several  of  them  having  deserted  aud  come 

Another    account,    dated    Trenton,    January    9th, 

says,— 

"  A  regiment  of  British  troops  at  Spank  Town,  six  miles  below  Eliza- 
beth Town,  was  attiicked  on  Sunday  by  a  party  of  Jei-sey  militia;  the 
encounter  continued  abi.ut  two  liouns.  Two  regiments  maiclft*d  up 
fr^'Ui  Woudbr.dge  aud  Aiui>uy  to  reinforce  the  enemy,  and  thus  saved 
theui."< 

Still  another  account  says,  January  9th, — 

"The  enemy  have  abandoned  Elizabeth  Town.  Our  people  have  en- 
tered it  aud  taken  thirty  Waideckeis  and  fifty  Highlanders,  aud  about   i 


thirty  baggage  waggons  fully  loaded.    The  enemy,  who  hail  all  the  Jer- 
seys, are  now  only  in  possession  of  Amboy  and  Brunswick."5 


Gen.  Sir  William  Howe  writes  on  the  17th  from 
New  York, — 

"The  enemy  still  continuing  in  force  at  Morris  Town,  and  in  that 
ueigliborlHaid,and  receiving  daily  reinforcements  from  the  eastern  mil- 
itia. Maj.-Gen.  Vaughan,  with  the  corps  he  had  at  Elizabeth  Town,  is 
removed  to  Amboy."  6 

In  Congress,  March  23, 1778,  It  was  "  Ordered,  That 
a  warrant  issue  on  the  treasurer  in  favor  of  James 
Norris  for  1527|g  dollars,  in  full  payment  of  his  cap- 
ture from  the  enemy  on  the  9th  of  January,  1777,  at 
Elizabeth-town,  in  New  Jersey,  which  was  disposed 
of  to  the  army  of  the  United  States."  ' 

At  this  time  occurred  the  following:  It  is  related 
of  Capt.  Eliakim  Littell,  of  this  town,  "  a  partisan  of 
great  merit,"  and  of  "  remarkably  fine  and  imposing 
personal  appearance:" 

"On  the  day  that  the  British  force  abandoned  Newark,  which  they 
had  occiip-ed  as  aganisi.n,  and  maiched  to  Elizabeth  T,.wii,  a  company 
of  Waldeckers  was  dispatched  on  sunie  particular  service  b. wards  the 
Cunnecticnt  Kuim«.  Littell  and  lii»  followers  speedily  discovered  and 
followed  them.  Divi.ling  hi»  small  force  into  two  laidies,  he  placed  one 
ambush  in  the  rear,  and  appearing  in  front  with  the  other,  demanded 
an  immediate  surrender.  The  Germans  wished  Vt  retrognide,  rut  meet- 
ing with  the  |iarty  expressly  concealed  to  impede  their  retreat,  aud 
hiisklj  assailed  in  fiont.snireiidered  withuui  Biingagiiii.  The  British 
general,  exasperated  by  their  capiure,  ordered  uutabi.dy  of  Hessians  to 
revenge  the  altruiit;  but  the  su|,erior  knowledge  of  Littell  and  his  asso- 
dates  eiiai. ling  ihuui  to  guail  the  enemy  at  various  p..ii.ts  with  spirited 
attacks,  viithout  any  great  degree  of  exposure,  they  were  also  driven 
iiit.i  a  -waiiip  and  compelled  to  surrender  to  inferior  nnnibeis.  Morti- 
fied beyond  measure  at  this  second  discomfiture,  a  troop  ol  horse  were 
ordered  out;  bin  th.-y  in  turn  were  routed, and  were  only  iiioie  fortunate 
than  th.ae  that  pieceded  them  by  being  able,  by  the  lal.id  movement 
of  tlieir  horses,  to  escape  |airaiiit.  A  Tory,  to  wli..m  a  cnsiderahle  re- 
ward was  .  fl'.  red  for  the  peif,,rmance  of  the  service,  now  led  :ilX)  men 
to  the  house  of  (apt.  Litlell,  who,  believing  he  was  securely  pent  up 
within,  conimeiiceil  a  heavy  discbaige  ol  miisketiy  iiiion  it  In.m  all 
sides.  The  captain,  however,  was  not  to  be  su  easily  entrapped,  and 
while  they  were  making  preparatiuus  to  storm  the  deserted  dwelling 
they  were  attacked  in  the  rear,  being  previously  j.diied  by  another  Uidy 
of  volunteeiB,  and  driven  with  precipitation  fr.  m  the  field,  Littell  in 
the  interim,  with  a  part  of  bis  Ibrce,  had  formed  an  aiiibii-cade  along  a 
feme  side,  and  peiceiviiig  the  enemy  slowlx  appiiia.  Iiing,  leveled  and 
dlscbajged  his  piece,  and  the  commander  fell.  The  British,  unable,  from 
the  darkness  ol  the  iii^lit.  to  make  any  calculation  w  Ih  regard  to  the 
numberof  theiropposei^,  were  iiiliuii.lated,  aud  sought  safely  m  flight."' 

Some  allowance  should  be  made  for  rhetorical  em- 
bellishments in  these  statements.  The  numbers,  it  is 
quite  likely,  are  somewhat  exaggerated.  Yet  this  may 
be  taken  as  a  sjiecimen  of  the  kind  of  wariare  that 
for  several  mouths  at  this  period  was  j^rusecuted  by 
the  m'ii'iYiao'this  town  and  vicinity.  At  this  period, 
it  will  kf  bone  in  mind,  the  town  included  iiearlv 
the  whole  t«'  the  present  Union  County,  the  towns 
of  Union,  SpringHeld,  New  Providence,  We.sttield, 
Plainfield,  Rahway,  Linden,  and  Clark,  having  since 
been  organized  out  of  the  ancient  territorial  domain 
of  Elizabeth  Town. 


1  Irviug's  Washington,  ii.  Stiu-lS.     Dr.  Tomes'  Battles  of  An 
428-:i8. 

2  Pailiameiitary  Register,  xi.  :i76. 

3  Sparks'  ^Vasllillg^'ll,  iv.  '^114      Gordon's  N.  J.,  p.  233. 
■•  AInioii's  Kemembralicei ,  v.  7(1-74. 


5  Moore  s  Diary  of  Am.  liev.,  i.  :i73. 
5  Parliamentary  itegister,  xi.  376. 
'.Jouru.ils,  iv.  1:1. 

S  Gar.leu's  Anecdotes  of  the  Kev.  VVa 
8.  Coll.,  pp.  IS4,  IS.i. 


.p.  2111.     Barber's  N.J. 


78 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


When  Mr.  Caldwell  and  his  people  returned  to  their 
homes,  the  second  week  of  January,  1777,  from  their 
exile  of  six  weeks  they  found  everything  in  ruins, 
their  houses  jdundered,  their  fences  broken  down  and 
consumed,  their  gardens  laid  waste,  their  fields  an  open 
common,  and  their  records,  both  private  and  public, 
destroyed.  The  outrages  committed  by  the  ruthless 
foe,  British  and  Hessian  both,  during  this  short  occu- 
pation were  a  disgrace  to  human  nature.  Foremost 
among  those  who  wreaked  their  vengeance  upon  the 
patriots  were  their  former  Tory  neighbors.  Many  of 
these  had  a  twelvemonth  before  consulted  their  own 
safety  by  taking  refuge  on  Staten  Island,  and  subse- 
quently at  New  York.  When  the  town  was  occupied, 
November  30th,  by  the  British  army  the  most  of 
these  Tories  returned  to  their  old  homes,  and  took 
every  opportunity  to  assert  their  importance,  to  re- 
taliate upon  the  opposite  party  the  injuries  that  they 
had  endured,  and  to  single  out  the  Whigs  as  marks 
of  brutal  indignities  and  violence.' 

It  was  the  deep  sense  of  these  grievous  wrongs  that 
roused  the  whole  population  against  their  brutal  in- 
vaders, so  that  although  Washington  at  Morristown 
found  great  difficulty  in  gathering  an  enlisted  army, 
the  British  on  the  Raritan  were  so  hemmed  in  that 
they  could  not  obtain  forage  for  their  horses  and 
cattle,  and  supplies  for  their  army  only  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  Every  foraging  party  venturing  but 
a  few  miles  into  the  country  on  either  side  of  their 
lines  was  sure  to  be  attacked  by  some  partisan  leader 
like  Capt.  Littell  and  his  band,  or  by  the  brave  Max- 
well with  his  militia,  and  seldom  returned  to  camp 
without  loss.  Washington  says,  January  20th, 
"  Within  a  month  past,  in  several  engagements  with 
the  enemy,  we  have  killed,  wounded,  and  taken  pris- 
oners between  two  and  three  thousand  men."^ 

The  timid  souls  who  had  taken  protection  from  the 
British  general  now  found  tliemselves  in  a  position 
of  great  difficulty.  Gen.  Maxwell,  the  post  com- 
mandant, in  accordance  with  Gen.  Washington's 
proclamation,  required  all  who  would  not  take  the 
oath  of  allegiance  to  take  themselves  and  their  fivmi- 
lies  off  immediately  to  the  enemy.  They  demanded 
the  privilege  of  remaining  till  the  thirty  days  were 
expired.  Maxwell  wrote  for  further  instructions. 
Washington  replied  on  the  12th  of  February  as  fol- 
lows : 

"Tliesp  Wluws  at  ElizaliPth  Town,  as  well  a^  all  otfeis  who  wish  to 
renuiiti  with  iih  till  the  expiration  of  the  thiily  d  ly^.'or  u'o  or,her  pur- 
pose than  to  convey  intelliKence  to  the  enemy  and  pi.iK'in  our  people's 
minds,  nnmt  and  shiill  be  compelled  to  withdraw  immediately  within  the 
enemy's  lines;  others  who  are  hesilating  which  side  to  take,  and  behave 
friendly  to  u«  till  th.y  delermine,  must  be  treated  with  lenity.  Sucli  as 
go  over  to  the  enemy  are  not  to  take  with  them  anytliing  but  their 
clothing  and  funiitiire  Th.-ir  horses,  cattle,  and  forage  must  be  left 
behind.    Such  as  incline  to  share  our  fate  are  to  have  every  assistance 


aiforded  them  that  < 
horses  must  be  too  n 
of  alllienumsin  arm 


an  he  granted  with  safety.  Ne'ther  wagons  nor 
uch  hazarded  in  doing  this  business.  The  effects 
against  us  must  be  .seized  and  secured."  ^ 


The  lines  were  now  effectually  drawn,  and  every 
man  was  compelled  to  .show  his  colors.  The  young 
men,  or  "  fellows,"  as  Washington  calls  them,  most 
probably  went  over  to  the  enemy,  and  became  parti- 
san soldiers  of  the  most  malignant  type,  spies,  scouts, 
and  guides  to  the  British,  inflicting  subsequently  no 
small  injury  upon  their  kindred  and  former  friends. 
It  was  a  hard  case,  as  the  line  ran  in  some  instances 
between  parents  and  their  children,  as  well  as  between 
brothers  and  sisters.* 

The  enemy  had  been  driven  out  of  the  town  on  the 
8th  of  January,  but  they  remained  still  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. They  occupied  Perth  Amboy,  and  ranged 
at  will  over  the  greater  part  of  Woodbridge,  separated 
from  this  town  only  by  the  Rahway  River.  The  situ- 
ation of  the  inhabitants,  therefore,  during  the  first 
half  of  the  year  1777  was  exciting  enough.  They 
lived  continually  in  the  midst  of  alarms.  Gen.  Sul- 
livan was  in  command  below  the  range  of  hills  on 
the  west,  while  Maxwell  held  the  town.  Their  troops 
were  continually  moving  from  Chatham  and  Spring- 
field, or  from  Westfield  and  Scotch  Plains,  watching 
for  opportunities  to  cut  off  the  foraging  parties  or 
pick  up  the  scouts  of  the  enemy.  Skirmishes  more 
or  less  severe  were  of  almost  daily  occurrence. 

Several  actions  took  place  in  January,  February, 
and  March,  just  beyond  the  southern  line  of  this 
town,  a  few  miles  only  to  the  south,  and  in  the  most 
of  them  the  soldiers  of  this  post  participated.  The 
people  here  had  their  full  share  during  this  period 
of  "the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war,"  and  were 
not  without  considerable  apprehension  constantly  of 
having  the  war  brought  once  more  to  their  very 
doors.* 

The  following  notices  are  copied  from  a  Tory 
journal  : 

'•  Last  Thursday  Week  (February  27th),  M^ior  Tympany  crossed  from 
Staten  Island  to  Elizabeth  Town  with  about  sixty  men,  when  he  was 
attacked  by  a  Body  ol  tlie  Rebels,  two  or  three  of  whom  were  killed  on 
the  spot,  and  four  or  five  taken  prisoners-  The  Major  returned  safe, 
without  having  a  man  hurt,  and  brought  with  him  ten  head  of  cattle. 

"Last  Friday  (June  13tii)  a  Party  of  about  twelve  Men  went  from 
Staten  Island  to  Elizabeth  Town  I*oint,  when  they  were  fired  upon  by 
tile  Rebels,  but  they  soon  put  them  to  flight,  killed  one  and  wounded 
three  more,  and  brought  off  a  new  flat-bottomed  Boat  sufiicient  to  hold 
a  hundred  men.  By  one  of  our  People's  Pieces  going  off  through  Care- 
lessiO'ss,  Peter  Kingslaod  was  shot  in  the  Head,  of  which  wound  he  died 
immediately."  6 

The  campaign  in  East  Jersey  was  brought  to  a 
close  on  the  30th  of  June.  The  British  evacuated 
New  Brunswick  on  Sunday,  the  22d  of  June,  retiring 
to  Perth  Amboy.  On  Thursday  morning,  26th,  they 
advanced  in  force  from  Amboy  as  far  as  Westfield, 
under  the  command  of  Sir  William  Howe  and  Lord 


1  Barber's  His.  Coll.  of  N.  J..  |ip.  I8:i-84.    See  also  Remembrancer,  iv.  '  Spirks'  Washington,  iv.  297-98,  319-21. 

3117:  V.  77,  I. 'Jt,  253-57.    Am.  Mnsenm  (Carey's,,  iv. 'ilB.    Sparks' Wash-  |       <  Ibid.,  HQS-nB.    N.  J.  Rev.  Correspondence,  p.  26. 

ington,  iv.  1!78.  5  Remembrancer,  v.  79,  80,  88,  98,  136-78,  221,  260-61.    Hall's  CiTil 

2  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  287.    Hall's  Civil  War  in  America,  pp.  269-  :    War  in  America,  p.'274.    Whiteliead's  Amboy,  pp.  .'540,  341,  343,  344. 
71.  «  Gaiues'  Mercury,  Noa.  1324, 1338. 


WAR   OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 


79 


Cornwallis.  On  the  way  the  advance  of  the  latter 
fell  in  with  Col.  Daniel  Morgan's  corps  of  rangers 
at  Woodbridge,  with  whom  a  hot  contest  was  kept  up 
for  half  an  hour,  at  the  expense  of  a  considerable 
number  of  men.  At  Scotch  Plains  a  severe  engage- 
ment ensued  with  the  troops  under  Lord  Stirling, 
who  were  obliged,  being  greatly  inferior  in  numbers, 
to  fall  back  to  the  heights  in  the  rear,  with  the  loss  of 
a  few  men  and  three  cannon.  At  Westfleld,  perceiv- 
ing the  passes  on  the  left  of  Washington's  camp  to 
be  strongly  guarded,  and  no  prospect  of  getting  into 
his  rear,  as  was  contemplated,  the  enemy  encamped 
for  the  night  after  a  burning  hot  day.  Here  they  re- 
mained until  three  o'clock  p.m.  of  Friday,  when  they 
marched  to  Rahway,  closely  followed  and  assailed  in 
the  rear  and  on  the  flanks  by  Scott's  light-horse  and 
Morgan's  Rangers.  The  next  day  they  returned 
to  Amboy,  still  followed  as  on  the  previous  day. 
Here  they  rested  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  next  day, 
Monday,  June  30th,  they  left,  a  part  crossing  over  to 
Staten  Island  on  a  bridge  of  boats,  and  another  part 
embarking  on  board  of  two  hundred  and  seventy 
transports  which  filled  the  harbor,  and  sailed  away 
on  the  23d  of  July.' 

Thus,  after  seven  months'  occupation  and  a  vast 
expenditure  of  resources,  after  a  vain  attempt  to 
penetrate  to  Philadelphia  and  to  bring  the  war  to  a 
speedy  end,  the  great  army  of  invasion,  having  been 
for  nearly  six  months  restricted  to  the  line  of  the 
Raritan  River,  was  compelled  wholly  to  evacuate  the 
State,  to  the  disgrace  and  chagrin  of  their  leaders, 
and  the  bitter  disappointment  of  the  whole  Tory 
faction. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTIOX.— ( ro„(„„ierf.) 

Raids  from  Staten  Island. — The  enemy  being  still 
in  force  on  Staten  Island,  it  became  necessary  to  be  con- 
stantly on  the  watch  and  to  keep  up  a  competent  force 
to  patrol  and  g"uard  every  accessible  avenue  along  the 
opposite  Jersey  shore.  The  "  New  Jersey  Volunteers," 
or  the  refugees  who  had  enlisted  in  the  brigade  of 
Gen.  Cortlandt  Skinner,  were  also  on  the  island.  A 
detachment  of  this  brigade,  consisting  of  sixty-three  ' 
men,  was  under  the  command  of  Maj.  Richard  V. 
Stockton,  a  son-in-law  of  Joseph  Hatfield,  of  Eliza-  [ 
beth  Town.  Stockton  was  captured  at  Lawrence's 
Island,  Feb.  18,  1777.  The  refugees  from  Elizabeth 
Town  were  connected  mostly  with  Skinner's  brigade, 
and  were,  in  the  progress  of  the  war,  a  source  of 
great  annoyance  to  their  patriotic  kinsmen  and  for-  ' 
mer  neighbors. 

'  Spmks' Wneliinglun,  iv.  470-76.     Pa.  Ledger, No.  102.     K.Y. Gazette, 
No.  2.     Reuieml/iauccr,  V.  t260,  261.    Moore'e  Diary,  i.  449-02.    Graham's 
Life  of  Moi'gau,  pp.  123-28.     Hall's  Civil  War  iu  America,  p.  292.     Ir-   ; 
viDg'8  Washiiigtou,  iii.  126.  ' 


The  necessity  of  vigilance  appears  from  such  no- 
tices as  the  following,  written  Aug.  18,  1777  : 

"Last  Thursiia.v  Evpniiig  [14th]  a  Party  of  the  New  .lersey  Volun- 
teers went  over  to  Craii-'s  Kerry,  near  Eliaibeth  Town  Point,  and 
brought  off  three  of  the  Militia  without  tiring  a  Gun."  2 

Measures  were  devised  by  Col.  Matthias  Ogden, 
the  officer  in  command  at  Elizabeth  Town,  in  con- 
junction with  Gen.  Sullivan,  who  had  been  left  by 
Washington  in  command  of  a  Continental  force  be- 
yond the  Short  Hills,  to  punish  these  renegade  dis- 
turbers of  the  peace.  Col.  Dayton's  regiment  from 
Newark  was  called  in  to  take  part  in  the  enterprise, 
with  a  hundred  militia  of  the  town.  Sullivan  se- 
lected from  Smalhvood's  and  De  Borre's  brigades 
one  thousand  men,  and  marched  at  two  o'clock 
P.M.  on  Thursday,  the  21st  of  August,  from  Han- 
over, fourteen  miles,  to  Elizabeth  Town,  arriving 
in  the  evening,  when  they  halted  a  short  time  ff)r 
rest.  At  ten  o'clock  p.m.  they  moved  down  to  Hal- 
stead's  Point,  near  the  mouth  of  Morse's  Creek,  where 
they  crossed  over  to  the  island.  Dayton  and  Ogden, 
with  their  commands,  and  Col.  Fielo,  with  the  mi- 
litia, crossed  at  the  Old  Blazing  Star.  The  New 
Jersey  Volunteers  were  posted  in  small  detachments 
along  the  shore  of  the  island  from  Decker's  Ferry  to 
the  point  opposite  Amboy,  about  fifteen  miles.  Ogden 
and  Dayton  fully  and  successfully  carried  out  their 
part  of  the  programme.  Lieut.-Cols.  Lawrence  and 
Barton  were  captured,  with  one  hundred  and  thirty 
privates,  also  a  British  shallop,  in  which  the  prison- 
ers were  sent  over  to  this  side.  But  Sullivan's  com- 
mand, having  been  deceived  by  their  guide,  lost 
heavily,  iu  consequence  of  the  rear  detachments 
being  disappointed  in  obtaining  boats  to  return  by 
the  Old  Star  Ferry.  These  losses  more  than  com- 
pensated the  advantages  obtained  by  Cols.  Ogden 
and  Dayton.' 

Immediately  after,  Sullivan,  with  the  troops  under 
his  command,  was  ordered  to  join  the  main  army  at 
Wilmington,  Del.  A  small  force  only  was  left  in  this 
quarter  to  guard  the  long  line  of  coast  exposed  to  the 
depredations  of  the  enemy. 

An  invasion  of  the  State  by  Clinton  at  Elizabeth 
Town  Point  and  other  places,  September  12lh,  showed 
the  necessity  of  keeping  here  a  large  body  of  troops, 
to  be  ready  for  such  emergencies.  Gen.  Dickin.son 
writes  to  Washington  from  this  town,  Sept.  20lh, — 

"  Your  Excellency  will  be  much  Hurprised  to  hear  that  tlieie  are  not 
more  than  one  thousand  of  our  militia  now  embodii'il,  all  of  which  are 
at  this  post.  I  Khali  order  all  the  guards  called  in  helnre  day.  and 
march  with  the  utmost  expedition  the  routes  dii-eeted.  I  have  ordered 
General  Wines  to  collect  and  march  bis  brigade  to  II, is  pusl  with  all 
despatch."  ^ 


2Gl 

ines'  Mercury 

No 

l.'^Y. 

■■'  Pa 

Journal,  No. 

1806 

Reme 

mhrancer,  v. 

i^VSo. 

Sparks' 

Washing- 

ton,  V 

47.     GuicIou'b 

Kev.  War, 

iiu-a.    Moo 

re's  Dii 

ry,  4»2-»6. 

Jlar- 

sliall's 

Washington, 

iii. 

33-37. 

Gordon's  N 

J.,  pp 

246-^7 

Ii 

Waah 

nglon,  iii.  195 

<Bi 

viugton's  Gazette, 

No.  165 

Renienibra 

ncer,  V. 

4-20.     H 

all's 

livil 

War  i 

n  America,  p. 

t2o. 

Gordon 

's  Rev.  War, 

ii.  2:i6. 

Gordon 

s  N 

.1  .  p. 

262. 

Sparks'  Washi 

ugt" 

1,  V.  64. 

Spai-ks'  Co 

re»pon< 

euce  of 

the 

Kev,.- 

lution 

i.434. 

80 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Four  days  after,  on  Thursday,  September  24th,  a 
reinforcement  of  about  three  thousand  British  and 
foreign  troops  from  Europe  arrived  at  New  York. 
Dickinson  was  then  on  his  way  to  join  Washington 
in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia;  but  this  event  com- 
pelled him  to  retrace  his  steps  with  a  part  of  his 
troops,  sending  on  the  remainder,  six  hundred,  in 
c(raimand  of  Gen.  Forman.  and  once  more  take  post 
at  this  town.  Writing  to  Wa.shington  from  this  place 
November  1st,  he  informs  him  that  there  are  not  more 
than  one  hundred  militia  from  West  Jersey  at  this 
post,  that  the  reports  of  his  intended  march  to  Red 
Bank  on  the  Delaware  had  lessened  the  number  of 
his  troops,  and  that  Gen.  Winds,  who  had  gone  on 
an  expedition  to  New  Windsor  on  the  North  River, 
had  not  yet  returned.  He  suggests  an  expedition 
against  Staten  Island,  and  says,  "'  I  have  boats  now 
ready  to  transport  five  hundred  men  at  a  time,  and 
could  increase  my  present  numbers  (about  six  hun- 
dred men)  to  twelve  hundred  men  upon  such  an  oc- 
casion." ' 

The  Americans  at  this  time  were  in  high  spirits. 
Tidings  had  come  nine  or  ten  days  before  of  Gates' 
victory,  October  7th,  at  Stillwater,  near  Saratoga, 
and  of  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne's  army,  October 
17th.  The  news  created  a  great  and  joyful  excite- 
ment in  this  town;  salutes  were  fired,  bonfires  kin- 
dled, and,  as  Rivington's  lying  chronicle  reports, 
"rum  was  given  to  the  rabble."" 

Gaines  says,  Nov.  24,  1777,— 

"We  hear  llint  Drilers  have  Wen  sent  to  a  Place  called  Westfielrt,  a 
few  miles  from  Klizal.etli  Town,  in  New  Jersey,  tor  the  InhahitaniB  of 
thai  place  to  jirefHre  Qnartern  for  a  large  Body  of  Men,  anil  to  cnt  down 
five  hnn.hed  roril>.  of  Kire  Wood.  ...  On  Tuesday,  Wednesday,  Thurs- 
day, and  Friday  last  (18-21)  Parlies  of  liehels  landed  on  Staten  Island 
froui  Eli/abeth  Town,  hut  were  as  often  beaten  off."  3 

These  "  Parties"  were  probably  employed  in  this 
way  to  keep  the  enemy  from  learning  the  object  of 
the  encainimient  at  Westfield.  Dickinson,  having 
obtained  the  consent  of  Washington,  was  preparing 
for  an  invasion  of  Staten  Island.  Volunteers  were 
called  in  and  a  force  gathered  (with  those  on  duty  at 
this  post)  of  fimrteen  hundred  men.  He  designed,  if 
possible,  to  surprise  Skinner's  corps  of  provincials,  sta- 
tioned along  the  western  shore  of  the  island,  and  cap- 
ture them.  For  this  purpose,  early  in  the  morning 
of  Thursday,  November  27th,  he  embarked  at  Hal- 
stead's  Point,  efiected  a  landing  in  three  divisions  on 
the  opposite  shore,  and  marched  seven  miles  to  a  ren- 
dezvous, hoping  to  get  in  the  rear  of  the  provincials 
and  cut  them  off.  The  utmost  secrecy  had  been,  ob- 
served, his  own  officers  not  having  been  apprised  of 
the  object  until  eight  o'clock  of  the  evening  before. 
Skinner,  however,  got  word  of  it  at  three  o'clock  in 
the  morning  and  made  good  his  retreat.  On  arriv- 
ing  at  the   rendezvous  the   Americans   found   Gen. 

1  Gordon's  Rev.  War,  (i.  262.  Gordon's  N.  J.,  pp.  26U,  2.^2.  Sparks' 
Correspondence  of  the  Rev.,  ii.  22,  23. 

2  Riviiigion'ji  Gazette,  No.  140. 
»  Gaines'  Mercuiy,  No.  laOl. 


Campbell  in  force  with  artillery  and  two  war  vessels 
to  cover  the  fortifications.  Disappointed  in  his  plans, 
Dickinson  returned  in  good  order,  five  or  six  of  the' 
Tory  brigade  having  been  slain  and  twenty-four  taken 
prisoners.  The  troops  were  eight  hours  on  the  island. 
In  the  skirmish  they  lost  three  men  taken  prisoners, 
and  fourteen  were  slightly  wounded.  With  this 
exception,  they  got  back  "  without  the  loss  of  man, 
horse,  or  boat."* 

A  few  days  before  this  occurrence  (20th),  Abraham 
Clark  and  Elias  Boudinot  were  elected  to  Congress. 
Mr.  Boudinot  had  served,  since  his  appointment  by 
Congress,  June  6,  1777,  as  commissary-general  of  pris- 
oners. This  town  thus  became,  during  the  greater 
part  of  the  war,  the  headquarters  for  negotiations  re- 
specting the  exchange  of  prisoners,  and  hither  large 
numbers,  officers  and  men,  from  both  sides  were  sent 
for  this  purpose.  Mr.  Boudinot,  however,  continued 
in  service  until  his  successor,  Maj.  John  Beatty,  was 
appointed.  May  28,  1778,  and  did  not  take  his  seat  in 
Congress  until  July  7,  1778.' 

Through  the  instigation  and  artifices  principally  of 
the  refugees,  some  of  their  old  neighbors  and  asso- 
ciates, who  still  retained  their  residence  and  property 
in  the  town,  were  induced  to  carry  on  an  illicit  trade 
with  Staten  Island,  of  which  Governor  Livingston, 
who  had  been  re-elected  November  1st,  writing  to 
Washington,  Nov.  21,  1777,  uses  this  forcible  and 
indignant  language: 

"This  evil,  instead  of  heing  checked,  has  grown  to  so  enormous  a 
height  that  the  enemy,  as  I  am  informed,  is  plentifully  supplied  with 
fresh  provi-i<uis,  and  such  a  quantity  of  Bi-itish  manufactures  brought 
back  ill  exchau-.;e  as  to  enable  the  jiersuns  concerned  to  set  up  sho|i8  to 
retail  theui.  The  people  are  outrageous,  and  many  of  our  officers  tUreaten 
to  resign  their 


This  traffic  was  called  "  London  trading,"  and  all 
who  engaged  in  it  were  regarded  as  enemies  of  their 
country,  and  when  discovered  subjected  to  severe 
penalties.  It  was  carried  on  mostly  by  night,  and  so 
secretly  as  almost  always  to  evade  detection.  Tlie 
possession  of  British  gold  was  looked  upon  as  prima 
facie  evidence  of  complicity  in  the  contraband  busi- 
ness. 

The  extent  to  which  private  property  in  the  town, 
especially  in  the  absence  of  the  owners,  had  suffered  by 
military  occupation  appears  from  what  one  of  Gov- 
ernor Livingston's  daughters  wrote,  Nov.  29,  1777: 


"K 

Ato  has  1 

een  at  E 

iz.-Town 

;  found 

our 

house 

in  a  mi 

St 

ruinous 

situat 

on.    Gei 

Uickin 

on  had 

slationed 

a 

captait 

with  h 

s  a 

rtilleiy 

COlJipB 

ny  in  it, 

itnd  after 

thai  it  % 

vaa  kept 

for 

a  bull 

ick's  gu 

ard 

Kate 

wailed  on  the  general,  a 

lid  he  or 

lered  Ihe 

tn 

ops  ren 

lived  Ih 

n 

xt  day, 

but  II 

en  Ihe  in 

».  hief  u 

as  done; 

every  th 

ng 

is  can 

eil  off  II 

at 

naninm 

had  ci 

llected  f. 

r  her  ace 

Miimoda 

ion,  so  1 

lat 

it  Ih  ii 

ipo-sililt 

fo 

r  her  10 

go  i\u\ 

VII  to  hav 

0  the  gra 

pes  ami 

Iher  thi 

i«s 

secure 

i;  the  V 

ry 

hinges. 

locks. 

and  pane 

8  of  glas 

are  tak 

n  away.' 

Tl 

le  year 

1778  was  unusually 

bi 

rreii 

of  incid 

^nt  so 

^  Sparks'  Correspondence  of  the  Kev.,  ii.  49-51.    Sparks'  Washington, 
'.  174, 18:i.    niviiiglon's  Gazette.  No.  145.    Gordon's  N.  J.,  p.  255. 
6  Gordon's  N..l.,p.;i24.     Miilfonl's  N.  .1.,  p.  444. 
O.Sedgwick's  Liringsbui,  jip.  a4.i-40. 
'  Ibid.,  p.  246. 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


81 


far  as  the  history  of  this  town  is  concerned.  The 
people  were  permitted  to  dwell  at  home,  undisturbed 
by  the  visits  of  the  hated  and  dreaded  foe.  The  mili- 
tary occupation  was  continued  throughout  the  year, 
and  the  utmost  vigilance  was  required  in  guarding 
against  inva-sion  from  Staten  Island.  During  a  por- 
tion of  the  winter  one-half  of  the  male  adults  were 
required  to  be  always  on  duty,  and  ready  at  a  mo- 
ment's warning  to  take  the  field.' 

It  was  reported  in  New  York,  June  3,  1778,  that 
"great  numbers  of  flat-bottomed  boats"  were  then 
building  and  old  ones  repairing  at  Bound  Brook, 
Elizabeth  Town,  and  Newark,  in  New  Jersey.  A  few 
days  after  Gaines  published  the  following: 

"The  Rebels  made  an  attempt  on  the  Piquet  Guard  on  Staten  Island 
last  Tuesday  iiight  (June  9tli),  but  were  beat  off,  the  Particulars  of 
whiL-h  an.  as  follows,  viz. : 

"  .\bout  one  o'clock  the  Rebels  began  a  heavy  Cannonade  Jrom  their 
Works  at  Elizabeth  Town  Fort,  and  soon  after  attempted  to  land  in  a 
number  of  Flat  Boats  U|>on  Staten  Island,  between  the  Blazing  Star 
and  Burnt  Island;  but  finding  the  Provincial  Troops  stationed  at  that 
Place  were  alarmetl  and  prepared  to  give  tlieni  a  proper  Reception, 
they  returned  to  the  Jersey  shore  and  remained  quiet  till  about  four 
o'clock  the  sanie  Morning,  when  they  again  made  their  Appearance  in 
ten  Boats,  each  supposed  to  contain  one  hutidred  JVlen,  and  attempted 
to  land  at  the  B.me  Place  under  cover  of  the  Fire  from  their  Batteries, 
and  a  continued  Discharge  of  Smalt  Arms  from  the  Boats;  but  they 
were  so  vigorously  opposed  by  General  Skinner's  Brigade,  that  they  were 
obliged  to  make  a  final  and  disgraceful  Retreat."- 

The  New  Jersey  Gazette  gives  an  entirely  different 
version  of  the  affair  in  reply  to  Gaines'  article.     The 
ten  boats  with  a  hundred  men  in  each  dwindle  down 
to  three  boats  with  about  fifty  men  ;  but  one  landing  < 
was  made  or  attempted  ;  they  marched  half  a  mile  I 
into  the  interior,  when  they  were  discovered,  on  which  j 
they  fired  and  the  provincials  ran  away.     The  party  | 
then  returned  to  their   boats,   and  when    they   had  [ 
nearly  reached  this  side  were  fired  upon.     So  con-  ' 
flicting  were  the  statements  in  respect  to  these  incur- 
sions it  is  often    perplexing  to  arrive   at  the  exact 
truth.' 

Occasional  encounters  with  the  enemy  were  occur- 
ring, of  which  the  following,  as  related  by  a  Tory 
paper  of  the  29th,  is  a  specimen  : 

"  Last  Wednesday  Night  (24th),  Captain  Handle,  from  Elizabeth 
Town,  came  over  to  Staten  Island  wiih  a  Party  of  about  fourteen  IWen 
and  fired  upon  some  of  the  militia  that  were  on  Guard,  wounded  Mr. 
Richard  Connor  in  the  Arm,  and  one  Asliar  Tappen  in  the  Leg.  but 
neither  dangerously.  The  Militia  pursued  the  Party,  but  tliey  got 
into  their  Boat  in  a  great  Hurry,  and  made  for  the  Jersey  shore  with 
all  expedition."  *  ' 

The  next  Sunday,  28th,  the  battle  of  Monmouth 
was  fought,  in  which  the  Jersey  Brigade  under  Max- 
well and  the  militia  under  Dickinson  did  signal 
service,  having  previously  been  detached  to  annoy  the 
rear  and  flanks  of  the  British  on  their  route  through 
New  Jersey.  In  this  action  Lieut.-Col.  Barber  (who 
had   received  the  appointment  in  April  of  brigade 

*  Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  154. 

2  Ibid.,  No.  175.    Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1390. 
•'  New  Jersey  Gazette,  No.  30. 

*  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1392. 


inspector,  and  on  the  24th  of  March  had  been  mar- 
ried "  to  Miss  Nancy  Ogden,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  a 
Lady  of  beauty  and  merit")  was  wounded  by  a 
musket-ball,  which  passed  through  the  right  of  his 
body,  but,  happily,  not  mortally.  The  British  after 
their  defeat  made  good  their  escape  by  Sandy  Hook 
on  the  5th  of  July,  whence  they  were  distributed  in 
three  divisions,  one  on  Staten  Island,  one  on  Long 
Island,  and  the  other  in  New  York. 

The  presence  of  so  large  a  force  on  Staten  Island 
compelled  Washington,  in  the  arrangement  of  his 
forces,  to  order  the  Jersey  Brigade  under  Gen.  Max- 
well "  to  take  post  in  the  neighborhood  of  Elizabeth 
Town,"  to  guard  against  invasion  and  foraging.* 

Again  this  post  became  headquarters  for  flag-boats 
and  exchanges.  A  large  number  of  prisoners  had 
been  captured  from  the  British  on  their  route  through 
the  State.  "Thursday  last,"  16th,  says  Rivington, 
"  upwards  of  seven  hundred  Rebel  prisoners  were  sent 
from  here  [New  York]  to  Elizabeth  Tovvn,  to  be  ex- 
changed for  an  equal  number  of  British  and  Hes- 
sians." A  corresponding  notice  appears  on  the  15th 
in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  also  on  the  21st  of  Au- 
gust, 20th  of  October,  and  8th  of  November.  Col. 
Ethan  Allen  was  sent  here  in  May  previously  for  the 
same  purpose.* 

A  corporal  and  a  private  who  had  ventured  over 
to  Staten  Island  from  this  post  were  captured  July 
21st;  and  by  way  of  reprisal,  a  party  from  this  town 
went  over  to  the  island  on  the  night  of  the  5th  of 
August,  and  carried  off  Mr.  Bunnell,  barrack-ma.ster, 
who  was  released  on  parole  four  days  afterwards.' 

Measures  long  contemplated,  but  for  prudential 
reasons  deferred,  were  now  taken  looking  to  the  con- 
fiscation of  the  property  of  those  who  had  deserted' 
their  country  and  espoused  the  cause  of  the  Royal- 
ists. Several  had  gone  over  during  the  spring  and 
summer  of  1778.  The  following  advertisement  was 
not  made  public  until  November  14th,  on  which  day 
it  was  dated  at  Elizabeth  Town : 

"At  an  inferior  court  of  Common  Ple:u5  held  for  the  county  of  Essex, 
on  the  15th  day  of  September  last,  were  returned  inquisitions  for  join- 
ing the  army  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  and  other  treasonable  prac- 
tices, found  against  Cavilear  Jewit.  Ichabod  Best  Baruet,  William  Luce, 
John  Smith  Helfield,  Job  Hetfleld,  Abel  Hetfield,  Broughton  Reynolds, 
Richard  Miller,  John  Willis,  Jacob  Tooker,  J.imes  Hetfleld,  Janiea 
Fi"azee,  Samuel  Oliver,  Jame.s  Moore,  Jonathan  Oliver,  Samnel  Sniitli, 
.Tohit  Stites.jun.,  Daniel  Moore,  John  Morse,  Isaac  Staubury,  Thomas 
Burrows,  and  John  Folker." 

.\t  a  later  date,  Feb.  17,  1779,  final  judgment  was 
entered  against  all  of  these  persons  except  Job  and 
Abel  Hetfield,  Jacob  Tooker,  and  John  Stites,  Jr., 
and  their  estates  sold  at  auction." 

Gaines  says,  October  5th, — 

"  We  learn  that  the  Militia  of  New  Jersey  was  collecting  fast,  there 
being  in  and  about  Elizabeth  Town  and  Wuodbridge  not  less  than  two 
thousand  Men  under  the  command  of  General  Maxwell. 


6  N.  J.  Gazette,  Nos.  19,  31.    Irving's  Washington,  iii., 
Washington,  v.  422-29. 

6  Riv.  Gazette,  No.  188.     N.  J.  Gazette,  Nos.  38,  46,  49, 
'  Elv.  Gazette,  No.  190.    Gaines'  Mercery   No.  1412. 
8  N.  J.  Gazette,  Nos.  50,  64. 


425-37.   Spaika' 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


"  Last  Friday  {'id)  a  large  Budy  of  Militia  and  some  Ccintinental  Troops 
marclied  from  Woodbridpe,  Kliz:ibeth  Town,  &c.,  under  tli«  command  of 
the  Geueruls  Maxwell  and  Heard  for  Hackitjsack."  ' 

These  movements  were  occasioned  by  a  feint  of  the 
enemy  and  an  invasion  of  Bergen  County.  Lord 
Stirling  at  Aquackanonk  on  the  13th  sends  word  to 
Col.  Elias  Dayton  that  "the  moving  oft'  of  the  Brit- 
ish troops  enables  him  to  order  Col.  Dayton  with  his 
two  regiments  to  march  to  Elizabeth  Town  the  next 
morning."  Two  days  afterwards,  on  the  15th,  Lord 
Stirling  himself  repaired  to  this  town,  and  made  it  his 
headquarters  for  the  remainder  of  the  year.'^ 

The  following  order  was  issued  Oct.  28,  1778: 

"No  Flag  from  tlie  enemy  sliiiU  bp  received  at  any  post  or  place  within 
this  Slate,  except  at  Elizabetli  Town  Point,  witb"Ut  a  special  permissi.m 
for  tbat  purpose  from  the  Govel'nor  or  commanding  officer  of  the  troups 
of  the  United  States  in  New  Jersey." ^ 

On  this  subject  Washington  says,  Jan.  11,  1779, — 


'*  It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the  open 
New  York  which  I  found  prevailing  on  my  a 
the  1st  of  December,  should  be  restraiued,  an 
Gen.  Maxwell  to  suffer  no  perr-on  to  paw-*  ur 
previou-ly  obtained  from  the  Governors  of  tl 
self,  and  I  req 
day  of  every 


"  Living'^ton  is  re 
tonly  pursuing  his  c 


ippointed  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  more  wan- 
ireer  of  barbarity  and  wickedness  than  ever."^ 


lid  free  inter 
iriival  at  Elizabeth  Town, 
1  I  gave  |ios  tive  orders  to 
less  permission  should  be 
e  respective  States,  or  niy- 
gston  and  Beed  ti  fix  on  the  fll-st 
th  for  this  purpose,  to  wliicli  they  readily  acceded."^ 


In  his  reply  to  this  request  of  Washington,  Living- 
ston says,  December  21st, — 

"  Of  all  those  who  have  applied  to  me  for  recommendations  to  the  com- 
manding officer  at  Elizabeth  Town  to  go  to  Staten  Island  or  New  York, 
not  above  one  in  twenty  appeared  eiitiiled  to  that  indulgence,  and  many 
of  them  were  as  venomous  Tories  as  any  in  this  country.  It  is  either 
from  a  vain  curiosity  (extieni'dy  predomirniut  in  women),  cloaked  with 
the  pretence  of  securing  their  debts  or  effects,  in  which  they  seldom  if 
ever  succeed,  or  for  the  sake  of  buying  tea  and  trinkets  (tor  which  they 
would  as  soon  forfeit  a  second  Paradise,  as  Eve  ilid  llie  fi ret,  for  the 
forbidden  fruit),  that  they  are  perpetually  prompted  to  those  idle  ram- 
bles. .  .  .  The  men  are  still  more  seriously  niiscliievous,  and  go  with 
commercial  motives,  and  to  secure  capital  qviantilies  of  Biitish  mer- 
chandise." '•> 

Livingston  had  again  been  chosen,  October  27th, 
Governor  of  the  State,  greatly  to  the  annoyance  of 
the  loyalists,  who  regarded  him  as  an  incorrigible 
rebel.  James  Humphreys,  Jr.,  writing  from  New 
York,  Nov.  23,  1778,  to  Galloway,  in  London,  says, — 


Isaac  Ogden,  a  refugee  from  Newark,  writing  also 
to  Galloway  from  New  York  the  day  before  (22d), 
says, — 

"Livingston  is  re-elected  Governor,  an  attempt  was  intended  to  be 
made  to  supersede  liioi,  but  the  dissenting  Pai-sons  getting  knowledge 
of  it  exerted  themselves  in  such  a  manner  that  his  opponents  were  de- 
terr'd  from  making  the  Experiment.  You  knnw  the  Man,  &  will  with 
Me  pitty  the  poor  People  that  fall  under  his  displeasure." 

Most  cordially  was  the  Governor  hated  by  every 
Tory  in  the  State,  and  with  still  greater  cordiality,  if 


=ury,  No,  1407. 

ir's  Stirling,  p.  204. 


possible,  was  he  loved  and  trusted  by  every  friend  of 
the  country.  His  well-known  connection  with  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  this  town  accounts  for  the 
.story  about  "  the  dissenting  Parsons."  In  the  same 
letter  Ogden  speaks  of  this  town  and  its  vicinity  as 
"  a  Rebellious  country," — a  good  testimony  this  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  town.  In  closing  the  letter  he  in- 
troduces some  family  allusions : 

"  Remember  me  to  Doctor's  Chandler  and  Cooper.  Tell  Doct.  Chandler 
that  Mrs  Chandler  &  his  Daughter  Polly  with  Mis8Ricketts,are  now  in 
York  with  a  Flag  for  a  few  days.  His  son  Bille  I  saw  laat  week,  at 
Staten  Island,  who  has  recovered  from  his  Illness,  he  intends  sailing  for 
England  in  a  short  time  in  the  Amazon."' 

In  arranging  the  winter-quarters  of  the  army.  Gen. 
Washington  made  choice  of  Middlebrook  (Bound 
Brook),  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  for  his  own  headquarters 
with  seven  brigades,  detailing  the  Jersey  Brigade  to 
occupy  Elizabeth  Town,  as  the  advanced  post  of  the 
army.  -This  brought  him,  on  the  1st  of  December, 
to  this  town,  where  he  remained  until  the  morning 
of  the  5th.  In  honor  of  his  visit  a  festive  entertain- 
ment was  given  him  on  the  4th." 

Attempt  to  Capture  Livingston's  and  Maxwell's 
Brigades. — A  practical  illustration  of  the  fear  and 
hatred  entertained  by  the  British,  and  especially  the 
Tories,  towards  Governor  Livingston  was  given  near 
the  close  of  the  winter  of  1779-80.  A  plan  was  de- 
vised by  the  authorities  at  New  York  to  surprise  and 
capture  both  Governor  Livingston's  and  Maxwell's 
brigades  at  this  post.  "  The  Thirty-third  and  Forty- 
second  Regiments,  with  the  light  company  of  the 
Guards,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Col.  Stirling," 
about  one  thousand  in  number,  were  detailed  for 
this  purpose.  They  embarked  at  Red  Hook,  L.  I., 
at  nine  o'clock  p.m.  of  the  24th  of  February,  1779, 
crossed  the  bay  to  the  Bergen  shore,  landed,  and 
marched  overland  to  Newark  Bay,  when  they  re- 
embarked,  the  boats  having  passed  around  through 
the  Kills.  They  landed  between  two  and  three  o'clock 
A.M.  of  the  25th  on  the  salt  meadows  about  a  mile 
north  of  Crane's  Ferry.  Having  obtained  Cai)t.  Wil- 
liam Luce,  Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jr.,  and  John  Smith 
Hatfield  (who  had  gone  over  to  the  British  in  1778) 
as  guides,  the  Forty-second  Regiment  advanced  im- 
mediately, and  gained  the  upland.  The  remainder 
of  the  force  through  a  misunderstanding  waited  at  the 
place  of  landing  for  further  orders.  Col.  Stirling, 
impatient  for  their  appearance,  came  to  a  halt  after 
he  had  got  well  up  towards  Woodruff" 's  Farms,  and 
sent  back  one  of  the  guides  to  order  them  forward. 


I  Sparks'  Washi 

ngtn 

n,v 

.  73.    Ga 

2  Anal.  Index  of  N 

J. 

Doc,  p. 

Mag.,  ii.:i2l-24. 

1  N.  J.  Gazette, 

No. 

47. 

<  Sparks'  Wash 

ngl 

JJI,  V 

i.  155-74. 

f"  Sparks'  Correspon 

ieuc 

e,  ii.  243. 

^  Hist.  Magazin 

B,  v. 

1272 

I  Hist, 
belli  Tu 
Gerniair 


Magazine, V.3:i6,:i:l8.     "Hisson  Bil 
wn,  N.  J.,  presented,  Feb.  11, 1779, 


i,"  Wni.  Chandler,  of  Eliza- 
,  petition    to   Lord  George 


,  representing  "  that 
Dr.  Chandler,  be  wa 


the  Re' 

turned 

Town  in  Jan.,  1777, 1 

granted  him  a  warra 


in  account  of  his  loyalty  and  being  son  of 
I  obliged  to  fly  in  Jan.,  1776— that  he  re- 


Dec,  following,  but  on  the  Royal  army  ' 


ing  Elizabeth 


e  was  again  obliged  to  fly— that  Brig.  Gen.  Skinner 
It  to  be  captain  in  the  New  Jersey  Volunteers  in 
the  April  following,  that  he  has  not  received  any  pay  lor  two  years,  and 
prays  his  Lordship's  recommendation  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton  for  acapbiin's 
comntissiun  in  the  New  Jersey  Brigade."    Anal.  Index.,  p.  4.^8. 

»  Rivington'8  Gazette,  No.  228.    Sparks'  Washington,  vi.  125, 129, 131, 


WAR  OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 


83 


The  officer  in  command  declined  to  receive  the  order 
from  the  lips  of  the  guide,  who  thereupon  returned 
to  Stirling  for  an  ofBcial  order.  In  this  blundering 
they  lost  about  an  hour  and  a  half. 

Col.  Stirling,  in  order  to  gain  fuller  intelligence  as 
to  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  town,  sent  one  of  the 
guides  with  six  soldiers  to  capture  one  of  the  residents. 
They  came  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Hendrick.s,  and  ques- 
tioned him  in  respect  to  the  troops,  some  of  the  sol- 
diers in  the  mean  time  entering  the  house  of  Mr. 
Woodruff,  directly  opposite,  and  beginning  to  plunder. 
Mr.  Woodruff  made  good  his  escape,  and  gave  the 
information  to  Col.  Ogden,  the  officer  of  the  day. 
Gen.  Maxwell  immediately  called  the  troops  to  arms, 
and  marched  them  to  the  rear  of  the  town,  whither 
also  the  principal  part  of  the  inhabitants  retired,  un- 
certain as  to  the  number  and  designs  of  the  enemy. 

A.  detachment  was  sent  with  one  of  the  guides  the 
shortest  route  to  "  Liberty  Hall,"  tlie  residence  of 
Governor  Livingston,  to  apprehend  him.  The  Gov- 
ernor, happily,  had  left  home  some  hours  before,  and 
was  passing  the  night  at  a  friend's  house  a  few  miles 
distant.  It  was  falsely  reported  by  the  enemy  that  he 
had  left  his  bed  only  five  minutes  before  his  house 
was  surrounded.  The  house,  of  course,  was  searched 
in  vain  for  his  person.  His  papers  were  demanded  of 
his  eldest  daughter,  who  had  sufficient  presence  of 
mind  to  lead  them  into  the  library,  and  show  them  a 
drawer  filled  with  intercepted  letters  from  London, 
taken  in  a  British  vessel,  a  part  of  which  they  pock- 
eted, and  then  carried  off  the  remainder  with  the 
drawer  itself.  All  his  recent  correspondence  with 
Congress,  Washington,  and  the  State  officers  was  in 
a  box  in  the  parlor,  which  was  saved  by  this  artifice. 

In  the  mean  time  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  pro- 
ceeded directly  to  the  rear  of  the  town,  and  had  every 
road  guarded  except  the  Rahway  road,  by  which  sev- 
eral of  the  inhabitants  escaped  before  the  guard  could 
reach  it.  The  barracks  and  the  Presbyterian  par- 
sonage, then  used  as  barracks,  were  found  deserted, 
and  in  the  rage  of  their  disappointment  the  eneni}' 
set  them  on  fire  and  they  were  burned  down.  The 
school-house,  or  academy,  adjoining  the  Presbyterian 
burying-ground,  had  been  used  for  storing  provisions 
for  the  troops.  This  also  they  fired  and  destroyed. 
While  it  was  burning  a  few  of  the  female  neighbors, 
of  whom  Mrs.  Egbert  was  one,  rescued  from  the  ruins 
twenty-six  barrels  of  flour.  A  blacksmith's  shop  also 
was  burned.  They  boasted  also  that  they  burned  "  the 
ferry-house  of  Stephen  Crane,"  of  which,  however,  the 
people  themselves  made  no  mention. 

As  soon  as  the  light  enabled  Maxwell  to  ascertain 
the  force  and  positions  of  the  enemy  he  set  his  troops 
in  motion  and  Col.  Stirling  beat  a  retreat.  The  mi- 
litia both  of  this  town  and  Newark  took  the  alarm, 
and  assembled  with  great  alacrity.  Cols.  Dayton, 
Oj^den,  and  Barber  conducted  the  pursuit.  Aban- 
doning the  horses  and  cattle  which  they  had  col- 
lected  the   enemv    retreated    as   thev   came   bv   the 


way  of  the  salt  marsh,  usually  regarded  as  quite 
inaccessible.  Some  skirmishing  ensued,  but  the 
well-directed  fire  of  two  pieces  of  artillery  greatly 
quickened  their  steps.  After  wading  a  considerable 
distance  in  mud  and  mire,  they  reached  their  boats, 
and  re-embarked  undei  the  cover  of  a  galley  and 
two  or  three  gunboats,  not  a  little  galled  by  the  fire 
poured  in  upon  them  from  the  shore.  One  of  their 
boats  grounded,  and  with  the  hands  on  board  was 
captured. 

The  enemy  acknowledged  that  from  four  to  six  of 
their  nuniber  were  slain  and  about  forty  were  wounded. 
They  took  with  them  about  a  score  of  the  elderly  men 
of  the  place,  but  soon  after  restored  them  to  their 
homes.  Brigade-Major  Ogden,  who  first  reconnoi- 
tred the  enemy,  received  a  bayonet-wound  in  his 
right  side,  but  not  dangerous.  Lieut.  Reucastle  also 
was  wounded  and  four  privates;  one  man,  a  private, 
was  killed.  Chaplain  Andrew  Hunter,  on  his  return 
from  the  Governor's  house,  whither  he  had  hastened 
to  give  the  alarm,  was  captured,  but  soon  after  made 
his  escape.  The  invasion,  save  in  the  burning  of  the 
barracks,  the  parsonage,  and  the  academy  (a  proce- 
dure worthy  of  a  savage  foe),  was  a  complete  failure, 
a  signal  blunder.' 

Four  or  five  weeks  after  this  occurrence  Governor 
Livingston  addressed  a  note,  March  29th,  to  Gen. 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  informing  him  that  he  was  "  pos- 
sessed of  the  most  authentic  proofs"  that  one  of  his 
general  officers  had  "offered  a  large  sum  of  money 
to  an  inhabitant  of  this  State  to  a.saassinate"  him — 
the  Governor — "  in  case  he  could  not  take"  him 
"alive."  Ephraim  Marsh,  Jr.,  of  this  town,  had  de- 
posed before  Isaac  Woodruff,  Esq.,  that  Cortlandt 
Skinner  had  offered  him  a  reward  of  two  thousand 
guineas  and  a  pension  for  life  for  such  an  exploit. 
A  reply,  very  curt  and  impertinent,  was  received  from 
Sir  Henry,  to  which  the  Governor  returned  a  wither- 
ing rejoinder.^ 

Depreciated  Currency  and  Hard  Times.— The 
immense  depreciation  of  the  Continental  currencj' 
began  to  be  seriously  felt  among  all  classes  of  the 
community,  but  especially  among  the  soldiers  of  the 
patriot  anny  whose  families  were  in  any  measure 
depending  on  their  wages.  The  Jersey  Brigade, 
under  Maxwell,  stationed  at  Elizabeth  Town,  sent 
an  affecting  memorial  of  their  distressed  condition 
for  want  of  adequate  compensation  to  the  Legisla- 
ture. Gen.  Maxwell  also  urged  their  case,  and  called 
attention  to  the  necessity  of  sending  out  of  the  lines 
the  Tories  who  were  seeking  every  opportunity  to 
induce  the  soldiers  to  desert.  He  instanced  the  cases 
of  Capts.  Kennedy  and  McCloud  at  large  on  their 
parole  and  yet  in  the  pay  of  the  enemy,  "  licensed 

1  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  2.  N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  65.  Gaines'  Mercury,  No. 
1429.  Kenienibrancnr,  vii.  368.  Sparks'  Wasliiiigton,  vi.  IT.i,  1»2,  191. 
Sedgwick's  Livingston,  pp.  322-24.  Barber's  Hist.  Cull,  of  S.  J.,  p.  165. 
Hist.  Magazine,  vi.  180-81,  239. 

2  N.  J.  Journal,  Nos.  10, 12.    Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  pp.  163-64. 


84 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


spies   in   our   very   lines,  among   our   troops.' 
then  adds, — 


He 


"  Mrs.  Clinn.llcr  is  much  in 
respect  t(i  lier  living',  but  in  it 
Illiirik  lier  the  first  iu  thf  pli 
out  uf  New  York  or  any  otii 
w;.itson  Mrs.  Chaniller,  and  riiosti 
out  on  parole  or  exchnuge  wait  on 
Fmnklin  ,  the  whole  of  the  Tories, 


same  way  here  that  McCIoud  is,  with 

'ay  of  giving  intflh'geBce  to  the  enemy 

There  is  not  a  Tory  tliat  passes  in  or 

way  tloit  is  of  oonsequeiice  hut  wliat 

1  the  Briti-h  oHiccrs  Boinir  iu  or 

:  lU  sliiirt,  the  Goveriuir  (Will  am 

niahy,.f  the  Whig,..    I  think  she 


w.Mild  be  mucli  betier  in  New  York,  and  hi  take  her  bagpige  with  her 
that  she  might  have  nothing  to  come  hark  (ur.  Lawyer  Ross  and  some 
othei-  noted  Tories  here  I  would  recommend  to  he  sent  some  distanie 
back  in  the  country.  .  .  .  There  wants  a  thorough  reform  here."i 

A  gratuity  of  two  hundred  pounds  to  each  commis- 
sioned officer  and  forty  dollars  to  each  private  was 
ordered  by  tiie  Legislature,  the  money  immediately  for- 
warded to  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the  brigade  soon  after 
took  up  their  line  of  march  for  the  Susquehanna.  So 
many  of  the  officers  and  men  of  the  brigade  were 
residents  of  this  town,  and  so  long  iiad  they  been  on 
service  at  this  post  during  the  war,  that  the  people  of 
the  town  took  the  deepest  interest  in  everything  per- 
taining to  their  welfare.  It  was  their  own  right  arm 
of  defense.^ 

Wasliington  removed  his  headquarters  from  Mid- 
dlebrook  the  first  week  in  June,  and  soon  after  took 
post  at  New  Windsor,  on  the  North  River.  In  conse- 
quence, as  the  regular  troops  that  usually  kept  watch 
of  Staten  Island  were  on  their  way  to  the  Indian 
country,  the  eastern  coast  of  this  town  was  consider- 
ably exposed.  Col.  Neilson,  a  vigilant  officer,  was 
left  here  with  a  small  corps,  which  with  the  militia, 
ready  to  be  called  out  on  any  emergency,  was  thought 
sufficient  for  the  time  being.  Col.  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen  at  a  later  date  was  appointed  to  the  command 
of  the  State  regiment,  with  his  headquarters  at  this 
post.' 

Removal  of  Tories  and  Refugees. — The  refugees 
on  Staten  Island  took  advantage  of  the  reduction  of 
the  forces  here  and  renewed  their  predatory  excur- 
sions. On  the  night  of  Saturday,  June  12th,  Corne- 
lius Hatfield,  Jr.,  with  five  other  "  loyal  refugees,"  as 
Gaines  calls  them,  crossed  over  the  Sound  to  Lieut. 
John  Haviland's  house,  which  they  effectually  plun- 
dered of  its  contents,  and  seizing  Maviland  and  the 
captain  of  one  of  the  guard-boats,  whom  they  had 
also  surprised,  they  returned  with  them  in  safety  to 
the  island.  A  few  nights  after,  Friday,  18th,  the 
same  party,  with  other  Tories  and  several  British  sol- 
diers, repeated  the  experiment  and  landed  at  Hal- 
stead's  Point. 

"  From  whence  they  stole  up  in  small  parties  amongst  their  friends, 
where,  probably,  they  obtained  full  information  of  the  strength  and 
situation  of  our  guard  at  llaNted's  house,  whlt-h  they  attacked  about 
dayliglit  in  the  morning.  The  guard  being  vijAilaut  eHcaped  {except  one 
man  killed)  and  gave  tlie  alarm  to  the  town  ;  the  vilhune  iu  the  mean 
time  plundered  the  house  of  almost  everything  portnhle,  took  off  his 

J  N.  J.  Bev.  CorrespoDdeuce,  pp.  143-64  ;  159-()8.  Sparks'  Washiugton, 
vi.  252-aB. 

»  Sparks'  Washington,  vi.  253,  265. 

»  Marshall's  Washington,  iv.  6.5,  06.  N.J.  Rev.  Coirespondence,  p. 
176. 


riding-chair,  and  made  Mr.  Halsted  a  prisoner,  who,  however,  had  the 
address  to  take  advantage  of  the  surprise  these  Br.tish  worthies  were 
thrown  into  I'y  the  firing  of  a  single  gun  and  made  his  escape  from 
them ;  had  they  stayed  a  few  minutes  longer  they  would  probably  have 
paid  dear  fer  their  presumption,  as  it  was  they  had  two  men  wounded, 
one  of  them  mortally.''^ 

To  these  troubles  was  added,  at  midsummer,  June 
20th,  a  panic  respecting  the  negroes  of  the  town  : 

"On  Sunday  night  last  it  was  discovered  that  the  negroes  had  it  in 
contemplation  to  rise  and  murder  the'  inhabitants  of  Elizabeth  Town. 
Many  of  them  are  secured  in  gaol."^ 

This  conspiracy  was  of  course  attributed  to  the 
Tories,  and  with  the  plundering  incursions  had  the 
effect  to  quicken  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  find- 
ing, July  6th,  inquisitions  and  entering  judgment  in 
favor  of  the  State  against  the  following  fugitives  and 
offenders,  viz. : 

•' Isaac  Mills.  John  Stiles,  jun.,  George  Marshall,  James  Frazee,  jun., 
Ichabod  Oliver,  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  John  Slone,  Robert  Gault, 
Joseph  Marsh.  John  Ackley,  Cornelius  Hetiield,  jun.,  Oliver  De  Laiicey, 
and  John  Lee,  jr  ,in  the  County  of  Essex.  (It  is  added)  Notice  is  hereby 
given  that  all  the  real  estates  that  lately  belonged  to  the  above  fugitives 
within  llie  bounds  of  Elizabeth  Town  will  be  sold  at  public  vendue  on 
Mondiiy,  the  sixteentii  day  of  August  next,  at  the  house  of  Samuel 
Smith,  innkeeper,  in  Elizabeth  Town  aforesaid,  or  on  the  premises,  and 
also  that  part  of  the  estate  late  the  property  of  Cavalier  Jouet,  that  was 
sold  to  a  certain  Natharuel  Huhheil  (son  of  Rev.),  unless  the  said  Hub- 
bell  appears  and  pays  the  purchase-money  for  the  same  before  the  day 
of  sale."^ 

The  representations  of  Gen.  Maxwell  in  respect  to 
the  removal  of  Tories  from  the  State  were  not  without 
effect : 

"A  motion  was  made  at  Elizabeth  Town  last  Thursday  {12th  of  Au- 
gust, says  Gaines)  to  remove  all  the  suspecled  persons  from  that  place, 
agreeable  to  a  law  lately  passed  in  that  province;  but  the  motion  could 
not  be  cariied,  it  being  strongly  opposed  by  Governor  Livingston,  who 
said  it  was  impolitic  to  thehighest  degree,  and  that  it  would  only  increase 
the  number  of  their  enemies."' 

At  the  convening  of  the  Legislature,  Oct.  27,  1779, 
Livingston  was  the  fourth  time  elected  Governor  of 
the  State.  Great  efforts  had  been  made  by  means  of 
the  press  and  otherwise  on  the  part  of  his  enemies  to 
prevent  his  re-election.  They  could  command  in  the 
Legislature,  however,  only  nine  of  the  thirty-eight 
votes.  The  result  was  highly  gratifying  to  his  patri- 
otic townsmen,  and  all  the  true  patriots  throughout 
the  State." 

Severe  Winter  of  1780. — With  the  commence- 
ment of  the  winter  the  main  body  of  the  army  under 
Washington  took  up  their  quarters  at  Morristown. 
It  proved  to  be  one  of  the  severest  winters  on  record. 
The  cold  set  in  early,  and  storm  succeeded  storm, 
piling  up  tjie  snow  in  every  direction,  until  Jan.  3, 
1780,  when  one  of  the  most  terrific  storms  ever  re- 
membered set  in,  from  which  the  army  suffered  dread- 
fully. The  snow  covered  the  earth  to  the  depth  of 
from  four  to  six  feet,  the  roads  were  everywhere  ob- 
structed, and  almost  nothing  could  be  had  for  the 

«  Gaines' Mercnry,  No.  1443.    New  Jersey  Journal,  No.  19.    N.  J.  Bev. 

Correspondence,  p.  176. 
6  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  19. 
6  Ibid.,  No.  21. 
-  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1462. 
^  Sedgwick's  Livingston,  pp.  338-39. 


WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


85 


sustenance  of  the  troops.  Washington  was  compelled 
to  resort  to  forced  requisitions  on  the  several  counties 
of  the  State.  Col.  Matthias  Ogden  was  appointed  to 
collect  the  cattle  and  grain  required  of  the  county  of 
Essex.  The  State,  to  its  honor  be  it  spoken,  though 
so  greatly  impoverished  by  a  four  years'  war,  came 
nobly  to  the  rescue.  The  crisis  was  firmly  met  and 
safely  passed;  the  army  was  fed  and  furnished.' 

The  extraordinary  severity  of  the  cold  and  its  stead- 
iness closed  up  the  rivers,  the  Sound,  Newark  Bay, 
and  even  the  harbor  of  New  York.  The  isolation  of 
the  city  and  the  island  exi.-iied  no  longer.  The  ice, 
even  in  the  bay  of  New  York,  was  of  such  solidity 
that  an  army  with  all  its  artillery  and  baggage  could 
cross  with  greater  facility  than  on  the  firm  earth. 
Thf  authorities  at  New  York  were  full  of  apprehen- 
sion, and  took  measures  to  concentrate  their  forces  in 
case  of  an  attack.  Extraordinary  vigilance  was  called 
for  on  both  sides  of  the  line. ' 

As  the  troops  had  now  received  their  needed  sup- 
plies, and  a  portion  of  them  might  be  favorably  em- 
ployed in  an  attempt  on  Staten  Island,  Gen.  William 
Irvine,  who  liad  been  sent  down  some  time  before 
with  a  detachment  to  this  post,  was  instructed  to  ob- 
tain information  "of  the  enemy's  strength,  corps,  sit- 
uation, and  works"  on  Staten  Island;  to  ascertain  the 
state  of  the  ice  at  Halstead's  Point  and  at  the  Blazing 
Star  Ferry,  and  to  act  in  concert  with  Col.  Dayton  in 
making  the  necessary  preparations.  Great  caution 
was  to  be  used  in  keeping  the  design  secret.  A  large 
number  of  sleds  or  sleighs — several  hundred — were 
procured,  with  all  the  necessary  ammuniiion,  rations, 
tools,  guns,  and  spare  shoes.  Various  detachments 
were  called  in  and  detailed  for  the  service,  amounting 
to  about  two  thousand  five  hundred  men,  all  to  rendez- 
vous in  this  town  in  the  evening  of  Friday,  the  14th.^ 

The  expedition  was  put  under  the  command  of 
Lord  Stirling,  and  it  was  designed  to  capture,  if  pos- 
sible, the  entire  force  of  the  enemy  on  the  island,  sup- 
posed to  be  about  twelve  hundred  men.  It  was  be- 
lieved that  the  communication  by  water  with  the  city 
was  cut  off.  The  expedition  set  off  in  good  order  early 
in  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  15th.  They  crossed 
safely  on  the  ice  at  De  Hart's  Point  to  Mercereau's 
dockyard.  At  the  forks  of  the  Blazing  Star  road  they 
divided,  one  column  proceeding  by  Dougan's  Mills, 
and  the  other  by  the  back  road  towards  the  watering- 
place  (Tonipkinsville).  Lieut.-Col  Willet  was  de- 
tached to  surprise  Buskirk  and  his  force  of  two  hun- 
dred provincials  at  Decker's  Ferry.  But  the  enemy 
had  obtained  early  intelligence  of  the  invasion,  and 
on  all  sides  retired  to  their  works.  The  two  columns 
effected  a  junction  on  the  heights  above  the  works  at 


1  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  437-41.  Thacher'e  Military  .Touinal,  pp. 
17C-Ji2,  186.  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  of  N.  J.,  pp  388-92.  Gunlon'a  Kcv. 
War,  iii.  42,  4:1. 

-  N.  Y.  Cul.  Duuniueiits.  viii.  781,  7s_',  7s.-,.     Hist.  Mae.,  vlii  58. 

3  Sparks'  Wasliiiigu.il,  vi  4-11-47.  MaraliaU's  Wasliingt.in,  iv.  199- 
2(»i 


the  same  time.  They  found  the  enemy  strongly  for- 
tified, and  intrenched  also  behind  an  abatis  of  snow 
about  ten  feet  in  height.  Communication  by  water 
with  the  city  also  they  found  to  be  open.  After  fully 
reconnoitering  the  position  and  remaining  overnight, 
they  retired  about  sunrise  the  next  morning,  making 
good  their  retreat,  and  arriving  at  De  Hart's  Point 
about  eleven  o'clock  a.m.  At  Decker's  Ferry  they  cap- 
tured and  destroyed  nine  sailing  vessels.  They  took 
eight  or  ten  prisoners,  and  received  several  deserters. 
One  of  the  enemy  was  slain,  as  were  three  of  their 
own  men.  Many  of  the  men  also  were  frost-bitten, 
and  all  suffered  considerably  from  the  severity  of  the 
cold,  the  snow  being  three  or  four  feet  deep.' 

Taking  advantage  of  this  opportunity  a  number  of 
worthless  characters  followed  the  troops  to  the  island 
and  committed  various  depredations  upon  the  people, 
Rivington  says  to  the  extent  of  ten  thousand  dollars. 
Washington  had  given  strict  orders  not  to  allow  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  After  their  return  from  the  island, 
Lord  Stirling  reclaimed  the  property  as  far  as  possible, 
and  issued  orders  that  whoever  had  been  guilty  of 
plundering  should  restore  what  they  had  thus  taken 
to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell,  that  it  might  be  sent  back 
to  the  owners." 

This  expedition  had  the  effect  to  increase  the  vigi- 
lance of  the  enemji,  whose  number  in  garrison  was 
thereupon  doubled,  while,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
forces  on  this  side,  disheartened  by  their  failure,  suf- 
fered a  relaxation  of  both  vigilance  and  enterprise. 
Preparations  were  accordingly  made  by  the  enemy  for 
retaliatory  raids  on  this  town  and  Newark  on  the  night 
of  Tuesday,  Jan.  25,  1780,  and  in  both  cases  they  suc- 
ceeded. The  New  Jersey  Journal  of  the  27th  makes 
the  following  statements : 

"A  party  of  tlie  enemy,  consisting  of  about  three  hundred  infantry, 
under  the  command  of  Col.  Van  Buskirk,  of  the  new  levies,  and  about 
sixty  dragoons,  said  to  be  under  the  coinmaud  of  Capt.  Steward,  of  the 
Seventeeiitli  Ligiit  Dragoons,  with  several  refugees,  ihe  whole  in  num- 
ber Tiearly  four  hundred,  crossed  on  tlie  ice  from  Staten  Island  to 
Trembly's  Point,  about  three  miles  from  Elizabeth  T..wn,  last  Tuesday 
night.  From  tlience  they  were  conducted  by  Cornelius  Hetfleld,  Job 
Helfield,  and  Smith  Hetfield,  their  principal  guides,  the  nearest  and 
most  retired  route  to  Elizabeth  Town.  They  entered  the  town  in  two 
divisions  before  the  alarm  was  sounded.  As  soon  as  the  troops  that  were 
in  town  (consisting  of  about  sixty  men)  perceived  their  danger  they  re- 
treated ;  however  they  took  a  major,  who  was  commandant  of  the  place, 
and  two  or  three  captains  that  lodged  in  town  that  night,  and  a  few 
tri>op8.  Tli»-y  then  set  fire  to  llie  Presbyterian  Meeting-  and  court-house, 
wh.ch  were  consumed ;  plundered,  in.-^ulted,  and  look  off  some  of  the 
inliabitants,  and  retreated  with  great  pieciiiitation  by  the  way  of  De 
Hart's  Point,  whose  house  they  likewise  consumed. "'"J 

"A  gentleman  at  Elizabeth  Town,"  in  a  letter 
written  on  the  29th,  an  extract  from  which  was  pub- 
lished in  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  says, — 

"The  enemy  paid  us  a  visit  here  last  Tuesday  evening;  they  were  ia  ■ 
town  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock,  under  the  command  of  Lieut.-Col. 

*  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  51.  N.  J.  qjizette,  Nos.  109,  110.  Rivington's 
Gazette,  Nos.  AVi,  :i47,  :i4S,  350.  Thacher'e  Journal,  p.  184.  Marshall's 
Washington,  iv.  2U1,  202.  Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  442-48.  Sparks' 
Corr.  of  the  Rev.,  ii.  380-81. 

5  Ibid.,  p.  381.    Sparks'  Washington,  vi.  446. 

■*  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  51. 


86 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


BuBkirk,  of  the  new  levieB,  The  plan  whb  well  concerted,  and  as  well 
executed;  tbey  evaded  our  guards,  and  were  in  town  before  any  one 
knew  it.  The.v  have  taken  forty  or  fifty  ]>rivHtes  and  several  officers, 
with  ten  or  twelve  of  the  inlcal.itants.  Maj.  Williamson  and  Oipt.  Gif- 
ford  lell  intn  their  hands.  Mr.  Belcher  Smith  [son  of  William  Peartree 
Smith]  in  attempting  to  escape  was  likewise  taken.  They  burnt  the 
Presbyterian  Church  and  the  court-house,  plundered  Jecamiah  Smith, 
but  no  other  houses  of  any  consequence,  as  they  were  afraid  to  enter 
them,  and  stayed  but  a  little  time  before  they  pushed  otT."' 

Rivington,  in  his  paper  of  January  29th,  gives  the 
British  version  of  the  affair: 

"  On  Tuesday  night,  the  2.5th  inst.,  the  rebel  posts  at  Elizabeth  Town 
were  completely  surprised  and  carri'-d  I'ff  by  different  detachments  of 
the  king's  tTcps.  Lieut.-Col.  Buskirk's  detachment,  consisting  of  about 
I'^O  men  from  the  1st  and  4th  battalions  uf  Hrig.-Gen. Skinner's  brigade, 
with  12  dragoons  under  the  command  of  Lieut.  Stuart,  moved  from 
Staten  Island  early  in  the  night,  and  got  into  Elizabeth  Town  without 
being  discovered  between  the  hours  of  10  and  II.  With  little  resist- 
ance they  made  prisoners  2  niajors,  3  captains,  and  47  privates,  among 
whom  were  o  di-agoons.  with  their  horses,  arms,  and  accoutrements. 
Few  of  the  rebels  were  killed,  but  several  were  wounded  by  the  dra- 
goons, though  they  afterwards  escnped. 

"The  services  were  perfoi-raed  without  loss.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  some  of  the  rebel  officers  brought  to  town  on  Thursday  last 
.  .  .  from  Elizabeth  Town  :  Maj.  Eccles,  of  the  6th  Maryland  Regiment; 
Ool.  Belt,  of  the  4th  Kegiment,  from  Prince  George  Co.;  Mr.  B.  Smith, 
son  of  Peartree  Smith  ;  Maj.  Williamson  and  his  brother."  - 

Rivington's  statement  as  to  the  persons  and  the 
strength  of  the  detachment  engaged  in  this  retalia- 
tory foray  is  probably  to  be  accepted  as  at  least 
semi-official.  Abraham  Buskirk,  according  to  Gaines' 
Register  for  1781,  was  lieutenant-colonel  commandant 
of  the  Fourth  Battalion  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  or 
Tories,  under  the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Cortlandt 
Skinner,  Esq.  Neal  Stewart  was  a  lieutenant  of  Col. 
Bayard's  Orange  Rangers.  The  guides  were  natives 
of  the  town,  familiar  with  all  the  roads  and  all  the 
residents  of  the  place.' 

Washington  speaks  of  the  e.vent,  two  days  after,  as 
"the  late  misfortune  and  disgrace  at  Elizabeth  Town." 
Not  less  than  two  thousand  men,  under  Col.  Moses 
Hazen,  were  stationed  that  night  along  the  shore  of 
the  frozen  waters  from  Paulus  Hook  to  Amboy,  in 
small  detachments,  one'of  which,  sixty  only  in  num- 
ber, under  Maj.  Ecele.s,  was  detailed  for  this  import- 
ant post.' 

"The  court-house"  was  "a  small  frame,  shingle- 
covered  building,  which  had  never  been  adorned  with 


1  N.  J.  Gazette,  Nob.  110, 112. 

2  Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  348.  Barber's  Hist.  Coll.  of  N.  .7.,  pp.  lr,6- 
67.    Thacher's  Journal,  pp.  166-57. 

s  Hist.  Magazine,  viii.  S-M,  356.  The  names  of  the  persons  captured, 
as  subseqiienlly  i-eported,  were  "  Mt^or  Eccleston,  Major  Williamsnn, 
Captiiin  Gnty,  Captain  Thomas  Woodruff,  Captain  Samuel  Moorehouse, 
Captain  Isaac  Scudder,  Captain  W.  {Bl  Smith,  Captain  Gilford  (Gifford), 
John  Culles,  Ja.  Knot,  William  Frucker,  John  Sullivan,  Charles  Gough, 
John  Gormond,  John  Roebly,  John  Lumox,  Theudorik  Li ndsey,  James 
Davison,  J*tseph  Far8on,John  Blades,Johri  Creaton,  Juhn  Ryon,  Thomas 
.Gorilon,  John  King,  Joseph  Austin,  Jtmes  Dues,  Michael  Coiigblon, 
John  Miles,  Michael  Rowland,  John  Fisk,  E.  Piuket,  Isaac  Dukeson, 
James  Morrison,  Jonathan  Hackson,  Benjamin  Garrison,  Philip  Knoll, 
Abraham  Rosier,  John  Bi-own,  Andiew  Patters.in,  Andi-ew  McFai-land, 
David  Buddel,  .\lbert  Slarret,  Henry  Rendert,  Ralph  Price,  Ah.  Price, 
Jerub  Price,  John  Gray,  .iMhn  Mnlford,  James  Shay."  Not  more  than 
twelve  oi-  fifteen  of  these  were  residents.  The  remainder  were  soldiers. 
Gaines'  Meicuiy   No.  1470.    Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  351. 

*  Sparks'  Washinglon,  vi.  462,  453. 


paint,  and  in  the  same  condition  and  style  of  archi- 
tecture was  the  adjacent  building,  the  Presbyterian 
meeting-house,  both  of  which  respectively  occupied 
the  ground  whereon  now  .stand  the  structures  devoted 
to  the  same  objects."  Such  is  the  description  of  these 
buildings  as  given  by  the  late  Capt.  William  C.  De 
Hart.  They  were  among  the  oldest  and  most  ven- 
erable buildings  of  the  town.  The  church  was  or- 
namented by  a  steeple,  surmounted  by  a  ball  and 
weathercock,  furnished  also  with  a  clock.  It  was 
the  most  conspicuous  and  the  most  valued  building 
in  the  town,  hallowed  as  the  structure  in  which  their 
pilgrim  fathers  had  worshiped  God,  in  which  they 
themselves,  so  many  of  them,  had  been  consecrated  to 
God  in  baptism,  and  in  which  the  great  and  revered 
Dickinson,  the  honored  Spencer,  and  the  still  more 
renowned  Whitefield  had  preached  God's  word  ' 

The  destruction  of  these  buildings  is  by  common 
consent  attributed  to  Cornelius  Hatfield,  Jr.,  whose 
venerable  parents,  Col.  Cornelius  and  Abigail,  were 
among  the  most  excellent  and  honored  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  most  thoroughly  patri- 
otic. The  father  had  been  a  trustee,  and  was  then  an 
elder  of  the  church.  The  mother  died  on  the  27th  of 
April,  in  the  year  following,  in  the  seventieth  year  of 
her  age,  greatly  lamented.  The  renegade  son  was  a 
man  of  great  energy  of  character,  and  of  command- 
ing influence  among  the  refugees.  During  the  pre- 
vious two  years  he  had  resided  on  Staten  Island,  con- 
tinually watching  opportunities  to  molest  and  capture 
his  former  friends  and  neighbors.' 

As  the  son  had  destroyed  their  church  edifice,  so 
the  father  opened  the  doors  of  a  large  "  Red  Store- 
house" that  belonged  to  him,  which  was  fitted  up  for 
the  purpose,  and  used  thenceforward  as  a  meeting- 
house. It  was  on  the  other  and  most  populous  side 
of  the  creek,  on  the  east  side  of  Cherry  Street,  near 
West  Water^ Street,  and  nearly  opposite  Capt.  De 
Hart's  house.  It  was  afterwards  removed  to  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  road,  rebuilt  and  occupied  by  Mr. 
Edward  Price.' 

As  soon  as  Washington  heard  of  the  affair  he  dis- 
patched Maj. -Gen.  Arthur  St.  Clair,  January  27th,  to 
investigate  the  causes  of  the  disaster,  to  guard  against 
future  inroads  of  the  kind,  and  to  ascertain  the 
practicability  of  a  retaliation,  at  the  same  time  to 
take  command  of  all  the  forces  below  the  Hills.  On 
Friday,  the  28th,  St.  Clair  reports  from  Crane's  Mill 
as  follows  : 

"  I  arrived  at  Ool.  Hazeu's  Quarters  the  night  before  last,  and  yesrei^ 
day  with  him  vi.sited  the  several  posts,  which  I  found  to  be  Riihway, 
Cmne's  Mills,  Connecticut  Farms,  Elizabeth  Town,  and  Newark.  Eliz- 
abeth Town  and  Newark  ai'e  occupied  by  small  detaclimuirls  only,  and 
guai'ds  are  posted  at  De  Hart's  aird  Halstead  Points.  A  small  guard  is 
also  kept  at  the  New  Blazing  Star  from  the  post  at  Italiway.  ...  In 
Elizabeth  Town  I  find  a  four  days'  guard,  consisling  of  one  hundred 
men,  with  a  Field  Officer.    This  I  reduced  to  a  Capiaiu  and  fifty,  to  he 


»  Passages  in  the  History  of  E.  T.,  No.  III. 

5  N.  J.  Jouinal,  No.  115. 

'  Passages  in  the  History  of  E.  T,,  No.  II. 


Muri 


I  Notes,  p.  4G. 


WAR    OF   THE    DEVOLUTION. 


87 


relieved  daily.  .  ■  .  The  guards  at  De  Hart's  and  Halstead  Points  are 
certainly  much  exposed." 

Notwithstanding  these  precautions,  another  foray 
was  made  on  Sunday  evening,  30th  of  January, 
which  is  thus  described  in  a  Tory  paper  : 

"  Last  Sunday  eveningaparty,  coiisistinKof  tliirteen  mounted  refugees, 
went  friim  Stateu  Island,  and  [at  Rahway]  in  the  vicinity  of  Elixabetli 
Town,  New  Jersey,  .•.urpri.*ed  Mr.  Wyaiitz,  a  lieutenant  of  tlie  rebel 
militia,  and  ei^ht  private  men  of  Colonel  Jacques'  regiment  [that  had 
bet'n  on  a  party  of  pleasure  with  some  young  ladies].  Few  Republicans 
oil  this  continent  are  more  remarkable  for  theirimplacalile  opposition  to 
his  Majesty's  government  than  some  of  these  pi  isoiiera;  they  were  all 
the  same  evening  securely  lodged  on  Slaten  Island.  They  were  found 
at  a  fandango  or  merry-making  wilh  a  party  ofUsses,  who  became  planet 
struck  at  the  suddi'U  separation  from  their  Damons.  The  further  tro- 
pliies  of  this  successful  excursion  are  three  handsome  sleighs  with  ten 
good  horses,  all  of  which  were  yesterday  driven  to  New  York  over  the 
ice  from  Staten  Island,  an  enterprise  never  yet  attempted  since  the  first 
•ettlenient  of  this  country."  l 

The  ice  blockade  continuing,  the  Tories  took  an- 
other ride  into  Jensey  on  the  10th  of  February  with 
similar  results : 

"On  Thursday  night  last  the  enemy,  under  the  command  of  Generals 
Stirling  and  Skinner,  visited  Elizabeth  Town  entirely  upon  a  plundering 
party.  Among  other  houses  they  plundered  Doctor  Ilaruet'fl,  Messrs. 
William  P.  Smith,  William  Herriman,  Matthias  Halsted,  and  Doctor 
Wynantz,  the  two  former  in  a  most  liarbarons  manner.  The  house  of 
Mr.  Smith  they  searched  throughout  for  Mr  Eliaha  Boudinot,  who  they 
thought  was  concealed  there,  but  fortunately  both  he  and  Mr.  Smith 
lodged  out  of  town.  After  terrifying  the  women  and  children,  they 
heroically  marched  off  with  their  plunder  and  five  or  six  prisouers."  2 

The  horrors  of  that  dreadful  winter  could  not  be 
forgotten  by  that  generation.  The  condition  of  the 
people  in  their  almost  defenseless  exposure  to  the 
barbarian  incursions  of  the  rapacious  foe  was  deplor- 
able in  the  extreme.  But  the  more  they  suffered  for 
their  country's  cause  the  more  fixed  and  deep-rooted 
was  their  determination  never  again  to  submit  to  the 
now  more  than  ever  hated  rule  of  the  cruel  and 
haughty  Briton. 

It  is  surprising  that  any  of  the  people  should  have 
continued,  in  these  circumstances,  to  reside  on  the 
borders  of  the  Sound,  especially  when  it  was  every- 
where frozen  over,  and  ctiuld  be  crossed  over  in  per- 
fect safety  by  the  refugee  marauders.  So  long  as 
this  natural  bridge  lasted  these  incursions  continued. 
The  following  statement,  made  on  Wednesday,  March 
29th,  shows  what  was  now  of  not  infrequent  occur- 
rence : 

"  Last  Friday  night  [24th]  some  villains  from  Staten  Island  came  over 
to  Elizabeth  Town  and  carried  off  Matthias  Halstead,  Esq.,  a  worthy 

Even  after  the  departure  of  the  ice  these  forays 
were  repeated.  On  the  26th  of  April  a  record  is  made 
as  follows : 

"  A  party  of  the  enemy  from  Staten  Island,  consisting  of  about  thirty 
men,  attempted  to  suipiise,  last  Sunday  night  [23d],  a  small  guard  at 
Halstead's  Point,  but  through  the  alertness  of  the  sentinels  (one  of 
which  they  killed)  their  plan  was  efTectually  marred.    They  plundered 


Mr.  Halstead  of  beds  and  bedding,  the  family's  wearing  apparel,  and  seven 
or  eight  head  of  creatures." 

Thus  pa.ssed  in  alarm  and  terror  the  ever  memor- 
able winter  of  1779-80,  memorable  for  the  severity 
of  the  season,  and  for  the  devastation  made  by  the 
merciless  foe. 


CHAPTER    XV. 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION.— ( CoiKii 


-.d.) 


1  Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  349.  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1477.  Moore's 
Diary,  ii.  267-58.     N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  III. 

-  N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  112.  Mr.  Smith's  house  was  the  former  residence 
of  Governor  Belcher.    Mr.  Boudinot  was  the  sou-iu-Iaw  of  Mr.  Smith. 

3  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  .59. 


Knyphausen's  Invasion. — Early  in  the  spring  of 
1780,  Gen.  Knyphausen,  then  chief  in  command  of 
the  British  forces  at  New  York,  began  to  make  vigor- 
ous preparation  for  the  invasion  of  New  Jersey,  with 
the  view  of  driving  out  the  patriot  army.  The  fol- 
lowing report  of  the  inception  of  the  movement  was 
made  by  Governor  Robertson,  of  New  York,  to  Lord 
Germain : 

'*Oii  the  6th  of  June  we  sailed  with  as  many  troops  as  could  safely  be 
spared  from  the  defense  of  this  province— (iOUil— to  Stiteii  Island;  from 
thence  we  landed  our  advanced  guard  the  same  night  at  Elizabeth  Town, 
where  they  wailed  the  landing  of  a  second  embarkatiou  by  the  return 
of  the  boats.  These  Bodys  moved  on,  with  orders  to  try  to  surprise  Max- 
well's brigade  of  Jersey  troops,  stationed  near  to  the  road  we  marched 
by,  to  endeavor  to  get  posst-ssion  of  the  strong  post  at  Short  Hills,  to  wait 
there  thf^  arrival  of  the  third  embarkation  of  the  army,  from  whence 
if  our  intelligence  should  show  circumstances  favorable  it  was  intended 
to  march  directly  with  the  whole  against  Washington,  who  had  been 
sending  his  stores  from  Morristowu,  hut  was  still  iucumbered  there  with 
a  great  many."^ 

The  Coldstream  Guards,  under  the  command  of 
Gen.  Edward  Matthew,  sailing  down  the  bay  disem- 
barked at  Staten  Island,  where  they  were  joined  by 
other  troops,  regulars  and  provincials.  Here  they 
were  formed  into  three  divisions,  the  first  under  com- 
mand of  Brig.-Gen.  Stirling,  the  second  under  Brig.- 
Gen.  Matthew,  the  third,  comprising  the  Coldstream 
Guards  and  others,  under  Maj.-Gen.  Tryon,  the  whole 
under  the  general  command  of  Maj.-Gen.  Knyphau- 
sen. As  soon  as  formed  they  marched  forward  to  the 
landing  opposite  Elizabeth  Town  Point,  arriving  in 
the  night  and  unobserved.  The  first  division  crossed 
the  Sound  in  flat-boats,  and  landed  on  the  meadows 
near  tiie  Point,  where  they  halted  until  in  like  man- 
ner the  second  and  third,  with  the  light  artillery,  had 
crossed  before  day.  Early  on  Wednesday  morning 
the  whole  force  were  in  motion.  Stirling,  being  the 
youngest  general,  led  the  advance. 

In  the  mean  time  word  was  brought  to  Col.  Dayton, 
of  the  Jersey  Brigade,  that  the  British  were  at  the 
Point.  Having  reconnoitred  the  position  he  stationed 
a  guard  of  twelve  men  at  the  eastern  terminus  of 
Water  Street  (now  Elizabeth  Avenue),  where  the 
two  roads  leading  to  the  Old  and  New  Points  diverge, 
with  orders  to  arrest  the  advance  of  the  foe  as  long  as 
practicable  and  then  retire.  Dayton  hastened  back 
to  the  town  and  mustered  his  troops  as  quickly  as  pos- 

f  N.  Y.  C'ol.  Docmts,  viii.  78:i. 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


sible,  to  be  ready  for  the  emergency  and  fall  back  if 
outnumbered. 

As  the  enemy  came  marching  forward  at  the  break 
of  day,  Gen.  Stirling  at  the  head  of  his  division,  the 
guards  at  the  forks  of  the  road  allowed  them  to  ap- 
proach within  musket-shot,  when  they  fired  and  fled 
to  town.  One  of  the  balls  unhorsed  Stirling  and  frac- 
tured his  thigh.  The  whole  column  was  thus  brought 
to  a  halt  until  the  wounded  general  could  be  cared 
for.  Knyphausen  now  placed  himself  at  the  head  of 
the  division,  and  just  as  the  sun  was  rising  upon  the 
earth  the  squadron  in  advance  entered  the  town, 
passing  up  Water  Street  (Elizabeth  Avenue)  and  so 
into  Broad  Street. 

"  An  eye-witness  of  the  passage  of  the  troops  through  the  village  de- 
scribes it  as  one  of  the  most  lienuliful  sights  he  ever  beheld.  In  the  van 
mnrclied  a  squadron  of  dragoons  of  Simeon's  regiment,  Itnown  as  tlie 
'Queen's  Rangers,' with  drawn  swords  and  glittering  helmets,  mounted 
on  ver.v  large  and  beautiful  horses, then  followed  the  infantry,  composed 
of  HeE<ians  and  Kuglish  troops,  the  whole  body  amounting  to  nearly 
six  thousand  men,  and  every  man,  horseman  and  foot,  clad  in  new  uni- 
forms, complete  in  panoply  and  gorgeous  with  burnished  brass  and  pol- 
ished steel."  ^ 

Passing  from  Broad  into  Jersey  Street,  the  columns 
of  the  enemy  on  their  way  to  the  Short  Hills  and 
Washington's  camp  were  led  by  the  guides  along 
the  most  frequented  way,  known  as  the  Galloping 
Hill  road,  which  leaving  the  Westfield  road  on  the 
line  of  the  present  Central  Railroad,  at  the  extreme 
west  point  of  the  town  as  now  bounded,  and  running 
northwesterly  enters  the  village  of  Union  or  "Con- 
necticut Farms"  south  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  passing  through  the  town  the  troops  were  kept  in 
perfect  order,  committing  no  deeds  of  violence. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  foe  had  landed 
word  was  sent  as  quickly  as  possible  to  Prospect  Hill 
in  the  rear  of  Springfield,  when  the  eighteen-pounder 
signal-gun  and  the  tar-barrel  on  the  signal-pole  were 
fired,  and  the  whole  country  on  both  sides  of  the 
mountain  was  roused.  Instantly  the  drums  in  the 
camp  at  Morristown  beat  to  arms,  and  Washington 
and  his  troops  marched  with  all  speed  to  the  post  of 
danger.  The  militia  in  every  direction  seized  their 
firelocks,  swords,  or  whatever  weapon  was  at  hand, 
hastened  to  their  respective  mustering-places,  and  were 
soon  proceeding  by  companies  to  the  field  of  action. 
The  whole  town,  from  the  Sound  to  the  Passaic,  with 
all  its  villages,  from  Springfield  to  Rahway,  was  thor- 
oughly aroused  and  preparing  to  resist  and  drive 
back  the  invading  foe.  Col.  Dayton  and  that  por- 
tion of  the  Jersey  Brigade  that  was  stationed  in  and 
about  the  old  town  made  good  their  retreat  from  the 
superior  numbers  of  the  enemy,  and  effected  a  junc- 
tion with  the  other  portions  of  the  brigade  under 
Gen.  Maxwell  at  Connecticut  Farms.  On  the  way 
up  they  were  joined  by  militiamen,  and  with  in- 
creasing numbers  kept  up  a  continual  skirmishing. 

On  the  rising  ground  just  beyond  the  west  branch 


of  Elizabeth  River,  and  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
southeast  of  the  Farms'  Church,  a  stand  was  made  by 
a  party  of  the  militia,  about  sixty  in  number,  armed 
only  with  muskets,  who  succeeded  in  giving  a  tempo- 
rary check  to  the  column.  Maxwell,  with  his  brigade 
and  some  of  the  militia,  took  post  on  the  high  ground 
beyond  the  Farms'  village,  where  they  not  only 
brought  the  enemy  to  a  halt,  but  drove  back  their 
advance  a  short  distance,  annoying  them  considera- 
bly by  their  firing. 

Writing  from  the  "  Jersey  Camp,  near  Springfield, 
14th  June,  1780,"  to  Governor  Livingston,  Maxwell 
says,— 

"  I  thought  Elizabeth  Town  would  be  an  improper  place  for  me.  I 
therefi)re  retired  toward  Connecticut  Farm'!,  where  Col.  Dayton  joined 
me  with  his  regiment.  I  ordered  a  few  small  jiartit-s  to  defend  the  de- 
'  file  near  the  Farm  Meeting-House.  where  they  were  joineil  and  assisted 
in  the  defense  by  some  small  bodies  of  militia.  The  ujain  Iwdy  of  the 
brigade  had  to  watch  the  enemy  on  the  road  leading  to  tlie  right  and 
left  toward  Springfield,  that  they  might  not  cut  off  our  communication 
with  his  Excellency  General  Waaliinglon.  Our  parties  of  Continental 
troops  and  militia  at  the  defile  performed  wonders.  After  stopping  the 
advance  of  the  enemy  near  three  hours,  they  crossed  over  the  defile  and 
drove  them  to  the  tavern  that  was  Jeremiah  Smith's;  but  the  enemy 
were  at  that  time  reinforced  with  at  least  15no  men,  and  our  people 
were  driven  in  their  turn  over  the  defile  and  obliged  to  quit  it.  I,  with 
the  whole  brigade  and  militia,  was  formed  to  attack  them  shortly  after 
they  bad  crossed  the  defile,  but  it  was  tho't  imprudent,  as  the  ground 
waa  not  advantageous,  and  tlie  enemy  very  numerous.  We  retired 
slowly  towards  the  heights  toward  Springfield,  harassing  them  on  their 
right  and  left  till  they  came  with  their  advance  to  David  Meeker's 
house,  where  they  thought  proper  lo  halt.  Shortly  alter  the  whole 
brigade,  with  the  militia,  advanced  their  right,  left,  and  front  with  the 
greatest  rapidity,  and  drove  their  advance  to  the  main  body.  We  were 
in  onr  turn  otiliged  to  retire  alter  the  closest  action  1  have  seen  this 
war.  We  were  then  pushed  over  the  bridge  at  Springfield  (Rahway 
River),  where  we  posted  some  troops,  and  with  the  assistance  of  a  field- 
piece  commanded  by  the  militia  the  enemy  were  again  driven  back  to 
their  former  station,  and  still  farther  before  night.  Never  did  troops, 
either  Continental  or  militia,  behave  better  than  ours  did.  Every  one 
that  had  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 
the  day  closed  the  scene, "2 

The  fighting  on  this  occasion  took  place  mostly  on 
the  rising  ground  back  of  the  Farms'  village  and  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Rahway'River : 

"  In  the  hope  of  preserving  the  Faims  (village)  Odonel  Dayton,  who 
at  that  time  commanded  the  militia,  determined  not  to  halt  in  the 
settlement,  but  to  take  post  at  a  narrow  pass  on  the  road  leading  to 
Springfield,"  ^ 

Both  parties,  therefore,  passed  through  the  village 
without  damage  to  the  dwelling-houses.  Many,  if  not 
the  most,  of  these  houses  were  at  noon  and  in  the 
afternoon  "  filled  with  their  wounded." 

In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  the  British  com- 
mander "  learned  from  Prisoners  and  Deserters  that 
Washington  had  got  time  to  occupy  with  all  his  force 
the  strong  post  of  Short  Hills.'"  This  information  at 
once  put  an  end  to  all  thoughts  of  advance.  A  retro- 
grade movement  vva.s  at  the  close  of  the  day  deter- 
mined upon,  to  be  executed,  however,  only  after  night- 
fall.' 


'  De  Hart's  "  Passages  in  the  History  of  Elizabeth  Tow 


-  Hist.  Magazine,  iii  211, 
3  Marshall's  Washington, 
*  N,  Y.  Col.  DoclutB.,  viii. 


WAR  OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


89 


Preparations  accordingly  were  made  for  an  encamp- 
ment. Lieut.  Mathew,  of  the  Coldstream  Guards, 
says, — 

"Fiudinp  that  the  nislit  woiiM  come  on  before  we  readied  Spring- 
fielj,  we  retreateil  to  a  very  coniniandiiig  ground  near  a  place  or  village 
called  Coniiecticnt  Fiiiin^.  wliicli  we  burnt  on  our  retreat  afterwards. 
Here  the  urni.v  divided  their  ground  and  sent  out  pickets,  expecting  to 
la.v  here  the  whole  night.  I  was  on  a  picket.  I  went  on  it  about  five 
o'clock  in  tlip  evening-  It  was  in  the  Hkil-ts  of  a  wood;  the  rebels  kept 
Bring  on  it  from  the  time  I  went  on  till  dark."' 

As  soon  as  it  was  determined  to  advance  no  f^trther 
the  soldiers  seem  to  have  commenced  the  work  of 
plundering,  which  was  mo.st  effectually  prosecuted, 
Governor  Robertson  himself  sharing  in  the  plunder. 
The  village  consisted  of  a  house  of  worsliip  belonging 
to  the  Presbyterian  Church  (a  frame  building)  and 
eight  or  ten  dwelling-houses,  besides  stores,  shops,  and 
outhouses.  The  buildings  were  first  given  up  to  pil- 
lage, thoroughly  ransacked,  and  everything  portable 
carried  oft'.  They  were  then  fired  and  burnt  down.  The 
church  edifice  shared  the  same  fate.  The  houses  on 
the  road  running  east  froin  the  church,  belonging  re- 
spectively to  Benjamin  Thompson,  Moses  Thompson, 
John  Wade,  and  Robert  Wade,  and  the  house  belong- 
ing to  Caleb  Wade,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  on  which  the 
church  stood,  were  thus  destroyed.^ 

Tiie  parsonage  wa.s  on  the  street  running  north  and 
south  that  bounds  the  village  on  the  west.  It  was  on 
the  eastern  side  of  the  street  fronting  west.  The  last 
pastor  of  the  church,  Rev.  Benjamin  Halt,  had  died 
June  27,  1779.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell,  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  by  the  advice  of  friends,  had,  shortly  after  Mr. 
Hait's  decease,  rented  the  vacant  parsonage  and  occu- 
pied it  with  his  family,  having  removed  thither  from 
Springfield.  Mr.  Caldwell  had  vainly  endeavored, 
when  the  alarm  was  given  in  the  morning,  to  induce 
his  wife  to  seek  with  him  and  the  elder  children  a 
place  of  greater  security.  She  concluded  to  trust 
Providence  and  remain  at  home,  "  under  the  persua- 
sion that  her  presence  might  serve  to  protect"  the 
hou.se  "  from  pillage,  and  that  her  person  could  not 
possibly  be  endangered."^ 

Thacher,  who  was  with  Washington  on  this  occa- 
sion, says,  in  his  military  journal,  that  "On  the 
arrival  of  the  royal  troops  Mrs.  Caldwell  entertained 
the  oflicers  with  relreshinents,  and  after  they  had  re- 
tired she  and  a  young  woman,  having  Mrs.  Caldwell's 
infant  child  in  her  arms,  seated  themselves  on  the  bed." 
Another  account,  published  seven  days  after  the  oc- 
currence, says, — 

"Mrs.  Caldwell  retired  into  a  back  roi>ni,  which  was  so  situated  that 
she  was  entirely  secured  against  transieni  shot  fnuii  either  parly  sboiitd 
they  dispute  the  ground  near  the  Inaise,  wli  ch  lia].|jened  not  to  be  the 
case.  The  babe  [Maria]  was  in  the  arms  of  the  h..il»ekeeper  [Cat..aiine 
Fernard.Dra>.mallgirl  named  Abigail  Leiningb.nJ;  the  other  child  the 
m.>llier  held  by  the  hand,  all  >illing  upon  the  shie  of  the  bed,  when  one 
of  the  barbarians  advalning  round  the  lioiise,  took  the  advantage  of  a 
small  space  tbiough  which  the  room  was  acce-sible  and  fired  two  balls 

'  Hist.  Mag.,  i.  li>4. 

2  Barber's  N.  .(.  Hist.  Coll..  p.  l!)r,. 

a  Ibiil.    Brown's  Life  of  liev.  l>r.  Finley,  i.p.  24(M1. 


iutu  that  amiable  lady,  f 
moment."  * 


well  directed  that  they  ended  her  life  i 


The  circumstances  of  her  death  are  variously  re- 
lated. The  most  particular  and  the  most  plausible 
statement  is  the  following : 

"The  maid,  who  had  accompanied  her  to  this  secluded  a|>artraent  and 
had  charge  of  the  other  small  children,  on  looking  out  of  a  window  into 
the  biick.yard  ohserved  to  Mrs.  Cablwell  that  a  'red-coat  soldier  bad 
jumped  over  the  fence  and  was  coming  up  to  the  window  with  a  gun.' 
Hei  youngest  son  [Elias  Boudinot],  nearly  two  years  old,  pl.iying  upon 
the  Hoor,  on  hearing  what  the  maid  said,  called  out, '  Let  me  see!  Let 
me  ^ee^  and  ran  that  way,  M  re.  Caldwell  rose  from  silting  on  a  bed 
very  near,  and  at  this  moment  the  sidd  er  fired  his  musket  at  her  through 
the  window.  It  was  loaded  with  two  balls,  which  both  passed  through 
her  body."  ^ 

Thacher  says  that  at  the  sight  of  the  soldier  Mrs. 
Caldwell  exclaimed,  "  Don't  attempt  to  scare  me !" 
when  the  soldier  fired,  shooting  her  through  the 
breast,  and  she  instantly  expired.' 

That  it  was  a  British  soldier  that  killed  her  is  fully 
established,  and  that  it  was  not  a  random  shot  is  also 
clear.  But  that  she  was  known  to  the  murderer,  or 
that  he  was  seeking  to  gratify  a  personal  malice,  is  not 
evident.  It  was  at  all  events  an  act  of  fiendish  bar- 
barity that  made  the  British  name  still  more  exe- 
crable, not  only  by  her  townsmen,  but  by  the  whole 
American  people. 

Conflicting  statements  also  are  made  as  to  the  dis- 
posal of  the  corpse.  Thacher  says  that  "  a  British 
officer  soon  after  came,  and,  throwing  his  cloak  over 
the  corpse,  carried  it  to  the  next  house."  A  corre- 
spondent of  the  New  Jersey  Gazette,  under  date  of  June 
13th,  says:  "I  saw  her  corpse,  and  was  informed  by 
the  neighbors  it  was  with  infinite  pains  they  ob- 
tained leave  to  bring  her  body  from  the  house  before 
they  set  tire  to  it."' 

The  house  to  which  the  body  was  conveyed  be- 
longed to  Capt.  Henry  Wade.  It  was  a  small  build- 
ing on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  (the  site  of 
winch  has  of  late  been  occupied  by  the  family  of  Mr. 
Phineas  Crilley ),  one  of  the  only  two  dwelling-houses 
in  the  village  that  escaped  the  flames.  There  Mr. 
Caldwell  found  it  the  next  morning,  and  thence  the 
same  day  it  was  with  appropriate  ceremonies  carried 
to  the  grave.  Three  months  after  he  published  a 
most  afi'ecting  appeal  on  the  subject  that  made  a  deep 
impression  on  the  public  mind.'* 

Tlie  expedition  proved  a  miserable  failure.  This 
great  array  of  disciplined  troops,  horse  and  foot  and 
flying  artillery,  so  ctmfident  in  the  morning  of  reach- 
ing the  American  camp  at  Morristown  and  breaking 
up  the  rebellion,  were  held  at  bay  by  a  lew  hastily- 
gathered  militia,  driven  back,  and,  alter  the  inglori- 


*  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  70.  Catharine  Bernard  was  manic 
to  J<dlli  Spicer,  of  Turkey. 

»  Blown's  Life  of  Kiuley,  p.  241. 

6Tliacher'sJournal,  p.  19:i. 

'  N.  .).  Gazette,  No.  l:ii;.     N.  J.  Journal.  No  70,  7a. 

8  Barber's  N.J.  Hist.  Coll.,  p.  197.  N.  J.  Jouin.il,  No.  I 
paiticnia.s,  see  Mis.  Ellet'a  •' Women  of  the  Revoluli. 


173. 


For  further 
'  ii.  lOS,  U.-i, 


90 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


ous  destruction  by  fire  of  the  little  hamlet  at  Con- 
necticut Farms,  compelled  the  same  night,  in  the 
midst  of  drenching  rain,  and  through  mud  and  marsh, 
to  retreat  to  the  point  of  departure.  Says  Lieut. 
Mathew, — 

"About  ten  u'cluck  the  whole  Hmiy  got  in  lnoti"ii  anc]  movej  off.  It 
was  BO  exceedingly  dark,  and  there  was  such  strict  silence  ohservH,!,  that 
one  regiment  could  not  perceive  the  adjoining  regini'-ut  going  off.  .  .  . 
It  was  the  darkest  night  I  can  remember  in  my  life,  with  the  most 
heavy  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning  kn.'Wn  in  this  cr.untry  for  many 
years.  ...  It  rained,  I  tliink,  harder  than  I  ever  knew,  and  thundered 
and  lightened  so  severely  as  to  frighten  the  hordes,  and  once  or  tw.ce 
the  wiiole  army  halted,  being  deprived  of  sight  f..r  a  time.  General 
Knyphausen's  liorse  started  so  as  to  throw  the  general. 

'■We  continued  our  march  until  we  readied  the  bank  of  the  creek 
(Sound)  which  lie  had  crossed  in  tlie  m"rning.  Nothing  mure  awful 
than  this  retreat  can  be  imagined.  The  rain,  with  the  teirilde  thunder 
and  lightning,  the  darkness  of  the  night,  the  houses  at  Connecticut 
Farms  which  we  had  set  fire  to  in  a  blaze,  the  dead  bodies  wliich  the 
liglit  of  the  fire  or  tlie  lightning  showed  yon  now  and  then  on  the 
road,  and  the  dread  of  an  enemy  completed  the  scene  of  horror.  .  .  . 
We  halted  at  the  side  of  the  creek  and  took  up  our  ground,  and  the 
whole  army  encamped."  i 

As  the  result  of  the  day's  encounter,  Gen.  Maxwell 
reported  one  ensign  (Moses  Ogden,  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  aged  nineteen)  killed  and  three  lieutenants 
wounded,  seven  privates  killed,  twenty-eight  wounded, 
and  five  missing.  The  militia  also  lost  several  and 
had  a  number  wounded.  The  enemy  lost  three  times 
the  number.  Gen.  Stirling  died  of  his  wound  nearly 
a  year  later. 

"The  Tories  were  so  sure  of  the  enemy's  surceeding  that  they  sent 
word  to  their  friends  in  Elizabeth  'I'own  that  they  should  pay  them  a 
visit  the  day  after  the  enemy  came  over."  2 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  visit  was  not  paid.  It  is 
quite  certain  that  the  town  "  the  day  after"  was  not  a 
very  agreeable  place  for  men  that  could  glory  in 
Knyphausen  and  his  deeds. 

Occupation  of  Elizabethtown  Point  by  the  Brit- 
ish.— The  scouts  that  followed  after  tlie  retreating  foe 
on  their  return  reported  that  they  had  passed  over  to 
Staten  Island,  all  but  about  five  hundred  men  left 
behind  to  intrench  themselves  at  the  Point.  They 
encamped  between  the  Old  Point  and  De  Hart's 
house.  Lord  Stirling,  the  senior  in  command  below 
the  Hills,  is  reported  to  have  said  thereupon  to  Gen. 
Hand,  "Take  your  brigade.  Hand,  and  the  two  bri- 
gades of  militia,  and  go  down  and  bring  up  those 
fellows  at  the  Point."  The  columns,  numbering 
about  fifteen  hundred,  were  soon  put  in  inarching 
order,  to  rendezvous  at  Elizabeth  Town.  Here  the 
troops  were  marshaled  for  the  attack.  The  Continen- 
tals, under  Gen.  Hand,  had  the  centre,  with  a  militia 
brigade  on  the  right  and  left.  They  advanced  in 
three  columns,  designing  to  assault  the  enemy  in  as 
many  points  at  once. 

The  advance  corps  of  the  left  brigade  cut  off  and 
captured  the  picket-guard  of  the  enemy.  This  bri- 
gade were  much  exposed  before  reaching  their  point  of 
attack  in  crossing  a  meadow,  and  drew  forth  so  heavy  a 


<  Historical  Magazine,  i.  104, 105. 
«  Barber's  N.  J.  Hist.  Coll.,  p.  192. 


fire  of  artillery  from  the  enemy  as  to  shnw  that  they 
were  in  full  force.  Hand  contrived,  therefore,  to  give 
the  attack  the  appearance  of  a  feint,  and  drew  off  his 
troops  so  deliberately  as  to  make  the  enemy  believe 
that  he  was  simply  executing  a  manoeuvre  designed 
to  draw  them  from  their  fortifications.  He  succeeded 
in  effecting  his  retreat  to  the  town  without  being  pur- 
sued. The  cannonade  at  one  time  was  very  heavy, 
and  would  have  done  fearful  execution  had  their  aim 
been  lower,  nearly  all  the  balls  passing  over  the  heads 
of  the  troops  on  their  advance.'' 

The  ground  occupied  by  the  contending  forces  on 
this  occasion  is  now  covered  by  the  factories,  ware- 
houses, and  residences  of  Elizabethport, — the  First 
Ward  of  the  city  of  Elizabeth. 

The  British  army  continued  in  the  occupation  of 
this  post  during  the  next  fortnight,  behind  the  forti- 
fications thrown  up  by  the  Americans  more  than  four 
years  before,  continual  skirmishes  taking  place  be- 
tween the  lines. 

The  situation  of  the  town  during  this  period  was 
anything  but  enviable.  Almost  daily  they  were  visited 
by  portions  ot  one  army  or  the  other, — placed  between 
two  fires. 

Gen.  William  Irvine,  from  the  "Camp  Short  Hills, 
June  18th,"  wrote  to  his  wife  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Tile  Enemy  lie  still  at  Elizabethtown  Point,  about  ten  miles  from 
here.  We  have  small  parlies  down  near  them  every  day.  but  there  is 
bul  little  damage  done  on  eillier  side.  We  liave  taken  at  different  times 
some  foi  ty  prisoneis.  .  .  .  We  have  been  now  Ibirteen  d'ly.-.  at  this  place 
« itinint  Tents  or  Baggage.  Ko coveiint:  except  boughs  of  trees  and  bark, 
whicli,  however,  is  cool  and  pleasant  in  the  heat  of  Ihe  day.  and  serves 
to  keep  outa  good  deal  ol  rain.  Notuitlixtanding  these  piivalions,  we 
have  m.t  liail  a  ni  .n  sick  since  we  have  lakeu  the  field.  One  cons.da- 
tion  we  have,  the  enemy  are  w.,ise  off  than  we  are  They  liave  no  Tents, 
and  are  iiemed  in  a  nariou  neck  ol  hind,  wliilst  we  li  've  a  uide  exieut 
of  country.    Yon  may  think  your  sitoalion  h:ipp\  indeed,  my  love,  when 

compared  witli  Iliat  of  the  p people  of  Ibis  part  ot  our  country.    It 

grieves  me  beyond  expression  to  see  their  distressed  situation,  particu- 
larly that  of  ti.e  Women  and  cliildren.  Murder  and  Uapiin' await  them 
wherever  the.-e  Inilbarians  come.  Were  it  possible,  I  would  suffer  a 
thousand  denths  lallor  than  see  you  in  Ihe  situation  sono'  poor  gentle- 
men here  are  forced  to  see  Ilieir  wives  and  daughters  left  in."* 

The  attempt  to  penetrate  to  Washington's  camp  by 
the  way  of  the  Short  Hills  was  renewed  a  few  days 
later,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  taking  the  oversight  of  the 
affair.  The  British  lett  their  camp  at  the  Point  before 
day  on  Friday,  the  23d,  and  marched  forward,  an 
imposing  force  of  about  five  thousand  men,  besides 
dragoons,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  pieces  of  artillery, 
superior  to  any  force  that  Washington  could  oppose 
to  them.  Having  driven  in  the  American  pickets, 
they  pressed  on  without  obstruction  to  Connecticut 
Farms,  which  they  reached  about  sunrise.  From  this 
point  they  proceeded  in  two  compact  columns,  the 
right  taking  the  more  circuitous  road  on  the  north 
that  leads  through  Headly  Town,  Vauxhall,  and  Mil- 
burn,  and  unites  with  the  main  roail  just  below  the 
principal  pass  of  the  Short  Hills  back  of  Springfield, 


s  Junes'  Life  of  Dr.  Greene,  pp.  111-14. 


I  Hist.  Mag.,  vii.  81. 


WAR  OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 


91 


the  lel't  taking  the  road  tliat  leads  directly  from  "  the 
Farms"  over  the  Rah  way  Kiver  to  Springfield,  with 
wliicli  route  they  had  become  painfully  familiar  on 
their  previous  expedition. 

As  soon  as  the  enemy  were  si  en  from  the  signal-sta- 
tion on  Prospect  Hill,  the  eighteen -pounder  and  the 
tar-barrel  were  again  fired.  The  militia  began  imme 
diateiy  to  collect  from  every  quarter;  the' troops  that 
were  guarding  the  several  passes  over  the  hills  were 
hastily  called  in  and  posted  so  as  at  once  to  resist  the 
advancing  foe,  protect  the  American  flanks,  and  se- 
cure a  retreat  if  needed.  Major  Lee,  with  the  horse 
and  the  pickets  under  Capt.  Walker,  took  post  at 
Little's  Bridge,  on  the  Vauxhall  road,  su|)ported  by 
Col.  Ogden's  comnjand.  The  defense  of  the  village 
against  the  left  column  of  the  enemy  was  intrusted  to 
Col.  Dayton's  reginientof  the  Jersey  Brigade.  Stark's 
brigade  and  the  remainder  of  Maxwell's  were  drawn 
up  on  the  heights  near  the  mill  in  the  rear  of  the  vil- 
lage, with  the  militia  on  the  flanks. 

In  the  disposal  of  his  regiment  Col.  Dayton  sta- 
tioned Col.  Angell,  of  Rhode  Lsland,  with  about  two 
hundred  men  and  a  piece  of  artillery  at  the  first 
bridge  over  the  principal  stream,  on  the  main  road  in 
front  of  the  town,  and  Col.  Shreve  with  a  detach- 
ment at  the  second  bridge,  over  a  smaller  stream  on 
the  same  road  behind  the  town,  so  as  to  cover  the  re- 
treat of  Col.  Angell's  forces.  The  planks  of  the 
bridges  in  front  had  been  removed. 

As  the  van  of  the  enemy  approached  the  first  bridge 
they  began  to  manoeuvre  in  such  a  way  and  so  long, 
nearly  two  hours,  as  to  convince  Gen.  Greene  that 
they  were  moving  on  his  flanks.  In  the  mean  time 
the  right  column  of  the  enemy  advanced  along  the 
Vauxhall  road  to  the  bridge,  defended  by  Maj.  Lee 
and  Capt.  Walker.  Here  they  met  with  a  stout  re- 
sistance from  the  dragoons  and  pickets,  but  having 
forded  the  river  higher  up,  and  gained  the  point  of 
the  hill  near  by,  Lee  and  Walker  were  compelled  to 
retire. 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  that  the  right  column  had 
reached  the  bridge  in  front  of  Lee,  the  left  column 
advanced  in  force  against  Col.  Angell  at  the  lower 
bridge,  and  after  a  hotly-contested  struggle  of  forty 
minutes  compelled  hiui  to  retire  behind  the  second 
bridge  in  good  order,  carrying  off  his  wounded. 
Col.  Shreve  in  like  manner  was  compelled  to  give 
way  after  covering  Angell's  retreat,  when  both  com- 
mands fell  back,  and  joined  Maxwell  and  Stark  on 
the  high  ground  in  the  rear.  Two  regiments.  Col. 
Webb's  (under  Lieut.-Col.  Huntington's  command) 
and  Col.  Jackson's,  with  one  piece  of  artillery,  were 
posted  on  the  Vauxhall  road  to  the  left  so  as  to  cover 
Lee's  retreat  and  oppose  the  advance  of  the  enemy's 
right  column,  while  the  main  body  of  troops  were 
posted  on  the  first  range  of  hills  in  the  rear  of  Byram's 
tavern. 

During  the  heat  of  the  contest  with  Dayton's  regi- 
ment it  is  related  of  his  chaplain,  Mr.  Caldwell,  that 


he  showed  the  utmost  ardor  in  the  fight,  as  if  he 
would  avenge  himself  for  the  murder  of  his  beloved 
wife.  To  supply  the  men  with  wadding  for  their  fire- 
locks he  galloped  to  the  church  near  by  and  brought 
back  an  armful  of  psalm-books,  and  as  he  handed 
them  around  he  shouted,  "  Now  put  Watts  into  them, 
boys!" 
!  Having  gained  possession  of  the  village,  and  ob- 
served how  every  post  in  front  was  occupied  by  the 
Continentals  and  the  militia,  whose  numbers  were 
continually  increasing,  the  enemy  showed  no  dispo- 
sition to  press  forward.  Fearing,  too,  as  they  learned 
fnmi  their  scouts  of  the  approach  of  the  brigade  sent 
out  by  Washington,  that  their  retreat  might  be  cut 
off,  they  determined  to  proceed  no  farther,  but  to  re- 
trace their  steps  as  before.  The  work  of  plunder  now 
began,  and  house  after  house  was  rifled  of  its  valua- 
bles, fired,  and  burned  to  the  ground.  Nineteen  dwel- 
ling-houses and  the  Presbyterian  Church  were  thus 
destroyed.  Only  four  dwelling-houses  were  spared, 
being  occupied  by  their  wounded.  Foiled  completely 
in  their  object  now  as  before,  they  once  more  took 
up  their  backward  line  of  march,  and  disappeared 
as  rapidly  as  they  came,  pursued  and  galled  by  a 
detachment  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  regulars 
under  Capt.  Davis  and  a  large  body  of  militia,  who 
fell  upon  their  rear  and  flanks,  and  pursued  them 
almost  to  their  fortifications  at  the  Point.  The  sight 
of  the  burning  dwellings  almost  maddened  the  mili- 
tia, who  eagerly  sought  to  take  off  the  red-coated 
marauders.  Maj.  Lee  with  his  dragoons  also  fell 
upon  their  rear,  and  captured  some  of  the  refugees 
that  accompanied  the  army,  as  well  as  some  of  the 
Tories  who  had  joined  them  and  welcomed  their 
coming. 

The  enemy,  crestfallen  and  severely  jmnished  for 
their  audacity,  entered  Elizabeth  Town  on  their  return 
about  sunset  closely  pursued  by  Stark's  brigade, 
which  in  their  eagerness  to  escape  they  effectually 
distanced  by  their  precipitate  flight.  Having  reached, 
before  dark,  the  cover  of  their  Ibrtifications,  they 
rested  until  midnight,  when  they  crossed  the  Sound 
on  their  bridge  of  boats,  which,  of  course,  they  took 
up  and  removed  as  their  rear-guard  passed  over. 
Gen.  Dickinson  marched  the  militia  to  the  Point  the 
next  day  and  effectually  demolished  the  works 
which  the  enemy  had  constructed,  and  then  dis- 
missed the  brave  yeomanry,  with  great  reputation,  to 
their  homes. 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  the  several  contests 
of  the  day,  as  reported  by  Lieut.-Col.  Barber,  deputv 
adjutant-general,  was  thirteen  killed  and  forty-nine 
wounded.  The  militia  had  none  killed,  only  twelve 
wounded,  and  nine  missing.  Only  one  oflScer  was 
slain.  First  Lieut.  Thompson,  of  the  artillery.  The 
loss  of  the  enemy  is  not  recorded.  It  must  have 
been  very  considerable.  Lieut.  Mathew  says  that 
"  in  this  expedition  to  the  Jerseys  .  .  .  there  were 
not  less  than  five  hundred  killed,  wounded,  and  miss- 


92 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ing,  besides  officers,"  among  whom  was  Brig.-Gen. 
Stirling.' 

Thus  ended,  so  far  as  this  town  is  concerned,  the 
most  memorable  campaign  of  the  war.  The  whole 
of  these  exploits,  from  the  7th  to  the  23d  of  June, 
occurred  within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  old 
borough.  That  on  both  these  occasions  so  powerful 
and  well-organized  a  force  should  have  been  held  at 
bay  and  then  driven  back  by  so  small  a  body  of  Con- 
tinentals, aided  by  the  militia  from  their  farms  and 
workshops, — not  more  than  a  thousand  on  the  23d 
having  at  any  one  time  been  brought  into  action, — 
reflects  great  credit  on  both  the  patriotism  and 
bravery  of  the  people.  Washington  was  delighted 
with  their  services.     June  25th  he  thus  writes, — 

"  The  mint  a  deserve  everything  that  can  be  a  lid  on  Imtli  cicc-Hsious. 
They  fli'w  tii  arms  universally,  and  ailed  with  a  spirit  equal  to  anything 
I  liavese'-n  iu  the  course  of  the  war."2 

From  this  time  forward  the  people  were  mostly  per- 
mitted to  remain  at  home  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
fields  and  in  the  pursuits  of  trade.  The  harvests 
were  gathered  without  interruption,  and  the  wastes 
of  the  war  were  in  part  repaired.  As  tlie  enemy, 
however,  still  continued  in  force  on  Staten  Island,  it 
became  necessary  to  guard  againt  a  repetition  ol'  these 
outrages.  In  consequence  of  the  exposed  condition 
'  of  the  post  no  more  military  stores  were  to  be  ke|)t 
here,  thus  removing  one  of  the  strong  temptations  to 
these  marauding  expeditions. 

The  partisan  warfare  from  which  individuals  had 
so  severely  suffered  was  still  continued.  The  refu- 
gees on  Staten  Island  were  specially  malignant  and 
troublesome.  The  following  notice,  publislied  No- 
vember 8th,  shows  something  of  the  danger  to  which 
the  prominent  friends  of  the  country  were  continually 
exposed : 

"On  Saturday  night  last  [4th]  Smith  Hetiifld.Carn.linsHptfl.dd,  Elias 
Man,  anil  some  others  came  over  from  Stat.n  l^land  to  Eiizalith  Tow  u 
where  they  were  infm-nied  that  Col  [Matthias]  0i.'deii,or  the  Vi  »t.l.-r»ey 
KeKimeul,  and  (  aplain  [.I..nathan]  Dayton,  of  the  Tliiid,  were  to  lodge 
that  ni;rlit  at  William  Herd's  at  Connecticut  Farms,  to  which  place  Ihey 
hastened,  made  them  both  prisoners,  and  carried  them  off  unmoleated  to 
Staten  Island." 

Gaines,  under  date  of  September  28d,  represents 
that  the  people  suffered  also  from  the  foraging  parties 
of  their  own  army  : 

"  Last  Week  a  Party  of  Mnyland's  Light  Horse  were  at  Elizahelh  Town, 
collecting  cattle  for  the  Use  ol  the  Kebel  Army.  Tliey  tO"k  a  pair  of  fat 
Oxen  out  of  a  Team  ou  the  Eoad.and  gave  the  Driver  a  iecei|.t  lor  Iheni; 
They  then  proceeded  to  the  I'oint  Meadi.ws,  ami  t.'ok  away  every  Ho.if 
from  them,  but  were  opposed  on  the  Way  by  the  Militia  and  the  Com- 
missioners of  the  Place,  who  obliged  them  to  reliminish  "heir  Booty." 

Under  date  of  Dec.  18,  1780,  Gaines  says, — 


1  N.  J.  .Journal,  No.  72.  N.  .1.  Gazette,  Nos.  Vn.  M2  G.Tdou's  Rev. 
War,  iii.  6().  Thacher's  Journal,  pp.  19(i,  l'J7.  Maivliall's  Wasliington, 
iv.  234,  23B.  Gordim's  N.  .1.,  p.  ;ili(i.  Barber's  N.  .1.  lli-t.  Coll  ,  pp.  l'j:i. 
19S.  Sjiarks'  Washington,  vii.  86,  S7,  60li,  6II1I.  Sedgwick's  L  viiigsum, 
pp.  H51,  :ifj5,     Duer'a  Stirling,  pp.  '21>7,  2o8.     Irving's  Wasliingb.n,  iv.  117. 

72.    .tones'  Life  of  Green,  pp.  11.'.,  121.    Tomes'  Uatll-s  ..f  A ica,  ii. 

233,  2:l.'>.     N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  viii.  704.     Moore's  Diary,  ii.  -i'JI,  29i 

!  N.  J.  Gazetti-,  No.  132. 


"On  Thursday  evening  la.st  [14tli]  Mr.  Elias  Mann  and  a  Party  of  Men 
under  his  command  attacked  the  Rebel  Picket  at  Elizabeth  T..wn.  They 
killeil  twoaud  took  six  of  the  Bebels;  one  only  escaped  The  prisoners 
were  brought  in  here  ou  Sattirday  last,  with  two  other  Rebels  taken  by 
the  same  enterprising  Party  a  few  days  before."  s 

The  same  authority,  November  25th,  says, — 

"Yesterday  f'apt.  Cornelius  Hetfield,  with  adventure  p'^culiar  to  him- 
self, after  an  incursion  upon  the  Jonathans  in  Jersey,  brought  off  a  lieu- 
tenant and  five  or  six  others."  ^ 

This  daring  partisan  .seems  constantly  to  have  been 
plotting  against  his  former  friends  and  neighbors  with 
an  ambition  and  courage  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 
On  the  25th  of  January,  1781,  he  and  four  other  ref- 
ugees, all  formerly  from  this  town,  arrested  on  Staten 
Island  Stephen  Ball,  a  London  trader  from  Rahway, 
a  son  of  David  Ball,  and  took  him  first  to  Gen.  Pat- 
terson and  then  to  Gen.  Skinner,  both  of  whom  re- 
fused to  proceed  against  him  on  the  charge  that  he 
had  aided  in  the  execution,  in  1779,  of  Thomas  Long, 
a  New  Jersey  refugee,  when  they  took  him  over  to 
Bergen  Point,  and  without  judge  or  jury  hung  him  as 
a  sjjy  by  the  neck  until  he  was  dead.* 

On  Friday,  the  23d  of  February,  the  same  party 
came  by  night  to  Elizabeth  Town  and  captured  Capt. 
Craig,  of  the  State  Regiment,  and  four  other  inhabit- 
ants. The  next  week,  Tliursday,  IVIarch  1st,  they 
found  their  way  by  night  to  Rahway  and  carried  off 
John  Clawson,  Esq.,  one  of  the  commissioners  for  sell- 
ing the  confiscated  estates,  against  whom,  therefore, 
they  had  a  peculiar  grudge.* 

The  year  1781  was  noted  in  this  neighborhood  for 
the  frequency  with  which  the  nocturnal  incursions 
of  the  "  Cow-Boys"  and  other  plunderers  from  Staten 
Island  disturbed  the  peace  and  ctmifort  of  the  border 
population.  The  following  notices  may  serve  to  show 
to  some  extent  in  what  a  state  of  excitement  and  se- 
rious alarm  the  people  of  this  town  who  still  re- 
mained in  the  occupation  of  their  dwelling-houses 
must  have  lived.  Tlie  New  Jersey  Journal  of  the  28th 
of  March  says, — 

"  Last  Wednesday  ni;;ht  f2lst)  a  party  of  refugees  from  Staten  Island 
was  over  at  Kahwa.v,  plundeiitig  ami  kidnapping  every  -^ne  thtiy  came 
across.     They  carried  off,  we  hear,  near  a  dozeu  of  the  inhabitants  pris- 

The  same  journal  of  the  4th  of  April  says, — 

"On  Monday  night,  the  '2>>th  ult.,  a  delachmetit  of  eight  ujen  from  the 
Stale  troops  in  Elizabeth  Town  went  over  to  Staten  Isl.ind  and  brought 
offa  LientetmntamI  one  private  of  the  militia.  They  tot.k  two  more, 
hnt  the  wind  bluw.ng  fresh  an  their  boat  small  incapacitated  them  so 
much  that  Ihey  could  not  bring  them  over."" 

Retaliation  followed  the  next  day,  of  which  a  state- 
ment is  made  by  the  same  annalist  its  follows: 

"On  Tuesday  night,  the '27lh  ult,  about  two  hundred  regulars  and  ref- 
ugees  from  Staten  Island,  uuder  the  command  of  Mi^jor  Beekwitli,  who 


3  Gaines'  Mercury,  Nos.  KW,  K2'.    Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  417.  . 
<  Ibid.,  No.  434.     Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  I5IU. 

i  Rivington'a  Oazette,  No.  4J4.     N.  J.  Journal,  No.  11)5.     New  York 
Oa/..-tt.-ei,  N...  ill-,. 
"N.J.  Journal.  .\.>s.  loi;.  Iii7.     Hivingb.n,  No.  JIU.     Gaines,  Nos.  1532, 


lli:l;l. 


;  N.J.  Journal,  Nos.  1111,  111. 


WAR   OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 


93 


ha'l  eluJeil  liy  drcuitous  roiues  the  vigilnnce  of  tlie  differpnt  putroles, 
entcreil  EIizhIiHIi  Tuuiihi  f.mr  (livisi.ms,  wliere  tliry  CHptuied  ten  of 
the  jnliHhitiiiils,  1  Lii'Ut.  mill  :i  privnti'S  of  tliu  Stite  troops  ami  2  con- 
tiiientul  soldiers.  Tlie.v  eUyal  nboiit  m  hour  nod  h  hiilr  in  town,  and 
then  n'tKateil.  with  the  loss  of  one  man  k  lied  and  another  taken  pris- 
oner. The.v  plundered  the  liouse  of  M|-.  Jo-epli  Crane  to  a  vei }■  couaU- 
erul.le  amount."! 

It  wa.s  a  party  of  the  Tliirty-seventh  Regiment, 
under  command  of  Capt.  Beckwith,  according  to  the 
New  Yorlv  papers,  that  performed  this  exploit: 

"Finding  the  re'iels  dispersed  in  the  houses,  he  inimi-diiitel.v  went  to 
their  alarm-post,  where,  by  he  iling  to  arms,  he  drew  a  Lieutenant  and 
many  of  Ins  soldiers  to  him,  whom  he  made  prisoiiei-s.^' - 

Among  the  most  active  of  the  partisans  on  the 
American  side  was  Capt.  Baker  Hendricks,  a  cousin 
of  the  noted  Jolin  Smitli  Hatfield  on  the  other  side. 
Wasliington  had  employed  him  at  an  earlier  period 
as  a  spy,  in  which  capacity  he  had  been  allowed  to 
trade  with  the  enemy  on  Staten  Island.  Governor 
Livingston  had  commissioned  him,  Sept.  19,  1780,  to 
fit  out  two  whale-boats,  the  "  Flying  Squirrel"  and 
"Charming  Betsey,"  as  privateers  to  prey  on  the  en- 
emy's vessels.  He  was  at  this  time  about  twenty-four 
years  of  age.     Tlie  Journal  of  the  i8th  of  April  says, — 

"La^t  Monday  night  (Kith)  Capt  Baker  Hendricks  went  from  Elim- 
belh  Town  to  Staten  Island  and  In  ought  off  one  lient-n^int  and  apiivate    j 
of  the  refugees  and  oneinliahitant.    Previous  to  Ihe  ahove  a  party  went 
over  and  hroUKht  utf  a  captain.'  ^ 

The  New  Jersey  Gazette  ot  the  9th  of  May  says, — 

"On  [Saturday]  the  '.ilst  ult.  a  party  of  almui  seventy  of  Ihe  enemy  ; 
came  over  to  Elizabeth  Town  fioni  Staten  Islaml.  They  landed  at  llal- 
atead's  I'nint.and  were  discovr-red  between  that  lilaceand  Ihe  town  by 
dipt.  Hendi  leks,  who  was  palr.diug  with  about  ten  or  twelve  men,  and 
though  so  much  iiiferho'  in  number,  he  ke|>t  up  a  smart  fire  on  them, 
which  pre\enled  them  from  penetrating  faither  into  town  thnn  Doctor 
W.naiis.  Aflercolleelinsja  few  lionies.  etc  ,  filing  tliuaigh  the  windows 
in  Ihe  room  where  Mrs  Winaus  was  silt  iig.  by  which  a  bi.y  was  wounded 
in  the  arui,  and  burning  the  h.iu-e  of  Mi.  Ephraim  Marsh,  they  weut 
off  to  their  boats  "* 

A  New  York  paper  says  that  the  party  was  "  a  de- 
tachment of  Gen.  Skinner's  corps,  under  his  com- 
mand," accompanied  as  usual  by  Capt.  Cornelius 
Hatfield,  with  some  of  his  refugees  as  guides.  It 
further  says  that — 

■'  Capl.  McMichael.of  the  liefug-e  Post  at  Bergen  Point,  who  had  been 
taken  out  of  a  fiag  (boat)  1  y  the  rebels  and  liehl  in  irons,  was  upon  this 
occasion  relieved  and  lesboed  to  hi<  Couipaiii<ius.  We  have  only  to 
regret  Ihe  lossof  Mr.  Ellas  Mann,  who  has  ever  iHstinguished  himself 
on  all  oica-sions  8  nee  Ihe  rebellion  as  a  brave  and  active  Loyalist.    He 

was  Hiifoiti tely  killed  by  a  shot  from  a  skulking  |iarty  as  Ihe  troops 

were  re-embarking.  Capt.  lletflc  Id  and  one  private  were  slightly 
wounded."-'" 

A  visit  from  the  "Cow-Boys"  of  Bergen  is  men- 
tioned in  the  Journal  of  the  9th  of  May  : 

*'0n  Fiiday  last  (4th)  a  party  of  the  enemy  from  the  refugee  post  at 
Bergen  P  liut  came  over  to  Kliz.betli  Town  I'ont,  and  before  our  people 
were  alarmed  collected  about  titty  head  of  cattle,  which  lliey  drove  on 
the  great  meaihiws,  where  they  took  them  on  boaid,  under  cover  of  a 
field-piece  and  some  aimed  vessels."' 

1  N.  .1.  Journal,  No.  III. 

2  liaines'  Mercury,  No.  I.i:l7.     Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  470. 

3  N.  .1.  Gazelle,  Ni>.  2:14.     N.  J.  .lonrnal.  No.  Ibi. 
<  N.J.  Gazelle,  No.  176.    N.  J.  .Journal,  No.  114. 

■  5  Gaines'  Mercury,  N".  l.VH. 
6N.  J.  Journal,  No.  116. 

7 


A  retaliatory  visit  to  Staten  Island  soon  followed, 
of  which  no  account  appears  but  in  the  New  York 
papers : 

"On  Tuesday  niirht,  the  8th  inat..  Captain  Hendricks  (a  noted  rebel), 
from  Elizabeth  Town,  with  another  rebel  officer,  a  seiKCHnt.  and  eleven 
pivate  .  came  on  Staten  Island,  in  order  to  take  off  the  iiatrole  of  the 
Fiiist  Baltaliou  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  and  to  plunder  the  inhabitants, 
but  finding  thepatrole,  commanded  by  Ensign  Barton,  too  alert  for  their 
puip..3e,  the  rebels  concealed  themselves  in  a  wood  a  short  distance  from 
the  house  of  one  Salter,  and  as  soon  as  they  observed  Ihe  piitr-de  leaving 
the  neighborhood  they  imraediiilely  surrounded  Salter's  house.  The 
patnd.',  though  at  a  distance,  concluding  they  saw  rebels,  turned  back, 
attacked  and  soon  put  them  to  flight,  and  noiwithsiandiug  their  ngilily 
two  were  uiade  pns  ners.  The  sergeant,  losing  himself,  wan  secured  by 
the  militia,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  ardor  of  the  troops,  which  suffered 
no  loss,  the  whole  gang  would  have  been  taken.  We  hear  that  Hen- 
dricks received  a  slight  wound  and  that  one  of  his  party  was  killed."' 

This  affair  was  served  up  in  the  Tory  papers,  with 
considerable  embellishment  sis  usual.  It  would  no 
doubt  have  appeared  very  different  in  one  of  the 
Jersey  papers. 

These  excursions  from  either  side  of  the  border 
uniformly  occurred  by  night,  and  generally,  it  is  pre- 
sumed, on  moonless  nights.  It  became  necessary  to 
use  great  vigilance  in  watching  every  exposed  point 
and  guarding  every  avenue  of  approach.  Sentinels 
were  posted  in  the  streets,  and  called  the  passer-by  to 
account.  On  Saturday  night,  June  2d,  David  Wood- 
ruff and  Philip  McCrea  were  walking  together  along 
one  of  the  streets  in  town,  when  they  were  hailed  by 
the  sentinel  ;  but  not  answering,  the  sentinel  fired 
and  killed  McCrea  on  the  spot.  Sad  scenes  were  of 
almost 'daily  occurrence.' 

That  part  of  the  town  bordering  on  the  Rahway 
River  was  frequently  visited  by  these  rapacious  ma- 
rauders. Rivington,  with  his  wonted  exaggerations, 
in  his  paper  of  June  30th  has  the  following  account: 

"  Last  night  a  detachment  of  the  garrison  of  about  tlii'-ty-six  men,  in- 
cluding two  sergeants,  under  the  comuiaud  of  Lieut.  Hutchinson  and 
Ens.  Baiton,Fit8t  Battalj.m  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  with  abuiit  Ihirly- 
four  refugees  and  militia,  under  tlie  command  of  i:apln  Duilnini  and 
R"berts,  landed  at  Trenibly's  Point,  near  the  moulh  of  Ribway  River, 
and  Buriounded  Tairil's  tavern,  in  order  to  take  three  rebel  light-horse, 
whose  business  was  to  patrol  down  the  Sound  and  to  give  notice  of  any 
troops  coming  from  staten  Island,  but  unfoilunately  those  fellows  were 
gone  lo  Westfield.  The  troops  then  proceeded  to  one  Capt.  Amos  Mol-se'a, 
whowaSBurpri.sed  and  taken  out  of  bed  with  four  other  rebels;  afierthia 
they  tiaik  betwe.  n  thirty  and  f..ity  head  of  cattle,  annnigst  which  are  six 
good  oxen  and  about  eighty  sheep,  which  were  drove  to  Tiembly's  P.  .int. 
The  rebels  collected  to  Ihe  amount  of  about  f.rty,  harass  ng  the  rear  as 
usual.  Lent  Hntchiiisin  formed  an  ambuscade  uuperceived  by  the 
rebels,  which  h  id  its  desired  effect.  Fifleen  rebels  paa-eil,  hallooing, 
'  Damn  the  refugees  I  Cut  lliein  down  !'  Up  the  troops  urose  from  the 
place  where  they  were  secreted.  The  rebels,  observing  this,  stood  aghast, 
threw  d.iwn  tlieir  aims,other8  slood  with  arms  in  their  hand.  On  this 
occasion  ten  were  made  piis.ner-.  Some  lime  after  this  about  twenty 
rebels  cullecleil  near  the  Pniiit,  on  whom  a  charge  was  made,  and  some 
taken  prisoners:  the  trc»i|is  and  the  refugees  then  embarked  with  the 
greatest  regularity  and  g.sid  order,  with  all  their  cattle  and  sheep,  and 
came  safe  tn staten  Island;  not  one  t)f  ihe  troojis  received  the  least  injury  ; 
one  of  the  refugees  received  a  spent  ball  on  his  thigh,  which  bad  no  olher 
effect  than  leaving  its  mark.  The  troopsand  refugees  behaved  with  Ihe 
greatest  bravery  on  this  occasion  :  twenty  rebels  are  made  pi  isoneis,  two 
of  whom  are  woun.led:  some  were  killed,  it's  not  ihiubled,  but  severul 
were  wounded,  as  several  were  heard  to  scream  and  halloo.    The  imliies 


rcury.  No.  1543.     Riviugton's  Gazelle,  No.  4«S. 
.il.  No.  Ul). 


94 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


of  the  prisoners  follows:  Capt.  Amos  More,  Isaac  Marsh,  John  Everit, 
HaniMeton  Kotierts,  Georpe  Mitclie!  Deeds,  Isaac  Ha.vnes,  William 
Branf,  Richard  Lee,  Jacob  Brookileld,  Gershom  Brookfield,  Jeremiah 
Bird,  I»iHC  Ihake,  Ash.T  O^ddington,  David  Tliorp,  John  Tuiker,  David 
Hetfield,  Joseph  Ilynes,  William  Oliver,  Sr.,  Ebenezer  Williams,  and 
William  Oliver,  Jr.  The  above  Capt.  Morse  is  Ihe  notorious  villain  men- 
tioned in  H  late  handbill  giving  an  account  of  the  death  and  sufTerings 
of  that  unfortunate  victim,  Mr.  Thomas  Long,  who  died  by  the  hand  of 
rebel  cruelty,  to  which  we  beg  leave  to  refer  our  readers."! 

The  Neio  Jersey  Journal  of  the  27th  of  June  says 
that  this  visit  occurred  "  yesterday  morning,"  and 
that  "  our  people  .  .  .  killed  two  of  the  enemy  which 
they  lelt  on  the  field,  but  it  is  supposed  they  had  sev- 
eral more  killed  and  wounded  which  they  carried  off. 
Two  of  their  party  deserted  and  came  over  to  our 
troops."  ^ 

The  northern  part  of  the  town  received  attention 
soon  after.     The  Mercury  of  the  23d  of  July  says, — 

"  TeFterday  evening  Lieut.  Obadiah  Meeker  and  fourteen  privates  of 
the  New  Jersey  Rebel  Militia  weie  sent  to  town  [New  York]  from  Staten 
Inland  :  they  were  "taken  the  nigbt  before  by  a  pai  ty  of  refugees  between 
Newark  and  Elizabeth  Town  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Hetfield."  3 

Lord  Cornwallis  surrendered,  October  17th,  his 
whole  army  and  munitions  of  war  at  Yorktown,  Va., 
to  Gen.  Washington.  That  grand  event  as  soon  as 
known  was  everywhere  celebrated  with  demonstra- 
tions of  delight  and  exultation.  To  the  extent  that 
it  raised  the  hopes  and  expectations  of  the  patriots 
it  depressed  and  discouraged  the  refugees  and  their 
British  supporters.  Preparations,  therefore,  soon  after 
began  to  be  made  for  emigration  to  the  British  prov- 
inces, great  apprehensions  being  felt  among  them 
for  their  personal  safety  at  the  close  of  the  war  now 
so  obviously  drawing  to  an  end.  The  refugees  on 
Staten  Island  began  to  find  out  that  the  border  war- 
fare in  which  they  had  so  long  been  engaged  was 
the  worst  kind  of  policy  for  their  personal  interests, 
that  it  was  the  surest  possible  way  of  preventing  their 
own  restoration  to  the  favor  of  their  countrymen  and 
the  recovery  of  their  confiscated  estates. 

From  this  time  the  war  with  Staten  Island,  which 
had  been  carried  forward  so  persistently  for  more  than 
five  years,  lost  much  of  its  asperity  and  sensibly  de- 
clined in  spirit.  Not  that  it  was  wholly  intermitted, 
nor  that  vigilance  was  no  longer  demanded  on  the 
outposts.  Desperate  characters  enough  there  were 
on  the  island  who  knew  that  they  had  too  deeply 
injured  their  townsmen  to  expect  forgiveness,  and 
these  might  at  any  time  make  a  sudden  foray  upon 
the  stock  and  plunder  the  people. 

An  entire  exchange  of  prisoners  had  taken  place 
early  in  September,  so  that  the  citizens,  as  well  as  the 
soldiers,  who  had  been  captured  by  these  marauding 
parties  and  had  not  died  in  prison  had  been  restored 
to  their  homes,  and  were  permitted  to  unite  with 
their  townsmen  in  their  demonstrations  of  joy  over 
the  surrender  of  their  old  enemy.  Lord  Cornwallis. 

So  long  a  war,  degenerating,  as  it  had  done  in  this  lo- 

1  Rivington's  Gazette,  No.  496. 
s  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  123. 
s  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  16M. 


cality,  into  a  series  of  predatory  forays  and  midnight 
j  surprises,  had  trained  and  let  loose  on  society  a  class 
I  of  desperadoes,  thieves,  and  cut-throats,  ready  to  prey 
i  on  any  unfortunates  who  fell  into  their  hands.     An 

instance   of  this   kind   is   related   in  the  New  York 

papers  of  the  10th  of  November : 

"  Last  Saturday  [Sth]  William  Hetfield,  an  inhabitant  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  Rahway,  came  to  Staten  Island  with  a  small  quantity  of  fl"Ur  to 
dispose  of,  etc.  .  .  .  On  his  return  ititlie  evening  lie  wasmet  in  the  Sound 
by  one  Peter  Terrat,  a  U'lteil  thief,  who  supports  himself  and  a  gang  of 
such  miscreants  by  robbing  and  plundering:  to  him  and  his  party  Hetfield 
surrendered  himself;  but  after  he  was  a  prisoner  Terrat  tlionglit  Het- 
field threw  something  overboanl,  rm  which  the  infernal  fiend  took  a 
pistol  out  of  his  pocket  and  shot  him  dead,  laid  the  body  on  the  bank  of 
the  Sound,  and  went  ofT  exulting  with  the  other  prisoners  he  had  taken. 
Hetfield  has  left  a  wife  aud  several  children  to  lament  their  loss."  < 

The  victim  was  the  son  of  David  Hatfield  (an  elder 
of  the  Rahway  Church,  who  had  been  captured  in 
June,  and  had  now  been  restored  to  his  home),  and  a 
cousin  of  J.  Smith  Hatfield,  the  desperado  of  Staten 
Island.  The  latter  having  ventured  to  return  openly 
to  the  town  in  a  flag-boat  was,  together  with  one  of 
his  comrades,  Lewis  Blanchard  (son  of  John  Blan- 
chard  and  nephew  of  Capt.  Cornelius  Hatfield),  seized 
by  some  of  the  Westfield  people,  loaded  with  irons, 
and  hurried  off  to  Burlington,  where  he  was  kept  in 
close  confinement.  This  gave  occasion  to  the  foray, 
of  which  the  New  York  papers  of  the  6th  of  February, 
1782,  made  mention  as  follows  : 

"  Last  Friday  nigbt  [1st]  a  party,  consisting  of  thirty  Refugees,  com- 
manded by  Captain  Cornelius  Hetfield,  proceeded  from  Staten  Island  to 
Elizabeth  Town,  where  they  took  nine  piisoners,  am.iugst  tliem  Mr. 
Reed,  a  rebel  contractor;  all  were  brouglit  to  Staten  Island,  where  they 
are  treated  in  the  same  manner  as  is  Mr.  Smith  Hetfield,  lately  seized  by 
the  Westfield  people,  though  he  was  then  under  the  samtiou  of  ii  flag 
of  truce,  carried  into  Burlington,  and  there  loaded  with  irons;  these 
rebels  are  by  the  Refugees  kept  in  close  durance  as  hostages  for  the  safe 
return  of  Smith  Hetfield,  a  valuable  individual  of  their  body.  His  com- 
panion. Lewis  Blanchard,  fortunately  escaping  from  the  rebels  at  Prince- 
town,  traveled  two  miles  into  the  wood,  where  he  was  concealed  till  he 
could  disengage  himself  from  the  chains  with  wliich  he  was  loaded,  and 
after  being  flead  by  the  intense  frosts  is  arrived,  an  object  of  commisei^ 
atron  amongst  liis  overjoyed  friends,  at  Staten  Island."  5 

The  Sound  at  this  time  was  frozen  over,  of  which 
advantage  was  taken.  A  very  different  account  of 
this  affair  is  given  by  the  Journal  of  the  6th  : 

"On  Friday  night  a  party  of  Refugees,  consisting  of  blacks  and  whites, 
having  fornieil  a  plan  to  intercept  the  people  of  this  side  as  they  passed 
into  the  meadows  for  salt  hay,  came  over  and  concealed  themselves  in  a 
swamp,  and  bad  made  upwards  of  a  dozen  people,  with  their  horses  and 
sleds,  prisoners,  when  the  alarm  being  given  they  were  pui'sueil  so  close 
that  two  of  their  party  fell  into  our  hands  together  with  all  they  bad 
previously  captured."  6 

It  would  scarcely  seem  that  these  two  accounts  re- 
late to  the  same  event,  and  yet  it  is  not  at  all  proba- 
ble that  two  such  forays  occurred  the  same  night. 

Soon  after  the  murder  of  the  London  trader,  related 
above,  the  tragedy  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell's  death 
occurred,  November  24th,  filling  the  wliolecommunity 
with  sadness  and  grief  The  particulars  of  this  la- 
mentable event  will  appear  on  a  subsequent  page. 


<  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1569. 
»  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1582. 
^  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  155. 


.ingt*m'8  Gazette,  No.  534. 
iugton's  Gazette,  No.  559. 


WAR   OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


95 


The  following  notice  of  Capt.  Hendricks'  exploits 
is  found  in  the  Journal  of  the  12th  of  December  : 

"  L'lst  Tlmrsrlay  sennight,  Captniii  Bak^r  Hendricks,  witli  a  party  of 
men  in  whale  tioats,  went  down  Newark  Bay,  near  tire  Kills,  when  he 
boardi'ii  anil  eti-ipped  two  woiiil-b>iats  and  took  one  prisniiMr ;  and  on 
TliUT-S'lay  night  last  he  landed  a  sm  ill  party  of  men  on  Brgen  Neck 
near  the  Refugee  post,  when  he  biok  two  pri^onei-s,  and  on  his  return 
took  three  noted  villains,  with  provisions  of  all  kinds."  ^ 

A  visit  from  some  of  the  "  Cow-Boys"  of  Staten 
Island  is  thus  described  in  the  Journal  oi  the  5th  of 
.December : 

"  Last  .-faturday  nisht  list]  seven  refngees  from  Slaten  IsUnd  landed 
at  Halstead's  Point,  with  the  expectation 'as  their  l.'ader  tnM  them)  of 
meeting  wmie  of  theirqnondam  fiiends  with  fat  cattle:  imt  Capt.  [Jotia- 
thanj  Dayton  having  notice  of  their  intention  collected  a  party  of  men, 
and  knowing  the  route  they  were  to  take  laid  in  ainhneh  for  thent, 
tbnugh,  unfortunately,  a  muddy  place  in  the  xoid  hail  turtred  tli'.m  a 
little  out,  and  oMiged  his  parly  to  fire  through  two  feirctts,  otherwise,  in 
all  prol.a1.ility,th.-y  would  havekille.l  everyone  the  fir-st  fi  e;  however, 
tirey  killed  one,  irrorttlly  worrnrleil  another,  and  took  three  prisoners; 
the  other  two,  lavored  by  the  shifile  of  tire  rright  and  a  gtirtd  pair  rrf  heels, 
made  their  escape.  Three  irf  tlie  pa''ty  were  left  in  the  gutrboat,  but 
hearing  a  boat  of  ours  c<>uring  out  of  the  creek,  pusheil  over  to  Staten 
Island  shore,  nevertheless  she  fell  into  the  hands  of  Lierrt.  R^rmlall.  It 
seems  their  leader,  Swain  Par-sel.  was  a  ileserter  fr-oni  our-  ar-my.  On  his 
information  Pavid  Oliver,  a  villain  who  has  long  been  the  supporter  of 
the  illicit  trade,  and  a  dread  to  the  irrhabitairls  on  the  lines,  was  taken 
the  same  rright  concealed  in  a  bouse  at  Rahway."2 

Two  days  afterwards, — 

"Sunday  night  {-IM}  Capt.  Baker  Hendricks  went  over  to  Bergen  and 
made  eight  of  the  enemy  prisoners."^ 

At  the  opening  of  navigation  in  the  spring,  the 
winter  having  been  unusually  severe, — 

"Lieut.  Blanchard  sailed  with  a  party  of  men  in  a  whale. boat  last 
SundHy  [March  Kith]  ami  took,  off  Elizabeth  Town  Piiiirt,  a  whale-boat, 
in  wliich  was  a  Mr.  Woodroofe  aitd  four  other  active  rebels  belonging  to 
New  Jersey."* 

On  the  night  of  the  following  Thursday  [14thJ, — 

"  A  party  of  royal  hor-se-th  eves,  under  the  command  of  the  celebi-ated 
Lewis  Robbins,  .  .  .  made  an  incurision  into  Rihwrry.  Tliey  set  imt  for 
Westfield  to  seize  Sheriff  Marsh.  Iiirt  as  the  roads  were  bad,  ami  learirilrg 
probably  that  the  sheriff  was  trot  at  home,  they  turned  back  arrri  niarle 
their  way  to  old  David  Miller's,  capturing  him.  s<ime  of  bis  sons,  and  bis 
horses.  Havirrg  paroled  the  old  m-rir  becairse  of  his  irifiinrrties,  they 
proceeded  to  Peter  Trembly's,  wh.rm  they  seized  and  robbed  of  all  his 
m<iney  and  papers.  They  took  also  a  Peter'  Horn.  Brrt  at  the  sudden 
discharge  of  a  giru  they  paroled  their  prisoners  and  fled." 

The  next  night  Capt.  Baker  Hendricks  and  Mr. 
Luther  Baldwin,  with  a  small  party  of  men,  went  over 
in  a  whale-boat  to  Staten  Island,  where  they  "sur- 
prised and  took  a  sloop  armed  with  two  three-pound- 
ers, two  blunderbusses,  and  manned  with  five  hands;" 
a-s  the  sloop  was  aground,  they  "stripped  her  of  arms, 
sails,  rigging,  cable,  anchor,  and  long  boat."  Two 
other  sloops  they  served  in  like  manner. 

Even  the  flag-boats  suffered  i'rorn  the  depredators 
on  the  Sound.     Rivington  says, — 

"Last  Friday  [March  l.'ith[  a  vessel  with  a  flag  of  truce  sailed  from 
this  garrison  [New  York]  lor  Klizal.eth  Town  Point,in  which  went  a  Hes- 
sian paymaster  with  a  hrrge  sum  of  nroirey  f.-r  the  u..e  of  the  lle.-sian 
prlsouei's  in  Pennsylvania.  Same  night  about  1*2  o'clock  a  rebel  whale- 
boat  Israrded  the  flag-vessel  at  said  Point,  the  crew  of  which  seized  the 
cash  whtcii  the  Hessiair  gentlenran  had  in  charge  for  the  before  men- 


tioned purpose.  Several  other  gentlemen  on  board  the  flag  were  also 
robbed  of  what  cash  they  had  with  them."^ 

The  American  account  presents  quite  a  different 
aspect  of  this  affair : 

"  Tlrnrsday  night  a  flag  of  truce  on  her  way  to  this  shore  was  boarded 
near  Shutcr's  Island  by  some  nren  irr  .lisgnise  anil  robbed  of  upwards  of 
two  tlrous^ind  guineas,  being  a  part  of  a  sum  of  money  for  the  use  of 
Cornwallis'  arnry.  They  also  plundered  several  individuals  that  were 
on  board.  The  pat  ty  that  committed  the  alrove  robbery  were  supposed 
to  be  refugees  from  New  York  or  Staten  Hand."  » 

The  amount,  as  afterwards  appeared,  was  nine  hun- 
dred guineas,  the  losers  having,  as  usual,  magnified 
their  loss. 

The  spring  passed  away  in  considerable  quiet. 
Early  in  June  Hendricks  repeated  his  visits  to  Ber- 
gen : 

"  Friday  passeil  through  this  place  [Chatham]  under  gnard  seven 
tatterdemalions,  taken  tire  preceding  day  [June  Btli]  by  a  party  under 
the  crrmniand  of  Capt   Hendricks. 

"  Last  Thrrrsday  morniirg  fi:ith]  Capt.  Baker  Hendricks  captured, 
after  some  resistance,  on  Bergen  Point,  five  refugees,  which  he  brought 
off-.'T 

Yet  at  this  very  time  Hendricks  was  under  accusa- 
tion of  illicit  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  and  Gov- 
ernor Livingston  withdrew  his  commission  as  a 
partisan  commander.' 

The  foray  of  the  1st  of  February,  17.S2,  was  the  last 
to  which  the  town  was  subjected.  It  does  not  appear 
that  the  enemy  ventured  again  to  cross  the  Sound  after 
this  date  on  a  marauding  excursion  within  the  limits 
of  the  borough.  The  war  practically  came  to  an  end 
at  that  date  in  this  section.  Some  depredations  were 
committed  and  some  captures  made  on  the  waters  in 
the  vicinity,  but  none  on  land.  Capt.  Cornelius  Hat- 
field, disgusted  with  the  results  of  his  visits  to  his 
native  place,  is  found,  April  10th,  together  with  Capt. 
Blauvelt,  at  the  head  of  an  expedition  of  Tories  on  the 
armed  brig  "  Arrogant,"  and  capturing,  a  short  dis- 
tance up  the  North  River,  a  "  pettiauger"  and  .some 
small  boats,  with  about  ten  prisoners.' 

In  June  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  from  this 
town,  of  which  an  account  is  given  as  follows  : 

"Iirlelligeuce  being  received  at  Elizabeth  Town  of  two  whale-boats, 
fitted  for  a  two  mouths' cruise  in  the  Delaware  Bay,  lyirrg  at  a  wharf 
I-Iarrd,  a   plarr  was    corrcerterl    to    surprise 
r  was  put  irr   practice  last  Thutiiday   irigltt 
appurtenances,  were  sately  moored 
t  moririrrg,  together  with  eighteen 
fhom  valuable  Negroes.   The  party, 
Jiniuauded 
ivlro  ha  led 

anil  iittempled  to  fire  on  tire  party,  but  their  pieces  providentially  flash- 
iirg  in  the  pan,  the  party,  regardle>s  of  dairger.  rushed  ou  them  with 
such  impetuosity  that  tIrey  had  uot  liure  to  itrime  again,  and  a  few 
molrrerrts  pirt  them  in  complete  possessioir  of  their  object,  without  any 
further  ahum."  1" 

At  the  October  term  of  the  Court  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer  for  Essex  County,  George  Hair  was  fined 


all  thi 


the    north    side  of   Stat 

airil   bring   rhem  off,  wl 

[iirtlr],  ami  the  boats,  wi 

at    Elizabeth  Ti 

prisoners  Ihatw 

Coulirreutals  and  volurrteers,  consisted  of  upwai-ds  of  thirty, 

by  Major  [Win.]  Crane.     There  was  a  sentinel  in  each  boat 


ridge 


1  X.  .1.  .lournal.  No.  U7. 
1  Ibid  ,  No.  149. 


'■  Ibid.,  No.  146. 

'  Rivingtou's  Gazette,  No.  570. 


'■•  Ibid.,  Nos.  571-75.    Gaiues' 
^  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  lul. 
'  Ibid.,  No.  175. 

8  N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  2:i4. 

9  Gaines'  Mercury,  No.  1591. 
'"N.J.  Journal,  No.  176. 


Mercury,  No.  1587. 


Riviugton's  Gazette,  No.  57s. 


96 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


six  hundred  pounds  "  for  letting  John  Smith  Hetfield 
escape,"  of  which  the  following  is  an  account : 

"Smith  Hetfleld.  an  infamous  refugee,  wlio  Ims  been  cummittini:  dep- 
reiialiuns  on  tlie  innocent  inhal.itaiits  along  the  lines  ever  since  the 
coniniencement  of  the  war,  and  was  taken  prisoner  several  mnntlis  ago, 
made  his  es'-ape  from  the  guard  who  had  him  in  charge  ou  Saturday 
niglil  last  [September  2l»t]."i 

One  act  more  of  aggressive  hostility  on  the  part  of 
citizens  of  this  town,  March,  1783,  remains  to  be 
narrated.  It  will  be  told  in  the  words  of  Maj.  Wil- 
liam Crane,  the  leader  of  the  enterprise,  as  written 
the  next  day : 

"I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  of  the  capture  of  the  sloop  Katy, 
of  twelve  donble-fintified  four-pounders,  containing  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  puncheons  of  Janniii-a  spir  ts,  lyiUL',  at  the  lime  of  capture, 
within  pistol-shot  of  the  grand  batteiy  at  New  York,  and  alongside  of 
the  sliip  Eiigle,  of  twenly-lour  gnus,  whieh  we  also  took,  hut  were 
obliged  to  leave  there,  as  she  lay  aground.  The  Captain-  and  crews  of 
both  the  vessels  were  brought  up  by  us  in  the  sloop  to  this  place,  where 
we  have  them  serure.  This  was  pertoi  nied  on  the  night  of  the  third  of 
IHarch  [Monday],  by  six  townsmen,  under  the  connuand  of  Captain 
Quigley  and  myself,  without  tlie  filing  of  a  musket  by  any  of  our 
party."  - 

The  vessel  and  cargo  were  sold  at  auction  at  Eliza- 
beth Town  on  Monday,  the  17th  of  March.' 

The  welcome  news  at  length  arrived  at  Philadel- 
phia, March  23d,  that  preliminary  treaties  between 
Great  Britain,  France,  and  Spain  had  been  signed  at 
Paris  on  the  20th  of  January,  thus  rendering  effect- 
ual the  provisional  treaty  of  the  30th  of  November, 
1782,  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 
On  the  reception  of  the  news,  and  of  his  instructions. 
Sir  Guy  Carleton  hastened  to  proclaim  a  complete  ces- 
sation of  hostilities  by  sea  and  land  ;  and  a  similar 
proclamation  was  ordered  hy  Congress  on  the  11th  of 
April.  The  order  was  received  at  headquarters  in 
Newburgh,  N.  Y.,  on  the  17th,  and  proclamation  was 
made  accordingly  to  every  regiment  and  corps  of  the 
army  at  noon  of  Saturday,  the  19th  of  April,  pre- 
cisely eight  years  from  the  actual  commencement  of 
hostilities  at  Lexington,  Mass. 

Gen.  Elias  Dayton,  son  of  Jonathan  Dayton,  was 
born  at  Elizabeth  Town,  N.  J.,  in  1737.  He  entered 
the  military  service  of  the  province  as  a  lieutenant 
March  19,  1756,  and  was  made  captain  March  29, 
1760,  serving  with  the  British  troops  in  the  French 
war  on  the  frontiers.  In  1764  he  conducted  a  suc- 
cessful expedition  against  the  Indians  near  Detroit, 
who  were  engaged  in  the  uprising  under  Pontiac,  the 
famous  Ottawa  chief.  Of  this  Mr.  Dayton  left  a  jour- 
nal, commencing  with  April  30,  and  ending  with  Sept. 
15,  1764.  He  took  an  active  and  patriotic  part  in  the 
measures  which  led  to  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence. As  colonel  of  militia  he  had  command  of  the 
Elizabeth  Town  Volunteers,  who  captured  (Jan.  23, 
1776)  the  "  Blue  Mountain  Valley."  He  was  commi.s- 
sioned  colonel  of  the  Third  New  Jersey  Regiment  of 
regulars  Feb.  9,  1776,  and  took  part  with  his  regi- 
ment in  the  defense  of  Ticonderoga.  His  gallant  con- 
duct through  the  war  has  been  already  related.     On 


>  N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  248.  ^  Ibid.,  No.  273. 


'Ibid.,  No.  272. 


the  resignation  of  Gen.  Maxwell,  July  20,  1780,  he 
was  put  in  command  of  the  New  Jersey  Brigade.  He 
took  part  in  the  affairs  of  Brandywine,  Germantown, 
Monmouth,  and  Yorktown,  and  accompanied  Gen. 
Sullivan  in  1779  on  his  Western  expedition.  He 
was  commissioned  as  a  brigadier-general  Jan.  8,  1783, 
and  June  5,  1793,  as  a  major-general  of  the  Second 
Division  of  New  Jersey  militia. 

In  1779  he  was  chosen  a  member  of  Congress,  and 
declined,  but  was  a  delegate  in  1787-88.  He  was  for 
several  years  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Legisla- 
ture. He  would  have  been  appointed  to  the  United 
States  Constitutional  Convention  in  1787,  but  declined 
in  favor  of  his  son  Jonathan.  He  was  frequently  ap- 
pointed to  office  in  his  native  town,  as  a  member  and 
president  of  the  board  of  trustees  for  many  years  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  a  member  of  the  corpo- 
ration, and  from  1796  to  1805,  with  the  exception  of 
a  single  year,  as  mayor  of  the  borough.  He  was  the 
first  President  of  the  Cincinnati  of  New  Jersey.  In 
person  and  bearing  he  strongly  resembled  Gen.  Wiish- 
ington. 

Both  before  and  after  the  Revolutionary  war  he  was 
successfully  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits,  part  of 
the  time  alone,  and  afterwards  as  Ellas  Dayton  &  Son. 

He  died  of  gout  in  the  stomach,  and  on  Saturday, 
24th,  the  corpse  was  removed  to  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  where  a  funeral  sermon  was  preached  by  the 
Rev.  John  McDowell  from  Joshua  xxiii.  14:  "And 
behold  this  day  I  am  going  the  way  of  all  the  earth." 
The  assemblage  of  citizens  was  more  numerous  than 
we  ever  knew  on  the  like  occasion  in  this  town. 
Military  honors  were  performed.  The  whole  pro- 
ceedings were  marked  with  uncommon  solemnity,  and 
evinced  the  unfeigned  affliction  felt  by  all  classes  of 
citizens.  In  this  solemn  dispensation  of  Providence 
we  behold  the  uncertainty  of  sublunary  things,  a  fel- 
low-mortal in  health  in  the  evening  and  a  corpse 
before  the  next  rising  sun. 

Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  LL.D. — He  was  the  son 
of  Gen.  Elias  Dayton,  and  was  born  in  Elizabeth  Town 
Oct.  16,  1760.  He  graduated  at  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  in  1776;  entered  the  army  in  1778  as  a  pay- 
master; accompanied,  in  1779,  Gen.  Sullivan  on  his 
Western  expedition;  and  in  1780  was  a  captain  in  his 
father's  regiment.  After  the  peace  he  was  chosen  to  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey,  of  which  he  was  Speaker 
in  1790.  He  represented  his  native  State  in  the  con- 
vention (1787)  for  the  formation  of  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution, and  in  1791  was  elected  to  Congress.  Thrice 
he  was  re-elected,  serving  four  terms  in  the  House,  of 
which  he  was  Speaker  from  1795  to  1799.  He  was 
chosen  senator  of  the  United  States,  and  served  from 
1799  to  1805.  He  was  appointed  hy  President  Adams 
a  brigadier-general,  with  the  privilege  of  retaining 
his  seat  in  the  Senate. 

He  became  largely  interested  with  Symmes  and 
others  in  the  purchase  and  settlement  of  western 
military  lands,  the  town  of  Dayton,  in  Ohio,  being 


GEN.   ELIAS    DAYTON. 


WAR   OF   THE    REVOLUTION. 


97 


named  in  compliment  to  him.  His  early  intimacy 
in  boyli6od  with  Aaron  Burr,  and  his  later  associa- 
tion with  him  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  led 
him  to  look  with  more  favor  than  prudence  would 
have  dictated  upon  the  schemes  of  that  aspiring  and 
crafty  politician,  so  that  by  advancing  money  to  aid 
Burr  in  his  adventures  he  became  compromised  with 
him  in  the  charge  of  treason.  This  indictment,  how- 
ever, was  not  tried,  and  Mr.  Dayton's  bail  was  re- 
leased. This  unhappy  affair,  and  the  breaking  up  of 
the  Federal  party,  of  which  he  was  a  leader,  put  an 
end  to  Mr.  Dayton's  political  aspirations.  He  was 
subsequently  elected  repeatedly  to  the  Council  of  the 
New  Jersey  Legislature,  and  held  several  important 
offices  in  his  native  town.  He  received,  in  1798.  from 
his  alma  mater  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Laws.  His  later  days  were  passed  at  home,  in  the 
enjoyment  of  a  comfortable  competence,  respected 
and  venerated  by  his  townsmen,  and  honored  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

Gen.  William  Crane,  son  of  the  Hon.  Stephen 
Crane,  was  a  sterling  jiatriot  of  the  Revolution.  He 
was  born  at  Elizabeth  Town,  N.  J.,  in  1748,  and  being 
in  the  full  vigor  of  his  early  manhood  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Revolutionary  war,  at  once  espoused  his 
country's  cause,  and  in  common  with  several  of  his 
townsmen  attached  himself  as  lieutenant  of  an  artil- 
lery company  to  the  Canada  expedition  under  Mont- 
gomery. At  the  time  that  his  commander  fell  before 
Quebec,  Dec.  31,  1775,  Crane  received  a  bomb-shell 
wound  in  one  of  his  ankles,  from  which  he  suffered 
until  his  death,  nearly  forty  years  afterwards.  As 
major  of  militia,  the  story  of  his  capture,  March 
3,  1783,  of  the  armed  ship  "  Eagle"  and  the  sloop 
"Katy,"  within  pistol-shot  of  the  battery  of  New 
York,  has  been  told  in  the  history  of  the  Revolution 
in  this  work.  For  these  acts  of  bravery  he  was  pro- 
moted after  the  war  to  a  brigadier-generalship  of 
militia.  He  lived  till  nearly  the  close  of  the  second 
war  with  England,  discharging  responsible  trusts 
both  in  the  borough  and  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
of  which  he  was  a  trustee,  until  the  time  of  his  death. 
The  following  obituary  notice  appeared  in  the  New 
Jersey  Journal  of  July  12,  1814  : 

"Died  ou  Saturday  last  (9th)  Gen.  William  Craue,  in  the  67th  year 
of  bis  age.  In  the  year  1776,  Gen.  Crane  entered  the  Continental  eer- 
Tice,  and  at  the  reduction  of  St.  John's,  or  Montreal,  received  a  wonnd 
in  his  leg  which  never  was  cured,  and  for  some  years  p.H8t  he  suffered 
mnch  from  it.  About  sev.-nteen  months  since  his  leg  was  amputated 
wilb  flattering  prospects,  hut  that  last  resort  has  been  too  long  doierred, 
and  he  fell  a  victim  to  the  irtcurable  wound.  Gen.  Crane's  character  its 
a  soldier  and  citizen  stood  pre-eminent,  and  he  lived  beloved  and  died 
lamented  His  funeral  was  attended  on  Sunday  by  a  vast  concourse  of 
people  from  this  and  the  neighboring  parishes,  who  testified  his  worth 

Jeremiah  Ballard,  E.sq.— He  was  born  in  1748, 
and  became  at  an  early  period  of  bis  life  a  resident  of 
Elizabeth  Town.  In  the  later  years  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  he  was  a  captain  in  the  Third  New  Jer- 
sey Regiment.  In  1796  he  was  chosen  recorder  of  ' 
the  borough,  and  in  1801  deputy  mayor.     In  1788  he  i 


joined  the  Presbyterian  Church,  becoming  a  member 
of  its  board  of  trustees  in  1807,  of  which  he  was  made 
president  in  1813.  He  was  the  vice-president  of  the 
Cincinnati  of  New  Jersey,  and  a  leading  member  of 
various  other  institutions  in  the  town.  At  the  time  of 
his  decease  he  was  also  mayor  of  the  borough  of  Eliza- 
beth. He  died  Sept.  4,  1823,  aged  seventy-five  years. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  corporation  the  day  following  his 
funeral  the  following  testimonial  to  his  eminent 
worth  was  recorded : 

"  While  the  Mernhnrs  of  this  Corporation,  in  common  wiUi  their  fel- 
low-Citizens of  this  B..rough,  deeply  lament  the  death  of  their  late 
worthy  chief  Magistrate,  Jeremiah  Ballard,  Esq',  they  think  it  due  to 
his  memory  to  express  their  sentiments  of  his  public  character  and 
private  worth. 

"To  detail  the  particulars  of  a  long  and  useful  life  they  do  not  feel 
themselves  culled  upon,  but  they  believe  they  give  a  faithful  though 
brief  summary  of  it  when  they  say,— 

*  As  a  Soldier,  he  was  brave,  humane,  and  generous  ; 

"As  a  Magistrate,  he  was  upright,  intelligent,  and  faithful ; 

"  As  a  Cit  zeu,  he  was  public-spirited  and  highly  useful  ; 

"  As  Presiding  officer  of  this  Corporation,  he  was  courteous,  dignified, 
&  impartial ; 

"  As  a  Christian,  he  was  Charitable  &  zealous,  but  unostentatious. 

"  He  displayed  the  graces  of  the  religion  he  professed  in  life,  &  he  felt 
its  support  and  consolation  in  death. 

"  Thus  lived  and  died  the  worthy  Chii  f  Magistrate  of  our  Borough, 
who  ranked  if  not  among  the  greatest  yet  among  the  best  of  men. 

"  Therefore,  Resolved,  thai  the  members  of  this  corporation  feel  & 
sincerely  deplore  his  loss,  and  as  a  mark  of  respect  to  his  memory  they 
will  wear  the  usual  badge  of  mouruiug  lor  thirty  days." 

Hon.  Abraham  Clark. — Abraham  Clark,  known 
as  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indejiend- 
ence,  was  born  at  the  home  of  his  ancestors,  on  the 
upper  or  western  road,  about  midway  between  Eliza- 
beth Town  and  the  village  of  Rahway,  where  his 
father,  Thomas  Clark,  his  grandfather,  Thomas,  and 
probably  his  great-grandfather,  Richard,  had  lived 
before  him.  The  latter  became  a  resident  of  the 
town  in  1678.  The  Clark  mansion  was  about  half 
a  mile  north  by  west  of  the  Wheat-Sheaf  tavern. 

Thomas  Clark  had  at  least  three  sons  and  one 
daughter,— Thomas,  born  1701 ;  Abraham,  born  1703 ; 
James,  of  Connecticut  Farms  ;  and  Mrs.  Day.  Capt. 
Abraham  Clark,  commander  of  the  troops,  resided 
directly  west  of  his  eldest  brother,  Thomas,  and  out- 
lived him  but  fifteen  days.  The  youngest  brother 
and  the  sister  lived  to  a  great  age.  Thomas,  the 
eldest,  was  one  of  the  charter  aldermen  of  the  bor- 
ough of  Elizabeth.  His  grandson,  Dr.  Abraham 
Clark,  says  he  was  "Judge  and,  I  believe,  keeper  of 
the  Kings  arms,  as  many  muskets  and  cartouche 
boxes  with  the  letters  '  G.  R.'  on  their  covers  re- 
mained in  the  house  until  used  by  our  patriots." 
He  died  Sept.  11,  1765,  and  was  the  Judge  Clark 
referred  to  elsewhere,  who  was  buried  without  pomp 
or  profuseness  of  expense,  as  had  until  then  been  so 
common. 

Abraham,  the  signer,  was  his  only  son,  and  was 
born  at  the  homestead  on  Feb.  15,  1726.  "  His 
nearest  neighbors  were  his  uncle  Abraham  on  the 
west;  Lewis  Mulford,  a  strict  Puritan,  on  the  north  ; 
Capt.  Jonathan  Hampton,  '  an  Episcopalian,  a  mem- 


HISTORY    OF   UNIOxN    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ber  of  the  Colonial  Assembly,  who  lived  in  the  hand- 
some style  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old  school,'  on  the 
east;  and  a  'noble  farmer,  Ephraim  Terrill,  another 
captain  of  troopers,  an  Episcopalian,  a  man  of  strong 
mind  and  social  qualities,'  on  the  south." 

Mr.  Clark  recaived  a  good  business  education  for 
the  times,  and  entered  into  business  as  a  surveyor  and 
conveyancer.  He  made  himself  familiar  with  the 
common  points  of  law,  and  was  ever  ready  to  aid  his 
neighbor  with  legal  advice  gratuitously,  and  so  ob- 
tained the  sobriquet  of  "  The  Poor  Man's  Counselor." 
In  1764  he  was  appointed  by  the  Legislature  one  of 
the  commissioners  to  survey  and  divide  the  common 
lands  of  the  old  township  of  Bergen.'  He  held  the 
office  of  high  sheriff  of  Essex  County  in  1767  and  of 
clerk  to  the  Colonial  Assembly  ;  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Committee  of  Safety  in  December,  1774,  and  sub- 
sequently their  secretary  ;  he  was  chosen  to  the  Pro- 
vincial Congress  in  September,  1775,  and  was  elected 
by  them,  June  22, 1776,  one  of  the  delegates  from  New 
Jersey  to  the  Continental  Congress,  in  which  capacity 
he  had  the  honor  of  affixing  his  name  to  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence. 

He  was  rechosen  to  Congress  in  1776  and  in  1777, 
serving  until  April  3,  1778  ;  again  in  1780,  1781, 1782, 
1786,  1787,  and  1788.  He  was  appointed  to  the  first 
Constitutional  Convention  at  Annapolis  in  1786,  and 
again  in  1787,  but  did  not  attend  tiie  latter  on  ac- 
count of  ill  health.  He  was  chosen  by  the  people 
under  the  new  Constitution  to  the  second  and  third 
Congresses,  and  died  before  the  completion  of  his 
last  term.  During  his  long  public  career  he  proved 
himself  the  incorruptible  patriot,  an  active  and  judi- 
cious legislator,  a  prudent  counselor,  and  a  true  friend 
of  the  people. 

His  death  was  occasioned  by  a  coup-de-soleil,  a  stroke 
of  the  sun,  which  he  survived  but  two  hours.  Great 
respect  was  shown  for  liis  memory  on  the  occasion  of 
his  funeral.  His  remains  were  deposited  in  the  bury- 
ing-ground  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Rahway. 
A  stone  with  the  following  inscription  marked  the 
spot: 

"In  memory  of  Abraham  Clark,  Esq.,  who  died  Sept.  IStli,  1794,  in 
the  69th  year  of  his  age.  |  Firm  and  decided  as  a  patriot,  |  Zealous  and 
faithful  as  a  friend  to  the  puljlic,  |  He  loved  his  country,  |  And  adhered 
to  her   cause  |  In  the  diirkest  hours  of  her  struggles  |  Against  oppres- 

The  Neu'  Jersey  Journal  of  the  following  week  says 
"  he  was  unifortn  and  consistent,  adorning  that  re- 
ligion that  he  had  early  made  a  profession  of  by  acts 
of  charity  and  benevolence." 

■  It  was  also  said  of  him  that "  in  private  life  he  was 
reserved  and  contemplative.  Limited  in  his  circum- 
stances, moderate  in  his  desires,  and  unambitious  of 
wealth,  he  was  far  from  being  parsimonious  in  his 
private  concerns,  although  a  rigid  economist  in  pub- 
lic affairs." 

1  Hudson  County  Land  Titles,  hy  Charles  Winfield,  Esq. 


He  had  long  been  a  member  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  was  one  of 
its  trustees  from  1786  to  1790.  "  His  person  was  of 
the  common  height,  his  form  slender,  his  eyebrows 
heavy."  He  is  characterized  as  having  been  "  very 
temperate." 

Mr.  Clark  married,  about  the  year  1749,  Sarah,  the 
eldest  daugnter  of  Isaac  Hatfield,  sister  of  Elder 
Isaac  Hatfield,  and  first  cousin  of  Mrs.  Robert  Ogden, 
the  mother  of  Gen.  Matthias  and  Governor  Aaron 
Ogden.  She  was  born  in  1728,  survived  her  husband 
nearly  ten  years,  and  died  June  2,  1804.  They  had 
ten  children. 

Roster  of  Officers  and   Men  from  what  is  now 
Union  County  in  the  War  of  the  Revolution. 

Aaron  Ogden,  paymaster.  First  Battaliim,  First  EstatilishmeiiT,  Dec.  8, 
1775 ;  capt.,  li.'UteriHUt,  First  Regiment,  Feh.  'J,  1779  ;  hiigade-niajor, 
and  inspector  and  aide-de-camp  to  Bi-ig.-Geu.  William  Maxwell,  April 
1,  1778;  disch  at  the  close  of  the  war. 

Elias  Dayton,  Thirj  Battiilion,  as  colonel. 

Jonathan  Dayton,  paymaster;  aud  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  chaplaiu. 

Samuel  Potter,  captain,  1st  Co. 

Josiah  Qiiimby,  '2d  lieutenant,  1st  Co. 

Col.  Moses  Jaijues. 

Col.  Matthias  Ogden. 

Philemon  Dickmson,  brigadier-general  militia,  Oct.  19,  177.'). 

Elias  Dayton,  colonel  and  brig  dier-geiieral  Continental  army. 

Moses  Jaqui-s,  lii-utouaut-colon'-l,  Sept.  24,  1777. 

Samuel  Polter,  lieutenant-colonel,  Feb.  3,  1777. 


Oliver  Spencer,  major. 
David  Condiut,        " 
Jacob  Crane,  " 

Abraham  Ogden,    "     Feb.  3, 1776, 
James  Hedden,  lieut.  State  troops, 
Nathan  Hand,  qnarteimaster. 
David  Piersou,  snrge<Mi. 
Nehehiah  Wade,  commissary. 
Israel  Bruiuiage,     capUiin. 
Lewis  Brant,  " 

Nathaniel  Camp,  " 

Stephen  Chaudl 

captain, 
Robert  Clark.         captain. 
Thomas  Clark, 
Jonathan  Condict,  captain 
John  Craig,  " 

William  DeHart, 

Hendricks, 

James  Jaroloman,        *' 
Eliakim  Little, 
Abnilmni  Lyon,  " 

Matthias  Lyon, 


John  Crane,  lieutenant  and  cap- 
,  lieutenant  and  cap- 


tai 


Joseph  Dayton,  lieutenant. 
Adam  Terrill, 


Matthew  Potter,  " 

Isaac  Smith,  " 

Elijali  Squire,  " 

Henry  Squire,  " 

Daniel  S.  Wood,  " 

Jesse  Baldwin,  lieutenant. 
Saumel  Meeker,  captain  in  Blan 
chard  troop  liglit-horse;  cor 


net,  lieutenant,  unc 

tioop. 
Isaac  Mulford,  lieutenai 
Anthony  Price, 
David  Tichenor,      " 
EderVermule,  " 

Elias  Winana,  " 

David  Pierson, 

terwards  captain. 
Daniel  Reed,  lieutenant. 


James  Wall, 

John  Ball,  ensign. 

Uriiib  Atlams,  ensign. 
'  Charles  Clark,      ''       and  captain. 

John  Miller, 
tenant,  also     Stephen  Pierson,  " 

Andrew  Ross,  sergeant-major. 

Samuel  Coir,  sergeant. 

William  Clark,      " 

Obaiiiah  Crane,      " 

Daniel  Hettield,     " 

David  Pierson,        *' 

Linus  Baldwin,  corporal. 

Samuel  Foster,         '* 

Jediah  Miller, 

Jonathan  Squire,    " 

Natlianiel  Ross,  bombardier. 

Icbabod  Cleveland,  drummer. 

John  Aken,  private. 

Daniel  Allen,  " 

Joseph  Allen, 

Samuel  Amet,  " 

Joseph  Badgley,  " 

William  Baker, 

Cal.-b  Baldwin, 

Ichahod  Baldwin, 

John  Ball, 

Timothy  Ball, 

David  Bill, 

J.ihn  Bayley, 

James  Beach,  *' 

Nalhau  Beach,  " 

Abiam  Beedle,  " 

andaf-      William  Bojid,  " 

William  Brant, 

Isaac  Brookfield,  ** 


Stiite 


WAR  OF   THE    REVOLUTION. 


99 


Jot  Brown, 

private. 

Muses  Hetfield,               private. 

David  Moriis,                private.           Gideon  Smith,                 private. 

John  Brown, 

" 

/epher  Hetfield, 

David  Morris, 

Obediah  Smith, 

Alimin  Biinopll, 

" 

Robert  Hall, 

John  Muchmore, 

Stephen  Smith,                      " 

Joseph  Bininell, 

" 

Robert  Hays.                          " 

Benjamin  Mulford,              " 

Ellis  Squier, 

Isiwio  Cadmus, 

Michael  Hays,' 

Lewis  Mnlfor^, 

James  Squier,                      " 

Job  (.'amis  '>r  de  Camp 

" 

Carey  Headly, 

John  Mulford,                       " 

Daniel  Squier,                      " 

James  Camphell, 

'• 

Moses  Headly, 

Amos  Munn, 

Eleaser  Squier,                     " 

Samuel  Clark, 

Moses  Headley,                        '* 

David  Mu " 

John  Squier, 

Charles  (Mark, 

Joseph  Hinds,  or  Haines,    " 

Samuel  Munn, 

Albert  Stagg,                          " 

William  Claik, 

Isaac  Hull, 

Benjamin  Myers,                  " 

Albert  Stagg,                        " 

Jaroh  Clark, 

David  Hutchens, 

Joseph  Myrick,                    " 

John  Stagg, 

Ezra  Clark, 

Will.am  Hiilcliens, 

Nathaniel  Nesbit,                 " 

Josiah  Steel,                            " 

Daniel  r'onilicr, 

Halmack  Jaroleman, 

Amos  Noe, 

Timothy  Stiles,                    " 

Eluatbuii  Cory, 

" 

Lawrence  Jennings,             ** 

David  Norris,                         *' 

Abner  Stiles, 

Samuel  Cory, 

" 

George  Jewell,                       " 

James  Noi-ris,                         " 

Henry  Stiles,                        '* 

Eber  rVjvort, 

" 

Benjamin  Johnson,              " 

William  Norris, 

Abram  Sliles,                          " 

Luke  Covolt, 

■• 

Samuel  Johnson,                 " 

David  Ogden,                         " 

Jacob  Swain,                         " 

Peter  <J<.verl, 

" 

Peter  Kemble,                          " 

Kliakam  Ogden,                    " 

Cyrus  Taylor, 

Abraham  Crane, 

Anthony  King,                    " 

Eleizer  Ogden,                     " 

Jasper  Ten  Bi-ook,                 " 

Amo-  Ciane, 

David  King, 

John  Ogilen,                        " 

Amos  Terrell,                         *' 

Aaron  Crane, 

" 

Isaac  Lacey,                           " 

Jonathan  Ogden, 

Enoch  Terrell,                        " 

Daniel  Claue, 

" 

David  Lacey,                          " 

Joseph  Ogden,                      " 

Isaac  Terrell,                        " 

David  Crane, 

James  Lambert,                    " 

Matthias  Ogden,                    " 

John  Terrell, 

Elijah  Ciane, 

•' 

Lambert,                        " 

Simeon  Ogden,                       " 

Jonathan  Terry,                    " 

Isaac  (.i-aue. 

" 

Cornelius  Lane,  or  Lange,  " 

Nehemiah  Osborn,                " 

Aaron  Thompson,                  " 

Israel  Crane,  Jr., 

Joseph  Lee,                             '* 

Jesse  Osborne,                      " 

Caleb  Thompson, 

James  Crane, 

Levi  Lennier,                       " 

Abner  Osburn,                     " 

Elijah  Tichenor,                    " 

Jonas  Crane, 

" 

William  Lines, 

Joel  Osburn, 

Enos  Tompkins,                   " 

Jonathau  Crane, 

" 

Benjamin  Little,                 ** 

Isaac  Pack,                           " 

Charles  Tow  uley. 

Blatthias  Crane, 

" 

Cornelius  Little,                    " 

William  Pangborn, 

Efflugham  Towuley,            " 

MoB.'S  Cl-aue, 

Ebenezer  Little, 

Peter  Parcel  1, 

Edward  Townley,                 " 

Mathau  Crane, 

" 

Henry  Litlle,                         " 

William  Parsel,                     " 

James  S.  Townley,               " 

Phineas  Crane, 

Jonatlian  Litlle, 

Stephen  Parsons,                   " 

Steeds  Townley,                    " 

Samuel  Craue, 

" 

Joseph  Little, 

Michael  Pearce, 

Jonathan  Trembler,              " 

Timothy  Crane, 

" 

Noah  Little, 

Adam  Pearce,                        " 

Samuel  Tulibs,                       " 

John  Ciilley, 

Williaju  Little, 

Elibu  I'earaon, 

Abraham  Tucker,                  " 

John  Darby, 

" 

Liule, 

William  Piereon, 

Ezekial  Tucker,                     " 

Isaac  Davis, 

" 

Eleizer  Luker,                       " 

Daniel  Peai-son,                    " 

Benjamin  Valentine,            " 

Juhu  Davis, 

" 

Jacob  Ludlam,  or  Ludlow,  " 

Theophilus  Pearson, 

Jonas  Valentine, 

Peter  Davis, 

" 

Abraham  Ludlam, orLud- 

Matthias  Pearson,                 " 

Thomas  Vance, 

Joseph  Day, 

" 

low, 

Joseph  Peck,                          " 

Simon  Van  Winkle,              " 

Jacob  Dean, 

" 

John  Ludlam,  or  Ludlow,  " 

Moses  Peck, 

John  Vinceut, 

Andrew  Denman, 

" 

Benjamin  Lyon,                   " 

Ralph  Post,                            " 

Geoi-ge  Voorheea,                 " 

Isaac  Den  man. 

" 

Ebenezer  Lyon,                     " 

Zenas  Potter,                        " 

Michael  Vreelaud, 

Philip  Drumau, 

" 

Henry  Lyon, 

Amos  Potter, 

Abner  Wade,                          " 

Joseph  Dodd, 

Ezekiel  Magee,                      " 

Richard  Powelson,               " 

Calvin  Wade, 

Geojge  Duly,  or  Doughty,   " 

John  Magee,                          " 

Joseph  Price,                        '• 

Daniel  Wade,                          " 

Ki-ancis  Drake, 

" 

Beujamiu  Mauuing,            " 

William  Ramsden,               " 

Henry  Wade,                          " 

David  Dunham, 

" 

Mai  ce  lies. 

Samuel  Quimby, 

Matl  bias  Wade,                     " 

John  Dunham, 

" 

Cliarles  March, 

Nehemiah  Randolph,           " 

Nathaniel  Wade,                   *' 

Isaac  Force, 

Jabish  Marsh,                        " 

Perminus  Riggs,                  " 

Obediah  Wade,                     " 

James  Ford, 

" 

John  Blarsh,                           " 

Smith  Riggs,                        " 

Timothy  Wade,                      " 

Jona>  Frazei-, 

Martin, 

Jacob  Riker,                         " 

Hendrick  Weasels,                *' 

Beujamiu    Frazee,  or 

Frazer,  pri- 

Isaac  Ma.xwell,                      '♦ 

John  Riker, 

Abuer  Whitehead, 

vale 

Amos  Meeker, 

Eiihraim  Rino, 

Daniel  Wilcox, 

Matthias  Frazee, 

private. 

Benjamin  Meeker,              " 

John  Rogei-s,                         " 

Thomas  Wilcox, 

Samuel  Cardner, 

Coiy  Meeker. 

Samuel  Romine,                  " 

.\biier  WillialU3,                    " 

John  Garral.rants, 

' 

Daniel  Meeker, 

Daniel  Ros<, 

Benjamin  Williams, 

Peter  Can  iaou. 

' 

Isaac  Meeker,                        " 

Ephraim  R.JSS, 

David  Williams,  Jr., 

Joseph  Giles, 

Jtihu  Meekel',                        " 

Ezekiel  Ross,                       '* 

James  Williams, 

Charles  <iillman, 

Michael  Meeker, 

Isaac  Ross,  3d,                       " 

Matthias  Williams,               " 

Joseph  or  Josiab  Gold 

' 

William  Meeker,                 " 

Joliu  Ross, 

Abraham  Winaus, 

Isaac  t^ray. 

Abner  Miller,                        *' 

Aaron  Rowlison,                   " 

John  Winaus,                         " 

Benjaniiu  Haines, 

' 

B.-nj..min  .Miller, 

Anthony  Sayres,                  " 

Kelsey  Winans, 

Heiir.i  HaUey, 

Clark  Miller, 

Benjamin  Sayres,                  " 

Matthias  Win  .ns,                  " 

David  Hand,  private,  also  express- 

Enoch  Miller,                         " 

Daniel  Sayres, 

Moses  Winaus,                        " 

rider. 

John  Miller, 

Ephraim  Sayres,                  " 

Samuel  Winans,                     " 

Hezekiah  Hand, 

private. 

Samuel  Miller,                      " 

Piersoii  Sayres, 

Christopher  Wood, 

Wiiians  Harris, 

William  M.jlel-, 

Benjamin  Scudder,              " 

Aartni  Woodniff,                    " 

Aaron  HetUeld,  or  Hatfield,   pri- 

Samuel Mills, 

Ephraim  Scudder,                " 

Abram  Woodruff,                   " 

vate. 

Samuel  Mooney,                   " 

Matthias  Scudder, 

Caleb  Woodrnfr, 

Abner    Hetfield,    or   Hatfield,  pri- 

William Mooney, 

Richard  Scudder,                  " 

Daniel  Woodruff, 

vate. 

James  flioorehouse,               *' 

Jacob  Sering,                       " 

David  Woodniff, 

Ellas  Hetfield, 

private. 

Samuel  Moorehouse,            '* 

John  Sering,                        " 
David  Shaw,                           " 

Jitcob  Woodruff,                     " 
Job  W.Hjdruff, 

1  1  am   not  sure  that  he  resided  in  now  Union  County,  but  on  the 

Aaron  Shipmau,                  " 

Uzal  Woodruff, 

line  .it  Honis  County 

James  Smith,                       " 

Jacob  Woolley,                     " 

100 


HISTORY    OF   UNIOxNT    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NKW    JERSEY. 


Jonas  Younp,  private. 

sary    of    issues,    commissary. 

Abraham  Clark,    express-rider. 

also  niHJor,  aide-de-camp  Con- 

AzHiiHh Clark,          "            " 

tinental  army. 

John  Clark,                " 

Joseph  P.ttter,  wagon  master. 

Jonathan  Stiles,        "           " 

Abr;im  Pierson,  furage-ma.-ter. 

Bev.  James  CaMwell,  quartermas- 

John Scudder,  wagon-mjtster,  cap- 

ter,   Hssistaiit    <iiiarternia8ter- 

tain,  and  conductor  of  team 

getieral,  also   chaplain   Conti- 

biigade. 

nental  army. 

Benjamin  Ball,       wagon-master. 

Daniel  Marsli,  captain  and  assist- 

Jesse Clark,                   "          " 

ant  qiiarieiniHster-general. 

John  Fiench, 

Joseph  B:i  11,  quartermaster. 

Andrew  Liitle,             "          " 

Spencer  Carter,  purchasing  forage- 

Joseph  Stanberry,        "           " 

master. 

John  Craig,            teamster. 

Jonathan  Stiles,  assistant  quarter- 

Jacob Miller, 

master. 

John  Miller, 

Ephriam  Foster,    artilicef. 

Gerwhoni  Norris,           " 

Nathaniel  Foster,        *' 

John  Miller, 

Joseph  Marsh,  wheelwright. 

Jonathan  Miller, 

Muses    Yeumens,    blftcksmith    at 

Elisha  Moore,                " 

Flying.  Camp. 

Geishom  Muore,           " 

Zopher  Bayles,  liostler. 

Nathaniel  Moore,          " 

Janiea  Pearson,  commissary  of  mili- 

Abnim Person, 

tary  etor»-8. 

John  Wood, 

Aarou    Ogden,  assistant   commis- 

Jacob  Wuuley,               '* 

This  list  represents  State  troops,  militia,  and  Con- 

tinental army. 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

EARLY    LAWYERS,  COURTS,  AND    JUDGES. 

The  first  lawyer  of  whom  we  find  any  reference  in 
the  county  was  a  Capt.  Hackett,  a  New  England 
shipmaster.  Being  a  Yankee,  he  possessed  the  usual 
genius  of  that  versatile  nation,  and  could  not  only 
sail  a  ship,  but  expound  maritime  law  with  such 
force  as  to  overwhelm  a  jury  with  the  weight  of  his 
arguments.  It  is  recorded  that  "  the  jury  went  forth, 
and  upon  a  second  and  third  going  forth  declared  to 
the  court  that  the  matter  committed  to  them  is  of 
too  great  weight  for  them,  and  desired  the  court  to 
make  choice  of  other  jurymen."  This  ponderous 
and  insupportable  load  thrown  upon  the  jury,  we  are 
informed,  consisted  of  an  argument  of  much  ability 
made  by  Capt.  Hackett,  in  which  lie  presented  "  no 
less  than  fourteen  points  as  grounds  of  defence."  But 
we  must  tell  the  whole  story. 

The  first  jury  trial  in  Elizabeth  Town  of  which  any 
record  has  been  preserved  took  place  in  May,  1671. 
A  special  court,  consisting  of  Capt.  William  Sand- 
ford,  president;  Robert  Vauquellin,  Robert  Treat, 
and  William  Pardon,  was  convened  in  the  town  on 
the  IGth  by  order  of  Governor  Carteret,  for  the  trial 
of  William  Hackett,  captain  of  the  sloop  "'  ludeavor,' 
of  Salsbury,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  in  New  Eng- 
land," for  illegal  trading  in  the  province,  mostly  at 
Woodbridge.  Governor  Lovelace  claimed  that  all 
vessels  coming  in  and  going  out  of  Sandy  Hook  en- 
trance should  enter  and  clear  at  New  York.  Gov- 
ernor Carteret  opposed  the  claim  so  far  as  concerned 
the  waters  of  New  Jers^,  demanding  that  in  order 
to  trade  in  these  parts  entrance  and  clearance  should 
be  made  at  the  custom-house  in    Elizabeth    Town. 


Capt.  Hackett  had  entered  his  vessel  and  paid  duties 
at  New  York,  but  not  here.  A  jury  was  impaneled, 
consisting  of  Benjamin  Price,  foreman,  Nicholas  Car- 
ter, William  Pyles,  George  Ross,  Barnabas  Wines, 
Nathaniel  Bonnel,  Matthias  Hatfield,  John  Wynings, 
William  Oliver,  Stephen  Osburn,  William  Meeker, 
and  John  Woodruff,  all  freeholders  of  the  town  and 
the  most  of  them  leading  men.  Governor  Carteret 
testified  for  the  prosecution.  Capt.  Hackett  argued 
his  own  cause  with  much  ability,  presenting  no  less 
than  fourteen  points  as  grounds  of  defense.  Then 
followed  the  result  already  described,  the  jury  over- 
whelmed with  such  weight  that  after  three  successive 
trials  they  were  unable  to  render  a  verdict  and  asked 
to  be  relieved.  On  the  18th  the  case  was  brought  be- 
fore another  jury,  who  seem  to  have  stood  it  better. 
These  were  Samuel  Hopkins  and  Capt.  Thomas 
Young,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the  remainder  from 
Bergen  and  Woodbridge.  The  dignity  of  New  Jersey 
was  vindicated  and  the  vessel  forfeited.' 

On  the  14th  of  December,  1671,  an  act  was  passed 
constitutingaCourtofOyerand  Terminer,and  another 
for  the  appointment  of  a  marshal  for  the  province. 
There  were  no  counties  yet  organized  in  the  province, 
and  consequently  no  sheriff  or  other  county  officers. 
A  writ  was  issued  Feb.  10,  1672,  authorizing  and  ap- 
pointing Cajit.  John  Berry,  i)resident,  Robert  Vau- 
quellin, Samuel  Edsal,  Roliert  Bond,  Capt.  John  Pyke, 
Capt.  Robert  Treat,  William  Pardon,  or  any  three  of 
them,  to  be  a  court,  to  meet  or  sit  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, February  27th,  at  nine  o'clock,  at  the  town-house 
in  Elizabeth  Town.  The  object  of  convening  this 
court  was  the  punishment  of  the  so-called  rioters  of 
the  previous  June,  the  story  of  which  is  told  by  Hat- 
field, as  follows: 

Among  the  "menial  servants"  brought  over  by 
Capt.  Carteret  in  the  "Philip"  in  1665  was  Richard 
Michell.  He  was  "the  son  of  Symon  Michell.  of 
Munden  parva,  in  the  County  of  Hereford,"  England. 
Richard  had  married,  April  23,  1668,  Ellen  Prou, 
"the  daughter  of  Charles  Prou,  of  Paris,  in  the 
parish  of  St.  Eutache,  in  France."  Slie,  too,  had 
come  over,  doubtless,  in  the  "  Philip,"  and  was  also  a 
"  menial  servant,"  possibly  a  housekeeper  in  the  gov- 
ernment house.  Michell,  as  well  as  Vallot,  aspires  to 
be  a  planter.  Carteret,  well  pleased  with  Richard's 
course,  and  willing  to  reward  his  faithful  services, 
takes  it  upon  himself,  without  consulting  the  town,  or 
any  other  than  his  own  pleasure,  to  make  him  a  grant 
of  land  for  a  house-lot,  bordering  on  "  the  swamp  in 
common,"  and  lying  at  the  rear  of  the  house-lots  of 
Francis  Barber  and  George  Pack,  south  of  Charles 
Tucker,  S.  E.  of  Jonas  Wood,  and  N.  E.  of  William 
Letts.  This  was  in  the  spring  of  1671.  Michell 
fences  it  in,  and  leases  a  part  of  the  ground  to  George 
Pack  for  a  tobacco  crop.  On  theotherpart  lie  builds 
a  house  covered  with  clapboards  and  lays  out  a  gar- 

<  EH8t  Jersey  Records,  iii.  75-77.    Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  136. 


EARLY  LAWYERS,  COURTS,  AND  JUDGES. 


101 


den.  Pack  sub-lets  one-half  of  his  field  to  William 
Letts,  the  weaver.' 

All  this  was  contrary  to  the  fundamental  agree- 
ments of  16H6,  made  in  town-meeting,  and  consented 
to  by  the  Governor.  None  but  the  people  in  town- 
meeting  could  determine  who  should  be  admitted  as 
associates  and  freeliolders.  It  was  a  clear  ciise  of 
usurpation  on  the  part  of  Carteret.  If  tolerated  in 
this  instance  it  might  be  followed  by  many  others, 
and  presently  the  town  would  be  overrun  by 
Frenchmen  and  other  foreigners,  claiming  an  equal 
share  with  themselves  in  the  plantation.  If  not  re- 
sisted they  might  as  well  give  up  all  thought  of  self- 
government. 

Tbe  town  was  deeply  moved  by  the  occurrence.  It 
was  the  common  talk.  The  neighbors  had  occasion 
to  meet  at  Goodman  Carter's  on  the  south  side  of  the 
creek.  The  matter  was  warmly  discussed.  They 
agreed  to  give  Pack  warning  not  to  put  a  plow  into 
the  ground.  He  and  Letts  were  greatly  grieved  at 
their  prospective  loss,  but  deemed  it  best  to  regard 
the  timely  warning.  A  town-meeting  was  called,  at 
which  the  whole  subject  was  gravely  debated.  Here 
is  the  record : 

"  June  19lli,  1671,  it  was  airreod  bv  the  Major  Vote  that  RicliurJ  Michel 
Bhonld  not  eiijo.v  his  lotl  gi\en  him  h.v  Ih^'  Governor.  Upon  this  infor- 
Dialion,  June  19th,  1V7I,  It  wa.s  agreed  that  there  should  some  goe  the 
next  morning  and  pull  up  the  said  MieheTs  fence." 

The  Governor  must  be  taught  that  it  is  not  his  to 
give  away  town-lots ;  it  belongs  to  the  people.  Michell 
had  "  never  asked  the  town  for  it,"  and  tiierefore 
could  not  have  the  "  lott given  him  by  tbe  Governor." 
It  was  "concluded  to  lake  the  piece  of  land  from  him 
again,  because  it  was  not  after  vote  of  the  town  he 
had  it."  Wliat  followed  is  thus  related  by  George 
Pack  : 

"The  next  morning  after  the  said  town. meeting  the  said  Richard 
Michel  came  to  my  house,  and  I  went  with  him  up  lo  the  said  lot,  and 
going  we  c»me  to  the  said  Wni.  LettV  house,  and  lighted  our  pipes,  and 
x^ben  we  had  lighted  people  came  upon  the  said  ground.  Goodman 
Meaker,  the  .vonng  John  OgdfU,  JefTry  Jones,  and  Nicholas  Carter,  and 
we  running  down  to  them  at  tlie  corner  of  said  lot,  the  said  Biclmrd 
Michel  forewarned  them  of  pulling  down  the  snid  fence,  and  spake  to 
them  of  a  riot,  ujion  that  goodman  Meaker  put  to  it  and  began  to  pluck 
down  tbe  fence,  and  then  all  the  rest  did  thelike,  and  left  not  off  till  they 
had  plucked  down  one  side  and  one  end." 

Among  those  who  aided  in  the  work,  as  Letts, 
Michell,  and  Ronyon  testified,  were  Joseph  Meeker 
(the  "  eldest  son"  of  Goodman  Meeker),  Hur  Tom- 
son  (son  of  Goodman  Tomson),  "  old  Mash"  (Samuel 
Marsh,  Sr.),  and  Luke  Watson,  the  lieutenant.  When 
Michell  forewarned  them. 


"Goodman  Meeker  answered,  Do  you  forewarn  me?  and  with  that 
went  to  pull  it  down.  While  they  were  so  doing  Mr.  Pardon  came  in, 
then  they  asked  him  whether  he  was  come  to  help  pull  down  the  fence, 
and  Mr.  Piirdon  answered  that  he  did  not  come  to  pull  down  the  fence, 
but  to  take  notice  what  you  do,  the  said  John  Ogileii  said  we  do  not  care 
if  a  hundred  such  fellows  as  you  are  do  take  notice  of  what  we  do,  and 
Mr  Piirdon  answered,  You  speak  very  sausily.  Luke  Wiitsou  did  not 
put  bis  hand  to  pull  down  the  f  ji.e,  hut  said  if  Tam  in  [the]  place  it's 


as  good,  hut  after  Mr.  Pardon  came  then  he  heaved  one  log  off  from  the 
the  fence  and  said  you  shall  not  swy  but  1  will  put  my  hands  to  it. 

"  Aivhile  afier.siys  Letts,  being  at  my  own  hous.-,  there  came  in  llobert 
Moss  and  Mr.  Crayne,  of  this  town,  who  asked  for  ill  ink,  and  I  having 
none  they  went  away  presently,  and  presently  after  they  were  gone  I 
heard  a  noise  alul  looked  out  and  saw  tbe  said  Robert  Moss  and  Mr. 
Crayne  beating  down  the  claboiirds  of  Richard  Micbel'shiuse  and  plucked 
up  tbe  palla>iiid.s  of  the  garden,  and,  h.fore  I  came,  the  lioggs,  within 
an  hour's  time,  bad  rooted  up  and  spoiled  all  thut  was  in  the  garden 
which  was  ful  I  of  necessary,  garden  herbs." 

Pardon  was  one  of  tbe  Governor's  Council,  and  had 
been  appointed,  June  5,  1671,  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  was  known  to  be  the  Governor's  obsequious  para- 
site. Morse  and  Crane  were  next-door  neighbors,  re- 
siding on  the  west  side  of  the  creek.  It  is  probable 
that  not  a  few  others,  drawn  thither  by  curiosity,  es- 
pecially of  the  boys  of  the  neighborhood,  witne.ssed 
the  transaction,  and  spoke  of  it  in  later  years  as  one 
of  the  memorable  incidents  of  their  |)ioneer  life. 

Warm  work  it  was  for  a  midsummer's  day  (June 
20th),  but  needful  work,  unless  they  are  prepared  to 
succumb  to  the  whims  and  dictates  of  the  cavalier 
lordling  sent  over  the  seas  by  a  brace  of  corrupt 
speculators  to  exercise  arbitrary  rule  over  these  honest 
and  sturdy  planters.  It  was  a  day  to  be  remembered 
in  the  annals  of  Elizabeth,  a  day  for  the  inauguratitni 
of  an  open  and  determined  resistance  to  all  usurpa- 
tion, and  a  manly  defense  of  their  vested  rights. 
They  acted  as  one  man,  and  were  not  to  be  trifled  with. 
Carteret  and  his  adherents  are  powerless  to  withstand 
the  tide,  and  however  chagrined  and  vexed  at  the 
result,  are  compelled  for  the  present  to  let  the  matter 
drop.  William  Meeker,  the  chief  actor  in  the  drama, 
is  chosen  constable  of  the  town  to  succeed  William 
Cramer,  and  receives,  Oct.  13,  1671,  a  commission 
from  the  Governor.^ 

A  court  was  convened  to  try  these  rioters. 

All  the  members  of  the  court,  with  the  exception 
of  Messrs.  Bond  and  Treat,  were  of  the  Governor's 
Council.  Seven  of  the  jury  were  from  Woodbridge 
and  five  from  Bergen,  none  of  Elizabeth  Town  or 
Newark.  Messrs.  Treat  and  Vauquellin  were  absent 
from  the  trial. 

An  indictment  was  found  against  William  Meeker, 
Jeffrey  Jones,  Luke  Watson,  Nicholas  Carter,  Samuel 
Marsh,  Sr.,  John  Ogden,  Jr.,  Joseph  Meeker,  and  Hur 
Thompson  for  pulling  down  Michell's  fence  on  the 
20th  of  June.  They  all  appeared  in  court  March 
8th,  when  the  indictment  was  read,  and  the  question 
guilty  or  not  guilty  was  put.  Not  one  of  them  an- 
swered; all  left  the  house  without  putting  in  any 
plea,  although  peremptorily  ordered  by  the  court  to 
remain.  They  saw  from  the  complexion  of  the  court 
and  jury  that  no  justice  could  be  obtained,  and  they 
j  resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  tribunal, 
except  to  treat  it  with  silent  contem  pt. 

The  trial,  however,  proceeded  in  the  absence  of  the 
defendants.  George  Pack,  William  Letts,  Vincent 
Ronyon,  William  Cramer,  Richard  Michell,  and  Wil- 


10:2 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


liam  Pardon  testified  for  the  prosecution,  no  witnesses 
for  the  defense  being  sworn.  The  accused  were  sev- 
erally brought  in  guilty  of  riot,  and  appearing  in  court 
the  next  day  received  sentence,  William  Meeker  to 
pay  £5,  and  each  of  the  others  £3,  the  fines  to  he  col- 
lected by  distraint.  They  were  never  collected.  "The 
marshal,  Samuel  Moore,  of  Woodbridge,  was  power- 
less in  the  presence  of  an  outraged  and  indignant 
people,  whose  opposition  to  the  Governor  and  his 
party  had  now  become  more  than  determined."' 

Amidst  the  difficulties  which  occurred  with  Gov- 
ernor Carteret  for  several  years  all  regular  procedure 
of  courts  was  suspended,  except  justices'  courts  and 
those  for  the  trial  of  small  causes.  Upon  the  re-oc- 
cupation of  the  province  by  the  Dutch,  in  1673,  "John 
Baker,  Jacob  Melyn,  John  Ogden,  deputies  from  the 
village  of  Elizabeth  Town,  New-worke,  Woodbridge, 
Piscatteway,  situate  in  the  Province  heretofore  called 
New  Jersey,"  appeared  at  New  York,  now  called  New 
Orange,  "  praying  by  petition  that  they  may  be  al- 
lowed to  send  some  Delegates  from  their  said  villages 
to  treat  with  the  Admirals  and  associate  Council  of 
war,  respecting  the  surrender  of  their  towns  under 
the  obedience  of  their  High  Mightinesses  the  Lords 
States  of  the  United  Netherlands,  and  his  Serene 
Highness  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  that  no  audience 
be  granted  to  their  late  Governor,  Capt.  John  Berry, 
before  and  until  the  same  be  granted  to  the  said  dele- 
gates." 

August  19th.  The  Deputies  from  the  Towns  of 
Elizabeth  Towne,  New-worke,  Woodbridge,  Piscatta- 
way,  Middletowne,  and  Shrousbury  appearing  are 
ordered  to  call  together  the  inhabitants  of  their  re- 
spective towns,  and  have  them  nominate  by  plurality 
of  votes  a  double  number  of  Sche])ens  or  Magistrates 
of  said  Towns;  also  from  each  Town  to  elect  two 
Deputies,  who  shall  meet  together  as  one  board,  and 
then  nominate,  by  the  greater  number  of  votes,  three 
persons  for  schout  and  three  for  secretary  over  the 
said  six  Towns."  ^ 

John  Ogden, Sr.,  Samuel  Hopkins,  and  Jacob  Melyn 
were  elected  schepens  for  Elizabeth  Town,  and  or- 
dered by  the  Council  at  New  Orange  to  "  come  hither 
on  the  first  opportunity  to  be  sworn  in."  ' 

The  several  towns  chose  their  deputies,  who  met 
and  made  nominations  for  schout  and  secretary,  or, 
as  we  would  say,  sheriffand  clerk,  although  the  schout, 
under  the  Dutch  system,  discharged  the  additional 
function  of  president  judge  of  the  court.  These  nomi- 
nations being  presented  to  the  general  and  Council 
of  War,  Sept.  1,  1673,  Mr.  John  Ogden  was  chosen 
schout  and  Mr.  Samuel  Hopkins  secretary  of  the  six 
towns.  The  Dutch  commission  to  these  officers  reads 
a.s  follows : 

"Oiveiiig  &  by  these  presents  grHiiting  unto  the  s-^  John  Ogden  & 
Samuel  Hopkins  &  each  of  them,  full  ponwer  strenght  &  authority  in 

1  K.  Jeisoy  Records,  iii.  78-80.     Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  142,  143. 
-  Bergen  had  already  been  provided  for. 
"  N.  V.  lol.  I)..cmts.,  ii.  .^82. 


their  said  offices.  The  said  Schout  together  vr^  yc  Schepens  or  magis- 
trates of  v"  respective  Townes  to  Rule  &  govern  ens  well  their  Inhabit- 
ants  as  Strangers  and  ye  sd  gHtuuel  Hopkins  to  admiaister  the  office  of 
Secretarij  in  ye  s^  Townes."^ 

The  first  duty  performed  by  the  schout  and  secre- 
tary appears  to  have  been  the  taking  of  "  an  inventory 
of  tlie  estate  of  the  late  Governor  Carteret."  Under 
the  authority  of  an  order  i,ssued  September  7th,  and 
by  the  aid  of  some  soldiers  sent  up  as  a  jjosse  commit- 
tatua  from  New  Orange,  they  arrested  Robert  Laprairie 
(Vauquellin),  the  surveyor-general,  who  had  "  re- 
moved diverse  goods  from  the  house  of  Philip  Car- 
teret, which  he  refuseth  to  restore ;  also  one  John 
Singletary,  who  refuses  to  obey  their  commands." 
Both  of  these  parties  were  taken  to  New  York  and 
examined  before  the  Council ;  they  at  first  denied  the 
charges  preferred  against  them,  but  four  days  later, 
Mr.  Ogden  being  present,  the  charges  were  sustained. 
Singletary  was  fined  £5  and  put  on  his  good  be- 
havior; Vauquellin  was  found  guilty,  both  of  contu- 
macy and  sedition,  and  was  sentenced  "  to  be  banished 
as  an  example  to  others."  * 

The  schout  and  secretary  were  "  furthermore  or- 
dered to  summon  James  Bollen,  late  Secretary  of  the 
Province  of  New  Jersey,  to  deliver  up,  agreeably  to 
former  order,  the  Governor's  papers  within  the  space 
of  ten  days  after  this  date,  or  in  default  thereof  his 
property  shall  be  at  the  disposal  of  the  Honorable 
Council." 

The  schout  and  schepens  of  this  court  were  a  pru- 
dential and  also,  to  some  extent,  a  legislative  body. 
Oct.  1,  1673,  instructions  were  .sent  by  the  Council  of 
War  to  Schout  Ogden  and  the  schepens  of  the  town 
"  for  the  preservation  of  the  public  peace  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  Justice."  Among  other  things  it  was 
provided  that 


in  his  quality,  take  care 
liutained  in  conformity  to 
er  sects  iitteniptirig 
I  for  the  'laying out 


"The  Sheriffand  Magistrates  shall, 
that  the  Reformed  Christ!  .n  Religion 
the  Synod  of  Dortrechi,  wilhuut  peirnitting  an 
anything  contrary  thereto.  Power  was  given 
highways,  setting  off  lands  and  {gardens  and  iu  like  manner  what  ap- 
pertains to  agriculture,  observance  of  the  Sabbath,  erecting  churches, 
school-houses,  or  similar  public  works.'  The  Sheriff  was  to  '  take  good 
care  that  the  places  under  his  charge  should  be  cleaned  of  all  mobs, 
gamblers,  whore-houses,  and  such  like  impurities;  to  receive  the  half  of 
all  civil  fines  accruing  during  his  term  of  office,  together  with  one-third 
part  of  what  belongs  tt)  the  respective  vitlages  from  ciiuiinal  cases.'  In 
the  nomination  of  shepens,  'a  double  number  of  the  best  qualified,  the 
honestest,  most  iiitelli..ent,  and  wealth  est  inhabitants,  exclusively  of 
the  R'-formed  Christian  Religion  or  at  least  well  affected  thereto,'  were 
to  be  presented  to  the  tJovernor  for  his  election."  ^ 

This  court  also  had  charge  of  Indian  affairs  in  the  lo- 
cal settlements.  Schout  Ogden  writes  Governor  Clove, 
September  29th  (O.S.),  respecting  the  apprehension  of 
an  Indian  who,  shortly  before,  had  carried  off  con- 
siderable property  from  the  residents  of  Elizabeth 
Town  and  refused  to  restore  it.  The  Governor  in  his 
reply  speaks  of  "  the  Cfiiefs  and  Sachems  hereabouts," 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  Indians  were  still  in 

<N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  iii.SaS. 

'  Ibid.,  ii.  6U:i,  C06,  607. 

"Hatfield's  Elizal.eth,  p.  174.     Col.  Documents,  ii.  ri20-J2. 


EARLY  LAWYERS,  COURTS,  AND  JUDGES 


103 


the  vicinity  in  considerable  numbers.  He  says,  "  I 
have  once  more  thought  fit  that  the  Indian  Sachem 
be  summoned  before  me  to  give  satisfaction  about  it." 
A  messenger  was  sent,  but  what  the  result  was  is  not 
recorded.  The  Dutch  Governor  also  says  in  this 
communication  :  "  Let  Mr.  Hopkins  examine  upon 
wliat  Conditions  the  Tenants  are  seated  upon  the 
plantations  of  Captain  Carteret,  and  account  thereof 
return  to  me.  Not  else  at  present,  but  that  I  am 
Your  Loving  friend,  A  :  Clove."  ' 

Governor  Carteret  had  gone  to  England.  After  an 
absence  of  more  than  two  years  he  returned  to  his 
home  in  Elizabeth  Town,  November,  1674.  The 
government  was  reorganized  under  the  Concessions, 
so  modified  as  to  give  the  Governor  the  control  of  the 
Legislature,  and  deprive  the  people  of  all  original 
jurisdiction.  In  the  proclamation  of  the  Governor 
and  Council,  dated  Elizabeth  Town,  Dec. 11,  1674,  the 
people  who  had  resisted  the  usurpation.s  of  the  Gov- 
ernor and  the  prerogatives  of  royalty  were  stigmatized 
as  "  malcontent  inhabitants"  and  "seditious  spirits," 
who  had  taken  advantage  of  the  arrival  of  the  Dutch 
"  to  cover  their  former  guilt  with  the  mantle  of  trea- 
son." As  if  this  insult  flaunted  in  the  face  of  a  free 
and  spirited  people  was  not  sufficient,  they  resolved 
not  to  commission  any  person  to  office,  either  civil 
or  military,  except  such  as  have  obtained  patents  for 
their  lands  of  the  Lords  Proprietors,  nor  to  grant  the 
privileges  of  a  corporation  to  any  others.  This  was  a 
blow  aimed  directly  at  the  Elizabeth  Town  Associates, 
who  it  was  well  known  obtained  their  lands  not  from 
the  proprietors,  but  by  purchase  from  the  Indians 
and  patent  from  Governor  Nicolls  directly  under  the 
Duke  of  York.  Although  Carteret  at  first  acknowl- 
edged the  validity  of  this  title,  not  only  verbally  but 
practically,  by  taking  a  share  in  their  grant  and  be- 
coming himself  an  associate  proprietor,  he  subse- 
quently set  himself  to  compel  the  Associates  and  all 
who  held  lands  in  their  plantation  to  get  out  new 
patents,  and  thus  subject  themselves  to  the  obligation 
of  paying  the  proprietors  the  usual  quit-rents.  The 
struggle  over  this  question  was  a  long  and  severe  one, 
into  the  particulars  of  which  we  cannot  fully  enter 
in  this  place.  The  final  settlement  of  it  will  be  found 
in  another  part  of  this  history. 

The  first  General  Assembly  after  the  restoration  of 
the  English  rule  was  held  at  Elizabeth  Town  in  No- 
vember, 1675,  beginning  on  Friday,  the  5th,  and  con- 
tinuing until  the  13th.  Of  the  townsmen  Henry 
Lyon  and  Benjamin  Pierce  were  the  members  of  the 
House.  At  this  session  Elizabeth  Town  and  Newark 
were  constituted  a  county,  which  was  the  first  county 
erected  in  the  province  of'New  Jersey.  The  Dutch  had 
no  such  municipalities  in  NewNetherland,nor  had  the 
English  any  in  New  York  until  1669.  A  treasurer  was 
appointed  for  the  province  with  a  salary  of  twenty  shil- 
lings per  annum.    This  favored  individual  was  Jacob 


Meleyn,  of  Elizabeth  Town.  At  an  adjourned  ses- 
sion the  code  of  1668  was  revised,  enlarged,  and  re- 
enacted.  The  Legislature  also  passed  a  respectable 
Sunday  law  in  the  words  following : 

"  Whosoever  shall  prophane  the  Lords  Day,  otherwise  called  Sunday, 
by  any  kind  of  servile  work,  unlawful  recreations,  or uunpcessary  travels 
on  that  "lay,  tiot  fulling  within  the  compass  of  works  of  mercy  or  neces- 
sity, eitlier  wilfully  or  through  careless  neglect,  .shall  be  punished  l>y 
fine,  inipiisonment,  or  corporally,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  offence, 
at  the  judgment  of  the  Court  Justice  or  Justices  where  the  otfence  is 
committed." 

At  the  close  of  the  session  was  passed  the  famous 
"  Act  of  Oblivion,"  so  called  from  its  proposal  to 
bury  all  the  troubles  of  the  preceding  five  years.  It 
is  in  these  words,  copied  from  Learning  and  Spicer, 
page  110: 

*'  That  there  sh.nll  be  an  utter  abolishing  of  all  actions  tending  to  re- 
cover damages,  costs,  and  ch.irgps  for  any  action  coniniitted  or  done 
against  any  one  within  this  Province,  that  hath  been  a  parly  or  any  way 
concerned  in  the  end'-avoiing  and  making  an  alteration  in  the  govern- 
ment here  settled  by  the  Lords,  anytime  from  the  year  167U  until  June, 
1673." 

Two  sessions  of  the  Assembly  were  held  in  1676,  the 
first  beginning  April  6th,  at  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the 
second  from  the  5th  to  the  8th  of  October,  at  Wood- 
bridge.  The  most  conspicuous  act  at  the  latter  ses- 
sion was  the  establishment  by  law  of  the  autumnal 
Thanksgiving  Day  commonly  held  in  New  England. 
At  this  time  and  for  years  previous  Isaac  Whitehead, 
town  clerk  of  Elizabeth  Town,  served  as  clerk  of  the 
House  of  Deputies. 

The  Legislature  convened  by  Andros  passed  no 
laws  relating  to  jurisprudence.  The  province  had 
been  divided  by  agreement  of  the  proprietors  into 
Ea.st  and  West  New  Jersey,  the  eastern  portion  fall- 
ing to  Sir  GetjTge  Carteret,  who  made  his  will  Dec. 
5,  1678,  devising  his  portion  of  the  province  to  trus- 
tees for  the  benefit  of  his  creditors.  Sir  George  died 
Jan.  14,  1680.  For  two  years  the  government  (of 
East  Jersey)  was  administered  in  the  name  of  "  The 
Right  Honorable  the  Lady  Elizabeth  Carteret,  Bar- 
oness, Widow,  the  Relict  and  sole  Executrix  of  the 
Right  Honorable  Sir  George  Carteret,  Kn  ight  and  Bar- 
onet, deceased,  late  Lord  Proprietor  of  the  said  Prov- 
ince, and  Grandmother  and  Guardian  of  Sir  George 
Carteret,  Baronet,  Grandson,  and  Heir  of  the  said  Sir 
George  Carteret,  deceased,  the  present  Lady  Propri- 
etrix  of  the  Province  aforesaid."-  In  the  mean  time 
fruitless  eftbrts  were  made  to  find  a  purchaser  for  East 
Jersey.  At  length  the  province  with  its  civil  juris- 
diction, together  with  all  arrearages  of  rent  and  sums 
of  money  due  to  the  late  proprietor,  was  disposed  of 
to  the  highest  bidder,  the  purchasers  being  an  as.-'o- 
ciatiou  of  twelve  persons,  residents  of  London  and 
vicinity,  and  most  of  them  members  of  the  Society  of 
Friends.  Among  them  were  William  Penn,  Thomas 
Rudyard,  and  Samuel  Groome.  Soon  after  the  num- 
ber of  associates  was  doubled,  six  being  added  from 


'  N.  Y.  Col.  Ducnments, 


1  £.  Jersey  Becords,  11.  37. 


104 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Scotland  and  the  remainder  mostly  from  London, 
Among  the  Scotch  associates  were  James  Drummond, 
Earl  of  Perth  and  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  Scotland, 
a  thorough  monarchist  of  the  Stuart  type,  and  sub- 
sequently a  Papist  and  an  exiled  Jacohite;  his  brother, 
David  Drummond,  and  Robert  Barclay,  of  Urie,  the 
Quaker  apologist.  One  of  the  new  associates  was 
Gawen  Laurie,  the  Quaker  merchant  of  London. 
Thus,  as  has  been  remarked  by  an  able  historian, 
"one  proprietor  was  exchanged  for  twenty-four  and 
the  Cavalier  for  the  Quaker  rule." '  The  deed  of 
lease  and  release  whereby  the  province  was  conveyed 
to  the  new  proprietors  was  executed  Feb.  1  and  2, 1682, 
and  the  price  paid  for  the  property  and  privileges  was 
£3400. 

The  government  of  East  Jersey  was  soon  inaugu- 
rated. It  is  no  part  of  our  province  in  this  history  to 
speak  of  West  Jersey,  which  maintained  a  separate 
government  and  jurisdiction,  with  its  capital  at  Bur- 
lington, down  to  the  surrender  of  the  province  to 
Queen  Anne  in  1702.  Of  East  .Tersey  Elizabeth 
Town  was  made  the  capital,  and  remained  such  until 
superseded  by  Perth  Amboy,  the  new  commercial 
metropolis  which  the  proprietors  attempted  to  build 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Raritaii  River.^ 

Robert  Barclay  was  appointed  Governor  of  East 
Jersey  in  the  spring  of  1682,  with  the  privilege  of 
non-residence  and  of  acting  by  deputy.  It  is  said 
that  he  had  been  first  a  Presbyterian  and  then  a  Pa- 
pist. He  became  converted  to  the  principles  of  the 
Quakers,  and  wrote  a  book  in  their  defense.  He  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  William  Penn,  and  was  also 
in  favor  with  the  royal  family.  Thomas  Rudyard 
was  appointed  Deputy  Governor,  and  Samuel  Groome 
receiver  and  surveyor-general.  They  took  up  their 
residence  at  Elizabeth  Town  Nov.  13,  1682. 

Probably  the  first  lawyer  regularly  educated  and 
trained  for  the  bar  was  Deputy  Governor  Thomas 
Rudyard.  He  was  regularly  admitted  to  the  Eng- 
lish bar,  and  was  a  barrister  in  the  city  of  London 
before  he  became  one  of  the  twenty-four  associate 
proprietors  and  was  chosen  to  fill  the  office  of  Deputy 
Governor  of  East  Jersey  under  Barclay.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  he  practiced  law  in  Elizabeth  Town, 
or  in  New  Jersey;  but  his  talents  and  legal  training 
were  of  great  service  as  head  of  the  executive  and 
legislative  departments  of  the  government  at  a  time 
when  anything  like  systematic  jurisprudence  was  in 
an  incipient  state,  and  had  to  be  created,  or  at  least  de- 
veloped and  set  in  order,  by  those  who  had  in  a  very 
large  measure  the  shaping  and  directing  of  the  local 
civil  affairs  of  the  province.  The  arrival  of  Rudyard 
at  Elizabeth  Town  was  the  signal  for  a  better  state 
of  affairs,  both  locally  and  throughout  the  province. 
He  came  with  conciliatory  letters  from  the  proprie- 
tors; he  was  a  man  of  amiable  instincts,  and  of  a 


I  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  211.    See  also  Learning  and  Spicer,  141-60. 
3  See  history  of  Perth  Amboy  in  this  work. 


friendly  and  courteous  demeanor,  representing  not 
the  lordly  cavalier  of  a  proud  and  imperious  court, 
but  a  trading  and  agricultural  association,  of  which 
the  members  were  chiefly  plain  and  unassuming  men. 
Rudyard's  family,  also,  were  quite  an  accession  to 
the  settlement.  He  brought  with  him  his  two  adult 
daughters,  Margaret  and  Anne,  and,  it  is  thought,  his 
two  sons,  Benjamin  and  John,  designing  to  identify 
his  interest  fully  with  those  of  the  country.  He  ob- 
tained a  grant  of  three  thousand  acres  of  land,  mostly 
on  the  Rahway  and  Raritan  Rivers,  and  became  a 
planter  on  a  large  scale,  thus  confirming  his  declara- 
tion of  preference  for  these  new  settlements  over  the 
crowded  thoroughfares  of  London. 

Governor  Rudyard  selected  good  men  for  his  Coun- 
cil, and  appointed  local  officers  high  in  the  confidence 
of  the  peo])le.  The  first  General  Assembly  under  his 
administration  convened  at  Elizabeth  Town  March 
1,  1682,  and  continued  in  session  until  the  28th. 
Benjamin  Price,  Sr.,  of  this  tovvUi  was  a  member  of 
the  Council.  At  this  session  East  Jersey  was  divided 
into  four  counties, — Bergen,  Essex,  Middlesex,  and 
Monmouth.  The  settlements  of  Elizabeth  Town  and 
Newark  were  included  in  the  county  of  Essex,  whose 
boundaries  are  thus  defined  :  "  Essex  and  the  county 
thereof  to  contain  all  the  settlements  between  the 
west  side  of  the  Hackensack  River  and  the  parting  line 
between  Woodbridge  and  Elizabeth  Town,  and  so  to 
extend  westward  and  northward  to  the  utmost  bounds 
of  the  Province."  Provision  was  made  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  sheriffs,  coroners,  justices,  clerks,  and  other 
officers,  and  for  the  erection  of  county  courts,  a  court 
of  small  causes  for  every  town,  and  a  superior  court, 
to  be  called  the  Court  of  Common  Right,  to  be  held 
quarterly  at  Elizabeth  Town.  Capt.  John  Baker  and 
Benjamin  Parkis  were  appointed  justices  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Right,  the  highest  tribunal  at  that  time 
in  the  province  except  the  Governor  and  Council, 
to  whom  appeals  could  be  made  in  certain  cases  pro- 
vided for  by  law.  Capt.  John  Baker  was  appointed 
coroner,  George  Jewell  clerk  and  messenger  of  the 
House,  James  Emott  clerk  of  the  county  of  Essex  and 
sheriff. 

At  the  adjourned  session  in  May  the  institution  of 
domestic  slavery  is  introduced  for  the  first  time  as  the 
subject  of  distinct  enjictment.  We  find  the  following 
strong  prohibition  passed  by  the  Legislature: 

"It  is  found  by  daily  experience  that  negro  and  Indian  slaves  or  ser- 
vants,  Tuider  pretence  of  trade,  or  liberty  to  tmffick,  do  frequently  steal 
from  their  masters  and  others  what  they  expose  to  sale  at  distance  from 
their  liabitarions;  (and,  therefore,  they  forbade  all)  barter,  tratle,  or  traf- 
fique  with  any  negro  slave,  or  Indian  slave,  or  servant,  for  any  rum, 
brandy,  wine,  or  strong  drink,  or  any  other  goods,  wares,  or  commodi- 
ties, living  or  dead." 

Numerous  laws,  mostly  such  as  had  been  passed  in 
Carteret's  time  for  the  preservation  of  good  morals, 
the  rights  of  property,  and  the  welfare  of  the  com- 
munity, were  enacted.  The  same  strictness  in  regard 
to  profanity,  intemperance,  licentiousness,  and  Sab- 
bath-breaking was  retained.     Evidently  a  healthful 


EARLY  LAWYERS,  COURTS,  AND  JUDGES. 


lt)5 


tone  of  morals  prevailed  in  tlie  several  settlements, 
notwithstanding  the  recent  disturbances.' 

At  the  sessions  in  December,  Benjamin  Price, 
Henry  Lyon,  and  Benjamin  Parkis  were  appointed 
on  the  commission  to  lay  out  and  appoint  "all  neces- 
sary highways,  bridges,  passages,  landings,  and  fer- 
ries for  the  county  of  Essex.'*  As  the  country  was 
everywhere  at  this  early  day  infested  witli  wolves,  a 
bounty  of  fifteen  shillings  was  offered  for  every  wolfs 
head.  '  ' 

Of  tlie  six  assessors  for  the  county  of  Essex,  three 
— Benjamin  Price,  Benjamin  Parkis,  and  George 
Ross — were  of  Elizabeth  Town. 

Rudyard's  administration  was  brief.  In  July,  1683, 
Barclay  appointed  Gawen  Laurie,  also  one  of  the 
proprietors,  his  deputy  for  East  Jersey.  Laurie  had 
been  for  several  years  associated  with  William  Penn 
in  the  trusteeship  of  West  Jersey,  but  had  not  yet 
come  to  America.  He  was  a  London  merchant  and 
of  the  Society  of  Friends.  He  arrived  in  January, 
1684,  at  the  new  town  of  Perth  Amboy,  bringing  with 
him  his  wife  Mary,  his  son  James,  and  his  two  daugh- 
ters Mary  and  Rebecca.  The  latter  became  the  wife 
of  Miles  Forster,  of  Perth  Amboy,  and  her  sister 
Mary  married  William  Haige,  of  Elizabeth  Town. 
Isabel,  the  daughter  of  James,  married  William 
Davis,  of  New  York. 

Governor  Laurie  was  inaugurated  at  Elizabeth 
Town  on  the  2Sth  of  January,  16S4,  after  having 
spent  several  days  in  laying  out  the  streets  and  lots 
of  the  new  city  of  Perth  Amboy.  Rudyard  grace- 
fully retired  to  the  more  humble  yet  responsible  po- 
sition of  secretary  of  the  province,  but  soon  after,  in 
August,  1684,  became  attorney -general  of  the  prov- 
ince of  New  York. 

No  sooner  had  Laurie  assumed  the  reins  of  gov- 
ernment than  he  wrote  home  a  glowing  account  of 
the  new  country.  Under  date  of  March  2,  1684,  he 
wrote  to  the  proprietors  from  Elizabeth  Town  as  fol- 
lows : 

•' Now  is  the  time  to  send  over  people  for  settling  Here.  The  Scots 
and  Williuiii  DoikwrH's  people  coiu  ug  now  unil  settling,  ailviiijce  the 
Province  nnne  tlnin  it  Iwlh  been  udvaiiced  these  leji  years.  Here  wants 
nothing  hnt  people;  Tlieie  is  not  a  po'T  hoily  in  all  the  province,  nor 
that  \vant>;  Here  is  almnilance  of  provision.  Pork  and  Beef,  at  ■^li  per 
pound.  Ki-h  and  Koul  plenty,  O.vstol-s  I  tliink  would  s^rve  nil  Kng- 
land;  Sider  g.tud  iin<l  plenty,  for  lii  per  Quart.  Good  Venison,  plenty 
brought  UB  in  at  IHd  the  quarter.  Eggs  at  :ld  per  dozen,  all  things  very 
plenty.  Land  very  good  a.,  ever  I  saw  :  Wines,  Walnuts,  Peaches,  Straw- 
berries, and  many  other  tliinj;8  plenty  in  the  woods, 

'■  I  have  put  two  houses  in  repair  up.ui  the  River,  called  the  Point  2 
miles  fr..m  Klizal.etlit..wn  ;  have  let  one  of  them,  with  111  acres  of  Pas- 
ture ground,  and  lu  acres  of  Woody  ground,  for  7  years  at  liO  lib  per 
annum:  the  man  locleare  the  ten  acres  of  Woody  gnnind  and  make  it 
fit  for  Ploughing  or  Pa-tiire.  I  intend  to  let  the  other  also  with  8..me 
land.  All  the  houses  were  like  to  drop  down,  all  the  laial  lying  without 
fence, and  a  barn  quite  fallen  d.,wn  and  destroye.l  rauother  without  any 
cover,and  ihat  oilier  ne.xt  lo  the  house  where  1  dwell. nil  to  pieces  and 
all  the  fences  and  out  houses  were  down,  but  lepaired  before  I  came. "2 

It  is  said  of  Governor  Laurie  that  he  carried  out 
fully  in   his   administration   the  instructions  of  the 


'  Learning  and  Spicer,  227^251, 


'  Scott's  Model  of  E.  ,1.,  lBO-65. 


proprietors,  "to  use  all  means  of  gentlene.ss  and  ten- 
derness with  the  people,  and  not  stand  much  with 
them  upon  small  matters."  Notwithstanding  the  de- 
sire expressed  by  the  proprietors  that  he  should  make 
the  new  town  of  Penh  Amboy  his  capital,  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  at  Elizabeth  Town  till  his  death,  re- 
spected and  honored  by  all.  The  General  Assembly 
convened  at  Perth  Amboy  for  the  first  time  April  6, 
1686,  and  from  this  time  that  town  became  tlie  per- 
manent seat  of  government  of  East  Jersey.  This  was 
in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  James  II.,  the 
Duke  of  York  having  come  to  the  throne  of  England 
under  this  title  upon  the  death  of  Charles  II.,  Feb.  6, 
1685.  Being  a  Catholic,  the  news  of  his  accession 
created  great  excitement  in  New  Jersey  and  through- 
out the  colonies.  He  was,  however,  soon  deposed, 
and  fled  to  France,  when  the  Protestant  prince  and 
princess,  William  and  Mary,  were  exalted  to  the 
throne,  1690. 

The  brief  period  of  the  reign  of  James  II.  was  one 
of  the  most  exciting  in  the  early  history  of  the  colo- 
nies. The  king,  in  order  to  carry  into  effect  his  long- 
cherished  scheme  of  subjecting  all  the  colonies  of 
North  America  to  his  arbitrary  and  desptitic  control, 
commissioned  his  supple  tool.  Sir  Edmund  Andros, 
cap  tain -general  of  all  New  England,  with  power  and 
authority  to  bring  New  York  and  New  Jersey  also 
under  his  government.  This  plan  of  consolidation, 
although  utterly  repugnant  to  the  people  of  New 
England,  who  felt  called  upon  to  resist  it  with  all 
their  might,  was  urgently  sought  by  Governor  Don- 
gan  and  the  authorities  of  New  York,  who  were  con- 
tinually writing  letters  to  the  king,  asking  him  to 
annex  the  other  provinces  to  their  territory.  Their 
interest  in  this  was  the  aggrandizement  of  New  York, 
by  making  her  the  centre  and  source  of  government 
of  the  consolidated  colonies.  Tlie  mayor  and  Council 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  in  an  address  to  the  king, 
dated  March  2,  1687,  insisted  on  "  the  absolute  neces- 
sity there  is  that  those  adjacent  parts  of  Connecticut, 
East  and  West  Jersey,  and  Penn.sylvania  should  be 
united  to  the  Province  of  New  York."  Andros  re- 
ceived his  commission,  and  after  arriving  in  New 
York,  proceeded  to  New  England  to  fasten  the  yoke 
upon  the  necks  of  those  elder  Commonwealths  of  the 
Puritans.  At  length,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1688,  "the 
decree  went  forth  that  the  two  Jerseys  and  New  York 
were  united  with  New  England  under  the  rule  of 
Andros,  to  be  governed  by  the  same  royal  pleasure 
which  for  three  years  had  been  grinding  the  liberties 
of  Britain  to  powder,  the  whole  to  be  henceforth 
known  as  'New  England.'"  Andros,  in  a  letter  to 
the  king,  says  he  had  received  the  submission  of  New 
York  on  the  11th  of  October,  also  of  East  Jersey  on 
the  15th,  and  of  West  Jersey  on  the  18tli  following, 
and  had  settled  all  the  officers,  civil  and  military. 
In  proclaiming  his  commission  in  East  Jersey,  he 
proceeded  to  Elizabeth  Town,  then  the  most  consid- 
erable |)lace  in  the  province,  where,  we  are  informed 


106 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  a  letter  written  by  Secretary  Randolph,  the  people 
"  all  showed  their  great  satisfaction  at  being  under  his 
Majesty's  immediate  government."  Mr.  Hatfield  is 
of  the  opinion  that  if  there  was  any  "satisfaction" 
really  expressed,  beyond  that  of  a  few  new-comers 
who  gloried  in  the  measures  of  King  James,  it  must 
have  been  because  the  people  felt  gratified  in  being 
at  length  rid  of  the  proprietary  government,  with 
which  they  had  so  long  been  vexed.' 

Col.  Andrew  Hamilton,  who  had  succeeded  Lord 
Neill  Campbell  in  the  government  of  East  Jersey, 
was  retained  by  Andro.s  as  his  deputy,  which  went  far 
to  reconcile  the  inhabitants  to  the  change,  as  Hamil- 
ton possessed  qualities  both  of  mind  and  heart  which 
secured  for  him  the  confidence  of  all  classes.  Andros' 
rule,  however,  was  short  and  inglorious.  His  royal 
master  in  England  was  soon  dethroned  and  compelled 
to  flee  from  his  country,  while  he  himself  was  degraded 
and  imprisoned  by  the  outraged  Puritans  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay.  In  New  York,  Capt.  Leisler  had  seized 
the  fort  and  ousted  his  officers  in  that  quarter.  So 
closely  was  Elizabeth  Town  connected,  socially  and 
commercially,  with  the  neighboring  city,  that  these 
events  deeply  affected  the  peace  of  the  community. 
The  agitation  here,  as  elsewhere  throughout  the  coun- 
try, was  deep  and  profound.  On  the  28th  of  June, 
1689,  a  Committee  of  Safety  was  chosen,  to  whom  was 
intrusted  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  New  York, 
and  of  this  committee  two  members  were  residents  of 
Essex  County.  "  The  utmost  efforts  were  put  forth 
by  the  faction  in  power  to  obtain  the  support  of  the 
towns  in  East  Jersey,  to  overthrow  the  old  govern- 
ments and  to  set  up  their  own,  but  without  success, 
the  people  here  resolving  to  maintain  the  existing 
government  until  they  received  orders  from  the  new 
authorities  at  home." 

Governor  Hamilton  left  the  country  for  England 
late  in  May,  1690.  The  proprietors,  determining  to 
reassert  their  jurisdiction,  of  which  they  had  been 
deprived  by  King  James,  on  the  decease  of  Barclay, 
Oct.  3,  1690,  made  choice  of  Col.  Joseph  Dudley, 
who  served  as  Governor  until  the  reappointment  of 
Hamilton,  March  25,  1692.  Hamilton  convened  the 
Assembly  at  Amboy  in  the  following  September. 
The  principal  work  of  this  session  was  the  adoption 
of  measures  to  aid  New  York  against  an  invasion  by 
the  French.  Hamilton  continued  to  administer  the 
government  for  the  proprietors,  but  it  was  evident  a 
crisis  was  approaching.  The  proprietary  government 
was  doomed.  It  had  been  re-established  in  a  mo- 
ment of  transition  from  the  dyjiasty  of  the  Stuarts 
to  that  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  which  the  minis- 
try was  too  much  absorbed  to  give  attention  to  such 
a  colonial  incident.  Soon,  however,  the  subject  was 
taken  up  by  the  new  ministry  ;  their  assent  was  with- 
held from  tbe  appointment  of  the  board  at  London, 
and  the  jurisdiction  of  the  courts  denied  to  any  of 

1  Hist,  of  Elizabeth,  p.  235. 


their  appointees.  In  accordance  with  a  law  requir- 
ing the  colonial  Governors  to  be  natives  of  England, 
Hamilton  was  superseded  by  Jeremiah  Basse  in 
April,  1698.  Being  an  Englishman,  and  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  opposition,  he  was  opposed  by  the 
American  proprietors.  The  people  soon  learned  to 
hold  the  government  in  contempt;  revolt  ensued; 
the  leaders  were  imprisoned,  but  were  speedily  re- 
leased by  the  populace. 

In  May,  1699,  Basse  left  the  government  in  the 
hands  of  Andrew  Bowne,  president  of  the  Council, 
and  sailed  for  England.  Bowne's  exercise  of  au- 
thority was  no  more  respected  than  his  predecessor's, 
although  it  stirred  up  less  resistance.  The  return  of 
Hamilton  at  the  close  of  1699  with  a  new  commis- 
sion served  still  more  to  complicate  matters.  In  the 
course  of  the  following  spring  and  summer  the  oppo- 
sition openly  revolted.  The  Assembly  called  to  meet 
in  May,  1700,  demanded  of  Hamilton  credentials  from 
the  king,  and  were  dissolved  the  same  day.  A 
period  of  strife  and  violence  followed,  the  courts  were 
broken  up,  sheritfs  and  others  were  obstructed  in 
serving  processes,  and,  as  during  Basse's  rule,  there 
were  "  mutual  breaking  of  Gaols,  rescuing  of  Pris- 
oners, and  beating  and  abusing  of  officers."'^ 

We  have  recited  these  facts  to  show  how  impossible 
it  was  during  this  period  that  courts  should  have 
been  regularly  maintained  and  law  properly  admin- 
istered. It  was  a  period  in  which  anarchy  was  the 
rule  and  order  the  exception.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
county  court  in  Elizabeth  Town  March  12,  1700,  the 
sheriff  having  been  ordered  to  arrest  Samuel  Carter 
for  contempt  of  court,  the  "  noise  and  howling  of  the 
people"  were  such  that  the  court  was  obliged  to  ad- 
journ. A  similar  scene  took  place  at  the  county 
court  in  Newark  in  September.  In  this  confusion  of 
public  affiiirs  it  was  determined  to  make  an  appeal 
directly  to  the  king.  A  petition  was  prepared  by 
"  the  Freeholders,  Inhabitants,  and  owners  of  Laud  . 
of  and  belonging  to  Elizabeth  Town,  or  Township, 
and  other  lands  thereunto  adjacent,  in  the  Province 
of  East  Jersey,  in  America,  in  behalf  of  themselves 
and  many  others." 

After  reciting  their  title,  they  say,  "  The  said  pur- 
chasers and  those  claiming  under  them  still  continued 
in  the  possession  of  the  lands  by  them  purchased,  and 
peaceably  enjoyed  the  same  until  about  September, 
1693,  being  about  thirty  years,  and  during  that  time, 
at  great  labor  and  expense,  built,  planted,  and  im- 
proved the  same;  and  they  humbly  conceive  they 
ought,  according  to  law,  reason,  and  justice,  still  to 
enjoy  the  same."  They  then  rehearse  the  troubles  to 
which  they  had  been  put  in  defending  their  title  and 
their  need  of  an  impartial  tribunal.    They  ask,  there- 

aE.  ,1.  Records,  C,  27.-!, 311, 328,  ail,  334.  E.T.  Hill,  pp.M,  124.  App. 
to  D(i.,  p.  :13.  Ans.  to  Do.,  p.  32.  Smith's  N.  J.,  pp.  2U9-U,  5i8-60,  568- 
69.  Luamiiig  and  Spicor,  pp.  592-93, 606.  Gordon's  N. . I.,  p.  53,  Wliite- 
llead's  B.  J.,  pp.  138-41,  147-60,  219-20,  223-27.  Mulford's  N.  J.,  pp. 
257-64.    Aualytical  Index  of  N.  J.,  Col.  Do(;nit.'i.,  pp.  19-31. 


EARLY  LAWYERS,  COURTS,  AND  JUDGES. 


107 


fore,  either  to  be  placed  under  the  civil  government 
of  New  York,  or  to  have  impartial  judges  appointed 
to  whom  all  these  matters  might  be  referred;  and 
that  the  usurpers  be  admonished  no  more  to  usurp 
the  royal  authority  in  "constituting  courts  and  com- 
missioning judges." 

The  names  of  sixty-five  prominent  citizens  who 
signed  tliis  petition  are  elsewhere  given.  The  peti- 
tion was  soon  answered  by  the  force  of  events.  The 
anarchy  of  faction  and  the  reign  of  disorder  termi- 
nated at  length  by  the  final  and  unconditional  sur- 
render, April  15,  1702,  on  the  part  of  the  proprietors 
of  all  claim  and  right  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
province.  "Then  in  reality  New  Jersey,  for  the  first 
time,  became  a  royal  province,  governed  no  longer 
by  a  company  of  land  speculators,  but  directly  by  the 
crown.  King  William  died  March  8, 1702,  and  Anne, 
Princess  of  Denmark,  ascended  the  throne.  A  royal 
Governor  of  the  combined  provinces  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey  was  appointed  Dec.  5,  1702,  in  the 
person  of  Edward  Hyde,  Lord  Viscount  Cornbury, 
cousin  to  her  Majesty.  In  May,  1703,  on  the  arrival 
ot  the  royal  commission,  the  proprietary  government 
of  East  Jersey  was  brought  to  a  perpetual  end." 

Whether  Governor  Philip  Carteret  was  a  lawyer  or 
not  is  not  positively  certain,  but  it  is  evident  that  he 
managed  many  cases  in  court,  and  manifested  no 
little  skill  and  knowledge  as  well  as  tact  and  shrewd- 
ness. One  of  these  occasions  was  when  he  was  kid- 
napped and  taken  before  a  special  Court  of  Assizes  in 
New  York  by  Governor  Andros,  in  May,  1680.  He 
was  tried  for  "  presuming  to  exercise  jurisdiction  and 
government  over  His  Majesty's  subjects  within  the 
bounds  of  His  Majesty's  Letters  Patent,  granted  to 
His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  York."  Carteret 
presented  his  commission  with  other  instructions  in  1 
his  vindication.  The  jury  brought  in  a  verdict  of  not 
guilty.  "Upon  which,"  says  Carteret  in  a  letter  to 
Bollen,  "  he  (the  judge)  asked  them  questions  and 
demanded  their  reasons,  which  I  pleaded  was  con- 
trary to  law  for  a  jury  to  give  reasons  after  their  ver- 
dict is  given  in  ;  nevertheless  he  sent  them  twice  or 
thrice  out,  giving  them  new  charges,  which  I  pleaded 
as  at  first  to  he  contrary  to  law,  notwithstanding  the 
last  verdict  of  the  jury  being  according  to  the  first 
brought  in  by  them, — 'the  prisoner  at  the  bar  not 
guilty,' — upon  which  I  was  acquitted  accordingly." 

This  was  a  triumph  for  Carteret  with  the  jury,  and 
in  law  and  justice,  although  the  partisan  judges  felt 
it  necessary  to  append  to  the  record  : 

"  But  the  court  declare  their  opinion  and  judgment 
that  if  he,  the  said  Capt.  Carteret,  shall  go  to  New 
Jersey,  he  should  give  security  or  engagement  not  to 
assume  any  authority  or  jurisdiction  there,  civil  or 
military." 

Benjamin  Price.  Esq.,  attorney-at-law  in  New  York, 
1725,  was  a  grandson  of  Benjamin  Price,  one  of  the 
original  Associates. 

Colonial   Courts. — Upon    the   assumption   of  the 


government  by  the  queen  of  England  in  1702,  a  Gov- 
ernor of  the  province  was  appointed  and  commis- 
sioned to  hold  his  office  during  the  pleasure  of  the 
.sovereign.  The  executive  power  was  vested  in  the 
Governor  with  the  advice  of  twelve  councilors,  ap- 
pointed originally  by  the  crown,  but  afterwards,  gen- 
erally, by  the  Governor  himself  Six  of  these  were 
taken  from  East  Jersey  and  six  from  West  Jersey, 
five  constituting  a  quorum.  The  legislative  power 
consisted  of  the  same,  with  the  addition  of  a  General 
Assembly  elected  by  virtue  of  writs  under  the  great 
seal  of  the  province,  and  convened,  adjourned,  or  dis- 
solved at  the  pleasure  of  the  executive.  The  appor- 
tionment for  members  of  Assembly  was  as  follows: 
Two  for  the  inhabitants  and  householders  of  Perth 
Amboy,  and  ten  for  the  freeholders  of  East  Jersey  ; 
two  for  the  inhabitants  and  householders  of  Burling- 
ton, and  ten  for  the  freeholders  of  West  Jersey.  This 
arrangement  was  somewhat  modified  by  an  act  passed 
in  1709  making  the  representatives  elective  by  a  ma- 
jority of  the  votes  of  the  freeholders  of  each  county. 
Each  freeholder,  in  order  to  be  entitled  to  vote,  should 
own  one  hundred  acres  of  land  or  be  worth  fifty  pounds 
current  money ;  and  the  person  elected  to  the  Assem- 
bly should  have  one  thousand  acres  of  land  in  his  own 
right,  or  be  worth  five  hundred  pounds  in  real  and 
personal  estate.  Voting  by  ballot  was  not  introduced 
generally  until  after  the  Revolution,  nor  in  all  the 
counties  until  1797.  The  Assemblies  met  not  annu- 
ally, but  only  occasionally  as  the  Governor  saw  fit  to 
convene  them.  For  example,  from  the  surrender  to 
the  crown  to  the  Revolution,  a  period  of  seventy-four 
years,  there  were  twenty-two  Assemblies,  some  of 
which  continued  but  one  year,  others  longer,  and  one 
from  1761  to  1769,  eight  years.  In  1768  an  act  was 
passed  providing  that  a  General  Assembly  should  be 
held  once  in  seven  years  at  least.'  All  colonial  and 
county  officers,  even  including  the  clerks  of  the  As- 
sembly, were  appointed  either  by  the  crown  or  by  the 
Governor  and  Council,  and  were  required  to  take  a 
certain  prescribed  oath  of  fidelity  and  allegiance. 

The  courts  of  the  colonial  period,  which  still  exi.st 
in  a  modified  form,  were  instituted  by  Lord  Cornbury, 
under  authority  of  Queen  Anne,  by  an  ordinance  pro- 
mulgated in  1704.  They  consisted  of  (1)  justices' 
courts,  which  had  cognizance  of  cases  to  the  amount 
of  forty  shillings;  (2)  Courts  of  Common  Pleas  in  each 
county,  having  power  to  try  all  actions  at  common 
law ;  (3)  Courts  of  General  Sessions  of  the  peace,  each 
with  quarterly  terms,  having  civil  and  criminal  juris- 
diction in  certain  cases;  (4)  a  Supreme  Court  for  the 
province,  to  sit  once  in  each  year  at  Perth  Amboy  and 
at  Burlington,  and  to  have  cognizance  of  all  pleas, 
civil,  criminal,  and  mixed,  as  fully  as  the  Courts  of 
Queen's  Bench,  Common  Pleas,  and  Exchequer  in 
England ;  (5)  a  Court  of  Chancery,  at  first  constituted 


1  Constitution   and  Government  of  the  Province,  by  Judge  Elmer. 
Allison's  Laws,  ed.  1776. 


108 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  the  Governor  and  any  three  members  of  his  Council. 
This  was  clianged  by  Governor  Hunter,  who  during 
his  administration  exercised  the  powers  of  chancellor 
alone,  which  practice,  being  sanctioned  by  the  king, 
became  the  constitution  of  the  court,  and  so  remained 
till  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  1844.  The 
rules  of  practice  were  first  systematized  under  the 
chancellorship  of  Governor  Williamson  in  1818. 

"  In  1714  the  Supreme  Court  was  required  to  hold 
two  terms  yearly  in  each  place,  and  courts  for  the 
trial  of  issues  were  appointed  to  be  held  yearly  in  each 
county.  .  .  .  The  times  and  places  of  holding  the 
courts  and  the  length  of  the  terms  were  from  time  to 
time  altered,  but  the  constitution  and  powers  of  the 
courts  remained  the  same,  except  that  in  1724,  no 
doubt  through  the  influence  of  the  proprietors,  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Common  Pleas  was  restricted  so  as 
to  except  causes  wiierein  the  right  or  title  to  any  lands, 
tenements,  or  hereditaments  were  in  any  wise  con- 
cerned. After  1751  the  Supreme  Court  fixed  the  times 
for  holding  the  circuits.  The  jurisdiction  of  these 
several  courts  remains  to  this  day  as  established  by 
the  ordinance  of  1724." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 
BENCH    AND    BAR    OF    UNION    COUNTY. 

In  our  chapter  on  early  courts  and  jurisprudence 
the  bench  and  bar  have  been  foreshadowed,  appear- 
ing in  various  degrees  of  dignity  from  the  frontier 
court  for  the  trial  of  small  causes  up  to  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  colony  and  the  State.  The  elegant  barris- 
ter of  the  nineteenth  century  has  been  adumbrated  in 
his  unprofessional  prototype  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Thus  all  things  proceed  by  a  law  of  evolution. 
The  contrast  in  the  outward  symbols  of  dignity  which 
have  accompanied  the  march  of  jurisprudence  is  not 
less  marked  or  impressive  than  that  exhibited  in  the 
mental  lurniture  and  equipments  of  judges  and  law- 
yers themselves.  The  backwoods  justice  presiding 
in  his  shirt-sleeves  in  some  frontier  cabin  is  certainly 
a  very  different  picture  from  the  ermined  chief  justice 
of  the  highest  modern  court,  presiding  in  gilded  and 
frescoed  apartments. 

These  changes  which  marked  the  advance  of  civil- 
ization had  been  passed  through  in  the  Old  World, 
but  they  had  to  be  repeated  in  the  New,  where  every- 
thing in  the  beginning  was  in  a  crude  and  wild  state 
of  nature;  the  forests  had  first  to  be  subdued  and 
homes  made,  society  had  to  grow,  the  diversified  po- 
litical, social,  industrial,  and  commercial  relations  of 
man  had  to  be  developed  before  the  laws  and  judicial 
customs  known  to  all  civilized  races  could  be  applied 
except  in  their  crudest  and  simplest  forms.  The  peo- 
ple of  this  country,  being  of  the  same  race  and  blood 
as  those  of  England,  only  needed  time  and  opportu- 


nity to  develop  here  from  the  root  of  English  law  a 
grander  tree  of  liberty  and  justice  than  that  which 
shelters  the  broad  empire  of  Great  Britain. 

Little  is  known  of  a  regular  bar  in  connection  with 
the  courts  of  New  Jersey  till  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century.  Some  lawyers  there  were  pre- 
vious to  that,  especially  in  the  chief  towns,  who  had 
been  regularly  bred  to  the  profession.  Some  of  this 
class  were  among  the  officials  sent  over  from  England 
who  participated  in  the  early  governments  of  the 
colony,  such  men  as  Thomas  Rudyard,  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor in  1682,  and  Lord  Cornbury,  the  first  Governor 
under  Queen  Anne.  Half  a  century  later  William 
Livingston,  who  had  studied  law  with  James  Alexan- 
der, the  former  surveyor-general  of  New  Jersey,  then 
in  practice  in  New  York,  came  into  practice  in  the 
courts  of  New  Jersey,  and  soon  after  settled  in  Eliza- 
beth Town.  About  the  same  time  John  De  Hart, 
Esq.,  became  a  practitioner  in  the  same  town.  These 
were  followed  by  Robert  Ogden,  Jr.,  called  the  "  hon- 
est lawyer,"  who  had  acquired  a  large  practice  before 
the  Revolution.  So  far  as  we  know  these  were  all 
the  regular  lawyers  in  what  is  now  Union  County 
previous  to  the  struggle  for  independence. 

Some,  without  any  legal  education  or  training,  prac- 
ticed as  amateur  attorneys,  doing  a  sort  of  law  busi- 
ness for  their  less  informed  neighbors  and  attending 
to  small  causes  injustices'  and  other  inferior  courts. 
Such  in  many  instances  stood  in  the  way  of  the  regu- 
lar profession. 

A  prejudice  existed  against  the  legal  fraternity  at 
an  early  day,  which  in  New  England  for  a  time  as- 
sumed quite  a  bitter  form.  It  was  felt  there  and  more 
or  less  in  all  the  colonies  till  after  the  Revolution. 
This  prejudice  grew  out  of  the  antagonism  between 
the  laboring  and  professional  classes  at  a  period  wlien 
the  majority  belonged  to  the  former  and  were  strug- 
gling hard  against  the  adversities  of  a  new  country. 
Lawyers  were  looked  upon  by  them  as  a  class  of  peo- 
ple trying  to  get  their  living  without  work,  and,  withal, 
feeling  themselves  somewhat  superior  beings.  This 
prejudice  prevailed  in  New  Jersey  as  early  as  1769, 
and  after  the  Revolution  was  fanned  into  a  fresh  flame, 
both  against  the  lawyers  and  the  courts,  on  account 
of  their  agency  in  enforcing  the  payment  of  debts 
and  contracts  when  the  people  were  greatly  impover- 
ished on  account  of  the  war.  A  notable  illustration 
of  this  occurred  in  this  county.  The  people  at  that 
time  were  clamorous  for  stay  laws.  Abraham  Clark, 
the  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  was 
a  member  of  the  Legislature,  and  sided  with  the  pop- 
ular feeling.  He  was  supposed  to  have  been  the  au- 
thor of  a  bill  entitled  "  An  Act  lor  Regulating  and 
Shortening  the  Proceedings  of  the  Courts  of  Law," 
afterwards  known  as  "  Clark's  Law."  It  did  not  pass, 
but  in  advocating  it  its  author  made  the  remark,  "  If 
it  succeeds,  it  will  tear  off  the  niflles  from  the  law- 
yers' wrists." 

The  custom  of  wearing  not  only  ruffled  wristbands, 


BENCH    AND    BAR   OF    UNION    COUNTY. 


lu9 


but  ruffled  bosoms,  prevailed  at  that  day.  Barristers 
in  court  also  wore  gowns  and  wigs.  "  When  sitting 
in  court  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  wore  a 
robe  of  office,  and  commonly  a  wig,  although  it  is  not 
probable  that,  like  their  brethren  in  England,  they 
considered  it  necessary  to  carry  four  of  these  indis- 
pensable articles,  namely,  the  brown  scratch  wig  for 
the  morning  when  not  in  court ;  the  powdered  dress 
wig  for  dinner  ;  the  tie  wig,  with  the  black  coif,  when 
sitting  on  the  civil  side  of  the  court ;  and  the  full 
buttoned  one  for  the  criminal  side." 

The  following  custom,  however,  did  prevail  until 
within  the  memory  of  many  now  living  :  "  The  ordi- 
nance establisliing  the  circuits  required  the  high 
sheriff,  justices  of  the  peace,  the  mayor  and  aldermen 
of  any  corporation  within  the  counties,  and  all  officers 
of  any  of  the  courts  to  be  attending  on  the  chief  jus- 
tice and  other  justices  going  the  circuit  at  his  coming 
into  and  leaving  the  several  counties,  and  during  his 
abode  within  the  same;  and  the  practice,  as  it  was  in 
England  until  the  introduction  of  railways,  was  for 
the  sheriff,  with  as  many  justices  and  other  gentlemen 
on  horseback  as  he  could  conveniently  collect,  to  await 
the  arrival  of  the  judge  at  the  county  line,  to  which 
he  was  in  like  manner  escorted  by  the  officers  of  the 
adjoining  county,  and  escort  him  to  his  lodgings.  At 
the  opening  and  closing  of  the  court  from  day  to  day, 
the  sheriff  and  constables,  with  their  staves  of  office, 
escorted  him  from  and  to  his  place  of  lodging  to  the 
court-liouse,  as  was  indeed  the  usual  custom  until 
very  recently."  ' 

We  append  a  list  of  the  lawyers  of  this  bar,  so  far 
as  a  record  can  be  found  of  them,  together  with  the 
dates  of  their  admission  to  practice,  to  which  are 
added  some  biographical  sketches  both  of  lawyers  and 
judge-s. 

List  of  Members  of  the  Bar  of  Union  County 
from  1774  to  1881. 

Roberr  Ogdeii,  Jr. 

Matthtis  Williamson,  NoTemlier  T..  1774. 

Willwm  Livi.ig»ton,  Jr.,  May  T.,  1780. 

Joliu  Ueliarl,  Ma.v  T.,  178). 

Aaruu  Ogdeil,  September  T.,  1784. 

Nelieliiiali  VVaJe,  September  T.,  1784. 

Jacub  Dellart,  April  T.,  1786. 

Belijaiu.ll  1  laik,  September  T.,  1788. 

Ibaau  H.  Willianisou,  April  T.,  17al,  April  T.,  1796. 

Mattliias  Dellart,  April  T.,  17al. 

Caleb  Hal.led,  Jr.,  Jlay  T.,  17al. 

Tliumas  L.  Ogi-en,  April  T.,  1T93. 

J. lb  S.  llalsloci,  April  T.,  ITJj,  September  T.,  1799. 

Da>  Id  U.  Ogdeu,  September  T.,  1796,  September  T.,  1799. 

William  Clietwuod,  September  T  ,  1796,  September  T.,  1799. 

William  R.  WJlliauisun,  May  T.,  1799. 

Tboliiaa  Y.  Uow,  May  T.,  1799. 

Ge.jrge  t;.  Barber,  February  T.,  1801. 

Elia.t  I.  Dayton,  February  T.,  1801. 

Aaiuli  Coe,  Nuvouibor  T.,  1801. 

Lewis  BloiTla  Ogileii,  Nuvember  T.,  18U5. 

Siiiitb  Scudder,  September  T.,  1808,  February  T.,  1814. 

KliHs  D.  Wuodiiiff,  November  T.,  1808. 

Mattliius  O.  Halsted.  November!.,  1814,  February  T.,  1818. 


L  £lmer*8  BemiDist^nces,  p.  15. 


Matthias  Ogdeii,  November  T.,  1814,  February  T.,  1818. 

Oliver  S.  Ilalsted,  November  T.,  IK14.  November  T.,  1817. 

Francis  C.  F   Randolph,  May  T.,  1816,  September  T.,  1S19. 

William  Halsted,  Jr.,  November  T.,  1S16,  November  T.,  1819. 

Aaron  O  Dayton,  November  T.,  1817,  May  T.,  1821. 

E/.ekiel  S.  Ha.neg,  May  T.,  1818. 

Jolin  J.  Chetwood,  November  T.,  1821,  February  T.,  1825. 

Daniel  Haines,  November  T.,  I8i3,  November  T.,  1826. 

Ellas  B.  D.  Ogden,  May  T.,  1824,  February  T.,  1829. 

Joseph  F.  Rand.ilph,  May  T.,  182.'),  May  T.,  1828. 

William  W  Oorriell.  September  T,,  1827. 

Francis  B.  Clietwoort.  November  T.,  1828,  November  T.,  1831. 

.\aroii  0.  DeHarl,  November  T.,  1828.  May  T.,  lSi5. 

Corn.liua  Boice,  September T.,  1829,  November  T.,  1832. 

Thomas  P.  IMiiniiey,  February  T.,  1831. 

Wi  liam  Mansfield  Scii.lder,  November  T.,  1831,  May  T.,  1839. 
;   T  Gii.bons  Trumbull,  February  T.,  1832,  February  T.,  1836. 

Slalthias  O.  Dayton,  November  T.,  1832. 

Edward  T.  Rcigers,  .November  T.,  1833,  November  T.,  1836. 

laiac  H.  WilliaiiiKon,  Jr.,  February  T.,  1836,  September  T.,  1839. 

John  Chetwood,  September  T.,  1836,  Septemtwr  T.,  1839. 

Robert  D.  Spencer,  September  T.,  1836.  April  T.,  1846. 

John  R.  Crane,  November  T.,  1836. 
1    Isaac  W.  Soiidder,  May  T.,  1838,  May  T.,  1844. 
j    William  F.  Day,  November  T.,  1838. 
I   James  R.  Meeker,  Noveuiber  T.,  1840,  November  T.,  1843. 
I    Isaac  Coles,  May  T  ,  1841. 

Joseph  Aniiiu,  November  T.,  1842,  January  T.,  1846. 
1    Ezra  Darby,  February  T  ,  1843,  April  T.,  1846. 
j    Stephen  P   Britlan,  Jr.,  Jaiiuiiry  T.,  1846. 

J.ilin  Chetwood,  Jr.,  July  T  ,  1849. 

William  A.  Coureen,  April  T.,  1851. 
I    Andrew  Diitcher,  July  T.,  18ol. 

William  B   Meeker,  Febmary  T.,  1852. 

T    Henry  Stone,  November  T.,  1859. 
I    Benjamin  Williamson,  Jr.,  November  T.,  18.59. 
I    Bnidbiiry  C.  Chetwood,  February  T.,  1861,  February  T.,  1864. 
:   Samuel  D.  Hiiiuea,  February  T.,  1864. 

Of  the  above  list  the  following  were  called  to  the 
degrees  of  sergeants-at-law,  viz. : 

Robert  Ogden,  Jr.,  May  T.,  1780. 
Aaron  Ogden,  September  T.,  1792. 
Maltliias  Williauisiin,  May  T.,  1797. 
Isaac  H.  Williamson,  May  T.,  1804. 
Willialu  Chetwood,  February  T.,  1816. 
Olivers.  Halsted,  February  T.,  1834. 
Wdliam  Halsteail,  Jr,  February  T.,  1834. 
Jobu  J.  Chetwood,  Septemi  er  T.,  1837. 
Daniel  Haines,  Sepiemher  T.,  18.17. 
Gliiu  B.  D.  Ogden,  September  T.,  1837. 

David  Ogden,  John  Chetwood,  Joseph  F.  Ran- 
dolph, Elias  B.  D.  Ogden,  and  Daniel  Haines  were 
associate  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New 
Jersey.  Robert  D.  Spencer  was  law  reporter,  ap- 
pointed Oct.  28,  1842. 

Members  of  the  Present  Bar  of  Union  County. 

English,  James   K.,  admitted  as  attorney  June  T.,  1864;   admitted  as 

counselor  June  T.,  1867. 
Williamson,  Benjamin,  November  T.,  1830,  NovemberT.,  1833. 
Ruiiyan,  Enos  W.,  June  T.,  18.54,  June  T.,  1857. 
Magie,  William  Jay,  Fei.ruary  T.,  1856,  February  T.,  1859. 
Alward,  J.-s-i.h,  November  T..  18.57,  February  T.,  1862. 
Chetwood,  R..bert  E..  June  T.,  1861,  June  T  ;  1864. 
Eunyau.  Nelson,  Febrnary  T.,  1862,  June  T.,  1865. 
Berry,  Garret,  November  T.,  1863,  November  T.,  1866. 
Atwater,  Edward  S ,  June  T.,  1866,  Febraary  T.,  1870. 
Bergen,  Frank,  November  T.,  1873,  November  T.,  1876. 
English,  .Nich.das  C.  J.,  November  T.,  1868,  November  T.,  1871. 
English.  Theodore  C,  June  T.,  1876,  June  T.,  1881. 
Kay,  J.  Autustus.  Jr.,  February  T.,  1866,  h'ebruary  T.,  1869. 
Gerber,  Jauies  J  ,  June  T.,  1876,  nut  a  counselor. 


no  HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Greeu,  Kobert  S.,  Noveml.er  T.,  I85;i,  November  T.,  1856. 

Gilhooly,  P.  Hamilton,  .lime  T.,  187:1,  February  T.,  1877. 

Hodges,  Thorudyke  D.,  Junn  T.,  1870,  June  T.,  1873. 

Lindabury,  Richard  V.,  February  T.,  1874,  February  T.,  1877. 

Cross,  Joseph,  Jr..  June  T.,  1868,  November  T.,  1871. 

Marsh,  Fred.  C,  February  T.,  1878,  Febiuary  T,  1881. 

McCormick,  Thomas  F.,  November  T.,  ISTl,  November  T.,  1874. 

Noe,  Louis  H.,  November  T.,  1869,  November  T.,  1878. 

Norman,  Zerman,  November  T.,  1874. 

Parrot,  Oeorge  T.,  November  T.,  1873,  February  T.,  1877. 

Richards,  Howard,  February  T..  1870. 

Swift.  C.  Addison,  February  T.,  1880;  not  a  rounselor, 

Wilson,  William  P.,  June  T.,  1870,  June  T.,  1873. 

Wilson,  William  R.,  November  T.,  1875,  November  T.,  1878. 

Wood,  Edward  M.,  November  T.,  1878. 

Durand,  Jiimes  H.,  November  T.,  1868. 

Lindsay,  Gilbert  R.,  November  T.,  1867,  November  T.,  1870. 

Lupton,  Leslie.  November  T.,  1867,  November  T.,  1870. 

Shafer,  Thomas  H.,  September  T.,  1843;  not  a  counsellor. 

Vail.  Benjamin  A.,  November  T.,  1868,  November  T.,  1871. 

Ward,  Clarence  D.,  November  T.,  1881. 

Bolton,  James  C,  November  T.,  1870. 

Butts,  Alexander  B. 

Coward,  Joseph  B.,  November  T.,  1858. 

Good,  Peter  P.,  June  T.,  1870,  November  T.,  1873. 

Hetfield,  Walter  L.,  February  T.,  1879. 

Jackson,  John  H.,  June  T.,  1872,  June  T.,  1878. 

Marsh,  Craig  A..  1879. 

Maxson,  William  B.,  June  T.,  1867,  February  T.,  1875. 

Stewart,  S.  L. 

Stillman,  William  M.,  June  T.,  1880. 

Trimmer,  Martin  L.,  1868. 

Voorhees,  Foster  M.,  June  T.,  1880;  not  a  counselor. 

Ross,  Henry  C,  June  T.,  1880. 

Van  Winkle,  John  H.,  February  T.,  1866,  February  T.,  1869. 

Snydam,  George  P.,  1872. 

Good,  Peter  P.,  Juue  T  ,  1870,  June  T.,  1873. 

Governor  William  Livingston  was  a  member  . 
of  this  bar.     He  was  born  in  1724,  graduated  at  Yale  ! 
College  in  1741,  studied  law  in  New  York  with  James  j 
Alexander,  and  attained  to  considerable  prominence 
as  a  lawyer  there  before  he  removed   to   Elizabeth 
Town.     The  principal  monument  of  his  legal  attain- 
ments in  early  manhood  is  found  in  his  "  Answer"  to 
the  Elizabeth  Town  Bill  in  Chancery,  prepared  by 
him  at  the  instance  of  the  town  committee  in  1750. 
He  was  then  about  twenty-six  years  of  age.     He  soon 
after  settled  in  Elizabeth  Town,  and  practiced  law  in 
the  courts  of  New  Jersey  and  New  York  till  the  con- 
flict between  the  colonies   and  the    mother-country 
opened  to  him  a  more  brilliant  field  in  the  public  ser- 
vice.   He  entered  with  all  his  energy  into  the  struggle 
of  the  colonies  for  independence,  being  on  all  local 
committees  from  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  Stamp 
Act  to  the  beginning  of  actual  hostilities,  when,  with 
a  general's  commission,  he  was  placed  in  command 
of  the  important  post  at  his  own  town  to  thwart  the 
movements  of  the  enemy  from  Staten  Island.     With 
John  DeHart,  Stephen  Crane,  and  Richard  Smith, 
he  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  General  Congress  in 
1774.  and  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety   and 
the  Provincial  Congress  of  New   Jersey.     William 
Franklin,  the  apostate  son  of  the  great  patriot,  Ben- 
jamin Franklin,  had  been  the  la.st  colonial  Governor, 
and  in  his  adherence  to  the  British  had  thrown  every 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  popular  rights.     The  people 

had   deposed   him,  taken  the  reins  into  their  own 


hands,  organized  a  Provincial  Congress  in  place  of 
his  arbitrary  Legislature,  adopted  a  Republican  con- 
stitution, and  when  a  suitable  chief  magistrate  was 
wanted  for  the  new-born  State  Livingston  was  called 
for,  and  found  to  be  the  man  for  the  situation.  He  was 
chosen  the  first  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  .lersey, 
Aug.  31,  1776,  and  by  successive  elections  was  kept 
in  the  oSice  till  the  close  of  his  life,  a  period  of  four- 
teen years.  "  It  was  certainly  a  most  happy  Provi- 
dence," says  a  late  writer,  "  that  gave  to  New  Jersey 
during  the  trying  time  of  the  Revolution,  and  for 
several  following  years,  a  Governor  so  well  fitted  by 
his  character  and  acquirements  not  only  to  inspire 
the  people  with  courage  and  perseverance,  and  to  co- 
operate heartily  with  Washington  during  all  the 
changes  of  a  war  to  which  they  were  especially  ex- 
posed, but  to  guide  the  Legislature  in  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  new  and  untried  sy.stem  of  government. 
Chosen  but  for  a  single  year,  it  was  important  to  have 
a  man  of  sufficient  popularity  to  secure  a  re-election 
in  spite  of  the  cavils  of  those  whose  plans  he  found 
it  necessary  to  oppose.  With  but  the  smallest  amount 
of  power  or  patronage,  and  besides  his  important  ju- 
dicial functions  as  chancellor  and  ordinary,  being 
only  the  presiding  officer  of  the  Legislative  Council, 
with  only  a  casting  vote,  it  was  equally  important  to 
have  a  man  of  decided  Republican  principles  and 
sound  legal  attainments,  that  he  might  exercise  a 
salutary  influence  over  legislation  so  liable  to  take  a 
wrong  direction.  All  these  qualities  were  combined 
in  Livingston,  and  although  his  writings  show  how 
much  he  was  dissatisfied  with  those  legislative  meas- 
ures which  interfered  so  wrongfully  between  debtor 
and  creditor,  it  is  evident  from  an  inspection  of  the 
statutes  enacted  while  he  was  Governor  that  many  of 
the  most  important  of  them  were  drawn  by  him,  or 
[  underwent  his  careful  revision." 

He  opposed  the  passage  of  the  laws  making  the 

1  depreciated  Continental  money  a  legal  tender,  and, 

i  with   reference  to  this   matter,  uttered  a  sentiment 

j  worthy  to  be  engraved  over  every  hall  of  legislation 

j  in  the  world:     "No  acts  of  Assembly  have  hitherto 

been  able  to  reconcile  me  to  cheating  according  to 

I  law,  or  convince  me  that  human  legislation  can  alter 

the  immutable  duties  of  morality."     It  was  this  kind 

of  legislation  that  he  satirized  in  the  following  verse : 

"  For  useless  a  house-door,  e'en  if  he  would  lock  it. 
When  any  insolent  legislative  brother 
(;an  legally  enter  into  a  man's  pocket 
And  preamble  all  his  cash  into  another." 

As  soon  as  peace  was  proclaimed  Governor  Liv- 
in"-st<m  left  Trenton,  wliere  he  had  resided  for  three 
years,  and  returned  to  his  house  at  Elizabeth  Town. 
He  was  glad  to  be  able  to  relinquish  his  wandering 
life,  to  enter  again  his  deserted  library,  and  to  em- 
ploy some  of  his  leisure  in  restoring  the  comforts  of 
home.  A  letter  to  his  wife,  written  in  1783,  shows 
that  he  was  attached  with  strong  interest  to  his  home, 
both  as  a  place  of  security  for  his  two   unmarried 


BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  UNION  COUNTY. 


Ill 


daughters,  and  to  place  his  wife  in  an  independent 
situation  in  case  of  his  decease.  He  says,  "  I  have  a 
good  estate  left,  if  I  can  but  get  the  time  to  put  it  in 
order." 

In  May,  1787,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Legislature 
one  of  the  delegates  to  the  convention  assembled  to 
form  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  He  took 
his  seat  in  June,  was  a  constant  attendant  upon  its 
deliberations,  affixed  his  name  to  the  draught  finally 
agreed  upon,  and  was  a  decided  advocate  of  its  ratifi- 
cation by  the  States.  In  his  message  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, in  August,  1788,  he  heartily  congratulated  the 
members  of  that  body  upon  the  ratification  of  the 
Constitution,  and  thanked  God  that  he  had  lived  to 
see  it.  In  1788,  Yale  College  conferred  upon  him 
the  degree  of  LL.D.  His  wife  died  in  1789,  and  he 
himself  departed  this  life  on  June  25,  1790,  aged 
sixty-six  years. 

Governor  Livingston  had  thirteen  children,  of 
whom  six  died  before  him.  One  son,  Brockholst 
Livingston,  became  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  New 
York,  was  several  years  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  that  State,  and  from  1807  until  his 
death  in  1823  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States. 

Hon.  Elias  Boudinot,  LL.D. — The  father,  grand- 
father, and  great-grandfather  of  this  distinguished 
man  all  bore  the  name  of  Elias.  The  latter  was  a 
Huguenot  who  emigrated  from  France  in  1686, 
shortly  after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 
Elias  Boudinot,  the  subject  of  this  notice,  was  born 
in  Philadelphia  April  21  (O.  S.),  1740.  Having 
studied  law  with  his  brother-in-law,  Richard  Stock- 
ton, Esq.,  at  Princeton,  he  was  licensed  in  November, 
1760,  and  commenced  practice  in  Elizabeth  Town. 
He  married,  April  21,  1762,  Hannah  A.,  sister  of 
Hon.  Richard  Stockton.  Dr.  Hatfield  says,  "  He 
resided  at  first  in  a  smaller,  and  then  in  a  larger 
house  on  Jersey  Street,  both  of  which  he  bought  of 
Alderman  Samuel  Woodruff  or  his  heirs,  in  the 
latter  of  which  Mr.  Woodruff  lived  until  his  decease. 
He  attached  himself  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
was  chosen  at  the  age  of  twenty-five  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees." 

At  the  commencement  of  hostilities  with  Great 
Britain,  Mr.  Boudinot  devoted  himself  heartily  to  the 
cause  of  his  country.  After  serving  on  the  staff  of 
Gen.  Livingston,  he  was  appointed  by  Congre.ss,  June 
6,  1777,  commissary-general  of  prisoners,  in  which 
capacity  he  served  until  the  summer  of  1778,  when, 
having  been  appointed  to  represent  the  State  in  Con- 
gress, he  took  his  seat  July  7th,  retiring  at  the  ex- 
piration of  the  year.  He  was  reappointed  Nov.  2, 
1781,  and  again  Oct.  30,  1782.  He  was  chosen  presi- 
dent of  Congress  Nov.  4,  1782.  and  when  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  Great  Britain  was  ratified,  April  15, 
1783,  lie  had  the  honor  of  affixing  to  it  his  signature. 

He  was  again  called  to  serve  his  country  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  under  the  Constitution, 


having  been  elected  to  the  First,  Second,  and  Third 
Congresses.  At  the  expiration  of  his  third  term  of 
service  he  was  appointed,  Nov.  1,  1795,  to  succeed 
Henry  William  De  Saussure  as  superintendent  of  the 
United  States  Mint  at  Philadelphia,  to  which  place 
he  then  removed.  As  a  testimony  of  his  kind  feel- 
ings towards  his  former  townsmen  he  forwarded,  as 
a  gift,  to  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
a  pair  of  cut-glass  chandeliers,  and  in  the  accom- 
panying letter  said  of  the  church,  "The  many  happy 
hours  I  have  spent  there  make  the  remembrance  of 
having  been  one  of  their  society  among  the  substan- 
tial pleasures  of  my  life." 

From  the  trustees  of  Yale  College  he  received,  in 
1790,  the  well-deserved  compliment  of  the  honorary 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws.  In  1805  he  retired  from 
public  life,  and  located  himself  at  Burlington,  N.  J., 
where,  on  the  28th  of  October,  1808,  Mrs.  Boudinot 
was  seized  with  apoplexy,  and  departed  this  life  in 
the  seventy-third  year  of  her  age.  His  eldest  daugh- 
ter, Susan  Vergereau  (born  Dec.  21,  1764),  had  been 
married  in  1784  to  William  Bradford,  Esq.,  attorney- 
general  of  Pennsylvania,  and  subsequently  of  the 
United  States.  She  was  left  a  widow  Aug.  23,  1795, 
and  became,  after  her  mother's  decease,  her  father's 
housekeeper  till  his  death,  Oct.  24,  1821,  in  the 
eighty-second  year  of  his  age.  She  survived  her 
father,  and  died  Nov.  30,  1854.  His  only  other  child, 
Anna  Maria,  was  born  April  11,  1772,  and  died  Sept. 
3,  1774. 

Mr.  Boudinot,  after  his  retirement,  devoted  himself 
to  a  life  of  Christian  beneficence.  In  1772  he  was 
chosen  a  trustee  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in 
which  office  he  continued  until  his  death,  founding 
in  1805,  at  an  expense  of  three  thousand  dollars,  the 
Cabinet  of  Natural  History.  In  1812  he  became  a 
corporate  member  of  the  American  Board  of  Com- 
missioners for  Foreign  Missions,  and  in  1816  the  first 
president  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  contribu- 
ting to  its  funds  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  aiding  also 
in  the  erection  of  the  first  Bible  House.  In  his  will, 
having  made  ample  provision  for  his  daughter  during 
her  lifetime,  he  bestowed  his  large  estate  on  various 
institutions  connected  with  the  church  and  the  cause 
of  education. 

He  wrote  and  published,  in  1790,  ''The  Age  of 
Revelation,  or  the  Age  of  Reason  shown  to  be  an  Age 
of  Infidelity;"  1793,  a  Fourth  of  July  oration,  deliv- 
ered at  Elizabeth  Town  before  the  New  Jersey  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati ;  1806,  "The  Life  of  the  Rev. 
William  Tennent;"  1811,  an  address  delivered  before 
the  New  Jersey  Bible  Society  ;  in  1815,  "  Second  Ad- 
vent of  the  Messiah  ;"  1816,  "  A  Star  in  the  West,  or 
An  humble  Attempt  to  discern  the  lost  Ten  Tribes  of 
Israel,"  still  bringing  forth  fruit  in  old  age.  His 
monument  at  Burlington  bears  this  inscription  : 


18ZI.     His  life  i 


"Here  lies  the  remainsot  the  HonuiHhle  Elias  Boudinut,  l.L.D.  Bora 
I  the  -id  day  of  May,  A,  D.  1740.  He  died  uii  the  24th  day  of  Oct.,  A.  I), 
xbibitiou  of  fervent  piety,  of  useful  talent,  and 


112 


HISTORY    OP   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


the  triumph  of  Christian 
I  and  the  pledge  of  endless 


>  words  can  paint; 
w  all  words  are  faint. 

end  of  that 


of  extensive  l)enevolence.  His  death 
faithf  the  consummation  of  hope,  the  < 
felicity. 

"  To  those  whi>  knew  him  not, 
And  those  who  knew  him,  ki 
"Mark  the  perfect  man,  and  behold  the  upright,  for  th 
man  is  peace." ' 

John  DeHart.  Esq.,  was  a  de.scendiint  of  a  very  [ 
ancient   family  both   in    Elizabeth    Town  and  New 
York.     They  were  probably  of  French  origin,  though 
emigrating  from  Holland.     Four  brothers,  Balthazar, 
Daniel,  Matthias,  and  Jacobus,  were  early  citizens  of  ' 
New  Amsterdam.     The  former  was  engaged  in  the  i 
sliipping  business  about  1658,  in  which  he  acquired 
wealth,  and  at  the  time  of  the  English  conquest  re- 
sided on  the  south  side  of  Wall  Street.     On  April  3, 
1671,  he  became  a  property-owner  in  Elizabeth  Town  j 
by  the  purchase  of  the  house  and  plantation  of  Rich- 
ard Painter,  one  of  the  original  Associates.     He  died  I 
the  following  year,  and  his  brother  Daniel,  who  was  ! 
his  executor,  disposed  of  his  property  in  the  town,  i 
Daniel  succeeded  to  his  business,  and  died  without  | 
issue  late  in  1689.     He  was  a  physician,  and  resided  | 
in  New  York.    Balthazar  had  a  son  Matthias,  who  was  ! 
the  father  of  Capt.  Matthias  DeHart,  born   in  1667.  i 
The  latter  was  the  ancestor  of  the  Elizabeth  Town 
family. 

John  DeHart  was  horn  in  Elizabeth  Town  in  the 
year  1728,  and  had  obtained  considerable  distinction 
at  the  bar  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. During  the  struggle  he  took  an  active  part 
with  the  patriots,  was  member  of  the  Continental 
Congress  in  1775,  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Safety 
and  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  and 
upon  the  adoption  of  the  first  constitution  in  1776 
was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  State.  In  a  letter 
written  on  the  16th  of  August,  1776,  he  acknowledged 
the  "great  honor"  conferred  upon  him,  and  expressed 
the  wish  that  his  "  abilities  were  equal  to  the  high  and 
important  office."  He,  however,  declined,  and  in 
January  Robert  Morris  was  appointed  in  his  stead. 

Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  borough  in  1789 
Mr.  DeHart  was  chosen  mayor.  He  continued  in 
that  office  until  his  death,  June  1,  1795,  in  the  sixty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age.  His  remains  were  deposited 
in  the  burial-grount  of  St.  John's  Church,  of  which 
he  had  long  been  a  warden  and  an  influential  mem- 
ber. The  following  inscription  was  placed  over  his 
grave ; 

"  In  memory  of  (  John  De  Hart  Esquire,  |  Counsellor  at  Law  and 
Mayor  of  |  this  Borough,  |  Who  departed  this  life  Jnne  1st.  1795  |  Aged 
LXVI  years.  Hiswortli  in  private  life  was  |  truly  great ;  |  Nor  will  his 
puMick  virtues  I  be  loigottou;  his  name  being  recorded  on  the  list 
of  I  ctiosen  Patriots  |  who  composed  the  memorable  |  ('ongress  of  1776." 

Hon.  Isaac  H.  Williamson,  LL.D. — Isaac  Hal- 
sted  Williamson  was  born  in  Elizabeth  Town,  N.  J., 
Sept.  27,  1768.     He  was  the  grandson  of  William 

1  Alden's  Epitaphs,  i.  101-5.  Alien's  Biog. Diet.  Murmy's  Notes,  pp. 
85,  110-1 1.  Trustees'  Book  of  E.  T.  Church.  N.  J.  Rev.  Correspondence, 
pp.  34B-47.    Barber's  New  Jersey,  p.  89. 


Williamson,  the  first  of  the  name  who  settled  in  the 
town,  and  the  youngest  son  of  Gen.  Matthias  Wil- 
liamson and  Susannah  Halsted.  His  childhood  and 
youth  were  spent  among  the  stirring  scenes  of  the 
Revolution.  He  studied  law  with  his  elder  brother, 
Matthias,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar  as  an  attorney 
in  1791,  and  as  a  counselor  in  1796,  and  opened  a  law- 
office  in  his  native  town,  where  he  continued  his  resi- 
dence until  his  death. 

As  a  lawyer  Mr.  Williamson  gradually  rose  in  his 
profession  till  he  came  to  occupy  one  of  the  first  places 
at  the  bar.  In  1816  he  was  elected  to  the  Assembly, 
and  while  serving  in  that  ca])acity,  February,  1817, 
he  was  chosen  Governor  and  (ex  officio)  Chancellor  of 
the  State.  He  continued  to  hold  these  high  offices  by 
consecutive  elections  until  1829,  when  he  resumed  his 
professional  duties.  In  1831  and  1832  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Council,  and  during  tour  years  (1830- 
34)  he  was  mayor  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth.  (He 
had  been  a  member  of  the  corporation  for  many  years, 
from  1795  onward.)  After  his  able  services  in  the 
State  Council  he  was  again  urgently  solicited  to  ac- 
cept of  the  governorship,  but  he  declined  all  public 
offices,  except  in  the  last  year  of  his  life.  Being 
elected  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  which  met  at 
Trenton,  May  14,  1844,  he  was  unanimously  chosen 
president  of  that  body. 

After  an  illness  of  eighteen  months,  which  he  bore 
with  the  utmost  resignation  and  cheerfulness,  he  de- 
parted this  life  on  July  10,  1844,  universally  lamented, 
as  he  had  been  universally  honored  and  beloved.  His 
remains  were  interred  in  the  ancestral  vault  with  dis- 
tinguished respect.  The  New  Jersey  bar,  in  express- 
ing sentiments  appropriate  to  his  death,  said  among 
other  things, — • 

"The  state  mourns  his  loss.  In  all  the  relations  of  life,  public  and 
private,  he  has  bequeathed  to  his  countrymen  an  illustrious  example. 
As  a  friend  he  was  faithful  and  sincere;  as  a  statesman,  enlightened 
and  patl-iotic;  as  a  judge,  profoundly  learned,  incorruptlbly  pure,  in- 
flexibly just.  The  iriimitalde  simplicity  of  his  character,  the  artlessness 
of  his  life,  the  warmth  and  purity  of  his  affi-ctions  endeared  him  to  the 
circle  of  his  friends;  his  high  and  varieil  altainruents  command  the 
respect  of  his  associates.  Uis  long  and  eminent  public  services,  his 
dignified  and  enlightened  and  impartial  administration  of  justice  de- 
mand  the  gratitude  of  his  fellow-citizens  and  of  posterity." 

Similar  testimonials  were  passed  by  the  wardens 
and  vestry  of  St.  John's  Church,  of  which  from  early 
life  he  had  been  an  exemplary  member,  and  for 
many  years  the  senior  warden. 

He  married,  Aug.  6,  1808,  Anne  Crossdale,  a  daugh- 
ter of  Rev.  Cavalier  Jouet  (by  his  second  wife,  Mary 
Hampton),  and  had  two  sons, — the  Hon.  Benjamin 
(ex-Chancellor)  and  Isaac  Halsted,  Esq.' 

Col.  Aaron  Ogden,  a  son  of  Hon.  Robert  Ogden, 
was  a  lawyer,  Governor  of  the  State,  and  United  States 
senator.  He  was  born  in  Elizabeth  Town,  Dec.  3, 
1756,  graduated  at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in 
1773,  joined  the  army  in  1777,  served  with  distinc- 

-  0.  S.  Halsted'fl  Commemorative  .\ddres8.  Corporation  Records. 
I'arish  Register  und  Records  of  St.  John's.    New  Jersey  Jnui-iinl. 


BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  UNION  COUNTY. 


113 


tion  during  the  war,  and  at  its  close  engaged  in  tiie 
practice  of  law.  In  November,  1796,  he  was  chosen 
one  of  the  Presidential  electors  of  New  Jersey,  and 
Feb.  28,  1801,  he  was  appointed  to  the  United  States 
Senate  to  fill  a  vacancy  of  two  years.  In  1824,  Col. 
Ogden  succeeded  Gen.  Bloumfield  as  president  of  the 
Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  New  Jersey.  He  remained 
the  president  until  his  death,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Ebenezer  Elmer,  the  hist  surviving  officer  of  the 
New  Jersey  line. 

The  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  was  organized  at  the 
cantonment  of  the  American  army  on  the  Hudson 
River  in  May,  1783.  Like  Cincinnatus,  the  illus- 
trious Roman,  many  of  the  soldiers  had  left  the  plow 
and  entered  into  the  service  of  their  country,  and  they 
resolved  on  leaving  the  army  to  imitate  his  example 
by  returning  to  their  citizenship.  Hence  they  called 
themselves  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  basing  their 
organization  on  immutable  principles,  viz. : 

'*  An  iDcesaant  attention  to  preserve  inviolate  those  exalted  rights  and 
liberties  of  human  iiatnre  for  which  tliey  had  fonghtand  bled,  and  with- 
out which  the  hii^h  muk  of  rational  beingisa  curse  instead  of  ablessing. 

"An  unalterable  determination  to  promote  and  cherish  between  the 
respective  States  that  union  and  national  honor  so  essentially  necessary 
to  their  happiness  and  the  future  dignity  of  the  American  Empire. 

"  To  render  permanent  the  cordial  affection  sulisisting  among  the 
officers,  this  spirit  will  dictate  brotherly  kindness  in  all  things,  and  par- 
ticularly extend  to  the  most  substantial  acts  of  beneficence,  according 
to  the  ability  of  the  society,  towards  those  officers  and  their  families  who 
unfortunately  may  he  under  the  neces-ity  of  receiving  it. 

"The  general  society  will,  for  the  aike  of  frequent  communications, 
be  divided  into  State  societies,  and  these  again  into  such  districts  as  shall 
be  directed  by  the  State  society." 

There  were  originally  nine  or  ten  State  societies,  of 
which  six,  those  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Massa- 
chusetts, Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  South  Caro- 
lina, still  remain.  The  fund  of  the  New  Jersey  society 
amounts  now  to  $13,500,  invested  in  United  States 
bonds.  A  report  made  in  1866  showed  that  since  its 
formation  the  society  had  expended  for  current  ex- 
penses $11,821,  and  for  benevolent  objects  $25,629. 

In  1825,  Col.  Ogden  was  chosen  vice-president  of 
the  general  society,  and  was  made  president  in  1829, 
succeeding  in  that  office  Gens.  Washington,  Alexander 
Hamilton,  C.  C.  Pinkney,  and  Thomas  Pinkney. 

In  October,  1787,  soon  after  he  commenced  the 
practice  of  law  in  Elizabeth  Town,  Col.  Ogden  mar- 
ried Elizabeth,  daughter  of  John  Chetwood,  Esq., 
an  eminent  member  of  the  bar,  and  afterwards  a  jus- 
tice of  the  Supreme  Court. 

Of  Governor  Ogden's  qualities  as  a  lawyer  Mr. 
Elmer  speaks  as  follows  :  "  He  soon  had  a  good  prac- 
tice ;  and  whatever  may  have  been  his  own  reflections 
on  the  subject,  I  think,  in  view  of  what  afterwards 
befell  him,  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  he  did  not  adhere 
to  that  profession  during  his  life.  He  was  an  accom- 
plished lawyer,  and  took  a  high  position  at  the  bar. 
Mr.  Cox's  Reports  begin  in  1790,  .and  it  appears  that 
he  was  much  employed  in  the  most  important  cases 
argued  before  the  Supreme  Court." 

We  find  him  elsewhere  characterized  as  possessed 


of  strong  analytical  and  logical  powers,  taking  a  firm 
gra-sp  of  the  underlying  principles  of  law,  and  at  the 
same  time  making  himself  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  the  cases  in  which  those  principles  had  been 
applied.  He  was,  therefore,  both  a  thoughtful  and 
industrious  lawyer,  never  thinking  his  duty  discharged 
to  his  client  nor  to  himself  while  a  single  corner  of 
the  case  committed  to  his  care  remained  unexplored. 

Governor  Ogden  died  at  Jersey  City,  April  19, 1839, 
aged  eighty-three,  and  his  remains  were  buried  in  the 
cemetery  of  his  native  town  with  civic  and  military 
honors  on  the  22d.  He  was  honored  by  his alvia  mater 
in  1816  with  the  degree  of  LL.D. 

Aaeox  Ogden  Dayton,  named  in  honor  of  Gov- 
ernor Aaron  Ogden,  was  a  son  of  Ellas  B.  Dayton, 
and  was  born  in  Elizabethtown  in  1796.  After  the 
usual  preparatory  studies  in  the  grammar  school 
he  entered  Princeton  College,  where  he  graduated 
with  the  highest  honors  in  1813.  He  studied 
law  with  Governor  Ogden,  and  was  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  1817.  Immediately  after  he  went  to 
Cincinnati,  with  a  view  of  practicing  in  that  city,  and 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  there  also,  but  he  returned 
soon  after  and  settled  in  Salem  County,  N.  J.  In 
1823  he  was  elected  from  that  county  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, and  although  the  youngest  member  of  that  body 
was  recognized  as  one  of  its  most  influential  members. 
The  next  year,  declining  to  be  a  candidate  for  the 
Assembly,  he  entered  with  much  spirit  into  the 
Jackson  campaign,  being  a  member  of  the  convention 
to  nominate  electors,  and  drafting  the  address  sent 
forth  by  that  body.  Although  Gen.  Jackson  failed 
to  secure  the  requisite  number  of  electoral  votes  that 
year,  he  received  the  popular  majority,  the  vote  of 
the  largest  number  of  States,  and  New  Jersey  was 
carried  for  him,  very  much  to  the  surprise  of  the  op- 
position. For  that  result  a  large  part  of  the  credit 
was  due  to  the  brilliant  efforts  of  Mr.  Dayton. 

Removing  to  New  York  in  1826,  with  a  view  of  es- 
tablishing himself  as  a  lawyer  in  that  city,  he  iden- 
tified himself  with  the  Jackson  party,  who  in  1828  put 
him  in  nomination  for  the  Legislature.  He  was  re- 
turned by  a  large  majority,  while  his  chief  was  tri- 
umphantly elected  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States. 

Mr.  Dayton,  although  receiving  the  appointments  of 
master  in  chancery  and  injunction  master  for  the  city 
of  New  York  and  Long  Island,  offices  at  that  time  of 
considerable  importance,  did  not  remain  long  in  the 
practice  of  law,  owing  to  a  nervous  disease  which 
finally  proved  fatal.  He  accepted  a  position  in  the 
Diplomatic  Bureau  of  the  State  Department  at  Wash- 
ington. In  1836  he  was  appointed  chief  clerk  of  the 
Department  of  State,  for  which  office  he  was  well 
fitted.  In  1838  he  was  appointed  fourth  auditor  of 
the  Treasury,  charged  with  the  settlement  of  the  navy 
accounts,  and  remained  in  that  office  through  all  the 
varying  administrations  until  his  death  in  1858. 
"  He  represented  his  father  in  the  New  Jersey  So- 


114 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ciety  of  the  Cincinnati,  and  in  1835  delivered  a  very 
eloquent  eulogy  on  Lafayette  before  that  body.  In 
1839  he  delivered  the  addreas  before  the  societies  of 
Princeton  College.  These  were  both  productions  ex- 
hibiting a  high  order  of  talent.  Had  his  health  per- 
mitted him  to  remain  at  the  bar,  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  he  would  have  ranked  among  the  most 
respectable  advocates." 

Judge  John  Ross  was  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Essex  County  Court  and  a  master  in  chancery.  He 
was  a  son  of  George  Ross,  and  grandson  of  Deacon 
George  Ross,  who  came  to  Elizabeth  Town  from  New 
Haven  about  1670.  Deacon  Ross  married  in  New 
Haven  Constance  Little,  in  1658.  The  son  George, 
father  of  Judge  Ross,  died  at  Elizabeth  Town  in  Oc- 
tober, 1750.  Judge  Ross  was  born  in  Elizabeth  Town, 
and  spent  his  life  there.  He  was  one  of  the  charter 
aldermen  of  the  borough  in  1740.  The  New  York 
Weekly  Pod-Boy,  No.  204,  contains  the  following  obit- 
uary of  Judge  Ross : 

"Elizabeth-Town,  August  15,  1754.  Werinesday  morning  last  (7th) 
departed  tliis  Life,  after  a  short  but  painful  Illness,  John  Hoss,  Esq. ; 
one  of  tlie  Judges  nf  Essex  County  Court,  and  a  Master  in  Chancery  :  He 
waa  a  Gentleman  of  a  very  affable  and  obliging  Disposition,  of  steady 
and  unshaken  Principles,  a  stiict  Observer  of  Law  and  Justice,  and  a 
truly  honest  Man.  In  his  Death  the  Country  have  really  a  sensible  Loss, 
and  a  worthy  Family  an  irreparable  Damage;  which  nothing  can  so 
much  alleviate,  as  the  lively  Hope  and  Assurance  of  his  being  trans- 
lated into  a  State  of  blessed  Immortality  : — This  Testimony  is  now  given 
of  him,  by  a  Friend  to  his  Person  and  a  Lover  of  his  Virtues." 

Thomas  Clark,  Esq.,  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
County  Court,  died  at  Elizabeth  Town,  Dec.  11,  1765. 
In  the  case  of  his  burial  was  first  put  in  practice  the 
principle  of  retrenchment  in  funerals,  referred  to  in 
the  following  notice  from  one  of  the  newspapers  of 
the  day : 

"December  24,  1764:  We  hear  from  Elizabeth-Town  that,  upon  the 
29th  of  last  Month,  near  fifty  Heads  of  the  principal  families,  in  and 
about  that  Place,  entered  into  an  Engagement  to  letrench  the  present 
usual  and  unnecessary  Expenses  of  Funerals  and  Mourning,  as  the 
giving  of  Scarfs,  Gloves,  and  Liquor  at  Funerals,  and  wearing  black  Ap- 
parel as  Mouruiug,  nothing  but  a  black  Crape  round  the  Ai*m  being 
allowed  for  the  Future." 

In  a  notice  of  the  death  of  Judge  Clark,  Dec.  14, 
1765,  it  is  said, — 

"  He  wa'i  decently  buried,  in  the  plain  mannei-,  by  his  own  directions 
according  to  the  new  mode — none  of  his  relations  or  friends  appearing 
in  mourning,  though  he  was  universally  lamented  by  all  who  knew  hiui, 
as  he  left  the  ciiaracter  of  an  honest  man.  We  flatter  ourselves  that 
this  laudable  example,  so  very  seasonably  set  by  people  of  fortune,  will 
be  imitated  by  all,  especially  by  those  in  slender  circumstances  (no 
liquor  was  given  at  the  funeral)."  > 

Judge  Clark  was  the  father  of  Abraham  Clark,  the 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  He  was 
one  of  the  charter  aldermen  of  the  borough,  and  a 
magistrate  from  the  time  of  its  incorporation  (1740) 

'The  Olil  Merchants  of  N.  Y.  City,  iii.  263-64.  At  the  funeral  of 
Philip  Livingston,  Esq  ,  of  New  York,  £5011  were  expended  for  the  occa- 
sion of  his  burial.  His  son,  Governor  William  Livingston  (afterwards, 
and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  Elizabeth  Town)  made  an  appeal  to 
the  public  as  early  as  June,  1753,  in  favor  of  putting  an  end  to  this  kind 
of  extravagance. 


until  his  death.  He  was  also  an  earnest  patriot,  and 
had  entered  heartily  into  the  agreement  of  the  pre- 
vious November  respecting  the  non-use  and  importa- 
tion of  British  goods. 

Benjamin  Williamson,  LL.D.,  Chancellor  of 
New  Jersey,  is  the  son  of  Hon.  Isaac  H.  Williamson, 
Governor  and  Chancellor  of  the  State  from  1817  to 
1829.  He  was  born  at  Elizabeth  Town,  graduated  at 
Nassau  Hall  in  1827,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1830, 
and  made  a  counselor  in  1833.  He  began  practice  in 
his  native  town,  where  he  has  ever  since  continued 
to  reside,  and  is  still  in  the  active  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession. For  several  years  he  was  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  for  Essex  County,  and  in  1852  was  appointed 
Chancellor  of  the  State,  succeeding  Chancellor  Oliver 
S.  Halsted,  whose  term  then  expired.  He  filled  this 
position  with  distinguished  ability  until  the  expira- 
tion of  his  term,  and  then  resumed  the  practice  of 
the  law.  "  There  were  few  cases  of  importance  or 
interest  arising  in  Mr.  Williamson's  section  of  the 
State  in  which  he  was  not  employed  previous  to  his 
appointment  as  Chancellor,  and  on  his  return  to  the 
bar  he  at  once  secured  a  large  and  important  practice 
extending  over  the  whole  State.  .  .  .  While  he  has 
avoided  public  office  outside  the  line  of  professional 
service,  he  has  on  more  than  one  occasion  been  promi- 
nently urged  by  friends  as  United  States  senator,  and 
they  only  failed  of  his  election  by  a  few  votes  in  1863 
or  1864." 

In  1860  he  was  a  delegate  at  large  from  the  State 
to  the  Democratic  convention  at  Charleston,  and  in 
1861  was  appointed  one  of  the  delegates  to  represent 
New  Jersey  in  the  Peace  Congress  which  met  at 
Washington,  composed  of  delegates  from  every  State, 
and  which  was  called  in  the  hope  and  for  the  purpose 
of  averting,  if  possible,  the  impending  conflict  be- 
tween the  two  sections  of  the  country.  Mr.  William- 
son has  been  all  his  life  identified  with  the  interests 
of  church,  of  education,  and  the  development  of  the 
resources  of  the  State.  He  has  for  years  served  as  an 
officer  of  the  church  of  St.  John's  Episcopal  Parish, 
and  of  the  Union  County  Bible  Society,  as  trustee  of 
the  State  Normal  School,  as  director  and  counsel  for 
the  Central  Railroad  Company  of  New  Jersey,  of  the 
State  Bank  of  Elizabeth,  and  as  director  and  trustee 
of  the  New  Jersey  Southern  Railroad  Company,  as 
commissioner  of  the  sinking  fund  of  Elizabeth,  and 
in  other  positions  of  trust  both  public  and  private. 
He  still  lives  at  Elizabeth,  on  the  place  formerly  the 
residence  of  his  father. 

Hon.  John  Chetwood,  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Jersey,  was  a  son  of  Philip  Chetwood, 
of  Salem,  N.  J.  (in  1700),  and  was  born  April  24,  1736. 
He  came  to  Elizabethtovvn  in  his  childhood,  being  an 
orphan.  He  married  Mary  Emott,  granddaughter  of 
James  Emott,  who  came  to  Boston  in  1678  from  Lan- 
cashire, England.  Her  nlother  was  a  Boudinot.  Their 
children  were  the  following:  1.  Anna  Ashton,  died 
in  infancy;  2.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler,  died  in 


BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  UNION  COUNTY. 


115 


infancy  ;  3.  Philip,  died  unmarried  ;  4.  William,  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of  Col.  Francis  Barber  ;  5.  John, 
married  Susan  Jelf;  6.  Elizabeth,  married  Col.  Aaron 
Ogden  ;  7.  Mary  Boudinot,  married  Capt.  Cyrus  De 
Hart ;  8.  Jane,  died  in  infancy  ;  9.  Sarah,  married 
John  Stansbury. 

William  Chetwood  was  a  son  of  the  Hon.  John 
Chetwood,  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  New  Jersey.  He  was  born  at  Elizabethtown  in 
1771,  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1792,  and  studied  law 
with  his  father.  During  the  Whiskey  Insurrection 
he  was  a  volunteer,  and  served  on  the  staff  of  Gen. 
Lee,  with  the  rank  of  major,  by  which  title  he  was 
usually  known.  He  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in 
1796,  as  a  counselor  in  1799,  and  in  1816  was  called 
to  the  degree  of  sergeant-at-law.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Col.  Francis  Barber,  a  distinguished 
officer  of  the  Revolution,  who  was  killed  during  that 
war  by  the  falling  of  a  tree.  Mr.  Chetwood  practiced 
his  profession  in  Elizabethtown,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  lSo7  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  eighty-six  years  and  six  months. 

Mr.  Chetwood  was  a  man  of  great  energy  of  char- 
acter. In  his  profession  he  was  indefatigable,  and 
achieved  a  liigh  degree  of  success.  During  the  Jack- 
son contest  he  was  elected  to  Congress  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party,  and  served  in  that  body  in  18 — .  He 
afterwards,  however,  acted  with  the  Whigs. 

JoHJf  Joseph  Chetwood  was  a  grandson  of  Judge 
Chetwood,  and  a  son  of  Dr.  John  Chetwood,  of  Eliz- 
abethtown, who  died  of  cholera  in  1832.  The  son 
was  born  in  1800,  and  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1818. 
He  studied  law  with  his  uncle,  William  Chetwood  ; 
was  admitted  as  an  attorney  in  1821,  as  a  counselor 
in  1825,  and  as  a  sergeant-at-law  in  1837.  He  mar- 
ried a  granddaughter  of  Gen.  Elias  Dayton,  and  re- 
sided in  Elizabeth,  where  he  died  in  1861. 

Mr.  Chetwood  was  a  member  of  the  Council  and 
surrogate  of  the  county  of  Essex.  For  several  years 
he  was  prosecutorof  the  pleas  of  the  county  of  Union, 
an  active  business  man,  highly  esteemed  both  in  and 
out  of  his  profession,  of  a  generous  disposition,  yet 
successful  in  the  accumulation  of  property.  He  was 
a  trustee  of  Burlington  College,  and  active  in  every 
enterprise  for  the  advancement  of  education.  Few 
men  have  been  more  popular  than  Mr.  Chetwood  in 
the  communit)'  in  which  he  spent  his  truly  useful 
life. 

Francis  B.  Chetwood  was  born  Feb.  1,  1806,  at 
Elizabethtown,  and  was  the  son  of  Hon.  William  and 
Mary  (Barber)  Chetwood.  His  grandfather,  John 
Chetwood,  was  an  assistant  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  New  Jersey,  and  was  of  Quaker  descent. 
He  died  in  1806  at  Elizabeth,  at  the  age  of  seventy- 
two  years.  Francis  B.  Chetwood  was  licensed  as  an 
attorney  in  November,  1828,  and  as  counselor  in 
1831.  He  commenced  the  practice  of  law  with  his 
fiither,  with  whom  he  continued  until  the  latter  re- 
tired.    He   then    loUowed    his    professional    pursuits 


alone  until  about  1860,  when  he  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  William  J.  Magie  which  lasted  several 
years,  until  he  became  associated  in  business  with  his 
son,  Robert  E.  Chetwood.  At  dift'erent  times  during 
his  life  he  held  nearly  all  the  local  offices, — member 
of  the  City  Council,  mayor  of  the  borough  and  the 
city  of  Elizabeth,  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  Essex 
County  before  the  formation  of  the  county  of  Union, 
member  of  the  Legislature,  etc.  He  was  also  one  of 
the  chief  originators  of  the  gas  and  water  supply  of 
the  city,  the  orphan  asylum.  Evergreen  Cemetery, 
and  many  other  local  measures  and  improvements. 
He  died  Jan.  13,  1875,  leaving  a  widow,  two  sons, 
and  one  daughter ;  two  sons  had  died  some  years 
previous. 

Robert  E.  Chetwood  is  a  native  of  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  was  born  Dec.  20,  1837.  He  is  the  son  of 
Francis  B.  Chetwood,  also  a  native  of  Elizabeth,  and 
Elizabeth  P.  Phelps,  who  was  of  New  England  stock, 
born  in  Connecticut.  After  thorough  preparation  in 
the  schools  of  his  native  city,  Mr.  Chetwood  entered 
Princeton  College,  where  he  graduated  in  1850,  and 
immediately  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office 
of  his  father.  His  progress  was  rapid  and  thorough, 
not  only  as  a  student,  but  after  he  entered  upon  his 
professional  career  it  was  no  less  successful  than  his 
early  life  had  given  promise  of.  He  was  licensed  as 
an  attorney  in  June,  1861,  and  as  a  counselor  three 
years  later. 

In  1874  he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  city  attorney 
of  Elizabeth,  and  discharged  the  duties  of  the  office 
until  Jan.  20,  1880.  Politically  he  is  of  the  Republi- 
can faith,  and  has  been  an  active  worker  in  that  party 
since  his  majority.  He  was  married  March  5,  1867, 
to  Kate  A.  McGowan,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Mc- 
Gowan,  of  the  United  States  revenue  service. 

William  J.  Magie,  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
was  born  at  Elizabeth  Dec.  9,  1832.  He  is  the  son  of 
Rev.  David  Magie,  D.D.,  a  native  of  the  same  town, 
and  for  nearly  forty-five  years  pastor  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city.  His  mother,  nh 
Ann  Frances  Wilson,  was  also  a  native  of  Elizabeth. 
Young  Magie  entered  Princeton  College  in  1852,  and 
graduated  in  1855  ;  he  studied  law  with  Francis  B. 
Chetwood  at  Elizabeth,  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
as  an  attorney  in  1856,  and  counselor  in  1859.  For  six 
years  he  was  associated  in  practice  with  his  preceptor, 
Mr.  Chetwood,  and  subsequently  formed  a  partnership 
with  Mr.  Cross.  He  was  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for 
Union  County  from  1866  to  1871.  In  politics  he  is  a 
Republican,  and  has  acted  with  that  party  since  1861. 
In  1875  he  represented  the  county  of  Union  in  the 
New  Jersey  Senate,  and  was  appointed  chairman  of 
the  committee  on  the  judiciary,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  with  marked  ability.  He,  however,  only 
accepted  the  senatorial  nomination  at  the  earnest  so- 
licitation of  friends. 

Judge  Magie  married,  Oct.  1,  1857,  Frances  Bald- 
win, of  Elizabeth. 


116 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Hon.  Cornelius  Boice,  who  for  tliirty-five  years  I 
wa.s  identified  with  the  various  interests  of  Plainfield, 
and  was  the  first  permanently-settled  lawyer  there,  1 
was  born  at  Green  Brook,  in  Somerset  County,  N.  J., 
Feb.  4,  1808.  He  was  the  son  of  David  Boice  and 
Elizabeth  Covert,  who  resided  at  Green  Brook,  were 
farmers,  and  reared  a  family  of  two  sons  and  four 
daughters.  The  other  son,  David  Patterson  Boice, 
died  in  Plainfield  in  August,  1880.  David  Boice 
died  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  and  his  wife  at  the 
age  of  ninety-five  years. 


Corjicliii^  licjicc  ii'i-oivi'd  during  liis  minority  a 
good  English  and  classical  education,  and  became 
fully  conversant  with  surveying.  He  studied  law 
with  Judge  James  S.  Nevius,  a  prominent  lawyer  of 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
an  attorney  in  1829,  and  as  counselor  in  1832.  Im- 
mediately after  his  admission  as  an  attorney  he  set- 
tled in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Plainfield, 
where  he  remained  in  continuous  practice  until  his 
death,  which  occurred  Sept.  6,  1864. 

The  same  year  of  his  settling  in  Plainfield,  on  No- 
vember 25th,  he  married  Sarah  Ann,  eldest  daughter 
of  Abraham  and  Anna  (Lenox)  Cadmus,  who  resided 
ne.ir  Plainfield,  and  carried  on  a  farm  and  mill  prop- 
erty. Her  only  brother,  Andrew  A.  Cadmus,  suc- 
ceeded to  the  homestead  property,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death.  Her  only  sister  is  Rachel  Cadmus, 
unmarried.  Her  father  died  Feb.  20,  1845,  aged 
seventy-two  years,  and  her  mother  died  Jan.  24, 1862, 
aged  over  eighty  years.  Her  maternal  grandfather, 
Levi  Lenox,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 


and  died  at  his  residence,  where  William  McD. 
Coriell  now  resides,  in  Plainfield,  Dec.  24,  1828,  aged 
about  eighty  years.  The  children  of  Cornelius  and 
Sarah  Ann  Boice  are  Anna  E.,  wife  of  Lewis  E. 
Clark,  a  justice  of  the  peace  of  Plainfield  ;  Frances 
M.,  wife  of  John  J.  Bell,  of  New  York ;  Sarah 
Azelia,  wife  of  Joseph  B.  Coward,  a  lawyer  of  Plain- 
field  ;  Cornelia,  wife  of  George  S.  Underbill,  of  New 
York;  Mary  E.,  wife  of  Robert  C.  Cook,  a  lumber 
and  coal  merchant  of  Plainfield ;  Cornelius  C,  a 
druggist  of  New  York  ;  and  Emma  Hoyt,  wife  of 
Willard  H.  Young,  of  Philadelphia. 

Mrs.  Boice  was  born  Dec.  4,  1811,  and  survives  in 
1882.  residing  in  the  Boice  homestead,  purchased  and 
remodeled  by  them  in  1847,  and  which  was  once  the 
Fairchilds'  private  school. 

For  many  years  Mr.  Boice  was  the  only  lawyer  in- 
Plainfield,  and  during  his  early  practice  he  gave  con- 
siderable attention  to  surveying.  His  name  became 
widely  known  throughout  this  part  of  the  State  for 
his  soundness  of  opinion  on  questions  of  law  and 
business,  and  although  he  never  gained  prominence 
in  his  profession  as  an  advocate,  yet  his  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  law,  his  unbiiised  judgment  and 
discretion  gave  him  rank  among  the  first  in  his  pro- 
fession as  a  safe  and  judicious  counselor.  He  was 
retained  as  attorney  and  counselor  by  the  Central 
Railroad  Company  from  the  time  of  the  construction 
of  the  road  until  his  decease.  For  five  years  he 
served  as  surrogate  of  Essex  County,  and  was  twice 
elected  from  that  county  to  the  lower  branch  of  the 
State  Legislature,  where  he  served  with  honor  to  him- 
self and  credit  to  his  constituents.  As  a  citizen,  Mr. 
Boice  was  ever  interested  in  all  that  pertained  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  community.  He  was  identified 
with  the  early  seminaries  of  Plainfield,  and  graduated 
all  his  daughters  either  in  the  schools  at  home  or  in 
other  places,  and  he  was  one. of  the  framers  of  the 
law  for  the  present  school  system  of  the  city.  While 
he  was  prospered  in  his  profession  and  in  his  business 
relations  he  never  forgot  to  be  a  friend  to  the  deserv- 
ing poor,  who  always  found  in  him  a  ready  and 
willing  contributor  to  their  wants  pecuniarily,  and  a 
donor,  as  counselor,  in  settling  their  difficulties  to 
avoid  unnecessary  litigation.  His  kindness  of  he.irt, 
his  urbanity  of  manner,  and  his  social  and  genial 
bearing  always  won  him  the  respect  of  all  who  came 
in  contact  with  him.  During  his  early  manhood  and 
middle  life  he  was  an  active  member  of  the  old  Whig 
party,  and  remained  true  to  its  principles  during  his 
life.  He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Plainfield,  and  a  contributor  to  and 
promoter  of  religious  and  moral  sentiment  in  the 
community. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  bar  held  in  the  court-room  of 
Union  County  on  the  6th  day  of  September,  1864, 
the  Hon.  Daniel  Haines  in  the  chair,  and  Robert  S. 
Green  secretary,  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  "That 
we  have  heard  with  sorrow  of  the  death   of  our  late 


BENCH  AND  BAR  OF  UNION  COUNTY. 


117 


brother,  Cornelius  Boice,  Esquire  ;  tliat  Ids  personal 
intercourse  and  professional  relations  with  us  for 
many  years  have  been  characterized  by  a  fraternity 
uniformly  generous  and  confiding;  that  his  profes- 
sional labors  have  always  been  marked  by  a  true, 
commendable  zeal  for  all  who  committed  their  rights 
and  interests  to  his  care,  and  in  the  public  fiduciary 
position  which  he  filled  for  a  number  of  years  with 
unwavering  fidelity  and  with  !i  watchful  and  zealous 
regard  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  the  widow  and 
the  orphan." 

Edward  Young  Rogers,  for  many  years  the  only 
lawyer  in  Rahway,  and  one  of  the  leading  members 
of  the  bar  of  New  Jersey,  was  fourth  son  of  Warren 
and  Sarah  (Ogden  Piatt)  Rogers.  He  was  born  in 
New  York  City,  June  21,  1812,  and  died  in  Railway, 
Oct.  13,  1868.  He  was  graduated  at  Rutgers  College  in 
the  class  of  1830,  .studied  law  with  William  Chetwood, 


ot  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  as 
an  attorney  in  1833,  and  as  counselor  in  1836.  Im- 
mediately after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  com- 
menced the  practice  of  his  profession  in  Rahway. 
After  a  couple  of  years  he  formed  a  law  partnership 
in  Newark,  but  subsequently  returned  to  Rahway, 
where  he  continued  in  the  practice  of  law  during  the 
remainder  of  his  active  business  life.  For  many  years 
he  was  prcsecutor  of  the  pleas,  and  during  his  incum- 
bency of  that  office  his  marked  ability,  his  desire  for 
impartiality  and  justice  in  the  trial  of  a  cause,  his 
careful  preparation  of  each  and  every  case  within  his 
jurisdiction,  and  his  impassioned  advocacy  of  what  he 


conceived  right  and  in  accordance  with  the  law,  be- 
fore either  judge  or  jury,  gained  him  not  only  the 
very  high  esteem  of  the  legal  profession,  but  com- 
manded the  respect  of  the  people  at  large. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  bar  after  his  death, 
among  others  the  following  resolution  was  passed: 
"  That  while  the  public  services  of  the  deceased,  ren- 
dered to  the  State  and  to  the  city  in  which  he  lived, 
have  justly  entitled  him  to  the  respect  of  his  fellow- 
citizens,  and  while  his  many  virtues  endeared  him 
to  friends,  his  ability  as  a  lawyer,  his  unvarying 
probity  and  uprightness  in  the  discharge  of  the  deli- 
cate duties  of  our  profession,  his  uniform  courtesy  and 
kindness  to  his  brethren  at  the  bar  have  won  our  re- 
gard and  love  in  an  eminent  degree,  and  have  left  us 
an  example  that  we  may  all  be  proud  to  follow." 

For  several  years  Mr.  Rogers  contributed  regularly 
to  the  Raliway  Advocate,  then  published  by  Mr.  Green, 
and  about  1843  or  1844  he  became  the  editor  and  pro- 
prietor. 

He  was  a  religious  man,  and  his  zeal  increased  in 
later  years.  He  was  a  member  of  St.  Paul's  Episco- 
pal Church,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders,  and 
a  warden  and  treasurer  for  twenty-seven  years. 

Mr.  Rogers  took  an  active  part  in  local  politics  and 
State  legislation ;  was  elected  State  senator  by  the 
Whigs  of  Middlesex  County  in  1850,  to  succeed  Adam 
Lee;  was  one  of  the  early  advocates  of  Republican 
principles,  upon  the  founding  of  that  party  in  1855 
and  1850,  and  he  was  a  delegate  at  large  to  the 
Chicago  Convention  that  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln 
for  his  first  terra  to  the  Presidency,  and  one  of  its 
vice-presidents. 

The  City  Council  of  Rahway  passed  the  following 
resolutions  upon  the  occasion  of  his  death  : 

'^Resolved,  That  by  his  death  we  lose  a  citizen  who  filled  every  position 
which  he  occupied  with  dignity  and  worth.  We  mourn  a  professional 
counselor  whose  advice  was  bound  and  conscientious,  a  legislator  whose 
ideas  were  philanthropic  and  progressive,  and  a  Christian  whose  piety 

"  Refoleed,  That  we  desire  especially  to  express  our  grief  at  the  loss  of 
one  who  organized  the  city  government  and  was  its  earliest  chief  magis- 
trate, who  loved  his  country  with  a  zeal  which  grew  wamier  the  more  it 
was  imperiled,  who  was  gentle  as  a  child  to  the  influences  of  truth  and 
right,  and  unyielding  as  a  rock  to  all  that  was  false  and  wrong." 

His  widow  and  one  son  survive  him. 

Enos  W.  Runyon  was  born  near  Green  Brook, 
Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  in  1825,  anl  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1854,  having  studied  law  with  the  late  Joseph 
Annin.  He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  in  1867, 
and  in  the  Hou.se  was  a  member  of  the  judiciary  com- 
mittee. He  was  appointed  law  judge  of  the  county 
of  Union  in  1873,  and  held  the  oflnce  till  1878.  From 
1854  to  1859,  Judge  Runyon  was  a  law  partner  of 
Cornelius  Boice,  but  is  now  associated  with  his 
brother.  Nelson  Runyon,  in  law  practice  at  Plain- 
field. 

The  latter  was  born  near  Green  Brook  in  1840,  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  1862.  In  September  of 
that  year,  however,  he  joined,  at  his  country's  call. 


;18 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  Thirtieth  Regiment  New  Jersey  Vohinteers, 
under  Capt.  Hubbard,  and  after  serving  his  time  in 
the  army  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at 
Plainfield. 

Joseph  Annin  was  a  son  of  the  late  Judge  Joseph 
Annin,  of  Somerset  County.  He  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1842,  and  practiced  for  a  short  time  in  Jersey 
City,  removing  to  Plainfield  in  1848,  and  practicing 
tliere  until  his  death  in  1863.  He  was  killed  in  the 
riots  of  that  year  in  the  city  of  New  York.  He  was 
highly  gifted,  an  able  and  persuasive  speaker,  and 
strongly  attached  to  the  institutions  and  liberties  of 
his  country,  ready  at  all  times  to  defend  what  he 
believed  to  be  right  and  true  in  an  earnest  and  able 
yet  candid  and  pleasing  manner.  He  was  very  highly 
respected  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

CIVIL    ORGANIZATION. 

Act  to  erect  Union  County. — An  act  to  create 
the  county  of  Union  was  approved  March  19,  1857, 
and  took  effect  on  and  after  the  second  Monday  in 
April  following.  The  boundaries  of  the  new  county 
are  thus  defined  in  the  act : 

*' Beginning  at  tlie  Suuni],  leuditig  from  Elizabethtown  Point  tti  Am- 
bo,v,  at  the  easternmust  point  in  tlie  division  line  lietweun'the  counties 
of  Essex  and  Middlesex;  1  hence  nurtlieasterly  along  the  eastern  line  of 
Essex  County  to  thesontbeast  point  in  the  divi.simi  line  of  the  towuship 
of  Clinton ;  thence  westerly  along  the  division  Hue  between  the  town- 
ship of  Clinton  and  the  city  of  Elizabeth  to  the  division  line  between 
the  townships  of  Clinton  and  Union  ;  thence  along  the  northerly  and 
westerly  line  of  division  between  the  townships  of  Union  and  Clinton 
to  the  northerly  division  line  of  the  township  of  Springfield;  thence 
down  tlie  east  branch  of  the  Rahway  River  to  the  junction  of  the  east 
and  west  branche-i  of  the  said  river;  thence  up  the  west  branch  of  the 
said  Rahway  River  to  the  mouth  of  VVilliaui  and  Abuer  States'  mill- 
pond  ;  thence  along  the  middle  of  the  said  pond  or  ponds  to  the  mouth 
of  the  brook  thnt  runs  south  and  near  to  Wellinglon  Campbeirs  paper- 
mill;  thence  up  said  brook  to  the  new  road  near  said  Wellington 
CampbelTs  mill-dam;  thence  up  said  new  road  to  the  Morris  turnpike; 
theuce  up  the  said  turnpike  to  the  Passaic  River  at  a  point  in  the  west 
division  line  of  the  township  of  Springfield  ;  th.'nce  along  said  line  to 
the  northerly  division  line  of  the  township  of  New  Providence;  thence 
along  the  north  and  west  divisiou  line  of  the  towuship  of  New  Provi- 
dence to  the  divisiou  line  of  the  township  of  Plainfield;  thence  along 
the  westerly  and  southerly  division  line  of  the  lownsbip  of  Plainfield 
to  the  division  line  between  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Middlesex; 
thence  easterly  along  the  divisiou  line  between  said  counties  to  the 
place  of  beginning  on  the  Sound;  including  and  intending  to  include 
within  the  said  metes  and  bouuils  all  tlmt  part  of  the  county  of  Essex 
BOW  contained  within  the  cily  of  Klizabetb  and  tlie  townships  ol  Rah- 
way, Union,  Westfield,  Plainflelil,  New  Providence,  and  that  po-tion  of 
the  township  of  Springfield  included  within  the  boundary  lines  herein- 
before desciibed.  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  erected  into  a  separate 
county,  to  be  called  the  county  of  Union  ;  and  said  lines  shall  hereafter 
be  the  division  lines  between  the  counties  of  Essex,  Soniereet,  Morris, 
Middlesex,  and  the  said  county  of  Union,  respectively." 

The  original  county  contained  the  city  of  Elizabeth 
and  the  townships  above  named,  to  wit:  Rahway, 
Union,  Westfield,  Plainfield,  New  Providence,  and 
Springfield.  Linden  was  erected  from  Elizabeth  and 
Rahway  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  approved  March 


4,  1861.  Clark  was  erected  from  the  Fifth  Ward  of 
the  city  of  Rahway,  March  23,  1864  ;  Cranford  was 
set  off  from  Westfield,  Springfield,  Union,  Linden, 
and  Clark  townships,  March  14,  1871 ;  and  Fanwood 
was  erected  from  Westfield  and  Plainfield  March  6, 
1878,  since  which  no  changes  have  been  made  in  the 
civil  divisions  of  the  county. 

Union  was  a  part  of  Essex  County  for  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  years,  from  1682  to  1857,  and 
during  that  period  Newark  was  nominally  the  seat  of 
ju-tice  for  the  whole  territory,  although  at  an  early 
time  Elizabeth  Town  was  the  larger  place,  and  was 
the  seat  of  the  first  provincial  government  and  of 
the  higher  courts  of  the  province.  She  continued  to 
have  her  own  borough  courts  and  court-house  and 
her  city  courts  after  she  was  chartered  as  a  city,  down 
to  the  time  of  the  division  of  the  county,  to  which 
have  since  been  added  the  court-house  and  courts  of 
the  new  county  of  Union. 

County  Buildings. — On  the  erection  of  the  county 
the  city  of  Elizabeth  was  made  the  county-seat.  The 
court-house  and  grounds  owned  by  the  city  were  con- 
veyed to  the  county,  and  the  deed  accepted  by  the 
board  of  chosen  freeholders  Feb.  2,  1858.  The  same 
day  the  following  resolution  was  adopted  by  the 
board : 

"  B^aohtid,  That  the  building  committee  be  authorized  to  purchase  the 
lot  in  the  rear  of  the  court-house  upon  the  best  terms  they  can,  not  to 
exceed  $25110." 

The  design  was  to  acquire  suflicient  ground  in  the 
rear  for  the  enlargement  of  the  court-house  and  the 
erection  of  a  suitable  jail  for  the  county.     The  lot  was 
purchased  of  Meeker  Wood  for  !B1500,  and  the  com- 
mittee reported.  May  10,  1858,  that  $955.34  had  been 
expended  on  the  buildings,  probably  for  temporary 
I  repairs.     In  addition  to  the  lot  bought  of  Mr.  Wood, 
1  a  lane  belonging  to  Dr.  James  C.  Blake  and  a  strip 
i  on  the  north  side  adjoining   the   burying-ground  of 
the  I^irst  Presbyterian  Church  were  also  purchased 
i  by  the  board  in  order  to  make  suitable  ground  for 
the   proposed   buildings.     This  last  strip  of  ground 
was  conveyed  by  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  another  strip  was  subsequently  bought 
of  them  on   the  north  side  extending  to  the  street, 
when  the  building  was  enlarged  in  that  direction. 

The  jail  of  the  old  court-house  was  simply  a  lock- 
up for  local  prisoners,  and  the  county  prisoners,  by 
I  provision  of  a  special  act  of  the  Legislature,  were 
sent  to  the  Essex  County  jail  at  Newark  till  1862,  a 
committee  being  appointed  by  the  board  each  year  to 
I  look  after  them.  Another  act  was  procured  to  ex- 
tend the  time  of  keeping  the  prisoners  at  Newark, 
and  we  find  \n  the  minutes  of  the  board  of  freeholders 
in  1860  that  a  resolution  was  adopted  to  extend  the 
time  five  years  after  that  date.  But  it  proved  not  to 
be  necessary,  as  the  Union  County  jail  and  enlarge- 
ment of  the  court-house  were  completed  in  1862. 

The  first  committee  on  plan  and  specifications  re- 
ported to  the  board  Sept.  2,  1858,  estimating  the  cost 


CIVIL   ORGANIZATION. 


119 


of  the  proposed  jail  and  furniture  at  seventeen  thou- 
sand dollars.  Plans  had  been  furnished  by  J.  Gra- 
ham, of  Trenton.  The  extension  of  the  court-house 
in  the  rear  was  to  be  an  addition  of  eighteen  by  thirty- 
three  feet,  and  two  stories  high.  This  plan  was  sub- 
stantially carried  out  in  1861-62.  An  additional  strip 
of  land  was  bought  of  Dr.  Blake,  and  it  was  resolved 
to  expend  a  sum  not  exceeding  sixteen  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  committee  was  composed  of  the  following- 
named  gentlemen :  David  Mulford,  Zachariah  Web-  | 
ster.  Job  S.  Williams,  M.  W.  Halsey,  Andrew  W.  j 
Brown,  Addison  8.  Clark,  C.  D.  Boyleston,  and  Ste- 
phen Jackson.  The  contractors  were  Messrs.  Budd 
and  Ross.  The  cost  of  the  jail  and  enlargement  of 
the  court-house,  as  appears  from  the  report  of  the 
committee,  was  a  little  less  than  fifteen  thousand 
dollars. 

Several  important  improvements  have  since  been 
made.  The  jail  and  court-house  are  substantially 
under  one  roof,  being  connected  by  a  building,  the 
basement  of  which  is  used  chiefly  as  a  boiler-house, 
and  the  loft  as  a  water-tank.  Here  the  steam  is  gen- 
erated which  comfortably  warms  the  whole  establish- 
ment— prison,  cells,  court- rooms,  offices,  halls,  kitchen, 
laundry,  and  the  family  apartments  of  the  jailor — at 
an  expense  considerably  less  and  with  much  greater 
convenience  than  could  be  done  by  stoves.  Both  the 
male  and  female  departments  of  the  jail  are  neatly 
kept,  and  exhibit  an  air  of  cleanliness  and  comfort. 

A  fire-proof  building  contains  the  valuable  records 
and  papers  of  the  county.  In  front  of  it  is  the  com- 
modious clerk's  ofiice,  and  above  this,  in  the  second 
story,  the  hall  of  county  legislation,  where  the  chosen 
freeholders  representing  the  different  townships  hold 
their  sessions.  This  room  is  a  model  of  order  and  ] 
taste,  the  desks  being  arranged  in  the  form  of  a  hol- 
low square,  and  the  directors'  desk  at  one  end,  slightly 
elevated  above  the  others.  The  other  offices  are  con- 
venient and  well  furnished,  and  the  court-room  airy 
and  commodious.  { 

During  the  time  when  the  court-house  was  under-  I 
going  extensive  repairs,  a  session  of  the  court  was 
held  in   Library   Hall,  in   the  rooms  of  the  former  I 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  and  one  of  the  ' 
trials  which  took  place  before  the  late  Judge  Haines 
attracted  considerable  interest  in  the  community,  the  i 
parties  aggrieved  being  well-known  citizens.     On  the  i 
occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  present  court-room 
addresses  were  made  by  Rev.  Dr.  Aikman  and  others. 

The  county  jail  has  held  prisoners  at  various  times 
who  have  been  guilty  of  every  degree  of  vice.  There 
have  been  three  executions  within  its  grim  walls, — 
Grady,  Glennon,  and  Quiller,  the  latter  a  colored 
man.  Grady  was  concerned  in  the  killing  of  Fergus 
Collins,  on  Elizabeth  Avenue,  during  the  war  ;  Glen- 
non murdered  his  wife  in  what  is  known  as  "Castle  ; 
Garden,"  on  Morris  Avenue  ;  Quiller  killed  his  wife  ' 
near  Westfield.  It  is  impossible  to  give  the  list  of 
convictions,  from  the  fact  that  no  accurate  record  was 


kept  until  Prosecutor  Fay  came  in  oflSce.  He  made 
up  a  valuable  book,  which  is  now  the  property  of  the 
county  by  purchase.  Since  the  county  was  formed 
the  jail  has  held  seven  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
forty-two  prisoners.  The  courthouse,  the  old  portion 
of  which  was  built  in  1811,  has  witnessed  many  strange 
scenes.  From  it  men  and  women  have  gone  forth  to 
prison,  and  others  are  yet  to  go.  The  bell  in  the 
tower  has  rung  for  victories  to  our  arms,  welcomed 
home  the  heroes  of  two  wars,  and  tolled  when  great 
men  have  been  borne  to  the  tomb. 

Board  of  Freeholders. — The  first  meeting  of  the 
board  of  chosen  freeholders  for  the  county  convened 
at  the  court-house  in  the  city  of  Elizabeth,  May  13, 
18.57.  Samuel  Williams,  of  Rahway,  was  chosen  tem- 
porary chairman,  and  A.  M.  Elmer,  clerk.  The  roll 
of  the  townships  was  then  called,  and  all  the  mem- 
bers answered  to  their  names,  as  follows : 

Elizabeth,  William  J.  Tenny,  James  B.  Burnett. 

Union,  Abner  Parcell,  Matthias  T.  Wade. 

Springfield,  Isaac  Bannister,  William  Stites. 

New  Providence,  John  S.  Clark,  Daniel  H.  Noe. 

Westfield,  Gideon  Ross,  Charles  Marsh. 

Plainfield,  Manning  Vermeule,  Zachariah  Webster. 

Rahway,  Samuel  Williams,  Stephen  Jackson.' 

At  the  permanent  organization,  Samuel  Williams, 
of  Rahway,  was  unanimously  elected  director,  and 
Periam  Pierce  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  board.  The 
salary  of  the  clerk  was  fixed  at  twenty-five  dollars  for 
the  first  year;  it  has  since  been  augmented  to  fifty 
dollars.  Those  who  have  served  as  directors  of  the 
board  since  the  organization  are  Samuel  Williams, 
Rahway,  1857;  Zachariah  Webster,  Plainfield,  1858; 
David  Mulford,  Elizabeth,  1859;  Andrew  W.  Brown, 
Springfield,  1860-61;  Job  S.  Williams,  Union,  1862; 
Andrew  W.  Brown,  Springfield,  1863;  Amos  P.  Scud- 
der,  Westfield,  1864-67;  David  Mulford,  Linden,  1868; 
Robert  A.  Russell,  Clark,  1869;  J.  Frank  Hubbard, 
Plainfield,  1870;  Gustavus  J.  Thebaud,  Summit,  1871 ; 
John  C.  Rose,  Linden,  1872-73 ;  Nathaniel  K.  Thomp- 
son, Elizabeth,  1874-75;  William  C.  Ayers,  Plain- 
field,  1876  ;  Cornelius  W.  L.  Martine,  Westfield,  1877- 
78;  George  W.  F.  Randolph,  Plainfield,  1879;  Cor- 
nelius W.  L.  Martine,  Fanwood,  1880-81. 

The  following  have  served  as  clerks  of  the  board 
Periam  Pierce,  1857-59;  Oliver  Pierce,  1860-74 
Lewis  S.  Hyer,  1874-76;  John  M.  Wilson,  1876-77 
Oliver  Pierce,  1877-78;  John  L.  Crowell,  1878-81. 

The  county  collectors,  elected  annually  by  the 
board,  have  been:  Moses  M.  Crane,  Union,  1857-61; 
Samuel  Williams,  Rahway,  1862-63;  Stephen  O. 
Horton,  Plainfield,  1864-66  ;  Thomas  B.  Budd,  Eliza- 
beth, 1867-71;  Elias  R.  Pope,  Plainfield,  1872-73; 
Patrick  Sheridan,  1874^81. 

Officers  of  the  County. — The  first  officers  of  the 
county  were  designated  by  the  act  of  organization, 


I  For  lists  of  chosen  freeholders  for  the  several  towns,  see  the 
histories  in  another  department  of  this  worI<. 


120 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JEUSEY. 


and  held  till  their  successors  were  elected  and  quali- 
fied. Some  of  them  were  their  own  successors  by 
election,  and  filled  the  offices  for  which  they  were 
chosen  for  many  years.  We  give  below  a  list  of  the 
principal  officers  of  the  county  from  its  organization 
to  the  present  time,  with  the  dates  of  election  or  ap- 
pointment and  the  period  of  the  service  of  each  : 

COUNTY    CLERKS. 
Henry  R,  Caniioij,  Nov.  6, 1857;  served  four  consecutive  terms  to  Nov. 

6,  1877. 
James  S.  Vasseler,  Nov.  13, 1877  ;  tprni  expires  November,  1882. 

SHERIFFS. 
Meline  W.  Halsey,  sworn  into  olfice  Nov.  16,  1857. 
Thomas  W.  Beynolils,  Nov.  16,  1860. 
Nathaniel  Bonnell,  Nov.  16,  1863. 
Edgar  Pierson,  Nov.  16,  1866. 
Joseph  Osborn,  Nov.  9,  1869. 
Setli  B.  Ryder,  Nov.  12,  1872. 
Nathaniel  K.  Thompson,  November,  1875. 
Seth  B.  Ryder,  November,  1S78. 

SURROGATES. 
Jonathan  Valentine,  Nov.  6,  1857. 
Robert  S.  Green,  Nov.  10,  1862. 
Addison  S.  Clark  (two  terms),  Nov.  11,  1867-77. 
James  J.  Geeber,  Nov.  13,  1877  ;  term  expires  1882. 

JUDGES   OF   THE   COMMON   PLEAS. 


William  Gibby,  April  1,  1869. 
Hugh  H.  Bowne,  April  1,  1872. 
Enos  W.  Kunyon,  April  1,  1873. 
George  W.  Farnham.  April  1, 1873. 
David  Mulford,  April  1,  1877. 
Joseph  Alward,  March  30, 1877.' 
Thos.  F.  McCornnck,  April  1, 1878. 
Hugh  H.  Bowue,  April  1, 1869. 
Nathan  Harper,  June  1, 1881. 


George  W.  Savage,  April  1, 18.57 
Apollo  M.  Elmer,  April  1,  1867. 
Theodore  Pierson,  April  I,  1857. 
J.  M.  Ropes,  Oct.  19,  1860. 
David  Mulford,  April  1,  1862. 
Theodore  Pierson,  April  1, 1863. 
William  Gibby,  April  1, 1864. 
Hugh  H.  Bowne,  April  1,  1867. 
David  Mulford,  April  1,  1868. 
Robert  S.  Green,  April  1, 1868.  1 

PRESIDENT  JUDGES  OF   THE   SPECIAL   SESSIONS. 
Robert  S.  Green. 
Enos  W.  Bunyon. 
Thomas  F.  McCormick. 

PROSECUTORS   OF   THE   PLEAS. 
John  J.  Chetwood,  commissioned  March  20, 1857. 
Robert  S.  Green,  appointed  by  court  Dec.  3, 1S6I. 
Edward  Y.  Rogers,  commissioned  Feb.  6,  1862. 
William  J.  Blagie,  commissioned  March  5,  1867. 
J.  Augustus  Fay,  Jr.,  commissioned  April  17,1871;  reappointed  April 

19,  1876;  held  till  April  19,  1881. 
William  R.  Wilson,  commissioned  April  10, 1881. 
CORONERS. 


Charles  S.  Chandler, 

Nov 

■  6, 

1857. 

Stephen  Jackson,       Nov 

16, 1868. 

Jotham  D.  Frazee, 

" 

Ayers  Leeson,                " 

" 

Stephen  Jackson, 

" 

11, 

" 

Louis  Braun,                  *' 

11,    '• 

James  Green, 

10, 

1858. 

Ayers  Leeson,                  " 

10,  1869. 

Jotham  D.  Frazee, 

" 

Stephen  Jackson,           " 

" 

Stephen  Jackson, 

" 

Alexander  Gibbs,          " 

16,  1870. 

Jotham  D.  Frazee, 

16. 

1859. 

Benjamin  S.  Dean,        " 

Ph.  H.Grier, 

May  I, 

1860. 

Edward  P.  Thorn,         " 

" 

Charles  S.  Chandler 

" 

Josiiih  Ci.  Stearns,         " 

12,    •• 

John  M.  Duncan, 

1862. 

W.  C.  Westlake, 

Ph.  H.Grier, 

J.  K.  McConnell, 

" 

Jacob  Thorn, 

" 

S.  Abernethy,                " 

11,  187.3. 

Louis  Braun, 

Nov 

.10 

1865. 

Josiah  Q.  Stearns,          " 

Jeremiah  0.  Tunison,  " 

" 

John  J.  Daly,                " 

" 

Charles  S.  Chandler 

" 

16 

1866 

"     "     "                    " 

10,  1874. 

Josiah  Q.  Stearns, 

J.  H.  Grier, 

" 

Stephen  Jackson, 

" 

13 

1867. 

Henry  C.  Pierson,          " 

1875. 

Louis  Braun, 

" 

Henry  J.  Stratmeyer,  Jr. 

Not.  12, 

Ayers  Leeson. 

" 

" 

1879. 

~ 

Distric 

t  Judge. 

SENATORS. 

1868-60.  John  B.  Ayres.  1870-72.  James  T.  Wiley. 

1861-63.  Joseph  T.  Orowell.  '    1873-75    J.  Henry  Stone. 

1864-65.  James  Jenkins.  j   1876-78.  William  J.  Magie. 

1866.  Philip  H.  Grier.  |    1879-82.  Benjamin  A.  Vail. 
1867-69.  Amos  Clark. 

MEMBERS   OF  GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 


1858. 

Benjamin  W.  Price. 

1873 

Jaliez  B.  Cooley. 

Cooper  Parse. 

William  McKinley. 

1859. 

\Mlliam  Stiles. 

John  H.  Luf  berry. 

Elsten  Mar^h. 

1874. 

William  McKinley. 

1860 

Elsten  Mar-h. 

William  H.  Gill. 

David  Mulford. 

Elias  B.  Pope. 

1861 

David  Mulford. 

1876. 

William  H.  Gill. 

Israel  0.  Maxwell. 

Elias  R.  Pope. 

1862. 

Saiiinel  L.  Moore. 

Ferdinand  Blanche. 

John  J.  High. 

1876 

John  Eagan. 

1863 

Samuel  L  Moore. 

Moses  F.  Corey. 

Noah  Woodiuff. 

Benjamin  A.  Vail. 

1864 

Noah  Woodruff. 

1877 

John  Eagan. 

Philip  Dougherty. 

Moses  F.  Corey. 

1865 

Philip  A.  Dougherty. 

Benjamin  A.  Vail. 

Joseph  T.  Crowell. 

1878 

John  Eagan,  Speaker. 

1866 

John  R.  Crane. 

George  M.  Stiles. 

Thomas  J.  Lee. 

Joseph  B.  Coward. 

1867 

A.  M.  W.  Ball. 

1879 

John  T.  Dunn. 

Enos  W.  Runyon. 

George  M.  Stiles. 

1868 

John  H.  Whelan. 

Philip  Harwood  Vernon. 

Dewilt  C.  Hough. 

1880 

John  T.  Dunn. 

1869 

John  H.  Whelan. 

George  M.  Stiles. 

Dewitt  C.  Hough. 

Philip  Harwood  Vernon 

1870 

Ferdinand  Blanche. 

1881 

John  T.  Dunn. 

Albert  A.  Drake. 

George  T.  Parrot. 

1871 

Ferdinand  Blanche. 

Frank  L.  Sheldon. 

Joseph  W.  Yates. 

1882 

John  T.  Dunn. 

1872 

Andrew  Dutclier. 

George  T.  Parrot. 

William  McKinley. 

Frank  L.  Sheldon. 

John  H.  Luf  berry. 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    MEDICAL    PROFESSION. 

Early  Status  of  itfedicine  in  Union  County.— 

Medicine  as  a  science  and  an  art  was  as  far  advanced 
in  this  portion  of  New  Jersey  as  in  any  other  prev- 
ious to  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  and  yet  it  had 
made  but  little  progress  for  a  hundred  years  after  the 
first  settlement.  The  people  were  strong  and  robust 
in  natural  constitution,  and  the  climate  was  generally 
healthful.  Occasionally  an  epidemic  prevailed  in 
some  sections  of  the  country,  like  the  "throat  dis- 
tempers," so  called,  of  1735,  which  alarmed  the  in- 
habitants, and  caused  the  best  educated  men  of  the 
day,  who  were  usually  clergymen,  to  look  into  the 
nature  and  causes  of  the  disease.  Hence  Rev.  Thom- 
as Thatcher  and  Rev.  Cotton  Mather,  of  New  Eng- 
land, were  the  first  American  writers  on  the  small- 
pox and  the  measles,  in  1677  and  1721,  respectively. 
When  the  throat  distemper  became  epidemic,  its 
character  was  noticed  first  in  printed  form  by  Rev. 
Jonathan  Dickinson,  minister  of  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  also  a  practi- 
tioner of  the  healing  art.  His  notice  is  found  in 
Zenger's  Weekly  Journal,  Feb.  16,  1735-36.  Subse- 
quently, in  1738-39,  Mr.  Dickinson  wrote  his  obser-. 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


lun 


vations  on  the  disease  more  in  extenso  to  "  a  Friend 
in  Boston,"  which  were  published  at  tlie  instance  of 
a  few  medical  men  in  that  city  in  1740.  These  essays, 
together  with  those  of  Dr.  Thomas  Cadwalader,  1740, 
then  a  resident  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and  a  few  others, 
were  among  the  earliest  contributions  to  medical 
literature  in  the  American  colonies. 

At  this  time,  and  for  nearly  twenty  years  after, 
there  were  no  schools  of  medicine  in  the  country,  and 
not  even  a  course  of  medical  lectures  had  been  given. 
New  Jersey  had  among  its  medical  men  a  very  lim- 
ited few  who  had  received  their  training  in  the 
schools  of  Europe.  But  the  profession  was  at  first 
largely  composed  of  those  who,  without  liberal  edu- 
cation, had  lived  a  year  or  two  with  any  sort  of  a 
practitioner,  read  the  few  books  on  medicine  which 
came  within  their  reach,  and  then,  assuming  the  title 
of  "  Doctor,"  offered  themselves  to  the  people  as  com- 
petent to  cure  disease.  Dr.  Wickes  speaks  of  a  text- 
book called  "Salmon's  Herbal,"  published  in  Eng- 
land in  1596,  which  was  the  text-book  of  a  New 
Jersey  physician  of  extensive  practice  for  many 
years,  who  procured  it  from  England  at  a  cost  of  fifty 
pounds.  It  was  the  work  of  a  "  noted  empiric,"  as 
Allibone  calls  its  author,  and  contained  thirteen  hun- 
dred folio  pages. 

The  first  course  of  lectures  on  medical  subjects  de- 
livered in  America  was  a  course  on  anatomy  by  Dr. 
William  Hunter,  a  Scotch  physician,  at  Newport,  R. 
I.,  in  1754-55-66.  Drs.  Bard  and  Middleton  made 
the  first  recorded  attempt  to  impart  instruction  by 
dissection  in  New  York  in  1750.  Dr.  Cadwalader, 
upon  his  return  from  Europe  in  1751,  gave  the  first 
lectures  on  anatomy  in  Philadelphia.  It  was  not 
until  176'2  that  the  foundation  of  the  first  regular 
medical  school  was  laid  in  Philadelphia  by  Drs.  Ship- 
pen  and  Morgan,  who  had  pursued  their  studies  in 
Europe.  The  College  of  Philadelphia,  in  May,  1763, 
elected  Dr.  Morgan  Professor  of  the  Theory  and  Prac- 
tice of  Physic,  and  Dr.  Shippen,  in  September  fol- 
lowing. Professor  of  Anatomy  and  Surgery. 

This  was  the  first  regular  medical  school  engrafted 
upon  a  college.  New  York  followed  with  a  similar 
school  in  connection  with  King's  College  in  1767. 
It  established  chairs  of  anatomy,  pathology  and  phys- 
iology, surgery,  chemistry  and  materia  medica, 
theory  and  practice,  and  midwifery,  electing  profes- 
sors to  fill  them  all,  and  graduated  its  two  first  med- 
ical students  in  1769.  Between  that  and  1774  eleven 
degrees  had  been  conferred,  when  the  occupation  of 
New  York  by  the  British  and  the  stirring  events  of 
the  Revolution  put  an  end  to  all  medical  instruction 
till  after  the  war.  It  was  not  until  1792  that  a  suc- 
cessful organization  of  the  medical  college  was  ef- 
fected, although  an  ettbrt  had  been  made  to  revive  it 
in  1784. 

During  the  time  that  this  medical  college  was  sus- 
jiended,  in  1790,  Dr.  Paul  Micheau,  an  eminent  phy- 
sician from  Staten  Island,  who  had  studied  abroad, 


opened  a  medical  school  in  Elizabeth  Town  (see  his 
memoir  further  on).  This  was  probably  the  earliest 
medical  school  in  New  Jersey.  It  was  two  years 
later,  in  1792,  that  Dr.  Nicholas  Romaine  and  others, 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  obtained  authority  of  the 
trustees  of  Queen's  College  (now  Rutgers)  under  their 
charter  to  establish  a  medical  department  in  connec- 
tion with  that  institution.  This  department  was  con- 
tinued till  1816  in  the  city  of  New  York,  when  the 
Legislatureof  that  State  declared  all  degrees  conferred 
by  any  college  out  of  the  State  upon  students  studying 
within  its  limits  null  and  void  as  licenses  to  practice 
medicine,  and  the  medical  school  was  transferred  to 
Hobart  College,  about  that  time  established  at  Geneva, 
N.  Y.  There  was  no  medical  department  connected 
with  Princeton  College  until  1825,  and  its  progress 
was  subsequently  arrested  by  the  death  of  John  Van 
Cleve,  on  whose  ability  the  college  relied  to  carry  its 
plan  into  execution. 

Dr.  Wickes  and  other  writers  on  medicine  in  New 
Jersey  date  a  stimulus  in  the  progress  of  medical 
studies  from  the  French  war.  "  The  physicians  who 
were  commissioned  as  surgeons  and  surgeon's  mates, 
being  brought  into  association  with  the  British  offi- 
cers, wereled  to  know  their  inferiority,  and  were  stimu- 
lated to  improve  their  opportunities  of  practice  and 
of  intercourse  with  their  more  cultivated  compeers." 
This  revival  of  interest  was  speedily  "  followed  in 
New  Jersey  by  a  measure  still  more  potent  in  its  in- 
fluence,— the  organization,  in  1766,  of  a  medical  so- 
ciety for  the  province."  This  at  once  elevated  the 
tone  and  standard  of  the  profession,  and  has  been  the 
conservator  of  its  best  interests  throughout  the  State 
during  the  one  hundred  and  fifteen  years  of  its  exist- 
ence. By  its  policy  of  granting  commissions  to  auxili- 
ary district  medical  societies  it  has  virtually  its  or- 
ganization and  influence  in  every  village  and  hamlet 
of  the  State.  Most  of  the  physicians  noticed  in  the 
following  brief  memoirs  were  members  of  the  New 
Jersey  Medical  Society,  and  some  of  them  practiced 
many  years  before  its  organization.  They  all  lived 
and  practiced  within  the  present  limits  of  Union 
County. 

Early  Physicians  of  Union  County.— Daniel 
Dexton  was  probably  the  first  physician  in  East 
Jersey.  He  was  one  of  the  original  petitioners  for 
the  patent  of  Elizabeth  Town  in  1664,  and  was  the 
first  town  clerk.  His  biographer  says  of  him,  "He 
taught  school,  practiced  medicine,  and  served  as  jus- 
tice of  the  peace."  He  wrote  a  "  Brief  Description  of 
New  York,"  which  was  published  in  London  in  1670. 
Judging  from  his  style  as  a  writer,  he  was  a  man  of 
considerable  ability,  and  fair  learning  for  his  times. 

Edward  Gay  was  an  early  physician.  Letters  of 
administration  were  granted  Aug.  3, 1687,  to  "  Edward 
Gay,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  Doctor  of  Physick,"  for  the 
estate  of  John  Wren,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  deceased.' 

'  E^i«t  .lerney  Rei-mJs.  B.  I:i:i. 


122 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


This  is  the  first  mention  of  him.  He  frequently  ap- 
pears as  a  witness  to  the  wills  of  the  early  settlers. 
He  obtained  a  warrant,  Aug.  15,  1693,  for  fifty  acres 
of  unappropriated  land  in  Elizabeth  Town.  He  may 
have  been  a  descendant  of  John  Gay,  of  Watertown, 
Mass.,  1635,  and  of  Dedham,  Mass.,  1639.' 

WiLi-iAM  Robinson  was  a  physician  residing  in 
the  Rahway  neighborhood.  He  came  to  the  town  as 
early  as  1685,  purchased  land  of  John  Toe,  and  had 
surveyed  to  him,  April  1,  1686,  a  tract  of  seven  hun- 
dred acres  on  the  north  side  of  the  Woodbridge  line, 
and  on  the  branch  of  the  Rahway  River  called  Rob- 
inson's Branch.  He  was  undoubtedly  of  the  Scotch 
immigration.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  large  land- 
owner both  here  and  in  Monmouth  County,  where  he 
obtained,  in  1692,  a  survey  for  five  hundred  and  fifty 
acres,  "  in  full  of  his  share  of  the  first  division."  In 
his  will,  dated  May  18,  1693,  he  is  called  "  William 
Robinson,  Doctor  of  Physick."  He  appears  to  have 
died  soon  after,  for  his  estate  was  appraised  June  2, 
1693,  by  Andrew  Hampton  and  John  Winans.  Ann 
Winans,  a  daughter  of  the  latter,  married  a  son  of 
Dr.  Robinson.' 

William  Barnet  was  a  native  of  Elizabeth  Town, 
born  in  1723.  He  was  distinguished  as  a  physician 
and  as  an  active  and  prominent  Whig  during  the 
Revolution ;  served  as  a  voluntary  surgeon  in  the 
army;  was  one  of  the  volunteers  under  Elias  Dayton, 
who,  in  January,  1776,  captured  the  "  Blue  Mountain 
Valley,"  a  vessel  described  by  Lord  Stirling,  in  his 
letter  to  Congress,  as  a  ship  of  about  one  hundred 
feet  from  stem  to  stern  above,  capable  of  making  a 
ship-of-war  of  twenty  six-pounders  and  ten  three- 
pounders.  The  vessel  was  brought  in  safety  to 
Elizabeth  Town  Point.  Subsequent  to  this  Dr.  Bar- 
net  was  major  of  Col.  Williamson's  eastern  division 
of  light-horse. 

About  1760,  Dr.  Barnet  built  a  large  brick  mansion, 
which  after  his  death  was  conveyed  by  Dr.  Oliver 
Barnet,  his  brother,  as  executor  to  Jonathan  Hamp- 
ton, in  1790.  The  house  was  subsequently  owned 
and  long  occupied  by  Maj.-Gen.  Winfield  Scott  dur- 
ing his  residence  in  Elizabeth.  It  is  still  standing, 
having  been  kept  in  good  condition.  This  is  the 
house  which  sufi'ered  from  the  depredations  of  the 
British  in  their  plundering  expeditions  from  Staten 
Island.  In  describing  one  of  these  after  the  war  the 
doctor  relates  that  "  the  rascals  emptied  my  feather 
beds  in  the  streets,  and  smashed  my  mirrors  and 
windows.  That  was  bad  enough,  but,  to  crown  all, 
they  stole  from  me  the  most  splendid  string  of  red 
peppers,  hanging  in  my  kitchen,  that  was  ever  seen 
in  Elizabeth  Town."^ 

In  medical  science  Dr.  Barnet  was  in  advance  of 
most  physicians  of  his  day.  He  was  probably  in  in- 
timate relations  with  Jenner,  the  discoverer  of  vacci- 


iSavaxo,  ii.,  p.  237. 

-  HatlicWs  Elizabeth,  p.  '270. 

8  lUd. 


nation,  as  he  introduced  that  remedy  for  smallpox 
thirty-seven  years  before  its  discoverer  published  it 
to  the  world.  Dr.  Rush  states  that  "  in  the  year 
1759  Dr.  Barnet  was  invited  from  Elizabeth  Town,  in 
New  Jersey,  to  Philadelphia  to  inoculate  for  small- 
pox. The  practice,  though  much  opposed,  soon  be- 
came general."  Jenner  published  his  discovery  in 
1796.  The  quotation  from  Dr.  Rush  shows  that  he 
was  well  known  as  a  promoter  of  inoculation  and  a 
physician  of  extensive  reputation.  His  will  was  pro- 
bated Dec.  30,  1790.  He  died  during  that  year,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-seven. 

Oliver  Burnet,  his  brother,  who  was  made  executor 
of  his  will,  was  a  successful  and  highly-esteemed 
physician,  residing  in  New  Germantown,  Hunterdon 
Co.,  N.  J.  He  was  a  surgeon  of  the  Fourth  (Hun- 
terdon) Regiment,  Feb.  14,  1776,  and  one  of  the  asso- 
ciate justices  of  the  trial  in  Westfield  of  Morgan,  the 
murderer  of  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  of  Elizabethtown. 

William  M.  Barnet,  son  of  Dr.  William  Barnet, 
of  Elizabethtown,  became  a  physician  j)rior  to  1772. 
Dr.  Wickes  refers  to  a  charge  to  Dr.  William  Barnet, 
Jr.,  which  appears  in  an  account-book  now  extant, 
dated  1771.  "  He  was  elected  a  member  of  the  New 
Jersey  Medical  Society  in  1772.  He  signed  his  name 
to  the  constitution,  making  a  dash  under  the  '  M,' 
probably  to  distinguish  him.self  from  his  father,  who 
never  joined  the  society.  He  served  as  surgeon  in  the 
war,  First  Battalion,  First  Establishment,  Dec.  8, 
1775 ;  also  First  Battalion,  Second  Establishment, 
Nov.  28,  1776. 

As  a  large  property  fell  to  him  from  his  father,  he 
probably  did  not  practice  his  profession  very  exten- 
sively. Tradition  says  that  he  removed  to  New  Ger- 
mantown and  died  there.  But  Dr.  Wickes  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  William  Barnet  referred  to  by  Dr. 
Blane,  who  began  practice  in  New  Germantown  in 
1812,  and  died  there  in  1821,  was  a  son  of  William 
M.  Barnet,  and  one  of  the  "grandchildren"  alluded 
to  in  the  will  of  1790.  If  so,  the  doctor  probably  died 
in  Elizabethtown. 

IcHABOD  Burnet  was  a  physician  in  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
where  he  probably  took  his  degrees  in  medicine.  He 
was  born  at  Southampton,  L.  I.,  in  1684,  being  a  son 
of  Daniel  and  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Burnet,  who  re- 
moved from  Lynn,  Mass.,  to  Long  Island  about  1640. 
Dr.  Burnet  came  to  Elizabethtown  about  the  year 
1700.  In  1730  he  lived  and  practiced  in  Lyon's 
Farms,  but  afterwards  removed  to  Elizabethtown. 

He  is  spoken  of  by  Dr.  Hatfield  as  one  of  the  dis- 
tinguished men  of  the  town.  He  died  July  13,  1774. 
His  wife,  Hannah,  died  Feb.  19,  1758,  aged  fifty-six. 
They  had  two  sons,  William  and  Ichabod,  Jr.,  both 
of  whom  became  physicians. 

William  Burnet,  the  elder  of  the  brothers,  wsis 
born  Dec.  2,  1730  (O.  S).  He  graduated  at  Princeton 
College  in  1749,  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Staals,  of 
New  York,  and  settled  in  Newark  as  a  physician. 


THE   MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


123 


where  he  distinguished  himself  as  a  patriot  in  the 
Revolution.  He  was  the  father  of  Judge  Jacob  Bur- 
net, of  Cincinnati,  the  author  of  the  well-lcnown 
"Notes  on  the  Territory  Northwest  of  the  River 
Ohio." 

IcHABOD  Burnet,  Jr. — Little  is  known  of  him,  as 
he  died  too  young  to  leave  any  professional  record. 
He  probably  graduated  at  Princeton  later  than  his 
brother,  as  his  father  being  a  university  scholar,  with 
strict  notions  respecting  the  profession,  would  not 
have  sanctioned  any  preparation  for  practice  short  of 
a  collegiate  course.  Whether  he  pursued  his  medical 
studies  with  his  father  or  in  the  city  of  New  York  we 
are  not  informed.  He  died  March  12,  1756,  in  his 
twenty-fourth  year. 

Stephen  Camp  was  an  early  physician  in  Rah- 
way,  where  he  settled  soon  after  graduating  at  Prince- 
ton in  1756.  He  was  a  son  of  Nathaniel  Camp,  of 
Newark,  and  was  born  in  1739.  He  married  at  Rail- 
way Hester  Birt,  daughter  of  a  British  officer.  Dr. 
Wickes  says  of  him,  "He  was  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society,  being  present  at 
its  first  meeting.  .  .  .  The  doctor  was  fond  of  com- 
pany, '  full  of  fun  and  frolic,'  and  made  many  friends. 
He  died  in  1775.  One  son,  John,  survived  him,  who 
though  quite  young  became  a  Tory  and  a  refugee,  and 
was  killed  in  Georgia  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  left  also  a  daughter.  Two  sisters  of  Dr.  Camp 
married, — Mary,  horn  in  1731,  to  Dr.  William  Burnet, 
and  Elizabeth  to  Dr.  John  Griffith,  who  succeeded  to 
Dr.  Camp's  practice  upon  his  decease. 

"  The  house  in  which  Dr.  Camp  died  was  occupied 
successively,  perhaps  not  continuously,  by  Drs.  Camp, 
Griffith,  Lewis  Morgan,  and  by  the  late  Dr.  Samuel 
Abernethy,  who  died  in  1874.  It  is  said  to  be  the 
oldest  house  in  Railway." 

The  inscription  over  his  grave  shows  that  Dr.  Camp 
died  March  19,  1775,  in  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his 
age. 

William  Chandler,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas 
Chandler,  rector  of  St.  John's,  Elizabethtown,  was 
bred  for  the  profession  of  medicine,  though  he  prob- 
ably practiced  little,  if  any,  in  this  country.  He 
graduated  at  King's  College  in  1774.  His  native  place 
was  Elizabethtown,  whence  he  fled  on  account  of  his 
own  and  his  father's  loyalty  in  1776,  and  served  as  a 
captain  of  a  company  of  New  Jer.sey  volunteers 
(British)  stationed  on  Staten  Island.  After  peace 
was  declared  he  went  to  England,  where  he  died 
Oct.  22,  1784,  in  his  twenty-ninth  year. 

Abraham  Clark  was  a  physician  at  Elizabeth- 
town.  He  was  a  son  of  Abraham  Clark,  the  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  born  in  1767  in 
Elizabethtown.  His  mother  was  Sarah,  daughter  of 
Isaac  Hatfield.  He  is  said  to  have  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  John  Griffith,  of  Rahway,  whose  daughter 
he  married  in  1791.  In  the  New  Jersey  Journal,  Jan. 
4, 1791,  is  the  notice :  "  Married  on  Thursday  evening 
last,  by  Rev.  Dr.  McWhorler,  Dr.  Abraham  Clark  to 


Lydia,  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Griffith,  of  Bridge- 
town." 

Dr.  Clark  commenced  practice  at  Elizabethtown, 
where  he  remained  till  after  1800,  when  his  name  ap- 
pears in  the  "New  York  Directory"  as  living  in  the 
lower  part  of  Broadway.  He  was  there  but  a  few 
years  when  he  removed  to  Newark,  where  he  pursued 
his  profession,  together  with  literary  and  scientific 
studies,  until  1830,  when  he  removed  to  Kinderhook, 
on  the  Hudson,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days 
with  his  daughter,  widow  of  Dr.  Beckman.  He  died 
in  July,  18.54,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year.' 

John  Clark,  born  in  Elizabethtown,  1758,  and 
practiced  his  profession  there  till  his  death,  April  29, 
1794,  aged  thirty-six.  He  was  a  second  cousin  of  the 
signer,  and  died  in  the  same  year.  His  wife  was  a 
daughter  of  Esek  Hopkins,  of  Rhode  Island,  the  first 
commodore  of  the  United  States  navy,  and  a  brother 
of  Stephen  Hopkins,  the  signer.  Dr.  Wickes  says, 
"  He  made  her  acquaintance  during  a  visit  to  Provi- 
dence for  the  purpose  of  observing  the  characteristics 
of  an  epidemic  which  was  prevalent  there.  His 
residence  and  office  in  Elizabethtown  were  in  an 
old-fashioned  wooden  house ;  his  office  wjth  a  bow 
window,  in  which  were  displayed  the  bottles  and 
equipments  of  a  drug-shop.  The  late  David  S.  Craig, 
of  Rahway,  was  for  a  time  a  student  in  his  office." 

David  Craig. — He  resided  and  practiced  in  Rah- 
way. He  was  descended  from  the  Craig  family,  who 
settled  in  Elizabethtown  about  1680-85;  was  born 
1753,  and  died  1781.  Dr.  Isaac  Morse,  who  spent 
most  of  his  life  in  Elizabethtown,  succeeded  to  Dr. 
Craig's  practice.  So  .says  Dr.  Wickes.  David  Craig 
was  the  father  of  David  S.,  born  1774,  who  practiced 
for  a  great  number  of  years  in  Rahway.  From  an 
inscription  on  the  monument  of  the  elder  Dr.  Craig 
it  appears  that  he  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-eight 
years  and  eleven  months,  March  24,  1781. 

Rev.  John  Darby,  though  a  minister  at  Connec- 
ticut Farms,  was  also  a  physician.  The  honorary 
degree  of  "  Doctor  of  Medicine"  was  conferred  upon 
him  in  1782  by  Dartmouth  College.  He  was  a  de- 
scendant of  William  Darby  (Darbie),  who  was  a  resi- 
dent of  Elizabethtown  in  1688  ;  was  born  1825  ;  grad- 
uated at  Yale  in  1784 ;  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
April,  1749.  He  spent  eight  years  preaching  on  Long 
Island ;  settled  at  Connecticut  Farms  in  1758  ;  three 
years  later  removed  to  Parsippany,  Morris  Co.,  where 
he  died  December,  1805,  aged  ninety.  As  an  illustra- 
tion of  his  varied  attainments  it  is  recorded  by  his 
historian  that  during  the  last  sickness  of  Gen.  Winds, 
of  distinguished  Revolutionary  fame,  he  was  his  phy- 
sician, his  lawyer  in  writing  his  will,  his  minister  in 
aflbrding  the  consolations  of  religion,  upon  his  death 
the  preacher  at  his  funeral,  and  upon  the  erection  of 
his  monument  the  author  of  the  monumental  inscrip- 
tion. He  taught  many  pupils  in  medicine  from  dif- 
ferent places  who  sought  his  instruction. 

1  Wickes'  Hist.  N.  J.  Med.,  p.  202. 


124 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Jonathan  Dayton  was  a  practicing  physician  for 
many  years  in  Springfield,  having  settled  there  prior 
to  1766,  at  which  time  he  was  one  of  the  founders  of 
tlie  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  the 
youngest  of  nine  children  of  Nathan  and  Amy 
(Stratton)  Dayton,  of  East  Hampton,  L.  I.,  and  de- 
scended from  the  common  ancestor  of  Gen.  Elias  Day- 
ton and  Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  Elizabethtown, 
viz.,  Ralph  Dayton,  of  Boston,  1637.  Dr.  Dayton 
was  born  in  1731,  and  removed  to  Springfield  (then 
a  part  of  Elizabethtown)  when  a  young  man.  He 
continued  to  reside  there  until  his  death,  his  practice 
as  a  physician  extending  into  the  adjoining  settle- 
ments of  Summit  and  New  Providence.  He  died  in 
the  early  years  of  the  Revolution,  Aug.  26, 1775.  The 
house  in  which  he  lived  is  still  standing,  one  of  the 
three  houses  which  were  left  when  the  enemy,  in  1780, 
burnt  the  town.  The  house  is  notable  for  a  hole  in 
its  north  end  made  by  a  cannon-ball  on  the  day  of 
the  battle. 

Dr.  Dayton  had  a  son,  William  W.,  who  studied 
medicine  and  began  practice  with  his  father.  His 
career  was  cut  short  by  an  early  death.  Of  his  daugh- 
ters, Mary  married  William  Steele,  of  New  York  ; 
Margaret  married  Thomas  Salter,  of  Elizabethtown  ; 
and  one  died  young. 

Jonathan  I.  Dayton,  of  Elizabethtown,  where 
he  practiced  medicine  during  his  professional  life, 
was  born  in  that  town  in  1738;  married  Mary  Ter- 
rill  March  3,  1770,  and  was  a  highly  esteemed  and 
very  popular  physician.  Although  sympathizing 
strongly  with  the  loyalists  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution,  he  subsequently  took  and  subscribed  the 
oath  of  abjuration  and  allegiance.  His  death,  which 
occurred  Oct.  19,  1794,  is  thus  noticed  in  the  New 
Jersey  Journal  : 

"Sunday  was  interred  in  the  Presbyterian  burying- 
ground,  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  all  that 
was  mortal  of  Dr.  Jonathan  I.  Dayton,  who  for  many 
vears  labored  under  a  paralytic  affection  which 
greatly  impaired  his  bodily  and  mental  faculties.  As 
there  was  no  prospect  of  his  emerging  from  the  piti- 
able situation  he  was  in,  his  relatives  and  friends  must 
feel  a  melancholy  pleasure  in  reflecting  that  his  suf- 
ferings are  terminated.  As  a  physician,  he  was  popu- 
lar ;  as  a  member  of  society,  useful  and  enterprising  ; 
as  a  husband,  kind  and  affectionate ;  as  a  parent, 
tender  and  indulgent.  In  short,  he  possessed  many 
of  the  social  virtues." 

Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson. — While  a  sketch  of 
the  life  of  this  eminent  author  and  divine  appears  in 
the  history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Cliurch,  of  which 
he  was  so  many  years  the  honored  pastor,  it  may  be 
well  to  mention  here  that  he  was  a  physician  also. 
In  this  latter  capacity  he  acquired  a  high  reputation. 
Dr.  Wickes,  speaking  of  his  letter  on  the  throat 
distemper,  published  in  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1740, 
at  the  request  of  several  of  the  most  eminent  physi- 
cians of  Boston,  says  it  "gives  evidence  of  a  mind 


skilled  in  the  appreciation  of  morbid  phenomena,  and 
an  enlarged  knowledge  for  his  time  of  the  principles 
of  cure." 

He  died  in  Elizabethtown  Oct.  7,  1747,  and  his 
remains  rest  in  the  Presbyterian  Cemetery. 

Alexander  Edgar,  a  native  of  Rahway,  was 
admitted  to  membership  in  the  State  Medical  Society 
at  a  meeting  held  in  Princeton  in  May,  1784.  He 
was  a  son  of  William  and  grandson  of  Thomas  Edgar, 
who  came  from  Scotland  about  1715  or  1720.  Dr. 
Edgar  obtained  a  certificate  and  recommendation 
from  the  medical  society  at  the  time  of  his  admission, 
with  the  view  of  practicing  in  a  remote  part  of  the 
State.  This  is  all  that  is  known  of  him,  except  that  he 
never  married  and  died  young,  and  as  a  stranger,  in 
Albany,  N.  Y. 

Philemon  Elmer. — Of  the  numerous  physicians 
of  the  Elmer  family  in  New  Jersey,  the  subject  of 
this  brief  notice  resided  in  Westfield,  where  he  prac- 
ticed the  greater  part  of  his  life.  He  was  born  Sept. 
13,  1752;  married  (1)  Mary  Marsh,  by  whom  he  had 
two  children,  viz. :  Sally,  wife  of  Dr.  Loring,  and 
Polly,  wife  of  Dr.  .Joseph  Quimby,.  of  Westfield  ; 
married  (2)  Catharine,  only  child  of  Capt.  John 
Sleight  (or  Slack),  of  New  Brunswick,  by  whom  he 
had  two  daughters,  Betsey  and  Catharine.  The  former 
married  Ellis  Potter, of  New  York;  the  latter,  Aaron 
Coe,  of  Westfield,  who  had  children, — Philemon  El- 
mer Coe,  an  Episcopal  minister,  who  built  the  first 
Episcopal  Church  in  Plainfield  about  1852,  and  died  of 
smallpox  in  1874,  and  Catharine,  who  married  Hon. 
Alfred  Mills,  of  Morristown.  Married  (3)  the  widow 
of  Charles  Clark. 

Dr.  Elmer  had  a  large  practice,  was  a  man  of  abil- 
ity and  force  of  character,  and  of  fine  social  qualities. 
He  died  May  16,  1827,  leaving  a  large  property,  which 
has  remained  among  his  heirs. 

Moses  Gale  Elmer  was  a  practitioner  of  medi- 
cine during  his  professional  life  in  New  Providence. 
He  was  born  Sept.  26,  1757,  and  was  consequently 
nineteen  years  of  age  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution.  He  entered  the  service  as  soon  as 
his  attainments  in  medicine  would  permit,  being  com- 
missioned surgeon's  mate,  Second  Battalion,  Second 
Establishment,  Aug.  28,  1778;  surgeon's  mate.  Second 
Regiment,  Sept.  26,  1780;  discharged  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  married  Chloe,  daughter  of  Matthias 
Meeker,  of  Morristown,  and  liad  four  children. 

Dr.  Elmer  had  an  extensive  practice,  and  was  the 
owner  of  a  fine  estate  in  and  adjoining  the  village  of 
New  Providence.  Dr.  Wickes,  who  gives  a  pretty  full 
account  of  Dr.  Elmer's  personal  characteristics,  relates 
the  following  anecdote: 

"There  were  in  his  town  a  large  number  of  opera- 
tives connected  with  the  shoe  and  hut  manufactories, 
whose  raids  at  night  upon  his  watermelon-patch  caused 
him  much  annoyance.  On  one  occasion  he  so  doc- 
tored some  of  the  finest  melons  that  they  produced  in 
those  who  had  taken  them  symptoms  which  demanded 


COKRA    OSBORN. 


EUGENE    JOBS. 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


125 


treatment.  The  doctor  was  summoned.  The  patients 
averred  that  they  had  '  eaten  nothing,'  but  the  admin- 
istration of  an  emetic  soon  caused  a  disgorgement  of 
the  melons  and  a  discovery  of  tlieir  triclcs." 

The  practice  of  denying  water  topatients  in  fevers, 
so  common  in  the  early  days,  was  almost  a  mania 
with  Dr.  Elmer,  who  was  unrelenting  in  his  prohibi- 
tions. "  In  one  case  of  fever  the  sufferer  begged  the 
doctpr  for  water.  '  Tut,  tut,  tut ;  no,  no,  no ;  not  one 
drop  shall  you  have,  sir;  if  you  touch  it,  it  will  be  at 
the  peril  of  your  life,  sir!'  But  the  patient  managed 
to  creep  on  his  hands  and  knees  to  a  pail  of  cool, 
fresh  water,  drank  all  he  could  swallow,  returned  to 
his  bed,  perspired  freely,  convalesced,  and  then  told 
the  doctor  what  had  cured  him.  In  his  later  years  he 
abandoned  the  frequent  use  of  phlebotomy."' 

By  act  of  Congress  passed  in  1828  the  doctor  re- 
ceived a  pension  for  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  died  on 
the  31st  of  May,  1835,  in  the  seventy-eighth  year  of 
his  age.     His  wife  died  June  19,  1833,  aged  sixty. 

Henry  G.  Elmer,  son  of  the  above,  studied 
medicine,  and  was  regarded  as  a  very  promising 
young  physician,  but  intemperate  habits  overcame 
him  and  he  fell  a  victim  to  it  in  early  life.  He  was 
born  in  1799 ;  married  Pamelia,  daughter  of  Gabriel 
Johnson;  died  Feb.  11,  1824,  aged  twenty-five  years 
and  eleven  months. 

John  Griffith,  of  Eahway,  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society  in  1766.  He 
was  born  Nov.  19,  1736;  married  Elizabeth,  daughter 
of  Nathaniel,  andsisterof  Dr.  Stephen  Camp,  to  whose 
house  and  busine.ss  he  succeeded.  He  was  highly  es- 
teemed as  a  physician  and  citizen.  He  is  described 
as  a  "  stout,  stirring  man,  pleasant  and  jolly."  Of  his 
four  sons  and  two  daughters  we  find  the  following 
mention:  "Dr.  Thomas;  William,  Esq.,  of  Burling- 
ton, a  distinguished  lawyer  and  author  of  '  Grifiith's 
Law  Register,  1822 ;'  John,  a  merchant  of  New  York ; 
and  Nathaniel,  who  entered  into  partnership  with 
John.  One  of  his  daughters,  Lydia,  married  Dr. 
Abraham  Clark." 

Thomas  Griffith,  son  of  the  foregoing,  was  born 
in  1765,  and  died  at  Elizabethtown,  December,  1799, 
aged  thirty-four.  The  Sentinel  of  Freedom,  Newark, 
contains  the  following  notice  of  his  death  : 

"  The  death  of  Dr.  Griffith  is  sincerely  and  univer- 
sally lamented,  being  a  great  loss  to  his  family,  the 
town,  and  to  society.  He  possessed  a  considerable 
degree  of  literature;  was  eminent  as  a  surgeon  and 
physician,  and  his  liberality  to  his  patients  of  poverty 
will  long  be  remembered.  In  his  deportment  he 
was  modest,  manners  agreeable,  conduct  through  life 
amiable,  his  morals  unblemished,  an  honor  to  his 
profession,  and  left  an  examjjle  worthy  of  imita- 
tion." 

He  became  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society 
in  1787. 


'  Wickes'  Hist.  N.  J.  Med.,  p.  256. 


Robert  Halsted,  a  descendant  of  Timothy,  one 
of  the  original  Associates,  was  the  son  of  Caleb  Hal- 
sted of  Elizabethtown,  and  was  born  there  in  1746. 
His  mother  was  Rebecca,  a  daughter  of  Robert  Ogden. 
He  was  twice  married,  first  to  Mary  Wiley,  who  died 
soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution  ;  second  to 
Mary  Mills,  who  died  in  1845,  in  her  seventy-ninth 
year.  Nothing  is  recorded  respecting  the  education 
of  Dr.  Halsted,  or  where  he  received  his  medical 
degree.  He  was,  however,  held  in  high  esteem  as  a 
physician,  was  bold  and  energetic,  somewhat  stern 
and  brusque  in  his  manner,  though  uniting  with  his 
strength  and  energy  great  magnanimity  and  kindness 
of  heart.  He  was  a  strict  observer  of  the  Sabbath 
and  a  regular  church-goer,  always  in  his  seat  at  the 
hour  of  worship.  Being  patriotic  and  outspoken  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  he  rendered  himself  ob- 
noxious to  the  loyalists,  from  whom  he  suffered  not  a 
little,  being  arrested  and  confined  in  the  old  sugar- 
house  in  New  York.  He  died  Nov.  17,  1825,  aged 
seventy-nine.  A  fine  marble  monument  marks  his 
grave  in  the  churchyard  at  Elizabeth. 

Caleb  Halsted,  a  brother  of  Robert,  was  a  phy- 
sician at  Connecticut  Farms,  where  he  practiced  until 
seventy-four  years  of  age,  dying  Aug.  18,  1827.  He 
married  Abigail  Lyon,  and  had  four  children  who 
grew  to  mature  life,  viz. :  Mary,  wife  of  Gen.  Isaac 
Andruss  ;  Phebe  Roberts,  wife  of  Luther  Goble ;  Jo- 
seph Lyon,  who  married  Ellen  Turk ;  and  Caleb 
Stockton,  who  married  Margaret  Roome.  The  doctor 
is  remembered  as  a  fine  figure,  portly  in  person,  and 
popular  with  all  classes.  He  was  well  up  in  his  pro- 
fession, both  theoretically  and  practically,  and  in 
public  and  private  life  distinguished  for  his  philan- 
thropy and  benevolence. 

Matthias  De  Hart.— The  family  of  which  Dr. 
De  Hart  was  a  member  emigrated  originally  from 
France  to  Holland.  They  first  appear  in  this  country 
at  New  Amsterdam  in  1658,  where  in  the  old  records 
the  name  is  De  Hardt.  One.of  the  brothers  was  a  phy- 
sician,— Dr.  Daniel  De  Hardt.  Belthazer,  a  wealthy 
merchant  of  New  Amsterdam,  was  the  progenitor  of 
the  family  in  Elizabethtown,  his  son,  Capt.  Matthias 
De  Hart,  being  the  first  settler  of  that  name,  about 
the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century.  He  was  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  notice.  At  what 
time  he  began  practice  is  not  known,  although  from 
an  advertisement  in  the  Weekly  Posf-Bo;/,  November, 
1752,  it  appears  that  he  was  a  doctor  prior  to  that 
date.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of  Col.  Jacob  De  Hart, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  forty-three  in  1766. 

"Towards  the  close  of  his  life,"  says  Dr.  Wickes, 
"he  became  blind,  and  had  an  African  servant  to  at- 
tend upon  him.  This  attendant  made  himself  useful 
to  his  master  with  his  needle  in  repairing  and  bind- 
ing on  the  lace-work  of  his  coat  according  to  the 
fashion  of  his  times.  The  doctor  married  into  the 
family  of  the  Kingslands,  of  Second  River.  He  had 
several  children.     Three  of  his  sons  were  in  the  Rev- 


126 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


olutionary  army,  viz. :  Maurice,  major  and  aide-de- 
camp to  Gen.  Devine,  and  subsequently  to  Gen. 
Wayne;  he  was  killed  at  Fort  Lee.  William,  major 
in  1775,  and  lieutenant-colonel  in  1777 ;  resigned  in 
1780 ;  lawyer,  lived  at  Morristown.  Also  a  young  son 
who  was  killed  at  the  early  age  of  eighteen  while 
storming  a  fort."  ' 

John  Hole. — This  physician  practiced  in  Wash- 
ington Valley,  between  New  Providence  and  West- 
field,  Union  Co.  He  married  (1)  Hannah  Clark,  (2) 
Mercy,  daughter  of  Jenny  Ludlow.  His  children 
were  Jeremiah,  Mary,  lOlizabeth,  and  Jane.  The 
last  named  married  Jacob  Mulford.  The  graves  of 
these  children  of  Dr.  Hole  are  marked  by  brown 
headstones,  with  their  inscriptions,  in  the  Presbyte- 
rian churchyard  at  New  Providence. 

Moses  Jaques  was  a  practicing  physician  in  Rah- 
way,  and  a  native  of  that  town.  He  was  born  Nov. 
7,  1770,  received  his  early  education  at  the  common 
schools,  studied  with  Dr.  Halsted,  of  Elizabethtown, 
and  attended  medical  lectures  under  Dr.  Rush  in 
Philadelphia,  where  he  also  practiced  for  a  time.  His 
health  failing  he  abandoned  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, sold  out  to  Dr.  Ralph  Marsh,  of  Rahway,  and 
embarked  in  mercantile  business  in  New  York,  in 
which  he  was  very  successful.  While  a  niember  of 
the  Legislature  from  Essex  County  in  1800  he  was  a 
warm  supporter  of  a  law  for  the  gradual  emancipa- 
tion of  slaves,  if  not  its  author,  which  brought  upon 
him  the  censure  of  his  constituents,  as  many  of  them, 
including  his  father,  as  well  as  himself,  were  slave- 
holders. He  was  also  a  niember  of  the  Constitutional 
Convention  of  1844  for  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
having  removed  from  New  York  to  Woodbridge  in 
1837.  He  continued  to  reside  there  till  his  death,  in 
August,  1858,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year. 

Ephraim  Loring. — Surgeon's  mate,  Third  Battal- 
ion, Second  Establishment,  Col.  Elias  Dayton,  Nov. 
28,  1776;  surgeon's  mate,  Third  Regiment,  Continen- 
tal army,  Sept.  26,  1780.  After  the  war  Dr.  Loring 
practiced  in  tiie  vicinity  of  New  Providence.  He 
married  Sally,  eldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Philemon  El- 
mer. His  name  appears  on  the  original  list  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati  of  New  Jersey, 
and  in  1786  is  enrolled  among  the  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Brunswick. 

Paul  Micheau. — Several  ancestors  of  Dr.  Paul 
Micheau  were  of  the  same  name,  residing  on  Staten 
Island.  One  was  sheriff  of  Richmond  County  in 
1736,  and  died  while  a  member  of  the  Colonial  As- 
sembly in  1851.  His  son  Paul  was  a  man  of  popular- 
ity and  influence,  and  was  a  member  of  the  fir.st  and 
third  Provincial  Congresses.  He  died  in  1790.  He 
was  the  father  of  Paul  J.  and  Benjamin  Micheau,  of 
Staten  Island,  the  latter  supposed  to  have  been  the 
father  of  the  doctor.  Dr.  Micheau  removed  from 
Richmond,  Staten  Island,  and  commenced  the  prac- 


l  Hatfield's  Elizabetli,  Wickes,  p.  278. 


tice  of  medicine  in  Elizabethtown  in  April,  1789.  In 
March  following  he  became  a  member  of  the  New 
Jersey  Medical  Society,  upon  presenting  testimonials 
of  his  attainments  from  European  schools  in  which 
he  was  educated. 

In  February,  1790,  he  opened  a  medical  school 
at  Elizabethtown,  advertising  a  complete  course  of 
medical  lectures  to  be  given  at  four  o'clock  p.m., 
from  May  10th  to  July  25th  ;  charge,  five  pounds. 
In  his  advertisement  he  speaks  of  himself  as  "Sur- 
geon and  Fellow  of  the  Lyceum  Medicum  Londi- 
nense." 

Frederick  A.  Kinch,  M.D. — Thomas  Kinch  was 
of  English  lineage,  and  resided  in  New  York  City. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  a  lady  of  Welsh  parent- 
age, and  had  children, — William,  Mary  Ann,  Charles, 
Frederick  A.,  and  Eliza,  but  three  of  whom  survive. 
Their  son,  Frederick  A.,  who  is  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  was  born  in  New  York  City,  March  12, 
1822.  Both  parents  having  died  during  his  child- 
hood, his  early  life  was  pas.sed  under  the  guardian- 
ship of  a  paternal  uncle,  William  Kinch.  He  was 
placed  at  a  boarding-school  at  Bloomingdale,  and 
remained  until  the  age  of  thirteen,  after  which  he 
repaired  to  Orange  County.  Here,  until  his  ma- 
jority was  attained,  he  attended  school  and  also 
engaged  in  farm  labor. 

Having  an  ambition  to  acquire  a  profession  he  de- 
termined upon  the  study  of  medicine,  and  placed  him- 
self under  the  tutelage  of  Dr.  William  C.  Terry  and 
Dr.  Daniel  T.  Graham,  of  Mount  Hope,  Orange 
Co.,  N.  Y'.  He  remained  here  four  years,  pursuing 
his  studies,  and  also,  attending  lectures  at  the  Medi- 
cal Department  of  the  University  of  the  City  of  New 
York.  He  was  licensed  to  practice  by  the  New  York 
State  Medical  Society,  by  the  Orange  County  Medi- 
cal Society,  and  by  the  New  Jersey  State  Medical  So- 
ciety. In  September,  1849,  he  chose  Westfield  as  a 
promising  field  of  professional  labor,  and  has  since 
that  date  been  a  resident  of  the  place  and  an 
active  practitioner.  The  doctor  was  married  Feb.  6, 
1850,  to  Miss  Harriet,  daughter  of  Col.  William  S. 
and  Elizabeth  Little,  of  Mount  Hope,  Orange  Co., 
N.  Y.  They  have  two  sons,  Charles  Augustus,  a 
practicing  physician  in  New  York  City,  and  Freder- 
ick A.,  who  is  at  present  attending  lectures  in  the 
Medical  Department  of  Columbia  College.  Dr. 
Kinch  is  in  politics  a  Republican,  and  although  de- 
barred by  the  demands  of  his  profession  from  leisure 
for  participatiou  in  public  afJairs,  has  served  as  a 
member  of  the  township  committee  of  Westfield,  as 
township  clerk,  and  superintendent  of  schools.  He  is 
a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  convictions,  and  an 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Westfield,  of 
which  both  Mrs.  Kinch  and  their  sons  are  mem- 
bers. 

The  doctor  is  a  niember  of  the  Union  County  Med- 
ical Society,  and  also  of  the  New  Jersey  State  Medi- 
cal Society. 


^^^^"^^  .PuA  Co  j^MjIad^ 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION. 


127 


Enoch  Moke  was  a  contemporary  of  Drs.  Stephen 
Camp,  Morse,  and  Griffith  in  Kahway  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine.  He  belonged  to  the  Society  of 
Friends.  ' 

Lewis  Moegax  commenced  practice  in  Rahway 
a  year  or  two  before  the  deatli  of  Dr.  John  Griffith. 
He  was  admitted  to  the  State  Medical  Society  in  1787, 
and  practiced  first  in  Somerset  and  Burlington 
Counties.  He  is  reputed  to  have  been  a  surgeon  in 
the  British  service  during  the  Revolution,  although 
that  is  doubted  on  good  authority.  Dr.  Wickes  gives, 
upon  the  authority  of  Dr.  H.  H.  James,  of  Rahway, 
and  in  his  own  words,  the  following  anecdote  of  Dr. 
Morgan : 

"For  a  short  time  there  was  a  Dr.  Rodgers  in  the  town,  who  was  a 
competitor  iu  practice,  whom  Dr.  Morgan  very  much  disliked.  During 
a  freshet  in  the  river  Dr.  Rodgers  attempted  to  cross  the  bridge,  which 
was  overflowed  with  water.  Not  I>eing  aware  that  the  centre  of  the 
bridge  was  gone,  horse,  sulky,  and  rider  all  went  in  together. 

"  The  horse  was  used  to  swimming,  and  the  doctor  held  his  place  in  his 
enlky,  heading  his  horse  down  the  stream.  The  whole  town  gathered 
on  the  bank  to  see  the  doctor  drown.  Among  the  spectators  was  Dr. 
Morgan,  who,  seeing  the  situation,  ordered  his  horse  and  sulky  and  fol- 
lowed the  river  road  to  see  the  result,  .\bout  a  mile  below  Dr.  Rodgers 
bixiught  his  horse  to  the  bank  and  came  out  sitting  in  his  sulky  all  right 
Bis  horse  was  very  much  exhausted,  and  he  was  very  wL  Dr.  Morgan, 
pitying  his  condition,  invited  him  to  sit  on  the  foot-rest  of  his  sulky 
that  he  might  take  him  home  quickly,  as  hi-  horse  was  fresh.    Rodgers 

replied, 'No.  sir;  I  had  a  hard  ride,  but  I'll  go  back   the  way  I 

came  before  I  sit  at  your  feet.' '" 

Dr.  Morgan  died  Jan.  12,  1821,  in  the  sixty-fourth  ' 
year  of  his  age. 

Isaac  Morse,  to  whom  reference  has  heretofore 
been  made,  was  a  son  of  Joseph  Morse,  a  surveyor 
and  land  conveyancer.  His  ancestors  were  among 
the  earliest  settlers  of  Elizabethtown,  where  he  was 
born  in  1758,  and  died  there  in  1825,  his  remains  I 
being  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church.  Dr.  Clark's  "  History  of  Physicians 
of  Essex  County"  contains  many  anecdotes  of  him, 
to  which  the  reader  is  referred.  "  His  ruling  trait 
was  facetiousness  and  humor,"  says  Dr.  Wilkes.  "  He 
was  a  man  of  much  originality  and  great  professional 
activity  and  usefulness,  enjoying  a  very  large  prac- 
tice." His  fun  and  humor  did  more  for  his  patients, 
it  has  been  remarked,  than  his  learning  or  his  drugs,  , 
a  statement  which  will  not  be  discredited  by  any  one 
who  knows  the  effect  of  a  genial  presence  in  a  sick 
room. 

George  Pugh  was  a  physician  residing  in  or  near 
Elizabethtown.  Joined  the  medical  society  in  1770. 
His  will,  probated  Dec.  26,  1785,  describes  him  as 
"  Late  of  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  now  Physician  of 
Elizabethtown."  Little  is  known  of  him  beyond 
these  few  facts. 

Charles  W.  Rodgers,  the  hero  of  the  incident  re- 
lated in  the  memoir  of  Dr.  Lewis  Morgan  (which  see), 
resided  only  a  short  time  in  Rahway,  and  then  re- 
moved to  the  West.  When  it  was  known  that  he 
was  about  to  leave  town  a  rich  patient  whom  he  had 
treated  successfully  called  on  him  to  procure  the  pr»- 


scription  for  the  remedy  which  had  been  so  effectual 
in  his  case.  The  doctor  said,  "Certainly,  but  it  will 
cost  you  ten  dollars."  The  applicant  objected  at  first, 
but  remembering  his  former  pains,  he  reluctantly 
paid  the  ten  dollars.  The  doctor  took  his  pencil  and 
wrote  "  Cataria."  Afterwards,  of  course,  he  found 
out  that  he  had  paid  ten  dollars  for  the  word  "  Cat- 
nip." ' 

George  Ross  was  an  early  physician  and  druggist 
of  Elizabethtown,  probably  a  descendant  of  the  first 
settler  of  that  name,  1665-66.  The  JVew  Jersey  Jour- 
nal, Feb.  2,  1796,  contains  the  following  advertise- 
ment : 

"  Drug?,  medicals,  chemicals,  etc.,  being  a  fresh  importation  from  Eu- 
rope, to  be  sold  by  Doctors  Ross  and  Williamson,  opposite  the  Church  in 
Eliz'town." 

Little  is  known  of  Dr.  Ross.  It  is  thought  that  he 
left  the  town  soon  after  the  above  advertisement. 
He  had  been  a  trustee  of  the  Academy  in  1789  and 
librarian  of  the  Library  Association  in  1792,  the  year 
it  was  formed. 

Matthias  Hampton  Williamson,  referred  to  in 
the  foregoing  notice,  was  a  son  of  William,  a  descend- 
ant of  the  first  settler  of  that  name  in  Elizabethtown, 
1725,  and  of  Lydia,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Hampton. 
He  married  his  cousin,  Frances  H.  Joust.  Of  his 
early  life  and  education  no  positive  records  exist, 
although  it  is  highly  supposed  that  he  studied  med- 
icine in  Philadelphia.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
medical  society  of  that  city  when  he  wrote  his  thesis 
for  a  degree  in  May,  1793.  The  title,  somewhat  ab- 
breviated, was  as  follows :  "  Dissertation  on  the  Scar- 
let Fever,  attended  with  an  ulcerated  sore  throat,  sub- 
mitted to  the  Rev.  John  Ewing,  S.  T.  D.  Provost, 
...  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine,  ...  on 
the  tenth  of  May,  a.d.  1793,  by  Matthias  H.  Wil- 
liamson, member  of  the  American  Medical  Society  of 
Philadelphia."  This  dissertation  was  published,  and 
is  in  the  valuable  library  of  Dr.  Samuel  S.  Purple,  of 
the  city  of  New  York.  Dr.  Williamson  attained  a  high 
reputation  as  a  practitioner.  He  wa.s  practicing  in 
Elizabethtown  and  also  keeping  a  drug-store  in  part- 
nership with  Dr.  Ross  in  1796. 

Doctors  Winans.— Two  physicians  of  this  name 
practiced  in  Elizabethtown  before  the  Revolution. 
They  were  probably  descendants  of  John  Winans. 
Of  the  first  we  have  not  the  Christian  name,  but 
simply  "  Dr.  Winans."  The  other,  William  Winans, 
was  a  surgeon  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Essex,  July 
15,  1776,  and  surgeon  of  Col.  Thomas'  battalion  de- 
tached militia,  July  24,  1776.  March  17,  1781,  a 
meeting  was  advertised  in  the  New  Jersey  Journal 
"  at  the  Inn  of  Doctor  William  Winans,"  Elizabeth- 
town. 

Samuel  Swain,  born  at  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  in 
1771,  died  at  Bound  Brook  in  1844,  and  was  buried 
in  the  vault  of  Jacob  DeGroat,  whose  daughter  he 

»  Wickss'  Hist.  N.  J.  Med.,  p.  375. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


married.  He  practiced  at  Scotch  Plains  and  occa- 
sionally at  Plainfield. 

Edwaed  Augustus  DARrv  first  lived  in  Morris 
County,  whence  he  came  to  Plainfield  in  1821.  He 
was  a  brother  of  Dr.  John  Darcy  of  Newark  (who 
died  there  Oct.  22,  1863),  and  removed  to  Illinois  in 
1834,  where  lie  died. 

Stephen  Manning,  born  in  Westfleld,  now  town- 
ship of  Plainfield,  received  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Medicine  at  the  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia,  and 
practiced  a  short  time  in  Monmouth  County.  He  re- 
moved to  Plainfield,  but  soon  after  died,  in  1S21  or 
1822. 

John  Craig  was  a  well-known  physician  and  drug- 
gist at  Plainfield,  where  he  died  Oct.  1.5,  1872.  He 
was  a  descendant  of  Andrew  Craige,  who  came  with 
the  Scotch  immigration  in  Governor  Laurie's  time. 
It  was  at  his  house  that  George  Keith,  as  missionary 
of  the  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,"  preached  the  first  Episcopal  sermon 
in  the  old  borough  of  Elizabeth  in  November,  1703, 
on  which  occasion  he  baptized  Mr.  Craig's  four  chil- 
dren. Andrew  Craige  was  admitted  an  Associate  in 
1699-1700,  and  drew  lot  No.  162  of  the  one-hundred- 
acre  lots  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Railway  River 
and  on  the  lower  side  of  the  "  Noramehegkn  branch" 
(Westfield  township).  His  name  appears  in  the  Town 
Book  as  early  as  Nov.  28, 1729.     He  died  Oct.  1, 1738. 

There  have  been  several  physicians  in  the  family, 
among  them  Dr.  David  Craig,  born  in  1753,  died  in 
1781,  and  his  son.  Dr.  David  S.  Craig,  born  in  1774, 
and  practiced  till  his  death  at  Rah  way. 

John  Craig  settled  in  Plainfield  in  1822,  and  was 
associated  with  his  younger  brother,  Lewis,  who  came 
soon  after,  in  the  drug-store  on  the  corner  of  Front 
and  Cherry  Streets.  For  many  years  Dr.  Craig  dis- 
pensed drugs  and  visited  the  sick  far  and  near.  His 
name  was  known  all  over  the  land,  and  for  miles  he 
traveled  by  night  and  day  visiting  the  sick.  He  was 
the  friend  of  the  poor,  and  seldom  refused  to  call 
upon  patients  who  were  unable  to  pay  for  his  ser- 
vices. Towards  the  latter  part  of  his  life  he  became 
quite  wealthy  through  the  rise  of  the  value  of  his 
real  estate  in  the  city  of  Plainfield.  His  remains  lie 
in  the  Union  Cemetery,  where  a  block  of  granite 
close  to  the  main  foot-walk  tells  that  here  lies  the 
body  of  John  Craig,  M.D. 

Allen  Wilson  practiced  in  Plainfield  at  an  early 
time.  Little  is  known  of  tlie  history  of  his  life  beyond 
the  fact  that  he  died  in  the  year  1837. 

Charles  H.  Stillman,  physician  and  ex-mayor 
of  Plainfield,  was  horn  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  Jan. 
2.'),  1817.  The  family  is  of  English  descent,  the  an- 
cestor having  emigrated  to  Massachusetts  in  1680. 
His  father,  Joseph  Stillman,  was  widely  known  as  a 
ship-builder.  Dr.  Stillman  graduated  at  Union  Col- 
lege in  1835,  and  in  the  year  1840  took  his  medical 
degree  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in 
New  York. 


In  1842  he  removed  to  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  where  he 
has  since  resided,  actively  engaged  in  the  practice  of 
his  profession.  His  advance  to  the  front  rank  of 
medical  practitioners  was  rapid  and  brilliant.  He 
was  for  many  years  surgeon  of  the  Central  Railroad 
of  New  Jersey,  and  his  great  skill  as  a  surgeon  has 
won  the  cordial  recognition  not  only  of  the  commu- 
nity at  large  but  of  all  in  the  profession.  Next  to 
his  devotion  to  his  profession  is  his  practical  earnest- 
ness in  forwarding  the  educational  interests  of  the 
community  in  which  he  resides  (see  schools).  He 
was  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  and  presi- 
dent of  the  Medical  Society  of  Union  County.  He 
was  also  a  director  of  the  City  National  Bank,  of  the 
Washington  Fire  Insurance  Company,  the  City 
Savings  In.stitute,  and  various  other  corporations. 
In  1872  he  was  nominated  by  both  political  parties 
for  the  office  of  mayor  of  Plainfield,  and  elected  to 
the  position,  and  administered  the  duties  of  the  office 
for  two  years.  He  was  married  in  1842  to  Mary  E. 
Starr,  of  Hamilton,  New  York.  His  eldest  son, 
Thomas  B.  Stillman,  was  for  a  time  assistant  professor 
of  chemistry  in  Stevens  Institute,  Hoboken,  N.  J.; 
his  second  son,  Charles  F.  Stillman,  M.D.,  medical 
examiner  in  Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company,  now 
practicing  in  city  of  New  York  ;  his  third,  William 
M.  Stillman,  counselor-of-law  in  city  of  Plainfield. 

Medical  Societies. — The  New  Jersey  Medical 
Society  was  the  first  institution  of  the  kind  organ- 
ized in  the  colonies.  In  view  of  the  low  .state  of 
medicine  in  the  province  in  1766,  and  the  difiiculties 
and  discouragements  which  stood  in  the  way  of  its 
advancement,  a  number  of  physicians  were  led  to 
consider  the  project  of  forming  a  voluntary  associa- 
tion of  the  principal  practitioners,  for  the  purpose  of 
elevating  the  standard  of  the  profession  and  of  pro- 
moting its  general  usefulne,ss  to  the  public.  In  order 
to  call  together  those  who  might  be  disposed  to  take 
an  interest  in  the  scheme  the  following  notice  was 
published  in  the  New  York  Merotrij  : 

"  A  considerable  nuiiiber  of  the  practitioners  of  physic  and  surgery 
in  East  New  Jersey  having  agreed  to  form  a  society  for  their  mutual 
improvement,  the  advancement  of  the  profession,  and  promotion  of  the 
puljlic  good,  and  desirous  of  extending  as  much  as  possible  tbe-useful- 
ness  of  their  scheme,  and  of  cultivating  the  utmost  harmony  and 
friendship  with  their  brethren,  liereViy  request  and  invite  every  gentle, 
man  of  the  profession  in  the  province  that  may  approve  of  their  design 
to  attend  their  first  meeting,  which  will  be  held  at  Mr.  DutTs,  in  the 
city  of  New  Brunswick,  on  Wednesday,  the  2:!d  of  July,  at  which  time 
and  place  the  constitution  and  regulations  of  the  society  are  to  be  set- 
tled and  subscribed. 

"  East  New  Jersey,  June  27,  17GC," 

Sixteen  physicians  responded  to  this  call,  met  at 
New  Brunswick  on  the  appointed  day,  and  adopted  a 
constitution  ample  in  its  aim  and  purpose  as  that  of 
medical  societies  of  the  jiresent  day.  The  constitu- 
tion was  signed  by  fourteen  physicians,  whose  names 
were  as  follows : 


Kobert  McKe 

Cliri-.  Maul..' 
John  Ci.bruii 


Mi.ses  l(lo..mliel.l. 
.Paniea  (iMlilun.l. 
William  Burnelt. 


^^^^irirrr^^^i^'^^  (z  S^Ci^ 


e^tAAtJ 


fe. 


THE   MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


129 


Jona.  Diiyton. 
Tbomas  Wiggins. 
William  Adams. 
Bnrn,  Budd. 


Lawrence  V.  Dewere. 
Juhu  GriBitli. 
Isaac  Harris. 
Joseph  Sackett,  Jr. 


Three  of  these  original  members,  viz. :  Drs.  Bur- 
net, Dayton,  and  Griffith,  were  residents  and  practi- 
tioners in  what  is  now  Union  County.  Dr.  Robert 
McKean  was  the  first  president.  Charles  Manlove 
was  the  first  secretary  of  the  society.  Those  who 
have  served  in  the  capacity  of  president  and  secretary 
of  the  society  from  Union  County  have  been  the  fol- 
lowing: 

PRESIDENTS. 
1766.  Hubert  McKean. 
1T67-68.  William  Burnet. 

1769.  John  Cochran. 

1770.  Nathaniel  Scudder.  1786.  William  Burnet. 

1771.  Isaac  Smith.  1787.  Jonathan  Elmer. 

1772.  James  Newell.  1788.  James  Stratton. 

1773.  Absalom  Bainbridge.  1789.  Moses  Scott. 

1774.  Thomas  Wiggin.  1790.  John  Griffith. 

1775.  Uezekiah  Stites.  1791.  Lewis  Dunham. 

1781.  James  Newell.  1792-93.  Isaac  Harris. 

1782.  John  Beatty.  1794-95.  James  Newell. 


1783.  Thon 

as  Barber. 

1784.  Lawr 

ence  Van  Derreer 

1785.  Mose 

BloomBeld. 

SECRETARIES. 


1766.  Chris.  Manlove. 

1767.  Moses  Bloomfleld. 

1768.  Isaac  Smith. 

1769.  Nathaniel  Scudder. 

1770.  Samuel  Kennedy. 

1771.  Absalom  Bainbridge, 

1772.  Thomas  Wiggins. 
177.'?.  Nathaniel  Scudder. 
1774.  Hezekiah  Stites. 


1775.  James  Newell. 
1781-82.  Thomas  Wiggins. 
1783-84.  Lewis  Dunham. 

1785.  John  Beatty. 

1786.  Thomas  G.  Haight. 

1787.  Thomas  Henderson. 

1788.  John  A.  Scudder. 
1789-92.  Francis  Bower  Sa; 
1793-95.  James  Anderson. 


The  society  continued  to  hold  its  regular  semi-an- 
nual meetings  either  at  New  Brunswick,  Princeton, 
or  Burlington  till  1775,  when  they  were  discontinued 
on  account  of  the  war. 

A  number  of  the  members  of  the  State  Medical 
Society  took  an  early  and  decided  part  in  the  strug- 
gle for  independence.  Dr.  Wickes  gives  us  the 
names  of  seventy-two  physicians  of  New  Jersey 
who  were  connected  with  offices  under  the  govern- 
ment during  and  after  the  Revolution,  forty-four  of 
whom  were  collegiate  graduates  from  the  following 
institutions:  Princeton,  twenty-seven;  Yale,  five; 
Kings,  two  ;  Queens,  two  ;  Univei'sity  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, one  ;  Harvard,  one  ;  Foreign,  six. 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  in  November,  1781,  the 
society  resumed  its  meetings,  which  were  sustained 
with  regularity  until  1795.  Ninety-one  members 
had  been  enrolled  since  its  organization.  From  this 
latter  date  there  was  a  suspension  of  its  meetings 
until  1807,  owing  to  the  organization  of  another 
society  in  Eastern  New  Jersey,  through  the  influence 
of  Dr.  Paul  Micheau,  of  Elizabethtown.  In  1807 
the  society  resumed  its  functions  under  its  charter  of 
1790,  and  in  December,  1807,  an  act  to  ratify  its  jjro- 
ceedings  was  passed  by  the  Legislature. 

The  feature  of  district  medical  societies,  organized 
in  the  respective  counties  and  au.xiliary  to  the  State 
society,  was  adopted  upon  its  reorganization  in  1807, 


and  has  tended  greatly  to  the  strength  and  perma- 
nence of  the  parent  institution. 

The  physicians  who  were  instrumental  in  forming 
the  District  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Union 
are  named  in  the  following: 

COMMISSION. 

"  State  of  New  Jerset,  m. 

"  By  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  to  S.  Abernethy,  "Wm.  M. 
Whitehead,  D.  W.  C.  Hough,  L.  W.  Oakley,  Louis  Braun,  Elihu  B.  Sil- 
vers, Tbos.  L.  Hough,  J.  S.  Martin,  Wm.  Gale,  J.  A.  Petrie,  Thomas 
Terrill,  Jr.,  Eugene  Wiley,  P.  U.  Selover,  J.  0.  Pinneo,  Alonzo  Pettit, 
Physicians  and  Surgeons,  greeting  : 

"  Your  application  requesting  that  a  District  Medical  Society  might 
be  instituted,  consisting  of  Drs.  8.  Abernethy,  Wm.  M.  Whitehead,  and 
others,  above  mentioned,  in  the  County  of  Union,  was  duly  considered 
at  a  meeting  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  held  at  Jereey  City, 
the  26th  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  1809,  and  it  was  thereupon  voted 
that  your  request  be  granted,  provided  that  this  grant  is  not  to  he  ex- 
tended beyond  the  period  of  one  year. 

"In  testimony  whereof  the  President,  pursuant  to  the  aforesaid  vote 
of  the  Society,  subscribed  bis  name  and  affixed  the  seal  of  the  Ojrpora- 
tion  at  Orange,  this  27th  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  1869. 

[L.  S.]  "  Wm.  FlEBSON,  President. 

"  Attested : 

"  Wm.  Pierso>j,  Jr.,  Rec.  Sec" 

The  objects  of  the  society  are  briefly  stated  in  the 
constitution,  as  follows : 

1st.  To  advance  the  science  and  art  of  medicine 
and  surgery. 

2d.  To  promote  harmony  among  medical  men,  and 
maintain  high  the  standard  of  professional  character. 

The  regular  meetings  of  the  society  are  held  quar- 
terly on  the  second  Wednesday  in  April,  July,  Oc- 
tober, and  January. 

The  following-named  persons  have  been  the  ofiicers 
of  the  society  since  its  organization  : 


PRESIDENTS. 


1869-71.  Samuel  Abernetliy. 
1871-73.  Job  S.  Crane. 
1873-74.  F.  A.  Kinch. 
1874-75.  L.  W.  Oakley. 
1875-76.  James  S.  Green. 
1876-77.  Charles  H.  Stillmau. 


1877-78.  Robert  Westcott. 
1878-79.  H.  D.  Burlingham. 
1879-80.  E.  B.  Silvers. 
1880-81.  Alonzo  Pettit. 
1881-82.  John  B.  Probasco. 


VICE  PRESIDENTS. 


1869-71.  J.  S  Martin. 
1871-73.  D.  W.  C.  Hough. 
1873-74.  L.  W.  Oakley. 
1874-75.  E.  B.  Silvers. 
1875-76.  Charles  H.  Stillm 
1k7I>-7".  Koheit  Wescott. 


1877-78.  H.  D.  Burlingham. 
1878-79.  B.  B.  Silvers. 
1879-80.  Alonzo  Pettit. 
1880-81.  John  B.  Probasco. 
1881-82.  Joseph  H.  Grier. 


SECRETARIES. 


1869-72.  Thomas  Terrill,  Jr. 
1872-74.  H.  P.  Geib. 
1874-79.  T.  N.  McLean. 


187'J-S1.  Charles  T.  Stillman. 
1881-82.  William  A.  M.  Mack. 


REPORTERS. 


1809-72.  William  M.  Wliitehei 
1872-73.  C.  H.  Stillman. 
1873-75.  T.  N.  McLean. 


1875-79.  H.  H.  James. 
1879-80.  M.  B.  Long. 
1881-82.  Victor  Mravlag. 


TREASURERS. 


1869-70.  F.  A.  Kinch. 
1870-72.  Alonzo  Pettit. 
1872-73.  F.  A.  Kinch. 


1873-74.  Alonzo  Pettit. 
1874-82.  J.  A.  Coles. 


130 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


MEMBERS. 
Lewis  W.  Oakley,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1852. 

D.  W.  C.  Hough,  M.D.,  Jeff.  Med.  Coll.,  1847. 
James  S.  Green,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  Ig.'il. 

F.  A.  Kiricli,  M.D.,  State  Med.  Soc,  1860. 

H.  H,  James,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1863. 

Joseph  H.  Grier,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1861. 

P.  U.  Selover,  M.D.,  N.  Y.  Univ.,  1864. 

Louis  Braun,  M.D.,  Univ.  Friedburg,  Badeu,  1850. 

Robert  Wescott,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1853. 

E.  B.  Silvers,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1852. 

C.  A.  Stillmann,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1840.- 

T.  L.  Hough,  M.D.,  Jeff.  Med.  Coll.,  1856. 

J.  Otis  Pinueo,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1865. 

William  Gale,  M.D.,  Long  Island  Hos.  Coll.,  1869. 

J.  8.  Brosnan,  M.D.,  Boyal  Coll.  Phys.,  Dublin,  1867. 

Alonzo  Pettit,  M.D.,  Uuiv.  Buffalo,  1867. 

Thomas  Terrill,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,N.  Y.,  1867. 

Job  S.  Crane,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1849. 

T.  N.  McLean,  M.D.,  Yale,  1871. 

H.  D.  Burliugham,  M.D.,  Coll.  P  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1857. 

J.  A.  Coles,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1868. 

J.  R.  McConnell,  M.D.,  Starling  Med.  Coll.,  1868. 

J.  B.  Probasco,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1869. 

T.  H.  Tomlinsou,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1869. 

William  K.  Gray,  M.D.,  N.  Y.  Univ.,  1868. 

F.  B.  Gillette,  M.D.,  Univ.  Penn.,  1856. 

C.  A.  Kinch,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1873. 

David  Schleimer,  M.D.,  Georgetown,  D.  C,  1873. 

William  C.  Boone,  M.D.,  Univ.  Maryland,  1872. 

Lewis  Drake,  M  D.,  Univ.  Penn,,  1829. 

t\  F.  Stillman,  M.D.,Coll.  P.  and  8.,  N.  Y.,  1876. 

Charles  A    Hart,  M.D.,  N.  Y.  Med.  Coll.,  1865. 

J.  S.  Payne,  M.D.,  N.  Y.  Univ.,  1863. 

M.  B.  Long,  M.D.,  Coll.  P.  and  S.,  N.  Y.,  1875, 

J.  B.  Han  ison,  M,D.,  Coll,  P,  and  S„  N,  Y,,  1876. 

Victor  Mravlag,  M.D,,  Vienna  Univ,,  1872. 

Henry  G,  Fithian,  M,D,,  Univ,  Penn,,  1877, 

George  W,  Endicott,  M,D,,  Jeff,  Med,  Coll,,  1875. 

H,  Page  Hough,  M,D,,  Jeff,  Med,  Coll,,  1878, 

David  Waldo,  M,D,,  Coll,  P,  and  S,,  N,  Y„  1878. 

John  J.  Daly,  M.D,,  N.  Y,  Univ,,  1873, 

W,  A,  M,  Mack,  M,D,,  Bellevue  Hob,  Coll,  1877, 

J.  H,  Pickett,  M,D,,  Univ,  Buffalo,  N,  Y, 

W.  B,  Cladek,  Univ,  N,  Y,  City, 

Flank  S,  Grant,  Coll,  P,  and  S,,  N,  Y, 

Frank  W,  Wescott,  Jeff,  Med,  Coll,,  Philadelphia. 

John  L.  Taylor,  Bellevue  Hos.  Med.  Coll.,  N,  Y, 

John  C.  Sutphen,  M.D.,  was  born  at  the  old  Sut- 
phen  homestead  in  Somerset  County,  N.  J.,  Aug.  12, 
1834.  His  paternal  ancestors  came  from  Sutphen, 
Holland,  and  from  this  ancient  city  the  family  name 
is  derived.  Both  of  his  grandmothers  were  of  Eng- 
lish (Puritan)  descent.  His  father  was  Gilbert  Sut- 
phen, and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  Jane  M. 
Crater.  His  early  boyhood  was  spent  on  the  farm  at 
home,  and  at  the  school  of  his  native  place.  His 
preparatory  education  was  received  under  the  private 
instruction  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Blauvelt,  of  Lamington, 
N.  J.,  a  Presbyterian  clergyman.  He  entered  Prince- 
ton College  in  1852,  and  was  graduated  from  that  in- 
stitution in  1856.  His  brother.  Rev.  Morris  C.  Sut- 
phen, was  his  classmate  and  fellow-graduate ;  was 
engaged  in  ministerial  labor  from  his  graduation  in 
theology  until  his  decease,  and  died  June  18,  1875. 
After  his  college  course  Dr.  Sutphen  entered  the  theo- 
logical seminary  with  his  brother,  but  ill  health  com- 
pelled him  to  relinquish  the  study  of  theology  after 
three  months.     For  one  year  thereafter  he  conducted 


a  preparatory  school  at  Southampton,  L.  I.,  and  then 
began  the  study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  C.  C.  Suydam, 
of  Lamington  ;  in  due  time  attended  lectures  in  the 
medical  department  of  the  University  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  March,  1859. 

During  the  following  eight  years  he  was  actively 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Liberty 
Corners,  in  Somerset  County,  and  soon  after  settling 
there,  on  Jan.  11,  1860,  he  married  Miss  Fannie  A., 
daughter  of  David  King,  Esq.,  and  Fannie  Layton, 
of  that  place,  but  formerly  of  New  York.  The  sur- 
viving children  by  this  union  are  Jennie  Frances, 
David  King,  Madge  Louise,  Charlotte  Victoria,  Gil- 
bert Tennant,  John  Calvin,  Morris,  Clarence,  Julia 
Scott,  and  Carman  Parse. 

Dr.  Sutphen  removed  to  Plainfield  in  1867,  and 
soon  after  his  arrival  was  chosen  city  physician  under 
the  new  charter  then  just  adopted,  and  in  the  follow- 
ing year  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Common  Coun- 
cil, and  was  appointed  chairman  of  several  important 
committees.  In  the  mean  time  Dr.  Sutphen's  prac- 
tice steadily  increased,  and  reliance  in  his  professional 
skill  and  regard  for  his  integrity  and  sterling  quali- 
ties as  a  public-spirited  citizen  were  greatly  augmented 
by  his  fearless  and  successful  labors  during  the  mem- 
orable smallpox  pestilence.  His  great  kindness  of 
heart  and  sympathy  for  the  suffering  as  often  led  him 
to  the  bedside  of  those  from  whom  he  expected  no 
remuneration  and  never  received  any  as  to  adminis- 
ter to  those  in  affluence.  His  heroic  exertions  on  this 
occasion  were  in  a  measure  recognized  by  the  citizens 
of  Plainfield  by  his  nomination  and  election  in  1874, 
and  re-election  in  1875,  mayor  of  Plainfield,  which 
position  he  filled  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  fel- 
low-citizens, and  to  the  permanent  benefit  of  the 
city. 

Dr.  Sutphen  was  well  read  in  his  profession,  and 
took  an  active  interest  in  all  that  pertained  to  the 
prosperity  of  Plainfield.  He  was  a  student  of  the 
cause  and  cure  of  complicated  cases  of  disease,  a  man 
of  quick  perception  and  ready  diagnosis.  In  early 
life  he  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lam- 
ington ;  was  a  member  of  the  church  of  Liberty  Cor- 
ners, and  upon  his  settlement  in  Plainfield  became 
at  once  an  active  and  influential  member  of  the  Cres- 
cent Avenue  Presbyterian  Church.  Of  the  latter 
church  he  was  trustee  for  several  years,  and  was  one 
of  the  building  committee,  and  contributed  liberally 
of  his  means  in  erecting  the  present  fine  church  edi- 
fice. Dr.  Sutphen  died  April  13,  1878,  suddenly,  of 
apoplexy.  Upon  the  occasion  of  his  death  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  County  Medical  Society  passed  ap- 
propriate resolutions  expressing  their  high  esteem  for 
the  memory  of  their  departed  colaborer,  and  mourn- 
ing the  loss  of  an  honest  practitioner,  an  upright 
citizen,  and  a  Christian  gentleman. 

Dr.  Corra  Osborn,  .son  of  Jonathan  H.  and 
Martha  (Shotwell)  Osborn,  was  born  at  Scotch  Plains, 
Union  Co.,  N.  J.,  May  12, 1793,  and  died  at  Westfield, 


^^j^^^^^^^^ 


^5^5^^^ 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


131 


June  7,  1868.  His  early  education  was  obtained  in 
the  common  school  of  his  native  place  and  under  the 
private  instruction  of  Dr.  Ludlow,  with  whom  he 
subsequently  studied  medicine.  He  was  graduated  at 
a  medical  college  in  New  York  at  the  age  of  nineteen, 
and  began  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  Acquack- 
anonck,  Passaic  Co.,  N.  J.,  but  soon  afterwards  formed 
a  copartnership  with  Dr.  Philemon  Elmer,  of  West- 
field,  which  continued  until  the  decease  of  Dr.  Elmer, 
when  he  succeeded  to  the  entire  practice,  which  he 
continued  until  about  six  years  before  bis  death, 
having  been  in  the  successful  practice  of  his  profes- 
sion for  a  period  of  forty  years.  Dr.  Osborn,  as  a 
physician  of  the  past  generation,  ranked  among  the 
first  of  his  day,  and  was  known  aaaskillful,  painstak- 
ing, and  devoted  practitioner.  His  ride  extended  over 
a  large  territory  in  the  Vicinity  of  Westfield,  and  he 
was  widely  known  as  a  safe  counselor  and  of  quick 
perception  in  the  diagnosis  of  complicated  cases  of 
disease.  Dr.  Osborn  was  a  stanch  member  of  the  old 
Whig  party,  but  never  sought  office,  or  held  any. 
Upon  the  organization  of  the  Republican  parly  he 
became  a  bold  advocate  of  its  principles,  and  remained 
a  strong  supporter  of  its  platform  until  his  death. 

From  the  age  of  twenty-seven  years  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  Scptch  Plains,  and 
served  the  church  for  many  years  as  one  of  its  deacons. 
He  gave  liberally  of  his  means  in  the  support  of  every 
worthy  local  enterprise,  and  especially  was  he  inter- 
ested in  the  propagation  of  religious  doctrine  and 
the  establishment  of  morality,  law,  and  order  in  so- 
ciety. His  wife,  Mary  Hand,  whom  he  married  June 
30,  1812,  bore  him  the  following  children :  Mahlon, 
deceased ;  Mary,  wife  of  Samuel  Hayes ;  Letitia, 
widow  of  David  Miller;  Ann,  deceased,  was  the  wife 
of  Nathan  Williams.  The  mother  of  these  children 
died  Oct.  26,  1826. 

The  contributor  of  Dr.  Osborn's  portrait  and  sketch, 
Samuel  Hayes,  was  born  June  3,  1816,  and  is  a  son 
of  Dr.  Samuel  Hayes,  who  lived  and  died  in  Newark, 
N.  J.,  where  he  practiced  medicine  for  over  forty 
years. 

Samuel  Hayes  has  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
most  of  his  life  near  Scotch  Plains,  and  is  a  supporter 
of  the  First  Baptist  Church  at  that  place.  His  wife, 
Mary,  is  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Corra  Osborn,  before 
alluded  to,  whom  he  married  on  May  17,  1848.  His 
children  are  Mary,  Hannah  D.,  and  Lydia  K. 
Hayes. 

John  C.  Elmer,  M.D.— The  records  of  the  Elmer 
family  in  its  different  branches  furnish  us  with  many 
names  of  those  who  have  held  high  positions  of  honor 
and  trust  in  the  church,  in  the  community,  and  in 
the  struggle  of  the  American  Revolution.  Although 
the  early  settlers  located  first  in  Connecticut,  and 
then  in  New  York,  some  of  their  number  came  to 
New  Jersey. 

Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer,  and  his  son,  Moses,  M.D., 
settled  in  New  Providence,  Union  Co.,  while  his  son, 


Philemon,  M.D.,  went  to  Westfield,  Union  Co.  Gen. 
Ebenezer  Elmer  resided  in  Cumberland  County. 

The  progenitor  of  the  family  in  this  country  was 
Edward  Elmer,  who  emigrated  Sept.  4,  1632,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  first  settlers  of  Hartford,  Conn. 

His  grandson.  Deacon  Jonathan,  settled  in  Sharon, 
Conn. 

Dr.  Nathaniel,  son  of  Deacon  Jonathan,  was  a 
physician  in  active  medical  practice  in  Florida,  N. 
Y.,  and  died  there  in  the  year  1779. 

Dr.  William,  son  of  Dr.  Nathaniel,  practiced  med- 
icine in  Goshen,  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  was  a 
member  of  the  "  Medical  Society  of  the  Counties  of 
Ulster  and  Orange,  in  the  State  of  New  York," 
which  society  was  instituted  June  25,  1793. 

Dr.  William  occupied  a  prominent  position  in  the 
State  in  which  he  resided,  and  was  appointed  "  Sur- 
geon of  the  regiment  of  militia  in  the  County  of  Or- 
ange, at  a  meeting  of  the  council  of  appointment,  at 
the  Exchange,  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  Tuesday, 
the  26th  day  of  September,  1786." 

He  was  also  "  appointed,  in  1796,  by  virtue  of  an 
act  of  Congress,  as  one  of  a  board  of  examining  phy- 
sicians and  surgeons  for  the  County  of  Orange,  in  the 
State  of  New  York." 

Dr.  William's  son,  Horace,  was  the  father  of  Dr. 
John  C.  Elmer,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  at  the  time 
of  whose  death  the  follow'ing  article,  with  slight  vari- 
ation, was  written  at  the  request  of  the  medical 
society  by  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland,  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Springfield,  of  which  church  Dr. 
Elmer  was  a  member,  and  was  published  in  the 
"  Report  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey  for 
1864" : 

"  Dr.  John  C.  Elmer,  son  of  Horace  Elmer,  was 
born  in  Goshen,  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  April  7,  1817. 
His  grandfather,  his  great-grandfather,  and  his  elder 
brother,  William  S.,  were  all  physicians  in  active 
practice  until  their  deaths.  William  S.,  elder  brother 
of  John  C,  practiced  medicine  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  and  was  a  victim  of  over-exertion  during  the 
cholera  season  of  1834. 

"John  C.  Elmer  spent  the  early  years  of  his  child- 
hood with  his  parents  in  his  native  town.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen  he  entered  the  store  of  a  druggist  and 
practicing  physician  in  the  city  of  New  York  as  clerk, 
and  remained  in  that  capacity  four  or  five  years. 

"  There  he  became  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the 
character  of  medicines,  and  with  the  modes  of  testing 
them,  and  learned  the  importance  of  selecting  and 
scrutinizing  very  carefully  the  remedies  which  he  ad- 
ministered. To  the  habit  of  examining  personally 
all  medicines  given  by  his  prescriptions  he  ascribed 
much  of  his  success.  His  academical  studies  were 
pursued  successively  in  the  academies  at  Bloorafield, 
N.  .J.,  and  at  Morristown,  N.  J. 

The  study  of  medicine,  commenced  about  the  year 
1835  or  1836,  was  pursued  for  a  season  under  the  su- 
pervision of  Dr.  John  Hubbard,  of  New  Y'^ork  City, 


132 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COI'NTIES,   NEW   JERSEY. 


and  later  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  John  B.  Johnes, 
of  Morristown,  N.  J. 

"  In  or  about  the  year  1838  he  entered  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New  York,  and  also 
took  two  summer  courses  of  lectures  in  the  medical 
college  at  Pittsfield,  Mass.,  then  under  the  care  of 
Dr.  Willard  Parker,  of  New  York  City.  He  received 
his  diploma  April  7,  1840,  and  in  May  of  the  same 
year,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three,  entered  upon  the 
practice  of  his  profession  as  partner  of  Dr.  Absalom 
Woodruff,  in  Mendhara,  N.  J." 

In  September,  1843,  lie  married  Jane  R.,  only  child 
of  William  Stites,  of  Springfield,  N.  J.  Dr.  Elmer 
remained  in  Mendham  until  April,  1852,  possessing 
the  confidence  and  esteem  of  a  very  large  circle  of 
friends  and  patrons,  who  manifested  deep  feelings  of 
regret  and  reluctance  at  the  loss  of  their  physician 
when  he  left  them. 

His  cheerful  home  in  Mendham  was  situated  in  the 
centre  of  a  large  practice,  which  involved  many  long 
and  tedious  winter  rides  over  the  bleak  hills  of  that 
part  of  Morris  County. 

Just  as  he  was  deciding  to  accept  the  oft-repeated 
invitation  from  numerous  trends  and  relatives  in 
Springfield,  N.  J.,  he  received  flattering  inducements 
to  settle  in  Somerville.  Several  leading  citizens 
pledged  to  him  the  support  of  twenty-four  influential 
families  as  an  introduction  in  the  town.  Dr.  Elmer, 
while  gratefully  appreciating  this  generous  offer  from 
the  citizens  of  Somerville,  decided  in  favor  of  Spring- 
field for  several  family  reasons,  whence  he  removed  im- 
mediately, pursuing  his  profession  with  diligence  and 
success  until  arrested  by  the  typhoid  fever,  superin- 
duced by  a  season  of  unusual  professional  fatigue  and 
exposure,  of  which  he  died  Oct.  17,  1863. 

While  at  Mendham,  Dr.  Elmer  was  for  a  number 
of  years  one  of  the  board  of  censors  for  the  district  of 
Morris  County.  Intellectually,  he  was  characterized 
by  strength  and  discrimination  rather  than  by  bril- 
liancy. Spurning  the  merely  superficial,  he  was 
patient  in  research,  and  unwilling  to  rest  until  sure  of 
a  foundation  that  could  not  be  shaken,  hence  the 
usual  correctness  of  his  diagnosis,  and  the  confidence 
of  his  patients. 

Possessed  of  a  happy  .social  talent  and  unaffected 
manners,  he  found  easy  access  to  the  hearts  of  his 
patrons,  and  endeared  himself  to  them  by  a  kindness 
which  reached  beyond  his  professional  services,  sym- 
pathizing with  them  in  their  trials,  and,  when  occa- 
sion required,  extending  a  helping  hand  for  their 
relief. 

In  Springfield  he  occupied  a  prominent  and  decided 
stand  as  a  friend  of  popular  education.  Mainly 
through  his  influence  a  tasteful,  commodious,  and 
well  furnished  academy  was  built,  and  for  a  series  of 
years  a  school  was  maintained  quite  in  advance  of  the 
ordinary  public  schools  of  the  day. 

Dr.  Elmer  was  a  Christian,  occupying  both  in 
Mendham  and  in  Springfiekl  the  place  of  a  worthy 


communicant  in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  having 
been  a  leader  of  its  choir  and  a  helper  in  its  enter- 
prises. He  was  animated  by  the  spirit  of  true  patriot- 
ism. During  the  progress  of  the  civil  war,  occasioned 
by  the  great  Southern  Rebellion,  his  feelings  were 
deeply  enlisted,  and  all  his  sympathies  were  with  the 
government  in  its  measures  for  suppressing  the  insur- 
gents, and  maintaining  the  nation  in  its  integrity. 

The  wide-spread  grief  occasioned  by  his  death  bore 
testimony  that  his  confiding  family,  who  rested  upon 
him  as  the  pillar  of  all  their  earthly  hopes,  were  not 
the  only  mourners.  All  classes  united  in  the  senti- 
ment that  one  had  fallen  whose  place  as  a  physician, 
as  a  friend,  and  as  a  citizen  could  not  easily  be  filled 
again. 

Dr.  Elmer's  funeral  services  were  attended  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Springfield.  Rev.  David 
Magie,  D.D.,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  who  conducted  the 
rites,  spoke  on  the  "  character  and  offices  of  the  be- 
loved physician,"  and  as  he  witnessed  the  vast  throng 
of  weeping  friends  who  pressed  eagerly  forward  to 
take  a  last  fond  look  at  the  face  so  long  familiar  to  them 
remarked,  "  This  immense  assemblage  seems  to  me  like 
one  great  mourning  family  circle." 

Dr.  Elmer  left  a  widow  and  two  children, — a  son, 
William  S.,  and  a  daughter,  Louise  B.  His  son  died 
very  suddenly  in  three  weeks  after  his  father,  aged 
seventeen  years. 

The  following  article  is  an  extract  copied  from  the 
daily  papers,  published  at  the  time  of  his  death  by 
the  physicians  at  a  special  meeting  of  tlie  District 
Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Essex,  of  which 
John  C.  Elmer,  M.D.,  was  a  member: 

"  Dr.  John  C.  Elmer,  of  Springfield,  N.  J.,  died  on 
Saturday,  17th  inst.,  of  typhoid  fever,  aged  forty-six 
years.  Deceased  has  been  a  resident  of  Springfield 
for  many  years,  where  he  had  the  esteem  of  all  who 
knew  him. 

"  In  the  death  of  this  physician  our  county  has  lost 
one  of  its  ablest  practitioners.  He  was  much  beloved 
and  respected  at  Mendham,  Morris  Co.,  whence  he 
removed  about  eleven  years  ago.  His  death  leaves  a 
vacuum  not  easily  filled.  He  died  of  typhoid  fever, 
the  result,  probably,  of  his  zealous  effort  to  relieve 
others. 

"  The  Essex  County  Medical  Society,  of  which  he 
was  a  member,  held  a  meeting  last  evening  in  relation 
to  the  subject  of  his  death. 

"  The  president.  Dr.  W.  M.  Brown,  occupied  the 
chair;  Drs.  John  F.  Ward,  L.  A.  Smith,  and  J.  Henry 
Clark  were  appointed  to  draft  resolutions,  and  rejiorted 
the  following,  which  were  adopted  : 


regret  of  the  dvc 


of 


•'Sesohed,  That  we  have  Icariieii  with 
our  brotlier,  John  C.  Elmer. 

"  Rewlved,  That  we  eberish  a  fond  recollection  of  the  aiiiiahle  manners 
and  kindly  disposition  of  our  late  hrother.and  tliattliis  dispensatiou  re- 
minds us  of  our  own  mortality. 

"  llesoheil.  That  we  desire  to  convey  to  his  atltictid  family  our  sense  of 
bereavement,  and  our  heartfelt  sympathy  for  tlicm  in  this  hour  of  their 
great  calamity. 


c.^t^^^:^Y^^ 


His  paternal  grandfather,  Benjamin  Hough,  who  was  of 
English  descent,  was  a  farmer  in  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  nnd  there 
reared  a  large  family  of  children,  of  whom  one  son,  Gen.  Joseph 
Hough,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born  in  1798  and  died  at  the 
age  of  seventy-seven  years.  He  attained  the  rank  of  general 
in  the  old  State  militia;  was  a  merchant  at  Point  Pleasant, 
Bucks  Co.;  justice  of  the  peace  there  for  over  forty  years,  and 
he  was  for  several  years  superintendent  of  the  Delaware  Division 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal.  He  was  a  man  popular  among 
his  fellow-citizens,  and  influential  in  political  matters  of  his 
native  county.  The  latter  part  of  his  life  was  spent  at  Phila- 
delphia, and  his  death  occurred  at  the  residence  of  his  son  at 
Frenchtown,  N.  J.  Gen.  Hough's  mother  was  a  Simpson,  and 
sister  of  the  mother  of  Gen.  Ulysses  Simpson  Grant.  His  wife, 
Jane,  daughter  of  Joseph  Crowell,  of  Point  Pleasant,  who  died 
in  1866.  aged  sixty-six  years,  bore  him  the  following  children  ; 
Dr.  DeWitt  C.  Hough,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Bryan,  agent 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at  Frenchtown,  N.  J.;  Hannah, 
wife  of  Samuel  Bangor,  of  Philadelphia;  Horace  Binney,  who 
served  for  three  years  in  the  late  civil  war,  first  in  a  Penn- 
sylvania regiment,  was  captured  by  the  Rebels,  and  afterwards 
belonged  to  the  Third  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  is  now  in  the  United 
States  Mint  at  Philadelphia;  Morrison,  died  at  St.  Louis,  at  the 
age  of  seventeen  ;  John  Simpson,  served  in  the  late  civil  war, 
in  the  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Regiment  Cavalry,  afterwards 
served  as  captain  in  the  Third  New  Jersey  Cavalry,  and  was 
killed  at  the  battle  of  Five  Forks. 

Dr.  DeWitt  C.  Hough  was  born  at  Point  Pleasant,  Dec.  31, 
1826.  His  early  education  was  obtained  at  the  schools  of  his 
native  place  and  at  the  Newtown  Academy.  After  one  year  as 
clerk  in  a  general  store  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  with 
Dr.  Arnold,  of  Carversville,  Bucks  Co.,  Pa.,  with  whom  he 
remained  one  year;  was  a  student  for  two  years  with  the  emi- 
nent physician,  Dr.  Charles  Fronefield,  of  HarleysviUe,  Pa., 
and  attended  three  courses  of  lectures  at  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, Philadelphia,  from  which  he  was  graduated  on  March  25, 
1847.  Immediately  after  his  graduation  he  began  the  practice 
of  his  profession:  was  at  Tylersport,  Pa.,  one  year;  at  Red 
Hill,  Bucks  Co.,  near  liis  native  place,  for  three  years;  and 
at  Frenchtown,  N.  J.,  for  six  years.     In  February,  1857,  Dr. 


Hough  settled  at  Rahway,  N.  J.,  and  took  the  practice  of  Dr. 
Janeway.  At  this  time  the  older  practitioners  of  medicine  in 
Rahway  were  Drs.  Abernethy,  Drake,  Cook,  and  Silvers.  Since 
his  residence  in  Rahway,  by  his  devotion  to  his  patients,  by  hia 
skill  as  a  physician  and  surgeon,  by  his  attendance  upon  the 
poor  needing  medical  assistance,  as  well  as  upon  those  able  to 
pay  for  professional  services,  Dr.  Hough  has  become  socially 
and  professionally  identified  with  the  people  of  Rahway  and  the 
surrounding  country,  and  commands  a  large  practice.  He  has 
been  closely  identified  with  the  interests  of  Rahway  during  his 
residence  there;  was  mayor  of  the  city  in  1-667-6S;  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  first  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  and  president  of 
it  for  three  years,  and  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  and 
served  in  the  lower  branch  of  the  State  Legislature  in  1868-69. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war.  Dr.  Hough  was 
commissioned,  Sept.  6.  1861,  surgeon  of  the  Seventh  New  Jersey 
Volunteers,  which  was  a  part  of  the  Third  Corjjs,  under  Gen. 
Hooker,  but  afterwards  consolidated  with  the  Second  Corps,  and 
with  the  exception  of  six  weeks  that  he  was  detailed  for  hospital 
duty  after  the  battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  three  weeks  after  the 
battle  of  Fredericksburg,  he  followed  the  fortunes  and  mis- 
fortunes of  the  regiment  until  he  was  mustered  out  of  service 
in  October,  1864,  having  been  a  short  time  before  leaving  the 
army  promoted  to  the  position  of  brigadesurgeon. 

He  was  successively  in  the  battles  of — siege  of  Yorktown, 
battle  of  Williamsburg,  Seven  Days'  battle  before  Richmond, 
Glendale,  first  and  second  battles  at  Malvern  Hill,  Fredericks- 
burg, Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  battles  of  Richmond,  Seven 
Pines,  and  Bristow  Station. 

Dr.  Hough  was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Union 
County  Medical  Society,  founded  in  1869,  and  has  frequently 
been  a  delegate  to  the  State  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey. 

His  wife,  whom  he  married  Jan.  28,  1*850,  is  Almira  W., 
daughter  of  Philip  Rankle,  of  Milford.  N.  J.,  and  his  children 
by  this  union  are  one  daughter,  Jennie  C,  and  one  son,  Dr. 
H.  Page  Hough,  who  was  graduated  in  the  commercial,  classi- 
cal, and  high  school  at  Lawrence,  in  1873;  studied  medicine 
with  his  father,  and  attended  lectures  at  Jefferson  Medical  Col- 
lege, from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the  class  of  March  12, 
1878,  and  is  now  practicing  his  profession  in  Rahway. 


John  Joseph  Daly,  M.D.,  son  of  John  and  Catherine 
Daly,  was  born  in  Rahway,  N.  J.,  where  his  parents 
resided,  on  May  26,  1852.  His  early  education  from 
books  was  received  at  the  public  schools  of  his  native 
place,  and  at  the  exceedingly  youtliful  age  of  thirteen, 
in  18G5,  he  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  the  office 
of  the  late  Dr.  Samuel  Abernethy,  of  Rahway,  well 
known  throughout  the  State  as  one  of  the  best  read 
physicians  and  successful  practitioners  of  surgery  of  his 
day.  Here  he  remained  for  nine  years,  and  although 
his  progress  was  such  that  long  before  reaching  his 
majority  his  medical  education  was  sufficient  to  be 
graduated,  yet  by  the  laws  of  the  university  he  could 
not  be,  and  therefore,  after  attending  lectures  in  the 
medical  department  from  1870,  he  was  graduated  at 
the  University  of  New  York  in  the  class  of  1873. 
For  many  years  prior  to  this  he  had  taken  charge  of 
a  large  part  of  Dr.  Abernethy 's  office  and  outside 
practice,  and  had  become  wholly  conversant  with  the 
practice  and    theory   of  both  .>uri;ery   and    niediciiie. 


After  his  graduation  Dr.  Daly  returned,  and  \intil 
l)r.  Abernethy 's  death,  Feb.  13,  1874,  remained 
with  him,  when  he  had  become  so  fully  associated 
with  him  in  his  professional  work  that  he  found  a 
large  field  for  the  immediate  encouragement  of  his 
talents,  which  had  already  attracted  attention  and 
jilaced  him  favorably  before  the  people.  Dr.  Daly  has 
continued  the  practice  of  his  profession  hero  since,  a 
period  of  eight  years,  and  his  skill  as  an  operating 
surgeon,  his  intrepid  coolness  where  nerve  is  required 
to  meet  a  difficult  case,  and  the  exceeding  difficult 
operations  performed  by  him  in  surgery  have  placed 
his  name  among  the  most  skillful  surgeons  of  the 
present  and  past.  His  quick  perception  in  the  diag- 
nosis of  a  ca.se,  and  ready  understanding  of  the  proper 
remedies  necessary  for  relief,  have  also  given  him 
rank  with  physicians  of  large  experience  and  exten- 
sive practice.  For  many  years  he  has  been  employed 
by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  as  surgeon 
and  medical  adviser  at  Kahway. 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION. 


133 


"  Resolved^  That  we  will  attend  his  funeral  and  wear  the  usual  badge 
of  mourning  fur  thirty  da,v8. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Recretary  be  requested  to  communicate  to  the 
family  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions^and  to  procure  their  publica- 
tion in  the  daily  journals." 

Eugene  Jobs,  M.D. — The  progenitor  of  the  Jobs 
family  in  America  was  Adam  Jobs,  who  probably 
emigrated  from  Holland  and  settled  at  Green  Brook, 
north  of  Plainfleld,  N.  J.  He  married  Katy  Coven- 
hoveii  and  had  one  son,  Nicholas  Conover  Jobs,  who 
lived  and  died  at  Liberty  Corners,  N.  J.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Legislature,  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
postmaster  of  the  village  for  nearly  fifty  years.  He 
married  Margaret  Castner,  who  was  of  German  pa- 
rentage, and  had  children, — Eugene  and  Mary  Eliza- 
beth, who  became  the  wife  of  Rev.  James  T.  English,  j 
Eugene,  who  is  thesubject  of  this  biographical  sketch, 
was  born  Feb.  22,  1821,  at  the  home  of  his  parents, 
where  his  early  life  was  spent,  his  youth  having  been 
devoted  to  attendance  at  the  public  school  of  the 
neighborhood.  Having  determined  upon  a  profes- 
sional career  he  chose  that  of  medicine,  and  entered 
the  office  of  Dr.  James  Di-laiin.  After  a  period  of 
study  under  his  direction  he  repaired  to  Philadel- 
phia and  became  a  student  at  the  Medical  University 
of  Pennsylvania,  from  which  he  graduated  April  4, 
1844.  He  was  licensed  Sept.  11,  1844,  to  practice  by  i 
the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  and  remained  for 
a  short  time  at  his  house  in  Liberty  Corners.  De- 
siring, however,  a  wider  field  of  labor,  he  removed  to 
Springfield,  and  continued  an  active  practitioner 
until  his  decease. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Luin,  daughter  of 
Thoiuas  C.  Allen,  of  Union  township,  and  had  chil- 
dren,— Margaret  A.,  who  became  Mrs.  James  M.  C. 
Morrison  ;  Thomas  Allen,  now  a  resident  of  Colorado 
and  a  lawyer  ;  Nicholas  C,  and  Mary  K.  Dr.  Jobs 
was  a  member  of  the  Essex  County  Medical  Society, 
and  also  of  the  Union  County  Medical  Society.  His 
practice  was  extended  and  remarkably  successful,  the 
result  not  less  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  his  profes- 
sion than  of  fidelity  and  devotion  to  his  patients.  His 
political  views  were  in  sympathy  with  the  platform  of 
the  Deinocratic  party,  though  the  doctor  rarely  par- 
ticipated in  the  annual  contests  for  office.  He  was  a 
supporter  of  the  worship  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Springfield,  which  he  attended. 

The  death  of  Dr.  Jobs  occurred  at  his  residence  in 
the  village  of  Springfield.  His  son,  Nicholas  C.  Jobs, 
was  born  Jan.  12,  1851,  and  having  adopted  his 
father's  profession,  spent  three  years  at  Cornell  Uni- 
versity, after  which  he  entered  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons,  New  York  City,  from  which  he 
graduated  March  4,  1874.  After  a  year  and  a  half 
spent  at  tlie  Charity  Hospital,  New  York,  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  practice  of  his  father.  He  was  married 
Nov.  12,  1878,  to  Miss  Marietta,  daughter  of  Silas 
Miller.     They  have  i>iu-  xm,  Walter  English  Jobs. 

Lewls  DkaivE,  M.D.,  physician  of  Rahway,  N.  J., 


was  born  on  the  Drake  homestead  in  Piscataway, 
Middlesex  Co.,  Aug.  25,  1802. 

A  family  tradition  connects  him  with  the  descend- 
ants of  the  celebrated  English  navigator  of  Queea 
Elizabeth's  reign,  but  no  authentic  records  have  yet 
been  found  to  prove  the  tradition  true  further  than 
that  the  Drakes  were  among  the  early  English  set- 
tlers of  this  part  of  New  Jersey.  His  grandfather, 
Ephraim  Drake,  born  in  Pi-scataway,  Oct.  31,  1747, 
married,  March  14,  1773,  Rachel  Fitz  Randolph,  who 
was  born  Aug.  21,  1751,  and  died  Oct.  1,  1816.  He 
died  Aug.  21, 1801.  They  had  three  children,— Sarah, 
Reuben,  and  Catherine. 

Ephraim  Drake  lived  during  the  perilous  times  of 
the  war  for  the  independence  of  the  colonies,  and  on 
one  occasion  the  British  entered  his  house  and  de- 
spoiled him  of  his  entire  stock  of  provisions. 

Reuben,  only  son  of  Ephraim,  was  born  in  Piscata- 
way, March  7,  1775,  and  there,  like  his  father  before 
him,  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  kept  aloof  from 
public  offices,  but  took  a  laudable  pride  in  the  culti- 
vation of  his  farm,  which  contained  some  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Bap- 
tist Church  at  Piscataway,  and  died  March  15,  1843. 
His  wife,  Miriam,  was  a  daughter  of  Ephraim  Pyatt, 
of  the  same  place,  who  was  born  March  24,  1779, 
was  married  June  8,  1799,  and  died  Aug.  5,  1869. 

The  children  of  Reuben  and  Miriam  Drake  were : 
Ephraim.  a  farmer  most  of  his  active  business  life  in 
his  native  township,  born  April,  1800,  died  July  7, 
1867  ;  Lewis,  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  and  Emily,  who 
died  young.  Lewis  Drake  remained  at  home  attend- 
ing the  district  school  and  assisting  his  father  on  the 
farm  until  twenty  years  of  age,  when  he  resolved  to 
lead  a  professional  instead  of  a  business  life.  His 
preparatory  education  was  received  at  Dr.  Brown- 
ley's  grammar  school  at  Basking  Ridge,  at  Amherst, 
Mass.,  and  under  the  i>rivate  instructions  of  Rev. 
Dr.  Cook,  of  Piscataway.  In  1826  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  with  Dr.  Taylor,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  completed  his  studies  with  Dr.  Samuel 
Jackson,  professor  at  that  time  of  the  practice  of 
medicine  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  at  Phila- 
delphia, from  which  institution,  after  taking  three 
courses  of  lectures  therein,  he  was  graduated  in  the 
spring  of  1829.  Dr.  Drake,  the  same  spring,  began 
the  practice  of  medicine  at  Woodbridge,  Middlesex 
Co.,  and  was  as.sociated  with  the  late  eminent  phy- 
sician. Dr.  Matthias  Freeman,  who  for  many  years  had 
enjoyed  an  extensive  practice  in  that  part  of  New 
Jersey,  but  who  the  same  year  died.  Dr.  Drake  being 
inducted  at  once  into  a  large  and  lucrative  practice ; 
settled  the  same  spring  at  Rahway,  where  he  has  re- 
sided and  continued  the  practice  of  his  profession 
since,  a  period  of  fifty-two  years. 

At  that  time  there  were  no  druggists  in  the  village, 
and  Dr.  Drake,  like  other  early  physicians,  purchased 
his  medicines  in  bulk  in  New  York  City,  and  com- 
pounded them  himself.     This  practice  he  has  kept  up 


134 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


during  his  entire  professional  career,  thereby  admin- 
istering to  his  patients  only  medicines  prepared  by 
himself.  As  a  physician,  Dr.  Drake  has  always  been 
esteemed  for  his  skill  in  the  diagnosis  and  manage- 
ment of  complicated  cases  of  disease,  and  his  devo- 
tion and  kindness  to  those  under  his  treatment,  with 
his  thorough  knowledge  of  cause  of  disease  and  effect 
of  certain  remedies,  has  given  him  a  wide  reputation 
and  place  among  the  most  prominent  physicians  of 
his  day.  As  a  citizen,  although  never  solicitous  of 
public  place  or  the  emoluments  of  office,  he  has  ever 
been  interested  in  the  growth  of  the  place  where  he 
resides  and  in  the  welfare  of  its  citizens,  and  in  1855 
and  1856,  through  his  influence  largely,  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  was  passed  whereby  the  mill-dams  on  the 
Rahway  River  within  the  city  limits  were  removed,  it 
being  shown  that  they  were  the  cause  of  much  sick- 
ness to  the  population.  For  many  years  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Middlesex  County  Medical  Society,  and 
attended  its  meetings  at  New  Brunswick.  Dr.  Drake 
has  devoted  his  active  life  strictly  to  the  duties  of  his 
profession,  and  alike  to  the  rich  and  poor  adminis- 
tered relief  and  given  encouragement  in  cases  of  suf- 
fering, and  in  1882  he  is  the  oldest  resident  practicing 
physician  in  Union  County. 

His  first  wife,  whom  he  married  May  16,  1832,  was 
Charity  S.,  daughter  of  the  late  Dr.  Matthias  Free- 
man, before  alluded  to,  and  granddaughter  of  Dr. 
Melancthon  Freeman,  an  old  physician  of  Metuchen. 
She  died  April  28,  1842,  aged  thirty-two  years,  leav- 
ing one  surviving  child,  Cornelia  B.,  who  has  always 
resided  at  home.  For  his  second  wife  Dr.  Drake 
married  Mrs.  Julia  A.  Martin,  formerly  Julia  Bar- 
ney, of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  who  died  Sept.  2,  1874, 
aged  sixty-seven  years.  Dr.  Drake  built  his  present 
residence  on  Main  Street  in  1837,  and  has  occupied  it 
for  both  office  and  residence  since. 

Randolph  Titsworth,  M.D. — His  paternal  an- 
cestors were  of  Welsh  origin,  and  the  Titsworths  of 
New  Jersey  are  descendants  of  five  brothers  who  emi- 
grated from  Wales  and  were  early  settlers  in  the 
State. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Lewis,  was  a  farmer,  and 
resided  respectively  at  Spotswood  and  New  Market, 
in  Middlesex  County,  where  he  reared  a  family  of 
ten  children.  His  maternal  grandfather,  Isaac  F. 
Randolph,  a  wealthy  and  influential  citizen  of  New 
Brooklyn,  was  a  descendant  of  the  Fitz  Randolphs, 
early  settlers  in  Woodbridge. 

Abraham,  son  of  Lewis  Titsworth,  was  during  his 
early  manhood  a  merchant  tailor  at  Metuchen,  sub- 
sequently a  farmer,  and  died  at  New  Brooklyn  in 
May,  1868,  at  the  age  of  seventy-three  years.  He 
was  highly  esteemed  as  a  citizen  for  his  integrity  in 
all  his  business  relations;  was  a  member  of  the  Sev- 
enth-Day Baptist  Church,  and  for  several  terms  served 
as  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.  His  wife, 
Juliet  Fitz  Randolph,  survives  in  1882,  at  the  age  of 
eighty  years,  and  bore  him  eight  children, — Dr.  Ran- 


dolph, subject  of  this  sketch ;   Mary  Ann,  wife  of 

Daniel  Rogers,  of  Metuchen  ;  Caleb  S.,  a  lawyer  and 
ex-judge  of  the  city  of  Newark  ;  Julia  E.,  wife  of 
David  L.  Randoljjh,  of  New  Brooklyn  ;  John  How- 
ard, a  farmer  in  Pardee,  Kansas ;  Isaac  Lewis,  de- 
ceased ;  Amanda,  wife  of  William  B.  Maxson,  a  law- 
yer of  Plainfield  ;  and  Thomas  Stillman,  deceased. 


/"j^  (^^^t^^^i^K/7Al 


Dr.  Randolph  Titsworth  was  born  Feb.  26,  1821. 
His  early  education  was  received  in  the  schools  at 
home,  and  his  preparatory  course  at  the  High  School 
at  Shiloh,  N.  J.,  and  at  De  Ruyter,  N.  Y.  In  his  ef- 
forts to  obtain  an  education  he  was  obliged  to  depend 
upon  his  own  resources,  and  unassisted  pecuniarily  he 
worked  his  way,  struggling  against  obstacles  incident 
to  straitened  circumstances,  until  he  finished  his  pre- 
paratory course.  In  1847  he  began  the  study  of  medi- 
cine with  Drs.  E.  T.  Richardson  and  J.  G.  Loomis,  of 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  but  soon  after.  Dr.  Loomis  being  ap- 
pointed to  the  chair  of  obstetrics  in  the  Homteo- 
patbic  College  in  Philadelphia,  Dr.  Titsworth  accom- 
panied him,  and  continued  his  studies  with  him  in 
the  college  until  his  graduation  in  1853.  Prior  to  this 
he  practiced  for  about  a  year  in  the  college,  and  for 
some  time  had  charge  of  the  dispensary  department. 
At  this  time  the  practice  of  medicine  by  what  w-as 
termed  honuropathy  was  in  its  infancy,  and  only 
here  and  there  could  be  found  an  exponent  of  the 
new  theory.  In  what  is  now  Ilnion  County  there  was 
only  one,  Dr.  Green,  of  Elizabeth,  and  in  Middlesex 


PRESS   OF   UNION    COUNTY. 


135 


County  there  was  also  only  one  homoeopathic  practi- 
tioner, Dr.  Robinson.  Dr.  Titsworth  settled  in  Plain- 
field  in  the  spring  of  1853,  and  was  the  first  to  invite 
the  people  to  examine  the  new  departure  in  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  in  that  section  of  New  Jersey.  He 
found  only  two  families  ready  to  willingly  receive  it. 
With  that  earnestness  and  zeal  that  has  characterized 
his  professional  career,  and  with  fiill  confidence  that 
it  only  required  time  for  the  more  intelligent  and 
thinking  public  to  give  credence  to  this  new  theory 
of  the  practice  of  medicine,  Dr.  Titsworth,  by  his 
skillful  and  scientific  treatment  of  cases  coming  be- 
fore him,  gradually  won  his  way  to  a  place  in  the  pro- 
fession as  a  worthy  exponent  of  homoeopathy,  although 
he  was  opposed  at  every  step  by  doctors  of  the  regular 
practice.  This  new  school  of  medicine  has  rapidly 
developefh  it.s  theory  before  the  people,  and  made  a 
new  era  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine,  and 
whereas  only  two  families  in  Plainfield  and  the  sur- 
rounding country  were  its  advocates  in  1863,  when 
Dr.  Titsworth  first  settled  there,  it  is  asserted  upon 
good  authority  that  its  practice  in  1882  is  equal  to  the 
regular  practice,  if  not  in  the  majority  among  the 
more  wealthy,  influential,  and  intelligent  families. 

Dr.  Titsworth  is  the  founder  of  homoeopathic  prac- 
tice in  and  about  Plainfield,  and  during  his  nearly 
thirty  years'  practice  there  his  skill  as  a  physician,  his 
quick  perception  in  the  diagnosis  of  complicated  cases 
of  disease,  and  his  devotion  to  his  patients  have  won 
him  an  enviable  reputation,  and  placed  him  among 
the  first  in  his  profession  in  the  State.  His  practice 
has  been  continuous  since  he  first  settled  in  Plainfield, 
with  the  exception  of  one  year,  18(!1,  which  he  spent 
traveling  in  the  Western  States  for  his  health,  and 
some  three  years  that  he  practiced  in  New  York 
City. 

In  early  life  Dr.  Titsworth  was  identified  with  the 
membership  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church,  but 
since  his  residence  in  Plainfield  he  has  been  a  member 
of  Trinity  Reformed  Church  there,  and  has  served 
the  church  both  as  deacon  and  elder.  He  is  a  mem- 
ber of  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  and 
of  the  State  Homoeopathic  Medical  Society,  founded 
in  1853,  for  which  he  served  as  treasurer  during  the 
first  two  years  of  its  existence. 

He  married  in  1844  Miss  Lucinda  L.,  daughter  of 
Samuel  Caldwell,  of  Pompey,  N.  Y.,  a  native  of 
Massachusetts,  who  died  in  May,  1875,  leaving  one 
child,  Josephine,  wife  of  William  M.  Runyon,  of 
Plainfield.  His  present  wife,  whom  he  married  in 
July,  1879,  is  Isabella  L.  Bragg,  of  White  House,  N.  J. 


soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  Shepard  Kol- 
lock,  who  had  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  Philadel- 
phia and  had  been  a  lieutenant  in  the  army  till  the 
close  of  the  campaign  of  1778,  established  the  follow- 
ing year,  by  the  advice  of  Gen.  Knox,  a  weekly  news- 
paper at  Chatham,  N.  J.,  among  the  mountains,  then 
deemed  inaccessible  by  the  British,  whereby  he  might 
aid  the  patriot  cause  without  fear  of  being  disturbed 
by  the  enemy.  That  paper  was  called  the  New  Jersey 
Journal.  The  first  number  bears  date  Feb.  10,  1779. 
Mr.  KoUock  was  the  editor  and  proprietor.  The 
paper  did  great  service  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
continued  to  be  published  at  Chatham  till  the  end  of 
the  war.  Upon  the  evacuation  of  New  York  by  the 
British  he  removed  his  press  to  that  city,  and  on  Dec. 
3,  1783,  began  the  publication  of  the  Neto  York  Gazet- 
teer mid  Country  Journal,  opening  also  a  book-store 
at  No.  22  Hanover  Square.  This  paper  made  rapid 
progress.  The  first  month  it  was  issued  weekly ; 
with  the  beginning  of  1784  it  became  a  tri-weekly, 
issued  on  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and  Fridays  until 
the  27th  of  July,  then  semi-weekly,  issued  on  Tues- 
days and  Fridays,  until  August,  1786,  when,  in  part- 
nership with  George  Carroll  and  John  Patterson,  Mr. 
KoUock  issued  the  paper  under  the  name  of  the  New 
York  OazeUeer  or  Dailij  Evening  Post  until  Dec.  14, 
1786,  when  it  was  discontinued  for  want  of  support. 

During  part  of  this  tiraeMr.  Kollock  also  conducted 
a  weekly  paper  called  the  New  Jersey  Journal  and  Po- 
litical Intelligencer  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  This 
was  the  present  New  Jersey  Journal  of  Elizabeth  ;  it 
was  established  at  the  former  place  as  early  as  July, 
1784,  and  was  removed  to  its  permanent  location  in 
this  town  probably  at  the  beginning  of  the  following 
year.  This  appears  from  the  fact  that  the  New  York 
Gazetteer  of  Nov.  8, 1785,  asks  patronage  for  "  the  New 
Jersey  paper  printed  at  Elizabeth  Town."  The  pre- 
cise date  of  the  transfer  is  not  known. 

A  writer  in  the  Newark  Daily  Messenger,  under 
date  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  July  29,  1858,  writes  thus  of 
the  Journal: 

"  A  copy  of  this  pioneer  newspaper  is  now  before 
us,  published  '  Wednesday,  September  5,  1781,"  and 
marked  '  Vol.  III.,  Number  CXXXIII.'  The  copy 
is  a  rare  specimen  of  antiquity.  It  consists  of  a 
single  sheet  of  three  columns,  and  is  but  thirteen 
by  three  and  one-fourth  inches,  containing  interesting 
letters  from  W.  Balfour  to  Right  Honorable  Lord 
George  Germaine,  taken  from  a  packet  bound  from 
Charleston,  S.  C,  to  London  ;  brief  communications 
from  Boston,  Salem,  Annapolis,  Baltimore,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Poughkeepsie  concerning  the  erection 
of  strong  works  at  Gloucester  and  Yorktown  by  Lord 


CHAPTER    XX. 


PREi?S    OF    UNION    COUNTY. 


1  The  oldest  file  in  New  Jeraey  Historical  Society  from  Nov.  8, 1786,  to 
Sept.  1, 1818.    "Published  by  Shepard  KoUack  at  two  dollars  and  fifty 

The  New  Jersey  Journal. — It  is  a  somewhat  no-    ""^^ "  ^'""■■" 

,.         1  1      /•      ^  ^i      ^  .1         r  I       1  •    1     .  1  1.    1      1  Dr.  Van  Rensselaer,  of  Philadelphia,  had  a  file  of  the  yew  ./er«cu /o«r- 

ticeable  tact  that  the  t/ourna/,  which  IS  now  pub  ished         ,,       ,^    ,     ...       „  ia-„  v„,  ,„„  i..„„  ,..„  ,.„.ki    .„  «„j  i. 
'  '  nal  from  the  begmiiing  in  iSoy,  out  we  have  been  unable  to  -find  it, 

in  Elizabeth,  was  established  here  as  early  as  1785,     although  we  have  made  diligent  search. 


136  HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLKSKX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JKRSKY. 


Cornwallis  with  five  thousand  men, '  assisted  by  three  1 
thousand    negroes;'   accounts  of   the   troops    under 
Gens.   Sumter     and   Marion    in   obliging    'Rawdon 
to    move   down   the   country,'  etc.,  and  many  other  i 
items  in  relation  to  the  war,  which  in  the  '  times  that  j 
tried  men's  souls'  must  have  been  interesting.  i 

"The  editorial,  written  by  S.KoUock  at  'Chatham,' 
and  found  in  an  humble  position  at  the  bottom  of  the  i 
second  page  of  the  Journal,  we  transmit  entire,  hoping 
that  either  the  style  or  subject-matter  may  prove  of 
interest  to  your  readers : 

"  •  VImlham,  September  5th.  We  are  told  that  Colonel  Laurens,  lately 
arrived  at  Boston  from  France,  has  obtained  a  loan  of  hard  money  for 
the  use  of  these  States. 

" '  We  are  happy  to  announce  to  the  publick  the  entire  exchange  of  all 
our  prisoners  at  New  York  and  Long  Island,  most  of  whom  have  come 
out,  and  the  rest  may  be  momently  expected.  They  received  while  in 
caplivity  one  pound  of  flesh,  two  pounds  of  bread  (which  was  often 
very  bad),  and  a  pint  of  rice  per  man  for  three  days.  Seldom  does 
British  muuiflcence  extend  further. 

" '  On  Tuesday,  the  28th  ultimo,  a  fleet  of  thirteen  ships  of  the  line  and 
four  frigates,  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Hood,  arrived  at  Sandy 
Hook  from  the  West  Indies.  They  brought  over  the  Fortieth  and  Sixty- 
niuth  Regiments. 

"  '  By  the  above  fleet  we  learn  that  Admiral  Rodney  and  Gen.  Vaughan 
are  sailed  for  England  to  answer  for  their  nefarious  conduct  at  St.  Eus- 
tatius. 

" '  The  British  fleet  we  are  told  still  remain  at  the  Hook,  though  it  has 
been  reported  it  had  sailed. 

"'Last  Wednesday  night  ft  party  of  Ward's  plunderers  from  Bergen 
Neck  came  up  to  the  neighborhuodofHackensack,  where  they  collected 
a  number  of  cattle,  but  our  people  assembled  with  such  alacrity  that 
they  retook  the  cattle  and  killed  and  wounded  several  of  the  miscreants. 

"•Sunday  night  the  infamous  Thomas  Ward  with  a  party  of  black  and 
white  negroes  came  over  to  Newark  Neck,  where  they  concealed  them- 
selves until  next  morning  lor  the  purpose  of  kidnapping  people  going 
to  the  meadows,  but  being  discovered,  th.iugh  not  until  they  had  taken 
five  or  six  prisoners  and  a  number  of  cows,  our  people  collected  and  took 
tvfo  of  the  villains  prisoners.  The  enemy  embarked  with  precipitancy 
under  cover  of  their  gunboats.'" 

In  Italics  Mr.  KoUock  adds  the  following:     "The  | 
price  of  this  paper  per  quarter  is  half  a  dollar  hard 
money,  and  not  half  a  State  dollar  as  some  have  mis- 
takenly supposed." 

Mr.   Kollock   conducted   the  Journal  successfully  j 
until  Sept.  1,  1818.     On  Wednesday,  June  13,  1792,  j 
the  latter  part  of  its  long  name  was  dropped,  though  | 
political  intelligence  did  not  cease  to  be  a  feature  of 
the  paper.     Mr.  Kollock  was  a  zealous  patriot  and  a 
strenuous  advocate  of  Republican  principles,  as  the 
Democratic  doctrines  were  then  called,  adhering  to 
the  party  which  elected  Jefferson  to  the  Presidency. 
He  defended  the  administration  in  the  war  of  1812-15, 
and  supported  John  Quiucy  Adams  for  President. 

Sept.  1,  1818,  he  sold  out  to  Peter  Chatterton. 

Mr.  Kollock  held  the  position  of  postmaster  until 

1829,  and  for  thirty-five  years  was  a  judge  of  the  Court 

of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county  of  Essex,  continuing 

in  that  office  until  his  death,  which  occurred  July  28, 

1839,  at  the  age  of  eighty-eight  years. 

Dec.  5,  1797,  the  day  of  publication  of  the  Journal 

was  changed  from  Wednesday  to  Tuesday,  on  which 

latter  day  it  has  been  issued  ever  since. 

We  have  found  it  impossible  to  obtain  information 

respecting  the  continuous  mangement  of  the  Jour- 


nal down  to  the  present  time.     We  have,  however, 
gleaned  the  following  facts: 

Id  the  file  for  1848  we  find  the  names  of  "  William 
M.  Whitehead,  editor,  and  James  S.  Drake,  printer. 
Published  every  Tuesday  morning  opposite  the  lec- 
ture-room of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Broad 
Street,  Elizabethtown,  at  two  dollars  and  a  half  per 
annum,  payable  at  the  end  of  the  first  six  months,  or 
one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  in  advance." 

Mr.  Frederick  W.  Foote,  for  thirty  \-^ars  engaged 
in  the  profession  of  teaching  in  Elizabeth,  purchased 
of  Drake,  Davis  &  Drake  the  Xeir  Jersey  Journal, 
and  assumed,  with  James  S.  Drake,  the  work  and  re- 
sponsibility of  editor  and  proprietor  June  10,  1863. 
After  a  partnership  of  several  years,  Mr.  Foote 
bought  out  Mr.  Drake's  share  and  became  sole  owner 
and  proprietor. 

About  1868  a  venture  was  made  to  establish  a  daily 
newspaper  in  Elizabeth,  but  it  failed  after  a  brief 
struggle,  and  it  was  not  until  July,  1871,  that  the 
Elizabeth  Daily  Journal  was  firmly  established,  with 
Frederick  W.  Foote  and  Edward  H.  Clement  as  edi- 
tors. The  struggle  of  the  new  daily  for  a  foothold  in 
this  city  was  a  struggle  that  cannot  be  known  to  those 
outside  of  this  ofiice,  and  will  never  be  appreciated 
by  any  as  it  was  by  Mr.  Foote  himself,  who  was  often 
cheered  in  the  fact  that  he  had  lived  to  see  his  con- 
scientious work  so  succe.ssfully  and  firmly  established. 
The  gradual  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  paper, 
which,  more  surely  than  anything  else,  was  Mr. 
Foote's  characteristic  work,  are  too  well  known  in 
this  city  to  need  more  than  casual  mention. 

But  Mr.  Foote's  work  in  the  establishment  and  con- 
tinuance of  the  Journal,  great  as  it  was,  was  scarcely 
more  than  half  his  actual  labors.  He  was  associated 
with  every  progressive  organization  in  this  city,  and 
not  as  a  mere  member,  but  was  actively  engaged  in 
every  department  where  his  valuable  services  could 
be  of  avail,  and  it  seemed  as  if  there  were  no  depart- 
ments where  they  could  not. 

From  the  time  he  came  here  he  was  a  member  of 
St.  John's  Episcopal  Church,  and  when  the  late  Rev. 
1  Dr.  Clark  became  rector  he  was  actively  engaged  in 
j  working   for  the  church's  interest.     When  the  new 
I  church  was  built  Mr.  Foote  was  on  the  building  com- 
'  mittee,  and   superintended  much  of  the  work.     In 
1  1849  he  was  chosen  a  vestryman,  and  for  many  years 
I  past  he  was  junior  warden  of  this  church,  ex-Chan- 
1  cellor  Williamson  being  senior  warden.     For  seven- 
teenyears  he  was  superintcndentoftheSunday -school, 
and- for  many  years  was  treasurer  of  the  church.     It 
is  a  generation  ago  since  he  was  first  elected  a  dele- 
gate or  alternate  from  this  church  to  the  Diocesan 
Convention,  and  he  attended  these  conventions  every 
year,  in  one  capacity  or  the  other,  ever  since.     He  has 
served  the  church  in  office  and  in  the  pew  witli  all 
his  ability,  all  his  example,  and  iill  his  means.     Next 
to   his    family   and    the  Journal,  St.  John's   Church 
suffers  the  severest  loss.     Few,  excepting  those  who 


PRESS   OF   UNION   COUNTY. 


137 


were  intimately  acquainted  with  Mr.  Foote,  know 
how  much  of  his  time  was  devoted  to  his  church. 

In  March,  1853,  Mr.  Foote,  with  a  number  of  other 
leading  citizens,  organized  the  Evergreen  Cemetery 
Association,  and  three  years  later  he  was  chosen  one 
of  the  trustees.  One  month  later  he  was  elected  sec- 
retary and  treasurer,  and  ha.s  held  that  position  ever 
since. 

Regularly  upon  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting 
of  this  association  Mr.  Foote  appeared  in  his  place, 
and  kept  the  records  and  business  in  such  order  that 
a  wholly  inexperienced  hand  could  take  his  books  at 
any  time  and  carry  forward  the  business  at  any  meet- 
ing of  the  association. 

When  the  First  National  Bank  of  this  city  was 
organized  fifteen  years  ago,  Mr.  Foote  was  one  of  the 
original  incorporators,  and  has  been  a  director  ever 
since.  Three  years  after  the  establishment  of  the 
First  National  Bank,  the  Dime  Savings  Bank  was 
incorporated,  and  here  again  Mr.  Foote  appeared  as 
incorporator,  and  also  vice-president. 

One  would  suppose  that  attending  to  the  necessary 
duties  of  all  these  institutions  and  editing  a  paper 
were  work  enough  for  one  man,  yet  Mr.  Foote  did 
much  more.  During  the  war  he  was  for  five  years 
collector  of  internal  revenue,  and  though  he  then 
created  irritation  by  the  stern  and  conscientious  ex- 
actness with  which  he  applied  the  law  and  discharged 
his  arduous  duties,  yet  those  who  were  then  annoyed 
now  admit  the  justness  of  his  requirements,  and  can- 
not but  praise  his  official  integrity. 

For  years,  too,  3Ir.  Foote  was  assessor,  and  this  was 
about  the  only  office  to  which  he  was  ever  elected. 
It  was  not  by  any  means  in  Mr.  Foote's  desire  to  be 
a  public  man,  in  the  sense  of  one  elected  to  public 
offices. 

In  still  another  department  of  life  did  Mr.  Foote 
do  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  and  that  gratuitously. 
He  was  chosen  in  numberless  cases  as  executor  or 
administrator  of  estates,  in  settling  disputed  accounts, 
and  as  a  peacemaker  between  parties  who  could  not  or 
would  not  agree  with  each  other  upon  some  disputed 
points.  Many  a  time  has  Mr.  Foote  set  aside  work 
and  time,  far  more  valuable  to  him  than  the  matter 
in  dispute  possibW  could  be,  to  settle  some  trifling 
affiiir  between  parties  who  would  hear  of  no  other 
arbitration  than  his  judgment.  Peace  was  his  great 
desire,  peace  and  good  will  his  ever-potent  remedy 
for  all  annoyance,  and  peace  is  his  at  last. 

Tiie  latest  accession  to  the  many  associations  with 
which  he  was  connected  was  the  Board  of  Trade  of 
this  city,  in  which  he  was  an  active  member,  and 
sliglited  not  in  the  least  the  duties  which  an  active 
membership  in  this  board  necessitates. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Foote  was  married.  He  had  a  family 
of  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  are  now  living  to 
mourn  a  loving.  Christian  father's  death. 

Mr.  Foote  was  born  at  Newtown,  Conn.,  Oct.  23, 
1816,  and  died  at  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  March  18,  1879, 


aged  sixty-three  years.  For  years  he  had  been  com- 
plaining, but  his  extraordinary  energy  kept  him  up. 
In  the  summer  of  1873  he  visited  Europe  for  three 
months  and  was  greatly  benefited  in  health.  Grad- 
ually, however,  his  old  disease  returned  and  took 
firmer  hold  than  ever  before,  terminating  fatally  in 
the  early  spring  of  1879. 

From  the  Daily  Journal  of  March  19,  1879,  under 
the  head  of  "  The  Vacant  Chair,"  we  quote  some  ex- 
tracts relating  to  Mr.  Foote's  characteristics  as  an 
editor  and  journalist: 

"  Mr.  Foote  was,  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word,  a  self-made  man.  .  .  . 
He  WHS  hut  a  mere  stripling  wlien  he  came  here  and  identified  himself 
with  the  fortunes  of  this  city.  Henceforth,  for  many  years,  his  lecord 
may  be  reaxl  of  all  men  in  the  characters  he  formed  and  monlded  and 
the  intelligences  he  developed.  Here  the  highest  tribute  may  be  paid 
to  his  fidelity  and  tiustworthiness.  He  insisted  upon  a  lofty  standard 
of  scholarsliip  a 
in  the  strongest 

"  Bnt  it  his  ca 
mark  upon  the  i 
able  qualities. 


onduct,  and  he  secured  not  only  that  end,  but  also 
ner  the  respect  and  affections  of  his  pupils.  .  .  . 
as  a  teacher  was  a  success,  not  less  has  he  made  his 
lunity  as  a  journalist.  For  this  task  he  hud  adniir- 
indnstry  was  unfailing,  his  experience  large  and 
varied,and  his  local  knowledge,  both  of  persons  and  tilings,  unbounded. 
As  prominently  identified  with  most  of  the  leading  institutions  of  the 
city,  he  had  acquaintance  wifli  our  needs,  and  this  local  knowledge  was 
lavished  upon  his  paper.  He  took  a  strong,  practical,  conmiun  sense 
view  of  things,  e.\hil>ited  unusual  discretion  and  tact  in  shaping  tlie 
couree  of  his  paper,  and  had  a  keen  sense  of  what  a  local  sheet  should 
be.  Cautious  in  taking  a  position,  he  required  very  convincing  argu- 
ment to  abandon  it  when  once  taken,  nabitually  courteous  and  mod- 
erate in  the  expression  of  editorial  opinion,  he  yet  knew  how  to  use  the 
most  vigorous  Saxon  when  the  nature  of  the  case  called  for  it,  and  his 
lash  has  more  than  once  administered  merited  castigation.  His  idea  of 
editorial  writing  was  to  have  something  to  say  and  to  say  it,  and  not 
write  13  ne  words  against  space. 

"If  mistaken  in  any  statement  of  fact,  he  was  never  ashamed  to  own 
it  and  make  needed  reparation  in  the  columns  of  his  paper,  because  it 
was  the  truth  he  was  searching  for  more  than  to  gratify  any  mere  pride 
of  opinion. 

"  And  this  brings  us  to  the  central  fact  of  his  newspaper  management, 
its  conscientiousness.  The  chart  of  instructions  which  lie  prepared 
for  himself  and  his  associates  was  to  stick  to  the  truth  as  they  under- 
stood it  at  all  hazards.  He  did  not  regard  his  newspaper  pi-im;irily  as  a 
means  to  make  money  so  much  as  a  vehicle  of  public  instruction.  And 
tluis  be  championed  every  good  cause  regardless  of  any  temporary  in- 
jury. His  vigorous  appeals  in  belialf  of  the  Law  and  Order  Society 
were  a  specimen  of  Ibis;  it  would  imve  been  much  easier  to  make  no 
enemies  by  retraining  from  attacking  a  powerful  interest.  Politically, 
Mr.  Foote  had  strong  and  vigorous  convictions.  While  uniformly 
courteous  on  siu-h  issues,  he  called  a  spnde  a  spade.  But  he  never  de- 
scended to  personalities.  He  admitted  honest  differences  of  opinion, 
a-saulted  the  political  heresy,  but  would  not  throw  dirt  upon  his  oppo- 
nent. He  never  neglected  his  duty  as  a  citizen,  and  therefore  could 
consistently  urge  it  upon  othere.  .  .  . 

"  His  effort  was  to  elevate,  liberalize,  and  enlighten  throrigh  his  paper, 
and  not  to  make  it  a  sewer  through  which  filth,  both  foreign  and  do- 
mestic, could  run  to  the  injury  of  the  morals  and  mannei-a  of  fami- 
lies. .  .  . 

'*  So  far  as  local  matters  were  concerned,  Mr.  Foote's  editorial  course 
was  guided  fiy  what  he  deemed  the  best  interests  of  the  city.  He  had 
no  personal  axe  to  grind  and  no  enemies  to  punish.  Through  all  the 
difficult  and  trying  circumstances  tlirough  which  we  are  passing,  Mr. 
Foote  consistently  strove  to  find  out  what  was  the  right  thing  and  to 
advocate  it.  And  when  he  did  so  it  was  in  no  shilly-shallying  way,  but 
with  all  the  earnestness  of  profound  conviction. 

"  Mr.  Foote's  view  of  politics  was  not  a  liread-and-bntler  view.  He 
was  not  a  candidate  for  public  oflic.-,  altlioiij;h  lie  would  not  have 
shrunk  from  any  such  duty  had  it  been  placed  upon  him.  His  idea 
was  tliat  an  editor  should  not  compromise  his  independence  by  un- 
worthy compliances,  and  a  plain  and  honest  avowal  of  one's  convictions 
does  not  always  tend  to  make  friends  among  politician*.  He  looked  at 
public  affairs  from  tlie  high  point  of  statesmansln'p  rather  than  that  of 
personal  self-seeking.    And  this  explains  why  he  believed  in  occasional 


138 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


his  own  party  leaders  and  advocated  a  high 
His  political  utterances  and  opinions 
istency  and  cle 


friendly  criticism  of  ei 
standard  for  the  civil 
will  be  noted  for  their 


"Of  the  irreparable  loss  which  his  death  will  cause 
to  his  family  we  cannot  speak.  There  are  sorrows 
too  sacred  to  be  more  than  alluded  to.  He  has  died 
as  he  lived,  in  the  harness,  and  before  his  mental 
force  was  abated  or  his  eye  more  than  transiently 
dimmed.  He  has  been  fighting  against  death  for  sev- 
eral years,  but  never  was  his  editorial  work  better, 
never  were  his  views  clearer,  his  line  of  policy  more 
fixed  than  they  were  just  as  the  curtain  was  about  to 
drop  upon  his  well-spent  life. 

"  Another  phase  of  Mr.  Foote's  life  was  the  large 
amount  of  unrewarded  labor  he  did  for  others  who 
had  no  claim  upon  him.  Even  to  the  last,  and  sick 
and  wearied  as  he  was.  Good  Samaritan  like,  he  took 
the  cares  and  misfortunes  of  others  upon  his  tired  and 
sore  shoulders  and  did  what  he  could  for  them.  No 
business  anxiety,  corporate  nor  private  responsibility 
could  drive  them  out  of  his  head.  And  this  same 
abounding  charity  he  showed  to  the  weak  and  erring. 
A  gentleman  who  has  known  him  intimately  for  forty 
years  told  us  that  he  never  heard  him  speak  unkindly 
of  any  one.  He  detested  the  sin,  but  he  pitied  the 
sinner,  and  he  never  advocated  severe  measures 
against  the  destitute  and  the  outcast.  He  had  too 
much  the  spirit  of  the  Master  in  him  for  that. 

"  We  have  said  thus  much  in  simple  justice  to  our 
dead  friend,  but  his  associates  cannot  fitly  express  a 
sense  of  their  appreciation  of  his  constant  kindness 
to  them.  The  office  atmosphere  was  more  like  that 
of  a  family  than  of  a  varied  and  complicated  busi- 
ness. Never  did  Mr.  Foote  fail  to  do  justice  to  good 
work  done  by  his  associates.  He  preferred  a  kindly 
rivalry  with  them  as  to  who  could  push  the  paper 
furthest  and  fastest,  rather  than  a  selfish  appropria- 
tion of  whatever  might  deserve  praise.  In  his  death 
his  associates  lose  a  kind  and  considerate  friend  ;  his 
journalistic  brethren  one  who  appreciated  his  noble 
profession,  and  made  it  his  pride  to  do  all  he  could  to 
elevate  it ;  his  family  a  devoted  husband  and  father ; 
the  church  a  tower  of  strength  ;  the  corporate  asso- 
ciations with  which  he  was  connected  a  safe  adviser  ; 
and  the  city  a  citizen  who  never  shirked  any  respon- 
sibility, and  who  set  a  highly  honorable  example  to 
the  young." 

The  Journal  is  now  published  for  the  proprietor  by 
Peter  W.  Rousse,  editor;  Charles  C.  McBride,  city 
editor ;  Augustus  S.  Crane,  cashier. 

The  present  members  are  simply  the  editorial  staff 
of  Mr.  Foote,  who  had  been  associated  with  him  since 
the  establisliment  of  the  Daily  Journal. 

The  Central  New  Jersey  Herald.— Established 
first  as  the  Argus  in  18G1,  changed  to  the  Constitu- 
tionalist, then  to  the  Union  County  Herald,  and  finally 
to  its  present  name  in  1870.  From  1868  to  the  autumn 
of  1880  the  establishment  published  a  daily  edition 
called  the  Elizabeth  Daily  Herald,  which  was  discon- 


tinued at  the  commencement  of  the  Hancock  cam- 
paign. The  first  publishers  were  Drake  &  Cook, 
then  the  firm  changed  to  Drake,  Cook  &  Hall,  and 
is  at  present  Cook  &  Hall,  steam  printing-house,  Nos. 
105,  109,  and  HI  Broad  Street. 

Among  those  who  have  at  various  times  been  edi- 
tors, outside  of  the  proprietors  and  employes  of  the 
office,  are  M.  L.  Marks,  now  of  the  Art  Amateur,  New 
York,  who  remained  on  the  paper  several  years.  He 
was  succeeded  by  William  Black,  and  the  latter  by 
Col.  Morris  R.  Hamilton,  who  was  followed  by  John 
B.  Pick.  Subsequently  Horace  F.  J.  Drake  was  edi- 
tor, and  also  member  of  the  firm  till  the  autumn  of 
1881.  The  subscription  price  of  The  Centntl  New 
Jersey  Herald  is  two  dollars  a  year. 

Elizabeth  Freie  Presse,  a  German  semi-weekly 
newspaper,  was  established  in  1870.  Proprietor  and 
publisher,  Charles  H.  Schmidt.  Subscription,  three 
dollars  per  annum.  Published  in  the  rear  of  1173 
Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Elizabeth  Freie  Zeitung,  German  weekly,  thirty 
cents  per  annum.  Established  in  1874.  Editor  and 
proprietor,  L.  Bauerband  &  Co.,  No.  33  First  Street. 

The  Bridgetown  Museum  and  New  Jersey  Ad- 
vocate first  appeared  as  a  weekly,  printed  on  Saturday, 
July  13,  1822.  Smith  Eldgar  was  the  proprietor,  and 
the  office  was  on  Main  Street,  but  the  printing  was 
done  at  Elizabeth.  The  terms  of  subscription,  two 
dollars  per  year.  In  the  fifth  number  of  the  paper, 
which  appeared  on  the  10th  of  August,  the  name  waa 
changed  to  The  Bahway  Museum  and  New  Jersey  Ad- 
vocate. The  paper  had  but  five  columns  on  each  of 
its  four  pages,  making  twenty  in  all.  Under  its  head- 
ing was  a  motto  extracted  from  one  of  Shakspeare's 
plays,  "  Nothing  extenuate  nor  set  down  aught  in 
malice."  The  paper  was  far  from  being  white,  but 
I  was  as  good  as  that  on  which  the  majority  of  journals 
published  at  that  day  were  printed.  On  the  first  page 
a  story  entitled  "  lolanda,  or  the  Court  of  Love,"  a 
tale  of  the  fourteenth  century,  translated  from  the 
French,  was  commenced ;  it  was  finished  in  the  second 
number.  Besides  the  story  there  were  given  in  the 
first  number  several  poetical  selections  under  the 
head  "  Garland  of  the  Muses."  In  the  first  column 
on  the  second  page  appeared  an  article  on  some  then 
recent  instances  of  "Turkish  Barbarity."  In  the 
editorial  column  the  editor  offered  an  apology  for  the 
delay  that  had  occurred  in  bringing  out  the  first  issue, 
which  he  explained  was  on  account  of  unavoidable 
obstacles  in  getting  out  a  new  paper.  He  also  gave 
notice  that  a  celebration  of  the  national  anniversary 
had  taken  place  in  New  York  on  the  4th  of  July, 
when  there  was  a  greater  parade  than  had  been  wit- 
nessed there  for  years  before,  and  when  a  new  drama, 
entitled  "The  Battle  of  Lexington,"  was  performed, 
and  was  received  with  unbounded  applause.  "  In 
our  own  neighborhood,"  says  the  editor,  "universal 
exertion  was  made  to  celebrate  tlie  day,  and  Milton 
shone  foremost  in  its  endeavors." 


PRESS    OF    UNION    COUNTY. 


139 


Then,  as  now,  distress  in  Ireland  existed,  and  from 
the  columns  of  the  first  number  of  the  paper  we  learn 
that  heartrending  accounts  were  received  of  events 
transpiring  in  the  Emerald  Isle.  At  a  village  in 
County  Clare  the  death  of  three  persons  from  starva- 
tion was  reported,  and  subscriptions  were  being  raised 
for  the  large  numbers  who  were  in  great  destitution. 
In  a  literary  article  mention  is  made  of  Washington 
Irvine  (Irving),  the  novelist  Hrown,  the  plays  of 
Dunlap,  and  the  poems  of  Percival,  Judah,  and 
Bryant.  The  longest  article  in  the  number  was  a  re- 
view of  a  poem  entitled  "  Odofreide,  the  Outcast,"  with 
two  columns  of  extracts  from  it.  In  the  second  num- 
ber a  review  was  given  of  Cooper's  novel,  "  The 
Spy,"  and  of  Milman's  poem,  "  The  Martyr  of  An- 
tioch." 

In  the  second  number  of  the  paper  appeared  the 
call  for  a  meeting  to  be  held  with  a  view  to  change 
the  name  of  the  town  from  Bridgetown  to  Railway. 
This  meeting  was  held  at  the  Peace  Hotel,  on  Main 
Street,  where  Lafayette  was  entertained  when  he 
visited  Rahway  in  1824.  It  is  the  house  in  which 
Mr.  Jonathan  Woodruff  now  resides. 

By  the  issue  of  August  31st  we  learn  that  consid- 
erable damage  to  the  crops  had  resulted  by  the  excess 
of  dry  weather  that  had  prevailed  for  two  weeks. 
The  foreign  news  in  the  i.ssue  of  the  above-named 
date  was  nearly  two  months  old,  the  London  and 
Paris  dates  being  July  1.3th  and  14th,  and  from  some 
of  the  United  States  it  was  still  older,  being  dated  so 
far  back  as  July  9th. 

In  the  issue  of  September  14th  the  editor,  who  was 
a  bachelor,  in  one  article,  in  answer  to  a  correspond- 
ent, spoke  what  he  said  he  knew  to  be  the  voice  of 
the  whole  society,  that  "  beauty  will  command  ad- 
miration when  uncontaminated  by  affectation,"  and 
advised  his  fair  correspondent  to  "  follow  the  conquest 
of  her  eyes  by  the  jioliteness  of  her  manner,  conscious 
that  when  once  the  truant  glance  of  beauty  passes  on 
the  heart  a  modest  gracefulness  and  manner  and  con- 
versation will  remain  fixed  forever."  This  was  writ- 
ten in  reply  to  a  young  lady  who  had  asked  his 
opinion  in  regard  to  her  bowing  to  a  young  gentle- 
man to  whom  she  had  been  introduced  the  night 
before  while  she  was  walking  on  the  street  with  a 
lady  cousin.  The  cousin  had  thought  her  imprudent, 
and  in  her  own  case  thought  it  not  genteel  to  bow  to 
a  gentleman  unless  she  was  quite  intimate  with  him, 
or  had  been  introduced  to  him  three  or  four  times. 

The  first  number  of  the  paper  had  in  all  three  and 
one-half  columns  of  advertisements.  The  longest 
advertisement  was  that  of  John  C.  Morrison,  who 
occupied  a  column  of  space  in  giving  an  account  of 
his  stock  of  drugs  and  dye-stuffs.  _  Among  the  other 
advertisers  were  Vail,  Thorp  &  Co.,  who  dealt  in  dry- 
goods,  clothing,  hats,  shoes,  china,  earthen,  hollow, 
and  hardware,  tea,  sugar,  coffee,  and  liquors.  Thomas 
Laiug  advertised  dry-goods  and  groceries  at  his  new 
store  opposite  the  office.     Michael  Brown,  one  of  his 


advertisements  states,  dealt  in  cider,  spirits,  hams, 
cheese,  mackerel,  pork,  flour,  beef,  etc.,  and  the  other 
informed  the  public  that  his  store  was  two  doors 
north  of  the  post-office,  and  that  he  kept  a  stock  of 
dry-goods  and  groceries.  Two  establishments  adver- 
tised boots  and  shoes ;  the  keepers  were  in  one  case 
Benjamin  S.  Force  &  Co.,  in  the  other  J.  H.  Ran- 
som. Peter  Morgan  &  Co.  advertised  their  hat-store. 
Meeker  &  Clarkson  their  furniture  warehouse,  Jacob 
Parker  his  lumber-yard,  and  James  Edgar  wood  for 
sale.  All  these  parties  except  the  last  named  were 
no  doubt  well-known  residents  within  the  thickly- 
settled  portions  of  the  town,  for  with  the  exception 
of  the  instances  above  noted  none  of  them  mentioned 
where  their  places  of  business  were  located.  Mr. 
Edgar  informed  the  public  that  he  was  near  Rahway. 
One  advertiser,  John  Steen  (whether  he  was  a  resi- 
dent of  the  town  or  not  we  cannot  say),  had  his  place 
of  business  at  No.  161  Fulton  Street,  opposite  St. 
Paul's  churchyard,  New  York.  His  trade  was  in 
looking-glasses.  The  wants  of  the  traveling  public 
at  about  the  period  of  which  we  write  were  attended 
to  by  Smith  Freeman,  who  kept  the  Bridgetown 
Hotel,  and  by  Joseph  Varry,  the  proprietor  of  the 
Six  Roads  Tavern,  which  had  previously  been  kept 
by  Freeman.  Communication  with  the  outside  world 
was  of  course  carried  on  by  stage,  steamboat,  and 
sail,  and  the  advertising  columns  of  the  early  num- 
bers of  the  Advocate  inform  us  that  the  Bridgetown 
packet  plied  twice  a  week  between  the  dock  in 
Bridgetown  and  Whitehall  Slip  in  New  York;  also 
that  the  steamboat  "  Atlanta"  was  running  between 
Elizabeth  Town  Point  and  New  York,  the  fare  be- 
tween the  two  places  being  thirty-seven  and  a  half 
cents,  and  that  the  Rahway  stage  left  Rahway  at  six 
o'clock  every  morning  for  Elizabeth  Town  Point,  and 
arrived  there  in  season  for  passengers  to  take  the 
eight  o'clock  steamboat  for  New  York,  and  return  at 
12.30  noon. 

Among  the  advertisements  to  be  found  in  some  of 
these  early  numbers  was  that  of  Peter  Cohen,  who 
kept  a  woolen-factory  near  Barnett's  Mills.  Its  loca- 
tion was  within  the  present  bounds  of  Clark  township, 
and  not  a  vestige  of  the  structure,  we  are  informed, 
now  remains.  From  his  advertisement  we  learn  that 
Mr.  Cohen  was  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  black 
and  blue  broadcloths  and  satinets,  and  manufactured 
wool  to  order  for  his  customers. 

Before  the  paper  had  reached  the  clo.se  of  the  first 
volume  the  name  was  again  changed,  its  title  now 
having  become  the  New  Jersey  Advocate  and  Middle- 
sex atid  Essex  Advertiser,  and  Tuesday  was  the  pub- 
lishing day  instead  of  Saturday.  It  had  six  columns 
to  the  page,  and  had  more  than  two  pages  of  adver- 
tising. James  A.  Bennet  was  the  publisher,  and  the 
office  was  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  New  Streets,  one 
door  above  the  post-office,  now  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Lewis  Streets,  opposite  the  Melick  House.  Mr. 
Edgar,  the  first  proprietor,  who  lived  out  some  four 


140 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


or  five  miles  on  the  Plainfield  road,  is  still  remem- 
bered by  some  of  the  older  citizens.  They  describe 
him  as  a  short,  stout  man.  He  has  now  been  ilead  for 
something  mo'e  than  fifty  years;  but  he  may  have 
been  alive  when  the  transfer  of  the  paper  was  made 
to  Mr.  Bennet.  The  latter  conducted  the  paper  for 
several  years,  and  then  sold  it  to  Thomas  Allen  Green. 
Green  after  a  time,  the  precise  date  we  have  not  the 
present  means  of  verifying  (probably  about  1837  or 
1838),  sold  the  paper  to  a  Mr.  Patton,  of  Newark, 
with  the  distinct  understanding  on  the  part  of  both 
that  the  former  would  not  again  engage  in  the  news- 
paper business  in  Eahway.  This  fact  and  others  that 
we  state  in  this  connection  we  have  from  Mr.  Lewis 
Moore,  who  now  resides  on  Milton  Avenue,  and  who, 
at  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  was  an  apprentice 
in  the  oflice  of  Green,  and  continued  in  the  same 
position  after  the  sale  of  the  paper  was  made  to 
Patton.  Green,  we  are  informed,  was  a  very  pithy 
writer  of  short  paragraphs  and  a  man  of  convivial 
habits.  He  no  doubt  loved  to  wield  the  pen,  for, 
notwithstanding  the  tacit  agreement  he  had  made 
with  Patton,  he  in  a  few  months  started  a  little  news- 
paper in  opposition  to  the  Advocate,  which  he  called 
The  Rahuaij  Herald  and  New  Jersey  General  Advertiser. 
Patton,  however,  induced  him  in  a  very  short  time  to 
give  up  the  enterprise,  buying  the  new  establishment 
and  merging  it  with  the  Advocate. 

Subsequently  Green  became  proprietor  of  the  hotel 
at  the  corner  of  Main  Street  and  Jlilton  Avenue,  now 
known  as  Crowell's  Hotel. 

During  the  Clay  campaign  of  1844  the  paper  was 
purchased  from  Mr.  Patton  by  an  association  of 
Whigs,  and  Mr.  Moore  was  for  a  time  the  publisher, 
and  E.  Y.  Rogers,  a  member  of  the  legal  profession, 
now  deceased,  its  editor.  In  a  few  months  the  asso- 
ciation sold  the  paper  to  Mr.  E.  F.  W.  Gray,  and  Mr. 
Moore  started  a  new  opposition  paper,  but  its  publi- 
cation lasted  only  a  few  months,  Mr.  Gray  purchasing 
it  from  Moore.  Gray  was  still  the  proprietor  of  the 
Advocate  in  1850.  Its  title  in  full  was  The  New  Jersey 
Advocate,  a  "  Whig  journal  of  politics,  agriculture, 
and  general  miscellany." 

John  Jackson  and  John  Pierson  started  the  Rah- 
way  Register,  an  independent  sheet,  in  1847,  and 
printed  the  paper  in  a  building  on  Cherry  Street.  It 
was  not  long  after  this  period  when  the  .so-called 
Native  American  doctrine  broke  out  in  this  country, 
and  during  a  part  of  the  time  that  that  doctrine  was 
rife  (we  are  informed)  the  paper  was  printed  under 
the  name  of  the  Reguter  and  American.  It  was  sub- 
sequently merged  with  the  Rahway  Times. 

About  1857  Gray  sold  the  Advocate  to  Mr.  C.  W. 
Haven.  This  gentleman  ran  the  paper  for  about  a 
year,  when  its  publication  was  suspended,  and  the 
material  of  the  paper  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Jose- 
phus  Shann  and  removed  to  the  Democrat  ottice. 

Subsequently  Mr.  U/.al  Osborn  started  a  paper 
called   The  Rahway  Advocate,  which  was  altciwards 


merged  with  The  Rahway  Times,  and  is  still  published 
under  the  nauie  of  The  Rahway  Advocate. 

In  1858  the  Rahway  Times,  a  Republican  paper, 
was  started  by  a  stock  company,  and  Mr.  Walter 
Graham  svas  made  its  editor.  About  four  years  later 
Mr.  Lincoln  appointed  Mr.  Graham  consul  to  Cape 
Town,  South  Africa,  and  on  his  ceasing  his  connec- 
tion with  the  paper,  about  February,  1863,  it  was 
merged  witli  the  Register.  Mr.  Uzal  Osborn  now  be- 
came the  owner  and  editor  of  the  paper.  With  the 
retirement  of  Mr.  Graham  from  the  control  of  the 
Register,  Mr.  Jackson  became  its  sole  owner.  Under 
a  contract  which  Mr.  Osborn  made  with  him  the 
paper  until  the  following  January  was  still  run  and 
known  as  the  Register.  Mr.  Osborn  then  consolidated 
it  with  the  Advocate  under  the  name  of  The  Advo- 
cate and  Times.  In  1879  the  paper  came  into  the  i)os- 
•session  of  its  present  proprietors,  Messrs.  W.  L.  Mer- 
shon  &  Co.,  and  the  name  Advocate  and  Times  was 
retained  by  them  until  the  paper  was  made  a  semi- 
weekly. 

The  National  Democrat  was  first  issued  as  the 
Denwcvafii-  Rfjtii/jlican  in  1840  by  Josephus  Shann. 
Mr.  Shann  was  horn  at  Bloomfield,  Essex  Co.,  N.  J., 
in  1819.  He  served  an  apprenticeship  to  the  printer's 
trade  in  the  office  of  the  Somerset  Messenger  at  Som- 
erville,  N.  J.,  and  in  1838  commenced  the  publica- 
tion of  The  Hunterdon  Democrat  at  Flemingtou 
N.  J.,  remaining  there  two  years,  after  which  he 
removed  to  Rahway  and  started  Tlie  Democratic 
Republican,  afterwards  changed  to  The  Rahway  Re- 
publican, and  subsequently  to  The  National  Democrat. 
Mr.  Shann  published  the  paper  consecutively  for 
twenty-five  years,  closing  his  connection  with  it 
in  1805,  when  Mr.  Lewis  S.  Hyer  bought  the  paper. 
During  this  period  he  was  postmaster  of  Rahway 
seven  years,  in  the  custom-house  seven  years,  and  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  for  three  terms,  1852, 
1853,  and  1871.  For  sixteen  years  since  1805  he  has 
followed  the  occupation  of  farming,  and  for  the  past 
two  years  has  been  engaged  in  mercantile  business  in 
Rahway,  firm  of  J.  Shann  &^ons. 

Mr.  Shann  was  married  in  1842  to  Ann,  daughter 
of  Stewart  Orowell,  of  Rahway,  by  whom  he  has 
nine  children  living. 

Mr.  Lewis  S.  Hyer  purchased  the  National  Democrat, 
and  issued  the  first  number  March  30,  1865.  He  en- 
larged it  from  a  six  to  a  seven-column  paper  May  9, 
1867,  enlarged  it  again  by  increasing  the  length  May 
4,  1868,  and  enlarged  to  eight  columns  May  6,  1875. 

Lewis  S.  Hyer  was  born  March  1,  1839,  at  Free- 
hold, Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  His  father  was  Aaron  P. 
Hyer,  and  his  mother's  maiden  name  was  Gertrude 
Cottrell,  both  natives  of  the  southern  portion  of  Mon- 
mouth County  (now  Ocean  County  U 

During  the  war  of  1812  his  father  was  emidoyed  in 
coasting,  and  frequently  conveyed  kegs  of  specie  to 
different  points  li-om  Philadelphia.  Some  time  after 
his  marriage  he  settled  near  the  town  of  Freehold,  in 


PRESS   OF  UNION   COUNTY. 


141 


which  vicinity  he  lived  the  remainder  of  his  life,  the 
most  of  the  time  on  a  farm  a  mile  from  the  town, 
where  tlie  subject  of  this  sketch  was  born. 

Lewis  S.  Hyer  received  a  common-school  education, 
but  improving  his  talents  he  mastered  all  the  usual 
branches  taught  in  the  schools  in  those  days,  though 
after  he  became  large  enough  he  worked  on  the  farm 
during  the  farming  seasons,  and  also  frequently  assisted 


xO^^>'!^-'Z<:^<^/L 


the  neighboring  farmers,  working  for  them  by  the 
day. 

The  1st  of  May,  1855,  contrary  to  the  expressed 
wishes  of  his  parents,  who  wanted  him  to  remain  with 
them  on  the  farm  as  they  were  getting  advanced  in 
years,  he  went  to  the  office  of  the  Monmouth  Democrat, 
of  which  Maj.  James  S.  Yard  was  the  proprietor  and 
editor  (as  he  still  is  at  this  time),  and  commenced  to 
learn  the  printing  business  in  the  usual  way,  assum- 
ing the  position  of  office-boy,  or  "  printer's  devil,"  in 
the  parlance  of  the  profession.  An  aptitude  for  the 
business  and  a  close  observance  of  everything  con- 
nected therewith  rendered  his  progress  rapid,  and  long 
before  he  reached  his  majority  he  was  foreman  of  the 
office.  His  employer  had  great  confidence  in  his 
taste  and  skill  at  job-printing,  and  particular  jobs 
were  always  intrusted  to  him,  and  seldom  failed  to 
give  satisfaction. 

April  29,  1860,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Jennie 
Young,  daughter  of  Jacob  Young,  who  was  a  soldier 
of  the  war  of  1812,  and  died  only  a  few  months  ago, 
at  the  age  of  nearly  ninety  years ;  her  mother  is  still 
living.  Mr.  Hyer's  father  died  in  1870,  at  the  age  of 
10 


seventy-six,  and  his  mother  in  1878,  at  the  age  of  nearly 
eighty.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hyer  have  had  but  one  child, 
Freddie  C,  who  is  now  seven  years  old. 

When  the  war  broke  out  in  1861,  Maj.  Yard  went 
with  the  three  months'  troops,  and  Mr.  Hyer  had  |)rin- 
cipaU'harge  of  his  printing  business  during  his  absence, 
which  continued  much  of  the  time  during  the  whole 
of  the  war. 

All  of  Mr.  Hyer's  printing  and  publishing  experi- 
ence up  to  the  time  of  his  .settling  in  Rahway  was 
obtained  in  the  above-named  office,  except  about 
three  months  in  the  office  of  the  New  York  Journal 
of  Commerce,  whither  he  went  in  1863.  He  only 
worked  one  night  there  at  general  composition,  and 
was  promoted  to  a.ssistant  day  foreman  the  next  day, 
which  position  he  held  most  of  the  three  months, 
and  was  given  the  charge  of  the  advertising  depart- 
ment. He  returned  to  his  former  position  on  the 
Monmouth  Democrat,  where  he  remained  until  about 
the  1st  of  April,  186.T,  when  he  came  to  Railway,  and 
made  an  arrangement  with  the  Hon.  Josephus  Shann, 
the  then  owner  of  the  Rahway  National  Democrat,  to 
lease  the  paper  for  one  year,  with  the  privilege  of 
buying  it  at  the  end  of  that  time. 

That  was  the  time  that  tried  the  country  newspapers 
generally,  just  before  the  close  of  the  war.  Mr.  Hyer 
worked  day  and  night  for  a  long  time,  and  with  little 
assistance  in  any  department,  to  keep  the  paper  run- 
ning. The  war  closing  shortly  after,  however,  caused 
the  general  prospects  to  brighten,  and  when  the  year 
rolled  around  he  decided  to  purchase  the  paper. 

Having  (contrary  to  the  habit  of  too  many  journey- 
men printers)  saved  a  little  money,  he  had  purchased 
a  lot  in  an  eligible  position  on  Main  Street,  Freehold, 
and  by  borrowing  the  money  and  giving  a  mortgage 
on  the  premises  he  erected  a  fine  residence.  Shortly 
after  he  was  married.  When  he  decided  to  purchase 
the  paper  he  was  not  long  in  finding  a  customer  for 
his  residence,  and  sold  it  for  more  than  enough  cash 
above  the  mortgage  to  pay  for  the  newspaper  estab- 
lishment, which  was  his  first  real  estate  speculation. 

The  National  Democrat  has  continued  to  prosper 
under  his  charge,  and  at  this  time  the  circulation  is 
more  than  three  times  what  it  was  when  he  took  charge 
of  it.  In  1872  he  purchased  a  piece  of  property  in  the 
centre  of  the  business  part  of  Blain  Street,  and  had  it 
fitted  up  for  a  printing-office  and  dwelling,  besides 
stores  in  the  front,  where  he  is  still  located. 

He  has  always  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  welfare 
of  the  press  of  the  State,  which  has  been  recognized 
by  his  brethren,  as  he  has  for  several  years  been  one 
of  the  executive  committee  of  the  New  Jersey  Edi- 
torial Association,  and  also  upon  committees  to  look 
after  acts  in  the  State  Legislature  in  reference  to  the 
press. 

Mr.  Hyer,  while  not  being  an  office-seeker,  has  been 
honored  by  holding  some  important  ones,  both  elec- 
tive and  ajipointed.  In  the  spring  of  1874  he  acceded 
to  the  wishes  of  his  Democratic  friends  and  accepted 


142 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  nomination  for  the  office  of  mayor,  to  which  he 
was  elected  by  a  large  majority  over  a  popular  oppo- 
nent, though  the  Republicans  had  elected  their  can- 
didate for  some  years  previous.  The  same  year  he 
was  appointed  as  clerk  of  the  board  of  chosen  free- 
holders of  Union  County,  which  he  held  for  two  years, 
when  the  political  complexion  of  the  board  changed. 
He  positively  declined  to  accept  a  renomination  for 
mayor  in  1875,  and  also  resisted  solicitations  to  become 
a  candidate  for  different  elective  offices,  until  in  the 
fall  of  1881,  when  he  accepted  the  unanimous  nomi- 
nation by  the  County  Democratic  Convention  for 
State  senator,  and  was  defeated  by  Senator  Vail,  who 
had  been  renominated  by  the  Republicans,  though  by 
a  majority  greatly  reduced  from  that  obtained  by  Mr. 
Vail  over  his  competitor  three  years  previous,  and  in 
the  face  of  many  adverse  circumstances  in  connection 
with  the  campaign.  He  was  appointed  city  clerk  in 
May,  1880,  which  position  he  still  holds,  although 
unsolicited  by  him.  On  March  1,  1882,  he  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  for  Union  County  by  Governor  Ludlow,  which 
appointment  was  confirmed  by  the  State  Senate  on 
the  following  day. 

He  has  always  been  temperate  in  his  habits,  and 
can  say,  what  probably  few  other  men  can  in  these 
days,  that  he  never  was  intoxicated  in  his  life,  and 
never  used  a  blasphemous  word,  in  the  sense  of  pro- 
fanity, to  his  recollection.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  nearly  twenty- 
five  years,  and  has  held  the  office  of  trustee  of  the 
Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Rahway  for 
several  years.  Being  a  lover  of  music  he  has  always 
taken  an  interest  in  that  direction,  has  been  connected 
with  church  choirs  from  his  early  youth,  and  has  been 
the  leader  of  the  choir  of  the  above-named  church 
nearly  ever  since  he  came  to  Rahway,  and  has  a  music- 
store  connected  with  his  business. 

The  Plainfield  Gazette  was  established  as  a  Dem- 
ocratic paper  in  1849  by  William  M.  Drake  &  Sons, 

and  by  them  sold  to Osborn,  who  published  it  a 

few  months,  when  it  came  back  into  the  hands  of  the 
original  proprietors,  and  the  management  of  it  waa 
assumed  by  William  Drake,  Jr.  He  died  a  few 
months  afterwards,  and  the  office  was  purchased  by 
Enos  W.  Runyon,  Esq.,  in  October,  1853,  and  E.  W. 
&  J.  C.  Runyon  continued  the  publication  until 
October,  1856,  when  J.  C.  Runyon,  the  junior  partner, 
withdrew  and  removed  to  Illinois,  and  E.  W.  Runyon 
engaged  in  the  practice  of  law,  the  paper  being  sold 
to  Luther  Martin,  who  conducted  it  till  the  breaking 
out  of  the  war  in  1861.  Luther  Martin  sold  to  Charles 
J.  Wilson,  enlisted  in  the  army,  and  was  killed  at  the 
battle  of  Gettysburg.  After  a  time  Mr.  Wilson  re- 
moved the  office  to  Somerville  and  changed  the  name 
to  the  Somerset  Oazette. 

The  Central  New  Jersey  Times  was  established 
by  E.  Dean  Dow,  in  1868.  In  I8()9,  Rev.  Dr.  Stock- 
bridge  became  its  proprietor,  and  so  remained  for  one 


year.  In  July,  1871,  he  sold  his  interest  to  Niles  & 
Runyon,  who  continued  to  publish  it  till  April  1,  1875, 
when  Mr.  Niles  sold  his  interest  to  Mr.  W.  J.  Leonard, 
who,  with  Mr.  J.  C.  Runyon,  has  conducted  the  paper 
to  the  present  time  (1882).  It  is  a  political,  literary, 
and  home  newspaper,  Republican  in  its  principles, 
and  is  furnished  atS2.50  per  year  in  advance.  There 
is  a  book  and  job  printing  establishment  in  connec- 
tion with  it. 

The  Constitutionalist  is  a  well-conducted  journal, 
published  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.  It  has  been  in  exist- 
ence about  fourteen  years,  having  been  started  in 
1868.  At  that  time  it  was  twenty-three  by  thirty- 
eight  inches  in  size ;  two  years  later  it  was  enlarged 
to  twenty-six  by  forty  inches,  and  in  1876  to  thirty 
by  forty-iive  inches,  its  present  size.  It  has  a  good 
circulation,  and  maintains  a  book  and  job  office.  The 
Constitutinualist  is  published  by  William  L.  and  Al- 
bert L.  Force,  and  is  an  official  paper  of  the  State, 
county,  and  city.     Democratic  in  politics. 

The  Daily  and  Weekly  Bulletin  are  published  by 
E.  O.  Chamberlain,  at  Plainfield,  and  have  a  fair 
circulation.  The  weekly  is  a  large  sheet,  full  of  in- 
teresting reading  matter,  and  the  daily  is  devoted  to 
home  news  and  the  local  interests  of  the  city. 


CHAPTER    XXL 

ONION  COUNTY  IN  THE  WAR  OF   THE   REBELLION. 

This  county  was  not  represented  by  any  organized 
body  of  troops  in  the  first  militia  sent  out  for  three 
months'  service.  The  quota  of  New  Jersey  under 
that  call  was  so  speedily  filled  that  thousands  who 
were  anxious  to  enter  the  service  could  not  be  re- 
ceived, and  were  obliged  to  wait  until  another  call 
was  issued  for  additional  men  to  serve  for  three  years 
or  during  the  war.  The  magnitude  of  the  Rebellion 
had  by  this  time  begun  to  reveal  itself,  and  it  was 
perceived  that  seventy-five  thousand  raw  militia  in 
a  campaign  of  three  months  was  a  very  inadequate 
force  to  cope  with  the  formidable  insurrection  which 
had  been  organized  against  the  life  of  the  nation. 
Then  it  was  that  both  the  general  and  State  govern- 
ments began  to  contemplate  the  necessity  for  organ- 
izing war  on  a  more  extended  scale.  The  second  call 
for  troops  was  for  three  hundred  thousand  men,  and 
was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  May 
3,  1861.  On  the  17th  of  May  the  Governor  of  New 
Jersey  received  a  requisition  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment for  three  regiment*  of  infantry  (volunteers)  to 
serve  three  years  or  during  the  war,  and  also  a  gen- 
eral order  detailing  the  plan  of  organization.  A  suf- 
ficient number  of  companies  having  already  offered 
their  services,  Governor  Olden  informed  the  Secretary 
of  War  the  following  day  (May  18th)  that  the  three 
regiments  called  for  were  ready  for  muster.     These 


UNION    COUNTY   IN   THE   WAR   OP   THE   REBELLION. 


143 


organizations  were  designated  respectively  tlie  First, 
Second,  and  Tliird  Kegiinents.  Under  the  provision 
of  an  act  of  Congress  approved  July  22,  1861,  and  an 
official  letter  from  the  President  dated  July  24,  1861, 
authority  was  issued  for  raising  five  additional  regi- 
ments in  the  State.  Under  this  call  the  Fourth  Regi- 
ment and  Battery  A  were  organized  and  assigned  with 
the  three  regiments  already  raised  and  in  the  field. 
These  organizations  constituted  and  were  generally 
known  as  the  First  Brigade,  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

In  the  First,  Second,  and  Third  Regiments  of  this 
brigade  Union  County  had  three  companies,  viz. : 
Companies  A  of  the  First  and  Second,  respectively, 
and  Company  K  of  the  Third  Regiment,  officered  as 
follows :  Company  A,  first  Regiment,  Captain,  Da- 
vid Hatfield  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Thomas  T.  Tillou  ; 
Second  Lieutenant,  Luther  Martin.  Company  A, 
Second  Regiment,  Captain,  James  Wilson ;  First 
Lieutenant,  Bradbury  C.  Chetwood ;  Second  Lieu- 
tenant, William  J.  Cree.  Company  K,  Third  Regi- 
ment, Captain,  John  H.  Whelan :  First  Lieutenant, 
John  B.  Lutz  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  David  Fairly.' 

The  field-  and  staff-officers  of  the  First  Regi- 
ment were:  Colonel,  William  K.  Montgomery;  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, Robert  McAllister;  Major,  David 
Hatfield  ;  Adjutant,  William  Henry,  Jr. ;  Quarter- 
master, Samuel  Read  ;  Surgeon,  Edward  F.  Taylor  ; 
Assistant  Surgeon,  Charles  C.  Gordon  ;  Chaplain, 
Robert  B.  Yard.  Of  the  Second  Regiment  the  col- 
onel was  George  W.  McLean  ;  Lieutenant-Colonel, 
Isaac  M.  Tucker  ;  Major,  Samuel  L.  Buck  ;  Adju- 
tant, Joseph  W.  Plume  ;  Quartermaster,  William  E. 
Sturges;  Surgeon,  Gabriel  Grant;  Assistant  Surgeon, 
Lewis  W.  Oakley  ;  Chaplain,  Robert  R.  Proudfit. 
Third  Regiment,  Colonel,  George  W.  Taylor ;  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel, Henry  W.  Brown  ;  Major,  Mark  W. 
Callett;  Adjutant,  Robert  T.  Dunham;  Quartermas- 
ter, Francis  Sayre;  Surgeon,  Lorenzo  Cox;  Assistant 
Surgeon,  Edward  L.  Welling  ;  Chaplain,  George  R. 
Darrow. 

Company  A  of  the  First  Regiment  (from  Elizabeth) 
was  the  first  company  mustered  into  the  United  States 
service  under  the  first  call  for  volunteers  to  serve  three 
years  or  during  the  war.  It  was  mustered  in  May  21, 
1861,  at  Camp  Olden,  near  Trenton,  where  the  vari- 
ous other  companies  encamped  till  the  completion  of 
the  organization.  The  material  of  these  regiments 
was  excellent,  being  composed  largely  of  men  who 
had  been  identified  with  some  of  the  best  militia 
organizations  of  the  State. 

The  First,  Second,  and  Third  Regiments  left  the 
State  June  28,  1861,  and  immediately  on  their  arrival 
in  Virginia  entered  upon  the  active  duties  of  the  sol- 
dier. They  formed  part  of  Gen.  Runyon's  division  of 
Reserves  in  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  and  aided  materi- 
ally in  covering  the  retreat  of  our  forces  on  that  fatal 
day.     Immediately  after  the  battle  the  First  and  Sec- 

■  Se«  alphabetical  records  m  Chapter  XXIT. 


ond  Regiments  went  into  camp  near  Alexandria,  and 
were  soon  joined  by  the  other  regiments  of  the  bri- 
gade. 

On  the  2.5th  of  July,  Maj.  Philip  Kearney,  of  New 
Jersey,  who  had  greatly  distinguished  himself  in 
the  Mexican  war,  was  appointed  a  brigadier-general 
of  volunteers,  and  early  in  August  was  assigned  to 
the  command  of  the  New  Jersey  troops.  These 
troops  were  attached  to  Franklin's  division,  and  the 
brigade  headquarters  were  established  at  Fairfax 
Seminary,  three  miles  distant  from  Alexandria.  The 
experience  of  the  brigade  during  the  fall  and  winter 
months  was  marked  by  but  few  important  incidents, 
the  time  being  mainly  occupied  in  drill  and  the  ordi- 
nary camp  duties.  Gen.  Kearney  devoted  himself  to 
raising  his  command  to  the  highest  possible  state  of 
efficiency.  His  popularity  with  the  command  became 
greater  probably  than  that  of  any  other  general  officer 
in  the  service.  While  he  was  wary  and  cautious,  he 
was  also  bold  and  resolute,  and  chafed  exceedingly 
under  the  policy  of  inaction  which  characterized  the 
War  Department  at  this  period.  At  length  an  op- 
portunity came  for  him  to  show  the  government  an 
example  of  an  opposite  kind.  On  the  7th  of  March, 
1862,  his  brigade  was  ordered  to  Burke's  Station,  on 
the  Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  for  the  purpose 
of  guarding  a  party  of  laborers,  and  reaching  thereon 
the  following  day,  he  made  an  extended  reconnois- 
sance  of  the  country  for  several  miles  around.  Sub- 
sequently he  was  notified  by  some  negroes  that  the 
enemy  was  preparing  to  leave  Manassas.  He  was  not 
slow  to  act  upon  this  hint.  Apprising  Gen.  Franklin 
of  the  information  he  had  received,  but  without 
awaiting  orders,  he  at  once  pushed  on  with  his  troops, 
throwing  out  skirmishers  over  a  wide  extent  of  coun- 
try, and  driving  steadily  before  him  the  scattered 
pickets  of  the  enemy.  On  the  9th  the  Second  and 
Third  Regiments,  with  a  squadron  of  the  Lincoln 
Cavalry,  occupied  Sangster's  Station,  a  point  on  the 
Orange  and  Alexandria  Railroad,  about  five  miles 
from  Bull  Run  and  nine  from  Manassas  Junction,  the 
Fourth  Regiment  acting  as  a  support  to  the  advance. 
Here  they  surprised  a  detachment  of  rebel  cavalry, 
killing  three  and  capturing  a  lieutenant  and  eleven 
men,  and  losing  one  officer  of  the  cavalry,  killed  at 
the  first  fire.  The  First  Regiment  had  meanwhile 
advanced  to  Fairfax  Court-House,  whence,  on  the 
morning  of  the  10th,  a  detachment  under  Maj.  Hat- 
field and  Capt.  Vansickle  was  sent  forward  to  Cen- 
treville,  which  place  was  entered  about  noon,  the 
remainder  of  the  regiment  coming  up  shortly  after 
under  Lieut. -Col.  McAllister.  Thus  this  regiment, 
which  was  the  last  to  leave  Centreville  at  the  first 
Bull  Run,  had  the  honor  of  being  the  first  to  occupy 
the  place  in  the  second  advance.'  On  the  same  day 
the  remainder  of  the  brigade  pushed  cautiously  for- 
ward, reached,  and  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  en- 


*  New  Jersey  in  the  Relwlliou,  p.  71. 


144 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AiSD   iMIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


tered  the  abandoned  works  at  Manassas  Junction, 
eight  companies  of  the  Third  being  the  first  to  take 
possession  and  hoist  the  regimental  flag.  The  with- 
drawal of  the  enemy  at  this  point  had  evidently  been 
precipitated,  and  an  immense  amount  of  hospital  and 
commissary  stores  was  found,  together  with  eighty 
baggage- wagons,  several  locomotives,  four  or  five 
cars,  two  hundred  tents,  and  other  property  of  value. 
Among  the  trophies  also  were  seven  flags,  one  of 
white  silk,  with  the  motto,  "  Carolinians  in  the 
Field  :  Traitors  Beware,"  and  another  bordered  with 
heavy  silver  fringe,  with  the  inscription,  "State 
Rights  :  iSic  temper  tyrannis." 

Thus  at  all  points  the  advance  had  been  successful. 
It  had  demonstrated  the  feasibility  of  a  forward  move- 
ment, and  discovered  to  the  country  the  indefensi- 
bility of  the  policy  of  "  masterly  inactivity." 

Early  in  April  the  brigade  was  attached  to  the 
First  Division  of  the  First  Army  Corps,  and  on  the 
7th  of  that  month  proceeded  to  Bristow  Station,  and 
thence  to  Catlett's  Station,  two  miles  from  Warren- 
ton  Junction.  The  object  of  this  movement  was  to 
engage  the  attention  of  the  enemy  while  Gen.  Mc- 
Clellan  transferred  the  main  body  of  the  army  by 
transports  to  the  Peninsula.  Having  discharged  this 
duty  the  brigade  joined  the  main  army  at  the  mouth 
of  the  York  River  on  the  17th.  At  this  time  Gen. 
Kearney,  having  been  assigned  to  the  command  of  the 
Third  Division,  Third  Army  Corps,  Col.  Taylor,  of 
the  Third  Regiment,  took  charge  of  the  brigade, 
Yorktown  having  been  evacuated. 

Franklin's  division  was  sent  forward  on  the  5th  of 
May,  and  disembarking  at  West  Point,  on  the  York 
River,  pickets  were  immediately  thrown  out  into  the 
woods  in  front  to  guard  against  a  surprise  by  the 
rebel  forces  in  that  vicinity.  During  the  night  skir- 
mishing was  briskly  carried  on  between  the  opposing 
pickets,  and  at  daylight  the  whole  division  was  put 
under  arms.  Soon  after  the  enemy  advanced  and  a 
sharp  engagement  ensued,  but  the  New  Jersey  Bri- 
gade being  held  in  reserve  suffered  no  loss.  Later  in 
the  evening,  however,  the  First  Regiment,  led  by 
Lieut.-Col.  McAllister,  while  making  a  charge  in  the 
woods  had  four  men  slightly  wounded.  In  the  charge 
the  First  Regiment  took  and  held  a  position  which 
two  New  York  regiments  had  been  unable  to  main- 
tain. A  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Times  said 
of  this  charge,  "  The  line  was  as  firm  as  a  division 
in  its  columns  at  a  review.  Not  a  man  flinched. 
Lieut.-Col.  McAllister,  when  the  enemy  broke,  bravely 
pursued  them  some  distance,  when  he  received  orders 
to  return  and  hold  the  fence  which  ran  across  the 
forest.  This  firm  and  determined  movement  decided 
the  result.     The  rebels  made  good  their  retreat." 

This  engagement  or  battle  of  West  Point  was  fought 
on  the  7th  of  May,  1862.  On  the  lath  Franklin's 
entire  division  eft'ected  a  junction  with  McClellan's 
army  near  the  White  House,  whence  it  advanced  to 
the  Chickahominy,  and  remained  in   camp  about  a 


fortnight.  In  the  mean  time  the  fighting  about  Rich- 
mond had  commenced,  and  tlie  first  collision  on  the 
Chickahominy  had  occurred  on  the  24th  of  May. 
This  was  followed  by  a  battle  near  Hanover  Court- 
House,  in  which  the  Fifth  Corps  repulsed  the  rebels 
with  heavy  loss.  On  the  6th  of  June  Franklin's 
division  was  ordered  forward  to  Mechanicsville,  on 
the  extreme  right  of  our  lines,  where  McClellan  was 
holding  his  position  awaiting  reinforcements.  Here 
the  division  remained  several  days.  On  the  18th  the 
corps  took  possession  at  Fair  Oaks,  near  the  battle- 
field of  May  31st  and  June  1st,  where  the  First  Regi- 
ment on  the  night  of  May  21st  was  detailed  to  guard 
a  party  of  workmen.  Little  of  interest  occurred  in 
the  history  of  our  regiments  till  the  battle  of  Gaines' 
Farm,  which  occurred  on  the  27th  of  June.  On  the 
26tli,  "  Stonewall"  Jackson  having  engaged  our  forces 
at  Mechanicsville,  was  repulsed,  but  did  not  abandon 
the  field.  The  battle  was  savagely  renewed  on  the 
following  morning,  the  rebels  pursuing  our  troops  to 
Gaines'  Mill,  whither  they  had  been  ordered  to  with- 
draw by  Gen.  McClellan.  Here  the  onslaught  was 
terrific,  the  rebels  charging  again  and  again  upon  our 
lines,  and  at  length  compelling  them  to  give  way. 
Up  to  this  time  the  New  Jersey  Brigade  had  not  par- 
ticipated in  the  engagement.  But  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  27th,  leaving  its  intrenched  camp  on  the 
Chickahominy,  it  crossed  the  river  and  moved  down 
to  Woodbury's  Bridge,  where  it  found  Gens.  Fitz 
John  Porter  and  McCall  sorely  pressed.  What  fol- 
lowed can  be  better  given  in  the  language  of  Gen. 
Taylor's  official  report  of  this  battle,  which  is  as 
follows : 

**My  comiiiaiid,  by  order,  lett  our  iulrencheU  camp  on  tlie  right  bank 
of  the  Chickahiiniiliy  uu  Friday  afteniouu,  the  27Ui  of  June,  aud 
crossed  tlic  said  stream  by  the  Woodbury  bridge. 

"Tlie  battle  begun  the  day  previous  had  beeu  ren 
Farm,  where  we  ariived  about  four  o'clock  p  ai.     lit 
my  brigade  in  two  lines,  the  Third  and  Fourth  Regit 
the  First  and  Second  Regiments  in  tlie  second  line. 
"  My  line  was  scarcely  formed  when  the  Third  Regiment  under  the 
i   command  of  Lieut.-Col,  Brown  was  ordered  to  advance  forward  into 

the  woods,  where  a  fierce  combat  \va«  raging. 
I       "Col.  Brown  immediately  formed  liis  regiment  in  line  of  battle,  led 
]   it  into  the  woods,  and  began  a  rapid  fire  upon  the  enemy.    As  this  waa 
the  tirst  of  my  regiments  engaged,  I  will  complete  my  report  of  it  hy 
saying  that  they  continued  the  fight  in  the  woods  until  the  close  of  the 
action.    They  were  all  this  time  under  a  galling  fire,  often  a  cross-fire, 
j   but  maintained  their  ground  unril  near  sunset,  when  the  whole  line  fell 
I   back.    They  bad  at  this  time  expended  (a  large  mtgoiity  of  the  men) 
1   their  last  cartridge,  si.\ty  rounds  to  the  man.     It  is  but  justice  to  say 
•hat  this  regiment  bore  itself  nnjst  heroically  Ihroughout  the  entire  ac- 
tion.    Their  conduct  was  all  that  could  be  desired.     With  their  com- 
rades falling  around,  they  stxod  up  like  a  wall  of  it*on,  losing  over  one- 
'   third  of  their  number,  and  gave  not  an  inch  of  ground  until  their 
!  ammunition  was  expended  and  the  retrograde  movement  became  gen- 
eral ;  ihey  were  under  this  fire  one  hour  and  a  half. 

"The  First  Regiment  entered  the  woods  about  half  an  hour  after  the 

Third  and  remained  until  the  close  of  the  action.    Col.  Torbert  being 

1   unwell,  the  regiment  was  led  by  Lieut.-Col.  McAllister,  and  well  sus- 

j   tained  by  his  presence  and  courage.    I  shall,  however,  say  that  Col. 

Torbert,  though  snfTering  from  low  fever,  followed  us  to  the  field  and 

i   was  present. 

"1  tjike  great  pleasure  in  saying,  for  both  these  regiments  fought 
under  my  own  eye,  that  the  First  Regiment  showed  the  same  indomit- 
able courage  as  the  Thirtl  Regiment,  cxiKising  themselves  to  the  leaden 


ewed  near  Gaines* 
nmediately  foi-med 
iients  in  front,  and 


UNION    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR    OF    THE    REBELLION. 


145 


hail  of  an  often  unseen  foe,  advancing  with  the  Third  Regiment,  and 
stood  steadily  under  a  most  galling  fire  until  the  close  of  the  action. 
Their  loss  was:  enlisted  men  killed,  twenty;  wouiule'l,  eighty ;  missing, 
tifty-eeven.  The  loss  of  commissioned  officers  wjis  one  killed,  four 
wounded,  anil  one  missing,  making  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
three. 

"  I  have  now  to  speak  of  the  Second  and  Fourth  Regiments,  the  first 
of  which,  under  Col.  Tucker,  numbered  only  four  companies,  the  other 
six  being  on  duty  in  the  field-work  at  Camp  Lincoln,  and  left  beliind 
under  Lieut.-Col.  Buck.  While  absent  to  the  front  these  four  compa- 
nies, by  order  of  Gen.  Porter,  without  my  knowledge,  were  sent  into 
the  woods,  snflering  a  most  galling  fire.  Their  loss  was:  enlisted  men 
killed,  twelve;  wounded,  forty-five;  missing,  forty;  making  a  total  of 
ninety-seven  enlisted  men.  I  also  regret  to  record  the  death  of  Col.  I. 
M.  Tucker,  and  probably  Maj.  Ryerson,  both  of  whom  were  left  upon 
the  field;  also  Capt.  Danforth,  mortally  wounded,  and  Lieuts.  Blewitt, 
Root,  and  Bogert,  severely  wounded,  and  Lieut,  dillan,  missing.  They, 
however,  sustained  themselves  most  gnllautly,  and  proved  their  courage 
against  superior  numbers.  The  fate  of  the  Fourth  Regiment,  oneof  the 
most  efficient  regiments  as  regai"ds  officers  and  men,  was  moat  painful. 

"  At  the  moment  when  victory  seemed  wavering  in  the  balance  an  aide 
of  Gen.  McClelhm  took  them  from  my  command  and  ordered  them  into 
the  woods.  All  the  account  I  c:in  give  of  them  is  that  but  one  officer 
(wounded)  and  eighty-two  men  have  joined  my  command;  all  the  rest, 
if  living,  are  believed  to  be  prisoners  of  war. 

"I  learn  from  those  who  have  come  in  that  iip  to  the  time  the  regi- 
ment WHS  surrounded  they  had  received  from  and  returned  the  enemy  a 
most  galling  fire.  I  annex  a  report  of  the  casualties  of  the  day,  show- 
ing the  total  loss  of  my  brigade. 

"  In  conclnsion,  I  would  say  that,  so  far  as  I  am  at  presf-nt  informed, 
my  officers,  commissioned  and  non-conmiissioned,  nobly  performed  their 
duties,  and  it  might  therefore  be  invidious  to  particularize.  Still,  in 
justice  to  the  gallant  dead,  who  have  devoted  their  lives  to  their 
country,  I  must  record  the  names  of  Captain  Brewster,  of  the  First 
Regiment,  and  Captain  Buckley,  of  the  Third  ;  also  Second  Lieutenant 
Howell,  of  the  Third,  all  officers  of  distinguislied  merit.  Tiiese  officers 
fought  under  my  eye.  As  regards  the  conduct  of  the  Second  and 
Fourth  Regiment  officers,  I  am  told  that  it  was  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired, but  these  regiments  having  been  taken  from  me  I  did  not  see 
them  during  the  action. 

"  It  is  due  to  my  staff-officers  to  say  that  they  carried  out  'my  orders 
intelligeutly  and  promptly,  and  did  not  hesitate,  and  were  often  exposed 
to  the  hottest  fire  of  the  day." 

Company  A  of  the  Second  Regiment,  from  this 
county,  was  not  engaged  in  the  action,  being  one  of 
the  six  companies  left  behind  and  engaged  on  the 
work  at  Fort  Lincoln.  Col.  Tucker  brought  with  him 
into  the  action  Companies  D,  H,  T,  and  K.  The  ab- 
sence of  Company  A  at  the  time  of  the  action  will 
account  for  the  lack  of  casualties  in  the  record  of  the 
company  at  this  period,  which  we  give  at  the  close  of 
these  regimental  sketches. 

It  will  be  impossible,  owing  to  the  lack  of  space,  to 
give  anything  like  a  detailed  history  of  all  the  move- 
ments of  these  companies,  including  the  regiments 
and  brigade  to  which  they  belonged.  Some  idea  of 
the  extent  of  the  service  which  they  rendered  from 
the  beginning  to  the  close  of  the  war  may  be  gained 
from  a  list  of  the  battles  in  which  they  were  engaged. 

These  companies,  with  their  regiments  and  bri- 
gade, participated  in  the  following  engagements : 
■  Bull  Run,  Va.,  July  21,  1861 ;  Benson's  Tavern,  Va., 
Oct.  15,  1861  ;  West  Point,  Va.,  May  7,  1862;  Gaines' 
Farm,  Va.,  June  27,  1862;  Charles  City  Cross-Roads, 
Va.,  June  30,  1862;  Malvern  Hill,  Va.,  July  1,  1862  ; 
Manassas,  Va.,  Aug.  27,  1862;  Chantilly,  Va.,  Sept. 
1,  1862;  Crampton  Pass,  Md.,  Sept.  14,  1862;  An- 
lietam,   Md.,   Sept.   17,    1862;    Fredericksburg,  Va,, 


Dec.  13,  14,  1862 ;  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May  3,  1863 ; 
Salem  Heights,  Va..  May  3,  4,  1863  ;  Gettysburg,  Pa., 
July  2,  3,  1863;  Fairfield,  Pa.,  July  5,  1863;  Wil- 
lianisport,  Md.,  July  6,  1863;  Funktown,  Md.,  July 
12,  1863  ;  Rappahannock  Station,  Va.,  Oct.  12,  1863 ; 
Rappahannock  Station,  Va.,  Nov.  7, 1863 ;  Mine  Run, 
Va.,  Nov.  30,  1863;  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5  to  7, 
1864;  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  to  10,  1864;  Spott- 
sylvania  Court-house,  May  12  to  16,  1864  ;  North  and 
South  Anna  River,  Va.,  May  24,  1864;  Hanover 
Court-House,  Va.,  May  29,  1864  ;  Tolopotomy  Creek, 
Va.,  May  30,  31,  1864;  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1  to 
3,  1864;  before  Petersburg,  Va.  (Weldon  Railroad), 
June  28,  1864;  Snicker^s  Gap,  Va.,  July  18,  1864; 
Strasburg,  Va.,  Aug.  15, 1864  ;  Winchester,  Va.,  Aug. 
17,  1864  ;  Charlestown,  Va.,  Aug.  21,  1864  ;  Opequan, 
Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864;  Fisher's  Hill,  Va.,  Sept.  21,  22, 
1864 ;  New  Market,  Va.,  Sept.  24, 1864 ;  Mount  Jack- 
son, Va.,  Sept.  25,  1864;  Cedar  Creek  and  Middle- 
town,  Va.,  Oct.  19,  1864;  Hatcher's  Run,  Va.,  Feb. 
5,  1865;  Fort  Steedman,  Va.,  March  25,  1865;  cap- 
ture of  Petersburg,  Va.,  April  2, 1865;  Sailor's  Creek, 
Va.,  April  6,  1865;  Farmville,  Va.,  April  7,  1865; 
Lee's  surrender  (Appomattox,  Va.),  April  9,  1865. 

In  all  these  engagements  the  regiments  and  com- 
panies of  the  brigade  made  for  themselves  an  honor- 
able record.  After  the  battle  of  Crampton's  Pass, 
Sept.  15,  1862,  Col.  Torbert,  commanding,  promul- 
gated the  following  general  order: 

"Soldiers  of  the  Fihrt  New  Jeesey  Brigade,— The  14th  day  of 
September,  1862,'  is  one  long  to  be  remembered,  for  on  that  day  you 
dashingly  met  and  drove  the  enemy  at  every  point.  Tour  advance  in 
the  line  of  battle  under  a  galling  artillery  tire  and  final  bayonet 
charge  was  a  feat  seldom  if  ever  surpassed.  The  heights  you  took 
show  plainly  what  determined  and  disciplined  soldiers  can  do. 

"You  have  sustained  the  reputation  of  your  State,  and  done  great 
credit  to  your  officers  and  yourselves.  While  we  lament  the  death  of 
our  brave  comrades  who  have  fallen  so  gloriously,  we  can  only  commit 
their  souls  to  God  and  their  sorrowing  friends  to  Hia  sure  protection. 
May  you  go  from  victory  to  victory  is  the  hope  and  wish  of  the  colonel 
commanding  the  brigade." 

From  Col.  Torbert's  oflScial  report  of  this  brilliant 
affair,  dated  September  16th,  we  extract  the  following : 

"  It  being  decided  to  attack  the  enemy  posted  in  the  Pass,  the  division 
was  ordered  to  advance  in  six  lines,  two  regiments  front,  the  First 
Brigade  in  the  rear.  About  three  o'clock  I  marched  my  brigade  in  two 
lines  by  the  right  flank,  under  cover  till  we  gained  the  open  ground^ 
when  the  advance  was  made  in  line  of  battle  as  follows:  First  Iiue» 
First  and  Second  Regiments.  They  advanced  about  half  a  mile  with 
great  regularity  through  clover-  and  corn-fields,  intersected  by  high 
wood  and  stone  fences,  being  exposed  the  greater  part  of  the  time  to 
the  enemy's  artillery  fire.  AiTiving  within  supporting  distance  of  Col- 
onel Bartlftt's  brigade,  which  was  engaging  the  enemy,  I  halted.  Soon 
after  I  ordered  the  Second  Regiment  forward  to  relieve  one  of  Bartlett's 
retiiments  which  was  out  of  ammunition,  which  they  did  with  prompt- 
ness. Tlic  enemy  was  posted  behind  a  stone  wall  at  the  base  of  the 
mountain,  with  a  wood  just  behind  them.  At  this  time  the  distance 
between  the  contending  parties  was  between  three  and  four  hundred 
yards,  an  open  field  intervening.  Thinking  the  distance  too  great,  Gen. 
Newton  ordered  me  to  charge  forward  to  the  woods.  Accordingly 
I  ordered  forward  my  second  line,  Third  and  Fourth  Regiments,  to 
charge  across  the  open  field  into  the  woods.  The  first  line  was  ordered 
to  cease  firing.  A  cheer,  and  the  men  went  forward  at  double-quick  in 
a  mo&t  gallant  manner,  leaping  the  fence  on  the  way  behind  which  our 
men  had  been  fighting.  When  they  had  advanced  about  a  hundred  and 
fifty  yards,  I  ordered  the  second  line,  First  and  Second  Regiments,  to 


146 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESP]X    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


charge  in  the  same  mniiQer  as  the  first,  which  they  did  most  htind- 
somely.  The  enemy,  although  holding  a  very  strong  positiou,  and 
having  the  advantage  of  artillery,  could  not  stand  these  chargee,  so 
broke  and  fled  up  the  mountain-side  in  great  disorder,  closely  pursued 
by  our  men,  who  drove  them  through  the  Pass  and  some  distance  in 
the  valley  on  the  other  side,  when  night  put  an  end  to  the  pursuit. 

"Too  much  cannot  be  said  in  praise  of  the  bravery  and  gallantry  of 
both  officers  and  men  ;  they  certainly  did  credit  to  tliemselvea  and  the 
State  they  represent.  .  .  .  The  loss  to  the  brigade  has  been  as  follows: 
One  officer  killed  and  nine  wounded,  thirty-nine  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers and  privates  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  wounded; 
total,  one  hundred  and  seventy -four." 

At  the  first  battle  of  Fredericksburg  the  brigade 
contained  in  addition  to  the  four  regiments,  or  what 
remained  of  them,  the  Fifteenth  and  Twenty-third 
New  Jersey  Infantry.  In  this  action  it  was  conspicu- 
ous for  gallantry,  the  new  regiments  seeming  to  have 
caught  the  spirit  of  the  old  ones.  The  brigade  lost 
in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing  one  hundred  and 
tweuty-two  men.  At  Chancellorsville,  Col.  Brown, 
who  commanded  the  brigade  during  the  early  part  of 
the  engagement,  was  severely  wounded;  Col.  Cattell, 
of  the  First  Regiment,  was  killed  in  the  thickest  of 
the  fight;  and  Col.  Buck,  of  the  Second  Regiment, 
sustained  an  injury  from  the  fall  of  his  horse.  The 
command  therefore  devolved  temporarily  upon  Col. 
Penrose,  of  the  Fifteenth  New  Jersey.  In  a  congrat- 
ulatory order,  published  on  the  12th  of  May,  1863, 
Col.  Buck  said, — 

"The  sad  casualty  to  the  brave  Col.  Brown,  of  the  Third  Regiment, 
having  placed  the  brigade  under  my  command,  I  cannot  in  justice  to  you 
or  myself  refrain  from  expressing  my  heartfelt  thanks  for  the  prompt 
and  energetic  manner  in  which  you  obeyed  my  commands.  .  .  .  You 
have  earned  for  yourselves  imperishable  fame,  and  nobly  redeemed  the 
pledge  you  so  recently  made  on  the  receipt  of  your  new  colors,  which 
.  have  been  gallantly  borne  and  bravely  defended,  as  the  life-blood  of  the 
brave  Col.  Cattell  and  many  others  sadly  testify." 

The  following  incident  of  the  brigade  is  related 
in  connection  with  the  battle  of  Winchester: 

"Our  brigade  of  nine  hundred  men  and  one  regiment  of  cavalry,  the 
Third  New  Jersey,  sustained  the  shock  of  an  overwhelming  force,  esti- 
mated at  five  thousand.  The  enemy  attacked  with  three  lines  of  battle. 
Our  men  were  deployed  as  skirmishers,  fifteen  feet  apart.  They  would 
lie  down  behind  a  wall,  waiting  the  enemy's  approacli,  and  fire  to  check 
him  as  much  as  possible.  Then,  at  the  order  to  retire,  they  would  run 
to  the  next  place  of  shelter,  whether  stone  wall,  hill,  or  tree,  and  wait 
the  rebel  approach  again,  give  them  some  deadly  volleys,  and  again  re- 
tire. This  mode  of  fighting  was  kept  up  till  Winchester  was  reached  and 
passed.  While  passing  through  the  town  many  of  our  men  were  shot 
down  by  the  citizens,  who  fired  from  the  windows  of  the  houses.  In  the 
darkness  it  was  impossible  always  to  tell  friend  from  foe.  Once  Col. 
Campbell  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  nuniher  of  men  pressing  rap- 
idly forward,  or,  as  he  supposed,  hurrying  away  to  the  rear.  He  was 
on  the  point  of  halting  them  and  calling  them  to  rally  at  a  point  in  a 
little  graveyard  when  an  outcry  from  one  of  them  proved  tliat  they  were 
rebels.  Turning  an  angle  in  the  wall,  whtre  be  conld  be  shielded  from 
their  fire,  he  left  them  in  haste.  A  soldier  came  among  our  men,  and 
they  demanded,  *  Who  are  you?'  to  wliich  he  answered,  '  I  belong  to 
Breckenridge's  division.'  They  said,  'Lay  down  your  arms,'  but  the 
fellow  cried,  '  I  am  a  reb  P  '  Very  well,'  said  our  boys,  '  but  we  are 
Tanks';  and  through  all  the  confusion  of  the  night  some  held  fast  to 
him,  and  in  the  morning  delivered  him  up  a  prisoner  of  war.'*  i 

At  the  surrender  of  Lee,  on  the  memorable  9th  of 
April,  1865,  the  brigade  was  not  far  from  Appomat- 
tox Court- House.  The  news  was  received  with  dem- 
onstrations of  the  wildest  enthusiasm.     The  fighting 


1  Cliaplain  Haines'  Notes. 


was  ended,  the  Union  cause  victorious,  and  now  all 
looked  for  a  speedy  discharge.  A  long  and  weary 
march,  however,  was  before  the  brigade,  it  being  or- 
dered to  Danville  instead  of  to  Washington. 

On  the  24th  of  May  it  marched  through  Richmond 
on  its  way  homeward,  going  into  camp  at  Georgetown 
on  the  2d  of  June.  It  was  soon  mustered  out,  and 
returned  to  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Mr.  Foster,  in  his  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion," 
thus  closes  his  elaborate  history  of  the  brigade: 

"On  a  score  of  fields  it  had  exhihited  the  rarest  heroism.  In  disci- 
pline, in  sturdy,  faultless  courage,  in  unwavering  and  sublime  devotion, 
it  justified,  down  to  the  latest  field,  the  high  expectations  of  that  knightly 
soldier  who  made  it  what  it  was.  Tried  it)  many  a  fierce  and  pitiless 
fire,  it  had  never  faltered.  Exposed  sometimes  to  peculiai-  hardships, 
thinned  by  disea-se,  weakened  by  heavy  loss,  it  never  for  an  hour  lost  its 
faith  in  the  cause.  The  hospital  devoured  and  the  trench  swallowed  up 
many  of  its  bravest  and  best,  but  the  Firet  Brignde,  even  when  but  a 
remnant  of  its  strength  remained,  was  still  undaunted.  No  danger  ap- 
palled, no  privation  dismayed,  no  loss  disheartened  the  veterans,  who 
with  a  lofty  pride  fought  and  died  for  freedom's  sake.  When  at  last, 
with  torn  standards  and  lean  ranks,  it  marched  from  the  field  where  it 
had  helped  to  achieve  an  honorable  peace,  it  was  welcomed  home  with 
right  royal  greeting,  the  people  hailing  it  with  glad  acclaim,  and  with 
it  rejoicing  that  the  sound  of  war  had  ceased  flora  the  land.  To-day 
scattered  in  all  the  walks  of  life,  those  of  its  m«'mbers  who  ye-t  survive 
perform  the  old  duties  and  bear  the  old  burdens  familiar  before  they 
were  marched  afield  ;  but  their  proudest  boast  is  that  once  they  fought 
with  Kearney  and  the  grand  old  Army  of  the  Potomac  for  the  flag  which 
to  him  and  to  them  was  dearer  than  ail  things  else." 


CHAPTER   XXII. 

UNION   COUNTY    IN   THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 

{Conthiiied.) 

Ninth  Reg^iment. — The  Ninth  Regiment  contained 
two  companies,  G  and  K,  from  Union  County.  They 
were  officered  as  follows  :  Company  G,  Captain,  John 
P.  Ritter ;  First  Lieutenant,  William  Zimmerman: 
Second  Lieutenant,  William  Benton.  Company  K, 
Captain,  Elias  J.  Drake;  First  Lieutenant,  W.  B.  S. 
Boudinot;  Second  Lieutenant,  Jonathan  Townley,  Jr. 
Joseph  W.  Allen  was  colonel  of  the  regiment;  C.  A. 
Heekman,  major;  Francis  S.  Weller,  surgeon  ;  Louis 
Braun,  assistant  surgeon  ;  Abrani  Zabriskie,  adjutant; 
Samuel  Keyes, quartermaster;  Thomas  Drumm,  chap- 
lain. 

The  regiment  was  raised  under  an  authorization 
from  the  War  Department  to  recruit  a  regiment  of 
riflemen  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey.  Its  recruit- 
ment was  begun  in  September,  1861,  and  the  first 
muster  was  made  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton,  on  the 
5th  of  October.  The  regiment  was  soon  filled  to  the 
maximum,  and  remained  at  camp,  engaged  in  con- 
tinuous drill,  until  the  -Ith  of  December,  when  it  pro- 
ceeded to  Washington,  D.  C,  having  upon  its  rolls 
an  aggregate  of  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty- 
two  men.  It  was  armed  with  Springfield  rifles,  and 
more  fully  and  splendidly  equipped  than  any  regi- 
ment which  up  to  that  time  had  left  the  State. 

Without  going  too  much  into  particulars,  it  may 


UNION    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR   OF    THE    REBELLION. 


147 


be  said   that  the  regiment  on  its  arrival  in  Wash- 
ington went  into  camp  on  the  Bladensburg  turnpike, 
where  it  remained  until  Jan.  4,  1862,  when  it  pro- 
ceeded by  rail  to  Annapolis,  where  a  large  portion  of 
the  troops  composing  Burnside's  expedition  to  North 
Carolina  had  already  assembled.     Here  the  regiment 
was  assigned  to  the  brigade  of  Gen.  Jesse  L.  Reno,  ! 
and   embarked   on    the   10th   for   Fortress    Monroe, 
whence,  on  the  12th,  sail  was  made  towards  the  point 
of  destination  at  Hatteras  Inlet.     Soon  after  arriving  j 
oft'  the  inlet  a  violent  storm  arose,  the  wind  blowing  | 
fiercely  on  shore  and  imperiling  the  lives  of  all  on 
board,  which  would  probably  have  been  lost  but  for  i 
the  enterprise  and  daring  of  a  member  of  the  regi- 
ment from   this  county,  Corp.  Samuel  J.  Dilkes,  of 
Company  K.     The  historian  of  the  regiment  gives 
the  following  account  of  the  disaster: 

'*  Extra  aucbors  were  cast,  but  even  tliis  precaution  did  not  avail  to   [ 
save  several  vessels  of  the  fleet,  wbicb  were  drifted  ashore  and  became    j 
total  wrecks.    Tlie  steamer  '  City  of  New  York,' laden  with  ammunition,   I 
foundered  at  the  mouth  of  tlie  inlet,  while  the  '  Connecticut'  was  sunk 
inside  the  bar.     The  steamer  '  Pocahontas,'  laden  with  horses,  on  the 
passage  down  was  driven  ashore  in  the  gale,  its  engines  having  become 
unmanageable,  and  but  for  the  gallantry  of  Corp.  Samuel  J,  Dilkes,  of 
Company  K,  Ninth  Regiment,  the  lives  of  all  on  board  might  have  been 
lost.    Dilkes  bravely  swimming  ashore  with  a  rope,  fastened  it  securely 
by  means  of  a  stake  driven  firmly  into  the  sand,  and  so  enabled  the  crew 
to  reach  the  land  in  safety.    The  cook,  an  aged  colored  woman,  being 
unable  in  this  way  to  escape,  Dilkes,  with  a  heroism  which  filled  all  be- 
holders with  admiration,  returned  to  the  ship,  now  rapidly  going  to 
pieces,  and  binding  the  frightened  woman  to  his  pereon  leaped  into  the 
sea,  and  by  almost  superhuman  exertions  succeeded  in  safety  reaching  i 
the  shore,  where  he  was  hailed  by  his  comrades  with  deserved  and  the 
utmost  enthusiasm.  ! 

"  On  the  foUowingday,  the  15th,  the  sea  having  somewhat  calmed.  Col. 
Allen,  Lieut.-Col.  Heckman,  Surg.  Weller,  .\djt.  Zabriskie,and  Quarter- 
master Keyes  proceeded  in  the  gig  of  the  captain  of  the  ship  '  Ann  E. 
Thompson'  to  the  shore,  for  the  purpose  of  reporting  to  Gen.  Buruside. 
The  gig  was  manned  by  a  picked  crew,  in  charge  of  the  captain ,  and  con- 
tained twelve  persons  in  all.  Having  concluded  their  interview  with 
the  general-in-cliief,  the  party  returned  to  their  boat,  which  was  rowed 
swiftly  and  safely  towards  the  ship  until  the  breakers  just  outside  the 
iulet  were  reached,  when  suddenly  a  heavy  sea,  or  water-spout,  burst 
over  the  bow,  sweeping  to  the  stern,  unshipping  the  oars,  and  occasion- 
ing the  greatest  consternation  among  the  pafiseugers.  Before  the  boat  ' 
could  be  righted  a  second  and  stronger  wave  struck  if  from  beneath, 
hurling  it  some  distance  in  the  air  and  precipitating  all  its  occupants 
into  the  sea.  The  situation  was  fearful  indeed,  and  the  struggle  with  j 
the  seething  watere  desperate  iii  the  last  degree.  With  great  difficulty 
the  boat  was  reached  by  several  of  the  party  and  efforts  made  to  right 
it;  but  this  was  soon  found  to  be  impossible.  .  .  .  Lieut.-Col.  Heckman 
and  Adjt.  Zabriskie,  being  expert  swimmers,  finding  that  C^l.  Allen  and  I 
Surgeon  Weller  were  in  greater  danger  than  others,  made  several  heroic 
attempts  to  save  their  lives,  but  all  were  unsuccessful,  these  officers, 
bnively  struggling  to  the  last,  going  down  into  the  watery  depths.  By 
this  time  the  capsized  boat  was  drifting  rapidly  seaward,  but  the  lieu- 
tenant-colonel and  adjutant  finally  sncceeiied  in  raising  an  oar,  having 
fastened  thi-reon  a  sailor's  shirt,  which  signal  being  sh(»rtly  afterwards 
discovered  the  alarm  was  given,  and  the  steamer  '  I'atuxeut'  at  once 
hastened  to  give  assistance.  So  overcome  were  the  survivors  by  their 
exertions  that  upon  reaching  the  decks  of  the  steamer  some  of  them 
sank  into  insensibility,  Lieut.-Col.  Heckman  remaining  in  a  state  of 
prostration  for  several  days.  The  bodies  of  Col.  Allen,  Dr.  Weller,  and 
the  second  mate,  who  was  also  drowned,  were  recovered  during  the  day, 
and  every  effort  made  to  resuscitate  them,  but  entirely  without  avail." 

Upon  the  sad  and  untimely  death  of  Col.  Allen, 
Lieut.-Col.  Heckman  took  command  of  the  regiment, 
and  remained  in  command  until  Jan.  16,  1864,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  district  of 


Suffolk,  Va.  Adjt.  Zabriskie  then  became  colonel, 
and  held  the  command  until  he  fell  mortally  wounded 
at  Drury's  Bluft",  May  16,  1864.  Lieut.-Col.  James 
Stewart,  Jr.,  then  commanded  the  regiment  till  the 
close  of  the  war. 

The  operations  of  the  regiment  were  confined  to 
the  States  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and 
Virginia.  On  the  18th  of  November,  1862,  in  com- 
pliance with  an  order  from  the  War  Department,  the 
regiment  was  reduced  from  twelve  to  ten  companies, 
A  and  L  being  disbanded,  and  the  enlisted  men  trans- 
ferred to  other  companies  of  the  regiment.  Company 
M  was  designated  Company  A.  In  January,  1864,  a 
majority  of  the  regiment  re-enlisted  in  the  field,  and 
being  entitled  to  a  veteran  furlough,  visited  their 
homes  in  New  Jersey,  returning  again  to  the  service 
on  the  15th  of  March.  Those  who  did  not  re-enlist, 
and  whose  terms  of  service  had  expired,  were  mus- 
tered out  at  Trenton,  Dec.  7,  1864.  The  regiment 
maintained  its  organization  till  the  close  of  the  war, 
being  strengthened  from  time  to  time  during  1863, 
'64,  and  '65  by  recruits  from  the  draft  rendezvous  at 
Trenton.  It  participated  in  the  following  engage- 
ments : 

Roanoke  Island,  N.  C,  Feb.  8,  1862 ;  Newberne, 
N.  C,  March  14,  1862 ;  Fort  Macon,  N.  C,  April  25, 
1862;  Young's  Cross- Roads,  N.  C,  July  27,  1862; 
Rowell's  Mills,  N.  C,  Nov.  2,  1862 ;  Deep  Creek,  N.  C, 
Dec.  12,  1862;  Southwest  Creek,  N.  C,  Dec.  13, 1862; 
before  Kinston,  N.  C,  Dec.  13,  1862 ;  Kinston,  N.  C, 
Dec.  14, 1862  ;  Whitehall,  N.  C,  Dec.  16, 1862 ;  Golds- 
boro',  N.  C,  Dec.  17, 1862 ;  Comfort  Bridge,  N.  C,  July 
6, 1863 ;  near  Winton,  N.  C,  July  26, 1863 ;  Deep  Creek, 
Va.,  Feb.  7,  1864;  Deep  Creek,  Va.,  March  1,  1864; 
Cherry  Grove,  Va.,  April  14,  1864;  Port  Whitehall, 
Va.,  May  6  and  7,  1864  ;  Procter's,  Va.,  May  8,  1864 ; 
Swift  Creek,  Va.,  May  9  and  10,  1864 ;  Drury's  Bluff, 
Va.,  May  12  to  16,  1864;  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  3 
to  12,  1864;  Free  Bridge,  Va.,  June  16,  1864;  before 
Petersburg,  Va.,  June  20  to  Aug.  24,  1864  ;  Gardner's 
Bridge,  N.  C,  Dec.  9,  1864 ;  Fosters  Bridge,  N.  C, 
Dec.  10,  1864;  Butler's  Bridge,  N.  C,  Dec.  11,  1864; 
Southwest  Creek,  N.  C,  March  7,  1865;  Wise's  Fork, 
N.  C,  March  8,  9,  and  10,  1865  ;  Goldsborough,  N.  C, 
March  21,  1865. 

The  Ninth  Regiment  received  great  credit  for  their 
gallant  and  successful  operations  in  a  swamp  during 
the  action  at  Roanoke  Island,  which  is  believed  to 
have  secured  the  great  success  of  the  day  by  enabling 
our  army  to  operate  successfully  upon  the  enemy's 
flank.  Foster  speaks  of  their  conduct  as  being  "  from 
first  to  last  in  the  highest  degree  courageous."  Gen. 
Burnside  promulgated  an  order  on  the  10th  of  Febru- 
ary that  the  Ninth  Regiment  should  have  the  words 
"Roanoke  Island,  February  8,  1862,"  emblazoned  on 
their  banners  in  compliment  for  their  gallantry  on 
that  day.  The  only  ordnance  which  could  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  enemy,  owing  to  the  deep  morass 
which  our  troops  traversed    and  the  almost  impen- 


148 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NKW   JERSEY. 


etrable  thickets,  was  a  small  rifled  cannon,  manned 
altogether  by  men  detailed  from  the  Ninth.  Besides, 
the  gunboat  which  did  most  execution  upon  the  fort 
had  her  guns  manned  by  Jerseymen  detailed  from 
the  Ninth.  "  On  the  10th,"  says  the  Newark  Dailii 
Advertiser,  "  this  detail  asked  to  be  sent  back  to  their 
regiment,  but  the  commodore  replied  that  '  the  Jer- 
sey Blues'  had  sliown  themselves  too  good  managers 
of  the  big  guns  to  allow  him  to  part  with  them  ;  that  j 
they  were  true  Blues,  and  no  mistake." 

One  Jerseyman,  who  had  been  wounded  by  a  bullet 
through  the  head,  said  it  was  not  much,  and  walked 
alone  back  to  the  hospital  tent,  as  he  said,  "  to  get 
something  to  keep  the  blood  out  of  his  eyes,  when  he 
would  come  back  to  his  company."  The  poor  fellow 
fell  just  as  he  got  to  the  tent.  ' 

Testimony  as  to  the  gallantry  of  this  regiment  in  dif- 
ferent engagements  might  be  multiplied  to  almost  any 
extent.  The  New  York  Tribune,  speaking  of  the  bat- 
tle of  Newberne,  says, — 

"In  the  capture  of  Newberne  the  Ninth  New  Jersey  Regiment  sus- 
tained the  honor  of  their  State  witli  characteristic  gallautry.  Though 
their  position  in  tliat  brilliant  engagement  was  one  of  great  exposure, 
they  boie  themselves  through  the  contlict  like  veterans.  sufTering  more  j 
severely  than  any  other  regiment  on  the  field.  Out  of  a  total  loss  of 
three  hundred  and  sixty-four  killed  and  wounded  they  Inst  sixty-two,  or 
oue-sixth  of  the  whole,  although  twelve  regiments  were  in  the  battle. 
Bravo  for  the  Jersey  Blues  !" 

Private  Thomas  Macquaid,  of  Elizabeth,  was  struck  ; 
by  a  spent  ball  on  the  shoulder,  and  tumbled  down  ; 
but  when  being  carried  back  he  suddenly  broke  away 
and  said,  "  Let  me  take  oft'  my  coat  and  see  that  first," 
and  finding  the  shoulder  much  swollen  he  went  on  a 
few  steps,  and  concluded  to  "  take  another  look," 
when  he  said  he  guessed  he'd  take  a  few  more  shots, 
came  back,  and  fought  bravely  till  the  victory  was  won. 
Sergt.  Joseph  Wright  was  shot  through  the  shoulder, 
and  sat  down  in  his  place  a  moment,  and  then  slowly 
turned  to  his  commander,  saying,  very  coolly,  almost 
dryly,  "  Captain,  I  am  wounded."  That  oiBcer,  find- 
ing his  company  pretty  well  cut  up,  and  not  wishing 
to  send  back  more  men  with  the  wounded  than  was 
absolutely  necessary,  asked  if  he  was  much  hurt.  He 
didn't  know,  he  said,  but  thought  he  would  let  the 
surgeon  see,  and  had  gone  some  distance,  when  he 
came  back  and  requested  of  the  captain  that  he  might 
take  his  rifle  with  him. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  1862,  the  regiment  was 
made  the  recipient  of  a  beautiful  stand  of  colors, 
costing  seven  hundred  dollars,  presented  by  the  Leg- 
islature of  New  Jersey,  accompanied  by  the  following 
resolutions  passed  by  that  body  : 

"R&iotved,  That  the  Ninth  Regiment  of  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  by 
their  patient  endurance  under  privation  and  fiitigue,  and  by  their  courage 
at  the  pver-to-be-remembered  battles  of  Roanoke  and  Newberne  (a  courage 
•TiDCed  by  the  havoc  made  in  their  own  unwavering  columns  better  than 
by  the  rei>ort8  of  partial  journals),  have  sustained  the  higli  rejiutation 
which  since  the  days  of  the  Revolution  hun  belonged  to  the  soldiers  of 
New  Jersey,  and  as  evidence  of  our  appreciation  of  that  acme  of  every 
manly  virtue,  •  patriotic  devotion  to  country.'  the  Governor  of  the  State 
si  requested  to  liave  prepared  ami  forwarded  to  said  regiment  a  standard, 


on  which  shall  be  inscribed  these  wonls;  'Presented  iiy  New  Jersey  to 
her  Ninth  Regiment  in  remembrance  of  Rualiuku  anil  New  tierne.' 

"Resolced,  That  Col.  Cliurles  A.  Heckman,  wlio  so  gaUantly  led  his 
well-ordered  men  to  the  conflict,  is  reijiiesleil,  at  the  proper  time,  to  report 
to  the  clerk  of  the  House  of  .Assembly  the  names  of  those  who  fell,  killed 
or  mortally  wounded,  on  either  of  the  saiil  battlefields;  and  that  the 
clerk  of  the  House  is,  by  virtue  of  this  resolution,  ordered  to  enter  their 
names,  with  tlie  place  where  they  fell,  on  the  minutes  of  the  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey,  as  men  who  have  fallen  in  defense  of  the  best  govern- 
ment of  the  world. 

"  BemUedt  That  New  Jersey  looks  with  pride  upon  her  soldiers  in  the 
field,  without  exception  or  distinction,  and  is  prepared  to  honor  them; 
and  while  extending  congratulations  that  the  occasion  has  not  yet  oc- 
curred when  they  have  been  put  to  flight  by  an  enemy,  entertains  entire 
confidence  that  such  occasion  will  never  be  recognized  by  them. 

"  Resolved,  That  New  Jersey  highly  appreciates  the  disinterested  fidelity 
of  Brig.-Gen.  Philip  Kearney  in  declining  proffcred  promotion  rather 
thau  separate  himself  from  the  command  of  Jerseymen  to  him  intrusted. 

"  Resolved,  That  with  the  families,  relatives,  and  friends  of  those  mem- 
bere  of  the  Ninth  Regiment  who,  on  the  14th  of  March,  met  death  in 
that  form  most  courted  by  the  true  soldier,  on  the  battle-field  with  their 
faces  to  the  foe,  we  most  deeply  sympathize  and  sincerely  condole. 

"  Resolved,  That  copies  of  the.se  resolutions  be  forwarded  to  the  gen- 
erals and  colonels  commanding  the  New  Jersey  troops." 

We  regret  that  we  have  not  space  for  fuller  and 
more  consecutive  details  of  the  operations  of  this  regi- 
ment. Those  who  desire  a  more  complete  history 
will  find  it  in  Foster's  excellent  work,  "New  Jersey 
and  the  Rebellion,"  from  which  much  of  our  infor- 
mation relating  to  this  and  other  regiments  has  been 
drawn.  New  Jersey  will  ever  be  proud  of  the  achieve- 
ments of  her  Ninth  Regiment.  "  Its  story,"  says  Mr. 
Foster,  "is  the  story  of  the  war;  its  eulogy  its  own 
great  deeds.  During  its  term  of  service  it  participated 
in  forty-two  battles  and  engagements,  and  traveled 
by  rail  and  on  foot  a  distance  of  seven  thousand  six 
j  hundred  and  forty -two  miles,  making  while  in  North 
Carolina  some  of  the  most  remarkable  marches  on 
record.  Entering  the  service  with  one  thousand  one 
hundred  and  forty-two  men,  and  at  various  times 
strengthened  by  recruits,  the  mean  strength  of  the 
regiment  when  mustered  out  was  only  six  hundred 
men.  Eight  ofiicers  offered  their  lives  a  sacrifice  on 
the  nation's  altar,  while  twenty-three  received  wounds 
in  battle,  most  of  them  of  a  serious  nature.  Sixty- 
one  enlisted  men  were  killed  in  battle,  and  four  hun- 
dred wounded.  Forty-three  men  died  from  wounds, 
and  one  hundred  from  disease.  The  total  loss  of  the 
regiment  from  all  causes  was  sixteen  hundred  and 
forty-six  men.  No  fact  could  more  strikingly  ex- 
hibit the  consuming  nature  of  the  campaigns  in  which 
the  regiment  participated  than  this,  clearly  authenti- 
cated by  official  reports.  The  entire  number  of  men 
and  officers  taken  prisoners  was  about  one  hundred 
and  thirty,  forty-seven  of  this  number  dying  while 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy." 

Capt.  Jonathan  Towni.ey,  the  subject  of  this 
biographical  sketch,  is  the  grandson  of  Capt.  Jona- 
than Townley,  who  enjoyed  the  distinction  of  having 
been  a  captain  at  an  early  period  in  the  State  militia. 
Among  his  children  was  John  M.,  born  in  1801,  and 
married  to  Miss  Eveline  Cooper.  The  birlh  of  their 
son  Jonathan  occurred  Doc.  14,  18MM,  in  the  township 
of  Union,  where  his  early  life  was  spent  in  studies 


UNION    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR   OF   THE   REBELLION. 


149 


preliminary  to  entering  Princeton  College,  where  his 
graduation  took  place  in  1858.  He  found  congenial 
employnient  in  the  labors  of  an  instructor,  and  con- 
tinued them  until  the  year  1861,  which  developed  the 
civil  war.  Being  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  patriotism 
he  enlisted  in  Company  K,  Ninth  Regiment  New  Jer- 
sey Volunteers,  and   began    his   military   career   as 


second  lieutenant.  He  was,  March  9,  1862,  promoted 
to  a  first  lieutenancy,  and  March  4,  1864,  received  his 
commission  as  captain.  He  was  wounded  at  Newberne, 
N.  C,  on  the  14th  of  March,  1862,  and  again  before 
Richmond,  May  14,  1864. 

Capt.  Townley  participated  during  the  year  1862  in 
the  battles  of  Roanoke  Island,  Newberne.  Fort  Macon, 
Young's  Cross-Roads,  Rowell's  Mills,  Deep  Creek, 
Southwest  Creek,  Kinston,  Whitehall,  and  Golds- 
borough  Bridge.  In  1863  he  was  in  engagements  at 
Comfort's  Bridge,  near  Winton,  and  in  1864  at  Deep 
Creek,  Port  Walthall,  Swift  Creek,  Drury's  Bluft',  and 
was  before  Petersburg  Irom  June  20th  until  August 
24th  of  that  year.  His  discharge  was  obtained  Feb. 
4,  1865,  when  he  retired  again  to  civil  life,  and  has 
since  devoted  himself  to  agricultural  employments. 

Capt.  Townley  is  in  his  political  preferences  a  Re- 
publican, the  platform  and  principles  of  the  party 
having  L)een  espoused  by  him,  not  from  motive.s  of 
policy,  but  from  earnest  conviction. 

He  at  all  times  lends  a  willing  hand  to  all  projects 
having  for  their  aim  the  advancement  of  both  educa- 
tion and  morality,  and  may  justly  be  regarded  as  one 
of  the  most  useful  citizens  of  the  township  of  Union. 


Eleventh  Regiment. — This  county  furnished  two 
companies  of  men  in  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  viz., 
Companies  B  and  D,  with  the  following  officers : 
Company  B,  Capt.  William  H.  Meeker;  First  Lieu- 
tenant, Lott  Bloomfield ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Alex- 
ander Beach,  Jr.  Company  D,  Captain,  Luther 
Martin  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Sydney  M.  Layton  ;  Sec- 
ond Lieutenant,  James  H.  Carr. 

Robert  McAllister,  who  had  been  lieutenant-col- 
onel of  the  First  Regiment,  and  who  subsequently  be- 
came brigadier-general,  and  finally  major-general  by 
brevet,  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  Eleventh 
Regiment  on  the  30th  of  June,  1862,  and  on  the  25th 
of  August  following  the  regiment  left  for  Washing- 
ton ;  was  assigned  to  duty  in  that  department  until 
November  16th,  then  attached  to  the  brigade  of  Gen. 
Carr,  Sickles'  division,  at  Fairfax  Court-House, 
whence,  on  the  18th,  it  proceeded  to  Falmouth,  where 
Gen.  Burnside  was  concentrating  his  forces  prepara- 
tory to  his  famous  attack  on  Fredericksburg.  The 
first  initiation  of  the  regiment  into  actual  war  was  in 
that  merciless  slaughter,  wherein  thousands  of  Union 
soldiers,  hurled  recklessly  against  the  impregnable 
batteries  of  the  enemy,  bristling  the  heights  for  miles 
in  extent,  were  uselessly  sacrificed.  "  On  the  morn- 
ing of  the  14th,"  says  the  historian,  "the  Eleventh 
crossed  the  river  under  orders  of  Gen.  Carr,  and  took 
position  in  the  second  line  of  battle,  being  shortly 
afterwards  sent  forward  to  the  front  line  to  relieve  the 
Twenty -sixth  Pennsylvania  Regiment,  two  companies 
being  dispatched  to  take  the  place  of  the  pickets  of 
the  regiment  thus  relieved.  These  companies,  with 
others  that  were  afterwards  sent  in  under  a  galling 
picket-fire,  behaved  with  the  greatest  steadiness. 
While  thus  engaged  the  regiment  sustained  a  loss  of 
two  enlisted  men  killed,  four  wounded,  and  six  mis- 
sing. On  the  15th  the  regiment  recrossed  the  river  to 
its  old  position,  and  soon  after  returned  to  its  former 
camp  near  Falmouth,  Gen.  Burnside  having  wisely 
abandoned,  upon  the  remonstrance  of  Gen.  Sumner 
and  others,  all  thought  of  a  second  assault,  and  directed 
the  withdrawal  of  the  entire  army  from  the  south  side 
of  the  river." 

Col.  McAllister  congratulated  his  command  on  the 
23d  of  December  upon  their  steadiness  and  bravery 
in  the  action,  saying,  "  You  who  went  in  under  the 
galling  picket-fire,  when  the  eyes  of  thousands  of  our 
comrades  were  upon  you,  and  like  veterans  stood  the 
raging  storm  of  battle,  not  only  holding  but  gaining 
ground,  deserve  my  warmest  praise."  Speaking  of 
the  dead  he  said,  "  We  have  before  us  the  consoling 
fact  that  they  died  as  brave  soldiers  fighting  for  their 
country,  and  that  those  of  our  day  and  posterity  will 
do  them  justice." 

It  will  be  well  to  record  here,  in  honor  of  the  sturdy 
patriotism  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment,  that  they  stood 
manfully  for  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  in 
those  "  dark  days"  of  the  winter  and  spring  of  1862- 
63   when  a   temporizing    policy   at  the   North   was 


150 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


actively  engaged  in  trj'ing  to  bring  about  a  dishonor- 
able peace.     The  regiment  took  a  lively  interest  in 
the  political  questions  then  occupying  the  attention  j 
of  the  country,  and  at  a  meeting  held  early  in  March,  j 
at  which  the  utmost  enthusiasm  was  manifested,  bon-  [ 
fires  being  lighted  and  speeches  made  in  honor  of  the  i 
event,  a  series  of  patriotic  resolutions  were  adopted, 
and  being  signed  by  the  officers,  were  forwarded  to  the 
Governor  as  expressing  the  hostility  of  the  regiment 
to  any  attempt  to  distract  public  sentiment  by  un- 
timely partisan  clamors   for   a   dishonorable   peace. 
We  give   below   these  resolutions  with  the  officers' 
names  attached : 

"  niierem,  The  Legislature  of  our  native  State— a  State  lialloweii  by 
the  rememlirauce  of  tbe  battles  of  Princeton,  Trenton,  and  Monmoutb, 
fields  etained  by  the  blood  of  our  forefathers  in  the  establish nicnt  of  our 
government — has  sought  to  tarnish  its  high  honor  and  bring  upon  it 
disgrace  by  the  passage  of  resolutions  tendiug  to  a  dishonorable  peace 
with  armed  rebels  seeking  to  destroy  our  great  and  beneficent  govern- 
ment, the  best  ever  designed  for  the  happiness  of  the  many;  and, 

"  Whereus,  We,  lier  sons,  members  of  the  Eleventh  Regiment  New 
Jersey  Volunteers,  citizens  representing  every  sectioti  of  the  State,  have 
left  our  homes  to  endure  the  fatigues,  privations,  and  dangers  incident 
to  a  soldier's  life  in  order  to  maintain  our  republic  in  its  integrity, 
■willing  to  sacrifice  our  lives  to  that  object,  fully  recognizing  the  impro- 
priety of  a  soldier's  discussion  of  the  legislative  functions  of  the  State, 
yet  deeming  it  due  to  ourselves  that  the  voice  of  those  who  offer  tlieir 
all  in  their  country's  cause  be  heard  when  weak  and  wicked  men  seek 
its  dishonor ;  therefore, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  Union  of  the  States  is  the  only  guarantee  for  the 
preservation  of  our  liberties  and  independence,  and  that  the  war  for  the 
maintenance  of  that  Union  commands  iiow,  as  it  has  done,  our  best 
eftorts  and  our  most  heartfelt  sympathy. 

"  Reeolved,  That  we  consider  the  passage,  or  even  the  introduction  of 
the  so-called  '  Peace  Resolutions'  as  wicked,  weak,  and  cowardly,  tending 
to  aid  by  their  sympathy  the  rebels  seeking  to  destroy  the  republic. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  regard  as  traitors  alike  the  foe  in  arms  and  the 
secret  enemies  of  our  government  who  at  home  foment  disafTection  and 
strive  to  destroy  confidence  in  our  legally  chosen  rulers. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  reports  spread  broadcast  throughout  the  North 
by  sympathizing  feints  and  voices  that  the  army  of  which  we  esteem  it 
a  high  honor  to  form  a  part  is  demoralized  and  clamorous  for  peace  on 
any  terms  are  the  lying  utterances  of  traitorous  tongues,  and  do  base 
injustice  to  our  noble  comrades,  who  have  never  faltered  in  the  great 
work,  and  are  not  only  willing  but  anxious  to  follow  the  gallant  and 
chivalric  leader  against  the  stronghold  of  the  enemy. 

"  Resolved,  That  we  put  forth  every  effort,  eudnre  every  fatigue,  shrink 
from  no  danger  until,  under  the  gracious  guidance  of  a  kinii  Providence, 
every  armed  rebel  shall  be  conquered,  and  traitors  at  home  shall  quake 
with  fear  as  the  gi'and  emblem  of  our  national  independence  shall 
assert  its  power  from  North  to  South,  and  crush  beneath  its  powerful 
folds  all  who  dare  to  assail  its  honor,  doubly  hallowed  by  the  memory 
of  the  patriot  dead. 

"Robert  McAllistbe,  Colonel  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Stephkn  Moore,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers. 

"John  Schoonoveh,  Adjutant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Garbet  Schenck,  Quartermaster  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"E.  Byington,  Assistant  Surgeon  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Vidunteera. 

"G.  RlBBi.B,  Second  Assistant  Surgeon  Kleveuth  New  Jersey  Voiun- 
teens. 

"F.  Kniohton,  Chaplain  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Luther  BIartin,  ('aptnin  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"John  T.  Hii.l,  Captain  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"  William  H.  Meeker,  Captain  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Thomas  J.  Halsey,  Captain  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Philip  J.  Kevrney,  Captain  Eleventh  New  Jei-sey  Volunteers. 

"  William  B.  Dunning,  Captain  Eleventh  New  .Jersey  Volunteers. 

"S.  M.  LwTON,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"luA  W.  Corey,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"  LoTT  Bloomfield,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  VoUinteers. 

"A.  H.  AcKF.RMAN,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 


"  EnwARD  S.  E.  Newburv,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers. 

"John  Oldershaw,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"  \V.  H.  Lloyd,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Milton  S.  Lawrence,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers. 

"  E.  T.  Kennedy,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"S.  W.  Valk,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteers. 

"Samuel  T.  Sleeper,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jereey  Volunteers. 

"  Edwin  K.  Goon,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volunteere. 

"John  Sowter,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  VolnnteerB. 

"  Alexander  Beach,  Jr.,  Lieutenant  Eleventh  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers." 

These  resolutions  and  signatures  show  of  what  sort 
of  patriotic  material  the  regimental  officers  were  com- 
posed. And  certainly  few  statesmen  could  do  more 
intelligent  justice  to  the  situation  than  that  which  the 
resolutions  embody  and  express.  During  the  winter, 
in  camp  at  Fitzhugh  Farm,  a  school  for  the  captains, 
lieutenants,  and  non-commissioned  officers  was  organ- 
ized, tactics  and  deportment  studied  theoretically  and 
practically,  and  every  pains  taken  to  promote  the  ef- 
ficiency of  the  regiment.  The  result  was  an  admir- 
able enprit  de  corps  prevailing  throughout  the  ranks. 
Hooker,  relieving  Burnside  on  the  21st  of  March,  de- 
voted all  his  influence  and  authority  for  two  months 
to  improve  the  discipline,  perfect  the  organization, 
and  elevate  the  spirits  of  his  men,  and  on  the  27th 
inaugurated  his  movement  for  turning  the  flank  of 
Lee,  who  still  remained  in  position  at  Fredericks- 
burg. The  result  was  the  well-remembered  battle  of 
Chancellorsville.  The  casualties  of  the  Eleventh  in 
this  action — twenty  killed  and  one  hundred  and  thir- 
teen wounded — show  that  they  had  by  no  means  an 
easy  position.  "  The  corps  had  sustained  the  whole 
weight  of  '  Stonewall'  Jackson's  force,  had  repelled 
five  fierce  charges,  mainly  with  the  bayonet,  had 
captured  eight  flags  (all  taken  by  the  New  Jersey 
troops),  had  taken  many  prisoners  without  losing 
any,  and  it  was  not  without  reason  that  the  officers 
and  men  of  the  Eleventh,  having  shared  in  tliese 
achievements,  felt  that  to  them,  in  fact,  belonged  the 
honor  of  having  saved  the  army  in  one  of  the  most 
desperate  and  terrible  battles  of  the  war." 

Col.  McAllister,  Adjt.  Schoonover,  and  Lieut.-Col. 
Moore  were  among  the  last  to  leave  the  field,  and  at 
one  time,  fighting  alone,  were  almost  surrounded  by 
the  enemy.  As  to  the  general  bearing  and  audacity 
of  the  regiment  in  the  very  face  of  disaster,  a  letter 
written  at  the  time  says,  "  When  the  regiments  of 
our  brigade  were  forming,  away  back  in  the  rear, 
some  officer  asked  for  the  Eleventh  New  Jersey ; 
another  officer  replied,  '  Oh,  they  are  fighting  on 
their  own  hook,  and  still  hard  at  it  with  the  reb- 
els.' "  The  same  letter  refers  to  the  fact  that  by 
holding  its  position  and  fighting  desperately  against 
odds  the  Eleventh  saved  the  Second  New  Jersey 
Brigade  from  being  flanked,  and  enabled  the  Fifth 
Regiment  of  that  brigade  to  take  the  colors  whose 
capture  gave  them  so  mucli  distinction.'" 

1  New  Jereey  iiii.l  (lie  Ucl.i-lliun,  p.  l!s:\. 


UNION    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR   OF   THE    REBELLION. 


151 


Two  officers — Ijieuts.  Bloomfield  and  Kelley,  Com- 
pany B  —  were  killed  and  ten  wounded.  The  con- 
duct of  Lieut. -Col.  Moore,  Capt.  Kearney,  and  Adjt. 
Schoonover  -is  spoken  of  by  the  colonel  command- 
ing as  especially  meritorious.  "  Lieut.  Lott  Bloom- 
field,"  says  the  report,  "  a  young  officer  of  great 
promise,  was  killed  in  the  early  part  of  this  battle 
while  nobly  performing  his  duty  in  encouraging  his 
men  to  stand  firm,  and  again  urging  them  forward  in 
the  storm  of  battle,  rendering  valuable  assistance  in 
the  great  struggle  of  that  day." 

Gen.  Hooker,  while  visiting  the  hospital  of  the 
Eleventh,  some  days  after  the  battle,  said  to  Dr. 
AVelling,  the  surgeon,  "This  is  a  gallant  regiment; 
it  fought  splendidly ;  officers  and  men  alike  deserve 
credit." 

The  reputation  of  the  regiment  for  fighting  quali- 
ties thus  early  acquired  was  maintained  through  all 
the  campaigns  to  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  the  close 
of  the  war,  the  regiment  participating  in  the  follow- 
ing engagements  :  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13  and 
14,  1862;  Chancellorsville,  Va.,  May  3  and  4,  1863; 
Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2  and  3,  1863;  Wapping 
Heights,  Va.,  July  24,  1863  ;  Kelly's  Ford,  Va.,  Nov. 
8,  1863;  Locust  Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863;  Mine 
Run,  Va.,  Nov.  29,  1863  ;  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5  to 
7,  1864;  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  8  to  11,  1864;  Spott- 
sylvania  C.-H.,  Va.,  May  12  to  18,  1864;  North  Anna 
River,  Va.,  May  23  and  24,  1864  ;  Tolopotomy,  Va., 
May  30  and  31,  1864 ;  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1  to  5, 
1864 ;  before  Petersburg,  Va.,  June  16  to  23,  1864 ; 
Deep  Bottom,  Va.,  July  26  and  27,  1864  ;  mine  ex- 
plosion, Va.,  July  30,  1864;  Barker's  Mills,  Va., 
June  10,  1864 ;  north  bank  of  the  James,  Va.,  Aug. 
14  to  18,  1864 ;  Ream's  Station,  Va.,  Aug.  25,  1864 ; 
Fort  Sedgwick,  Va.,  Sept.  10,  1864  ;  Poplar  Spring 
Church,  Va.,  Oct.  2, 1864  ;  Boydton  Plank-road,  Va., 
Oct.  27,  1864;  Fort  Morton,  Va.,  Nov.  5,  1864; 
Hatcher's  Run,  Va.,  Feb.  5  to  7,  1865  ;  Armstrong 
House,  Va.,  March  25,  1865  ;  Boydton  Plank-road, 
Va.  (capture  of  Petersburg),  April  2,  1865  ;  Amelia 
Springs,  Va.,  April  6,  1865  ;  Farmville,  Va.,  April 
6  to  7,  1865;  Lee's  surrender  (Appomattox,  Va.), 
April  9,  1865. 

We  append  a  few  notices  of  the  regiment  at  differ- 
ent times.  In  concluding  his  report  of  the  two 
days'  fighting  at  Gettysburg,  Adjt.  Schoonover  re- 
marks, "  In  the  action  of  the  2d  the  regiment  suf- 
fered very  heavy  loss.  Out  of  the  two  hundred  and 
seventy -five  officers  and  men  taken  into  the  fight, 
eighteen  were  killed,  one  hundred  and  thirty 
wounded,  and  six  missing,  making  a  total  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty-four  "  In  this  action  Col.  McAl- 
lister was  severely  wounded.  This  officer  was  distin- 
guished for  cool  bravery,  and  was  always  at  the  post 
of  danger.  In  the  battle  of  the  Wilderness  he  had 
two  horses  shot  under  him. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

UNION  COUNTY  IX  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REBELLION. 

(Co»„;n,ed). 

Fourteenth  Regiment. — Companies  C  and  E  of  this 
regiment  were  from  the  county  of  Union,  the  former 
being  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Chauncey  Harris, 
with  Ebenezer  Muddell  as  first  lieutenant,  and  Jo- 
seph W.  Walker  as  second  lieutenant ;  and  the  latter 
commanded  by  Capt.  James  L.  Bodwell,  with  First 
Lieut.  Isaac  S.  Tingley,  and  Second  Lieut.  James 
O.  Bedell.  William  S.  Truax  was  colonel ;  Caldwell 
K.  Hall,  lieutenant-colonel ;  Peter  Vredenburgh,  Jr., 
major;  F.  Lemuel  Buckalew,  adjutant;  Enoch  L. 
Cowart,  quartermaster;  Ambrose  Treganowan,  sur- 
geon ;  Joseph  B.  Martin,  Herbert  B.  Chambers,  as- 
sistant surgeons  ;  Frank  B.  Rose,  chaplain. 

The  organization  of  the  regiment  was  completed, 
and  it  was  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  at 
Freehold,  N.  J.,  Aug.  26,  1862.  It  left  the  State  on 
the  2d  of  September,  and  on  its  arrival  at  Baltimore, 
the  rebels  being  expected  to  invade  Maryland,  was 
sent  forward  to  Frederick  Junction,  on  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Railroad,  for  the  jjurpose  of  guarding  the 
bridge  across  the  Monocacy  River.  Almost  imme- 
diately upon  its  arrival  information  was  received 
that  the  advance  of  Lee's  army  had  crossed  into 
Maryland  and  was  moving  upon  Frederick.  "  The 
Fourteenth  was  at  once  ordered  to  fall  back,  and  a 
coal  train  being  seized,  the  command  was  transferred 
to  Elysville,  twenty-one  miles  from  Baltimore,  where 
it  remained  for  ten  days  doing  guard  and  picket 
duty."  The  rebels  reached  Monocacy  only  an  hour 
after  the  departure  of  the  regiment,  burnt  the  bridge, 
and  laid  waste  the  country.  But  they  were  overtaken 
and  beaten  at  South  Mountain  and  Antietam,  and  on 
the  night  of  the  18th  compelled  to  retreat  across  the 
Potomac.  The  Fourteenth  Regiment  having  been 
ordered  to  return  to  Monocacy  and  rebuild  the  bridge, 
reached  that  place  on  the  17th,  when  the  work  was 
begun  and  vigorously  prosecuted  to  its  completion, 
the  troops  remaining  all  winter  in  that  vicinity, 
doing  little  except  guard  duty  and  the  active  drill 
and  discipline  of  the  camp.  During  the  early  portion 
of  this  time  there  was  much  sickness  in  the  regiment, 
which,  however,  diminished  as  the  men  became  ac- 
customed to  the  rigors  and  hardships  of  the  soldier's 
life.  In  January,  1863,  Companies  E  and  K  were  de- 
tailed for  guard  duty  along  the  railroad,  the  former 
being  stationed  at  Monrovia,  seven  miles  from  camp, 
and  the  latter  at  Mount  Airy,  fourteen  miles  distant. 
"About  this  time  Col.  Truax  was  appointed  acting 
brigadier-general,  with  headquarters  at  Frederick 
City,  and  the  Third  Delaware  Regiment  and  Purnell 
Legion  being  temporarily  brigaded  with  the  Four- 
teenth, all  were  placed  under  his  command,  Lieut.- 
Col.  Hall  commanding  the  latter.  Early  in  the  spring 
six    companies   were    detached    from    the   regiment 


152 


HISTOKY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


(Companies  B  and  G  being  left  at  Monocacy)  and 
sent  to  Martinsburg,  for  the  purpose  of  reinforcing 
Gen.  Milroy,  who  was  threatened  by  the  enemy,  but 
no  attack  being  made  the  detachment  six  weeks  later 
returned  to  camp."  ' 

After  tlie  battle  of  Chancellorsville  Lee's  army  again 
moved  towards  the  Potomac,  and  the  Fourteenth  was 
ordered  to  Harper's  Ferry.     It  took  po.sition  on  Mary- 
land Heights,  where  it  was  engaged  upon  the  forti- 
fications and  in  other  duties  for  about  a  fortnight. 
On  the  30th  June,  Gen.  Meade  having  ordered  the 
evacuation    of    the  Heights,    French's   division   (in- 
cluding  the    Fourteenth    Regiment)    proceeded   to- 
wards Frederick  City,  and  after  several  unimportant 
movements  was  ordered  to  the  relief  of  Meade's  army 
engaged  with  the  army  at  Gettysburg.     The  Four- 
teenth at  this  time  was  brigaded  with  the  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fifty-first  New  York,  Si.xth  New  York  Heavy 
Artillery,  and  Tenth  Vermont,  commanded  by  Brig.-  [ 
Gen.  Morris.     It  being  supposed  that  the  rebels  would  i 
retreat  by  the  way  of  Boonsborough  Gap,  the  division 
was  ordered  to  that  point,  where  it  formed  in  line  of 
battle,  but  Lee  having  pursued  another  route  no  en- 
gagement occurred.     Leaving  the  Gap  on  the  9th  of 
July,  the  division,  now  assigned  to  the  Third  Army 
Corps  and  designated  the  Third  Division,  marched 
to  the  front  and  joined  the  main  army,  whose  for- 
tunes it  shared  from  that  time  to  the  close  of  the  war. 
Lee  having  retreated  into  Virginia  pursued  by  the 
Union  army,  the  Fourteenth  with  its  division  crossed 
the  Potomac  at  Edwards'  Ferry  on  the  17th,  and  with- 
out taking  part  in  any  of  the  conflicts  which  attended 
the  pursuit  of  the  enemy  went  into  camp  near  Beal- 
ton  Station,  where,  and  at  other  points  along  the 
Rappahannock,  it  remained  encamped  for  five  weeks, 
the  rebels  in  the  mean  time  lying  quietly  at  Cul- 
peper.     On  the  15th  of  September,  the  rebels  advanc- 
ing from  Madison  Court-House  on  our  right,  Meade 
fell  back  across  the  Rappahannock,  and  the  rebels  still 
advancing,  the  retrograde  movement  was  kept  up  to 
Centreville  Heights.     During  this  march  the  Four- 
teenth lost  forty  men  taken  prisoners.     Lee  failing 
in   his   movements  retreated  to  the   Rappahannock, 
followed  leisurely  by  the  Union  forces.     While  the 
rebels  were  engaged  in  constructing  formidable  works 
our  army  effected  a  crossing,  driving  the  enemy  from 
the  river  with  considerable  loss.    "  After  a  halt  of  a  few 
days   at  Brandy  Station  the  corps   again  advanced, 
crossing  the  Rapidan  and  overtaking  the  enemy  at 
Locust  Grove,  a  dense  forest  of  pine-trees,  where  he 
was   strongly  posted.     At  this  time   the   brigade   to 
which  the  Fourteenth  was  attached  (the  First  of  the 
Third  Division)  had  the  advance,  and,  skirmishers 
being  sent   out,  it  soon  became  engaged,  the   men 
fighting  bravely  for  four  hours,  at  one  time  charging 
with  great  gallantry  and  driving  the  rebels  from  their 
position  with  a  loss  of  several  prisoners." 


This  was  the  first  active  engagement  in  which  the 
Fourteenth  Regiment  participated.  It  is  recorded 
that  "  they  fought  with  great  steadiness  throughout." 
Companies  B  and  K,  being  on  the  extreme  left,  be- 
came separated  from  the  regiment,  so  that  they  did 
not  get  the  order  to  fall  back,  and  remained  in  the 
tight  for  an  hour  longer  than  the  rest  of  the  command, 
retiring  only  when  their  ammunition  was  exhausted. 
The  regiment  lost  in  this  action  sixteen  killed  and 
fifty-eight  wounded.  "  Gen.  Morris  rode  to  the  front, 
congratulating  the  men  for  their  bravery.  In  a  few 
words  he  told  them  that  as  new  troops  a  brigade  never 
fought  better;  that  they  had  accomplished  all  that 
was  desired  of  them."  -  On  the  1st  of  December 
Gen.  Morris  issued  the  following  congratulatory 
order : 


"The  brigJide  conimamler  deema  it  his  gratifying  duty  to  expreei^  to 
tbe  officei-8  and  men  of  the  Fourteenth  New  Jereey  Vohinleers,  com- 
manded by  Col.  William  S.  Tniax,  bis  appreciation  of  tlieir  bravery  and 
endurance  throughout  the  engagement  on  the  27th  of  November. 

"  The  occasion  was  one  which  pre-ented  the  perils  of  the  battle-field 
in  the  most  discouraging  form  It  was  necessary  to  form  the  line  of 
battle  in  a  dense  woods  and  at  the  base  of  a  liill,  with  the  enemy  in  po- 
sition on  its  crest  protected  by  breastworks.  The  regiment  was  under 
fire  for  three  hiturs,  and  for  a  portion  of  that  time  the  cross-fire  of  the 
enemy's  rifles  made  rapid  and  terrible  havoc  iti  our  ranks.  Its  duty 
being  to  hold  the  line  without  advancing  beyond  a  limited  distance, 
the  regiment  performed  its  entire  mi'sion,  drove  the  enemy  from  the 
crest,  and  held  it  until  their  ammunilion  was  exhausted  and  the  vet- 
erans of  the  First  Division  arrived  to  relieve  them. 

"Our  distinguished  division  and  corps  commanders  have  spoken  of 
the  regiment  in  terms  of  high  commendation. 

"  The  brigade  commander  is  proud  to  lead  such  gallant  and  patriotic 
hearts. 

"  By  command  of  Bi'ig.-Gen.  Morris." 

The  darkness  of  night  coming  on,  the  enemy  re- 
tired from  the  battle,  and  withdrew  to  their  strong 
position  on  Mine  Run.  The  formidable  character  of 
these  works  prevented  Gen.  Meade  from  making  an 
assault  upon  them,  as  was  contemplated,  and  on  the 
1st  of  December  he  ordered  a  withdrawal  of  his  forces 
across  the  Rapidan.     This  was  effected  without  mo- 

'  lestation  on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  and  the  Four- 
teenth went  into  winter-quarters  in  an  old  rebel  camp 
at  Brandy  Station.  At  this  time  the  regiment  num- 
bered but  six  hundred  men  fit  for  duty,  three  hundred 

j  and  fifty  less  than  when  it  entered  the  field.  Nearly 
one  hundred  had  died,  sixteen  had   been  killed  in 

!  battle,  some  were  on  detached  service,  some  in  hospi- 

]  tals,  some  had  been  discharged  for  disability,  while  a 
few  had  deserted. 

1       During  the  winter  a  deep  religious  interest  was 

I  awakened  in  the  regiment  through  the  earnest  labors 
of  Chaplain  Rose.     Regimental  churches  were  built 

:  of  logs,  covered  with  tents  furnished  by  the  Sanitary 
Commission.     Tracts,  books,  and  papers  were  freely 

;  distributed  among  the  soldiers.  The  tjth  of  Febru- 
ary came  and  found  the  corps  under  marching  orders, 
moving  out  to  engage  the  enemy  at  Culpeper  Ford, 
in  order  to  effect  a  crossing  of  the  river.  But  the 
enemy  being  found  in  force,  with  his  line  extending 


1  New  Jereey  and  the  Bebelllon,  p.  357. 


UNION    COUNTY    IN   THE    WAR   OF   THE   REBELLION. 


153 


from  the  Rapidan  to  Orange  Court-House,  the  object 
was  abandoned.  Gen.  Grant  assumed  command,  and 
the  army  was  reorganized,  preparatory  to  the  grand 
forward  movement  begun  in  May,  1864,  in  the  ad- 
vance upon  the  Wilderness.  In  this  reorganization 
the  Third  Corps  was  broken  up,  and  the  Third  Di- 
vision, containing  the  Fourteenth  Regiment,  was 
placed  in  the  Sixth  Corjis,  now  reduced  to  two  bri- 
gades instead  of  three.  The  Fourteenth  still  re- 
mained in  the  First  Brigade,  consisting  of  the  Tenth 
Vermont,  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  and  One  Hun- 
dred and  Fifty-first  New  York,  and  Eighty-seventh 
Pennsylvania. 

Foster's  "  New  Jersey  and  the  Rebellion"  says  of 
the  engagements  at  the  Wilderness : 

"At  length  on  the  3d  of  May,  1864,  orders  were  issued  for  a  forward 
movenieDt,  and  on  tlie  following  morning  the  whole  army  commenced 
its  grand  advance  against  the  enemy  now  concentrated  at  the  Wilder- 
ness. Here,  early  on  the  5th,  our  advance  under  Warren  met  and  en- 
gaged the  enemy,  the  battle  raging  furionsly  all  day.  Sedgwick's  corps, 
reaching  the  field,  went  into  action  shortly  after  noon,  the  Third  Bri- 
gade of  the  Third  Division  being  sent  to  reinforce  the  centre.  Here  the 
Fourteenth  was  engaged  for  several  hours,  fighting  gallantly  and  losing 
heavily.  On  the  following  day,  the  enemy  attempting  t)  turn  our  riglit 
flank,  the  battle  was  renewed,  and  continued  with  great  fury,  the  First 
Brigade  still  holding  its  position  near  the  centre,  but  losing  few  men. 
During  the  night  the  enemy  retired,  when  Grant  advanced  his  columns 
with  a  view  of  concentrating  around  Spottsylvania  Court-House.  Upon 
emerging  1%-om  the  Wilderue^8,  W:irren'8  corps  became  actively  engaged 
on  the  8th  with  Longstrfet'a  vetei-ans,  who  sought  to  delay  his  progress, 
and  tlie  Sixth  Corps  going  to  his  relief  late  in  the  afternoon,  the  Four- 
teenth again  went  into  action,  the  enemy  being  driven  back  with  a  loss 
of  one  thousand  five  hundred  men." 

Gen.  Morris  was  wounded  in  this  action,  and  Col. 
Truax  was  placed  in  temporary  command  of  the  bri- 
gade. Fighting  continued  on  the  11th  and  12th,  re- 
sulting greatly  to  the  loss  of  the  enemy;  the  six 
following  days  were  occupied  in  manoeuvring  and 
skirmishing  at  various  points,  up  to*the  night  of  the 
21st,  when  Gen.  Grant  ordered  a  flanking  advance  to 
the  North  Anna,  and  on  the  24th  the  Fourteenth 
crossed  with  its  corps  at  Jericho  Ford.  Thence  the 
brigade  proceeded  to  Nole's  Station,  thirty  miles  from 
Richmond,  where  it  destroyed  the  Virginia  Central 
Railroad  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles,  and  returned 
to  its  corps  without  the  loss  of  a  man.  In  the  next 
grand  flanking  movement  of  Gen.  Grant,  whereby  he 
avoided  the  enemy's  invulnerable  position  in  front 
by  a  movement  to  the  eastward  and  then  southward 
upon  the  Richmond  road,  the  Sixth  Corps  led  the  ad- 
vance, crossing  the  Pamunkey,  and  skirmishing  to 
Hanover  Court-House  and  Cold  Harbor  road.  Here 
on  the  31st  a  general  advance  was  made  upon  the 
rebels'  position  north  of  the  Chickahorainy,  resulting 
in  the  capture  of  a  good  part  of  the  advanced  rifle- 
pits  of  the  enemy.  Our  troops  held  and  bivouacked 
on  the  ground  they  had  gained.  During  this  action 
the  Fourteenth  was  in  the  skirmish-line,  and  lost  .se- 
verely in  killed  and  wounded.  Orderly  Black,  of  Com- 
pany I,  being  shot  through  the  heart  and  instantly 
killed,  while  Col.  Truax  was  slightly  wounded  in  the 
iiand,  but  did  not  leave  the  field. 


On  the  morning  of  June  1st  the  march  began  to 
Cold  Harbor,  the  Sixth  Corps  in  the  rear.  The  dis- 
tance was  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  enemy's  position, 
which  was  reached  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  five 
o'clock  an  assault  was  made,  with  the  Third  Division 
in  advance,  and  the  Fourteenth  in  the  front  line. 
"The  enemy  at  this  point  was  posted  in  a  wood, 
which  concealed  his  strength,  facing  a  level,  open 
field.  Across  this  field  our  men  advanced  with 
great  spirit  under  a  heavy  fire,  and  a  terrific  battle 
ensued,  the  losses  on  both  sides  being  very  heavy. 
The  Fourteenth  suffered  severely,  losing  in  two  hours 
two  hundred  and  forty  in  killed  and  wounded,  Lieut. 
Stults,  of  Company  H,  and  Lieut.  Tingley,  of  Com- 
pany E,  being  among  the  former.  The  enemy  being 
in  overwhelming  force,  our  lines  were  obliged  to  fall 
back  a  short  distance,  intrenching  strongly  during 
the  night.  Other  corps  held  in  readiness  now  carae 
up,  getting  in  position  for  an  attack  on  the  3d.  At 
sunrise  on  that  morning  the  enemy's  works  were  again 
assaulted,  but  with  no  other  substantial  result  than 
the  loss  of  some  thousands  of  men  who  had  in  vain 
dashed  themselves  heroically  against  an  impregnable 
position.  In  this  assault  the  Fourteenth  again  lost 
several  men.  Gen.  Grant,  now  satisfied  that  the  rebel 
works  could  not  be  carried,  wisely  decided  to  pass  the 
Chickahominy  far  to  Lee's  right,  and  thence  move 
across  the  James  to  demonstrate  against  Richmond 
from  the  south." 

Not  to  enter  into  the  particulars  of  the  transporta- 
tion of  the  army  to  Bermuda  Hundred,  whence  Grant's 
forces  united  with  Butler's  army,  then  investing  Pe- 
tersburg, the  corps,  on  the  21st  of  June,  was  placed 
in  position  on  the  left,  with  the  view  of  finding  and 
turning  the  right  of  the  enemy,  holding  or  cutting 
the  Weldon  Railroad.  The  Third  Division  was  again 
in  the  advance.  The  road  was  reached  on  the  23d, 
and  the  track  torn  up  for  some  distance.  A  large 
force  of  the  enemy,  however,  suddenly  appeared, 
struck  the  corps  a  heavy  blow  on  the  flank,  inflicting 
considerable  loss,  that  of  the  Fourteenth  being  forty 
men  killed  and  made  prisoners.  After  that,  on  the 
29th,  the  corps  was  moved  to  the  support  of  Gen.  Wil- 
son, who,  with  two  divisions  of  cavalry,  had  torn  up 
many  miles  both  of  the  Weldon  and  Lynchburg  Rail- 
roads, and  was  hotly  pressed  in  attempting  to  effect 
his  junction  with  the  main  army.  The  rebels,  how- 
ever, retired  upon  their  advance,  and  after  spending 
three  days  in  further  destroying  the  railroad,  the 
Fourteenth  New  Jersey  and  One  Hundred  and  Sixth 
New  York  returned  to  their  old  position.  Up  to  this 
time  the  actual  loss  of  the  Fourteenth  had  been 
twenty-nine  killed,  one  hundred  and  seven  wounded, 
and  fifteen  missing,  as  reported  June  27tli.  Many  of 
those  who  had  been  slightly  wounded  in  the  earlier 
battles  of  the  campaign  are  not  included  in  this  re- 
port, as  they  had  previously  recovered  and  returned 
to  duty. 

The  next  fighting  of  the  division  was  on  quite  a 


154 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


different  field.  Hunter,  with  a  large  Union  force, 
having  abandoned  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Lee  sent 
Early  northwards  with  all  the  force  he  could  muster. 
Our  force  at  Martinsburg  retreating  precipitately  to 
Harper's  Ferry,  and  Grant  deeming  it  necessary  to 
send  more  forces  into  Maryland,  on  the  6th  of  July 
detached  the  Third  Division  of  the  Sixth  Corps,  and 
hurried  it  forward  to  Locust  Point,  near  Baltimore, 
where  it  arrived  under  Gen.  Ricketts  on  the  morning 
of  the  8th.  From  this  point  the  division,  numbering 
five  thousand  men,  proceeded  to  Monocacy,  the  old 
familiar  ground  of  the  Fourteenth  Regiment,  which 
was  now  the  first  to  arrive  on  the  spot.  By  this  time 
the  rebels  were  in  force  at  Frederick  City,  but  were 
closely  watched  by  Gen.  Wallace,  in  command  of  our 
forces.  On  the  night  of  the  8th  Wallace  had  taken 
position  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Monocacy,  which 
afforded  fair  facilities  for  defense.  His  disposition 
for  battle  was  completed  on  the  9th,  Gen.  Ricketts 
being  placed  with  his  division  on  the  left,  holding  the 
road  to  Washington.  In  Foster's  "New  Jersey  and 
the  Rebellion"  we  find  the  following  account  of  the 
battle : 

"  At  uine  o'clock  the  rebel  skirmishers  appeared  in  front  and  soon 
drove  our  skirmish-line  across  the  river,  tliereupon  planting  guns  and 
opening  the  battle.  The  disparity  of  artillery  was  great,  the  enemy 
having  sixteen  Napoleons,  while  we  had  only  six  smaller  pieces,  and 
the  superiority  of  his  fire  was  soon  apparent.  Gradually  the  skirmish- 
ing grew  warmer  and  more  general,  and  soon  the  fighting  became  serious. 
At  length  a  body  of  the  rebel  army,  moving  out  of  range  of  our  guns 
and  flanking  our  left,  forced  a  passage  of  the  Monocacy  two  miles  below 
the  bridge,  on  the  Washington  road,  at  once  advancing  in  battle  array 
upon  Kicketts,  who  had  changed  front  to  the  left  to  meet  their  advance 
on  his  flank,  his  right  I'estiug  on  the  river.  Steadily  the  rebel  columns 
advanced  to  the  assault,  but  they  were  met  by  a  steadiness  as  inflexible  as 
their  own.  The  brave  division,  fighting  with  a  desperation  rarely  matched, 
again  and  again  repelled  the  rebel  assaults,  strewing  the  ground  with 
dead,  for  six  hours  maintaining  the  unequal  contest,  waiting  in  vain  for 
reinforcements  that  did  not  come.  At  length  the  enemy,  gathering  all 
his  strength  for  a  final  blow,  again  moved  from  our  left  in  two  massive 
lines  to  the  charge,  and  gradually  enveloping  our  lines,  nothing  was 
left  but  to  retreat.  The  Fourteenth  being  on  the  extreme  left  of  the 
line  had  suffered  severely,  but  it  had  stood  manfully  to  its  work,  and 
only  retreated  when  Gen.  Wallace,  seeing  that  further  fighting  was  use- 
less ordered  it  to  do  so.  During  the  engagement  Lieut.-Col.  Hall, 
Adjt.  Buckalew,  and  several  officers  had  been  wounded ;  Capts.  Stults, 
Eanine,  and  Conover  were  killed,  while  every  remaining  officer  of  the 
line  was  either  killed  or  wounded  except  Capt.  J.  J.  Janeway,  of  Com- 
pany K  " 

Capt.  Chauncey  Harris,  of  Company  C,  was  wounded 
through  the  left  breast  while  in  command  of  the  regi- 
ment and  after  being  placed  in  an  ambulance  was 
shot  through  the  right  knee-joint  by  a  rebel  bullet. 
The  command  of  the  regiment  then  devolved  ui)on 
Capt.  Janeway,  of  Company  K,  the  only  officer  left 
able  to  take  charge  of  it.  He  bravely  led  the  forlorn 
hope,  but  all  further  fighting  was  useless,  and  the 
linegradually  fell  back,  disputing  every  inch  of  ground. 
Just  before  the  close  of  the  action  the  enemy  press- 
ing in  poured  a  destructive  fire  of  grape  and  canister 
into  the  retiring  ranks,  cutting  down  the  defiant  vet- 
erans by  scores  and  fifties.  Happily,  however,  the 
pursuit  was  not  persistent,  and  the  weary  division,  ex- 
tricating itself  from  its  peril,  found  pause  and  safety 


at  New  Market,  six  miles  distant.  A  report  of  the 
battle  says,  "  Several  recruits  had  arrived  after  the  bat- 
tle of  Cold  Harbor,  and  the  regiment  was  partly  filled, 
entering  the  fight  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
but  ninety-five  came  out,  two  hundred  and  fifty-five 
being  killed,  wounded,  and  cap.tured  in  that  terrible 
battle.  Of  the  nine  hundred  and  fifty  men  that  left 
New  Jersey  but  ninety-five  were  left  for  duty  on  the 
night  of  July  9th,  without  an  officer  to  command 
them."  Capt.  Janeway  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder 
shortly  after  taking  command,  and  was  forced  to 
leave. 

The  following  from  an  officer  narrates  some  of  the 
experiences  and  incidents  of  the  regiment  suksequent 
to  its  arrival  in  the  vicinity  of  Monocacy  : 

"  Reaching  Frederick  July  8th,  we  formed  lines  west  of  the  city  fac- 
ing the  Katodan  Mountains.  Capt.  John  C.  Patterson  was  placed  in 
command  of  the  picket  line,  about  two  miles  long.  At  eight  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  troops  were  ordered  by  Gen.  Wallace  to  recrosa  the 
Monocacy  River  by  moving  down  the  Baltimore  pike  and  thence  south, 
to  take  up  a  position  on  our  old  camp-ground  (Camp  Hooker).  The 
pickets  were  left  until  a  quarter  past  ten  o'clock,  when  we  were  ordered 
to  join  the  main  column  at  Monocacy  bridge.  We  had  to  move  very 
quietly,  owing  to  the  closeness  of  the  rebel  pickets.  The  commandant 
cautioned  the  pickets  (two  were  stationed  aboutfifteen  steps  apart)  to  be 
very  still,  and  to  each  move  back  some  distance  before  assembling  on  the 
pike.  One  poor  fellow  overpowered  by  sleep  remained  on  the  line,  his  post 
being  in  corn  about  knee-high.  He  remained  asleep  until  daylight  qext 
morning;  as  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  discern  objects  at  a  distance 
he  began  to  look  around,  rising  to  his  feet.  His  rising  was  the  signal 
for  a  hundred  rebels  to  fire  upon  him.  Strange  to  say  he  was  unhurt, 
and  dashed  away  in  the  direction  of  Frederick.  But  three  rebel  cavalry- 
men at  once  started  to  cut  him  off.  As  he  was  running  across  the  field 
he  was  joined  by  a  citizen  armed  witli  a  rifle.  The  latter  told  him  (Min- 
ton)  to  continue  on  and  he  would  attend  to  the  three  cavalrymen.  Then 
stepping  behind  a  tree  he  leveled  his  rifle  and  fired ;  one  of  the  rebels 
reeled  from  his  saddle,  the  other  two  dismounted,  and  the  pursuit  ended. 
Mintou  continued  on,  and  rejoined  the  regiment  just  as  the  battle  com- 
menced, and  took  part  in  the  fight." 

An  officer  of  the  Fourteenth  furnishes  also  the  fol- 
lowing incidents'  of  the  battle: 

"  When  the  enemy  at  Monocacy  first  struck  us,  three  lines  deep 
against  our  single  line,  the  fire  was  terrific.  Our  color-sergeant  (Wil- 
liam B.  Cottrell),  while  bravely  waving  his  colors  in  front  of  his  regi- 
ment, received  a  ball  which  before  striking  him  passed  through  and 
severed  the  flag-staff  just  below  his  left  hand.  He  fell  forward  and  died 
upon  the  flag,  his  life  blood  staining  its  folds.  Our  colors  were  immedi- 
ately raised  by  one  of  the  color-guards.  He  also  was  almost  instantly 
shot  down.  Then  another  raised  it  up ;  he  was  badly  wounded  and 
turned  it  over  to  the  next  corporal,  who  was  mortally  wounded.  These 
four  were  killed  and  disabled  in  almost  the  time  it  has  taken  me  to  write 
it,  showing  the  terrible  fii-e  we  were  exposed  to  at  the  battle  of  Monoc- 
acy. 

"  Our  lieutenant-colonel  was  at  the  firet  badly  wounded,  his  arm  being 
broken.  Capt.  Conover,  of  Company  D,  the  next  ranking  officer,  waa 
mortally  wounded.  The  command  then  devolved  upon  Capt.  Harris, 
who  was  shot  through  the  lungs  and  carried  from  the  field.  The  next 
in  rank,  Capt.  Stults,  Company  H,  was  shot  a  few  moments  after,  and 
died  almost  instantly.  The  next  in  rank,  Capt.  Janeway,  Company  K, 
was  wounded  and  left  the  field,  the  command  devolving  on  Capt.  John 
C.  Patterson.  In  the  mean  time  Lieut.  Craig,  Company  D,  waa  badly 
wounded,  and  Capt.  Canine,  Company  A,  was  killed,  leaving  our  regi- 
ment with  only  three  oflicei-e, — the  adjutant,  Lemuel  F.  Buckalew,  First 
Lieut.  Samuel  C.  Bailey,  Company  F,  and  Capt.  Patteraon." 

It  is  generally  believed  by  historians  of  the  war 
that  but  for  the  battle  of  Monocacy,  which  had  the 
effect  of  retarding  the  march  of  the  rebels  until  other 
troops  reached  the  capital.  Early  might  have  pushed 


UNION   COUNTY    IN   THE   WAK   OF   THE   EEBELLION. 


155 


on  and  captured  Washington,  the  undoubted  objec- 
tive-point of  the  rebel  general.  This  thought  tinges 
the  recollections  of  that  bloody  day  with  something 
like  a  halo  of  satisfaction,  assuring  us  that  the  blood 
of  our  brave  soldiers  was  not  shed  in  vain. 

After  various  expeditions  under  Gen.  Wright, 
through  Leesburg,  Snicker's  Gap,  Harper's  Ferry,  and 
Bolivar  Heights,  the  object  being  to  watch  and  inter- 
cept the  movements  of  Early,  the  forces  were  ordered 
back  to  Frederick  City  and  thence  to  Monocacy, 
wliere  a  conference  was  held  by  Gen.  Grant  with 
Gens.  Wright  and  Hunter  on  the  4th  of  August,  and 
it  was  determined  to  concentrate  a  large  force  under 
Gen.  Sheridan  at  Harper's  Ferry,  for  the  purpose  of 
a  campaign  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley.  On  the  6th 
of  August,  Gen.  Sheridan,  arriving  at  Harper's  Ferry, 
took  command,  the  force  now  numbering  nearly  thirty 
thousand  men,  including  two  divisions  of  cavalry. 
On  the  10th  the  column  moved  against  the  enemy, 
coming  up  with  his  rear-guard  on  the  12th  at  Cedar 
Creek,  the  main  body  being  strongly  intrenched  at 
Fisher's  Hill.  No  general  action  was  brought  on  till 
the  19th,  when  the  battle  of  Opequan  Creek  was  fought. 
In  the  mean  time  recruits  had  reached  the  Fourteenth 
Regiment,  augmenting  its  numbers  to  about  three 
hundred  men.  The  position  of  the  rebels  was  natur- 
ally a  strong  one,  and  had  been  thoroughly  fortified. 
To  as.sail  it  our  army  had  to  advance  through  a  nar- 
row ravine  shut  in  by  steep,  thickly-wooded  hills,  to 
form  in  an  irregular,  undulating  valley  in  the  enemy's 
front,  and  then  advancing  through  a  wood,  attack 
desperately  his  centre,  while  flanking  and  crushing  in 
his  left.  We  need  not  give  the  details  of  the  battle, 
but  say  simply  that  the.  victory  was  complete,  although 
attained  at  serious  loss.  The  Third  Division  of  the 
Sixth  Corps  lost  heavily,  the  Fourteenth  Regiment 
alone  losing  seven  killed  and  sixty-two  wounded  and 
missing.  Among  the  killed  was  Maj.  Vredenburgh, 
who  was  struck  by  a  shell  in  the  breast  while  at  the 
head  of  his  regiment  ordering  a  charge  upon  a  rebel 
battery.  He  expired  in  a  few  moments.  A  brave 
and  faithful  officer,  he  was  widely  esteemed  and  his 
death  lamented  by  the  whole  command.  Lieut.  Green, 
commanding  Company  I,  was  also  killed,  and  Capt. 
Bodwell,  of  Company  E,  wounded.  Three  thousand 
prisoners  and  five  guns  were  taken  from  the  rebels. 
At  Fisher's  Hill,  on  the  22d  of  September,  our  arms 
were  equally  victorious.  The  battle  lasted  some  three 
hours,  when  the  rebels  were  driven  from  their  fortifi- 
cations in  great  disorder,  losing  one  thousand  one 
hundred  prisoners,  sixteen  pieces  of  artillery,  and 
fifteen  stands  of  colors  taken  by  our  soldiers.  The 
Third  Division  captured  six  pieces  of  artillery,  two 
of  which  were  taken  by  the  Fourteenth  Regiment. 
The  casualties  in  the  Fourteenth  numbered  but  ten 
killed  and  thirty  wounded. 

But  the  great  battle  of  the  campaign  was  yet  to  be 
fought,  that  of  Cedar  Creek.  After  the  battle  above 
described  our  forces  held  the  line  of  this   creek,  and 


Sheridan,  deeming  them  secure,  had  gone  to  Wash- 
ington on  business.  Early,  more  wily  than  was 
deemed  by  his  antagonist,  on  the  18th  of  October 
moved  his  entire  army  across  the  mountain  sepa- 
rating the  branches  of  the  Shenandoah,  forded  the 
north  fork,  and  under  cover  of  fog  and  darkness 
early  on  the  next  morning  surprised  our  camps,  turn- 
ing both  flanks,  and  crushing  back  our  astonished 
troops  with  terrible  loss,  including  twelve  hundred 
prisoners,  twenty-four  guns,  and  all  our  equipage. 
So  silently  did  the  enemy  advance,  and  so  suddenly 
did  he  pounce  upon  our  sleeping  camp,  that  the 
men  were  in  many  cases  prisoners  before  they  were 
awakened.  The  Eighth  Corps,  which  met  the  first 
onset  of  the  enemy,  was  able  to  make  little  resist- 
ance ;  but  the  Sixth  Corps,  which  had  more  oppor- 
tunity to  rally,  held  the  rebels  in  check  for  a  time. 
It  soon  became  apparent,  however,  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  hold  our  ])ositions,  and  a  general  retreat  was 
accordingly  ordered.  Our  forces  had  fallen  back  five 
miles,  and  Gen.  Wright  had  succeeded  in  partially 
reforming  them  in  line  of  battle,  when  Sheridan  ap- 
peared upon  the  scene,  having  made  his  famous  ride 
from  Winchester.  "  He  saw  only  too  soon  the  wreck 
and  disaster  of  the  day,  and  instantly  set  about  the 
work  of  repairing  the  mischief.  Riding  along  the 
lines  and  speaking  inspiringly  to  the  men,  he  stimu- 
lated them  to  new  endeavor,  revived  their  hopes,  and 
prepared  them  for  a  fresh  encounter,  meanwhile  also 
strengthening  his  formations,  studying  the  ground, 
and  gathering  every  item  of  information  necessary  to 
his  purpose.  At  length  everything  was  complete. 
'  We  are  going  to  lick  them  out  of  their  boots,'  said 
Sheridan,  and  the  men  with  the  words  ringing  in 
their  ears  once  more  assumed  the  offensive.  After 
considerable  mananivring  a  charge  was  ordered,  and 
soon  the  enemy  in  turn  was  driven  back  with  great 
slaughter,  with  the  loss  of  his  trains  and  artillery 
and  all  the  trophies  captured  from  us  in  the  morning, 
our  cavalry  pursuing  rapidly  and  cutting  down  the 
fugitives  without  mercy."  The  inspiring  genius  of 
Sheridan  had  converted  defeat  into  victory,  all  the 
more  grand  and  surprising  from  the  helpless  condi- 
tion which  had  preceded  it.  This  was  an  exploit 
which  for  daring  rapidity  and  brilliancy  of  execu- 
tion is  rarely  equaled  in  the  annals  of  war.  The 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  which  took  an  active  part,  lost 
heavily,  Adjt.  Ross,  who  had  been  promoted  from  the 
ranks  for  gallant  conduct,  being  killed.  The  rebel 
loss  included  one  thousand  five  hundred  prisoners 
twenty-three  guns  (exclusive  of  the  twenty-four  lost 
by  us  in  the  morning  and  recovered  at  night),  one 
thousand  five  hundred  small-arms,  besides  most  of 
their  caissons,  wagons,  etc. 

The  further  operations  of  the  Fourteenth  till  the 
close  of  the  war  were  performed  in  another  field. 
The  campaign  having  rescued  the  Shenandoah  Val- 
ley and  insured  the  safety  of  the  national  capital, 
the  main  body  of  the  army,  except  the  cavalry  scouts 


156 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


left  to  complete   the  driving  of  the  fugitives,   was 
transferred  to  the  theatre  of  operations  against  Rich- 
mond.    The   officers  of  the   Fourteenth   were   now 
mostly  enlisted  men  risen  from  the  ranks,  who  had 
won  for  themselves  a  lasting  reputation.     Capt.  Jane- 
way  for  brave  and  meritorious  conduct  was  i)romoted  ' 
to  the  colonelcy  of  the  regiment.     Besides  this  vet-  > 
eran  officer  there  were  Capts.  Wanser,  Manning,  and 
Marsh  and  Lieuts.  Foster,  Buckalew,  Fletcher,  Han- 
ning,  White,  and  Mandeville,  noted  for  conspicuous 
gallantry,  who  had  entered  the  ranks  as  privates. 
Col.  Truax  was  still  in  command  of  the  brigade  as  [ 
acting  brigadier-general.     The  regiment  had  been  re- 
cruited to  the  number  of  two  hundred.     It  was  trans- 
ferred to  City  Point,  whence  it  advanced  and  occu-  ■ 
pied  a  position  on  the  Weldon  Railroad  which  had  i 
been  seized  and  held  by  the  Filth  Corps.     Feb.  5, 
1865,  the  regiment  participated  in  the  engagement  at 
Hatcher's  Run  ;   the  assault  on  Fort  Steadman  fol- 
lowed on  the  25th  of  March,  resulting  in  the  speedy 
downfall  of  Petersburg,  and  the  surrender  of  Lee  two 
weeks  later  at  Appomattox.     Col.  Truax  in  his  re- 
port of  the  capture  of  Fort  Steadman  makes  the  fol- 
lowing statement : 

"The  brigade  was  formed  in  column  of  regiment,  and  advancing  on 
the  left  flank  of  the  fort  compelled  its  surrender,  Without  halting  we 
advanced  on  the  next  fort,  which  was  evacuated  almost  witliout  a  strug- 
gle, leaving  in  our  possession  four  guns,  cainsons,  and  horses.  .  .  .  I  liave 
every  reason  to  be  proud  of  the  regiments  composing  my  brigade." 

Another  report  says, — 

"From  first  to  last  the  Fourteenth  fought  with  the  greatest  bravery, 
and  to  it  equally  with  the  most  efficient  regiment  of  the  corps  belongs 
the  credit  of  the  magnificent  success  of  that  glorious  day." 

Early  on  the  3d  of  April,  being  informed  that 
Petersburg  was  evacuated,  and  that  the  pickets  of 
the  Twenty-fourth  Corps  had  advanced  into  the  city, 
the  Fourteenth  joined  in  the  pursuit  of  the  enemy, 
Jjushing  forward  to  Sailor's  Creek,  where  it  assailed 
the  enemy's  flank,  doubling  it  up  and  driving  the 
rebels  for  the  distance  of  a  mile.  Here  reaching  the 
hill  directly  in  front  of  the  creek,  where  the  rebels 
were  found  strongly  posted  in  the  rear  of  some  works, 
a  charge  was  made  by  the  brigade  across  the  stream, 
some  seventy-five  yards  in  width,  the  soldiers  advanc- 
ing through  water  up  to  tlieir  hips  and  under  a  gall- 
ing fire  from  the  enemy.  Immediately  reforming  on 
the  other  side  of  the  stream  the  brigade  charged  over 
the  crest  of  the  hill,  driving  and  completely  routing 
the  enemy.  Wheeling  to  the  left  and  pushing  his 
column  against  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy,  a  few 
moments  of  vigorous  fighting  were  crowned  with  the 
trophy  of  the  surrender  of  Ewell's  command.  Maj. 
Pegram,  inspector-general  on  Ewell's  staft',  at  this 
point  rode  up  to  Col.  Truax,  bearing  a  flag  of  truce, 
and  said,  "  I  surrender  Lieut.-Gen.  Ewell  and  staff 
and  his  command."  This  was  a  glorious  termination 
of  the  long  and  weary  campaigns  in  which  our  brave 
soldiers  had  been  engaged.  The  Fourteenth,  now  re- 
duced to  about  one  hundred  men,  proceeded  to  Barks- 
dale,  where  the  command  remained  in  camp  till  the 


24th,  and  then  proceeded  to  Danville  with  a  view  of 
co-operating  with  Sherman  against  Johnston.  But  on 
their  arrival  news  of  Johnston's  surrender  was  re- 
ceived. The  war  was  ended.  The  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service 
at  Washington,  D.  C,  on  the  18th  of  June,  186-5,  hav- 
ing been  in  the  service  nearly  three  years.  It  left 
New  Jersey  nine  hundred  and  fifty  strong;  the  rem- 
nant that  returned  was  two  hundred  and  thirty,  not- 
withstanding the  many  recruits  which  had  strength- 
ened its  ranks  from  time  to  time.  During  that  time 
the  regiment  had  been  distinguished  in  many  battles 
and  skirmishes  for  its  uniform  gallantry  and  courage. 
It  had  traveled  by  rail  one  thousand  and  fifty-one 
miles,  by  water  six  hun<lred  and  twenty-eight  miles, 
and  on  foot  two  thousand  and  fifteen  miles.' 

Thirtieth  Regiment. — The  Thirtieth  Regiment, 
which  contained  one  company,  viz..  Company  B, 
from  this  county,  was  organized  under  the  provisions 
of  an  act  of  Congress  approved  July  22,  1861,  and 
under  existing  orders  governing  the  enrollment  of 
troops.  A  draft  for  ten  thousand  four  hundred  and 
seventy-eight  men  to  serve  for  nine  months  unless 
sooner  discharged  had  been  made  upon  the  Governor 
of  this  State  by  the  President  of  the  United  States, 
Aug.  4,  1862,  and  soon  after  full  instructions  for 
conducting  it  were  received  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment. The  draft  so  ordered  was  not  to  interfere  with 
orders  governing  recruiting,  and  all  enlistments  up  to 
Sept.  1,  1862,  would  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the 
State.  A  general  desire  manifested  and  expressed 
by  the  State  authorities,  as  well  as  by  prominent  citi- 
zens throughout  the  State,  to  avoid  the  draft  gave 
an  enthusiasm  to  recruiting  which  caused  the  entire 
quota  to  be  raised  by  voluntary  enlistments  and  in 
camp  by  the  3d  of  September,  1862,  the  time  ap- 
pointed for  commencing  the  draft.  The  organization 
of  the  regiment  was  fully  completed,  officered,  and 
equipped  by  the  17th  of  September,  1862,  at  which 
time  the  command  was  duly  mustered  into  the  United 
States  service  for  nine  months  at  Flemington,  N.  J. 
The  regiment  was  raised  in  difterent  parts  of  the 
State,  and  placed  under  command  of  Col.  Alexander 
E.  Donaldson,  who  resigned  March  4,  1863,  and  the 
command  of  the  regiment  devolved  upon  Lieut.-Col. 
John  J.  Cladek,  who  served  till  the  regiment  was 
mustered  out,  June  27,  1863.  The  officers  of  Com- 
1  pany  B  from  this  county  were:  Captain,  John  N. 
I  Lewis;  first  lieutenant,  James  D.  Vanderveer;  sec- 
ond lieutenant,  Thomas  Moore.  Capt.  Lewis  re- 
signed Dec.  26,  1862,  and  Lieut.  Vanderveer  took 
his  place,  serving  as  captain  till  June  27,  18()3,  wlien 
the  regiment  was  mustered  out.  James  H.  Ogden, 
who  entered  the  company  as  first  sergeant  Aug.  25, 

1862,  became  first    lieutenant   March   16,   1863,  vice 
Elias  W.   Brant,   resigned,   and   resigned   April   27, 

1863,  when  John  M.  Case  became  first  lieutenant  in 


I  Sergeant  Terrell's  History. 


RECORD  OF  UNION  COUNTY  SOLDIERS.  1861-65. 


157 


his  stead.  Oscar  Conklin,  first  sergeant  of  Company 
I,  became  second  lieutenant  upon  the  resignation  of 
Thomas  Moore,  February,  1863.' 

The  regiment  left  the  State  Sept.  30,  1862,  num- 
bering one  thousand  and  eleven,  officers  and  enlisted 
men.  It  was  assigned  soon  after  arriving  in  Wash- 
ington to  the  Provisional  Brigade,  Casey's  division, 
defenses  of  Washington,  and  participated  in  but  one 
battle,  that  of  Chancellorsville,  May  2  and  3,  1863. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

RECORD    OF    UNION    COUNTY    SOLDIERS,    1S6I-65. 
COMPANY   A,  FIRST    REGIMENT. 

Allen,  William  W.,  corp.,  May  16,  1861 ;  dio.l  of  fever  at  0.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp..  West  Pliiladelphia,  Pa.,  Sept.  7,  18ti2. 
Allen,  Juhn  J.,  private,  Miiy  16,  1861 ;  Corp.  Feb.  4,  1862  ;  disch.  at  the 

V.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  Oct.  I,  lS6:i,  dis. 
Baker,  Ralph  P.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  Corp.  May  i!l,1861  ;  sergt.  Aug. 

21,  1862  ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,  1864  ;  2d  lieut.  Co.  A,  Ut  Batt.,  Feh.  2, 

1865;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  C,  1st  Batt.,  June  4, 1865;  served  in  4th 

Kegt.;  must,  out  June  29,  186.i. 
BIythe,  Smith  G.,  com.   sergt.;    2d  lieut.  vice  Luther    Martin;    res. 

March  24,  IS62  ;  pro.  to  Ist  lieut.  Co.  F,  Oct.  7,  1862  j  capt.  Nov.  29, 

1862;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Baquet,  Camille,  sergt.  Co.  1, 16th  Penn.  Cav.;  2d  lieut.  Co.  A,  lat  N.  J. 

Begt.,  vice  Phineas  B.  Provost;  res.  April  1,  1863;  must,  out  June 

23,  1864. 
Brant,  William,  Jr.,  Corp.,  March  21, 1861 ;  sergt.  Feb.  4,  1862 ;  1st  sergt. 

Sept.  I,  1862  ;  re-eul.  Ilec.  28,  1863;  pro.  to  Ist  lieut.  Co.  B,  1st  Bait., 

Feb.  2,  1865;   served  in  4th   Regt. ;   capt,  Co.  B,  Ist  Batt.;    brevet 

capt.  April  2,  1865;  capt.  May  11,  1865;  must,  out  June  29,  1866. 
Bonuell,  Edward,  private,  Miy  16,1861;  corp.  March  1,  1863;  re-enl. 

Dec.  28,  1863;  served  in  4th  Regt. ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Beel,  Samuel  J.,  private,  May  16,  1861;  corp.  Nov.  1,  1862;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 
Barton,  Robert  E.,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Boughton,  Stephen  E.,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Beatty,  James,  private.  May  16,  1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hoep., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Jan.  26,  1863,  dis. 
Brant,  Joseph,  Jr.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Jan.  28,  1863,  dis. 
Brobsou,  Peter,  piivate.  May  16,  1861;  corp.  Sept.  1,  1862;   killed  in 

action  at  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  6,  1864. 
Brower,  Daniel  U.,  musician  ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Camp  Semiuar,\ , 

Va.,  Sept.  6,  1861. 
Belmer,  Itbanier  M.,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines' 

Farm,  Va  ,  June  27,  1862. 
Brown,  John  W.,  Ist  lieut..  May  21, 1861 ;  capt.  rice  David  Hatfield;  pro. 

Jlay  28,  1861;  disch.  Sept.  17,  1862,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Carr,  Thomiui,  private,  Sept.  .TO,  1862;  disch.  near  Brandy  Station,  Va., 

March  18,  1864. 
Cavauaiigh,-  Merty  W.,  private,  May  16,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines' 

Farm,  Va.,  June  27,  1862. 
Clum,  William  H.,  private,  May  16,  1861;  deserted  Sept.  17,  1862,  at 

Cramplon's  Pass,  Md. 
Clum,  Uhauncey,  private,  May  16, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Creighton,  Hugh  T.,  private.  May  16, 1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,  1863;  served 

in  4th  Regt. ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Crossan,  Cornelius,  recruit,  Aug.  13,  1861;   disch.  at  Camp  Banks,  Va., 

Jan.  22,  ls63,  dis. 
Curiy,  James,  recruit,  Aug.  13,  1861;  served  in  4lh  Regt.;  must,  out 

Sept.  6.  1864. 
Curran,  Thomas,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Debo,  Charles,  Jr.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  corp,  Aug.  1,  1862;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 


1  See  alphabetical  record  of  this  company  farthe 

-  Atiiu  John  Hastings. 

11 


Donnelly,  James,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  28,  1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in 
action  at  Benson's  Tavern,  Va. 
Danbrier,  John,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  corp.  July  1, 1861 ;  8er.:t.  Aug. 

1,  1862 ;  disch.  at  lio«p.,  Aniiclam,  Md.,  April  14,  186.3,  dis. 
Devine,  Patrick,  recruit,  Dec.  11, 1863;  deserted  Dec.  24,  1863,  en  rouCe 

to  regt. 
Denton,  James,  Ist  sergt   Co.  F,  Sept.  25,  1862;  Ist  lieut.  Co.  A,  let 

Batt.,  Feb.  2,  1865 ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Dunham,  Samuel  H.,  sergt..  May  16,  1861 ;  Ist  sergt.  Aug.  1, 1861 ;  disch. 

at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Fairfax,  Va.,  July  9,  1862,  dis. 
Ellwood,  James,  private.  May  16,  1861;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan.  20,  1863,  dis. 
Eckard,  John,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  G:Jnes'  Farm, 

Va.,  June  27,  1862. 
Evertson,  William  T.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  died  of  fever  at  Camp 

Parole,  .\nnapnlis,  Md.,  Oct.  23, 1862;  paroled  prisoner. 
Favor,  John,  private,  May  16,  1861;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Forsyth,  George,  private.  May  16,  1861  ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Freeman,  Alouzo,  private.  May  16,1861;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  Nov.  27, 1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action 

at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va. 
Fitzgerald,  Thomas,  piivate.  May  16, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Va.,  May  3,  1863. 
Green,  Nathaniel,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must  ont  June  23, 1864. 
Halstead,  Isaac  W.,  pi  ivate.  May  16,  1861 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Alexandria,  Va..  Dec.  31, 1862. 
Hall,  Francis,  sergt..  May  16,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  May  23,  1863,  dis. 
Hatfield,  David,  capt..  May  21,  1861;  pro.  to  maj.  May  28, 1861 ;  died  at 

Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  July  30,  1862,  of  wounds  rec'd  in  action  at  Gaines' 

Farm,  Va. 
Hambrick,  Paul  R.,  Ist  lieut.  vice  Thomas  T.  Tillon,  resigned,  Dec.  9, 

1861 ;  pro.  capt.  Co.  A,  2.iil  Regt.,  Deo.  26, 1862  ;  brevet  maj.  March 

13,  1865  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Haskard,  Charles,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  deserted  July  31, 1861  j  returned 

to  duty  July  16,  1863;  must,  out  June  23,  1863. 
Haskard,  Thomas,  recruit,  Jan.  10,  1862  ;  re-enl.  Feb.  11, 1864;  served  in 

4th  Regt.;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
HenderS'in,  William,  Corp.,  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

Sept.  10,  1861,  dis. 
Hart,  Gustavus  A.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  deserted  Sept.  17,  1862,  at 

Crampton's  Pass.  Md. 
Herdt,  Christian,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March 

15, 1864;  disch,  therefrom  May  25,  1864. 
Hutt,  Jacob  L.,  1st  lieut.  Co.  C,  4th  Regt.,  Nov.  14, 1864;  capt.  Co.  A,  let 

Batt.,  June  4,  1865 ;  must,  out  June  29,  1866. 
Johnson,  John,  recruit,  Jan.  10, 1862:  re-enl.  Feb.  11, 1864;  served  in 

4th  Regt.;  must,  out  June  29,  1866. 
Keller,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  16,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Nov. 

10,  1862,  dis. 
Kain,  Michael,  private.  May  16,  1861;  died  at  hosp..  Milk  Creek,  Va., 

Sept.  1,  1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Gaines*  Farm,  Va. 
Kautner,  Charles,  pnvate.  May  16, 1861 ;  deserted  July  31, 1861,  at  Camp 

Princeton,  Va. 
Knowlton,  Charles,  recruit,  Aug.  13, 1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Oct.  4, 1862,  dis. 
Kersbaw,  Samuel,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  must,  out  of  service  June  23, 

1864. 
Lightholder,  Patrick,  private.  May   16,  1861;  disch.  at  Convalescent 

Camp.,  Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  6, 1863,  dis. 
Lloyd,  George  K.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  4, 1863,  dis. 
'Lobb,  Benjamin  H.,  piivate.  May  16,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan. 

15,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  May  23,  1864. 
Lawler,  William  T.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov. 

15,  1863;  disch.  therefrom  June  7,  1864. 
Long,  Joseph  F.,  recruit,  Jan.  18,  1862;  served  in  4th  Regt.;  must,  out 

Jan.  31, 1865. 
Lambert,  Joseph,  private.  May  16, 1861;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Lyle,  Robert  G.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  Corp.  May  21, 1861 ;  sergt.  March 

1,  lS6;i ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Martin,  Luther,  2J  lieut.,  June  7,  1861 ;  res.  Nov.  28, 1861, 
Martiii,  Jose|ih  C.  sergt..  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  York,  Pa.,  July 

9, 1862.  dis. 
Mekeer,  William  H.,  corp..  May  21, 1861 ;  sergt.  Ang.  1,  1861 ;  pro.  capt. 

Co.  B,  lllh  Regt.,  May  27, 1862;  res.  Sept.  3, 1863,  dis. 


158 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Meeker,  Alvin  M.,  1st  sergt.,  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary, 

Va.,  Feh.  4, 1862,  di8. 
McCullDugh,  Robert  W.,  priTate,  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark, 

N.J.,  Dec.  11.  1863,  dis. 
McDonuell,  Alexander,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  discb.  at  Convalescent 

Camp,  Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan.  22,  186."i,  dis. 
McDonuell,  James,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  Corp.  Feb.  4, 1862 ;  sergt.  Nov. 

5,  lS-62 ;  must  out  June  23, 1864. 
McLaughlin,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  discb.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  Oct.  20, 1862,  dis. 
Merrick,  Joseph,  private.  May  16,1861 ;  died  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington, 

D.  C,  July  25,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  6,  1864;  buried  at  Arlington,  Va. 
Miller,  John  V.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27, 1862. 
Miller,  Josepli  W.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  re-enl.  Feb.  11,  1864;  served 

in  4tli  Uegt. ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Morgan,  Ashbel  G.,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
McGregor,  Amos  B.,  musician.  May  16, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Feb.  15,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  May  23,  1864. 
Maple,  David,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  15, 

1865 ;  discb.  therefrom  July  24, 1865. 
Mulford,  Joseph  H.,  private.  May  16,"  1861  ;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps  U.  S. 

A.  Jan.  5,  1862  ;  disch.  therefrom  April  12, 1862,  dis. 
McGuier,  Tliomas,  private,  May   16,  1861 ;   deserted  Sept.  1,  1862,  at 

Washington,  D.  C. 
McTeague,  James,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  deserted  June  7, 1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.J. 
Neil,  Edward  K.,  wagoner.  May  16, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Nicholas,  Alphonso  I.,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Nicholas,  Samuel,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Nicholas,  William  F.,  private.  May  16, 1801 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Banks,  Va., 

Jan.  21,  1863,  dis. 
Ogden,  Joseph  G.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  2.3, 1864. 
Oliver,  James  H.,  private.  May  16, 1861 :  deserted  June  7, 1861 ;  returned 

to  duty  Sept.  21, 1864 ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Olmstead,  William  H.,  private.  May  16,  1861;   re-enl.   Dec.  28,  1863; 

served  in  4th  Regt. ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Parker,  John  Y.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Parkinson,  John  G.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  corp.  May  21, 1861 ;  reduced 

to  ranks  Sept.  30,  1861;  Corp.  Nov.  1,  1862;  re-enl.  Feb.  11,  1864; 

sergt.  April  18,1865;  served  in  Fourth  Begt. ;  must,  out  June  29, 

1865. 
Penn,  David  E.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Baltimore,  Md.,  Jan.  6, 1863,  dis. 
Pister,  Charles  F.,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  March  14,  1863,  dis. 
Provost,  Isaac  S.,  private.  May  16, 1861  ;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  July  14, 1862,  dis. 
Provost,  Phineas  B.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  sergt.  May  21, 1861 ;  sergt.- 

maj.  Aug  24,  1862 ;  2d  lieut.  vice  Smith  G.  Blythe,  pro.,  Oct.  7, 1862 ; 

resigned  Feb.  16, 1863. 
Reed,  Samuel  J.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  Corp.  Nov.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 
Reeves,  Samuel,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Rhodes,  Nathan  C,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Smith,  Nathaniel  W.,  2d  lieut.  Co.  E,  Nov.  27, 1862;  1st  lieut.  vice  Paul 

R.  Uambrick,  pro.,  Feb,  13,  1863;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Smith,  Richard,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Scott,  William,  private.  May  16, 1861;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

June  4, 1862,  dis. 
Solomon,  Charles,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Squier,  William  W.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Stansbury,  Joseph  S.,  private.  May  16,  1861;  disch.  at  White  Oak  Church, 

Va.,  Nov.  29,  1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 

Gaiues'  Farm,  Va. 
Shen,  John,  private.  May  16, 1861;  deserted  April  16, 1862,  at  Catlett's 

Station,  Va. 
Southwick,  Edward  P.,  musician,  Aug.  1, 1862 ;  served  in  15th  Regt.,  4th 

Begt.,  and  Co.  C,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  June  22, 1865. 
Silvers,  Jordan,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  killed  on  picket  at  Miner  House, 

near  Alexandria,  Va.,  Oct.  15,  1861. 
Tillou,  Thomas  T.,  Ist  lieut.,  June  3, 1861 ;  res.  Nov.  12, 1861. 
Thorn,  Linton  B.,  corp..  May  16, 1861;  re-enl.  Feb.  11, 1864;  corp.  April 

18, 1866 ;  served  in  Fourth  Begt. ;  most,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Townley,  Israel  C,  musician.  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  hospital,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  Oct.  23, 1862,  dis. 


Trowbridge,  U7-1I,  private.  May  16,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines* 

Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Warner,  Henry  C,  1st  lieut.  Co.  F;  capt.  vice  John  W.  Brt>wn,  dismissed, 

Oct.  7,  1862;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Williams,  Elijah  F.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Walton,  William,  private,  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

Sept.  6,  1861,  dis. 
Williams,  James  H.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  hosp.  Camp  Parole, 

Md.,  Jan.  7,  1863,  dis. 
Worrell,  Benjamin,  private.  May  16, 1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  5, 1863,  dis. 
Wortbley,  John,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1804. 
Wostenholm,  James,  private.  May  16,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

July  22, 1863;  disch.  therefrom  June  23, 1864. 
Welton,  Hezekiah  B.,  private.  May  16, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines* 

Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 

COMPANY   A,  SECOND   REGIMENT. 
Allen,  Edward,  recruit,  Aug.  20, 1861 ;  sergt.  November,  1 862 ;  served  in 

Co.  A,  15th  Begt. ;  must,  out  Aug.  31,  1864. 
Ames,  Horace  L.,  musician,  April  25, 1861 ;  pro.  to  drum-major  March 

18, 1862;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va.,  Oct.  1, 1862,  by  order  War 

Dept. 
Ballinger,  William  P.,  private.  May  9, 1861 ;  corp.  Nov.  1,  1862;  sergt. 

Feb.  25,  1863  ;  must,  out  June  21,  1854. 
Bartow,  Henry,  recruit,  Aug.  21,  1861;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

April  19, 1862,  dis. 
Broderick,  Joel  S.,  private.  May  17, 1861 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Anderson- 

ville,  Ga.,  May  6, 1864 ;  buried  there,  grave  909. 
Brady,  William  L.,  private,  Aug.  23, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Brown,  Augustus  R.,  Corp.,  April  24,  1861 :  disch.  at  Fort  McHenry, 

Baltimore,  Md  ,  Nov.  17,  1862,  dis. 
Brierton,  Joseph  F.,  private,  May  7,  1861 ;  deserted  May  6, 1864,  on  vet- 
eran furlough  ;  re-enl.  March  31, 1864. 
Brown,  John,  private,  May  8,  1861 ;  deserted  July  24, 1863,  on  march 

from  White  Plains,  Va.,  to  New  Baltimore,  Va. 
Bryan,  George,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  deserted  June  20, 1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.J. 
Callender,  William,  recruit,  Nov.  23, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Crampton's 

Pass,  Md.,  Sept.  14,  1862. 
Chetwood,  Bradbury  C,  Ist  lieut..  May  22,  1861 ;  res.  Dec.  12,  1861,  to 

accept  commission  as  2d  lieut.  in  1st  U.  S.  Artillery. 
Cleveland,  E.  J.,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  June  1,1861,  dis. 
Cole,  William  A.,  private,  April  25. 1861;  disch.  at  Fort  McHenry,  Md, 

Nov.  10,  1862,  dis. 
Cordo,  John,  private,  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  Sept.  18, 1862,  dis. 
Clampett,  John  S.,  corp.  May  17,  1861;  sergt.  Aug.  1,  1862;  disch.  at 

ConvalescentCamp.,  Alexandria, Va.,Jan. 30, 1863;  wounds  received 

in  actiou  at  Manassas,  Va. 
Cree,  William  J.,  2d    lieut,  June  12,  1861;  1st  lieut.,  rice  B.C.  Chet- 
wood, resigned,  Nov.  6, 1861 ;  resigned  July  12, 1862. 
Conger,  John  H.,  private.  May  7, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Aug.  21, 

1864 ;  arm  amputated. 
Chichester,  David,  private.  May  7, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  5,  1864 ;  buried  at  Fredericksburg  National  Cemetery, 

Va. 
Christman,  Jacob,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27, 1862. 
Coziue,  Henry  W.,  sergt,  April  24,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Dec.  22,  1802. 
Danneber-ger,  Antony  J.,  private.  April  23,  1801;  sergt.  May  22,  1861; 

trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  July  1,  1863 ;  disch.  therefrom  May  22, 1864. 
Davis,  Charles  C,  prrvate.  May  3,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27, 1862. 
Donovan,  Joseph,  private,  May  22,  1861 ;  corp.  July  1, 1861 ;  sergt.  Nov. 

1, 1862;  2d  lieirt.  Jan.  14,  1863;  1st  lieut.  vice  W.  H.  Williams,  res. 

May  19,  1863  ;  disch.  March  11, 1865  ;  paroled  prisoner. 
Davenport,  William  S.,  Corp.,  May  21, 1861 ;  sergt.  Feb.  25,  1863;  must. 

out  June  21, 1864. 
Danneberger,  Joseph  J.,  corp..  May  22,  1861;  private  May  22,1862; 

Corp.  Dec.  1,  1802  ;  must  out  June  21,  1864. 
Dixon,  John,  private,  Aug.  25. 1861 ;  deserted  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  June  16,  1861 ;  returned  to  duly  April  1,  1863  ;  sentenced  by 

G.  C.  M.  June  26,  1863,  to  confinenrerrt  at  Kort  Delaware  ;  retrrrned 

to  duty  March  30, 1864;  must,  orrt  June  21, 1864. 


RECORD   OF    UNION    COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  1861-65. 


159 


Dortkompf,  Carl,  private,  March  17,  1861  ;  Corp.  Feb.  25, 1863 ;  must,  out 

June  21,  1864. 
Draft,  John  J.,  private.  May  6,  1861 ;   disch.  at  camp  near  White  Oak 

Church,  Va.,  Dec.  22,  1862,  dis. 
Durling,  Theodore  H.,  private.  May  6, 1861 :  disch.  at  Port  McHenry, 

Md.,  Nov.  12, 1862,  dis. 
Elsasei',  George,  private,  May  17,  1861 ;  deserted  June  20,  1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Farr,  John,  private,  April  3,  1861 ;  Corp.  Feb.  25,  1863  ;  must,  out  June 

21,  1864. 
Fon,  Frauklin  W.,  private,  April  25, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1S64. 
Franklin,  George  B.,  sergt.,  April  23, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary, 

Va.,  Sept.  23,  1861,  dis. 
Frederick,  George,  recruit,  April  30,  1864 ;  disch.  at  Iiosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  Aug.  5,  1865,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action  before 

Petersburg,  Va.,  April  2,  1865. 
Gamier,  Albert  h.,  private.  May  6, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Fort  McHenry,  Md., 

Nov.  18,  1862,  dis. 
Haley,  John,  private,   April  23,  1861;  disch.  at  Camp   Seminary,  Va., 

March  3,  1862,  dis. 
Haress,  Charles,  recruit,  Aug.  31,  1863  ;  deserted  en  route  to  regt. 
Harkin,  John,  private,  April  29, 1861;  deserted  June  17,  1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N,  J. 
Hedges,  Edwin  W.,  private,  April  23,  1861 ;  sergt.,  Jan.  22, 1862 ;  2d 

lieut.,  July  12,  1862  ;  capt.  vice  Richard  Hopewood,  resigned,  Jan. 

14,  1863  ;  must,  out  June  21,  1864. 
Hopewood,  Richard,  Ist  lieut.  Co.  K,  May  30,  1861 ;  capt.  vice  James 

Wilson,  pro.,  Dec.  27, 1861 ;  resigned  Jan.  14, 1863. 
Hurst,  Nathaniel,  private,  April  29,1861;  corp.  Feb.  25,  1863;  must. 

out  June  21,  1864. 
Howe,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  21,  1863 ;  served  in   Co.  F,  loth  Eegt.; 

must,  out  July  11,  1865. 
Hughes,  Hugh,  private.  May  4, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Heywood,   Lucius  M.,  private,  May   22,  1861 ;    disch.  at  Camp  Olden, 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  10,  1861,  dis. 
Hurder,  Henry,  private.  May  6,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  15, 

1864  ;  disch.  therelroni  May  23,  1864. 
Hopkins,  Augustus  H.,  private,  April  29,  1861 ;  deserted  June  17, 1861, 

at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Howard,  Michael,  private,  Aug.  27 ,  1861 ;   deserte.l    Aug.  12,  1862,  at 

Alexandria,  Va. 
Jones,  Edward,  recruit,  Aug.  31,  1863;  deserted  en  rmtie  to  regt. 
Johnson,  Robert,  private,  April  23,  1861;  disch.  at  Ward  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  27,  1864,  dis. 
Johnson,  Gilbert  S.,  wagoner,  May  9, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Johnson,  William,  private,  April  29,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Annap- 
olis, Md.,  Sept.  17,  1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 


Va. 


Judge,  James  P.,  private,  April  30, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 

Ketch,  Peter,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  May  15, 1863,  dis. 

Keenan,  Thomas,  recruit ;  trans,  from  Co.  G ;  served  in  Co.  B,  15th 
Regt. 

Kelly,  George,  recruit;  trans,  from  Co.  C  ;  served  in  Co.  B,  loth  Regt. 

King,  William  N.,  private,  April  24,  1861;  trans,  to  gunboat  "Cincin- 
nati," Feb.  21, 1862  ;  disch.  therefrom  Nov.  14,  1862. 

Lamhjia,  William  F.,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 
Sept.  1,  1863;  disch.  therefrom  May  23,  1864. 

Lathrop,  Elijah  J.,  musician.  May  2,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Harrison's  Land- 
ing, July  19,  1862,  dis. ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington, 
D.  C,  Nov.  8,  1862. 

Lake,  George,  private.  May  22, 1861  ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton, 
N.J„  Junes,  1861,  dis. 

Laughliu,  Paul  J.,  private.  May  IS,   1861 ;  deserted  Oct.  15,  1862,  on 

Laing.  William  H.,  private.  May  9, 1861 ;  disch.  at  White  Oak   Church, 

Va.,  to  join  the  regular  army,  Jan.  1,  1863. 
Lovett,  James  M.,  private,  April  25,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27. 1862. 
Leppard,  Leonard,  recruit,  trans,  to  Co.  6. 
Lynn,  William  A.,  private.  May   17,  1861 ;  corp.  May  22,  1861  ;  trans. 

to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  July  1, 1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  Jlay  23,  1864. 
Lowe,  Cornelius  A.,  private.  May  4, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Lewis,  Horace  E  ,  private.  May  6,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  22,  1863 ;  pro.  to  Ist 

lieut.  Co.  A,  15th  Regt.,  Feb.  9, 1865  ;  com.  acUt.,  2d  Regt.,  June  26, 

1865  ;  not  mustereil ;  brev.  capt.,  April  2, 1865  ;   must,  out  June  22 

1865. 


Landy,  Thomas,  private,  April  30, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21 ,  1864. 
McDonald,  James  H.,  private,  May  4, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
McGregor,  Alexander,  private.  May  7,  1861 :  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Mct.'nrdy,  Samuel,   recruit,    Aug.  15,  1861 ;    trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

March  31. 1864;  disch.  therefrom  Oct.  19, 1866. 
McNair,  Alexander,  private,  April  23,1861;   deserted  June  17, 1861,  at 

Camp  Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Middlebrook,  Aaron  L.,  private.  May  22,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  July  12,  1861,  dis. 
Middlesdorf,  Henry,  private.  May  17,  1861;    re-enl.  March  16,  1804; 

served  in  Co.  A,  15th  Regt.;  must,  out  July  11, 1865. 
Moore,  William  H.,  private,  April  25,  1861 ;  Corp.  July  18,  1862  ;  killed 

in  action  at  Manassas,  Va.,  Aug.  27,  1862. 
Mullany,  John,  private,   May  22,1861;  dishon.  disch.  at  Camp  Olden, 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  24,  1861. 
Murphy,  John,  recruit,  Feb.  8,  1862;  re-enl.  March  16,  1864;  served  in 

Co.  A,  15th  Regt. ;  must,  out  July  11,  1865. 
Neitzel,  Paul,  private.  May  17, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va.,  Oct. 

2A,  1861,  dis. 
Nichols,  Charles,  private,  April  23, 1861 ;  deserted  June  17, 1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Noble,  Joshua  F.,  private.  May  7,  1861 ;  deserted  at  Camp  Olden,  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.,  June  17, 1861;  returned  to  duty  from  30lh  Regt.,  N.  J. 

Vols.,  May  22, 1863;  sentenced  by  G.  C.  M.  to  couflnement  at  Dry 

Tortugas,  Fla.,  June  26, 1863  ;  returned  to  duty  Feb.  2,  1865 ;  must. 

out  July  11, 1865. 
Ogden,  Francis  M.,  recruit,  Aug.  26, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27,  1862. 
Parsons,  Hiram  R.,  private,  April  25, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary, 

Va.,  Oct.  23, 1861,  dis. 
Polster,  John,  private.  May  17, 1801  ;  disch.  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  March 

13,  1862,  dis. 
Penfield,  Edward  0.,  recruit,  April  12, 1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  C. 
Porter,  Bartine  S.,  private,  Aug.  15,  1861  ;  Corp.  May  5,  1862  ;  sergt.  Nov. 

1,1862;  Ist  sergt.  Dec.  1,1862;  com.  2d  lieut.  May  19,  1863;  not 

must. ;  disch.  at  Warrenton,  Va.,  July  26, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds 

received  in  action  at  Chaucellorsville,  Va. 
Randolph,  Lewis  F.,  private,  April  24, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Rush,  Samuel,  private.  May  4, 1861 ;  corp.  Nov.  I,  1802;  must,  out  June 

21,1864. 
Schell,  Leonard  G.,  private,  May  9,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 
Sharp,  Henry  M.,  trans,  from  Co.  D,  16th  Regt.,  June  21, 1865  ;  2d  lieut. 

March  28,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  13, 1865. 
Stell,  Joseph,  private.  May  9, 1861;  disch.  at  hosp.,  David's  Island,  New 

York  Harbor,  Nov.  21, 1862,  dis. 
Struck,  William  G.,  private.  May  17,  1861;  disch.  at  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

Jan.  29,  1863,  dis. 
Samson,  David,  private.  May  17, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1 , 

1863;  disch.  therefrom  May  23,  1864. 
Scharline,  John,  private.  May  9,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1 , 

1863 ;  disch.  therefrom  May  23,  1864. 
Schmuck,  George  W.,  private,  April  23,  1861  ;  deserted  May  6,  1864,  on 

vet.  furlough  ;  re-enl.  March  31, 1864. 
Scarlett,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  23, 1861 ;  corp.  Feb.  25,  1863;  killed 

in  action  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3, 1863. 
Shipman,  William  M.,  private,  April  27,1861 ;  corp.  May  22, 1861  ;  sergt. 

Oct.  19, 1861 J  disch.  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Feb;  5,1863,  dis. 
Thorn,  Martin,  private.  May  17, 1861 ;  deserted  July  5, 1863,  near  Gettys- 
burg, Pa. 
Tooker,  Nathan  C,  sergt..  May  22,  1861 ;  1st  sergt.  July  28, 1861 ;  must. 

out  June  21, 1864. 
Van  Horn,  William,  private.  May  4, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 

Va.,  Aug.  27, 1862. 
Van  Sicklin,  Franklin,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Fort  McHenry, 

Md.,  Nov.  18, 1862,  dis. 
Van  Voorhees,  Charles  H.,  private,  April  25,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  21 , 

1864. 
Walsh,  Michael,  private.  May  9,1861;  Corp. Nov.  1,1862;  mu6t.outJune 

21, 1864. 
Weiss,  Adolphus,  1st  lieut.  Co.  B,  15th  Regt.,  July  3,  1864;  capt.  to  ttll 

original  vacancy  Feb.  2, 1865;  absent  without  leave. 
Wilson,  James,  capt..  May  22,  1861 ;  pro.  to  maj.  9th  Regt.  Dec.  3, 1661 ; 

lieut.-col.  9th  Regt.  Feb.  10,  1862;  res.  Nov.  17,  1862. 
Williams,  William  H.,  corp..  May  22, 1861 ;  sergt.  July  1, 1861  ;  2d  lieut. 

Dec.  27,  1861 ;  Ist  lieut.  cice  William  J.  Cree,  res.  July  12,  1862 ;  res. 

May  8,  1863,  dis. 
Warnock,  .Tames,  tirivate,  April  26, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 


160 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Wilkinson,  Isaac  D.,  private,  April  3n,  1861 ;  mnsl.  out  June  21, 1804. 

■Williamson,  Dennis  H.,  private.  May  2, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 

Woody,  George,  private,  April  2.3, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  21, 1864. 

Waldron,  Jerome,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  ilisch.  at  hosp.,  Wastaington, 
D.  C,  Nov.  ■>-,  1862,  dis. 

Waterman,  William  H.,  private.  May  6,  1861;  discli.  at  hosp.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  May  12,  1862,  dis. 

While,  John,  private.  May  3, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Fort  McHenry,  Md.,  Oct.  22, 
1862,  dis. 

Wliite,  Theodore,  private,  April  29,  1861;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  June  18,  1863,  dis. 

Waver,  Bernard,  private.  May  18,1861;  killed  in  action  at  Manassas, 
Va.,  Aug.  27,  1862. 

Wilson.  Henry,  private,  April  27, 1861;  wounded  and  taken  prisoner  in 
action  at  Malvern  Hill,  Va.,  July  1, 1862;  exchanged;  died  Oct.  10, 
1862,  on  board  transport  en  route  to  regt. 

Woebhe,  John  A.,  private.  May  17,  1861;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines' 
Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 

Winde,  Frank,  private.  May  17, 1861 ;  deserted  May  5, 1864,  on  vet.  fur- 
lough ;  re-enl.  March  31,  1864. 

COMPANY  K,   THIRD   KEGIMENT. 
Ash,  Henry,  private,  May  10,  1861 ;  deserted  Sept.  17,  1862,  at  Antietam, 

Md. 
Barry,  Patrick  F.,  private;  recruit,  Jan.  27,  1864;  served  in  Co.  C,  l.'ith 

Regt.,  and  Co.  A,  3d  Batt. 
Behrens,  Charles  M.,  private;  recruit,  Jan.  7,  1862;  disch.  at  Convales- 
cent Camp,  Ale-Xiind  ia,  Va.,  Dec.  7,  1862,  dis. 
Birmingham,  Patrick,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  deserted  Aug.  29, 1863,  at 

D.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Bart,  Valentine,  private ;  recruit,  Oct.  10,1862;  died  at  rebel  prison  at 

Blchniond,  Va.,  March  12,  1864 ;  buried  at  Nat.  Cemetery,  Rich- 
mond, Va. 
Burst,  Henry,  private;  recruit,  Sept.  12, 1863;  transferred  from  Co.  C, 

15th  Regt.,  June  4,1864;  deserted  Sept.  7, 1862;  returned  to  duty 

Nov.  15,  1863. 
Beatty,  George  L.,  musician;  recruit,  Jan.  7,  1862;  killed  in  action  at 

Gaines'  Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862 
Brodcrick,  Thomas,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Bushing,  Frederick,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Aug.  1,  1862,  dis. 
Callahan,  Thomas,  private.  May  10,  1S61 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Carroll,  Paul, 1st  sergt..  May  10,  1»61 ;  disch.  atU.S.  A.Gen.  Hosp.,New- 

port  News,  Va.,  Sept.  6,  1862,  dis. 
Carroll,  Robert,  private.  May  10,  1861;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  17, 1863,  dis.;  Corp.  July  1, 1862. 
Clark,  William  S.,  private.  May  29,  1861;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C, 

May  22,  1862,  dis. 
Cotter,  John  G.,  private,  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Point  Lookout,  Md., 

Dec.  24,  1862,  dis. 
Connoly,  James,  private;  recruit,  Oct.  4,  1861;  killed  in  action  near 

Spoltsylvania,  Va.,  May  10,  1864. 
Cros.«,  Conrad,  pnvate.  May  10, 1861;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va.,  Oct 

15, 1861,  dis. 
Coy,  Peter  D.,  private.  May  10,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  July  1, 

186';  re-enl.  March  26, 1864. 
Cruoks,  William,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept. 
«       1,  1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  4, 1864. 
Cunningham,  Michael,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Aug.  1, 18(13:  disch.  therefrom  June  17,  1864. 
Crider,  Joshua  B.,  private;  recruit,  Aug.  20, 1863;  deserted  en  route  to 

regiment. 
Crowthers,  Thomas,  private.  May  10, 1861;  deserted  Jan.  19,  1863,  near 

While  Oak  Chunh,  Va. 
Curran,  John  D.,  private.  May  10, 1861  ;  disch.  at  D.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Fairfa.i, 

Va.,  April  29,  1862,  dis. 
Daly,  Andrew,  private.  May  10,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  near  Munson's 

Hill,  Va,  Aug.  31,  1861. 
Daner,  David,  private.  May  111,  1861  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  30, 

1863;  disch.  therefrom  June  4, 186*. 
Davy,  John,  private.  May  10,  1861;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Diami>nd,  Daniel,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Fai  m, 

Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Dumazand,LewiM,  musician  ;  recruit,  Oct. 4, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Semi- 
nary, Va.,  May  16, 1862,  dia. 
Deegan,  Michael,  private.  May  10, 1861;  corp.  June4, 1861 ;  sergt.  J  me 

28, 1861 ;  disch.  at  C.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  Aug.  18, 1862,  dSs. 


Easton,  Nelson  S.,  2d  lieut.  Co.  E,  Dec.  6, 1862;  1st  lient.  rice  Lewis  S. 
Fisher,  disch.  Aug.  21, 1863;  mnsl.  out  June  23,  1864. 

Ekenheimer,  Charles,  private.  May  10,  1B61 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  .5, 1864 ;  served 
in  Co.  C,  loth  Regt.,  and  Co.  A,  3d  Batt.  ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 

Engle.  Matthias,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  K.  Hosp.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  April  14,  186:!,  dis.;  Corp.  Sept.  1,  1862. 

Egan,  Patrick,  private.  May  10, 1801 ;  disch.  at  DeCamp  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 
Hosp.,  David's  Island,  New  Y.irk  Harbor,  Jan.  17, 1863,  dis. 

Euler,  Henry,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  deserted  May  10, 1862,  near  New 
KentCourt-Hnuse,Va. 

Fairiy,  David,  sergt.,  June  4, 1861 ;  2d  lieul.  June  17, 1861 ;  pro.  to  I«t 
lieut.  Co.  B,  July  1,  1862;  pro.  to  adjt.  July  14, 1862. 

Fisher,  Lewis  S.,  2d  lieut.,  Co.  H,  July  2, 1862;  Ist  lieut.  Co.  K,  mm  John 
B.  Lutz,  resigned;  disch.  Aug.  1,  1863. 

Ford,  William,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  deserted  Sept.  6, 1862,  at  George- 
town, D.  C. 

Forsyth,  Andrew,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  corp.  June  4, 1861  ;  sergt.  Jan. 
1,  1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Salem  Heights,  Va.,  May  3, 1863. 

Flynn,  William,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  disch.  May  28, 1862,  to  join  regn- 

Garvin,  Owen,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Oct.  21,  1862,  dis. 
Gannon,  Robert  J.,  private;  recruit,  Oct.  4,  1861;  deserted  en  route  to 

regiment. 
GatTaney,  James,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  near  Spottayl- 

vania,  Va.,  May  9, 1864;  sergt.  Dec.  29, 1862. 
Garry,  William,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Cramptoa*8 

Pass,  Md.,  Sept.  14,  1862. 
Gaughran,  Philip,  wagoner.  May  10, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Grimley,  Patrick,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  corp.  Fob.  1,  1862 ;  sergt.  April 

30,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Gaby,  Andrew,  private.  June  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Gutting,  Joseph,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  camp  near  Stafford 

Court-Ilouse,  Va.,  Nov.  26,  1862,  dis. 
Hade,  \Villiam,  sergt..  May  10,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines*  Farm, 

Va  .  June  27,  1862. 
Hauk,  Peter,  private.  May  10, 1861  ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A  Hosp..  Phila.,  Pa. 

Jan.  20, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action. 
Haggerty,  Henry,  corp.  Co.  A  ;  2d  lieut.  vice  Hendershot  promoted,  Oct. 

8,  1862 ;  pro.  to  Ist  lieut.  Co.  D,  Sept.  1, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  23, 

1864. 
Hacketl,  Joseph,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Hassett,  Thomas,  private,  Mny  10, 1861  ;  must,  out  June  2:!,  1884. 
Hiiyues,  Frederick,  private.  May  10,  1861  ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Harrigan,  Dennis,  Corp.,  May  10, 1861;  disch.  May  1, 1862,  dis. 
Hendershot,  Peter  M.,  sergt.,  Co.  D;  2d  lieut.  rice  Fairly,  promoted,  July 

16,  1862;  pro.  Ist  lieut.  Co.  I,  Oct.  8,  1862  ;  disch.  Aug.  21,  186*. 
•  Hurley,  James,  private.  May  10, 1861  ;  disch.  Feb.  6,  1863,  to  join  the 

regular  army. 
Kelly,  James,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  disch  at  Fairfax  Sem.,  Va.,  Oct.  15, 

1861,  wounds  received  in  action;  arm  amputated. 
Kiernnn,  Michael,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Fort  Worth,  Va.,  April 

4,  186i,  dis. 
Keiuiing,  Charles  B  ,  col-p.,  May  10,  1861  ;  sergt.  Jan.  1,  1862 ;  disch.  at 

Convalescent  Camp,  Alexaiidiia,  Va.,  Jan.  27,  1863,  dis. 
Kullel,  Peter,  private.  May  10,  1861  :  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Euhan,  Lawrence,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  6aine«' 

Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Ruble,  Herman,  pnvate.  May  10,  1861 :  disch.  at  camp  near  Stafford 

Court-liouse,  Va  ,  Nov.  25,  1862,  dis. 
Kutterniiiff,  John,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  disch.  at  T.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Phila.,  Pa.,  Aug.  15,  1862,  dis. 
Lafferty,  Hugh,  private.  May  10,  1861:  Corp.  June  18,  1862;  sergt.  Oct. 

I,  1862;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Lawrence,  Samuel,  private  ;  recruit,  Sept.  20, 1862 ;  died  of  fever  at  regt. 

hosp.,  Va.,  Feb.  13,  1863. 
Lutz,  John  B.,  1st  lieut.,  June  3. 1861 ;  resigned  Jan.  18,  1863. 
Mangan,  Patrick,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  corp.  Dec.  20,  1862 ;  must,  out 

June  23,  1"64. 
McCormick,  1  homas,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
McDonalil,  Daniel,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
McDonald,  Dennis,  private.  May  10,  1861;  corp.  Sept.  '20,  1862;  must. 

out  Juno -23,  1804. 
McElroy,  Patrick,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  10th  Regt., 

Aug.  31, 1862  ;  returned  to  Co.  K  June  18,  1864 ;  must,  out  July  15, 

1861. 
McGuren,  Peter,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 


RECORD  OF  UNION   COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  1861-65. 


161 


McLeod,  Robert,  private,  May  1(1.  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
McL«od,  James,  private,  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.   at   U.  S.  A.  Gcu.  Hosp., 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Slay  lo,  1862,  dis. 
McLauglilin,  James,  private.  May  29,  1861  ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  Tren- 
ton, N.  J,,  Oct.  1.5,  1861,  dis. 
McCrackin,  Alexander,  private.  May  10,1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Alexandria,  Va.,  May  15,  1862,  dis. 
McGovern,  Edward,  private;   recruit  Oct.  4,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res. 

Corjis  Sept.l,  1803;  disch.  tlierefrom  Oct.  5,1864. 
McDermot,  Walter,  private,  May  10,  1861 ;  died,  epilepsy,  at  tj.  S.  A, 

Gen.  Hosp.,  Wasliington,  D.  C,  April  15,  1864  ;  buried  at  St.  Mary's 

Cemetery,  Elizabetli,  N.  J. 
McGraw,  James,  private  ;  recruit  April  19, 1864;  deserted  April  23, 1864, 

at  draft  rendezvous,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
McKendrick,   David,   private;  recruit  Sept.  10,  1862;  deserted  Jau.  19, 

1863,  at  camp  near  Wliite  Oali  Church,  Va. 
McKenna,  Joliii,  private.  May  10,  1861  ;  deserted  Jan.  7,1863;  returned 

to  duty  Nov.  6,  1863 ;  deserted  June  24,  1864,  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newarli,  N.  J. 
Masterson,  Cornelius,  private  ;  recruit  Oct.  4,  1861  ;  deserted  en  route  for 

regiment. 
Mitchell,  VVilsoTi  T.,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  deserted  March  11, 1864,  at 

U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  .\lexan'lria,  Va. 
Murphy,  Walter,  private.  May  10,  1861;  corp.  June  14,  1861  ;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 
Moore,  Jacob  M.,  private  ;  recruit  Jan.  6, 18Q2;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp,,  Newark,  N.  J.,  March  14,  1863,  dis. 
Mulick,  Connor,  private,  May  10,  1861;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov. 

15, 1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  4, 1864. 
Merrion,  William,  sergt..  May  10,  1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Spottsylva- 

nia  Court-House,  Va.,  May  12, 1864. 
Mann,  William  F.,  musician,  Nov.  26,  1802;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  15th  Regt., 

June  4,  1864  ;  disch.  at  camp  near  Petersburg  per  order  W.  D.,  I)ec. 

17,  18('4. 
Nienuer,  Nicholas,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  Corp.  Juno  4,  1861  ;  must,  out 

June  2:!,  1864. 
Ogden,  John,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  deserted  Sept.  6,  1862,  at  George- 
town, D.  C. 
O'Neil,  Thomas,  Corp.,  May  10, 1861 ;  killed  inaction  near  Spottsylvania, 

Va.,  May  9,  1864. 
Penn,  Joseph,  private,  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  Aug.  15,  1862,  dis. 
Powers,  John,  private ;  recruit  Sept.  9,  1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Feb.  15,  1864 ;  disch.  therefrom  June  4,  1864. 
Pettit,  Andrew  Jacksou,  musician.  May  10,  1861 ;  accidentally  killed 

July  27, 1861,  at  camp  near  Alexandria,  Va. 
Rea,  Robert,  wagoner,  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Fair- 
fax Sem.,  Va.,  Oct.  15, 1861,  dis. 
Reiss,  George,  private.  May  10, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Rose,  Henry,  private,  July  8,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  15th  Regt.,  June  4, 

1864 ;  must,  out  Aug.  10,  1864. 
Rogere,  Heury,  private.  May  10,  1861  ;  died  of  fever  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  Sept.  21,  1862 ;  buried  at  St.  Mary's  Cemetery,  Elizabeth. 
Russell,  Patrick,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Spottsylvania, 

Va.,  May  0,  1864. 
Sohndigger,  John,  private,   May  10,  1861 ;  deserted  May  13,  1862,  near 

New  Kent  Court-House,  Va. 
Stuckley,  John,  private.  May  10,  1861;  corp.  July  1,1862;  must,  out 

June  2:'.,  1864. 
Sullivan,  William,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  corp.  Dec.  20, 1862  ;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 
Seaton,  William  H.,  private.  May  10, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1S64. 
Stoner,  William,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  ii,  1864. 
Steward,  James,  private,  June  10,  1861;  corp.  Aug.  1,  1862;   disch.  at 

camp  near  White  Oak  Court-House,  Va.,  April  19, 1863,  dis. 
Schaus,  Henry,  private.  May  10,  1S61 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Philadel- 
phia, Pa.,  Feb.  19,  ISKi,  on  account  of  wounds  rec.  in  action. 
Sheridan,  James,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  12,  1863,  dis. 
Stalbird,  George  M.,  private,  May  lo,  1861;  disch.  at  Carver  U.  S.  A. 

Hosp.,  WashiEigton,  D.  C,  May  20.  1862,  dis. 
Stone.  William,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Fairiax  Sem.,  Va.,  Oct.  20, 1861,  dis. 
Stuckey,  Jacob,  private,  May  10,  1861;  disch.  at  Burketsville,  Md.,  April 

7,  1863,  dis. 
Stead,  Thomas,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Western  gunboat  sei^ 
vice  Oct.  1, 1861 ;  disch.  therefrom  Feb.  2,  1864,  dis. 


SUrrs,  James,  private.  May  10, 1861;  sergt.  Sept.  20, 1862;  killed  in  ac- 
tion at  Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

Sbroeder,  William,  private;  recruit  Sept.  12,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at 
Gaines'  Farm,  Va.,  May  9,  1864. 

Spear,  Alexander,  private.  May  10,1861;  killed  in  action  at  Spottsyl- 
vania, Va.,  May  12,  1864. 

Sweeney,  William,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  died  in  hosp.  near  White 
Oak  Church,  Va.,  May  29,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 
Salem  Heights. 

Steinberg,  John,  private.  May  10, 1801 ;  deserted  Jau.  7, 1863,  at  Camp 
Parole,  Alexandria,  Va. 

Toole,  Michael,  private.  May  10,  1861;  corp.  Dec.  20,  1862;  must,  out 
June  23, 1864. 

Trescott,  Jonathan  C,  private,  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 

Trapp,  Lawrence,  sergt..  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  May  16,  1862,  dis. 

Wahl,  Charles  A.,  Ist  sergt..  May  10,  1861 ;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  Co.  G,  Dec. 
10,  1862;  1st  lieut.  Co  H.Feb.  18,  1863;  capt.  vice  John  Roberts, 
resigned,  Aug.  6,  18a! ;  dismissed,  S.  O.  268,  Par.  44,  War  Dept.,  A. 
G.  0.,  Washington,  D.  C,  .\ug.  12, 1864. 

Whelan,  John,  capt.,  June  3,  1861;  acting  brigade  quartermaster  on 
staff  of  Gen.  Pliilip  Kearney  ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 

Wind,  William,  private.  May  10, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 

Watson,  George,  private  ;  recruit  July  8, 1801 ;  disch,  at  Fort  McHenry, 
Md.,  Sept.  20,  1862,  dis. 

Woods,  Charles,  private;  recruit  Sept.  13,  1862;  killed  in  action  at 
Spottsylvania,  Va.,  May  9,  1804. 

Zahn,  Charles,  private.  May  10,  1861';  disch.  at  Fortress  Monroe,  Va, 
Nov.  9,  1862,  dis. 

Zetler,  John,  private.  May  10,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  June  6,  1862,  dis. 

COMPANY   G,  NINTH   REGIMENT. 

Agin,  James  H.,  wagoner,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Hammond  U.  S.  A. 

Gen.  Hosp.,  Beaufort,  N.  C,  Sept.  30,  1804. 
Ash,  George,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Nov.  23, 

1862,  dis. 
Armstrong,  William,  private;  recruit,  Sept.  9,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  B;  no 

record  further. 
Ball,  Henry  J.,  private;  recruit  Aug.  20,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  A;  disch. 

at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  G.  0.  73,  C.  S.  1805,  Dept.  N.  C. 
Basch,  Franz,  private;  recruit  May  20, 1802;  trans,  from  Co.  F;  must. 

out  May  22,  1865. 
Beri,  Lewis,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1804 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  Juno 

14,  1865. 
Bierman,  August,  substitute,  Sept.  30,1804;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1805. 
Bryant,  George  L.,  2d  lieut,  Co.  E,  Aug.  1, 1864;  1st  lieut.  vice  Jamea 

Loughlin,  pro..  April  1,  1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Benton,  William  H  ,  2d  lieut.,  Nov.  9,  1861;  res.  March  9,  1802. 
Brand,  Frederick,  sergt.,  Sept.  13,  1861;  private,  Nov.  17, 1862;  trans. 

from  Co.  A  :  sergt.  Jan.  16, 1863 ;  must,  out  Sept.  24, 1864. 
Brander,  Frederick,  Corp.,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  private  Nov.  IS,  1862 ;  trnns. 

from  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  Oct.  15, 1864. 
Braun,  George,  private,  Sept.  18,  1801 ;   trans,  from  Co.  A ;  must,  out 

Dec.  8,  1804. 
Brook,  Beaumont,  recruit,  Feb.  8,1862;  re-enl.  March  14,1864;  must. 

out  July  12, 1865. 
Burns,  Adun,  drafted,  private,  Feb.  25, 1805;  trans,  from  Co.  F  ;  must. 

out  July  12, 1865. 
Byrthe,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Beatty,  Stephen,  Corp.,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1802,  at  New- 
berne, N.  C;  returned  to  duty;  disch.  at  U.S.  A,  Gen,  Hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  Feb.  28, 1803,  dis. 
Brondsteller,  William,  Sr.,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne, 

N.  C,  June  17,  1802,  dis. 
Brondsteller,  William,  Jr., private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A. Gen. 

Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  31, 1864,  on  account  of  wounds  received 

inaction;  leg  amputated. 
Bemspatch,  Michael,  recruit,  Oct.  1,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  B;  disch.  at 

Greensboro",  N.  C,  June  14, 1865. 
Bieman,  William,  recruit,  June  9, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Oct. 

10, 1864 ;  disch.  therefrom  June  14, 1865 :  trans,  from  Co.  F. 
Bolton,  Levi,  recruit,  Aug.  19, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  B  ;  disch.  at  Newport 

News,  Va.,  Nov.  20.  1S63,  dis. 
Bopp,  Jacob,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.   Corps  ;  disch. 

therefrom  Sept  30, 1864. 


162 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Beck,  Philip,  recruit,  Aug.  27, 1862;  died  of  typlioid  at  Morehead  City, 

N.  C,  Not.  5, 1862. 
Bauer,  John,  recruit,  Feb.  10,  1864;  deserte'l  en  rottU  to  regt. 
Carrell.  Edwanl  S,,  adjt.,  Dec.  23,  1862  ;  capt.,  April  13, 1864 ;  killed  iD 

action  at  Drury's  Bluff,  Va.,  May  16,1864. 
Chizzola,  Achille,  substitute,  Sept.  .'io,  1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Conover,  Jacob,  recruit,  Aug.  16,  1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Connolly,  Michael,  recruit,  April  7, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Conrad,  Lewis,  drafted  March  9,  1865;   trans,  from  Co.  E;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Corson,  Joseph,  drafted  April  10, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Covert,  Louces  C,  recruit,  March  25,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Cutler,  Charles,  substitute,  Oct.  1,  1804;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  May 

5,  1865. 
Coyle,  Thomas,  recruit,  March  15,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  H ;  deserted  July 

4,  1865. 
Commeford,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  died  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Jan. 
4,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Whitehall,  N.  C. ;  buried  in 
Newberne  Nat.  Cem.,  sec.  12,  grave  35. 
Conn,  John  J.,  recruit,  March  16, 1864;  died  of  chronic  insanity  at  Gov- 
ernment Asylum  for  the  Insane,  Washington,  D.  C,  May  22, 1871. 
Crowley,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  while 

on  a  furlough. 
Dickey,  Robert,  recruit,  Feb.  28, 1862 ;  Corp.,  July  1, 1863  ;  re-enl.  March 

14,  1864;  sergt.  April  1,  1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Dalton,  John,  recruit,  Feb.  15, 1864  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Davis,  Francis,  substitute,  April  11,  1866;  corp.  June  20,  1805;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Dimler,  David,  private,  Sept.  ,30,  1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Dingier,  Marcus,  recruit,  Feb.  4,  1864 ;  traus.  from  Co.  B ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Donnelly,  William,  recruit,  April  7,  1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  B  ;  must,  out 

May  4,  1865. 
Dyer,  Edward.recruit,  Aug.  13, 1864  ;  disch.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3,  1865. 
Dickert,  Adam,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June  13, 

1863,  dis. 
Doty,  Samuel  K.,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps ;  disch. 

therefrom  Sept.  30.  1864. 
Deemer,  JefTersou  L.,  recruit,  Feb.  22,  1864:  died  of  scurvy  at  Ander- 
eonville,  Ga.,  Sept.  1, 1864;  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Audersonville,  Ga., 
grave  5327. 
Dolan,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Newberne, 

N.  C,  March  14, 1802. 
Dillon,  Edward,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861  ;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Anderson- 
ville,  Ga.,  Aug.  11,  1864;  buried  in  Nat.  Cem.,  grave  3819;  trans, 
from  Co.  A. 
Downs,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1862. 
Eckerson,    Philip,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  corp. 

June  15,  1865;  sergt.  July  1, 1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Eckhardt,  Henry,  substitute,  April  11,  1805;  must,  out  July  12,  1805. 
Evans,  Racey,  private,  Oct.  31,  1861;  re-enl.   Nov.  25,  1863;  disch.  at 

Trenton  by  ojder  of  War  Dept.,  July  10,  1866. 
Engle,  Paul,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;   re-enl.  Nov.  25, 1863 ;  corp.  July  1, 

1865  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Everts,  Heiman,  recruit,  July  23,  1802  ;   trans,  from  Co.  F#?   disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1866. 
Ebert,  Sebald,  recruit.  May  20, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Co.  K.  No  further  record. 
Fatti,  John  H.,  sergt.,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;   re-enl.  Nov.  25,  1803  ;    must,  out 

July  12,  1805. 
Fabrer,  Henry,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1804;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C. 

June  11,  1865. 
Fanorn,  Henry,  substitute.  Sept,  30, 1861  ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  11,  1865. 
Ford.  Thomas,  private,  Oct.  31,  1861;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Fritz,  John,  private,  Oct.  31, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Frederick,  Adam,  recruit,  Feb.  23, 1865;  traus.  from  Co.  A  :   must,  out 

May  4,  1865. 
Frederick,  William,  recruit,  Aug.  13, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1863. 
Fitzpatrick,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

July  18,  1863.  dis. 
Fessol,  Frederick,  recruit,  June  6, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.Ues.  Corps;  disch- 
therefrom  Oct.  27, 1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F. 


Fey,  William,  recruit,  March  7,  1864;  died  of  scurvy  at  Audersonville, 

Ga.,  Aug.  11, 1864. 
Faezik,  Charles  A.,  corp.,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  March 

11,1863,  dis. 
Gardner,  Amos  H.,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864 ;  corp.  Nov.  1,  1864;  sergt. 

March  1, 1866  ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14, 1866. 
Garthwaite,  Charles,  private,  Sept.  10,1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Gaessler,  Valentine,  private,  Sept.  25.  1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

June  In,  1863,  dis. 
Grienich,  Adam,  private,  Oct.  9, 1861 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J  ,  Sept.  16,  1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  A. 
Gallagher,  James,  recruit,  Feb.  16, 1864 ;  deserted  Sept.  7, 1863,  eii  roitU 

for  regiment. 
Ganse,  Lewis  H.,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  A  ;   must,  out 

June  14,  1865. 
Glaser,  Jacob,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864;   disch.   at   Greensboro',  N.  C. 

June  14,  1865. 
Gleisner,  Benjamin,  recniit,  May  11, 1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  C;  must,  on 

May  4, 1865. 
Godfrey,  William,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;    re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;   must. 

out  July  12,  1866. 
Graff,  Peter,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June 

14,  1865. 
Hamlin,  George,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1866. 
Hamilton,  James,  substitute,  April  8, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Hegel,  Paul,  recruit,  Feb.  10, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by  order  of 

War  Dept.,  June  12,  1866. 
Herning,  John,  recruit,  March  29,  1865;  trans,  from  Co.  K  ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Hinds,  Pulaski,  sergt.,  Sept.  30,  1861  ;  private  Aug.  28, 1862;  served    in 

XJ.  S.  Signal  Corps;  must,  out  Oct.  7, 1864. 
Hand,  James,  piivate,  Sept.  30,  1861:  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  Treutou, 

N.J.,  Nov.  5, 1865,  minor. 
Hobart,  Frederick,  1st  sergt.,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  2d  lient.  July  1,  1862;  Ist 
lieut.  vice  William  Zimmerman,  resigned,  Dec.  29, 1862;  com.  capt. 
Aug.  29,  1864;  disch.  Oct.  19, 1864,  on  account  of  wounds   received 
in  action  at  Wliitehall,  Va. 
Heckman,  John,  'id  lieut.,  March  9, 1862;  res.  June  4, 1862. 
Hill,  Matthew,  recruit,  Feb.  15,1864;  corp.  April  25,  1865;  most,  out 

July  12, 1865. 
Holston,  John  M.,  recruit,  Feb.  '24, 1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.  K;  corp.  June 

.  16,  1866  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 
Hurst,  Symbinanus,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Ward  U.S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  March  15,  1864,  dis. 
Happ,  Henry,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  trans,  to  Vet.  Ees.  Corps  July  1, 

1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  Sept.  29,  1864. 
Heck,  Joseph,  private,  Sept.  25, 1861;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Auder- 
sonville, Ga.,  July  23, 1864;  buried  there,  grave  3819;  trans,  from 
Co.  A. 
Huber,  Christian,  recruit,  Sept.  10, 1862 ;  shot  by  rebel  sentinel  while 
stepping  on  dead  line  at  Audersonville,  Ga.,  Aug.  5, 1864 ;  buried 
there,  grave  4744. 
Johnson,  William  H  ,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864;  corp.  Nov.  1, 1864 ;  disch. 

at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  Juue  14, 1866. 
Johnson,  John,  drafted  April  10,  1866;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Kennedy,  Daniel,  substitute,  Oct.  1, 1864;  corp.  May  24,  1865;  disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14, 1865. 
Keenan,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861  ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  disch.  at 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  by  order  War  Dept.,  May  3, 1865. 
Keinkerschdt,  Adolphus,  drafted  Feb.  24, 1864  ;  nmst.  out  July  12,  1865. 
Kerchgesner,  Leopold,  substitute,  April  10,  1865;  must,  out  July  12, 

186S. 
Kline,  Jacob,  recruit,  Feb.  24,1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Koch,  George,  recruit,  Feb.  25, 1864;  trans,  from  Co.  H  ;  disch.  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J.,  July  19, 1865,  G.  0. 113,  Dept.  N.  C. 
Kratz,  Jacob,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June 

14,  1865. 
Knapp,  John,  recruit,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Ward  V.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  May  26. 1864,  dis. 
Kunkle,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  25,  1801 :  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

March  26,  1863,  dis. 
Knaben,  Henry,  private.  Sept,  30,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corp*  Jan.  20, 

1864;  disch.  therefrom  Sept.  30, 1864. 
Kelly,  Charies,  recruit.  Fob.  16,  1864;  deserted  Feb.  29,  1864,  at  Tren- 
ton, N  J. 
Kenly,  Joseph,  recruit,  March  29, 1865;  deserted  en  roiiU  to  regt. 


RECORD   OF   UNION    COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  18(i;-65. 


163 


King,  James,  substitute,  Sept.  29, 1864 ;  deserted  at  Bogue  Sound,  N.  C. 

Laug,  Albert,  drafted  Feb.  26,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 

Lang,  John,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June 

14  1865. 
Lee,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861  ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Lougiilin,  James,  2d  lieut.,  Dec.  8, 1863 ;  Ist  lieut.  vice  Fredericlc  Hobart, 

disch.,  Aug.  29, 1864;  pro.  to  capt.  Co.  C,  Feb.  18,  1865;  must,  out 

July  12,  1866. 
Ludwig,  Ludwig,  recruit,  June  30, 1863;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Lee,  George,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  tning.  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;  disch. 

therefrom  Oct.  1,  1864. 
Lundei  son,  William,  recruit,  Aug.  21,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Sept.  1,  1863;  disch.  therefrom  July  7, 1866;  trans,  from  Co.  A. 
Lauterback, Simon,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  corp.  Aug.  18,  1862;  died  at 

Petersburg,  Va.,  May  26,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 

Whitehall,  Va. ;  prisoner  of  war;  buried  at  Poplar  Grove  Nat.  Sem., 

Va. 
Loetz,  Henry,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  died  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Jan.  31, 

1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Whitehall,  N.  C. ;  leg  ampu- 
tated. 
Lang,  Charles,  substitute,  Oct.  4, 1864;  deserted  en  route  to  regt. 
Lenahan,  William,  substitute,  April  8,  1864;  deserted  at  Greensboro*, 

N.  C. 
Mahony,  Stepheu,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  re-enl.  Nov.  25, 1863  ;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Hauderville,  James,  recruit,  Feb.  10,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  I ;  must,  out 

July  12, 1866. 
McCandless,  David,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861;  re-oul.  Dec.  8,1864. 
McCree,  James,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
McJohu,  Edward,  recruit,  April  13,  1865;  disch.  at  New  York  by  order 

War  Dept.  May  4,  1865. 
McMullin,  James,  recruit,  Feb.  28, 1862;  re-enl.  March  14, 1864;  disch. 

at  hosp.,  Auuapolis,  Md.,  by  order  War  Dept.  May  4,  1865;  paroled 

prisoner. 
McGinn,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C ;  re-enl.  Nov. 

25, 1863 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  Oct.  1,  1864 ;  buried 

at  Beaufort,  N.  C. 
McBride,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

March  1,  1363,  dis. 
McClosky,  John,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  deserted  Jan.  5,  1862,  at  An- 
napolis, Md. 
McCarty,  Joht],  substitute,  Oct.  1,  1864;  deserted  Oct.  10, 1864,  at  Bogue 

Sound,  N.  C. 
McDonald,  John,  recruit,  March  8,  1865;  corp.  July  1, 1865:  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Miles,  William,  Corp.,  Sept.  11,1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.C.,  Dec.  12, 

1863,  dis. 
Moran,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June 

24,  1863,  dis. 
Meir,  William,  drafted,  March  1, 1865  ;  trans,  from  Co.F;  must,  out  July 

12,  1S65. 
Michon,  Alfred,  substitute,  Sept.  29,  1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Moore,  Joseph  C,  drafted,  April  11, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Morgan,  Henry,  substitute,  Sept.  23, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1865. 
Muller,  John,  substitute,  Sept.  23,1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Murray,  John,  recruit,  March  28,  1866;  trans,  from  Co.  K;  must,  out 

July  12,  1866. 
Murray,  Samuel,  wagoner,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  private  Jan.  1,  1864;  re-enl. 

Jan.  18, 1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Meyer,  Philip,  sergt.,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  Ist  sergt.  April  13,1864;  must,  out 

Deo.  8,  1864. 
Mullur,  Joliann,  musician,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  died  of  intermittent  fever  at 

Florence,  S.  C,  Feb.  13,  1865. 
Mul  vey,  Timothy,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  died  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  March 

29,  1SG2,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Newberne,  N.  C. 
Naunian,  Gustav,  recruit,  July  26, 1862  ;  transferred  from  Co.  F;  discli. 

at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June  22,  1865. 
Newhoffer,  Sebastian,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  corp.  Sept.  30, 1862 ;  private 

Jan.  22,  1863;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Newscbfer,  George,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro', 

N.C.,  June  14, 1865. 
Nutt,  Henry  W.,  recruit,  Feb.  13, 1864;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 

Va.,  June  12,  1864 ;  buried  there  in  Nat.  Cem. ;  trans,  from  Co.  D. 
fitt.  Henry,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  killed  in  action  at  Roanoke  Island, 

N.  C,  Feb.  8,1862. 
Oliver,  Edward,  recruit.  Sept  23, 1864;  deserted  en  route  for  regt. 


Porepp,  Frederick,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  City, 

N.  C,  Nov.  21,  1862,  dis. 
Peach,  Frederick  G.,  recruit,  Feb.  8, 1864;  died  June  7, 1864.  of  wounds 

received  in  action ;  buried  at  Point  Lookout,  Md. 
Peters,  George,  Corp.,  Sept.  30,1861;  Ist  sergt.  Aug.  28,1862;  re-enl. 

Jan.  18,  1864  ;  2d  lieut.  April  13,  1864 ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Quinn,  John,  recruit  March  20, 1865;  trans,  from  Co.  C;  must,  out  July 

12,  1866. 
Quinse,  Frederick,  recruit,  March  1, 1865;  trans,  from  Co.  G;  must,  out 

July  12,  1866. 
Rannard,  John,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  April 

1, 1863,  dis. 
Ritter,  John  P.,  capt.,  Nov.  9, 1861 ;  resigned  for  disability  April  4, 1864. 
Reed,  David,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865;  trans,  from  Co.  K;  Corp.  June  15, 

1866 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Raymond,  John  A.,  recruit,  Aug.  4, 1862;  disch.  at  Richmond,  Va.,  by 

order  War  Dept.  July  20,  1866. 
Keuss,  Lenipold,  drafted,  Feb.  26,  1866;  must,  out  July  12, 186.^. 
Rhubart,  George,  drafted,  April  10, 1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Rien,  Lorenzo,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Ports- 
mouth, Grove,  R.  I.,  May  4, 1865. 
Riley,  James,  substitute,  Oct.  1,1864;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June 

22,  1865. 
Ritchie,  Valentine,  substitute,  Oct.  1, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro*,  N.  C, 

June  14, 1865. 
Rogers,  Albin,  reci-uit,  March  18,1865;  trans,  from  Co.  C;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Rosenbauer,  Frederick,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864; 

disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  G.  0.  113,  Dept.  N.  C,  July  19, 1865. 
Rudinger,  Benjamin,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Riley,  Terrence,  private,  Oct.  31, 1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  July 

10,  1862,  dis. 

Rowe,  Matthew,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C,  March 

11,  1863,  dis. 

Rang,  Antony,  corp.,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Feb.  29,  1864;  died  of  diar- 
rhoea at  Charleston,  S.  C,  Sept.  20,  1864,  while  a  prisoner  of  war; 

buried  at  Beaufort,  N.  C. 
Regenthall,  William,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  deserted  Nov.  19, 1861,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Runyon,  Morris  C,  1st  lieut.  Co.  F,  Jan.  8, 1863;  capt.  vice  Edward  S. 

Carrell,  killed,  Nov.  4, 1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Sanders,  Martin,  private,  Sept.  .30,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  corp.  May 

24,  1866  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Schnelzer,  Joseph  A.,  sergt.,  Sept.  30,  1861;  2d  lieut.  vice  Frederick 

Hobart,  pro.  Dec.  29, 1862;  resigned  April  6, 1864. 
Stubner,  Theodore,  recruit,  Aug.  6,  1862;  corp    Nov.  1,1864;  disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1865. 
Scheimer,  George,  drafted,  Feb.  25,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 
Schiller,  Francis,  substitute.  Sept  30, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  0., 

June  14,  1866. 
Shields,  Michael,  recruit,  Dec.  6, 1863 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Skunk,  Jacob,  drafted,  Feb.  25,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Smith,  George  (1),  recruit,  Aug.  15,  1862;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1866. 
Smith,  George  (2),  substitute,  April  10,  1866  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Sonut,  Edwin  H.,  recruit,  June  6,  1862;  trans,  from  Co.  F;  disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1805. 
Sonet,  Philip,  substitnte,  April  11,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Stalford,  William  F.,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865;  trans,  from  Co.  K ;  must. 

out  July  12,  1866. 
Steward,  Edward  C,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1864  ;  trans.  I'rom  Co.  F  ;  disch.  at 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  July  19,  1865. 
Stites,  Amos  B.,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  must,  out  Nov.  20, 1864. 
Stiuble,  John  H.,  drafted,  Feb.  24, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Supple,  Maurice,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861  ;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Saland,  John  P.,  private,  Sept.  ,30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June 

17,  1862,  dis. 
Sauerbrunn,  Jacob,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  City, 

N.  C,  Nov.  23,  1862,  dis. 
Scheller,  Charles,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861  ;  disch.  at  Beaufort.  N.  C,  June 

1,  1863,  dis.' 
Seeger,  Adam,  recruit,  June  23, 1862;  disch.  at  Hilton  Head,  S.  C,  May 

11, 1863,  dis.;  trans,  from  Co.  F. 
Seidel,  George,  private,  Dec.  31,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25,  1863 ;  disch.  at 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Aug.  15,  1865,  on  account  of  wounds. 
Simon,  Samuel,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C,  June  1, 

1863,  dis. 


164 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Sponheimer,  Philip,  recruit,  March  8,  1864;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newarii, 

N.  J.,  July  4,  1865,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 

Drury's  Bluff,  Va. 
Scanliu,  John,  recruit,  March  14, 1865 ;  trans,  to  d.  A  ;  deserted  June 

20,  IS6S,  at  Greensboro',  N,  C. 
Schardiam,  Valentine,  private,  Sept.  30,  1801 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Re-s. Corps.; 

disch.  therefrom  Sept.  30,  1804. 
Sayre,  James  E.,  recruit,  April  13,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Smith,  William  M.,  musician,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  corp.  March  30, 1863  ;  died 

of  yellow  fever  at  hosp.,  Moreliead  City,  N.  C,  Oct.  10,  1864. 
Schmidt,  Charles,  recruit,  Aug.  7,  1863  ;  died  of  scurvy  at  Andersonville, 

Ga.,  Sept.  30,  1864;  buried  there  at  Nat.  Cera.,  grave  10,052. 
Scbwitzer,  Philip,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861;  died  of  scurvy  at   Anderson- 
ville, Ga. ;  grave  8687  ;  trans,  from  Co.  A. 
Sloan,  Robert  J.,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861  ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  killed  in 

action  before  Petersburg,  Va.,  July  1, 1864 ;  buried  at  Poplar  Grove 

Nat.  Cem.,  Va. 
Schafer,  John,  recruit,  March  24, 1865  ;  deserted  en  route  to  regiment. 
Schoen,  John,  reciuit,  Oct.  19,  1863;  deserted  Oct.  24,  1864,  at  Bogue 

Sound,  N.  C. 
Schuldes,  Joseph,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  re-eul.  Nov.  25, 1863;  deserted 

May  4,  1864,  at  De  Camp  V.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  David's  Lsland,  New  York 

Harbor. 
Terrell,  Theodore,  recruit,  A\ig.  29,  1864;  Corp.  June  1,  1865;  disch.  at 

Green-boro',  N.  C,  .June  14,  1865. 
Terrell,  William,  private,  Sept.  .30, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1,S64 ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Treen,  John  M.,  recruit,  March  21, 1866;  disch.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3,  1865. 
Thiele,  John,  private,  Sept.  25,  1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  July, 

1863,  dis. 
Thompson,  Thomas,  recruit,  July  23, 1863;  killed  in  acti.n  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  23, 1864. 
Tannest.  Cornelius,  private,  Oct.  31, 1861;  died  at  18th  A.  C.  Hosp.,  May 

8. 1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Whitehall,  Va.;  buried  at 
City  Point  Nat.  Cem. 

Violet,  Lewis,  substitute,  Sept.  29,  1864 ;  discli.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Weisler,  Andrew,  substitute,  Sept.  29, 1864  ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Wontz,  John,  recruit,  Aug.  23, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June 

14,  1865. 
Whitney,  George  W.,  recruit,  April  10,  1865;  trans,  from  Co.  K;  Corp. 

July  1,  1865 ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Williams,  James  H  ,  recruit,  Feb.  18, 1864;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N,  J.,  S.  0. 

113,  Dept.  N.  C,  July  19,  1865. 
Wilson,  Charles,  recruit,  Feb.  16,  1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Wnrgler,  Rudolph,  substitute,  Sept.  29,  1864;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3, 1865. 
Williamson,  Victor,  private,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

June  22, 1863,  dis. 
Waters,  John  J.,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Anderson- 
ville, Ga.,  Sept.  II,  1864;  buried  there  in  Nat.  Cem. 
Welsher,  John,  private,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  died  of  dropsy  at  Beaufort,  N.  C, 

Jan.  6, 1863  ;  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Newberne,  N.  C. 
Ward,  Charles  W.,  wagoner,  Sept.  30, 1861  ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Welch,  Monis,  musician,  Sept.  30,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1804;  must,  out 

July  12,  186.5. 
Wall,  James,  private,  Sept.  30, 1801 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Ward,  William,  private,  Oct.  30,  1861;  corp.  July  1,1863;  re-enl.  Nov. 

25,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Taeder,  James,  recruit,  March  22,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Zimmerman,  William,  1st  lieut.,  Nov.  9,  1861 ;  res.  Dec.  28, 1862. 
Zimmerman,  Charles,  Corp.,  Sept.  30, 1861 ;  sergt.  July  30, 1862  ;  re-enl. 

Jan.  18, 1864;  1st  sergt.  July  1,  1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Zane,  Isaac  B.,  recruit,  Jan.  13,  1866  ;  trans,  from  Co.  H ;  must,  out  May 

4. 1865. 

Zurfall,  Augustus,  recruit,  April  10,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 

COMPANY   K,  NINTH    REGIMENT. 
Alleeeyer,  Philip,  private,  Sept.  13, 1861;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C.  March 

18,  1863,  dis. 
Anglo,  Charies  P.,  recruit,  Feb.  2:t.  1866  ;  trans,  to  Co.  C;  must,  out  July 

12,  1866. 


Anderson,  John,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  legimental 

armorer;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 
Ash,  George  W.,  recruit,  March  29,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1806. 
Ashley,  William,  private.  Out.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  July 

10, 1862,  dis. 
Atchison,  Moses,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  May 

11, 1862,  dis. 
Ayers,  Ezra  F,,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  disch.  Nov.  18,  1862,  to  join  the 

regular  army. 
Babcock,  William  0.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  disch.  at  Moreliead  City, 

N.  C,  by  order  of  War  Dept.,  Sept.  6,  1862. 
Baldwin,  Edward,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Moreliead  City,  N.  C, 

by  order  of  War  Dept.,  Sept.  6,  1862. 
Bellis,  Henry  W.,  private, Oct.  15,1861  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Ras.  Corps. ;  disch. 

therefrom  Oct.  15,  1864. 
Billings,  Cliarles  M  ,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  May 

12,  1862,  dis. 
Bowers,  Paul,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  D;  must,  out  July  12, 

1866. 
Boudinot,  William  B  S.,  1st  lieut.  Nov.  13,  1861  ;  capt.  vice  Elias  J.  Drake, 

resigned ;  res.  Feb.  17, 1864. 
Bryant,  George  L.,  corp.,  Oct.  15,  1861 :  sergt.  July  11, 1863  ;  re-enl.  Jan. 

18,  1864 ;  jpro.  2d  lieut.  Co.  E,  Aug.  1,  1864;  pro.   1st  lieut.  Co.  G, 

April  1,  1865. 
Bell,  John,  musician,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June  14, 

1862,  dis. 
Brown,  Charles  M.,  recruit,  April  12,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  H ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Brown,  Henry  L.,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C ;  disch.  at  Ward 

U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3',  1865. 
Bural,  Jonathan  A.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New 

York,  .\ng.  18,  1862,  on  account  of  wounds;  leg  amputated. 
Baker,  John,  substitute,  Dec.  28, 1864  ;  deserted  July  10, 1865,  at  Greens- 
boro', N.  C. 
Bennett,  William,  recruit,  April  22,   1864 ;  deseited  April  26,  1864,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Brown,  Charles,  recruit,  Feb.  16,  1864;  deserted  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  March 

10,  1864. 
Cadmus,  .^aron  S.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  deserted 

May  7,  1804;  returned  to  duty   Ang.  16,  1864;  disch.  at  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  by  order  War  Dept.,  July  19,  1866. 
Campbell,  Lewis,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  must,  out 

July  1-2,  1866. 
Carrigan,  James,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,1864;  must,  out 

July  12,  1866. 
Ca«s,  Matthias,  recruit,  Dec.  24,  1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1865 
Castlow,  Bernard,  drafted,  April  6,  1866;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Ceasar,  Christian,  drafted,  Feb.  25,  1866 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Chester,  Reuben,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C,  Sept. 

15,  1863,  dis. 
Cleveland,  Edmund  J.,  recruit,  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1865. 
Clark,  Allen,  private,  Oct.  16,  1861  ;  re-eul.  Nov.  25,  1863  ;  must,  out 

July  12.  1865. 
Condelly,  Edward,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Condelly,  Patrick,  recruit,  March  14, 1864  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Conroy,  John,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Cook,  Henry,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  on  detached  service  with  Signal 

Corps;  must,  out  Oct.  29,  1864. 
Cook,  James,  private,  Oct.  15,1861;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1804;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Corcoran,  John,  substitute,  Sept.  20,  1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14. 1865. 
Councelbir,  Henry,  recruit,  March  21,  1866 ;  trans,  from  Co.  D  ;  must 

out  July  12,1865. 
Coyle,  Michael,  recruit,  Jan.  14,  1805  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1805. 
Crane,  Stephen  W.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Crowell,  .leremiali,  private.  Oct.  15,  1861  ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25,  1863 ;  Corp. 

Dec.  8,  1864 ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Chew,  William,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  June 

12,  1865. 
Cliff,  John  L.,  recruit.  Fob.  24, 1865  ;  trans.  M  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July  12, 

1865. 
Golfer,  James,  recruit,  April  13,1865;  trans,  to  Co.  H ;  niu^l.  out  July 

12, 1805. 
Covert,  Louces  C,  recruit,  March  25,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  G  ;  must,  out 

July  12, 1865. 


RECORD   OF   UNION   COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  1861-65. 


165 


Crist,  John  P.,  recruit,  Feb.  *),  I860;  trous.  to  Co.  I;  must,  out  July 

12, 1865. 
CunninghaDi,  Lawrenco,  recruit,  April  12.  IS60  ;  trans,  to  Co.  B;  must. 

out  July  12, 186S. 
Davis.  Joseph  H.  (2d),  recruit,  March  12, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Treuton,  N.  J., 

July  19, 1865,  G.  0.  11.1,  Dept.  N.  C. 
Delaney,  Thomas,  private,  Oct.  16, 1661 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  IS64. 
Devine,  I-aac  N.,  drafted  Feb.  24, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Dilmore,  Benjamin  H.,recruit,March  29,  1865;  traus.  I'rom  C^.  I;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Davis,  Joseph  H.  (1),  private,  Oct.  15,  1861  ;  disch.  Nov.  18,  1862,  G.  0. 

226,  War  Dept. 
Davison,  Luke,  private,  Dec.  3,1861;  disch. at  California  City,  N.  C.,May 

29,  lS6;),di9. 
Doran,  Joseph,  recruit,  Aug.  9,  1862;  disch. at  Newberne,  N.  C,  May  27, 

1863,  dis. 
Dawson,  John  E.,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must.outjuly 

12,  1865. 

Doughty,  Benjamin  F.,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must. 
out  July  12, 1S65. 

Douglass,  Robert  J.,  recruit,  March  25, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out 
July  12, 1865. 

Depue,  Levi,  Corp.,  Dec.  3, 1861 ;  died  at  Newherne,  N.  C,  March  17, 1862, 
of  wounds:  buried  in  Newherne  National  Cemetery. 

Delaney,  John,  recruit,  March  19,  1864;  deserted  eti  route  to  regiment. 

Derbrow,  John  J.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  deserted  May  23, 1863,  at  Caro- 
lina City,  N.  C. 

Dobbs,  Joseph  P.,  recruit,  Jan.  6, 1864  ;  deserted  Jan.  Ill,  1865,  at  Newark, 
N.  J.,  while  on  a  furlough. 

Drake,  J.Madisiin,8ergt., Oct.  15.1.<nl  ;  Islsergt.  May  16, 1S62  ;  2d  lieut. 
Co.  D,  June  3, 1863;  1st  lieul.  uiceJiinathanTowriley,  promoted,  April 

13,  1864;  com.  capt.  Feb.  8,  1865,  not  mustered ;  received  medal  of 
honor  from  Congress  for  gullantry  and  bravery, 

Drake,  Elias  J.,  capt.,  Nov.  13,  1861 ;  res.  on  iiccoantof  disability  March 

25,  1862. 
English,  Owen,  recruit,  April  12,  1865  :  trans,  from  Co.  B  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Ewing,  Joseph  F  , private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.18, 1864;  corp.  July 

1,  1864  ;  sergt.  Jan.  1,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Fairhrother,  John,  substitute, Sept.  20, 1864  ;  disch.  at  GreeTisboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Force,  Sobeski,  drafted,  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Ford,  William  F.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864,  as  Corp. ; 

private  Mai-ch  10,1864;  corp,  Jan.  1.1865;  sergt.  Jan  1,1865;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Forsyth.  George,  recruit,  Jan.  24, 1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865 
Freeman.  Thomas,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  For- 
tress Monroe.  Va.,  Nov.  11, 1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in 

action  at  ffewberne,  N.  C. 
Fredericks,  David,  recruit,  Feb.  24.  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  A;  re-enl.  Jan. 

18,  1864;  disch.  at  David's  Island,  New  York  Harbor,  by  order  War 

Dept.,  May  4,  186.5. 
Fredericks,  Henry,  recruit,  April  13, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  .\  ;  died  of  typhoid 

fever,  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  20, 1865. 
Franck,  Emil,  recruit,  Jan.  15.1864;  trans.  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  19,1865; 

disch.  therefrom  Aug.  11,  1865. 
Frank,  .\lbert,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.   C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Fisher,  Isaac,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp..  Portsmouth, 

Va.,  Oct.  7, 1862,  of  wounds  received  near  Blackwater  River.  Va. 
Foster.  EIvy,  recruit,  Feb.  23, 1865 ;  recorded  at  War  Dept.  as  died  March 

9, 1865. 
Gaffney,  Andrew  J.,  private,  Oct.  15  1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Garrabrant,  Andrew,  drafted,  Feb.  24,  1865  ;  must  out  July  12,  1865. 
Girth,  Rohert  G.,  corp.,  Sept.  13, 1861 ;  private,  Nov.  17,  1862;  trans,  to 

CVj.  .\  ;  no  further  record. 
Giles,  David  S.,  recruit,  Jan.  15,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;  disch. 

therefrom  .\ng.  11,  186.5. 
Good,  John  H.,  corp.,  Oct.  15,  18C1 ;  disch.  at  Newherne,  N.  C,  April  24, 

1863,  dis. 
Graham,  Robert,  recruit,  March  25, 1S65  ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  I86.V 
Green,  James  W.,  corp.,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  sergt.  July  11,  1863 ;  re-enl.  Jan. 

18,  IS64:  1st  sergt.  .Ian.  1,1865;  com.  2d  lieut.  May  22, 1865,  not 

mustered;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Hale,  Edward  C.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  Oily,  N.  C, 

Nov.  &,  1862,  dis. 


Bamler,  Abuer,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861  ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;   must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Hamler,  James  E.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  20, 1863;  must,  out 

July  12, 1865. 
Hamler,  William  H.,  recruit,  Dec.  31 ,  1863 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Hankins,  George  S.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newherne,  N.  C,  June 

24,  1862,  dis. 
Hankins,  Eleazer,  sergt.,  Oct.  15,  1861  ;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C,  June  1, 

186.3,  dis. 
Harrison,  James,  recruit,  Dec.  28,  1864 ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Hatfield,  Ira,  Jr.,  recruit,  .\pril  6,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Hinton,  Thomas  W.,  recruit,  March  9,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Hoffman,  Charles,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Horton,  William,  substitute,  Dec.  28,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Houghtaling,  Henry,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Hubert,  Joseph  C,  recruit,  Feb.  10,  1866  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Uucy,  Isaac,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Hillyer,  John  E.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  City,  N.  C, 

Nov.  18, 1862,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Hughes,  Robert,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newherne,  N.  C,  Feb. 

28,  1863,  dis. 
Herbert,  David  S.,  drafted,  April  10,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  F;  disch.  at 

U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  May  3, 1865. 
Hemiug,  John,  recruit,  March  29,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G;  must,  out 

July  12, 1865. 
Hoffman,  John  J.,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.   C;  must,   out 

July  12,  1865. 
Holston,  John  M.,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G;  must,   out 

July  12,1866. 
Hoover,  Absalom,  piivate,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25,1863  ;  trans,  to 

Vet.  Res.  Corps  Oct.  17, 1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  Aug.  14,  1865. 
Hull,  Benjamin,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March 

31,  1864  ;  disch    therefrom  Sept.  9,  1864;  arm  amputated. 
Hicks,  Adam,  private,  Oct.  15,1861;  deserted   Nov.  10,  1861;  returned 

to  duty  ;  deserted  Oct.  16,  1862. 
Jackson.  John   K.,  recruit,  Sept.  29,  1864  ;  disch.  at  Greensboro",  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Johnson,  William  M.,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C  ;  must,  out 
'     July  12,  1865. 

Kane,  John,  substitute,  Dec.  28, 1864;  deserted  June  26,1865,  at  Greens- 
boro', N.  C. 
Kurtze,  William,  private,   Oct.    17,   1861  ;    deserted  July    10,   1865,   at 

Greensboro',  N.  C. 
Lampe,  Albrecht,  private,  Sept.  13, 1861 ;  trans,  from  Co.  A  ;  must,  out 

Dec.  7,  1864. 
Lawrence,  Johu,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

Juue  14,  1865. 
Levy,  William  P.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Longtin,  Teucrel,  substitute,  Sept.  29,1864;  disch. at  Greensboro',  N.C., 

June  14, 1865. 
Kaiser,  Han  is,  recruit,  Aug.  18,  1862;  trans,  from  Co.   A;   disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1865. 
Keene,  George  W.,  recruit,  Dec.  27,  1863;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Ports- 
mouth, Va.,  May  3,  1865,  order  War  Dept. 
Kiiapp, 'William  B.,  private.  Oct.  15,1861;  corp.  Nov.  25,1863;  re-enl. 

Dec.  20,  1863  ;  sergt.  Dec.  8. 1864  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Kneller,  Frederick,  recruit,  Feb.  19,1864;  disch.  at  New  York,  order 

War  Dept.,  May  4, 1865. 
Kneller,  Jacob  F.,  recruit,  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1865. 
Kuntz,  Joseph,  private,  Sept.  13,  1861;  trans,  from  Co.  A;  must,  out 

Dec.  8, 1864. 
Koenig,  Johu  M.,  private,  Oct.  19, 1861;  disch.  at  Carolina  City,  N.  C, 

April24, 1863,  dis. 
Kellum,  Josiah,  recruit,  March   28,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out 

July  12, 1865. 
Kell,  Nathan,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Klotz,  John  G.,  private,  Sept.  13, 1861  ;  trans,  from  Co.  A  ;  reenl.  Jan. 

18, 1864 ;  killedin  action  at  Whitehall,  Va.,  May  6, 1864. 
Kunder,  Adam,  private,  Sept.  13, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  missing  in 

action  at  Drnry's  Bluff,  Va.,  May  16, 1864;  recorded  at  War  Dept. 

as  dead  ;  buried  at  Wilmington  Nat.  Cem.,  N.  C. 
Longtin,  Zotique,  substitute,  Sept.  29, 1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14, 1865. 


166 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Lorence,  John,  Corp.,  Oct.  15,  1861;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Sept  30, 

1862.  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Roanoke  Island;  both   legs 

amputated. 
Ledden,  Nathan  D.,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  0;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Ledden,  Samuel,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  C  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Lidgett,  James,  recruit,  Jan.  28, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  B ;  died  of  heart 

disease  at  Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1865;    buried  at  Raleigh 

Nat.  Cem. 
Little,  Isaac,  recruit,  March  3,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  F;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Lutz,  Joel  E.,  recruit,  Feb.  2.3,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A ;  must,  out  July 

12, 1866. 
MacQuade,  Thomas,  private.  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  corp.  Nov.  24,  1863 ;  must. 

out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Malvy,  James,  recruit,  April  7,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Malone,  Peter,  drafted  Feb.  24,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Matthews,  Thomas,  recruit,  April  6,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
McCarty,  William,  substitute,  Dec.  24,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
McCormick,  Thomas,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
McCovern,  Jiinies,  substitute,  Dec.  28, 1864 ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Minnis,  Robert,  substitute,  Dec.  28,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Moran,  Edward,  piivate,  Oct  15,  1861  ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25, 1863 :  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Murray,  Thomas,  recruit,  April  10, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Moore,  Samuel  B.,  recruit,  Feb.  16,  1861;  trans,  from  Co.  C;  sergt.  Dec. 

8,  1864;  com.  2d  lieut.  Co.  B,  June  22,  1865;  not  mustered;  must. 

out  July  12, 1865. 
Moffat,  Edward  S.,  1st  sergt.,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  2d  lieut.  vice  Jonathan  Town- 
ley,  promoted,  March  9, 1862;  res.  Jan.  26,  1864,  to  accept  position 

on  Signal  Corps,  U.  S.  army. 
Major,  Timothy,  recruit,  Jan.  30, 1866 ;  traus.  to  Co.  C  ;  must,  out  July  12, 

1866, 
Maxwell,  Henry,  recruit,  April  13, 1866 ;  traus.  to  Co.  E  ;  must,  out  July 

12, 1865. 
McLaughlin,  William,  recruit,  Feb.  24, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  I ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 

im,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D;  must.  o\^ 


,  March  28,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G  ;  must,  out  July 


Mcllvaine,  Willia 

July  12, 1865. 
Murray,  John,  rec 

12, 1866. 
Morris,  William  J.,  substitute,  Sept.  29,  1864  ;  deserted  Oct.  30, 1864,  at 

camp  near  Carolina  City,  N.  C 
Nelson,  Jamus  H.  C,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1866  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Neirman,  Joseph,  recruit,  Aug.  14,  1862;  trans,  from  Co.  A;  disch.  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C,  June  14,  1865. 
Newbern,  William  H.,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  A ;  died  at 

U.  S.  A   Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  June  8,  1865. 
Park,  Walter  L.,  substitute,  April  8,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Peacock,  John,  recruit,  March  7,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Parker,  John,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  July  12, 

1865. 
Parker,  Richard,  recruit,  Feb.  23, 1865  ;  tran.s.  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  July 

12, 1865. 
Parkburst,  John  S.,  private,  Oct.  16,  1861  ;  died  of  yellow  fever  at  New- 

berne,  N.  C,  Oct.  8,  1864;  buried  at  Old  Cemetery,  Newberne. 
Price,  John  E.,  sergt.,  Oct.  16,  1861  ;  1st  sergt.  Sept.  1,  1864;  must,  out 

Dec.  7,  1864. 
Pur,  Tunis,  recruit,  Aug.  14,  1862;  died  of  diarrhoea,  at  Audersonville, 

Ga.,  Aug.  2U,  1864;  buried  there  at  Nat.  Cem.,  grave  6298. 
Purcell,  Henry  P.,  private,  Oct.  16,  1861;  re-eul.  Jan.   18,  1864;  died  of 

congestive  fever  at  V.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  June  16,  1864. 
Petit,  John,  recruit,  April  20,  1864;  deserted  April  2U,  1864,  at  Trenton. 
Quiun,  James,  substitute,  Sept.  29,  1864:  deserted  Dec.  IS,  1864,  at  Caro- 
lina City,  N.  C. 
Ranie,  Ferdinand,  substitute,  Sept.  29,1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1866. 
Randolph,  Pliineaa,  private,  Oct.  16, 1^61;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Reinhart,  George  A.,  recruit,  March  5, 1864;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 
Ricketts,  John  W.,  recruit,  Aug.  31, 1864;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1866. 
Robertson,  Henry  H.,  recruit,  March  21, 1865;  trans,  from  Co.  F;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Ross.  William  H.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  IS,  1864  ;  disch.  at 

New  York  per  order  War  Dept.  May  4,  1865. 


Ranear,  John,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Feb. 

24,  1862,  dis. 
Reeves,  Jarvis,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  discb.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Aug.  12, 

1862,  dis. 
Robart,  Vincent,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Not. 

23,  1862,  dis. 
Reed,  David,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  186.". ;  trans.  lo  Co.  G ;  must,  out  July  12, 

1865. 
Reitz,  Francis,  drafted,  Feb.  28,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  I ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Rice,  James  H.,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864;  trans,  to  Dept.  Northwest 

March  22,  1865;  disch.  therefrom  July  19,  1865. 
Rose,  Delaney  M.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  May 

8,  1865;  disch.  therefrom  Oct.  11, 1865. 
Sayer,  James,  recruit,  April  13, 1865 ;  trans,  from  Co.  G ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Schneider,  Frederick,  substitute,  Sept.  8,  1864;  discb.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Bf  aufort,  N.  C,  per  order  War  Dept.,  May  6, 1865. 
Seaman,  Lansing,  recruit,  March  7, 1865  ;  must,  out  July  12,  18t>5. 
Skillman.  John  G,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Smith,  James  H..  recruit,  March  8, 1865;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Sucke,  Wenzell,  recruit,  Sept.  30,  1864 ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Swain,  Edward  M.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861  ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Sweeney,  Michael,  recruit,  Jan.  2,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
Southard,  William  H.,  private,  Oct.  16, 1861 ;  disch.  Nov.  8,  1862,  to  join 

regular  army. 
Shields,  Gi'orge,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  A  :  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Simmerman,  Abram,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  A;  must,  out 

July  12,  1S65. 
Smith,  David  R.,  recruit,  April  13, 1865 ;  traus.  to  Co.  C;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Smith,  John,  recruit,  April  13, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E;  must,  out  July  12, 

1865. 
Senders,  George,  recruit,  Feb.  23,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  A;  must,  out  July 

12,  1866. 
Stalford,  William  F.,  recruit,  April  7, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  G  :  must,  out 

July  12,  186,5. 
Sullivan,  Francis,  recruit,  April  7, 1865 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Shreve,  Alexander,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  18th 

Army  Corps  Hosp.,  Point  of  Rocks,  Va.,  Sept.  17, 1864. 
Simmouds,  John,  recruit,  Jan.  5, 1864  :  died  of  diarrluea  at  Auderson- 
ville, Ga.,  .\ug.  9,  1864;  buried  there,  grave  6087. 
Smith,  George  H.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  killed  in  action  at  Whitehall, 

N.C.,  Dec.  16,  1862. 
Space,  Henry,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  died  of  fever  at  ;<e\vberii,  N.  C, 

April  23,  1862. 
Smith,  James,  substitute,  Dec.  27,  1864;    deserted   May  29,  1865,  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C. 
Swain,  Robert  D,  Ist  lieut.  Co.  I,  Dec.  29, 1862 ;  capt.  fice  Jonathan  Town- 
ley;  must,  out  Feb.  10, 1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1866. 
Tonkin,  George  W.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861 ;  must,  out  Oct.  15, 1864. 
Townley,  William  E.,  private,  Oct.  15,  1861  :  Corp.  May  8, 1862;  re-enl. 

Jan.  18,1864;    1st  sergt.  Dec.  8,  1864;  2d  lieut.  Nov.  27,  1864 ;  Ist 

lieut.  Dice  Drake,  must,  out  May  22,  1865;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Townley,  Jonathan,  2d  lieut.,  Nov.  13, 1861 ;    1st  lieut.  Co.  M  March  9, 

1862 ;  trans,  from  Co.  M  ;  capt.  vice  W.  B.  S.  Boudinot,  res.,  March 

11, 1864;  must,  out  Feb.  4, 1865. 
Teates,  George  W.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  re-enl.  Nov.  26,  1863;  disch. 

at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  12, 1865;  prisoner  of  war. 
Townley,  George  R.,  recruit,  Aug.  27, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Greensljoro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Tracy,  Patrick,  recruit,  Feb.  26, 1864 ;  trans,  from  Co.  D ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Thomas,  Edwin  W.,  recruit,  Jan.  4, 1864;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  May 

8, 1865  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  12, 1865. 
Townley,  Moses  E.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  died  of  fever  at  Newberne, 

N.  C,  April  6,1862. 
Trumbull,  John,  recruit,  Sept.  19,1864;  died  of  fever  at  rogt.  hosp.,  Caro- 

Una  City,  N.  C,  Oct.  19,  1804. 
Van  Arsdale,  William  H.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861  ;  must,  out  Nov.  30, 1864. 
Vaughn,  John,  subslitute,  Dec.  8, 1864;   must,  out  July  19, 1865. 
Von  Cloedl,  Julius,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864  ;  disch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,1865. 


RECORD   OF   UNION    COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  18G1-65. 


167 


Vannanian,  William,  recruit,  March  10, 1895 ;  trans,  to  Co.  A  ;  must,  out 

.Inly  12,  1865. 
Walker,  George,  substitute,  April  II,  1866;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Weiss,  Adolph,  substitute,  Sept.  30, 1864 ;  dlsch.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

June  14,  1865. 
Wellbrook,  Henry,  substitute,  Oct.  1,I8C4;  discli.  at  Greensboro',  N.  C, 

Juno  14,  1865. 
Wilson,  Cummings  H.,  recruit,  Jan.  5, 1864;  discb.  at  Trenton,  N.J.,  per 

order  War  Dept.,  May  3, 1866. 
WinauB,  Elias  C,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Williams,  Robert  S.,  private,  Oct.  16,  1861;  Corp.  Feb.  9, 1862 ;  sergt.  June 

3,  186:i;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Woolery,  Jerome  W.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Wright,  Joseph,  sergl.,  Oct.  16,  1861 ;    1st  sergt.  June  3, 1863  ;  re-enl. 

Nov.  25,  1863;   2d  lieut.  fic«  Edward  S.  Moffat,  res. ;  pro.  1st   lieut. 

Co.  — ,  Nov.  27,  1864  ;  disch.  May  15, 1865,  on  account  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action. 
Ward,  John,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  26, 1868;  disch.  at  U.  S. 

A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Aug.  15, 1865,  on  account  of  wounds 

received  in  action. 
Wolkins,  Joseph  S.,  private,  Oct.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June 

30, 1864,  dis. 
Williams,  Charles  A.,  recrait,  March  7,1862:    re-enl.  March  11,1864; 

disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Feb.  16,  1865,  dis. 
Westcott,  Daniel,  recruit,  Feb.  24,  1865:  traus.  to  Co.  D ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Whitney,  George  W.,  recruit,  April  10, 1865;  trans  to  Co.  G;  must,  out 

July  12, 1865. 
Weder,  Joim,  private, Oct.  15,1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  killed  in  action 

at  Whitehall,  Va.,  May  6,  1864. 
Williams,  William,  substitute,  Sept.  28, 1864;  deserted  May  29, 1865,  at 

Greensboro',  N.  C. 
Wilson,  Charles,  substitute,  Sept.  30,  1864;  deserted  Oct.  30,  1864,  at 

Carolina  City,  N.  C. 

COMPANY  B,  ELEVENTH  REGIMENT. 

Adams,  Charles,  recruit,  Sept.  21, 1865 ;  trans,  to  10th  U.  S.  Infantry,  Feb. 

25,  1865. 
Adelung,  Victor,  drafted,  Oct.  II,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  A,I2th  Regt.;  must. 

out  July  15,  1865. 
Agans,  Jasper,  recruit,  Sept.  2,  1864;  must,  out  Juue  6,  1865. 
Agans,  Isaac,  recruit,  Sept.  2,  1864;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Allison,  William,  substitute,  June  11,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  I;   no  further 

record. 
.\nderson,  William,  substitute,  Oct.  12,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  A,  I2th  Regt. ; 

must,  out  July  15,  I860. 
Anthony,  Henry,  recruit,  Sept.  2,  1864;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Ayers,  Oliver,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  Feb.  17,  1763,  dis. 
.\llison,  Joseph,  corp.,  June  21, 1862 ;  private  Sept.  10, 1862 ;  Corp.  Oct.  30, 

1864 ;  must,  out  June  6.  1866. 
Beach,  Alexander,  Jr.,  private  Co.  K,  2d  Regt. ;  2d  Meat.  Aug.  16, 1862, 

to  nil  original  vacancy  ;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  C,  March  6, 1863;  pro. 

to  adjt.  Aug.  26,  1863 ;  conj.  capt.  Co.  C  July  3, 1863  ;  not  mustered  ; 

on  detached  service  at  draft  rendezvous,  Trenton,  N.  J. ;  must,  out 

June  16,  1866. 
Bloomfleld,  Lott.,  private  Co.  B,  20th  Kegt.  Ind.  Vols.  July  22,  1861 ;  1st 

lieut.  to  fill  original  vacancy,  Aug.  16,  1862;  killed  in  action  at 

Chaiicellorsville,  Va.,  May  3, 1863. 
Blank,  Henry,  substitute,  Sept.  28,  186t;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Beam.Robert,  private,  July  17,1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,  Alex- 
andria, Va,,  Jan.  1,  1863,  dis. 
Bonnell,  Henry  A., private,  Aug.l3,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan.  17,  1863,  dis. 
Burns,  Morgan,  drafted  Sept.  28,  1864;  most,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Butler,  Jamei,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Bonnell,  Isaac,  private,  June  13,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  15, 

1864;  disch.  therefrom  June  13,  1865. 
Brown,  Alexander,  substitute,  June  14, 1864  ;   trans,  to  Co.  D  ;  deserted 

fu  route  to  regt. 
Bently,  Francis  B.,  private,  June  26,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  20,  1862,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Berry,  Albert,  s\ibstitute,  June  16, 1864;  deserted  June  29,  1864,  at  Ward 

U.  S.  A  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J. 
Bocrris,  Joseph,  substitute,  Aug.  17, 1864;  deserted  en  route  to  regt. 
Bomken,  John,  substitute,  June  14, 1864 ;  deserted  e»  route  to  regt. 


Bonaker,  John,  substitute,  Oct.  13,  1864  ;  deserted  Feb.  22, 1865,  at  Lin- 
coln U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C. 
Boule,  Fritz,  substitute,  June  14,  1864;  deserted  ei*  route  to  regt. 
Boundstein,  Christian,  substitute,  June  14,  1864;  deserted  ett  route  to 

regt. 
Bumell,  George,  private,  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  de- 
serted at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  3, 1863. 
Burion,  John   A.,  substitute,  June  13,  1864.;  trans,  to  Uo.  A,  12th  Regt.; 

deserted  June  23,  1874;  returned  to  duty  Oct.  2,  1864. 
Buchanan,  James,  recruit,  March  7,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  F. 
Brown,  Alexander,  substitute,  June  14,  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  D;  deserted 

e»  route  to  regt. 
Bullock,  George,  substitute,  Sept.  28,  1864  ;  deserted  to  the  enemy  before 

Petersburg,  Nov.  15,  1864. 
Burnett,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Cunningham,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  15, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Chandler,  Edward,  private,  July  II,  1862;  disch.  at  Chestnut  Hill  U.  S. 

A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  March  27, 1863,  dis. 
Coleman,  Daniel  A.,  wagoner,  Aug.  16,  IS62;  traus.  to  Vet.  Bes.  Corps 

July  27,  1863;  disch.  therefrom  Juue  28,  1865. 
Cummings,  Timothy,  private,  Aug.  14,1862;  trans,  to  Co.H  Sept.  1,1862; 

died  of  dysentery  near  Fort  Ellsworlh,  Va.,  Oct.  27,  1862. 
Cyphere,  Philip  C.  private,  June  19,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Sept  1,  1862; 

disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,  Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  6,  1863,  dis. 
Cook,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  14,  1862 ;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at  hosp.. 

Fort  Schuyler,  New  York  Harbor,  Sept.  18, 1864;  buried  at  Cyprus 

Hill  Cem.,  grave  1902. 
Cahill,  John,  private,  July  7, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  8, 1862,  at  Trenton, 

N.J. 
Cavanagh,  William  F.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  16, 1862,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Cocker,  Joseph,  private,  July  12, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  14, 1862,  at  Tren 

ton,  N.  J. 
Coon,  Samuel  W.,  private,  July  21, 1862;  deserted  July  22,1862,  at  Tren- 

ton,  N.  J. 
Decker,  Richard,  private,  July  '21,  1862;  Corp.  Jan.  1,1S65;  must,  out 

June  6.  1865. 
Dixon,  Walter,  private,  Aug.  7,  1862;  must,  out  July  6,  1865. 
Donnelly,  James,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  at  Finley  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  May  3,  1866. 
Donovan,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862:  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Doane,  Thaddeus  C,  Corp.,  Aug.  16, 1862;  traus.  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Feb. 

15,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  as  sergt.  June  20,  1865. 
Deveny,  John,  private,  Aug.  12,1862;  deserted  May  27,1863,  at  camp 

near  Falmouth,  Va. 
Egbert,  William    H..  musician,  Aug    14,  1862;  traus.  to  Co.  H  Sept.  1, 

1862;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Erwin,  Robert,  musician,  June  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Fleming,  James  H.,  Ist  sergt.  June  23, 1862 ;  2d  lieut.  vice  Edward  Kelly 

killed.  May  4,  res.  Aug.  18,  1863. 
Freeman,  Samuel  W.,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  deserted  May  27, 1863,  at 

camp  near  Falmouth,  Va. 
Feague,  Joseph  H.,  Corp.,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27, 1863. 
Foster,  William  L.,  sergt.,  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  camp 

near  Falmouth,  Va.,  Jan.  10, 1863. 
Grcar,  Valentine,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27, 1863. 
Gulick,  George  W.,  substitute,  Oct.  12, 1864;  died  in  Gen.  Hosp.,  Wash- 

ingtun,  D.  C,  April  5,  1865.  from  wounds  received  in  action. 
Grear,  Austin,  private,  July  21,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  1, 1863,  at  hospital, 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Hand,  William,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862;  sergt.  Feb.  I,  1863;  Ist  sergt. 

July  1,  1863;  pro.  to  ^d  lieut.  Co.  D  Oct.  13, 1864;  com.  Ist  lieut.  Co. 

E  June  13, 1866,  not  must. ;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Habersteoh,  Charles,  substitute,  Sept.  1,  1864 
Hagan,  James,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  must. 
Hasse,  Fidelle,  private,  Aug.  15,1862;  disch.  1 

ark,  N.  J.,  Dec.  30, 1864,  on  account  of  w 

Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Hughson,  Theodore  P.,  sergt.,  June  23, 1863;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Jones,  Peter,  [irivate,  Aug.  16,  1862;  died  of  remittent  fever  at  camp 

near  Fort  Ellsworth,  Va.,  Nov.  26,  1862;  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Alex- 
andria, Va.,  grave  1381. 
Jones,  Thomas,  substitute,  Sept.  26,  1864:  shot  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  while 

attempting  to  desert;  buried  at  Nat  Cem.,  Baltimore,  Md. 


iiust  out  June  6,  1865. 
It  June  6,  186.6. 
the  V.  a.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
nds  received  in  action  at 


168 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Kelley,  Edward,  iBt  sergt.  Co.  K;  2d  lieut.  vice  Alexander  Beach,  Jr^ 
pro.  March  6, 1863;  killed  in  action  at  ChancellorBTille,  Ya.,  May 
3,  1863. 
Kohler,  Anthony,  private,  July  7, 1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1866. 
Kent,  Heniy  C,  private,  Aug.  8, 1862;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Sept.  1,  1862; 

must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Lines,  Aaron,  Corp.,  Sept.  1,  1862 ;  disch.  as  paroled  prisonPr  at  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  May  12,  1865. 
Lewis,  Henry  A.,  private,  Aug.  lo,  1862;  corp.  Oct.  1,  1862;  trans,  to 
Vet.  Res.  Corps  March  15, 1864;  disch.  therefrom  as  sergt.  June  29, 
1805. 
Lafferty,  John,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 

1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  14, 1866. 
Lavien,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  7, 1862;  trans,  to  Fire  Zouaves  Sept.  14, 

1862. 
Love,  Marshall,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Sept.  1,  1862 ; 

disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,  Alexandria,  Va.,  July  21, 1863,  dis. 
Leadbelter,  John  F.,  private,  Aug.  18, 1^62;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Ander- 

sonville,  Ga.,  July  27,  1864,  grave  4095. 
Meeker,  William  H., sergt.  Co.  A,  1st  Regt.;  capt.  to  All  original  vacancy 

May  27,  1862 ;  resigned  Sept.  3,  1863,  dis. 
Morehouse,  Benjamin  F.,  1st  lieilt.  Co.  F,  Dec.  6,  1863 ;  capt.  vice  John 

Sowter,  dismissed,  Jan.  l:i,  1805;  res.  May  1,  1865. 
Mulvey,  Bernard,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  Corp.  Sept.  1,  1864;  sergt.  Oct. 

30,  1864;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
McEvoy,  Christopher,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862  ;  disch.  at  camp  near  Fal- 

moutli,  Va.,  Feb.  20, 186:i,  dis. 
McWilliams,  John,  private  June  26,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  Fel).  4, 1803,  dis. 
McAllister,  David,  private,  July  17, 1862  ;  corp.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  sergt.  July 
1, 1863;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  West  Philadelpliia,  Pa.,  July 
24,  1865,  on  account  of  wouuds  received  in  action  before  Peters- 
burg, Va. 
Mott,  William  H  ,  private,  July  17, 1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan.  15,  1863,  dis. 
Myers,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  14,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan.  26, 1863,  dis. 
McPeake,  Lewis  N.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  H  Sept.  1, 1862 ; 

disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp,,  near  Bristol,  Pa.,  May  3,  1865. 
Messenger,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  8,  1802;  trans    to  Co.  D  Sept.  1,  1862; 
died  of  pneumonia  at  Hammond  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Point  Lookout,  Md., 
Feb.  16,  1804;  buried  at  Point  Lookout,  Md. 
McCord,  Harry,  sergt.,  June  23,  1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Alexan- 
dria, Va.,  Dec.  4,  1863. 
Munn,  Patrick,  private,  July  10,  1862;  died  at  Richmond,  Va.,  March 

28, 1864 ;  buried  there  at  Nat.  Cem. 
O'Rourk,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862;  corp.  .Sept.  1,  1863;  trans,  to 

Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1,  1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  10, 1865. 
Obs,  Albert,  private,  July  16, 1802;  must,  out  June  6, 1  j65. 
Pickering,  Henry  J.,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by 

order  War  Dept.  June  21,  1865. 
Provost,  William  S.,  2d  lieut.  Co.  K,  July  15, 1862 ;  Ist  lieut.  vicr.  Lott 

Bloomfleld,  killed  May  4, 1863;  disch.  Oct.  9,  1863,  dis. 
Post,  Gilbert  P.,  private,  July  19, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  Sept.  1, 

1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  7,  1865. 
Powers,  John,  private,  Aug.  19,  11162;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 

1863;  disch.  tlierefrom  June  28,  1865. 
Pace,  Joseph  V.  K.,  private,  June  23,  1802;  deserted  Aug.  12,  1803,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Quirk,  William,  private,  Aug.  19, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  21, 1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Ramp,  John  A.,  Corp.,  June  23, 1862 ;  sergt.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet. 

Res.  Corps  Jan.  15, 1864 ;  disch.  therefrom  June  24,  1865. 
Remer,  John,  private,  Aug.  10, 1862;  trans  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov.  15, 

1863  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  7,  1866. 
Richie,  George,  private,  Aug.  8,  1802;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Sept.  1,  1862; 

must,  out  June  0, 1865. 
Rossiter,  Cyprian  H..  1st  sergt.,  Co.  K;  2d  lieut.  vice  James  H.  Fleming, 
res.  Sept.  18,  1864;  pro.  1st  lieut.  Co.  E,  Oct.  23,  1804;  com.  capt. 
Co.  F,  June  13,  1866  ;  not  must, ;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Scherres,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Ward  II.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Aug.  1, 1864,  dis. 
Silcox,  Jacob  W.,  private,  Aug.  14,  1802  ;  must,  out  June  6,  1866. 
Sowter,  John,  1st  lieut.  Co.  I,  June  2,  1863;   capt.  vice  William  H. 

Meeker;  res.  Sept.  29,  1863;  dis.  July  11,  1864. 
Sprague,  Enos,  private,  July  12,  1862;   disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 
Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  23,  1863,  dis. 


Somerville,  John,  private,  July  16,  1802;  corp.  Oct.  30, 1864;  must  out 

June  6, 1805. 
Spellman,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  8, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  Sept.  1, 1862; 

trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March  31,  1864;  re-enl.  therein  Sept.  4, 

1864. 
Stacker,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  disch.  at  V.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  31, 1865,  on  account  of  wounds  received 

in  action  at  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Stone,  Jacob  E.,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  8.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  July  6,  1863,  dis. 
Sutton,  Aaron  W.,  private,  June  10, 1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va..  Jan.  15,  1803,  <lis. 
Smith,  Charles,  private,  July  22,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  D  Sept.  1,  1862; 

disch.  at  camp  near  Falmoutli,  Va.,  April  17,  180.1,  dis. 
Smith,  John,  private,  July  16, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 

1863 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I.,  Nov.  14,  1863. 
Smith,  William  H.,  private,  June  14, 1862  ;  missing  in  action  at  Baker's 

Mills,  Va.,  June  10,  1804;  supposed  dead. 
Tilton,  Henry  C,  sergt.-miy.,  June  20,1802;  1st  lieut.  vice  William  S. 

Provost ;  disch.  Nov.  13,  1803 ;  res.  on  account  of  disability,  Aug. 

1,  1864. 
Titus,  Uriel  B.,  qr.mr.  17tli  Regt.,  Sept.  17, 1882 :  must,  out  June  25, 

1803;  1st  lieut.  ifce  Henry  C.  Tilton;  res.  Oct.  13, 1864;  trans,  tn 

Co.  A.  I2lh  Regt.,  June  5, 1865;  brevet  capt.  April  9,  1S65;  must 

out  July  18,  1866. 
Trelease,  Edgar  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  0, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 

1863;  returned  to  company  March  14,  1864;  must,  out  June  6, 1866. 
Terry,  Thomas  H.,  musician,  June  13,  1862;  deserted  July  7,  1863;  re- 
turned to  duty  Nov.  3,  1864;  must,  out  June  0, 1805. 
Taylor,  Thomas,  private,  July  16, 1862  ;  deserted  July  20, 1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Van  Pelt,  Jeremiah,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  disch.  at  D.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I.,  March  5, 1803,  dis. 
Van  Pelt,  Jacob,  private,  July  14,  ls62 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  July  9,1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Gettysburg, 

Pa. 
Van  Pelt,  David  H.,  private,  July  21, 1862;  must  out  June  0, 1866. 
Vandcrbeck,  William,  private,  June  26, 1862 ;  must  out  June  6, 1865. 
Voorhees,  John,  private,  Aug.  10,  1802  ;  corp.  Oct  30,  1864 ;  sergt  Dec. 

16,  1864 ;  must,  out  June  6,  1866. 
Voorhees,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  15, 1802  ;  corp.  Feb.  1, 1863  ;  disch. 

at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3, 1863,  on  account  of 

wounds  received  in  action  at  Gettysburg,  Pa. ;  loss  of  both  eyes. 
Walsh,  George,  private.  June  21,  1862;  Corp.  July   1,  1863;  disch.  at 

U.  S.  A,  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  May  4, 1805,  by  order  War  Dept 
Webster,  Andrew,  private,  July  28, 1862  ;  Corp.  July  1,  1864 ;  sergt.  Sept 

1,  1804;  1st  sergt.  Oct.  30,  1804;  com.  2d  lieut  Co.  E  June  13,  1865; 

not  must. ;  must,  out  June  6,  1806. 
Woodruff,  Samuel  M.,  private,  .Vug.  18, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

March  16,  1804;  disch.  therefrom  Nov.  14,  186.1. 
Wyman,  John,  private,  July  24,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S. -V.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  March  6, 1863,  dis. 

COMPANY   D,  ELEVENTH   REGIMENT. 
Allen,  Emory  G.,  sergt,  June  19,  1802;  died  at  Hdqrs.  Hosp.,  2d  Div., 

3d  A.  C,  Falmouth,  Va.,  June  11, 1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action 

at  Chaucellorsville,  Va. 
Adams,  Henry,  private,  June  23, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1802,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Atherton,  George  H.,  private,  June  7, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1802,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Bates,  diaries  F.,  private,  June  19,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1862,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Barent,  George,  private,  July  12, 1862-;  disch.  at  Convalesceut  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  July  18,  1863,  dis. 
Beatty,  James,  private,  Aug.  1,  1802;  mi^>sing  in   action  at  Gettysburg, 

Pa.,  July  2, 1863 ;  recorded  at  War  Dept  as  died  at  that  date. 
Blake,  George  A.,  private,  July  11. 1862;  died  of  disease  at  Belle  Plain, 

Va.,  Dec.  36,  1863. 
Brennan,  Patrick,  private,  July  30, 1802;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Anderson- 

villB,  Ga.,  June  19, 1864;  buried  there,  grave  2181. 
Burk,  Peter,  private,  July  24,1862;  killed  in  action  al  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
Bough,  Edward,  private,  June  19,1862;  deserted  March  .3,  186:),  while 

ou  furlough. 
Burnell,  George,  private.  Aug.  8,  1802;  deserted  at  lii'tlysl.urg.  I'a..  July 

3,  1863. 


KECORD   OF    UNION   COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  1861-65. 


169 


Brown,  John  V..  private,  July  25,  18(i2;  trans,  to  Vet.  Ees.  Corpg  Jan. 

15,  1804  ;  ilisch.  [herefrom  Nov.  16,  1865.  : 

Ball,  Williiim,  private,  July  20,  1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1865.  ' 

Baunister,  George  H.,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  18, 1862  ;  2d  lieut.  vke  James  H.   , 

Carr,  promoted,  June  26,  1864  ;  dismissed  Sept.  28,  1864,    . 
Burtrone,  Kichard  S.,  private,  July  21, 1862;  sergt.  Sept.  1, 1864;  must. 

out  June  6,  1865. 
Baldwin,  Henry  C,  private,  Aug.  6, 1862  ;  traus.  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;  died 

in  hosp.,  Albany,  N.  Y.,  May  5,  1864. 
Brown,  Job,  Corp.,  June  16, 1«62;  disch.  at  Camp  Falmouth,  Va.,  Feb. 

19,  1863,  dis. 
Carr,  James  H.,  private,  Co.  G,  34th  Regt.  Mass.  Vols.,  July  31,  1862; 

2d  lient.  June  21,  1863  ;  Ist  lieut.  vice  Sidney  M.  LaytoD,  promoted, 

July  3,  1803 ;  must,  out  June  13,  186S. 
aawson,  Lewis  F..  private,  Aug.  1,1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by   [ 

order  of  War  Department,  June  12,  1866. 
Coleman,  George  Y.,  private,  July  21.  1862 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va  ,  July  15, 1863,  dis. 
Cyphers,  Philip  C,  private,  June  19, 1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  5,  1863,  dis. 
Coleman,  William,  private,  July  Id,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.    ' 

1, 1805  :  disch.  therefrom  Sept.  14,  1865. 
Campbell,  William  A.,  private,  July  8,  1862;  died  of  chronic  diarriioea  at 

Belvidere,  N.  J.,  Juue  2,  1804. 
Clark,  Cbarles,  private,  June  14, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1864,  en  rmde  to 

reKimenl. 
Coburn.  George,  private,  June  14, 1862  ;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1864,  en  route 

to  regimeut. 
(Weman,  George,  private,  July  12, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Davis,  George,  private,  July  8,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  March  3,  180:i,  dis. 
Devoe,  Peter,  private,  June  24, 1862;  disch.  at  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May 

15,  1863,  dis. 
Dunham,  Abram,  private,  Aug.  1,  1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Aug. 

10,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  31, 1805. 
Dunham,  Randolph,  private,  June  30,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Nov.  16,  1863;  disch,  therefrom  March  9, 1864. 
Dunn,  Walter  G..  private,  Aug.  1,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan. 

15, 1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  1,  lS6o. 
Drake,  Simon  B.,  private,  June  16,  1862;  trans  to  Vet.  Res,  Corps  Sept. 

1,  1803  ;  disch.  Iherefnmi  Jan.  22,  1804. 
Dover,  James,  private,  July  29, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  Jan.  17,  1863. 
Dunham,  Jeremiah,  private,  Aug.  5,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Locust 

Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27,  1S63. 
De  Graw,  Daniel,  private,  Juue   25,  1802;   deserted    Aug.  18,  1862,  at 

Trenton,  N.  J. 
Dixon,  Daniel,  private,  June  7, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1862,  at  Trenton. 
Emory,  William  W.,  private,  July  10, 1862  ;  died  at  Brandy  Statiou,  Y«., 

Dec.  29,  1863;  buried  at  Culpeper,  Va. 
Furman,  William  N.,  private,  June  26,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Green,  Warren,  private,  June  14, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Gettysburg, 

Pa,,  July  2,1863. 
Hoffman,  Henry,  private.  July  21,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June 

13, 1865,  prisoner  of  war. 
Heath,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  discb.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Ale.\andria,  Va,,  Jan.  29,  1S63,  dis. 
lleiilli,  Peter  v.,  private,  Juue  29,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va,,  Jan.  21,  186.3,  dis, 
Hendershut,  Isaac  A.,  private,  July  2, 1862  ;  Corp.  Sept.  14, 1862  ;  killed 

in  action  at  Gettysburg,  Pa.,  July  2,  1863. 
Hogan,  Thomas,  private,  July  14,  1862  ;  absent,  sick.  May  7,  1863  ;  final 

reoord  unknown. 
Hetzel,  James  F.,  private,  July  12,  1862  ;  Corp.  Sept.  1, 1864 ;  must,  out 

June  6,  1865. 
Intrest,   William,  private,  July   29,  1862;   deserted   Aug.  18,  1862,  at 

Trent.m,  N,  J, 
Jacobs,  Augustus  H,,  Corp.,  July  5,  1862 ;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  U.  S.  A. 

Gen.  Hosp,,  Newark,  N.  J.,  April  16, 1863. 
Jackson,  William  J.,  private,  July  2,  1862 ;  corp.  Nov.  5,  1864 ;  must. 

out  Juno  6,  1865. 
Jordan,  Charles,  private,  June  14, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at  Tren- 

ton,  N.  J. 
Jones,  Casper,  private,  June  19, 1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Kennedy,  Edward  T.,  2d  lieut.,  Aug.  6, 1862 :  pro.  1st  lieut.  Co.  A,  June 

21, 186.) ;  pro.  to  capt.  Co.  C,  Sept.  29, 1863  ;  res.  Aug.  26, 1864,  dis. 


Kent,  Henry  C,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Keve,  David  C,  private,  June  19,  1862;  must,  out  June  6,  1865. 
Kraft,  Frederick,  private,  July  3.  1862;  trans,  to  Vet,  Res,  Corps  Sept. 

1.  1863;  disch,  therefrom  July  10, 1865. 
Loeey,  Samuel,  wagoner,  July  14, 1862 ;  disch.  for  dis.  Nov.  24,  1863. 
Lucas,   George,  recruit,  Nov.  13,  1863  ;  trans,  to  Co.  I,  12th  Regt.;  no 

further  record. 
Lynch,  James,  private,  June  16,  1862 ;  deserted  Aug,  18,  1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.J 
Martin,  Luther,  capt..  May  27,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Gettysburg, 

Pa,,  July  2,  1863. 
Mulcahy,  Hilgh,  private,  July  28,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  6,  1866. 
Mulcahy,  Patrick,  private,  July  28, 1862  ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June 

12,  1866,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Mulvey,  Augustus,  musician,  June  12,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent 

Camp,  Alexandria,  Va„  Aug.  15,  18Ri,  dis. 
Miller,  Wil  iam  (1),  private,  July  9, 1862;  disch,  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va  ,  Jan.  12,  1863   dis. 
McDonald,  Benjamin,  private,  July  24,  1862 ;  died  of  remittent  fever  at 

Fort  Ellsworth,  Va.,  Nov.  11,  1862 ;  buried  at  National  Cemetery, 

Alexandria,  Va, 
Merriman,  Randolph,  private,  July  22, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Gettys- 
burg, Pa,  July  2,1803. 
Messenger,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  8.  1862;  died  of  pneumonia  at  Point 

Lookout,  Md.,  Feb.  10,  1865  ;   buried  there. 
Mulvey,  James  W  ,  private,  July  12, 1862;  missing  in  action  at  Chancel' 

loi-sville,  Va,,  May  3,  1803;  recorded  at  War  Dept  as  died  at  that 

date. 
McLean,  John,  private,  July  12, 1802;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Murphy,  John,  private,  June  10,  1862  ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at  Tren- 
ton, N.  J. 
Nelson,  Edward  D.,  private,  June  19, 1862;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Nelson,  Roilerick  B.,  private,  June  19,1862;  died  at  hosp.,  David's 

Island,  New  York  Harbor,  Aug.  31,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in 

action. 
O'Conner.    Edward,   private,  June   24,   1862;  disch.   at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D,  C,  July  8,  1805. 
Palmer,  Charies   F.,  private,  July  12,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1862,  at 

Trenlon,  N.  J. 
Putnam,  Ellis  M,,  private,  June  13,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va  ,  Jan.  21,  1863,  dis. 
Quail,  James,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862  ;  deserted  Juue  3, 1863 ;  returned  to 

duty  Sept.  26, 1863;  dinhonorable  disch.,  sentence  G,  C.  M.,  Aug.  26, 

1866. 
Randolph,  Isaac  S.,  private,  July  in,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  6, 1865. 
Richie,  George,  private,  Aug.  8, 1862;  trans,  from  Co.  B;  must,  out  June  6, 

1866. 
Riddle,  George  C,  private,  July  10,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

March  15,  1864;  re-enl.  Aug.  22,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  Nov.  17, 

1865. 
Rodman,  Albert  J.,  private,  July  30, 1862;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy. 
Roff,  .lonathan,  private,  July  7,  1862  ;  died  of  typhoid  feverat  Fort  Ells- 
worth, Va,,  Nov.  13,  1862. 
Schatell,  Frederick,  private,  July  19,  1862:  sergt  Oct.  12, 1864;  must. 

out  June  6,  1865. 
Snow,  Doane,  private,  June  7, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  14, 

1866,  by  order  of  War  Dept. 
Smith,  Charles,  private,  July  22,  1862;  disch.  at  camp  near  Falmouth, 

Va,  April  17,  1863,  dis. 
Soefield,  George  U".,  private,  Aug.  1, 1862;  disch.  at  Portsmouth  Grove, 

R.  I.,  March  31,  1863,  dis. 
Schogan,  Augustus,  private,  July  9,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  1, 12th  Regt.; 

deserted  June  11,  1863;  returned  to  duty  Nov.  1,  1863. 
Spellnian,   Edward,   private,   Aug.   8,   1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.   Corps 

March  31,  1804;  re-enl.  Sept.  4,  1864. 
Thompson,  Thumas  J,,  1st  lieut.  Co,  G,  Nov.  18, 1864;  capt.   vice   Sidney 

M.  Layton,  killed,  Feb.  9,  1865;  trans  to  Co,  A,  12th  Regt.,  Juue  6, 

1865  ;  disch.  Feb.  17,  1865,  on  aixount  of  wounds  received  at  Ream's 

Station,  Va.,  Aug.  2.5,  1864. 
Titsworth,  Martin  D  ,  private,  Aug.  1, 1862  ;  corp.  Sept.  28,  1862;  disch. 

at  hosp,,  Alexandria,  Va,.  .\pril  28,  1865, 
Titsworth,  Abel  S ,  corp,  Aug.  1,  1862  ;  pro.  to  hospital  steward  Sept.  1, 

1863;  must,  out  June  0,1865. 
Titsworth,  Benjamiu   F.,  private,  Aug.  1, 1862  ;  pro.  to  q.m.-sergt.  Feb. 

1, 1865;  must,  out  Juue  6,  1865. 
Titsworth,  Thomas  B,,  private,  Aug.  1,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  6, 1865, 


170 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Totten,  James,  private,  June  19,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  July  6,  1863,  dis. 

Tuers,  Frederick,  private,  July  10, 1862 ;  missinf;  in  action  at  Gettysburg, 
Pa.,  July  2,  1863 ;  recorded  at  War  Dept.  as  died  July  .1,  1863 

Twiggs,  Tliomiis,  private,  June  16,  1862  ;  killed  in  action  uear  Peters- 
burg, Va,  June  16,  1864  ;   Ijuriedat  City  Point  Va 

Terhune,  John  W.,  private,  July  12,  1862;  let  sergt.  July  12,  1862;  de 
serted  Aug.  U,  1862,  at  Trenton,  N.  J. 

Thompson,  John,  private,  July  14, 1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  18, 1862,  at  Tren 

Walter,  Theodore,  sergt.,  June  30, 1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark 
N.  J.,  Jan.  25,  1866,  dis. 

Winans,  Alfred  L.,  private,  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Dec.  11,  186;i,  dis. 

Winters,  Abram,  private,  July  30,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  17,  1863,  dis. 

Wharton,  George,  private,  July  20,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Chancellors- 
ville,  Va.,  May  3, 1863. 

Williamson,  John,  private,  July  8, 1862;  died  at  field  hosp.,  near  Fred- 
ericksburg, Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Va. 

Zilly,  Leonard,  private,  July  11, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Marcli 
16,  18(H;  disch.  therefrom  July  31, 1866. 

COMPANY  C,  FOURTEENTH   REGIMENT. 
Adams,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

June  1.6,  1864;  disch.  July  5,  1865. 
Ayres,  William  B.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;   disch.  at  hosp.,  Annapolis, 

Md.,  April  14,  1866,  dis. 
Bedell,  Joseph,  private,  April  12, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by  order 

War  Department,  May  6,  1865. 
Bedell,  Daniel,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Blake,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  10, 1862;  disch.  at  Ward  U.S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  by  order  War  Department,  May  3,  1865. 
Bullman,  James,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  corp.  Dec.  16,  1863;  killed  in 

action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Booth,  John  C,  sergt.,  Aug.  16,  1862  ;  Ist  sergt.  Aug.  1, 1864 ;  promoted 

1st  lieut.  Co.  B  Oct.  20,  1864 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Buren,  Lewis  P.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  corp.  Dec.  1, 1864;  must,  out 

June  18, 1865. 
Bodine,  Willard  H.,  musician,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Bulson,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  Corp.  Dec.  15,  1863;  trans. 

to  U.  S.  Navy  April  10,  1864. 
Cummings,  George  T.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

March  15,  1864  ;  disch.  June  30,  1865. 
Colkitt,  Alfred,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 

Va.,  June  1,1864. 
Crane,  Daniel  W.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  died  of  dysentery  at  Ward 

tJ.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Dec.  17, 1864. 
Crilly,  Henry  M.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  corp.  March  1, 1865 ;  must,  out 

June  18, 1865. 
Cheeney,  Nathan  A.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  disch.  at  V.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Hartford,  Conn.,  by  order  War  Department,  May  3,  1865. 
Clayton,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Compton,  Peter  E.  W.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1882;  must,  out  June  18,  1866. 
Crouse,  Garrit  H.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  Nov.  18,  1863,  dis. 
Calhoun,  David,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept. 

30, 1864  ;  disch.  July  6,  1865. 
Crane,  Lewis  M.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  June 

16,  1864;  disch.  July  6,  1865. 
Dabb  Albert  N.,  recruit,  Oct.  22, 1863;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Baltimore,  Md., 

by  order  War  Department,  May  22,  1865. 
Daft,  Joseph  G,,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862 ;   disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New 

York,  April  3, 1866,  dis. 
Dewey,  James  H.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  June 

16,  1864;  disch.  July  5, 1866. 
Darby,  Greeuleaf  S.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Monoc- 

acy,  Md.,  July  9, 1864,  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Antietam,  Md. 
Dunham,  Samuel  H.,  recruit,  Sept.  2,  1864;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 
Drummoud,  John,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862 ;  Corp.  Jan.  16,  1866 ;  must,  out 

June  16,  1866. 
Edwards,  James  W.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  deserted  Feb.  23,  1863;  re- 
turned to  duty  Jan.  6,  1864;  dishonorably  disch.  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  Jan.  18,  1864. 
Farrow,  Robert,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  killed  iu  action  at  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 


Fine,  Jarvis,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  I, 

1866 ;  disch.  July  7, 1865. 
Franklin,  George  B.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1882;  deserted  Sept.  25,  1862; 

rettirned  to  duty  Jan.  21,  1863;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan.  15, 

1864. 
Fulton,  Le  Grande,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  deserted  Dec.  16,  1862,  at 

Moiiocacy,  Md. 
Franklin,  John  D.,  corp.,  Aug.  16,  1862;  1st  sergt.  Aug.  16, 1862;  pro. 

2d  lieut.  Co.  D,  Feb.  13, 1866;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Franklin,  Frederick  H.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Garthwaite,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  corp.  Dec.  1,  1864;  disch.  at 

Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  July  28, 1865. 
Grimstead,  James  A-,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps, 

U.  S.  A.,  Jan.  1, 1864;  discli.  thorefrom  July  1(1, 1865. 
Giles.  James  K.,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  corp.  May  1,  1865;  must,  out 

June  18,  1866. 
Harris,  Cliauncey,  capt.,  Aug.  22. 1862 :  disch.  Dec.  8, 1864,  on  account  of 

wounds  received  in  action  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9, 1864 ;  brevet 

maj.  and  lieut.-col.  March  13, 1865.1 
Henning,   Leonanl,  sergt.,  Aug.  12,  1862;   2d  lieut.  Oct.  11,   1864;  Ist 

lieut.  vice  Ebenezer  Muddel, disch.  Nov. 16, 1864;  must,  out  June  27, 

1866. 
Halstead,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  disch.  at  Lincoln  U.  8.  A. 

Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  June  9,  1865. 
Hand,  Ira,  sergt.,  Aug.  12.  1862;  private,  -Vug.  1,  1864;  disch.  at  bosp., 

Frederick  City,  Md.,  May  23, 1866,  order  War  Dept. 
Henry,  William,  private,  Aug.  16. 1862;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Phila.,  Pa.,  by 

order  War  Dept.,  May  29,  1865. 
Hatfield,  George  C,  Corp.,  Aug.  12,  1862;  trans,  to  U.  S.  Navy  April  19, 

1S64. 
Headley,  Harris  E.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Muiiocacy, 

Md.,  July  9,  1864. 
Hanna,  John  J.,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862  :  deserted  Feb.  10, 1863,  at  Mon- 
ocacy, Md- 
Henry,  John  T.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  deserted  Feb.  10,  1863,  at  Mon- 
ocacy, Md. 
Johnson,  Russell  C,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  disch.  at  Annapolis,  fild.,  as 

paroled  prisoner,  April  28,  1865. 
Johnson,  William,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  deserted  July  4, 1863 ;  returned 

to  duty  Oct.  21,  1863;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Jones,  Jonathan  E.,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by 

order  War  Dept.,  June  10,  1865. 
Kelly,  Patrick,  recruit,  Aug.  18, 1864;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
King,  Cortlandt,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  Corp.,  Jan.  16, 1865  ;  must,  out 

June  18,  1865. 
King,  Charles  H.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  June 

15, 1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  6,  1866. 
King,  Isaac,  recruit,  March  3, 1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  2d  Regt. 
Lavin,  Michael,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
Lesher,  William,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Mon- 
ocacy, Md.,  Nov.  18,  1862;  buried  at  -Antietam. 
Lesher,  Daniel,  recruit,  Aug.  26, 1864;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  12, 

1865. 
Lear,  John,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Ludy,  Francis  C,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  must,  out  Juno  18, 1865. 
Lupton,  James  U.,  private,  Aug.  IG,  1862;  discb.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New 

York,  April  3, 1866,  wounds  received  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9, 1864; 

left  leg  amputated. 
Looker,  Thomas  J.,  Corp.,  Aug.  20, 1862;  diedof  chronic  diarrhoea  at  hosp., 

Frederick  City,  Md.,  Sept.  26,  1864;  buried  at  Antii-lam,  Md. 
MaiT,  Alexander,  private,  Aug.  20,1862;  sergt.  Aug.  1,1864;  disch.  at 

Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  July  8, 1866;  right  log  ampu- 
tated. 
Malone,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 
Mandeville,  Elmer  D.,  sergt.,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  pi-o.  2d  lieut.  Co.  E,  March 

13,  1866;  trans,  to  Co.  K;  must,  out  June  15,  1865. 
Marsh,  Joseph  R.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Alexandria, 

Va.,  by  order  War  Dept.,  June  6, 1866. 
McAdams,  Henry,  Corp.,  Ang.  16,  1862;  sergt.  March  1,  1865;  disch.  at 

hosp.,  Washingtou,  D.  C,  June  17,  1866. 
Mundy,  Henry  H.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Muclimore,  Elias  D.,  iirivate,  Aug.  16, 1862;  died  of  pneumonia  at  rebel 

prison,  Danville,  Va.,  Jan.  2, 1865. 

1  See  history  of  the  14th  Regt.,  pp.  151-156. 


RECORD  OF  UNION   COUNTY  SOLDIERS,  18ril-65. 


171 


Muddel,  Ebenezer,  let  lieut.,  Aug.  22,  1862;  com.  capt.  Co.  D,  Nov.  16, 

1864  ;  ii"t  must. ;  (Jisch.  for  dis.  Dec.  30,  1864. 
Najlor,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Pangborri,  David  S.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  Diuet.  out  June  18,  1865. 
Pangborn,  William  N.,  private,  Aug.  20.  1862;  muet.  out  June  IS,  1866. 
Patcli,  Charles  E.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  discli.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  June  29, 1865. 
Pearson,  Henry  W.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Plumbley,  Bicliard  B.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newarii,  N.  J.,  June  27, 1864,  dis. 
Pope,  Cliristoplier  D.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp , 

Newarli,  N.  J.,  May  26, 1865,  dis. 
Pabst,  August,  private,  Aug.  12,1862;  killed  in  action  at  Winchester, 

Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864  ;  buried  there,  Nat.  Cem. 
Robbins,  George  W  ,  1st  lient.  Co.  G,  Aug.  9,1864;  capt.  vice  Chauncey 

Harris,  disch.  Jan.  4, 1865;  brevet  major,  April  2,  1865;  must,  out 

June  18,  1865. 
Runyon,  Albert  M.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Bes.  Corps 

Sept.  30,  1864;  diech.  therefrom  July  6,  1865. 
Sanders,  George  C,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  Corp.  Jan.  16,  1865;  sergt. 

May  1, 1865  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1863. 
Slater,  Edward  M.,  Corp.,  Aug.  16,  1802;  trans,  to  Signal  Corps  U.  S.  A., 

Nov.  1, 1863 ;  disch.  thervfrom  July  10, 1865. 
Smith,  Elias  D.,  Corp.,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  pro.  to  qr.mr.-sergt.  Feb.  20, 1863 ; 

must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Stewart,  Richard  F.,  Corp.,  Aug.  16,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Parole,  Annap- 
olis, Md.,  June  22, 1866,  order  War  Dept. 
Shepherd,  Benjamin  F.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Sorrell,  Daniel,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  disch.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  March  31,  1866,  disability. 
Sullivan,  George  V.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy  April 

19 ;  disch.  therefrom  June  3,  1865. 
Timbrook,  Abram,  pnvate,  Aug.  20,  1862;  Corp.  Nov.  14, 1S63;  Ist  sergt 

March  1, 1865 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Thorn,  Edward  P.,  corp.,  Aug.  20, 1862;  sergt.  Dec.  16, 1862;  must,  out 

June  18, 1865. 
Tompkins,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Trobridge,  Henry  A.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
•  Townley,  Alonzo  C,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

West  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  May  24, 1865,  on  account  of  wounds  received 

in  action. 
Updyke,  Edward,  corp.  Co.  I,  Aug.  6, 1862;  sergt.  Oct.  27, 1862;  pro.  to 

2d  lieut.  Co.  C,  nice  James  C.  Warden,  pro.  March  3, 1866 ;  must,  out 

Juue  18,  1865. 
Van  Houten,  James  C,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Jan.  1,  1866;  disch.  therefrom  as  corp.  June  29,  1865. 
Voorhees,  Edmund  A.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy  April 

19,  1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  14,  1865. 
Waker,  Joseph  M.,  2d  lieut.,  Aug.  22, 1862;  res.  June  27, 1864. 
Warden,  James  C,  sergt.  Co.  A,  July  28, 1862  ;  2d  lieut.  Co.  C,  vice  Leon- 
ard Henning,  promoted,  Nov.  16, 1864 ;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  E,  March 

3,1865;  trans,  to  Co.  H,  2d  Regt.,  June  19,  1865;  com.  capt.  Co.  K; 

not  mustered  ;  must,  out  July  11,  1866. 
Warden,  George  C,  sergt.,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  let  sergt.  Dec.  15, 1863 ;  pro.  to 

sergt.-niaj.  Feb.  1,  1865;  must,  out  June  18,  1866. 
Waldron,  John  A.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 
Waters,  John,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Walker,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  disch.  at  D.'S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  June  24, 1865,  wounde  rec.  in  action  at  Monocacy,  Md., 
July  9,  1864. 
Witter,  Ralph  C,  corp.,  Aug.  20, 1862;  disch.  May  12, 1862,  dis. 
Wolf,  William  W.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Feb. 

15,  1864;  disch.  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  March  18,  1864,  dis. 
Wilson,  Henry  F.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Locust 
Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27, 1863. 

COMPANY  E,  FOURTEENTH   REGIMENT. 

Avery,  James  H.,  sergt.,  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by  order 
of  War  Dept.,  June  6, 1865. 

Avery,  George,  musician,  Aug.  12,  1862;  disch.  at  Ward  D.  S.  A.  Hosp., 
Newark,  N.  J.,  May  4, 1864,  dis. 

Bayard,  C<irnelius,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  died  of  pneumonia  at  Mon- 
ocacy Bridge,  April  12,  1863;  buried  at  Autietam,  Md. 

Bedell,  James  O.,  2d  lieut.,  Aug.  25,  1862;  res.  Feb.  10,  1864. 

Bodwell,  James  L.,  ctpt.,  Aug.  25,  1862;  disch.  Dec.  30,  1864,  S.  O.  474, 
Par.  36,  War  Dept.,  A.  G.  0.,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Boyd,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  13, 1*62;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 

Va,  June  1,  1864. 
Berlew,  Isaac  T.,  private,  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  died  of  pueamonia  at  regt.  hosp., 

Culpeper,  Va.,  Oct.  7, 1863. 
Bloth,  William,  Corp.,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  sergt.  April  1, 1866 ;  must,  out  June 

18,  1866. 
Bower,  Ephraim  V.,  corp.,  Aug.  11, 1862;  eergt.;  let  eergt.  April  1,1866  ; 

must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Berlew,  Sylvester  B.,  private,  Aug.  9,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

West  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  July  7, 1865,  dis. 
Calhoun,  James,  private,  Aug.  6,1862;  deserted  Feb.  10,  1863,  at  Mon- 
rovia, Md. 
Clark,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1866. 
Cole,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Jlay 

6, 1865,  order  War  Dept. 
Conover,  Martin,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  disch.  at  D.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Alexandria,  Va.,  by  order  War  Dept.,  June  6, 1865. 
Doll,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  Corp.  Feb.  2, 1863  ;  disch.  at  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  June  10, 1866,  order  War  Dept. 
Dull,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  1, 1862,  at  Freehold, 

N.J. 
Dunham,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 
West  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Sept.  20,  1864,  on  account  of  wounds  rec 
in  action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  Juue  1, 1864. 
Dunham,  John  B.,  private,  Aug.  9,  186Z;  died  of  chronic  diarrhtea  at 

Ward  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  18,  1864. 
Ewald,  Henry,  Corp.,  July  28,  1862  ;  disch.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  July  28,  1866,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Flatt,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy, 

Md.,  July  9,  1864;  corp. 
Ford,  Horace  G.,  sergt.,  Aug.  13,  1862;  private  Aug.  31,  1864;  disch.  at 
U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  May  31, 1865,  by  order  War 
Dept. 
Forsyth,  George,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862;  disch.  April  6,  1865,  dis. 
Gildy,  James,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Grimes,  James,  recruit,  Sept.  6,  1864;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Harvey,  John  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  12,1862;  sergt.;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Haggerty,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  disch.  at  O.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  June  9,  1866,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Hankins,  David  V.,  Corp.,  Aug.  13, 1862;  disch.  at  Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  23, 1865,  dis. 
Heath,  George,  private,  Aug.  1,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C, 

March  25,  1864,  dis. 
Hersey,  Frederick,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862  ;  disch.  at  Camp  Trua.\,  Md., 

Dec,  1, 1862,  dis. 
Hicks,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  April 

15,  1864  ;  deserted  therefrom  May  30, 1865. 
Hand,  Jesse,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  rebel  prison, 

Danville,  Va.,  Nov.  8,  1864;  buried  there. 
Irving,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  14,  1862  ;  died  at  U.  S.  Army   Hosp., 
Alexandria,  Va.,  June  10,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 
Col.l  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Jones,  Obediah  F.,  sergt.,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 
Keating,  Edward,  private,  July  26,  1862;  deserted  July  26, 1862,  before 

muster  at  Freehold,  N.  J. 
Kavanaugh,  Daniel,  private,  July  25,  1862;  trans,  to  D.  S.  navy   April 

19,  1864. 
Lee,  John,  private,  Aug.  1,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Washington, 

D.  C,  Nov.  13,  1863,  dis. 
Linder,  Augustus,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  pro.  principal  musician  Aug. 
26,  1862;  deserted  Feb.  10,  1863;  returned  to  duty  Dec.  19,  1864; 
assigned  to  Co.  D  as  musician. 
Little,  James,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Long,  John  W.,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  15, 1862;  private  Feb.  1,  186:i;  disch.  at 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  6,  1866,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Lynch,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  deserted  Aug.  31, 1862;  returned 
to  duty  Nov.  8,  1862;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C,  by  order  War 
Dept.,  June  6,  1866. 
Larma,  Peter,  recruit,  Feb.  25, 1864;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy,  Md., 

July  9,  1864. 
Liming,  Thomas  A.,  private,  Aug.  14,  1862 ;  killed  iu  actiou   at  Cold 

Ilarl»,r,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Lofer,  Fiederick,  private,  July  26, 1862;  deserted  July  26, 1862,  before 

muster  at  Freehold,  N.  J. 
Lndic,  Michael,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862;  deserted  Sept.  1,1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
Maudeville,  Elmer  D.,  sergt.  Co.  C,  Aug.  16,  1862  ;  2d   lieut.  Co.  E  vice 


172 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


James  H.  Putnain,  pro.  March  13, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  K  ;  must,  out 
June  18, 1865. 

Morris,  Henry  0.,  Corp.,  Jnly  25,  1862;  private  Aug.  SI,  18G4;  discli.  at 
n.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  BiiUimore,  Md.,  June  20,  IKG6. 

Mossell,  William,  private,  Aug.  15,1862;  deserted  Sept.  8,1862;  returned 
to  duty  Jan.  25, 1864  ;  discli.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  6,  1865. 

Mulholland,  Daniel,  private,  July  31,186i;  deserted  July  1,1863;  re- 
turned to  duty  Aug.  9. 1863 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 1863 ; 
returned  to  company  Sept.  7, 1864  ;  muxt.  out  June  18, '1865. 

McGauglian,  John,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  disch.  at  Camp  Truax,  Md., 
Dec.  1,1862,  di". 

Mofiitt,  George  C,  Corp.,  Aug.  20, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March 
.31,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  6, 1865. 

Moffitt,  Jacob  A..  Corp.,  Sept.  19, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 
1863;  di»ch.  therefrom  July  7,  1865. 

Moore,  William  H.,  sergt  ,  Sept.  1,  1862  ;  1st  sergt.  Feb.  1, 1863  ;  trans, 
to  Vet.  lies.  Corps  Jan.  1 ,  1865 ;  disch.  therefrom  Aug.  2,  1866. 

Montgomery,  Benjamin  F.,  musician,  July  21,  1862  ;  died  of  pneumonia 
at  Monocacy  Bridge,  Md.,  Nov.  21,  1862;  buried  ut  Antietani,  Md. 

Mitty,  Charles  A.  V.,  private,  July  29,  1862;  deserted  July  31,  1862, 
before  muster  at  Freehold,  N.  J. 

Naylor,  James  T.,  Corp.,  Aug.  12,  1862;  died  at  TJ.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 
Alexandria,  Va.,  June  17,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Cold 
Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 

Noe,  Elmer,  private,  Aug.  4,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harlior,  Va., 
June  1,  1864. 

O'Neill,  Martin,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 
Ward  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Jan.  25,  1865. 

Pratt,  Lowell,  private,  July  26,  1862;  accidentally  killed  on  railroad 
March  8,  1863. 

Potter,  David  J.,  private,  Aug.  1, 1862;  deserted  April  28,  1863,  at  Mon- 
rovia, Md. 

Putnam,  James  H.,  Corp.,  Aug.  15, 1862;  sergt,  Feb.  1,  1863;  2d  lieut. 
March  10,1864;  1st  lieut.  Doc.  13,  1864;  capt.  vice  James  L.  Bud- 
well,  disch.  Jan. 4,  1865;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Proud,  James,  sergt.,  Aug.  1862;  disch.  at  hosp.  Newark,  N.  J.,  Dec.  15, 
1863,  dis. 

Band,  t!harles,  private,  July  25, 1862;  died  of  general  debility  at  hosp.. 
New  York  Harbor,  July  21,  1864. 

Rody,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  must,  out  Jnne  18,  1865. 

Reed,  Doughty  H.,  private,  Aug.  9,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan. 
1,  1866;  disch.  tlierefroni  at  Baltiniole,  Md.,  Aug.  9,  1865,  dis. 

Ryno,  .John,  Corp.,  Aug.  13.1862;  died  en  mule  from  battle-field  at  Cold 
Harbor  to  White  House  Landing.  Va.,  June  3,  1864,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  at  Cold  Harbor  June  1,  1864. 

Rose,  Henry  T.,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Schaffer,  John,  recruit,  June  6, 1863  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  June  16, 
1864;  deserted  therefrom  July  12,  1864. 

Shoemaker.  Benjauiin,  private,  Jnly  25,  1862;  died  of  general  debility 
at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  New  Yuik  Harbor,  July  21,  1864. 

Stewart,  James,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862;  killed  iu  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Va,  June  1,1864. 

Smith,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  9,  1862;  deserted  Sept.  3, 1862,  at  Balti- 
more, Md. 

Springer,  Philip  A.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862  ;  disch.  at  Freehold,  N.  J., 
Aug.  31, 1862:  minor. 

Spear,  Thomas  R.,  private,  Ang.  15, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept. 
1,  1863;  returned  to  Co.  Nov.  4,  1864;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Washington, 
D.  C,  June9,  18li.5. 

Stacy,  William,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Sutton,  Charles,  private,  July  24,  1862;  trans,  from  Co.  D;  must,  out 
June  18, 1865. 

Stenby,  Lewis  B.,  Corp.,  Aug.  13, 1862:  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by  order 
War  Dept.,  May  27,  1865. 

Townsend,  Ralph,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  21,  1862,  be- 
fore muster  at  Freehold,  N.  J. 

Tingley,  Isaac  S.,  Ist  lieut.,  Aug.  25,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor., Va.,  June  1,  1«G4. 

Turner,  William  F.,  private,  Ang.  25,  1862;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy  April 
19,  1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  14,  1866. 

Van  lieuiit,  Jaculi,  private,  Ang.  14,  1862 ;  died  of  pneumonia  at  hosp., 
Frederick  City,  Md.,  Jan.  3,  1863. 

Van  HisH,  Joseph  H.,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862;  Corp.  Sept.  11,  1863;  disch 
at  U.  S   A.  Hosp.,  Frederick  City,  Md.,  May  19,  186  ■>. 

Van  Sickle,  Albeit,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  deseited  Aug.  31,  1863,  at 

hosp.,  Bnltiniore,  Md. 
Warden,  James  C,  2d  lient.,  Co.  C,  Nov.  16, 1864 ;  1st  lieut.  oitc  Isaac  S. 


Tingley,  killed  March  3, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  H,  2d  Regt.  (see  Co.  C, 

anfe). 
Ward,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  June  28, 

1 865,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Whitehead,  Clarkson,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Worthley.  Edward,  private,  Aug.  11, 1862:  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Weiger,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  19,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Phila.,  Pa.,  Sept.  20, 1864,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action 

at  Cold  Harbor,  Va. 
Wallace,  David,  private,  Aug.  19,  1802 ;  deserted   Aug.  20,  1862,  before 

muster  at  Freehold,  N.  J. 
Wilson,  Thomas,  private,  July  26, 1862 ;  deserted  before  muster  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
Yeatman,  Hubbard  R.,  musician,  Aug.  20, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 


COMPANY   B,   THIRTIETH    REGIMENT.— (Ai/ie  MonDin-  Men.) 

Badgley,  Eugene  D.,  wagoner,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,1863. 
Beal,  John,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Bennett,  John  B.  W.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862:  must,  out  Jnne  27,  1863. 
Bird,  Benjamin  P.,  private,  Ang.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Budenheiiner,  John,  private,  .\ug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  186.3. 
Brady,  John  J  ,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862;  must,  out  Jnne  27, 18(>3. 
Burns,  John,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;   must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Boyle,  William  C,  private.  Aug.  25, 1862 ;  corp.  Oct.  7, 1862;  sergt.  April 

12,  1803;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Brant,  Elias  W.,  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  6,  1862;  res.  Feb.  26,  1863. 
Bird,  Chetwood,  Corp.,  Aug.  26,  1862 ;  sergt.  April  1,  1863  ;  Ist  sergt.  May 

12,  1863  ;  must,  out  Jnne  27, 1863. 
Case,  John  M.,  1st  sergt.  Co.  G,  Aug.  25, 1862;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  Co.  K, 

March  16, 1863;  1st  Heut.  Co.  B,  vice  James  H.  Ogdeu  resigned.  May 

9,  1863  ;  must,  out  Jnne  27,  1803. 
Carroll,  William,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  Jnne  27, 1863. 
Casner,  William  H.,  private,  Ang.  25, 1862;  corp.  April  1,  1^63;  must,  out 

Jnne  27,  1863. 
Charleton,  John  F.,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  April  14, 1863,  dis. 
ClarkrBenjamin  C,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Clark,  Pembroeck  S.,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Clark,  Samuel  C,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  Jnne  27,  1863. 
ClitTord,  James,  private,  Aug.  26,  186.:;  deserted  Sept.  30, 1862,  at  Flem- 

ington,  N.  J, 
Coddington,  Isaiah,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Conkliu,  Oscar,  1st  sergt.  Co.  I,  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  Co.  B  vice 

Thomas  Moore  resigned,  Feb.  4,  1863  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Connolly,  James,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Cory,  Amos  P.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Dayton,  George   E.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  pro.  to  sergt.-niaj.  Sept.  18, 

1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
De  Hart,  William  H.,  private,^Aug.  25, 1802;  corp.  May  12,  1863;  must. 

out  June  27,  1863. 
Dennett,  Thomas,  private.  May  25,  1862:  corp.  April  1,  1863;  sergt.  May 

16,  1863  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Disbrow,  George  W.,  private,  Ang.  25, 1862;  must,  out  Jnne  27,  1863. 
Doty,  John  H.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  J.ine  27, 1863. 
Drake,  Horace  F.,  Jr.,  private,  Aug.  25. 1862 ;   must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Drake,  Jonathan   B.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862 ;   pro.  to  hosp.  steward  Sept. 

18,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Durie,  William,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  Corp.  April  12,  1862;  must,  out 

June  27,  1863. 
Fishbough,  Peter  C,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
French,  Richard  N.,  Corp.,  Aug.  25, 1862;  private  Oct.  7,  1862;  must,  out 

June  27,  1863. 
Furney,  James  T.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Gerily,  Thomas,  private,  Ang.  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Gourtey,  Samuel  A.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863, 
Gioean,  Heniy,  Corp.,  Aug.  26,  1862;  deserted  Feb.  26,  1863,  while  oo 

fill  lough. 
Harrison,  David  A.,  private,  A\ig.  .30, 1862;  must,  out  Juno  27,  1863. 
Hatfield,  Samuel  L.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
H.infman,  William,  private,  Ang.  30,  1862;  must,  luit  June  27,  1863. 
Iletfleld,  David  B.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  Junrf27.  1863. 
Hotlman,  William  E.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Jiu|nes,  William   A.,  private,    Aug.  25,  1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at 

division  hosp.  April  9, 1863. 
Jeroloman,  Abram,  Corp.,  Ang.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Keller,  Louis,  private,  Aug.  .30, 1862;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 


TOWNSHIP   OF   ELIZABETHTOWN. 


173 


Kiggiits,  Juhii  T.,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  died  of  fever  at  Aquia  Creek, 

Va.,  Dec.  27,  1802. 
Lanil>ert,  Albert,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862;  mUBt.  out  June  27,  1863. 
Leadle.v,  .loliu  M.,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
La  Mutt,  Walter,  musician,  Aug  23, 1SB2;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Lewis,  Jolin  N.,  capt ,  Sept  6.  1862;  resigned  Dec.  26,  1862. 
Link-,  Thoniiia  A.,  carp.,  Aug.  25, 1862;  eergt.  April  12, 1862;  must,  out 

Juue  27,  1863. 
Looker,  Hiilsey,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must  out  June  27, 1863. 
Lutz,  Stephen  M.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must  out  June  27,  1863. 
Ualian,  John,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  Corp.  April   12,  1863;  must,  out 

June  27,  1863. 
Marsh,  William,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Marsh.  William  GiilBii,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Maxwell,  .Itihn,  private,  .\ug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Meeker,  Theodore,  privale,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  Corp.  Oct.  7,  1862 ;  must,  out 

June  27,  1803. 
Mendell,  John  P.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Mendell,  William  W.,  private,  Aug.  25.  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Merkel,  Frank,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  Corp.  May   16,1863;  must,  out 

June  27,  1863. 
Miller,  Henry  C,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  Juue  27,  1863. 
Morgan,  Aaron  W.,  piivate,  APig.  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Moore,  Thomas,  2a  lieut.,  Sept.  6, 1862;  resigned  Feb.  4, 1863. 
Morse,  William  M.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Mulford,  Joseph  H.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  pro.  to  sergt.-maj.  April  9, 

1863;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Cu.  H   April  17,  1863;  must,  out  June  27, 

Mulford,  John  R.,  private,  Aug.  2".,  1862;  must,  out  Juue  27,  1863. 
Nash,  George  E.,  private,  Aug.  3(),  1862;  Corp.  Oct.  7,  1862;  must,  out 

June  27,  1863. 
Noe,  Noah  S  ,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  ont  June  27, 1863. 
Osborn,  William  C,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862:  died  of  typhoid  fever  at 

rogt.  hosp.,  near  Bille  Plain,  Va.,  Feb.  28,  1863. 
Parker,  J.  Abbott,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Parsons,  Robert  W.,  private,  Aug.  311,  1862;  must.  <uit  June  27,  1863. 
Peters,  Charles,  piivate,  Aug  25,  186i;  must,  out  Juno  27,  186!. 
PetelBon,  Jaun'S,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  niusi 
Fickel.  Uliieh,  musician,  Aug  2.5, 1862;  mils 
Poole,  John  H.,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must 
Price,  George  M  ,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  Ju 
Ball,  Julin  K.,  piivate,  Aug  2.5, 1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Keeve,  James  H,  pilvale,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  ont  Juue  27,  1863. 
R..liiiisou,  .lulius  A.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Koinain,  John  K.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1^63. 
Rose,  Royal  H,  Corp.,  Aug.  25,1862;  Bergt.  April  12,  1863;  must,  out 

June  27.  1863. 
Roseiidale,  Geoigo  G.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Koss,  John  I).,  private,  Aug.  25,  l^62,  died  of  disease  at  hospital  near 

Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  Jan.  24,  1863. 
Ruckman,  David  M.,  private,  Aug  25, 1-162;  must  out  June  27,  1863. 
Ruckuian,  Pliimas  G.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Seabiing,  John  51.,  piivate,  Aug.  2.5,  1862  ;  must  out  Jui.e27,  1663. 
Sloan,  John,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Smith,  George  F.,  piivate,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  Juue  27,  1863. 
Sug^,  Isaac  M.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  lat  sergt.  April  1,  1863;  died  at 

■     division  llosp.,  Aquia  Creek,  Va.,  May  12,  1863. 
Stansbury,  Kilward   P.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862  ;  died  of  disease  at  camp 

near  Belle  Plain,  Va.,  April  17,  1863. 
Taylor,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862  ;  must,  out  .luiie  27,  1863. 
Ten  Broeck,  Henry  S.,  private,  Aug.  25.  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Thouipsoii,  Jacob,  piivate,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Tooker,  William  F,  privale,  Aug.  25.  1862;  Corp.  April  1,1863;  sergt. 

May  12,  1863;  must,  ont  June  27,  1863. 
Toms,  Will. am  C.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hoep., 

Philadelphia,  Pa,  March  18,  1863.  dis. 
Valentine,   Luther   L,,  Corp.,  Aug.  25,  1862;  died  at  regt.  hosp..  Belle 

Plains,  Va,  March  12,  1863. 
Van  Derveer,  Jimes  D.,  1st  lieut.  Co.  A,  Sept.  5,  1862 ;  capt.  vice  John  N. 

Lewis,  resigned,  Dec.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1863. 
Viiu  Hart,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Van  lluiiteii,  John  J  ,  piivate,  Aug.  3U,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
WilsMii,  Waahiugtou  O.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 
Wood,  Wlllett  K.,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862;  must,  out  June  27,  1863. 


jut  Juue  27,  1863. 
out  June  27,  1863. 
ut  Juue  27,  1863. 
!  27,  1863. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

TOWNSHIP*  OF    ELIZ.\T5ETIIT0WN. 

Original  Dimensions  of  the  Patent.— The  land 
covered  by  Governor  NicolLs'  patent  was  of  large  di- 
mensions. It  extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Rari- 
tan  on  the  south  to  the  mouth  of  the  Passaic  on  the 
north,  a  distance,  in  a  straight  line,  of  not  less  than 
seventeen  miles,  and  running  back  into  the  country 
twice  this  distance,  or  thirty-four  miles,  embracing 
the  towns  of  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway,  the  whole 
of  the  present  Union  County,  part  of  the  towns  of 
Newark  and  Clinton,  a  small  part  of  Morris  County, 
and  a  considerable  portion  of  Somerset  County,  con- 
taining about  five  hundred  thousand  acres,  upland 
and  meadow  in  fair  proportions,  well  watered  by  the 
Raritan,  the  Passaic,  the  Rahway,  and  Elizabeth 
Rivers,  Thompson's  (Morse's)  Creek,  and  Bound 
Brook,  diversified  with  level  plains  and  ranges  of 
hills  of  considerable  elevation,  ordinarily  classified 
as  mountains,  the  soil  of  the  uplands  mostly  red 
shale  and  clay  loam,  and  a  large  part  of  it  suscepti- 
ble of  a  high  state  of  cultivation. 

Town  of  Newark  set  off. — The  territory  purchased 
by  the  Associates  of  the  Indians  and  patented  by  Gov- 
ernor Nicolls  was  evidently  ample  enough  for  several 
towns,  vastly  too  large  to  be  soon  occupied  by  the 
original  purchasers.  But  arrangements  were  in  pro- 
gress for  the  reduction  of  its  limits.  Robert  Treat,  of 
Milford,  who,  in  November,  1661,  had.  with  others, 
endeavored  to  come  to  an  agreement  with  Governor 
Stuyvesant  for  the  settlement  of  a  plantation  in  these 
parts,  and  had  failed  to  secure  satisfactory  conditions 
from  the  Dutch  government,  had,  some  time  in  the 
winter  of  1666,  or  in  the  early  spring,  been  again 
deputed,  with  others  of  his  townsmen,  to  visit  this 
section  and  secure  land  sufficient  for  a  town.  On 
their  arrival  they  found  themselves  at  once  among 
old  and  valued  friends  and  neighbors,  men  and 
women,  with  whom,  at  Wetliersfield,  Milford,  New 
Haven,  and  Guillord,  they  had  taken  sweet  counsel 
together.  The  Branford  people,  who  were  medita- 
ting a  union  with  the  others  in  the  new  plantation, 
were  many  of  them  emigrants  from  Southampton, 
from  which  place  and  its  neighborhood  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  people  of  Elizabethtown  had  come.  This 
was  evidently  a  principal  attraction  to  the  new  set- 
tlers from  Connecticut.' 

It  was  not  difiicult,  in  such  a  case,  to  agree  upon 
terms.  The  townspeople  welcomed  their  old  I'riends, 
and  cheerfully  consented  to  part  with  that  portion  of 
their  purchase  which  lay  on  the  other  side  of  what 
has  from  that  day,  and  on  that  account,  been  called 
"Bound  Brook;"  and  Carteret  agreed  to  extinguish 
the  Indian  title  to  the  land  beyond  the  town  line  to 
the  northern  bend  of  the  Passaic  River.     Treat  and 


IE.  T.  Bill,  p.  11.1.     Whitehead's  E.  Jersey,  pp.  42-46.    Newark  Town 
Becords,  pp.  vi.,  vii.,  1-3.    Stearns'  First  Chh.,  Newark,  pp.  10-14. 


174 


HISTORY   OF   UiNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


his  associates  returned,  and  made  so  favorable  a  re- 
port that  about  thirty  families  determined  at  once 
to  remove  to  New  Jersey  ;  and  oh  the  very  day,  May 
21,  1666,  that  Pierce  and  his  company  had  arranged 
for  the  settlement  of  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway,  the 
Milford  people  arrived  in  boats,  and  held  their  first 
town-meeting  on  the  western  bank  of  the  Passaic 
River,  and  thus  laid  the  foundations  of  another  town- 
ship, since  the  flourishing  city  of  Newark.  The  lim- 
its of  Elizabeth  Town  north  and  south  were  in  this 
manner  considerably  reduced,  the  town  ihus  extend- 
ing only  to  Railway  River  on  the  south,  and  to  Bound 
Brook  on  the  north. 

Progress  of  Settlement  and  Surveys. — The  af- 
fairs of  the  town,  so  far  as  can  be  discovered,  moved 
on  quietly  and  harmoniously  during  the  first  two 
years  after  Governor  Carteret's  arrival.  Large  ac- 
cessions were  made  to  the  sister  town  of  Newark 
from  Branford  and  Guilford,  Conn.,  in  the  course  of 
the  summer  and  autumn  of  1667,  and  the  venerable 
Abraham  Pierson,  the  old  pastor  of  some  of  the 
settlers  of  Elizabethtown  before  their  removal  here, 
had  now,  Oct.  1,  1667,  taken  up  his  residence, 
with  many  of  their  kinsmen  also,  within  six  miles 
of  their  new  home  in  the  wilderness.  This  doubt- 
less served  to  reconcile  them  still  more  to  the  hard- 
ships incident  to  a  new  plantation  in  the  midst 
of  savage  tribes,  on  whose  friendship  but  little  reli- 
ance could  be  placed.  It  made  their  position  vastly 
more  secure,  as  well  as  pleasant.  It  is  not  unreason- 
able to  suppose  that,  until  they  had  secured  a  minis- 
ter for  their  own  town,  some  of  them  occasionally 
were  found  wending  their  way  through  the  wilder- 
ness to  Newark  on  the  morning  of  the  Lord's  Day, 
to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  hearing  the  gospel  preached 
once  more  by  the  pastor  of  their  earlier  days.  They 
were  sturdy  men,  and  not  unaccustomed  to  such  jour- 
neys.' 

The  work  of  surveying  the  house-lots  and  planting 
lands  had  been  performed  very  imperfectly,  possibly 
by  Wolphertsen,  who  had  been  the  city  surveyor  of 
New  Amsterdam.  The  description  of  these  lots  is  so 
imperfect,  as  recorded  in  the  books  of  the  province, 
that  their  location  and  the  bearing  of  their  boundary 
lines  cannot  now  be  determined.  This  would  indi- 
cate that  the  lots  had  been  laid  out  before  the  arrival 
of  the  surveyor-general,  Vauquellin,  with  the  Gov- 
ernor. Circumstances  had  occurred  that  made  it 
necessary  that  Vauquellin  should  be  "sent  on  busi- 
ness to  England  by  the  Governor,"  and  no  one  else 
was  authorized  to  act  in  the  matter  of  laying  out  lands. 
A  few  of  the  inhabitants  in  consequence  were  put  to 
some  inconvenience,  and  drew  up  the  following  paper : 

**  We,  whose  names  are  uuder-written,  do  humbly  petition  unto  the 
Governor  and  his  Council  timt  we  may  have  our  lands  laid  out  unto  us, 
according  to  the  agreements  made  by  the  inhabitants  and  coneentof  the 
Governor  with  them,  as  may  more  fully  appear  in  tiie  Town  Records; 
which  if  it  cannot  be  granted,  we  do  not  Bee  how  we  can  possibly  sub- 


sist in  the  Town,  but  shall  be  forced  to  look  out  somewhere  else  for  a 
Ilveliliood.  Nathaniel  Bonnell,  Joseph  Bond,  Leonard  Ueadley,  Benja- 
min Homan,  Josepli  Meeker-,  Benjamin  Sleeker,  Jonathan  Ogden,  Joseph 
Ogden,  Joseph  Osborn,  Stephen  Osboru,  Benjamin  Price,  Benjamin  Price, 
Jr.,  Joseph  Seers,  Thomas  Tomson,  Hurr  Tonjsou,  Moses  Tomson,  and 
Isaac-  Whitehead."  2 

The  signers  were  seventeen  in  number,  and  most  of 
them  either  of  the  second  generation  or  new-comers. 
The  others  were  probably  in  difficulty  about  their 
boundary  lines.  The  petition  is  without  date,  but  it 
must  have  been  presented  in  the  early  part  of  Decem- 
ber, 1667.  The  services  of  Brackett  were  only  tem- 
porary, and  confined  most  likely  to  the  few  cases  of 
difficulty  which  gave  rise  to  the  petition.  It  is  not 
to  be  concluded  from  this  occurrence  that  no  surveys 
had  thus  far  been  made,  nor  that  the  difliculty  was  at 
all  general  or  extensive.  The  earliest  records  of  sur- 
veys were  made  in  the  lost  Town  Book,  as  was  fre- 
quently attested  in  subsequent  years,  and  as  was  pro- 
vided for  by  the  people  of  Newark  in  their  own  case.' 

The  boundary  line  between  this  town  and  Newark 
needed  adjustment,  and  John  Ogden,  Sr.,  Luke  Wat- 
son, Robert  Bond,  and  Jeff'ry  Jones  were  deputed  to 
arrange  the  matter  with  the  commissioners  from 
Newark.  They  met  together  for  this  purpose  May 
20,  1668.  It  appears  fi-om  an  affidavit  of  Joseph 
Woodruff,  of  this  town,  made  July  26,  1743,  before 
Judge  Joseph  Bonnel,  also  of  this  town,  that  being 
at  Milford,  Conn.,  about  the  year  1699,  he  heard  Gov- 
ernor Treat  say, — 

"  That  the  inhabitants  of  Newark  did  first  settle  under  the  Elizabeth 
Town  Purchase ;  aud  did  allow  the  Newark  river  to  be  the  bounds  of  tlie 
said  Purchase;  and  said  that  the  Elizabeth  Town  people  was  so  kind 
to  the  Newark  people  that  tliey  could  never  reward  them  enough.  And 
further  this  deponent  saith,  That  he,  at  that  time,  heard  the  said  Gov- 
ernor tell  after  what  manner  the  Line  was  settled  between  tlie  two 
towns;  and  that  it  was  done  in  so  loving  and  solemn  a  manner  that  he 
thought  it  ought  never  to  be  removed;  for  he  {the  said  Governor)  him- 
self being  among  them  at  that  time,  prayed  with  tbeui  on  Dividend 
Hill  (so  Ciilled),  that  there  might  be  a  good  agreement  between  them ; 
and  tiiat  it  was  agreed  upon,  by  the  settlers  of  each  tow-n,  tliat  the  Line 
between  them  should  stand  and  remain  from  Dividend  Hill,  to  run  a 
northwest  course;  and  the  Governor  said,  that,  after  the  agreement,  Mr. 
John  Ogden  (being  one  of  the  first  purchasers)  prayed  amougthe  people, 
and  returned  thanks  for  their  loving  agreement." 

It  was  thus  that  the  founders  of  these  two  towns 
sought  the  blessing  of  the  Almighty,  and  His  guidance 
in  all  their  transactions.  They  were,  the  most  of  them, 
men  of  faith  and  prayer.* 

Boundaries  of  the  Township  Defined  by  Law. 
— At  the  meeting  of  the  Assembly  in  October,  1693, 
an  act  was  psissed  defining  the  bounds  of  the  respec- 
tive townships  of  the  province,  in  which,  for  the  first 
time,  the  territory  of  this  town  is  described  by  legis- 
lative authority : 

"  The  Township  of  Elizabeth-Town  shall  include  all  the  Land  from 
the  mouth  of  Raway  River  West  to  Woodbridge-Stake,  and  from  thence 
Westerly  along  tl'.e  Line  of  the  County  to  the  Partition  Line  of  the 
Province,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the  said  Raway  River  up  the  Sound  to 


I  Stearns'  Newark,  p.  26.    Newark  Town  Becoids,  p.  10. 


8  E.  T.  Bill,  pp.  33,  102-9. 
»  E.  J.  Records,  iii.  12. 
<  Ans.  to  E.  T.  1 
Newark,  pp.  40,  41. 


47.     Newark  Town  Reiords,  p.  UK     Steanli' 


TOWNSHIP  OF  ELIZABETHTOWN. 


175 


the  mouth  of  the  Bound-Creek,  and  from  thence  to  the  Bound-Hill, from 
thence  Nortliwest  to  the  Partition  Line  of  the  Province."  i 

Mr.  Hatfield,  speaking  of  these  boundaries,  re- 
marks,— 

"The  territory  tlius  delined  embraced  tlie  whole  of  the  present  Union 
County,  and  considerahleportionsof  Somerset,  Hunterdon,  Morris,  War- 
ren, and  .Sussex  Counties,  including  Morristown,  Stanhope,  Schouley's 
Hountain,  and  Newton,  according  to  Keith's  Jjartition  line,  then  un- 
derstood to  be  the  true  dividing  line  between  East  and  We^^t  Jersey. 
The  townsliip  was  thus  extended  beyond  the  western  bounds  of  the  In- 
dian Purchase,  whicii  at  no  point  was  more  than  thirty-four  miles  from 
Newark  Bay,  or  double  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  Raritan  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Pa&saic  Rivere."  ~ 

The  error  of  Mr.  Hatfield  in  extending  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  township  so  far  to  the  northwest  evidently 
grew  out  of  his  not  understanding  the  partition  line 
between  East  and  West  Jersey.  The  act  does  say 
that  the  line  shall  extend  on  the  "  North-nest  to  the 
Partition  Line  of  the  Province."  But  where  was  that 
partition  line  located  ?  It  was  not  the  final  line  sur- 
veyed by  James  Lawrence,  for  this  was  not  run  till  the 
autumn  of  1743 ;  nor  was  it  the  Keith  line,  as  Mr. 
Hatfield  supposes.  The  Keith  line  proper  was  never 
run  beyond  the  southwest  corner  of  Somerset  County. 
Starting  on  the  east  side  of  Little  Egg  Harbor,  and 
running  in  the  direction  assumed,  it  was  soon  ob- 
jected to  by  the  West  Jersey  proprietors  as  taking  off' 
too  much  of  their  share  of  the  province,  and  was 
stopped  at  the  end  of  the  straight  line  which  appears 
on  the  maps  between  Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Coun- 
ties, and  never  carried  beyond  that  point.  Had  it 
been  continued  to  the  Delaware  River,  it  would  have 
included  the  territory  described  by  Mr.  Hatfield,  but 
it  was  not.  A  compromise  line  was  subsequently 
agreed  upon  by  Coxe  and  Barclay,  Governors  respec- 
tively of  West  and  East  Jersey,  which  ran  from  the 
point  where  the  Keith  line  had  terminated  to  the 
bend  of  the  Passaic,  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pe- 
quannock,  and  up  that  stream  to  the  forty-first  degree 
of  north  latitude,  and  thence  east  on  that  parallel  to 
Hudson  River.'  This  line  ran  a  little  south  of  Mor- 
ristown,  so  that  the  township  of  Elizabeth  Town  in 
1693  included  a  portion  of  Morris  County,  as  well  as 
the  whole  of  Union  and  a  part  of  Somerset.  It  never 
included  any  of  Hunterdon,  Warren,  or  Sussex  Coun- 
ties. In  Somerset  County  it  embraced  the  present 
townships  of  North  Plainfield,  Warren,  Bernard,  and 
part  of  Bridgewater. 

Resurvey  and  Allotment  of  the  Township. — 
About  six  years  after  the  township  was  laid  out,  as 
above  described,  it  was  resurveyed  and  portions  of  it 
allotted  which  had  not  been  previously  assigned  to 
actual  settlers.  The  new  generation  and  the  new- 
comers were  eager  for  more  land.  It  was  determined, 
therefore,  in  town-meeting  in  the  autumn  of  1699  to 
proceed  to  an  orderly  distribution  of  the  back  coun- 
try lands  and  the  remaining  meadows  on  the  Town 


Creek  among  the  Associates,  now  one  hundred  and 
twenty  in  number.  For  this  purpose  John  Harriman, 
Jr.,  the  eldest  son  of  the  minister,  was  chosen  sur- 
veyor, and  Messrs.  Jonathan  Ogden,  Benjamin  Lyon, 
John  Clarke,  Samuel  Carter,  and  Cornelius  Hatfield 
his  assistants,  "  to  Lay  out.  Divide,  and  Equally  assise 
all  the  Lands  and  meadows  within  the  whole  Bounds 
and  purchase  of  Elizabeth  Town,  to  every  one  Inter- 
ested therein  by  Right  of  purchase  under  the  honour- 
able General  Richard  Nicholls,  their  Several  and 
Respective  parts  and  shares  of  the  whole."  * 

They  entered  upon  their  work  Dec.  26,  1699,  and 
completed  it  March  5,  1700.  The  ground  surveyed 
was  watered  by  the  Rahway  River  in  its  southerly 
course,  and  extended  from  the  Newark  line  on  the 
north  to  the  Woodbridge  line  on  the  south,  reaching 
to  the  foot  of  "  the  mountain"  on  the  west.  It  in- 
cluded a  considerable  part  of  the  present  towns  of 
Union,  Westfield,  and  Plainfield,  and  part  of  the 
town  of  Rahway.  It  comprised  about  seventeen  thou- 
sand acres,  and  was  divided  into  one  hundred  and 
seventy-one  one-hundred-acre  lots,  mostly  forty  by 
twenty-six  chains,  the  general  direction  of  the  length 
being  from  east  to  west,  and  of  the  breadth  from 
north  to  south.  The  first  lot,  assigned  to  Isaac  White- 
head, Sr.,  deceased,  bordered  on  "  the  North-west  line 
between  Elizabeth  Town  and  Newark;"  the  107th, 
lUth,  112th,  and  119th  bordered  south  on  the  Wood- 
bridge  line,  the  intervening  lots,  in  the  order  of  their 
enumeration,  filling  up  the  interval,  and  the  remain- 
ing lots  lying  to  the  west  of  the  others.  The  settle- 
ment of  Connecticut  Farms  and  Westfield  dates  from 
this  allotment,  the  staple  of  the  population  of  these 
townships  being  the  descendants  of  the  old  planters 
among  whom  these  lands  were  apportioned. 

"At  a  meeting  of  the  freeholders  of  Elizabeth  Town,  October  20,  Anno 
1699,  the  following  conclusions  were  made  (viz.) : 

"By  a  unanimous  vote  of  the  freeholders  albresaid,  it  was  and  is  agreed 
and  concluded,  that  if  any  have  been  at  Charges  in  the  Clearing  and 
Fencing  of  Land  which  no  Particular  Purchases  in  the  whole  of  this 
Township  Can  Justly  Claim  a  Mile  or  more  out  of  the  Town  Plott,  shall 
have  so  much  then  where  he  has  so  Fenced  and  Cleared  as  is  sufficient 
to  make  a  plantation  ;  Provided  always,  that  the  Possessor  or  Setler  of 
all  such  Lauds  have  a  Real  Right  in  the  whole  of  this  Township  by  Pur- 
chase, and  also  tiiat  such  have  not  taken  up  more  than  there  proportion 
of  the  whole,  or  if  nearer  shall  have  a  sufficient  field."  » 

A  portion  of  the  common  township  lands  lying  in 
Somerset  County  were  disposed  of  by  vote  of  a  town- 
meeting  held  July  1,  1734,  described  as  follows  : 

"  All  that  Tract  of  Land  or  any  part  or  parcel  thereof;  Beginning  at 
Cedar  Brook  where  Esse.v  Line  crosses  the  said  Brook,  and  from  thence 
Bunuing  west  six  miles,  and  from  thence  the  nearest  Corse  to  the  moun- 
tain, and  from  thence  as  the  said  mountain  rune  to  the  hundred  acres 
Lots  formerly  surveyed  according  to  the  Town  order  and  agreement,  and 
from  thence  to  the  first  mentioned  place  to  the  said  Cedar  Brook." 

"(Also),  To  disjiose  of  what  money  shall  arise  from  the  sale  of  the 
said  Lands,  or  iiny  part  thereof,  for  the  General  Interest  of  the  said  As- 
sociates and  freeholders.  In  detinding  them  or  any  of  tliem  in  the  poB- 
sessiou  of  their  property,  or  in  dispossessing  any  that  shall  unjustly  in- 
trude upon  any  part  of  the  aforesaid  purchase  and  Grant."* 


I  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  :129. 

■'  Gordon's  N.  J..  71-7S. 

■'  See  chapter  on  the  Partition 


c  County,  in  this  work. 


<  E.  Town  Book,  B.,  p.  37. 

■'  Ibid.,  p.  24.    Copied  from  old  book,  pp.  14,  15. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  3. 


17fi 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


This  tract  was  wholly  in  Somerset  County,  includ- 
ing a  considerable  part  of  the  township  of  Warren, 
with  a  small  part  of  Bridgewater.  Previous  to  this 
time  seven  trustees  had  been  appointed  by  the  town 
to  superintend  the  disposal  of  public  lands,  and  we  find 
that  at  a  town-meeting  held  Sept.  l<i,  1735,  these  trus- 
tees were  empowered  to  dispose  of  town  lands  at  Bask- 
ing Ridge  and  that  vicinity,  described  as 

"A  certain  Tract  or  Parcel  of  Land  Lying  west  from  a  place  known 
by  the  name  of  Baskine  Ridge  and  between  the  West  Jersey  line  not  to 
exceed  Eiuht  Miles  upon  the  East  and  west  line  and  to  Extend  to  ovir 
utmost  bounds  upon  the  North  and  south  Lines  Provided  always  That 
the  s**  Tract  of  Lund  be  not  coiivey*d  and  sold  for  Less  than  two  Thou- 
sand Pounds  Current  Money  of  New  Jersey  and  so  in  Proportion  for  a 
Lesser  Quantity  of  said  Land  and  it  is  further  agreed  and  Concluded 
That  we  the  said  Associates  and  flreeholders  Do  Reserve  one  Third  part 
of  said  Tract  of  Land  to  ourselves  if  Required  l>y  snid  ffreehnlders  and 
then  and  In  such  case  to  Deduct  one  Third  part  of  said  Two  Thousand 
Pounds  all  which  money  is  to  be  Improv'd  for  the  General  Good  of  8* 
ffreeholders.i 

This  tract,  remote  as  it  was  from  the  locality  of  the 
original  settlement,  was  clearly  included  in  the  town- 
ship of  Elizabeth  Town  as  defined  by  the  act  of  1693, 
and  as  clearly  in  the  land  conveyed  by  the  Indian 
purchase  and  the  NicoUs  patent.  No  wonder  that 
the  proprietors,  astonished  by  the  vigorous  action  of 
the  Associates,  should  S])eak  of  "the  Lines  ot  their 
vast  Pretensions,"  nor  that  James  Alexander,  the 
surveyor-general,  should  write,  Oct.  1,  1733,  to  Col. 
John  Hamilton,  of  Amboy,  advising  him  "to  call  a 
meeting  of  the  Proprietors  of  East  Jersey  to  devise 
measures  to  stop  the  proceedings  of  the  Elizabeth 
Town  people  in  extending  their  bounds  and  granting 
lands."^ 

A  large  body  of  land  in  the  township  yet  remained 
unappropriated,  lying  to  the  west  of  the  surveys  and 
allotments  of  1700,  including  what  are  familiarly 
known  as  the  First  and  Second  Mountains  as  far  as 
the  Newark  line  on  the  north,  with  the  intervening 
valley  drained  by  Blue  Brook,  the  eastern  branch  of 
Cedar  Brnok,  on  either  side  of  which  the  village  of 
Fcltville  has  since  grown  up,  and  the  whole  region 
watered  by  the  Passaic  River  above  Chatham,  em- 
bracing the  whole  of  the  present  township  of  New 
Providence,  Union  County,  and  the  southern  parts  of 
Chatliam  and  Morris  townships,  Morris  County.  Por- 
tions of  the  track  were  e,x';eedingly  rngged,  and  others 
low  and  swampy ;  but  other  portions,  of  large  extent, 
were  quite  good,  productive  lauds.  Immigration  had 
already  found  its  way  thither,  in  search  of  fruitful 
soil,  healthful  residences,  and  valuable  mill-sites. 

Allotments  of  1736,— ^It  was,  therefore,  deemed 
best  to  repeat  the  measure  of  1699,  and  make  a  further 
distribution  of  the  landed  domain  of  the  tovvn.  A 
new  generation,  the  grandchildren  of  the  old  planters, 
had  come  to  years,  and  needed  room  to  ])lant  and 
build  for  themselves.  A  town-meeting  was  held  ac- 
cordingly Nov.  8,  1736,  and  measures  were  taken  to 
effect  the  desired  object.     Joseph  Morse  (the  son  of 


Joseph,  and  the  grandson  of  Peter  Morse,  both  de- 
ceased) was  chosen  and  duly  qualified  as  the  town 
surveyor;  and  John  Megie  was  chosen,  Nov.  14, 1737, 
one  of  the  seven  men,  in  place  of  Samuel  Miller, 
whose  growing  infirmities  of  body  unfitted  him  for 
service.^ 

The  work  confided  to  the  seven  men  and  the  sur- 
veyor was  duly  and  faithfully  performed.  The  first 
forty-three  lots  were  surveyed  Dec.  27-29,  1736  ;  Lots 
44-164,  Nov.  22  to  Dec.  3,  1737;  the  additional 
survey,  1-109,  Jan.  17  to  Feb.  22,  1738;  and  Cor- 
son's survey  of  seven  lots,  Jan.  6,  1737.  The  whole 
of  this  large  territory — the  back  country  of  the  town 
— was  regularly  laid  out,  and  divided  into  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty  one-hundred-acre  lots,  of  all  which 
due  report  was  made  at  a  town-meeting  held  March 
28,  1738,  for  the  distribution  by  lot  of  the  respective 
shares  to  which  each  of  the  Associates,  by  their  heirs 
and  assigns,  was  entitled.  The  mode  of  allotment 
was  determined  by  the  following  vote: 

''  All  such  persons  as  shall  have  a  first,  second  or  third  Lott  Right 
within  the  s^  Elizabeth  Town  purchase  and  in  the  first  Hivision  of  the 
Lands  to  the  Noilhward  of  the  South  niountaiu  (Now  to  bo  drawn  for) 
and  have  Disposed  of  or  Conveyed  any  such  Right  or  Ritrhts  t..  any  per- 
son or  persons  wliatsoever  that  he  ur  they  to  whom  b'*  Disposal  or  Con- 
veyance ots*l  fii-st,  second  ur  third  Lot  Rii;;ht  Inis  first  been  made  ur  Con- 
veyed as  afores-i  niayand shall  by  virtueot  this  vote  (asaforcs'*  til-sl made 
and  conveyed)  have  the  first  Uraugh  of  the  alotment  of  the  Lands  Now 
to  be  Drawn  for  iu  the  Division  of  the  &^  Lands  aiul  those  that  have  the 
second  Conveyance  shall  have  the  second  liot  and  so  ou  as  aforesaid."  * 

Joseph  Williams  having  died,  and  Jeremiah  Crane 
by  reason  of  age  having  become  infirm,  Messrs.  Jona- 
than Dayton  and  John  Ogden  were  chosen,  March 
13,  1739,  committeemen  in  their  place. 

The  new  allotments  gave  occasion  for  renewed  liti- 
gation with  the  proprietors  and  their  assigns.  Daniel 
Cooper  held  a  proprietary  claim  to  a  portion  of  the 
lands  thus  surveyed  and  allotted.  An  action  of  tres- 
pass was  therefore  brought  in  his  name  "against 
Joseph  Moss,  John  Crane,  John  Deniian,  John  Scud- 
der,  John  Terril,  Samuel  Norris,  Sr.,  and  Samuel 
Norris,  Jr.,  the  then  Committee  or  Managers  for  the 
said  Clinker  Lot  Right  men."  So  they  were  styled 
in  the  bill,  but  erroneously,  as  only  one  of  the  num- 
ber, John  Crane,  belonged  to  the  committee.  The 
cause  came  on  for  a  hearing  in  the  May  term  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  1738,  and  the  defendants  pleading 
"  not  guilty"  it  was  deferred  for  proof' 

James  Logan,  also  about  the  same  time  holding  by 
a  proprietary  claim,  brought  .sundry  actions  of  tres- 
pass and  ejectment  against  a  number  of  his  tenants  in 
the  western  part  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  purchase,  who 


3E.  Town  Bill,  p.  49. 


3  E.  Town  Book,  B.  16,  17. 

*  This  latter  survey  included  the  greater  p:irt  of  the  Passaic  Valley 
south  of  Chatliam,  occupied  at  tlie  present  day  to  a  great  extent  by  de- 
scendants of  these  first  occupants,  of  whom  extended  notices  are  given  by 
John  Littell  iu  his  "Genealogies  of  the  Firet  Setllera  of  Piussiiic  Valley 
(and  vicinity)  above  Chatham,  with  their  Ancestoi^  and  Descendants, 
as  fur  as  can  he  now  ascertained,  1851."  E.  T.  Book,  B.  16,o.  e.  E.Town 
Book  of  Surveys.  C.  1-60. 

»  E.  Town  Bill,  pp  49,  60.    Ans.  to  Do.,  pp.  :i4,  :).'i. 


TOWNSHIP  OF  ELIZABETHTOWN. 


177 


had  also  bought  or  taken  leases  of  the  town  committee. 
Similar  actions  were  brought  in  the  August  term  ot 
1738  against  Benjamin  Manning  and  Wright  Skinner, 
in  the  name  of  Daniel  Axtell,  deceased.  In  respect 
to  one  of  these  actions,  the  following  record  was  made 
in  the  Town  Book  of  the  proceedings  of  a  town-meet- 
ing held  June  18,  1739 : 

"  Apreed  and  Concluded,  that  ni'  John  Blanchard  mr  Ediiard  Sale  mr 
Jonathan  alien  mr  william  miller  and  mr  thomas  Clark  are  to  cullect 
money  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  purchase  of  Elizabetli  town  for  Defray- 
ing the  Charges  in  running  out  the  said  purchase  By  a  Jury  of  Revieue 
In  an  action  Depending  Between  James  Logan  plantiffand  Joseph  man- 
ning Defendant  and  a  rule  of  Court  made  for  ye  same.  (Also),  mr  John 
Crain  and  mr  Jonathan  Dayton  are  Impowered  to  Receine  the  money 
cnllected  By  mr  John  Blanchard  mr  Eduard  Sale  mr  Jonathan  alien  mr 
William  miller  or  thonia*  Clark  and  Dispose  of  the  same  in  Defraying  the 
Charges  of  Kuning  out  the  s*  purchase  to  the  Jury  of  Revieue  or  any 
other  Charges  which  they  the  s'l  Mr.  John  Crain  or  Mr.  Jonathan  Day- 
ton siiall  think  necessary  in  that  affair." 

As  Logan's  claim  was  in  the  extreme  west  of  the 
purchase,  and  it  was  doubtful  whether  it  was  included 
therein,  the  court  had  ordered  the  question  of  fact  to 
be  determined  by  a  jury  of  review. 

At  the  same  town-meeting  the  question  of  the  New- 
ark boundary  line  came  up  again  for  consideration, 
and  it  was  agreed 

"  That  Justice  Andrew  Joline  and  Mr.  John  Blanchard  and  Mr.  Daniel 
Potter  are  Impowered  hy  Ihe  Associates  and  Freeholders  aliove  said  to 
agree  with  the  people  of  Newark  to  settle  and  ascertain  a  Division  Line 
between  the  Town  of  Newark  and  Elizahethtown,  and  to  take  such 
measures  and  means  as  to  them,  the  si  Justice  Andrew  Johne,  Mr.  John 
Blanchard,  Mr.  Daniel  Potter,  shall  seem  proper,  in  order  to  obtain  the 
said  Division  Line  to  be  Established,  and  to  have  ReasonableSatisfaction 
for  their  services  in  that  atfair." 

Tlie  Newark  people  appointed,  Oct.  24,  1739,  Jona- 
than Crane,  Esq.,  Col.  Josiah  Ogden,  and  Samuel 
Farrand,  Esq.,  "  a  committee  to  treat  with  the  people 
of  Elizabeth  Town  about  settling  a  Line  between  the 
two  Towns.'"  Tlie  line  appears  not  to  have  been  i 
settled  at  that  time,  as  it  was  still  an  open  question  j 
fifteen  years  later.  j 

We  have  thus  traced  tlie  principal  allotments  of  | 
land   in  the   old   township  of  Elizahethtown,    from  | 
which  it  appears  that  the  colony  of  the  original  As-  j 
sociates  was  the  mother  colony,  from  which  went  out 
most  of  the  first  settlers  into  the  townships,  which 
were  parceled  off  to  the  children  and  grandchildren  i 
of  the  original  patentees  as  parts  of  the  family  pat- 
rimony.    It  was  a  princely  inheritance,  but  it  cost  i 
them  a  vast  deal  of  time,  expense,  and  perplexity  to  j 
determine  its  exact  bounds  and  to  defend  it  against 
all  trespassers.'- 

Organization  and  Civil  Officers.— The  township  j 
was  not  fully  organized  until  1693.  Such  a  govern- 
ment, however,  as  the  original  colony  required  for  its  ! 
local  purposes,  in  addition  to  the  government  of  the 
province  itself,  was  established  among  the  first  plan- 
ters in  1665.  The  infant  plantation  of  Elizahethtown 
was  not  only  the  seat  of  the  first  general  English  gov- 


1  Newark  Town  Records,  p.  I:t4.    E  Town  Book,  p.  20, 
-  See  chapter  on  Litigations. 


ernment  in  East  Jersey,  but  also  of  the  first  English 
government  in  the  province.  It  was  the  capital  of  the 
province  and  port  of  entry  for  twenty-one  years,  hav- 
ing the  government-house  and  custom-house,  the  resi- 
dent Governor  and  principal  provincial  officers,  and 
the  highest  courts  of  judicature. 

As  has  been  seen  elsewhere,  Governor  Philip  Car- 
teret arrived  at  Elizahethtown  and  assumed  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  province  in  August,  1665.  John 
Ogden  was  commissioned  justice  of  the  peace  Oct.  26, 
1665.  Feb.  12,  1666,  Capt.  Thomas  Young  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  Governor's  Council.  Luke  Wat- 
son was  made  constable,  an  office  which  at  that  time 
answered  in  the  place  of  a  sheriff,  there  being  no 
general  district  or  county  requiring  the  services  of 
the  latter  officer. 

The  town  records  prior  to  1719  having  been  lost  or 
secretly  disposed  of,  the  record  of  officers  for  the  early 
years  is  somewhat  meagre. 

Aug.  24,  1668,  Luke  Watson  was  commissioned 
lieutenant  and  commander  of  a  military  company 
then  organized,  and  John  Woodruff  ensign. 

Robert  Vauquellin  and  William  Pardon  were  the 
first  judges  appointed,  associated  with  Capt.  William 
Sandford  and  Robert  Treat  in  a  special  court  con- 
vened in  May,  1671. 

In  1668,  Robert  Bond,  Robert  "Vauquellin,  and 
William  Pardon  were  members  of  the  Council ;  John 
Ogden,  Sr.,  and  John  Bracket,  representatives  in  the 
House  of  Burgesses  ;  James  Bollen,  secretary. 

From  1682  to  1857  the  territory  we  are  considering 
was  in  the  county  of  Essex. 

Isaac  Whitehead  was  appointed,  Sept.  16, 1692,  high 
sheriff  of  the  county  of  Essex  ;  Isaac  Whitehead  and 
Benjamin  Price,  Jr.,  October  10th,  justices  of  the 
peace  for  Elizabeth  Town;  Henry  Norris  and  John 
Lyon,  November  2d,  deputies  to  the  Assembly  ; 
George  Jewell,  December  3d,  county  clerk;  Isaac 
Whitehead,  Benjamin  Price,  Jr.,  and  John  Lyon,  Jr., 
January  29th,  judges  of  small  causes;  and,  February 
21st,  Isaac  Whitehead,  lieutenant,  and  Daniel  Price,^ 
ensign  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  company  of  foot.  Isaac 
Whitehead  was  also  appointed,  Nov.  4,  1693,  captain 
of  the  foot  company,  Daniel  Price  being  appointed  at 
the  same  time  lieutenant,  and  John  Lyon  ensign. 
Richard  Townley  also  had  been  appointed,  March  7, 
1692,  a  member  of  Governor  Fletcher's  Council  of  the 
province  of  New  York.  Mrs.  Townley  had  a  large 
estate  on  Long  Island.  James  Emmet  received  the 
appointment  in  1683  of  chief  ranger,  an  officer  chosen 
by  the  county  to  look  after  the  estrays. 

Rev.  John  Harriman  and  Jonas  Wood  were  ap- 
pointed, Nov.  3,  1693,  deputies,  and  again  in  1694. 
Benjamin  Ogden  received,  Oct.  10,  1694,  the  appoint- 
ment of  sheriff;  Ephraim  Price,  Jan.  15,  1695,  en- 
sign ;  and  John  Woodruff,  January  29th,  judge  of 
small  causes. 

Daniel  Price  was  appointed.  May  3,  1697,  captain  of 
the  train-bands  ;  William  Brown  and  Ephraim  Price, 


178 


HISTORY    OF    UxMION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


lieutenants  ;  and  Richard  Baker  and  Samuel  Oliver, 
ensigns.  John  Woodruff  (son  of  the  old  planter)  re- 
ceived, May  .30th,  the  appointment  of  high  sheriff  of 
Essex  County;  John  Harriman  (Rev.)  and  Andrew 
Hampton,  Dec.  1, 1698,  were  chosen  deputies ;  Robert 
Smith  (tlie  first  of  the  na.me  in  the  town)  became,  Dec. 
26, 1699,  high  sheriff;  and  Feb.  15, 1699-1700,  George 
Jewell,  county  clerk. 

In  1707  the  town  chose  Capt.  Daniel  Price  as  mem- 
ber of  Assembly ;  1708-9,  Benjamin  Lyon ;  1710, 
Joseph  Marsh. 

In  1710,  Col.  Richard  Townley,  Benjamin  Price, 
Jr.,  Daniel  Price,  and  Jonas  Wood,  were  justices  of 
the  peace ;  John  Hainds,  constable ;  and  Samuel 
Melyen  and  Thomas  Price  were  overseers  of  the  high- 
ways for  this  town.  Andrew  Hampton  and  Richard 
Baker  were  on  the  committee  for  regulating  the  high- 
ways of  the  county.  In  1711,  Isaac  Whitehead,  Ben- 
jamin Price,  Benjamin  Lyon,  John  Woodruff,  and 
John  Blanchard  were  justices ;  John  Hainds  and  Ben- 
jamin Meeker  were  constables  ;  and  Benjamin  Ogden, 
Jr.,  aud  Samuel  Ogden  were  overseers  of  the  high- 
ways. In  1712  the  justices  were  the  same;  James 
Seeres  and  Samuel  Ogden  were  constables;  and  Samuel 
Winans  and  John  Scudder  were  overseers  of  the  high- 
ways. In  171.3,  constables,  Ebenezer  Lyon  and  Wil- 
liam Clarke ;  overseers  of  the  highways,  John  Crainc 
and  Joseph  Kellsey.  In  1714.  constables,  John  Thom- 
son and  Benjamin  Spinning;  overseers,  Daniel  Gale 
and  Robert  Little ;  assessors,  Capt.  Price  and  John 
Harriman.  In  1715  and  1716,  constables,  Richard 
Harriman  and  Elijah  Davis;  overseers,  James  Hainds, 
Jr.,  and  Jacob  Mitchell.  In  1717,  constables,  Benja- 
min Bond,  Nathaniel  Whitehead,  and  William  Stray- 
hearn  ;  overseers,  Joseph  Bond,  John  Lambert,  Jere- 
miah Peek,  and  Benjamin  Parkhurst;  on  the  county 
committee  of  highways,  Benjamin  Lyon  and  Samuel 
Potter.  In  1718,  constables,  John  Gould,  Nathaniel 
Whitehead,  and  William  Stray  hearn  ;  overseers  of  the 
highways,  Edward  Frazey,  Benjamin  Spinning,  Rob- 
ert Wade,  and  Daniel  Woodruff;  surveyors  of  the 
highways,  Capt.  Daniel  Price  and  James  Sayre.  In 
1719,  constables,  William  Strayhearn,  Samuel  Oliver, 
Jr.,  aud  Thomas  Currey  ;  overseers,  David  Morehouse, 
Samuel  Oliver,  Jr.,  and  Joseph  Marsh,  Jr.  In  1716 
and  1721,  Joseph  Bonnel  was  chosen  to  the  Legisla- 
ture.' 

These  appointments,  embracing  a  period  of  about 
ten  years,  may  serve  to  show  who  they  were  of  the 
second  generation  that  were  chosen  to  office,  and  were 
looked  upon  as  men  of  activity  and  influence  by  their 
townsmen.  In  almost  every  instance  they  were  the 
sons  or  grandsons  of  the  old  planters,  whose  names 
are  still  represented  in  the  town. 

In  1740  the  town  committee  consisted  of  John 
Crane,  Jonathan  Dayton,  John  Magie,  Thomas 
Clarke,  Andrew  Joline,  Joseph  Mann,  and  Andrew 

'  Records  uf  Court,  at  Newark. 


Craig.  Robert  Ogden  (the  second  son  of  the  name), 
a  young  lawyer  twenty-four  years  old,  was  chosen, 
Oct.  2,  1740,  town  clerk.  June  4,  1741,  John  Ogden 
was  justice,  and  John  Halsted  and  John  Stiles  free- 
holders. The  same  in  1742.  William  Chetwood 
sheriflJ'  of  the  county. 

The  town  committee  in  1750  for  conducting  the 
defense  of  the  bill  in  chancery  were  John  Crane, 
Andrew  Craig,  William  Miller,  John  Halsted,  Ste- 
phen Crane,  Thomas  Clarke,  and  John  Chandler. 

Subdivisions  of  the  Township.— For  a  period  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  years  from  the  date  of 
the  original  settlement  the  township  remained  undi- 
vided, the  town  laws  and  regulations  and  the  author- 
ity of  its  magistracy  extending  over  the  whole  area. 
At  an  early  date,  however,  various  hamlets  and  clus- 
ters of  farm-houses  gradually  sprung  up  in  difJerent 
localities.  The  facilities  for  navigation  and  the  at- 
tractions of  water  privileges  drew  quite  a  number  of 
the  early  settlers  to  the  banks  of  the  Rahway  River. 
Another  group  of  planters,  mostly  of  one  family, 
gave  name  to  the  neighborhood  called  "  Lyon's 
Farms."  Still  another,  locating  a  few  miles  to  the 
west,  gave  name  to  "  Wade's  Farms,"  better  known 
as  "  Connecticut  Farms."  Soon  after,  a  little  to  the 
north  of  west,  just  under  the  mountain,  a  few  neigh- 
bors called  their  settlement  by  the  name  of  "  Spring- 
field." Seven  miles  to  the  west  of  the  town  proper 
"  Westfield"  began  to  attract  settlers  quite  early  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  Two  or  three  miles  still  west 
of  this  settlement  were  the  "  Scotch  Plains,"  where  a 
large  part  of  the  Scotch  immigration  of  1684-86 
found  a  pleasant  home  on  the  eastern  side  of  the 
Green  Brook  ;  while  at  a  later  period,  on  the  same 
side  of  the  brook,  two  or  three  miles  lower  down,  a 
few  scattered  habitations  served  as  the  nucleus  of 
"  Plainfield,"  sixteen  miles  from  the  town  proper,  and 
yet  within  the  township.  Four  or  five  miles  over  the 
mountains  to  the  northwest  of  We.stfleld,  and  nearly 
as  far  to  the  east  of  Springfield,  the  beautiful  valley 
of  the  Upper  Passaic  very  early  drew  from  the  other 
parts  of  the  town  a  considerable  number  of  hardy 
pioneers,  to  whose  settlement  was  originally  given 
the  name  of  "  Turkey,"  afterwards  changed  to  "  New 
Providence." 

In  the  administration  of  the  township  laws  the 
several  parts  or  neighborhoods  were  denominated 
"  wards,"  as  the  Rahway  Ward,  the  Westfield,  the 
Springfield,  the  Farms  Ward,  etc.,  the  latter  referring 
to  Connecticut  Farms.  In  the  selection  of  civil  offi- 
cers for  the  town — aldermen,  couneilmen,  town  com- 
mittee, constables,  overseers  of  the  poor,  surveyors 
and  overseers  of  highways,  assessors,  collectors, 
pound-keepers,  as  well  as  sherifi"  coroner,  marshal,  or 
mayor  of  the  borough — due  regard  was  had  to  the 
claims  of  these  several  wards. 

As  the  population  increased,  and  churches  and 
school-houses  were  built,  these  respective  settlements 
began  to  feel  the  inconvenience  of  living  so  remote 


BOROUGH   OF  ELIZABETH. 


179 


from  the  central  authority,  the  seat  of  government 
in  the  town  proper,  and  of  being  compelled  to  travel 
so  far  to  the  town-meetings.  Hence,  one  after  an- 
other, they  began  to  agitate  the  question  of  subdivLsion 
of  the  township,  so  as  to  give  to  each  of  these  locali- 
ties a  township  of  its  own.  Thus  originated  the  town- 
ships, one  after  another,  taking  their  legal  places  at 
the  following  dates:  Springfield,  1793;  New  Provi- 
dence, 1794  (organized  independently  in  1809);  West- 
field,  1794;  Rahway,  1804;  Union,  1808;  Plainfield, 
1847.  The  remaining  townships  were  subdivisions  of 
these  at  later  dates.  We  shall  do  no  more  than  men- 
tion them  here,  as  their  separate  histories  will  be 
found  in  another  department  of  this  volume. 

Name  of  the  Town. — The  name  of  the  town  had 
evidently  not  been  determined  at  the  date  of  Rally's 
deed  (Sept.  8, 1665),  or  it  would  have  been  mentioned 
in  that  document.  It  is,  therefore,  quite  probable  that 
in  this  case  tradition  reports  truly  when  it  affirms 
that  the  town  took  its  name  from  the  Lady  Eliza- 
beth, wife  of  Sir  George  Carteret.  Of  this  lady  Sam- 
uel Pepys,  one  of  her  familiar  friends,  bears  this  testi- 
mony during  the  following  year,  Oct.  15,  1666:  "She 
cries  out  at  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."  It  is  well  to  know  some- 
thing of  her  from  whom  is  derived  the  honored  name 
of  Elizabeth  Town.' 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 

BOROUGH    OF   ELIZABETH. 

It  was  doubtless  the  difficulties  experienced  in  con- 
ducting the  extensive  and  intricate  affairs  of  public 
business  in  town-meeting,  and  the  doubtfulness  of 
the  authority  claimed  in  some  instances  by  the  com- 
mitteemen, that  led  the  principal  men  of  the  town  to 
seek  a  Charter  of  Ixcoeporation,  by  means  of 
which  they  could  more  promptly  and  thoroughly 
transact  the  public  business.  The  time  was  oppor- 
tune. New  Jersey,  after  having  been  for  thirty-five 
years  an  appendage  of  the  province  of  New  York, 
under  a  succession  of  Royal  Governors  residing  in 
the  city  of  New  York,  had  at  length,  after  repeated 
remonstrances  and  entreaties,  obtained  a  position  in- 
dependent of  the  other  provinces,  with  one  of  her  own 
citizens,  Lewis  Morris,  as  Governor.  His  long  famil- 
iarity with  the  territory  and  with  the  people  as  a  pri- 
vate citizen  and  in  public  office  had  made  him  ac- 
quainted with  the  towns  and  their  need.  Joseph 
Bonnel,  a  man  of  commanding  influence  at  home, 
had  represented  the  town  in  Governor  Morris'  first 
Legislature  (1738-39),  of  which  he  had  been  chosen 
Speaker,  from  which  position  he  had  been  transferred 


by  the  Governor  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
having  been  appointed,  May,  1739,  second  judge, 
Robert  Hunter  Morris  being  chief  justice.'' 

A  petition,  therefore,  was  prepared  and  circulated 
praying  Governor  Morris  to  procure  from  his  Majesty 
the  King  a  charter  of  incorporation  for  the  town  as 
a  free  town  or  borough.  It  was  extensively  signed, 
the  first  names  being  in  order  as  follows:  "Joseph 
Bonnel,  Andrew  Joline,  Thomas  Price,  John  Ross, 
John  Blanchard,  .John  Crane,  Thomas  Clark,  Mat- 
thias Hetfield,  Noadiah  Potter,  John  Halstead,  Na- 
thaniel Bonnel,  Samuel  Woodruff,  Samuel  Marsh, 
Jonathan  Hampton,  William  Chetwood,  Edward 
Thomas,  and  Cornelius  Hetfield."  These  were  the 
leading  men  of  the  town,  representing  both  of  the 
parties  into  which  it  was  divided,  and  both  of  the 
religious  denominations.  As  Judge  Bonnel's  name 
leads  the  petition,  it  is  quite  likely  that  he  himself 
had  prepared  it  and  presented  it. 

The  petition  was  favorably  received  and  a  charter 
granted  by  his  Majesty  George  II.,  bearing  date  Feb. 
8,  1740.  It  constituted  the  Passaic  River,  from  the 
mouth  of  Dead  River  to  the  Minisink  Crossing,'  the 
western  boundary  of  the  borough.  The  territory  was 
nearly  coterminous  with  the  present  Union  County. 
On  the  southwest,  however,  it  included  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  town  of  Warren  in  Somerset  County. 
It  was  to  be  known  "  by  the  name  of  the  Free  Bor- 
ough and  town  of  Elizabeth."  It  appointed  Joseph 
Bonnell,  Esq.,  "Mayor  and  Clark  of  the  Market," 
and  coroner  also;  John  Blanchard,  Esq.,  recorder; 
"Andrew  Joline,  Matthias  Hatfield,  Thomas  Price, 
John  Ross,  John  Crane,  &  Thomas  Clark  Esq"," 
aldermen;  "Noadiah  Potter,  John  Halstead,  Na- 
thaniel Bonnel,  Samuel  Woodruff,  Samuel  Marsh  & 
Jonathan  Hampton  Gent,"  "A.ssistants  and  Common 
Councill ;"  "  William  Chetwood  Esq',"  sheriff;  Jona- 
than Dayton,  chamberlain;  Thomas  Hill,  marshal; 
"  John  Radley,  George  Ross,  Junior,  Daniel  Marsh 
&  John  Scudder,  assessors ;  Robert  Ogden,  John 
Odle,  John  Terrill  &  William  Clark,  collectors; 
James  Townley,  high  constable ;  and  Robert  Little, 
Nathaniel  Price,  Richard  Harriman,  .John  Looker, 
John  Craige,  Daniel  Dunham  to  be  petit  Constables; 
Henry  Garthwait,  Cornelius  Hetfield,  John  Radley 
Sen^  John  Allen,  Ephraim  Marsh  &  Daniel  Day," 
"Overseers  for  the  Poor;"  and  "Michael  Kearney, 
Esq',"  common  clerk. 

It  accorded  to  the  mayor,  aldermen,  and  Common 
Council  all  the  rights,  immunities,  and  privileges 
usually  granted  to  bodies  corporate,  as  will  be  seen 
by  reference  to  the  exceedingly  voluminous  docu- 
ment itself* 

Of  the  above-named  officers  of  the  new  corpora- 
tion, Audrew  Joline  had  been  collector  for  this  town 


1  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  28.    Per  cotitra,  see  Ans.  to  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  20. 


-  Anal.  Index  of  N.  J.  Docmts.,  p.  175. 

3  Indian  trail  leading   from  tide-water  at  the  mouth  of  Shrewsbury 
River  to  Minisiuk  Island  in  the  Delaware. 
<  Murray's  Notes,  pp.  2S— 14. 


180 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


from  1734  to  1738,  and  justice  as  early  as  1735.  His 
death  occurred  not  later  than  1742.  William  Chet- 
wood  had  been  sheriff  of  the  county  as  early  as  1735, 
succeeding  Benjamin  Bonnell.  Joseph  Bonnell, 
Thomas  Price,  and  Matthias  Hatfield  had  been  jus- 
tices. 

The  town  had  from  the  first  been  the  leading  town 
in  East  Jersey.  In  1734  the  rates  for  Essex  County 
were  as  follows:  For  Elizabeth  Town,  £56  0  0;  for 
Newark,  £44  14  0 ;  for  Acquackanong,  £14  7  3. 
Agreeably  to  the  action  of  the  town,  June  18,  1739, 
the  line  was  drawn  separating  Essex  County  from 
Middlesex  and  Somerset  Counties,  for  which  the  fol- 
lowing charges  were  paid : 

To  Mr-  Joseph  Boone]],  "for  procuring  a  Writ  or  Warrant 

fipr  Running  tlie  Division  Line" £2  14  0 

To  Wi]]iHm  C]ietwuoi],  Bheiitf,  for  time  and  expenses 6    0  0 

To  Jolin  Blnni;]iard.  survevor.          "        "            "             2    2  n 

To  Jonatlian  Hiimpton,  surveyor,  "        "           "            2    0  0 

To  Jolin  Crane.                                 "        "           "            18  0 

To  Natliaiiie]  Bonnel,                      "        "           "            1  19  10 

To  Daniel  Potter,                              '•        "           ••            16  0 

£17    9  10 
February  2V,  1740. 

During  the  first  sixty  years  of  the  settlement  the 
newspaper  was  unknown.  Posters  and  verbal  tradi- 
tions were  institutions  in  those  days.  The  meeting- 
house door  was  the  principal  bill-board  where  adver- 
tisements were  posted,  so  as  to  be  read  by  the  people 
who  gathered  there  on  Sunday,  which  occa.sion  was 
also  the  chief  one  for  the  diffusion  of  intelligence  and 
gossip,  whether  of  domestic  and  local  occurrences  or 
of  provincial  and  foreign  events.  The  Boston  News- 
Letter,  a  half-sheet  paper  (twelve  by  eight  inches), 
started  April  24,  1704,  the  Boston  Gazette,  commenced 
in  1719,  and  the  New  England  Courant  (issued  at 
Boston  Aug.  17,  1721)  may,  one  or  all  of  them,  have 
scattered  a  stray  sheet  in  this  community  now  and 
then,  but  of  that  there  is  no  evidence.  So  far  as 
known  the  New  York  Gazette,  the  first  weekly  paper 
ever  published  in  that  city,  was  the  first  to  make  an 
appearance  in  Elizabeth  Town.  It  was  issued  by 
William  Bradford,  Oct.  16,  1725;  a  small  affiiir,  to  be 
sure,  at  first,  but  the  herald  of  a  new  era  to  the  city  and 
all  the  country  round  about.  This  humble  periodi- 
cal brought  the  people  of  New  York  and  the  neigh- 
boring places  into  familiar  and  accurate  acquaintance 
with  passing  occurrences  of  the  greatest  interest,  and 
was  made  al-i^o  tlie  vehicle  of  communicating  one  with 
another.  The  advertisements  were  few  and  brief, 
and  the  news  items  exceedingly  meagre.  But  occa- 
sionally a  paragraph  appears  shedding  light  on  the 
social  and  commercial  interests  and  history  of  the 
town.  Some  of  the  items  in  this  old  paper  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Run  away  from  Solomon  Bates  of  Elizabeth  Town,  a  Negroe  Man, 
Cttlletl  Clause,  aged  aliout  27  years  old,  has  got  with  him  a  Homspuu 
Coat  of  Linen  and  Wool,  with  Brass  Buttons,  an  Ozeubrig  Vest  with 
black  Buttons  and  Button  holei^,  and  an  old  striped  Vest,  Leather 
Breeches,  new  Homespun  Wosted  Stockings,  Mack  Shoes  with  Buckles; 
he  has  a  Hat  and  Cap,  and  he  can  play  upon  the  Fiddle,  and  speaks  Eng 
lish  and  Dutch.  Whoever  can  take  np  the  said  Negro,  and  bring  him 
to  bis  said  Muster,  or  secure  him  and  give  Notice,  so  that  his  Master  can 


lable  Satisfaction,  besides  all  reasonable 


have  him  again,  shall  ha 
Charges."! 

Mr.  Bates'  name  first  occurs  Nov.  9,  1714,  in  the 
old  "  Record  of  Ear  Marks  for  Elizabeth  Town  ;"  but 
he  seems  to  have  had  no  connection  with  the  Associ- 
ates. His  name  occurs  also  in  "the  Morri-stown  Bill 
of  Mortality,"  p.  13,  as  having  died  of  old  age  (100), 
November,  1771.  His  widow  died  also  of  old  age, 
March  18,  1787,  ninety-seven  years  old.  They  must 
have  removed  to  Morristown  at  an  early  day.  Claus, 
or  Nicholas,  formerly  belonged  to  Daniel  Badgley. 
He  was  arrested  and  restored  to  his  master.  But  he 
had  a  persistent  propensity  to  have  his  own  way,  and 
less  than  two  years  afterwards  Mr.  Bates  complains 
that  he  had  taken  himself  away  again,  and  this  time, 
I 

"  He  has  taken  with  him  a  grey  Homespun  Drugget  Coat  triaiM  with 
j   Black,  a  white  linnen  Vest  trim'd  with  black,  and  a  homespun  Kearsay 
Vest,  a  Pair  of  Leather  Breeches,  with  red  Puffs  and  Shoes  and  Stock- 
I    ing8."2 

I  "  Mr.  Benjamin  Price,  Attorney  at  Law  in  New 
York,"  has  for  sale  a  house  and  lot  in  New  Brunswick. 
Mr.  Price  was  a  grandson  of  one  of  the  Associates  and 
bore  his  name.' 

1      The  public  are  informed  that 

I  "there  is  good  Entertainment  for  Men  and  Horses  to  be  Let  at  all 
\  Times  by  William  Donaldson  at  the  Rose  and  Crown  in  Elizabeth  Town, 
I   New  Jersey."^" 

"The  House,  Stable  and  Garden  of  Benjamin  Hill  in  Elizabeth-Town 
in  New  Jersey,  is  to  be  Let  from  year  to  year,  or  for  a  term  of  years.  It 
I  is  a  very  convenient  place  for  a  Trades-man  or  a  Shop-keeper."  6 
j  "At  the  Sign  of  Che  Ship  iu  Elizabeth-Town  lives  Benjamin  Hill,  who 
I  keeps  Horses  to  Let,  and  where  all  Travellers  and  othei-s  may  be  accom- 
I  modated  with  good  Entertainment  for  Man  and  Horse  at  all  Times  in 
j   the  White  House  which  Mr.  Schuyler  bought  of  Mr.  Townley."^ 

This  was  the  house  built  by  Governor  Carteret 
shortly  before  his  death,  of  which  Col.  Townley  be- 
came possessed  by  marrying  the  Governor's  widow. 

"On  Wednesday  the  2:1  of  April  next  at  the  Paper  Mill  in  Elizabeth- 
Town,  there  will  be  Sold  at  Public  Vendue  to  the  highest  Bidder,  all 
sorts  of  Household  Goods,  Cattle,  Horses,  Hogs,  Cart,  Plows,  Harrows, 
with  Iron  Teelh,  and  other  Dtensils:  The  Plantation  adjoyninir  10  the 
said  Mill  will  also  be  sold,  which  contains  about  Ninety  Acres,  Ac."" 

It  was  at  this  mill  that  the  paper  was  made  on  which 
the  Gazette  was  printed.  It  is  not  known  by  whom 
the  mill  was  built,  but  in  1728  it  was  purcha.sed  by 
William  Bradford,  of  New  York,  who  in  1730-31  was 
a  resident  of  the  town.  His  son  Andrew  was  at  th^ 
same  period  printing  the  American  Weekly  Mercury. 
The  father  and  son  had  quite  a  monopoly  of  govern- 
ment printing,  and  needed  a  mill  independent  of  the 
foreign  manufacturers.  This  was  the  first  paper-mill 
in  New  Jersey.* 

"  To  be  Sold  at  Publick  Vendue,  on  Tuesday  the  26tb  of  August  instant, 
at  Elizabeth-Town  in  New  Jersey,  a  Grist  Mill  and  fulling  Mill,  also  a 
Lot  of  Ground,  adjoyning  to  the  Dwelliug  House  of  Eilward  Thomas,  in 
the  said  Town,  very  convenient  for  a  dwelling  house  and  Garden,  and 
near  the  said  Mill,  as  also  sundry  Household  Good.  All  which  were  lately 


1  N.  Y.  Gazette,  June  1, 1789. 

3  lb.,  July  20, 1730. 

s  lb.,  March  2,"),  1734. 

'  lb.,  April  7,  1735. 

»  Historical  Magazine,  i.  S6, 123; 


'  lb.,  May  8, 1732. 
I  lb.,  Oct.  16,  17:12. 
'  lb.,  March  31,  17:i5. 


BOROUGH   OF  ELIZABETH. 


181 


belonging  to  Wm  WiUiamson  late  of  eaid  Town,  Jeceased,  and  power  of 
Selling  the  same  given  by  his  last  Will  to  Margaret  Williamson  his  Wid- 
dow  Now  living  at  Elizabeth  Town  aforesaid."' 

This  was  the  old  mill  that  was  still  standing  until 
within  a  few  years  at  the  stone  bridge  in  Broad  Street, 
originally  constructed  by  the  pioneer  John  Ogden, 
the  last  vestiges  of  which  have  now  disappeared  be- 
fore the  march  of  modern  improvement. 

"In  the  Month  of  December  last  an  Apprentice  Lad  named  Abraham 
Hendricks  ran  away  from  his  Master  .loliii  Ross  of  Elizabeth  Town  New- 
Jersey;  said  Lad  is  about  Years  of  Ape,  was  of  small  Stature,  had  a 
brown  great  Coat  and  a  Linsey  Wosley  under  a  Beaver  Hat  h:ilf  worn 
having  light  colored  hair  and  took  a  set  of  Shoi'makers  Tools  along  with 
him,  being  a  Shoemaker  by  Trade."  (A  reward  of  SOs.  and  charges  of- 
fered.) 

Mr.  Ross  was  named  in  the  borough  charter  one  of 
the  aldermen  of  the  corporation,  and  became,  in  1748, 
mayor  of  the  borough.  Hendricks  was  probably  the 
brother  of  Isaac,  and  the  son  of  Joliti  Hendricks,  who 
came  here  as  early  as  May,  1721,  from  Piscataway, 
where  Daniel  and  Jabez  Hendricks,  brothers,  and 
Leonard  Hendricks  were  numbered  among  the  orig- 
inal settlers.  Abraham  returned,  and  his  name  is 
found  among  a  large  number  of  citizens  attached  to  a 
memorial  forwarded  in  1743  to  the  king,  George  II. 

We  have  an  account  also  tliat  t\v6  boys,  the  sons  of 
Matthias  Hatfield,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  in  New  Jersey, 
being  in  the  woods  hunted  a  rabbit  into  a  hollow  tree, 
and  in  order  to  get  it  cut  down  the  tree,  which  fell 
upon  the  younger  brother  and  killed  him  dead  on  the 
spot. 

Mr.  Hatfield  was  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the  town, 
became  sheriff  and  alderman,  and  by  his  daughter 
Phebe,  wife  of  Robert  Ogden,  Esq.,  was  the  grand- 
father of  Gen.  Matthias  and  Governor  Aaron  Ogden, 
and  an  ancestor  of  Governor  Daniel  Haines. 

Improvement  of  Streets, — But  little  attention  was 
given  to  the  improvement  of  the  streets  till  about 
1810.  Overseers  of  highways  had  been  appointed 
by  the  town  from  a  very  early  day,  roads  had  been 
laid  out,  bridges  built,  and  roadways  kept  in  a  pass- 
able condition.  But  in  the  town  plot  no  statute  regu- 
lations had  been  made  for  footpaths,  sidewalks,  and 
similar  conveniences.  A  committee  was  at  length  ap- 
pointed, April  24, 1810,  to  report  an  ordinance  for  the 
appointment  of  a  street  commissioner,  and  to  regulate 
the  laying  out,  paving,  graveling,  and  keeping  in  re- 
pair sidewalks  or  footways  in  the  principal  streets 
of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  to  prevent  obstructions  in  the 
same.  This  was  probably  the  first  ordinance  passed 
either  for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  streets  or  con- 
structing sidewalks,  and  it  is  safe  to  presume  that  the 
corporation  authorities  had  the  same  difficulties  to 
contend  with  in  its  practical  operations  as  have  been 
encountered  by  those  of  more  modern  times. 

Ferries  and  Steamboats, — From  the  founding  of 
the  town  intercourse  by  water  with  the  city  of  New 
York  had  been  kept  up  with  considerable  regularity. 


mostly  from  the  point  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek. 
Dankers  and  Sluyter  found  there  in  1679  a  tavern  or 
ferry-house,  kept  by  a  French  papist.  This  must  have 
been  one  of  the  men  from  the  Isle  of  Jersey  brought 
over  by  Governor  Carteret.  Frequent  reference  is 
made  in  various  documents  to  this  ancient  ferry. 
Several  of  the  planters  and  of  tlieir  descendants  had 
also  boats  running  from  various  landings  on  the 
Sound  and  the  creek  to  Staten  Island  and  New  York. 
Constant  intercourse  was  thus  maintained  with  the 
great  emporium  of  trade  until  and  after  the  Revolu- 
tionary war. 

The  boats  employed  in  this  traffic  were  propelled, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  by  sails  and  oars.  The  barge, 
the  yawl,  the  scow,  the  skiflT,  the  yacht,  the  sloop,  the 
schooner,  the  pettiauger  (petiagua)  were  all  em- 
ployed. After  the  Revolution,  in  1790,  the  ferry 
came  into  possession  of  Edward  Thomas,  and  was 
known  by  the  name  of  Thomas'  Ferry. 

Casualties  were  not  of  infrequent  occurrence.  One 
of  the  East  Town  ferry-boats  upset  near  Bergen 
Point  on  Saturday,  Nov.  10,  1798,  and  Benjamin 
Bonnell.  James  Carter  and  wife,  of  Chatham  ;  David 
P.  Tuttle,  of  Morris  County ;  the  wife  of  Daniel 
Moore,  of  Rahway  ;  the  wife  of  Ezekiel  Smith,  of 
Scotch  Plains  ;  Mrs.  Abigail  Maxwell  and  child,  of 
New  York ;  and  Mr.  Hedges,  of  Turkey,  were 
drowned.^ 

In  August,  1807,  Livingston  and  Fulton  succeeded 
in  their  experiment  of  steam  navigation,  and  the 
"  Clermont"  became  a  regular  packet  between  New 
York  and  Albany,  her  name  being  changed  when 
enlarged  the  next  year  to  the  "  North  River."  An 
exclusive  right  to  navigate  the  waters  of  New  York 
by  steam  had  been  obtained  by  Chancellor  Living- 
ston and  Robert  Fulton,  by  act  of  the  New  York 
Legislature,  Appendix  5,  1803,  and  extended.  Appen- 
dix 11,  1808.  ■  The  right  to  run  a  steam  packet  from 
New  York  to  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  in  1808 
conveyed  to  John  R.  and  Robert  J.  Livingston,  who 
thereupon  built  the  steamer  "  Raritan,"  one  hundred 
and  thirty  by  twenty  feet,  and  put  her  on  the  route. 

The  ferry  at  the  Old  Point  had  some  years  before 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Col.  Aaron  Ogden.  Tiie 
owners  of  the  "  Raritan"  agreed  with  Col.  Ogden 
for  the  privilege  of  receiving  and  landing  passen- 
gers at  Elizabethtown  Point,  to  give  him  for  every 
passenger  what  he  would  have  received  as  profit  in 
his  own  boats.  The  "  Raritan"  thus  became  the  first 
boat  that  connected  Elizabethtown  with  New  York  by 
steam. 

Not  content,  however,  with  this  arrangement.  Col. 
Ogden  early  in  1811  contracted  with  Cornelius  Jero- 
lainan,  of  North  Belleville,  N.  J.,  to  construct  a  vessel 
of  fourteen  feet  beam  and  seventy-five  feet  keel,  and 
with  Daniel  Dod,  of  Mendham  (who  in  consequence 
removed  to  this  town),  to  furnish  the  boat  with  a 


Aug.  25,  1735. 


•-  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  787. 


182 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


steam-engine  of  twelve  horse-power.  This  boat  was 
called  the  "  Sea-Horse."  Before,  however,  it  was 
completed  (April  9,  1811)  an  act  had  been  passed 
by  the  New  York  Legislature  by  which  it  was  put  in 
the  power  of  the  Livingstons  to  seize  any  steamboat 
that  should  be  found  infringing  on  their  monopoly. 
An  act  had  also  been  passed  by  the  Legislature  of 
New  Jersey  for  the  protection  of  steamboats  owned 
and  navigated  by  citizens  of  the  State.  For  the  more 
effectual  enforcement  of  this  act,  and  to  counteract  the 
New  York  law  of  1811,  another  act  was  passed  by  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey,  Feb.  12,  1813. 

Ogden  had  designed  running  his  boat  to  New  York, 
where  he  had  obtained  the  lease  of  a  wharf,  where  his 
sailing-boats  were  moored.  In  order,  however,  to 
avoid  the  seizure  of  his  steamboat  he  determined  to 
run  her  to  Jersey  City.  It  wiis  publicly  announced 
May  18,  1813,  that  "  An  elegant  STEAM  BOAT  has 
also  been  provided  to  run  between  Elizabetli  Town 
Point  and  Paulus  Hook.  Fare  4s.  At  9  a.m.  and  2  p.m. 
from  the  Point,  and  at  11.30  a.m.  and  4.30  p.m.  from 
Paulus  Hook."  The  fare  was  reduced  June  22d  to  3.«. 
M.  The  boat  was  taken  off  November  23d  and  laid 
u|)  for  winter.  The  next  summer,  June  21,  1814,  it 
was  announced  that  "The  steamboat  'Sea-Horse'  will 
run  to  Jersey  City,  and  meet  at  Bedloe's  Island  the 
steamboat  '  Substitution.'  "  In  the  mean  time  the 
Legislature  of  New  Jersey  had  granted,  by  an  act 
passed  Nov.  3,  1813,  to  "  Aaron  Ogden  and  Daniel 
Dod,  and  the  survivors  and  their  assigns,  an  exclu- 
sive right  to  navigate  steamboats  in  the  waters  of  this 
State." 

The  Livingstons,  thus  excluded  from  the  waters  of 
New  Jersey,  and  in  danger  of  losing  the  "  Raritan." 
which  had  cost  them  twenty-six  thousand  dollars, 
presented  a  memorial  and  petition  to  the  Legislature 
of  New  Jersey,  October,  1814,  giving  their  represen- 
tation of  the  case,  and  asking  to  be  heard  by  counsel. 
Ogden  and  Dod  presented  a  counter  memorial,  also 
asking  to  be  heard.  Leave  was  accordingly  granted, 
and  the  exclusive  attention  of  the  Legislature  was 
given  to  the  case,  Jan.  24-29,  1815.  Thomas  Addis 
Emmett  appeared  as  counsel  for  the  Livingstons ; 
Ogden  appeared  in  his  own  behalf,  assisted  by  Mr. 
Hopkinson,  of  Philadelphia,  and  Samuel  L.  South- 
ard, of  New  Jersey.  In  consequence  the  act  granting 
to  Ogden  and  Dod  a  monopoly  of  steam  navigation 
in  New  Jersey  was  repealed. 

The  Old  Point  Ferry  property  was  now  owned  con- 
jointly by  Ogden  and  Thomas  Gibbons.  The  latter 
was  a  wealthy  planter  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  who  had  a 
handsome  country-seat  in  town  on  the  Philadelphia 
turnpike  road.  Here  he  spent  his  summers  and  au- 
tumns. Ogden  had  leased  of  Gibbons  his  interest  in 
the  Point  property  for  a  term  of  years,  which  liad 
nearly  expired.  Gibbons  refused  to  renew  the  lease, 
but  proposed  to  run  the  ferry  in  i)artiiership.  They 
differed  about  the  terms.  Gibbons  determined  to 
start  an  ojiposition  line.     He  fitted  u])  anotlier  land- 


ing at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  procured  the  steamers 
"Stowdinger"  and  "  Bellona,"  and  established  a  new 
ferry.  Of  tlie  latter  boat  the  well-known  millionaire, 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  was  captain,  and  it  is  thought 
that  this  was  the  beginning  of  his  great  fortune. 

Governor  Ogden  thereupon  (May  5,  1815)  pur- 
chased of  the  Livingstons  for  a  period  of  ten  years 
the  exclusive  right  of  steam  navigation  between  the 
Point  and  New  York,  and  so  became  himself  a  mon- 
opolist. The  "Sea-Horse"  was  announced  April  3, 
1815,  to  run  directly  to  New  \''ork.  Governor  Og- 
den, who  in  March,  1817,  bad  put  the  new  steamer 
"  Atlanta"  on  the  route,  obtained  from  the  Chancellor 
of  New  Y'ork  an  injunction  against  Gibbons.  A  mo- 
tion to  dissolve  the  injunction  was  denied.  An  appeal 
was  taken  to  the  Court  of  Errors,  but  was  not  sus- 
tained. Gibbons  then  carried  the  case  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  when,  at  the 
February  term  of  1824,  the  acts  of  the  New  York 
Legislature  granting  a  monopoly  of  steam  navigation 
in  the  waters  of  the  said  State  were  declared  to  be 
repugnant  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  therefore  null  and  void.  The  injunction  was 
dissolved,  and  steam  navigation  opened  to  the  com- 
petition of  all  the  world,  an  event  of  untold  and  in- 
calculable importance  to  the  commerce  and  prosperity 
of  the  United  States.  The  town  whose  rival  citizens 
were  thus  bringing  to  a  final  issue  a  question  of  such 
momentous  consequence  was  greatly  interested  in  the 
contest,  siding  with  the  one  or  the  other  as  interest  or 
conviction  determined,  and  thus  forming  themselves 
into  opposing  parties  throughout  the  contest. 

Daniel  Dod,  the  partner  of  Governor  Ogden, 
after  his  removal  to  this  town  became  celebrated  for 
the  manufacture  of  machinery,  especially  for  steam- 
ers. He  furnished  engines  for  boats  at  Kingston, 
Can.,  Sackett's  Harbor,  N.Y.,  Philadelphia,  Norfolk, 
Va.,  Mobile,  and  New  Orleans ;  also  for  the  "  Sa- 
vannah," the  first  steamer  that  crossed  the  ocean  to 
England.  "  He  was,  moreover,  a  sort  of  universal 
genius,  was  a  profound  and  accurate  theologian,  wrote 
poetry,  and  could  scarcely  turn  his  hand  to  anything 
in  which  he  was  not  quickly  at  home."  Governor 
Ogden  failed,  involving  him  and  others  in  the  finan- 
cial ruin,  and  compelling  Mr.  Dod's  removal  to  New 
York  in  1820.  He  was  killed  by  the  bursting  of  the 
boiler  of  the  "  Patent,"  on  the  East  River,  N.  Y., 
May  9,  1823.  His  son,  the  Rev.  Albert  Baldwin  Dod, 
D.D.,  was  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the  College  of 
New  Jersey.' 

Court-House  of  the  Borough.— The  first  court- 
house of  the  borough  of  I-]liz;il)eth  was  burned  by  the 
British,  together  with  the  Presbyterian  Church  edifice, 
in  1780.  The  next  court-house  wiis  erected  in  1797, 
and  had  been  occupied  only  about  eleven  years  when 
it  was  reduced  to  ashes,  April   2,  1808,  and  a  poor 


1  N.  J.  Hist.  Soc.  Proc, 
Spnigiie'8  Annuls,  iv.  737. 


134.     GenealOKy  of  the  Dod  Family. 


BOROUGH  OF  ELIZABETH. 


183 


lunatic,  Andrew  Ross,  perished  in  the  flames.  Moses 
Austin,  high  constable  of  the  town,  had  been  the  oc- 
cupant and  keeper  of  the  house  for  many  years. 
Measures  were  immediately  taken  by  the  corporation 
for  its  reconstruction.  Aldermen  Thaddeus  Mills  and 
Richardson  Gray,  with  the  recorder,  Andrew  Wilson, 
were  appointed  a  building  committee,  and  means 
taken  to  obtain  the  needed  funds.  A  year  passed 
and  the  work  was  not  done.  Capt.  William  Dayton 
was  substituted  on  the  committee  for  Mr.  Wilson.  It 
was  not  until  the  winter  of  1810-11  that  the  building 
was  in  a  condition  to  be  occupied.  This  building 
continued  to  be  used  for  the  town  courts  until  after 
the  formation  of  the  county  of  Union  in  1857,  when 
it  was  enlarged  and  reconstructed  into  the  present 
commodious  county  court-house. 

Governor  Jonathan  Belcher  resided  in  the 
borough  of  Elizabeth  from  November,  1751,  until  his 
death,  Aug.  31,  1757.  He  had  previously,  from  the 
time  of  his  appointment  as  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
resided  in  Burlington,  where  the  Legislature  also  con- 
vened. Finding  the  air  of  that  place  did  not  agree 
with  him,  he  removed  to  Elizabeth  Town,  where  his 
oflScial  business  and  correspondence  were  carried  on 
ever  after. 

Governor  Belcher  was  the  son  of  Andrew  Belcher, 
a  Boston  merchant  of  great  wealth,  and  was  born  at 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  Jan.  8,  1682.  He  graduated  at 
Harvard  College  in  1699.  He  was  Governor  of  Mas- 
sachusetts and  New  Hampshire  from  1730  to  1741, 
having  twice  previously  visited  England,  where  he 
was  "  held  in  great  respect  by  the  best  society."  He 
went  abroad  again  in  1744,  and  returned  with  a  com- 
mission as  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  arriving  in  New 
York  Aug.  8,  1747.  He  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
his  office  at  Burlington  on  the  20th  of  August,  where 
he  resided,  first  with  Richard  Smith,  the  Quaker,  and 
then  in  his  own  house,  continuing  to  remain  there  till 
1751. 

He  was  induced  to  remove  to  Elizabeth  Town  on 
account  of  the  better  air  of  the  latter  place,  though 
probably  society  had  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the 
change.  The  meetings  there  and  the  religious  and 
moral  status  of  the  people  were  a  subject  of  complaint. 
The  Sabbath  was  not  strictly  observed.  He  went  to 
Quaker  Meeting  and  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
yet  he  was  not  happy.  He  frequently  drove  his  coach 
and  four  twenty  miles  to  Philadelphia  to  attend  at  the 
church  and  visit  with  his  old  friend,  Rev.  Gilbert 
Tennent,  whom  he  had  known,  and  who  was  now 
pastor  of  a  Presbyterian  Church  in  Philadelphia. 
Whether  he  got  tired  of  this,  or  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  he  was  as  great  a  Sabbath-breaker  as  some 
others  of  whom  he  complained,  is  not  certain.  But 
he  left  Burlington,  probably  concluding  that  the  New 
England  society  of  Elizabeth  Town  and  the  church 
of  his  choice  there  were  to  be  preferred  to  the  alter- 
native of  hearing  Quakers  or  Episcopalians,  or  of 
driving  twenty  miles  to  meeting  on  Sunday.     That 


Belcher  and  his  associates  were  regarded  by  some  of 
the  unsympathizing  citizens  as  highly  Puritanic  ap- 
pears from  a  curious  letter  written  by  Jonathan  Hamp- 
ton, of  Elizabeth  Town,  to  James  Alexander  at  New 
York,  dated  Aug.  28,  1751 : 

*'  Our  Prime  Minister  lias  sent  two  boats  to  Burlington  for  Governor 
Belcher's  Goods— when  he  conies  we  expect  everything  will  be  Done  in 
our  favor,  but  T  pray  tlie  Lord  may  send  his  Habeus  Corpus,  and  dis- 
cliarge  our  Borougli  of  such  a  heavy  Load  of  Honor  (as  our  People  call 
it)  to  have  a  Numerous  Train  of  Bostouians  whining,  Praying  and 
Canting  continually  about  our  Streets;  from  such  Evils  (Deliver  us). 

"  I  hope  I  shall  not  be  carried  by  Sheriff  Hetfield  before  Governor 
Belcher  for  not  answering,  etc." 


The  "  Prime  Minister"  referred  to  was  Samuel 
Woodruff,  mayor  of  the  borough.  Mr.  Woodruff 
had  sent  Sheriff  Hatfield  to  Burlington  to  bring  the 
Governor's  goods.  On  the  10th  of  September  the 
Governor  writes  that  he  "  wants  a  sloop  of  thirty  or 
forty  tons  to  complete  the  matter."  It  appears  to 
have  been  sent,  for  he  writes  again  in  a  few  days,  "  I 
am  engaged  in  putting  my  clothing  and  furniture  on 
board  of  three  small  sloops  to  take  them  round  to 
Elizabethtown."  On  the  19th  he  writes  Mr.  Wood- 
ruff that  "  the  man  with  the  coach  and  the  cows  and 
the  three  sloops,  with  what  they  had  on  board,"  were 
to  leave  that  day.  One  of  these  sloops  carried  the 
smallpox  to  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the  Governor  writes 
in  October  expressing  his  regrets  and  hoping  that  it 
may  not  spread.  In  one  of  these  letters  we  learn  that 
Governor  Belcher  would  be  seventy  years  old  on  the 
8th  of  January  following.  He  was  a  lover  of  wine, 
and  on  the  30th  of  May  he  asks  Mr.  Woodruff,  who 
has  a  vessel  going  to  Madeira,  to  "  import  for  his  use 
three  pipes  of  the  best  Maderia  wine,  and  a  quarter 
cask  of  Malmsey."  ' 

It  is  said  of  Governor  Belcher  that  while  Governor 
of  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  "  his  style  of 
living  was  elegant  and  splendid,"  and  that  he  was 
"  distinguished  for  his  hospitality."  His  prodigality 
of  living  had  reduced  him  to  comparative  penury,  so 
that  here  he  had  not  the  means  of  supporting  such 
profuseness,  and  he  was  also  quite  infirm,  having 
been  attacked  with  paralysis  in  September,  1750, 
from  the  effects  of  which  he  never  recovered.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  it  is  said,  he  possessed  uncommon 
gracefulness  of  person.  President  Edwasds  writes  in 
his  journal  September,  1752, — 


"  I  had  considerable  opportunity  to  converge  with  Governour  Belcher; 
and  was  several  times  at  his  house  at  Elizabethtown.  He  labours  under 
many  of  the  iuBrmities  of  age,  but  savours  much  of  a  spirit  of  religion, 
and  seems  very  desirous  of  doing  all  the  good  he  can  while  he  lives."  - 

Dr.  Hatfield  says, — 

*'  From  his  first  coming  into  the  province  he  proved  himself  the 
stanch  friend  of  education  and  religion.  To  the  infant  College  of  New 
Jersey  he  not  only  gave  a  new  charter  witii  enlarged  privileges,  but 
used  the  whole  weight  of  his  personal  and  official  influence  in  behalf  of 
its  endowment  and  permanent  establishment,  .\fter  his  removal  to  this 
town,  at  the  request '  of  a  great  number  of  the  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  congregation,  a  charter  of  incorporation  was  granted  them 


1  Anal.  Index,  pp.  277-9,  281. 
s  Edwards'  Works,  i.  510. 


184 


HISTORV    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


by  the  G.>vernoV,  Aug.  22,  1763,  appointing  Stephen  Crane,  Cornelius 
Hatfleld,  Jonathan  Dayton,  Isaac  Woodruff,  Matthias  Baldwin,_i  Moses 
Ogden,  and  Benjamin  Winans  the  first  trustees  of  the  congregation, 
with  power 'til  erect  ami  repair  Public  Buildings  for  the  Worship  of  God 
and  the  Use  of  the  Ministry,  and  School-Houses  &  Alms  Houses,  &  Suit- 
ably to  Support  the  Ministry  &  the  Poor  of  tlieir  Church  :  aud  to  do  & 
perform  other  Acts  of  Piety  &  Charity,'  a  boon  which  was  so  long  and 
persistently  denied  by  the  royal  Governors  to  the  First  Presbyterian 
congreeation  of  the  City  of  New  Yoik.^ 

"  Thniiigh  the  favor  ot  Governor  Belcher  also,  on  application  of 'divers 
of  the  Inhabitants  and  Freemen'  of  the  borough  and  town,  an  act  was 
passed,  June  21,  H-M,  by  the  General  Assembly  at  Perth  Amboy, 'to 
enable  the  Mayor,  Recorder,  Aldermen,  and  Common  Councilmeu  of  the 
free  Borough  and  Town  of  Elizabeth  to  build  a  Poorhouse,  Workhouse, 
and  House  of  Correction  within  the  said  Borough  ;  and  to  make  Rules, 
Orders,  and  Ordinances  for  the  governing  of  the  same ;  and  to  repair  the 
Gaols  of  the  said  Borough  ;  ...  to  the  Intent  the  Poor  of  the  said 
Borough  may  be  better  employed  aud  maintained;  poor  Children 
educated  and  brought  up  in  an  honest  and  industrious  Way  ;  as  also  for 
•etting  to  work  and  punishing  aH  Vagrants,  Vagabonds,  Pilferers,  and 
all  idle  aud  disorderly  Persons,  Servants,  and  Slaves  within  the  said 
Borough  ;  ...  for  the  Encouragement  of  Honesty  and  Industry,  and 
suppressing  ol  Vice  and  Immorality,  and  better  Government  of  said 
Borough.'* 

"  During  the  excitement  and  alarm  consequent  on  Braddock's  defeat, 
July  9, 1755.  and  the  consternation  created  by  the  Indian  outrages  on 
the  western  borders  of  New  Jeisey,  Governor  Belcher  did  all  in  his 
power  to  rouse  the  province  in  defense  of  their  habitations.  The  Nine- 
teenth General  Assembly,  on  account  of  its  growing  infirmities,  held 
their  second  session,  Feb.  24,  1765,  and  their  six  subsequent  sessions, 
during  the  next  two  years, in  this  town,  giving  (he  town  peculiar  promi- 
nence at  the  time  in  provincial  affairs.  The  principal  legislation  of  the 
period  had  respect  to  the  arming  of  the  militia,  and  making  provision 
for  their  suppoi  t  while  in  active  duty  against  the  French  and  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  interior.  Of  the  armed  force  sent  out  of  the  province  on 
this  service  a  full  proportion  went  forth  from  this  town.< 

"A  letter  from  this  town,  July  28, 1756,  gives  the  following  informa- 
tion: 

"  '  This  Day  was  published  here,  by  Order  of  his  Excellency  the  Gov. 
ernor,  Hia  Majesty's  Declaration  of  War  against  the  French  King ;  at 
which  was  present  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  attended  by  the  Mayor 
and  Corporation  of  this  Borough,  together  with  five  Companies  of  Foot, 
and  two  Troops  of  Horse,  who  on  the  Occasion  fired  three  handsome 
Vollies.'S 

"Governor  Belcher  did  not  long  survive  these  agitations.  He  departed 
this  life  at  his  home  in  this  town  on  Wednesday,  Aug.  31,  1767,  in  the 
seventy-sixth  year  of  his  age.  As  Mr.  Kettletas,  the  youthful  minister 
of  the  congregation,  had  not  yet  been  ordained,  and  doubtless  felt  incom- 
petent for  the  service.  President  Burr  was  called  upon  to  preach  the  Gov- 
ernor's funeral  sermon.  A  vast  congregation  a^enibled  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  on  Lord's  Day,  September  4th,  when  Mr.  Burr  (just 
twenty  days  before  his  own  decease)  preached  from  Daniel  xii.  13." 

Governor  Belcher  had  been  twice  married  :  first  to 
Mary,  daughter  of  Lieutenant-Governor  William  Par- 
tridge, of  New  Hampshire,  Jan.  4, 1706 ;  she  died  prior 
to  his  visit  to  England  in  1744.  and  while  there  he 

'  Mr.  Baldwin  was  the  son  of  Jonathan,  and  the  grandson  of  John 
Baldwin,  of  Newark.  His  father  died  when  he  w.is  but  seven  years  of 
age.  He  was  born  in  1719,  married  Mary,  a  daughter  of  Alderman  John 
Ross,  of  tliis  town,  and  thus  became  a  resident  here.  His  only  sister, 
Joanna,  married  Isaac  Nuttman,  who  also  removed  lo  this  town,  where 
he  died,  November,  1749,  leaving  three  children,  John,  Phebe,  and  Sarah. 
His  wife  survived  him.  He  died  July  1,  1759,  leaving  his  wife  aud  sev- 
eral children.  The  late  Matthias  W.  Baldwin,  of  Philadelphia,  so  memor- 
able both  for  his  wealth  and  munificence,  was  his  grandson.  The  stone 
that  marks  the  resting-place  of  his  remains  is  inscribed  with  the  fol- 
lowiug  epitaph:  "  He  was  a  good  Neighbor;  |  a  generous  Friend;  |  an 
earnest  promoter  of  the  |  PUBLIC  GOOD;  |  A  Kind  Father,  a  tender 
Husband.  |  In  sh.)rt  he  was  |  A  CHRISTIAN.  |  PASSENGEIt  |  ImitJite 
him,  &  be  for  ever  |  BAPPY.  | 

2  Murray's  Notes,  pp.  62-69, 

^  Allison's  Laws  of  N.  J,,  pp,  198-201. 

<  Ibid.,  i.,  pp.  20.3-14. 

'  N.  Y.  Mercury,  No.  209. 


became  engaged  to  an  English  lady,  whom  he  mar- 
ried in  Philadelphia  in  September,  1748.  In  his  will, 
dated  July  14,  1755,  he  mentions  his  wife  Louisa,  his 
son  Andrew  (whom  he  appoints  his  executor),  his 
son  Jonathan  (chief  justice  of  Nova  Scotia),  aud  his 
daughter  Sarah,  wife  of  Byefield  Lyde,  Esq. 

Joseph  Bonnel,  Esq.,  the  first  mayor  of  the  borough, 
died  in  the  winter  of  1748.  He  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Connecticut  Farms,  where,  in  the  grave- 
yard of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  his  remains  are 
buried.  A  monument  was  erected  over  the  grave 
with  this  inscription : 

"  Who  knew  him  living  must  lament  him  dead, 
Whose  corpse  beneath  Ibis  Verdant  Turf  is  laid. 
Bonnel,  in  Private  Life,  in  Public  Trust, 
Was  Wise  and  Kind,  was  Generous  and  Just. 
In  Virtue's  rigid  Path  unmoved  he  trod, 
To  Self  Impartial,  pious  to  bis  God. 
Relieion's  Patron,  and  a  Patriot  True, 
A  general  Good,  and  private  blessing  too. 
What  Bonnel  was,  and  what  his  Virtues  were. 
The  Resurrection  day  will  best  declare. 
Joseph  Bonnel,  Esq.,  deceased  March  y  14,  1747-8,  in  ye  63d  year  of 
his  age." 


CHAPTEE  XXVIL 

THE   CITY   OF  ELIZABETH. 

The  City  Charter.— The  first  charter  of  the  city 
of  Elizabeth  was  granted  March  13,  1855,  by  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey.  The  act  required  its 
submission  to  the  people  for  their  ratification  or  re- 
jection, which  being  done  at  a  special  election  in 
April  the  city  government  went  into  effect  on  the 
1st  of  May,  1855.  By  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  ap- 
proved March  4.  1863,  the  charter  was  revised  and 
enlarged  to  its  present  form,  conferring  upon  the  city 
the  highest  powers,  privileges,  and  immunities  usually 
accorded  to  such  muuicipalities. 

"With  this  change  in  its  government  the  ancient 
town,  until  then  of  slow  but  steady  growth,  entered 
upon  a  career  of  rapidly-increasing  prosperity.  That 
portion  of  its  territory  which  lay  beyond  a  northwest 
line  running  from  the  mouth  of  Morse's  Creek  to  the 
Galloping  Hill  road,  comprising  two  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-three  acres,  was  set  oft' to  the  town- 
ship of  Linden  in  February,  1861.  A  small  portion 
had  also  been  lost  on  the  north  in  the  erection  of 
Union  County  in  1857  ;  so  that  the  city  now  scarcely 
contains  a  tenth  part  of  the  area  of  the  old  borough 
in  the  days  of  the  Revolution.  .  .  .■  But  what  is  lost 
in  extent  is  more  than  made  good  by  compactness. 

"  The  opening  of  the  New  .Jersey  Railroad,  and  sub- 
sequently of  the  New  Jersey  Central,  with  its  noble 
bridge  spanning  Newark  Bay  and  connecting  the  city 
directly  with  New  York, — an  accomplishment  both 
feared  and  ridiculed  some  sixty  years  since  by  the 


/^^y^^^^^^--'^^-^'' 


Robert  W.  Townley  was  born  at  Springfield,  N.  J.,  on  July 
13, 1813,  and  was  the  eldest  son  of  Richard  and  Hannah  (Wade) 
Townlej.  His  father  was  a  man  of  great  force  of  character, 
energetic  and  industrious,  and  passed  his  life  as  a  farmer  near 
Elizabeth,  where  several  successive  generations  of  the  family 
resided.  The  line  of  descent  of  the  Townley  family  is  trace- 
able back  to  an  honorable  origin  in  the  mother-country,  Eng- 
land, as  far  as  the  days  of  William  the  Conijueror.  Col. 
Richard  Townley,  the  eighth  son  of  Nicholas  Townley,  of  Lit- 
tleton, England,  and  of  Joanna  White,  of  Northam,  Sussex 
Co.,  England,  took  up  his  abode  at  Elizabeth  as  early  as  1684, 
where  he  occupied  high  social  position,  and  filled  many  offices 
of  trust  and  responsibility.  In  IBSi  he  married  Elizabeth, 
widow  of  Governor  Philip  Carteret.  He  was  made  one  of  Lord 
Neil  Campbell's  Council  in  October,  IfiSC,  and  in  the  Revohitiou 
of  1688-89  adhered  to  the  Stuart  dynasty.  In  1692,  though  a 
resident  of  New  Jersey,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Council  of 
Governor  Fletcher,  of  New  York,  and  in  1697  one  of  the  Earl 
of  Belmont's  Council.  He  was  a  useful,  energetic  citizen,  and 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  April,  1711,  was  presiding  judge  of 
the  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions.  Almost  wholly  by  his  means 
St.  John's  Church  was  gathered  soon  after  the  beginning  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  his  own  house  having  been  the  home  of  the 
first  Ejjiscopal  missionaries,  and  the  place  where  the  services 
of  the  church  were  held.  The  church  lot  was  his  gift,  and  he 
was  the  principal  contributor  toward  the  building  of  the  church 
edifice. 

The  earlier  years  of  Robert  W.  Townley  were  passed  upon 
his  father's  farm,  where  he  received  a  common-school  education 
at  a  neighboring  district  school.     Subsequently  he  enjoyed  a 
classical  course  of  two  years  in  Elizabeth.     In  1828  he  entered    i 
a  general  country  store  in  that  place  as  a  clerk,  and  a  few  years 
later  embarked  in  business  on  his  own  account.     He  continued    j 
in  trade  at  Elizabeth  until  1841),  when  he  followed  his  brother, 
James  W.  Townley,  to  the  West,  and  with  him  located  at  Fort 
Wayne,  Ind.,  then  in  its  infancy,  where  he  became  one  of  the    , 
pioneer  settlers  of  a  section  of  that  State  which  was  then  largely    I 


inhabited  by  Indians.  He  engaged  actively  in  trade  at  Fort 
Wayne  until  1859,  when  he  returned  to  Elizabeth  to  reside,  re- 
taining his  business  interests,  however,  at  Fort  Wayne  until 
1870. 

From  the  time  of  Mr.  Townley's  return  to  his  native  county 
he  took  an  active  interest  in  all  matters  relating  to  its  material 
and  social  growth,  and  in  the  city  of  Elizabeth  he  was  known 
as  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  useful  citizens.  Possessed  of 
great  determination  of  character,  inflexible,  earnest  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  duties  imposed  upon  hira  in  both  the  private 
and  public  walks  of  life,  he  identified  himself  closely  with  the 
development  of  the  community  in  which  he  resided.  During 
the  trying  days  of  tlie  great  Rebellion  he  supjiorted  the  Union 
cause  with  both  his  influence  and  purse,  and  ac^tively  assisted 
in  the  raising  and  fitting  out  of  the  troops  furnished  by  his 
city. 

Buring  the  years  1872  and  1873  he  was  a  member  of  the 
City  Council  of  Elizabeth,  and  in  1874  was  elected  mayor  of  the 
city,  and  re-elected  in  1875  and  1S76.  He  performed  the  duties 
of  the  chief  magistracy  with  ability  and  faithfulness,  and  amid 
the  municipal  corruption  of  the  period  earned  the  approbation  of 
all  honest  and  fair-minded  citizens  by  the  rigorous  discharge  of 
his  executive  duties.  Aside  from  politics  he  was  closely  identi- 
fied with  various  local  institutions  in  Elizabeth,  was  a  member 
of  the  board  of  directors  and  vice-president  of  the  State  Na- 
tional Bank,  and  connected  with  other  local  enterprises.  He 
was  a  member  and  liberal  supporter  of  the  AVestminster 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  contributed  freely  of  his  means  to 
other  evangelical  and  eleemosynary  purjioscs.  He  passed  away 
on  Oct.  20, 1S80,  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy-seven  years,  leaving 
to  his  family  an  ample  competency  honestly  earned,  and  the 
richer  legacy  of  a  good  name  acquired  by  the  consistent  ]>rac- 
tice  of  those  moral  and  social  virtues  which  all  admire  and  few 
emulate.  His  widow,  iile  Eliza  II.,  daughter  of  J.  J.  Baldwin, 
of  Newark,  N.  J.,  occupies  the  family  homestead  on  North 
Broad  Street.  His  daughter,  Abl)y  Baldwin  Townley,  is  the 
wife  of  Edward  P.  Williams,  of  Fort  Wayne,  Ind. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


185 


Newark  people, — gave  a  great  impulse  to  business 
here,  and  made  the  city  still  more  desirable  as  a  place 
of  residence.  The  tract  of  land  bordering  on  the  bay, 
extending  from  what  was  so  long  known  as  the  Old 
Point  to  De  Hart's  Point  on  the  north,  as  soon  as  it 
became  the  railroad  terminus, — but  it  was  for  many 
years,  and  still  continues  to  be  to  some  extent,  for 
freight, — at  once  increased  rapidly  in  value,  in  busi- 
ness, and  in  population.  It  is  the  dejiot  of  a  large 
commerce,  and  has  already  a  numerous  shipping 
list. 

"Almost  immediately  afterthe  adoption  of  the  city 
charter  old  farms  were  brought  into  the  market,  laid 
out  into  city  lots,  and  met  with  a  ready  sale.  The  late 
Edward  N.  Kellogg,  who  died  in  New  York  Jan.  8, 
1867,  aged  fifty-one,  bought  about  three  hundred 
acres  of  what  was  formerly  known,  mostly,  as  '  Wood- 
ruff's Farms,'  laid  it  out  in  streets  and  parks,  and 
offered  it  to  purchasers.  His  example  was  followed 
by  Messrs.  P.  B.  Amory,  Benjamin  Harris,  and  others, 
effecting  thus  a  wonderful  transformation  in  the  north- 
ern part  of  the  city.  A  similar  change  has  been 
brought  about  both  on  the  west  and  south  of  the  city. 
Neat  and  attractive  cottages,  spacious  warehouses, 
extensive  manufactories,  and  elegant  mansions  have 
sprung  up  on  every  road  with  remarkable  celerity. 
...  A  thorough  system  of  paving,  sewering,  and 
lighting  the  streets"  was  inaugurated  in  connection 
TPith  other  improvements  calculated  to  render  the 
city  a  healthy  and  desirable  place  of  residence. 
Great  facilities  for  locomotion  were  also  introduced 
by  means  of  horse-railroads  on  the  principal  thor- 
oughfares. A  spacious  edifice  of  brick,  occupied  on 
the  first  floor  as  a  market,  and  on  the  second  as  a  city 
hall,  costing  eighty  thousand  dollars,  took  the  place 
of  the  old  Adelphian  Academy,  at  the  junction  of 
Market  Street  and  Elizabeth  Avenue.  A  plentiful 
supply  of  gas  and  water,  with  miles  of  paved  streets, 
and  well-flagged  crossings  and  sidewalks,  aftbrd  the 
inhabitants  all  the  advantages  of  city  life. 

The  multiplication  of  churches  and  schools  has 
kept  pace  with  the  population.  The  number  of 
churches  and  missions  in  the  city  is  thirty-five,  while 
the  schools,  public,  private,  and  parochial,  are  nu- 
merous. Elsewhere  will  be  found  the  statistics  of 
the  schools  and  a  history  of  each  of  the  churches,  ex- 
cept perhaps  a  few  of  the  most  recently  formed. 

The  population  of  Elizabeth  in  1830  was  3455;  in 
1840  it  had  reached  only  4184;  in  1850  it  was  5583 ; 
in  1860  it  amounted  to  11,561 ;  in  1865,  with  a  re- 
duced area,  it  was  17,383  ;  in  1870  it  had  increased  to 
25,000,  while  during  the  next  decade  about  three 
thousand  more  were  added,  making  the  present  popu- 
lation fully  28,000.  The  greatest  ratio  of  increase 
was  between  1865  and  1870. 

From  the  city  comptroller's  report  of  Jan.  3,  1881, 
it  appears  that  the  receipts  of  the  city  from  all  sources 
for  1880  were  .S312,089.19,  which  added  to  a  balance 
on  hand,  Jan.  1,  1880,  of  $16,028.79,  niakes  the  total 


sum  of  §328,117.98.  The  expenditures  for  the  same 
time,  leaving  a  balance  on  Jan.  1. 1881,  of  $75,565.91, 
were  $252,552.07.  In  order  that  the  various  interests 
of  the  city  for  which  this  money  was  expended  may 
appear,  we  give  the  items  as  follows : 

PAYMENTS  IN  1880. 

Board  of  Hpiilth g2,5:l3.97             ' 

Stret'ts  und  ))i>;liWHy8 5.:^8-t.l2 

Fire  Department 3,-.;71.29 

L:cnips  ;inil  gas Ill.'lti8.83 

Walei-  aud  hydrants 3,644  52 

Pi'i'''"g 711.11 

Sewers  and  liH«in8 1,283  95 

Pul.lie  srl.oolB 6(1,283.16 

Pnliljc  grounds  and  huildings 2,470.86 

S"laries 8,lil)1.88 

Police  Department 16,1176.00 

Poor  and  alms 9  517.13 

Tax  a8ses>ni« 3,1*1.55 

Crnss-walks |7.56 

Conliiii-ent  fund 5,920  19 

Tax  arrears 100.00 

Pul.lic  niirket  479  :iO 

Distiict  Court  2,525.00 

Slate  and  cmity  taxes 98,426  28 

PrintiUK  Iif't  unpaid  taxes .11,020.80 

Bonds  for  assessment 21,9.i3.57 

$-252,,'i.i2.07 
Balance  on  band  Jan.  1,  1881 75,5(15.91 

5328,117,98 
CITY  DEBT. 

The  city  debt  at  this  date  is  as  follows : 

Consolidated  improvement  bonds 82,432,000  00 

Funded  d.bt  lunnls 73I,liOiiloO 

Funded  as.<eBsnient  l.onds 698,000.00 

Cit,v  improvement  lunds 2.50,.' 00.00 

Tax-anearajielionds 24!',(JUo'.00 

SclioiiMiouse  lionds 90,iKHl.oo 

Markel-liouse  bonds 66  000.00 

Ahnsliouse  l.onds 5,00(i.00 

■  Temporary  loans 828,291.33 

Cuntracls  and  awards 18.H84.40 

Unpaid  bills  1879  and  1880,  estimated 76,000.00 

85,435,475.73 

To  meet  the  above  we  have  on  our  books : 

Unpaid  assessments 8l,7l4,fi(>.ij.82 

Tax  anears 170.2.5348 

Unpaid  taxes  of  1876 5447571 

"      1877 57;9i2!66 

"      1878 102,95147 

"      18"9 61,710  42 

"      1880 94,841,44 

City  bonds 92,li((OO0 

Cash 75,56501 

$2,424,406,91 

Although  this  debt  is  at  present  a  serious  hindrance 
to  the  progress  of  the  city,  the  improvements  which 
it  represents  remain  a  sukstantial  benefit.  It  is 
hoped  that  the  time  will  soon  come  when  some  satis- 
factory settlement  may  be  made  of  it,  so  that  the 
usual  enterprise  and  prosperity  of  the  city  may  be 
resumed.  This  is  all  that  is  wanting  to  give  a  future 
to  Elizabeth  quite  a.s  promising  as  that  of  any  of  the 
other  cities  of  the  State.  The  situation  for  manufac- 
tories is  unsurpassed,  the  shipping  and  transportation 
facilities  abundant,  the  means  of  access  to  any  part  of 
the  great  country,  east,  west,  north,  or  south,  as  ad- 
vantageous as  that  of  the  metropolis  itself,  there  not 
being  an  hour  in  the  day  when  a  train  on  one  or  the 
other  of  the  great  railroads  may  not  be  taken  for  any 
place  to  which  it  is  desirable  to  go.  Being  within  a 
few  minutes'  ride  of  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the 
best  ordered  and  safest  roads  in  the  country,  it  offers 
great  inducements  for  residence  to  men  doino-  busi- 


186 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIP]S,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ness  in  that  city,  who  will  find  ample  church  facili- 
ties, good  society,  and  good  schools,  things  which  are 
among  the  most  essential  requisites  of  the  life  which 
every  true  American  seeks  for  himself  and  family. 
If  we  cannot  add  the  prediction  with  which  the  ven- 
erable Dr.  Hatfield  closes  his  history  of  the  old 
borough,  that  "  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  every 
available  building  lot  within  the  present  bounds  of 
the  city  will  be  occupied,  when  a  large  proportion  of 
its  meadow  land,  now  flooded  occasionally  by  the  sea, 
will  be  reclaimed,  and  the  humble  settlement  of  1664 
will  become  one  of  the  fairest  and  most  prosperous 
cities  of  the  land,  the  home  of  wealth,  intelligence, 
refinement,  and  true  religion,"  we  may  at  least  in- 
dulge in  the  hope  that  all  these  things  may  be. 

We  give  below  a  list  of  the  principal  city  officers 
since  the  adoption  of  the  charter : 


May  I, 
May  1, 
May  1, 

May  1, 

Jan.  1, 
Jan. 1, 
Jan. 1, 
Jan.  1, 
Jan.  1, 
Jan.  1, 


to  May  1, 1860, 
to  May  1, 1861, 
to  May  1,  1862, 
to  Jan.  1, 1871, 
to  Jan.  1,  1S73, 
to  .Ian.  1,  1876, 
to  Jan.  1,1878, 
to  Jan.  1, 1879, 
to  Jan.  1,1880, 
to  Jan.  1,1882, 
Seth  B.  Byder. 


MAYORS. 
Elias  Darby. 
James  Jenkins. 
James  B.  Burnet. 
Pbilip  Grier. 
Francis  B.  Chetnood. 
William  A.  Coursen. 
Robert  W.  Townley. 
James  S.  Green. 
Robert  W.  Townley. 
Peter  Bennett. 


CITY   CLERKS. 


May  1, 1855,  to  June  2,  1850,  William  M.  Whitehead. 
June  2, 1856,  to  May  1, 1860,  Apollos  M.  Elmer. 
May  1, 1860,  to  Jan.  1, 1875,  Jacob  Seiple. 
Jan.  1,  1875,  to  Jan.  1,  1882,  William  R.  Coleman. 

CITY  TBBASUREBS. 
May  1, 1855,  to  May  1,  1865,  Archibald  S.  Woodruff. 
May  1, 1866,  to  May  1, 1866,  William  P.  Thompson. 
May  1, 1866,  to  May  1,  1872,  Archibald  S.  Woodruff. 
Sept.  2,  1872,  to  Jan.  1, 1874,  William  W.  Pinneo. 
Jan.  19, 1874,  to  Sept.  8,  1874,  Thomas  Carlton. 
July  13, 1874,  to  Sept.  8, 1874,  Alfred  De  Witt. 
Sept.  8, 1874,  to  March  31, 1880,  William  D.  Bruen. 
March  31, 1880,  to  Jan.  1, 1883,  Charles  C.  Stevenson. 

COMPTROLLEKS. 
June  12, 1872,  to  March  1,  1875,  Henry  Aiken. 
March  1,  1876,  to  March  31,  1880,  Thomas  B.  Leggett. 
March  31,  1880,  to  April,  1883,  Samuel  D.  Bowers. 

Elizabethtown  Water  Company.— In  1854,  one 
year  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  city  charter,  a 
number  of  persons  whose  names  are  mentioned  below, 
seeing  the  necessity  of  an  abundant  supply  of  water, 
not  only  for  the  city  but  for  the  manufacturing  inter- 
ests that  might  be  induced  to  locate  in  the  vicinity, 
procured  from  the  Legislature  an  act  of  incorporation, 
constituting  them  a  body  politic  and  corporate  under 
the  name  and  style  of  the  Elizabethtown  Water  Com- 
pany. The  names  of  the  incor|)orators  are  Francis 
B.  Chetwood,  Francis  Harris,  Jr.,  John  D.  Norris, 
George  R.  Chetwood,  Reuben  Van  Pelt,  Keen  Pur- 
den,  John  Kean,  John  H.  Rolston,  Cyrus  Manvel, 
and  all  other  persons  who  might  afterwards  be  asso- 
ciated with  them  for  the  purpose  named  in  the  char- 


ter. The  act  constituted  nine  stockholders  a  board 
of  directors  for  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  the 
company.  The  capital  stock  was  placed  at  S200,000, 
or  8000  shares  at  $25  each,  afterwards  reduced  to 
$144,000. 

The  supply  of  water  is  drawn  from  a  receiving 
reservoir  called  Lake  Ursino,  formed  by  a  dam 
thrown  across  the  Elizabeth  River  at  Parker  road, 
about  one  mile  from  the  city.  At  this  point  the 
largest  pump  is  stationed,  and  is  driven  by  a  turbine 
water-wheel.  There  are  two  other  pumps  driven  by 
steam  located  near  the  pumping  basin.  The  receiv- 
ing reservoir  has  a  capacity  of  a  hundred  million 
gallons  ;  the  high  service  reservoir,  at  the  corner  of 
Chilton  and  West  Grand  Streets,  has  a  capacity  of 
about  six  million  gallons;  and  the  pumping  basin, 
on  Westfield  Avenue,  has  a  capacity  of  about  two 
million  gallons.  This  latter  is  provided  with  a  large 
filter  in  the  centre,  through  which  all  the  water  for 
the  city  passes.  The  company  has  about  forty  miles 
of  street  mains,  which  run  to  Elizabethport  and  sup- 
ply the  manufacturing  interests  there,  including  the 
Singer  Sewing  Machine  Works,  Central  Railroad 
shops,  etc.  The  cost  of  these  works  was  about  one 
million  dollars. 

The  present  officers  of  the  company  are  William 
Stiles,  President ;  G.  M.  Ross,  Secretary  and  Treas- 
urer; William  Whelan,  Superintendent;  L.  B.  Bat- 
tin,  Engineer. 

We  subjoin  the  following  analysis  of  the  water, 
from  a  report  made  by  Torrey  &  Eaton,  chemists, 
New  York  : 

"  30  Wall  Steeet,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  7, 1873. 
"  To  the  Elizabethlown  Water  Cojnpany  : 

"Gentlemen, — The  following  is  our  report  upon  the  sample  of  water 
taken  from  the  distributing  reservoir  of  your  company  at  Elizabeth, 
N.  J.,  Monday  morning,  Sept.  22,  1873. 

"  Five  gallons  of  the  water  were  taken  from  the  centre  of  the  resell 
voir  and  sealed  in  our  presence  by  L.  B.  Battiu,  engineer,  and  sent  to 
the  United  States  a£say  laboratory,  where  the  examiuation  was  promptly 
undertaken. 

'*Tbe  total  solid  residue  was  3.6  grains  United  States  standard  gallon 
(of  58,372.5  grains) ;  loss  by  ignition,  1.6  grains  per  gallon,  consisting  of 
organic  matter  and  carbonic  acid. 

'■  Its  hardness  is  very  slight,  being  equivalent  to  nearly  1.5  grains  of 
carbonate  of  lime  per  gallon.  Chlorine  present,  calculated  as  chloride 
of  sodium,  gave  1.2  grains  per  gallon. 

"The  ammonia  and  nitrogenous  organic  matter  were  determined  by 
the  Nessler  test  of  Wauklyn  and  Chapman,  which  is  the  latest,  and  be- 
lieved by  most  chemists  to  be  the  best  method  in  use.  Free  ammonia 
was  .(K)07  grain  in  the  one  gallon,  or  .012  pans  in  1,(X)0,000.  Albumin- 
oid organic  matter  .017  grain  in  one  gallon,  or  3  parts  in  1,000,000. 

'*  A  comparison  by  means  of  the  permanganate  method  was  made  be- 
tween the  Elizabeth  aucl  Crotou  water,  which  was  quite  favorable  to  the 
former.    It  contains  1-6  less  of  oxidizable  organic  matter. 

"The  water  wiis  tested  for  arsenic,  lead,  and  copper,  but  no  trace  waa 
detected  of  any  of  these  ii^urious  substances. 

"  As  the  result  of  the  above  examination  we  give  it  as  our  opinion  that 
there  are  no  metallic  poisons  that  can  possibly  be  detrimental  to  the 
health  of  the  citizens  of  Elizabeth,  nor  does  the  organic  matter  exist  in 
sulhcient  quantity  to  indicate  the  presence  of  any  ii^urious  amount  of 
sewerage. 

"And,  further,  we  see  no  objection  to  its  use  in  steam  boilers,  or  for 
general  manufacturing  purposes. 

"Yours  respectfully, 

"  TOBKEY    &    E.\TOX." 


THE    CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


187 


Table  of  Impi'rities  contained  in  One  Gallon  (or    68,318  Chains), 

Inorganic  Volatile 

City.                                                              matter,  and  organic  Total, 
niatt<4r. 

Elizabeth 2.00  1.5  3  5 

NewYorlt 4.11  0.67  4.78 

Brooklyn 3.37  0.59  3.92 

Jersey  City 4.58  2.86  7.44 

Philadelphia 2.30  1.20  3.50 

Boston  2.40  0.71  3.11 

Syracuse 12.13  l.SO  13.93 

Rochester 12  02  1.23  13.2.'i 

London 1.5.56  0.83  16.38 

Paris 7.83  1.00  8.83 

Amount  of  Solid  Matter  required  to  ren- 
der Drinking-Water  unwholesome. — The  drink- 
ing-water of  the  city  of  London  contains  15.55  grains 
per  gallon.  This  seem.s  like  an  amount  sufficient  to 
make  the  water  unfit  for  use,  and  yet  it  has  been 
shown  conclusively  that  even  forty  grains  to  the  gallon 
would  not  do  the  slightest  injury  to  any  person  drink- 
ing such  water.  In  view  of  this  the  amount  of  solid 
matter  present  in  our  water  can  very  safely  be  disre- 
garded. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE    CITY    OF    EhlZMiETH.— (Continue,!.) 

Educational.— The  Old  Academy. — In  the  au- 
tumn of  1700,  Messrs.  Tapping  Reeve  and  Ebenezer 
Pemberton  opened  a  grammar  school  in  Elizabeth 
Town.  Mr.  Reeve  was  afterwards  the  son-in-law  of 
President  Burr,  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and 
became  principal  of  the  celebrated  law-school  of 
Litchfield,  Conn.  iTe  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Abner 
Reeve,  and  was  born  at  Fire  Place,  Brookhaven,  L.  I., 
Oct.  17,  1744.  He  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1763, 
and  shortly  after  was  employed  by  Mr.  Timothy  Ed- 
wards, of  Elizabeth  Town,  as  a  private  tutor  to  the 
children  of  his  deceased  sister,  Mrs.  Burr,  and  so  be- 
came a  member  of  tlie  Edwards  family. 

Ebenezer  Pemberton  was  the  sou  of  Rev.  Ebenezer 
Pemberton,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  York,  where  he  was  born  in  1746. 
In  1753  the  family  removed  to  Boston,  but  the  father 
still  retaining  his  love  for  the  College  of  New  Jersey, 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders,  sent  his  son  to 
Princeton  to  be  educated,  where  with  his  classmates, 
Jonathan  Edwards,  Robert  and  Jonathan  Ogden,  he 
graduated  in  1765.  Jonathan  Edwards  being  a  brother 
of  Timothy,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  the  two  Ogdeus 
being  also  of  this  place,  it  is  easy  to  see  how  their 
classmate,  young  Pemberton,  was  drawn  here,  and 
became  associated  with  Mr.  Reeve  in  the  school. 

As  was  to  have  been  expected  the  school  succeeded, 
and  in  March,  1767,  Reeve  and  Pemberton,  masters 
of  the  grammar  school  in  Elizabeth  Town,  "inform 
the  public  that  they  continue  to  teach  the  Greek  and 
Latin  languages,"  and  that  "  a  commodious  House  is 
provided  in  the  Centre  of  the  Town  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  a  large  School."  It  was  also  announced 
that   "  Gentlemen   of  Education    in  the   Town    will 


frequently  visit  the  School."  The  terms  were  five 
pounds  per  annum,  and  twenty  .shillings  entrance  for 
tuition.  Board  to  be  had  in  good  families  for  twenty 
pounds  a  year. 

The  better  to  accommodate  this  school  and  to  give 
it  permanency,  a  number  of  well-disposed  citizens 
subscribed  seventy  pounds,  payable  to  the  trustees  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  trust  for  the  building  of 
a  school-house  where  the  said  trustees  should  order. 
This  was  accepted  Aug.  24,  1767,  and  it  was  ordered : 

"That  a  proper  House  be  erected  on  the  uppermost  end  of  the  Burial 
Yard  Lot  Under  the  Care  of  Messrs.  [Wm.  P.]  Smitli  &  Spinning  of  this 
Board  and  D'  M"  Barnet  &  Nehemiah  Wade  of  the  congregation." 

Any  deficiencies,  should  the  subscriptions  made  or 
to  be  made  prove  inadequate,  were  to  be  paid  out  of 
Mr.  Joseph  Ogden's  legacy  of  £100. 

"  Voted  That  the  Rey<i  D'  M'  Caldwei:,  Mess"  John  Clietwood,  Tim- 
othy Edwards,  &  Elias  Boudinot  &  W"  P.  Smith  be  requested  to  under- 
take the  Business  of  Visiting  the  8*^  Grammar  School  during  the  first 
year,  .  .  .  once  a  Quarter  or  oftener  if  they  think  proper." 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  academy  that  formerly 
occupied  the  site  of  the  lecture-room  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  that  was  destroyed  by  the  torch 
of  the  enemy  Feb.  25,  1779.  It  was  built  of  wood 
with  a  cupola.  Mr.  Pemberton  left  the  school  in  the 
spring  for  a  tutorship  at  Princeton,  and  Mr.  Reeve  in 
the  autumn  of  1769.  They  were  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Joseph  Periam  (born  in  1742),  a  graduate  of  the  Col- 
lege of  New  Jersey  in  1762,  and  "distinguished  by  a 
profound  acquaintance  with  mathematics  and  natural 
philosophy."  The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Spring,  who 
formed  his  acquaintance  at  Princeton,  "  could  never 
mention  his  name  without  admiration."  In  1765  he 
was  tutor  of  the  college  ;  also  in  1767  and  1768.  The 
intermediate  year  was  occupied  with  the  care  of  a 
school  at  Princeton.  Mr.  Periam  continued  in  charge 
of  the  school  in  this  town  for  two  years.  In  1772-73 
he  studied  theology  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bellamy,  of 
Bethlehem,  Conn.;  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York  in  1774,  but  the  license  was  withdrawn 
in  1775  ;  was  appointed  in  1776  quartermaster  of  the 
First  Battalion  (Col.  Ogden's)  of  the  Jersey  Brigade; 
resumed  the  charge  of  the  academy  June  1,  1778, 
where  he  continued  until  his  death,  which  occurred 
suddenly  Sunday  morning,  Oct.  8,  1780.' 


1  Ti-ustecs' Book.  Dr.  Spring's  Reminiscences,  i.  13;  ii.  234-36.  Holt's 
N.  T.  Journal,  No.  1240.  N.  J.  Gazette,  No.  26.  N.  J.  Journal,  Nob. 
83,  86.  Rev.  Jed.  Chapman,  of  "  Newark  Mountains,"  Aug.  14,  1772, 
writes  to  Rev.  Dr.  Bellamy  as  follows:  "I  have  just  an  opportunity  to 
write  a  line  by  Mr.  Periam,  who  was  formeily  a  tutor  at  Prince  Town 
CoUedge;  he  is  a  very  ingenious  young  gentleman — I  trust  a  truly 
humble  and  pious  Christian ;  one  whom  I  greatly  love  and  esteem;  a 
steady  zealous  friend  to  truth.  He  comes  with  the  design  to  spend 
some  time  in  the  study  of  divinity  with  you,  and  I  trust  upon  acquaint- 
ance with  him  you  will  be  pleased  and  think  it  of  great  imfiortance  to 
encourage  and  forward  him."  Dr.  Bellamy  writes  to  his  son,  Feb.  6, 
1773,  "  Mr.  Periam  has  become  a  very  serious  man  since  you  saw  him." 
Proceedings  of  N.  Y.  His.  Soc,  vi.  175.  His  license  was  withdrawn, 
probably  because  of  bis  advocacy  of  the  visionary  immaterialistic  theory 
of  Bishop  Berkeley,  with  which  he  was  greatly  enraptured.  His  widow, 
Elizabeth,  also  born  in  1742,  survived  until  April  5,  1803.  Their  son 
Joseph  was  for  many  years  a  successful  teacher  in  this  town. 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Mr.  Francis  Barber  took  charge  of  the  school  Nov. 
1,  1771,  and  continued  in  this  service  until  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war.  Mr.  Samuel  Baldwin,  of 
Newark,  who  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1770  (with 
Messrs.  John  C.  Ogden  and  Matthias  Williamson,  of 
this  town),  being  then  only  sixteen  years  of  age,  was 
shortly  after  appointed  an  usher,  probably  after  Mr. 
Barber  took  the  charge.  Alexander  Hamilton,  then 
a  lad  of  fourteen,  from  the  West  Indies,  was  at  this 
time  one  of  the  pupils.  Mr.  Baldwin  lived  until  the 
year  1850.' 

A  lottery  was  authorized  for  the  rebuilding  of  the 
academy,  as  also  the  court-house  and  jail,  in  1789. 
The  sum  to  be  raised  was  $2500.  It  was  proposed  to 
sell  13,800  tickets,  of  which  7472  were  to  be  prizes  of 
from  two  to  five  dollars  each.  The  lottery  was  to  be 
drawn  in  three  classes,  one  dollar  for  the  first,  two 
dollars  for  the  second,  and  four  dollars  for  third  class 
of  tickets.  The  managers  were  Jonathan  H.  Law- 
rence and  Elias  B.  Dayton.  The  affairs  of  the  lottery 
continued  iu  hand  for  more  than  twelve  years  before 
the  accounts  were  finally  settled  and  disposed  of 
The  academy,  however,  was  built  and  opened  for 
pupils  on  the  1st  of  June,  1789.  Mr.  Patrick  Mur- 
dock,a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  wlio 
had  been  a  teacher  for  several  years  at  Wilmington, 
Del.,  took  charge  of  the  Latin  school,  and  Mr.  Luther 
Halsey  of  the  English  department. 

The  trustees  were  Rev.  David  Austin,  president; 
Governor  William  Livingston,  Judge  John  Chetwood, 
Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  John  De  Hart,  Aaron  Ogden, 
Matthias  Williamson,  and  George  Ross.  In  Novem- 
ber, 1790,  Mr.  Murdock  was  succeeded  by  Col.  John 
Taylor,  subsequently  professor  in  LTnion  College,  New 
York.  Board  was  to  be  had  for  twenty  pounds  in 
good  families,  and  tuition  was  five  pounds  a  year.- 

Col.  Taylor  was  succeeded  by  Samuel  C.  Blackman 
(Yale,  1793),  and  he,  in  September,  1796,  by  Henry 
James  Feltus,  a  young  Methodist  exhorter,  who  had 
come  over  in  1795  from  England,  afterwards  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Feltus,  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  New  York.  He 
had  charge  of  the  academy  for  two  years,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded, in  1798,  by  James  Steven.son,  of  Morristown, 
and  he,  in  1799,  by  David  Young  (Yale,  1798),  famous 
in  subsequent  years  for  his  astronomical  calculations. 
He  gave  place,  in  1801,  to  Edmund  D.  Barry,  of  Trin- 
ity College,  Dublin,  "an  exile  of  Erin,"  well  known 
in  after-years  .as  the  Rev.  E.  D.  Barry,  D.D.  (Episco- 
pal), and  a  most  successful  teacher.  His  successor  in 
1803  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Lilly,  of  St.  John's  Church. 
To  him  succeeded,  in  1806,  Henry  Mills  (C.  N.  J., 
1802),  afterwards  the  Rev.  H.  Mills,  D.D.  (Presbyte- 
rian), of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  New  York. 
William  Belden  (Yale,  1803)  followed,  till  1812,  long 

1  TnisteeB'  Book.    Proreedinge  of  N.  J.  II.  Sor.,  ii. 

2  N.  J.  Juurnnl,  Nos.  29i,  3:ii,  :i69.  The  f.ill..\viTiK  niiiiouncenient  ap- 
peared in  thf  N.J.  Juurnnl  of  Aug.  1, 1787  :  "  Moiidiiy  (.Inly  31))  un  hand- 
some edifice  W}iA  reared  in  this  town  to  be  devoted  to  the  cultivation  of 

.  It  ia  to  be  denondnated  the  Elizabeth  Town  Academy." 


a  successful  public-school  teacher  in  New  York.  He 
w,is  followed,  in  1812-13,  by  Edward  Allen  (C.  N.  J., 
1815),  and  again,  lSl.5-17.  He  has  been  a  most  use- 
ful Presbyterian  minister  more  than  half  a  century. 
Moses  Smith,  previously  of  Hudson,  N.  Y.,  followed 
in  1817.^ 

YottngLadie.s'Semixary.— A  youngladies' school 
was  commenced  in  April,  1789,  by  Anne  Williams,  in 
the  house  opposite  John  Blanchard's.  A  similar 
school  was  opened  May  1,  1791,  by  Madame  Capron, 
a  French  lady,  in  wliich  the  French  language,  French 
manners,  and  French  accomplishments  were  taught. 
It  was  the  period  of  the  French  Revolution,  and  it 
was  all  the  fashion  then  to  shout  for  the  French  Re- 
public and  fraternize  with  French  democracy.  Mons. 
St.  Aivre  was  her  dancing-master,  under  whose  au- 
spices a  ball  was  given  at  Wales'  Tavern  Sept.  7, 1791, 
and  another  October  13th,  "  when  sixteen  young 
ladies  performed  bow  dance,  the  minuet  de  la  cour, 
la  gavotte,  and  Allemande."  Mons.  Dillon  succeeded 
6im  the  following  year.  In  the  spring  of  1799, 
Messrs.  Mitchell,  Nugent,  and  Dupot  each  opened  a 
dancing-school  in  the  borough. 

A  Medical  School  was  opened  here  in  1790. 
Dr.  Paul  Micheau,  of  Richmond,  Staten  Island,  who 
had  commenced  practice  in  the  town  in  April,  1789, 
advertised  in  February,  1790,  a  complete  course  of 
medical  lectures,  to  be  given  at  4  p.m.,  from  May  10th 
to  July  25th,  charge  £5.  For  further  account  of  Dr. 
Micheau  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  chapter  on  the 
medical  profession  of  the  county. 

Thus  early  after  the  Revolution  the  town  began  to 
be  distinguished  for  its  institutions  of  learning.  Pains 
were  taken  to  secure  the  best  instructors  in  all  depart- 
ments of  knowledge,  many  of  whom  havinggraduated 
at  Princeton  became  considerably  noted  in  the  learned 
professions.  There  was  also  in  the  town  an  atmos- 
phere congenial  to  the  pursuit  of  science  and  letters, 
engendered  by  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of 
people  of  more  than  common  intelligence  and  ac- 
quirements. 

"  The  more  to  foster  this  spirit  a  library  associa- 
tion was  formed  early  iu  1792  for  the  circulation  of 
useful  books  and  the  elevation  of  the  tastes  of  the 
people.  A  similar  association  on  a  limited  scale  had 
existed  some  time  previously,  but  had  not  been  suc- 
cesstul.  The  constitution  of  the  new  association,  now 
extant,  is  subscribed  by  .Fohn  De  Hart,  Samuel 
Spraggs,  David  Austin,  James  Ricketts,  Matthias 
Williamson,  Jr.,  George  Ross,  Shepard  Kollnck,  Wil- 
liam Shute,  Job  Haiues,  Elias  B.  Dayton,  Jonathan 
H.  Lawrence,  Samuel  Smith,  Caleb  Halsted,  Jr., 
Aaron  Ogden,  Edward  Thomas,  Lewis  Woodruff, 
Jeremiah  Ballard,  Isaac  Morse,  William  Steele,  Jona- 
than Dayton,  Abraham  Clark,  Jr.,  John  Clarke,  Wil- 
liam Halsted,  John  Chetwood,  Jonathan  Wade,  Isaac 


3  N.  J.  Journal,  Nos.  C7(i,  769,  908,  944,  1U81!,  1209, 1483,  1736.    Fish'i 
St.  Ann's  Chh.,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  pp.  29-39. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


189 


H.  Williamson,  Matthias  H.  Williamson,  Horatio  R. 
Dayton,  Joseph  Lyon,  Jr.,  and  Cornelius  Blanchard. 
These  were  original  subscribers.  Other  names  were 
added  from  year  to  year.  George  Ross  was  chosen 
librarian ;  Elias  B.  Dayton,  treasurer ;  and  Messrs. 
David  Austin,  J.  Hampton  Lawrence,  Matthias  Wil- 
liamson, Jr.,  Jeremiah  Ballard,  and  Aaron  Ogden  a 
committee  for  the  choice  and  purchase  of  books.  In 
1794,  Isaac  H.  Williamson  was  chosen  librarian,  and 
in  1796,  Dr.  Abraham  Clark. 

The  town  at  this  period,  as  in  former  days,  contri- 
buted largely  to  the  influences  which  shaped  the  poli- 
tics of  the  State  and  nation.  It  was  rarely  the  case 
that  it  was  not  represented  in  the  State  Legislature. 
To  the  First  Congress  it  sent  the  Hon.  Elias  Boudinot, 
and  to  both  the  Second  and  the  Third  the  Hon.  Elias 
Boudinot,  Abraham  Clark,  and  Jonathan  Dayton,  all 
of  tliera  active  and  influential  members ;  while  from 
Feb.  26,  1801,  to  March  3,  1803,  both  the  senators 
from  New  Jersey,  Aaron  Ogden  and  Jonathan  Day- 
ton, were  from  Elizabeth  Town.  To  the  Fourth  and 
Fifth  Congresses  it  gave  a  Speaker  in  the  person  of 
the  Hon.  Jonathan  Dayton,  afterwards  senator  for 
six  years. 

Public  Schools. — The  Board  of  Education  of  the 
city  of  Elizabeth  was  incorporated  in  1873.  The 
number  of  schools  under  the  charge  of  the  board  is 
five. 

Public  School  No.  1  is  located  on  Third  Street, 
between  Fulton  and  East  Jersey  Streets.  The  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1855,  remodeled  in  1871,  and  altered 
in  1879,  and  is  divided  into  fifteen  class-rooms.  The 
first  and  second  floors  are  occupied  by  the  primary 
department,  and  have  ten  teachers.  The  third  floor 
is  occupied  by  the  grammar  and  high  school  depart- 
ments, and  have  seven  teachers.  The  teachers  em- 
ployed in  this  school  are  B.  Holmes,  principal, 
§1400  per  year ;  high  school  department,  Miss  S.  C. 
Martin,  vice-principal.  Miss  A.  E.  Fabens,  assistant; 
grammar  school  department.  Miss  S.  M.  Braun,  prin- 
cipal, Miss  J.  S.  Johnson,  Miss  C.  H.  Pierson,  Miss 
C.  Long ;  primary  department.  Miss  F.  T.  Maekey, 
principal.  Miss  S.  E.  Himmen,  Miss  L.  E.  Braun, 
Miss  J.  M.  Murdock,  Miss  E.  G.  Dederick,  Miss  E.  M. 
Metz,  Miss  J.  M.  Todd,  Miss  R.  B.  Steeb,  Miss  M.  E. 
Leveridge,  Miss  L.  B.  Robins. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  this  school 
during  the  year  is  1265.  The  present  number  on  roll 
is  819. 

The  average  daily  attendance  during  the  year  is 
7.S7. 

The  seating  capacity  of  the  school  is  as  follows : 
permanent  seats,  722  ;  temporary  seats,  119 ;  total,  841. 

Public  School  No.  2  is  located  on  Morrell  Street. 
This  building  was  erected  in  1858  and  altered  in  1880, 
and  is  divided  into  thirteen  cla.ss-rooms.  The  first 
floor  is  occupied  by  the  primary  department,  and  has 
six  teachers.  The  second  floor  is  occupied  by  the 
grammar  and  high  school  departments,  and  has  seven 
13 


teachers.  The  teachers  employed  in  this  are  N.  W. 
Pease,  principal,  $1400  per  year  ;  high  school  depart- 
ment. Miss  L.  H.  Sayre,  vice-principal.  Miss  F.  O. 
Crane,  Miss  B.  C.  Maekey;  grammar  department. 
Miss  A.  C.  Forsyth,  principal.  Miss  M.  J.  McNamara. 
Miss  Dumazeaud,  Miss  Lizzie  Allen  ;  primary  depart- 
ment. Miss  M.  A.  Clark,  principal.  Miss  M.  A.  Baker, 
Miss  Josie  Luster,  Miss  L.  A.  Dederick,  Miss  E.  B. 
Long,  Miss  A.  E.  Covell. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  this  school 
during  the  year  is  994.  The  present  number  on  roll 
is  678.  The  average  daily  attendance  during  the  year 
is  595.     The  seating  capacity  of  the  school  is  677. 

Public  School  No.  3  is  located  on  the  corner  of  Sec- 
ond Avenue  and  High  Street.  This  building  was 
erected  in  1872,  and  is  divided  into  ten  class-rooms, 
one  assembly-room,  and  one  reception-room.  The 
primary  department  occupies  the  first  floor,  and  has 
six  teachers.  The  grammar  department  occupies 
four  rooms  on  the  second  floor,  and  has  four  teach- 
ers. The  high  school  department  occupies  the  as- 
sembly-room on  the  second  floor,  and  is  tauglit  by 
the  principal  and  vice-principal.  The  teachers  em- 
ployed in  this  school  are  William  D.  Heyer,  i)rin- 
cipal,  $1400  per  year  ;  high  school  department.  Miss 
K.  M.  Warner,  vice-principal  ;  grammar  department. 
Miss  J.  A.  Ogden,  principal,  Miss  E.  G.  Seran,  Miss 
H.  E.  Fabens,  Miss  E.  A.  Cheney  ;  primary  depart- 
ment, Miss  K.  A.  Hughes,  principal.  Miss  S.  N.  Mc- 
Namara, Miss  M.  M.  Waters,  Miss  M.  E.  Loach, 
Miss  F.  R.  Harrington,  Miss  M.  E.  Smith. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  this  school 
during  the  year  is  1049.  The  present  number  on  roll 
is  523.  The  average  daily  attendance  during  the  year 
is  455.     The  seating  capacity  of  the  school  is  800. 

Public  School  No.  4  is  located  on  Catharine  Street, 
between  Ea.st  Grand  Street  and  the  Central  Railroad. 
This  building  has  not  been  used  for  school  purposes 
for  several  years.  On  the  first  day  of  June,  1880,  the 
building  was  leased  by  the  Board  of  Education  to  the 
African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  for  the  term  of 
one  year  and  ten  months,  on  the  following  terms  and 
conditions :  The  church  to  make  necessary  alterations 
and  repairs,  and  pay  the  sum  of  ten  dollars  for  the 
first  ten  months,  and  after  that  at  the  yearly  rent  or 
sum  of  fifty  dollars,  the  rent  to  be  paid  in  advance  at 
the  beginning  of  each  term. 

Public  School  No.  5  is  located  on  West  Jersey  Street, 
in  the  building  formerly  occupied  by  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  now  owned  by  Amos  Clark,  Jr.,  and  hired 
from  him  at  an  annual  rent  of  six  hundred  dollars. 
This  school  is  divided  into  five  class-rooms.  The 
teachers  employed  in  this  school  are  Miss  S.  P. 
Mulford,  Miss  E.  E.  Newcomb,  Mrs.  H.  L.  Magie, 
Mrs.  F.  A.  Hutchingson,  Miss  A.  M.  Piatt. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  this  school 
during  the  year  is  363.  The  present  number  on  roll 
is  202.  The  average  daily  attendance  during  the  year 
is  188.     The  seating  capacity  of  the  school  is  240. 


190 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Public  School  No.  6  is  located  on  Morris  Avenue 
near  the  city  line,  in  a  building  owned  by  Col.  John 
Kean,  and  hired  from  him  at  the  annual  rent  of  five 
hundred  dollars.  There  is  but  one  class-room  and 
two  recitation-rooms.  The  teachers  employed  in  this 
school  are  Miss  S.  M.  Stiles,  Miss  S.  S.  Chandler, 
Miss  M.  D.  Whitaker. 

The  whole  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  this  school 
during  the  year  is  290.  The  present  number  on  roll 
is  117.  The  average  daily  attendance  during  the  year 
is  92.     The  seating  capacity  of  the  school  is  128. 

The  total  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  day 
schools  during  the  year  is  3961.  The  total  number 
now  on  the  roll  in  the  day  schools  is  2339.  The 
total  average  daily  attendance  is  2067. 

Cemus  of  School  ('hildren. — The  number  of  school 
children  in  the  city  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
eighteen  years  is  7710,  viz..  First  Ward,  1513 ;  Sec- 
ond Ward,  1626;  Third  Ward,  1124;  Fourth  Ward, 
482;  Fifth  Ward,  1395;  Sixth  Ward,  451;  Seventh 
Ward,  430  ;  Eighth  Ward,  689.  The  schools  under 
the  charge  of  the  board  will  seat  2686  pupils. 

The  public  schools  of  Elizabeth,  although  unsur- 
passed in  quality  by  those  of  any  other  city  in  the 
State,  furnish  the  means  of  education  to  only  about 
thirty  per  cent,  of  the  school  population.  By  the 
census  of  1881  it  appears  that  the  whole  number  of 
children  in  the  city  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
eighteen  was  7710,  while  for  the  same  year  the  total 
number  of  seating  accommodations  in  all  the  public 
schools  was  2686.  The  number  enrolled  in  all  the 
schools  for  the  same  year  was  2339,  or  347  in  excess 
of  the  seating  capacity.  The  average  attendance, 
however,  of  2067  in  all  the  schools  during  the  year 
fell  below  the  seating  capacity  619.  The  difl'erence 
between  the  highest  enrollment  in  the  public  schools 
and  the  whole  number  of  children  of  school  age  is  5371. 
Of  these,  2439  are  accommodated  in  private  schools 
(including  parochial  and  select  schools),  leaving  a 
balance  of  2932  unprovided  for  or  attending  no 
schools.  Considering  that  a  large  number  of  the 
children  and  youth  of  the  city  are  in  factories,  or 
engaged  in  occupations  which  prevent  their  attend- 
ance at  school,  the  showing  is  not  an  unfavorable  one 
for  the  educational  status  of  the  population.  The 
evening  schools,  when  kept  open,  reduce  the  number 
of  untaught  children  somewhat,  but  they  have  been 
closed  during  the  past  year. 

The  Board  of  Education  is  composed  as  follows: 
President,  J.  Madison  Watson;  Secretary,  William 
H.  Meeker ;  Superintendent  of  Public  Schools,  J. 
Augustus  Dix.  Members,  William  Woodcock,  Dan- 
iel Wolfskeil,  Peter  Egenolf,  Meline  W.  Halsey, 
Frank  D.  Karr,  Peter  Burdett,  Abram  B.  Knapp, 
Erastus  G.  Putnam,  Henry  Plarrer,  James  Oakes, 
Thomas  Terrill,  Jr.,  Matthias  L.  Darby,  Lewis  W. 
Kinsfsley,  Ira  B.  Wheeler,  J.  Madison  Watson,  John 
E.  Astfalk. 

St.  Henky's  Parochial  School  is  located  in 


Magnolia  Avenue,  below  Spring  Street,  is  two  stories 
with  a  French  roof.  The  lower  floor  is  used  as  St. 
Henry's  chapel.  The  upper  floor  consists  of  four 
class-rooms,  over  which  are  four  Sisters  from  the 
convent  adjoining.  Rev.  Father  Augustine  Wirth  is 
in  charge,  and  the  school  is  supported  entirely  by 
the  parish,  there  being  no  State  or  city  aid.  The 
school  was  established  by  Rev.  Henry  Lemke  in 
1869,  and  was  first  located  in  the  nunnery,  but  in 
1872  the  present  building  was  erected,  and  its  attend- 
ance is  steadily  on  the  increase.  There  are  on  the 
roll  236  pupils,  and  an  average  attendance  of  200. 

St.  Walbuega's  Select  School  is  connected  with 
St.  Henry's  parish,  is  in  the  convent  of  St.  Walburga, 
and  has  an  attendance  of  24  scholars,  taught  by  two 
Sisters. 

St.  Mary's  Parochial  School  is  located  in 
Washington  Avenue,  near  South  Street;  is  a  brick 
building  three  stories  in  height,  and  was  built  by 
Rev.  Father  Howell  about  1861.  Rev.  Father  Leo 
Thebaud  is  principal,  and  is  assisted  by  the  Sisters. 
The  school  is  supported  entirely  by  the  parish,  and 
receives  no  aid  from  State  or  city.  There  are  six  class- 
rooms and  six  teachers,  the  higher  studies  being  taught 
by  Mr.  Thomas  F.  Coleman,  and  the  other  classes  by 
the  Sisters.  There  are  on  the  roll  350  scholars,  with 
an  average  attendance  of  300. 

St.  Michael'.s  Parochial  School  is  located  in 
Smith  Street,  near  Elizabeth  Avenue ;  is  a  one-story 
frame  building,  erected  about  1872.  Rev.  Father  Al- 
bert Von  Schilgen  is  principal.  This  school  is  sup- 
ported by  the  parish,  receiving  no  State  or  city  aid. 
There  are  three  class-rooms,  and  the  teachers  are  three 
Sisters  from  the  convent.  There  are  on  the  roll  180 
scholars,  with  an  average  attendance  of  that  number. 

St.  Patrick's  Parochial  School  is  located  in 
Court  Street  near  Second  Street,  and  is  the  oldest 
Catholic  school  in  the  city,  having  been  established 
in  1860  by  Rev.  Father  Werzfeld.  The  building  is 
brick,  two  .stories,  with  a  roomy  attic,  an  addition  of 
one-half  having  been  added  to  it  by  Rev.  Father 
Hennessey  some  years  later.  Rev.  Father  Gessuer  is 
principal.  Receives  no  State  or  city  aid,  the  parish 
supporting  it  entirely.  There  are  ten  class-rooms, 
presided  over  by  ten  teachers.  Mr.  Sullivan  is  in 
charge  of  the  high  school  department,  and  the  other 
teachers  are  Sisters  from  the  convent.  There  are  on 
the  roll  about  900  scholars,  with  an  average  attend- 
ance of  800. 

Even  with  this  large  building,  the  school  wants  of 
St.  Patrick's  parish  are  not  supplied,  and  the  Rev. 
Father  Gessner  is  now  erecting  a  mammoth  brick 
building  near  by,  over  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet  deep 
with  a  proportionate  frontage.  It  is  three  stories  in 
height,  and  required  upwards  of  nine  hundred  thou- 
sand brick  in  its  erection.  There  will  be  fourteen 
class-rooms,  one  large  assembly-room,  and  four  smaller 
rooms  for  offices,  stationery,  library,  etc.,  costing  up- 
wards of  forty-five  thousand  dollars,  and   having  a 


THE    CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


191 


seating  capacity  of  upwards  of  twelve  hundred.  It 
will  be  a  monument  to  Rev.  Father  Gessner,  whose 
zeal  and  enterprise  deserve  a  liberal  reward. 

St.  Joseph'.s  Academy  is  connected  with  St.  Pat- 
rick's parish,  is  located  at  the  corner  of  First  and 
Wall  Streets.  Is  under  the  charge  of  four  teachers, 
all  Dominican  Sisters,  and  has  an  attendance  of  135. 

Academies,  Colleges,  and  Select  Schools. — ■ 
Miss  Mary  E.  Cleveland,  1134  Washington ;  Miss 
Maria  W.  "Condell,  32  Orchard  ;  Mrs.  A.  S.  Gunn,  26 
Prospect ;  Misses  Hayward,  school  for  young  ladies, 
279  Broad;  James  H.  Lansley,  Ph.D.,  business  col- 
lege and  classical  academy  for  both  sexes,  323  Jeffer- 
son, corner  Magnolia  Avenue  ;  Mrs.  Mary  V.  Little, 
select  school,  417  Elizabeth  Avenue;  Misses  Ludlow, 
select  school,  1146  East  Grand  ;  Misses  Mitchell,  se- 
lect school,  32  West  Scott  Place;  Rev.  John  F.  Pin- 
gry,  Ph.D.,  school  for  boys,  445  Westminster  Avenue ; 
Miss  N.  D.  Ranney,  school  for  young  ladies,  211 
South  Broad ;  Miss  Nettie  C.  Read,  school  for  young 
ladies,  521  North  Broad  ;  Misses  Sargeants,  284  North 
Broad  ;  Miss  Mary  Sopers,  1124  Chestnut ;  Miss  Katie 
M.  Ward,  select  school,  450  Morris  Avenue  ;  John 
Young,  school  for  boys,  202  West  Jersey. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

THE    CITY    OF    ELIZABETH.— {('out, nued.) 

Newspapers. — New  Jersey  Journal,  established 
1779.  Weekly  subscription,  $2.50  per  annum.  Pub- 
lished at  the  Daily  Jmiriial  office. 

Elizabeth  Daily  Journal,  No.  97  Broad,  corner  E. 
Jersey.  First  published  as  the  New  Jersey  Journal 
(weekly),  1779.  Established  1878.  Daily  subscrip- 
tion, $6  per  annum. 

Elizabeth  Daily  Herald,  steam  printing-house,  Nos. 
105,  107,  109,  and  111  Broad  Street.  Published  first 
as  the  Argus  in  1861,  then  the  Constitutionalist,  after- 
wards as  the  Union  County  Herald,  and  established  as 
the  Elizabeth  Daily  Herald  in  1868.  Subscription, 
$6  per  annum.  Publishers  and  proprietors,  Drake, 
Cook  &  Hall. 

Central  New  Jersey  Herald,  established  in  1870. 
Subscription,  $2  per  annum.  Published  at  the  Herald 
Steam  Printing-House.  Proprietors,  Drake,  Cook  & 
Hall. 

Elizabeth  Ereie  Presse,  rear  of  No.  1173  Elizabeth 
Avenue.  Established  1870.  Semi-weekly,  $3  per 
annum.  Proprietor  and  publisher,  Charles  H. 
Schmidt. 

Elizabeth  Ereie  Zeituag,  Nos.  33  and  33J  First 
Street.  Established  1874.  Weekly,  30  cents  per 
annum.  Editors  and  proprietors,  L.  Bauerband  & 
Co. 

Banks. — First  National  Bank  of  Elizabeth. 
—Chartered  1864.     Capital,  $200,000.     Organized  as 


a  national  banking  in.stitution,  1864.  Open  for  busi- 
ness from  9  A.M.  to  3  P.M.  Discount  day,  Wednesday. 
President,  Jacob  Davis;  Cashier,  W.  P.Thompson; 
Directors,  Hon.  Ferdinand  Blancke,  Edward  G. 
Brown,  Amos  Clark,  Jr.,  J.  Williams  Crane,  Jacob 
Davis,  E.  M.  Fulton,  L.  B.  Miller,  S.  B.  Ryder,  John 
E.  Voorhees. 

National  State  Bank  of  Elizabeth. — No.  68 
Broad  Street,  between  Murray  and  West  .Jersey 
Streets.  Capital,  $350,000.  Authorized  capital, 
$1,000,000.  Chartered  as  a  State  bank  in  1812.  Or- 
ganized as  a  national  banking  institution  July  13, 
1865.  Open  for  business  at  9  a.m.,  and  closes  at  3  p.m. 
Discount  day,  Monday.  John  Kean,  president;  John 
Kean,  Jr.,  vice-president;  James  Maguire,  cashier; 
directors,  John  Kean,  John  Kean,  Jr.,  Jame.s  R.  Eng- 
lish, Benjamin  Williamson,  James  E.  Hedges,  Henry 
D.  H.  Snyder,  Joseph  Battin,  Julian  H.  Kean,  Job  S. 
Crane,  James  Moore,  H.  C.  Williams,  William  Mc- 
Kinlay,  W.  T.  Jones;  notary,  Samuel  S.  Moore. 

Insurance  Companies. — Elizabeth  Mutual  In- 
.surance  Cojipany. — Incorporated  1812.  Capital, 
$187,906,  paid  in.  President,  Jonas  W.  Townley; 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Samuel  Pierce  ;  Directors, 
William  Stiles,  William  W.  Crane,  Augustus  C.  Kel- 
logg, John  Kean,  William  B.  Tucker,  William  Ball, 
Jonas  E.  Marsh,  Jonas  W.  Townley,  Job  Ogden,  Dr. 
J.  S.  Crane,  Frederick  L.  Heidritter,  Edward  C. 
Woodruff,  Theodore  C.  English,  Benjamin  H.  Camp- 
bell, Sidney  S.  Thompson. 

National  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance  Com- 
pany.— Incorporated  1865.  Cash  assets,  $154,292.11. 
Dividends  semi-annual.  Amos  Clark,  president;  Ja- 
cob Davis,  vice-president ;  M.  F.  Cory,  secretary ; 
directors,  Amos  Clark,  Jr.,  Edward  G.  Brown,  Wil- 
liam P.  Thompson,  Samuel  M.  Clark,  A.  D.  Mulford, 
Jacob  Davis,  Moses  F.  Cory,  John  B.  Norton,  William 
H.  Baker,  Benjamin  Ogden,  Moses  0.  Winans,  John 
Kean,  Joseph  Cory,  James  H.  Cory,  Henry  R.  Can- 
non, Samuel  Huntsman,  James  C.  Dennian,  E.  N. 
Marsh,  William  McKinlay,  Joseph  E.  Dunham,  Cor- 
nelius Beatty,  George  Maxwell,  Edmund  J.  Cleve- 
land, J.  Williams  Crane,  S.  S.  Thompson,  James  E. 
Hedges,  Jonas  E.  Marsh,  F.  W.  Munn. 

Militia. — Third  Regiment. — Colonel,  Elihu  H. 
Ropes,  Elizabeth ;  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Morris  N. 
Oviatt,  New  Brunswick ;  Major,  Benjamin  A.  Lee, 
Keyport;  Captain  and  Surgeon,  Wilnier  Hodgson, 
Keyport;  Captain  and  Judge-Advocate,  George  B. 
Munn,  New  Brunswick;  Captain  and  Inspector  Rifle 
Practice,  Benjamin  P.  Holmes,  Newark;  Chaplain, 
Rev.  Joseph  K.  Manning ;  First  Lieutenant  and  Ad- 
jutant, Frederick  A.  Apelles,  Jersey  City;  First  Lieu- 
tenant and  Paymaster,  N.  K.  Thompson,  Elizabeth  ; 
First  Lieutenant  and  Assistant  Surgeon,  Victor  Mrav- 
lag,  Elizabeth;  First  Lieutenant  and  Quartermaster, 
John  A.  Engel,  Elizabeth. 

Company  A,  Asbury  Park.  Captain,  Lewis  C.  Rai- 
uear ;    First   Lieutenant,  George   C.  Ormerod ;   Sec- 


192 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ond   Lieutenant,  P.   M.   Mahoney.     Drills   Monday 
evenings. 

Company  B,  Elizabetli.   Captain,  Jolin  D.  Tread- 
well  ;    First  Lieutenant,  Thomas   Forsyth ;    Second 
Lieutenant,  Charles  B.  Johnson.     Drills  Thursday  j 
evenings. 

Companij   C,  Elizabeth.   Captain,  William  H.  De  i 
Hart;  First  Lieutenant,  Uriah  Van  Deventer;  Sec-  : 
ond  Lieutenant,  Charles  D.  Angus.     Drills  Friday 
evenings.  ' 

Company  B,  New   Brunswick.    Captain,  John   T-  i 
Whittier ;  First  Lieutenant,  William  S.  Strong ;  Sec-  } 
ond  Lieutenant,  John  H.  Stroud.     Drills  Thursday 
■evenings.  I 

Company  F,  Rahway.  Captain,  Charles  A.  Groye; 
First  Lieutenant,  Jacob  S.  Lunger ;  Second  Lieuten- 
ant, William  B.  Muir.     Drills  Thursday  evenings. 

Company  G,  Key  port.  Captain,  Thomas  L.  Sea- 
brook  ;  First  Lieutenant,  Oscar  F.  Stanhope ;  Second 
Lieutenant,  Harry  Seabrook.    Drills  Friday  evenings. 

Unattached  Gatling  Gun  Battery  A  (Veteran  Zou- 
aves), Elizabeth.  Captain  Commanding,  Brevet  Brig  - 
Gen.  J.  Madison  Drake ;  First  Lieutenant,  J.  Lam- 
bert; Second  Lieutenant,  Joseph  G.  Ogden  ;  Third 
Lieutenant,.  Henry  C.  Austin.  Headquarters,  Mar- 
ket Hall.     Drills  Tuesday  evenings. 

Secret  and  Benevolent  Societies. — Masonic— 
St.  John's  Commandery,  No.  9,  Knights  Templar,  Asy- 
lum, Masonic  Hall,  Arcade.  Regular  conclave  second 
and  fourth  Tuesday  evenings  in  each  month. 

Adoniram  Council,  No.  9,  meets  in  Masonic  Hall, 
Arcade. 

Washington  Chapter,  No.  16,  R.  A.  M.,  meets  first 
and  third  Mondays  in  each  month  at  Masonic  Hall, 
Arcade. 

Washington  Lodge,  No.  33,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets 
every  Friday  evening  at  Masonic  Hall,  Arcade. 

Essex  Lodge,  No.  49,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets  every 
Wednesday  evening  at  National  Hall,  127  First  Street. 

Hermann  Lodge,  No.  91,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets 
every  Tuesday  evening  at  hall,  9  East  Scott  Place. 

Orient  Lodge,  No.  126,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets 
every  Wednesday  evening  at  Masonic  Hall,  Arcade. 

Tyrian  Lodge,  No.  IIM,  A.  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets 
every  Monday  evening  at  Central  Hall,  Third  Street, 
corner  Fulton. 

Lincoln  (colored)  Lodge,  No.  25,  F.  and  A.  A.  Y.  M., 
meets  first  and  third  Thursday  evenings  of  each  month 
at  third  floor.  Herald  building. 

Floral  Court,  No.  1,  O.  of  the  M.  S.  (degree),  meets 
first  and  third  Wednesday  evenings  of  each  month  at 
Hermann  Hall. 

Odd-Fellows. — Franklin  Lodge,  No.  9,  meets 
every  Monday  evening  in  Herald  building,  109  Broad 
Street. 

Elizabeth  port  Lodge,  No.  116,  meets  every  Tuesday 
evening  at  Odd-Fellows'  Hall,  110  First  Street. 

Hansa  Lodge,  No.  145,  meets  every  Thursday  even- 
ing at  Washington  Hall,  843  Elizabeth  Avenue. 


Memorial  Lodge,  No.  165,  meets  every  Wednesday 
evening,  third  floor.  Library  Hall. 

Knights  of  Pythias. — Olive  Branch  Lodge,  No. 
78,  meets  every  Wednesday  evening  at  corner  of 
Franklin  and  First  Streets. 

Temperance  Societies. — Appello  Division,  No. 
178,  S.  of  T.,  meets  every  Friday  evening  at  110  First 
Street. 

Lincoln  Division,  No.  27,  S.  of  T.,  meets  every 
Tuesday  evening,  third  floor,  Library  Hall,  No.  19 
Broad  Street. 

Prosperity  Lodge,  No.  62,  I.  O.  G.  T.,  meets  every 
Friday  evening,  corner  of  Franklin  and  First  Streets. 

Resolute  Temple  of  Honor,  No.  15,  meets  Monday 
evenings  in  Temple  Hall,  Herald  building,  109  Broad 
Street. 

Dawn  of  Day  Social,  T.  of  H.  and  T.,  No.  11, 
meets  second  Thursday  of  each  month  in  Temple 
Hall,  109  Broad  Street.' 

Fidelia  Council,  No.  6,  T.  A.  and  S.  T.,  meets 
fourth  Thursday  of  each  month  in  Temple  Hall,  109 
Broad  Street. 

Ark  of  Safety  (colored).  No.  20,  L  O.  of  G.  S.  and 
D.  of  S.,  meets  every  Wednesday  evening  in  Halsey 
building.  No.  81  Broad  Street. 

St.  Patrick's  T.  A.  B.  Society  meets  monthly  at  St. 
Patrick's  Parish  School. 

First  Gospel  Temperance  Reform  Club  meets  Mon- 
day evenings  at  206  Broad  Street. 

Women's  Christian  Temperance  Union  meets  Mon- 
day and  Friday  evenings  at  206  Broad  Street. 

Miscellaneous  Societies. — Orient  Council,  No. 
46,  Junior  O.  U.  A.  M.,  meets  every  Tuesday  evening 
in  Herald  building. 

Mount  Vernon  Council,  No.  11,  Sovereigns  of  In- 
dustry, meets  second  Thursday  of  every  month  at 
Hermann  Hall. 

Cherusker  Company,  No.  6,  Germania  Shutzen 
Bund,  meets  first  and  third  Thursdays  at  No.  2  First 
Street. 

Allemania  Lodge.  No.  128,  D.  O.  H.,  meets  every 
Thursday  evening  at  Washington  Hall,  No.  843 
Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Jacob's  Lodge,  No.  5,  D.  O.  H.,  meets  every  Tues- 
day evening  at  National  Hall,  127  First  Street. 

Rein  Many  Lodge,  No.  3,  D.  O.  H.,  meets  every 
Monday  evening  at  224  Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Eintracht  Lodge,  No.  215,  D.  0.  H.,  meets  Friday 
evening  at  National  Hall,  127  First  Street. 

Ancient  Order  of  Druids,  Crow  No.  10,  meets  every 
Monday  evening  at  Washington  Hall,  843  Elizabeth 
Avenue. 

Independent  Order  of  Red  Men,  No.  75,  meets 
every  Wednesday  evening  at  Wa-shiiigton  Hall,  843 
Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Ulric  Dahlgren  Post,  No.  25,  G.  A.  R.,  meets  first 
and  third  Monday  evenings  of  each  month  at  Her- 
mann Hall. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  No.  1,  meets  second 


THE   CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


193 


Monday  of  each  month  at  National  Hall ;  No.  2 
meets  second  Wedne'sday  of  each  month  at  Hermann 
Hall  ;  No.  .3  meets  second  Thursday  of  each  month 
at  National  Hall. 

Union  County  Caledonian  Club  meets  first  and 
third  Monday  of  each  month  at  No.  9  East  Scott 
Place. 

Fortschritt  Debating  Club  meets  every  Wednesday 
evening  at  Hermann  Hall. 

Germania  Singing  Society  meets  every  Monday 
and  Friday  evening  at  Hermann  Hall. 

Concordia  Singing  Society  meets  Friday  evenings 
at  Concordia  Hall. 

Teutonia  Singing  Society  meets  Saturday  evenings 
at  127  First  Street. 

Elizabeth  port  Building  and  Loan  Association  meets 
third  Thursday  after  third  Monday  of  each  month  at 
National  Hall,  125  First  street. 

Phil  Kearney  Guard  (Co.  C,  Third  Regiment). 
Headquarters,  room  15,  Arcade. 

Livingston  Council,  American  Legion  of  Honor, 
No.  177,  Library  Hall,  meets  second  and  fourth 
Thursday  in  each  month. 

Oliver's  Cornet  Band  meets  Mondays  and  Fridays, 
135  Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Jackson  Association  meets  Tuesdays,  Central  Hall. 

Elizabeth  Turnverein  Vorwaerts  meets  Tuesday  and 
Friday  evenings,  at  Hermann  Hall,  No.  9  East  Scott 
Place." 

Elizabeth  Chess  Club  rooms.  No.  9  East  Scott 
Place. 

Humboldt  Order  of  Foresters,  No.  4,  meets  every 
Tuesday  evening  at  Central  Hall,  corner  Third  and 
Fulton  Streets.  ^ 

Loan  and  Building  Association  meets  second  and 
last  Tuesday  in  each  month  at  947  Elizabeth  Avenue. 

St.  Patrick's  Alliance,  No.  2,  Herman  Hall,  No.  9 
East  Scott  Place. 

Elizabeth  Orphan  Asylum. — Trustees,  Mrs.  J. 
G.  Nuttman,  Joseph  Cross,  W.  W.  Thomas,  Alfred 
DeWitt,  D.  R.  Downer,  Henry  Chandler,  Theodore 
Johnson,  Mrs.  A.  Chester,  H.  Higgins,  H.  M.  Baker, 
S.  A.  Clark,  H.  R.  Cannon,  Daniel  Denham,  Jr., 
Miss  Jane  Crane,  Mrs.  F.  Brown,  Joseph  Alward,  R. 
T.  Haines,  John  Kean,  Mahlon  Mulford,  M.  S.  Gales, 
Thomas  C.  Davis ;  First  Directress,  Mrs.  R.  T. 
Haines,  852  North  Broad  Street ;  Second  Directress, 
Mrs.  S.  A.  Clark,  641  Pearl  Street ;  Treasurer,  Mrs. 
H.  M.  Baker,  114  VVestfield  Avenue  ;  Secretary,  Mrs. 
Joseph  Alward,  131  Catharine  Street;  Finance  Com- 
mittee, Mrs.  H.  M.  Baker,  R.  T.  Haines,  John  Kean, 
W.  W.  Thomas,  J.  G.  Nuttman  ;  Committee  on  Ad- 
missions and  Indentures,  Mrs.  Joseph  Cross,  Mrs.  F. 
Brown,  J.  G.  Nuttman,  S.  A.  Clark,  Joseph  Alward ; 
Committee  on  Education,  Mrs.  S.  A.  Clark,  J.  Cross, 
D.  R.  Downer,  J.  G.  Nuttman,  Cannon,  Marsh ; 
Housekeeping  Committee,  Mrs.  DeWitt,  Kean,  Henry 
Kiggins,  M.  S.  Gales,  F.  Brown,  D.  R.  Downer,  W. 
W.  Thomas,  Davis :    Wardrobe  Committee,  Mrs.  H. 


R.  Cannon,  M.  Mulford,  D.  Denham,  Jr.,  H.  Chan- 
dler, T.  C.  Davis,  Miss  Jane  Crane,  Mrs.  Johnson  ; 
Advisory  Committee,  Hon.  B.  Williamson,  Rev.  E. 
Kempshall,  Rev.  W.  C.  Roberts,  Rev.  W.  S.  Lang- 
ford,  Dr.  M.  W.  Woodward,  W.  W.  Crane,  Esq.,  Al- 
fred DeWitt,  Esq.,  Henry  Kiggins,  Esq.,  A.  C.  Kel- 
logg, Esq.,  Joseph  Cross,  Esq. ;  Matron,  Miss  E.  A. 
Feeks ;  Matron's  Assistant,  Miss  E.  S.  Philhower ; 
Teacher,  Mrs.  A.  A.  Pennington;  Physician,  L.  W. 
Oakley. 

Friends  of  the  children  may  visit  them  on  the 
second  Wednesday  of  each  month.  The  asylum  is 
open  to  visitors  except  Saturdays  and  Sundays. 

Old  Ladies'  Home. — First  Directress,  Mrs.  J.  G. 
Nvtttman,  136  Madison  Avenue  ;  Second  Directress, 
Mrs.  S.  W.  Waterbury,  289  North  Broad  Street; 
Treasurer,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Townley,  504  North  Broad 
Street;  Secretary,  Mrs.  J.  F.  Pingry,  445  West- 
minster Avenue;  Advisory  Committee,  Dr.  J.  S. 
Crane,  W.  V.  McDaniel,  J.  Alward,  R.  W.  Townley, 
J.  A.  Davis,  G.  W.  Tubbs;  Finance  Committee,  Mrs. 
S.  W.  Waterbury,  R.  T.  Haines,  R.  W.  Townley,  F. 
W.  Foote;  Housekeeping  Committee,  Mrs.  H.  D.  H. 
Snyder,  E.  Brittain,  J.  O.  Hoyt,  T.  Carlton,  B.  Wil- 
liamson, Jr.,  S.  W.  Waterbury,  J.  B.  Squire  ;  Admis- 
sion Committee,  Mrs.  R.  W.  Townley,  H.  D.  H. 
Snyder,  W.  B.  Tucker,  M.  Brandagee,  F.  W.  Foote, 
J.  G.  Nuttman;  Visiting  Committee,  Mrs.  Dr.  Crane, 
D.  H.  Pierson,  R.  C.  Helfenstein,  Miss  M.  J.  Chet- 
wood,  Mrs.  Dr.  Stearns,  W.  W.  Crane,  J.  B.  Norton, 
J.  P.  Brown  ;  Church  Committee,  Mrs.  W.  W.  Crane, 
J.  Cleveland,  J.  E.  Kemble,  H.  W.  Smith,  T.  King, 
W.  H.  Coursen,  J.  F.  Pingry. 

Elizabeth  General  Hospital. — Opened  Nov. 
1,  1880.  Capacity,  twenty-five  patients.  President, 
Lebbeus  B.  Miller ;  Vice-President,  Albert  B.  Hazard ; 
Treasurer,  W.  P.  Thompson ;  Secretary,  William  T. 
Day;  Staff,  Dr.s.  James  S.  Green,  Alonzo  Petit,  J. 
Otis  Pinneo,  Thomas  N.  McLean  ;  Surgeons,  Drs. 
James  S.  Green,  Lewis  W.  Oakley,  Victor  Mravlag, 
Alonzo  Petit;  Physicians,  Drs.  J.  Otis  Pinneo,  J.  S. 
Crane,  W.  A.  M.  Mack,  Thomas  N.  McLean  ;  Board 
of  Managers,  I.  B.  Gates,  R.  W.  Woodward,  E.  D. 
Smith,  H.  Pfarrer,  B.  Urner,  E.  Ives,  0.  H.  Rollison, 
J.  A.  Dix,  A.  W.  Lukens,  N.  C.  J.  English,  C.  W. 
Van  Home;  Matron,  Miss  A.  A.  Olssen. 

Elizabeth  SoriETY  for  the  Prevention  of 
Cruelty  to  Animals. — President,  G.  W.  Bailey, 
M.D. ;  Vice-President,  E.  P.  Edwards ;  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  C.  \.  Richards ;  Counsel,  James  R.  Eng- 
lish. 

Evergreen  Cemetery,  North  Broad  Street,  near 
city  line. — President,  Henry  Meeker;  Vice-President, 
William  B.  Tucker;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Edward 
S.  Atwater;  Superintendent,  J.  B.  Looker;  Trustees, 
J.  Davis,  S.  S.  Thompson,  J.  W.  Townley,  O.  Wood- 
ruff, E.  S.  Atwater,  S.  L.  Moore,  J.  S.  Dod,  H.  Meeker, 
G.  B.  Jenkinson,  P.  Jones,  M.  Sontheiraer. 

Mount  Olivet  Cemetery,  Madison  Avenue,  near 


194 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


city  line. — In  charge  of  Rev.  Father  Gessner,  of  St. 
Patrick's  Church. 
Incorporated  and  Manufacturing  Companies.— 

Among  the  numerous  incorjiorated  aud  mauufactur- 
ing  companie.s  of  the  city  of  Elizabeth  are  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Bouker  Fertilizing  Company.  John  Bouker,  presi- 
dent. 

Creosote  Wood  Preserving  Works.  E.  R.  An- 
drews, proprietor;  Henry  B.  Rent,  superintendent. 

Elizabeth  Enamel  Oil-Cloth  Company.  John 
Bouker,  president ;  John  Booker,  secretary ;  George 
F.  Hawkes,  treasurer. 

Elizabeth  and  Newark  Horse- Railroad  Company. 
Jacob  Davis,  president ;  Edward  J.  Cleveland,  secre- 
tary ;  Frank  W.  Munn,  superintendent. 

Elizabeth  Pottery-Works.     L.  B.  Beerbower  &  Co. 

Elizabethport  Building  and  Loan  Association. 
John  Lamond,  president;  Martin  Houlihan,  secre- 
tary; William  Hicks,  treasurer. 

Elizabethport  Manufacturing  Company.  William 
Shove,  manager. 

Elizabethport  Shear-Works.  Mosen  N.  Strauss, 
proprietor. 

Manhattan  Stove-Works.  Munsell,  Rollo  &  Co., 
proprietors. 

Phoenix  Rubber  Company.  William  C.  Colton, 
president ;  C.  T.  Petchell,  secretary  and  treasurer. 

Besides  these  there  are  the  cordage  manufactory  of 
William  Day  ;  the  Steam  Cordage  Company,  D.  B. 
Whitlock,  E.  M.  Fulton,  and  A.  W.  Lukens  compris- 
ing the  firm  ;  Robert  Edwards'  saw-mill ;  the  New 
Jersey  Car-Wheel  Manufacturing  Company,  Thomas 
Thatcher  superintendent.  This  establishment  belongs 
to  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey,  and  is  on 
Marshall  and  Front  Streets.  The  buildings  are  of 
brick,  aud  turn  out  on  an  average  twenty-five  wheels 
per  day. 

Elizabethport  Manufacturixg  Company. — 
In  the  year  1836,  Jonathan  Ropes,  Elihu  Harrison, 
and  Thomas  B.  Wood  organized  a  company,  situated  on 
Front  Street  between  Marshall  and  Franklin  Streets, 
covering  over  fifty  lots  of  ground,  or  nearly  three 
acres  of  land,  besides  owning  a  large  dock  on  the 
Kill  von  Kull  for  shipping  their  goods.  They  erected 
large  brick  foundries,  as  well  as  buildings  for  finish- 
ing their  goods.  The  incorporate  name  of  Elizabeth- 
port  Manufacturing  Company,  malleable  and  common 
iron  castings,  finished  carriage  and  saddlery  hard- 
ware. For  a  whil^  the  firm  did  not  meet  their  antici- 
pations, but  in  1853,  Mr.  William  Shove  took  charge 
of  the  establishment,  and  since  then  their  business 
has  largely  increased.  They  employ  a  large  number 
of  skilled  workmen,  who  are  finishing  some  of  the 
best  goods  for  the  market,  and  also  taking  charge  of 
patented  machinery,  finishing  and  completing  for  im- 
mediate service  a  new  invention  of  Alfred  Sauton  for 
the  purpose  of  digging  and  loading  of  clay  and  also  of 
coal  upon  cars  and  boats,  and  it  is  claimed  by  this 


machinery  a  vessel  can  be  loaded  by  this  elevator  a 
ton  a  minute,  this  method  of  handling  doing  away 
with  much  hand-labor  and  saving  of  time  in  the  re- 
ceiving and  unloading  of  vessels.  This  firm  has  some 
of  these  elevators  nearly  finished  ;  they  have  been 
tested  and  found  to  do  the  work. 

Under  the  firm-name  of  Worrall  &  Co.,  at  Eliza- 
bethport, there  has  grown  up  a  large  business  within 
a  few  years,  Isaac  G.  Worrall,  superintendent,  em- 
ploying a  large  number  of  skilled  machinists  and 
other  artisans.  Their  immense  brick  buildings  are 
on  Front  Street,  between  Franklin  and  Fulton. 

Foundries  and  Saw-Manufacturers,  Mac-hi- 
NMTSAND  Forges. — This  large  manufactory  of  saws, 
builders'  castings  of  every  description,  columns,  gir- 
ders, beams,  baker-oven  mouths,  furnace-oven  doors 
and  frames,  bars,  dampers,  peal-plates,  bottom-plates 
and  ovens,  cauldrons,  kettles,  retorts,  oyster-house 
castings,  green-house  castings,  jewelers'  steel-face 
dies  and  presses,  hatters'  irons,  heaters,  japanners' 
box-stoves,  brass-founders'  furnaces,  extra  cast-steel 
saws,  circular-,  hand-,  mill-,  panel-,  and  rip-saws, 
butchers'  box-saws,  saw-mandrels,  plasterers'  trowels, 
mitering-rods  and  tools,  best  English  sheet,  cast 
steel,  etc.,  was  established  in  1843  by  Noah  and  John 
Wesley  Worrall. 

Stoves  and  Ranges. — One  of  the  largest  stove 
and  range  manufactories  and  foundry  was  estab- 
lished by  Munsell  &  Thompson  in  181)0,  with  cap- 
ital amounting  to  $200,000,  their  establishment  cov- 
ering some  two  acres  of  ground,  situated  at  Nos.  130, 
132,  134,  and  136  Fulton  Street,  running  through  to 
Franklin  Street,  these  covering  some  two  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  They  have  a  large  brick  foundry,  also  finish- 
ing and  polishing  buildings.  Their  establishment  is 
not  only  known  all  over  the  United  States,  but  also  iu 
Canada,  South  America,  and  Europe.  They  have  a 
number  of  patents  for  these  ranges  and  base-burners, 
and  make  the  best  ranges,  which  give  great  satisfac- 
tion, they  being  the  leading  firm.  They  employ  some 
two  hundred  men,  the  majority  of  whom  are  skilled 
workmen.  Mr.  James  A.  Munsel  and  Robert  B. 
Thompson  retired  from  the  firm  in  1880,  and  the  firm 
is  now  composed  of  Eugene  Munsel,  William  H. 
Rollo,  Lewis  W.  Kingsley,  and  Franklin  Brooks,  as 
the  firm-name  of  Munsell,  Rollo  «&  Co.,  with  capital 
of  $250,000. 

Singer  Manufacturing  Company  of  New 
Jersey.  Capital,  $10,000,000.— The  works  of  this 
company  are  situated  within  the  city  limits  of  Eliza- 
beth, near  the  western  terminus  of  the  Central  Rail- 
road bridge  across  Newark  Bay.  In  order  to  combine 
in  one  grand  establishment  the  various  branches  of 
their  extensive  manufacturing  business,  which  had 
been  formerly  carried  on  at  various  widely-separated 
points,  the  Singer  Manufacturing  Company  in  1870 
purchased  forty  acres  of  land  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Central  Railroad  track,  bordering  on  Newark  Bay,  and 
erected  the  mammoth  structure  known  as  the  Singer 


Charles,  son  of  Lewis  Tucker,  of  Connecticut,  was  one  of  the 
earliest  seltlei-s  of  Elizaljcthtown,  and  one  of  the  original  "  As- 
sociates." His  name  is  appended  to  an  "Oath  of  A  Leagance 
and  Fidelity,  taken  by  the  Inhabitants  of  Elizabeth  Town  and 
the  Jurisdiction  thereof,  beginning  the  19th  February,  1665." 
It  also  appears  on  many  of  the  ancient  records  in  different 
capacities.  He  was  a  birge  laml-owner  and  an  influential  and 
active  man  among  the  early  pioneers.  His  son,  Wesscls  Tucker, 
was  born  Jan.  30, 17-41,  and  w.as  a  carpenter  by  trade.  He  died 
Jan.  30,  1805.  Luke,  son  of  \yessels,  was  also  a  carpenter,  and 
was  born  Aug.  13,  1785,  and  died  March  20,  1S65.  He  was 
strongly  opposed  to  the  in.«titution  of  slavery,  and  was  one  of  the 
early  members  of  the  Republican  party.  For  many  years  he 
was  the  agent  of  William  Gibbons,  who  ran  a  stage-line  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  and  had  charge  of  all  his  property 
at  Elizabeth.  He  resided  in  a  house  located  near  where  St. 
Mary's  Cemetery  now  is.  Another  branch  of  the  family  also 
located  at  Elizabethtown  at  an  early  period,  and  was  repre- 
sented, among  others,  by  Lewis  Tucker,  a  cousin  of  Luke. 
Charles  Tucker,  Jr.,  and  Warren  Tucker  are  also  found  men- 
tioned in  the  local  records,  the  former  as  early  as  1694. 

William  Burnett  Tucker,  son  of  Luke  Tucker,  was  born  on 
Sept.  13,  1812.  He  received  only  a  common-school  education, 
and  in  early  life  learned  the  trade  of  a  tinsmith  with  Elijah 
Kellogg,  with  whom  he  subsequently  became  associated  in 
business.  Mr.  Kellogg  disposed  of  his  interest  in  the  concern 
to  Moses  Hatfield,  and  the  latter  having  been  bought  out  by 
Mr.  Tucker,  the  firm  of  Tucker  k  Ogden  was  organized,  with 
.Tob  Ogden  as  the  junior  member.  This  firm  continued  to  do 
business  together  for  thirty  years  at  the  site  of  No.  41  Broad 
Street.  The  Building  was  purchased  by  Messrs.  Tucker  k  Ogden 
in  1854,  and  became  the  sole  jjroperty  of  the  former  in  1S69. 
In  that  year  Mr.  Tucker  associated  his  son,  AVilliam  B.  Tucker, 
Jr.,  with  him  in  business,  and  the  firm  of  William  B.  Tucker 
k  Son  continued  until  Jan.  25,  1881,  when  the  senior  member 
withdrew.  The  business  has  since  been  successfully  carried 
on  by  William  B.  Tucker,  Jr.,  at  No.  225  Broad  Street. 


For  many  years  Jlr.  Tucker  was  one  of  the  most  aetive  and 
influential  residents  of  Elizabeth.  A  man  of  plain  parts,  be 
confined  himself  closely  to  business,  and  commanded  the  re- 
spect of  all  by  his  straightforward  and  consistent  conduct. 
Though  no  aspirant  after  public  position,  he  was  for  several 
terms  a  member  of  the  Borough  Council,  and  after  the  formation 
of  the  city  of  Elizabeth  served  one  term  in  the  municipal  Com- 
mon Council,  performing  his  official  duties  in  a  satisfactory  and 
honorable  manner. 

He  took  great  interest  in  all  movements  tending  to  ad- 
vance the  material  and  social  welfare  of  his  native  place, 
and  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  active  members  of 
the  borough  fire  department.  He  was  also  for  a  long  time  a 
director  of  the  Elizabeth  Mutual  Insurance  Company  ;  was 
director  and  vice-president  of  the  Elizabethtown  Savings  Insti- 
tution :  a  director  and  vice-president  of  the  Elizabeth  Library 
Association  j  and  a  trustee  of  the  Evergreen  Cemetery  Com- 
pany from  the  time  of  its  organization,  and  vice-president  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  In  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of 
which  he  was  for  many  years  a  consistent  member,  he  was  for 
a  long  time  a  trustee,  and  subsequently  a  deacon  and  ruling 
elder,  holding  the  latter  office  at  the  time  of  his  demise,  on 
Feb.  5,  1SS2.  He  was  a  life-member  of  the  American  Bible 
Society,  and  active  in  the  affairs  of  the  Home  for  Aged  Women, 
Elizabeth,  of  which  his  wife  was  one  of  the  founders.  He  was 
also  a  liberal  contributor  to  the  various  other  worthy  objects  of 
his  day,  and  his  life,  though  quiet  and  unostentatious,  was 
well-rounded  and  consistent  to  the  close. 

Mr.  Tucker  married  Miss  Hannah  E.  Bell,  rlaughter  of  John 
Bell,  of  Monmouth  County,  N.  J.,  who  survives  him,  together 
with  his  two  children,  viz. :  Cornelia  J.,  wife  of  Frank  Cory, 
of  Elizabeth,  and  William  B.  Tucker,  Jr.  The  latter  was 
married  in  1SC9  to  Miss  Mary  Tucker  Smylie.  daughter  of 
James  M.  Smylie,  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  and  a  descendant  of 
another  branch  of  the  Tucker  family.  In  their  children,  six  in 
number,  are  therefore  merged  two  branches  of  the  family 
sjiringing  from  one  common  ancestor. 


The  Ogden  faraily  is  one  of  the  oldest  in  Union  County,  and 
has  been  represented  by  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men 
of  the  State.  John  Ogden,  the  ancestor  of  the  family  in  New 
.fersey,  was  one  of  the  original  patentees  of  Elizabethtown,  and 
an  influential  and  popular  citizen.  He  resided  at  Stamford, 
Conn.,  in  1641,  within  a  year  after  its  settlement.  Early  in 
1614.  in  company  with  others,  he  removed  to  Hempstead,  L.  I., 
of  which  he  was  one  of  the  patentees.  He  was  made  a  freeman 
of  Southampton.  March  31,  1650,  and  was  chosen  by  the  General 
Court,  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  one  of  the  magistrates  of  the  colony 
in  1656,  1657,  and  1658.  He  subsequently  held  other  offices  of 
distinction  in  the  colony.  Later  still  he  became  one  of  the 
original  "  Associates"  of  the  Elizabethtown  patent,  and  with 
his  five  sons,  John,  Jonathan,  David,  Joseph,  and  Benjamin, 
he  was  among  the  first  to  remove  to  the  new  purchase  and 
erect  a  dwelling  on  the  town  plot.  He  erected  and  operated 
one  of  the  first  grist-mills  in  the  new  colony,  and  held  many 
offices  of  prominence.  He  was  the  acknowledged  pioneer  of  the 
town  ;  in  his  house  the  first  white  child  of  the  settlement  was 
burn,  and  he  was  a  veritable  leader  in  church  and  State  until 
his  death  in  1681.  From  him  have  descended  the  numerous 
branches  of  the  family  since  represented  in  New  Jersey. 

Timothy  Ogden,  grandfather  of  the  subjeet  of  this  sketch, 
was  a  tanner  by  trade,  and  during  the  Revolutionary  period 
opor.ated  a  tan-yard  on  what  is  now  Eliziibeth  Avenue,  near 
Spring  Street.  Near  his  home  plot  dwelt  his  sous,  among  whom 
was  Moses,  father  of  our  subject,  and  a  tailor  by  trade.  He 
was  born  Feb.  6,  1774,  and  married  Dec.  6,  1797.  Rhoda  Hal- 
■■^ey  (born  Jan.  13,  I7.S0,  died  Jan.  16,  1864).  Moses  Ogden 
died  June  9,  1847.  His  children  were  John,  born  Sept.  II, 
1709;  William,  born  Sept.  6,  1802,  died  Deo.  18,  1845;  Joseph 
li.,  born  Nov.  21,  1806,  died  Feb.  6,  1867;  and  Moses  H.,  born 
Aug.  11,  ISlJ,  died  Jan.  29,  1861. 

John  Ogden  was  born  at  the  family  residence  on  Elizabeth 
Avenue  on  the  date  indicated  above.  lie  received  only  a  com- 
mon-school education,  and  in  early  life  was  apprenticed  to  Col. 
Elihu  Brittin,  to  learn  the  trade  of  cabinet-making.  Upon 
attaining  his  majority  he  removed  to  Dcrrien.  fla.,  and  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  the  cotton-gin.  .\fler  a  few  months 
he  returned  to  his  native  place,  ancl  engaged  in  cabinet-making. 


He  continued  to  follow  this  occupation  during  his  life,  grad- 
ually enlarging  the  scope  of  his  business  and  adding  that  of 
undertaking.  He  was  a  man  of  plain  parts,  earnest  and  in- 
dustrious, and  strove  only  to  perform  the  plain  duty  of  a  man' 
and  a  citizen.  He  was  no  politician,  although  he  served  for  a 
term  as  a  member  of  the  Town  Council  of  Elizabeth.  While  not 
a  man  of  large  means,  he  contributed  liberally  to  the  support  of 
the  various  worthy  institutions  of  his  day,  and  was  a  zealous 
and  faithful  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Eliza- 
beth.    He  died  at  a  ripe  old  age  on  July  21,  1877. 

Mr.  Ogden  was  first  married  on  April  6,  1823,  to  Joanna  H., 
daughter  of  Aaron  Ross,  of  Elizabeth.  His  children  were  John 
H.,  born  Jan.  9,  1824,  died  Dec.  7,  1861 ;  Sarah  R.,  born  Sept. 
2,  1825,  died  Aug.  25,  1826:  Sarah  R.,  born  M.iy  18,  1827,  mar- 
ried Nov.  29.  1847,  William  Lockman,  of  Tompkinsville,  Staten 
Island,  where  she  resides:  Moses  C,  died  Oct.  6,  1S34;  James 
C,  born  Aug.  10, 1831 ;  George  R.,  born  Aug.  6,  1834,  died  Feb. 
9,  1865;  Joseph  G.,  born  March  9,  1837;  Moses  C,  born  Aug. 
15,  1839,  died  Dee.  12,  1871  :  and  Mary  P.,  born  May  18,  1844, 
died  April  14,  1881.  Mr.  Ogden's  second  wife  was  Miss  .\nn 
E.  Miller,  to  whom  he  was  united  on  Nov.  14,  1850,  and  who 
survives  him. 

James  C.  Ogden,  son  of  John,  is  a  leading  furniture  liealer 
and  undertaker  in  Elizabeth.  Ho  represented  the  Fourth  Ward 
in  the  City  Council  from  1873  to  1879,  is  president  of  the  board 
of  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  the  direc- 
tors of  the  Elizabeth  Savings  Institution,  and  a  director  of  tho 
Library  Hall  Association.  He  was  married  on  Nov.  26,  1856, 
to  Miss  Lydia  Drake,  who  died  Aug.  26.  187.".  His  second 
wife,  Miss  .^arah  W.  Halsey,  to  whom  he  was  united  Jan.  4, 
1877,  died  Aug.  15,  1878.  His  son,  Frank  Clark  Ogden,  is  the 
only  surviving  one  of  four  children.  Joseph  G.  Ogden,  the 
other  son,  is  now  a  member  of  the  City  Council  from  the  Fourth 
Ward.  He  served  three  years  in  the  late  war  as  a  member  of 
Company  A,  of  the  First  New  Jersey  Infantry,  is  lieutenant 
and  paymaster  of  the  Veteran  Zouaves,  treasurer  of  the  Veteran 
Zouaves'  Association,  and  of  the  E.xempt  Firemen's  Association, 
and  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Exempt  Firemen's  Life  Insur- 
ance Company.  He  was  married  .June  1,  1868,  to  Miss  La- 
vinia  McCullcuigh,  and  is  in  business  with  his  brother. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


195 


Works.  The  buildings  cover  over  fifteen  acres  of  1 
flooring.  The  main  building,  fronting  on  First  and 
Trumbull  Streets,  is  an  imposing  fire-proof  edifice, 
eleven  hundred  feet  in  length,  fifty  feet  in  depth,  and 
covered  with  a  slate  Mansard  roof,  from  which  rise 
stately  towers.  The  foundry,  fronting  on  the  rail- 
road, is  one  thousand  feet  long  and  one  hundred  wide. 
The  building  used  for  cleaning,  casting,  japanning,  I 
etc.,  is  five  hundred  and  thirty  feet  long,  fifty  feet 
deep,  with  two  wings  of  seventy-five  by  one  hundred 
and  thirty  feet  deep  each.  The  cabinet,  case,  and 
box  factory  are  each  two  hundred  feet  long,  fifty  feet 
deep,  and  three  stories  high.  The  total  frontage  is 
over  three  thousand  feet.  About  twenty  miles  of 
steam  pipe  are  used  in  heating  the  premises,  together 
with  twenty  boilers,  and  the  machinery  is  worked  by 
four  engines  of  seventy-five  horse-power  each.  On 
the  grounds  are  nearly  five  miles  of  railroad  track, 
connected  by  switches  with  those  of  the  Central  Rail- 
road. This,  together  with  a  water-front  of  one  thou- 
sand feet,  along  which  are  suitable  docks,  afford  ex- 
cellent facilities  for  receipt  of  coal,  iron,  and  lumber, 
and  for  the  shipment  of  stock  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Over  twenty-five  hundred  hands  are  employed,  receiv- 
ing thirty  thousand  dollars  a  week  in  wages.  The 
company  have  every  facility  for  turning  out  over  seven 
thousand  machines  a  week. 

The  coming  of  this  company  to  Elizabeth  has  in- 
creased the  population  several  thousands  and  its  busi- 
ness by  many  thousand  dollars,  annually  distributed 
by  the  company  to  their  employes.  The  cost  of  this 
gigantic  enterprise  was  three  million  dollars. 

The  officers  of  the  company  are :  President,  Edward 
Clark  ;  Vice-President,  George  K.  McKenzie ;  Secre- 
tary, A.  F.  Sterling;  Treasurer,  William  F.  Proctor; 
Directors,  Edward  Clark,  George  R.  McKenzie,  A.  F. 
Sterling,  William  F.  Proctor,  Hugh  Cheyne,  and  Leb- 
bius  B.  Miller;  Superintendent,  Lebbius  B.  Miller. 
The  principal  office  of  the  company  is  at  No.  34  Union 
Square,  New  York. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


THE   CITY  OF   ELIZABETH.— (Tc 


ed.) 


First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth. — This 
church  is  very  ancient,  dating  back  to  the  first  settle- 
ment of  Elizabeth  Town  by  the  original  Associates. 
It  was  probably  the  first  English  church  of  the  Puri- 
tan type  founded  in  New  Jersey,  and  there  were 
very  few  even  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Churches  which 
preceded  it.  John  Ogden,  one  of  the  founders  of 
this  town,  had,  about  twenty  years  before  coming 
here,  erected  the  old  stone  church  in  the  Dutch  fort 
at  New  Amsterdam,  and  a  church  of  the  same  order 
had  been  established  in  the  old  town  of  Bergen,  west 
of  the  Hudson.     This    last,  so  far  as   we  have  any 


knowledge  relating  to  the  subject,  was  the  only  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  in  East  Jersey  prior  to  1664, 
although  the  Dutch  people  and  ministers  left  in  New 
Netherland  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  afterwards 
established  many  others.  The  church  of  Elizabeth, 
therefore,  may  be  regarded  as  the  second  church  of 
any  denomination  planted  in  East  New  Jersey.  Prob- 
ably a  similar  Puritan  Church  at  Newark  was  the 
third. 

Owing  to  the  loss  of  the  records,  it  is  impossible  to 
tell  precisely  when  the  church  was  organized  or  the 
meeting-house  built.  The  first  founders  of  the  town 
were  a  religious  people,  and  church-members  at  home 
in  Connecticut  and  on  Long  Island.  Those  who  first 
applied  for  a  grant  of  land  under  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment, in  order  to  form  a  settlement  here,  had  it  stipu- 
lated in  the  conditions  of  purchase  that  they  should 
be  allowed  the  "  liberty  to  gather  a  church  of  their 
own  in  the  Congregational  way."  Probably  they 
enjoyed  the  same  liberty  when  they  became  settled 
under  Governor  Nicolls,  and  that  it  was  not  long  after 
that  event  when  they  had  a  meeting-house  and  a 
worshiping  congregation,  according  to  the  custom 
prevailing  in  New  England. 

A  "  town-house"  was  among  the  first  necessities  of 
every  Puritan  community,  where  the  government  was 
carried  on  largely  by  the  voice  of  the  people  expressed 
in  town-meeting.  They  had  no  ideas  of  consecrated 
buildings,  in  which  it  would  be  sacrilege  to  do  honest 
business  on  the  week-days ;  for  they  met  and  voted 
with  the  same  conscientiousness  with  which  they  wor- 
shiped. Hence  one  house  answered  both  purposes. 
The  "  town-house"  was  also  the  "  meeting-house,"  not 
only  used  by  common  consent  for  the  transaction  of 
the  town  business  on  week-days,  but  for  Christian 
worship  on  Sundays.  Religion  being  a  part  of  the 
every-day  life  of  the  community,  and  the  conservator 
of  its  social  order  and  stability,  every  Puritan  parish 
was  the  whole  town,  and  all  were  under  obligation  to 
support  the  minister  and  to  aid  in  the  other  expense* 
of  the  church  to  the  extent  of  their  means.  Such  was. 
the  earliest  mode  of  supporting  religion  in  New  Eng- 
land, by  a  tax  levied  on  the  property  of  the  whole 
community.  The  people  usually  met  and  agreed 
upon  the  minister  and  his  salary  in  town-meeting,, 
and  when  they  built  a  house  for  him  or  dismissed  him 
they  usually  pursued  the  same  course.  The  parson- 
age or  the  parsonage  farm  was  generally  owned  by  the 
town,  and  set  off  for  that  purpose  by  the  common  pro- 
prietors. 

It  is  i|uite  probable  that  a  similar  state  of  things 
prevailed  at  first  in  the  Elizabeth  Town  colony.  Men- 
tion is  made  of  the  "  town-house"  as  early  as  June, 
1671.  Pardon,  in  his  testimony  in  the  Michell  case, 
says  that  "  on  the  19th  of  June,  1671,  he  was  at  a 
meeting  of  several  inhabitants  of  this  town  who  were 
met  together  at  the  town-house."  Mr.  Hatfield  thinks 
it  quite  probable  that  the  first  General  Assembly 
of  the  province  convened   in  this  town-house,  May 


196 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


26,  1668,  and  that  it  had  beeu  then  standing  for  at 
least  two  years.  The  same  building  is  probably  re- 
ferred to  as  "  the  public  Meeting-House  of  Elizabeth 
Town"  in  the  act  of  1682,  requiring  the  county  courts 
to  meet  here  twice  a  year.  As  early  as  Feb.  19, 1666, 
the  inhabitants  held  a  meeting,  at  which  the  whole 
town  was  present,  and  sixty-five  men  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance  and  fidelity.  The  house  had  most  likely 
been  built  before  this  date,  and  might  easily  have 
been,  as  John  Ogden  could  have  furnished  lumber 
from  his  saw-mill,  put  up  at  the  bridge  soon  after  his 
coming. 

The  lot  on  which  the  house  was  built  included  the 
present  burying-ground  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church,  extending  on  the  west  to  the  river,  and  com- 
prising about  eight  acres. 

Provision  was  made  by  the  Associates  for  a  town 
lot  for  the  minister,  who  was  to  have  a  third-lot  right 
in  it.  In  the  records  of  surveys  it  is  occasionally  re- 
ferred to  as  the  "  parsonage  lot." 

The  Associates  provided  for  a  mini.^ter  of  the  town 
on  their  first  setting  out  to  form  a  colony.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  James,  pastor  of  the  church  of  East  Hamp- 
ton, L.  I.,  had  been  chosen  their  minister,  and  had 
consented  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  them,  but  was 
persuaded  by  those  of  his  people  who  remained  to 
abandon  the  undertaking.  It  is  not  to  be  suppose(f, 
however,  that  no  religious  meetings  were  held  in  the 
infant  community  ;  such  a  people  could  not  long  forego 
that  privilege,  and  when  not  conducting  their  own 
meetings,  in  a  social  way  they  may  have  been  minis- 
tered to  occasionally  by  visiting  pastors  from  their  old 
homes.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Pierson,  former  pastor  of  some 
of  the  Associates,  removed  to  Newark,  Oct.  1,  1667, 
and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  he  may  have  previously 
visited  the  Elizabeth  Town  colony,  and  in  that  man- 
ner became  interested  in  the  region  of  country  which 
he  chose  for  his  future  home. 

Rev.  Jeremiah  Peck. — The  first  pastor  of  this 
church,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  Peck,  was  the  eldest  son 
of  Deacon  William  Peck,  of  New  Haven.  He  was 
born  near  London,  England,  in  1622  or  1623,  and 
came  to  America  with  his  father  in  the  ship  "  Hector," 
arriving  in  Boston  June  26,  1637.  Deacon  Peck  re- 
moved to  New  Haven  with  his  family  in  1639,  and 
became  one  of  the  founders  of  that  town.  Jeremiah 
graduated  at  Harvard  College  in  1654.  He  became  a 
teacher,  and  at  Guilford,  Conn.,  married  Johannah, 
daughter  of  Robert  Kitchell,  Nov.  12, 1656.  In  the 
records  of  the  colony  of  New  Haven,  June  28,  1660, 
appears  the  following  entry  : 


*'  It  was  agrped  that  M^  Pecke,  now  at  Guilford,  should  be  schoole- 
master,  and  that  it  should  begin  in  October  next,  when  hie  half  ycare 
expires  there  ;  he  is  to  keepe  y«  schoole,  to  teach  the  schollers  Lattirie, 
Greek,  and  Hebrew,  and  titt  them  for  the  CoUedge;  and  for  the  salary, 
he  kiiowes  the  alowance  fro  the  colony  is  401*  a  yeare  and  for  further 
treaties  tliey  must  leave  it  to  New  haven,  wliere  the  schoole  is;  and  for 
further  orders  coucerniiig  the  schoole  and  well  carrying  it  on,  the  elders 
will  cousider  of  some  against  the  court  of  magistrates  in  October  next, 
when  tilings  as  there  i»  cause  may  be  further  considered." 


Mr.  Peck  accepted  the  appointment,  and  returned 
to  his  old  home  in  October,  1660,  a  house  and  a  plot 
of  land  being  also  allowed  him.  He  appears  to  have 
remained  in  this  situation  but  a  short  time,  for  Sept. 
25,  1661,  we  find  him  engaging  as  a  minister  in  Say- 
brook,  to  receive  a  settlement  of  £100  in  lands  in  fee, 
and  £55  in  house  and  lot,  to  revert  to  the  town  if  he 
removed  within  five  years ;  his  salary  to  be  f  60  a  year, 
to  be  paid  in  two  firkins  of  butter,  and  the  rest  in  corn 
and  flesh  at  current  prices;  his  maintenance  to  be,  if 
necessary,  increased.  The  manner  in  which  his 
preaching  was  regarded  at  Saybrook  may  be  inferred 
from  the  following  letter  addressed  to  his  parish- 
ioners : 

"Anno  Domini  63  feb.  2  Respected  and  loving  ffriends  the  Inhab- 
itants and  planters  of  Seabroke  I  understaDd  and  that  from  divers  that 
there  is  much  Dissatisfaction  with  Reference  to  myselfe  in  respect  to  my 
proceeding  in  the  Ministry  at  least  to  a  settlement  and  that  there  are 
desires  in  mauy  to  provide  themselves  with  a  more  able  Help :  I  do  freely 
leave  myself  to  the  providence  of  Qod  and  the  Thots  of  his  people:  and 
so  far  as  I  am  any  wayes  concerned  herein  I  doe  leave  the  Towne  wholly 
to  their  own  Liberty  to  provide  for  themselves  as  God  shall  direct:  and 
with  respect  to  laying  aside  the  future  Term  of  years  expressed  in  the 
Covenant  aa  also  of  laying  me  aside  from  an  Employment  of  so  great  a 
concernment  1  do  desire  that  these  Things  may  be  duly  considered  and 
dealt  tenderly  in  that  I  may  not  be  rendered  useless  in  future  service 
for  God;  altho  I  am  unworthy  to  be  improved  bo  I  am  yours  in  what  1 
may  as  God  shall  please  to  direct  and  enable."  ^ 

The  people  of  Saybrook,  notwithstanding  this  feel- 
ing, appear  to  have  dealt  very  fairly  with  their  min- 
ister, keeping  him  nearly  three  years  longer,  "giving 
him  full  possession  of  his  accommodation,"  and  pur- 
chasing it  of  him  for  his  successor.  His  services  with 
them  closed  on  the  30th  of  January,  1666.  Return- 
ing to  Guilford,  where  be  found  his  father-in-law  and 
many  other  friends  and  many  of  the  people  of  Beau- 
ford,  with  Rev.  Mr.  Pierson,  talking  about  a  removal 
to  New  Jersey,  he  concluded  to  embark  with  them, 
and  came  to  Newark  in  the  autumn  of  16<56  or  in  the 
spring  of  1667.  It  is  supposed  that  he  served  that 
town  in  the  ministry  until  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Pier- 
son, Oct.  1,  1667,  and  then  came  to  Elizabeth  Town, 
where  he  was  engaged  both  as  a  preacher  and  teacher. 

He  became  a  freeholder  of  the  town  as  early  as  l(i68, 
as  the  house-lot  of  Capt.  Robert  Seeley,  deceiised,  is  de- 
scribed, Nov.  2,  1668,  as  lying  "  between  the  Parson- 
age Lot  and  Jeremiah  Pecks."  He  had  an  allotment 
of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  with  a  third-lot  right. 
Says  Rev.  Dr.  Hatfield,  "  In  the  absence  of  all  evi- 
dence to  the  contrary,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  that  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Peck  came  to  this  town  as  early  as  1668,  on 
invitation  of  the  people,  to  serve  them  in  the  ministry 
of  the  gospel,  and  that  he  is  to  be  regarded  as  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church  in  this  place." 

In  1672  he  became,  with  others,  a  purchaser  from 
the  Indians  of  a  tract  of  land  in  the  western  part  of 
the  present  town  of  Greenwich,  Conn.  In  the  autumn 
of  1678  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  settle  with  them 
in  the  ministry,  and  remained  there  until  1()90,  when 
he  settled  at  Waterbury,  Conn.,  where  he  remained 


THE   CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


197 


until  his  death,  which  occurred  June  7,  1699,  in  the 
seventy-eiglith  year  of  his  age. 

Eev.  Seth  Fletcher — .The  second  minister  of  the 
town  was  the  Rev.  Seth  Fletcher.  After  the  removal 
of  Mr.  Peck,  at  the  close  of  1678,  there  is  nothing  on 
record  to  show  that  any  minister  had  become  a  per- 
manent resident  of  the  town  until  the  summer  of 
1680,  when  Mr.  Fletcher  was  employed  to  preach. 
We  condense  the  following  sketch  of  Mr.  Fletcher 
from  Dr.  Hatfield's  "  History  of  Elizabeth"  : 

He  was  the  son  of  Robert  Fletcher,  of  Concord, 
Mass.,  who  died  April  3,  1677,  aged  eighty-five.  Mr. 
Fletcher  made  a  profession  of  religion  at  Hampton, 
N.  H.,  in  early  life,  under  the  preaching  of  the  Rev. 
Timothy  Dalton,  with  whom  he  studied  for  the  min- 
istry. He  married,  previous  to  1655,  at  Portsmouth, 
N.  H.,  Mary,  the  only  daughter  of  Maj.  Bryan  Pen- 
dleton, a  man  of  considerable  property  and  distinc- 
tion. Their  only  child  inherited,  at  his  grandfather's 
death,  in  1681,  the  homestead  at  Winter  Harbor,  Me. 
As  early  as  1655,  Mr.  Fletcher  became  the  minister 
of  Wells,  Me.,  but,  owing  mainly  to  the  laxuess  of  his 
views  on  the  Sabbath,  he  was  dismissed  in  October, 
1660.  From  this  time  until  the  breaking  out  of  the 
Indian  war,  in  1675,  he  resided  at  Saco,  Me.,  supply- 
ing file  pulpit,  except  for  short  intervals,  from  year 
to  year. 

Retiring  with  his  father-in-law  from  the  exposed 
frontiers,  he  tarried  a  while  at  Salem,  Mass.,  where 
he  preached  occasionally  for  the  Rev.  John  Higgin- 
son,  at  whose  instance,  in  1676,  he  visited  the  towns 
on  the  east  end  of  Long  Island.  Fordham,  of  South- 
ampton, had  died  in  1674,  and  had  been  succeeded 
until  1676  by  John  Harriman.  He  had  now  re- 
turned to  New  Haven,  and  Mr.  Fletcher  was  employed 
as  his  successor.' 

Mr.  Fletcher  remained  at  Southampton  about  four 
years  (1676-80),  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he 
wa-s  induced  to  remove  and  become  the  minister  of 
this  town,  in  the  summer  or  autumn  of  1680.  Of  his 
ministry  here  the  only  memorial  is  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Increase  Mather,  of  Boston,  dated  "  Elizabeth  Towne, 
March  25,  1681."  It  is  a  document  of  great  interest, 
and  the  earliest  ecclesiastical  memorial  of  the  town. 
It  presents  some  facts  not  otherwise  known  : 

'*  Rev.  Sir, — You  may  please  to  call  to  mind  that  since  I  saw  yon  in 
March  (or  Aprell)  the  year  past,  I  wrott  a  Letter  to  you  bearing  date  May 
28, 1680,  and  another  before  that.  May  10, 1680,  That  upon  May  10  (espec- 
ially) being  about  Mr.  Gershom  Hobart's  16s.  6(1.  which  he  is  indebted 
to  mee,  and  Mr.  Trapp'a  Exposition  from  Romans  to  the  end  of  the  Bible 
(in  quarto.)  I  never  heard  from  you  since  what  hath  been  done  with  it. 
I  am  now  more  remote  and  so  the  more  to  seeke  cash.  New  York  not 
being  such  a  place  for  the  production  of  money  as  Boston  is.  Be  pleased 
therefore  to  acquaint  Mr.  Bateman  at  the  draw  bridge  foote  what  you 
have  done,  or  like  to  doe,  or  are  inclined  to  doe  about  it.  I  have  been 
much  molested  with  Quakers  here  since  I  came.  New  ones  coraeing  in 
one  after  another.  Upon  February  last  past  upon  the  motion  of  two  of 
the  sect,  one  of  which  two  is  a  schoolemr  to  some  children  in  the  towne 


>  Savage's  Gen.  Diet.,  ii.  173-74.  Allen's  Am.  Biog  Diet.,  Art.  Stow. 
Greenlears  Sketches,  p.  53.  Folsom's  Saco  and  Biddeford,  pp.  130-36. 
Felt's  New  England,  ii.  173,  '249,  392.    Mass.  Records,  iv.  426,  434. 


(by  nation  a  Scott,  by  name  .lohn  Usquehart),  by  former  profession  (as 
fame  makes  known  to  mee)  a  Popish  Priest.  A  scholler  he  doth  professe 
himselfe  to  be,  and  I  find  that  he  hath  the  Latine  tongue.  The  businesse 
of  that  day  was  for  mee  to  maintain  an  Assertion  viz.  That  a  Quaker  liv- 
ing and  dyeing  as  a  Quaker  (without  repentance)  must  find  out  a  new 
gospell,  which  might  aford  them  hope  of  salvation,  for  what  God  hath 
revealed  in  his  holy  word  there  was  no  salvation  for  them  in  their  im- 
penitent condition.  I  open  the  terms  Explicated  by  way  of  distinction 
of  seducers  and  seduced  and  so  their  sins,  and  likewise  what  God  ex- 
pected from  the  one  and  the  olher  sort,  which  being  done  (although  there 
were  four  or  five  more  Quakers  in  the  throng,  yet  none  appearing  in  the 
cause  but  the  scholler  aforesaid  and  a  Chirurgeon)  I  demanded  of  them 
what  they  had  to  say  against  my  Explanation.  Instead  of  speaking  per- 
tinently the  scholler  (whom  I  understand  had  been  at  the  University 
four  or  five  years)  begins  to  tell  the  people  a  story  of  Moses,  Ezra,  Habac- 
cuk  their  being  Quakers.  Whereupon  having  the  people  on  account  of 
the  business  of  the  day  I  proceeded  to  si-v  severall  Arguments  by  which 
to  make  good  my  Assertion,  viz.  That  a  Quaker  living  and  dyeing  as  a 
Quaker  (without  repentance)  according  to  whiit  God  liath  revealed  in  his 
word,  he  could  not  be  saved  I  in  every  argument  demanded  what  part 
of  the  Arguments  they  would  deny  but  instead  of  answer  there  was  rail- 
ing and  threatening  mee  that  my  destruction  was  nigh  at  hand.  To  prflve 
the  Minor  I  continually  produced  their  owne  authorsand  several  things 
out  of  their  Rabble's  books,  which  so  exceedingly  gauled  them  that  then 
they  set  themselves  to  Humming,  singing,  reeling  their  heads  and  bodies 
(Antique  like)  whereby  both  to  disturb  mee  and  takeofT  the  people  from 
attending  to  what  I  had  to  say  for  the  maintaining  the  Assertion.  Since 
that  (I  heare)  I  must  ere  long  be  proved  to  be  a  minister  of  Christ,  and 
they  have  attempted  to  raise  as  great  a  party  at  Road  Island  and  Delle- 
way  Bay  against  mee  as  they  can.  Nay  more  they  say  England  and  their 
friends  there  shall  heare  of  it  and  iu  speciall  Will.  Penn,  whom  I  men- 
tioned once  and  butonce  and  then  but  in  my  4th  argument,  Namely  his 
denyall  of  Christ  being  a  distinct  person  without  us  form  hie  book  en- 
titled C'ounterfeit  Christian  p.  77.  As  for  news  about  Commouwealth 
afiiiirs  I  saw  a  Proclamation  of  the  old  Governor  forbideing  upon  Perill 
the  grauntiug  any  obedience  to  those  iu  present  power,  promiseing  open 
courts  shortly.  The  proclamation  was  put  up  here  at  our  meeting  house 
upon  Sabbath  morn  March  1680-1,  but  before  morning  exercise  taken 
down,  and  the  day  after,  sent  to  York.  What  the  issue  will  be  God  (in 
time)  will  discover.  Sir  no  further  to  inlarge  I  take  leave  committing 
you  to  the  keeper  of  Israel,  remaineing  yours  to  serve  you  in  the  Lord. 
"  I  saw  Mr.  Abraham  Person  in  health  upon  Thursday  morning  March 
9  at  his  own  house  and  tlie   next  day  Mr.  Allen  (in  health  also)  at  my 


Mr.  Fletcher's  death  occurred  in  Augu.st,  1682.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  vigorous  thought,  of 
scholarly  attainments,  and  of  much  zeal  for  the  truth, 
though  at  one  time  somewhat  lax  on  the  doctrine  of 
the  Sabbath.  Po.ssibly  his  controversies  with  the 
Quakers  in  these  parts  may  have  led  him  to  enter- 
tain more  orthodox  views  on  that  subject.  He  was 
probably  nearly  sixty  years  old  at  the  time  of  his 
decease.  The  children  of  his  son  Pendleton  (who 
died  a  captive  among  the  Indians  in  1698)  settled  in 
the  vicinity  of  Wells  and  Saco,  Me.' 

Re"V.  John  Hareiman. — From  the  death  of  Rev. 
Seth  Fletcher  in  August,  1682,  for  about  five  years 
the  town  was  without  a  settled  minister.  Indeed, 
such  a  dearth  of  ministers  was  there  at  this  period 
that  "within  all  the  province  of  East  Jersey  there 
was  no  settled  ])reacher  except  Mr.  Pierson  at 
Newark."  John  Allen  was  at  Woodbridge,  but  had 
ceased  to  supply  the  pulpit.  Watson  in  1684  speaks 
of  the  "  Deacon  Meetings,"  so  called,  which  were 
resorted  to  at  that  time,  saying,  "  And  now  the  people 
they  meet  together  every  Sabbatli  day,  and  Read  and 
Pray  and  sing  Psalms  in  their  Meeting-houses." 


'  E.  J.  Records,  iv.  14.    Folsom's  Saco,  pp.  130-36, 


198 


HTSTOKY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Rev.  John  Harriman  was  called  in  1687.  He  was 
a  native  of  New  Haven,  and  an  associate  in  his  boy- 
hood of  many  of  the  younger  members  of  the  Eliza- 
beth Town  colony.  He  wa.s  the  only  son  of  John 
and  Elizabeth  Harriman,  of  New  Haven,  and  "  was 
trained  from  childhood  under  the  eye  of  that  rigid 
old  Puritan,  the  Rev.  John  Davenport,  by  whom  he 
had  been  baptized.  The  old  pastor  finding  him  apt 
to  learn  encouraged  him  to  seek,  and  his  father  to 
give  him  a  liberal  education.  In  his  thirteenth  year 
he  came  under  the  instruction  of  his  townsman,  Mr. 
Jeremiah  Peck,  at  that  time  principal  of  the  New 
Haven  grammar  school,  and  afterwards  the  first  pa.stor 
at  Elizabeth  Town,  as  already  noticed.  At  the  age 
of  fifteen  young  Harriman  was  sent  to  college  at 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  to  be  educated  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Rev.  Charles  Chauncey.  He  graduated 
in  1667,  in  the  same  class  with  Gershom  Hobart,  and 
one  year  in  advance  of  Abraham  Pierson,  Jr.,  and 
John  Prudden. 

After  his  graduation  Mr.  Harriman  returned  to 
New  Haven  and  taught  the  Hopkins  grammar  school 
for  several  years,  being  also  occasionally  employed 
as  a  preacher  at  New  Haven,  East  Haven,  and  Wal- 
lingford.  During  the  lifetime  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Street 
he  had  probably  preached  for  him  occasionally  at 
New  Haven,  and  at  his  death,  April  22,  1674,  he  was 
frequently  called  upon  to  supply  the  vacant  pulpit. 
In  the  latter  part  of  that  year,  or  the  early  part  of 
the  next,  he  went  over  to  Southampton  to  preach  as 
a  candidate  for  the  pulpit  made  vacant  by  the  decease 
(1674)  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Fordham.  He  accepted  a 
call  from  the  town,  and  was  put  in  possession  of  the 
parsonage  "  upon  terms  y°  towne  and  he  hath  agreed 
on,"  April  12,  1675.  Early  in  1676  he  returned  to 
New  Haven,  and  in  July  of  that  year  became  the 
stated  supply  of  tlie  pulpit  in  his  native  town.  He 
continued  there  until  1682,  preaching  most  of  the 
time ;  but  the  people  were  divided  between  him  and 
Mr.  Joseph  Taylor,  who  preached  a  part  of  the  time 
from  1676  to  1679,  and  was  then  settled  at  South- 
ampton. 

In  1682,  Mr.  Harriman  received  a  call  to  East 
Haven.  The  next  year  they  resolved  to  build  a  house 
for  the  minister,  for  which  they  subscribed  one  hun- 
dred and  four  pounds  and  ten  shillings,  besides  the 
salary  of  fifty  pounds  a  year  which  they  agreed  to 
pay  him,  but  the  parsonage  was  not  built,  and  he  re- 
mained with  them  but  a  short  time  longer. 

In  October,  1684,  he  was  associated  with  Robert 
Vauquellin  in  running  the  boundary  line  between 
New  York  and  Connecticut,  having  been  a])pointed 
surveyor  for  this  purpose  by  the  General  Court  at 
Hartford,  May  8,  1684.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
he  had  been  previously  employed,  and  perhaps  for 
years,  occasionally  as  a  practical  surveyor.  Vau- 
quellin had  long  been  so  employed  in  East  Jersey, 
and  it  is  not  likely  that  in  an  affair  of  so  much  im- 
portance any  but  the  most  skillful  surveyor  would  be 


appointed  on  the  part  of  Connecticut.  In  occupations 
of  this  kind  he  was  probably  employed  for  a  year  or 
two,  when  his  steps  were  directed  hither,  possibly  by 
Vauquellin  himself.  He  had  many  old  friends  here, 
as  also  had  the  Southampton  people.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  his  name  should  have  been  suggested 
and  a  desire  expressed  to  hear  him.  He  was  installed 
the  pastor  of  this  church,  most  probably  Sejit.  30, 
1687,  as  appears  from  the  following  memorandum  in 
his  ledger,  under  date  of  Nov.  1, 1694 :  "  we  Reckoned 
&  my  7""  year  payd  w""  ended  7  b''  30""  last  pceeding 
this  date."  All  his  reckonings  with  his  parishioners 
are  from  the  same  date.  Governor  Laurie  lived  a 
few  days  only  after  his  coming.  The  tjuaker  rule 
had  ceased  a  year  before,  and  the  Scotch  were  now  in 
power.  Lord  Campbell  had  returned  home,  but 
Hamilton,  his  deputy,  was  also  Scotch,  and  doubtless 
a  Presbyterian. 

Mr.  Harriman  married,  as  early  as  1673,  Hannah,  a 
daughter  of  Richard  Bryan,  of  Milford,  Conn.  She 
was  born  in  1654,  and  her  twin-sister,  Mary,  was  mar- 
ried (1)  to  John  Maltby,  of  New  Haven,  and  (2|  to  a 
Mr.  Howell,  of  Long  Island,  probably  Edward,  of 
Southampton.  Another  sister,  Frances,  was  married 
to  Joseph  Treat,  of  Milford,  and  yet  another,  Sarah, 
married  (1)  Samuel  Fitch,  and  (2)  Mungo  Nisbett, 
whose  name  appears  in  his  old  ledger.  Mr.  Bryan,  as 
his  father  had  been  before  him,  was  the  richest  man 
in  Milford.  Six  children  had  been  born  to  Mr.  Har- 
riman when  he  came,  in  his  fortieth  year,  to  this 
town.  John  was  his  eldest  son  (born  1674),  and,  like 
his  father,  became  eminent  as  a  land  surveyor.  Sam- 
uel was  born  June  25, 1676  ;  Ann,  July  5, 1678  ;  Mary, 
in  1680;  Leonard,  in  1683;  and  Richard,  in  1685. 
Three  sons  were  born  to  him  here.  His  family  having 
increased  since  his  settlement,  and  his  salary  being 
only  sixty  pounds  a  year,  he  applied  in  1692  to  the 
proprietors  for  a  grant  of  land,  in  consideration,  also, 
of  his  having  "  expended  large  sums  in  purchasing 
and  improving."  He  received  a  grant  of  one  hun- 
dred acres.' 

He  was  evidently  a  man  of  great  exactness,  a  trait 
of  character  greatly  promoted  by  his  occasional  prac- 
tice of  the  art  of  surveying.  Soon  after  his  entering 
on  the  i)astoral  work  here  he  opened  an  account  with 
every  one  of  the  subscribers  to  his  support,  noting 
carefully  the  amount  of  the  subscription  and  the 
times  of  payment,  specifying  by  whom  and  to  whom, 
in  many  cases,  the  sum  was  paid,  whether  in  cash  or 
otherwise,  whether  in  merchandise  or  services  ren- 
dered. These  accounts  were  kept  in  two  books,  the 
first  covering  the  period  from  1687  to  1693,  the  second 
from  1694  to  1705.  The  first  of  these  books  is  lost, 
the  second  is  preserved,  having  been  |)resented  to 
Rev.  John  McDowell,  some  sixty  years  since,  by  Mr. 


281-82;  ii.  358.  Bacon's  New  HaTsn,  pp.  168-60,  SIO. 
HoweH'e  SouUianipton,  pp.  104-6, 132.  Whitohead'e  E.  J.,  p.  168.  E.  J. 
Records.  Dodd'e  E.  Haven  Register,  pp.  60-61 .  N.  V.  Col.  Docmts.,  iv. 
630-32. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


199 


William  Harriman,  the  grandson  of  the  old  pastor.  | 
Several  particulars  of  much  interest,  illustrative  of 
the  town  history,  have  been  gathered  from  this  ven- 
erable and  well-preserved  folio.  A  list  of  subscribers 
to  his  support  in  the  year  1694  is  here  given,  in  the 
order  in  whicli  tlieir  accounts  are  entered  : 


£  s.  ■(. 

Mr.  Heiirj-  Lyon 3  10  0 

Deacon  George  Rose 1  10  (I 

Daniel  Boss 0  10  0 

James  Hinds 0  15  0 

David  Woodruff 0  10  0 

John  Parker 1  0  0 

William  Browne 1  10  n 

Deacon  Jonatlian  Ogden ;i  0  0 

Mr.  JohuOgden 3  0  0 

Widow  Hannah  I,yon 1  10  0 

Joseph  Lyon 0  18  0 

Benjamin  Lyon 0  1.5  0 

Mr.  Isiiac  Wliitehead 0  10  0 

Joseph  Osborne 1  0  0 

Nathaniel  Bunnell 1  10  0 

Nathaniel  Bunnell,  Jr 0  n  o 

Nathaniel  l^yon 0  K  (i 

Moses  Thompson 10  0 

Mr.  John  Woodruff. 2  0  0 

Henry  Norris 2  0  0 

Mr.  Benjanjin  Ogden 1  10  0 

Benjamin  Meeker 1  10  u 

Mr  Benjiimin  Prioe,  Jr 1  10  0 

Eobert  Smith 1  0  0 

Robert  Moss 1  0  0 

Benjanjin  Pierson 0  18  0 

Alexander  Keenee 0  10  0 

Joseph  Woodruff. 0  12  0 

Benjamin  Trotter 0  6  0 

Joseph  Sayer. 1  0  0 

Thomas  Price 0  15  0 

Ephraim  Price 0  10  o 

Capt.  Daniel  Price 0  15  0 

John  Piice 0  6  0 

Mr.  Benjamin  Price 1  0  0 

Aaron  Thompson 0  15  (i 

Marv  and  John  Thompson 1       •  0 

JobuWinans 1  10  0 

Widow  Blary  Bond 0  5  0 

Joseph  Whitehead o  10  0 

Richard  Clarke 1  0  0 

Cornelius  and  Mary  Hatfield 1  10  0 

Nathiuiiel  Whitehead 0  6  0 

Th..nia»  Lee 0  C  0 

W'illiam  Millar 1  10  0 

JeoffieyJones 0  10  0 

Mr.  Joseph  Wilson :i  0  0 

Samuel  Tjotter 0  5  0 

Jos.phMeaker 2  0  0 

Hendiick  Baker 0  16  0 

Nicholas  Maker 0  10  0 

Abraham  Baker 0  h  0 

Obadiah  Sales 0  15  0 

Jcdin  Ross 0  10  0 

Capt.  John  Baker 0  15  0 

John  Meaker 0  12  0 

Richard  Clarke,  Jr - 0  6  0 

Eben.-zer  Lvon 0  10  n 

.Icdin  Clarke 0  n  0 

John  Hinds 0  12  0 

Nathaniel  Tuttle 1  0  0 

Thomas  Thompson 0  6  0 

George  Pack 0  10  (i 

John  Mil^s 0  15  0 

John  Pope 0  8  0 

Jonas  Wood 0  12  0 

Jon:ithan  Clement 0  10  0 

John  L<ioker 0  16 

Jeremiah  Crane 0  6  0 

Stephen  <rane 0  15  0 

William  Hill 0  10  0 

Roger  Lambert 0  6  0 

Ebenezer  Spinning 0  6  0 

Joseph  Halsey 0  6  0 

John    Lambert 0  6  0 

John  Gold 0  12  0 

James  Crighton 

GeorgeJewell 10  0 

Jeremiah  Osborn 0  6  0 

E.lward  Krazee 0  8  0 

William  Looker,  Jr 0  4  0 

Joseph  Frazee 1  0  0 

GeorL-e  Thorp 0  5  0 

Cloirb-s  Tooker,  Jr 0  1  0 

John  Ibollev 0  6  0 

ShaniKar  liai  lies... 0  ;i  0 

.loliii  lli.nick  0  8  0 

Williiiiu  Richardson 0  3  0 

HenrvWalvin 0  3  0 

John  Indes 0  3  0 


John  Nuee 0  3  0 

William  Strahern 0  6  0 

William  Oliver 0  6  0 

Samuel  Oliver 0  6  0 

William  Oliver,  Jr 0  6  n 

Joshua  Clarke 0  6  0 

John  Oslrome 0  6  0 

Richard  Baker 0  6  0 

Derrick  Baker 0  0  9 

Henry  Harriss 0  6  0 

The  number  of  the  names  is  ninety-nine,  not  in- 
cluding Widow  Mary  Hatfield,  mentioned  with  her 
son  Cornelius,  and  Widow  Mary  Thompson,  with  her 
son  John.  Of  the  three  sons  of  Mrs.  Hatfield,  Cor- 
nelius subscribed  ten  shillings,  Abraham  ten  shil- 
lings, and  Isaac  fifteen  shillings. 

At  the  town-meeting  held  Jan.  18, 1697,  the  follow- 
ing additional  subscribers  were  enrolled: 

£  «.  d. 

Samuel  Sayer 0  6  0 

.lohn  Erskin 0  5  0 

Samuel  Whitehead 0  9  0 

Benjamin  Bond 0  6  0 

Francis  Saver 0  3  0 

William  Parent 0  6  0 

John  Boardnian 0  6  0 

Samuel  Millar 0  6  0 

The  following  were  added  (all  but  the  last  two)  at 

the  town-meeting  March  11,  1701 : 

f  ■  s.  d. 

John  Ailing 0  6  0 

Isaac  Bunnell 0  15  0 

Thomas  Clarke 0  6  0 

Jonathan  Hinda 0  6  0 

Samuel  Little 0  6  0 

Joseph  Ogden 0  6  9 

Samuel  Wood.. 0  9  0 

Ephraim  Clarke 0  6  0 

Samuel  Clarke 0  6  0 

Benjamin  Woodruff 0  6  0 

Jolin  Magie 0  6  0 

ThomasSayer 0  6  0 

Thomas  Keeneo 0  5  0 

George  Ross.  Jr 0  10  0 

Thomas  Moore 0  10  0 

The  whole  number  of  actual  subscribers  is  one 
hundred  and  twenty-four,  and  the  amount  of  sub- 
scription £83  11.?.  Od.  A  very  small  part  of  the  sub- 
scriptions were  paid  in  cash,  but  such  produce,  meat, 
stock,  labor,  etc.,  as  the  minister  needed  formed  the 
staple.  A  list  of  prices  current  from  1694  to  1705  is 
subjoined  as  a  matter  of  curious  interest : 


1    Veal.l^^  to  2d.  lb. 
1    Beef,   do.    do.     do. 

Pork,  2'  2  to  3d.    " 

Venison,  Irf. 

Tnrkeys,  16d.  each. 

Capons,  1«.  6rf.    " 

Docks,  131/2*     " 

Hens,  9d.  " 

Oxen,  £4  10«.      " 

Colts,  14s. 

Ewe  Sheep,  10s.  to  lis.  each. 

Heifers,  £.'1  each. 

Beef,  £1  15s.  Od.  barrel. 

Salt  shad,  id.  each. 

Oysters,  9<;.  to  lid.  hun.;  2s.  to  9( 
gal. 

Wheat,  4g.  to  6s.  bushel. 

Buckwheat,  2s.        " 

Rye,  lis.  iy^d.  " 

Meslin,  3«.  9d. 

Indian  corn.  Is.  6d.  to  3s.  bushel. 

Turnips,  Is.    bushel. 

Oats,  22Ud.  " 

Peas,  4s.  " 

Apples,  2».  to  3s.   " 


Whale  oil,  2s.  lod.ja 


Race 


iskii 


Making  cider,  4^  .jd.  bid. 
Killing  a  cow,  2s.  .3d. 
calf,  Is.  6d. 

'■        hog,  Is. 

"        pig,  Sd. 

**  sheep,  9d. 
Shearing  "  2d. 
Weaving,  8d.  yard. 
Day's  work,  28.  3d.  man. 

"  '*     Is.  boy. 

'*  "     3s.  man  and  oxen. 

'*  "     6s.  man  and  team. 

Pasturing  ox,  Is.  week. 
Fanning,  2d.  bushel. 
Shingles,  3s.  6d.  hundred. 
Rails,  6s.  to  14<.        " 
Clapboards,  5«.  " 

Shoes  for  children,  3«.  pair. 

"       "    women,  5s.  pair. 

"       "    men,  6s.  9d-  pair. 
Barrels,  3s.  each. 
Pails,  2s.  3d.    " 


200 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Salt,  4«.  id.  to  5».  bushel. 
Cider,  13».  bbl. 
Butter,  6<J.  lb. 
Cheese,  i]4d.  lb. 
Sugar,  M.        " 
Fb<x,  9d.  to  Is.  6d.  lb. 
Hops,  U. 

Pepper,  68.  " 

Tobacco,  4}^(i.  to  Wd.  lb. 
Hides,  2(i.  " 

Allum,  9d.  " 

Indigo,  i]4d.  to  8<J.  oz. 
Eggs,  3d.  to  id.  doz. 
Hay,  IIX.  to  208.  load. 
Stones,  3s.  " 

Wool,  13J^(i.  lb. 
Bum,  U.  6d.  qt. 
Cider,  3d. 
Molasses,  2s.  id.  gal. 


Buckets,  2s.  each. 
Hats  for  men,  22a.  to  33s.  each. 
Paper,  Is.  ed.  lo  Is.  lOrf.  quire. 
Powder,  3s.  ed.  lb. 
Shot,  il4d. 
Brooms.  4?,^d.  each. 
Pins,  l3J^d.  paper. 
Ozenbrig:gs,  Is.  8d.  yard. 
Kersey,  5s.  6d.  to  7s.  yard. 
Holland,  38.  6d.  to  4s  3d.  yard. 
Fustian,  2i.  3d.  " 

Lineey  wolsey,  4s.  " 

Linen  (blue).  Is.  4d.  to  28.   " 
Serge,  4s.  id.  to  68.  •' 

Buttons,  6d.  to  dd.  doz. 
Stockings,  48.  ad.  pair. 
Gloves,  4s.  6d.  " 

Silk  (black),  48.  6d.  oz. 


Mr.  Harriman  was  a  man  of  large  business.  His 
100-acre  lot  "  in  the  plains"  he  cleared  and  cultivated. 
He  charges  "my  lot  in  y'  plaines,"  June  6,  1701, 
with  cost  of  "  beer,  cake  &  rum  to  y"  volunteers  at  y' 
clearing  s^  lott— £1  7  U."  He  rented  of  Capt. 
Ebenezer  Wilson,  of  New  York,  the  mill  on  the 
creek  (the  same  that  "old  John  Ogden"  built  at  the 
bridge,  and  mortgaged  Oct.  9,  1668,  to  Cornelius 
Steenwyck,  of  New  York),  for  which  he  and  Capt. 
Benjamin  Ogden,  his  partner,  paid  £25  per  year. 
Nathaniel  Whitehead  had  charge  of  the  mill.  In 
1698  he  built  a  new  house  in  Meadow  Street,  north 
of  Jersey  Street,  finishing  it,  however,  in  1701,  and 
moving  into  it  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  Where  he 
lived  previously  does  not  appear,  probably  on  the 
parsonage  ground  .south  of  the  creek,  near  the  pres- 
ent railroad-crossing.  His  "  new  barne"  he  built  in 
1702,  "  length  24  feet,  breadth  22,  height  11  feet." 
It  was  built  "by  Benj"  Meaker  &  Benj°  Trottar." 
Benjamin  Pierson,  Joseph  Woodruff,  Alexander  Kee- 
ney,  Joseph  Osborn,  Daniel  Ross,  and  Richard  Har- 
riman have  each  the  credit  of  carting  for  it  one  load. 
The  builders  received  seven  pounds.  In  addition, 
he  says,  "  the  cost  of  my  barne,  built  this  summer, 
£7  14  0,"  the  "  timber  getting  &  framing  given  me 
except  18«.  To  y''  carpenters." 

Not  content  with  preaching,  pastoral  visitation, 
farming,  and  carrying  on  a  flour-mill,  he  had  also  a 
cider-press,  he  had  an  agency  for  furnishing  glass  to 
his  neighbors,  he  surveyed  lands  now  and  then,  he 
attended  the  Legislature  as  a  deputy,  having  been 
thus  elected  in  1693,  1694,  1695,  and  1698.  Like  the 
most  of  his  profession,  he  kept  a  boarding-school  also. 
His  ledger  shows  that  from  1685  to  1702  he  had  the 
following  pupils  under  his  care,  most,  if  not  all,  of 
whom  boarded  with  him  :  David  Selleck,  Richard 
Lawrence,  John  Potter,  John  Thelwell,  John  Wessels, 
John  Ranselere,  William  Cooley,  Andrew  Wandler, 
(his  son)  Richard,  Jeremiah  Floyd,  William  (son  of 
John  Crooke,  of  New  York),  John  Manverte,  Joshua 
Swaiiie,  James  Robeson,  Joseph  Tapping,  Joseph 
Meaker,  Jonathan  Sayer,  John  Harrison,  John  Le 
Roax,  Edward  Taylor,  and  Peter  Jewey.     His  price 


for  board  was  five  shillings  a  week  ;  and  for  teaching 
"  the  art  of  Navigation,"  three  pounds. 

He  dealt  considerably  in  real  estate  also.  In  1694 
he  .sold  to  John  Miles,  his  nephew,  half  an  acre  of 
land,  on  which  to  build  his  house,  for  five  pounds. 
In  1703  he  bought  of  Miles  "  his  dwelling-house,  etc.," 
for  sixty-five  pounds.  The  date  of  this  transaction  is 
Mav  24th.  But  under  date  of  May  17,  1703,  "John 
Blanchard,  gallicus"  (Frenchman),  is  charged  with 
"  a  house  &c  sold  you  to  day  at  £80."  Could  this  be 
the  same,  or  was  it  his  own  new  house?  Still  earlier, 
March  25,  1703,  Aaron  Thompson  is  credited  with 
"  his  4-acre  home  lott  at  £20,"  the  payment  of  which 
was  completed  May  12,  1704. 

He  dealt  also  in  slaves,  at  least  for  his  own  use  : 
"We  bought  the  Negro  Toney  Aug'  14'"  1697  of 
Charles  Tooker  jun''  for  48""."  It  is  probable  that 
Capt.  Benjamin  Ogden  was  one  of  the  "  we,"  and  that 
Toney  was  principally  employed  at  the  mill ;  or  the 
"  we"  may  include  his  son  John.  Again,  Oct.  28, 
1701,  he  bought  of  "  Mr.  James  Emot  an  Indian  girle 
named  Hagar,"  for  £19  lOs.  Orf. 

Occasionally  he  records  the  hire  of  a  horse,  or  of  a 
man  and  horse,  for  a  journey  to  New  England.  On 
one  occasion,  January,  1699,  Joseph  Woodruff  accom- 
panied him  to  Milford,  Conn.,  where  they  had  a  con- 
ference with  Governor  Treat,  as  appears  from  Mr. 
Woodruff's  affidavit  in  the  answer  to  the  Eliz.^beth 
Town  bill  in  chancery,  page  47. 

It  appears  also  that  it  was  customary  to  take  a 
contribution  in  the  church  every  Lord's  Day,  of  the 
proceeds  of  which  an  account  is  preserved  only  for 
a  part  of  1699.  A  specimen  of  these  entries  is  here 
given:  "  Feb^  19 — cash  19s.  10.]'1  wampom  llrf. — 
£1  00  9.1." 

Feb.  1,  1696,  John  Woodruff,  car[)enter,  is  credited 
with  "  making  a  coffin  for  my  dear  Leonard  ;"  and  in 
September,  "  w""  a  coffin  for  my  son  Alexander." 
Two  sons  taken  from  him  in  one  year !  Leonard  was 
thirteen  years  old  ;  Alexander  was  at  least  five  or  .six 
years  younger,  having  been  born  in  this  town. 

Of  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Harriman  no  written 
memorials  remain,  and  scarcely  anything  traditional. 
It  is  greatly  to  his  credit  that,  in  the  midst  of  the  ex- 
citements of  1688,  of  the  anarchy  of  1690-92,  and  of 
the  revolutionary  period  from  1699  to  1702,  he  should 
have  .succeeded  in  retaining  not  only  his  place,  but 
also  the  affection  and  confidence  of  his  people.  His 
sympathies  were  altogether  on  the  side  of  popular 
rights.  His  manly  words  of  cheer  on  the  Sabbath 
greatly  encouraged  the  town  in  their  long-protracted 
struggle  against  oppressmn.  Like  its  predecessor,  he 
doubtless  had  to  contend  with  opposers.  The  Quak- 
ers, under  the  influence  ot  Rudyard  and  Laurie,  had 
increased  in  number  and  iiiHuence,  and  probably  had 
formed  themselves,  as  in  other  settlements,  into  a 
religious  society  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town. 
The  Scotch,  with  their  national  preference  for  Pres- 
byterianism,  adhered  to  him  and  his  Puritan  Church. 


THE    CITY    OP    ELIZABETH. 


201 


Mr.  Hurriman  was  removed  by  death  Aug.  20, 1705, 
ill  the  fitty-eighth  year  of  his  age.  The  only  partic- 
uhir  notice  of  this  event  is  found  in  the  Boston  Xews- 
Letter  of  Sept.  10,  1705,  as  follows  : 

"  Elizabeth  Town  in  Jersey,  August  30.  On  Munday  the  20  Current 
Dynd  here  in  the  Afternoon  the  Reverend  Mr.  John  Hurriman,  Pastor 
of  the  Church  in  this  place,  Aged  nljont  00  years:  Who  the  same  day  at 
a  Church  Meeting  told  his  people  that  the  time  of  his  departure  drew 
near,  and  exhorted  them  to  Peace  and  Unity  one  with  another,  and  to 
stand  fast  in  the  Covenant  that  they  had  engaged  themselves  to." 

Mr.  Harriman  probably  died  of  apoplexy.  His 
son  John  was  a  merchant  and  a  surveyor,  and  ex- 
erted a  wide  influence  over  his  townsmen. 

Rev.  Samuel  Melyen  was  for  a  short  time  a 
colleague  of  Mr.  Harriman's  before  he  became  his 
successor  in  the  ]>astorate  of  this  church.  It  appears 
from  Harriman's  ledger  that  Mr.  Melyen  was  or- 
dained and  installed  pastor  about  the  20th  of  May, 
1704,  the  expenses  of  the  occasion  being  £1  5s.  lOd. 
He  was  the  son  of  Jacob  Melyen,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  town,  and  was  baptized,  with  his  brother  Dan- 
iel and  sister  Abigail,  Aug.  7,  1677,  in  the  Dutch 
Church  at  New  York,  where  the  family  then  resided. 
A  brother  Jacob  and  sister  Susanna  had  been  bap- 
tized Oct.  3,  1674.  As  early  as  1690  the  family  had 
probably  removed  to  Boston,  and  soon  after  Samuel 
entered  Harvard  College,  where  he  enjoyed  the  in- 
struction of  that  eminent  divine.  Rev.  Increase  Ma- 
ther, D.D.  He  graduated  in  1696,  and  in  1700-1 
taught  the  grammar  school  at  Hadley,  Mass.  In  Dec. 
1702  his  name  appears  as  a  witness  to  a  will  of  John 
Clark,  of  Elizabeth  Town,  which  shows  that  he  was  | 
either  a  resident  here  at  that  time  or  here  on  a  visit. 
The  memorials  left  of  his  ministry  are  few  and  very 
unsatisfactory.  "  One  of  his  books,"  says  Rev.  Dr. 
Hatfield,  "  '  The  Cambridge  Concordance,'  published 
in  1697,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Thomas  0. 
Crane,  of  Rahway,  whose  father,  Isaac  Crane,  of  this 
town,  bought  it  of  Elizabeth  Crane."  '  It  is  a  rare 
old  book  and  in  good  preservation.  It  contains  the 
following  beautiful  autograph  inscription  : 

'*  Vita  sine  Uteris  est  Mortis  Imago;  at 

Vita  sine  Christo  est  Morte  pejor. 

Si  CHRISTUM  discis,  nihil  est  si  caetera  neacis. 

Si  CHRISTUM  nescis,  nihil  est  si  caetera  discis. 

Stimnelis  Melyen 

Liber, 

Martii,  1° 

Anno  Domini,  1702." 

It  is  not  known  at  what  date  his  ministry  here 
closed.  Tradition  asserts  that  he  was  deposed  on  ac- 
count of  some  immoralitie.s  unfitting  him  for  the  pul- 
pit. Dr.  Murray  gave  currency  to  tiie  following: 
"  Being  strongly  suspected  of 'intemperance,  the  choir, 
on  a  certain  Sabbath  morning,  sung  a  hymn  as  a  volun- 
tary, which  he  considered  as  designed  to  reprove  and 
expose  him.  Whilst  being  sung  he  descended  from 
the  pulpit,  and  taking  his  wife  he  walked  out  of  the 
church,  and  never  again  entered  it." '     Dr.  Hatfield 


thinks  this  very  doubtful,  as  "  the  days  of  choirs  and 
voluntaries  had  not  yet  come."  However,  the  doctor 
says,  "-His  ministry  was  short,  his  sun  going  down 
behind  a  very  dark  cloud."  Farther  on  he  says, 
"  That  he  was  intemperate  is  quite  likely.  The  temp- 
tations to  this  vice  were  at  that  period  very  great." 

It  is  thought  that  Mr.  Melyen  was  never  married, 
and  that  his  sister  Joanna  kept  house  for  him.  He 
continued  to  reside  in  Elizabeth  Town  until  his 
death,  and  held  some  minor  oflBces.  At  the  Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions,  sitting  at  this  town  in  November  of 
the  same  year,  a  complaint  was  brought  against  him 
by  Matthias  De  Hart,  of  the  nature  of  which  no 
record  remains.  A  true  bill  was  found  against  hiin 
by  the  grand  jury,  and  he  was  ordered  into  the  cus- 
tody of  the  sheriff  until  he  should  give  special  bail. 
At  the  sessions  of  the  court  in  Newark,  Aug.  21, 
1711,  he  is  reported  as  having  deceased  since  the 
sessions  in  May.  He  died  nearly  at  the  same  time 
with  Col.  Richard  Townley,  who  was  president  of  the 
court  by  which  he  was  indicted. 

His  will  bears  date  May  10,  1711,  and  expresses  a 
high  degree  of  faith  in  the  gospel  of  the  Redeemer. 
He  gives  thirty-five  pounds  to  Mrs.  Ann  Gardener ; 
five  pounds  to  his  executor,  George  Jewell ;  his  pew- 
ter tumbler  and  silver  spoon  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Jewell  ; 
his  looking-glass  and  three  "  Turkey  worked  chears" 
to  Sarah  Jewell;  his  saddle,  pillion,  books,  bow  and 
arrows,  and  "portmantle"  to  Cornelius  Jewell  ;  and 
the  remainder  of  his  possessions  to  his  sister,  Abigail 
Tilley,  at  Boston.  His  will  was  proved  July  26, 
1711.' 

Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson.— The  vacancy  occa- 
sioned by  the  retirement  of  the  Rev.  Samuel  Melyen 
from  the  pulpit  of  the  church  was  filled  shortly  after- 
ward by  the  ordination  and  installation  of  the  Rev. 
Jonathan  Dickinson.  This  distinguished  minister 
and  writer  was  the  son  of  Hezekiah,  and  grandson 
of  Nathaniel  Dickinson,  the  latter  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  and  an  emigrant 
thence  in  1659  to  Hadley,  Mass.  Hezekiah  was 
born  at  Wethersfield  in  February,  1646;  became  a 
merchant,  and  resided  successively  in  Stratford, 
Conn.,  and  in  Hatfield,  Hadley,  and  Springfield, 
Mass.  He  married  at  Stratford,  December  4,  1679, 
Abigail  Blackman. 

Jonathan  was  the  second  child  of  these  worthy 
parents.  He  was  born  April  22,  1688,  at  Hatfield, 
Mass.,  removed  to  Hadley  in  1690,  and  to  Springfield 
in  1695,  where  he  spent  the  most  of  his  youth.  Pos- 
sibly a  portion  of  his  younger  days  may  have  been 
passed  at  his  grandfather  Blackman's  in  Stratford. 
The  worthy  minister  of  Stratford,  Rev.  Israel  Chauncy, 
was  one  of  the  principal  founders  of  Yale  College, 
which  went  into  operation  in  1702.  Through  his  in- 
fluence it  was  probably  that  young  Dickinson  entered 
the  new  college  the  same  year,  and  was  received  into 


I  Written  in  1S68. 


-  Murray's  Notes  on  E.  Town,  p.  63, 


s  Valentine's  N,  T.  Manual  for  1S63,  p.  795, 


202 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


the  family  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  of  Killing- 
worth,  Conn.,  the  first  president,  at  whose  house  the 
students  received  instruction  until  his  death  in  1707.  ■ 
His  tutor  for  three  years  (1703-6)  was  John  Hart, 
subsequently  the  minister  of  Ea.st  Guilford,  Conn,  i 
He  graduated  in  1706.  His  classmates  were  Jared 
Eliot  (Mr.  Pierson's  successor  in  the  ministry  at  Kill- 
ingwortli,  and  highly  celebrated  as  a  physician  as 
well  as  a  divine)  and  Timothy  Woodbridge,  minister 
of  Simsbury,  Conn.,  from  1712  to  1742.' 

Shortly  after  he  left  college  his  father  died  (June 
14,  1707),  and  his  mother  married,  Jan.  21,  1709, 
Thomas  Ingersoll,  of  Springfield,  Mass.  With  whom 
young  Dickinson  studied  theology,  and  by  whom  he 
was  licensed  to  preach,  no  record  informs  us.  While 
in  college  at  Killingworth  he  may  frequently  have 
extended  his  visits  to  Guilford,  the  next  town  on  the 
west,  and  here  among  the  Hubbards  and  Fowlers 
have  met  and  courted  their  cousin,  Joanna  Melyen, 
the  daughter  of  Jacob,  and  the  sister  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Melyen.  He  may  thus  have  had  his  atten- 
tion directed  to  the  vacant  pulpit  in  this  town,  or  the 
people  here  may  have  been  thus  directed  to  him. 
Mr.  Piersou,  too,  who  had  for  more  than  twenty  years 
been  the  pastor  of  the  church  of  Newark,  and  familiar 
with  this  whole  region,  may  at  or  soon  after  his  grad- 
uation (for  Mr.  Pierson  died  March  17,  1707)  have 
advised  him  to  go  to  East  Jersey.' 

He  was  in  his  twenty-first  year,  a  mere  stripling, 
when  he  came  hither  in  1708.  His  marriage  to  Miss 
Melyen  must  have  taken  place  as  early  as  March, 
1709,  the  birth  of  his  first  child  being  thus  recorded 
in  his  family  Bible :  "  Our  son,  Melyen,  was  born 
Dec.  7,  1709."  His  wife  was  more  than  four  years 
his  senior,  having  been  born  in  1683.  His  ministry 
proved  so  acceptable  that  measures  were  soon  taken 
for  his  ordination  as  pastor.  The  ministers  of  Fair- 
field County,  who  had  just  become  consociated.  ac- 
cording to  the  Saybrook  Platform  of  Sept.  9,  1708, 
were  invited  to  perform  the  services  on  that  occasion. 
The  ministers  were  John  Davenport,  of  Stamford; 
Stephen  Buckingham,  of  Norwalk ;  Joseph  Webb,  of 
Fairfield  ;  and  Israel  Chauncy,  of  Stratford.  These 
with  ■'  messengers"  from  the  several  churches  consti- 
tuted the  ordaining  council,  together  with  probably 
the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Wade,  with  a  messenger  from  the 
church  of  Woodbridge,  and  the  Rev.  Nathaniel 
Bowers,  with  a  messenger  from  the  church  of  Newark. 
The  Rev.  Joseph  Morgan  had  just  left  Greenwich, 
Conn.,  and  been  installed  at  Freehold,  N.  J.  He,  too, 
was  invited,  and  it  had  been  arranged  that  he  should 
preach  the  sermon.  The  ordination  took  place  on 
Friday,  Sept.  29,  1709.  Mr.  Morgan  preached  from 
Mark  xvi.  16 :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,"  etc.  The 
discourse  was  printed  by  W.  and  A.  Bradford,  at  New 


1  Trmnbuire  Conn.,  i.  ' 
Col.  Triennial. 

2  Clmpiu's  Glastonbury, 


Yale  Coll.,  pp.   18-;!2.     Yale 


York,  in  1712,  and  a  copy  of  it  is  preserved  in  the 
library  of  the  Connecticut  Historical  Society  at  Hart- 
ford. The  theme  of  the  sermon  was  "  The  Great 
Concernment  of  Gospel  Ordinances,  manifested  from 
the  great  effects  of  improving  or  neglecting  them." 
It  was  probably  abbreviated  in  the  delivery,  as  "  one 
of  the  ministers  frequently  desired  him  to  be  brief  on 
account  of  the  shortness  of  the  day  and  the  greatness 
of  the  work  in  hand."  He  urges  the  duty  of  thor- 
ough preparation  for  the  pulpit  by  the  adoi^e  "  A  tow 
lace  ill  beseems  a  silk  garment."^ 

It  was  an  extensive  field  of  labor  with  the  cultiva- 
tion of  whigh  young  Dickinson  was  thus  intrusted. 
The  town  had  been  spreading  itself  in  every  direction. 
It  included  in  addition  to  the  main  settlement  along 
the  creek,  the  neighborhoods  of  Woodrufl's  Farms, 
Lyon's  Farms,  Connecticut  Farms,  Williams'  Farms, 
a  considerable  population  on  both  sides  of  the  upper 
Rahway  River,  and  a  large  settlement  on  the  north 
of  the  river  at  the  crossing  of  the  Woodbridge  road. 
A  few  scattered  habitations  were  found  io  the  present 
town  of  Westfield  and  at  the  Scotch  Plains.  Neither 
church  nor  minister  was  yet  to  be  found  in  the  regions 
beyond. towards  the  setting  sun.  It  was  the  extreme 
border  of  civilization.  An  Episcopal  Church  as  al- 
ready related  had  been  organized  within  these  bounds, 
but  its  numbers  were  yet  inconsiderable  and  its  pulpit 
was  not  yet  supplied.  Mr.  Vaughan  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  the  place,  but  had  not  arrived.  It  was  a 
weighty  charge  to  be  laid  on  such  youthful  shoulders, 
and  yet  not  too  weighty,  as  the  sequel  proved. 
Quietly  and  diligently  he  applied  himself  to  his  work, 
and  his  profiting  presently  appeared  to  all.  It  was 
not  long  before  he  took  rank  among  the  first  of  his 
profession.' 

The  only  information  thus  far  obtained  in  regard 
to  his  compensation  is  contained  in  a  letter  from  the 
Rev.  Thomas  Halliday,  Episcopal  missionary,  dated 
"  Elizabeth  Town,  8th  November,  1716"  : 

*'  In  Ibis  part  of  East  Jersey  there  are  three  large  Townships,  Newark, 
Elizabeth  Town  anil  Woodbridge  which  consist  of  upwards  of  a  thousand 

I  families  the  chief  settlers  of  which  were  New  England  Independents, 
who  are  now-  old  ami  confirmed  in  their  erroneous  way.  In  each  of  those 
towns  there  is  a  large  Independent  Congregation  wlio  support  their 

!    preachers  with  the  allowance  of  £8U  per  annum  besides  House,  Gleba, 

I   and  perquisites  of  Marriages."^ 

Very  brief  notices  only  remain  of  the  first  few  years 
of  his  ministry.     He  took  part,  as  a  corresponding 

I  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  Oct.  20, 
1715,  in  the  ordination  of  Robert  Orr,  at  Maidenhead, 

!  now  Lawrenceville,  N.  J.  It  was  doubtless  through 
his  influence  principally  that  John  Pierson,  one  year 
younger  than  himself,  with  whom  he  hail  been  inti- 
mately associated  at  the  house  of  his  tiither,  Rev. 
Abraham  Pierson,  at  Killingworth,  was  introduced  to 
the  people  of  Woodbridge  and  settled  there.     Dick- 

sWebsU-i's  Uh.  ..f  llie   Presb.  I'hh.  in   Am.,  pp.  :t68-61;  Sprague's 
1    Annals,  ill.  14-18.    Trumbull's  Conn.,  i.  fml,  5(12,  .1(19.  515,  5-23. 
I       ■<  Clark's  St.  John's  Chh.,  p.  .14. 

s  Ibid.,  p.  44. 


THE   CITY  OF  ELIZABETH. 


2U3 


inson  took  part,  with  Prudden,  Andrews,  Morgan,  and 
Orr,  April  29,  1717,  in  tliis  ordination  also.' 

Hitherto  the  church  of  Elizabetli  Town  had  re- 
mained independent,  retaining  the  forms  and  usages 
of  the  New  England  Churches.  At  the  time  of  their 
organization  no  Presbytery  had  been  formed  in 
America.  It  was  not  until  forty  years  had  passed 
that  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  was  constituted. 
One  after  another  tlie  churches  out  of  New  England 
were  becoming  connected  with  it.  The  church  of 
Freehold  had  joined  the  Presbytery  as  early  as  1706; 
Woodbridge  and  their  minister,  Nathaniel  Wade,  in 
1710;  Newtown,  L.  I.,  and  their  minister,  Samuel 
Pumroy  (a  fellow-student  with  Dickinson  at  Yale, 
where  in  1705  he  graduated),  in  1715;  and  South- 
ampton (with  whom  the  people  of  this  town  were  so 
intimately  connected),  with  their  minister,  Joseph 
Whiting,  and  his  colleague,  Samuel  Gelston,  had 
been  received  in  1716.  Dickinson,  it  may  be  pre- 
sumed from  the  well-known  preferences  of  President 
Pierson,  was  not  averse  to  the  cliange  from  Inde- 
pendency to  Presbyterianism.  But  he  was  very  young, 
and  needed  first  to  establish  himself  with  his  people 
before  proposing  any  innovations.  They  were  thor- 
ough Puritans,  and,  as  has  been  abundantly  exhibited 
in  this  narrative,  men  of  spirit.  They  were  slow  to 
l)art  with  what  they  conceived  to  be  their  rights. 
Dickinson  was  not  a  member  of  the  Pi"esbytery  pre- 
vious to  September,  1716,  as  appears  from  the  roll. 
It  is  quite  probable  that  he  united  with  the  Presby- 
tery of  Philadelphia  at  their  meeting  in  Woodbridge, 
April  29,  1717,  for  the  ordination  of  Mr.  John  Pier- 
son,  on  which  occasion  he  took  part  in  the  services.- 

At  the  meeting  of  the  newly-constituted  Synod  of 
Philadelphia,  Sept.  17,  1717,  his  name  is  enrolled 
as  the  youngest  member.  His  church  also,  either 
then  or  very  soon  after,  put  themselves  under  the 
care  of  the  Presbytery.  The  following  year,  Sept.  19, 
1718,  it  is  noted  in  the  records  that  "  Mr.  Dickinson 
delivered  one  pound  twelve  shillings  from  his  congre- 
gation of  Elizabethtown  for  the  fund  '  for  pious 
uses.'  "  This  was  undoubtedly  the  first  contribution 
for  Presbyterian  purposes  ever  made  by  this  congre- 
gation. From  1719  until  after  1724,  probably  until 
1733,  he  was  the  stated  clerk  of  the  Presbytery,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  record  of  the  Synod  :  "  The  book  of 
the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  was  not  produced  by 
reiison  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  absence."  He  was  "  neces- 
sarily detained  by  his  brother's  sickness."  His  brother 
Moses  had  been  settled  at  Hopewell  (Pennington)  in 
1717.  He  took  part,  Oct.  22,  1719,  in  the  ordination 
of  Joseph  Webb  at  Newark  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.  So  rapidly  had  he  risen  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  Synod  that  when  a  standing  commission 
was  appointed  in  1720  he  was  made  one  of  the  num- 
ber.^ 

1  Records  of  the  Presl).  Chh.,  U.  S.  A.,  pp.  41,  43 

2  Il.id.,  pp.  7, 16,  39,  42,  46. 

» Iliid.,  pp.  46,  51,  54,  62,  76,  8C).     Stearns'  Newark,  p.  122. 


For  the  first  time  the  church  was  represented  in 
the  Synod  of  1721  by  one  of  their  elders,  Robert  Og- 
den,  son  of  Deacon  Jonathan,  and  grandson  of  "  Old 
John  Ogden."  Mr.  Dickinson  was  chosen  moderator. 
Though  he  had  in  good  faith  adopted  the  Presbyte- 
rian system,  he  could  not  wholly  forego  that  in  which 
he  had  been  trained.  Against  an  overture  adopted 
by  the  Synod,  which  savored  of  the  stricter  and  more 
rigid  system  of  the  Old  World,  he,  with  five  other 
brethren  of  like  liberal  views, — Webb,  of  Newark, 
Pierson,  of  Woodbridge,  Morgan,  of  Freehold,  and 
two  Welsh  brethren, — protested.  At  the  opening  of 
the  Synod,  the  following  year,  he  preached  the  ser- 
mon from  2  Tim.  iii.  17,  in  which  he  took  occasion 
to  define  his  views  of  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction,  in 
justification  of  his  protest  of  the  previous  year.  "An 
excellent  Sermon,"  says  Foxcroft,  of  Bo.ston,  "where 
the  true  Boundaries  of  Church-Power  are  particularly 
considered,  and  set  in  their  proper  Light."* 

At  this  meeting  he  succeeded,  after  the  subject  had 
been  fully  discussed,  in  so  harmonizing  the  views  of 
the  Synod  by  the  presentation  of  a  paper  on  the  sub- 
ject as  to  carry  their  unanimous  assent,  and  lead  them 
to  a  hearty  giving  of  thanks  in  prayer  and  praise  for 
the  oompo.sure  of  their  difference.  The  church  was 
represented  in  the  Synod  this  year  by  Elder  Joseph 
Woodruft',  whose  affidavit  relative  to  the  Newark 
boundary  line  is  recorded  in  the  answer  to  the  Eliza- 
bethtown bill  in  chancery.^ 

Mr.  Dickinson  was  also  fully  alive  to  the  zealous 
eflfort.s  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Vaughan,  his  townsman,  and 
others  of  the  Episcopal  ministry  to  extend  the  influ- 
ence of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  colonies.  The 
defection  of  Timothy  Cutler,  president,  and  Daniel 
Browne,  tutor  of  Yale  College,  with  Samuel  John- 
son, minister  of  West  Haven,  Conn.,  to  Episcopacy, 
in  the  autumn  of  1722,  followed  by  Messrs.  Hart, 
Eliot,  Whittlesey,  and  Wetraore,  shortly  after,  pro- 
duced a  profound  impression  throughout  the  country, 
turning  the  attention  j)f  the  ministry  and  churches, 
both  Congregational  and  Presbyterian,  to  what  they 
regarded  as  "  the  assumptions"  of  prelacy.  Mr. 
Johnson,  having  received  Episcopal  ordination,  was 
appointed  a  missionary  to  Stratford  and  vicinity,  in 
Connecticut, — the  only  Episcopal  minister  in  the 
colony, — commencing  his  work  in  November,  1723. 
One  of  his  zealous  parishioners  shortly  after  pub- 
lished a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  modest  Proof  of  the 
Order  and  Government  settled  by  Christ  and  his 
Apostles  in  the  Church."  A  copy  of  this  pamphlet 
came  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Dickinson,  many  of  them, 
probably,  being  circulated  in  the  town.  He  immedi- 
ately prepared  and  published,  in  1724,  at  Boston,  a 
reply  in  "  Defence  of  Presbyterian  Ordination. "° 

<Ibid.,  pp.  62,  66,  67,  72.  Webster's  P.  C'hli.,  p.  359.  Pref.  to  "  Reason- 
ableness of  CUy."  p.  ix. 
*  Records,  ut  untea. 
"Spragne's   Annals,  v.  51.     Chandler's  Life   of  .lohoson,   pp.  26-.'i 2, 

39,  C'l. 


204 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


His  antagonist,  wholly  unable  to  cope  with  him  in  j 
argument,  called  in  the  aid  of  his  minister,  Mr.  John- 
son, by  whom  he  was  furnished  with  "  a  sketch  of  the 
common  arguments  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Church"  of  England,  which  the  other  sent  in  his 
own  name  to  Mr.  Dickinson.  This  drew  forth  an- 
other publication  from  the  latter,  in  which  he  af- 
firmed that  "  High  Churchism  is  properly  no  more 
a  part  of  the  Church  of  England  than  a  wen  is  of 
the  human  body."  To  this,  al.so,  Mr.  Johnson  fur- 
nished his  parishioner  with  a  rejoinder.  "Sometime 
after  Mr.  Dickinson  enlarged  and  printed  his  own 
papers  in  this  dispute,  upon  which  Mr.  Johnson 
thought  proper  to  publish  what  he  had  written  on 
the  other  side."' 

The  records  of  the  Synod  year  by  year  give  abund- 
ant evidence  of  his  interest  and  activity  in  ecclesi- 
astical matters,  as  also  of  the  confidence  reposed  in 
him  by  his  brethren,  his  name  appearing  on  almost 
every  commission  to  which  matters  of  moment  were 
referred.  He  was  appointed,  Sept.  20,  1723,  to  visit 
certain  memorialists  in  Virginia,  and  preach  some 
Sabbaths  to  them  within  the  year  following.  It  is 
not  known  whether  he  went  or  not.  His  rare  and 
commanding  ability  as  a  preacher  subjected  him  to 
many  invitations  to  go  abroad  and  be  helpful  to  other 
ministers  and  churches.^ 

That  portion  of  the  congregation  who  had  removed 
back  into  the  country,  beyond  the  Rahway  River, 
had  in  1727  become  so  numerous,  and  found  it  so  in- 
convenient to  attend  public  worship  in  the  old  meet- 
ing-house, that  they  began  to  hold  public  services 
among  themselves  on  the  Lord's  Day,  and  had  se- 
cured the  ministrations  of  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hub- 
bel  a  jjortion  of  the  time.  The  Westfield  Church 
was  organized  probably  at  a  somewhat  later  date.^ 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Synod  in  1727  it  was  pro- 
posed to  require  of  every  minister  and  candidate  a 
hearty  assent  to  the  Westminster  Confession  and 
Catechism.  No  action  was  then  taken.  In  1728  it 
was  taken  up,  but  deferred  until  the  following  year. 
Mr.  Dickinson  at  once  took  ground  against  the  propo- 
sition. His  constitutional  love  of  liberty  and  his 
fear  of  any  infringement  of  the  rights  of  the  ministry 
led  him  to  oppose  the  measure  and  present  his  reasons 
for  rejecting  it.  The  overture  had  been  printed.  A 
response  to  it  from  the  pen  of  Dickinson  was  also 
printed  by  Zenger  at  New  York,  a  copy  of  which  is 
found  in  the  old  South  Church  library,  Boston.  It  is 
dated  April  10, 1729,  and  shows  that  while  he  himself 
cordially  accepted  these  symbols  of  faith,  he  was  op- 
posed to  all  imposition  of  creeds  of  human  com- 
posure. Having  been  placed  on  the  committee  to 
whom  the  proposition  was  referred,  he  succeeded  in 
modifying  it  to  such  an  extent  as  to  unite  the  whole 


Synod,  with  thanksgiving  to  God,  in  the  support  and 
adoption  of  the  measure  thenceforward  known  as 
"  The  Adopting  Act."  • 

It  will  be  remembered  that  only  a  few  week.s  later 
Mr.  Dickinson  subscribed  at  home  a  paper  designed 
to  unite  more  closely  and  effectively  his  townsmen  in 
their  opposition  to  the  pretensions  of  the  East  Jersey 
proprietors.  Having  cast  in  his  lot  with  his  people 
in  defense  of  their  homesteads,  he  proved  himself  in 
that  controversy,  as  in  the  Synod,  an  invaluable 
counselor  and  organizer  in  defense  of  popular  rights. 

The  period  in  which  he  served  the  church  was  noted 
for  the  prevalence  of  skepticism. 

Mr.  Dickinson  set  himself  to  breast  and  beat  back 
the  waves  of  error.  He  prepared  and  preached  to  his 
people  a  short  series  of  discourses,  which,  soon  after, 
were  printed  in  a  convenient  manual  edition,  with  the 
following  title : 

"  The  Reasonableness  of  Christianity,  in  Four  Ser- 
mons, Wherein  The  Being  and  Attributes  of  God,  the 
Apostacy  of  Man,  and  the  credibility  of  the  Christian 
Religion,  are  demonstrated  by  rational  Considera- 
tions. And  the  Divine  Mission  of  our  blessed  Saviour 
prov'd  by  Scripture-Arguments,  both  from  the  Old 
Testament  and  the  New  ;  and  vindicated  against  the 
most  important  Objections,  whether  of  ancient  or 
modern  Infidels.  By  Jonathan  Dickinson,  M.  A. 
Minister  of  the  Go.spel  at  Elizabeth  Town,  N.  Jersey. 
Cum  dilectione  fides  Christiani :  Sine  dilectione  fides 
daemonum :  Qui  autem  non  credunt,  pejores  sunt 
quam  daemones.  Aug.  de  charit.  With  a  Preface 
by  Mr.  Foxcroft.  Boston :  N.  E.  Printed  by  S. 
Kneeland  and  T.  Green,  for  Samuel  Gerrish  at  the 
lower  end  of  Cornhill.     MDCCXXXII." 

The  author  is  thus  introduced  by  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Foxcroft,  of  Boston  : 


1  Chandler's  Life  of  JohnBon,  p.  70. 

2  Records  P.  Church,  p.  74. 

aibid.,  pp.  83,  86.    Webster's  I'.  Church,  p.  :18C.    Uuntting's  His.  Ser- 
noil,  pp.  lU,  li. 


id  anil  learned  Author  of  the  ensuing  Discourses  needs 
not  any  Epistles  of  Commendation  to  such  as  are  acquainted  witli  his 
Person  and  Character:  Whose  Praise  is  in  the  Gospel  thorowout  all  the 
Churches  in  those  remote  parts  where  Divine  Providence  has  cast  his 
Lot.  Neither  is  he  unknown  to  the  Publicly  :  wliich  has  been  favour'd 
with  several  lesser  Writings  of  his,  formerly  putilish'd  on  special  occa- 
sions', that  must  have  left  on  the  Minds  of  those  who  have  read  them, 
a  grateful  Relish,  and  such  an  Idea  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  peculiar  Genius, 
Capacity,  and  Judgment,  as  cannot  but  prepare  them  to  come  with 
raised  Expectations  and  a  particular  Gust,  to  the  pernsiil  of  the  follow- 
ing Tracts  ;  Which  it  would  therefore  be  as  superfluous  to  recommend 
to  such,  as  it  would  be  thought  vain  in  me  to  attempt  a  profuse  Enco- 
mium on  them  for  the  sake  of  others;  nor  indeed  would  the  knowD 
Modesty  of  the  Author  indulge  me  in  taking  this  Liberty." 

In  1733  was  published,  at  Boston,  "The  Scripture- 
Bishop  Vindicated.  •  A  Defence  of  the  Dialogue 
Between  Praelaticus  and  Eleutherius,  upon  the  Scrip- 
ture Bishop,  or  The  Divine  Right  of  Presbyterian 
Ordination  and  Government,  Against  The  Exceptiims 
of  a  Pamphlet  lutitled  The  Scripture  Bishop  Exam- 
ined. By  Eleutherius,  V.  D.  M.  In  a  Letter  to  a 
Friend."  This  book,  now  exceedingly  rare,  was 
ascribed  a  few  years  later  by  Rev.  George  Beckwith, 


*  Records,  pp.  89,  91-93.     Hodge's  P.  Church, 
Church,  pp.  103-S. 


162-73.    Webster's  P. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


205 


of  Lyme,  Conn.,  to  Mr.  Dickinson.  It  was  undoubt- 
edly the  product  of  his  pen. 

In  tlie  following  year  he  was  called  to  preach  the 
funeral  sermon  of  Euth,  the  wife  of  his  friend,  Rev. 
John  Pierson,  of  Woodbridge,  and  the  daughter  of  the 
Rev.  Timothy  Woodbridge,  of  Hartford,  Conn.  The 
sermon  was  printed  at  New  York  the  same  year  by 
William  Bradford.' 

In  1733  the  Pre.sbytery  of  East  Jersey  was  formed 
out  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dickinson 
became  at  once  the  acknowledged  head  of  the  new 
Presbytery.  In  1734  his  elder,  Matthias  Hatfield, 
accompanied  him  to  Synod.  As  the  early  records  of 
the  church  are  not  extant,  it  is  only  by  reference  to 
the  records  of  the  Synod  that  the  names  of  the  elders 
previous  to  1765  can  be  ascertained.  Robert  Ogden 
had  a  seat  in  the  Synod  of  1721,  and  Joseph  Wood- 
ruff in  1722.  In  1730  William  Miller  represented  the 
church  in  the  Synod;  Joseph  Woodruff,  again,  in 
1740  and  1745;  David  Whitehead,  in  1742;  John 
Ogden,  in  1743 ;  Ephraim  Price,  in  1748 ;  Joseph 
Ogden,  in  1755,  1756,  and  1762;  Joseph  Lyon,  in 
1759;  Thomas  Tobin,  in  1760;  Robert  Ogden,  in 
1763 ;  and  Samuel  Woodruff,  in  1764  and  1765.- 

Dickinson's  next  publication  appeared  in  Septem- 
ber, 1735,  anonymously.  It  was  entitled  "  Remarks 
on  a  Letter  to  a  Friend  in  the  Country  ;  containing 
the  substance  of  a  sermon  preached  at  Pliiladelphia 
in  the  congregation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hemphill,  in 
which  the  terms  of  Christian  and  ministerial  commu- 
nion are  so  stated  that  human  impositions  are  ex- 
ploded, a  proper  enclosure  proposed  for  every  re- 
ligious society,  and  the  commission  justified  in  their 
conduct  towards  Mr.  Hemphill."' 

In  the  following  year,  1736,  Mr.  Dickinson  again 
became  involved  in  a  controversy  about  Episcopacy. 
An  unhappy  disturbance  had  been  created  in  the 
church  at  Newark  by  a  ease  of  discipline.*  Col.  Jo- 
siah  Ogden  was  censured  for  Sabbath-breaking  in 
laboring  to  save  a  crop  of  wheat  on  Sunday  after 
long-continued  rains.  Being  a  man  of  great  influ- 
ence a  party  was  created,  absorbing  the  disaffected 
elements  of  the  congregation.  Though  the  censure 
on  appeal  was  removed  by  the  Presbytery,  and  the 
Synod  endeavored  by  a  kindly  interposition  to  heal 
the  breach,  the  grievance  proved  incurable.  The  dis- 
sentients gravitated  towards  Episcopacy,  and  sought 


1  Webster,  p.  358. 

-  Records  P.  Clili.,  pp.  34,  104,  105,  134,  148,  16U,  103,  232,  235,  2G1,  270, 
291,  297,  313,  322,  333,  341.    Webster,  p.  192. 

3  Samuel  Hemphill  wiis  an  Irish  adventurer,  who  had  gained  admis- 
sion to  the  Synod  in  1734,  and  by  means  of  a  fluent  tongue  had  been 
employed  as  assistjmt  to  Mr.  Andrews  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Philadelphia.  Uis  sermons  savored  so  much  of  Deism  and  Arminianism 
that  complaint  was  made  to  the  SynoUical  Commisstou,  by  whom  he  vatA 
tried,  found  guilty,  and  suspended.  Benjamin  Franklin  was  one  of  his 
hearers,  and  warmly  espoused  his  cause.  It  was  found,  after  all,  that  his 
sermons  were  not  his  own,  but  were  repeated  verbatim  from  the  Rev. 
Drs.  Samuel  Clarke,  Ibbots,  and  Foster,  men  noted  for  their  Artanisni. 
On  this  discovery  he  sunk  into  ohscurily.    Webster,  pp.  110-13,  416-20. 

*  Stearns'  Newark,  p.  1*1.    McWhorter's  Centnry  Sermon,  p.  17. 
14 


of  Mr.  Vaughan  and  others  Episcopal  ministrations. 
In  these  circumstances  Mr.  Dickinson  was  invited 
and  consented  to  preach  at  Newark  on  We  nesday, 
I  June  2,  1736.  His  text  was  Mark  vii.  15  :  "  Howbeit 
in  vain  do  they  worship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines 
;  the  commandments  of  men."  The  sermon  was  given 
to  the  press  shortly  after,  with  the  title  "  The  Vanity 
I  of  Human  Institutions  in  the  Worship  of  God."  It 
was  called  "his  famed  sermon,"  and  was  read  with 
great  interest.  An  answer  was  attempted  by  the 
Rev.  John  Beach,  of  Newton,  Conn.,  who  four  years 
before  had  left  the  church  of  his  fathers  and  con- 
nected hini.self  with  the  Episcopal  Church.  He 
issued  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  A  Vindication  of  the 
Worship  of  God  according  to  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land." "  A  Defence"  of  his  sermon  was  published 
by  Mr.  Dickinson  in  1737,  and  a  rejoinder  was  put 
forth  the  same  year  by  Mr.  Beach,  under  the  title 
"Appeal  to  the  Unprejudiced:  In  a  Supplement  to 
the  Vindication  of  the  Worship  of  God  according  to 
the  Church  of  England."  The  controversy  was 
closed  by  Mr.  Dickinson  in  1738  by  his  publishing 
"  The  Reasonableness  of  Nonconformity  to  the 
Church  of  England  in  Point  of  Worship.  A  Second 
Defence  of  A  Sermon  preached  at  Newark  June  2, 
1736,  Intitled  The  Vanity  of  human  Institutions  in 
the  Worship  of  God.  Against  the  Exceptions  of  Mr. 
John  Beach,  in  his  Appeal  to  the  Unprejudiced. 
Done  in  the  Form  of  a  Dialogue,  wherein  Mr.  Beach's 
,  Arguments  are  all  expressed  in  his  own  Words."  ^ 
I  In  the  year  1737,  about  the  time  of  the  survey  by 
I  Joseph  Morss  of  the  land  back  of  the  first  moun- 
tain, the  population  had  become  so  considerable  as  to 
make  it  desirable  that  a  separate  religious  society 
should  be  constituted.  The  Presbytery  of  East  Jer- 
sey, to  whom  they  applied,  granted  the  request,  and 
sent  them  Mr.  John  Cleverly,  a  graduate  of  Harvard 
in  1715,  who  preached  in  a  log  house  built  for  the 
purpose  of  small  dimensions.* 

In  May,  1738,  Mr.  Dickinson  and  his  church  be- 
came connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  New  York, 
then  newly  formed  by  the  union  of  the  East  Jersey 
and  Long  Island  Presbyteries.' 

In  the  midst  of  the  exciting  controversies  through 
which  he  had  passed,  Mr.  Dickinson  had  i;ot  been  in- 
attentive to  the  spiritual  wants  of  his  people.  Faith- 
fully and  earnestly  he  preached  the  word,  and  dili- 
gently he  sought  to  lead  his  people  to  the  cross  for 
salvation.  But  the  results  were  not  answerable  to 
his  expectation.?.  Of  the  year  1739  he  writes  :  "  Re- 
ligion was  in  a  very  low  state  ;  Professors  generally 
dead  and  lifeless;  and  the  Body  of  our  People  care- 
less, carnal,  and  secure ;  there  was  but  little  of  the 
Power  of  Godliness  appearing  among  us." 


''>  Chandler's  Life  of  Johnson,  pp.  62,  ftJ.  Spragu 
85.     App,  to  Green's  Discourses,  p.  298. 

''  MS.  Records  of  P.  Chh.  of  N.  Pioviden.  e,  1.  .-c- 
terian  Church  of  New  Providence  in  this  work. 

;  Records  of  P.  Chh.,  p.  134. 


206 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Some  time  in  August,  1739,  the  people  of  Newark 
became  deeply  interested  in  religious  affairs.  The 
young  jiarticularly  were  remarkably  exercised,  and 
many  of  them  were  hopefully  converted  from  the 
error  of  their  ways.  The  concern  at  length  became 
general,  resulting  in  a  marked  reformation  among  all 
classes  and  large  accessions  to  the  church.^ 

In  November,  1739,  while  this  revival  was  in  prog- 
ress at  Newark,  the  Rev.  George  Whitefield,  then  a 
youth  in  his  twenty-fifth  year,  whose  fame  as  an  elo- 
quent divine  and  an  awakening  preacher  had  pre- 
ceded him,  first  visited  these  parts.  On  his  way  from 
Philadelphia  to  New  York,  and  again  on  his  return 
to  Philadelphia,  he  passed  through  this  town : 

"Wednesday,  Nov.  14.  Set  out  from  Brunswick,  in  Company  with  Mr. 
Tennent  and  my  other  FeU<jw-Trave!lers;  and  as  we  passed  along  we 
spent  our  Time  most  agreeably  in  telling  one  another  whatGnd  had  done 
forourSuuls.  Ahout  Noon  we  got  to  Elizabeth  Town,  22  Miles  from 
Brunswick.     Here  we  took  Boat,  and  about  Four  reached  New  York. 

"  Monday,  Nov.  19.  Took  Boat  about  Five  in  the  Morning,  and  reached 
Elizabeth  Town  Point  at  Seven.  Dined  with  Mr.  Dickenson,  a  worthy  Dis- 
senting Minister,  who  had  sent  a  Letter  of  Invitation  to  New  York,  and 
ofTfred  me  the  Use  of  his  Meeting-houae.  Ahout  Twelve  I  preached  in 
it,  accordiun  to  Appointment,  to  upwards  of  7U0  People,  many  of  whom 
seemed  much  affected,  aud  God  was  pleased  to  open  my  Month  against 
both  MiniHters  and  People  among  all  denominations  who  imprison  the 
Truth  in  Unrighteousness."^ 

In  reference  to  this  discourse  Mr.  Dickinson  says, — 

"  I  could  observe  no  further  Influence  upon  our  People  by  that  Address 
than  a  ^enentl  Thoughtfulness  about  Religion;  and  a  Promptitude  tu 
make  the  Extraordinary  Zeal  and  Dilligence  of  that  Gentleman  the 
common  and  turuing  Topick  of  their  Conversation.  I  don't  know  that 
there  was  any  one  Person  brought  under  Conviction,  or  any  new  and 
special  Concern  about  their  Salvation  by  that  Sermon,  nor  more  than 
one  by  any  Endeavours  that  were  used  with  them  that  Fall  or  the  suc- 
ceediug  Winter." 

In  the  spring  they  were  favored  with  another  ser- 
mon from  the  gifted  Whitefield.  On  Monday,  April 
28,  1740,  after  preaching  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.  to  a 
great  congregation  in  Woodbridge,  he  says, — 

"  After  Sermon,  I  and  my  Friends  dined  at  the  Di>senting  I^Iinister's 
[Rev.  John  PiersouV]  House,  who  invited  me  lo  preach;  and  then  we 
hasted  to  Elizabeih-Town,  where  the  People  had  beun  waiting  for  me 
some  Hours.— I  preached  in  the  Meeting  House,  as  when  1  was  there 
last.  It  was  full,  aud  was  supposed  to  contain  'ZWO  People.  Near  ten 
dissenting  and  two  Church  fllinisters  were  present.  1  useit  much  Free- 
dom of  Speech.  No  doubt  some  were  offended:  But  Events  belong  to 
God,— After  Sermon  I  intended  to  ride  six  Miles  :  But  being  over-ruled 
by  the  Advice  of  Friends,  I  stopped,  and  lay  at  an  Inn  all  Night,  near 
the  Waterside  where  People  take  Boat  to  go  lo  New  York  [E.  Town 
Point]." '*< 

Mr.  Dickinson  thus  describes  a  revival  which  began 
under  his  own  ministry  in  June,  1740: 

"Having  at  that  Time  invited  the  young  People  to  hear  u  Sermon, 
there  was  a  numerous  Congregation  conveen'd,  which  consisted  chiefly 
of  onr  Youth,  tho'  there  were  mauy  others  with  ibeni.  I  preachM  to 
them  a  plain,  practical  Sermon  ;  withimt  auy  Pathos  or  Pungency,  or 
any  special  Liveliness  or  Vigour;  foi'  I  was  then  in  a  remarkably  dead 
and  dull  Frame,  till  enlivened  by  a  sudden  aud  deep  Impression  which 
vJHibly  ai)pear'd  upon  the  Congregation  in  general.— There  was  no  Cry- 
ing out,  or  Falling  duwn;  (as  elsewhere  has  happenM)  but  the  inward 
Distress  and  Concern  of  the  Audience  discovei'd  itself,  by  their  Tears, 
and  audible  Sobbing  and  Sighing  in  almost  all  Parttt  of  the  Assembly. 
There  appeared  such  Tokens  of  a  solemn  and  deep  Concern,  as  I  never 


1  Prince's  Chn.  History,  i.  252-&4. 

2  Whitefield'B  .Journal,  i,  274,  277. 


3  Journals,  i.  349. 


before  taw  in  any  Congregatinn  whatsoever.  From  this  Time,  we  heard 
no  more  of  our  young  People's  meeting  together  lor  Frolicks  and  ex- 
travagant Diversions,  as  had  been  usual  among  them;  but  instead 
thereof,  private  Meetings  for  religious  Exercises  were  by  them  set  up  in 
several  Parts  of  the  Town.  All  our  Opportunities  of  publick  Worsiiip, 
were  carefully  and  constantly  attended  by  our  People  in  general ;  and 
a  serious  and  solemn  Attention  to  the  Ministry  of  the  Word,  was 
observable  in  their  very  Countenances.  Numbers  were  almost  daily 
repairing  to  me,  for  Direction  and  Assistance  in  their  eternal  Concerns. 
There  were  then  probubly  more  came  to  mo  in  one  Day  on  that  Errand, 
than  uBU;illy  m  half  a  Year's  space  liefore.  In  a  Word,  the  Face  of  the 
Congregation  was  quite  altered;  and  Religion  became  the  common 
Subject  of  Conversation  among  a  great  P-art  of  the  People.^ 

"  Tho'  there  are  some  of  those  who  were  then  under  special  Couvic- 
tions,  that  have  worn  off  their  Impressions^,  and  are  become  secure  and 
careless;  yet  I  don't  know  of  any  two  Pei-sons,  who  gave  reaHnnable 
Hopes  of  a  real  Change  at  that  Time,  but  what  have  hitherto  by  their 
Conversation  conflrm'd  our  Hopes  of  their  saving  Couversion  to  God. 

"  I  would  be  very  cautious  of  any  confident  Determinations,  with  Re- 
spect to  the  Conversion  of  particular  Persons;  but  if  we  may  judge 
the  Tree  by  the  Fniits,  which  we  have  now  had  eo  long  a  Time  to  ob- 
serve, we  have  Reason  to  suppose,  that  near  about  sixty  Persons  have 
received  a  saving  Change  in  this  Congregation  only;  (and  a  Number  in 
the  Parish  next  adjoining  to  us,  tho'  I  dare  not  pretend  to  guess  how 
many)  smce  the  Beginning  of  this  work."'' 

The  revival  of  1740,  it  is  well  known,  was  of  wide 
extent  and  of  vast  influence  in  the  English  provinces 
of  America.  But,  with  all  its  manifest  and  mar- 
velous benefits,  it  was  not  unattended  with  serious 
evils,  affecting  to  no  small  extent  the  peace  and 
purity  of  the  churches.  Ever  watchful  for  the  in- 
terests of  religion,  and  ready  at  all  times  both  for 
aggressive  and  for  defensive  measures,  Mr.  Dickinson 
set  himself  to  meet  the  demand  of  the  times.  In 
1741  he  sent  forth  "The  True  Scripture  Doctrine 
Concerning  some  important  Points  of  Christian 
Faith  ;  Particularly,  Eternal  Election,  Original  Sin, 
Grace  in  Conversion,  Justification  by  Faith,  And 
the  Saint's  Perseverance.  Represented  and  Applied 
iu  Five  Discourses."  These  discourses  were  re- 
peatedly reprinted  in  Great  Britain  and  America. 
Foxcroft,  in  his  preface  to  the  original  edition,  gives 
it  unqualified  praise : 

"  I'm  of  opinion,  a  book  of  this  nature  has  long  been  wanting  among 
ns;  and  I  give  unfeigned  thank^s  to  God,  which  put  this  same  earnest 
care  for  us  into  the  heart  of  our  brother:  whose  praise  is  iu  the  gospel 
throughout  the  churches,  particularly  by  means  of  his  elaborate  writings 
in  vindication  both  of  the  faith  and  order  of  tho  gospHl,aud  other  more 
practical  publications. — I  look  upon  his  present  work  the  supply  of  a 
real  deficiency  ;  and  more  especially  seasonable  at  this  juncture.  Now 
as  Paul  said  of  Timothy,  I  have  no  man  like-minded,  so  I  will  presume 
to  speak  it,  without  any  design  of  flattery  or  offence,  I  know  no  man 
better  accomplished  (in  my  opinion)  for  a  work  of  this  kind,  than  Mr. 
Dickinson." 

He  next  prepared  and  published  at  Boston  iu  1742 
"  A  Display  of  God's  special  Grace,  In  A  familiar 
Dialogue  Between  A  Minister  &  a  Gentleman  of  his 
Congregation,  About  the  Work  of  God,  in  the  Con- 
viction and  Conversion  of  Sinners,  so  remarkably  of 
late  begun  and  going  on  in  these  American  Parts. 
Wherein  the  Objections  against  some  uncoramoa 
Appearances   amongst   us   are   distinctly  consider'd, 


*  Writing  to  Mr.  Foxcroft,  Sept.  4,  1740,  he  says,  "  I  have  liad  nic 
young  people  address  me  for  Direction  iu  their  spiritual  Concerns  with 
this  three  Months  than  in  thirty  Yeare  before." 

'->  Prince's  Christian  History,  i.  265-58.    Gilles'  His.  Coll.,  ii.  142-46. 


THE    CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


207 


Mistakes  rectify'd,  and  the  Work  itself  particularly 
prov'd  to  be  from  the  Holy  Spirit.  With  An  Ad- 
dition, in  a  second  Conference,  relating  to  sundry 
Antinomian  Principles,  beginning  to  obtain  in  some 
Places." 

The  first  edition  was  anonymous,  but  sent  forth 
with  an  attestation,  signed  Boston,  Aug.  10,  1742,  by 
the  Rev.  Messrs.  Colman,  Sewall,  Prince,  Webb, 
Cooper,  Foxcroft,  and  Gee,  all  ministers  of  Boston. 
A  .second  edition  was  published  at  Philadelphia  in 
1743  with  the  author's  name,  and  an  additional  at- 
testation by  Me.ssrs.  Gilbert  and  Wm.  Tennent,  Sam- 
uel and  John  Blair,  Treat,  and  Finley.  "  No  con- 
temporaneous publication,"  says  President  Green, 
"  was  probably  as  much  read  or  had  as  much  in- 
fluence." ' 

In  1743  he  published  "  The  Nature  and  Necessity 
of  Regeneration  considered  in  a  sermon  from  John 
3:  3,  preached  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  at  a  meeting  of  the 
Presbytery  there.  To  which  is  added  some  Remarks 
on  a  Discourse  of  Dr.  Waterland's,  entitled  '  Regen- 
eration stated  and  explained  according  to  Scripture 
antiquity.'  "  - 

In  1745  his  prolific  pen  produced  "Familiar  Let- 
ters to  a  Gentleman,  upon  A  Variety  of  Seasonable 
and  Important  Subjects  in  Religion,"  a  work  of  very 
great  ability,  in  which  he  discusses  colloquially  and 
familiarly  with  direct  reference  to  prevailing  preju- 
dices the  evidences  of  Christianity  and  the  doctrine 
of  God's  sovereign  grace  in  the  redemption  of  men. 
The  way  of  salvation  by  repentance  and  faith  is 
clearly  exhibited,  and  the  dangers  of  Antinomianism 
are  fully  set  forth.  It  has  been  frequently  reprinted  at 
home  and  abroad,  and  with  his  book  on  "  the  Five 
Points"  is  on  the  catalogue  of  the  Presbyterian  Board 
of  Publication. 

Out  of  the  revivals  of  1741  grew  the  controversy 
known  as  the  "  Old  Side"  and  the  New  Side.  Mr. 
Dickinson  after  vainly  striving  for  several  years  to 
bring  about  reconciliation  finally  united  with  the 
"  New  Side"  party  in  constituting  the  Synod  of  New 
York. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  new  Synod  was  held  Sept. 
19,  1745,  at  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  town, 
twenty-two  ministers  and  twelve  elders  being  present. 
Elder  Joseph  Woodruff  represented  this  church;  Mr. 
Dickinson  was  chosen  moderator.  His  opening  ser- 
mon the  following  year  at  New  York  was  from  Psalms 
xxiv.  4.  ' 

In  the  midst  of  these  troubles  and  anxieties,  preach- 
ing, writing,  publishing,  and  caring  for  his  own  flock 
and  the  churches  of  the  Synod,  his  soul  was  stirred 
within  him  at  the  benighted  condition  of  the  savage 
tribes  in  New  Jersey  and  the  adjacent  provinces. 
In  connection  with  Pemberton,  of  New  York,  and 
Burr,  of  Newark,  he  addressed  in  1740  "  the  Honor- 

1  Green's  Discourses,  App.,  pp.  256-61. 
=  Records  P.  Clih.,  pp.  160,  163. 
3  Ibid.,  pp.  2a2-34. 


able  Society  for  Promoting  Christian  Knowledge," 
formed  at  Edinburgh  in  1709,  and  urged  them  to  send 
missionaries  to  the  Indians  on  Long  Island,  in  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania.  These  three  brethren  were 
appointed  correspondents  of  the  society,  and  author- 
ized to  employ  missionaries  to  the  Indians.  They 
prevailed  on  Azariah  Horton,  a  brother  of  Simon 
Horton,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  in  this  town,  to  un- 
dertake a  mission  to  the  Indians  at  the  east  end  of 
Long  Island,  for  which  purpose  he  was  ordained  by 
the  Presbytery  of  New  York  in  1740.  Two  years 
later  they  engaged  David  Brainerd  for  a  similar  ser- 
vice among  the  Indians  near  New  Lebanon,  N.  Y. 
In  1744  (June  11th),  Brainerd  was  ordained  at  Newark 
for  a  mission  at  the  Forks  of  the  Delaware.  *  From 
the  time  of  his  removal  to  New  Jersey  Brainerd 
found  in  Mr.  Dickinson  a  faithful  counselor  and  de- 
voted friend,  and  in  his  house  an  ever-welcome  home. 
At  the  time  of  his  ordination  he  spent  more  than  a 
fortnight  here.  In  April  following,  1745,  he  was 
here  again.  In  August  he  came  on  to  consult  with 
Mr.  Dickinson.  November  10th  he  occupied  the 
pulpit,  preaching  in  the  morning  from  2  Cor.  v.  20, 
and  in  the  afternoon  from  Luke  xiv.  22,  and  took  up 
a  collection  for  the  Indian  mission  amounting  to 
£7  5s.  Orf.  He  spent  the  next  Sabbath  here  also,  and 
several  days  afterwards.  The  first  week  in  December 
he  was  here  again  in  attendance  on  the  Presbytery  at 
Connecticut  Farms,  also  the  third  week  in  January 
in  consultation  with  the  correspondents,  and  supplied 
the  pulpit  at  Connecticut  Farms  on  the  26th.  The 
second  week  of  April  found  him  here  again  in  attend- 
ance on  the  Presbytery,  again  on  the  29th  for  three 
or  four  days,  and  the  first  week  of  July.  He  met  the 
Presbytery  here  again  on  the  22d,  and  remained 
three  days.  He  had  the  fever  and  ague  at  Mr.  Dick- 
inson's house  for  a  fortnight  in  October.  November 
5th  brought  him  back  again  from  his  mission  too 
enfeebled  for  work  or  travel.  And  here  at  his 
"home"  in  the  parsonage  he  remained  nearly  six 
months,  until  April  20th  (with  the  exception  of  four 
or  five  days),  his  last  winter  on  earth,  in  .so  low  a 
state  much  of  the  time  that  his  life  was  almost  de- 
spaired of  ° 

Mrs.  Joanna  Dickinson,  the  pastor's  wife,  had  been 
taken  from  him  by  death,  April  20, 1745,  in  the  sixty- 
third  year  of  her  age.  Brainerd's  intimacy  with  the 
family  was  mostly  of  a  later  date,  the  daughters  of  the 
pastor  ministering  to  him  in  his  chronic  infirmities. 
The  missionary  makes  the  following  entry  in  his  jour- 
nal for  1747  : 

"  April  7.  In  the  afternoon  rode  to  Newark  to  marry  tlie  Rev.  Mr. 
Dickinson :  and  in  tlie  evening  performed  thai  service.  Afterwards  rode 
homo  to  Elizabetbtown,  in  a  pleasant  frame,  fnll  of  composure  and  sweet- 

In   1746,  Mr.  Dickinson  published  another  pam- 

<  Webster's  P.  Chh.,  pp.  358,  ,518.    Edwards'  Works,  x,  141,  142. 

s  Edwards'  Works,  x.  247,  262,  283,  290, 353, 354,  356,  371 ,  374-80,  444. 

« Ibid.,  379. 


208 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


phlet  in  defense  of  the  revival  doctrines  of  that  day 
from  attacks  made  upon  them  by  several  Episcopal 
clergymen  of  Connecticut,  among  whom  were  Rev. 
John  Beacli,  Rev  Henry  Caner,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Johnson.  The  publications  of  these  men  were 
designed  mainly  as  antidotes  to  Mr.  Dickinson's 
works,  which  were  exerting  a  wide  influence.  He 
was  not  slow,  therefore,  in  issuing,  in  1746,  his  re- 
ply, entitled  "  A  Vindication  of  God's  Sovereign  Free 
Grace.  In  some  Remarks  on  Mr.  J.  Beach's  Sermon, 
with  some  brief  Reflections  upon  H.  Caner's  Sermon, 
and  on  a  pamphlet  entitled  'A  Letter  from  Aristocles 
to  Anthiades.'  " 

It  called  forth  a  response  from  Dr.  John.son,  to 
which  Mr.  Dickinson  wrote  a  rejoinder  called  "  A 
Second  Vindication  of  God's  Sovereign  Free  Grace," 
which  was  published  after  his  death  by  his  brother, 
Moses  Dickinson,  of  Norwalk. 

Mr.  Dickinson's  Relation  to  the  College  of 
New  Jersey,  now  Princeton  College. — Mr.  Dick- 
inson had  long  felt  the  necessity  of  a  collegiate  insti- 
tution more  accessible  than  Harvard  or  Yale  for  the 
colonies  this  side  of  New  England.  Incipient  steps 
were  taken  by  the  Synod  as  early  as  1739  to  obtain 
aid  from  Great  Britain  for  this  object,  Mr.  Dickinson 
being  on  the  committee  for  this  purpose,  "  but  the 
war  breaking  out"  with  Spain  prevented  it.  At  length 
application  was  made  to  John  Hamilton,  Esq.,  presi- 
dent of  his  Majesty's  Council,  and  (by  reason  of  the 
death.  May  14,  1746,  of  Governor  Lewis  Morris)  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  for 
"  a  charter  to  incorporate  sundry  persons  to  found  a 
college."  The  application  was  successful,  and  it  was 
granted,  under  the  great  seal  of  the  province,  Oct.  22, 
1746.  Notice  of  the  event  and  of  the  intentions  of 
the  trustees  was  duly  given  in  the  New  York  Weekly 
Post-Boy,  No.  2H,  dated  Feb.  2,  1747,  as  follows  : 

"  Whereas,  a  Charter  with  full  and  ample  Privileges,  lias  been  granted 
by  his  Majesty,  under  the  Seal  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  bearing 
date  the  22d  October,  1746,  for  erecting  a  College  within  the  said  Prov- 
ince, to  Joniithan  Dickinson,  John  Piersori,  Ebenezer  Pemberton,  and 
Aaron  Burr,  Ministereof  the  Gospel  and  some  other  Gentlemen,  as  Trus- 
tees of  the  said  College,  by  which  Charter  equal  Liberties  and  Privileges 
are  secured  to  every  Denomination  of  Christians,  any  difTereut  religious 
Sentiments  notwithstanding. 

"  The  Bald  Trustees  have  therefore  thought  proper  to  inform  the  Public, 
that  they  design  to  open  the  said  College  the  next  Spring;  and  to  notify 
to  any  Person  or  Persons  who  are  qualilied  by  preparatory  Learning  for 
Admission,  that  some  time  in  May  next  at  latest  tliey  may  be  thei'e  ad- 
mitted to  an  Academic  Education." 

Subsequently,  in  No.  222,  April  20,  1747,  notice  is 
thus  given: 

"This  is  to  inform  the  Publick,  That  the  Trustees  of  the  Colledge  of 
New-Jersey,  have  appointed  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  President 
of  the  said  Colledge:  which  will  beopened  the  fourth  Week  in  May  next, 
at  Elizatieth-Town ;  At  which  Time  and  Place,  all  Persons  suitably  quali- 
fied, may  be  admitted  to  an  Academic  Education." 

At  the  time  specified  the  first  term  of  "  the  College 
of  New  Jersey"  was  opened  at  Mr.  Dickinson's  house, 
on  the  south  side  of  the  old  Rahway  road,  directly 
west  of  Race  Street.     Mr.  Caleb  Smith,  of    Brook- 


haven,  L.  I.,  a  graduate  of  Yale  College  in  1743,  and 
now  in  the  twenty-fourth  year  of  his  age,  was  em- 
ployed as  the  first  tutor.  Enos  Ayres  (afterwards  a 
Presbyterian  minister  at  Blooming  Grove,  Orange  Co., 
N.  Y.),  Benjamin  Chesnut  (an  Englishman,  and  sub- 
sequently of  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick), 
Hugh  Henry  (afterwards  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Castle),  Israel  Reed  (shortly  after  the  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Bound  Brook,  N.  J.),  Richard 
Stockton  (of  Princeton,  the  well-known  civilian),  and 
Daniel  Thane  (a  Scotchman,  and  subsequently  pastor 
of  the  church  of  Connecticut  Farms,  in  tliis  town) 
were  the  first  graduates  of  the  institution,  and  were 
all  of  them,  doubtless,  under  the  instruction  of  Mr. 
Dickinson  and  his  tutor,  Caleb  Smith,  with  others, 
perhaps,  of  the  succeeding  class.' 

In  the  midst  of  these  useful  and  laborious  employ- 
ments, full  of  honors  as  of  service,  Mr.  Dickinson's 
career  on  earth  was  brought  to  a  close.  He  died  of 
pleurisy  Oct.  7,  1747,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age. 
■The  Rev.  Timothy  Johnes,  of  Morristown,  visited 
him  in  his  last  illness,  and  found  him  fully  prepared 
for  the  event:  "  Many  days  have  passed  between  God 
and  my  soul,  in  which  I  have  solemnly  dedicated  my- 
self to  Him,  and  I  trust  what  I  have  committed  unto 
Him,  He  is  able  to  keep  until  that  day."  Such  was 
his  testimony  in  death  to  the  gospel  in  which  he  be- 
lieved. On  the  occasion  of  his  burial  a  sermon  was 
preached  by  his  old  friend  and  neighbor,  the  Rev. 
John  Pierson,  of  Woodbridge,  which  was  afterwards 
published.  The  following  notice  of  his  death  and 
burial  appeared  in  the  New  York  Weekly  Post-Boy  of 
Oct.  12,  1747  : 

"  Elizabethtown,  in  New  Jersey,  Oct.  10. 
"On  Wednesday  Morning  last,  about  4  o'clock,  died  here  of  a  pleuritic 
illness,  that  eminently  learned,  faithful,  and  pious  Minister  of  the  Gos- 
pel, and  President  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jonathan 
Dickinson,  in  the  60th  Year  of  his  Age,  wiio  had  been  Pastor  of  tiie 
First  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  Town  for  nearly  forty  Years,  and  was 
the  Glory  and  Joy  of  it.  In  him  conspicuously  appeared  those  natural 
and  acquired  moral  and  spiritual  Endowments  which  constitute  a  truly 
excellent  and  valuable  Man,  a  good  Scholar,  an  eminent  Divine,  and  a 
serious,  devout  Christian.  He  was  greatly  adorned  with  the  Gifts  and 
Graces  of  his  Heavenly  Master,  in  the  Light  whereof  he  appeared  as  a 
Star  of  superior  Brightness  and  Influence  in  the  Orb  of  the  Church, 
which  has  sustained  a  great  and  unspeakable  Loss  in  his  Deatli.  He  was 
of  uncommon  and  very  extensive  Usefulness.  He  boldly  appeared  in 
the  Defence  of  the  great  and  important  Trutlis  of  our  most  holy  Relig- 
ion and  tiie  Gospel  Doctrines  of  the  free  and  sovereign  Grace  of  God. 
He  was  a  zealous  Promoter  of  godly  Practice  and  godly  Living,  and  a 
bright  Ornament  to  his  Profession.  In  Times  and  Cases  of  Difficulty  he 
was  a  ready,  wise,  and  able  Counsellor.  By  his  Deatli  our  infant  Col- 
lege is  deprived  of  the  Benefit  and  Advantages  of  his  superior  Accom- 
plishments, which  afforded  a  favorable  Prospect  of  its  future  Flourishing 
and  Prosperity  under  his  luspection.  His  Remains  were  decently  in- 
terred here  Yesterday,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pierson,  of  Woodbridge, 
preached  his  funeral  Sermon,  and  as  he  lived  desired  of  all  so  never  any 
Pei-son  in  these  Parts  died  more  lamented.  Our  Fatliers  where  are  they, 
and  the  Prophets,  do  they  live  forever!" 

His  monument  in  the  Presbyterian  burying-ground 
bears  the  following  inscription  : 


1  Memoir  of  Rev.  0.  Smith,  p.  3.    Triennial  of  0.  of  N.  J. 


THE    CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


209 


'*  Here  lyea  y*  body  of  ye  Rev* 

Mr.  Jonatlian  Bickinson,  Pastor 

of  the  first  Presbyterian  Church 

In  Elizabeth  Town,  who  Died  Oct' 

y  7th  1747.     Aetatie  Suae  60. 
Deep  was  tlie  Wound,  0  Death  !  and  Vastly  wi.le,  i 

When  he  resign'il  his  Useful  breath  and  dy'd :  | 

Ye  Sacred  Tribe  with  pious  Sorrow  mourn,  i 

And  drop  a  tear  at  your  great  Patron's  Urn  ! 
Conceal'd  a  moment  from  our  longing  Eyes, 
Beneath  tljis  Stone  bis  mortal  Body  lies  : 
Happy  the  Spirit  lives,  and  will,  we  trust. 
In  Bliss  associate  with  his  precious  Dust." 

Another  monument,  by  the  side  of  his,  ha.s  tlie  fol- 
lowing : 

"  Here  is  interred  the  body  of  Mrs.  Joanna  Dickinson— Obiit.  April  20, 
1745.    Anno  Aetatis  63. 

"  Rest,  precious  Dnst,  till  Christ  revive  this  Clay 
To  Join  the  Triumphs  of  the  Judgment  Day." 

Eev.  Elihu  Spencer  succeeded  Mr.  Dickinson  in 
the  pastorate  of  the  church  after  about  two  years  had 
intervened.  The  eccentric  James  Davenport,  who 
was  at  this  time  settled  over  the  church  at  Connecti- 
cut Farms,  is  believed  to  have  supplied  this  church 
occasionally.  A  letter  of  President  Edwards,  written 
May  20,  1749,  says,— 

"  Mr.  Spencer  is  now  preaching  at  Elizabethtown,  in  New  Jersey,  in 
the  pulpit  of  the  late  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  I  believe  lie  is  likely  to  settle 
there.  He  is  a  person  of  very  promising  qualitications,  and  will  hope- 
fully in  some  measure  make  up  the  great  loss  that  the  people  have  sus- 
tained by  the  death  of  their  former  pastor."  l 

Mr.  Spencer  was  the  son  of  Isaac  Spencer  and  Mary 
Selden,  and  was  born  at  East  Haddam,  Conn.,  Feb. 
12,  1721.  He  was  the  seventh  child  of  his  parents. 
His  father  was  the  grandson  of  Jared  Spencer,  who 
came  to  Haddam  as  early  as  1665.  Samuel,  the  son 
of  Jared,  was  his  grandfather,  and  Hannah,  the 
daughter  of  Jared,  was  the  grandmother  of  David 
and  John  Brainerd,  who  consequently  were  his  second 
cousins.  Jerusha  Brainerd,  sister  of  David  and  John, 
was  the  wife  of  his  eldest  brother  Samuel ;  and  Martha 
Brainerd,  a  third  sister,  was  the  wife  of  his  second 
brother,  Joseph  Spencer,  afterwards  major-general  of 
the  army  of  the  Revolution  and  member  of  Congress. 
A  peculiarly  close  intimacy  therefore  existed  be- 
tween Elihu  Spencer  and  the  two  Brainerds.  It  was 
at  the  house  of  Samuel  Spencer,  Jerusha's  husband, 
that  David  Brainerd  found  a  home  whenever,  in  his 
public  life,  he  visited  his  native  town.  To  this  sister 
Brainerd  was  greatly  attached,  and  the  news  of  her 
death,  brought  him  shortly  before  his  own  departure, 
deeply  atfected  him.  John  Brainerd  was  about  one 
year,  and  David  about  three  years,  older  than  Elihu 
Spencer.  They  grew  up  and  fitted  for  college  to- 
gether. Spencer  and  John  Brainerd  entered  Yale 
College  at  the  same  time,  and  graduated  in  1746,  in 
the  same  cla.ss  with  the  Eev.  Dr.  Ezra  Stiles,  subse- 
quently president  of  Yale  College,  and  with  Lewis 
Morris  and  John  Morin  Scott,  afterwards  members  of 
Congress.     The  Rev.  Dr.  Thomas  B.  Chandler,  of  this 

>  Edwards'  Works,  i.  274. 


town,  and  the  Hon.  William  Smith,  the  historian, 
preceded  them  one  year.- 

Mr.  Spencer  was  ordained  in  Boston,  Sept.  14, 1748, 
as  a  missionary  to  the  Oneida  Indians,  having  been 
recommended  to  that  service  by  the  missionary  David 
Brainerd,  with  whom  he  had  ^pent  the  preceding 
winter  at  Bethel,  N.  J.,  in  becoming  acquainted  with 
Indian  manners  and  customs.  Soon  after  his  ordina- 
tion he  located  as  an  Indian  missionary  at  Onohoh- 
guaga  (Unadilla),  N.  Y.,  where  he  spent  the  winter. 
Such  were  the  discouragements  of  the  situation,  on 
account  of  the  incapacity  or  unfaithfulness  of  his 
interpreter,  that  he  returned  to  Boston  to  obtain  a 
better  interpreter  and  a  colleague.  His  attention, 
however,  was  directed  to  Elizabeth  Town,  and  he 
came  here,  as  above  stated,  in  May,  1749.  He  was 
installed  as  regular  pastor  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Y'ork  Feb.  7,  1750.  He  appears  to  have  made  the 
following  record  in  his  family  Bible : 


nd  took  tlie  great  charge  {ontis 
liuistrv  in  Elizabethtown,>(<i(is 


"This  day  was  installed  E.  Spencer,  j 
httmeris  angelornm  fomiidimdiim)  of  The  i 
tax  28.     The  Lord  help  me."  3 

Scarcely  any  memorials  remain  of  his  pastoral  work 
in  this  town.  That  he  was  a  fluent  and  attractive 
preacher  is  well  attested.  His  ministry  terminated 
here  in  1756,  about  seven  years  from  the  time  of  its 
commencement,  no  record  being  left  from  which  a 
reason  for  the  separation  can  be  inferred.  He  subse- 
quently preached  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  Shrewsbury,  N.  J., 
and  finally  became  pastor  of  the  church  at  Trenton, 
where  be  died,  Dec.  27,  1784.  He  had  received 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1782  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  A  monu- 
mental stone  placed  over  his  grave  at  Trenton  bears 
the  following  inscription  : 

"  Beneath  this  stone  lies  the  body  of  the  Eev.  Elihu  Spencek,  D.D., 
Pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Trenton,  and  one  of  the  Trustees 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  who  departed  this  life  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  December,  1784,  in  the  sixty-fourth  year  of  his  age. 

*'  Possessed  of  line  genius,  of  great  vivacity,  of  eminent  and  active 
piety,  his  merits  as  a  minister  and  as  a  man  stand  above  tlie  reacli 
of  flattery. 

"  Having  long  edified  the  Church  by  his  talents  and  example,  and  fin- 
ished his  course  witli  joy,  he  fell  asleep  full  of  faith,  and  waiting  for 
the  hope  of  all  saints. 

"Mrs.  Joanna  Spencer, 
Relict  of  the  above,  died  November  1st,  1791,  aged  sixty-three  years. 

"  From  her  many  virtues  she  lived  beloved,  and  died  lamented.  The 
cheerful  patience  with  which  she  bore  a  painful  and  tedious  disease 
threw  a  lustre  on  the  last  scenes  of  her  life,  and  evinces  that  with  true 
piety  death  loses  its  terrors."  < 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Spencer  had  eight  children,  some  of 
whom  left  distinguished  descendants.     Their  fourth 

2  Goodwin's  Geneal.  Notes,  p.  203.  Hall's  Trenton,  pp.  208-9.  Braio- 
erd's  Life  of  John  Braiueril,  pp.  25-35.  Sprague's  Annals,  iii.  165.  Je- 
rusha Brainerd  was  the  mother  of  Col.  Oliver  Spencer,  at  a  later  day  a 
citizen  of  this  town,  of  high  social  position,  introduced  here,  doubtless, 
by  his  uncle,  the  Rev.  Elihu  Spencer.  He  married  Anna,  the  second 
daughter  of  Robert  Ogden  and  Phebe  Hatfield,  and  the  sister  of  the 
distinguished  Robert,  Matthias,  and  .\aron  Ogden. 

3  Hall's  Trenton,  pp.  211,  -212. 

*  Ibid.,  pp.  215-28,  '278,  287-f8.   Spr.igue's  Aunals.iii.  167-68. 


210 


HISTORY    OK   UNIOiNT   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


child,  Margaret,  married  as  early  as  1778  Jonathan 
Dickinson  Sergeant  (grandson  of  President  Dickin- 
son), an  eminent  jurist  and  member  of  Congress,  who 
was  born  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  174(;,  graduated  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  in  1762,  studied  law  with  Rich- 
ard Stockton,  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  died  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1793.  Of  their  cliildren  were  (1)  the  Hon. 
John  Sergeant,  born  in  1779,  graduated  at  the  College 
of  New  Jersey  in  1795,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  a  dis- 
tinguished statesman,  who  died  at  Philadelphia  Nov. 
23,  18.')2;  (2)  Hon.  Thomas  Sergeant,  who  graduated 
at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1798,  became  chief 
justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
died  in  1860. 

Rev.  Abraham  Keteltas. — This  minister  was 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  something 
over  three  years.  He  had  preached  as  a  candidate 
six  months,  beginning  soon  after  the  departure  of 
Rev.  Dr.  Spencer,  and  received  a  call  to  the  pastorate 
on  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  pounds  "  lite 
money"  per  year.  He  was  ordained  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  York,  Sept.  14,  1757,  being  at  that  time 
twenty-five  years  of  age. 

He  was  the  son  of  Abraham  Keteltas,  a  well-known 
merchant  of  the  city  of  New  York,  who  had  emi- 
grated from  Holland  about  the  close  of  the  seven- 
teenth century.  The  son  was  born  in  New  York,  Dec. 
26,  1732.  In  his  youth  he  resided  a  considerable  time 
among  the  Huguenots  of  New  Rochelle,  and  there 
acquired  familiarity  with  the  French  language.  He 
was  educated  at  Yale  College,  taking  his  degree  there- 
from in  1752,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Fair- 
field East  Association  of  Congregational  Ministers, 
Aug.  23,  1756,  soon  after  which  (Feb.  22,  1757)  he 
began  to  preach  for  this  church.  Previous  to  his 
licensure  he  had  married,  Oct.  22,  1755,  Sarah,  third 
daughter  of  the  Hon.  William  Smith,  member  of  the 
Council,  and  judge  of  the  Court  of  King's  Bench. 
She  was  a  sister  of  William  Smith,  the  historian,  born 
four  years  later,  in  1732.  Mr.  Keteltas  and  his  wife 
occupied  a  high  social  position,  "  consorting  with  the 
most  distinguished  families  of  both  provinces."' 

The  accounts  of  the  treasurer  of  the  congregation, 
Samuel  Woodrutf,  show  that  the  salary  of  Mr.  Ketel- 
tas was  paid  by  regular  weekly  contributions  on  the 
Sabbath,  averaging  for  the  years  1758  and  1759  about 
£2  16s.  each  Sabbath.  They  also  show  that  in  the 
spring  of  1759  the  belfry  of  the  church  was  provided 
with  a  public  clock,  probably  for  the  first  time,  the 
handiwork,  doubtless,  of  Aaron  Miller,  who  had  es- 
tablished himself  in  the  town  as  a  clock-maker.  At 
whose  expense  it  was  provided  is  left  to  conjecture, 
as  no  charge  for  it  is  found  in  the  treasurer's  accounts. 
It  had  but  one  face,  for  the  making  and  painting  of 
which  were  paid  to  Mr.  Ball,  carpenter,  and  Joseph 
Woodruft',  painter,  £10  6s.  9(/.  Mr.  Abraham  Wood- 
ruff was  paid  £1  8s.  Qd.  for  a  "  clock-rope." 

I  N.  York  Marriages,  p.  212. 


The  same  old  account-book  tells  other  tales.  Re- 
peiitedly  the  charge  is  made,  "  To  1  quart  of  rum 
1/4;"  supplied  to  the  men  repairing  the  old  church; 
"  June  24,  1758  ;  2  quarts  of  rum  (Si  2/S  for  y'  people 
to  pry  up  the  sleepers;"  from  which  it  would  appear 
that  the  floor  of  the  old  edifice  had  begun  very  seri- 
ously to  feel  the  effects  of  age.  "  June  18,  1759,  paid 
David  meeker  Riding  to  Collect  m''  Spencer  Arrerejes, 
£0  5s.  Orf."  Mr.  Spencer's  account  was  not  settled 
until  May  21,  1760.  Abraham  Woodruff  was  paid  6s. 
"  for  Rideing  one  Day  to  Collect  yn  the  Scribtion." 

At  a  later  date,  Sept.  10,  1760,  occurs  the  following : 
"To  Cash  for  highering  a  man  Calling  the  Deakens 
and  Elders  a  Bout  m''  Ketteltass,  £0  2s.  Od." 

This  meeting  of  the  deacons  and  elders  had  respect 
to  the  di.s3olution  of  the  pastoral  relation,  which  was 
effected  in  July,  1760,  some  slight  charges  being  pre- 
ferred against  the  pastor,  which,  however,  the  Pres- 
bytery passed  over  very  lightly.  He  soon  after 
withdrew  from  that  body.  His  residence  subsequently 
to  leaving  Elizabethtown  was  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  where 
he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  life.  While  having  his 
residence  there  he  was  "  minister  of  the  French  Prot- 
estant Church  of  New  York"  up  to  as  late  as  Oct.  6, 

1775.  He  was  appointed  by  his  townsmen,  Dec.  6, 
1774,  chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Correspondence 
and  Observation.  He  was  also  elected  a  member  of 
the  Constitutional  Convention  in  1777,  and  by  his 
political  essays  and  patriotic  efforts  made  himself  so 
obnoxious  to  the  enemy  and  the  Tories  of  Long 
Island   that  after  the  battle  of  Flatbush,   Aug.  27, 

1776,  he  was  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  New  England 
until  the  close  of  the  contest,  leaving  his  property  to 
be  occupied  and  greatly  injured  by  the  British. 

His  last  days  were  jjassed  in  peace  in  the  midst  of 
his  family  and  friends  at  Jamaica.  In  the  graveyard 
of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  there  a  memorial 
tablet  makes  the  following  record  : 

"SacreJ  totliempmoiyof  the  Rev.  Abinham  KeUleta6,Obt.30th  Sept. 
1798,  A.  E.  65  years,  9  mos.  and  4  days.  He  possessed  unusual  taleuts, 
that  were  improved  by  profound  erudition,  and  a  heart  firmly  attaclied 
to  tlie  interests  of  his  country.  His  mind  was  early  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  religion,  wliiuli  fully  manifested  itself  in  the  choice  of  tlie  sacred 
office,  in  whicli  he  shone  as  tlie  able  and  faitliful  divine.  It  may  not 
perhaps  iie  unworthy  of  record  in  tliis  inscription,  that  he  frequently 
officiated  in  three  different  languages,  having  preached  in  the  Dutch 
and  French  Churches  in  his  native  city  of  New  York. 

"Rest  from  thy  labors  now  thy  work  is  o'er: 
Since  Death  is  vanquished,  now  free  grace  adore; 
A  crown  of  glory  sure  awaits  the  just, 
Who  served  their  Cod,  and  in  their  Saviour  trust. 

Rev.  James  Caldwell. — Alter  a  vacancy  in  the 
pastorate  of  three  and  a  half  years,  during  which  the 
pulpit  was  supplied  by  no  less  than  twenty-one  dift'er- 
ent  preachers,  among  whom  were  Rev.  Joseph  Treat 
and  Rev.  William  Kirkpatrick,  the  choice  of  the  con- 
gregation fell  upon  the  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  who 
had  previously  preached  for  the  church  eleven  Sun- 
days as  a  supply.  He  was  a  young  man,  born  in  Char- 
lotte County,  Va.,  in  April,  1734,  and  had  graduated 
at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  September,  1759,  and 


THE   CITY    OP   ELIZABETH. 


211 


after  studying  theology  under  President  Davies,  had 
been  ordained  Sept.  17,  1760,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Brunswick.  He  came  to  Elizabeth  Town  and 
entered  upon  the  regular  duties  of  the  pastorate  in 
November,  1761.  At  this  time  "he  was  in  the  twenty- 
seventh  year  of  his  age,  a  young  man  of  prepossess- 
ing appearance,  and  of  more  than  ordinary  promise 
as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel." 

With  the  settlement  of  the  new  pastor  began  im- 
provements in  a  physical  as  well  as-  in  a  moral  sense. 
Hence  it  was  voted,  April  21,  1762, — 

"  That  the  Burial  Ground  be  inclosed  with  a  close  cedar  Board  Fence 
w't*  red  Cedar  Posts  and  that  a  sufficient  N  umber  of  Posts  be  set  up  before 
the  s"*  Fence  for  the  Convenience  of  fastening  Horses  A'C. 

"  Also  Agreed  that  a  Neat  Pale  Fence  be  built  to  inclose  a  Court  Yard 
in  the  Front  and  South  End  of  the  Church  with  a  double  Rail  on  the 
outside  witii  convenient  Turnpikes  to  defend  the  same  from  any  injuries 
by  Horses  &c  and  the  s'*  Fences  with  well  painted. 

"Also  it  is  agreed  that  the  Church  be  painted  within  with  some  light 
Color — and  that  any  other  necessary  repairs  be  done  " 

The  work  was  intrusted  to  Mr.  Samuel  Woodruff, 
president  of  the  board,  one  of  the  most  influential 
men  of  the  town,  largely  engaged  in  merchandise. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  1763,  just  one  year  after  he 
entered  upon  his  pastoral  administrations,  Mr.  Cald- 
well wa.s  united  in  marriage  to  Hannah,  the  daughter 
of  John  Ogden,  Esq  ,  and  Hannah  Sayre,  of  Newark, 
N.  J.  Her  father  was  the  son  of  Capt.  David  Ogden, 
and  the  grandson  of  the  first  David  Ogden,  who  came 
Vfith  his  father,  John  Ogden,  the  planter,  from 
Long  Island,  and  settled  this  town  in  1664.  Her 
mother  was  a  descendant  of  Joseph  Sayre,  another  of 
the  founders  of  Elizabeth  Town.  During  the  first 
year  of  his  pastorate  Whitefield  again  visited  the 
town,  and  preached  here  twice  on  Sunday,  Nov.  27, 
1763. 

Rev.  Dr.  Kempshall  traces  up  to  "  about  this  date 
the  origin  of  two  customs  in  the  churches,  viz.,  the 
raising  of  the  current  expenses  of  the  church  by  pew- 
rents  and  singing  by  choirs.  Up  to  this  time  current 
expenses  had  been  met  by  Sabbath  collections,  and 
all  singing  in  the  churches  was  congregational,  led 
by  a  precentor.  In  May,  1767,  it  was  resolved  '  to 
offer  the  pews  in  the  enlarged  building  at  public 
vendue,  agreeable  to  certain  fixed  rates,  the  rents 
to  be  paid  quarterly.'  'There  were  few  country 
churches  with  a  choir  before  1765  or  1770,  and  they 
certainly  did  not  become  common  until  the  time  of 
the  American  Revolution.' " 

The  parish  of  Mr.  Caldwell  was  an  extensive  one. 
It  included  nearly  all  the  territory  in  the  present 
county  of  Union,  embracing  the  townships  of  Union, 
Springfield,  New  Providence.  Westfield,  Plainfield, 
Railway,  Linden,  and  Clark,  which  were  taken  from 
the  ancient  township  of  Elizabeth  Town.  The  old 
trustees'  book  shows  that  in  1776  there  were  three 
hundred  and  forty-five  pew-renters  and  subscribers  in 
the  congregation.  The  ruling  elders  at  that  time 
were  Cornelius  Hatfield,  John  Potter,  Samuel  Wil- 


liams, and  Benjamin  Winans.  Isaac  Woodruff,  Jon- 
athan Williams,  Caleb  Halsted,  David  Ogden,  Isaac 
Arnett,  and  Jonathan  Price  were  trustees. 

"  In  the  congregation,  at  the  opening  of  the  Revo- 
lution, were  such  men  as  William  Livingston,  the 
noble  Governor  of  the  State,  who  through  a  storm  of 
obloquy  from  some  of  his  former  friends,  and  of 
bitter  and  unrelenting  hatred  and  plottings  against 
his  life  on  the  part  of  the  Tories  and  the  British,  re- 
mained steadfast  in  his  devotion  to  the  cause  of  free- 
dom to  the  final  victory.  Elias  Boudinot,  who  served 
on  the  staff  of  Gen.  Livingston,  was  appointed  by 
Congress  commissary-general  of  prisoners;  was  mem- 
ber of  Congress  in  1778, 1781,  and  1782;  chosen  presi- 
dent of  Congress,  Nov.  2,  1782,  and  when  the  treaty 
of  peace  with  Great  Britain  was  ratified,  April  15, 
1783,  he  had  the  honor  of  affixing  to  it  his  signature. 
He  received  from  Yale  College  in  1790  the  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Laws  ;  was  a  trustee  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey  for  twenty-three  years,  and  in  1816  the  first 
president  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  In  for- 
warding from  Philadelphia,  while  superintendent  of 
the  Mint,  as  a  gift  to  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presby- 
terian Church,  a  pair  of  elegant  and  costly  cut-glass 
chandeliers,  he  said,  in  his  letter  bearing  date  Feb. 
26,  1800,  of  the  church,  '  The  many  happy  hours  I 
have  spent  there  make  the  remembrance  of  having 
been  one  of  their  society  among  the  substantial  pleas- 
ures of  my  life.'  In  the  congregation  at  this  time 
also  was  Abraham  Clark,  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence ;  he  had  long  been  a 
member  of  the  church,  and  was  one  of  its  trustees 
from  1786  to  1790.  He  was  chosen  seven  times  as  a 
delegate  from  New  Jersey  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress. Here,  also,  were  the  Hon.  Robert  Ogden 
(Speaker  of  the  Assembly  at  an  earlier  day),  with 
his  three  sons,  Robert,  Matthias,  and  Aaron,  the  last 
two  distinguished  officers  in  the  United  States  army ; 
the  Hon.  Stephen  Crane,  Speaker  of  the  Assembly  ; 
Elias  Dayton  and  his  son  Jonathan,  both  of  them 
subsequently  general  officers  of  the  army,  and  the 
latter  Speaker  of  Congress  ;  William  Peartree  Smith, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  civilians  of  the  day  r 
Oliver  Spencer  and  Francis  Barber,  both  of  them 
colonels  of  the  Jersey  Brigade,  from  whom  Gen. 
Maxwell,  commandant  of  the  brigade,  received  on 
all  occasions,  and  some  of  them  of  a  trying  nature, 
most  zealous  and  efficient  co-operation,  and  other 
such  devoted  patriots  not  a  few." 

"  From  this  one  congregation  went  forth  over  forty 
co7nmis>tio>ied  officers  of  the  Continental  army,  not  to 
speak  of  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  to 
fight  the  battles  of  independence." 

We  shall  not  recount  here  the  events  of  the  Revo- 
lution, having  given  that  history  already  in  several 
general  chapters  of  this  work.  In  that  history  will 
be  found  an  account  of  the  burning  by  a  party  of  the 
enemy  from  Staten  Island,  under  command  of  the 
notorious  Col.  Van  Buskirk,  of  the  court-house  and 


212 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  meeting-house  of  this  parish,  in  which  Mr.  Cald- 
well had  then  preached  for  twenty  years.  This  was 
on  the  night  of  the  2oth  of  January,  1780.  This  was 
undoubtedly  the  second  house  of  worship  which  had 
been  built  by  the  congregation. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Elizabeth  Dailfi  Journal 
of  May  12,  1873,  Dr.  Hatfield  says,  "  Through  the 
kindness  of  a  friend  in  Philadelphia,  I  have  recently 
came  into  possession  of  an  original  document,  pur- 
porting to  be  an  agreement  or  contract  between  the 
building  committee  of  the  congregation  and  the  car- 
penters by  whom  the  old  meeting-house  that  was 
burned  down  in  1780  was  built."  The  agreement 
which  follows  bears  date  "  this  twenty-fourth  day  of 
February,  Anno  Domini  1723-24,  and  in  the  tenth 
year  of  our  sovereign  Lord  King  George,  etc,"  and  is 
signed  by  John  Thompson,  Nathaniel  Bonnell, 
Joseph  Woodruft',  David  Morehouse,  Nathaniel 
Bonnell,  Jr.,  "  a  committee  chosen  by  the  Presby- 
terian Society  of  Elizebeth  Town  for  taking  care  of 
building  a  meeting-house  for  said  society."  "  It  will 
thus  be  seen,"  as  Dr.  Hatfield  adds,  "  that  the  house 
was  built  in  the  summer  of  1724,  and  was  fifty-eight 
feet  in  length  and  forty-two  feet  in  width,  and  that  the 
audience-room  was  twenty-four  feet  in  height.  .  .  . 
An  addition  to  the  length  in  the  rear  of  sixteen  feet 
was  made  in  1766,  so  that  its  final  dimensions  were 
seventy-four  by  forty-two  feet." 

We  may  gather  some  idea  of  the  appearance  of  the 
interior  of  the  church  at  the  time  it  was  destroyed  from 
the  directions  given  by  the  trustees  to  the  new  sex- 
ton, William  Woodruff,  elected  March,  1706:  "Once 
every  three  months  the  alleys  below  the  pulpit  stairs 
and  gallery  stairs  must  be  washed  out  and  well 
sanded.  For  evening  lectures  you  are  to  get  the 
candles,  such  as  the  trustees  shall  direct,  and  illumi- 
nate the  church  in  every  part,  and  at  the  conclusion 
of  prayer,  before  sermon,  you  are  immediately  to  go 
up  and  snuff  the  pulpit  candles  and  the  rest  of 
the  candles  in  the  church.  When  you  judge  the 
sermon  to  be  about  half  finished,  you  are  once  more 
to  snuff  the  candles  in  the  pulpit  and  at  the  clerk's 
desk."  (The  most  serious  objection  to  this  rule  would 
be  the  suspicion  that  the  sexton  might  be  open  to 
outside  influences  to  snuff  the  candles  prematurely.) 
"  You  are  to  be  very  careful  of  the  silk  hangings  and 
cushions  that  they  receive  no  injury  by  dust  spots. 
You  are  to  see  that  the  pulpit  door  be  always  opened 
ready  for  the  minister's  entrance,  and  the  Bible  opened 
on  the  cushion.  You  are  to  prevent,  as  much  as  in 
you  lies,  all  undue  noises  and  disorders,  and  suffer  no 
white  boys  or  girls  to  be  standing  or  sitting  on  the  gal- 
lery or  pulpit  stairs,  and  if  at  any  time  you  cannot 
prevent  unruly  behavior  during  divine  service,  you  j 
are  immediately  to  step  to  one  of  the  magistrates  or  j 
elders  present  and  inform  them  of  the  same.  You 
are  weekly  to  wind  up  and  regulate  the  church  clock."  ' 
Such,  as  nearly  as  we  are  able  to  present  it  to  you,  was 
the  venerable  church  edifice  in  its  external  and  in-  ' 


ternal  appearance.'  "The  church  in  which  Cald- 
well preached,"  says  Dr.  Murray  in  his  notes,  "was 
cheerfully  yielded  as  a  hospital  for  sick  and  disabled 
and  wounded  soldiers,  as  some  of  the  aged  ones  yet 
among  us  testify  ;  it  was  its  bell  that  sounded  through 
the  town  the  notes  of  alarm  on  the  approach  of  the 
foe;  its  floor  was  not  unfrequently  the  bed  of  the 
weary  soldier,  and  the  seats  of  its  pews  the  table  from 
which  he  ate  his  scanty  meal." 

In  April,  1776,  Col.  Dayton's  regiment,  that  had 
been  quartered  in  town,  received  orders  to  march  to 
the  relief  of  the  army  besieging  Quebec.  As  most  of 
the  oflicers  and  many  of  the  privates  were  members 
of  Mr.  Caldwell's  congregation,  a  strong  desire  was 
expressed  that  he  should  serve  as  chaplain.  Lieut. 
Elmer,  in  his  diary,  April  28th.  says,  "  Members  of 
the  Presbyterian  meeting  met  about  Mr.  Caldwell's 
going  to  Quebec  with  us,  which  was  agreed  on  after 
some  debate." 

"  Parson  Caldwell,"  or  the  "  Fighting  Chaplain." 
as  he  was  called  by  the  British,  who  had  reason  both 
to  fear  and  hate  him  for  his  powerful  influence  in  aid- 
ing the  patriot  cause,  was  from  that  time  forward  to 
the  close  of  his  life  occupied  more  or  less  continually 
in  the  service  of  his  country.  "  He  was  at  once  the 
ardent  patriot  and  the  faithful  Christian  pastor.  The 
Sabbath  found  him,  whether  at  home  or  in  the  camp, 
ready  to  proclaim  the  gospel,  with  its  messages  of 
mercy  and  comfort,  to  his  fellow-men,  while  he  waa 
ever  watchful  at  other  times  to  use  every  opportunity 
to  promote  the  spiritual  welfare  of  citizens  and  sol- 
diers. He  was  held,  therefore,  in  the  highest  esteem 
by  oflicers  and  men,  confided  in  by  all,  and  regarded 
with  enthusiastic  love  by  thejrank  and  file."  No  one, 
consequently,  save  his  parishioner,  Governor  Living- 
ston, was  more  feared  and  hated  by  the  Tories  and  the 
British.  Gladly  would  they  have  kidnapped  him  if 
they  could.  Doubtless  it  was  owing  to  a  full  appre- 
ciation of  this  fact  that  he  was  wont,  as  Dr.  McDowell 
relates,  when  returning  from  active  service  to  pass  a 
Sunday  with  such  of  his  flock  as  could  be  gathered 
in  the  old  red  store-house,  to  make  ready  for  open- 
ing the  service  by  laying  his  cavalry  pistols  upon 
the  pulpit  cushion,  ready  for  immediate  use  if  re- 
quired, while  sentinels  were  stationed  at  the  doors  to 
give  warning." 

When  Caldwell  and  his  people  returned  to  tlieir 
homes  in  January,  1777,  after  an  exile  of  six  weeks, 
"  they  found  everything  in  ruins,  their  houses  plun- 
dered, their  fences  broken  down  and  consumed,  their 
gardens  laid  waste,  their  fields  an  open  common,  and 
their  records,  both  public  and  private,  destroyed." 

Upon  the  retreat  of  Knyphausen's  forces  from  the 
Short  Hills  expedition,  in  June,  1780,  the  British  sol- 
diers deliberately  murdered  Mrs.  Caldwell,  the  wife 
of  the  pastor,  who  was  at  that  time  occupying  the 
parsonage  at  Connecticut  Farms  with  his  family  and 


'  CaldweU  aud  the  RevuluUuo,  by  Rev.  Everard  Kemphall,  D.D. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


213 


nine  children,  having  been  removed  thither  by  Mr. 
Caldwell  for  safety.  She  was  sitting  in  a  back  room 
with  her  children  about  her,  when  a  British  soldier 
approached  the  house,  and  thrusting  his  gun  through 
a  window  shot  her  dead  upon  the  spot.  The  few 
dwellings  in  tlie  hamlet  were  plundered  of  everything 
portable,  and  then,  together  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  place,  were  burned  to  the  ground. 

While  this  sad  bereavement  cast  a  gloom  over  Mr. 
Caldwell  and  affected  him  deeply,  it  no  doubt  inten- 
sified his  hatred  of  the  British  soldiery,  and  added 
new  zest  to  his  patriotic  exertions.  At  the  battle  near 
Springfield,  in  the  midst  of  a  severe  engagement  with 
Clinton's  forces,  Caldwell,  finding  that  the  militia 
were  out  of  wadding  for  their  muskets,  galloped  to  the 
Presbyterian  Church  near,  and  returning  with  an 
armful  of  hymn-books  threw  them  upon  the  ground, 
exclaiming,  "  Now  put  Watts  into  them,  boys  !" 

Such  is  one  of  the  noted  instances  of  the  zeal  and 
ready  energy  of  this  truly  patriotic  and  noble  man. 
He  lived  one  month  after  the  surrender  of  Lord  Corn- 
wallis  to  enjoy  the  victory,  which  to  him  was  tinged 
with  a  sadness  never  removed  in  this  world.  He  had 
become  more  and  more  endeared  to  the  whole  com- 
munity, but  in  an  evil  hour  he  was  snatched  away  by 
the  hand  of  an  assassin.  On  the  24th  of  November, 
1781,  he  was  cruelly  murdered  while  attending  upon 
a  lady  who  had  come  over  from  New  York  for  a  visit 
to  her  friends  in  Elizabeth  Town,  and  had  landed  at 
the  Point.  He  was  shot,  without  cause  or  provoca- 
tion, by  a  man  named  Morgan,  who  had  been  enlisted 
as  a  twelve-months'  man  in  the  Continental  service, 
and  was  then  acting  as  a  sentinel  at  the  landing  at 
Elizabeth  Town  Point.  In  the  absence  of  any  as- 
certained motive  for  so  base  a  deed,  it  was  quite  gen- 
erally believed  that  the  man  had  been  bribed  by 
British  gold.  He  was  tried  by  court-martial  and 
executed  upon  the  gallows;  but  he  never  made  any 
confession  of  liis  object,  or  of  what  influenced  him  to 
the  deed.  During  the  funeral  services  of  Mr.  Cald- 
well the  whole  town  suspended  business,  and  ex- 
pressed in  unmistakable  manner  the  deep  sorrow  that 
filled  all  hearts.  Surely  among  the  many  trying 
scenes  through  which  the  people  of  this  congregation 
had  been  called  to  pass  during  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution, none  could  have  been  more  touching  and  sad- 
dening than  that  which  occurred  at  the  funeral,  when, 
"  after  all  had  taken  their  last  look,  and  before  the  cotfin 
was  closed,  Elias  Boudinot  came  forward  leading  nine 
orplian  children,  and  placing  them  around  the  bier  of 
their  parent,  made  an  address  of  surpassing  pathos  to 
the  multitude  in  their  behalf  It  was  an  hour  of  deep 
and  powerful  emotion,  and  the  procession  slowly  moved 
to  the  grave,  weeping  as  they  went." 

Rev.  James  Francis  Arm.steong  was  chosen  to 
succeed  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  after  the  lapse  of  some 
eight  months.  The  general  feeling  was,  no  doubt, 
that  expressed  by  Abraham  Clark,  who,  in  a  letter 


from  Philadelphia  to  Capt.  Benjamin  Winans,  dated 
Jan.  16,  1782,  says,— 

"1  suppose  by  this  time  tliat  the  murderer  of  Mr.  Caldwell  has  been 
tried  and  received  his  doom;  but  that  will  not  restore  our  luss  which 
will  be  long  felt  in  Elizabeth-Town.  I  hope  you  will  not  be  in  a  hurry 
to  get  another,  for  few  can  be  found  lit  to  succeed  him  that  ia  gone.  I 
have  one  or  two  in  my  mind  that  might  answer,  but  I  think  that  they 
could  not  be  got  till  the  end  of  the  war,  as  they  are  chaplains  of  the 
army."  i 

Possibly  Mr.  Armstrong  may  have  been  one  of  the 
ministers  alluded  to,  as  he  was  a  chaplain  in  the  army 
at  the  South  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  the 
son  of  Francis  Armstrong,  of  West  Nottingham,  Md., 
where  he  was  born,  April  3,  1750.  He  graduated  at 
Princeton  College  in  1773,  studied  theology  under  Dr. 
Witherspoon,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  in  January, 
1777,  but  did  not  receive  ordination  till  Jan.  14, 1778, 
at  which  time  it  appears  he  accepted  an  appointment 
as  chaplain  in  Gen.  Sullivan's  brigade.  He  spent  the 
next  three  years  in  the  service,  mostly  in  the  South. 
He  began  his  ministerial  work  here  in  June,  1782, 
and  was  married  on  the  22d  of  August  following  to 
Susanna,  daughter  of  Robert  J.  Livingston,  deceased. 

Mr.  Armstrong  remained  less  than  a  year  as  pastor 
of  the  church,  his  services  being  terminated  by  a  se- 
vere affection  of  measles,  aggravated  by  exposure  in 
the  army.  He,  however,  recovered  his  health  in  two 
or  three  years,  when  he  became  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Trenton,  and  remained  until 
his  death,  Jan.  19,  1816. 

For  about  eighteen  months  following  the  resigna- 
tion of  Mr.  Armstrong  the  church  was  supplied  by 
ministers  mostly  of  the  Presbytery  of  New  York. 

New  House  of  Worship. — Meantime  measures 
were  taken  for  the  erection  of  a  new  house  of  worship 
in  place  of  the  one  which  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
British.  At  a  meeting  for  that  purpose,  July  11,  1784, 
"the  Congregation  voted  that  the  Trustees  should 
mortgage  the  Parsonage  Laud  against  Mr.  Jelf's  for 
as  much  Money  as  they  can  get  upon  it,  to  be  laid  out 
for  building  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth 
Town." 

The  trustees  at  this  time  were  Isaac  Woodruff,  Lewis 
Mulford,  Isaac  Arnett,  Jonathan  Price,  and  David 
Ogden.  The  work  was  immediately  undertaken,  and 
prosecuted  with  diligence.  In  May,  1785,  a  meeting 
of  the  congregation  was  held,  at  which  it  was  agreed 
that  four  pews  just  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  four  next 
the  door,  and  four  pews  in  the  galleries  were  to  be 
free  forever  for  the  congregation  ;  one  square  pew  at 
the  side  of  the  pulpit  to  be  for  the  minister's  family, 
and  the  square  pew  on  the  other  side  for  strangers, 
and  three  side  pews  near  the  door  for  negroes. 

The  building  was  so  far  finished  in  the  autumn  of 
1785  as  to  allow  of  occasional  occupation  by  the  con- 
gregation, as  appears  from  the  following  record  in  the 
journal  of  Bishop  Asbury  : 

1  Proceedings  of  N.  J.  Hist.  Sue,  iii.  86. 


214 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  Wednesday,  [Sept.]  6,  [1785.]  After  preaching,  this  morning,  I  left 
the  city,  overstaying  the  hour,  the  stage  left  ns,and  we  found  ourselves 
nnder  the  necessity  of  walking  six  miles  ;  I  dined  with  M'.  Ogden,  and 
preached  in  Elisabettitown,  in  the  unfiuislied  cliurch  belonging  to  the 
Presbyterians." 

He  repeated  the  visit  a  year  later,  Tuesday,  Sept. 
20,  1786,  and  "  at  seven  o'clock  preached  and  had 
much  liberty." ' 

The  church  was  dedicated,  though  in  an  unfinished 
state,  about  the  1st  of  January,  1786,  the  sermon  hav- 
ing been  preached  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  McWhorter,  of 
Newark.  During  the  whole  period  from  the  time  of 
commencing  the  work  of  erecting  the  church  the 
congregation  were  visited  with  a  special  revival.  It 
prevailed  mostly  in  1785,  and  extended  into  the  re- 
mote parts  of  the  town. 

Rev.  William  Adolphus  Linn,  the  next  pastor, 
remained  but  a  few  months.  He  was  called  early  in 
the  year  1786 ;  was  a  man  of  commanding  talents,  and 
of  more  than  usual  eloquence  as  a  pulpit  orator ;  was 
a  graduate  of  Princeton  College  in  1772,  and  a  class- 
mate of  Aaron  Burr ;  was  licensed  in  1775,  ordained 
in  1776  by  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  was  a 
chaplain  in  the  Revolutionary  army.  It  was  during 
his  services  as  chaplain  that  his  eloquence  attracted 
public  attention.  His  reputation  in  this  regard  was 
well  sustained  as  pastor  of  this  church,  indeed,  too 
well  for  the  wishes  of  the  congregation,  for  it  caused 
him  to  be  called  to  the  Collegiate  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  of  New  York,  as  a  colleague  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Livingston,  and  the  Elizabethtown  Church  lost  their 
pastor,  "  greatly  to  the  grief,  and  not  a  little  to  the 
indignation,  of  both  people  and  Presbytery."  "  Hon- 
ored the  following  year  by  the  College  of  New  York 
with  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.,  Dr.  Linn  com- 
manded in  an  eminent  manner  the  respect  and  admi- 
ration of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  continued 
to  labor  in  the  ministry  uutil  failing  health  compelled 
him  to  resign  his  charge  in  January,  1805.  He  died 
in  Albany  in  January,  1808,  aged  fifty-five. 

During  Mr.  Linn's  ministry  here  the  church  edifice 
appears  to  have  been  finished  with  money  raised  by  a 
lottery,  the  grant  for  which  was  obtained  from  the 
Legislature.  The  scheme  was  advertised  at  length  in 
the  New  York  Gazetteer,  June  16,  1786.  Isaac  Wood- 
ruff, Jonathan  Dayton,  and  Aaron  Lane  were  mana- 
gers. At  the  settlement  of  their  accounts,  in  1789, 
each  manager  was  allowed  two  hundred  dollars  for 
his  services,  and  thirteen  hundred  and  sixty-five  dol- 
lars were  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  church.''' 

On  the  7th  of  May,  1788,  a  call  was  extended  to  the 

Rev.  Daviij  Au.stin,  a  native  of  New  Haven,  and 
a  son  of  David  Austin,  collector  of  customs  of  that 
port.  Mr.  Austin  was  born  in  New  Haven  in  1760, 
graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1779,  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  May,  1780,  being  but  twenty  years  of  age; 
yet,  young  as  he  was,  he  preached  to  great  acceptance, 

1  Asbury^s  Journals,  i.  388 ;  ii.  3. 

2  N.  Y.  Gazetteer,  ii.  66.    Trustees'  Book. 


and  was  earnestly  solicited  to  settle  in  the  ministry. 
He,  however,  declined  these  offers,  went  abroad  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  spent  some  time  in  foreign  travel, 
and  after  returning  to  America  supplied"  the  Congre- 
gational Church  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  where  he  mar- 
ried Lydia,  daughter  of  Dr.  Joshua  Lathrop.  He 
was  ordained  minister  of  this  parish  on  the  9th  of 
September,  1788.  Mr.  Austin,  besides  being  an  earn- 
est worker  in  the  church,  pushing  forward  the  new 
edifice  to  completion,  proved  to  be  an  able  preacher 
and  a  literary  character  of  no  little  distinction.  One 
of  the  first  literary  enterprises  in  which  he  embarked 
was  the  publication  bi-monthly  of  a  magazine,  enti- 
tled "  The  Christian's,  Scholar's,  and  Farmer's  Maga- 
zine, Calculated,  in  an  eminent  degree.  To  promote 
Religion,  to  disseminate  useful  Knowledge,  to  afford 
literary  Pleasure  and  Amusement,  and  To  advance 
the  Interests  of  Agriculture.  By  a  Number  of  Gen- 
tlemen." 

The  first  number  was  for  "April  and  May,  1789." 
It  was  "printed  at  E.  Town,  by  Shepard  Kollock, 
one  of  the  Proprietors."  It  was  conducted  with 
more  than  ordinary  ability.  Its  articles  were  mostly 
brief,  instructive,  entertaining,  in  good  style  and  taste, 
and  well  adapted  to  interest  and  profit  the  reader. 
At  the  close  of  the  first  year  it  was  spoken  of  as  a 
success,  and  was  continued  through  the  second  year. 

Mr.  Kollock  about  this  time  was  induced  to  enter 
largely  into  the  publishing  business,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  works  issued  from  his  press  would  indicate 
that  his  pastor  exerted  a  powerful  and  healthful  in- 
fluence over  him,  at  least  in  the  matter  of  suggestion. 
Among  these  were  "Sermons  to  Children,"  "Ed- 
wards' Narrative  of  the  Surprising  Work  of  God, 
1735,"  "Chapman  on  Baptism,"  "Dr.  Watts'  Psalms," 
"Dickinson's  Five  Points,"  and  similar  works. 

Mr.  Austin  began  in  1790  the  publication,  by  sub- 
scription, of  "  The  American  Preacher,"  a  serial  con- 
taining some  of  the  choicest  discourses  of  living 
American  divines,  without  respect  to  denomination. 
The  first  two  volumes  were  issued  Jan.  1,  1791,  the 
third  volume  August,  1791,  and  the  fourth  volume  in 
1793.  Other  gentlemen  were  associated  with  him  in 
the  enterprise,  but  it  was  his  work  almost  wholly, 
begun  and  carried  forward  by  him. 

As  early  as  Jan.  1, 1791,  when  the  first  two  volumes 
made  their  appearance,  Mr.  Austin  had  begun  to  take 
an  interest  in  prophetic  studies.  Nor  was  he  singular 
in  this  respect.  Everywhere,  under  the  inspiration 
of  the  wonderful  movements  of  Divine  Providence, 
men  were  studying  the  prophecies  and  ajiiUying  them 
to  the  remarkable  events  of  the  period  in  which  they 
lived.  The  pulpit  resounded  with  earnest  utterances 
on  the  downfall  of  Babylon  and  the  speedy  coming 
of  the  millennial  reign  of  Christ  and  his  saints.  Mr. 
Austin  became  an  enthusiast  upon  this  subject.  In 
1794  he  published,  from  the  press  of  Mr.  Kollock,  a 
volume  entitled  "  The  Millenium  :  or,  The  Thousand 
Years  of  Prosperity,  promised  to  the  Church  of  God, 


THE   CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


215 


in  the  Old  Testament  and  in  the  New,  shortly  to  com- 
mence, and  to  be  carried  on  to  perfection,  under  the 
auspices  of  Him,  who,  in  the  Vision,  was  presented  to 
St.  John."    ■ 

At  length,  on  the  second  Sabbath  of  May  (Sth), 
17%,  Mr.  Austin  announced  that  the  Lord  would 
surely  come  on  the  ensuing  Lord's  Day,  the  15th.  Of 
course  a  prodigious  excitement  followed  this  an- 
nouncement. In  the  midst  of  the  ferment  Mr.  Aus- 
tin made  all  his  arrangements  to  receive  liis  adorable 
Lord  in  a  becoming  manner.  A  number  of  his  fol- 
lowers were  arrayed  in  white  robes.  On  Saturday,  the 
14th,  a  crowded  and  deeply-agitated  meeting  was  held 
in  the  Methodist  Church.  On  Sunday  the  church 
was  thronged ;  an  eager  multitude  more  than  filled  it. 
The  bell  tolled  long,  but  the  heavens  gave  no  sign. 
Mr.  Austin,  after  long  and  wearisome  waiting,  took 
the  desk  and  preached,  taking  for  his  text:  "My 
Lord  delayeth  His  coming."  It  is  reported  that  in 
the  course  of  the  day  the  clouds  gathered,  and  low 
mutterings  of  thunder  were  heard,  adding  intensity 
to  the  frenzy  that  ruled  the  hour.  JMr.  Austin  had  so 
much  faith  in  the  speedy  advent  that  he  concluded  a 
slight  mi.stake  only  had  been  made  in  his  computa- 
tion of  dates,  and  devoted  himself  to  preaching  the 
doctrine  with  more  zeal  than  ever,  often  preaching 
three  times  a  day,  and  going  everywhere  through  all 
the  neighborhoods,  calling  upon  men  to  repent. 
"  Crowds  resorted  to  hear  him,  and  many  souls  were 
hopefully  converted  to  God."  It  was  a  perplexing 
situation  for  the  Church,  for  while  the  more  sober- 
minded  did  not  sanction  his  course  or  his  doctrines, 
all  loved  him  and  many  adhered  to  him  with  great 
devotion.  At  length,  after  many  remonstrances  with 
him  in  private,  the  Presbytery  was  appealed  to  to 
dissolve  the  pastoral  relation.  That  body  met  in  New 
York,  May  3,  1797.  Mr.  Austin  being  asked  if  he 
concurred  in  the  petition,  renounced  their  jurisdic- 
tion and  withdrew,  whereupon  the  Presbytery  granted 
the  application,  and  put  upon  record  their  sense  of  the 
whole  matter. 

Mr.  Austin,  though  having  quite  a  large  party  in 
the  church  who  adhered  to  him,  did  not  remain  long 
in  town,  only  a  few  weeks,  when  he  removed  to  Con- 
necticut. It  should  be  added  that  this  wild  and  vis- 
ionary course  entirely  destroyed  his  usefulness  as  a 
minister. 

In  this  state  of  things  it  was  difficult  for  the  con- 
gregation to  unite  in  the  choice  of  another  pastor. 
Several  calls  were  made,  but  none  of  them  were  ac- 
cepted. In  June,  1799,  Rev.  John  Giles  began  to 
supply  the  pulpit.  He  was  installed  as  pastor  of  the 
church  June  24,  1800,  and  remained  only  till  the  7th 
of  October  of  the  same  year.    He  came  from  England. 

Shortly  after  his  coming  to  this  town  his  wife  was 
removed  by  death,  and  her  remains  lie  buried  in  the 
graveyard,  with  this  inscription  on  her  headstone : 

of  Benjamin  and  Elizabeth 
i,  and  wife  of  the  reverend 


s  of  Jane,  danghtei 
Peach,  of  Westbury,  Wiltshire,  Old  Englan 


John  Giles,  of  Elizabeth-Town,  New  Jersey,  who  departed  this  life  on 
the  5  day  of  August,  1799,  aged  36  years.  She  lived  deservedly  beloved, 
and  died  sincerely  lamented." 

Rev.  Hexry  Kollock  accepted  a  call  on  Oct. 
22,  1800,  and  was  ordained  on  the  10th  of  December 
following.  This  brilliant  young  man,  who  in  a  min- 
istry of  nineteen  years  shone  as  a  star  of  the  first 
magnitude  in  the  ecclesiastical  heavens,  was  a  native 
of  New  Providence,  whither  the  family  had  retired 
from  Elizabeth  Town  for  greater  security  during  the 
stormy  period  of  the  Revolution.  "  An  uncommonly 
bright  youth,  he  was  fitted  for  college  at  the  academy 
in  his  native  town,  entered  the  junior  class  of  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  in  1792,  and  graduated  in 
September,  1794,  before  he  had  completed  the  six- 
teenth year  of  his  age.  In  1797  he  accepted  an  ap- 
pointment as  tutor  in  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  a 
position  which  he  held  for  three  years." 

Mr.  Kollock  received  license  to  preach  May  7, 
1800,  and  at  once,  in  his  very  first  pulpit  efforts,  at- 
tracted unusual  attention.  He  continued  at  Princeton 
until  September,  preaching  every  Sabbath  afternoon, 
greatly  admired  and  drawing  the  largest  audiences,  a 
popularity  that  followed  him  through  life,  and  that 
nowhere  was  more  strikingly  manifested  than  among 
his  own  townsmen.  In  the  summer  of  the  year  fol- 
lowing his  settlement  he  visited  New  England,  pro- 
ceeding as  far  as  Boston,  and  producing  by  his  pulpit 
efibrts  a  great  sensation  wherever  he  preached, — a 
mere  boy  of  less  than  twenty-three  years. 

Having  been  requested  by  the  standing  committee 
of  missions,  then  newly  appointed,  to  preach  a  mis- 
sionary sermon  before  the  General  Assembly,  he  per- 
formed the  service  at  Philadelphia,  May  23,  1803, 
from  the  text, — John  iii.  30, — "  He  must  increase." 
The  Assembly  presented  him  their  thanks,  and  pub- 
lished the  sermon.  His  reputation  as  a  preacher  was 
thereby  spread  through  the  country.  Calls  were  ex- 
tended him  from  several  important  places.  The 
trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  appointed  him, 
young  as  he  was.  Professor  of  Theology,  and  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Princeton  called  him  to  be  their 
pastor.  He  deemed  it  his  duty  to  accept  these  posi- 
tions, and,  the  congregation  consenting,  he  was  re- 
leased, Dec.  21,  1803,  after  a  ministry  of  three  years. 

In  1806  he  was  honored  by  Union  and  Harvard  Col- 
leges with  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  About 
the  same  time  he  accepted  a  call  from  the  Indepen- 
dent Presbyterian  Church  of  Savannah,  Ga.,  and  re- 
moved thither  in  the  autumn  of  1806.  He  continued 
in  this  charge  until  his  decease  by  paralysis,  Dec.  29, 
1819,  aged  forty-one  years. 

He  was  married  in  this  town,  June  1,  1804,  by  his 
friend.  Rev.  J.  H.  Hobart,  to  Mehetabel,  the  widow  of 
Alexander  Campbell,  of  Richmond,  Va.,  and  daughter 
of  William  Hylton,  of  the  island  of  Jamaica.  The 
Hylton  family  belonged  to  St.  John's  parish  in  this 
place.  Mrs.  Mehetabel  Hylton,  the  grandmother  of 
Mrs.  Kollock,  died  here  Oct.  16,  1810,  aged  ninety- 


216 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


two  years.  Dr.  KoUock  had  no  children.  His  widow 
survived  him.' 

Rev.  John  McDowell. — This  distinguished  min- 
ister was  installed  as  pastor  of  the  church  Dec.  26, 
1804,  and  remained  until  his  call  to  Philadelphia  in 
1833.  He  was  a  descendant  of  the  McDowells  from 
the  north  of  Ireland,  who  .settled  at  Lamington,  N.  J., 
about  1746,  and  where  he  was  born  on  the  10th  of 
September,  1780.  His  father  was  Matthew  McDowell, 
a  farmer,  and  his  mother's  name  was  Elizabeth  An- 
derson. At  eleven  years  of  age  he  experienced  re- 
ligion, and  at  fifteen  entered  upon  a  course  of  study 
preparatory  for  the  ministry  under  Kev.  William 
Boyd,  who  taught  a  classical  school  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. Entering  the  junior  class  of  Princeton  Col- 
lege in  1799,  he  graduated  with  honor  in  the  class  of 
1801,  i)ursued  his  theological  studies  at  Newton  under 
Rev.  Holloway  W.  Hunt,  and  at  Freehold,  N.  J.,  under 
Rev.  John  Woodhull,  D.D.,  and  was  licensed  in 
April,  1804,  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick. 

Such  is  a  mere  outline  sketch  of  his  early  life  till 
the  time  of  his  settlement  over  this  church.  A  few 
weeks  after  his  installation  (Feb.  5,  1805)  he  married 
Henrietta,  daughter  of  Shepard  Kollock,  and  sister 
of  his  predecessor  in  the  pastoral  office.  Dr.  Hat- 
field makes  the  following  remarks  respecting  his  min- 
istry : 

"In  Uie  faittiful  and  laborious  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  office  as 
pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  town  he  continued  for 
a  period  of  tweuly-eiglit  and  a  half  years,  greatly  favored  of  God  and 
honored  of  man.  The  attendance  on  his  ministrations  steadily  increased 
until  it  reached  the  full  capacity  of  the  church  edifice  ;  so  that  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1820,  measures  were  ailopled  for  the  gathering  of  a  Secoud  Pres- 
byterian Church.  The  number  added  to  his  church  during  his  minis- 
try on  Jirofession  of  faith  was  921,  and  on  certificate  22:);  in  all  1144. 
The  baptisms  numbered  1498,  of  whom  2S2  were  adults.  This  marked 
success  in  his  work  was  brought  about  by  repeated  oulpoiirings  of  the 
holy  spirit  upon  the  congregation.  The  most  remarkable  of  these  sea- 
sons were  the  years  1807-8, 1813,  1S17,  and  lS2e.  In  1808  the  additions 
to  the  church  by  profession  were  111;  iji  18i:),  the  year  of  hosUlity,  100; 
in  1817,  167;  and  in  1826,  138.  Other  seasons  of  refreshing  but  not  so 
general  were  enjoyed,  adding  to  the  church,  on  profession,  in  1820,  69; 
and  in  1831,  44.  The  number  of  communicants  in  1804  wna  207;  in  1820 


"  In  the  year  1818  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity  was  con- 
ferred upon  liini  by  the  Univeraity  of  North  Carolina  and  by  Union  Col 
lege.  He  was  in  high  repute,  both  as  a  preacher  and  an  author.  As  a 
trustee  ()f  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and  as  a  director  of  the  theologi- 
cal seminary  at  Princeton,  he  rendered  the  moat  important  services  to 
the  cause  of  education  and  of  religion.  Calls  were  extended  to  him  at 
different  times  during  his  ministry  in  this  town  from  (he  Collegiate  Re- 
formed Dutcli  Church  and  the  Wall  Street  Presbyteiian  Church,  both 
of  the  city  of  New  York,  and  from  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Princeton, 
N.  J.  Overtures  were  made  to  him,  also,  from  other  quarters,  but  were 
not  entertained.  He  was  chosen  a  professor  in  the  theological  seminary 
at  Allegheny,  Pa.,  and  in  the  Union  Theological  Seminary  of  Virginia. 
He  was  also  appointed  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Missions, 

■'  In  pastoral  labors  he  ranked  among  the  most  useful  ministers  of  the 
church.  Every  portion  of  his  extensive  charge  was  regularly  visited  at 
set  seasous every  year;  Bible  classes,  embracing  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  youth  in  his  congregation,  were  regularly  taught.  Sunday- 
schools  were  introduced  in  1814-16  and  vigorously  conducted,  while  all 
the  benevolent  operations  of  the  church  found  iu  him  an  earnest  and 
powerful  advocate.'^  2 


1  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  610. 

2  Dr  McDowell  died  in  Philadelphia,  Feb.  13,  1863.    See  Sprague's 
Memoir. 


Rev.  N1CHOLA.S  Murray.— The  pastorate  left  va- 
cant by  the  removal  of  Dr.  McDowell  in  May,  1833, 
was  almost  immediately  supplied  by  the  Rev.  Nich- 
olas Murray,  who  was  installed  June  23,  1833,  and 
remained  until  Jan.  1, 1861,  a  period  of  nearly  twenty- 
eight  years. 

He  was  born  in  County  Westmeath,  Ireland,  Dec. 
25,  1802,  his  parents  being  Roman  Catholics,  pos- 
sessed of  considerable  means.  But  he  determined  to 
emigrate  to  this  country  and  leave  the  inheritance  to 
his  brother,  and  accordingly  embarked,  arriving  in 
New  York  in  1818  with  only  twelve  dollars  in  his 
pocket.  He  first  found  employment  at  the  printing- 
house  of  the  Harpers,  and  was  soon  induced  to  listen 
to  the  preaching  of  Rev.  Dr.  John  M.  Ma.son,  who 
cured  him  of  his  popery,  and  he  became  a  proba- 
tioner in  the  Methodist  Church,  and  soon  after  a 
member  of  Dr.  Gardiner  Spring's  (Presbyterian) 
church.  Here  he  soon  developed  gifts  which  led 
some  of  bis  friends  to  urge  upon  him  a  preparation 
for  the  ministry ;  and  he  began  his  study  of  the  lan- 
guages in  the  winter  of  1821-22,  but  soon  after  (as  a 
beneficiary  of  Dr.  Spring's  church)  entered  the  acad- 
emy under  Gen.  Hallock,  at  Amherst,  Mass.,  and  in 
the  autumn  of  1822  the  freshman  class  of  Williams 
College.  He  graduated  under  the  presidency  of  Rev. 
E.  D.  Grifiith,  D.D.,  in  1826. 

It  is  related  that  after  first  entering  college  Mr. 
Murray's  style  of  writing  was  very  stilted,  and  that 
Dr.  Griffith  took  occasion  to  correct  him  in  his 
own  peculiar  and  effective  manner.  Criticising  a 
composition  of  Murray's  full  of  high-flown  rhetoric, 
the  doctor,  reading  sentence  after  sentence,  would 
ask,  "What  do  you  mea?i  by  that,  Murray?"  The 
blushing  author  would  say  he  meant  so  and  so, 
giving  his  answer  in  plain  and  vigorous  Engli.sh. 
"  Well,  sai/  so,  Murray,"  was  the  doctor's  reply,  as  he 
would  draw  his  pen  through  the  turgid  sentences, 
erasing  a  good  share  of  the  words.  Murray  in  after- 
life said  that  that  criticism  made  him  a  writer.  It 
taught  him  that  if  he  had  anything  to  say  to  say  it 
in  a  ])iain,  natural,  and  simple  manner,  using  only 
such  words  and  figures  as  would  appropriately  clothe 
his  thought.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  he  became  the 
master  of  a  very  pure  and  vigorous  style,  and  that 
few  men  of  his  time  excelled  him  as  writers.  He  be- 
came most  widely  known  by  a  series  of  twelve  essays 
on  popery  with  the  signature  of  "  Kirwan,"  which 
appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Ken:  York  Observer 
from  Feb.  6  to  Jlay  8,  1847.  They  were  addressed 
to  Bishop  Hughes,  and  were  published  directly  after 
in  book  form  with  an  immense  circulation  here  and 
beyond  the  Atlantic.  A  second  series  followed,  com- 
mencing with  Oct.  2,  1847.  A  sermon  on  the  "  De- 
cline of  Popery  and  its  Causes,"  preached  "  in  reply 
to  Bishop  Hughes,"  Jan.  15,  1851,  in  the  Broadway 
Tabernacle  of  New  York,  was  published  widely. 
Having  revisited  his  native  land  and  extended  his 
travels  to  Rome  in  1851,  011  his  return  he  published  a 


THE    CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


217 


ilet-ting  in  thp  First 
ivas  declared  out  of 
iicoaie  to  meet  all 
1  funds  for  the  po(»r 


series  of  letters  entitled  "  Romanism  at  Home,"  ad- 
dressed to  Chief  Justice  Taney,  which  appeared  in 
1852.  His  other  publications  were  "  Parish  and  other 
Pencilings,"  "  The  Happy  Home,"  "  Men  and  Things 
as  I  saw  them  in  Europe,"  "  Preachers  and  Preach- 
ing," and  some  other  pamphlets.  Concerning  his 
ministry  here  Dr.  Hatfield  says,-:— 

"  He  cooinianded  the  respect  and  reverence  not  only  of  his  own  peo- 
ple but  of  the  whole  town.  In  the  Preshytery  bis  influence  was  second 
to  none.  His  counsels  were  highly  valued  also  in  the  Synod  and  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  the  latter,  of  which  he  was  chosen  moderator  in  1S49. 
In  Ihe  conflictn  that  risulted  in  (he  divisionof  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  1837-38  he  took  an  active  part,  and  cast  his  lot  with  the  Old  School 
portion,  carrying  his  chuich  and  Presbytery  with  him.  Large  acces- 
sions of  converts,  particularly  in  1S34,  1S36,  1842-13,  and  1858,  attested 
the  faithfulness  of  his  ministry.  His  labors  resulted  in  a  steady  growth 
of  the  congregation  in  numbers  and  effectiveness,  so  that  at  the  close  of 
his  ministry  he  could  say,  Jan.  1,1861, 'A  glorious 
Church  to-day.  The  lirst  time  in  all  its  history  it 
debt  with  a  balance  in  the  treasury,  with  a  yearly 
its  expenditures,  and  about  four  thousand  dollars  i 
and  to  keep  the  graveyard  in  repair.  " 

Notwithstanding  he  received  repeated  and  urgent 
calls  to  many  large  and  influential  churches  in  the 
cliief  cities  of  the  Union  he  uniformly  declined, 
"  preferring  to  live  and  die  among  his  own  people, 
greatly  to  their  satisfaction  and  delight."  He  died 
suddenly  on  the  morning  of  the  4th  of  February, 
1861,  of  what  was  pronounced  acute  rheumatism  of 
the  heart,  having  been  attacked  in  robust  health  on 
Friday,  February  1st.  The  whole  community  was 
deeply  affected  by  the  event,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
funeral  all  business  in  the  city  was  suspended. ' 

Rev.  Everard  Kempershall,  the  present  pas- 
tor of  the  church,  was  installed  Sept.  18,  1861.  He 
was  formerly  pastor  at  Buffalo  and  Batavia,  N.  Y. 
During  his  ministry,  now  of  twenty  years'  standing, 
large  accessions  have  been  made  to  the  membership, 
and  the  church  is  enjoying  a  high  degree  of  pros- 
perity. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 

THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH.— (rv^f/,,,,../.) 

St.  John's  Church  (Protestant  Episcopal i.— In 

the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne,  Lord 
Cornbury  was  sent  to  the  province  of  New  Jersey  as 
royal  Governor.  Among  the  instructions  which  he 
received  was  the  following  in  respect  to  matters  of 
religion  : 

*'  You  shall  take  especial  care  that  God  Almighty  be  devoutly  and 
duly  served  throughout  yonr  Government,  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer 
as  by  Law  established  rettd  each  Sunday  and  Holy-day,  and  the  Blessed 
Sacrament  administered  according  to  the  Rites  of  the  Chvirch  of  Eng- 
land." 2 

It  is  altogether  probable  that  the  Governor  received 
this  instruction  in  accordance  with  a  plan  which  had 
just  been  set  on  foot  in  England  for  the  extension  of 


1  See  Memoir  of  Dr.  Murray  by  Rev.  S.  I 
Sprague's  Sermon. 

2  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  038.    Smith's  N.  J.,  p.  '252. 


Prime,  D.D.  Also  Dr. 


j  the  national  church  in  the  colonies.  "  The  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts" 
had  recently  been  incorporated,  and  their  first  mis- 
sionaries to  America,  George  Keith  and  John  Talbot, 
had  been  appointed  and  sent  out.  Keith  had  been 
in  America,  and  from  1685  to  1688  had  been  surveyor- 
general  of  East  Jersey.  He  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen, 
Scotland,  born  in  1638,  and,  although  brought  up  a 

I  Presbyterian,  became  a  preacher  among  the  Quakers 
on  his  return  to  England.  His  commanding  abilities 
and  scientific  attainments  (bred  as  he  was  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  Aberdeen)  gave  him  great  influence  among 
the  Quakers,  and  made  him  the  leader  of  the  ortho- 
dox party  among  them.  In  1700  he  left  them,  and 
was  ordained  a  priest  by  the  Bishop  of  London.  He 
returned  to  America  in  June,  1702,  and  traveled  ex- 
tensively for  nearly  two  years,  principally  among  his 
old  friends.  Here  in  this  town  and  its  vicinity  he 
had  numerous  acquaintances,  and  of  course  it  was 
not  diflicult  to  gather  for  him  an  audience  among  his 
old  neiglibors  and  friends.  At  the  house  of  Andrew 
Craig,  a  fellow-Scotchman  (with  whom  probably  he 
had  been  acquainted  at  home  before  they  came  to 
America  in  1682),  he  was  hospitably  entertained,  and 
there,  Friday,  Nov.  3, 1703,  he  preached  from  2  Pet. 
i.  5,  on  the  Christian  graces.  On  the  same  occasion 
he  baptized  the  four  children  of  Mr.  Craig.  The 
next  day,  he  says,  "  I  baptized  the  children  of  Andrew 
Hemton  [HamptouJ,  eight  in  number.  He  and  his 
wife  are  come  over  from  Quakerism  to  the  Church. 

I  And  November  3d  I  baptized  seven  children  of  a 
widow  woman  there."  At  the  end  of  six  weeks  he 
returned,  and  at  the  invitation  of  Col.  Townley  per- 
formed divine  service  at  his  house  twice  on  Sunday, 
December  19th. 

This  was  the  first  occasion,  doubtless,  of  a  separate 
service  of  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath  since  the  set- 
tlement of  the  town,  a  period  of  thirty-nine  years. 
(Governor  Carteret,  as  Dankers  informs  us,  went 
"  often  to  New  York  and  generally  to  Church." 
Others  may  have  done  the  same.)  It  must  have 
been  quite  a  trial  to  Mr.  Harriman  and  his  people  to 
have  a  rival  interest  in  the  town.  But  the  establish- 
ment of  an  Episcopal  Church  was  a  foregone  conclu- 
sion. The  Governor,  Lord  Cornbury,  had  just  been 
holding  his  first  General  As.sembly  for  four  weeks  at 
Amboy,  and  had  certainly  prepared  the  way  for  such 
a  movement  in  the  several  towns  of  the  province. 
On  the  previous  Sunday  (the  12th),  and  on  Christmas- 
day  following,  Keith  preached  at  Amboy;  on  the 
12th  "  at  my  Lord  Cornbury 's  lodgings,  where  he 
was  present."  ^ 

It  was  about  the  winter  of  1705-6  that  the  first 
Episcopal  congregation  of  this  town  was  gathered, 

and  the  foundations  of  St.  John's  Church  laid.     This 

3  Humphrey's  S.  P.  G.  F.,  pp.  4-15,  24,  34,  76.  Whitehead's  P.  Amboy, 
pp.  16-21,  211-12.  Sprague's  Annals,  v.  '25-30.  Clark's  St.  John's,  pp. 
15-16.  N.  T.  Col.  Docmts.,  iv.  1021.  Keith's  Journal,  in  P.  Ep.  Hist. 
Soc.  Coll.,  i.  44,  45.    Dankers*  Journal,  p.  346. 


218 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


work  was  principally  effected  by  their  first  minister, 
the 

Rev.  John  Brooke. — No  record  ai)pears  of  his 
early  life.  He  is  believed  to  have  been  .^he  John 
Brooke  who  took  his  Bachelor's  degree  at  Emmanuel 
College,'  Cambridge,  in  1700,  and  his  Master's  degree 
in  1704.  Having  been  admitted  to  orders  in  the 
Church  of  England,  he  was  appointed  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts 
one  of  their  missionaries  to  America.  About  four 
weeks  after  his  arrival  he  wrote  as  follows,  Aug.  20, 
1705: 

*'  I  arrived  snfe  in  Eiist  New  JvTaey  .Inly  15,  and  thence  went  to  my 
Lord  Cornbury,  our  Governor,  wlio,  jifter  lie  had  perused  your  letter, 
advised  nie  to  settle  at  Eliznbetlj  Town  aud  Perth  Aniboy.  There  are 
five  Independent  Ministers  in  and  about  the  places  I  preach  at,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  the  people  are  followers  of  them.  But  I  question  not 
(thro'  God's  blessing),  but  if  you  please  to  permit  me  to  have  only  Eliza- 
beth Town,  Amboy,  aud  the  adjacent  Towns  under  my  care,  and  to 
allow  nie  enough  to  subsist  upon  without  depending  upon  the  People, 
that  I  shall  gain  a  considerable  Congregation  in  a  very  few  years.  Ae 
for  those  that  are  of  the  Church  of  England  already,  their  number  is 
very  inconsiderable,  and  I  expect  nothing  from  them  for  some  years 
seeing  they  are  like  to  be  at  an  extraordinary  charge  in  building  of  a 
Church  at  each  place. 

Tlie  erection  of  St.  John's  appears  to  have  been 
undertaken  about  a  year  later  ;  for  Mr.  Brooke  writes, 
Oct.  11,  1706,  "  I  laid  the  foundation  of  a  Brick 
church  at  Elizabeth  Town  on  St.  John  the  Baptist's 
day,  whose  name  it  bears.  It  is  iifty  feet  long,  thirty 
wide,  and  twenty-one  high, —  it  hath  nine  windows, — 
one  in  the  East  end,  ten  foot  wide  and  fifteen  high, 
two  in  each  side,  six  foot  wide  and  ten  high,  and  four 
ovals — of  the  East  window,  one  in  the  west  end,  and 
one  over  each  door,  which  are  near  the  west  end. 
The  church  is  now  covering,  and  I  hope  to  preach  in 
it  in  six  weeks  or  two  months.  Wee  shall  only  get 
the  outside  of  our  church  up  this  year,  and  I  am 
afraid  it  will  be  a  year  or  two  more  before  we  can 
finish  the  inside,  for  I  find  these  hard  times  a  great 
many  very  backward  to  pay  their  subscriptions." 
Col.  Richard  Townley  gave  the  ground  for  the  church 
and  burial-place,  and  the  edifice  was  erected  chiefly 
through  his  care  and  diligence." 

The  manner  in  which  the  society  got  along  before 
the  church  was  ready  for  occupancy  is  shown  in  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Brooke,  dated 
Oct.  11,  1706,  in  which  he  also  alludes  to  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Harriman,  who  died  suddenly  of  apoplexy,  as  hav- 
ing been  struck  with  death  for  his  opposition  to  Epis- 
copacy, a  superstition  which  even  a  good  man  at  that 
day  might  have  sincerely  entertained  : 

"Col.  Townley's  house  (wherein  I  preacbt  at  first)  in  half  a  year's 
time  grew  too  little  for  my  congregation,  and  the  best  place  we  could 
get  to  meet  in  was  a  barn,  which  in  harvest  we  were  obliged  to  relin- 
quish, whereupon  tlio  Dissentei-s,  who  presently  after  I  came  were  des- 
titute of  their  old  teachers  (one  of  them  being  struck  with  death  in  their 
meeting-iiouse  as  he  was  railing  against  the  church,  ami  the  other  being 
at  Boston),  would  not  suffer  me  upon  my  request  to  officiate  in  their 
meeting-house  unless  I  would  promise  not  to  read  any  of  the  prayers  of 
the  church,  which  I  complied  with  upon  condition  I  miglit  read  tl»e 


psalms,  lessons,  epistle,  aud  gospel  appointed  for  the  ilay,  which  I  did 
and  said  all  the  rest  of  the  service  by  heart,  the  doing  of  which  brought 
a  great  many  to  hear  me  who  otherwise,  probably,  would  never  have 
heard  the  service  of  tlie  church,  and  (through  God's  blessing)  hath  taken 
away  their  prejudice  to  such  a  degree  as  that  they  have  invited  me  to 
preach  in  their  meeting-house  till  our  church  be  built.  Their  teacher 
begins  at  eight  in  the  morning  and  ends  at  ten,  and  then  our  service 
begins,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  begin  to  at  two.  The  greatest  part  of 
the  Dissenters  generally  stay  to  hear  all  our  service." 

Mr.  Hatfield  says,  referring  to  this  letter,  "  The 
early  hour  at  which  public  worship  was  held,  eight 
o'clock  A.M.,  deserves  notice.  This  must  have  been 
an  established  custom.  It  is  not  probable  tliat  they 
gave  up  their  ordinary  hours  of  service  to  accommo- 
date a  rival  interest."  In  any  view  the  old  church 
manifested  a  generous  spirit  towards  their  Episcopal 
neighbors  in  sharing  their  sanctuary  with  them  as 
they  did  for  some  time. 

Mr.  Brooke  seemed  to  have  labored  very  conscien- 
tiously and  diligently  in  his  vocation.  He  performed 
no  small  amount  of  missionary  work.  "Upon  my 
arrival  here,"  he  says,  "  instead  of  a  body  of  church 
people  to  maintain  me,  I  only  met  with  a  small  hand- 
full,  the  most  of  which  could  hardly  maintain  them- 
selves, much  less  build  churches  or  maintain  me. 
Upon  which,  being  almost  discouraged  to  find  the 
church  had  got  so  little  footing  in  these  parts,  I  re- 
solved heartily  and  sincerely  to  endeavor  to  promote 
her  so  much  as  in  my  power,  in  order  to  which  I  began 
to  preach,  catechize,  and  expound  twelve,  fourteen, 
sometimes  fifteen  days  per  month  (which  I  still  do), 
and  on  other  days  to  visit  the  people,  through  which 
means,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  my  congregations  in- 
creased everywhere,  so  that  I  found  very  great  neces- 
sity for  churches." 

Towards  the  building  of  five  churches  and  printing 
a  tract  he  contributed  fifty  pounds,  and  besides  he 
says, — 

ti  riding  about  the  Provinces  of  New 
to  getsubscriptious.  I  could  not  have 
1  had  not  I  been  very 
d  and  had  had  some 
much  I'm  obliged  to  keep  two  bor^ies, 
cannot  be  kept  well  under  f  10  or  £11 
ear  £30  per  annum  to  board  here,  and 
vho,  pilgrim-like,  can  searce  ever  be 


"  It  hath  cost  me  above  £10  i 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  tbi 
given  near  so  much  out  of  your  £100  per  annul 
well  stocked  with  cloaths  I  lironght  from  Engla 
money  of  my  own.  For  I  ride  s 
which  cost  me  £20,  and  one  hon 
per  annum.  'Twill  cost  a  man 
sure  'twill  cost  ine  much  more 


three  days  together  at  a  place.  All  cloathing  here  is  twice  as  dear  at 
least  as  'tis  in  England,  and  liding  so  much  makes  me  wear  out  many 
more  than  I  ever  did  before.  The  Ferries  wliich  I've  frequently  tocruss, 
and  everything  else  I've  occasion  lor  here,  are  very  chargeable,  and  I've 
nothing  to  defray  all  my  charges  but  what  I  receive  from  your  Society  ; 
neither  can  I  expect  anything  from  my  people  before  their  churches  be 
finished.  To  ask  anything  [from  them]  yet  would  be  a  means  to  deter 
people  from  joyning  with  nie,  and  would  be  looked  upon  as  offensive. 
I've  so  many  places  to  take  care  of  that  I've  scarce  any  time  to  study  ; 
neither  can  I  sup|ily  any  of  them  so  well  as  they  should  be.  I  humbly 
beg,  therefore,  you'll  be  pleased  to  send  a  minister  to  take  the  charge  of 
Elizabeth  Town  and  Rah  way  upon  him,  and  I'll  take  all  the  care  I  can 
of  the  rest.*'  ^ 

The  secretary  of  the  society,  Rev.  Dr.  Humphreys, 
said  of  him, — 

"  Mr.  Brook  used  exceeding  diligence  in  his  cure,  and  was  pleased  to 
find  the  best  of  all  sorts  of  people  omiiug  over  to  the  Cliureh  of  Eng- 
land.   He  exerted  himself  aud  at  times  used  to  perform  Divine  service 


1  Founded  in  1584. 

2  Clark's  St.  John's,  p.  'iS.    Prot.  Ep.  Hist.  Coll.,  i.  70. 


>  Clark's  St.  JoUu's,  pp.  20-ii. 


THE    CITY    OF    ELIZABETH. 


:il9 


at  seven  places,  fifty  miles  in  extent,  namely,  at  Elizabetlilown,  Railway, 
Perth  Atiiboy,  Cheesequakes,  Piscataway,  Rock  Hill,  and  in  a  congrega- 
tion at  Page's.    This  duty  was  very  ilillicult  and  laborious."  ^ 

The  ministry  of  Mr.  Brooke  came  to  an  abrupt  ter- 
mination in  November,  1707.  The  Rev.  Thorowgood 
Moore,  of  Burlington,  had,  b}'  hi.s  faithful  rebuke  of 
Lord  Cornbury's  disgusting  immoralities,  drawn  upon 
himself  the  wrath  of  the  Governor,  by  whom  he  was 
arrested  and  imprisoned  at  New  York.  Mr.  Brooke 
deeply  sympathized  with  his  afflicted  brother,  and 
when  in  prison  visited  him.  Mr.  Moore  escaping, 
and  Mr.  Brooke  being  sought  for  by  the  enraged  Gov- 
ernor, they  resolved  to  proceed  to  London,  and  lay 
their  grie\''ances  before  the  proper  authorities  at  home. 
They  embarked  at  Marblehead,  Mass.,  in  November, 
1707,  for  England,  but  the  vessel  was  lost  at  sea,  and 
all  on  board  perished." 

Mr.  Brooke  seems  to  have  been  greatly  esteemed 
and  much  lamented.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Talbot  says  of 
him  and  Mr.  Moore,  they  are  "  the  most  pious  and 
industrious  missionaries  that  ever  the  honorable  So- 
ciety sent  over."  "  Honest  Elias  Neau,"  as  Col. 
Morris  called  him,  said  of  them,  they 

"Were  assuredly  au  honor  to  the  mission,  and  labored  with  much 
vigor  for  the  enlargement  of  the  Kingdom  of  our  glorious  Redeemer, 
and  we  may  say,  without  prejudice  to  tlie  rest,  that  they  were  the  glory 
of  all  the  missionaries  the  illustrious  Society  lias  ..^ent  over  hither.  The 
purity  and  candor  of  their  manners  preachi'd  as  efficaciously  as  their 
mouths,  insomuch  that  we  cannot  sufficiently  lament  the  loss  of  these 
two  good  servants  of  God,  whose  crime  was  for  opposing  and  condemn- 
ing boldly  vice  and  immorality." 

His  people,  years  afterwards,  spoke  of  him  as  their 
"  worthy  and  never  to  be  forgotten  pastor,  whose 
labors  afforded  them  universal  satisfaction."^ 

He  left  a  widow,  the  younger  of  the  two  daughters 
of  Capt.  Christopher  Billop,  whose  residence  and 
large  plantation  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Staten 
Island  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Billop's  Point,  which 
it  still  retains.  Subsequently  she  became  the  wife  of 
the  Rev.  William  Skinner,  of  Amboy,  but  died  with- 
out issue. 

After  the  departure  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brooke  for 
England,  November,  1707,  the  church  was  without 
a  minister  for  nearly  two  years,  being  supplied  occa- 
sionally by  the  Rev.  John  Talbot,  of  Burlington.  At 
length,  in  the  summer  of  1709,  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  appointed  and  sent  out 
the 

Rev.  Eriw.\RD  Valkjhax,  who  arrived  in  the 
autumn  and  commenced  his  ministry.  He  was  from 
the  west  of  England,  and  a  brother  of  the  Rev.  Robert 
Vaughan,  rector  of  Llantewy  and  vicar  of  Llantris- 
sent,  Monmouthshire,  Wales,  and  of  Jane,  the  wife 
of  Thomas  Godden,  of  Leather  Lane,  near  Holborn, 
London.  His  prospects  were  by  no  means  flattering. 
Writing  from  Amboy,  Dec.  4,  1709,  he  says, — 


1  Humphreys'  His.  of  S.  P.  G.  F.  P.,  pp.  188-90. 

2  Clark's  St.  John's,  pp.  24-32.     N.  Y.  Col.  Docmts.,  iv.  1077. 

3  Clark's  St.  John's,  p.  25.    Humphreys'  S.  P.  G.  F.  P.,  p.  190.    N. 
Col.  Docmts.,  V.  318. 


"I  believe  that  the  most  inveterate  enemies  of  our  mother  church 
would  recant  their  pernicious  notions  were  there  a  faithful  pastor  in 
every  town  to  instill  better  principles  into  their  minds;  here  are  a  vast 
number  of  Deists.  Sabbatarians,  and  Futychians,  as  also  of  Independ- 
ants,  Atiahaptists,  and  Quakers,  from  which  absurdities  Mr.  Brooke 
brought  a  considerable  number  of  them  to  embrace  our  most  pure  and 
holy  Religion,  and  1  hope  that  my  labors  also  will  be  attended  with  no 
less  success,  and  observe  that  those  late  converts  are  much  more  zealous 
for  promoting  the  interests  of  our  church,  and  more  constant  iti  the 
public  worship  of  God,  than  those  who  sucked  their  milk  in  their  in- 
fancy." 

Referring  to  the  decease,  in  August,  1709,  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Urquhart,  of  Jamaica,  he  adds, — 

"Whose  cure  I  have  leen  solicited  to  supply,  but  declined  it  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  Society's  instructions,  whose  leave  and  approbation  for  my 
removal  to  that  cure  I  must  humbly  beg  tor  these  following  reasons : 
1st.  That  there  is  not  one  family  in  Elizabeth  Town  that  can  acrommo- 
dale  me  with  an  ordinary  lodging  excepting  Colonel  Townly,  who,  upon 
the  account  of  some  difference  with  Mr.  Brooke  (though  a  gentleman  of 
an  unblemished  character),  hath  declared  never  to  entertain  any  mi.s- 
siouary  after  him.  Secondly.  That  my  salary  of  £oO  per  annum  will 
not  afl'ord  me  a  competent  subsistence  in  this  dear  place  where  uo  con- 
tributions are  given  by  the  people  towards  my  support,  and  where  1  am 
continually  obliged  to  be  itinerant  and  consequently  at  great  expenses, 
especially  in  crossing  Ferries.""* 

Mr.  Vaughan  seems  not  to  have  obtained  the  de- 
sired leave,  but  proceeded  to  cultivate  diligently  the 
field  assigned  him.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year,  Dec. 
4,  1710,  he  informs  the  secretary  t     lit 

"These  people  have  not  contributed  anything  towards  my  subsistence 
since  I  came  amongst  them,  and,  indeed,  to  desire  it  from  them,  or  to 
show  au  incliualiou  for  it,  would  very  much  tend  to  the  dis-service  of 
the  Church,  in  causing  our  proselytes  to  start  from  us  rather  than  bear 
the  weight  of  such  burthens,  which  to  their  weak  shoulders  and  poverty 
would  seem  intolerable.  I  frequently  visit  the  Dissenters  of  all  sorts  in 
their  houses,  and  I  experimentally  find  that  an  alfable  even  temper 
with  the  force  of  arguments  is  very  prevalent  to  engage  their  affections 
and  conformity  to  holy  mother  the  Church,  which  I  do  assure  yon  is 
considerably  increased  by  late  conveits  from  Quakerism  aTiJ  Auabap- 
tism."^ 

It  is  mainly  from  this  periodical  report  to  the  so- 
ciety that  his  life  and  labors  are  to  be  sketched.  He 
writes,  Sept.  12,  1711,  a  few  months  after  the  decease 
of  Col.  Richard  Townley  (the  main  pillar  of  St. 
John's  at  that  early  period),  as  follows: 

"  I  preach  to  them  in  the  fore  and  afternoon  of  every  Lord's  day,  and 
administer  the  blessed  Sacrament  monthly  to  tweut^'-eight  or  thirty 
communicants.  I  have  baptized  since  my  arrival  to  this  government 
seventy-twochildren.besideseleven  adult  persons,  unfortunately  brought 
up  in  dark  Quakerism  and  Anabaptism.  and  are  now  so  happy  aa  to  be 
members  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  whose  worship  they  constantly  fre- 
quent with  great  devotion  and  seeming  delight."  9 

In  the  summer  of  1711  the  Rev.  Thomas  Halliday 
was  sent  by  the  .society  to  take  charge  of  Amboy  and 
Piscataway,  and  Mr.  Vaughan  divided  his  labors  be- 
tween the  town  proper  and  that  part  of  it  called 
Rahway,  a  monthly  lecture  being  given  to  the  latter 
place.  Shortly  after  the  decease  of  Col.  Townley  the 
congregation  obtained  from  his  son  Charles  a  clear 
title  to  the  church  lot,  for  want  of  which  the  interior 
of  the  church  had  not  been  "  fitted  according  to  the 
rules  of  decency  and  order." 

Owing  to  a  serious  disaffection  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Woodbridge  a  few  families  withdrew  and 

*  Clark's  St.  John's  Ch.,  pp.  35,  36.        *  Ibid.,  p.  36.        i5  Ibid.,  p.  38. 


220 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


formed  an  Episcopal  society.  Mr.  Vaughan  was  re- 
quested to  officiate  there  occasionally  in  a  house 
built  for  the  purpose,  "  probably  the  smallest  you 
have  ever  seen,  but  amply  sufficient  for  the  congre- 
gation at  this  day." 

Mr.  Halliday  proved  to  be  utterly  unworthy  of  his 
office,  and  in  1713  was  obliged  to  leave  Amboy,  when 
Mr.  Vaughan  was  requested  to  include  that  place 
within  his  parochial  district.  Mrs.  Mary  Eniott,  the 
widow  of  James  Eraott,  of  New  York,  and  a  daughter 
of  Mrs.  Philip  Carteret,  had  been,  doubtless,  a  fre- 
quent visitor  at  the  house  of  her  step-father,  Col. 
Townley.  Her  husband  had  died  in  April,  1713, 
leaving  her  with  four  sons  and  a  handsome  "  fortune 
of  £2000."  She  was  about  forty-eight  years  old, 
and  of  high  social  standing.  Mr.  Vaughan  was  ac- 
cepted as  her  second  husband.  They  were  married 
at  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  her  widowhood.' 

By  his  marriage  he  came  into  possession  of  the 
house  and  grounds  afterwards  owned  and  occupied 
by  Col.  William  Ricketts,  on  the  Point  road. 

At  or  soon  after  his  marriage  he  removed  to  Am- 
boy, for  the  benefit  of  his  health,  "  which,"  he  says, 
"  was  much  impaired  during  my  abode  in  Elizabeth 
Town,  where  I  still  do  and  shall  continue  to  officiate 
in  the  fore  and  afternoon  three  Lord's  Days  succes- 
sively in  every  month,"  the  other  being  given  to 
Amboy.  The  society  seem  not  to  have  favored  this 
plan  of  non-residence,  and  he  returned  to  his  former 
charge,  and  was  residing  here  in  1721.  He  continued 
to  divide  his  time  between  the  several  stations  as  be- 
fore, giving  the  chief  attention  to  this  town.  Writ- 
ing, July  8, 1717,  he  says, — 

"  Elizabeth  Town  itself  is  a  considerable  village,  and  equals  if  not 
exceeds  any  in  the  Province  as  well  in  bigness  as  in  number  of  Inhabit- 
ants. Custom  and  education  has  engaged  them  for  the  most  part  in  the 
Congregational  way,  but  notwithstanding  they  are  not  so  very  rigid  in 
that  persuasion  as  altogether  to  deny  their  attendance  on  my  ministry."  2 

The  church,  which  had  been  erected  of  brick  in 
170(5,  had  not  yet  been  finished.  The  congregation 
grew  but  slowly,  and  the  most  they  could  raise  for 
their  minister  was  thirty  pounds,  without  a  glebe  or 
parsonage.  Yetthey  say  of  their  minister  in  a  letter  to 
the  society, — 

"  We  esteem  ourselves  happy  under  his  pastoral  care,  and  have  a  thor- 
ough persuasion  of  mindtliat  the  Churchof  Christ  is  now  planted  among 
us  in  its  purity.  Mr.  Vaughan  hath,  to  the  great  comfort  aud  edilication 
of  our  families  in  these  dark  and  distant  regions  of  the  world,  prosecuted 
the  duties  of  his  holy  calling  with  the  utmost  applicatiou  and  diligence; 
adorned  his  character  with  an  e.\emplary  life  and  conversation,  and  so 
behaved  himself  with  all  due  prudence  and  fidelity,  showing  uncorupt- 
ness,  gravity,  sincerity,  and  sound  speech,  that  they  who  aie  of  the  con- 
trary part  have  no  evil  thing  to  say  ol  him."  3 

In  1721  his  audience  had  increased  to  two  hundred 
souls,  and  the  communicants  were  more  than  forty  in 
number.  For  ten  years  no  memorial  of  him  is  found. 
But  Oct.  6,  1731,  he  writes, — 

1  Clark's  St.  John's  CTih.,  p.  42. 

'-  Ibid  ,  pp.  44,  45. 

3  Humphreys'  Hist,  of  the  S.  P.  G.  F.,  p.  77. 


•*  My  congregation  encreaseth  not  only  in  this  Town,  but  in  the  neigh- 
boring Towns  of  Newark,  Whippany,  and  the  Mountains  fOmnge]  where 
I  visit  aud  preaclitoauunierons  assembly  occasionally  and  in  tlie  wilder^ 
ness  and  dispense  the  Sacrament  tu  them.  I  have  baptized  here  and 
elsewhere  within  the  compass  of  two  years  last  past  556  children  be!.ides 
64  adults,  and  find  in  the  people  a  general  disposition  to  receive  the  Gos- 
pel according  to  the  way  and  manner  taught  and  established  in  the 
Church  of  England."-* 

In  1734  the  communicants  were  seventy.  In  the 
year  ending  May  29,  1739,  he  baptized  one  hundred 
and  twenty-nine  infants  aud  three  adults,  and  the 
number  of  communicants  was  eighty-four.  A  glebe  "of 
nine  acres  of  good  land,  with  a  fine  orchard  thereon," 
had  been  acquired  "  by  the  Piety  and  favor  of  a  very 
worthy  widow,  Mrs.  Anne  Arskins  [Erskine],  of  Eliz- 
beth  Town."  •• 

Mr.  Vaughan  continued  in  the  work  of  the  minis- 
try, as  the  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  until  his  de- 
cease about  the  12th  of  October,  1747,  "far advanced 
in  years."  The  memory  of  Mr.  Vaughan  was  very 
precious  to  the  people  of  his  charge. 

The  vacancy  in  the  rectorship  caused  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Vaughan  was  not  easily  filled.  Hitherto  all 
Episcopal  clergymen  had  either  come  from  England, 
or  had  been  obliged  to  go  there  to  receive  orders.  In 
these  circumstances  the  vestry  of  St.  John's  were  ad- 
vised to  secure  the  services  of  a  catechist,  or  lay 
reader,  which  they  did  in  the  person  of  Thomas  Brad- 
bury Chandler,  who  had  been  teaching  a  school  at 
Woodstock,  Conn.,  and  studying  theology  at  intervals 
with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Johnson.  He  was  a  young  man  of 
good  promise,  who  had  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1745,  and  was  twenty-two  years  old  when  he  came  to 
this  town,  about  the  1st  of  December,  1747.  In  com- 
mending him  at  the  "'  request  of  the  good  people  of 
Elizabeth  Town,"  Dr.  Johnson  spoke  of  him  as  having 
"  known  him  three  years  at  least,"  and  as  "  a  truly 
valuable  person,  of  good  parts,  and  competent  learn- 
ing for  his  time  and  our  circumstances,  and  of  good 
morals  and  virtuous  behaviour."  He  was  conse- 
quently appointed  by  the  "  venerable  society"  in  May, 
1748,  their  "  catechist  at  Elizabeth  Town,  in  New  Jer- 
sey," on  a  stipend  of  £10  a  year,  the  church  obliging 
themselves  that,  in  case  he  should  be  appointed  to  the 
mission,  to  "  raise  the  sum  of  £50  Current  Money  of 
the  Province  per  annum,  and  to  provide  him  a  con- 
venient parsonage."* 

Mr.  Chamller  prospered  well  in  his  vocation  as 
catechist  and  lay  reader.  But  St.  John's  was  urgent 
for  a  resident  rector,  who  should  give  them  his  whole 
time.  Among  the  reasons  assigned  was  the  fact  that 
"  the  Dissenters  in  this  town  have  five  Ministers  set- 
tled, constantly  to  officiate  in  publick,  to  visit  them 
in  private,  ready  to  serve  on  any  particular  occasion, 
and,  in  a  word,  that  are  always  with  and  among 
them."  These  five  Presbyterians  were  Messrs.  Spen- 
cer, of  the  First   Church  ;  Symmes,  of  New  Provi- 

*  Clark's  St.  John's  Chinch,  pp.  48,  49. 

5  Ibid.,  pp.  50,  51,  55. 

e  Ibid.,  p.  69.    Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  593 


THE   CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


221 


dence  and  Springfield;  Grant,  of  Westfield ;  Thane, 
of  Connecticut  Farms  ;  and  Richards,  of  Rahway. 

In  the  summer  of  1751,  Mr.  Chandler  repaired  to 
England,  was  admitted  to  the  priesthood  by  Dr. 
Thomas  Sherlock,  Bishop  of  London,  and  early  in 
September  sailed  again  for  America,  arriving  at  home 
after  a  passage  of  nine  weeks,  about  the  1st  of  No- 
vember. His  salary  or  stipend  was  fixed  at  thirty 
pounds  sterling  from  the  society,  and  sixty  pounds 
New  Jersey  currency  (valued  at  little  more  than  thirty 
pounds  sterling)  with  a  liouse  and  glebe  from  the 
people.  The  coniraiinicants  had  increased  from  forty 
to  sixty. 

Rev.  Thomas  Bradbury  Chandler  was  a  de- 
scendant of  William  Chandler,  who,  with  his  wife, 
Hannah,  and  four  children, — Hannah,  Thomas,  John, 
and  William, — came  to  this  country  from  England, 
and  settled  at  Roxbury,  Mass.,  in  1637.  His  son 
Jolin,  born  in  England  in  1635,  married,  Feb.  16, 
1659,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Douglas,  and 
had  eight  children, — John,  Elizabeth,  John  (2d),  Jo- 
seph, Hannah,  Mehitable,  Sarah,  and  Joseph,  all 
born  at  Roxbury.  In  1686  he  united  with  several  of 
his  neighbors  in^the  settlement  of  Woodstock,  Conn., 
of  the  church  of  which  he  was  chosen  deacon,  and 
where,  too,  he  died,  April  15,  1703.  His  son  John, 
born  April  16,  1665,  married,  Nov  10,  1692,  Mary, 
daughter  of  Joshua  Raymond,  of  New  Lon<lon,  and 
had  ten  children, — John,  Joshua,  William,  Mary, 
Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Sarah,  Mehitable,  Thomas,  and 
Hannah.  His  son  William,  born  at  Woodstock,  Nov. 
3, 1698,  married  Jemima  Bradbury,  who  is  thought  to 
have  been  a  daughter  of  Thomas  Bradbury,  of  Salis- 
bury, Mass.,  whose  father,  William,  married,  March 
12,  1672,  Rebecca,  the  widow  of  Samuel  Maverick, 
and  daughter  of  the  Rev.  John  Wheelwright.  Her 
father  was  born  Dec.  24,  1674.  Her  son,  Thomas 
Bradbury,  was  born  April  26,  1726. 

Mr.  Chandler's  early  years  were  spent  on  the  pater- 
nal farm,  and,  as  we  have  said,  he  entered  Yale  Col- 
lege, where  he  graduated  at  the  age  of  twenty  in 
1745.  His  settlement  here  as  catechist  was  in  1747, 
and  as  rector  in  1751,  on  his  return  from  England. 

His  first  oflicial  act  after  his  return  was  the  bap- 
tism, November  3d,  of  Matthias,  the  son  of  Matthias 
Williamson  and  Susannah  Halstead.  His  first  mar- 
riage service  was  on  the  10th,  and  the  parties  were 
Robert  Milbourn  and  Mary,  daughter  of  Elias 
Thomas,  both  of  Elizabeth  Town.  In  the  course  of 
tlie  following  year,  1752,  he  was  himself  'married  to 
Jane,  the  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Emott,  and  Mi-ry, 
the  daughter  of  Elias  Boudinot,  Sr. 

At  the  close  of  1754  the  congregation  included 
eighty-five  families,  and  the  communicants  numbered 
ninety.  But  the  pecuniary  strength  of  the  parish 
had  decreased.  Of  the  sixty  pounds  engaged  by  sub- 
scription, twenty-eight  pounds  had  dropped  by  deaths 
and  removals;  most  of  the  principal  parishioners  had 
died  or  moved  oft',  and  the  greater  part  were  poor, 
15 


many  of  them  being  "the  proper  objects  of  every 
kind  of  charity."  The  missionary  was  in  straits,  pro- 
visions of  all  kinds  being  as  dear  in  this  town  as  in 
the  most  populous  cities  of  the  land,  meat  of  all  sorts 
being  actually  dearer  here  than  in  the  New  York 
market.  On  these  accounts  he  asked  for  an  increase 
of  his  stipend  from  the  society  in  England,  which  was 
probably  granted. 

In  1757,  during  the  prevalence  of  the  smallpox,  of 
which  President  Edwards  and  his  daughter,  Mrs. 
Burr,  died  in  the  spring  of  1758,  Mr.  Chandler  was 
prostrated  by  the  terrible  scourge,  and  did  not  re- 
cover from  its  ill  effects  for  nearly  three  years,  his  face 
retaining  its  footprints  to  the  end  of  life.  In  1766 
the  University  of  Oxford  conferred  upon  him  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity.  For  some  time  after  this 
Dr.  Chandler  was  engaged  quite  largely  in  a  pamphlet 
controversy  with  several  leading  Dissenting  divines 
on  the  merits  of  Episcopacy  and  anti-Episcopacy, 
having  in  1767  issued  an  "  Appeal  to  the  Public  in 
behalf  of  the  Church  of  England  in  America :  Where- 
in the  Original  and  Nature  of  the  Episcopal  Office 
are  briefly  considered.  Reasons  for  sending  Bishops 
to  America  are  assigned.  The  Plan  on  which  it  is  pro- 
posed to  send  them  is  stated,  and  the  Objections 
against  sending  them  are  obviated  and  confuted. 
With  an  Appendix,  giving  a  brief  account  of  an 
Anonymous  Pamphlet,     jip.  118." 

This  was  replied  to  by  Rev.  Dr.  Chauncy,  of  Boston, 
in  1768,  and  Dr.  Chandler  rejoined  in  "  The  Appeal 
Defended,"  which  was  soon  answered  by  Dr.  Chauncy 
in  a  "Reply  to  Dr.  T.  B.  Chandler's  Appeal,"  which 
drew  forth  a  rejoinder  from  the  latter  comprising  240 
pages,  entitled  "The  Appeal  farther  Defended,  in 
Answer  to  the  further  Misrepresentations  of  Dr. 
Chauncy." 

Notwithstanding  this  pamphlet  controversy.  Dr. 
Chandler  continued  in  the  regular  discharge  of  his 
parochial  duties,  occasionally  going  forth  on  mis- 
sionary tours,  and  once,  November,  1769,  far  up  into 
Sussex  County,  then  almost  the  outer  edge  of  civili- 
zation. In  July,  1770,  he  refers  to  the  fact  that  "  the 
Dissenters  of  late  have  become  more  friendly  in  ap- 
pearance than  ever,"  sometimes  exceeding  in  number, 
in  their  attendance  on  special  occasions,  his  own 
people.  In  the  course  of  the  two  or  three  following 
years  the  congregation  had  so  much  increased  as  to 
determine  the  people  to  enlarge  the  capacity  of  the 
church  edifice.  But  in  1774  it  was  resolved  to  rebuild 
entirely  ;  the  foundations  of  a  new  building,  eightv 
by  fifty  feet,  were  laid  around  the  old  building  ;  ma- 
terials were  collected,  and  money  subscribed  to  defray 
the  expense.  But  the  first  shock  of  war  put  an  end 
to  the  work,  not  to  be  resumed  by  that  generation. 

In  October,  1761,  application  having  been  made  by 
the  rector,  church  wardens,  and  vestry  of  St.  John's 
to  Governor  Josiah  Hardy  for  a  charter,  the  same 
was  granted,  bearing  date  July  20,  1762.  It  appoints 
"  John  Halsted  and  Jacob  De  Hart  to  be  the  first 


222 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSKY. 


and  Present  Church  Wardenb  of  the  said  Church, 
and  Henry  Gartliwait,  Jonatlian  Hampton,  Amos 
Morss,  Ephraim  Terrill,  Matthias  Williamson,  John 
De  Hart,  John  Ogden,  Cavalier  Jouet,  and  John 
Chetwood  to  be  the  first  and  Present  Vestrymen  of 
said  Church." 

The  only  changes  made  in  these  names  for  the  next 
fifteen  years  were  in  the  substitution,  from  time  to 
time,  of  John  Herriman,  Edward  Thomas,  and  George 
Ross  for  Cavalier  Jouet  and  John  De  Hart,  the  latter 
serving  as  secretary. 


About  the  year  1779  or  1780  the  congregation  be- 
gan to  assemble  in  a  private  house  "  for  public  wor- 
ship on  Sabbath."-  Worship  was  soon  resumed  at  the 
church.  An  impostor  for  a  brief  time  obtained  pos- 
session of  its  pulpit.  He  was  soon  after  e.xposed,  and 
fled  from  the  odium  and  punishment  he  had  merited. 
The  churcli  was  then  occasionally  supplied  by  the 
Rev.  Uzal  Ogden,  of  Newark.  Mr.  Ogden  was  well 
liked,  and  being  a  cousin  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  wife  of 
the  late  murdered  pastor,  many  of  the  Presbyterians, 
whose  own  church  had  been   burned  by  the  British, 


P\l       ^  V    L     Ji    ST    JOHNb   tin  h    II    III-     III 


Dr.  Chandler  continued  to  officiate  here  until  the 
middle  of  May,  1775,  when  probably  alarmed  at  the 
sacking  of  the  house  of  his  friend.  Dr.  Myles  Cooper, 
at  New  York,  on  the  night  of  the  10th  of  May,  he 
found  refuge  with  him  on  the  "  Kingfisher,"  Capt. 
James  Montague,  a  British  ship-of-war  in  the  harbor 
of  New  York.  On  the  24th  of  May,  in  company 
with  Dr.  Cooper  and  the  Rev.  Samuel  Cook,  he  sailed 
in  the  "  Exeter"  for  Bristol,  England.' 

The  church  was  left  without  a  rector  or  a  sup|)ly 
for  the  pulpit,  and  its  members  were  consequently 
greatly  scattered,  more  especially  after  the  declara- 
tion of  independence.  Public  worship  was  at  length 
suspended,  and  as  houses  were  needed  for  hospitals 
and  barracks,  churches  were  not  too  sacred  to  be  used 
for  that  purpose.  Fences  were  converted  into  fuel,  nor 
were  the  graveyards  spared.  St.  John's  suffered  most 
as  it  was  not  used  on  Sundays,  the  wood-work  in  the 
interior  being  wholly  destroyed,  and  two  attempts  to 
burn  it  being  discovered  in  time  to  save  the  building. 


resorted  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  Mr.  Ogden  was 
chosen  June  8,  1784,  one  of  the  a.ssistant  ministers  of 
the  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  with  a  salary  of  five 
hundred  pounds  a  year,  with  leave  of  absence  for  two- 
thirds  of  the  year  for  four  years,  and  to  receive  one- 
third  of  the  salary.  The  remaining  portion  of  the 
year  he  preached  for  St.  John's  parish  and  at  Newark, 
with  occasional  visits  to  Sussex  County.  During  the 
latter  part  of  this  period  (1788)  he  had  become  the 
rector  of  Trinity  Church,  Newark. 

Dr.  Chandler  remained  in  exile  the  full  period  of 
ten  years,  his  family  continuing  to  occupy  the  rectory 
as  before  through  all  the  gloomy  period  of  the  war. 
He  labored  during  his  absence,  raising  funds  for  his 
destitute  brethren  in  New  Jersey.  Dr.  Berrian  says, 
"  He  was  received  with  such  marked  and  universal 
respect  into  the  society  of  the  most  distinguished  per- 
sons as  has  very  rarely  been  rendered  to  any  one  from 
our  country  in  private  life."  He  continued  to  cherish 
to  the  last  the  expectation  of  the  restoration  of  royal 


>  Dr.  Rudd'e  DiBcoune,  18, 19. 


THE   CITY    OF   ELIZABETH. 


223 


authority  in  America,  writing  to  Rev.  Dr.  Beach  Dec. 

3,  1781 : 

"  The  late  blow  in  Virginia  [Cornwallis'  surrender]  has  given  ua  a 
shock  but  haa  not  overset  us.  Though  ttie  clouds  at  present  are  rather 
thick  about  us,  I  iim  far,  very  far,  from  desponding.  I  think  matters 
will  take  a  right  turn  and  theu  the  event  will  be  right." 

Dr.  Chandler  remained  in  England  two  years  after 
the  restoration  of  peace,  suffering  much  of  the  time 
from  a  cancer  on  his  nose, — a  relic,  it  was  thought,  of 
the  smallpox  of  1757.  His  former  parishioners  in- 
vited him  to  return  and  resume  the  rectorship  of  St. 
John's.  But  other  friends  were  busy  in  seeking  for 
him  the  episcopate  of  Nova  Scotia,  whither  many  of 
his  former  friends  had  gone  as  refugees  at  the  close  of 
the  war.  He  reached  New  York  on  Sunday,  June  19, 
1785,  but  too  infirm  to  resume  his  parochial  charge. 
In  the  course  of  the  following  year  the  appointment 
of  Bishop  of  Nova  Scotia  was  tendered  him,  but  his 
health  was  too  much  impaired  to  admit  of  his  per- 
forming the  duties  of  the  ofBce.  At  his  suggestion  it 
was  conferred  upon  the  Rev.  Charles  Inglis,  D.D., 
one  of  his  friends  who  had  removed  from  New  York 
to  Nova  Scotia  at  the  close  of  1783,  and  who  was  con- 
secrated at  Lamberth,  Aug.  12,  1787.  Dr.  Chandler, 
at  the  request  of  the  vestry,  returned  to  the  rectory, 
where  he  died  June  17, 1790,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of 
his  age.  He  left  a  wife  and  six  children.  Mrs. 
Chandler,  to  whom  a  pension  was  allowed  by  the 
British  government  after  her  husband's  death,  sur- 
vived him  till  Sept.  20,  1801,  when  she  died  in  her 
sixty-ninth  year. 

Dr.  Chandler  is  represented  as  having  been  "  a 
large,  portly  man,  of  fine  personal  appearance,  of  a 
countenance  expressive  of  high  intelligence,  though 
considerably  marred  by  the  smallpox,  of  an  uncom- 
monly blue  eye,  of  a  strong  commanding  voice,  and 
a  great  lover  of  music.  He  had  fine  powers  of  con- 
versation, and  was  a  most  agreeable  companion  for 
persons  of  all  ages.  He  was  very  fond  of  home,  fond 
of  retirement  and  of  study,  and  was  greatly  beloved 
by  his  congregation.  His  antipathy  to  anything  but 
British  rule  continued  to  the  last." 

Rev.  Samuel  Spraggs  was  the  successor  of  Dr. 
Chandler.  He  had  been  an  assistant  minister  of  the 
parish  for  over  a  year  previous  to  the  death  of  the 
rector,  and  on  the  1st  of  January  following  that 
event  (1791)  was  chosen  by  the  wardens  and  vestry 
to  fill  the  vacancy.  He  was  then  in  the  forty-fourth 
year  of  his  age,  and  had  for  a  considerable  period 
been  a  preacher  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
having  been  admitted  on  trial  at  the  second  Confer- 
ence, held  in  Philadelphia,  May  25,  1774.  No  record 
remains  of  his  parentage  or  place  of  nativity.  His 
first  appointment  appears  to  have  been  at  Brunswick, 
S.  E.  Virginia,  May  25,  1774;  then,  May,  1775  (hav- 
ing been  admitted  to  full  connection),  at  Philadelphia, 
and  reappointed  for  the  same  place  in  May,  1776.  In 
May,  1777,  he  was  appointed  to  the  Frederick  Circuit, 


I 


Maryland.  After  the  capture  of  Philadelphia  by  the 
British  army,  Sept.  26,  1777,  he  found  his  way  again 
to  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  course  of  the  following 
winter  or  spring  to  New  York,  where  he  was  the  only 
traveling  preacher  in  the  connection,  and  had  charge 
of  the  old  John  Street  Chapel  from  that  time  till  1783. 
In  common  with  his  fellow-itinerants,  he  was  regarded 
by  the  British  authorities  as  a  loyalist,  and  so  neither 
he  nor  his  chapel  was  disturbed  during  the  war.  He 
married  subsequently  to  1783,  and  settled  at  Mount 
Holly,  N.  J.  Where  or  precisely  at  what  time  he 
took  orders  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  is  not 
known,  but  it  was  previous  to  his  settlement  here  as 
an  assistant  in  1789.  His  salary  at  first  was  £120  a 
year,  but  was  increased  to  £150  in  1793.  He  died  in 
September,  1794,  having  been  rector  about  three  years 
and  a  half.  Dr.  Rudd  says  of  him,  "  Mr.  Spraggs 
was  an  aftectionate  and  useful  pastor,  and  enjoyed 
the  confidence  and  regard  of  his  flock,  with  whom  he 
was  on  terms  of  affable  and  cordial  intercourse."  ' 
His  widow  left  a  small  legacy  to  the  parish.  She 
died  in  New  York  in  the  eighty-seventh  year  of  her 
age,  June  27,  1821. 

Rev.  Menzies  Raynee  received  a  call  from  St. 
John's  Church  in  February,  1795,  but  did  not  at  that 
time  accept.  On  the  6th  of  April,  1795,  a  call  was 
extended  to  the  Rev.  Joseph  Pilmoor,  who  declined 
in  favor  of  Christ  Church,  Ann  Street,  New  York. 
The  call  was  then  renewed  to  Mr.  Rayner,  and  was 
accepted.  Like  his  predecessors,  he  was  a  Methodist, 
and  had  preached  on  the  Elizabeth  Town  Circuit, 
having  entered  the  ministry  in  1790.  Mr.  Rayner  was 
a  native  of  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  and  is  spoken  of  at  the 
time  of  his  settlement  here  as  "a  young  man  of 
promise,  and  very  acceptable  among  the  people  as  a 
preacher.  Having  engaged  himself  to  marry  a  young 
lady  whose  family  was  unwilling  that  she  should  share 
his  privations  as  an  itinerant,  he  chose  the  alterna- 
tive of  resigning  his  ministerial  post.  It  was  done 
with  deliberation,  with  frank  notification  of  his  pur- 
pose to  his  presiding  elder,  Rev.  George  Roberts, 
and  with  the  avowal  of  undiminished  confidence  in 
the  doctrine.s  and  discipline  of  Methodism." 

He  had  just  left  the  connection  when  he  was  called 
here,  in  1795.  He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  on 
Wednesday,  Nov.  8,  1797,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Pro- 
voost,  D.D.,  on  which  occasion  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Beach,  D.D.,  of  New  York,  read  the  prayers,  and 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardiner,  assistant  minister  of  Trinity 
Church,  Newark,  preached.  His  pastorate  continued 
nearly  six  years.  In  September,  1801,  he  accepted 
an  invitation  to  the  rectorship  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
of  Hartford,  Conn.,  which  position  he  held  about 
twelve  years.  Afterwards  he  took  charge  of  a  church 
in  Huntington,  Conn.  In  his  later  years  he  with- 
drew from  the  Episcopal  ministry  and  became  a 
Uuiversalist  preacher.     In  1839  he  supplied  the  pul- 

1  Dr.'Rudd's  Notices  of  St.  John's,  p.  21. 


224 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


pit  of  the  Bleecker  Street  Uni  versalist  Cliurch  of  New 
York.i 

At  a  parish  meeting,  Sept.  5,  1801,  as  Mr.  Rayner 
was  about  to  leave  his  charge,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  wait  on  the 


ST.  JOHN'S   CHURCH,  ELIZABETH,  IN   1850. 

Rev.  Frederick  Beasley,  who  was  then  in  town, 
and  invite  him  to  the  rectorship  of  St.  John's,  with  a 
salary  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  The  call  was 
accepted,  and  he  was  instituted  in  February,  1802. 

Mr.  Beasley  was  a  native  of  Edenton,  N.  C,  where 
he  was  born  in  1777.  He  graduated  in  1797  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey.  In  1798  he  was  associated 
with  Henry  Kollock,  of  this  town,  as  a  tutor  in  Prince- 
ton College,  and  served  two  years,  pursuing  at  the 
same  time,  under  the  direction  of  President  Samuel 
Stanhope  Smith,  D.D.,  the  study  of  theology.  He 
was  employed  as  a  reader  for  several  months  pre- 
vious to  November,  1800,  by  Christ  Church,  Nevy 
Brunswick,  N.  J.  In  the  summer  of  the  following 
year  he  was  ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  Moore  of 


1  RecordB  of  St.  John's.  Dr.  Rudd'8  Diecourges,  pp.  21,  22.  Stevens* 
Memorial  of  Methodism,  i.  127.  Journals  of  the  Gen.  P.  Ep.  Convention, 
I.  209,  284,  318.    N.  J.  Journal,  No.  736. 


New  York,  and  soon  after  was  invited  to  serve  one 

of  the  churches  of  New  York  City,  but  declined  in 
favor  of  St.  John's  of  this  town.  In  February,  1802, 
arrangements  were  made  for  his  regular  induction  as 
rector,  and  not  long  subsequently  he  was  ordained 
riest  also  by  Bishop  Moore.  His  salary 
was  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  a 
year.  His  college  friend,  Henry  Kol- 
r^cjXr  lock,  had,  scarcely   more   than   a   year 

previous,  become  the  pastor  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  this  town.  Their 
intimacy  thus  was  very  happily  renewed 
for  a  season. 

His  ministry  here  was  soon  termin- 
ated. He  resigned  his  rectorship  June 
5,  1803,  six  months  before  Mr.  Kollock's 
reinoval,  to  accept  a  call  to  St.  Peter's 
Church,  Albany,  N.  Y.  In  August, 
1809,  he  resigned  this  charge  to  become 
the  colleague  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  G.  J. 
Bend,  D.D.,  of  St.  Paul's,  Baltimore, 
Md.''  This  position  he  resigned  in  July, 
1813,  to  become  the  provost  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  at  Philadelphia. 
In  1815  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D. 
was  conferred  on  him  both  by  the  uni- 
versity over  which  he  presided  and  by 
Columbia  College.  He  retired  from  the 
university  in  1828,  and  in  1829  became 
the  rector  of  St.  Michael's,  Trenton, 
N.  J.  He  resigned  this  charge  in  June, 
1836,  and  withdrew  from  public  life. 

While  rector  of  St.  John's  in  this  town 
he  had  become  tenderly  attached  to 
Susan  W.,  daughter  of  Gen.  Jonathan 
Dayton,  whom  he  married  Aug.  22, 1803, 
just  as  he  was  removing  to  Albany, 
N.  Y.  Mrs.  Beasley,  having  given  birth 
to  a  daughter,  died  Nov.  27, 1804,  in  her 
twenty-.second  year,  greatly  lamented. 
Mr.  Beasley  subsequently  (June  29,  1807)  married 
Maria,  daughter  of  Matthias  Williamson,  also  of  this 
town.  On  his  retiring  to  private  life  in  1836  he  came 
hither,  and  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days  among  his 
relatives  by  marriage  in  the  prosecution  of  his  studies. 
His  publications  had  been  somewhat  numerous,  of 
which  the  most  profound  were  "  A  Search  of  Truth  in 
the  Science  of  the  Human  Mind,"  Part  I.,  8vo,  1822 
(Part  II.  was  completed,  but  not  published) ;  "  A  Vin- 
dication of  the  Fundamental  Principles  of  Truth  and 
Order  in  the  Church  of  Christ  from  the  Allegations 
of  the  Rev.  William  E.  Channing,  D.D.,"  1830.  He 
was  a  superior  scholar,  but  excelled  chiefly  in  the 
philosophy  of  the  mind,  being  of  the  school  of 
Locke.     Though    conscientiously    attached    to    the 

2  The  Rev.  Dr.  Bend,  in  April,  17D0,  had  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
Abiier  Hurfleld,  of  this  town,  and  nieie  ..f  Elia.s  Boudinot,  LL.D.  He 
died  at  Baltimore  Sept.  13, 1812,  in  his  firtietli  year.  His  wife  died  in 
1801,  leaving  two  sons  and  one  daughter. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


225 


Episcopal  Church,  he  was  not  illiberal  towards 
other  churches. 

He  died  of  dropsy  in  the  chest  on  Saturday,  Nov. 
1, 1845.  His  wife  survived  until  July  2,  1852.  They 
had  nine  children,  seven  of  whom  came  to  mature 
years.  One  of  them,  Frederick  W.,  took  orders  in 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  settled  in  Bucks  County, 
Pa.;  another  practiced  law  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  and 
has  attained  great  eminence  at  the  bar  and  on  the 
bench.' 

Mr.  Beasley's  successor  was  the 

Rev.  Samttel  Lilly.  He  was  appointed  rector 
of  St.  John's  Aug.  28,  1803.  He  was  admitted  to 
priest's  orders  shortly  after,  and  inducted  April  2, 
1804,  on  an  annual  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars 
and  the  use  of  the  parsonage.  He  had  charge  also 
of  the  academy  during  the  same  year.  No  record 
has  been  found  of  his  life  previous  to  his  becoming 
the  rector  of  St.  John's.  He  remained  in  charge 
until  April  30,  1805.  Some  time  after  he  removed 
to  the  South,  where  he  died  previous  to  1824.' 


1779,  and  was  the  oldest  child  of  Jonathan  Rudd  and 
Mary,  daughter  of  Deacon  Barnabas  Huntington. 
He  was  brought  up  as  a  Congregationalist,  and  fitted 
for  college  under  the  tuition  of  Rev.  Samuel  Nott,  but 
was  not  favored  with  a  collegiate  course.  Upon  reach- 
ing his  majority  he  removed  to  New  York,  where  he 
connected  himself  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  studied 
for  the  ministry,  and  was  ordained  a  deacon  by  Bishop 
Moore,  April  28,  1805. 

At  the  time  of  his  settlement  here  the  congregation 
seldom  exceeded  a  hundred  souls,  and  the  communi- 
cants were  sixty  in  number.  Improvements  were 
made  in  the  church  edifice,  and  a  new  steeple  placed 
upon  it  in  1807.  In  1808  the  length  of  the  house  was 
increased  seventeen  feet  and  the  interior  entirely  reno- 
vated. An  addition  of  one  hundred  dollars  was  added 
to  Mr.  Rudd's  salary  in  1810.  In  1813  he  became  the 
editor  of  a  new  series  of  The  Christian  Magazine,  and 
the  place  of  publication  was  changed  from  New  York 
to  Elizabeth  Town.  Other  improvements  were  made 
in  the  church  edifice  in  1817.    The  parsonage  house  was 


PARSONAGE   OF   ST.  JOHN'S   CHUKCH,  ERI'.CTEll    lsl7. 


About  three  months  after  the  removal  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Lilly  the  church  invited  the 

Rev.  John  Churchill  Rudd  to  become  their 
rector,  with  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars  a  year  and 
the  use  of  the  rectory.  The  call  was  accepted,  and 
Mr.  Rudd  entered  upon  his  work  in  December,  1805. 
He  was  regularly  inducted  in  May,  1806. 

Mr.  Rudd  was  born  at  Norwich,  Conn.,  May  24, 

1  Records  of  St.  John  s  Cbnrch.  Clark's  St.  John's,  pp.  168-70. 
Sprague's  Annals,  v.  477-84. 

2  MS.  Records  of  St.  John's.  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  1082.  Rudd's  Hist. 
Notes,  p.  22. 


also  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  about  $3000.  For  several  years 
Mr.  Rudd  conducted  a  classical  school  in  his  house 
with  great  success.  July  31,  1823,  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  conferred  on  him  the  degree  of  D.D. 

Owing  to  the  loss  of  health,  particularly  of  his 
voice.  Dr.  Rudd  was  relieved  from  his  parochial 
charge  June  1,  1826,  and  the  next  month  removed 
to  Auburn,  N.  Y.,  where,  and  at  Utica,  N.  Y.,  as 
teacher,  rector,  and  editor  of  The  Gospel  Messenger, 
his  later  days  were  spent.  He  died  in  LTtica,  Nov.  15, 
1848,  greatly  lamented  by  his  own  church  and  others. 
At  his  own  request  his  remains  were  brought  to  Eliza- 


226 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


beth  Town,  and  interred  on  the  19th  in  St.  John's 
churchyard.  His  widow  died  in  October,  1867,  aged 
eighty-eight,  having  survived  him  nearly  nineteen 
years. 

Dr.  Rudd  was  succeeded  by  tlie 

Rev.  Smith  Pyne,  who  began  his  ministry  in  the 
parish  June  1,  1826,  and  was  instituted  rector  by  the 
Rt.  Rev.  John  Croes,  D.D.,  May  3,  1827.  His  salary 
was  five  hundred  dollars  and  the  use  of  the  rectory. 
This  was  his  first  parochial  charge.  His  ministry  here, 
though  highly  acceptable  to  the  people,  was  but  of 
short  continuance.  He  resigned  the  rectorship  Dec. 
31,  1828,  to  accept  a  call  from  the  church  of  Middle- 
town,  Conn.  Subsequently  he  became  the  assistant 
minister,  and  then,  after  the  decease  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Hawley,  for  many  years  the  rector  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Washington  City,  D.  C.  Dr.  Pyne  now  re- 
sides at  New  York  City.' 


ST    JOHNS    CHURCH,  J  LIZAUEIU 

A  call  was  extended  March  8,  1829,  to  the 
Rev.  Birdseye  Glover  Noble,  the  predecessor 
of  Mr.  Pyne  at  Middletown.  He  was  born  in  1792, 
at  New  Milford,  Conn.;  graduated  at  Yale  College  in 
1810;  married  a  daughter  of  Elijah  Sanford,  of  New- 
town, Conn.;  was  ordained  a  deacon  in  1812,  and 
priest  in  1817  ;  and  was  rector  of  the  Church  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  at  Middletown,  Conn.,  1812  to  1829. 


>  Clark'a  8t.  Juhn's,  p.  173.    MS.  Records. 


He  came  here  on  a  salary  of  five  hundred  dollars,  the 
rectory,  and  his  firewood.  The  finances  of  the  church 
were  greatly  improved  during  his  ministry,  and  other- 
wise the  congregation  appeared  to  prosper ;  save  that 
during  the  cholera  season  of  1832  the  church  met 
with  severe  losses  by  death.  His  ministry  terminated 
Oct.  15, 1833.  He  removed  to  Bridgeport,  and  opened 
a  boarding-school  on  Golden  Hill,  where  he  died  Nov. 
16,  1848,  in  his  fifty-seventh  year. 
At  the  close  of  January,  1834,  the 
Rev.  Richard  Canning  Moore,  Jr.,  son  of 
Bishop  Moore,  of  Virginia,  was  chosen  rector,  and  at 
once  entered  upon  his  work.  He  graduated  at  Wash- 
ington (Trinity)  College,  Hartford,  in  1829,  and  the 
first  year  after  his  ordination  assisted  his  cousin,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Bedell,  of  St.  Andrew's  Church,  Philadel- 
phia. He  continued  in  charge  of  St.  John's,  Eliza- 
beth Town,  until  the  second  Sunday  in  March,  1855. 
At  his  coming  his  salary  was  four  hundred  dollars 
a  year,  with  the  usual  perquisites.  So  acceptable 
and  effective  was  his  ministry  that  soon  a  consider- 
able enlargement  of  the  church  edifice  was  re- 
quired, and  an  addition  of  eight  feet  was  made  to 
each  side  of  the  house,  and  the  interior  was  wholly 
renewed.  The  work  was  done  between  June  1st 
and  Dec.  31,  1840.  When  completed  it  mea.sured 
forty-five  by  sixty-six  feet.  A  Sunday-school  room 
of  brick  was  erected  at  the  same  time,  the  expense 
of  the  whole  improvement  being  about  four  thou- 
sand dollars.  A  new  impulse  was  thus  given  to 
the  congregation,  which  rapidly  increased  in  num- 
bers and  efficiency.  After  Mr.  Moore's  removal 
from  this  town  he  became  the  rector  of  Christ 
Church,  Williamsport,  Pa.,  where  he  remained 
until 

Rev.  Samuel  Adams  Clark,  the  successor  of 
Mr.  Moore,  was  called  to  the  rectorship  Feb.  4, 
1856,  at  a  salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  and  the 
usual  perquisites.  He  had  been  for  eight  years  the 
rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Philadelphia. 
He  entered  upon  his  work  on  the  first  Sunday  in 
April,  and  was  instituted  by  Bishop  Doane  April 
17,  1856.  His  ministry  was  eminently  successful. 
The  capacity  of  the  old  church  edifice  soon  proved 
inadequate  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  congregation. 
Measures  were  taken  in  April,  1857,  to  raise  twenty 
thousand  dollars  for  a  new  church.  The  work  was 
undertaken  in  1859.  The  old  church  was  demol- 
ished, the  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  wiis  laid 
Sept.  5,  1859,  and  the  house  completed  in  1860. 

The  new  St.  John's  is  a  noble  specimen  of  the 
Gothic  style  of  architecture  of  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. It  is  built  of  a  pale  brick  alternating  with 
bands  of  stone.  It  is  distributed  into  nave,  aisles, 
apsidal,  chancel,  and  vestry.  The  windows  of  the 
clerestory  are  of  stained  glass.  It  has  a  ma.ssive 
tower,  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  high,  with  a 
side  porch.  The  pews  will  seat  one  thousand  per- 
sons.   The  whole  cost  was  about  $50,000. 


THE   CITY    OF    ELIZABETH. 


227 


A  chapel  of  the  same  material,  eighty  by  thirty- 
four  feet,  costing  about  tifteen  thousand  dollars,  ad- 
joining the  church,  was  built  in  1867.  The  offerings 
for  the  year  ending  May,  1867,  were  $46,558.17,  of 
which  $18,360.57  were  for  parish  purposes.'  The 
present  number  of  communicants  is  about  six  hun- 
dred ;  Sunday-school,  including  officers,  teachers  and 
scholars,  five  hundred  and  fifty. 

Rev.  William  S.  Langford,  the  present  rector, 
assumed  the  ministry  of  St.  John's  on  July  11,  1875. 
He  was  born  in  Fall  River,  Ma-ss. ;  educated  at  Ken- 
yon  College  and  Theological  Seminary  at  Gambia, 
Ohio;  ordained  June  26,  1867;  was  assistant  at  St. 
Ann's,  Brooklyn,  until  July,  1867,  when  he  went  to 
St.  Paul's,  Englewood,  N.  J.,  and  in  the  autumn  of 
1870  became  rector  of  St.  John's  Church,  Yonkers, 
on  the  Hudson,  whence  he  removed  to  Elizabeth,  as- 
suming the  rectorship  as  above  stated. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE   CITY  OF   ELIZABETH.— (ro,/(,«Mcrf.) 

Grace  Church. — This  parish  was  founded  under 
the  labors  of  Rev.  Abraham  Beach  Carter,  then  mis- 
sionary of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  for  Essex 
County,  the  first  service  being  held  in  the  house  of 
Mr.  Vincent  Bodine  on  Nov.  3,  1845.  Among  those 
present  at  that  service  was  Mrs.  Dayton,  then  nearly 
eighty  years  of  age.  The  whole  congregation  con- 
sisted of  about  forty  persons.  On  March  15,  1846, 
the  first  baptism  wiis  administered.  Services  were 
held  in  the  house  of  Mr.  Bodine  up  to  April  26,  1846, 
when  a  commodious  room  in  a  public  building  was 
rented  and  furnished  by  the  congregation. 

Soon  after  this  Dr.  Carter's  connection  with  the 
parish  ceased,  and  on  the  17th  of  September,  1846, 
Rev.  Edward  B.  Boggs  assumed  charge.  He  was 
ordained  deacon  by  Bishop  Doane  on  the  very  day 
he  became  missionary  to  this  parish,  viz.:  Sept.  17, 
1846,  and  he  remained  in  charge  until  March,  1847, 
when  he  removed  to  Trinity  Church,  Swedesborough, 
preaching  there,  and  on  alternate  Sundays  at  Eliza- 
bethporl  and  Piscataway.  The  parish  of  Grace 
Church  contained  six  families  and  twelve  communi- 
cants on  the  1st  of  December,  1848,  when  Rev.  David 
Clarkson  assumed  the  rectorship.  A  Sunday-school 
was  at  that  time  organized.  The  parish  was  incor- 
porated by  act  of  the  Legislature  Aug.  18, 1849.  In 
April,  1849,  steps  were  taken  towards  the  erection  of 
a  church  edifice,  the  amount  necessary  to  complete 
this  object  being  subscribed  mainly  outside  of  the 
parish,  St.  John's  Church  contributing  liberally. 
The  cost  of  the  church  together  with  the  furniture 
was  about  sixteen  hundred  dollars.    It  was  finished 


1  Records  of  St.  John's.     MS.  Lntter  of  Rev.  8.  A.  Clark.    Journal  of 
N.  J.  Ep.  CoDvention  for  1867,  p.  75. 


and  consecrated  by  Bishop  Doane  on  April  2,  1850. 
It  was  a  neat  and  commodious  wooden  structure  with 
stained-glass  windows,  spire,  and  bell. 

Shortly  after  the  church  edifice  was  consecrated 
Rev.  Mr.  Clarkson  resigned,  and  removed  to  Fort 
Scott,  Mo.  The  church  was  then  supplied  for  a  few 
months  by  Rev.  Eli  Wheeler  and  Rev.  S.  Chipman 
Thrall.  Rev.  Eugene  A.  Hoffman,  now  Dr.  Hoffman, 
dean  of  the  theological  seminary  in  New  York  City, 
was  instituted  rector  Aug.  24,  1851.  He  resigned 
in  May,  1852,  to  assume  the  rectorship  of  Christ 
Church,  Elizabeth,  to  which  he  had  been  called. 
The  services  were  then  conducted  by  a  lay  reader, 
Mr.  Frederick  Philips,  a  worthy  and  exemplary  citi- 
zen, until  January,  1854,  and  after  his  death,  in  that 
year,  until  Sept.  6,  1855,  by  Mr.  John  J.  Smith.  At 
this  latter  date  Rev.  Mr.  Clarkson,  upon  leave  of 
absence  from  Fort  Scott,  whence  he  had  been  serving 
in  the  capacity  of  chaplain  in  the  United  States  army, 
again  assumed  charge  of  the  parish,  and  remained 
about  six  months.  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Mayers  and  Rev. 
J.  D.  L.  Moore  then  officiated  until  the  spring  of  1857, 
when  Rev.  Clarkson  Dunn  became  rector  of  the 
parish,  and  remained  until  his  death  in  January, 
1870.  Mr.  Dunn  had  previously  been  for  more  than 
thirty  years  rector  of  Christ  Church,  Newton,  N.  J. 
After  his  death  in  1870,  Rev.  Joseph  S.  Mayers  was 
chosen  rector,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  parish 
until  July  31,  1872,  when  he  accepted  a  call  to  St. 
Luke's  Church,  Phillipsburg,  N.  J.  Rev.  James 
Stoddard  succeeded  him  on  Sept.  16,  1872.  During 
the  rectorship  of  Mr  Stoddard  the  church  was  en- 
larged at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  eight  hundred  dol- 
lars, leaving  a  debt  upon  the  parish  of  about  three 
thousand  dollars,  which  has  since  been  only  partially 
liquidated.  He  resigned  April  16,  1876,  and  in  June 
of  that  year  Rev.  J.  F.  Esch  was  instituted  rector, 
resigning  his  charge  Oct.  18,  1877.  Rev.  Henry  E. 
Duncan,  D.D.,  the  present  rector,  assumed  the  duties 
of  his  office  in  January,  1878.  He  had  been  for 
nearly  twenty  years  rector  of  St.  Luke's  Church,  at 
Matteawan,  on  the  Hudson. 

Grace  Church  numbers  about  one  hundred  fami- 
lies and  about  seventy  communicants,  and  has  in  the 
Sunday-school  one  hundred  and  fifty  scholars. 

Trinity  Church  (Protestant  Episcopal)  was 
erected  on  North  Broad  Street  in  1871.  The  prop- 
erty is  valued  at  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars. 
Number  of  sittings  five  hundred.  There  are  in  com- 
munion with  the  church  two  hundred  persons.  The 
rectors  of  Trinity  have  been  Rev.  D.  F.  Warren, 
D.D.,  now  of  Pittsburgh,  Pa.  ;  the  Rev.  Robert  Low- 
rey,  assistant  minister  of  St.  Thomas',  New  York  ;  and 
the  present  rector,  the  Rev.  F.  Marion  McAllister, 
who  took  charge  in  1874.  The  church  edifice  is  a 
neat  and  convenient  structure. 

Second  Presbyterian  Church.— The  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Elizabeth  grew  out  of  the 
"  great  revival  of  1817."     So  numerous  were  the 


228 


HISTOKY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


accessions  to  the  old  church  as  greatly  to  exceed  the 
capacity  of  their  house  of  worship.  During  the  re- 
vival of  1813  a  long-felt  necessity  had  been  met  by 
the  erection  of  a  session-house  on  the  rear  of  the  par- 
sonage lot,  fronting  on  Washington  Street.  The  ex- 
pense was  provided  for  by  voluntary  subscriptions, 
and  the  house  was  opened  for  worship  Sept.  10,  1813. 
At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  and  sessions  of  the  First 
Church  on  Tuesday,  Feb.  29, 1820,  application  having 
been  made  to  that  effect,  arrangements  were  made 
whereby  the  session-house  might  be  used  on  the  Sab- 
bath free  of  rent  for  five  years  by  such  persons  as 
were  desirous  of  forming  a  second  church.  The 
house  was  enlarged  in  the  summer  following.  Sepa- 
rate Sabbath  services  were  commenced  March  26, 
1820.  A  religious  society  was  organized  by  the  elec- 
tion, Oct.  26,  1820,  of  Messrs.  David  Meeker,  John 
Humes,  James  Crane,  Richard  Townley,  Elijah  Kel- 
logg, William  Brown,  and  Elihu  Price  trustees.  A 
church  of  forty-one  members,  all  but  one  from  the 
First  Church,  was  constituted  on  Sunday,  Dec.  3, 
1820,  when  Elihu  Price,  James  Crane,  and  David 
Meeker  were  set  apart  as  elders.  The  same  month 
they  called  as  their  pastor  the 

Rev.  David  Magie. — He  was  a  native  of  Eliza- 
beth Town,  and  this  was  his  only  home  through  life. 
His  father,  Michael  Magie,  was  the  son  of  Joseph 
and  the  grandson  of  John  Magie,  Sr.,  who  came  over 
from  Scotland  during  the  period  of  prosecution,  1685- 
87,  and  purchased  land  just  west  of  the  town  plot. 
His  ancestors  were  noted  for  their  piety  and  Presby- 
terianism.  His  father  married  Mary  Meeker,  and 
both  of  them  were  exemplary  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church.  David  was  born  at  the  rural 
homestead  west  of  the  town  March  13,  1795.  His 
father  died  Jan.  6,  1810.  In  his  will,  dated  Aug.  23, 
1806,  mention  is  made  of  ten  children,  four  daugh- 
ters, Catharine  Potter,  Jane  Brown,  Phebe,  and  Han- 
nah, and  six  sons,  Benjamin,  John,  David,  Joseph, 
Job,  and  Haines. 

David  was  converted  in  the  revival  of  1813,  and  in 
June  of  that  year  was  received  a  member  of  the  First 
Church.  He  prepared  for  college  under  the  super- 
vision of  his  pastor,  Mr.  McDowell,  and  entered  the 
junior  class  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1815. 
He  graduated  in  1817,  and  entered  the  theological 
seminary  at  Princeton.  At  the  expiration  of  a  year 
he  was  appointed  one  of  the  tutors  of  the  college, 
holding  the  post  for  two  years.  In  the  spring  of  1820 
he  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Jersey,  and 
preached  his  first  sermon  April  28th.  During  the 
summer,  having  frequently  preached  for  the  new  con- 
gregation, he  was  invited  to  supply  them  for  six 
months.  He  began  his  stated  ministrations  Oct.  1, 
1820,  with  a  sermon  from  Rom.  xv.  30.  He  was  or- 
dained and  installed  on  Tuesday,  April  24,  1821.  He 
married,  May  7th,  Ann  F.  Wilson,  daughter  of  James 
Wilson,  Esq.,  deceased. 

Measure  were  taken  April  30,  1821,  to  build   a 


house  of  worship.  The  corner-stone  of  the  house  on 
Jersey  Street  was  laid  June  20,  1821,  and  the  house 
dedicated  May  1,  1822.  In  this  his  first  and  only 
pastoral  charge  among  his  own  townsmen  he  contin- 
ued to  labor  as  a  faithful,  godly,  useful,  and  highly 
honored  minister  of  the  gospel  nearly  forty-five  years, 
declining  promptly  several  calls  and  appointments 
to  other  fields  and  spheres  of  labor.  He  received  in 
1842  the  degree  of  D.D.  from  Amherst  College,  and 
during  the  latter  period  of  his  life  filled  several  sta- 
tions of  honor  and  service  in  connection  with  literary 
and  benevolent  institutions.  The  additions  to  the 
church  during  his  ministry  were  six  hundred  and 
fifty-one  on  profession,  and  five  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  on  certificate. 

After  a  period  of  great  bodily  suffering,  protracted 
through  fifteen  months,  full  of  peace,  hope,  and  com- 
fort, he  departed  this  life  May  10,  1865. 

He  was,  indeed,  "  a  model  pastor."  Calm,  genial, 
affectionate,  sympathizing,  abundant  in  labors,  his 
.services  were  welcomed  by  the  whole  people,  and  his 
influence  among  them  gradually  strengthening  from 
first  to  last.  Combining  temperance,  charity,  hu- 
mility, prudence,  sound  judgment,  simplicity,  and 
earnestness,  he  w;is  a  faithful,  persevering,  successful 
laborer  in  the  vineyard  committed  to  his  charge.  He 
preached  and  prayed  with  a  power  and  unction  which 
sank  deep  into  the  hearts  of  his  hearers.  .  .  .  Besides 
several  able  published  discourses  he  was  the  author 
of  "The  Spring-Time  of  Life,"  an  excellent  volume 
of  three  hundred  and  fifty  pages.' 

A  few  months  before  the  decease  of  Dr.  Magie,  the 
Rev.  William  C.  Roberts,  previously  of  Columbus, 
Ohio,  was  installed  co-pastor,  and  continued  in  charge 
until  his  resignation  in  February,  1866,  to  become  the 
pastor  of  the  newly-organized  Westminster  Church. 
The  Rev.  James  B.  Patterson,  for  several  years  pastor 
of  the  Pre.sbyterian  Church  of  Steubenville,  Ohio, 
was  shortly  after  installed  his  successor,  and  is  still 
in  charge  of  the  church.  . 

Westminster  Presbyterian  Church.^— The  West- 
mi  nster  Presbyterian  Church  may  be  regarded  as  a 
colony  from  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 

Some  time  before  the  lamented  death  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Magie,  the  people  of  his  charge  called  a  number 
of  meetings  to  consider  the  expediency  of  altering, 
enlarging,  or  beautifying  their  place  of  worship. 
The  prosperity  of  the  city  and  the  increased  demand 
for  church  accommodation  pointed  to  the  necessity  of 
doing  something  in  that  direction.  Plans  were  more 
than  once  procured  for  the  enlargement  and  improve- 
ment of  the  building,  but  the  congregation  could  not 
unite  in  their  adoption  or  execution. 

After  the  decease  of  Dr.  Magie  the  same  demand 
for  more  pew  accommodation  and  the  rapid  growth 


'  Trustees'  Book  of  First  Clih.    Manual  of  2(i  Chli.    Plerson's  Me- 
jdal.     Wilson's  Presb.  Almanac  for  1866,  pp.  128-31. 
!  By  Wm.  C.  Roberts,  D.U.,  Cliurcli  Manual. 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


229 


of  the  city  forced  the  congregation  to  renew  their 
efforts  to  "  enlarge  the  place  of  their  tent ;"  but  they 
could  not  see  eye  to  eye  as  to  what  ought  to  be  done. 
With  the  view  of  solving  the  difficulty  it  was  pro- 
posed to  sell  the  old  edifice  and  erect  on  some  other 
convenient  site  a  more  extensive  and  commodious 
building;  but  a  majority  of  the  congregation,  for 
the  veneration  they  felt  for  the  place  where  they  had 
worshiped  God  so  long,  were  utterly  oppo.sed  to  the 
measure. 

Seeing  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  secure  una- 
nimity as  to  any  plan  of  rebuilding  or  enlarging,  a 
goodly  number  of  the  congregation,  not  wanting  in 
attachment  for  the  old  sanctuary,  or  in  regard  for  the 
pleasant  memories  of  the  past,  resolved  on  forming 
a  colony  that  should  go  forth,  with  one  heart  and  one 
mind,  to  engage  in  a  new  enterprise  for  the  glory  of 
God. 

Of  the  five  hundred  and  fifty-six  members  enrolled 
on  the  records  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
ninety-three  went  forth,  and  seven  others  with  them 
from  sister  churches,  to  be  organized  as  a  new  family 
of  Christ's  followers. 

Several  informal  preliminary  meetings  were  held 
to  consider  the  interests  of  the  new  colony  and  to 
eftect  its  legal  incorporation,  but  the  first  regular  re- 
ligious meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  William 
P.  Thompson  on  Friday  evening,  the  14th  of  July, 
1865. 

On  the  evening  of  the  .31st  day  of  January,  1866, 
the  congregation  assembled  in  the  Second  Presby- 
terian Church,  when  the  church  was  organized  by  a 
committee  of  the  Presbytery  of  Passaic  appointed 
for  the  purpose,  and  suitable  persons  were  set  apart 
as  its  spiritual  oflScers. 

Of  those  who  engaged  to  walk  together  in  Chris- 
tian love  and  friendship  according  to  the  constitution 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of 
America  the  following  names  were  enrolled,  namely  : 


Richard  T.  Haines.' 
Mrs.  F.  E.  H.  Haines. 
■William  F.  Hnlaey.2 
Mrs.  Frances  E.  HaUey.a 
Cornelius  Baker.l 
Mrs.  Jenett  T.  E.  Baker.i 
Miss  Phebe  Anna  Baker" 
Miss  Henrietta  Baker. 
Miss  Laura  J.  Baker. 
Misa  Julia  Baker.i 
Ebenezer  Plait. 
Mrs.  Anna  M.  Piatt. 
William  P.  Thompson. 
Mrs.  Emily  B.  Thompson. 
William  F.  Day.l 
Mrs.  Mary  Alniira  Day. 
A.  Wooilruff  Kellogg. 
Frederick  K.  Day. 
Henry  Seymonr.2 
Mrs.  Cornelia  B.  Seymour.2 
William  J.  Magie. 
Mrs.  Fanny  B.  Magie. 
A.  W.  Kingsley. 


Miss  Helen  M.  Colton. 

Miss  Rosa  F.  Boylan. 

Miss  Agnes  Coats.- 

Thcimas  P.  Milliean.2 

J.  Harvey  Cory. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Ann  Cory. 

William  H.  Little.2 

Mrs.  Caroline  F.  Little.2 

Miss  .(osephine  K.  Little.2 

Charles  L.  Doe. 

Mrs.  Lizzie  Doe, 

Amos  Clark. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Clark. 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  V.  W.  Pingry. 

James  0.  Pingry. 

John  Pingry. 

Mrs.  Relief  L.  Pingy.i 

Miss  Emily  A.  Clark. 

Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Mulford. 

Miss  Phebe  A.  Clark. 

Mrs.  Eliza  G.  Kittle.' 

Miss  Joanna  G.  Kittle. 

Miss  Helen  I.  Kittle. 


Mrs.  Margaret  W.  De  Witt. 

Jacob  Davis. 

Mrs.  Sarah  H.  Davis. 

Miss  Mary  Fraser.' 

Mi-8.  Elizabeth  R.  Clark. 

Miss  Mary  Lincoln. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Crane.l 

John  V.  Crane. 

Mrs.  Catharine  H.  Crane. 

Miss  Annie  N.Crane. 

Miss  Kate  S.  Crane. 

Mre.  Mary  A.  Re.x. 

Miss  Mary  H.  Smith. 

Miss  Catharine  P.  Darby .2 

Miss  Eliza  D.  Bond. 

Charles  H.  Lord. 

Mrs.  Anna  E.  Lord. 

Mre.  Julia  A.  Austin. 

Mrs.  Jane  W.  Mulford. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Ann  Whittlesey. 

Mrs.  Lucy  C.  Mulligan.* 

Mrs.  Elizabeth  M.  Grove8.« 

William  P.  Mulford. 


Mrs.  Margaret  A.  Kingsley. 
Henry  M.  Baker. 
Mrs  Susan  V.  Baker. 
George  T.  Mulford. 
Mrs.  Fannie  E.  Mulford.' 
Mrs.  E.  M.  Brown. 
Lewis  W.  Oakley. 
Mrs.  Annie  Magie  Oakley. 
Mrs.  Martha  B.  Kellogg. 
Miss  Mary  W.  Kellogg. 
Miss  Clementine  Kellogg. 
Mrs.  Joanna  T.  Whitehead. 
Mahlon  Mulford. 
Mrs.  Anna  P.  Mulford. 
Mies  Elizabeth  Mulford. 
Miss  Fannie  MuUord. 
Miss  Lavinia  B.  Mulford. 
Miss  Mary  B.  Mulford. 
Miss  Julia  V.  Mulford. 
Robert  W,  Townley. 
Mrs.  Eliza  H.  Townley. 
Mrs.  Abby  Baldwin.' 
Mrs.  Caroline  Pierson. 
John  W.  Harrison. 


The  persons  whose  names  are  above  recorded  were 
from  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth. 

The  following  were  from  out  of  town  churches, 
namely  :  Nathan  G.  Brown,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  B.  Brown, 
William  H.  Magie,  Miss  Mary  J.  Peck,  Leander 
Tallmadge,  Mrs.  Ruth  Sutphin,  Miss  Mary  Whiting. 

Mr.  Richard  T.  Haines  and  Mr.  Mahlon  Mulford, 
who  had  been  elders  in  the  Second  Church,  were  duly 
elected  ruling  elders;  and  Mr.  Henry  M.  Baker  and 
Mr.  Henry  Seymour,  deacons. 

After  singing  "  All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name," 
etc.,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Craven,  of  Newark,  preached  a  dis- 
course appropriate  to  the  occasion  from  Rom.  i.  14: 
"  I  am  debtor,"  etc. 

Mr.  Haines  and  Mr.  Mulford  were  then  installed 
elders,  Mr.  Baker  was  ordained  and  installed  deacon 
(Mr.  Seymour  being  absent  in  a  foreign  land),  and 
the  church  was  declared  duly  organized  after  the 
order  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  Rev.  W.  C. 
Roberts  made  the  closing  address,  expressing  his 
sympathy  with  the  movement  and  pledging  his 
prayers  and  co-operation  for  its  success.  The  Dox- 
ology  having  been  sung,  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Rev.  E.  Kempshall. 

On  the  evening  of  Feb.  5,  1866,  a  congregational 
meeting  was  held  in  Library  Hall  for  the  purpose  of 
electing  a  pastor.  The  Rev.  D.  H.  Pierson  was  in- 
vited to  act  as  moderator.  The  Rev.  William  C. 
Roberts,  then  pastor  of  the  Second  Church,  was 
unanimously  elected,  and  a  call  was  made  out  in  the 
requisite  form. 

The  first  Sabbath  services  of  the  new  church  were 
held  in  Library  Hall  on  the  4th  of  March,  1866,  when 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts,  the  pastor-elect,  preached  from 
the  words,  "  The  God  of  heaven,  He  will  prosper  us ; 
therefore  we  his  servants  will  arise  and  build."  Neh. 
ii.  20. 

On  Wednesday  evening,  March  7th,  the  congregation 


230 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


assembled  in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  for  the 
installation  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts  as  their  pastor. 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Ogden,  of  Chatham,  presided  and  pro- 
posed the  constitutional  questions;  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Brinsmade,  of  Newark,  preached  the  sermon  from 
Ezek.  iii.  17;  the  Rev.  Dr.  Craven,  of  Newark,  gave 
the  charge  to  the  pastor ;  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Horn- 
blower,  of  Paterson,  the  charge  to  the  people. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  April  8th,  Mr.  Henry  Sey- 
mour was  ordained  and  installed  deacon  by  the  pas- 
tor. Thus  was  completed  the  organization  of  the 
Westminster  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth.  An 
unusual  degree  of  harmony  and  brotherly  love  pre- 
vailed in  all  the  counsels  and  workings  of  the  con- 
gregation. 

The  first  communion  was  celebrated  in  Library 
Hall,  on  tlie  8th  of  April,  1866,  on  which  occasion 
the  deacons  Baker  and  Seymour  presented  to  the 
church  the  beautiful  communion  service  now  in 
use. 

The  weekly  prayer  and  conference  meeting  was 
held  at  the  house  of  the  pastor  from  the  organization 
of  the  church  to  the  opening  of  the  new  house  for 
religious  worship.  It  grew  from  a  very  small  com- 
pany to  a  large  congregation,  filling  every  foot  of 
space  that  could  be  devoted  to  the  purpose.  Here 
commenced  a  revival  of  religion  early  in  the  spring 
of  1867.  As  the  fruit  of  this  work  of  grace  more 
than  forty  persons  were  received  into  the  communion 
of  the  church.  The  majority  of  these  were  from  the 
Sabbath-school.  The  church  has  been  visited  since 
with  two  seasons  of  special  interest,  increasing  its 
membership  between  sixty  and  seventy,  and  calling 
into  more  lively  exercise  the  graces  of  God's  people. 
None  that  attended  those  meetings  will  ever  cease  to 
feel  that  it  was  good  to  be  there. 

The  board  of  trustees,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Alfred 
De  Witt,  president;  William  F.  Day,  vice-president; 
Amos  Clark,  Jr.,  Jacob  Davis,  A.  W.  Kingsley,  A.  C. 
Kellogg,  and  George  T.  Mulford,  secretary,  were  in- 
structed by  the  congregation  to  select  and  secure  a 
suitable  location  for  the  church.  The  beautiful  site 
on  which  the  edifice  now  stands  having  been  pur- 
chased, plans  for  building  were  procured  and  adopted 
at  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  held  at  the  house  of 
the  pastor. 

On  the  13th  of  .lune,  1866,  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  with  appropriate  religious  exercises.  The  open- 
ing prayer  was  ottered  by  the  Rev.  John  F.  Pingry, 
the  100th  Psalm  was  sung,  introductory  remarks  were 
made  by  Alfred  De  Witt,  Esq.,  and  a  sketch  of  the 
progress  of  the  enterprise  was  read  by  the  Rev.  D.  H. 
Pierson.  The  corner-stone  was  then  laid  by  the  pas- 
tor, with  the  use  of  the  plumb-line,  hammer,  and 
trowel,  accompanied  by  an  address  on  the  propriety 
and  history  of  laying  with  ceremony  the  corner- 
stones of  sacred  and  important  buildings.  The  ex- 
ercises were  closed  by  the  chanting  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer  by  the  children  of  the  Sabbath-school  and  the 


benediction  by  the  venerable  Dr.  King,  for  many 
years  missionary  to  Greece. 

The  cost  of  the  church  buildings  thus  far,  exclu- 
sive of  the  large  tower  and  the  pulpit  furniture,  which 
was  kindly  presented  by  Mrs.  Amos  Clark,  Jr.,  has 
been  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-one  thousand 
dollars.  At  the  time  of  the  completion  of  the  church 
edifice  the  pastor  was  absent  in  pursuit  of  health  in 
a  foreign  land,  and  hence  it  was  resolved  to  delay  the 
formal  dedication  of  it  until  his  return.  The  bouse 
was  opened  for  divine  service  on  the  last  Sabbath  of 
December,  1867.  The  Rev.  John  F.  Pingry  conducted 
the  devotional  exercises ;  the  Rev.  David  Magie,  of 
Penn  Yan,  N.  Y.,  preached  in  the  morning,  from  Eph. 
iii.  21,  and  the  Rev.  D.  H.  Pierson  in  the  evening, 
from  Zech.  iv.  6. 

The  Sabbath-school  and  lecture-room  were  dedi- 
cated to  the  service  of  God  Sept.  3,  1871,  with  an  ad- 
dress by  the  pastor,  from  Luke  vii.  5,  the  reading  of 
Scripture  by  the  school,  an  address  by  Mr.  G.  T.  Mul- 
ford, Mr.  T.  A.  Smith  acting  as  superintendent. 

The  church  was  formally  dedicated  March  17. 1876. 
The  pastor  conducted  the  opening  exercises,  and 
offered  the  dedicatory  prayer ;  Rev.  Dr.  S.  I.  Prime, 
editor  of  New  York  Observer,  delivered  an  address  on 
the  connection  between  the  pa.st  and  present  minis- 
ters of  Elizabeth ;  Rev.  Dr.  Paxton,  pastor  First 
Presbyterian  Church,  New  York,  on  the  conditions  of 
a  prosperous  church  ;  and  Rev.  Dr.  Hall,  pastor  Fifth 
Avenue  Church,  New  York,  on  Christian  work.  The 
benediction  was  pronounced  by  Dr.  Calhoun,  of  Syria. 

We  append  the  following  statistics,  which  will  give 
some  idea  of  the  growth  and  financial  expenditures 
of  the  church,  and  also  furnish  some  data  of  general 
interest : 

Additions  to  the  CommuAion  of  thk  Church. 

Original  members 100 

Received  on  professiou  of  faith 190 

"         by  certifiCHte 253 

443 

Total  number  on  the  roll        643 

Dismissed  to  otlier  churches 82 

Died 30 

—  112 

Present  number  of  commuDicants 431 

Expenses  of  the  Church. 

Lot  and  church  edifice $107,227 

Organ 10,071 

Lecture-room  and  furniture 33,898 

Special  furniture,  books,  etc.,  for  church  and  lecture-room 2,500 

$163,696 
Interest  on  funded  and  floating  debt 17,076 

Total  cost  of  church  and  interest  of  money $170,771 

Current  expenses  in  ten  yeare 79,238 

Total  of  home  expense $250,009 

These  expenses  were  met — 

1st.  By  subscriptions  for  building  and  furnishing  the  church  and 

lecture-room,  iind  interests  on  li.ans 8120,724 

2d.  By  subscriptions  for  funded  and  floating  debt 38,172 

3d.  Pew-rents,  amounting  to 78,249 

4th.  Sabbath  evening  collectionsand  card  coDtributiona 7,964 

5th.  From  city,  for  land  on  Prince  Street 2,400 

6th.  Gifts  from  different  persons 2,500 

Total $260,009 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


231 


Benevolfnt  Contributions. 

812,932 

home 1.5,1(15 

board  of  edm-iitton 6,.5l)8 

church  erection 4,37li 

niiiiisti-rial  iclipf  fuud 3.808 

Board  of  I'uMkation 2,264 

frefdiiieii's  conimiltee 2,.534 

liiltle  and  tract  societies  and  niisceUaneous 18,677 

Total $66,268 

Money  raised  by  the  Ladies'  Society. 


Total $31,025 

Contributions  of  the  Sabbath-school. 
Contributions  during  ten  years $5,464 

Boxes  of  clothing  and  Sabbath-scliool  contributions 
are  included  in  benevolent  contributions. 

Dates  op  General  Interest. 

First  religious  meeting July  14, 1865 

"     trustees  elected "     26.     " 

Church  organized Jan.  31,  1866 

First  eldei-8  elected "    31,1866 

Rev.  William  C.  Roberts  called Feb.  5,  1866 

First  service  as  a  church March    4,    " 

Sabbath-school  organi'/ed '*        4,    '* 

Pastor  installed *'        7,    " 

Ladies' Society  organized "       28,    " 

First  communion April  8,   " 

Churcli  edifice  opened  for  services Dec.  29,  1867 

Sabbath-school  and  lectnre-raom  dedicated Sept.  3, 1871 

Madison  Avenue  Chapel  opened Oct.  4,  1873 

Debt  provided  for Jan.  31, 1876 

Church  formally  dedicated March  17,    " 

Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth.— This 

church  was  organized  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth 
Town  on  Nov.  17,  18.51,  and  was  originally  composed 
of  seventy-six  members,  wlio  had  been  dismissed  in 
equal  proportions  from  the  First  and  Second  Churches 
for  this  purpo.se.  Messrs.  Edward  Sanderson,  Daniel 
Woodruff,  John  D.  Norris,  Benjamin  Ogden,  and 
John  McCord  were  installed  elders. 

Public  worship  was  commenced  by  the  congrega- 
tion in  Collet  Hall  on  Sept.  14,  1851.  The  Rev. 
Robert  Aikman,  previously  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  was  em- 
ployed from  September  21st,  and  having  soon  after 
received  a  call  to  be  their  pastor,  was  installed  by  the 
Presbytery  of  Newark  (to  which  the  church  had  been 
transferred),  March  1, 1852.  The  ground,  formerly  be- 
longing to  Dr.  Isaac  Morse,  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
East  Jersey  and  Bridge  Streets  (one  hundred  and  forty- 
five  by  two  hundred  and  forty-five  feet),  was  purchased 
in  June,  1852,  forSSOO,  and  preparations  made  for  the 
erection  of  a  house  of  worship.  The  cornerstone  was 
laid  Sept.  21,  1862;  the  lecture-room,  or  chapel,  was 
occupied  May  8,  1853,  and  the  house  completed  and 
dedicated  March  28,  1855.  It  is  of  brick,  sixty  by 
one  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  It  fronts  on  Scott 
Place  (late  Bridge  Street),  and  the  audience-room, 
finished  with  galleries,  will  seat  about  nine  hundred 
persons.  The  chapel,  with  a  lecture-room  to  seat  two 
hundred  persons  on  the  first  floor,  and  a  Sunday- 
school  room  and  study  on  the  second  floor,  is  attached 
to  the  rear  of  the  church,  and  fronts  on  Jersey  Street. 
The  property  was  freed  from  debt  in  1865.  The 
church  numbers  more  than  two  hundred  members. 

Marshall    Street    Presbyterian    Church.— This 


church  is  situated  in  that  part  of  the  city  formerly 
known  as  Elizabethport.  A  union  religious  service 
was  commenced  there  in  1836  every  Sabbath  after- 
noon in  an  iron  foundry.  The  Rev.  Abraham  Brown, 
a  Congregational  minister  of  Oxford,  Conn.,  was  em- 
ployed as  a  stated  supply,  and  began  to  preach  Oct. 
6,  1838.  A  Congregational  Church  of  twenty-nine 
members  was  organized  Aug.  7,  1839.  Messrs.  Jona- 
than M.  Ropes  and  Elias  Marsli  were  chosen  deacons, 
and  Maj.  Denman  and  Messrs.  James  C.  Fairbank, 
Joseph  P.  Augur,  Jeremiah  Robinson,  and  Jonathan 
M.  Ropes  were  chosen  trustees.  At  the  same  time 
the  corner-stone  of  the  church  on  Marshall  Street, 
between  First  and  Second  Streets,  was  laid.  The 
house  was  completed  the  following  year. 

Mr.  Brown  died  Oct.  15,  1840,  aged  forty-five. 
Rev.  Jonathan  Huntington  and  others  were  em- 
ployed as  stated  supplies  the  next  eigliteen  months. 
The  Rev.  Oliver  S.  St.  John  was  ordained  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church  June  15,  1842.  The  former 
deacons  having  been  elected  elders  Feb.  9,  1846,  the 
church  was  received,  April  22,  1846,  under  the  care 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  Town.  Mr.  St.  John 
was  dismissed  Oct.  20,  1846,  and  the  pre.sent  pastor, 
Rev.  Edwin  H.  Reinhart,  was  installed  Oct.  26,  1847. 
The  church  has  now  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
members.  Mr.  Reinhart  has  had  a  long  pastorate, 
having  continued  in  the  service  of  the  church  for  a 
period  of  thirty-five  years. 

Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church. — A  num- 
ber of  the  Westminster  congregation,  situated  remote 
from  their  church  in  what  is  known  as  North  Eliza- 
beth, thought  it  expedient  to  begin  a  chapel  in  that 
section  of  the  city  in  1873.  A  further  inducement  to 
take  this  step  was  the  number  of  children  in  the 
neighborhood  without  any  Sabbath-school  privileges 
whatever.  In  order,  therefore,  to  supply  this  desti- 
tution the  Madison  Avenue  Chapel  was  opened  with 
religious  services  Sept.  25,  1873.  The  Sabbath-school 
was  organized  with  thirty  scholars  and  a  good  corps  of 
teachers,  with  many  sympathetic  friends  present.  The 
officers  appointed  by  Westminster  (under  whose  au- 
.spices  the  school  was  organized)  were  Charles  L. 
Doe,  superintendent ;  William  H.  Corbin,  secretary  ; 
Thomas  A.  Doe,  librarian. 

Preaching  began  under  the  patronage  of  Westmin- 
ster, Sept.  1,  1874,  and  continued  as  often  as  it  was 
practicable  until  July,  1875,  when  the  services  of  the 
Rev.  W.  S.  C.  Webster  were  secured.  Mr.  Webster 
was  with  the  people  about  a  year  when,  on  Oct.  1, 
1876,  the  services  of  the  Rev.  A.  L.  Clark  were  i)ro- 
cured. 

On  May  7,  1877,  the  congregation  took  a  very  im- 
portant step,  but  one  which  was  considered  to  be  the 
best  thing  for  the  real  health  and  thorough  independ- 
ence of  the  community.  This  was  the  organization, 
through  the  instrumentality  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Elizabeth,  of  the  church  on  its  own  footing.  Mr. 
Clark,  a  man  of  God,  much  beloved  for  his  piety  and 


2:« 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND    iMIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


devotion,  was  released  from   pastoral  charge  of  the 
church  in  April,  1879. 

On  May  14,  1879,  the  congregation  voted  a  call  to 
the  present  incumbent.  Rev.  C.  E.  Cunningham.    He  [ 
began  his  ministrations  among  them  the  first  Sabbath  [ 
in  September,  and  was  regularly  ordained  and  in- 
stalled as  their  pastor  in  November  following.  i 

This  is  the  briefest  possible  outline  of  a  church  yet  ' 
young  but  vigorous.  The  membership  has  increased  [ 
to  seventy,  and  the  Sunday-school  to  one  hundred  j 
and  ten  scholars  and  fourteen  teachers.  ' 

German  Presbyterian  Church. — The  congrega- 
tion  was  gathered  by  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  John 
Rudolph,  who  graduated  at  the  theological  seminary 
in  Bloomlield,  N.  J.,  in  June,  1875,  and  in  September 
following  preached  his  first  sermon  in  Elizabeth  in 
the  Marshall  Street  Presbyterian  Church.  With  the 
view  of  gathering  a  new  congregation  a  hall  was 
rented  on  the  corner  of  Third  and  Fulton  Streets 
Nov.  15,  1875.  The  movement  proved  a  success 
from  the  outset,  and  the  hall  was  occupied  for  re-  1 
ligious  services  until  September,  1878,  when  the  new 
church  was  dedicated,  an  American  clergyman.  Rev. 
Dr.  Roberts,  preaching  the  sermon  on  the  occasion  in 
the  German  language.  The  church  property  is  val- 
ued at  about  ten  thousand  dollars.  A  parsonage  was  ' 
built  in  1881.  ! 

The  church  at  first  consisted  of  forty  members;  it  , 
now  numbers  one  hundred  and  fifty.  From  thirty- 
six  members  at  the  beginning  the  Sunday-school 
has  increased  to  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  elders 
of  the  church  are  Henry  Pfaerer,  F.  Schomburg,  and 
F.  Hilderbrant. 

Rev.  Mr.  Rudolph  was  born  in  Germany,  where  he 
pursued  a  regular  college  course.     He  studied  theol-  i 
ogy  at  Bloomfield,  N.  J.     He  is  the  editor  of   Tlie 
German  Evangelist,  the  organ  of  the  German  Presby- 
terians, now  published  at  Newark. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Churches  of  Elizabeth.— 
Until  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  war  two  churches 
only  had  been  organized  within  the  village  of  Eliza- 
beth Town,  the  First  Presbyterian  and  St.  John's 
Episcopal.  Soon  after  the  war  the  town  was  visited 
occasionally  by  traveling  preachers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  persuasion.  Bishop  Asbury,  on  passing 
through  the  town,  preached  by  invitation,  Sept.  6, 
1785,  in  the  unfinished  Presbyterian  Church.  Either 
then  or  shortly  after  a  society  was  gathered  and 
taken  under  the  care  of  the  Conference.  Of  this 
society  one  of  the  earliest  and  most  eflicient  mem- 
bers was  the  wife  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Morrell.  This 
worthy  couple  originated  in  Newtown,  L.  I.,  but  at 
an  early  day  took  up  their  abode  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  where  they  resided  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century.  Mrs.  Morrell  was  one  of  the  small  com- 
pany who  were  induced  to  hear  Philip  Embury,  the 
carpenter,  preach  in  his  own  house  at  New  York  in 
the  year  1766,  the  earliest  American  Methodist 
preacher.    She  was  converted,  and  had  the  honor  of 


being  enrolled  in  the  first  Methodist  cla-ss  in  America. 
In  1772  Mr.  Morrell  removed  to  this  town,  and  with 
his  wife  united  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell.  At  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Methodist  society  Mrs.  Morrell  re- 
turned to  the  people  of  her  first  love,  and  became  one 
of  the  principal  supports  of  the  society. 

The  first  who  ministered  to  this  handful  of  people 
(for  such  they  were  for  many  years)  were  circuit 
preachers,  appointed  by  the  General  Conference, 
generally  two  by  two,  in  the  order  following: 

The  appointments  by  the  General  Conference  to 
the  Elizabeth  Town  Circuit  were  as  follows  : 


17S7.  Kniiert  Cloud,  ThomBs  Mor- 
rell. 

178S,  John  McCluskey,  Simoo 
Pile. 

1789.  John  Merrick,  .John  Cooper. 

1790.  Jethro  JohusoD,  Gamaliel 
Bailey. 

1791.  No  record. 

1792.  John  Clark,  Joseph  Totten. 

1793.  John  Ragan,  MeoKiea  Ray- 

1794.  John    Clark,    Hezekiab    C. 

Wooster. 

1795.  Sliadrach  Bostwick,  Robert 
Hutchinson,  William  Storma. 

1796.  John  Fountain,  Albert  Van 
Nostrand. 

1797.  John  Clark,  Timothy  Mer- 
ritt,  John  Seward. 

1798.  James  Tolleson,  Samuel 
Thomas,  Thomas  Morrell. 

1799.  Thomas  Evenird,  David  Bar- 


18U0.  Joseph  Totten,  Jesse  Justice. 
1801    Joseph      Totten,      William 
Mills. 

1802.  Joseph  Totten,  William 
Mills. 

1803.  Samuel     Thomas,      George 
'          WooUey,  Joseph  Stevens. 

1804.  Thomas  Morrell,  Benjamin 
I          Hit),  Samuel  Budd. 

180.5.  Peter  Vanuest,  David  Bar- 
tine. 

18U6.  William  McLenahan,  David 
Bartine. 

1807.  James    Moore,    Jacob    Hev- 

1808.  James  Moore,  Thomas  Strat- 
ton. 

18D9.  William      Smith,     Thomas 

Stratton,  John  Sharpley. 
1810.  William  Mills,  Jacob  Hev- 


With  the  exception  of  the  year  1821,  when  Joseph 
Lybrand  received  the  appointment,  no  preachers  were 
assigned  to  the  Elizabeth  Town  Circuit  from  1811  to 
1822.  Mr.  Morrell  during  this  period  preached 
regularly  on  the  Sabbath,  aided  by  the  preachers  on 
the  Essex  Circuit.  In  1823,  Samuel  S.  Kennard,  and 
in  1824  Robert  Lutton  were  stationed  here.  From 
1825  to  1838  Thomas  Morrell  was  classed  among  the 
"  supernumerary  preachers  in  connection  with"  this 
church,  and  from  1825  to  1853  the  following  preach- 
ers were  stationed  here  ■ 

1826.  Thomas  B.  Sargent. 

1826.  Thomas  B.  Sargent. 

1827.  Joseph  Holdich . 

1828.  Joseph  Huhlich. 

1829.  Daniel  Parri»h. 
1830    Edmund  S.  Janes. 

1831.  Edmund  S.Janes. 

1832.  William  A.  Wilmer. 

1833.  Edwin  L  Janes. 

1834.  William  H.  Gilder. 

1835.  James  Buckley, 

1836.  James  Buckley. 

1837.  George  A.  Raybold. 

1838.  Isaac  N.  Felcli. 

1839.  Isaac  N.  Felcb, 

In  1852  a  second  church  was  commenced  at  Eliza- 
bethport,  and  located  on  Fulton  Street,  now  known 
as  the  Fulton  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
For  the  next  five  years  the  appointments  were  as  fol- 
lows: 


1840.  Robert  Lutton. 

1841.  Robert  Luttun. 

1842.  Ale.<lander  Gilmore. 

1843.  Jo.seph  Aslibrook. 
1844    Joseph  Ashbrook. 

1845.  James  0.  Rogers. 

1846.  James  O.  Rogers. 

1847.  Richard  B.  Weslbrook. 

1848.  Richard  B,  Westbrook. 

1849.  Thomas  McCarroll. 

1850.  Thomas  McCarroll. 

1851.  Lewis  K.  Dunn. 

1852.  Lewis  R,  Dunn. 

1853.  Alexander  H.  Mead. 


THE   CITY   OP   ELIZABETH. 


233 


1854. 
18.56. 
1856, 
18.57, 
1858. 


■Alexander  H.  Mead,  E.  Town;  Igaac  Trotter,  E.  Port. 

-Jauies  Ayiirs,  "       "        Jotiatlian  B.  Heward,  "      " 

— Jolin  Ogden  Winner,  "        "         Albert  H.  Brown,  "      " 

J.din  Ogden  Winner,  "        "        Honice  S,  Bishop,  "      '• 

Richard  Vanhorne,      "        '*        Jeremiatl  Cowins,  **      " 


In  1859  a  new  enterprise  was  started  in  Mechanic 
Street,  known  as  St.  Paul's  Church,  since  which  time 
the  appointments  for  tlie  three  ciiurches  have  been  as 
follows,  in  the  order  of  time, — Water  Street.  Fulton 
Street,  and  St.  Paul's  : 

1859.— Ricliard  Vanliorne,  George  F.  Dickinson,  Jolin  F.  Dodd. 

1860  —Dallas  D.  Lore,  George  F.  Dickinson,  Edward  W.  Adams. 

1861.— Dallas  D.  Lore,  John  F.  Hurst,  Edward  W.  Adams. 

1862.— George  H.  Whitney,  John  F.  Hurst.  Elliei  t  Clement. 

1863.— J..hn  r.  Hurst,  Chnrles  S.  Coit,  James  N.  Fitzgerald. 

1864.— John  F.  Hurst,  Charles  S.  Coit,  Zylvester  N.  Belwut. 

1865.— Ricliard  B.  Lockwood,  Sylvester  H.  Opdyke,  Alexander  L.  Brice. 

1866 —Richard  B.  Lockwood,  Sylvester  H.  Opdyke,  Alexander  L.  Brice. 

1867.— Benjamin  Kelley,  James  I.  Boswell,  Alexander  L.  Brice. 

1868.— Benjamin  Kelley,  James  I.  Boswell,  Sanford  Van  Benschotten. 

Thus  far  the  record  has  been  furnished  by  Dr.  Hat- 
field. We  add  the  appointments  which  have  been 
made  since  1868,  following  the  same  order, — Water 
Street  (since  called  Elizabeth  Avenue),  Fulton  Street, 
and  St.  Paul's: 

1869.— BenjamiEi  Kelley,  James  I.  Boswell,  Sanford  Van  Benschotten. 

1870.— B.  S.  Arndt,  J.  Winsor,  L.  R.  Dunn. 

1871.— R  S.  Arndt,  J.  Winsor,  L.  R.  Dunn. 

1872.— R.  S.  Arndt,  J.  Winsor,  J.  N.  Fitzgerald. 

1873.— R.  Harcourt,  C.  C.  Winans,  J.  N.  Fitzgerald. 

1874.— R.  Harcourt,  C.  C.  Winans,  J.  N.  Fitzgerald. 

In  1875  the  Park  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
formed,  and  W.  L.  Hoagland  appointed  to  the  charge. 
After  that  the  appointments  were  up  to  1877  in  the 
order  named : 

1876.— R.  B.  Yard,"  Elizahelh  Avenue;  J.  \V.  Young,  Fulton  Street; 

James  Montgomery,  St.  Paul's;  W.  L.  Hoagland,  Park  Church. 
1876.— J.  W.  Seran,  Elizabeth  Avenue ;  Nicholas  Van  Sant,  Fulton  Street ; 

James  Montgomery,  St.  Paul's;  W.  L.  Hoagland,  Park  Church. 

In  1877  the  Elizabeth  Avenue  and  St.  Paul's 
Churches  were  merged  in  St.  James',  and  the  new 
organization  purchased  the  property  and  house  of 
worship  known  as  the  Broad  Street  Baptist  Church, 
on  the  corner  of  Broad  and  Williamson  Streets. 
Since  then  the  appointments  have  been  as  follows  : 

Nicholas  Van  Sant,  Fulton  Street ; 


Nicholas  Van  Sant,  Fulton  Street; 


Fulton   Street; 


Street; 


1877.— Janie-s  Montgomery,  St.  Jan 

W,  L.  Hoagland,  Park  Church 
187S.— Henry  Spellmeyer,St.  Jame 

Charles  E.  Little,  Park  Church. 
1879. — Henry  Spellmeyer,  St.  James';    Charles  Lare 

Charles  E.  Little,  Park  Church. 
1880.— Henry  Spellmeyer,  St.  James';  Charles   Laiew,   Fulti 

Charles  E.  Little,  Park  Church. 
1881.— A.  H.  Tuttle,  St.  James';  Charles  Larew,  Fulton  Street;  T.  H. 

Landon,  Park  Church. 

We  add  the  following  statistics  for  1881 : 
St.   James'  Church :    Membership,    350 ;    Sunday- 
school  scholars,  350  ;  value  of  church  property,  §50,- 
000. 

Fulton  Street  Church  ;  Membership,  325 ;  Sunday- 
school  scholars,  270;  value  of  church  property, 
$12,000. 

1  Mr.  Yard  died  soon  after  his  appointment,  and  W.  B.  Keifer  was  a))- 
pointed  to  till  the  vacancy. 


Park  Church:  Membership,  160;  Sunday-school 
scholars,  250;  value  of  church  property,  S16,000. 

There  are  two  other  Methodist  Churches  in  the 
city,  of  recent  origin,  viz.:  Mount  Teman  African 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Rev.  Mr.  Williams, 
pastor,  holding  services  in  school-house  No.  4,  not 
now  used  for  school  purposes,  but  rented  to  the  society ; 
and  a  German  Methodist  Church  at  the  Port,  Rev. 
Albert  Gratz,  pastor. 

Among  those  to  whose  labors  the  society  in  its  in- 
fancy was  under  greatest  obligations  was  the 

Rev.  Thomas  Morrell.— He  was  the  eldest  child 
of  Jonathan  Morrell,  and  wa.s  born  at  Kew  York, 
Nov.  22,  1747.  His  father  was  a  native  of  Newtown, 
L.  I.,  and  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Morrell,  who  was  at 
Gravesend,  L.  I.,  in  1650,  and  at  Newtown  as  early  as 
1655,  where  he  died  about  1704,  leaving  four  sons, — 
Thomas,  Samuel,  Joseph,  and  Jonathan.  One  of 
these  four  was  the  father  of  Jonathan,  and  the  grand- 
father of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Morrell.  The  father  was 
a  merchant,  and  from  the  time  of  their  coming  to  this 
town,  in  1772,  the  son  had  a  partnership  in  the  busi- 
ness. When  tidings  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached 
the  town  a  company  of  volunteers  was  immediately 
gathered,  of  which  he  being  among  the  foremost  was 
chosen  captain.  He  was  in  command  of  one  of  the 
boats  that  captured  the  "  Blue  Mountain  Valley"  off 
Sandy  Hook,  Jan.  23,  1776.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  measures  that  were  adopted  to  protect  the  town 
and  neighborhood  during  the  following  summer  and 
autumn  against  the  British  and  Hessians. 

In  June,  1776,  he  received  a  captain's  commission, 
with  orders  to  muster  a  company  of  seventy-eight 
men  and  report  to  Gen.  Washington,  then  at  New 
York.  Two  companies  of  militia  were  parading  in 
front  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Young  Morrell 
gave  them  an  earnest  talk  and  then  called  for  volun- 
teers. So  effective  was  his  eloquence  that  in  five 
minutes  his  quota  was  filled,  many  of  them  being  of 
the  most  respectable  families  in  the  town.  They  were 
equipped  and  ready  at  New  York  for  service  six 
days  after  the  declaration  of  independence.  They 
were  attached  to  the  New  Jersey  Brigade,  under 
Gen.  Heard,  of  Woodbridge,  and  in  the  fatal  en- 
gagement at  Flatbush,  Aug.  27,  1776,  were  nearly 
cut  to  pieces.  Capt.  Morrell  fell  severely  wounded, 
and  barely  escaped  with  his  life.  He  was  removed 
first  to  New  York,  and  then  to  his  father's  house  in 
this  town,  where  he  remained,  unable  to  report  for 
duty,  until  the  advent  of  Cornwallis  and  his  army  of 
invasion,  when  he  found  a  refuge  at  the  house  of  Rev. 
Jonathan  Elmer  at  New  Providence.  Soon  after  he 
was  appointed  a  major  in  the  Fourth  Jersey  Regiment, 
and  served  through  the  campaign  of  1777,  or  until  the 
attack  on  Germantown,  Pa.,  Oct.  3, 1777,  in  which  he 
took  an  active  part.  He  also  distinguished  himself 
In  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  Sept.  11,  1777.  His 
health  had  now  become  so  much  impaired  that,  with 
the  reluctant  assent  of  Washington,  who  highly  es- 


234 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    iMIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,    NEW  JERSEY. 


teemed  him,  he  withdrew  from  military  service,  and 
resumed  his  mercantile  pursuits,  in  which  he  con- 
tinued thenceforward  nearly  ten  years. 

The  change  which  then  ensued  is  best  told  in  his 
own  words,  as  recorded  in  his  journal  : 

"In  the  month  of  October,  1785,  I  was  awakened  by  the  preaching  of 
the  Rev.  John  Hugelty,' and  in  March,  1786,  received  the  witness  of 
God's  Spirit  of  my  acceptance.  In  June,  1786,  I  began  to  preach  as  a 
local  preacher  in  Elizabeth  Town,  and  in  several  parts  of  the  circuit. 
In  March,  1787,  I  bepan  to  ride  as  a  traveling  preaclier,  and  rode  on 
Klizabeth  Town  Circuit  [twenty  months]  with  Robert  Cloud.  At  the 
ConfHreuce  in  New  York,  in  October,  1788,  I  was  ordaiued  deacon 
[nearly  forty-one  years  old],  and  appointed  to  the  Trenton  Circuit, 
with  John  Merrick  and  Jethro  Johnson.  At  the  June  Conference  in 
New  York.  1789,  was  ordained  an  elder,  and  appointed  for  that  city,  with 
Brother  (.'loud,  who  was  with  me  twelve  mouths,  and  Brother  Merrick 
four  months." 

He  continued  at  New  York  most  of  the  time  for 
nearly  five  years,  residing  at  No.  32  John  Street. 
During  the  first  six  months  he  built  the  Forsyth 
Street  Church,  the  funds  for  which  he  raised  himself. 
The  church  was  dedicated  Nov.  8,  1789.  A  great  re- 
vival followed,  re.sulting  in  four  hundred  conversions 
and  two  hundred  accessions  to  the  society  within  nine 
weeks  from  Jan.  1,  1790.  At  the  Conference  in  1790 
he  was  apjiointed  presiding  elder  for  the  district,  in- 
cluding New  Y'ork,  Elizabeth  Town,  Long  Island, 
New  Rochelle,  and  Newburgh  Circuits. 

In  the  winter  of  1791-92  he  traveled  with  Bishop 
Asbury  through  the  Southern  States.  He  was  sta- 
tioned several  months  at  Charleston,  and  returned  to 
New  York  in  June,  1792.  In  March,  1794,  he  left 
the  city  and  retired  to  Elizabeth  Town,  having  found 
in  the  society  at  New  York  in  1789  about  three  hun- 
dred members,  and  left  above  eight  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  following  winter  he  was  stationed  at  Philadelphia, 
but  in  consequence  of  a  severe  illness  was  laid  aside 
about  four  years.  His  excellent  mother  was  taken 
from  him  July  30,  1796,  in  her  sixty-eighth  year.  In 
1799  he  was  .stationed  at  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  remained 
two  years.  In  May,  1801,  though  appointed  to  New 
York,  he  returned  home  and  remained  a  year.  In 
1802,  with  his  newly-married  wife,  he  consented  to 
be  stationed  at  New  York,  but  in  February,  1804,  he 
retired  from  the  itinerant  connection  and  became  a 
permanent  resident  of  this  town.  His  venerable  father 
closed  a  long  and  useful  life  Sept.  25,  1805,  in  his 
eightieth  year,  having  been  a  consistent  member  of 
the  church  for  forty  years. 

The  "  meeting-house"  of  the  Methodist  society  had 
been  built  soon  after  the  organization  of  the  church, 
directly  east  of  and  almost  adjoining  his  own  house,  on 
Water  Street,  a  short  distance  below  the  Adelphian 
Academy,  that  occupied  in  early  days  the  site  of  the 
present  spacious  market-house.  It  was  a  small,  un- 
pretending frame  building,  adapted  to  the  wants  of  a 
feeble  congregation.  In  this  humble  structure  Mr. 
Morrell  took  delight,  once  at  least  every  Sabbath,  in 


t  Then  stationed  at  New  York  City,  and  the  following  two  years  pre- 
siding I'lder  of  the  district. 


preaching  "  a  free  and  full  salvation"  to  all  who  came. 
At  the  time  of  his  return  to  the  town  Mr.  Austin  was 
preaching  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  When  the 
congregation  voted  against  continuing  him  in  their 
service,  his  friends  procured  for  him  the  use,  during 
the  afternoon  and  evening  of  every  Sabbath,  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  and  at  an  expense  of  fifty  pounds, 
obtained  by  subscription,  finished  the  gallery  of  the 
church.  The  division  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
brought  ijuite  a  number  of  families  to  attach  them- 
selves to  the  lively  and  energetic  ministry  of  Mr. 
Morrell  after  Mr.  Austin's  final  removal  from  the 
town. 

During  a  period  of  more  than  thirty-four  years 
from  the  time  of  his  locating  here  Mr.  Morrell  con- 
tinued in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties  a-s  a 
Christian  minister,  rarely  failing  to  preach  once  every 
Sabbath  until  his  eighty-seventh  year.  As  "  Father 
Morrell"  he  was  known,  revered,  and  greatly 
honored  by  all  classes  of  people  in  the  town,  many 
from  the  other  churches,  the  young  as  well  as  the  old, 
resorting  frequently  to  hear  the  old  soldier  discourse 
of  the  great  salvation.  He  took  an  active  part  in  all 
measures  for  the  improvement  of  the  town,  and  es- 
pecially for  the  advancement  of  religion.  On  all 
patriotic  occasions — Fourth  of  July  celebrations  and 
the  like — he  was  sure  to  be  present.  During  the  war 
of  1812-15  his  counsels  and  other  services  were  freely 
tendered  and  were  invaluable.  So  late  as  July  4, 
1828,  at  fouricore  years  of  age,  he  delivered  an  oration 
in  the  Presbyterian  Church,  full  of  patriotic  fire  and 
worthy  of  the  occasion. 

After  the  completion  of  his  fourscore  years  and  ten 
he  wrote,  Jan.  1,  1838,  in  his  admirably-kept  journal 
as  follows: 

'•  Through  the  tender  mercy  of  God  I  have  lived  to  see  tlie  beginning 
of  another  year,  being  now  ninety  yearn,  one  month,  and  nine  days  old, 
— a  longer  period  than  any  of  our  family  have  lived.  I  have  many 
things  to  be  thankful  for,  my  life  being  prolonged  to  so  advanced  an 
age,  having  the  faculties  of  my  mind  in  perfect  exerci..<e,  my  health 
tolerably  good,  sleep  sound,  appetite  good,  my  wife  iti  health,  my  chil- 
dren all  religious  and  in  health,  my  son  successful  as  a  preacher,  my 
soul  devoted  to  God,  and  everything  in  plenty  of  temporal  thing:^. 
Would  to  God  I  was  more  thankful,  more  holy,  more  heavenly-minded. 
This  morning  I  have  devoted  my  soul  and  body  to  God;  and  though  I 
am  unable  to  prearh  as  formerly,  yet  I  am  endeavoring  by  grace  to  walk 
with  God.  The  church  here  is  in  a  low  state.  Lord,  revive  thy  work 
in  my  soul,  and  in  our  and  the  olher  churches,  for  Christ's  sake  I  Amen 
and  Amen." 

On  the  9th  of  August,  1838,  after  a  severe  illness  of 
six  months'  duration,  he  fell  asleep  in  perfect  peace, 
having  lived  ninety  years,  eight  months,  and  seven- 
teen days,  and  having  been  a  faithful  and  honored 
minister  of  the  gospel  more  than  fifty-two  years. 

He  was  a  man  of  marked  [personal  a|)pearance. 
"He  was  rather  short  in  stature,  but  strongly  built. 
His  neck  was  short,  his  head  not  large,  his  eye  bright 
and  blue,  his  lips  thin,  and  his  whole  appearance  in- 
dicative of  much  more  than  ordinary  firmness.  He 
always  wore  a  covering  on  his  head,  like  a  sinoking- 
ca]),  from  beneath  which  his  hair  fell  gracefully  on 


THE  CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


-'35 


his  neck.  For  his  age  his  step  was  quick  and  his 
conversation  vivacious.  He  was  neat  in  person,  and 
always  appeared  as  if  dressed  for  company.  He  wore 
a  long  frock-coat,  buttoned  to  his  chin,  and,  without 
the  least  ostentation,  was  a  man  of  tlie  old  school.  | 
His  memory  was  retentive  to  the  last,  and  his  senses  [ 
unimpaired  by  years." 

He  was  thrice  married.  The  name  of  his  first  wife,  i 
whom  he  married  about  Oct.  1,  1769,  has  not  been 
preserved.  She  was  the  mother  of  two  children, — 
Elizabeth  B.  (born  July  22,  1770,  and  died  Feb.  2, 
1799)  and  Catherine  (born  Feb.  29,  1772,  married 
Benjamin  Wade,  and  died  Nov.  21,  1800,  "rejoicing 
in  the  hope  of  a  blissful  immortality").  The  date  of  i 
her  death  has  not  been  ascertained.  t 

He  married  again  (Bishop  Asbury  officiating)  May  j 
24,   1802,   Lydia,  a  daughter  of  George   Frazee,  of  1 
Westfield.     She  was  born  March  20,  1774,  and  had 
three  children, — Francis  Asbury  (born  June  4,  1804, 
and  died  Sept.  11, 1805),  Catherine  (born  Oct.  31, 1805,  j 
and  married  to  Rev.  William  A.  Wilmer),  and  Fran- 
cis Asbury,  second  (born  July  27,  1807,  and  married 
Mary,  a  daughter  of  Jonathan  Griffith).     The  latter  | 
was  a  worthy  minister  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  : 
Church.'     Mrs.  Lydia  Morrell  died  Oct.  11,  1808. 

The  bereaved  husband  then  married,  at  Belleville, 
N.  J.,  Oct.  4,  1809,  Eunice,  the  widow  of  Theodorus 
James   Hamilton,  a   well-known    merchant   of    this  ' 
town.     She  was  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Uzal  Woodruff  j 
and  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  of  Samuel  Ogdeu  and 
Hannah  Hatfield.    Their  only  child,  Eunice  Theodo-  | 
sia  (born  Dec.  13,  1811),  became,  April  12,  1838,  the 
second  wife  of  the  Hon.  Apollos  Morrell   Elmer,  of  ' 
this  town,  a  grandson  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer.   Mrs.  | 
Morrell  outlived  her  husband  about  twelve  years.' 

First  Baptist  Church,  Elizabeth.'— In  1844,  El- 
kanah  Drake,  a  thorough  Baptist,  and  a  member  of 
the  church  at  Mount  Bethel,  came  to  Elizabeth.  Being 
zealous  for  the  cause,  but  few  months  elapsed  before 
he  established  a  Baptist  meeting  in  the  "  Select  School" 
room  in  Union  Street.  Rev.  John  Wivell,  pastor  at 
Scotch  Plains,  is  said  to  have  preached  the  first  sermon 
to  seven  or  eight  persons.  Then  supplies  were  ob- 
tained for  a  time  and  preached  to  congregations  vary- 
ing from  twelve  to  eighteen.  Then  came  a  young 
Brother  Seeley,  a  licentiate  and  student,  who  spent 
some  time  endeavoring  to  develop  and  concentrate  i 
the  little  Baptist  strength  of  the  community. 

On  June  5,  1842,  delegates  from  eight  Baptist 
Churches  of  the  vicinity  convened  in  the  "  Select 
School"  room  as  a  council,  and  fifteen  persons  having 
presented  letters  from  the  Baptist  Churches  of  Rah-  ] 


1  Died  at  Long  Branch,  N.  J.,  Dec.  12, 1S81,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year 
of  his  age.    His  remains  were  interred  at  EIiz»hetti,N.  J.,  December  loth. 

2  Spnigue's  Annals,  vii.  145-60.  Walieley's  Lost  Chapters  of  Ameri- 
can Metllodism,  397-401,  etc.  N.  J.  Jonrnal,  Nos.  892,  1142,  1144,  1354. 
N.  J.  Conference  Memorial,  pp.  9-22.  MS.  Letters  of  Rev.  F.  A.  Morrell 
and  Mr.  F.  King.     Liltell'a  Passaic  Valley,  p.  15U. 

3  By  J.  C.  Allen,  pastor. 


way.  Mount  Bethel,  and  Scotch  Plains,  it  was  resolved 
"That  we  proceed  to  recognize  this  body  as  a  Gospel 
Church."  The  names  of  the  fifteen  were  as  follows: 
Isaac  Ball,  Sarah  Ball,  Mary  E.  M.  Ball,  John  W. 
Boyleston,  Catharine  Boyleston,  Elkanah  Drake, 
Sarah  Drake,  Elizabeth  Faitoute,  David  S.  Higgins, 
Margaret  Higgins,  Rebecca  Higgins,  Caleb  Jeffrey, 
Julia  Jeffrey,  Rachel  Ketcham,  and  Martha  Williams. 
Of  these,  Margaret  Higgins  and  Sarah  Drake  are  still 
members  of  the  church.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boyleston  and 
Mrs.  Ketcham  have  removed  from  town.  The  rest 
have  gone  to  their  reward. 

Recognition  services  were  held  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  day  on  which  the  council  met.  Rev.  E.  M.  Bar- 
ker, of  Samptown,  preached  the  sermon  ;  Rev.  John 
Wivell  gave  the  hand  of  fellowship;  and  Rev.  D.  T. 
Hill,  of  Plainfield,  addressed  the  church.  The  same 
day  David  S.  Higgins  was  chosen  deacon  and  Elkanah 
Drake  clerk  of  the  church. 

June  7th  the  church  was  received  into  the  East 
New  Jersey  Baptist  Association,  and  was  also  prom- 
ised by  the  Board  of  the  State  Convention  one  dollar 
for  every  Sabbath  they  should  have  preaching.  The 
board  continued  to  aid  the  church  for  twelve  years, 
the  amount  of  the  appropriations  varying  according 
to  the  necessities  of  the  case.  In  a  little  while  the 
church  began  to  contribute  to  the  treasury  of  the  Con- 
vention, though  still  receiving  aid  themselves.  The 
total  amount  received  from  the  Convention  was 
$1111.83.  One  of  the  first  requisites  for  the  new 
church  was  a  place  of  worship.  This  was  secured  by 
the  purchase  and  remodeling  of  the  select  school 
room.  So  promptly  did  they  act  that  the  building 
was  dedicated  Nov.  16,  1843,  Rev.  S.  H.  Cone,  D.D., 
preaching  the  sermon  from  2  Cor.  viii.  9.  This  build- 
ing was  occupied  about  fourteen  years.  The  title  was 
first  held  by  individual  brethren,  but  on  Feb.  15,  1845, 
the  Society  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  was  organized, 
and  has  since,  by  its  official  representatives,  conducted 
the  financial  affairs  of  the  church.  The  society  was 
incorporated  April  25,  1848. 

Sept.  20,  1843,  Charles  Cox  was  called  as  the  first 
pastor.  He  was  ordained  Jan.  23,  1844 ;  the  next 
Lord's  Day  the  first  baptism  in  the  history  of  the 
church  took  place.  The  pastor's  wife  and  Miss  Ann 
Holton  were  baptized  in  Elizabeth  Creek;  a  large 
concourse  gathered  to  witness  the  ordinance,  and 
many  of  the  residents  of  this  stronghold  of  Pedo- 
baptists  saw  a  scriptural  baptism  for  the  first  time. 
During  the  brief  but  faithful  ministry  of  Mr.  Cox 
the  church  increased  to  thirty-one  members,  and  a 
Sunday-school  was  organized  in  the  latter  part  of 
1844. 

Rev.  Edward  Conover  was  the  next  pastor.  A  se- 
ries of  meetings  in  the  winter  resulted  in  quite  a 
number  of  conversions;  but  the  doctrines  preached 
by  Mr.  Conover  being  objectionable  to  many  he  soon 
closed  his  labors. 

The  next  experience  of  the  church  was  sadly  un- 


236 


HISTORY    OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


fortunate.  A  licentiate,  Mr.  Tibbals,  was  settled  as 
pastor,  but  soon  developed  strong  Antinomian  doc- 
trines and  was  obliged  to  leave;  but  so  strong  was 
his  influence  that  the  church  was  forced  to  exclude 
several  who  held  his  views. 

After  a  period  in  wliich  Rev.  Joseph  Perry  supplied 
the  pulpit,  Rev.  William  H.  Yuston  was  called  to  the 
pastorate.  The  work  before  him  was  largely  recupera- 
tive, and  faithfully  did  he  perform  that  work.  During 
his  pastorate  a  debt  of  eight  hundred  dollars  was  paid, 
and  he  left  the  church  in  a  much  better  condition 
every  way. 

Again  Mr.  Perry  supplied  the  church  for  a  season, 
and  then  Rev.  J.  H.  Waterbury  became  pastor.  He 
was  an  earnest,  prayerful,  faithful  minister,  and  his 
labors  told  for  God  and  for  .souls. 

The  church  also  began  to  plan  greater  things  for 
God  and  the  truth,  and  some  steps  were  taken  towards 
securing  a  more  eligible  site  and  building  a  new  house 
of  worship.  With  the  advice  of  the  Convention  Board 
and  aid  of  several  prominent  Baptists  of  the  State,  a 
lot  was  purchased  at  Jersey  Street,  and  the  pastor 
was  commissioned  to  raise  money  to  build  the  house. 
This  work  was  but  half  done  when  he  was  prostrated 
by  disease  which  resulted  in  his  death.  This  defeated 
the  building  enterprise. 

Through  some  misunderstanding  the  church  and 
the  Convention  now  became  estranged,  and  the  board 
of  the  Convention  feeling  that  Elizabeth  was  a  dis- 
couraging field  for  Baptists  withdrew  the  aid  which 
from  the  lowness  of  the  treasury  it  could  scarcely  give 
under  any  circumstances. 

The  small  and  struggling  church  now  united  with 
the  Lyons  Farms  Church  in  supporting  a  pastor  and 
sharing  his  labors.  Under  this  arrangement  Rev.  T. 
S.  Rogers  served  as  pastor  two  years.  But  the  church 
was  not  harmonious,  financial  difliculties  increased, 
and  the  church-life  reached  a  very  low  ebb  in  all 
respects.     Even  disbanding  was  seriously  proposed. 

But  in  June,  1857,  Rev.  I.  N.  Hill  was  secured  as 
pastor,  and  the  drooping  interests  began  to  revive. 
He  served  nearly  two  years,  during  which  time  the 
church  became  united,  and  a  lecture-room  was  built 
in  Jersey  Street  at  a  cost  of  over  three  thousand  dol- 
lars. Sept.  28,  1858,  Rev.  Rufus  Babcock,  D.D., 
preached  the  dedication  sermon,  and  the  baptistery 
was  used  on  the  following  Sabbath. 

Rev.  George  W.  Clark  next  assumed  charge  as  pas- 
tor. The  church  had  thus  far  been  afflicted  with  most 
of  the  evils  and  few  of  the  advantages  of  an  itinerancy 
in  the  pastorate.  But  happily  a  change  was  now  in- 
augurated, the  wisdom  of  which  is  fully  sustained  by 
the  subsequent  history  of  the  church.  Under  the 
wise  direction  of  Brother  Clark  the  church  increased 
in  numbers  and  in  real  efficiency.  While  previously 
some  slight  attention  had  been  given  to  benevolent 
objects,  now  a  "  Missionary  Concert"  was  regularly 
maintained,  and  in  1864  a  plan  for  systematic  benevo- 
lence was  inaugurated  for  the  first  time  in  the  history 


of  the  church.  In  1865  a  debt  of  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  dollars  was  paid,  and  the  church  was  enabled 
to  enter  more  fully  into  spiritual  work.  The  fruit  was 
the  first  really  extended  revival  enjoyed,  and  during 
the  year  1866  a  large  number  were  baptized.  The 
church,  so  small  and  feeble  before,  was  still  by  no 
means  large,  yet  the  same  year  witnessed  the  with- 
drawal of  forty-eight  members  to  constitute  a  new 
interest,  now  known  as  the  Central  Baptist  of  Eliza- 
beth. The  following  year  Brother  Clark  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  to  the  ninth  pa.storate  by  Rev.  Theodore 
A.  K.  Gessler.  He  brought  youthful  vigor  and  con- 
secrated talent  to  his  work,  and  with  a  band  of  help- 
ers, much  improved  by  the  judicious  training  of  Dr. 
Clark,  went  on  to  dare  and  do  in  Zion.  It  soon  became 
evident  that  a  larger  and  more  tasteful  edifice  was 
needed  if  the  church  would  realize  the  highest  effi- 
ciency, and  to  this  work  both  pastor  and  people  ad- 
dressed themselves.  It  had  been  intended  to  erect  a 
building  in  front  of  the  chapel  so  long  occupied  in 
Jersey  Street,  but  other  counsels  prevailed.  The 
result  was  the  sale  of  the  old  property  and  the  erec- 
tion of  the  fine  and  commodious  structure  now  occu- 
pied by  the  church  on  the  corner  of  Union  Avenue 
and  Prince  Street.  The  entire  cost,  including  lot, 
was  in  round  numbers  sixty-four  thousand  dollars, 
of  which  nearly  thirty  thousand  was  left  unprovided 
for,  to  become  in  time  a  source  of  serious  trouble.  It 
is  at  present  an  open  question  whether  the  property 
will  be  saved  to  the  church  or  not,  but  the  trustees 
are  hopeful  and  all  are  determined  to  "  Hold  the 
Fort"  if  possible. 

The  dedication  services  were  held  Jan.  3,  1872. 
Sermons  were  preached  by  Rev.  Drs.  H.  M.  Gallagher 
and  P.  S.  Henson.  Addresses  were  made  by  several 
others,  and  the  prayer  of  dedication  was  offered  by 
the  pastor. 

In  1871  thirteen  members  were  dismissed  to  organ- 
ize a  new  church  at  Elizabethport. 

In  1874  the  Lord  poured  out  his  Spirit  upon  the 
people  most  graciously,  and  as  a  result  sixty-three 
were  baptized.  Brother  Gessler  continued  his  labors, 
receiving  additions  to  the  church  from  time  to  time, 
until  Jan.  1,  1880,  when  he  removed  to  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  He  left  a  united  people,  whose  cordial  esteem 
he  carried  with  him,  and  whose  warm  hearts  were 
ready  to  welcome  his  successor  to  the  tenth  pastorate. 

Feb.  22,  1880,  Rev.  J.  C.  Allen  entered  upon  the 
pastoral  charge.  What  the  result  of  this  union  will 
be  is  known  only  to  the  Great  Head  of  the  church. 

The  following  brethren  have  served  the  church  as 
deacons:  David  S.  Higgins,  Hull  Holton,  Isaac  F. 
Littell,  David  Richardson,  Benjamin  Winans,  J.  J. 
Coyne,  J.  M.  Lathrop,  George  C.  Stone,  Jonathan 
Ives,  C.  H.  Rollinson,  James  Noxon,  W.  H.  Pooler. 

The  following  have  acted  as  clerks  of  the  church  : 
Elkanah  Drake,  John  Brittin,  David  Richardson, 
Eugene  Suyder,  B.  J.  Spaulding,  John  Tetlow,  J.  A. 
Wolverton,   James   Sloan,   A.    W.    Dimock,   W.  W. 


THE   CITY   OP   ELIZABETH. 


237 


Weaver,  James  Randall,  George  Peters,  E.  S.  New- 
berry, T.  J.  RuDyon,  A.  J.  Bicknell. 

The  present  officers  of  the  church  are  :  Pastor,  J. 
C.  Allen  ;  Deacons,  Jonathan  Ives,  James  Noxon,  C. 
H.  RoUinson,  W.  H.  Pooler;  Clerk,  John  Brittin; 
Superintendent  of  Sunday-schools,  William  B.  Da- 
land  ;  Treasurer,  E.  C.  Jewett. 

The  church  is  sound  in  the  faith  and  united  in 
heart.  Its  comparative  progress  is  shown  in  the 
following : 


Tabular  View  of  the  History 
Jime  5,  1843,  number  of  constituent  mernbi 
The  pastoral  office  lias  been  filled  as  follov 
.nnexed  respectively  to  each  name  : 


B,  and  with  the   additit 


Rev.  Charles  Co.\,  Jan.,  1844,  to  April.  1845 13|     6'. 

"     Edward  Conover,  .luiy,  1845,  to  Dec.  1846 8|ll!i. 

'■     E.  Tibbals, ,  1847, ,. 

"     Wni.  H.Turton,  Feb.,  1S4S,  to  Sept.,  18.50 '     V,     1 

"    J.  H   Waterbnry,  March,  lS51,t.i  Jan,  1855 22(141 

"     T.  S.  Rogers,  April,  lSo5,  to  April,  1S57 7  

"     I.  N.  Hill,  June,  1867,  to  April,  IS.'iB W     7. 

"     George  W.  Clark,  June,  ISo'J,  ^l  March,  1867 117    81 

"    Theo.  A.  K.  Gessler,  Ang.,1868,  to  Dec,  1870 144  148 

"    J.  C.  Allen,  Feb.,  1880 3      3  . 

3  during  periods  not  covered  by  any  pastorate...      6    14 


.  338  286,  32  656 


Total  number  of  persons  having  been  connected  with  the  church,  671. 
Present  membership,  279. 

Broad  Street  Baptist  Church.— A  church  under 
this  name  was  organized  in  August,  1866,  and  wor- 
shiped at  first  in  the  large  hall  of  the  court-house. 
The  corner-stone  of  a  church  edifice  on  East  Jersey 
Street  was  laid  April  23,  1868.  In  June,  1867,  Rev. 
D.  Henry  Miller,  D.D.,  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  was  chosen 
pastor.  He  entered  upon  his  work  in  November,  and 
was  installed  Dec.  19,  1867.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  H.  M.  Gallagher,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  who  was 
the  last  pa.stor. 

The  church  got  heavily  in  debt  and  broke  up,  the 
property  being  sold  in  1866  upon  foreclosure  of  a 
mortgage  of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars.  It  was 
bought  in  by  Joseph  Battin,  and  held  some  time  in 
hopes  that  the  church  would  be  able  to  redeem  it. 
But  this  not  being  done  it  was  finally  exchanged  with 
the  Methodists  for  two  other  church  buildings,  one 
on  East  Jersey  Street  and  one  on  Elizabeth  Avenue. 
The  Broad  Street  Baptist  Church  edifice  is  now  occu- 
pied by  St.  James'  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

The  Central  Baptist  Church  of  Elizabeth  was 
organized  in  1877  with  sixty  members;  George  W. 
Kiersted.  J.  Madison  Watson,  Thomas  O.  Conant, 
deacons.  The  first  trustees  were  Frederick  Foster, 
Adam  D.  Coykendall,  J.  Madison  Watson. 

Rev.  John  McKinney,  the  present  and  only  pastor, 

is  a  graduate  of  Brow'u  University  in   the  class  of 

1874,  and  of  Rochester  Theological  Seminary  in  the 

class  of  1877.    He  was  ordained  and  installed  Oct.  19, 

16 


1877,  on  which  day  the  church  was  formally  recog- 
nized as  a  regular  Baptist  Church.  At  present  they 
worship  in  a  rented  church  building,  corner  of  Jeffer- 
son and  East  Jersey  Streets.  The  membership  of  the 
church  is  one  hundred  and  forty-one ;  Sunday-school, 
one  hundred  and  fifty. 

Fourth  Baptist  Church.— In  the  year  1873  a  few 
colored  members  of  the  Baptist  Church  desired  to 
have  services  and  a  regular  pastor.  A  hall  was  hired, 
and  since  then  they  have  met  regularly  in  the  Library 
Hall  on  Broad  Street.  Their  membership  is  about 
forty.     Rev.  C.  Miller  is  their  present  pastor. 

East  Baptist  Church,  situated  on  corner  of  First 
Avenue  and  Fulton  Street.  This  church  was  organ- 
ized in  1878.  The  membership  is  small,  about  thirty. 
Rev.  H.  W.  Jones  supplied  them  for  a  few  months, 
when  Rev.  W.  H.  Marshall  came,  and  remained  until 
I  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Adam  Chambers,  came,  in 
1880.  They  have  the  prospect  of  increasing,  having  a 
good  congregation  and  quite  a  large  Sabbath-school. 

Roman  Catholic— St.  Mary's  Church.'— Al- 
though the  borough  of  Elizabeth  is  one  of  the  oldest 
settlements  in  New  Jersey,  still  the  Catholic  Church 
cannot  boast  of  having  made  any  progress  within  her 
borders  until  comparatively  late  years.  The  Catholic 
missionary  in  search  of  the  scattered  sheep  of  the 
fold  would  pass  her  by,  unable  to  discover  within  her 
limits  the  object  of  his  search.  In  the  year  1829 
three  Catholics  were  known  to  reside  in  this  town, 
who,  when  their  religious  principles  were  discovered, 
were  obliged  to  leave,  as  no  employment  would  be 
given  them.  The  first  influx  of  Catholicity  was 
caused  by  the  construction  of  the  New  Jersey  Rail- 
road in  the  year  1833 ;  and  by  this  means  the  inhabit- 
ants, instead  of  being  disabused  of  their  prejudices, 
became  scandalized  at  the  inebriety  and  other  vices 
and  excesses  of  the  laborers  who  professed  themselves 
Catholics,  and  thus  their  antipathy  to  religion  in- 
creased. The  construction  of  this  work  aroused  the 
dormant  energies  of  the  neighborhood.  An  impetus 
was  given  to  agricultural,  manufacturing,  and  com- 
mercial pursuits.  Laborers  were  in  demand.  Necessity 
and  interest  overcame  proscriptive  intolerance.  The 
proscribed  race  was  received  into  employ,  in  the  hopes 
that  it  would  be  enlightened.  Those  who  were  weak 
enough  to  deny  their  faith  were  indulged  in  their  ex- 
cesses, and  evidences  that  they  did  are  unfortunately 
in  numerous  cases  permanently  existing;  but  those 
whose  sense  of  rectitude  withstood  the  tempting  offer 
endured  as  long  as  necessity  or  interest  compelled 
them  the  taunts  of  their  persecutors,  and  then  left  their 
places  to  those  whose  indigence  compelled  them  to 
accept  any  situation  that  oti'ered.  During  the  time 
of  the  construction  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad,  and 
also  of  the  Central  Railroad,  the  sick-calls  were  at- 
tended to  by  the  late  Rev.  P.  Moran,  then  the  only 


1  The  principal  part  of  this  church  history  is  substantially  that  pre- 
pared by  the  fii-9t  pastor.  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Howell,  and  published  in  1866. 


238 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


priest  in  Newark.  In  tlie  year  1842  Rev.  Yidephon- 
SU8  Medrano,  then  stationed  on  Staten  Island,  visited 
the  few  scattered  Catholics  in  this  neighborhood.  He 
celebrated  for  them  occasionally  the  rites  of  religion  ; 
but  unfortunately  the  only  place  he  could  procure  for 
the  purpose  was  a  low  tavern  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
town,  and  his  visitations  were  attended  by  the  most  un- 
favorable circumstances,  not  only  to  his  own  personal 
interest,  but  also  to  the  most  vital  interests  of  religion. 
A  few  pious  Catholics  wept  over  the  degraded  condi- 
tion to  which  religion  was  reduced,  their  most  stren- 
uous efforts  to  elevate  it  having  proved  ineffectual. 
In  the  fall  of  1843  several  of  the  most  zealous  visited 
the  Bishop  of  New  York,  the  late  lamented  Arch- 
bishop Hughes;  he  encouraged  them  by  promising 
them  that  he  would  in  the  spring  send  them  a  priest. 
In  the  spring  of  1844  he  ordained  and  sent  to  them 
their  present  pastor,  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Howell,  with  in- 
structions to  visit  that  section  of  the  country  and 
report  on  the  possibility  of  establishing  a  mission  at 
Elizabethtown  and  another  at  Railway.  After  con- 
siderable difficulty  a  small  room  in  a  house  near  the 
town  was  procured  in  which  to  celebrate  mass.  On 
Palm  Sunday,  1844,  a  congregation  of  twenty-five 
assembled  to  greet  their  pastor  and  assist  at  the 
sacred  rites  of  religion. 

During  the  year  1844  there  was  somewhat  of  an 
increase  in  the  congregation,  and  a   collection  was 
commenced  in  the  fall  to  purchase  a  lot  on  which  to 
build  a  church.     In  April,  1845,  the  basement  wall 
of  St.  Mary's  of  the  Assumption  was  laid,  and  by  the 
first  Sunday  of  the  next  Advent  a  substantial  brick  - 
church,  fifty  feet  square,  was  sufficiently  completed  to  : 
accommodate  the  congregation,  which  by  this  time 
had  increased  to  about  one  hundred.     The  funds  for  I 
the  purchase  of  the  lot  were  contributed  by  the  con-  I 
gregation,  but  those  for  the  construction  of  the  build- 
ing were  the  charitable  offerings  of  the  faithful  in 
New  York,  and  of  the  different  congregations  in  East  ' 
New  Jersey,  and  particularly  from  the  laborers  on  the 
Morris  Canal,  solicited  by  the  untiring  exertions  of 
the  pastor.     No  sooner  was  the  sign  of  our  salvation  | 
erected  on  the  new  edifice  than  the  Catholic  popula-  ' 
tion  began  to  increase,  and  in  a  few  years  the  church 
became  too  small.     In  the  year  1847  the  German  por- 
tion of  the  congregation  erected  an  edifice  for  them- 
selves, and  in  a  short  time  were  blessed  with  a  pas  or 
of  their  own.     In  the  year  1851  a  substantial  brick 
school-house,  two  stories  high,  was  erected  alongside 
of  St.  Mary's  Church.     In  the  year  1858  collections  | 
were  commenced  for  the  enlargement  and  remodel- 
ing of  the  church  and  the  erection  ol'  a  pastoral  resi- 
dence  in   the  rear,   fronting  on   Race  Street.      The 
spring  of  1862  found  the  work  completed,  and  now  a 
beautiful  church,  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  feet 
long  by  sixty-six  feet  wide,  and  a  .spacious  pastoral 
residence  evince  the  zeal  and  charity  of  the  congre- 
gation.    In  the  meanwhile  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
city  was  not  idle.     The  Catholics  at  the  Port  deter-  i 


mined  to  have  a  church  of  their  own;  and  soon,  under 
the  untiring  exertions  of  their  pastor.  Rev.  M.  M. 
Wirzfeld,  and  the  liberality  of  the  flock,  a  spacious 
church,  school-house,  and  pastoral  residence  arose  as 
if  by  magic.  In  1844  the  entire  population  of  Eliza- 
bethtown was  about  five  thousand,  the  Catholic  pop- 
ulation only  twenty-five.  In  the  year  1866  the  entire 
population  of  the  city  of  Elizabeth  was  about  fifteen 
thousand,  and  the  Catholic  population  about  four 
thousand.  Probably  the  increase  has  been  in  about 
the  same  proportion  to  the  present  date. 

In  the  year  1849  a  substantial  brick  school-house, 
two  stories  high,  was  erected  alongside  St.  Mary's 
Church.  In  the  year  1858  collections  were  com- 
menced for  the  enlargement  and  remodeling  of  the 
church  and  the  erection  of  a  pa.storal  residence  in 
the  rear,  fronting  on  Race  Street.  The  spring  of 
1862  found  the  work  completed,  and  now  a  beautiful 
brick  edifice,  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  feet  long 
by  sixty-six  feet  wide,  and  a  spacious  pastoral  resi- 
dence evince  the  zeal  and  charity  of  the  congregation. 
In  the  meanwhile  the  church  was  built  at  Elizabeth- 
port.  The  value  of  St.  Mary's  Church,  thirty-five 
thousand  dollars  ;  sittings,  seven  hundred;  communi- 
cants, two  thousand. 

The  first  pastor  was  Father  Isaac  P.  Howell,  1844- 
66;  Father  Kane,  1866-72;  Father  Thebaud,  1872-82. 
Assistant  priest,  Fatlier  Tallon. 

St.  Mary's  Parochial  School,  connected  with 
this  church,  was  founded  by  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Howell, 
the  first  pastor.  The  building  is  of  brick,  three 
stories  in  height,  and  was  erected  in  1861.  In  1868 
a  new  front  was  added  to  it.  The  school  is  supported 
entirely  by  the  parish,  and  receives  no  aid  from  State 
or  city.  There  are  six  class-rooms  and  six  teachers, 
the  higher  branches  being  taught  by  Mr.  Thomas  F. 
Coleman  and  the  others  by  the  Sisters.  The  number 
of  scholars  enrolled  is  three  hundred  and  fifty,  with 
an  average  attendance  of  three  hundred. 

The  parish  numbers  about  two  thousand  persons. 
The  pastors  have  been,  first.  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Howell, 
who  died  in  1865;  then  Rev.  Michael  Kane,  who  re- 
linquished his  charge  early  in  1872;  and  lastly  the 
present  pastor.  Rev.  Leo  Thebaud,  who  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  the  pastorate  in  the  autumn  of  1872. 

St.  Michael's  Church. — Services  preparatory  to 
the  gathering  of  the  congregation  of  St.  Michael's 
were  first  held  in  1855  by  the  Rev.  Father  Balleis, 
O.S.B.,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  He  continued  his 
ministrations  for  a  time,  and  was  succeeded  by  several 
other  missionary  priests  from  the  same  city  until  1858, 
when  the  Rev.  Father  Wirzfeld  was  appointed  pastor. 
Two  other  zealous  and  laborious  pastors  have  since 
had  charge  of  the  parish,  viz. :  the  Rev.  Henry  Lemke, 
from  1860  to  1870,  and  since  the  latter  date  the  present 
pastor,  the  Rev.  Albert  von  Schilgen. 

The  congregation  first  worshiped  in  a  rented  roem 
on  Elizabeth  Avenue,  and  afterwards  built  a  frame 
church  on  Smith  Street.     The  building  is  now  used 


THE   CITY   OF   ELIZABETH. 


239 


for  the  parochial  school,  aud  in  connection  therewith  ] 
has  been  erected  a  house  for  the  Sisters  of  Christian  | 
Charity,  who  are  employed  as  teachers.     While  on 
the   subject  of  the  school   we   may  add  that  these 
Sisters  are  four  in  number,  three  having  charge  of 
the  day  school  and  one  of  the  industrial  school  of  the 
parish.     They  are  from  the  mother  school  at  Wilkes-  | 
barre,  Pa.     The  number  of  pupils  in  the  school  is  I 
one  hundred  and  ninety-seven. 

The  present  St.  Michael's  Church  is  an  elegant 
brick  edifice  on  the  corner  of  East  Jersey  and  Smith  i 
Streets,  erected  at  a  cost,  exclusive  of  the  church  and 
parsonage  lots,  of  thirty  thousand  dollars;  that  is,  the 
church  has  cost  that  sum  already,  though  the  prin- 
cipal tower  is  not  erected.  The  foundation  is  just 
being  laid  for  the  parsonage  adjoining  the  church. 

There  are  connected  with  the  congregation  one 
hundred  and  twenty  families,  while  two  hundred  aud 
thirty-three  children  receive  instruction  in  the  Sun- 
day-school. 

St.  Pateick's  Church. — The  corner-stone  of  this 
church  was  laid  Sept.  26,  18.58,  by  the  Rev.  Father  ^ 
M.  A.  M.  Wirzfeld,  who  also  officiated  at  St.  Michael's. 
The  parochial  school  was  established  in  1860,  at  which  ! 
time  the  school-house,  still  occupied,   was  erected. 
The  new  building  of  St.  Patrick's  Parochial  School 
was  erected  in  1880,  and  will  probably  be  occupied 
some  time  during  the   year   1882.     The  cost,  when 
completed,   will    be    about    fifty   thousand    dollars.  '• 
It  is  the  finest  brick  structure  in  this   part  of  the 
city,  and  occupies  a  site  adjoining  the  church  and 
the  parochial  residence.     The  school  contains  about 
nine  hundred  pupils,  taught  by  nine  Sisters  of  Char- 
ity and  one  male  teacher,  who  has  charge  of  the  high- 
est boys'  class. 

Nearly  one  thousand  families  are  connected  with 
the  parish,  and  its  varied  cares  and  duties  render  the 
life  of  the  pastor  by  no  means  an  ea.sy  one.  While 
attending  to  the  daily  wants  of  his  numerous  flock, 
visiting  the  sick,  burying  the  dead,  and  administer- 
ing the  stated  and  special  services  of  his  church,  he 
is  also  extensively  engaged  in  building,  and  has 
charge  of  a  large  cemetery  belonging  to  the  parish 
(Mount  Olivet  Catholic  Cemetery),  situated  about 
three  miles  north  of  the  city,  iu  which  interments 
began  to  be  made  in  1871.  The  following  have  been 
pastors  of  the  church  :  Rev.  M.  A.  M.  Wirzfeld,  Rev. 
Patrick  Hennessy,  Rev.  Patrick  Cody,  and  the  present 
pastor,  Rev.  Martin  Gessner. 

St.  Joseph's  Academy,  with  an  academic  and  in- 
dustrial school,  on  the  corner  of  First  Street  and  Mag- 
nolia Avenue,  is  also  connected  with  St.  Patrick's, 
and  is  under  eight  teachers  of  the  Sisters  of  St.  Dom- 
inick. 

St.  Henry's  Church. — This  parish  became  a  sep- 
arate charge  from  St.  Michael's,  under  the  ministry 
oB  the  Rev.  Henry  Lemke,  about  1869.  It  was  in- 
corjjorated  April  18,  1871,  the  trustees  being  John 
Gilinary  Shea  and  Edward  Ives.     The  parish  is  com- 


posed of  about  two  hundred  families  and  a  parochial 
school  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  scholars. 
The  school  was  established  by  Rev.  Father  Lemke 
in  1869,  and  was  at  first  held  in  the  Convent  of  St. 
Walburga  adjoining,  but  in  1872  the  present  build- 
ing was  erected.  It  is  two  stories  with  French  roof, 
the  lower  floor  being  used  as  St.  Henry's  Chapel. 
The  upper  floor  consists  of  four  class-rooms,  over 
which  are  four  Sisters  from  the  convent.  The  con- 
vent belongs  to  the  Sisters  of  St.  Bernard,  of  whom 
there  are  eighteen,  having  a  mission  at  Carlstadt, 
N.  J.,  and  at  Easton,  Pa.  St.  Walburga's  Select 
School  is  taught  by  two  Sisters  at  the  convent,  and 
numbers  twenty-four  scholars. 

Since  Father  Lemke  two  pastors  have  been  in 
charge  of  the  parish,  viz. :  Rev.  Father  Athanasius, 
and  since  November,  1880,  Rev.  Father  Augustine 
Wirth.  The  latter  is  quite  a  voluminous  writer, 
having  a  series  of  several  volumes  now  in  progress. 

First  Congregational  Church.— This  church  was 
built  in  1866.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Wolcott  was  the  first 
pastcjr,  and  during  the  building  held  services  in  a 
hall.  The  Ijuildini;  is  a  Gothic  frame,  costing  about 
fifteen  thousand  dollars,  situated  on  First  Street. 
Membership,  one  hundred ;  accommodation,  five  hun- 
dred. The  next  pastor,  Rev.  S.  Rossitars,  came  in 
1871,  and  remained  four  years.  The  present  pastor, 
Rev.  Thomas  Heywood,  came  in  1876. 

Siloam  Presbyterian  Church. —This  colored 
church  was  organized  in  the  year  1867,  and  supplied 
by  a  number  of  pastors  who  remained  for  a  short 
time.  Much  of  their  help  financially  has  come  from 
the  other  churches,  and  their  building  erected  a 
few  years  ago  with  accommodations  of  about  three 
hundred  and  membership  of  seventy.  The  present 
pastor  Rev.  William  Carr,  1080  Elizabeth  Avenue. 

German  Presbyterian  Church,  situated  on  First 
Avenue  and  near  the  Central  Railroad  line  or  track. 
They  built  a  Gothic  frame  church  in  1879,  costing 
about  seven  thousand  dollars,  with  accommodations 
of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  and  membership  of 
forty-seven.  Their  pastor,  Rev.  Otto  Rudolph,  whose 
labors  among  them  is  the  means  of  drawing  good 
congregations. 

German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church.— The 
first  services  of  this  church  were  held  by  a  minister 
from  Switzerland,  Rev.  William  Ferdinand  Wirz,  in 
1856.  Some  question  arose  as  to  his  being  a  Lu- 
theran clergyman,  but  he  was  chosen  as  pastor  of  the 
congregation.  Services  were  held  in  the  upper  part 
of  a  private  building  on  the  corner  of  Division  and 
High  Streets.  In  1857  ground  was  purchased  for  a 
church  ;  it  was  built  in  the  latter  part  of  1878,  and 
dedicated  in  the  spring  of  1879.  Since  the  first  min- 
ister the  following  have  officiated  as  pastors :  Rev. 
William  Meynicke,  Rev.  G.  Mantz,  Rev.  Christian 
Reichenbecher,  Rev.  Frederick  Stuecklin.  The  latter 
has  been  pastor  since  1867. 

About  one  hundred  and  sixty  families  are  connected 


<240 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


with  the  parish  ;  communicants,  four  hundred  and 
fifty ;  Sunday-school  scholars,  three  hundred  and 
forty.  The  parish  supports  a  day  school  with  an  av- 
erage attendance  of  seventy,  in  which  German  and 
English  are  taught. 

German  Moravian  Church  of  Elizabeth. — This 
church  was  organized  by  Rev.  Christian  Neu  in  1867, 
and  for  about  two  years  worshiped  in  the  mission 
chapel  corner  of  Smith  and  Martin  Streets,  near  the 
cross-roads.  The  corner-stone  of  their  church  edifice 
on  Seventh  Street  was  laid  May  17,  18G9,  and  the 
structure  was  completed  that  year  at  a  cost  of  thirteen 
hundred  dollars.  It  is  a  wooden  building,  capable 
of  seating  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  two  hundred  and  fifty  ;  Sunday- 
school,  one  hundred  and  forty-five. 

Rev.  Mr.  Neu  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  Na- 
gle  as  pastor,  who  remained  a  little  over  three  years. 
The  present  pastor.  Rev.  John  Praeger,  was  settled 
over  the  church  in  August,  1876.  He  is  a  native  of 
Wiirtemberg,  Germany,  and  preaches  in  the  German 
language. 

Missions. — Besides  the  above  churches,  there  are 
in  the  city  the  following  missions  : 

St.  John's  Mission,  No.  1. — Superintendent,  J. 
A.  Dix. 

St.  John's  Mission,  No.  2. — Superintendent,  W. 
P.  Roberts. 

Third  Avenue  Mission. — Superintendent,  John 
Mandeville. 

Christ  Church  Mission. — 802  Elizabeth  Avenue. 

Ceoss-Road  Mission. — Joseph  Alward,  superin- 
tendent. 

Good  Will  Mission. — John  Beale,  superintend-- 
ent. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


GEN.  ELIAS    DAYTON, 

of  Elizabethtown,  was  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  war 
of  the  Revolution,  and  for  many  years  a  leading  res- 
ident of  that  historic  locality,  where  he  was  born  May 
1,  1737. 

The  family  from  which  he  sprang  originated  at 
Maidstone,  on  the  east  bank  of  the  river  Medway, 
in  County  Kent,  England.  Ralph  Dayton,  the  an- 
cestor of  the  family  in  this  country,  came  thence  to 
Boston  at  an  early  period,  but  finally  settled  near 
East  Hampton,  L.  I.,  where  he  died  in  1667.  Robert, 
his  son,  aged  eighty-four,  died  in  1712.  Capt.  John 
Dayton  was  a  lineal  descendant  of  Ralph  Dayton, 
and  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch. 
He  was  a  weaver  by  trade,  possessed  of  many  marked 
characteristics,  and  one  of  the  most  patriotic  and  in- 
fluential residents  on  Long  Island  in  his  day.  He 
lived  two  miles  from  East  Hampton.  Jonathan,  his 
son,  located  at  Elizabethtown  about  the  year  1700, 


where  he  wa-s  one  of  the  pioneer  settlers  and  a  prom- 
inent citizen.  He  was  the  father  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch. 

Gen.  Dayton  entered  the  military  service  of  the 
province  as  a  lieutenant  March  19,  1759,  and  was 
made  captain  March  29,  1760,  serving  with  the  Brit- 
ish troops  in  the  French  war  on  the  frontiers,  in  the 
regiment  known  as  the  "Jersey  Blues."  He  partici- 
pated in  the  battle  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham  at  the 
gates  of  Quebec  on  Sept.  13,  1759,  and  was  present 
at  the  surrender  five  days  after.  In  1764  he  was  sent 
on  special  service  in  command  of  an  expedition 
against  the  Northern  Indians  near  Detroit.  A  jour- 
nal kept  by  him  during  the  five  months  he  passed  in 
that  wild  region  is  still  in  existence,  and  is  full  of 
exciting  interest.  The  objects  of  the  expedition  were 
accomplished,  and  he  received  official  commendation 
for  his  success.  After  the  disbandment  of  the  pro- 
vincial forces  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in 
his  native  town,  where  he  became  an  alderman,  and 
upon  the  occurrence  of  the  troubles  with  the  mother- 
country  soon  after  was  active  in  determining  the  peo- 
ple to  stand  by  the  Bostonians.  In  December,  1774, 
he  was  chosen  at  a  meeting  of  the  town  freeholders 
to  be  a  member  of  the  "  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence and  Observation,  to  favor  the  more  vigorous 
prosecution  of  the  measures  recommended  by  Con- 
gress." His  father,  Jonathan,  who  was  then  over 
seventy-four  years  of  age,  served  on  the  same  com- 
mittee. In  the  fall  of  1775,  when  recruiting  for  the 
Continental  army  was  begun,  he  was  api)ointed  mus- 
ter-master, and  assisted  in  the  organization  of  the 
first  two  regiments  raised  in  the  province.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1776  Congress  directed  that 
the  Third  Regiment  be  raised  in  New  Jersey,  and 
elected  Mr.  Dayton  to  be  its  colonel.  On  the  23d  of 
January,  1776,  he  signalized  himself  by  fitting  out  at 
Elizabethport  an  expedition  of  three  armed  boats 
and  one  hundred  and  ten  men,  with  which  in  con- 
junction with  a  boat  and  forty  men  under  Lord  Stir- 
ling he  captured  the  British  transport  ship  "  Blue 
Mountain  Valley,"  which  lay  in  the  lower  bay  of 
New  York  loaded  with  supplies  and  necessaries  for 
the  British  army.  The  prize  was  brought  to  Eliza- 
bethport, and  a  resolution  of  thank?  to  the  captors 
was  passed  by  Congress.  In  April,  1776,  Col.  Dayton 
was  given  command  in  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk, 
where  he  quelled  the  Toryism  which  had  been  fostered 
by  the  activity  of  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  kept  a 
check  on  the  Indians  of  the  "Six  Nations"  in  that 
locality.  He  built  Fort  Schuyler  on  the  site  of  old 
Fort  Stanwix  at  Rome,  and  Fort  Dayton  at  Her- 
kimer. In  the  close  of  the  year  he  took  part  in  the 
defense  of  Ticonderoga  and  Mouut  Independence, 
after  which  his  regiment  was  returned  to  New  Jersey, 
and  was  brigaded  with  the  Continental  troops  under 
Gen.  Maxwell.  Col.  Dayton  continued  to  serve  with 
great  bravery  in  the  later  campaigns  of  the  array. 
Sept.  11,  1777,  he   had   his   horee   shot  under  him. 


CITY   OF   KAHWAY. 


241 


at  the  battle  of  the  Brandy  wine ;  at  the  battle  of 
Germantown,  Oct.  4,  1777,  he  had  another  horse 
killed  under  him.  In  the  winter  of  1777-78  he 
was  posted  at  Elizabethtown,  and  put  in  super- 
vision of  the  secret  service  for  Gen.  Washington, 
getting  information  of  the  enemy's  condition  and 
movements.  In  June,  1779,  he  served  under  Gen. 
Sullivan  in  the  campaign  against  the  "  Six  Na- 
tions," near  Eluiira,  N.  Y.  The  following  winter 
he  served  under  Gen.  Washington  in  his  movements 
against  the  British  stationed  on  Staten  Island,  and  in 
the  campaign  of  1780  he  participated  in  the  skir- 
mishes at  Elizabethport  and  vicinity,  performing 
illustrious  service  at  Connecticut  Farms  and  S|)ring- 
field,  N.  J.  Soon  after  the  battle  of  Springfield  Gen. 
Maxwell's  resignation  was  accepted  by  Congress, 
and  Col.  Dayton  assumed  command  of  the  Jersey 
Brigade  and  held  it  during  the  remainder  of  the  war, 
although  not  confirmed  as  a  brigadier-general  until 
January,  1783.  In  September,  1781,  the  Jersey 
Brigade  under  Col.  Dayton  landed  on  James  River, 
about  five  miles  from  Williamsburg,  and  partici- 
pated in  the  siege  of  Yorktown.  Col.  Dayton  was 
present  at  the  signing  of  the  capitulation  by  Lord 
Cornwallis,  Oct.  19,  1781,  and  in  1782  was  in  charge 
of  the  prison-camp  at  Chatham,  N.  J.  The  Jersey 
Brigade  was  discharged  Nov.  3,  1783.  Gen.  Dayton 
had  taken  a  part  in  all  the  battles  in  which  the  Con- 
tinental line  of  New  Jersey  had  been  engaged. 
After  the  war  he  was  commissioned  major-general  of 
the  Second  Division,  New  Jersey  State  Militia,  which 
command  he  held  at  the  time  of  his  death,  Oct.  22, 
1807.  Upon  the  formation  of  the  New  Jersey  So- 
ciety of  the  Cincinnati,  Gen.  Dayton  was  chosen  its 
president,  and  held  that  office  during  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  He  declined  an  election  to  Congress  in 
1779.  In  1787  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the 
convention  to  frame  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  but  favored  the  appointment  of  his  son  Jona- 
than, afterwards  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives in  the  Fourth  Congress  and  United  States 
senator.  In  1789  he  was  elected  recorder  of  Eliza- 
bethtown, and  from  1796  to  1805,  with  the  exception 
of  one  year,  he  was  mayor  of  the  town,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of  the  State. 
In  private  life  he  sustained  a  higli  reputation.  He 
was  open  and  generous,  scrupulously  upright,  and  in 
manners  easy,  unassuming,  and  pleasant.  In  person 
and  bearing  he  is  said  to  have  resembled  Gen.  Wash- 
ington so  strongly  that  with  their  backs  turned  it 
was  difficult  to  distinguish  them. 

Gen.  Dayton  married  a  Miss  Rolfe.  His  children 
were  Jonathan,  Hannah,  wife  of  Col.  Matthias  Ogden  ; 
Eiias  Bailey,  Sally,  wife  of  Isaac  G.  Ogden,  of  New 
York  ;  William,  Horace,  Aaron,  and  John.  Elias  B. 
Dayton  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits  in  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  was  the  first  cashier  of  the  State  Bank. 
He  was  the  father  of  Hon.  Aaron  Ogden  Dayton. 
William  was  a  lumber  merchant  in  the  same  place. 


Horace  engaged  in  trade  in  New  York  City.  Aaron 
removed  to  Cincinnati,  near  which  place  he  engaged 
in  farming  John,  the  father  of  Miss  Sarah  O' 
Dayton,  of  Elizabeth,  from  whom  many  of  these 
fiicts  were  obtained,  engaged  in  farming  near  Madison, 
N.  J.,  where  he  died  in  1803.  Hon.  William  L. 
Dayton  was  a  grandnephew  of  Gen.  Dayton,  being 
descended  from  Robert,  son  of  Jonathan,  and  brother 
of  the  general. 


CHAPTER    XXXIIL 

CITY    OF  RAHWAY. 

Early  History. — The  earliest  allusions  to  the  site 
of  the  present  city  of  Rahway,  and  to  settlers  residing 
or  owning  land  thereon,  are  found  in  the  records  of 
the  townships  of  Elizabethtown  and  Woodbridge, 
whose  geographical  boundaries  originally  met  on  the 
marshy  stream  known  as  "  Robinson's  Branch,"  now 
in  the  heart  of  the  city.  From  the  Elizabethtown 
records — referring,  of  course,  to  the  territory  on  the 
north  side  of  the  branch — we  find  that  the  following- 
named  persons  were  owners  of  land  on  the  "  Rawack 
River,"  or  "  Rawack,"  as  it  was  then  called,  at  the 
dates  given  in  connection  with  their  respective  sur- 
veys or  settlements  : 

William  Oliver  owned  "  84  acres  of  upland  at 
Rawack,"  bounded  by  Peter  Morse,  Samuel  Marsh, 
Sr.,  David  Oliver,  and  William  Piles.  He  was  one 
of  the  original  eighty  Elizabeth  Associates,  and  lived 
on  his  home-lot  at  Elizabeth,  his  land  here  being  an 
out-farm  or  plantation.  His  aucestors  were  from 
Bristol,  England,  1632,  and  lived  in  Boston  or  vicin- 
ity, where  they  left  large  families.  William  Oliver 
died  about  1694.' 

David  Oliver,  above  mentioned,  was  the  son  of 
William,  and  owned  land  at  Rahway,  adjoining  that 
of  his  father,  where  he  probably  lived.  One  of  his 
sons,  David  (2d),  was  notorious  as  a  Tory  and  refugee 
during  the  Revolution,  and  is  described  as  "  the  dread 
of  the  inhabitants  on  the  lines."  The  New  Jersey 
Journal  of  Dec.  5,  1782,  gives  an  account  of  his 
having  been  engaged  on  the  Saturday  night  pre- 
ceding, with  a  band  of  refugees  from  Staten  Island, 
in  attempting  to  take  ott'  cattle  from  Elizabethtown. 
They  proceeded  in  a  gunboat  to  the  mouth  of  Eliza- 
bethtown Creek.  Capt.  Jonathan  Dayton  being  in- 
formed of  the  route  they  proposed  to  take  waylaid 
them  with  a  small  party  near  the  Port.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  in  passing  Dayton's  ambush  the  party 
turned  aside  from  the  road  to  avoid  a  mud-slough, 
which  obliged  the  ambushers  to  fire  through  two 
fences,  killing  one,  mortally  wounding  another,  and 
taking  three  prisoners,  whereas,  had  not  this  detour 
occurred,  it  is  believed  that  all  of  them  might  have 

1  N.  E.  GenealogicHl  Reg.,  xii.  53;  E.  J.  Recor.Is.  ii.  19,  103;  Eliza- 
beth Town  Bill,  108. 


242 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


been  killed  at  the  first  fire.  As  it  was,  two  escaped. 
Three  had  been  left  to  take  care  of  the  boat,  who, 
hearing  a  row-boat  coming  down  the  creek,  sought  to 
escape  to  Staten  Island,  but  they  were  overtaken  and 
captured  by  Lieut.  Randall.  Swaim  Parcel  informed 
them  that  Oliver  had  fled  to  Rahway.  He  was  pur- 
sued and  found  "  concealed  in  a  house  at  Rahway," 
and  captured  that  night.' 

Peter  Morse  owned  a  parcel  of  land  described  as  a 
"  Neck  of  Land  at  Rawack."  He  also  owned  one 
hundred  and  forty  acres  along  "  West  Brook,  Ra- 
wack Swamp,  and  the  Common."  He  was  the  son 
of  Robert  Morse.  He  and  his  father  were  among 
the  eighty  original  Associates,  and  came  to  the  town- 
ship in  1(565  from  Rowley,  Mass.,  having  lived  in 
Boston  in  1644,  and  in  Newbury  in  1654. 

The  Morse  homestead  was  on  Thompson's  Creek, 
more  generally  known  as  "  Morse's  Creek,"  long  the 
boundary  between  Rahway  and  Elizabeth.  Peter 
Morse  died  in  May,  1702. 

Samuel  Marsh,  Sr.,  another  of  the  original  Asso- 
ciates, had  one  hundred  acres  of  upland  at "  Rawack," 
called  by  the  name  of  "Ragged  Neck,"  bounded  by 
Jeffry  Jones,  Simon  Rouse,  and  his  own  meadow. 
He  also  owned  other  parcels  of  land  in  the  vicinity. 
He  came  from  New  Haven,  Conn.,  among  the  first 
settlers,  with  a  wife  and  seven  children.  His  eldest 
son,  Samuel,  Jr.,  was  admitted  among  the  eighty 
Associates,  and  had  an  allotment  of  eighty  acres  at 
"  Rahwack,"  bounded  by  Robert  Vauquellin,  Simon 
Rouse,  Thomas  Moore,  Benjamin  Wade,  and  a  great 
swamp  ;  also  ten  acres  of  meadow,  "  lying  at  Rah- 
wack in  the  Meadow  of  Samuel  Marsh,  Sr."  The 
elder  Marsh,  familiarly  called  "  Old  Marsh,"  died 
in  September,  1683.' 

William  Johnson  owned  one  hundred  acres  on  the 
"  West  Branch  of  the  Rawack  River,"  and  sixty  acres 
of  upland  on  the  "  Rawack  River,"  adjoining  lands 
of  Simon  Rouse.  Also  sixty  acres  of  upland  on 
"  Rawack  Plaine"  and  other  lands.  He  wa-s  a  resi- 
dent of  the  New  Haven  colony  as  early  as  1648,  and 
came  here  with  the  first  settlers.  His  property,  how- 
ever, in  1678,  amounting  in  all  to  two  hundred  and 
sixty-two  acres,  was  mortgaged  to  Roger  Lambert  to 
secure  the  payment  of  one  hundred  pounds,  and  Lam- 
bert subsequently  became  the  owner.' 

Robert  Vauquellin,  the  surveyor-general  under 
Carteret,  was  the  proprietor  of  forty  acres  of  land 
"  at  Rawack."  It  adjoined  the  lands  of  Simon  Rouse 
and  Samuel  Marsh,  Sr.  Vauquellin,  often  styled  in 
the  East  Jersey  records  "  Sieur  des  Prairies,"  was  a 
Frenchman  from  the  city  of  Caen.  He  is  thought  to 
have  resided  later  in  the  island  of  Jersey,  whence  he 
and  his  wife  came  in  the  ship  "  Philip"  with  Carteret 
in  August,  1665.  Having  been  appointed  by  Berkeley 
and  Carteret  surveyor-general  of  their  domain  in 

1  N.  J.  Journal,  No.  146.     Hatfield,  p.  .MS. 

«  New  Haven  Records,  (|Ui>ted  lij  Hatfield,  p.  81. 

'  E.  J.  Records     Hatfield's  Elizabetli,  p.  80. 


America,  he  exercised  the  functions  of  that  office 
until  1681.  He  was  also  a  member  of  Carteret's 
council.  In  1678  he  removed  to  Woodbridge,  where 
he  obtained  grants  of  land  and  continued  to  reside. 

Thomas  Moore  owned  sixty  acres  of  land  described 
as  lying  "  towards  Rahwack,"  and  adjoining  Benjamin 
Wade.  Also  twenty  acres  of  meadow  adjoining  Wil- 
liam Piles'  upland.  He  was  one  of  the  original  Asso- 
ciates, and  came  to  the  town  in  1G65.  He  died  in 
1708.* 

Jonas  Wood  was  the  owner  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  upland  "  at  Rahwack,"  adjoining  Jeffry 
Jones;  sixty  acres  of  upland  and  twenty  acres  of 
meadow  "  on  Rawack  Neck."  He  was  one  of  the 
original  Associates,  and  came  from  Southampton, 
L.  I.  He  was  licensed  July  10,  1679,  to  "  keep  an 
ordinary,"  and  was  chosen  Nov.  3-,  1693,  and  in  1694 
a  deputy  to  the  General  Assembly.  He  owned  a  good 
deal  of  land  about  Rahway,  both  meadow  and  up- 
land, and  was  a  highly-respected  citizen.  His  house- 
lot  of  six  acres  adjoined  the  land  of  Samuel  Marsh, 
Sr.,  on  the  northeast. 

William  Letts  had  seventy  acres  of  upland  "at 
Rawack,"  adjoining  Robert  Vauquellin  and  William 
Cramer.  He  was  a  weaver  by  occupation,  married 
Elizabeth  Laud,  lived  on  house-lot  (thirteen  acres) 
adjoining  Joseph  Frazee.  He  removed  to  Perth  Am- 
boy,  where  he  died  in  March,  1702. 

Simon  Rouse,  whose  lands  have  so  often  been  re- 
ferred to  in  the  boundaries,  was  a  son  of  John  and 
Annie  Rouse,  of  Duxbury,  Mass.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  John  Peabody.  He  was  born  in  1645,  and  came 
here  before  1676.  He  had  surveyed  to  him  fifty-eight 
acres  of  upland  "on  Rahwack  River,"  adjoining 
William  Johnson ;  also  ninety-eight  acres  adjoining 
the  above  on  the  northeast,  having  Robert  Vauquel- 
lin's  land  on  the  northwest.  He  had  also  one  hun- 
dred acres  on  the  east  side  of  "  Rahwack  River,  oppo- 
site Pope's  Brook."  He  resided  at  Rahway.  His 
lands  in  the  other  part  of  the  town  he  exchanged 
with  Jonas  Wood,  May  29,  1678,  and  Nov.  27,  1679, 
bought  Vauquellin's  land.s  adjoining  his  own.  He 
died  in  1690.  His  wife,  Allice,  died  soon  after  with- 
out issue.  Frances,  a  daughter  of  Samuel  Moore,  of 
Woodbridge,  inherited  the  estate,  being  probably  an 
adopted  daughter,  as  she  lived  with  them.' 

Benjamin  Wade,  who  was  a  clothier  in  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  became  quite  wealthy  in  real  estate,  owned 
an  intere,st  in  "  Rahwack  Swamp"  to  the  extent  of 
forty-eight  acres  allotted  to  him  by  the  town,  and 
twelve  acres  of  meadow  "  at  Rahwack."  He  was  the 
ancestor  of  a  very  highly  respected  family,  and  died 
about  1698. 

William  Robinson,  who  appears  in  the  records  as 
"  William  Robinson,  Doctor  of  Physick,"  was  the 
proprietor  of  seven  hundred  acres  of  land  lying  on 


'  N.  H.  Coll.  Records,  etc.     Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  85. 
'  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  172. 


CITY   OF  RAHWAY. 


243 


the  branch  of  the  Rahway  River  called  Robinson's 
Branch.  On  his  first  arrival  in  the  town  he  pur- 
chased lands  of  John  Toe,  and  subsequently  (April 
1,  1686)  he  had  surveyed  to  him  the  above  tract  of 
seven  hundred  acres,  adjoining  the  lands  of  Joseph 
Frazee,  Richard  and  John  Clarke,  George  and  John 
Alexander,  William  Piles,  Simon  Rouse,  and  Thomas 
Rudyard. 

Dr.  Robinson's  lands  extended  along  the  branch 
on  the  north  side  of  the  wood  bridge.  He  also 
bought  of  John  Toe,  Sept.  12,  1688,  another  parcel 
on  the  west  branch  of  Rahway  River.  He  was  a 
large  land-owner  both  here  and  in  Monmouth  County, 
where  he  had  surveyed  to  him  in  1692  ".550  acres  in 
full  of  bis  share  of  the  first  division." 

Dr.  Robinson  is  supposed  to  have  emigrated  from 
Scotland,  and  to  have  received  his  education  in  that 
country.  He  was  evident))'  a  man  of  ability,  means, 
energy,  and  wide  influence. 

The  following,  found  in  "  An  Account  of  the  Settled 
Towns  in  East  Jersey,"  given  under  the  hand  of  Capt. 
Nichols,  secretary  to  the  Duke  of  York,  in  1680,  prob- 
ably has  reference  to  Rahway  :  "  There  are  several 
Out-plantations  on  the  North  end  of  the  River  which 
divides  the  bounds  between  this  town  (Elizabethtown) 
and  Woodbridge,  particularly  where  the  road  passes 
over,  to  which  place  is  about  seven  or  eight  miles." 
If  this  refers  to  Rahway,  it  shows  that  there  was  a 
considerable  settlement  here  in  1680, 'over  two  hun- 
dred years  ago.  All  the  circumstances  go  to  show 
that  Rahway  is  the  place  meant:  (1)  the  river  divid- 
ing Elizabethtown  from  Woodbridge  is  the  Rahway 
River ;  (2)  the  settlement  is  located  at  the  place 
where  the  road  to  Woodbridge  crossed  the  river  ;  (3) 
the  distance,  seven  or  eight  miles  from  Elizabeth- 
town,  corresponds  also  to  the  facts.  We  therefore 
conclude  that  the  account  refers  to  Rahway.  There 
were  "  several  out-plantations"  on  the  river  at  this 
time,  but  the  writer'  refers  particularly  to  the  one 
"  where  the  road  passes  over"  in  going  from  Eliza- 
bethtown to  Woodbridge,  indicating  that  it  was  the 
most  considerable  settlement.  This  ancient  settle- 
ment appears  to  have  been  nearly  equidistant  be- 
tween Elizabethtown  and  Woodbridge,  and,  inasmuch 
as  it  was  regarded  as  an  out-plantation  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  was  undoubtedly  on  that  side  of  the  river 
within  the  town  bounds. 

A  settlement  of  equal  antiquity,  no  doubt,  was 
made  on  the  Woodbridge  side  of  the  river,  known 
later  as  Bridge  Town  or  Lower  Railway.  This  settle- 
ment seems  to  have  attained  sufficient  dignity  and 
independence  of  the  mother-hamlet  of  Woodbridge 
by  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  as,  in 
the  estimation  of  the  freeholders  of  the  township,  to 
deserve  a  separate  pound  for  the  lodgment  of  animals 
unlawfully  running  at  large;  and  so  it  was  voted  at 
the  Woodbridge  town-meeting  for  January,  1701,  that 

1  Scot's  Model  of  E.  J.,  pp.  134, 136. 


Rahway  be  granted  the  privilege  of  building  a  pound. 
This  is  the  earliest  mention  which  we  find  of  the  set- 
tlement, at  least  the  earliest  indicating  the  growth  of 
a  village  in  that  locality. 

Woodbridge  was  first  settled  in  the  latter  part  of 
1665.  The  land  was  originally  purchased  of  the 
Indians  by  the  same  parties  who  made  the  Elizabeth- 
town  purchase,  viz.:  John  Bayly,  Daniel  Denton,  and 
Luke  Watson,  on  the  28th  of  October,  1664.  These 
parties  made  it  over  to  Governor  Carteret  and  John 
Ogden,  who  in  1666  sold  it  to  Daniel  Pierce  and  eight 
associates  from  Newbury,  Haverhill,  and  other  places 
in  Massachusetts.  The  price  paid  for  it  was  eighty 
pounds  sterling.  Daniel  Pierce  and  his  associates 
took  immediate  possession  as  proprietors  of  the  town- 
ship, receiving  from  Governor  Carteret,  on  behalf  of 
the  Lords  Proprietors,  a  liberal  charter  and  having 
their  boundaries  and  lots  surveyed  to  them.  In  De- 
cember, 1667,  plots  were  ordered  surveyed  and  assigned 
to  the  settlers  and  roads  laid  out.  The  boundaries  of 
the  township  were  defined  in  June,  1669.  The  line 
began  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rahway  River  (called 
Rawack),  and  followed  the  stream  as  high  as  the  tide 
flowed  to  a  fresh-water  brook  running  west-northwest 
(afterwards  and  to  this  day  called  Robinson's  Branch), 
"  where  there  stands  a  beech-tree  that  is  marked  on 
the  four  sides  of  it."  From  this  tree  the  line  ran 
straight  west  through  one  large  swamp  and  two  small 
ones  until  it  reached  a  walnut  stake  in  an  open  field. 
This  stake  was  marked  with  two  notches  and  a  cross. 
The  distance  from  the  beech-tree  to  the  walnut  stake 
was  five  and  a  half  miles.  The  line  turned  sharply 
to  the  south  at  this  point,  running  through  "Dismal 
Swamp,"  and  striking  the  Raritan  River  at  a  distance 
of  seven  and  a  half  miles  from  the  aforesaid  walnut 
stake.  This  point  on  the  river  was  about  ten  chains 
east  of  two  red  cliffs  on  the  opposite  side.  From  thia 
the  line  followed  the  Raritan  River  to  its  mouth.  The 
township  was  therefore  bounded  on  the  east  by  the 
Sound  or  Kills  which  divide  Staten  Island  from  the 
mainland,  on  the  north  by  the  bounds  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  on  the  west  by  Piscataway,  and  on  the  south  by 
Raritan  River. 

It  was  not  many  years  before  that  portion  of  the 
township  now  included  in  the  city  of  Rahway  be- 
came thickly  settled.  Among  the  early  settlers  in  this 
section  many  belonged  to  the  Society  of  Friends. 
The  Friends  having  purchased  the  province  and  es- 
tablished the  proprietary  government  in  1682,  a  new 
impulse  was  given  to  many  persons  of  that  order  to 
seek  homes  in  the  country.  Many  had  already  estab- 
lished themselves  in  diflierent  towns.  Shrewsbury,  one 
of  the  seven  associated  towns  of  the  province,  had 
been  settled  almost  exclusively  by  the  Friends  as  early 
as  1667,  the  first  religious  meetings  of  the  society  being 
held  there  in  1672.  The  territory  of  West  Jersey  after 
1674  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  Friends.  In 
East  Jersey  they  constituted  an  important  element  in 
Amboy  and  Woodbridge.     The  Friends  who  settled 


244 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIKS,  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  this  section  mostly  purchased  lands  along  the  Rail- 
way River,  some  of  them  living  in  Woodbridge  and 
some  of  them  in  Elizabethtown.  In  1686  they  estab- 
lished a  monthly  meeting  at  Ainboy.  This  continued 
to  be  held  for  three  years,  when  a  monthly  meeting 
was  begun  at  Woodbridge  on  the  17th  day  of  August, 
1689.  On  the  16th  of  October,  1742,  the  first  weekly 
meeting  of  the  Friends  was  begun  at  Rahway  in  the 
house  of  Joseph  Shotwell. 

We  shall,  however,  defer  the  religious  history  of  the 
Friends,  to  be  considered  hereafter  in  connection  with 
the  history  of  the  churches. 

Among  those  who  were  early  settlers  of  Rahway 
and  met  with  the  Woodbridge  society  we  have  the 
names  of  William  Robinson,  John  and  Joseph  Shot- 
well,  the  Marshes,  Hunts,  and  others.  This  William 
Robinson  was  a  son  of  Dr.  William  Robinson,  and 
was  a  prominent  man  among  the  Friends,  as  we  learn 
from  the  following  entry  in  the  records  of  the  Wood- 
bridge  meeting:  "William  Robinson  'is  ordered  to 
gett  bords  for  y'  meeting-house  flore  &  to  speak  to  y' 
brick-maker  for  bricks  for  y'  chimney.'  At  the  next 
meeting  he  reported  that  he  had  spoken  to  the  brick- 
man  about  the  bricks,  and  he  said  that  '  as  soon  as  he 
hath  done  burning  a  kill  att  Elizabethtown  he  will 
burn  som  hear  &  then  we  may  have  som.'  " 

In  the  Woodbridge  records  we  find  the  name  of 
John  Jaques,  son  of  Henry  and  Hannah  Jaques.  He 
was  born  on  the  2d  of  August,  1674.  He  had  brothers, 
Henry,  born  Sept.  12,  1675 ;  Jonathan,  born  April 
9,  1679 ;  and  sister,  Sarah,  born  Jan.  12, 1677.  Henry 
Jaques,  Sr.,  was  a  carpenter,  and  one  of  the  original 
nine  Associates  of  Woodbridge.  To  him  and  his  son 
Henry  were  granted  three  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
acres  of  land  in  1670.  This  land  extended  along  the 
Rahway,  including  what  is  now  Main  Street  in  the 
city  of  Rahway,  as  far  up  as  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road crossing. 

Prior  to  the  incorporation  of  Rahway  as  a  city 
three  separate  villages  occupied  portions  of  the  area 
within  its  limits.  Long  stretches  of  undrained 
meadows  and  considerable  marsh  at  the  confluence 
of  the  branches  of  the  Rahway  River  intervened  be- 
tween them.  The  northernmost  village  was  Rahway 
proper,  situated  in  Essex  County  ;  the  other  two,  lying 
south  of  the  river,  were  known  respectively  as  Mil- 
ton and  Bridgetown,  though  the  latter  was  known 
also  as  Lower  Rahway.  A  fourth  hamlet,  known  as 
Leesville,  was  also  for  a  time  a  distinct  settlement 
from  Lower  Rahway,  lower  down  the  river,  but  still 
within  the  present  corporate  limits  of  the  city. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 

CITY    OF    RAHWAY.— ((7o.i(,-<iiierf.) 

First  Mills  and  Roads. — The  first  saw-mill  in 
Railway  was  built  by  John  Marsh  on  the  south  side 
of  the  river,  just  above  the  present  railroad  bridge,  as 


early  as  1683.     The  following  quaint  and  interesting 
document  is  proof  of  this  assertion  : 

"A  meeting  or  y«  Inhabitants  of  Elizabethtown,  June  y«  25,  1633: 
Voteti  that  John  Marsh  have  Liberty  and  Consent  from  y«  town©  soe 
far  aa  they  are  Concerned  to  gett  timber  to  saw  at  liis  Saw-miH  upon 
Land  not  Surveyed,  lying  upon  Rawhay  River  or  y*  branches  or  else- 
wheare,  so  far  as  he  shall  have  occasion  to  fetch  timber  for  ye  above 
mill. 

*'.\ud  the  said  John  Marsh  doth  pledge  himself  to  y  inhabitants  of 
y  towne  to  saw  for  them  Logs  if  they  bring  them  to  y«  mill,  one-half  of 
y  boards  or  timber  for  sawing  the  other,  that  is  so  much  as  is  for  their 
particular  use, 

"  Att  A  towne  meeting  June  y<  28,  lf>84, 

"John  Mai-sh  desired  ye  towne  to  grant  him  liberty  to  clear  Rawhay 
River  &  ye  Branch  for  the  Conveuiency  of  bis  mill,  which  was  granted 
to  him  ye  said  John  Marsh,  and  passed  by  a  free  vote  for  ye  same,  with 
this  proviser  that  there  should  be  no  liindrauce  of  bridges  or  stoppedge 
of  passadges. 

"  December  ye  J9th,  1684,  ye  towne  Committee  of  Elizahetbtowne  did 
give  and  grant  leave  and  liberty  to  John  Marsh  to  set  up  a  gnst*mill 
upon  ye  stream  whereon  his  saw-mill  stands,  namely,  ye  stream  called 
Rawhay  River,  ye  aforesed  Committee  did  upon  ye  above  said  day  give 
him  ye  stream  for  ye  ends  and  purposes  above  DHmed. 

"  All  ye  above  written  &  true  Copie  taken  out  of  ye  Records  of  Eliza- 
beth towne  by  me. 

"Isaac  Whitehead,  Clerk" 

Transfers  of  the  Mill  Property.— John  Marsh  to 
Stephen  Van  Cortlandt,  March  2,  1695.  Stephen 
Van  Cortlandt  to  William  Donaldson,  July  11,  1733. 
William  Donald.son  deeded  to  Samuel  Marsh,  Dec. 
11,  1739,  three  and  one-fourth  acres  and  one  half  of 
the  mills,  and  at  the  same  date  conveyed  to  Joseph 
Meyer  three  and  one-fourth  acres  and  one-fourth  of 
the  mills.  He  also,  Dec.  11,  1739,  conveyed  to  Jo- 
seph Marsh  three  and  one-fourth  acres,  described  as 
"  beginning  at  the  stone  house." 

Donaldson  sold  the  remaining  one-fourth  to  Morde- 
cai  Marsh,  and  it  remained  in  the  Marsh  family  until 
it  was  bought  by  Luf  bery  &  Vail  in  1826.  It  is  now 
the  property  of  Ayres  &  Luf  bery,  where  their  steam- 
mill  and  planing-mill  are  located. 

The  oldest  house  of  the  Marsh  family — that  of 
Samuel  Marsh,  Sr.,  of  Rahway — stands  on  the  corner 
of  Main  Street  and  Elm  Avenue,  covered  with  shingles 
and  inclosed  with  wrought  nails.  This  house  is  over 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  old.  Samuel  Marsh  mar- 
ried Mary  Shotwell,  of  Shotwell's  Landing. 

Jonathan  Bishop,  who  was  admitted  as  a  freeholder 
of  Woodbridge  in  1682,  was  granted  a  parcel  of  com- 
mon land  in  consideration  of  his  building  a  saw-mill 
on  it  "  alongside  of  the  southern  branch  of  the  Rah- 
wack  River."  The  mill  was  to  be  exempt  from  tax 
for  five  years.  The  southern  branch  is  sometimes 
subsequently  called  "  Mill  Brook"  in  the  records. 
Thus  in  January,  1686,  John  Bishop  "  engaged  to 
make  a  sufficient  bridge  over  the  brook  called  Mill 
Brook,  in  the  Country  Highway  leading  to  Elizabeth 
Town."  This  is  the  stream  in  Lower  Rahway  (Lees- 
ville) which  is  now  spanned  by  a  bridge,  as  in  those 
days,  and  probably  at  the  same  place. 

There  was  a  road  district  in  this  part  of  the  town  in 
October,  1684,  of  which  Capt.  John  Bishop  was  over- 
seer. He  was  appointed  by  the  town  "  to  look  after 
the  Rahway  roads."      Ail   the  inhabitants  were  re- 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


245 


quired  to  "  appear  at  the  several  places  appointed  by 
the  several  overseers  and  be  ready  to  go  to  work  at 
sun  an  hour  high,  or  else  the  overseer  may  refuse 
them.'" 

Capt.  John  Bishop  had  a  grist-mill  on  the  Rahway 
River.  This  mill  was,  of  course,  above  tide.  His 
residence  was  a  little  east  of  his  mill.'  The  place  was 
known  as  Bishop's  Landing.  Another  landing  was  at 
Robert  Wright's  (William  Edgar's  corner, just  as  you 
enter  Rahway  from  the  Woodbridge  road).  These  land- 
ings were  reserved  by  order  of  the  town  for  public  docks 
perpetually.  They  were  "  first  built  for  the  transporta- 
tion of  hay  ;"  but,  although  that  continued  for  many 
years  to  be  one  of  the  principal  articles  of  export,  an 
extensive  trade  was  gradually  developed  in  breadstuff's, 
etc.,  which  rendered  the  landings  well  known  and  im- 
portant points.  But  the  advent  of  steam,  superseding 
the  oar  and  sail  in  commerce,  has  nearly  obliterated 
them  from  the  memory  of  those  now  living. 

"A  highway  was  laid  out  on  the  Sth  of  January, 
1687,  for  the  Rahway  settlers,  beginning  at  Robert 
Wright's  Landing,  and  extending  thence  easterly 
down  to  'John  Codington's  Point'  into  the  meadows." 
This  road  connected  the  point  and  the  meadows  with 
Wright's  Landing  at  Lower  Rahway.  Robert  Wright 
was  a  tanner  and  shoemaker,  and  came  from  Staten 
Island.  In  asking  for  a  certain  tract  of  land,  formerly 
the  property  of  John  Trueman,  he  was  granted  per- 
mission of  it  on  condition  that  he  should  settle  on  it 
and  work  at  his  trades.  He  was  constable  of  the 
town  in  1689.     Noah  Bishop  was  constable  in  1693. 

Capt.  John  Bishop  was  president  of  the  town  court, 
1688-1700;  was  an  assistant  justice,  1669-75,  1683-87. 
Jonathan  Bishop  was  an  ensign  in  the  militia,  and 
John  Bishop,  Jr.,  captain,  1682-97. 

In  1685  eight  men  were  appointed  by  the  town,  in 
as  many  different  localities,  to  guard  the  timber  which 
was  being  unlawfully  cut  on  the  common  lands. 
"John  Conger  and  Noah  Bishop  were  chosen  for 
Rahwack  (Rahway)  and  parts  adjacent.'"  The  infer- 
ence is  a  just  one  that  John  Conger  and  Noah  Bishop 
were  residents  of  Lower  Rahway  in  1685,  and  that  the 
Bishop  estates  were  in  this  portion  of  the  town.  John 
Bishop  was  overseer  of  highways  here  the  year  pre- 
ceding, and  the  year  following  had  charge  of  build- 
ing a  bridge  across  the  creek. 

John  Conger  and  Noah  Bishop,  who  in  1685  were 
appointed  to  prosecute  any  one  in  Rahway  or  adja- 
cent places  who  illegally  cut  the  timber  on  the  com- 
mon land,  were  the  victims  of  a  suit  brought  against 
them  by  Thomas  Thorp  in  1687  for  removing  from 
the  commons  some  of  Thorp's  dressed  trees,  by  a  mis- 
take doubtless.  "  The  costs  fell  upon  the  town,  as 
Conger  and  Bishop  were  acting  as  the  town  agents 
and  were  beaten  by  Thorp." 

John  Conger  and  Jonathan  Bishop  were  two  of  the 
ten  citizens  appointed  to  make  the  second  division  of 

'  History  of  Wooiibiidge,  p.  105.        2  Ibid.,  p.  107.        3  Ibid.,  p.  106. 


the  common  town  lands  in  1687.  "  Sixty  acres  of  up- 
land" were  apportioned  to  each  freeholder,  and  it  was 
required  that  these  ten  men  should  make  it  their 
business  forthwith  "  to  Lay  out  the  said  Divisions  of 
Land  ;  six  hands  to  be  each  Day  about  the  said  work, 
and  to  have  for  their  pains  three  shillings  per  day." 

The  old  road  from  Elizabeth  Town  to  Woodbridge 
followed  substantially  what  is  now  Linden  Avenue, 
crossing  the  river  about  where  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road bridge  now  crosses  it.  At  a  point  about  a  hun- 
dred rods  northeast,  near  the  railroad,  was  located  the 
post-office  of  the  village  at  an  early  time,  and  within 
the  recollection  of  some  o£  the  immediate  ancestors 
of  old  residents  now  living. 

Road  to  Cortlandt'8  Saw-Mill. — Cortlandt's 
saw-mill  was  the  old  Marsh  mill,  where  the  steam-mills 
of  Messrs.  Ayres  &  Lufbery  now  stand,  for,  as  we 
have  seen,  John  Marsh  conveyed  the  property  to 
Stephen  Van  Cortlandt  in  1695.  The  Woodbridge 
records  ftirnish  the  following: 

"February  ye  9th,  1699  :  Then  laid  out  by  us  undernamed  a  Higliway 
Six  Rods  in  Breadth:  Beginning  at  tiie  Highway  which  Buna  by  Jona- 
than Bishops  New  Dwelling  House  about  ten  liods  Eastward  from  the 
North  East  Corner  of  the  said  Bishops  Orchard  ;  from  thence  Running 
over  the  Mill  Brook,  and  so  Extending  on  the  Southerly  side  of  John 
Rolphs  Dwelling  House  to  the  House  of  John  Jaquis:  from  thence  Run- 
ning through  the  said  Jaquis  his  Land  four  Rod  in  Breadth,  by  the 
Bank  side  and  through  the  land  belonging  to  Jonathan  Jaquis:  from 
thence  upon  a  Direct  Line  to  John  Stewards  Dwelling  House :  the  whole 
way  between  the  House  of  the  above  said  John  Jaquis  and  John  Stew- 
ards House  being  but  four  Rod  broad. 

"Also  a  Highway  from  the  Landing  on  the  River;  about  fifty  Rod 
below  the  said  Stewards  House,  beginning  at  a  Black  Oak  tree  marked 
on  three  sides:  thence  Running  by  the  River  Six  Rod  broad  to  Mr. 
Cortlands  saw-mill :  from  thence  to  a  Black  oak  tree  stjiniiing  Near  the 
Bank  of  the  said  River;  the  way  Running  between  the  said  tree  and 
bank;  thence  Extending  along  by  the  bank  to  town  line:  from  thence 
by  the  Town  Line  and  through  a  Corner  of  John  Jaquis  his  Laud  on 
the  South  Side  of  a  Rowe  of  niarked  trees  into  the  Common :  the  said 
way  from  Cortlands  Mill  being  four  Rod  broad: 

"  EZEKIEL  BloOMFIRLO. 

"Samuel  H.\le. 

"  ephraim  .\ndrew8. 

"Thomas  Pike." 

Spanktown. — One  of  the  names  of  Rahway,  per- 
haps the  earliest  to  be  found  on  record,  was  Spank 
Town.  Whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of  this 
name,  it  is  made  famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. A  battle  was  fought  here  which,  according  to 
the  best  authority,  lasted  about  two  hours.  It  was 
the  last  engagement  of  our  forces  with  the  British 
when  the  latter  were  driven  out  of  New  Jersey,  with 
the  exception  of  Amboy  and  New  Brunswick,  after 
their  disastrous  defeat  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  early 
in  January,  1777. 

The  success  of  Washington  in  this  respect  was  one 
of  the  greatest  military  achievements  of  the  war.  He 
had  surprised  and  captured  nearly  a  thousand  Hes- 
sians at  Trenton,  with  the  loss  of  only  four  men 
wounded.  "This  brilliant  manoeuvre  completely 
turned  the  tide  of  affairs.  The  British,  who  believed 
themselves  masters  of  the  country,  and  scouted  the 
idea  of  any  opposition,  were  painfully  roused  from 
their   reveries,  and   began  to   be  alarmed    for  their 


24  H 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  Americans,  on  the  other  hand,  were 
electrified  and  delighted,  and  inspired  with  new  life." 
That  Washington  foresaw  what  course  would  be  taken 
by  the  British  and  planned  his  movements  with  con- 
summate skill  is  evident  from  what  follows: 

•'  On  the  30th,  at  Treuton,  Washington  wrote  to  Maxwell  to  collect  as 
large  a  force  as  possible  at  Chatham,  "and  aftei-  gaining  the  proper  in- 
telligence, endeavor  to  strike  a  stroke  upon  Elizabeth-Town  or  that 
neighborhood,'  instructions  which  Maxwell  prepared  at  once  to  carry 
out.  Following  up  his  advantages,  Washington  once  more  crossed  the 
Delaware,  passed  around  the  British  at  Trenton,  marched  forward  by 
night,  surprised  and  captured  Princeton  on  the  morning  of  Jan.  3,  1777, 
and  then  took  post  for  two  or  three  days  at  Pluckamin,  in  Somerset 
County,  thus  compelling  the  Britis^  commander  to  evacuate  all  his  posts 
beyond  New  Brunswick,  and  to  provide  by  a  concentration  of  hie  forces 
for  the  safety  of  his  stores  at  the  latter  place.  On  Monday,  the  6th, 
Washington  removed  to  Morristown  to  give  his  wearied  troops  some  rest, 
and  to  watch  the  panic-stricken  foe.  l 

"Gen.  Sir  William  Howe  writes  from  New  York,  Jan.  6, 1777,  that 
•  Lord  Cornwaliis  returned  with  his  whole  force  to  Brunswick,  and  the 
troops  at  the  right  being  assembled  at  Elizabeth-Town,  Major-Generul 
Vaughan  has  that  command.'  2 

"  Taking  advantage  of  the  consternation  of  the  enemy  and  the  ad- 
vance of  the  American  army,  General  Maxwell,  with  the  militia  under 
his  command,  came  down  from  the  Short  Hills,  compelled  the  British  to 
evacuate  Newark,  had  a  brush  with  them  at  Springfield,  drove  them  out 
of  Elizabeth  Town,  and  fought  them  at  Spauk  Town  (Rahway)  a  couple 
of  honts." 

If  Spank  Town  had  never  had  the  name  before  it 
was  entitled  to  it  from  this  time  certainly  on  account 
of  the  spanking  rate  at  which  Maxwell  came  down 
from  the  Short  Hills  with  his  militia  and  punished 
the  rear  of  the  retreating  enemy. 

The  fullest  account  we  have  of  this  affair  is  taken 
from  a  letter  dated  at  Philadelphia,  Jan.  16,  1777 : 

"  Our  army  marched  from  Pluckamin  and  arrived  at  Morristown  on 
the  sixth.  General  Maxwell  with  a  considerable  body  of  Continental 
troops  and  militia,  having  marched  towards  Elizabeth  Town,  sent  back 
for  a  reinforcement,  which  having  joined  him,  he  advanced  and  took 
possession  of  the  town,  and  made  prisoners  of  iifty  Waldeckers  and  forty 
Highlanders  who  were  quartered  there,  and  made  prize  of  a  schooner 
witli  baggage  and  B<.>me  blankets  on  board.  About  the  same  time  one 
thousand  bushels  of  salt  were  secured  by  our  troops  at  a  place  called 
Spank  Town,  about  five  miles  from  Woodbridge,  where  a  party  of  our 
men  attacked  the  enemy  at  that  place  ;  they  sent  for  a  reinforcement  to 
Woodbridge.  hut  the  Hessians  absolutely  relused  to  march,  having  heard 
we  were  very  numerous  in  that  quarter.  The  English  troops  at  Eliza- 
beth Town  would  not  suffer  the  Waldeckers  to  stand  centry  at  the  out- 
posts, several  of  them  having  deserted  and  come  over  to  us." 

The  battle  at  this  place  is  also  alludel  to  in  another 
letter  dated  Trenton,  Jan.  9,  1777  : 

"A  regiment  of  British  troops  at  Spank  Town,  six  miles  below  Eliza- 
beth Town,  was  attacked  on  Sunday  by  a  party  of  Jersey  militia;  the 
encounter  continued  about  two  hours.  Two  regiments  marched  up 
from  Woodbridge  and  Amboy  to  reinforce  the  enemy,  and  thus  saved 
them." 

As  to  the  "one  thousand  bushels  of  salt"  which 
was  stored  here,  it  was  probably  a  cargo  which  had 
been  brought  up  the  Rahway,  which  was  navigable 
by  small  vessels  as  far  up  as  the  old  bridge,  which 
gave  to  the  place  at  an  early  time  the  name  of  Bridge 
Town.  The  principal  fort  at  Elizabeth  Town  being 
then  in  possession  of  the  British,  this  salt  and  possi- 


bly other  valuable  stores  were  brought  in  here  to  be 
more  secure  from  the  enemy.  In  later  times  a  con- 
siderable commerce  was  carried  on  in  vessels  between 
this  place  and  New  York  via  Rahway  River. 

After  the  Revolution  vessels  were  laden  with  pro- 
duce at  Shotwell's  Landing  and  sailed  directly  to 
Bristol,  England,  returning  with  dry-goods  in  ex- 
change. 


1  Irving's  Washington,  ii.  600-18.      Dr.  Thomas'  Battles  of  Am., 
428-38.    HatHcld's  Elizabeth,  454. 

2  Parliamentary  Register,  xi.  376. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

CITY  OF    nAUW AY.— {Continued.) 

File  of  an  Old  Paper. — We  have  before  us  a  file 
of  the  Bridge  Town  Museuin  and  New  Jei-sey  Advocate, 
extending  from  July  13th  to  Dec.  23,  1822.  The  first 
three  numbers  were  published  when  Lower  Rahway 
was  known  as  "  Bridge  Town."  The  name  was  then 
changed  to  The  Rahway  Museum  and  Kevj  Jersey  Ad- 
vocate. This  file  begins  with  No.  1,  vol.  i.,  which  is 
dated  July  13th,  and  contains  twelve  weekly  issues. 
It  is  a  folio  thirteen  by  twenty-one  inches  in  size. 
"  Published  every  Saturday  morning  by  Smith  Edgar, 
proprietor.  Office,  Main  Street,  Bridge  Town.  Terms: 
The  Museum  will  be  ftirnished  to  subscribers  at  two 
dollars  per  annum,  payable  half  yearly.  If  the  half 
year  is  suffered  to  elapse  without  payment  fifty  cents 
will  be  added.  Distant  subscribers  to  pay  half  yearly 
in  advance.  No  subscription  taken  for  less  than  six 
months.  No  paper  discontinued  until  all  arrearages 
are  paid  up.  Every  attention  paid  to  advertisements, 
which  will  be  inserted  at  the  following  rates :  one 
dollar  a  square  for  the  first  three  insertions,  and 
twenty-five  cents  for  each  succeeding  week.  A  lib- 
eral deduction  will  be  made  to  all  those  who  wish  to 
advertise  by  the  year." 

Advertisements  are  quite  liberally  furnished  from 
New  York,  Elizabethtown,  New  Brunswick,  and  other 
places.  The  following  firms  and  dealers  appear  as 
doing  business  in  Rahway  : 

Jacob  Parker,  lumber-yard. 

J.  H.  Ransom,  cheap  boot  and  shoe  store.  All 
sorts  of  country  produce  taken  in  exchange. 

Benjamin  S.  Force  &  Co.,  boots  and  shoes. 

Meeker  &  Clarkson,  furniture  warehouse. 

Michael  Brown,  dry-goods,  groceries,  crockery, 
cedar-ware,  etc.,  two  doors  north  of  the  post-oflice, 
Rahway,  N.  J. 

Vail,  Thorp  &  Co.,  dry-goods,  hats,  caps,  clothing, 
and  fancy  goods. 

Peter  Morgan  &  Co.,  hat-store. 

Thomas  J.  Laing,  Jr.,  dry -goods,  crockery,  etc. 

Smitii  &  Shotwell,  dry -goods  and  groceries. 

We  will  give  a  few  of  the  advertisements  found  in 
this  old  file.  Smith  Freeman  advertises  the  "  Rah- 
way Stage-House"  as 

"An  eligible  stand  opened  some  years  since  by  Oliver  Martin  near  the 
centre  of  Rahway.  He  takes  this  method  to  inform  his  friends  and  the 
public  that  he  has  furnished  hie  house  with  every  neceesary  convenience 


CITY    OF   RAH  WAY. 


247 


to  render  it  agreeable  to  all  those  who  may  honor  hint  witti  their  com- 
,  etc.,  at  the  shortest  notice. 

*'  SuiTH  Freeman. 


pany. 
"  Parties  will  be  served  with  n 
"  Horses  and  carriages  to  let. 


"  Rahwav,  July  10,  1822." 

Then  follows : 

"THE   BRIDGETOWN   STAGE. 


"  The  above  stage  will  in  future  leave  Bridgetown  at  sis  o'clock  every 
morning,  reach  Elizabeth  Town  Point  for  the  eight  o'clock  Steamboat 
to  New  York,  leave  the  Point  for  Bridge  Town  every  day  at  half-past 
twelve.  In  addition  to  this  stage  the  subscriber  will  furnish  convey- 
ances to  the  Point  at  all  hours  of  the  day. 

"  Smith  Freeman. 

"  BainoE  Town,  July  12, 1822. 

The  mode  of  conveyance  from  Elizabeth  Town 
Point  to  New  York  is  described  in  the  following  an- 
nouncement, which  appears  in  every  number  of  the 
file: 

"  Tin  Regular  Stram-Boat 
"ATALANTA 
"  (Capt.  Hodghwovt,  Master) 
"Has  recommenced  running  between  Elizabeth-Town  Point  and  New 
York. 

"  Fare,  3714  CenU. 
"She  leaves  the  Point  at  8  o'clock  a.m.,  and  at  half-past  12  and  at  6 
o'clock  P.M. 

"  She  leaves  New  York  at  6  and  at  half-past  10  o'clock  a.m.  and  at  3 
o'clock  P.M. 

"This  boat  has  at  great  expense  lieen  lately  fitted  up, and  in  the  most 
convenient  manner,  for  the  transportation  of  Horses,  Carriages,  and 
Freight,  as  well  as  of  Paflsengers.  .\nd  the  owners  beg  leave  to  assure 
the  public  that  nothing  will  be  omitted  which  may  tend  to  promote 
thfir  accommodation  or  to  preserve  her  known  repubvtiou  ioT  punciualily 
and  the  uitiformtly  of  her  trips. 

"  N.  B  — On  Sunday  she  will  make  but  one  trip,  leaving  New  York  at 
half-past  6  o'clock  a.m.  and  Elizabeth-Town  Point  at  6  o'clock  P.M. 
"Aug.  26,  1822." 

Stephen  Cooper  advertises  for  sale  at  public  vendue 
on  Monday,  Sept.  30,  1822,  at  the  residence  of  Ann 
Richards,  in  Rahway,  5  hogs,  2  cows,  3  acres  of  corn 
in  shock,  some  hay,  50  bushels  of  winter  apples,  one 
elegant  eight-day  clock,  beds  and  bedding,  and  a 
variety  of  household  and  kitchen  furniture  not  neces- 
sarj'  to  enumerate. 

"  A  very  convenient  and  well-shelved  store  in  the  centre  of  Kahway 
is  advertised  for  rent  a  short  time  on  accommodating  terms.  Apply  at 
the  office  of  the  Museum."     Aug.  30,  1822. 

Cornelius  Vanderhoven  and  Robert  Burwell,  Jr., 
give  notice  of  a  dissolution  of  the  firm  of  Vander- 
hoven &  Burwell  on  the  16th  of  August,  1822. 

"  Joseph  P.  Tucker  offers  for  sjile  at  his  store,  on  reasonable  terms, 
twenty  barrels  of  superior  cider  spirits.     Rahway,  Sept.  20, 1822." 

John  T.  Vail,  "  at  Force  &  Vail's  saw-mill,  near 
Rahway,"  gives  notice  to  the  public  that 


"  Having  the  advantage  of  water-power  for  t 
assure  those  who  nmy  favor  him  with  their 
lowing  description  of  works  done  in  the  best  I 
to  wit:  Cranks,  Spindles,  Gudgeons,  Rag  Iroi 


rntng,  Ac,  he  ventures  to 
ustom  of  having  the  fol- 
iinnerand  at  short  notice, 
I,  Pitmon  Irons,  Stirrups, 


Peter  Cohn,  who  has  a  woolen-factory  near  Har- 
nett's mill,  in  Rahway  township,  advertises  for  wool 
for  cash,  or  in  exchange  for  woolen  goods,  announcing 
to  the  public  that  he 

"  Continues  the  manufacturing  of  flne  Blue  and  Black  Broadcloths  and 
Satinetts  of  various  descriptions,  which  he  offere  for  sale  on  the  most  lib- 
eral terms.  Also  wool  manufactured  for  customers  in  various  branches 
and  the  best  manner,  viz..  Carding,  Spining,  dying.  Weaving,  Fulling, 
and  Dressing  Cloth." 

Joseph  Stansbury  otters  a  farm  for  sale  on  the  road 
leading  from  the  bridge  to  the  Blazing  Star  Ferry, 
now  occupied  by  David  Carpenter. 

Notice  is  given  that  "  The  Bridge-Town  Packet  will 
pl.V  regularly  twice  a  week  from  the  dock  at  Rahway 
to  Whitehall  Slip  in  New  York,  for  the  transportation 
of  freight  to  and  from  each  place."  This  packet  was 
a  small  sailing- vessel,  and  was  owned  by  Smith  & 
Shotwell,  of  Rahway.  George  Brown  had  also  an 
interest  in  it. 

Some  of  the  marriage  notices  of  this  period  may  be 
of  interest.  We  give  the  following.  The  first  is  from 
the  Mumim  of  July  20,  1822  : 

"  In  Rahway,  on  Saturday  evening  last,  by  the  Rev. 
Berkley  Carle,  Isaac  Vader  to  Miss  Charity  DeCamp." 
Some  one,  probably  the  minister  who  married  them, 
expressed  his  well  wishes  in  the  following  lines  : 

"  Long  may  they  live  in  tranquil  peace  and  joy. 
And  nothing  ill  their  happiness  alloy  ; 
May  love  for  each  each  rising  sun  increase. 

May  each  the  other  every  rolling  day 
Espy  new  charms  in  various  circles  play; 
In  their  blest  union  may  they  ever  iind 
A  soothing  conscience  and  a  placid  mind." 


Dogs,  Mill  Bars,  Carding  Machinery,  Turning  Lathe 
Tools,  Carriage  Springs,  Brass  Castings,  Fire-Engines, 
Brass  Turnings  of  every  description." 


I,  Smith's  Screw 
Iron,  Wood,  and 


Aug.  17,  1822: 

"On  Saturday  evening  last,  by  Richard  Marsh,  Esq.,  Mr.  John  Swaine 
to  Miss  Nettie  Hand,  all  of  Rahway." 

The  deaths  reported  from  July  13  to  Sept.  22, 
1822,  are  the  following  : 

Mr.  Randolph  Jacques,  aged  thirty-four. 

Ann,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Squires,  young  lady. 

Miss  Susan  Shotwell,  of  Rahway,  of  pulmonary 
consumption. 

It  appears  that  in  August,  1822,  yellow  fever  pre- 
vailed quite  extensively  in  New  York,  so  much  so 
that  the  business  portion  of  the  city  was  largely  de- 
serted, the  people  going  into  the  country.  The  death 
from  this  disease  at  the  Blazing  Star  Ferry  of  Mr. 
D.  R.  Jacques,  of  the  firm  of  M.  &  D.  R.  Jacques,  ot 
New  York,  is  noticed  in  the  paper  for  Sept.  14,  1822, 
and  Mrs.  Warner,  of  Broad  Street,  New  Y'ork,  died  of 
the  disease  in  Woodbridge.  Also  Frederick  Everson, 
of  New  York,  died  of  the  disease  at  Springfield  ;  all 
died  soon  after  their  arrival  in  the  country. 

The  death  notices  in  Rahway  and  vicinity  are 
mostly  of  children  and  young  people. 

The  following  subscription  has  been  found  among 
the  manuscripts  of  the  late  Joseph  O.  Lufbery  : 


248 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


"  We,  the  subscribers,  proDiise  to  pay  J.  B.  Mant  or  J.  0.  Lutbery  the  i  P.M.  Leave  New  York  at  6  o'clock  A.M.,  half-paat  10  A.M.,  3  o'clock  P.M., 
sums  affixed  to  our  uames  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  expenses  of  the  |  touching  at  Mersereau's  Duck  on  Staten  Island  on  her  passage  each  way. 
committee  to  Trenton  in  aiding  us  in  getting  a  charter  for  a  bank.  **  Passage  12  1-2  Cents." 


William  Lawren SS.OO 

William  Fornote 2.00 

Jackson  Freeman 3.0(1 

J.  0.  Lnfbery 4.00 


Job  Clark 
Samuel  Oliver... 
John  Y.  V.  Huyl. 
Nathaniel  B.niie 
Thomp- 


1.00 
4.00 
3.00 
I.IXI 
3.00 


Joel  Clarkson 4.00 

Job  Rundsull 1.00 

William  Martin 3.00 

Richard  Mant 2.00 

Joseph  Hampton 2.00 

J.  B.  iUrab 2.0fl 

J.  H.  Kansom 3.00 

Lewi.!!  Russ 1.00 

Benjamin  S.  Forem 1.00 

Jacob  Parker 4.00 

Bennett  &  Marsh 1.00 

Michael  Brown 50 

John  .Sh..twell 3.00 


"  Rahway,  Nov.  10,  1824. 

D.  L.  Crage 84.00 

Ichabud  Barnett 50 

Moses  Dupuy 300 

R.  C.  Vail 1.00 

J.  D.  Shotwell 1  00 

n.  Drake 1.00 

Joseph  P.  Tooke 1.00 

Henry  Forem 1.00 

Lathem  Clark ...  1.00 

Aaron  Shotwell 1  00 

Daniel  Guyon 2.00 

Urel  0.  Marsh 1.00 

Robert  Lee .'i.OO 

Jacob  Brookfleld 1.00 

Nathan  Thorp  4  Co 2  00 

Benjamin  S.  Forem 1.00 

John  Sinioneon 1.00 

Robert  C.  Vail 1.00 

Isaac  Moore 2.00 

Henry  Forem 1.00 

D.  S.  Crage 1.00 

W.  Thorp 1.00 


Rahway  in  1827. —  The  New  Jersey  Advocate  and 
Middlesex  and  Essex  Advertiser,  which  was  the  suc- 
cessor to  the  Museum.  We  have  a  single  copy  of  this 
paper,  dated  Rahway,  Tuesday,  Oct.  9,  1827.  It  con- 
tains many  local  matters  of  interest  which  throw 
liglit  on  that  period  of  the  history  of  Rahway. 

Jacob  Parker  was  agent  for  the  United  States  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  and  had  an  office  in  the  village. 

Phineas  Munday  and  Frazee  Ayres  had  opened  a 
grocery-store,  under  the  firm-name  of  Munday  & 
Ayres,  at  No.  55  Whitehall,  New  York,  and  offer  to 
take  all  kinds  of  country  produce  to  sell  on  account 
or  on  commission,  and,  if  required,  liberal  advances 
will  be  made  on  goods  left  with  them  for  sale. 

A  valuable  tan-yard  is  offered  for  sale  in  the  town- 
ship of  Westfield,  near  Scotch  Plains,  by  Job  Clark, 
executor  of  the  estate  of  Rachel  Clark,  deceased  ;  like- 
wise a  blacksmith-shop  and  lot  of  ground  in  Milton. 

A.  Shotwell  &  Co.  advertise  for  an  apprentice  to 
the  soap  and  candle  business,  Rahway,  July  2,  1827. 
The  factory  of  Alexander  Shotwell  was  in  the  rear  of 
the  building  owned  by  Nathan  Shotwell. 

At  that  time  two  regular  freight- boats,  the  "  Thomas 
Gibbons"  and  the  "  Nonpareil,"  made  trips  between 
Rahway  and  New  York.  One  of  these  boats  left  the 
dock  at  Rahway  on  Tuesdays  and  returned  on  Fri- 
days, the  other  on  Fridays  and  returned  on  Tuesdays. 
"  Freight  carried  as  low  as  any  boat  out  of  the  river." 

"  London  Porter,  dried  beef,  English  cradle-scythes, 
1  cask  English  horse  nails,  pork,  shad,  mackerel  by 
the  barrel,  paints,  oils,  etc.,  just  received  and  for  sale 
by  J.  P.  Tooker." 

Luke  Haviland,  harness-making  and  trimmings. 

New  bakery,  J.  S.  Smith. 

New  grocery-store,  Alexander  Shotwell  &  Co. 

Hals  and  caps,  Thomas  Crowell. 

Watch-making  and  repairing,  John  Pressaq. 

Smithing,  Vail  &  Guyon. 

Isaac  Osborn,  gig-  and  carriage-manufactory. 

"New  York  and  Staten  Island  Steamboat.  ^  The  well-known 
steamboat  '  Bellona,'  Capt.  J.  H.  Vanderbilt,  will  commence  running 
on  Monday,  the  2d  of  April,  as  follows:  Leave  Rising  Sun  Landing 
every  day  except  Sundays  at  8  o'clock  a.m.,  half-past  12  p.m.,  6  o'clock 


A  convenient,  new,  and  superior  sociable  stage- 
coach provided  to  take  passengers  from  Elizabeth 
Town  to  the  landing  J'ree  of  charge.  Stages  from 
Easton,  Pa.,  Basking  Ridge,  and  Morristown,  N.  J., 
are  admitted  to  run  in  connection  with  this  boat. 

The  following  advertisement  appears : 

"  FRIENDS'   SCHOOL-HOnSB, 

"  Rnhvrny. 

"The  inhabitants  of  Bridgetown  and  its  vicinity,  and  all  others  whom 

it  may  interest,  are  respectfully  informed  that  on  Wednesday,  the  12th 

of  the  present  montli,  the  subscriber  will  open  a  school  in  the  Friends' 

School-House,  Rahway. 

"  As  the  subscnber  is  a  regularly-graduated  Master  of  Arts,  and  has 
long  been  familiar  with  the  various  modes  of  education  now  in  use,  both 
in  English  and  Cl;issical  Schools,  it  is  his  intention,  whenever  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  youth  of  the  place  and  the  wishes  of  their  parents  and 
guardians  shall  refjuire  it.  to  offer  here  the  facilities  for  as  extensive  and 
complete  an  education  as  is  to  be  obtained  in  any  similar  institution 
elsewhere. 

"The  prices  of  tuition  will  be  as  follows,  viz.  : 

For  Reading,  Writing,  and  Arithmetic,  per  quarter $2. .50 

With  English  Grammar  and  Oeogi-aphy 3.00 

With  the  Elements  of  Geometry  jind  their  application  to 
Surveying,  Navigation,  &c.  The  Rudiments  of  Alge- 
bra     4.00 

"  The  strictest  attention  will  be  paid  to  the  instruction  and  morals  of 
the  children,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  School  will  be  found  worthy  of  the 
public  patronage,  which  is  hereby  respectfully  solicited. 

"  Henry  B.  Poole. 
"  Bridgetown,  loth  Sept.,  1827." 

In  this  number  is  to  be  found  a  "Prospectus  of 
The  New  Jersey  Magazine,  to  be  published  in  monthly 
numbers  at  Rahway,  N.  J.,  by  James  A.  Bennett  & 
Co."  The  editor's  name  is  not  given,  but  it  is  an- 
nounced to  be  under  the  editorial  superintendence  of 
"  a  native  of  this  State,  who  is  accustomed  to  literary 
and  editorial  pursuits,  and  conversant  with  domestic 
and  foreign  periodicals."  Subscriptions  to  the  work 
were  advertised  to  be  received  at  the  office  of  the  New 
Jersey  Advocate. 

In  this  paper  also  are  reported  the  "  Proceedings  of 
a  Convention  for  the  Internal  Improvement  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey,  held  at  Princeton  on  the  25th 
day  of  September,  a.d.  1827."  This  convention  was 
the  inception  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  and 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad.  It  was  attended 
by  leading  men  from  all  parts  of  the  State,  and  adopted 
a  plan  of  organization  of  a  permanent  society  having 
the  object  of  internal  improvements  of  the  State  in 
view.  Richard  Stockton  was  chosen  president;  Dan- 
iel Cox,  vice-president ;  John  M.  Sherrard,  secretary  ; 
and  David  0.  Cmxall,  assistant  secretary. 

Rahway  in  1834. — The  following  is  a  description 
of  the  town  of  Rahway  in  1834  by  Joseph  O.  Luf- 
bery  : 

"  Sib  : 

"In  answer  to  the  enquiries  of  your  letter  requesting  information 
relative  to  this  town  and  Its  viciniiy,  I  shall  very  briefly  remark : 

"This  town  contains  from  350  tt>  40t)  lutuses  ;  population  about  ,S00O. 
Storesof  variouskind8,25;  Taverns,3;  Public  Buildings;  1  Presbyterian 
Church,  brick  j  1  Methodist ;  1  Baptist,  building;  I  Frieiuis  and  1  Ortho- 
dox Friends,  and  1  Meeting-House  for  the  Blacks;  1  Academy,  called 
the  'Athenian,'  36  by  08  feet,  two  stories.  This  building  is  just  fin- 
ished, and  was  built  by  a  few  enterprising  and  public-spirited  citizens. 


CITY   OF  RAHWAY. 


249 


The  stock  is  in  shares  of  $-25  each,  and  cost  about  SoOOO.  It  will  accom- 
modate on  the  first  floor  150  schohirs.  The  managers  have  limited  it  to 
100,  which  it  now  cuutaius.  The  upper  room  is  a6  hy  00  feet,  and  ceil- 
ing 16  feet  high,  and  furnished  in  the  be>t  nuinner.  This  is  fur  a  lee 
ture-room,  on  subjects  such  as  will  aid  the  pupils  in  gaining  general  in- 
formatiun  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  We  have  also  1  Academy,  built  by 
cue  uf  our  spirited  citizens,  Mr.  Samuel  Oliver.  This  also  is  rented  as  a 
Boarding-School,  ami  is  now  in  operation,  with  a  full  complement  of 
scholars.  There  is  6  other  schools,  all  well  supported.  We  have  a  Bank, 
capital  paid  in  ^0,1H)0,  a  post-office  mail  every  day  North  and  South,  a 
printiug-uliice  and  weekly  journal,  an  incorporated  fire-Engine  Com- 
pany, extending  over  2  miles  (square,  a  Mutual  Insurance  Company. 

"We  manufacture  for  exports  Hate,  Shoes  &  Boots,  Carriages,  Calrinet 
ftirnitnre,  f-ady  made  Clothing,  Sitting-Chairs,  Soap  A  Candles,  Cotton 
&  Woolen  goods,  tinware,  coach  lace,  plated  ware  for  carriages.  The 
capital  employed  in  manufacturing  is  about  S3UO,(JO0,  value  uf  exports 
frum  10  tu  1200,000  dollars.  We  have  4  Milinery-Shops,  2  Watchmakers, 
3  Bilkers,  (j  Lumber  &  Coal-ynrds,  1  Soap  and  Candle  manufactory.  Ou 
the  river  2  Saw-millB,  doing  a  very  extensive  business  in  sawing  lumber 
braces,  joists,  sealing  laths,  &c.  There  is  now  laying  in  the  river  near 
the  mills  more  than  $10,000  worth  of  timber.  Distance  to  New  York 
by  land  20  miles,  to  Newark  10  mib-s,  Elizabeth  8,  Woodbridge  :i.  Am- 
boy  «,  and  New  Brunswick  II.  There  is  a  railroad  now  making  from 
Jersey  City  to  New  Brnnswick,  passing  through  this  town.  Soil  very 
good,  generally  a  light  loam  on  a  Sandy,  gravelly,  or  red  shell  bottom, 
well  adapted  to  grass,  grain,  &c.  We  have  at  this  time  5  vessels,  one  or 
two  leaving  each  day  for  New  York. 

"  This  town  is  sometimes  called,  hy  way  of  designating  the  several 
parts,  Upper  &  Lower  Rahway  and  Leesville.  Upper  Rahway  is  on  the 
East  sidp,  is  divided  from  Lower  by  the  river.  The  South  End  of  Lees- 
ville takes  its  name  from  a  family  named  Lee,  who  have  long  resided 
there.  This  family  has  furnished  our  most  entei-piising  and  public-spir- 
ited citizens  as  merchants  and  manufacturers,  who  were  the  first  to 
lead  the  way  to  our  extensive  trade  to  the  Southern  States,  and  by  their 
industry  and  perseverance,  li^ieral  and  enlightened  views  have  greatly 
added  to  the  prosperity  of  our  place. 

**I  have  extended  this  further  than  I  expected.  Yours." 

Removal  of  the  Mill-Dams. — In  1854  the  late  Dr. 
David  S.  Craig  and  others  procured  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  to  tear  down  and  abolish  the  mill-dams 
in  Rahway,  on  account  of  the  malarial  fevers  pro- 
duced by  the  stagnant  ponds.  The  desirableness  of 
such  a  measure  was  generally  concurred  in  by  the 
citizens,  who  had  approved  of  it  at  a  public  meeting 
held  in  the  fall  of  1853.  But  it  met  with  strenuous 
opposition  on  the  part  of  some,  and  the  act  of  1854 
proving  defective  in  some  of  its  provisions  it  was  re- 
solved to  seek  an  amendment  at  the  next  sitting  of 
the  Legislature.  That  body  was  memorialized  by  the 
resident  physicians  as  follows: 

".  To  the  Honorable  the  Leginlaiure  of  the  State  of  Neio  Jersey  : 

**The  undersigned,  physicians,  practitioners  of  medicine,  residing  in 
the  district  referred  to  in  an  act  passed  third  of  March,  1854,  would  beg 
leave  to  state  to  your  honorable  body,  that  from  experience  and  obser- 
vation we  believe  the  health  and  prosperity  of  the  village  of  Kahway  and 
surrounding  country  is  greatly  injured  hy  ponds  of  water  occasioned  by 
erection  of  dams  obstructing  the  course  of  nature's  pure  and  healthful 
streams,  and  we  are  also  of  opinion  that  the  removal  of  said  dams  is  the 
only  means  whereby  the  health  atid  prosperity  of  the  place  can  be 
restored. 

"  Moses  Jacques,  M.D., 
"  Lewis  Drake,  M.D., 
"Silas  Cook,  M.D., 
•'Davids.  Craig,  M.D., 
"S.  Abernetht,  M.D., 
*'  John  H.  Janeway,  M.D., 
"  Eliuu  B.  Silvers,  M.D." 

The  law  was  amended,  and  the  trustees  proceeded 
to  give  public  notice  of  its  execution  by  inserting  the 

following  in  the  local  papers : 


"The  subscribers,  trustees  for  carrying  out  the  law  authorizing  the 
removal  of  the  mill-dams,  hereby  inform  the  public  that  they  have  de- 
termined to  take  dowu  all  the  dams  authorized  to  be  removed  at  one 
time,  an'i  have  the  assessment  made  for  the  whole  amount  required  at 
once.  In  announcing  this  determination,  the  trustees  would  state  that 
they  had  taken  into  respectful  consideration  the  recommendations  of  a 
meeting  of  a  portion  of  their  fellow-citizens,  advising  that  only  two  of 
the  dams  be  removed  this  year,  and  the  remaining  two  the  year  follow- 
ing. But  it  having  been  represented  that  the  only  objection  to  the  re- 
moval of  all  the  dams  this  year  was  in  consequence  of  the  distn-ss  the 
levying  of  the  tax  would  occasion  to  many  small  property  holders,  who 
had  been  thrown  out  of  employment  during  the  past  dull  business  sea- 
son, a  number  of  gentlemen  who  had  taken  an  active  interest  iu  the 
matter  pledged  themselves  to  raise  by  subscription  an  amount  necessary 
to  pay  the  taxes  uf  those  unable  to  pay  themselves.  With  this  assurance 
the  trustees  considered  the  cause  of  the  recommendation  of  the  public 
meeting  referred  to  as  having  been  removed,  and  no  other  objections 
having  been  presented,  no  obstacle  was  foreseen  to  the  accomplishment 
of  the  trusts  confided  to  us.  The  fund  subscribed  is  considered  ample  to 
\>&y  tlie  taxes  of  all  who  will  be  unable  to  pay,  and  also  to  loan  to  many 
others  who  may  require  temporary  assistance  the  amount  of  their  taxes, 
but  the  subscription  was  tendered  and  intended  especially  as  a  gift  to 
those  whom  the  tax  would  be  pecuniarily  oppressive,  and  of  all  such  as 
the  taxes  will  be  paid  before  loans  are  made. 

"  David  S.  Chaig, 
"  Wm.  B.  Crowell, 
"Jos.  T.  Crowkll, 

"  Trustees. 
"  Rahwat.  Aug.  22, 1855." 

A  bill  of  complaint  was  taken  to  the  Court  of 
Chancery  praying  for  an  injunction  to  restrain  the 
action  of  the  trustees.  But  it  was  decided  against  the 
petitioners,  and  the  act  for  the  removal  of  the  dams 
was  upheld.  The  dams  removed  were  those  of  Jesse 
C.  Hendenberg,  Ayres,  Williams  &  Lufbery,  Henry 
B.  Shotwell,  and  Isaac  Jones.  Steam  has  since  en- 
tirely superseded  water-power  as  a  motor  in  the 
various  manufacturing  interests  of  Rahway,  and  the 
improved  healthfulness  of  the  city  has  added  greatly 
to  its  prosperity  in  other  respects. 


CHAPTER    XXXVL 

CITY   OF    KAHW AW— {Conth.ued.) 

Incorporation  of  the  City,  Original  Boundaries 
and  their  Changes. — Rahway  was  incorporated  as  a 
city  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  approved  March  12, 
1858.  The  original  boundaries,  as  defined  by  the 
charter,  were  as  follows: 

"Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  the 
Stute  of  New  Jersey,  That  all  that  part  of  the  several  townships  of  Rah- 
way, iu  the  county  uf  Uuion,aud  Woodbridge,  in  the  county  of  Middle- 
sex, in  this  State,  beginning  at  the  Stone  Bridge  over  King's  Creek 
where  said  creek  crosses  the  road  leading  from  East  Rahway  to  Trem- 
bley's  Point;  thence  in  a  uorthwesteMy  direction  on  a  straight  lin^  to 
the  brook  which  crosses  the  road  leading  from  Kinsey's  Corner  to 
Florence's  Mill,  intersecting  said  brook  two  hundred  yards  to  the  east- 
ward of  said  road  ;  thence  in  a  southfaslerly  direclion  to  the  road  which 
leads  from  Rahway  to  Westfield,  and  known  as  the  Westfield  road,  inter- 
secting said  Westfield  road  at  a  point  where  the  road  which  leads  to 
Madison  Hill  intersects  it;  thence  in  a  southwesterly  direclion,  on  a 
straight  line,  to  the  road  leading  from  the  Six  Roads  to  Mount  Pleasant, 
inteisecting said  Mount  Pleasant  roa^l  at  a  small  bridgp,  about  two  hun- 
dred yiirds  to  the  northwest  of  the  house  owned  and  occupied  by  Moses 
B.  Bramhall ;  thence  in  a  southwesterly  direction  along  the  line  of  said 
Mount  Ple;tsant  n-ad  to  the  road  which  leads  from  Kiusey'e  Corner  to 
Woodbridge,  and  known  as  the  old  Woodbridge  road  ;  thence  along  the 


250 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


line  of  said  road  to  the  bridge  which  crosses  the  South  Branch  of  the 
Rahwiiy  Biver;  thence  in  a  southeasterly  direction,  and  nearly  due  eiist, 
to  the  road  leading;  to  New  Blazing  Star,  and  along  the  line  of  said  New 
Blazing  Star  road  to  a  point  where  the  lands  of  Walter  Fuller  and  Aaron 
Wilkinson  adjoin;  and  thence  in  a  northeasterly  direction  in  a  straight 
line  to  the  place  of  heginning;  and  all  citizens  of  this  State  who  now 
are  or  hereafter  may  be  inhabitants  within  said  limit!  shall  be  and  are 
hereby  constituted  a  body  politic  and  corporate  by  the  name  of  'The 
Mayor  and  Common  Ck>uncil  of  the  City  of  Rahway,'  witli  all  the  powers 
incident  to  a  municipal  corporation  and  necessary  for  the  purposes  of 
carrying  out  the  objects  of  this  act.'* 

Section  second  of  the  act  divided  tlie  city  in  four 
wards,  the  boundaries  of  which  it  is  not  necessary 
here  to  describe. 

The  city  at  the  time  of  its  incorporation  was  situated 
in  two  townships  in  two  separate  counties,  viz.,  the 
township  of  Railway,  in  Union  County,  and  the  town- 
ship of  Woodbridge,  in  Middlesex  County.  Each  of 
these  townships  maintained  its  original  boundaries 
and  jurisdiction  independent  of  the  city  government, 
so  that  the  inhabitants  for  the  time  being  were  under 
three  governments,  viz.,  that  of  the  city  and  those  of 
the  townships  of  Rahway  and  Woodbridge  respec- 
tively, each  holding  its  sceptre  over  its  portion  of  the 
territory,  and  the  city  extending  its  municipal  hands 
over  both.  Surely,  if  good  government  were  in  the 
ratio  of  its  quantity,  the  city  of  Rahway  must  have 
been  well  governed.  But  such  is  not  always  the  fact. 
This  anomalous  state  of  things,  however,  did  not  last 
long.  By  an  act  of  the  Legislature  approved  Feb. 
16,  1860,  that  part  of  Woodbridge  township  included 
in  the  city  was  taken  from  Middlesex  County  and  at- 
tached to  the  township  of  Rahway,  in  Union  County. 
Thus  the  city  got  rid  of  the  difficulty  of  being  situated 
in  two  townships  and  two  counties,  and  the  number 
of  governments  was  reduced  to  two.  The  city  and 
the  township  governments — a  sort  of  wheel  within  a 
wheel,  though  less  complicated  than  the  former  struc- 
ture— ran  on  together  until  March,  1861,  when  by 
legislative  enactment  the  township  of  Rahway  was 
divided,  part  of  its  territory  formed  into  the  new 
township  of  Linden,  and  the  rest  absorbed  in  the  ex- 
tended limits  of  the  city.  Thus  the  ohl  township  of 
Rahway,  being  cut  in  two  by  a  legislative  blow,  died, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-seven  years.  Part  of  it,  perhaps  we 
may  call  it  the  head,  came  into  the  city  under  the 
name  of  the  Fifth  Ward.  Whether  it  was  found  to 
be  as  useless  in  the  corporation  as  "the  fifth  wheel  to 
a  coach,"  or  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause,  the 
Legislature  took  it  out  March  23, 1864,  and  constructed 
out  of  it  the  present  township  of  Clark.  It  certainly 
could  be  put  to  no  better  use  than  to  be  converted 
into  a  monument  to  that  worthy  citizen  of  yore,  the 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Iiidepeiidence. 

Organization  of  the  City  Government— The  first 
electitm  for  city  officers  was  held  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1858,  under  the  direction  of  the  commissioners  of 
election  appointed  by  the  charter  for  the  several 
wards,  viz. :  For  the  First  Ward,  Joel  Clarkson,  Fran- 
cis Labaw,  and  Stephen  Jackson  ;  for  the  Second 
Ward,  Jeremiah  Tunison,  William  Gibby,  and  Enoch 


M.  Ayres;  for  the  Third  Ward,  Jacob  L.  Woodruff, 
Henry  Platner,  and  James  McKelvey.  The  mayor 
and  Common  Council  elect  met  pursuant  to  the  re- 
quirements of  the  charter  at  Washington  Hall  on 
Monday,  the  3d  day  of  May,  1858,  at  10  o'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  and  proceeded  to  count  the  number  of  votes 
given  at  the  election  for  city  and  ward  officers.  The 
following  were  declared  to  be  elected,  they  having  re- 
ceived the  highest  number  of  votes  for  the  respective 
offices:  Mayor,  Edward  Y.  Rogers;  City  Clerk,  John 
R.  Chapin  ;  Treasurer,  William  Osborn,  Jr.;  Collec- 
tor, Peter  B.  Sharp  ;  Collector  of  Arrears,  Enoch  M. 
Ayres. 

Ward  Officers. — First  Ward:  Councilmen,  Abel 
V.  Shotwell,  James  O.  Halsey  ;  Judges  of  Elections, 
Joel  Clarkson,  Horace  H.  Roberts,  Augustus  M. 
Laing ;  Ward  Clerk,  Albert  G.  Sym  ;  Constable, 
John  Harvey  ;  Commissioner  of  Appeal,  Eden  Hay- 
dock. 

Second  Ward:  Councilmen,  William  Gibby,  Crowel 
Macann  ;  Judges  of  Elections,  George  J.  Trussler, 
Andrew  J.  Halliday,  Jeremiah  O.  Tunison;  Ward 
Clerk,  William  Geery ;  Constable,  John  J.  Cladek; 
Commissioner  of  Appeal,  Amzi  W.  Williams. 

Third  Ward:  Councilmen,  Abraham  Ackerman, 
Benjamin  C.  Watson  ;  Judges  of  Elections,  Almeth 
White,  Francis  E.  Terrell,  John  R.  Ross ;  Ward 
Clerk,  John  H.  A.  Wobbe ;  Constable,  Benjamin 
Parker;  Commissioner  of  Appeal,  Jacob  L.  Wood- 
ruff. 

Fourth  Ward :  Councilmen,  John  Woodruff,  Thomas 
J.  Lee ;  Judges  of  Elections,  Edward  E.  Hooker, 
George  J.  Merrick,  John  A.  Jaques;  Ward  Clerk, 
Abraham  S.  Bonney ;  Constable,  John  J.  Brown ; 
Commissioner  of  Appeal,  James  Vanderhoven. 

Tlie  oath  of  office  and  allegiance  were  administered 
by  Thomas  H.  Schafer,  Esq.,  Master  in  Chancery,  to 
the  members  of  the  Council  and  the  city  clerk,  and 
the  following  officers  gave  bonds  in  the  sums  named 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  their  respective  du- 
ties :  City  Treasurer,  S6000  ;  Assessor,  $500  ;  Collector 
of  Taxes,  $6000;  Collector  of  Arrears,  $3000;  Con- 
stables, $300. 

At  two  o'clock  P.M.  the   Council   assembled,   and 
!  being  opened  by  prayer  the  mayor  proceeded  to  de- 
i  liver  his  inaugural  address,  which  was  listened  to  by 
a  large  assemblage  of  people. 

The  machinery  of  the  city  government  thus  put  in 
operation  has  continued,  with  some  necessary  modifi- 
cation, to  the  present  time.  In  1865  (April  4th)  an  act 
was  passed  authorizing  the  appointment  of  commis- 
sioners to  lay  out  streets,  avenues,  and  squares  in  the 
city  of  Rahway.  An  act  to  revise  and  amend  the 
charter  of  the  city  was  approved  March  23,  1865,  and 
a  supplement  was  added  to  it  April  6, 1871,  providing 
that  the  Common  Council  by  ordinance  from  time  to 
time  may  vacate  or  alter  the  lines  or  courses  of  any  of 
the  streets  or  sections  thereof  in  said  city  already 
laid  out,  whether  opened  or  not  at  the  passage  of  such 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


251 


ordinance,  provided  that  written  application  for  tlie 
passage  of  sucli  ordinance  sliall  first  be  made  by  per- 
sons owning  three-fourths  of  the  lineal  feet  along  the 
street  or  section  thereof  proposed  to  be  altered  or  va- 
cated, and  that  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of 
councilmen  vote  in  favor  of  the  passage  of  such  ordi- 
nance. This  act  gave  authority  to  the  Common  Coun- 
cil to  license,  regulate,  and  control  the  sale  of  spirit- 
uous and  fermented  liquors  in  the  city,  to  punish  the 
violation  of  ordinances  on  this  subject,  or  to  revoke 
the  licenses  granted.  It  also  gave  power  to  the  mayor 
and  city  clerk  to  administer  all  official  oaths  or  affir- 
mations required  to  be  taken  by  any  officer  in  the  said 
city. 

The  revised  charter  with  its  various  supplementary 
acts  was  brought  fully  into  use  in  1871.  Since  then 
no  change  has  been  made  in  the  city  government. 

The  mayors  of  the  city  from  its  incorporation  to 
the  present  time  have  been  : 


lS.'i8-60.  Edward  T.  Rogers. 
lseO-61.  John  H.  Lufljery. 
1861-63.  Joseph  \V.  Savage. 
186:i-64.  Thomas  J.  Lee. 
1864-66    JaDiea  Henry  Stone. 
186(i-68.  Dr.  W.  P.  Hor\gh. 
1868-69.  John  F.  Whitney. 
1869-71.  John  C.  Coddington. 


1871-72.  William  J.  Brown. 
1872-74.  John  D.  Chapin. 
1874-76.  Lewis  S.  Hyer. 
1875-76.  Daniel  K.  Ryno. 
1876-78.  John  J.  High. 
1878-79.  Alpheus  D.  Gibbons. 
1879-80.  W.  Updyke  Selovor. 
18811-82.  Joseph  W.  Savage. 


CITY    CLERKS. 
1858-59.  John  D.  Chapin.  1870-72.  Christopher  D.  Marsh. 


1869-61.  Henry  Platner. 
1861-63.  John  B.  Clarlt. 
186.1-64.  William  B.  Crowell,  Jr. 
1864-68.  Howard  R.  Martin. 
1808-69.  William  Richards 
1869-70.  William  B.  Crowell,  Jr. 


1872-73.  Win.  Theodore  Miller. 
1873-75.  Christopher  D.  Marsh. 
187,'i-78.  Henry  N.  Oliver. 
1878-80.  Washington  I.  Tier. 
1880-82.  Lewis  S.  Hyer. 


PRESIDENTS   OF  THE  COMMON  COUNCIL.l 
1865-68.  John  J.  High.  1875-76.  Joseph  Wooster. 

1868-69.  Francis  Baker.  1876-78.  John  H.  Lufbery. 

1869-71.  John  D.  Chapin.  1878-79.  James  L.  Bodwell. 

1871-73.  Henry  C.  Vail.  1879-80.  John  H.  Lufbery. 

1873-75.  James  L.  BodweH.  !  1880-82.  Willett  Denike. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

CITY    OF    KAHV/ AY.— {Co,itl,,ued.) 

Fire  Department. — In  the  file  of  the  Bridge  Toivn 
Museum,  a  copy  of  which  we  have  as  late  as  Dec.  23, 
1822,  we  find  no  allusion  to  a  fire  company  in  Rail- 
way. In  less  than  a  year  later,  however,  such  an 
institution  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature,  which 
became  possessed  of  valuable  apparatus  and  real  es- 
tate, and  was  in  active  existence  at  the  time  of  the  in- 
corporation of  the  city.  We  quote  from  the  follow- 
ing act,  entitled  "  A  Supplement  to  the  Act  entitled 
'  An  Act  to  Incorporate  the  City  of  Rahway,'  "  ap- 
proved March  12,  1858 : 

*'  WHERE.VS,  by  an  act  of  the  Legislatme  of  this  State,  entitled  '.\n 
Act  to  incorporate   the   Raway  Fire   Company,'  passed  December  five, 


1  Elected  by  the  Council  nnder  the  revised  charter,  which 
force  May  1,  1865. 


eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-three,  and  the  Supplements  thereto,  a 
company  have  been  organized  and  become  possessed  of  valuable  real 
estate,  engine-houses,  engines,  and  other  tire  apparatus,  as  provided  in 
said  act  and  supplement. 

"And  Whereas,  the  said  Rahway  Fire  Omipany  are  desirous  of  dis- 
posing of  their  property  so  acquired  to  the  City  of  Rahway,  and  cease 
to  exercise  their  powers  as  an  independent  corporation.    Therefore, 

"  Section  1.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  General  Ameinhhj  of  the 
Slate  of  NeioJeraeij,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  Rahway  Firs 
Conjpany  to  sell,  convey,  and  otherwise  dispose  of  to  'The  Mayor  and 
Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Rahway,'  hereafter  to  be  elected  by  vir- 
tue of  the  provisions  of  the  act  entitled  'An  Act  Incorporating  the  City 
of  Rahway,'  upon  such  terms  as  shall  be  agreed  upon  between  them,  all 
real  estate,  engine.houses,  engines,  reservoire  of  water,  leaders,  buckets, 
fire-hooks,  and  other  implements  and  machines  as  they  may  now  possess, 
to  thesole  use  and  benefit  of  the  said  (_'ity  of  Rahway. 

"  Sec.  2  And  be  it  enacted.  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the 
said  '  The  Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Rahway,'  and  they 
are  hereby  authorized  to  niise  by  tax,  in  addition  to  the  annual  taxes 
limited  in  the  eighteenth  seition  of  theact  to  which  this  is  a  supplement, 
any  sum  not  exceeding  four  thousand  dollars,  for  purpose  of  purchasing 
the  said  property  of  the  said  '  The  Rahway  Fire  Company.' 

'  Sec.  3.  And  be  it  enacted,  That  upon  the  purchase  by  the  said  'The 
Mayor  and  Common  Council  of  the  City  of  Railway'  of  the  said  property, 
the  said  '  The  Rahway  Fire  Company'  shall  be  disbanded,  and  the  act 
incorporating  the  same  and  the  supplements  thereto  shall  be  and  the 
same  are  hereby  declared  to  be  repealed. 

"  Sec.  4.  And  be  it  rnacted,  Tbat^his  act  shall  fake  effect  immediately." 

The  original  fire  company,  which  was  disbanded  by 
the  above  act,  was  in  operation  in  1834,  as  we  learu 
from  Joseph  O.  Luf  bery's  description  of  the  town  at 
that  date.  It  was  superseded  by  the  present  fire  de- 
partment of  the  city,  organized  under  the  charter. 

The  present  organization  of  the  fire  department  is 
as  follows:  President,  D.  R.  Parker;  Treasurer,  John 
F.  Lufbery  ;  Chief  Engineer,  Lewis  Gehring  ;  A.ssist- 
ant  Engineers,  J.  Lester  La  Forge  and  William  H. 
Randolph. 

Washington  Hose  Company,  No.  1,  Milton  Avenue. 
Foreman,  James  D.  Miller. 

Franklin  Hose  Company,  No.  2,  Seminary  near 
Church.  Foreman,  John  Gehring;  Assistant  Fore- 
man, Augustus  Lang. 

Warren  Hose  Company,  No.  3,  Main  Street  near 
Elm  Avenue.     Foreman,  Michael  Boyne. 

Independent  Hook-and-Ladder  Company,  No.  1, 
Seminary  Street  near  Grand.  Foreman,  Caleb  Ward ; 
Assistant  Foreman,  John  Hughes. 

The  Rahway  Gaslight  Company  was  chartered 
on  Feb.  18,  18.53,  but  no  organization  was  effected 
under  this  charter.  A  supplementary  act  was  ap- 
proved March  20,  1857,  incorporating  the  following- 
named  persons  as  the  Rahway  Gaslight  Company, 
viz. :  Josephus  Shann,  Isaac  Osborn,  Edward  Y. 
Rogers,  Joseph  S.  Smith,  Amos  C.  Watson,  Joseph 
T.  Crowell,  Jonathan  Woodruff,  Jacob  R.  Shotwell, 
Francis  La  Baw.  The  capital  stock  was  placed  at 
$20,000,  with  the  privilege  of  increasing  it  to  $50,000. 
A  further  supplement  was  passed  March  6,  1873,  au- 
thorizing the  directors  to  increase  the  capital  to  any 
amount  not  exceeding  8200,000. 

The  company  was  organized  on  Oct.  3, 1857 ;  Jacob 
R.  Shotwell,  Joseph  T. '  Crowell,  Francis  La  Baw 
Joseph  O.  Lufbery,  and  Isaac  Osborn,  directors. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  directors,  Jacob  R.  Shot- 


252 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


well  was  elected  president,  and  Edward  Y.  Rogers, 
secretary  and  treasurer.  Mr.  Sliotwell  is  still  presi- 
dent, and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  treasurer. 

On  Oct.  6,  1857,  a  contract  was  made  with  William 
D.  Parrish,  of  Philadelphia,  for  the  erection  of  the 
gas-works.  Mr.  Parrish  fulfilled  his  contract,  and  the 
works  were  accepted  by  the  directors  in  December, 
1857.  They  have  since  been  greatly  extended,  and 
their  capacities  and  facilities  increased  to  meet  the 
demands  of  a  growing  city.  The  company  commenced 
making  gas  on  the  17th  of  December,  1857.  There 
are  now  nearly  twelve  miles  of  mains  in  the  city. 

In  1861  the  first  contract  was  made  with  the  Rah- 
way  Gaslight  Company  for  supplying  the  streets 
with  gas.  The  first  lamp  district  in  the  city  was 
adopted  by  ordinance  Aug.  2,  1859.  On  June  16, 
1874,  the  district  was  extended  so  as  to  embrace  the 
following  boundaries:  Beginning  at  the  junction  of 
Union  and  Whittier  Streets ;  thence  along  Whittier 
Street  to  Harrison  Street;  thence  along  Harrison 
Street  to  St.  George's  Avenue. 

Rahway  Library  Association.— The  Rahway  Li- 
brary was  opened  June  15,  1858,  under  the  auspices 
of  an  association  of  ladies,  with  a  collection  of  books 
presented  by  a  previous  organization,  numbering  one 
hundred  and  forty-four  volumes. 

This  voluntary  a.ssociation  continued  six  years, 
during  which  time  such  additions  were  made  to  the 
library  as  the  small  amount  of  money  received  from 
subscribers  would  permit. 

An  increasing  desire  for  the  prosperity  of  the  library 
being  apparent  in  the  community,  it  was  thought  best 
to  have  the  interests  connected  herewith  secured  and 
enlarged  by  an  act  of  incorporation.  The  charter 
printed  herewith  was  obtained  from  the  Legislature 
of  this  State  in  1864,  and  the  present  organization 
was  formed  under  its  provisions. 

The  need  of  a  better  and  larger  room,  coupled  with 
a  desire  to  have  a  permanent  building  for  the  library, 
induced  the  trustees  to  make  great  efl:brts  to  obtain 
money  enough  to  purchase  a  lot,  and  to  build  thereon 
a  structure  that  would  be  a  credit  to  them  and  to  the 
city  of  Rahway. 

These  efforts  were  so  far  successful  that  they  were 
enabled  to  construct  a  substantial  brick  building  in  a 
central  location,  at  a  cost,  including  the  lot,  of  about 
ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  books  were  removed  to  the  new  building  at  the 
corner  of  Seminary  and  Irving  Streets  in  the  summer 
of  1869,  and  the  library  was  opened  to  the  public  with 
fifteen  hundred  volumes  upon  its  shelves. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  1871,  a  lady  of  the  city,  well 
known  for  her  liberal  contributions  to  many  and  va- 
ried objects  of  philanthropy,  presented  the  association 
with  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  to  be  securely 
invested,  and  the  interest  derived  therefrom  to  be 
used  for  the  purchase  of  books  of  science,  biography, 
history,  travels,  etc.,  and  the  better  class  of  periodical 
literature. 


On  the  1st  of  May,  1872,  the  "  trustees  of  the  Rah- 
way School  for  Colored  Children"  made  the  a.ssocia- 
tion  a  gift  of  six  thousand  dollars,  on  conditions  and 
with  restrictions  similar  to  those  in  the  donation 
mentioned  above. 

These  trust  funds  now  yield  the  annual  sum  of 
eleven  hundred  and  twenty  dollars,  nearly  all  of 
which  is  expended  in  the  purchase  of  standard  works. 

At  this  time  the  library  contains  six  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  eighty-three  volumes. 

The  act  of  incorporation  is  as  follows: 

"Wheheas,  a  number  uf  ladies,  inhabitants  of  tlie  city  of  Railway, 
of  tliis  State,  have  now  an  association  Icnown  as  'Tlie  Rahway  Library 
Association,'  it  is  appreliended  tliat  the  object  of  the  said  associatloa 
will  be  promoted  by  an  act  of  incorporation  ;  therefore, 

'*  1.  Be  U  eitacled  by  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  Tliat  William  C.  Sqnier,  Jacob  R.  Sliotwell,  and  Benjamin  M. 
Price,  and  their  associates  are  hereby  constituted  a  body  politic  and  cor- 
porate, in  fact,  name,  and  law,  by  the  name  of  *  The  Rahway  Library 
Association,'  and  by  that  name  they  and  their  successors  shall  have  per- 
petual succession,  power  to  sue  and  be  sued,  plead  and  be  impleaded, 
answer  and  answered  unto,  in  all  courts  and  places  whatever,  to  make 
1  seal  and  alter  it  at  pleasure,  to  purchase,  take,  have,  hold, 
e,  and  enjoy  any  lauds,  tenements,  hereditaments,  in  fee  simple  or 
otherwise,  any  goods,  chattels,  legacies,  donations,  annuities,  or  other 
personal  property  of  whatever  kind  or  quality  soever,  by  gift,  grant,  de- 
vise, bequest,  or  otherwise,  and  the  same  to  gi'ant,  convey,  assign,  sell, 
or  otherwise  dispose  of  for  the  purposes  of  &iid  corporation ;  provided, 
always,  that  the  clear  value  of  said  real  estate  shall  not  exceed  the  value 
of  ten  thousand  dollars, 

"  2.  And  be  it  eintcled.  That  the  property,  affairs,  and  concerns  of  said 
corporation  shall  he  managed  and  conducted  l>y  nine  trustees,  to  be 
elected  on  the  firet  Monday  in  June  next;  the  same  corporatiou  shall 
name  nine  ladie.i,  now  associated  with  the  stockholders  of  the  Railway 
Library  Association,  residing  in  the  city  of  Railway  or  its  vicinity,  aa 
trustees  of  the  aaid  association,  and  the  persons  so  named  shall  constitute 
the  first  board  of  trustees,  and  in  case  any  vacancy  shall  happen  in  the 
said  trustees  by  death,  removal,  resignation,  or  otherwise,  such  vacancy 
shall  be  filled  by  the  said  board,  and  the  seat  t.f  any  trustee  who  may  have 
neglected  to  attend  four  successive  meetings  may  he  vacated  and  the  va- 
cancy filled  hyamajority  of  the  board  of  trustees.  The  trustees  shall  meet 
annually,  on  the  first  Monday  in  June,  and  choose  by  ballot  from  their 
number  a  first  and  second  directress,  secretary,  and  treasurer,  and  such 
otlier  officers  as  may  be  expedient,  and  the  duties  and  powers  of  such 
officei's  shall  be  defined  by  such  by-laws  as  the  board  of  trustees  may 
make. 

"3.  .4>id  be  U  enacted.  That  the  oliject  of  said  corporation  shall  be  the 
establielinient  of  a  circulating  library  in  the  city  of  Rahway.  A  ma- 
jority of  tlie  trustees  shall  constitute  a  quorum  to  transact  business, 
who  shall  have  power  to  make  and  provide  such  by-laws  as  to  them  may 
seem  needful  for  the  purposes  of  said  corporation  not  inconsistent  with 
this  act  and  the  laws  of  the  State. 

"  4.  And  be  it  enacted,  That  this  act  he  and  is  hereby  declared  a  public 
act,  and  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  this  State  at  any  time  may 
hereafter  annul,  repeal,  or  modify  the  same. 

*'  6.  And  be  it  enacted.  That  this  act  shall  take  efi'ect  immediately." 

The  first  trustees  were  Mrs.  William  C.  Squier, 
Mrs.  B.  M.  Price,  Mrs.  W.  E.  Bloodgood,  Mrs.  John 
Woodruff,  Mrs.  J.  L.  Woodruff,  Mrs.  F.  La  Baw,  Mrs. 
Jos.  T.  Crowell,  Mrs.  W.  B.  Oliver,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Shot- 
well. 

The  present  trustees  are  Mrs.  William  C.  Squier, 
Mrs.  A.  V.  Shotwell,  Mrs.  A.  F.  Shotwell,  Mrs.  J.U. 
Underbill,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Shotwell,  Mrs.  Leslie  Lupton, 
Mrs.  Thomas  Martin,  Mrs.  H.  H.  James,  Mrs.  J.  Ed- 
ward Marsh. 

Officers. — F'irst  Directress,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Squier; 
Second  Directress,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Shotwell ;  Secretary, 
Mrs.  J.  U.  Underbill ;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  W.  C.  Squier. 


John  Urmston  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  an  Episcopal  clergy- 
man of  England,  who  spelled  his  name  "Armstrong,"  and  is 
supposed  to  have  changed  it  to  Urmston,  and  who  came  to 
America  in  search  of  his  son,  and  died  at  Charleston,  S.  C, 
shortly  after  his  arrival. 

This  son,  an  only  child,  chafing  under  parental  restraint, 
left  his  native  country  at  about  the  age  of  fourteen,  and  is  sup- 
posed to  have  landed  at  New  York,  for  subsequently  he  married 
a  lady  of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  Among  the  effects  of  his 
father  left  at  his  death  in  Charleston  he  found  a  book,  "  Body 
of  Divinity,"  with  the  name  Abraham  Urmston  (Armstrong) 
written  in  it,  but  it  is  not  known  that  his  name  was  Abraham ; 
the  book  was  dated  "1743." 

It  is  known  that  there  were  two  sons  born  of  this  union, — 
Thomas  and  Benjamin,  the  latter  of  whom  settled  in  the 
Western  States.  Thomas  was  grandfather  of  our  subject,  re- 
sided on  a  farm  on  the  mountain  near  Martinville,  in  Somerset 
County,  N.  J.,  where  he  reared  a  family  of  seven  children. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  State  militia  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  one  of  his  sons,  Daniel,  was  drafted  in  the  war  of 
1812,  reported  for  duty  at  Trenton,  but  was  never  called  upon 
to  serve.  One  daughter  of  Thomas  Urmston  settled  in  Seiota 
County  in  1842,  another  at  the  age  of  eighty-two  was  at  Jersey- 
ville.  111.,  with  her  grandson,  George  Randolph,  in  1868,  and 
a  third  was  the  widow  of  a  Methodist  clergyman  of  Augusta, 
Me.,  at  the  same  date.  The  sons  were  William,  Daniel,  and 
Thomas,  of  whom  the  latter  settled  near  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  in 
1840.  Daniel,  father  of  our  subject,  followed  the  business  of 
turning  and  hub-making  at  Green  Brook  and  near  Bound 
Brook,  N.  J.,  during  his  active  business  life,  and  died  at  the 
latter  place  in  1S40,  aged  fifty-one  years.  His  wife,  Deborah 
Streets,  whom  he  married  in  1810,  and  who  died  in  18~S,  aged 
eighty-seven  years,  bore  him  the  following  children:  John  ; 
Hannah  Ann,  wife  of  Henry  A.  Brower";  Joseph;  Mary  Jane, 
wife  of  .Tames  Stout;  and  Rachel,  who  became  the  wife  of 
Richard  Ten  Eyck,  of  Somerset  County.  All  are  living  in  1882 
except  Josejih,  who  was  in  business  in  Rahwav  with  his  brother, 
and  died  in  1842,  and  Daniel  E.  and  Thomas".  John  Urmston. 
eldest  son  of  Daniel  and  Deborah  Urmston,  was  born  at  Green 
Brook,  Sept.  2,  1810,  and  received  the  u?ual  advantages  for  an 
education  that  the  schools  of  hi^  native  place  afforded.  At  the 
age  of  eighteen  he  began  an  apprenticeship  with  Jeremiah  Par- 
sell  in  the  manufacture  of  fancy  chairs.  V\nm  completing  his 
trade,  at  the  end  of  three  years,  he  worked  as  a  journeyman  in 


Philadelphia  for  a  short  time,  returned  home  and  established 
himself  in  the  same  business  in  a  small  way,  but  after  two  years 
gave  up  the  business.  In  1835  he  came  to  Rahway,  and  in 
connection  with  his  brother  Joseph,  before  mentioned,  estab- 
lished a  hub-manufactory  near  the  Taurina  Works,  doing  their 
turning  by  water-power.  Here  he  continued  business  for  eleven 
years  in  a  small  way,  and  carted  his  hubs  to  New  York,  New- 
ark, and  other  markets  for  sale.  In  1847  he  purchased  a  lot 
on  the  corner  of  Union  and  Ludlow  Streets,  in  Rahway,  erected 
a  hub-manufactory,  and  until  1851  did  the  turning  by  horse- 
power, at  which  time  he  introduced  steam-power,  which  he  has 
used  since. 

He  has  erected  on  this  lot  a  substantial  dwelling-house,  store- 
house, and  made  large  additions  to  his  first  manufactory,  which 
was  forty  by  seventeen  feet,  and  one  and  a  half  story  high. 
During  the  late  civil  war  Mr.  Urmston  made  the  hubs  for  seven 
hundred  cannon.  The  superiority  of  his  work  and  quality  of 
material  used,  together  with  his  long  experience,  has  made  his 
name  widely  known  throughout  the  United  States  and  other 
countries,  and  his  business  has  so  increased  that  his  shipments 
are  made  direct  to  England,  Australia,  South  Africa,  Sandwich 
Islands,  and  to  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Mr.  Urmston  has  led  an  active  and  industrious  life,  and 
although  unassisted  pecuniarily  when  starting  out  for  himself, 
he  has  by  his  judicious  management  secured  a  good  competency. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council  of  Rahway  for  two 
years  after  it  became  a  city,  and  for  two  years  served  on  the 
board  of  education.  He  is  interested  in  and  a  member  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  and  has  served  for  many  years  on 
its  board  of  trustees.  His  wife  is  Latitia,  daughter  of  Daniel 
Garth  wait,  of  Westfield,  whom  he  married  in  1S38.  She  was 
born  .Tune  11,  1813.  Their  surviving  children  are  Daniel 
G.,  John  J..  Frank,  and  Thomas,  all  in  business  with  their 
father,  and  two  daughters,— Latitia,  wife  of  J.  E.  Stiles,  of 
Morristown,  and  Louisa  B.  Their  deceased  children  were 
Mary  Elizabeth,  Mary  Elizabeth  (2),  Marietta,  George  Wash- 
ington, and  Deborah  Ann,  who  was  the  wife  of  Elias  Whitehead. 

Daniel  O.  Urmston  enlisted  Aug.  9,  1862,  in  Company  E, 
Fourteenth  Regiment  New  Jersey  Volunteers,  Third  Brigade, 
Third  Division,  Sixth  Army  Corps  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
was  engaged  in  its  numerous  battles  and  skirmishes,  ranking 
as  orderly  sergeant,  and  was  wounded  through  the  right  side 
in  a  bayonet  charge  at  the  battle  of  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1, 
IStU,  and  honorably  discharged  from  service  Aug.  20,  1865. 


/Qy/. 


Baviil  B.  Dunham  came  of  English  and  Scotch  ancestry,  who 
were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Xew  Jersey,  The  ancestry  is 
traced  as  far  back  as  his  paternal  great-grandfather,  Benyew 
Dunham,  born  in  May,  1732.  Married  Mary  Heath,  who  was 
born  in  April.  1737,  and  bore  bim  twelve  children,  who  settled 
in  New  Jersey,  New  York  City,  and  one  in  Pittsfield,  Mass. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  David,  born  Feb.  13,  I7fi2,  set- 
tled or  resided  at  Larger  Cross-Koads,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  His 
wife  was  Martha  Barkley,  born  Jan.  31,  1703.  David  Dunham 
died  Jan.  9,  1S26,  his  widow  died  Sept.  1,  1S46.  They  had  eight 
children,  all  but  one  of  whom  (who  died  in  infancy)  were 
married  and  settled  in  Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties.  In 
early  life  they  were  all,  with  their  parents,  active  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Lamington.  One  (Robert  B.)  died 
at  seventy-five  years  of  age,  two  {Mary  and  Nancy)  died  at 
eighty-three  years  of  age,  and  four  are  still  living,  the  eldest 
(Eliza  Vanderbeek)  in  her  ninety-first  year;  Martha  Nevius, 
eighty-three;  Benyew,  eighty;  and  David,  the  youngest, 
seventy-eight.  The  latter  still  lives  on  the  homestead  farm 
of  his  father,  at  the  Larger  Cross-Iloads,  in  vigorous  health, 
an  active,  influential  citizen,  and  a  pi'ominent  and  useful 
elder  in  the  church  at  Lamington. 

Robert  Barkley  Dunham,  the  father  of  our  subject  (the  eldest 
of  the  family),  was  born  Feb.  23,  I7SS,  and  died  May  S,  1S63. 
He  commenced  his  active  business  life,  a  partner  witli  his  father, 
as  a  tanner  and  manufacturer  of  leather,  but  later  bought  a 
neighboring  farm,  and  the  remainder  of  his  life  was  spent  upon 
it.  He  was  a  man  of  strict  integrity  and  of  firm  Christian 
principles.  For  nearly  forty  years  he  was  an  elder  in  the  church 
at  Lamington,  and  his  influence  for  good  in  the  community  was 
always  noted  and  felt.  He  marrieil  Catherine,  daughter  of 
Ralph  Nevius,  of  South  Branch,  Somerset  Co.,  who  was  bom 
in  October,  1793,  and  survives  in  18S2.  Their  children  are 
Martha  M.,  wife  of  Garret  Simonson,  of  Lamington,  now  of 
Raritan,  III.;  Anna  E.;  John  N.,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. ;  David 
B. ;  and  Robert  B.,  who  died  at  the  ago  of  seventeen.  David  B. 
Dunham  was  born  at  Larger  Cross-Roads,  Bcdminster  town- 
ship, Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Nov.  9, 1829.  He  spent  his  boyhood 
on  his  father's  farm,  was  educated  with  a  view  to  entering  col- 
lege, and  was  being  prepared  for  college  by  Rev.  Dr.  Blauvelt, 
of  Lamington,  when  he  decided  upon  a  business  instead  of  a 
professional  life.     At  the  age  of  aeventeen  he  began  as  a  clerk 


in  the  dry-goods  store  of  Post  k  De  Camp,  at  Somerville,  N.  J., 
and  after  clerking  four  years  in  Somerville  and  New  Brunswick, 
and  one  year  with  W.  K.  Post,  of  Rahway,  he  engaged  as  clerk 
in  the  store  of  J.  A  A.  Woodruff,  of  Rahway,  who  were  then 
merchants  in  dry-goods  and  carriage  materials,  and  also  car- 
riage manufacturers.  He  became  a  partner  in  1S56,  under  the 
firm  name  of  J.  A  A.  Woodruff  k  Co.,  which  continued  until 
186U,  when  John  Woodruff  and  Mr.  Dunham  bought  out  the 
interest  of  the  other  partners,  and  continued  the  business  under 
the  firm  name  of  AVoodruff  k  Dunham.  Meanwhile  the  busi- 
ness had  increased  from  about  thirty-fi\e  thousand  dollars  in 
18J2~63,  to  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  1860-61  annually. 
In  1803  they  connected  with  their  mercantile  business  the 
manufacture  of  carriages,  of  which  Mr.  Dunham  assumed  the 
management,  and  in  1875  became  the  sole  proprietor  as  suc- 
cessor of  Woodruff  k  Dunham.  His  aim  was  from  the  begin- 
ning to  build  only  the  best  class  of  work,  and  to  sell  direct  to  the 
consumer.  By  a  strict  adherence  to  this  principle,  and  close 
personal  attention  to  all  the  details  of  the  business,  he  has  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  a  reputation  for  the  production  of  Jirnt- 
class  can-iarjes  second  to  no  other  manufacturer  in  the  State. 
He  is  now  the  largest  carriage  manufacturer  in  Rahway  (a  place 
noted  for  a  half-century  for  its  carriage  manufactories),  and  with 
one  or  two  exceptions  the  largest  in  the  State,  employing  about 
sixty  men,  and  is  unable  in  1882  to  supply  the  demand  for  his 
manufactures. 

Mr.  Dunham  has  always  been  identified  with  interests 
tending  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  city  since  his  residence 
there.  He  is  a  member  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  has  been  one  of  its  trustees  for  a  number  of  years. 

His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  October,  1867,  is  Emma  F., 
daughter  of  George  F.  AVebb  and  Julia  A.  Smith,  natives  of 
Connecticut,  who  removed  to  Rahway  about  1825.  Mr.  Webb 
was  an  influential  citizen,  and  at  one  time  a  large  property- 
owner.  He  was  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business  for  many 
years,  and  afterwards  founded  the  Rahway  Savings  Institution 
and  the  Building  Loan  Association,  of  which  he  was  manager 
and  treasurer  until  his  death  in  1860.  Ho  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a  ruling 
elder  of  the  same  until  his  decease,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dunham's 
fhildron  are  Frederick  Webb,  Fannie  Louise,  and  Carrie 
Nevius. 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


253 


Rahway  Water  Supply. — An  act  to  authorize  the 
construction  of  worlds  for  supplying  the  city  of  Rah- 
way and  places  adjacent  with  pure  and  wholesome 
water  was  approved  April  7,  1868.  It  enacted  that 
A.  Maurice,  J.  Henry  Stone,  James  Vanderhoven, 
John  H.  Durand,  and  the  mayor  of  the  city  for  the 
time  heing  should  constitute  the  first  board  of  water 
commissioners,  who  for  and  in  the  name  of  the  mayor 
and  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  Rahway  were  au- 
thorized to  take  and  hold  any  lands  or  other  real 
estate  necessary  for  the  construction  of  any  canals, 
aqueducts,  reservoirs,  basins,  or  other  works  for 
raising,  conveying,  or  containing  water,  or  for  the 
erection  of  any  buildings  or  machinery,  or  for 
laying  any  pipes  or  conduits  for  conveying  the 
water  into  or  through  any  places,  or  to  secure  and 
maintain  any  of  the  works,  or  in  general  to  do  any 
other  act  necessary  or  convenient  for  accomplishing 
the  purposes  contemplated  by  the  act.  Nothing 
having  been  done  previous  to  March  6,  1871,  to  carry 
out  practically  the  provisions  of  the  act,  and  some 
modification  of  the  plan  being  deemed  desirable,  it 
was  then  enacted  that  the  board  of  water  commi.s- 
sioners  shall  consist  of  five  members,  of  which  board 
the  mayor,  or  acting  mayor,  and  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  on  the  fire  department  of  the  Common 
Council  of  the  city  .of  Rahway  for  the  time  being 
shall  be  members  e.r  ojjicio,  and  the  remaining  three 
members  of  the  board  shall  be  elected  as  hereinafter 
mentioned. 

The  first  board  of  water  commissioners,  in  addition 
to  the  ex  officio  members,  shall  be  composed  of  Jacob 
R.  Shotwell,  De  Witt  C.  Hough,  and  Benjamin  R. 
Miller.  The  board  was  duly  organized,  and  the 
works  constructed  and  put  in  operation.  The  Rah- 
way water-works  may  be  briefly  described  as  fol- 
lows : 

The  pumping  station  is  located  on  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Rahway  River,  at  the  point  where  the 
ancient  Indian  path  leading  from  Amboy  to  Eliza- 
beth Point  crossed,  the  stepping-stones  used  by  the 
Indians  being  visible  as  late  as  1856.  The  branch 
here  is  capable  of  a  mean  daily  supply  of  nine  mil- 
lion gallons  of  water.  The  city  has  no  reservoir,  the 
works  pumping  directly  "  against  the  mains."  The 
building  inclosing  the  works  is  a  substantial  brick 
structure  about  fifty  feet  square  and  two  stories  high. 
The  machinery  consists  of  two  duplex  compound  con- 
densing engines  (direct-acting)  capable  of  pumping 
three  million  gallons  every  twenty-four  hours.  They 
arc  supplied  by  two  forty -eight-inch  horizontal  tubu- 
lar boilers. 

The  present  consumption  of  water  in  the  city  is 
one  million  gallons  every  twenty-four  hours.  There 
are  twelve  miles  of  mains,  along  which  are  distrib- 
uted one  hundred  and  thirty  hydrants,  used  in  extin- 
guishing fire  without  the  use  of  fire-engines  of  any 
description. 

The  board  are  Joseph   \V.  Savage,  President ;  C. 


L.  Woodruff,  Superintendent;  W.  Updyke  Selover, 
Samuel  Leonard,  James  T.  Melick,  Linens  High. 

The  water  is  filtered  by  an  improved  filter  (a  very 
ingenious  contrivance),  invented  by  Patrick  Clark, 
engineer  of  the  Rahway  gas-works. 

Manufacturing  in  Rahway.— Tauriko  Factory. 
— On  the  north  branch  of  the  Rahway  River,  near 
St.  George's  Avenue  bridge,  stands  the  ruins  of  a 
large  brick  building,  formerly  used  as  a  manufac- 
tory. It  was  known  as  the  Taurino'  Factory,  erected 
by  William  Shotwell,  a  resident  of  Rahway,  in  1814. 
On  account  of  the  embargo  on  British  importations 
during  the  war,  it  was  undertaken  as  a  good  invest- 
ment in  the  direction  of  home  manufacture,  and  was 
so  until  the  close  of  the  war,  when  the  business  proved 
unprofitable  and  was  abandoned.  It  vva-s  afterwards 
employed  as  a  woolen-mill,  a  silk-printing  establish- 
ment, and  for  many  other  purposes,  employing  many 
hands  and  being  a  great  benefit  to  the  town.  It  was 
destroyed  by  fire  some  fifteen  years  ago. 

He  built  the  residence  known  as  "  Shotwell's 
Folly,"  on  the  corner  of  Lafayette  and  Montgomery 
Streets.     He  was  known  as  "  Governor."' 

Among  the  later  operators  were  Daniel  Stansbury, 
of  New  York,  John  Y.  Van  Tuyl,  Samuel,  Edward, 
and  William  Dudley  (brothers].  Stone  &  Brown,  then 
Thomas  Hale,  who  converted  it  into  a  silk-factory. 
Then  Daniel  Wilcox  took  it  and  started  carpet-weav- 
ing. After  it  was  repaired  from  the  efl'ects  of  the  fire 
which  had  destroyed  the  upper  story,  it  was  occupied 
as  a  carriage-factory  by  Denman  &  Freeman.  It  was 
finally  blown  up  by  the  bursting  of  a  boiler  about 
1870,  and  the  ruin  of  it  only  remains. 

The  manufacture  of  carriages  became  an  important 
industrial  interest  in  Rahway  quite  early.  It  appears 
from  Mr.  Luf  bery's  letter  describing  the  place  in  1834 
that  the  business  was  then  considerable,  and  that 
trimmings  and  plated  ware  for  fine  carriages  were  also 
manufactured  here  at  the  same  time.  The  great 
market  for  these  products  was  the  South,  and  so 
largely  was  the  capital  of  the  city  employed  in  this 
industry  that  when  the  civil  war  broke  out  in  1861 
and  suddenly  cut  ofl'  this  market,  making  it  impos- 
sible longer  to  sell  or  to  collect  outstanding  accounts 
in  the  Southern  States,  it  had  nearly  ruined  the  place. 
Only  the  most  substantial  and  energetic  manufac- 
turers succeeded  in  passing  through  the  trying  ordeal 
and  getting  their  business  again  on  a  prosperous 
footing. 

The  following  are  the  principal  parties  who  are  en- 
gaged in  the  manufacture  of  carriages  in  the  city  at 
present : 

Hetfield  &  Jackson,  manufacturers  of  light  car- 
riages, sulkies,  etc.,  began  business  on  Seminary  Street 
in  1865.  In  1866  they  bought  the  shops  of  Acker- 
man,  Nos.  75,  77,  and  79  Irving  Street,  to  which  they 
have  added  from  time  to  time  as  the  exigencies  of 


^  Cloth  made  of  bulls^  hair. 


254  HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


their  business  have  required.  Their  policy  or  govern- 
ing principle  has  been  to  compete  with  all  parts  of 
the  world  for  the  best  light  work,  and  they  have  made 
everything  else  subordinate  to  success  in  this  direc- 
tion. At  the  Centennial  Exhibition  they  obtained 
the  international  medal  awarded  by  the  United  States 
Centennial  Commissioners  for  two  buggies,  one  skel- 
eton wagon,  and  one  sulky.  Also  at  the  State  Fair  last 
year  they  obtained  the  three  first  premiums  on  light 
work.  They  employ  about  twenty  hands,  and  their 
sales  average  from  twenty-five  to  forty  thousand  dol- 
lars per  annum. 

Miller  Brothers  commenced  the  manufacture 
of  carriages  in  1859,  building  a  factory  on  Fulton 
Street.  The  war  broke  out  before  they  had  fairly  got 
their  business  established,  and  they  were  heavy  losers 
at  the  South.  They,  however,  struggled  to  recuperate- 
their  business,  and  since  the  war  have  produced  a- 
high  as  twenty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  work  in  a 
year,  but  usually  their  sales  amount  to  not  more  thitii 
from  ten  to  twelve  thousand  dollars  a  year.  They  air 
occupying  the  shops  on  Irving  Street  for  many  years  i 
the  carriage-factory  of  the  late  William  H.  Flatt, 
which  they  removed  to  in  1871. 

Andrew  Jardine  was  born  at  Dumbarton,  Scot- 
land, April  17, 1808,  where  his  father,  Andrew,  grand- 
father, James,  and  great-grandfather,  Andrew,  spent 
their  lives,  reared  families,  and  were  active  business 
men.  The  former  was  by  occupation  a  wood-sawyer, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty,  his  wife,  Marion  Cook, 
dying  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  years.  His  grand- 
father was  a  machine-printer  by  trade,  which  he  fol- 
lowed during  the  early  part  of  his  life  in  Sterling's 
print-works,  but  was  a  farmer  afterwards,  and  at  hi-i 
death  left  three  sons  and  four  daughters. 

The  children  of  Andrew  and  Marian  Jardine  were 
Andrew,  subject  of  this  sketch;  James,  a  block- 
printer  in  Scotland,  visited  this  country  during  tlie 
Centennial,  and  died  soon  after  reaching  home,  aged 
sixty-nine  ;  Archibald,  came  to  America  in  1839,  was 
a  block-cutter  by  trade,  settled  first  at  Lodi,  N.  J., 
was  afterwards  superintendent  of  the  color-making 
department  of  calico-printing  in  a  Philadelphia 
house,  and  retired  in  Rahway;  Robert,  came  to 
Staten  Island  in  1833,  is  a  block-printer  by  trade, 
and  resides  in  Philadelphia;  Jane,  deceased,  was  the 
wife  of  George  Mclntyre  at  home,  although  some  of 
her  children  have  come  to  America ;  and  Elizabeth, 
came  to  America  in  1842,  and  is  the  widow  of  Allen 
McLeish,  of  Rahway. 

Andrew  Jardine,  subject  of  this  sketch,  learned  the 
trade  of  block-printing  at  home,  and  served  an  ap- 
prenticeahii)  of  seven  years.  He  was  then  a  clerk 
in  a  grain  and  grocery  store  there  for  a  time.  Think- 
ing to  better  his  condition  in  life  he  set  sail  for  Amer- 
ica, the  first  of  the  family  to  emigrate,  and  landed  in 
New  York  May  29,  1832.  Not  finding  ready  work  to 
suit  him,  but  willing  to  do  any  honorable  labor  that 
would   turn  an   honest  penny,  for  three  years  he  was 


engaged  in  selling  milk  in  that  city,  and  for  three 
years  following  worked  at  his  trade  on  Staten  Island. 
In  1838  he  came  to  Rahway,  N.  J.,  where  for  seven 
years  he  worked  at  his  trade  in  the  fi\ctory  of  Thomas 
Hare,  but  after  the  burning  of  the  factory  he  was  for 
two  years  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  In  1847, 
returning  to  Rahway,  lie  began  paper-staining  and 
making  window-shades  on  his  present  site  in  a  sm:ill 
way,  which  laid  the  foundation  of  what  has  become 
a  business  employing  a  large  capital  and  a  partner- 
ship concern.  In  18o4  bis  business  had  so  increased 
that  he  built  his  present  manufactory,  which  is  fifty 


by  twenty-five  feet  besides  its  additions,  and  in  1856 
he  introduced  steam-power,  and  has  since  carried  on 
the  business  of  manufacturing  wall-paper  on  an  ex- 
tensive scale.  Mr.  Jardine  continued  in  business 
alone  until  1870,  when  Sylvanus  White  and  his  son, 
Freeland  Jardine,  became  jiartncrs,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  A.  Jardine  &  Co.  Mr.  White  withdrew 
after  three  and  one-half  years,  and  in  September, 
1873,  Thomas  M.  Martin  joined  the  partnership,  the 
firm-name  remaining  uneluinged.  Mr.  Jardine  built 
a  substantial  residence  in  1870  near  the  site  of  his 
manufactory,  and  now  ranks  among  the  representa- 
tive business  men  of  Rahway.  His  sterling  integ- 
rity, energy,  economy,  and  judicious  management, 
although  unassisted  in  starting  out  in  life,  have  been 
the  levers  to  secure  him  a  fair  competence.  His  life 
has  been  one  of  activity,  and  unmoved  by  any  desire 
for  public  place  or  the  emolument  of  office.  He  is 
an  attendant  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Rahway, 
of  which  his  wife  is  a  member,  and  a  contributor  to 
all  worthy  objects. 

His  wife,  Ann  McKeehnie,  born  at  Barhead,  Scot- 
land, Jan.  10,  1803,  came  in  the  same  ship  with  him, 
and  they  were  married  the  same  year  they  landed  in 
New  York.     Their  children  are  Freeland,  before  al- 


^ 


CO-ii^ 


A.iL^L^^Ol^^^<^ 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


255 


luded  to ;  Thomas,  carries  on  granite  and  marble- 
works  in  Railway ;  Isabella,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of 
Andrew  Main  ;  and  Margaret. 

John  L.  Freeman. — The  Freeman  family  is  men- 
tioned as  residents  of  Woodbridge  by  Rev.  Joseph  W. 
Dally,  in  his  history  of  that  township,  prior  to  1700, 
and  hence  were  among  its  early  settlers.  John  L. 
Freeman's  grandfather,  Daniel  Freeman,  is  supposed 
to  come  from  the  same  stock,  and  died  Oct.  13,  1823, 
where  his  parents  resided.  His  father,  William  Free- 
m.an,  born  Nov.  19,  1788,  died  Oct.  10,  1830,  married 
Feb.  3,  1810,  Phebe,  daughter  of  John  and  Elizabeth 
Hinds,  who  was  born  Aug.  4,  1793,  and  died  in  1864. 
William  Freeman  was  a  harness-  and  saddle-maker  by 
trade,  which  he  followed  in  Mendham,  N.  J.,  and  Mor- 
ristovvn,  dying  in  the  latter  place.  He  served  in  the 
war  of  1812,  and  his  widow,  who  .survived  him  many 
years,  received  a  pension.  After  his  decease  she  re- 
moved to  Newark,  where  she  supported  and  reared  her 
family  by  her  own  toil,  and  where  she  resided  until  her 
death.  She  was  a  devoted  wife  and  mother,  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Halsey  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
of  Newark.  John  L.  Freeman,  born  Dec.  27,  1823,  in 
Morristown,  N.  J.,  was  upon  the  death  of  his  father 
obliged  to  do  something  for  himself,  and  at  the  tender 
age  of  seven  years  engaged  in  spinning  cotton  at  Rol- 
sonton  Cotton-Mills,  where  he  remained  for  two  years. 
Between  the  ages  of  nine  and  fourteen  he  was  kept  in 
school  by  his  mother  at  Newark.  At  the  age  of  fif- 
teen he  was  apprenticed  by  his  mother  until  he  should 
reach  his  majority  to  Charles  C.  Hedenberg,  a  large 
carriage  manufacturer  of  Newark.  Here  he  remained 
for  four  years,  when,  upon  the  failure  of  that  gentle- 
man in  business,  he  was  released  from  his  indentures. 
For  several  years  following  he  first  worked  as  journey- 
man, then  as  foreman,  and  finally  became  general 
superintendent  in  various  manufactories :  at  Newark, 
for  Douglas  &  Post,  Baldwin  &  Thomas,  and  Heden- 
berg &  Littell,  of  the  same  place,  and  for  John  C. 
Parker  and  James  Flynn,  of  New  York. 

He  became  conversant  with  all  kinds  of  carriage- 
making  with  these  various  firms,  and  was  now  ready 
with  capital  of  his  own  earning  and  experience  to 
start  business  for  himself.  In  185.5  he  became  a  part- 
ner with  Alexander  TurnbuU,  of  Newark,  which,  how- 
ever, continued  only  till  December  of  the  same  )'ear, 
when  arrangements  were  made  for  a  partnership  with 
John  C.  Denman,  of  Rahway,  to  begin  in  the  follow- 
ing May  (1856).  He  acted  as  Mr.  Denman's  super- 
intendent until  that  time,  and  afterward  until  Mr. 
Denman's  death,  on  Feb.  4,  1864,  the  firm  of  Den- 
man &  Freeman  carried  on  carriage  manufacturing  in 
Rahway  on  an  extensive  scale.  From  the  latter  date 
until  Dec.  13,  1870,  he  had  associated  with  him  Rolph 
M.,  brother  of  his  deceased  partner,  when,  upon  the 
decea.se  of  Rolph  M.  Denman,  he  purchased  the  Den- 
man interest  in  the  business,  and  has  since  carried  it 
on  alone. 

In  1872  he  built  his  present  carriage  manufactory 


on  Irving  Street,  and  he  has  continued  a  successful 
business  since,  making  his  shipments  to  the  principal 
markets  of  this  and  other  countries. 


M.\NL'F.\CTURY   OF   JOHN    L.  FREKMAS. 


Mr.  Freeman  is  one  of  the  active,  enterprising  busi- 
ness men  of  Rahway,  and  has  taken  a  somewhat  active 
part  in  the  local  affairs  of  the  city.  He  was  council- 
man of  the  Fourth  Ward  for  three  years,  is  one  of  the 
Board  of  Finance,  and  a  director  of  the  savings-bank 
of  the  city. 

His  wife  is  Agnes,  daughter  of  John  Higginson,  of 
Newark,  whom  he  married  in  April,  1845.  His  only 
daughter,  Mary  E.,  died  at  the  age  of  eleven  in  1857, 
leaving  an  only  son,  Frank  P.  Freeman,  who  is  in 
business  with  his  father. 

Houseman  &  McManus. — Firm  established  in 
1872,  and  began  business  in  a  shop  on  Seminarv 
Street  owned  by  John  R.  Ross.  In  1875  they  pur- 
chased their  present  buildings,  which  were  built  and 
owned  by  Randolph  Ross,  who  had  carried  on  car- 
riage-making for  several  years,  and  had  been  .suc- 
ceeded by  his  sons,  Milan  and  Bedott  Ross,  who 
carried  on  the  business  up  to  the  late  civil  war. 

The  present  firm  manufacture  about  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars'  worth  of  carriages  per  annum. 

AYRES  &  liUFBERY,  StEAM  SAW-MiLL,  PlANING- 

MlLL,  AND  Lumber-Yaed. — This  firm  are  the  suc- 
cessors of  an  old  establishment,  Jo.seph  O.  Lufbery 
and  John  T.  Vail  having  built  a  saw-mill  on  the 
premises  in  1827.  The  property,  including  the  mill- 
site,  belonged  originally  to  Henry  Moore  and  Henry 
Mundy.  In  1827,  Lufbery  &  Vail  also  purchasing 
the  old  Marsh  property  un  the  south  side  of  the  river 
opposite  their  saw-mill,  erected  a  grist-mill  and  a  mill 
for  cutting  logwood  for  dyeing  purposes*.  In  1830,  Mr. 
Vail  retired  from  the  firm  and  removed  to  the  West. 
In  1833,  Mr.  Lufbery  built  a  new  grist-mill  on  the 
south  side,  and  at  the  same  time  removed  his  logwood- 


256 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


mill  to  the  north  side,  attaching  it  to  his  saw-mill. 
From  that  time,  however,  he  did  little  with  it,  as  log- 
wood extracts  began  to  come  into  use. 

Mr.  Joseph  O.  Luf  bery  continued  to  carry  on  these 
enterprises  until   1846.     In   November  of  that  year 

Ayres,  Williams,  and  John   H.   Lufbery 

formed  a  copartnership  under  the  firm-name  of  Ayres, 
Williams  &  Lufbery,  and  rented  the  premises  for  five 
years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  they  purchased  the 
property,  paying  therefor  the  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
dollars.  The  mills  up  to  this  time  had  been  operated 
by  water,  but  in  1855  the  dams  were  removed  by  an 
act  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  mill  was  converted 
into  a  steam-mill.  On  the  3d  of  September,  1868,  the 
saw-mill  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  rebuilt  and  in 
operation  three  months  later.  Mr.  Williams  died  in 
1865,  and  the  year  following  the  firm  was  changed  to 
Ayres  &  Lufbery,  and  so  remained  until  Jan.  1,  1868, 
when  Thomas  M.  Martin  was  admitted,  and  the  firm 
of  Ayres,  Lufbery  &  Co.  continued  until  the  retire- 
ment of  Mr.  Martin,  Aug.  29,  1873,  since  which  the 
style  has  been  Ayres  &  Lufbery. 

The  business  of  this  firm  has  varied  somewhat, 
according  to  circumstances  and  the  conditions  of  the 
market.  The  proceeds  of  the  business  increased  from 
about  $25,000  a  year  in  1847  to  $100,000  per  annum 
from  1868  to  1873,  the  most  profitable  period.  Dur- 
ing those  years  they  employed  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
men.  Prices  have  since  declined,  so  that  boards 
which  sold  for  forty-two  dollars  and  forty-five  dollars 
per  thonsand  in  1868  now  bring  only  about  thirty 
dollars  to  thirty-four  dollars.  There  is  also  less  con- 
trol of  the  market  and  greater  competition  than  for- 
merly, so  that  the  business  of  the  firm  for  1881 
amounted  to  about  $30,000. 

I.  &  J.  Laforge  carry  on  quite  a  large  business  in 
the  manufacture  of  wheels,  spokes,  and  wagon  and 
carriage  springs.  They  started  on  Cherry  Street,  near 
the  depot,  in  1865,  making  at  first  only  spokes  and 
wheels,  to  which  they  added  the  manufacture  of 
springs  in  1874.  They  purchased  their  shops  of 
Samuel  Sanders  in  1870 ;  run  of  50  horse-power  steam- 
engine,  and  employ  about  thirty  hands.  Sales  in 
1881  amounted  to  about  $60,000. 

Messrs.  Ira  and  Joel  Laforge  were  born  in  Wood- 
bridge,  and  have  lived  in  Railway  since  1852.  They 
have  enlarged  their  factory  by  several  additions, 
making  it  in  all  respects  convenient  for  their  large 
business. 

Gordon  Printing-Press  Works. — The  Gordon 
job  jirinting  presses  are  too  well  known  to  require  a 
description  in  this  article.  There  are  probably  ten 
thousand  of  them  in  operation  in  the  United  States 
to-day,  besides  many  which  have  been  sent  to  foreign 
countries.  Mr.  George  P.  Gordon,  the  inventor,  was 
born  in  Salem,  N.  H.,  in  1810,  and  early  in  life  be- 
came a  practical  printer.  The  well-known  press  which 
bears  his  name  was  invented  in  1851,  and  was  for  a 
time  manufactured  in  Rhode  Island. 


The  factory  at  Rahway  is  situated  in  the  central 
part  of  the  city,  occupying  a  space  of  about  three 
hundred  by  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  area.  The 
main  building,  of  brick,  is  thirty  by  one  hundred  and 
thirty  feet,  four  stories  high,  with  a  two-story  addition 
about  sixty  feet  square.  Adjoining  the  main  building 
is  the  foundry,  where  the  castings  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  the  presses  are  made ;  also  numerous  small 
buildings  for  the  storage  of  lumber,  moulding-sand, 
iron,  and  coal. 

The  machinery  is  driven  by  a  twenty-five  horse- 
power steam-engine ;  the  buildings  are  warmed  by 
steam,  and  communication  is  had  between  the  various 
stories  of  the  factory  by  means  of  an  Otis  elevator. 
The  capacity  of  the  factory  for  the  production  of 
presses  is  about  six  hundred  machines  a  year;  the 
average  production  in  prosperous  times  is  about  four 
hundred  presses  per  annum,  and  the  sales  amount 
annually  to  about  $150,000. 

Mr.  Gordon  died  Jan.  27,  1878.  The  factory  is 
owned  by  his  daughter.  Miss  Mary  A.  Gordon,  now 
in  Europe.  The  business  manager  is  A.  Sidney  Doane, 
No.  97  Nassau  Street,  New  York.  Superintendent  at 
the  factory  and  master-mechanic,  Amos  P.  Barber. 

The  Gordon  Opera-House  was  built  by  George  P. 
Gordon,  the  inventor  of  the  Gordon  printing-press, 
and  was  erected  in  1875.  Mr.  Gordon  having  plenty 
of  means  acquired  in  his  successful  invention,  built 
the  opera-house  which  bears  his  name  more  as  a 
compliment  to  Rahway  than  as  an  investment  of 
hopeful  profit.  It  is  said  that  a  portion  of  his  early 
life  was  spent  in  connection  with  some  sort  of  a  trav- 
eling theatrical  company,  and  that  he  built  the 
house  partly  as  a  reminiscence  of  that  experience 
and  of  the  value  which  he  attached  to  amusements. 

Among  the  prominent  business  places  of  Rahway 
is  the  printing  and  publishing  house  of  W.  L.  Mer- 
shon  &  Co.  (William  L.  and  Samuel  D.),  established 
in  1875.  Though  so  recent  in  its  origin  this  estab- 
lishment is  already  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State, 
and  is  complete  in  all  its  appointments.  To  meet  a 
steadily  enlarging  trade  the  enterprising  proprietors 
are  constantly  adding  to  their  business  facilities.  We 
here  see  under  the  one  management  departments  for 
printing,  electrotyping,  and  binding,  with  everything 
el.se  belonging  to  a  complete  publishing  house.  The 
firm  are  proprietors  and  publishers  of  The  Rahway 
Advocate,  a  semi-weekly  paper.  Republican  in  politics, 
which  dates  its  origin  back  to  a  period  of  sixty  yijars 
ago,  when  it  was  founded  under  the  name  of  The 
New  Jersey  Advocate.  Among  their  other  publica- 
tions is  Leisure  Hours,  a  literary  magazine,  issued 
monthly,  which  has  a  wide  circulation,  with  sub- 
scribers in  every  State. 

Banks.  —  Rahway  National  Bank.  —  Capital, 
$100,000.  This  is  the  successor  to  the  Farmers'  and 
Mechanics'  Bank,  chartered  in  1828,  and  which  closed 
its  business  in  1867,  returning  to  its  stockholders  the 
capital  and  about  forty  per  cent,  in  surplus.    The 


KiaKIWiW  ^/VHSElUj  SPSKEj  ^Kl©  gPaOJO®  W©flKi 


i.  ©yssojaaiisi's  ©aKiFi3^©E  [)Si^Eiuw\©ir©ifjii', 


CITY   OF  RAHWAY. 


257 


National  Bank  of  Rahway  was  chartered  in  1865,  and 
purchased  the  banking-house  owned  by  the  Farmers' 
and  Mechanics'  Bank.  A.  F.  Sliotwell,  president ; 
Walter  Fuller,  Jr.,  cashier;  A.  F.  Shotwell,  A.  V. 
Shotvvell,  Joel  C.  Ayres,  A.  B.  Wood,  and  Hampton 
Cutter,  directors. 

Union  National  Bank.— Capital,  $100,000.  Or- 
ganized in  1865.  Jonathan  Woodruff,  president;  Rob- 
ert C.  Brewster,  cashier  ;  Joseph  S.  Smith,  Jonathan 
Woodruff,  J.  H.  Durand,  H.  H.  James,  G.  E.  Ludlow, 
J.  R.  Potter,  A.  E.  Woodruff,  and  R.  C.  Brewster, 
directors. 

Rahway  Savings  Institution.  —  William  C. 
Squier,  president ;  Jacob  R.  Shotwell,  Abel  V.  Shot- 
well,  vice-presidents  ;  Ross  Vanderhoven,  secretary 
and  treasurer.  Began  business  Feb.  19,  1851,  on 
Main  Street,  opposite  Cherry.  George  F.  Webb,  the 
first  secretary  and  treasurer,  died  in  November,  1860; 
and  Dec.  3,  1860,  his  place  was  filled  by  the  election 
of  Joel  Wilson,  who  served  as  secretary  until  May, 
1870,  and  as  treasurer  until  May,  1875,  the  offices 
being  divided  at  the  former  date.  John  C.  Codding- 
ton  was  elected  secretary  May  9, 1870 ;  Job  n  Bo  wne  was 
chosen  treasurer  in  May,  1875,  and  Joseph  S.  Smith 
in  June,  1876,  remaining  in  office  until  August,  1879  ; 
Ross  Vanderhoven  was  elected  secretary  in  May, 
1879,  and  treasurer  in  August,  1879.  Joseph  S.  Smith 
and  James  B.  Laing  were  chosen  first  and  second  vice- 
presidents  at  the  organization.  In  1854  Benjamin  M. 
Price  was  made  second  vice-president,  and  Mr.  Smith 
first.  In  1855,  Benjamin  M.  Price  was  chosen  first 
vice-president  and  Mr.  Laing  second.  In  1858,  A.  C. 
Watson  was  made  second  vice-president.  In  1863,  A. 
V.  Shotwell  and  J.  R.  Shotwell  were  made  respec- 
tively first  and  second  vice-presidents,  and  have  so 
remained  ever  since. 

The  bank  building  is  the  City  Hall,  erected  and 
occupied  in  May,  1868. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

CITY    OF    RAHV/ AY. —{Coiitunied.} 

Schools  of  Rahway.— School  Lands.— We  find 
the  following  in  the  Woodbridge  town  records  touch- 
ing the  school  lands  in  Rahway  : 

"  March  ye  28, 1716.  Then  Laj-'d  out  by  us  umler  written  (Pursuant 
lo  a  town  Grant  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Rahwack)  two  acres  of  Sciiool 
Land  Begining  att  a  wliite  oali  tree  Markt  on  four  sides,  standing  by  the 
Rode  that  Runs  ye  widow  Jones'  house;  thence  running  southwest  and 
be  west  twenty-eight  Rod  to  another  wliite  oak  markt  on  four  sides; 
tlience  south  soutiieast  twenty  Rod  to  a  small  white  oak  markt  on  four 
sides;  thence  Northeast  by  East  sixteen  Rod  to  a  Wallnutt  tree  markt 
on  four  sides;  and  from  thence  on  a  straight  Line  to  ye  place  where  Itt 
begun  : 

*'  Thos.  Pike,  Lott  layer. 
"John  Jaques, 
"  Qeorqe  Brown, 
"Will.   Ileslee. 

"  CommUUe." 


This  two  acres  of  school  land  granted  by  Wood- 
bridge  to  the  inhabitants  of  Rahway  we  presume  was 
rented  for  the  benefit  of  schools  in  the  Rahway  neigh- 
borhood. But  it  must  have  produced  a  very  small 
income.  The  school  lands  of  the  township  were 
rented  and  managed  by  a  committee  appointed  from 
year  to  year  by  the  annual  town-meeting.  In  1764  a 
fund  had  accrued  from  this  rental  amounting  in  prin- 
cipal and  interest  to  £434  7s.  9(/.  The  increase  from 
that  time  till  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  is 
shown  by  the  following  table: 


1764.. 


s.  d. 


434  7  9  I  1772 8S8 

46.')  5  3  !  1773 900  

17'.6 533  8  2  ;  1774 986  4  10 

1767-69 1775 106:!  14  11 

1770 740  ..  ..  I  1776 1162  12   6 

1771 .^....  794  ..  .. 

During  the  Revolution  the  interest  of  the  fund  was 
devoted  mainly  to  the  war.  In  1789  the  interest  of 
this  fund,  together  with  the  ta.x  on  dogs,  was  appro- 
priated by  the  town  to  the  "  schooling  of  poor  people's 
children." 

Friends'  Schools. — Probably  the  earliest  schools 
established  in  the  settlement  were  those  of  the 
Friends  or  Quakers.  The  first  school-house  of  the 
Friends  was  built  on  the  same  lot  as  their  meeting- 
house in  1785,  viz.,  on  Main  Street,  on  the  place  re- 
cently occupied  by  George  Walker  as  a  hardware- 
store.  William  Shotwell  was  one  of  the  early  teachers 
there.  The  building  fronted  the  road  (now  Main 
Street),  was  twenty  by  thirty  feet  in  size  and  one  story 
high. 

In  1804  another  meeting-house  was  built  by  the 
Friends  on  Irving  Street,  and  a  school-house  was 
erected  a  little  south  of  it,  which  was  removed  when 
the  railroad  went  through.  It  was  a  two-story  wooden 
structure,  and  built  soon  after  the  meeting-house. 
Lindley  Murray  Moore  (named  after  Lindley  Murray, 
the  grammarian)  was  one  of  the  early  teachers.  Then 
followed  Eli  Vail,  Abel  Marsh,  Aaron  Byllinge  (a  de- 
scendant of  Edward  Byllinge,  one  of  the  proprietors 
of  West  Jersey),  Henry  B.  Pool,  Joseph  Shotwell, 
and  others.  This  Friends'  school  was  for  many  years 
the  only  school  in  the  place. 

One  of  the  old  schools  kept  for  many  years  was  in 
the  "  White  School  House,"  so  called,  in  Lower 
Rahway,  opposite  the  residence  of  John  H.  Lufbery, 
in  Grand  Street.  Alvan  Fox,  William  B.  McGougen, 
Robert  Dennis,  and  others  were  among  the  teachers. 

A  building  called  the  "  Academy"  in  Upper  Rah- 
way stood  on  St.  George's  Avenue  near  Jardine's 
marble-works.  N.  Morse  and  John  W.  Seymour  were 
among  the  teachers.  It  was  abandoned  about  the 
time  the  districts  were  consolidated  in  1848. 

There  was  an  old  school-house,  which  stood  on  the 
east  bank  of  the  south  branch  of  Rahway  River,  on 
the  place  now  occupied  by  John  Hults.  It  was  a 
plain  low  building,  and  school  was  kept  in  it  until 
about  fifty  years  ago.     It  was  built  at  an  early  time. 

The  building  on  the  east  side  of  Main  Street,  cor- 


258 


HISTORY   OF    UiNION    AiND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ner  of  Adams,  on  the  premises  lately  occupied  by 
Mr.  Prentice,  justice  of  tlie  peace,  was  built  for  a 
school-house  at  an  early  day.  John  W.  Seymour 
and  James  McKelvey  were  among  the  teachers  there 
some  fifty-five  years  ago.  Mr.  A.  V.  Shotwell  and 
others  now  living  attended  school  there  in  18.30.  It 
has  been  converted  into  a  dwelling,  and  is  still 
standing  on  the  same  spot. 

Up  to  the  year  1821  there  was  no  sciiool  building 
in  Milton.  In  that  year  a  scliool-house  was  l)uilt  on 
St.  George's  Avenue  about  half-way  between  Milton 
and  Elm  Avenues,  on  ground  belonging  to  George 
Brown,  now  the  property  of  B.  A.  Vail.  It  was  a 
plain  one-story  building,  never  painted,  and  only  a 
scratch  coat  of  mortar  on  the  inner  walls.  School 
was  kept  there  till  about  twelve  or  fifteen  years  ago, 
although  the  house  was  removed  to  another  lot  by 
the  heirs  of  George  Brown  upon  his  decease.  The 
first  teacher  was  Miss  Mary  Hannahs,  who  afterwards 
taught  a  young  ladies'  select  school  at  Princeton  ; 
other  teachers  were  Robert  Dennis,  Charles  M.  Saun- 
ders, William  Griflin,  Alfred  Herbert,  Ichabod  Kirk- 
land,  Howard  M.  Henderson,  Royal  Coleman,  Pen- 
ina  Hampton,  and  James  McKelvey. 

Some  sixty  years  ago  an  open,  unfenced  lot  stood 
opposite  the  Branihall  property  near  Six  Roads,  on 
which  was  a  small,  low  school-house.  The  land  was 
set  apart  by  the  early  settlers.  It  was  known  as  the 
"school-house  on  the  hill."  The  property  was  sold 
some  forty  years  ago,  being  vacated  by  act  of  the 
Legislature,  and  the  school  known  as  "  Six  Roads 
School"  in  Woodbridge  township  took  its  place,  i 
Ichabod  Kirkland  was  an  early  teacher. 

Athenian  Academy — Among  the  academical 
schools  of  Rahway  the  old  Athenian  Academy  was 
probably  the  most  famous  in  its  day.  It  stood  on 
Main  Street  near  Commerce,  not  far  from  the  present  ! 
Second  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  for  many  years 
both  a  school-house  and  a  public  hall.  The  second 
story,  to  which  the  name  of  Athenian  Hall  was  ap- 
plied, was  capable  of  holding  fifteen  hundred  people. 
It  was  built  in  1833  by  the  Athenian  Association, 
Robert  Lee,  president;  Clayton  Moore,  secretary. 
The  address  at  the  opening  of  the  academy  was  de- 
livered by  John  D.  Scoles,  a  prominent  lawyer  of  [ 
New  York.  The  principals  of  the  Athenian  Acad- 
emy were  as  follows  in  the  order  named :  Alvan  Fox, 
John  A.  Grant,  F'rederick  Kingman,  James  Ander- 
son, Sidney  Avery. 

After  the  public  school  system  was  adopted  the 
building  was  abandoned  for  school  purposes,  and  was 
converted  into  a  theatre. 

Mrs.  Willard  Phelps  and  Mrs.  Lydia  Sigourney,  the 
poetess,  kept  a  boarding-school  for  young  ladies  in  a 
house  now  occupied  by  John  R.  Morse,  built  es- 
pecially for  their  accommodation  by  Samuel  Oliver, 
deceased.  Their  school  continued  here  several  years, 
when  they  removed  to  Troy,  N.  Y.  There  are  many 
persons   in  middle  life  in  this  city  and  vicinity  who  ' 


can  testify  to  advantages  received  from  their  instruc- 
tion. 

Rev.  Mr.  Ely  for  several  years  occupied  the  build- 
ing near  the  corner  of  Irving  and  Grand  Streets  as  a 
boarding-school.  Some  years  alter  it  was  taught  by 
Mr.  Dwight,  of  Boston. 

The  Franklin  School. — The  district  schools  in 
the  townships  of  Rahway  and  Woodbridge  within 
the  limits  of  the  village  continued  without  change 
until  1848.  In  that  year  an  eflbrt  was  made  by  a  few 
leading  citizens,  prominent  among  whom  were  John 
A.  Van  Ortwick  and  the  late  Enoch  M.  Ayres,  two 
intelligent  and  enterprising  gentlemen,  to  inaugurate 
a  better  system  of  education  for  the  children  and 
youth  of  the  village.  They  proposed  to  consolidate 
the  three  districts  in  the  village  into  one,  and  to  es- 
tablish one  large  school  under  better  appliances  and 
a  higher  grade  of  instruction.  Simple  and  reasonable 
as  the  plan  was,  it  met  with  strenuous  opposition  from 
quite  a  large  number.  It  was  openly  opposed  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Ely,  at  that  time  superintendent  of  schools  for 
Rahway  township,  and  who  had  charge  of  a  private 
seminary  on  Grand  Street  near  Whittier.  The  meas- 
ures, however,  were  approved  by  a  vote  of  the  people, 
the  districts  were  consolidated,  and  a  school  was 
opened  in  a  building  known  as  "Military  Hall," 
which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Grand  and  Church 
Streets. 

This  was  the  preliminary  step  towards  the  erection 
of  the  Franklin  school-house,  now  the  oldest  building 
used  for  school  purposes  in  the  city  of  Rahway.  The 
school  in  the  rented  hall  filled  up  so  rapidly  that  in  a 
short  time  a  larger  building  was  needed,  and  the 
Franklin  school-house  was  erected.  In  the  mean 
time.  Rev.  Mr.  Ely's  time  having  expired  as  superin- 
tendent, Mr.  Patrick  Clark  was  elected  in  his  stead. 
The  latter  co-operated  heartily  with  the  trustees  in 
their  plans  to  improve  the  educational  advantages  of 
the  village,  and,  indeed,  he  was  elected  because  he 
was  known  to  be  in  favor  of  the  new  measures.  A 
considerable  struggle  ensued  over  the  question  of  ex- 
penditure in  the  construction  of  the  Franklin  build- 
ing, some  being  in  favor  of  a  cheap  wooden  structure, 
and  others  favoring  a  substantial  and  commodious 
brick  building.  The  latter,  with  the  trustees  and 
friends  of  improvement,  carried  the  day,  the  people 
voting  a  sufficient  appropriation  to  build  the  new 
school-house. 

The  Franklin  building  was  erected  in  1851.  It  is 
a  brick  structure,  fifty  by  seventy-five  feet,  two  stories 
and  basement, — practically  three  stories  in  height, — 
and  cost  about  six  thousand  dollars,  a  considerable 
sum  to  be  raised  for  a  school-house  in  those  days. 
When  the  present  public  school  system  was  adopted 
this  building  was  turned  over  to  the  city. 

Among  the  principals  of  this  school  have  been  the 
following :  James  Anderson,  in  1862,  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Edward  L.  Anderson,  Stephen  A.  Blazier,  and 
Peter  Wyckoft'. 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


259 


Board  of, Education. — The  Board  of  Education 
of  the  city  of  Rahway  was  incorporated  by  act  of  tlie 
Legislature  March  8,  1861.  An  amendatory  act  was 
passed  March  2,  1869,  making  the  board  to  consist  of 
one  commissioner  of  public  schools  for  each  of  the 
wards  of  the  city,  and  one  commissioner  at  large,  who 
shall  hold  their  office  for  one  year.  No  commissioner 
is  eligible  either  to  the  office  of  superintendent  of 
public  schools  or  to  that  of  secretary  of  the  board. 

The  present  members  of  the  board  are  the  following : 
First  Ward,  John  A.  Mallow;  Second  Ward,  Henry 
Howard  ;  Third  Ward,  William  RoUinson  ;  Fourth 
Ward,  Walter  Brewster;  at  large,  Almeth  White; 
City  Superintendent,  Gilbert  R.  Lindsay;  Clerk, 
James  M.  Silvers. 

Under  the  management  of  the  board  are  the  fol- 
lowing public  schools: 

FranUin. — Union  Street  near  Church.  Frank  L. 
Stiles,  principal. 

Washington. — Lawrence  Street  near  Grand.  H.  C. 
Mcllvain,  principal. 

Columbian. — New  Brunswick  Avenue  corner  of 
Hazelwood.     James  Jones,  principal. 

Third  Ward. — Central  Avenue  near  St.  George's. 
This  building  was  erected  in  1S78  and  contains  the 
High  School.     Samuel  D.  Hillman,  principal. 

Colored. — No.  59  Central  Avenue.  Mattie  V.  Put- 
nam, principal ;  Miss  E.  Hazard,  principal  of  grammar 
department. 

The  first  class  graduated  trom  the  High  School  June 
30,  1876,  and  were  the  following :  Miss  Clara  E.  Mills, 
Miss  Minnie  C.  Ayres,  Miss  Emily  Reynolds,  Miss 
Julia  Merrick,  S.  B.  Morse,  L.  B.  Mundy. 

Statistics  of  schools  in  the  city  of  Rahway,  1881 : 

Whole  number  of  children  of  school  age 1737 

Number  enr.lled 12a2 

Average  Httendance. 741 

Number  in  private  schoulB 2(K) 

Number  of  seats 1380 

Number  not  in  school 335 

Eighty  per  cent,  provided  for,  or  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  more 
than  the  number  enrolled. 


CHAPTER    XXXIX. 

CITY    OF    RAHWAY.— («.«//',ni.i/.) 

First  Presbyterian  Church.' — It  was  during  the 
pastorate  of  the  celebrated  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson, 
D.D.,  that  the  members  of  the  First  Church  of  Eliza- 
beth residing  in  this  vicinity  were  organized  into  a 
church.  It  is  said  of  this  celebrated  divine  that  in 
visiting  this  portion  of  his  extensive  field  he  was 
accustomed  to  preach  in  a  barn  located  on  the  site 
of  the  mansion  on  St.  George's  Avenue  recently 
owned  by  Jeremiah  Johnson,  an  elder  of  this  church, 
now  the  property  of  John  Harper. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  project  of  building 

^  Abridged  from  a  historical  sketch  by  Rev.  John  Jay  Pomeroy,  pul)- 
lished  in  1877,  with  some  new  matter  added. 


the  first  church  edifice  in  Rahway  was  undertaken 
soon  after  a  precious  revival  of  religion  had  quick- 
ened the  people  of  Dr.  Dickinson's  charge. 

In  writing,  Sept.  4,  1740,  to  Rev.  Mr.  Foxcroft,  a 
ministerial  friend  in  Boston,  giving  some  account  of 
the  work  of  grace  among  his  people.  Dr.  Dickinson 
says,  "  I  have  had  more  young  people  address  me  for 
direction  in  their  spiritual  concerns  within  this  three 
months  than  in  thirty  years  before." 

It  was  doubtless  under  the  divine  impulse  of  the 
historic  revival  of  1740,  which  extended  its  influence 
and  power  into  most  of  the  English  provinces  of 
America,  that  the  people  of  this  community  were 
aroused  to  build  a  house  of  worsbip.  Put  the  fact  of 
the  revival  of  1740^1  in  conjunction  with  the  tradi- 
tion that  about  the  time  of  the  memorable  winter, 
known  familiarly  as  the  "hard  winter,"  1741—12,  we 
can  account  for  the  desire  to  have  a  place  of  worship 
here;  the  unity  of  the  people,  how  some  who  were 
not  of  the  Presbyterian  faith  co-operated  with  frater- 
nal spirit  in  the  work  of  building  the  Lord's  house. 
The  spirit  of  new-born  faith  and  reconsecration  led 
"  the  people  even  in  that  trying  season  to  give  liber- 
ally of  their  meagre  means  to  the  project."  "  Each 
one,  both  young  and  old,  seemed  anxious  to  do  to  the 
extent  of  their  ability  what  they  could  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  great  work  in  which  the  people 
were  engaged." 

The  edifice  erected  in  1741-42  was  located  on  what 
is  now  St.  George's  Avenue,  just  within  the  church 
cemetery  inclosure.  The  present  carriage-way  passes 
directly  over  what  was  the  church  site.  The  brown 
sandstone  memorial  stones  used  in  marking  the  graves 
that  were  made  on  the  north,  south,  and  west  sides  of 
the  church  designate  clearly  to-day  the  location  of 
the  first  church  edifice. 

An  old  account-book  of  Amos  Terrill,  a  carpenter 
by  trade,  in  possession  of  his  grandson,  Amos  Terrill, 
Jr.,  shows  that  he  performed  considerable  work  on 
the  church  building  in  1788.  After  standing  for 
nearly  half  a  century  and  through  the  Revolutionary 
war,  repairs  were  needed.  Some  minor  alterations  in 
its  construction  may  have  been  made  at  the  same 
time. 

The  building,  remembered  by  the  older  members 
of  the  congregation,  was  a  two-story  frame,  of  heavy 
timber,  sides  inclosed  with  shingles ;  two  rows  of 
windows  let  in  an  abundance  of  light;  the  surmount- 
ing tower  for  the  bell  culminated  in  a  spire,  upon 
which  was  adjusted  a  copper  weather-cock,  perforated 
by  a  bullet  said  to  be  a  mark  of  the  Revolutionary 
period.  Within,  galleries  were  upon  three  sides;  the 
pulpit,  located  in  the  west  end  of  the  church,  was 
high,  of  barrel  shape,  in  size  small,  having  room  for 
but  one,  and  overshadowed  by  a  sounding-board. 
There  were  four  rows  of  pews,  with  backs  high  and 
straight,  approached  by  two  aisles.  The  floor  was 
laid  of  heavy  hewn  plank,  not  closely  joined,  the 
cracks  widening  with  age,  making  it  necessary  for 


2fi0 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  ladies  in  the  winter  season  to  bring  foot-stoves  to 
neutralize  the  cold  of  the  under-current  that  came 
through  the  crevices  of  the  uncarpeted  floor.  The 
pulpit  was  modernized  before  the  pastorate  of  Dr. 
Janeway  (1829).  He  .speaks  of  it  as  being  moderately 
low,  ascended  by  a  stairway  on  either  side,  having 
room  to  seat  three  or  four  persons. 

This  is  the  original  and  the  first  church  edifice  in 
Rahway.  The  Friends,  who  located  on  the  Rahway 
River  in  1682  and  in  subsequent  years,  like  their 
Puritan  and  Scotch-Irish  neighbors,  had  their  place 
for  religious  assemblage  and  worship  outside  of  what 
is  known  as  the  Rahway  vicinage  to-day.  The  Puri- 
tans and  Scotch-Irish  worshiped  in  Elizabeth,  many 
of  them  going  afoot,  crossing  the  river  on  stepping- 
stones  at  the  point  where  the  Rahway  water-works 
are  now  located.  The  Friends  first  attended  meeting 
in  Perth  Amboy;  subsequently  a  meeting  was  organ- 
ized in  Woodbridge,  and  they  attended  there.  Like 
their  neighbors,  they  had  meetings  for  religious  wor- 
ship in  private  houses  in  this  vicinity  before  they  had 
an  organization  or  a  building  specifically  for  this 
purpose.  It  appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  Wood- 
bridge  meeting  that,  by  request,  privilege  was  granted 
to  hold  a  meeting  in  the  house  of  William  Robinson, 
which  stood  near  the  house  now  occupied  by  Mr. 
John  Durand,  on  Hamilton  Street.  This  meeting 
took  place  in  1707,  on  the  12th  day  of  the  eighth 
month,  and  the  first  day  of  the  week.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  March  17,  1759,  that  the  Woodbridge 
meeting  ordered  a  house  to  be  built.  This  building 
is  located  on  Main  Street,  and  occupied  by  George 
Hall  as  a  hardware-store.  The  first  record  of  a  busi- 
ness meeting  is  1763,  the  19th  day  of  the  10th  month. 

The  Presbyterian  Church,  built  in  1741-42,  doubt- 
less had  an  organization  formed  about  the  time  the 
structure  was  completed.  The  records  from  the  or- 
ganization of  the  church  until  1795  have  been  lost. 
The  data  we  have  is  from  Presbyterial  records  and 
collateral  history. 

Nov.  15, 1748,  the  Presbytery  of  New  York  installed 
Rev.  Aaron  Richards  pastor  of  the  church.  As  there 
is  no  mention  in  this  minute  of  the  church  being 
organized  immediately  preceding  the  ordination,  it  is 
presumable  that  the  church  was  organized  at  the  in- 
stance of  Dr.  Jonathan  Dickinson  at  the  completion 
of  the  church  edifice  in  1741-42.  This  makes  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  the  first  church  of  Rahway 
historically.  It  antedates  the  first  business  meeting 
of  the  Friends  by  twenty-one  years.  Taking  the 
absolutely  certain  date  of  Rev.  Aaron  Richards'  in- 
stallation, Nov.  15,  1748,  it  has  the  precedence  of  six- 
teen years. 

This  church  was  from  the  commencement  of  its 
organization  Presbyterian.  The  primitive  church 
organizations  in  Newark,  Elizabeth,  Freehold,  and 
Woodbridge  were  Independent  or  Congregational. 
They  afterwards  became  Presbyterian,  and  were 
under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia. 


These  churches  were  all  connected  with  this  Pres- 
bytery before  the  year  1717.  It  was  at  this  date, 
after  he  had  served  the  Elizabethtown  Church  nine 
years,  that  Dr.  Dickinson  became  a  member  of  the 
Presbytery. 

In  1733  the  Presbytery  of  East  Jersey  was  formed 
out  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  Dr.  Dick- 
inson at  once  became  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the 
new  Presbytery. 

In  1738  the  Ea.st  Jersey  and  Long  Island  Presby- 
teries were  united,  forming  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York.  It  wa.s  under  the  care  and  direction  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York,  about  1742,  that  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Rahway  was  organized.  The 
church  being  formed  from  a  portion  of  the  pastoral 
charge  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Dickinson,  D.D.,'  who  was 
an  acknowledged  prince  among  his  brethren  in  the- 
ology and  Presbyterian  government,  is  a  pledge  of  its 
pure  Presbyterian  origin. 

The  first  five  years  of  this  church's  history  we  must 
denominate  the  period  of  supplies. 

Mr.  John  Cleverly  was  the  first  supply.*  He  was 
of  New  England  birth,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College 
in  1715.  He  first  supplied  the  church  at  New  Provi- 
dence ;  from  thence  he  came  as  a  supply  to  the  Rah- 
way Church.  The  peo])le  under  the  pastoral  care  and 
teaching  of  Dr.  Dickinson  for  a  generation  had  a  high 
standard  of  ministerial  qualifications,  which  was  not 
met  in  Mr.  Cleverly.  He  retired  after  his  first  en- 
gagement to  Morristown,  where  he  continued  to  re- 
side until  his  decease,  Dec.  31,  1776,  aged  eighty-one 
years.^ 

Mr.  John  Grant,  a  young  man  of  unusual  promise, 
succeeded  Mr.  Cleverly  as  supply.  He  graduated  at 
Y^ale  College  in  1741.  How  long  he  preached  here  is 
not  definitely  known.  He  was  subsequently  settled  as 
pastor  of  the  Westfield  Presbyterian  Church.  After  a 
brief,  faithful,  and  successful  pastorate  of  three  years 
he  was  called  from  his  earthly  labors  to  his  heavenly 
reward.  "He  died  much  lamented,  Sept.  16,  1753, 
aged  thirty-seven  years."  "  His  body  lies  in  the  West- 
field  graveyard,  near  the  street,  under  a  table  monu- 
ment."^ He  was  succeeded  by  a  Mr.  Strong,  probably 
the  Rev.  Nathan  Strong,  of  Woodbury,  Conn.  He 
graduated  at  Yale  College  in  1742,  the  year  following 
the  graduation  of  John  Grant.  He  returned  to  New 
England,  and  was  settled  at  Coventry,  Conn.,  Oct.  9, 
1745. 

"  A  Mr.  Watkins,  probably  Rev.  Hezekiah  Watkins, 
who  graduated  at  Yale  in  1737,  was  employed  for  a 
short  period." ' 

After  being  supplied  for  five  years  the  church  ex- 


1  Mrs.  Eliza  A.  Freemau  Folsum,  an  artist,  a  member  of  this  church, 
a  descendant  of  Dr.  Jonallian  Dickinson  in  the  fourth  generation,  has 
recently  completed  an  excellent  portrait  of  her  distinguished  ancestor, 
afac-nmile  of  the  portrait  in  the  museum  at  Princeton  College,  which 
was  painted  from  a  print  that  appeared  originally  in  a  Scotch  magazine. 

-'  Hatfield's  History  of  Elizabeth,  pp.  572,  629. 

■'*  Hunting's  Hist.  Sermon,  p.  14. 

'  Hatfield's  Hist.  Elizabeth,  pp.  Ii29,  6:10. 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


261 


tended  a  call  to  the  Rev.  Aaron  Richards.  The  call 
was  accepted,  and  Mr.  Richards  became  the  first  pas- 
tor of  the  church.  The  grandfather  of  Aaron  Rich- 
ards came  at  an  early  date  from  Hartford.  Conn.,  to 
Newark.  Aaron  had  a  twin  brother  named  Moses. 
They  were  the  children  of  John  and  Jane  Richards, 
born  in  Newark,  1718.  Aaron  was  sent  to  Yale  Col- 
lege, where  he  graduated  in  1743.  He  was  ordained 
by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  Nov.  15,  1748,  and 
on  that  day  installed  the  first  pastor  of  this  church. 

He  is  spoken  of  as  naturally  buoyant  and  vivacious, 
but  often  thrown  into  periods  of  darkness  and  spiritual 
melancholy. 

Dr.  Samuel  Davis,  subsequently  president  of  Prince- 
ton College,  on  his  return  from  meeting  of  Synod  in 
Elizabethtown  in  1753  called  to  see  him,  and  strove 
to  cheer  him  up  and  lead  him  out  of  his  darkne.ss  by 
giving  an  account  of  a  similar  period  of  gloom  and 
depression  through  which  he  had  passed  himself 

He  was  an  ardent  patriot  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  He  was  compelled  to  flee  from  the  Brit- 
ish invaders  in  1776  to  escape  being  captured  and 
carried  off,  as  were  his  co-presbyters, — McKnight,  of 
Shrewsbury,  and  Roe,  of  Woodbridge.  His  place  of 
refiige  was  in  South  Hanover,  N.  J.,  where  he  sup- 
plied the  Presbyterian  Church  until  he  could  return 
home  in  safety. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  ministerial  life  he  was 
again  the  subject  of  acute  melancholy,  in  which  his 
spirit  was  depressed  and  buffeted  by  imaginary  ter- 
rors. In  1790  he  ceased  to  preach.  The  pastoral 
relation  was  dissolved  Nov.  2,  1791.  It  is  to  the 
credit  of  the  congregation  that  in  petitioning  the 
Presbytery  to  dissolve  the  pastoral  relation  they 
made  generous  provision  for  the  comfort  of  their  dis- 
abled minister's  family.  He  died  May  16,  1793,  in 
the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age.' 

His  body  is  buried  in  the  church  graveyard,  within 
a  few  feet  of  the  spot  where  for  more  than  forty-two 
years  he  preached  the  gospel.  The  following  is  the 
inscription  on  his  tombstone  : 

"  Sacred  to  the  Mempry 

OF 

Ret.  Aaron  Richaeds, 

of  Railway, 

Who  (leceaseii  May  10th,  1792, 

Aged  7.T  Years, 

And  in  the  44th  Year  of  his  Ministry. 

"  All  who  knew  the  man  will  join 
Their  friendly  siglia  and  tears  to  mine  ; 
For  all  who  knew  his  merits  must  confess 
In  grief  for  him  there  can  be  no  excess. 
His  sonl  was  form'd  to  act  each  gloriutis  part 
Of  life  nnstain'd  with  vanity  or  art; 
No  thought  within  his  generous  mind  had  birth 
But  what  he  might  have  own'd  in  heaven  and  earth." 

His  wife,  Susannah  Smith,  a  native  of  England, 
survived  her  husband  but  a  few  months.  Her  re- 
mains are  interred  beside  her  husband's.    The  remains 

1  Webster  Presby.  Ch.,  p.  582.  MS.  Records,  New  York  Presbytery, 
Hatfield's  Hist.,  pp.  6.'!0,  631. 


of  Alexander  Richards,  son  of  Rev.  Aaron  Richards, 
deceased  Oct.  4,  1813,  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  age, 
are  interred  near  the  grave  of  his  father  and  mother, 
also  those  of  his  first  wife,  Rhoda,  who  died  June  8, 
1792,  and  two  children  by  his  second  wife, — Stephen 
C,  died  July  19,  1814,  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his 
age,  and  Daniel  Cooper,  died  November,  1796. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Aaron  Richards,  one  hun- 
dred years  ago,  the  existence  of  this  church  was  in 
great  peril.  The  declaration  of  independence,  that 
brought  hostile  troops  to  this  vicinity,  drew  the  line 
of  separation  between  the  sons  and  daughters  of  lib- 
erty and  the  adherents  of  the  British  crown.  The 
Presbyterian  ministers  of  East  New  Jersey  and  the 
churches  to  which  they  ministered  were  hostile  to 
the  British  cause.  So  universally  was  this  the  case 
that  to  be  a  Presbyterian  minister  or  a  member  of  a 
Presbyterian  congregation  was  prima  facie  evidence 
of  being  an  advocate  of  American  independence. 
Let  your  eye  run  along  that  part  of  the  chain  of 
Presbyterian  Churches  in  which  we  find  ourselves. 
Dr.  McWhorter,  the  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Newark;  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  of  Eliza- 
beth ;  Rev.  Aaron  Richards,  of  Rahway  ;  Rev.  Azel 
Roe,  of  Woodbridge ;  and  Rev.  Charles  McKnight, 
of  Shrewsbury,  all  Christian  patriots,  having  the 
care  of  congregations  from  which  went  able-bodied 
men  and  youth  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  Continental 
army.  Many  of  the  homes  in  this  vicinity  a  hun- 
dred years  ago  were  left  without  their  natural  pro- 
tectors. The  husband  and  father  and  sons  were 
called  away  from  home  to  the  camp  and  the  battle- 
field. During  the  greater  part  of  the  Revolutionary 
war  the  British  troops  were  located  on  Manhattan 
and  Staten  Islands.  From  this  base  line  of  operation 
the  enemy  on  several  occasions  came  in  force,  march- 
ing over  these  highways,  with  view  to  actual  posses- 
sion, and  when  driven  back  to  his  fastness  on  the 
islands,  foraging  parties,  often  under  the  lead  of  some 
refugee,  kept  the  people  in  constant  terror  and  vigi- 
lance by  their  forays  in  the  night,  often  made  mem- 
orable in  robbing  the  stable  of  horses  or  driving 
away  herds  of  cattle.  The  incendiary's  torch  was 
sometimes  applied  to  the  forage  that  could  not  be 
carried  away  to  the  barn  or  house  of  a  loyalist.  Un- 
armed citizens  were  carried  away  as  hostages.  Here, 
too,  there  was  actual  conflict,  wounds  given  and  re- 
ceived, and  the  foray  crowned  with  ghastly  death. 
When  the  morrow's  sun  rose  upon  the  scene  the 
British  flag  could  still  be  seen  floating  on  Staten 
Island,  and  the  bugle  blasts  of  her  trumpeters  could 
be  distinctly  heard  by  the  watchmen  on  Rahway 
Neck.  The  oppressive  burden  upon  the  hearts  of  the 
aged  ones,  the  women  and  the  children  in  the  homes 
here  one  hundred  years  ago,  was  that  the  foray  of  la.st 
night,  in  which  there  was  robbery,  fire,  fright,  skir- 
mish, wounds,  and  death,  might  be  repeated  again  to- 
night or  in  the  near  future. 

Gen.  William  Irvine,  in  command  of  Pennsylvania 


26:i 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


troops  located  in  the  "  Short  Hills,"  a  few  miles  west 
from  this  point,  in  a  letter  that  he  wrote  to  his  wife 
in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  June  18,  1780,  speaks  thus  of  the 
dangers  and  suflerings  of  the  people  of  this  district: 

"You  may  think  your  Bitualion  bappy  indeed,  my  love,  when  com- 
pared witli  that  of  the  poor  people  of  this  part  of  our  country.  It 
grieves  me  beyond  expression  to  see  their  distressed  situation,  particu- 
larly that  of  the  women  and  children.  Murder  and  rapine  await  them 
wherever  these  barbarians  come. 

"Were  it  possible  I  would  suffer  a  thousand  deaths  rather  than  see 
you  in  the  situation  some  poor  gentlemen  here  are  forced  to  see  tlieir 
wives  and  daugiiterg  left  in."  ^ 

William  B.  Crowell,  one  of  the  senior  elders  of  our 
church,  has  in  his  po.ssession  a  large  family  Bible 
that  was  taken  by  British  marauders  from  the  home 
of  his  mother  and  carried  with  other  plunder  to 
Staten  Island.  This  event  occurred  before  Miss 
Eunice  Bloorafield  became  Mrs.  Crowell,  when  still 
at  her  father's  home  near  Metuchin.  The  sacred 
volume,  with  a  favorite  cow  that  had  also  been  taken, 
were  a  heavy  loss  to  the  spiritual  and  material  com- 
fort of  the  family.  Miss  Eunice,  with  resolute  spirit, 
resolved,  if  possible,  to  recover  the  stolen  book  and 
cow.  With  this  object  in  view,  accompanied  with 
two  servants,  she  crossed  over  to  Staten  Island  at 
Blazing  Star  Ferry,  now  Tufft's  Landing,  and  made 
known  the  object  of  her  mission  to  the  officer  in  com- 
mand. The  personal  presence  and  spirit  of  the  he- 
roic petitioner  secured  at  least  a  favorable  hearing 
from  the  officer.  After  inquiry  and  search  the  Bible 
was  found  in  a  gunboat  near  to  the  shore.  When 
brought  to  the  officer  he  examined  it,  and,  noting  in 
the  registry  of  deaths  a  recent  entry  of  a  brother  of 
the  petitioner  as  having  been  killed  by  the  British  in 
battle,  he  handed  the  volume  to  the  applicant  with 
the  remark,  "  Well,  there  is  one  rebel  less  to  fight  us." 
As  to  the  cow,  the  petitioner  could  have  it  if  she  could 
identify  it  among  the  great  herd  that  had  been  gath- 
ered from  East  Jersey  farms  in  the  recent  raid.  They 
were  huddled  together  by  a  fence  inclosure  near  by. 
It  was  a  dangerous  and  fruitless  endeavor  to  go  within 
the  inclosure  and  move  among  the  restive  beasts  to 
make  search  for  the  one  that  was  supposed  to  be 
among  the  many.  The  herd  was  scanned  by  search- 
ing eyes  again  and  again,  but  the  favorite  cow  could 
not  be  found  among  them.  Before  giving  up  the 
search  as  fruitless  it  occurred  to  Eunice  to  use  an 
expedient  that  was  successful  at  home  in  bringing 
the  cow  from  the  neighboring  field  to  feed  and  to 
the  pail  by  a  call.  The  call  was  given  with  natural 
home  tone,  and,  to  the  surprise  of  the  commanding 
officer  and  subalterns,  and  to  the  great  joy  of  Eunice, 
the  favorite  responded  to  the  call  by  leaping  over  the 
inclosure  and  coming  toward  her.  The  commanding 
officer  without  hesitation  said,  "  That  cow  is  yours : 
you  can  take  her  home."  With  both  Bible  and  cow 
identified  and  reclaimed,  there  was  a  going  home 
with  great  gladness  of  heart. 


1  Historical  Hagazii 


Amos  Morse,  deceased  in  1871,  for  many  years  an 
elder  in  this  church,  had  in  his  possession  an  heir- 
loom that  was  a  constant  reminder  of  an  incident  in 
his  father's  life  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  His 
father  held  a  captain's  commission  in  the  Continental 
army.  His  home  was  just  north  of  the  north  branch 
of  the  Railway  River,  on  St.  George's  Avenue.  The 
house  of  Capt.  Morse  was  surrounded  in  the  night- 
time by  a  detachment  of  British  troops  and  refugees 
from  Staten  Island.  The  captain  was  taken  out  of 
bed  and  hurried  otF  a  prisoner,  and  for  six  months 
thereafter  suffered  the  rigors  of  confinement  and  scant 
rations  in  the  New  York  Sugar-House. 

Among  the  articles  stolen  from  the  captain's  house 
on  this  occa.sion  was  the  stately  eight-day  clock  that 
had  been  the  family  monitor  for  years.  The  size  of 
the  clock  made  it  a  cumbersome  prize  to  transport. 
After  carrying  it  some  distance,  the  soldiers  took  out 
the  works  and  abandoned  the  wooden  case.  The  case, 
minus  the  essentials  for  keeping  time,  was  restored  to 
its  former  place  in  Capt.  Morse's  home.  Subsequently 
Isaac  Brokaw  put  in  this  historic  c;ise  new  works,  and 
it  still  echoes  to  the  time-beats  of  its  restored  works 
in  the  home  of  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Tichenor,  in  Seminary 
Street,  Rahway.  Mrs.  Tichenor  is  a  granddaughter 
of  Capt.  Amos  Morse. 

The  pastorate  of  Rev.  Aaron  Richards  was  followed 
by  a  vacancy  of  more  than  five  years.  The  pulpit 
was  supplied  by  a  "  Mr.  Cooley,"  who  had  sought  ad- 
mission to  the  Presbytery,  "  but  not  producing  satis- 
factory testimonials  could  not  be  admitted."  He  was 
followed  by  Mr.  Henry  Cook,  a  licentiate.  During 
the  rest  of  the  interval  supplies  were  furnished  by  the 
Presbytery. 

Rev.  Robert  Hett  Chapman  was  of  New  England 
ancestry.  He  was  the  second  son  of  the  Rev.  Jede- 
diah  Chapman  and  Blanche  Smith,  and  was  born  at 
Orange,  N.  J.,  March  2,  1771.  He  was  educated  at 
the  College  of  New  Jersey,  where  he  graduated  in 
1789.  After  a  full  course  of  theological  study,  he  was 
licensed  to  ])reacli  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York, 
Oct.  3,  1793.  In  the  winter  of  1794-95  he  visited  the 
Southern  States  on  a  missionary  tour.  On  his  return 
he  supplied  for  a  while  the  newly-organized  church 
of  Wardsesson  (Bloomfield),  N.  J. 

The  call  from  Rahway  was  laid  before  Presbytery 
Oct.  12,  1796,  and  accepted.  The  ordination  and  in- 
stallation took  place  Jan.  5,  1797.  Feb.  14,  1797,  he 
was  married  to  Hannah  Arnett.  This  pastorate  was 
of  short  duration.  The  disasters  of  war,  that  had 
broken  up  many  families,  destroyed  and  prostrated 
much  of  the  material  wealth  of  the  community,  the 
inability  of  Mr.  Richards  in  the  closing  years  of  his 
ministry  to  perform  the  needed  pastoral  duties,  and 
the  more  than  five  years  ot  vacancy  conspired  to 
leave  the  church  in  a  low  estate  spiritually  and  poor 
in  earthly  substance. 

After  three  years'  labor  the  pastoral  relation  is  dis- 
solved, Oct.  2, 1799,  for  want  of  adequate  support,  the 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


263 


people  being  unable  to  fulfill  their  engagements.  Mr. 
Chapman  was  subsequently  the  honored  president  of 
the  University  of  North  Carolina,  received  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity  from  Williams  College  in 
1815,  and  died  on  a  journey  at  Winchester,  Va., 
June  18,  18:i3.' 

Rev.  Buckley  Carll  was  born  in  Cohansey,  Cum- 
berland Co.,  N.  J.,  in  1780.  In  1799  he  became  the 
pastor  of  the  Pittsgrove,  N.  J.,  Presbyterian  Church. 
In  the  summer  of  1802  he  received  a  call  to  this 
church.  Oct.  6, 1802,  he  was  received  from  the  Phila- 
delphia Presbytery  by  the  New  York  Presbytery. 
On  Dec.  28,  1802,  he  was  installed  pastor  of  this 
church.  During  Mr.  Carll's  pastorate  of  twenty- 
three  years  there  were  three  occasions  of  special  re- 
ligious interest  in  the  church.  The  revival  in  the 
First  Church  of  Elizabeth  under  the  pastorate  of  Dr. 
John  McDowell  in  1808,  in  which  one  hundred  and 
eleven  persons  were  added  to  his  church  on  profession, 
extended  in  its  gracious  effects  into  the  bounds  of  the 
Rahway  Church.  At  this  time  sixteen  persons  were 
added  on  profession.  In  the  winter  of  1814-15  there 
was  an  addition  of  fifty-six  to  the  church  on  profes- 
sion. In  addition  to  the  stated  ordinances  of  the 
church  there  were  prayer-meetings  held  at  private 
houses  in  the  eveuings  of  the  week.  Several  men 
who  came  from  Springfield  and  were  at  work  in  the 
Taurino  Factory  were  especially  active  in  conducting 
the  cottage  prayer-meetings. 

In  the  spring  of  1825  Mr.  Carll,  at  the  request  of 
many  of  his  people,  invited  the  Rev.  N.  C.  Sexton, 
au  evangelist,  who  had  with  special  divine  favor 
been  conducting  religious  services  in  Springfield  and 
Westfield,  to  come  to  Rahway  and  hold  similar  ser- 
vices here.  When  Mr.  Sexton  commenced  his  special 
services  he  had  also  the  co-operation  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Wiggans,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Rahway.  Mr.  Sexton  had  associated  with  him  by 
special  invitation  James  Brainerd  Taylor,  an  intelli- 
gent, earnest,  spiritually-minded  young  man,  who 
was  now  in  his  junior  year  in  the  College  of  New 
Jersey. 

In  June,  1825,  thirty-two  united  with  this  church 
on  profession  of  faith,  still  others  who  experienced  a 
change  of  heart  during  this  work  of  grace  united 
with  the  church  at  subsequent  communions;  some 
united  with  other  churches.  While  Mr.  Carll  was 
earnestly  devoted  to  his  Master's  cause,  and  wrought 
faithfully  in  the  line  of  his  duty  as  he  saw  it,  he  did 
not  seem  to  have  that  liberality  of  spirit  and  tact 
which  were  necessary  to  enable  him  successfully  to 
co-operate  with  others,  and  to  give  general  and  spe- 
cific direction  to  others  who  were  willing  to  work 
under  ju<licious  leadership,  when  the  awakening  and 
quickening  spirit  of  revival  was  present. 

In  the  revival  of  1814-15  the  members  of  his  own 

>  Hatfield's  Hist,  of  Elizabeth,  pp.  6.32,  633.  MS.  Records  of  Presby- 
tery of  N.  Y„  vol.  iv.  pp.  123-24,  185-86,  237,  242-43,  310.  Sprague's 
Annals,  vol.  iv.  pp.  95-96.     CUapnian  Faniily,  pp.  108-49. 


flock  did  not  conduct  their  meetings  for  social  prayer 
just  according  to  his  pattern.  When  the  revival  of 
1825  took  place  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Sexton,  it 
is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  Mr.  Carll,  with  his  nat- 
urally positive  and  nervous  temperament,  now  sufler- 
ing,  as  he  himself  writes,  "  with  premature  old  age, 
attended  with  painful  chronic  diseases,  from  which  I 
can  expect  no  relief  but  by  the  hand  of  death,"  should 
demur  at  some  things  in  the  teachings  of  the  young 
evangelist,  his  fellow-worker,  at  modes  of  operation, 
and  currents  of  thought,  feeling,  and  expression  that 
at  high  tide  were  breaking  over  old  landmarks. 

The  reason  why  Mr.  Carll,  who  had  with  great 
fidelity  recorded  the  transactions  of  the  session  from 
1802  until  the  close  of  the  year  1815,  ceased  after  this 
date  to  make  any  entry  in  the  record  is  accounted 
for  by  the  exceptions  that  Presbytery  in  1816  took  to 
the  proceedings  of  the  session  in  some  cases  of  dis- 
cipline, which  exceptions  are  recorded  in  the  se.ssion- 
book  by  order  of  Presbytery,  and  are  as  follows : 

"  In  several  instances  memtiere  of  the  church  are  considered  as  guilty 
before  they  are  tried. 

'*  There  are  instances  in  which  members  have  been  suspended  fi-om 
the  cuninuinion  of  the  church  without  due  formality  in  taking  and  re- 
cording the  testimony.''^ 

At  the  stated  meeting  of  the  Presbytery  of  Eliza- 
bethtown  at  Connecticut  Farms,  April,  1826,  at  the 
request  of  the  congregation,  the  pastoral  relation  be- 
tween Mr.  Carll  and  the  Rahway  Presbyterian  Church 
was  dissolved. 

More  than  a  year  after  the  pa.storal  relation  was 
dissolved,  when  Mr.  Carll  was  located  on  his  farm 
near  Deerfield,  he  thought  it  necessary  for  self-vindi- 
cation to  publish  a  series  of  articles  in  the  New  Jersey 
Advocate,  a  Rahway  paper.  In  these  articles  he  was 
unsparing  in  the  judgment  he  pronounced  on  revivals, 
also  on  those  who  were  active  in  promoting  them,  and 
upon  those  who,  by  God's  grace,  had  been  brought  to 
accept  of  Christ  in  revival  times.  These  articles,  which 
are  still  in  some  of  your  homes,  should  not  be  taken 
as  a  correct  index  of  the  man.  His  naturally  legal 
mind,  under  the  stress  of  disease  and  increasing  years, 
became  morbidly  positive  when  he  thought  himself 
wronged.  His  pastorate  of  twenty-three  years  here 
left  a  better  record  for  him  than  this  controversy. 
He  certainly  had  more  wisdom  than  many  of  his  min- 
isterial brethren  in  managing  the  temporalities  of  his 
home.  While  he  had  means  of  his  own,  he  made  his 
salary  of  three  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  on  which 
he  was  called,  go  a  good  deal  further  than  it  would 
with  many  others.  The  people  in  good  will  came  to 
his  help  with  voluntary  labor,  in  drawing  wood  and  in 
subduing  the  briers  and  thorns  that  had  taken  pos- 
session of  the  twenty-five  acres  that  were  attached  to 
the  parsonage. 

He  came  to  the  church  when  it  was  in  debt  and 
there  were  but  few  members.    The  feeble  folk  were 

'  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  44. 


264 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


gathered  together  and  the  debt  seems  to  have  been 
disposed  of,  and  everything  pertaining  to  the  church 
property  put  on  a  new  face.  The  spiritual  life  of  the 
church  was  at  a  low  ebb.  While  he  was  not  in  favor 
of  some  of  the  revival  measures  that  were  in  vogue 
in  his  day,  it  should  be  remembered  that  in  the  years 
coming  between  the  revival  periods  mentioned  he 
had  additions  on  profession  of  faith  that  indicated 
fidelity  in  dispensing  the  ordinances  of  the  church. 
Speaking  of  the  field  in  the  early  period  of  his  min- 
istry here  he  says, — 

"During  my  minietry  the  Presbyterian  congregation  had  nominally 
attached  to  it  near  three  hundred  families,  about  fifteen  hundred  souls. 
From  various  causes  about  one-half  of  these  were  never  seen  in  the 
bouse  of  public  worship.  But  each  and  all  expected  and  received  my 
services  in  their  sick-rooms,  at  their  dying  beds,  aud  in  burying  their 
dead. 

"I  preached  twice  and  often  three  times  on  the  Sabliath,  catechised 
and  instructed  the  children  and  youth  with  no  little  diligence  and  care, 
lectured  at  private  houses  in  the  evenings  throughout  the  week,  pro- 
moted and  attended  prayer-meetings,  and  made  many  ministerial  visits 
from  house  to  house.   .  .  . 

"  In  the  autumn  of  one  year  for  six  weeks  (besides  meeting  and  per- 
forming my  other'duties)  1  preached  as  many  funeral  sermons  as  there 
were  days. 

"This  is  a  specimen  of  my  labors  as  a  minister  in  Rahway  for  the 
space  of  twenty  years,  during  which,  taking  one  week  with  another,  I 
preached  tive  times  a  week."  i 

After  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved,  Mr.  Carll 
returned  to  the  neighborhood  of  his  former  charge, 
purchasing  a  farm  within  four  miles  of  Deerfield, 
N.  J.  He  died  at  Deerfield,  May  29,  1849,  and  was 
buried  at  Pittsgrove,  N.  J.  His  third  wife,  Mrs. 
Abigail  Carll,  survived  him,  and  subsequently  resided 
in  Bridgeton,  N.  J.  His  first  and  second  wives  died 
during  his  pastorate  here,  and  their  remains  are  in- 
terred in  the  church  cemetery. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  Sept.  15,  1825,  mod- 
erated by  the  Rev.  John  McDowell,  a  unanimous  call 
was  extended  to  the  Rev.  Elias  W.  Crane,  at  the  time 
stated  clerk  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown,  and 
pastor  of  the  Springfield  Church.  Mr.  Crane  did  not 
accept  the  call. 

In  addition  to  Mr.  Crane  the  pulpit  was  supplied 
at  this  period  by  Rev.  A.  G.  Fraser,  who  supplied  the 
pulpit  continuously  for  eighteen  weeks,  Mr.  George 
Coan  (licentiate).  Rev.  William  B.  Barton,  and  Rev. 
Lewis  Bond. 

At  a  congregational  meeting,  moderated  by  Rev. 
David  Magie,  May  16,  1826,  Rev.  Alfred  Chester  was 
chosen  pastor  of  the  church.  He  graduated  at  Yale 
College  in  1818,  and  pursued  his  theological  studies 
at  Andover,  Mass.,  and  Princeton,  N.  J.  On  July 
18,  1826,  he  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Eliz- 
abethtown, and  installed  pastor  of  this  church.  This 
pastorate  was  brief.  In  less  than  three  years,  March 
3,  1829,  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved.  That  the 
most  amicable  relation  e.'ci.sted  between  the  church 
and  Mr.  Chester  is  indicated  by  his  continuing  to  sup- 

^  New  Jersey  Advocate,  Jan.  30, 1827. 


ply  the  pulpit  and  act  as  moderator  of  the  session  for 
some  time  after  the  relation  was  dissolved. 

The  spiritual  life  of  the  church,  that  had  been 
quickened  into  zeal  and  vigor  in  the  revival  of  1825, 
did  not  manifest  itself  in  continued  power  and  prog- 
ress during  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Chester.  During 
the  same  year  in  which  his  pastoral  relation  with  this 
church  was  dissolved  (1829)  he  became  principal  of 
the  academy  in  Morristown,  N.  J.,  in  which  capacity 
he  served  until  1843.  Afterward  he  was  agent  for  our 
church  board  of  publication.  In  his  latter  years  he 
resided  in  Elizabeth.  He  made  his  closing  days  use- 
ful in  furnishing  religious  reading  and  preaching  to 
the  prisoners  in  the  county  jail.  He  died  in  Eliza- 
beth, July  2,  1871,  aged  seventy -three  years.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  F.  Chetwood,  of  Eliza- 
beth, N.  J. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  July  20,  1829,  Rev. 
John  McDowell  presiding  as  moderator.  Rev.  Abra- 
ham O.  Halsey  received  a  majority  of  votes  cast  for 
pastor.  The  minority  voting  against  his  present  elec- 
tion were  anxious  to  have  Mr.  Halsey  preach  as  a 
stated  supply  for  three  months  with  a  view  to  mutual 
acquaintance  and  future  settlement.  The  majority 
acquiesced  in  the  proposition,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
Christian  unity  and  fraternity  extended  an  invitation 
to  Mr.  Halsey  to  supply  their  pulpit  for  the  next 
three  months. 

Rev.  Thomas  L.  Janeway  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  Feb.  27,  1805.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Jacob 
J.  Janeway,  D.D.  His  mother's  maiden  name  was 
Martha  Gray  Lei  per.  .He  had  peculiar  advantages  in 
being  prepared  for  the  ministry,  from  the  position 
that  his  father  occupied  as  a  minister  in  Philadelphia. 

He  graduated  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1823,  and  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary  in  1827. 

In  the  autumn  of  1829,  Dr.  John  McDowell,  pas- 
tor of  the  First  Church  of  Elizabeth,  commended 
Mr.  Janeway  to  this  church,  and  soon  thereafter  Dr. 
McDowell  moderated  the  congregational  meeting  that 
made  out  the  call  for  the  pastoral  services  of  Mr. 
Janeway.  He  had  been  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia,  October,  1827,  and  on  Nov.  3,  1829,  was 
ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  Town,  and 
installed  pastor  of  this  church.  On  this  occasion 
Rev.  John  McDowell,  of  Elizabeth,  preached  the 
sermon,  Rev.  Albert  Barnes,  of  Morristown,  gave  the 
charge  to  the  pastor,  and  Dr.  Magie,  of  Elizabeth, 
the  charge  to  the  people. 

At  this  time  piety  was  at  a  low  ebb,  and  many  un- 
believers and  scofters  at  religion  were  in  the  habit  of 
speaking  reproachfully  and  bitterly  of  the  Scriptures, 
the  church,  her  ministers,  and  her  members.  On 
street  corners,  where  there  were  groups  of  men 
gathered  in  the  evening,  these  topics  were  often  the 
themes  for  ridicule  and  discussion.  In  some  of  the 
shops  and  stores  Christian  ears  were  made  to  tingle 
because  of  the  reproachful  and  blasphemous  words 
uttered  by  the  men  who  gathered  in  these  places  for 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


265 


an  evening's  ribaldry.  It  was,  therefore,  at  a  critical 
juncture  in  the  moral  and  religious  life  of  the  com- 
munity that  the  young  pastor  entered  upon  his  duties. 

On  several  occasions  as  he  was  passing  along  the 
street  or  entering  shop  or  store,  he  was  put  to  the  test 
by  an  intentional  and  profane  attack  on  the  truth  and 
the  cause  of  which  he,  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel, 
was  an  exponent.  What  might  have  been  an  impru- 
dent and  perilous  course  for  some  young  ministers 
was  successfully  adopted  by  Mr.  Janeway.  He  met 
the  challenge  on  the  spot.  Familiar  with  the  popuhir 
objections  urged  against  the  Scriptures  and  the 
church,  schooled  from  youth  in  the  knowledge  of 
the  Scriptures  and  theology  as  a  system,  having  a  well- 
poised  mind,  a  fruitful  store  of  anecdote,  an  unusual 
discernment  of  character,  he  was  enabled  to  meet  the 
opponents  of  the  truth  with  such  thoroughness  and 
effect  that  if  not  convinced  they  were  at  least  suffi- 
ciently inipre.ssed  with  the  young  minister's  intelli- 
gence, readiness,  and  courage  thereafter  to  be  re- 
spectful in  deportment  and  speech  while  he  was 
present. 

At  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Janeway's  ministry 
the  practice  of  two  services,  with  but  short  intermis- 
sion, was  still  in  vogue.  The  young  pastor  objected 
to  the  two  services  coming  so  near  together.  He 
plead  for  a  later  hour  in  the  afternoon,  or  an  evening 
service.  He  stated  that  unless  this  was  done  he  would 
have  to  use  a  manuscript  and  read  at  the  second 
service.  As  there  seemed  to  be  a  decided  preference 
on  the  part  of  the  people  that  their  pastor  should 
preach  without  manuscript,  his  desire  in  regard  to 
change  of  time  for  the  second  service  was  granted. 

During  his  pastorate  several  extensive  revivals  of 
religion  blessed  the  church.  Some  of  the  oldest 
members  of  the  church  remember  a  precious  work  of 
grace  that  had  its  origin  in  sunrise  prayer-meetings 
held  in  the  academy  building,  that  was  located  within 
the  inclosure  of  the  marble-yard  adjoining  the  ceme- 
tery, facing  St.  George's  Avenue.  This  was  in  1831, 
when  forty-one  united  with  the  church  on  profession 
of  faith.  Identical  with  this  revival  the  project  of 
building  the  new  church  edifice  commenced. 

The  year  1834  is  the  year  of  grace  in  the  history  of 
this  church  :  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven  united  with 
the  church  on  profession  of  faith  and  twelve  by  cer- 
tificate, making  a  total  for  the  year  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty-nine.  During  Dr.  Janew'ay's  pastorate  of 
eleven  years  two  hundred  and  sixty-two  were  added 
to  the  church  on  profession  of  faith,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  by  certificate,  making  an  aggregate 
of  three  hundred  and  eighty-nine  during  his  pastor- 
ate. 

At  this  time  the  Society  of  Friends  and  the  First 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  the  only  additional 
religious  organizations  in  Rahway.  The  pastor  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  bad  an  immense  field  from 
which  to  gather,  and  he  did  bis  work  well. 

The  discerning  members  of  his  church  and  congre- 


gation in  the  second  year  of  Mr.  Janeway's  ministry 
saw  that  policy  and  necessity  demanded  a  new  church 
edifice.  Some  could  not  think  of  giving  up  the  old 
location,  and  so  it  was  decreed  at  parish  meeting  that 
the  new  building  was  to  be  planted  upon  the  spot  oc- 
cupied by  the  old  one.  But  at  a  subsequent  meeting, 
held  March  1,  1831,  this  action  was  rescinded,  and  the 
trustees  were  authorized  to  purchase  from  Samuel 
Oliver  and  Job  Squire  the  property  known  as  the 
Richards  lot,  at  the  price  they  had  previously  paid 
for  it,  viz.,  eighteen  hundred  dollars.  It  was  also  de- 
termined at  this  meeting  that  the  new  church  should 
be  located  on  this  Richards  lot.  It  was  called  the 
Richards  lot  because  it  had  been  the  property  of  Rev. 
Aaron  Richards,  the  first  pastor  of  the  church. 

The  house  that  was  on  the  lot  was  subsequently  re- 
moved, and  is  now  located  on  the  southwest  corner  of 
Union  and  Oliver  Streets,  the  property  of  Lawrence 
Bumgartner,  Sr.  The  land,  having  the  present  church 
and  parsonage  front,  extended  north  to  the  river,  all 
north  of  Union  Street  being  subsequently  disposed  of 
by  the  trustees  of  the  church. 

The  church  edifice  was  commenced  in  May,  1831, 
under  the  auspices  of  John  Y.  Van  Tuyl,  Samuel  Oli- 
ver, Job  Squire,  Dr.  D.  S.  Craig,  John  Wood,  Jr.,  and 
Henry  Mundy,  trustees  at  that  time.  \ 

The  contract  for  building  was  given  to  Moses  Dodd, 
the  builder  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church  of  New- 
ark, N.  J.  It  was  a  general  specification  that  this 
church  was  to  be  patterned  after  the  Third  Church 
of  Newark,  with  the  definite  requirement  that  in 
some  of  the  interior  appointments  and  finish  it  was  to 
be  superior  to  its  model.  The  work  was  well  and 
faithfully  executed.  When  completed  it  was  re- 
garded as  superior  to  most  of  the  churches  in  the 
neighboring  towns,  and  excelled  by  few,  if  any.  The 
contract  price  for  the  erection  of  the  church  was 
fourteen  thousand  six  hundred  dollars.  In  addition 
to  this,  five  hundred  dollars  was  paid  for  the  upper 
bent  or  story  of  the  cupola,  which  was  not  contem- 
plated in  the  original  design.  This  would  make  the 
aggregate  cost  of  the  church  fifteen  thousand  one 
hundred  dollars.  The  erection  of  the  parsonage, 
which  followed  that  of  the  church,  cost  about 
three  thousand  dollars,  making  the  cost  of  the  church 
and  parsonage  eighteen  thousand  one  hundred  dol- 
lars. 

After  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  the  parsonage  and 
ground  on  St.  George's  Avenue  and  the  old  church 
building  were  added  to  the  amount  subscribed  bv  the 
people,  there  was  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  to 
be  raised  to  clear  the  church  and  parsonage  of  debt. 
I  am  told  that  Mr.  Job  Squire  and  Samuel  Oliver 
each  advanced  five  thousand  dollars,  taking  as  their 
security  for  future  reimbursement  pews  at  a  specified 
valuation.  By  this  noble  act  the  church  and  attached 
jiroperty  were  freed  from  debt. 

The  church  was  dedicated  to  the  worship  of  Al- 
mighty God  Feb.  5,  1832.     The  Rev.  Samuel  Miller, 


2ti(i 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIKS,  NEW   JERSEY. 


D.D.,  of  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  preached 
the  dedicatory  sermon  in  the  morning;  Dr.  J.  J. 
Janeway,  father  of  the  pastor,  preached  in  the  after- 
noon, and  Dr.  McDowell,  of  Elizabeth,  in  the  evening. 
The  old  church  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Job  Squire, 
moved  to  the  lot  on  which  the  Franklin  school-house 
is  located,  where  it  was  used  as  a  tenement-house 
until  1851,  when  it  was  sold  and  removed  in  frag- 
ments to  give  place  for  the  school-house. 

At  the  request  of  Dr.  Janeway,  the  Presbytery  of 
Elizabeth  dissolved  the  pastoral  relation  with  this 
church  Nov.  17,  1840.  This  request  was  made  that 
he  might  accept  of  an  urgent  call  extended  him  by 
the  North  Presbyterian  Church,  Philadelphia.  He 
was  installed  pastor  of  the  North  Church  in  Decem- 
ber, 1840.  He  remained  pastor  of  this  church  for 
nearly  fourteen  years,  when  impaired,  health  com- 
pelled him  to  resign,  April,  1854.  Witli  partially 
restored  health  he  was  settled  in  1855  as  pastor  of 
the  Kingston  Presbyterian  Church,  New  Jersey.  In 
1861  he  was  chosen  to  the  responsible  position  of  sec- 
retary of  our  Board  of  Domestic  Missions,  and  was 
called  upon  to  administer  its  important  interests 
when  the  church  was  dismembered  by  civil  war,  and 
there  was  peril  and  confusion  in  the  finances  of  the 
country,  and  many  of  our  churches  on  the  war  line 
were  threatened  with  complete  extinction.  He  re- 
signed this  secretaryship  in  1868.  He  has  also 
served  the  church  as  director  and  trustee  of  the 
theological  seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  has 
discharged  other  important  duties  to  which  the 
church  on  special  occasions  has  called  him.  The 
College  of  New  Jersey  conferred  upon  him  the  de- 
gree of  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  18.50. 

In  the  good  providence  of  God,  this  church  was 
not  at  this  time  long  exposed  to  the  perils  of  pulpit 
vacancy.  Before  a  month  had  expired  after  the  time  the 
Presbytery  had  dissolved  the  pastoral  relation  between 
the  church  and  Mr.  Janeway,  Dr.  Magie,  of  Eliza- 
beth, was  requested  to  preside  at  a  congregational 
meeting  in  this  church  having  as  its  object  the 
election  of  a  pastor.  The  result  of  this  meeting,  on 
Dec.  11,  1840,  was  the  election  by  a  unanimous  vote 
of  Charles  K.  Imbrie  as  pastor. 

Charles  K.  Imbrie  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Dec. 
15,  1814.  His  father  was  James  Imbrie,  of  Scotland, 
and  the  maiden  name  of  his  mother  was  Margaretta 
Kisselman,  of  Philadelphia.  He  graduated  at  the 
College  of  New  Jersey  in  1835,  and  after  a  four  years' 
course  graduated  at  Princeton  Theological  Seminary 
in  1840.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Philadelphia,  Oct.  7,  1840.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of  this  church.  On 
Jan.  5,  1841,  he  was  ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Elizabethtown,  and  installed  |)astor  of  this  church. 

While  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Imbrie  had  the  sanction 
of  the  Divine  Presence  in  securing  additions  to  the 
church  on  profession  of  faith  during  each  passing 
year,  the  years  1842  and  1843  were  years  of  peculiar 


blessing.    In  1842  thirty-two  were  added  to  the  church 
on  profession  of  faith,  and  in  1843  sixty-seven. 

The  session  made  record  of  their  gratitude  for  the 
divine  blessing  in  these  words  : 

"  It  was  a  Benson  of  great  jny  and  edification  to  the  church,  and  the 
ses'^ion  here  record  tlieir  grateful  acknowledgment  to  the  Lord  .lesus 
Christ,  the  great  head  of  the  cliunh,  fur  the  great  lili-ssing  with  which 
he  has  fav->red  ourselvea  and  the  other  cliurclies  of  the  Presbytery."! 

The  qualities  that  secured  a  successful  pastorate  to 
this  faithful  servant  here  were  the  cause  of  his  being 
sought  and  desired  for  other  important  pulpits.  Being 
called  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Jersey  City, 
he  deemed  it  his  duty  to  accept  it.  The  peoj^le  of  his 
charge  complied  with  regret  with  his  request  to  have 
the  pastoral  relation  dissolved.  This  was  done  by 
Presbytery  Jan.  6,  1852,  after  a  pastorate  of  about  the 
same  length  as  Dr.  Janeway's,  eleven  years.  Dr.  Im- 
brie still  continues  the  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  Jersey  City.  His  peculiar  and  mani- 
fold qualifications  give  him  an  adaptation  to  the 
varied  duties  of  an  efficient  and  honorably  conspicu- 
ous ministerial  life.  He  has  not  sought  places  away 
from  his  own  pulpit  and  the  vineyard  of  his  own  pas- 
toral charge,  but  the  church  and  the  Christian  public 
have  sought  him.  It  is  thus  that  he  has  been  called 
to  membership  in  the  executive  committee  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  His  bold  handwriting, 
his  clearly  articulated  paragraphs,  and  his  analytical 
mind  in  the  arrangement  and  record  of  facts,  that  we 
have  exhibited  to  us  in  the  sessions  book  of  this 
church  during  the  years  in  which  he  served  as  both 
moderator  and  clerk,  show  us  why  he  was  selected 
the  recording  secretary  of  tiie  Board  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, and  served  in  that  capacity  for  a  period  of 
thirteen  years.  It  was  not  the  fact  that  he  was  a  good 
penman,  but  the  fact  that  he  was  a  man  of  thought 
and  intensely  interested  in  the  living  issues  of  the 
day  from  the  Christian  stand-point,  and  could  ex- 
press himself  clearly  and  pungently  in  regard  to  them, 
that  he  was  called  to  the  editorship  of  the  New 
York  Evatigelinf  in  1870.  It  is  because  he  is  deeply 
interested  in  the  work  of  educational  institutions 
that  he  was  called  to  the  trusteeship  of  the  State  Nor- 
mal School  of  New  Jersey,  and  to  that  of  the  College 
of  New  Jersey.  It  was  because  he  was  worthy  that 
his  alma  mater,  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  in  1861, 
conferred  on  him  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of 
j  Divinity.  Y'et  you  love  him  and  revere  him  when 
j  he  comes  among  you,  not  because  he  has  been  called 
to  these  places  of  honor,  but  because  he  was  your 
faithful  pastor,  because  he  lived  a  holy  life  among 
you,  and  with  great  diligence,  faithfiilness,  and  ten- 
derness preached  unto  you  Jesus,  because  with  .sym- 
pathetic heart  he  was  the  partner  of  your  sorrows, 
the  sharer  of  your  joys. 

As  soon  as  the  pastoral  relation  between  Mr.  Imbrie 
and  the  church  was  dissolved,  Jan.  6,  1852,  the  session 


>  Session  Records,  vol.  il.  pp.  129, 133-34. 


CITY  OF  RAHWAY. 


2ri7 


without  delay  addressed  their  former  pastor,  Mr.  Jane- 
way,  in  regard  to  a  successor.  He  commended  to 
tliem  the  Rev.  Samuel  S.  Slicddau,  of  Northumber- 
latul  Presbytery,  Pennsylvania.  Arrangements  were 
at  once  made  for  him  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  two 
Sabbaths,  on  the  last  Sabbath  of  January  and  the  first 
Sabbath  of  February. 

The  pleasant  fraternal  relation  that  existed  between 
this  people  and  their  surviving  ex-pastors  is  illus- 
trated in  the  fact  that  Mr.  Janeway  is  requested  to 
recommend  a  minister  for  the  vacant  pulpit,  and  after 
the  minister  commended  by  him  is  heard,  Mr.  Imbrie 
is  requested  to  preside  at  the  congregational  meeting, 
Feb.  9,  1852,  which  after  a  month's  vacancy  elected 
his  successor,  the  Rev.  Samuel  S.  Sheddan.  Mark 
also  the  minute  giving  an  account  of  the  installation  : 

"The  Kev.  Samuel  Sheddan  was  this  evening  (April  21, 1852)  installed 
pastor  of  this  church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown,  acting  by 
their  committee.  Sermon  by  the  Rev.  Thomas  L.  Janeway,  D.D.; 
chaige  to  the  pastor  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Murray,  and  to  the  people  by  Rev. 
Charles  K.  Imbrie."  l 

Samuel  Sharon  Sheddan  was  born  in  Northumber- 
land County,  Pa.,  Sept.  13,  1810.  His  grandparents, 
who  were  Scotch,  located  on  a  farm  not  far  from  the 
Susquehanna  River,  where  the  family  homestead  still 
remains.  He  pursued  his  academic  course  at  the 
academy  in  Milton,  Pa.,  and  graduated  at  Jefferson 
College,  Pa.,  in  1831.  After  teaching  for  a  short  time 
he  entered  upon  his  theological  coiirse  at  Princeton, 
N.  J.,  where  he  spent  over  two  years. 

In  the  autumn  of  1834  he  was  licensed  to  preach 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Northumberland.     In  this  year  j 
he  was  stated  supply  of  the  church  at  Williamsport,  ' 
Pa.     In  1835  he  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor  of  1 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Muncy,  Pa.     With  the 
pastorate  of  the  Muncy  Church,  he   for   about  two  i 
years  gave  half  his  time  as  stated  supply  to  the  Wil-  | 
liamsport  Church.     In  1837  his  services  were  desired 
as  co-pastor  with  Dr.  Bryson,  the  venerable  [lastor  of 
the  Warrior  Run   Presbyterian  Church.     The  half  of 
his  time  that  had  been  previously  given  to  the  Wil- 
liamsport field  was  now  as  co-pastor  given  to  Warrior 
Run,  the  church  of  Mr.  Sheddan's   childhood   and 
ancestors ;    his    father    and    grandfather  were   both 
ruling  elders  in  this  church.    Dr.  Bryson  had  already  i 
served  this  church  a  half-century.  [ 

The  co-pastorate  continued  for  four  and  a  half  years, 
when  the  aged  patriarch  resigned  his  charge,  and  Mr. 
Sheddan,  who  had  been  baptized  and  reared  in  this 
church,  became  its  sole  pastor.    At  this  time  the  War- 
rior Run  Presbyterian  Church  was  one  of  the  largest  , 
and  most  influential  churches  in   the  Presbytery  of  i 
Northumberland.    While  here,  in  addition  to  preach-  I 
ing  and  pastoral  work,  he  conducted  successfully  a 
large  classical  school.     From  the  young  men  he  was 
instrumental   in  preparing  for  college,  more  than  a 
dozen  of  them  subsequently  became  ministers  of  the 
gospel. 

1  Session  Records,  vol.  ii.  p.  289.  ' 


From  Warrior  Run  he  came  to  this  church,  where 
he  remained  throughout  a  pastorate  of  twenty-two 
years,  when  the  Lord,  the  Great  Shepherd  of  the  fold, 
pronounced  his  work  dtme  and  called  him  to  his 
reward  in  the  home  of  the  blessed. 

The  field  and  influence  of  this  church  was  divided 
with  the  formation  of  the  Second  Church  about  two 
years  before  Mr.  Sheddan's  settlement  here.  The 
active,  earnest  element  that  waa  dismissed  from  the 
First  to  form  the  nucleus  of  the  Second  Church  left 
a  gap  in  congregational  presence  and  life  that  it  was 
hard  to  fill. 

The  increase  of  population  within  the  contracted 
field  bore  but  a  small  ratio  to  the  aggregate  number 
of  persons  who  had  a  few  years  previously  been  iden- 
tified with  this  congregation.  While  Dr.  Sheddan's 
pastorate  was  not  characterized  by  any  such  extensive 
revivals  as  those  of  1825,  1834,  1843,  yet  there  were 
seasons  of  quickening  in  which  there  were  encourag- 
ing additions  to  the  church  on  jn-ofession  of  faitji,  as 
in  1855,  when  28  united  with  the  church,  19  of  whom 
by  profession  of  faith.  In  1858,  again,  19  united  on 
profession  of  faith.  Subsequent  years  are  designated 
by  10,  15,  13,  12,  11  uniting  on  profession.  During 
his  pastorate  151  united  with  the  church  on  profes- 
sion of  faith  and  184  by  certificate.  Dr.  Sheddan 
had  some  peculiar  characteristics  that  distinguished 
him  as  a  man,  a  preacher,  pastor,  and  brother  in 
Christ.  His  habit  of  taking  hold  of  the  central  truth 
of  a  passage  or  paragraph  and  evolving  it  in  a  series 
of  pictorial  representations,  always  faithful  to  the 
main  thought,  attracted  attention,  secured  interest, 
and  was  calculated  to  lodge  in  the  mind  and  heart 
the  master  thought  of  the  preacher. 

In  acknowledgment  of  his  abilities  as  a  preacher 
and  his  especial  acquirements  as  a  divine,  Columbia 
College,  in  New  York,  in  1864,  conferred  on  him  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Divinity. 

Dr.  Sheddan's  health  was  seriously  impaired  sev- 
eral years  before  his  decease.  The  visits  made  to  the 
old  homestead  in  Pennsylvania,  the  scenes  of  his  boy- 
hood days  and  early  ministerial  life,  and  to  the  sea- 
shore, the  tender  care  of  loving  friends,  and  tlie  skill 
of  his  physicians  alleviated  for  a  time  the  sufferings 
that  came  from  his  deeply-seated  pulmonary  disease, 
but  they  could  not  avert  death. 

On  Oct.  18,  1874,  Dr.  Sheddan  fell  asleep  in  Jesus, 
in  the  hope  of  a  blessed  immortality.  He  was  sixty- 
four  years  of  age  Sept.  10,  1874. 

The  Synod  of  New  Jersey,  of  which  Dr.  Sheddan 
had  a  few  years  previously  been  moderator,  was  in 
session  at  Camden,  N.  J.,  when  his  death  was  an- 
nounced. There  was  a  solemn  pause  in  the  business 
routine  to  permit  the  event  to  speak  and  teach  its 
lesson  to  the  members  of  the  Synod.  A  committee, 
composed  of  as  many  members  a.s  there  are  Presby- 
teries in  the  Synod,  was  appointed  to  attend  the 
funeral. 

The  following  persons  were  appointed  as  this  com- 


268 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


mittee :  Revs.  George  Shelden,  D.D.,  Charles  K.  Iin- 
brie,  D.D.,  J.  M.  Ogden,  D.D.,  H.  Hamill,  D.D.,  A. 
M.  Jelley,  W.  T.  Findley,  D.D.,  and  L.  C.  Baker. 

The  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  Eahway,  on 
learning  of  the  decease  of  Dr.  Sheddan,  adopted  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions,  a  spontaneous 
tribute  to  his  memory  : 

"Whereas,  We  have  heard  with  sadness  of  the  death  of  Kev.  Dr.  S.  8. 
Sheddan,  which  occurred  on  Sunday  last,  after  a  lingering  illness,  the 
sufferings  of  which  he  bore  with  that  fortitude  which  only  a  true  Chris- 
tian can  endure ;  and  whereas  we  deem  it  proper,  considering  the  warm 
place  he  occ\ipied  in  the  hearts  of  our  citizens,  from  his  long  association 
with  us  as  pastor  of  tlie  First  Presbyterian  Church,  to  take  some  ofiBcial 
action  in  relation  to  his  death  ;  therefore, 

*'i?esofyed,  That  we  bear  testimony  to  the  loss  the  city  of  Rahway  has 
sustained  by  the  death  of  one  who  has  so  long  labored  for  the  cause  of 
Christianity  among  us,  and  who.  by  his  mild  disposition,  able  preaching, 
and  earnestness  in  his  calling  endeared  himself  to  all  who  became  ac- 
quainted with  him  ;  and,  further, 

"  Hesutved,  That  we  will  gmtefully  cherish  the  memory  of  him  who 
was  always  faithlul  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties,  and  who  was  ever 
ready  to  perform  any  act  of  charity  or  mercy  that  came  i  n  his  way ;  and, 
further, 

"  Baoleed,  That  we  deeply  sympathize  with  his  family,  and  with  the 
cougretiatiou  over  which  he  so  long  presided,  in  the  irreparable  loss 
they  have  sustained  by  his  death  ;  and,  further, 

"  Resolved,  That  as  a  mark  of  respect  we  will,  as  a  body,  participate 
in  the  funeral  ceremonies,  and  also  invite  all  the  city  oflicere  to  join 
with  us  in  paying  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  an  honored  minister  and 
citizen ;  and,  further. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the  min- 
utes of  the  Common  Council  and  published  in  the  papers  of  tio'  city, 
and  also  that  an  engrossed  copy  be  presented  to  the  lamily  of  the  de- 
ceased." 

The  following  messages,  dictated  by  the  dying 
pastor  to  his  elders  and  people  but  a  few  days  before 
his  death,  when  read  under  the  shadow  of  the  sore 
bereavement,  struck  chords  of  tender  and  pathetic 
interest  in  the  hearts  of  all : 

"Oct.  0,  1S74. 

"I  had  expi-cted  to  have  taken  you  once  more  by  the  baud,  but  God 
has  seen  fit  to  order  it  otherwise. 

"  I  want  to  thauk  you  as  a  Session  for  your  kindness  and  libemlity  to 
me. 

"  Forgive  my  shortcomings,  and  forget  my  omissions  of  duty. 

"  And  now  the  welfare  of  the  church  rests  with  you.  Be  true  to  her. 
Be  men  of  prayer,  be  men  of  wisdom;  not  rash,  yet  not  slow;  not  over- 
hearing, yet  not  weak. 

"And  may  the  blessing  of  God  rest  upon  you  always. 

"  YouE  Pastor." 

"  Oct.  6,  1874. 
"To  MV  People; 

"  I  had  hoped  to  t^ee  you  once  more  face  to  face  and  thank  you  for 
your  kindness  to  me,  but  it  is  denied  me. 

"  Please  accept  my  tlianks  for  your  never-failing  kindness  to  me  as 
your  Pastor  for  tweuty-two  years,  and  your  continued  goodness  to  me 
during  my  sickness. 

"  I  know  I  have  not  filled  up  my  measure  of  duty,  but  I  ask  your  for- 
giveness for  my  shortcomings. 

"  I  have  tried  to  labor  with  the  ability  God  gave  me,  and  I  trust  him 
for  His  blessing  ou  the  seed  sown  in  such  weakness. 

"And  now  to  you  as  a  church  I  would  say  one  word  :  Keep  together, 
study  the  best  interests  of  the  church,  and  as  far  as  possible  be  of  one 
mind. 

"  To  yon  who  are  Christians  I  say  be  prayerful,  be  zealous,  be  ye 
workers  for  Christ,  and  work  while  it  is  called  to-day,  for  the  night 
Cometh  when  no  man  can  work. 

"  And  you  whom  I  have  so  long  invited  to  come  to  Jesus,  and  whom 
I  have  so  often  told  there  is  no  other  way,  hear  me  once  more  urge  you 


to  come.  And  oh  !  hear  your  dying  Pastor  as  he  pleads  with  you  not  to 
wait  until  you  come  to  your  death-lied  to  prepare  for  the  other  world. 

"  And  to  the  Sabbath-school  one  last  word ;  To  the  teachers,  be  faithful 
and  weary  not  in  your  work.  To  the  scholars  I  say  God  takes  little 
ones  home  as  well  as  those  of  threescore;  be  ye  ready. 

"  Now  may  God's  blessing  rest  upon  you,  my  people,  until  one  by  one 
you  are  gathered  home,  and  we  all  meet  again  where  there  is  no  parting. 

"  TOUE  Fastoe." 

The  funeral  services  were  conducted  Thursday, 
October  22d,  commencing  at  2  p.m.  The  interior  of 
the  church  was  heavily  draped  with  the  sombre  folds 
of  mourning.  The  ca.sket  containing  the  body  of  the 
beloved  minister  was  placed  in  the  church  at  twelve 
o'clock,  and  from  this  time  until  the  voice  that  an- 
nounced the  introductory  service  was  heard  an  almost 
continuous  procession  was  passing  through  the  church 
to  look  upon  the  still,  placid  features  of  the  man  of 
God,  who  seemed  to  be  in  sweet  repose  by  the  pulpit 
from  which  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  he  had 
preached  Jesus. 

Dr.  Sheddan  was  unable  to  preach  after  May  17, 
1874.  On  the  morning  of  this  day  he  exchanged  with 
the  Rev.  W.  H.  Roberts,  of  Cranford.  In  the  evening 
he  preached  his  last  sermon  to  his  own  people.  From 
this  date  until  the  first  Sabbath  in  March,  1875,  the 
pulpit  was  supplied.  The  following  persons  preached 
for  the  congregation  during  this  period : 

Revs.  W.  H.  Roberts,  J.  F.  Pingry,  Ph.D.,  E.  B. 
Edgar,  J.  A.  Liggett,  Aaron  Peck,  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Elizabeth;  Drs.  W.  H.  Green,  Princeton,  N.  J.; 
Cyrus  Dickson,  New  York  ;  Charles  K.  Imbrie,  Jer- 
sey City ;  and  D.  M.  Halliday,  of  Princeton,  N.  J. ; 
Revs.  Francis  Rand,  Charles  S.  Dewing,  of  Union, 
N.  Y.;  O.  H.  Elmer,  of  Moorhead,  Minn. ;  William 
Imbrie,  of  Jersey  City  ;  J.  E.  Peters,  of  Huntingdon, 
W.  Va. ;  William  C.  Rommel,  of  Helena,  Mon.  Ter. ; 
J.  A.  Chambers  and  W.  J.  Bridges,  of  theological 
seminary,  Princeton,  N.  J.;  and  Messrs.  I.  M.  K. 
Pittenger,  C.  N.  Cate,  C.  B.  Ram.sdell,  and  Washing- 
ton Choate,  of  Union  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York  City  ;  and  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Pendleton,  of  the 
Baptist  Church,  Rahway. 

At  a  congregational  meeting  held  Jan.  5,  1875, 
moderated  by  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Liggett,  a  unanimous 
call  was  extended  to  the  present  pastor  of  this  church. 
He  commenced  his  ministerial  duties  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath of  March,  1875,  and  after  having  been  received 
as  a  member  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth,  April 
20th,  he  was  dulj'  installed  as  pastor  April  29th. 

On  this  occasion  the  Rev.  C.  K.  Imbrie,  D.D.,  of 
Jersey  City,  preached  the  sermon  from  the  words, 
"  The  common  people  heard  him  gladly."  Mark 
xii.  37. 

The  Rev.  Samuel  Parry,  of  Pluckamin,  N.  J., 
moderator  of  the  Presbytery,  presided  and  proposed 
the  constitutional  questions.  The  Rev.  William  C. 
Roberts,  D.D.,  of  Elizabeth,  gave  the  charge  to  the 
pastor,  and  the  Rev.  J.  A.  Liggett,  of  Rahway,  the 
charge  to  the  jieople.  The  closing  prayer  was  offered 
by  the  Rev.  A.  Craig,  of  the  First  Methodist  Episco- 


CITY   OF  RAHWAY. 


269 


pal    Church    of  Rahway,  and  the  benediction    pro- 
nounced by  the  newly  installed  piistor. 

Since  tlie  commencement  of  the  present  pastorate  to 
the  time  of  writing,  a  period  of  about  two  years,  one 
hundred  and  ten  persons  have  been  added  to  the  mem- 
bership of  this  church,  ninety-one  of  this  number  on 
profession  of  faith.  That  a  large  proportion  of  this 
number  has  come  from  families  not  identified  with 
the  church  in  membership  is  shown  from  the  fact 
that  the  ordinance  of  baptism  was  administered  to 
forty-three  out  of  the  ninety-one  uniting  on  profes-  i 
sion  of  faith.  ' 

That  heads  of  families  connected  with  the  church 
are  claiming  the  blessings  of  the  covenant  promised  i 
to  themselves  and  their  children  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  in  the  same  period  twenty-six  infant  children 
have  been  baptized. 

Accompanying  the  spiritual  quickening  of  God's 
people  and  this  addition  to  their  numbers  there  has 
been  an  energetic  and  liberal  spirit  manifested  in  dis- 
charging duties  pertaining  to  the  temporal  affairs  of 
the  church. 

It  i8  a  fact  worthy  of  commendation  that  this  con- 
gregation continued  the  salary  of  their  deceased  pas- 
tor to  his  family  to  January,  1875,  and  that  in  the  I 
following  spring  liberal  expenditure  was  made  in 
changing  and  improving  the  interior  of  the  parsonage 
for  the  reception  of  the  new  pastor  and  his  family. 

Expenditure  on  church  property  became  a  necessity 
when  the  city  authorities  graded  the  three  streets, 
Grand,  Church,  and  Union,  that  are  the  southern, 
western,  and  northern  boundaries  of  the  lots  upon  j 
which  the  church  and  parsonage  are  built.  To  the  ex- 
pense of  curbing  and  paving  on  these  three  streets  was 
added  the  expense  of  five  hundred  and  seventy-nine 
dollars  for  the  iron  fence  in  front  of  the  church,  and 
of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollare  for  the 
stone  and  work  in  erecting  the  steps  and  platform  in 
front  of  the  church. 

These  changes  environing  the  church  edifice  very 
naturally  raised  the  question  as  to  what  should  be 
done  to  improve  the  interior  of  the  church.  This  re- 
sulted (1870-71)  in  remodeling  the  lecture-room. 
Old  partitions  and  seats  were  removed,  the  floor  was 
lowered  a  foot  and  a  half,  and  the  darkness,  gloom, 
and  inconvenience  of  the  old  order  of  things  were 
displaced  by  the  conveniences  that  made  it  a  delightful 
room  for  weekly  religious  meetings,  social  gatherings, 
with  special  adaptations  for  the  Sabbath-school,  that 
by  sliding  sash-doors  can  in  a  few  moments  be  divided 
into  four  apartments  or  thrown  into  one. 

In  June,  1875,  a  project  was  started  with  the  object 
of  securing  by  subscription  a  fund  of  ten  thousand 
dollars,  to  be  devoted  to  reducing  the  debt  of  the 
church  and  making  needed  improvements  on  the 
church  edifice. 

An  organization  was  formed  at  a   congregational 
meeting,  termed  the  "  The  Centennial  Association  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church." 
18 


The  object  was  to  secure  the  fund  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  in  the  year  1876.  The  subscription  was  made 
on  the  percentage  plan,  viz.,  a  certain  per  cent,  of 
the  ten  thousand  dollars,  or  of  whatever  sum  raised 
less  than  ten  thousand  dollars. 

In  soliciting  subscriptions  from  the  people  for  this 
fund,  many  persons  were  found  in  favor  of  making 
radical  changes  and  improvements  in  the  interior  of 
the  church.  Under  the  co-operation  of  the  trustees 
and  the  centennial  committee  the  work  was  com- 
menced and  carried  forward,  securing  in  the  end  a 
total  transformation  of  the  main  audience-room  and 
the  addition  of  organ  annex,  and  painting  the  wood- 
work of  the  exterior.  In  the  tall  of  1875  the  church 
had  been  re-roofed.  Feeling  quite  secure  under  this 
new  covering,  after  months  of  test,  the  work  on  the 
interior  was  commenced  early  in  May,  1876.  We 
owe  it  to'  those  who  come  after  us  at  least  to  note 
some  of  the  changes  that  have  been  made.  The  old 
cylinder-shaped  wood-stoves  in  the  back  part  of  the 
audience-room,  raising  their  burly  heads  above  the 
backs  of  the  pews,  and  surmounted  in  the  gallery  with 
capacious  turret-drums,  have  been  displaced  by 
heaters,  doing  the  work  better  from  the  basement. 
The  old  pulpit  was  removed,  giving  place  to  one 
smaller  and  of  neater  proportions,  placed  on  a  low 
and  roomy  platform.  Fitted  underneath  the  top  of  t  lie 
pulpit  is  a  large  tin  bowl,  terminating  as  a  funnel,  the 
pipe  of  which  runs  underneath  the  platform  of  the 
pulpit,  and  from  thence  pipes  are  conveyed  under  the 
floor  to  several  pews,  where  there  is  connection  with 
flexible  gutta-percha  tubes  that  can  be  adapted  to  the 
ears  of  persons  hard  of  hearing.  The  top  of  the  pul- 
pit is  perforated,  so  that  there  is  little  obstruction  to 
the  sound  of  the  speaker's  voice.  It  is  the  simple 
principle  of  the  ordinary  speaking  trumpet  brought 
in  a  practical  way  into  church. 

The  organ  has  been  brought  from  the  gallery  and 
placed  in  the  new  annex  built  especially  for  it  im- 
mediately in  the  rear  of  the  pulpit.  The  organ  is 
pumped  by  water-power,  the  motor  doing  its  work  in 
the  kitchen  underneath,  being  supplied  with  water 
from  the  pipe  in  the  street,  connected  with  the  city 
water-works.  The  side  galleries  have  been  removed. 
The  end  gallery,  since  the  removal  of  the  organ  and 
the  placing  of  arm-chairs  on  the  neatly  carpeted  floor, 
has  been  made  one  of  the  most  desirable  locations  for 
hearing  in  the  audience-room.  The  doors  have  been 
removed  from  the  pews,  and  new  arms,  paneled  ends, 
and  book-racks  have  been  added.  The  new  cushions 
in  the  pews  are  covered  with  wine-colored  rep.  The 
upholstering  of  the  new  chairs  in  the  pulpit  and  the 
carpet  are  in  complete  harmony  with  the  exquisite 
frescoing  on  the  ceiling  and  walls. 

The  most  notable  improvement  consists  in  the 
thirteen  stained-glass  windows  that  fill  the  old  frames. 
The  material  of  which  they  are  composed  is  of  excel- 
lent quality,  the  colors  rich  without  being  gaudy, 
and  the  harmonious  blendings  of  the  ditt'erent  shades 


270 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


produce  a  pleasing  effect.  The  simple  scriptural 
symbols  that  adorn  the  heads  of  the  windows  are 
strikingly  appropriate  for  a  house  of  divine  worship. 

After  worshiping  for  six  months  in  the  lecture- 
room  of  the  church,  the  congregation  quietly,  without 
having  the  fact  published,  assembled  iu  the  re- 
modeled audience-room,  Sabbath  morning,  Oct.  29, 
1876. 

The  object,  as  stated  by  the  pastor,  was  not  to  have 
the  usual  service,  but  reverently,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
worship,  look  upon  the  changes  that  had  been 
wrought,  and  to  provide  for  the  pecuniary  obliga- 
tions resting  on  the  church,  and  thus  to  prepare  in 
good  faith  to  rededicate  the  house  to  the  service  of 
Almighty  God.  After  a  brief  outline  of  the  work 
performed,  commendation  of  the  spirit  of  harmony 
with  which  the  trustees  of  the  centennial  committee 
had  performed  their  respective  duties,  it  was  stated 
that  the  debt  on  the  church  previous  to  the  com- 
mencement of  the  recent  improvements  was  nine 
thousand  dollars,  the  accumulation  of  years ;  that 
the  improvements  recently  made  cost  eight  thousand 
dollars,  making  a  total  of  seventeen  thousand  dollars. 
The  centennial  committee  reported  the  ten  thousand 
dollars  they  set  out  to  raise  as  pledged  by  subscribers. 
The  people  were  now  asked  for  additional  subscrip- 
tions to  create  a  sinking  fund  of  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars  to  remove  every  vestige  of  debt  that 
rested  on  the  church.  At  this  point  the  pastor  in- 
troduced Mr.  Jeremiah  Johnson,  Jr.,  a  former  elder 
of  this  church,  who,  in  Christian  spirit  and  with  ad- 
mirable tact,  called  for  and  secured  pledges  to  the 
proposed  sinking  fund.  The  people  responded  to  the 
call  nobly,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  monthly 
pledges,  extending  over  the  period  of  three  years, 
were  received  from  one  hundred  and  forty  persons, 
reaching  in  the  aggregate  eight  thousand  dollars, 
five  hundred  more  than  had  been  requested  in' the  call. 

The  membership  of  the  church,  1882,  is  two  hun- 
dred and  eighty-eight;  Sunday-school,  three  hundred 
and  one. 

Whole  amount  of  money  raised  by  the  congrega- 
tion for  the  ecclesiastical  year  ending  April  1,  1881, 
was  six  thousand  six  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars. 


CHAPTER    XL. 

CITY  OF  RAHWAY.— (roii(/iu„.(/.) 

Friends'  Meeting. — The  records  of  Friends'  meet- 
ings in  East  New  Jersey  have  been  very  carefully 
kept  since  IGSG,  the  date  of  their  first  Monthly  Meet- 
ing at  Perth  Amboy.  In  a  single  volume  in  the  pos- 
session of  Mr.  Abel  V.  Shotwell,  of  Rahway,  there 
is  the  record  of  a  hundred  years,  reaching  from  1686 
to  1786,  and  including  minutes  of  their  meetings  at 
Perth  Amboy,  Woodbridge,  Plainfield,  and  Rahway. 


These  records  also  contain  numerous  incidents  and 
facts  of  rare  interest  to  the  historian  and  the  biog- 
rapher. Should  the  history  of  the  Friends  in  this 
country  ever  be  undertaken  this  volume  would  be  of 
great  value. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  in  this  local  sketch  to  go  much 
further  back  than  the  beginning  of  their  meetings  in 
Rahway,  except  to  mention  briefly  a  few  facts  char- 
acteristic of  the  spirit  of  the  Friends. 

The  entry  made  on  the  10th  of  September,  1636, 
announces  that  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  at  Perth 
Amboy  "agreed"  that  "all  friends  should  bring 
Minuts  of  ye  Births  and  Burials  since  they  fir.st  came 
into  this  place  that  they  may  be  Recorded." 

"At  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  in  Amlmy  the  l:ith  uf  the  2i  month, 
1687,  .lolin  Pearce  lieing  pri-si'nt'.  the  Meeting  tulrt  him  that  he  hail  dnne 
wrong  in  sending  a  p;iper  to  the  people  of  the  world  (desiring  to  he  sup- 
plied with  a  cow,  he  being  poor)  and  not  coming  to  the  Mtintbly  Meet- 
ing of  friends  to  lay  his  neressities  before  them.  \ih\  thus  left  him  to 
consider,  etc.,  whether  lie  would  redress  his  fault  il  he  feels  it  in  him- 
self.'' 

On  the  nth  of  March,  1686,  it  was  directed  that 
".John  Reid  or  his  wife  take  care  that  widow  Mill  do 
not  want,  and  give  Report  to  the  Meeting."  Also 
two  Friends  were  appointed  "  to  speak  to  widow 
Mitchell  that  shee  do  not  taike  of  Peter  Sonmans  as 
it  seems  shee  doth,  Rather  wish  hir  to  come  to  the 
Meeting  and  if  ye  be  ditference  lay  it  before  friends 
according  to  the  order  of  truth."  At  the  next  meet- 
ing (April  8th)  the  "  difference"  alluded  to  was  settled 
by  arbitration. 

The  first  Monthly  Meeting  held  in  Woodbridge  oc- 
curred at  the  house  of  Benjamin  Grifiith,  on  the  17th 
of  August,  1689.  In  1713  Friends  first  met  in  their 
meeting-house  in  Woodbridge. 

Application  was  made  to  the  Woodbridge  Monthly 
Meeting  in  the  year  1722  for  leave  to  hold  First  Day 
meetings  at  the  house  of  John  Laing  in  Plainfield, 
which  was  agreed  to.  John  Laing  dying  in  1725, 
bequeathed  a  lot  of  land  for  a  meeting-house,  and  in 
1731  request  was  made  for  building  a  meeting-house 
thereon,  which  was  granted.  The  meeting-house  was 
accordingly  built,  and  meetings  held  twice  a  week,  on 
First  and  Fourth  Days. 

At  a  Monthly  Meeting  held  at  Woodbridge  on  the 
16th  10th  month,  1742,  a  motion  was  made  by  divers 
Friends  at  Rahway  to  hold  a  meeting  for  three 
months  at  the  house  of  Joseph  Shotwell,  which  was 
agreed  to  be  held  on  the  first  days  of  the  week.  On 
the  17th  9th  month,  1743,  it  was  agreed  by  the 
Monthly  Meeting  that  a  meeting  should  be  held  twice 
a  week  at  said  Joseph  Shotwell's  till  the  middle  of 
the  second  month  following  on  the  first  and  tburth 
days  of  the  week,  which  meetings  were  continued 
by  appointments  from  year  to  year  till  a  meeting- 
house was  built  on  a  lot  of  land  given  by  said  Joseph 
Shotwell  for  that  purpose  in  the  year  1757,  then  were 
removed  to  the  said  meeting-house. 

It  appears  from  an  entry  in  the  records  of  Jan.  1, 
1757,  that  the  Friends  in  Rahway  had  "repeatedly 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


271 


made  application  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  for  leave  to 
build  a  meeting-house  at  that  place,  and  that  the 
Friends  in  Woodbridge  referred  the  matter  to  the 
'  consideration  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting.'  "  The  rep- 
resentatives brought  word  from  that  body,  the  sub- 
stance of  which  was  that  in  regard  to  the  matter  in 
question  it  was  "  the  solid  sense  of  that  meeting  that 
a  meeting-house  ought  to  be  built  at  Rahway."  With- 
out further  opposition  the  project  was  pushed  forward. 
During  February  and  March  much  was  done  towards 
the  new  enterprise.  Solomon  Hunt,  Samuel  Marsh, 
Abraham  Shotwell,  and  Benjamin  Shotwell  were  ap- 
pointed to  purchase  a  suitable  lot.  Francis  Bloodgood, 
Abner  Hampton,  and  Robert  Willis  were  appointed 
to  assist  in  selecting  the  ground  and  determining  the 
size  of  tlie  plat.  It  was  decided  that  the  new  build- 
ing should  be  thirty-four  feet  long  and  thirty  feet 
wide.  The  building  is  still  standing  on  Main  Street. 
It  was  abandoned  as  a  meeting-house  in  1804,  and  was 
loaned  to  tlie  First  Metliodist  Society  to  hold  services 
in  before  the  erection  of  their  church.  In  later  years 
it  was  occupied  by  George  W.  Hall  as  a  hardware- 
store,  and  is  now  used  as  a  tea-store. 

In  the  year  1766  a  motion  was  made  to  the  Monthly 
Meeting  to  settle  meetings  in  the  said  meeting-house 
at  Railway  in  the  following  manner,  viz.:  two  meet- 
ings on  tlie  first  days  of  the  week,  the  first  to  begin  on 
the  eleventh  hour,  and  the  second  to  begin  on  the 
third  hour;  and  the  other  to  be  on  the  fourth  day  of 
the  week  at  the  eleventh  hour,  which  meetings  have 
continued  to  this  time.' 

In  1751  one  or  more  of  the  Quarterly  Meetings, 
hitherto  held  at  Shrewsbury,  were  removed  to  Wood- 
bridge,  where  they  continued  to  be  held  till  1769, 
when  one  was  removed  to  Rahway  and  held  on  the 
third  First  Day  of  the  eighth  month. 

The  above  account  in  relation  to  the  settlement  of 
meetings  was  prepared  by  a  committee  consisting  of 
James  Shotwell,  John  Webster,  and  Benjamin  Shot- 
well,  and  was  read  at  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  at 
Rahway  the  21st  of  the  7th  month,  1773,  and  approved 
of.    So  it  is  certified  by  Thomas  Latham,  clerk. 

We  find  by  the  next  entry  in  the  record  that  the 
Preparative  Meeting  at  Rahway  required  a  certificate 
for  Henry  Shotwell  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  at  New 
York,  and  that  Cowperthwaite  Copland  and  Thomas 
Latham  were  appointed  to  inquire  into  his  life  and 
conversation  and  clearness  in  respect  to  marriage,  and 
draw  an  essay  of  a  certificate  as  they  find  things  and 
bring  to  next  Monthly  Meeting.  It  appears  that  the 
certificate  was  approved  of  and  signed  by  the  clerk. 

"Giving  way  to  drowsiness"  in  meetings  appears  to 
have  been  an  offense  subject  to  discipline  among  the 
Friends,  for  the  Yearly  Meeting  in  1773  requested  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  to  give  an  account  at  the  next 
Y^early  Meeting  of  "  Friends'  care  in  treating  with 
such,"  and  it  was  reported  that  they  had  "  treated 

1  Report  of  1773. 


with  some  who  have  given  occasion  of  complaint  on 
that  account." 

On  the  19th  of  November,  1755,  in  accordance  with 
the  recommendation  of  the  Philadelphia  Yearly  Meet- 
ing, a  Ministers'  and  Elders'  Meeting  was  established 
in  Rahway,  to  be  held  monthly  at  the  house  of  John 
Vail,  on  the  third  Second  Day  of  the  month,  at  eleven 
o'clock. 

The  representatives  appointed  to  attend  the  Quar- 
terly Meeting  in  1773  were  Richard  Dell,  John  Web- 
ster, Elijah  Pound,  John  Vail,  Sr.,  and  Abraham 
Shotwell. 

Cowperthwaite  Copeland  had  charge  of  the  meet- 
ing-house for  some  time  after  its  erection. 

Robert  Willis  was  one  of  the  most  active  preachers 
among  the  Friends  in  this  section  of  the  country.  He 
lived  in  Woodbridge,  but  visited  the  Friends  in  many 
localities.  On  the  17th  of  April,  1760,  he  informed 
the  Woodbridge  meeting  that  he  had  been  "under 
an  Ingageraent  of  minde  for  sum  time  to  Vissit  the 
meetings  of  Friends  in  the  Southern  Provinces." 
For  tliis  ]iur))ose  he  received  a  commendatory  certifi- 
cate. The  record  says,  "  He  being  under  low  Cir- 
cumstances, Joseph  and  Abraham  Shotwell  are  ap- 
pointed to  provide  a  hors  and  to  furnish  him  with 
necessarys  of  all  kinds  suitable  for  that  jarney." 

He  returned  from  the  South  in  October  with  pleas- 
ant testimonials  of  his  useful  ministry  in  and  about 
"  West  River,"  in  Maryland.  In  1761  he  revisited 
South  River,  made  a  tour  as  far  south  as  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  and  visited  New  Y''ork  and  New  England. 
In  1770  he  visited  the  Friends  in  England,  returning 
in  September,  1774.  He  died  in  Rahway,  and  some 
of  his  descendants  are  still  residing  there. 

Sarah  Shotwell  was  well  and  fiivorably  known  as  a 
speaker  among  the  Friends  of  this  section.  She  is 
spoken  of  as  "a  pattern  of  humility  and  faithfulness." 
After  her  death  a  memorial  was  prepared  by  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  John  Webster  and  Abner  Hamp- 
ton, which  was  adopted  by  the  June  Monthly  Meet- 
ing, 1760. 

The  senior  John  Vail,  at  a  period  somewhat  earlier, 
had  considerable  eminence  as  a  public  teacher  of  the 
truth,  and  William  Morris  was  at  one  time  an  honored 
and  useful  preacher  among  the  Friends  at  Wood- 
bridge,  Rahway,  Plainfleld,  and  throughout  this  por- 
tion of  New  Jersey. 

In  August,  1761,  a  Preparative  Meeting  was  estab- 
lished at  Rahway. 

That  the  meeting  at  Woodbridge  declined  very 
much  after  the  building  of  the  house  of  worship  at 
Rahway  is  quite  evident.  In  the  minutes  of  the 
Rahway  Meeting  in  February,  1766,  it  is  recom- 
mended that  Rahway  and  Plainfleld  should  appoint 
some  of  their  members  from  time  to  time  to  visit  the 
Friends  at  Woodbridge,  and  the  same  course  is  rec- 
ommended to  those  "  Friends  who  feel  a  spring  of 
love  in  themselves."  In  1769  the  Woodbridge  Pre- 
parative Meeting  was  removed  to  Rahway,  and  in  the 


272 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESP]X    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


same  year  the  Monthly  Meeting  ceased  to  be  held  at 
Woodbridge,  from  this  time  forward  alternating  be- 
tween Rah  way  and  Plainfield. 

At  this  time  the  meeting-house  in  Railway  was 
enlarged  at  an  expense  of  i;i61.  Delegates  met  in  it 
for  the  first  time  after  in  August,  1769. 

In  1785  the  Friends  erected  a  school-house  in  Rah- 
way  upon  the  meeting-house  lot.  It  fronted  the  road 
(now  Main  Street),  and  was  twenty  by  thirty,  (jpe 
story  high. 

In  1804  the  Friends  in  Rahway  built  another 
meeting  house  on  Irving  Street  at  the  head  of  Poplar. 
It  is  a  frame  building,  fifty  by  thirty-five,  two  stories. 
In  1827  the  society  was  divided,  and  the  other  branch 
have  a  brick  meeting-house  on  Irving  Street  between 
Lewis  and  Milton  Avenue,  the  upper  story  of  which 
is  occupied  for  a  school. 

John  Vail  was  very  prominent  in  his  day.  He  died 
at  Rahway  Nov.  27,  1774,  in  his  eighty-ninth  year. 

Agnes  Elston  was  prominent  as  a  speaker.  Died  in 
Rahway. 

Isaac  Martin  (most  prominent  since  the  Revolu- 
tion) died  Aug.  9,  1828,  aged  seventy-one. 

Hugh  Davids  (also  well  known),  another  early 
preacher. 


CHAPTER    XLI. 

CITY    OF    V.A.H\V AY.— (Cmii;,,, led.) 

First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Rahway. 
— Robert  Cloud  and  Thomas  Morrell  were  the  first 
Methodist  preachers  appointed  by  the  Philadelphia 
Conference  to  the  Elizabethtown  Circuit,  in  1787. 
The  circuit  probably  included  Rahway.  But  at 
what  time  services  were  first  held  here  is  unknown. 
Revs.  John  McClusky,  Simon  Pile,  John  Merrick, 
John  Cooper,  Jethro  Johnson,  and  Gamaliel  Bailey 
were  the  circuit  ministers  from  1788  to  1792,  and 
probably  during  their  ministry,  about  1790,  the  first 
class  was  formed  in  Rahway. 

The  records  of  the  church,  now  in  the  hands  of 
Isaac  Osborn,  of  Rahway,  contain  evidence  of  the 
existence  of  a  society,  with  its  board  of  trustees,  as 
early  as  1798  ;  for  in  that  year  a  lot  of  land  was  deeded 
to  them  on  what  was  afterwards  Mechanic  Street,  now 
a  portion  of  Grand  Street,  in  Upper  Rahway.  We 
quote  a  portion  of  the  deed,  as  follows : 

"This  Indenture  made  this  eighth  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  tliousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-eiglit,  l.elween  William 
Shotwell,  of  the  County  of  E^sex,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  of  the  one 
part,  and  Jonathan  Oliver  and  Benjamin  Woodruff,  of  Essex  County, 
William  Flatt,  Jr.,  Abraham  Stornii,  and  John  Mareh,  of  Middlesex 
Counly.  all  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  aforesaid,  trustees  in  trust  for  the 
use  and  purposes  hereinafter  mentioned,  of  the  other  part,  Witnesseth 
that  the  »aid  William  Shotwell,  for  and  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of 
fifty  Dollars  to  him  in  band  paid  at  and  upon  the  sealing  nnd  delivering 
of  these  presents,  the  receipt  whereof  is  hereby  acknowledged  by  the 
said  Wibiam  Shotwell;  Hath  given,  granted,  bargained,  sold,  released, 
confirmed,  and  conveyed,  and  by  these  presents  doth  give,  grant,  bar- 
gain, sell,  release,  couflrm,  and  convey  unto  them,  the  said  Jouathao 


Oliver,  Benjamin  Woodruff,  William  Flatt,  Jr.,  Abraham  Storms,  and 
John  Marsh,  and  their  successors 'Trustees  in  trust  for  the  uses  and 
purposes  mentioned  and  declared  by  these  presents)  all  the  estate,  light, 
title,  interest,  etc.  .  .  .  which  he,  the  said  William  Shotwell,  hath  in, 
to,  or  niton  all  and  singular  a  certain  lot  lying  and  being  in  Elizabeth 
Town,  Rahway,  adjoining  the  Road  leading  from  John  Tucker's,  Esq., 
to  Shotwell's  Landing,  being  part  of  the  Tract  of  Liind  which  the  afore- 
said William  Shotwell  lately  purchased  of  Daniel  Moore,  Beginning,*' 
etc. 

The  deed  goes  on  to  recite  that  the  said  trustees 
"  shall  erect  and  build  or  cause  to  be  built  thereon  a 
house  or  place  of  Worship  for  the  use  of  the  members  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  ;  and  future  trust  in  confidence  that  they 
shall  at  all  times  forever  hereafter  permit  such  Minis- 
ters and  Preachers  belonging  to  the  .said  church  as 
shall  from  time  to  time  be  duly  acknowledged  by  the 
general  or  yearly  district  Conferences  of  the  Ministers 
and  Preachers  of  the  said  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
to  preach  and  expound  God's  Holy  Word  therein,  and 
perform  such  religious  exercises  as  are  agreeable  to 
the  rules  and  discipline  of  the  said  Church  forever 
hereafter." 

The  record  contains  the  survey  of  the  lot  of  land, 
returned  by  Joseph  D.  Camp,  Oct.  20,  1798,  and  also 
a  diagram  of  it  drawn  upon  the  page.  It  was  never 
used,  however,  for  the  purpose  intended,  the  society 
subsequently  selecting  a  lot  which  suited  them  better. 
This  is  the  lot  on  which  the  present  church  edifice 
stands,  on  Grand  Street,  although  it  has  been  enlarged 
by  additions  since  made  to  it.  It  was  conveyed  to 
William  Flatt  and  others,  trustees,  by  Mo.ses  Jaques, 
Jr.,  April  4,  1808,  and  was  recorded  as  shown  by  the 
following  indorsement: 

"Received  in  the  office  the  25th  of  March,  1817,  and  recorded  in  Book 
C  2  of  deeds  for  Essex  County,  pages  3S4,  355,  and  366. 

"S.  WiilTEllBAD,  Clerk." 

The  first  movement  towards  building  a  church  edi- 
fice appears  from  the  records  to  have  been  made  on 
Nov.  26,  1806.  At  a  meeting  held  on  that  day  the 
trustees  say  that  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  and  others  who  attend  their  meetings 
"  are  desirous  of  erecting  a  plain  building,  about  forty 
feet  square,  for  the  public  worship  of  Almighty  God 
and  to  promote  the  practice  of  piety  and  virtue." 
They  add  that  they  "  are  encouraged  to  hope  for  suc- 
cess, as  one  person,  not  of  their  community,  hits  gen- 
erously oft'ered  a  lot  of  land  suitable  for  this  purpose, 
between  the  towns  of  Rahway  and  Bridgetown,  on 
which  they  propose  to  erect  the  buildings." 

We  learn  from  this  extract  that  in  1806  Rahway 
and  Bridgetown  were  separate  hamlets,  the  interven- 
ing country  being  an  open  plantation,  and  that  the 
church  was  placed  between  the  two  villages  for  the 
accommodation  of  both.  At  this  meeting  William 
Flatt,  Aaron  Miller,  and  Enoch  Moore  were  "ap- 
pointed Managers  of  the  proposed  building,"  or  what 
we  would  call  the  building  committee,  and  the  fol- 
lowing subscribers  pledgeil  themselves  to  pay  to  them 
the  sums  set  opposite  their  respective  names.     As  this 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


273 


list  will  reveal  the  names  of  many  of  the  residents  of 
the  town  at  that  period,  as  well  as  furnish  the  curious 

reader  with   the   amounts   contributed    by  each    for 
building  the  church,  we  give  it  in  full : 

Namf.8. 

Thomas  MorreU S40.00 

Aaron  Miliar 40.00 

Jonathiin  Oliver 40  00 

Samuel  Mere lU.llO 

Janiea  Lozer ■'i.OO 

JaDiea  Dougherty l.OO 

■WilliBin  Farnote 4  00 

Kliakim  Ludlow 2.00 

Asa  Arnold 8.00 

Simon  Lott 1.00 

Willi»m  Wninwright 3.00 

Elizaheth  Widagan 2.00 

Name  unknowu 5.00 

William  Clark 3.00 

John  Morris 5.00 

Classon  Martin 2.00 

John  Jackson 3.00 

John  OhHddick 10.00 

Stephen  Winans 6.00 

Isaac  Wynian,  in  work  5.00 

Samuel  Winans,  3  loads  of  stone 

Joseph  Oliver,  Jr lO.no 

Enoch  Moore 30  00 

Enoch  Moore*  Co SCO 

William  Fhitt,  Jr 60.00 

John  Hatt 20  00 

John  Wilson 3.00 

John  P.  Thorp 1.00 

Palaliah  Whitehead 1.00 

James  Thorp,  Jr 1.00 

William  Moore 1.00 

Freeman  Worth 1.50 

John  Bergiin 1  00 

Oeorge  Harrison 5.00 

William  Miirtin l.oO 

John  Williams 1.00 

John  Claques 20(iO 

John  Jaques,  1.  3  dollars 3.00 

Joseph  Croswell 1.00 

JohnNoe 1.00 

John  Crowell,  work 2.00 

Jothnm  Randolph,  work 1.00 

Philip  Br(^wn,  Jr 3.00 

Thomas  Morris l.lio 

John  Buna 5.00 

Rohert  Morris.'. 3.00 

Samuel  Jaques 5.00 

William  Martin,  in  work 5.00 

Nathaniel  Bennett 1.00 

Cowperthwaite  Moore 1.00 

David  Jaques 6.110 

Aaron  Brokaw  2.00 

Cornelius  Brokaw 5  00 

John  Brokaw 2,00 

Abel  Clarkson 2.00 

James  11.  Marsh 2.00 

Ira  Weeks 1.00 

James  Jaques 1.6.00 

John  Spinning 2.50 

George  Marsh 2.00 

Freeman  Force 2.00 

James  Edgar,  work 5.00 

Ephraim  Harned,  work 2.00 

Maiy  C.i.ik 6  00 

Benjamin  Drake 4.00 

Edward  Mundy 3,00 

Kohert  Luke,  work 2..6n 

Joseph  Nesldtt 1.25 

James  Jlilven,  work 2.00 

Barron  Mnndy,  work 6.00 

Henry  Mnndy,  work 8.00 

Thomas  Crowell 400 

Thomas  Crowell 6.00 

Samuel  Kiusey,  work 2.00 

N.  Morse S  OO 

Henry  Force 3.00 

Samuel  Anderson 1.00 

Sarah  Gilman  2.00 

William  Oliver 10.00 

Jack  Rvno,  2  days'  work 

Bohert  Marsh 4.00 

Joseph  Stansliui7 20  00 

Mary  H.  Winants 5.00 

Samuel  Freeman 2.00 

John  C.  Marsh 5  00 

Jolin  Compton 1.00 

Ahraham  Flatt 15.00 

Ira  Mundy 2.60 

William  Ross 2.00 

Thomas  Terrell 1.00 

Isaac  Winants,  in  stone 

Isaac  Stansbury 5  00 

John  Marsh 10.00 

William  Laurence,  work 


Robert  Clarkson,  Jr 82.00 

James  Lambert 6.00 

Sarah  Hetsel 100 

Samuel  Force 3.00 

Cornelius  Baker 3  00 

Peter  Craig L'lO 

Thomas  Brown 1.00 

Jane  Freeman lO.OO 

Elihu  Marsh  5.00 

John  Wainwrlght : 6.00 

Nathan  Harned 6.00 

Charlea  T.  Tucker 10.00 

Merritt  Martin,  timber 

•     James  De  Camp,  stone 

John  Ludlow,  stone 

Gideon  Decamp 25.00 

Frederick  Mumly 5.110 

James  Clarkson 2.00 

Eliaa  Dunning 1.00 

James  Moore 6.00 

Samuel  Winants 8.00 

James  Brown 2,00 

Gersh..m  Cheddick 10.00 

Alstain  Bishop 2  00 

Daniel  Pierson 4.00 

Sophia  Harned 4.00 

Robert  Clark 2.00 

Stephen  Winants 2.00 

Thimias  Morrell 5.00 

Sophia  Harmd 2.00 

-Phebe  Freeman 6.00 

Rebecca  Edgar 2.00 

Jane  Freeman 10.00 

Thomas  Kdgar 100 

John  Mecan 160 

Gideon  Decamp 10.00 

Isaac  Freeman 3.00 

Abel  Jackson 1.00 

Edward  Mnndy 3.00 

Compton  Cutis 6.110 

$667.25 

Up  to  Sept.  3,  1807,  the  building  appears  to  have 
progressed  so  far  as  to  have  been  inclosed,  lathed, 
and  plastered.  From  the  bill  of  items  presented  by 
William  Flatt,  Jr.,  it  appears  that  the  pine  lumber 
was  obtained  in  New  York,  the  timber  of  Merritt  & 
Martin,  one  pair  of  hinges  fron  William  Martin,  and 
one  pair  from  William  Ross,  wrought  nails  from  S. 
Martin.  Judging  from  the  amount  of  white  lead 
charged,  six  pounds,  only  the  wood-work  and  doors 
were  painted,  perhaps  a  single  coat.  Unlike  most 
churches  at  that  early  day,  this  church  enjoyed  the 
luxury  of  being  heated,  for  in  the  bill  are  the  items 
of  "1  Box  Stove,  £9,"  and  "Pipe  for  the  Stove,  £2 
4s.  10(/.,"  the  account  having  been  kept  in  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence.  Joseph  Stansbury  did  the 
mason-work,  and  William  Bell  the  carpenter-work. 
Under  the  head  of  "Vote  of  Trustees  to  pay  Wm. 
Bell,"  at  a  meeting  convened  by  the  "advice  of  a 
Quarterly  Conference  held  at  Turkey,"  in  the  church 
at  Railway,  the  22d  of  March,  1814,  it  was  resolved 
that  "the  six  trustees  present  for  themselves  sever- 
ally to  pay  8  dollars  and  87-100.  Two  of  the  said 
trustees  made  themselves  liable  for  the  absent  trustee. 
The  whole  was  60  dollars,  for  which  one  general  re- 
ceipt was  taken  in  full  of  all  demands  from  said  Bell 
against  said  church  and  its  trustees." 

June  14,  1814,  a  subscription  of  $66.25  was  raised. 
The  paper  wns  prefaced  by  the  following  appeal: 
"  Whereas  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
township  of  Rahway  has  been  for  a  long  time  in  an 
unfinished  state,  in  consequence  of  the  funds  being 
exhausted,  and  the  house  being  in  debt,  the  trustees 
have  individually  and  collectively  assumed  the  debt 
against  said   house.     They  have  concluded  to  make 


274 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


an  effort  to  seat  it,  that  the  people  who  wish  to  attend 
there  may  sit  with  convenience,  and  in  order  that 
they  may  be  enabled  to  effect  their  desire  do  hereby 
most  earnestly  solicit  the  charitable  aid  and  assist- 
ance Irom  the  benevolent  of  every  denomination. 
The  trustees  do  hereby  pledge  themselves  that  money 
coming  into  their  hands  shall  be  faithfully  applied  ' 
with  all  possible  dispatch." 

To  this  paper  was  subscribed  the  sum  of  $66.25.  j 
On  June  30,  1814,  an  additional  subscription  of 
$27.50  was  raised,  but  these  sums  were  not  sufficient 
to  finish  the  building.  At  a  full  meeting  of  the 
board,  July  29,  1816,  Thomas  Potts,  secretary,  it  was 
resolved,  "  on  motion  made  and  seconded,  that  the 
church  building.  Liberty  Chapel,  be  finished.  Car- 
ried unanimously.  On  motion  made  and  seconded, 
that  the  sum  of  $50  be  borrowed  to  purchase  materials 
for  finishing  the  aforesaid  chapel.  Carried  unani- 
mously." The  money  was  authorized  to  be  borrowed 
of  James  Barber,  and  Anthony  Oliver  and  Thomas 
Potts  were  appointed  to  purchase  the  material.  At 
that  time  Aaron  Miller  and  others  held  accounts  of  i 
long  standing  against  the  church,  which  were  ordered 
"  paid  out  of  the  Legacy  due  the  Church  when  re- 
ceived." 

"  Moved  and  seconded  that  Milan  Ross  be  ap- 
pointed to  make  provisions  for  the  preacher's  horses 
out  of  the  church  collections.  Carried."  Also  "  that 
one  dollar  per  month  be  paid  to  the  sexton."  Several 
efforts  had  been  made  to  incorporate  the  society  pre- 
vious to  the  date  of  the  certificate  of  incorporation 
given  below,  which  had  proved  unsuccessful,  or  had 
not  fully  conformed  to  the  requirements  of  law : 

-This  is  to  certify  that  Thoniaa  Foster,  Thunias  Potts,  Milan  Ross, 
Peter  Morgan,  Bennett  Bowman,  Charles  Jaques,  and  Jolin  Decker  have 
been  duly  elected  trustees  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
township  of  Rahway,  County  of  Essex,  and  State  of  New  Jersey,  agree- 
aldy  to  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  said  State  passed  on  the  13th  day 
of  Jnne,  1799,  to  incorporate  religiuus  societies,  ami  whereas  said  trus- 
tees have  tjiken  and  subscribed  the  oaths  required  by  law  with  view  to 
become  an  incorporate  body  under  the  name  and  title  as  above  written, 
to  be  Known  and  designated  in  law  as  such. 

"  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  this  27th  day  of  February,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  1817. 

"  TnoMAS  FosTEE.  [Seal] 
"Thomas  Potts.  [Seal] 
"Mll.iN  Boss.  [Seal] 

"Petee  Moeoan.  [Seal] 
"Bennett  Bowman.  [Seal] 
"Charles  Jaques.  [Seal] 
"John  Decker.  [Seal] 

"  Received  in  the  office  the  7th  day  of  March,  1817,  Book  A  of  Miscel- 
lanies for  Essex  Couuty,  page  114. 

"Silas  Whitehead,  Clerk." 

A  burying-ground  was  located  in  the  rear  of  the 
church  soon  after  the  purchase  of  the  lot.  By  action 
of  the  trustees  in  1820  an  aiklition  was  made  to  it  by 
the  purchase  of  a  piece  of  land  from  Elias  Stansbury. 
Milan  Ross  was  appointed  to  procure  the  deed.  (Re- 
corded in  B  L  3  of  deeds  of  Essex  County,  pages 
16-17,   July    18,    1832.')      We   find  in   the  book  of 

1  Church  Records,  p.  23. 


records  a  diagram  of  the  burying-ground  made  by 
Anthony  Atwood  in  February,  1835.  It  is  laid  out 
into  lots  ten  feet  north  and  south,  and  nine  feet  east 
and  west. 

A  new  burial-ground  was  purchased  and  laid  out  in 
1848.  It  lies  in  the  rear  of  the  church,  extending 
back  to  the  next  street,  and  was  also  purchased  of 
Elias  Stansbury. 

In  1832  the  meeting-house  was  repaired  and  an 
addition  built  to  it.  At  the  same  time  the  building 
was  newly  seated  in  the  lower  part,  and  a  room  par- 
titioned off  under  the  gallery  next  the  street. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  1832  it  was  resolved  "that  the 
females  be  seated  in  the  middle  of  the  church,  and, 
if  necessary,  occupy  the  wing  on  the  left  of  the 
pulpit.  Carried."  Also,  "Resolved  that  the  presi- 
dent (William  Granville)  get  the  church  insured  for 
fifteen  hundred  dollars." 

A  Sunday-school  house  was  built  on  the  rear  of  the 
church  lot  on  Seminary  street  in  1832. 

The  first  resolution  proposing  the  building  of  a 
"  parsonage  house"  was  offered  at  a  meeting  of  the 
stewards  and  leaders  held  on  April  23,  1832.  It  was 
not  agreed  to,  but  in  lieu  of  this  the  house  of  Anthony 
Atwood  on  Seminary  Street  was  rented  and  used  as 
a  parsonage  for  several  years.  In  1848  a  lot  was 
purchased  of  William  Inslee,  and  a  new  parsonage 
erected  thereon  the  same  year.  It  is  still  the  parson- 
age of  the  society.' 

The  church  was  constructed  with  a  gallery  across 
the  front  and  on  the  sides,  and  had  a  circular  window 
about  three  feet  in  diameter  in  the  end  next  the 
street.  When  the  church  was  enlarged  by  the  addi- 
tion of  twenty  feet  in  the  rear  the  windows  were  all 
made  with  circular  tops,  some  of  which  may  now  be 
seen  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Isaac  Osborn,  who  bought 
the  old  church  property. 

Neiv  Church. — At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees,  June 
17,  1856,  a  full  board  being  present,  "  it  was  then  and 
there  unanimously 

"  Resolved,  That  we  build  a  new  brick  church  fifty  feet  front  by  seventy 
feet  deep,  said  church  to  have  a  gallery  at  the  side.*.^ 

"/^efio/rerf.  That  the  old  church  be  advertised  and  sold  to  the  highest 
bidder,  reserving  the  seats  up  and  down  stairs,  with  the  pulpit,  altar- 
railing,  and  inside  doors  to  entrance. 

"  Reaolved,  That  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  as  a  buililing  com- 
mittee to  superintend  the  building  of  said  church,  that  committee  to 
be  the  following  persons:  Isaac  Osborn,  William  H.  Flatt,  Francis  E, 
Terrill." 

The  property  of  the  old  church  and  lecture-room 
were  taken  by  Isaac  Osborn,  he  agreeing  to  finish  the 
new  church  complete,  except  the  blinds,  and  to  paint 
the  outside  three  coats  and  the  inside  one  for  the  sum 
of  ten  thousand  dollars.  On  the  17th  of  March,  1857, 
this  proposition  was  accepted  by  the  board  in  the 
words  following : 

"  Raolvrd,  That  we  give  Bro.  Isaac  Osborn  the  entire  charge  of  fin- 
ishing the  church,  and  that  he  forthwith  finish  the  same." 


i  Ibid.,  p.  39. 

0  The  plan  was  modified  so  that  it  was  built  with  an  i 


CITY   OF   RAH  WAY. 


275 


The  church  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  June, 
1857.  The  sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Sargent,  of  Baltimore. 

We  find  from  Mr.  Osborn's  complete  statement  of 
the  moneys  received  and  expended  in  the  erection  of 
the  building  that  its  entire  cost  was  eleven  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars  and  thirty- 
three  cents. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  ministers  who  have  offi- 
ciated in  this  church  from  the  first  to  the  present  time, 
with  the  dates  of  services,  so  far  as  they  can  be  ascer- 
tained : 


1799.  Joseph  Totten. 

Thomns  Pitte. 

John  Robertson. 
1821-22.  Bartholomew  Weed. 

William  Bull. 
1824-25.  Thomas  B,  Sargent. 
18z7.  John  Buckley. 
1829.  William  H.  Bull. 

1831.  John  Dobbins. 
Jefferson  Lewis. 

1832.  William  Granville. 
Isaac  N.  Felch. 

1834-3S.  Anthony  Atwood. 
18411-41.  Isaac  N.  Felrh. 

1844.  William  A.  Willmer. 

1845.  Vincent  Shepard. 
1846-47.  George  Winzor. 


1848.  James  Ayers. 
1855-66.  Charles  Larue. 

Jame.s  H.  Dandy. 

Sedgwick  Rusling. 
1867.  David  Tead. 

Curtis  Talley. 

Kobert  A.  Yard. 

N.  Vanzant. 

David  Gn.ves. 

George  W.  Treat. 

James  M.  Tuttle. 

Johu  I,  Morrow. 

William  H.  Day. 
1871-73.  H.  D.  Opdyke. 
1874-7.1.  Alexander  Craig. 
1876-78.  George  Winzor. 
1879-81.  E.  C.  Ducher. 


1857-60.  Rev.  James  M.  Tattle 
Rev,  James  Ayers. 
Rev.  R.  T.  Arnt. 
Rev.  Lewis  R.  Dunn. 


The  following  have  been  presiding  elders  of  the 
circuit : 

1828.  Rev.  Manning  Force. 
1866.  Rev.  Mr.  Winner. 
1858.  Rev.  Mr.  Lippincott. 
Rev.  John  T.  Porter. 
1861-66.  Rev.  T.  J.  Hilyard. 

This  church  has  been  the  mother-church  of  most 
of  the  Methodist  Churches  in  this  section  of  New 
Jersey,  the  following  having  sprung  from  this  organ- 
ization about  the  dates  named  : 

Perth  Amboy  M.  E.  Church,  1804. 

Woodbridge  M.  E.  Church,  1812. 

Plainfield  M.  E.  Church,  1818. 

Westfield  M.  E.  Church,  1846. 

New  Dover  M.  E.  Church,  1842. 

Rahway  Second  M.  E.  Church,  1849. 

These  again  have  branched  out  into  the  following: 

M.  E.  Church,  Scotch  Plains,  1864. 

M.  E.  Church,  Metucheu,  186.5. 

M.  E.  Church,  Loudon,  1867. 

Rev.  Thomas  Morrell. — The  society  in  its  in- 
fancy was  under  the  greatest  obligation  to  Rev. 
Thomas  Morrell,  who  not  only  labored  incessantly  as 
a  pioneer  preacher  of  the  gospel,  but  was  ready  with 
his  means  to  aid  struggling  and  weak  churches.  His 
name  stands  at  the  head  of  the  subscription  list  to 
build  the  first  Methodist  Church  in  Rahway  with  a 
contribution  of  forty  dollars,  the  largest  sum  given 
except  by  three  other  individuals, — Aaron  Miller, 
Jonathan  Oliver,  and  William  Flatt,  Jr.  Mr.  Mor- 
rell was  at  that  time  living  at  Elizabeth  Town,  and 
did  more  than  any  other  man  to  build  up  the  Metho- 
dist Church  there.     He  inherited  much  of  his  devo- 


tional nature  from  his  mother,  who  was  one  of  the 
small  company  who  were  induced  to  hear  Philip 
Embury,  the  carpenter,  preach  in  his  own  house  in 
New  York  in  the  year  1766,  the  earliest  American 
Methodist  preacher.  She  was  converted  and  had  the 
honor  of  being  enrolled  in  the  first  Methodist  class  in 
America.  In  1772,  Jonathan  Morrell  and  his  wife, 
the  father  and  mother  of  Thomas,  removed  from  New 
York  and  settled  in  Elizabeth  Town.  The  father 
engaged  in  mercantile  business,  and  soon  took  in  his 
son  Thomas  as  partner.  When  the  news  of  the  battle 
of  Lexington  reached  the  town  he  was  foremost  in 
getting  up  a  company  of  volunteers,  of  which  he  was 
chosen  captain.  He  was  in  command  of  one  of  the 
boats  which  captured  the  "  Blue  Mountain  Valley" 
off  Sandy  Hook,  Jan.  2.3,  1776. 

"  In  June,  1776,  he  received  a  captain's  commission, 
with  orders  to  muster  a  company  of  seventy-eight 
men  and  report  to  Gen.  Washington,  then  at  New 
York.  Two  companies  of  militia  were  parading  in 
front  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Young  Morrell 
gave  them  an  earnest  talk,  and  then  called  for  volun- 
teers. So  effective  was  his  eloquence  that  in  five 
minutes  his  quota  was  filled,  many  of  them  being  of 
the  most  respectable  families  in  the  town.  They  were 
equipped  and  ready  for  service  at  New  York  si.x  days 
after  the  declaration  of  independence.  They  were 
attached  to  the  New  Jersey  Brigade  under  Gen. 
Heard,  of  Woodbridge,  and  in  the  fatal  engagement 
at  Flatbush,  Aug.  27,  1776,  were  nearly  cut  to  pieces. 
Capt.  Morrell  fell,  severely  wounded,  and  barely  es- 
caped with  his  life."  He,  however,  recovered  and 
served  in  the  army  till  after  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  with  the  rank  of  major.  Failing  health  com- 
pelled him  to  resign.  In  telling  the  story  of  his  con- 
version he  says, — 

•  "  In  the  month  of  October,  1785,  I  was  awakened 
by  the  preaching  of  the  Rev.  John  Hagerty,  and  in 
March,  1786,  received  the  witness  of  God's  spirit  of 
my  acceptance.  In  June,  1786,  I  began  to  preach  as 
a  local  preacher  in  Elizabeth  Town  and  in  several 
parts  of  the  circuit.  In  March,  1787,  I  began  to  ride 
as  a  traveling  preacher,  and  rode  on  Elizabeth  Town 
Circuit  (twenty  months)  with  Robert  Cloud.  At  the 
Conference  in  New  York,  in  October,  1788,  I  was  or- 
dained deacon  (nearly  forty-one  years  old),  and  ap- 
pointed to  the  Trenton  Circuit  with  John  Merrick 
and  Jethro  Johnson.  At  the  June  Conference  in 
New  York,  1789,  was  ordained  an  elder,  and  ap- 
pointed for  that  city  with  Brother  Cloud,  who  was 
with  me  twelve  months,  and  Brother  Merrick,  four 
months." 


CHAPTER    XLIL 

CITY    OF   RAUV/ AY. —(ContimieJ.) 

Second  Presbyterian  Church. — The  following  ac- 
count of  the  organization  of  this  church  is  taken  from 
the  minutes  of  the  session  of  the  First  Presbyterian 


276 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Church  of  this  city,  and  was  writte)!  by  the  pastor, 
Rev.  Charles  K.  Imbrie,  D.D.,  under  whose  ministry 
the  Second  Church  was  formed : 

**  The  session  of  the  church  liaving  frequently  conversed  together  on 
theexjiediency  of  taking  steps  for  the  formation  of  a  Preshyterian  Church 
in  Lower  Rahway,  and  there  being  6f)nie  desire  manifested  at  present 
among  the  jieople  to  eifect  this  ohject,  it  was  agreed  among  the  members 
of  tlie  session  to  forward  the  work  as  far  as  possible.  Several  meetings 
were  hehi,  in  whicit  the  members  of  tlie  congregation  on  l>oth  sides  of 
the  river  were  repi  eeeuted,  to  e.xchange  views  on  the  sulyect. 

"  After  lull  discussitui  all  ol-jettions  wen-  at  length  waived, and  it  was 
mutually  agreed  by  those  present  that  the  plan  should  be  tried.  Ac- 
cordingly, application  having  been  made  to  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth- 
town  by  those  more  immediately  interested  in  the  movement  at  its  late 
meeting  in  Morristown,  the  Rev.  Drs.  Murray  and  Magie,  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  Kev.  Mr.  Street,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  and  tlie  pastor  of  this 
church  (ministers),  and  Mr.  Brown,  of  the  First  Church  of  Elizabeth, 
anil  Mr.  Amos  Morse,  of  this  church  (elders),  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee of  Presbytery  to  visit  this  place,  and,  if  the  way  should  be  clear, 
to  proceed  to  the  organization  of  a  Second  Presbyterian  Church  in  this 
town. 

*'  The  committee  of  the  Presbytery  met  accordingly  in  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  this  place  this  alternoon  at  two  o'clock,  and  the  way 
being  clear,  they  proceeded  to  the  organization  of  a  new  Presbyterian 
Church,  to  be  known  as  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Rahway,  N.J. 

"The  services  on  this  occasion  were  as  follows,  viz.: 

"  1st.  Introductory  exercises  by  the  Rev.  M.  Street. 

"  2d.  Sermon  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Magie. 

"  3d.  After  sermon  the  new  church  was  organized  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Im- 
brie, pastor  of  the  First  Church,  who  Ihen  delivered  a  pai-ting  address  to 
the  members  of  the  newly-organized  church. 

"  4tli.  The  election  of  elders,  which  resulted  in  the  choice  of  the  four 
brethren  who  had  formerly  been  elders  in  the  First  Church,  viz.:  Aaron 
Tucker,  Frederick  King,  George  F.  Webb,  and  Jonathan  Thompson. 

"5th.  Installation  of  the  elders  by  the  Kev.  Mr.  Imbrie, 

"6tli.  Charge  to  the  new  ehleis  and  tlie  church  by  Rev.  Dr.  Murray. 

"The  session  would  here  record  their  gratitude  to  God  that  the  whole 
affair  hafi  been  throughout  conducted  with  the  utmost  hai-mouy  and  fra- 
ternal feeling.  Our  brethren  leave  us  with  the  fervent  wishes  and 
I»rayers  of  the  wliole  church  for  their  success  and  happiness.  We  feel 
their  loss  deeply;  butwe  bid  them  God  speed  in  the  new  enterpri^^e  to 
which  the  Lord  has  called  them.  As  a  session  we  pray  that  the  bless- 
ing of  tlie  Good  Shepherd  may  follow  our  beloved  brethren  of  the  eliler 
ship,  with  whom  we  have  so  long  takeo  sweet  counsel  without  a  single 
interruption  to  disturb  our  fellowship." 

In  pursuance  of  this  object  fifty-five  members  of 
the  First  Church,  at  their  own  request,  with  their  duly 
appointed  elders,  were  dismissed  by  the  se.ssion,  and 
formed  the  nucleus  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rahway,  Nov.  9,  1849.  We  give  a  list  of 
their  names  as  follows  : 

Elders. — Aaron  Tucker,  Frederjck  King,  George  F. 
Wetib,  Jonathan  Thompson. 

Members. — Caroline  E.  Ayres,  John  A.  Briant,  Ira 
Clawson,  Almson  Creego,  Delia  M.  Creego,  James  A. 
Calhoun,  Ann  L.  Calhoun,  Louisa  Crowell,  Nancy 
Davidson,  Isabella  Davidson,  Anna  P.  Everosgham, 
Philip  Eckerson,  Eveline  Eckerson,  Alexander  Edgar, 
Ursula  M.  Edgar,  A.  Wilhelmina  Edgar,  Mary  C. 
Edgar,  Pliebe  Catharine  Edgar,  William  M.  Edgar, 
George  I*.  Edgar,  Henrietta  Freeman,  Jane  O.  Free- 
man, Ursula  F.  Gage,  Harriet  Gage,  Hannah  Hay- 
dock,  Nancy  Hoff,  Ann  Eliza  Henry,  Cornelius 
Jewell,  Sarah  Jewell,  Louisa  Jaques,  Abby  La  Rue 
King,  Frederick  La  Rue  King,  Caroline  L.  King, 
Adeline  S.  Lee,  Ira  C.  Martin,  Rhoda  Martin,  Nancy 
Martin,  Margaret  Miller,  Sarah  E.  Parker,  Theophilus 
Page,   Priscilla   Sutton,  Sarah   Sharpe,  Thomas   H. 


Shafer,  Caroline  E.  Shafer,  Bethiah  Thompson, 
Hannah  Tucker,  Prudence  Turner,  Jonathan  Wood- 
ruff, Alvira  Woodruff,  Sarah  M.  Winans,  Mary  B. 
Wooding. 

Of  these  fifty-eight  persons  who  entered  the  church 
in  1849,  nearly  one-half  are  still  alive  after  the  lapse 
of  thirty -three  years.  The  four  original  elders — Aaron 
Tucker,  Frederick  King,  George  F.  Webb,  and  Jona- 
than Thompson — are  all  dead. 

Succession  of  Pastors. — Rev.  Lewis  H.  Lee,  from 
April  17,  1850,  to  April,  1863  ;  Rev.  George  S.  Mott, 
from  Oct.  9,  1853,  to  Oct.  5,  1858;  Rev.  V.  Le  Roy 
Lockwood,  from  December,  1858,  to  1864;  Rev.  John 
A.  Liggett,  from  December,  1864,  present  pastor, 
1882. 

Elders/lip  In  1882. — Jonathan  Woodruff,  Cornelius 
Jewell,  Robert  C.  Brewster,  Samuel  Ayers,  Ira  La- 
forge,  Edwin  M.  Brown,  George  Bush,  Edward  Cro- 
lins,  James  H.  Durand. 

The  present  membership  of  the  church  is  about 
four  hundred  and  fifteen,  while  the  number  in  the 
three  Sunday-schools  connected  with  it  is  about  six 
hundred.  Within  a  few  years  a  new  lecture-  and 
Sabbath-school  room  has  been  built,  costing  twelve 
thousand  dollars,  and  a  chapel  has  been  erected  for 
the  school  in  East  Rahway  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand 
dollars.  The  church  has  an  excellent  parsonage,  and 
its  property  taken  altogether  has  cost  about  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars.  It  is  free  from  debt  with  the  exception 
of  a  very  trifling  sum. 

First  Baptist  Church.' — In  1832  there  were  a  few 
families  of  Baptists  in  Rahway  who  met  regularly  for 
prayer  and  praise.  They  were  occasionally  visited 
by  Rev.  D.  T.  Hill,  then  pastor  at  Plainfield,  Rev.  G. 
S.  Webb,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  Rev.  L.  Lathrop, 
of  Samptown,  upon  whose  advice,  early  in  1833, 
fourteen  persons  formed  themselves  into  a  church, 
which  shortly  after  was  jjublicly  recognized  as  the 
First  Baptist  Church  of  Rahway,  the  Methodist 
Church  lending  their  house  for  the  occasion.  The 
constituent  members  were  William  Marsh,  Susan 
Bartow,  Sarah  Ross,  William  Ross,  Ezra  Frazee, 
Mary  Frazee,  Mary  Cox,  Mary  Day,  Huldah  Frazee, 
Rhoda  Laing,  Sarah  Mundy,  Frances  Moore,  and 
Mary  Osboru,  of  whom  the  one  last  named  alone  re- 
mains. A  few  others,  among  whom  were  Timothy 
Ross  and  Deacons  Peter  Spicer  and  W.  L.  Pangborn, 
soon  joined  the  little  baud  by  letter;  and  about  the 
same  date  the  first  baptism  was  administered,  the 
candidate  being  Brother  B.  C.  Morse,  who  was  subse- 
quently licensed  to  preach,  and  six  years  later,  having 
completed  his  studies  at  Hamilton,  was  ordained  as 
pastor  of  the  Lyons  Farms  Baptist  Church.  Shortly 
after  their  organization  the  church  took  measures 
looking  to  the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship.  Mr. 
E.  W.  Frazee,  of  Milton,  offered  to  donate  the  ground 

1  From  a  historical  sketch  of  the  church  by  Rev.  William  Rollinson, 
pastor. 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


277 


necessary  if  the  church  would  build  at  that  point. 
His  offer  was  at  first  accepted,  and  the  foundations 
of  a  building  forty-four  by  sixty-four  feet  were  laid. 
Judicious  brethren,  however,  thought  it  would  be 
wiser  to  select  a  more  central  position  for  their  church 
edifice,  and  the  advice  of  neighboring  pastors  was 
sought;  among  them  was  Rev.  G.  S.  Webb,  whose 
judgment  had  a  controlling  influence  with  the  church, 
and  led  them  to  relinquish  the  lots  they  had  accepted, 
and  purchase  others  centrally  situated  in  Lower 
Railway.  Here  a  plain  but  commodious  building 
of  the  dimensions  before  named  was  erected,  which 
for  forty  years  continued  to  be  their  church  home. 
This  change  of  location  did  much,  under  God,  to 
determine  the  question  of  their  success,  as  the  site 
originally  selected  has  since  been  offered  to  and  suc- 
cessively occupied  by  churches  of  two  other  denom- 
inations, and  by  each  in  turn  has  been  deserted,  the 
vicinity  having  become  a  neglected  suburb  of  the 
city,  while  that  finally  chosen  is  in  its  more  attractive 
portion,  so  that  in  this,  as  in  every  after  crisis  of  the 
history  of  this  church,  the  guiding  hand  of  God  was 
visible. 

The  church  now  felt  the  need  of  a  pastor,  and  ex- 
tended a  call  to  Rev.  Mansfield  Barlow,  who  accepted 
and  entered  on  his  duties  .fuly  15,  1834.  Favored 
now  with  a  spiritual  home,  and  aided  by  the  counsels 
and  ministry  of  Brother  Barlow,  the  little  band  moved 
steadily  on,  and  if  sometimes  made  to  feel  the  unpop- 
ularity of  their  distinctive  tenets  they  were  amply 
recompensed  by  tokens  of  the  divine  approval  of 
their  work.  There  were  frequent  accessions  to  the 
church  by  both  baptism  and  letter,  cheered  by  which 
they  were  led  to  "  thank  God  and  take  courage." 
Brother  Barlow's  pastorate  included  but  a  single  year, 
yet  at  its  close  the  membership  of  the  church  had  in- 
creased from  fourteen  at  the  time  of  its  organization 
to  forty ;  there  had  been  eighteen  baptized  and  four- 
teen added  by  letter. 

An  interval  of  nearly  a  year  succeeded,  during  the 
later  portion  of  which  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by 
Simeon  J.  Drake,  a  licentiate  of  the  First  Baptist 
Church  of  New  York,  to  whom  in  the  spring  of  1836 
the  church  gave  a  unanimous  call,  which  he  accepted, 
and  May  6th  of  the  same  year  he  was  ordained  as 
their  pastor.  Rev.  William  Parkinson  preaching  the 
sermon  of  ordination. 

The  period  of  Brother  Drake's  pastorate  claims  a 
special  mention,  as  it  was  its  formative  stage  through 
which  the  church  was  passing,  and  under  his  wise 
and  earnest  leadership  it  was  moulded  into  forms  of 
life  and  action  which  have  been  transmitted  to  the 
present  time.  His  clear  and  intelligent  views  of 
gospel  truth  enabled  him  to  solidly  lay  those  founda- 
tion principles  on  which  the  .superstructure  of  church 
life  was  to  be  built,  and  each  succeeding  pastor  has 
had  occasion  to  feel  that  of  Mr.  Darke  it  might  be 
said  what  Paul  declared  of  himself:  "  According 
to  the  grace  of  God  given  unto  me,  as  a  wise  master- 


builder,  I  have  laid  the  foundation  and  another  build- 
eth  thereon."  To  the  influence  of  his  instructions 
may  be  attributed  in  part  the  tenacity  with  which 
the  church  has  "  held  fast  to  the  form  of  sound  words" 
in  which  the  fathers  formulated  their  faith.  It  was 
ever  his  aim  to  lay,  as  the  sole  foundation  of  the  sin- 
ner's hope,  the  finished  w-ork  of  Christ,  and  he  was 
equally  careful  not  to  build  on  it  the  "  wood,  hay, 
and  stubble"  of  an  unconverted  church  membership. 
The  New  Jersey  State  Convention  had  now  taken  the 
church  under  its  fostering  care,  and  by  the  timely  aid 
it  rendered  greatly  encouraged  and  assisted  the  pastor 
and  his  people.  For  nearly  four  years  Brother  Drake 
continued  with  the  church,  during  which  time  it 
gained  largely  in  its  influence  on  the  community,  and 
exactly  doubled  in  membership.  In  July,  1839,  he 
resigned  to  accept  a  call  to  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Plainfield,  to  which  the  remaining  twenty-seven  years 
of  his  earnest  life  were  devoted,  when,  having  finished 
his  work,  he  entered  into  rest,  leaving  precious  mem- 
ories in  each  of  the  two  churches  to  which  the  whole 
of  his  ministerial  life  had  been  given.  There  were 
added  during  his  pastorate  by  baptism  forty-four, 
and  by  letter  twenty-two ;  the  total  membership  in- 
creased from  forty  to  eighty. 

For  the  ten  following  months,  during  which  the 
church  was  seeking  for  a  pastor,  the  pulpit  was  sup- 
plied chiefly  by  Rev.  Walter  Gillette,then  pastor  of 
the  Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church  at  Piscataway,  who, 
in  April,  1840,  introduced  to  the  church  his  brother, 
D.  H.  Gillette,  a  youthful  licentiate  then  about  com- 
pleting his  studies  at  Hamilton.  He  came  among 
them  with  the  early  spring  flowers,  and  was  at  once 
welcomed  by  the  church  as  one  sent  in  answer  to  their 
prayers.  The  gentleness  of  his  manners,  the  kind- 
ness of  his  disposition,  and  his  unaffected  piety  se- 
■  cured  for  him  the  affection  of  the  entire  church,  who, 
May  8, 1840,  extended  him  a  cordial  invitation  to  the 
vacant  pastorate.  This  call  he  accepted,  and  on  the 
29th  of  July  following  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the 
church,  Rev.  A.  D.  Gillette,  of  Philadelphia,  preach- 
ing the  sermon  on  that  occasion.  During  the  two 
years  which  followed  the  congregation  was  largely  in- 
creased by  accessions  from  other  denominations,  while 
the  church  grew  by  constant  accessions  to  its  mem- 
bership. After  his  first  year  with  them  the  church 
ceased  to  ask  aid  of  the  Convention,  and  during  the 
remainder  of  his  pastorate  they  succeeded  in  remov- 
ing about  half  of  the  heavy  debt  which  at  his  coming 
rested  on  the  church  property,  besides  expending 
several  hundred  dollars  in  improving  the  appearance 
and  accommodations  of  the  house.  It  was  in  the 
midst  of  this  usefulness  that  Brother  Gillette  was 
struck  down  by  the  insidious  disease  which,  a  few 
years  later,  consigned  him  to  an  early  grave.  The 
first  severe  attack  was  in  December,  1840,  and  pros- 
trated him  for  a  number  of  weeks,  during  which  the 
pulpit  was  again  supplied  by  his  brother  Walter. 
Recovering  from  that  he  resumed  the  duties  of  the 


278 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


pastorate,  and  continued  to  labor  steadily  and  with 
gratifying  results  until  January,  1842,  when  his  cough 
became  alarming,  and  the  church  gave  him  leave  of 
absence  for  the  remainder  of  the  winter,  that  in  a 
milder  climate  he  might  seek  the  restoration  of  his 
health.  On  his  return  in  the  spring  he  felt  con- 
strained to  resign  the  charge  of  church,  and  after  two 
brief  pa-storates,  one  in.  Charlottesville,  Va.,  and  a 
briefer  one  at  Mobile,  Ala.,  he  was  called  to  his  rest 
on  high. 

The  accessions  to  the  church  during  the  pastorate 
of  Brother  Gillette  were :  by  baptism,  thirty-four ; 
by  letter,  eleven ;  by  restoration,  one.  The  total 
membership  increased  from  eighty  to  one  hundred. 

After  an  interval  of  two  months.  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Breed  was  called  as  pastor,  who  entered  on  his  work 
in  Rahway  June  1,  1842.  This,  though  with  a  single 
exception  the  shortest  of  the  pastorates,  is  memorable 
in  the  history  of  the  church  as  having  been  marked 
by  a  revival  exceeding  in  power  anything  previously 
experienced  in  that  region  of  country.  The  years 
1842  and  1843  were  in  all  this  part  of  the  State  emi- 
nently years  of  revivals,  and  the  Rahway  Church 
shared  largely  in  the  general  blessing.  During  the 
winter  of  1842-43  the  membership  more  than  doubled, 
one  hundred  and  ten  being  added  by  baptism.  Thus 
nearly  the  whole  period  of  Brother  Breed's  pastorate 
was  crowded  with  work  peculiar  to  such  a  time  of  in- 
gathering, and  with  such  abounding  mercies  con- 
ferred on  the  church  and  crowning  its  pastor's  labors, 
it  would  be  but  rational  to  suppose  that  a  sure  founda- 
tion had  been  laid  for  a  loving  and  lasting  union. 

Yet  here  it  proved,  as  it  has  often  elsewhere,  that 
prosperity  is  at  times  the  fire  in  which  God  tries  His 
people.  While  the  work  was  yet  in  progress,  and  it 
seemed  as  if  the  church  with  recruited  ranks  was 
entering  on  a  higher  plane  of  influence  and  u.seful- 
ness,  difficulties  and  divisions  arose  so  serious  as  in 
the  judgment  of  the  pastor  to  render  it  expedient  that 
he  should  retire  from  the  field,  and  on  the  29th  of 
January  he  handed  in  his  resignation.  His  deter- 
mination was  greatly  regretted  by  the  many  whom  he 
had  so  recently  baptized,  and  resulted,  on  his  subse- 
quently leaving,  in  heart-burnings  and  alienations,  by 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  was  grieved  away  and  great 
injury  done  to  the  young  converts  thus  left  like 
sheep  without  a  shepherd  ;  a  few  withdrew  from  the 
church,  and  some  were  scattered  among  other  de- 
nominations. 

It  was  a  period  of  severe  trial  to  the  older  members 
of  the  church  ;  for  months  they  sought  earnestly  for 
a  pastor  on  whom  all  could  unite,  but  the  personal 
antagonisms  which  had  .sprung  up  prevented  any  ap- 
proach to  unanimity. 

In  May,  1843,  Brother  William  Rollinson,  then  a 
young  licentiate  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  New 
York,  Was  invited  to  supply  the  pulpit  for  one  Sab- 
bath, the  services  of  which  day  resulted  in  their 
offering  to  him  a  unanimous  call  to  the  pastorate  of 


the  church.  He  had  just  engaged  himself  to  the 
Jersey  City  Baptist  Church  for  the  ensuing  six  months, 
and  declined  to  a.sk  release  from  that  engagement, 
when  the  church,  on  June  4th,  voted  to  renew  their 
call,  the  same  to  take  effect  at  the  expiration  of  his 
prior  engagement.  This  call  he  accepted,  and  on  the 
28th  of  November  was  ordained  as  pastor  of  the 
church.  Rev.  Spencer  H.  Cone  preaching  the  sermon. 

Their  disappointment  in  not  immediately  securing 
the  services  of  the  new  pastor  was  overruled  for  good, 
as  in  the  .six  months  which  intervened  the  previous 
diflBculties  slowlj'  subsided,  and  in  the  united  welcome 
they  gave  the  young  pastor  on  his  settling  with  them, 
all  former  variances  were  forgotten.  From  first  to 
last,  during  a  pastorate  of  six  years.  Brother  Rollin- 
son received  the  hearty  co-operation  of  the  church. 
The  new  material  brought  in  during  the  great  revival 
needed  moulding,  instructing,  and  cementing,  to- 
gether with  the  usual  amount  of  sifting  the  chaff 
from  the  wheat.  In  this  important  work  the  then  in- 
experienced pastor  found  efficient  helpers  in  the  older 
members  who  had  been  trained  under  such  men  as 
Parkinson,  Lathrop,  Webb,  Dodge,  and  Drake.  The 
church  co-operated  in  all  the  benevolent  enterprises 
of  the  denomination  more  fully  than  at  any  previous 
period,  and  at  home  it  enjoyed  a  steady  growth  in  in- 
fluence and  ability. 

The  debt  on  the  church  edifice  was  entirely  can- 
celled, chiefly  through  a  bequest  from  Sister  Ann 
Compton.  Lots  were  purchased  opposite  the  meet- 
ing-house, and  a  chapel  for  the  Sunday-school  and 
purposes  of  social  worship  was  erected,  all  services 
having  previously  been  held  in  the  main  building. 
In  the  autumn  of  1849,  Brother  Rollinson  feeling  his 
heart  drawn  to  the  great  West,  accepted  an  appoint- 
ment from  the  American  Baptist  Home  Mission  So- 
ciety to  labor  as  their  missionary  in  Racine,  Wis., 
and  November  1st  of  that  year  he  resigned  his  charge 
of  the  Rahway  Church. 

During  this  pastorate  twenty-three  were  received 
by  baptism,  thirty-five  by  letter,  and  one  restored  ;  at 
its  close  the  total  membership  was  one  hundred  and 
sixty-one. 

During  the  winter  the  church  remained  without  a 
pastor,  but  early  in  the  spring  their  minds  centred  on 
Rev.  William  H.  Wines,  to  whom,  March  22,  1850, 
they  gave  their  unanimous  call.  He  entered  on  the 
pastorate  June  1st,  and  continued  with  the  church 
nearly  three  years.  During  that  period  the  accessions 
were  of  a  character  to  add  largely  to  the  social  in- 
fluence and  spiritual  power  of  the  church,  while  the 
conscientious  preparation  made  by  Brother  Wines 
for  his  pulpit  duties  and  the  high  estimate  every- 
where entertained  of  his  personal  character  still 
further  strengthened  the  position  of  the  church  in 
the  community.  But,  like  some  previous  pastors,  this 
one  had  to  contend  with  inconveniences  arising  from 
an  insufficient  support,  which  though  they  did  not 
affect   his   usefulness   nor  lessen   his   fidelity  to   the 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


279 


church,  hampered  him  in  his  work,  and  finally  led  to 
his  retirement  from  the  field,  April  1 ,  1853,  when  he 
resigned  to  take  charge  of  the  Tarrytown  Church, 
bearing  with   him  the  respect  and  afl^ection  of  the  ' 
church  he  left. 

During  his  stay  at  Rahway  there  were  added  to  the 
church  by  baptism  thirty-three,  by  letter  twenty-five, 
restored  one;  the  total  membership  was  one  hundred 
and  fifty-four. 

The  following  month  the  church  unanimously  called 
Rev.  William  B.  Tolan,  then  of  Morristown,  who  ac- 
cepted and  began  his  work  at  Rahway  June  19,  1853. 
The  new  pastor  entered  on  his  labors  with  an  earnest- 
ness which  gave  promise  of  great  usefulne.ss.  Prompt 
measures  were  adopted  to  cancel  a  floating  indebted- 
ne.ss  which  troubled  the  church,  the  register  was  re- 
vised, delinquents  were  sought  out,  and  determined 
endeavors  were  made  to  bring  the  church  up  to  the 
scriptural  standard  of  life.  Among  an  admirable 
series  of  resolutions  adopted  at  that  time  was  the  fol- 
lowing, which  is  given  in  hope  of  calling  attention  to 
a  prevalent  neglect  of  church  discipline : 

^'  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  any  memher  changing  his  place  of 
residence  into  the  vicinity  of  a  sister  church,  with  the  intention  ol"  re- 
maining, to  tjike  a  letter  of  dismission  to  said  church ;  and  any  member 
so  removing  who  shall  for  the  space  of  six  months  thereafter  neplect  to 
call  for  such  a  letter  shall  be  considered  a  proper  subject  for  discipline, 
or  for  exclusion,  at  the  discretion  of  the  church." 

The  social  qualities  of  Brother  Tolan  secured  him 
many  warm  personal  friends,  and  in  his  labors  he 
was  cordially  sustained  by  a  large  majority  of  the 
church.  Additions  to  the  membership  were  frequent, 
and  the  prospects  of  the  church  were  never,  up  to 
that  time,  so  favorable  as  they  appeared  at  the  close 
of  the  second  year  of  this  pastorate. 

Again,  however,  the  church  was  called  to  pass 
through  a  period  of  trial.  Divisions,  the  responsi- 
bility for  which  can  be  determined  only  by  God,  re- 
sulted in  the  resignation  of  the  pastor,  Dec.  18,  1855. 
After  vainly  seeking  to  harmonize  among  themselves 
the  differences  which  had  sprung  up  it  was  decided 
to  seek  advice  from  sister  churches  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  May  2,  1856,  a  council  was  called  from 
the  Plainfield,  Newark,  Somerville,  Scotch  Plains, 
and  New  Brunswick  Churches.  This  council  met  at 
Rahway  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month,  and  succeeded 
by  their  judicious  and  impartial  advice  in  restoring 
to  the  church  that  peace  which  for  the  last  thirteen 
years  has  continued  unbroken. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Brother  Tolan  there  were 
received  into  the  church  by  baptism  seventy-three,  by 
letter  thirty-three;  the  total  membership  increased 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  to  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two. 

The  same  week  that  the  above-mentioned  council 
was  called,  a  former  pastor  of  the  church,  Rev.  Wil- 
liam RoUioson,  landed  in  New  York  on  his  return 
from  California,  having  spent  the  six  years  of  his  ab- 
sence from  them  in  labors  at  the  West.     The  minds 


of  the  church  at  once  turned  to  him,  and  on  the  day 
the  council  met  the  church  being  then  assembled 
gave  him  a  unanimous  call  to  resume  the  pastoral 
relation.  After  a  few  weeks  of  deliberation  the  call 
was  accepted,  and  July  1,  1856,  Brother  Rollinson 
entered  on  a  pastorate  which  continued  for  the  eight 
and  a  half  years  that  followed.  The  house  of  wor- 
ship was  at  once  remodeled  and  improved  at  a  cost 
of  two  thousand  dollars,  and  with  restored  union  in 
their  ranks  the  church  engaged  with  fresh  ardor  in 
the  service  of  their  Lord. 

The  records  show  the  seven  years  which  followed 
to  have  been  the  most  prosperous  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church.  Brother  Thomas  W.  Conway, 
afterwards  ordained  as  pastor  of  the  West  Baptist 
Church,  Staten  Island,  was  employed  by  the  church 
as  missionary  colporteur  in  the  destitute  neighbor- 
hoods about ;  two  Sunday-schools  were  maintained, 
one  a  mission  school,  which  became  the  nucleus  of 
the  Bethany,  now  Irving  Street,  Baptist  Church  ;  fre- 
quent prayer  and  other  meetings  held  at  out-stations 
extended  the  influence  and  usefulness  of  the  church, 
while  the  work  at  the  centre  was  not  neglected.  The 
results  were  shown  in  the  increase  of  the  church, 
which  during  this  pastorate  reached  its  greatest 
numerical  strength. 

In  the  midst  of  their  prosperity  the  late  civil  war 
occurred.  The  extensive  manufactories  of  Rahway, 
nearly  all  of  which  depended  on  Southern  trade,  were 
prostrated.  In  their  letter  to  the  Association  in  1862 
the  church  wrote,  "  The  year  to  us  has  been  one  of 
trial ;  the  business  of  many  of  our  members  has  been 
for  the  time  de,stroyed."  It  proved  to  be  not  only 
"  for  the  time,"  but  for  all  time ;  many  in  the  church 
and  more  in  the  community  were  financially  ruined. 
Still  Ciod's  blessing  rested  on  the  united  labors  of 
pastor  and  people,  and  for  another  year  they  struggled 
on  together,  unwilling  to  sunder  a  relation  which  had 
strengthened  with  each  passing  year ;  but  finally, 
compelled  by  the  increasing  financial  pressure,  in 
November,  1863,  Brother  Rollinson  resigned,  and  sub- 
sequently accepted  the  position  of  post  chaplain  at 
Fort  Schuyler,  where  he  continued  till  after  the  war 
had  closed. 

During  this  pastorate  seventy-three  were  baptized, 
fifty-eight  added  by  letter,  and  two  restored ;  the 
membership  increased  from  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  to  two  hundred  and  thirty-five. 

During  two  years,  owing  chiefly  to  the  embarrass- 
ments of  that  stormy  period  of  civil  strife,  the  church 
remained  without  a  pastor,  yet  the  pulpit  was  regu- 
larly supplied,  and  the  ordinary  church  life  kept  up. 
Sept.  10,  1865,  a  unanimous  call  was  given  to  Rev. 
E.  Everett  Jones,  by  his  acceptance  of  which  the 
church  was  again  ble-ssed  with  an  under-shepherd  in 
whom  all  hearts  were  united.  Brother  Jones  pre- 
ferred that  his  ordination  should  take  place  in  the 
Spring  Garden  Baptist  Church,  Philadelphia,  where 
his  membership  was  held,  and  the  church  appointed 


280 


HISTORY    OK    UNIOxN    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,   NEW    JERSEY. 


Deacons  White  and  Crane  to  represent  them  at  the 
council.  After  the  ordination  Brother  Jones  was  in- 
stalled as  pastor  of  the  Rahway  Church  with  appro- 
priate services  Oct.  5,  ISGo. 

The  young  pastor  entered  with  whole-hearted  en- 
ergy on  the  work  before  him,  and  under  his  leadership 
the  church  relieved  itself  of  the  debt  which  had  ac- 
cumulated during  the  two  preceding  years,  and  at  the 
same  time  extended  its  facilities  for  prosecuting  the 
work  of  the  gospel.  It  was  not  long  before  God's 
Spirit  revisited  the  church,  and  the  baptismal  waters 
were  often  stirred.  As  during  the  business  disasters 
many  had  removed  or  had  gone  into  the  army  without 
taking  their  letters,  a  revision  of  the  church  register 
was  ordered,  and  the  names  of  all  of  whom  no  satis- 
factory account  could  be  had  were  dropped  from  the 
record. 

Nov.  18,  1866,  letters  of  dismission  were  granted  to 
seventeen  members  to  unite  in  the  organization  of  a 
Second  Baptist  Church,  who,  with  a  few  from  other 
churches,  were  subsequently  recognized  as  a  Baptist 
Church,  now  the  Irving  Street  Church,  Rahway,  con- 
nected with  the  Central  New  Jersey  Association. 

Brother  Jones  continued  with  the  church,  enjoying 
many  tokens  of  the  divine  favor  in  his  ministry,  till 
Oct.  1,  1868,  when  he  resigned  to  take  charge  of  the 
Bridgeport  Baptist  Church,  Pa.,  from  which  he  sub- 
sequently returned  to  this  State,  and  is  now  the  es- 
teemed pastor  of  the  New  Market  Church  in  this 
Association.  During  his  pastorate  at  Rahway  there 
were  added  to  the  church  by  baptism  thirty-si.\,  by 
letter  twenty-five, and  by  restoration  two;  total  mem- 
bership at  its  close,  one  liundred  and  thirty-nine. 

After  an  interval  of  sixteen  months  a  call  was  ex- 
tended to  Rev.  C.  G.  Gurr,  then  pastor  of  Samptown, 
which  he  accepted,  and  at  once  assumed  the  duties  of 
the  position.  The  records  of  the  church  during  this 
pastorate  are  too  meagre  to  give  ranch  information  as 
to  its  condition.  There  appear  to  have  been  no  bap- 
tisms, and  several  troublesome  cases  of  discipline, 
arising  from  a  departure  from  the  faith  on  the  part  of 
certain  members,  occupy  most  of  the  recorded  pro- 
ceedings. April  29,  1870,  Brother  Gurr  resigned  for 
the  purpose  of  visiting  Great  Britain.  The  church  re- 
quested him  to  remain  with  them,  but  he  persisting 
in  his  determination,  on  the  31st  of  .July  his  resigna- 
tion was  accepted.  During  this  pastorate  fourteen 
were  added  to  the  church  by  letter;  the  membership 
at  its  close  numbered  one  hundred  and  thirty-six. 

In  January  of  the  following  year  the  church  called 
Rev.  E.  A.  Wheeler,  who  in  response  to  their  call 
coniMunccil  his  labors  Feb.  1,  1871.  Soon  a  revived 
interest  in  spiritual  things  was  experienced,  followed 
by  accessions  to  the  church  through  baptism  ;  these 
continued  at  brief  intervals  through  the  year,  greatly 
encouraging  the  church. 

Brother  Wheeler's  social  disposition  led  him  to  de- 
vote his  time  largely  to  purely  pastoral  duties ;  he  was 
a  frequent  visitor  in  the  homes  of  his  people,  and  he 


gathered  a  return  in  their  warm  personal  regard,  the 
loss,  if  any,  being  in  the  lessened  power  of  the  pulpit. 
Still  the  church  continued  prosperous  till,  in  the  win- 
ter of  1873,  the  pastor's  healtfi  became  so  impaired  by 
a  severe  bronchial  difficulty  as  to  render  it  necessary 
for  him  to  temporarily  suspend  his  duties.  The 
church  cordially  a.ssented  to  his  request  for  a  leave  of 
absence  for  three  months,  at  the  same  time  providing 
the  means  to  enable  him  to  spend  the  time  in  the 
milder  climate  of  Florida. 

Brother  Wheeler's  earnest  efforts  during  the  second 
year  of  his  pastorate  were  given  to  secure  a  new 
church  edifice,  the  original  building,  erected  more 
than  forty  years  before,  having  become  so  worn  and 
in  many  respects  uncomfortable  that  both  church 
and  pastor  felt  it  essential  to  their  progress  that  better 
accommodations  should  be  provided.  Money  was 
raised,  and  a  lot  of  ground  in  what  was  deemed  an 
eligible  position  was  purchased,  on  which  §1300  was 
paid,  but  the  great  commercial  crisis  which  shortly 
followed,  prostrating  the  business  of  the  entire  coun- 
try, together  with  the  failure  of  their  pastor's  health, 
discouraged  the  church  from  proceeding. 

In  the  spring  of  1874  Brother  Wheeler  returned  to 
Rahway  with  recruited  health,  and  for  a  few  months 
continued  with  the  church,  when  he  oflered  his  resig- 
nation, to  take  effect  August  1st.  During  his  pas- 
torate thirty-live  were  baptized,  thirty-seven  received 
by  letter,  and  four  restored.  The  membership  in- 
creased from  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  to  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy. 

From  Aug.  1,  1874,  till  June  1,  1875,  the  church  was 
without  a  pastor,  though  much  of  the  time  the  pulpit 
was  regularly  supplied  by  Rev.  A.  C.  Lyon,  whose 
kind  spirit  and  wise  counsels  did  much  to  cheer  and 
animate  the  church  under  the  difficulties  occasioned 
by  the  severe  pressure  of  the  times  and  the  discour- 
agements of  their  position.  As  the  Irving  Street 
Church  wiis  affected  similarly  by  the  difficulties  com- 
mon at  that  period,  there  was  in  both  churches  a  feel- 
ing that  it  might  be  wise  to  consolidate  the  two  inter- 
ests in  a  single  organization,  and  a  proposal  of  that 
nature  was  made,  committees  of  conference  were  ap- 
pointed by  the  two  churches,  who  united  on  a  plan  of 
union,  but  which  finally  failed  between  the  churches 
owing  to  their  inability  to  agree  in  some  details  of  the 
plan  proposed. 

At  this  juncture  the  church  once  more  recalled  their 
old  pastor,  Rev.  William  Rollinson,  at  that  time  set- 
tled in  Newark,  pledging  their  earnest  co-operation  in 
all  measures  necessary  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  the 
church.  The  call  was  accepted,  and  before  the  pastor 
had  entered  on  his  work  among  them  a  subscription 
of  $5000,  which  was  subsequently  nearly  doubled, 
was  made  towards  the  erection  of  a  now  house  of  wor- 
ship. 

The  following  winter  the  church  shared  in  a  pow- 
erful revival  of  religion  which  extended  to  all  the 
evangelical  churches  of  the  city.     In  the  autumn  of 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


281 


1876  work  was  commenced  on  the  new  building,  which 
by  the  close  of  the  year  was  sufficiently  advanced  to 
allow  the  church  to  hold  its  services  in  the  lecture- 
room,  and  in  June  following  the  completed  house 
was  dedicated.  It  is  a  handsome  structure  of  brick, 
ninety-one  by  fifty-two  feet  in  extreme  outside  dimen- 
sions, tastefully  finished,  and  complete  in  all  its  ap- 
pointments, and  will  long  remain  a  monument  of  the 
zeal  and  devotion  displayed  by  the  church  during  the 
severest  pressure  of  the  trying  period  in  which  it  was' 
erected. 

Of  the  period  of  this  pastorate,  which  still  continues, 
it  is  sufficient  to  add  that  the  church  has  worked  in 
perfect  harmony  with  its  pastor  and  with  each  other, 
and  that  they  look  hopefully  towards  a  future  which 
they  regard  as  being  bright  with  promise,  yet  leaving 
all,  sunshine  or  sliadow,  to  the  control  of  Him  whose 
faithfulne.ss  has  never  failed  them.  During  this  last 
pastorate  there  have  been  baptized  twenty-one,  added 
by  letter  thirty-eight,  and  by  restoration  one.  The 
membership  has  increased  from  one  hundred  and 
seventy  to  one  hundred  and  ninety.  Since  then  the 
membership  has  increased  to  two  hundred  and  ten. 

Summary. — During  the  entire  history  of  the  church 
there  have  been  baptized  511 ;  received  by  letter,  315 ; 
restored,  12;  making  tlie  total  additions  830.  There 
have  been  dismissed  328 ;  died,  102  ;  excluded,  86  ; 
making  a  total  of  516.  The  number  unaccounted  for 
are  those  who,  from  unexplained  absence,  have  been 
"dropped"  at  the  different  revisions  of  the  church 
register. 

The  deacons  of  the  church  have  been  B.  B.  Moore, 
William  S.  Pangborn,  S.  E.  Gibbs,  Arbor  Hoff,  M. 
Decker,  D.  B.  Coles,  E.  M.  Noe,  R.  M.  Crane,  J.  H. 
Wyckotf,  E.  Richardson,  A.  White,  J.  Pierson,  L. 
Hoff,  A.  W.  Williams,  Eli  Pierce,  A.  C.  Watson,  L. 
J.  Runyon,  D.  F.  Coles,  G.  Marsh,  Henry  Watson, 
Joel  Osborn. 

The  clerks  of  the  church  have  been  William  Ross, 
R.  B.  Moore,  A.  E.  Brown,  H.  Holton,  E.  Noe,  M. 
Decker,  I.  M.  Clark,  William  Runyon,  D.  B.  Coles, 
J.  Pierson,  W.  W.  Timmons,  A.  A.  Rice,  L.  Hoff, 
D.  F.  Coles,  James  A.  Wilson,  and  George  WHiite. 

The  following  persons  have  been  licensed  to  preach 
the  gospel :  B.  C.  Morse,  J.  C.  Brittell,  D.  T.  Morrell, 
Ferris  Scott,  David  Haynes,  and  J.  T.  Tingley. 

The  first  Ijoard  of  trustees  consisted  of  Charles  Cox, 
Lewis  Drake,  M.D.,  Joel  Clarkson,  E.  W.  Frazee, 
William  Marsh,  and  Thomas  Ball.  The  present  board 
is  composed  of  J.  L.  Brown,  William  Mershon,  Joel 
Osborn,  D.  F.  Coles,  T.  Thorn,  J.  A.  Wilson,  and  A. 
P.  Barber. 

Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Chiirch.— In  the 
spring  of  1849  thirty-two  members  were  dismissed 
from  the  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Rail- 
way for  the  puriiose  of  forming  a  second  church  in 
the  lower  part  of  the  city.  The  new  organization  took 
the  corporate  name  of  "The  Second  M.  E.  Church  of 
Rah  way,  N.  J."     The  society  enjoyed  the  gratuitous 


services  of  a  number  of  ministers,  local  and  itinerant, 
until  the  presiding  elder.  Rev.  Mr.  Winner,  appointed 
as  a  regular  supply  Rev.  Frank  Bottome,  who  had  a 
short  time  previously  arrived  from  England,  and  who 
has  since  attained  distinction  as  a  member  of  the  New 
York  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Services  were  regularly  held  by  the  new  society  in 
the  old  Athenian  Hall,  since  burned  down,  which 
stood  on  Main  Street  near  the  site  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church.  About  seventy  persons  were  added 
to  tlif  church  during  the  first  year  under  the  labors  of 
the  young  pastor,  and  such  was  the  interest  manifested 
that  a  subscription  was  started  for  the  erection  of  a 
church  building  by  William  M.  Esler  (still  living  and 
a  member  of  the  church),  Henry  Miller,  and  Daniel 
Wood,  trustees. 

At  the  session  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference  of  1850, 
Rev.  A.  L.  Brice  was  appointed  to  the  charge  and  re- 
mained two  years.  During  his  first  year  the  church 
edifice  was  built  upon  the  corner  of  Milton  and  Rail- 
road Avenues  and  Broad  Street.  It  is  of  brick  and 
cost  about  six  thousand  dollars,  a  sum  which  at  that 
day  meant  no  small  sacrifice  and  faith  on  the  part  of 
the  congregation.  During  Mr.  Brice's  second  year 
the  church  was  visited  by  an  earnest  revival. 

In  1852,  Rev.  Fletcher  Lummis  was  appointed  pas- 
tor. He  remained  but  one  year.  Although  a  South- 
erner by  birth,  he  was  a  pronounced  anti-slavery  man 
and  an  uncompromising  advocate  of  temperance. 
Rev.  Henry  M.  Brown  was  appointed  as  his  successor 
in  1853  and  remained  two  years,  his  pastorate  being 
memorable  for  one  of  the  greatest  revivals  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Wil- 
liam E.  Perry  in  1855,  and  in  1856  Rev.  R.  S.  Arndt 
became  the  pastor.  During  his  second  year  (1857) 
the  New  Jersey  Conference  was  divided  into  the  New 
Jersey  and  Newark  Conferences,  the  former  embracing 
all  that  portion  of  the  State  south  of  the  Raritan 
River,  and  bounded  on  the  northwest  by  Lambertville 
on  the  Delaware  River,  and  the  latter  all  the  northern 
part  of  New  Jersey,  with  small  portions  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  New  York  States. 

In  1858-59,  Rev.  John  Scarlett  was  pastor  of  the 
church,  and  during  his  ministry  the  parsonage  adjoin- 
ing the  church  on  Broad  Street  was  built  at  a  cost  of 
about  three  thousand  dollars.  In  1860-61,  Rev.  Thomas 
Walters  was  appointed  to  the  charge.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1862-63  by  Rev.  B.  O.  Parvin,  during  the 
last  year  of  whose  ministry  much  religious  interest  was 
manifested.  Mr.  Parvin  is  still  a  resident  of  Rahway. 
He  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  in  1864  by  Rev.  S. 
H.  Opdyke.  J.  Wesley  Young  became  pastor  in  1865, 
and  remained  two  years.  Much  religious  intere.st  was 
felt  both  in  the  church  and  Sunday-.school,  and  special 
ettbrts  were  made  in  behalf  of  missions. 

Rev.  John  S.  Porter,  D.D.,  was  the  pastor  in  1867, 
'68,  and  '69,  the  pastoral  term  having  been  extended  to 
three  years  as  its  maximum.  During  Mr.  Porter's 
pastorate  the  entrance  to  the  church  was  changed. 


282 


HISTORy   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Originally  the  entrance  was  made  from  what  is  now 
the  basement,  which  is  now  several  feet  below  the 
sidewalk,  but  was  then  several  feet  above  it.  But  the 
improvements  by  the  railroad  company  from  year  to 
year,  and  the  great  improvements  in  grading,  etc.,  by 
the  corporation  necessitated  the  change  of  entrance. 
The  present  sightly  front  was  constructed,  the  interior 
was  remodeled  and  frescoed,  and  the  lecture-room 
beautified.  At  the  reopening  Bishop  James  presided 
in  the  morning,  and  Rev.  William  Corbitt  in  the 
evening. 

In  1870,  Rev.  B.  O.  Parvin  entered  upon  his  second 
pastorate  of  the  church.  Unnsual  religious  interest 
was  manifested  during  a  portion  of  his  third  year 
(1872).  During  several  months  of  this  year  also  the 
pastor  was  not  able  to  conduct  religious  services,  and 
was  as.sisted  by  George  W.  Smith,  then  of  the  Drew 
Theological  Seminary,  but  now  a  member  of  the 
Newark  Conference. 

Under  Rev.  R.  B.  Lockwood,  pastor  in  1873,  an  ex- 
tensive revival  prevailed  and  many  were  added  to  the 
church.  During  the  three  years,  1874,  '75,  and  '76,  of 
Rev.  T.  H.  Landon's  pastorate  "the  interest  of  the 
church  was  well  sustained  and  meetings  profitable." 
In  1877,  Rev.  J.  W.  Seran  was  appointed  pastor ;  he 
remained  two  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  D. 
Halleron,  1879,  '80,  and  '81.  During  these  years  an 
effort  has  been  made  to  discharge  the  debt  upon  the 
church,  and  considerable  progress  has  been  made  in 
that  direction,  although  it  has  not  been  entirely  liqui- 
dated. One  of  the  methods  adopted  has  been  a  course 
of  public  lectures,  which  has  yielded  a  fair  profit  to 
the  society. 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church.— This  parish  was 
organized  in  the  year  1843,  and  the  beautiful  brick 
edifice  erected  on  corner  of  Irving  and  Elm  Streets. 
They  have  also  a  commodious  chapel  and  rectory  be- 
longing to  the  church.  The  valuation  of  the  prop- 
erty is  estimated  about  $30,000;  sittings,  600;  mem- 
bership, 160.  The  following  have  been  the  rectors: 
Revs.  A.  E.  Ford,  1843;  F.  Ogilbey,  1844;  Dr.  Ed- 
mund W.  Peet,  1844-55;  Horace  Hills,  1857;  J.  E. 
Homans,  1861-61  ;  R.  M.  Abercrombie,  1863-74 ;  R. 
G.  Buenel,  a  few  months;  William  H.  Van  Antwerp, 
1874-81 ;  Levi  W.  Norton,  A.M.,  1882.  Senior  War- 
den, Lewis  Drake,  M.D. ;  Junior  Warden,  John  M. 
Tufl's.' 

Church  of  the  Holy  Comforter.— This  Episcopal 
parish  was  organized  in  the  year  1873.  A  few  mem- 
bers residing  in  the  upper  part  of  Rahway,  desir- 
ing to  have  services  regularly,  built  a  neat  edifice, 
naming  it  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Comforter,  on  the 
corner  of  St.  George's  Avenue  and  Seminary  Street. 
The  parish  is  large,  including  Clark  township,  and 
the  prospect  in  a  few  years  of  a  large  congregation. 
Communicants,  thirty ;  sittings,  two  hundred  and 
fifty.    Their  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Mr.  Broadwell,  who 

1  Alter  diligent  application,  the  writer  fnileJ  to  obtain  any  records  of 
this  church. 


remained  a  few  months.     The  present  pastor.  Rev. 
Evelyn  Bartow,  1882. 

Christ's  Reformed  Episcopal  Church.  —  This 
church  was  incorporated  in  1875  by  a  few  of  the 
members  withdrawing  from  St.  Paul's  Church.  They 
have  a  neat  edifice  valued  at  $3500,  with  a  member- 
ship of  50.  The  wardens  are  George  W.  Savage  and 
Jonathan  E.  Hill.  The  following  have  been  their 
pastors:  Revs.  Mason  Gallagher,  1875;  Edward  Wil- 
son, 1876 ;  George  Howel,  1877  :  J.  S.  Harrison,  1880. 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  1858.  They  first  worshiped  in  a  hall  until 
their  frame  edifice  was  erected.  It  cost  some  $7000, 
with  175  pews,  capable  of  holding  600  persons.  It 
is  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  upon  Central 
Avenue  and  Campbell  Street.  The  following  have 
been  the  pastors :  Revs.  Father  McCarthy,  1858-60 ; 
Father  Quin ;  Father  Smith,  D.D.,  1873;  and  the 
present  priest,  Rev.  Father  McCosker,  1880. 

Bethel  Methodist  Church,  situated  on  Central 
Avenue,  was  built  by  colored  Methodists  in  1862. 
Their  society  is  small,  with  a  membership  of  about 

fifty.    Revs.  Joseph  Palard,  J.  J.  Tinman, Howe, 

John  Kamish, Mills,  and  others,  have  been  the 

pastors. 

Zion  Methodist  Church  was  built  for  the  col- 
ored people  in  1S71.  They  have  a  membership  of 
twenty.  Their  edifice,  which  is  neat,  is  located  on 
Main  Street.  The  Rev.  Thomas  Kelsey  and  Samuel 
J.  Berry  have  been  the  ministers.  There  is  a  pros- 
pect of  the  two  cliurches  being  united  as  one  society. 

Free  Methodist  Church.— This  church  was  es- 
tablished abou:  the  year  1874.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Roberts, 
John  T.  Hanland,  and  others  have  supplied  this 
church  with  occasional  preaching.  The  membership 
is  small.  The  church,  which  is  of  brick,  was  formerly 
used  by  the  Universalist  society,  which  has  become  ex- 
tinct ;  sittings,  two  hundred  and  fifty  ;  value  of  build- 
ing, three  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

CITY    OF    UAHWAY.— (CoM(/,N,«/.l 

Cemeteries. — The  oldest  memorial  stone  in  Rah- 
way is  that  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  on  St.  George's  Avenue,  which  bears  the 
following  inscription  : 

"IN   THE   YEAR   \Tii 

JOHN  FRAZEE 
Departed  this  Life,  being  eorty-nine." 
A  large  number  of  memorial  stones  of  early  date 
show  that  the  remains  of  many  members  of  the  Frazee 
family  have  been  interred  here.  It  is  known  that  the 
Frazee  family  were  among  the  original  proprietors  of 
land  on  the  Rahway  River  in  this   vicinity.     It  is 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


283 


probable  that  they  followed  the  example  of  many  of 
the  early  settlers  in  this  community  in  burying  their 
dead  on  their  own  estate.  As  the  interment  of  the 
remains  of  John  Frazee  occurred  eighteen  years  be- 
fore the  building  of  the  church  in  1742,  the  presump- 
tion is  that  this  was  the  Frazee  family  burying-ground 
before  it  became  the  principal  burying-place  of  the 
neighborhood.  The  Frazee  family,  in  its  several 
branches,  may  have  donated  the  same  and  adjoin- 
ing space  to  the  Presbyterian  society  when  about  to 
build,  or  the  land  was  purchased  from  the  family  by 
the  society  for  church  and  burial  purposes. 

There  have  been  at  least  nine  different  purchases  of 
land  by  the  church  added  to  the  original  plot,  making 
an  area,  according  to  the  city  records,  of  thirteen  and 
one-tenth  acres.  The  names  of  persons  making  deeds 
to  the  trustees  for  these  additions,  with  dates  of  in- 
denture and  record,  are  as  follows: 

Oct.  9,  1824.  John  Y.  Vantuyl  made  a  deed  to  the 
trustees  of  the  church  for  one  acre  of  land  he  had  pur- 
chased of  Dr.  David  S.  Craig  and  Joseph  Shotwell, 
executors  of  the  estate  of  John  Anderson,  deceased, 
for  $200.  Deed  recorded  Jan.  11,  1832,  in  Book  I.  3 
of  Deeds  for  Essex  County,  pages  495-90. 

July  17,  1844.  Samuel  Oliver  and  wife  made  a 
deed  for  two  acres  and  forty-four  one-hundredths  for 
$36().50.  Deed  recorded  May  2,  1845,  in  Book  H.  6 
of  Deeds  for  Essex  County,  pages  24-25. 

July  14,  1847.  Samuel  Oliver  and  wife  made  a 
deed  for  one  acre  and  sixty-five  hundredths  for  $300. 
Deed  recorded  July  23,  1847,  in  Book  Q.  6  of  Deeds 
for  Essex  County,  pages  529-30. 

Feb.  26,  1848.  Archer  Miller  and  wife  made  a 
deed  for  lots  Nos.  27  and  28,  as  described  on  map 
made  for  John  High,  Jr.,  and  George  H.  Webb, 
each  25  feet  front  by  120  feet  deep,  for  $170.  Deed 
recorded  Feb.  26,  1848,  in  Book  U.  6  of  Deeds  for 
Essex  County,  pages  39—40. 

June  2,  1853.  Washington  B.  Oliver,  executor  for 
the  estate  of  Samuel  Oliver,  deceased,  made  a  deed 
to  the  trustees  for  three  acres  for  $600.  Deed  re- 
corded Oct.  6,  1853,  in  Book  R.  8  of  Deeds  for  Essex 
County,  pages  344-45. 

March  31,  1854.  Randolph  De  Camp  and  wife  for 
lot  No.  245,  25  by  120  feet,  on  High  and  Webb  map, 
for  $.50.  Deed  recorded  April  18,  1854,  in  Book  X. 
8  of  Deeds,  pages  406-8. 

Sept.  15,  1855.  Moses  T.  Crane  and  wife  made  a 
deed  for  lot  No.  80,  25  by  150  feet,  on  High  and  Webb 
map,  for  $89.  Deed  recorded  Sept.  5,  1855,  in  Book 
213  of  Deeds  for  Essex  County,  pages  481-83. 

Sept.  1,  1862.  Archer  Miller  and  wife  made  a  deed 
for  lots  Nos.  249  and  251  on  High  and  Webb  map,  for 
1800.  Deed  recorded  in  clerk's  office  of  Union  County, 
N.  J.,  Sept.  23,  1862,  in  Book  10  of  Deeds,  pages 
414-15. 

The  land  on  which  the  present  church  and  parson- 
age are  built,  together  with  land  continuing  north  to 
the  Rahway  River,  making  in  all  seventeen  acres,  was 


purchased  Nov.  18,  1830,  from  John  Morris  by  Sam- 
uel Oliver  and  Job  Squier  for  $1800,  and  by  them 
sold  to  the  trustees  of  the  church  for  the  same  they 
gave  for  it.  Deed  made  by  John  Morris,  recorded 
Dec.  3,  1830,  in  Book  E.  3  of  Deeds  for  the  county 
of  Essex,  pages  460-61. 

It  seems  to  have  been  a  question  of  the  past  as  to 
whether  this  place  of  burial  could  not  be  more  efiB- 
ciently  managed  by  private  individuals  or  corporate 
company  than  by  the  trustees  of  the  church.  In  1836 
certain  parties  purchased  several  acres  of  land  con- 
tiguous to  the  church  burial-ground  on  the  west,  and 
offered  lots  in  the  same  for  sale.  This  enterprise  was 
not  successful,  and  the  land  reverted  to  Samuel  Oliver, 
from  whom  it  had  been  purchased.  This  tract  with 
the  several  lots  that  had  been  sold  in  it  was  subse- 
quently purchased  by  the  trustees.  At  a  special 
parish  meeting  held  April  25,  1860,  "  the  trustees 
were  authorized  to  dispose  of  all  their  rights  in  the 
cemetery  belonging  to  the  church  to  any  company 
who  will  purchase  the  same  and  continue  to  use  it  as 
a  cemetery,  and  bind  themselves  to  expend  in  beau- 
tifying and  improving  it  all  the  profits  derived  from 
the  sales  of  lots  for  interment."  This  overture  for 
negotiations,  after  having  been  open  for  four  years, 
was  rescinded  at  a  parish  meeting  April  13,  1864. 

During  the  year  1876  a  neat  cottage,  constructed 
of  material  taken  from  the  side  galleries  removed  from 
the  church,  was  erected  in  the  cemetery,  containing  an 
office  and  waiting-room,  also  a  room  for  storing  all 
the  implements  of  the  sexton.  In  April,  1866,  it  was 
resolved  to  build  the  receiving-vault  located  on  the 
new  ground,  facing  the  entrance  from  High  Street. 

The  Abraham  Clark  Monument. — This  ceme- 
tery has  a  national  sanctity  in  that  it  contains  the 
mortal  remains  of  Abraham  Clark,  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Passing  into 
the  cemetery  through  the  entrance  from  St.  George's 
Avenue,  about  forty  yards  from  the  gate,  then  thirty 
feet  to  the  left,  there  is  an  upright  brown  sandstone, 
with  the  following  inscription : 

"  A.  C. 

In  memory  of 

Abraham  Clark,  Esq. 

who  dieii 

Sept.  15th,  1794. 

In  the  69  year  of  hia  age. 

Firm  aud  decided  as  a  patriot, 

zealous  and  f}iithful  as  a  servant  of  the  public; 

he  loved  liis  country  and  adiiered  to  Iier 

in  the  darkest  hour  of  her  struggles 

against  oppression/' 

In  a  southwesterly  direction  from  the  grave  desig- 
nated by  this  memorial  stone,  where  the  remains 
of  Abraham  Clark  still  repose,  is  the  monument 
erected  to  his  memory  by  the  citizens  of  Rahway  in 
1848.  It  is  a  plain  obelisk  twenty-two  feet  high. 
The  shaft  on  its  east  side  near  the  top,  encircled  with 
a  wreath  of  olive  and  oak,  bears  the  simple  word 
"Clark."     Commencing   with   the  east   face   of  the 


284 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


base  supporting  the  shaft,  thence  passing  around  to 

the  north,  we  have  the  foUowing  inscriptions : 

"  Abraham  Clark, 

born 

at  Rah  way 

15lh  Feb.  1726. 

died 
15th  Sept.  1794. 

Id  private  life 

a  Cliristian, 

exemplary,  consistent,  zealous. 

In  public  life 

a  Statesman  and  patriot. 

In  1775  a  niembur  of  the  First 

Provincial  Congn-es. 

In  1776  one  of  the  Committee  of 

Public  Safety. 

A  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress, 

and  a  signer  of  the 

Declaration  of  Independence. 

Erected 

by  the  citizens  of  Rahway, 

4th  July,  1848." 

The  dedication  of  this  monument  to  its  memorial 
purpose  on  July  4, 1848,  was  characterized  by  a  spon- 
taneous outpouring  of  the  people  of  Rahway  and 
neighboring  towns.  Social,  beneficiary,  and  military 
organizations  of  Rahway,  New  Brunswick,  Elizabeth, 
and  Newark  with  band.s  of  music  made  a  stirring  and 
animated  scene  for  Rahway  as  they  marched  under 
the  direction  of  the  officers  of  the  day  from  the  depot 
to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  where  the  formal 
exercises  were  held.  The  capacity  of  the  church 
was  too  limited  for  this  occasion.  When  the  audience- 
room  was  filled  the  services  were  formally  commenced 
by  Rev.  J.  J.  Janeway,  D.D.,  of  New  Brunswick,  pro- 
nouncing the  invocation.  Rev.  Mr.  Ayres,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  read  the  Declaration  of 
Independence.  Hon.  William  B.  Reed,  of  Philadel 
phia,  was  the  orator  of  the  day.  This  discourse  is 
spoken  of  as  possessing  rare  beauty  and  pertinence, 
clothed  in  a  style  of  singular  purity  and  strength. 
The  leading  thought  of  the  orator  was  "  The  contrast 
between  European  revolutions  and  the  American  Rev- 
olution." Speaking  particularly  of  Abraham  Clark, 
he  in  substance  said, — 

"The  peculiarity  of  liis  career — and  it  is  one  well  worthy  of  medita- 
tion  is  tliat  he  was  a  member  of  tlie  old  Congress  from  first  to  last, 

fi  om  the  day  that  it  asserted  a  substantive  existence  as  tlie  representa- 
tive of  an  independent  nation  till  it  relinquislied  its  trust  on  tlie  forma- 
tion of  the  Federal  Constitution.  Of  the  fifty-one  members  of  the  Con- 
gress of  1776  lie  alone  survived  in  office  in  178:i,  and  rarely,  so  far  as 
can  lie  ascertained  from  the  printed  journal,  was  he  absent  from  liis 

At  the  close  of  the  oration  the  benediction  was  pro- 
nounced by  the  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  of  Plainfield,  when 
the  procession  was  retbrmed  and  proceeded  to  the 
cemetery,  where  the  dedicatory  address  was  made  by 
the  Rev.  Charles  K.  Imbrie.  The  words  of  dedica- 
tion and  the  inspiration  of  tlie  day  were  pointedly 
and  beautifully  expressed  in  the  following  words: 

I  Newark  Daily  Advertiser,  July  6, 1848. 


"  In  the  name  of  the  citizens  of  the  republic,  in  yonr  name,  who 
have  erected  this  structure  (the  citizens  of  tliis  townsliip),  I  dedicate 
this  monument  to  tlie  memory  of  Abraham  Clark.  I  need  not  identify 
him.  Tlie  signatures  of  the  enduring  record  stand  alone  engraved  in 
one  consecrated  tablet  in  the  heart  of  every  American  freemsn.  Let 
that  simple  name,  encircled  by  its  wreath  of  olive  and  oak,  desigoata 
the  man,  record  bis  virtues,  and  proclaim  the  glory  of  the  monument 
which  is  consecrated  to  his  memory." 

"  Let  this  monument  inspire  you  and  your  children  with  patriotism. 
Let  it  fire  our  hearts  witli  a  warmer  devotion  to  our  country  and  of 
gratitude  to  our  God." 

Among  the  quaint  and  admonitory  inscriptions 
found  upon  some  of  the  memorial  stones  we  have  the 
following  specimen  : 

"Mr.  John  Lawrence, 
"Who  November  6tli,  first  drew  his  breath. 
And  October  I6th,  1766,  yielded  to  death. 
From  London  truly  famed  I  came; 
Was  born  in  Stains,  a  place  near  by ; 
In  Rahway  at  old  age  di-l  die. 
And  here  entombed  in  earth  must  lie 
Till  Christ  ye  dead  calls  from  on  high." 

Hazelwood  Cemetery  is  situated  just  west  of 
the  limits  of  the  city  of  Rahway,  itartly  in  Union  and 
partly  in  Middlesex  County,  It  comprises  an  area  of 
about  forty  acres,  very  tastefully  laid  out  by  the  orig- 
inal designer,  William  Saunders. 

The  Hazelwood  Cemetery  Association  was  incor- 
porated in  1859,  under  the  general  act  for  the  incor- 
poration of  rural  cemeteries,  Thomas  H.  Shafer,  Jon- 
athan Woodruff,  Dr.  S.  Abernethy,  Eden  Haydock, 
A.  C.  Watson,  A.  E.  Brown,  Dr.  Lewis  Drake,  Jacob 
R.  Shotwell,  George  W.  Hall,  A.  Stoats  Bonney,  and 
others  being  the  incorporators.  The  articles  of  asso- 
ciation were  filed  Oct.  1,  1859,  and  upon  the  organi- 
zation of  the  association  the  following  officers  were 
chosen  :  Dr.  L.  Drake,  president ;  Joseph  T.  Crowell, 
vice-president;  Joel  Wilson,  secretary  and  treasurer; 
Dr.  L.  Drake,  Thomas  H.  Shafer,  John  H.  Lufberry, 
George  Hartshorne,  Joseph  Gatchell,  Joseph  S. 
Smith,  Joseph  T.  Crowd,  H.  H.  Bowne,  J.  R.  Shot- 
well,  A.  C.  Watson,  George  W.  Savage,  Isaac  Osborn, 
trustees ;  Patrick  Clark,  surveyor  ;  William  Kneilley, 
superintendent. 

Dr.  Drake  still  holds  the  oflficf  of  president  (1882). 
Joseph  T.  Crowell  remained  vice-president  until  1880, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  Hon.  Benjamin  A.  Vail. 
Mr.  Woodruff,  who  was  first  elected  secretary  and 
treasurer,  resigned  at  the  next  meeting,  and  his  place 
was  filled  by  George  F.  Webb,  who  served  until  1861. 
Since  then  the  secretaries  and  treasurers  have  been  aa 
follows  :  Joel  Wilson,  elected  Dec.  30, 1860,  and  served 
from  1861  to  1875;  John  Bowne,  elected  Nov.  30, 
1875,  and  served  till  Nov.  28,  1876,  when  the  present 
secretary  and  treasurer,  Ross  Vanderlioven,  was 
elected.  The  present  surveyor  is  Patrick  Clark.  Ky- 
ren  Tierney,  superintendent. 

The  first  interment  was  made  in  Hazelwood  Ceme- 
tery Jan.  18,  1860.  Up  to  Oct.  31,  1881,  the  number 
of  burials  had  been  eleven  hundred  and  fifteen.  The 
grounds  contain  some  very  fine  iuid  costly  monuments, 
several  of  which  have  been  erected  quite  recently. 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


285 


We  append  the  following  summary  of  facts  regard-  |  is  an  artesian   well-driver  and  resides  in    Newark; 
ing  the  purchase  of  lots,  condensed  from  the  act  of  I  and  Abner  Pierson,  a  carpenter  and  builder,  resides 


incorporation  : 

That  purchasers  of  lots  acquire  not  merely  the  privi- 
lege of  burial,  but  also  the  fee  simple  of  the  ground 
which  they  purchase  ; 

That  they  are  the  sole  proprietors  of  the  cemetery ; 

That  by  their  vote  in  the  election  of  trustees  they 
control  the  government  of  the  institution  ; 

That,  as  all  the  receipts  of  the  institution  must  be 
expended  in  the  purchase,  improvement,  and  preser- 
vation of  the  grounds,  no  speculative  interest  can  con- 
flict with  the  wishes  of  lot-owners  respecting  its  man- 
agement; 

That,  as  all  the  resources  will  be  thus  appropriated, 
either  immediately  or  in  the  ultimate  formation  of  a 
fund,  the  interest  of  which  shall  be  annually  appro- 
priated as  required,  ample  provision  is  made  for  the 
perpetual  embellishment  and  preservation  of  the 
grounds; 

That,  as  the  ground  is  exempt  from  public  taxes 
and  from  liability  for  debt,  and  is  sold  in  lots  which 
are  not  subject  to  assessment  or  annual  charge,  the 
proprietors  can  never  be  forcibly  deprived  of  their 
ground. 

Purchasers  may  choose  from  all  unselected  ground 
not  reserved  for  public  monuments  or  other  special 
uses.  Mounds  and  hills,  and  places  requiring  peculiar 
improvements,  will  be  sold,  however,  only  in  the  forms 
and  dimensions  suggested  by  the  agetits  of  the  insti- 
tution! 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


JOHN    R.   AVERS. 

His  grandfather,  David  Avers,  with  two  brothers, 
emigrated  from  Scotland  about  the  middle  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  and  settled  at  Scotch  Plains,  now 
Union  County,  N.  J.  All  three  served  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  One  of  the  three  subsequently  settled 
at  Metuchen,  but  David  went  over  the  mountain  and 
settled  at  Liberty  Corners,  Somerset  Co.,  where  he 
followed  farming  the  rest  of  his  life.  He  became  in- 
fluential in  that  county,  was  elected  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  was  on  his  way  to  court 
when,  at  about  the  age  of  eighty-five,  in  1815,  he  was 
accidentally  killed  by  the  upsetting  of  his  carriage. 

William,  son  of  Judge  David  Avers,  was  a  farmer 
during  his  active  business  life  at  Basking  Ridge,  in 
the  same  county,  and  there  died  in  1864,  aged  eighty- 
seven.  His  wife  was  Elsey  Burgey,  who  died  in  1857, 
aged  eighty,  and  who  bore  him  the  following  children 
who  grew  to  maturity:  Catherine,  wife  of  Pierson 
CoUyer ;  Eliza,  died  at  eighteen  years  of  age;  John 
R.,  subject  of  this  sketch  ;  Thomas  was  a  master- 
mason,  and  lived  and  died  in  Rahway  ;  David  lived 
and  died  in  Newark,  where  he  kept  a  hotel ;  Samuel 
19 


in  Rahway. 

John  R.  Ayers  started  a  business  life  at  the  age  of 
seventeen  as  an  apprentice  under  Moses  Dodd,  of 
Newark,  to  learn   the  carpenter's  trade.     Becoming 


master  of  his  trade  upon  reaching  his  majority,  he 
came  to  Rahway,  and  superintended  for  his  first  con- 
tract the  building  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
edifice  of  that  place,  which  he  completed  in  1832, 
and  which  subsequently  he  rebuilt,  donating  his  time 
to  the  church.  In  1833  he  formed  a  partnership  with 
Samuel  Williams  as  contractors  and  builders,  which 
continued  for  thirteen  years,  when  the  firm  bought 
out  the  interest  of  Joseph  O.  Lufbery  in  the  saw- 
mill and  lumber  business  established  by  him  in  1827, 
and  formed  a  partnership  with  his  brother,  John  H. 
Lufbery,  in  the  same  business,  under  the  firm-name 
of  Ayers,  Williams  &  Lufbery.  Mr.  Ayers  has  been 
connected  with  this  interest  since,  and  the  firm  for 
several  years  has  been  Ayers  &  Lufbery. 

Mr.  Ayers  began  to  take  quite  an  active  part  in 
politics  during  the  election  of  Andrew  Jackson  for 
President,  and  for  him  cast  his  first  vote.  In  the  fall 
of  1857  Mr.  Ayers  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate 
from  Union  County,  being  the  first  State  senator 
from  the  county  after  its  erection,  aud  served  for  the 
years  1858,  1859,  and  1860. 


28t; 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


During  his  public  life  he  was  an  intimate  friend  of  hundred  workmen  during  many  years  and  up  to  the 
ex-Governor  Haines,  Judge  Campbell,  and  other  in-  breaking  out  of  the  war  with  the  South,  when,  like 
fluential  men  of  the  State,  and  as  a  member  of  the  all  other  Southern  dealers,  he  lost  heavily,  and  his 
committee  on  corporations  reported  the  bill  favoring  business  was  naturally  reduced.  In  1870  he  leased 
the  construction  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  from  ; 


Elizabeth  across  Newark  Bay  to  Communipaw. 

His  wife,  Eveline,  who  died  April  15,  1879,  was  a 
daughter  of  Isaac  Stansbury,  Esq.,  who  for  many 
years  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  Rahway.  His 
children  are  William,  Isaac,  John,  Albert  (inventor 
of  a  patent  sash-holder),  and  Ira. 


WILLIAM    H.  FLATT. 

James  Flatt,  the  grandfather  of  William  H.  Flatt, 
emigrated  from  Scotland  in  his  youth,  and  was  known 
as  "Captain"  Flatt,  because  of  his  occupation,  which 
he  followed  for  many  years.  He  was  proprietor  of  a 
line  of  vessels  plying  on  the  Raritan  River  between 
New  Brunswick  and  New  York. 

After  the  introduction  of  vessels  propelled  by  steam, 
Capt.  Flatt  retired  from  the  transportation  business, 
bought  farming  lands  at  Metuchen,  N.  J.,  and  tilled 
the  same  during  the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  a 
man  of  commanding  presence  and  sterling  integrity. 

Phineas,  son  of  Capt.  Flatt,  married  a  Miss  Mundy, 
of  Metuchen.  Phineas  was  a  wheelwright  by  trade, 
lived  in  Rahway  many  years,  and  died  at  Westfield, 
N.  J.,  in  1879.  His  first  wife  died,  leaving  a  family 
of  six  children,  all  of  whom  died  young  except  Wil- 
liam H.  Flatt,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who  was 
born  at  New  Durham,  N.  J.,  Aug.  25,  1822.  He  had 
but  liiuited  opportunities  for  obtaining  an  education, 
but  he  improved  the  time  allowed  him  during  his 
residence  with  his  grandfather  at  Metuchen,  and  was 
also  able  to  attend  school  for  a  while  in  Rahway.  The 
school-house  which  he  attended  was  on  the  ground 
where  he  afterwards  erected  a  large  carriage  manufac- 
tory. Thus  early  in  his  youth,  with  a  fair  common- 
school  education,  he  commenced  the  conflict  of  life. 
He  had  nothing  but  his  own  willing  hands  and  reso- 
lute heart  in  which  to  trust,  but,  like  many  other 
American  boys,  he  determined  to  dare  and  to  do. 

In  the  carriage-factory  of  Milan  Ross,  of  Rahway, 
he  learned  the  trade  of  body-making,  and  continued 
with  Mr.  Ross  until  he  was  able  to  make  and  sell 
carriage-bodies  on  his  own  account. 

In  1846,  Mr.  Flatt  established  a  factory  for  making 
carriages,  which  proved  successful,  and  resulted  in 
hiserecting  the  large  building  now  occupied  by  Taylor 
&  Bloodgood  in  1882,  and  also  the  large  and  commo- 
dious brick  buildings  now  (1882)  used  by  D.  B.  Dun- 
ham. These  two  buildings,  the  first  used  as  a  factory 
and  the  second  as  a  repository,  enabled  Mr.  Flatt  to 
do  an  extensive  business,  and  he  ranked  among  the 
largest  carriage  manufacturers  in  the  State.  By  the 
establishment  of  repositories  in  the  South  and  in  New 
York  City  his  name  became  generally  known  through- 
out the  Southern  States.     He  employed  about  three 


Tr^-/^'M^ 


his  factory  to  Miller  Bros.,  and  his  repository  to  D.  B. 
Dunham,  but  during  this  time  he  had  erected  several 
buildings,  among  them  the  large  brick  structure  on 
the  corner  of  Irving  and  Cherry  Streets. 

Mr.  Flatt  contributed  liberally  to  the  public  im- 
provements of  Rahway,  and  was  always  ready  to  help 
those  who  were  trying  to  do  for  themselves.  Although 
of  a  retiring  disposition,  he  was  esteemed  and  be- 
loved. He  was  noted  for  maintaining  an  honest, 
sterling.  Christian  character,  and  from  early  manhood 
was  a  consistent  member  of  the  church  ;  and  at  the 
time  of  his  decease,  Oct.  11, 1878,  he  was  a  member  of 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Rahway. 

Mr.  Flatt  married,  Oct.  14,  1846,  Caroline,  daughter 
of  Vincent  and  Thomazine  (Lancefield)  Keeler,  of 
Canterbury,  County  Kent,  England,  whose  parents 
came  to  America  with  a  family  of  eight  children,  and 
settled  in  Woodbridge,  N.  J. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Flatt  had  four  children,  three  daugh- 
ters and  one  son. 


HON.   JOSEPH    W.    SAVAGE. 

The  Savage  family  has  an  illustrious  ancestry  on 
both  the  paternal  and  maternal  side.  The  following 
is  copied  from  Burke's  Peerage,  viz. : 


^^ft^^ 


Jlnrz^yC^ 


i 


CITY    OF    RAHWAY. 


287 


"The  family  uf  Swvage  is  very  ancient.  Sir. John  Savage  was  engaged 
(with  Kdward  1.,  king  of  England)  at  tlie  memorable  siege  of  Carlaver- 
ock,  in  Scotland,  and  tliere  for  bis  signal  service  was,  witli  his  brother 
Thomas,  created  kniglit  baronet. 

"Sir  Jolin  Savage  (ancestor  of  tlie  Earl  of  Rivers)  commanded  the 
left  wing  of  the  Rai  1  of  Richmond's  army  at  Bosworth  Field,  and  was 
afterwards  made  Knight  of  the  Garter  by  Henry  VII.,  king  of  England. 

''Thomas  Savage,  one  of  the  descendants,  went,  in  the  year  1635  A.D. 
(with  Sir  Henry  Vane  anil  several  persons  of  rank  and  family),  to  New 
England,  whore  he  became  S|ieaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
representing  Boston  for  eight  years,  being  major  of  artillery,  and  in  the 
earlier  pai  t  of  Philip's  war  was  commander-in-chjef  of  the  forces." 

Samuel  Phillips  Savage,  one  of  his  sons,  was  a  na- 
tive of  Boston,  presided  at  the  meeting  held  in  Boston, 
1773,  which  decided  that  the  tea  should  not  be  landed ; 
he  held  various  public  offices,  and  was  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  died  at  a  good  old  age 
about  1790. 

Maj.  Joseph  Savage,  of  the  Revolutionary  army, 
was  one  of  his  sons,  while  Samuel  A.  Savage,  father 
of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  son  of  Maj.  Savage. 

"  The  Savages  of  Cheshire,  in  England,  are  men- 
tioned by  Wingfield  Yorks  Herald  among  the  few 
distinguished  houses  that  are  by  prescription  right 
entitled  to  use  supporters  to  their  coat  of  arms.  The 
supporters  of  this  family  are  a  falcon  billed  and  a 
unicorn  arg,  as  they  now  appear  on  the  monument 
of  Sir  John  Savage,  of  Rock  Savage,  in  the  same 
chapel,  at  the  side  of  the  old  church  at  Macclesfield, 
County  Chester.  This  Sir  John  Savage  was  grand- 
father of  Thomas  Lord  Viscount  Savage,  and  great- 
great-grandfather  of  John  Savage,  first  Earl  of 
Rivers. 

"  The  Savage  chapel  at  Macclesfield  was  erected  by 
Thomas  Savage,  Bishop  of  Rochester  in  1492,  Bishop 
of  London  in  1497,  and  Archbishop  of  York  in  1501, 
brother  of  John  Savage,  K.G.,  and  nephew  of  Thomas 
Stanley,  first  Earl  of  Derby,  and  it  was  for  many  years 
the  burial-place  of  the  Savage  family." — 2d  vol. 
Burke's  Landed  Oeniry,  Corrigenda,  page  424. 

His  grandfather,  Maj.  Joseph  Savage,  resided  in 
Berwick,  Me.,  was  an  officer  in  the  heavy  artillery 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  was  stationed  for  a 
while  at  West  Point,  thence  ordered  to  Savannah,  Ga., 
to  build  a  block  fort,  and  commanded  one  portion  of 
the  heavy  artillery  at  the  battle  of  Yorktown.  He 
was  a  man  of  fine  physique,  commanding  appearance, 
and  well  fitted  for  an  officer  in  the  army,  and  an  in- 
timate friend  of  Gen.  Washington.  His  sons  were 
all  seafaring  men  and  commanded  their  vessels.  Sam- 
uel A.  Savage,  father  of  our  subject,  born  at  West 
Point,  Oct.  29,  1789,  was  a  merchant  at  Highland 
Falls,  near  West  Point,  and  in  New  York  City  during 
most  of  his  active  business  life,  and  died  in  1830. 
His  mother,  Latitia,  daughter  of  Philip  Webber,  of 
New  York,  whose  ancestors  were  among  its  original 
Dutch  settlers  from  Amsterdam.  Wolford  Webber, 
born  in  Holland  in  1G04,  came  to  New  York  in  1649. 
She  was  born  Feb.  11,  1787,  and  died  in  March,  1879. 
Their  children  are  Joseph  \V^,  subject  of  this  sketch  ; 
Susan  Maria,  now  Mrs.  Freeman,  of  Rahway,  N.  J. ;  I 


and  George  W.,  a  resident  of  Rahway,  who  was  pres- 
ident for  some  time  of  the  Board  of  Fire  Underwri- 
ters of  New  York,  president  of  the  International  In- 
surance Company  of  New  York,  and  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Union  County, 
N.J. 

Joseph  W.  Savage  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  Aug.  5,  1812,  and  received  a  good  English  and 
classical  education  in  the  best  private  schools  of  the 
city.  Naturally  active  and  energetic,  before  reach- 
ing his  majority  he  was  a  clerk  for  a  ship-broker  in 
Wall  Street,  and  also  a  clerk  in  different  dry-goods 
houses  there.  He  had  early  in  life  taken  an  active 
part  in  local  public  matters,  and  while  yet  under  age 
was  a  candidate  on  a  general  ticket  for  the  Assembly, 
and  defeated  by  only  twelve  votes.  In  1833  he  ob- 
tained from  the  State  Legislature  a  charter  for  the 
National  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  for  several 
years  served  as  secretary  and  subsequently  as  its  presi- 
dent. While  connected  with  this  company  he  was 
the  first  man  to  send  out  agents  to  establish  branch 
offices  and  examine  into  the  risks  taken  by  the  dif- 
ferent agencies. 

He  was  also  president  of  the  Eagle  Life  and 
Health  Insurance  Company  of  New  Jersey  for  several 
years.  Mr.  Savage  was  elected  one  of  the  alms  com- 
missioners of  New  York  about  1853,  and  in  1854  he 
was  elected  from  the  Twelfth  Ward,  on  the  Whig 
ticket,  to  the  State  Legislature,  where  his  opposition 
to  the  use  of  the  public  school  moneys  for  sectarian 
schools  was  felt  by  the  advocates  of  that  measure, 
and  when,  upon  his  own  resolution,  "  Resolved,  That 
our  representatives  in  Congress  be  requested  to  vote 
for  the  purchase  of  Mount  Vernon,"  he  made  the  fol- 
lowing speech  in  the  House,  that  gave  the  influence 
of  the  New  York  Legislature  to  that  measure  before 
Congress  : 

"  Mr.  Savage,  of  New  York,  called  np  his  resolution  and  said,  He 
earne>tly  hoped  that  this  resolution  would  be  adopted  by  the  House 
without  a  diseenting  voice.  The  subject  is  one  of  deep  interest  to  every 
man  wlio  first  drew  his  breath  on  Am-'rican  soil.  Sir,  it  was  beautifully 
said  of  Washington  that  'God  made  him  childless  that  the  nation 
might  call  him  lather.'  Mount  Veruon  was  his  home,  it  is  now  bis 
grave.  How  fitting  then  it  is  that  we  his  children  should  be  the  owners 
of  the  homestead,  and  of  our  father's  sepulchre.  No  stranger's  money 
should  buy  it,  and  no  stranger's  hand  should  drive  the  plowshare 
over  ashes  sacred  to  every  American.  No  mere  individual  is  worthy  to 
be  the  owner  of  a  spot  enriched  with  such  hallowed  nieinories.  The 
mortal  remains  ..f  the  nation's  idol  should  not  be  subject  to  the  whim, 
caprice,  or  cupidity  of  any  mau.  These  memorials  are  national  and  to 
the  nation  they  should  belong,  and  it  is  the  duty  of  every  citizen  to 
guard  them  from  violence  and  dishonor.  Sir,  no  monument  has  ever 
been  erected  over  the  grave  of  Washington.  He  needs  none  but  that 
which  rises  in  mt^'-stic  grandeur  before  the  gaze  of  the  world  in  the 
existence  of  this  great  republic,  with  its  millions  of  people  rejoicing  in 
the  light  and  liberty  of  a  free  government.  While  the  stare  andstiipes, 
waving  above  every  capital,  shall  symbolize  our  National  Union,  will  any 
ask  whore  is  the  monument  to  Washiiigtou?  I  believe,  sir,  that  his 
name  will  prove  more  lasting  than  marble  or  brass.  When  every  struc- 
ture which  filial  love  and  gmtitnde  may  erect  shall  have  crumbled  to 
dust,  the  fame  of  our  patriot  father  will  still  remain  the  theme  of  study 
and  admiration. 

"  There  has  been  but  one  Washington,  and  God  in  His  goodness  gave 
him  to  us.  Let  us  clierish  bis  dust  and  revere  his  nieniory.  Let  us 
together  own  his  veuerated  mansion  and  tomb.    Let  the  youth  of  our 


288 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


nation  make  pilghmageH  to  tlie  sacred  sput  and  slake  the  tliirst  of  uti- 
halliiwed  am1>itJon  at  the  well  where  Washington  was  wont  to  draw, 
and  when  patriutisoi  declines  let  the  vestals  of  lil>erty  rekindle  the 
flame  at  the  fireside  of  the  uatinn's  siie  Tlnis,  sir,  may  we  do  much  to 
keep  alive  tliroujili  successive  generations  that  patriotic  fire  which 
burns  in  tile  heart  of  every  true  Anieiican.  Sir,  no  man  can  read  the 
life  of  Washington  without  rising  up  from  the  task  a  better  man;  nor 
can  a  freeman  step  withiti  the  sacred  preciiicta  of  Mount  Vernon  and 
not  feel  the  power  of  those  associations  which  environ  him.  The 
trouliled  sea  of  passion  in  liis  sonl  suhsides,  atnl  he  seems  to  hear  a  voice 
whispering  to  his  spirit,  '  Peace,  be  still,  for  Washington  lies  here/ 
Who  could  viMit  the  farm  of  Washin^rton  and  not  experience  a  new 
thrill  of  patriotism,  or  who,  without  a  new  incentive  to  love  bis  country, 
could  ramble  through  that  garden,  stand  in  the  hall  where  lieroea  of  the 
Revolution  weie  welcomed  and  refreshed,  sit  down  lu  the  library  where 
Washington  studied  and  meditated,  and  beliuld  the  chamber  in  which 
be  slept  and  died  ? 

"Sir,  I  am  no  prophet.  But  when  from  such  sacred  memories  as 
these  I  turn  to  view  the  opposite  picture  the  veil  of  futurity  seems  to  be 
lifted.  I  will  suppose  that  this  opportunity  is  unimproved.  That 
cherished  inheritance  which  with  characteristic  pntriotism  the  family 
of  Washington  now  offer  to  their  country  is  forfeited  to  pareiniony. 
Tliat  family  pass  away  and  with  it  the  last  hope  of  securing  this  pecu- 
liartieasure.  The  heritage  enshrined  in  the  hearts  of  millions  is  the 
subject  of  speculation.  Mammon,  the  earth-ruling  demon,  flaps  his 
dark  wings  over  the  ctuisecrated  i-pot,  and  dooms  it  to  his  most  accursed 
uses.  It  becomes  the  resort  of  the  idle,  a  den  of  gamblers  anti  inebri- 
ates. But,  sir,  I  forbear;  I  can  pursue  this  picture  no  further.  If  such 
desecration  is  to  befall  the  home  and  the  grave  of  Washington,  then  let 
the  curtain  fall  which  hides  the  future  from  my  view  ;  that  day  of  shame 
I  pray  not  to  see. 

"  It  needs  no  prophet's  eye  to  scan  along  the  line  of  time  the  majestic 
outline  of  our  nation's  destiny,  when  the  fruits  of  our  free  government 
shall  be  more  and  more  developed  until  tiiis  vast  contineut  shall  be 
peopled  with  freedom  from  sea  to  sea,  wlien  the  fame  of  the  nation 
shall  reach  the  farthest  islands  and  shores,  when  our  star  of  empire,  ra- 
diant with  the  beams  of  liberty,  shall  have  grown  to  such  magnitude 
as  to  attract  the  eyes  and  guide  the  steps  of  all  nations,  and  when  some 
Queen  of  Sheba  shall  come  over  >eas  and  continents  to  behold  our 
greatness  and  see  the  liappy  results  of  the  wisdom  of  Washington,  then, 
sir,  will  Mount  Vernon  be  sought,  and  thousands  now  unliorn  will  wish 
to  kiss  the  earth  which  cradled  and  which  now  covers  the  Father  of  his 
Country.  How  will  we  appear  in  that  miilenial  day  of  our  nation's 
destiny,  when,  if  it  shall  be  truly  recorded,  that  the  most  sacred  spot 
which  God  committed  to  our  custody  was  thrown  away  a  sacrifice  to 
parsimony,  or  some  fashionable  fine-spun  theories  with  which  true 
patriotism  has  no  fellowsiiip?  Will  not  every  American  bhn-h  with 
shame,  and  wi.sh  tliat  he  could  cover  from  the  gaze  of  nations  so  dark  a 
blot  on  the  page  of  our  history? 

"  Sir,  shall  no  spot  be  held  sacred  by  Americans?  Have  we  no  rever- 
ence for  the  symbols  of  ilepurted  greatness?  True,  there  are  monu- 
ments at  Bunker  Hill  and  Baltimore;  we  have  here  and  tlierea  national 
memento.  The  curious  can  yet  trace  the  crumbling  ramparts  and  the 
remains  of  hasty  breastworks,  behind  which  the  stout  hearts  of  our 
forefathers  beat  with  patriotic  zeal,  and  over  which  they  dealt  dismay 
and  death  til  our  enemies.  But,  sir,  as  we  have  been  reminded  by  our 
Governor,  these  memorials  like  oui  selves  are  fust  passing  away.  Let  us 
then  secure  this  honored  patrimony.  Let  Mount  Vernon  be  the  per- 
petual memento  of  our  country's  great  deliverance,  and  let  the  rever- 
ence with  which  it  is  regarded  be  the  token  of  our  gmtitude.  And 
when  in  ages  hence  the  banks  of  the  silvery  Potomac  shall  resound  as 
now  with  the  b>-ll  of  the  passing  vessel,  uttering  its  tribute  to  the  mem- 
ory of  Wa-hington,  and  the  flag  at  the  mastliead  shall  humbly  dioop, 
add  the  mariner  stand  uncovered  in  honor  of  the  sacred  spot,  let  future 
generatiiius  learn  the  lesson  of  gratitude  and  patriotism  which  these 
tokens  shall  daily  recite  at  Mount  Vernon." 

Returning  to  New  York  he  was  made  pre.sident  of 
the  Knickerbocker  Bank,  and  vice-president  of  the 
Knickerbocker  Life  Insurance  Company  and  St. 
Nicholas  Fire  Insurance  Company. 

In  1854  he  was  Whig  candidate  in  tlie  Syracuse 
Convention  for  Governor,  but  was  defeated  by  Myron 
H.  Clark  by  only  some  two  or  three  votes,  who  was 
nominated  in  the  interest  of  making  W.  H.  Seward 


j  United  States   senator.     He  was  then  tendered  the 

!  nomination  for  Lieutenant-Governor,  which,  however, 

;  he  declined.     He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commis- 

.  sion  by  the  controller  of  the  State  of  New  York,  and 

acted  as  chairman,  to-examine  into  all  of  the  assets, 

I  etc.,  of  all  insurance  companies  in  New  York  City. 

j  In  1855,  Mr.  Savage  settled  in  Rahway,  N.  J.,  and 

organized    the   State    Fire    Insurance   Company,   of 

which  he  was  president  for  several  years,  until  ill 

[  health  compelled  him  to  resign.     Upon  the  occasion 

of  the  acceptance  of  his  resignation  of  the  presidency 

j  he  was  presented  with  a  handsome  silver  plate  as  a 

token  of  appreciation  for  his  eiBcient  services  while  the 

incumbent  of  that  office. 

!       In  1860  he  purchased  sixty-five  acres  of  land  within 

I  the  2'resent  city  limits  of  Rahway,  built  his  present 

substantial  residence,  and  laid  out  the  surrounding 

j  grounds  with  such  taste  as  to  make  the  location  one 

i  of  the  most  desirable  for  a  residence.     Here  he  has 

lived  ever  since,  his  time  being  largely  spent  in  the 

care  of  his  property. 

Since  the  organization  of  Rahway  as  a  city  he  has 
served  several  years  in  its  Common  Council,  was  its 
third  mayor,  and  was  also  elected  and  served  in  1880 
and  1881. 

While  a  member  of  its  Common  Council  he  strongly 
opposed  the  lavish  expenditure  of  money  by  the  city 
in  extending  its  boundaries  and  in  laying  out  and  im- 
proving streets,  which  has  placed  so  large  a  debt  upon 
its  taxable  property. 

Mr.  Savage  is  a  man  of  keen  perception,  broad 
ideas,  and  great  earnestness  in  his  advocacy  of  any 
measure  which  he  undertakes  to  carry  forward  to  a 
successful  issue,  and  his  ability  in  the  discussion  and 
presentation  of  topics  of  importance  have  on  many 
occasions  received  favorable  comments  from  the  press 
of  the  country.  In  his  nomination  of  Gen.  Scott  in  the 
New  York  Convention  in  1861  for  the  Pre.«idency  of 
the  United  States,  and  upon  invitation  his  lecture  on 
the  "  Resources  of  New  Jersey,"  delivered  in  Jersey 
City,  and  also  in  the  assembly-room  of  the  Capitol  at 
Trenton,  evidence  is  given  of  a  clear  mind,  and  one 
well  stored  with  u.seful  knowledge. 

His  first  wife,  Caroline,  daughter  of  Francis  Child 
a  lawyer  in  New  York,  bore  him  the  following  chil- 
dren :  Josephine,  deceased,  and  Francis.  His  second 
wife,  Sarah  F.  Pike,  of  New  Y'ork,  bore  him  seven 
children,— Joseph  W.,  Jr.,  Walter  P.,  Charlotte  E., 
Lavinia,  Latitia  W.,  John  M.,  and  Sarah  F.  His 
present  wife  is  Frances  C.  Parcells,  a  native  of  New 
York  City. 


WILLIAM    MERSHON. 

The  Mershon  family  are  of  Norman  origin,  and 
were  among  the  early  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of  Tren- 
ton. Deeds  and  other  papers  are  in  the  possession  of 
Samuel  D.  Mershon,  the  father  of  William,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  showing  conveyances  of  land  in 


<- -^ 


^\ 


CA/Vv-    '  Vi)  (       U 


^ /vaW  , 


CITY    OF   RAHWAY. 


289 


1708  to  Henry  Mershon  in  the  township  of  Maiden- 
head (now  Lawrence),  Hunterdon  County,  and  Henry 
to  Benjamin  Merslion  in  ITOl  in  the  same  vicinity. 
This  Benjamin  Mershon  was  the  great-grandfather  of 
William,  and  resided  on  the  present  homestead  in  the 
township  of  Lawrence,  Mercer  County.  At  the  age  of 
eighteen  William  Mershon  went  to  Philadelphia,  and 
for  three  years  was  a  clerk  in  a  wholesale  dry-goods 
house  there,  leaving  it  in  June,  1848,  for  a  situation 
with  a  firm  in  the  same  city  dealing  in  coal.  In  July, 
1852,  he  accepted  a  situation  offered  him  by  Messrs.  A. 
Pardee  &  Co.  in  their  New  York  office,  a  firm  which 
for  nearly  half  a  century  has  been  very  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  mining  of  anthracite  coal  and  manufac- 
turing of  pig-iron;  was  made  their  general  agent  at 
New  York  Jan.  1,  1856,  and  still  fills  the  position, 
having  held  it  for  a  period  now  over  twenty-six  years. 
Mr.  Mershon  has  been  married  three  times,  moved 
to  Rahway  in  1862,  and  continues  to  reside  there. 


WILLIAM    CRANE   SQUIER. 

Ellis  Squier  resided  in  Suffolk  County,  Long  Island, 
where  he  reared  a  family  of  fifteen  children.  The 
place  of  his  residence  is  still  called  Squiertown.  In 
1687  his  son,  Ellis  Squier,  came  to  New  Jersey,  and  re- 
sided in  the  borough  of  Elizabethtown,  and  his  son 
Benjamin  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  old  West 
field  neighborhood,  and  resided  there  in  1699.  Thomas 
Squier,  son  of  Benjamin,  resided  in  Westfield,  and 
owned  some  four  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  was 
divided  among  his  sons  at  his  death.  One  son,  John, 
grandfather  of  our  sijbject,  born  Dec.  10,  1730,  suc- 
ceeded to  a  part  of  the  homestead,  where  he  resided 
during  his  life,  and  where  he  died  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  His  wife,  Hannah  Clark,  born  May  19, 
1735,  was  a  cousin  of  Abraham  Clark,  the  New  Jer- 
sey signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  sur- 
vived her  husband,  and  was  twice  married  afterward, 
dying  in  Rahway.  The  children  of  John  Squier 
were  Daniel,  born  Oct.  19,  1755,  was  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  took  a  prize  from  the  British ;  Abra- 
ham, born  Jan.  26,  1758,  a  privateer  on  the  high  seas 
during  the  same  war,  was  captured  by  a  British 
cruiser  and  confined  in  the  Old  Sugar-House  Prison 
in  New  York  City,  where  he  died.  While  in  confine- 
ment there  he  sent  his  Bible  to  his  sister  Letitia,  and 
the  book  is  in  1882  in  the  possession  of  the  subject 
of  this  sketch.  John,  born  July  22,  1860,  succeeded 
to  the  homestead,  which  remained  in  the  family  until 
1880;  Rebecca,  born  Oct.  6,  1763;  Jonathan,  born 
May  15,  1766;  Letitia,  born  Sept.  28,  1768;  Recom- 
pence,  born  Feb.  24,  1771  ;  and  Hannah,  born  Aug.  6. 
1774.  The  father  of  these  children  was  captured  by 
the  British  at  his  own  house  during  the  war,  together 
with  his  sons,  who  were  released,  and  he  was  taken 
to  Elizabethtown,  where  he  was  very  soon  afterward 
also  released  and  allowed  to  return  home. 

Jonathan,   fourth  son  of  John  Squier,  owned  and 


resided  on  a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres,  now  com- 
prising the  western  jiart  of  the  city  of  Rahway.  He 
established  the  manufacture  of  hats  and  clothing  in 
Rahway  about  1800,  and  did  a  large  busine.ss  in  the 
Southern  States,  as  well  as  at  home,  having  branch 
houses  in  New  Orleans,  Mobile,  Columbia,  S.  C,  and 
Augusta,  Ga.  His  wife,  Hannah  Crane,  born  May 
31,  1771,  was  a  great-great-granddaughter  of  Stephen 
Crane,  who  came  over  on  the  "  Caledonia"  from  Eng- 
land, and  was  a  niece  of  Gen.  William  Crane,  of 
Elizabeth,  who  was  a  distinguished  officer  in  the 
Revolutionary  war.  Their  children  are  John,  born 
Aug.  31,  1794;  Job,  born  Oct.  20,  1796,  succeeded  to 
his  father's  business  in  New  Orleans  and  Columbia, 
where  he  was  a  merchant  for  many  years ;  Eliza, 
born  Sept.  21,  1799  ;  David,  born  April  14,  1805,  was 
a  farmer  in  Rahway  ;  Nancy,  born  Nov.  18,  1806, 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  ;  Jane,  born  Jan.  14, 1809, 
became  the  wife  of  Jacob  G.  Crane,  of  Elizabeth  ;  and 
William  C,  born  Jan.  8,  1812. 

William  C,  youngest  son  of  Jonathan  and  Hannah 
Squier,  attended  school  in  Rahway  during  his  boy- 
hood, was  prepared  for  college  at  Princeton,  and  en- 
tered the  University  of  New  York  City.  In  1834  he 
determined  to  discontinue  his  studies  and  lead  a 
business  life.  He  therefore  set  out  for  New  Orleans, 
which  he  reached  by  stage-coach  after  a  tedious  jour- 
ney of  fifteen  days  and  nights,  and  at  once  became  a 
partner  with  his  brother  Job  in  the  wholesale  clothing 
business,  where  he  remained  until  1846,  and  returned 
to  Rahway.  In  1852,  Mr.  Squier  formed  a  partnership 
in  the  city  of  New  York  with  Richard  H.  Manning, 
of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  the  firm  of  "  Manning  & 
Squier"  were  sales  agents  for  the  New  Jersey  Zinc 
Company  until  1854,  when  they  organized  the  "  Pas- 
saic Zinc  Company,"  and  began  the  manufacture  of 
zinc  in  Jersey  City.  Mr.  Squier  acted  as  president  of 
this  company  from  its  organization  until  1875,  when 
he  resigned  the  duties  of  the  office,  and  Mr.  Man- 
ning has  served  as  secretary  and  treasurer  until  the 
present  time  (1882). 

Messrs.  Squier  &  Manning  control  the  majority  of 
the  stock  of  the  company,  which  owns  part  of  the  red 
oxide  of  zinc  mines  at  Ogdensburg,  Sussex  Co., 
N.  J.,  and  the  carbonate  of  zinc  mines  in  Union 
County,  Tenn.  The  business  of  this  company  has 
rapidly  increased,  which  from  a  small  beginning  now 
manufactures  ten  tons  of  metallic  zinc  and  nine  tons 
of  oxide  of  zinc  per  day,  employing  some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  men  at  the  manufactory  in  Jersey  City  and 
seventy-five  men  at  the  mines. 

The  Stirling  Hill  Mine  at  Ogdensburgh,  and  the 
Mine  Hill  Mine,  two  miles  northeast  of  Stirling  Hill, 
are  the  only  red  oxide  of  zinc  mines  known  in  the 
world,  and  both  were  owned  by  Lord  Stirling  before 
the  Revolutionary  war.  He  sunk  several  shafts  upon 
the  veins,  but  never  utilized  any  of  the  ores. 

Mr.  Squier  has  taken  an  active  interest  in  the  local 
enterprises  where  he  has  resided,  and  while  u  resident 


290 


HISTOKV    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


of  New  Orleans  was  a  director  of  the  Commercial 
Bank  and  of  tlie  Exchange  Bank  of  that  city,  of  the 
Western  Marine  Insurance  Company  and  of  the  State 
Insurance  Company.  He  was  a  director  of  tlie  Far- 
mers' and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Rahway  for  many  years, 
president  of  tlie  •savings-bank  since  its  organization, 
one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  Rahway  Public  Library, 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  a  life-jncmber  of  the  State  Historical  Society. 
The  Squier  family  were  formerly  identified  with  the 
old  Whig  party,  and  latergenerations  are  Republicans. 

He  has  kept  aloof  from  public  place,  never  solicited 
political  office,  and  never  held  any,  but  has  spent  an 
active  life  devoted  to  business  pursuits.  His  wife, 
Catherine,  whom  he  married  Nov.  8, 1841,  is  a  daughter 
of  the  late  Or.  David  Stewart  Craig,  for  many  years  a 
prominent  physician  in  Rahway,  and  a  great-great- 
granddaughter  of  Dr.  David  Stewart,  who  came  from 
Scotland  on  the  "  Caledonia,"  and  was  the  first  prac- 
ticing physician  in  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  where  he  died. 

Mr.  Squier  has  five  sons, — Stewart  C,  in  business 
with  his  father,  William  C,  Jr.,  Charles  B.,  Edwin 
M.,  and  Frederick.  The  last  three  are  also  engaged 
in  the  zinc  industry  with  their  father. 

Relating  to  the  "Caledonia,"  sometimes  called 
the  "  Mayflower"  of  New  Jersey,  Thomas  O.  Crane, 
a  former  resident  of  Rahway,  given  to  antiquarian 
research,  who  died  at  an  advanced  age,  has  left  the 
following  written  narrative: 

"  I  had  this  morning,  April  28,  1818,  from  James 
Crane,  who  had  it  from  Alderman  William  Miller,  a 
pious  man,  a  millstone-cutter,  who  lived  to  a  great 
age,  and  was  well  acquainted  with  Stephen  Crane,  one 
of  the  first  of  the  name  who  came  to  this  town  (Eliza- 
beth Town),  and  related  it  to  said  Miller. 

"  In  the  reign  of ,  when  the  Protestants  were  per- 
secuted by  the  Papists,  a  number  in  the  west  of  England 
and  Wales  resolved,  if  they  could,  toescapeto  the  wilds 
of  America.  The  wreck  of  the  ship  'Caledonia'  lay 
sunk  at  the  shore.  Some  of  the  proprietors  and  others 
concerted  a  plan  and  agreed  to  raise  her  and  fit  her 
for  the  voyage.  With  the  help  of  two  pumps  and  sev- 
eral hundred  buckets  they  freed  her  of  water  and 
stopped  the  leak,  and  fitted  her  out  in  the  night-time; 
and  one  hundred  and  thirteen  went  on  board  and  set 
sail  in  the  night-time  for  fear  of  detection,  and  in  the 
morning  Providence  so  ordered  it  that  a  thick  fog  arose 
between  her  and  the  land  so  that  they  escaped.  They 
had  fair  winds  and  weather  all  the  passage  till  they 
arrived  on  the  shoals  of  Amboy,  when  she  leaked  so 
that  the  pumps  would  not  free  her,  and  she  sank,  but 
all  escaped  safe  to  land  and  dispersed  among  the 
Indians.  Stephen  Crane  with  others  settled  at  Eliza- 
beth Town.  He  was  a  man  of  note  and  one  of  the 
first  Associates.  He  married  a  Danish  woman  with 
red  hair,  by  whom  he  had  several  children." 


JOHN    C.    DENMAN, 

the  progenitor  of  the  Denman  family,  from  whom 
the  subject  of  this  sketch  was  descended,  settled  on 
Long  Island,  from  England,  in  1667.  His  son,  John 
Denman,  came  from  Southampton,  L.  I.,  and  settled 
back  "  west  in  the  fields,"  now  called  Westfield,  and 


was  one  of  the  Elizabethtown  Association  in  1699, 
and  was  among  the  early  Episcopalians  of  the  bor- 
ough of  Elizabethtown.  John  Denman,  Jr.,  settled 
on  one  hundred  acres  of  land  in  Westfield,  now  the 
township  of  Cranford,  in  1723,  and  this  property  has 
been  successively  owned  by  his  descendants  in  direct 
line  to  the  present  time  (1882).  He  died  in  March, 
1776,  leaving  children, — John,  Joseph,  Daniel,  Chris- 
topher, Mary,  and  Jennie,  of  whom  Christopher  suc- 
ceeded to  the  homestead  ;  was  born  March  5,  1741, 
and  died  Oct.  21, 1808.  His  wife,  Abigail  Hendricks, 
bore  him  the  following  children  :  Susanna,  Anna, 
Abigail,  John,  Huldah,  and  Mary.  Of  these  chil- 
dren, John  succeeded  to  the  homestead,  where  he  was 
born  Feb.  28,  1782,  and  died  Sept.  25,  1849.  He  was 
a  farmer  and  a  representative  business  man,  being 
widely  known  throughout  the  State.  A  sketch  of  his 
life  will  be  found  on  another  page  of  this  work.  His 
wife,  Lockey,  died  July  30,  1875.  The  Denman  fam- 
ily were  members  and  attendants  of  the  Episcopal 
Church  at  Elizabethtown  until  the  Revolutionary 
war,  when  that  church  was  closed,  and  afterwards  of 
the  West  Presbyterian  Church  at  Wcstficlil.  .\.  .1. 


H'l]llJlllll(ll/"^^£^ 


CITY    OF   EAHWAY. 


i91 


John  Christopher,  son  of  John  and  Lockey  Den- 
man,  was  born  on  the  homestead  Nov.  17,  1815.  His 
early  education  was  received  at  the  scliool  in  his  na- 
tive place  at  the  Rahway  Athenian  Academy.  At  the 
age  of  sixteen  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  carriage- 
making  with  Charles  Hedenberg,  a  large  manufac- 
turer in  Newark,  N.  J.,  in  whose  service  he  became 
conversant  with  the  manufacture  of  all  kinds  of  car- 
riages, and  there  laid  the  foundation  for  his  subsequent 
remarkable  and  successful  career  as  a  manufacturer 
and  dealer  in  carriages  and  vehicles  of  all  descriptions. 
Soon  after  he  reached  his  majority  he  commenced 
working  at  the  shop  of  his  uncle,  Rolph  Marsh,  of 
Rahway,  and  while  there  made  the  first  paneled 
coach-body  ever  gotten  up  at  Rahway.  He  con- 
tinued there  one  year,  but  the  disasters  of  1837 
having  overtaken  all  branches  of  trade  and  com- 
merce, he  was  induced  to  start  in  search  of  more 
remunerative  employment.  He  Anally  reached  Co- 
lumbus, Ga.,  where  he  took  charge  of  a  large  car- 
riage-shop for  Mr.  George  W.  Way,  remaining  one 
year.  He  then  proceeded  to  New  Orleans,  but  not 
succeeding  in  his  expectations  went  to  Mobile,  where 
he  remained  one  year.  About  1840  he  formed  a 
partnership  in  New  Orleans  with  John  E.  Mat- 
thews, under  the  firm-name  of  Matthews  &  Denman, 
as  dealers  and  manufacturers  of  carriages.  There 
they  had  a  large  repository,  being  supplied  partly 
by  large  purchases  in  Northern  markets  and  partly 
by  their  own  manufacture.  They  became  large  con- 
tractors during  the  Mexican  war,  furnishing  supplies 
of  wagons,  mules,  horse-slioes,  etc.,  for  the  army.  In 
the  spring  of  1852  he  retired  from  business,  feeling 
that  he  had  accumulated  a  reasonable  competency, 
but  in  a  short  time  found  that  inactivity  was  "  uncon- 
stitutional," and  that  it  was  preferable  to  wear  than 
to  rust  out. 

At  the  close  of  1852  he  connected  himself  with  his 
brother,  I.  Marsh  Denman,  under  the  firm-name  of 
I.  Marsh  Denman  &  Co.,  at  New  Orleans,  and  Den- 
man &  Co.,  at  Rahway,  he  taking  charge  of  the 
business  at  the  North,  and  his  brother  of  that  at  New 
Orleans.  In  1856  he  purchased  the  interest  of  his 
brother,  I.  Marsh  Denman,  in  both  the  New  Orleans 
and  Rahway  establishments,  and  associated  with  him 
at  New  Orleans  a  younger  brother,  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Kolph  M.  Denman  &  Co.,  and  at  Rahway 
with  John  L.  Freeman,  under  the  name  of  Denman 
&  Freeman.  The  latter  remained  his  partner  until 
the  decease  of  Mr.  Denman,  Feb.  4,  1864.  At  the 
opening  of  the  war  the  business  in  New  Orleans  was 
closed,  and  he  connected  himself  with  Fisher,  Rick- 
ards  &  Co.,  of  Australia,  shipping  them  large  con- 
signments of  carriages. 

John  C.  Denman  was  a  man  of  remarkable  energy, 
sagacity,  and  enterprise,  and  during  his  active  busi- 
ness life  his  name  was  known  in  business  circles 
throughout  this  country  and  quite  extensively  in 
foreign  lands.     He  was  a  man  of  quick  perception, 


fixed  purposes,  frank  and  outspoken,  and  his  great 
kindness  of  heart,  marked  liberality  for  any  enter- 
prise he  conceived  to  be  right,  and  especially  his 
sympathy  and  help  to  those  in  need  have  made  his 
name  remembered  in  many  households,  where,  in  an 
unostentatious  way,  he  gave  of  his  means,  commen- 
surate with  his  spirit  of  liberality.  Politically,  Mr. 
Denman  wielded  a  large  influence,  and  he  was  prom- 
inent in  the  councils  of  the  Democratic  party.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  from  Essex  County 
in  1858,  and  successfully  advocated  the  bill  to  make 
a  new  county,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  "  Union," 
and  the  removal  of. the  mill-dams  at  Rahway.  After 
one  turn  of  service  at  Trenton  as  a  legislator  he 
took  up  his  residence  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  where  he  was 
elected  and  served  in  the  board  of  chosen  freeholders, 
and  where  he  resided  until  his  decease  by  heart-dis- 
ease, Feb.  4,  1864.  His  wife,  who  survives  him,  is 
Eliza  H.,  a  daughter  of  Aaron  V.  and  Eliza  Buck- 
alew  Hendricks,  of  Middlesex  County.  His  children 
are  George  Hendricks,  Lillie  Orlean,  and  Rolph 
Marsh  Denman. 


JONATHAN    WOODRUFF. 

The  Woodruff  family  have  been  one  of  prominence 
in  this  section  of  the  State  for  more  than  two  centu- 
ries. They  were  among  the  early  settlers  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  and  John  Woodrufli"  appears  as  one  of  the 
prominent  citizens  of  that  place  as  early  as  1673. 

John,  Jonathan,  and  Samuel  Woodruff  are  men- 
tioned also  by  Rev.  Edwin  F.  Hatfield  in  his  history 
of  Union  County  as  among  the  founders  of  the  West- 
field  families  who  settled  there  as  early  as  1699. 

Jonathan  Woodruff,  thegrandfatherof  our  subject, 
owned  a  large  farm  on  the  four  corners  of  the  cross- 
roads, one  mile  north  from  the  Westfield  Church,  and 
there  resided  in  1750.  He  left  five  sons, — Jonathan, 
Aaron,  Noah,  Joseph,  and  William, — who  all  lived  to 
be  old  men  except  William  (who  died  at  the  age  of 
forty-six  years  of  bilious  fever).  Jonathan  lived  to 
the  advanced  age  of  ninety-four  years. 

William  Woodruff,  father  of  our  subject,  was  born 
in  Westfield  March  6,  1781,  and  resided  there  until 
the  spring  of  1816,  when  he  purchased  and  settled 
upon  a  farm  of  ninety  acres  near  Rahway,  on  the  old 
King  George  road  between  Elizabeth  and  Rahway, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death,  Sept.  7,  1826,  leav- 
ing a  family  of  ten  children.  He  had  always  enjoyed 
excellent  health,  and  was  a  thoroughgoing  business 
man,  dealt  largely  in  timber,  and  built  many  bridges 
in  this  section  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Westfield,  and  upon  his 
removal  to  Rahway  united  with  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  that  place.  His  wife,  Phebe,  born 
Oct.  3,  1786,  daughter  of  Jacob  Ludlow,  of  Westfield, 
a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  survived  him,  and 
died  June  4,  1856. 

After  the  death  of  her  husband  she  remained  on 


292 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIKS.  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  farm  for  many  years,  and  reared  her  family  of  ten 
children  with  the  greatest  care,  instilling  into  their 
minds  those  jjrinciples  which  have  made  her  children 
what  they  are,  and  which  make  her  memory  dear  to 
their  minds  as  a  devoted  Christian  mother. 

There  were  eight  sons  and  two  daughters, — Jacob 
L.,  born  Oct.  19,  1803,  residing  in  Rahway  ;  Sarah, 
wife  of  John  C.  Meeker,  born  Sept.  25,  1805,  residing 
in  Newark,  N.  J.  ;  Joseph,  born  Jan.  1,  1808,  residing 
in  Rahway,  a  ruling  elder  in  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  ;  John,  born  May  9,  1810,  a  resident  of  Bos- 
ton, Mass. ;  William,  born  Jan  24,  1813,  died  in 
Elizabethtown,  April  12,  1837  ;  Jonathan,  born  Sept. 
1,  1815  ;  Aaron  Augustus,  born  Feb.  8,  1818,  died  in 
Rahway,  Dec.  6,  1836  ;  Amos,  born  April  4,  1818,  a 
resident  of  Memphis,  Tenn.,  since  1845;  is  an  active 
and  influential  citizen  of  that  place  ;  president  of  the 
State  National  Bank  and  president  of  the  Cotton-Press 
Association  there.  Erastus  Washington,  born  March 
6,  1822,  a  carriage-manufacturer  in  Rahway ;  and 
Margaret  Pool,  born  June  13,  1824,  widow  of  John 
F.  Disbrow,  now  residing  at  Roselle,  N.  J.  No  death 
has  occurred  in  this  large  family  of  children  during 
the  past  forty-five  years,  the  youngest  being  now 
nearly  sixty,  and  the  eldest  nearly  eighty  years  of 
age.  They  all  advocate  temperance;  not  one  of  them 
ever  uses  tobacco  in  any  form. 

Jonathan,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  received  his 
education  in  the  district  school.  At  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  went  with  Mr.  Harned,  in  Rahway,  to  learn 
the  carriage-making  business,  and  remained  with  him 
until  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age.  In  the  spring 
of  1837  he  was  offered  and  accepted  the  superintend- 
ency  of  the  New  York  office  of  Thomas  Hale,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Rahway  Silk  and  Print  Works,  which 
position  he  held  for  three  years.  Resolving  to  go  into 
business  for  himself,  and  wishing  to  obtain  some 
knowledge  of  the  dry-goods  trade,  he  accepted  a  posi- 
tion, and  spent  one  year  as  salesman  in  the  jobbing- 
house  of  Ely  &  Freeland,  of  New  York,  and  in  the 
spring  of  1842,  with  his  brother  Amos  as  partner, 
under  the  firm-name  of  J.  &  A.  Woodruff,  started  a 
general  merchandise  store  in  Rahway. 

By  their  industry,  energy,  and  close  application 
their  business  rapidly  increased,  and  their  names  be- 
came widely  known  throughout  this  section  of  New 
Jersey  as  substantial  business  men. 

Mr.  Woodrufl''s  knowledge  of  carriages  led  the  firm 
to  deal  in  them,  as  well  as  in  carriage  supplies,  and 
finding  that  the  carriages  could  not  be  sold  here  to 
advantage,  Mr.  Woodrutt'  went  South  in  the  winter 
of  1845,  and  located  at  Memphis,  Tenn.,  where  he 
opened  and  established  a  carriage  repository.  In  the 
s|)ring  his  brother  Amos  took  charge  of  the  business 
in  the  South,  and  he  returned  to  Rahway  and  took 
charge  of  the  business  North,  carrying  on  a  large 
business  in  dry-goods  and  carriage  supplies,  manu- 
facturing and  buying  carriages  and  shipping  them 
from  Rahway  and  the  Eastern  markets  to  Memphis. 


In  1857,  J.  &  A.  Woodruff'  sold  out  the  mercantile 
part  of  their  business  to  their  brother  John  and 
David  B.  Dunham,  and  gave  their  undivided  atten- 
tion to  the  carriage  business. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  civil  war  Mr.  Wood- 
ruft"  and  his  brother  Amos  deemed  it  advisable  to  dis- 
solve their  partnership. 

In  1865  the  Union  National  Bank  was  organized. 
Mr.  Woodruff  was  elected  its  first  president,  and  has 
since  continued  to  be  president  of  the  association. 

In  all  matters  of  a  local  nature  Mr.  Woodruff  has 
been  one  of  the  foremost  citizens  to  contribute  of  his 
time  and  means  in  support  of  every  enterprise 
which  had  for  its  object  the  welfare,  growth,  and 
prosperity  of  his  native  place.  He  is  a  large  prop- 
erty-owner, and,  in  addition  to  several  dwelling- 
houses  of  architectural  beauty,  he  has  erected  several 
substantial  buildings,  which  have  added  much  to  the 
appearance  of  the  city.  In  1854  he  erected  the  large 
brick  store  on  Main  Street,  and  in  1872  he  purchased 
the  mansion  house  property  adjoining  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  depot,  and  at  a  large  expenditure  ot 
money  remodeled  it  into  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Exchange  Building. 

In  1849  he,  with  a  number  of  the  members  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  met  at  his  residence,  and 
there  resolved  to  organize  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Rahway.  Mr.  Woodruff  took  a  very  active 
part  in  the  enterprise.  The  church  was  organized, 
Mr.  Woodruff  being  one  of  the  building  committee, 
and  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  trustees  of  the 
church. 

Mr.  Woodruff"  has  always  been  active  and  earnest 
in  Sunday-school  work.  He  has  been  for  sixty  years 
in  the  Sabbath-school,  as  scholar,  teacher,  and  super- 
intendent, believing  that  the  influence  of  the  Sunday- 
school  is  only  for  good,  to  the  scholars,  teachers, 
parents,  and  to  the  entire  community. 

In  1852  he  established  and  was  superintendent  of  a 
Sunday-school  three  miles  out  in  the  country  at 
Uniontown,  and  for  fitteen  years  was  most  regular  in 
attendance.  In  1867  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
started  a  mission  Sunday-school  in  East  Rahway. 
Mr.  Woodruff'  took  a  deep  interest  in  the  enterpri.ie, 
and  in  1869  he,  with  other  friends  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  contributed  freely,  purchased  a  lot,  and  built 
for  the  use  of  the  school  and  for  a  place  of  worship 
what  is  known  as  the  Grand  Street  Chapel. 

In  1855,  Mr.  Woodruff,  in  connection  with  two 
other  gentlemen,  Messrs.  William  Edgar  and  A.  C. 
Watson,  realizing  the  need  of  a  school  in  the  place 
where  an  education  could  be  obtained  higher  than 
the  public  school  afforded,  purchased  a  lot,  and 
erected  a  suitable  building  on  Milton  Avenue,  and 
furnished  it  free  to  a  suitable  teacher. 

Mr.  Woodruff  has  never  .sought  political  prefer- 
ment, but  his  opinions  on  the  great  questions  of  the 
day  are  decided.  Originally  a  Whig,  when  the  Re- 
publican party  was  formed  he  was  a  decided  Repub- 


o        o. 


CITY   OF   RAHWAY. 


in.i 


lican,  strongly  opposed  to  the  extension  of  slavery. 
He  believes  in  the  faith  of  the  Presbyterian  branch 
of  the  Christian  Church,  of  which  he  has  been  a 
member  since  he  was  nineteen  years  of  :ige,  and  for 
the  last  twenty-five  years  a  ruling  elder  in  theSecond 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Rahway.  He  has  been  re- 
peatedly sent  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  Town 
as  commissioner  to  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church. 

His  wife,  whom  he  married  in  August,  1842,  is 
Alvira,  daughter  ol  William  and  Sarah  Crowell  Mar- 
tin, who  was  born  May  9,  1816. 

Their  children  are  Lizzie,  Amos,  Edward,  educated 
under  the  private  instruction  of  Rev.  Dr.  Pierson,  of 
Elizabeth,  and  at  Princeton  College,  graduated  at  the 
Columbia  College  Law  School,  in  New  York,  1874, 
and  is  now  practicing  his  profession  in  that  city; 
Laura  J.,  wife  of  David  Jones,  of  Rahway  ;  and 
Carrie,  wife  of  R.  M.  Huntting,  of  Sag  Harbor,  L.  I. 


ISAAC   OSBORN 


is  one  of  the  oldest  business  men  of  Rahway,  and  has 
led  an  active  business  life  here  since  1822,  a  period  of 
fifty-nine  years.  The  family  were  among  the  early 
settlers  at  Scotch  Plains,  Union  Co.,  N.-J.,  where  his 
great-grandfather,  John,  resided,  and  where  his 
grandfather,  John  B.  Osborn,  was  born,  spent  his  life 
as  a  farmer,  and  died  in  1848  at  the  age  of  ninety-six 
years.  The  first  homestead  of  John  B.  Osborn  con- 
sisted of  forty  acres  of  timbered  land,  upon  which  he 
erected  his  log  cabin,  and  which  he  cleared  of  its 
original  forest.  To  this  he  added  until  he  was  the 
possessor  of  some  four  hundred  acres,  which  he  ac- 
quired solely  by  his  own  industry.  He  was  known  as 
"  Deacon  Osborn,"  and  for  seventy  years  officially 
served  as  deacon  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Scotch 
Plains.  Born  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  he 
lived  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  served  in 
that  memorable  struggle  for  the  independence  of  the 
colonies.  His  wife  was  Mary,  a  sister  of  Hon.  Ezra 
Darby,  an  early  member  of  Congress ;  she  lived  to  be 
ninety-two  years  of  age,  and  died  in  the  house  where 
she  had  spent  her  married  life  only  a  few  weeks 
before  her  husband.  The  children  of  this  venerable 
couple  were  Patience,  Joel,  William,  Charles,  John, 
Jonathan,  and  Mary,  of  whom  Joel  was  father  of  our 
subject,  and  inherited  the  homestead  of  forty  acres, 
where  he  was  born,  and  where  he  died  in  1853,  aged 
seventy-five  years  and  seven  mouths.  Joel  Osborn 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  resided  respectively  at 
Scotch  Plains,  New  York,  Rahway,  and  Westfield, 
where  he  worked  at  his  trade.  His  wife  was  Nancy, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Halsey,  of  Newark,  who  died 
in  ISCl  aged  seventy-eight  years.  Their  children 
were  Isaac  ;  Susan,  wife  of  Isaac  Moore  of  Rahway  ; 
William,  a  carriage-maker  of  Rahway,  who  died  in 
1865,  aged  sixty  ;  Joel,  a  carriage-maker  of  Rahway  ; 


Ferdinand  was  in  the  same  business,  and  died  in  1860 
in  Rahway  ;  Mary  ;  and  Albert,  who  is  a  tinsman  near 
Bound  Brook,  N.  J. 

Isaac,  eldest  of  these  children,  born  July  8,  1803, 
went  with  his  parents  to  live  in  New  York  in  1809, 
and  remembers  that  city  when  there  were  only  two 
houses  on  Canal  Street  between  Broadway  and  Hud- 
son Street,  and  of  crossing  Broadway  at  Canal  Street 
on  a  wooden  bridge.  He  came  with  his  parents  to 
Rahway  in  1815,  where  his  father  had  been  engaged 
at  work  in  building  the  Taurino  Factory,  superin- 
tended by  William  Shotwell.  Here  he  received  three 
years'  schooling,  and  for  four  years  he  was  an  ap- 
prentice to  the  trade  of  harness-making  and  carriage- 
trimming. 

In  1822,  as  before  stated,  Mr.  Osborn  established 
him-self  in  the  business  of  carriage-making  in  a  small 
way,  which  he  gradually  increased  and  carried  on 
until  1830  on  Mechanic  Street,  now  Grand.  In  that 
year  he  opened  a  general  store  for  the  sale  of  dry- 
goods  and  groceries  at  91  Main  Street,  which  he  suc- 
cessfully carried  on  until  1855,  when  he  retired  from 
the  trade,  and  has  since  given  his  attention  to  the 
care  and  improvement  of  his  property.  The  Rahway 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  founded  in  1833. 
Mr.  Osborn  succeedtd  Mr.  Crowell  as  president  of  tbis 
concern  in  1859,  and  his  official  relations  with  the  com- 
pany have  given  it  increased  strength  and  confidence. 
He  was  president  of  the  Rahway  Fire  Association  for 
twenty  years  prior  to  its  being  a  city,  was  a  director 
and  stockholder  of  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics 
Bank  of  Rahway  from  1850  to  1864,  was  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  savings-bank  and  gas  com- 
pany, and  since  1838  he  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Church  at  Rahway,  and  since  1845  a  trus- 
tee and  president  of  its  official  board.  Mr.  Osborn 
remembers  that  in  1815  there  were  only  twenty-nine 
houses  in  upper  Rahway,  and  no  streets  except  St. 
George's  Avenue  and  Mechanic  Street. 

His  life  has  been  one  of  industry,  care,  and  honesty 
of  purpose,  and  he  may  be  safely  classed  among  the 
representative  business  men  of  a  generation  nearly 
gone. 

His  wife,  Emily  McDonald,  died  Jan.  11,  1879, 
aged  seventy-seven  years.  Of  his  children,  Uzal, 
eldest  son,  survives.  Eliza  Augusta  died  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two,  and  Emily  Caroline  died  Feb.  16, 
1879.  _ 

JOHN  H.  LUFBEKY. 
His  father,  Abraham  Lufbery,  died  in  Rahway, 
Aug.  5,  1825,  aged  about  seventy-one  years.  He 
came  to  Rahway  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  for  several  years  worked  at  his  trade 
as  a  ship-builder.  Subsequently  he  engaged  in  the 
bakery  business,  which  he  carried  on  during  the  re- 
mainder of  his  active  business  life.  He  was  a  tion- 
commissioned  officer  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
upon  the  occasion  of  Gen.  Lafayette's  visit  to  Rahway 


294 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  1824  he  was  made  chairman  of  the  committee  for 
the  reception  of  that  distinguished  son  of  France. 
His  wife,  Jenet  Conger,  survived  liim,  and  drew  a 
pension  during  the  remainder  of  her  life,  dying 
March  15,  1861,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two  years,  and 
leaving  the  following  children:  Sarah,  wife  of  Brittin 
Haines,  of  Rahway,  died  July,  1874,  aged  fifty-eight 
years;  John  H.,  subject  of  this  sketch;  Margaret  and 
Isaac  having  died  young. 

By  a  former  marriage  to  Charity  Oliver  on  March 
20,  1785,  he  had  the  following  children:  Joseph  O., 
a  prominent  business  man  of  Rahway,  who  estab- 
lished the  saw-mill  and  lumber  interest  in  1827  now 
carried  on  by  Ayer.*  &  Lufbery,  was  president  of  the 
Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Rahway,  was  a 
merchant  for  many  years,  and  also  carried  on  a  nail 
manufactory  (the  nails  being  made  by  hand),  and 
who  was  born  Jan.  29,  1786,  and  died  Dec.  25,  1865; 
Lydia  H.,  born  Oct.  26,  1789 ;  Edward  and  Morde- 
cai,  born  May  15,  1790;  Phebe,  born  April  12,  1794; 
Daniel  and  Oliver,  born  April  2,  1796;  Nancy,  born 
Feb.  3,  1798;  Mary,  born  Jan.  7,  1800;  aOd  Ann, 
born  in  1802. 

John  H.  Lufbery,  born  Sept.  2,  1818,  had  only  the 
educational  opportunities  of  the  schools  of  his  native 
place  during  his  boyhood,  and  at  the  age  of  sixteen 
began  as  an  apprentice  to  learn  the  carpenter's  trade. 
After  four  years  he  went  to  work  for  his  brother,  Jo- 
seph O.  Lufbery,  in  his  saw-mill,  where  he  remained 
until  1846,  when  his  brother  retiring  from  the  busi- 
ness, in  partnership  with  others,  the  firm  of  Ayers, 
Williams  &  Lufbery  continued  the  business,  which 
in  1882  is  carried  on 'oy  Ayers  &  Lufbery.  Aplaning- 
mill  was  erected  in  connection  with  the  lumber  inter- 
est by  them  in  1846,  and  since  June  28,  1855,  they 
have  done  all  their  sawing  and  planing  by  steam- 
power. 

Prior  to  the  transfer  of  a  part  of  Woodbridge  to 
Union  County,  Mr.  Lufbery  took  an  active  interest 
in  local  matters  relating  to  the  township  and  county, 
and  for  some  four  years  served  on  the  board  of  chosen 
freeholders  of  Middlesex  County.  He  has  served  in 
the  same  capacity  for  several  years  in  Union  County, 
was  the  second  mayor  of  Rahway  after  its  incorpora- 
tion as  a  city,  and  has  served  for  some  thirteen  years 
in  its  Common  Council,  being  for  three  years  its  pres- 
ident. In  the  fall  of  1870  he  was  elected  on  the  Re- 
publican ticket  from  Union  County  to  the  lower 
branch  of  the  New  Jersey  Legislature,  and  for  two 
years  (1871,  1872)  honorably  discharged  the  duties  as 
assemblyman. 

Although  of  Quaker  parentage  on  the  paternal  side, 
he  has  adhered  more  particularly  to  the  views  of  the 
Baptist  denomination.  His  wife,  whom  he  married 
April  6,  1845,  is  Henrietta  C,  daughter  of  Frederick 
and  Ann  (Burnett)  Freeman,  of  Woodbridge.  Her 
father  was  a  tanner  and  currier  and  farmer  there, 
and  his  ancestors  were  among  the  early  settlers  of 
that  part  of  Middlesex  County.     She  was  born  May 


8,  1823,  and  their  surviving  children  are  Margaret, 
wife  of  William  Chamberlain,  John  H.,  Anna,  wife 
of  Samuel  Williams.  Abraham  Frederick,  Joseph  O., 
Jr.,  and  William  R.  Lufbery. 


JOEL  AND  IRA  LAFORGE 
are  among  the  enterprising  and  active  business  men 
of  Rahway,  N.  J.,  in  1882.  Their  grandfather,  John 
Laforge,  settled  in  Woodbridge  township  from  Staten 
Island  during  the  latter  part  of  last  century,  and 
there  carried  on  farming  and  tanning  until  his  death. 
His  children  were  Cornelius,  a  ship-carpenter;  Bet- 
sey, wife  of  Ephraim  Compton  ;  John,  father  of  our 
subjects,  followed  the  sea  during  his  early  life,  was  a 
farmer  in  Woodbridge,  and  died  in  1848,  aged  fifty- 
one  years;  Mary,  wife  of  David  Bloomfield  ;  Ann, 
wife  of  Martin  Compton;  Charlotte,  wife  of  William 
Acken ;  Charles,  a  carpenter  and  farmer  in  Wood- 
bridge;  William,  a  farmer;  Asa,  died  in  New  Or- 
leans, and  was  a  ship-carpenter  by  trade ;  and  Mar- 
tha, wife  of  Albert  Edgar,  of  Newark.  The  wife  ot 
John  Laforge  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Matthias  Free- 
man, who  died  in  1864,  aged  sixty  years,  and  whose 
mother  was  Mary  Dally,  of  Woodbridge.  The  chil- 
dren of  John  and  Mary  (Freeman)  Laforge  are  Joel ; 
Isabella,  wife  of  Elijah  Hutchinson,  of  Trenton  ;  Ira; 
Mary  Ann,  wife  of  George  W.  Wooley,  of  Rahway; 
Asa, deceased ;  JohnEdmond,  resides  in  Staten  Island; 
and  Ellis,  deceased.  By  a  former  marriage  to  .loanna 
Tappan  John  Laforge  had  two  daughters, — Harriet, 
deceased,  and  Joanna,  wife  of  Jerome  B.  Ross,  of 
Woodbridge. 

Joel  Laforge  was  born  in  Woodbridge,  Nov.  5, 1825, 
and  from  eighteen  to  twenty-one  years  of  iige  was  ap- 
prenticed to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade  with  David 
L.  Depue,  of  Rahway.  After  the  death  of  his  father, 
he  was  a  partner  of  Benjamin  Conaway  in  a  grist- 
mill in  Piscataway  for  two  years,  was  in  New  York 
for  a  time  as  carman,  and  in  1853  came  to  Rahway, 
and  until  1861  worked  for  his  brother  Ira  in  his  sash- 
and-blind  manufactory.  For  four  years  following  he 
was  engaged  in  making  bayonets  for  Joseph  Gatchel 
in  Rahway,  to  be  used  in  the  late  civil  war.  Since 
1865  he  has  been  the  partner  of  his  brother  in  the 
spoke,  wheel,  and  spring  manufacturing  business, 
under  the  firm-name  of  I.  &  J.  Laforge. 

He  married  in  1850,  Susan,  daughter  of  Reuben 
and  Sarah  Potter,  of  Woodbridge,  and  their  children 
are  John  Lester;  George  William,  died  young;  and 
De  Witt  Edson. 

Ira  Laforge  was  born  in  Woodbridge,  Feb.  24,  1830, 
and  from  eighteen  to  twenty-two  years  of  age  learned 
the  carpenter's  trade,  first  with  Daniel  N.  Gardner, 
then  with  Jonathan  B.  Nichols,  of  Newark.  In  1852 
he  established  a  sash-and-blind  factory  in  Leesville, 
near  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  depot,  Rahway, 
which  he  carried  on  successfully,  first  by  hand  and 
afterwards   by  machinery,  until   1861,  shipping   his 


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CITY    OF   RAH  WAY. 


2^5 


goods  mostly  to  Mobile  and  Georgia.  From  1863  until 
1867  lie  was  engaged  in  the  coal  and  lumber  business 
in  Rahway,  but  in  1865  he  established  a  spoke  and 
wheel  manufactory  on  the  site  of  his  former  manufac- 
tory, where  he  carried  on  business  in  partnership  with 
his  brother  (I.  &  J.  Laforge)  until  1870,  when  they 
purchased  their  present  brick  manufactory,  which  is 
seventy  by  fifty-six  feet,  and  four  stories  in  height, 
placed  in  it  a  fifty  horse-power  engine,  and  began  the 
manufacture  of  spokes  and  wheels  on  a  more  exten- 
sive scale.  In  1874  they  made  large  additions  to 
their  building,  and  added  to  their  business  the  mao- 
ufacture  of  carriage-springs.  Their  manufactured 
goods  are  sold  in  New  York,  Baltimore,  Wilmington, 
and  in  Eastern  and  Southern  markets,  and  are  among 
the  best  manufactures  of  the  kind.  Ira  Laforge  mar- 
ried, in  September,  18.t1,  Helen  C,  daughter  of  Caleb 
W.  and  Mary  Woodruff,  of  Newark.  Of  his  four 
children,  Theodore  W.,  Mary  A.,  Emma  C.,and  Fred- 
erick F.,  only  Mary  A.  Lalbrge  survives. 

Ira  Laforge  built  the  first  residence  on  Milton 
Avenue  in  1865,  and  a  second  one  in  1860. 

The  Laforges  started  out  in  life  without  pecuniary 
assistance,  and,  like  many  of  our  best  business  men, 
in  early  life  met  the  obstacles  incident  to  obtaining 
much  education  from  books,  but  learned  the  lessons 
of  economy  and  prudence,  which  with  well-directed 
energy  form  the  basis  of  practical  and  successful 
business  men.  Neither  of  them  have  ever  sought 
official  place,  but  devoted  their  whole  time  to  busi- 
ness pursuits. 

DANIEL  K.  RYNO. 
Pack  Ryno,  who  was  supposed  to  be  of  French  ex- 
traction, was  grandfather  of  Daniel  K.,  and  resided 
in  Woodbridge  township,  Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  where 
he  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  the  age  of  forty-eight 
years,  leaving  a  large  family  of  children.  One  son, 
Lafayette,  settled  in  California  about  1850.  Clayton, 
father  of  our  subject,  born  in  1800,  was  a  carpenter 
by  trade,  resided  in  Woodbridge  township,  now  Pis- 
cataway,  during  his  life,  and  there  died  in  1849. 
Wilson  lived  and  died  at  Plainfield,  N.J.  John  died 
in  New  York  City.  William,  retired,  resides  at  West 
Henrietta,  near  Rochester,  N.  Y.  Sarah  is  the  widow 
of  the  late  Joseph  Dunham,  of  Cranibrd,  and  Rachel 
was  the  wife  of  Lewis  Dunham,  and  resided  near 
Plainfield.  The  mother  of  Daniel  K.  Ryno  was 
Mary,  daughter  of  Daniel  Kelly  and  Huldah  Drake, 
whose  uncle  was  familiarly  known  as  "  Priest  Drake," 
a  Presbyterian  clergyman  of  Plainfield,  N.  J.  She 
died  in  1867,  and  by  a  former  marriage  to  David  Lane 
had  two  daughters, — Rachel,  wife  of  Barzilla  Ran- 
dolph, of  Piscataway,  and  Catharine,  wife  of  Drake 
Randolph,  of  the  same  place.  By  her  marriage  to 
Clayton  Ryno  she  had  children,— Caroline,  wife  of 
Randolph  Pack;  David,  of  Rahway  ;  Daniel  Kelly, 
sulyect  of  this  sketch  ;  William,  of  Rahway  ;  and 
Howard. 


Daniel  K.  Ryno  was  born  in  Piscataway  township, 
then  Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  Sejjt.  21,  1830.  He 
lived  with  his  half-sister,  Mrs.  Randolph,  from  seven 
until  he  was  thirteen  years  of  age,  and  for  three  years 
following  worked  on  a  farm,  attending  school  a  few 
months  in  winter.  For  one  year  at  the  age  of  seven- 
teen he  resided  with  Jonathan  Randolph,  and  for  his 


services  received  twenty  dollars  and  his  board  and 
clothes.  Thus  he  spent  his  boyhood,  meeting  the 
obstacles  incident  to  limited  advantages  for  both  edu- 
cation and  place.  With  only  eighty-seven  and  a  half 
cents  in  money,  at  the  age  of  eighteen  he  came  to 
Rahway  in  the  spring  of  1847,  and  became  an  appren- 
tice to  learn  the  cabinet,  furniture,  and  undertaking 
business  with  John  A.  Briant,  then  in  business  here, 
with  whom  he  served  for  four  years,  and  became  con- 
versant with  all  departments  of  the  trade.  He  had  a 
particular  liking  for  the  undertaking  part  of  the  busi- 
ness, which  Mr.  Briant  gave  him  the  supervision  of, 
and  in  1849,  during  the  cholera  epidemic  in  Rahway, 
he  was  the  only  one  who  remained  in  his  line  of 
business  and  buried  those  who  died  with  that  terrible 
disea.se.  After  couipleting  his  term  of  service,  and 
working  a  year  and  a  half  as  journeyman  at  Plain- 
field  and  Rahway,  he  in  the  spring  of  1855  bought 
out  Mr.  Briant's  stock  of  goods  and  established  busi- 
ness on  his  own  account.  In  1848,  Mr.  Ryno  pur- 
chased the  property  of  Mr.  Briant,  on  the  corner  of 


296 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESKX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JEKSKY. 


Irving  and  Hamilton  Streets,  in  Rabway,  the  old 
stand  when  the  -business  had  been  carried  on,  and 
there  he  has  continued  the  undertaking  business 
aince. 

The  same  year,  1855,  he  established  the  furniture 
business  on  Main  Street,  Rahway,  which  he  continues 
in  1882,  and  about  1865  he  established  a  branch  un- 
dertaking business  at  Elizabeth,  which  he  sold  out 
the  next  year  to  a  partner,  George  C.  Ford. 

Mr.  Ryno's  business  life  has  been  one  of  con.stant 
activity,  and  his  devotion  to  it,  his  naturally  social 
disposition,  frank  manners,  correct  habits,  and  integ- 
rity in  all  his  business  relations  have  made  his  name 
widely  known  throughout  Union  and  Middlesex  Coun- 
ties. He  is  an  advocate  of  temperance  reform,  and  a 
member  of  and  officially  connected  with  the  ■Second 
Methodist  Church  in  Rahway. 

In  1855  he  served  as  township  clerk  of  Rahway, 
and  in  the  spring  election  of  1875  he  was  chosen  on 
the  Democratic  ticket,  as  an  advocate  of  retrench- 
ment in  city  expenditures,  mayor  of  Rahway. 

His  wife,  whom  he  married  Nov.  8, 1855,  is  Rebecca 
v.,  daughter  of  Rev.  Sedgwick  Rusling  and  Electa 
Cummihgs.  Her  father  was  a  Methodist  clergyman 
at  Rahway  for  two  years,  and  labored  as  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  for  thirty-six  years,  preaching  in  New  Jer- 
sey, New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  died  in  1876, 
aged  seventy-six  years.  Her  mother  died  in  Rahway 
in  1865,  leaving  children, — Mary,  Rebecca,  Joseph  F., 
Mrs.  Col.  Woodruff,  Sedgwick  C,  Sarah  E.  (Mrs. 
Ayres),  and  Thomas. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ryno  are  Sedgwick 
Rusling,  Harry  P.,  Charles,  Stella,  and  Walter 
(deceased). 


CHAPTER    XLIV. 

TOWNSHIP    OF    PLAINI'IELD.' 

The  township  of  Plainfield  was  erected  hy  act  of 
the  Legislature  approved  March  4,  1847. 

Natural  Features. — The  most  striking  natural 
feature  of  this  township  is  its  plain  surface,  from 
which  the  name  Plainfield  is  derived.  Throughout 
it  is  moderately  undulating,  but  there  are  no  abrupt 
declivities  or  elevations,  the  highest  rise  of  land  being 
the  Short  Hills,  on  the  southeasterly  border,  which 
centre  in  Fanvvood  and  Raritan  towushii)s.  The  soil 
is  chiefly  composed  of  clay,  gravel,  and  sandy  loam, 
and  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  fertile  farming 
sections  of  Union  County.  The  township  has  an  ex- 
treme width  of  about  four  miles,  and  is  some  seven  or 
eight  nules  in  length.  On  the  east  is  the  beautiful 
village  of  Scotch  Plains,  settled  in  1667,  and  on  the 
westerly  border  of  the  township  is  the  village  of  Duu- 
ellen. 

J  The  histories  of  this  and  the  following  townships  of  Union  County 
were  compiled  from  diitu  furnished  by  C.  A.  Leveridge,  Ksq.,  of  Cran- 
ford. 


It  is  some  eight  miles  from  Rahway  on  the  south. 
The  township  is  bounded  by  Green  Brook  on  the  north- 
westerly border,  giving  it  ample  water  privileges  for 
manufacturing,  while  Cedar  Brook  lies  upon  the  south- 
erly border.  Artesian  or  tube  wells  are  largely  used 
by  the  inhabitants  for  procuring  water  for  domestic 
purposes.  Excellent  pure  water  can  be  obtained  at 
a  distance  in  the  gravel  of  from  fourteen  to  thirty 
feet,  and  it  is  never  failing. 

A  short  distance  across  the  border  in  North  Plain- 
field  township,  on  the  range  known  as  the  First  Moun- 
tain, stands  "  Washington's  Rock,"  from  which  it  is 
said  that  that  immortal  patriot  and  .soldier  surveyed 
with  paternal  solicitude  the  movements  of  the  British 
forces  about  Amboy  and  New  Brunswick..  The  rock 
is  an  immense  trap  bowlder,  and  stands  out  so  boldly 
in  the  southern  face  of  the  mountain  as  to  command 
a  view  for  many  miles. 

Early  Settlement. — In  1684,  Thomas  Gordon, 
John  Forbes,  John  Barclay,  Thomas  and  Robert  Ful- 
lerton  settled  some  two  miles  south  of  Plainfield,  at 
the  place  now  called  New  Brooklyn,  sometimes  "  Tow 
Town,"  or  near  there  on  the  borders  of  this  township. 
In  a  letter  written  by  Robert  Fullerton  to  his  relatives 
in  Scotland  very  soon  after  their  arrival  he  remarks, 
"  We  have  the  honor  of  being  the  first  of  planters  in 
this  inland  part  of  America."  The  first  frame  build- 
ing was  erected  in  1735,  at  which  period  there  were 
a  few  log  huts  and  Indian  wigwams  belonging  to  the 
Delaware  Indians. 

The  first  grist-mill  was  built  in  the  year  1760,  on 
the  banks  of  the  upper  mill-pond,  but  about  the  year 
1790  was  removed  to  where  it  now  stands  on  Somer- 
set Street,  and  the  place  was  then,  and  subsequently 
for  a  long  time,  known  as  "Mill  Town."  Here  all 
the  grain  for  a  long  distance  round  was  brought  to  be 
converted  into  flour.  The  first  store  was  kept  by 
Thomas  Nesbit,  and  after  he  left  it  John  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph kept  a  miscellaneous  store,  selling  "dry-goods, 
groceries,  boots  and  shoes,  etc.,"  and  taking  in  ex- 
change "skines,  furs,  tallow,  wax,  and  honny."  This 
primitive  store  was  on  the  corner  of  Front  and  Som- 
erset Streets.  The  first  hat  manufactory  was  built  in 
1808,  by  John  Wilson,  and  in  1812  there  were  twelve 
hat  factories,  supplying  some  sixty  thousand  dollars' 
worth  of  hats  to  New  York  market  and  other  places. 
Plainfield  was  a  small  country  village  in  1800,  con- 
taining two  hundred  and  fifteen  inhabitants,  and  had 
a  regular  line  of  stages,  connecting  New  York  with 
Philadelphia,  passing  each  way  three  times  a  week, 
called  the  "Swiftsure." 

For  many  years  after  the  first  settlement  the  people 
had  no  place  of  worship.  In  1788  the  Society  of 
Friends  erected  their  meeting-house.  There  had 
been  a  small  building  erected  in  1736  near  the  line 
of  this  township,  in  Raritan,  on  the  Laing  property, 
near  what  was  then  called  "Tow  Town."  In  1818 
the  First  Baptist  Church  was  built,  the  congregation 
beiug  from  "Samptown."      In  1825  the  First  Pres- 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY   OF   PLAIN  FIELD. 


297 


byteriau  Church  was  organized,  and  the  corner-stone 
of  the  edifice  was  then  laid.  In  1830  the  Society  of 
Friends,  on  account  of  their  tenets,  was  divided, 
and  one  portion  thereof  built  a  meeting-house.  In 
1832  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  reared.  In 
1838  the  Seventh-Day  Baptists,  who  had  long  wor- 
shiped in  their  church  at  Piscataway,  found  the  dis- 
tance too  great,  and  so  built  themselves  a  small  church. 
In  1842  the  Second  Baptist  Church  was  organized,  and 
in  1844  the  Second  Presbyterian  Churcli  was  built 
on  Front  Street.  It  is  within  a  few  years  that  the 
other  churches  have  been  organized,  proper  mention 
of  which  is  made  under  head  of  "Churches." 

In  172(i,  Coddington,  White,  and  Vanneste  each 
purchased  and '"  liad  surveyed  to  him  877  acres  of 
Land  ;  John  Barclay,  700  acres  ;  Peter  Sonnians,  2-500 
acres;  Robert  Fullerton,  300  acres  ;  James  Coles,  125 
acres;  Andrew  GuUena,  3.10  acres;  and  William 
Gerard,  S.W  acres."  These  are  prohably  the  first  who 
owned  land  in  this  township  and  cultivated  the  soil 
at  this  early  date.  From  1731  "  many  came  up  and 
took  land,"  among  whom  were  the  Ackens,  Bacons, 
Browns,  Curtis,  Dunham,  Fitz  Randolph,  Force, 
Frazee,  French,  Geddis,  Harriott,  Hendricks,  Hoog- 
land,  Ilsleys,  Jackson,  Kelly,  Kent,  Lacey  (Lacy), 
Lawrie,  Marsh,  Meeker,  Mores  (Moore),  Osborn, 
Pangborn,  Pearce  (Pierce  and  Parse),  Perkins,  Jen- 
ning  (Gennings),  Lane  (Laing),  Price,  Shotwells, 
Ross,  Shippy,  Marcellias,  Smith,  Pound,  Stelle, 
Strangman,  Hatfields,Connett,  Sutton,  Toppen  (Tap- 
pen),  Thorp,  Thorn,  Tingley,  Vail,  Vermuele,  Wall, 
Maning  (Manning),  Webster.  And  at  a  much  later 
date,  or  after  the  year  1785,  the  following  residents 
owned  lands  here:  Halsey.  Dunn,  Titsworth,  Pope, 
Rolfe,  Morgan,  Wilson,  Freeman,  Deare  (O'Dera), 
Boyce  (Boice),  Compton,  Melick.  Stillman,  Bond, 
Leonard,  Harris,  Bryant  (Briant),  Allen,  Hands, 
Jones,  Lees, Miller,  King,  Lawrence,  Smock,  Lithgow, 
Livingston,  Lyons,  Merrill,  Terry,  Terrill,  Ford, 
Drake,  Darby,  Chandler,  Pruden,  Stewart,  Cory 
(Corey),  Conover,  Potter,  Craig,  Crane,  Gilmon, 
Harriman,  Hart,  Ogden,  Pack,  Mulford,  Melyen,  Pin- 
horne,  Berny,  and  some  others  who  came  and  stayed 
but  for  a  few  years. 

Civil  List. — The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal 
officers  of  the  township  since  its  organization  in  1847: 

TOWN   CLERKS. 

Rolwrt  Anderson,  1847-54, 1866-07.  I  Nelson  Run.von,  18r,8-73. 
Julin  P.  Runyon,  I8.'.6.  I  Jospph  B.  CowarJ,  1874-77. 

CHOSEN   EKEEHOLDEKS. 
Frazoe  CoIp,  1847-49.  Kandolph  Dunliam,  185'2-54, 1866. 

Zachariah  Wel.ster,  1847,  1849-61,     William  M.  Jenninas,  1861. 

J.  Frank  Hubbard,  1801-62,  1869- 

70. 
William  C.  Ayres,  1863-67, 1871-77. 


1857-60, 1862-6S. 
John  Layton,  1848-o6. 
Jonathan  Cory,  1850. 
Manning  Vermuele,  1851-60. 

Clmrles  Boice,  1847. 
John  Harris,  1S48. 
William  0.  Ayres,  1849-50. 
Joel  Dunn,  1861. 
EnoB  W.  Ruuyou,  1852-53. 


ASSESSORS. 

Elisha  Runyon,  1854-65. 
Jacob  Thorn,  1856. 
Isaac  S.  Dunn,  1S57-62. 
Elias  R.  Pope,  186:1-67. 
Joseph  A.  Hubbard,  1868-77 


Daniel  Bullman,  1847. 
Henry  A.  H.  Martin,  1848-51, 1853, 
1865-74. 


COLLECTORS. 

,  Elisha  Runyon,  1852. 

E.  Clark,  1875-77. 


TOWN   COMMITTEE. 


William  Hand,  Jr.,  1847. 
Frazee  Lee,  1847-54, 1857-60. 
Corra  O.  Meeker,  1847. 
ManninK  Vermuele,  1847, 1854. 
Randolph  Runyon,  1847,  1849-53, 

18.56-71. 
Joseph  O.  Meeker,  1848. 
Elisha  Runyon,  1848. 
Tunis  C.  Tnnison,  1848. 
Robert  Anderson,  1818. 
Daniel  Drake,  1849-64. 
Oliver  Runyon,   1849-53,  1861-73. 
Riindolph  Dnnham,  1849-64. 
Wilbam  C.  Ayres,  1854-55, 1859-00. 
John  Harris,  1855. 
Edgar  Ayres,  1855. 
Corra  0.  Meeker,  1856,  1861,  1863- 

66,  1869-70. 
James  Leonard,  1856-60,  1866-67. 
Warren  Gr^en.  1856. 
Randolph  Drake,  1856-68. 

SUPERINTENDENTS  OF   COMMON   SCHOOLS. 
Charles  H.  Stillman.  1847-54, 1856-  |  Lewis  Bond,  1856. 
66.  I 

JUSTICES  OF   THE   PEACE. 


Daniel  J.  Marshall,  1866. 
Thomas  H.  Force,  1857-60. 
Wiiliiim  S  Dunham,  1861. 
William    McD.  Coriell,    1861-67, 

1870,  1872-77. 
Joseph  A.  Hubbard,  1862-67. 
Samuel  Fitz  Randolph,  1862. 
Wallace  Vail.  1868-72. 
Elias  R.  Pope,  1868. 
Theoilore  J.  Gillies,  1868-69,  1876- 

77. 
Job  Male,  1869. 
Edward  C.  Mulford.  1871-73, 1875- 

77. 
Ethan  Lamphear,  1871. 
Lellins  L.  Compton,  1872-75. 
C.  B.  Rogers,  1873. 
Jon:ithan  11.  Dunham,  1874-77. 
Martin  M.  Thorn,  1874-76. 
Edward  L.  Morris,  1877. 


Eliae  Kirkpatrick,  1848-53. 
Elius  Runyon.  1848-53. 
Joel  Dunn,  1850-51,1856. 
Corra  O.  Jleeker,  1860. 
Abraham  Runyon,  1851. 
James  Moore,  1866. 
Elisha  Runyon,  1868. 
John  Harris,  1858,  1863-69. 
William  J.  Dunham,  1861. 
Henry  P.  Broiik,  1861. 


J  Peter  Jloore,  1864-69. 

Joseph  B.  Jenkins,  1866. 
I  Alfred  Berny.  1867 
I  Peter  P.  Good,  Jr.,  1868. 
,  John  A   Staats,  1869. 
'  Lewis  E.  Clark,  1874-82. 

Stephen  0.  Ryder,  1874. 

J.  Onkley  Nodyne,  1877-81. 

Theodore  J.  Gillies,  1877. 

Levi  S.  WadsworUi,  1880. 


Abrahiini  D.  Titsworth,  1863-64.  Joseph  N.  Richardson,  1878. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF   APPEALS. 


Frazee  Lee,  1847-48,  1856. 

Simeon  Fitz  Randolph,  1847-49. 

James  Leonard,  1847-50. 

Jacob  Thorn, 1848. 

Jesse  Vail.  1849-.50. 

Manning    Vermuele,    1850,    1871, 

l»7;i-77. 
Manning    Stelle,     1861-53,    1859, 

1860-6S,  1870.  1874-77. 
Elston  Marsh,  1861-54,  1869-60. 


lings,    1851-65, 


William     M.  Jenn 

1857-59,  1872. 
William  C.  Ayres,  1864-68. 
Euos  W.  Runyon,  1855,  1861. 
Alvah  Gardner,  1856, 1860,1862-66. 
David  Thickslon  (supply). 
Elisha  Runyon,  18.17-59. 
John  Harris,  1862-69. 
Joseph  B   Coward,  1867-73. 
William  McD.  Coriell,  1869-77. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

TOWNSHIP    AND    CITY  OF    PLAINFIELD. 

Plainfield  was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1869.  It 
is  divided  into  four  wards,  and  is  governed  by  a  mayor 
elected  for  two  years  and  a  Common  Council.  The 
assessed  valuation  of  personal  property  and  real 
estate  within  the  limits  (including  North  Plainfield) 
is  about  §6,000,000,  which  is  not  fully  up  to  the  true 
value.  There  are  nearly  2000  legal  voters  in  the  cor- 
porate limits,  and  about  600  in  the  North  Plainfield 
District  mentioned.     The  population  is  about  12,000, 


298 


HISTORY    01-'    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COHNTIES,  NEW    JEHSEY. 


including  both  sides  of  Green  Brook.  Of  this  number 
less  than  2000  are  foreigners.  The  city  covers  an 
area  of  some  seven  square  miles,  and  about  4500 
acres,  as  embraced  in  the  territory  inclosed  by  Terrill 
Avenue  on  the  northeast,  the  city  limits  on  the  south- 
west, and  extending  from  Mountain  Avenue  on  the 
northwest  to  the  eastern  limits  of  the  city  and  town- 
ship line.  It  is  about  twenty-four  miles  southwesterly 
from  New  York  City,  and  on  the  new  through  line  to 
Philadelphia  about  ninety  minutes'  ride  therefrom, 
and  pleasantly  located  on  a  gently  sloping  plain 
about  one  hundred  feet  above  tide-water.  Evona  on 
the  westerly  and  Netherwood  on  the  easterly  sides  of 
the  city  proper  are  thriving  hamlets. 

We  insert  here  the  following  list  of  city  officials, 
with  the  years  in  which  tliey  held  their  respective 
offices : 

MAYOltS, 
Job  Male,  1869-70,  Ili77-7S.  j  J.ilin  C.  Sutphen,  1875-76. 

John  H.  Evans,  1871-72.  Nathan  Harper,  1879-80. 

Charles  H.  Stillnian,  M.D.,  187;i-74.  |   L.  V.  Kitz  llandolph,  1881-82. 

ALDKKMK.N. 

:  John  .\.  Staats,  1869. 
I   Henry  J.  Ha 


STREET  COMMISSIONERS. 
1869.  George  M.  Angleman,  1879-80. 


Peter  Mo 
John  Hal 


■e,  1869-7(1. 
ia.  1869. 


,  1871. 


MEMBERS   OF   COMMON    COUNCIL. 


William  C.  Ajres,  1869. 

Robert  0.  Edwards,  1869. 

Edmund  P.Sanger,  1869. 

Nicliolas  W,  West,  1869. 

Evan  Jones,  1869. 

Enos  W.  Rnnjon,  1869.    He  was 

the  first  president  of  board. 
William     McD.    Ouriell,    1869-70, 

1872-74,  1879-81. 
Eufus  K.  Case,  1870,  1872-73. 
Aaron  F.  Campbell,  1870. 
John  C.  Sutphen,  1870. 
Nathan  Harper,  1870,  1872-74. 
Lebbeus  L.  Uompton,  1871-73. 
S.  AlpheUB  Smith,  1872-78. 
Alexander  Gilbert,  1882.    In  place 

of  William  Flanders,  wliodied 

1881. 
George  T.  Yonng,  1872-74,  1876. 
J.  D.  Spieer,  1872. 
Oliver  Runyon,  1872-74. 
James  E.  Martin,  1872-73. 
Mason  W.  Tyler,  1873,  1881. 
John  I.  Ferine,  1873. 
J.  B.  Duniont,  1873. 
Chailes  W.  Oiidyke,  1873. 
Isaac  L.  Miller,  1873. 
Morgan  Bird,  1873. 
Edmund  V.  Shotwell.  1873. 
James  Parker,  1874. 
John  H.  Tier,  1874-75. 
John  H.  Gilligun,  1874. 
Isaac  W.    Rushmore,   1874,    1879, 

1880-82. 
John  11.  Frenih,  1874-73. 
William  H.  Voi.rhees,  1876. 
Edward  C.  Mulford,  l87.'i-76. 
Charles  A.  Hunter,  1873-75. 
Martin  M.  Thorn,  1873. 
Stephen  C.  Ryder,  1870. 
John  Hiirris,  1875-76. 
Augustus  Petlibone,  1876,  1878. 
Charles  Potter,  Jr.,  1876-78. 
Jacob  K.  Myer-<,  1876. 
John  J.  Demarest,  1876. 


Joseph  W.  Yates,  1869-70. 

John   Simpson,    1869-71,    1874-75, 

1878-79,  1882. 
John    B.  Brown,  1869-71,  1874-75, 

1878-79. 
Dauiel  T.  Marshall,  1870,  1878. 
James  H.  Ackerman,  1871. 
Levi  Hetfteld,  1871,  1874. 
David  J.  Boice,  1871. 
Edwin  M.  Daniel,  1871. 
Clark  Rogers,  1869, 1871-73. 
I  John  G.  Voorhees,  1871,  1873-74. 
John  Allen,  1871-73. 
J.  Everit  Tracey,  1876. 
Edward  L.  Moris,  1876,  1878. 
John  N.  Whiton,  1876,  1880-81. 
Samuel  T.  Varian,  1873. 
Salvin  C.  Baker,  1878. 
Frederick  R.  W.  Kn.iwlaud,  1878. 
Robert  Simpson,  1878-82. 
John  Cameron,  1878. 

Rockhill  W.  Potts,  1879-80. 

Washington  Lithgow,  1879-80. 

W.  S.  Darling,  1879-81. 

Roland  W.  Stover,  1879. 
1  Gilford  Mayer,  1879. 

Walter  E.  Stewart,  1879. 

Eplnaim  H.  Depew,  1879. 

Henry  Redfleld,  1879-80,  1882. 

Edwin  L.  Finch,  1880-81. 

Alvan  V.  Dunhip,  1880. 

Charles  E.  Ryder,  1879-80. 

William  Flanders,  1880-81. 

Ch:irles  S.  Guion,  1881-82. 

Theodore  B.  Hamilton,  1881. 

Aiulrew  H.  Smith,  1881. 

Henry  Smith,  1881. 

O  .1.  Waring,  1881. 

J.  E.  Tracy,  1881. 

Heiii-y  B.  Newhall,  1882. 

Henry  Liudslcy,  1882. 

Robert  L.  Livingston,  1882. 
:  William  Thompson,  1882. 

William  S.  Kaufman,  1882. 

William  E.  Gardner,  1882. 


Samuel  T.  Var 

George  W.  Fitz  Randolph,  1870.  William  f. 

John  Wilson,  1871-78. 

CITY   ATTORNEYS. 
Enos  W.  Runyon,  1869-70. 
John  H.  Van  Winkle,  1871. 
Joseph  B.  Coward,  1872-73. 


George  B.  Suydam,  1S74,  1877-80. 
William  B.  Maxson,   1875-76. 
Charles  W.  Kembell,  1881-82. 


Nelson  Runyon,  1869-77. 
William  B.  Smith,  1878-79, 


CITY  CLERKS. 

O.  B.  Leanard,  1880-82. 


CITY   TREASURERS. 
Cannon  Parse,  1869-70.  Jeremiah  Va 


I  Winkle,  1871-82. 


CITY   JUDGES. 
J.  Hervey  Ackerman,  1874.  I  Nelson  Runyon,  1880-82. 

Peter  P.  Good,  1875-79. 

JUSTICES  OF   PEACE. 

J.  Oakly  Nodyne,  1882. 
j  Jasper  Berges,  1882. 

Lewis  E.  Clark,  1878-82. 
I  John  J.  Lee,  1875-79. 


John  Johnson,  1882. 
Daniel  L.  Allen,  1882. 
Vincent  W.  Nash,  188-; 
Levi  Hetfleld,  1882. 


CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 
William  M.  Ayres,  1878-79.  I  Rowland  M.  Stover,  1882. 

J.  Frank  Hubbard,  1882.  ' 

SCHOOL  TRUSTEES. 
J.  H.  Vincent,  1872.  William  B.  Stewart,  1877. 

E.M.  Brown,  1872.  Nathan  Harper,  1878. 

R.  M.  Titsworth,  1872.  j  Charles  H.  Stillman,  1879. 
Jacob  Kirkner,  1875.  Mason  W.  Tyler,  1882. 

John  W.  Murray,  1876-81.  I 

Census  Report. — The  population  of  the  city  proper 
is  8126, — males,  2669;  females,  3457, — showing  an  in- 
crease from  1875  to  the  present  time, — 1875,  7216; 
1880,  8126  ;  increase,  1110. 

Tiie  city  of  Plainfield  is  now  (1882)  divided  in  four 
wards. 

Schools. — The  early  settlers  after  building  them- 
selves rude  habitations  also  built  the  "  log  school- 
house."  Among  the  early  settlers  in  this  township 
was  James  Fullerton,  whose  parents,  Thomas  Fuller- 
ton,  his  wife,  and  ten  servants,  and  Robert  Fullerton, 
with  nine  servants,  arrived  in  October,  1684.  They 
settled  on  Cedar  Brook,  just  near  the  city  of  Plain- 
field.  At  this  late  date  it  cannot  be  determined 
whether  James  Fullerton  was  a  son  of  Thomas  or 
not,  but  it  is  now  known  that  he  was  a  schoolmaster, 
as  he  and  Master  Robert  Coles,  of  Westfield,  taught 
school  in  the  township.  As  early  as  the  year  1689 
the  few  settlers,  the  Gordons,  Ormstons,  Forbes, 
Mashs,  Farrers,  Jacksons,  and  many  others,  had 
settled  within  short  distances  of  each  other,  and 
James  Fullerton  is  spoken  of  as  the  schoolmaster. 
There  are  a  number  of  teachers  spoken  of  alter  the 
year  1701  to  1800,  as  a  Mr.  John  Boacker  (Baker), 
and  one  John  Conger,  a  Mr.  Brown,  also  a  Mr.  Mc- 
Nulthy. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  one  of  the  early 
Plainfield  schools:  It  was  situated  on  the  forks  of 
three  roads,  surrounded  by  maple  and  live-oak  trees, 
and  in  the  centre  of  the  school  district,  convenient 


TOWNSHIP  AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


299 


for  the  children.  "  School  took  in  from  8  a.m.  till  4 
P.M.,"  a  much  longer  session  than  is  the  custom  at  the 
present  time.  Boards  were  nailed  for  desks  against 
the  side  of  the  wall ;  long  benches  made  of  oak  slabs 
from  the  saw-mill  near  by,  with  holes  for  the  rude 
legs  ;  a  few  smaller  and  lower  ones  for  the  little  schol- 
ars; they  were  without  backs  Bible-reading  was  a 
custom  ;  the  few  school-books  that  could  be  obtained 
were  not  very  satisfactory,  and  so  many  times  Ave  se- 
lected letters  and  words  from  the  Bible." 

Joseph  Fitz  Randolph,  about  1809  and  also  1812, 
taught  the  school,  which  stood  near  Mr.  James  Lean- 
ard's  residence  ;  William  Marsh  was  also  the  teacher 
for  five  years  from  1816  in  the  same  building.  Miss 
Sallie  Page  kept  a  Quaker  school  in  1805-7,  and  per- 
haps longer;  it  was  situated  on  the  corner  of  Peace 
and  Front  Streets.  Mr.  William  Davis  and  Thomas 
Wallace  (and  one  other  in  the  basement  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church)  taught  from  1S35  to  1838.  Mr. 
Frazee  Coles,  about  1805  to  1809,  taught  the  school 
in  the  village  of  Plainfield  and  in  the  Jackson  school- 
house,  on  or  near  the  Terrill  road,  for  a  number  of 
terms.  He  is  spoken  of  as  a  "  successful  tutor."  He 
has  just  died  (Nov.  12,  1881),  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-six.  A  building  called  the  academy  was  built 
in  the  year  1812.  Rev.  Buckley  Morse,  a  Baptist 
clergyman,  taught  for  some  time,  also  a  Mr.  Ran- 
dolph. 

"  We  had  a  number  of  teachers  and  many  Yankee 
schoolmarms  and  masters,"  says  an  old  resident.  It 
was  burnt  down  in  the  year  1834.  Mr.  Joseph  Ran- 
dall taught  in  the  "village"  in  1811  and  1816.  An- 
other account  of  these  early  schools  says  that  the  in- 
habitants desired  their  children  educated,  and  built  a 
school  in  1760,  on  the  corner  of  what  is  known  as 
Peace  and  Front  Streets,  and  this  and  the  one  that 
was  built  near  "  Tow  Town"  were  the  first.  A  little 
later  a  school-house  was  built  on  the  corner  of  Somer- 
set and  Front  Streets,  where  Messrs.  Pope  Brothers' 
store  now  stands,  and  James  Fitz  Randolph  (who 
was  a  Quaker)  taught  there  as  well  as  at  the  Quaker 
school. 

There  was  a  private  school-house  built  where  the 
late  residence  of  Cornelius  Boice,  Esq.,  stood,  and 
before  his  house  was  built.  Here  Ezra  Fairchild 
kept  a  select  .school  from  1837^0. 

About  the  same  time  there  was  a  school-house, 
which  afterwards  was  changed  into  a  dwelling,  oppo- 
site the  First  Baptist  Church.  The  teachers  who 
taught  here  were  Amos  Lyon,  from  near  Scotch  Plains, 
1835 ;  Mr.  Whitney,  1833-34,  and  again  in  1840 ;  Jacob 
Wood  was  the  next  teacher,  who  taught  in  1841-43, 
and  after  his  term  expired  it  was  sold  to  Mr.  Abra- 
ham Runyon  for  a  dwelling.  Mr.  E.  Dean  Dow  is 
mentioned  as  a  teacher  in  the  seminary,  and  after- 
wards editor  of  the  Central  New  Jersetj  Times  at  Plain- 
field. 

The  Plainfield  Seminary  was  a  frame  building,  forty 
by  thirty-six  feet,  which  was  built  on  the  land  after- 


wards owned  by  Mr.  Cornelius  Boice,  on  the  southwest 
and  adjoining  the  First  Presbyterian  Church. 

The  Plainfield  Classical  Institute,  a  rival  educa- 
tional interest,  was  organized  in  1834,  and  was  also  in 
a  frame  building,  sixty  by  thirty-five  feet.  It  stood 
opposite  the  First  Baptist  Church,  and  both  buildings 
are  still  standing,  having  been  converted  into  private 
dwellings. 

In  connection  with  the  history  of  the  schools  in 
this  city  should  be  mentioned  the  name  of  Charles 
H.  Stillman,  M.D.,  who  died  so  suddenly  at  his 
residence  on  Front  Street  early  on  Sunday,  Nov.  — , 
1881.  The  cause  of  education  seemed  to  belong  to 
his  life-work.  We  refer  to  his  labors  in  founding 
the  public  school  system  in  Plainfield,  and  to  his 
disinterested  and  unbroken  services  of  thirty-four 
years  in  developing  that  system  as  a  trustee  and 
president  of  the  board  of  education.  The  story  of 
the  early  struggle  to  lay  the  foundations  of  our  public 
schools  show  what  persistent  and  enthusiastic  labor 
was  necessary  to  achieve  that  result.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  presenting  the  oil  portrait  of  Dr.  Stillman 
to  the  Board  of  Education,  some  three  years  ago,  to 
be  placed  upon  the  walls  of  the  High  School  Chapel, 
a  sketch  of  the  doctor's  life-work  was  given  in  an  ad- 

ilress  by  the  editor  of  the  New  Jersey   Times,  

Leonard,  Esq.  This  was  the  first  free  school  founded 
in  New  Jersey.  There  was  not  even  a  law  on  the 
statute  books  of  the  State  to  provide  for  raising  money 
to  found  and  carry  on  such  a  school  as  this.  Dr.  Still- 
man took  the  first  step  to  accomplish  this  result  in 
securing  proper  legislation,  and  he  encountered  not 
only  the  difiiculties  which  always  meet  one  in  attempt- 
ing tbe  passage  of  important  laws,  but  the  prejudice 
of  those  who  opposed  the  free  school  as  an  innovation. 
A  law  was  at  length  passed  appropriating  one  hundred 
dollars  to  carry  on  the  school  for  a  year,  together  with 
the  three  hundred  dollars  which  the  State  had  appro- 
priated in  years  gone  by  for  the  use  of  poor  children. 
This  was  also  secured  through  the  agency  of  Dr.  Still- 
man for  the  free  school  of  Plainfield,  and  thus  the 
sum  of  four  hundred  dollars  was  obtained  with  which 
to  start  the  work,  and  the  public  school  was  founded 
Aug.  16,  1847. 

But  when  this  point  was  reached  he  looked  around 
for  a  suitable  building,  and  there  was  none  to  be  found. 
Finally  it  was  decided  to  select  two  buildings,  one  at 
the  lower  end  of  the  town  and  one  at  the  upper  end, 
the  latter  being  the  upper  story  of  a  deserted  cabinet- 
shop,  and  the  other  at  the  west  end  a  deserted  and 
dilapidated  hatter's  shop.  But  after  a  short  time  they 
were  found  to  be  entirely  inadequate  to  the  purpo.se, 
and  through  the  persistency  of  Dr.  Stillman  another 
law  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  appropriating  two 
thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  school- 
house  and  defraying  other  expenses  of  the  school. 
Thus  it  is  seen  that  this  important  work  was  accom- 
plished. Dr.  Charles  H.  Stillman,  M.D.,  was  for 
thirty-four  years  the  trustee,  and  also  in  1847  as  town- 


30(1 


HISTORy    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ship  superintendent  of  schools,  and  held  the  last  po- 
sition for  twenty  years,  or  until  the  office  of  superin- 
tendent was  abolished.  He  was  then  re-elected  under 
the  new  law  as  a  school  trustee,  and  for  fourteen  years 
more  or  until  his  death  was  president  of  the  board. 
The  success  of  his  work  as  seen  in  our  public  school 
system  is  his  best  eulogy. 

The  following  statistical  report  relates  to  the  city 
schools  of  District  No.  12:  Amount  of  apportionment 
from  the  State,  including  the  two-mill  tax  and  the 
$100,000,  $6772.72;  amount  of  district  school  tax 
voted  for  payment  of  teachers'  salaries,  $13,146.24 ; 
amount  voted  for  building  purposes,  $."^389.40;  amount 
ordered  to  be  raised,  $18,535.64  ;  total  amount  received 
from  all  sources  for  public  schools,  $25,308.37  ;  pres- 
ent value  of  the  school  property,  $56,000  ;  number  of 
children  in  the  district  between  five  and  eighteen 
years  of  age,  2019;  number  enrolled,  1258;  male 
teachers,  1 ;  female  teachers,  23. 

Board  ^of  Eduantion. — President,  Jacob  Kirkner; 
Secretary,  John  W.  Murray  ;  Mason  W.  Tyler,  Na- 
than Harper. 

There  are  under  the  care  of  the  board  four  schools, 
viz.,  one  high  school,  one  grammar  school,  and  two 
primary  schools.  These  are  all  under  the  direction 
of  Miss  J.  E.  Bulkley,  principal.  The  High  School 
is  on  Union,  corner  of  Fifth  Street.  Teachers :  Misses 
J.  E.  Bulkley,  C.  E.  Niles,  Anna  Stevens,  and  A.  H. 
Morton.  Grammar  school,  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  and 
Union  Streets,  Miss  C.  B-.  Runyon,  Mrs.  E.  R.  Hal- 
lock,  Misses  Mariana  Shreve,  E.  L.  Gavett,  A.  M. 
Day,  Cornelia  Anderson,  P.  R.  Fisher,  teachers.  Pri- 
mary school,  on  Fifth  Street;  teachers:  Misses  M. 
E.  Humpston,  A.  B.  Miller,  A.  W.  Booream,  S.  L. 
Wood,  A.  E.  Wilson.  Special:  Miss  E.  J.  Utter, 
teacher  of  vocal  music.  Primary  school,  on  Fourth 
Street;  teachers:  Misses  Josephine  Shreve,  F.  A. 
Willets,  S.  G.  Kenny,  E.  U.  Force,  J.  J.  Ketcham, 
and  E.  A.  Holmes. 

The  average  attendance  in  all  the  schools  for  the 
last  school  year  has  been  937,  and  teachers'  salaries 
average :  in  the  primary  grade,  $300  to  $550  ;  in  the 
grammar  grade,  $500  to  $600;  in  the  high  school 
grade,  $600  to  $1200. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  teachers  from  18(i6  to 
1882:  Miss  Julia  E.  Bulkley,  Sei)tember,  1872  ;  prin- 
cipal, October,  1881-82.  Mr.  T.  J.  Miller,  High 
School,  October,  1881.  Miss  Mary  A.  Gleim,  1881. 
Miss  Ellen  E.  Niles,  September,  1869.  Miss  Mary  E. 
Lavender,  November,  1880.  Grammar  department: 
Miss  Carrie  B.  Runyon,  September,  1866.  Annie  M. 
Day,  September,  1881.  Mariana  Shreve,  August, 
1875.  Esther  L.  Garnett,  February,  1873.  Emma 
Jones,  Ajjril,  1881.  Cornelia  Anderson,  September, 
1880.  Mary  E.  Palmer,  October,  1881.  Primary  de- 
partment :  Josephine  Shreve,  February,  1876.  F.  A. 
Willets,  May,  1881.  Sarah  G.  Kenny,  September, 
1871.  EmmaForce,  October,  1869.  Julia  J.  Ketcham, 
September,  1877.    E.  A.  Holmes,  September,  1879.   M. 


E.  Humpston,  September,  1874.  A.  B.  Miller,  May, 
1880.  Annie  W.  Booream,  September,  1876.  S.  L. 
Wood,  September,  1878.  Celia  J.  Gates,  November, 
1881. 

Plainfield  Academy,  a  Boaeding  and  Day 
School  for  Boys  and  Young  Men,  Seventh  Street 
near  Liberty.  At  this  school  students  are  prepared 
for  business  and  for  college.     The  principal  is  Pro- 


PLAINFIELD  ACADEMY'. 

fessor  James  Lyon,  who  has  been  teaching  a  number 
of  years  in  the  city.  He  has  introduced  an  evening 
class  fi.r  the  study  of  book-keeping,  arithmetic,  and 
writing,  which  meets  on  every  alternate  evening. 

There  are  a  number  of  seminaries  and  private 
schools,  viz.  : 

Mrs.  Julia  Austin's,  located  in  Craig  Place. 

The  Misses  Coles',  on  Sixth  and  Nesv  Streets. 

Miss  H.  M.  Conrey's,  82  Park  Avenue. 

Miss  E.  E.  Kenyon's,  Seventh  Street,  north  of  Park 
Avenue. 

Miss  Joanna  K.  Maxson's,  West  Seventh  Street, 
north  of  Park  Avenue. 

The  Friends'  select  school  was  established  in  1878 
in  the  new  brick  Orthodox  Meeting-House  on  Front 
Street.  It  is  upon  a  basis  of  moral  as  well  as  intel- 
lectual training.  The  school  has  a  large  number  of 
pupils.  Elizabeth  Burton,  principal  ;  Annie  Gillies, 
assistant  principal. 

The  Quakers. — Quakers  first  settled  in  the  south- 
easterly parts  of  this  township  and  in  Raritan  in  1728, 
and  about  the  year  1735  many  settled  on  the  line  of 
Green  Brook,  just  under  the  "  Blue  Hills,"  as  that 
portion  of  the  First  Mountain  was  often  called.  The 
following  names  are  among  those  of  the  early  settlers : 

Nathan  Vail,  Isaac  Vail,  Amos  Vail,  Edward  Vail, 
Joel  Vail,  Ralph  Shotwell,  Daniel  Shotwell,  John 
Shotwell,  Elijah  Shotwell,  Isaac  Webster,  Joseph  Shot- 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


3((1 


well,  Samuel  Shotwell,  Smith  Shotwell,  Zachariah 
Shotwell,  Kphraim  Vail,  James  Vail,  .Toliii  A.  Vail, 
Abram  Vail,  Jonah  Vail,  Webster  Thorn,  Hugh 
Thorn,  John  Thorn,  Hugh  Townsend,  Jothan  Town- 
send,  and  Elijah  Pound.  Tliese  are  the  names  of  the 
first  families,  and  many  descendants  of  most  of  them 
are  still  living,  some  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  and 
some  scattered  widely  over  the  country. 

A  Weekly  Meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  John 
Laing.  near  "  Tow  Town,"  about  the  year  1723,  and 
Oct.  It),  1725,  they  applied  to  the  Friends  at  Wood- 
bridge  Meeting  for  the  privilege  of  holding  their  meet- 
ings nearer  their  homes  on  account  of  distance  and 
bad  roads,  as  it  was  a  longdistance  to  ride  every  First 
Day.  Their  request  was  granted,  but  on  the  21st  of 
September,  1728,  the  day  of  the  Plaintield  Meeting  was 
changed  from  the  first  to  the  fourth  day  of  the  week, 
in  order  not  to  affect  the  attendance  at  the  Woodbridge 
Meeting,  which  was  held  on  the  first  day,  and  the 
residence  of  the  Laings  was  still  the  place  appointed 
for  service,  although  John,  the  promoter  of  it,  was 
dead.  He  bequeathed  to  the  Friends  a  plot  of  ground 
on  which  to  build  a  meeting-house,  and  on  the  27th 
of  March,  1731,  the  Woodbridge  Monthly  Meeting 
gave  them  permission  for  its  construction,  directing 
that  it  should  not  exceed  in  its  dimensions  twenty- 
four  feet  square  and  fourteen  feet  "'  between  joynts." 
It  was  completed  and  all  accounts  settled  by  the  latter 
part  of  the  year  1736.  In  1744  a  "  hors  stable"  was 
built  adjoining  the  new  meeting-house,  towards  which, 
as  well  a.s  towards  the  building  of  the  meeting-house 
itself,  the  Woodbridge  Friends  liberally  subscribed. 
Here  in  their  burial-ground  the  first  of  these  fami- 
lies were  buried  "  near  the  meeting-house,"  and  here 
their  meetings  were  held  for  many  years. 

At  their  Quarterly  Meeting  held  in  178(j  the  ques- 
tion was  agitated  as  to  the  propriety  of  removing  the 
meeting-house  "  at  John  Laing's,  deceased,  to  the  set- 
tlement at  the  plains,"  and  for  some  months  the  mat- 
ter was  spoken  of,  until,  in  1788,  a  decided  step  was 
taken,  and  a  plot  of  laud  was  purchased  near  the 
depot  in  the  city  of  Plainfield,  and  the  present  build- 
ing (which  is  "shingled  on  the  sides")  was  built.  It 
is  still  kept  in  excellent  condition,  and  the  surround- 
ing grounds  "  well  fenced  and  free  from  brambles." 
The  old  meeting-house  was  removed  to  this  site,  and 
for  a  time  used.  They  have  built  substantial  horse- 
sheds,  and  in  the  rear  of  them  is  their  place  of  inter- 
ment. As  usual  but  few  stones  or  inscriptions  can  be 
found  in  the  yard  here.  Here  rest  the  dead  of  one 
liundred  years  ago. 

The  rise  and  progress  of  the  Society  of  Friends  here 
has  been  slow,  many  liaving  moved  to  different  States 
and  formed  colonies,  and  many  of  their  descendants 
are  still  found  faithful  to  the  principles  of  their  belief. 

Within  a  few  years  the  second  meeting-house  has 
been   built  of  brick.     It  is  neat  in  appearance,  and 
the  upper  part  is  used  for  a  Friends'  school.     This 
building  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  main  street. 
20 


The  following  items  of  interest  are  found  in  con- 
nection with  the  early  meetings  of  the  Friends: 
I       From  the  minutes  of  the  Monthly  Meeting  assem- 
1  bled  on  the  17th  of  July,  1755,  we  learn  that  legacies 
I  had  been  bequeathed  at  different  times  to  this  meet- 
ing, and  one  item  is  recorded  of  the  half-acre  given 
by  John  Laing  for   building   the   meeting-house  at 
Plainfield. 

In  the  same  meeting  the  question  "respecting  a 
man's  marrying  his  wife's  first  cousin"  was  consid- 
ered, and  it  was  decided  that  it  was  a  difficult  matter 
to  determine.  Nevertheless  the  prohibition  of  such 
marriages  heretofore  existing  among  the  Friends  was 
reaffirmed  as  the  wisest  and  safest  plan  to  be  adopted. 

At  this  time  (1758)  George  Parker  had  the  charge 
of  the  meeting-house,  and  Robert  Willis  was  one  of 
the  most  active  ministers  of  the  Quakers  in  this  part 
of  the  country. 

In  1760  a  proposition  was  made  in  the  month  of 
August  "to  remove  the  Plainfield  meeting-house  from 
John  Laing's  to  its  present  site,"  which  was  done 
twenty-five  years  after,  in  1786.  In  1761  a  "  Pre- 
parative Meeting  was  established  at  John  Laing's 
meeting,"  preceding  the  Monthly  Meeting;  one  at 
Woodbridge.  etc. 

During  1762  the  question  of  holding  several 
Monthly  Meetings  at  Plainfield  instead  of  confining 
them  to  Woodbridge  was  mooted.  Afterwards  it  was 
altered  to  include  Rahway,  and  was  held  there  and 
at  Plainfield  alternately.  For  several  years  the  ques- 
tion of  holding  negroes  in  bondage  had  agitated  the 
society.  "A  report  to  the  Monthly  Meeting  at 
Plainfield  in  August,  1774,  shows  that  at  this  time 
only  one  negro  'fit  for  freedom'  within  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  society  remained  a  slave.'" 

"  This  [Plainfield]  meeting  is  informed  that  Ben- 
jamin Harris  has  signed  a  paper  for  independency, 
and  has  suffered  his  apprentice  to  go  in  the  army, 
and  has  received  his  wages.  Several  Friends  tried 
to  show  Benjamin  the  error  of  his  ways,  but  he  re- 
fused to  give  them  any  satisfaction  for  his  miscon- 
duct. He  was  therefore  cut  oft'  from  their  com- 
munion." 

The  Quaker  meeting-house  here  was  occupied  dur- 
ing a  part  of  1776  by  soldiers.  Robert  Willis,  who 
was  a  Quaker  preacher,  had  some  idea  of  visiting  the 
South  in  1778,  but  "great  commotion"  (in  Plainfield, 
where  his  letter  is  dated),  "occasioned  by  the  war," 
prevented  his  contemplated  journey.  He  was  loath  to 
leave  his  friends  in  the  midst  of  so  much  distress. 
A  committee  for  the  relief  of  sufferers  was  formed 
this  year,  consisting  of  Abraham  Shotwell,  William 
Smith,  Hugh  Webster,  John  Vail,  William  Thorne, 
and  Elijah  Pound.  Subsequently  Thorne  resigned,  and 
Edward  Moore  was  chosen  in  his  place.  Thorne  said 
in  the  November  meeting  at  Rahway  that  he  was 
compelled  to  affirm  his  allegiance  to  the  Continental 

I  Rev.  J.  \V.  Daily's  Hist,  of  Woodbridge, 


302 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Congress  several  months  before,  having  no  choice 
except  to  do  that  or  be  thrown  into  prison.  Elijah 
Pound  did  the  same  thing,  and  was  therefore  relieved 
of  hi.s  position  on  the  committee  just  mentioned,  being 
allowed  to  resign.  Under  similar  circumstances  and 
at  the  same  time,  probably,  another  Quaker  living  in 
this  section  got  into  difficulty.  He  says,  "  Whereas, 
I,Marmaduke  Hunt,  was  coming  home,  was  taken  by 
a  party  of  light-horse  and  carried  to  Morris  Town  Goal, 
where  I  was  confined  in  a  nausious  room  to  the  injury 
of  my  health  and  deprived  of  the  necessaries  of  life 
to  that  degree  that  I  could  procure  no  more  for  my 
support  but  one  meal  for  seven  days.  In  this  distress 
liberty  was  offered  me  on  condition  of  my  taking  the 
affirmation  of  fidelity  to  the  States,  which  through 
unwatchfulness  I  submitted  to."  John  Laing  tells 
the  same  story.  He  also  was  taken  to  Morristown 
and  locked  up  for  several  days  in  wiiat  he  describes 
as  a  "very  loathsome  goal,"  being  liberated  only  on 
making  affirmation  of  allegiance.  Much  of  the  per- 
sonal property  of  the  Friends  was  confiscated  for  taxes 
and  fines  at  the  time  when  the  spirit  of  resistance  to 
British  aggression  was  overpowering  in  the  colonies. 

Their  proposition  for  removal  of  the  meeting-house 
from  John  Laing's  to  the  new  site  in  Plainfield  dates 
on  the  15th  of  November,  1789.  The  dimensions  of 
the  new  building  were  to  be  thirty-four  by  forty-eight 
feet.  It  is  now  substantially  the  same  as  when  it  was 
erected  about  ninety  years  ago.  A  recent  fire  injured 
the  southern  part  of  it,  but  it  was  repaired  in  a  style 
similar  to  the  unburnt  portion.  May  it  long  remain 
as  a  memento  of  that  time  long  past  of  which  all  our 
dreams  are  poetic,  but  which,  alas !  was  a  time  to 
many  of  bitter  griefs  and  scalding  tears. 

The  Hicksite  Friends  worship  on  First  Day  ai  eleven 
A.M.  First-Day  school  at  ten  a.m.  Nathan  Harper, 
superintendent. 

The  Orthodox  have  built  a  neat  brick  meeting- 
house on  Front  Street,  where  they  worship  on  First 
Day  at  half- past  ten  a.m. 

Acts  were  passed  in  1870  and  1874  in  relation  to 
school  funds,  authorizing  the  trustees  of  Friends' 
schools  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  to  appropriate  portions  of 
the  general  school  funds  for  educational  purposes. 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

TOWNSHIP    AND  CITY    OF    PLAINFIELD.— (ajiKiimcrf.) 

First  Baptist  Church. —The  history  of  this  church 
in  Plainfield  dates  fnini  the  year  1818.  When  it  was 
organized  it  was  in  a  thinly-settled  part  of  Westfield 
township,  said  to  contain  less  than  300  inhabitants. 
The  only  places  of  evangelical  worship  in  the  vicinty 
were  the  Piscataway  Church,  established  in  1()89;  the 
Scotch  Plains  Church,  in  1747  ;  and  the  Samptown 
Church,  in  1792.    Many  of  the  Baptist  families  in  this 


locality,  when  not  worshiping  with  either  of  these 
churches,  used  to  meet  in  private  dwellings  till  1812, 
when  the  academy  was  built.  Here  a  general  meet- 
ing was  called  in  January,  1818,  to  consider  the  feasi- 
bility of  starting  a  new  church.  About  seventy-five 
persons  were  present,  mostly  of  the  Baptist  persuasion, 
and  by  them  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  attempt  the 
movement.  The  amount  of  §2500  was  raised  for  the 
erecting  of  a  house  of  worship.  A  plot  of  ground  was 
secured  on  the  main  street,  the  site  of  the  present  beau- 
tiful stone  edifice.  During  the  summer  of  1818 
ground  was  broken  and  a  Iraine  building  erected  42 
by  48  feet,  covered  and  inclosed  witli  cedar  shingles, 
at  a  cost  of  $3500.  The  building  committee  reported 
the  completion  of  the  house  in  the  fall,  when  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Fitz  Randolph  and  a  number  of  members  from 
the  Sumptown  and  Piscataway  Churches,  Nov.  7, 
1818,  with  other  members,  met  and  unanimously 
adoi)ted  the  articles  ol'  faith,  and  this  church  was 
organized  with  Rev.  Jacob  Fitz  Randolpli  as  pastor, 
Daniel  Fitz  Randolph  and  John  Manning,  deacons, 
and  Drake  Dunn,  church  clerk.  This  church  was 
fully  organized  with  thirty-four  members,  Nov.  25, 
1818,  and  Dec.  14,  1818,  the  first  board  of  trustees  was 
elected.  The  Rev.  Jacob  Fitz  Randolph,  the  first 
pastor,  was  born  in  Middlesex  County,  N.  J.,  1756  ;  at 
an  early  age  united,  June  10,  1786,  with  the  Scotch 
Plains  Baptist  Church.  He  served  as  a  pa,stor  with 
the  Mount  Bethel  Church,  where  he  was  ordained  in 
1791,  where  he  served  for  two  years,  and  left  to  take 
charge  ol'  the  new  church  organized  in  the  year  1792 
at  Samptown,  where  he  served  fi)r  nearly  twenty- 
five  years,  and  with  a  number  lett  and  became  the 
pastor  of  the  new  organization  in  Plainfield.  During 
his  pastorate  here  until  his  death,  .Jan.  18,  1828,  he 
was  beloved  by  the  congregation,  and  a  large  number 
were  added  to  the  church  through  his  labors. 

Rev.  Daniel  T.  Hill  became  the  next  pastor,  and 
during  his  stay  here  extensive  revivals  blessed  the 
church  with  a  largely  increased  membership;  some 
two  hundred  and  eighty-five  were  added  to  the  church. 
In  the  year  1837  the  church  was  enlarged.  He  re- 
signed in  the  year  1839. 

The  Rev.  iSimeon  J.  Drake  accepted  a  call  in  July 
of  the  same  year.  During  his  pastorate  (1849)  the 
trustees  purchased  and  beautified  a  suitable  plot  of 
ground  for  a  cemetery.  Extensive  revivals  during 
Mr.  Drake's  pastorate  added  many  to  the  church. 
The  church  was  repaired  at  an  expense  of  some 
$2350,  which  materially  improved  its  appearance  and 
accommodations.  When  his  labors  ceased  on  the 
earth,  Sunday  morning,  April  13,  1862,  the  church 
was  called  to  part  with  a  wise  counselor,  a  sympa- 
thizing friend,  a  zealous  pastor,  and  a  devout  Chris- 
tian. With  united  hearts  all  cherish  the  memory  of 
his  devoted  life  and  peaceful  death  as  a  valuable 
legacy  to  the  church. 

After  Mr.  Drake's  death  there  was  an  interval  of 
little  more  than  a  year  when  there  was  no  pastor. 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY    OF    PLAINFIELD. 


303 


But  for  several  successive  months  immediately  fol- 
lowint;  his  death  the  church  enjoyed  the  gospel 
preaching  of  the  venerable  "  Father  Webb."  Never 
will  this  people  forget  his  kind  words  of  comfort  and 
consolation  in  that  time  of  bereavement,  and  his 
prayers  of  faith  and  counsels  of  love  from  a  heart 
rich  with  a  long  life  of  sweet  intimacy  with  his 
Master. 

Rev.  David  J.  Yerkes  accepted  a  call  to  this  church 
in  1863.  His  previous  fields  of  labor  had  been,  first, 
with  the  church  at  HoUidaysburg,  Pa.,  in  1849,  next 
with  the  First  Church  of  Pittsburgh,  in  1856,  and  just 
before  coming  to  Plainfield,  bis  charge  for  three  years 
was  the  First  Church  of  Brooklyn.  Shortly  after  Mr. 
Yerkes'  settlement  the  old  church  building,  around 
which  clustered  so  many  hallowed  memories,  became 
no  longer  suitable  in  size  or  convenience  for  the  in- 
creasing demands  of  an  enlarged  membership  and  the 
accommodation  of  a  growing  community.  The  old 
frame  meeting-house,  still  needed  ibr  worship  until 
the  new  edifice  was  erected,  was  moved  aside  far 
enough  to  give  room  for  the  heavy  foundation  walls  of 
a  large  stone  structure,  the  corner-stone  of  which  was 
laid  Oct.  8,  186:f.  This  edifice,  60  by  100  feet,  built 
in  the  modern  Romanesque  style,  was  completed  and 
furnished  at  a  cost  of  about  $75,000  on  the  25th  day 
of  November,  1869,  when  the  dedication  services  were 
held  and  an  appropriate  discourse  delivered  by  Rev. 
George  B.  Ide,  D.D.,  of  Mas.sachusetts.  During  the 
pastorate  and  up  to  this  time  nearly  one  thousand 
persons  have  been  received  into  this  church,  and  since 
the  organization  of  this  church,  1818,  there  have  been 
added  nearly  seventeen  hundred  persons. 

The  church  is  now  almost  threescore  years  old,  and 
has  had  but  four  pastors,  making  the  average  length 
of  each  pastorate  about  sixteen  years. 

Deacons  who  have  served  the  church  are  Daniel 
Fitz  Randolph,  John  Manning,  Thomas  Stead,  Drake 
Dunn,  William  Supardus,  Benjamin  Stelle,  Manning 
Stclle,  James  T.  Dunn,  Elston  Marsh,  Oliver  Run- 
yon,  Manning  Vermeule,  Daniel  Fitz  Randolph, 
Insley  Boice,  Peter  Balen,  Stephen  H.  Burr,  and  John 
S.  Baldwin. 

Church  clerks  have  been   Drake  Dunn,  Benjamin 
Stelle,  Jefferson    R.  Dunn,  John  Wilson,  James  C.  , 
Ayres,  Elston  Marsh,  and  Oliver  B.  Leonard.  1 

Sunday-school  superintendents  have  been  Jefferson  i 
R.  Dunn,  Benjamin  Stelle,  Jacob  A.  Wood,  James  C. 
Ayre{>,  David  Lenox,  Oliver  Runyon,  Levi  Hatfield, 
Eiston  M.  Dunn,  O.  B.  Leonard,  William  White,  W. 
M.  Gray,  S.  H.  Burr,  and  Charles  W.  McCutchen. 

Trustees,  William  White,  Jeremiah  Manning,  L.  W. 
Serrell,  Nelson  W.  Gardner,  David  F.  Boice,  Alex- 
ander Gilbert,  and  George  A.  Chapman. 

Treasurer,  Nelson  W.  Gardner. 

Sittings,  1200  ;  membership,  779. 

Presbyterian  Church. — It  was  not  until  the  10th 
of  July,  1825,  that  this  the  First  Presbyterian  Church 
of   Plainfield   was  organized.     Y'et  it  is  well  under- 


stood that  there  were  a  few  families  of  this  faith  settled 
in  and  about  this  section  of  Westfield  township,  and 
that  they  had  connected  themselves  with  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  at  Bound  Brook  and  Westfield,  and 
they  felt  no  little  inconvenience  from  the  distance 
that  they  had  to  go  to  attend  church,  therefore  occa- 
sionally came  the  respective  pastors  of  these  churches 
and  held  services  in  the  neighboring  school-house,  or 
in  their  private  dwellings. 

For  a  long  time  they  had  consulted  together  upon 
the  subject  of  building  a  suitable  building  for  the 
regular  worship  on  the  Sabbath,  and  after  due  con- 
sideration they  appointed  certain  of  their  members 
to  solicit  help  from  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown, 
and  their  wish  was  granted  them  to  have  certain 
members  of  that  body  to  preach  to  them  occasionally  ; 
and  at  the  date  mentioned  in  1825  this  church  was 
duly  organized  with  eighteen  members  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  Presbytery,  and  the  Lord's  Supper  was 
first  administered  to  this  little  flock  under  the  shade 
of  some  large  trees  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  McDowell. 

In  1827  the  edifice  was  finished  and  dedicated  to 
the  worship  of  God.  The  Rev.  Lewis  Bond  became 
their  pastor  in  1825  and  remained  until  April,  1857, 
a  period  of  thirty-two  years.  He  is  still  living  at 
his  residence  a  few  doors  from  the  church,  and  is  able 
to  enter  and  worship  with  the  sons  and  daughters  of 
his  former  parishioners.  During  his  active  ministry 
nearly  five  hundred  were  gathered  as  members.  Of 
these  over  two  hundred  were  received  on  certificate 
from  other  churches  and  nearly  three  hundred  on  ex- 
amination. During  that  time  over  two  hundred  were 
dismissed  to  other  churches,  of  whom  eighty-six 
united  in  forming  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Plainfield,  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Newark.  When  Rev.  Mr.  Bond  relinquished  the 
pastorate  in  1857  there  were  but  two  members  whose 
names  were  enrolled  among  the  founders  of  this 
church,  and  in  his  quarter-century  serm.m  preached 
in  1851  he  says,  "The  memory  of  our  kindred,  the 
low  whisper  of  our  departed  people,  invite  us  to  cast 
one  more  Imgrring  look  at  the  silent  mansions  of  the 
dead.  There  lie  entombed  nearly  two  hundred  of  our 
flock.  Age,  Activity,  Youth,  and  Infancy  lie  slum- 
bering together.  Others  shall  be  added  to  their  num- 
ber, and  the  sigh  of  the  mourner  mingle  with  the 
clods  of  the  valley,  but  these  shall  still  sleep  sweetly. 
In  another  quarter-century  how  many  of  us  shall 
have  departed?  Who  then  shall  occupy  our  places? 
Who  shall  then  stand  in  this  sacred  desk,  and  to 
whom  shall  '  he  hold  forth  the  word  of  life?'  " 

For  a  few  months  the  church  had  supplies  from 
abroad,  and  in  the  year  1S61  a  unanimous  call  was 
made  to  Rev.  Joseph  B.  Myers,  D.D.,  which  he  ac- 
cepted, and  remained  lor  two  years,  or  until  the  sum- 
mer of  1861.  It  being  his  desire  to  establish  a  col- 
lege in  the  State  of  Florida,  he  immediately  went 
thither.  He  was  an  excellent  |>reacher,  and  highly 
esteemed  by  the  congregation  and  the  community. 


304 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


In  the  fall  of  1861  the  church  invited  the  Rev. 
Samuel  M.  Studdiford  as  their  pastor,  and  he  was  in- 
stalled in  November  of  that  year.  During  his  pas- 
torate of  two  years  a  number  were  received  into  the 
church.  He  is  now  the  pastor  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Trenton,  N.  J. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  V.  McClean,  D.D.,  came  in  1864, 
and  remained  but  a  few  months,  and  was  followed  by 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Cory,  who  came  from  Perth  Am- 
boy  in  1865,  and  remained  for  five  or  six  years,  when 
he  resigned  ;  during  his  term  many  were  added  to  the 
membership,  the  church  property  improved,  and  the 
church  was  in  a  prosperous  condition. 

During  the  fall  of  1870,  Rev.  Henry  L.  Teller,  a 
young,  eloquent  preacher,  became  the  pastor  of  this 
church.  He  resigned  to  go  to  Amsterdam,  N.  Y., 
after  a  few  months'  labor  here.  The  present  pastor. 
Rev.  Kneeland  P.  Ketcham,  received  a  unanimous 
call  to  this  church  in  1871.  He  came  from  Allen- 
town,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  Since  his  pastorate  here 
the  church  has  increased  in  membership.  He  has 
the  love  and  esteem  of  this  community,  and  a  neat 
church  and  excellent  congregation. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  elders  from 
the  organization:  Robert  Anderson,  1825;  John  Lay- 
ton,  1825;  Jarvis  B.  Ayres,  1833;  Lucas  B.  Hoag- 
land,  1841 ;  Ephraim  Coriell,  1847  ;  Job  Squire,  1847 ; 
Andrew  A.  Cadmus,  Tunnison  T.  Soper,  David  Gor- 
den,  Peter  Hoagland,  E.  Dean  Dow,  Ellis  Potter, 
Samuel  Milliken,  Jr.,  and  Isaac  L.  Miller,  1881. 
Communicants,  220;  sittings,  450. 

Second  Baptist  Church. — The  Second  Baptist 
Church  was  constituted  in  the  meeting-house  of  the 
Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church,  Sept.  1,  1842.  The  fol- 
lowing were  the  constituent  members:  John  Runyon, 
Esther  Runyon,  Ansel  Denison,  Sarah  H.  Denison, 
David  Tliickston,  Mary  Thickston,  William  Sutton, 
Charlotte  Sutton,  Samuel  Webster,  Jr.,  Mary  Web- 
ster, William  Estel,  Mary  T.  Estel,  Asa  T.  Waters, 
Mylo  Waters,  James  W.  Vail,  Olive  M.  A'ail,  Isaac 
S.  Manning,  Mary  Manning,  Sarah  Ann  Manning, 
Eliza  Kinsey,  Jeptha  Clawson,  Thomas  H.  Force, 
William  Terry,  Firman  Walker,  Caleb  Garret,  Sarah 
A.  Garret,  Elizabeth  Shreve,  Margaret  Ann  Conipton, 
Catherine  Compton,  Reune  Runyon,  Nathaniel  F.  R. 
Compton,  Esther  Shreve,  Rebecca  Lyon,  Eliza  Lyon, 
Christian  Lyon,  P^liza  Borden,  Nancy  Holton,  Cla- 
rinda  Putnam,  Catherine  F.  R.  Compton,  Samuel 
Webster,  Martha  Webster,  Hannah  Webster,  Susan 
T.  Parker,  Martha  Estel,  Jannet  Martin,  Abby  Mar- 
tin, Jerome  Pack,  Samuel  E.  Pangborn,  Jane  Maria 
Randolph,  Eliza  F.  Randolph,  John  C.  Boice,  Abra- 
ham Runyon,  Jr.,  Sarah  Flatt,  Martha  Randolph, 
Sarah  A.  Boice,  Abraham  Parker,  .Jacob  Drake, 
Peter  Runyon,  Joseph  Perine,  Sarah  Perine,  Ezra  D. 
Prudden,  Rachel  Prudden,  John  Chandler,  Peter 
Moore,  James  C.  Ayres,  Bersheba  Manning. 

Many  of  the  above  had  been  members  of  the  First 
Church  who  withdrew  to  form  this  the  Second  Church. 


Rev.  William  Wood,  Rev.  J.  Wyvell  supplied  the 
pulpit  for  a  few  Sabbaths.  John  Runyon  was  the 
first  church  clerk  ;  David  Thickston  was  made  deacon. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  T.  Hill  received  a  call  to  the 
church,  which  he  accepted,  being  their  first  regular 
pastor,  and  remained  for  about  eleven  years.  Rev. 
Calvin  C.  Williams  came  in  1854,  and  after  a  useful 
service  was  dismissed  in  1857.  The  church  then  ex- 
tended a  call  to  Rev.  Horace  J.  Mason,  who  accepted 
and  remained  until  the  fall  of  1859,  when  he  resigned. 
For  some  months  the  church  remained  without  a  reg- 
ular pastor,  desiring  to  sell  the  edifice  on  the  corner 
of  Central  Avenue  and  Second  Street,  which  being 
accomplished  they  erected  the  building  now  occupied 
by  Trinity  Reformed  Church  at  a  cost  of  about  nine 
thousand  dollars.  It  is  capable  of  seating  about  eight 
hundred  persons.  Rev.  John  Dace  was  invited  to  be- 
come their  pastor  in  1862 ;  he  accepted  and  remained 
for  nearly  six  years ;  many  were  added  to  the  church 
during  his  pastorate,  and  he  left  with  the  great  regret 
of  all  his  congregation.  Rev.  Charles  E.  Young  be- 
came the  pastor  in  1869,  remaining  until  the  last  Sab- 
bath in  December,  1870.  In  March,  1871,  a  unani- 
mous call  was  made  to  Rev.  S.  K.  Howlett,  who 
accepted  and  assumed  the  pastoral  charge  on  the 
second  Sabbath  in  April,  1871.  He  remained  until 
the  fall  of  1876,  when  this  church  dissolved  its  rela- 
tions to  the  East  New  Jersey  Baptist  Association  and 
became  extinct.  During  its  continuance  for  the  space 
of  thirty-four  years  there  had  been  seven  pastors  and 
nearly  eight  hundred  members.  At  the  present  time 
a  number  of  the  members  of  this  church  are  con- 
nected with  the  Park  Avenue  Baptist  Church. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  history  of 
this  church  properly  begins  with  the  year  1820.  In 
this  year  there  lived  in  Plainfield  a  Methodist  lady 
by  the  name  of  Martin  and  also  a  family  by  the  name 
of  Spiby,  who  had  been  Methodists  in  England.  In 
this  latter  family  in  the  same  year  the  Rev.  Father 
Hancock,  in  pa.ssing  through  the  place  from  Mad- 
ison, N.  J.,  led  the  evening  devotions.  This  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  the  first  services  of  this  denomi- 
nation. The  first  regular  Methodist  meeting  was  at 
the  house  of  Mr.  Guion,  who  had  recently  moved, 
from  Long  Island,  and  lived  opposite  Laing's  Hotel 
in  Front  Street.  John  Briant  led  the  meeting;  there 
were  six  persons  present.  Rev.  Mr.  Gearhart,  from 
New  Providence,  preached  in  1822,  and  until  1825 
Plainfield  was  made  part  of  the  very  large  circuit. 
Rev.  Messrs.  Wiggins  and  Best  also  preached  during 
this  time,  using  Mr.  Guion's  dwelling  as  their  church. 
At  the  end  of  that  year  they  had  gathered  about  twenty 
members.  During  the  year  1825  a  lot  was  bought  on 
Second  Street,  then  called  Barn  Street,  because  the 
only  building  on  the  whole  street  was  a  barn.  For 
a  while  the  movement  seemed  promising,  but  as  they 
were  about  ready  to  commence  the  erection  of  a  house 
of  worship  a  financial  crisis  came  on,  and  for  a  while 
the  work  was  abandoned. 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


:^05 


About  the  year  1830-31,  Mr.  John  Briant  established 
prayer-meetings  in  his  house,  a  three-story  house, 
nearly  opposite  Laing's  Hall.  In  this  house  for 
about  a  year  occasional  sermons  were  preached. 
Rev.  Father  Bartine,  Revs.  Geuung  and  Day,  Charles 
Pitman  and  others  assisted,  giving  the  young  church 
occasional  services.  In  the  year  1832  efforts  were  put 
forth  for  a  church  30  by  40,  with  an  end  gallery.  The 
building  committee  were  John  Briant,  David  Cod- 
dington,  John  VV.  Morrison,  Daniel  Osman,  and 
Wesley  Roll,  and  in  the  following  .summer  it  was 
completed.  In  the  spring  of  1853  it  was  made  a  sta- 
tion with  seventeen  members.  Rev.  John  H.  McFar- 
land  became  the  first  regular  pastor.  The  following 
have  since  officiated:  Rev.  Edwin  L.  Janes,  1834; 
Rev.  George  S.  Wharton,  1835;  Rev.  Benjamin  Ben- 
son, 1836;  Rev.  Edward  Sanders,  1837;  Rev.  Vincent 
Shepard,  1838-39;  Rev.  George  F.  Brown,  1840;  Rev. 
Alexander  Gilmore,  1841;  Rev.  Benjamin  Kelley, 
1842-43;'  Rev.  R.  B.  Westbrook,  1844;  Rev.  L.  R. 
Dunn,  1845-46;  Rev.  James  O.  Rogers,  1847-48;- 
Rev.  W.  E.  Perry  came  in  1849-50;  Rev.  Thomas  H. 
McCarroll,  1851;  Rev.  Robert  Given,  1852-53;  Rev. 
John  O.  Winne,  1854-55;  Rev.  S.  W.  Billiard,  1856- 
57;  Rev.  George  Winsor,  1858-59;  Rev.  John  Atkin- 
son, 1860-61 ;  Rev.  S.  Armstrong  served  the  church 
for  about  nine  months,  when  he  was  removed  by 
death,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coyle  was  sentto  fill  the  year; 
Rev.  E.  O.  Day,  1863;  Rev.  A.  M.  Palmer,  a  revival 
that  brought  to  the  church  over  two  hundred  mem- 
bers, 1864-05;  Rev.  G.  H.  Whitney,  1866-67;  Rev. 
William  Day,  1867-68;  Rev.  J.  R.  Bryn,  1870-73; 
Rev.  I.  L.  Hurlburt,  1875-77;  Rev.  William  Day, 
1878-80;  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Stockton,  1881-82  ;  Rev.  j. 
M.  Meeker,  1881 .  Value  of  church  property,  $50,000. 
Sittings,  twelve  hundred;  membership,  six  hundred 
and  seven. 

Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church.— This  church, 
wliose  members  had  long  and  unitedly  worshiped  at 
New  Market,  some  four  miles  from  Plainfield,  met 
and  organized  in  the  latter  village  in  the  year  1838. 
They  built  a  neat  frame  building,  at  that  time  large 
enough  to  contain  all  that  would  attend.  But  as  the 
membership  increased  with  the  growing  village,  ave- 
nues and  streets  were  laid  out,  and  it  became  an  in- 
corporated city  of  some  thousands  of  inhabitants,  the 
line  of  the  Central  Railroad  coming  near  the  church 
pro|)erty,  they  immediately  took  steps  to  build  a  more 
commodious  edifice,  which  was  accomplished  in  1868, 
thirty  years  from  the  date  of  organization.  The 
pastors  have  been  Revs.  Lucius  Crandell,  Samuel 
Davison,  James  H.  Cochran,  James  Bailey,  A.  R. 
Cornwall,  Thomas  R.  Williams,  Darwin  E.  Maxson. 
Present  pastor.  Rev.  A.  H.Lewis,  D.D. ;  Deacons,  Ran- 
dolph Dunham,  Isaac  D.  Titsworth,  A.  D.  Titsworth, 
Isaac    S.    Dunn,   Randolph    Dunn,   Clark    Rogers; 


'  Up  to  this  time  the  increase  was  ninety  members. 
-  During  hia  {mstorate  was  erected  the  UeHutifill  brick  cljurcb  edif 
wilb  Towuaend  town  clock,  at  a  cost  of  813,0110. 


present  deacons,  Daniel  B.  Rogers,  B.  D.  Randolph, 
Thomas  H.  Tomlinson,  Thomas  T.  Randolph,  J.  D. 
Spicer ;  Clerks,  Thomas  S.  Alberti  (twenty-nine 
years)  ;  present  clerk,  J.  D.  Spicer  (fifteen  years  to 
1882).  Number  of  sittings,  four  hundred  ;  members, 
one  hundred  and  ninety;  value  of  property,  five 
thousand  dollars. 

Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church. — This  organization 
of  the  colored  residents  of  Plainfield  was  for  some 
months  in  agitation  while  they  were  holding  services 
in  different  places,  and  in  1870  they  took  the  name  of 
Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church.  The  Rev.  John  Gary 
was  called  to  assist  them  in  their  endeavor  to  estab- 
lish a  church,  and  he  became  their  regular  pa.stor  in 
that  year.  Very  soon  lots  were  secured,  not  only  for 
a  church  but  also  for  the  parsonage,  which  since  then 
has  been  completed,  onthecornerof  Liberty  and  Third 
Avenue.  The  church  is  of  good  size,  with  a  tower, 
and  capable  of  holding  over  two  hundred.  Rev.  John 
j  D.  Bagwell  was  called  to  assist  Mr.  Gary  in  raising 
the  necessary  funds  and  to  help  in  the  services,  which 
he  did  acceptably  until  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev. 
William  Burch  in  the  spring  of  1875.  The  latter  re- 
mained until  1877,  witnessing  a  large  number  of  ad- 
ditions to  the  church.  In  1877,  Rev.  Robert  Newton 
[  Fairfax  was  called  and  accepted  the  pastoral  charge, 
which  he  still  retains.  Tlie  present  membership  is 
one  hundred  and  fifteen;  value  of  church  and  par- 
sonage, five  thousand  dollars. 
The  Second  Presbyterian  Church. — In  1844  the 
1  Second  Presbyterian  Church,  Plainfield,  was  organ- 
j  ized,  and  the  year  following  their  bouse  of  worship  was 
I  completed  and  dedicated.  The  Rev.  William  Whitta- 
ker  was  called  to  this  new  organization,  and  in  a  short 
time  accepted  the  pastorate,  and  received  by  certificate 
from  the  Fir.st  Church  some  eighty-six  members,  who 
had  withdrawn  for  the  purpose  of  forming  this  new 
church,  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  Newark. 
Mr.  Whittaker  remained  here  until  the  year  1855, 
having  during  the  eleven  years  of  his  ministry  re- 
ceived a  large  number  into  the  church.  He  left  with 
much  regret  on  the  jiart  of  the  church,  and  for  a  time 
they  were  without  a  pastor.  Rev.  Theodore  S.  Brown 
became  the  pastor  in  the  fall  of  1855;  he  served  the 
church  in  this  capacity  about  eight  years.  The 
present  pastor.  Rev.  John  Collins  Bliss,  D.D.,  was 
settled  in  the  pastorate  in  November,  1867.  For  a 
number  of  years  the  church  was  situated  on  Front 
Street,  rather  out  of  the  growing  part  of  the  city. 
In  the  year  1870  more  eligible  lots  were  secured  on 
the  corner  of  Crescent  Avenue  and  Broadway,  and 
the  present  beautiful  edifice  was  erected.  It  is  of 
Ohio  stone,  with  a  fine  spire,  and  is  capable  of  hold- 
ing over  one  thousand  persons.  It  was  completed 
and  the  grounds  surrounding  the  church  graded  and 
made  neat  and  planted  with  shade-trees,  at  a  cost  of 
one  hundred  and  four  thousand  doUai-s.  It  was  dedi- 
cated in  September,  1872,  free  from  incumbrance. 
The  beautiful   parsonage  on  Front  Street  cost  some 


306 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


twelve  thousand  dollars.  The  membership  of  this 
church  is  four  hundred  and  seventy-five;  the  Sab- 
bath-school contains  nearly  five  hundred  members. 
Tlie  ruling  elders  are  as  follows  :  William  M.  Conell, 
William  B.  Ostrom,  Theodore  Perry,  Edmund  V. 
Shotwell,  Peter  J.  Smith,  Israel  C.  Pierson,  Henry 
C.  Squires,  William  H.  Sampson,  and  John  R.  Van 
Arsdale;  Deacons,  S.  R.  Struthers,  Henry  O.  New- 
man, and  Philip  Swain.  The  present  trustees  are  E. 
L.  Brown,  I.  T.  Closson,  E.  H.  Bouton,  O.  B.  Mat- 
thews, Cliarles  Place,  Lawrence  Myers,  and  E.  L. 
Wale.  This  church  is  now  known  as  "  The  Crescent 
Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  of  Plainfield." 

Grace  Church. — In  the  minute-book  of  the  vestry 
of  this  parish  it  is  recorded  that  the  first  services  of 
the  church  were  celebrated  in  the  village  school-house 
(Plainfield)  on  the  11th  of  January,  1852.  This 
building  is  still  standing,  and  is  now  a  private  dwell- 
ing-house on  Church  near  the  corner  of  Second 
Street.  The  Rev.  Philemon  E.  Coe,  of  Westfield, 
N.  J.,  officiated.  There  were  about  thirty  persons 
present.  Rev.  Mr.  Coe  continued  his  services  without 
any  salary  for  six  years,  coming  every  Sabbath  some 
six  miles  irrespective  of  inclement  weather,  and  also 
loaned  them  money  when  they  were  ready  to  build  a 
church,  and  afterwards  canceled  most  of  the  indebt- 
edness in  behalf  of  the  parish. 

After  Feb.  8,  1852,  services  were  regularly  held 
every  Sunday  morning.  On  Easter-day,  1852,  the 
holy  communion  was  celebrated,  and  nine  persons 
communed.  On  June  9th  a  public  meeting  was  held 
to  consider  the  propriety  of  organizing  a  parish.  Mr. 
Coe  presided ;  Mr.  Richard  Brantingham  was  ap- 
pointed secretary.  The  organization  was  eflfected  by 
the  election  of  James  Oliver  and  Jasper  Cadmus  as 
wardens;  Hugh  Pattison,  Elias  Lynch,  Dr.  William 
H.  Shodgate,  Jacob  Wiggins,  Richard  Brantingham, 
and  George  Windle,  vestrymen. 

On  Sept.  21,  1852,  the  vestry  resolved  to  accept  the 
plot  of  ground  ofiTered  by  Malilon  Vail  and  David 
Rockwell,  and  on  the  12th  of  July,  1854,  the  corner- 
stone was  laid  by  Bishop  Doane.  The  church  edifice 
erected  at  this  time  was  a  neat  Gothic  structure.  It 
appears  from  the  record  that  the  late  rector,  Mr.  Coe, 
tendered  his  resignation  Dec.  13,  1858,  and  resolu- 
tions are  recorded  about  that  time  expressive  of  the 
regret  of  the  vestry  at  his  leaving,  and  speaking  in 
terms  of  high  commendation  of  his  untiring  efforts 
to  organize  and  establish  Grace  Church,  and  his  dis- 
interested and  self-sacrificing  labors  in  its  behalf. 

Rev.  W.  W.  Sever  came  for  a  time  in  1859,  then 
Rev.  J.  Legrand  Finney  was  elected  rector,  but  after 
a  short  service  of  a  few  months,  endeavoring  to  build  up 
a  parish  school,  he  became  quite  feeble,  and  for  months 
he  was  not  able  to  take  an  active  part,  and  resigned 
after  a  short  and  successful  ministry  in  this  parish. 
Rev.  Mr.  Dougherty  was  next  called  to  the  rectorship 
of  the  parish,  which  he  accepted,  but  remained  only 
a  few  weeks,  and  Rev.  R.  G.  Quennell   was  elected 


rector  June  28,  1863.  In  the  records  not  long  after 
there  is  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Miss  Lloyd  for  the  mu- 
nificent Easter  gift  of  a  silver  communion  set  in  April, 
1864.  July,  1865,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Thrall  became  rector, 
and  continued  to  officiate  until  April,  1868. 

About  this  time,  and  during  the  early  part  of  the 
rectorship  of  Rev.  Dr.  Fox,  who  wa.s  instituted  June 
1,  1868,  an  effort  was  made  to  secure  a  larger  and 
more  commodious  edifice  in  a  more  central  location. 
The  building  was  erected,  and  consecrated  by  Bishop 
Odenheimer  March  21,  1870. 

After  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Fox  the  Rev.  W.  W. 
Holly  was  called  to  the  parish,  but  declined,  when 
the  present  rector,  Rev.  E.  M.  Rodman,  was  chosen, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  Nov  1,  1870.  From 
April  to  July,  1872,  the  better  to  accommodate  the 
increasing  congregation,  services  were  held  in  the 
hall  at  Laing's  Hotel.  After  this  the  church  on  the 
old  site  was  occupied  till  it  was  taken  down  and  re- 
moved in  1876.  In  September,  1872,  the  vestry  gave 
consent  to  the  putting  up  of  a  memorial  window  to 
the  memory  of  the  late  pastor,  Dr.  Fox,  and  also  to 
Miss  Taylor  to  put  in  one  in  memory  of  her  parents, 
the  Rev.  Thomas  H.  Taylor,  D.D.,  and  his  wife.  On 
the  4th  of  October,  1875,  a  decision  was  reached  to  pur- 
chase lots  ninety-five  by  three  hundred  feet  on  Syca- 
more Street  between  Fifth  and  Sixth,  on  which  the 
church  now  stands,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid  .luly 
12,  1876.  The  building  was  removed  and  rebuilt  here, 
and  on  the  15th  of  October  following  it  was  once  more 
opened  for  worship.  Since  then  the  congregation  has 
nearly  doubled  in  size.  There  are  nearly  a  hundred 
families  identified  with  the  parish.  The  valuation  of 
property  is  i*15,()00.  Wardens,  John  B.  Duniont  and 
William  E.  Lowe;  Vestrymen,  Thomas  H.  Pillls, 
Charles  Tweedy,  Gilford  Mayer,  E.  L.  Finch,  O.  T. 
Waring,  E.  N.  Ericksoii,  and  William  R.  Cock. 

The  Central  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  1863.  The  Rev.  John  Sinimonson,  of  Somer- 
ville,  became  their  pastor  in  1864-69,  and  Rev.  N.  E. 
Smith,  1869-71.  This  church  after  a  few  .years  was 
dissolved. 

Trinity  Reformed  Church  was  organized  in  the 
year  1880  with  a  few  members.  They  purcha.sed  the 
church  on  Second  Street,  which  has  been  put  in  thor- 
ough order,  repairs  and  all  paid  for  by  the  Ladies' 
Aid  Society,  which  was  organized  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  year.  This  young  and  vigorous  branch 
of  Christ  Church  in  Plainfield  felt  that  there  was 
room  for  them  in  this  city,  and  their  work  has  been 
put  forward  under  the  care  of  the  Newark  Classis. 

The  Rev.  Andrew  Van  Vranken  Raymond  (son  of 
the  late  Rev.  Henry  A.  Raymond,  who  died  at  Cohoes, 
N.  Y.,  July  18,  1877,  in  his  seventy-third  year)  was 
invited  to  the  pastorate  of  the  infant  church  in  the 
fall  of  1880,  he  being  then  pastor  of  the  Reformed 
Church  at  Paterson,  N.  J.  He  accepted  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  Jan.  1,  1881.  During  the  past  year 
the  church  membership  has  grown  from  seventy-nine 


Ene'->r\' Geo  E  Ferine, N-) 


TOWNSHIP    AND   CITY    OF   PLAINFIELD. 


307 


to  one  hundred  and  fifty-six,  of  whom  sixteen  united 
on  confession  of  faith.  They  have  paid  al!  current 
expenses,  amountinfc  to  over  $4500,  including  S500  of 
arrears,  have  made  extensive  repairs,  and  have  just 
completed  the  payment  of  a  debt  of  $2500  before  it 
was  due. 

Official  members:  Elders,  Henry  Lindsley,  1880- 
81;  George  L.  Van  Emburgh,  1880-83,-  Philip  P. 
Van  Arsdale,  1881-83 ;  Daniel  G.  Van  Winkle,  1881- 
82;  R.  Titsworth,  1882-83;  William  D.  W.  Miller, 
1882-83. 

Deacons,  D.  O.  Kilbourn,  1880-83  ;  Joseph  Meier, 
1881-83;  Daniel  Van  Winkle,  1881-83;  J.  Renwick 
Glen,  1882-83. 

Congregational  Church. — This  church  was  or- 
ganized Sept.  30,  1879.  For  a  few  months  previous 
the  congregation  had  a.ssembled  for  religious  worship, 
and  part  of  the  time  had  occupied  the  Reformed 
(Dutch)  Church  on  Second  Street.  They  are  en- 
couraged by  a  liberal  donation  of  land  on  the  corner 
of  Madison  Avenue  and  Seventh  Street,  where  they 
contemplate  building  a  suitable  church  edifice  at  no 
ven,'  distant  day.  Rev.  William  Manchee  is  the  pres- 
ent pastor.  Deacons,  A.  J.  Clarkson,  J.  S.  Powelson, 
J.  S.  Lamson,  J.  R.  France.  Trustees,  S.  G.  Roney, 
Jacob  Kirknex,  G.  W.  Rockfellow,  P.  M.  Demarest. 
Executive  Committee,  E.  Curtis,  A.  Willett,  J.  N. 
Randolph.  B.  W.  Force,  church  clerk.  Sunday- 
school  superintendent,  G.  W.  Rockfellow.  Number 
of  communicants,  one  hundred  and  twelve. 

Park  Avenue  Baptist  Church  was  organized 
March  18,  1876,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  mem- 
bers. The  movement  was  intended  to  meet  the  wants 
of  a  new  and  growing  portion  of  the  city.  The 
Seventh-Day  Church  edifice  was  hired  for  Sunday 
services.  Robert  Lowry,  D.D.,  who  had  been  pro- 
fessor of  belles-lettres  in  Lewisburg  University,  Penn- 
sylvania, for  six  years,  and  who  was  sojourning  in 
Plainfield  for  rest,  was  induced  to  assume  the  pastoral 
charge.  A  Sunday-school  was  organized  under  the 
leadership  of  the  pastor. 

An  eligible  lot,  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  front  by 
two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  deep,  on  the  corner  of 
Prospect  and  Park  Avenues,  was  given  by  James 
Martine,  Esq.,  and  on  this  commanding  site  the  pres- 
ent church  edifice  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  forty  thou-  ! 
sand  dollars. 

In  external  appearance  and  internal  arrangement 
this  church  edifice  is  a  departure  from  the  usual  forms 
of  ecclesiastical  architecture.  Of  no  defined  type,  it 
impresses  the  eye  with  its  novelty.  The  material  is 
pressed  brick,  terra-cotta  trimmings  and  slate  roof. 
The  spire  rises  to  the  height  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
feet,  and  is  conspicuous  in  every  direction.  A  Me- 
neeley  bell  hangs  in  the  tower.  The  windows  are  of 
stained  gla.ss.  The  main  entrance  is  in  the  tower,  and 
there  are  three  others,  making  ample  and  easy  egress 
for  a  large  audience. 

The  arrangements  within  are  unique.     The  different 


parts  of  the  audience-rooms  are  so  related  to  each 
other  that  the  entire  floor  space  of  church  and  chapel 
may  be  thrown  into  one  grand  audience-room,  seating 
one  thousand  persons.  The  main  audience-room 
measures  sixty-five  by  fifty-eight  feet.  The  floor  in- 
clines from  three  sides  towards  the  pulpit.  There  are 
no  pews  in  the  church,  but  five  hundred  opera-chaira 
are  arranged  in  concentrically  curved  lines,  each  one 
provided  with  a  book-rack,  hat-safe,  and  foot-rest. 
The  extreme  height  of  the  ceiling  is  forty-five  feet. 
The  floor  is  laid  in  hard  wood.  The  organ-loft  is  on 
one  side  of  the  pulpit.  In  the  rear  is  the  entrance  to 
the  pastor's  study,  choir-gallery,  dressing-rooms,  etc. 

The  chapel  is  built  in  right  angles  with  the  church, 
and  consists  of  two  stories.  The  lower  floor  measures 
seventy  by  thirty-eight  feet.  It  is  divided  for  Sunday- 
school  purposes  into  three  apartments,  separated  by 
glass  doors.  The  ceiling  is  twenty-eight  feet  high. 
When  all  the  glass  doors  are  removed  there  is  an  avail- 
able floor  space  of  one  hundred  and  three  by  seventy 
feet. 

The  upper  story  of  the  chapel  is  reached  by  the 
tower  entrance  and  the  chapel  vestibule.  It  is  di- 
vided into  a  church  parlor,  ladies'  parlor,  kitchen, 
pantry,  china  closet,  store-room,  and  committee 
rooms.  The  walls  on  both  floors  are  covered  with 
fine  engravings  and  Scripture  mottoes.  Everything 
needed  for  religious  or  .social  purposes  is  provided. 
The  ground  plan  covers  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
feet  by  seventy  feet.  The  entire  building  is  heated 
by  steam.     Charles  H.  Smith  is  the  architect. 

Robert  Lowry,  D.D.,  was  born  in  Philadelphia, 
March  12,  1826.  After  receiving  a  common  school 
education  he  engaged  in  secular  business  in  his  native 
city.  In  1848  he  entered  the  university  in  Lewisburg, 
Pa.,  as  a  ministerial  student,  and  was  graduated  in 
1854,  receiving  valedictory  honors.  In  the  same  year 
he  was  ordained  and  accepted  a  call  to  the  First  Bap- 
tist Church,  West  Chester,  Pa.  Here  he  remained 
four  years,  during  which  time  a  new  church  edifice 
was  built.  In  1858  he  assumed  the  pastorate  of  the 
Bloomingdale  Baptist  Church,  New  York  City.  In 
1861  he  was  called  to  the  Hanson  Place  Baptist 
Church,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  he  labored  over 
eight  years.  During  this  pastorate  about  four  hundred 
members  were  added  to  the  church.  In  1869  he  was 
induced  to  accept  the  professorship  of  belles-lettres 
in  the  university  at  Lewisburg  and  the  pastorate  of 
the  Baptist  Church.  After  performing  this  double 
work  for  six  years  he  retired  with  the  honorary  title 
of  D.D.  to  Plainfield,  N.  J.  He  was  subsequently 
elected  chancellor  of  the  university.  Shortly  after 
reaching  Plainfield  a  new  church  was  organized, 
which  called  him  to  its  pastorship.  This  movement 
led  to  the  erection  of  the  Park  Avenue  Church,  at  a 
cost  of  forty  thousand  dollars.  Multitudes  know  him 
as  a  composer  of  sacred  song  rather  than  as  a  preacher. 
His  melodies  are  sung  in  every  English-speaking 
land.     Some  of  his  hvmns  have  been  translated  into 


308 


HISTOKY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY 


foreifrn  tonpcues.  Music  and  liyninology  are  favorite 
studies  with  him.  His  library  consists  largely  of 
literary  works.  In  1880  he  spent  four  months  in 
Europe,  and  participated  in  the  Robert  Raikes  cen- 
tennial in  London.  His  oldest  son  is  a  pastor  in 
Colorado. 

St.  Mary's  (Catholic)  Church.— In  the  year  1849 
a  few  Catholic  families  living  in  this  part  of  the  county 
of  Union  and  having  no  church  nearer  than  Stony 
Hill  or  New  Brunswick  importuned  the  Rev.  Arch- 
bishop Hughes,  then  living  in  New  York,  to  come 
and  give  them  occasional  services.  In  1853,  the  Rev. 
James  S.  McDonough  was  sent  as  their  regular  pastor. 
Services  were  held  in  a  room  of  a  private  house,  still 
standing  on  Somerset  Street.  This  little  flock  in- 
creased, and  soon  it  was  found  necessary  to  procure 
a  place  much  larger  than  where  they  were,  and  a 
building  that  had  been  used  as  a  barn  was  neatly 
fitted  up.  The  doors  opened  into  a  little  green 
orchard,  and  in  this  lonely  spot,  in  the  stillness  of  a 
calm  American  summer's  morning,  the  great  sacri- 
fice of  Calvary  was  repeated  for  the  salvation  of  man. 

A  fter  a  few  months  a  private  school-room  was  rented, 
then  a  hall  where  all  could  attend.  It  had  now  been 
thought  best  that  an  attempt  should  be  made  to  raise 
funds  for  building  a  neat  church.  In  1854,  Rev. 
William  McDonough  was  removed,  and  a  young 
priest.  Rev.  Daniel  J.  Fisher,  appointed  pastor.  He 
remained  pastor  until  185G,  when  he  was  appointed 
president  of  Seton  Hal!  College,  then  located  at 
Madison,  N.  J. 

In  the  summer  of  185G  the  Rev.  Terrence  Kieran 
became  the  third  pastor,  and  remained  as  such  up  to 
his  sudden  death  in  November,  1869,  when  the  Rev. 
John  J.  Connolly  was  appointed  to  succeed  him. 
This  young  gentleman's  health  was  very  poor  when 
he  came  to  this  city,  and  remained  but  a  few  months 
before  he  died,  in  1870,  much  lamented  by  his  parish- 
ioners. 

The  present  pastor.  Rev.  J.  P.  Morris,  came  a  few 
weeks  prior  to  Father  Connolly's  death  iu  1870,  and 
is  still  the  esteemed  and  zealous  pastor. 

They  have  built  a  substantial  brick  church  on  the 
corner  of  Sixth  Street  and  Liberty  Street,  at  an  ex- 
pense of  about  thirty-five  thousand  dollars.  They 
have  a  large  number  of  families  in  the  parish. 

The  German  Reformed  Church  was  organized  in 
the  year  1873.  They  have  secured  eligible  lots  on 
the  corner  of  Washington  and  Fifth  Streets,  where 
they  have  built  a  neat  chapel.  There  are  a  large 
number  of  German  citizens  in  this  city  who  attend 
the  regular  services.  They  intend  soon  to  build  a 
substantial  church  edifice.  The  Rev.  F.  E.  Schlieder 
is  pastor. 

The  Church  of  the  Heavenly  Rest  was  organized 
in  1879  as  a  mission  in  Evona,  the  pastors  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Churches  of  Plainfield  having 
occasionally  assisted  in  the  services.  They  are  about 
finishing  a  neat  chapel  at  a  cost  of  two  thousand  five 


hundred  dollars,  with  sittings  to  accommodate  some 
two  hundred  and  fifty  persons.  The  following  gen- 
tlemen have  given  material  aid  to  this  enterprise : 
Charles  S.  Lewis,  John  O.  Stevins,  George  Brown, 
and  Frederick  Chamberlin. 

The  Business  of  Plainfield.— The  following  is  a 
list  of  the  |jrincipal  business  interests  of  this  city 
Groceries,  18;  meat-shops,  14;  dry -goods  stores,  7 
flour,  feed,  and  grain  dealers,  7  ;  lumber  dealers,  4 
bakers  and  confectioners,  7  ;  confectioners,  6 ;  baled 
hay,  4 ;  national  banks,  2 ;  savings-bank,  1 ;  barber- 
shops, 11;  billiard-saloons,  5 ;  blacksmiths,  9;  book- 
sellers and  stationers,  3;  boot  and  shoe  dealers,  10; 
brick  manufactories,  3;  cabinet-makers,  3;  carpet- 
weavers,  3;  carpenters  and  builders,  14;  masons  and 
builders,  7;  builders,  4;  carriage  manufactories,  6; 
stair-builders,  2;  ready-made  clothing,  5;  merchant 
tailors,  5;  clothing  manufactory,  1;  coal  and  wood 
dealers,  7;  crockery-  and  glassware-stores,  2;  drug- 
stores, 5;  millinery-  and  fancy-goods  stores,  11; 
expresses,  6;  fish  and  oyster  dealers,  5;  florists,  8; 
furniture  dealers,  4;  hardware,  cutlery,  farming 
implements,  and  builders' supply  stores,  3 ;  harness- 
oil  and  boot-blacking  manufactory,  1 ;  hat  manufac- 
tories, 2 ;  harness-shops,  4 ;  hats,  caps,  furs,  trunks, 
etc.,  2 ;  stores,  hotels,  8 ;  ice  dealers,  3 ;  insurance 
agencies,  8 ;  iron-  and  brass-foundry,  1 ;  steam-laun- 
dry, 1;  livery-stables,  7;  looking-glass,  pictures, 
frames,  and  artists'  materials,  2 ;  stores,  machine-shops, 
3 ;  oil-cloth  factory,  1 ;  marble-works,  1 ;  dealers  in 
masons'  materials,  6;  newsdealers,  2;  job-printers,  2, 
and  several  amateurs;  weekly  newspapers,  3;  daily, 
1;  paint-shops,  5;  photograph-rooms,  3;  dealers  in 
pianos  and  organs,  3;  planing-  and  moulding-mills, 
2;  printing-press  works,  1;  saloons  and  bar-rooms,  14; 
schools,  7 ;  sewing-machine-dealers,  3 ;  bluestone 
yards,  2;  dealers  in  stoves  and  tinware,  6;  cigar  deal- 
ers, 10;  upholsterers,  (3;  undertakers,  3 ;  watch  and 
jewelry  dealers,  7  ;  plumbing  and  gas-fitting  shops, 
3;  real  estate  agents,  13;  beer-bottlers,  2;  mineral 
water  manufactory,  1;  flour-mills,  4;  saw-mills,  2; 
wood-turning  shop,  1 ;  dealer^  in  hides  and  sheep- 
pelts,  1 ;  .soap  manufactory,  1;  intelligence  oflices,  2; 
sulphur  baths,  1;  kindling-wood  factories,  3;  gas- 
works, 1. 

The  accompanying  list  gives  the  number  in  the 
learned  professions,  trades,  and  callings  represented 
iu  the  city : 

Clergymen,  10;  physicians,  19;  lawyers,  18;  artists, 
3  ;  architects,  4;  dentists,  7  ;  mining  engineer,  1 ;  civil 
engineers,  2;  car[)enters,  109;  cigar-makers,  11;  car- 
riage-makers, 8;  cattle-brokers,  3;  coachmen,  24; 
compositors,  17;  confectioners,  9 ;  cabinet-makers,  6; 
clerks,  107;  contractors,  3;  cutters,  8;  barbers,  16; 
brick-makers,  9;  blacksmiths,  21;  butchers,  29;  ba- 
kers, 20  ;  dyers,  2 ;  dress-makers,  27  ;  hatters,  45  ; 
harness-makers,  9;  hotel-keepers,  8;  laboring  men, 
180;  machinists,  5;  masons,  40 ;  millers,9;  milliners, 
5;  painters,  50;  plumbers  and  gas-fitters,  11;  shoe- 


@ 

@ 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY   OF    PLAINFIELD. 


809 


makers,  24 ;  tailors,  43  ;  teachers,  27.  Besides  these 
we  have  a  sprinkling  of  auctioneers,  chemists,  cor- 
respondents, editors,  reporters,  students,  packers, 
chairmakers,  drivers,  surveyors,  book-keepers,  white- 
washers,  taxidermists,  scroll-sawyers,  stone-cutters, 
spike-makers,  rustic-workers,  shirt-makers,  well-dri- 
vers and  diggers,  gunsmiths,  deliverers,  expressmen, 
watch  makers,  engravers,  carpet-weavers,  sash-makers, 
tinsmiths,  musicians,  marble-cutters,  building-movers, 
veterinary  surgeons,  telegraph-operators,  slaters,  trim- 
mers, lathers,  sextons,  boarding-house-keepers,  tan- 
ners, wheelwrights,  boiler-cleaners,  die-sinkers,  mining 
engineers,  organist,  and  milkmen,  hucksters,  mission- 
aries, gentlemen  of  leisure,  generals,  colonels,  majors, 
captains,  and  so  on  ad  libitum. 

As  early  as  the  closing  years  of  the  last  century 
there  were  one  or  two  hat-factories  establislied  here 
on  a  small  scale,  which  were  managed  by  Theodore 
Pound  and  Piatt  Williamson,  and  in  a  few  years  after 
John  Wilson  appears  carrying  on  quite  an  extensive 
business.  His  place  was  where  the  clothing-house  of 
Messrs.  Scbepflin,  Baldwin,  &  Tweedy  is  located,  and 
here  he  did  ( for  those  days)  a  large  business.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  son,  Joel  Wilson,  and  hat  manufac- 
turing became  a  leading  industry,  with  which  many 
names  well  known  to  the  city  were  identified.  Among 
these  we  may  mention  Joseph  Shotwell,  James  Leon- 
ard, James  I.  Compton,  Martin  Runyon,  Elisha 
Runyon,  Ira  Randolph,  Randolph  Runyon,  John  H. 
Coward,  James  C.  Ayers,  Peter  Brokaw,  Daniel  C. 
Shotwell,  Jonah  Vail,  John  Simpson,  Manning  Ver- 
meule,  and  William  McD.  Coriell.  There  may  have 
been  some  others  not  now  remembered.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  ascertain  the  extent  of  the  business  at  any 
stage  in  the  development  of  this  manufacturing  inter- 
est. But  it  is  discovered  that  large  numbers  of  work- 
men were  kept  employed,  that  a  ready  market  was 
found  for  the  products  in  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia, and  that  there  was  great  activity  and  large 
returns.'  It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that 
there  were  no  railroad  facilities,  but  goods  were  trans- 
ported largely  by  wagons  both  to  and  from  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  though  the  distance  by  this  method 
of  transportation  was  shortened  by  shipping  stock  to 
and  from  Elizabeth  and  Trenton. 

The  introduction  of  silk  hats  was  the  first  cause,  so 
far  as  can  be  ascertained,  of  the  decline  of  this  indus- 
try, which  was  so  long  the  life  of  the  town.  Then  it 
became  customary  for  the  large  city  dealers  to  make 
contracts  and  furnish  the  manufacturer  with  his  ma- 
terial, which  greatly  limited  the  profits  of  the  latter. 
These  reasons,  together  with  the  application  of  ma- 
chinery to  the  making  of  hat  bodies,  are  accounted 
the  princii)al  ones  for  the  almost  total  extinction  of 
this  industry  where  it  once  had  a  chief  place. 

Up  to  within  a  few  years  the  manufacture  of  clothes 
flourished  to  quite  a  large  extent.     At  one  time  there 

•  W.  J.  LeonarJ'a  account. 


were  several  firms  engaged  in  this  business,  such  as 
Webster  &  Marsh,  Titsworth  &  Dunn,  Henry  Cory, 
and  J.  S.  Dunham.  These  were  well-known  firms, 
and  did  a  large  business;  they  gave  employment  to 
multitudes  in  the  town  and  vicinity,  and  were  in  so  far 
the  means  of  developing  the  industrial  and  commercial 
life  of  the  place.  While  a  marked  change  has  taken 
place  in  the  character  of  the  business,  there  is,  proba- 
bly, e.  larger  sum  represented  in  the  business  now  than 
formerly,  on  account  of  the  presence  hereof  the  large 
house  of  Scbepflin  &  Co.,  whose  sales,  as  far  as  we 
are  able  to  ascertain,  crowd  closely  upon  a  million  of 
dollars  annually.  A  few  others  who  manufacture  in 
a  small  way  complete  the  li.st  of  those  engaged  in  the 
clothing  business. 

We  have  now  mentioned  the  two  chief  manufac- 
turing interests  which  have  flourished  in  Plainfield. 
In  addition  to  these  are  several  of  minor  importance 
in  comparison.  At  the  head  of  these  is  the  flour  in- 
terests. Beyond  the  time  to  which  the  memory  of  auy 
now  living  extends  there  have  been  flouring-mills  at 
different  points,  but  they  were  only  used  as  grist-mills 
to  grind  the  grain  consumed  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 
Two  of  these  original  mills  have  an  unbroken  history 
to  the  present  day.  The  one  now  for  many  years 
conducted  by  Phineas  Fitz  Randolpii  was  owned  by 
his  father  before  him,  by  George  Wells,  also  by  Na- 
thaniel Drake,  the  brother  of  Daniel  Drake,  and  also 
by  his  father,  which  carries  the  proprietorship  back 
nearly  to  the  days  of  the  colonies  and  the  beginning 
of  our  existence  as  a  nation.  The  other  mill  is  that 
now  owned  by  Phineas  M.  French,  which  was  orig- 
inally located  near  the  dam  of  the  pond  that  feeds  it. 
From  an  ori  inary  grist-mill  this  has  for  many  years^ 
been  manufacturing  flour  and  other  products,  until  it 
now  does  a  business  much  larger  than  all  the  mills  in 
this  vicinity  combined,  amounting  to  about  $100,000 
per  annum.  Mr.  French's  two  sons  carry  on  the 
business  at  the  present  time. 

Next  to  this  may  be  mentioned  the  manufacture  of 
bread  and  cake,  which,  however,  is  entirely  limited 
to  home  consumption.  Six  of  these  bakeries  are  or- 
ganized to  supply  the  wants  of  this  city.  Formerly 
this  business  had  a  wider  range  under  the  enterprising 
management  of  Mr.  Jackson  Pound,  who  made  a 
reputation  throughout  the  State  by  some  of  his  pro- 
ducts. He  competed  with  Newark,  New  Brunswick, 
and  Trenton,  sending  out  his  wagons  loaded  with 
material  in  every  direction.  But  that  glory  has  de- 
parted, and  Plainfield  must  look  to  something  besides 
crackers  to  make  her  famous.  The  manufacture  of 
candy  is  carried  on  to  some  extent  in  the  city.  Mr. 
Compton  has  been  the  sole  wholesale  manufacturer 
until  recently,  when  other  firms  have  commenced  its 
manufacture.  There  is  something  done  in  the  harness- 
making  and  also  in  carriage-making.  The  Potter 
Pre.ss  Works,  which  have  but  lately  been  established 
near  Evona,  and  also  the  oil-cloth  works  of  Newhall 
&  Wright,  of  New  York,  which  within  a  few  months 


31 1) 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


have  been  at  work,  are  important  industries ;  also  the 
sash-  and  blind-factory.  The  putting  up  of  canned 
fruits  has  been  tried  here  with  some  success,  and  may 
be  a  growing  enterprise.  Formerly  the  manufacture 
of  boots  and  shoes  would  have  deserved  mention  in 
this  connection,  but  now  but  little  is  done  in  that  line. 
The  manufacture  of  inks  and  blacking  is  now  carried 
on  by  two  firms  ijuite  extensively,  and  is  having  a 
large  sale.  An  effort  should  be  made  to  encourage 
manufacturers  to  locate  here,  for  there  are  certain 
patent  reasons  why  this  would  be  a  benefit  both  to 
the  manufacturers  and  to  the  city.  The  latter  is  sup- 
plied with  abundant  water-power,  plenty  of  coal 
brought  to  the  door  from  the  mines,  and  also  a  large 
gas-house  for  lighting  buildings  for  factory  purposes 
where  light  is  needed.  In  short,  there  is  every  possible 
advantage  to  be  gained  by  encouraging  the  growth  of  i 
manufactures  in  this  city  and  vicinity. 

There  are  three  weekly  newspapers  and  one  daily, — 
the  Central  New  Jersey  Times,  the  Const.ituiionaUsf,  and 
Daily  and  Weekly  Bullefin.  There  are  three  public 
halls, — Van  Deventer  Hall,  with  a  seating  ca])acity 
of  seven  hundred.  Assembly  Hall,  seating  five  hun- 
dred, and  Laing's  Hall,  which  seats  some  three  hun- 
dred. There  are  two  national  banks,  one  savings- 
bank,  and  three  fire  insurance  companies.  The  fire 
department  is  under  control  of  a  board  of  managers 
in  the  city,  and  is  well  equipped  with  men  and  steam 
fire-engines.  The  hotels  and  boarding-houses  are 
first  class,  affording  excellent  accommodations.  The 
educational  advantages  of  this  city  are  of  an  excellent 
order,  and  furnish  first-class  instruction  to  both  sexes. 
This  city  is  not  deficient  in  its  religious  and  charitable 
institutions,  having  four  Baptist,  two  Presbyterian, 
two  Episcopal,  one  Methodist  Episcopal,  one  Congre- 
gational, one  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  two  Friends' 
Meetings,  and  one  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Some 
of  the  church  edifices  may  claim  considerable  archi- 
tectural pretension.  Two  of  the  largest  buildings  are 
of  stone,  having  a  seating  capacity  of  one  thousand 
each,  are  costly  in  their  construction,  and  provided 
with  every  convenience. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  organ- 
ized in  1867.  They  have  a  fine  reading-room  and  a 
library  of  some  two  thousand  volumes.  The  Relief 
Association  is  thoroughly  organized  for  the  benefit  of 
the  needy,  and  furnishes  help  through  an  employ- 
ment bureau  to  those  who  are  able  to  work ;  it  also 
dispenses  clothing,  food,  medicine,  etc.,  through  a 
scrutinizing  executive  board  of  self-deoying  ladies, 
— Mrs.  G.  VV.  Ferry,  president;  Mrs.  C.  E.  Ryder, 
vice-president.  The  Children's  Home  is  organized 
for  the  care  and  support  of  little  ones, — orphans,  half- 
orphans,  or  those  whose  parents  are  incompetent  to 
provide  for  their  necessary  wants.  The  Holly  Tree 
Inn  is  a  place  where  the  youth  of  the  city  can  find  a 
welcome,  an  abundance  of  reading  matter,  and  a 
simple  lunch  without  any  evil  temptation.  And 
last  we  may  gratefully  mention  the  Muhlenberg  Ho»- 


pifal.  The  building  has  been  lately  completed,  and 
is  now  in  operation.  It  was  incorporated  in  the 
spring  of  1877,  and  is  located  on  an  eligible  lot,  the 
gilt  of  the  late  mayor.  Job  Male,  Esq.,  of  this  city. 
The  corner-stone  was  laid  in  May,  1881,  and  the 
building  was  completed  in  the  autumn. 

Post-Offices. — The  first  post-office  in  this  city  was 
in  the  year  1806.  It  was  then  part  of  the  township 
of  Westfield.  Mr.  Samuel  Manning  was  appointed 
postmaster,  he  being  not  only  the  inn-keeper,  but 
also  proprietor  of  a  general  country  store.  The  let- 
ters were  kept  in  one  corner  of  the  bar-room,  and 
here  the  mail  was  made  up  about  twice  a  week.  A 
stage  from  Amboy  passed  through  this  village  and 
stopped  at  "  Manning's  Inn"  for  dinner,  carrying  a 
package  of  letters  tied  up  "  and  placed  in  the  general 
bag  of  all  the  district  for  miles  around."  In  the  year 
1813  a  regular  route  was  established  from  Easton  to 
Elizabeth  Town  Point.  It  was  called  the  "  Swift- 
sure,"  and  "  Gummins  Line,"  which  had  its  head- 
quarters in  the  hamlet  of  Lyons  Farms,  near  New- 
ark, N.  J.  There  Mr.  Gummins  lived  and  changed 
his  horses  at  the  same  time  that  the  "  Newark  and 
York"  letters  were  being  assorted.  In  1830  this  route 
was  abandoned,  and  Jacob  Manning,  the  son  of  the 
inn-keeper  (who  had  died  Sept.  20,  1817,  in  his  forty- 
second  year),  carried  the  mail  in  a  bag  upon  a  horse 
or  in  a  sulky,  and  for  many  years  carried  the  mail 
for  a  large  scope  of  country,  as  well  as  verbal  mes- 
sages including  the  news  of  the  day.  He  is  now 
living  on  Front  Street  in  this  city,  nearly  ninety 
years  of  age,  and  tells  us  that  he  was  always  a 
welcome  visitor,  for  he  carried  the  news  of  one 
neighborhood  to  the  next,  being  intrusted  with  many 
confidential  communications,  and  among  the  proud 
recollections  of  that  period  is  the  consciousness  that 
he  never  broke  his  "  troths"  with  any  one. 

In  the  year  1838,  Mr.  Jacob  Manning  gave  up  the 
business  of  carrying  and  assorting  the  mails,  and  the 
late  Dr.  John  Craig  took  charge  of  it,  and  had  the 
office  in  his  drug-store  on  the  corner  of  Park  Avenue 
and  Front  Street,  where  he  had  a  corner  fitted  up  for 
the  mail-bag  and  conveniences  for  correspondence; 
"  many  coming  from  a  distance  would  answer  these 
letters  in  the  drug-store  before  returning  home." 
The  next  postmaster  was  Elias  Kirkpatrick,  from 
1850  to  18.57  ;  he  was  also  and  still  is  a  magistrate. 
Elston  Dunn  was  appointed  in  1860,  and  held  the 
office  seven  years,  when  Wallace  Vail  received  the 
appointment,  and  held  the  office  fifteen  years.  Elias 
R.  Pope  received  the  ap])ointment  Feb.  23,  1882. 
He  was  born  at  Dunellen,  March  8,  1836.  His  an- 
cestor was  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  and  did  good 
service  in  the  war.  His  father,  John  Pope,  owned 
lands  in  Piscataway  township  which  are  still  in  the 
family.  Mr.  Pope  removed  to  this  city  in  1849,  and 
was  clerk  for  seventeen  years  with  Isaac  S.  Dunham. 
He  has  been  since  1866  a  dry-goods  merchant,  latterly 
of  the  firm  of  Pope  Brothers. 


i 


^^^,^1^^^.^*;^^^^ 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


311 


Banks. — "The  Plainfield  Bank,"  tlie  first  institu- 
tion of  the  kind  in  the  village,  obtained  a  charter  in 
1837,  and  did  business  for  some  time.  Its  charter 
was  repealed  in  1847  by  act  of  the  Lef^islature. 

N.  Brass  was  the  cashier,  but  the  name  of  the 
president  does  not  appear  on  the  single  bill  in  the 
possession  of  the  writer. 

In  1859  a  charter  was  granted  for  the  "Union 
County  Bank."  This  institution  was  more  successful 
than  its  predecessor,  and  remained  in  operation  until 
superseded  by  the  First  National  Bank  of  Plainfield. 

First  National  Bank. — This  institution  was  first 
organized  in  1868.  It  has  a  capital  of  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  with  a  surplus  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars.  President,  J.  R.  Van  Deventer ;  Vice-Presi- 
dent, E.  W.  Runyon  ;  Cashier,  Carmen  Parse;  Board 
of  Directors,  J.  R.  Van  Deventer,  E.  W.  Runyon, 
John  Simpson,  Manning  8telle,  A.  Berry,  I.  D.  Tits- 
worth,  L.  Craig,  M.  D.  Williams,  McD.  Coriell,  P. 
M.  French. 

Jeremiah  R.  Van  Deventer. — The  Van  Deventer 
family  is  of  Holland  origin,  and  the  progenitor  of  the 
family  in  New  Jersey  is  supposed  to  have  been  among 
the  early  settlers  here  from  that  country  about  the 
middle  of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Jacob  Van  Deventer,  grandfather  of  our  subject, 
resided  near  Bound  Brook,  in  Middlesex  County, 
N.  J.,  on  the  New  Brunswick  road  ;  was  a  farmer 
by  occupation,  and  reared  a  large  family  of  chil- 
dren, who  became  farmers  and  mechanics,  and  set- 
tled in  different  parts  of  the  State.  One  son,  Jacob, 
born  Oct.  7,  1774,  settled  at  Bound  Brook.  He  died 
July  17,  1870.  His  wife,  Mary  Garretson,  of  Bound 
Brook,  whom  he  married  April  2, 1803,  was  born  Feb. 
4,  1767,  and  died  March  6,  1846,  leaving  four  chil- 
dren,— Mary  Ann,  who  was  twice  married,  and  died 
in  August,  1860  ;  Jeremiah  R.,  subject  of  this  sketch  ; 
Jacob  G.,  a  clothing  merchant  of  St.  Louis,  who  was 
killed  May  6,  1853,  by  a  railroad  accident  in  New 
England  ;  and  Sarah  Margaret,  wife  of  John  Smith, 
of  Weston,  N.  J.  Jacob  Van  Deventer  was  a  me- 
chanic by  trade,  but  followed  agricultural  pursuits 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in  Franklin  town- 
ship, Somerset  County,  dying  at  the  residence  of  his 
daughter,  Sarah  Margaret,  at  Weston,  at  the  advanced 
age  of  ninety-six  years  and  ten  months. 

Jeremiah  R.,  son  of  Jacob  and  Mary  Van  Deven- 
ter, was  born  at  Bound  Brook  Nov.  25,  1805.  He  re- 
mained at  home  during  his  minority,  and  obtained 
his  early  education  in  the  common  school  of  his  na- 
tive place.  After  reaching  his  majority  he  learned 
cabinet-making,  and  worked  at  it  for  three  years.  In 
1829  he  turned  his  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits, 
and  purchased  a  farm  in  the  township  of  Warren, 
now  North  Plainfield,  Somerset  County,  upon  which 
he  has  resided  since.  At  the  time  of  his  settlement 
on  this  farm  the  village  of  Plainfield,  in  Union 
County,  numbered  only  a  few  hundred  inhabitants, 
and  its  business  interests  were  mostly  confined  to  the 


village  and  surrounding  country,  whereas  during  the 
past  twenty  years  its  population  has  rapidly  increased, 
its  business  has  developed,  and  it  has  become  one  of 
the  most  desirable  locations  for  a  residence,  contain- 
ing, as  it  does,  very  many  of  the  finest-designed  and 
beautiful  residences  anywhere  to  be  found  in  the 
State.  The  contiguity  of  Mr.  Van  Deventer's  resi- 
dence to  Plainfield  and  the  rapid  growth  of  the  place 
led  him  many  years  ago  to  take  an  active  interest  in 
its  business  aflfairs. 

He  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the  old  Union  County 
Bank,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Plainfield  in  1865,  which  superseded  the 
other,  and  has  officiated  as  its  president,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  three  years.  He  has  been  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal owners  of  the  gas-works  of  the  city  since  1870, 
and  served  the  company  as  president;  succeeded  Mr. 
Elston  Marsh  as  president  of  the  Washington  Fire 
Insurance  Company  of  Plainfield,  and  has'served  as 
one  of  the  trustees  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  the  place  for  many  years.  Among  other  enter- 
prises Mr.  Van  Deventer  and  his  nephew,  Augustus 
Van  Deventer,  erected,  in  1877,  "  Van  Deventer  Hall," 
on  Front  Street,  in  Plainfield,  a  brick  structure  of 
three  stories,  the  finest-designed  business  block  in  the 
city. 

His  connection  with  the  First  National  Bank  from 
its  organization  has  given  that  institution  a  substan- 
tial financial  standing  among  business  men,  who  re- 
gard his  quick  perception  of  matters,  his  thorough- 
going business  capacity  and  integrity  as  safeguards 
for  the  judicious  managements  of  its  funds.  As  a 
citizen  he  is  frank  and  outspoken,  sociable,  earnest, 
and  unostentatious.  His  life  has  been  almost  wholly 
devoted  to  bu.siness  pursuits,  and  he  has  never  sought 
official  place  or  the  emoluments  of  office,  except  sev- 
eral years  ago  to  serve  for  a  time  on  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders  of  Somerset  County,  in  which  his 
residence  is  located. 

By  his  wife,  Cornelia,  daughter  of  Beekman  Stryker, 
of  Somerset  County,  whom  he  married  in  1830,  he 
has  one  child,  Caroline,  wife  of  Peter  Bronson,  of 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J. 

Dime  Savings  Institution.— Organized  in  the 
year  1868.  Motto:  "  A  penny  saved  is  equal  to  two 
earned."  President,  E.  W.  Runyon  ;  Vice-Presidents, 
Stephen  O.  Horton,  Isaac  R.  Brown  ;  Secretary  and 
Treasurer,  Elias  R.  Pope  ;  Assistant  Treasurer,  James 
C.  Pope ;  Boai'd  of  Investment,  Stephen  O.  Horton, 
Enos  W.  Runyon,  Joseph  B.  Coward,  William  White  ; 
Managers,  E.  W.  Runyon,  R.  M.  Titsworth,  Levi  Het- 
field,  Jr.,  Lewis  E.  Clark  ;  Auditing  Committee,  Car- 
mon  Parse  and  Nathan  Harper. 

City  National  Bank.— Organized  April,  1875. 
Capital,  §150,000.  President,  Charles  Hyde;  Vice- 
President,  E.  R.  Pope;  Cashier,  Joseph  M.  Myers; 
Directors,  E.  R.  Pope,  J.  B.  Coward,  R.  MacDonald, 
C.  H.  Stillman,  Charles  Hyde,  C.  Schepflin,  I.  F. 
Hubbard,  I.  T.  Clossin,  lyawrence  Myers. 


31: 


tllSTOKY    OF    UNION    AiND    .MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW  JEKSEV. 


The  Mutual  Assurance  Fire  Company. — At  a 

meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  viUage  of  Plainfield 
and  vicinity,  convened  pursuant  to  public  notice  at 
Abraham  Laing's  on  Jan.  13,  1832,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  into  consideration  the  propriety  of  devising 
a  plan  to  insure  property  that  is  perishable  from  loss 
or  damage  by  fire,  Randolph  Dunham  was  called  to 
the  chair  and  Cornelius  Boice  appointed  secretary. 
The  object  of  the  meeting  being  stated  by  Zachariah 
Webster  and  others,  it  was 

"Ordered,  That  it  is  expedient  for  this  meeting  to 
form  an  association  for  the  purpose  of  insuring  prop- 
erty that  is  perishable  from  loss  or  damage  by  fire 
upon  the  plan  of  a  Mutual  Assurance  Fire  Company." 
The  following-named  persons  attached  their  signa- 
tures to  the  plan  March  12,  1832 : 

Edmund  Webster,  Elias  Runyon,  Daniel  Vail,  Isaac 
Titsworth,  Dennis  Coles,  Jacob  Manning,  James  Leon- 
ard, Randolph  M.  Stelle,  John  Wilson,  Piatt  Drake, 
Theophilus  Pierson,  Enoch  M.  Randolph,  Smitli_Web- 
ster,  Joseph  Webster,  Jacob  Thorn,  George  Thorn, 
Elisha  Runyon,  Nathan  Vail,  William  M.  Clark, 
Daniel  Carle,  Samuel  Pound,  Caleb  Freeman,  Francis 
Runyon,  Jobs  &  Runyon,  Ira  F.  Randolph,  Martin 
Runyon,  John  T.  Cook,  Randolph  Marsh,  Richard 
Hartshorn,  Samuel  Webster,  Laing  Webster,  Zacha- 
riah Webster,  Daniel  Shotwell,  Alex.  Wilson,  Ran- 
dolph Marsh,  Nathan  Laing,  William  Hendrickson, 
Trustum  Manning,  Daniel  Allen,  E.  S.  V.  Fitz  Web- 
ster, Lucas  V.  Hoagland,  John  Layton,  William  Vail, 
Peter  Coriell,  Abijah  Titus,  Jonah  Vail,  John  H. 
Coward,  F.  Cole,  Eli  Pound,  David  Dunn,  William 
S.  Webster,  Randolph  Dunham,  W.  P.  Williamson, 
Jon.M.Kinsey,  Job  Meeker,  John  x  (his  mark)  Laing, 
Reuben  Dunn,  Siles  Williams,  Peter  Wooden,  Thomas 
Stead,  A.  D.  Titsworth,  Noah  Drake,  Lewis  Bond, 
William  Tunison,  Joseph  Fitz  Randolph,  Joel  Wil- 
son, Joel  Wilson  &  Co.,  James  I.,aing,  Edward  Vail, 
David  Alien,  Robert  Anderson.  Steven  Cooper,  John 
Runyon,  Joseph  D.  Shotwell,  Jarvis  B.  Ayres,  John 
Randolph,  John  S.  Shotwell. 

Tlie  following  officers  were  then  elected:  Jacob 
Manning,  president;  Randolph  Dunham,  vice-presi- 
dent ;  Cornelius  Boice,  secretary. 

The  present  officers  are  Alfred  Berry,  president; 
Isaac  H.  Dunn,  vice-president;  Walter  L.  HetHeld, 
secretary  and  treasurer. 

Directors,  Alfred  Berry,  David  L.  Randolph,  Calvin 
Drake,  George  Drake,  Isaac  H.  Dunn,  William  C. 
Ayres,  Oliver  R.  Stelle,  Phineas  M.  French,  Eugene 
Runyon,  Corra  O.  Meeker,  Daniel  F.  Randolph,  Wal- 
ter L.  Hetfield,  John  Ross,  Joseph  B.  Coward,  John 
Sim|)son. 

Washington  Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Plain- 
fielcl  was  organized  in  1875,  Elias  R.  I'ope,  secretary 
and  treasurer,  1875-82. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

TOWNSHIP  AND  CITY    OF   PLAINFIELD.— {  Cm(.-,.i,«/.) 

Inn-Keepers. — The  first  public-house  in  Plainfield 
was  built  by  Samuel  JIanning.  "  He  kept  a  Country 
Store  and  Inn"  in  1806,  near  where  Lebbeus  Comp- 
ton's  bakery  and  confectionery  store  is  situated  on 
Front  Street.  In  this  building  was  the  first  post- 
office.  This  was  the  only  house  of  entertainment, 
and  was  called  "Manning's  Inn"  and  the  "Post 
Store,"  the  spot 

"  Where  gray-beard  Dlirtli  and  smiling  toil  retired, 
And  village  statesmen  talked  with  luuk  profuund." 

At  the  death  of  Mr.  Samuel  Manning  (20th  Sep- 
tember, 1817)  his  son,  Jacob  Manning,  continued  the 
same  store  and  kept  the  office.  It  is  said  that  the 
Quaker  influence  was  against  iuns,  and  this  commu- 
nity was  nearly  half  of  this  faith.  They  were  op- 
posed "to  revelry  and  feasting."  After  Mr.  Jacob 
Manning  quit  keeping  tavern  Abram  Lainge  opened 
a  house  of  "  entertainment  for  man  and  beast"  in 
1828.  The  place  soon  took  the  name  of  "Lane's 
Tavern."  Travel  from  "  up  country"  was  lively  in 
those  days.  Wagons  loaded  with  beef,  hogs,  grain, 
tallow,  and  honey  for  the  near  market  of  ''Amboy 
Perth"  or  "  Perth  City,"  and  the  "  perriogers"  run- 
ning to  New  York  were  constantly  pa.ssing  or  stopping 
at  the  hotel.  Mr.  Manning  kept  the  tavern  about 
twelve  years.  Jacob  Thorn  opened  another  in  1837  or 
1838;  William  Craig  kept  here  about  two  years. 
Alter  Mr.  Laing  gave  up  his  original  hotel  he  built 
the  present  house  on  Front  Street  in  1840,  and  he  re- 
mained here  until  his  death,  in  185(i.  It  has  been 
long  known  as  "  Laing's  Hotel."  After  the  death  of 
the  senior  Laing  his  son  carried  on  the  place  until 
quite  recently,  being  the  well-known  and  popular 
landlord  of  the  establishment.  Mr.  George  Miller 
opened  the  house  in  1880,  but  in  a  few  months  he  died, 
and  his  son,  J.  B.  Miller,  is  now  occupying  the  stand. 
The  hotel  is  popular  not  only  as  a  summer  resort  for 
boarders,  but  for  transient  customers. 

Mr.  Jacob  Thorn  built  the  present  "  Mansion 
House."  In  1858  it  was  called  the  "City  Hotel." 
Mr.  Formaii  had  charge  of  it  for  one  year,  1856 ;  after 
he  left  it  Mr.  Thorn  opened  the  house  in  1858,  and 
Mr.  Sanders,  "  the  stage-driver,"  as  he  has  generally 
been  called,  came  and  leased  the  Mansion  House  from 
1859  to  1861.  He  removed,  and  John  T.  Lee  carried 
on  the  business  from  1861  to  1863,  and  Jacob  Thorn 
took  it  again  in  1864;  E.  P.  Thorn,  1866-71 ;  George 
Miller,  1872-75;  William  Hughson,  1876;  Christo- 
pher Vannarsdale,  1877;  Mr.  De  Revere,  1877-79. 
Mr.  Jacob  Thorn  died  May,  1874,  in  his  seventy-third 
year.  His  son  now  keeps  the  hotel,  and  has  a  fair 
share  of  the  public  patronage.  There  was  for  a  few 
years,  about  1827  and  subsequently,  an  inn  kept  by 
John  Ayres  on  the  corner  of  Cherry  and  Front  Streets, 
where  Berry  &  Thorn's  hardware-store  is  situated. 


TOWNSHIP   AND    CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


HIS 


Force's  Hotel,  on  Front  Street,  is  still  kept  open, 
and  has  become  somewhat  |)opular  with  the  traveling 
public.     James  H.  Force,  proprietor. 

Park  House,  a  temperance  boarding-house,  is  a 
family  hotel  with  accommodations  for  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  guests,  open  all  the  year.  It  was 
first  opened  by  the  owner,  Evan  Jones,  in  1873. 
George  B.  De  Revere,  formerly  of  the  Mansion 
House,  took  possession  of  it  as  landlord  in  1879,  and 
up  to  this  time  the  house  has  been  popular  with 
families  desiring  a  healthy  country  home. 

There  area  large  number  of  first-class  houses  which 
are  adapted  for  a  few  private  families,  and  convenient 
for  the  daily  trains  to  and  from  the  city  of  Plainfield. 

Burial  -  Grounds. — Among  the  earliest  burial- 
places  were  family  plots  situated  mostly  on  the  farms 
of  the  first  settlers,  and  some  of  the  lands  having 
changed  ownership,  the  graves  have  been  removed  or 
leveled  in  the  process  of  tilling  the  soil.  Many  have 
but  rough  stones  with  initials  of  the  name  and  date, 
and  many  are  without  any  inscription.  The  burial- 
plot  of  the  Lenox,  Coriells,  and  Coverts,  situated  on 
the  George  Smock  farm,  near  Dunellen,  in  this  town- 
ship, is  of  an  ancient  date,  and  a  large  number  are 
here  buried.  The  following  epitaph  is  found  on  one 
of  the  stones: 

*'In  Memory  of 
Luke  Covert, 

Who  died 
Jan.  22,  1828, 
In  the  91lh  jear  ol  his  »ge. 
Come  hiok  upim  my  grave, 

All  you  lliat  [jju*-*  by  ; 
Where  one  duth  live  to  such  an  age 
Thou^'ands  do  younger  die." 

On  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad 
was  the  family  burial-plot  of  the  Marseilles  families. 
It  is  just  south  of  Evona  Station.  A  few  years  ago 
the  stones  were  removed  by  the  family. 

The  Coles  burial-ground,  near  the  line  of  Fanwood 
township,  is  still  used  by  the  family,  and  kept  in  ex- 
cellent order.  Here  are  the  first  of  this  family  buried, 
and  the  gravestones  are  erected  to  designate  the  spot. 

Baptist  Burial-Ground. — It  was  found  neces- 
sary that  some  action  should  be  taken  in  relation  to  a 
proper  locality  for  the  burial  of  the  dead  in  the  year 
1849,  and  the  trustees  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
took  the  initiative  in  purchasing  and  beautifying  a 
suitable  plot  of  ground  for  a  cemetery,  "  whither  full 
oft,  with  saddened  heart  and  solemn  step,  many  have 
made  their  pilgrimage  to  lay  beneath  the  shadow  of 
its  evergreen  trees  the  forms  of  their  loved  ones." 

In  the  cemetery  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  a  large 
number  are  buried.  The  Quaker  burying-ground, 
near  the  station,  dates  back  to  1788,  when  the  meet- 
ing-house was  built.  They  had  previously  buried 
their  dead  in  the  old  Quaker  ground  in  Raritan  town- 
ship, of  which  no  distinct  trace  now  remains.  But 
their  records  show  that  it  was  first  used  in  1731. 

Here  are  interred  the  Shotwells,  Thorns,  Marshs, 
Vails,   Pounds,    Laings,    Bonncrs,    Fitz    Kandol|)hs, 


Kinseys,  Wilsons,  Griffiths,  Hartshornes,  Hamptons, 
Parkers,  Rogers,  and  many  of  those  whose  names 
have  become  unknown  in  this  township.  Tlie  ground 
in  Plainfield  is  still  used  for  burials,  but  with  very 
few  stones  placed  to  ideutify  them. 

The  Methodi.st  burial-ground  is  but  recently  estab- 
lished. In  1864  plots  were  secured  and  many  of  its 
members  are  there  buried.  It  is  near  the  Baptist 
cemetery,  and  kept  in  good  order,  the  grounds  having 
abundance  ot  evergreens,  and  neat  paths  dividing  the 
lots. 

The  Catholic  burial-ground  is  also  of  recent  date. 
It  is  situated  north  on  the  line  of  the  railroad  going 
to  Scotch  Plains.  The  ground  is  kept  in  excellent 
order,  and  has  some  fine  monuments,  as  well  as  beau- 
tifully-carved gravestones. 

The  Union  Cemetery  Company  was  incorporated  in 
the  year  1871,  and  in  1874  the  Plainfield  Cemetery 
act  of  the  Legislature  was  revived,  which  law  can  be 
found  recorded  on  page  984  of  New  Jersey  Laws, 
which  give  them  power  to  own  lands  for  the  purpose 
of  interments  within  the  limits  of  Plainfield. 

Evergreen  Cemetery  is  the  name  given  the  present 
place  of  interment  in  Plainfield,  and  where  most  of 
the  residents  own  family  plots. 

Seventh-Day  Cemetery,  situated  on  Park  Avenue 
and  Ninth  Street,  is  kept  with  considerable  neatness 
and  respect  for  those  there  buried. 

Roads  and  Avenues.'— The  distinctive  character- 
istic of  Plainfield  is  not  its  manufacturing  nor  com- 
mercial interests,  but  rather  its  elegant  residence 
property  and  the  interesting  drives  on  level,  shaded 
streets  and  avenues,  generally  straight  and  macada- 
mized, under  continuous  archways  of  maples  and 
elms,  made  delightful  by  the  well-kept,  tasteful  lawns 
and  many  neat  terraced  banks.  The  many  avenues 
that  might  be  mentioned  are  the  fine  wide  Park 
Avenue,  Crescent  Avenue,  the  avenue  leading  to 
Fanwood,  the  wide  avenues  to  Evona,  and  others, 
as  well  as  many  leading  in  ditt'erent  directions  out- 
side of  the  city  limits.  The  Johnson  drive,  as  it  is 
popularly  called,  is  a  macadamized  road  leading 
along  the  brow  of  the  Blue  Ridge  range,  extend- 
ing from  the  notch  through  which  Somerset  Street 
passes  to  the  picturesque  gap  in  the  mountains.  Some 
of  the  highest  points  on  the  drive  are  three  hundred 
to  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  adjacent 
plain.  Aud  also  a  drive  on  Netherwood  Heights  af- 
fords a  charming  pleasure  trip  of  endless  variety 
over  serpentine  roadways  on  an  undulating  surface 
covered  with  a  natural  growth  of  oaks  and  chestnuts, 
passing  an  unusually  attractive  class  of  dwellings 
and  beautiful  grounds.  And  lastly  the  ride  to  Wash- 
ington Rock  is  another  attractive  pleasure  drive,  and 
well  repays  any  one  to  visit  that  upper  region  of  in- 
vigorating  mountain   air  and  expansive   panoramic 


I  An  act  of  the   Legislature  in  relation   to  laying  out  avenues  and 
streets  was  passed  in  187:}. 


314 


HISTORY    OF    UNIOxN    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


landscape.  These  circumstances,  in  connection  with 
the  local  improvements  and  unsurpassed  railroad 
facilities,  have  attracted  a  larger  percentage  of  New 
York  business  men  than  any  other  suburban  city 
along  the  eighteen  or  twenty  lines  of  travel  from  the 
great  metropolis. 

Fire  Department. — For  many  years  previous  to 
1827  the  inhabitants  of  this  then  small  village  de- 
pended in  a  sudden  emergency  when  the  cry  of  fire 
was  sounded  upon  each  neighbor  bringing  his  bucket 
and  axe,  and  it  was  understood  that  such  or  such  a 
neighbor  owned  a  ladder.  But,  unfortunately,  it  was 
sometimes  lent  out  and  had  not  been  returned.  The 
necessity  of  some  organization  was  deeply  felt,  and 
in  the  above-mentioned  year  some  thirty  of  the 
townsmen,  through  Mr.  Robert  Anderson,  the  prime 
mover  in  the  enterprise,  secured  by  subscription  of 
ten  dollars  each  a  hand-lever  engine  for  extinguish- 
ing fires  from  New  Brunswick  called  the  "Har- 
mony." Tills  was  the  first  fire-engine  brought  to  the 
village  of  Plainfield,  and  a  house  for  its  reception 
was  built  on  a  lot  belonging  lo  Jacob  Manning,  where 
Mr.  Green's  furniture  store  now  stands.  The  engine- 
house  remained  here  for  a  time  until  it  was  removed 
to  near  the  corner  of  Cherry  Street  and  the  lane  to 
the  Quaker  meeting-house,  now  the  corner  of  Park 
and  North  Avenue,  where  The  Constitutionalist  is 
published.  The  following  composed  the  volunteer 
company  of  1827  :  Dr.  John  Craig.  Jacob  Manning, 
Zachariah  Webster,  Caleb  Freeman,  Jarvis  B.  Ayres, 
James  Leonard,  Randolph  M.  Stelle,  Eli  Pound,  Ira 
Fitz  Randolph,  Laing  Webster,  Abraham  Parker, 
Simeon  Fitz  Randolph,  Randolph  Dunham,  Corne- 
lius Boice,  Joel  Wilson,  Benjamin  M.  Stelle,  Edmond 
Webster,  Jacob  Thorn,  Lewis  Force,  Nathan  Vail, 
John  Briant,  Robert  Anderson  (he  was  Ibreman  for 
a  time),  Miriam  Ormston,  John  Layton,  Joseph 
Shotwell,  and  John  Edgar.  There  were  probably 
others,  but  at  this  late  date  it  seems  impossible  to 
procure  a  complete  list. 

Aug.  25,  1853,  the  following  citizens  of  Plainfield 
united  for  the  purpose  of  organizing  a  new  company, 
to  be  called  "  a  fire-engine  company,"  in  the  village 
of  Plainfield  :  Isaac  C.  Varian,  James  M.  Dunn,  D. 
W.  Dorman,  L.  E.  Barkalew,  Samuel  Manning,  John 
Cummings,  William  Gano,  E.  B.  Titsworth,  A.  Van- 
derbeck,  William  M.  Webster,  R.  C.  Barkalew,  E. 
W.  Bloom,  HeTiry  R.  Cannon,  H.  C.  Randolph,  Ellis 
Ayres,  George  Pack,  Randolph  Marsh,  I.  W.  Martin. 
John  V.  Arrowsmith,  Warren  Marsh,  John  C.  Run- 
yon,  Augustus  Martin,  George  Strooks.  James  M. 
Dunn  was  made  chairman  ;  Samuel  C.  Varian  was 
elected  foreman.  The  organization  was  called  "  Har- 
mony Fire  Engine  Company,  No.  2;  "  a  constitution 
and  by-laws  were  adopted  Aug.  31,  1853,  and  Samuel 
Manning  was  elected  secretary  and  treasurer. 

'  At  the  next  monthly  meeting  Messrs.  W.  W.  Web- 
ster, Jacob  C.  Varian,  H.  R.  Cannon,  E.  B.  Titsworth, 
John    Arrowsmith,    William    Gano,   and    Lewis   E. 


Barkalew  were  appointed  a  committee  to  raise  money 
to  build  a  new  engine-house  and  procure  a  new 
engine. 

At  a  meeting  Sept.  14,  1853,  Dr.  Cannon,  treasurer 
of  the  committee,  reported  on  hand  S787.50  in  sub- 
scriptions, and  a  committee  was  appointed  to  visit 
the  diflierent  engine-builders  in  New  York  and  Brook- 
lyn, to  examine  carefully  the  construction  and  engage 
an  engine  for  this  company  not  to  exceed  in  cost$800. 
The  fi)llowing  were  said  committee :  Messrs.  D.  W. 
Dorman,  Washington  Marsh,  Isaac  Varian,  William 
Gano,  Samuel  Manning,  and  William  Webster. 

At  their  next  meeting,  Oct.  5,  1853,  the  committee 
reported  that  they  had  contracted  with  Mr.  Joseph 
Pine  for  an  engine  to  cost  $900.  At  this  same  meet- 
ing it  was  decided  to  determine  by  ballot  the  name  of 
the  new  engine.  Three  ballots  were  taken  with 
no  choice,  when  on  motion  of  Mr.  Dorman  it  was  de- 
cided to  call  it  "  Washington,  No.  2;"  but  at  their 
next  meeting  this  action  was  rescinded  and  a  commit- 
tee appointed  to  name  the  engine,  consisting  of  the 
following:  Me-ssrs.  Washington  Marsh,  L.  E.  Bar- 
kalew, James  M.  Dunn,  E.  W.  Bloom,  Ellis  Ayres, 
and  the  committee  reported  the  name  of  "  Gazelle, 
No.  3." 

Jan.  4,  1854,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  "'pre- 
pare and  circulate  for  names  a  petition  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  New  Jersey  for  an  act  incorporating  Plain- 
field  into  a  fire  district,"  and  the  company  held  their 
first  meeting  in  their  new  house  Aug.  3,  1854,  called 
Fireman's  Hall.  D.  W.  Dorman  was  elected  fore- 
man, and  Ellis  Ayres  secretary,  at  the  annual  meet- 
ing Feb.  1,  1855. 

At  a  meeting  held  March  7,  1855,  John  Ayres  was 
made  foreman  of  a  juvenile  hose  cojnpany.  The  hose- 
carriage,  or  "juniper,"  as  it  was  termed,  was  a  two- 
wheeled  paint-cart  procured  from  Frazee  Marsh.  A 
roller  was  fixed  on  the  axles,  and  the  same  apparatus 
is  in  use  to-day,  known  as  "  Warren  Hose-Carriage, 
No.  3." 

Before  the  purchase  of  the  new  engine  the  company 
worked  an  old  double-deck  engine,  loaned  them  by 
Mr.  Pine  while  he  was  building  the  new  engine. 
This  ap|)aratus  was  called  the  "  Night-Owl,"  and  was 
surrendered  to  him  when  the  new  engine  arrived. 

The  number  of  this  company  was  changed  about 
this  time  to  No.  1  Engine,  and  the  conipany  had 
secured  a  lot  on  Cherry  Street  and  commenced  the 
erection  of  an  engine-house  next  to  Martin  Brf)thers' 
grocery.  The  new  engine  arrived  about  Feb.  1,  1855, 
also  a  supply  of  hose.  D.  W.  Dorman  was  re-elected 
foreman,  and  Ellis  Ayres  secretary.  It  was  proposed 
to  have  a  parade  the  1st  of  April,  and  to  invite  the 
superintendent  and  inspectors  of  the  railroad  to  attend 
the  parade,  which  was  afterwards  postponed  for  two 
months. 

The  following  have  been  elected  foremen  :  1854-56, 
Samuel  Manning;  18.57-58,  Edward  P.  Thorn  ;  1859, 
John  Roselle;   18(30-01,  Edward  P.  Thorn  ;  18G2-63, 


TOWNSHIP    AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


315 


John  H.  Tier;  18(33-64,  John  Roselle;  1865-67,  The- 
odore F.  French;  1868,  William  P.  Bailey;  1869-74, 
William  J.  Force;  1875-77,  Thaddeus  O.  Doane ; 
1878-81,  Augustus  H.  Martin;  1882,  Thaddeus  O. 
Doane. 

The  following  have  been  secretaries :  1854-56, 
Lewis  H.  Ayres;  1857-58,  Alexander  Dunn;  1858, 
Joseph  R.  Eno  ;  1859-65,  Ellis  Ayres  ;  1866,  John  T. 
Lee  ;  1873-78,  William  J.  Force. 

A  full  regulation  uniform  was  adopted  Feb.  6,  1861, 
— red  shirt,  belt  with  name  of  company,  and  regular 
fire-hat. 

In  the  year  1869,  just  after  a  fire  had  taken  place, 
July  6th  of  that  year,  a  meeting  was  called  at  Laing's 
Hotel  to  devise  some  plan  to  secure  another  steamer, 
as  that  fire  proved  the  inadequacy  of  the  department 
to  cope  with  such  fires.  The  meeting  was  presided 
over  by  Nathan  Harper,  Esq.,  and  G.  W.  F.  Randolph 
was  secretary.     The  meeting  was  largely  attended. 

It  was  resolved  to  present  a  memorial  to  the  Legis- 
lature asking  them  to  allow  of  such  legislation  as 
would  provide  means  to  the  extent  of  $10,000  for  the 
procurement  and  maintaining  of  another  steamer 
and  appurtenances.  Also  a  document  was  presented 
ready  for  the  signatures  of  those  desirous  to  con- 
tribute money  towards  this  purpose,  and  money  was 
contributed  liberally.  Messrs.  Wallace,  Vail,  E.  W. 
Runyon,  and  George  Hoadly  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  circulate  the  petition  papers.  Through  Mr. 
Vail's  indefatigable  efforts  some  $12,400  were  re- 
ceived in  subscriptions  within  forty-eight  hours. 
Chief  Engineer  Frazee,  Fire  Commissioner  J.  W. 
Manning,  and  J.  F.  Hubbard  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee to  at  once  purchase  the  engine.  The  com- 
mittee lost  no  time  iu  closing  a  bargain  with  the 
Amoskeag  Company  for  one  of  their  third-class 
engines,  the  same  as  No.  2.  On  the  4th  of  October, 
1869,  a  delegation  of  "Gazelle"  firemen  and  Chief 
Frazee  visited  New  York  and  escorted  the  new  en- 
gine to  Plainfield.  While  this  engine  was  being  built 
another  engine  company  had  been  formed  of  citizens 
of  North  Plainfield,  under  the  name  of  Warren 
Engine  Company  No.  3. 

When  the  new  steamer  arrived  at  Plainfield  all  the 
fire  department  were  in  line  at  the  station  to  receive 
the  engine.  The  fire  coramis-sioner  formally  turned 
over  to  the  Gazelle  Company  the  new  steamer,  and 
the  hand-engine  over  to  the  new  company,  "  Warren, 
No.  3."  The  fire  commissioners  secured  the  needed 
legislation  at  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  and 
relieved  all  the  subscribers  on  the  list.  Their  names 
were  merely  pledges  of  security  to  the  builders. 

The  Plairffield  Company,  No.  2,  was  organized  in 
1867.  They  have  an  excellent  company,  and  have 
done  good  service  with  their  steamer  at  the  various 
fires  in  this  city. 

Zephyr  Hook-and-Laddee  Company,  No.  1. — 
Their  truck  was  purchased  by  subscription  through  the 
efforts  of  the  citizens,  foremost  of  whom  were  the  late 


respected  George  Miller,  Esq.,  and  Benjamin  A. 
Mumford.  The  apparatus  was  afterwards  turned 
over  to  the  fire  department. 

The  first  chief  engineer  of  this  department  elected 
was  the  late  John  Roselle,  May  4,  1868.  Theodore 
F.  French,  James  F.  G.  Eraser,  and  Frank  W.  Vail. 
The  first  annual  parade  took  place  Sept.  3,  1868. 

A  Relic. — The  following  interesting  facts  are  re- 
lated :  In  June,  1855,  a  committee  consisting  of  Wil- 
liam W.  Webster,  John  Layton,  Jr.,  and  Samuel 
Manning  were  appointed  to  procure  a  bell  to  be 
hung  in  the  belfry  of  the  engine-house.  It  was  rung 
for  the  first  time  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  1855. 
The  money  to  pay  for  it  was  raised  by  subscription. 
There  is  quite  a  history  connected  with  this  bell,  as 
follows  :  In  the  year  1867  the  fire  department  pur- 
chased a  steam  fire-engine,  and  it  was  decided  to 
form  the  nucleus  for  a  new  company  out  of  the  mem- 
bers of  Gazelle,  No.  1.  Accordingly  the  roll  was 
called,  and  as  each  member's  name  was  announced 
he  decided  by  his  answer  whether  he  would  remain 
with  No.  1  or  join  the  new  company.  Twelve  mem- 
bers decided  to  form  the  new  company,  and  eighteen 
remained  with  No.  1.  Then  came  a  contest  as  to 
what  should  be  the  name  of  the  steamer  company. 
The  men  who  formed  the  new  company  wanted  also 
to  take  the  number  with  them,  and  call  their  com- 
pany No.  1,  and  Gazelle  No.  2.  The  members  re- 
maining with  the  hand-engine  finally  triumphed, 
and  the  new  steamer  company  was  called  "  Plainfield, 
No.  2,"  and  from  that  time  there  has  existed  a 
friendly  strife  between  the  two  companies.  When 
the  old  engine-house  was  purchased  by  Mr.  Levi 
Hetfield  the  members  of  No.  2  thought  to  spring  a 
trap  on  those  of  No.  1  in  securing  the  bell  as  a 
trophy,  and  obtained  the  consent  of  Mr.  Hetfield  to 
allow  them  the  bell.  But  members  of  No.  1  heard  of 
this  and  determined  that  the  old  relic  of  the  early 
days  of  the  fire  department  in  the  village  of  Plain- 
field,  whicli  they  justly  considered  belonged  to  their 
organization,  should  not  iall  into  the  hands  of  their 
rivals.  One  night  the  bell  disappeared  from  the 
belfry,  and  then  there  was  a  hue  and  cry.  The  owner 
of  the  building  threatened  to  sue  somebody  for  the 
theft ;  who  that  somebody  was  no  one  could  tell. 
Finally  ex-Foreman  Edward  Thorn  bargained  with 
Mr.  Hetfield  and  bought  "a  pig  in  a  bag,"  as  the 
saying  is,  by  purchasing  the  bell  for  a  nominal  sum, 
the  same  to  become  his  when  found.  For  a  long 
time  that  bell  remained  out  of  sight  to  the  gaze  of 
any  member  of  No.  2.  Finally,  on  the  occasion  of 
their  annual  ball  and  supper,  the  evening  of  Febru- 
ary 22d,  they  determined  to  astonish  their  friendly 
rivals.  During  the  progress  of  the  dancing,  when 
the  "  full  set"  was  reached,  the  assemblage  were  a.ston- 
ished  at  hearing  the  loud  clanging  of  a  bell  behind 
the  paraphernalia  and  decorations  at  the  end  of  the 
hall,  a  flag  was  drawn  aside,  and  the  astonished  eyes 
of  those  members  of  No.  2  present  fell  upon  the  bell 


316 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


so  long  sought  for.  It  was  beautifully  gilded  in  gold, 
and  hung  so  that  it  could  be  swung  at  leisure.  Infor- 
mation was  received  that  an  attempt  would  be  made 
to  rescue  the  bell,  but  a  strong  guard  was  kept  over 
it,  and  it  was  returned  again  to  a  place  of  secrecy 
until  Mr.  Thorn  announced  himself  the  owner  of  it, 
when  all  atteuipts  to  ca|)ture  it  were  dropped.  This 
historic  bell  has  now  a  place  in  another  organization 
of  this  city,  whose  members  often  listen  to  its  silent 
midnight  tolling  with  pleasure. 

The  officers  for  1881-82  are  as  follows:  President 
of  Board,  Jeremiah  Van  Winkle;  Secretary,  T.  J. 
Gillies;  Treasurer,  E.  H.  Depew ;  other  members  of 
board,  E.  L.  Morris,  Solomon  Flaig,  W.  E.  Jones. 
Chief  Engineer,  Frank  W.  Vail  ;  First  Assistant, 
George  Kesselring  ;  Second  Assistant,  Stephen  Davis. 

Gazelle,  No.  1,  Steamer. — Foreman,  T.  O.  Doaue; 
First  Assistant,  Jerry  Moore;  Second  Assistant, 
Charles  P.  Sebring. 

Plainfield,  No.  2,  Sieamer. — Foreman,  William  L. 
Wright ;  First  Assistant,  William  Laing  ;  Second  As- 
sistant, Andrew  D.  Jennings. 

Warren,  No.  3,  Engine. — Foreman,  John  Becker; 
First  Assistant,  William  Harding;  Second  Assistant, 
George  Becker. 

Zephyr,  No.  1,  Hook-and-Ladder. — Foreman,  Eph- 
riam  Hedden ;  First  Assistant,  Samuel  Robinson ; 
Second  Assistant,  Charles  Smith. 

Alert,  No.  1,  Hose  Company. — Foreman,  A.  Sals- 
man  ;  First  Assistant,  S.  T.  Varian  ;  Second  Assis- 
tant, E.  N.  Errickson. 

The  Firemen's  Relief  Association. — Joseph 
A.  Hubbard,  president;  David  W.  Rodgers,  vice- 
president;  W.  R.  Cock,  secretary;  A.  D.  Mallinson, 
treasurer ;  relief  committee,  A.  S.  Force,  A.  D.  Jen- 
nings, and  Frank  Whiteley. 


CHAPTER    XLVIII. 

TOWNSHIP  AND    CITY  OF   PLAINFIELD.— ( r.'„„(,.merf.) 

Plainfield  Gaslight  Company.— For  a  number  of 

years  some  plan  was  sought  to  be  adopted  for  light- 
ing the  streets  of  this  growing  city.  Many  plans 
were  proposed  and  found  to  be  impracticable  or  un- 
successful. At  length  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was 
])assed  incorporating  "  The  Plainfield  Gaslight  Com- 
pany," March  13,  1867.  In  1870  this  act  was  amended. 
The  company  have  several  miles  of  mains  laid  in  the 
principal  streets,  and  are  constantly  extending  them 
as  demand  increases.  Capital,  one  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  offices  are  located  at  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Washington  Streets  ;  President,  1.  R.  Van 
Deventer ;  Superintendent,  E.  R.  Pope ;  Secretary 
and  Treasurer,  P.  Brunsen  ;  Engineer,  T.  H.  Morse; 
Directors,  J.  R.  Van  Deveuter,  Elias  R.  Pope,  Peter 
Brunsen,  George  W.  F.  Randolph,  and  Carmon  Parse. 


Water-Supply  Company. — An  organization  of 
citizens  of  Plainfield  for  supplying  the  city  with 
water  was  eftected  in  1869,  and  the  intention  is  at 
some  future  day  to  develop  the  much-needed  and 
easily-arranged  improvement  for  receiving  a  supply 
of  fine,  jiure  water  I'rom  the  neighboring  hills,  where 
there  are  abundant  never-falling  springs  sufficient  for 
all  demands,  either  for  extinguishing  fire  or  for  do- 
mestic or  manufacturing  purposes.  The  city  will  un- 
doubtedly find  it  necessary  sooner  or  later  to  draw  its 
water  supply  from  this  source. 

There  were  two  acts  of  the  Legislature  passed  in 
1874:  first,  an  act  to  authorize  the  construction  of 
water-works  for  supplying  Plainfield  with  pure  and 
wholesome  water;  and  second,  an  act  to  authorize  the 
construction  of  works  for  supplying  with  pure  and 
wholesome  water,  pursuant  to  an  act  of  April  2, 1869. 

Societies. — The  Caledonian  Association. — 
This  society  was  organized  in  1877  of  resident  Scotch- 
men. It  is  devoted  to  benevolence  and  the  popular 
sports  peculiar  to  the  Highlanders. 

The  Athletic  Club. — Among  many  of  the  younger 
portion  of  this  city  the  Athletic  Club  is  an  institution, 
and  has  grown  in  popularity  and  influence  by  its  suc- 
cessful sports  and  by  its  well-managed  annual  games, 
with  liberal  prizes  which  draw  together  many  of  the 
most  celebrated  athletes  as  well  as  amateur  competi- 
tors in  the  country. 

The  Muhlenberg  Hospital  was  fully  organized  in 
1878.  For  years  previously  the  want  of  such  an  in- 
stitution had  been  felt  by  the  citizens.  Donations  of 
money  were  made,  fairs,  etc.,  were  held,  and  a  fine 
plot  of  land  was  donated  by  the  former  mayor  of  the 
city.  Job  Male,  Esq.  The  building  was  then  com- 
menced. It  is  now  completed  and  ready  to  receive 
those  needing  medical  treatment.  The  building  with 
grounds  are  valued  at  about  ten  thousand  dollars. 
The  officers  of  the  board  of  governors :  Right  Rev. 
John  Scarborough,  D.D.,  president;  Nathan  Harper, 
vice-president ;  W.  R.  Cock,  secretary  and  treasurer. 
Medical  Board :  H.  D.  Burlingham,  M.D.,  phy- 
sician-in-chief; Charles  Hart,  M.D.,  surgeon-in-chief; 
Charles  H.  Stillnian,  M.D.,  consulting  physician  ;  J. 
E.  Jamrin,  M.D.  (New  York),  and  C.  M.  Field,  M.D. 
(Bound  Brook),  consulting  surgeons;  Drs.  Probasco, 
Boone,  and  Tomlinson,  attendant  physicians;  Drs.  G. 
W.  Endicott  and  Long,  attendant  surgeons. 

Relief  Association. — This  association  have  rooms 
corner  Madison  Avenue  and  Second  Street.  They 
give  needed  help  to  the  poor  through  an  employment 
bureau  to  those  who  are  able  to  work,  and  dispense 
clothing,  food,  medicines,  etc.,  through  a  scrutinizing 
executive  board  of  self-denying  ladies,— ^Mrs.  G.  W. 
Ferry,  president;  Mrs.  C.  E.  Ryder,  vice-president; 
Mrs.  Joseph  M.  Myers,  treasurer;  Mrs.  John  S.  Lam- 
son,  secretary  ;  Mrs.  11.  C.  Marshall,  assistant  secre- 
tary;  Miss  A.  J.  Pray,  sujierintendent. 

Plainfield  Library.— In  187!i  an  act  was  pjissed  by 
the  Legislature  creating  a  library  fund.     The  follow- 


TOWNSHIP    AND    CITY  OF   PLAINFIELD 


317 


ing  list  of  officers  has  been  elected  with  three  terms, 
viz. :  Walter  L.  Hatfield,  Craig  A.  Marsh,  J.  K.  Myers, 
secretary  and  treasurer,  hold  office  until  1883;  George 
H.  Babcock,  Henry  E.  Daboll.  John  B.  Dumont, 
president,  hold  office  to  1884;  John  H.  Evens,  Mason 
W.  Tyler,  Henry  R.  Talmadge,  hold  office  to  1885. 
Within  the  next  six  months  this  library  will  be  opened 
to  the  public,  and  will  be  a  valuable  acquisition  to  the 
city. 

Jerusalem  Lodge,  No.  40,  R.  and  A.  M— The 
committee  appointed  to  reply  to  certain  inquiries  of 
the  Committee  on  Masonic  History  of  the  Most  Wor- 
shipful Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
would  respectfully  rejjort  as  follows : 

1st.  At  the  annual  communication  of  the  Most 
Worshipful  Grand  Lodge,  held  at  Trenton,  on  the  11th 
day  of  November,  1817,  the  following  petition  was 
presented : 

"  To  the  Right  Worthip/iil  Grand  Lodge  of  the  Slate  of  New  Jersey.— The 
petition  of  the  subscribers  tiioat  tiumbly  showetli,  that  your  petitioners 
are  all  regular  Aucieut  Ma^uos,  anil  having  the  honor  and  prosperity  of 
Masons  much  at  heart  are  very  desirous  to  promote  its  piiilaiithropic 
principles.  Tliat  for  the  convenience  of  their  respective  habitations  and 
for  other  good  purposes  they  have  agreed  to  form  themselves  into  a  new 
lodge  to  be  named  '  Union  Lodge,'  and  have  nominated  Capt  John  Allen 
to  be  our  first  Master,  Doctor  Elias  Runyon  to  i>e  our  Senior  Warden, 
and  Captain  William  D.  Sherwood  to  be  our  Junior  Warden.  That  in 
consequence  of  this  resolution  they  pray  for  a  warrant  to  empower  them 
to  assemble  and  h«ild  a  regular  lodge  in  the  township  of  Westfield,  and 
county  of  E^sex,  in  East  New  Jersey,  and  then  and  there  to  make,  pass, 
and  raise  masons  according  to  the  forms  of  the  society  and  to  execute 
all  other  duties  of  the  craft.  May  it,  therefore,  please  your  Right  Wor- 
shipful body  to  grant  this  request,  and  your  petitioners  I'aithlully  prom- 
ise strictly  to  obey  and  conform  to  all  the  orders  and  regulations  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  that  shall  be  enjoined  on  them,  and  your  petitioners  as  in 
duty  bouud  will  ever  pray. 

Signed,  "John  Allen,  "  Elias  Runyon, 

"William  D.  Sherwood,     "Jacob  Lazaliar, 
"William  Williamson,       "Simeon  Gauge, 
"  William  Stewart." 

The  petition  having  been  read,  it  was  "  ordered  that 
a  warrant  do  issue  and  that  Brother  John  Allen  be 
the  first  Master ;  Elias  Runyon,  first  Senior  Warden  ; 
and  William  D.  Sherwood,  first  Junior  Warden  of 
said  lodge." 

The  lodge  was  known  and  numbered  as  Jerusalem 
Lodge,  No.  40,  in  the  township  of  Westfield  (now 
city  of  Plainfield)  in  the  county  of  Essex. 

2d.  There  is  no  evidence  of  this  lodge  having  pre- 
viously worked  under  a  dispensation. 

The  first  applicant  for  degrees  under  the  warrant 
was  John  Norcett,  in  May,  1818,  and  received  the  first 
degree  in  said  lodge  June  22,  1818. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  lodge  under  the  warrant 
was  held  Dec.  27,  1817.  The  following  oBJcers  and 
brethren  were  present,  viz. :  John  Allen,  W.  M. ;  Elias 
Runyon,  S.  W. ;  William  D.  Sherwood,  J.  W. ;  Wil- 
liam Williamson,  Treas. ;  Elias  J.  Thompson,  of 
Chatham  Lodge,  Sec.  pro  tern.  Alexander  Kinner, 
S.  D. ;  Simeon  Gauge,  J.  D. ;  Andrew  Wallace, 
Tyler;  William  Stewart,  David  Sinalley,  R.  W. 
Dept.  Grand  Master;  William  McKissack,  R.  W. 
Dept.  Grand  Secretary  ;  George  McDonald  from  Solo- 
21 


men  Lodge,  No.  1,  at  Somerville;  Bros.  Luther  Little 
and  Elias  J.  Thompson,  of  Chatham  Lodge,  No.  33. 

During  the  entire  existence  of  Jerusalem  Lodge, 
No.  40,  from  Nov.  11,  1817,  to  April  23,  1834,  no 
name  is  more  prominently  identified  with  its  history 
than  that  of  Col.  John  Allen.  He  was  present  at 
the  annual  communication  of  the  Grand  Lodge  when 
the  warrant  was  granted,  and  served  his  lodge  as  a 
representative  eleven  years.  In  the  year  1832  he  was 
elected  to  the  honorable  position  of  Senior  Grand 
Warden.  He  was  most  faithful  in  his  attendance  at 
the  regular  communications  of  his  own  lodge,  holding 
the  station  of  Worshipful  Master,  serving  the  years 
1818-19,  1823.  As  a  citizen  he  was  respected  and 
honored  as  one  of  the  most  prominent  in  the  com- 
munity. After  the  lodge  had  ceased  labor  he  removed 
to  the  State  of  Ohio.  With  his  change  of  residence 
there  was  no  abatement  in  his  love  of  the  institution 
of  Masonry,  and  at  his  death,  in  1856,  he  desired  to 
have  his  remains  taken  to  Plainfield,  in  New  Jersey, 
and  that  the  usual  Masonic  services  should  be  per- 
formed by  his  brother  Masons  of  Plainfield.  A  dele- 
gation from  his  lodge  in  Ohio  accompanied  his  re- 
mains to  his  old  home,  and  he  was  interred  in  the 
cemetery  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  this  place.  The 
funeral  services  were  held  on  Sunday,  July  13,  1856, 
and  the  ceremonies  at  the  grave  performed  by  Jerusa- 
lem Lodge,  No.  26. 

Jerusalem  Lodge,  No.  26,  F.  and  A.  M.,  located 
in  Plainfield.  This  lodge  was  organized  under  dis- 
pen.sation  by  Most  Worthy  Grand  Master  Stewart, 
May  9, 1853,  and  the  following  officers  were  admitted  : 
Elias  Runyon,  W.  M. ;  Richard  Manning,  S.  W.  The 
minutes  of  the  proceedings  furnish  the  following 
list  of  brethren  present  on  the  occasion  :  Elias  Run- 
yon, Richard  Manning,  Stephen  Hall,  James  G.  Wil- 
liams, James  C.  Lyon,  Edmund  Seeley,  Debruskoss 
A.  Husson,  Thomas  Wallace,  Samuel  Scott,  Jona- 
than M.  Wilcox. 

The  following  are  the  officers  of  the  lodge,  Feb.  18, 
1882 :  William  R.  Cock,  W.  M.  ;  Benjamin  F.  Coriell, 
S.  W.;  Jonathan  B.  Johnson,  J.  W. ;  John  L.  Hall, 
Treas. ;  Edward  Nelson,  Sec. ;  John  Ulrich,  S.  D. ; 
Thaddeus  O.  Doane,  J.  D.  ;  John  Chandler,  S.  M.  S. ; 
Joseph  G.  Miller,  I.  M.  S. ;  David  Weaver,  S. ;  Wil- 
liam L.  Wright,  S. ;  Charles  H.  Westfall,  Tyler. 

Jerusalem  Chapter  meets  the  second  and  fourth 
Thursday  evenings  of  each  month  in  Masonic  Hall, 
the  Vandeventer  Block,  Front  Street.  John  Hall, 
H.  P. ;  I.  C.  Pope,  E.  K. ;  Edward  Nelson,  E.  S. ;  I. 
N.  Steiner,  Treas. ;  T.  A.  Rodgers,  Sec. 

Anclior  Lodge,  F.  and  A.  M.,  meets  second  and 
fourth  Tuesday  evenings  of  each  month  in  Masonic 
Hall,  in  City  National  Bank  building,  Front  Street. 
W.  A.  Freeman,  W.  M. ;  I.  B.  Dumont,  S.  W. ; 
Charles  Tweedy,  J.  W. ;  J.  S.  Na.son,  Treas. ;  James 
Lyon,  Sec. 

Odd-Fellows. — Plainfield  Lodge,  No.  44,  meets 
every  Monday  evening  at  their  hall  in  Coward's  build- 


318 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


iug.  Park  Avenue.  Officers,  1882 :  C.  E.  Austin,  N. 
G. ;  William  Boe,  V.  G. ;  T.  J.  Young,  Treas. ;  I. 
K.  Arnold,  Rec.  Sec. ;  P.  V.  Weaver,  Per.  Sec. 

Mount  Hebron  Degree  Lodge,  No.  11,  meets 
second  Thursday  evening  of  each  month.  Officers  for 
1882 :  M.  Schenck,  D.  M. ;  A.  R.  Hartpense,  D.  D.  M. ; 
Fred.  Slater,  Sec.  ;  T.  J.  Young,  Treas. 

Knights  of  Pythias. — Perseverance  Lodge,  No. 
74,  meets  every  Thursday  evening  in  hall,  Front 
Street,  corner  of  Park  Avenue.  I.  C.  Carney,  C.  C. ; 
N.  H.  Giittman,  V.  C. ;  Martin  Cronce,  P. ;  Webster 
Grant,  R.  of  F. ;  F.  Whitleby,  M.  at  A.;  L.  Ulrich, 
Trustee. 

Howell's  Division,  No.  97,  Sons  of  Temperance, 
meets  at  Alberti's  Hall,  East  Front  Street,  opposite 
Park  Avenue,  every  Tuesday  evening.  Webster 
Grant,  W.  P. ;  James  R.  Ferine,  W.  A.  ;  I.  M. 
Taynor,  P.  W.  P. ;   J.  M.  B.  Pyatt,  R.  S. 

The  Would  Be  Social  Club  was  organized  June 
15,  1877,  and  has  occasional  meeting  at  their  rooms, 
No.  12  West  Front  Street. 

Plainfield  Saengerbund.  —  This  large  association 
was  organized  a  few  years  ago  for  the  care  of  the  sick 
and  helping  the  destitute.  The  singing  society  con- 
nected with  this  club  give  occasional  entertainments, 
which  have  become  popular  with  the  German-speak- 
ing citizens  of  this  city.  They  meet  every  Monday 
and  Friday  evenings  at  Frederick  Caspar's  hall. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  meets  in  Associa- 
tion Hall,  Park  Avenue,  the  first  Monday  evening  of 
every  month.  W.  J.  Tobin,  president;  James  Mul- 
downev,  vice-president;  Charles  McCann,  secretary; 
Michael  Nugent,  treasurer. 

Children's  Home. — This  home  is  located  on  Hill- 
side Avenue.  It  was  found  that  something  should 
be  done  for  the  children  of  this  city  who  needed  care 
and  support,  and  many  little  ones,  orphans  and  half- 
orphans,  or  those  whose  parents  are  incompetent  to 
provide  for  their  necessary  wants.  This  home  was 
organized  in  1872,  and  has  been  the  means  of  doing  a 
good  work.  The  officers:  Mrs.  Horace  Kimball, 
president;  Mrs.  James  McGee,  vice-president;  Mrs. 
Charles  Place,  secretary  ;  Mrs.  L.  W.  Serrell,  treas- 
urer; Miss  Lucy  Everett,  corresponding  .secretary; 
Mrs.  C.  V.  F.  Nevius,  matnm  ;  E.  W.  South,  M.D., 
physician  of  the  Children's  Home. 

Holly  Tree  Inn. — This  benevolent  institution  is 
sittiated  on  North  Avenue  near  the  depot.  It  is  a 
well-patronized  resort  for  the  youth  of  our  city,  where 
they  can  find  a  home  welcome,  good,  promiscuous 
reading-matter,  and  a  simple  lunch  without  any  evil 
temptations.  It  is  nearly  self-sustaining,  though 
needing  the  sympathy  and  assistance  of  a  charitable 
public.  It  exists  in  the  interests  of  temperance,  and 
is  doing  a  good  work  under  the  direction  of  the 
Women's  Christian  Temiierance  Union.  Officers: 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Yates,  president;  Mi.ss  H.  M.  Convey, 
secretary  ;  Mrs.  S.  S.  Struthers,  treasurer  ;  Miss  H. 
W.  Convey,  superintendent  of  Inn. 


The  Washington  Monument  Association.— This 

society,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  upon  Washington 
Rock  a  suitable  monument,  was  organized  in  1859, 
and  its  determined  purpose  is  in  no  distant  future  to 
honor  the  memory  of  our  great  American  chieftain 
by  erecting  a  suitable  memorial  upon  this  summit, 
and  near  the  notable  rock  that  bears  his  name. 

The  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  was  or- 
ganized ill  181)7.  They  lormerly  had  their  rooms 
upon  Front  Street,  but  now  have  commodious  quar- 
ters in  the  Chautauqua  Building,  corner  of  Park  and 
North  Avenues.  They  lia\e  in  membership  nearly 
three  hundred,  and  a  circulating  and  reference  library 
of  nearly  two  thousand  volumes,  and  a  free  reading- 
room  containing  many  of  the  best  religious  and  secu- 
lar publications.  Under  the  auspices  of  the  Y'oung 
Men's  Christian  Association  is  given  every  season  an 
excellent  course  of  literary  and  scientific  lectures  and 
musical  entertainments.  The  Sabbath-school  normal 
class,  with  the  main  object  of  pursuing  a  systematic 
Biblical  study,  and  the  consideration  of  practical 
methods  of  religious  instruction,  is  one  of  their  most 
influential  and  important  branches  of  Christian  ac- 
tivity, having  given  to  Plainfield  a  national  reputa- 
tion as  a  Sunday-school  centre.  Under  its  manage- 
ment the  first  congress  of  Sunday-school  workers  of 
the  United  States  was  convened  in  this  |)lace  during 
the  spring  of  187t),  when  one  hundred  and  sixty  dele 
gates  were  present,  representing  thirteen  States  and 
twelve  different  denominations.  The  eft'orts  of  the 
association  in  philanthropic  as  well  as  religious 
ways  are  designed  to  help  and  elevate  the  young  men 
of  Plainfield.  The  following  officers,  1882:  H.  R. 
Munger,  president;  George  R.  Cornwall,  vice-presi- 
dent; Walter  McGee,  recording  secretary;  H.  J. 
Runyan,  corresponding  secretary ;  W.  P.  Webster, 
general  secretary;  H.  0.  Newman,  treasurer;  and 
W.  S.  Angleman,  librarian. 

Chautauqua  Literary  and  Scientific  Circle.— 
The  national  headquarters  is  in  the  Chautau(|ua 
Building,  corner  of  Park  and  North  Avenues.  Rev. 
J.  H.  Vincent,  D.D.,  |)resident ;  Miss  Kate  F.  Kim- 
ball, secretary.  Plainfield  Branch,  Rev.  J.  L.  Hurl- 
but,  president;   F.  E.  Marsh,  treasurer. 

The  Potter  Printing-Press  Works.— They  were 
erected  in  1879  by  C.  Potter,  Jr.,  about  half-way 
from  this  city  to  Evoiia,  on  the  southerly  side  of  the 
New  Jersey  Central  Railroad  tract,  having  sufficient 
conveniences  for  loading  and  unloading  their  mer- 
chandise at  the  factory  doors.  The  buildings  are  of 
brick,  and  are  commodious,  covering  nearly  an  acre 
(if  ground, — the  machine-shop,  foundry,  work-shop, 
and  necessary  buildings.  The  firm  is  an  olil,  well-es- 
tablished concern,  having  had  their  works  in  Rhode 
Island  for  many  years.  Their  workman.ship  is  unex- 
celled by  any  other  in  the  country.  They  employ 
over  one  hundred  first-class  mechanics. 

The  Clothing  Establishment  of  Messrs.  Schep- 
flin,  Baldwin,  Tweedy  &  Co.,  ranks  among  the  first 


^./J, 


^n£L- 


TOWNSHIP   AND    CITY    OF   PLAINFIELD. 


319 


of  this  class  ot  industry  in  tlie  United  States.  At  their 
massive  brick  buildings  on  West  Front  Street  they 
employ  a  great  many  skilled  workmen,  and  afford 
steady  occupation  to  scores  of  others  in  the  surround- 
ing neighborhood. 

Mutual  Agricultural  Association  of  Union  and 
Middlesex  Counties, — This  association  was  organized 
in  the  year  1879,  and  in  the  following  month  of  Sep- 
tember they  held  their  first  annual  exhibition,  which 
proved  a  grand  success.  They  liave  ample  grounds 
well  located  upon  the  easterly  portion  of  Earitan 
township  and  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Plainfield. 
The  grounds  contain  outbuildings  and  accommoda- 
tions for  the  show  of  fine  cattle.  The  regulations 
concerning  the  horse  department  are  ample,  and  the 
past  seiison  many  have  been  induced  to  introduce 
their  fine  stock,  which  these  two  counties  are  so  well 
known  to  pride  themselves  in.  The  secretary,  Hon. 
James  S.  Vosseller,  has  produced  the  past  season  a 
liberal  premium  list  through  the  direction  of  the 
board  of  directors. 

One  of  their  articles  of  incorporation  is  the  follow- 
ing: "  All  articles  raised,  grown,  or  manufactured  in 
the  counties  of  Union  and  Middlesex  and  in  the 
township  of  North  Plainfield  may  be  exhibited, 
although  the  owner  may  not  reside  in  such  counties 
or  townships." 

Board  of  directors,  John  I.  Holley,  president; 
R.  S.  Little,  Hon.  Charles  A.  Campbell,  first  vice- 
president  ;  Nathan  Robins,  second  vice-president ; 
J.  W.  Johnson,  third  vice-president;  James  S.  Vos- 
seller, secretary;  E.  C.  Pearson,  treasurer;  James 
Neilson,  M.  H.  Acker,  I.  C.  Meyer,  I.  H.  Piatt,  I.  T. 
Pearson,  William  S.  Darling. 

Netherwood. — Within  a  few  years  a  number  of 
gentlemen  made  purchase  of  a  large  tract  of  land 
about  a  mile  from  the  depot  of  Plainfield,  and  about 
the  same  distance  from  Fanwood,  on  the  line  of  the 
railroad,  the  land  being  elevated  and  having  an  ex- 
tended view  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  blue  ridge 
of  hills,  aud  the  valley.  It  is  a  charming  elevation, 
and  soon  the  interest  of  many  who  desired  to  make 
this  a  permanent  in  building  a  number  of  neat  villas. 
Plans  for  a  massive  five-story  brick  building,  with 
some  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  rooms,  elegantly 
furnished  throughout,  and  complete  in  all  its  appoint- 
ments, were  adopted,  and  in  1878  completed  at  a  cost 
of  nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  thousand  dol- 
lars, called  the  "  Netherwood  Hotel,"  and  designed 
for  a  luxurious  .summer  resort  for  New  York  business 
men  and  their  families.  A  very  neat  brick  building 
for  the  depot  is  built,  a  Union  Chapel  for  religious  wor- 
ship and  Sabbath-school,  store,  post-office,  etc.  The 
drives  surrounding  Netherwood  are  hardly  equalled, 
as  most  of  the  avenues  are  neatly  graded,  macada- 
mized, trees  planted  by  the  side  of  foot-walks,  and 
during  the  pleasant  days  of  summer  are  frequented 
by  many  of  the  residents  in  their  carriages.  Nether- 
wood Hotel,  near  the  depot  at  Netherwood,  is  built  on 


high  ground,  having  a  fine  view  of  the  surrounding 
country.  It  is  reported  that  John  H.  Dean,  Esq.,  has 
lately  become  the  owner. 

The  Belvidere  Laud  and  Improvement  Com- 
pany of  Netherwood,  N.  J.,  have  greatly  improved 
this  part  of  Plainfield  by  the  erection  of  fine  build- 
ings, and  oflTer  plots  of  land  at  a  reasonable  price  to 
actual  settlers.  The  attractions  of  this  beautiful 
neighborhood  are  great  and  convenient  to  the  depot 
of  that  name.  There  are  schools,  stores,  post-office, 
etc. 

Evona  is  a  small  hamlet,  has  a  neat  railroad 
station  and  some  substantial  dwellings,  the  residences 
of  business  men  of  New  York.  There  is  a  hat-factory 
here.  The  roads  are  kept  in  excellent  condition.  The 
village  is  about  two  miles  from  Plainfield  station,  and 
one  mile  from  Dunellen.  The  neighborhood  contains 
some  of  the  best  families,  who  make  it  their  country 
home.  An  Episcopal  chapel  is  about  being  built  a 
short  distance  east  of  the  station. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


DAVID    J.    BOICE. 

His  grandfather,  George  Boice,  resided  near  New 
Market,  Middlesex  Co.,  where  he  owned  and  car- 
ried on  a  farm.  He  had  six  daughters  and  three 
sons.  Jacob,  Henry  (a  farmer,  succeeded  to  the  home- 
stead and  died  in  Plainfield),  and  Peter,  who  was  a  car- 
penter by  trade,  and  resides  in  Newark,  N.  J.,  being 
the  only  surviving  one  of  the  nine  children.  Jacob 
was  father  of  David  J.  Boice,  was  born  in  1789  and 
died  in  1845.  He  was  respectively  a  farmer,  a  car- 
penter, and  for  many  years  kept  a  public-house  at 
Samptown,  New  Market,  and  one  year  at  the  well- 
known  "  Old  Sand  Tavern"  near  Plainfield.  His  wife, 
Rebecca,  was  a  daughter  of  David  Blackford,  of  Samp- 
town, who  was  born  in  1790  and  died  in  1838.  Their 
children  were  David  J.  and  Mary,  widow  of  Peter 
Fitz  Randolph,  of  Green  Valley,  111.,  where  they  set- 
tled about  1855. 

David  J.  Boice  received  during  his  boyhood  very 
little  education  from  books,  but  during  his  minority 
learned  the  invaluable  lessons  of  self-reliance  and 
economy,  which  often  go  very  far  toward  making 
the  successful  business  man.  He  was  not  favored 
with  abundant  means  in  starting  out  in  life,  neither 
were  position  and  valuable  compensation  for  labor 
within  easy  reach  when  he  had  reached  his  majority. 
He  remained  at  home  until  18-10,  aud  in  1842  settled 
in  Plainfield.  In  1844  he  erected  a  house  on  the  cor- 
ner of  Centre  and  Second  Streets,  where  he  resided 
until  1869.  His  first  eight  years  after  settling  in 
Plainfield  was  spent  in  the  employ  of  the  Central 
Railroad  Company.  In  1850  he  established  a  coal 
and  lumber  business  there,  which  he  has  successfully 


320 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


carried  on  until  the  present  time,  his  office  and  yard 
facing  on  Park  Avenue.     His  lumber  is  purchased  ' 
at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  shipped  by  water  via  Hudson 
River  to  Elizabethport,  thence  by  rail  to  Plainfield,  j 
and  also  direct  by  railroad  from  Michigan.     His  coal 
trade  is  mostly  confined  to  the  Lehigh  Valley  coal. 
His   sales   annually,   when  he  first  began   busine.ss, 
only  amounted  to  some  three  hundred  tons,  whereas  i 
for  many  years  prior  to  1882  they  have  been  three  I 
thousand  tons. 

Mr.  Boice  is  one  of  the  active  and  substantial  busi- 
ness men  of  Plainfield,  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
First  National  Bank  for  several  years,  and  a  member 
of  Common  Council  for  one  term.     He  is  a  contrib- 
utor to  the  various  local  enterprises  of  the  city,  and 
has  been  a  member,  trustee,  and  usher  of  the  First  I 
Baptist   Church   tliere   for   many  years.      His   wife, 
whom  he  married   in   1840,  is  Rachel,  daughter  of  i 
Jonathan  F.  Randolph,  and  sister  of  Peter  Fitz  Ran-  j 
dolph,  before  alluded  to,  of  Plainfield.     She  was  born  I 
in  1815.     Their  children  are  Sarah  R.,  wife  of  J.  D. 
Runyon,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  Anna  E.,  at  home. 
Mr.  Boice's  residence,  at  the  corner  of  Park  Avenue 
and  Fifth  Street,  he  erected  in  1869,  whence  he  re- 
moved from  his  former  residence.  i 


CHARLES  POTTER,  Jr., 
proprietor  and  founder  of  the  "  Potter  Printing-Press 
Works"  at  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  was  born  in  Madison 
County,  N.  Y.,  April  21,  1824.  His  paternal  grand- 
parents, George  Potter  and  Mary  Stillman,  resided  at 
Potter  Hill,  R.  I.,  where  the  former  died  in  1801, 
leaving  one  son,  Benjamin,  father  of  John  E.  Potter, 
a  well-known  publisher  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
youngest  son,  Charles,  father  of  our  subject.  Charles 
Potter,  son  of  George,  born  at  Potter  Hill,  Sept.  7, 
1799.  After  serving  an  apprenticeship  with  his  older 
brother,  Benjamin,  at  the  carpenter's  trade,  at  the  age 
of  nineteen  went  to  Madison  County,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  married,  June  22,  1823,  Eliza,  daughter  of  Samuel 
Burdick,  who  was  born  Sept.  22,  1807.  He  engaged 
in  the  successful  manufacture  of  wagons  in  1826,  in 
West  Edmeston,  Otsego  Co.,  N.  Y.,  which  he  con- 
tinued until  1836,  when  on  account  of  failing  health 
he  settled,  in  1837,  on  a  farm  in  the  town  of  Adams, 
Jefferson  Co.,  N.  Y.,  where  he  resides  at  present, 

Charles  Potter  was  a  man  of  sterling  integrity  in 
all  his  business  relations,  industrious  habits,  and 
honesty  of  purpose. 

Charles,  Jr.,  son  of  Charles  and  Eliza  Potter,  re- 
ceived a  fair  academical  education,  and  for  two  terms 
during  his  minority  was  a  successful  teacher.  In  the 
autumn  of  1846  he  went  to  Rhode  Island,  and  the 
following  winter  taught  the  Potter  Hill  district  school, 
where  many  of  his  relations  resided  and  the  home  of 
his  ancestors  had  been. 

Although  he  had  intended  to  take  a  course  of  agri- 
cultural chemistry  at  Yale  in  1848,  with  a  view  of  en- 


gaging in  scientific  farming,  upon  the  close  of  his 
school  at  Potter  Hill  he  engaged  as  clerk  with  C. 
Maxsen  &  Co.  there,  with  whom  he  remained  two 
and  a  half  years,  when  he  was  chosen  to  manage  the 
affairs  of  the  "  Pawcatuck  Manufacturing  Company," 
a  newly-organized  company  for  carrying  on  the  foun- 
dry business  at  Westerly,  R.  I.  This  he  conducted 
so  successfully  and  built  up  so  large  a  local  trade  that 
at  the  end  of  three  years  the  company  declared  a 
dividend  of  forty  per  cent,  on  the  paid-up  capital,  and 
this  unabated  prosperity  continued  during  the  entire 
five  years  he  had  the  management  of  its  affairs.  Be- 
lieving fully  now  that  mechanics  and  not  agriculture 
was  his  forte,  and  that  his  experience  and  thorough 
education  in  finance  entitled  him  to  an  established 
business  of  his  own,  he  declined  the  offer  of  a  large 
salary  from  the  company  to  continue  for  ten  years  as 
their  superintendent  and  general  manager. 

In  1854,  George  H.  Babcock,  of  Westerly,  R.  I., 
invented,  patented,  and  had  made  a  printing-pre.ss  of 
about  letter-page  size  for  printing  in  several  colors 
at  one  operation.  Mr.  Potter  thought  he  saw  in  this 
a  short  road  to  wealth,  and  engaged  with  Mr.  Babcock 
(now  the  president  of  the  Babcock  &  Wilcox  Boiler 
Company)  to  build  the  presses,  put  them  on  the  mar- 
ket, and  for  such  service  receive  one-half  of  the  profits. 
In  January,  1855,  he  opened  an  office  at  29  Beekman 
Street,  New  York,  over  James  Conner's  type-foundry, 
took  several  orders  for  presses  of  a  larger  size,  and 
arranged  for  their  construction.  By  experiments  with 
the  small  press  Mr.  Potter  discovered  that  bril- 
liancy in  the  colors  was  lost  by  printing  one  color 
over  another  before  the  preceding  one  was  dry,  and 
therefore  the  value  of  the  press  was  greatly  impaired. 
At  the  end  of  seven  months  he  sold  his  interest  in 
the  business  to  Mr.  Babcock,  father  of  the  inventor 
of  the  press,  and  in  the  operation  had  lost  not  only 
his  time  but  all  his  capital.  He  became  interested 
the  same  year,  1855,  in  a  printing-press  invented  by 
Merwin  Davis,  of  New  York  City,  and  putting  his 
services  against  the  capital  of  the  Pawcatuck  Manu- 
facturing Company,  constructed  and  exhibited  one  of 
these  presses  in  the  Crystal  Palace  Fair  in  New  York 
the  same  fall,  receiving  a  gold  medal,  in  1856  a  silver 
medal  at  the  Mechanics'  Fair  in  Boston,  and  at  Mary- 
land Institute  in  Baltimore,  and  quite  a  demand 
sprung  up  for  these  presses. 

In  1856,  Mr.  George  H.  Babcock  invented  a  very 
simple  job-press,  which  Mr.  Potter  arranged  to  build 
and  introduce.  While  canvassing  for  these  presses, 
seeing  the  demand  for  a  cylinder-press  for  newspaper 
printing,  he,  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  set  about 
the  work,  made  his  drawings,  and  supervised  the  con- 
struction of  his  first  cylinder-press  in  a  machine-shop 
at  Westerly,  and  from  this  has  grown  the  business  and 
presses  so  well  known  at  the  present  day.  This  press 
was  completed  in  the  spring  of  1858,  and  was  sold 
and  set  up  in  the  office  of  Pearsol  &  Geist,  at  Lan- 
caster, Pa.,  and  gave  satisfaction.     For  three  years 


"ff^eyAUrjlcitie- 


C>-t^^^?_S^n^ 


^^/^^<?^-c:eZ^ 


TOWNSHIP  AND   CITY   OF   PLAINFIELD. 


321 


following  Mr.  Potter  canvassed  the  entire  United 
States  and  most  of  Canada,  selling  this  (cylinder) 
and  the  Babcock  &  Davis  job-presses,  having  his  ma- 
chines constructed  and  setting  them  up.  Upon  the 
breaking  out  of  the  late  civil  war,  in  1861,  Mr.  Pot- 
ter lost  all  he  had  accumulated  and  found  himself 
largely  in  debt  besides  through  all  Southerners  re- 
pudiating their  obligations  for  his  sales.  Nor  did 
misfortune  come  only  financially,  for  in  April,  1863, 
while  in  the  office  of  the  Portland  Press,  Maine,  he 
received  a  fall  which  resulted  in  the  amputation  of 
his  left  leg  near  the  ankle,  and  at  a  time  when  the 
press  business  looked  more  hopeful.  Finding  at  this 
juncture  that  he  had  been  in  the  business  some  nine 
years,  had  made  no  money  and  was  in  debt,  he  re- 
solved that  his  experience  should  not  be  thrown 
away  ;  that  he  would  not  only  continue  in  it,  but 
would  not  rest  until  the  "Potter  Printing-Press" 
should  be  acknowledged  by  all  as  having  no  superior. 
He  made  new  designs,  got  out  new  styles  of  presses. 
Business  rapidly  increased  until  in  1865,  not  being 
able  to  attend  to  it  alone,  he  a.ssociated  with  him 
as  partner  J.  F.  Hubbard,  of  Plainfield,  under  the 
firm-name  of  "C.  Potter,  Jr.,  &  Co.,"  giving  him 
a  one  third  interest  for  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars.  Mr.  Potter  was  now  able  to  settle  all  his 
indebtedness,  paying  all  claims  in  full.  He  at  once 
removed  the  manufacture  of  his  presses  to  Norwich, 
Conn.,  making  arrangements  for  their  manufacture 
with  J.  M.  Huntington  &  Co.  This  business  relation 
continued  until  1877,  when,  upon  the  death  of  Mr. 
Huntington,  it  was  dissolved,  and  two  years  later  Mr. 
Hubbard,  on  account  of  failing  health,  also  retired 
from  the  firm.  Mr.  Potter  then  associated  with  him 
Mr.  H.  W.  Fish,  for  twelve  years  the  confidential 
clerk  of  the  old  firm,  and  Mr.  J.  M.  Fitsworth,  his 
son-in-law,  retaining  the  old  firm-name.  In  1879  he 
built  new  shops  for  the  manufacture  of  his  presses 
in  Plainfield,  *N.  J.,  contiguous  to  the  New  Jersey 
Central  Railroad,  which  are  probably  the  most  com- 
plete works  of  the  kind  in  this  country  and  cover 
about  two  acres  of  ground.  A  specialty  is  made  of 
Scott's  patent  presses,  the  fastest  in  the  world,  which 
print  both  sides,  cutting,  folding,  counting,  and  put- 
ting in  packages  of  twenty-five,  fifty,  or  one  hundred 
at  the  rate  of  five  hundred  and  twenty  newspapers 
per  minute,  or  thirty-two  thousand  per  hour  on  a 
single  press,  or  sixty-four  thousand  per  hour  on  a 
double  press.  In  1850  there  were  only  two  printing- 
press-shops  in  this  country,  and  of  the  one  doing  the 
most  of  the  business  the  New  York  Tribune  of  that 
year  said,  "  That  the  house  had  built  almost  one  per 
week  of  their  celebrated  pre.sses,"  probably  amounting 
to  seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  It  is  a  .safe  calcula- 
tion to  say  that  the  other  built  half  as  much,  making 
a  total  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand 
dollars.  The  business  of  the  firm  of  C.  Potter,  Jr.,  & 
Co.  for  the  year  1881  amounted  to  five  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars.    Many  firms  have  been  established  since 


1855  for  the  manufacture  of  cylinder-presses,  and  all 
save  one  besides  Mr.  Potter's  have  failed.  A  view  of 
his  manufactory  will  be  found  on  another  page  of 
this  work.  Mr.  Potier  is  a  thoroughgoing  and  en- 
terprising business  man,  liberal  in  the  support  of 
worthy  local  enterprises,  and  has  introduced  into 
Plainfield  an  industry  that  adds  largely  to  the  busi- 
ness interests  of  the  city  and  gives  employment  to  a 
large  number  of  mechanics  and  laborers.  In  1850, 
Mr.  Potter  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  P., 
daughter  of  Deacon  Martin  and  Mehitabel  Wilcox, 
of  Unadilla  Forks,  N.  Y.,  who  has  borne  him  four 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  living. 


RICHARD    R.   CORIELL. 

The  Coriells  are  of  French  ancestry,  and  tradition 
traces  their  origin  in  New  Jersey  to  three  brothers — 
Elias,  Emmanuel,  and  David — who  emigrated  from 
the  island  of  Corsica  to  America  in  1663,  one  settling 
at  Lambertville,  N.  J.  Abraham  Coriell,  grandfather 
of  Richard  R.,  settled  in  Piscataway  township  from 
over  the  mountains,  and  resided  the  remainder  of  his 
life  near  Newtown,  in  Middlesex  County,  where  he 
reared  a  family  of  twelve  children.  He  served  as  a 
baker  in  Gen.  Washington's  army  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  was  identified  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Bound  Brook,  and  reared  his  family  under 
religious  instruction.  He  died  Sept.  22,  1828,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  ninety  years.  The  maternal  grand- 
father of  Richard  R.  Coriell  was  Abraham  Smalley, 
also  of  Piscataway  township,  a  large  property-owner, 
who  upon  his  death  at  an  advanced  age,  having  been 
born  in  1756,  divided  his  property  among  his  sixteen 
children. 

Mr.  Coriell's  father,  Richard,  born  Feb.  3,  1775, 
died  Dec.  17,  1838.  His  wife,  Sarah  Smalley,  born 
April  8,  1774,  died  March  31,  1848.  Their  children 
were  Ira,  born  Jan.  24,  1799,  deceased  ;  Deborah, 
born  Feb.  25,  1801,  died  March  6,  1876,  was  the  wife 
of  John  Stanford;  Catherine  S.,  born  March  11,  1805, 
wife  of  William  B.  Fisher,  of  Illinois;  Richard  R., 
born  Dec.  1,  1808;  Abraham  S.,  born  Dec.  5,  1811, 
deceased  ;  Sarah  Ann,  born  Oct.  12,  1814,  deceased  ; 
Andrew  S.,  born  Oct.  8,  1815,  deceased;  Abner  S., 
born  Nov.  11,  1820,  is  postmaster  at  New  Market, 
N.J. 

The  father  of  these  children,  Richard  Coriell,  was  a 
millwright  by  trade,  and  followed  this  occupation 
most  of  his  active  business  life.  He  was  a  stanch 
supporter  of  Andrew  Jackson,  although  the  Coriell 
family  had  previously  voted  with  the  opposition. 
His  death  occurred  on  his  farm  at  Harris'  Lane  in 
Piscataway. 

Richard  R.  Coriell  received  only  the  advantages  of 
a  common  school  education  during  his  boyhood,  and 
at  the  age  of  seventeen  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
hatter's  trade  with  Joel  Vail,  of  Green  Brook,  N.  J., 
with  whom  he  remained  for  four  years.     After  follow- 


322 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ing  this  business  as  a  journeyman  for  nearly  two 
years  at  Columbus  and  at  New  Market,  he  married  on 
March  7, 1S32,  Margaret,  daughter  of  Richard  Elliott, 
a  native  of  England,  who  emigrated  to  Nova  Scotia, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death.  She  was  born  Jan. 
1,  1811,  and  died  in  1869.  The  children  of  this  mar- 
riage are  Isabella,  deceased,  was  the  wife  of  Morgan 
Bird  ;  Robert  E.,  deceased  ;  Richard  E.,  of  New  York 
City;  William  W.,  a  wholesale  produce  dealer  in 
Plainfield  ;  Sarah,  wife  of  J.  W.  Johnson,  of  New 
York. 

After  his  marriage  Mr.  Coriell  settled  at  Chester, 
N.  J.,  where  he  purchased  the  hat-factory  of  Abra- 
ham Smalley,  and  for  two  years  carried  on  business 
there.  He  settled  in  Plainfield  in  1834,  where  for  a 
time  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  a  hatter,  and  then 
opened  a  general  fancy  goods  and  millinery-store, 
which  he  carried  on  until  he  retired  from  business 
about  1860,  since  which  time  he  has  been  engaged  in 
the  care  of  his  property.  Mr.  Coriell  united  with  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Samptown,  N.  J.,  in  1832,  and 
upon  his  removal  to  Plainfield  joined  the  Baptist 
Church  of  that  city,  and  is  a  supporter  of  all  worthy 
local  objects. 

His  present  wife,  whom  he  married  June  4, 1873,  is 
Sarah,  daughter  of  John  C.  Peterson,  of  New  York 
City,  and  her  mother  was  Sarah  Chadwick,  a  native 
of  Bordentown,  N.  J.  Mrs.  Coriell  was  born  May 
26,  1820.  

EVAN    JONES. 

Among  the  active,  thoroughgoing  business  men  who 
have  engaged  in  real  estate  operations  and  contrib- 
uted materially  to  the  growth  of  modern  Plainfield 
is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who,  like  most  men  who 
have  won  a  place  in  the  financial  and  business  circles 
of  the  day,  early  in  life  contended  with  straitened 
circumstances  and  poverty,  and  gradually  reached 
success  by  indomitable  perseverance  and  well-devel- 
oped calculations.  He  was  born  in  Cardiganshire, 
South  Wales,  on  Feb.  24,  1820,  and  was  one  in  a 
family  of  twelve  children,  seven  of  whom  emigrated 
to  this  county  at  various  times.  David,  deceased, 
came  in  1816,  settled  in  Jersey  City,  where  he  carried 
on  the  shoe  business,  and  became  one  of  its  first 
aldermen.  John  settled  in  the  same  city  about  1828, 
and  was  in  the  same  business.  Lewis  came  to  Jersey 
City  with  his  brother  Evan  in  1836,  is  a  mason  by 
trade,  and  resided  there  in  1882  ;  Margaret,  wife  of 
Evan  Evans,  resided  in  Jersey  City  until  her  death  ; 
Jane,  wife  of  Evan  Davis,  resides  at  the  same  place, 
and  came  to  America  with  her  father,  John  Jones,  in 
1840;  Esther  married  Benjamin  Evans  and  settled  in 
Ohio.  Of  the  children  left  at  home, — Mary,  wife  of 
Capt.  John  Jones,  of  New  Quay,  Daniel,  Sarah,  Han- 
nah, and  Ann, — only  the  first  mentioned  survives  in 
1882.  The  father  of  these  children  died  in  Jersey 
City,  and  was  buried  in  the  Jersey  City  Cemetery. 

After  landing  in  Jersey   City   in   1836,  as   before 


stated,  Evan  Jones,  then  a  lad  of  sixteen,  spent  three 
years  in  learning  the  mason's  trade  with  John  P. 
Hill,  a  contractor  and  builder  there.  For  one  year 
following  he  worked  as  journeyman.  In  1840  he  re- 
turned to  his  native  country,  and  married,  that  year, 
Miss 'Eleanor  Dudley,  who  was  three  years  his  senior 
and  a  native  of  the  same  place.  Returning  to  this 
country,  and  thinking  to  better  himself,  he  settled 
at  Ravenna,  Ohio,  where  he  carried  on  business  for 
himself  for  three  years.  Returning  to  Jersey  City 
about  1844,  for  some  three  years  he  was  the  foreman 
of  William  Bumstead,  and  then  with  small  capital 
established  business  for  himself.  Mr.  Jones  continued 
business  there  as  a  contractor  and  builder  until  1863, 
with  the  exception  of  five  years  which  he  spent  as 
a  hardware  merchant  in  the  city,  having  erected  for 
his  mercantile  business  a  store  on  Newark  Avenue, 
Nos.  71  and  73,  the  length  of  which  was  ninety-two 
feet,  and  the  width  forty  feet,  respectively. 

In  1863,  Mr.  Jones  settled  in  Plainfield,  where  he 
purchased  the  Jacob  G.  Laing  farm,  containing  fifty 
acres.  This  property  he  laid  out  into  village  lots  and 
streets,  and  has  erected  several  substantial  dwellings 
thereon,  the  whole  now  being  a  part  of  the  city  of 
Plainfield. 

In  1867,  in  connection  with  Job  Male,  Mr.  Jones 
purchased  twenty-four  acres  of  land  on  the  suburbs  of 
Plainfield,  which  forms  one  of  the  most  desirable 
parts  of  the  city  for  a  residence,  and  is  largely  built 
up  with  residences,  many  of  which  are  of  fine  archi- 
tectural design.  The  Second  Presbyterian  Church  is 
built  upon  this  property. 

In  1870,  Mr.  Jones  purchased  about  two  acres  of 
land  OM  Park  Avenue  and  Seventh  Street,  erected  a 
substantial  residence  thereon,  and  in  1872  he  erected 
the  "  Park  House"  on  the  same  block,  an  elegantly- 
designed  building  of  five  stories,  an  attractive  and 
popular  resort  by  people  from  New  York  and  other 
cities.  An  engraving  of  this  favorite  hotel  may  be 
seen  on  another  page  of  this  work.  Mr.  Jones  has 
taken  a  somewhat  active  part  in  local  matters  since 
he  became  a  resident  of  Plainfield,  and  served  in  the 
Common  Council  of  the  city  during  its  first  two 
terms.      Mrs.   Jones  died  in   Plainfield  in    October, 

1875,  leaving  two  surviving  children, — Lewis  Dudley 
and  David  D. ;  one  daughter,  Catharine,  died  at  the 
age  of  eighteen,  and  five  other  children  died  young. 

Mr.  Jones'  present  wife,  whom  he  married  Dec.  11, 

1876,  is  Emma  E.,  daughter  of  Abel  Ketcham,  of 
Long  Island,  who  has  borne  him  two  children, — 
Sadie  Willet  and  Oracle. 


ELIAS  R.  POPE. 
Samuel  Pope,  his  paternal  grandfather,  resided  in 
Washington  Valley,  N.  J.,  where  he  spent  his  active 
business  life  as  a  farmer.  He  was  a  soldier  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  after  his  death  his  widow, 
who  was  before  her  marriage  a  Miss  Moore,  drew  a 


C^</^tA~^^    \J/  u-n^^CyJ 


^^ 


/la^Aj'^^/^  <^OiM^w^^^^ 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY  OF   PLAINFIELD. 


323 


pension.  Their  six  sons  were  Samuel,  Joseph,  Squire,  j 
James,  Henry,  and  John,  and  their  daughters  were 
Rhoda,  wife  of  Augustus  Moore,  of  Snialleytown,  ■ 
N.  J.,  and  Sarah.  Of  these  children,  only  Rhoda 
survives  in  1882.  Samuel  settled  in  Jersey ville.  111., 
where  he  became  a  wealthy  and  influential  citizen. 
Squire  settled  in  Wisconsin  ;  the  others  settled  in  the 
vicinity  of  their  birth.  John,  father  of  our  subject, 
born  in  1807,  married  Sarah  R.,  daughter  of  Barzilla 
Dunham,  of  New  Durham,  N.  J.,  who  was  born  in 
1812,  and  survives  in  1882.  Their  children  are  Elias 
R. ;  David  S.,  of  Plainfield  ;  Sarah  E.,  deceased,  was 
the  wife  of  Edward  Runyon,  of  Dunellen  ;  Charles  S., 
of  Dunellen;  Howard  A.,  of  the  firm  of  Pope  Bros., 
dry -goods  merchants  of  Plainfield  ;  Simon  R.  and  Asa 
D.,  of  Dunellen  ;  and  James  C. 

John  Pope  was  a  shoe  manufacturer  at  Dunellen 
during  his  active  business  life,  and  carried  on  a  small 
farm  there.  He  took  no  particular  part  in  matters  of  a 
public  character,  but  lived  a  quiet  and  uneventful  life. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church 
at  New  Market,  in  Middlesex  County,  N.  J.,  and  for 
many  years  served  the  church  as  trustee.  He  died  in 
1874. 

Elias  R.  Pope,  son  of  John,  born  at  Dunellen  March 
8, 1836.  spent  his  boyhood  at  home,  and  received  only 
the  advantages  of  the  school  of  his  native  place.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  went  into  the  busy  world  to 
care  for  himself.  Coming  to  Plainfield,  he  engaged 
as  a  clerk  in  the  general  store  of  Isaac  S.  Dunham, 
who  was  also  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  clothing. 
Here  he  remained  for  fourteen  years,  and  for  three 
years  following  he  was  a  partner  with  Mr.  Dunham 
in  his  branch  store  at  Basking  Ridge.  In  1867  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  firm  of  Pope,  Parse  &  Mundy, 
general  merchants,  at  the  corner  of  Front  and  Somer- 
set Streets,  Plainfield.  After  six  years  Mr.  Mundy 
withdrew,  and  for  the  following  three  years  the  firm 
was  known  as  Pope  &  Parse.  Howard  A.  and  David  S. 
Pope  then  became  partners  in  the  concern,  Mr.  Parse 
withdrawing,  and  the  firm  ot  Pope  Brothers  continued 
until  1881,  when  David  S.  Pope  withdrew  from  the 
business,  and  the  firm  has  since  continued  business 
under  the  name  of  Pope  Brothers.  In  1872,  Mr.  Pope 
turned  his  attention  largely  to  real  estate  operations 
and  other  business  outside  of  his  mercantile  operations, 
and  from  his  first  settling  in  Plainfield  he  has  taken 
an  interest  in  all  that  pertains  to  its  growth  and  pros- 
perity. He  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Dime 
Savings  Institution,  organized  in  1868,  and  has  been 
treasurer  since.  He  was  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
First  National  Bank  for  ten  years,  resigned  in  1875, 
and  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  City  National 
Bank,  its  president  until  1879,  and  vice-president  since. 
He  has  been  a  large  stockholder  of  the  Plainfield  Gas- 
light Company  since  1873,  and  one  of  its  directors ; 
one  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Young  Ladies' 
College  for  several  years,  and  since  1873  he  has  been 
treasurer  and  one  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Sev- 


enth-Day Baptist  Memorial  Fund,  an  endowment  fund 
for  the  maintenance  of  Alfred  University.  He  has 
been  president  of  the  board  of  fire  commissioners  of 
Plainfield  for  fifteen  years,  and  a  member  of  the  board 
for  eighteen  years,  and  also  a  director  of  Washington 
Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Plainfield,  and  treasurer 
since  its  organization,  and  secretary  for  four  years. 

Mr.  Pope  has  for  many  years  been  identified  with 
local  politics ;  was  collector  and  treasurer  of  Union 
County  in  1874-75,  a  member  of  the  lower  branch  of 
the  State  Legislature  in  1875-76,  when  he  served  upon 
important  committees,  and  he  was  appointed  post- 
master of  Plainfield  Feb.  13,  1882.  Mr.  Pope  is  an 
active,  thoroughgoing  business  man,  and  readily  lends 
his  support  to  all  worthy  local  objects. 

He  was  united  in  marriage  in  1858  to  Hannah, 
daughter  of  Joseph  P.  and  Clarissa  (Davis)  Allen,  of 
Shiloh,  Cumberland  Co.,  N.  J.  Their  children  are 
Frank  A.  and  Edward  6. 


HENRY    GOULD    LATIMER. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Barzilla,  was  a  jeweler 
by  trade  and  resided  at  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  but  died 
at  Eastbury,  in  the  same  State.  His  father,  Samuel, 
was  prepared  for  college,  but  led  a  business  life,  and 
was  a  druggist  at  Cromwell,  in  the  same  State,  and 
died  in  Eastbury  in  1812.  His  mother,  Anna  Stock- 
ing, died  about  1865  at  the  advanced  age  of  eighty- 
seven  years.  The  children  of  Samuel  and  Anna 
Latimer  were  Albert  S.,  drowned  in  Lake  Cham- 
plain ;  Henry  Gould;  William,  who  was  in  business 
in  Newberne,  N.  C,  died  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  waa 
buried  at  Cromwell ;  Mary  Ann,  living  in  Cromwell; 
Horace  W.,  of  Boston  ;  Zebulon  was  in  business  with 
William  in  Wilmington,  and  died  in  New  York  in 
November,  1881. 

Henry  Gould  Latimer,  a  resident  of  Plainfield 
since  the  spring  of  1847,  and  one  of  its  oldest  resi- 
dents in  1882,  was  born  at  Eastbury,  Conn.,  May  2, 
1800.  At  the  age  of  fourteen  he  began  learning  the 
shoemaker's  trade,  and  in  1816  went  with  his  em- 
ployer to  Petersburg,  Va.,  where,  on  account  of  the 
ill  treatment  of  his  employer,  he  remained  only  a 
short  time,  and  by  arrangement  with  the  captain 
worked  for  his  passage  on  board  a  vessel  sailing  to 
New  York.  Here  he  was  left  with  only  four  dollars, 
but  he  had  a  willing  heart  and  ready  hands,  with  a 
fixed  determination  to  do  something  for  himself.  Re- 
turning to  Connecticut  he  finished  learning  his  trade 
of  shoemaking.  For  two  years  before  reaching  his 
majority  he  was  employed  at  his  trade  a  part  of  the 
time,  and  a  part  of  the  time  he  was  employed  by  his 
grandfather  Stocking  on  the  Connecticut  River  fish- 
ing, where  he  owned  a  quarter- right,  and  also  for  a 
short  time  went  to  school  at  Hartford.  In  1821  he 
went  to  North  Carolina  as  the  agent  of  William  Nott, 
and  sold  goods  through  the  country  for  about  eight 
'  months,  and  for  one  year  afterward  was  also  in  his 


324 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


employ.  In  1823  he  began  business  for  himself,  and 
sold  goods  through  the  country  in  the  same  State  for 
two  years,  and  then  opened  a  store  at  25  Chapel  Hill, 
of  that  State.  After  a  few  months'  business  there  in 
1826  he  established  business  with  his  brother  William 
at  Newberne,  N.  C,  and  after  three  years  in  1830  took 
into  the  partnership  another  brother  Horace,  under 
the  firm-name  of  H.  VV.  Litimer  &  Co.  They  con- 
tinued a  successful  mercantile  business  there  until 
1836,  when  Mr.  Latimer  retired  from  trade  and  spent 
the  following  ten  years  in  Ohio.  He  came  to  Plain- 
field  in  the  spring  of  1847,  as  before  stated,  and  has 
resided  here  since,  being  mostly  engaged  in  the  care 
of  his  property.  He  purchased  the  old  bank  prop- 
erty of  Moses  Y.  Beach,  and  upon  its  site  built  his 
present  residence. 

Mr.  Latimer  is  of  a  retiring  disposition,  never 
sought  public  place,  is  a  man  of  correct  habits,  good 
judgment,  practical  ideas,  and  by  his  judicious  man- 
agement has  secured  a  competency.  In  early  life  he 
learned  the  necessary  lessons  of  economy  and  self- 
reliance  as  the  main  levers  to  wealth,  and  his  life  is 
only  one  of  the  many  examples  in  this  country  of 
men  who  in  boyhood  faced  with  resolution  and  a  pur- 
pose in  life  the  obstacles  incident  to  .straitened  cir- 
cumstances. 

Mr.  Latimer  is  interested  in  the  local  improvements 
of  Plainfield,  and  has  been  a  large  contributor  to  its 
varied  enterprises,  and  although  he  has  passed  four- 
score years,  both  mentally  and  physically  he  is  well 
preserved.  His  wife,  Sarah  Mitchell,  a  native  of 
Chatham  County,  N.  C,  was  born  in  1816.  They 
have  no  children,  yet  Mr.  Latimer  has  assisted  others 
to  start  out  in  life. 


JACOB  KIRKNER. 

Mr.  Kirkner  is  the  son  of  Casper  and  Elizabeth 
Kirkner,  who  were  of  German  parentage.  He  was 
born  June  21, 1839,  in  Bridgeport,  Conn.  At  the  age 
of  three  years  he  removed  to  Flushing,  L.  I.,  and  de- 
voted his  boyhood  to  study  at  the  public  school. 
Having  been  at  the  age  of  sixteen  deprived  by  death 
of  his  father,  he  began  a  career  of  independence,  and 
secured  a  position  as  teacher  in  the  public  schools  of 
New  York  and  Brooklyn.  This  calling  was  pursued 
successfully  for  a  period  of  five  years,  when,  having 
determined  upon  a  more  active  business  life,  he  en- 
tered the  Bank  of  New  York  as  check  clerk,  and  ulti- 
mately became  paying  teller  of  the  Fourth  National 
Bank  of  New  York. 

He  was  married  April  15,  1862,  to  Miss  Annie  E., 
daughter  of  William  P.  Moss,  of  New  York.  Their 
children  are  George  M.,  May  S.,  Carrie  E.,  J.  Casper, 
John  W.,  and  Charles  L.,  deceased. 

Mr.  Kirkner's  health  having  been  impaired  by  close 
application  to  business,  he  lefi  the  bank  and  engaged 
as  a  broker  in  gold  and  stock  operations.  He  became 
a  member  of  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  and  is 


still  actively  interested  in  banking  and  a  general 
brokerage  business,  in  which  he  has  been  eminently 
successful. 

He  removed  to  Plainfield  in  1863,  which  has  since 
been  his  place  of  residence. 

His  early  professional  labors  naturally  rendered  the 
subject  of  education  one  of  unusual  interest  to  him, 
and  caused  his  appointment  in  1869  as  one  of  the 
Board  of  Education  of  the  city  of  Plainfield,  of  which 
he  was  the  efficient  secretary  until  1881.  Dr.  Charles 
H.  Stillman,  one  of  the  ablest  exponents  of  the  ad- 
mirable school  system  of  the  State,  was  president  of 
the  board,  and  Mr.  Kirkner  his  able  and  judicious 
coadjutor.  On  the  death  of  Dr.  Stillman  he  became 
his  successor,  and  still  fills  the  office.  His  experience 
as  an  instructor  enabled  him  to  exercise  much  prac- 
tical wisdom  in  the  administration  of  his  duties,  and 
to  successfully  continue  the  measures  of  his  prede- 
cessor. Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kirkner  are  members  of 
the  Congregational  Church  of  Plainfield,  of  which 
the  former  is  a  trustee.  He  donated  the  land  on  the 
corner  of  Seventh  Street  and  Madison  Avenue  for  the 
chapel  now  in  process  of  erection. 

Mr.  Kirkner  may  properly  he  mentioned  as  a 
marked  example  of  success,  which  is  the  result  not  so 
much  of  early  or  fortunate  surroundings  as  of  the  self- 
reliance,  energy,  and  a  steadfast  devotion  to  the  prin- 
ciples he  espoused  at  the  beginning  of  his  career. 


JOB  MALE 
was  born  in  Somersetshire,  England,  Aug.  24,  1808. 
His  father,  Ambrose  Male,  by  his  first  marriage  to 
Anna  Coxe  had  children, — James,  Betsey,  Simon, 
Sally,  now  residing  at  Colborne,  Canada,  Job,  and 
Ambrose.  By  a  second  marriage  he  had  children, — 
Simeon,  John,  who  died  at  Colborne  in  January, 
1882,  James,  William,  and  Susanna,  who  resides  in 
Erie  County,  Pa. 

The  father,  with  his  first  children,  second  wife,  and 
two  eldest  children  by  his  second  marriage,  emigrated 
to  America,  landing  at  New  York  in  May,  1816. 

Job  Male,  then  a  lad  of  eight  years,  went  into  the 
busy  world  to  care  for  himself,  and  is  first  found  at- 
tending the  toll-gate  over  the  Hackensack  River,  and 
for  one  and  a  half  years  served  as  clerk  in  the  store 
of  Asa  Wright,  at  Hoboken,  N.  J.  In  November, 
1819,  he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Cobourg,  Canada, 
where  they  resided  until  their  decease,  his  father 
dying  about  1861,  at  the  age  of  eighty. 

After  remaining  there  for  eight  years.  Job  returned 
to  Jersey  City,  where  he  worked  at  his  trade  as  a 
carpenter  until  1836,  when  he  established  business 
there  for  himself,  and  carried  it  on  as  a  contractor  and 
builder  until  1845.  Mr.  Male  was  naturally  of  an 
ingenious  turn  of  mind,  and  drew  most  of  the  plans 
for  the  buildings  which  he  constructed.  He  then 
purchased  a  farm  of  sixty  acres  at  Scotch  Plains, 
Union  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  he  removed,  and  there  resided 


y/^-^^/Cix 


TOWNSHIP   AND   CITY    OF   PLAINFIELD. 


■A15 


for  five  years.  Returning,  he  resided  in  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  until  1853,  when  he  again  settled  in 
Jersey  City,  and  for  six  years  was  in  the  employ  of 
the  New  Jersey  Railroad  and  Transportation  Com- 
pany, building  docks,  piers,  and  reclaiming  the  river 
front,  which  included  all  east  of  Hudson  Street  lying 
between  Essex  and  Wayne  Streets.  He  planned  and 
built  the  old  circular  roof  depot  for  the  company, 
which  was  five  hundred  feet  in  length  and  one  hun- 
dred feet  wide,  and  was  located  where  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  depot  now  is,  many  substantial  blocks 
for  business,  his  own  residence,  and  a  block  of  twelve 
stores  on  ground  which  he  leased  from  the  company  for 
twenty  years,  lying  on  the  north  side  of  Montgomery 
Street,  between  the  Pennsylvania  Ferry  and  Hudson 
Street,  which  he  sold  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  in  1879.  He  has  also  built  for  the  Jersey 
Associates  docks  and  piers  for  the  accommodation  of 
their  Cunard  steamers  on  the  Jersey  City  side  of  the 
river,  and  after  removing  to  Plainfield  he  constructed 
for  this  company  a  pier  five  hundred  feet  long,  and 
widened  it. 

In  May,  1866,  Mr.  Male  and  his  wife,  Maria  Glaze, 
made  a  tour  of  Europe,  and  visited  the  leading  cities 
and  places  of  interest  on  the  continent,  and  attended 
the  Paris  Exposition.  Mrs.  Male  was  a  daughter  of 
William  Glaze,  a  glass  manufacturer  of  Jersey  City, 
and  was  born  in  Staffordshire,  England,  April  13, 
1803.  Returning  from  Europe  in  July,  1867,  after 
spending  a  few  months  at  Yonkers  and  in  New  York, 
Mr.  Male  settled  in  Plainfield,  N.  J.,  then  a  small 
village,  where  he  purchased,  in  connection  with  Evan 
Jones,  some  twenty-four  acres  of  land  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  village,  laid  it  out  into  village  lots  and  streets, 
and  has  erected  thereon  some  twenty  substantial  resi- 
dences of  fine  architectural  design,  drawing  the  plans 
for  all  of  them  himself  These  residences,  with  their 
surroundings,  make  up  a  most  desirable  part  of  the 
city  of  Plainfield,  and  form  a  part  of  his  estate  in 
1882,  except  two,  which  he  has  sold.  Since  his  resi- 
dence in  Plainfield,  Mr.  Male  has  perhaps  contributed 
as  largely  to  building  up  and  beautifying  the  city  as 
any  other  man,  and  has  been  liberal  of  his  means 
in  all  worthy  enterprises  tending  to  its  prosperity. 
While  a  resident  of  Jersey  City  he  was  a  member  of 
its  Board  of  Education  for  several  years,  a  member  of 
the  City  Council,  was  a  director  of  the  Hudson 
County  Bank  for  twenty  years  following  its  organiza- 
tion, and  president  of  it  for  several  years.  He  was 
an  advocate  for  the  incorporation  of  Plainfield  as  a 
city,  and  was  its  first  chief  magistrate  for  two  years. 
Although  he  received  a  limited  education  from  books 
during  his  boyhood,  he  is  a  man  of  practical  business 
ideas,  possesses  strong  I'orce  of  character,  and  may  be 
safely  classed  among  the  self-made,  enterprising 
business  men  of  the  times. 

He  gave  the  ground  upon  which  the  hospital  was 
erected,  and  is  a  worthy  supporter  of  church,  school, 
and  kindred  interests. 


His  life  has  been  almost  wholly  devoted  to  business 
pursuits,  and  is  one  of  the  many  striking  examples 
in  this  country  of  what  industry,  self-reliance,  and 
judicious  management  can  accomplish  towards  se- 
curing a  fair  competency,  and  at  the  same  time  fulfill 
the  full  duty  of  a  respectable,  honorable,  and  useful 
citizen. 


WILLIAM  McDowell  coriell. 

The  Coriells  in  New  Jer.sey  are  descendants  of  three 
brothers, — Elias,  Emmanuel,  and  David, — who  emi- 
grated from  the  island  of  Corsica  in  1663,  and  were  of 
the  French-Huguenot  stock.  One  branch  of  the 
family  settled  at  Lambertville,  N.  J.  Coryell's  Ferry 
was  famous  as  the  place  of  Washington's  crossing  of 
the  Delaware  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 

His  paternal  great-grandfather,  David,  born  Dec. 
19, 1735,  married  Elizabeth  Whitehead,  who  was  born 
June  19, 1737,  and  bore  him  children, — Elisha,  Rachel, 
David,  Alice,  grandmother  of  Chancellor  Runyon,  of 
Newark;  Samuel,  Elizabeth,  Susannah,  grandmother 
of  Judge  Runyon,  of  Plainfield  ;  Isaac,  father  of  Dr. 
Coriell,  of  New  Market;  and  Abraham. 

Elisha  Coriell,  grandfather  of  our  subject,  first  re- 
sided at  New  Market,  and  subsequently  at  Dunellen, 
Middlesex  Co.,  and  his  farm  of  two  hundred  acres 
was  a  part  of  the  present  site  of  the  village  of  Dun- 
ellen. He  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  received  a  pension  after  its  close.  He  was  a 
ruling  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bound 
Brook  for  many  years,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death. 
His  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  Luke  Covert,  bore  him 
children, — Ephraim,  father  of  our  subject ;  Elizabeth, 
wife  of  Zachariah  Pound,  of  Dunellen  ;  Anne,  wife  of 
David  Laforge,  Newtown;  Sally,  unmarried;  Har- 
riet, wife  of  David  Vankirk,  resides  in  Somerville, 
N.  J.,  and  is  eighty-four  years  old ;  and  David,  who 
resided  on  the  homestead  property  until  his  death. 
By  a  second  marriage  to  Nancy  Dunn,  Elisha  Coriell 
had  children, — Eunice  Maria,  wife  of  Isaac  Van  Nos- 
trand ;  Caroline,  wife  of  Ralph  Conover. 

Ephraim  Coriell,  born  Nov.  21,  1790,  was  killed  by 
accident  near  Bound  Brook  by  the  cars  on  the  rail- 
road, Sept.  7,  1857.  He  obtained  a  part  of  the  home- 
stead at  Dunellen  by  purchase  and  by  inheritance, 
where  he  spent  his  life  as  a  farmer.  He  was  formerly 
a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bound 
Brook,  and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Plainfield,  and  one  of  its  ruling 
elders.  He  was  also  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Cres- 
cent Avenue  Presbyterian  Church  of  Plainfield,  and 
one  of  its  ruling  elders  until  his  death.  Ephraim 
Coriell  was  a  representative  man  of  his  township,  and 
served  several  years  on  the  board  of  chosen  freehold- 
ers. His  wife,  Sally,  born  Aug.  11,  1791,  whom  he 
married  Dec.  26,  1811,  died  April  2,  1873.  She  was  a 
daughter  of  Levi  and  Sarah  Lenox,  of  Plainfield. 


32  C 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Levi  Lenox  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  died  Dec.  24,  1828,  aged  about  eighty  years,  and 
his  wife,  Sarah,  died  Feb.  25,  1837,  aged  eighty-five 
years. 

The  children  of  Ephraim  and  Sally  Coriell  are 
Levi  L.,  born  Sept.  5,  1812,  died  young;  William 
McDowell,  born  Dec.  19,  1815;  and  Abraham,  born 
June  27,  1819,  is  an  ex-member  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture from  Somerset  County,  N.  J.,  and  resides  near 
Dunellen. 

William  McDowell  Coriell  "received  the  common 
advantages  of  a  district  school  education  during  his 
boyhood,  and  at  the  age  of  seventeen  began  learning 
the  hatters'  trade  with  Van  Nostrand  &  Conover,  be- 
fore mentioned,  hat  manufacturers  at  what  is  now 
Evona,  in  Plainfield  township. 

After  reaching  his  majority,  having  completed  his 
trade,  he  spent  a  few  years  at  home,  and  without 
pecuniary  assistance,  but  with  a  resolve  to  do  some- 
thing for  himself,  he  worked  for  a  few  years  as  a 
journeyman  at  his  trade.  In  1844,  with  five  others  as 
partners,  with  small  capital,  he  began  hat  manufac- 
turing at  the  factory  formerly  occupied  by  Van  Nos- 
trand &  Conover,  which  continued  for  only  one  year. 

In  1846  he  bought  the  same  factory,  and  there 
manufactured  hats  until  1849,  when  he  built  his 
present  manufactory  near  the  railroad,  where  he  has 
continued  business  since.  His  business  has  increased 
annually,  and  from  the  manufacture  of  thirty  dozen 
full  stiff-napped  hats  per  week  at  the  beginning  he 
now  turns  out  upwards  of  one  hundred  dozen  per 
week  of  fine  soft  fur  hats. 

In  1842  he  settled  on  the  homestead  formerly  owned 
by  his  grandfather  Lenox,  upon  which  in  185(5  he 
built  his  present  substantial  residence,  which  is  near 
his  manufactory. 

Mr.  Coriell  was  formerly  a  director  and  stockholder 
in  the  old  Union  County  Bank  of  Plainfield  ;  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  First  National  Bank,  which  took 
the  place  of  the  other,  and  has  been  a  director  since  its 
organization ;  is  one  of  the  directors  of  the  Washington 
Fire  Insurance  Company  of  Plainfield,  a  member  of 
the  Common  Council  for  several  years  after  the  in- 
corporation of  Plainfield  as  a  city,  and  he  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  the  Crescent  Avenue  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  succeeded  his  father  as  one  of  its  ruling 
elders  in  1858.  He  married  Oct.  20,  1840,  Eliza  C, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  Runyon,  of  Plainfield,  who  was 
born  March  8,  1819,  and  died  Jan.  2,  1881.  Their 
children  are  William  Henry,  Ephraim,  born  Dec. 
16,  1842,  died  April  5,  1875,  leaving  two  sons,  Ray- 
mond and  Ephraim,  Benjamin  Franklin,  a  partner 
with  his  father  in  the  hat  business;  and  Levi  and 
David,  who  died  young. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 
TOWNSHIP    OF    WESTFIELD. 

Original  Boundaries. — The  Legislature  of  New 
Jersey  on  the  27th  of  January,  1794,  enacted  that  all 
that  part  of  the  township  of  Elizabethtown  lying 
within  the  following  lines,  to  wit:  Beginning  at  the 
line  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  where  the  North  and 
West  Branches  of  Railway  River  meet  and  form  a 
junction  ;  from  thence  running  up  the  North  Branch 
of  Rahway  River  to  the  mouth  of  Noniahiggins 
Branch,  it  being  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township 
of  Springfield;  from  thence  running  with  the  line  of 
Springfield  aforesaid  in  a  course  north  forty-nine  de- 
grees west  to  the  top  of  the  mountain  ;  from  thence 
on  the  course  to  the  East  Branch  of  Green  Brook ; 
thence  down  said  branch  and  Green  Brook  to  the  line 
that  divides  the  counties  of  Essex  and  Middlesex; 
thence  along  the  line  of  Middlesex  to  the  place  of 
beginning,  should  be  set  off  from  the  township  of 
Elizabethtown  and  "made  a  separate  township, to  be 
called  by  the  name  of  the  township  of  Westfield." 

The  above,  copied  from  township  records  of  West- 
field,  1794,  is  signed  by  David  Osborn,  town  clerk. 

Plainfield,  formerly  the  southwest  extremity  of  the 
township  of  Westfield,  was  set  off  into  a  township  in 
the  year  1847.  Cranford,  formerly  the  southeasterly 
extremity  of  the  township,  was  set  oft'  into  a  town- 
ship in  the  year  1870.  Fanwood  (Scotcii  Plains), 
formerly  the  southwesterly  extremity  of  the  township, 
was  set  oft'  into  a  township  in  the  year  1877. 

Natural  Features. — The  northwesterly  portion  of 
this  township  is  bounded  by  the  Blue  Ridge,  called 
the  Westfield  Mountains,  to  the  line  of  Green  Brook. 
The  southern  part  is  level  or  gently  undulating. 
There  are  no  very  considerable  elevations,  except  the 
Short  Hills.  The  soil  is  chiefly  a  stiff  clay  loam  and 
red  shale  to  the  southward,  with  many  of  the  drift  rock 
and  red  sandstone  lying  loosely  upon  its  surface.  The 
soil  changes  somewhat  to  a  gravelly  loam  on  the  bor- 
ders of  Clark  and  Cranford  townships.  There  are 
many  large  drift  bowlders  deposited  all  along  the 
Springfield  road  in  the  valley  of  the  Blue  Hills,  and 
when  broken  up  are  in  demand  for  building  purposes. 
They  are  mostly  a  granite  intermixed  with  horn- 
blende and  the  red  sandstone.  This  township  is  well 
watered,  and  has  many  facilities  for  manufacturing. 

Organization. — Westfield  frontier  included  in  1699 
all  back  of  the  Elizabethtown  borough,  being  part  of 
Piscataway,  in  Middlesex  County,  New  Providence, 
then  called  Turkey,  Plainfield,  Scotch  Plains,  West- 
field  township,  which  included  Cranford,  Clark,  and 
parts  of  Rahway  townships.  It  took  its  name,  it  is 
said,  from  the  fields  west  of  Elizabethtown,  and  went 
by  the  name  of  the  Westfields.' 


I  It  has  been  stated  that  the  settlement  of  Westfield  dates  back  to  the 
last  year  (lr>99)  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  the  resnlt  uf  what 
was  called  **  The  Clinker  Lot  Division."    Almost  immediately  after  that 


^^^5^..:^ 


TOWNSHIP   OF    WKSTFIELD. 


827 


It  remained  part  of  the  borough  of  Elizabethtown 
until  the  27tli  January,  1794,  when  it  was  set  off  by 
an  act  of  tlie  Legislature. 

At  this  time  there  was  but  one  religious  organiza- 
tion in  the  village,  about  fourteen  houses,  one  store, 
one  blacksmith-shop,  one  tavern,  and  one  school- 
house.  It  had  been  in  substantially  this  condition 
for  nearly  or  quite  a  century,  there  was  absolutely  no 
growth  or  increase  whatever;  the  erection  of  new 
buildings  barely  kept  pace  with  the  natural  decay 
and  dilapidation  ;  the  erection  of  a  new  barn  or  house 
formed  an  era  in  the  history  of  the  town.  The  com- 
munity were  tillers  of  the  soil,  and  improved  their 
lands,  cutting  and  clearing  this  large  township  of  its 
heavy  timber,  and  now  in  this  century  a  beautiful 
village  bedecks  the  plain,  and  cultivated  field.s,  farm- 
houses, fine  residences,  and  numerous  groves  of  ver- 
dant trees  are  spread  around  in  pleasing  profusion. 

Civil  List. — At  the  first  annual  meeting  of  West- 
field  township,  held  on  Monday,  the  14th  day  of  April, 
1794,  the  first  town  officers  were  elected.  Daniel 
Marsh,  Esq.,  acted  as  moderator  of  the  meeting.' 
The  following  have  been  town  officers  since  that  date: 


TOWN   CLERKS. 


DaviJ  OBborn,  1794-1822. 
Jiinatlian  Osborn,  Jr.,  1823-37. 
Uennis  Cules.  1838. 
Coiuelius  Buice,  1839-40. 
Frazee  Coles,  1841. 
Robert  Amlersoii,  1842-44,  1846. 
Samuel  R.  Steveusou,  1845. 
Isaac  H.  Piersou,  1847^8. 
Sauiuel  T.  Clark,  1849-51,  1853. 
Frederick  A.  Kinch,  1852. 
Charles  Clark,  1854-55. 


Erastus  Miller,  1856-57. 
Josiah  S.  Ferris,  1858-59. 
Saimiel  D.  Bali,  1860. 
Stewart  !•;.  Clark,  186l-«6. 
George  Squire,  1867-69. 
MattliiasClaik,  Jr.,  1870. 
John  L.  Miller,  1871. 
Francis  T.  Baker,  1872-73. 
Charles  R.  Clark,  1874-80. 
Luther  M.  Whitaker,  1881. 


CHOSEN    FREEHOLDERS. 


Capt.  Benjamin  Laiiig,  1794-95. 
Ephniini  Marsh,  Esq.,  1794-96. 
Capt.    Recompense   Stanley,  1796- 

18O0. 
Col.  Moses  Jaques,  1796-1803. 
Ezra  Darli}-,  1801-4. 
Charles  Clark,  18li4-7, 1814. 
John  B.  Osborn,  1805-7. 
John  Squire,  1806-14, 1817. 
Joseph  QuiDiliy,  1808-13,  1815-17. 
William  Clark,  1811. 
John  Wilson,  181.'"i-16, 1822-24. 
Daviil  Osborn,  1818. 
Jonathan  Wowlruff,  1818-25,  1827- 


29. 


Dei 


iCole 


Fra/.e. 


1819-21,  182.5-28. 

1826,1830,  1832,1845. 
James  Fraizer,  1829. 
Ira  F.  Randolph,  1830. 
John  Dennian,  1831,  1833-34. 
John  Layton,  1831-36. 
Benjamin  Badley,  1835-36, 1849-54. 


Gideon  Ross,  1837-38,  1857-60. 
James  Leonard,  1837-38. 
Zachariah  Webster,  1839-42,  1844. 
Aaron  Coe,  1839-42, 1844, 1846-47. 
Elias  Kirkpatrick,  1843. 
Andrew  H.  Clark,  1843. 
Ephraini  Clark,  1845, 1847-48. 
James  B.  Ayres,  1816. 
Simon     Lambert,     1848-64,   1862, 

1867-68. 
David  Miller,  1855-56. 
Isaac  Little,  1865-56. 
Charles  Marsli,  Sr.,  ia57-58. 
Addison  S.  Clark,  18.59-01. 
Amos    P.   Siudder,    1861-62,   1867, 

1869-71. 
Francis  E.  Moore,  1872-74. 
C.  W.  L.  Martin.  1875-77. 
Johns.  Irving,  1878. 
James  L.  Miller,  1879-80. 
Stephen  S.  Mapes,  1881. 


division  emigration  from  the  older  parte  of  the  town  of  Elizabeth  began 
to  set  towards  the  interior,  especially  to  the  territory  lying  between  the 
Ruhway  River  on  the  east  and  Uie  mountain  on  the  west.  It  was  not, 
however,  until  1720  that  the  settlei-s  became  nnmerouf^  enough  to  con- 
stitute a  distinct  community. 
1  Westtield  Township  Records,  p.  2. 


James  B.188,  Esq.,  1794-1805. 
Capt.  Benjamin  Laing,  1794-99. 
Col.  Mo-es  Jaques,  1794. 
Peter  Trembly,  E«q.,  1795-97. 
David  Ross,  1798,  1803. 
Ezra  Darby,  1800-4. 
John  B.  Osborne,  1805. 
James  Ross,  Jr.,  1806-19. 
Willi.m  Hand,  1806-9. 
Samuel  B.  Miller,  1810-14. 
Jonathan  Miller,  1814-29. 
Dennis  Coles,  1S15-30,  1832. 
Gideon  Ross,  1820-28,  1810,  1832. 
John  High,  Jr.,  1829,  1831. 
James  Krazee,  1831. 
Anthony  L.  Frazee,  1833-30. 
Jonathan    Woodruff,    1833,    1837 


ASSESSORS. 

John  M.   Clark,   1849-51,  1853-54, 

1856. 
Justin  Manning,  1839. 
Elias  Kirkpatrick,  184U-44. 
Andrew  H.Clark,  1841-42. 
Isaac  H.  Piel-son,  1845. 
Daniel  W.  Ayres,  1845. 
S.  Haines,  1846. 
Wilbam  H.  Clark,  1848. 
Samuel  Lee,  1852-57. 
Jonathan  Cory,  Jr.,  1858. 
Simei.n  Fiazee,  1869-60. 
Z.iphar  Hatfield,  1861-62. 
Willium  C.  Stanbery,  1866-67, 1870- 


71. 


J.  W.  R.  Bennit,  1868. 
John  H.  Martine,  1869. 
38.  I  Joseph  G.  Hanson,  1873. 

John  M.  Clark,  ial4-36, 1838, 1840,  I  E.  D.  Chamberlin,  1874-76. 

1843,  1846-47.  |  Joseph  S.  Clark,  1877-78. 

Elias  Runyan,  1837-38.  I  J.  M.  0.  Marsh,  1863-64,  1879-81. 


COLLECTORS. 


Ephraim  Marsh,  Esq..  1794-99. 
Capt.  Recompense  Stanbery,  1794- 

99. 
Peter  Trembly,  Esq.,  1794. 
Joseph  Slaobery,  1795. 
Samuel  Winauts,  1796-1802. 
Caleb  Ma.\ill,  1800-2,  180.5-16. 
Azariah  Clark,  1800-4, 1806-7, 1809, 

1813-14. 
John  B.  Osborn,  1803-4. 
Jonathan  Squire,  1803. 
Willi;im  Baker,  1805 
Jonathan  Woodruff,  1808,  1810-12, 

1815-16. 
Aaron  M.  Osborn,  1817--6, 
Frazee  Coles,  1817. 
Caleb  M.Littell,  1818-25. 
Israel  R,  Coriell,  1826-28. 
Daniel  Shotwell,  1822,  1828-32. 
Charles  March,  Jr.,  1829-36,  1841- 

44,  1846-47. 
Jacob  Thorn,  1831,  1833-36,  1844- 


Henry  Baker,  1837-38. 

John  M.  Hand,  1837-39. 

Eli  March,  1839-40. 

Martin  Runyan,  1840-42. 

Elisha  Runyan,  1843. 

Fras-e  Lee,  1845. 

William  Clark,  Jr  ,  1848. 

David  W.  Clark,  1849-51. 

David  Millei,  1852-64,  1863-64. 

Zophar  Hatfield,  1856-57. 

Stewart  E.  Clai  k,  1 858-69. 

.loseph  S   Derby,  1860. 

Wni   C.  Scanhery,  1861-62. 

J.  M,  C.  Marsh.  1865-69. 

Isaac  Liltell.  1870, 

Frank  F,  Baker,  1871. 

Philemon  E.  Coe,  1872-73. 

W.  W.  Counerly,  appoin  ted  by  Town 
Committee  to  fill  Mr  Coe's  un- 
expired term, 

George  Squire,  1874-77, 

Isaac  F.  Scudder,  1878. 

W.  W.  Connerly,  1879-81. 


TOWN  COMMITTEE. 


Ezra  Darby,  1794-95, 1798. 

Capt.  Charles  Clark,  1794-1814. 

Samuel  Winauts,  1794. 

Daniel  Marsh,  Esq.,  1795-1801. 

Ezra  Darby,  1796-1804. 

Philemon  Elmer,  1798,1800. 

Luke  Covert,  1798-1800. 

Ephraim  Marsh.  1801. 

James  Brown,  1801. 

Ralph  Marsh,  1802. 

Jesse  Dolbeir,  1802. 

John  Tucker,  1803, 

John  Squire,  1803-5. 

James  Ross,  1804,  1817-21. 

Davi.l  Osborn,  1804. 

Jonathan  Woodruff,  1805, 

Azariah  Clark,  1805, 

John  Darby,  Jr  ,  18ii5, 1807-12. 

Joseph  Quinby,  1806, 1822-24. 

Joseph  Sayre,  1806. 

Melvin  Parse,  Di06-1831. 

Jonathan  Woodruff,  1807-25,  1827- 

28,  1847-48. 
Jonathan  Meeker,  1806. 
John  Wilson,  1807-14,  1816,  1822- 

24. 
Samuel  B.  Miller,  1807-27. 
Benjamin  Cory,  1808-21,  1829. 


Ezra  Crane,  1813,  1815-16. 
Recompense  Stanbery,  1814-21. 
Frazee  Coles,  1815 
William  Marsh.  1822-24. 
Israel  R.  Coriell,  1825. 
Daniel  Shotwell,  1825-26,  1837-38. 
Henry  Baker,  1826-28,  1840. 
Ira  F.  Randolph,  1826. 
Abner  Miller,  1826,  1830. 
Samuel  B.  Miller,  1820-29. 
John  Randolph,  1827-28,  1830. 
Jacob  Manning,  1827-28,  1842. 
Trustum  Manning,  1829, 1833. 
David  W.  Clark,  1829,  1831,  1837- 

38,  1846-48,  1858. 
Andrew  H.  Clark,   1829,  1831-36, 

1844, 1858. 
Ephraim  Clark,  1830,  1832,  1837. 
Nathan  Vail,  1830. 
Elijah  Shotwell,  1830-32. 
John  M.  Clark,  1831. 
Isaac  French,  1831-36. 
Ezekiel  Ludlum,  18.32. 
John  Laylon,  1833,  1846. 
Jotliam  Frasee,  1833-36. 
EbenezarConnell,  1834-36. 
John  J.  O.ok,  1834-36. 
Martin  Runyan,  1837-40. 


328 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESKX  COUNTIES,  NEW   JEUSEY. 


John  Litlell,  18:i7-M,  1841-42. 

Zaclmriah  Webster,  1838. 

Kanilolph  Marsh,  1839^5. 

John  Miller,  18:19-40. 

■William  Osborii,  1839-40. 

Johu  M.  HHiid,  1840. 

Caleb  Freeman.  1841. 

Samuel  Lee,  1841-44, 1847-51, 18fi3- 

54. 
Levi  Hatfield,  1841^14,  1851. 
Henry  Baker,  Jr.,    1841-44,   1848, 

1856-57. 
Cornelius  B„ice,  1843-44. 
Zaphar  Hatfield,  Jr.,  1843,  1855. 
Samuel  Badgley,  1845. 
James  Enders,  184S. 
Corra  0.  Meeker,  1845. 
Simeon  Lambert,  1846-47. 
Jarias  A.  Freeman,  1846. 
Ezra  D.  Hatfield,  1846. 
Gideon  Koss,  1847. 
Joseph  Darby,  1848. 
Simeon  Frasee,  1849-50,  1852. 
Cooper  Par-e,  1849-52. 
Eraalus  Miller,  1849-.'io. 
Clark  Williams,  1849-51. 
David  Miller,  Jr.,  1851-52. 
William  Clark,  Jr.,  1852-55,  1857. 
Isaac  Little,  1852-54, 1860-61. 
Josiah  Crane,  Jr.,  1861-59. 
Vincent  L.  Frasee,  1853-54. 
Squire  Rndley,  1855-56. 
Philip  Eandell,  185.5. 
Joseph  S.  Darby,  1856-57. 
Joseph  Cory  and  Charles  Marsh, 

tie,  1857. 
Addison  S.  Clark,  1858. 
William  Stanbery,  1858-60. 
John  R.  Clark,  1859. 
John  H.  Martin,  1859-60. 
Isaac  F.  Scudder,  1859,  1861-69. 

JUSTICES  OF 
Daniel  Marsh,  1794-95. 
Ephraim  Marsh,  1794-97. 
Col.  Jedediah  Swan,  1794-96. 
Peter  Trembly,  1794-96,  1797. 
James  Ross,  1795. 
Capt.  Recompense  Stanbery,  1796- 

97,  1800,   1812,  1814,  1816-17, 

1820,  1824,  I8a6,  1830. 
Beiijamiu  Laing,  1796-97. 
Capt.   Charles    Clark,    1800,   1804, 

1807.  1811,  1813. 
Hoses  Jaqnes.  1800,  1804. 
Ezra  Uarl'y,  1804. 
Caleb  Maxill.  1X06,1808,1810,1818. 
Aaron  Ball,  1815. 
Jonathan    Woodruff,    1819,     1821, 

1823,    1825,   1827,    1829,    1833, 

1845. 
David  Ross,  1810. 
Gideon  Ross. 
John  Manning,  1822. 
Andrew  H.  Clark,  1831, 1860. 

An  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  at  Trenton, 
entitled  "An  Act  making  provision  for  working  and 
repairing  highways,"  March  16,  1798. 

"  Ordered,  That  directions  siiall  be  given  to  the  dif- 
ferent overseers  of  the  board  of  the  road  in  the  differ- 

1  It  is  with  some  difficulty  that  we  can  trace  the  justices  of  this  town- 
flfaip  back  of  the  year  18:14,  but  we  believe  the  list  as  far  as  we  can  give 


Squier  Pierson,  1860. 
George  W.  Pierson,  1860-66. 
John  H.  Martin,  1861-67. 
John  Grant  Crane,  1861. 
Squire  Radley,  1862-67. 
Jacob  D.  French,  1862-69. 
Dr.  Joseph  Clark,  1867-69. 
Thomas  H.  Clark,  1868-70. 
Aaron  Hatfield,  1868. 
Stephen  S.  Mapes,  1869. 
Theodore  Hatfield,  1870. 
Philemon  E.  Coe,  1870. 
Levi  Darby,  1870-71. 
Joseph  G.  Hanson,  1871. 
George  R.  Nicboll,  1871. 
Levi  Cory,  1871-72. 
Alzenora  Buck,  1871-72. 
Everts  M.fieraon,   1872-73,  1879- 
80. 

A.  D.  Shepard,  1872. 
Wm.  A,  McQuoid,  1872-73. 
James  A.  Baker,  187:5-75, 1877. 
E.  D.  Chamberlain,  1873. 
Samuel  M.  Foster,  1873-74. 
Orvin  Pierson,  1874-76. 

Levi  Darby,  1874. 
Henry  Wilson,  1874-75. 
Jacob  O.  French,  187.5-77. 
J.  S.  Irving,  1875-77. 
Joseph  A.  Patterson,  1876-77. 
John  S.  Bnrhans,  1877-78. 
Stephen  S  Mapes,  1878. 
George  W.  PierHoii,  1878. 
Ludlow  V.  Clark,  1878. 
James  L.  Miller.  1878. 
Robert  M.  Fairbain,  1879. 
Johu  H.  Worth,  1»79. 

B.  R.  Sinclair,  1880-81. 
Oliver  M.  Pierson,  1880. 
Henry  F.  Alpers,  1881. 
James  Moffett,  1881. 

THE    PEACE.l 
Ira  F.  Randolph,  1832. 
James  Frazee,  13:14. 
Aaron  Coe,  1836,  1847. 
Elias  Kirkpatrick,  1840. 
Isaac  H.  Pierson,  1845,  1870. 
John  M.  Clark,  184:1, 1854-65,1860. 
Corra  0.  Meeker,  1845. 
Cooper  Parse,  1850,  1855-57. 
Joseph  S.  Darbv,  1S68. 
James  E.  I'ugsley,  1859. 
L.  H.  K.  Snially,  1862-67. 
Erastus  Miller,  1867. 
J.  W.  R.  Beiinet,  1868. 
Cornelius  A.  Leveridge,  1869. 
Samuel  T.  Clark,  1860. 
Dr.  Joseph  Clark. 
Dennis  Coles,  18.39. 
Edward  Hartnagle.  1874. 
George  Godfrey,  1877. 
Anson  Frazee,  1878. 
J.  D.  Jaque.i,  1878-81. 


ent  districts  in  said  township  to  repair  the  roads  in 
manner  as  is  directed  in  and  by  the  said  act,  which 
was  done  accordingly.  Daniel  Marsh,  Esq.,  chair- 
man ;  Capt.  Charles  Clark,  Luke  Covert,  and  Ezra 
Darby,  committee." 

Early  Settlement. — The  first  settlements  were 
made  in  this  township  as  the  "  West  Field," — that  is, 
the  western  field  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth, — about 
the  year  1720.  The  following  are  found  among  the 
first  names:  Acken,  Badgley,  Baker,  Bryant,  Brooks, 
Crane,  Clark,  Craig,  Cory,  Connet,  Davis,  Denman, 
Dunham,  Frazee,  Frost,  Gennings,  Hendrix,  Hinds, 
High,  Hettield,  Hole,  Lambert,  Littell,  Ludlum, 
Meeker,  Miller,  Marsh,  Mills,  Pierson,  Robinson, 
Ross,  Spinnage,  Scudder,  Tucker,  Terry,  Williams, 
Woodruff,  Wilcox,  Yeomans. 

Some  of  these  names  have  disappeared  and  new 
ones  come  in,  but  most  of  them  are  still  common 
in  the  township.  Messrs.  Nathaniel  and  Henry  Baker, 
brothers,  came  from  Easthampton,  Long  Island,  and 
bought  and  lived  where  the  widow  of  the  late  Mr. 
Jacob  Baker  resided.  Afterwards  Mr.  Nathaniel 
Baker  soon  bought  and  occupied  the  property  of  Mr. 
Thomas  Clark  adjoining  the  parsonage.  Henry  Baker 
first  lived  half  a  mile  from  Westfield  Church  towards 
Springfield.  He  married  Phebe  Hedges,  of  Long 
Island,  and  had  six  children :  1.  Daniel,  born  3d 
June,  1753,  and  died  2d  September,  1788.  He  mar- 
ried Margaret  Osborn,  born  14th  July,  1760.  2. 
William,  who  married  Jemina  Woodruft",  daughter 
of  Thomas  Woodruff,  Esq.  3.  Jonathan  I.,  married, 
first,  Keziah  Clark,  and  second.  Charity  Clark,  sisters, 
daughters  of  Je.s3e  Clark,  Esq.  4.  Jeremiah,  mar- 
ried 4th  March,  1798,  Mary  King.  They  moved  to 
Dover,  Morris  County.  He  was  born  28th  August, 
1770;  she  was  born  9th  June,  1778.  5.  Phebe,  mar- 
ried Ziba  Ludlow,  of  Berkshire  Valley,  Morris 
County;  and  6th.  Henry,  Jr. 

Joseph  Acken  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  what 
was  called  the  Log  Church,  and  made  deacon  April  7, 
1769,  and  died  Aug.  22,  1804.  He  had  five  children, 
— Robert,  Jonathan,  Sarah  (who  married  Moses  Mc- 
Manners),  Polly  (who  married  John  Ludlow,  Jr.),  and 
Phebe  Acken  (who  married  John  Davis  and  had  seven 
children,  Joseph.  Phebe,  Mary,  Rebecca,  Betsey, 
Jacob,  Thomas,  and  Sarah  Anne). 

John  Briant  lived  where  Mr.  John  R.  Miller  now 
resides.  Col.  Jacob  Crane  lived  where  Mr.  Josiah 
Crane  resided  for  many  years  and  there  died.  The 
colonel  was  for  several  years  a  member  of  the  Colonial 
Legislature,  and  died  1759,  having  long  been  (as  we 
read  on  his  tombstone)  on  the  committee,  and  a  zeal- 
ous defender  of  the  associate  or  town  rights. 

Mr.  Jonathan  Crane  resided  where  Mr.  John 
Wheeler  Foster  lived  and  died,  and  was  for  some 
time  an  alderman  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth,  to 
which  this  township  was  until  the  year  1794.  Mr. 
William  Clark  lived  where  Mr.  Abner  Miller  lived. 
Mr.  James  Craig  lived  and  owned  the  farm  where 


isC'^t-C 


a<A- 


TOWNSHIP   OF   WESTFIELD. 


329 


Mr.  Andrew  Craig  lived  and  died  a  few  years  ago. 
Gardiner  Connett,  or  Connet,  lived  near  Lambert 
Mills.  John  Davis  lived  near  the  Branch  Mills,  and 
John  Denman  lived  near  Cranford.  Isaac  and  Moses 
Frazee  lived  where  Deacon  Henry  Baker,  Jr.,  resided. 
Mr.  Abner  Frost  owned  where  James  Roll  lived. 
Mr.  Lsaac  Hendrix  resided  on  the  farm  formerly 
owned  by  Mr.  Elias  Potter.  Mr.  Samuel  Hinds  re- 
sided at  a  factory  called  Williams'.  Mr.  John  High 
lived  in  1753  where  the  Widow  Rachel  Mooney  re- 
sided. Mr.  John  Lambert,  son  of  Roger  Lambert,  of 
Wiltshire,  England,  and  grandfather  of  James  Lam- 
bert, lived  where  Zophar  Hetfield,  Jr.,  resided. 
Messrs.  Anthony,  Andrew,  Abraham,  Absalom,  Moses, 
and  John  Littell  resided  at  the  Willow  Grove.  Mr. 
Cornelius  Ludlum,  or  Ludlow,  owned  and  lived  in 
1734  on  the  premises  of  the  late  Mrs.  Parsel  and  Mr. 
Sanford  Vreeland.  Mr.  John  Meeker  lived  where  Mr. 
Joseph  Ogden  Meeker  lived.  Mr.  Jonathan  Marsh 
resided  where  the  Widow  Keziah  Ludlow  owned.  Mr. 
Ephraim  Marsh  lived  where  Mr.  Theophilus  Pierson 
died,  now  owned  by  his  son,  Oliver  Pierson.  Mr. 
Marsh  lived  where  Mr.  Charles  Marsh,  Jr.,  does.  Mr. 
William  Miller  lived  where  his  grandson,  Mr.  Clark 
Miller,  resided.  He  was  long  an  alderman  of  this 
ward  (Westfield),  in  the  borough  of  Elizabeth.  He 
was  a  large  landholder,  and  when  he  came  here  his 
nearest  neighbor  was  Mr.  John  Lambert,  Peter 
Willcoxsie  and  James  Badgley  being  from  him  a  dis- 
tance of  some  miles;  others  soon  gathered  around  him. 
Mr.  John  Miller  settled  where  his  grandson,  Mr.  Abner 
Miller,  resided.  He,  too,  was  a  deacon  in  the  church, 
a  very  regular  attendant  on  the  sanctuary,  and  gen- 
erally in  early  life  came  to  the  church  on  foot,  and 
had  the  curiosity  to  count  the  steps  from  his  dwelling 
to  the  church.  Mr.  Enoch  Miller  came  from  East- 
hampton.  Long  Island,  and  lived  where  his  sons  John 
and  Jacob  lived  until  they  settled  on  their  farms  near 
the  homestead.  The  house  is  still  standing,  but  was 
altered  a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  William  Marsh's  house 
stood  in  the  field  opposite  the  late  Mr.  Edward 
Townley's.  Mr.  Joshua  Marsh  resided  where  the  widow 
of  Deacon  Squier  Pierson  resides.  Mr.  Joseph  Mills' 
house  stood  in  the  field  west  of  Mr.  Samuel  Downer's 
house,  and  was  removed  a  few  years  ago  to  the  front 
of  the  Westfield  road,  adjoining  the  property  of  the 
late  Maj.  Aaron  Ball's  property,  and  D.  W.  Lamon 
purchased  the  late  Josie  Mills'  house,  as  it  was  called, 
a  few  years  ago.  Mr.  William  Pierson  came  from 
Bridgehampton,  on  Long  Island,  and  resided  where 
Mr.  Sy  Ivanus  Pierson  died,  and  where  Silas  D.  Pierson 
lived,  near  the  late  Eli  Marsh's  farm.  Mr.  Daniel 
Pierson  resided  where  Andrew  H.  Clark,  Esq.,  lived 
and  died,  and  now  occupied  by  his  son,  Lawrence 
Clark.  Mr.  David  Pierson  resided  where  lived  Wil- 
liam Clark,  Jr.,  now  owned  by  the  Clark  family.  Mr. 
John  Robinson  resided  nearly  opposite  Mr.  Sandford 
Vreeland's.  Mr.  John  Ross  resided  where  Gideon 
Ross,  Esq.,  lived,  and  still  remains  in  the  Ross  family. 


Mr.  John  Ross  was  in  1743  mayor  of  the  borough  of 
Elizabeth.  A  Mr.  Daniel  Ross  resided  a  short  dis- 
tance east  of  Mr.  Amos  Scudder's.  Mr.  John  Spin- 
nage  lived  where  Mr.  L.  H.  Miller  owned.  Mr. 
Ephraim  Scudder  owned  and  resided  on  the  Rahway 
road.  The  farms  are  still  owned  by  the  families  of 
Scudder.  It  was  purcha.sed  by  the  ancestor  of  the 
Scudders  from  a  Mr.  Nicholls,  of  Boston,  Mass.,  and 
was  long  known  as  the  Nicholls  place.  Capt.  John 
Scudder  resided  in  the  centre  of  Judge  Coe's  farm. 
Mr.  Warner  Tucker  resided  where  Mr.  Robert  French 
lived.  Mr.  Thomas  Terry  came  from  Riverhead,  on 
Long  Island,  and  resided  on  what  was  known  as  the 

John  Terry  farm.     Mr. Williams  lived  on  the 

Jonathan  Williams  farm.  Jonathan  Woodruff  resided 
where  Jonathan  Woodruff,  Esq.,  lived  and  died,  back 
of  the  church  on  Mountain  road.  Mr.  John  Wood- 
ruft'  lived  where  Mr.  Sylvanus  Pierson  resided. 

The  Indians  frequently  annoyed  these  early  .settlers, 
and  many  incidents  are  handed  down  to  the  present 
generation.  It  is  said  that  they  had  growing  tobacco 
and  peas,  and  had  some  fruit-trees  ;  they  had  salt  and 
copper  beads  as  well  as  copper  pipes.  "  There  was 
many  battles  fought,  and  the  last  one  about  one  mile 
from  Westfield  Mountain,  New  Springfield,"  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Indians,  who  were  pur- 
sued as  far  as  they  could  be  and  leave  time  for  their 
pursuers  to  reach  home  at  night. 

The  commencement  of  what  is  called  the  French 
war  in  Canada  drew  oft"  the  Indians  in  that  direction, 
and  they  never  returned  in  great  numbers  to  this 
vicinity,  and  the  few  that  came  back  resided  near  the 
Branch  Mills.  Their  burial-ground  is  to  be  found  on 
the  late  Jacob  Miller  farm,  on  a  line  of  the  mill 
stream. 

It  appears  from  various  records  that  the  early  set- 
tlers were  troubled  with  wolves,  "which  caused  con- 
siderable annoyance.  A  bounty  of  thirty  shillings 
was  oft'ered  for  every  one  that  might  bis  killed." 

"Ash  Swamp,  Short  Hills,  July  16,  1750.  About 
ten  days  ago  a  shower  of  hail  as  big  as  hens'  eggs 
destroyed  fields  of  wheat  and  corn,  limbs  of  trees 
broke  to  pieces,  and  of  birds  and  fowls  scarce  one  was 
saved." 

An  advertisement  of  a  singing-school  fixes  the 
terms  at  one  dollar  for  thirteen  nights,  or  two  dollars 
a  quarter,  subscribers  to  find  their  own  wood  and 
candles. 

The  clothing  of  the  pioneers  was  spun  and  woven 
by  the  women.  In  almost  every  household  women 
wore  their  linsey-woolsey  and  made  the  clothes  for  the' 
family.  Nearly  every  head  of  family  tanned  his  own 
leather.  The  tan-vat  of  those  days  was  a  large  trough 
sunk  in  the  ground  ;  bark  was  shaved  and  pounded  ; 
ashes  were  used  in  place  of  lime  for  taking  off  the 
hair ;  bears'  and  hogs'  lard  and  tallow  answered  in 
place  of  fish  oil.  The  currying  was  done  with  a  large 
knife,  and  the  blacking  was  made  of  soot  and  hogs' 
lard.     They  made  plows  of  wood  and  harrows  with 


330 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


wooden  teeth.  They  also  made  their  own  cooper- 
ware.  Some  who  could  not  do  these  things  for  them- 
selves gave  their  labor  to  those  who  could,  and  so  all 
were  profited  and  materially  accommodated. 

At  that  time  when  the  young  corn  came  it  was  a 
perfect  jubilee  among  the  young  people.  They  would 
roast  it  with  husks  on  in  the  ashes,  and  considered  it 
a  very  great  delicacy.  Afterwards  when  it  became 
hard  they  would  grate  it  on  a  home-manufactured 
grater  and  bake  the  coarse  meal,  calling  it  johnny- 
cake,  which  they  would  take  on  long  journeys  in  the 
interior.  The  hand-mills  and  hominy  blocks  were 
found  in  most  their  homes. 

The  following  prices  current  for  tlie  year  1705  and 
earlier  are  subjoined  for  the  entertainment  of  the  cu- 
rious: Veal,  1 2''.  to  2(i.  per  pound  ;  beef,  do.;  venison, 
Id.;  capons,  Is.  6rf.  /  hens,  9</.  /  ducks,  13.1rf.  ;  Indian 
corn.  Is.  Gd.  ;  turnips,  Is.  /  oats,  22UI.  ;  salt,  4s.  to  5s. , 
cider,  13s.  a  barrel;  sugar,  6rf. /  hops,  Is./  wearing, 
8rf.  a  yard ;  a  day's  work,  2s.  3c/.  for  man,  Is.  for  wo- 
man ;  powder,  Ss.  6d.  per  pound ;  shot,  4W.  per 
pound  ;  oxen,  £4  10s.  /  colts,  14s.  /  salt  shad,  3rf.  each  ; 
oysters,  9rf.  per  hundred ;  wheat,  4s.  to  6s.  per  bushel ; 
buckwheat,  2s.  /  rye,  3s.  \ld. ;  pears,  4s./  apples,  2s.  to 
3s./  butter,  6(/.  per  pound;  cheese,  4Jrf.  per  pound; 
flax,  9c/.  per  pound;  raccoon-skins.  Is.  6(/.  each; 
shingles,  3s.  6c/.  per  hundred  ;  clapboards,  5s.  per  hun- 
dred ;  rails,  6s.  per  hundred  ;  tobacco,  5s.  per  pound  ; 
gloves,  4s.  6(/.  Here  you  see  the  great  difference  in 
prices  of  nearly  two  hundred  years  ago.  Many  of 
the  goods  they  imported.  For  instance,  black  silk, 
4s.  6c/.  /  stockings,  5s.  /  pins,  27  cents  a  paper,  etc. 
The  men  wore  broad-brimmed  hats  turned  up  at  the 
corners,  with  short  pants,  lappels  and  vests  worn 
long,  large  pocket-fold,  and  the  coats  with  straight 
collars,  cufts,  and  generally  gilt  or  silver  buttons; 
shoes  with  steel  or  silver  buckles.  Many  had  lace 
ruffles  to  their  shirt-bosoms;  their  hair  behind  tied 
in  a  cue  with  ribbons,  generally  brown  or  black. 

Speaking  of  the  inhabitants  composing  this  settle- 
ment, the  first  deputy  of  the  Quaker  proprietors, 
Thomas  Rudyard,  says,  "  The  people  were  generally 
a  sober,  professing  people,  wise  in  their  generation, 
courteous  in  their  behavior,  and  respectful  to  those  in 
office."  The  Governor,  Gawen  Laurie,  assures  us 
that  there  was  not  in  all  the  parish  a  poor  body  or 
one  in  want.  Their  treatment  of  their  servants  was 
mild,  and  they  had  beef,  pork,  bacon,  pudding,  but- 
ter, milk,  and  good  beer  and  cider  to  drink. 

On  coming  to  this  Westfield  frontier  the  pioneers 
came  to  an  uncultivated  so'il,  and  had  many  hard- 
ships and  privations  to  encounter,  but  there  was 
among  them  a  great  degree  of  kindness,  and  every 
man  helped  his  neighbor.  As  a  former  resident  re- 
marks, "Hardly  any  were  without  the  means  of  sup- 
port, and  none  thought  himself  too  rich  to  live  with- 
out labor,  and  we  are  not  the  less  happier  for  it,  but 
the  more  so." 

The  record  of  the  Pierson  family  is  somewhat  brief 


and  imperfect.  The  first  emigration  was  from  Eng- 
land to  Boston  or  Lynn,  Mass.,  about  a.d.  1635, 
and  from  there  to  Southampton,  L.  I.,  which  place 
they  with  others  founded  a.d.  1640.  Two  brothers 
are  named.  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson  and  Henry  Pier- 
son.  Dissatisfaction  arose,  and  Rev.  Abraham  Pier- 
son and  a  part  of  the  colony  removed  to  Connecticut, 
and  afterwards  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  which  city  they 
founded.  Henry  Pierson  remained  at  Southampton, 
L.  I.,and  some  of  his  descendants  emigrated  to  West- 
field,  N.  J.,  and  the  names  of  these  are  recorded 
among  the  early  settlers,  viz.:  William,  Daniel,  and 
David.  David  Pierson  married  Esther  Badgley,  and 
they  had  eight  children  :  1,  Stephen,  born  Feb.  10, 
1763;  2,  Hannah,  born  Nov.  2,  1765;  3,  Squire,  born 
April  20,  1767;  4,  David,  born  Aug.  28,  1770;  5, 
Moses  (1st),  horn  Oct.  9,  1774;  6,  Moses  (2d),  born 
Oct.  15,  1776;  7,  Samuel,  born  Aug.  6,  1778;  8,  Dan- 
iel, born  Jan.  1.  1783.  David,  their  father,  was  born 
Feb.  10,  1737,  and  died  1790.  These  have  all  pa.ssed 
away,  and  we  know  nothing  of  them  except  the  chil- 
dren of  Squire  Pierson,  son  of  the  third  child,  or 
Squire  first.  Our  immediate  ancestor  was  Moses 
Pierson,  the  fifth  son  of  David  and  Esther  Badgley 
Pierson,  born  Oct.  15,  1776.  Just  one  hundred  and 
five  years  ago  his  mother  died  when  he  was  quite 
young,  and  he  left  home  early,  without  education, 
and  fared  hardly  in  his  young  days.  He  learned  the 
trade  of  a  carpenter,  and  gave  himself  an  education 
I  to  fit  him  for  the  duties  of  life.  At  about  thirty-one 
years  of  age  he  married  Miss  Elizabeth  Martin  Brown, 
1  of  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  by  whom  he  had  nine  children, 
six  sons  and  three  daughters.  They  journeyed  along 
i  in  life  together  for  more  than  fifty  years,  and  now  rest 
'  side  by  side  in  the  quiet  cemetery  of  Westfield,  N.  J. 

Moses  Pierson,  born  1776,  died  1857,  aged  eighty- 
1  one  ;  married  1807. 

Elizabeth  Martin,  born  1784,  died  1862,  aged  sev- 
enty-eight; married  1807. 

Their  children  : 

William  Martin  Pierson,  born  Aug.  12,  1808. 

Daniel  Brown  Pierson,  born  Jan.  10,  1810. 

Charlotte  Martin  Pierson,  born  July  11,  1811. 

George  Washington  Pierson,  born  Nov.  2,  1813. 

Daniel  Marsh  Pierson,  born  Feb.  3,  1816. 

John  Pierson  Pierson,  born  Nov.  4,  1816. 

Charles  Pierson  Pierson,  born  Aug.  7,  1818. 

Araline  Martin  Pierson,  born  Nov.  18,  1820. 

Lydia  Smith  Pierson,  born  Aug.  20,  1822. 

At  a  reunion  held  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Char- 
lotte Mendell,  Cranford,  N.  J.,  Oct.  15,  1881,  these 
were  all  present  except  David,  who  died  in  1867, 
with  their  children,  grandchildren,  and  great-grand- 
children. 

In  Westfield  the  first  who  kept  store  was  Samuel 
Downer  (1st);  he  died  Oct.  22,  1824,  at  the  age  of 
one  hundred  and  one  years.  His  son  Samuel  (2d) 
took  his  place,  and  for  many  years  until  his  death, 
which  took  place  May  29,  1846,  in  his  eighty-sixth 


^^ 


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TOWNSHIP   OF    WESTFIELD. 


:s31 


year,  was  the  store-keeper  opposite  the  village.  He 
was  the  first  postmaster  and  elder  in  the  Preshyterian 
Church.  William  H.  Pierson  occupied  the  store  after 
his  death,  and  built  the  present  one,  now  belonging  to 
Mr.  Gideon  Ludlow. 

Thomas  Baker  kept  a  store  on  the  corner  of  the 
Westfiekl  road  and  road  to  Railway  for  many  years, 
now  known  as  the  Dr.  Corra  Osborn  house. 

Isaac  H.  Pierson,  Esq.,  for  a  few  years  kept  a  store 
where  he  resided  and  died,  opposite  the  village 
green.  He  was  school-teacher  and  justice  of  the 
peace. 

Charles  Clark  was  store-keeper  and  postmaster  on 
the  corner  of  main  road  and  road  what  was  called  the 
Jerusalem.     He  died  suddenly  in  the  year  1869. 

Mr.  Henry  B.  Morehouse  occupied  the  store  when 
Mr.  Pierson  vacated,  and  went  into  the  coal  and  lum- 
ber business,  he  being  the  first  one  in  Westfield  in  the 
business,  in  1859,  but  after  a  i'ew  years  he  sold  the 
business  to  Joseph  Moffitt,  and  was  appointed  ticket 
agent  at  the  Westfield  depot.  Mr.  Morehouse  lives 
at  the  present  time  in  Plainfield. 

Daniel  Baker  was  tanner  and  currier,  and  his  house 
and  shops  were  near  the  late  Mrs.  Abby  Clark's  prop- 
erty, by  Clark's  Lake,  now  called.  He  carried  on  the 
business  until  his  death,  which  took  place  Jan.  15, 
1776.     He  married  Abigail  Hendricks,  of  Westfield. 

Ephraini  Clark  was  tanner  and  currier  on  the 
Springfield  and  Scotch  Plains  road,  where  he  resided 
until  his  death.  Mr.  Clark  was  a  useful  man  and 
prominent  citizen.  He  was  made  deacon  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  July  12,  1846.  He  married  for 
his  first  wife  Phebe  Clark,  and  had  four  children  : 
1,  Edwin;  2,  James;  3,  Henry;  4,  Anne.  For  his 
second  wife  he  married  Hannah  Baker,  and  had 
seven  children  :  1,  Cyrus  Osborn  Clark  ;  2,  Daniel 
Clark  ;  3,  Phebe  Clark  ;  4,  Margaret  Clark  ;  5,  Mary 
Britton  Clark;  6,  Catherine  Clark;  7,  Ephraim  New- 
ton Clark.  And  for  his  third  wife  he  married  Mar- 
garet Cory,  daughter  of  Joseph  Cory,  of  Westfield. 

Master  Coles  was  a  school-teacher  as  well  as  a 
farmer.  A  number  of  his  descendants  reside  at  Scotch 
Plains.  His  farm  was  for  many  years  after  his  death 
occupied  by  Jacob  Miller,  who  died  Dec.  12,  1869, 
and  is  buried  in  the  family  plot  on  the  farm.  His 
son,  William  H.  Miller,  now  occupies  the  Coles  farm. 

Squire  William  Clark  occupied  the  farm  now 
owned  by  James  L.  Clark  in  the  year  1809.  Andrew 
H.  Clark,  his  son,  was  also  justice  of  the  peace,  school- 
teacher, and  prominent  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
and  was  trustee  and  elder.    He  died  in  the  year  1864. 

John  Miller  owned  the  farm  that  originally  be- 
longed to  the  Mullbrd  family.  Mr.  William  Mul- 
ford's  descendants  reside  at  or  near  Elizabeth  City. 

Ezekiel  Ludlam  resided  on  the  farm  at  the  corner 
of  Westfield  and  Cranford  roads,  now  opposite  the 
farm  of  W.  H.  Miller.  Here  he  resided  until  his 
death  as  a  farmer,  and  at  the  same  time  carried  on 
the  business  of  cabinet-maker  and  undertaker.     He 


died  in  the  year  1813.  Mr.  Eli  Marsh,  on  the  death 
of  Mr.  Ludlam,  carried  on  the  same  business  on  the 
main  road  to  Westfield.  The  property  is  now  owned 
by  Amos  Clark,  Esq.,  and  the  house  is  still  standing, 
occupied  now  by  Silas  D.  Pierson. 

A  Widow  Baker  lived  where  Mrs.  Abbie  built  her 
house.     She  was  al.'so  a  school-teacher. 

Warner  Tucker  bought  his  land  of  Mr.  Hinds  in 
1742,  and  built  himself  a  small  house,  where  he  car- 
ried on  the  business  of  a  weaver. 

Capt.  Matthias  Clark  lived  where  William  Stitt 
owned  a  farm,  and  built  a  hou.se  back  on  the  road 
from  Presbyterian  Church  to  Westfield.  From  his 
epitaph  we  learn, — 

"  Capt.  MHttliias  Clark 

Uied  .June  7,  180S, 

Aged  54  years, 

A  Revolutionary  soldier. 

Companions  here  wh  lie, 

Entombed  beneath  this  stone, 
Till  Christ  sliall  bid  us  rise. 
And  to  the  judgment  come." 

Capt.  Myreick  owned  the  place  some  years  after, 
and  eventually  sold  it  to  Jacob  and  Joseph  Davis, 
and  afterwards  was  occupied  by  Benjamin  Marsh  and 
David  M.  Woodruff,  and  then  occupied  by  William 
Stitt. 

Isaac  Hendricks  owned  the  farm  now  occupied  by 
John  R.  Miller,  and  also  the  farm  owned  by  the  late 
David  Miller  belonged  in  1812  to  the  Hendricks 
family. 

Andrew  Creig  occupied  the  farm  of  his  father,  and 
there  died  in  the  year  1860. 

John  Clark  was  called  "  Carpenter"  Clark.  He 
owned  the  farm  now  occupied  by  George  W.  Pierson. 
He  was  the  general  builder  in  Westfield,  and  in  his  ear- 
lier days  was  the  head  of  his  trade  over  a  large  section 
of  this  township  and  adjoining  ones.  If  there  was  a 
house  or  barn  to  be  built,  tie  with  the  farmer  would 
go  mark  their  trees  in  the  timber  land.  Neighbors 
were  called  upon,  then  the  hewing  and  squaring  went 
on.  When  ready,  a  large  number  of  his  neighbors 
came.  A  sheep  or  calf  was  prepared  and  made  into 
a  pot-pie,  as  it  was  called,  and  cooked  out  of  doors  in 
the  largest  iron  pot  that  they  had.  The  building  was 
raised,  and  perhaps  by  sundown  partly  inclosed. 
His  neighbors  received  his  thanks.  They  returned 
to  their  homes  early  enough  to  do  up  their  chores 
before  supper. 

Sylvanus  Pierson,  1st,  uncle  to  Sylvanus,  2d,  and 
William  Pierson's  brother,  owned  and  lived  on  his 
farm,  now  owned  by  Squire  Pierson's  heirs,  and  oppo- 
site Mrs.  Pierson's  homestead.  Jacob  Ludlow  was 
the  father  to  John  Ludlow,  and  tiie  property  is  now 
owned  by  his  grandson,  Gideon  Ludlow.  Ezekiel 
Ludlow,  who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  wagon  in 
1813,  coming  from  Rahway,  owned  the  farm  lately  oc- 
cupied by  John  C.  Miller,  father  of  John  L.  Miller, 
wheelwright  and  blacksmith.  He  is  now  living  in 
Ottawa,  Kan.,  and  Benjamin  Ham,  Esq.,  has  beauti- 


332 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


fied  the  place,  built  his  house  and  conservatory,  and 
is  one  of  the  most  prominent  men  in  the  township. 
Squire  Marsh  was  not  only  farmer  but  tailor;  lived 
and  owned  the  farm  of  the  late  Squire  Pierson,  who 
lately  deceased,  and  his  widow  still  occupies  the 
homestead.  Squire  Pierson's  father  went  to  Ohio 
when  he  was  a  young  man,  and  he  became  an  ap- 
prentice to  learn  the  clothing  business.  It  was  the 
custom  to  go  from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood 
in  the  spring  and  fall,  as  the  shoemakers  did,  and 
make  the  clothing  for  each  family. 

Marsh  Crane  lived  on  the  road  to  Springfield  to 
Elizabeth.  He  had  a  son,  who  married  in  1822,  by 
name  of  David  Crane,  a  daughter  of  Christopher 
Denman. 

Abraham  Scudder  married  Joanna  Meeker,  daugh- 
ter of  Obadiah  Meeker,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  in 
1807.  He  resided  opposite  the  farm  were  C.  A.  Lev- 
eridge  resided,  and  formerly  the  Baker  farm.  He 
died  in  the  year  1852.  Their  children's  names  were 
Israel,  Clark,  Amanda,  Cornelia,  Julia,  Martha. 
Clark  Scudder  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of 
Westfield  citizens  in  the  erection  of  the  present 
Presbyterian  Church,  giving  liberally  towards  its 
erection.  He  died  suddenly  of  a  malignant  disease 
in  1875.  His  daughter  Joanna  married  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Parvin,  of  the  Newark  Conference,  residing  in 
Rahway. 

Isaac  F.  Scudder  owns  and  lives  on  his  grand- 
father's farm,  John  Scudder's,  who  died  in  1848. 

Aaron  Ball  was  a  blacksmith  in  the  centre  of  the 
village.  The  property  is  now  owned  by  James  R. 
Ferris,  who  bought  it  in  1851. 

David  Townly,  who  was  called  "  Boss,"  the  shoe- 
maker, lived  next  to  Mr.  Ball's.  The  family  are  all 
deceased  except  a  grandson,  David  Pierson,  son  of 
Charles  Pierson,  of  Cranford. 

There  is  also  a  David  Townly,  a  shoemaker,  son  of 
William  Townly,  deceased,  but  no  relation  to  "  Boss" 
David.  Moses  Ross  lived  where  Benjamin  Clark  re- 
sided, and  now  the  lands  of  L.  V.  Clark,  Esq. 

Judge  Aaron  Coe,  father  of  Rev.  Philemon  Coe, 
owned  all  of  the  Elmer  farm  of  nearly  four  hundred 
acres  in  the  centre  of  the  village.  The  homestead 
was  opposite  to  the  village.  Benjamin  Pierson,  son 
of  William  Pierson,  lives  on  the  homestead  road 
leading  to  Elizabeth  and  Rahway.  On  the  bluff  of 
this  farm,  nearly  on  the  line  of  Charles  Marsh's 
farm,  is  where  the  first  log  church  was  built,  near 
where  Mr.  Marsh's  barn  stands,  and  the  log  cabin  of 
the  Pierson  family  stood  just  within  two  hundred 
yards  east  of  the  church. 

Orrin  Pearson  bought  and  lived  till  within  a  few 
years  on  the  Moses  Decamp  farm,  below  Charles 
Marsh's.  The  Charles  Marsh  (3d)  farm  belonged  to 
Charles  Marsh  (1st),  his  grandfather. 

The  house  where  Charles  F.  Witthe  lives  was  orig- 
inally the  Elias  Mills  farm-house,  and  stood  back 
some  eight  hundred  feet  on  his  farm  from  the  main 


road.  Joseph  Sdlls,  who  died  a  few  years  ago  in  New 
York,  was  his  son,  and  a  granddaughter  married 
Joseph  Clark,  and  lives  in  Linden  township.  Mr. 
Clark  was  killed  in  1863  by  the  tailing  of  a  tree. 

On  the  farm  now  owned  by  Daniel  Fink, and  where 
Amos  S.  Miller  lived  and  died  in  the  year  1865,  a 
singing-school  teacher  lived  by  name  of  Halsey.  He 
was  chorister  in  the  village  church,  and  taught 
during  the  fall  and  winter  the  school  for  singing,  at 
one  shilling  a  lesson,  and  to  find  their  own  candle- 
lights, or  eight  shillings  for  thirteen  lessons.  He  was 
considered  in  his  day  an  excellent  singer.  On  Love 
Lane,  as  it  was  called,  and  is  known  by  the  older  in- 
habitants, lived  Sambo,  a  Guinea  negro,  just  above 
the  road  back  of  Sylvanus  Pierson's  house,  and  where 
Cuff  Wood  lived  and  raised  a  large  family.  This 
Sambo  was  a  jack  of  all  trades  and  sexton  of  the 
meeting-house  as  long  as  he  lived.  It  is  said  after 
the  old  church-bell  had  been  brought  back  from 
Staten  Island,  where  the  British  soldiers  had  taken  it 
in  1780,  and  was  heard  ringing  while  Azariah  Clark 
and  other  Westfield  men  were  in  the  Sugar  Prison- 
House  in  New  York,  they  recognized  the  sound,  and 
determined  if  they  obtained  their  freedom  that  they 
would  take  the  bell  back  again  and  hang  it  in  the 
Westfield  Church,  and  which  they  did,  and  the  first 
time  Sambo  rung  it  in  his  joy  of  its  recovery  he 
broke  it.  The  present  bell  is  the  second  one  that  the 
church  hiis  had,  and  is  still  in  use. 

A  well-known  citizen  of  Westfield  was  John  Wil- 
liams, who  commonly  went  by  the  name  of  Jack 
Williams.  He  was  well  known  for  miles  as  being  a 
sort  of  cattle  and  horse  doctor  (called  in  these  days 
veterinary  surgeon).  Mr.  Williams  was  a  man,  and 
held  in  high  esteem.  He  raised  a  large  family.  He 
owned  the  small  house  back  of  Mr.  Charles  Clark's 
store  on  the  Jerusalem  road.  He  died  in  1860.  His 
two  sons,  John  William  and  Henry,  are  prominent 
members  of  the  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Purchase  of  Powder. — On  the  12th  day  of  April, 
1813,— 


"  It  WM8  agreed  by  a  unanimous  vote  of  Towd  committee  tliat  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  an»i  fifty  dullars  be  raised  and  appropi  iated  tuwards  pur- 
ciiasiiig  Powder,  ball,  and  Flints  fur  tlif  purpose  of  repel. iiig  any  at- 
tempt which  may  be  made  on  our  Rights  and  Liberties  by  our  common 
enemy,  which  Amnnition  is  to  be  put  into  the  hands  of  tlie  captainn  of 
the  different  Companies  in  tlie  Township,  who  are  to  give  security  that 
sIihII  lie  applied  according  to  the  vule  of  the  township,  to  be  by  them 
distributed  in  equal  proportion  to  such  ludividuals  uf  their  sevtnal 
companies  or  otiier  Inhabitants  ot  th^  township  as  ohall  on  an  alarm  or 
other  Eniergancy  actually  turn  out  aud  put  themselves  under  their  com- 
unuid,  the  men  who  receive  it  to  be  an^wurable  to  the  captain  they  to- 
ceive  it  from,  to  return  to  him  all  but  what  they  expend  against  the 
enemy. 

"  liesolved.  That  Boot.  Joseph  Quimby,  David  Osborn,  and  Freeman 
Cule  be  a  committee  to  carry  the  above  into  immediate  effect. 

"  I  hereby  certify  the  above  to  be  the  true  proceedings  of  the  above 
town-meeting. 

"Capt.  Cuables  Clark, 

^'Moderator  " 

Village  of  Westfield. — This  village  is  pleasantly 
located  in  the  centre  of  the  township.  The  main 
street  running  north  aud  south,  extending  from  Mor- 


^^^^^^^^ 


TOWNSHIP   OF   WESTFIELD. 


333 


gan's  Hill  to  the  distance  of  a  little  over  a  mile  on  a 
straight  line  to  the  south  over  the  Central  Railroad 
track  towards  the  late  residence  of  Aaron  Hatfield. 
This  beautiful  village  contains  five  churches,  besides 
two  halls,  where  services  are  held  on  the  Sabbath  by 
the  Congregational  and  Zion  Church,  who  in  a  short 
time  contemplate  building.  The  distance  from  New 
York  City  of  only  eighteen  miles  makes  this  place 
desirable  for  many  doing  business  in  the  neighboring 
cities,  the  depot  of  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad 
being  in  the  centre.  The  population  is  about  eight 
hundred  and  seventy-five.  There  are  many  fine  resi- 
dences, which  are  ta.stily  ornamented  with  ample 
grounds,  fine  shade-trees,  and  gardens.  The  avenues 
and  streets  are  well  shaded  with  maples  and  elms. 
The  village  has  a  good  supply  of  water  of  fine  quality, 
and  Clark's  Lake,  fed  by  springs,  is  on  the  main 
street.  The  grounds  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
known  as  the  village  green,  are  neatly  laid  out  and 
fenced,  and  large  shade-trees  of  a  century  ago  adorn 
them.  On  the  south  side  of  the  depot  within  a  few 
years  avenues  have  been  laid  out  and  planted  with 
shade-trees,  and  in  a  short  time  this  locality  has  be- 
come thickly  settled  with  residences  ;  here  the  Cath- 
olic Church  has  been  built,  a  neat  frame  building. 
Many  of  the  newly  opened  avenues  and  streets  have 
been  given  names  representing  some  historic  incident 
or  former  pastor  of  the  old  church,  as  Picton  Street, 
after  the  Rev.  Thomas  Picton,  in  1805;  Elmer  Street, 
after  Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer,  the  first  physician  in  West- 
field  in  the  year  1752. 

In  the  year  1800  this  village  contained  about  14 
houses,  1  store,  1  blacksmith-shop,  1  tanner  and  cur- 
rier, 1  shoe-shop,  1  tavern,  1  school-house,  and  the 
old  church.  It  then  had  been  substantially  in  this 
condition  for  nearly  half  a  century. 

The  following  list  comprises  those  who  are  engaged 
in  business  in  the  village  of  Westfield  : 

Stove-  and  tin-store,  Mahlon  H.  Ferris. 

Hotel,  Amos  W.  Morfitt. 

Justice  of  peace,  with  oflice  on  Main  Street,  John 
D.  Jaques. 

Grocery  and  dry-goods,  Erastus  Miller  and  his  two 
sons. 

Grocery  and  dry-goods,  David  and  A.  Judson 
Miller. 

Millinery,  Miss  M.  S.  Welsh. 

General  merchandise,  James  T.  Pierson. 

Clothing  merchant,  Frederick  Decker. 

Drugs  and  fancy  goods,  William  Gale,  M.D. 

Dentist,  C.  E.  Agnewe. 

Butcher,  William  Schoonover. 

Boots  and  shoes,  Luther  M.  Whitaker. 

Druggist,  George  A.  Bayard. 

Baker,  John  Dash. 

Feed  and  flour,  Isaac  Amerman. 

Tin,  stoves,  and  hardware,  John  Ingram. 

News  depot  and  fancy  goods,  Charles  F.  Witthe. 

General  grocer,  Matthias  Clark. 


^Eolian  Hall  and  Westfield  Lyceum. 

Paint-store,  J.  M.  Neil. 

Township  rooms,  Luther  M.  Whitaker,  town  clerk. 

Green  grocer,  E.  A.  Clark. 

Carpenter  and  builder,  Joel  Moflitt. 

Carpenters,  Sparkman  &  Seager. 

Green  grocer,  B.  W.  Woodrufi'. 

Milliner,  Miss  Mattie  G.  Whitaker. 

Dress-maker,  Mrs.  Laura  Wilcox. 

Grocery,  Patrick  Traynor. 

Jewelry  and  watches,  Charles  E.  Vale. 

Barber-shop,  Fritz  Henicke. 

Furniture,  John  H.  Umston. 

Paint  and  paper  hangings,  Messrs.  Welsh  Brothers. 

Harness-maker,  W.  H.  More. 

Butcher,  Joseph  Perrey. 

Lumber  and  sash  and  blinds,  John  S.  Irving. 

Cigar-store,  Frederick  H Inzer. 

Green  grocer,  David  Crouch. 

Blacksmith,  I.  S.  Irving. 
"  S.  C.  Young. 

"  Anson  B.  Smith. 

Saloon  and  refreshments,  John  L.  Rolston. 

Atlas  Lodge,  E.  and  A.  M.,  No.  135. 

Hook-and-Ladder  Company,  No.  1,  William  Gale, 
foreman,  Joseph  R.  Connerly,  secretary,  George  W. 
Tice,  treasurer,  was  organized  in  1873,  and  has  been 
found  that  in  cases  of  sudden  alarm  of  fire  that  they 
have  been  about  the  first  upon  the  ground.  This  is  a 
grand  improvement  to  what  was  the  custom  years  ago, 
when  no  sufficient  number  of  buckets,  axes,  or  ladders 
were  to  be  had  conveniently  in  cases  of  emergen- 
cies. 

Westfield  has  an  eflicient  fire  company,  organized 
and  incorporated  in  1876.  They  now  number  about 
forty  members,  and  have  done  excellent  work  in  pro- 
tecting the  village  from  the  devouring  element.  S.  S. 
Mapes  was  elected  president  of  the  board  of  trustees 
in  November,  1876. 

Post-OflBces. — In  the  early  times  the  mail  was  carried 
by  couriers  and  post-boys,  with  the  mail-bags  strapped 
behind  them  on  horseback.  This  was  when  there  were 
only  bridle-paths  throughout  this  once  heavy  wooded 
country.  When  regular  conveniences  were  estab- 
lished, not  only  was  the  mail-stage  expected,  but  the 
drivers  were  expected  to  carry  many  messages  from 
town  to  town,  and  were  looked  upon  as  knowing  all 
that  transpired  for  miles  around. 

Mr.  Samuel  Downer  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
first  postmaster,  and  as  early  as  1793  it  is  said  he  made 
up  a  package  that  went  by  the  Speedwell  Line  of 
stages.  He  held  the  position  for  many  years,  and  was 
succeeded  by  William  H.  Pierson,  Charles  Clark, 
Charles  B.  Morehouse,  James  T.  Pierson,  and  the 
present  postmaster,  Frederick  Decker,  who  has  held 
the  position  for  some  years. 

Old  Trees. — The  large  elm-tree  opposite  the  West- 
field  tavern  was  planted  by  John  Foster  in  1827. 

The  large  elm-tree  by  the  late  residence  of  Dr.  Corra 


334 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Osborn  was  planted  out  by  Dr.  Joseph  Quimby  at  the 
same  date. 

.  The  large  oak-tree  in  the  dooryard  of  Robert 
French's  is  one  of  the  original  forest-trees,  and  when 
Henry  Baker  was  a  boy  in  1809  he  climbed  among  its 
lower  limbs. 

The  black-walnut  trees  in  the  yard  of  Mr.  William 
Still  were  planted  by  Henry  Baker's  father. 

Taverns. — The  earliest  records  found  of  the  inn- 
keepers are  as  follows :  1794,  Azariah  Clark  ;  1794, 
Charles  Oilman  ;  1799,  Mary  Gilman  ;  1799,  Alexan- 
der Richards  ;  1799,  Benjamin  Crane ;  1804,  Samuel 
Ross;  1816,  John  Clark;  1819,  Sanford  Hickes ;  1819, 
Thomas  Burlocks;  1825,  John  M.  Clark.  Since  the 
last  date,  1867,  '68,  and  '69,  John  M.  C.  Marsh  ;  1870, 
John  J.  Smalley  ;  1871-72,  C.  Mitchell;  1873,  W.  H. 
Kingman  ;  1874,  C.  Brocksmith  ;  1880-81,  A.  W.  Mof- 
fitt. 

There  were  two  inns  close  together  on  the  main 
street  opposite  the  road  to  Rahway.  Charles  Gilman 
kept  what  was  known  far  and  near  as  the  "Stage 
House"  for  a  great  many  years ;  and  here  the  line  of 
conveyances  from  New  York  to  Easton  and  other 
routes  would  stop  for  dinner  and  change  of  teams. 
This  was  in  the  year  1804,  and  after  the  death  of  Mr. 
Gilman  his  wife,  Mary,  better  known  as  Aunt  Polly 
Gilman,  kept  the  tavern. 

This  old  tavern  was  the  resort  of  many  for  an  even- 
ing's entertainment  in  the  olden  time.  Here  the 
doctor,  squire,  and  many  others  of  those  well  known 
at  that  time  were  in  the  habit  of  meeting,  and  many 
a  story  was  told  and  joke  went  around.  A  favorite 
and  very  common  beverage  for  the  evening  in  those 
days  was Jiip,  which  was  made  somewhat  as  follows: 
A  quart-jug  wa.s  nearly  filled  with  malt-beer,  sweet- 
ened, a  red-hot  poker  was  thrust  into  the  liquid  and 
kept  there  until  foam  was  produced,  when  half  a  pint 
of  rum  was  poured  in  and  some  nutmeg  grated  upon 
it.  The  price  of  a  mug  of  flip  was  three  pence.  And 
at  this  old  Stage  House  at  all  hours  refreshments  could 
be  procured  of  bacon,  beans,  cabbage,  corn-bread,  etc., 
by  payment  of  3.>i.  M.  a  meal,  and  they  would  be  served 
with  the  blue  dishes  of  the  olden  time;  and  it  is  men- 
tioned of  old  Mr.  Gilman,  who  would  meet  the  daily 
stage  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  as  they  halted 
for  their  dinners,  dressed  in  his  blue  coat  with  brass 
buttons,  and  so  gracefully  welcome  the  weary  and  dusty 
traveler  at  the  stage-door  and  show  them  the  way  to 
the  large  "  living"  room,  where  the  repast  had  been 
spread  awaiting  their  arrival.  Some  one  has  said  or 
sung: 

"Old  Gilman  is  dead,  tbat  good  old  man, 
We  ne'ur  shall  Bee  him  more ; 
He  used  to  wear  a  lung  blue  coat 
AU  buttoned  down  before." 

This  old  Stage  House  was  taken  down  a  few  years 
ago,  and  Mr.  W.  W.  Connerly  built  his  wood-  and 
blacksmith-shop  on  the  premises. 

At  the  corner  of  Broad,  or  main  road  to  Springfield 


from  Westfield,  and  Love  Lane  (as  it  was  called)  stood 
one  of  the  first  buildings,  which  was  occupied  by  Mr. 
Benjamin  Crane  as  a  hostelry  or  inn  for  some  years  in 
the  year  1809,  but  it  was  burnt  down  afterwards.  Mr. 
Sylvanus  Pierson  bought  the  land  and  built  himself 
the  present  homestead,  where  he  died  in  1857.  His 
son,  Silas  D.  Pierson,  occupied  the  place  for  some 
years  after. 

I.  M.  Clark  was  an  inii-kefper  for  many  years  from 
1825  until  he  gave  up  the  business  in  1849.  He  also 
was  justice  of  the  peace,  assessor,  and  collector  in  the 
township,  and  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1854. 
He  was  a  most  worthy  man,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
death,  1867,  was  lamented  and  missed  by  the  commu- 
nity at  large.  Many  looked  up  to  him  for  advice  in 
matters  concerning  their  property,  and  no  one  was 
better  acquainted  as  to  boundary  lines  between  the 
farms  and  the  titles  thereto  than  he  was.  He  was 
kind  and  charitable  for  all. 

I.  M.  C.  Marsh  built  the  present  hotel,  which  was 
occupied  by  Mr.  Marsh,  who  kept  the  house,  1867, 
'68,  and  '69;  C.  Mitchell,  1871-72;  J.  L  Smally,  W.  H. 
Kingsman,  1873;  C.  Brocksmith,  1874-79;  and  Amos 
W.  Moffit,  1880-81. 

Morgan's  Hill.— On  the  road  leading  to  Springfield 
from  Westfield,  nearly  opposite  to  the  residence  of 
Isaac  H.  Scudder,  and  on  the  corner  of  his  farm  and 
road  leading  to  Cranford,  is  where  Morgan  was  hung, 
the  murderer  of  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell,  on  the  29th  of 
January,  1782,  by  Noah  Marsh,  sheriff  of  the  county 
of  Essex.  This  rise  in  the  road  has  been  since  known 
as  Morgan's  Hill,  a  small  pile  of  stone  indicating  the 
spot.  He  made  no  confession  as  to  his  motives  in 
committing  the  crime  for  which  he  suflered,  but  it 
was  believed  that  he  was  incited  to  it  by  the  British. 
A  sermon  was  preached  in  the  Westfield  Meeting- 
house by  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer,  of  New  Provi- 
dence (father  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Elmer,  who  was  at 
this  time  a  practicing  physician  in  Westfield,  and 
owned  the  farm  after  his  death  occupied  by  Judge 
Aaron  Coe),  from  Jeremiah  xliv.  4. 

The  following  account  is  taken  from  the  Gazette  of 
Wednesday,  Nov.  28,  1780,  published  as  a  newspaper 
by  Rivington : 

"  Last  Saturday  the  Reverend  Mr.  Caldwell,  minister  of  the  Dissent- 
ing congregation  at  Elizabeth-Town,  was  shot  dead  without  aii.v  provo- 
cation at  Ihe  Point  by  a  native  of  Ireland  named  Morgan,  one  of  the 
rebel  twelve  months'  men.  The  Conjuer's  Inquest  brought  a  verdict  of 
willful  murder  against  him.  Mr.  Caldwell  had  ever  been  an  active  zealot 
in  the  caU'>e  of  Indepeudence,  and  was  much  esteemed  and  confided  in 
by  Mr.  Washington  and  the  Republican  leaders.  It  is  said  he  lately  pro- 
moted a  petition  to  the  New  Jersey  Assembly  lor  recalling  the  refugees 
to  the  repossession  of  their  estates.     HequieBcat  in  pace."  I 

Branch  Mills. — This  hamlet,  on  the  extreme  bor- 
der of  Westfield  township,  on  the  line  of  Springfield, 
has  some  fifteen  dwellings,  a  school-house  called  the 
Union  School  for  both  townships,  one  paper-mill 
(Aaron  and  Charles  Parkhurst,  proprietors),  aud  two 
grist-mills,  one  carried  on  by  the  Parkhurst  Brothers, 

I  See  History  of  the  Revolution  in  this  work. 


^^      ^ ^^^-y 


TOWNSHIP  OP   WESTFIELD. 


335 


and  the  other  by  William  Drake,  and  owned  by  Silas 
D.  Miller.  These  mills  are  fed  by  a  mill-pond  now 
known  as  Echo  Lake.  This  lake  is  said  to  be  sixty 
feet  in  depth,  and  on  the  easterly  side  a  distinct  an- 
swer or  echo  may  be  heard  from  the  hill.  The  water 
is  beautifully  clear,  surrounded  mostly  by  fine  trees, 
and  is  somewhat  a  resort  for  picnic  as  well  as  boating 
and  fishing  parties. 

The  outlet  of  this  lake  is  in  the  mill-stream  until  it 
forms  itself  into  a  branch  of  the  Norniahiggen  (an  In- 
dian name,  said  to  signify  clear  stream  I,  which  emp- 
ties into  the  Rahway  River.  This  stream  passes  close 
by  what  is  known  as  the  Indian  burial-ground.  We 
notice  an  Indian  relic  at  the  Parkhurst  mill,  being  a 
large  stone  in  front  of  the  mill-door,  having  an  excava- 
tion of  some  nine  inches  and  about  twenty-two  inches 
across,  said  to  have  been  an  Indian  mortar  for  pound- 
ing their  corn,  contrasting  vividly  with  the  manner  of 
grinding  of  grain  in  the  mill  by  its  side. 

Census  Report. — The  township  of  Westfield  con- 
tains a  population  of  221.3,  divided  as  follows: 
males,  1187;  females,  1026  (for  children,  see  report 
of  schools). 

Schools. — We  find  the  following  recorded  by  one 
of  the  former  clergymen  of  this  parish,  Jan.  1,  1839, 
in  relation  to  the  schools  : 

'*  This  parish  had  heen  mure  deficient  in  good  schools  for  the  education 
of  children  titan  in  almost  anything  else  of  equal  importance.  No  clas- 
sical school  has  ever  heen  estjiblislied  here,  and  the  cont^equence  is  that 
with  all  the  mind  and  means  which  have  existed  here,  very  few  have 
been  graduated  in  any  college  or  entered  any  of  the  learned  professions. 
In  respect  to  .schools,  however,  we  hope  the  tulure  will  excell  the  past, 
and  that  the  love  of  learning  and  its  benefits  will  greatly  increase.  Al- 
ready considerable  ha.s  been  done  to  promote  these,  especially  by  Sab- 
bath-ai-hools  and  Bible  classes.  They  diffuse  among  the  young  a  love  of 
reading  and  habits  of  study;  still  from  these,  as  from  our  common 
schools,  the  schnlars  depart  too  soon.  This  many  deplore,  and  are  en- 
deavoring to  prevent  by  inducing  them  to  pursue  their  studies  further 
and  longer." 

The  first  school-house  was  built  of  hewed  logs  on 
the  Coe  farm,  plastered.  Mr.  Andrew  H.  Clark  said 
it  was  built  square,  and  strong  enough  to  resist  an  at- 
tack from  the  Indians.  There  were  two  windows  on 
each  side  and  one  at  the  end  opposite  the  door.  The 
windows  opened  by  shoving  from  right  to  left.  This 
log  school-house  was  built  some  time  after  the  year 
1750  and  before  the  Revolution.  Subsequently  a 
frame  school-house  was  built,  which  also  served  the 
purpose  of  religious  meetings.  It  was  destroyed  by  fire 
about  the  fall  of  1816.  The  citizens  were  called  to- 
gether and  decided  to  build  an  academy  of  brick  two 
stories  high,  the  upper  part  for  the  church  meetings, 
and  on  the  same  ground  where  their  wooden  structure 
had  been  burnt.  They  decided  that  the  foundation 
should  be  of  dressed  or  faced  stone,  and  maples  and 
elms  should  be  planted  all  along  the  roadside  for 
shade.  This  building  was  completed  in  the  spring  of 
1819.  It  stood  on  the  southeasterly  side  of  the  burial- 
ground. 

In  the  year  1873  they  decided  to  take  down  this  old 
acadeaiy   and    build   a   more    substantial    building. 


Daniel  Halsey  was  one  of  the  early  teachers  in  this 
village.  He  was  born  at  a  place  called  Wichapogue, 
on  Long  Island,  and  one  of  the  descendants  of  the 
Halsey  family  wiis  asked  in  1796  to  write  an  appro- 
priate sign  for  a  tavern-keeper.  Mr.  Halsey  sent  him 
the  following  grim  efiusion  : 

*'  Rum,  whiskey,  brandy,  cordial,  porter,  beer. 
Ale,  apple-jack,  and  gin  are  dealt  out  here. 
Diluted,  raw,  or  mixed  in  any  measure, 
To  all  consumers  come  aud  act  your  pleasure. 
The  above  specifics  will  in  time,  God  knows. 
Put  to  a  period  all  your  earthly  woes; 
Or  would  you  bring  life  to  a  splendid  close. 
Take  double  slings,  repeating  dose  on  dose; 
A  panacea  this  fur  every  ail. 
'Twill  use  you  up — 'twas  never  known  to  fail. 
Use  up  your  property  ere  scarce  you  know  it. 
Use  up  your  character  or  sadly  blow  it. 
Use  up  your  health  and  strength  and  mind's  repose. 
And  leave  mayhap  your  carcass  to  the  crows." 


(It  is  not  learned  whether  he  used  this  sign  or  not.) 

Mr.  James  Tevigan  was  teacher  in  the  year  1808, 
then  came  Jonathan  Miller,  Andrew  H.  Clark,  Jona- 
than Cory,  Isaac  H.  Pierson,  Dr.  A.  M.  Cory,  of  New 
Providence,  John  Squire,  Luther  Littell,  Ja.son  El- 
liott, Mr.  Ayres,  Mr.  Husten,  J.  Walsh,  Mr.  Mc- 
Cord,  John  Ripley,  George  Wheelen. 

The  present  elegant  three-story  frame  building  on 
Prospect  Street  was  completed  with  all  the  necessary 
appliances  for  conducting  a  high  school  as  well  as  a 
primary  department  in  1873.  The  district  (No.  10) 
is  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  on  about  the  highest 
ground.  The  lots  are  one  hundred  by  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five,  giving  ample  room  for  play-ground 
and  decorations.  The  building  is  fifty  by  eighty  feet, 
with  tower  and  belfry.  The  present  clerk  of  the  dis- 
trict is  Robert  R.  Sinclair,  Esq. ;  and  Stephen  S. 
Mapes,  who  has  done  so  much  for  the  .school  and  its 
present  advancement,  is  the  president  of  the  board  of 
trustees;  since  1869  William  T.  Peck  and  R.  R.  Sin- 
clair are  the  trustees.  The  following  have  been  the 
teachers:  H.  E.  Harris,  principal,  1871-76;  S.  M. 
Blazier,  principal,  1877-79;  W.  H.  Elston,  principal, 
1880-81;  Miss  E.  Stryker,  1871-81;  Mrs.  M.  E. 
Goodrich,  1871-80;  Miss  Lillie  Gilraan,  1871-72; 
Miss  Emma  Johnstone,  1871;  Mrs.  H.  G.  Harris, 
1871;    Miss  McQuoid,  1872-73;  Miss  Fanny  Lever- 

idge,  1873-75;    Miss Cory,  1873-76;    Miss 

Gilbey,  1875-79;    Miss   P.  S.   Cory,   1878-81;    Miss 

Anna  Decker,  1880;  Miss Spicer,  1880-81 ;  Miss 

Lillie  Schamp,  1881 ;  Miss  Mary  S.  Cory,  1881 ;  Miss 
Mary  E.  Moore,  1881. 

Locust  Geove  School-House. — In  the  northerly 
part  of  the  township  and  nearly  opposite  the  residence 
of  Mr.  James  T.  Baker  is  to  be  seen  a  fine  grove  of 
locusts.  Within  the  centre  of  this  grove  is  the  Locust 
Grove  School-House,  which  has  been  built  within  a 
few  years  on  the  same  site  as  the  one  which  preceded 
it,  and  where  the  neighborhood  had  been  taught  for 
generations.  The  first  school-house  was  built  here 
long  before  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  stood  on  the 


336 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


cross-roads.  The  following  is  an  imperfect  list,  and 
without  dates,  of  those  who  have  taught  in  this  school : 
The  first  remembered  was  an  Englishman  by  name  of 
Chuesnitt,  Miss  "Ryer,  Peter  B.  Good,  Phebe  Clark, 

Katerine  Clark,  Sarah  Dodd,  Miss Haviland,  a 

Scotchman  by  name  of  Robinson,  who  would  say  a 
great  many  times  a  day,  "  Boys,  I  wash  you  to  keep 
steel,  that  is,  if  you  con  ;"  Mulford  Wilcox,  Miss 
Stiles,  Martin  Cory,  and  the  present  one.  Miss  Minnie 
L.  Taylor.  "  In  ye  olden  time  seventy -two  days  were 
counted  for  a  quarter,  and  only  one  quarter  was  taught 
in  a  year,  and  this  in  the  winter  months." 

The  Old  Westfield  Church.— The  first  place  of 
public  worship  in  Weslfield  was  a  log  house  built  in 
1730.  About  this  time  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hubbel 
became  the  first  pastor,  and  before  this  so  great  was 
the  love  of  the  preached  word  among  your  pious  an- 
cestors that  they  often  traveled  through  the  woods  on 
foot  to  Elizabethtown,  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath,  to 
hear  the  gospel,  and  at  the  time  it  was  remarked  that 
they  were  in  their  seats  in  the  sanctuary  with  great 
regularity  at  an  early  hour. 

When  Mr.  William  Miller  left  his  friends  at  Eliza- 
bethtown to  settle  in  Westfield,  near  the  Branch  Mills, 
the  parting  was  rendered  very  .solemn  by  the  expecta- 
tion that  they  should  seldom,  if  ever,  see  him  again, 
the  difficulty  of  passing  and  repassing  seemed  so 
great.  But  to  their  surprise  as  they  went  to  the 
church  on  the  next  Sabbath  morning  they  found  him 
standing  on  the  steps. 

When  they  left  their  children  at  home  on  the  Sab- 
bath, as  a  consequence  of  going  so  far  to  the  meet- 
ing-house, they  were  strictly  enjoined  to  remain  in  the 
house  and  learn  the  catechism,  and  on  the  return  of 
their  parents  they  were  required  to  recite  their  lesson. 
On  this  the  parents  wisely  insisted,  and  one  of  these 
grandchildren  recently  remarked  that  the  only  time  he 
was  ever  chastised  for  any  offense  committed  on  the 
Sabbath  was  when  he  was  discovered  to  have  neglected 
his  study  and  engaged  in  play.  After  this  log  meet- 
ing-house was  completed  the  signal  for  the  people  to 
assemble  at  their  appointed  hour  was  the  beating  of 
a  large  drum.  On  hearing  this  the  male  members 
took  their  guns  for  fear  of  the  Indians,  who  frequently 
annoyed  the  inhabitants,  and  they  had  many  skir- 
mishes with  them. 

The  inhabitants  increasing,  many  coming  from 
Long  Island,  they  in  1735  vacated  their  log  meeting- 
house for  the  frame  church.  At  first  it  had  no  steeple, 
but  one  was  added  in  1758,  and  we  find  that  Rev. 
John  Grant  is  their  minister  in  1750,  remaining  until 
1753,  and  in  1759  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Woodruff  was 
called.  The  first  board  of  trustees  under  act  of  in- 
corporation, Jan.  16,  1788,  were  Thomas  Woodruff, 
moderator;  John  Scudder,  clerk;  Ephraim  Marsh, 
Jesse  Clark,  Andrew  Hetfield,  Ephraim  Scudder,  and 
John  Crane.  About  1760  they  first  procured  their 
bell,  and  had  the  name  of  the  parish  cast  upon  it. 
One  instance  of  the  kind  and   liberal  feelings  of  the 


people  of  this  place  toward  their  minister  at  that 
early  day  is  said  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  they 
then  wished  and  expected  him  to  live,  labor,  and  die 
among  them,  and  gave  him  in  fee  simple  one  hundred 
acres  of  their  parsonage  land,  including  the  square 
fronting  on  the  main  street,  from  the  present  par- 
sonage line  to  where  the  arsenal  stood  by  the  corner 
of  the  late  Mr.  Sylvanus  Pierson's  farm.  In  1803  the 
second  frame  church  building  was  erected,  costing 
six  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  WoodrufTs  ministry  here  was  a  long  and  happy 
one.  The  attachment  between  the  people  and  their 
pastor  was  mutual.  He  received  many  calls  to  other 
places,  but  always  refused,  saying  that  he  never  in- 
tended to  remove  until  from  earthly  cares  and  labors 
to  heavenly  joys.  He  was  heard  to  say  he  never  in- 
tended to  outlive  his  usefulness.  He  also  expressed 
a  desire  to  die  on  the  Sabbath.  And  so  it  was.  He 
preached  on  the  Sabbath  before  his  death,  and  on  the 
next  Sabbath  morning  before  the  hour  of  public  ser- 
vice arrived  he  departed  this  life.  His  sickness  was 
short,  and  so  little  was  his  death  expected  that  many 
of  the  people  knew  not  that  he  was  sick  until  they 
came  to  the  sanctuary  on  Sabbath  morning  and  found 
their  pastor  gone  and  the  pulpit  hung  in  mourning. 
The  day  was  one  of  solemnity  and  general  grief  Rev. 
Dr.  McWhorter,  of  Newark,  preached  the  sermon 
from  1st  Cor.  xv.  56,  and  the  body  of  the  much  be- 
loved pastor  was  buried  out  of  the  sight  of  his  people 
at  the  head  of  the  broad  aisle  in  the  second  frame 
church,  which  had  just  been  finished  for  worship. 
Over  his  tomb  they  laid  a  marble  tablet  with  the  fol- 
lowing inscription,  containing  a  just  tribute  of  respect 
to  his  worthy  character,  and  deserving  a  place  in  this 
historical  sketch  of  the  parish,  as  it  was  then  called : 

"Sacred  to  the  niemorj  of  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Woodruff,  A.M.,  who 
departed  this  life,  April  3, 1803,  Aged  70  yeare. 

The  duet  lies  here  of  a  venerable  man,  formed  from  early  youth  in 
learning — human  and  divine — passing  his  collegiate  studits  with  repu- 
tation—soon entered  the  holy  ministry — was  settled  near  44 yeare  pastor 
of  this  church. 

\n  excellent  preacher — zeaKtUS,  pathetic,  faithful,  prudent,  and  suc- 
cessful. 

In  controversies — moderate  and  calm.  Among  ministers,  husbatids, 
fathers,  brothere,  friends,  few  his  equals. 

Piety,  hospitality,  friendship,  humility,  benevolence,  and  modesty 
formed  his  character. 

His  voice  it  cries  my  people  quicltly  come 
To  Jesus  your  eternal  rest  and  home." 

During  Mr.  Woodruff's  mini'Stry  three  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  persons  made  a  profession  of  religion, 
about  eleven  hundred  were  baptized,  and  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty-two  couples  were  married.  The  last  of 
these  was  Mr.  William  Woodrufl^,  son  of  Aaron  Wood- 
ruff, to  Miss  Phebe  Ludlum. 

I  have  followed  the  account  of  the  old  church  up 
to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Picton's  installation,  which  took 
place  Oct.  14,  1805.  The  church  and  its  historical 
associations  with  the  people  it  was  of  the  greatest 
importance  should  be  followed  to  the  above  date,  and 
at  some   future   time  I  will  again   refer  to  it  and  its 


(z:^^^^^^^  "^^2 


yU^^f-fk^-T^^t^ 


TOWNSHIP   OF   WESTFIELD. 


337 


official  members.  The  record  has  been  very  minute 
in  many  particulars.  It  belongs  to  the  historical 
events  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  last  sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  E.  B.  Edgar,  then  pastor, 
through  whose  efforts  the  present  church  was  built, 
Jan.  26,  1862,  was  from  Deut.  xx.\ii.  7  :  "  Remember 
the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of  many  genera- 
tions :  ask  thy  father,  and  he  will  show  thee ;  thy  el- 
ders, and  they  will  tell  thee,"  was  most  interest- 
ing and  the  keystone  of  the  past.  I  remember  as  I 
sat  in  the  old  house  and  all  the  citizens  for  miles 
around  were  assembled  on  so  important  a  day  (many 
present  on  that  occasion  have  passed  away),  looking 
around  upon  the  congregation  now  assembled  for  the 
last  time  in  pews  which  they  had  occupied  for  so  many 
years,  to  be  occupied  no  more  forever. 

After  the  present  edifice  was  completed,  April  3, 
1862,  the  remains  of  Rev.  Mr.  VVoodruft'  and  wife  were 
buried  under  the  tower  of  the  new  church,  and  the 
tablet  placed  on  the  wall  of  the  vestibule,  "  Remem- 
ber the  days  of  old." 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Picton  resigned  in  1818,  after 
serving  the  church  for  fourteen  years,  and  was  followed 
soon  after  by  the  much-loved  Rev.  Alexander  C.  Era- 
ser, who  was  ordained  and  installed  June  20,  1819. 
During  his  pastorate  two  hundred  and  fifty-three  mem- 
bers were  added.  Of  the  deaths  and  baptisms  no  record 
has  been  found.  He  remained  for  seven  years,  when, 
in  1827,  Rev.  Edwin  Holt  was  called,  who  supplied 
for  some  two  years  with  acceptability.  A  letter  be- 
fore me  records  the  fact  that  Mr.  Holt  removed  to  the 
West,  and  became  pastor  of  a  church  at  Madison, 
Ind.,  when  by  ill  health  he  resigned.  He  died  at 
Evansville,  Ind.,  July  2, 1854,  after  a  short  and  severe 
illness.  He  was  a  native  of  New  London,  Conn. 
The  seventh  pastor,  the  Rev.  James  M.  Huntting,  was 
settled  in  1832,  and  resigned  his  charge  in  1849.  Since 
then  he  has  been  a  successful  teacher  of  a  select  clas- 
sical school  at  Jamaica,  L.  I.  His  untiring  activity 
and  Christian  devotedness  in  the  cause  of  religion 
and  the  prosperity  of  this  church  are  worthy  of  a 
grateful  remembrance  in  the  annals  of  this  parish. 
He  still  lives.  From  a  letter  from  him  a  few  days 
since  it  is  evident  that  he  still,  in  his  declining  years,  j 
feels  a  deep  interest  in  the  welfare  of  Westfield,  and 
speaks  of  many  by  name,  desiring  to  be  remembered. 
During  his  pastorate  of  over  seventeen  years  nearly 
four  hundred  became  members,  many  of  whom  still 
live  and  form  a  large  part  of  the  present  membership. 
The  Rev.  Edward  B.  Edgar  was  called  April  23,  1860, 
as  their  pastor,  and  resigned  in  1873.  Some  two 
hundred  were  added,  a  large  number  baptized,  and 
the  interest  of  the  temporal  as  well  as  the  spiritual 
affairs  were  zealously  cared  for  during  this  ministry. 
The  old  church,  which  had  stood  as  a  sort  of  moral 
light-house  for  nearly  seventy  years,  and  which  had 
been  the  spiritual  birthplace  of  so  many,  was  finally 
demolished.  Mr.  Edgar's  deep  interest  in  the  beauti-  ' 
ful  church  now  built,  and  dedicated  March  26,  1862, 


has  been  referred  to.  Rev.  George  Potts,  D.D., 
preached  the  sermon  on  the  occasion.  Many  who 
assisted  Mr.  Edgar  in  his  efforts  have  passed  to  their 
reward.  I  may  mention  the  names  of  a  few :  Gid- 
eon Ross,  Clark  Scudder,  Squire  Pierson,  William 
Clark,  Isaac  French,  Ephraini  Clark.  They  have  left 
a  lasting  remembrance  for  their  love  of  the  church 
of  their  fathers.  I  find  in  the  closing  part  of  the 
sermon  preached  in  the  old  church  on  the  last  Sab- 
bath of  its  occupation  the  following  beautiful  and 
pathetic  reminder  of  the  conflict  that  we  were  pass- 
ing through  at  that  time  in  our  country's  history, 
as  follows  :  "  The  smiles  of  God  upon  the  new  church 
enterprise  must  not  be  forgotten.  God  has  been  with 
us.  We  recognize  him  in  the  time  when  we  laid  the 
foundations  and  committed  ourselves  to  the  work. 
We  recognize  him  in  the  safety  of  all  who  have  la- 
bored for  us.  We  recognize  him  in  our  united  coun- 
sels and  harmonious  action.  We  recognize  him  in 
the  mind  the  people  have  had  for  the  work.  We 
recognize  him  in  affording  us  the  means  to  carry  it  on 
during  this  year  of  national  distress.  In  this  recogni- 
tion of  God's  presence  and  mercy  we  lay  at  his  feet 
our  tribute  of  gratitude  and  praise." 

Rev.  Alexander  McKelvey,  after  a  pastorate  of  a 
little  over  two  years  (he  following  Rev.  Mr.  Edgar), 
resigned  in  the  fall  of  1876,  and  is  now  pa.stor  of  the 
Canal  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York  City. 
Under  his  administration  106  persons  were  added  to 
the  roll  of  membership,  81  on  examination  and  25  by 
letter.  Through  his  instrumentality  the  fine  Jardine 
organ,  worth  $3000,  was  procured  for  the  church  at 
an  actual  cost  of  $2200. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  William  H.  Gill,  began 
his  oflicial  duties  on  the  second  Sabbath  of  January, 
1878,  and  was  duly  installed  on  the  25th  of  the  same 
month.  The  following  statistics,  as  reported  to  the 
General  Assembly,  show  the  results  of  church  work 
during  these  two  years:  sittings,  800;  membership,. 
250  ;  Sunday-school  scholars,  350  ;  amount  raised  for 
salary,  repairs,  rent,  parsonage,  Sunday-school  ex- 
penses, etc.,  since  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr.  Gill  is 
nearly  $10,000;  of  this  amount  Mrs.  Kale  B.  High 
gives  $650  to  a  church  in  Illinois. 

The  ofliciary  of  this  church  are.  May,  1880  :  Ruling 
Elders,  Evert  M.  Pierson,  Levi  Cory,  Charles  Pier- 
son,  James  T.  Pierson,  E.  W.  Boyden,  Hiram  L.  Fink, 
William  W.  Baker  ;  Deacon,  Henry  Baker;  Trustees, 
Edward  Harrison,  Samuel  E.  Young,  Jacob  S.  Ring, 
Daniel  G.  Fink,  Alexander  S.  Clark,  Levin  H.  Dun- 
kin;  Sexton,  David  Crouch. 

We  find  the  following  pastors  who  have  labored  in 
this  church  :  Rev.  Nathaniel  Hubbel,  1730,  resigned 
1745;  Rev.  John  Grant,  1750,  died  1753;  Rev.  Ben- 
jamin Woodruff,  1759,  died  1803  ;  Rev.  Thomas  Pic- 
ton, 1805,  resigned  1818  ;  Rev.  Alex.  Eraser,  1819,  re- 
signed 1826;  Rev.  Edwin  Holt,  1827,  resigned  18.30; 
Rev.  James  M.  Huntting,  1832,  resigned  1849  ;  Rev. 
Edward  B.  Edgar,  1850,  resigned  1873. 


338 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Thus  it  appears  that  this  old  church  has  had  eight 
pastors  to  the  above  date,  besides  many  supplies  prior 
to  the  settlement  of  the  parish,  1730.  The  following 
have  filled  offices  as  elders  and  deacons  prior  to  1761 : 
John  Davis,  John  Woodruff,  John  Cory,  Samuel 
Hinds,  Zeliulon  Jennings,  John  Crane,  Jr.,  Samuel 
Yeomans  ;  and  since  the  year  1768,  John  Meeker, 
Andrew  Hetfield,  William  Pierson,  Sr.,  Mattliia.s  Het- 
field,  Joseph  Acken,  John  Miller,  Caleb  Maxfield, 
Jacob  Davis,  Ezekiel  Ross,  John  Dunham,  William 
Pierson,  Jr.,  Charles  Clark,  George  Frazee ;  and  Sept. 
10,  1820,  William  Baker,  Samuel  Cory,  Charles  C. 
Williams,  Samuel  Downer,  Andrew  H.  Clark,  Ben- 
jamin Cory,  John  High,  Jr.,  Amos  Laing,  James 
Ryno ;  from  June  3,  1832,  Edward  Frazee,  Squire 
Pierson,  Henry  Baker,  Jacob  Baker,  William  Clark, 
Jr.,  Ebenezer  Connet,  Isaac  H.  Pierson  ;  from  July 
12,  1846,  Isaac  French,  Ephraim  Clark,  Jotham  Wil- 
liams ;  from  Dec.  24, 1854,  Joseph  Cory,  Charles  Pier- 
son, Francis  R.  Baker,  Everet  Pierson. 

The  landed  property  of  this  parish  was  once  exten- 
sive and  valuable,  being  three  hundred  acres,  pre- 
sented by  nine  men,  viz. :  John  Crane,  William  Miller, 
Jonathan  Marsh,  John  Scudder,  and  it  is  supposed 
James  Badgley,  John  Davis,  Isaac  Frazee,  Joseph 
Mills,  and  Daniel  Ross.  These  lands  were  given 
about  the  year  1802.  I  find  that  many  legacies  were 
left  in  the  wills  of  the  early  settlers  to  this  church. 
It  is  always  desirable  that  others  should  remember 
their  fathers  in  the  same  acts  of  love,  the  interest  to 
be  used  annually  for  the  support  of  the  gospel. 

I  find  many  interesting  incidents  connected  with 
this  historical  church  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  but 
I  must  close  with  an  extract  from  Rev.  James  M. 
Huntting's  sermon,  preached  Jan.  1,  1839,  of  which 
but  few  copies  can  now  be  found  : 

".Since  your  ancestora  came  to  this  pliice  four  generations  of  men 
have  been  nuniltered  with  ttie  dead.  Not  only  have  the  Indians  who 
,t]ien  roamed  tlirough  the  forest  here  all  sunk  away  among  the  dead, 
but  so  have  all  those  who  purchased  and  subdued  their  lands.  And  now 
a  fifth  generation  linger  here  and  there  at  great  distances  from  each 
other, 'who  ntther  sigli  and  groan  than  live,' while  all  between  them 
have  fallen.  On  some  of  our  roads  they  have  to  look  each  way  for  miles 
to  find  only  a  few  of  the  companions  of  their  youth.  Several  thousand 
have  died  here  since  the  place  was  settled.  Do  we  ask  where  are  the 
fathers  of  this  church  and  congregation  ?  Where  are  the  pastors  and 
the  people  who  preaclied  and  heard  (he  gospel  here,  and  planted  gospel 
ordinances  where  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  were  wielded,  and 
where  the  wild  beasts  of  file  forest  grazed  or  preyed  on  each  other? 
The  answer  is  all,  all  are  covered  by  the  clods  of  the  valley,  and  we  are 
quickly  following  them.  Where  are  the  men  who  would  go  on  foot  to 
Glizatiethtown  from  Sabbath  to  Sabbath  to  hear  the  gospel  if  they  could 
nut  hear  it  nealer?     Do  tliey  exist  here  at  present? 

" '  Not  but  the  huniiin  fabric  from  the  birth 
Imbibes  the  flavor  of  ita  parent  earth  ; 

The  manners  apeak  the  idiom  of  their  soil. 
An  iron  race  the  mountain  cliffs  maintain, 
Foes  to  the  gentler  genius  of  the  plain.'  " 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— In  the  year  1849 
a  few  families  residing  in  this  township  by  the  name 
of  Benjamin  Marsh,  Elihu  Mott,  Benjamin  Willcox, 
C.   A.  Leveridge,  Nathaniel  R.  Day,  and  David  M. 


Woodruff  desiring  to  have  the  services  of  the  Metho- 
dist preacher  at  Plainfield  to  come  on  a  Sabbath 
afternoon  and  hold  services  at  the  residence  of  C.  A. 
Leveridge,  Esq.,  the  Rev.  William  E.  Perrj'  con- 
sented to  supply,  which  he  did  during  the  summer 
and  fall  of  1849.  The  following  year  Westfield  and 
Springfield  were  joined  together,  when  the  Rev.  T.  T. 
Canipfield  was  appointed  in  charge,  and  organized 
the  first  class  of  eleven  members.  In  the  fall  of  1850, 
Rev.  William  H.  Nelson  was  sent,  and  two  rooms  at 
the  residence  of  John  M.  Clark,  Esq.,  were  fitted 
up  for  regular  services.  The  congregation  increasing 
arrangements  were  made  for  building  a  church,  when 
a  fine  lot  of  ground  was  offered  by  the  late  Matthias 
Clark,  Esq.,  and  accepted,  and  arrangements  were 
made  to  build  a  frame  church  thirty -six  by  fifty  feet. 
In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  Rev.  T.  T.  Camp- 
field  was  returned  by  the  Conference,  and  efforts 
were  put  forth  and  the  church  was  completed  and 
dedicated.  The  late  Bishop  Edwin  J.  Janes  preached 
the  dedicatory  sermon.  The  whole  cost  of  church 
and  improving  the  grounds  was  three  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars.  The  membership  had  increased  up 
to  this  time  to  twenty-seven.  The  Rev.  T.  T.  Camp- 
field  remained  on  the  charge  until  the  following 
spring,  when  the  Rev.  James  Harris,  who  was  a 
transfer  to  New  Jersey  Conference  from  Atlanta, 
Ga.  In  the  spring  of  1857  Rev.  B.  O.  Parvin  came, 
and  remained  for  two  years.  The  following  have 
been  sent  by  the  Conference  (at  this  time  its  mem- 
bership had  increased  to  seventy-two  members) :  Rev. 
J.  Kowins,  Jacob  F.  Dodd,  Joseph  H.  James,  Theo- 
dore D.  Frazee,  Garritt  R.  Vanhorne,  Thomas  E. 
Everitt,  John  Davis,  R.  B.  Collins,  C.  S.  Ryman, 
Elihu  Grant,  Henry  51.  Simpson.  John  I.  Boswell, 
Alexander  Craig,  Thomas  H.  Smith,  and  Warren  L. 
Hoagland,  the  present  pastor.  In  the  year  1863  a 
fine  Sabbath-school  room  was  built  in  the  rear  of  the 
church,  twenty-four  by  forty-six  feet,  for  their  in- 
creasing school.  Mr.  James  R.  Ferris  has  held  the 
position  of  superintendent  for  nearly  all  the  time 
since  the  organization  of  this  Sabbath-school,  and 
the  church  had  increased  in  membership  of  about 
ninety,  when  in  the  year  1873  it  was  decided  to  build 
a  larger  church.  A  meeting  was  called  and  plans 
were  exhibited  for  adoption.  Benjamin  Ham  and 
James  R.  Ferris  were  appointed  upon  the  building 
committee.  It  was  decided  to  occupy  the  same 
ground  ;  money  was  raised,  and  a  beautiful  church 
edifice  was  erected,  with  an  audience-room  to  accom- 
modate some  five  hundred  persons,  having  lecture-  and 
class-rooms,  parlor,  and  pastor's  study  on  the  first  floor, 
a  fine  cellar  for  heating  apparatus,  making  the  whole 
comfortable  in  extreme  weather.  The  whole  cost 
was  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  is  free  from  debt. 
The  present  membership  is  one  hundred  and  eighty, 
with  a  Sabbath-school  of  two  hundred  and  four. 

In  the  year  1869  a  double  lot  was  secured  in  the 
rear  of  the  church,  and  a  comfortable  parsonage  was 


(^^^^u<^  ^^^ 


Au2A^<^'<n''^^ 


TOWNSHIP  OF   WESTFIELD. 


339 


erected.  The  oldest  member  of  the  church  at  the 
present  is  Josiah  Ferris,  in  his  ninety-second  year, 
who  has  held  responsible  official  relation  to  the 
church  for  years  as  trustee,  class-leader,  and  steward. 

The  African  Methodist  Episcopal  Zion  Church 
was  organized  with  thirty  members  in  the  fall  of  the 
year  1879,  John  Williams  and  Henry  Nelson  and  a 
few  others  interesting  themselves  in  collecting  the 
colored  people  of  Westfield  together.  They  seem  to 
be  a  prosperous  society.  The  Rev.  Valentine  Buck, 
a  Methodist  clergyman  of  the  New  York  East  Con- 
ference, has  assisted  them  in  their  efforts  to  establish 
regular  services  on  the  Sabbath.  Rev.  Thomas  Har- 
ris, presiding  elder,  has  the  .supervision  of  this  society. 

Grace  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— This  so- 
ciety was  organized  .July  2,  1867,  at  the  homestead 
residence  of  Rev.  Philemon  E.  Coe,  who  fitted  up  his 
large  hall  with  temporary  altar,  organ,  and  other 
requisites  for  the  use  of  a  congregation,  and  here  the 
society  worshiped  for  some  years.  The  festivals  of 
Christmas  and  Easter  were  duly  observed,  the  rector 
(Rev.  Mr.  Coe)  sparing  no  pains  to  provide  attractive 
music  and  all  needed  accessories.  After  a  few  years 
of  this  voluntary  service  Mr.  Coe  died  of  malignant 
smallpox,  contracted  while  kindly  visiting  and  pray- 
ing with  a  neighbor  dying  of  this  disease. 

In  his  will  Rev.  Mr.  Coe  donated  to  the  society  the 
plot  of  ground  upon  which  the  present  church  edifice 
stands.  It  is  a  beautiful  elevation,  centrally  located 
upon  the  main  thoroughfare.  Broad  Street.  The 
corner-stone  was  laid  .July  3,  1874.  It  is  a  pretty 
Gothic  frame  building,  forty  by  sixty  feet,  containing 
two  hundred  and  fifty  sittings.  The  successive  rec- 
tors have  been  Rev.  Harris  C.  Rush  and  the  present 
incumbent,  Rev.  Thomas  Drum,  M.D.  The  congre- 
gation now  comprises  forty  families,  forty-three  com- 
municants, and  is  zealous,  and  hopeful  for  the  future. 

Congregational  Church. — This  is  a  new  church 
organization  of  tlie  Congregational  Church  of  Christ, 
and  was  organized  June,  1880.  They  were  supplied 
with  regular  services,  which  are  held  in  the  ^Eolian 
Hall,  until  the  Rev.  Henry  Neill  became  their  stated 
pastor  a  few  months  ago. 

They  are  expecting  to  build  a  frame  church  in  the 
Queen  Anne  style  of  architecture,  and  to  cost  between 
six  thousand  and  eight  thousand  dollars.  They  have 
secured  lots  eligibly  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  village 
on  Elmer  Street  near  Broad  Street.  The  church  will 
have  audience-room,  parlor,  and  school-room  so  ar- 
ranged that  they  can  be  all  opened  in  one,  making 
for  extra  occasions  a  well-ventilated  audience  room. 

Membership,  70 ;  sittings,  275 ;  teachers  in  Sab- 
bath-school, 12;  Sabbath-school  scholars,  75. 

Baptist  Church. — This  church  is  situated  on  Elm 
Street,  about  the  centre  of  the  village  ;  organized  in 
1866.  They  have  had  a  number  of  pastors.  Rev. 
Charles  A.  Haris  served  them  for  a  few  years,  until 
by  broken  health  resigned  in  the  fall  of  1879,  and  for 
a   few   months   they   were   supplied.     The   Rev.    A. 


Graves,  who  has  resided  here  for  many  years,  has 
done  much  for  this  feeble  church  from  its  first  start, 
laboring  for  its  extension,  and  holding  meeting  with 
considerable  success.  The  present  pastor,  Rev.  E.  H. 
Bronson,  came  in  May,  1880,  from  Aurora,  111.  The 
building,  a  frame,  costing  about  six  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars;  sittings,  350;  membership,  117; 
Sabbath-school  teachers,  13;  scholars,  125. 

Holy  Trinity  Church. — This  church  was  organ- 
ised in  1870  by  a  few  Roman  Catholic  families  who 
resided  in  the  township.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kinnard  held 
mass  for  a  time  in  a  building  fitted  up  for  the  purpose, 
and  soon  lots  were  secured  in  the  southerly  part  of 
the  town  of  Westfield,  on  lands  originally  belonging 
to  the  estate  of  Theophilus  Pierson,  and  soon  a  neat 
frame  structure  was  erected  with  belfry  at  a  cost  of 
about  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  The  fol- 
lowing pastors  have  been  in  here :  Father  Kinnard, 
Father  Connerly,  Father  Morris,  now  of  Plainfield, 
Father  Mitchell,  Father  Daniels,  Father  Buerghman, 
Father  Weighert,  and  the  present  pastor,  the  Rev. 
Father  Berghman.  There  are  two  memorial  win- 
dows in  the  church  commemorating  the  deaths  of 
John  Stityard  and  Patrick  Bahn.  Sittings,  three  hun- 
dred ;  families  in  parish,  thirty-five.  The  first  trus- 
tees were  John  Fealy  and  Daniel  Conners,  and  the 
present  acting  trustee  is  Patrick  English. 

The  Westfield  Monitor.— On  the  23d  of  Decem- 
ber, 1880,  the  first  issue  of  a  regular  weekly  paper  by 
Sydney  Genung,  formerly  of  East  Madison,  N.  J., 
editor  and  publisher;  terras,  two  dollars  per  annum. 
In  his  salutatory  he  says, — 

**  To-day  we  launch  the  Westfield  Monitor  ou  what  we  trust  may  be  a 
career  of  usefulness  to  our  fellow-citizens  and  of  at  least  moderate  pros- 
perity to  its  publishers.  We  shall  treat  all  of  whom  we  may  have  occa- 
sion to  speak  with  judicial  fairness,  applauding  virtue  and  condemning 
vice  in  public  places  wherever  and  whenever  found.  .  .  .  We  propose 
this  shall  be  a  journal  for  all  the  people,  aud  believing  that  free  and 
open  discussion  is  the  surest  way  of  arriving  at  the  truth,  we  extend  to 
all  onr  readers  without  regard  to  party  or  sect  to  use  our  columns,  as  far 
as  our  time  and  space  will  permit,  to  express  their  views  on  all  subjects 
of  public  interest." 

Burial-Places. — The  oldest  cemetery  in  this  town- 
ship is  the  Presbyterian,  and  it  is  as  old  as  the  first 
log  church,  which  was  built  about  1720.  The  oldest 
date  on  a  headstone  appears  to  be  in  memory  of 

"Noah, 

the  son  of  Wm.  A 

Hannah  Miller, 

died 

A.v.  1730,  aged 

6  weeks." 

"  In  memory 

of 

Baltus  Roll 

who 

was  murdered  Feb.  22, 

1830, 

in  the  62  year  of  bis 

age. 

Ye  friends  that  weep  around  my  grave, 

Compose  your  minds  to  rest. 
Prepare  with  me  for  sudden  death, 
And  live  forever  bleat." 


340 


HISTOKY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  graves  of  two  persons  are  remarked  here  who 
died  at  the  unusual  age  of  one  hundred  and  one  years, 
viz. : 

"Sarah  CoUiuB,  "Samuel  Bowuer^ 

Died  June  18,  Died  Oct.  22, 

1S68,  1824, 

Aged  101  yre.  Aged  101  yrs." 
3  me." 

The  two  rough  stones  that  stand  close  to  the  fence 
are  of  the  Cranes  : 


"A.  C. 
1759." 


"S.  C. 
1749." 


Stephen  Crane,  died  1794,  was  the  son  of  Stephen 
Crane,  and  he  married  Annie  Williatns ;  died  1759  ; 
had  three  children. 

"  Gideon  Roes, 

Born 

Jan.  7,  1794. 

Died 
Dec.  22,  1861." 

"  Capt.  John  Scudder, 

deceased  y  26  Feb.  a.b.,  1777, 

77  year." 

"  ThiB  Stone 

is  erected 

to  the  memory 

of  Doctor 

Joseph  Quimby, 

who  departed  this 

Life  March  26, 

183.S, 
in  his  66  year." 

Fairview  Cemetery. — The  organization  of  the 
Fairview  Cemetery  Association  was  perfected  on  the 
13th  of  January,  1868,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  a 
general  statute  of  this  State,  and  a  certificate  was 
duly  filed  with  the  county  clerk  constituting  the  asso- 
ciation a  legally  corporate  body.  The  following  were 
elected  the  first  board  of  trustees :  Chauncey  B.  Rip- 
ley, F.  A.  Kinch,  M.D.,  Matthias  Clark,  Moses  T. 
Crane,  A.  A.  Drake,  J.  M.  C.  Marsh,  Squire  Pier- 
son,  J.  Q.  Dudley,  William  Stitt,  Rev.  Philemon  E. 
Coe,  Joshua  Brown,  and  Joseph  Mofiett. 

The  cemetery  grounds  are  located  on  the  public 
road  leading  from  Westfield  to  Springfield,  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  from  the  station  of  the  Central  Rail- 
road, in  Westfield,  and  about  the  same  distance  from 
Crauford  station,  convenient  for  each  village,  and  at 
the  same  time  not  too  far  for  the  accommodation  of 
Springfield. 

The  cemetery  embraces  an  elevation  of  land  for- 
merly owned  by  Mr.  John  R.  Miller,  containing 
more  than  seventeen  acres,  and  long  known  as  Mount 
Pleasant,  commanding  a  view  of  the  surrounding 
country  for  many  miles  distant  in  every  direction. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  1868,  the  cemetery 
grounds  were  solemnly  dedicated. 

The  following  gentlemen  compose  the  board  of 
trustees:  Evert  M.  Pierson,  jiresident;  Effingham 
Emery,  treasurer;  Edgar  Pearsal,  secretary;  James 
R.  Ferris,  William  Wood,  James  T.  Pearson,  Gideon 
Ludlow,  Moses  T.  Crane,  E.  H.  Bronson,  Daniel  G. 


Fink,  Atwater,  and  William  W.  Connerly,  su- 
perintendent of  the  grounds  and  outlays. 
j  The  private  burial-ground  of  Mr.  Jacob  Miller, 
!  deceased,  is  on  the  road  from  Branch  Mills  to  Crau- 
ford, adjoining  Mr.  G.  W.  Pierson's  (arms.  The 
whole  plot  has  been  laid  out  and  a  number  of  inter- 
ments made,  including  Mr.  Jacob  Miller. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


JOHN  MILLER. 
Mr.  Miller  was  of  English  stock,  his  grandfather 
having  been  Enoch  Miller,  who  resided  in  Westfield 
township,  married  and  had  fifteen  children,  among 
whom  was  a  son  Enoch,  who  also  resided  in  the 
township,  where  he  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Ross,  of  the  same  locality.  Their  children  were 
Anna,  David,  Rebecca,  John,  Hannah,  Jacob,  Enoch 
(1st),  Enoch  (2d),  Keziah,  Moses,  Stites,  Abner,  Eli- 
jah, Eliza,  and  Josiah.  John  of  this  number  was 
born  March  22,  1790,  in  Westfield,  where  his  boy- 
hood was  spent.  His  early  years  were  devoted  to 
attendance  at  the  neighboring  public  school,  after 
which  he  engaged  in  agricultural  employments. 
His  attention  was  specially  directed  to  the  cultiva- 
tion of  peppermint,  the  oil  from  which  was  distilled 
by  him.  He  meanwhile  acquired  the  farm  which  is 
the  present  residence  of  his  widow  and  son,  and  made 
many  improvements  on  the  land.  Mr.  Miller  was  the 
first  cultivator  of  peppermint  in  central  and  western 
New  York,  large  fields  of  the  herb  having  been  raised 
and  utilized  by  him  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
Lyons,  N.  Y.  He  married  Miss  Betsey  Ross,  of 
Westfield,  and  had  children, — John  R.,  Charlotte, 
Keziah,  David,  and  James  H.  Mrs.  Miller  having 
died  Sept.  7,  1848,  he  was  again  married  to  Peninah 
W.,  daughter  of  Jonas  and  Eliza  Smith,  of  Orange, 
N.  J.  Their  only  son  is  Jonas  S.  Miller,  who  now 
resides  upon  the  farm.  Mr.  Miller  was  a  firm  Dem- 
ocrat in  politics,  but  in  no  manner  identified  with  the 
politics  of  the  county  or  township.  He  was  a  Pres- 
byterian in  religion  and  a  member  of  the  church  in 
Westfield.  His  death  occurred  Sept.  14,  1867,  in  his 
severity-seventh  year.  He  was  a  man  of  genial  tem- 
per, of  much  industry,  and  of  profound  judgment  in 
all  matters  of  public  or  private  interest.  His  life  was 
essentially  one  of  usefulness,  and  his  death  a  source  of 
genuine  sorrow. 


WILLIAM    CLARK,  Jr. 

The  Clark  family  are  of  English  ancestry,  and,  as 
has  been  stated  elsewhere  in  this  volume,  intimately 
associated  with  the  struggle  for  American  independ- 
ence. 

William  Clark,   the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 


^^.  X  ^^.<^cl6U^ 


The  Scudder  family  arc  of  Kevohitionarv 
antecedents,  John  Scudder  having  been  a  captain 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution.  His  son, 
Captain  John,  married  Miss  Nancy  Woodruff, 
and  had  ('hildren, — Susan,  M'illiani,  Sarali  Ann, 
and  two  who  died  in  infancy.  Mr.  Scudder 
spent  his  life  on  tlie  farm  whicli  is  now  the 
property  of  liis  grandson.  His  son  William  was 
born  during  the  year  1709,  in  Westfield  town- 
shij),  where  his  life  was  spent  until  his  recent 
removal  to  the  home  of  his  son  in  Fanwood. 
.  He  married  Miss  JIary,  daughter  of  Zopher 
Hetfield,  and  had  children, — Isaac  F.,  Daniel 
S.,  and  one  whose  death  took  place  in  infancy. 
The  death  of  Mrs.  Scudder  occurred  in  the  year 
1874,  in  her  seventieth  year.  Their  son  Isaac 
F.  was  born  Dec.  27,  1822,  in  Westfield.  His 
early  years  were  spent  with  his  parents,  during 
which  time  he  attended   school.     He   later  as- 


sisted his  father  upmi  the  farm,  and  in  1819 
was  married  to  Miss  Margaret  P.,  daughter  <if 
John  and  Mary  Euders  Ludlow,  of  the  town- 
ship now  known  as  Fanwood,  Ijorn  Dec.  15, 
1828.  The  Euders  family  were  of  Holland 
descent,  and  the  Ludlows  of  English  ancestry. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scudder  have  had  three  children, 
— John  Ludlow  (decea.sed),  Isaac  Ludlow,  and 
John  William.  Mr.  Scudder  has  during  his 
active  life  been  a  thrifty  and  successful  farmer. 
He  is  a  Democrat  in  politics,  as  were  his  an- 
cestors before  him. 

He  has  held  the  offices  of  overseer  of  the  poor 
of  his  township,  collector,  and  member  of  the 
township  committee,  of  which  he  was  chairman 
during  the  late  civil  war,  and  rendered  valuable 
aid  in  filling  the  quota  of  Westfield  township. 
Both  INIr.  and  Mrs.  Scudder  are  members  of  the 
Westfield  Presbyterian  Church. 


^<r^^-e/wr 


The  French  family  are  of  English  descent, 
the  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
biographical  sketch,  wliose  name  was  Richard, 
having  been  the  father  of  a  son  Robert,  who 
served  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  where  lie 
endured  much  suifering.  He  married  and  had 
children,  six  in  number, — Isaac,  Abby,  Char- 
lotte, Abram,  Jacob,  and  Mary.  Robert  French 
resided  in  Springfield  township,  as  did  also  his 
ancestors.  Here  his  deatli  occurred  on  tiie  28th 
of  February,  1830.  His  son  Isaac  was  born 
in  1787,  and  spent  his  early  life  in  Springfield 
and  Westfield  townships.  He  ac<piired  the  trade 
of  a  carpenter,  and  also  followed  farming  occu- 
pations. He  was  married  to  ]\Iary  L.,  daughter 
of  Jacob  Davis,  the  latter  having  been  for  a 
])eriod  of  fifty-one  years  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Westfield.  They  had  children, 
— Robert,  Catherine  D.,  Jacob  D.,  and  Mary  D. 
Mr.  French  died  in  1872,  in  his  eighty-fifth 
year,  and  his  wife  survived  until  March  26, 
1879.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Westfield,  and  much  respected.   Their 


son  Robert,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
Sept.  24,  1814,  in  Westfield,  M'here  the  years  of 
his  boyhood  were  spent.  He  attended  the  village 
school,  and  at  a  later  period  began  the  labors 
incident  to  a  farmer's  life.  After  assisting  his 
father  for  several  years,  he  purchased  the  prop- 
erty which  is  his  present  home,  and  ultimately 
acquired  possession  of  the  homestead.  He  was, 
Nov.  2, 1836,  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Phebe, 
daughter  of  James  Mooney,  of  Westfield,  to 
whom  childi'en  were  born, — Mary  E.  (Mrs. 
Joseph  H.  Clark),  Isaac  H.,  Richard  N.,  James 
M.,  Josephine  (deceased),  and  Robert  M. 

Mr.  French  was  formerly  a  Democrat  in 
politics,  but  was  induced  to  change  his  views 
and  become  a  Republiam.  He  is  not  a  seeker 
after  office,  and  cares  little  for  the  lionors  of 
public  life.  He  is  a  stanch  Presbyterian,  and 
has  been  for  fifty  years  a  member  of  the 
dinrch  at  Westfield,  of  which  he  was  for 
thirty-three  successive  years  a  trustee.  Mrs, 
French's  members]) ij)  extends  over  the  same 
period  of  time. 


TOWNSHIP   OF   WESTFIELD. 


341 


biographical  sketch,  was  born  in  1756,  and  married  to 
Miss  Sarah  Hatfield,  who  became  the  mother  of  eight 
children,  among  whom  was  William,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred Jan.  31,  1789,  on  the  homestead  in  Westfield. 
Here  his  early  life  was  spent,  which  was  principally 
devoted  to  attendance  at  the  district  school  of  the 
neighborhood,  or  the  more  superior  advantages  of 
instruction  offered  at  Westfield  village.  He  deter- 
mined later  to  follow  the  healthful  pursuit  of  an 
agriculturist,  and  eventually  succeeded  the  man- 
agement of  the  farm.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Miss  Margaret  Fitz  Randolph,  of  New  York  City, 
and  became  the  parent  of  children,— Stewart  F., 
Hanson  Cox,  Sarah  H.,  Kate  B.  (Mrs.  High),  and 
Emily  S.  Mrs.  Clark  having  died,  Mr.  Clark  was 
again  married  to  Miss  Mary,  daughter  of  William 
Lewis,  of  Morristown,  N.  J.,  and  had  children, — 
Louisa  C.  (Mrs.  George  L.  Richards)  and  Alfred  V. 
William  Clark,  Jr.,  inherited  the  patriotic  impulses 
of  his  father,  and  organized  a  company  for  the  war 
of  1812.  He  was  in  politics  a  Republican,  though 
in  early  life  the  platform  of  the  Democratic  party 
obtained  his  loyal  support.  Though  averse  to  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  office,  he  was  for  years  justice  of  the 
peace  of  Westfield  township.  He  was  a  Presbyterian 
in  his  religious  convictions,  for  ten  years  a  deacon, 
and  for  thirty  years  an  elder,  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Westfield.  Mr.  Clark  was  a  man  whose 
influence  for  good  was  very  apparent  in  the  commu- 
nity. All  religious  interests  found  in  him  a  cordial 
sympathizer,  and  the  cause  of  education  a  firm  and 
active  friend.  He  was  couciliatory  in  temper,  gentle 
in  his  nature,  and  possessed  broad  and  charitable 
views  on  all  matters  of  general  import.  The  death 
of  Mr.  Clark  occurred  June  9,  1869,  his  wife  having 
died  previously.  His  daughters,  Mrs.  High  and  Mrs. 
Richards,  are  the  only  surviving  children. 

OLIVER    M.  PIERSON. 

Three  brothers  named  respectively  David,  William, 
and  Sylvanus  Pierson  settled  in  Westfield  township. 
The  former,  who  was  the  grandfather  of  Oliver  M., 
was  by  trade  a  tailor.  He  married  and  had  children, — 
Theophilus,  John,  and  a  daughter  who  became  Mrs. 
Wade.  Mr.  Pierson  died  and  was  buried  in  the  town- 
ship. His  son  John  served  with  credit  in  the  war  of 
1812,  where  he  held  a  captain's  commission.  The- 
ophilus was  born  Aug.  9,  1791,  in  Westfield,  where 
his  early  life  was  passed.  He  decided  upon  the  ac- 
quirement of  a  trade,  and  on  removing  to  New  York 
chose  that  of  a  mason,  which  he  followed,  after  he  had 
decided  upon  Savannah,  Ga.,  as  a  place  of  residence. 
He  married  Nancy  Mooney,  of  Cranford,  and  had  one 
son,  Oliver  M. 

Mrs.  Pierson  died  April  1,  1821,  and  Mr.  Pierson 
married  Fanny  Clark,  of  Westfield,  whose  children 
were  Hattie  C,  Jonas,  Edwin  H.,  Eliza,  John, 
Homer  C,  George  H.,  and  Theophilus  S.    Mrs.  Pier- 


son having  died  April  23,  1841,  he  was  again  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Abigail  Connet,  since  deceased.  Mr. 
Pierson  located  in  Westfield,  where  his  death  occurred 
May  2,  1853. 

Oliver  M.  was  born  Dec.  20,  1820,  in  New  York, 
and  has  spent  his  life  in  Westfield.  He  at  first  at- 
tended school  at  Westfield  village,  and  afterwards 
assisted  his  father  on  the  farm,  upon  whose  death  he 
came  into  possession  of  the  property.  He  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  16,  1853,  to  Miss  Sarah,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam Cory.  Their  children  have  been  Mary,  David 
T.,  Mary  C,  George  O.,  William  R.,  deceased,  Edwin, 
also  deceased,  and  Hettie  M. 

Mr.  Pierson  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  al- 
though not  an  ofiice-seeker,  has  been  a  member  of  the 
Township  Committee  of  Westfield.  He  devotes  his 
time  and  energies  principally  to  farm  labor. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pierson  are  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  at  Westfield,  as  is  also  their 
daughter  Mary. 

ANDREW    H.  CLARK. 

The  progenitor  of  the  branch  of  the  Clark  family 
represented  by  this  biographical  sketch  was  Samuel 
Clark,  who  emigrated  from  Herefordshire,  England, 
to  America  about  the  year  1680,  and  settled  on  Long 
Island.  After  a  brief  period  spent  at  the  latter  loca- 
tion he  removed  to  Westfield,  N.  J.,  where  his  re- 
maining years  were  passed.  With  him  came  two 
sons,  one  of  whom  was  Thomas,  whose  son  William 
was  the  father  of  Charles  Clark.  Among  the  cliil- 
dren  of  the  latter  was  William,  a  Revolutionary  sol- 
dier, who  was  confined  in  the  Old  Sugar-House  bastile 
in  New  York  City,  and  was  the  last  surviving  pris- 
oner of  that  memorable  band.  A  more  detailed 
sketch  of  William  Clark  will  be  found  elsewhere  in 
this  volume.  He  had  children,  seven  in  number,  of 
whom  Andrew  H.,  the  eldest,  was  born  July  12, 1786, 
at  Westfield,  where  his  early  and  later  years  were 
spent.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Rebecca,  daughter  of 
Enoch  Miller,  of  Westfield,  to  whom  were  born  chil- 
dren,— Sarah  H.  (Mrs.  Squire  Pierson),  Mary  (Mrs. 
Ellas  Mooney),  Henrietta  (Mrs. Samuel  Gray),  Caro- 
line, who  died  in  infancy  ;  Richard  Augustus,  of  Ohio; 
J.  Lawrence,  of  Westfield  ;  William  A.,  of  Trenton, 
N.  J. ;  and  Jabez,  deceased. 

Mr.  Clark's  early  political  associations  were  Demo- 
cratic. These  views  were  greatly  modified  during  the 
late  Rebellion,  and  the  principles  of  the  Republican 
party  cordially  indorsed  by  him. 

He  was  actively  identified  with  the  public  interests 
of  Westfield,  and  filled  at  various  times  the  offices  of 
justice  of  the  peace,  commissioner  of  deeds,  etc.  He 
was  also  elected  alderman  for  the  borough  of  Eliza- 
beth. Mr.  Clark  was  an  earnest  Presbyterian  in  his 
religious  views,  a  member  of  the  church  of  that  de- 
nomination in  Westfield,  and  for  forty  years  one  of 
its  ruling  elders.     He  was  a  man  of  devout  nature. 


342 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


zealous  in  all  good  works,  and  liberal  to  the  extent  of 
his  opportunities. 

The  religious  sentiment  grew  and  strengthened 
with  advancing  years,  and  his  seventy-seventh  year 
found  him  actively  engaged  in  Sunday-school  work 
and  the  instruction  of  a  large  Bible  class. 

Mr.  Clark  was  endowed  with  strong  force  of  char- 
acter, and  this  quality,  associated  with  much  native 
refinement  and  a  high  sense  of  honor,  enabled  him 
to  exerci.se  a  salutary  influence  in  the  community. 
Added  to  this  was  a  commanding  presence,  which  won 
deference  alike  from  friend  and  stranger. 

The  death  of  Andrew  H.  Clark  occurred  Oct.  19, 
1862,  in  the  fullness  of  years,  after  a  life  of  great 
purity  and  signal  usefulness. 


LEVI    CORY. 

Joseph  Cory,  the  grandfather  of  Levi,  whose  life 
is  here  briefly  reviewed,  was  of  Scotch  ancestry,  and 
resided  upon  the  land  now  owned  by  his  grandson. 
He  married  Margaret  Darby,  of  Scotch  Plains,  and 
had  children, — James,  Jonathan,  Levi,  Joseph,  Patty 
(Mrs.  Dunham),  Sarah  (Mrs.  Stites).  Mr.  Cory  fol- 
lowed the  pursuits  of  a  farmer  during  his  lifetime, 
and  died  on  the  homestead.  He  was  a  member  as 
well  as  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  West- 
field.  William  Cory,  his  son,  was  born  in  the  town- 
ship of  Westfield.  He  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpen- 
ter, but  afterwards  became  a  farmer,  and  died  during 
the  year  1866,  aged  eighty-two  years.  He  married 
Charity,  daughter  of  Jonathan  I.  Baker,  of  Westfield, 
and  had  children, — Keziah  B.,  Margaret  D.  (Mrs. 
Ephraim  Clark),  Jonathan,  Levi,  Mary,  Sarah  (Mrs. 
O.  M.  Pearson),  and  Joseph.  His  son  Levi  was  born 
July  2,  1819,  on  the  ancestral  property,  where  the 
years  of  his  boyhood  were  spent.  Westfield  village 
at  that  time  afforded  opportunities  for  acquiring  such 
an  education  as  was  usually  given  the  children  of  the 
vicinity,  after  which  he  for  a  period  of  seven  years 
assisted  his  grandfather  upon  the  farm.  He  then  re- 
turned to  the  land  which  is  his  present  home,  of 
which  he  became  owner  in  1867.  He  was,  Feb.  12, 
1851,  married  to  Miss  Harriet  B.,  daughter  of  Job 
Clark,  of  Rahway.  Mr.  Cory  has  always  devoted 
himself  to  the  labors  of  an  agriculturist,  and  has 
rarely  engaged  in  business  of  an  official  or  public 
character.  He  is  a  Republican  in  politics,  and  has 
served  as  member  of  the  township  committee  of 
Westfield.  He  affiliates  in  religion  with  the  Presby- 
terians, and  is  an  eldfer  of  the  church  of  that  denomi- 
nation in  Westfield. 


JOSEPH   CORY. 
The   Cory    family   are   of    Scotch     descent,   four 
brothers  having  before  the   period  of   the  Revolu- 
tionarv   war  settled  in   New  Jersev.     One  of  these 


brothers  served  in  the  Canadian  war,  during  which  he 
contracted  an  illness  that  proved  fatal. 

Among  them  wa.s  John,  the  great-grandfather  of 
the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch,  who  .settled 
in  Elizabeth,  and  whose  son  Jonathan  located  in 
Westfield  township,  on  land  now  occupied  by  Joseph 
Cory.  He  married  and  had  children, — Benjamin, 
Samuel,  Joseph,  Andrew,  and  three  daughters. 
Samuel  and  Joseph  served  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution,  and  were  received  with  great  demonstra- 
tions of  joy  on  their  return.  The  death  of  Jonathan 
Cory  occurred  on  the  farm  which  had  been  his  lifetime 
residence.  His  son  Benjamin  was  born  Sept.  4,  1769, 
on  the  homestead,  and  married  Miss  Susanna,  daugh- 
ter of  Christopher  Denman,  who  had  children, — 
Samuel,  Jamas  M.,  a  physician,  Christopher,  a  cler- 
gyman, Benjamin,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  Polly  (Mrs. 
Freeland),  Abby  (Mrs.  Bruuner),  and  Susanna,  who 
died  in  childhood.  The  death  of  Benjamin  took  place 
at  his  home  on  the  11th  of  April,  1851.  The  birth 
of  his  son  Joseph,  whose  life  is  here  briefly  reviewed, 
occurred  Sept.  2,  1809,  and  the  years  of  his  boyhood 
were  spent  under  the  ancestral  roof  At  the  age  of 
nineteen  be  repaired  to  New  York  and  acquired  the 
trade  of  a  stone-cutter;  but  the  advancing  years  of 
his  parents  soon  after  influenced  his  return,  when  he 
devoted  his  energies  to  the  cultivation  of  the  farm. 
He  was  in  1852  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Margaret, 
daughter  of  James  Mooney,  of  Westfield,  to  whom 
was  born  one  son,  Joseph  W.,  who  resides  at  home. 
Mr.  Cory  is  in  politics  a  stanch  Republican,  having 
formerly  fraternized  with  the  Whig  party.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Cory  and  their  son  are  members  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Westfield,  and  actively  devoted  to 
its  interests.  The  ibrmer  was  elected  an  elder  in  1854, 
and  still  serves  in  that  capacity. 


SQUIRE   PIERSON. 

The  Pierson  family  are  of  English  extraction,  and 
for  successive  generations  have  resided  in  Westfield 
township.  The  grandfather  of  Squire  Pierson  was 
Moses,  who  had  among  his  children  a  son  Squire, 
whose  early  life  was  spent  in  Westfield.  Having  de- 
termined in  1816  to  explore  the  boundless  r&sources 
of  the  great  West,  he  ultimately  located  in  Butler 
County,  Ohio,  then  regarded,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
as  the  extreme  point  of  Western  civilization.  He 
married  a  Miss  De  Camp,  of  French  descent,  and  had 
children, — Moses,  Squire,  David,  Stephen,  Hiram, 
Mary,  Sally,  and  Rebecca. 

His  son  Squire,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born 
in  Westfield  township,  Oct.  1,  1796,  where  his  early 
life  was  passed.  At  the  period  of  his  father's  emigra- 
tion to  Ohio,  and  when  nineteen  years  of  age,  he  was 
apprenticed  to  Squire  Marsh  as  a  tailor.  Previous  to 
this  he  had  acquired  the  rudiments  of  an  education 
at  the  familiarly-known  "  Red  School-House"  in  Cran. 
ford  township,  and  at  the  houses  of  his  patrons.     He 


^. 


/tl^^^n}^  /^^^^t^A-^ 


Henry  Baker,  tlie  gnuulfather  of  the  subject 
of  this  biographical  sketch,  was  of  Welsh  de- 
scent, and  an  early  resident  of  Westtield  town- 
ship. He  married  and  had  children, — Daniel, 
Jonathan  I.,  William,  Henry,  Jeremiah,  and 
Phebe,  who  became  IMrs.  Ludlow. 

Daniel  Baker  was  born  June  3,  1753,  in 
Westfield,  where  his  life  was  spent.  He  served 
with  credit  during  the  whole  period  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary conflict,  and  was  in  1775  honored 
with  a  corporal's  position  in  his  company.  He 
was  married  to  Margaret,  daughter  of  Daniel 
(^sborn,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred July  14,  1760.  They  had  children,— 
David  O.,  born  in  1785;  Daniel,  whose  birth 
took  place  in  1790;  Hedges,  in  1792;  Cyrus, 
born  in  1795;  Henry,  in  1797;  Elihu,  in  1802; 
Mary,  in  1780;  Margaret,  in  1784;  Elizabeth, 
in  1789;  Prudence,  in  1794;  Hannah,  in  1800, 
and  Electa,  in  1804.  Of  this  number,  Daniel 
and  Henry  are  living. 

The  birth  of  the  latter  occurred  on  the  18th 
of  September,  1797,  in  Westfield  township, 
where  his  growing  yeai-s  were  spent.  He  was 
at  the  age  of  eighteen  apprenticed  to  Dennis 
D.  Tunison,  of  Rah  way,  as  a  wheelwright;  but 
on  concluding  his  period  of  service  he  I'eturned 


to  his  early  home  and  engaged  in  farming  pur- 
suits. He  was  married  on  the  27th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1820,  to  Miss  Mary  Ann  S.,  daughter  of 
John  and  Phebe  Radley,  of  Westfield.  They 
have  had  seven  children,  as  follows:  Courtland 
R.,  born  in  1821 ;  David  O.,  in  1823;  Elihu,  in 
1825;  Ann  Martin,  in  1827;  Henry  and  James 
(twins),  in  1834;  and  Jacob,  in  1842.  Of  this 
number  there  are  living  Elihu,  Henry  R.,  and 
Ann  M.  (Mrs.  Miller). 

Mr.  Baker  has  devoted  his  life  to  farming 
employments,  and  cared  little  for  the  excitements 
attending  a  more  public  career,  though  he  has 
served  as  a  member  of  the  township  committee 
of  his  township.  In  politics  he  was  formerly  a 
Democrat,  but  was  induced  to  change  his  views, 
and  later  became  a  Republican. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Baker  are  Presbyterians 
in  their  religious  belief,  and  have  been  since 
1819  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Westfield,  in  M'hich  the  former  was  ordained  an 
elder  in  1832,  and  is  now  serving  both  as  elder 
and  deacon. 

This  venerable  couple  have  entered  upon  the 
sixty-second  year  of  their  married  life,  and  are 
now  enjoying  in  their  comfortable  home  a  peace- 
ful and  happy  old  age. 


The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Parkliurst  was  Abram 
J.  Parkliiirst,  who  resided  in  IMilbuni,  Essex 
Co.,  where  he  was  both  a  farmer  and  a  manu- 
facturer of  pasteboard.  He  was  married  to 
Miss  Whiteliead,  of  Essex  County,  and  had 
cliildren, — Jonathan,  Ezra,  Charles,  David,  and 
Abby  (Mrs.  James  Wliite).  Mre.  Parkhurst 
having  died,  lie  married  Miss  Phebe  Traphagen, 
and  had  children, — Abram  J.  and  Sarah  (Mrs. 
J.  A.  R.  Simpson). 

His  son  Ezra  was  born  Feb.  22,  1799,  at 
Milburn,  where  his  life  wa.s  chiefly  spent. 

He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  Michel  Meeker,  of  Connecticut 
Farms,  and  had  children, — Charles  T.,  bom  in 
1830;  Aaron  M.,  in  18:52;  Almira,  iu  1823; 
Harriet,  in  1824;  Mary,  in  182G;  and  Susan 
C,  in  1828.  Mr.  Parkhurst  succeeded  to  the 
business  of  his  father,  and  established  mills 
upon  the  Passaic  River.  In  1854  he  re- 
moved to  the  Branch  Mills,  in  Union  town- 
ship, where  he  conducted  a  i)aper  manufacturing 
business  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Sej)t. 
25,  1872.  His  son  Aaron  M.  was  born  July 
8,   1832,  at  Milburn,  Essex  Co.,  anil  tlcvotcd 


his  boyhood  to  study,  after  which  he  became 
familiar  with  Ihe  business  of  paper-making, 
and  assisted  his  father  in  the  mills.  He  was 
married  to  Miss  Emma,  daughter  of  Samuel  C. 
Smith,  of  Essex  County,  whose  death  occurred 
within  a  year  of  her  marriage.  Mr.  Parkhurst 
was  a  second  time  married,  to  Miss  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Jacob  French,  of  Springtield, 
Union  Co.,  to  whom  were  born  children, — 
Anna  H.,  Sarah  K.,  and  Mabel  B.  Mrs. 
Parkhurst  died  March  23,  1880,  aud  Mr. 
Parkhurst  was,  on  the  28th  of  November,  1881, 
united  to  ^liss  Helen  Louisa,  daughter  of  Rev. 
Rodney  Winans,  of  Westfield. 

Both  Aaron  M.  and  Charles  T.  I'arkhurst 
are  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  j)asteboard, 
and  in  a  general  milling  business  in  West- 
field  township.  In  politics  the  subject  of  tliis 
biography  is  a  Republiciui,  but  the  cares  of 
an  increasing  business  prevent  active  partici- 
pation in  the  excitements  of  political  life.  Iu 
religion  Mr.  Parkhurst  espouses  the  tenets  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  being  both  elder  and 
trustee  of  tiie  church  of  that  denomination  iu 
Springfield. 


TOWNSHIP   OF   WESTFIELD. 


343 


later  purchased  the  house  of  Mr.  Marsh,  and  having 
added  more  land  made  it  his  home  during  his  life- 
time. 

He  married  March  30,  1817,  Miss  Abby,  daughter 
of  Charles  Marsh,  of  Westflekl,  and  had  children,— 
Orren,  Evert  M.,  James  T.,  Lyman  H.,  Sarah  Ann 
(Mrs.  Muchmore),  Mary  Eliza  (Mrs.  Smith),  Eveline 
(Mrs.  Miller),  and  Harriet,  who  is  deceased. 

Mr.  Pierson  was  in  his  political,  views  an  old-line 
Whig,  and  naturally  espoused  the  principles  of  the 
Republican  party  on  its  organization.  He  served  on 
the  Township  Committee  of  Westfield,  but  cared  little 
for  the  distinctions  of  office,  and  seldom  permitted 
his  name  to  be  used  as  a  candidate. 

The  ti\mily  have  ever  been  largely  identified  with 
church  interests,  Moses  Pierson  having  been  a  deacon 
of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Scotch  Plains,  Union  Co. 
Both  Squire  Pierson  and  his  wife  were  members  of 
the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Westfield,  in  which 
the  former  had  officiated  as  deacon  and  elder  for  a 
period  of  forty-six  years. 

Mr.  Pierson  filled  a  position  of  much  influence  in  the 
community.  In  his  business  relations  he  was  honor- 
able, and  governed  by  integrity  in  all  his  dealings. 
His  judgment  was  .unerring,  and  this  fact  in  many  in- 
stances caused  his  appointment  as  commissioner  in  the 
settlement  of  estates.  In  these  matters  his  wisdom 
and  integrity  were  conspicuous.  He  was  largely  in- 
strumental in  the  improvement  and  adornment  of 
Fiiirview  Cemetery,  and  devoted  much  of  his  leisure 
to  this  object. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Pierson  occurred  Dec.  23,  1878, 
and  his  portrait  is  contributed  as  a  tribute  of  filial 
regard  from  his  sons. 


WILLIAM   CLARK. 

The  ancestors  of  Mr.  Clark  were  of  English  lineage, 
but  the  exact  period  of  their  emigration  and  the  set- 
tlement of  the  family  in  New  Jersey  cannot  be  re- 
called. William  Clark,  the  subject  of  this  biographi- 
cal sketch,  was  born  in  Westfield  on  the  17th  of  June, 
1756.  He  at  the  age  of  seventeen  entered  the  Revo- 
lutionary service,  having  been  at  his  home  weaving 
when  the  sound  of  British  guns  inspired  his  heart 
with  patriotic  impulses  and  impelled  him  to  enrol! 
his  name  as  a  defender  of  his  country.  Soon  after 
the  Hessians  invaded  the  house,  and  ruin  and  devas- 
tation followed  in  their  wake,  the  family  residence 
having  been  speedily  appropriated  as  the  headquarters 
of  Gen.  Howe.  Mr.  Clark  served  until  the  declaration 
of  peace,  and,  together  with  his  brother  Azariah,  was 
confined  a  prisoner  in  the  Old  Sugar-House  prison  in 
New  York  City. 

Mr.  Clark  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah 
Hatfield  on  the  8th  of  May,  1783,  to  whom  were  born 
children, — Andrew,  whose  birth  occurred  in  1786; 
William,  born  in  1789;  Abigail,  in  1790;  Israel,  in 
1793;  Job  (1st),  in  1796;  Job  (2d),  in  1798  ;  Betsey, 


in  1800;  and  Jabez,  in  1802.  The  only  survivor  of 
this  number  is  Betsey,  who  is  still  a  resident  of  West* 
field.  Mr.  Clark  pursued  the  labors  of  an  agricul- 
turist during  his  lifetime,  and  displayed  a  praise- 
worthy ambition  in  the  improvement  and  cultivation 
of  his  land.  In  his  political  predilections  lie  was  a 
Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  type,  and  ever  eager  for 
the  advancement  of  the  principles  of  his  party.  He 
was  a  stanch  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  views,  and 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Westfield,  of  which  he  was  an  early  tru.stee,  and  both 
Mrs.  Clark  and  himself  members.  He  was  averse  to 
official  honors,  and  declined  many  distinctions  offered 
by  his  constituents.  He,  however,  filled  for  years  the 
office  of  justice  of  the  peace  with  ability  and  dis- 
cretion. 

Mr.  Clark  was  a  gentleman  of  commanding  pres- 
ence, courtly  and  dignified  in  his  demeanor,  and 
affable  in  his  manner.  He  possessed  superior  execu- 
tive ability,  was  a  marked  exemplar  of  probity  and 
honor,  and  in  all  business  transactions  manifested  a 
soundness  of  judgment  which  made  his  opinions  re- 
spected. His  death  occurred  in  the  township  of  his 
residence  Sept.  28,  1853,  in  his  ninety-eighth  year, 
and  that  of  his  wife  Dec.  7,  1841,  aged  seventy-nine 
years. 

MOSE.'!  TUCKER. 
Three  brothers  of  the  Tucker  family  emigrated 
from  England,  the  land  of  their  birth,  and  settled  re- 
spectively in  Connecticut,  on  Long  Island,  and  in 
New  Jersey.  Moses,  who  chose  the  latter  location, 
was  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biograph- 
ical sketch,  the  spot  he  selected  being  in  Union 
County,  near  the  present  city  of  Plainfield.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah  Ludlow,  and  had 

i  children,— Gideon,  John,  Moses,  Cornelius,  Henry, 
Susan,  Phcebe,  and  Mary.     Mr.  Tucker  was  accident- 

j  ally  drowned  in  the  vicinity  of  Elizabeth. 

i  His  son,  Gideon  Tucker,  was  born  on  the  home- 
stead, wliere  his  childhood  was  spent.  At  the  age  of 
fifteen  he  made  New  York  his  home,  and  having  re- 
solved upon  a  self  supporting  and  independent  career 
learned  the  mason's  craft,  which  he  followed  success- 
fully for  a  series  of  years.  He  married  Miss  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Charles  Clark,  of  Westfield,  and  had 
two  children,  Moses  and  John.  Miss  Jemina  Bre- 
voort,  of  New  York,  became  his  second  wife,  to  whom 
were  born  children, — Henry,  George,  Mary,  William, 
Sarah,  and  Charles.  The  birth  of  Moses  Tucker 
occurred  in  the  city  of  New  York  Nov.  6,  1799,  where 
his  whole  life  was  spent.  After  enjoying  during  his 
youth  the  advantages  of  the  city  schools,  he  on  at- 
taining his  majority  embarked  in  the  hardware  busi- 

'  ness,  in  which  he  was  successfully  engaged  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years.  Five  years  later  he  was 
elected  president  of  the  Jefferson  Insurance  Company, 
No.  50  Wall  Street,  which  honorable  and  responsible 
position  he  filled  until  his  death. 


344  HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


He  was  married  Feb.  23,  1823,  to  Miss  Anna  E., 
only  daughter  of  John  Tuclver,  deceased.  Their  chil- 
dren are  Sarah  E.,  Mary  Ann,  John,  William,  Charles 
C,  Anna  E.,  Charles  (2d),  William  (2d),  Edward  C, 
Alfred  I.,  and  Walter  R.,  all  deceased. 

Mr.  Tucker  was  in  his  political  views  for  many 
years  a  Democrat,  but  subsequently  espoused  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party.  He  was  not  a 
strong  partisan,  but  supported  candidates  of  probity 
and  honor  for  official  place  irrespective  of  party. 
Though  in  no  sense  a  public  man,  he  filled  for  a  term 
the  office  of  alderman  of  New  York  City. 

Mr.  Tucker  was  in  religion  an  Episcopalian,  and  a 
supporter  of  the  worship  of  that  denomination.  His 
death  occurred  at  his  home  in  New  York  City  No- 
vember 23d,  in  his  sixty-first  year.  His  widow,  who 
survives  and  contributes  this  memento  of  her  late  hus- 
band, is  a  resident  of  New  York  City. 


CHAPTER   L. 


NEW    PROVIDENCE. 


Situation  and  Boundaries.— The  township  of  New 
Providence  lies  in  the  extreme  northwest  part  of  Union 
County,  being  parts  of  the  Passaic  Valley  and  First 
and  Second  Mountain.  The  township  originally  be- 
longed to  Springfield  township.  In  1793,  by  an  act 
of  the  Legislature,  the  inhabitants  believing  they  ! 
would  be  better  accommodated  by  being  annexed  to 
Springfield,  this  act  was  passed  February  4th,  pro- 
viding "That  all  that  part  of  the  township  of  Eliza- 
beth lying  within  the  limits  or  boundaries  herein 
described— that  is  to  say,  beginning  where  the  line 
of  the  township  of  Springfield  intersects  the  Passaic 
River;  thence  up  said  river  to  the  line  that  divides 
the  counties  of  Essex  and  Somerset ;  from  thence  on 
the  line  that  runs  between  the  two  aforesaid  counties 
until  it  comes  to  the  head  of  the  west  branch  of 
Green  Brook  ;  thence  down  said  Green  Brook  on  said 
line  until  it  comes  to  where  the  east  and  west  branches 
form  a  junction;  thence  up  the  east  branch  of  said 
brook  until  it  intersects  the  line  of  the  township  of 
Springfield  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  township 
of  Westfield  ;  thence  on  the  line  of  the  township  of 
Springfield  to  the  place  of  beginning— shall  be  and 
hereby  is  annexed  to  the  township  of  Springfield." 

This  part  of  the  township  went  under  the  name  of 
Turkey  until  an  act  of  the  Legislature  was  passed, 
Nov.  8, 1809,  when  it  was  called  New  Providence,  and 
erected  into  a  township  with  the  same  hounds  as  men- 
tioned, except  on  the  Springfield  line,  which  is  thus 
described : 

Beginning  in  the  line  that  divides  the  township  of 
Westfield  and  Springfield  at  the  head  of  Green  Brook  ; 
thence  north  twelve  degrees  and  twenty  minutes  east 
to  the  south  side  of  the  road  running  from  New  Prov- 


idence to  Springfield  and  a  little  east  of  the  dwelling 
of  Amos  Potter,  Esq. ;  thence  north  forty-one  degrees 
and  fifty-five  minutes  west  to  the  race  of  the  saw-mill 
of  Benjamin  Bonnell,  deceased  ;  thence  into  the  bed 
of  the  river  Passaic,  in  the  Morris  County  line; 
thence  up  the  bed  of  said  river,  etc' 

The  boundary  remained  unaltered  until  the  year 
1869,  when  Summit  township  was  taken  from  the 
northeast  part,  which  left  it  about  five  miles  long  and 
two  miles  wide,  bounded  northeast  by  Summit  town- 
ship, southeast  by  Westfield  township,  south  by  War- 
ren township,  Somerset  County,  and  northwest  by 
Chatham  and  Morris  townships,  in  Morris  County. 
The  Passaic  River  forms  the  western  boundary. 

Natural  Features.— This  oblong  piece  of  territory, 
being  parts  of  the  First,  Second,  and  Third  Mountain 
Range,  with  its  beautiful,  picturesque  valleys,  contains 
an  area  of  about  thirteen  square  miles.  Its  formation 
and  the  outer  slope  and  declivities  of  the  First  Moun- 
tain, along  the  ridges  which  form  the  dividing  line 
from  Westfield  township,  is  of  the  trap  rock,  and 
many  places  rough  and  steep,  forming  ravines.  Here 
the  Green  Brook  takes  its  waters  from  the  pond  known 
as  Felt's  Lake,  which  covers  many  acres.  The  east- 
erly slope  of  the  Second  Mountain  is  more  abrupt,  in 
many  places  with  steep  declivities,  and  presenting  wild 
and  picturesque  scenery.  It  is  covered  with  a  heavy 
growth  of  hemlocks,  cedars,  oaks,  hickories,  and  other 
trees,  many  growing  to  an  immense  size.  On  this 
easterly  slope  the  village  of  Feltsville,  formerly  a 
busy  manufacturing  place,  is  located.  The  ascent 
up  this  Second  Mountain  is  steep;  the  roads  are  cov- 
ered with  the  debris  of  the  drift-trap  pebbles,  which 
continue  until  we  descend  to  the  valley  of  the  Third 
Mountain,  known  as  the  Passaic  Valley,  where  the 
beautiful  village  of  New  Providence  is  located.  Here 
we  find  an  area  of  red  shale  and  trap  with  some  con- 
glomerates, called  the  Morris  County  conglomerates, 
having  a  variety  of  tints  colored  by  oxide  of  iron. 

In  this  valley  the  soil  is  of  a  sandy  loam,  with 
occasionally  the  outcropping  of  red  shales;  for  many 
miles  through  the  valley  there  is  no  change.  It  con- 
tains many  fine  farms,  the  soil  being  naturally  rich, 
easily  cultivated,  giving  good  crops  of  rye,  wheat, 
and  a  general  variety  of  vegetables.  A  large  number 
of  cattle  and  sheep  are  raised  here.  Fine  orchards 
of  apples,  pears,  and  peaches  are  to  be  seen  bearing 
choice  fruit,  and  the  forest  trees  of  chestnut  and 
hickory  grow  to  a  large  size.  As  we  go  towards  Union 
Village,  in  Somerset  County,  along  the  valley  road 
(the  Blue  Hills,  as  they  were  called  in  the  year  1690), 
1  the  mountain  range  a.ssumes  a  wider  slope  and  is 
covered  by  a  dense  growth  of  timber  until  we  leave 
1  the  valley  at  the  rise  of  Berkley  Heights  for  Stony 
Hill,  south  towards  North  Plainfield  township.  Here 
we  find  a  rough  and  abrupt  declivity  down  the  Second 
Mountain,  large  masses  of  trap  rock,  with  a  branch 

1  Bloomflolil'a  Laws  of  N.  J.,  Ji.  213. 


NEW    PROVIDENCE. 


345 


of  the  Green  Brook  running  in  the  deep  gorges  which 
surround  the  Scotch  Plains  road.  These  public  roads 
are  kept  in  excellent  condition  with  considerable  ex- 
pense, and  are  creditable  to  the  road  managers.  In 
the  extreme  southerly  part  of  this  township  the  trap 
rock  assumes  a  different  crystalline  strata,  often  form- 
ing columns  jutting  out  of  the  hillside,  and  when 
loosened,  form  elongated  cubes  from  one  to  five  feet, 
four-  and  six-sided,  presenting  the  appearance  of 
having  been  lately  smoothed  by  hand  and  having 
perfect  edges,  showing  conclusively  to  the  scientist 
that  these  mountains  were  much  higher  than  at  the 
present,  and  that  these  valleys  were  once  under  the 
influence  of  volcanic  action. 

In  this  beautiful  mountain  range,  with  its  diversified 
scenery,  can  be  seen  fine  farms  with  well-cultivated 
acres,  having  the  appearance  of  thrift  and  content- 
ment. 

Rivers  and  Streams. — On  the  westerly  side  of 
New  Providence  township  the  Passaic  River  (at  this 
point  a  mere  mill-stream )  finds  its  course  flowing  to  the 
northeast  and  supplying  many  of  the  smaller  mills 
until  it  reaches  the  city  of  Paterson,  N.  J.,  where  manu- 
facturing is  carried  on  to  a  great  extent.  We  find  that 
Green  Brook,  which  is  in  the  valley  of  First  and  Second 
Mountains  (being  the  easterly  dividing  line  of  New 
Providence  township),  is  fed  by  numerous  springlets, 
and  at  its  head  source  Felt's  Lake,  called  Blue  Brook 
or  Pond,  near  Peter's  Hill.'  There  is  a  small  stream, 
varying  in  depth,  called  the  Salt  Brook,  of  which  men- 
tion is  made  as  being  historic  at  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  There  are  numerous  springs  of  deli- 
cious water,  some  of  them  found  nearly  at  the  extreme 
elevation  of  the  Second  Mountain,  but  the  most 
noted  is  the  spring  known  as  the  "Cool  Boiling 
Spring,"  upon  the  Bassenger  farm,  the  water  gushing 
up  through  a  fine  white  sand.  The  other  spring  is 
known  as  the  Sulphur  Spring,  upon  the  David  H. 
Townley  place.  This  is  said  to  have  been  known  as 
the  Indian  Spring,— the  all-healing  spring.  On  anal- 
ysis made  it  was  found  to  contain  magnesia  and  iron, 
and  is  known  as  the  Magnesian  Sulphur  Spring.  The 
whole  township  is  well  irrigated. 

Early  Settlements. — There  may  have  been  settlers 
in  New  Providence  prior  to  the  year  1720,  but  there 
is  no  positive  information  of  any  at  an  earlier  date. 
In  1720  came  Peter  Willcoxsie,  John  and  Phebe 
Badgley  from  Long  Island.  Another  account  of 
Peter  Willcoxsie  says  that  he  came  from  England, 
and  there  was  surveyed  to  him  by  Joseph  Morss, 
surveyor  for  the  "  Elizabethtown  Associates,"  four 
hundred  and  twenty-four  acres  of  land,  lying  along 
the  east  branch  of  Green  Brook,  called  Blue  Brook, 
and  was  known  as  Peter's  Hill,  now  known  as  Felt- 
ville.  This  is  in  the  easterly  part  of  New  Providence 
township.  The  first  settlers  located  on  the  mountain 
because  it  abounded  in  heavy  timber  and  game.     It 

1  In  1734  named  after  Peter  Wilcoxuie. 


is  said  the  first  settler  in  the  westerly  part  of  this 
township  was  Daniel  Vail,  son  of  Isaac  Vail,  of 
Green  Brook,  near  Plainfield.  The  early  settlement 
of  New  Providence  proper  was  in  the  year  1736-38. 
As  we  have  stated,  some  few  farms  had  been  made 
previously,  but  at  the  latter  date  a  second  allotment 
of  lands  was  made  by  the  "  Elizabethtown  Asso- 
ciates," as  many  below  the  First  Mountain  began  to 
move  up  and  settle  upon  these  allotments.  The  fol- 
lowing list  comprises  the  names  of  the  first  who 
came.  They  originally  came  from  England,  some 
few  were  from  Wales  and  Scotland,  while  a  number 
came  from  Long  Island,  who  were  descendants  of  the 
original  colonists  of  New  England.  The  earliest 
settlers  were  Jonathan  Allen,  Joseph  Allen,  John 
Badgley,  James  Badgley,  Thomas  Baker,  Jr.,  John 
Bedell,  Nathaniel  Bonnell,  William  Broadwell,  John 
Camp,  Jonathan  Carll,  Jacob  Carll,  James  Cauldwell, 
Elias  Clark,  Henry  Connet,  Daniel  Day,  Joseph 
Doty,  Joseph  Frazee,  Jeremiah  Hart,  Uriah  Hedges, 
Samuel  Andrew,  Anthony  Littell,  Jeremiah  Ludlow, 
Jonathan  Mulford,  John  Osborn,  William  Peirsons 
(Parsons),  Benjamin  Pettitt,  John  Pierson,  Daniel 
Potter,  Samuel  Ross,  Peter  Rutan,  Isaac  Sayre,  Eph- 
raim  Sayre,  Richard  Scudder,  John  Simpson.  Aaron 
Thompson,  Richard  Valentine,  Peter  Willcoxsie, 
Edward  Hedges,  James  Doty. 

They  were  soon  followed  by  others  of  the  following 
names:  Abner  Bailey,  Andrew  Blanchard,  Jacob 
Brittin,  James  Corey,  Joseph  Crane,  Isaac  Crane, 
William  Crawford,  Timothy  Day,  Philemon  Dickin- 
son, Benjamin  Force,  Melancthon  Freeman,  Abra- 
ham Hendricks,  Micah  Howell,  Uzal  Johnson,  David 
Lacy,  Peter  Lyon,  Daniel  Marsh,  William  Maxfield, 
Moses  Miller,  "  Deacon  Morehouse,"  "  Lawyer  Og- 
den,"  William  Parrott,  Andrew  Prior,  William  Rob- 
ertson, John  Roll,  Nathaniel  Smith,  John  Totten, 
Kennedy  Vance,  Daniel  Wood. 

All  these  it  is  said  came  within  the  first  forty  years 
of  the  settlement;  "  and  at  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war  many  more  came  up  only  for  a  short 
season." 

These  first  settlers  were  religiously  educated  and 
inclined.  From  a  record  it  appears  that  they  not 
only  tilled  the  land,  clearing  waste  places  and  making 
homes  for  themselves,  but  held  religious  meetings 
prior  to  the  time  their  first  church  was  established. 
They  were  called  the  Turkey  settlement  on  Long  Hill, 
and  went  by  that  name  until  about  the  year  1809. 

In  a  short  account  given  of  the  drawers  of  the 
allotment  of  land  it  appears  that  Joseph  Allen,  Jr., 
drew  No.  113;  he  married  Sarah,  daugher  of  Peter 
Willcocksie  (the  family  now  spell  the  name  Wilcox). 
Jonathan  Allen,  his  father,  owned  one  hundred  acres, 
No.  28  of  the  Elizabethtown  lots,  surveyed  above  the 
First  Mountain,  where  Joseph  Allen  afterwards  lived. 

Thomas  Baker,  Jr.,  emigrated  from  England  with 
his  father.  He  took  part  of  a  plot  of  ground,  No.  50, 
of  John  Blanchard,  March,  1738-39,  of  forty  acres, 


346 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


and  in  1761  he  bought  of  William  Maxwell  lot  No. 
26,  of  ninety-nine  acres,  and  also  bought  of  Joseph 
Rolph  and  John  Ocheltree  lot  No.  57,  lying  south  of 
No.  50,  and  extending  south  to  the  Stony  Hill  road, 
and  sold  part  of  lot  No.  57  to  William  Baker,  and 
thirty-five  acres  adjoining  Jacob  Bedell  to  Jonathan 
Mulford,  for  his  son,  Cornelius  Mulford,  who  lived 
upon  it  many  years  until  he  died. 

Gabriel  Baldwin  (son  of  Ezekiel)  removed  from 
Connecticut  Farms,  north  of  the  church.  He  mar- 
ried Rachel  Littell,  daughter  of  John  or  Henry  Littell, 
of  New  Providence.  He  died  in  the  eighty-sixth 
year  of  his  age.  Solomon  Boyle  emigrated  from  Ire- 
land and  married  a  French  girl  in  this  country.  He 
purchased  of  the  East  Jersey  proprietors  six  hundred 
acres  of  land  west  and  adjoining  the  Berkley  tract,  a 
long  piece  between  that  tract  and  Passaic  River. 
William  Broadwell,  Sr.,  drew  lot  No.  13  of  the  Eliza- 
bethtown  survey,  and  probably  built  the  house  upon 
it  by  the  brook  where  the  Parsons  family  afterwards 
lived.  He  also  drew  lot  No.  18,  south  of  No.  13, 
where  Isaac  Meeker  subsequently  lived.  Johannes 
Vancampen  (in  English  called  John  Camp)  owned 
between  three  hundred  and  four  hundred  acres,  lots 
No.  50,  51,  52.  Jonathan  Carle  had  in  1729,  adjoin- 
ing Passaic  River,  105  acres.  James  Colewell  (spelled 
Cauldwell)  came  from  Ireland  in  1732  and  settled 
here;  he  in  the  same  year  drew  lot  No.  30.  Elias 
Clark  owned  lot  No.  47.  He  married  Betsey,  daugh- 
ter of  Benjamin  Clark,  of  Rahway,  and  had  nine 
children.  William  Connet  was  deacon  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church;  owned  land  lot  No.  — ,  and  died 
31st  August,  1771.  Elias  Coriell  owned  lot  No.  1  ;  he 
came  from  Piscataway  township,  Middlesex  Couuty, 
married  Sarah  Runyon,  daughter  of  Richard  Runyon, 
and  had  six  children.  Stephen  Corwin  lived  between 
the  mountains  near  Feltville.  He  married  Betsey 
Drew,  daughter  of  George  Drew,  of  Springfield  town- 
ship. 

Elnathan  Cory  (sometimes  spelt  Corey)  lived  in  a 
house  where  now  stands  the  former  residence  of  Rev. 
Waters  Burrows.  His  wife's  name  was  Hannah.  He 
owned  about  two  hundred  acres  formerly  owned  by 
Jacob  Carle,  and  also  about  one  hundred  acres.  No. 
33  of  the  Elizabethtown  lots,  soutii  of  that  tract.  He 
died  8th  October,  1766,  in  his  sixty-fifth  year.  He 
left  his  lands  to  his  five  sons. 

George  Day  came  in  17 —  from  Long  Island. 

The  family  of  Daniel  Dod  came  to  New  Providence, 
1678.  He  was  chosen  deputy  to  the  Provincial  As- 
sembly in  1692. 

Joseph  Doty  came  from  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
and  owned  part  of  lot  No.  39  of  the  Elizabethtown 
lots  on  Stony  Hill.  He  married  Sarah  Badgley,  sis- 
ter of  John  Badgley,  and  Peter  Willcoxsie  married 
the  other  sister,  Phebe  Badgley. 

Thomas  Hallock  lived  between  the  First  and  Sec- 
ond Mountains  ;  he  married  Sarah  Bedell,  daughter 
of  Moses  Bedell. 


Robert  and  Nehemiah,  sons  of  Hezekiah  Hand,  re- 
moved from  Westfield  to  New  Providence  about  the 
year  1796. 

Jeremiah   Hart  lived  on   the  southeast  corner  of 

the  forks  of  the  road  at  the  Presbyterian  Church, 

New  Providence.     He  was  born  9th  December,  1714, 

I  and  died  17th  Nov.eraber,  1749;  his  wife,  Sarah,  was 

born  11th  June,  1718  ;  they  had  four  children. 

Uriah   Hedges  owned  lot  No.  39.     Joseph  Doty 
owned  part  of  said  lot  afterwards. 
i       Charles  Hole  lived  close  by  Blue  Brook,  between 
the  mountains,  and  owned  a  large  tract  of  land  near 
I  Uriah  Hedges  and  John  Badgley. 
[       David  Lacy  lived  in  a  house  west  of  the  parsonage 
I  house,  nearly  opposite  to  Dr.  Kent's.     He  married 
I  Martha  Parrot,  and  had  eight  children. 
'       John  Littell  was  one  of  the  freeholders  of  Eliza- 
1  bethtown,  and  obtained  lot  No.  6  of  Corson's  survey 
I  above  the  First  Mountain,  containing  one  hundred 
I  and  ninety-six  acres,  adjoining  and    lying  directly 
north  of  Peter  Willcoxsie,  a  four-hundred-acre  tract, 
surveyed  6th  January,  1736-37. 
1       Jeremiah  Ludlow  lived  in  New  Providence,  where 
James  M.  Morehouse   lived.     He  died   1st  August, 
1790,  aged  ninety-one  years. 

Peter  Lyon  was  probably  a  son  of  Ebenezer  or 
Nathaniel  Lyon,  who  are  named  in  the  list  of  the 
sec(md  generation  of  the  "  Elizabethtown  Associ- 
ates," admitted  in  1699.  He  lived  on  Stony  Hill 
nearly  south  of  Littell's  Bridge.  He  was  born  1722, 
and  died  23d  September,  1781,  aged  sixty-two  years. 
He  married  Joanna  Clark,  half-sister  of  Elias  Clark; 
they  had  eight  children. 

Alexander  Martin  lived  on  the  soutli  side  of  Long 
Hill. 

William  Maxwell,  son  of  John  Maxwell,  of  West- 
field,  owned  ninety-nine  acres,  and  also  a  tract  of 
land  on  Stony  Hill. 

Isaac  Meeker  (son  of  James)  came  to  Turkey  or 
New  Providence  in  1775,  and  settled  on  lot  No.  18. 
He  died  23d  February,  1814,  aged  seventy-three. 

Moses,  son  of  Enoch  Miller,  of  Westfield,  married 
for  his  first  wife  Azuba  Meeker,  of  Elizabethtown  ; 
second,  Molly  Riley,  an  Irish  girl ;  third,  Hannah, 
widow  of  Benjamin  Bonnel.  They  lived  on  the  bor- 
ders of  New  Providence  township,  near  Union  vil- 
lage.    He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Simeon  Morehouse  came  up  to  this  township  from 
Elizabeth  Town  in  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war. 
He  married  Rebecca  Meeker.  Jonathan  Mulford 
came  April,  1740,  "and  bought  of  John  Pierson  four- 
score acres."  His  wife  was  Esther  Conklin.  John 
Noe  came  from  Woodbridge,  and  lived  on  the  ex- 
treme portion  south  of  the  township.  He  died  26th 
April,  1828,  in  his  seventy-first  year.  Lewis  Noe  was 
brother  of  John,  and  lived  near  him.  He  tiled  5th 
April,  1838,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  Ephiaiui  Oak- 
ley W!is  born  1700,  and  married  Sarah ,  who  died 

the  9th  .\pril,  1761,  in  her  fifty-second  year.    He  died 


NEW   PROVIDENCE. 


347 


3d  April,  1761,  and  was  buried  in  the  New  Providence 
churchyard.  Smith  Straiten  Osborn  came  from 
Long  Island,  and  owned  land  where  Col.  Israel  Day 
lived.  William  Parsons,  Esq.,  settled  on  lot  No.  1.3. 
Matthias  Parsons  lived  in  Passaic  Valley.  John  Pool 
lived  on  Long  Hill.  Benjamin  Pettit,  Esq.,  came 
about  1729,  and  purchased  oue  hundred  and  five 
acres;  he  died  in  1771.  Samuel  Potter  came  about 
the  year  1734.  Daniel  Potter  was  a  brother  of  Sam- 
uel, and  owned  lots  Nos.  6,  26,  27  of  the  Elizabeth 
Town  A.ssociates.  Abraham  Price  married  Mary 
Anne  Miller,  daughter  of  Matthia.s  Miller,  and  lived 
on  Stony  Hill.  Jeremiah  Raddin  lived  near  Blue 
Brook,  above  Feltville.  Dr.  John  Rague  lived  and 
owned  land  in  or  near  the  village  of  New  Providence. 
Zebulon  Riggs  had  three  sons.  One  of  them.  Pre- 
serve Riggs,  of  Mendham.  Morris  Co.,  had  a  son, 
Elias,  born  1st  April,  1770,  who  was  the  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  William  Robison  lived  on 
Stony  Hill  about  1772.  Nathaniel  Roll'  lived  in  the 
Passaic  Valley.  Jonathan  Buckman  lived  on  Stony 
Hill,  south  of  David  Smalley,  E.sq.  Peter  Rutan 
owned  two  one-hundred-acre  lots,  Nos.  28  and  29, 
addition  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  lots.  David  Samson 
lived  on  Long  Hill ;  he  had  nine  children.  Ezekiel 
Sayer  lived  in  1785  on  Stony  Hill.  Richard  Scud- 
der  owned  and  lived  on  the  farm  of  one  hundred 
acres  owned  afterwards  by  John  Littell,  Esq.  He 
also  owned  one  hundred  acres  of  the  farm  owned  by 
the  late  Thomas  0.  Scudder.  John  Simpson  came 
from  Long  Island  and  settled  ou  lot  No.  27,  above  the 
First  Mountain.  Ellis  Squiers  lived  in  New  Provi- 
dence. Jonathan  Stevens  lived  where  Samuel  Squiers 
died.  Ephriani  Sutton  lived  on  the  Second  Moun- 
tain west  of  William  Allen's.  Jacob  Swain  lived  on 
Wolf  Hill,  near  Union  village.  William  Thomas 
lived  on  Stony  Hill ;  he  was  a  half-bushel  maker. 
Aaron  Thompson  settled  on  lot  31  of  the  Elizabeth 
Town  Associates.  John  Tilyou  and  Elizabeth  Tucker 
lived  on  Stony  Hill,  in  New  Providence  township. 
James  Totten  was  probably  the  son  of  Sylvanus  Tot- 
ten,  who  lived  in  this  township  in  1765.  Benoni 
Trembly  lived  on  lot  No.  61  of  the  Associates. 
George  Townley  lived  on  a  farm  in  Passaic  Valley. 
John  Tucker  married  Catharine  Line;  he  lived  in 
the  Stony  Hill  Valley.  Daniel  Vail  lived  on  the 
extreme  westerly  limits  of  this  township.  Kennedy 
Vance  resided  where  Samuel  Squiers  lived.  Richard 
Valentine  resided  on  the  First  and  Second  Mountain 
tracts  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  acres,  lot  No. 
44;  he  also  owned  lot  No.  35.  John  Williams'  family 
lived  in  this  township;  he  married  Anna  Spinning. 
He  was  born  10th  August,  1768.  Daniel  S.  Wood 
came  to  Passaic  Valley  about  the  year  1754. 

The  following  genealogical  or  family  sketches  of 
some  of  these  first  settlers  are  taken  from  records  and 
from  statements  made  by  some  of  the  descendants  of 
families  now  residing  in  this  township.  We  give  the 
different  ways  the  names  have  been  spelled,  the  first 


orthography  being  usually  in  the  old  manner  of  spell- 
ing them  : 

Ailward  (Alivard),  Henry,  came  from  England  and 
settled  back  of  the  Second  Mountain  in  the  Passaic 
Valley.  He  married  a  Miss  Compton.  They  had 
three  children, — David,  John,  and  Henry.  There  are 
many  of  the  name  still  in  this  township  and  in  Mor- 
ris County,  N.  J.  Henry  Alward,  Jr.,  married  Mary 
Cox,  and  had  eight  children.  One  of  the  grand- 
children, Jonathan  Pennington,  who  was  born  21st 
July,  1812,  graduated  at  Princeton  College,  .studied 
theology,  became  a  Presbyterian  minister,  married 
Catherine  Fredenburg,  daughter  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fre- 
denburg,  of  Somerville.  They  went  to  Western  Africa 
as  missionaries.  He  died  in  April,  1841,  and  she 
returned  home. 

Ailing  (Allen),  John,  was  a  man  in  humble  circum- 
stances, laboring  by  the  day  (bottoming  chairs).  His 
father,  John,  died  intestate,  1685.  (He  was  no  rela- 
tion to  Samuel  Allen,  founder  of  the  Newark  family, 
who  came  from  New  Haven,  Conn.)  He  was  one  of 
the  Elizabethtown  Associates  in  1699.  His  sons, 
Jonathan  and  Joseph  Allen,  and  perhaps  a  cousin, 
Daniel,  who  came  to  Turkey,  now  called  New  Provi- 
dence, about  the  year  1671,  or  soon  after.  Jonathan 
owned  one  hundred  acres  (No.  28)  upon  the  First 
Mountain,  and  some  acres  upon  the  Second  Mountain 
afterwards  owned  by  William  Cory. 

Baily  (Bailey),  Abner,  was  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers in  New  Providence  township.  It  is  said  that  he 
came  from  Connecticut.  He  was  a  hatter  by  trade, 
and  carried  on  the  business  in  Passaic  Valley.     He 

married  Margaret  ,  who  died  the  loth  March, 

1793,  and  for  his  second  wife  married  a  Miss  Sarah 
Cochran,  of  New  York.  The  record  says  that  he  died 
without  children,  Jan.  10,  181U.  The  name  of  Rev. 
Gamaliel  Bailey,  a  Methodist  clergyman,  is  mentioned 
in  1790,  who  preached  in  this  section,  then  called  the 
Elizabethtown  Circuit.  Again  there  is  mentioned  in 
1664  one  John  Bailius,  and  also  John  Bayly,  and 
are  also  mentioned  as  signers  to  the  five  hundred 
thousand  acres  bought  of  the  Indians,  and  also  again 
in  contract  with  Governor  Carteret  for  lots,  and  that 
he  was  one  of  the  four  patentees  mentioned  of  this 
whole  section.     Abner  may  have  been  a  descendant. 

Balwin  (Baldwin),  Gabriel,  lived  in  what  was 
called  Wade's  Farms,  and  afterwards  called  Connec- 
ticut Farms,  whence  he  moved  to  what  was  then 
called  Turkey  Hill,  now  New  Providence  township. 
He  married  Rachel  Littell,  who  died  Oct.  30,  1794, 
in  her  sixty-third  year.  He  died ,  aged  eighty- 
six  years.  They  had  five  children, — Mary,  Susan, 
Nancy,  Samuel,  and  David.  Samuel  Baldwin  mar- 
ried 13th  March,  1794,  Johannah  Squiers,  and  went 
to  Ohio;  Susan  Baldwin  married  Nathan  Halsey,  of 
Parsippany  ;  Nancy  married  Daniel  S.  Wood,  son  of 
Capt.  Daniel  S.  Wood  ;  David  married  twice  two  sis- 
ters, daughters  of  David  Brant,  by  name  of  Phebe  and 
Polly  Brant. 


348 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Bebot  (Bebout). — The  name  of  the  head  of  this 
family  is  not  mentioned,  but  it  is  known  that  he  came 
from  Holland  very  early  and  married  Mary  Miller, 
sister  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Miller,  of  the  Baptist 
Church  of  Scotch  Plains,  and  that  he  had  two  sons, 
John  and  Peter.  Peter  Bebout  lived  in  New  Provi- 
dence, and  married  Dec.  1,  1767,  Sarah  Jewel,  and 
had  a  son  Ebenezer,  who  went  to  the  West  after  ar- 
riving to  manhood.  For  his  second  wife  Peter  Bebout 
married  Sarah  Darling,  half-sister  of  William  Parrot, 
Sr.,  and  had  nine  other  children, — Peter  Bebout,  Jr. ; 
William,  who  married,  1st,  Martha  Tingley,  2d, 
Hannah  Ogden,  of  Hanover,  Morris  Co.;  Christian, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years;  Abigail,  who 
married  Isaac  Potter,  son  of  Col.  Samuel  Potter; 
Mary,  married  John  Osborn,  son  of  John  Osborn  ; 
Martha,  married  12th  November,  1786,  1st,  John  Be- 
dell, son  of  Jacob  Bedell,  and  2d,  Luther  Jones ;  Lewis, 
who  died  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years;  Stephen,  who 
married  Sally  Cory,  daughter  of  Elder  Daniel  Cory; 
and  Nancy,  who  married,  1st,  Simeon  Dunn,  2d,  Elisha 
Coriell,  of  Green  Brook.  Peter  Bebout,  Sr.,  died  13th 
January  or  23d  August,  1784.  The  statements  differ. 
This  family  have  lived  in  this  township  for  over  a 
century. 

Bedel  (Bedell),  John,  Sr.,  had  a  son,  John  Bedell, 
Jr.,  who  was  an  elder  in  the  church  in  Turkey  (New 
Providence).  He  lived  where  Isaac  Crane  lived  on 
the  borders  of  the  township.  The  lot  No.  20  contained 
114  acres,  and  No.  24  contained  100  acres.  There  also 
was  an  elder  in  this  church  by  name  of  Jacob  Bedell. 
The  family  is  quite  numerous.  Jacob  Bedell,  son  of 
John  Bedell,  married  Avla  Powers,  and  at  his  death, 
the  16th  June,  1777,  she  married  Capt.  Jonathan 
Mulford.     She  died  about  1803. 

Bedford,  Bradford  (Bredford).— It  is  said  that  these 
three  names  are  the  same.  I  find  that  John  S.  Brad- 
ford was  the  son  of  Stephen  Bedford,  whose  father's 
name  was  Timothy  Bredford,  or  Bedford. 

Bunnill,  Bunell,  BoUin,  Bonul,  Bonel,  Bulen,  Bu- 
niele,  and  Bonnel.— Nathaniel  came  from  Long  Island 
(it  is  said  there  was  one  other  family  who  came  from 
Holland)  to  Elizabethtown,  and  was  one  of  the  Asso- 
ciates; from  there  he  removed  to  Passaic  Valley  above 
Chatham,  and  there  lived.  He  married  Hannah 
Miller,  of  Westfield,  and  had  seven  children.  Na- 
thaniel Bonnel,  the  second  son  of  Nathaniel  the  first, 
was  born  1731,  and  died  July,  1809.  He  married 
Elizabeth  Allen,  and  had  thirteen  children.  He  was 
captain  of  the  militia  and  a  freeholder ;  and  also  in 
the  list  of  ruling  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  New  Providence,  1737,  his  name  is  recorded.  He 
must  have  married  the  second  time,  but  no  children 
are  named  by  this  marriage.  Nathaniel,  the  third  by 
bis  first  wife,  born  3d  day  of  June,  1756,  married 
Martha  Crane,  daughter  of  Isaac  Crane,  and  by  this 
marriage  there  were  eight  children.  He  died  5th  day 
April,  1814.  His  widow,  Martha,  died  20th  June, 
1846. 


Boyle  (Boyell),  William,  and  Samuel  Boyle  are  men- 
tioned as  early  as  1696-97  ;  most  likely  they  emigrated 
from  Ireland  together.  Solomon  married  a  French 
girl  in  this  county.  He  purchased  of  the  East  Jersey 
proprietors  six  hundred  acres  of  land  west,  adjoining 
the  Berkely  tract  in  the  Pa.ssaic  Valley  and  along  the 
Long  Hill,  crossing  to  the  river.  He  had  ten  children. 
His  son,  John  Boyle,  built  a  grist-mill,  saw-mill,  and 
forge,  which  aftersvards  went  by  the  name  of  Dunn's 
Mills.  John  Boyle  married  Hannah  Frazee,  and  had 
five  children.  Solomon  Boyle,  ,Jr.  (.son  of  Solomon 
1st),  married  Margaret  Hull;  they  had  eight  chil- 
dren. Col.  Solomon  Boyle  (fifth  child  of  Solomon, 
Jr.)  married  Elizabeth  Pierson,  lived  on  the  original 
tract  of  six  hundred  acres,  and  had  only  one  child. 
There  was  a  Dr.  William  Boyle  (the  sixth  child  of 
Solomon,  Jr.) ;  he  married  Maria  Laflferty,  and  had 
three  children. 

Broadwell,  William,  first  mentioned  in  1677  as 
cordwainer  at  Elizabethtown,  married  Mary  Mor.se. 
He  is  spoken  of  again  in  1678  as  being  owner  of  land 
purchased  from  Luke  Watson  at  Elizabethtown, 
William  Broadwell,  of  Turkey  (New  Providence), 
must  have  been  his  son.  He  drew  lot  No.  13  of  the 
Elizabethtown  survey,  and  probably  built  a  house  upon 
it  by  the  brook,  where  the  Parson  family  afterwards 
lived.  He  also  drew  lot  No.  18,  south  of  No.  13, 
where  Isaiah  Meeker  subsequently  lived;  he  had 
three  children.  Josiah  Broadwell  is  mentioned  with 
William  Broadwell,  Sr.,  as  a  committee  in  1757  to 
confer  with  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Elmer  respecting  his 
settlement  as  a  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  New  Providence.  Previous  to  this  "  a  scheme  of 
a  lottery  in  Turkey,  in  Elizabeth  Town,"  was  adver- 
tised Aug.  8,  1748,  "  to  raise  a  sum  of  money  [£lo2 
58.  0(/.J  for  building  a  parsonage  house,  consisting  of 
fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  tickets  at  14s.  each."  The 
highest  prize  was  £30.  "  The  drawing  to  commence 
on  or  before  the  first  Tuesday  in  November  next,  at 
the  house  of  Benjamin  Pettit,  Esq.,  in  Turkey,  if  filled 
by  that  time,  under  the  care  and  management  of 
Messrs.  Benjamin  Pettit,  David  Day,  Elnathan  Cory, 
John  Badgley,  Nathaniel  Davis,  and  Josiah  Broad- 
well." 

William  Broadwell's  headstone  is  of  the  oldest  date 
of  any  in  the  Presbyterian  graveyard;  it  is  of  a  red 
sandstone  and  in  good  state  of  preservation.  The 
epitaph  is  as  follows  : 

"Here  lies  ye  iMxiy  of  WiUiam  Broadwell,  wUo  departed  this  life 
March  lltli,  1746,  in  the  64th  year  of  his  age." 

Burrow.s,  Waters,  married  Frances  Meeker  (daugh- 
ter of  James,  son  of  Robert  Meeker).  They  lived 
where  Stephen  Day  lived.  He  died  in  1815,  aged 
sixty-nine  years.  He  had  a  son.  Rev.  Waters  Bur- 
rows, an  esteemed  clergyman  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  who  married  a  Miss  Margaret  Wood. 
He  died  in  1865,  and  is  buried  in  the  Methodist  Cem- 
etery. 

Vancampen,   Johannes    (in    English    called   John 


NEW   PROVIDENCE. 


349 


Camp).  (There  are  other  branches  that  spell  the 
name  De  Camp.)  He  owned  three  hundred  or  four 
hundred  acres  of  land,  lots  Nos.  50,  51,  52  of  the 
Elizabeth  Town  Associates.  He  had  a  son  by  the 
name  of  Aaron  Camp,  who  died  in  1788,  and  his  farm 
was  divided  among  his  children  ;  and  again  the  record 
has  it  that  Aaron  Camp  died  and  his  widow  married 
Deacon  William  Connet.  This  may  have  been  Aaron 
2d,  son  of  Aaron  1st. 

Caldwell  (Cauldwell),  James,  with  his  wife,  Mary, 
emigrated  from  Ireland  about  the  year  1732,  when 
his  son  was  six  years  old,  and  settled  on  Long  Hill, 
on  lot  No.  30,  addition  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  lots, 
which  he  appears  to  have  drawn.  From  tradition 
among  the  families  it  would  seem,  and  I  am  led  to 
believe,  that  James  Cauldwell's  wife  was  a  Mary 
Gaston,  sister  of  the  father  of  Hugh  Gaston,  of  Pea- 
pack,  N.  J.  Hugh  Gaston  was  brother  of  Capt.  Wil- 
liam Logan's  wife,  and  probably  also  brother  of  the 
wife  of  Tliomas  Kirkpatrick,  at  Liberty  Corner.  His 
children  called  him  "  Uncle"  Hugh  Gaston,  and  the 
family  claimed  him  kin  to  the  Cauldwell  family. 

Corey  (Cory).  This  family  probably  came  from 
Southold,  L.  I. ;  one  John  Corey  appears  in  1700  as 
one  of  the  memorialists.  There  were  living  in 
Southold,  L.  I.,  as  early  as  16G2  Abraham,  Jacob, 
and  John  Corey,  and  likely  these  three  were  brothers, 
and  from  this  branch  came  the  family  of  Coreys  in 
this  vicinity.  Elnathan  is  made  mention  of  in  1748. 
He  lived  in  a  house  where  now  stands  the  residence 
of  Rev.  Waters  Burrows.  His  wife's  name  was  Han- 
nah. He  owned  about  three  hundred  acres  of  land; 
part  was  of  lot  No.  33  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  tract. 
He  died  the  8th  October,  1766,  in  his  sixty-fifth  year. 
His  headstone  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  Cory  lot  in 
the  Presbyterian  burial-ground,  well  preserved. 
His  wife  died  24th  January,  1785,  and  is  buried  in 
the  same  plot.  He  left  his  land  to  his  five  sons.  The 
family  tradition  is  interesting.  Many  of  his  children 
have  settled  not  only  in  this  State  but  in  the  West 
and  South,  where  a  large  number  of  their  descend- 
ants are  to  be  found.  Joseph  Cory,  his  son,  lived  in 
1775  in  a  house  that  stood  in  William  Kiudell's 
orchard,  south  of  Benjamin  Pike's  house.  John 
Cory,  the  grandson  of  Elnathan  Cory,  married,  15th 
June,  1774,  Rebecca  Rainiond,  and  went  with  the 
militia  to  Ticonderoga  during  the  Revolutionay  war, 
and  there  died.  George  Cory,  the  eighth  child  of 
Ebenezer,  married  Rachel  Price.  He  had  ten  chil- 
dren. William  Cory,  his  fifth  child,  born  13th  July, 
1802,  married  Harriet  Laforge,  who  wiis  born  4th 
August,  1802,  daughter  of  Abraham  Laforge,  of  Som- 
erset County,  N.  J.  They  have  had  four  children, — 
Morrell  Cory,  born  1st  August,  1828,  who  resides  in 
New  Providence,  and  physician  there.  He  is  con- 
siderable of  a  writer,  and  is  now  collecting  the  Cory 
family  history.  Mary  Elizabeth  Cory  (who  mar- 
ried Charles  Ulrichs),  born  31st  August,  1835;  William 
Ryckbeck  Cory,  born  8th  April,  1837,  resides  in 
23 


Camden,  N.  J. ;  and  Apollos  Elmer  Cory,  born  April, 

,    resides   in   New   York   State.     William   Cory 

was  killed  while  helping  to  remove  a  building,  one  of 
the  timbers  falling  upon  him,  in  the  year  1873.  He 
desired  that  he  should  be  buried  where  the  old 
church  stood  in  the  Methodist  cemetery,  just  under 
the  altar,  which  has  been  done  by  the  family.  His 
grandson,  the  only  son  of  Dr.  A.  M.  Cory,  an  estim- 
able and  beloved  young  man,  lies  near  by  his  grave. 
The  whole  community  were  deeply  affected  by  his 
early  death.  .  There  is  erected  a  fine  block  of  Quincy 
granite,  with  the  following  epitaph  : 

"  Cornelius  Leveridge,  son  of  Dr.  A.  M.  &  B.  J.  Cory,  Born  July  28, 
1866,  Died  Oct.  21,  1876. 

lie  said,  Morality  is  a  social  Duty;  Salvation  is  only  in  Jesus." 

Day,  George,  came  to  New  Jersey  from  Long 
Island  and  moved  into  this  valley.  The  family  are 
quite  numerous  throughout  this  township.  David 
Day,  Esq.  (son  of  George  Day),  owned  a  farm  where 
Peter  Hill,  William  Crane,  and  John  Littell  lived. 
I  He  sold  fifty  acres  to  Jacob  Bedell.  He  had  five 
daughters  but  no  sons. '  The  Rev.  James  Caldwell, 
who  was  murdered  by  Morgan  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  married  Hannah  Ogden,  sister  of  Ste- 
phen Day's  wife,  Jemima  Ogden,  from  whom  a  large 
family  have  descended.  The  following  epitaph  is  in 
the  Methodist  Cemetery  of  the 

"  Rev.  Mulford  Diiy,  Born  April  S,  1801,  Died  June  26,  1861." 

He  was  the  son  of  Capt.  Stephen  Day,  of  the 
militia  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  who  did 
good  service  for  his  country.  Rev.  Mulford  Day 
was  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Conference  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  useful  and  devoted 
minister  of  the  gospel. 

Note.— The  Rev.  James  Caldwell,  the  father  of 
Esther,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Finley,  D.D.,  was 
shot  by  a  soldier  standing  as  a  sentinel  at  Elizabeth 
Town  Point,  the  24th  November,  1781.  (The  senti- 
nel was  hung  for  the  act.)  He  left  nine  children. 
His  wife  was  shot  the  25th  of  June,  1780,  by  one  of 
a  party  of  British  passing  through  Springfield.  The 
children,  nine  in  number,  were  taken  to  the  house'of 
Sfephen  Day,  Esq.,  whose  wife  was  a  sister  of  Mrs. 
Caldwell,  where  O.  Day  now  lives. 

De  Haert  (Hart),  Jeremiah,  lived  on  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  forks  of  the  road  at  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  New  Providence.  He  was  born  9th  De- 
cember, 1714,  and  died  17th  November,  1749.  His 
wife,  Sarah,  born  11th  June,  1718.  They  had  four 
children.  This  is  the  branch  of  family  the  Harts  in 
this  valley  are  from. 

Hole,  Charles,  came  about  the  year  1763 ;  lived 
close  by  the  Blue  Brook  (Feltville) ;  he  owned  a  large 
tract  of  land  near  and  adjoining  Uriah  Hedges,  John 
and  James  Badgley.  The  family  at  one  time  were 
quite  prominent  in  this  township,  and  a  large  number 
of  his  descendants  are  now  in  the  West  (none  of  that 

1  Little's  Passaic  Valley. 


350 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


name  reside  in  this  township  now).  He  had  a  son, 
John  Hole,  who  was  one  of  the  first  physicians  here, 
•who  married  for  his  first  wife  Hannah  Chirk,  and  his 
second  Mercy  Ludhjw,  daughter  of  Jeremy  Ludlow ; 
they  went  to  Ohio.  The  following  epita])h  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  old  burial-ground  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church : 

"H. 
Btary,  Daiigliter  of 
Dr.  Johu  Hole  and  Massee 
Hole,  Died  July  ye  l.',  1787, 
Aged  6  years,  16  Days.  ' 

A  dropsfy  fore  long  time  i  bore 
Forfitions  vere  in  vain 
Till  Code  alone  did  hear  my  moan 
And  ease  me  of  my  pain." 

Littell,  Nathaniel,  was  sou  of  David,  son  of  Sam- 
uel, son  of  John,  son  of  George,  who  emigrated  from 
London,  England,  to  Newbury,  Mass.,  it  is  supposed 
in  the  year  1635.  Nathaniel  Littell,  Esq.,  married 
Mary  Cauldwell,  daughter  of  William  Cauldwell,  son 
of  James,  who  emigrated  from  Ireland  in  1732.  He 
bought  the  lot  in  1786  of  John  Bedell,  on  which  he 
built  his  house  in  1787,  where  his  son  John  lived, 
and  where  he  kept  a  store  till  he  died,  the  18th  Feb- 
ruary, 1811,  aged  fifty-eight  years.  He  was  a  justice 
of  peace,  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Providence.  Mary,  his  wife,  was  born  14th  February, 
1757,  and  died  8th  January,  1823.  They  had  nine 
children, — John,  Hugh,  Polly,  Aaron,  Luther,  Nancy, 
Betsey  Thompson,  Huldah,  and  David  Cauldwell 
Littell.  Their  second  son,  Hugh,  born  3d  September, 
1781,  married  22d  January,  1814,  Susan  W.  Scudder, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Benjamin  K.  Scudder,  son  of  Richard 
Scudder.  He  was  a  master-mason  in  New  York,  wa.s 
engaged  in  the  erection  often  brick  houses,  when,  on 
the  9th  of  November,  1822,  he  was  ascending  a  ladder 
to  the  upper  story  of  one  of  them,  lost  his  balance, 
and  fell  to  the  curbstone  of  the  street,  broke  in  his 
skull,  and  died  immediately.     He  had  no  children.' 

John  Littell,  first  son  of  Nathaniel,  son  of  David 
Littell,  was  born  28th  November,  1779.  He  married 
the  6th  May,  1809,  Miss  Mary  Conklin,  daughter  of 
William  Conklin,  Esq.,  of  Basking  Ridge.  He  lined 
where  his  father  did,  in  Passaic  Valley,  near  Littell's 
Bridge,  and  with  his  brother  Luther  kept  a  .store  from 
1811  to  1828,  when  he  dissolved  partnership,  and  he 
continued  the  store  alone  till  1838,  when  he  sold  out 
the  goods  to  Mr.  Jonathan  Valentine,  who  continued 
it  till  1839. 

He  was  twice  elected  to  the  Legislature,  viz.,  1837 
and  1838  ;  was  appointed  justice  of  the  peace  and  also 
judge  of  the  court  in  1814,  and  appointed  justice  of 
peace  in  1828,  and  continued  by  reappointments  till 
the  year  1848 ;  was  then  again  elected  under  the  new 
constitution,  and  was  in  1849  appointed  by  the  Legis- 
lature a  commissioner  of  deeds,  and  by  successive 
appointments  continued  many  years  in  that  office. 

1  Little's  Passaic  Valley,  p.  240. 


He  was  elected  and  installed  an  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  1835,  and  was  appointed  one  of 
the  delegates  of  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth  Town  to 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
18.35  at  Pittsburgh,  and  in  1840  and  1846  at  Philadel- 
jihia,  and  1851  at  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  Littell  was  considerable  of  a  writer,  and  many 
intere.sting  incidents  are  told  by  the  present  genera- 
tion of  the  olden  time  that  he  had  told  in  years  past 
of  this  early  settlement.  For  many  years  arranging 
and  compiling  his  genealogy  of  the  early  families, 
called  by  him  "  Family  Records  or  Genealogies  of 
the  Passaic  Valley  (and  vicinity)  above  Chatham, 
with  their  ancestors  and  descendants  as  far  as  can 
now  be  ascertained,  by  John  Littell.  Published  at 
Stationer's  Hall  Press,  Feltville,  N.  J.,  David  Felt  & 
Co.,  Stationers  and  Printers,  1851." 

This  volume  is  an  octavo,  in  cloth,  of  .504  pages,  in- 
cluding an  appendix.  This  genealogical  work  has 
now  become  scarce.  The  edition  is  exhausted,  bring- 
ing, a  large  price.  Those  families  who  possess  it  will 
under  no  consideration  part  with  the  work. 

Mr.  Littell  was  a  gentleman  of  the  olden  times, 
looked  up  to  by  this  community.  Many  acts  of  be- 
nevolence and  kindness  are  recorded,  many  admo- 
nitions to  the  erring  and  to  the  community  at  large. 
He  was  respected  and  loved,  and  in  death  lamented. 

In  the  Littell  family  plot  in  the  burial-ground  just 
back  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  stands  a  white  mar- 
ble tablet,  on  which  is  inscribed  his  epitaph  : 

"John  Littell, 
Born  Nov.  28,  1779, 
Died  Feb.  18,  1854.' 

The  following  is  taken  from  his  genealogical  work, 
arranged  by  himself: 

"John  Littell  (Istchildof  Nathaniel)  and  Mary  Conklin  had  children: 

"  \.  William  Conklin  born  15th  April,  1810,  and  died  27tli  September, 
1813. 

"2.  Mary,  born  29th  February,  1812,  married, 'iioth  July,  1838,  Jona- 
than Valentine,  son  of  Peter  D.  Valentine,  and  bad  children :  1,  Samuel 
Butan;  2,  Luther  Littell;  3,  Eliz:i  Littell;  4,  William,  who  died  in  in- 
fancy; 5,  John,  who  died  in  infancy;  6,  Mary  Abigail. 

"3.  William,  born  lOth  October,  1S16,  married,  26th  October,  1836, 
Mebetabel  Bonnel,  daughter  of  Jonathan  C.  Bonnet,  won  of  Nathaniel 
Bonnet  3d.  He  keeps  a  store  at  the  Summit  of  the  Morris  and  Essex 
Railroad,  and  is  postmaster  there. 

"4.  Eliza,  born  16th  December,  1815,  married,  9th  March,  1842,  James 
K.  Hurin,  a  merchant  of  Lebanon,  Ohio,  and  wiut  there  and  died  19th 
May,  1843,  leaving  a  young  child  named  Eliza,  who  died  at  three 
months  old,  and  he  again  married  5th  June,  1845,  Cynthia  Halsey. 

"  5.  Harriet,  born  Nth  November,  1817.  married,  16th  Slay,  1848,  John 
T.Wilcox,  son  of  Jonathan  M.  Wilcox,  sou  of  Levi,  and  had  «  son 
George.     He  kept  store  in  NfW  Providence  village. 

"6.  Susan,  born  27th  February,  182',  and  ninrried,  1st  November, 
1867,  Charles  Wliitaker,  son  of  Deacon  Stephen  Wliitaker,  of  Cleveland, 


Ohi 


nd  liv 


i  then 


"7.  John,  born  30tb  January,  1822,  married,  24th  September,  18S1, 
Deborah  Hall,  born  24th  December.  1821,  daughter  of  Jonathan  A.  Hall, 
of  Penn  Van,  N.Y. 

"  S.  Luther,  born  21sl  April,  1824.  graduated  at  Princeton  College '25th 
June,  1844;  studied  theology  at  the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary,  and 
was  licensed  to  preach  4th  October,  1849,  by  the  Eiizabethtown  Presby- 
tery, and  was  ordained  to  preach  the  gospel,  and  installed  over  the 
church  at  Mount  Hope,  Orange  Co.,  N.  Y.,  the  25th  September,  I85II,  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Hudson. 

"9.  Huldah  Rebecca,  born  .3d  Juno,  1826.  married,  2d  May,  1850,  to 


NKW    PROVIDENCE. 


851 


John  Thomas,  of  Haniilton,  Butler  Co.,  Ohio,  and  went  tliere.  Mr.  ] 
Tlionias  W88  born  20lh  July,  1822,  is  a  lawyer,  a  son  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  I 
Thomas,  a  native  of  Wales,  who  graduated  at  Oxford,  England. 

"10.  A  daughter  not  named,  lK)rn  16th  January,  1830,  and  died  the 
same  day." 

Jeremiah  Ludlow  lived  in  New  Providence,  where 
James  M.  Morehouse  lived.  He  died  1st  of  August, 
1764,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  His  widow  died  12th 
March,  1790,  in  her  ninety-first  year.  They  had  two 
children,  from  which  sprang  this  numerous  family. 

Col.  Cornelius  Ludlow,  the  second  son,  married 
Catherine  Cooper.  He  was  first  major  (lieutenant- 
colonel)  in  the  Morris  County  battalion,  Jan.  13, 
1776  ;  a  major  in  Col.  Martin's  battalion,  Heard's 
brigade,  June  14,  1776;  lieutenant-colonel  again  of 
Eastern  Battalion,  Morris,  May  23,  1777  ;  resigned 
Nov.  13,  1777,  disability.  He  had  also  a  son  Ben- 
jamin, who  became  major-general  of  the  militia  of 
New  Jersey.  The  ancestors  of  the  present  Governor 
Ludlow,  of  New  Jersey,  came  from  this  township,  and 
Col.  Benjamin  Ludlow  was  his  grandfather.  He  is 
buried  in  the  graveyard  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
His  epitaph  reads : 

"  In  memory  of  General  Benjamin  Ludlow,  who  died  Jan.  27, 1817,  in 
the  fifty-fourth  year  of  his  age." 

He  was  for  many  years  judge  of  the  court  of  Morris 
County,  and  was  several  times  elected  to  the  Legisla- 
ture as  member  of  the  General  Assembly.  He  married 
Eleanor  Harris,  and  by  her  had  eleven  children.  His 
wife  died  4th  September,  1819,  in  her  forty-eighth 
year.  His  son  Cornelius,  who  married  Julia  Anne 
Disborough,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  also  justice  of 
peace  and  judge  of  County  Court  of  Morris  County. 
He  had  five  children, — George,  Jane,  and  three  others. 
He  died  24th  November,  1836.  2d.  Israel,  born  1796, 
and  died  21st  December,  1819,  unmarried.  3d.  Mary, 
who  married  Dr.  John  \V.  Craig,  of  Plaiufield,  and 
died  in  1846,  without  children.  4th.  Martha,  born 
1801,  and  died  17th  November,  1802.  5th.  Susan, 
born  1803,  and  died  27th  March,  1823,  unmarried. 
6th.  George  Harris,  born  1805.  He  was  successively 
in  public  offices.  7th.  Martha,  the  second  child  by 
that  name,  married  her  cousin,  George  H.  McCarter, 
17th  November,  1840;  she  died  in  1845,  without  chil- 
dren. 8th.  Eliza,  born  1809,  and  died  19th  March, 
1838,  unmarried.  9th.  Charlotte,  born  1810,  died 
22d  July,  1830,  unmarried.  10th.  Eleanor,  born  181-, 
and  died  4th  March,  1849,  unmarried.  11th.  Ben- 
jamin, born  8th  August,  1814,  and  died  the  17th  No- 
vember following. 

Capt.  Daniel  S.  Wood  came  from  Long  Island  to 
Passaic  Valley  about  the  year  1754,  and  learned  the 
blacksmith  trade  with  a  Mr.  Moore.  Mr.  Wood, 
when  he  became  of  age,  bought  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Moore,  and  set  up  business  for  himself,  and  lived  on 
the  farm  till  his  death,  which  occurred  the  8th  day  of 
February,  1832,  aged  ninety-one  years.  The  farm  is 
part  of  lot  No.  20  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  lots,  sur- 
veyed in  1736-37,  above  the  First  Mountain.    He  mar- 


ried Mary  Potter,  of  Hanover,  and  had  two  children, 
who  died  young,  and  his  wife  died  18th  February, 
1768.  He  then  married  Sarah  Johnson,  sister  to 
Uzel  Johnson  ;  she  died  12th  April,  1806,  in  her  fifty- 
sixth  year.  He  had  nine  children, — 1st,  John,  who 
died  young  ;  2d,  Sally  ;  3d,  Dacia;  4th,  Daniel ;  -ath, 
.loseph;  6th,  Samuel ;  7th,  Elizabeth  A.,  who  mar- 
ried Capt.  Stephen  Day,  son  of  Benjamin  Day,  Esq., 
as  his  second  wife  ;  8th,  Margaret  Williston,  who  mar- 
ried the  Rev.  Waters  Burrows,  son  of  Waters  Bur- 
rows:  9th,  David,  who  married  Sarah  Bonsai,  of 
Spring  Valley,  Morris  Co.,  N.  J.  He  kept  a  grocery 
in  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  had  four  children. 

Mention  is  made  of  John  Carle,  son  of  Jacob  Carle, 
who  lived  on  Long  Hill,  on  the  five-hundred-acre 
tract,  which  was  divided  between  him  and  his  brother 
Jonas.  He  was  a  justice  of  peace,  a  judge  of  the 
court,  and  several  times  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State,  and  in  1783  was  a  member  of  the  Privy 
Council.  He  married  Providence  Layton,  and  had 
three  children, — Jemima,  Sally,  and  John  Carle  (2d), 
who  became  a  Presbyterian  minister. 

New  Providence  ceased  to  have  any  connection 
with  the  old  township  of  Elizabeth  Town  Feb.  4,  1794, 
they  believing  they  would  be  better  accommodated 
by  annexation  to  Springfield  township,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  year  1809  that  they  became  a  distinct 
township.  There  is  an  area  of  about  six  thousand 
five  hundred  acres  in  the  township. 

Civil  Organization. — This  township  did  not  until 
April  13,  1840,  hold  an  election  by  ballot.  Aaron 
Doty  served  as  moderator  at  this  election.  There 
were  polled  at  this  time  140  votes,  of  which  the  Whig 
ticket  had  7-3  votes  and  the  Democratic  ticket  67  votes. 
The  Whigs  carried  the  election  by  6  majority.  Dan- 
iel H.  Wood  had  72  votes,  and  was  elected  town  clerk. 
Abraham  Lockwood  had  71,  and  was  elected  judge  of 
election,  and  Dayton  Badgley  and  Stephen  Marshall 
were  elected  surveyors  of  highways.  The  pound- 
keeper  elected  was  John  Wilson.  School  commit- 
tee, John  Little,  John  S.  Smith,  and  Amasa  Denny. 
The  first  overseers  of  the  highway  elected  by  ballot 
were  Benjamin  Weed,  John  Little,  Jonathan  Potter, 
John  Marshall,  John  Stephenson,  Noah  Willcox, 
John  Wilson,  John  T.  Wilcox,  William  Moore, 
Israel  B.  Long,  Amos  Morehouse,  William  Littell, 
Matthias  Osborn.  The  assessor  was  Jonathan  Val- 
entine, and  collector,  John  S.  Smith. 

The  first  grand  jurymen  elected  in  this  township 
were  Amos  Potter  and  Nathaniel  Bonnel.  The  mem- 
bers of  Legislature,  John  Littell,  Jonathan  Valentine 
(he  also  was  surrogate  of  the  county),  Stephen  Day, 
Jr.,  Daniel  H.  Noe. 

The  tbllowing  have  been  justices  of  the  peace: 


John  Littell,  lS4o-53. 
John  Wood,  1848-58. 
John  Valentine,  1»45. 
Israel  0.  Maxwell,  1879. 
Simon  Peter  Debbie,  1879-80. 


John  Noe,  1858. 
William  Littell,  ISGO. 
Jacob  B  Maxwell,  1861. 
William  A.  Ostran.ler,  1867. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  1874-79. 


352  HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Elias  Runyon,  1810-12. 
Luther  Littell,  181:). 
Jotham  Potter.  1814-23. 
Peter  D.  Valentine,  1824-26. 
Era-itUB  D.  CroBsfleld,  1826-28. 
Henry  W.  Tuttle,  1829. 
ApoUas  JI.  Elmer,  1830-33. 
Eugpne  S.  D..iiEhty,  1834-38. 
Henry  W.  Tuttle,  1849. 
Daniel  H.  Wood,  1840-41. 
Jonathan  Valentine,  1842-43. 
John  J.  Wilcox,  1844-46. 
Jonathan  Valentine,  1847. 
John  Littell,  184s. 
John  N.  Doughty,  1849-50. 
Joseph  W.  Crane,  1851. 
George  B.  Ayres,  1852-53. 
Elias  R.  Morehouse,  1854. 


Cornelius  Mulford,  1810. 
Joseph  Line.  1811. 
Cornelius  Mulford,  1812-20. 
Luther  Littell,  1821-23. 
Jonathan  M.  Wilcox,  1824-28. 
Levi  Clark,  1829. 
Luther  Littell,  1830-31. 
Jonathan  M.  Willcox,  1832. 
Levi  Clark,  1833-37. 
John  Lyon,  1838. 
Jonathan  Valentine,  1839^0. 
Jonathan  M.  Wilcox,  1841. 
Daniel  S.  Clark,  1842. 
Almond  D.  Atwood,  1843. 
Jonathan  Valentino,  1844. 
Samuel  Clark,  1845. 


CLEEKS.l 

John  S.  Vankirk,  1855. 

Israel  0.  Maxwell,  1856-59. 

John  N.  Doughty,  1860. 
j  John  D.  Martin,  1861-62. 
I    Maline  M.  Bonnel,  1S63. 

Philemon  Tompkins,  1864-65. 

John  M.  Wilcox,  1866-68. 

William  V.  Meeker,  1869. 
j    John  M.  Wilcox,  1870. 
,   Edward  Barnes,  1871. 

John  Wood,  1871. 

Edward  Barnes,  1872. 

William  Stavers,  1873-76. 

Peter  T.  Wood,  1877. 

Samuel  R.  Valentine,  1878. 

Peter  T.  Wood,  1879-81. 
(Complete  list.) 


Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  1846-48. 
Jonathan  M.  Willcox,  1849-51. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  1852-53. 
Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  1854. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  18.56-56. 
Amos  Poller,  1857-59. 
William  Kendell,  1860-62. 
William  R.  Kendell,  1863-65. 
Amos  Potter,  1866-68. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  1872. 
Jonathan  M.  Willcox,  1873. 
William  Crane,  1874-75. 
Israel  0.  Maxwell,  1876-77. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  1878. 
John  Wood,  1879-81. 


COLLECTORS. 


Stephen  Day,  1810. 
Stephen  Day,  1824. 
Stephen  Day,  1827. 
Stephen  Day,  1829. 
Amos  Willcox,  1831. 
Daniel  S.  Clark,  1834-36. 
John  S.  Smith,  1840-41. 
John  Wood,  1844-46. 
Daniel  R.  Valentine,  1849. 
Daniel  R.  Valentine,  1853-64. 
■William  Valentine,  1856-57. 
John  T.  Wilcox,  1859. 
Jacoh  B.  Maxwell,  1863-64. 
John  T.  Wilcox,  1868-70. 
Elias  R.  Morehouse,  1875-77. 


Daniel  S.  Clark,  1811-23. 
Dauiel  S.  Clark,  1825-26. 
Charles  H.  Jackson,  1828. 
Charles  H.  Jackson,  1830. 
Charles  H.  Jackson,  1832. 
Apollas  M.  Elmer,  1836-39. 
Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  1842-43. 
John  T.  Wilcox,  1847-48. 
Daniel  H.  Wood,  1860-52. 
Maline  M.  Bonnel,  1855. 
Maline  M.  Bonnel,  1858. 
Maline  M.  Bonnel,  1860-62. 
John  A.  McEachson,  1865-67. 
Joseph  C.  Noe,  1ST4. 
William  E.  Samson,  1878-81. 


CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS 


Levi  Clark,  1840-42. 

Apollas  M.  Elmer,  1840. 

John  Littell,  1841,  1843-45. 

Jotham  Potter,  1842,  1846. 

Isaac  L.  Willcox,  1843. 

Henry  Wilcox,  1844-47. 

Jotham  Potter,  1847-48. 

Jonatlian  Valentine,  1848-49. 

Nathaniel  Bonnel,  1850. 

Amos  Poller,  Jr.,  1849-51. 

Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  1860-52. 

John  Wood,  1852-63. 

John  Wood,  1853. 

John  J.  Wilcox,  1863-64,  1872-73, 

1879-80. 
Ezra  Wilcox,  1854-56. 


William  Kendall,  1865-66. 
John  S.  Clark,  1856-.57. 
Daniel  H.  Noe,  1857-68. 
Daniel  R.  Valentine,  IS-W-eg. 
Jacob  D.  Mulford,  1859-60. 
Israel  Doughty,  1860-01. 
Nathaniel  Bonnel,  1861-63. 
Israel  0.  Maxwell,  1862-64. 
James  C.  Pitts,  1864-65. 
Maline  M.  Bounel,  1866. 
Jonathan  M.  Mulr,  1866-67. 
Isaac  Meeker,  Jr.,  1866-67. 
John  W.  Clark,  1868-69. 
W.  A.  L.  Ostrander,  1870-71. 
Cornelius  A.  Runkle,  1874-81. 


1  There  are  no  records  to  be  found  earlier  than  the  year  1810,  they 
having  been  mislaid  or  destroyed.  The  list  of  those  who  enlisted  and 
served  as  volunteera  in  the  army  during  the  Rebellion  is  not  to  be 
found. 


The  name  of  this  town.ship  was  changed  from  Tur- 
key in  1778.  The  cause  of  this  change  is  worthy  of 
mention.  Several  years  previous  to  this  date,  wliile 
the  people  were  assembled  in  their  unfinished  hou.se 
of  worship,  the  beams  of  the  gallery,  only  loosely 
covered,  gave  way,  precipitating  amidst  falling  boards 
and  timbers  that  part  of  the  congregation  which  were 
seated  above  upon  those  who  were  below,  and  all  so 
suddenly  as  to  afford  no  time  to  retreat  or  to  make 
preparation  for  the  event.  Yet  no  one  was  seriously 
injured.  This  the  people  considered  as  a  remarkable 
interposition  of  Providence  for  their  preservation,  and 
in  pious  remembrance  of  it  resolved  that  this  township 
and  (church)  should  be  called  New  Providence. 

The  population  of  New  Providence  township  from 
census  report  is  782;  New  Providence,  about  500; 
Stony  Hill  and  Feltville,  282.  The  whole  number  of 
votes  in  the  township  in  1853  was  182. 

The  township,  April  8,  1844,  was  a  tie  in  some  of 
the  offices,  and  the  Township  Committee  broke  the 
tie  between  John  Littell  and  Israel  Doty  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  John  Littell  as  chosen  freeholder. 

Villages  aad  Hamlets. — New  Providence  is  the 
largest  village  in  this  township,  and  was  settled  prior 
to  1794.  It  was  formerly  quite  a  business  place. 
Hatteries,  shoe-factories,  and  tanneries  were  carried 
on  quite  extensively.  It  contains  at  the  present  two 
churches  (Presbyterian  and  Methodist  Episcopal),  a 
large  new  school  building  which  cost  over  ten  thou- 
sand dollars,  two  blacksmith-shops,  two  grist-mills, 
one  scroll  and  fanc)'  wood  mill,  a  tavern,  two  stores, 
post-office,  and  about  seventy  dwellings.  Henry  F. 
Barrill,  Esq.,  has  a  fine  collection  of  geological  speci- 
mens and  many  fine  specimens  in  natural  history. 
He  is  the  Third  District  school  clerk  of  the  township. 
The  roads  surrounding  the  village  are  kept  in  excel- 
lent condition,  and  with  the  fine  hills  surrounding 
the  village  make  it  quite  picturesque  and  pleasing. 
The  Passaic  River  passes  in  the  northwesterly  part  of 
the  town.  Many  of  the  old  historic  homes  of  the  first 
pioneer  settlers  can  be.  seen,  and  many  of  the  same 
name,  descendants  of  these  families,  still  own  and  live 
here,  tilling  the  same  farms.  The  village  proper  con- 
tains a  population  of  about  500  inhabitants.  The 
names  of  the  first  who  kept  houses  of  entertainment 
(taverns)  are,  as  far  as  can  be  learned,  as  follows: 

Samuel  Totten,''  a  brother  of  James  Totten,  who 
lived  a  little  south  of  the  corner  store,  south  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  He,  it  is  believed,  was  the  first 
tavern-keeper.  He  died  the  25th  of  June,  1775 ;  his 
widow  died  March  17, 1790.  They  had  three  children, 
— first,  Samuel  Totten,  Jr.,  who  married  9th  of  June, 
1785,  Martha  Tuttle ;  second,  Martha  Totten,  married 
31st  of  July,  Joseph  Day  ;  third,  Jonathan  Totten, 
married  15tli  of  October,  1792,  Esther  Wood,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  Wood.  He  died  24th  of  February,  1837, 
aged  sixty-eight  years.     We  have  found  that  Esay 

'  Pasiaic  Valley. 


NEW   PKOVIDENCE. 


353 


Osborn  kept  tavern  for  some  years,  and  was  followed 
by  Henry  Schareman,  a  relative  of  Samuel  Totten, 
and  John  Yeager,  Nathan  Van  Kirl{,  Isaac  Munn, 
Mrs.  Creamer,  Septimus  Wilson;  Isaac  Munn  (again 
for  the  second  time),  Augustus  Wilson,  Henry  Agents, 
Alex.  Allen,  James  Smith,  Mrs.  Munn,  Julius  Y. 
Bird,  Augustus  Wilson  (for  the  second  time),  Mrs. 
Allen,  and  Bradford  Jones,  Jr.,  who  now  keeps  a  tem- 
perance hotel. 

Among  the  shoe  manufacturers  was  Elisha  Jolley, 
who  carried  on  the  business  of  cordwainer,  and  also 
sold  rum.  He  married  Frances  Tucker,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Tucker,  who  lived  near  Union  village.  They 
had  seven  children.  He  was  the  son  of  Richard  Jol- 
ley. Lloyd  Ferris  and  Ezra  Williams  also  carried  on 
the  manufacture  of  shoes. 

John  Little,  the  first  son  of  Nathaniel,  son  of  Da- 
vid, was  one  of  the  first  store-keepers.  He,  with  his 
brother  Luther,  kept  a  store  from  1811  to  1828,  when 
they  dissolved  partnershii),  and  he  continued  the  store 
alone  till  1838,  when  he  sold  out  the  goods  to  Jona- 
than Valentine,  who  continued  it  till  1839. 

The  present  store,  kept  by  John  T.  Wilcox,  was 
built  in  the  year  1830,  but  prior  to  this  Ezra  Williams 
kept  a  store  nearly  opposite  to  the  present  one,  some 
thirty  or  more  years  ago,  which  is  now  torn  down. 
The  present  store  has  before  this  been  occupied  by 
Peter  D.  Valentine,  Jonathan  Valentine,  Benjamin 
D.  Lovell,  Daniel  R.  Valentine,  together  with  John 
T.  Wilcox,  Nathaniel  and  Maline  M.  Bonnell,  and 
again  by  David  R.  and  Samuel  R.  Valentine,  and  is 
now  carried  on  by  John  T.  Wilcox. 

The  other  store,  just  above  on  the  next  block  to  the 
east  on  the  same  side,  has  been  occupied  by  the  fol- 
lowing merchants:  D.  S.  Wood,  D.  H.  and  John 
Wood,  Benjamin  Harris,  M.M.  Bonnell  and  Israel  O. 
Maxwell,  McEachron  &  Tompkins,  James  M.  More- 
house, William  Stavers,  Daniel  R.  and  Samuel  Valen- 
tine, D.  R.  Valentine,  John  Brown  (who  instituted  a 
cash  system  in  New  Providence),  Mary  J.  Valentine, 
George  W.  Seamon,  Philemon  Tompkins,  .lames  W. 
Hozov,  and  Henry  Blackford,  the  present  propri- 
etor. 

The  postmasters  have  been  John  Wood,  Israel  Max- 
well, and  John  T.  Wilcox,  the  present  postmaster. 
The  mail  before  this  time  was  carried  by  stages,  which 
passed  through  the  village  from  Basking  Ridge  to 
Elizabeth  Town  Point,  and  was  the  general  passenger 
route  to  the  steam  ferry  at  that  place.  Among  the 
first  were  Patrick  Matthews  and  David  Ayres  as  stage- 
drivers  to  New  York ;  the  distance  was  sixteen  miles 
to  Elizabeth  Town  Point.  An  order  of  Sons  of  Tem- 
perance was  formed  in  the  year  1847,  and  is  still  in 
existence.  The  depot,  called  the  New  Providence 
station,  is  just  outside  of  the  township,  on  the  Dela- 
ware, Lackawanna  and  Western  Railroad.  It  has 
been  established  but  a  few  years.  A  branch  road, 
formerly  called  the  Wast  Line,  now  to  be  completed 
to  the  Delaware  River,  is  now  known  as  the  Delaware 


and  Passaic  Railroad.  There  are  two  depots,  cal  led  the 
Murry  Hill  and  West  Summit,  for  the  village  proper. 

Stony  Hill. — Nearly  south  in  New  Providence 
township,  upon  the  Second  Mountain,  is  a  small  settle- 
ment, mostly  Germans,  who  till  the  soil,  raising  fine 
crops  of  wheat  and  rye,  and  orchards  of  apples,  pears, 
and  peaches,  choice  fruit  for  market.  There  is  a 
church,  called  the  St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic,  also  a 
store  and  brick-yard.  In  the  valley  below  are  some 
fine  residences.  This  is  considered  a  very  healthy 
location,  and  the  views  from  these  hills  are  pictur- 
esque, and  for  many  miles  in  Morris  County  villages 
and  hamlets  can  be  seen.  A  depot  called  Berkley 
Station  is  just  in  the  valley,  on  the  Delaware  and 
Passaic  Railroad.  Most  of  the  roads  are  kept  in  good 
condition.  Large  quantities  of  small  trap-rock  peb- 
bles cover  the  ground,  from  which  the  hill  takes  its 
name.  Ajiiong  the  first  settlers  here  was  James  Mar- 
shall, son  of  James  Marshall,  of  Rahway,  N.  J.  He 
married  Phebe  Marsh,  also  of  Rahway,  and  had  six 
children, — Mary,  who  married  Peter  Allen,  son  of  Jo- 
seph Allen,  of  Washington  Valley ;  2,  Nancy,  mar- 
ried March  10, 1790,  William  Allen,  brother  of  Peter  ; 
3,  James,  married  Mary  Moore,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Moore,  of  Passaic  Valley,  lived  and  died  at  Pater- 
son ;  4,  Daniel,  married  Polly  Frasee,  daughter  of 
Jacob,  on  the  First  Mountain,  and  went  to  Ohio ;  5, 
Jane,  married  David  Brant,  of  Morris  County  ;  he 
left  her  and  went  to  Ohio,  and  she  lived  and  died  in 
New  York  ;  G,  John,  born  1789,  married  Hannah  Will- 
cox,  born  1795,  daughter  of  Daniel  Willcox  ;  he  lived 
on  Stony  Hill,  on  his  father's  place,  and  had  three 
children, — Stephen,  Deborah,  born  1816,  and  May 
Jane,  born  1822. 

Joseph  Doty  came  from  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
and  owned  part  of  lot  No.  39  of  the  Elizabethtown 
lots  in  Stony  Hill  Valley,  on  which  he  lived.  He 
married  Sarah  Badgley,  sister  of  John  and  James 
Badgley,  and  had  five  children.  George,  his  son, 
owned  a  mill.  He  lived  on  Stony  Hill.  He  married 
Sibbe  Howell.  His  brother,  John  Doty,  son  of  Jo- 
seph Doty,  who  married  Sarah  Blatter  for  his  first 
wife,  and  Sarah  Clark  for  his  second  wife,  daughter  ot 
Daniel  Clark,  lived  west  of  his  father's  house,  Stony 
Hill,  and  had  nine  children.  Joseph  Doty  was  one 
of  the  pioneer  settlers  on  Stony  Hill  in  the  year  1730. 

Jonathan  Ruckman  lived  on  Stony  Hill  south  of 
David  Smally's.  He  married  Sarah  Allen,  daughter 
of  Joseph  Allen,  Jr.,  and  had  seven  children  :  1,  Ste- 
phen Ruckman  ;  2,  Nathan,  born  1777 ;  3,  David ;  4, 
Levi ;  5,  Jonathan,  who  died  a  young  man,  unmar- 
ried ;  6,  Phebe,  married  John  Cory  ;  and  7,  Joseph, 
who  married  Mary  Alward,  and  for  his  second  wife 
Sally  Kelly,  of  Mount  Horeb,  N.  J.,  and  had  seven 
children. 

Feltville. — This  was  once  known  by  the  name 
of  Peter's  Hill,  near  Blue  Brook ;  was  settled  by  Peter 
Willcoxsie  in  1720,  and  belonged  to  this  family  of 
Willcoxes  until  Mr.  David  Felt,  of  New  York,  pur- 


354 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


chased  it  for  manufacturing  purposes.  It  consisted 
of  some  six  hundred  acres.  He  erected  a  large  man- 
sion for  his  residence,  wide  avonues  were  laid  out, 
shade-trees  were  planted,  and  some  forty  houses, 
store-house,  church,  and  school-house,  besides  large 
buildings,  engine-rooms,  and  dye-house  for  the  pur- 
po.se  of  marbleizing  of  paper,  which  was  one  of  his 
improvements,  also  of  printing,  stationery,  and  bind- 
ing of  books.  Here  was  the  hum  and  noise  of  busy 
wheels,  as  extensive  machinery  was  here  required; 
a  large  force  of  busy  hands  was  kept  continually 
at  work,  and  at  noonday  and  night  these  avenues 
were  filled  with  them  returning  to  their  homes.  All 
is  now  deserted,  the  buildings  are  in  decay,  the  busy 
wheels  are  heard  no  more.  These  once  occupied 
homes  are  deserted,  the  gardens  and  lawns  are  sur- 
rounded with  a  wild  growth  of  briers  and  brambles. 
The  fine  old  mansion,  amid  orchards  and  gardens  and 
lawns,  and  surrounded  by  old  trees,  shows  neglect 
now. 

The  location  was  selected  by  Mr.  Felt,  being  two 
miles  from  New  Providence  and  three  miles  from 
Summit  Depots.  Feeling  that  this  beautiful  location, 
with  its  fine  views,  high  ground,  mountain  springs, 
that  the  inducements  of  those  who  were  employed 
here  by  being  situated  in  a  village  surrounded  by 
many  demoralizing  tendencies,  they  would  be  free, 
and  this  once  happy  busy  place,  he  endeavored  to  cul- 
tivate their  minds  as  well  as  moral  tendencies,  having 
a  circulating  library,  a  good  school,  the  church,  and 
in  no  way  that  their  means  should  be  wasted,  but 
saved  to  themselves  and  families.  He  had  placed  on 
the  bluft'  above  the  factories  their  dwellings,  wide 
avenues  were  laid  out,  gardens  with  fruits  and  ber- 
ries, and  everything  done  for  their  comfort;  but  now 
all  is  deserted,  and  the  name  of  the  "  Deserted  Vil- 
lage" has  now  taken  the  place  of  the  once  busy  Felt- 
ville. 

As  you  descend  to  the  plain  below,  where  the 
large  factories  stand,  watered  by  the  Blue  Brook,  as 
it  was  originally  called  (now  Green  Brook),  fed  by 
Felt's  Lake,  here  you  have  a  fine  view  of  the  upper 
part  of  Feltville.  Still  a  few  of  the  summer  houses 
are  standing  on  the  edge  of  the  bluff' (this  was  once 
called  the  under  mountain  road  to  the  powder-mill). 
Just  by  the  well-trodden  road  across  the  bridge  of 
Green  Brook  we  come  to  a  gorge  in  the  First  Moun- 
tain, having  the  appearance  of  some  long-ago  break- 
ing into  these  rocks  by  an  earthquake;  a  fine  spring 
of  cold  water  gushing  through  the  cleavage  of  these 
rocks  makes  it  inviting  to  many  picnic  parties  who 
resort  to  this  place.  As  we  return  up  the  foot-path, 
and  passing  by  the  church  and  mansion  to  the  avenue 
leading  to  New  Providence,  we  come  to  the  old  school- 
house,  now  fast  decaying,  where  many  children  were 
taught.  As  we  enter  all  is  gloomy  and  lonesome. 
Here  is  where  stood  the  master;  here  were  the  places 
for  desks  and  benches.  Doorless,  windows  broken,  all 
is  of  the  past. 


"Beside  yon  straggling  fence  that  sltirte  the  way, 
With  Mossonied  furze  unprotltably  gay, 
There  in  his  noisy  mansion  skilled  to  rule 
The  village  master  taught  his  little  8chool,"i 

A  visit  to  this  charming  spot  and  rock  spring  will 
be  interesting  to  the  lover  of  nature. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Felt  a  change  of  ownership 
has  taken  place.  This  romantic  spot  is  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  S.  P.  Townsend,  of  Scotch  Plains. 

Schools. — It  is  recorded  that  the  first  settlers  were 
desirous  to  have  their  children  taught.  A  teacher 
by  the  name  of  Stephen  Ayres  is  first  mentioned 
in  1768,  who  taught  school  in  Turkey.  In  those 
early  times  the  clergyman  was  brought  into  requi- 
sition and  catechised  many  of  the  children,  who  a.s- 
senibled  for  the  purpose ;  and  it  was  often  the  cus- 
tom for  the  mothers  to  bring  their  children  to  the 
minister's  house  on  a  Saturday.  These  catechetical 
gatherings  went  under  the  name  of  "  mothers'  meet- 
ings." The  New  England  Primer  and  the  Shorter 
Catechism  were  gone  through  with.  A  Mr.  Joel 
Jones  is  mentioned,  who  came  from  Massachusetts 
and  settled  on  the  line  of  the  township.  He  tauglit 
school.  This  was  in  the  year  1787.  Mr.  Jones  mar- 
ried, 8th  July,  1790,  a  Miss  Jane  Vance,  daughter  of 
Kennedy  Vance.  HediedlSth  January,  1792,  a  young 
man,  at  the  age  of  twenty-nine  years,  leaving  one 
child,  who  died  young.  Mr.  Jones  had  a  brother 
Luther,  who  came  the  next  year.  He  was  a  widower, 
and  kept  a  school  near  Little's  tavern.  He  married 
15th  November,  1789,  Martha,  widow  of  John  Bedell, 
daughter  of  Peter  Bebout.  By  both  marriages  he  had 
a  family  of  nine  children. 

The  first  school  building  was  said  to  have  been  of 
logs,  and  was  also  used  lor  a  session-room  for  the 
weekly  meetings  of  the  church  until  the  present 
frame  building  was  erected.  At  a  meeting  of  the 
citizens  of  New  Providence  in  1822  for  the  purpose 
of  arranging  a  system  for  the  better  maintenance  of 
a  school,  the  constitution  of  the  "New  Providence 
Academy"  was  drawn  up,  styled  the  New  Providence 
Company,  and  was  adopted  at  an  adjourned  meeting, 
April  30th. 

The  following  is  a  partial  list  of  teachers  in  this 
institution:  Ezra  Fairchild,  Buel  L,  Bates,  1834; 
Ann  or  Anna  Pugh,  1831-33;  Daniel  Young,  Sarah 
Ann  Burrows,  Mary  Francis  Burrows,  Emma  John- 
son, Miss Valentine,  Miss  L.  L.  Lord,  T.  T.  Col- 
lard. 

The  academy  continued  to  be  the  school  of  the 
village  until  1869.  In  that  year  their  elegant  new 
school  building  was  finished  at  the  cost  of  some 
ten  thousand  dollars.  Present  principal,  J.  W.  Ken- 
nedy. A.  V.  Patterson,  now  a  judge  in  Califor- 
nia, served  them  in  1872-73,  succeede<l  by  J.  H.  Van- 
sickle,  S.  C.  Wheat,  E.  H.  Schuyler,  F.L.  Stiles,  E. 
Merritt,  and  the  present  principal,  J.  W.  Kennedy. 

There  are  three  school  districts  in  the  township, 

>  Goldsmith's  Deserted  Village. 


NEW   PROVIDENCE. 


355 


Nos.  1*6,  17,  18.  The  first  district  clerk  was  John  U. 
Clark;  the  second,  J.  B.  Bassenger;  the  tliird,  now 
acting,  Henry  F.  Barrill. 

The  first  school-house  was  a  log  building  in  the 
township,  then  called  Turkey  ;  the  second,  the  present 
session-rooms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  the  third, 
a  new  building  costing  ten  thousand  dollars,  finished 
in  1869,  on  the  main  road  in  the  centre  of  the  village ; 
has  a  fine  school-lot,  with  shade-trees  in  the  rear,  and 
ample  play-ground  during  the  recess  at  noon  for  the 
scholars. 

The  district  statistics  are  as  follows : 


Name. 
Feltville. 
Sulon. 


Niimbfr 
of  children. 

83  Simon  P.  Del.l.i 

64 E<1,  C.  JodeB, 

e.    116 H.F.  Barrill, 


,  District  Clerk. 


Miss  Bessie  Barrill,  daughter  of  the  now  acting 
clerk  of  the  district,  has  prepared  and  presented  a 
valuable  collection  of  natural  history  in  cases,  all 
named,  numbered,  and  located.  We  append  the  list. 
For  neatness  and  completeness  this  valued  collection 
is  worth  five  hundred  dollars,  and  the  township  can- 
not too  much  appreciate  this  valuable  donation  of 
Miss  Barrill : 

LIST  OF  NAMES  OF  NATURAL  HISTORY   SPECIMENS  IN  NEW 
PROVIDENCE    PUBLIC    SCHOOL. 


Pre 


Miss  Bessik  Ba 


Falconida;  or  Falcon  family.  |  Sylviidie  ( 

Red-sbonlrtered  Hawk,  f.,  1.  !      Tellow- 

Strigidip  or  Owl  family.  ^  f.,  5 

Screech-OwI,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Short.eared  Owl,  1. 
Cucnlidse  or  Cuckoo  family. 

Yellow-billed  Cuckoo,  m.  and  f.,2. 

Black-billed  Cuckoo,  2. 
Picidje  or  Woodpecker  family. 

Downy    Woodpecker,    m.    and 
f.,2. 

Yellow-bellied  Woodpecker,  m. 
and  f.,  2. 

Golden  -  winged     Woodpecker, 
m.,  1. 

Hairy  Woodpecker,  m.,  1. 
Trocbilidfe     or     Humming  -  Bird 
family. 

Kuby-throated    Humming-Bird, 
m.  and  f.,  2. 
CypselincB  or  Swift  family. 

Chimney  Swift,  1. 
Coleopteridffi  or  Flycatcher  family. 

Phcebe  Birds,  m.and  f.,  2. 

Kingbird,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Great    Crested    Flycatcher,    m. 
and  f ,  2. 

Trail's  Flycatcher,  2. 

Least  Flycatcher,  2. 

Acadian  Flycatcher,  2. 

Western  Wood  Pewee,  T. 
Turdidje  or  Thrush  family. 

Common  Robin,  m.and  f.,  2. 

Eastern  Bluebird,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Olive-backed  Thrush,  2.  | 

Hermit  Thrunh,  2. 

Ruby-crowned  Kinglet,  m.,  2.  H 

Golden-crested  Kinglet,  m.  and 

f.,  2.  B. 

Wilson  Thrush,  1. 

Wood  Thrush,  m.  and  f,,  2. 


•  Warbler  family, 
ump  Warbler,    n: 


Lanidas  or  Shrike  family. 

Red-eyed  Vireo,  m.  and  f,,  2. 

White-eyed  Vireo,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Yellow-throated       Fly-catching 
Vireo,  2. 

Blue-headed  Vireo,  m.,1. 

Butcher-Bird,  m.,  1. 
Diatrichid«  or  Mocking-Bird  fam- 
ily. 

Brown  Thrush,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Catbird,  m.  and  f,  2. 

Winter  Wren,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Certhid£e  or  Creeper  family. 

White-bellied  Nut,  Hatch, m.  and 
f.,  2. 

Eed-bellied  Nut,  Hatch,  1. 

American  Creeper,  1. 
Parida^or  Titmouse  family. 

Tufted  Titmouse,  1. 

Black-capped  Titmouse,  m.  and 
f.,  2. 

Blue-gray  Gnat-catcher,  1. 
Fringillidje  or  Sparrow  family. 

Pine  Finch,  ni.  and  f.,  2. 

Savannah  Sparrow,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

English  Sparrow,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Black  Snow-Bird,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Tree  Sparrow,  m.  and  f ,  2. 

Fox-colored  Sparrow,  m.  and  f,  2. 

Seaside  Fincli,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

White-throated  Sparrow,  m.  and 


and 


Yellow    Red-poll    Warbler,    m. 

and  f.,  2. 
Black     and    White      Creeping 

Warbler,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Yellow-breasted  Chat,  2. 
Summer  Warbler,  m.  and  f,  2. 
Maryland     Yellow     Throat,   m. 

and  f.,  2. 
Black-poll  Warbler,  2. 
Scarlet  Tanager,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Nashville  Warbler,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Blue  Yellow-back  Warbler,  2. 
Canada  Flycatcher,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
TiUark,  1. 

Prairie  Warbler,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Blue-winged  Yellow  Warbler,  1. 
Redstart,  2. 

Pine-creeping  Warbler,  2. 
Orange-crowned  Warbler,  1. 
.\udubon'8  Warbler,  m.  and  f.,  2. 
Yellow-throated  Warbler,  1. 
Golden-crowned  Thrush,  m.  and 

f.,2. 
Kentucky  Warbler,  2. 
Water  Thrush,  1. 
Kirkland's  Warbler,  I. 
Black  and  Yellow  Warbler,  1. 
Black-throated  Blue  Warbler,  1. 
Grace's  Warbler,  2. 
Mourning  Warbler,  I. 
Tennessee  Warbler,  1. 
Hooded  Flycatcbing  Warbler,  1. 
Blackburnian  Warbler,  1. 

dinid^e  or  Swallow  family. 
Barn  Swallow,  m.  and  f,,  2. 
Ifmibycillidffi    or  Waxwing  fam- 
ily. 
Cedar  Bird,  m.  and  f.,  2. 


Sharp. tailed  Finch,  1. 

St.  Lucas  Sparrow,  1. 

Thynard  Sparrow,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Chervink,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Rose-breasted  Grossbeak,  m.  and 
f,2. 

Rufons  Crowned  Finch,  1. 

Henslow's  Sparrow,  1. 

Cinereous  Song  Sparrow,  1. 

Titlark  Sparrow,  2. 

Purple  Finch,  2. 

Snow  Buntings,  2. 
Icteridse  or  Blackbird  family. 

Red-winged   Blackbird,  m.  and 
f.,  2. 

Baltimore  Oriole,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Orchard  Oriole,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Bob-o'-link,  m.  and  f,  2. 

Cowbird,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Rusty  Crakle,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Meadow  Lark,  f.,  I. 

Crow  Blackbird,  m.,  1. 
Cervid*  or  Crow  family. 

Blue  Jay,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Common  Crow,  f.,  1. 
Columbidse  or  Dove  family. 

Wild  Pigeon,!. 
Ferdicinse  or  Partridge  family. 

Quail,  m.,1. 
Ardeidai  or  Heron  family. 


I  He 


f.,2. 

Night  Heron,  I. 

Indigo- Bird  Sparrow,  m.and  f.,2. 

CharadridjB  or  Plover  family. 

Chipping  Sparrow,  m.  and  f 

,2. 

Scolopacida;  or  Snipe  family. 

Field  Sparrow,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

American  Woodcock,  m.,  1. 

Yellow  Bird,  m.and  f.,2. 

Wilson  Snipe,  1. 

Swamp  Sparrow,  1. 

Spotted  Sandpiper. 

Lincoln  Finch  Sparrow,  m 

and 

Solitary  Tattler,  1. 

f.,2. 

Analida^  or  Duck  family. 

Grass  Finch,  m.  and  f.,  2. 

Sheldrake,  1. 

There  are  185  birds  and  113  kinds 

or  varieties. 

Mammals. 

Chipping  Squirrel,  1. 

Eastern  Skunk,  1. 

Flying  Squirrel,  1. 

Musk-Rat,  1. 

Cross  Red  and  Gray  Squirrel, 

1. 

Opossum,  1. 

Gray  Squirrel,  1. 

Common  Shrew  Mole,  1. 

Red  Squirrel,  I. 

Star-nosed  Mole,  1. 

Little  Brown  Bat,  1. 

Gray-bellied  Mouse,  1. 

Red  Bat,  1. 

Meadow  Mouse,  1. 

Gray  Rabbit,  1. 

Rem 

ILES. 

Muhlenberg  Tortoise,  1. 

Spotted  Tortoise,  1. 

Wood  Tortoise,  1. 

In  At 

Bull-Frog,  1. 
cohot. 

Lispard  Frog, 

Yellow  Salamander. 

Wood  Frog. 

Water-Snake. 

Green  Frog. 

Ring-necked  Snake. 

Peepers. 

Striped  Snake. 

Kresh-water  Lobster. 

Clay-colored  Snakes, 

Blue  Salamander. 

Genus  Scolieta;. 

Sub-order  of  Hyuenopteb 

i. 

"     Formicarite. 

Apis  melliBca. 

"      Ichneumonidao. 

Bombus  (humble  bees). 

"     Tremcx. 

Xylocopha  (carpenter  bees). 

"     TenthredinetK. 

Vespa  crabro. 

"     Selandria. 

Genus  Polisteo. 

"     Clmbex. 

*'     Odynerus. 
"     Eumeneo. 

SoB^iRDEE  or  Lepidoptera 

'*     Crabronida*. 

BuUerJlia. 

"     Crabro. 

Papilio  asterias. 

"     Philanthus. 

'*       turnus. 

"     Bembex. 

Pieris  oleracea. 

"     Sphegidse. 

Colias  philodice. 

356 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Ltmenitts  misippus. 

SOB-ORDEE   OF   COLEOPTERA. 

"          artbeniis.                              1 

Cicindela  vulgaris. 

Danais  erippna. 

birticolliB. 

Argynnis  idalta. 

Carabidfe  calidum. 

Aphrodite  argynnis. 

Genua  Gyrinidse. 

ArgynniBmyrina. 

Silpba  Americana.                               ! 

Meliteea  plmetun. 

"      Necrophorus  grandia. 

Mflitsea  tharos. 

Genus  Staphylinidae. 

Pysameis  cardui. 

**      Dermestes. 

"         Atlanta. 

Lncanue  dama. 

Vanessa  antiopa.                                 , 

Genus  Geotrnpes. 

"        J.  album. 

Macrodactylus  subspinoaa. 

Grapta  interiogationis. 

LacbnoBterna  quercina. 

•'      comma. 

Peliilnota  punctata. 

*'      C.  argeuteum. 

Bupreetis  Virginica. 

Genus  Satynis. 

Elater  ueulatus. 

Chrysophanus  Americana. 

Genus  Lampyridse. 

Genus  Lyctena. 

"      Lymexillidae.             * 

"     Thecla.                                     ■ 

"      Tenebrionidse . 

"      Hesperidw. 

Cantharis  vittata 

Moths. 

*'         marginata. 
"          Fabricii. 

Sphink  quinquemacuUtua. 

"         at  rata. 

"        Carolina. 

Bruchua  pi^i. 

"       quadricornis. 

GenuB  rhyncbseuus. 

Fhilampelus  satellitia. 

Prionus  laticollis. 

"            acbemon. 

Clytus  flexuosuH. 

Ellema  Harrisii.                                 i 

Genus  Lamia. 

Smerinthus  exctecata. 

Saperda  bivittata. 

Sesia  thysbe. 

Lema  triliueata. 

Tro  cbiliuni  exitiosa. 

Galeruca  vittata. 

.^geria  curcurbitae. 

Genus  Chrysoraela. 

Eudryas  grata. 

Euniolpus  auratua. 

Deiupeia  bella. 

Genua  Cassida. 

Callimorplia  niiljtaris. 

"      Hispa. 

Arctia  virgo. 

"      Coccuiellidse. 

"      Isabella. 

Sub-order  of  Hemiptera. 

Spilosuma  Virginica. 
Halesiduta  tessellaris. 

Cicada  eeptendecim. 

Orgyia  leucostigma. 

"     canicularis. 
Membracia  bi mac u lata. 

Attacus  cecrupia. 

Genua  Coccid£e. 

**       prometbea. 

"      Notonectidse. 

*'        polyphemus. 

C!oveid8B  tristis. 

Saturnia  lo. 

SUB-ORPER   OF   ORTHOPTBEA. 

C08SU8  robinlEe. 

Diaphomera  femorata. 

Cliaiocampa  Americana. 

Genus  Mantis. 

Genus  Noctufelit«. 

Acheta  nivea. 

"      Leucania. 

Genus  Gryllus. 
Cyrtophylliis  concavus. 

"      Mamestra. 

Gortyuji  Zere. 

Ckinocephalus  ensiger. 

Genus  Anisopieryx. 

Genus  Stenobotbrus. 

"      Pyralis. 

Caloptenus  femur  rubrum. 

"      Galleria. 

Genus  Acrydium. 

"      CrambuB. 

(Edlipuda  Carolina. 

"      TortricidiB. 

'*         pboenicoptera. 

"      Pentbiua. 

aulphurea. 

"      Anacauipsis. 

"         nebulosa. 

"      Tinea. 

"      Pteropborii. 

Sub-order  of  Neuropteba. 

Genua  Perlariw. 

SUB-OKDER   OF   DlPTERA. 

"      Ephemera. 

Genus  Culicidse. 

"      Libellula. 

"     Tipularin. 

"      iEshna. 

"     Tabanidas. 

"      Agrion. 

"      Asilici. 

"      Corydalia. 

"      Bombyliarii. 

"      Mantiapa. 

"      Syrphidw. 

"      Myrmeleou. 

"      Dulichopidaj. 

"     Neuronia. 

"     (Estridse. 

Order  of  Aracbnida. 

"      GafiteropbiluB. 
«     (EstruB. 

Genua  Lycosa. 

"      Phalangita. 

"      MuBcidre. 

"      Muaca. 

Order  of  MYOCiPODA. 

"     Stomoxys. 

Genus  Julus. 

"      Mellopbaga. 

."      Lithobiua. 

Churches.— Presbyterian  Church,  New  Prov- 
IDENC'E. — There  are  but  few  records  that  can  be 
reached  in  this  village  in  relation  to  the  early  church. 
The  Kev.  W.  H.  Burroughs  gave  a  short  account  in 
I  an  historical  article  about  the  year  1834,  and  from 
this  and  other  sources  we  give  the  following : 

It  appears  that  a.d.  1737  the  inhabitants  of  New 
Providence,  then  called  Turkey,  formed  themselves 
into  a  congregation  for  religious  purposes,  and 
solicited  the  patronage  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
York,  under  whose  care  they  were  received,  and 
within  whose  limits  they  were  then  embraced. 
Whether  they  had  been  accustomed  to  meet  together 
previous  to  this  date  for  religious  worship  is  not 
known.  It  is,  however,  more  than  probable  they 
had,  since  the  present  house  of  worship  was  not 
erected  till  1739,  and  one  built  of  logs  had  been  oc- 
cupied for  the  same  purpose  at  an  earlier  period.  It 
is  believed,  however,  to  have  been  during  the  minis- 
try of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lamb,  who  was  called  to  New 
Providence  in  May,  1742,  and  remained  about  two 
years.  This  church,  which  was  taken  down  in  the 
year  1834,  had  no  steeple,  and  shingled  on  the  sides, 
was  nearly  square,  and  stood  where  the  present  one 
now  stands.  The  men  who  composed  the  first  session 
were  Messrs.  Joseph  Allen,  John  Pierson,  and  Daniel 
Day.  The  name  of  the  church  was  changed  in  1778 
from  the  Turkey  Christian  Church  to  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  New  Providence,  from  a  circum- 
stance of  the  escape  of  the  congregation  in  parts  of 
the  gallery  giving  away.  From  this  event  it  was  con- 
sidered by  the  people  as  a  remarkable  interposition  of 
Providence  for  their  preservation,  and  in  pious  re- 
membrance of  it  resolved  that  the  church  should  be 
called  the  New  Providence  Church. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  ministers  who  have  la- 
bored statedly  in  this  congregation,  together  with  the 
year  in  which  their  labors  respectively  commenced  : 
Rev.  John  Cleverly,  1737 ;  Rev.  Azariah  Horton, 
1739;  Rev.  Joseph  Lamb,  1742;  Rev.  Timothy 
Symms,  1746;  Rev.  Timothy  Allen,  1752  ;  Rev.  Jon- 
athan Elmer,  1757  ;  Rev.  James  G.  Force,  1796;  Rev. 
Elias  Riggs,  1806;  Rev.  James  B.  Hyndshaw,  1825; 
Rev.  William  H.  Burroughs,  1833 ;  Rev.  Thomas 
Cochran,  1834-46 ;  Rev.  John  T.  M.  Davie,  1846-47  ; 
Rev.  Elbridge  Bradberry,  1847-51 ;  Rev.  Charles 
Milne,  1852-55  ;  supply  by  James  McDonall,  1855- 
56 ;  Rev.  John  Abelle  Baldwin,  1857-63 ;  Rev.  Wil- 
liam S.  Moore,  1864-70  ;  Rev.  Elias  R.  Fairchild, 
D.D.,  1870-75;  Rev.  Henry  Martin  Grant,  1877-79; 
supply  by  Albert  King,  January,  1879,  to  October, 
1879  ;  Rev.  Dwight  M.  Seward,  1880-81.  They  are 
at  present  without  a  stated  pastor,  but  are  having  regu- 
lar supplies  on  each  Sabbath. 

Mr.  Cleverly  appears  to  have  remained  but  a  short 
time.     Nothing  of  his  subsequent  history  is  known. 

Mr.  Horton  probably  continued  something  longer. 
He  was  afterwards  settled  in  South  Hanover,  where 
he  ended  his  days. 


NEW    PROVIDENCE. 


857 


Mr.  Lamb,  it  is  said,  remained  about  two  years.  He 
was  subsequently  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Basking 
Ridge,  where  his  remains  are  interred. 

Mr.  Symms  preached  alternately  at  New  Provi- 
dence and  Springfield.  He  appears  to  have  been  the 
first  who  was  regularly  installed  over  the  church  of 
New  Providence,  which  event  took  place  1746.  He 
was  dismissed  December,  1750,  having  served  as  pas- 
tor a  little  more  than  four  years. 

Mr.  Allen  was  installed  in  March,  1753,  and  dis- 
missed some  time  in  1756.  He  appears  to  have  been 
an  acceptable  preacher,  but  of  an  unstable  mind.  He 
afterwards  settled  in  a  congregation  of  Separatists  on 
Long  Island. 

Mr.  Elmer  was  installed  Nov.  13, 1765,  a  little  more 
than  eight  years  after  he  came  to  New  Providence.  He 
was  dismissed  Oct.  14,  1798,  and  was  never  afterwards 
settled. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry,  and  for  nearly 
twenty  years  after  his  coming  to  New  Providence,  Mr. 
Elmer  was  unanimously  beloved  and  esteemed  by 
the  people  of  his  charge,  and  not  a  little  admired  in 
neighboring  congregations.  What  were  the  causes 
which  led  to  the  unhappy  and  much-to-be-lamented 
alienation  of  feeling  which  was  subsequently  mani- 
fested by  a  part  of  the  congregation  towards  their 
pastor  it  were  useless  and  worse  than  useless  now  to 
inquire.  Mr.  Elmer  was  unable  to  preach  for  several 
years  previous  to  his  death.  He  died  at  New  Provi- 
dence, June  0,  1807. 

There  are  two  names  which  should  be  mentioned 
here,  viz. :  Mr.  William  Jackson,  a  licentiate  from 
New  England,  and  the  Rev.  John  Richards,  from 
Wales.  Mr.  Jackson  came  to  New  Providence  to- 
wards the  close  of  the  year  1794,  and  remained  about 
six  months,  but  could  not  be  prevailed  on  to  settle. 
He  afterwards  settled  in  Brentwood,  Mass. 

The  eyes  and  the  hearts  of  the  people  were  next 
directed  towards  Mr.  Richards.  He  came  to  New 
Providence  in  the  summer  of  1795,  and  preached  five 
times  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the  people.  They 
regarded  him  as  a  pious,  humble  servant  of  Jesus, 
and  were  entertaining  high  hopes  that  in  him  they 
should  obtain  a  faithful  and  affectionate  Christian 
pastor.  They  were  taking  measures  for  his  settle- 
ment when  his  Master  suddenly  called  him  from  his 
earthly  labors.  He  died  Sept.  9,  1795,  and  was 
buried  in  the  graveyard  by  the  church. 

Mr.  Force  was  ordained  and  installed  as  pastor  of 
this  congregation  Nov.  20,  1796,  and  dismissed  Oct. 
6,  1802.  He  found  the  congregation  in  a  divided 
and  distracted  state  and  left  in  a  condition  almost 
helpless. 

They  next  united  in  calling  the  Rev.  Elias  Riggs. 
He  began  his  stated  labors  on  Lord's  Day,  Oct.  19, 
1806,  and  was  installed  the  16th  of  June  following. 
"  He  was  a  good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy  Gho.st 
and  of  faith."  His  cool  and  dispassionate  judgment, 
his  unaffected  simplicity  of  manners  both  in  public 


and  in  private,  his  Christian  prudence  and  meekness, 
his  abundant  and  disinterested  labors  in  behalf  of 
his  much-loved  charge,  and,  above  all,  his  humility 
and  heavenly-mindedness  eminently  qualified  him 
for  the  arduous  work  to  which  he  was  called.  For 
the  honor  of  his  Ma,ster  and  for  this  people  he  lived, 
and  with  them  he  died.  All  who  knew  him  loved 
him.  He  was  called  to  his  rest  Feb.  25,  1825,  in  the 
midst  of  a  highly  interesting  state  of  religious  feel- 
ing in  the  congregation. 

Mr.  Hyndshaw  commenced  his  stated  labors  with 
this  people  in  the  fall  of  1825,  and  was  ordained  and 
installed  Jan.  10,  1826.  He  was  dismissed  from  his 
charge  on  the  1st  of  May,  1832,  though  he  continued 
at  the  request  of  the  congregation  to  supply  the  pulpit 
for  six  months  after  his  dismissal. 

Mr.  Burroughs  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Elizabethtown  on  the  19th  February,  1833,  and  ap- 
pointed as  a  stated  supply  for  this  congregation.  At 
the  request  of  the  congregation  he  was  ordained  in 
April,  1833,  and  having  a  call  to  become  their  pastor 
he  was  installed  Oct.  8,  1833,  and  remained  till  1834, 
when  the  Rev.  Thomas  Cochran  came.  We  have 
followed  the  earlier  pastors  of  this  historic  church, 
and  now  will  give  more  details  of  its  history  as  a 
church. 

During  the  year  of  Mr.  Elmer's  ministrations,  1764, 
which  has  been  designated  as  the  year  of  great  revival 
in  this  country,  a  large  number  were  added  to  this 
church,  and  from  this  time  the  church  and  congre- 
gation assumed  a  more  pleasing  and  prosperous  ap- 
pearance than  ever  before. 

In  1773  the  house  of  worship  was  found  too  small 
to  accommodate  the  people,  and  they  determined  to 
enlarge  it.  An  addition  was  put  up  and  inclosed, 
but  the  disasters  of  the  Revolutionary  war  coming 
on  prevented  its  completion  till  the  year  1782.  The 
house  thus  enlarged  was  for  a  season  filled  with  at- 
*  tentive  hearers. 

In  1803  pecuniary  embarrassments  became  pressing, 
and  it  was  thought  advisable  to  sell  the  lands  belong- 
ing to  the  parish.  The  sales  were  actually  commenced, 
but  through  the  influence  of  some  of  the  friends  of  the 
church  they  were  stayed  for  the  present,  and  an  ar- 
rangement made  with  the  purchaser  to  permit  what 
had  been  sold  to  be  redeemed.  A  strenuous  effort 
was  made  to  procure  the  requisite  aid  by  subscrip- 
!  tion,  but  without  the  desired  result.  Under  these 
I  circumstances,  in  January,  1804,  a  vote  to  sell  the 
lands  was  passed,  and  the  friends  of  the  church  in 
despondency  yielded  the  case  as  hopeless.  At  this 
juncture,  on  the  13th  February.  1804,  the  Rev.  Rob- 
ert Finley,  of  Basking  Ridge,  and  the  Rev.  Edward 
D.  Griffen,  of  Newark,  met  at  New  Providence  by  ap- 
pointment and  preached  to  the  people.  Their  sub- 
ject was  the  mourning  of  the  captives  in  Babylon  for 
the  desolations  of  Zion,  Psalms  clxxxvii.  1.  This 
was  a  memorable  day  to  the  church  of  New  Provi- 
.  dence.     Through  the  influence  of  these  servants  of 


358 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY 


Jesus,  who  by  their  exhortations  and  by  their  liber- 
ality favored  the  object,  the  drooping  spirits  of  the 
people  were  revived,  and  before  the  sun  was  set  sub- 
scriptions were  obtained  which  were  well-nigh  ade- 
quate to  the  exigencies  of  the  church,  and  in  the 
course  of  a  few  days  they  were  so  augmented  that  if 
the  monej'  subscribed  could  have  been  collected 
every  demand  against  the  congregation  might  have 
been  paid.  But  to  collect  these  subscriptions  at  once 
was  found  impracticable,  and  the.  desired  object  was 
not  fully  obtained  till  Jan.  28,  1809. 

In  the  spring  of  1806,  and  while  the  congregation 
was  destitute  of  any  one  steadily  to  break  to  them 
the  bread  of  life,  it  pleased  a  gracious  God  in  mercy 
again  to  visit  this  church.  A  spirit  of  prayer  was 
excited  among  Christians  and  a  spirit  of  serious  in- 
quiry among  the  impenitent  which  continued  through 
the  following  summer.  Mr.  Riggs  commenced  his 
labors  in  the  autumn  of  this  year,  and  had  the  hap- 
piness to  see  this  good-begun  work  constantly  though 
slowly  progressing  for  more  than  two  years.  As  a 
fruit  of  this  gradual  but  solitary  work  forty-four  were 
added  to  the  church.  Thus  the  sinking  hopes  of 
Zion's  friends  were  revived  and  their  mourning  ex- 
changed for  joy  and  thanksgiving. 

The  next  considerable  work  of  grace  commenced  in 
the  spring  of  the  year  1813.  This  work  continued 
about  six  months,  during  which  time  very  few  in  the 
congregation  remained  careless  spectators.  "  It  was 
pleasing,"  says  Mr.  Riggs,  "  in  the  intervals  of  wor- 
ship on  the  Lord's  Day,  as  well  as  on  other  occasions, 
and  especially  at  the  close  of  prayer-meetings,  to  see 
the  youth  flocking  in  crowds  around  the  elders  and 
other  experienced  Christians  in  the  church  and  listen- 
ing to  their  pious  and  paternal  counsels."  As  the  re- 
sults of  this  good  work  the  church  received  to  her 
communion  an  accession  of  forty-five  members. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  year  1825  the  re- 
ligious state  of  trhe  congregation  assumed  a  very 
encouraging  aspect.  A  considerable  number  were 
heard  to  inquire,  "What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?" 
and  some  were  hopefully  rescued  as  brands  from  the 
burning.  But  bow  inscrutable  are  the  ways  of  Prov- 
idence! At  the  very  time  when  all  eyes  and  hearts 
appeared  to  be  directed  towards  their  spiritual  guide, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Riggs,  and  when  his  pious  instruction 
seemed  to  human  wisdom  to  be  indispensable,  he  was 
suddenly  called  from  the  toils  and  labors  of  the  church 
militant  to  join  the  church  triumphant.  The  special 
religious  interest  soon  subsided,  though  not  until 
fourteen,  as  its  fruits,  were  added  to  the  visible 
church. 

In  November,  1S31,  and  during  the  labors  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hyndshaw  as  pastor  of  this  church,  the 
Lord  again  appeared  to  revive  his  people  and  to  build 
up  Zion.  The  work  commenced  near  the  close  of  a 
protracted  meeting.  It  was  preceded  by  no  very 
visible  tokens  of  God's  presence  other  than  a  general 
solemnity  which  appeared  to  pervade  the  assembly, 


and  a  wrestling  spirit  of  prayer  on  the  part  of  some 
of  God's  people.  As  the  protracted  service  was  about 
to  close  and  the  people  to  retire,  "  suddenly  the  spirit 
of  God  seemed  to  descend  like  a  rushing  mighty  wind 
and  to  fill  the  house  where  they  were  sitting."  "  Men 
and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do?"  was  the  instant  in- 
quiry of  many,  while  saints,  deeply  abased,  saw  with 
wonder  what  God  had  so  evently  wrought.  As  the 
fruits  of  this  glorious  work  about  thirty  were  added 
to  the  church. 

We  have  brought  down  the  history  of  this  first 
pioneer  church  in  these  mountains;  much  of  its  his- 
tory we  are  indebted  to  the  researches  of  the  late 
Rev.  Elias  Riggs,  and  also  to  the  late  pastorate  in 
1834  of  Rev.  William  H.  Burroughs. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  ruling  elders  of  this  church 
since  1737 : 

Joseph  Allen,  Joseph  Poty,  oniained  Jan.  17, 18(i8. 

John  Pieraon.  Joseph  Tompkins,  ordained  Jan.  17, 1808. 

Daniel  Day,  Gabriel  Johnson,  ordained  Jan.  17,  1808. 

Samuel  Ross,  Cornelius  W^illianis,  ordained  July,  1822. 

William  .Johnson,  Joseph  Ludlow,  ordained  July,  1822. 

William  Jones,  David  Noe,  ordained  July,  1822. 

Benjamin  Bounel,  David  French,  ordained  July,  1822. 

William  Caulwell,  Amos  Lum,  ordained  July,  1822. 

John  Clark,  David  Howell,  ordained  July,  1822. 

Alexander  Simsou,  Jotham  Potter,  ordained  Nov.  30,  1828. 

Thomas  Osborn,  Sylvester  Andrews,  ordained  Nov.  30,  1828. 

Jacob  Bedell,  Matthias  Osborn,  ordained  Nor.  30,  1828. 

Stephen  Morehouse,  Amos  Potter,  ordained  1847. 

Abraham  Rutan.  Israel  Doty,  ordained  1847  ;  died  Jan.  10,  1879. 

William  Connet,  Daniel  L.  Bonnel,  ordained  1847. 

Benoni  Trenbly,  John  N.  Doty,  ordained  1858,  died  Jan.  8,  1875. 

Timothy  Whitehead,  Klias  R.  Morehouse,  ordained  1819. 

Daniel  Cory,  Mattliiaa  Doty,  ordained  1859. 

Samuel  Potter,  Isaac  Meeker,  ordained  1859. 

John  Caldwell,  John  Little,  Jr.,  ordained  1859. 

Nathaniel  Littell,  Edwin  Schuyler,  ordained  1879. 

Jacob  Potter. 

Nathaniel  Bonnel. 
!   William  Sears. 
I    Mosee  Miller. 

Thomas  Baldwin. 

Abner  Stiles,  ordaiped  Jan.  17, 1808. 

This  completes  the  list  of  ruling  elders  to  the  pres- 
ent time.      The  records  of  membership  have   been 
kept,  and  many  of  the  families  from  the  first  are  still 
represented  by  name.     In  May,  1870,  a  church  was 
formed  at  Summit  called  the  Central   Presbyterian 
;  Church,  and  also  again  in  June,  1870,  a  church  was 
formed  at  West  Summit,  offshoots   from    this   New 
Providence  Church,  taking  many  members  with  them, 
weakeni..g  the  mother-church.     Some  years  before 
this  a  church  was  established  at  Sterling,  in  the  Pas- 
saic Valley,  in  Morris  County.     Some  few  members 
went  with  others  and  formed  there  a  Presbyterian 
Church. 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  first  Meth- 
j  odist  preachers   in   New    Providence   were    upon   a 
1  circuit  called    the  Elizabethtown,   and    occasionally 
preached  in  this  neighborhood,  whose  ministers  be- 
longed to  the  Philadelphia  Conference,  and  were  the 
i  Rev.  Robert  Cloud,  Thomas  Morrell,  1787,  Gamiel 
i  Bailey,    1790,    Robert    Hutchison,    Joseph    Totten, 


NEW    PROVIDENCE. 


SSd 


George  Woolsey,  in  or  before  the  year  1798,  when 
Peter  Vannest,  David  Bartine,  Sr.,  Samuel  Budd, 
Benjamin  IlifF  occasionally  came.  Rev.  Elon  Ge- 
nung,  Stephen  Day,  and  John  Hancock,  local 
preachers.  These  clergymen  held  meetings  from 
house  to  house,  and  not  until  1798  wa-s  the  Meth- 
odist Church  fully  established  in  Turkey  (now  New 
Providence).  A  class  of  members  was  formed  at  the 
house  now  owned  by  a  Mr.  Beach  at  West  Summit. 
Mr.  William  Robert-son  was  the  first  leader.  From 
this  start  was  established  the  Turkey  Methodist 
Church,  as  it  was  called.  The  Revs.  Lawrence  Mc- 
Comb  and  Thomas  Morrell  preached  here  until,  up 
to  the  year  1807,  Revs.  William  Smith,  Peter  Van- 
nest, and  Thomas  Morrell  preached.  It  was  called 
the  Turkey  Circuit,  comprised  all  the  Passaic  Valley 
over  the  Long  Hill,  and  Springfield  to  the  east, 
and  belonged  to  the  Philadelphia  Conference.  They 
erected  their  first  church  in  1801,  nearly  opposite  to 
where  their  new  one  stands.  They  were  but  few  in 
number,  and  built  a  plain  building  about  forty  by 
sixty  feet,  without  steeple.  It  stood  nearly  on  the 
line  of  Edgar  Samson's  property,  adjoining  the  ceme- 
tery. There  many  of  the  shining  lights  of  Methodism 
preached.  Here,  where  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants 
attended  church,  where  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
was  given,  and  around  this  old  church  lay  the  dead, 
— their  fathers  and  mothers,  many  of  their  children. 
Tlie  ground  is  kept  in  good  order,  and  we  find  that 
great  respect  is  paid  to  all  those  who  once  walked 
these  streets  and  communed  with  them  in  their  house- 
holds, who  now  lie  sleeping  their  last  sleep  in  this  old 
graveyard.  They  are  revered  and  esteemed  by  their 
surviving  children  and  neighbors. 

Mr.  George  Cory  gave  the  lot  for  their  church  and 
burial-ground,  about  one  acre.  This  old  church  was 
taken  down  in  1857,  and  the  present  beautiful  church 
was  completed  and  occupied  through  the  efforts  of 
the  Rev.  Abraham  M.  Palmer  and  their  eflicient 
board  of  managers.  We  find  at  the  time  the  Rev. 
James  K.  Shaw,  a  much-beloved  pastor;  that  they 
had  one  hundred  and  fifty  members,  a  number  of  local 
preachers,  leaders,  and  exhorters.  We  find  the  fol- 
lowing record:  At  a  meeting  of  the  Conference  in 
Philadelphia,  1834,  New  Providence,  which  formerly 
was  a  station,  was  connected  with  Springfield,  Chat- 
ham, and  Genung  Town,  and  called  the  New  Provi- 
dence Circuit.     Union  village  was  included. 

Official  members,  1834 :  Rev.  James  K.  Shaw,  pas- 
tor ;  John  Hancock,  Henry  R.  Hedges,  Ste|)hen  Day, 
local  preachers;  Jonathan  Totten,  Amnion  Bamans, 
John  Wesley  Hancock,  exhorters. 

The  leaders  were  Stephen  Day,  Benjamin  Weed, 
Philemon  Dickinson,  Aaron  F.  Ross,  John  W.  Han- 
cock, Farrand  Ward,  William  M.  Kitchell,  Alfred 
Morehouse,  Matthias  Swain,  Thomas  Osborn  Scudder, 
David  French.  The  stewards  were  Enos  B.  Townley, 
Stephen  Day,  Philemon  Dickinson,  Matthias  Swain, 
Wicklitf  H.  Genung. 


The  following  names  have  been  added  to  the  list 
since  this  year  (1834) :  Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  David  More- 
house, John  Crane,  Benjamin  Wood,  John  Wood, 
David  Wood,  Mulford  Wilcox,  Lewis  Noe,  William 
Cory.  Henry  Wilcox,  William  Clarke,  Daniel  H. 
Wood,  William  M.  Clark,  Linus  Tucker,  Samuel  T. 
Day,  Martin  Ruckmaii,  Stephen  S.  Sampson,  Gabriel 

Johnson,  1840;  Griffin,  Jeremiah  Totten,  Moses 

M.  Alward,  John  Crane,  Daniel  Magic,  John  Lacy, 
Asa  Osborn,  Thomas  Parrott,  1800 ;  Ephraim  H.  Pain, 
Waters  Burrows,  Theodosie  Elmer,  Robert  T.  Wilson, 
Asher  W.  Morehouse,  Enoch  Vreeland,  1796  ;  David 
Morehouse,  Jonathan  Curtis,  George  Cory,  1798 ; 
Robert  Wilson,  Levi  Wilcox,  1810;  Dennis  Lundy, 
Stephen  Monro,  Abraham  Bryant,  John  V.  Allen, 
Jonathan  Totten,  1839;  David  Curtis,  William  Titis, 
George  Brown,  Jacob  Drake,  1836;  Cornelius  Wil- 
liamson, David  Dow,  William  Totten,  Amos  Wilcox, 
Samuel  Wood,  David  Hand,  Abraham  Morril  Cory, 
David  A.  Oakley,  James  H.  Pierson,  Squire  Parrott, 
1852;  David  Smalley,  Charles  Pool,  Isaac  Crane, 
William  R.  Cory,  John  R.  Bernett,  Theodore  K. 
Wilkes,  Rev.  William  A.  Wllmer,  1839-40. 

The  Rev.  Joseph  Chatties  became  pa,stor  in  1844. 

Rev.  Henry  Trumbower,  1850-52.  He  remained 
two  years,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  Sedgwick  Rus- 
ling,  1840-41 ;  Rev.  Isaac  Cross,  1849  ;  Rev.  Mulford 
Day,  Rev.  George  Hitcheus,  1848;  Rev.  Isaac  N. 
Felch,  1855;  Rev.  Daniel  Parish,  Rev.  Abraham  H. 
Palmer,  1857  ;  Rev.  Rodney  Winans,  Rev.  Thomas 
Pierson,  1865 ;  Rev.  James  Ayres,  Rev.  J.  H.  Heward, 
1879-80  ;  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Rooney,  the  present  pastor, 
1881. 

The  first  Sunday-school  in  New  Providence  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  1818, 
according  to  statement  of  Jesse  F.  Pitts,  one  of  the 
original  members.  There  are  two  schools  connected 
with  this  church  at  the  present,  1881.  Rev.  Stephen 
Day  and  Benjamin  Weed  were  among  the  first  super- 
intendents. The  Secretary,  Mr.  Apollos,  Morrell, 
Elmer  beautifully  engrossed  the  organization  rules, 
by-laws,  and  membership  in  1832.  The  list  is  before 
me,  but  a  few  of  the  names  can  be  given. 

John  Crane,  Daniel  S.  Clark,  Squire  Manning, 
David  Wood,  Harriet  Cory,  Jonathan  Totten,  Jona- 
than M.  Meeker,  Stephen  Day,  Jr.,  Jesse  F.  Pitts, 
Rachel  Ayres,  Benjamin  Weed,  Catherine  Clayton, 
A.  Doty,  Willia'm  M.  Gritfen,  Rebecca  Morehouse, 
Samuel  F.  Day,  D.  S.  Wood,  Sally  Meeker,  Levi 
Clark,  Sarah  Jackson,  Stephen  Monroe,  Jane  Perrine, 
Thomas  Parrott,  Amy  Elmer,  Catherine  M.  Marsh, 
D.  S.  Wood,  Levi  Wilcox,  and  others. 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church. — No  very 
long  or  detailed  history  of  this  church  at  Stonj-  Hill 
can  be  given,  as  the  records  do  not  seem  to  have  been 
kept  from  the  first  commencement  of  this  mission.  It 
appears  that  in  the  year  1847  the  Rev.  Mr.  Refferin 
was  called  to  collect  a  number  of  families  who  desired 
to  have  a  regular  service.     This  parish  embraced  all 


360 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


along  the  First  and  Second  Mountain  down  to  the 
Passaic  Valley ;  and,  with  the  occasional  visits  also 
of  Rev.  John  Hespelein,  this  mission  was  formed  Jan. 
17,  1848.  A  lot  was  purchased  and  a  church  built 
and  consecrated.  The  following  list  is  given  by  the 
present  clergyman :  Rev.  Mr.  Lonei,  1849;  then  came 
Rev.  Father  Kleineidom,  of  Forty-third  Street  Re- 
demptionist  Fathers ;  in  1852,  Rev.  Mr.  Maunes,  and 
again  Rev.  J.  A.  Koenig,  when  it  was  formed  with 
the  Newark  brotherhood,  1858,  and  was  supplied  by 
them  until  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lonei,  in  1874,  returned,  and 
remained  until  Rev.  A.  Bergmand  came,  June  11, 
1878,  and  remained  until  the  present  incumbent,  the 
Rev.  John  J.  Schandel,  who  now  has  under  his  care 
some  si.xty  families. 

Sons  of  Temperance.— The  charter  for  the  New 
Providence  Division  of  the  Sons  of  Temperance  wa.s 
granted  Sept.  12,  1850,  signed  by  Darius  Wells,  G. 
W.  P.,  and  H.  W.  Howell,  G.  S. ;  the  charter  mem- 
bers, A.  M.  Cory,  M.D.,  Amos  Potter,  Philemon  Tomp- 
kins, S.  B.  Jennings.  E.  R.  Morehouse,  W.  G.  Marsh, 
William  Stites,  James  D.  Clark,  William  Ayres,  Wil- 
liam M.  Day.  The  in.stitution  has  never  relinquished 
its  charter,  and  is  now  thirty  years  old.  Its  influence 
has  been  felt  strongly. 

In  1873  two  of  its  members.  Dr.  A.  M.  Cory  and 
J.  B.  Bassenger,  Esq.,  delegated  by  the  citizens,  went 
to  the  county-seat  and  secured  the  abrogation  of  the 
customary  license,  since  which  time,  excepting  for  a 
short  time  by  stealth,  the  entire  township  has  been 
free  from  the  curse  of  liquor-selling  of  any  kind  by 
license;  and  such  has  been  the  cultivation  and  estab- 
lishment of  public  sentiment  that  the  promise  of  per- 
petuity of  temperance  principles  is  good.  The  labors 
of  these  temperance  workers,  who  have  been  so  faith- 
ful, have  been  greatly  blessed  to  the  community. 

The  First  Tanner.— John  M.  Stites  was  a  tanner 
and  currier  in  New  Providence.  He  was  born  the  2d 
of  September,  1797.  He  married  his  cousin,  Jane 
Bonnel,  daughter  of  Nathaniel,  son  of  Nathaniel  the 
second.  She  was  born  the  3d  of  July,  1795.  They 
bad  two  children, — William  Crane  Stites,  born  Nov. 
Ifi,  1829,  and  Huldah,  born  July  24,  1833.  He  was 
a  worthy  citizen,  and  stood  high  in  the  community. 
He  was  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

Burial-Grounds. — There  are  four  burial-grounds  in 
the  township,  the  oldest  being  that  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  There  are  many  dates  showing  that  the  pio- 
neers lived  to  an  old  age.  The  oldest  stone  now  stand- 
ing is  that  of  William  Broad  well,  who  died  in  his  sixty- 
fourth  year,  March  11,  1746.  Here  also  is  the  stone 
of  Gen.  Benjamin  Ludlow,  the  grandfather  of  the 
present  Governor  of  this  State.  The  general  died 
Jan.  27,  1817.  Here  also  is  the  grave  of  Col. 
Samuel  Potter,  who  died  July  11,  1802,  in  his  sev- 
enty-sixth year. 

At  Feltville  is  the  burial-ground  of  those  inhab- 
itants who  lived  upon  Peter's  Hill  and  neighborhood, 
as  it  was  originally  called.     Many  old  graves  can  yet 


be  seen,  although  the  fences  have  long  since  gone  to 
decay,  and  quite  large  trees  and  underbrush  cover  the 
grounds.  Many  who  died  while  Feltville  contained 
a  population  are  buried  here.  We  copy  the  following 
epitaph  : 

"  In  Memory  of  M'  John  Willcoks  he  deceas'd  Nov  em'  The  22d  1776 
aged  49  yeara." 

He  was  the  son  of  the  first  settler,  Peter  Willcoxsie, 
who  married  a  Miss  Badgley,  and  from  whom  the 
name  of  Peter's  Hill  is  taken. 

The  burial-ground  of  Strong  Hill,  belonging  to  St. 
Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church,  was  consecrated  for 
burial  purposes  in  1848. 

The  burial-ground  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  New  Providence  was  first  opened  in  the 
year  1798.  This  ground  is  kept  in  pretty  good  order, 
and  contains  the  remains  of  a  large  number  of  the 
first  members  of  this  church  with  their  former  pas- 
tors, and  also  some  of  the  patriots,  oflicers,  and  sol- 
diers at  this  time  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  first 
church  of  the  denomination  stood  on  the  ground  at 
the  line  of  Mr.  Sampson  and  the  main  road.  It  was 
removed  in  the  year  1857,  having  stood  nearly  sixty 
years. 

The  following  stone  was  erected  by  John  Littell, 
Esq.,  to  this  old  soldier,  who,  however,  was  no  rela- 
tion to  Mr.  Littell : 

"Ebeneser  Littel,  died  May  9, 1S52,  aged  88  years,  8  months,  and  16 
days.  He  fought  manfully  tlie  battles  of  his  country,  lived  many  yean 
a  constant  Cliristian,  and  witl)  his  expiring  breath  expressed  a  strong 
desire  to  meet  his  friends  in  lieaven." 

"  Eev.  Steplieu  Day.  died  Aug.  19,  1864,  in  his  86th  year.  I  shall  be 
satisfied  wlien  I  awalte  with  tliy  likeness." 

There  is  no  stone  to  the  grave  of 

"  William  D.  Bedford,  one  of  tlie  lieroes  of  Perry's  victory.  He  died 
1874,  in  his  90th  year." 

It  is  said  that  Mr.  Dickerson  provided  in  his  will 
that  one  thousand  dollars  should  be  spent  for  a  mon- 
ument in  his  plot.  There  has  been  placed  a  fine 
Quincy  granite  carved  block,  surrounded  by  a  railing, 
with  stone  posts,  with  the  words, — 

"  Diclterson.— Caleb  Dickerson,  born  May  4, 1773,  died  Aug.  26, 1844." 

"  Rev.  Waters  Burrouglis,  died  July  5, 1805,  in  his  69th  year.    His  son, 

Rev.  Waters  Burroughs,  died  March  4, 1869,  in  his  79th  year.    Having 

served   the  church  as  an  accepUible  minister  of  the  gospel  for  half  a 

cent.iry." 

Powder-Mill. — For  many  years  the  making  of 
powder  was  carried  on  at  the  place  now  known  as 
Feltville  (called  Peter's  Hill,  after  Peter  Willcoxsie, 
who  settled  there  in  1720).  The  mill  was  built  in  a 
ravine  just  by  the  Green  Brook  (Blue  Brook).  The 
building  was  burnt  but  a  few  years  ago.  It  was 
standing  in  1857.  A  firm  manufactured  powder  there 
in  1812,  and  also  a  company  (Decatur  &  Atwater). 
Among  them  was  a  brother  of  Col.  Decatur.  It  was 
a  good  place  for  the  purpose,  and  hid  from  the  enemy 
who  were  in  the  valley  below  the  First  Mountain,  and 
but  a  few  miles  otf,  in  1780. 

Salt  Brook  is  of  Revolutionarv  fame.     This  brook 


NEW   PROVIDENCE. 


361 


passes  through  the  centre  of  New  Providence  village, 
and  to  the  Passaic  River  through  the  farm  of  Mr. 
Charles  Ulrick,  and  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  Dr. 
A.  M.  Cory.  It  is  said  from  tradition  that  at  the  time 
the  British  forces  lay  in  camp  in  the  valley  below  the 
First  Mountain  word  came  that  they  were  to  march 


had  been  stored  by  the  inhabitants  for  their  use  and 
the  Continental  soldiers  who  were  with  Gen.  Wash- 
ington at  Morristown,  and  encamped  close  by  towards 
Washington  Valley  (now  called)  in  1780,  when  all 
their  salt  was  emptied  in  this  brook,  their  object 
being  the  preventing  of  its  getting  in  the  hands  of  the 


on  to  Morristown  by  or  through  thi.s  village.     Salt     British  forces. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


MAJ.  JOTHAM  POTTER. 
Samuel  Potter,  the  ancester  of  the  Potter  family  in 
this  country,  came  from  Wales.  Daniel,  second  child 
in  a  family  of  eight  of  Samuel  Potter,  was  born  in 
1692.  Daniel  2d,  son  of  Daniel,  born  1723,  died 
by  accident  Oct.  15,  1774.  Jacob,  fourth  child  of 
Daniel  2d,  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
Amos,  fifth  child  and  brother  of  Jacob,  married  Sarah 


his  apprenticeship  at  Chatham,  N.  J.;  followed  this 
business  some  twenty  years ;  manufactured  principally 
the  old  style  two-wheeled  gigs,  which  business  he  left 
and  went  to  farming  at  Summit,  present  site  of  Sum- 
mit, owning  some  two  hundred  acres.  When  M.  and 
E.  road  was  surveyed  he  sold  out  and  moved  to  New 
Providence,  on  the  farm  now  owned  by  Amos,  his 
son,  then  his  wife's  property  (Jotham's).     Mr.  Potter 


^J^^^S^  SM^ 


Clark,  to  whom  was  born  five  children.  Jotham,  the 
only  son  and  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  born  Oct.  3, 
1781,  and  married,  May  6,  1810,  to  Phebe  Pettit, 
daughter  of  Capt.  Benjamin  Pettit;  to  them  were  born 
eight  children,  viz.:  Benjamin  Pettit,  Betsey  Day, 
Sarah  C.  and  Amos,  Ludlow  Day,  Mehetabel  M., 
Phebe  Pettit,  and  Harriet  Newel.  Mr.  Potter  (Jotham) 
began  life  as  a  wheelwright  at  Summit,  N.  J.,  serving 


served  two  terms  in  the  Legislature  during  Governor 
Haines'  administration,  was  justice  of  the  peace  many 
years,  and  gave  much  of  his  attention  to  military  affairs, 
being  commissioned  as  major,  which  office  he  held 
many  years,  keeping  a  horse  for  the  express  purpose ; 
was  agent  of  the  Chancellor  Kent  property  when 
owned  by  Mr.  G.  H.  Van  Wagenan  for  years,  lived  in 
house  built  just  in  front  of  the  old  Edgar  residence, 


362 


HISTORY    OF    UiNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


present  property  of  I.  E.  Doynig;  was  an  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  a  Whig,  and  latterly  Re- 
publican in  politics,  took  an  active  part,  and  died 
Sept.  2,  1861,  nearly  eighty  years  of  age. 

Amos  succeeded  to  the  homestead  of  his  mother; 
was  married  in  1871  to  Louise,  daughter  of  John 
Conselyea,  of  French  extraction,  who  was  born  at 
Caldwell,  Essex  Co.,  N.  J. ;  they  have  one  child,  Amos 
A.,  born  September,  1873.  Mr.  Amos  Potter  has  been 
a  farmer  since  arriving  at  the  years  of  manhood,  owns 
one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  is  a  member  and  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church  ;  a  Republican  in  politics, 
having  taken  active  part,  has  held  the  several  offices 
of  freeholder,  town  committeeman,  and  assessor  sev-  ' 
eral  years ;  was  a  delegate  to  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  ap- 
jHiinted  by  the  church  in  Jlay,  1867.  ] 


CHAPTER    LL 


SPRINGFIELD. 


Original  Boundaries. — Ap])lication  was  made  to 
the  Legislature  in  the  year  17113,  and  an  act  was 
passed  May  27th,  providing  "That  all  that  part  of 
the  township  of  Elizabethtown  and  the  township  of 
Newark  lying  within  the  following  line:  Beginning 
on  the  bank  of  the  Rahway  River  in  the  line  which 
dividesthe  wards  of  Springfield  and  Westfield  ;  thence 
running  in  the  said  line  to  the  top  of  the  mountain, 
and  from  thence  to  New  Providence  Meeting-house^ 
and  thence  to  Passaic  River;  thence  down  the  said 
river  to  the  bridge  commonly  known  by  the  name  of 
Cook's  Bridge  ;  thence  down  the  old  road  to  the  top 
of  the  mountain  ;  thence  on  a  direct  line  to  Kean's 
Mills;  thence  on  a  direct  line  to  a  bridge  which 
crosses  the  east  branch  of  Rahway  River,  commonly 
known  by  the  name  of  Pierson's  Bridge,  by  his  mill- 
dam  ;  and  from  thence  down  the  said  river  to  the 
place  of  beginning,  shall  be  and  is  hereby  set  off 
from  the  townships  of  Elizabethtown  and  Newark, 
and  made  a  separate  township  to  be  called  by  the 
name  of  Springfield  township."  ' 

This  act  remained  in  force  until  Nov.  8,  1809, 
when  New  Providence  township  was  taken  from  the 
town>hip  of  Springfield,  and  on  the  17th  day  of 
March,  1869,  part  of  Summit  township  was  formed 
from  the  westerly  portion  of  the  township  of  Spring- 
field. 

The  township  is  now  bounded  as  follows:  On  the 
south  by  Westfield,  on  the  easterly  by  Union,  north- 
easterly by  Milburn,  in  Essex  County,  and  north  and 
westerly  by  Summit  and  part  of  Westfield  townshii), 
in  Union  County.  It  is  about  five  miles  long  and  two 
miles  wide. 


I  LawB  of  Nuw  Jersey. 


Natural  Features.— The  natural  features  of  this 
township  are  nearly  a  level  plain  with  the  exception 
of  the  Short  Hills,  being  parts  of  the  edge  of  the  First 
Mountain  iuljacentto  Summit  township,  and  near  the 
Huntly  Station  on  the  Delaware  and  Lackawanna 
Railroad.  At  this  point  can  be  obtained  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  surrounding  country  for  many  miles,  and 
it  is  the  late  Bishop  Hobart's  country-seat  of  many 
acres  in  Milburn  township.  The  geological  features 
are  mostly  of  the  triassic  formation,  and  in  many 
places  showing  igneous  or  volcanic  action,  and  as  we 
descend  to  the  level  many  changes  may  be  observed, 
the  clay  and  silicious  with  many  conglomerates  inter- 
lying  the  strata  until  we  reach  the  branches  of  the 
Rahway  River.  The  township  has  a  sufficient  supply 
of  springs  and  small  streams,  including  the  head 
source  of  the  Rahway  River,  and  hence  the  name  of 
Springfield  is  ])roperly  given  to  it. 

Early  Settlements. — The  settlement  of  this  town- 
ship dates  back  t(j  the  year  17J7,  when  the  Briant 
family  made  it  their  home,  conung  hither  from 
Hackensack.  The  Stites,  Denman,  Whitehead,  and 
Van  Winkle  families  followed.  Others  moved  up 
from  "  the  Farms.''  Imagine  if  you  can  only  three  fam- 
ilies between  Morristown  and  Elizabethtown,  on  this 
extensive  tract  of  country  now  so  thickly  populated, 
and  seamed  with  railroads,  and  dotted  over  with  vil- 
lages, and  covered  with  great  mills  and  factories. 
Think  of  it  with  only  three  houses  in  it!  These 
broad  fields  uncultivated,  these  hills  covered  with 
dense  forests,  these  streams  hidden  by  the  wild 
growths  of  nature,  and  only  one  road  (more  nearly 
resembling  a  modern  cart-path  at  that)  threading  its 
uncertain  way  from  one  town  to  the  other.  The 
greater  part  of  the  original  settlers  were  from  Eliza- 
bethtown and  Newark,  and  we  find  that  this  township 
was  not  settled  until  fifty-three  years  after  the  settle- 
ment of  Elizabethtown.  The  province  had  at  the 
time  something  over  forty  thousand  inhabitants. 

John  Stites  was  born  in  England  in  the  year  a.d. 
1595.  Tradition  says  that  he  emigrated  from  Lon- 
don to  New  England  in  the  time  of  Oliver  Cromwell. 
He  finally  settled  on  Long  Island,  and  died  there  in 
1717,  aged  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years. 

Richard  Stites,  son  of  John,  was  born  1640.  He 
lived  at  Hempstead,  Long  Island,  and  died  1702, 
aged  sixty-two  years. 

William  Stites,  son  of  Richard,  was  born  at 
Hempstead,  Long  Island,  in  1676.  He  removed  to 
Springfield,  N.  J.,  and  died  there  May  13,  1727,  aged 
fifty-one  years.  His  wife  died  April  21,  1728,  aged 
filty-one  years.  They  had  seven  children, — John, 
born  1706;  Hezekiah,  born  1708;  Richard,  born  1715, 
died  young.  May  15,  1727;  Rebecca,  born  1717,  and 
married  Jacob  Carle;  William,  Jr.,  died  at  Mount 
Bethel  iu  his  ninety-first  year;  Elijah,  born  1721, 
and  died  at  Scotch  Plains,  1765;  and  Benjamin,  mar- 
ried Betsey  Willcox,  daughter  of  Peter  Willcox,  Jr., 
and  lived  and  died  at  Scotch  Plains. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


363 


Abner  Stites,  son  of  Elijah,  son  of  William  Stites, 
Sr.,  lived  at  Scotch  Plains.  He  had  nine  children 
by  Huldah  Crane,  whom  he  married  April  18,  1786, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Crane,  of  New  Providence.  He 
was  a  captain  of  militia,  and  an  elder  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  He  died  29th  April,  1831,  in  his 
sixty-seventh  year.  His  wife  died  June,  183.5,  aged 
seventy  years. 

Their  first  child  was  named  Miller  Stites,  but  died 
young.  Elijah,  their  second  child,  was  a  merchant 
in  Springfield.  He  married  Jane  Wade,  daughter  of 
Jonas  Wade,  Esq.,  of  Springfield.  He  was  quite  a 
prominent  man  in  the  township.  He  died  10th  of 
October,  1857,  in  his  sixty-seventh  year.  William 
Stites,  his  third  son,  was  a  paper-manufacturer  of 
Springfield,  was  a  justice  of  peace,  a  judge  of  the 
court,  a  member  of  the  new  Constitutional  Commit- 
tee of  the  State  in  1844,  has  been  a  number  of  terms 
a  member  of  the  Legislature.  He  married  Hannah 
B.  Smith,  daughter  of  Capt.  John  Smith  ;  has  an  only 
daughter,  Jane  Robinson,  who  married  Dr.  John  C. 
Elmer,  of  Mendham,  son  of  Dr.  Horace  Elmer.  He 
died,  lamented  by  his  neighbors  and  the  church,  30th 
of  June,  1871,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year. 

His  fourth  child,  Huldah  Grant,  married  John 
Thompson,  son  of  Jabez  Thomp-^on.  They  had  five 
children, — Jabez  (who  died  a  young  man),  Silas 
Stites,  Jane  Stites,  Cornelia  Elmer,  Ezra  Fairchild. 
She  died  21st  of  August,  1832,  aged  thirty -six  years. 

His  fifth,  a  son,  John  M.  Stites,  was  a  tanner  and 
currier  in  New  Providence.  He  was  an  elder  in  the 
church  there.  He  married  his  cousin,  Jane  Bonnel, 
daughter  of  Nathaniel  3d.  He  was  born  2d  of 
September,  1797.  She  was  born  3d  of  July,  1795. 
They  had  two  children, — William  Crane,  born  16th 
of  November,  1829,  and  Huldah,  born  24th  of  July, 
1833. 

His  sixth  child,  Chloe  Jefferson,  who  married  Ezra 
Fairchild,  of  Mendham.  He  for  many  years  was 
principal  of  a  classical  school  on  Long  Island.  They 
had  three  children, — 1.  Elias  Fairchild,  who  married, 
16th  of  March,  18.50,  Agnes  Anderson,  daughter  of 
Robert  Anderson,  Esq.,  of  Plainfield  ;  she  died  about 
nine  months  thereafter.  2.  Emily  Fairchild,  married 
Mr.  Allen  P.  Northrup.  3.  Rev.  Elijah  S.  Fairchild. 
Abner  Stites,  his  seventh  child,  was  born  24th  of 
September,  1803,  and  was  a  merchant  and  postmaster 
in  Springfield  for  a  number  of  years,  and  elder  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  held  many  township 
offices.  He  married  Charlotte  Bonnel,  who  was  born 
27th  of  August,  1814,  daughter  of  Sylvanus,  son  of 
John  Bonnel,  and  have  children, — 1.  Edward  More, 
born  12th  of  October,  1847  ;  2.  Charlotte  Morrell, 
born  March,  1850,  and  is  married  and  lives  in  Newark. 
Mr.  Stites  died  25th  of  June,  1867.  Their  eighth 
child,  John,  who  died  young;  and  their  ninth, 
Approlas,  who  married  Mary  Bryant,  daughter  of 
Simeon  Bryant,  of  Springfield,  lived  in  New  York, 
and  has  two  children, — Theodore  and  Matilda. 


The  following  epitaphs  are  to  be  seen  in  the  old 
Revolutionary  burying-ground  on  the  Matthias  Den- 
man  farm,  Springfield.  (Contains  about  three  acres, 
and  belongs  to  the  Stites  family.) 

On  a  flat  stone : 

"  Here  lies  inlerrej  ye  Ixi.ly  uf  Jollii  Stites,  Esq.,  wlio  departed  this 
life  April  the  21st,  Anno  Dumini.  1782,  in  the  IxXTi.  year  of  his  age.  He 
lived  beloved  and  died  lamented  l>y  Church  &  State,  also  ye  body  of  Mrs. 
Margert,  his  widow,  who  died  Sept.  6,  x.n.,  174S,  in  her  69th  year  of 
age.'' 

On  a  double  stone : 

"  William  Stites.    Died  ye  13  May,  1727,  in  liis  .ilst  year. 
"Mary,  wife  of  William,  died  April  ye  21,  172.H,  in  her  51st  year." 

On  a  double  stone  : 

"Here  lies  Ezekiel  and  Richard  Stites,  deied 'May  15,  1727,  ye  12tli 
year,  and  Feb.  10, 1728,  ye  2uth  year." 

Among  the  early  settlers  were  the  name  of  Blacks, 
but  now  the  name  is  extinct  in  the  township  ;  an  old 
homestead  is  known  as  the  Blacks'  house  or  place. 
Also  the  name  of  Byram  or  Byrams ;  he  was  an  inn- 
keeper before  and  during  the  Revolutionary  war, "  and 
the  record  goes  on  to  say  Gen.  Greene  put  up  at  Byram's 
tavern."  The  name  of  Van  Winckle  is  also  mentioned, 
and  also  in  1738  it  is  believed  that  there  were  only 
three  houses  in  the  village  of  Springfield, — one  occu- 
pied by  Van  Winckle  family,  one  also  by  Thomas 
Denman,  and  the  other  by  the  Whitehead  family. 

The  second  house  east  from  the  church,  one  of  the 
four  which  was  left  standing  after  the  burning  of  the 
village  by  the  British,  1780,  and  is  now  standing  at 
this  time,'  we  are  told  that  Hon.  Abraham  Clark,  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  re- 
sided for  a  time.  The  family  of  Reeves  were  among 
the  early  settlers;  they  lived  on  the  north  side  of  the 
First  Mountain.  Capt.  Isaac  Reeves  was  connected 
with  Col.  Dayton's  regiment  duriug  the  Revolution- 
ary war,  having  a  company  doing  good  service.  His 
remains  lie  in  the  old  Revolutionary  burying-ground, 
but  the  stone  is  gone.  His  wife,  Catherine,  died  March 
3,  1783.  Watts  Reeves  is  also  mentioned  1798.  Also 
epitaphs  to  the  family  of  Brookfields  are  buried  in 
this  old  ground : 

"  Erected  to  the  Blemory  of 

Jacob  Brookfielp.  Esq., 

who  departed  this  life  Jan.  4,  1782, 

in  the  Glith  year. 

This  body  in  the  grave  wee  lay, 

The  to  God  has  winged  her  way. 

We  hope  in  Christ  they  yet  will  meet 

And  reign  iit  him  with  joy  complete 

In  Memory 

of  William  Brooklield, 

who  departed  this  life 

Oct.,  1779, 

In  ye  30th  year  of 

his  age." 

We  find  that  Jacob  Brookfield  was  captain.-  An 
account  given  by  Col.  Symmes  says,  "  Capt.  Brook- 
field,  who  commanded  the  flanking  on  the  left,  made 


1  Mrs.  Dr.  Elmer,  of  Springfield. 
-  Hatfield's  ElizabeUi,  p.  452. 


364 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  first  onset  on  the  right  of  the  enemy,  extending 
from  the  church  up  the  Vauxhall  Road."  This  was 
at  the  battle  of  Springfield,  June  2.3,  1780. 

John  Smith  is  mentioned  as  Capt.  Smith.  He  had 
a  daughter  Hannah,  who  married  William  Stites,  of 
Springfield. 

From  an  old  Centinal  newspaper,  in  the  year  1820, 
is  the  following:  "Walter  Smith,  born  in  the  year 
1723,  now  in  his  ninety-seventh  year,  has  eight  chil- 
dren living,  eighty-nine  grandchildren,  ninety-three 
great-grandchildren  ;  total  descendants,  182,  besides 
forty  sons-  and  daughters-in-law  who  have  married 
in  the  family,  and,  what  is  more  remarkable,  within 
four  years  the  whole  family  except  two  lived  within 
the  sound  of  the  parish  church-bell."  Walter  Smith 
held  many  important  trusts  in  the  township  ;  was  for 
many  years  chosen  freeholder,  and  interested  in  many 
improvements  in  the  township.  Samuel  C.  Smith, 
now  living  on  the  road  from  Summit  to  Springfield, 
is  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  has  also  held 
many  important  trusts,  been  assessor  eight  years,  col- 
lector four  years,  town  committee  two  years,  and  has 
for  twelve  years  past  been  chosen  freeholder.  There 
are  but  few  of  his  age  in  the  township,  and  has  lived 
to  see  neighbor  after  neighbor  pass  away  until  he  is 
about  the  only  one  left  of  the  past  generation. 

The  Denman  family  were  among  the  first.  Philip 
Denman  is  recorded  as  having  held  the  oflSce  of 
chosen  freeholder  for  many  years  from  the  year  1801. 
He  must  have  been  the  son  of  Thomas  Denman,  who 
first  settled  here  in  1738.  Matthias  Denman  resided 
nearly  opposite  the  Presbyterian  Church.  He  mar- 
ried Phebe,  daughter  of  Capt.  Enos  Baldwin,  son  of 
John  Baldwin,  who  lived  in  Livingston  township, 
and  had  eight  children,—!,  Sally  Denman,  who  mar- 
ried William  Parcel,  had  no  children ;  2,  Samuel 
Denman,  lived  and  died  in  Philadelphia;  3,  Aaron 
Denman,  married  a  Miss  Mulford  ;  4,  Elizabeth  Den- 
man, married  Col.  Abraham  K.  Wooley,  son  of  Col. 
Abraham  Wooley,  of  Springfield  ;  5,  David  Denman, 
married  Miss  Lyon,  daughter  of  Elijah  Lyon  ;  6, 
Phebe  Denman,  married  Oliver  Wade,  son  of  Jonas 
Wade,  Esq. ;  7,  Mary  Denman,  married,  first,  Mr. 
Tenbrook,  second,  Charles  Atwater;  8,  Charlotte 
Denman,  married  Rodney  Wilber,  Esq.,  of  Newark. 

The  Wade  family  are  a  branch  lineage  of  the  Ben- 
jamin Wade  branch,  who  settled  at  Connecticut 
Farms  in  167.'3.  The  upper  portion  adjoining  the 
township  of  Springfield  was  called  the  Wade  Farms, 
now  part  of  Union  township.  Capt.  John  Wade  is 
mentioned,  and  who  held  position  in  the  township; 
also  Uzal  Wade,  who  was  town  clerk  for  many  years 
from  1804.  Jonas  Wade  and  Nathaniel  Wade  have 
also  held  township  offices.  They  have  been  active  in 
all  the  interests  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  Old 
Church.     (For  Wades  see  Union  township.) 

Woolley.  This  family  came  from  Southampton, 
L.  I.,  about  the  year  1683.  Robert  Woolley  was  one 
of  the  Elizabeth  Town  Associates  in  1699.    John, 


William,  and  Edward  were  doubtless  sons  of  Eman- 
uel, but  it  is  not  known  if  at  all  Robert  and  Emanuel 
were  related.  A  branch  of  the  family  settled  in 
Springfield.  Col.  Abraham  Wooley  is  mentioned  as 
inn-keeper  in  1793.  He  held  many  important  offices 
in  the  township.  His  son  was  also  a  Col.  Abraham 
K.  Wooley,  who  married  Elizabeth  Denman,  daugh- 
ter of  Matthias  Denman.'  Jacob  Woolley,  Sr.,  of 
Springfield,  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  Abner 
Thompson.  They  had  eight  children, — 1,  Polly 
Woolley,  who  married  Charles  Thompson  Day,  son 
of  Thaddeus  Day  ;  2,  Abner  Woolley,  who  was  killed 
by  the  fall  of  a  tree  in  Michigan,  aged  twenty-seven 
years  ;  3,  Jacob  Woolley,  Jr.,  married  Mary  Burnet, 
daughter  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Burnet,  and  had  four 
children  ;  4,  Betsey  Woolley,  married  Jacob  Miller, 
son  of  Enoch  Miller,  of  Westfield ;  5,  Thompson 
Woolley,  married  Elizabeth  Dean,  daughter  of  Wil- 
liam, son  of  John  Dean,  and  had  three  children  ;  6, 
Hannah  Woolley,  married  Squire  Woodruff,  son  of 
Reuben  ;  7,  Charlotte  Woolley,  married  Samuel 
I  Mooney,  son  of  Nicholas;  and  8,  Abraham  Woolley. 
I  We  also  find  the  names  of  Elias  Van  Arsdale, 
I  1794;  William  Steele,  1796;  David  C.  Baldwin,  1806; 
!  Israel  Day,  1811 ;  Elias  Wade,  1822;  Caleb  S.  Miller, 
I  182.3;  Matthias  Meeker,  1794;  Moses  Ball,  1804; 
Stephen  Mourhouse,  1807 ;  Samuel  Bailey,  1817 ; 
I  Caleb  Woodruff  was  collector  from  1809  to  1827, 
being  nineteen  years,  besides  holding  many  other 
offices  in  the  township;  Daniel  S.  Briant,  1821; 
Samuel  Tyler  was  justice  of  the  peace  in  1803  ;  Jo- 
seph F.  Hardy,  1803  ;  Samuel  Parkhurst  was  promi- 
nent in  the  township,  elder  in  church,  justice  of  the 
peace,  1800;  Abner  Ball,  1806;  Philemon  Dickerson 
was  a  justice  of  the  peace;  William  Brown,  1808; 
Elias  Tooker,  Joseph  Pierson,  1793 ;  John  C.  Crane, 
1801;  Benjamin  Bonnel,  1809;  Samuel  Colie,  1819; 
Abraham  Parkhurst,  1820;  Israel  D.  Condit,  1827; 
Cyrus  Durand,  1821 ;  Isaac  Brookfield,  1829,  as  town 
clerk  ;  Enoch  Ball,  1816  ;  Stephen  Townley,  1822  ; 
Benjamin  Day,  1810;  William  Parcell,  1812;  Samuel 
Clark,  1801  ;  Samuel  Potter,  1798  ;  Elijah  Squire, 
1790;  Nathaniel  Littell,  1804;  Abraham  Parkhurst 
was  chosen  freeholder,  1817  to  1826  ;  was  a  prominent 
citizen  of  the  township. 

Many  of  the  above  names  are  the  first  settlers  or 
sons,  and  the  dates  named  are  when  mention  is  first 
made  in  this  township  before  Milburn  and  Summit 
were  set  off,  and  mention  is  also  made  in  these  said 
townships  of  these  old  families. 

Civil  Organization. — Springfield  was  formed  from 
Newark  and  Elizabethtown  (then  Essex  County)  in 

1793.  The  first  record  of  this  township  made  in  the 
town  books  is  as  follows  : 

"  At  a  town-meeting  held  at  tlie  house  of  Mr.  Abraham  Woolley, 
Innkeeper  In  SpriugflelJ,  the  141h  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 

1794,  pursuant  to  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  paased  at 
Trenton  the  27th  of  May,  1793,  the  following  officers  were  duly  elected: 

>  Littsll's  Fusaic  Valley. 


SPRINGFIELD. 


365 


'*  Samu«^l  Potter,  Esq.,  moderator,  and  Elias  Van  Arsdale,  town  clerk 
Freehiildere,  Walter  Smith  and  Elijah  Squier  ;  Conimissioners  of  Appeal 
Nathaniel  Little,  Sunmel  Tyler,  and  Jeremiah  Mulford ;  Assessor 
Matthias  Meeker;  Collector,  Abraham  Woolley ;  Surveyors  of  High' 
ways,  William  Steele  and  Matthi;tB  Dennian;  Overseers  of  the  Poor, 
Ezra  Baldwin.  Samuel  Potter,  and  Joseph  Pierson;  Pound-keepel 
John  WoodruSf;  Constables,  Nathaniel  Budd.  Stephen  Morehouse,  and 
IsJiac  Sampson  ;  Overwers  of  the  Highways,  Amos  Potter,  David  Pier- 
son,  Joseph  Doty,  Caleb  Potter,  Obadiah  Wade,  Benjamin  Pettit,  Ephraim 
Little,  John  Willcocka,  Stephen  Deuman,  Jacob  Brookfleld,  Uriah 
Smith,  Simeon  Squier,  Enoe  Baldwin,  Aaron  Carter,  Stephen  Lyon, 
Waller  Smith,  Briant  Durand,  Watts  Reeve,  John  Smith,  John  Squier, 
Jonathan  Meeker,  Isaac  Halsey,  Philip  Denman,  Isaac  Sayre,  Jr.,  Cor- 
nelius Williams,  and  Samuel  Tyler. 

"The  tuwii-meeting  was  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  the  house  of 
Abraham  Woolley,  innkeeper,  on  the  second  Monday  in  April  next  as 
the  law  directs." 


TOWN  CLERKS 


Elia«  Van  Arsdale,  1704-97. 
William  Steel,  1796. 
Walts  Reeve,  1798-1803. 
TJzal  Wade,  1 804-8. 
David  C.  Baldwin,  1806-7. 
John  Wade,  1809-10,  1814-21. 
Israel  Day,  181  l-l.l. 
Elias  Waile,  Jr.,  1822, 1824-26. 
Caleb  S.  Miller,  1823. 
Samuel  C.  Smith,  18i6-32. 
Abn.-rStites,  1833-40. 
Wickliff  S.  Condit,  1847^8. 
Edwin  A.  Crossman,  1849. 
Job  S.  Williams,  185U. 


Matthias  Meeker,  1794-98. 
Elijah  Woodniff,  1799. 1803, 1805-6. 
Moses  Ball.  1804. 

Stephen  Morehouse,  1807,  1814-16. 
Stephen  Towuley,  1808-9, 1811-13.  | 
Abner  Ball,  1«10.  , 

Samuel  Bailey,  1817-31,  1833-44.  [ 
Jacob  French,  1845-47. 


Thomas  C.  Bradbury,  1881-52. 

Rufus  Rand,  1863, 1875-79. 

George  Mulford,  1854-55. 

Horace  Park,  1856. 

Thomas  P.  Toole,  1858-61. 

Judah  A.  Smith,  1862-64. 

Joseph  H.  Doyle,  1865. 

Reuben  G.  Marsh,  1866-73. 

J.  Edgar  Meeker,  1874. 

Reuben  G.  Marsh  was  appointed 
town  clerk  by  Town  Committee, 
Aug.  19, 1S79,  to  fill  the  unex- 
pired term  of  Rufus  Rund. 

Reuben  G.  Marsh.  1880-81. 


Theodore  Pierson,  1848-53, 1859-64. 
Samuel  C.  Smith,  1854-68,  1866-68. 
Joseph  H.  Doyle,  1865. 
George  Mulford,  1869, 1872-80. 
Geoi  ge  It.  Baker,  1^70. 
Nicholas  C.  Cox,  1871. 
William  B.  Slites,  1881. 


COLLECTORS 
Abraham  Woolley,  1791-97,1803-. 
Isaac  Roll,  1798-1801. 
U/Jll  Wade,  1806-8. 
Caleb  Woodruff,  1809-27. 
John  Smith,  1822. 
Daniel  S.  Briant,  1828-31. 
Elijah  Stites,  1832-45. 


Samuel  C.  Smith,  1846-49. 
Albert  D.  Traplwgan,  1850-51. 
Aaron  H.  Burnet,  1852-.55. 
Ziba  H.  Sickly,  1856,  1868-64. 
Aaron  D.  Sophei',  1866-73. 
Asa  T.  Woodruff,  1874-81. 


Samuel  Tyler,  1803. 
Abraham  Woolley,  1806, 1808-10. 
Abner  Ball,  1806-9. 
William  Brown,  1808-10. 
Joseph  T."  Hardy,  1809-10. 
Samuel  Parkhurst,  1810-18. 
Caleb  Woodruff,  1818. 
Philemon  Dickerson,  1836. 
Aaron  A.  Burnet,  1850, 1855, 1860 
Thumas  W.  Reynolds,  1860. 


JUSTICES  OF   PEACE. 

Elias  Tooker,  18.52. 
Daviil  Biison,  1865. 
David  B.  Sayre,  1856. 
Abner  Styles,  1856. 
Theodore  Pierson,  1861. 
Ziba  H.  Sickly,  1861-71. 
William  S.  Smith,  1871. 
John  L.  Currie,  1881. 
George  Mulford,  1881. 


TOWN   COMMITTEE. 


Gr.iver  Coe,  179S-180O. 
Abraham  Woolley,  1798-1802. 
Joseph  Pierson,  1798-1800. 
Abiier  Ball,  1798-1809. 
Samuel  Potter,  1798-1800. 
Israel  Day,  1800, 1806,  1808. 
William  Brown,  1800-20. 
John  C.  Crane,  1801-6. 
Samuel  Clark,  lSOl-2,  1804-9. 
Caleb  Woodruff,  1803-8. 
Benjamin  B.mnell,  1807. 
Joseph  J.  Hardy,  1809-12. 
24 


L"z.il  Wade,  1809-23. 
Samuel  Parkhurst,  1810-15. 
Stephen  Towuley,  1810-U. 
William  Parcoll,  1812-16. 
Stephen  Baldwin  (Capt.),  1813-34. 
Samuel  Bailey,  1816. 
Enoch  Ball,  1816. 
Daniel  S.  Briant,  1817-25. 
Benjamin  L.  Day,  1817-21. 
Cyrus  Purand,  1821. 
Philemon  Dickerson,  1822-41. 
Samuel  Colie,  182:i-36. 


John  Wade,  1824-27. 

Elijah  Stlies,  1827. 

Abraham  Parkhurst,  1828-29. 

Jonas  Wade,  1828. 

I6,aac  Brookfleld,  1829-35. 

Israel  D.  Condit,  1830. 

Walter  Smith,  1831-32. 

Samuel  Halsey,  1832,  1835-44. 

Isaac  D.  Smith,  18Si-34. 

W.  W.  Parkhurst,  1835. 

Samuel  C.  Smith,  18'6,  1862. 

Noah  Clark,  1830-41,  1846. 

Solomon  Deau,  1836-37. 

Ezra  S  Gardner,  1837-4;),  1848-56. 

Daniel  Mulford,  1838-41. 

Andrew    W.    Brown,    1842,   1844, 

1874-76. 
Richard  Tuers,  1842-60. 
Daniel  Balwin,  1842. 
Daniel  Balwin,  1843. 
Thomas  W.  Reynolds,  1843-44. 
Isaac  Lyon,  184'4. 
Wickliff  S.  Condit,  1845. 
Cyrus   Parkhurst,    1845,    1848-60, 

1869-70. 
John  Carter,  1845-47. 
Stewart  C.  Marsh,  1846-47. 
Aaron  H.  Burnet,  1846^50. 
Edward  S.  Hand,  1846-47. 
Job  S.  Williams,  1848-49, 1851. 
John  M.  Tooker,  1860-51, 1859-63. 
Abner  J.  Reeve,  1851-54. 
William  H.  Smith,  1861. 
John  Crowell,  1852. 
William  H.  Parcell,  1862. 
Samiel  M.  Bailey,  1862,  1865-56. 
Samiel  Bailey,  Jr  ,  1853. 
Edwin  A.  Clayton,  1853-54. 
John  D.  Crowell,  1853. 
Henry  W.  Morehouse,  1853. 
Benjamin  S.  Dean,  1854,  1858-64. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 


William  H.  Briant,  1864. 

Theodore  Pierson,  1855-56. 

Jacob  French,  18.56-66. 

Aarou  F.  Ross,  1856-56. 

Rufus  Rand,  1858. 

John  C.  Sickly,  1868-60. 

Isaac  Bannisler,  1858. 

James  J.  Bradley,  1858. 

John  Richards,  1859. 

George    Mulford,     1859,    1863-64 

1807-68. 
Theodore  Overmiller,  1860. 
Jacob  M.  Vanwagener,  1860, 1862. 
Lewis  A.  Denman,  1861.1866. 
John  Pudney,  1861-62,  1866-68. 
William  S.  Duuiean,  1861-62. 
George  W.  Brown,  1863-64. 
James  M.  Woodruff,  185.3-64, 1866. 
Henry  Morgan,  1864-72. 
John  L.  Curive,  1805. 
William  S.  Smith,  1805. 
George  B   Baker,  1866. 
George  M.  TinEley,  1866-68. 
David  W.  Ailing,  1866. 
Charles  11.  McCoraiick,  1867-68. 
William  Hastings,  1869-70, 1872-73. 
Theodore  L.  Currie,  1869, 1871. 
Heni^'  M.  Giaves,  1870-73. 
Henry  Munker,  1870-72. 
James  Farrow,  1871-73. 
J.  Martin  Roll,  1873,  1876-81. 
Sylvanus  Lyon,  1873-78. 
Theoilore  D.  Sickly,  1874. 
N.  C.  Cox,  1874-75. 
William  C.  Corby,  1874-T7. 
Jonathan  Edgar  Meeker,  1876-81. 
William  Corby,  1875-76. 
William  B.  Stites,  1876-78, 1880. 
George  W.Cain,  1878-79. 
Charles  T  Corby,  1880-81. 


Walter  Smith,  1794-1800. 
Elijah  Squier,  1794-1800. 
Philip  Denman,  1801-5, 1807-8. 
Israel  Day,  1801-3,  1806-21. 
Nathaniel  Little,  1804-5. 
Ezra  Baldwin,  1806.  1809-11. 
Samuel  Parkhurst,  1812-16,  1828- 
31. 


Samuel  Halsey,  1841. 
Aaron  Denman,  1842-43,  1845-47. 
Andrew  W.  Brown,  1848-64,1866. 
Elijah  W.  Smith,  1850-53, 1856. 
Amzi  Condit,  1866-56. 
Abner  D.  Reeve,  1855. 
Thomas  W.  Reynolds,  1869. 
John  C.  Sickly,  1861-63. 
William  H.  Briant,  1864, 1866. 
Theodore  Pierson,  1866,  1878. 
James  W.  Clark,  1865. 
Alexander  Robinson,  appointed  by 

Town  Committee,  1867-68. 
Cyrus  Parkhurst,  1867. 
John  M.  Tooker,  1867. 
Samuel  C.  Smith,  1868-70,  1872-73, 

1876-81. 


Abraham  Parkhurst,  1817-26. 
John  Wade,  1822,  1832-36. 
William  Stites,  1823-31,  1840-44, 

1854-^8. 
William  Parcel,  1827. 
Daniel    Balwin,   1832-35,   1837-38, 

1844-49,  1853-64. 
Israel  D.  Condit,  1836-38, 1840. 
Calvin  D.  Bonnel,  1839. 
Isaac  M.  Hand,  1839.  | 

In  the  year  1829  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
arrange  for  a  seal  of  the  township.  They  made  the 
following  report,  which  was  adopted  : 

"The  committee  for  the  township  of  Springfield  met  at  the  house  of 
William  Starkweather,  inn-keeper,  on  Saturday,  September  the  twelfth, 
eighteen  hundred  and  twenty-nine,  for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  upon 
device  which  should  be  known  as  the  common  seal  of  said  township. 
The  committee  did  resolve  and  agree  that  the  impression  of  the  eagle 
side  of  an  American  half-dollar  should  be  known  as  the  common  seal  of 
said  township. 

"  In  witness  whereof  the  committee  have  herewith  subscribed  their 
Dames  the  day  and  year  above  written. 

•'Philemon  Dickerson,    "Isaac  Brookfield, 
"Abbahah  Parkhurst,    "S.imiei.  Come, 

"  Town  Committee." 


366 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Present  Census. — The  report  of  census  committee, 
1880,  of  this  township,  that  it  contains  a  population 
of  845,  and  of  children  attending  the  public  school, 
287. 

The  Village  of  Springfield.— In  17.38  it  is  be- 
lieved that  there  were  only  three  houses  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Springfield,  which  were  occupied  by  Thomas 
Denman  and  the  Van  Winckle  and  Whitehead  fami- 
lies. The  First  Presbyterian  Church  was  built  about 
the  year  1747.  Tradition  says  the  church  was  built  of 
logs,  and  the  second  meeting  house  built  in  1761  upon 
the  spot  where  the  present  one  is  standing,  and  stood 
until  destroyed  by  the  hands  of  the  British  soldiers  on 
23d  day  of  .Tune,  1780,  and  the  present  edifice  was 
erected  in  1791.  The  present  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  was  erected  in  183.3.  The  present  Union 
Academy  was  built  in  1857,  the  upper  part  being 
used  as  a  town  hall.  The  village  contains  two  houses 
of  entertainment,  one  of  which  has  stood  for  many 
years,  called  the  Washington  Hotel,  and  the  other  to 
the  west  of  the  village  facing  the  Westfield  road, 
called  the  Springfield  Tavern.  There  are  at  the 
present  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dwellings 
and  stores,  with  a  population  of  six  hundred.  The 
following  names  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  busi- 
ness at  the  present  time : 

Ziba  H.  Sickly,  Tunison  &  Terry,  general  merchan- 
dise. 

Ziba  H.  Sickly,  coal-  and  lumber-yard. 
N.  P.  Marsh,  oysters,  confectionery,  and  ice  cream. 
Asa  H.  Woodruft',  po.stmaster. 
Denman  &  Sons,  carpenters. 
Theodore  Reeves,  carpenter  and  builder. 
J.  Edgar  Meeker,  Henry  Bidwell,  paper-mills. 
James  Farrow,  Hugh  Morrison,  wheelwright-  and 
blacksmith-shops. 

William  Ford,  fancy  store. 
Nicholas  Jobs,  M.D. 

John  L.  Currie,  George  Mulford,  justices  of  peace. 
Samuel  C.  Smith,  undertaker. 
Eev.  Henry  W.  Teller,  pastor  Presbyterian  Church. 
Eev.  Samuel  P.  Lacey,  pastor  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

This  beautiful  historic  village  is  situated  in  a  level 
plain,  having  parts  of  the  Orange  range  and  parts  of 
First  Mountain  in  full  view.  It  is  one  mile  from  Mil- 
ham  depot,  in  Essex  County,  on  the  Delaware  and 
Lackawanna  Railroad,  and  about  six  miles  from  Eliz- 
abeth and  seven  irom  Newark,  a  branch  of  the  Rah- 
way  River  passing  through  the  centre  of  the  village. 
PosTMASTER.s. — There  were  no  facilities  for  for- 
warding communications  from  this  village  until 
some  time  in  the  year  1810,  and  prior  to  this  by 
stages  which  passed  through  once  or  twice  a  week 
to  Newark  or  Elizabethtown.  Occasionally  a  post- 
boy was  sent  with  a  dispatch  of  some  importance, 
and  then  he  would  collect  all  that  was  left  in  the 
store  to  be  forwarded,  and  many  very  tender  mes- 
sages by  word  of  mouth  were  said  to  him  to  be  com- 


municated to  the  interested  one  as  he  passed  her 
domicile  on  the  turnpike,  and  for  one  shilling  it  is 
said  he  would  go  sometimes  a  little  out  of  his  way  to 
deliver  it. 

The  first  regular  appointed  postmaster  was  the  late 
Caleb  Woodruff,  who  held  it  for  a  number  of  years. 
Abner  Stites,  the  .store-keeper,  was  appointed  about 
1837  ;  Aaron  H.  Burnett,  Ziba  H.  Sickly,  and  the 
present  postmaster,  Asa  N.  Woodruff,  who  has  held 
the  position  for  some  seventeen  years. 

"ONE   CENT   REWARD. 
"  Merely  to  Answer  the  Law. 

"  RAN  away  from  tlie  subscriber  on  the  13tli  January  1828  last  an  ap- 
prentice to  tlie  slioeniaking  business  named  Alexander  Bruwn.  Had  on 
when  lie  went  away  blue  coat  and  pantaloons  stripped  IVLtrseilles  vest 
and  fur  Hat,  all  in  good  condition.  He  is  about  17  years  old  and  about 
five  feet  and  a  half  high  uncommonly  round  shouldered  pretty  thick 
lips  face  considerably  freckled  very  light  and  straight  hair,  goes  with 
his  head  hanging  down,  a  mark  in  his  forehi-ad  nearly  over  the  right 
eye,  received  from  an  oyster  rake  on  a  Sunday  frolic,  Saifl  boy  is  very 
talkative  but  scarcely  speaks  the  truth  4c  is  as  lazy  as  he  is  deceitful. 
All  persons  are  forbid  harbouring  said  boy,  or  of  employing  him,  if  he 
should  overcome  his  lasiness  sufiicienlly  to  apply  anywhere  for  work, 

*'  The  Above  reward  but  no  charges  will  be  given  tn  any  one  who  will 
return  him  to  the  suhscriber. 

"  John  Smtthe." 

The  above  advertisement  was  printed  upon  a  hand- 
bill and  tacked  in  the  stores  throughout  Essex  County, 
and  also  published  once  according  to  a  law  passed, 
and  the  above  heading  reads,  "  Merely  to  answer  the 
Law," 

Schools. — As  far  as  present  recollection  goes  the 
first  school-house  was  built  of  logs,  and  the  only  one 
prior  to  1778  in  this  township,  then  being  the  north- 
westerly parts  of  Elizabeth  Town  borough.  Here 
the  first  teacher  taught,  and  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  the  pastor  of  the  church  took  an  interest  in  the 
school,  as  the  children  were  once  or  twice  a  week 
brought  before  him  for  examination  and  were  se- 
verely catechised.  One  of  the  first  lesson-books  used 
here  was  a  reprint  of  the  New  England  Primer,  It 
contained  illustrations,  and  also  the  Shorter  Cate- 
chism. Our  Puritan  fathers  brought  this  catechism 
with  them  across  the  ocean  and  laid  it  on  the  same 
shelf  with  the  family  Bible.  They  taught  it  dili- 
gently to  their  children  every  Sabbath.  And  while 
a  few  of  their  descendants  now  in  the  evening  of  life 
remember  every  question  and  answer,  many  not  yet 
advanced  to  life's  meridian  can  never  forget  when 
every  Saturday  forenoon  they  had  to  take  a  regular 
catechising  in  the  common  school,  commencing  with 
a,  b,  c,  oaken-bench  class,  "  What  is  the  chief  end  of 
Man?'" 

This  small  primer  was  used  until  the  necessity 
arose  for  a  more  elaborate  selection,  and  in  the  year 
1802  "  The  American  Preceptor,"  "  DaboH's  School- 
master's Assistant,"  including  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
Washington's  Farewell  Address,  17th  of  September, 
1796,  were  introduced  as  text-books. 

1  From  Ira  Webster'f 


SPRINGFIELD. 


367 


The  following  is  found  in  the  records: 

"  In  persimuce  of  a  Ni'tification  given  at  the  Mepting-House  the  27th 
of  July,  18(«l,  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  the  Inli:ihitanl8  of  Springfield 
wan  held  on  Monday  the  2Sth  at  the  old  School -House,  when  Abniham 
Wo4)lley,  Esquire,  heiiigclicjsen  moderatorand  William  Steele  clerk  a  vote 
was  taken  whether  the  lot  of  Ground  and  materials  of  said  house  should  he 
disposed  of,  which  parsed  in  the  affirmation  without  a  dissenting  voice." 

The  premises  were  accordingly  exposed  to  public 
sale  by  Elijah  Woodruff,  auctioneer.  The  building 
was  sold  for  forty-two  dollars,  and  the  lot  to  Elijah 
Woodruff  for  forty-six  dollars,  and  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  purchase  a  new  lot,  and  also  to  build  a 
school-house,  employ  teachers,  and  discharge  them 
at  their  discretion.  Abram  WooUey,  Esq.,  Matthias 
Denman,  Grover  Coe,  Daniel  Sutfin,  and  William 
Steele  were  appointed  said  committee,  and  at  their 
next  meeting,  Sept.  80,  1800  : 

"  They  decided  to  build  a  School-House  2  storys  High,  20  ft.  Post,  20 
wide,  and  40  ft.  long  to  contain  4  windows  of  15  pains  8  by  10  each  side 
and  in  the  Lower  story  5  do  on  each  side  and  two  windows  in  one  end 
and  4  in  the  otht-r.  So  we  percive  that  they  had  decided  to  build  before 
they  had  secured  a  lot,  as  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Arsdale  had  a  Lot  for  £ou  which 
he  was  to  give  answe 


At  their  next  meeting  they  decided  to  divide  the 
"  Academy"  into  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  shares 
of  eight  dollars  each,  and  at  their  next  meeting, 
which  took  place  Dec.  14,  1802,  Messrs.  William 
Steele,  Halsted  Coe,  and  Grover  Coe  were  appointed 
to  draft  a  constitution,  and  at  their  next  meeting, 
December  27th,  a  board  of  trustees  was  elected,  con- 
sisting of  William  Steel,  Samuel  Tyler,  Esqs.,  Hal- 
sted Coe,  Gershoni  Williams,  and  Uzal  Wade,  "  who 
constituted  the  number  by  ballot."  The  constitution 
was  adopted,  and  the  institution  took  the  name  of 
"The  Springfield  Union  Academy."  It  is  further 
stated  in  the  records  that  the  "  Academy  lately  erected 
upon  such  a  footing  as  will  afford  the  easy  and  regu- 
lar means  of  Educatin  to  the  youth  in  this  vicinity, 
and  add  respectability  of  the  Place." 

The  first  mention  made  of  a  teacher  in  the  old 
record  book  is  as  follows  : 

"  SPRINOFlELn,  March  4lh,  1805.— The  tnlslecs  of  Springfield  Union 
Academy  met  at  the  house  of  Uev.  C.  Williams  in  order  to  have  some 
conversaliou  with  Mr.  Joseph  Stewart,  who  offers  his  ^urflcies  as  a  tutor 
in  the  lower  Roipm.  The  truetees  having  6ati:<li<'d  them.elv.  s  as  bi  his 
capacity  to  teach  have  agreed  toeniploy  him.  The  numberof  Sclioolars 
shall  be  40,  no  more,  and  the  price  of  tuition  shall  be  twelve  shillings 
for  those  who  read  and  write  only,  and  fourteen  shillings  for  cyphering 
andenglish  Grammer." 

In  the  year  1808,  Miss  Beach  is  mentioned  as  a 
"  tutoress,"  and  again  in  1811.  At  a  meeting,  10th 
day  of  December,  1813,  the  teacher,  Mr.  Tallman, 
was  dismissed,  and  mention  is  made,  13th  of  April, 
1814,  of  the  continuation  of  Mr.  Isaac  Ross,  and  that 
a  "  Madam  school  be  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Acad- 
emy." Mr.  Condit  is  mentioned  in  1820  a-  having 
been  taken  sick  at  Orange,  and  desiring  the  trustees 
to  "  delay  the  school  for  a  week  or  two."  In  the  year 
1821,  at  a  meeting  in  the  spring,  the  stockholders 
agreed  to  let  a  "  Mrs.  Leary  have  the  use  of  the 
Globe  for  her  private  school  when  the  Academy  did 


not  use  it,"  and  again  it  mentions,  9th  of  April,  1821, 
"that  Mrs.  H.  Leary  [in  the  other  resolution  Mrs. 
Leary  is  mentioned]  have  the  use  of  the  Globe  on  Mon- 
days and  Tuesdays  of  each  and  every  week."  In  1825, 
Mr.  Daniel  Colie  declines  being  a  teacher  in  the 
academy,  "of  course  leaving  the  school  vacant,"  and 
Mr.  Sylvester  Cook  is  invited  to  take  charge  as  teacher. 
Mr.  Bowdis  was  named  and  appointed  teacher  March 
12,  1827.  Mr.  Boughten  and  Mrs.  Addington,  Nov. 
11,  1829,  are  teachers,  and  on  Jan.  20,  1830,  a  Miss 
Alroy  is  appointed  teacher  "  if  she  can  get  20  schollars, 
and  to  come  as  soon  as  practicable,"  and  March  13th, 
same  year,  Mr.  Boughton  resigns,  and  it  is  voted  that 
Mr.  John  Lyon  be  employed  as  a  teacher  until  the 
next  annual  meeting  of  stockholders.  April  17th,  Mr. 
Samuel  H.  Page  is  selected  from  several  persons  as 
being  competent  to  teach.  Mrs.  Alroy  (or  Alyoid) 
gave  up  the  school  Jan.  19,  1831,  having  taught  one 
year.  April  24,  1834,  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Rice  is  named, 
"  they  being  -satisfied  of  his  being  competent,"  and  a 
Mi.ss  Bonnell  is  also  mentioned. 

Oct.  8,  1834,  they  resolved  to  advertise  for  an  extra 
teacher  for  the  winter  months  in  the  Newark  paper, — 
"  A  good  schoolmaster  wanted."  It  seems  by  this  a 
Mr.  Volney  Ross  presented  himself  and  was  examined 
and  appointed,  and  to  open  school  on  Monday  next, 
which  he  concluded  so  to  do.  Mr.  Samuel  E.  Rice 
then  relinquished  the  school.  He  married  a  daughter 
of  Col.  John  Wade,  and  in  1838  moved  to  Baltimore. 

Mr.  William  Willis,  April  13,  1835,  rendered  his 
bills  for  the  last  two  years  for  repairs  done  the  acad- 
emy, amounting  to  five  pounds  thirteen  shillings  and 
three  pence  (£5  13s.  Sd.). 

Mr.  Denny  has  been  assistant  with  Mr.  Rice,  and 
has  declined  April  28,  1835,  and  they  again  advertise 
for  a  teacher.  Many  of  the  bills  were  made  out  up 
to  this  time  in  English  currency,  viz. : 

£     t.    d. 

To  hanging  a  door 0      2      6 

Repairing  a  lock 0      2      0 

54  day  repairing  windows 0      7      6 

Paid  po.staue  for  lettelv 0      4      6 

From  Rev.  Mr.  Bart 1     19    10 

£2     16      3 

Oct.  6,  1835,  Mr.  John  Scheller  is  appointed  for  the 
lower  school,  and  on  the  9th  October  a  special  meeting 
to  employ  a  "  Maddam" ;  but  Mr.  Lathrop  was  ap- 
pointed, and  again  they  met,  as  Mr.  Scheller  had 
resigned,  and  Mr.  Frederick  Merrill  agreed  to  open 
school  April,  1836,  at  fourteen  shillings  per  "  scoller." 
Saturday  evening,  April  16,  1836,  the  "  Revd.  John 
C.  Hart  made  application  to  have  a  select  Maddam 
School  for  young  ladies"  taught  in  the  upper  room  of 
the  academy,  aud  the  trustees  agreed  to  employ  Mrs. 
Hart  to  take  charge  of  said  .school.  Aug.  24,  1837, 
Mr.  Allen  was  made  teacher  in  lower  room,  and 
again  Dec.  6,  1837,  Mr.  A.  N.  Merriam  was  agreed 
upon  by  the  trustees  as  teacher.  Oct.  7,  1840,  Mr. 
Dayton  Kellogg  came  and  was  allowed  to  take  the 
school  on  his  own  responsibility,  collect  his  own  bills, 
and  charge  two  dollars   per  term  for  each  scholar. 


368 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Prior  to  this  Mr.  William  R.  Perrine  was  teacher, 
but  the  record  has  no  account,  only  mentioning  their 
indebtedness  to  him  of  ten  dollars  at  the  time  of  Mr. 
Perrine's  appointment,  and  for  the  iirst  time  the  com- 
mon school  fund  is  mentioned  this  year.  "  They 
agreed  to  apply  $45  of  the  public  school  fund  Money," 
and  Jonas  Wade  and  S.  C.  Smith  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  see  that  the  same  was  carried  out. 
Mr.  Thomas  Smith  was  teacher  about  this  time,  or 
probably  a  year  or  so  earlier,  but  no  date  is  given. 
Also  Mr.  William  D.  Shipnian  was  appointed  in  the 
year  1841,  but  taught  for  a  few  months.  He  married 
while  here  one  of  the  granddaughters  of  Capt.  John 
Wade,  and  now  is  the  judge  of  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York.  After  he  left,  Mr.  Wing  and  Thomas 
Smith  taught.  In  the  year  1852,  Mr.  H.  N.  Conger 
was  appointed  teacher,  but  remained  for  a  short  time 
and  went  to  Newark,  and  edited  a  newspaper  called 
the  Newark  Courier,  and  was  afterwards  Secretary  of 
State  during  Governor  Olden's  term,  and  afterwards 
minister  to  China. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1856  (no  date  given), 
Union  Academy  was  burned. 

Sept.  6,  1858,  the  board  of  trustees  elect  of  the 
Springfield  Union  Academy  on  motion  adopted  a 
seal  for  the  corporation,  and  the  eagle  side  of  the 
American  quarter-dollar  was  concluded  upon  as  the 
said  seal. 

Elijah  L.  Bunnell,  Oliver  Wade,  Uzal  N.  Wade, 
Abner  Stites,  Daniel  R.  Smith,  trustees  of  the  Union 
Academy,  Springfield,  N.  J. 

We  have  followed  the  record  up  to  the  year  1858, 
and  here  it  closes,  making  mention  of  the  securing  of 
a  lot  and  a  resolution  to  commence  to  build  a  new 
building  larger  than  the  old  one,  and  part  of  it  to  be 
used  for  the  town  hall,  where  all  public  meetings 
should  be  held  in  the  future. 

The  present  New  Union  Academy  was  built  and 
finished  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1857.  At  this  time 
Mr.  J.  F.  Holt  was  the  principal,  and  remained  until 
Mr.  Alford  came  in  1858;  Alfred  Hand,  1860;  and 
at  this  time  a  public  school  was  established  in  the 
ba.sement  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
Benjamin  Kelly  had  charge  for  a  short  time,  when 
this  school  was  given  up,  and  Daniel  Baker  came 
and  acted  as  principal.  In  1862  he  left,  studied 
for  the  bar,  and  died  a  short  time  after.  A  lady 
by  name  of  Ripley  in  1863  for  a  short  time  kept  a 
select  school.  In  the  year  1867,  Mr.  Chauncey  Rip- 
ley was  made  principal  of  Springfield  Union  Acad- 
emy, and  remained  one  year,  when  his  brother,  John 
Ripley,  came  in  1868;  Stephen  M.  Blazier,  1869-73; 
Theodore  D.  Sickly,  1873-75 ;  Frederick  D.  Currie, 
1875-77 ;  E.  T.  Dunham,  1877-79 ;  and  Josiali  G. 
Brown,  1879-81.  Union  Academy  School  District, 
No.  22,  George  Mulford,  district  clerk  ;  children,  205 ; 
and  at  the  Union  School-house,  District  No.  21,  being 
on  the  line  of  Springfield  and  Westfield  townships, 
A.  M.  Parkhurst,  district  clerk,  there  are   enrolled 


eighty-two  children.  (For  list  of  teachers  of  Dis- 
trict No.  21,  see  Westfield  township.) 

Before  closing  the  account  of  these  schools  we 
would  just  remark  that  in  the  records  that  have  been 
preserved  we  have  noticed  the  manner  and  also  the 
handwriting  in  which  they  were  registered  from  the 
first  record,  some  looking  like  copper-plate  engraving; 
every  line,  every  stroke  of  the  quill  is  perfect  (they 
did  not  use  steel  pens  then),  and  as  we  follow  the 
record  we  do  not  find  so  good  penmanship  as  the  first 
years;  but  they  are  kept  as  a  history  of  the  past,  and 
have  so  been  looked  upon  for  the  last  one  hundred 
years. 

The  oldest  deed  of  school  property  in  this  town- 
ship is  as  follows  :  "  Abraham  WooUey  and  wife  and 
others,  William  Steele  and  others,  trustees  of  the 
Union  Academy,  Springfield."  Book  F.  6  of  Deeds, 
p.  168,  etc.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  deed  dated  25th  April, 
1803,  recorded  6th  Marcli,  1845. 

Presbyterian  Church,  No.  1. — The  following  ac- 
count of  this  historical  church  is  from  a  sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Henry  W.  Teller,  pastor,  on 
Sunday,  July  16,  1876  : 

**  It  wa'i  ID  thoBe  early  dwys  tliat  tlie  people  in  all  these  regions  round 
about  Eli/Jibethiowii,  having  but  the  one  church  to  worship  in,  used  to 
walk  to  it  from  Rahway,  Westfield,  Springfield,  and  Connecticut  Farms. 
Whether  they  were  in  the  habit  of  going  to  and  fro  to  lK>th  services,  or 
of  attending  as  regularly  on  rainy  Sundays  as  clear  ones,  we  have  no 
means  at  this  late  day  of  determining.  The  church  in  Springfield 
(which  is  the  only  child  of  the  Connecticut  Farms  Church,  and  one  of 
the  grandchildren  of  the  Firat  (,'hurch  of  Elizabeth)  was  organized 
tweuty-niue  years  after  the  first  settlement  here.  It  belonged  origin- 
ally to  the  Prnsliytery  of  New  York.  A  house  of  worship  was  imme- 
diately built,  and  was  situated  about  halt- way  between  the  present  par- 
sonage and  tlie  Wilburn  depot.  Ii  was  veiy  near  if  not  on  exactly  the 
same  spot  where  Mr.  John  Meeker's  store  is  now  standing.  There  was 
also  a  gmveyard  tliere.  Tradition  says  tht*  church  was  built  of  logs.  It 
was  completed,  and  the  first  pantor,  Rev.  Timothy  Symms,  was  installed 
in  1740,  just  one  hundred  and  thirty  yeai-s  ago.  Mr.  Symms  had  charge 
of  this  church  in  connection  with  the  one  at  New  Providence.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Symms  waw  pastor  of  the  church  for  four  years  until  l7oU,  after 
which  there  was  a  vacancy  for  thirteen  years.  While  he  woa  pastor  and 
the  first  church  was  stil!  standing  there  wiis  givi-n  to  the  congregation 
a  tract  of  land  consisting  of  one  hundred  acres  in  the  following  wity  and 
upon  the  following  conditions.  I  quote  from  the  original  deed  as  it  was 
given  by  Jjimes  Alexander.  The  deed  bears  date  March  29,  1751,  and 
reads  as  follows:  'And  as  to  the  other  one  hundred  acres  of  the  prem- 
ises* (one  hundred  acres  were  first  deeded  to  Rev.  Tiniothy  Symms  as 
his  own  private  property),  'the  same  is  to  be  to  the  sole  and  only 
proper  use,  benefit,  and  behoof  of  the  said  Timothy  Syms  and  Petor 
Diikinson,  their  heirs  and  iisaigns,  rendering  therefor  yearly  one  pint  of 
spring  ivatcr  when  demanded  on  the  preinisfs.  Provided  always  and  it  fs 
hereby  declared  that  the  last  hundred  acres  is  to  be  held  by  the  said 
Timothy  Syms  and  Peter  Dickinson,  and  the  survivors  of  them  and  their 
heirs,  in  trusty  to  be  a  glebe  for  the  use  of  the  minister  of  the  said  parish 
of  Springfield— for  the  time  being — forever,  and  never  to  be  sold  or  dis* 
posed  of  to  any  other  use.  But  the  said  trustees  and  their  assigns  shall 
and  may  troni  time  to  time  at  the  request  of  the  minister  nn<l  the  ve8-> 
try  of  the  said  church  of  Springfield— for  the  time  being— grant  and 
convy  the  same  to  such  otlier  trustees  as  they  shall  from  time  to  time 
name  for  the  use  and  purpose  aforesaid  and  no  others.^ 

*'  For  years  the  chief  value  of  this  land  was  in  the  forests  that  covered 
it,  which  enabled  the  church  to  add  to  their  other  inducements  in  seek-' 
ing  H  pastor  an  abundance  of  firewood. 

"  Whatever  became  of  the  first  log  house  of  worship  I  have  not  beeo 
able  to  learn.  There  is  no  record  of  it  sitve  the  single  fact,  stilted  in  an 
old  manuscript,  that  it  was  built.  It  might  have  been  destmyed,  or 
very  likely  it  was  abandoned  aa  soon  as  they  were  able  to  put  up  an- 
other.   We  know  very  well  the  Puritan  principles  of  our  forefathers 


SPRINGFIELD. 


369 


I  temple  of  logfl  while 


I  1761,  fifteen  years  after  tbe 
}  is  8t!tnding,  aud  stuod  here 


are,  when 
ny  of  the 


wonld  uot  suffer  them  to  worship  very  long 
they  dwelt  in  their  ceiled  houses. 

"The  second  meeting-liouae  was  built 
first,  upon  tbe  spot  where  the  present  o: 
for  nineteen  years. 

"  In  176:J,  Rev.  Mr.  Ker  was  installed, 
there  was  a  vacancy  of  nine  years.  The 
events  transpiring  in  all  that  time  except  that  the  first  parsonape  wa^ 
raised  Au^.  22, 1764.  When  the  record  is  again  resumed  it  is  at  a  period 
immediately  preceding  the  Revolntion,  for  this  second  church  was  the 
centre  of  Revolutionary  interest  for  the  town  of  Springfield, 

"In  November,  1778,  it  was  so  tak^n  up  with  public  stores  that  the 
congregation  abandoned  it  for  the  time  being  and  fitted  up  the  garret  of 
the  old  parsonage  as  a  temporary  place  of  worsliip.  Thus  was  the  build- 
ing it-^elf  dedicated  to  the  country's  service  in  the  name  of  the  God  of 
battles.  How  small  and  mean  the  spirit  of  revenge  that  afterwards 
burned  it  to  the  ground,  and  yet  a  spirit  worthy  the  tyranny  that  em- 
ployed mercenary  troops  and  savages  to  carrv  on  an  unholy  war. 

"On  Oct.  12, 1773,  a  call  was  given  Rev.  John  Close.  He  was  offered 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  besides  the  parsonage  and  firewood,  but 
for  some  reason  kept  secret  from  tlie  ages  the  offer  was  not  accepted. 
Perhaps  he  was  a  young  man  and  modest  and  the  offer  seemed  too  great. 
During  this  year  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell— who  was  called  the 'high  priest 
of  the  Revolution,'  whose  wife  was  shot  at  Connecticut  Farms  shortly 
before  the  battle  of  Springfield,  and  who  was  himself  murdered  the  year 
following  at  the  Elizabethtuwu  Ferry — preached  several  times  to  this 
congregatioB. 

"On  Oct.  10,1774,  Rev.  Jacob  V°  Artsdalen,'  whose  remains  are  rest- 
ing in  our  cemetery,  came  before  the  people  and  '  preached  a  lecture,' 
as  the  record  has  it,  which  was  so  well  receiveii  that  it  secured  him  a 
call  at  once.  He  came  in  December  of  the  same  year  upon  a  salary  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  together  with  the  use  of  the  parsonage  and 
the  inevitable  firewood,  which  was  to  be  drawn  to  his  door.  The  salary 
was  afterwards  increased  to  three  hundred  dollars. 

"The  meagre  support  received  from  the  churches  had  a  tendency  to 
make  some  of  the  pastors  pretty  sharp  financiers.  As  an  illustration  of 
this  there  is  still  in  existence  a  fifleen-hundred-<iullar  bond  given  by  the 
trustees  of  the  church  to  Mr.  V°  Artsdalen,  upon  the  condition  that  if 
the  trustees  paid  'promptly  every  year,'  in  'quarterly  payments,'  their 
pastor's  salary,  and  well  and  truly  'provided  a  sufficient  quantity  of  fire- 
wood,' and  kept  him  '  in  quiet  and  peaceable  possession'  of  the  parson- 
age '  witli  all  the  appurtenances,'  and  kept  '  the  same  in  good  repair,'  ac- 
cording '  to  the  true  intent  and  meaning'  of  their  agreement,  then  the 
obligation  of  the  bond  was  'to  be  void,  otherwise  to  remain  m  full  force 
and  virtue.' 

"  It  do^s  not  prove  the  pastor  avaricious,  but  only  that  his  salary  was 
BO  small  that  he  could  not  afford  to  run  any  risks.  He  evidently  did  not 
consider  their  word  quite  as  good  as  their  bond.  Let  it  be  said,  however, 
to  the  credit  uf  the  church  that  every  obligation  was  promptly  met,  and 
in  due  time  the  bond  was  canceled.  Mr.  Van  Artsdalen  served  the  church 
faithfully  for  twenty-seven  yeai-s,  and  resigned  his  charge  when  failing 
health  compelled  him  to  do  so.  One  evidence  of  the  people's  affection 
for  him  is  the  fact  that  in  May,  1778,  they  gave  him  a  vacation  of  six 
months  and  continued  his  salary.  You  must  remember  that  that  was 
not  as  much  the  practice  then  as  it  is  now.  It  was  something  mure  than 
mere  conventional  courtesy  or  a  forced  concession  to  a  growing  custom 
that  led  a  people  in  those  days  to  grant  their  pastor  a  leave  of  absence. 
He  WH8  ardently  devoted  to  his  country  and  to  the  woik  of  the  Master. 
The  time  of  his  ministry  included  the  whole  period  of  the  Revolution. 
He  saw  his  church,  together  with  many  of  the  homes  of  his  parishioners, 
reduced  to  ashes,  but  nothing  daunted  he  continued  his  work.  He  gath- 
ered his  scattered  fl'ick  together  again,  as  a  father  would  gather  his 
children,  and  releasing  them  from  their  bonded  obligation  to  pay  hitn  a 
stipulated  salary,  he  hired  to  them  from  year  to  year,acceptiug  just  what 
they  could  afford  to  give.  After  the  burningof  the  church  we  next  find 
him  preaching  to  liis  heroic  band  of  Christian  patriots  in  the  old  parson- 
age barn.  Why  they  did  not  return  to  tbe  garret  we  are  not  informed, 
but  very  likely  the  congregation  had  by  this  time  outgrown  it,  or,  what 
is  equally  probable,  they  might  have  thought  that  as  they  were  now 
driven  otit  of  their  church  indefinitely  the  barn  would  be  more  convenient. 
They  certainty  had  the  grace  and  the  good  sense  to  make  the  best  of  the 
Bituiition. 

"They  were 'cast  down  but  not  discouraged.'  As  soon  as  they  fixed 
upon  their  place  of  worship  they  agreed  to  ceil  it  up  to  the  plate  and 


1  I  give  the  name 
written  Vauarsdale 


is  I  find  it  in  his  handwriting.     It  was  aftei'wards 
,  and  still  later  Vanar^dale  or  Vanarsilal. 


gable  end  beams.  In  the  following  year  they  had  put  in  galleries,  with 
the  foremost  seats  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  pulpit  reserved  for  the 
singers.  In  this  rudely  fitted  up  temple  they  must  have  worshiped  ten 
years. 

"  Sept.  25, 1786,  four  years  after  the  barn  was  fairly  fitted  up,  the  church 
was  incorporated  under  tbe  name  of  the  '  First  Congregation  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  Springfield.'  The  seal  of  the  church,  a  dove  with 
an  olive  branch,  was  not  adopted  until  December.  1792.  In  1786  they 
began  to  talk  of  building  for  themselves  the  third  house  of  worship. 
Four  years  at  least  were  spent  in  working  up  an  interest  and  laying  plans 
and  devising  means  before  the  building  was  fairly  begun.  It  was  first 
agreed  to  build  of  brick  and  stone. 

" '  A  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire.'  They  wanted  something  that  wouldn't 
burn  ;  but  the  first  plan  was  given  up  as  too  expensive  for  their  limited 
means.  Twelve  months  after  they  concluded  upon  cedar  shingles,  and 
finally,  in  1791,  the  frame  went  up.  It  was  a  time  of  general  rejoicing 
to  both  pastor  and  people.  Work  and  material  were  contributed  by  the 
members  of  the  congregation  as  they  were  able.  Men  came  bringing 
their  tools  and  the  best  timber  their  farms  could  ftirnish.  Booths  were 
erected  on  the  ground,  where  the  wom»n  prepared  meals  for  the  volun- 
teer workmen.  Contributions  were  solicited  from  tlie  churches  of  the 
Presbytery  of  New  York.  The  bell  was  contributed  by  Mr.  Samuel  Tyler, 
and  thus  the  work  went  forward  to  completion,  and  grand  old  Jacob  Van 
Artsdalen  was  the  first  to  preach  in  the  new  church  as  he  had  been  the 
last  to  preach  in  the  old. 

"  Some  of  you  will  remember  this  church  as  it  was  oriKinally,  just  as 
'  it  came  from  the  hands  of  that  earnest  band  of  workmen.  You  have  in 
I  your  memory  an  unfading  picture  of  its  old-fa-^hioned,  straight- backed 
pews,  its  broad  centre  aisle,  its  middle  seats  that  had  no  partition  run- 
ning through  them  as  these  have,  its  narrow  side  aisles  which  made  a 
passage  for  the  benefit  of  the  wall  seats  only  as  they  only  opened  into 
them,  the  centre  being  closed  up  at  the  ends  nearest  the  walls.  You  have 
not  forgotten  either  the  quaint  old  circular  pulpit,  mounted  upon  a 
high  column  tike  a  huge  barrel,  elevated  so  as  to  overlook  the  back  of 
the  church,  and  at  the  same  time  sweep  the  galleries.  And  you  will  re- 
member  also  the  great  sounding-board  back  of  tlie  pulpit  and  directly 
over  the  preacher's  head,  that  caused  you  always  to  think  of  the  wings 
that  overshadowed  the  mercy  seat,  though  it  never  bore  to  them  the 
slightest  resemblance.  Such  was  the  primitive  gloi7  of  this  latter 
house  as  some  of  you  well  remember.  In  it  M'  V"  Artsdalen  preached 
as  long  as  he  was  able,  and  finally,  when  he  coutd  come  no  longer,  he 
was  brought  one  day  by  loving  hands  that  his  sorrowing  people  might 
look  upon  his  face  once  more  and  for  the  last  time. 

"On  the  1st  of  May,  1800,  he  stopped  preaching,  but  he  remained  in 
the  parsonage,  and  his  sjilary  was  continued.  On  May  1,  1801,  he  was 
dismissed,  and  one  year's  ftirther  salary  was  voted  to  him.  In  1803  he 
entered  into  his  rest. 

"  It  is  recorded  that  near  the  close  of  his  ministry  Rev.  Jonathan  El- 
mer preached  for  him  ;  and  as  he  was  without  charge  he  requested  a 
contribution,  which  was  accordingly  taken  up,  and  amounted  to  eight 
dollars  and  some  cents.  It  may  seem  to  us  an  unimportant  item  to  be 
made  a  matter  of  record,  but  we  must  acknowledge  that  be  was  a  belter 
judge  as  to  its  importance.  In  March,  1801,  it  was  decided  to  hire  Rev. 
Gershorn  Williams  for  one  year  from  May  Ist.  In  October  of  the  same 
year  a  call  was  given  liim,  which  he  seems  to  have  had  under  considera- 
tion for  a  long  while,  for  the  first  communion  after  hi-*  acceptance  of  it 
was  on  the  23d  of  May,  1802.  His  ministry  here  was  marked  by  the 
most  powerful  revival  that  ever  occurred  in  thiscburch.  He  has  leftoa 
record  in  his  own  handwriting  two  bits  of  peraonal  experience  that  are 
as  windows  looking  into  the  heart  of  the  man,  and  disclosing  something 
of  the  spiritual  moods  to  which  he  appears  to  have  been  subject.  Like 
the  Psalmist  David,  he  was  susceptible  of  the  highest  exaltation  and 
deepest  depression.  On  Sept.  9,  1804,  he  went  home  from  the  Lord's 
Supper  and  wrote  in  the  bitterness  of  his  spirit, '  Not  one  new  mem- 
ber admitted.  O  melancholy  instance,  once  repeated  since  luy  pub- 
lic ministry  began.  May  this  evidence  of  barrenness  humble  me  and 
lead  all  the  disciples  to  ardent  prayer.'  Four  years  the  leanness  con- 
tinued, and  there  were  but  nine  added  to  the  church  in  the  whole  time. 
Then  there  was  an  addition  of  thirty  at  one  communion,  and  at  another 
in  the  same  year  of  fifteen.  After  that  there  was  no  general  work  of 
grace  until  1814.  On  May  8th  of  tliat  year  the  faithful  pastor  goea 
from  the  breaking  of  bread  (o  his  study  in  a  far  different  mood  from 
that  which  carried  him  there  on  that  dark  September  day  ten  yeiirs  be- 
fore. Thefrnitisat  length  ripening  and  dropping  into  his  hand,  and 
I  his  heart  is  full.  He  sit"  down  and  writes  a  long  list  of  names,  every 
'  one  of  which  h**  counts  as  a  star,  and  then  under  the  list  he  writes, 
*The  alwve  one  hundred  and  one  names  were  all  added  to  the  church 


370 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  one  day,  of  wliom  forty-one  then  received  baptism.    Won^Iroufl  day 

of  the  Lord,  never  to  be  forgotten  I' 

"  It  was,  indeed,  a,  wondrous  day  Tor  the  church  at  Springfield.  These 
galleries  were  packed  until  it  wha  feared  they  wunid  break  down ;  these 
seats  and  aisles  were  crowded  to  overflowing  with  penitent  saints  and 
sinners  that  had  been  alike  quickened  into  new  life.  Do  you  think  thHt 
pastor's  joy  could  have  been  measured  that  day  by  any  earthly  measure- 
ment? There  are  many  treasures  in  this  wurUi  that  men  reckon  of 
priceless  value,  and  count  with  pride  and  delight,  but  there  are  none 
like  the  souls  that  are  Haved  for  Jesus.  We  know  nothing  of  the  full- 
ness of  joy  until  we  sit  down  to  number  the  saved  through  our  instru- 
mentality, who  shall  shine  as  stars  hereafter  in  our  crown  of  rejoicing. 

"  .lust  at  the  close  of  M'  Williams'  ministry,  in  1818,  the  first  Sunday- 
school  known  in  this  part  of  the  country  was  started  by  Miss  Catherine 
Campbell  in  a  room  fitted  up  for  the  purpose  on  her  father's  premises. 
The  school  began  with  three  teachers,— Miss  Catherine  Campbell  (now 
Mrs.  Wilbur,  of  Orange),  Miss  Eliza  CampbHll,  and  Miss  Duyckinck,— and 
with  one  hundred  scholars,  Mis»?  Eliza  taught  forty  of  the  larger  boys, 
Miss  CatlKTine  twenty-five  of  the  larger  girls,  and  Miss  Duyckinck  took 
the  remaining  boys  and  girls.  A  few  months  later  the  schools  more  im- 
mediately connected  with  this  church  were  organized  by  Mrs.  May  Ten 
Broeck  (now  Mrs.  Atwater,  of  New  Haven)  and  a  young  lady  (now 
Mrs.  Samuel  Halsey,  of  Newark).  It  began  with  about  five  teachers 
and  a  hundred  scholars.  Neither  schools  had  any  male  teachers  at 
the  beginning.  The  good  brethren  wanted  to  see  the  innovation  a  suc- 
cess before  they  lent  it  any  assistance  that  would  be  likely  to  compro- 
mise their  Christian  standing. 

"Sunday-schools  were  then  a  new  thing  under  the  sun.  A  good  many 
of  the  churches,  and  not  a  few  of  the  pastors,  regarded  them  suspici- 
ously as  calculated  lo  draw  away  the  general  interest  troni  the  long- 
established  means  of  grace  and  methods  of  salvation.  The  people  also 
shared  this  want  of  confidence  in  them,  or  else  were  at  a  loss  to  know 
just  what  was  intended  by  them.  Some  had  the  impression  that  it  was 
a  money-making  operation.  One  woman,  to  whom  one  of  the  teachers 
went  asking  if  her  children  could  attend,  wanted  first  to  know  'how 
much  she  was  going  to  charge  a  quarter?'  There  were  difficultit-s  to 
overcome,  but  the  schools  were  successfully  established,  and  from  the 
first  were  greatly  prospered  and  blessed.  They  are  not  yet  done  bearing 
fruit. 

"  Rev.  James  W.  Tucker,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Williams,  came  here 
from  New  England.  He  was  installed  Aug.  4,  1818,  and  was  here  but  a 
few  months.  He  died  suddenly  Feb.  11,  1819.  He  is  described  as  a  man 
of  remarkable  pulpit  ability,  having  few  equals  in  his  day  in  this  re- 
spect. He  was  warmly  in  sympathy  with  the  two  infant  Sunday-schotds, 
and  greatly  endeared  himself  to  the  earnest  workers  of  the  church 
during  his  short  stay  among  them. 

"  Following  him  in  1820  was  the  Bev.  Elias  W.  Crane.  He  was  in- 
stalled  January  5th,  and  preached  here  six  years.  He  was  dismissed 
Oct.  17,  18l'6.  A  large  number  were  added  to  the  church  during  his 
ministry.  While  here  he  preached  the  first  historical  sermon,  but  there 
is  no  copy  of  it  to  be  found  at  present.  It  was  during  his  time  that  a 
decided  novelty  in  the  shape  of  a  stove  was  introduced  into  the  church. 
Hitherto  foot-stoves  heated  with  corncobs  and  flat  stones  well  toasted 
and  wrapped  up,  together  with  the  warming  p«jwer  of  the  pulpit  and 
the  inward  heat  of  the  spirit,  had  been  relied  upon.  But  the  people 
were  getting  more  tender  or  fastidious  or  both.  There  ^eems  not  to 
have  been,  however,  as  much  opposition  here  to  the  ungodly  thing  as  in 
many  other  places.  It  came  and  took  peaceable  poasession  of  the  centre 
aisle  about  one-third  of  the  way  from  the  door.  The  pipe  ran  straight 
up  towards  the  pulpit  to  within  a  few  feet  of  it,  and  then  sent  out  two 
arms  at  right  angles  that  were  thrust  out  through  these  side  windows. 
As  there  were  no  chimneys  you  can  imagine  the  condition  of  the  church 
00  windy  Sundays.  The  stove  was  paid  for  by  voluntary  contributions. 
An  incident  connected  with  this  fact  has  been  preserved  to  illustrate  the 
generous  spirit  of  those  good  old  times,  of  which  we  delight  to  hear,  if 
It  is  not  too  frequently  thrust  upon  our  notice,  as  in  sharp  contrast  with 
the  more  penurious  spirit  of  the  present  age.  One  liberal-minded  young 
man,  when  the  contribution -box  was  passed  around,  dropped  twe?ity-five 
cents  into  it,  and  a  near  neighbor,  witnessing  his  ruinous  liberality, 
nudged  him,  and  inquired,  reprovingly, '  What  did  you  give  so  much 
for?' 

"During  the  last  year  of  Mr.  Crane's  ministry  the  people  of  the  town- 
ship met  in  this  church  to  celebrate  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  na- 
tion's independence,  and  to  listen  to  an  able  and  eloquent  oration  deliv- 
ered by  Mr.  Sylvester  Cooke,  then  a  young  man,  and  a  teacher  in  the 
public  school,  now  a  venerable  minister  of  the  gospel  retired  from  the 
active  work. 


ne,  and  was  here  little  less  than 
}  moderator  of  the  session  from 


"  Rev.  John  D.  pHxton  followed  Mr, 
a  year.  He  was  never  installed.  Ht 
Oct.  27.  1826,  to  June  25,  1827. 

"Rev.  William  Oray  was  settled  Feb.  6.  1828,  and  was  here  about  a 
year.     He  left  some  time  in  1829. 

"  In  the  sessitmal  records,  as  kept  by  these  earlier  pastors,  I  find  that 
whenever  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  session,  if  one  of  the  elders  was 
absent  he  was  called  to  an  account  at  the  next  meeting,  or  even  if  he 
was  late  he  must  give  bis  reasons.  It  was  considered  a  matter  of  sacred 
duty  in  those  days  that  every  elder  should  be  present  at  every  meeting 
of  the  session.  It  was  a  custom  that  might  be  practiced  to  advantage  in 
our  day. 

"  Rev.  Horace  Doolittle  was  installed  in  May,  1830,  and  dismissed  in 
April,  1833. 

*'  After  Mr  Doolittle's  time  the  church  was  without  a  pastor,  except  as 
supplied  by  Rev.  Mr.  Woodbury,  until  1835.  On  April  28th  of  that  year 
Rev.  John  C.  Hart  was  installed,  and  remained  eight  years.  He  waa 
dismissed  Sept.  1, 1843.  Mr.  Hart  is  remembered  as  an  earnest  preacher 
and  most  excellent  pastor.  There  were  large  accessions  to  the  church 
during  the  time  of  his  ministry  here.  He  preached  a  historical  sermon, 
July  1,  1840,  to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  '  Historical  Collections  of 
New  Jersey.'  From  his  manuscript  we  learn  of  a  thrilling  incident  that 
occurred  during  the  battle  of  Springfield. 

"When  the  alarm  was  sounded  upon  the  mountain,  a  family  living 
where  Mrs.  Daniel  Smith  is  now  living  began  to  hide  away  their  more 
valuable  household  goods.  While  they  were  all  thua  bnsily  engaged 
the  two  armies  were  posted  for  the  fight  on  either  side  of  the  Rahway 
River.  They  themselves  were  directly  between  the  contending  forces. 
They  could  not  go  down  the  road  to  cross  at  the  bridge  without  ex- 
posing themselves  to  the  fire  of  friend  and  foe.  So  they  sought  the 
shelter  of  the  woods  in  the  rear  of  the  house,  and  becoming  separated 
from  each  other,  one  of  the  family,  a  young  girl,  fourteen  years  old, 
found  herself  alone  with  a  little  sister  in  her  care.  Taking  llie  baby  in 
her  arms,  she  bravely  forded  the  river  while  the  battle  was  raging,  and 
ran  with  it  past  the  church  on  the  road  to  Milburn,  until  she  sank  down 
exhausted.  There  the  father  and  mother  soon  found  her,  and  tlmy  all 
continued  their  flight  to  a  place  of  safety  among  the  Short  Hills. 

"Mr.  Hart  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Edward  E.  Rankin,  who  wa-i  in- 
stalled April  23,  1844,  and  dismissed  in  185(i.  He  is  spoken  of  as  a  man 
of  fine  personal  appearance,  having  a  clear  pleasant  voice,  which  while 
it  was  not  loud  was  always  easily  heard.  His  ministry  here  was  largely 
blessed.  During  his  pastorate  he  took  a  trip  to  Europe,  and  Jiev.  Mr. 
Starkweather  supplied  the  pulpit  in  his  absence. 

**  Rev.  William  E.  Locke,  formerly  a  preacher  in  the  Baptist  denomi- 
nation, succeeded  him.  He  was  installed  May  28, 1851,  and  dismissed  in 
1852. 

"  Of  his  successor,  the  Rev.  0.  L.  Kirtland,  who  was  installed  May  3, 
1853,  and  dismissed  at  his  own  request  on  account  of  failing  health  April 
17,  1872,  it  is  not  necessary  that  I  should  speak  evt-n  to  the  children  of 
this  congregation.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  words  of  one  who 
was  a  stranger  to  him  can  make  any  more  dear  or  fragrant  tlmt  name  of 
blessed  memory  to  you  all.  How  many  hallowed  associations  are  clus- 
tered around  it  in  your  hearts  and  homes?  He  is  the  man  who  for 
twenty  years  was  your  sympathizing  friend  and  spiritual  adviser.  In 
the  very  nature  of  the  case  no  other  can  ever  take  his  place  to  many  of 
baptized  your  children  ;  he  8too<l  with  you  at 
nes,  he  sought  to  soften  the  sorrow  by  words 
J  been  in  your  homes  a  frequent  and  honored 
(iociated  with  days  that  were  bright  and  days 
is  been  to  you  father  and  brother  and  friend; 
formed  but  once  in  a  lifetime.  There  were  one 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  added  to  the  church  during  Mr.  Kirtland's  pas- 
torate here.  In  the  early  part  of  his  ministry  the  lecture-room  was 
built,  and  near  the  close  of  it  the  church  was  remodeled  to  its  present 
appearance  and  the  organ  put  in  its  place.  Two  years  after  his  resigna- 
tion he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 

"  On  the  24th  of  October,  1872.  Rev.  Mr.  Boweu  was  installed  pastor 
of  the  church,  and  dismissed  in  April,  1874,  to  enter  upon  the  Turkish 


you.  He  married  you,  li 
the  grave  of  your  loved  < 
of  holy  comfort ;  he  has 
guest ;  his  memory  is  ass 
that  were  cloudy;  he  ha 
and  such  friendships  e 


•he  I 


"  The  present  pastor  was  called  and  began  the  supply  of  the  pulpit  in 
May,  1874,  and  was  installed  October  28th  of  the  same  year. 

"During  the  pastyear  fl875)  an  infant  class-room  has  been  built  upon 
the  lecture-room,  and  the  lecture-room  repainted  at  an  expense  of  alK)Ut 
eight  hundred  dollars.  The  church  ha»  had  sinc^  its  beginning  fifteen 
pastors.  Of  the  men  who  have  served  ytm  in  the  gospel  ministry  sev- 
eral took  this  as  their  first  charge  and  were  ordained  here.  One  was 
married  here,  two  died  and  were  buried  here.    From  the  membership  of 


SPRINGFIELD. 


371 


the  church  three  young  men,  Alfred  Briant,  William  Townley,  and  Wil- 
liam D.  Reeve  have  entered  the  ministry.  One  young  lady  has  gone 
out  as  a  foreign  missionary,  Miss  Rebekah  Smith,  who  went  as  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Forbes  to  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands.  Thus  have  we  en- 
deavored to  give  as  concisely  as  possible  but  faithfully  as  to  facts  and 
dates  the  history  of  this  church.  .  .  ." 

We  have  thus  given  a  large  part  of  the  historical  j 
sermon  of  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Teller.     The  church  was 
burned  by  the  British  in   1780  and  rebuilt   in  1791. 
Sittings,    500 ;    communicants,    161  ;    Sunday-school  ] 
scholars,  175. 

Rev  Henry  Wildey  Teller. — The  family  of 
Mr.  Teller  are  of  English  extraction,  and  first  settled 
at  Teller's  Point  (now  Croton  Point),  on  the  Hudson. 
The  earliest  representative  was  William  Teller,  one 
of  whose  descendants  was  Daniel,  the  grandfather  of 
Henry  Wildey.  He  married  and  had  children, — 
Joshua,  Harrison,  Smith,  John,  James,  and  Julia, 
who  became  Mrs.  Lounsberry. 

Joshua,  of  this  number,  was  born  at  Yorktown, 
Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  married  Miss  Martha 
Nemire,  whose  family  were  of  Dutch  descent  and  re- 
sided in  the  city  of  New  York.  Their  children  were 
William,  Louisa,  Lewis,  Esther,  GriflBth,  Daniel. 
Julia,  Sarah,  Henry,  Jenny,  Mary,  Martha,  and  one 
who  died  in  infancy. 

Mr.  Teller  removed  in  1855  to  Mount  Kisco,  where 
his  death  occurred  Dec.  19,  1875,  in  his  seventy-third 
year.  Mrs.  Teller  still  survives  her  husband.  Their 
son,  Henry  W.,  was  born  July  16,  1843,  at  Croton 
Falls,  N.  Y.,  and  with  his  parents  removed  to  Mount 
Kisco  in  his  boyhood,  which  was  devoted  to  study. 
He  later  pursued  a  preparatory  course  of  in.struction 
under  the  direction  of  Prof.  Burroughs,  of  the  Nassau 
Preparatory  School,  at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  entered 
the  Connecticut  Theological  Seminary  at  Hartford, 
Conn.,  in  1867,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  1870. 
Essex,  Conn.,  was  his  earliest  field  of  labor,  from 
whence  he  was  called  to  his  present  charge  in  1874. 
During  his  pastorate  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Springfield  has  enjoyed  great  prosperity. 

Mr.  Teller  has  been  especially  devoted  to  Sunday- 
school  work.  The  old  chapel  connected  with  the 
church  has  been  remodeled  for  Sunday-school  pur- 
poses, and  a  decided  interest  awakened  among  his 
people  in  this  department  of  Christian  labor. 

Mr.  Teller  was  married  June  11,  1873,  to  Miss  Ida 
S.,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Elizabeth  Smith,  of 
New  York  City.  They  have  two  daughters,  Irma 
and  Edith.  Mr.  Teller  is  favorably  known  as  a  con- 
tributor to  many  of  the  religious  periodicals  of  the 
day,  both  in  prose  and  verse,  prominent  among  them 
being  the  Illustrated  Christian  Weekly  and  the  Chris- 
tiati  at  Work. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — It  is  recorded  in 
the  trustees'  book  of  Springfield  Union  Academy, 
Aug.  4,  1828,  that  an  application  was  made  to  the 
trustees  by 

*'  Philemon  Dickerson  for  Permission  to  admit  our  Methodist  Breth- 
ren to  hold  their  Religious  meetings  in  said  Academy,  RitoUed,  Al- 


though this  Board  feel  personally  disposed  and  would  cheerfully  unite 
witli  them  in  Christian  fellowship  and  devotion,  yet  for  the  peace  of 
unity  and  the  good  of  the  church  already  established  in  this  place  the 
B<>ard  deem  it  inexpedient  to  grant  the  request;  Retntved,  Tltat  a  copy 
of  the  foregoing  resolution  be  forwarded  to  Mr.  Dickersou,  sigued  by 
the  President  and  couutersigned  by  the  Secretary. 
"William  Stites,  S«c.*'  "  Abajah  L.  Dumel,  Preinden(.'* 

A  mill  that  stood  just  east  of  the  present  church, 
which  had  stood  unoccupied  for  some  time,  was 
offiered  Mr.  Dickerson  and  accepted  ;  there  they  con- 
gregated for  some  time,  and  Col.  Wade's  place  is  also 
mentioned  their  holding  religious  meetings.  A  class 
at  this  time  was  organized,  and  in  the  year  1833  the 
Rev.  William  Hanley  was  sent  them  as  their  preacher, 
when  they  were  organized  as  a  church  with  the  fol- 
lowing members:  Philemon  Dickinson,  Hetty  Dick- 
inson, Ammon  and  Catherine  Bannan,  David  C. 
Headly  and  his  wife  Charlotte,  Hannah  Headly, 
Mary  Brown,  Calvin  H.  Gardner,  Mary  Gillam, 
Maria  Hallett,  Nehemiah  Taylor,  Margaret  Taylor, 
Mary  Whitehead,  Jotham  Taylor,  Job  Swain,  John 
S.  Campbell,  Catherine  Bailey,  Hannah  Briant,  Mary 
McChisney,  Josiah  Cahoon,  Mary  Cahoon,  George 
Hoyt,  Jacob  Lacey,  Lucy  Lyon,  Harriet  Miller, 
Agnes  Denman,  Jane  Edwards,  Thomas  Lyon,  Aaron 
F.  Ross,  Hannah  Ross,  Mary  Drew,  Mary  Taylor 
(Senior),  Mary  Taylor,  Joanna  Taylor,  Reuben 
Miller,  Parmelia  Tichinor,  William  P.  Dickinson, 
Abner  Reeve,  Nelson  Sharp,  Sarah  Ann  Dickinson, 
Julia  Ann  Meeker,  Sarah  Sharp,  Susannah  Sharp, 
Harriet  McChisney,  Mary  Crane,  Aaron  B.  Edwards, 
Elenor  Sharp. 

In  the  year  1834,  at  the  Conference  held  in  Phila- 
delphia, Springfield,  New  Providence,  Chatham,  and 
Genungtown  were  comprised  in  a  circuit,  and  Stephen 
Day  as  deacon;  William  W.  Loder,  preacher;  and 
Jonathan  Totten,  exhorter. 

The  present  church  was  erected  in  1838,  and  altered 

in  1873.     The  former  pastors.  Revs.  W.  Hanley, 

Wilmer, Decker,  T.  T.  Campfield,  C.  S.  Van- 
cleave,  A.  Van  Dewater,  H.  Trumbour,  Curtis  Talley. 
J.  Challels,  J.  Canfield,  Morcudi  Stokes,  J.  P.  Daly, 
J.  Daved,  S.  T.  Moore,  W.  Chamberlain,  C.  Wam- 
bold,  J.  W.  Barrett,  G.  Winans,  A.  H.  Brown,  J.  E. 
Hancock,  J.  Cowan,  Fletcher  Loomis,  W.  H.  Dicker- 
son,  and  the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Samuel  P.  Lacey. 
Stewards  and  trustees,  George  Mulford,  S.  B.  Brown, 
Samuel  Ball,  A.  Reeves,  Z.  H.  Sickly,  J.  Kent,  J. 
Sellick,  A.  Brill,  C.  Woodruff',  C.  Van  Wort,  and  D. 
J.  Mundy.  Superintendent  Sabbath-school,  George 
Scott.  Sittings,  250;  communicants,  120;  Sunday- 
school  scholars,  160. 

The  Centennial  in  Springfield,  1876.— Wednes- 
day evening,  June  10th,  at  a  regular  meeting  of  the 
Town  Committee  at  Town  Hall,  it  was  resolved  and 
carried  that  a  small  appropriation  be  made  for  the 
celebration  of  the  Centennial  Fourth,  and  a  com- 
mittee appointed  to  make  collections,  with  a  propo- 
sition to  report  Saturday  evening. 

Saturday  evening,  June  13th,  a  small  meeting,  with 


372 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


S.  Lyon,  chairman ;  H.  M.  Graves,  secretary.  Rev. 
H.  W.  Teller,  A.  D.  Bailey,  A.  T.  Woodruff,  N.  C. 
Cox,  and  others  attended,  and  after  informal  business 
adjourned  to  meet  Monday  evening. 

Monday  evening,  June  15th,  a  large  and  enthusiastic 
meeting,  with  S.  C.  Smith,  chairman  :  H.  Graves,  sec- 
retary; numerous  speakers  and  others.  The  following 
committees  were  appointed  to  make  preparations  for 
the  celebration  of  the  Centennial  Fourth  in  Spring- 
field, viz.: 

General  Committee,  with  full  sujiervision  of  pro- 
ceedings and  celebration,  Samuel  C.  Smith,  chair- 
man ;  Henry  M.  Graves,  secretary  ;  Ziba  H.  Sickly, 
treasurer ;  Sylvanus  Lyon,  Asa  T.  VVoodruff,  mana- 
gers. 

Marshals,  David  W.  Fairchild,  grand  marshal ; 
Wm.  Morrison,  James  M.  Sickly,  Albert  Sickly,  W. 
B.  Denman,  his  aides. 

Committee  on  Street  Parade  and  Carriages,  J. 
Martin  Roll,  H.  E.  Agens,  C.  T.  Corby,  Charles  H. 
Roll,  Eli  M.  Barber. 

Committee  on  Decorations,  James  Farrow,  D.  F. 
O'Brien,  A.  D.  Bailey,  N.  C.  Cox. 

Committee  on  Church  Music,  George  Mulford, 
Theo.  H.  Sommers,  J.  Fred.  Chamberlin. 

Committee  on  Band,  Asa  T.  Woodruff. 

Committee  for  U.  S.  Six-pound  Cannon,  Wm.  Tay- 
lor, Daniel  Day,  William  Day,  John  W.  Shevill,  Wm. 
McCormick,  Abram  J.  Kolster,  Augustus  T.  Tap|>an. 

Committee  on  Finance  and  Soliciting,  Sylvanus 
Lyon,  Asa  T.  Woodruff. 

Committee  on  Fireworks,  Sylvanus  Lyon,  George 
Mulford,  N.  C.  Merwiu. 

Committee  on  Relics,  George  Mulford,  James  Far- 
row, Sylvanus  Lyon. 

For  Notes  of  Celebration  and  Publication,  Sylva- 
nus Lyon,  Henry  M.  Graves. 

The  day  was  ushered  in  with  the  sound  of  cannon, 
ringing  of  church-bells,  and  the  rejoicing  and  happi- 
piness  of  the  people,  making  it  an  ever- memorable 
day. 

A  large  and  imposing  procession  of  one  hundred 
carriages,  riders,  troupe  of  fantastics,  fine  decorations, 
and  a  large  concourse  of  the  people  met  promptly  at 
the  town  square  at  9'  A.M.  After  forming  line,  the 
procession  marched  past  the  old  Revolutionary  house 
to  scene  of  battle  at  the  Rahway  River,  returning 
through  Millburn,  passing  W.  Campbell's,  S.  Lyon's, 
and  Hartshorne's  corner  to  Summit  line,  and  return- 
ing to  the  Presbyterian  Church.  Most  of  the  houses 
were  gayly  decorated,  and  the  people  all  along  the 
route  cheered  and  smiled  enthusiastically. 

OEDER   OF   PROCESSION. 

Grand  Marshal  (as  Washingtim),  David  W.  Fair- 
child  ;  W.  Morrison,  Albert  S.  Sickly,  W.  B.  Den- 
man, Jas.  M.  Sickly,  his  aides. 

Carriages  with  invited  guests:  Rev.  Lewis  H.  Clo- 
ver, St.  Stephen's  Church,  Millburn ;  Rev.  Dr.  J.  D. 


Rose,  St.  Stephen's  High  School,  Millburn ;  Rev.  Wm. 
H.  Dickerson,  Methodist  Church,  Springfield  ;  Hon. 
Israel  D.  Condit,  Millburn,  N.  J.;  Rev.  Charles  H. 
Babcock,  Millburn  Baptist  Church  ;  Father  R.  P.  S. 
Dagnault,  St.  Rose  of  Lima,  Millburn. 

Joseph  Solano's  brass  band.  Orange,  N.  J. 

Bearer  of  cap  of  liberty,  Abram  Reuck,  Esq. 

Color-bearer,  Eli  M.  Barber. 

Triumphal  car  with  thirteen  States  (thirteen  young 
ladies  of  Springfield,  dressed  in  costume  and  with 
State  emblems):  New  York,  Miss  Frances  Barber; 
Pennsylvania,  Miss  Jennie  Headley ;  Virginia,  Miss 
Carrie  Sickly ;  Georgia,  Miss  Lizzie  Headley ;  Mas- 
sachusetts, Miss  Mary  Fairchild;  North  Carolina, 
Miss  Loraine  Pierson ;  South  Carolina,  Miss  Gertrude 
Fairchild;  New  Hampshire,  Miss  Lilly  Wolcott; 
Maryland,  Miss  Mary  Wade ;  New  Jersey,  Miss 
Lottie  Lawrence;  Connecticut,  Miss  Nealie  Wood- 
ruft';  Delaware,  Miss  Vinnie  Dickerson ;  Rhode  Island, 
Miss  Ada  Denman. 

The  car  with  Public  School  No.  22  (decorated),  of 
Springfield,  N.  J.,  Prof  A.  D.  Bailey  and  Miss  Susan 
W.  Stiles,  teachers,  and  fifty  scholars. 

The  car  of  liberty  (with  canopy  of  flags,  American 
shields  and  colors)  :  Goddess  of  Liberty,  Miss  Adele 
C.  Lyon;  Uncle  Sam,  Howard  K.  Lyon. 

Millburn,  N.  J.,  guests:  Roger  Marshall,  Esq.  (six- 
horse  team,  with  citizens  of  Millburn,  N.  J.). 

Troupe  of  fantasticals :  Spirit  Beauty,  S.  Lyon. 

Colored  dame  (immensely  dressed,  with  huge  broad- 
sword, and  riding  a  lamb's  mule) :  Mephistopheles, 
Voziferei  Sayer;  Sioux  Indian,  Stewart  Marsh;  Old 
Veteran,  Samuel  Taylor;  White  Domino,  A.  McCor- 
mick. 

The  evergreen  car:  Henry  Monker,  with  invited 
guests. 

The  fancy  mule-team  of  Fred.  Farley. 

Carriages,  riders,  etc. 

The  Old  Presbyterian  Church,  memorable  for  its 
record  of  Revolutionary  times,  looked  brilliant  and 
festive,  filled  with  patriotic  citizens,  and  gayly  deco- 
rated with  festooned  colors,  flags,  emblems,  lanterns, 
and  flowers.  There  was  a  large  shield  back  of  the 
altar,  with  a  picture  of  Washington  at  its  crest,  with 
sacred  trophies  in  front,  and  a  pyramid  of  red,  white, 
and  blue  flowers  for  bouquet. 

The  trophies  and  relics  were  as  follows :  Pyramid 
of  cannon-balls  from  Springfield  battle-ground  ;  old 
British  sword  captured  at  Trenton  (Dr.  J.  D.  Pol- 
hemus) ;  old  British  sword  captured  at  Springfield 
(A.  T.  Woodrutt'j  ;  battle-flag  captured  at  Chancel- 
lorsville,  Va.  (Rev.  Dr.  J.  D.  Rose) ;  American  eagle 
shot  on  Springfield  Mountain  (S.  Lyon);  young 
American  eagle  (V.  Sayer). 

The  programme  of  exercises  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  as  follows :  Prayer,  by  Albert  Graves, 
Esq. ;  reading  of  Declaration  of  Independence,  by 
Alderman  William  Wade,  of  New  York;  together  with 
the  following  pieces  of  music:  "The  Star-Spangled 


M* 


v>#^i<«^«S 


SPRINGFIELD. 


373 


Banner,'*  *'  America,"  Whittier's  Centennial  Ode, 
Graves'  Centennial  Chorus. 

The  choir  was  composed  of  Miss  Amelia  Park, 
organist;  Mr.  Theo,  H.  Sommers,  Mr.  J.  Fred.  Cham- 
berlin,  Mr.  G.  W.  Chamberlin,  Mr.  Wilbur  Sopher, 
Mrs.  M.  Faitoute,  Miss  Pamela  Graves,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Ball,  and  Miss  Ada  Graves. 

The  gunners  again  at  close  of  the  day  made  vocal 
music  with  salute  of  United  States  six-pounder,  and 
the  inhabitants  gathered  on  the  magnificent  grounds 
of  Beers  and  Shirley  to  witness  the  splendid  display 
of  fireworks,  consisting  of  rockets,  wheels,  pieces, 
balloons,  and  ending  with  head  of  Washington  and 
batteries,  and  thus  the  memorable  day  was  ended. 

The  pyrotechnists  were  Messrs.  Roll,  Graves,  Lyon, 
Merwiu,  Hull. 

The  celebration  was  noticed  in  the  following  man- 
ner by  some  of  the  leading  journals: 

"Springfikld,  N.  J. — This  village,  noted  for  stirring  incidents  and 
a  battle  of  the  Revolution,  celebrated  its  centennial  in  a  truly  patriotic 
grand  style.  A  new  flag  and  staff  for  Town  Hall.  Band,  cannon,  grand 
procession,  with  njarshal, aides,  and  fantasticals.  The  Rev.  H.  W.Teller 
delivered  the  oration.  Alderman  W.  Wade  read  the  Declaration.  The 
church  and  dwellings  were  tastefully  decorated,  and  a  fine  display  of 
fireworks  on  the  grouutls  of  Beers  and  Shirley  made  this  a  truly  me- 
morable Fourth." — New  York  Tribune. 

"Sprinofield,  N.  J. — This  old  town  celebrated  its  centennial  in  a 
truly  patriotic  niaoner,  recalling  its  Revolutionary  incidents.  The  dec- 
orations were  fine.  A  large  procession,  with  marshal  and  aides,  fantasti- 
cals, and  emblematic  carriages,  with  an  oration  in  the  church  and 
fireworks,  made  it  a  glorious  Fourth  for  Springfield."— iVew-  York  Woi-ld. 

"The  Fourth  AT  SpBiNGFiELD.— The  Centennial  Fourth  was  celebrated 
in  grand  style  in  this  village  by  raising  a  flag-pole  on  the  Town  Hall,  and 
with  a  new  flag;  a  large  procession  with  brass  bands  through  Spring- 
field to  the  old  battle-ground  and  the  house  celebrated  by  Revolutionary 
incidents;  thence  passing  through  Millburn  to  Summit  line  and  return- 
ing to  the  Piesbyteiian  Church.  This  was  decorated  in  fine  taste,  and 
was  filled  to  hear  the  oration  of  Rev,  H.  W.  Teller,  and  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  read  by  Alderman  William  Wade,  of  New  York.  The 
oration  was  eloquent,  the  singing  fine,  and  the  whole  programme  at  the 
church  goud.  Mr,  D.  W,  Fairchild  as  Washington  was  grand  marshal, 
with  Sickly  marshal,  and  Dennman  and  Sickly  as  aides.  There  was  a 
fine  procession  of  '  fantasticals,'  which  caused  universal  fun  and  hearty 
cheer.  Each  house  was  decorated,  the  inhabitants  jubilant,  and  the  old 
patriotic  fire  filled  each  soul.  This  great  day  closed  with  a  splendid  ex- 
hibition of  fireworks  on  the  farm  of  Messra.  Beers  and  Shirley  in 
Springfield." — Newark  Daily  Advertiser. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

WILLIAM    STITES. 

The  name  of  Stites  has  long  been  identified  with 
the  history  of  the  early  settlement  of  the  town  of 
Springfield. 

The  progenitor,  John  Stites,  M.D.,  was  born  in 
England  in  the  year  1595,  and  came  from  London  to 
this  country  as  the  surgeon  of  a  band  of  colonists 
who  emigrated  on  account  of  political  and  religious 
disturbances  throughout  England  during  the  time  of 
Cromwell,  having  placed  a  higher  value  on  the  lib- 
erty of  thought  and  speech  than  on  the  comforts  of  ' 
home  and  native  climate. 

He  settled  at  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  and  died  in  1717, 


aged  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  years.  Family 
tradition  says  of  him  that  he  had  an  iron  consti- 
tution and  great  powers  of  physical  endurance. 
When  nearly  one  hundred  years  of  age  he  walked  a 
distance  of  over  forty  miles  in  one  day  to  visit 
relatives. 

Richard,  son  of  Dr.  John,  was  born  in  1640  in 
London,  England,  and  resided  at  Hempstead,  L.  J. 
He  died  in  1702,  aged  sixty-two  years.  The  records 
of  the  town  of  Hempstead  inform  us  that  in  1685  he 
with  others  "paid  a  tax  to  defray  the  expenses  to 
obtain  a  patent  for  the  lands  in  that  town."  The 
amount  of  the  tax  was  "  two  and  a  half  pounds 
sterling  per  acre."  He  was  taxed  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty-two  acres. 

William,  son  of  Richard  and  grandson  of  Dr.  John, 
was  born  at  Hempstead,  L.  L,  in  1676.  He  came  to 
Springfield,  N.  .!.,  then  in  the  borough  of  Elizabeth, 
and  purchased  seven  hundred  acres  of  land  on  the 
south  side  of  the  road  and  west  of  the  Rahway  River, 
where  he  built  his  log  house,  there  being  but  few 
dwellings  in  the  town  at  this  time. 

He  died  at  Springfield  in  the  year  1727,  aged  fifty- 
one  years,  and  was  buried  in  his  own  private  burial- 
ground  on  the  farm,  since  called  the  "  Revolutionary 
burial-ground." 

Mary,  his  widow,  died  in  August,  1728. 

The  following  is  found  in  the  family  record  of 
William  Stites,  his  great-grandson.  "  In  the  old 
graveyard  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  in  Spring- 
field is  now  standing  a  double  headstone,  on  which  is 
engraved,  and  yet  plain  and  intelligible,  the  follow- 
ing inscription,  to  wit : 

"'  Here  lies  ye  body  of  Mr.  William  Stits,  died  May  ye  13tb,  1727,  aged 
5X  years.' 

"  And  opposite, — 

" '  Here  lies  ye  body  of  Mary,  wife  of  Mr.  William  Stits,  died  Aug.  ye 
21st,  1728,  aged  51  years,' 

"This  man  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the  pres- 
ent owner  of  this  Bible,  and  was  undoubtedly  the 
primogenitor  of  the  Stites  family  in  East  Jersey. 
"  Springfield,  Essex  County, 

"  December  28th,  1828. 

"  Ego  scribo,  William  Stites." 

William's  children  were  John,  Hezekiah,  Richard, 
Rebecca,  William,  Elijah,  Benjamin. 

His  Isf  child,  John,  was  born  in  1706,  and  died  in 
Springfield,  N.  J.,  April,  1782,  aged  seventy-six  years. 
He  was  an  alderman  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth,  and 
lived  on  a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  owned  and  oc- 
cupied in  later  years  by  Mr.  David  Higgins  and  his 
descendants. 

2d  child,  Hezekiah,  died  in  Springfield  in  July, 
1728,  aged  twenty  years. 

3rf  child,  Richard,  died  May,  1727,  aged  twelve 
years. 

4M  child,  Rebecca,  was  born  in  1717,  and  married 
Jacob  Carl. 


374 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


bth  child,  William,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-one, 
and  was  interred  at  Mount  Bethel,  N.  J. 

&th  child,  Elijah,  was  born  in  1721,  and  died  in  the 
year  1765,  aged  forty-four  years,  and  was  buried  in 
Scotch  Plains,  N.  J. 

7(h  child,  Benjamin,  removed  to  Ohio.  His  wife 
was  said  by  the  natives  to  have  been  the  first  white 
woman  who  set  foot  on  the  soil  where  the  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati now  stands. 

Elijah,  who  was  buried  at  Scotch  Plains,  N.  J.,  and 
the  6M  cldld  of  the  aforesaid  William,  was  deprived 
by  death  of  both  parents  while  at  a  very  early  age.  He 
married,  and  built  his  house  on  that  portion  of  his  pat- 
rimony lying  on  the  southwest  side  of  the  Westfield 
road,  and  opposite  the  present  road  leading  to  Mill- 
town. 

Elijah  had  seven  children.  His  youngest  child, 
named  Abner,  participated  in  the  Revolutionary  bat- 
tle of  Springfield,  which  occurred  June  23,  1780,  and 
although  only  sixteen  years  old  carried  a  rifle  and 
fought  by  the  side  of  men  of  older  years. 

Abner  was  married  Feb.  18,  1786,  to  Hulda  Crane, 
of  Turkey,  now  known  as  New  Providence,  and  set- 
tled there.  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  a  man  of  exemplary  morals.  He  died 
in  August,  1831,  and  his  wife  in  June,  1835.  His 
children  were  as  follows:  Elijah,  William,  Hulda 
Grant,  John  M.,  Apollos,  Chloe  Jefferson,  and  Abner. 

\st  child,  Elijah,  came  to  Springfield  from  his  early 
home  in  New  Providence  in  the  spring  of  1808  as  a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  Capt.  Jonas  Wade.  He  married 
Jane,  a  daughter  of  Capt.  Wade,  and  became  his 
father-in-law's  successor  in  mercantile  pursuits.  He 
was  successful  in  business,  popular,  kind  to  the  poor, 
and  very  useful  and  much  beloved  in  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member  and  trustee, 
as  also  in  the  family  circle.  For  many  years  he  was 
a  leading  director  in  the  State  Bank  of  Elizabeth. 
He  died  in  October,  1857,  aged  sixty-.seven  years. 

M  child,  William,  was  born  Sept.  5,  1791,  in  New 
Providence.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  commenced  a 
course  of  study  preparatory  to  the  legal  profession, 
but  in  consequence  of  a  casualty  which  threatened  to 
deprive  him  of  eyesight  he  was  compelled  to  aban- 
don his  books  in  1809,  and  adopt,  contrary  to  his 
wishes,  a  mercantile  life. 

In  the  spring  of  1810  he  came  to  Springfield  as  a 
clerk  in  the  store  of  Capt.  Jonas  Wade.  He  soon 
after  began  the  career  of  a  merchant  in  the  village, 
where  he  remained  until  his  removal  to  Elizabeth, 
where  he  embarked  in  general  merchandising  with 
his  partner.  Smith  Halsey. 

He  married  Hannah  B.,  youngest  child  of  Capt. 
John  Smith,  of  Springfield.  At  the  termination  of 
the  partnership  of  "  Halsey  &  Stites"  the  two  broth- 
ers, Elijah  and  William  Stites,  entered  into  business 
relations  in  Elizabeth. 

About  1819,  William  Stites,  in  company  with  Col. 
Aaron  Ogden  and  others,  became  joint  owners  of  a 


line  of  post-coaches  running  from  New  York  to  Phil- 
adelphia, and  also  of  the  steamboat  "  William  Penn," 
plying  between  New  York  and  Amboy  for  the  con- 
veyance of  passengers  and  freight. 

In  the  spring  of  1821  he  returned  to  Springfield  and 
purchased  a  portion  of  the  original  homestead,  where 
he  spent  the  remaining  years  of  his  life,  actively  en- 
gaged in  business  and  manufacturing. 

In  1824  he  was  elected  on  the  Whig  ticket  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Legislature,  and  was  returned  for  four 
years.  After  an  interval  of  a  few  years  he  was  again 
elected  for  a  succession  of  years,  and  in  1839-40  was 
chosen  Speaker  of  the  House. 

In  1839  he  was  a  member  of  the  "joint  committee 
to  whom  were  referred  the  resolutions  of  the  Legisla- 
ture of  Connecticut  relative  to  the  public  lands  of  the 
United  States." 

He  was  alsff  twice  appointed  by  the  Legislature  one 
of  the  "  commissioners  for  the  sale  of  the  State  lands 
at  Paterson."  He  was  chosen  as  one  of  the  commit- 
tee to  appraise  the  damages  on  the  Erie  Railroad  at 
Ramapo,  as  also  on  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey  Cen- 
tral Railroad. 

For  many  years  he  held  the  appointment  of  judge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Essex  County. 

Mr.  Stites  was  also  for  years  a  member  of  the  board 
of  chosen  freeholders  of  the  county,  and  for  sev- 
eral years  director  of  the  board.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  convention  to  frame  a  new  State  Con- 
stitution, which  convened  May  14,  1844.  He  was  in 
politics  a  Republican,  and  as  a  politician  was  careful 
in  his  investigations,  honest  in  his  convictions,  and 
uncompromising  in  a  cause  that  he  considered  just, 
yet  kind  and  honorable  to  his  opponents. 

As  a  citizen  he  was  public-spirited,  active,  and 
ready  to  assist  or  lead  in  every  enterprise  that  prom- 
ised benefit  to  the  township.  In  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  member  from  his  early 
youth,  he  was  a  zealous  worker  in  matters  both 
spiritual  and  secular,  and  ever  ready  to  render  aid 
either  in  the  capacity  of  private  member  or  trustee. 

In  the  family  circle  he  was  seldom  demonstrative, 
yet  a  man  of  strong  affections  and  sympathetic  feel- 
ings. His  intellect  was  strong,  his  perceptions  clear, 
and  his  memory  retentive. 

His  mind  remained  clear  and  bright  until  the  last 
moment  of  his  life,  his  patience  being  remarkable  du- 
ring the  last  months  of  his  great  physical  suffering. 
The  Christian  hope  which  had  sustained  him  in  many 
vicissitudes  of  life  supported  him  in  the  last  trying 
hour.  The  end  was  peace.  He  died  June  30,  1871, 
in  his  eightieth  year,  the  death  of  his  wife  having 
occurred  Sept.  30,  1865.  He  had  but  two  children, — 
a  son  William,  who  died  in  early  childhood,  and  a 
daughter,  Jane  Robinson,  who  is  the  widow  of  John 
C.  Elmer,  M.D.  She  with  her  only  surviving  child 
occupies  the  old  homestead.  To  resume  the  record  of 
the  children  of  Abner: 

3rf  child,  Hulda  Grant,  was  born  in  1795,  and  mar- 


JOHN    KICHARDS. 


^^  -<jpi^t^rlt- 


SPRINGFIELD. 


375 


ried  John  Thompson.  She  died  at  her  home  in  Bask- 
ing Ridge  in  1832.  and  left  five  children. 

Ath  child,  John  M.,  born  1797,  and  married  Jane 
Bonnel.  He  died  at  his  home  in  New  Providence  in 
1855.     Two  children  survive. 

5fA  child,  Apollos,  was  born  in  the  year  1799.  He 
married  Mary  Bryant  in  1825,  and  died  in  the  year 
1853,  leaving  two  children. 

Qth  child,  Chloe  Jeffreson,  born  1801,  married 
Ezra  Fairchild,  the  principal  of  Flushing  Institute, 
and  died  in  1853.     She  left  three  children. 

1th  child,  Abner,  was  born  in  the  year  1803.  After 
leaving  his  home  in  New  Providence,' and  after  sev- 
eral years  spent  in  Elizabeth,  he  came  to  Springfield, 
and  for  many  years  was  actively  engaged  in  business 
and  manufacturing  with  his  elder  brother,  William. 
Subsequently  he  continued  the  business  alone.  He 
was  a  very  useful  member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
superintendent  of  its  Sunday-school,  and  one  of  its 
trustees.  Abner  Stites  was  a  zealous  advocate  of  all 
the  best  interests  of  the  community.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  a  director  of  the  State  Bank  of 
Elizabeth.  He  was  a  strong  Republican  in  his  po- 
litical predilections.  Mr.  Stites  married  Miss  Char- 
lotte Bonnel.  His  death  occurred  in  1867,  and  a 
widow  and  two  children  survive  him. 


JOHN    RICHAEDS. 


John  W.,  James  C,  Charles  E.,  Charlotte  W.  (Mrs. 

I  Ayers),  Matilda  A.  (Mrs.  Parkhurst),  Henry  H.,  Sea- 
man P.,  and  Ella  V.,  deceased. 

Mr.  Richards  was  in  his  political  affiliations  a  Dem- 

I  ocrat,  but  extremely  liberal  in  his  opinions.  He  held 
at  various  times  township  offices  of  more  or  less  im- 
portance, but  cared  little  for  the  distinctions  conferred 
by  his  constituents,  his  life  having  been  wholly  de- 

!  voted  to  the  cultivation  of  his  landed  interests.  He 
was  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  preferences,  and  a 
worshiper  at  the  church  of  that  denomination  in 
Springfield. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Richards  occurred  at  his  house 
on  the  1st  of  July,  1874.  Mrs.  Richards  still  survives, 
and  resides  at  Elizabeth,  while  the  homestead  is  oc- 
cupied by  his  son,  Henry  H.  Richards. 


The  Richards  family  are  of  English  extraction, 
Samuel  Richards,  the  earliest  representative  of  this 
branch  in  America,  having  emigrated  from  Notting- 
ham, England,  and  settled  in  New  York  City,  where 
he  followed  his  craft  as  a  master-builder.  He  was 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  Havens,  of  New 
York,  and  became  the  parent  of  eleven  children, — 
Elizabeth,  Samuel,  Mary,  Julia,  Theophilus,  Augus- 
tus, Jane,  John,  William,  Sarah,  and  Matthew.  Mr. 
Richards  later  in  life  removed  to  Springfield,  where 
his  death  occurred,  Mrs.  Richards  having  also  died  at 
their  country  home.  Their  son  John  was  born  Nov. 
6,  1800,  in  New  York,  on  the  present  site  of  the  New 
York  Stock  Exchange.  His  early  life  was  devoted  to 
study  under  the  best  tutors  the  city  afforded,  after 
which,  having  determined  to  acquire  a  trade  which 
might  render  him  independent  of  the  vicissitudes  of 
a  changing  fortune,  he  served  an  apprenticeship  of 
five  years  as  a  saddler  and  harness-maker.  At  the 
age  of  twenty-one  he  chose  the  life  of  a  farmer,  and 
repaired  to  his  father's  land  at  Springfield,  which  he 
cultivated  and  improved.  On  the  death  of  his  parent 
he  purchased  the  farm  which  is  now  the  homestead. 

Mr.  Richards  was  married  in  1822  to  Miss  Mary  D., 
daughter  of  Col.  John  Wade,  of  S[)ringfield.  The 
colonel  was  a  soldier  in  the  war  of  181 2,  and  stationed 
at  Sandy  Hook,  where  he  rendered  valuable  service. 
To  this  marriage  were  born  children, — Mary  C.  (Mrs. 
Grossman),   Sarah   R.  (Mrs.  Shipman),  Samuel   R., 


SAMUEL    C.   SMITH. 


The  great-grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biog- 
raphy was  Walter  Smith,  who  was  of  German  parent- 
age, and  resided  in  Milburn,  Essex  Co.,  N.  J.  He 
married,  and  had  among  his  children  a  son  William, 
who  was  twice  married,  first  to  a  Miss  Reeve,  to  whom 
were  born  four  children,  one  of  whom  was  Moses 
Smith,  whose  birth  occurred  in  1774,  in  Milburn, 
where  he  .spent  his  life  and  where  he  died. 

William  Smith  was  a  second  time  married  to  a  Miss 
Woodruff',  who  became  the  mother  of  twelve  children. 
Moses  Smith  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Abby 
Colie,  and  had  children, — Samuel  C,  Oliver  R.,  and 
Isaac  P.,  all  of  whom  are  living,  the  latter  in  New  Al- 
bany, Ind.,  and  Oliver  R.,  in  Newark,  N.  J.  Samuel 
C,  the  eldest  of  these  brothers,  was  born  in  June, 
1802,  at  Milburn,  where  his  boyhood  was  spent.  He 
availed  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the  public  school, 
and  later  became  interested  in  labor  on  the  farm.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen  herenioved  to  Springfield,  and  served 
an  apprenticeship  as  a  tailor,  which  trade  he  followed 
for  many  years.  He  subsequently  engaged  in  the 
business  of  undertaking,  which  is  still  his  occupation. 

Mr.  Smith  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Daniel  Ayr&s,  of  Springfield,  who  was  born,  lived, 
was  married,  and  died  (the  latter  event  occurring  in 
1879),  in  the  house  now  occupied  by  the  family.  Their 
children  are  George,  deceased  ;  Moses;  Mary  E.  (Mrs. 
Wade);  Emma  (Mrs.  Parkhurst),  deceased;  Maria, 
deceased ;  and  Henry  C. 

Mr.  Smith  is  in  politics  a  Republican.  He  was 
elected  to  the  State  Legislature  for  the  years  1842-43, 
has  been  freeholder  of  his  township  since  1869,  and 
held  numerous  other  minor  offices.  He  is  a  Presby- 
terian in  his  religious  convictions,  and  has  been  for  a 
period  of  twenty  years  a  member  of  the  church  at 
Springfield,  of  which  he  is  also  a  trustee.  Though 
advanced  in  years,  Mr.  Smith  still  occupies  an  influ- 
ential position  in  the  township  of  his  residence. 


37(5 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHAPTER   LI  I. 


UNtON    TOWNS  HIP. 


This  township  remained  a  portion  of  the  borough 
of  Elizabetlitown  until  the  passage  of  an  act  for  its 
erection  into  a  separate  township,  Nov.  23,  1808. 

Physical  Features. — Tlie  surface  of  this  township 
in  tlie  sDiitlicast  jiart  is  nearly  a  level,  and  above  the 
Elizabeth  River  to  the  Springfield  line,  bounded  by 
Rahway  River  westerly,  it  is  undulating.  The  soil  is 
a  clay  loam,  with  occasional  outcropping  of  red  shale, 
but  it  is  generally  rich  and  easily  tilled,  producing 
e.xcelleiit  crops.  There  are  fine  growths  of  timber 
scattered  throughout  the  township.  It  is  well  watered  ' 
by  branches  of  the  Rahway  and  Elizabeth  Rivers. 
It  is  said  that  when  Gen.  Washington  was  passing 
through  this  section  he  pronounced  it  the  "  garden  of 
New  Jersey,"  on  account  of  its  beauty  and  fertility. 

There  are  large  tracts  of  turf  meadow  in  this  town- 
ship, containing  probably  about  five  hundred  acres, 
the  largest  of  which  lies  directly  south  of  the  church,  j 
This  turf  or  peat  has  up  to  within  a  few  years  been  [ 
dug  or  cut  out  in  summer  and  piled  in  sheds  built  for 
the  purpose,  erected  in  the  meadows,  to  be  dried, 
where  it  remained  for  some  months,  when  it  was  used 
extensively  as  a  fuel,  giving  an  excellent  heat  and 
cheerful  blaze  in  the  open  fireplaces.  But  when 
stoves  came  into  general  use  peat  as  a  fuel  was  gen- 
erally abandoned.  It  has  been  a  surprise  to  many 
that  it  was  ever  used  while  large  tracts  of  woodland 
were  covering  hundreds  of  acres  in  the  township. 
The  use  of  lime  has  been  tried  within  a  few  years 
upon  this  clay  soil,  and  found  beneficial  in  raising 
good  crops  of  grain,  hay,  and  garden  vegetables  for 
the  ma,rkets  at  Elizabeth  and  Newark.  Large  num- 
bers of  cattle  are  kept  upon  these  lands,  and  fine 
orchards  of  choice  fruit,  as  well  as  of  berries,  are  ex- 
tensively raised.  The  roads  are  kept  in  good  orcjer, 
and  many  resort  to  this  township  during  the  pleasant 
weather  from  the  cities  near  by. 

Early  Settlement.  —  During  the  summer  and 
autumn  of  1G67  the  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  with  the 
families  of  Bonnel,  Meeker,  Crane,  Headley,  Wade, 
Townley,  and  others,  from  Branford  and  Guilford, 
Conn.,  settled  in  that  portion  of  the  township  known 
as  Connecticut  Farms,  and  which  still  bears  that  ap- 
pellation. Many  hardships  were  incident  to  the  settle- 
ment of  a  new  plantation  in  the  midst  of  savage  tribes, 
upon  whose  friendship  little  dependence  could  be 
placed.  The  situation  necessarily  made  these  early 
settlers  watchful ;  tliough  few  in  numbers,  they  were 
ready  upon  the  first  alarm  to  defend  themselves.  But 
little  annoyance  was  experienced  from  the  Indians 
after  they  had  disposed  of  their  lands  in  this  section 
to  the  Elizabethtown  Associates,  who  purchased  them 
in  1664.  Respecting  the  period  immediately  pre- 
ceding this  a  writer  says, — 

"  It  was  not  safe,  and  had  not  been  to  the  time  of 


the  conquest  by  the  English  in  1664,  to  venture  far 
into  the  interior.  It  would  have  been  exceedingly 
hazardous  for  a  few  families  to  plant  themselves  on 
these  outskirts  of  civilization  as  residents  and  occu- 
pants of  the  land  unjirotected." 

We  find  among  the  names  of  the  first  settlers  at 
Connecticut  Farms  Ball,  Bonnell,  Meeker,  Headley, 
Crane,  Wade,  Townley,  Miller,  Woodrufl^,  Potter, 
Jaggers,  Littell  (Litell),  Searing,  Earls,  Mulford, 
Terrill,  Winans,  Hays,  Williams,  Thompson,  Bond, 
and  a  few  others.  Many  of  these  names  are  not 
known  here  now.  Stephen  Ball,  a  merchant  from 
London,  Ezekiel  and  David  Ball  are  early  mentioned. 
The  name  is  now  largely  distributed  all  over  this 
township  and  adjoining  ones.  Samuel  D.  Ball  has 
held  many  offices  in  the  township,  and  with  his 
father  as  toll-keeper  on  the  turnpike,  he  keeps  a 
store  now  on  the  road  from  the  Farms  to  Springfield. 
Nathaniel  Bunnell  (Bonnell)  wjis  born  in  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  and  went  when  young  (in  1669)  to 
Southampton,  L.  I.  It  is  probable  that  William  and 
Benjamin  Bonnell,  of  that  place,  were  brothers.  Na- 
thaniel was  one  of  the  first  company  of  the  "  Eliza- 
bethtown Associates."  He  married  Hannah  Miller, 
of  Westfield,  and  had  seven  children, — 1,  Benjamin, 
who  was  a  justice  of  peace,  married  Rachel  Van 
Winkle  ;  2,  Nathaniel,  who  was  a  captain  ;  .3,  John, 
who  married  Sarah  Carter ;  4,  Sarah,  married  Samuel 
Roberts ;  o,  Betsey,  married  Capt.  Isaac  Ward ;  6, 
Abigail,  married  a  Mr.  Gardner,  and  7,  Mary,  mar- 
ried Elijah  Woodruff.  Mrs.  Nathaniel  Bonnell  had 
an  allotment  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  "  lying 
upon  the  south  branch  of  Elizabeth  Town  Creek 
(Wade's  Farms),  and  ye  plaine  which  said  above 
mentioned  creek  passeth  through  ;"  also  "  twelve 
acres  of  meadow  lying  in  the  great  meadows  (salt 
meadows)  upon  John  Woodruffe's  Creek." 

Meeker,  sometimes  spelt  Meaker  or  Mecar.  This 
family  came  at  an  early  date  from  New  Haven,  Conn. 
The  record  has  the  date  of  July  1,  1644,  "  where  he 
took  the  oath  of  fidelity."  He  was  propounded  Oct. 
7,  1646,  to  "be  loader  to  mill  for  a  12  month,  to  goe 
in  all  seasons  except  unreasonable  weather."  Fre- 
quently he  appears  in  the  records  as  "  Meader,"  or 
"  Mecar."  William  Meeker  owned  a  large  number 
of  acres  of  land,  and  also  "  His  House-lot  containing 
six  acres.  Bounded  N.  by  Henry  Norris,  W.  by  the 
Highway,  south  by  his  son  Joseph,  and  east  by  the 
swamp,  and  also  13  acres  by  his  son  Benjamin's,"' 
and  in  all  one  hundred  and  fifty-two  acres.  He  died 
in  December,  1690.  He  was  constable  of  the  town  at 
an  early  date  (Oct.  13,  1671).  His  sons  Benjamin 
and  Joseph  are  numbered  among  the  "  Elizabethtown 
Associates."  Joseph,  it  is  recorded,  kept  a  store,  and 
perhaps  was  one  of  the  first  in  this  township  near 
the  church  at  the  Connecticut  Farms.  He  had  three 
sons,   Robert  Meeker,  Stephen  Meeker,  and    David 


WILLIAM    BRANT. 


As  nearly  as  can  he  determined  the  Brant 
family  emigrated  from  Holland  to  New  York 
about  the  year  1600,  where  the  first  William 
Brant  located.  His  son  William  removed  to 
Newark,  and  from  thence  to  Springfield,  within 
the  bounds  of  Newark  parish,  where  the  family 
attended  church  services.  He  had  three  sons, — 
David,  Lewis,  and  William — and  three  daugh- 
ters. David  Brant  settled  in  Morris  County, 
and  had  several  sons.  Lewis  located  at  Eahway, 
and  had  two  sons,  Lewis  and  David.  William 
Brant  (3)  married  Elizabeth  Osborn,  and  iiad 
one  son  and  three  daughters.  He  located  at 
Connecticut  Farms  in  1721,  and  died  in  1747. 
His  son  William  (4)  lived  upon  the  homestead, 
where  his  death  occurred  in  1798.  His  chil- 
dren were  Jonathan,  William  (5),  Matthias, 
Mary,  and  Hannah. 

Matthias  Brant,  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  who  was  a  Revolutionary  soldier, 
was  born  April  21,  1762,  and  on  the  30th  of 
November,  1786,  was  married  to  Miss  Prudence 
Baker,  to  whom  were  born  children, — Hannah, 
whose  birth  occurred  Nov.  20,  1788 ;  Mary, 
born  Sept.  22,  1790;  Elizabeth,  born  March 
25,  1793 ;  William,  whose  birth  occurred  July 
2,  1797;  Sarah  Lum,  born  June  9,  1800;  and 
Matthias,  Jr.,  born  March  5,  1802.  The  death 
of  Matthias  Brant  occurred  Feb.  4,  1845,  in 
his  eighty-fifth  yeai-.     William,  his  son,  spent 


his  life  in  Union  township,  and  the  dwelling  in 
which  his  birth  occurred  was  also  the  scene  of 
his  death.  He  inherited  the  family  taste  for 
farming  employments,  in  which  he  was  eminently 
successful.  Mr.  Brant  was  in  early  years  an 
Old-Line  Whig,  but  at  a  later  period  became  a 
Democrat,  and  advocated  with  much  zeal  the 
principles  of  the  part}'.  He  had  little  fondness 
for  official  life,  but  devoted  more  attention  to 
military  life,  and  was  prominent  in  the  State 
militia  during  his  early  years.  He  was  in  his 
religious  jireferences  a  Presbyterian,  and  wor- 
shiped at  the  Connecticut  Farms  Presbyterian 
Church,  of  which  he  was  for  years  a  trustee. 
He  manifested  much  interest  in  the  cemetery 
adjoining,  and  devoted  both  time  and  labor  to 
adorning  and  improving  it.  He  was  a  man  of 
much  public  spirit,  and  extended  a  willing  and 
helping  hand  to  all  worthy  appeals  for  aid. 

Mr.  Brant  was  a  man  of  much  force  of 
character,  and  occupied  a  position  which  en- 
abled him  to  exercise  a  commanding  influence 
in  the  community.  He  was,  however,  free 
from  ostentation,  and  wholly  unobtrusive  in  his 
manner.  His  death  occurred  Nov.  27,  1881, 
and  his  interment  took  place  at  the  Connecticut 
Farms  Cemetery,  to  the  embellishment  of  which 
he  had  so  largely  contributed.  His  grandson, 
William  Brant  Burnet,  represents  the  sixth 
generation  who  have  borne  the  name. 


UNION  TOWNSHIP. 


377 


Meeker.  Part  of  his  family  settled  in  "  Turkey" 
(New  Providence),  1720,  where  a  large  number  of  his 
descendants  are  to  be  found.  Benjamin,  brother  of 
Joseph,  was  a  "  carpenter  as  well  as  a  planter."  ' 

Headley.  This  family  are  among  the  first  who 
came  in  1665,  but  no  memorial  is  left  of  his  origin. 
Leonard  Headley  had  surveyed  "in  the  right  of  him- 
self" one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  Oct.  14,  1678,  and 
must  have  been  one  of  the  "  Associates,"  and  owned  | 
other  lands  by  the  Elizabethtown  Creek.  He  was  a 
weaver  also,  and  said  to  have  also  owned  a  saw-mill. 
He  died  February,  1683,  and  Sarah  Smith  administered 
on  his  estate.  Headleytown,  situated  on  the  Spring- 
field road,  is  named  from  the  family. 

Wade.  This  branch  of  the  early  settlers  came  not 
later  than  1675.  Benjamin  Wade  was  a  clothier.  He 
doubtless  was  of  the  family  (probably  a  son)  of 
Robert  Wade,'  who  came  from  Dorchester,  Mass. 
He  died  1698.^  The  family  is  well  represented  in  the 
township,  and  by  many  who  have  removed  to  the 
West. 

Townly.  The  name  is  first  mentioned  in  1684, 
when  Richard  Townly  first  took  up  his  abode  in  this 
settlement.  He  was  the  eighth  son  of  Nicholas 
Townley,  of  Littleton,  England.  His  lineage  can 
be  traced  back  for  centuries,  and  until  the  days  of 
William  the  Conqueror.  It  is  said  no  other  family 
in  the  town  had  a  higher  social  position. 

Woodruff  (Woodrofe,  as  it  was  originally  spelt) 
came  with  the  Southam])ton,  L.  I.,  colony.  He  was 
a  constable,  Dec.  11, 1674  ;  ensign,  July  15,  1675  ;  and 
sheriff'  of  the  county,  Nov.  28,  1684.  "  He  had  a 
farm  containing  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  acres" 
by  a  great  swamp,  east  by  the  common  meadow,  and 
south  by  a  small  brook  and  John  Parker;  also  four- 
teen acres  on  the  north  neck  ;  also  five  acres  bounded 
by  the  common  pasture,  his  own  land,  a  small  brook, 
and  Leonard  Headley's  ;  also  eight  acres  of  upland 
bounded  by  the  Governor  and  Jonathan  and  Joseph 
Ogden's  house-lots ;  and  six  acres  of  upland  joining 
John  Parker's  house-lot  "  at  the  Farmes."  He  also 
at  a  later  date  bought  large  tracts  of  land  in  this 
township. 

Potter.  This  name  is  first  mentioned  in  1641,  in 
New  Haven,  Conn.  Samuel  Potter,  born  Jan.  2, 
1675,  son  of  John  Potter,  of  above  place.  He  first 
settled  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  eventually  came  to 
Connecticut  Farms.  He  was  in  his  eighty-fourth 
year  when  he  died,  Feb.  5,  1756.  He  owned  a  large 
amount  of  real  estate.  He  was  a  justice  of  the  peace 
and  one  of  the  elders  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Connecticut  Farms.  The  family  is  largely  repre- 
sented throughout  the  county. 

Jaggers.  This  family  came  from  Long  Island, 
and  settled  at  what  is  now  known  as  Lyons  Farms, 
in  this  township,  at  an  early  date,  and  owned  a  large 


I E.  J.  Records. 

3E.  J.  Records,  i.  71-72. 


s  Hatfield's  Elizabetli,  page  172. 


tract  of  land,  which  was   allotted  to  them   by  the 
Elizabeth  Town  Associates. 

Searings  was  among  the  first  who  came.  They 
lived  west  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  (and  owned  a 
tract  of  land).  The  family  are  not  numerous  in  the 
township. 

Earl.  This  family  are  well  represented  at  a  very 
early  date,  from  Leicester,  Mass.  Aaron,  David, 
Edward,  Henry,  and  Thomas  Earl  were  the  sons  of 
the  first  settler,  and  are  spoken  of  as  doing  valiant 
service  in  the  Revolutionary  war.  The  family  have 
been  identified  with  this  township  from  its  first  settle- 
ment.    One  of  the  sons  was  a  store-keeper. 

Terrill.  In  the  year  1675,  Thomas  Terrill  had  con- 
siderable estate.  He  was  a  blacksmith  by  trade.* 
He  died  in  1725. 

Hays.  This  family  came  with  the  other  colonists 
from  Long  Island,  "and  settled  near  the  Elizabeth 
Town  Creek."  Samuel  Hays  resided  for  a  time  at 
Newark,  N.  J.,  and  his  children  near  Salem,  this 
township. 

Leveridge.  They  owned  lands  here  at  an  early 
day.  William  Broadwell  sold,  Oct.  24,  1684,  to 
Samuel  Leveridge  (a  son  of  Rev.  William  Leveridge, 
first  Presbyterian  clergyman  on  Long  Island) ;  after- 
wards, he  sold  it  to  Capt.  Andrew  Browne.  It  ad- 
joined Leonard  Headley's  lands.  In  1703,  Mr.  Lev- 
eridge removed  to  New  York  City,  and  the  record  has 
it  "  with  a  considerable  family."* 

Williams.  The  first  mention  made  of  Samuel 
Williams  "  as  one  of  the  memorialists  of  1700,  to- 
gether with  his  son  Joseph."  His  name  is  in  no 
earlier  document.  He  came  from  Wethersfield,  Conn. 
His  father's  name  was  Matthew  Williams.  The  fam- 
ily located  on  the  Westfield  road,  and  gave  the  name 
"  Williams  Farms"  to  that  locality,  and  several  of  the 
family  still  occupy  portions  of  the  old  plantation. 
Samuel  Williams  died  in  1706,  leaving  five  sons, 
— Joseph,  Samuel,  Nathaniel,  David,  and  Josiah, — 
and  three  daughters, — Susannah,  Sarah,  and  Hester. 
His  wife  is  not  named  in  his  will,  and  had  probably 
died  before. 

Thompson  (and  spelled  Tomson),  one  of  the  deputies 
of  Elizabeth  Town,  is  spoken  of  in  the  Legislature  of 
1672.  He  was  active  in  opposing  the  arbitrary  meas- 
ures of  Governor  Carteret,  and  wa.s  "  mulcted  for  his 
patriotism."  He  owned  lands  upon  the  "  Rawack 
Meadow,"  also  on  "  Moris  Creek,"  in  all  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  acres.  His  three  sons  were  among 
the  original  Associates.  Moses,  who  took  the  oath  in 
February,  1666,  had  a  warrant  for  one  hundred  and 
eighty  acres,  but  the  survey  is  not  on  record.  Aaron 
came  into  possession  of  the  homestead  at  his  father's 
death,  September,  1676,  and  had  a  warrant  for  sixty 
acres  in  his  own  right,  of  which  no  return  was  made. 
Hur  has   a  house-lot   containing   four   acres.     The 


*  Hatfield's  Elizabeth,  p.  272. 

s  E.  T.  Bill,  p.  102.     Biker,  pp.  350-54. 


I N.  T.,  p.  .-ai. 


378 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


father's  estate  at  his  death  was  valued  at  £152  15s.  6rf. 
The  Thompson  saw-mill  has  been  in  the  family  for  a 
number  of  years.  It  is  situated  on  the  Rahway 
River,  on  the  road  to  the  Farms. 

Bond.  This  family  settled  at  the  Lyons  Farms  at 
an  early  date.  They  came  originally  from  Lynn, 
Mass.,  and  were  doubtless  of  the  same  stock  with  the 
Waterman  family.  Robert  and  John  Bond  are 
spoken  of  as  early  as  1662.  Robert  was  appointed, 
March  13,  1676,  a  justice  of  the  peace.  His  fir^t  wife 
was  Hannah,  a  sister  of  John  Ogden.  After  her 
death  he  married  at  Newark,  in  1672,  Mary,  the 
widow  of  Hugh  Roberts.  They  owned  a  large 
amount  of  land  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  township. 
Jose[)h  Bond  is  mentioned  in  1677  as  having  received 
a  warrant  for  one  iiundred  and  sixty  acres. 

Winans.  Wynes,  Waynes,  Winons,  Winnons  are  a 
few  of  the  modes  in  which  this  name  was  spelled,  but 
no  record  is  found  of  its  being  spelt  Wynants,  which 
was  the  original  manner  the  first  families  who  came 
over  spelled  their  names;  but  this  was  the  correct 
manner  of  spelling.  They  owned  lands  "at  Rawack 
River"  and  "  Elizabethtown  Creek,"  in  all  two  hun- 
dred acres.  John  Winans  died  1694.  His  estate  was 
valued  at  £271  15s.  8rf. 

The  following  is  an  interesting  list  of  freeholders 
and  residents  in  this  township  from  the  year  1772 
to  the  20th  of  March,  1829,  and  the  number  of  acres 
of  land  : 


Thomas  C.  Allen  (82  acres). 

James  Atlriiige  (I'iO  acres). 

Dttvi.l  Ayrei. 

James  Alnxander. 

Thumiis  Altredge. 

Joshua  W.  Atti  e.lge. 

Morris  Allen. 

David  Ayres,  Jr. 

DaviU  Allen. 

Washiugtun  Adams. 

Jabez  Alley. 

Prescot  Brown. 

Slephen  Raker. 

Jaculi  Bo/.woilh. 

Thomas  Brant. 

William  J.  Bonnell  (10  acres). 

James  Brown. 

Enos  Boim.l. 

James  B^.ll. 

Aaron  W.  Burnet  (25  acres). 

John  Burnetii.',  acres). 

Jonathan  Burnet  (41  acres). 

Daniel  Bnrnet  (Ci5  acres). 

J.ihn  B.  Bounel. 

George  K.  Burnet. 

Eijhraim  Baker  ;«U  acres). 

William  Baker  (40  acres). 

Elijah  Baker  ('JO  acres). 

Charles  Brewster. 

Author  N.  Bounel. 

Alliert  A.  Bonuel. 

Henry  Banks. 

Joel  Bnnnel. 

Stephen  Blake. 

Albert  Baldwin. 

Oliver  Bonnel  (12  acres). 

Israel  Br..wn. 

Silas  Balwin. 


Joseph  Bonne]  (22  acres). 

David  Ball  (21  acres). 

Clark  Blown  (88  acres). 

Joseph  D.Brown. 

William  Brown  (:i8  acres). 

Jelliel  Brewster. 

Isaac  Bozworth. 

Matthias  Brunt  (86  acres). 

Daniel  Buzworth  (iH  acres). 

Ellhu  Bond  (44  acres). 

Benjamin  Brown  (17  acres). 

Timothy  Burnet. 

TInunas  Baker. 

Henry  Brown  (43  acres). 

Moses  Baker  (80  acres). 

Moses  0.  Baker. 

Matthias  Burnet. 

William  Brant. 

Joliu  T.  Brown  (35  acres). 

Bamardns  Bonnel. 

Waldo  Brown  (18  acres). 

Stephen  Baker  (21  acres). 

Elihu  B.m.l,  Jr. 

Ogden  Brown. 

Elijah  W.  Brown. 

Elias  Brown  (10  acres). 

Jed.iiah  Baldwin  (72  acres). 

Henry  F.  Baldwin  (47  acres). 

John  Baldwin. 

Caleb  Bonnel. 

James  W  Baker  (25  acre-i). 

BHiijamin  Brewster  (100  acres). 

Benjamin  Bl-ewster,  Jr. 

Aaron  N.  Baker  (46  acres). 

Daniel  Crane  (14  acres). 

Phineas  Crilley. 

SteiMien  Crilley  (8  acres). 

Daniel  M.  Chandler. 


David  Chandler  (20 
William  Clark. 
Job  Chirk  '80  acres) 
George  Crane. 
John  B.  Ci 


!(23i 


!(o8« 


i  Cri 


1(12 


ah  Cl 


Sami 


1  B  Clark. 

I  Clark. 
Francis  Casterline. 
John  Cole. 
Alexander  Crane. 
Moses  M.  Crane  (12  ac 
Thomas  Colewell. 
James  Carpenter  (108  J 
David  S.  Crane. 
Aaron  Carpenter  (14  ai 
Elias  B.  Campbell  (11 
Jeremiah  Crane  (33  ac 
Noah  Clark  (4  acres). 
Daniel  Compton  (15  ac 
John  Chetwood  (Sacri 
Thomas  Omuford. 
Amos  Clark  (20  acres). 
William  Crane  (12  acr 
John  Couklin  (II  acre 
Johu  Ci-ane. 
William  Conrter  (14  w 
Joseph  Collet  (II  acrei 
Matthias  Crane  (24  acl 
John  B.  Clark. 
Thompson  Chandler. 
Robert  M.  Crane. 
Steidien  II.  Crane. 
Caleb  Camp. 
Joseph  Carltenter, 
Jonathan  T.  Crane. 
James  Crane. 
John  W.Crane. 

Willi M.Crane. 

Thomas  Davis. 
William  Day  (180  acre 
William  E.  Day. 
Foster  Day. 
Lewis  F.  Day. 
Moses  Doty  (30  acres). 
Caleb  M.  Dulia. 
Joseph  Dunham  (NO  ai 
John  De  Hart  (20  acre 
John  De  Hart,  Jr.  (13 
Samuel  Day. 
Foster  Uay,  Ji 
Malthias  Deni 
David  Uunhai 
Edwin  .S.  Day. 
Jjhn  Davis. 
Caleb  Dui-and. 
John  Dun. 
William  V.  Day. 
J.-r.-miah  Ede3(10a 
Ohediah  Eliot  (95  ac 
Koliert  C,  Earl  (30  ai 
Edward  Earl  (20  acr 
Morris  Eail. 
William  Edwards  (7 
James  Katout. 
Henry  Fatont. 
Elizabeth  Kimter. 
Is;.ac  French  (6  acre 
Edward  Falout  (30  E 
Aaron  Fatout. 
.lollhau  Katout  (13  e 
.lolin  Fox  (20  acres). 
Moses  Fatont  (US  al 
Oliver  T.  Fox  (22  act 
Clark  Fatout. 


.(22 


1(10. 


1(14  II 


Richard Fox. 

Jacob  Garthwait. 

Samuel  Gilt. 

William  Grumman. 

Theodore  Gillum  (11  acres). 

Peter  Gutting. 

John  Colder. 

Nehemiah  Garthwait. 

Calvin  Gardner  (5  acre"). 

George  Grunsbeck  (40 acres). 

William  Gillum. 

George  Gilnu.re  (27  acres). 

James  Garthwait. 

Fritriance  Geriiig. 

Moses  M.  Headley. 

John  Hicks. 

Hull  Holton. 

William  C.  Headley  (10  acres). 

Andrew  I.  Headley. 

Jahes  Headley  (65  acres). 

Caleb  Headley  (II  acres). 

Benjamin  Headly  (10  acres). 

Stephen  Headley  (2  acres). 

Jonathan  H.  Harrison  (12  acres). 

Elizabeth  Haines. 

Timothy  Headley  151  acres). 

Samuel  Headley  (76  acres). 

Davis  Headley  (68  acres). 

Stephen  B.  Headley  (9  acres). 

Ira  Headley. 

Stephen  Headley,  Jr.  (47  acres). 

William  S.  Headley  (45  acres). 

Daniel  lland. 

Isaac  S.  Headley  (33  acres). 

John  I.  Henderson  (»0  acres). 

Frazer  Haines  (22  acres). 

John  Headley. 

Davnd  S.  Hlggons  (170  acres). 

Moses  Headley. 

Samuel  D.  Headley. 

Edwin  Headley. 

Silas  Headley. 

James  Ireland  (22  acres). 

Alexander  Johnson. 

George  Jewel. 

James  Jewel  (2  acres). 

Caleb  Jeftreys. 

Aaron  JeflVys. 

Samuel  Jones. 

David  M.Jones  (22  acres). 

Daniel  Jaggars  (29  acres). 

David  Jaggei-8  (31  acres). 

William  Johnson  (16  acres). 

Ohediah  Jones. 

James  W.  Jaggers. 

Matthias  Jud. 

John  Kean  (114  acres). 

Ohediah  Kitchel. 

Sylvester  P.  Looker. 

David  Little  (12  acres). 

John  O.  Lum  (62  acres). 

David  B.  Lum  (81  acres). 

Philemon  E.  Looker. 

David  Lyon  (50  acres). 

Lewis  Linsley. 

John  Leary. 

James  McKaib. 

Albert  R.  Meeker. 

John  O.  Miller  (73  acres). 

John  B.  Meeker  (27  acres). 

Josiah  Miller  (61  acres). 

Stephen  Myers  (16  acres). 

Linion  Marcell. 

Samuel  Mil.er(42  acres). 

Joel  W.  Magie. 

George  Maxwell  (45  acres). 

Nathan  Meeker  (180  acres). 


,^{X/rz.(j&r     rOcc^^r^z.e^f^ 


Daniel  Burnet  was  born  May  22,  1788.  He  re- 
ceived a  plain  but  substantial  education  in  the  district 
school.  The  simplicity  of  those  early  times  .  gave 
coloring  and  shape  tu  his  charactei',  and  marked  his 
course  through  life.  He  was  modest,  unostentatious, 
and  without  guile.  He  never  sought  notoriety,  but 
he  could  not  be  hid.  Deeply  interested  in  the  mili- 
tary affairs  of  the  country,  he  was  elected  at  the  early 
age  of  twenty-four  "  to  be  ensiyn  of  the  second  com- 
pany of  the  first  battalion,  in  the  fourth  regiment  of 
the  Essex  brigade,  of  the  militia  of  New  Jersey." 
Such  is  the  record  of  his  commission,  signed  by  the 
Governor  and  Secretary  of  State.  He  was  succes- 
sively elected  lieutenant  in  1818,  captain  in  1822, 
major  in  1826,  and  in  1828,  for  his  "  patriotism, 
valor,  conduct,  and  fidelity,"  he  was  elected  colonel 
of  the  same  regiment. 

By    his    uprightness,    intelligence,    and    courteous 


spirit  he  won  the  confidence  of  the  community,  and 
without  seeking  preferment  he  was  chosen  to  im- 
portant ofiBces  of  the  township,  which  he  filled  to 
universal  satisfaction. 

He  was  kind,  courteous,  of  uniform  temperament, 
and  a  warm  personal  friend.  He  was  methodical  even 
in  his  pleasures,  having  at  least  one  evening  of  each 
week  set  aside  for  the  reception  of  his  friends. 

His  last  illness  was  of  short  duration,  his  death 
occurring  April  10,  1854.  His  excellent  wife,  a  con- 
genial spirit,  survived  him  many  years,  and  died  at 
the  age  of  eighty-nine.  They  had  four  children, 
three  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  latter  the  only  one 
now  living. 

Col.  Burnet  and  his  estimable  wife  were  worthy 
members  of  the  I'resbyteriau  Church  at  Connecticut 
Farms,  with  which  they  connected  themselves  in 
1837. 


J^(*ju*>^ //r^^. 


^^-^v^tr- 


The  subject  of  this  biograpliy  was  the  son 
of  Col.  Daniel  Burnet,  whose  portrait  adorns 
one  of  the  pages  of  this  volume.  He  was 
born  Dec.  16,  1812,  on  the  homestead  in  Union 
township,  and  devoted  his  early  life  to  study 
at  the  public  school  of  the  district.  He  de- 
cided to  pursue  the  vocation  of  his  father, 
that  of  a  farmer,  whom  he  assisted  for  a 
period  of  years.  On  his  death  came  into  pos- 
session of  the  farm  the  family  now  occupy, 
which  was  the  early  residence  of  Col.  Burnet. 

He  was,  on  the  31st  of  January,  1838, 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Charlotte,  daugh- 
ter of  James  and  Phebe  Garthwait  Mooney, 
of  Westtleld,  to  whom   were   born   two   sons. 


James  A.  and  Edward  M.,  and  one  daughter, 
Jane  H. 

Edward  M.  is  married  to  ]\Iiss  Eliza  A.  Doty, 
and  has  one  son,  Aaron  W. 

Mr.  Burnet  was  in  his  political  preferences 
a  Democrat.  He  for  many  years  held  the  of- 
iices  of  assessor  and  collector  of  his  township, 
and  had  many  other  opportunities  for  official 
advancement  proffered  him,  which  were  de- 
clined. He  was  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious 
convictions,  and  worshiped  at  the  Connecticut 
Farms  Church,  of  which  Mrs.  Burnet  and  her 
sons  are  members.  His  death  occurred  Feb. 
14,  1875,  at  his  home  in  Union  townshi|>,  after 
a  life  of  integrity  and  great  usefulness. 


UNION  TOWNSHIP 


379 


:.). 


Obed  Meeker  (29  8 
Anioa  Miller. 
Sila^  Miller. 
Ogden  M»gie  (36  acres). 
John  Miigie  (86  acres). 
Joimthali  Magie  (35  act 
David  Magie  (100  acres) 
Lewis  Mulfurd  (30 acres 
John  S.  Miller. 
Jacoh  W.  Meeker  (16  at 
Joseph  Meeker  (11  acre 
Benjamin  Mills. 
Abraham  Miller  (87  aci 
Timothy  Miller. 
Joseph  S.  Meekers  (60  a 
Jonathan  Mu]rord(118 
Micheal  Meeker. 
Stephen  S.  Meeker  (115 
Elias  Mott. 

John  C.  Mooney  (20  act 
Enos  Meeker. 
Elias  C.  Mooney. 
Aaron  U.  Meeker  (S  acr 
Thimjas  Muddle. 
Jonas  Miller. 
Richard  Meriell. 
Francis  Mariell. 
David  M.  Meeker  (33  ac 
John  Martherdl  acres 
James  T.  Meeker. 
Aaron  S.  Meeker. 
Jonathan  Miller  (40  acr 
Samuel  Myers. 
Edward  Mirthel. 
Ogden  .Meeker. 
John  Nicoll. 
Joshna  Nelson. 
Elias  Norri-  (100  acres) 
Jonathan  Osborn. 
David  Usmnn  (B7  acres) 
Thomas  R.  Osmnn. 
Daniel  Osmnn. 
Andrew  M.  Parsel. 
LeuiaPairis. 
Joseph  I'ierson  (4  acres 
Stephen  Parker. 
John  Potter,  Jr.  (32  aci 
Abner  Parsel  (29  acres) 


Wadi 
Willi 
Willi 


Parsel. 


C.  Parsel. 

B.  Potter  (90  acres). 
John  Potter  (GO  acres). 
William  H   Periue  (15  acres). 
Joseph  Potter. 
Robert  Pierson  (12  acres). 
David  M.  Potter. 
Enos  Price  (16  acres). 
Elihn  Price,  Jr. 
Abraham  Post. 
David  Pyke. 
Jaines  Koll. 
MHtburIn  Kamer. 
Isaac  Kos8  (16  acres). 
Gaspin  Richards. 
William  Reid. 

Willwni  D.  Reives (30  acres). 
Aaron  Richards  (16  acres). 
J.iseph  Rather  (30  acres). 
John  S.  Smith. 
Ezra  Sayre. 
John  Stanrfleld. 
Rev.  Robert  Street. 
John  Sparks  1 13  acres). 
Peter  Sparks  (34  acres). 
David  Sayre3(38  acres). 
Daniel  tt.  Sayros  (200  acres). 
Benjamin  Scudder  (60  acres). 


■8). 


Augustus  Spencer. 

Jidin  P.  Sayre  (f.8  aci 

John  Schomprie. 

James  Vanwart. 

Samuel  M.  Stratton. 

Israel  Stodard. 

John  N.  Scudder. 

Peter  Shepherd 

William  W  Linsey. 

Andrew  (^impton. 

Moses  Egbert. 

George  W.  Sauer  (38 

William  Nye. 

John  N.  Scudder (10 

Marima  Sayre  (70  ac 

Samuel  W.  Searing  (85  acres 

Joel  Searing  (65  acres). 

John  Smith  (19  acres). 

Oliver  Stiles  (13  acres). 

Ellas  W.  Stiles  (.19  acres). 

Morris  Stiles  (6  acres). 

John  Stiles  (37  acres). 

Daniel  R.  Smith  (90  acres). 

William  Stiles  (15  acres). 

VVillet  Stepheiisou  (34  acres) 

William  Stevenson. 

John  Seaton  (47  acres). 

Hanah  Sherwood  (24  acres). 

Nelieniiah  B.  Sayre. 

Estou  Savoy  (30  acres). 

William  Skillin. 

Isaac  Smith. 

Joseph  Stanley  (27  acres). 

George  Stewart. 

John  Scuilder  (20  acres). 

Noah  P  Swaiii. 

Isaac  Smith. 

Elian  C.Thompson. 

John  S.  Taylor. 

Charles  Tillon. 

Abraham  Townley  (14  acres; 

Hervey  Th"mp8on  (65  acres) 

Jonathan  Thompson. 

Kichard  Townley  (179  acres) 

Jonathan  Townley  (17  acres) 

John  M.  Townley  (33  acres). 

Jacob  Thompson  (13  acres). 

Nathaniel  Thompson  (22  acr 

Moses  Thompson  (19  acres). 

I,aac  ThoDilison  (16  acres). 

Ezekiel  1.  Tucker  (21  acres), 

Malou  A.  Tucker  (16  acres). 

Warner  Tucker  (110  acres). 

Clark  Townley. 

Edward  Towuley. 

Joseph  Tucker  (122  acres). 

William  Towuley  (16  acres). 

Albert  Towuley. 

Henry  Townley  (35  acres). 

Hezekiah  Thonipsou. 

David  E  Tichenor  (14  acres) 

William  M    Townley. 

Benjamin  Townley. 

Isaac  C.  Tichenor  (29  acres). 

Elsor  C.  Townley. 

Jame.  Tiiyh.r. 

David  B.  Thompson  (65  acre 

James  Townley. 

Usual  A.Tucker. 

Elias  Winans. 

Michael  M.  Williams  (18  aci 

Jacob  A  Wiliaus. 

Caleb  Winans  (104  acres). 

David  E.  WoodrufT  (37  acres) 

Thonipsou  Wade  (2:)  acres). 

Levi  Williams  (16  acres). 

Beiyamiu  Wiliaus  (44  acres) 


cres). 


James  Woodruff  (15 
Elihu  Wilcox. 
David  M.  Woodruff. 
Thomas  Woodruff. 
Samuel  Williams  (104  acres 
Williams.  Williams  198  ac 
James  M.  Wade  (32  acres). 
David  Wade. 
David  Williams. 
David  M.  Wooley. 
Moses  Williams  (72  acres). 
Benjamin  Williams  (78  acr 
David  A.  Williams  (30  acre 
Henry  Woodruff  (18  acres). 
Samuel  R.  Winans  (19  acre 
Jonathan  Winans  (33  acres 
Timothy  Woodruff  (64  acre 
Stephen  Woodruff  (26  acres 
John  Woodruff  (47  acres). 
Daniel  Woodruff  (25  acres), 
Silas  Ward  (18  acres). 
James  Wilcox  (46  acres). 
Trembly  Watkins  (90  acres 


Charles  Woodruff. 
Andrew  Wade. 
Ezra  Willis. 
John  Winans. 
William  West. 
Phineas  M.  Wade. 
Charles  Walters. 
Ezekial  B.  Woodruff. 
William  T.  Wade. 
David  Wade,  Jr. 
John  H.  Winans. 
James  Williamson. 
Caleb  Winans. 
Usual  A.  Young. 
Francis  Windfall. 
Samuel  Keethum. 
David  Williams  Jf- 
Jonathan  T.  Brown. 
John  Seaton. 
Jacob  Tiiompson. 
Charles  Tilton. 
Elias  C.  Thompson. 
Robert  W.  Townley. 
Aaron  Richards. 
Wm.  C.  Headley. 
Aarou  H.  Winans. 
Nathaniel  Fritz. 
Roliert  Kiugslaud. 
D.  Meeker. 
James  Smith. 
George  W.  Williams. 
Edward  Cooper. 
Isriel  Woodruff. 
Daniel  Townley. 

In  the  above  list  of  names  are  many  who  served 
during  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  at  this  present 
date  there  are  but  few  that  are  now  living.  They 
rest  from  their  labors,  those  who  built  these  houses, 
tilled  the  soil,  planted  out  many  of  these  fine  or- 
chards of  choice  fruit  for  which  this  township  is  noted. 
They  are  known  no  more  to  the  inhabitants;  many 
of  these  farms  are  now  owned  by  strangers,  the  farms 
made  smaller,  and  where  there  was  but  one  church 
and  one  school-house  there  are  fine  churches  and 
schools  and  children  to  fill  them,  showing  that  this 
beautiful  township  has  increased  in  population  and 
wealth. 

Census  Report,  1880.— The  population  of  Union 
township  in  the  report  given  numbers  nearly  2500, — 
males,  1297  ;  females,  1120;  total,  2417. 

Civil  List. — This  list  dates  from  the  thirty-seventh 
annual  meeting  of  the  township  of  Union,  N.  J., 
held  the  14th  of  April,  a.d.  1845,  and  ends  at  the 
seventy-second  annual  meeting,  the  9th  day  of  March 
A.D.  1880. 

CHOSEN  FKEKHOLDEBS. 


Wade  and  Bonnel  &  Co. 

Noah  Woodruff  (16  acres). 

Henry  Wade. 

Samuel  D.  Woodruff  (2  acre 

Jobs.  Williams  (10  acres). 

Matthias  Wade. 

James  B.  Wade. 

John  N.  E.  Woodruff  (160  8 

Aaron  H.  Winans. 

Matthias  Woodruff. 


Moses  M.  Crane,  184.5-60. 
J.ihn  Headley,  1846,  1848-49. 
William  E.  Day,  1846,18,51-52. 
Aarou  W.  Burnet,  1847. 
James  T.  Meeker,  1850-51. 
Abner  Parcel,  1852-61. 


I  Matthias  T. Wade,  1853-58, 1863-65. 
I  Job  S.  Wllliiims,  1859-62. 
i  J.  Williams  Crane.  1862-64. 

Noali  Woodruff,  1866-67,  1870-75. 
I  Noah  W.  Parcel!,  1866-69. 

George  W.  Doty,  1876-80. 


JUDGES   OF   ELECTION. 


William  Day,  Esq.,  1845,  1854. 
Daniel  Burnet,  1846-61. 
Joseph  I.  Meeker,  1853. 
Ogden  Brown,  1855. 
Monies  M.  Crane,  1856-69. 
Noah  Woodruff,  I860. 
John  Seaton,  1861-62. 


Daniel  D.  Benjamin,  1863. 
William  E.  Day,  lSl>4-64. 
John  Potter,  1866,  1878-79. 
Aaron  W.  Buruel,  1868-71, 187.3-74. 
Jobs.  Williams,  1872. 
George  Maxwell,  1875-77. 
Noah  W.  Parcell,  I8S0. 


380 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


TOWN  CLERKS. 

John  C.  Mooney,  1845-50.  Jcnas  W.  Lum,  1861-62. 

Ogden  Brnwn,  1861-54.  George  W.  Cooper,  1SC3. 

Lewie  H.  Wade,  1865.  Daniel  H.  Sayre,  1864-69. 

Samuel  D.  Ball,  1866-58.  Arthur  D.  Miller,  1871. 


John  N.  Earl,  1869-60, 1870. 


Abraham  M.  Woodruff,  1872-81. 


ASSESSORS. 
Noah  W.iodrulT,  1846-62,  1866-69,     J.    Lawrence    Benedict,    1860-61, 

1862,  1867-68.  18B9. 

Samuel  R.  Winans,  185:).  I  David  J.  Meeker,  1864-66. 

Aaron  W.  Burnet,  1864,  1863.  I   Daniel  H.  Sayre,  1870-80. 

COLLECTORS. 

Aaron  W.  Burnet,  1856-68. 
Lewis  H.  Wade,  1869-60. 
David  J.  Meeker,  1861-62,  1868-72. 
John  N.  Earl,  1866-66. 


Edwin  Headley,  1846. 
Caleb  Jeffries,  1846. 
Samuel  R.  Winane,  1847^9. 
George  Maxwell,  1860-51. 
Samuel  D.  Ball,  1852,  1863-64. 
Noah  Woodruff,  1853-54. 


George  Maxwell,  1867. 
Job  S.' Williams,  1873-80. 


Henry  Brown,  1S4.6-48,  1850-51. 

Ephraim  Meeker,  1846. 

Ephraim  Baker.   1846-46,  1849-60, 

1852,  1864,  1857-70. 
Jeremiah  Edes,  1846. 
Hull  Holton,  1847. 
Thompson  Wade,  1847. 
Caleb  Jeffreys,  1848. 
Moses  Fallout,  1848-50. 
Jonathan  Winans,  1849. 
John  C.  Mooney,  1851. 
Samuel  B.  Winans,  1861. 
David  Ball,  1852-54. 
Daniel  Burnet,  1852-53. 
Aaron  W.  Buruet,  1852, 1855,  1862, 

1867. 
William  S.  Williams,.1864, 1869-60, 

1869-71. 
John  Crane,  1856-66, 1872. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEAL. 
George    Maxwell, 
1868,  1873-74. 


1866-58,    1866, 


Ogden  Brown,  1866-58. 

William  E.  Day,  1859. 

Ezekiel  B.  Woodruff,  1860. 

John  Boylston,  1861-64. 

David  B.  Lum,  18G1. 

Stephen  T.  Baker,  1863-64.  1873- 

80. 
William  C.  Headley,  1865-69, 
Daniel  D.  Benjamin,  1866. 
Noah  Woodruff,  1870. 
Noah  W.  Parcell,1871-73, 1876-77. 
Job  S.  Williams,  1871-72. 
John  Leonard,  1874-79. 
John  Courter,  1875, 1879-80. 
Isaac  M.  Dunham,  1878. 
William  T.  Woodruff,  1880. 


Jonathan  Winans,  S: 

48,1861-63. 
Jacob  W.  Meeker,  1845-46, 1848-60. 
Daniel  Burnet,  1846. 
Williams.  Williams,  1845-52, 1864- 

56. 
Daniel  R.  Sayre,  1845. 
Moses  Faitout,  1S46,  1855-56. 
Benjamin  Williams,  1846. 
Samuel  B.  Winans,  1846, 1857, 1860- 

61,1863,  1868. 
David  Ball,  1847-48. 
Oliver  Bonnell,  1847. 
William    E.    Day,    1847,    1856-67, 

1861-62. 
James  W.  Halsey,  1848-60, 1863. 
George  Maxwell,  1849,  1862,  1862. 
Jonathan    Winans,    Jr.,    1849-60, 

1865,  1862. 
John  E.  Woodruff,  1860. 
John  T.  Brown,  1851, 1854-56, 1862. 
William  Day,  1851-62. 
James  L.  Benedict,  1861,  1862-68, 

1870. 
Noah  W.  Parcell,  1852-64,  1858-60, 

1865,  1870-73, 1876-78. 
John  Seatou,  1863,  1859-60,  1864- 

65,  1872-73. 
Jonas  Miller,  1S.M. 
Abraham  0.  Miller.  1864. 
Samuel  D.  Ball,  1864. 
William  C.  Headley,  1865-56, 1860- 

61. 
James  T.  Meeker,  1866-68. 


TOWN  COMMITTEE, 

1845, 1847 


Ephraim  Baker,  1856. 

Job  S.  Williams,  1867 -58, 1861. 

John  S.  Smith,  1867. 

Clark  Brown,  1868-61, 1864-75. 

Ogden  Brow  n,  1858. 

William  Earl,  1869. 

Ambrose  Crane,  1859. 

John  Potter,  1863. 

John  Williams,  1861. 

James  K.  Miller,  1863-64,  1866. 

William  E.  Mooney,  1863. 

Jonas  W.  Lum,  1864. 

Lemuel  B.  Myers,  1866-67. 

Matthias  S.  Wade,  1866-67. 

B.  L.  B.  Miller,  1867. 

George  W.  Doty,  1868-69,  1876. 

John  N.  Earl,  1868. 

Noah  Woodruff,  Sr.,  1869. 

Daniel  R.  Sayre,  1869. 

Sylvester  Cahiil,  Jr.,  1869-70. 

Stephen  T.  Baker,  1870-71. 

Ezekiel  B.  Woodruff,  1871, 1876-77. 

William  J.  Willis,  1872. 

John  J.  Headley,  1872. 

George  Doty,  1.S7.1-74. 

W.  A.  C.  Earl,  1873-76,  1877-80. 

J.  Williams  Crane,  1874. 

Isaac  Dunham,  1874-75. 

John  Crane,  1875. 

Isaac  M.  Dunham,  1876. 

John  Lecmard,  1876-80. 

Andrews  J.  Headley,  1876. 

James  A.  Burnett,  1877-78. 

Charles  A.  Pope,  1878-SO. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 
Samuel  R.  Winans,  1850, 1868,1863,  |  Thomas  B.  Kingland,  1879. 

1866,  1878  I  George  W.  Doty,  1879. 

Noah  Woodruff,   1851,   1861,  1866,  j  Samuel  D.  Ball,  1880. 

1871,1876.  j  William  Day,  1881. 

David  B.  Lum,  18.66. 

CORONER  OF  BOROUGH. 
William  Condell.  1850. 

BOROUGH  SHERIFFS. 
John  H.  n.  Sayre,  1860.  |  Thomas  S.  Day,  1847. 

Lyons  Farms. — This  neat  and  picturesque  hamlet, 
situated  about  two  miles  from  Newark  and  three  miles 
from  Elizabeth  City,  on  rolling  ground  surrounded  by 
a  fine  farming  country.  It  was  named  by  a  family  of 
Lyons,  who  first  settled  in  this  part  of  Union  township. 
In  the  year  1807  there  were  living  here  some  fourteen 
families  by  name  of  Lyons,  who  each  owned  a  numberof 
acres  of  land  with  their  neat  homes.  They  were  the 
first  who  desired  to  have  churches,  schools,  and  stores 
in  their  midst.  In  1821-22,  Peter  Sparks  opened  a 
store  next  to  the  farm  of  Samuel  Ro.ss  Winans,  Esq., 
and  until  the  year  1830  Mr.  Sparks  kept  it,  when 
Jonathan  Harrison  purchased  it,  and  for  many  years 
carried  on  the  business  of  general  merchandise. 

The  first  postmaster  was  Jonathan  Harrison,  who 
was  appointed  in  1836,  who  held  the  position  for  a 
number  of  years,  until  his  death,  when  his  son,  Caleb 
Harrison,  was  appointed.  The  present  postmaster  is 
Horace  Greeley  Looker,  who  also  keeps  a  grocery,  as 
well  as  flour  and  feed  store.  The  Elizabeth  line  of 
horse-cars  have  a  track  laid  and  run  their  cars  every 
half-hour,  which  makes  it  convenient  and  also  a  de- 
sirable location  between  the  two  cities  of  Newark  and 
Elizabeth.  In  the  year  1794  to  1820  a  line  of  stages 
was  run  between  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  and  New  York. 
The  headquarters  of  this  line  was  in  Lyons  Farms,  at 
the  residence  of  Squire  Winans,  who  bought  the  place 
soon  after  the  line  was  changed.  This  road  w;is  called 
the  Swiftsure  and  Speedwell,  owned  by  Ichabod 
Grummon,  and  afterwards  by  his  son,  Isaac  Grum- 
mon,  who  were  the  drivers;  they  then  carried  the 
mail.  This  village  dates  from  the  time  Samuel  Lyons 
first  took  his  allotment  of  land  in  1667. 

The  first  school  was  taught  in  a  private  dwelling 
by  Hannah  Grumming  for  two  winters,  and  afterwards 
her  daughter,  Sarah  Grumming,  taught  in  1812-13.  A 
meeting  of  inhabitants  was  called  in  the  year  1817  to 
arrange  for  building  a  school-house,  when  Elihu 
Bond  offered  them  the  land  for  their  building  and  ten 
dollars  in  money,  while  others  gave  stones  and  tiiiiber, 
and  it  was  soon  completed.  It  went  by  the  name  of 
the  "  Old  Red  School-House."  The  following  have 
been  the  teachers  :  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Ogden  taught  one 
year,  1818;  then  Sarah  Grummon  was  appointed,  1819 
until  1824;  afterwards  Rev.  Thomas  Winter,  a  Bap- 
tist clergyman,  taught  in  1825,  one  year.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Knapp,  a  Methodist  clergyman,  came  in  1828, 
and  remained  for  some  time.  Mr.  Alcock  and  a  Mr. 
Stone  till  the  year  1835,  when  Miss  Phebe  Winans 


JOHN  S.  HEADLEY. 


The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch  was  Gary  Headley,  whose  birth  occurred  in 
Union  township  in  1756,  where  he  during  his  life- 
time followed  farming  pursuits,  was  a  man  of  much 
enterprise,  and  highly  esteemed  by  his  fellow  towns- 
men.- He  was  married  to  Phebe  Stiles,  to  whom 
were  born  children, — Mary  (Mrs.  Ezekiel  Ball), 
Phebe  (Mrs.  William  Gardner),  William  S.,  Susan 
(Mrs.  Thomas  Baker),  Timothy,  David  C,  John  S., 
and  Sarah  (Mrs.  David  Townley).  The  death  of 
Mr.  Headley  occurred  in  1824.  His  son  William  S. 
was  born  in  Union  township  in  1792,  where  his  life 
was  spent  as  a  successful  agriculturist.  He  married 
Hannah,  daughter  of  Davis  Headley,  and  had  chil- 
dren,— Joanna  (Mrs.  William  S.  Burnett,  deceased), 
Phebe  (Mrs.  Silas  C.  Burnett),  Caroline  (Mrs.  Wil- 
liam Courier),  John  S.,  Jane  (Mrs.  George  K.  Baker), 
and  Wickliff.  The  death  of  William  S.  Headley  took 
place  at  his  home  during  the  year  18.50.  His  son 
John  S.,  a  brief  review  of  whose  life  is  here  given, 
was  born  March  11,  1824,  in  the  township  of  Union, 
Union  Co.,  N.  J.,  on  the  family  estate,  where  the 
years  of  his  boyhood  were  .spent.  After  accjuiring  a 
practical  education  he  repaired  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y., 
and  was  apprenticed  to  Davis  M.  AfHick,  with  whom 
he  acquired  the  craft  of  a  mason.  During  the  year 
1846  he  embarked  in  business  as  a  builder,  aud  con- 


tinued with  success  until  1856,  when  being  attracted 
by  the  varied  advantages  of  the  spot  upon  which  his 
birth  occurred,  he  returned  again  to  Union  township, 
and  located  upon  a  portion  of  the  property  of  his 
ancestor,  Cary  Headley.  To  this  he  succeeded  partly 
by  inheritance  and  partly  by  purchase.  Since  that 
date  the  energies  of  jNIr.  Headley  have  been  concen- 
trated wholly  upon  the  cultivation  and  improvement 
of  his  farm. 

He  was,  Feb.  13,  1849,  married  to  Miss  Sarah, 
daughter  of  John  E.  and  Elizabeth  Cook  Courter,  to 
whom  were  born  children, — William  C,  whose  birth 
occurred  June  25,  1853,  and  who  was  admitted  as 
counselor-at-law  in  1878;  Lizzie  H.  (Mrs.  William 
S.  Wade),  residing  in  Springfield ;  and  Jennie  L. 
Mr.  Headley  is  in  his  political  convictions  a  Demo- 
crat. The  excitements  attending  political  life  offer 
no  charms  to  him,  and  his  daily  avocations  afibrd  but 
little  time  for  pursuits  other  than  those  connected 
with  his  routine  of  duties.  Hence  he  leaves  to  others 
both  the  honors  and  rewards  of  official  life.  Though 
not  a  member  of  any  church,  Mr.  Headley  and  his 
family  are  worshipers  at  and  supporters  of  the  Meth- 
odi.st  Episcopal  Church  at  Springfield.  He  is  a  man 
of  unassuming  manner,  but  possessing  many  traits  of 
character  which  are  the  exponents  of  success  in  life, 
and  which  command  the  respect  of  the  community. 


p,;yrii)C^^*^rx^  y^^^^^^'<^^'^i^      ,^^ 


The  graudparents  of  JMr.  Winans  were  Joualhan 
aad  Rachel  Thompson  Winans,  who  located  on  the 
land  now  occupied  by  the  subject  of  this  biography 
as  early  as  the  year  1760,  and  soon  after  erected  the 
homestead  which  is  the  present  family  residence. 
Here  Mr.  Winans  died  Jan.  16,  1816,  and  his  wife 
in  April,  1808,  both  at  an  advanced  age. 

Nathaniel,  their  son,  was  born  Jan.  1,  17G4,  at 
the  ancestral  home  in  Union  township,  where  his 
life  was  spent  as  an  agriculturist.  He  was  married 
Dec.  24,  1804,  to  Miss  Sarah  Green,  to  whom  were 
born  two  children, — Jonathan,  Jr.,  and  Rachel.  The 
death  of  Mr.  Winans  occurred  June  22,  1826.  He 
was  a  supporter  of  the  Lyons  Farms  Baptist  Church, 
a  Democrat  in  his  political  views,  and  bore  a  reputa- 
tion for  integrity  and  honor  questioned  by  none.  The 
death  of  Mrs.  Winans  took  place  Aug.  22,  1855. 
Jonathan,  Jr.,  was  born  April  19,  1808,  near  the 
homestead  in  Union  township,  where  his  early  life  was 
passed.  On  the  death  of  his  father  he  succeeded  by 
inheritance  to  the  property  which  has  since  been  his 
home.  He  was  married  to  Miss  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Joseph  Haines,  of  Elizabeth,  whose  birth  occurred 
April  14,  1808,  who  became  the  parent  of  five  chil- 


dren,— Nathaniel  F.,  born  Nov.  29,  1828 ;  Joseph 
H.,  whose  birth  took  place  Sept.  20,  1830;  Jonathan 
D.,  born  Nov.  12,  1832,  and  who  died  Sept.  22, 
1837;  Phebe  E.,  born  Feb.  17,  1839,  now  Mrs.  A. 
S.  Hensley ;  and  Jonathan  D.,  whose  birth  occurred 
Oct.  14,  1845. 

The  political  convictions  of  Mr.  Winans  lead  him 
to  espouse  the  principles  of  the  Democracy.  Though 
not  ambitious  for  official  distinction,  he  has  served 
as  president  of  the  township  committee  of  Union. 
He  has  been  since  1831  a  member  of  the  Lyons 
Farms  Baptist  Church,  and  one  of  its  deacons  for 
more  than  forty  years.  He  possesses  a  liberal  fund 
of  strong  common  sense  and  excellent  judgment, 
qualities  which  have  made  his  counsel  much  to  be 
desired  in  the  community. 

The  Winans  homestead,  which  is  intimately  asso- 
ciated with  Revolutionary  fame,  was  during  that 
period  entered  by  Hessians  and  a  portion  of  the 
household  furniture  destroyed.  This  dwelling  is  still 
occupied  by  the  liflii  generation  of  the  family  in  the 
person  of  Walter  J.,  son  of  Jonathan  D.  and  Mary 
Etta  Winans.  and  i;raudsun  of  llie  subject  ol'  this 
sketch. 


UNION    TOWNSHIP. 


381 


had  the  charge  of  it  a  little  over  a  year.  After  she  left 
George  Foot  came  from  Newton,  Conn.,  and  remained 
until  Miss  Ellen  Tichenor  was  appointed  in  1840.  A 
few  years  ago  the  old  building  was  removed  and  a 
more  commodious  one  erected,  now  known  as  the  Hill- 
side Academy.  Mr.  Tichenor  came  in  1870,  Miss 
Elizabeth  Woodruff,  1872,  and  the  present  teacher  is 
Mr.  Deboise.  The  school  is  in  an  excellent  location, 
on  high  ground,  and  has  every  convenience  desirable 
to  make  it  a  first-class  school.  The  number  of  schol- 
ars is  eighty-seven.  Girls,  forty-four ;  boys,  forty- 
three. 

The  hamlet  contains  about  sixty  dwellings  ;  many 
of  them  still  show  the  age  that  they  were  built,  with 
shingled  sides,  large  stone  and  brick  chimneys,  small 
windows,  and  the  halved  doors.  Benjamin  Lyons 
carried  on  a  large  shoe  business  in  1793.  David 
Lyons  was  at  an  earlj'  date  on«  of  the  magistrates, 
and  had  the  office  until  1815.  Moses  Thompson, 
in  1780,  was  the  first  blacksmith,  and  afterwards 
his  son,  Isaac  Thompson,  engaged  in  the  business, 
and  Thomas  Thompson,  one  other  son,  as  wheel- 
wright. 

The  cemetery.  The  first  burial  was  in  the  year 
1828,  but  prior  to  this  many  of  the  early  settlers  were 
interred  at  the  Connecticut  Farms  and  Elizabethtown 
churchyards.  The  Baptist  and  Presbyterian  Churches 
are  just  a  short  distance  from  this  hamlet,  in  Clinton 
township,  Essex  County,  and  were  built  at  an  early 
date. 

There  are  many  fine  villas  with  well  laid  out 
grounds,  the  residents  of  many  doing  business  in 
the  adjacent  cities,  having  always  been  noted  for 
being  a  healthy  location,  and  desirable  for  those  de- 
siring a  quiet  country  neighborhood.  There  are  many 
small  settlements  in  this  township  that  at  an  early 
date  took  the  name  of  the  first  settler.  It  generally 
comprised  a  dozen  or  so  of  houses,  and  perhaps  a  school- 
house.  Leonard  Headley  had  surveyed  for  him  Oct. 
14,  1678,  "  in  the  right  of  himself  and  his  wife,  150 
acres,"  and  from  this  branch  a  large  number  of  the 
name  have  sprung,  and  "  Headley-town"  is  now  well 
known  on  the  road  to  Springfield. 

Magietown  was  firstsettled  by  John  Magie  (McGie) 
in  1699-170(1.  He  was  a  blacksmith,  and  came  over 
from  Scotland  during  the  period  of  persecution,  1685- 
87.  He  purchased  land  just  west  of  the  "  town  plot" 
(Elizabeth),  which  in  great  part  his  descendants  have 
occupied  until  now. 

Wade's  Farms. — Benjamin  Wade  was  a  clothier. 
He  settled  in  this  township  in  the  year  1675,  and 
jjrobably  much  earlier.  He  died  about  1698.  The 
faniilv  is  still  living  in  this  township,  and  many  of 
the  branches  have  settled  in  the  West. 

Connecticut  Farms  contains  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  a  neat  school-house  (academy),  two  stores, 
wheelwright-  and  blacksmith-shops,  butcher,  post- 
office,  tavern,  and  some  forty  or  fifty  dwellings.  The 
village  was  settled  by  many  from  Connecticut  in  1687- 


70,  and  has  the  appearance  of  a  New  England  settle- 
ment. Many  of  the  dwellings  are  neat,  and  with 
much  taste  and  order  the  surroundings  are  laid  out. 
It  is  a  quiet  village,  about  three  miles  from  the  depot 
at  Roselle,  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad. 

Roselle  is  comparatively  a  new  place,  having  a 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  a  fine  academy,  stores, 
and  is  part  of  Roselle  proper,  in  Linden  township, 
being  known  as  West  Roselle.  Contains  some  sixty 
dwellings,  generally  occupied  by  merchants  and  others 
doing  business  in  the  city  daily. 

Presbyterian  Church.— In  a  letter  from  Rev.  Rob- 
ert Street,  now  pastor  of  Connecticut  Farms  Church, 
^ve  are  informed  that  the  early  records  of  the  town 
and  church  were  burnt  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
June  8,  1780,  when  the  first  church  and  parsonage 
were  destroyed,  and  the  wife  and  child  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Caldwell  were  brutally  shot  by  an  English  soldier. 

For  a  long  time  the  settlers  traveled  four  or  five 
miles  every  Sabbath-day  and  back  again  to  worship 
with  their  fathers  in  the  church  at  Elizabeth  Town, 
where  Harriman  and  Dickinson  proclaimed  the  doc- 
trines of  the  cross.  About  tlie  year  1730,  possibly  a 
few  years  earlier,  it  is  thought  they  organized  into  a 
.separate  religious  society.  That  was  a  dark  day  for  the 
little  village  on  which  eight  or  ten  dwelling-  hou-ses, 
besides  stores,  shops,  and  out-houses,  and  their  frame 
church  was  burnt,  and  their  early  history  and  records 
perished  in  the  disastrous  conflagration  kindled  by 
the  torch  of  the  ruthless  invader.  Among  the  dwel- 
lings thus  destroyed  were  those  east  of  the  church, 
belonging  to  Benjamin  Thompson,  Moses  Thompson 
John  Wade,  and  Robert  Wade,  and  the  house  belong- 
ing to  Caleb  Wade  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  south  of  the 
church.  The  body  of  Mrs.  Caldwell  was  conveyed  to 
the  house  nearly  opposite  belonging  to  Capt.  Henry 
Wade. 

The  circumstances  of  this  painful  tragedy  are  va- 
riously related.  The  following,  from  Brown's  "  Life  of 
Finley,"  is  probably  very  nearly  correct : 

"When  the  alarm  was  given  in  the  morning  of  the  approaching 
enemy.  Rev.  Mr.  Cauldwell  vainly  endeavored  to  induce  his  wife  to  seek 
witli  him  and  the  children  a  place  of  greater  security,  but  she  concluded 
to  remain  in  the  parsonage,  thiuliing  that  she  would  be  safe.  The  maid 
who  remained  with  her  and  had  charge  of  the  children,  looking  out  of 
the  window,  observed  that  a  redcoat  soldier  had  jumped  over  the  fence 
and  was  coming  up  to  the  window  with  a  gun.  Her  youngest  son 
(Elias  Boudinot),  nearly  two  years  old,  called  out,  *  Let  me  see!  Let  me 
see  r  and  ran  towards  the  window.  Mrs.  Caldwell  rose  from  sitting  on 
a  bed  very  near,  and  at  that  moment  the  soldier  iiretl  his  musket  at  her 
through  the  window.  Two  l>alls  passed  through  her  body,  and  she  in- 
stantly expired. 

"The  news  of  this  wanton  act  of  cruelty  soon  spread  far  and  near, 
and  aroused  a  more  determined  purpose  to  rid  the  country  of  her  nier- 

At  the  close  of  the  war  the  second  church  and  par- 
sonage, which  is  now  standing,  was  commenced,  and 
in  a  few  years  both  were  ready  for  use.  The  love  of 
the  people  for  the  house  of  God  and  the  ordinances 
of  religion,  and  their  self  denying  eftbrts  for  the  honor 
of  God  and  to  perpetuate  the  blessings  of  the  gospel 


382 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES.  NEW    JERSEY. 


to  their  posterity,  is  highly  creditable  to  the  fathers 
of  this  church,  and  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  their 
descendants.  They  were  poor,  some  of  them  without 
a  home.  Their  little  savings  had  been  ravaged  by  the 
ruthless  invader.  Dwellings,  barns,  fences,  lands 
needed  immediate  attention.  They  had  contributed 
liberally,  both  of  men  and  means,  to  their  country's 
service.  And  just  as  soon  as  the  storm  that  had  des- 
olated their  earthly  prospects  began  to  abate  they 
were  seen  busily  engaged,  the  fathers  with  their  sons, 
in  removing  the  rubbish  and  charred  timbers  of  the 
old  church  and  gathering  materials  for  the  new.  Nor 
did  they  rest  until  they  secured  a  house  for  their  God 
and  a  home  for  their  minister.  They  were  reluctant 
to  ask  for  outside  assistance,  and  it  was  not  until  they 
had  exhausted  all  their  resources  that  they  were 
driven  to  the  necessity  of  applying  to  the  Presbytery 
for  help  to  complete  their  building.  At  a  meeting  of  ! 
the  Presbytery  in  Morristown,  May  7,  1783,  the  fol- 
lowing record  was  made  : 

"  A  petition  from  the  congregHtion  of  Cuiiuecticut  Farms  for  tlie  as- 
siatance  of  Presbytery  in  building  a  meeting-lionae  was  brouglit  in  and 
read.  The  Presbytery  advise  that  congregation  to  send  proper  persons 
to  ttieir  respective  congregations  under  tlieir  care  to  solicit  benefactions 
for  tlie  above  purpose,  and  recommend  to  tlie  ministers  and  elders  of 
eacli  of  the  congregations  to  take  sucli  nietliods  as  tliey  shaU  tliinl(  proper 
to  promote  this  benevolent  design." 

Thus  was  the  second  church  finished,  and  now  oc- 
cupied for  the  past  one  hundi-ed  years,  as  generation 
after  generation  with  their  pastors  have  passed  away, 
and  at  the  present. 

Their  first  pastor  was  Rev.  Simeon  Horlon,  who 
was  installed  in  the  year  1734,  who  continued  for 
twelve  years.  After  a  vacancy  of  two  years,  Rev. 
James  Davenport  came  in  1748,  who  remained  for  a 
few  years,  when  Rev.  Daniel  Thane,  a  native  of  Scot- 
land, was  appointed  over  this  church,  and  remained 
until  1757.  Tlie  fourth  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Darby, 
who  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  old  settlers  at 
Elizabethtown  (1758),  who  remained  for  a  few  years. 
He  died  December,  1805,  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety  years.  How  the  pulpit  was  supplied  the  next 
five  or  six  years  there  is  no  account  given,  but  in  the 
winter  of  1765  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Halt  (Hoyt)  became 
their  pastor.  He  was  a  native  of  Norwalk,  Connecti- 
cut, and  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey. 
His  ministry  here  from  the  beginning  was  in  trouble- 
some times,  terminated  by  his  death  June  27,  1779. 
The  church  was  without  a  pastor  for  eight  years.  We 
find  after  the  death,  by  the  ruthless  hand  of  the 
enemy,  of  Rev.  Mr.  Caldwell  and  his  wife,  a  Mr. 
Noble  Everett  supplied  for  a  year  the  scattered 
congregation,  when  the  Rev.  Peter  Fish,  of  New- 
town, L.  I.,  was  called,  who  served  for  ten  years, 
or  until  1799,  when  Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Smith  was 
installed.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Columbia  College. 
He  died  of  bilious  fever  one  year  and  three  days 
after  his  settlement,  Oct.  10,  1801,  at  the  age  of 
thirty-three  years.     His  immediate  successor  and  the 


eighth  pastor  of  this  church  was  Rev.  Stephen 
Thompson,  a  native  of  Mendham,  N.  J.,  in  1802.  He 
continued  his  labors  for  thirty-three  years,  and  dis- 
missed in  1834,  removed  to  Indiana,  and  where  he 
remained  until  his  death,  May  31,  1856,  in  his  eighty- 
first  year.  The  present  pastor.  Rev.  Robert  Street,  was 
called  to  this  church  in  May,  1835,  and  who  still 
preaches  to  this  congregation,  although  those  fathers 
and  brethren  who  composed  the  session — Stephen 
Headley,  Samuel  Headley,  William  B.  Potter,  James 
W.  Wade,  and  Thomas  C.  Allen,  and  to  whom  in  the 
following  September  Elias  Crane  and  John  C.  Lum, 
Jr.,  were  added — have  all  passed  away,  while  a  large 
number  of  the  parish  whom  he  had  counseled  and 
prayed,  and  of  the  ninety -seven  members  ofthe  church 
when  he  commenced  his  ministry,  but  ten  remain, 
nearly  all  of  whom  are  far  advanced  in  life. 

It  was  necessary  that  the  historical  part  of  this 
cliurch  should  be  remembered,  as  it  was  the  love  and 
life  of  the  generation  now  passed  away.  It  is  their 
history.  Passing  through  this  beautiful  section, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  comfortable  farm-houses, 
well-cultivated  fields,  their  fine  orchards,  long  known 
as  raisers  of  fruits  of  the  choicest,  and  its  being  his- 
toric ground,  makes  it  with  the  Westfield  frontier,  as 
it  were,  part  and  parcel  with  this  wilderness  two  hun- 
dred years  ago.  Still  many  ofthe  same  names,  same 
homes,  and  lands  in  the  possession  of  their  descend- 
ants. 

"  Remember  the  days  of  old,  consider  the  years  of 
many  generations."     (Deut.  xxxvii.  7.) 

The  succession  of  pastors  in  this  church  has  been 
Rev.  Simon  Horton,  1735,  eleven  years ;  Rev.  James 
Davenport,  1748  ;  Rev.  Daniel  Thome,  1750,  seven 
years;  Rev.  John  Darby,  1758;  Rev.  Benjamin 
Haight,  1765,  fourteen  years  ;  Rev.  Peter  Fish,  1789, 
ten  years;  Rev.  Samuel  Smith,  1800;  Rev.  Stephen 
Thompson,  1802,  thirty-two  years;  and  followed  by 
the  present  pastor.  Rev.  Robert  Street,  D.D.,  who  was 
ordained  and  installed  July  21,  1835,  and  has  conse- 
quently been  pastor  for  forty-seven  consecutive  years. 
The  church  was  organized  in  1730,  rebuilt  of  stone 
in  1783. 

The  elders  at  the  present  time  are  John  Crane, 
Clark  Faitoute,  William  Earle,  G.  L.  Headley  ;  trus- 
tees, John  Leonard,  E.  B.  Woodruff",  Clark  Faitoute, 
John  Crane,  I.  Courier,  I.  Burnet,  L.  H.  Williams; 
deacons,  John  Crane,  Clark  Faitoute ;  superintendent 
of  the  Sabbath-school,  James  M.  Burnet;  sittings, 
450;  communicants,  150;  Sunday-school  scholars,  80. 

Rev.  Robert  Street  was  born  at  Germantown, 
Pa.,  a  suburb  of  Philadelphia,  June  12,  1806.  His 
father,  Robert  Street,  was  of  English  stock;  his 
mother,  Rachel  Sims,  was  a  native  of  New  Jersey. 
They  were  both  members  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
Robert  was  the  eighth  of  ten  children.  When  sixteen 
or  seventeen  years  of  age  he  became  interested  in  the 
subject  of  personal  religion,  and  soon  after  made  a 
profession  of  religion  under  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Dr. 


'^^  S^s^ 


John  Earl,  the  great-grandfather  of  Wil-  I 
liam,  was  of  Holland  extraction,  and  born  ] 
June  3,  1722.  His  death  occurred  April  "24, 
1799.  To  his  wife,  Joanna  Howard,  were 
born  children,  among  whom  was  Edward, 
whose  birth  occun-ed  June  19,  1760,  at  Mid- 
dleville,  Essex  Co.,  and  who  married  Miss 
Phebe  Gardner.  His  death  took  place  Oct. 
13,  1817.  Their  son  Robert  C  was  born 
Feb.  27,  1791,  and  died  May  15,  1848.  He 
was  first  married  to  INIiss  Margaret  Townley, 
who  was  the  mother  of  William  Earl,  the  sub- 
ject of  this  brief  sketch,  and  later  contracted  a 
second  marriage  with  Miss  Phebe  C.  Thompson. 
His  son  William  was  born  Nov.  3,  1820,  in 
what  was  then  known  as  Essex  County,  but  is 
now  Union  township,  of  Union  County.  He 
remained  at  home  and  assisted  his  father  in  the 
cultivation  of  his  land  until  1844,  when  he 
removed  to  Scotch  Plains  and  rented  a  farm. 
At  the  expiration  of  two  years  he  purchased 
the   projicrty   which    is    his    present   residence. 


Here,  in  connection  with  his  farming  pursuits, 
he  is  an  extensive  manufacturer  of  cider.  This 
jn'oduct  is  handled  largely  both  at  wholesale 
and  retail,  tlie  principal  markets  being  found  in 
New  York,  Newark,  and  Elizabetii. 

Mr.  Earl  was  married  Nov.  (i,  1842,  to  Miss 
Phebe,  daughter  of  Jesse  C.  and  Elizabeth 
Thompson  Baker,  of  Scotch  Plains,  whose  birth 
occurred  March  6,  1822.  Their  children  are 
Margaret  T.,  wife  of  W.  E.  Gardner;  Eliza- 
beth T.,  who  is  married  to  Stockton  H.  Attridge; 
Mary  P.,  wife  of  George  C.  Haines  ;  Piiebe,  wlio 
died  in  infancy;  Ella  W.  (Mrs.  John  Turner); 
and  William  B.  Mr.  Earl  manifests  a  reason- 
able degree  of  interest  in  public  affairs,  and  has 
been  for  some  years  insjiector  of  election  of  his 
township.  He  affiliates  with  the  Rej)ublican 
party  in  politics,  and  devotes  his  influence  to 
its  success  and  the  furtherance  of  its  principles. 
He  has  been  since  1837  a  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Connecticut  Farms,  in  which 
he  has  for  three  years  held  the  position  of  elder. 


^r^^^-^  0ta.^^c^^_^ 


The  great-granfUather  of  Mr.  Crane  was 
John,  who  was  l)orn  April  20,  1723,  and  mar- 
ried to  Huldah  Grant.  Plis  death  occurred 
Sept.  12,  1807.  Among  his  children  was 
John,  born  June  17,  176o,  and  whose  death 
took  place  May  14,  1837.  He  was  married  to 
Phebe  Ross,  and  became  the  father  of  Elias 
Crane,  born  April  24,  1789,  who  was  united 
in  marriage  to  Esther  Maxwell,  Dec.  15,  1812, 
whose  death  occurred  March  27,  1880,  and  that 
of  lier  husband  July  19,  1869. 

Their  son  John,  whose  life  is  here  briefly 
reviewed,  was  born  Nov.  15,  1815,  in  Union 
township,  and  his  boyhood  spent  at  the  home 
of  his  parents.  The  public  school  of  the  neigh- 
borhood offered  opjjortunities  for  the  acopiire- 
ment  of  the  rudiments  of  knowledge,  and  with 
a  considerable  stock  of  sound  common  sense, 
and  good  judgment  added  to  these,  Mr.  Crane 
has  fought  the  battle  of  life  thus  far  suc- 
cessfully. 


He  was  in  1837  married  to  Miss  Sarah  Cutter, 
of  Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  to  whom  seven 
children  were  born, — Mary  H.,  Ann  Amelia, 
Sarah  C,  Esther,  John  M.,  Frederick,  and 
David.  Mrs.  Crane's  death  took  place  Sept. 
4,  1854.  He  married  a  second  time.  Miss 
Hannah  Cutter,  a  sister  of  the  first  wife,  who 
became  the  mother  of  one  son, — William. 

Mr.  Crane  is  in  politics  a  Democrat,  and  has, 
with  a  single  exception,  cast  his  vote  each  year 
since  ho  attained  his  majority.  He  has,  among 
other  positions  of  trust  in  tiie  township,  held 
the  offices  of  superintendent  of  public  instruc- 
tion and  commissioner  of  highways.  He  is  a 
Presbyterian  in  his  religious  views  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  P^irst  Presbyterian  Church  of  Con- 
necticut Farms,  in  which  he  has  for  years 
been  an  esteemed  elder.  Mr.  Crane  is  a  man 
of  excellent  judgment,  and  is  esteemed  not 
less  for  his  judicious  (counsels  than  for  his 
many  virtues. 


UNION   TOWNSHIP. 


38o 


Janeway,  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Philadelphia. 

His  attention  having  been  drawn  to  the  ministry 
as  a  profession,  his  preparation  for  preaching  was 
pursued  first  at  the  academy  at  Williamstown, 
Mass.,  then  at  Williams  College,  and  finally  at  the 
theological  seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J. 


In  May,  1835,  he  received  an  invitation  to  preach 
for  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Connecticut 
Farms,  in  the  town  of  Union,  Union  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  in 
a  few  weeks  received  a  unanimous  call  to  the  pastorate, 
and  July  21,  1835,  was  ordained  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  church  by  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabethtown. 

Mr.  Street  has  two  children,  a  son  and  a  daughter, 
having  buried  four  sons,  one  of  whom  was  by  a  former 
marriage. 

Mr.  Street  is  still  the  pa.stor  of  the  church,  to  which 
he  was  called  in  1835,  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  confi- 
dence and  affection  of  the  people,  and  of  bodily 
health  and  mental  activity. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  West  Roselle.— 
A  few  families  in  the  year  1H71  desired  to  have  ser- 
vices in  this  township  under  the  care  and  auspices 
of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  arrangements  were 
made  that  supplies  from  Cranford  and  Elizabeth 
should  hold  regular  meetings  in  the  school-house; 
and  finding  that  the  building  was  too  small,  the  few 
members  of  the  church  were  organized  into  a  society, 
and  Revs.  L.  R.  Dunn,  D.D.,  Ralph  Arntt,  James 
Fitzgerald,  D.D.,  James  W.  Marshall,  Jonathan  T. 
Crane,  D.D.,  and  others  kindly  aided  them  by  their 
ministrations. 


A  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  arranging 
the  building  of  a  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  when 
a  board  of  trustees  were  elected,  consisting  of  Messrs. 
A.  Warren,  J.  A.  Elwell,  Wm.  M.  Crane,  P.  H.  Bu- 
chanan, Alexander  Cummings,  E.  S.  Earl,  and  Charles 
O.  Andrus.  Land  was  donated  by  Jeremiah  Eigh- 
mie,  consisting  of  two  fine  lots,  one  hundred  by  two 
hundred  feet,  the  one  hundred  feet  fronting  on  Chest- 
nut Street  and  two  hundred  feet  on  Grand  Avenue. 
Plans  were  adopted,  and  in  1872  this  beautiful  chapel 
was  completed,  at  a  cost  of  four  thousand  dollars,  and 
large  enough  to  accommodate  some  two  hundred 
worshipers.  The  membership  is  about  seventy.  The 
following  names  are  of  the  pastors  who  have  served 
the  usual  time,  according  to  the  itinerant  plans  of  the 
Methodist  Church  :  Rev.  G.  W.  Terbush,  E.  N.  Crusto, 
Wm.  Buckalew,  E.  C.  Butcher,  and  Joseph  P.  An- 
drews, the  present  pastor.  The  Sabbath-school  num- 
bers eighteen  officers  and  teachers  and  ninety-six 
scholars.  The  present  board  of  trustees  are  Messrs. 
John  B.  Smith,  R.  W.  Wheeler,  E.  C.  Hamblin,  P. 
H.  Buchanan,  Alexander  Cummings,  E.  S.  Earl,  and 
Charles  O.  Andrus.  They  have  it  in  contemplation 
of  building  a  larger  building  to  accommodate  their 
congregation. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Mission.— Services  had  been 
held  in  the  new  St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church  for 
some  years  at  East  Roselle,  but  a  few  families  had 
settled  in  the  upper  part  of  Union  township,  who  de- 
sired to  hav€  services  held  in  their  neighborhood,  in 
what  was  called  the  Washington  School  District,  and 
in  the  old  school  building;  and  finding  an  interest 
was  being  made  by  a  number  of  families,  St.  Luke's 
Church  decided  to  arrange  for  an  Episcopal  mission; 
and  as  a  fine  school-house  had  been  built  at  Connec- 
ticut Farms,  and  also  another  at  West  Roselle,  the 
Washington  school-house  was  offered  for  sale,  which, 
through  the  liberality  of  Richard  Kiplin,  Esq.,  and 
others,  was  purchased  and  made  larger,  with  stained- 
glass  windows  and  turret  for  bell,  grounds  laid  out 
neatly,  and  in  1880  Bishop  Odenheimer  consecrated 
the  chapel  for  religious  services  according  to  the  Epis- 
copal form  of  worship. 

This  mission,  belonging  to  the  St.  Luke's  parish. 
Rev.  Dr.  Scott,  rector,  has  supervision,  holding  regular 
services.  There  are  a  number  of  families  who  esteem 
it  a  privilege  to  give  this  mission  their  especial  atten- 
tion ;  and  it  is  now  in  a  prosperous  condition,  with 
Mr.  Robert  Kiplin,  who  has  charge  of  the  school  as 
superintendent. 

Sittings,  one  hundred  and  seventy  ;  communicants, 
thirty ;  Sabbath-school  scholars,  forty-five,  with  a 
number  of  efficient  teachers. 

Necessarily,  the  Episcopalians  are  few  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, as  the  population  is  chiefly  composed  of 
Presbyterian  families. 

Schools. — In  the  records  of  the  township  at  a  meet- 
ing held  April  13, 1847,  of  the  Town  C(mimittee.  "  It 
was  resolved,  That  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  for 


384 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,   NEW  JERSEY. 


school  tax  be  raised  in  the  township  for  the  present 
year." 

At  the  expiration  of  ten  years  (April  13,  1857) 
"the  township  has  increased  the  school  tax  to  six 
hundred  dollars." 

And  at  a  meeting  held  the  8th  day  of  April,  1867, 
it  was  resolved  that  "  also  for  support  of  public 
scholars  the  sum  of  two  dollars  ($2)  a  head  for  each 
child." 

"  A  tax  was  raised  of  $3.00  per  head  for  each  child 
April  14th,  1873,  between  the  ages  of  seven  and 
eighteen  years.  There  are  nearly  five  hundred  chil- 
dren enrolled  in  the  township." 

The  following  district  reports  as  corrected : 

District  No.  23,  Unionville. — The  number  upon 
roll,  66 ;  the  attendance  is  about  35.  Teacher  is 
Miss  I.  C.  Grant.  Trustees,  W.  C.  Headley,  who  is 
clerk,  A.  A.  Decker,  and  T.  C.  Baker. 

District  No.  25,  North  Roselle. — This  is  a  beautiful 
building  in  the  Queen  Anne  style  of  architecture, 
and  built  on  high  ground,  having  a  fine  view  of  the 
surrounding  country,  and  surrounded  by  some  of  the 
best-built  houses  in  Union  township.  The  trustees 
appear  to  feel  an  interest  in  keeping  the  building  and 
grounds  in  excellent  order.  The  report  of  scholars  is 
about  200,  and  attendance  about  97.  The  trustees  are 
C.  O.  Andrus,  clerk,  T.  Kingland,  O.  S.  Bogart.  The 
following  are  the  teachers  :  R.  A.  Dunham,  Miss  A. 
W.  Townley.  T.  A.  Akerly. 

The  following  names  of  former  teachers  in  this 
district,  which  was  formerly  called  the  Washington 
District  School-House  at  an  early  date :  Miss  Mary 
Crane,  a  Miss  Camp,  1847-51 ;  Miss  Emiline  Miller, 
George  Frost,  1858 ;  Mr.  Ames,  1859 ;  Miss  Hannah 
Johnson,  1861-63;  and  Edward  P.  Coapling,  1865. 
The  property  was  sold  and  altered  into  the  present 
St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Mission. 

District  No.  27,  Connecticut  Farms.— This  is  one 
of  the  oldest  schools  in  the  township,  being  estab- 
lished before  the  Revolutionary  war.  Here  many 
have  taught  and  been  taught;  but  little  can  be 
learned  of  those  who  taught  here.  There  are  about 
93  scholars  in  the  district.  The  trustees  are  G.  W. 
Doty,  district  clerk,  D.  Hegel,  and  N.  B.  Compton. 
The  present  teacher  is  A.  W.  Wright.  Within  a 
short  time  the  old  frame  building  was  removed  and 
the  present  neat  structure  erected.  Miss  Emiline 
Miller,  Mr.  Ames,  and  Miss  Camp  were  teachers. 

District  No.  28,  Lyons  Farms. — Number  of  scholars 
in  district,  87  ;  trustees.  J.  B.  Morrison,  clerk,  J.  S. 
Dod,  and  J.  H.  Doremus;  present  teacher,  C.  Du- 
boise  ;  former  teachers,  Sarah  Grumon,  1818 ;  Thomas 
Winter,  1825.  George  Frost,  from  Newton,  Conn.,  was 
here  for  a  short  time  in  1837-38;  and  Miss  Ellen  Tich- 
enor  took  his  place  in  1839-40 ;  a  Mr.  Alcock  was  here 
in  1826 ;  again  in  1840-42.  Miss  Ellen  Tichenor  re- 
turned after  a  few  months'  absence,  but  remained  but 
a  short  time.  Miss  Phebe  Winans  took  her  place. 
A  Rev.  Mr.  Knapp,  a  Methodist  clergyman,  taught 


in  this  district,  and  also  a  Mr.  Duboise,  but  the  date 
cannot  now  be  learnt.  Again  the  name  of  Miss  Tich- 
enor is  made  mention  of  in  1870-72 ;  and  when  she 
left  Miss  Elizabeth  Woodrufi'  took  the  position  for  a 
time.  The  school  was  called  the  "  Hillside,"  and  built 
in  1817,  originally  a  stone  building.  The  late  Elihu 
Bond,  father  of  the  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  of  Plainfield, 
was  "  much  interested  in  education,"  and  "  gave  the 
site,"  "  some  stone,"  and  also  "  ten  dollars  in  money." 
The  present  building  is  a  frame,  neat  in  appearance, 
and  built  a  few  years  since. 

District  No.  29,  Salem  (formerly  called  Sodom), 
has  about  150  scholars  in  the  district,  but  the  attend- 
ance is  small,  less  than  40.  The  following  are  the 
trustees:  J.  W.  Lim,  district  clerk,  O.  Woodruff,  and 
W.  A.  E.  Earle.  The  teachers  are  Miss  M.  A.  Stiles, 
principal,  and  C.  J.  Wilcox. 

We  find  the  schools  of  this  township  well  appointed 
for  the  development  and  training  of  the  younger  part 
of  this  township;  but  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  all  do 
not  attend  for  instruction,  as  they  are  so  well  furnished 
with  the  needed  appliances  as  to  supply  all  ample  op- 
portunities and  facilities  for  securing  a  good  educa- 
tion to  every  child  in  these  five  school  districts,  and 
so  convenient  for  all  to  attend. 

We  add  the  names  of  the  following  members  of 
school  committee  and  superintendents  of  schools : 

School  committee,  James  Carpenter,  1845  ;  Albert 
R.  Meeker,  1845 ;  Stephen  H.  Crane,  1845 ;  William 
H.  Woodruff,  1846  ;  Samuel  Doty,  1846  ;  John  Crane, 
1846. 

Superintendents  of  schools,  John  Crane,  1847-51 ; 
Rev.  Robert  Street,  1852-62;  George  W.  Cooper, 
1863;  Edward  E.  Searing,  1864;  Noah  Woodruff, 
1865-66. 

Connecticut  Farms  Burial-Ground.  —  This  old 
historic  burial-ground  of  the  first  settlers  of  this 
township  is  situated  on  a  knoll  or  rising  ground. 
The  Presbyterian  Church,  one  of  the  oldest  in  this 
county,  stands  surrounded  by  these  graves.  But  few 
of  the  oldest  stones  can  now  be  deciphered,  and  there 
are  many  which  were  not  marked  except  in  the  early 
records  of  the  church  book  of  burials.  But  in  1780 
the  church  and  parsonage  were  burnt  by  the  British 
and  the  church  books  were  also  destroyed.  The  ground 
is  surrounded  by  a  brick  wall,  with  the  exception  of 
part  of  the  southerly  slope,  which  may  have  been  the 
first  that  was  buried  in. 

The  Evergreen  Cemetery. — This  association  was 
organized  under  the  gu neial  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
New  Jersey,  March  10,  1853.  It  is  beautifully  situ- 
ated on  the  road  from  Elizabeth  to  Newark,  about 
half-way  from  each  city.  For  a  long  time  it  was  found 
necessary  that  something  should  be  decided  upon,  i»s 
the  places  for  the  interment  of  the  dead  were  being 
crowded.  The  following  gentlemen  were  chosen  trus- 
tees :  Richard  T.  Haines,  president ;  Francis  B.  Chet- 
wood,  vice-president;  Josiah  Q.  Stearns,  treasurer; 
and  William   F.   Day,   secretary ;    William    Brown, 


^^p//X.^9^U^  O-  ^^/Au^ , 


The  parents  of  Mr.  Baker  were  John  and 
Mary  Meeker  Baker,  the  birth  of  the  former 
having  occurred  Oct.  28,  1790,  and  liis  death 
Feb.  4,  1834.  Mrs.  Baker  was  born  Nov.  25, 
1793,  died  Feb.  8,  1830.  Their  children  were 
James  C.  and  Aaron  M.,  the  eldest  of  whom 
is  the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch.  He 
was  born  Aug.  17,  1817,  in  Union  township, 
on  the  land  which  is  his  present  residence,  and 
to  whicli  he  succeeded  by  inheritance  as  a  por- 
tion of  his  father's  estate.  He  also  inherited 
his  father's  love  for  country  life,  and  has  estali- 
lished  a  reputation  as  a  successful  agriculturist. 

Mr.  Baker  was  married  on  March  31,  1852, 


to  Miss  Maiy,  daughter  of  Amos  and  Martha 
Day,  M'hose  birth  occurred  June  2,  1822.  To 
tliis  marriage  were  born  three  children, — Ed- 
ward Clark,  deceased ;  James  Arthur,  also  de- 
ceased ;  and  Aaron  Clifford,  who  resides  at 
home. 

Mr.  Baker  was  an  early  Whig,  and  became 
a  Republican  on  the  organization  of  the  party. 
He  has  since  been  one  of  the  most  stanch 
and  e;irnest  advocates  of  its  platform  and 
mea.sures.  Both  Mr.  and  IVIrs.  Baker  are 
among  the  most  active  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Lyons  Farms,  in  which 
the  former  is  an  influential  elder. 


^£ 


The  great-graudfatlier  of  Mr.  Crane  was 
Andrew,  who  resided  in  what  is  now  designated 
as  Union  township  before  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution. Among  his  children  were  Andrew, 
David,  and  Jacob ;  the  latter  of  whom  was  also 
Ijorn  in  the  township,  where  he  married  and 
liad  children, — Jacob,  Matthias,  Stephen,  and 
one  daughter,  Phebe,  who  became  Mrs.  Stiles. 

Matthias,  of  this  number,  was  born  on  the 
family  estate  and  spent  his  life  in  farming  pur- 
suits. He  was  united  iu  marriage  to  Miss  Pru- 
dence Lum,  and  iiad  one  child, — a  daughter. 
Prudence.  By  a  second  union,  with  Miss  Sarah 
Lum,  he  hud  ciiildren, — Matthias  B.,  David  L., 
John,  Samuel,  William  Henry,  Jane  Elizabeth, 
and  Stephen  J.  The  death  of  Mr.  Crane  oc- 
curred upon  the  homestead  where  his  life  was 
spent.  His  son  Matthias  B.,  a  brief  sketch  of 
whose  life  is  here  given,  was  born  Dec.  27, 
1808,  and  spent  his  early  life  on  the  farm. 
Having  determined   that  New  York  ottered  a 


wider  field  of  usefulness  than  the  limits  of 
his.  native  township,  he  repaired  to  that  city 
and  learned  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  Here  he 
passed  ten  years;  after  which  he  returned  to 
Union  County,  and  having  purchased  the  home- 
stead made  it  his  residence.  He  was  married 
to  Miss  Margaret,  daughter  of  John  Winans, 
and  had  children,— Sarah  F.  (Mrs.  M.  W. 
Crane),  IMarietta  A.  (Mrs.  E.  B.  Earle),  Anna 
M.,  and  John  W.  Mi-s.  Crane  died  in  1868, 
and  he  married  a  second  time,  Miss  Abbie, 
daughter  of  William  and  JNIaria  Chandler 
Moore,  whose  ancestors  were  of  Scotch  descent 
and  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  as  were  also 
those  of  her  husband.  Mr.  Crane  is  in  politics 
a  Repuljlican,  though  not  ambitious  for  official 
distinction,  and  in  early  life  cast  his  vote  with 
the  Whig  party.  He  is  a  Presbyterian,  and 
both  he  and  his  wife  are  members  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabetii,  of  which 
he  was  formerlv  a  deacon. 


UiNION   TOWNSHIP 


;^85 


John  D.  Norris,  Lewis  W.  Sparks,  John  H.  Rolston, 
Apollos  M.  Elmer,  Charles  A.  Higgins,  Isaac  M. 
Ward,  Josiah  Q.  Stearns,  Frederick  Phelps.  The 
surveyor  appointed  was  Ernest  L.  Meyer,  and  the 
superintendent  ot  the  grounds  James  Amm.  The 
grounds  are  well  laid  out  and  ornamented.  They 
have  opened,  graded,  and  appropriately  and  taste- 
fully arranged  avenues  and  paths  throughout  the 
whole  grounds  to  the  extent  of  more  than  six  miles, 
and  erected  capacious  receiving  tombs  in  Egyptian 
architecture  for  the  use  of  persons  desirous  to  become 
proprietors  in  the  cemetery.  On  the  13th  of  Decem- 
ber, 18.5.3,  the  grounds  were  dedicated.  The  late  Rev. 
David  Magie,  D.D.,  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church,  made  the  dedicatory  remarks,  and  the  Rev. 
Robert  Street  the  prayer. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

EDWIN    MAGIE. 

The  Magies  are  of  Scotch  extraction,  the  ancestor 

of  the  family  in  America  having  left  the  land  of  his 

birth  during  the  period  of  persecution  in  1685-87, 

and  established  himself  in  his  trade  as  a  blacksmith 


in  the  land  of  his  adoption;  His  death  occurred  in 
1736,  and  but  little  else  is  known  of  him.  Among 
his  descendants  was  Michel,  who  resided  in  what  is 
now  known  as  Magietown,  in  Union  township,  and 
had  children, — Benjamin,  John,  Catharine,  Hannah, 
and  one  whose  name  is  not  recalled.     By  a  second 


marriage  his  children  were  David,  Joseph,  Job, 
Haines,  Ogden,  and  Mary  Jane.  John  of  this  num- 
ber was  born  Aug.  21, 1785,  in  the  township  of  Union, 
where  he  during  his  lifetime  resided  and  pursued  the 
avocation  of  a  farmer.  He  married  Dec.  19,  1807, 
Mary,  daughter  of  Jacob  Searing,  whose  birth  occurred 
Oct.  26,  1785.  They  had  children,— Phebe,  Edwin, 
Joel,  Mary  Ann,  Jane  Harriet,  John,  William  Henry, 
and  Catharine,  who  died  in  youth.  The  death  of  Mr. 
Magie  took  place  on  the  2.3d  of  April,  1862,  after  a 
long  and  industrious  life,  and  that  of  his  wife  April 
5,  1867.  Their  son  Edwin  was  born  Dec.  13,  1810,  on 
the  homestead,  where  he  remained  until  his  eighteenth 
year,  after  which  he  removed  to  Newark  and  acquired 
a  trade.  He  returned  again  to  the  township,  and 
having  purchased  the  farm  he  at  present  occupies, 
began  its  cultivation  and  improvement.  He  was 
married  Dec.  14,  1842,  to  Miss  Ann  Eliza,  daughter  of 
Harvey  Thompson,  of  Union.  There  were  born  to 
them  children,  —  John  Harvey,  Frances  Amelia, 
David  T.,  who  is  married  to  J.  Etta  Ward,  Edwin  M., 
and  Jessie,  of  whom  David  T.  and  Jessie  are  the  only 
survivors.  Mr.  Magie  was  an  early  Whig,  but  became 
a  Republican  at  the  formation  of  the  party,  and  has 
since  remained  in  its  ranks.  He  has  devoted  his  life 
to  the  superintendence  of  his  business  interests,  and 
had  little  time  to  devote  to  affairs  of  a  public  char- 
acter. 

His  religious  associations  arc  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Mrs.  Magie  and  their  children,  David,  his 
wife,  and  Jessie,  being  members  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Elizabeth,  as  was  also  their 
daughter  Frances. 


DAVID    .S.    HIGGINS. 

James  Higgins  was  a  native  of  the  township  of 
Union,  where  he  was  not  only  a  successful  farmer  but 
a  citizen  of  much  influence.  He  was  born  March, 
1763,  and  married  March,  1787.  He  served  with 
credit  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  after  an 
eventful  life,  Oct.  12,  1826.  His  son,  David  S.  Hig- 
gins, was  born  July  26,  1804,  on  the  family  estate  in 
Union  township,  and  in  early  life,  after  acquiring  the 
rudiments  of  an  education,  engaged  in  mercantile 
pursuits  in  the  city  of  New  York.  Here  he  remained 
for  seven  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  he 
removed  again  to  the  scenes  of  his  childhood  and 
became  a  farmer.  This  labor  proving  congenial  to 
his  tastes  was  continued  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  married  on  the  24th  of  February,  1827, 
to  Miss  Margaret  Searing,  daughter  of  Jacob  Searing, 
of  Revolutionary  fame,  and  became  the  father  of  the 
following  children  :  Elizabeth,  deceased,  who  was  the 
wife  of  R.  S.  Van  Tassel ;  Hannah,  deceased,  who 
married  James  Clark;  Margaret,  wife  of  Rev.  H.  C. 
Townley ;  Rebecca,  who  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Henry  H.  Richards;  James  W.,  and  David  S.  C. 

Mr.  Higgins  may  be  described  in  his  political  pred- 


386 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ilections  as  an  old-line  Whig,  and  to  the  principles 
of  his  party  he  adhered  during  his  lifetime.  Though 
interested  in  all  public  affairs  which  redounded  to  the 
welfare  of  the  coniniunity,  he  was  never  an  aspirant 
for  office  and  rarely  engaged  in  the  successive  yearly 


<y^  c/u^^i^^ 


contests  which  were  the  precursors  to  official  position. 
He  was  by  religious  preference  a  Baptist,  and  a  con- 
sistent member  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Eliza- 
beth, N.  J.,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the  founders  and 
an  officer  from  its  organization. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Higgins  occurred  on  the  31st  of 
October,  1871.  His  life  was  one  of  integrity  and  use- 
fulness, and  his  death  universally  deplored.  Mrs. 
Higgins  still  survives  him,  and  daily  exemplifies  in 
her  life  the  virtues  of  a  Christian  lady.  James  W., 
the  only  surviving  son,  was  born  in  the  township  of 
Union,  Feb.  31,  1839,  and  still  resides  near  the  place 
of  his  birth,  where  he  is  a  representative  farmer  and 
a  man  of  much  influence.  His  family  consists  of  a 
wife  and  two  sons,  the  latter  representing  the  fourth 
generation  in  the  township. 

David  S.  C.  enlisted  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebel- 
lion at  the  age  of  seventeen,  and  served  during  a 
period  of  three  years.  He  died  at  home  from  illness 
contracted  during  the  campaigns  in  which  he  parti- 
cipated. 

HON.  NOAH    WOODRUFF. 
Few  of  the  residents  of  Union  township  who  have 
passed  away  have  left  memories  of  a  life  so  fraught 
with  beneficent  results  as  did  the  subject  of  this  biog- 


raphy. Born  in  the  most  humble  but  respectable 
conditions,  and  left  when  but  a  lad  to  fight  the  bat- 
tle of  life  unaided,  he  by  his  own  inherent  strength 
of  purpose  achieved  a  position  of  influence  and  filled 
a  career  of  extended  usefulness.  Noah  Woodruff  was 
born  April  22,  1804,  in  Union  township,  and  early 
acquired  a  familiarity  with  farming  enterprises.  The.se 
he  conducted  successfully  during  his  lifetime.  He 
was  on  the  7th  of  January,  1835,  united  in  marriage 
to  Miss  Mary  Miller,  to  whom  were  born  nine  chil- 
dren,— Abby  F.,  John  C,  Stephen  M.  (deceased), 
Mary  J.,  Noah,  Elizabeth  S.,  Abram  M.,  Sella,  and 
Edward  E. 

Mr.  Woodruff  became  identified  with  the  interests 
of  Union  County  when  it  was  still  a  portion  of  Essex 
County.  His  acknowledged  executive  ability,  together 
with  an  integrity  that  offered  no  ground  for  question, 
caused  him  to  be  frequently  chosen  for  positions  of 
responsibility  and  trust.  He  was  at  one  time  borough 
sheriff  of  the  city  of  Elizabeth,  and  for  a  period  of 
thirty  years  filled  the  office  of  assessor  of  Union 
township,  being  a  portion  of  the  time  also  its  col- 
lector. 

Having  received  the  appointment  of  master  in 
chancery,  he  combined  also  the  duties  of  a  justice  of 
the  peace,  which  office  was  faithfully  filled  for  suc- 
cessive terms. 

His  constituents  having  discerned  the  peculiar  abil- 
ities which  enabled  him  to  grasp  subjects  of  public 
and  general  import,  chose  him  for  two  terms  as  their 
representative  in  the  State  Legislature  while  Union 
County  embraced  two  districts.  In  this  position  he 
proved  himself  a  judicious  and  able  legislator.  His 
latest  official  service  wiis  as  a  member  of  the  board  of 
chosen  freeholders  for  Union  township,  having  been 
director  of  the  board  during  his  last  term.  The  death 
of  Mr.  Woodruft"  occurred  Jan.  12,  1873,  while  his 
mental  vigor  and  usefulness  were  yet  unimpaired. 
His  life  was  a  bright  example  of  industry,  wisdom, 
and  probity,  and  his  death  an  occasion  of  sorrow  to 
many  hearts.  His  widow,  who  still  survives,  is  one  of 
the  contributors  of  this  testimonial  of  regard  to  his 
memory. 

,IOHN  T.  HUTCHINSON. 
John  Hutchinson  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  and 
through  life  followed  the  business  of  a  florist.  He 
was  for  years  engaged  in  this  pursuit  on  Staten 
Island,  and  in  18(56  established  the  enterprise  which 
is  now  conducted  by  his  son  in  Union  township  and 
Elizabeth,  N.  J.  His  wife,  Elizabeth,  was  of  English 
birth,  and  became  the  mother  of  five  children, — John 
T.,  William,  Jesse  E.,  Annie  G.,  and  Frederick  L. 
The  death  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  occurred  March  10, 
1870,  in  his  forty-fourth  year,  and  that  of  his  wife 
Sept.  30,  1879,  in  her  fifty-sixth  year.  Both  were 
consistent  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
highly  esteemed  for  their  many  virtues.  Their  son, 
John  T.,  was  born   Aug.  8,  1854,  on  Staten  Island> 


lyfv^^^^^A^j 


y^^-v^Uv-^^     ^ ^^^'^'^^'^i^ 


Mr.  Long  may  witli  propriety  be  mentioned 
as  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  examples  of  a 
self-made  man  the  county  of  Union  affords. 
He  is  the  sou  of  Patrick  and  Mary  Sullivan 
Long,  and  was  born  in  Thurles,  County  of 
Tipperary,  Ireland,  on  the  8th  of  April,  1843. 
He  while  a  lad  attended  school  for  a  brief 
period,  and  soon  after,  having  concluded  that 
America  offered  inviting  fields  of  labor  to  the 
young  emigrant,  embarked  in  1855  with  his 
sister,  Ellen  B.,  for  New  York.  His  footsteps 
were  directed  towards  New  Jersey,  and  Iiaving 
reached  Union  township  he  at  once  sought 
employment,  and  for  four  years  received  as  the 
price  of  his  labor  his  board  and  the  privilege 
of  attendance  at  the  public  school  in  winter. 
He  at  the  expiration  of  this  i)eri(Kl  was  engaged 
by  Aaron  Baker,  witii  whom  he  remained  nine 
years,  and  during  that  eventful  time  was  by 
frugality  and  economy  able  to  accumulate  the 
sura  of  two  thousand  dollars,  with  which  he 
purchased  a  farm.  He  at  once  stocked  his  farm 
and  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural  jjursuits. 
Upon  the  land  was  a  dilapidated  dwelling  which 
was  demolished,  and  in   1879  the  spacious  and 


comfortable  residence  which  is  his  present  home 
was  built  upon  the  site.  Mr.  Long  was  on  the 
9th  of  March,  1869,  married  to  Mary  E., 
daughter  of  John  and  Ann  Tunison,  of  Union 
township.  They  have  had  children, — Lillie  M., 
James  A.,  Jennie  W.,  and  Francis  B.  Mr. 
Long,  while  absorbed  in  the  cultivation  of  his 
land,  having  added  largely  to  his  original  jnir- 
chase,  is  not  unmindful  of  the  privileges  which 
are  accorded  to  every  American  citizen,  and 
casts  his  vote  regularly  with  the  Republican 
party.  He  is  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey 
State  Agricultural  Society,  and  also  of  tiie 
Union  County  Farmers'  Club.  He  is  also  vice- 
jiresident  of  the  New  Jersey  Poultry  Associa- 
tion, and  has  usually  been  in  charge  of  the 
poultry  exhibitions  at  the  State  Fair. 

Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Long  are  members  of 
the  Connecticut  Farms  Presbyterian  Church. 
James  Long,  the  brother  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  served  with  credit  in  the  late  war  as 
first  lieutenant  of  Company  E,  Eighth  Eegi- 
ment  New  Jersey  "N'okmteers,  was  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  and  died  at  Fortress 
Monroe. 


'^e^o'^^    y^ ,   BaA^^yf~~y 


SUMMIT  TOWNSHIP. 


387 


where  his  boyhood  until  the  age  of"  twelve  years  was 
spent,  after  which  he  removed  with  his  parents  to 
Union  township.  He  became  interested  in  the  enter- 
prise in  which  his  father  was  engaged,  and  ajiplied 


himself  to  the  acquirement  of  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  its  details.  This  enabled  him  on  the  death  of  his 
parent  to  become  his  successor,  and  greatly  to  develop 
and  increase  the  business.  He  nuikes  a  specialty  of 
cut  flowers,  which  find  a  ready  market  in  Elizabeth. 
He  has  also  acquired  a  reputation  for  skill  in  decora- 
tion and  landscape-gardening  which  is  especially 
noticeable  in  the  Evergreen  Cemetery,  where  his 
taste  is  frequently  called  into  requisition. 

Mr.  Hutchinson  has  an  ofiice  in  Elizabeth,  where 
orders  are  received,  and  where  his  refined  taste  and 
skill  find  appreciative  patrons.  He  was,  June  16, 
1880,  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Boyd,  of  Newark. 
Both  he  and  his  wife  are  consistent  members  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth. 


.\ARON  M.  BAKER. 
The  Baker  family  are  of  Holland  extraction,  though 
little  is  known  of  their  representatives  prior  to  the  ad- 
vent of  Ezekiel  Baker  in  Union  township,  where  he 
resided  for  many  years.  He  formed  two  matrimonial 
alliances,  the  first  with  Miss  Hannah  Meeker,  to 
whom  was  born  a  son.  Ezekiel,  and  a  second  with 
Miss  Phoebe  Dickinson,  whose  children  were  John, 


Mary,  Rhoda,  Phebe,  Fanny,  Ephraim,  and  William. 
Mr.  Baker  spent  his  life  in  farming  occupations,  and 
died  at  his  home  in  Union  township.  His  son  John, 
the  father  of  the  subject  of  this  biography,  was  born 
on  the  family  estate,  and  at  an  early  age  acquired  a 
knowledge  of  farming,  to  which  his  energies  were  de- 
voted. He  also  developed  a  taste  for  military  tactics, 
and  was  prominently  identified  with  the  State  militia. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  Meeker,  to  whom  were 
born  two  sons,  James  C.  and  Aaron  M.,  the  birth 
of  the  latter  having  occurred  Aug.  19,  1819,  at  the 
homestead.  He  enjoyed  in  youth  all  the  advan- 
tages of  education  afforded  by  the  common  schools 
of  the  day,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  life  soon 
after  as  a  farmer,  which  has  since  been  his  vocation. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary  E.,  daughter 
of  Edward  and  Mary  Woodruff  Earl,  of  the  same 
township,  and  granddaughter  of  David  Earl.  The 
birth  of  Mrs.  Baker  occurred  Nov.  25,  1823. 

Mr.  Baker  is  in  his  political  belief  a  Republican, 
his  first  vote  having  been  cast  for  William  Henry 
Harrison.  He  is  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  be- 
lief, and  has  been  for  a  number  of  years  a  deacon  of  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Elizabeth,  of  which 
both  he  and  Mrs.  Baker  are  members.  He  has  ever 
manifested  a  deep  interest  in  the  furtherance  of  edu- 
cation in  the  township,  and  was  chiefly  instrumental 
in  securing  the  tower  and  bell  which  ornament  the 
imposing  school  building  in  his  district. 


CHAPTER   LIII. 

SUMMIT   TOWNSHIP. 

Geographical  Situation.— Summit  township  was 
formed  from  Springfield  and  New  Providence  by  act 
of  the  Legislature  in  the  year  1869.  It  is  situated  in 
Union  County,  and  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Mil- 
burn  township,  Essex  County,  on  the  east  by  Spring- 
field, Fanwood,  and  New  Providence,  and  on  the 
west  by  New  Providence  and  Passaic  River.  The 
Passaic  River  is  also  the  dividing  line  between  Union 
and  Morris  Counties. 

Natural  Features. — This  township  comprises  ex- 
tensive alluvial  and  diluvial  deposits.  The  former 
consists  of  elongated  and  also  rounded  crystalline 
trap,  sand  gravel,  and  loam ;  the  latter  are  a  stiff 
whitish  clay,  a  yellowish-brown  clay  above  this,  and 
in  parts  the  outcropping  of  a  silicious  sand.  The  ma- 
rine fossil  shells  found  in  these  clays,  belonging  to 
the  Hamilton  group,  and  a  few  impressions  of  trilo- 
bite,  orthocerati  te,  and  other  extinct  species,  represent- 
ing more  the  remains  of  the  Trenton  group,  show 
that  these  deposits  were  made  at  an  earlier  period 
than  those  thrown  down  by  rivers  or  oceans  in  mod- 
ern times.  To  this  system  belong  also  the  trap  bowl- 
ders scattered  in  this  township. 


388 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Tlie  surface  is  hilly  until  you  reach  the  summit 
proper.  Tlie  road  winding  along  the  eastern  line 
of  the  Second  Mountain  to  the  old  Springfield  road, 
passing  the  site  of  the  "  Old  Red  School-house,"  and 
leading  to  the  Baity  Roll  Heights  (the  scene  of  the 
murder  of  Mr.  Roll),  in  Westfield  township,  exhibits 
the  surface  quite  uneven,  rising  at  several  points 
higher  than  the  First  Mountain  and  several  hun- 
dred feet  above  tide-water.  This  chain  of  hills,  being 
parts  of  First  and  Second  Mountain  ranges,  includ- 
ing this  township  from  New  Providence,  gives  it  a 
fine  lofty  appearance,  surrounded  by  timber  in  its 
natural  wild  state,  and  the  valleys  between  having 
fine  cultivated  farms.  These  features  make  the  town- 
ship desirable  for  health  and  fine  landscape  scenery. 
Just  opposite  the  farms  lately  occupied  by  Jacob  F. 
Badgley  and  Moses  Reeves,  being  the  southerly  part 
of  this  townsliip,  we  find  the  head  source  of  Green 
Brook,  fed  by  many  springs.  On  the  westerly  line, 
along  the  Passaic  and  Delaware  River  Railroad,  we 
meet  much  of  the  drift  rock  and  pebbles  in  uneven 
ledges,  and  in  some  places  cropping  out,  until  we 
reach  the  Passaic  River  near  the  New  Providence 
depot,  when  a  stiff  clay  loam  intervenes.  Here  are 
to  be  seen  well-cultivated  farms,  fine  orchards,  etc. 
There  is  still  to  be  seen  much  fine  timber  in  this  sec- 
tion. The  soil  in  the  valleys  and  on  the  spurs  of  the 
Third  Mountain  produces  excellent  crops. 

As  we  go  to  the  extreme  northeasterly  part  of  this 
township  the  view  is  fine,  overlooking  Springfield, 
Union,  and  adjacent  townships,  reminding  us  of  the 
appropriateness  of  the  name.  Summit  township;  for 
we  look  down  the  valley  miles  before  us  for  several 
hundred  feet  upon  villages  and  hamlets,  farms  and 
wooded  glens.  The  soil  of  the  drift  is  variable,  being 
in  some  places  light  and  sandy  and  in  others  hard 
loam  or  clay.  In  or  near  Dean  Town,  now  called 
East  Summit,  there  are  found  many  flat  intervales 
and  marshes,  which  appear  to  have  been  water-beds 
originally  that  have  been  filled  in  by  the  encroach- 
ments of  vegetable  growth,  and  by  the  soil  washed 
down  from  the  hills.  Peat  or  muck  has  been  observed 
in  some  of  these  beds,  and  for  a  fertilizer  is  invaluable 
to  the  agriculturist  Prof.  Cook,  in  his  "  Geological 
Report,"  devotes  considerable  attention  to  the  glacial 
drift,  and  a  part  has  reference  to  this  particular  locality. 

Census  for  the  Year  1881. — Summit  township  has 
a  population  of  1859: 

White  males  21  years  and  over , 417 

"  "       under  21  years  and  over  5.. 254 

6 99 

Total  white  males 770 

White  females  21  years  and  over 571 

"  "       under  21  years  and  over  6 374 

5 124 

Total  white  females 1068 

Black  females  21  years  and  over 7 

"  "      under  21  years  and  over  5 4 

5 1 

Total  lilack  females 12 

Black  males  21  years  and  over 6 

•'        "      under  21  years  and  over  ^i 2 

5 1 

Total  black  males 9 

Total  population 1859 


Early  Settlement. — We  find  many  of  the  early- 
homes  in  this  townsliip  still  standing,  and  a  few  of 
them  are  occupied  by  the  descendants  of  the  pioneers. 
Here  and  there  where  the  early  homes  have  disap- 
peared some  memento  can  yet  be  traced, — a  few  fruit- 
trees  yet  standing  planted  by  the  first  settlers.  On 
the  Sturges  property  can  yet  be  seen  an  old  pear-tree, 
with  some  fruit  still  upon  it  of  this  year's  growing. 
Many  of  these  trees  were  raised  from  seeds  brought 
with  the  pioneers  when  they  came  and  settled  in 
these  hills.  We  notice  some  of  the  foundation  stone 
of  these  farm-houses  were  carefully  squared  and  shaped 
before  being  placed,  the  mortar  now  being  as  hard  as 
the  stone.  The  following  is  an  account  of  some  of 
the  first  settlers : 

Isaac  Sayre  came  from  New  England  and  settled 
between  the  mountains  southwest  of  Springfield  be- 
tween 1700  and  1720.  He  married  Jane,  daughter  of 
Matthias  Swaine,  and  had  four  children, — first,  Eliza- 
beth, who  married  Enoch  Vreeland,  son  of  Brown 
Vreeland,and  lived  where  Jonathan  Gillam  now  lives; 
second,  Matthiiis,  married  27th  of  September,  1767, 
Patience  Thompson,  daughter  of  Aaron,  of  Long  Hill ; 
third,  Catherine,  married  Timothy  Griffen,  of  New 
Providence  ;  fourth,  Isaac,  Jr.,  married  22d  of  Febru- 
ary, 1774,  Elizabeth  Roll,  daughter  of  John  Roll,  Sr.; 
she  died  26th  of  September,  1850,  in  her  ninety-second 
year,  after  a  long  time  a  widow.  Isaac  Sayre,  Jr.,  had 
eight  children,— (1)  John,  (2)  Mary,  (3)  Brooks,  (4) 
Jane,  (5)  Catherine,  (6)  Betsey,  (7)  Anthony,  and  (8) 
Hannah. 

Brooks  Sayre  (son  of  Isaac  Sayre,  Jr.)  and  Polly 
Conklin  had  children, — first,  Elizabeth,  who  married 
Henry  Faitoute,  son  of  Moses,  of  Union  township  ; 
second,  William  ;  third,  Mary,  married  Joseph  Kain, 
a  carpenter  of  Somerville;  fourth,  Isaac;  fifth,  Han- 
nah ;  sixth.  Brooks  Sayre,  Jr.,  married,  but  who  has 
no  children,  now  living  on  one  of  his  father's  home- 
steads. 

We  find  the  former  home  of  Mr.  Benjamin  Weed, 
who  came  and  settled  upon  the  westerly  side  of  Second 
Mountain  in  the  year  1730. 

William  Robison,  the  "Father  of  Methodism,"  set- 
tled on  Stony  Hill  about  1720.  The  original  home  is 
still  standing,  but  had  an  addition  made  to  it  a  few 
years  ago.  At  his  house  in  1786  was  held  and  organ- 
ized the  first  Methodist  society  of  this  valley,  this 
being  the  oldest  organization.  The  church  was  built 
in  New  Providence,  1801.  He  was  appointed  class- 
leader.  He  married  his  cousin,  Betsey  Robison,  the 
2d  December,  1772,  and  had  four  children  by  her, — 

(1)  David,  who  married  24th  December,  1795,  Agnes 
iVance,  daughter  of  Kennedy  Vance,  of  Long  Hill ; 

(2)  Phebe,  married  5th  November,  1794,  Henry 
Mooney,  and  lived  in  Morris  County  ;  (3)  John,  mar- 
ried Lydia  Wilson,  of  Maryland,  who  was  a  Metho- 
dist minister  of  some  celebrity;  (4)  William,  married 
a  Miss  Nancy  Roll,  daughter  of  John  Roll,  son  of 
Isaac  Roll,  of  Springfield  township. 


SUMMIT   TOWNSHIP. 


389 


Rev.  John  Robison  and  Lydia  Wilson  had  children, 
— (1)  William,  who  married  Anne  Mariah  Lafou- 
cheire,  and  had  children, — 1,  John;  2,  James  Ed- 
ward and  Susan;  (2)  Elizabeth,  married  Rev.  Alex- 
ander Gilmore,  a  Methodist  preacher;  (3)  Catherine, 
is  unmarried;  she  lived  in  Springfield. 

William  Robison,  son  of  William  the  first  and 
Nancy  Roll;  they  had  five  children, — (1)  John,  who 
went  from  home  and  never  was  heard  from;  (2)  Wes- 
ley, who  became  a  celebrated  Methodist  clergyman, — 
he  married  Margaret  Worth,  of  Rahway ;  (3)  Caro- 
line, who  married  for  her  first  husband  Oliver 
Rowland,  and  second  William  Mawby.  They  had  chil- 
dren,—(1)  Victoria,  (2)  William,  (3)  Frederick  Maw- 
by. William  Robison  had  also  a  son  James,  who 
was  deranged,  and  also  Isaac,  his  fifth  child,  who 
died  at  the  age  of  eighteen  years.  William  Robison, 
Sr.,  died  6th  August,  1815,  aged  seventy-one  years. 
His  wife,  Betsey,  died  11th  October,  1799,  aged  forty- 
seven  years. 

Maj.  Jotham  Potter,  son  of  John,  son  of  John, 
son  of  Joseph  Potter.  The  New  Providence  family 
branch  is  from  Samuel  Potter.  The  ancestor  of  the 
Potter  family  in  this  region  of  country  came  from 
Wales.  He  settled  on  a  tract  of  land  of  four  hundred 
and  fourteen  and  one-half  acres  at  the  foot  of  the 
Second  Mountain,  by  the  side  of  an  old  mine,  and  on 
the  east  side  of  Green  River  (Green  Brook),  which 
was  laid  out  for  him  Feb.  26, 1733.  He  was  a  justice 
of  the  peace.  Maj.  Potter  married  Rebecca  Crane, 
of  Westfield  township,  and  had  three  children, — (1)  i 
Susan,  (2)  Betsey,  (3)  Elias,  who  had  four  children, 
— Susan  Elizabeth,  Emeline,  Catherine,  and  Louisa.  | 
Mr.  Potter  was  quite  a  military  leader,  and  for  many 
years  had  charge  of  the  militia,  and  acting  as  a  major. 
He  was  prominent  in  many  enterprises,  and  elder  for  j 
many  years  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

There  was  also  a  Maj.  Jotham  Potter,  the  second 
child  of  Amos  Potter,  Esq.  He  was  also  a  major  in 
the  militia,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace.  He  married 
Phebe  Pettit,  and  had  eight  children.  He  had  a  son, 
a  Presbyterian  preacher  in  Indiana,  the  Rev.  Ludlow 
Day  Potter,  who  graduated  at  college,  and  also  a  son 
Amos,  who  was  born  in  1820,  now  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  New  Providence.  The  family  of 
Potters  are  numerous,  and  scattered  from  this  branch 
all  through  the  Western  States. 

Peter  Parrot,  who  married  Sally  Crane,  daughter 
of  Norris  Crane,  had  six  children, — Jane,  who  mar- 
ried William  Force,  son  of  Squire  Force,  Jr.,  lived 
in  Morristown,  N.  J. ;  Hetty,  married  Sylvester  Force, 
son  of  Squire  Force,  Jr. ;  Mary  Phebe,  married  Wil- 
liam High,  Jr.,  son  of  William  High  ;  Hannah,  and 
John.  The  William  Parrot  farm  of  two  hundred 
acres  extended  from  the  river  to  Stony  Hill  road.  He 
was  the  ancestor  of  this  family.  Peter  Parrot  was  of 
the  fourth  generation. 

Daniel  Seely  Clark  (son  of  Samuel  Clark),  born 
12th  August,  1773,  married  28th  February,  1796,  Sally 


Wilcox,  daughter  of  John,  and  died  22d  February, 
1843,  nearly  seventy  years  of  age.  Daniel,  like  his 
father,  was  a  merchant,  and  a  justice  of  the  peace. 
He  lived  on  his  father's  farm,  and  kept  the  same  store 
his  father  did  before  him.  Mr.  William  Little  says 
when  he  was  a  boy  he  well  remembers  an  old  sign 
before  the  store-door  which  read,  "  Pay  to-day  and 
trust  to-morrow."     Mr.  Clark  had  nine  children, — 

(1)  William  M.,  who  married,  first,  Rachel  Wood, 
daughter  of  Daniel  S.  Wood,  Jr.,  and  for  his  second 
wife  Sally  Wood,  sister  of  his  first  wife;  (2)  Levi, 
who  married,  first,  Eliza  Crane,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Crane,  and  second,  Elizabeth  Tucker,  daughter  of 
Moses,  son  of  John  ;  (3)  .Samuel,  married  4th  Decem- 
ber, 1844,  Mary  Noe,  daughter  of  David,  son  of  John  ; 
(4)  Daniel  Seely,  Jr.,  who  went  to  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  married  there ;  (5)  Stephen,  who  also  went  to 
Kentucky;  (6)  Jane,  who  married  Henry  Spencer, 
son  of  William  Spencer,  of  Chatham  ;  (7)  Eliza,  mar- 
ried Henry  Schureman,  son  of  Thomas  .Schureman, 
of  Hunterdon  County,  N.  J. ;  (8)  Sarah,  married  a 
Mr.  Myers,  of  New  York,  and  went  to  St.  Louis, 
Mo.;  (',))  Mary,  married  Joseph  Graham,  of  New 
York,  and  lived  there. 

Moses  Reeves,  son  of  Watts  Reeves,  of  Springfield 
township,  lived  in  the  valley  between  First  and  Sec- 
ond Mountains,  next  to  Dayton  Badgley's.  He  mar- 
ried Abigail  Badgley,  boru  May,  181 1.  Moses  Reeves 
was  born  1809.  They  removed  to  Newark,  N.  J. 
They  had  six  children, — (1)  James  W.  Reeves,  born 
November,  1833;  (2)  Mary  Elizabeth  Reeves,  born 
April,  1836  ;  (3)  Hestem  Anne  Reeves,  born  2d  June, 
1838;  (4)  Benjamin  Franklin  Reeves,  born  March, 
1847 ;  (5)  George  B.  Dallas  Reeves,  born  December, 
1844;  (6)  Sarah  Jane  Reeves,  born  March  23,  1850. 

Benjamin  Sturgis'  lands  lay  just  on  the  southerly 
part  of  this  township.  He  was  a  carpet-weaver  as 
well  as  farmer.  He  married  Hetty  Badgley,  daughter 
of  Anthony  Badgley.  They  had  no  children.  They 
lived  to  be  quite  old,  and  died  a  few  years  ago.  A 
family  by  the  name  of  Reeves  occupy  the  farm. 

Samuel  Badgley  lived  between  the  First  and  Sec- 
ond Mountains.  He  married  Polly  Frazee,  and  had 
nine  children.  His  son,  Jacob  Foster  Badgley,  born 
2d  February,  1808,  married  Anne  Brown,  born  26th 
April,  1812,  daughter  of  William  Brown,  and  had 
eight  children, — (1)  Moses,  born  21st  January,  1833; 

(2)  George  Brown,  born  19th  August,  1835 ;  (3)  Henry, 
born  26th  November,  1837  ;  (4)  John,  born  14th  June, 
1840;  (5)  Lydia  Anne,  born  26th  October,  1842;  (6) 
Samuel,  born  8th  March,  1845;  (7)  Crook  Vancleve, 
born  15th  June,  1847  ;  (8)  Mary,  born  2d  June,  1849. 
He  resided  on  the  homestead  of  his  father  up  to  a 
short  time  ago,  and  now  resides  in  Summit  village. 

Elias  Morgan  is  mentioned  as  settling  in  this  town- 
ship, as  also  the  names  of  Marsh  Pierson,  Nicholas 
De  Muller,  Samuel  Potter  (who  has  a  son  in  Cleve- 
land, Ohio,  publisher),  Isaac  F.  Pitts,  Augustus  The- 
baud. 


390 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUxVTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Isaac  Bryant  was  a  relative  ofCapt.  William  Bryant; 
they  lived  for  a  time  in  or  near  Elizabethtown,  but 
Isaac  moveil  to  Stony  Hill. 

Joseph  Doty  came  from  the  east  end  of  Long  Island, 
and  owned  part  of  lot  No.  39  of  the  Elizabethtown 
lots  in  Stony  Hill  Valley,  just  on  the  borders  of  New 
Providence  townsliip.  He  married  Sarah  Badgley, 
sister  of  John  and  James  Badgley.  They  had  five 
children, — 1,  Joseph  Doty,  Jr.,  who  died  young;  2, 
George,  who  married  Sibbe  Howell ;  3,  John,  mar- 
ried first  Sarah  Potter,  and  for  his  second  wife  Sarah 
Clarlv,  daughter  of  Daniel  Clark  ;  4,  Anthony,  mar- 
ried, liad  but  one  child,  William  Parsons  Doty,  who 
married  1st  June,  1793,  Peggy  Badgley,  daughter  of 
Moses  (son  of  Joseph  Badgley) ;  he  was  a  useful  and 
consistent  man  to  his  church  and  neighbors  ;  5,  Eliza- 
beth, married  Jeremy  Ludlow,  son  of  Jeremiah  Ludlow 
(or  sometimes  spelt  Ludlum).  Old  Mr.  Doty  died  10th 
September,  1768.  George  Doty,  second  child  of  Joseph 
Doty,  lived  on  Stony  Hill,  and  owned  a  mill  on  the 
brook  running  down  by  Samuel  M.  Magie'sand  Israel 
Doty's.  He  and  Siblie  Howell  had  children, — 1,  Jo- 
seph third ;  2,  George,  Jr.,  married  Miss  Nancy  Cook ; 
3,  David,  who  went  and  settled  in  the  lake  country,  as 
it  was  called,  New  York,  and  married  there;  4,  Keziah, 
married  Stephanus  Clark,  son  of  Daniel  Clark  ;  5, 
Sarah,  married  John  Clark,  Jr.,  son  of  Elder  John 
Clark. 

Joseph  Doty  third  (first  child  of  George)  lived 
where  his  grandfather,  Joseph  Doty  (first)  did.  He 
and  his  wife,  Patty  Allen,  had  children  : 

1.  Anthony,  who  married  Mary  Wilcox,  daughter 
of  Levi. 

2.  Allen,  married  Nancj'  Brown,  daughter  of  John. 

3.  David,  married  Sibbe  Clark,  daughter  of  John, 
Jr.,  son  of  Elder  John  Clark. 

4.  Sarah,  married  Aaron  Oakley,  son  of  Thomas. 

5.  Aaron  (who  was  Capt.  Doty  of  militia),  mar- 
ried 16th  December,  1811,  Betsey  Hedges,  daughter 
of  Gilbert,  and  went  to  Luzerne  County,  Pa. 

6.  Sibbe. 

7.  Mary,  married  Jesse  F.  Pitts,  son  of  George 
Pitts,  of  Orange  County,  New  Y'ork. 

8.  Martha,  married  24th  January,  1824,  Benjamin 
Weed  from  Massachusetts. 

John  Doty  (third  son  of  Joseph  Doty  the  first) 
married  Sarah  Potter,  lived  in  Stony  Hill  Valley,  near 
but  west  of  his  father's  house,  and  had  children, — 1, 
Chloe,  died  unmarried  ;  2,  James,  born  16th  Janu- 
ary, 1756,  married  29th  September,  1788,  Nancey 
Locey,  daughter  of  Daniel  Locey,  of  Mendham.  Mr. 
John  Doty's  wife  died,  and  for  his  second  wife  he 
married  Sarah  Clark,  daughter  of  Daniel,  and  had 
children,  —  3,  Daniel,  born  2d  March,  1865,  and 
married  first  Elizabeth  Potter,  second  Betsey  Crane, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Crane,  and  removed  to  Middle- 
town,  Ohio  ;  4.  John  Doty,  .Jr.,  married  Phebe  Cooper, 
of  Hanover,  and  went  to  the  western  part  of  New 
York   State,  and   afterwards   to   Middletown,   Ohio, 


where  his  brother  Daniel  went ;  5,  Zina,  went  to 
Ohio,  and  the  record  says  with  his  father  and  family, 
and  married  there  ;  6,  Betsey,  married  22d  March, 
1794,  Stephanus  Clark,  Jr.,  and  went  to  Ohio;  7, 
Jane,  went  with  her  father  to  Ohio,  and  married 
Samuel  Clark  there;  8,  Chloe  (second),  died  27th 
December,  1784 ;  9,  Ketura,  who  died  young. 

Just  on  the  line,  or  near  the  Summit  township,  is 
the  old  homestead  of  James  Doty  (second  child  of 
John  Doty).  His  daughter  Phebe,  his  fourth  child, 
is  still  living  in  her  eighty-fifth  year.  She  married 
Edward  Hedges,  son  of  Gilbert  Hedges,  Dec.  24, 1815, 
and  had  six  children.  She  was  born  1798.  Edward 
Hedges  was  born  1793.  Gilbert  Hedges  died  Aug.  5, 
1822,  aged  seventy-eight  years.  His  wife,  Margaret 
Hedges,  his  widow,  died  March  18, 1838,  aged  eighty- 
four  years.  Daniel  Doty  (third  son  of  John,  son  of 
Joseph  Doty  1st)  married  first  Elizabeth  Potter, 
eldest  child  of  Ames,  son  of  Daniel  Potter  1st.  He 
married  second  Elizabeth  Crane,  daughter  of  Joseph 
Crane.  He  left  home  Sept.  10,  1790,  on  an  exploring 
tour  down  the  Ohio  River,  and  landed  at  Cincinnati 
23d  of  October  following,  when  there  were  but  two 
log  houses  in  that  city.  One  of  them  was  occupied  by 
Maj.  Benjamin  Stites,  from  the  Scotch  Plains,  Essex 
Co.  (now  Union  County),  N.  .1. ;  the  other  was  occu- 
pied by  Capt.  John  S.  Gano.  The  record  goes  on  to 
say,  St.  Clair's  defeat  was  on  the  fourth  day  of  No- 
vember, 1791.  The  Rev.  Daniel  Clark,  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, was  the  first  minister  of  the  gospel  in  that  re- 
gion. Daniel  Doty  had  no  children  living  by  his  first 
wife.  He  was  born  March  23,  1765,  and  died  May  8, 
1848.  He  returned  from  Ohio  to  New  Jersey,  and 
married  for  his  second  wife  Elizabeth  Crane,  and 
again  returned  to  Ohio  and  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
land  at  and  about  Middletown,  Ohio,  and  settled 
upon  it.  He  with  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Crane,  had 
twelve  children. 

The  name  Doty  by  part  of  the  family  is  spelled 
Doughty.  Solomon  Doughty,  son  of  Joshua,  married 
Polly  Pierson,  granddaughter  of  Col.  Cornelius  Lud- 
low, of  Revolutionary  fame.  Solomon  was  first  brig- 
adier- and  major-general  of  militia. 

Jesse  F.  Pitts  married  Mary  Doty  (seventh  child  of 
Joseph  Doty  the  third).  He  was  a  son  of  George 
Pitts,  of  Orange  County,  N.Y.,and  had  two  children, 
James  Clark  Pitts  and  Theodore  L.  Pitts. 

1,  Benjamin  Spinning  Dean,  son  of  Solomon,  son  of 
John  Dean.  Solomon  Dean  married  Feb.  20,  1819, 
Prudence  Spinning.  He  married  Phebe  Badgley, 
daughter  of  Squire  Badgley.  2,  John  Dean  ;  3,  Sylves- 
ter Dean  ;  and  4,  Mary  Cohoon  Dean,  who  died  young. 
Mr.  Benjamin  S.  Dean  has  carried  on  an  extensive 
business  of  hub-turning  and  other  wood-work,  having 
large  buildings  for  the  purpose.  His  neighborhood 
has  been  called  by  the  name  and  known  as  Deantown 
(now  East  Summit).  The  name  is  spelt  by  branches 
of  the  family  Deane,  as  Aaron  Dean,  1745 ;  Nicho- 
las Deane,  1778. 


SUMMIT   TOWNSHIP. 


391 


Benjamin  Spinning  was  probably  one  of  the  first 
settlers  in  this  township.  It  is  supposed  that  he  Wivs 
a  descendant  of  Humphrey  Spinning,  who  died  about 
1700,  and  a  cousin,  Daniel  Spinning,  who  departed 
this  life  in  1G99.  They  lived  in  the  borough  of  Eliza- 
bethtown.  Mr.  Humphrey  Spinning  married  Abigail 
Hubbard,  daughter  of  George  Hubbard,  of  Guilford, 
Conn.,  1657,  and  came  to  this  State  about  this  time. 
In  the  records  of  the  court  in  old  Essex  County  (New- 
ark) is  mentioned  a  Benjamin  Spinning  as  constable 

in   1714.     He   married   Charity  ,  and   came   up 

from  Elizabethtown,  and  lived  where  his  son,  John 
Spinning,  lived.  He  had  si.K  children.  Prudence 
Spinning  married  Solomon  Dean,  Feb.  20,  1819. 

John  Blackborn  is  mentioned  as  also  of  the  first 
settlers. 

John  Noe  (Nue).  This  family  were  Huguenot  refu- 
gees. The  name  was  originally, it  is  thought,"  Nean." 
Elias  Nean  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  French 
Church  in  New  York,  and  emigrated  as  a  catechist  by 
the  Propagati(m  Society.  "That  good  man,"  Peter 
Noe,  was  admitted  an  Associate  in  169.5,  with  a  third- 
lot  right.  His  son  John,  in  1694,  was  a  subscriber  to 
Rev.  Mr.  Hariman's  support,  but  resided  in  Wood- 
bridge,  Middlesex.  One  record  makes  him  the  son  of 
Daniel  Noe.  He  married  Mary  Ayres,  of  Wood- 
bridge.  He  died  April  26,  1828,  aged  seventy-one 
years.  His  wife,  Mary,  died  Oct.  31, 1823,  <iged  sixty- 
four  years.  They  had  seven  children.  Ellis,  the  first 
son  of  John  Noe,  married  Esther  Osborn,  and  had 
nine  children.     Daniel  W.  Noe  was  their  sixth  child. 

Lewis  Noe  was  brother  of  John  the  first.  He  came 
also  up  from  Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  and  bought 
the  farm  formerly  owned  by  Thomas  Darling,  where 
Smith  M.  Miller  lived.  He  married  Phebe  Mundy, 
daughter  of  Henry  Mundy,  of  Metuchen,  in  same 
county.  He  died  April  5,  1838,  aged  seventy -three 
years.  She  died  May  11,  1814,  aged  fifty-four  years. 
They  had  six  children, — 1,  Henry;  2,  Frazee,  who 
married,  Nov.  3, 1810,  Dency  Hart,  daughter  of  David, 
and  died  April  11,  1832;  3,  Margaret,  married  David 
French,  Jr.,  son  of  David,  lived  in  Stony  Hill  Valley; 
4,  Lewis,  married,  April  7,  1834,  Mariah  Meeker, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Meeker  ;  5,  Huma,  married  Ellis 
Coddington,  of  Woodbridge ;  6,  Phebe,  married,  Jan. 
21,  1815,  Joel  Drake,  son  of  Jeremiah  Drake. 

Frazee  Noe,  son  of  Lewis  and  Dency  Hart,  had 
four  children, — 1,  Daniel  Hart  Noe,  who  married, 
Sept.  25,  1839,  Mary  Osborn,  daughter  of  Stephen  B. 
Osborn  ;  2,  Phebe  Mundy  Noe,  who  died  July  5,  1832, 
aged  seventeen  years ;  3,  John  Noe,  married  Dec.  3, 
1845,  Martha  Bonnel,  daughter  of  Philemon  Bonnel, 
she  died  without  children  ;  4,  Sarah  Emeline  Noe, 
born  1811,  married  John  A.  Dean,  born  1806,  son  of 
William,  and  had  eight  children. 

Daniel  W.  Noe,  son  of  Ellis,  son  of  John  Noe,  mar- 
ried Mary  Mulford,  daughter  of  Jonathan,  of  Pluck- 
erain.  He  died  Feb.  18,  1846,  and  had  two  children. 
The  youngest,  Daniel,  died  young. 


Jabesh  Shipman  is  first  mentioned.  He  married 
Agnes  Rogers,  and  owned  lands  next  west  where 
Thomas  Squires  ived,  and  Jacob  Grisinger  and 
Thomas  Conn  lived.  He  had  nine  children.  John 
Shipman.  his  fourth  child,  married,  15th  May,  1792, 
Betsey  Stevens,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Stevens,  Sr., 
and  had  three  children.  David,  who  married  Nancy, 
the  widow  of  Caleb  Putney,  and  died  without  chil- 
dren. 2,  Abigail,  married,  14th  June,  1817,  Isaac 
Doty,  son  of  Henry,  of  Washington  Valley  ;  3,  Anne, 
married  Nathan  Smalley,  son  of  Isaac  Smalley.  Aaron 
Shipman  is  from  this  family  (owned  the  place  where 
Sarah  Hayes  lived). 

Benoni  Trembly  (Tranbles)  may  have  been  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Trembly,  a  Huguenot  refugee,  mar- 
ried Mary  Noe,  daughter  of  Peter  Noe,  about  the 
year  1694.  Peter  Trembly  is  mentioned  in  or  about 
Westfield,  perhaps  on  the  First  Mountain.  "  A  party 
of  royal  horse-thieves,  under  the  command  of  the 
celebrated  Lewis  Robbins,  made  an  incursion  into 
Westfield."  There  found  Peter  Trembly,  whom  they 
seized  and  robbed  of  all  his  money  and  papers.  "But 
at  the  sudden  discharge  of  a  gun  they  paroled  their 
prisoner  and  fled." 

Benoni  Trembly  lived  on  lot  No.  61  of  the  Eliza- 
bethtown lots,  south  of  Aaron  M.  Ludlow's  house. 
He  was  a  wagon-maker,  was  an  elder  in  the  New 
Providence  Church  (Summit  had  no  church  so  early), 
and  had  four  children  : 

1.  Benjamin,  baptized  19th  June,  1763. 

2.  Jonathan,  baptized  16th  December,  1764. 

3.  Abraham,  baptized  15th  August,  1766. 

4.  Becca,  baptized  14th  October,  1770. 

Little  says,  in  his  "  Genealogy  of  Passaic  Valley," 
"  I  have  not  learned  from  whence  they  came,  nor  who 
were  his  family  connections." 

He  died  October,  1788.  He  was  an  extensive  fruit- 
grower, and  Trembly  pears  are  yet  known  for  their 
fine  flavor  in  this  township. 

Hyslip  (Hislip).  Andrew  Hyslip  came  from  Scot- 
land and  settled  on  the  John  Robison  place.  He  was 
an  extensive  raiser  of  fine  fruit,  and  some  of  the  pears 
and  crab-apples  are  still  known  as  Hislips  at  the 
present  time.  Mr.  Hyslip  married  Ann  Matthews, 
from  England,  and  had  three  children, — 1,  John;  2, 
Robert,  killed  at  twelve  years  old,  falling  off  a  cart; 
3,  Ann,  who  married  Alexander  Keay,  a  Scotchman. 
He  died  Dec.  11,  1878,  in  his  forty-third  year.  An- 
drew Hislip,  died  24th  January,  1869,  in  the  seventy- 
second  year ;  his  wife,  Ann,  died  13th  January,  1867, 
in  her  seventieth  year. 

William  Littell,  Esq.,  son  of  John  and  Mary  Lit- 
tell,  was  born  10th  October,  1813,  and  married  the 
26th  October,  1836,  Mehetabel  Bonnel,  daughter  of 
Jonathan  C.  Bonnel,  and  by  this  marriage  they  have 
four  children, — 1,  William  Henry,  born  2d  May,  1840; 
2,  Theodore,  born  14th  May,  1844;  3,  Frederick;  4, 
Rose,  born  12th  April,  1847 :  and  5,  Julia  Smith, 
born  3d  April,  1851. 


392 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  following  interesting  facts  in  the  history  of 
Mr.  Littell's  life  we  here  give  :  In  his  early  days  his 
parents  sent  him  to  an  academy,  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Kleef 
principal,  at  Basking  Ridge,  N.  J.,  where  he  remained 
for  some  time,  when  he  returned  home,  and  for  a  time 
was  clerk  in  his  father's  store,  when  at  an  early  age, 
about  1830,  he  joined  the  New  Providence  Presby- 
terian Church,  Rev.  Thomas  Cochrayon  pastor.  In 
the  year  1836  he  married  Mehetabel  Bonnel,  and 
moved  from  New  Providence  to  Summit  as  the  pioneer 
in  that  rapidly  improving  township,  and  in  1838  he 
built  his  house,  where  he  has  resided  since  that  time. 
He  had  a  .small  frame  store  until  the  year  1867,  when 
he  built  his  present  commodious  brick  store.  In  this 
location  lie  has  been  engaged  in  business  for  over 
forty  years,  and  not  till  within  a  short  time  has  he 
relinquished  the  heavy  duties  of  a  store-keeper  by 
taking  his  two  sons  in  the  business.  Here  by  his 
efforts  was  the  first  post-office  established,  about  the 
year  1869,  which  they  have  retained  with  excepting 
two  years.  He  has  served  in  many  of  the  town 
offices.  By  his  influence  the  beautiful  Presbyterian 
Church  was  built  in  1870,  and  he  was  made  an  elder. 
The  ground  was  given  by  his  wife  and  sisters,  being 
parts  of  the  Bonnel  estate.  In  politics  Mr.  Littell 
has  been  prominent  as  a  Republican  all  his  life,  using 
his  means  and  time  to  advance  the  party's  interests. 
In  the  Littell  Hall,  which  is  convenient  for  meetings, 
its  doors  have  been  thrown  open  for  all  the  gatherings 
to  advance  the  interests  of  the  townshij).  He  laid 
out  a  fine  avenue,  which  he  has  named  Maple  Avenue, 
some  sixty  feet  in  width,  and  in  time  will  give  a  fine 
shade,  as  well  as  beautiful  appearance  to  the  town. 
When  the  Morris  and  Essex  Railroad  was  being  laid 
through  this  township  in  1835,  Mr.  Littell  gave  them 
all  the  encouragement  to  further  its  progress.  In  his 
store  was  the  first  depot  established,  his  men  using 
teams  to  level  and  grade  the  rise  below  towards 
Huntly,  and  he  mentions  the  fact  that  his  man,  Lewis 
Kutchel,  in  1837,  with  two  yoke  of  oxen,  helped  pull 
the  engine  and  cars  up  this  steep  rise,  and  they  suc- 
ceeded in  what  the  engine  had  not  the  power  to  do. 
These  facts  we  have  given  as  Mr.  Littell  has  resided 
here  since  1836,  and  has  seen  all  these  changes  and 
improvements  growing  on  around  him  until  the  place 
has  become  a  considerable  town  with  a  number  of 
stores  and  places  of  business.  When  he  came  here 
he  was  the  first  store-keeper,  and  for  many  years  sup- 
plied the  needs  and  wants  of  the  township. 

Mr.  William  Littell  is  of  fine  personal  appearance, 
of  a  countenance  expressive  of  high  intelligence.  He 
is  interesting  in  the  facts  of  the  past  history,  remem- 
bering dates  and  minor  details.  He  is  a  most  agree- 
able com|)anion  for  persons  of  all  ages.  He  is  fond 
of  home,  fond  of  retirement,  and  is  greatly  beloved  by 
his  neighbors,  and  has  done  many  acts  of  kindness. 
He  is  always  cheerful,  and  has  a  happy  greeting  for 
every  one. 

Civil  Organization. — An  act  to  create  a  new  town- 


ship in  the  county  of  Union,  to  be  called  the  township 
of  Summit,  was  passed  on  the  17th  day  of  March, 
1869.  And  the  people  of  this  new  township  are  very 
greatly  indebted  to  Augustus  J.  Thebaud  for  his  un- 
tiring efforts,  which  were  crowned  with  success  by  the 
passage  of  the  act  by  an  almost  unanimous  vote. 

At  a  meeting  held  in  Littell's  Hall,  Summit,  April 
12,  1879,  the  board  organized  by  appointing  William 
Littell  presiding  judge,  and  David  W.  Bonnel  clerk 
of  the  election.  The  whole  number  of  names  on 
poll-book  is  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  (135).  The 
following  were  the  first  officers  elected  in  this  new 
township  for  the  ensuing  year:  Judge  of  Election, 
Jesse  F.  Pitts ;  Assessor,  Jonathan  Bonnel  ;  Collector, 
Benjamin  S.  Dean;  Town  Clerk,  Alfred  Albertson ; 
Chosen  Freeholder,  Augustus  J.  Thebaud ;  Town 
Committee,  John  H.  Allen,  James  C.  Pitts,  Daniel 
H.  Day ;  Superintendentof  Schools,  John  W.  Kramer ; 
Commissioners  of  Appeals,  James  S.  Sandford,  Wil- 
liam C.  Hicks,  Willoughby  Powell ;  Surveyors  of 
Highways,  Albert  Pierson,  David  0.  Magie ;  Over- 
seer of  Poor,  Edward  Topping  refused  to  serve,  John 
Kelly  was  appointed  ;  Justice  of  the  Peace,  Thomas 
McKirgan  ;  Constable,  Edward  Topping  refused  to 
serve,  and  John  P.  Eckel  was  appointed;  Pound- 
Keepers,  Alexander  Keay,  J.  Edgar  Sayre,  Charles 
Sherwood,  John  Kelley  ;  Overseers  of  Roads,  John  H. 
Allen,  William  H.  Briant. 

The  following  officers  have  served  in  this  township  : 


JUDGES   OF   ELECTIONS 
William  Littell,  1870-73,  1876-78, 
E.  W.  Day,  1874-75. 
Daniel  W.  Day,  1873-74. 
William  H.  Briant,  1875. 


Alexander-  A.  Taylur,  1876-81. 
James  M  Woodruff.  1879-8U. 
J.  H.  Pleaaent,  1881. 


CHOSEN    FREEUOLDERS, 

Augustus  J.  Thebaud,  1869-75. 
Lewis  McKirgan,  1876. 


William  H.  Briant,  1877-79. 
William  H.  Briant,  188U-S1. 


Alfred  Alberts. 


TOWN    CLERKS. 
,  1869-75.  .\le.\ander  A.  Taylor,  1876-81. 


JUSTICES  OF   PEACE. 
Tliomas  McKirgan,  1869-70.  John  Dean,  1876. 

■William  H.  Briant,  1871.  William  G.  Marsh,  1877. 

David  M,  Smythe,  1881.  George  M.  Tiugley,  1875. 

James  S.  Sandford,  1873, 1881.  James  S.  Sandford,  1879. 

Archibald  Grade,  1878-80.  D.  M.  Smith,  1880-81. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 


John  H.  Allen,  1869-70. 
James  C.  Pitts,  1869-71,  1875,1877. 
Daniel  W.  Day,  1869-71,  1876. 
James  M.  Woodruff,  1871. 
Jonathan  Edgar,  1873-75,  1878. 
Willoughby  Powell,  1872-74. 
William  Z.  Larnod,  1872-74, 1877- 

78. 
Eugene  Devoe,  1873. 
Alexander  Robertson,  1873. 
James  S.  Sanford,  1874-75. 
George  M.  Tingb-y,  1874, 1876. 


Wilmot  M.  Chapman,  1875-76. 

J.  Daggot  Hunt,  1876. 

Joshua  Young,  1876. 

William  M.  Chapman,  1877. 

A.  N.  Martin,  1877,  188U. 

George  H.  Nicholas,  1878,  1880-81. 

William  H.  Dumont,  1878-79. 

J.  E.  Sayre,  1878. 

Lewis  McKirgan,  1879. 

S.   H.  Cougar,  1879. 

David  M.  .Smythe,  1879,  1881. 

George  Mauley,  1880-81. 


ASSESSORS. 


I  Bounell,  1869-75. 
1  S.  Dean,  1877. 


James  M.  Woodruff,  1876. 
David  M.  Smythe,  1878-81. 


SUMMIT   TOWNSHIP. 


393 


COLLECTORS. 
Benjamin  S.  Dean,  1869-76.  John  B.  Walsh,  1879. 

S.  H.  Congar,  1877.  |    Edward  B.  Kelley,  1880-81. 

Daniel  H.  Day,  1878. 


INSPECTORS   OF    ELECTIONS 
P.  H.  Vernon,  1877. 
J.  W.  Foster,  1877. 
W.  N.  Benjamin,  1878. 
David  W.  Bonnel,  1878. 


George  Cassidy,  1879-81. 
W.  G.  Marsh,  1879. 
Samuel  Houston,  1880-81. 


James  S.  Sandford,  1870-73, 1878. 
William  C.  Hicks,  1870-72. 
Theodore  F.  Littell,  1873-76. 
William  H.  Briant,  1873. 
George  W.  Nicholas,  1874-77,  1879. 
Jacob  F.  Badgley,  1874-76. 
J.  N.  Devoe,  1877. 
J.  M.  Woodruff,  1878. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF   APPEALS. 

James  Good,  1878-79,  1881. 
William  Hand,  1879-80. 
George  W.  Campbell,  Jr.,  II 
John  Booney,  1881. 
J.  E.  Dohman,  1881. 
Charles  P.  Edwards.  1872. 
William  Delancy,  1872. 
Willoughby  Powell,  1870. 


Villages  and  Hamlets. — Summit. — The  town  of 
Sunmiit  iniludes  the  whole  of  the  centre  and  main 
road  called  Springfield  Avenue,  leading  from  the 
village  of  New  Providence.  The  outskirts  are  sur- 
rounded witli  fine  country-seats,  the  home  of  retired 
as  well  as  business  men  from  the  adjacent  cities  of 
Newark  and  New  York.  Here  can  be  seen  fine  villas, 
parks  well  laid  out,  and  grounds  with  well-built  man- 
sions, while  many  extensive  liotels  and  resorts  for 
boarders  are  liandy  for  the  many  trains  which  go 
from  its  depots  upon  the  Delaware  and  Lackawanna 
Railroad,  as  well  as  the  Passaic  and  Delaware  Rail- 
road depot  at  West  Summit.  It  is  a  flourishing,  pic- 
turesque town  on  the  top  of  the  Orange  range  of 
mountains,  being  well  supplied  with  churches, — 
Protestant  Episcopal,  Methodist  Episcopal,  Presby- 
terian, and  Roman  Catholic, — and  with  well-con- 
ducted schools.  The  Park  Hotel,  where  a  large 
number  of  guests  find  a  home;  the  grounds,  kept  in 
excellent  order,  give  it  with  the  interior  an  air  of 
comfort. 

West  Summit  is  on  the  extreme  border  of  the 
township ;  has  many  fine  residences  and  well-culti- 
vated farms.  The  depot  of  the  Passaic  and  Delaware 
River  Railroad  is  here  convenient  for  all  needed 
handy  transit.  The  roads  are  kept  in  excellent 
order.  The  Baptist  Church  is  here  located,  stores, 
etc. 

East  Summit,  or  Deantown,  originally  called  from 
settlement  of  families  by  name  of  Dean,  is  to  the  ex- 
treme eastern  border  of  the  township.  District  school 
No.  20  is  here  located ;  also  the  hub-factory  of  Houtem 
&  Bro.  This  part  of  the  township  is  growing  rapidly, 
with  neat,  comfortable  homes.  Good  roads  are  also 
found  here,  as  well  as  nearly  in  the  whole  of  the 
township. 

Huntly  is  a  small  hamlet,  having  a  mill,  and  is 
included  in  East  Summit  boundary. 

Business  Houses, — Real  estate,  Archibald  Gracie. 

Printing,  Lorenzo  H.  Abbey  [Herald  otfice). 

Stoves  and  tinware,  T.  W.  Overpeck. 

Upholsterer,  James  H.  Green. 

Plumbing,  Thomas  Ryan. 


Plumbing,  J.  Munssinger. 

Painters,  Kelly,  Chamberlain  &  Jones. 

Mason  and  builder,  David  O'Rourke. 

Livery  stables,  James  Henry  Martin. 

Kindling  wood,  at  Hub  and  Kindling  Wood  Co., 
Housten  Brothers. 

Hotel,  "  Union,"  kept  by  James  H.  Donnelly. 

Groceries,  Edward  B.  Kelly. 

Win.  Littell  &  Sons. 
"  John  Rooney. 

I  "  D.  R.  Valentine. 

I       Feed  and  grain,  A.  R.  Randolph. 

Cabinet-maker,  James  Long. 

Carriage-  and  wagon-works,  H.  J.  Holmes. 

Boots  and  shoes,  M.  Murphy. 

Ale,  Walsh,  Union  Avenue. 

Barber,  Fred.  Badelt. 

Carpenter,  C.  R.  Brown. 

Oyster  and  ale  house,  P.  B.  Caviston. 

Lumber  and  coal,  E.  A.  Day  and  D.  W.  Day  &  Son. 

Livery,  W.  H.  Delany. 

News  agent,  G.  H.  Dietrich. 

Dry-goods,  J.  H.  Donnelly. 
"  Dowd  &  Butler. 

Blacksmith,  C.  Farrell. 

Express  agent,  J.  W.  Halsey. 

Carpenter,  Hughes  &  Pheasent. 

Livery,  P.  Kelley. 

Hotel,  M.  Kinney. 

Architects,  H.  Lamb  &  Co. 

Postmaster,  Theodore  F.  Littell. 

Horse-shoeing,  etc.,  M.  Martin. 

Groceries,  M.  C.  McBurney. 

Hotel,  D.  Morrissey. 

Livery,  O.  Mahoney. 

Park  House,  James  Riera. 

Boots  and  shoes,  J.  H.  Smith. 

Baker,  S.  O.  Smith. 

Blackburn  House,  Mrs.  M.  S.  Tatem. 

Drugs,  etc.,  A.  X.  Taylor. 

Summit  Library  Association. — Among  many  en- 
terprises for  the  benefit  of  the  town  of  Summit  is  a 
fine  library,  numbering  1038  volumes.  This  associa- 
tion was  organized  Jan.  iO,  1874,  and  with  the  follow- 
ing officers  :  W.  Z.  Earned,  president ;  Olive  Bough- 
ton,  vice-president ;  Archibald  Gracie,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  Jonathan  Bonnel,  Sarah  F.  Gracie,  Olive 
Boughton,  P.  V.  R.  Van  Wyck,  W.  Z.  Larned,  Eliza 
P.  Sandford,  and  Caroline  A.  Hicks  are  the  directors. 

They  have  published  in  neat  pamphlet  form  some 
twenty-six  articles  of  by-laws,  and  the  Summit  Li- 
brary is  in  a  prosperous  condition,  havingconveniences 
for  their  volumes  and  reading-room  in  the  new  brick 
academy  on  Springfield  Avenue,  convenient  to  the 
residents  of  the  Summit.  We  are  told  that  they  are 
in  a  prosperous  condition,  and  adding  to  their  library 
many  valuable  volumes. 

Railroads. — The  Delaware  and  Lackawanna  Rail- 
road passes  nearly  through  the  centre  of  the  township, 


394 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NKW   JKRSEY. 


having  three  stations,  Summit,  New  Providence,  and 
Hiintly. 

Summit  Post-Office.— It  was  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  William  Little,  Esq.,  in  1840,  who  opened 
a  store  in  the  Summit  nearly  opposite  the  depot,  that 
a  post-office  was  granted  them  in  that  year.  He  has 
held  the  position  since  that  time,  excepting  of  four 
years,  when  John  and  Daniel  H.  Noe  were  appointed. 
His  two  sons  now  are  engaged  with  him  in  business, 
and  Theodore  F.  Little  postmaster,  and  Mr.  William 
Little  is  acting  as  assistant  postmaster. 

Schools. — This  township  has  (1881)  within  its 
bounds  two  school  districts,  Nos.  19  and  20,  and  the 
following  teachers  have  supplied  them  since  the  town- 
ship was  organized  in  1869  :  Emily  Weeks,  Arthur 
Baily,  H.  M.  Bachlier,  J.  V.  D.  Green,  T.  T.  Collard. 
E.  H.  Schuyler,  who  is  the  principal  of  No.  19.  At 
the  present  time  Miss  M  Ella  Tappen.Cora  B.  Smal- 
ler, J.  W.  Fort;  and  the  School  District  No.  20,  Mr. 
Wheat  and  Wesley  V.  Woodruff,  who  is  the  present 
principal. 

The  amount  raised  for  the  year  1880  in  support  of 
School  District  No.  19  was  the  sum  of  .$5559.40,  and 
for  School  District  No.  20  the  sum  of  $1090.45.  This 
included  the  State  appropriation  of  $1575.73. 

The  fine  school  building,  built  of  brick  in  the  year 
1875,  has  many  desirable  improvements  that  are 
adapted  to  the  large  public  school  buildings  in  the 
city.  The  location  is  central  and  on  a  fine  avenue, 
convenient  for  all  the  children  of  the  township.  The 
whole  cost  was  $13,500. 

The  district  school  clerk,  Mr.  Alex.  A.  Taylor,  at 
Summit,  No.  19,  reports  297  children,  and  the  district 
school  clerk,  J.  C.  Kellington,  No.  20,  at  East  Sum- 
mit, reports  170  children  in  the  district. 

Burial-Ground. — There  are  no  cemeteries  in  the 
township;  most  of  the  interments  are  taken  to  New 
Providence  or  Springfield.  We  find  two  private  plots, 
one  belonging  to  the  descendants  of  Isaac  Sayre,  on 
the  Baltus  Roll  road  leading  to  Westfield,  the  other 
on  the  farm  of  late  Brooks  Vreeland,  now  occupied 
by  Mr.  Delaney,  at  Briant's  Mill,  now  called  Huntly, 
but  they  are  seldom  used  at  the  present  time.  There 
is  said  to  have  been  an  Indian  burial-ground  near  the 
Passaic  River,  but  all  traces  of  the  locality  have  long 
disa|)pearcd. 

Historic  Incidents. — During  the  memorable  battle 
of  S|)ringfield,  just  below  the  First  Mountain,  in  1780, 
many  of  the  Continental  army  made  their  quarters  in 
this  valley.  Here  they  could  have  a  good  view  of  the 
approach  of  the  enemy  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Howe,  with  his  six  thousand  regulars,  and  Col.  Day- 
ton's detachment  lay  near  Westfield,  while  scouts  or 
runners,  as  they  were  called,  lined  the  summit,  bring- 
ing messages  from  Gen.  Washington,  who  was  just 
back  a  few  miles,  encamped  with  the  American  army 
near  Morristown,  some  eight  miles.  Isaac  Sayre's 
home  was  the  resort  of  many  of  these  weary,  footsore 
scouts ;  there  they  found  a  welcome.    His  wife,  Eliza- 


beth, it  is  said,  could  not  do  too  much  for  them.  She 
died  the  26th  September,  1850,  in  her  ninety-second 
year,  after  being  a  long  time  a  widow,  and  to  her  last 
day  she  recounted  the  fact  that  she  had  entertained 
Gen.  George  Washington,  had  fed  him  and  encour- 
aged his  men  as  they  came  to  her  mountain  home, 
never  turning  them  empty  away.  The  old  homestead 
is  still  standing  on  the  road  corner,  where  the  Old  Red 
School-house  stood  going  towards  Deanstown.  Here, 
it  is  said,  the  first  tavern  was  kept  by  Brooks  Sayre, 
son  of  Isaac  Sayre,  and  father  of  the  present  Brooks 
Sayre.  There  was  also  kept  a  house  for  the  entertain- 
ment of  man  and  beast  by  one  Isaac  Potter  about  the 
year  1833. 

Newspaper. — There  is  published  the  Summit  Herald 
by  Lorenzo  H.  Abbey,  of  Madison,  N.  J.,  who  is  the 
editor  and  proprietor.  It  was  started  the  22d  of  July, 
1881.  The  subscription  price  is  one  dollar  a  year. 
A  neat  six-column  paper  and  ably  handled,  and  in 
its  growth  will  be  an  impetus  to  the  growth  of  the 
Summit  interests. 

Calvary  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— In  the 
year  1840  a  few  families  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  had  settled  upon  the  Summit,  and  desiring  to 
have  services  regularly  upon  the  Sabbath,  as  the 
nearest  church  for  them  to  attend  was  at  Millburn,  or 
Madison,  a  distance  of  some  miles,  when  it  was  de- 
cided to  have  the  rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church  to 
come  occasionally  to  supply,  and  with  others,  when  a 
mission  was  formed  with  some  sixteen  communicants, 
and  a  small  building  was  erected  upon  land  given  by 
William  Littell,  Esq.,  of  Summit. 

In  the  year  1843,  Dr.  R.  Riley  became  their  regular 
pastor,  and  remained  until  Rev.  Mr.  Kramer  came,  in 
1849,  and  since  then  Revs.  Mr.  Reese  and  Depui 
supplied  this  mission  until  the  fall  of  1871,  when  it 
was  decided  to  build  a  larger  building  on  lots  given 
by  the  late  Jonathan  Edgar,  in  1872,  on  the  corner 
of  Kuttuck  Place  and  Springfield  Avenue,  and  in 
the  spring  of  that  year  ground  was  broken  to  build 
the  New  Calvary,  forty  by  seventy  feet,  of  stone, 
which  was  completed  in  the  fall,  the  edifice  resem- 
bling the  old  English  style  of  architecture,  many 
beautiful  conglomerates  and  other  native  stones  being 
selected  for  its  erection.  Their  former  mission  church 
was  taken  down  in  the  year  1872.  This  parish  was 
duly  organized  in  the  year  1862.  The  Rev.  .1.  F. 
Butterworth  is  the  present  rector,  and  came  from  St. 
Mark's  Church,  Jersey  City,  the  23d  of  February, 
1875,  and  resides  in  the  rectory  belonging  to  the 
parish.  The  number  of  sittings,  240  ;  number  of  com- 
municants, 128  ;  Sabbath-school  scholars,  70.  Super- 
intendent, Rev.  J.  F.  Butterworth. 

St.  Teresa's  Eoman  Catholic  Church.— Upon  a 
hill  that  commaiuls  the  view  of  tiie  beautiful  coun- 
try all  around  the  Summit  is  erected  a  neat  little 
church,  built  of  stone  in  English  Gothic  style,  and 
dedicated  to  St.  Teresa.  The  growth  of  fine  shade- 
trees  cover  the  ground  and  give  it  the  appearance  of 


if>ia©if>iiaTv  @?  ®M@„  w. 


■  itSK),    aiPMBSlG-T,    Iffl.    J„ 

'l?>ia@WBIi!aiIiraTr8,   S»]TM    H©iyilS§    llKi©TiEIS) 
§    (Pyia©KliiS3Kl@    L©T§. 


SUMMIT   TOWNSHIP. 


395 


a  park,  containing  also  a  residence  for  the  pastor  and 
a  commodious  liouse  for  tlie  Sisters  of  Cliarity  teacli- 
ing  the  parochial  school. 

Previous  to  th'e  year  1862  the  few  Catholics  of 
Summit  were  obliged  to  go  to  Springfield  or  to  Mad- 
ison to  attend  church,  a  distance  of  several  miles,  but 
about  the  year  1862  it  was  decided  to  build  a  church 
for  the  Catholic  people.  This  step  was  taken  through 
the  efforts  of  Mr.  Mailer,  a  good  and  pious  man,  with 
his  son-in-law,  Mr.  A.  Thebaub,  and  a  few  others  in- 
terested. The  pastor  of  St.  Vincent's  Church  at  Mad- 
ison undertook  the  task  of  building  the  church.  The 
families  of  Mailer,  Thebaub,  Riera,  of  Summit,  and 
Coughlan,  of  Whippany,  were  the  principal  benefac- 
tors, and  memorial  windows  were  placed  in  the  church 
to  commemorate  their  charity.  ,\t  this  time  the 
Catholics  of  Summit  were  less  than  one  hundred. 
The  church  was  blessed  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop 
James  R.  Bailey,  and  for  many  years  was  attended 
once  or  twice  a  month  from  Madison,  principally  by 
the  Rev.  Fathers  Madden,  Darcey,  Wigger,  and 
Smith.  In  the  year  1874  it  was  made  a  parish,  and 
the  Rev.  W.  M.  Wigger,  D.D.,  Bishop  of  Newark,  was 
appointed  first  pastor  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Cor- 
rigan.  During  his  pastorate  a  pastoral  residence  and 
a  school  were  erected  for  the  year  1876,  and  the  Rev. 
G.  A.  Vassallo  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish. 
During  his  pastorate  he  brought  the  Sisters  of  Char- 
ity from  Madison  Convent  to  take  charge  of  the  pa- 
rochial school,  and  built  a  beautiful  house  on  the 
Queen  Anne  style  for  the  Sisters'  residence  and  for  a 
select  school. 

The  grounds  have  been  tastefully  embellished. 
Under  Rev.  Mr.  Vassallo's  care  the  congregation  is 
in  a  progressing  condition,  though  small  in  number, 
counting  only  eighty  families.  Through  the  zeal 
and  efforts  of  the  pastor  and  the  good  will  of  the  peo- 
ple the  parish  is  growing.  The  school  is  attended  by 
over  one  hundred  children,  who,  under  careful  train- 
ing in  their  duties  towards  God  and  society,  are  striv- 
ing to  become  useful  citizens. 

Presbyterian  Church. — This  church  has  but  little 
history,  having  been  organized  only  since  1870,  when 
a  few  who  were  interested  met  in  Littell's  Hall,  and 
twenty  members  were  enrolled  from  the  church  at 
New  Providence.  D.  H.  Cooley  and  William  Littell 
were  chosen  as  elders.  In  1871  the  Rev.  J.  De  Hart 
Bruen  was  installed  as  the  first  pastor.  In  the  year 
1872  the  new  church  building  was  completed  and 
dedicated.  In  1879  the  Rev.  ,J.  H.  Mcllvaine  was 
installed  as  pastor,  Mr.  Bruen  having  gone  to  Clay- 
ton, N.  J.  During  the  present  year  a  chapel  has 
been  erected  for  the  use  of  the  Sunday-school.  The 
parsonage  was  built  in  1876.  The  church  cost  about 
S16,000,  the  parsonage  $60no,  the  chapel  S6500.  The 
whole  property  with  furniture  has  cost  not  less  than 
!?34,000.  The  membership  has  increased  to  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five,  and  the  Sunday-school  to  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five.     During  the  past  ten 


years  the  congregation  has  contributed  for  all  relig- 
ious purposes  over  $4.3,000,  and  over  $-5000  has  gone 
directly  to  the  mission  board  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  Two  hundred  and  sixty  members  have 
been  received  during  that  time.  The  church  is  at 
present  connected  with  the  Presbytery  of  Elizabeth, 
and  has  been  from  the  first.  The  following  is  a  list 
of  the  elders,  with  the  date  of  their  election :  Dwight 
H.  Cooley,  William  Little,  1870;  P.  H.Vernon,  J.  E. 
Sergent,  1873;  H.  G.  Simmons,  Frank  H.  Dodd,  Au- 
gustus F.  Libby,  1880. 

Baptist  Church.^A  few  members  of  this  church 
feeling  a  desire  that  there  should  be  organized  in 
Summit  a  Baptist  society,  when,  about  the  year 
1876,  the  Presbyterians  decided  to  vacate  a  building 
where  they  had  had  occasional  services  and  also  a 
Sabbath-school  for  a  few  years,  and  having  built 
their  new  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  Summit  proper, 
they  offered  this  building,  which  they  were  about  to 
vacate,  to  the  few  Baptists,  which  was  accepted  at  a 
cost  of  $6000,  having  seating  capacity  of  250.  This 
new  society  was  organized  March  17,  1876.  It  is 
pleasantly  situated  on  the  road  from  New  Providence 
to  Summit  and  in  a  growing  neighborhood,  no  other 
religious  society  being  in  the  immediate  or  near  by. 
The  present  membership  is  30.  The  former  pastors 
have  been  Rev.  A.  B.  Woodworth,  William  Lawrence, 
and  the  present  pastor.  Rev.  Gulien  Garardus  Noe,  who 
is  doing  excellent  service  for  this  feeble  church. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. —The  Summit 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  on  the 
17th  of  July,  1867.  The  first  board  of  trustees  was 
composed  of  the  following  gentlemen,  to  wit:  Benja- 
min S.  Dean,  John  Denman,  and  William  B.  Cogge- 
shall,  of  the  Springfield  charge,  Rev.  G.  H.  Winans, 
pastor,  and,  being  present,  presided  over  the  meeting, 
and  Daniel  W.  Day  and  James  Pitts,  of  New  Provi- 
dence charge,  J.  W.  Young  being  pastor.  The  church 
is  situated  on  the  corner  of  Morris  and  Summit  Ave- 
nues. The  ground  on  which  the  church  and  parson- 
age are  erected  was  donated  to  the  society  by  Mrs. 
Mary  Sayre.  The  corner-stone  of  the  church  was 
laid  on  the  11th  of  September,  1867,  by  Rev.  James 
Ayres,  presiding  elder  of  the  Newark  District,  and 
an  address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  R.  L.  Dashiel, 
D.D.,  then  of  Orange. 

The  society  was  constituted  a  .station  by  the  pre- 
siding elder  Feb.  23,  1868,  and  the  first  Quarterly 
Conference  was  held  at  the  house  of  Daniel  W.  Dav, 
of  Summit,  and  the  following  board  of  stewards  were 
chosen:  D.  W.  Day,  William  R.  Gray,  M.D.,  John 
Denman,  Jr.,  and  Benjamin  S.  Dean. 

From  the  organization  of  the  society  until  the 
Conference  of  1869,  held  in  the  Central  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  Newark,  the  pulpit  was  supplied 
respectively  by  Henry  Graham,  a  local  preacher  at 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  S.  M.  Vernon,  and  Rev. 
J.  O.  Winans  of  the  Newark  Conference.  At  this 
Conference  Rev.  R.  B.  Collins  was  stationed  here  as  the 


396 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


first  settled  pastor.  The  following  are  the  subsequent 
pastors:  1870-71,  Rev.  W.  S.  Galloway;  1872,  Rev. 
W.  W.  Voorhees  ;  1873-74,  Rev.  James  Boyd  Brady  ; 
1875-77,  Rev.  Charles  S.  Winans;  1878-79,  Rev. 
Michael  E.  Ellison;  1880-81,  Thomas  H.  Jacobus, 
the  present  pastor. 

In  1875  a  beautiful  parsonage  was  erected  adjoining 
the  church.  The  present  official  board  is  composed  of 
the  following  persons:  Trustees,  D.  W.  Day,  Joshua 
Youngs,  John  Dennian,  Stephen  Mullen,  and  George 
R.  Gibson  ;  stewards,  viz. :  D.  W.  Day,  John  Kelley, 
Charles  S.  Day,  Seamen  Wright,  Theodore  W.  Over- 
peck,  John  Denman,  S.  Mullen,  Charles  F.  Wood, 
and  George  R.  Gibson. 

Sittings,  275 ;  communicants,  80 ;  Sabbath-school 
scholars,  65.  The  church  is  located  on  a  fine  avenue 
and  is  iu  a  prosperous  condition. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

LINDEN    TOWNSHIP. 

Description. — In  February,  1861,  that  portion  of 
the  borough  of  Elizabethtown  that  lay  beyond  a 
northwest  line  from  the  mouth  of  Morse's  Creek  to 
Galloping  Hill  road  (measuring  2853  acres)  was  set 
off  to  form  the  township  of  Linden  with  the  following 
boundaries :  "  Beginning  at  a  point  on  the  northerly 
side  of  Staten  Island  Sound,  at  the  intersection  of 
the  line  between  the  city  of  Elizabeth  and  the  town- 
ship of  Rahway,  running  thence  northerly  in  a  direct 
line  to  a  point  on  the  highway  leading  from  the  city 
of  Elizabeth  to  Westfield  opposite  the  Galloping  Hill 
road,  thence  westerly  along  said  highway  leading 
from  the  city  of  Elizabeth  to  Westfield  to  its  inter- 
section with  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey, 
thence  still  westerly  along  said  railroad  to  Rahway 
River,  thence  southerly  along  the  said  Rahway  River 
to  the  centre  of  the  bridge  crossing  the  same  at 
Vreeland's  Mill,  thence  still  southerly  in  a  straight 
line  to  the  northeasterly  corner  of  the  city  of  Rah- 
way, thence  along  the  easterly  line  of  the  city  of 
Rahway  to  its  intersection  with  the  Rahway  River, 
thence  easterly  along  the  said  river  to  Staten  Island 
Sound,  and  thence  along  said  Sound  to  the  point  or 
place  of  beginning." 

Natural  Features. — Formerly  this  township  com- 
prised one  of  the  finest  farming  sections  in  the  county. 
But  within  a  few  years  many  of  these  farms  have 
been  made  smaller,  and  more  attention  has  been  paid 
to  the  raising  of  garden  produce,  fruits  and  berries, 
there  being  abundant  demand  and  ready  market  for 
these  in  the  adjacent  cities.  The  surface  of  the 
township  is  undulating,  and  lies  convenient  for  the 
laying  out  roads.  It  slopes  gently  towards  the  north- 
west. The  soil  is  a  clay  loam,  with  here  and  there  a 
sandy  loam.  The  salt  meadows  on  the  Staten  Island 
Sound  (Kill  von  KuU)  lie  in  the  easterly  portion  of 


the  township.  There  are  no  streams  of  any  note, 
but  an  abundance  of  excellent  water  is  obtained  from 
wells.  The  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  has  a 
station  at  Roselle,  and  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  at 
Linden  ;  the  station  on  the  Long  Branch  road  at  Trem- 
bly is  in  this  township.  There  are  many  advan- 
tages afforded  by  a  country  residence  in  this  township 
to  those  doing  business  in  New  York,  the  city  being 
within  forty  minutes'  ride.  It  is  fast  becoming  a  de- 
sirable locality  for  families  on  account  of  churches, 
schools,  etc.  Roselle  and  Linden  are  thriving  vil- 
lages rapidly  attracting  a  desirable  population. 

Early  Settlements. — This  township  was  first  settled 
in  common  with  Elizabethtown,  of  which  it  originally 
formed  a  part.  Among  the  first  who  came  was  Stephen 
Crane,  who  was  from  Connecticut,  and  was  probably 
nearly  related  to  Jasper  Crane,  who  settled  iu  Newark. 
The  family  is  quite  ancient  and  honorable.  Ralph 
Crane  accompanied  Sir  Francis  Drake  to  America  in 
1577,  and  Robert  Crane  was  of  the  first  company  that 
came  to  Massachusetts  Bay  in  1630.  It  is  said  that 
Sir  Robert  Crane  was  of  Essex  County,  England,  in 
1630,  and  Sir  Richard  in  1643,  of  Wood  Riding,  or 
Rising,  in  Norfolk,  England.  Henry  and  Benjamin 
Crane  were  of  Wethersfield,  Conn.,  at  an  early  day, 
and  the  former  removed  thence  to  Guilford.  Stephen 
was  born  not  later  than  1640,  and  married  as  early  as 
1663.  He  owned  some  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  acres 
of  land  on  the  borders  of  Union  and  Linden  town- 
ships, parts  being  in  each ;  also  a  house-lot  of  six 
acres,  bounded  southeast  by  Samuel  Trotter,  north- 
west by  Crane's  Brook,  east  by  the  Mill  Creek  (now 
Elizabeth  River),  and  west  by  the  highway.  He  had 
also  sixty  acres  between  two  swamps  and  adjoining 
William  Cramer,  also  seventy-two  acres  on  Crane's 
Brook,  bounded  by  the  brook,  William  Cramer, 
Richard  Beach,  Nathaniel  Tuttle,  and  William  Car- 
don  ;  also  eighteen  acres  of  meadow  "  towards  Ra- 
wack  Point."  The  old  homestead  of  the  Cranes  is 
still  standing,  just  over  the  line  of  this  township.  The 
well  by  the  side  of  the  road  and  a  large  oak-tree,  said 
to  have  been  one  of  the  original  forest-trees,  is  still 
standing.  "  It  has  long  been  known  as  the  Oak-Tree 
Well,"  and  where  cattle  and  horses  have  been  watered 
on  the  highway  for  more  than  a  century.  Mr.  Crane 
died  in  the  year  1700. 

John  Hinds  and  William  Johnson  came  here  at  an 
early  date ;  they  owned  lands  here.  It  is  also  re- 
corded that  William  Meeker  (frequently  "  Meaker") 
owned  land  here.  "  He  was  appointed  Oct.  7,  1667, 
to  be  loader  to  mill  for  a  12  montli,  to  goe  in  all 
seasons  except  unreasonable  weather."  He  was  prob- 
ably connected  with  the  grist-mill  on  Mill  Creek  in 
1669.  The  old  homestead  of  the  Meekers  is  still 
standing  in  Cranford  township.  He  was  town  con- 
stable in  1711.  Joseph,  his  son,  kept  a  country  store, 
and  Benjamin  was  a  carpenter,  while  both  were 
"  planters."  The  fatiier  died  in  December,  1690.  Part 
of  the  familv  lived  near  Scotch  Plains. 


LINDEN   TOWNSHIP. 


397 


Thefamily  of  Mosse  (Morss,  Morse)  came  at  an  early 
date.  Robert,  with  his  son  Peter,  were  from  Massa- 
chusetts. He  had  a  large  family,  and  carried  on  the 
trade  of  "  tailor"  as  well  as  planter.  He  owned  some 
four  hundred  acres  in  different  townships,  and  per- 
haps about  sixty  acres  in  this  township.  One  of  his 
sons  was  a  surveyor.  He  gave,  Sept.  26,  1681,  a  tract 
of  land  on  the  Elizabethtown  Creek  to  his  son-in- 
law,  William  Broadwell.  In  one  account  it  says  "  he 
disposed  of  it,"  instead  of  giving.  The  homestead 
was  on  "Thompson's  Creek"  (more  generally  of  late 
called  "  Morse's  Creek"),  long  the  boundary  between 
Rahway  and  Elizabeth.     Peter  died  in  May,  1702. 

Nathaniel  Norton  was  from  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island,  but  though  admitted  one  of  the  eighty  Asso- 
ciates was  induced  after  a  short  sojourn  to  return  to 
the  island.  He  owned  lands  here  on  the  border  of 
Elizabeth  and  this  township.  He  sold  his  lands  to 
Henry  Morris,  or  Norris,  and  removed  to  Brookhaven, 
where  he  was  living  in  1685. 

The  family  of  Norris  have  owned  a  large  number 
of  acres  on  the  borders  of  this  township,^  but  have 
been  more  identified  with  Elizabeth.  William  Oliver 
came  at  an  early  date  and  "  possessed"  the  "  planta- 
tion" by  Jeffry  Jones,  Caleb  Carwithy,  eighty-four 
acres  of  upland,  the  meadows  {"  salt  mash")  now  near 
th«  town  of  Linden,  parts  being  in  "  Rahwack"  proper. 
The  families  of  Trenibley  and  also  Osborne  had  land 
here  at  an  early  date.  Humphrey  Spinage  (also 
Spinning),  Capt.  John  Baker,  Charles  Tucker  (also 
Tooker)  owned  lands  at  an  early  day  in  the  north- 
easterly part  of  this  township  (partly  in  Elizabeth 
Town  and  Union  township),  amounting  to  some  four 
hundred  acres. 

Ephraim  Terrill  also  lived  in  this  township.  He 
was  one  of  the  borough  or  deputy  mayors  in  the  same 
year  that  Stephen  Crane  was  mayor  of  the  borough 
of  Elizabeth,  1774.  Thomas  Terrill,  his  grandfather, 
was  a  blacksmith,  and  came  here  from  Southold, 
L.  I.,  where  in  1675  he  had  a  considerable  estate.  He 
probably  was  the  son  of  Roger  Terrill  (Tyrrel),  one 
of  the  founders  of  Milford,  Conn.,  in  1639.  He 
bought  of  William  Cramer,  Aug.  19,  1696,  a  plot  of 
land  in  this  town,  to  which  he  then  or  soon  after  re- 
moved. He  died  in  1725.  The  names  of  John,  Josiah, 
Roger,  and  Thomas  are  also  mentioned. 

William  Cramer  came  in  1665.  He  is  one  of  those 
who  took  an  oath  of  "allegiance  and  fidelity,"  19th 
of  February,  1665.  He  was  a  carpenter  from  Southold, 
L.  I.,  where  he  married  Elizabeth,  the  sister  of  Caleb 
Carwithy.  He  was  appointed  April  27,  1670,  an  As- 
sociate as  well  as  constable  of  the  town  in  place  of 
William  Pilles.     He  owned  a  large  estate. 

Joseph  Halsey  lived  near  Wheat-Sheaf  tavern,  be- 
tween Rahway  and  Elizabethtown,  this  township.  He 
came  at  an  early  date  from  Southampton,  L.  I.  He 
was  a  son  of  Isaac  and  grandson  of  Thomas,  who  was 
at  Lynn,  Mass.,  in  1637,  and  was  the  wealthiest 
founder  of  Southampton  in  1640.  Joseph  was  born 
26 


about  1668,  and  bred  a  weaver.  He  was  here  in  1694. 
He  purchased  of  Derick,  the  son  of  Capt.  John  Baker 
"  all  the  divisions  accruing  to  a  second  Lot  Right  in 
Elizabeth  Town."  He  was  one  of  the  memorialists, 
and  one  of  the  Associates  in  1700.  He  married  Eliz- 
abeth Haines,  sister  of  Richard  Valentine's  wife. 
They  had  eleven  children, — (1)  Sarah,  (2)  Abigail, 
(3)  Rebecca,  (4)  Joseph,  (5)  Hannah,  (6)  Phebe,  (7) 
Daniel,  (8)  Isaac,  (9)  Rachel,  (10)  Deborah,  (11) 
Nancy.  The  family  are  quite  extensive  throughout 
the  towuship.  Joseph  Halsey  died  April,  1725,  in 
his  fifty-seventh  year,  beloved  and  respected  by  his 
neighbors. 

William  Garthwait  owned  lands  in  Union  and  Cran- 
ford,  and  probably  Linden  township.  He  was  born 
1677,  in  England,  married  in  1702  Ann,  the  daughter 
of  Maximilian  Lawlon,  of  France.  He  came  here 
as  early  as  1703.  His  son  Henry  was  born  here.  He 
had  a  large  family.  Some  of  his  lands  are  still  in 
the  family.  He  died  Dec.  11,  1738,  leaving  at  least 
two  sons,  Henry  and  James. 

The  names  of  Joseph  Frazee,  Daniel,  Edward, 
Jonas,  and  Meeker  Wood,  John  Roll  (and  sometimes 
Rolph  in  the  records),  Wynans  (Winans),  Peter, 
Robert,  John,  Joseph,  Anthony  Morse  (Mosse),  John 
Backer  (Baker),  John  Stiles  (Styles),  Halsey,  and 
Magie  are  names  among  the  first  settlers  in  this  town- 
ship. 

Joseph  Clark,  Ferdinand  Blancke,  Joseph  Rocchi- 
etti,  Benjamin  Tucker,  S.  G.  Stimson  came  at  a  much 
later  date.  The  names  of  Rodgers  (Rogers),  Price, 
Riker,  Pearson,  Ackerley,  Adams,  Kiplan,  Allen,  Bur- 
net, Collins,  Cook,  Ford,  Dunhum,  Davis,  Haines, 
Hand,  Sutten,  Jones,  Swain,  Noe,  Magie,Smith,  Ward, 
York,  Brown,  Williams  are  familiar  family  names  in 
Linden  township. 

Civil  List. 

TOWN   CLERKS. 


Sebafitlan    MosqueroD,  1861 ;    ap-  I  Willi 
pointed,  new  township.  i  John 

Edgur  P.  York,  1861;  elected  1862. 
Sanford  Clark,  1863-64. 
Rtilpli  J.  Vandervoort,  186S. 
John  K.  Roll,  1866-67. 
Joseph  Janes,  1868. 


A.  Mulford,  Jr.,  1869-70. 

Mulford,  1871-72. 
William  T.  Clark,  1873. 
John  R.  Clark,  1874-76. 
John  B.  R.ISS,  1876-78. 
George  W.  Baker,  1879-80. 
William  D.  Frazee,  1881. 


COLLECTORS. 

Ralph  J.  Vandervoort,  1861-62.  Alfred  Winans,  1867-68. 

Joseph  R.  Goodell,  1863.  J.iseph  Janes,  1869-78. 

Jeremiah  M.  Morris,  IS64.  Jeremiah  Richards,  1879. 

William  Ross,  186S-66.  |  Willium  A.  Mulford,  1880-81. 


John  W.  Mulford,  1861-63. 
William  A.  Mulford,  1865-7 


ASSESSORS. 

John  A.  Etheridge,  1878-«1. 


JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 

John  W.  Mulford,  1861-«4.  Edward  P.  Winans,  1869-72. 

William   A.  Mulford,  1866,  1867,     Anthony  Morse,  1871-74. 

1872-74,  1879-81.  John  C.  Rose,  1872-76. 

Edgar  P.  York,  1862-65.  I  H.  W.  Geaner,  1880-81. 

John  T.  Winans,  1864-67.  I 


398 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHOSEN  FKEEHOLDERS. 


David  Mulford,  1861,  1804-68. 
Caleb  Rujiston,  1861-63. 
Anthony  Morse,  1862. 
EliHS  W.  Vreelanri,  1862-63. 
Meeker  Wood,  1864. 


John  C.  Rose,  1865,  1870-76. 
David  C.  Stiles,  186-5. 
William  Ross,  1867-69. 
!  John  K.  Boll,  1877-80. 
Edward  S.  E.  Newberry,  1881. 


TOWN  COMMITTEE. 
1861,  1866,   1868,      Jonas  H.  Eddy,  1870. 


J.  H.  Eddy,  1871-73,  1876-77. 

Frank  B.  Mnnsell,  1869-71. 

Cornelius  C.  Banla,  1870-73. 

John  D.  MHreball,1870. 

M.  0.  Winans,  1871-74. 

George  VV.  Maxlor,  1871-72. 

J.  P.  Halletl,1871-72,187 4-77, 1881. 

J.  H.  Mulford,  1872-73. 

Reuben  Van  Pelt,  1873. 

John  Chilver,  1873. 

Abraliam  Shotwell,  1873-74,  1878- 
81. 

R.  Vim  Pell,  1874. 

David  Mulford,  1874-81. 

John  N.  Meeker,  1875-81. 

Nathan  Morsi',  1874-77. 

Job  M.  Winans,  1874-81. 

Harry  W.Simmons,  1875-76. 

John  K.  Roll.  1875-76. 

Robert  Kindall,  1877-81. 

Charles  Oulager,  1877-78. 

William  H.  Hood,  1879-80. 
I   Elisha  J.  Peck,  1879-80. 
j  Isaac  C.  Roll,  1879-80. 
1  William  L.  Boll,  1881. 


Anthony  Moi 

1871-72. 
George  W.  Boll,  1861,  1863-68. 
William  Ross,  1861,  1870-71,  1874- 

76,1878-79. 
Thomas  Baker,  18G1,  1863. 
William  A.  Mulford,  1861-62. 
William  H.  Winsor,  1862. 
Jeremiah  M.  Morris,  1862. 
Henry  Flaacke,  1862-64. 
Benjamin  W.  Tucker,  1862,  1872- 

73. 
John  Moody,  1863-64. 
William  M,  Ueutscb,  1863. 
Alfred  Winans.  1864. 
David  C.  Stiles,  1864-70. 
Joseph  M.  Clark,  1865. 
Alpheus  D.  Gibbons,  1866,  1867-68. 
Elinx  W.  Vreeland,  1865. 
Job  Winans,  1866-69. 
John  Carpenter,  1866. 
Alonzo  W.  Richards.  1866. 
EdWiird  P.  Winans,  1867, 1869-70. 
Meeker  Wood,  1867. 
Ferdinand  Blaucke,  1868,  1881. 
Benjamin  F.  Spining,  1869-70. 
J.  Hampton  Eddy,  1869. 


Schools. — This  township  contains  three  school  dis- 
tricts. Says  Mr.  N.  W.  Pease,  county  superintend- 
ent,— 

"  While  part  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth,  schools 
were  maintained  continually  from  an  early  date.  The 
first  school-house  was  built  in  1750.  It  stood  in  the 
limits  of  what  is  now  District  No.  1,  nearly  opposite 
the  Wheat-Sheaf  Hotel,  on  the  south  side  of  King 
George's  highway  or  Rahway  Avenue.  It  was  a 
wooden  structure,  sixteen  by  twenty  feet,  the  ceiling 
being  seven  feet  high.  In  the  old  days  a  box-stove 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  a  hole  being  cut  in 
tlie  ceiling  for  the  passage  of  the  pipe,  which  carried 
off  a  portion  of  the  smoke.  This  stove  is  said  to 
have  been  a  fearful  wood-burner,  and  was  a  constant 
terror  to  the  evil-doers  in  that  '  old  Academy,'  as 
the  favorite  punishment  for  the  unruly  was  to  require 
them  to  cut  the  wood  ;  and  it  is  intimated  that  the 
hardihood  and  full  muscular  development  of  the  de- 
scendants of  those  sires  is  attributable,  in  part  at 
least,  to  that  wholesome  exercise.  The  early  teach- 
ers were  Messrs.  Cotton,  Nisbet,  Garraham,  Quinian, 
Foote,  Dooley,  Halsey,  Terrill,  Blackman,  and  Pier- 
son.  Mrs.  Dooley  also  taught  the  school  for  a  time, 
and  it  is  related  of  her  that  whenever  corporal  pun- 
ishment was  administered  she  was  accustomed  to  put 
her  baby  in  the  desk." 

Mr.  Cotton,  the  first  teacher,  taught  there  nearly 
forty  years.  This  school-house  was  occupied  till 
1820,  when  a  new  building  was  erected  about  twenty 
rods  north  of  the  hotel  in  the  present  limits  of  Dis- 


trict No.  4.  The  old  school-house  being  of  tough 
fibre  was  moved  to  Roselle,  and  is  now  used  as  a 
kitchen  to  tlie  residence  of  Wedon  Williams,  Esq. 
Thus  this  ancient  structure,  with  the  identical  cedar 
weather-boards  with  which  it  was  originally  inclosed, 
still  does  excellent  service. 

In  the  year  1837  a  new  school-house  was  built  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Shunpike,  near  the  residence  of 
Benjamin  Tucker.  This  was  occupied  until  the  year 
1871,  when  the  present  model  school-house  was  erec- 
ted at  a  cost  of  about  $18,000. 

The  first  school  known  to  have  been  held  in  Dis- 
trict No.  2  was  near  the  residence  of  S.  O.  Roll.  The 
building  was  erected  in  1786,  and  was  occupied  till 
1825.  The  name  of  the  first  teaclier  was  Samuel 
Vanderhoven.  Mr.  Russell  Sargent,  Robert  Dennis, 
and  Jesse  Clark  were  subsequently  employed.  In 
1825  a  new  house  was  built  near  the  residence  of 
Hampton  Eddy.  In  1870  this  in  turn  gave  place  to 
the  present  neat  and  convenient  structure,  which  cost 
about  S2000. 

In  District  No.  4  the  school-house  standing  a  few 
rods  north  of  the  Wheat-Sheaf  Hotel,  built  in  1820, 
was  used  for  school  purposes  till  the  year  1871,  when 
the  present  elegant  structure  was  erected  on  Chestnut 
Avenue,  South  Roselle.  Among  the  teachers  em- 
ployed at  the  first  school  was  Mr.  A.  A.  Ward. 

The  statistics  of  the  schools  for  1881  are  as  follows: 
District  Nn.  1. — Number  enrolled,  188;  attendance, 
87.     Trustees,  William  H.  Hood,  A.  R.  Corbett  (dis- 
trict  clerk),   and  A.   Cole.     Teachers,    F.  W.  Fort, 
principal ;  Misses  L.  J.  Conklin,  L.  Shamp. 

District  No.  2. — Number  enrolled,  45;  attendance, 
10.  Trustees,  A.  A.  Hanland  (district  clerk),  J.  C. 
Roll,  W.  S.  Roll. 

District  No.  4. — Number  enrolled,  200;  attend^ 
ance,  70.  Trustees,  Rev.  J.  A.  Blauvelt  (district 
clerk),  D.  W.  Berdan,  Richard  Kipling.  Teachers, 
Miss  J.  Patten,  principal ;  L.  Disbrow,  and  J.  D. 
Miller. 

In  Di.strict  No.  1,  Miss  Silver  taught  in  1872-74; 
Mr.  N.  W.  Pease,  1875-77;  Mr.  Knoll,  1878,  preced- 
ing the  pre.sent  principal,  Mr.  F.  W.  Fort.  The 
school  is  a  first-cla.ss  graded  school. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— For  a  number  of 
years  the  Metlmdist  (amilies  residing  in  this  part  of 
the  township  attended  the  church  at  Rahway,  but 
occasionally  had  the  Methodist  clergyman  at  Rah- 
way and  Elizabeth  visit  their  neighborhood  school- 
house  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon.  In  the  year  1874 
application  was  made  to  the  presiding  elder  for  a 
supply,  when  Linden  was  united  to  the  First  Metho- 
dist Episcopal  Church  of  Rahway,  and  Rev.  H.  D. 
Opdyke  supplied  them.  The  following  year,  1875, 
Rev.  Alexander  Craig,  with  the  help  of  some  students 
from  the  Drew  Theological  Seminary,  held  regular 
services.  Arrangements  were  made  to  secure  a  suit- 
able building,  when  it  was  found  that  the  school-house 
I  could    be    purchased,   which   was   accordingly  done, 


J^^^Ji^zJ^ 


LINDEN  TOWNSHIP. 


39^ 


and  neatly  repaired,  seated,  and  .supplied  with  pulpit. 
A  Sunday-school  was  soon  organized,  and  in  the  year 
1878  a  church  of  nine  membens  was  i'orined,  to  be  sup- 
plied by  the  elder  of  the  district,  Rev.  G.  B.  Smyth, 
who  became  the  regular  pastor  in  1879-81.  Value  of 
property,  S2600  ;  sittings,  120  ;   membership,  24. 

Grace  Church  of  Linden  (Protestant  Episcopal) 
was  organized  in  1875  by  a  few  residents  in  tlie  imme- 
diate neighborhaod.  They  had  formerly  attended 
services  at  Rahway  and  Roselle.  They  have  built  a 
neat  Gothic  structure  east  of  the  station,  and  on  an 
eligible  lot  of  ground.  They  have  no  regular  rector, 
but  are  supplied  by  the  neighboring  churches.  Rev. 
H.  H.  Cole  and  Rev.  J.  Augustus  Dix,  of  Elizabeth, 
have  given  their  services.  Value,  S4500 ;  sittings, 
175;  families,  16. 

Reformed  Church. — This  edifice  was  built  in  the 
year  1S71,  on  corner  of  Henry  Street  and  Wood  Ave- 
nue, one  of  the  finest  locations  in  this  part  of  the 
township.  It  was  the  first  church  built  in  this  neigh- 
borhood, is  capable  of  holding  some  400  persons,  and 
cost  818,000.  The  present  pastor.  Rev.  Oscar  Gesner, 
D.D.,  has  been  the  pastor,  with  exception  of  a  few 
months,  since  it  was  organized.  He  was  installed  in 
the  spring  of  1871.  A  iew  months  in  1870  they  wor- 
shiped in  the  school-house,  and  soon  application  was 
made  to  the  Newark  Cla.ssis  to  receive  this  young 
charge.  Their  present  membership  is  55.  They  have 
also  a  flourishing  Sabbath-school. 

Elders,  Peter  H.  Brink,  Samuel  Ainsworth,  and 
William  H.  Hallack.  | 

Deacons,  Philetus  Smith,  Jr.,  Joshua  Rose,  and 
George  W.  Baker. 

St.  Luke's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— Ser-  i 
vices  of  the  Episcopal  Church  had  occasionally  been 
given  at  a  private  residence  in  Roselle  by  clergymen 
from  Elizabeth  City,  but  no  clergyman  had  under- 
taken to  form  a  parish  until  1870,  when  Rev.  H.  B. 
S.  Martin  came  to  the  aid  of  a  few  members  who  h,ad 
removed  from  New  York,  and  were  desirous  to  have  I 
a  church  where  they  could  attend  without  going  to  a 
distance.  In  the  summer  of  that  year  ground  was 
broken  upon  Fourth  Avenue,  which  had  been  but 
lately  opened  in  this  beautiful  growing  hamlet.  The 
parish  was  incorporated  by  the  name  of  the  rector, 
wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  St.  Luke's  in  Roselle. 

It  stands  upon  the  highest  elevation  in  this  town- 
ship, and  is  built  in  the  style  of  the  old  English  ; 
architecture  at  a  cost  of  about  seven  thousand  dollars. 
The  following  have  been  the  rectors:  Rev.  H.  B.  S. 
Martin,  1870;  Rev.  J.  A.  Denniston,  1872;  Rev.  De 
Witt  C.  Byllesley,  1876;  and  the  present  pastor,  Rev. 
Robert  Scott,  D.D.,  came  Nov.  29,  1879. 

Wardens,  Richard  Kipling,  senior  warden  ;  John  J. 
Howe,  junior,  1881.  Vestrymen,  H.O.  Baldwin,  Rich- 
ard A.  Kipling,  Richard  H.  Jackson,  A.  W.  Patter- 
son, J.  H.  Cocks,  M.  F.  Moore,  B.  Forgale,  Jr.,  1881. 
Sittings,  300;  communicants,  70. 

Presbyterian  Church. — A   few   Presbyterians  re- 


siding in  this  township  had  held  occasional  services 
at  the  old  Wheat-Sheaf  school-house  for  many  years 
prior  to  the  adoption  of  a  plan  for  the  erection  of  a 
house  of  worship  in  the  village  in  1867.  This  build- 
ing was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and 
Chestnut  Streets,  at  a  cost  of  nine  thousand  dollars, 
and  was  dedicated  June  12,  1868.  It  has  a  seating 
capacity  of  two  hundred  and  eighty.  Rev.  C.  A. 
Briggs  was  invited  to  become  pastor  June,  1870,  re- 
maining until  March,  1874,  when  he  resigned  and 
became  connected  as  professor  with  the  Union  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  University  Place,  New  York.  Rev. 
J.  Alstyne  Biauvelt  received  a  call  to  the  church, 
which  he  accepted  in  May,  1874.  Present  member- 
ship, 135. 

The  official  members  :  Elders,  A.  D.  Hope,  T.  R. 
White,  G.  Beckwith,  and  E.  Quackenbush  ;  Deacons, 
A.  Atkins  and  C.  D.  Miller. 

Baptist  Church,  Roselle,— A  few  members  of  the 
Baptist  Church  having  removed  to  this  village  felt 
the  necessity  of  religious  services,  and  at  first  meet- 
ings were  held  in  the  school-house  as  well  as  in  the 
private  houses  of  the  members.  They  first  broke 
ground  for  their  church  in  1871,  and  the  following 
year  erected  a  neat  building  on  Main  Street  at  a  cost 
of  some  eight  thousand  dollars.  Largely  through 
the  instrumentality  of  the  late  R.  M.  Crane  this 
church  was  organized.  They  had  a  number  of  sup- 
plies up  to  the  fall  of  1877,  when  the  Rev.  R.  F. 
Michael  was  settled  among  them.  In  1880,  Rev. 
William  Humpstone,  his  successor,  labored  for  sev- 
eral months  among  them.  The  following  are  deacons  : 
Samuel  Carey,  Henry  L.  Dexter,  James  P.  Hallett, 
Charles  Hubbard  (1878),  James  Higgins  (1881), 
Reuben  Smith. 

The  present  membership  is  32;  sittings,  400. 

Roselle. — This  rapidly-growing  village  is  situated 
two  miles  from  Elizabeth  City,  in  a  southwesterly 
direction,  on  the  line  of  the  New  Jersey  Central 
Railroad;  have  a  turn-table  and  engine-house.  AH 
way  trains  from  New  York  and  Newark  centre  here, 
making  some  sixty  connections  to  the  above-named 
cities  daily.  It  is  becoming  a  place  of  considerable 
importance  on  this  account,  and  many  fine  residences 
are  being  erected  on  the  wide  avenues  and  streets. 
There  are  summer  boarding-houses,  hotel,  and  private 
families  where  a  few  boarders  are  taken  ;  also  three 
churches,  one  large  school  building,  stores,  post-office, 
etc. 

Linden. — Situated  on  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad,  about  two  miles  from  Elizabethtown  on  the 
east,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Rahway  on 
the  south.  It  contains  a  large  number  of  line  dwell- 
ings, well  laid  out  grounds,  and  is  a  desirable  location 
on  high  ground.  There  are  three  churches,  a  fine 
school  building,  factories,  stores,  post-office,  etc. 

The  census  report  of  this  township,  1881:  Males 
1004;  females,  905;  children  between  the  ages  of  Kve 
and  eighteen  years,  435. 


400 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Trembly's  Point.— In  the  easterly  part  of  this 
township  a  family  by  the  name  of  Trembly  settled 
at  an  early  date.  The  following  record  of  one  "Jean 
Traubles  [John  Trembly],  of  this  town,  a  Huguenot, 
married  Marie  [Mary],  daughter  of  Peter  Nue  [Noe], 
a  French  Huguenot  refugee,"  1689.  They  resided 
upon  these  lands,  which  run  to  the  Kill  von  KuU, 
or  Stateii  Island  Sound.  There  was  a  point  of 
"meadow"  "jutted  out,"  and  which  was  called  a 
"  ferry  point,"  from  the  opposite  shore  for  many 
years.  It  was  a  crossing  by  a  skiff  kept  by  Pater 
(Peter),  his  son. 

During  the  Revolutionary  war  the  British  soldiers 
used  this  point  for  crossing,  and  during  the  night 
crossed  and  recrossed,  after  pillaging  the  .surrounding 
country.  At  last  the  old  home  of  the  ferry-master 
was  invaded.  The  following  account  is  from  Riving- 
lon's  Gazette,  No.  570,  a  newspaper  published  at  that 
time : 

"On  the  night  of  the  following  Thursday"  (Dec. 
14,  1780)  "  a  party  of  royal  horse-thieves,  under  the 
commandof  the  celebrated  Lewis  Bobbins,  .  .  .  made 
an  incursion  into  Rahway.  They  set  out  for  West- 
field  to  seize  Sheriff  Marsh,  but  as  the  roads  were  bad, 
and  learning  probably  that  the  sheriff  was  not  at 
home,  they  turned  back,  and  made  their  way  to  old 
David  Miller's,  capturing  him,  some  of  his  sons,  and 
his  horses.  Having  paroled  the  old  man  because  of 
his  infirmities,  they  proceeded  to  Peter  Trembly's, 
whom  they  seized  and  robbed  of  all  his  money  and 
papers.  They  took  also  a  Peter  Horn."  But  at  the 
sudden  discharge  of  a  gun  they  paroled  their  pris- 
oners and  fled. 

This  family  in  the  township  have  long  removed, 
and  still  the  name  of  Trembly's  Point  is  well  known. 
Within  a  few  years,  in  laying  the  Long  Branch  Rail- 
road track  here,  they  have  named  a  station  "Trem- 
blv  Depot,"  situated  on  the  old  homestead. 

Linden  Post-OfB.ce. — It  is  but  a  few  years  since  a 
regular  postmaster  was  appointed  in  this  township, 
and  in  1864,  after  the  question  had  been  agitated  for 
months,  that  their  request  was  granted  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  John  Clay,  who  held  it  for  one  year, 
when  Mr.  Gilbert  Rindell  received  the  appointment 
in  1867,  and  retained  it  until  Mr.  Christopher  Boyne 
was  appointed.  He  held  the  position  for  about  one 
year,  when  it  was  removed  to  the  store  at  Linden, 
and  Mr.  Meeker  Wood,  in  1868,  was  the  postmaster. 
He  retained  it  for  a  short  time,  when  Benjamin  Co- 
hen and  C.  T.  Warren  were  respectively  the  post- 
masters. In  the  year  1873,  Mr.  William  T.  Clark 
held  it  for  two  years,  and  Mr.  H.  W.  Gesner  received 
the  appointment  Feb.  9,  1875,  and  retained  it  until 
the  appointment  of  Mr.  William  K.  Schenck,  April 
1  1879.  The  present  postmaster  is  H.  W.  Gesner, 
who  was  appointed  for  the  second  time  Dec.  12, 
1881. 

Eoselle  Post-Office.— The  first  post-ofiice  in  this 
town  was  opened  by  Andrew  Arrison  in  1872.     The 


following  year  James  R.  Clark  was  appointed,  and 
retained  ituntil  1881,  when  the  present  postmaster,  Mr. 
J   K.  Mulford,  was  appointed. 

Inns  and  Inn-keepers. — The  name  of  Hurd's  and 
Crane's  inns  are  mentioned  as  being  the  stopping- 
places  for  many  of  the  Revolutionary  soldiers  during 
the  war.  These  were  two  of  the  earliest  stopping- 
places  "  provided  for  man  and  beast."  They  were 
situated  near  the  station  of  the  New  Jersey  Central 
Railroad,  "  Elmora."  No  trace  of  them  can  now  be 
found. 

The  Old  Wheat-Sheaf  Inn  was  a  famous  one  in  its 
day.  A  gentleman  by  name  of  Wilkinson  kept  it  a 
long  period  before  the  "  battle  of  Connecticut  Towns," 
and  Ephraim  Clark  kept  it  at  that  time.  It  is  impossi- 
ble to  learn  at  this  time  when  it  was  first  opened  n»  an 
"  ordinary."  Louis  Baker  owned  the  land  upon  which 
it  was  built  in  1745,  and  probably  it  was  built  not  far 
from  this  time.  John  Halsey  opened  the  house  after 
Mr.  Clark's  death,  and  in  1815  a  grand  celebration 
took  place  there,  commemorative  of  the  proclamation 
of  peace  at  the  close  of  the  war.  After  the  death  of 
Mr.  Halsey,  in  1837,  Mr.  John  Yates  became  the  land- 
lord ;  married  Widow  Halsey,  and  kept  the  house  until 
his  death  in  1843.  He  was  also  the  first  blacksmith 
i  at  the  Wheat-Sheaf  Oliver  Halsey,  son  of  the  former 
landlord,  opened  the  house  in  1844,  and  kept  it  until 
1849.  Mr.  John  Truax  and  his  brother  William  also 
kept  the  inn  after  his  death.  John  B.  Day  became 
the  proprietor  in  1857,  and  kept  this  "  wayside  inn" 
for  over  thirty  years.  The  property  now  belongs  to  a 
Mr.  Banta,  who  has  put  this  old  historic  house  in  good 
repair  and  leased  it  to  Skidmore  Wright. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


JOB    WINANS. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Winans,  who  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  Job  Winans,  who  married  Miss 
Sarah  Winans,  and  resided  during  his  lifetime  in 
Linden  township.  They  had  one  son,  Job.  After 
the  death  of  her  husband  Mrs.  Winans  contracted  a 
second  marriage  with  Capt.  Benjamin  Winans,  to 
whom  was  born  a  daughter  Jane,  who  became  Mrs. 
Vandervoort. 

The  death  of  Job  Winans  occurred  Jan.  22,  1808, 
and  that  of  Mrs.  Winans  Dec.  15,  1848.  Their  son 
Job  was  born  Feb.  6,  1805,  in  Linden.  He  spent  his 
early  life  upon  the  farm,  and  enjoyed  the  advantages 
of  the  superior  instruction  imparted  at  the  Adelphi 
Academy  in  Elizabeth.  When  fourteen  years  of  age 
the  death  of  his  stepfather  took  place,  which  entailed 
much  responsibility  upon  the  young  man,  and  neces- 
sitated his  return  homC;  where  he  and  his  mother 
jointly  conducted  the  farm.  He  was  married  Jan.  1, 
1833,  to  Miss  Amy  C,  daughter  of  Joseph  and  Polly 


^^/C^ 


ilO    •-^^!^^S^S^i^^'^=^-^ 


LINDEN   TOWNSHIP. 


401 


Morse,  of  Linden,  the  former  of  whom  was  a  miller 
and  owner  of  a  valuable  property  known  as  the  Morse 
Mills.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Winans  had  children, — Nathan 
M.,  born  Oct.  22,  1833;  Susan  (Mrs.  Meeker  Wood), 
born  Dec.  14,  1836  ;  and  Job  M.,  whose  birth  occurred 
Dec.  29,  1843. 

Mr.  Winans  was  in  politics  a  Republican,  and 
though  not  ambitious  for  the  preferments  of  office, 
filled  for  years  a  place  upon  the  Township  Committee 
of  Linden.  He  supported  the  Presbyterian  denomi- 
nation, and  worshiped  at  tlie  Broad  Street  Presby- 
terian Church,  Elizabeth,  of  which  Mrs.  Winans  was 
a  member.  The  death  of  Mr.  Winans  occurred  Aug. 
6,  1872,  in  his  sixty-seventh  year,  and  that  of  Mrs. 
Winans  April  21,  1880.  Their  son.  Job  M.,  was  mar- 
ried Dec.  20,  1865,  to  Miss  Mary  H.,  daughter  of  Ed- 
ward P.  Winans,  of  Linden.  They  have  children, — 
Job  Irving,  born  Jan.  1, 1867,  and  Mary  Louise,  born 
June  29,  1875.  Mr.  Winans  is  a  Republican  in  poli- 
tics, and  has  been  for  eight  years  a  member  of  the 
Township  Committee  of  Linden. 


EDWARD    P.    WINANS. 

The  father  of  Mr.  Winans  was  Aaron  Winans,  who 
was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Eliza  Watkins,  of 
Connecticut  Farms,  and  resided  in  Linden,  where  he 
followed  farming  employments.  Their  children  were 
John  T.,  Nathan  M.,  Jacob,  Elizabeth,  and  Edward 
P.  Mr.  Winans  died  at  his  home,  and  Mrs.  Winans' 
■death  occurred  while  the  guest  of  her  granddaughter, 
Mrs.  Bunnell,  at  Springfield.  Their  youngest  son, 
Edward  P.,  was  born  in  1827,  on  the  homestead  in 
Linden,  and  spent  his  boyhood  under  the  paternal 
roof.  Educational  advantages  of  a  superior  character 
were  then  offered  at  Elizabeth,  and  thither  the  lad 
■directed  his  steps.  On  his  return  he  assisted  his  father 
upon  the  farm,  which  came  to  him  by  inheritance  on 
the  death  of  his  parent.  He  was  married  to  Miss 
Mary  H.,  daughter  of  John  and  Huldah  (Crane) 
Potter,  of  Connecticut  Farms,  the  latter  of  whom  is 
still  living  with  her  daughter,  and  enjoys  vigorous 
health  in  her  eighty-seventh  year.  To  this  marriage 
were  born  children, — Mary  H.  (Mrs.  Job  M.  Winans), 
John  P.,  Eliza  W.  (Mrs.  Meline  Winans),  and  Han- 
nah A. 

Mr.  Winans  occupied  a  position  of  influence  in  his 
township,  and  manifested  much  enterprise  in  public 
affairs.  He  was  a  stanch  Republican  in  his  political 
belief,  and  actively  interested  in  the  furtherance  of 
the  principles  and  platform  of  the  party.  He  filled 
various  offices  of  trust,  among  which  were  those  of 
township  committeeman,  justice  of  the  peace,  and 
commissioner  of  deeds.  In  religion  he  was  a  Pres- 
byterian, and  a  member  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Elizabeth,  of  which  he  was  one  of  the 
board  of  trustees.  His  death  occurred  Jan.  2,  1870, 
in  his  forty-third  year.     Mrs.  Winans  still  survives, 


and  resides  upon  the  farm  purchased  by  her  husband 
many  years  since.  This  is  also  the  home  of  her  only 
son,  John  P.  Winans,  who  is  married  to  Miss  Ella  M. 
Povey. 


STEWART    CRAIG    MARSH. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch  was  Moses  Marsh,  who  early  settled  in  what  is 
now  known  as  Linden  township  of  Union  County, 
N.  J.,  having  been  one  of  three  branches  of  the 
family  who  chose  this  location  as  a  future  home. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Eunice  Alston,  and  had  four 
children,  among  whom  were  Jonathan  Alston  Marsh 
and  Ann,  who  became  Mrs.  Craig.  The  former  mar- 
ried Miss  Sarah  Craig,  to  whom  were  born  four  chil- 
dren,— Mary,  who  married  William  Stone;  John 
Craig  Marsh ;  Jonas  Marsh,  who  married  the  daughter 
of  Dr.  Morse,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J. ;  and  Stewart  Craig 
Marsh.  Jonathan  Alston  Marsh  resided  on  the  land 
which  had  been  the  home  of  his  father.  This  remains 
sacred  as  a  family  inheritance,  and  the  homestead, 
with  its  hallowed  associations,  wherein  successive  gen- 
erations have  lived,  is  still  in  possession  of  one  of  the 
members  of  the  family.  Here  Stewart  Craig  Marsh 
was  born  July  24,  1792,  and  in  and  about  the  "old 
home"  the  early  years  of  his  life  were  spent.  He 
attended  school  at  Morristown,  and  later  entered  the 
office  of  Dr.  Stewart  Craig,  of  Rahway,  as  a  medical 
student,  after  which  he  continued  his  studies  with 
Dr.  Morse,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.  After  his  graduation 
he  removed  to  "  the  Attakapas,"  in  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  at  which  place  both  his  brothers,  John  and 
Jonas,  lived  and  died  at  an  advanced  age. 

Stewart  Craig  Marsh  married  Miss  Mary  Baldwin 
daughter  of  Mr.  Samuel  Baldwin,  in  1821,  his  brothei 
John  having  married  a  sister.  After  a  period  of  two 
years  spent  in  the  practice  of  his  profession  at  the 
South  he  returned  to  the  North  and  embarked  in 
mercantile  pursuits  with  John  Compton.  This  busi- 
ness was  continued  for  thirty  years  in  Pearl  Street, 
New  York  City. 

His  daughter,  Sarah  Craig  Marsh,  who  married 
Mr.  Hugh  Auchincloss,  is  the  present  occupant  of  the 
old  homestead.  The  Auchincloss  family  are  of  Scotch 
descent,  and  were  first  represented  in  New  York  by 
Hugh  Auchincloss,  who  came  to  America  in  1803 
and  died  in  1855.  Mr.  Hugh  Auchincloss  is  his  only 
surviving  son.  Mrs.  Marsh  having  died  in  1828,  Mr. 
Marsh  married  for  his  second  wife  Miss  Amelia  Martha 
Bulkley,  daughter  of  John  Bulkley,  of  Connecticut, 
to  whom  were  born  two  sons, — John  Alston  Marsh 
and  Stewart  Craig  Marsh,  who  grew  to  manhood. 
Mr.  Stewart  Craig  Marsh  was  in  his  political  predi- 
lections a  Henry  Clay  Whig,  and  while  interested  in 
the  furtherance  of  the  principles  espoused  by  his  party, 
rarely  participated  in  the  annual  contests  or  shared 
in  the  official  rewards  which  follow  party  service. 

He  was   essentially  the   perfect   type  of  the  old- 


402 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


school  gentleman,  of  commanding  presence,  with 
courtesy  of  manner  and  a  dignified  reserve,  which 
while  it  repelled  intrusion  was  altogether  free  from 
arrogance.  He  was  a  man  of  irreproachable  char- 
acter and  of  fine  moral  instincts.  Mr.  Marsh  was  a 
supporter  of  the  service  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  which  he  preferred. 

His  death  occurred  Nov.  30,  1877,  in  his  eighty- 
third  year,  at  the  homestead,  and  in  the  same  apart- 
ment which  was  the  scene  of  his  birth  so  many  years 
before. 


CHAPTER    LV. 

TOWNSHIP    OF   CKANFORD. 

The  act  creating  the  township  of  Cranford,  ap- 
proved March  14,  1871,  defines  its  boundaries  as  fol- 
lows : 

*'  Be  it  enacted  by  tlie  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  that  all  that  portion  of  the  townships  of  Westfield,  Spring- 
field, Union,  Linden,  and  Clark,  in  the  county  of  Union,  lying  within 
the  liuundaries  and  descriptions  following,  to  wit:  Beginning  at  a  point 
in  the  boundary  line  between  Westtield  and  Bpiingtield  townships  dis- 
tantthree  thousand  feet  from  the  confluence  of  Kormahiggin  Brook  and 
Railway  Kiver;  thence  north  eighty-six  degrees  and  forty-five  minutes 
east  to  a  point  seventeen  hutidreil  feet  east  of  the  road  leading  from 
Cranford  to  Millstone;  thence  south  three  degrees  and  fifteen  minutes 
east  to  a  point  in  the  road  leading  from  Amos  Clark's  mill  to  Itoselle, 
distant  about  twenty-seven  hundred  feet  from  said  mill  ;  thence  west- 
erly following  the  middle  of  said  road  across  the  Railway  River  to  a  point 
seventeen  hundred  feet  northeasterly  from  Scudder's  school-house; 
thence  north  forty-eight  degrees  west  to  a  point  distant  three  thousand 
feet  southerly  from  and  at  right  angles  with  the  Central  Railroad  of  New 
Jersey  ;  thence  north  three  degrees  and  fifteen  minutes  west  to  the  road 
leading  past  the  residence  of  Everett  Pierson;  thence  northwardly  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  place  of  beginning,  be  and  the  same  is  hereby  set  off 
from  the  said  townshipsof  Westfield, Springfield,  Union,  Clark,  and  Lin 
den,  and  created  into  a  new  township  to  be  called  and  known  by  the 
name  of  the  township  of  Cranford." 

Natural  Features. — The  surface  is  generally  level ; 
soil  clay  loam,  mixed  more  or  less  with  sand,  and  gen- 
erally productive  in  wheat,  oats,  rye,  and  grass.  This 
township  is  well  watered.  It  is  nearly  cut  in  two 
parts  by  the  Rahway  River,  which  empties  intoStaten 
Island  Sound.  There  are  six  substantial  bridges  built 
over  this  river,  and  perhaps  no  other  township  in  the 
State  can  count  as  many.  There  are  large  forest-trees 
lining  the  banks  of  the  stream,  and  most  of  the  farms 
have  a  large  number  of  acres  of  heavy  timber,  and 
there  are  also  many  orchards  of  choice  fruit. 

Early  Settlements. — The  Cranes  of  this  township 
are  descendants  of  Stephen  Crane,  one  of  the  first 
"  Elizabethtown  Associates."     He  was  born  1673. 

John  Crane  (son  of  John  and  Huldah  Grant)  mar- 
ried Phebe  Ross,  daughter  of  David  Ross,  of  West- 
field.     They  had  eight  children  : 

1.  Rebecca,  who  married  Maj.  Jotham  Potter  (of 
Revolutionary  fame),  son  of  John.  Both  are  dead. 
They  left  three  children. 

2.  John  Grant  Crane,  married  Sally  Pierson,  daugh- 
ter of  William,  son  of  William,  and  had  children, — 1, 


John  Davis  Crane,  who  married  Catharine  Potter, 
daughter  of  William  B.  Potter  ;  2,  William,  who 
married  Ke/.iah,  daughter  of  John  Miller,  of  West- 
field.     They  are  both  dead. 

3.  Elizabeth,  married  Thomas  Moore,  son  of  Robert, 
of  Woodbridge,  and  had  children, — 1,  David  Moore; 
2,  Robert  Moore ;  3,  John  Moore ;  4,  Israel  Moore ; 
.5,  Phebe  Moore. 

4.  Phebe,  married  Benjamin  Potter,  brother  of  Maj. 
Jotham  Potter. 

5.  Elias,  born  24th  April,  1789,  and  married  Esther 
Maxwell,  daughter  of  John,  and  lived  in  Union  town- 
ship, and  had  six  children, — 1,  John,  who  married 
Sarah  Cutter,  daughter  of  William  Cutter,  of  Wood- 
bridge  ;  2,  Mary  Anne,  married  Nathan  Winans,  son 
of  Aaron,  of  Elizabethtown  ;  3,  Phebe,  married  Silas 
Miller,  son  of  Abraham,  son  of  Abraham  ;  4,  Susan, 
married  Isaac  Williams,  of  New  York,  son  of  Mat- 
thias ;  5,  Elias  Maxwell  Crane ;  6,  Amzi  Armstrong 
Crane. 

6.  Josiah,  married  Electa  Ross,  daughter  of  John, 
of  Union  township  (now  Cranford),  and  lived  where 
Col.  Jacob  Crane  formerly  did,  and  had  children, — 1, 
Mary,  married  Hampton  Cutter,  son  of  William  Cut- 
ter ;  2,  John  Grant  Crane,  married  Abby  Miller  (who 
is  now  deceased),  daughter  of  John  O.  Miller,  and 
lived  on  the  old  John  Crane  homestead,  near  the 
Rahway  River,  on  the  road  to  Springfield  ;  3,  Anne 
Elizabeth,  married  Job  Williams,  son  of  Moses  Wil- 
liams, of  then  Union  township;  4,  Josiah,  married 
Sarah  Jane  Miller,  daughter  of  Jacob  Miller. 

7.  Huldah,  married  John  Potter,  also  a  brother  of 
Maj.  Jotham  Potter,  and  had  a  daughter,  Mary  Han- 
nah Potter. 

8.  Sarah,  who  was  unmarried. 

Mr.  Josiah  Crane  was  one  of  the  first  who  were  the 
means  of  building  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cran- 
ford, and  resided  on  the  same  farm  which  he  had  oc- 
cupied from  the  first,  living  to  see  a  large  town  and 
population  surrounding  him,  and  in  a  few  years  selling 
his  farm,  which  was  needed  for  lots  and  building 
purposes,  and  purchasing  a  residence  formerly  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  Anderson,  where  he  died  a  few  years 
since.     Mrs.  Crane  died  November,  1879. 

Benjamin  Crane  (third  son  of  Benjamin,  second  son 
of  Benjamin,  first  son  of  John,  son  of  Stephen  Crane) 
married  Sarah  Thompson  ;  lived  on  the  road  to  West- 
field,  near  Vreeland's  mills.  They  had  eleven  chil- 
dren, who  are  of  the  sixth  generation  from  Stephen 
Crane, — 

1.  John,  who  married  Mary  Clark,  daughter  of 
Robert,  of  Rahway. 

2.  Abigail,  married  David  Keyt,  son  of  James. 

3.  Esther,  who  died  at  about  eighteen  or  twenty 
years,  unmarried. 

4.  Hezekiah  Thompson,  married  first  Amanda  Os- 
born. 

5.  Phebe,  married  first  Francis  Randolph,  son  of 
Dr.  Robert  Randolph ;  for  his  second  wife  she  mar- 


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TOWNSHIP  OF   CRANFORD. 


403 


ried  George  R.  King,  of  Warren  County,  and  lived 
there. 

6.  Charlotte  King,  married  Hedges  Baker,  son  of 
Daniel  Baker. 

7.  Norris,  who  went  to  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  mar- 
ried there. 

8.  Jacob  Thompson,  went  to  Cincinnati  and  died 
there  at  thirty-five  years,  unmarried. 

9.  Benjamin  (-tth ),  married  Electa  Baker  as  her  sec- 
ond hushand,  daughter  of  Daniel. 

10.  David  Johnson,  married  Anne  Eliza  Roll, 
daughter  of  Isaac,  son  of  John  Roll. 

11.  Moses  Thompson,  married  Anna  Eliza  Scud- 
der  (Mrs.  Crane  died  Dec.  13,  1881).  They  had  two 
children, — 1,  Theodore  Augustus,  and  2,  Sarah  Anne, 
who  died. 

Mr.  Moses  T.  Crane  has  built  himself  a  fine  resi- 
dence upon  Walnut  Avenue,  the  old  Westfield  road 
to  Elizabeth. 

William  Crane  (son  of  John  Grant  Crane  and 
Sally  Pierson,  daughter  of  William  Pierson),  married 
Keziah,  daughter  of  John  Miller  of  Westfield.  He 
owned  and  lived  on  a  farm  on  the  road  from  Cranford 
to  Branch  Mills.  He  died  a  few  years  ago.  His  son 
is  John  Henry  Crane,  now  engaged  in  the  general 
grocery  and  merchandise  in  the  village  of  Cranford. 

William  Darbie,  or  Darby,  was  an  early  settler  ;  he 
came  in  1688.  In  that  year,  April  16th,  the  widow 
Agatha  White  sold  all  the  lands  of  Richard  Beach 
in  Elizabeth  Town,  bought  of  him  in  March  of  the 
same  year,  to  William  Darbie,  or  Darby,  of  Elizabeth 
Town.  A  William  Darby  was  one  of  the  respond- 
ents in  1752  to  a  bill  in  chancerv.'  Rev.  John 
Darby  was  the  pastor  of  the  Connecticut  Farms 
Presbyterian  Church  in  1758.  He  had  one  son  and 
two  daughters  by  his  first  wife,  and  the  eldest  daugh- 
ter, Hester,  married  a  British  officer  named  Fo.^f .  His 
second  wife  was  Hester  White  Hunting,  a  widow 
lady  from  East  Hampton,  L.  I.  They  had  one  son, 
Henry  White  Derby,  M.D.,  and  also  two  daughters, 
Helen,  the  wife  of  Gen.  O'Hara,  and  Lucinda,  the 
wife  of  Christian  De  Wint.  Rev  Mr.  Darby  was 
probably  a  son  or  grandson  of  William  Darby.  The 
family  of  Darbys  are  from  the  same  stock  who  are 
residents  of  this  township.  Mr.  Marsh  Darby,  who 
died  Dec.  27,  1881,  was  the  son  of  William  Darby. 
He  died  on  the  farm  in  the  year  1815.  The  farm  is 
now  occupied  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Westervillt. 

John  O.  Miller,  son  of  Abner  1st,  who  married 
Betsey  Kyte  (son  of  John  3d,  son  of  John  Miller, 
Jr.,  son  of  John  1st),  and  married  Sarah  Ludlow, 
daughter  of  Benjamin  and  Keziah  Ludlow.  He 
lives  on  the  old  Miller  homestead,  about  a  mile  from 
Cranford  depot,  on  the  old  road  to  Elizabethtown 
(now  Elizabeth  City).  The  family  are  among  the 
earliest  settlers  in  this  township.  His  ancestor  came 
from  Long  Island  about  the  year  1668,  and  was  one  of 

1  E.  J.  Records,  B.  383-84. 


the  first  Associates  of  Elizabethtown.  William,  his 
son,  was  an  alderman  of  the  borough  of  Elizabeth, 
and  his  name  is  in  the  second  list  of  the  Associates  of 
1699.  Andrew,  his  second  son,  married  Mary  Andrusi 
of  Newark,  N.J.  Enoch,  who  married  Hannah  Baker, 
had  nine  children, —  1,  Enoch,  Jr.;  2,  Andrew;  3, 
Moses;  4,  Jacob;  5,  Jedediah  ;  6,  Lydia;  7,  Elizabeth; 
8,  Josiah  ;  9,  Hannah.  The  fourth  son  of  John  1st  was 
John,  whose  wife's  name  was  Martha.  His  fifth  son, 
Aaron,  who  married  and  had  first  Aaron,  Jr.,  was  a 
noted  clock-maker  in  Elizabethtown.  The  following 
advertisement  is  from  a  newspaper  called  the  New 
York  Weekly  Post-Boy,  Nov.  23,  1747 : 

"Aaron  Miller,  Clock  Maker,  In  Elizabeth-town,  East  New  Jersey, 
Makes  and  sells  all  sorts  of  Clocks  after  the  best  Manner  with  Expe- 
dition. He  likewise  makes  Compasses  and  chains  for  Surveyors;  as 
also  Church  Bells  of  any  size,  be  having  a  Foundry  for  that  Purpose, 
and  has  cast  several  which  have  been  approved  to  be  good,  and  will  sup- 
ply any  Persons  on  a  Timely  Notice  with  any  of  the  above  Articles  at 
very  reasouable  Kates." 

We  give  this  quaint  old  notice,  showing  the  enter- 
prise and  business  tact  of  one  born  in  this  township. 
He  had  a  daughter  Betsey,  who  married  Isaac  Brokaw 
(a  noted  maker  of  these  old  family  clocks  which  are 
in  so  much  demand  by  relic-hunters) ;  resided  in 
Somerville,  N.  J.  He  had  also  two  other  sons,  Cor- 
nelius and  Robert. 

Mr.  John  Miller  also  had  two  daughters, — Hannah, 
who  married  first  Nathaniel  Bonnel  1st,  and  for  her 
second  husband  Deacon  Whitehead  ;  his  other  child 
Susannah,  who  married  first  a  Mr.  Crane,  and  her 
second  husband  John  Ross  1st  (and  was  his  third 
wife). 

Mr.  John  O.  Miller  is  still  living  on  the  old  home- 
stead at  an  advanced  age.  His  wife,  Sarah  Ludlow, 
died  a  few  years  since.  His  children, — 1,  Abigail,  who 
married  John  Grant  Crane,  son  of  Josiah  Crane;  2, 
Louisa,  who  married  Elias  M.  Crane,  of  Elias,  of 
Union  ;  3,  James,  married  Sarah  Jane  Marsh,  daugh- 
ter of  Eli  Marsh,  of  Westfield  ;  4,  John  Alfred  Miller ; 
and  5,  Benjamin  Ludlow  Miller,  who  lives  with  his 
father. 

James  Keyt's  family  homestead  was  on  the  back 
road  leading  from  where  the  late  Gideon  Ross  resided 
to  Rahway.  His  property  adjoined  that  of  the  late 
Samuel  Headley  on  the  west,  and  Moses  T.  Crane  on 
the  south.  Mr.  Keyt  had  a  number  of  children.  Da- 
vid Keyt  married  Abigail  Crane,  daughter  of  Benja- 
min Crane  3d ;  they  removed  to  Ohio.  Abner  Mil- 
ler married  Betsey  Keyt,  daughter  of  James  Keyt  and 
Betsey  Jessup.  The  family  on  the  male  side  went  to 
the  West,  and  James  Keyt's  grandchildren  are  found 
in  the  Coriell  family  of  New  Market,  N.  J.,  the  Sear- 
ing family  in  Union  township,  Ichabod  Ross'  family 
in  Westfield,  and  the  Miller  family  in  Cranford  town- 
ship, N.  J. 

The  Denman  family  were  early  settlers  here.  John 
Denman,  the  first  of  that  name,  is  mentioned  in  the 
early  records  as  one  of  the  Associates,  and  resided 
upon   his  allotment  in   1668  in  the  borough.     The 


404 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


family  is  quite  numerous  in  the  township,  and  they 
are  mentioned  as  among  the  first  settlers.  John 
Denman  lived  on  his  homestead,  where  he  died  in 
1849  at  an  advanced  age.  He  was  engaged  much  in 
the  purchase  of  timber  for  ship-building.  The  home- 
stead is  situated  on  the  corner  of  the  Westfieldroad  and 
road  leading  to  the  Stephenson  homestead,  Cranford. 

Tooker  (sometimes  spelled  Tucker).  This  family 
owned  a  small  place  nearly  opposite  to  the  Headley 
farm,  where  Mr.  Tucker  died  a  few  years  ago. 

John  Winans  (sometimes  spelled  Wynes,  Waynes, 
Winons,  Winnons,  Wynons,  Wynens,  Wynans,  Wyn- 
nings,  and  Wynants)  was  doubtless  of  the  company 
that  came  from  the  east  end  of  Long  Island.  It  is 
quite  likely  thathe  was  of  the  same  family  with  Barna- 
bas Wines,  their  names  being  frequently  s]:>elled  alike. 
He  was  bred  a  weaver,  a  handicraft  in  great  request 
at  that  early  day.  He  had  a  house-lot  containing  five 
acres  ten  chains,  bounded  north  by  Jacob  Melyen,  west 
by  Humphrey  Spinage,  or  Spinning,  and  south  and  east 
by  highways.  He  had  also  sixteen  acres  of  upland 
"on  the  Neck,"  between  Matthias  Hatfield  and  Samuel 
Marsh,  Sr. ;  also  one  hundred  and  twenty  acres  of 
upland  "  on  Peach  Garden  Brook,"  bounded  by  Robert 
Morse,  Matthias  Hatfield,  Robert  White,  and  unsur- 
veyed  land  ;  also  forty  acres  of  land  "  on  the  South 
branch  of  Elizabeth  Creek  or  River,"  bounded  by 
Humphrey  Spinage,  Matthias  Hatfield,  and  the  plain  ; 
also  four  acres  of  meadow  "  at  Rawack,"  and  six  acres 
on  Elizabeth  Creek;  in  all  two  hundred  acres.  When 
his  next  neighbor,  Jacob  Melyen,  had  removed  to  New 
York,  Winans  bought,  Feb.  8,  1678,  his  house-lot, 
house,  barn,  orchard,  etc.  He  died  at  the  close  of 
1694.  His  estate  was  valued  at  £271  15s.  8rf.'  The 
names  of  Winans  as  early  settlers  are  found  in  the 
records  of  this  and  adjoining  townships.  In  the  civil 
list  the  name  is  met  with  frequently.  Jonathan  Day- 
ton Winans  is  owner  of  lands  on  the  forks  of  roads 
leading  from  Westfield  to  Rahway  and  Elizabeth,  in 
this  township,  and  has  carried  on  the  wheelwright 
and  blacksmithing  business,  his  stand  being  well 
known  all  over  the  country.  Alfred  Winans,  living 
on  the  farm  south  on  the  Rahway  road,  is  the  son  of 
"Squire  Ross  Winans,  of  Lyons  Farms." 

William  Garthwaithe,  the  father  of  a  numerous 
family,  was  born  1677,  in  England;  married,  as  early 
as  1702,  Ann,  the  daughter  of  Maximilian  Laulon,  of 
France.  He  came  here  as  early  as  1703,  his  son 
Henry  having  been  born  in  this  borough.  It  is  sup- 
posed from  family  tradition  thathe  came  at  an  earlier 
date,  1695.  But  his  name  appears  in  one  of  the  early 
documents  in  1706.  "  He  or  his  son  located  on  what 
has  since  been  known  as  the  Roberts  property  on  the 
west  side  of  the  town."-  He  died  Dec.  11,  1738, 
leaving  at  least  two  sons,  Henry  and  James.  The 
family  have  been  long  residents  of  this  township,  and 
still  own  property  by  the  Rahway  River.    The  family 


>  E.  T.  Journal  Record. 


s  Hatfleld'a  Elizabeth. 


here  is  now  represented  by  Mr.  Edwin  B.  Garthwaite, 
who  resides  upon  the  old  homestead. 

The  Faitouts  were  early  settlers,  and  came  from 
France  during  the  prosecutions  there.  ''They  were 
known  as  the  Huguenot  refugees."  The  family  has 
been  represented  in  the  East  Jersey  allotments  of 
lands  in  first  division,  1667.  "Aaron  Faitout  re- 
sided in  Perth  Amboy."  He  was  an  owner  of  a  pew 
in  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  No.  16,  at  a  yearly 
rental  of  £5  7«.  The  family  have  been  owners  of 
large  tracts  of  land  in  this  and  Union  townships. 
The  names  of  Edward,  Aaron,  Jonathan,  Clark,  and 
Moses  Faitout  (sometimes  spelled  Fatout)  have  been 
among  the  early  families.  Henry  B.  Faitout  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Davis,  daughter  of  John  Davis,  of 
Westfield,  who  resided  just  outside  of  the  boundary 
line  of  this  township. 

Among  the  early  family  names  was  that  of  Meeker, 
who  have  numerous  descendants.  One  of  them  lived 
on  the  old  road  to  Elizabeth  Town,  just  easterly  of 
where  Philip  Johns  now  resides.  William  Meeker 
was  one  of  the  Elizabeth  Town  Associates.  He  came 
fiom  New  Haven,  Conn.,  where  he  took  the  oath  of 
fidelity  July  1,  1644.  He  was  "  propounded  Oct.  7, 
1646,  to  be  loader  to  Mill  for  a  12  month,  to  goe  in 
all  seasons  except  unreasonable  weather."  Fre- 
quently he  appears  in  the  records  as  "  Meaker"  and 
"  Mecar."  He  was  appointed  a  constable  of  the  bor- 
ough on  the  13th  of  October,  1671.  He  had  sons 
Joseph  and  Benjamin,  also  numbered  among  the 
eighty  Associates.  The  name  of  Benjamin  Meeker  is 
in  the  second  generation  of  Associates,  admitted  in 
1699. 

In  this  township  we  find  such  names  as  Acker, 
Badgley,  Baker,  Bryant,  Brooks,  Crane,  Clark, 
Craig,  Cory,  Connet,  Davis,  Denman,  Dunham, 
Frazee,  Faitout,  Frost,  Genningsor  Jennings,  Garth- 
waite, Hendricks,  Hinds,  High,  Hetfield,  Hole,  Kyet 
or  Keyt,  Lambert,  Littell,  Ludlum,  Meeker,  Miller, 
Mash  or  Marsh,  Pierson,  Robinson,  Lilley,  Robins  or 
Robinson,  Morris  or  Norris,  Ross,  Sinnago,  Scudder, 
Tooker  or  Tucker,  Terry,  Williams,  Freeland  or 
Vreeland,  Darby,  Woodruff,  Winans,  Wilcox,  and 
Yeomans,  but  many  of  them  are  only  known  now  in 
old  deeds  and  records. 

Craneville. — In  the  year  1849  the  residence  of  Mr. 
Josiah  Crane,  Sr.,  was  visited  on  the  4th  of  July  by 
some  Sabbath-school  children  from  Westfield.  They 
spent  a  pleasant  day  rambling  along  the  river-banks, 
fishing,  etc.,  Mr.  Crane,  in  his  hospitable  manner, 
doing  all  in  his  power  to  make  it  pleasant  for  them. 
He  owned  lands  on  both  sides  of  the  Rahway  River, 
and  his  homestead  was  on  the  main  road,  now  called 
Union  Avenue,  near  the  railroad  track.  A  few  trains 
occasionally  stopped  on  signal,  there  being  no  regular 
station  built.  Before  the  children  left  for  their 
homes  some  of  them  marked  with  chalk  on  an  old 
building  near  the  tract  in  large  letters  the  name  of 
"  Cranesville,"  and  such  it  remained  for  years,  until 


TOWNSHIP   OF    CRANFORD. 


405 


the  present  commodious  depot  was  built  in  1869,  and 
the  name  was  changed  to  Cranford. 

Post-Offices. — Until  1867  the  residents  of  this  then 
scattered  village,  Cranesville,  as  it  was  called,  de- 
pended upon  Westfield  and  Connecticut  Farms  post- 
offices  for  their  mail,  and  the  religious  weekly  papers 
were  taken  to  church  on  Sabbath  morning  by  one  ap- 
pointed, who  distributed  the  Christian  Advocate  and 
the  New  York  Observer,  while  letters  were  brought 
that  during  the  week  had  accumulated  at  the  post- 
office.  When  Saturday  evening  came  and  "  chores" 
for  the  week  were  done  up,  the  custom  was  to  go  to 
the  store  where  the  office  was  kept  and  there  meet 
neighbors ;  and  when  returning  home  bring  all  the  mail 
for  the  neighbors  at  Cranesville.  This  was  the  prac- 
tice up  to  the  time  when  John  Balwin  built  his  store 
and  also  took  charge  of  the  station  at  Cranford.  For 
a  time  he  also  acted  as  postmaster.  By  the  explosion 
of  a  barrel  of  kerosine  he  was  burnt  to  death  with 
the  store  and  contents,  hardly  anything  being  saved. 
It  is  related  that  he  went  in  the  cellar  where  the 
barrel  was  kept  about  9.30  o'clock  in  the  evening  to 
draw  some  of  the  oil  for  a  customer.  George  O. 
Totten  was  appointed  postmaster  in  1870,  and  con- 
tinued until  he  removed  from  Cranford,  when  John 
L.  Derby,  the  present  postmaster,  was  appointed,  June 
1,  1873." 

JUSTICES   OF  THE   PEACE. 


George  0.  Totten,  1871. 
J.  W.  B.  Hegemaii,  1872. 
Alfred  L.  Bowe,  1874. 


Stephen  Chandler,  1876. 
William  W.  Mendell,  1878. 
I  Samuel  N.  Sweet,  1882. 


JUDGES  OF   ELECTIONS. 

Frank  A.  Ellis,  1871.  Rubert  Rankin,  1877-78. 

George  O.  Totten,  1872-73.  j  Jacob  Ludlow,  1879. 

George  W.  Donaldaon,  1874,  |  George  W.  Wiley,  1880. 

George  W.  Wiley,  1875  John  T.  Bankir,  1881. 

David  Bankin.  Jr.,  1877.  I  Cliarles  Leo  Avery,  1882. 

POUNDMASTERS. 

lell,  1871-72.  Terrence  Brennen,  1880. 


Stetson  B.  M 

Cbarlott  Mendell,  1873-78. 

Henry  Van  Ellen,  1879. 


Daniel  Brown,  1881-82. 
Barney  Doyle,  1882. 


Aldea  B.  Bigli 

Sylvester  Cahill,  Jr.,  1872-73. 


CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 
1871-75.  Thomas  Cloyd,  1874. 


John  Isenman,  1876-82. 


TOWN  CLERKS. 
Ifaac  N.  Fisher,  1871.  Samuel  S.  Brower,  1880. 

■William  R.  Christmas,  1872-75.  Edward  B.iophout,  Jr.,  1881. 

Augustus  Lawrence,  1876-77.  Walter  M.  Irving,  1882. 

Manuel  Munoz,  Jr.,  1878-79. 


Emmor  K.  Adams,  1871-72. 
Gideon  E.  Ludlow,  1873-81. 


ASSESSORS. 

John  W.  Close,  1882. 


COLLECTOR. 


Ho 


iT.  Cn 


,  1871-82. 


TOWN   COMMITTEE. 

Sylvester  Cahill,  Sr.,  1871.  John  Klein,  1872. 

Josiah  Crane,  1871.  Alexander  P.  Purvis,  1872-75, 1880. 

John  M.  Atwatter,  1871.  Henry  Harrison,  1876. 

Charles  Leo  Avery,  1871,  1877-80.  John  W.  Close,  1873-75. 

Frank  A.  Ellis,  1872.  Jacob  Lndlow,  7:5-75. 

Gideon  E.  Ludlow,  1872.  James  A.  Bogart,  1876, 1882. 

Kmmor  K.  Adams,  187:!-75.  Henry  H.  Cowen,  1876-77. 

Edward  S.  Crane,  1872-78, 1880-81.  William  M.  Taylor,  1876. 


Philip  John,  1879. 
John  T.  Cox,  1879-80. 
George  B.  Oshorn,  1881. 
Jacob  Klein,  1881. 
James  T.  Banker,  1882. 
Henry  Bindenberger,  18 


Johu  E.  Close,  1877. 
Steven  I.  Cox,  1877. 
James  McGowen,  1878. 
Harry  E.  Atwatter,  1878,  1881. 
John  H.  Crane,  1878. 
William  D.  Wood,  1879,  1881. 
James  G.  Moore,  1879-.80, 1882. 


Schools.— In  the  year  180.5  the  •'  Old  Red  School- 
house"  was  built.  The  neighbors  drew  the  stones  for 
the  foundation,  and  the  frame  was  cut  from  the  near 
timber  land.  The  building  had  four  windows  on  aside, 
and  was  a  model  school-house  for  its  day.  It  was  six- 
teen by  twenty-four  feet  in  size,  and  furnished  with  slab 
benches.  The  name  of  the  first  teacher  was  John 
Flowers.  This  building  was  occupied  for  school  pur- 
poses until  1866-67,  when  a  small  building  was  pro- 
vided on  the  north  side  of  the  Central  Railroad,  near 
the  residence  of  Mr.  Purves.  The  name  of  the  teacher 
was  Fred.  Searing.  In  1869  a  new  and  imposing 
structure  was  erected  and  a  graded  school  organized. 

There  are  nearly  four  hundred  children  enrolled 
from  the  ages  of  five  years  to  eighteen  years,  and  re- 
ported attendance  nearly  two  hundred.  The  trustees 
are  M.  Munoz,  as  district  clerk,  J.  W.  Chase,  and 
John  Cromwell. 

The  principal  of  the  school  is  Mr.  A.  F.  Camp- 
bell;  teachers,  Misses  E.  Osborn,  Minnie  Vreeland, 
C.  D.  Osborn. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — A  mission  Sab- 
bath-school was  organized  by  Mr.  William  W.  Men- 
dell, in  the  district  school-house,  in  the  fall  of  1857, 
and  this  was  the  starting-point  of  the  church  in  Cran- 
ford. 

In  the  spring  of  1859  two  lots  were  donated  on  the 
Westfield  road  belonging  to  Peter  B.  Johnson,  Esq., 
and  in  a  short  time  a  commodious  chapel  was  erected 
at  a  cost  of  about  three  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars, the  neighborhood  lending  their  help  and  giving 
of  their  means  to  further  on  the  cause.  In  1864-65 
a  movement  was  made  to  erect  a  church  edifice,  and 
for  several  months  the  matter  was  in  contemplation. 
The  trustees,  Matthew  Falyn,  George  W.  Mendell, 
Thomas  Cloyd,  Thomas  Falyn,  Charles  Littell,  Moses 
Mendell,  and  others,  decided  to  secure  lots  on  Walnut 
Avenue,  remove  the  chapel  from  the  Westfield  road, 
and  build  the  new  church  adjoining  it,  which  was 
carried  into  effect,  and  in  a  few  months  a  fine  edifice 
was  completed,  thirty-six  by  seventy  feet,  with  tower, 
bell,  alcoves,  etc.,  at  an  expense  of  some  sixteen  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  Rev.  R.  B.  Collins,  Henry  M.  Simp- 
son, J.  W.  Marshall,  James  Harris,  E.  S.  Jameison, 
W.  Christopher,  F.  S.  Cookman,  Lawrence  Reeves, 
George  Benson,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  have  been  the 
pastors.  Membership,  70;  sittings,  300;  Sabbath- 
school  officers  and  teachers,  14 ;  scholars,  100. 

Presbyterian  Church. — In  the  spring  of  1849,  Mr. 
Josiah  Crane,  Sr.,  John  Miller,  and  a  few  others  built 
a  Union  chapel  on  the  main  road,  opposite  Mr. 
Crane's  residence.  Here  for  a  time  many  of  the  pas- 
tors of  the  vicinity  officiated.    As  the  majority  of  the 


406 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JEUSEV. 


church-going  population  belonged  to  the  old  West- 
field  Church,  it  was  decided  in  1851  to  organize  a 
Presbyterian  Church,  when  nineteen  members  from 
the  above  church  united  in  this  organization.  For 
some  time  they  were  supplied  with  pastors  from 
abroad.  In  the  fall  of  1852,  Rev.  A.  H.  Lilly  received 
a  call,  which  he  accepted,  and  became  the  first  pastor 
of  the  church.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  T.  S.  Brit- 
tan  in  1854,  who  was  pa.stor  but  a  short  time,  when 
the  church  called  and  settled  the  Rev.  W.  R.  Dunett, 
who  remained  in  the  pastorate  until  1862.  In  this 
year  the  vacancy  was  iilled  by  the  Rev.  Mollis  Read, 
a  returned  missionary.  A  revival  soon  followed,  and 
many  joined  the  church.  He  relinquished  his  pastor- 
ate in  1867,  and  Rev.  S.  Murdock  came  for  a  short 
time,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  A.  H.  Sloat,  who  la- 
bored here  only  a  short  time.  The  Rev.  A.  A.  Mc- 
Connell  was  the  next  pastor,  under  whose  auspices 
the  present  church  edifice  was  erected  in  1868.  But 
his  health  for  some  months  was  feeble,  and  soon  after 
he  finished  his  work  here  he  died,  and  was  buried  in 
the  Fairview  Cemetery.  For  a  short  time  the  church 
was  without  a  regular  pastor,  when  a  call  was  ex- 
tended to  Rev.  William  H.  Roberts,  which  he  ac- 
cepted. He  left  in  1878.  The  present  pastor  is  Rev. 
James  F.  Riggs.     Sittings,  400;  communicants,  180. 

Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— This 
beautiful  church  was  erected  by  the  faithful  labors 
of  a  number  of  residents  of  this  town  and  clergymen 
of  the  neighboring  parishes.  The  organization  was 
formed  April  18,  1872,  and  services  were  held  for 
some  months  prior  to  the  building  of  the  church 
upon  North  Avenue,  easterly  from  the  station,  and 
near  the  residences  of  a  number  of  its  members. 
The  cost  when  it  was  completed,  in  1875,  amounted 
to  seven  thousand  dollars,  and  it  is  now  free  from  in- 
cumbrance. The  number  of  families  connected  with 
the  parish  is  thirty-seven.  The  Rev.  E.  M.  Reilly 
was  the  first  rector  in  1875,  and  remained  for  nearly 
three  years.  The  Rev.  J.  H.  Young  was  the  next, 
and  the  present  rector  is  Rev.  William  C.  Roberts. 
Communicants,  thirty-five;  sittings,  one  hundred  and 
fifty. 

St.  Michael's  Roman  Catholic  Church.— A  few 
Catholic  finnilies  residing  in  this  township  in  1871 
had  with  Westfield  occasional  mass  every  two  or 
three  Sabbaths.  In  the  year  1874  efforts  were  put 
forth  for  the  building  of  a  church  which  would  ac- 
commodate all  the  families  within  two  or  three  miles 
around,  and  material  was  purchased,  but  not  until 
the  fall  of  1875  and  the  spring  of  1876  was  much 
done  towards  building,  but  in  the  summer  of  the 
latter  year  they  had  completed  a  neat  building  at  a 
cost  of  about  two  thousand  dollars,  which  will  accom- 
modate some  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The  present  res- 
ident priest  is  Rev.  W.  J.  Weisman. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


CORNELIU.S    A.    LEVERIDGE. 

Cornelius  A.  Leveridge  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  April  30,  1829;  son  of  John  Leveridge,  coun- 
selor-at-law  of  that  city,  and  descendant  of  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Leveridge,  the  learned  and  revered  Presbyterian 
clergyman,  who  was  a  student  at  Emmanuel  College, 
Cambridge,  where  he  graduated,  taking  his  degree 
of  A.B.  in  1625,  and  that  of  A.M.  in  1629.  He  en- 
gaged to  become  the  minister  of  Dover,  N.  H.,  and 
embarked  at  London  in  the  ship  "James,"  and  after 
a  passage  of  eight  weeks  arrived  at  Salem,  Mass.,  Oct. 
10,  1683.  He  immediately  entered  upon  his  work  at 
Dover.  Three  years  later  we  find  him  preaching  at 
Sandwich,  on  Cape  Cod.  and  here  he  remained  for 
many  years  engaged  in  imparting  religious  truth  to 
the  Indians  and  proving  himself  a  worthy  cotempo- 
rary  of  the  apostle  Eliot.  In  1653  he  became  a  pur- 
chaser and  settler  of  Oyster  Bay,  L.  I.,  and  at  this 
place,  Huntington,  and  Newtown  he  spent  the  rest 
of  his  life,  preaching  not  only  there,  organizing 
churches,  but  came  occasionally  to  Elizabeth  borough 
and  preached  to  some  of  his  former  parishioners  who 
had  settled  there,  and  whose  descendants  are  now  oc- 
cupying the  formerhomesof  their  ancestors.  There  is 
a  manuscript  commentary  on  the  Scriptures  which  is 
preserved  as  the  production  of  Mr.  Leveridge  among 
the  town  records  of  Newtown.  "  It  is  an  old  folio 
volume.  The  whole  consists  of  one  or  two  observa- 
tions upon  each  verse,  chapter  by  chapter,  each  re- 
mark comprehended  in  four  or  five  words.  With 
some  study  the  whole  could  easily  be  made  out  after 
the  signs  and  abbreviations  were  mastered.  He  was 
settled  as  pastor  at  Newtown  in  1662,  and  after  a  pas- 
torate of  fourteen  years  died,  June  19,  1677,  leaving 
his  sons  Caleb  and  Eleazer.  The  former  took  out 
letters  of  administration  on  his  estate."  The  follow- 
ing aphorism  is  from  Freeman's  "Cape  Cod,"  vol.  i. 
page  219 : 

"  He  who  does  not  think  of  his  ancestors  will  be 
negligent  of  his  posterity. 

[Signed]  "  Rev.  William  Leveridge." 

At  an  early  age  Cornelius  A.  Leveridge  attended 
the  Union  Hall  Academy,  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  connected 
with  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  Henry  Onderdonk, 
principal,  where  he  remained  until  1842,  when  he 
entered  the  grammar  school  of  Columbia  College, 
where  he  received  a  classical  education.  After  spend- 
ing some  four  years  in  studies  and  in  the  school  of 
chemistry,  he  removed  in  1849  to  Westfield,  Union 
Co.,  N.  J.,  and  resided  on  the  farm  formerly  owned 
by  his  uncle,  Benjamin  Leveridge,  M.D.,  giving  his 
attention  to  his  favorite  pursuits  of  geology,  chem- 


TOWNSHIP   OF    CRANFOKD. 


407 


istry,  and  historical  research.  There  he  remained 
until  the  year  1865,  accumulating  an  extensive  and 
valuable  collection  of  geological,  historical,  and  nu- 
mismatic matter,  which  he  sold  at  a  large  sum  to 
P.  T.   Baruum,  Esq.   for   his   second   museum,  then 


N.  J.'  He  was  married  at  Quebec,  Canada,  on  Sept. 
24,  1849,  to  Eleanor  J.  Mills,  daughter  of  James 
Mills,  a  leading  journalist  of  Exeter,  England. 

His  interest  in  political  affairs  dates  back. to  his 
early  manhood,  and  he  has  always  been  an  upholder 


being  established   in    the  upper  part  of  Broadway,     of  Jeffersonian  principles.     In  1865  he  was  elected  aa 

ju.stice  of  peace,  receiving  nearly  the  whole  vote  of  the 
township.  He  has  also  held  many  official  relations 
in  the  county.  His  cheerfulness  and  sociability  make 
many  friends,  and  few  menenjoy  the  society  of  their 
friends  more  than  he. 


(_^    LJ- ,  — Z.  e.yiA^''^  <^Qje^, 


New  York,  his  first  having  been  consumed  by  fire  in 
1864. 

In  the  year  1869  he  removed  to  Cranford  and  be- 
came interested  in  the  formation  of  this  new  town- 
ship, where  he  became  identified  with  the  growth  of 
that  beautiful  village  in  the  establishment  of  its 
churches  and  fine  school  building.  He  has  been  en- 
gaged in  literary  pursuits,  writing  historical  and 
geological  articles  for  the  local  newspapers,  and  as 
correspondent,  and  at  the  same  time  attending  semi- 
naries and  schools  in  Newark  and  other  places,  giving 
instruction  on  scientific  subjects,  and  during  this 
time  he  has  been  in  correspondence  with  different 
historical  and  scientific  societies  throngliout  this 
country  as  well  as  Europe. 

His  habits  of  close  observation  and  pedestrian 
tours  have  fitted  him  in  an  unusual  degree  for  the 
work  of  local  historian  in  this  State,  and  he  has  col- 
lected a  large  amount  of  information  of  the  early 
settlers.  He  is  receiving  letters  from  all  parts  of  the 
Union  relating  to  family  history. 

Since  the  centennial  year  of  1876,  on  his  return 
from  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  he  has  resided  in  Dunellen, 


JOHN  DENMAN. 
The  homestead  of  the  Denmans,  which  is  still  in 
the  family  and  name,  is  situated  in  the  town  of  Cran- 
ford, formerly  a  part  of  Westfield,  and  about  five  miles 
from  Elizabeth.  It  was  purchased  in  1723  by  John 
Denman,  Jr.,  who  was  a  descendant  of  the  John  Den- 
man  who  in  1635  lived  in  Dorchester,  Mass.  He  is 
mentioned  in  Town  Book  B  of  the  Elizabeth  records 
as  one  of  the  memorialists  of  Nov.  18,  1729.  He  had 
much  influence  among  his  townsmen  on  account  of 
his  education  and  wealth,  and  possessed  the  luxuries 
of  those  days,  as  his  "  books"  and  "  riding  chair"  are 
mentioned  in  the  inventory  of  his  effects.  He  was  an 
Episcopalian,  and  attended  St.  John's  Church,  Eliza- 
beth, where  his  children  and  grandchildren  were  bap- 
tized. His  first  wife,  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  Wil- 
liams, and  the  mother  of  his  children,  died  March  27, 

1762,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  her  age.  He  was 
married  to  his  second  wife,  Elizabeth  Lolloo,  Sept.  18, 

1763.  He  died  March  15,  1775,  in  the  seventy  fifth 
year  of  his  age,  and  was  interred  beside  his  first  wife 
in  the  old  cemetery  at  Westfield.  He  left  four  sons, 
John,  Joseph,  Daniel,  and  Christopher,  and  two 
daughters,  Mary,  who  married  Samuel  Yeomans,  and 
Jenny,  who  was  twice  married,  her  second  husband 
being  Aaron  Faitoute.  The  farm  was  left  equally  to 
the  sons,  but  Christopher  purchasing  the  rights  of 
the  others  became  the  sole  owner.  He  was  born 
March  5,  1741,  and  married  Abigail  Hendricks,  who 
was  born  Feb.  17,  1746.  She  was  the  daughter  of 
Isaac  Hendricks  and  his  wife,  Lydia  Craig.  They 
were  members  of  St.  John's  Church,  Elizabeth,  until 
the  Revolutionary  war,  when  the  church  was  closed, 
and  they  then  went  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  at 
Westfield.  In  1803,  Christopher  Denman  a.ssisted  in 
erecting  their  third  edifice.  The  district  school  long 
known  as  the  Red  School-house  through  his  influ- 
ence was  established  near  his  home,  and  for  years  the 
teachers  were  accustomed  to  live  with  him.  He  com- 
manded the  respect  of  all  who  knew  him,  was  ener- 
getic and  prudent,  and  by  his  perseverance  accumu- 
lated a  large  amount  of  real  estate,  besides  personal 
property,  such  as  notes  and  bonds.     His  death  took 

1  Since  tlie  above  was  written  he  has  returned  to  the  honiestenfl  at 
Cranfurd,  which  is  now  bis  family  residence. 


408 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JKRSEY. 


place  Oct.  21,  1808,  and  that  of  his  wife  five  years 
previous,  in  1803.  They  are  buried  in  the  old  West- 
field  Cemetery.  They  had  fivedaughtersandone  son, — 
Susan,.born  Nov.  22,  1773,  died  Oct.  15, 1854,  married 
to  Benjamin  Cory,  Jr. ;  Anna,  born  Oct.  24,  1776, 
died  May  14,  1832,  married  to  John  Mills;  Abigail, 
born  May  3,  1779,  died  May  10,  1841,  married  to  John 


■C^TXr^rx^^^y*^ 


Marsh  ;  Hulda,  born  Oct.  1,  1784,  died  Aug.  7,  1830, 
married  to  Jonathan  Miller ;  Mary,  born  Sept.  1, 1787, 
died  July  24,  1831,  married  to  Benjamin  Woodruff; 
John,  the  only  son,  born  Feb.  28,  1782,  was  married 
to  Rebekah,  daughter  of  John  High,  who  died  Jan. 
4,  1812,  leaving  no  issue.  On  Feb.  15,  1815,  he  mar- 
ried his  second  wife,  Lockey  Marsh,  eldest  daughter 
of  Capt.  Isaac  Marsh  and  his  wife,  Catharine  Terrell, 
of  Rahway.  Capt.  Marsh  from  boyhood  passed  his 
life  on  the  sea.  On  Feb.  14,  1788,  he  sailed  as  first 
mate  on  the  bark  "Jenny"  for  China,  and  on  his 
return  built  and  became  captain  of  his  own  vessel. 
During  the  war  of  1812  he  was  captured  on  the  high 
seas  and  imprisoned  in  England  until  peace  was  de- 
clared, when  he  returned  home,  and  died  Jan.  — , 
1821. 

John  Denman  was  a  man  of  indomitable  energy 
and  will.  He  was  about  six  feet  in  height,  of  fine 
personal  appearance,  and  noted  for  his  horsemanship, 
in  which  he  bad  few  equals.  For  years  he  was  en- 
gaged in  getting  out  ship-timber,  and  often  employed 
by  the  government  to  select  it  for  the  navy-yard. 
During  the  war  of  1812  he  was  employed  by  the  gov- 


ernment to  transport  cannon  and  powder  to  our 
Northern  frontier. 

He  was  a  true  American,  in  action  as  well  as  at 
heart,  and  considered  it  the  duty  of  every  man  to  be 
present  at  the  polls.  He  was  a  Democrat  of  the  Jef- 
fersonian  school,  and  interested  himself  in  everything 
relating  to  his  country,  his  neighborhood,  and  friends, 
always  responding  to  calls  of  sickness  and  want.  The 
following  anecdote  will  illustrate  a  generous  and 
kind-hearted  disposition.  He  had  frequently  missed 
Corn  from  his  crib,  and  determined  to  watch  for  the 
trespasser.  One  night  he  saw  a  man  filling  a  bag  at 
the  crib.  After  he  had  filled  it,  and  was  engaged  in 
filling  another,  he  felt  a  tap  on  his  shoulder,  with  a 
demand  for  an  explanation.  He  answered  he  was 
needy,  and  thought  the  owner  would  not  miss  it  from 
his  plenty.  He  was  taken  into  the  house,  made  to 
draw  cider  in  the  cellar,  bring  a  mince-pie  from  the 
pantry,  and  then  told  to  eat  and  drink  until  satisfied. 
When  he  was  through  they  went  to  the  crib.  He 
was  made  to  empty  one  bag,  to  put  the  other  on  his 
shoulder,  and  go  home,  with  the  advice  that  if  he 
ever  was  in  need  to  come  and  ask,  but  never  to  steal. 

He  always  kept  a  pew  for  the  use  of  his  family  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  entertained  all  minis- 
ters who  came  to  preach  in  the  Old  Red  School-house, 
one  of  whom,  a  Methodist,  came  monthly  for  fifteen 
years.  He  took  a  great  deal  of  pride  in  keeping  up 
the  old  homestead,  and  bequeathed  it  as  he  had  re- 
ceived it  from  his  ancestors,  and  it  still  stands  to-day 
as  one  of  the  few  places  having  a  clear  title,  a  mort- 
gage never  having  been  placed  upon  it.  He  died 
Sept.  25,  1849,  leaving  four  sons  and  one  daughter. 
John  Christopher  Denman,  born  Nov.  17,  1815, 
married  Eliza  Hendricks,  1844,  and  died  Feb.  4, 
1864.  A  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  found  in  another 
part  of  this  volume.  Isaac  Marsh  Denman,  born 
March  7,  1821,  married  Mary  Cross,  1848,  and  died 
Nov.  25,  1866.  He  went  to  New  Orleans  in  the  era- 
ploy  of  his  uncles,  Ralph  Marsh,  John  D.  Marsh,  and 
James  B.  Laing,  in  the  carriage  business.  He  was 
soon  made  a  partner,  and  afterwards  purchasing  the 
interests  of  his  associates  continued  the  business, 
and  took  in  his  youngest  brother,  Rolph  Marsh  Den- 
man, who  was  born  Feb.  23,  1833,  and  died  unmarried. 
The  partnership  formed  what  was  known  as  the 
Southern  house.  They  both  possessed  remarkable 
business  qualifications,  were  high-spirited,  and  very 
similar  in  talents,  disposition,  and  ambition.  They 
were  interested  in  several  moneyed  institutions  of 
the  city.  Isaac  M.  Denman  died  in  New  Orleans  in 
the  forty-fifth  year  of  his  age.  His  brother  Rolph 
became  the  sole  survivor  of  the  Southern  house, 
which  terminated  four  years  afterwards  with  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  New  Orleans,  Dec.  13,  1870. 
Alvan  Fox  Denman,  born  June  3,  1831,  married 
Mary  Bartoche,  1855,  and  died  Oct.  20,  1865.  He 
was  a  farmer,  and  lived  at  the  homestead,  where 
since  his  death  his  fainilv  has  resided. 


CLARK   TOWNSHIP. 


409 


Mary  Rebekah  Denman,  the  only  daughter,  born 
Jan.  7,  1824,  married  April  5,  1848,  to  John  Evans 
Matthews,  who  was  born  March  8,  1815.  Mr.  Mat- 
thews was  the  son  of  James  and  grandson  of  Thomas 
Matthews,  of  Raglan,  England.  At  the  age  of  twenty 
years  he  came  to  this  country,  and  in  1837  went  into 
business  for  himself  in  New  Orleans,  making  and 
repairing  carriages.  In  December,  1839,  John  C. 
Denman  was  taken  into  partnership  under  the  firm- 
name  of  Matthews  &  Denman.  They  were  very  suc- 
cessful in  their  business,  and  executed  large  govern- 
ment orders  during  the  Mexican  war.  In  1850,  John 
C.  Denman  returned  to  the  North  to  reside,  Mr. 
Matthews  continuing  the  business  and  adding  to  it  a 
large  stock  of  carriage  trimmings  and  supplies.  The 
following  year  he  took  in  Isaac  M.  Denman  as  his 
partner  under  the  name  of  J.  E.  Matthews  &  Co. 
The  firm  continued  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Matthews 
in  1859. 

Mrs.  Lockey  Marsh  Denman,  the  wife  of  John 
Denman,  and  the  mother  of  the  Denman  sons,  was 
born  Sept.  28,  1792.  She  was  a  woman  of  superior 
manners,  possessing  fine  conversational  powers,  as 
well  as  executive  ability,  which  was  inherited  by 
her  sons.  Her  Christian  spirit  and  resignation  was 
sorely  tried  when  called  to  part  with  all  her  sons 
during  a  period  of  less  than  seven  years.  Her  death 
took  place  July  30, 1875,  and  her  remains  are  interred 
beside  those  of  her  husband  in  Fairview  Cemetery, 
Westfield. 


CHAPTER    LVI. 


CLARK    TOWNSHIP. 


Natural  Features. — This  township  was  erected 
from  the  Fifth  Ward  of  the  city  of  Rahway  in  1864. 
The  surface  is  generally  a  level,  having  a  gentle  de- 
scent until  it  reaches  the  line  of  the  city  of  Rahway. 
It  is  well  timbered,  and  has  a  few  of  the  original 
trees,  which  have  grown  to  a  large  size.  The  soil  is 
generally  a  clay  loam,  with  here  and  there  a  sandy 
knoll  or  slight  ridge.  It  is  traversed  by  a  copious 
stream,  the  Rahway  River,  affording  plenty  of  water 
for  "milling  purposes,"  and  running  in  a  zigzag 
course  through  the  easterly  part  of  the  township.  On 
the  westerly  sides  are  tributaries  or  branches,  the 
chief  of  which  is  known  as  Robinson  Branch.  This 
township,  adjoining  the  city  of  Rahway,  of  which  it 
was  formerly  a  part,  is  well  located  as  to  its  advan- 
tages of  travel  and  transportation,  and  there  are  many 
fine  farms  which  have  been  brought  to  a  high  state 
of  cultivation.  A  few  market-gardens  are  also  suc- 
cessfully cultivated  in  the  township,  producing  good 
returns  also  of  fruits  and  berries. 

The  population  of  the  township  is  352, — males,  187  ; 
females,  165;  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and 
eighteen,  70. 

Early  Settlement.— This  township  was  settled  as 
part  of  the  ancient  borough   of  Elizabeth.     In  the 


early  part  of  the  history  of  that  borough  will  be  found 
the  names  of  the  early  settlers  in  this  section,  as  well 
as  in  the  other  parts  of  the  old  borough  and  township. 
All  that  is  necessary  here  is  simply  to  give  a  list  of 
the  names  of  the  early  settlers  within  the  limits  of 
the  present  township  of  Clark. 

The  following  are  among  those  who  took  allotments 
of  land  in  this  part  of  Elizabethtown  prior  to  1709: 
Radley  (Radclieft),  Enders,  Bullman,  Scudder,  Rick- 
etts,  Wynants  (now  Wynans),  Robertson,  Halliday, 
Ross,  Russell,  Ryno,  Powel,  Darbie  (Darby  and 
Derby),  Hendrick,  Micheau,  Clark,  Miller,  Pack, 
Lemington,  Lilly,  Mondy  (Mundy),  Woodruff,  Sut- 
ton, Brant,  Bowne  (Boune),  Thompson.  There  may 
have  been  a  few  others  who  settled  within  the  bounds 
of  this  township,  but  no  account  of  them  can  now  be 
found.  Many  went  in  1720  and  settled  in  that  part 
of  the  borough  which  afterwards  was  called  Westfield 
township. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Halliday,  Episcopal  missionary, 
whose  ancestors  settled  in  this  township,  had  charge 
of  the  missions  in  Elizabeth  Town,  Rahway,  Wood- 
bridge,  and  Amboy.  He  says  under  date  of  Nov.  8, 
1716,  "  In  this  part  of  East  Jersey  there  are  three 
townships, — Newark,  Elizabethtown,  and  Wood- 
bridge, — which  consist  of  upwards  of  a  thousand 
families,  the  chief  settlers  of  which  were  New  Eng- 
land Independents  (Presbyterians  or  Congregation- 
alists),  who  are  now  old  and  confirmed  in  their  erro- 
neous way.  In  each  of  those  towns  there  is  a  large 
Independent  Church,  who  support  their  preachers 
with  the  allowance  of  £80  per  annum,  besides  house, 
glebe,  and  perquisites  of  marriages." 

Civil  List. — Since  the  organization  of  the  township 
the  following  have  served  as  town  clerks  : 

1864-66, 


William    J.    Thompson,    1864-66,  I  Cliarle 

18C9-70.  BenJHC 

Adam  Brown,  1867.  |  Williai 

Geoige  W.  Bullman,  1868, 1875-76.  |  Frank: 

ASSESSORS. 


A.  fiundaker,  1871-72. 
in  F,  Osl.oin,  1873. 
1  Blo.idgood,  1874. 
n  P.  Bullman,  1878-82. 


Kt)bert  I.  Turney, 
Gurehom  M.  Dnni 


Willi! 


J.icol.  Ludlow,  186S-69. 
James  B.  Westervelt,  1H70. 


I.  Thompson,  1873-76. 
1866-67,  1871-      George  W.  Bullman,  1877. 
William  Clark,  1K7S-79. 
Willitt  H.  C.  Coles,  1880. 
L.  M.  Scudder,  1881. 
COLLECTORS. 
William  H.  Enders,  1864,  1871-73,  l  William  Bloodgood,  1874-75. 
1876-77.  I  Matthias  F.  Garthwaie,  1876. 

John  M.  Park,  1865.  '  Marx  Riefle,  1878-81. 

William  I.  Thompson,  1866-70. 

TOWN   COMMITTEE. 


Robert  A.  Russell,  1864,  1867. 

John  F.  Whitney,  1864. 

William    E.    Bloodgood,    1864-70, 

1873-78. 
Leonard  Dunn.  1864-67,  1870-72. 
John  Weimar,  1864-68, 1871-72. 
William  N.  Dougherty,  1865-66. 
Robert  A.  Russell,  1865-72. 
William     J.    Thompson,    1867-68, 

1874-76,  L^iVQ. 
Jiimes  B.  Westervelt,  1868-69. 
John  A.  Halliday,  1868,  1870,1876. 
Mar.v  Riefle,  181)9. 
Israel  Vail,  1869,  1878-79. 


Clark  Stevens,  1869. 

Augnstus  Rirter.  1870. 

John  H.  Alhridge,  1871-72. 

Adam  Brown,  1871-72. 

Hugh  H.  Bowne,  1873-76,  1877-81. 

Lewis  Smith,  1S73. 

Andrew  Trehtine,  1873. 

William  H.  Enders,  187.3-75,  1877. 

M.  F.  Garthwait.  1874-76. 

William  Clark,  1876-77. 

Frederick  Schonmaker,  1877. 

William  Bloodgood.  Jr,  1880-81. 

L.  M.  Scudder,  1880-81. 


410 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
John  F.  Whitney,  1864.  John  A.  Halliday,  1865-67,  1870- 

William  N.  Doucliety,  1864.  72. 

Robert  A.  KubboI,  1865-6S,  1875-76.     Eden  Vail,  1873-74. 

William  J.  TliompBon,  1877-81. 


JUSTICES  OF   PEACE. 


Ruliert  I.  Fiirney,  1864. 

Adnni  Brown,  1865-70. 

HuKh  H.  Bi.wne,  1868. 

William  J.  Thompson,  1869,  1877. 

Charles  A.  Gnndaker,  1872. 

William  E.  Bloodgood,  1873, 1878. 

William  Brown,  1875. 


Charles  M.  Hawkins,  1878. 
William  Clark,  1879. 
Adam  Brown,  1870. 
Lewis  Smith,  1880. 
Hugh  H.  Bowne,  1881. 
Robert  A.  Russel,  1881. 


Schools.— There  is  but  one  district  in  this  town- 
ship, called  the  "  Scudder  School  District,"  named 
from  a  family  living  in  the  neighborhood.  This 
school  was  established  at  an  early  date,  the  house 
having  been  built  in  1818.  For  many  years  school 
was  taught  only  for  one  "quarter"  during  winter. 
The  following  is  the  report  for  1881  :  District  No.  6, 
children  about  70;  attendance,  24;  trustees,  C.  A. 
Gundakers  (district  clerk),  L.  M.  Scudder,  and  W.  B. 
Mundy  ;  teacher,  Miss  M.  T.  Reed. 

Among  the  early  teachers  in  this  district  was  Mr. 
Jothain  Williams,  1825-26;  Isaac  H.  Pierson  ;  Mr. 
Nelson  (two  terms),  1841-42  ;  Horace  Roberts ;  Abner 
Coriell;  Mr.  Willcox  ;  Eugene  Snyder,  1849. 

The  present  school-house  stands  on  the  forks  of  the 
old  road  from  Westfield  to  Rahvvay,  and  there  being 
no  church  in  this  township  it  is  used  for  religious 
meetings  and  Sabbath-schools.  Tradition  says  that 
there  was  a  school-house  near  this  locality  before  the 
Revolutionary  war,  and  that  it  was  used  by  the  Con- 
tinental soldiers  as  a  barracks  ;  and  it  is  said  that 
before  the  close  of  the  war  in  1780  the  building  was 
burned  by  the  Hessians  while  they  were  on  their  way 
to  Westfield.  The  present  building  is  the  fourth  that 
has  been  built  for  school  purposes  in  the  district. 
Manufacturing     Interests.  —  Essex     Felting 

Mills. In  Clark  township,  which  is  sufficiently  near 

Rahway  to  regard  it  as  local  territory,  is  a  manufac- 
turing establishment— the  only  one  of  its  kind  in 
New  Jersey,  though  there  are  .several  in  New  York 
City  and  one  or  more  in  Brooklyn.  N.  Y.,  and  one  in 
Bradford,  Pa. — engaged  in  the  production  of  felt 
goods  and  employing  a  force  of  two  hundred  work- 
men. It  is  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Rahway 
River,  only  about  a  mile  above  the  city  water-works. 
The  building  is  on  the  site  of  an  old  mill  built  a 
century  ago,  "where  grain  was  ground,  supplying 
the  neighborhood  also  with  woolen  yarn."  Part  of 
this  mill  was  then  used  as  a  woolen-mill. 

Philip  Trussler  for  several  years  had  a  bleaching 
and  calico  print-work.s,  but  in  1845  part  of  the  build- 
ing was  destroyed  by  lire.  In  1847,  after  the  jiroijerty 
had  become  nearly  worthless,  William  Bloodgood, 
Esq.,  of  New  York,  purchased  it,  and  at  a  large  out- 
lay of  money  the  building  (what  was  left  of  it)  was 
repaired,  and  other  larger  buildings  were  added  for 
the  manufacture  of  felt  goods,  started  by  William  E. 


Bloodgood,  at  first  on  a  small  scale,  at  a  time  the 
business  was  comparatively  new  in  this  country. 
The  business  rapidly  increased.  On  July  4,  1869, 
the  main  building  of  the  factory  was  entirely  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  but  immediately  rebuilt. 

The  firm  at  present  conducting  the  business  has 
been  organized  about  six  years,  and  is  composed  of 
Mr.  W.  S.  Taylor  and  William  Bloodgood,  Jr.  A  mill 
has  stood  on  the  site  of  the  present  works,  however, 
for  more  than  one  hundred  years.  The  various  mills, 
with  the  residences  of  the  two  proprietors  and  the  tene- 
ments occupied  by  the  workmen  and  their  families, 
cover  an  area  of  several  acres  of  ground.  The  mills 
are  located  on  low  land  quite  near  the  banks  of  the 
river,  while  the  dwellings  and  a  village  store  owned 
by  the  firm  are  situated  on  the  higher  ground  that 
rises  pleasantly  above  the  banks  of  the  stream.  Felt 
goods  of  all  descriptions  are  produced  here,  and  the 
annual  production  of  the  mills  is  at  least  two  million 
square  yards  of  feltings  per  year,  and  the  firm  pays 
out  at  least  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  per  year  in 
wages  to  the  operatives. 

Besides  these  mills  the  firm  has  a  factory  at  the  cor- 
ner of  West  Broadway  and  Franklin  Street,  in  New 
Y'ork  City,  where  about  one  hundred  girls  are  em- 
ployed. The  warehouse  and  principal  office  of  the 
firm  is  at  No.  8  Thomas  Street,  New  York. 

A  visitor  to  the  mills  who  has  no  previous  knowl- 
edge of  or  acquaintance  with  the  business  carried  on 
will  be  surprised  when  he  is  shown  samples  of  the 
very  numerous  kinds  of  goods  turned  out.  The  out- 
put of  the  establishment  includes  feltings  of  the  loos- 
est and  most  fleecy  texture,  intended  for  the  linings 
of  gloves  and  other  articles ;  those  quite  thin,  but  pos- 
sessing great  durability,  intended  for  table-  or  piano- 
covers,  of  the  most  beautiful  shades  of  colors;  goods 
of  dark  navy-blue  shade  or  the  numerous  tints  of 
brown,  intended  for  ladies'  underskirts  or  petticoats, 
some  of  these  articles  being  flounced  and  most  elab- 
'  orately  embroidered  with  silk  thread,  or  ornamented 
with  printed  designs  of  various  patterns  ;  tlie  thicker 
grades  of  goods,  white  and  colored,  used  for  the  manu- 
I  facture  of  chest-protectors,  up  to  the  heaviest,  which 
are  used  for  polishing  purposes  on  brass  or  marble. 
'  Felting  is  also  used  largely  for  upholstery  purposes, 
and  the  visitor  is  shown  elegant  shades  of  brown  de- 
signed for  the  manufacture  of  lambrequins,  etc.  Felt- 
ing, too,  is  largely  employed  by  piano-makers  for 
i  covering  the  hammers  that  strike  upon  the  metal 
wires  stretched  in  the  iron  frame  within  the  case  or 
body  of  the  instrument,  and  which  produces  the  tones, 
and  also  for  covering  the  under  side  of  the  keys  in 
the  manual  or  key-board  of  the  instrument. 

The  establishment  also  turns  out  some  goods  for 
the  manufacture  of  gentlemen's  caps,  but  not  at  pres- 
ent for  hats. 

This  firm  manufactures  all  the  saddle-cloths  of  the 
Spencer  patent  that  are  used  by  the  government,  pay- 
ing a  royalty  for  the  right  to  manufacture.     In  these 


FANWOOD   TOWNSHIP. 


411 


cloths  the  thickness  of  the  fabric  is  graduated  accord- 
ing to  the  particular  part  of  the  saddle  that  is  most 
worn. 

On  the  river  a  short  distance  below  these  mills,  near 
the  ice-houses,  is  another  dam  of  stone  and  a  fine 
water-privilege.  We  are  informed  that  the  proprie- 
tors of  a  manufacturing  establishment  now  located  in 
Vermont  have  lately  been  examining  the  same,  with 
a  view  of  buying  it ;  but  we  cannot  say  certainly  that 
the  parties  can  be  induced  to  settle  here,  though  we 
sincerely  wish  they  could  be.  The  cost  of  help,  we 
are  informed,  is  about  the  same  in  Vermont  as  here, 
but  the  cost  of  transporting  manufactured  goods  to 
the  New  York  market  from  Rahway  is  very  much  le.ss 
than  it  is  from  the  Green  Mountain  State. 

Hecla  Powper-Mills. — Near  Bloodgood's  factory 
are  located  the  mills  of  the  Hecla  Powder  Company, 
whose  principal  office  is  at  No.  57  Broadway,  New 
York.  This  company  is  incorporated  under  the  laws 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  has  a  paid-up  capital 
of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The  works,  located 
near  Rahway,  have  a  capacity  equal  to  any  in  the 
country.  Hecla  powder  is  a  dynamite  for  blasting 
purposes,  composed  of  nitro-glycerine  so  "solidified" 
by  a  chemical  process  as  to  render  it  perfectly  safe  in 
handling  and  transportation.  It  is,  chemically,  en- 
tirely different  from  all  other  explosive  compounds. 
It  is  from  three  to  five  times  as  strong  as  ordinary 
blasting  powder,  and  the  most  economical  explosive 
in  use  for  sandstone  and  limestone  quarries,  all  me- 
dium hard  rock,  coal-mines,  bank  blasting,  tunneling, 
shaft- work,  railroad  contracts,  etc.  Charles  A.  Morse, 
superintendent. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 


FANWOOD    TOWNt^HIP. 


Boundaries,  etc. — This  township  was  set  oft'  from 
Westfield  in  1877.  The  first  election  took  place  in 
the  spring  of  1878.  It  is  bounded  as  follows  :  Oq  the 
west  by  Somerset  County,  and  northwest  by  Green 
Brook,  being  llie  line  from  New  Providence  township, 
on  the  nortlie;isterly  course  passing  through  the  late 
Wesley  Roll  property  to  Willow  Grove  on  a  straight 
line,  and  southerly  by  Clark  and  Raritan  townships, 
Robinson's  Creek  being  part  of  the  boundary  line 
until  the  Terrill  road  is  reached,  which  is  the  line 
dividing  Plainfield  city  limits,  thence  on  a  straight 
line  to  Green  Brook,  the  place  of  beginning. 

Natural  Features.— The  surface  of  this  township 
is  generally  level,  except  on  the  west  and  northwest, 
which  comprises  what  is  known  as  the  First  Moun- 
tain. The  soil  a  clay  loam,  well  cultivated  and  pro- 
ductive. Within  two  miles  of  the  plains  a  bed  of 
carbonate  of  lime  was  discovered  in  which  are  metal- 
lic appearances,  supposed  to  be  gold  and  silver,  but 


which,  having  been  tested,  shows  only  the  deceptive 
pyrites. 

On  the  west  and  the  northwest  of  this  township  is 
Green  Brook,  being  the  boundary  line  from  New" 
Providence  township.  Its  head  is  in  Felt  Lake, 
where  it  is  fed  by  living  springs.  On  the  extreme 
southerly  part  of  Fanwood  is  Robinson's  Brook,  a 
living  stream,  running  through  to  Raritan  township, 
feeding  the  farms  with  water,  and  making  it  very  de- 
sirable for  dairies,  cattle,  etc. 

Early  Settlers.— The  name  of  Scotch  Plains  is 
derived  from  the  nationality  of  its  original  settlers. 
In  the  year  1684  a  number  of  Scotch  emigrants, 
chiefly  persons  of  education  and  distinction  at  home, 
landed  at  Amboy,  and  started  back  into  the  woods  to 
select  a  suitable  location  for  a  new  settlement.  Ar- 
riving at  the  foot  of  the  First  Mountain,  they  pro- 
ceeded to  take  possession  of  the  tract  of  land  including 
the  whole  of  what  is  now  occupied  by  Scotch  Plains 
and  Plainfield.  Some  of  these  pioneers,  among  whom 
we  find  the  names  of  Barclay,  Gordon,  Forbes,  and 
FuUerton,  were  interested  as  proprietors  of  the  prov- 
ince, and  became  afterwards  well  known  as  officers 
connected  with  the  government.  Attracted  by  the 
inviting  character,  both  of  soil  and  climate,  the  Asso- 
ciates of  Elizabethtown  on  the  east  and  the  residents 
of  Piscataway  on  the  south  began  before  many  years 
to  push  out  their  settlements  in  this  direction  In 
or  about  the  year  1689  the  families  of  William  Darby. 
Recompense  Stanbery,  John  Lambert,  John  Dennis, 
John  Stanbery,  Henry  Crosby,  Michael  Parse  or 
Pierce,  John  Sutton,  Jr.,  Isaac  Manning,  Mary  Bod- 
well,  Sarah  De  Camp,  Samuel  Doty  or  Doughty,  Jo- 
seph Drake,  Jeames  Miller,  Abraham  Hampton,  John 
Blackford,  Joseph  Randolph,  William  Cole,  Peter 
Willcoxsie  or  Willcox,  and  a  few  others  who  came 
afterwards,  whose  names  are  now  known  in  this  town- 
ship at  the  present  time:  Mash  or  Marsh,  Dolbear, 
Terry,  Terrill,  Squires,  Hunter,  Miller,  Pearson,  Roll, 
Frazer  or  Frazee,  and  Maxwells. 

We  infer  that  in  religious  sentiment  the  finst  in- 
habitants of  this  town  were  mainly  Baptist,  as  they 
attended  this  church,  which  was  situated  at  Piscata- 
way town,  some  nine  miles  from  this  village,  and 
until  1742,  when  their  church  w.as  organized. 

Civil  Oflacers. 

TOWN   CLERKS. 
Thomas  J.  Xioholl,  187S-T9.  |  .1.  A.  Baker,  1880-82. 

CHOSEN  FKEEHOLDERS. 
C.  W.  h.  Mnrtine,  1878,  188(J-82.        |  Stiles  M.  Parse,  1879. 

ASSESSORS. 
Jolin  L.  Darby.  1S78.  1881.  ,  Tap|.«n    T.,«-nspnd,  apiwinted    in 

Samuel  M.  Ball,  1877.  ;  1879  in  Ball's  place. 

Juhn  Rubisun,  188t),  1882. 
COLLECTORS. 
George  Squier,  1878-79.  |  William  Hetfleld,  18Si>-82. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 
Josefh  Clark,  1878.  l  George  B.  Nicholl,  18S0. 

C.  A.  Smith,  1872. 


412 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


INSPECTORS  OF  ELECTION. 
Benjamin  Connett,  1878-80.  i  Charles  H.  French,  1881-82. 


William  Thorn,  1878. 
Daniel  H.  Terry,  1879-81. 


Edward  Miller,  1882. 


TOWN  COMMITTEE. 

Levi  Darby,  1878.  Henry  C.  Kandolpb,  1879-80. 

Jacob  I).  French,  187S.  John  J.  Mareh,  1879-81. 

Joseph  A.  Patterson.  1878,  1882.  Daniel  S.  Scudder,  1882. 

Isaac  Lambert,  1878.  William  C  Stanbery. 

Elites  M.  Purse,  1878.  John  L.  Darby,  1880. 
Lewis  W.  Miller,  1879-81. 

JUDGES  OF  ELECTION. 
Eichard  H.  Nodyne,  1878.  George  E.  Nicholls,  1881-82. 

W.  D.  Johnston,  1879-80. 

Census  Report. — Number  of  inhabitants  in  town 
ship  :  Males,  262  ;  females,  256  ;  total,  518  ;  and  about  ! 
325  in  the  village  of  Scotch  Plains. 

Schools. — From  the  early  settlement  of  this  part 
of  Westfield  (now  Fanwood)  township  the  general 
sentiment  of  the  inhabitants  has  been  decidedly  in 
favor  of  education,  and  has  been  active  in  operating 
free  schools  throughout  the  township.  The  earliest 
record  of  teachers  is  as  follows : 

"  William  Cole  (son  of  William  Cole)  was  a  sur- 
veyor and  schoolmaster,  and  was  known  as  '  Master 
Cole.'  He  and  his  wife,  Elizabeth  Williamson,  lived 
where  his  father  did,  and  had  '  eight  children.'  "  Mr. 
Coles  was  one  of  the  first  masters,  and  organized  a 
general  school  in  Scotch  Plains,  where  he  taught  for 
a  number  of  years.' 

"  The  Jackson  school-house,  situated  on  the  Terral 
road,  was  until  a  few  years  regularly  opened  as  a 
district  school,  and  some  of  the  best  teachers  that 
could  be  found  were  employed.  Cooper,  Parse, 
Foster,  Stites,  W.  H.  Cleaver,  and  James  U.  Cleaver 
taught  there  as  well  as  in  the  academy  in  the  village. 
There  had  also  been  established  in  1814  a  school  dis- 
trict in  the  neighborhood  of  Lambert's  Mills,  and 
designated  the  Willow  Grove  School-house.  Andrew 
H.  Clark,  Cutter  Dolbear,  Isaac  H.  Pierson,  Jotham 

Williams,  Mr. Coles,  Andrew  Rogers,  Christopher 

Denman,  1825;  Frazee  Coles,  Benjamin  Little,  1833; 
Isaac  Coriell,  1842,  were  teachers.  Since  then  there 
has  been  built  a  neat  frame  building,  and  the  district 
is  now  known  as  District  No.  11,  with  sixty  scholars 
on  the  roll.  The  old  academy  at  Scotch  Plains  has 
given  place  to  a  neat  frame  building  costing  seven 
thousand  dollars  on  the  principal  street.  This  district 
(No.  14)  has  about  two  hundred  and  sixty  boys  and 
girls  enrolled.  The  teachers  have  been  Chauncey 
Ripley,  S.  A.  Day,  Mr.  Seamon,  O.  M.  Putnam,  and 
G.  P.  Towne,  the  present  principal. 

"  The  trustees  with  their  accustomed  zeal  and  lib- 
erality are  doing  much  to  enhance  the  efficiency  of 
their  schools,  and  it  is  pleasing  to  note  that  much  has 
been  done  in  the  line  of  repairing  outbildings,  beauti- 
fying the  grounds,  etc.  The  schools  are  taking  a  high 
stand  in  the  country  as  to  grade  and  proficiency." 

1  Little's  Passaic  Valley,  p.  80. 


Churches. — This  township  has  three  church  organ- 
izations, Baptist,  Methodist  Episcopal,  and  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Churches,  of  which  the  Baptist  is  the 
oldest,  having  been  organized  in  1742.  From  this 
church  was  the  First  Baptist  Church  in  New  York 
organized,  many  of  its  members  having  removed  from 
Scotch  Plains,  taking  their  certificates  from  this  old 
historic  church,  to  that  city. 

Baptist  Chukch. — The  first  movement  on  record 
for  the  dissemination  of  Baptist  views  was  made  in 
1742.  A  subscription  paper  for  the  building  of  a 
"  First-Day  Baptist  Meeting-House"  on  the  east  side 
of  Green  River,  bearing  date  the  4th  day  of  August 
in  that  year,  is  still  in  possession  of  the  church. 
This  movement  originated  with  members  of  the 
church  living  at  Scotch  Plains,  and  the  next  year 
the  first  church  was  erected.  The  first  members  ap- 
pear to  have  been  John  Dennis,  William  Darby, 
John  Lambert,  Recompence  Stanbery,  John  Stan- 
bery, John  Sutton,  Jr.,  Henry  Crosby,  Isaac  Man- 
ning, Mary  Brodwell,  Mary  Dennis,  Tibiah  Sutton, 
Mary  Green,  Catherine  Manning,  Sarah  DeCamp, 
and  Sarah  Perce  or  Pierce. 

Soon  after  the  organization  of  this  church  Benja- 
min Miller,  a  licentiate,  was  called  to  the  pas- 
torate, and  ordained  Feb.  13,  1748.  Mr.  Miller  was 
born  in  the  neighborhood  of  Piscataway,  about  the 
year  1715,  and  during  his  connection  with  this  church, 
of  over  thirty-four  years  (which  ended  only  with  his 
life),  nearly  three  hundred  members  were  added. 
He  died  Nov.  14,  1781,  in  the  sixty-sixth  year  of  his 
age.  A  plain  brownstone  tablet  a  few  feet  north  of 
where  the  old  church  stood  covers  his  remains : 


•  In  Me 


ory 


Ef.v.  Benjamin  Milleb, 

Died  Nov.  14,  1781, 

After  a  pastorate  of  thirty-four  years 

uf  this  church. 

"If  grace  and  worth  and  usefulness 
Could  mortals  screen  from  death's  arrest. 
Miller  had  never  lain  in  dust, 
Though  characters  inferior  must." 

The  next  pastor,  Rev.  William  Van  Home,  came 
Nov.  7,  1784,  but  it  was  not  until  Dec.  15,  1785,  that 
he  entered  fully  upon  his  labors,  his  salary  being 
fixed  at  $250,  with  the  use  of  parsonage  and  lot  of 
fifteen  acres  and  firewood.  He  remained  until  Sep- 
tember, 1807,  nearly  twenty-two  years,  resigning  on 
account  of  failing  health. 

July  1,  1808,  Rev.  Thomas  Brown  took  charge  of 
the  church.  Here  he  remained  for  more  than  twenty 
years  of  constant  service,  which  bore  their  testimony 
to  his  faithfulness,  nearly  two  hundred  being  added 
to  this  church. 

The  Rev.  John  Rogers  succeeded  to  the  vacant 
charge  about  the  middle  of  August,  1829.  He  was  a 
native  of  Ireland,  where  he  was  born  in  1783.  He 
remained  until  June,  1841,  when  he  resigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  feeble  church  at  Perth  Amboy.     The 


SEELEY'S    PAPER-MILLS. 


The  extensive  paper-mills  now  known  as  "The 
Seeley  Mills"  are  situated  about  two  miles  from  Fan- 
wood  Station,  upon  the  New  Jersey  Central  Railroad, 
and  on  the  lines  of  two  counties,  Somerset  and  Union. 
About  the  year  1763  a  grist-mill  was  here  established, 
and  for  many  years  wa's  known  as  the  Fall  Mill,  in  the 
notch  above  Scotch  Plains.  A  large  business  was 
done  for  the  neighboring  farmers.  A  Mr.  Wilcox 
owned  the  mill  and  did  the  work  until  Charles  Ed- 
wards and  John  Clark,  under  the  firm-name  of  Ed- 
wards &  Clark,  became  the  owners  in  1851 ;  but  in  1853 
the  present  proprietor,  Mr.  Edmond  A.  Seeley,  moved 
from  Troy,  N.  Y.,  and  has  since  carried  on  an  exten- 
sive business.  The  main  building  is  42  by  42  feet, 
while  the  other  two  buildings  are  40  by  60  feet  and  30 
by  40  feet.  The  Green  Brook,  fed  by  springs  passing 
through  the  gorge  of  the  mountain,  together  with 
steam-power,  gives  them  abundant  facilities  for  turn- 
ing out  over  seven  hundred  tons  of  pasteboards  per 


annum.  Mr.  Seeley  employs  between  twenty-five  and 
thirty  men,  as  well  as  a  number  of  teams. 

The  homestead  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Seeley  was 
erected  by  him  in  1876,  and  is  on  the  right,  above  the 
mill  property.  The  grounds  are  beautifully  laid  out, 
and  with  tlie  running  streamlets  from  the  rocky  sides 
of  the  hills  down  into  a  lake  of  water  covered  with 
water  lilies,  the  natural  growth  of  timber,  the  well- 
kept  grounds,  and  neatness  of  the  mill  property,  make 
it  a  place  enchanting  to  those  desiring  mountain 
scenery.  This  property  is  valued  at  over  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Edmond  A.  Seeley  was  born  at  Stockport,  Co- 
lumbia Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  from  his  early  childhood  has 
been  connected  with  the  paper  business.  He  is  well 
known  in  the  locality  in  which  he  resides  as  a  philan- 
thropist, and  stands  high  in  the  community  as  one 
who  may  ever  be  found  at  the  head  of  all  enterprises 
which  pertain  to  the  public  good  in  general. 


msmmm 


g©©T©iKl    IPijaDIKli,   Kl.  <J). 


FANWOOD  TOWNSHIP. 


413 


church  regretted  his  removal,  he  having  been  an 
excellent  pastor,  nearly  two  hundred  having  been 
baptized  into  the  fellowship  of  this  church  during 
his  ministry.  He  died  at  Paterson,  N.  J.,  Aug.  30, 
1849.  The  fifth  who  was  called  to  the  pastorate  of 
this  church,  the  Rev.  John  Wivell,  was  born  in  Eng- 
land, and  came  to  New  York  in  1840.  His  great 
preacliing  talents  and  energy  attracted  large  numbers 
to  this  church,  and  the  membership  during  his  pas- 
torate rose  to  two  hundred,  the  highest  point  it  has 
ever  attained.  May  2,  1844,  Rev.  William  E.  Lif)cke 
became  the  pastor,  and  remained  at  Scotch  Plains 
until  Sept.  1,  1849,  when  he  withdrew  from  this  de- 
nomination and  joined  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

In  1844  this  church  withdrew  from  the  New  York 
Association  (whither  it  had  gone  from  the  Philadel- 
phia Association  in  1792),  and  united  with  the  East 
New  Jersey  Association,  where  it  has  since  remained. 

The  next  pastor.  Rev.  Joshua  E.  Rue,  was  born  at 
Hightstown,  N.  J.,  Oct.  5,  1S17.  After  a  settlement 
of  nearly  three  years  at  Sandy  Ridge  he  removed  to 
Scotch  Plains,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1850. 
Like  all  his  predecessors,  he  soon  had  the  joy  of  wel- 
coming new-born  souls  into  the  kingdom.  A  pleas- 
ant condition  of  spiritual  awakening  succeeded,  and 
twenty-seven  in  all  followed  the  Lord  in  his  ordi- 
nances. But  sorrow  follows  close  upon  the  track  of 
joy.  In  the  midst  of  his  work  he  was  smitten  by 
disease,  and  for  many  weeks  life  was  despaired  of 
He  was  partially  restored,  however,  just  in  time  to 
follow  the  remains  of  his  universally  beloved  com- 
panion to  the  grave.  Thus  deeply  stricken  and 
with  health  ruined  for  life  he  resigned  his  charge, 
after  a  service  of  just  four  years.  Since  that  time  he 
has  held  agencies  for  the  Home  Missions  and  other 
societies,  and  is  now  a  cotton-planter  in  North  Caro- 
lina. During  his  pastorate  repairs  were  made  upon 
the  church  property.  The  number  of  members  in 
1854  was  one  hundred  and  forty-six. 

Rev.  James  F.  Brown,  D.D.,  son  of  Thomas  Brown, 
the  third  pastor  of  this  church,  was  born  at  Scotch 
Plains  July  4,  1819.  For  many  years  he  had  resided 
at  Gainesville,  Ala.,  but  leaving  the  South  had  become 
successor  of  his  father  in  the  pastoral  office  at  Great 
Valley,  Pa.,  in  1846,  and  in  1854  he  became  pastor  of 
this  church.  He  was  pastor  here  for  six  years  ;  dur- 
ing that  time  continuous  revivals,  many  were  added 
by  baptism  to  the  church,  and  at  this  time  many  of 
those  are  strong  pillars  of  the  church. 

Rev.  William  Luke  was  the  next  called  to  the  pas- 
torate of  this  church.  He  was  born  in  the  town  of 
Eso|ius,  N.  Y.,  Nov.  27,  1827;  baptized  at  Pough- 
keepsie  March  3,  1843,  and  licensed  by  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  that  city.  He  entered  Madison 
University  in  1848,  and  from  there  to  Rochester, 
where  he  graduated  in  1854.  He  accepted  at  once  a 
call  from  St.  John,  N.  B.,  but  in  December,  1860,  he 
came  to  this  place.  During  his  pastorate  here  the 
Westfield  Baptist  Church  was  organized  and  a  num- 
27 


her  were  dismissed  to  that  infant  church.  Mr.  Luke 
was  popular  among  the  people,  and  when  he  retired 
from  this  church  in  1867  it  was  lamented  by  his  con- 
gregation. He  died  at  Wappinger's  Falls,  N.  Y., 
May  16,  1869  ;  his  last  words  were,  "  The  victory  is 
mine."  The  next  pastor.  Rev.  Joseph  C.  Buchanan, 
entered  on  his  work  at  Scotch  Plains  July  1,  1867, 
and  was  ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry  October  1st 
of  that  year.  A  pleasant  state  of  religious  feeling 
met  the  new  pastor  at  the  outset,  and  soon  the  church 
entered  into  extra  services  and  nearly  fifty  were  bap- 
tized. During  his  pa-storate  the  new  church  was  erected. 
Mr.  Buchanan  left  in  the  fall  of  1878,  and  Rev.  Uriah 
B.  Guiscard,  who  came  from  Brewster's,  New  York 
State,  accepted  the  invitation  of  this  church  to  be- 
come their  pastor  and  removed  here,  and  is  now 
preaching  to  good  congregations.  The  membership 
is  one  hundred  and  forty-three.  The  following  are 
the  official  ofiicers:  William  Archibald,  David  Hand, 

t  Jonathan  A.  Coles,  Thomas  Mead,  Thomas  Cleaver, 
church  clerks;  O.  M.  Putnam,  clerk  of  trustees. 

!  The  first  house  of  worship  (already  alluded  to)  was 
erected  in  1743  on  the  site  of  the  second  one.     Its 

I  size  and  construction  are  not  known.  The  congrega- 
tion having  increased  rapidly  under  Mr.  Miller's 
preaching,  it  was  soon  found  necessary  to  secure  more 
ample  accommodations.  Accordingly  in  the  early 
part  of  1759  the  church  was  much  enlarged  and  the 
roof  and  sides  covered  with  cedar  shingles  and  other 
improvements  made.     The  seats  were  sold  to  pay  the 

I  costs  of  these  repairs.    This  house  stood  without  further 

'  important  alterations  until  the  winter  of  1816-17,  when 
it  was  totally  destroyed.  Subscription  papers  were 
at  once  circulated,  most  of  the  necessary  funds  were 
easily  secured,  and  a  contract  signed  for  the  building 
of  a  new  house,  to  be  finished  by  December  1st  of  that 
year.  This  house  was  built  in  the  best  manner, 
thirty-nine  feet  by  forty-eight  feet  in  size,  with  gal- 
leries on  three  sides,  roof  and  sides,  like  the  former 
building,  covered  with  cedar  shingles,  and  cost  two 
thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety-two  dollars.  Some 
twenty  years  ago  the  large  windows  on  either  side  of 
the  pulpit  were  closed  up  and  a  vestibule  cut  off"  from 
the  main  roof  in  front.     In  1866  a  belfry  and  bell 

(  were  added. 

The  growing  wants  of  the  congregation  called  for 
the  building  of  a  new  edifice,  and  in  1870  the  ground 

i  was  broken,  and  in  1871,  just  one  year,  this  beautiful 
Gothic  church  was  completed.  It  stands  on  a  fine 
corner  near  the  old  one,  and  a  new  avenue  passing  on 
the  side  and  the  parsonage  on  the  opposite,  making 
this  one  of  the  finest  church  properties  in  the  county. 
The  material  is  pressed  brick  with  Ohio  stone  and 
white  brick  trimmings,  clerestory,  and  transept  cor- 
ner tower,  and  spire  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
in  height.  The  size  of  main  part  is  fifty  feet  by  one 
hundred  and  ten  feet,  which  includes  the  lecture-room 
in  the  rear,  leaving  the  main  audience-room  fifty  feet 
by  seventy  feet,  with  recess  pulpit.     The  cost,  includ- 


414  HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ing  furniture  and  organ,  exclusive  of  ground,  thirty- 
five  thousand  dollars.  Surrounding  this  historic 
church  is  the  burial-ground,  where  are  laid  to  rest  the 
former  members  of  this  church. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— For  a  number 
of  years  the  few  families  of  Methodists  were  accus- 
tomed to  worship  at  the  surrounding  towns.  Plain- 
field  and  Westfield,  with  occasional  supplies  from 
those  churches  preaching  at  the  Jackson  school- 
house  and  private  dwellings.  It  was  not  until  the 
fall  of  1867  that  the  Rev.  William  Day,  of  Plainfield, 
gave  them  regular  services,  organizing  some  sixteen 
members  into  a  class.  Immediately  efforts  were  made 
to  have  regular  services  the  following  year,  when  a 
supply  was  sent  from  Drew  Seminary,  at  Madison, 
N.  J.  Lots  were  secured  on  the  Springfield  road,  now 
called  Mountain  Avenue;  Rev.  J.  A.  Kingsbury  took 
charge  of  the  society,  and  in  1871-72  the  building  was 
completed  at  a  cost  of  about  six  thousand  dollars. 
Sittings,  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The  following  pas- 
tors have  been  sent  by  the  Conference:  Rev.  J.  A. 
Kingsbury,  Rev.  C.  E.  Treat,  Rev.  Mr.  Cherrinton, 
Rev.  John  Davis,  Rev.  Mr.  Coles,  Rev.  Mr.  Owens, 
Rev.  P.  P.  narrower,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Warner.  The 
present  membership  is  forty-five. 

All  Saints'  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— 
An  effort  has  been  made  for  some  years  to  build  a 
church;  occasional  services  have  been  held  in  the 
Town  Hall,  and  at  the  present  time  arrangements  are 
being  made  for  a  new  church,  to  be  known  as  All 
Saints'  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  at  Scotch  Plains, 
Rev.  Charles  Sykes,  rector;  the  new  edifice, Gothic  in 
style,  to  cost  about  five  thousand  five  hundred  dollars, 
with  three  hundred  sittings.  Fine  lots  on  Park  Ave- 
nue have  been  secured.  There  are  about  thirty-five 
communicants.  The  trustees  are  Charles  Kyte,  chair- 
man ;  R.  B.  Duckinch,  George  E.  More,  John  T.  Pat- 
tinson  ;  George  Kyte,  clerk  and  treasurer. 

Burial-Ground.— There  are  a  few  private  plots,  but 
have  for  a  number  of  years  been  closed  up,  no  more 
being  buried  in  them.  The  public  burying-ground 
surrounding  the  Baptist  Church  dates  at  an  early  day. 
Here  rest  generation  after  generation.  Here  lie  the 
dust  of  those  pioneers  who  cut  the  timber  and  cleared 
the  land  in  this  beautiful  valley.  The  ground  com- 
prises some  three  acres.  Many  of  the  graves  are 
without  headstones,  and  they  may  be  those  of  the 
first  laid  away.  A  few  of  the  stones  are  broken,  and 
the  earliest  ones  cannot  be  now  copied.  Among  the 
earliest  records  is  of  one  of  the  first  settlers : 

"  Here  lye  ye  Lmdy  of  Joseph  Lambert,  who  died  Nove'm  the  8th,  1756, 
in  tlie  2Blh  year  of  his  age." 

"  Here  lies  Eiitr'd  ye  Body  of  RECOMPENCK  STANBERY,  ESQ.,  who 
died  M.iy  tlie  2litli,  A.  D.,  1777,  in  the  67th  year  of  lii8  age. 
"  Here  lie«  onr  friend  in  mouldring  dust, 
When  Christ  will  raise  to  life  we  trust; 
But  Mourning  say  Ilia  loss  how  great 
To  Kauiily,  to  t-hurch,  and  state." 
"Thie  stone  is  erected  to  the  memory  of  MAKGERET,  formerly  the 
Wife  of  RECOMPKNCE  STANDERV,  ESQ.,  Late  Wife  of  Capt.  John 
DARBY,  who  died  JANU'Y  18th,  1812,  in  the  83  year  of  her  age." 


"  Here  lies  ye  BODY  of  DEAC'N  WILLIAM  DARBY,  deceased  Keb- 
ru'y  ye  26,  1775,  in  ye  8.1  year  of  his  age. ' 

"  Here  lies  ye  Body  of  Mary,  wife  of  Deac'n  William  Darby,  deceased 
April  ye  13lh,  A.  D.  1761,  in  ye  62  year  of  HER  .\0E." 

"  IN  MEMORY  of  JOSEPH  SEARING,  who  departed  this  life  June 
the  7th,  1790,  in  the  77th  year  of  liis  age. 

Here  on  earth  I  have  sojourned 

This  3  score  year  nnd  10, 
and  7  years  I  have  drank  the  cup 
of  sorrow,  grief,  and  pain. 

But  oh  the  joy  that  may  appear, 

The  messenger  draws  nigh, 
cries  friend  i'l  aid  you  too 

of  Blest  eternity." 

"In  memory  of  Anna,  Wife  of  Joseph  Searing,  who  died  June  ye  30th, 
1761,  in  ye  47th  year  of  her  AGE." 

"  Hero  rest  the  remains  of  C.«;SAR,  an  AFRICAN,  who  died  Feb- 
rii'y  7tli,  1806.     Aged  104  years.     He  was  for  more  than  half  a  century 
a  worthy  member  of  the  church  in  this  Place,  and  closed  his  life  in  the 
confidence  of  a  Christian.    His  numerous  friends  have  erected  this  stone 
as  a  tribute  of  respect  to  his  numerous  virtues  and  piety. 
"  When  the  last  trump  siiall  bid  the  dead  arise. 
When  flames  shall  roll  away  the  earth  and  skies, 
While  atheists,  king",  and  inhdels  turn  pale, 
And  every  hope  but  Christ  mankind  shall  fail, 
CiKSAR  will  soar  from  nature's  funeral  pile 
To  bask  forever  in  his  Saviour's  smile." 
"  Here  lies  ye  Body  of  Peter  Willcocks,  jun'r,  who  depiirted  this  life 
Febru'y  ye  27,  Anno  Domini,  1764,  In  ye  4Bth  year  of  his  age.       E.  P." 
"  Here  lye  ye  Body  of  ABIGAIL,  Wife  of  JOSEPH  HALSEY,  Junr, 
who  died  March  ye  16th,  1777,  Aged  21  year,  1  Dion's,  And  4  days." 

"  A  tablet  erected  to  the  memory  of  Emily,  wife  of  Rev.  I.  E.  Rue, 
Pastor.     She  died  Nov.  8,  1863.    Age  30  years,  8  mo.,  23  dys." 

"  To  one  of  the  flret  Physicians  and  official  Member  of  the  Baptist 
Church,  Dr.  Corra  Osbi.rn,  Born  May  12,  1796.  Died  June 7,  1808.  For 
nearly  50  yrs  a  iiiemlier  and  Deacon  of  Scotch  Plains  Baptist  Church." 

Inns  and  Inn-keepers. — The  two  public-houses 
were  early  called  stage-houses,  and  one  of  thera 
afterwards  was  called  Sutton's  Hotel,  which  was  one 
of  the  popular  resorts  one  hundred  years  ago.  John 
Sutton  was  one  of  the  early  settlers  on  the  Plains,  as 
it  was  called,  and  opened  this  house  of  entertainment 
for  man  and  beast.  After  his  death  Samuel  Rope,  in 
1814,  kept  it  as  a  stage-house,  and  it  was  known  a.s 
the  Swiftsure  Stage-house  about  1825.  James  Fazer 
opened  the  house  for  a  short  time  in  1826.  After  he 
left,  others  took  charge  of  it. 

The  old  tavern  stand  on  the  forks  of  the  road  bears 
date  over  one  hundred  years  ago.     Some  of  the  first 

'  who  settled  in  this  village  had  charge  of  this  public- 
house,  which  was  one  of  the  popular  inns  and  well 
known  throughout  the  country.  It  was  a  popular  re- 
sort in  the  summer  for  many  desiring  to  live  for  a 
few  weeks  in  the  country,  and  eventually  took  the 

;  name  of  a  summer  boarding-house  and  inn.  The 
following  is  a  correct  li.st  of  former  keepers:  J.  Stan- 
bery,  1799;  J.  Miller,  1818;    Sanford   Hicks,  1819; 

Thomas  Burlochs,  1820;  Crane,  1824;  Jonathan 

Hetfield,  1827  ;  P.  B.  Davis,  1829 ;  W.  H.  Cleaver, 
1830;  Thomas  T.  Barr,  1841;  Abraham  Nel.son, 
1844;  Antone  De  Bou,  1853;  Thomas  Pafl",  1879. 

Post-Office.- The  first  post-office  was  granted  in 
1835  to  James  Frazer,  and  in  1847  V.  S.  Frazer  was 
appointed.      Osborn  and  Wilson    held  the   position 


THOMAS    LKE. 


PANWOOD  TOWNSHIP. 


415 


until  the  present  postmaster,  Norman  Dann,  was 
appointed  in  1871.  For  many  years  prior  to  1835 
the  mail  and  newspapers  were  brought  by  the  stages 
which  passed  two  or  three  times  a  week  through  the 
village. 

Physicians. — For  many  years  the  village  was  sup- 
plied by  Dr.  John  Craig,  of  Plainfield,  and  Dr. 
Corra  Osborn,  of  Westfield.  A  few  of  the  medical 
profession  have  resided  here.  Dr.  Bergan  came  in 
1872;  Dr.  H.  C.  Fithian,  1879  (he  stayed  but  a  short 
time) ;  Dr.  G.  H.  Chuont  in  1880  ;  Dr.  Abraham  Coles, 
J.  A.  Coles,  and  Dr.  F.  W.  Westcote. 

Villages  and  Hamlets.— Scotch  Plains.— This 
village  contains  three  churches,  school-house,  two  tav- 
erns, three  groceries  and  dry -goods  stores,  two  black- 
smith- and  wheelwright-shops,  fur-factory,  paper- 
factory,  drugs  and  medicines,  one  shoemaker,  two 
butchers.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  the  Springfield, 
Rahway,  Westfield  and  Plainfield  roads,  and  has  on 
the  northwest  the  range  of  Blue  Hills,  which  gives  to 
this  valley  a  picturesque  appearance.  There  are 
about  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  in  population; 
a  number  of  fine  residences  line  the  fine  avenues,  oc- 
cupied generally  by  business  men  from  the  city  of 
New  York.  Many  of  the  residences  are  being  im- 
proved and  giving  way  to  neat  homes  for  new-comers 
to  this  beautiful  village. 

Fanwood  is  the  name  given  by  the  then  president, 
John  Taylor  Johnson,  in  1867,  to  the  new  depot  on 
the  line  of  the  Central  Railroad.  Here  are  located 
the  lumber  and  coal  yards,  doing  considerable  business 
throughout  the  county.  There  are  about  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  acres  belonging  to  the  Central  Land 
Improvement  Company,  called  "  Fanwood  Park,"  with 
serpentine  roads  well  kept  in  order,  offering  great 
inducements  to  those  in  search  of  a  desirable  location. 

Alton,  a  small  hamlet  in  the  southerly  portion  of 
this  township,  has  a  school-house,  store,  blacksmith- 
shop  and  tavern.  It  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
from  the  city  of  Plainfield,  and  contains  about 
twenty  bouses.  The  residents  of  the  neighborlioud 
are  mostly  occupied  in  raising  produce  and  early 
vegetables  for  the  neighboring  towns.  The  early 
settlers  were  Terrys,  Connets,  Pain,  Potter,  Lambert, 
Little,  Helfield,  and  Randolphs.  The  soil  is  very 
productive,  and  the  farms  are  kept  in  good  order  and 
make  a  fine  appearance. 


BIOURAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

THOMAS  LEE. 
The  Lee  family  were  of  Scotch  origin.  Thomas 
Lee,  grandfather  of  our  subject,  was  born  April  15, 
1755,  in  the  vicinity  of  Rahway,  N.  J.  His  first 
wife.  Miss  Littell,  bore  him  one  child,  whose  name 
was  Gershom  Lee,  and  died  a  tew  months  afterwards. 
Mr.  Lee,  being  but  a  young  man  at  this  time,  formed 


the  acquaintance  of  one  Miss  Susan  Tucker,  whom 
he  married,  and  by  this  union  the  following  children 
were  born,  viz. :  Elizabeth,  Sallie,  Moses,  Lydia, 
Samuel,  the  father  of  our  subject,  Frazee,  Esther, 
and  Phebe.  Thomas,  the  son  of  Samuel  Lee  and 
Susan  W.  Frazee,  was  born  Nov.  12,  1831,  and  is  the 
youngest  in  a  family  of  three,  having  one  brother, 
Frazee,  and  one  sister,  Ann.  Mr.  Lee  is  living  on 
the  old  homestead  farm  where  he  was  born.  His 
father  died  Dec.  23,  1857,  when  Thomas  took  charge 
of  the  farm,  which  was  divided  among  the  three 
children.  Here  he  still  lives  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of 
life.  Mr.  Lee  was  married  to  Susan  F.  Melick, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Melick,  Feb.  13,  1861.  To  them 
have  been  born  the  following  children,  viz. :  Emma 
F.,  Carrie  R.,  Samuel  F.,  and  Georgetta,  all  of  whom 
are  living  at  home.  Mr.  Lee  is  a  Democrat  in  poli- 
tics, but  has  never  taken  any  active  part  therein. 
He  is  one  of  the  substantial  farmers  of  his  township, 
having  a  beautiful  farm  about  two  miles  south  of 
Fanwood  station,  containing  between  two  and  three 
hundred  acres  of  land,  which  is  in  a  high  statfe  of 
cultivation. 

LEVI    DARBY. 

His  great-grandfather,  John  Darby,  was  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  old  Westfield  township,  whose  de- 
scendants have  been  residents  of  the  same  township 
and  vicinity  since.  His  grandfather,  John  Darby, 
resided  at  Scotch  Plains,  where  he  owned  several  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  now  in  part  occupied  by  the  vil- 
lage and  by  the  Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey. 
He  was  captain  of  a  company,  and  served  in  Col. 
Recompence  Stansbury's  regiment  during  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  died  in  1828,  at  about  the  age  of 
seventy  years.  His  wife,  a  sister  of  Col.  Stansbury, 
survived  him  several  years,  and  bore  him  the  follow- 
ing children:  Recompence,  died  at  Tuckertowu,  in 
South  Jersey  ;  John,  resided  at  Scotch  Plains,  where 
he  died  ;  Levi,  also  died  at  the  same  place  ;  Cather- 
ine, unmarried;  Margaret,  became  the  wife  of  William 
H.  Cleaver,  of  Newark,  and  is  the  mother  of  ex-Judge 
Cleaver,  receiver  of  the  city  of  Newark ;  Aaron,  father 
of  our  subject;  William,  died  in  Jerseyville,  III.; 
Joseph,  was  a  merchant  at  Scotch  Plains,  where  he 
died. 

Aaron  Darby  was  born  at  Scotch  Plains,  June  1, 
1797  ;  married,  June  4,  1821,  Elizabeth,  daughter  of 
Deacon  Zopher  Hetfield,  of  the  same  place,  who  died 
Jan.  15,  1842,  aged  forty-six  years.  After  his  mar- 
riage Aaron  Darby  resided  for  a  time  at  Scotch 
Plains,  but  in  1829  purchased  some  seventy  acres  of 
land  where  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  Levi,  his  only 
son,  now  resides,  now  in  the  township  of  Fanwood. 
Here  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  active  business 
life,  a  farmer,  and  in  a  quiet,  unostentatious  way  fol- 
lowed agricultural  pursuits.  He  died  on  his  farm, 
March  15,  1862. 

Levi  Darby  was  born  Dec.  7,  1822,  and  after  reach- 


416 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ing  the  age  of  eighteen  years  took  charge  of  his 
father's  farm.  He  married,  Feb.  12,  1843,  Frances 
M.,  daughter  of  Job  and  Rachel  De  Camp,  of  Rah- 
way,  who  was  born  Sept.  26,  1825.  Their  children 
are  Aaron  ;  John  L.  ;  Loretta,  deceased,  was  the  wife 
of  Peter  Quackenbush,  of  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  Smith  B., 
deceased  ;  James  B.,  deceased  ;  Levi  Douglass ;  Frank 
and  Fannie  (twins),  the  former  deceased. 

In  1859,  Mr.  Darby  erected  a  substantial  brick  resi- 
dence on  the  liomestead  which  he  inherited  from  his 
father,  and  has  added  also  by  purchase  seventy-five 
acres  of  adjoining  land,  formerly  belonging  to  Levi 
and  John  Frazee. 

In  addition  to  the  cultivation  of  his  farm,  he  has 
since  1853  manufactured  on  his  premises  cider  brandy 
and  apple  whisky  in  considerable  quantities. 

The  Darbys  were  formerly  members  of  the  old 
Whig  party,  and  Mr.  Darby  is  now  a  Republican. 
He  was  one  of  the  Township  Committee  for  several 
years,  and  officiated  in  that  capacity  at  the  time  of 
the  erection  of  Fanwood  from  parts  of  Westfield  and 
Plainfield  townships. 

Although  Mr.  Darby  had  limited  educational  op- 
portunities in  boyhood,  he  gained  practical  ideas  of 
business,  and  is  one  of  the  representative  and  sub- 
stantial business  men  of  his  township. 


JOHN   LAMBERT." 
The  Lamberts  are  among  the  pioneer  families  of 
Union  County,  and  of  English   origin,  our  subject 


representing  the  sixth  generation  in  this  country. 
Robert  Lambert  emigrated  from  England  some  time 
prior  to  the  year  1673.  John  Lambert,  his  son,  set- 
tled at  Willow  Grove,  Westfield  township,  and  his 
son,  James  Lambert,  was  the  great-grandfather  of  the 
subject  of  this  sketch,  was  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  was  taken  prisoner,  and  died  in  the  city 
of  New  York.  His  wife  was  Elizabeth  Aiken.  His 
son,  James  Lambert,  born  in  1755,  married  Hannah 
Littell  in  the  year  1774.  Their  son,  Simeon  Lambert, 
married  Freelove  Littell,  who  was  born  in  1804. 
John  Lambert,  son  of  Simeon,  born  in  1824,  was 
brought  up  on  the  farm  of  his  father  at  Willow  Grove, 
whose  united  occupation  was  that  of  farming,  milling, 
and  fruit  distilling,  mills  for  which  purpose  were 
erected  about  the  year  1803  or  1804,  a  business  which 
John  Lambert  now  successfully  conducts.  John  Lam- 
bert was  united  in  marriage  in  1854  to  Susan  Ann, 
daughter  of  Isaac,  and  granddaughter  of  Zopher 
Hetfield.  To  them  have  been  born  ten  children, — 
viz.:  Ira  C,  born  1855;  James  B.,  born  1857;  Simeon 
W.,  born  1860;  Laura,  born  1862;  Julia  J.,  born 
1864;  Isaac  H.,  born  1866;  Pheba  H.,  born  1868; 
Ada,  born  1870 ;  Anna,  born  1872 ;  and  Clarence, 
born  1874. 

In  politics  Mr.  Lambert  is  a  Democrat,  though  he 
takes  no  active  part. 

His  early  education  was  limited  to  four  winter 
terms,  but  notwithstanding  this  he  has  become  a 
thoroughly  successful  business  man,  and  is  surrounded 
with  home  comforts. 


j^'^"^^  -^^^^.^^^^ 


MIDDLESEX     COUNTY. 


CHAPTER    LVIII. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  MIDDLE8KX  COUNTY. 

The  first  steps  towards  civil  organization  in  East 
Jersey  were  taken  by  the  Dutch  of  New  Netherlands. 
In  1661  they  established  the  jurisdiction  of  the  in- 
corporated town  of  Bergen  over  all  the  outlying  and 
contiguous  plantations  on  the  west  side  of  Hudson 
River.  These  were  embraced  between  the  Hudson 
and  the  Hackensack,  and  constituted  all  the  settle- 
ments in  East  Jersey  under  the  Dutch  rule.  The 
courts  at  Bergen,  under  the  supreme  authority  of  the 
director-general  and  Council  at  Manhattan,  were  suf- 
ficient to  meet  all  the  requirements  of  local  adminis- 
tration over  so  limited  a  district  of  country,  and  were 
continued  without  change  or  addition  for  more  than 
a  decade  after  the  English  had  come  into  possession 
of  the  country. 

In  the  mean  time  a  sufiicient  population  had  set- 
tled about  Newark  Bay,  along  the  Piissaic,  the  Rari- 
tan,  and  southward  of  the  latter  to  the  Highlands  of 
Navesink  to  foreshadow,  in  outline  at  least,  the  ne- 
cessity for  erecting  the  four  original  counties  of  East 
Jersey.  As  yet  the  province  of  New  Jersey  had  not 
been  divided,  but  the  Legislature  in  sessi(m  for  the 
whole  colony  in  1675  enacted  that  "  Bergen  and  the 
adjacent  Plantations  about  them  be  a  County,"  that 
"  Elizabethtown  and  Newark  make  a  County,"  that 
"  Woodbridge  and  Piscataqua  be  a  County,"  and  that 
the  "two  towns  of  Nevysink  make  a  County."'  The 
"  two  towns"  referred  to  were  Middletown  and  Shrews- 
bury ;  they  are  often  alluded  to  in  old  acts  and  records 
as  "  the  two  Navesink  towns."  By  this  act  the  in- 
cipient counties  were  neither  named  nor  their  limits 
defined.  A  more  definite  division  was  made  seven 
years  later,  when  (tlie  province  having  been  divided 
into  East  and  West  Jersey)  the  proprietors  of  the 
eastern  division  established  a  government  over  their 
portion  of  the  territory  under  Governor  Barclay, 
Thomas  Rudyard  being  deputy.  Having  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  their  territory,  the  Eastern  proprie- 
tors now  divided  it  into  counties  as  they  saw  fit. 
The  West  Jersey  proprietors  had  previously  adopted 
a  very  different  mode  of  division,  having  passed  an 
act  by  the  "  General  Free'  Assembly"  in  1681  divid- 


ing the  province  into  "Tenths."  "This  was  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  plan  prescribed  in  the  '  Concessions 
and  Agreements'  of  the  propietors,  set  forth  in  1676, 
which  provided  that  West  Jersey  should  be  divided 
into  '  One  Hundred  Parts,'  which  were  again  to  be 
divided  into 'ten  equal  parts  or  shares  called  Tenths;" 
and  in  1683  a  portion  of  these  Tenths  was  represented 
in  the  General  Assembly,  held  that  year  at  Burling- 
ton, the  members  being  designated  as  from  the  '  first 
Tenth'  (being  the  town  of  Burlington),  the  'second 
Tenth,'  and  'Salem  Tenth'  (being  the  town  of  Salem). 
At  this  session  commissioners  were  appointed  for  the 
dividing  and  regulating  of  lands,  and  another  Tenth 
was  represented  on  this  commission  under  the  diffu- 
sive title  of  '  The  other  Tenth.'  In  a  session  of  the 
Assembly  held  in  September,  1685,  another  Tenth 
was  represented,  entitled  the  '  Fourth  Tenth.'  At 
.some  time  between  1685  and  1692,  Burlington,  Salem, 
and  Gloucester  were  erected  into  Counties,  and  in  the 
latter  year  Cape  May  was  added  to  the  number." 

The  General  Assembly  of  East  Jersey,  convened  at 
Elizabethtown  in  1682,  passed  an  act  erecting  the  four 
counties  of  Bergen,  Essex,  Middlesex,  and  Monmouth. 
The  reason  for  the  erection  of  these  counties  is  given 
in  the  preamble,  which  says,  "  Having  taken  into  con- 
sideration the  necessity  of  dividing  the  province  into 
respective  counties /or  the  better  governing  and  settling 
Courts  in  the  same,  be  it  enacted  by  this  General  As- 
sembly, and  the  Authority  thereof,  that  this  Province 
be  divided  into  four  Counties,  as  follows : 

"Bergen  County  to  contain  all  the  settlements  be- 
tween Hudson's  River  and  Hackensack  River,  begin- 
ning at  Constable's  Hook,  and  so  to  extend  to  the 
uppermost  bounds  of  the  Province  Northward  be- 
tween said  Rivers. 

"Essex,  and  the  County  thereof,  to  contain  all  the 
settlements  between  the  West  side  of  Hackensack 
River  and  the  parting  line  between  Woodbridge  and 
Elizabeth-Towne,  and  so  to  extend  Westward  and 
Northward  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  Province. 

"  Midd/esex  County  to  begin  from  the  parting  line 
between   Essex  County  and  Woodbridge  line,  con- 


'  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  96. 

'  In  East  Jersey  fi-oni  1664  till  1682  the  title  of  the  legislative  body 

LS  "  The  General  Asaenilily,"  the  full  title  being  "  The  Governor,  Coun- 


cil, and  Burgesses  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province  of  New 
Csesarea  or  New  Jersey."  After  1682  the  title  was  simply  "  The  General 
Assembly.''  In  West  Jersey  it  was  styled  "  The  General  Free  Assembly" 
from  1681  till  1685,  after  which  it  was  entitled  "  The  Governor,  Council, 
and  Representatives  of  the  Province  of  West  Jersey." — Learning  and 
Spicer. 

^  LeamlDg  and  Spicer,  p.  383. 


418 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


taining  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway,  and  all  the 
plantations  on  both  sides  of  the  Raritan  River  as 
far  as  Chesquake  Harbour  Eastward,  extending 
South  West  to  the  Division  Line  of  the  Province, 
and  North  West  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  Prov- 
ince. 

"  Monmouth  County  to  begin  at  the  Westward 
bounds  of  Middlesex  County,  containing  Middle- 
town  and  Shrewsbury,  and  to  extend  Westward, 
Southward,  and  Northward  to  the  extreme  Bounds 
of  the  Province." ' 

In  March,  1688,  an  act  of  As-sembly  was  passed 
setting  off  Somerset  from  Middlesex,  for  the  reasons, 
as  given  in  the  preamble,  that  "  the  uppermost  part 
of  Raritan  River  is  settled  by  persons  whom  in  their 
husbandry  and  manureing  of  their  land  are  forced 
upon  quite  different  ways  and  methods  from  the 
other  farmers  and  inhabitants  of  the  County  of  Mid- 
dlesex, because  of  the  frequent  floods  that  carry  away 
their  fences  on  their  meadows,  the  only  arrable  lands 
they  have,  and  so  by  consequence  their  interest  is 
divided  from  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  said 
County."  ^  For  many  years,  however,  this  division 
was  nominal  only  ;  and  in  1709-10,  by  an  act  of  the 
Assembly,''  Somerset  was  continued  "subjected  to  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  courts  and  officers  of  Middlesex 
for  the  want  of  a  competent  number  of  inhabitants  to 
hold  courts  and  for  juries."  The  same  act  also  pro- 
vided that  "juries  might  be  taken  promiscuously 
from  both  or  either  of  said  counties."  Courts  con- 
tinued to  be  held  in  Middlesex  for  the  two  counties 
as  late  as  1720,  at  which  the  surveyors  of  highways 
and  constables  for  Somerset  were  appointed.* 

Acts  relating  to  the  Boundaries  of  Middlesex. 
— On  the  31st  of  January,  1709-10,  an  act  was  passed 
for  determining  the  boundaries  of  the  several  coun- 
ties. This  act  defines  the  boundaries  of  Middlesex  as 
follows: 

"The  County  of  Middlesex  begins  at  tbe  mouth  of  the  creek ^  that 
parts  the  land  of  George  WiUocks  and  the  land  that  was  formerly  Cap- 
tain Andrew  Bowne's,  deceased;  thence  alung  the  said  Captain  Andrew's 
line  to  the  rear  of  the  said  land  ;  thence  upon  a  direct  course  to  Warr's 
bridge  on  the  brook  where  Thomas  Smith  did  formerly  live;  thence 
upon  a  direct  course  to  the  southeast  corner  of  Barclay's  tract  of  land 
that  lies  near  Matcliiponix  ;  thence  to  tht'  most  southermost  part  of  the 
said  tract  of  land,  including  the  whole  tract  of  land  in  Middlesex 
County;  thence  upon  the  direct  line  to  Sanpinck  Bridge  on  the  high 
road,  including  William  Jones,  William  Story,  Thomas  Richnian,  and 
Ji>hn  Guyberson,  in  Monmouth  County ;  thence  westerly  along  the  said 
Aaron  Robin's  line  and  James  Lawrence's  line  tu  the  line  of  the  eastern 
and  western  division  aforesaid,6  including  the  said  Robins  and  Lawrence 
iu  Monmouth  County ;  thence  northerly  along  the  said  line  tvi  Sanpinck 
Brook,  being  part  of  the  hounds  of  the  sjiid  Somerset  County  ;  thence 
following  the  line  of  Somerset  and  Essex  Counties,  and  so  to  the  Sound; 
and  thence  down  the  Sound  to  Amboy  Point;  and  from  thence  to  the 
creek  where  it  first  began." 


1  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  229.  2  Ihid.,  p.  305. 

3  Allison's  Laws,  p.  13.  *  Minutes  County  Court. 

f-  Whale  Creek,  culled  Chingarant  Creek  on  the  commissionei 
1763. 

«  This  wa»  the  Keith  line,  run  in  1G87  ;  tbe  Lawrence  line  waa 
till  1743. 


March  15,  1713,  in  an  "  Act  for  settling  the  Bounds 
between  Somerset,  Middlesex,  and  Monmouth  Coun- 
ties," it  is  enacted 

"That  the  boundary  line  between  Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties 
shall  be  and  begin  where  the  road  crosseth  the  Raritan  at  luians  ferry, 
and  to  run  from  thence  along  the  said  old  road  by  Jedediah  Higgins' 
house,  leading  towards  the  falls  of  the  Delaware,  so  far  as  tlie  eastern 
division  of  the  province  extends." 

According  to  this  act  Somerset  County  extended 
down  to  what  is  now  Abany  Street,  in  the  city  of 
New  Brunswick.  "  Inians  ferry"  was  at  the  foot  of 
this  street,  and  "the  old  road  by  Jedediah  Higgins' 
house,  leading  towards  the  falls  of  the  Delaware," 
was  the  road  through  New  Brunswick  to  Trenton 
and  so  on  to  Philadelphia.  This  road  was  then  the 
boundary  line  between  Somerset  and  Middlesex 
Counties  as  far  west  as  the  partition  line  between 
East  and  West  Jersey. 

Nov.  24,  1790,  "An  Act  for  altering  and  resettling 
part  of  the  boundary  line  between  the  counties  of 
Somerset  and  Middlesex"  was  pa.ssed,  which  enacted 
as  follows : 

"  Sfction  1.  That  the  middle  of  the  main  six  rod  road,  as  established 
by  law,  from  the  ferry  to  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  formerly  called 
Inian's  ferry,  to  the  boundary  line  of  the  county  of  Hunterdon,  on  the 
road  to  Trenton,  shall  be  the  boundary  line  of  those  parts  of  the  coun- 
ties of  Middlesex  and  Somerset  which  are  on  the  south  aide  of  the  river 
Raritan. 

"  Section  2.  That  the  lands  and  tenements  lying  to  the  northward  of 
the  line  hereinbefore  established,  and  heretofore  belonging  to  the  county 
of  Middlesex,  shall  be  and  are  hereby  annexed  to  the  county  of  Somer- 
set ;  and  all  the  lands  and  tenements  on  the  southward  of  said  line,  here- 
tofore belonging  to  the  County  of  Somerset,  shall  be  and  are  hereby 
annexed  to  the  County  of  Middlesex." 

This  act  made  the  "  middle"  of  the  main  six-rod 
road  from  New  Brunswick  to  Trenton  the  boundary 
line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset. 

Nov.  28,  1822,  a  supplementary  act  was  passed.  In 
this 

"  the  easterly  bounds  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  are  declared  to  be  the 
middle  or  midway  of  the  waters  of  the  Sound,  adjniniug  the  same,  to  the 
middle  of  the  channel,  at  the  junction  of  the  waters  of  the  Sound  with 
the  waters  of  the  Raritan  River,  to  the  eastward  of  the  fiat  or  shoal 
which  extends  from  Amboy  or  Cole's  Point,  and  thence  to  the  mouth  of 
Whale  Creek,  the  beginning  of  the  bounds  of  the  counties  of  Middlesex 
and  Monmouth." 

March  29,  1855,  "  An  Act  to  define  that  part  of  the 
division  line  between  the  counties  of  Middlesex  and 
Somerset,  lying  between  Kingston  Bridge  and  Little 
Rocky  Hili."     This  enacts  that 

"  A  line  commencing  at  a  point  in  the  centre  of  the  Kingston  bridge 
where  the  same  crosses  the  Millstone  river, and  running  easterly  along 
the  Princeton  and  Kingston  branch  turnpike  to  the  forks  of  the  old 
road  leading  to  New  Brunswick  and  said  turnpike  ;  thence  along  the 
centre  of  the  old  road  leading  to  New  Brunswick,  the  several  courses 
thereof  as  the  road  now  runs,  until  it  strikes  the  present  division  at  the 
top  of  Little  Rocky  Hill,  be  and  is  hereby  constituted  the  division  line 
between  the  wiid  counties." 

Feb.  6,  1858,  the  boundaries  were  again  changed 
by  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  which  says, — 

"  Section  1.  From  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act  the  boundary  line 
between  the  counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex  shall  commence  In  the 
centre  of  the  Franklin  and  Georgetown  turnpike  road,  at  the  point  wher« 
the  said  road  intersects  and  forms  the  boundary  line  of  the  city  of  New 


ORGANIZATION   OF   MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


419 


BrUDBwick,  and  rwns  thence  along  the  centre  ot  said  turnpike  road  to 
William  E.  Barker's  Ten  Mile  Run. 

"Section  2.  The  inhabitants  uf  North  Brunswick  and  South  Bruns- 
wick townships  that  may  be  set  over  to  the  township  of  Franklin,  in 
Somerset  Cnunty,  by  the  piissape  of  this  act  shall  be  liable  to  all  laws 
and  entitled  to  all  benefits  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  aforesaid  town- 
ship of  Franklin  are  subject  or  entitled  to,  and  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Franklin  that  may  be  set  over  to  the  townships  of  Norlh  and  Soulh 
Brunswick  shall  be  liable  to  all  the  laws  and  entitled  to  all  the  benefits 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  aforesaid  townships  of  North  and  South 
Brunswick,  in  the  aforesaid  county  of  Middlesex,  are  or  may  be  entitled 
to." 

By  act  of  Feb.  22,  1838,  part  of  Middlesex  was  set 
off,  with  a  portion  of  the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and 
Burlington,  to  form  the  county  of  Mercer. 

By  act  of  March  8.  IS.'il,  the  county  of  Middlesex 
was  declared  to  e.xtend  over  and  include  all  the  waters 
of  the  Sound  between  Staten  Island  and  New  Jersey 
lying  south  of  VVoodbridge  Creek,  and  the  waters  of 
Raritan  Bay  lying  westward  of  a  line  drawn  from 
the  light-house  at  Prince's  Bay  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Raritan,  so  far  as  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  thereof 
is  conceded  to  the  State  of  New  .lersey  by  virtue  of 
the  agreement  set  forth  in  the  act  entitled  "An  Act 
to  Ratify  and  Confirm  an  Agreement  made  between 
the  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Governors  of 
the  respective  States  of  New  Jer.sey  and  New  York." 

By  act  of  Feb.  16,  I860,  a  part  of  the  county  of 
Middlesex,  in  the  township  of  Woodbridge,  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  of  Rahway,  was  annexed 
to  Union  County. 

April  5, 1871,  an  act  was  passed  annexing  a  portion 
of  Plainfield  to  Piscataway,  in  Middlesex  County. 

TownsMps. — The  first  act  dividing  the  counties 
into  townships  was  passed  in  1693.  By  this  act 
Middlesex  was  divided  into  the  "  Corporation  Town 
of  Woodbridge,"  the  "  Township  of  Perth  Amboy," 
and  the  "Township  of  Piscataway."  It  is  our  pur- 
pose to  give  in  this  place  only  a  brief  summary  or 
outline  of  the  early  or  initial  facts  respecting  these 
townships,  and  the  points  at  which  settlements  were 
first  made  within  their  limits.  This  is  all  that  will 
be  necessary  here,  as  each  township  has  its  separate 
and  exhaustive  history  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

The  town  of  Woodbridge  was  originally  a  tract 
six  miles  square.  The  township  of  Perth  Amboy  in- 
cluded, besides  its  present  bounds,  all  the  territory 
now  comprised  in  the  township  of  South  Amboy. 
The  limits  of  the  township  of  Piscataway  were  much 
greater  than  either  of  the  others,  and  far  transcended 
their  present  bounds.  It  took  in  all  the  land  from 
Woodbridge  to  the  partition  line  between  East  and 
West  Jersey,  including  the  now  existing  towns  of 
New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  Cranbury,  Spotswood, 
etc.  It  also  embraced  lands  on  the  Millstone,  at 
Rocky  Hill,  and  Royse's  patent,  about  what  is  now 
Roysefield.'  The  language  of  the  act  relative  to  the 
bounds  of  the  townships  originally  constituting  Mid- 
dlesex County  is  as  follows  : 


"  In  the  county  of  Middlesex,  the  corporation  town  of  Woodbridge, 
being  bounded  acc^>rding  to  their  charter,  reserving  what  is  therein  re- 
served for  Amboy  Point.  The  township  of  Perth  Amboy,  including  also 
all  the  land  upon  Chesqueak's  Creek  to  the  bounds  of  Monmouth  County, 
and  along  the  said  bounds  to  the  west  branch  of  South  River,  and  down 
the  South  River  to  Raritan,  and  down  the  Raritan  River  to  Chesqueak's 
Creek.  The  township  of  Piscataway  includes  all  the  land  from  the 
corporation  town  bounds  of  Woodbridge,  on  Raritan  River,  thence  north 
to  Woodbridge  stake,  thence  west  to  Cedar  Bi-ook.  thence  down  the  said 
brook  to  Bound  Brocik,  thence  down  the  Bound  Brook  to  Raritan  River, 
thence  down  the  river  to  Woodbridge  bounds,  therein  including  also  all 
the  land  from  the  mouth  of  the  South  River  to  the  bounds  of  Somerset 
County,  on  Raritan  River,  and  from  thence  to  the  partition  liiie  of  the 
province;  and  along  the  partition  line  to  Monmouth  Couiity,  and  thence 
along  the  line  of  Monmouth  County  to  the  west  branch  of  South  River, 
and  down  the  said  river  to  the  mouth  thereof."  2 

"  As  early  as  1664  there  were  a  few  settlers  at 
Woodbridge  and  Piscataway.  Among  the  earliest 
of  these  were  Benjamin  Dunham  and  his  wife,  Eliza- 
beth, who  came  from  England  in  1650,  landing  at 
the  site  of  Perth  Amboy  and  settling  in  Piscataway, 
where  their  son  Edmond,  afterwards  the  Rev.  Ed- 
mond  Dunham,  was  born  in  1661,  being,  it  is  be- 
lieved, the  first  child  born  of  white  parents  in  Piscat- 
away. He  was  an  influential  Baptist  clergyman,  and 
preached  in  his  native  township  from  170.5  till  1734, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  also  a  clergyman, 
Rev.  Jonathan  Dunham,  who  officiated  from  1745  till 
1777.  '  In  1666,  on  the  21st  of  May,  Governor  Car- 
teret agreed  for  the  settling  of  two  townships,  called 
Woodbridge  and  Piscataway  (upon  a  portion  of  the 
tract  negotiated  from  Governor  Nicolls  in  1664  by 
Daniel  Denton  and  his  a.ssociates),  with  John  Pike, 
Daniel  Pierce,  and  Abraham  Topping,  who  had  been 
induced  by  agents  of  Carteret  to  come  from  New 
England  ;  and  a  deed  was  executed  by  him  to  them, 
Dec.  11,  1666,  conveying  "  one  moiety  of  the  land 
from  Raritan  River  to  Rahway  River,  as  far  as  the 
tide  flows.  .  .  .' "  Among  these  settlers  from  New 
England  were  the  following,  all  of  whom  appear  in 
the  list  of  those  to  whom  patents  for  land  at  Wood- 
bridge  were  entered  between  1669  and  1701,  namely: 
Capt.  John  Pike  (ancestor  of  Gen.  Zebulon  Mont- 
gomery Pike,  killed  at  the  battle  of  Queenstown  in 
1812),  Thomas  Bloomfield  (one  of  whose  descendants, 
Joseph  Bloomfield,  was  afterwards  Governor  of  New 
Jersey),  Capt.  John  Bishop  and  John  Bishop,  Jr.,  Jon- 
athan Haynes,  Henry  Jacques,  Stephen  Kent,  George 
March,  Abraham  Tapping  (Tappan),  Elisha  Ilsley, 
Hugh  March,  John  Bloomfield,  Samuel  Moore,  Na- 
thaniel Webster,  and  John  Ilsley.'' 

"  By  an  indorsement  on  the  deed  by  Carteret  to 
Pike  and  his  associates,  made  Dec.  3,  1667,  Governor 
Carteret  acknowledged  the  following  persons  as  equal 
associates  with  him  in  the  purchase,  and  it  is  said  to 
be  '  for  the  accommodating  of  the  town  called  Wood- 
bridge,'  namely,  Joshua  Pierce,  John  Pike,  John 
Bishop,  Henry  Jacques,  Hugh  Marsh,  Stephen  Kent,  ■ 


>  Elizabeth  Bill  in  Chancery,  p.  53.    Whitehead's  East  Jersey,  p.  122. 


3  Learning  and  Spicer,  pp.  329,  330.  Historical  Paper  by  Charlee  D. 
Deshler. 

3  Schedule  vii.  Eliz.  Bill  in  Chancery.  Coffin's  Hist,  of  Newbury,  p. 
70.    Deshler's  Historical  Paper.    Dolby's  Woodbridee. 


420 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


Robert  Dennis,  and  John  Smith  (from  which  last 
Smith's  Creek,  in  Woodbridge,  is  named).*  And  on 
the  18th  of  December,  1666,  Daniel  Pierce  conveyed 
one-third  part  of  his  purchase  of  Dec,  11,  1666,  to 
John  Martin,  Charles  Oilman,  Hugh  Dunn,  and 
Hopewell  Hull,  the  same  being  expressed  as  *  being 
for  the  inhabitants  of  Piscataway.'  Three  years 
after  Governor  Carteret's  agreement  with  Daniel 
Pierce  and  his  associates  for  the  settling  of  Wood- 
bridge  and  Piscataway,  on  the  1st  of  June,  1669,  a 
charter  was  obtained  for  Woodbridge  under  the  seal 
of  New  Jersey,  by  which  '  the  tract  of  land  therein 
described,  and  said  to  contain  six  miles  square,  is 
erected  into  a  Township  and  Corporation,'  This 
charter  prescribes  that  '  the  said  Corporation  or 
Township,  called  by  the  name  of  Woodbridge,  shall 
consist  of  at  least  sixty  families,  and  as  many  more 
as  they  shall  see  fit.'  "'"^  Under  their  charter  the  peo- 
ple of  Woodbridge  organized  a  municipal  govern- 
ment in  1683,  possibly  at  an  earlier  date. 

'*  When  Piscataway  was  first  erected  into  a  separate 
municipality  I  have  not,"  says  Mr.  Deshler,  *'been 
able  to  discover.  It  could  not  have  been  as  early  as 
1668,  for  in  that  year  an  act  of  Assembly,  which  re- 
cites the  names  of  the  six  towns  in  the  province  or- 
dered to  be  taxed  for  the  defraying  of  public  charges, 
does  not  mention  Piscataway'  as  one  of  them.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Corwin,  in  his  admirable  '  Historical  Dis- 
course,' says,  'Piscataway  received  a  charter  in  1666.' 
If  by  this  he  means  that  a  municipal  charter  was 
granted  at  this  date  he  is  in  error,  that  being  the 
date  of  the  grant  merely  under  which  it  was  settled. 
In  1675,  Piscataqua,  under  the  name  of  'New  Piscat- 
aqua,'  sent  two  deputies  to  the  General  Assembly, 
and  is  classed  among  the  towns  of  the  province,  and 
on  the  29th  of  May,  1679,  it  had  become  a  place  of 
sufficient  importance  for  the  General  Assembly  to 
meet  there.  Its  first  selectmen  were  appointed  in 
1693." 


CHAPTER    LIX. 

A  BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  EAST  JERSEY. 

Just  previous  to  the  Scotch  emigration,  in  1683,  a 
little  work  was  published  in  Edinburgh  by  the  Scotch 
proprietors,  entitled  "  A  Brief  Account  of  East  New 
Jersey  in  America."*  This  work  was  designed  to 
induce  emigration  from  Scotland  to  the  lands  of  the 
proprietors  in  East  New  Jersey,  and  therefore  a  consid- 
erable part  of  it  is  taken  up  with  an  argument  bear- 
ing upon  that  point.     The  writer  expresses  the  opinion 

1  Elizabeth  Bill,  p.  30. 

2  ibid.,  p.  31.     Deshler^s  nistorical  Paper. 

3  LeamiDg  and  Spicer,  p.  OU. 

*  This  work  is  one  of  the  rarest  Ijooka  relating  to  the  English  colonies 
now  extant.  It  is  a  quarto  of  fifteen  pages,  and  the  original,  in  the  pos- 
seeslon  of  Samuel  L.  M.  Barlow,  Esq.,  of  New  York,  was  copied  into  the 
Hiatortcol  Mnyazine  for  February,  1867, 


that  if  the  Scots  are  disposed  to  emigrate  there  might 
be  a  plantation  abroad  as  large  and  plentiful  as  Scot- 
land itself,  not  inferior  in  numbers  and  far  exceeding 
it  in  riches  and  all  other  conveniences. 

"  To  make  tbis  more  manifestly  appear,"  continues  the  writer,  '*  let  it 
be  considered  what  number  of  People  have  gone  out  of  Scotland  s\ncB 
the  year  1618.  That  the  Warrs  began  in  Germany,  since  in  the  SwedUh 
Armie  at  one  time  there  was  said  to  27  Scots  CoUonells:  And  into  ^anc«* 
to  JJowglas  Regiment,  from  time  to  time.  We  believe  it  will  be  granted 
but  a  modest  calculation  to  affirm  there  hath  been  many  thousands,  and 
yet  of  that  Vast  Number  few  have  ever  returned,  or  had  succession ; 
scarce  any  Family  hath  remained  abroad  iu  any  Comfortable  settlement. 
And  to  be  sure  not  the  10th  part  hath  ever  returned  that  their  Equip- 
ping them  abroad  coast;  they  all  either  dyed  or  been  killed  there,  with- 
out any  benefit  to  our  country  but  an  empty  Fame;  Which  is  now  in 
those  parts  little  or  nothing  considered. 

"  Yea,  it  may  be  well  affltmed  that  the  charge  of  James,  MargueMe  of 
HamiUonBy  his  Expedition  in  the  year  16'M,  coast  four  times  more  than 
ever  all  our  Souldiers  of  Fortune  brought  home  to  Scotland.  Now,  if 
these  People  had  gone  over  to  some  Forreign  Plantation,  and  had  but  a 
Proportionable  number  of  Women  with  them,  which  this  Country  could 
easily  have  spared,  what  a  brave  and  large  Colonie  would  there  have 
been  by  this  time,  and  very  advantageous  to  Scutland,  as  shall  after  be 
made  to  appear."  .  .  . 

*'  And  the  Voyage  to  a  Plantation  here  proposed  is  become  so  eaaie  and 
the  Intercourse  so  frequent,  that  a  Correspondence  wuuld  be  as  ordinar 
as  is  betwi.\t  the  South  and  North  parts  of  this  Nation  ;  Yea.  a  great  deal 
more  than  is  usual  betwixt  the  Wfst  and  Northern  Islands  aud  the  other 
more  frequented  parts  of  the  country. 

"  It  is  also  generally  known  how  hardly  the  Husbandman  here  do  live, 
and  with  how  much  Toil  and  Difficulty  they  are  able  to  pay  their  Rents 
and  liave  any  comfortable  Lively-liood.  The  Reason  whereof  is,  That 
especially  near  the  Seaside  and  most  inhabited  places,  they  are  be  far 
overthroug,  and  one  might  Maisure  what  two  or  three  have:  For  they 
seeking  to  have  so  much  Corn-Land,  they  eat  out  the  stibttance  of  it, 
wearie  tbemselves,  and  wrong  their  Landlords:  So  that,  if  there  were 
fewer  of  tiieni,  and  each  of  them  had  more  Land  and  less  in  Corn,  and 
more  upon  Grasse  for  Bestial,  they  would  have  a  greater  ease,  and  then 
Masters  would  be  better  paid ;  But  they  not  knowing  how  to  dispose  of 
themselves  otberwic<e,  makes  them  thus  throng  one  upon  another,  and 
render  one  another  miserable. 

"  Now  there  would  be  a  notable  Remedy  for  this  in  a  Forraign  Plan- 
tation ;  for  a  Husbandman  that  hath  two  or  three  thousand  Merks  in 
stock  (as  most  of  them  have)  might  transport  himself,  his  Wife  and  his 
Family,  and  get  a  little  Plantation  at  so  easie  terams,  in  a  short  time  so 
stocked  that  he  might  live  more  Comfortably,  plentifully,  and  at  lesse 
Labour  than  many  of  the  Masters  do  here. 

"  It  is  also  kuown  that  ordinary  servants  here,  after  they  have  served 
six  or  seven  years  in  the  prime  of  the  youth,  can  hardly,  the  moat 
thrifty  of  them  (over  what  serves  them  in  Cloathfe)  gather  so  much  to- 
gether as  when  tliey  Marry  and  come  to  have  children,  will  b''  the  be- 
ginning ot  any  Comfortable  Lively-hood  :  But  there  after  four  years 
they  may  be  in  a  belter  condition.  .  .  . 

**  There  needs  no  other  nor  more  evident  proof  of  this  than  the  exam- 
ple of  most  of  these,  who  being  taken  at  the  fights  of  Duttbar  and 
Worcester  in  the  yeare  1650  and  51,  being  sent  over  as  servants  to  Barba- 
does  and  other  places,  after  they  served  out  their  time  have  most  of  them 
purchased  notable  Plantations  lor  themselves,  both  in  Barbadoes  and 
Maryland  and  elsewhere,  and  live  very  plentifully,  accounting  them- 
'  selves  happy  in  that  providence  that  brought  them  there,  und  extn-mely 
regreating  the  Condition  of  many  of  their  friends  at  home,  and  wishing 
;    them  sharers  of  their  propertie.  .   .  . 

"  It  is  time  now  to  show  how  some  of  our  Country-men,  in  order  to  so 

,    advantagious  a  Project,  have  already  purchased  an  considerable  Interest 

1    iu  a  Plantation,  which  is  justly  esteemed  not  Inferious,  if  not  beyond 

any  place,  upon  the  whole  continent  of  North  America,  belonging  to 

'    the  English  Dominions,  called  East  New  Jersey.  .  .  . 

'        "  The  Scots  Proprietors  are  James,  Earl  of  Pearth,  John  Drummnnd  of 

1    Lundij,  Lord  Treasurer  Depute.  Sir  George  Mackemie,  Lord   Register, 

Robert  Gordon  of  Cluntj,  A  rent  Smxmam  (a  I>ntch-vian,  but  interested  with 

the  Scots  Proprietors)  Robert  Barkley  of  Vrie,  Robert  Burnet  of  LeUienty, 

Gavine  Laurie  ;  Seven  parts  of  the  24  belongs  to  these  Persons,  which, 

by  the  most  modest  Calculation,  is  th<iught,  will  be  near  Five  hundred 

tltousand  Acres. 

"  The  Sictuation  of  this  Country  is  just,  as  it  were,  in  the  Center  of 


A   BRIEF  ACCOUNT  OF  EAST  JERSEY. 


421 


the  English  Plantations  in  America,  betwixt  the  South  parts  of  Carolina, 
which  is  over  hot;  and  the  North  parts  of  PemaquUte,  next  New  Scot- 
land, which  are  coldest;  so  that  its  Conveniency  for  Scituation.  tem- 
perature iiiid  the  Aire,  and  fertilitie  of  uyl  is  such  that  ther  e  is  no  less 
than  seren  towns  considerable  already  (viz.)  Shrevtsburry,  Middletoum^ 
Bcrghen^  New-wnrk,  Elizabelh-toton,  Woodbridge,  and  Piscntnicay,  which  are 
well  inhabited  by  a  sober  and  industrious  People,  who  have  necessary 
ProTJslons  for  themselves  and  families,  and  for  the  comfortable  enter- 
tainment of  Travellers  and  Strangers. 

'*  And  the  Quittrents  or  Fewes  (as  they  are  here  called)  of  these  Towns 
and  other  Plantations  already  in  the  Country,  yields  to  (he  24  Pro- 
prietors above  500  lib.  starling,  yearly  Revenue,  and  the  Air  of  this  Col- 
ony is  experimentally  found  generally  to  agree  well  with  English  Con- 
stitutions and  Consequently  with  ours. 

"  For  Navigation  it  hath  these  advantages,  not  only  to  l«  scituate 
along  the  navigable  parts  of  Hudson's  River,  but  lies  also  fiftie  miles 
along  the  Main  Sea, and  near  the  Midst  of  this  Province  i.s  that  noted 
Bay  for  Ships  within  Sandy-Hook,  very  well  known  not  to  be  inferior  to 
any  Harbour  in  America,  where  ships  not  only  harbour  in  greatest 
storms,  but  there  Ryde  safe,  with  all  Winds  and  Sail  in  and  out  thence 
as  well  in  Winter  as  Snmtner.  For  Fisheries  the  sea-bauks  are  very  well 
stored  with  variety  of  Fishes,  not  only  such  as  are  profitable  for  ex- 
portation, but  such  as  are  fit  for  Fuod  there:  There  are  Whales,  Coad- 
fish,  Col  and  Huke'Jish,  and  Large  Machril,  and  also  many  other  sorts  of 
Small  and  Flate-fish  ;  The  Bay,  also,  and  Hndsou's  River  are  plentifully 
stored  with  sturgeon,  and  other  scale-fish,  Eills,  and  shell-fish,  as  Oysters, 
ID  abundance. 

"This  Country  ia  also  plentifully  supplied  with  Lively  springs,  Rivolets, 
/fitari(2  ^iVers,  and  Creeks,  which  fall  into  the  sea  and  //u(i«on'5  River, 
in  which  there  is  also  varietie  of  Fresh-fish,  and  water  Fowl. 

'*  There  are  little  hilU  from  RarUan  River,  which  is  about  the  middle 
of  this  Province,  that  go  to  the  verie  North-West  bounds  of  it,  in  which 
an  abundance  of  good  Mill-stons  to  be  had.  and  there  is  many,  both 
Come  and  saw-milne:!!  set,  and  setting  up  already,  also  on  the  other  side 
of  these  mountains  there  is  brave  fresh  Rivolels,  fit  for  setting  In-Land 
Towna,  and  a  great  deal  of  Meadow-ground  upon  the  banks  thereof,  so 
that  there  is  abundance  of  Hay  to  be  had  for  Fodering  of  Catle  in  the 
Winter  time,  and  these  Meadows  shows  the  Country  is  not  altogether 
covered  with  timber.  .  .  . 

"  To  show  how  Fruit-Trees  do  advance  in  that  Country,  it  is  credibly 
reported  that  aliout  Burlingtoivn.  in  West  Jersey,  which  is  more  Northerly 
than  the  gieatest  part  of  this  Province,  from  an  Apple-tree-seed  in  four 
years  (without  grafting^  there  sprung  a  tree  that  in  the  fourth  year 
bore  such  a  quantitie  of  Apples  as  yielded  a  barrel  of  Syder. 

"There  is  there  also  grf at  store  of  Horses,  Cowes,  Hoges,  and  some 
Sheep,  which  may  b*-  bought  at  reasonable  pryces  with  English  money, 
or  English  cummudities,  or  man's  labour,  where  goods  and  niouey  are 
wanting. 

'*  For  Minerals,  It  is  thought  there  are  not  wanting  of  several  sorts, 
For  there  is  an  Iron  work  already  set  up,  where  there  ia  good  Iron  made ; 
And  also  thei'e  is  discovered  already  abundance  of  Btack-Lead." 

What  the  author  of  this  account  says  of  the  In- 
dians seems  to  have  been  borrowed  from,  or  at  least 
suggested  by,  Denton's  work : 

'*  The  Indian  Natives  in  this  Countrey  arebut  few.  Comparative  to  che 
Neighbouring  Colony.  And  those  that  are  there  are  so  far  from  being 
formidable  or  injurious  to  the  Planters,  and  luhabitauts,  that  they  are 
really  serviceable  and  advantageous  to  them,  not  only  in  hunting  and 
taking  the  Deer,  and  all  other  wild  Creatures,  and  catching  of  Fish  and 
Fowl  fit  for  food  in  their  seasons,  but  in  the  killing  and  destroying  of 
Bears,  Wolves,  Foxes,  and  other  Vermine,  whose  skins  and  furrs  they 
brii]g  to  the  English  and  sell  at  less  price  than  the  value  of  time  that 
people  must  spend  to  take  them.  Like  as  that  this  Colony  may  be 
founded  in  Justice,  and  without  anything  of  Oppression,  aa  all  that  ia 
already  Planted  is  truly  purchased  from  the  Indians,  so  there  is  a  great 
deal  more  of  the  Province  cleared  by  their  consent,  and  all  is  intended 
by  faction  with  them  to  be  obtained,  so  that  whoever  Purchase  or  Plant 
under  the  Proprietors  shall  be  fred  of  that  incumbrance;  and  if  there 
were  any  hazard  from  the  Indinns,s8  really  there  is  none,  yet  this  Prov- 
ince Could  hardly  be  in  any  danger.  In  respect  that  to  the  North,  upon 
the  Main  Land,  from  whence  the  hazard,  if  any,  must  come,  the  Province 
of  New  York  comes  betwixt  it  and  them,  and  20  miles  and  more  above, 
upon  Hudson's  River,  there  is  a  Fort  called  New  Albany. 

"There  is  order  given  that  in  the  several  moat  convenient  Places,  Ten 
thousand  Acres  be  set  out  to  each  of  the  24  Proprietors  to  them  to  sell,  set  out. 


or  dispose  of  as  they  please ;  and  when  that  shall  be  anyways  Peoph'd  or 
brought  in,  then  the  Proprietors  will  either  jointly  sellout  the  rest  or 
make  a  new  Divident,  as  they  find  most  convenient;  for  it  is  probably 
believed,  according  to  the  most  equal  Conjecture,  that  every  24  part  will 
contain  80,000  Acres. 

"The  Proprietors  have  framed  a  new  Schem  of  Government,  which  ia 
not  yet  a  fully  concluded  one,  but  is  intended  to  be  rather  an  enlarging 
than  an  abreviatingof  the  former,  and  making  it  more  easie  and  advan- 
tagioua  for  the  Inhabitants.    The  chief  parts  of  it  are: 

"That  the  24  Proprietors  shall  Chuse  a  Goveruour,  16  of  them  hasa 
Conclusive  Vote  in  it,  after  the  death  of  him  now  Chosen,  he  shall  con- 
tinue but  for  .i  years,  and  be  liable  to  the  Censure  of  the  Proprietors 
and  great  Counsel  and  punishable  if  he  transgress.  There  is  a  great 
Counsel  to  meet  once  a  year  (and  set,  if  they  see  meet,  for  3  months) 
consisting  of  the  24  Proprietors  and  48  chosen  by  the  Planters  and  In- 
habitants; two-thirds  Conclude,  one-half  of  the  Proprietors  assenting; 
and  no  money  can  be  raised,  or  Law  made  to  touch  any  man's  Libertie 
or  Property  but  by  this  Counsel.  There  is  a  Common  Counsel  to  sit 
constantly.  Consisting  of  the  24  Proprietors,  or  their  Proxies,  and  nine 
chosen  out  of  the  Representatives  of  the  Planters,  in  all  33,  to  be  divided 
into  three  Committees,  11  to  each,  one  for  the  Public  Police,  One  for  the 
Treaaurie  and  Trade,  and  one  for  Plantations. 

"To  avoid  Lording  over  one  another,  No  Man  Can  purchas  above  the 
24th  part  of  the  Countrey  ;  And  on  the  other  hand,  least  they  should 
squander  away  their  Interest,  and  yet  retain  the  character  of  the  Gov- 
ernment, that  belongs  to  property  and  thence  be  capable  to  betray  it,  as 
not  being  bound  by  Interest,  there  must  be  a  suitable  quantity  retained, 
otherwise  the  Title  in  the  Government  extinguishes  in  him  and  passes 
to  another,  to  be  Elected  by  the  Proprietors,  that  Dominion  may  follow 
Property,  and  the  inconveniency  of  a  beggarly  Nobility  and  Gentry  may  be 
avoided. 

*'  No  man  can  be  judged  in  any  cause,  either  Civil  or  Criminal,  but  by 
a  Jury  of  his  Peers,  ami  to  avoid  in  that  all  Caballin,  the  names  of  all 
the  County  or  Neighbour-hood,  capable  to  be  chosen,  are  to  be  wrote  in 
little  pieces  of  Parchment,  and  the  number  of  the  Jury  taken  out  by  a 
Child  under  10  years  of  age.  And  the  Proprietors,  as  well  as  others,  are 
to  be  Lyable  to  the  like  tryall,  and  not  under  any  Exception. 

"  Libertie.  in  matters  of  Religion  is  established  in  the  fullest  manner. 
To  be  a  Planter  or  Inhabitant  nothing  more  is  required  but  the  acknowl- 
edging one  Almighty  God,  and  to  have  a  share  in  the  Government,  a 
simple  profession  of  faith  of  Jesus,  without  descending  into  any  other  of 
the  differences  among  Christians,  only  that  Religion  may  not  be  a  clnak 
for  disturbance,  whoever  comes  into  the  Magiatrature  must  declare  tliey 
hold  not  themselves  in  Conscience  obliged,  for  Religion's  sake,  to  make 
an  alteration  or  to  endeavour  to  turn  out  their  partners  in  the  Gnvern- 
ment.  Because  they  diffar  in  opinion  from  them,  and  this  is  no  more  than 
to  follow  that  great  Rule,  To  do  as  they  ii-onld  be  done  by. 

"These  are  the  fundamentals,  which  are  not  alterable  by  any  act  of 
the  great  Councill,  as  other  things,  by  the  voices  of  2-thirds,  but  only  by 
an  universal  agreement.  So  it  is  hoped  that  this  hint  will  satisfie  all 
sober  and  understanding  people  what  Encuuragemeut  such  a  Govern- 
ment may  give.'* 

This  unique  government  was  never  fully  perfected 
or  carried  into  execution.  It  was  based  upon  the 
principle  that  dominion  should  follow  property,  and 
therefore  if  a  proprietor  lost  his  property  he  lost  his 
voice  in  the  government.  The  method  of  securing  a 
trial  by  an  impartial  jury  for  the  poor  as  well  as  for 
the  rich  was  to  elect  jurymen  by  ballot,  the  number 
being  drawn  by  a  child  under  ten  years  of  age.  This, 
while  beautiful  in  an  ideal  sense,  was  yet  without  any 
practical  value  as  to  the  attainment  of  the  end  sought. 
Any  number  of  these  men  eligible  to  act  as  jurymen 
might  have  been  prejudiced  in  particular  cases,  and 
yet  have  been  the  very  ones  drawn  by  the  child  to  try 
those  cases.  The  mere  drawing  of  the  ballots  by  an 
innocent  party  was  no  guarantee  whatever  that  the 
names  drawn  stood  for  the  qualities  of  good  and 
suitable  jurors  to  try  the  particular  cases  to  come  be- 
fore them.     On  the  contrary,  the  most  unsuitable  per- 


422 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


sons  would  be  quite  as  likely  to  be  chosen  as  the 
most  suitable. 

The  scheme  was  quite  tolerant  for  that  age.  None 
were  excluded  from  being  planters  or  inhabitants  of 
the  colony  but  Atheists  and  Polytheists.  Deists, 
Theists,  and  all  believers  in  "One  Almighty  God" 
could  be  admitted  to  citizenship,  but  when  it  came  to 
taking  part  in  the  government  none  but  Christians 
were  eligible,  that  is,  they  must  "  profess"  some  form 
of  "  faith  in  Jesus  Christ."  This  might  be  putting 
"God  in  the  Constitution"  and  honoring  Christ  by 
raising  a  political  flag  in  his  name,  but  the  profession 
at  the  same  time  might  be  the  merest  pretense  and 
mockery  for  the  sake  of  office  and  place. 

This  work  contains  the  following  passage  respect- 
ing Perth  Amboy,  not  then  built,  but  the  prospective 
capital  of  the  colony  : 

"The  Proprietors  have  also  Ordered  to  be  set  out  upon  a  place  caUed 
Ambojioint  (which  has  a  good  and  Convenient  Harbour,  and  a  pleasant 
and  wholesome  place)  1500  Acrea  for  to  build  a  Town.  This  is  to  be  di- 
Tided  into  150  Lots,  and  every  Lot  ie  to  consist  of  ten  Acres,  and  is  to  be 
Bold  at  iiO  lib.  iiUirliny,  provided  it  be  done  before  the  first  of  July  next, 
before  the  ship  go  from  Scotland,  Fur  after  that  time  we  cannot  promise 
to  accommodate  any,  least  all  be  taken  up,  fur  many  are  offering  upon 
the  place,  and  the  Proprietors  int**nd  to  have  each  a  house  built  there 
upon  tlieir  own  Account  this  Summer.  Now  this  will  be  found  a  very 
good  Bargain,  cunsideriug  there  is  300  of  the  1500  Meadow  ground,  bo 
that  each  lut  is  like  to  have  2  Acres  of  Meadow  ground  belonging  to  it^ 
which  is  of  great  value." 

"  For  HtiKbandmen  that  has  a  Stock,  able  to  transport  themselves  and 
Families,  with  a  few  Servants,  and  to  have  but  a  lUOO  pound  Scots,  or  a 
1000  Merks  more  to  carry  over  in  Commodities,  they  &hall  have  upon 
their  arrival  100  Acres  of  good  ground  measured  out  to  them,  or  above 
not  exceeding  500  Acres,  and  for  their  incourugement  shall  for  the  first 
7  years  pay  nothing,  and  then  have  what  they  please,  not  under  100  nor 
exceeding  500  Acres,  confirmed  to  them  and  their  heirs  forever,  paying 
half  a  Crown  an  Acre,  never  to  be  raised  upon  them;  And  for  the 
Charge  of  the  first  year  they  may  esisily  calculate  it  by  carrying  over  as 
much  Oat-meul  as  will  serve  them  Bread,  and  the  fraught  will  be  incou- 
siderable,  and  they  will  net  flesh  enough  in  the  Country  for  killing 
without  charge,  and  will  be  abl^  to  clear  more  ground  the  first  winter 
than  will  double  serve  their  Families  after  the  first  harvest,  so  that  they 
will  only  have  to  buy  with  the  Commodities  they  carry  over  with  them 
Seed  and  Beasts. 

*'  The  Charge  for  transportation  is  for  every  Man  and  woman  5  lib 
Btarlin g,  poBtatge  Rml  entertainment,  for  Children  over  10  years  of  age 
50  shillingN,  and  sucking  Children  nothing,  40  shillings  for  the  tune  of 
goods,  and  often  under. 

"The  Voyage  is  Judged  less  Sea  hazard  than  either  to  MolUind  or  Lon- 
don, and  if  there  beany  tolerable  wiudsitiseiisely  made  in  6  weeks.  There 
went  a  ship  last  harvest  to  West  Jersey  from  the  Road  to  Aberdeen,  and 
they  came  to  Delaware  River-monlh  in  8  weeks,  though  they  had  great 
Calme,  and  of  betwixt  30  and  40  passengers  that  out  of  Aherde-'n  several 
women  and  Children,  not  above  4  of  them  had  been  at  Sea  before,  not 
one  dyed,  nor  was  sick  by  the  way.  .  .  . 

"  All  sorts  of  Tradesmen  may  make  a  brave  Livelybood  there,  such  as 
Carpeniersy  Shiji-icrights^  Rope-makers^  SmiOiA,  Brick-makerg,  Taylorti^  Tan- 
ners, C'owjjerif,  MiU-icrighla,  Joyners,  Shoemakers,  etc.,  and  any  such  like 
who  are  willing  to  go  to  serv«  the  four  years,  not  having  to  transport 
themselves,  shall,  in  Consideration  of  thi*ir  Trade,  have  (after  the  ex- 
piring of  their  Service)  30  Acres  at  2  pence  the  Acre,  as  much  Corn  as 
will  flowe  2  Acres,  a  Cow,  and  a  Sow  ;  And  for  the  incoiiragemeiit  of  any 
such  Tradesmen  who  are  willing  to  go  over  and  transport  themselves, 
they  shall  have  the  like  quantitie  of  Laud  at  the  same  rent,  and  the 
Proprietors  will  oblige  themselves  to  find  them  work  for  a  year  after 
their  arrival  at  ae  good  Rates  as  they  can  have  here  until  they  furnish 
themselvca  with  some  Stock  to  make  better  advantage  upon  the  place. 

"  We  will  nut  encourage  any  to  go  there  in  expectation  of  Gold  and 
Silver  Mines;  yea  tho  there  were  such  in  the  Country.  We  should  not 
he  curious  nor  industrious  to  seek  them  out;  being  besides  the  Toyl  and 
Labour,  but  occasions  of  Envy  and  Emulations.     Nor  yet  is  there  Sug* 


gar  or  Indigo  there,  or  Cotton,  nor  any  store  of  Tobacco,  tho  it  grows 
there  very  well.  But  we  consider  it  not  our  interest  to  employ  mach 
ground  on  it.  The  Riches  of  this  Country  consists  in  that  which  is  most 
Substantial  and  necessary  for  the  use  of  man,  to  tcil,  plenty  of  Cum  and 
Cattle  (and  they  have  besides  Vines  and  Fruits  in  abundance,  as  before 
has  been  said)  so  that  who  dwell  here  need  not  be  obliged  t*>  any  other 
Plantations  or  be  beholden  tu  tliem  for  necessaries,  without  which  their 
Curiosities  would  little  avail  them.  This,  with  the  Province  of  New-York 
being  the  Granary  or  Store-hmue  of  the  West  Indies,  without  which  Bar- 
badoes  and  the  Lee-wards  Islands  could  not  subsist :  Tea,  New  England  is 
forsed  to  Come  here  every  year  for  Corn,  this  with  the  advantage  of 
Fishery  being  considered,  will  easily  induce  sober  and  industrious  Peo- 
ple to  prefer  a  Plantation  here  to  most  other  places. 

"There  will  a  Ship  go  from  Leith  about  Mid-Summer  next,  which  will 
also  call  at  ^6errfeeu.  Such  as  desire  to  be  more  fully  informed  or  to 
treat  wirh  any  of  the  Proprietors,  may  address  themselves  to  Xridreto 
H((mi/toM,  at  tliesign  of  the  Ship  over  against  the  Court  of  Guard  in 
Edinburgh  ;  or  at  David  FalkconeT''s,  Merchant  there,  who  will  either  give 
them  Hatisfiiction  or  find  them  occasion  to  treat  with  some  of  the  Pro- 
prietors. Also  at  Aberdeen  information  may  be  had  from  Gei-rge  Pyper 
and  Thomas  Mercer^  who  will  be  heard  of  at  Robert  Gerards  or  John 
Leitch,  their  shops  in  the  Broad- Gale. ^'' 


CHAPTER    LX. 

THE    CLAY    DISTRICT    OF    MIDOLESEX    COUNTY.' 

Topography. — The  clay  district,  which  is  the  chief 
subject  of  this  report,  includes  the  portion  of'Middlesex 
County  which  lies  along  the  Raritan  and  South 
Rivers  and  the  Woodbridge  and  Chesquake  Creeks, 
and  extends  from  Woodbridge  on  the  north  to  the  Mon- 
mouth County  line  on  the  south,  and  from  Staten 
Island  Sound  and  Raritan  Bay  on  the  east  to  Martin's 
Dock  and  the  mouth  of  Lawrence  Brook  on  the  west. 
Its  boundaries  are  as  follows  :  Beginning  at  the  north- 
eiist  on  Staten  Island  Sound  near  the  mouth  of  Wood- 
bridge  Creek,  the  line  runs  west-southwest  up  that 
creek  till  opposite  Edgar  Station,  on  the  Woodbridge 
and  Perth  Amboy  Railroad,  which  is  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  north  of  Woodbridge ;  thence  from  the 
creek  running  west  and  southwest  near  the  old  Wood- 
bridge  and  Metuchen  road,  and  intersecting  the  Me- 
tuchen  and  Bonhamtown  road  a  half-mile  north  of  the 
latter  village ;  thence  southwest  through  Piscataway 
to  Martin's  Dock  on  the  Raritan  River  ;  south  of  the 
Raritan  River  its  western  limit  may  be  said  to  be  de- 
fined by  Lawrence  Brook  and  the  Old  Bridge  and  New 
Brunswick  turnpike  ;  the  southern  boundary  is  not 
plainly  marked,  but  it  may  he  approximately  de- 
scribed as  running  from  Old  Bridge  to  Jacksonville, 
and  thence  to  the  Monmouth  County  line  near  Rari- 
tan Bay  shore ;  and  the  waters  of  Raritan  Bay  and 
Staten  Island  Sound,  being  the  State  line,'  limit  it  on 
the  east. 

On  the  northwest  the  clay  district  joins  that  of  the 
red  shale  and  sandstone,  and  the  frequent  outcrops  of 
the  latter  make  the  location  of  the  northern  boundary 


•  From  "  Report  on  the  Clay  Deposits  of  Woodbridge,  South  Amboy, 
and  other  places  in  New  Jersey,"  etc.,  by  George  H.  Cook,  State  geolo- 
gist, and  John  G,  Smock,  assistant  geologist. 

2  Geologically,  this  clay  district  extends  over  a  part  of  the  south  end 
of  Staten  Island,  and  probably  to  Long  Island  also. 


THE   CLAY    DISTRICT  OF    MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


423 


of  the  clay  easy  and  accurate.  Towards  the  west  the 
boundary  is  entirely  arbitrary,  the  later  geological 
deposits,  over  which  the  Old  Bridge  and  New  Bruns- 
wick turnpike  runs,  being  without  any  breaks,  and 
effectually  concealing  tlie  underlying  formations.  In- 
deed, it  is  probable  that  the  equivalent  of  the  clay  is 
not  limited  by  the  boundary  above  given,  but  that, 
like  all  the  other  deposits  of  the  cretaceous  formation, 
it  extends  entirely  across  the  State  in  a  .southwesterly 
direction  to  the  Delaware  River  and  beyond.  In  the 
flat  and  sandy  country  south  of  the  South  River,  and  i 
stretching  east  as  far  as  Jacksonville,  yellow  sand  and  : 
gravel  drift  reach  down  to  tide-level,  and  so  effect- 
ually discourage  explorations  for  clay  that  this  bound- 
ary must  be  considered  the  limit  of  the  district  in 
which  clay  can  be  profitably  dug,  rather  than  the  end 
of  the  beds  of  clay.  From  Jacksonville  to  the  bay 
shore  the  outcropping  clay-marl  accurately  defines 
the  southeastern  margin  of  the  clay  district.  The 
map  accompanying  this  report  shows  the  whole  of  this 
district  which  produces  clay,  including  all  the  pits 
of  the  county  and  of  the  adjoining  parts  of  Staten 
Island  in  which  fire-clay  or  stoneware  clay  is  dug; 
but  it  does  not  exhibit  the  whole  area  of  the  county 
in  which  clay  may  possibly  yet  be  found.  The  belt 
of  country  underlaid  by  the  plastic  clays  extends  en- 
tirely across  the  State,  and  includes  an  area  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty  square  miles.  In  this  area  it  is 
possible  much  valuable  clay  land  may  yet  be  found 
which  can  be  worked  to  profit.  The  area  of  the  clay 
district  of  Middlesex  County,  within  which  is  included 
all  the  clay  pits  at  present  worked,  is  only  sixty-eight 
square  miles. 

The  map  of  the  clay  district  which  accompanies 
this  report  exhibits  the  above-described  boundaries 
and  areas  on  a  scale  of  three  inches  to  a  mile.  It  will 
be  further  described  in  its  relations  to  topography 
and  structural  geology. 

Although  this  district  borders  the  tide-waters  of 
Staten  Island  Sound  and  Raritan  Bay,  and  is  inter- 
sected by  the  tide-waters  of  the  Raritan  and  South 
Rivers,  and  belongs  in  the  general  Atlantic  slope 
of  the  country,  it  has  not  the  flat  surface  or  general 
long  seaward  slope  which  are  such  marked  features  of 
most  of  the  land  along  our  coast.  On  the  contrary, 
the  surface  is  uneven,  and  its  average  elevation  is 
quite  as  great  as  thai  of  the  red  sandstone  country  on 
its  northwest  border,  or  the  marl  region  on  its  south- 
east. North  of  the  Raritan  River  nearly  all  the  up- 
land has  an  elevation  exceeding  thirty  feet,  and  fully 
one-third  of  it  is  over  one  hundred  feet  above  tide- 
water level.  This  area  is  subdivided  by  a  series  of 
hills  or  flattened  ridges,  which  extend  southeast  from 
the  Short  Hills  near  Metuchen  to  Perth  Amboy.  The 
Perth  Amboy  and  Metuchen  road  runs  almost  level 
high  up  on  the  side  of  this  elevated  ridge.  From  this 
elevated  ground  as  the  water-shed  the  drainage  is 
northeast  and  east  into  Woodbridge  Creek  and  Staten 
Island  Sound,  and  southward  into  the  Raritan  River. 


Poplar  Hill  is  the  highest  point  in  this  ridge  or  chain 
of  Tiills,  and  the  highest  in  the  district,  being  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  feet  above  tide-level.  From  Ford's  Cor- 
ners westward  to  Bonhamtown,  and  thence  southwest 
to  Piscataway,  the  old  road  runs  on  high  ground, 
most  of  the  way  about  one  hundred  feet  above  tide. 
Bordering  the  Sound  and  along  Woodbridge  Creek 
there  is  a  narrow  fringe  of  tide  mar.sh.  The  largest 
body  of  tidal  meadow,  however,  is  along  the  Rar- 
itan River.  That  on  its  north  side  extends  the  whole 
distance  from  Martin's  Dock  to  the  Grossman  Clay 
Company's  works,  and  is  from  a  half-mile  to  a  mile 
wide,  and  nearly  five  miles  long.  On  the  south  of  this 
stream  there  is  but  little  tide  marsh  on  the  shore  of 
the  bay  ;  Chesquake  Creek  is  widely  bordered  by  tide 
marsh  from  its  mouth  to  its  head;  there  is  a  fringe 
of  marsh  along  the  south  shore  of  the  Raritan,  between 
South  Amboy  and  Kearney's  dock,  and  smaller  patches 
from  there  up  to  Sayreville,  and  a  much  larger  tract 
above  Sayreville  about  the  mouth  of  South  River,  and 
stretching  up  that  stream  nearly  four  miles.  The 
area  of  the  district  which  is  tide  marsh  is  as  follows^ 
in  acres : 

Tounstiips  \cre8. 


The  surface  of  the  quadrilateral  area  bounded  by 
these  streams  and  Raritan  Bay  is  nearly  all  forty  feet 
and  upwards  above  tide-level,  and  a  large  part  of  it 
is  about  one  hundred  feet  high,  while  a  number  of 
hilltops  are  from  one  hundred  and  forty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet  in  height.  These  hills  are  irregu- 
larly grouped.  One  ridge  of  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  high  can  be  traced  from 
Sayreville  southeast,  east,  and  again  southeast  nearly 
to  Chesquake  Creek.  The  Burt's  Creek  and  Jackson- 
ville road  runs  a  little  east  and  northeast  of  the  crest 
line  of  this  ridge.  West,  southwest,  and  south  from 
South  Amboy  most  of  the  surface  is  between  one  hun- 
dred and  one  hundred  and  forty  feet  high.  The 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  cuts  through  this  high 
ground  near  the  Sayerville  road,  ascending  from  the 
depot  at  South  Amboy  to  an  elevation  of  one  hundred 
feet  near  this  road,  and  descending  a  little  near  the 
clay  pits  of  W.  C.  Perrine  and  E.  R.  Rose,  and  again 
running  up  to  one  hundred  feet  across  the  ridge  near 
the  Burt's  Creek  and  Jacksonville  road.  It  runs  for 
over  three  miles  on  the  water-shed  between  the  streams 
flowing  north  and  west  into  the  Raritan  and  South 
Rivers,  and  those  flowing  east  and  south  into  the  bay 
and  Chesquake  Creek.  The  slopes  of  the  upland 
towards  the  Raritan  and  South  Rivers  are  compara- 
tively gentle,  and  terminate,  except  in  a  few  cases,  in 
tide  marshes.  South  of  South  Amboy,  along  Raritan 
Bay  and  up  Chesquake   Creek,  the  upland   is  high 


424 


HISTORY    OK    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    rOHNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


quite  to  the  water  or  marsh,  and  forms  bluffs  that 
mark  clearly  the  upland  from  the  marsh.  The  New 
York  and  Long  Branch  Railroad  runs  at  the  base  of 
these  bluffs  from  South  Amboy  to  the  Chesquake 
Creek  at  Morgan  Station. 

Table  of  Elevations  in  the  Clay  District  of  Mid- 
dlesex County,  taken  with  an  Engineer's  Level.— 
The  following  table  of  elevations,  ascertained  by  level- 
ing, gives  the  heights  at  many  easily  identified  points. 
The  figures  give  the  elevation  in  feet  above  mean 
high-water  level : 


TICINITT   OF 

Feet. 

David  Flood's  clay  bank,  floor  of  platform  scales 75.0 

David  Ayres'  clay  bank,  floor  of  office 88.0 

Floor  of  bridge,  near  D.  Shotwell's  house,  old  Woodbridge  and' 

Hetucheu  road «.>»—■»■■— 90.7 

SurfacH  of  water  in  brook  under  the  bridge 85.0 

Floor  of  bridge,  above-mentioned  road,  and  one  mile  northeast  of 

above  bridge 73.0 

Summit  of  hill,  New  Brunswick  and  Woodbridge  road,  near  E. 

Stackpule'B  h'-use 165.0 

Same  road,  near  I.  Liddle's  house 162.0 

Same  roitd,  bridge  over  brook  from  Mutton  Hollow,  top  of  stone   i 

abutment,  northwest  corner. ...y. /  55.0 

Surfrtce   of  road,   David    Flood's  tenant-house,  north  of  Mutton 

Hollow .- 103.0 

H.  Cutter's  platform  scales,  on  road  to  his  pits 37.0 

Woodbridge  and  Perth  Amboy  road.  Spa  Spring  Brook  bridge,  top 

of  northwest  parapet 8.4 

Perth  Amboy  road,  corner  of  road  to  Cuttei'a  Dock,  surface. 


20.0 


PERTH   AHBOY   AND   WESTWARD,   NORTH    OF   THE   RARITAN    RIVER. 

Track,  E.  and  A.  K.  R.  and  N.  Y.  &  L.  B.  R.  R,  crosging 50  0 

Summit  on  E.  &  A.  R.  R.,  near  Ford's  Corners 94.0 

E.  &  A    R.  R.  track,  crossing  New  Brunswick  and  Woodbridge 

straight  road 89.0 

Metucben  »nd  Perth  Amboy  and  New  Brunswick  and  Woodbridge 

roads' intersection,  surface 105.0 

Bri.l;;e  floor  on  Florida  Grove  road  over  the  E.  &  A.  R.  R 101.0 

Surfacf  at  Benjamin  Valentine's  gate,  near  Fh'rida  Grove 67.0 

Summit.  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy  road  near  the  Eagles- 
wood  road 104  0 

Suifiice,  corner  of  road  north-northwest  ol  Manning  House  (hos- 
pital)     122.0 

Surfiice,  at  Manning  clay  shaft 103.0 

Centre  of  New  Brunswick  road,  opposite  entrance  to  Eagleswood..  98.8 
Flouring  of  culvert,  New  Brunswick  road  at  corner  of  road  on  the 

west  line  of  Pertb  Amboy 108.7 

Railroad  track  over  small  culvert  at  entrance  t*)  Phillip  Neuku- 

met's  clay  bank 38.4 

Rail  at  tnd  of  track,  E.  F.  Robert's  pits 84.4 

Surface,  west  end  of  grinding  pit-house  at  old  brick-yard,  Raritan 

Clay  Company 40.6 

Frog  of  switch  at  junction  of  railroads  from  pita  of  Charles  A. 

Campbell  &  Co 14.5 

Suifiice,  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  .\mlioy  road,  at  *' Half-way 

House" 86.0 

Surfiice,  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy  road,  at  west  end  of 

pits  of  Samuel  Hally 77.4 

Surface,  pits  of  Samuel  Dally,  near  red  house  at  pits  of  N.J.  Clay 

.ind  Brick  Company 73.0 

Top  of  post  near  corner  of  road  leading  to  pits  of  R.  N.  &  H. 

Valentine 108.2 

Top  ol  platform  of  David  Flood,  side  of  N.  J .  Clay  and  Biick  Co.'s 

railroad 45.4 

Platform  of  scales  near  office  of  R.  N.  &  H.  Valentine 78.5 

Railroad  track,  at  the  scales  of  N.  J.Clay  and  Brick  Co. 41.0 

New  Brunswick  road,  suiface  in  front  of  David  Mundy's  house, 

east  of  Bonhamtown 112.0 

New  Brunswick  road,  surface  in  front  of  Martin  Schofield's  house, 

half-mile  ea.st  of  Bonhamtown 103.0 

Railroail  track,  entrance  to  gravet-pit  of  P.  R.  R.  Co.,  north  of 

Bonhamtown 07.0 

WASHINGTON   TO   SOUTH    AMBOY. 

Brick    pavement   (west   end)    in   front    of    Methodist    Episcopal 

Church,  Washington 67.5 

LowtT  rail  on  curve  of  track  entering  Willett  &  Yates'  brick-yard, 

Washington 15.6 

SayM'ville,  surface  in  centre  of  road  in  front  of  Methodist  £pis- 

copiil  Church 41.4 

Sayievlllf*,  surface  at  frame  barn  of  Sayre  &  Fisher,  near  the  tire- 
brick  works 20.0 

Surface,  Washington  and  South  Amboy  road,  corner  of  road  to 

Wliitehead's  dock 45.0 

Surfiice,  Washington    and  South   Amboy   road,  Such's  railroad 

crossing 11.5 

Snm>Mii,  Washington  and  South  Amboy  road,  between  Such's  gate 

aud  Roberts'  west  pits 44.4 

Summit,  on  road  from  Roberts'  pits  to  Kearney's  Dock 61.8 

Such's  railroad  track,  at  clay-works 13.8 


Feet. 

Street  in  front  of  R.  C.  Church,  South  Amlwy 47.0 

Surface,  southeast  comer  of  R.  C.  cemetery.  Main  Street,  South 

Amboy 122.5 

Summit  of  hill  south  of  the  village 144.0 

Floor  of  bridge  over  C.  and  A.  R.  R.,  Washington  road 115.0 

MADISON   TOWNSHIP. 

Surface,  South  Amboy  and  Jacksonville  roiid,  at  corner  of  road  to 

Theodore  Smith's  clay  pits 80.0 

Surface  in  front  of  E,  Disbrow's  house,  on  road  to  Theo.  Smith's 

clay  pits 46.0 

Surface,  north  corner  of Fitznack's  housf .  at  Theo.  Smith's 

clay  pita 38.4 

Otto  Ernst's  clay-mines  floor  at  top  of  shaft  of  1868.. 31.3 

Oito  Ernst's  clay-oiiiiefi,  fli>orai  top  of  sh»t\  of  1874 27.6 

ElevationB  of  Each  of  the  Clay-Beds  at  Various  Points  in 
the  District. 

RARITAN  CLAY-BED. 

Geo.  W.  Ruddy's  pits,  >oiith  end,  surface  of  clay 3S 

Geo.  W.  Ruddy's  pits,  ne  tr  house,  surface  of  clay 36 

Wm.  B.  Dixou's  clay,  top.  31 

New  Jereey  Clay  and  Brick  Company,  top 44 

David  Flood's  fire-clay,  southeaat  of  Bonhamtown,  top  of  clay 47 

David  Flood's  southwest  pits,  top  of  clay 43 

Geo.  Phoenix's  clay  pits,  north  of  Bonliamtown,  top  of  clay 76 

W.  C.  &  E.  Miimly's  pits,  north  of  Bonhamtown,  top  of  clay 77 

Carman's  brick-yard,  north  of  Bonhamtown,  top  of  clay 78 

Charles  M.  Daily's  pits,  south  of  Bonhamtown  and  north  of  the 

Raritan  River,  top  of  clay  (below  tide) — 11 

WOODBRIDGE   FIRE-CLAY   BED. 

WOODBEIDGE    AND   VICINITY. 

Wm.  P.  Edgar's  bank,  top  of  clay 83 

Wm.  P.  Edgar's  bank,  120  feet  east  of  ..hove  (top) 89 

Wni.  H.  Berry's  pita  (east),  top  of  clay 73 

Wm.  H.  Berry's  pits,  nurthwestof  farm-house,  top  of  clay 81 

David  Flood's  bank,  near  his  residence,  top  of  blue  clay,  at  north- 
east end  of  the  hank 76 

David  Flood's  bank,  top  of  sandy  clay,  100  yards  northwest  of 

above 89 

J.  H.  Campbell's  estate,  top  of  best  clay 78 

David  Ayers'  bank,  top  of  clay » ~  80 

Charles  M    Daily's  bank,  top  of  fire-clay 65-77 

Salamander  Works'  bank,  top  of  white  clay 79 

Loughridge  &  Powers'  pits,  top  of  white  clay 73 

Loughridge  JSi  Powers'  pits,  bottom  of  fire-clay  (deepest) 48 

Mellick  Brothers*  pita,  top  of  fire-clay ;»7 

B.  Kreischer's  pits,  topof  sandy  (stoneware)  clay 59 

B.  Kreischer's  pits,  top  of  fire-clay 53 

William  II.  Berry's  bank,  adjoining  New  Brunswick  road,  on  the 

south,  topof  bb.ck-clay 88 

S.  A.  Meeker  &  Son's  pits,  "  Mutton  Hollow,"  top  of  fire-clay 56 

J.  R.  Watson  &  Son's  bank,  top  of  (stoneware)  clay 59 

J.  R.  Watson  &  Son's  bank,  bottom  of  fire-clay 41 

A.  Hall  &  Son's  bank,  top  of  fire-clay 67 

A.  Hall  &  Son's  bank,  southwest  end  of  bank,  top  of  firf-clay 74 

BANKS   SOUTHWEST   AND   SOUTH    OF   WOODBRIDOK. 

Isaac  Inslee's  pits,  top  of  clay 52 

Isaac  Inslee's  pits,  bottom  of  fire-clay 38 

James  Valentine's  pits,  top  of  clay 48 

James  Valentine's  pits,  bottom  of  fire-clay 36 

Hampton  Cutter  &  Sons,  northeast  pits,  top  of  white  fire-clay 32 

Hampton  Cutter  &  Sons,  south  pits,  top  of  clay-hed 34 

Hampton  Cutter  &  Sons,  south  pits,  bottom  of  fire-clay 20 

Hampton  Cutter  A  Sons,  west  bank,  top  of  black  clay; 63 

Hampton  Cutter  &  Sons,  west  liank,  top  of  blue  clay 41 

Hampton  Cutter  A  Sons,  west  bank,  Untom  of  blue  clay 20 

Isaac  Flood,  clay  pits,  top  of  (stoneware)  clay 38 

E.  Cutter's  estate,  old  pipe-  clay  i>ank,  top  of  clay 25 

W.  n    P   Benton's  pits,  top  of  clay  (below  tide) —7 

Charles  Auness  &  Sou's  pits,  top  of  clay  (below  tide) — 5-10 

CIAY    ALONG   THE    NORTH   SHORK   OF   THE    RARITAN    RIVER. 

Woodbridge  CUy  Company's  pits,  east  of  Crows'  Mill  Creek,  top 

of  the  fire-clay  (below  tide) —18 

Woodbridge  Clay  Company's  pits,  near  Crussmaii  Clay  and  Manu- 
facturing Company's  works,  top  of  fire-clay  (^holow  tide) — 3.5 

Woodbridge  Clay  Company's  pits,  bottom  of  fire-clay  (below  tide)..  —11.5 

Augustine  Campbell's  pits,  near  Crows'  Mill  Creek,  bottom  of  fire- 
clay (avenige) -20 

A.  Weber^s  bank,  topof  fire-clay *-i05 

A.  Weber'?  bank,  bottom  of  fire-clay 11 

Cro&sman  Clay  and  Manufactuiing  Company's  east  bank,  tup  of 

fire-clay  21.5 

Crossman  Clay  and  Manufacturing  Company's  east  bank,  bottom 

of  fire-clay 10.5 

Crossnian  Clay  and  Manufacturing  Company's  middle  bank,  top 

of  fire-clay  26 

Grossman  t'lay  and  Manufacturing  Company's  niiddlo  bank,  bot- 
tom of  fire-clay 17 

Grossman  Clay  and  Manufacturing  G>mpany's  west  bank,  topof 

fire-clay 37 

CroBsnmn  Clay  and  Manufacturing  Company's  west  bank,  bottom 

of  fire-clay 26 

Ph.  Neukumet's  bank,  top  uf  fire-clay 38 


THE   CLAY    DISTRICT  OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


425 


Feet. 

Ph.  Neukiimet'8  bank,  liottom  of  flie-clay 29-32 

Chas.  A.  Campbell  A  Ou.'s  north  or  blue  clay  bank,  top  of  fire-clay        40 
Chai.  A.  Campbell  Jk  Co.'s  south  or  white  clay  bank,  top  of  fire-clay        38 

Isaac  Flood  &  Son's  bank,  east  end,  top  of  fire-clay  56 

Isaac  Flood  &  Son's  bank,  west  end,  top  of  fire-clay 61 

R.  N.  &  H.  Valentine's  bank,  top  of  fire-clay 61-54 

R.  N.  4  H.  Valentine's  southwest  pits,  top  of  fire-clay 60 

Samuel  Daily's  pits,  north  of  New  Brunswick  road,  top  of  clay...         74 
Samuel  Daily's  pits,  south  of  New  Brunswick  road,  top  of  clay...         66 
New  Jersey  Clay  and  Brick  Company,  northeast  pit,  bottom  of  fire- 
clay          64 

KAOLIN    AND   FELDSPAR   BED. 

Forbes'  farm,  feldspar  bank,  top  of  sandy  clay 104 

Forbes'  farm,  top  of  feldspar 96 

Forbes'  farm,  twttom  of  feldspar 90 

Charles  Anuess  &  Sons'  feldspar  bank,  top  of  feldspar 91 

Charles  AuDsss  &  Sons'  feldspar  bank,  east  end  of  the  bank,  top  of 

feldspar 99 

Charles  Anness  &  Sons'  feldspar  bank,  top  of  sandy  red  clay 104 

Edgar  Bros",  feldspar  bank,  top  of  feldspar 83 

Knickerbocker  Life  Insurance  Company's  farm,  fire-sand  bank, 

top  of  black  clay 50 

KuickerlKJcker  Life  Insurance  Company's  farm,  fire-sand  bank, 

topof  fire-sand ; 71 

Knickerbocker  Life  Insurance  Company's  farm,  fire-sand  bauk, 

top  of  fire-sand 58 

Knickerbocker  Life  Insurance  Company's  south  pit,  top  of  kaolin  65 

James  Valentine's  kaolin,  N.  T.  &  L.  B.  B.  R.  cut,  bottom  of  kaolin.  38 

Mrs.  Merritt's  kaolin  pits,  top  of  kaolin .63 

Wliiteliead  Bros*  bank,  Sayreville,  top  of  kaolin 50 

J.  K.  Brick  estate,  Burt's  Creek,  top  of  kaolin 30 

Whitehead  estate,  bank,  Washington,  topof  kaolin 82 

SOUTH   AMBOY   FIRE-CLAY  BED. 

NOBTH    OF   THE    RARITAN    RIVER. 

Manning  shaft,  lop  of  the  clay 100 

E.  F.  Roberts'  pits,  Manning  farm,  top  of  fire-clay 80 

E.  F.  Roberts'  pits.  Manning  farm,  bottom  of  fire-clay 69 

E.  F.  Roberts'  pits.  Manning  farm,  east  end,  bottom  of  fire-clay...        60 
JohnDe  Bow's  pits,  top  of  red  clay 80-83 

SOUTH    OF   THE   RARITAN    RIVER. 

Kearney  tract,  E.  F.  &  J.  M.  Roberta,  north  of  Washington  road, 

top  of  fire-clav 32-.36 

Kearney  tract,  E.F.  &J.  M.  Roberts,  north  of  Washington  road, 

bottom  of  fire-clay 26 

Kearney  tract,  K.  F.  &  J.  M.  Roberts,  south  of  Washington  road, 

top  of  fire-clay 29-35 

Kearney  tract,  E.  F.  &  J.  M.  Roberts,  south  of  Washington  road, 

bottom  of  fire-clay  (deepesi) 15 

George  Such's  pita,  southern  end,  top  of  fire-clay 25 

George  Such's  pits,  southern  end,  bottom  of  fire-clay 13 

J.  K.  Brick  estate,  bank,  top  of  fire-clay 28-36 

Whitehead  Bros'  pits  (old  southeastern),  top  of  fire-clay 

Whitehead  Bros'  old  Bolton  pit,  top  of  clay 

Whitehead  Bros'  liank,  near  Sayreville,  top  of  clay 

Whitehead  Bros'  bank,  near  Sayreville  (south  end),  top  of  clay.... 

Whitehead  Bros'bank,  near  Sayreville  (south  end),  Ixittum ol fire- 
clay  ; 

Sayre  A  Fisher's  bank,  top  of  fire-clay 

STONEWARE  CLAY  BEDS. 
E.  R.  Rose  &  Son's  pits,  near  Camden  and  Atlantic  Railroad,  top 

of  clay 

Theo.  Smith's  pits,  top  of  clay 

Theo.  Smith's  pits,  bottom  of  clay 

N.  Furman's  clay-mine,  Chesapeake  Creek,  top  of  stoneware  clay. 

N.  Furman's  clay-mine,  bottom  of  stoneware  clay 

N.  Furman's  clay-mine  western  shaft,  top  of  stoneware  clay 

N.  Furman's  clay-mine,  western  shaft,  top  of  stoneware  clay 

Otto  Ernst's  clay -mines,  1868  shaft,  top  of  good  clay 

Otto  Ernst's  clay-mines,  shaft  of  1876,  top  of  good  clay 

Morgan  estate,  Raritan  Bay,  top  of  stoneware  clay 

Morgan  estate,  Raritan  Bay,  bottom  of  stoneware  clay 

MISCELLANEOUS. 
Salamander  Works'  fire-sand  pits,  northwest  of  Wo4»dbridge,  top 

of  sand 

R.  N.  &  H.  Valentine's  fire-sand  pit,  at  Raritan  Sand  Hills,  top  of 


sand.. 


70-72 
70-76 
59-6'J 


49 


David   Flood's  kaolin  pits,  southeast  of  Bonhatntown,  top  (s( 

called)  kaolin _ iw 

Wm.  H.  Berry's  bank,  Woodbridge  and  New  Brunswick  road,  top 

of  the  black  clay 88 

Clay  pit,  across  road  from  residence  of  Charles  Anness,  top  of 

black  clay 22 

W.  S.  Petit's  brick-clay  bank,  Washington. South  River,  bottom  of 

working  face  of  bank 18 

Willett  4  Yates'  brick-clay  bank,  Washington,  S  R.,  top  of  bank.        41 

Everett  A  Fish,  potters,  clay  bank.  South  Amboy,  top  of  clay 82-88 

The  drainage  of  this  chiy  district  lias  been  already 
described  in  connection  with  its  surface  elevation. 
It  is  so  limited  in  extent  that  there  are  no  large 
streams  wholly  within   it.s  bounds,  and  yet  it  is  re- 


markably intersected  by  tide-water  and  navigable 
channels.  Thus  in  this  area  of  about  sixty-eight 
square  miles  there  are  about  thirty  miles  of  shore 
fronting  on  navigable  water;  or,  counting  both  sides 
of  the  Raritan  as  high  up  as  Sayreville,  and  exclud- 
ing the  more  tortuous  bends  of  the  Raritan  and  South 
Rivers  and  Chesquake  Creek,  there  are  twenty-five 
miles  of  water-front.  So  that  there  is  not  a  point  in 
the  district  three  miles  from  navigable  water,  and  of 
the  one  hundred  clay,  kaolin,  and  sand  pits  none  is 
more  than  two  and  a  half  miles  away  from  such  water- 
front. The  advantages  of  this  remarkable  location  for 
development  of  such  a  country  are  plainly  shown  by 
the  rapid  growth  of  its  industries. 

The  tributaries  of  these  rivers  and  creeks  are  small 
and  unimportant,  although  most  of  them  for  short 
distances  are  small  tide-water  inlets,  bordered  in  some 
cases  by  tide  meadows,  and  some  of  them  are  capable 
of  being  improved  as  canals  or  basins. 

The  character  of  the  surface  and  soil  throughout 
this  clay  district  is  so  varied  that  detailed  description 
would  fail  to  convey  a  distinct  idea  of  its  manifold 
phases.  And  yet  nearly  if  not  quite  all  the  upland 
area  caa  be  described  in  two  clearly  characterized 
groups.  These  two  groups  of  soils  and  superficial 
deposits  mark  two  kinds  of  and  two  periods  of  the 
drift.  These  are  (1)  the  northern  or  glacial  drift, 
which  is  composed  of  fragments  of  the  red  shale  and 
other  northern  rocks  spread  unevenly  over  the  surface; 
(2)  the  older  (southern"?)  yellow  sand  and  gravel 
drift,  derived  apparently  from  some  more  southern 
source,  and  containing  no  red  shale  drift  whatever. 
The  former  is  the  more  recent  of  the  two,  and  is  found 
resting  at  many  points  upon  the  latter,  and  both  un- 
conformably  upon  the  beds  of  clay,  etc.  The  district 
north  of  the  Raritan  is  mostly  covered  by  the  former, 
and  that  south  of  the  Raritan  has  only  the  latter  kind. 
The  yellow  and  gravel  drift  is  found  to  some  extent 
north  of  the  Raritan. 

1.  Glacial  Drift. — No  attempt  has  been  made  t» 
trace  out  all  the  sinuosities  of  the  limits  of  this  sur- 
face formation.  The  general  outlines  are  as  follows  : 
Staten  Island  Sound  on  the  east,  Raritan  River  on  the 
south,  and  on  the  west  a  line  drawn  from  the  works 
of  the  Grossman  Clay  and  Manufacturing  Company 
north-northwest  to  the  Sand  Hills,  and  thence  west 
near  Bonhamtown  to  the  limits  of  the  map.  North- 
ward this  connects  with  the  Short  Hills  and  the  red 
shale  country.  It  will  be  thus  seen  that  this  drift 
covers  or  occupies  the  tongue  of  land  running  south- 
east from  the  Short  Hills  to  a  jjoint  between  the  Sound 
and  the  Raritan  River,  forming  Poplar  Hill  and  the 
high  ground  thence  to  Perth  Amboy.  It  must  here 
be  stated  that  the  Sound  is  not  its  eastern  limits,  as 
the  same  drift  covers  nearly  the  whole  of  Staten  Is- 
land, and  there  is  no  difference  in  the  materials  as 
seen  at  Perth  Amboy  or  Tottenville  on  the  opposite 
shore.  No  shale  or  sandstone  is  to  be  found  south  of 
the  Raritan  River  and  east  of  the  South  River,  and 


42o 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  former  at  Amboy  sharply  divides  the  two  surface 
formations.  This  drift  is  cut  on  the  line  of  the  Eas- 
ton  and  .4mboy  Railroad  at  Ford's  Corner,  and  at 
several  points  between  that  place  and  Perth  Amboy. 
It  is  best  exposed,  in  its  relations  to  the  yellow  sand 
and  gravel,  in  the/eldspif  banks  of  Charles  Anness 
&  Son,  and  in  the  Woodbridge  and  New  Brunswick 
road,  near  William  H.  Berry's  bank.  It  can  also  be 
seen  in  the  cut  on  the  Fasten  and  Amboy  Railroad, 
half  a  mile  south  of  Ford's  Corner. 

This  red  shale  drift  belongs  to  the  true  northern 
drift  of  the  glacial  epoch,  which  is  seen  covering 
nearly  all  of  our  more  northern  territory.  This  por- 
tion, thus  locally  described,  must  be  considered  as 
part  of  the  southern  end  of  the  great  sheet  covering 
the  continent,  and  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy  stands 
on  the  southermost  point  of  this  particular  drift 
bank.  The  red  shale  material,  the  predominating 
and  characteristic  constituent  in  this  mass  of  drift, 
gives  character  to  the  surface  of  the  country,  which 
resembles  somewhat  the  country  to  the  north  and 
west,  where  the  red  shale  crops  out  in  place.  The 
soil  has  that  peculiar  purplish-red  color,  and  is  in 
marked  contra.st  with  the  sandy  surface  towards  the 
west  and  south.  The  forest  on  tiiis  drift  area  is  also 
quite  diflerent  from  that  growing  on  the  sandy  and 
gravelly  loam  surfaces.  There  is  less  chestnut  and  no 
pine,  both  of  which  trees  are  common  and  make  up 
most  of  the  wood  found  growing  south  of  the  Raritan 
River.  From  these  statements  it  is  evident  that  the 
boundary  of  this  drift  is  easily  and  accurately  traced. 
The  matrix  of  this  drift  consists  of  red  shale  in  the 
form  of  small  fragments  and  as  fine  red  earth.  In 
this  the  pebbles,  cobble-stones,  bowlders,  and  other 
rock  masses  are  inclosed,  without  order  and  in  all 
possible  combinations.  Bowlders  and  pebbles  and 
fragments  of  red  and  bluish  (indurated)  sandstone 
and  of  trap  rocks  are  very  abundant  Gneiss,  granite, 
and  syenite  are  less  abundant;  the  conglomerates  and 
slaty  grits  of  the  Greenpond  Mountain  (Potsdam) 
series  and  the  magnesian  and  Trenton  limestones  are 
of  mu'^h  rarer  occurrence.  Large  bowlders  are  quite 
common,  so  much  so  that  their  removal  in  clearing 
new  ground  for  tillage  is  laborious  and  quite  costly. 
Many  of  them  are  large  enough  for  quarrying  into 
building  stones.  One  on  Miss  Gale's  land,  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  west  of  Woodbridge,  and  a  short 
distance  south  of  New  Brunswick  turnpike,  was 
twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and  was  used 
for  bridge  abutments  on  the  Easton  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road. In  Melick  Bros'  clay  bank,  near  Woodbridge, 
a  granite  block  ten  feet  in  diameter  was  found,  lying 
with  its  polished  and  striated  side  down  and  imbedded 
three  feet  in  the  fire-clay  bed.  Near  Patrick  Miles' 
house,  west  of  Woodbridge,  there  is  a  trap  rock 
bowlder  whose  dimensions  out  of  ground  are  fifteen 
by  ten  by  five  feet.  Others  nearly  as  large  might  be 
cited,  but  they  are  not  uncommon,  although  growing 
scarce  as  the  country  is  more  cleared  up  and  farmed 


or  worked  for  its  clays.  Bowlders  from  one  to  three 
feet  in  diameter  are  abundant,  both  in  the  drift-bed 
and  (m  the  surface.  Occasionally  thin  and  irregular 
layers  of  white,  sandy  clay  and  clayey-like  pebbles 
occur  in  this  drift.  These  are,  however,  of  very  lim- 
ited extent  and  not  common. 

The  surface  of  much  of  the  area  occupied  by  this 
drift  is  remarkably  uneven.  The  hills  are  irregular 
in  outline  and  of  uneven  slopes,  and  sink-holes  and 
small  ponds  are  numerous.  These  irregularities  of 
the  surface  are  striking  features  in  the  higher  grounds 
west  and  southwest  of  Woodbridge,  in  what  may  be 
termed  a  continuation  of  the  Short  Hills. 

The  thickness  of  the  red  shale  drift  as  cut  in  many 
places  does  not  exceed  twenty  feet,  but  in  Poplar 
Hill  there  must  be  a  much  greater  thickness,  possibly 
more  than  a  hundred  feet.  The  average  or  mean 
thickness  may  be  put  at  twenty  feet.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  table  of  elevations  of  the  clays,  kaolins, 
feldspars,  and  fire-sands,  and  a  comparison  of  these 
heights  and  the  heights  of  the  surface  at  these  places, 
shows  that  there  is  not  anywhere  more  than  forty 
feet  of  drift,  excepting  in  Poplar  Hill.  So  far  as  ex- 
cavations indicate  it  is  frequently  quite  thin,  some- 
times amounting  to  little  more  than  a  soil  and  subsoil. 
This  is  more  particularly  the  case  towards  the  south- 
east and  near  its  boundary  lines,  or  where  the  sheet 
thins  out  and  disappears. 

That  this  drift  is  a  part  of  the  great  northern  drift 
and  of  the  glacial  epoch  is  evident  from  the  nature  of 
the  materials.  The  large  and  numerous  bowlders  in 
it  belong  to  rocks  whose  outcrop  is  to  the  north,  and 
these  occur  in  numbers  proportional  to  the  nearness 
of  such  rock  formations.  Thus  the  trap  rocks  and 
sandstones  are  in  excess  over  the  gneiss  and  conglom- 
erates. Then  the  great  mass  of  shaly  material  has 
certainly  not  traveled  far,  as  much  of  this  is  in  the 
form  of  fragments,  which  are  incapable  of  long  trans- 
portation without  being  reduced  to  earth.  This  char- 
acter of  constituent  materials  and  entire  absence  of 
all  sorting  or  stratification  corresponds  with  what  is 
observed  in  the  great  northern  drift  elsewhere.  No 
organic  remains  have  been  discovered  in  it,  although 
it  has  been  so  largely  excavated  and  at  so  many 
points. 

2.  Yellow  Sand  and  Gravel. — This  so-called 
sand  and  gravel  drift  includes  all  the  more  or  less 
sandy  and  gravelly  layers  which  form  the  surface 
materials  or  superficial  covering  of  this  clay  district 
outside  of  the  lines  above  given  as  the  boundaries  of 
the  more  recent  red  shale  or  northern  drift.  As  has 
already  been  stated,  it  underlies  much  of  the  latter, 
and  extends  north  and  northwest  beyond  the  limits 
of  this  district  In  all  directions  it  goes  beyond 
the  comparatively  small  area  represented  by  the 
map.  The  almost  endless  gradations  of  sand,  sandy 
loams,  gravel,  gravelly  loams,  etc.,  generally  of  a 
yellowish  color,  but  with  many  other  shades  acci- 
dental  to  the  surface,  are  embraced  in  this  forma- 


THE    CLAY   DISTRICT   OF    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


427 


tion.  It  is  not  only  thus  marked  by  the  general 
character  of  its  material  components,  but  more  defi- 
nitely by  the  sorted  or  stratified  arrangement  of  these 
materials,  a  characteristic  which  everywhere  distin- 
guishes it  from  the  unsorted  red  shale  drift.  .\ud 
it  might  very  appropriately  be  termed  the  stratified 
drift.  Towards  the  northwest,  between  Bonhamtown 
and  Martin's  Dock,  some  red  shale  earth  and  frag- 
ments and  bowlders  appear  in  it,  as  if  there  had  been 
a  mingling  of  materials  by  alternate  currents  carry- 
ing shale  and  sand'  and  gravel.  Excepting  on  the 
northwest  border  of  this  district,  there  is  a  remarkable 
absence  of  shale  in  this  formation.  And  this  is  another 
of  its  distinguishing  features. 

This  sand  and  gravel  or  stratified  drift  is  found  as  a 
surface  covering,  unconformably  resting  upon  all  the 
clay  and  other  beds  of  the  plastic  clay  series,  except- 
ing in  the  area  of  the  red  shale  drift,  where  it  is  over- 
laid by  the  latter. 

The  thickness  of  this  surface  formation  varies  ex- 
ceedingly from  point  to  point,  even  within  the  limits 
of  a  single  clay  bank.  In  those  about  Woodbridge 
and  north  of  the  Raritan  River  it  ranges  from  one  to 
thirty  feet,  or  possibly  in  rare  instances  even  more 
widely.  In  William  P.  Edgar's  clay  bank  it  is  thirty 
feet  thick,  and  the  red  shale  drift  is  wanting,  this 
forming  the  surface.  In  the  bank  of  William  H. 
Berry,  a  few  rods  southwest  of  Edgar's,  it  is  cut 
twenty  to  twenty-five  feet  thick  under  six  feet  of 
red  shale  drift.  A  few  rods  west  of  this  and  on  the 
same  property  the  latter  re.sts  immediately  upon 
the  top  black  clays.  The  same  irregularities  and 
breaks  appear  in  it  in  the  Mutton  Hollow  clay  banks, 
west  of  Woodbridge,  and  in  those  of  the  Salamander 
Works  and  others,  north  of  the  New  Brunswick  road. 
And  the  two  in  their  relation  to  each  other  and  in 
their  varying  tliickness  are  beautifully  exposed  in 
Anness'  feldnpar  bank,  in  E.  F.  Roberts'  bank,  near 
Eagleswood,  in  the  cuts  of  the  Easton  and  Amboy 
Railroad,  in  the  east  bank  of  the  Grossman  Clay  and 
Manufacturing  Company,  and  at  many  other  points 
which  might  be  mentioned,  since  most  of  the  digging 
for  clay  about  Woodbridge  has  to  penetrate  both  of 
these  drift  formations.  The  average  thickness  may 
be  put  at  ten  feet.  In  the  clay  banks  at  the  Sand 
Hills  and  along  the  north  shore  of  the  Raritan  River 
the  thickness  is  from  four  to  twenty-five  feet.  Here 
it  forms  the  surface  material.  South  of  the  Raritan 
it  appears  to  be  thicker,  ranging  from  fifteen  to  forty 
feet  in  the  several  clay  banks  from  Sayreville  to 
South  Amboy.  At  the  sand  bank  of  Maxfield  & 
Parisen,  in  South  Amboy,  it  is  at  least  thirty  feet ;  at 
Otto  Ernst's  clay-mines,  near  Chesquake  Creek,  it  is 
about  forty  feet  thick.  From  the  elevation  of  some 
of  the  hills  and  ridges  in  the  district  southwest  of 
South  Amboy  (one  hundred  and  forty  to  one  hun- 
dred and  eighty  feet),  the  maximum  thickness  of  this 
sand  and  gravel  is  thought  to  be  not  less  than  one 
hundred  feet. 


The  materials  of  this  formation,  whether  sand, 
gravel,  or  less  rounded  rock  fragments,  are  always 
stratified.  The  lines  of  stratification  or  layers  are 
sometimes  horizontal,  but  frequently  they  are  seen  to 
be  wavy  or  gently  undulating.  The  dip  or  incli- 
nation of  these  laminae  or  layers  is  not  uniform 
in  direction.  A  prevailing  dip  towards  the  north- 
west, as  might  be  expected,  is  not  shown  by  the 
observations.  This  sorted  arrangement  appears  in 
the  layers  of  sands,  gravels,  etc.,  although  these 
layers  are  not,  generally,  persistent  to  any  great 
distance,  but  taper  out  and  are  then  replaced  by 
others.  In  the  examination  of  the  surface  of  the 
country  a  marked  feature  is  nearly  everywhere  ob- 
served in  the  gravelly  hills  and  crests  of  ridges  and 
more  sandy  valleys  and  depressions.  This  may  be 
owing  to  some  systematic  arrangement  of  the  gravels 
and  sands,  but  more  likely  the  result  of  surface  drain- 
age, which,  operating  through  ages,  has  carried  down 
the  more  easily  transported  sands  and  left  these  grav- 
elly accumulations  in  the  shape  of  hills  and  ridges 
such  as  we  now  see.  The  sand  and  gravel  generally 
alternate,  but  irregularly,  and  in  some  places  there 
are  thick  beds  of  sand  without  any  lines  of  gravel,  as, 
for  example,  at  the  clay  banks  of  Sayre  &  Fisher, 
George  Such,  Messrs.  Roberts,  and  the  sand  bank  at 
South  Amboy.  Very  frequently  a  thin  gravel  stratum, 
a  few  inches  thick,  is  seen  lying  immediately  upon 
the  clay.  The  sand-beds  generally  exhibit  a  double 
system  of  lines  or  oblique  lamination,  known  as  cross 
stratification.  This  can  be  seen  at  nearly  all  of  the 
clay  banks  on  the  south  shore  of  the  Raritan,  from 
Sayreville  to  South  Amboy.  The  sand  is  mostly  a 
fine  white  to  a  yellowish-white  granular  quartz  mass, 
which  is  in  some  layers  mixed  with  earthy  matter. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  Raritan  there  is  less  sand 
and  a  larger  proportion  of  earth  and  gravel.  Quartz 
constitutes  nearly  the  whole  of  the  yellow  sands,  and 
most  of  this  is  in  the  form  of  grains  and  pebbles  of 
white  to  yellowish,  transparent,  translucent,  chalce- 
donic  varieties.  Some  black  grains  of  hornblende 
and  very  small,  angular  grains  of  magnetite  occur 
with  the  quartz.  In  some  places  these  grains  are  ce- 
mented together  by  oxide  of  iron,  making  a  friable, 
stony  mass.  Fragments  of  feldspar  are  rare;  and 
most  strange  is  the  general  absence  of  mica  from  these 
yellow  sands  and  gravels.  It  does  occur  in  places,  as 
in  Whitehead's  moulding-sand,  east  of  Sayerville, 
and  in  the  South  Amboy  pits.  This  absence  of  so 
common  a  mineral  and  rock  constituent  may,  per- 
haps, be  suggestive  of  the  source  of  the  materials 
found  in  this  drift.  In  the  vicinity  of  Piscataway, 
and  at  Weidner's  cut  near  Martin's  Dock,  both  round 
and  angular  fragments  of  red  shale  are  quite  abund- 
ant in  this  formation.  This  exceptional  occurrence 
of  the  shale  is  also  seen  farther  southwest,  beyond 
the  limits  of  this  map,  and  always  near  the  southeast 
border  of  the  shale  outcrop.  But  here  the  deposition 
was  in  water,  and  a  mixture  of  materials  was  such  as 


42!^ 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


would  be  expected.  Farther  east  the  glacial  action 
carried  the  red  shale  farther  south  and  covered  the 
stratified  drift,  and  in  that  manner  made  a  marked 
line  between  the  two  surface  formations. 

Wherever  the  white  sands  of  this  formation  consti- 
tute the  surface  the  soil  is  light  and  poor,  and  the 
timber  is  mainly  yellow  pine,  chestnut,  and  scrubby 
oak.  The  gravel  has  more  earth  in  it,  and  makes  a 
tighter  and  better  soil.  But  as  a  whole  the  area  oc- 
cupied by  this  sand  and  gravel  formation  is  quite  in- 
ferior as  a  soil  to  the  red  shale  drift  north  of  the  Rar- 
itan  River.  As  these  formations  make  the  soil,  their 
occurrence  explains  the  differences  so  marked  in  this 
district,  not  only  in  the  natural  soil  itself  but  in  its 
forest  covering.  And  much  of  the  general  develop- 
ment of  the  agricultural  wealth  of  this  part  of  the 
State  is  also  due  to  this  occurrence  of  the  northern 
drift.  The  mouth  of  the  Raritan  River  also  owes  its 
place  to  the  glacier  whose  foot  terminated  at  Perth 
Amboy.  So  that  the  glacier  of  the  past  geological 
age  has  left  an  impress  upon  this  country  which  all 
subsequent  tillage  and  improvement  has  not  effaced. 

This  formation  has  been  described  as  drift.  It 
must  not  be  confounded  with  glacial  drift,  as  its  origin 
was  due  to  water.  Its  stratification,  its  lines  and  lay- 
ers, indicate  that  flowing  water  and  not  ice  was  the 
moving  power.  And  these  alternations  of  pebbles 
and  sand  show  that  there  were  great  changes  in  the 
force  of  the  currents  that  carried  them.  The  dip  of 
these  layers  is  not  at  all  uniform,  although  several  to 
the  northwest  have  been  observed.  These  may  point 
to  a  northward  movement  of  these  currents.  The 
general  absence  of  red  shale  also  points  to  a  southern 
origin.  Again  the  jtrevalence  of  pebbles  of  mottled 
white  and  chalcedonic  quartz,  and  of  a  reddish  varie- 
gated quartz,  unlike  any  known  rocks  to  the  north  or 
northwest,  and  the  existence  of  rolled  fossils,  more 
abundant  than  in  the  more  northern  gravels  and 
true  bowlder  drift,  all  point  to  a  southeastern  origin, 

a  wash  or  drift  from  lands  now  under  the  waves  of 

the  Atlantic.  Possibly  the  same  continent  furnished 
the  materials  ,for  the  older  beds  below,  the  clays, 
kaolins,  and  fire-sands,  and  this  in  part  gravelly  for- 
mation may  have  been  the  last  of  the  successive 
floods  that  came  from  that  direction.  If  so  there 
must  have  been  along  interval  between  the  deposition 
of  these  clays  and  this  drift,  since  these,  as  well  as 
the  more  recent  green-sand  marl-beds  of  the  creta- 
ceous and  tertiary  ages,  are  all  alike  covered  uncon- 
formably  by  it.  The  glacial  drift  came  later  and 
partly  covered  this,  but  as  to  the  length  of  time  be- 
tween the  two  formations  we  have  no  data  for  know- 
ing. As  no  fossils  have  been  found  in  the  older  sand 
and  gravel  drift,  excepting  the  rolled  pebbles  and 
fragments,  it  is  impossible  to  determine  its  age.  It 
may  belong  to  the  later  tertiary  and  have  preceded 
the  glacial  age.  It  is  hoped  that  future  explorations 
in  many  localities  may  result  in  the  discovery  of  some 
remains  which  will  enable  us  to  determine  its  place 


in  the  geological  series,  and  also  point  more  conclu- 
sively to  the  source  of  its  materials. 

In  this  notice  of  the  surface  these  two  drift  forma- 
tions have  been  described  as  constituting  the  whole 
of  the  area  of  this  clay  district.  They  do  not,  how- 
ever, form  the  whole  surface,  since  there  are  here  and 
there  small,  isolated  outcrops  of  the  several  clays, 
kaolins,  feldspars,  and  tire-sands.  These  are,  as  it 
were,  little  islands  in  the  great  sea  of  drift.  But 
these  outcrops  are  of  so  limited  extent,  and  they 
have  been  so  nearly  all  dug  out  for  their  materials, 
that  they  are  altogether  insignificant  so  far  as  surface 
features  are  concerned. 

There  is  one  other  outcrop  deserving  attention,  not 
so  much  from  its  size  as  its  geological  importance, 
this  is  the  red  shade  hill  in  Perth  Amboy  township, 
one  and  a  half  miles  northwest  of  Perth  Amboy,  and 
about  a  third  of  a  mile  east  of  the  Woodbridge  and 
Perth  Amboy  road.  This  outcrop  of  shale  is  not 
more  than  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  diameter,  and  is 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  drift.  The  shale  has  a 
northwestern  dip  and  appears  to  be  fast  rock.  It  is 
probably  an  elevated  point  in  the  floor,  on  which  the 
clays  and  drift  have  been  successively  deposited. 
And  it  was  probably  never  covered  by  them,  or  at 
least  not  by  the  clay  and  feldspar  bed.  The  drift 
may  have  been  removed  by  subsequent  denudation. 
This  hill  or  outcrop  of  shale  in  situ  is  at  least  two 
miles  from  any  other,  or  from  the  southeast  border 
of  the  shale  formation,  and  appears  to  be  an  outlier 
from  the  main  body. 

The  tidal  meadows  have  already  been  referred  to 
in  the  above  general  description  of  the  surface  of  this 
clay  district.  They  constitute  the  more  recent  al- 
luvial formation.  The  boundary  linesof  such  meadows 
are  easily  traced,  and  are  represented  on  the  map. 
This  alluvium  rests  unconformably  upon  the  older 
formations.  Very  generally  there  is  either  red  shale 
drift,  or  the  sand  and  gravel  under  the  meadow  mud. 
At  a  few  points  valuable  clays  have  been  found  a  few 
feet  beneath  the  surface  of  the  tide  meadows.  The 
depth  of  the  workable  deposits  below  tide-water  level 
and  the  expenses  of  raising  both  water  and  clay  from 
such  pits  have  retarded  the  examination  of  such 
ground  for  clay,  and  consequently  only  a  few  pits 
have  been  dug  in  the  meadows,  and  these  are  near 
the  upland  border.  The  depths  below  mean  tide- 
level  at  which  clays  have  in  several  places  been  dis- 
covered show  that  the  beds  are  continuous  under- 
neath the  meadows  and  the  Raritan  River.  It  is 
only  the  difficulty  and  expense  of  contending  against 
water  that  hinders  the  opening  of  clay  pits  at  any 
proper  place  in  these  meadows.  The  beds  of  clay 
were  deposited  before  the  Raritan  had  cut  its  present 
channel  to  the  sea. 

Geology. — The  geology  of  the  clay  district  will  be 
best  understood  by  a  general  review  of  the  geology 
of  the  State  in  which  it  occurs,  and  of  the  geological 
formations  which  are  associated  with  it.      For  this 


THE   CLAY   DISTRICT  OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


429 


reason  we  here  present  a  condensed  statement  of  the 
geology  of  New  Jersey. 

Nearly  all  the  great  geological  classes  of  rocks  and 
earths  are  represented  in  this  State.  Its  oldest  rocks 
make  up  the  mountain  range  which  crosses  the 
northern  part  of  the  State  from  northeast  to  south- 
west in  parts  of  Sussex,  Passaic  and  Bergen,  Warren 
and  Morris,  Hunterdon  and  Somerset,  and  which  is 
known  in  New  York  as  the  Highlands,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania as  South  Mountain,  and  is  here  without  any 
general  name,  but  its  individual  ridges  are  known  as 
Ramapo  Mountain,  Hamburg  Mountain,  Schooley's 
Mountain,  Trowbridge  Mountain,  Watnong  Moun- 
tain, Musconetcong  Mountain,  Scott's  Mountain, 
Marble  Mountain,  and  others.  The  newer  geolog- 
ical formations  lie  upon  each  side  of  this  central 
ridge  and  run  parallel  with  it,  the  Silurian  and 
Devonian  limestones  and  other  formations  being 
mostly  in  a  broad  belt  upon  its  northwest  side,  and 
a  little  in  its  valleys;  the  Triassic  red  sandstone  ad- 
joins it  in  a  broad  belt  on  its  southeast  side ;  the 
Cretaceous  clays  and  marls  stretch  across  the  State  in 
a  belt  just  southeast  of  the  red  sandstones  ;  and  the 
Tertiary  and  the  Recent  formations  lie  southeast  of 
the  marls.  The  Azoic,  Cretaceous,  Tertiary,  and 
most  of  the  Recent  have  a  prevailing  dip  towards 
the  southeast,  while  the  Silurian,  Devonian,  and 
Triassic  mostly  dip  towards  the  northwest. 

The  boundaries  of  the  Middlesex  clay  district  are 
as  follows  :  The  northwestern  boundary,  beginning 
at  Woodbridge  Neck,  on  the  shore  of  Staten  Island 
Sound,  passes  just  north  of  the  villages  of  Wood- 
bridge  and  Bonhamtown  to  the  Raritan  River,  a  few 
rods  below  the  mouth  of  Mill  Brook.  Then  crossing 
the  Raritan  it  is  easily  traced  along  the  south  side  of 
Lawrence  Brook,  and  at  distances  varying  from  a  few 
rods  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  stream  to  the 
bend  of  the  brook  a  mile  west  of  Dean's  Pond. 
From  there  it  can  be  traced  in  almost  a  straight  line 
to  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal,  half-way  be- 
tween Clarksville  and  Baker's  Basin,  and  then  near 
the  line  of  the  canal  to  Trenton  and  the  Delaware 
River.  From  Trenton  to  Salem  the  Delaware  marks 
the  northwestern  and  western  boundary,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  some  limited  patches  of  marsh  and  allu- 
vium along  the  river.  Its  southeast  border  can  be 
traced  from  the  shore  of  Raritan  Bay,  a  little  south 
of  Chesquake  Creek,  in  a. southwesterly  direction  in  a 
line  passing  north  of  the  village  of  Morristown,  and 
on  just  south  of  Jacksonville;  then  across  the  coun- 
try by  the  house  of  the  late  Parker  Brown  to  the 
little  village  called  Texas,  on  the  Matchaponix  Creek  ; 
and  (rom  thence  directly  on,  passing  about  a  mile 
south  of  Jamesburg  Station,  and  crossing  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  nearCranbury  Station,  it  passes 
about  a  half-mile  north  of  Hightstown,  and  thence 
in  a  line  a  half-mile  north  of  the  railroad  to  the 
mouth  of  Crosswick's  Creek  on  the  Delaware  at 
Bordentown.      It  follows  the  bank  of  the  river  to 


Kinkora,  from  which  place  it  is  extremely  diflScult 
to  trace  it  with  accuracy,  the  characteristic  clays 
being  entirely  hidden  by  superficial  deposits  and 
soil,  except  in  the  banks  of  the  streams.  Guided  by 
these  marks  the  line  has  been  drawn.  It  follows 
near  the  line  of  the  railroad  east  of  Florence  ;  a  half- 
mile  east  of  Burlington  crosses  the  Rancocus  a  mile 
above  Bridgeboro',  and  the  Pensauken  some  distance 
above  Cinnaniinson  bridge;  it  comes  to  the  bank  of 
the  Delaware  again  at  Gloucester  City  ;  it  pa.sses 
back  of  Red  Bank,  crosses  Woodbury  Creek  a  mile 
above  its  mouth,  Mantua  Creek  near  Paulsboro',  and 
Raccoon  Creek  a  mile  above  Bridgeport;  thence  it 
continues  in  the  same  direction  to  the  Delaware  near 
Pennsgrove. 

The  area  comprehended  within  this  formation  is 
three  hundred  and  twenty  square  miles. 

The  materials  of  the  clay  formation  are  earthy,  and 
no  rocky  or  stony  layers  or  beds  are  to  be  found  in  it. 
There  are  some  small  places  in  which  the  sand  and 
gravel  have  been  cemented  with  oxide  of  iron  suffi- 
ciently to  form  a  rough  building  stone,  and  concre- 
tions of  clay  aud  oxide  of  iron  of  a  stony  hardness 
are  found  in  some  of  the  clay  beds,  but  the  layers  of 
sand  and  clay  of  which  the  formation  is  made  up  are 
all  earthy,  and  so  soft  that  they  can  be  dug  with  a 
spade. 

The  whole  formation  is  composed  of  a  series  of 
strata  of  fire-clay,  potters'  clay,  brick-clay,  sand,  and 
lignite.  The  details  of  these,  with  their  order,  thick- 
ness, and  qualities,  will  be  given  farther  on  in  this 
report.  The  thickness  of  the  series  of  strata  is  nearly 
three  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The  strata  are  gener- 
ally parallel  to  each  other,  and  are  all  inclined  down- 
wards towards  the  southeast  with  an  average  dip  of 
about  forty-five  feet  per  mile.  The  direction  or  strike 
of  the  outcropping  edges  of  the  strata  is  south  46° 
west  true  bearing. 

The  geological  age  of  this  formation  is  determined 
entirely  from  its  fossils,  the  series  of  earlier  forma- 
tions between  this  and  the  Azoic  period  being  want- 
ing here,  and  this  lying  directly  upon  the  crystalline 
gneissic  rocks.  Fossil  wood  is  abundant  in  many 
places,  and  the  roots,  leaves,  and  fruit  of  plants  are 
sometimes  found.  Shells  and  remains  of  animals  are 
rare. 

Fossil  leaves  from  the  clay  banks  at  Washington 
and  Sayreville,  from  the  clay  pits  at  Burt's  Creek, 
from  Mrs.  Allen's  pit  at  South  Amboy,  and  from  the 
clay  in  the  blutf  bank  of  the  Delaware  two  miles 
below  Trenton  were  collected.  These  were  submit- 
ted to  the  examination  of  Prof.  Leo  Lesquereux,  of 
Columbus,  Ohio,  who  makes  a  special  study  of  vege- 
table [)aleontology,  and  is  one  of  the  most  eminent 
authorities  upon  the  subject.  He  reports  as  follows: 
"  The  specimens,  very  numerous,  badly  preserved, 
from  Sayreville  and  other  localities  in  the  leaf-bed 
overlying  the  Woodbridge  fire-clay  bed,  have,  so  far 
as  they  are  determinable,  the  characters  of  the  flora 


430 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


of  the  Dakota  group,  or  of  the  lower  Cretaceous  of 
Nebraska  and  Kansas.  This  is  lower  Cretaceous  for 
this  country  equivalent  to  a  lower  member  of  the 
upper  Cretaceous  of  Europe.  The  species  identical 
to  both  formations  in  New  Jersey  and  Kansas  are 
Magnolia  CapeUini,  Heer;  M.  alternans,  Heer;  Persea 
Necrasceiuis,  Lesqr. ;  Salix  proicefolia,  Lesqr. ;  two  spe- 
cies of  Proteoides ;  G/yptostrobus  gracitlimus,  Lesqr.; 
Sequoia  coiidita,  Lesqr.  I  noted  some  other  species 
as  new,  but  they  are  not  named  or  described;  in- 
deed, from  the  bad  state  of  preservation  of  the  leaves, 
it  would  not  be  possible  to  make  a  diagnosis  without 
a  comparative  study  of  specimens  with  those  I  have 
on  hand.  Among  others  there  are  fragments  of  an 
Araliopsis,  the  basilar  part  of  a  leaf  only,  and  we 
have  from  the  Cretaceous  of  Kansas  and  now  also 
from  that  of  Colorado  numerous  species  of  the  same 
genus. 

"The  flora  of  South  Auiboy,  as  collected  from  Mrs. 
Allen's  clay  pit,  totally  differs  in  its  character,  as  far 
represented  by  the  few  species  known  as  yet,  from 
that  at  Sayreville.'  It  has  one,  a  single  species,  a 
Sterculia  (new  species),  in  common,  and  it  is  the  only 
one.  Most  of  the  leaves  of  the  lower  Cretaceous  stage 
have  entire  borders ;  on  the  contrary,  those  of  this 
upper  stage  are  serrate  or  denticulate  on  the  borders. 
As  said  above,  these  upper  Cretaceous  leaves  repre- 
sent mostly  new  species  referable  to  the  genera  Salix, 
Proteoides,  Andromeda,  Myrica,  and  perhaps  a  Pru- 
nus.  There  are  many  specimens  of  small  cuneate 
flabellate  leaflets,  referable  to  a  new  genus  of  ferns ; 
also  leaves  of  Quercus,  of  the  section  Dryophyllum, 
and  another  narrow  denticulate,  apparently  a  Loina- 
tia  or  a  Myrica.  The  leaves  of  Salix  are  like  those  of 
iS'.  profiefolia  of  the  lower  stage,  but  are  covered  with 
a  coating  of  carbonaceous  matter  which  renders  their 
nervation  obsolete.  One  of  the  leaves  is  referable  to 
Andromeda,  like  A.  parlatori,  Heer.;  another  to  Cin- 
nainoiiium  Heeri,  and  two  species  of  conifers,  Sequoia 
rigida,  Heer.,  and  S.  Reichenbachi,  Heer.,  the  leaves 
being  shorter  and  narrower. 

"  Resuming : 

1.  Pettit*s  cl;ty  bank  near  Washington,  S.  R. 

Sterculia,  undetermined  species. 

Routlete  of  equiBetum. 

Andri'Dieda. 

Proteoides  Daphnogenoides. 

Platunus  Heerii,  Lesqr. 

2.  Sajre  &  Fiaher's  clay  liaiik,  at  Sayreville. 

Glyptostrobus  grai  illimus,  Lesqr. 
Sequvia  conditH,  Lesqr. 
S.  Sniitlisinia,  Heer. 
S.Silbnlata,  Heer. 
ArHliop>is,  undeterminable. 


Magnolia  alteri 
M.  Capelliui,  H 
€ii 
La 


1  Hee 


— specif 
Persea  Nebia 
Daphnoplijilum  ? 
Salix  protsefolia,  Lesqr. 


2  It  is  con»paral>Ie  to  an  upper  CretaceoiiB  bed  of  Southweat  Colorado. 
See  Ann.  ttep.  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Uayden,  1874,  p.  360. 


Proteoides  Daphnogenoides,  Heer. 
P.,  nndetemiiuable. 
Steriutiii,  species. 
.  J.  K.  Brick's  clay  bank,  Burts'  Creek. 

Sassafras  (Araliopsis). 
Seed  of  Conifer. 
Rootlets. 

A  Sequoia  with  thick  leaves. 
Sequoia  Reichenbachi. 
.  Mrs.  .Allan's  clay  pit,  South  Amboy. 
Quercns,  dentate  leaves. 
(Dryophyllum.) 


Stin 
Myr 


uliii 


i  above. 


ica  ur  Loniatit 
Salix  prottelolia. 
Andromeda. 


Sequoia  rigida,  Heer. 

S.  Reichenbachi,  Heer. 

Leaves  of  a  peculiar  new  kind  of  fern. 

"These  specimens  are  few  and  poor,  and  therefore 
the  determinations  are  not  positively  ascertained." 

Two  specimens  only  of  shells  have  been  collected 
from  the  clays  during  the  surveys.  These  are  not 
very  well  preserved,  but  they  have  been  examined  by 
Prof  W.  M.  Gabb,  of  Philadelphia,  and  by  him  de- 
termined to  be  the  Ouculkea  antrorsa,  a  species  com- 
mon in  the  green  sand-marl  bed.  It  is  undoubtedly 
of  the  Cretaceous  age. 

Pebbles  containing  fossils  are  not  uncommon  in  the 
gravel  found  in  all  parts  of  the  clay  district.  Several 
small  lots  submitted  to  Prof  R.  P.  Whitfield,  of  the 
American  Museum  of  Natural  History,  Central  Park, 
New  York,  were  reported  on  as  tollows :  "  The  fossils 
in  the  various  lots  are  nearly  all  from  the  Upper  Hel- 
derberg  limestone  group.  Those  from  Martin's  Dock 
contain  three  species  of  Favosites,  .several  fragments 
of  cyathophylloid  corals,  a  Michelina,  also  allied  to 
Favosites,  Atrypa  reticularis,  Strophodonta  parva,  and 
some  other  shells,  fragmentary,  also  several  specimens 
of  an  undescribed  Stromatopora  (spougoid). 

"  Those  from  Everett  and  Fish's  clay  banks  are 
mostly  cherts  and  jaspers,  and  many,  likely,  from  the 
Coniferous. 

"The  pebble  with  fish  tooth  is  most  likely  Upper 
Helderberg.  One  other  lot  contained  a  curious  pebble 
of  sandstone,  composed  of  a  white  matrix  and  rounded 
quartz,  and  on  being  broken  open  revealed  a  large 
fragment  of  Or/his  hipparioni/.v,  Vanuxem. 

"  Another  lot  reveals  Atrypa  reticularis,  Spiriferse 
(species?),  and  several  fragments  of  Devonian  brachi- 
opods  and  corals,  and  an  impression  of  the  dorsal  side 

of  a  Gyroceras,  or  Cyrtoceras,  very  like  C. ,  Hall, 

from  the  Schoharie  grit. 

"  There  is  no  evidence  of  anything  in  the  lot  of 
more  recent  age  than  the  Hamilton,  and  that  only  on 
two  fragments,  the  others  being  Upper  Helderberg, 
Oriskany,  and  perhaps  .some  of  the  Favosites,  Lower 
Helderberg,  po.ssibly  though  not  probably." 

The  source  from  whence  the  materials  for  this 
formation  originated  must  be  looked  for  to  the  south- 
east of  the  present  strata.  Though  bordering  upon 
and   overlying   the  red  shale   and   sandstone  which 


EAKLY    ROADS. 


431 


lies  to  the  northwest  of  it,  there  is  not  a  frag- 
ment of  these  roclcs  to  be  found  in  any  of  these 
beds,  nor  any  of  their  striking  and  characteristic  red 
color  to  be  perceived  in  them.  On  the  contrary,  the 
materials  of  these  beds  are  white,  gray,  or  blackish, 
and  if  at  all  tinged  with  the  reddish  color  of  oxide  of 
iron,  it  is  a  yellowish  red,  and  not  a  purplish  red,  like 
the  red  shale  and  red  sandstone.  The  appearances  all 
indicate  that  they  have  originated  from  the  materials 
of  disintegrated  and  partially  decomposed  feldspathic 
granite  or  gneiss.  In  some  places  these  products  of 
disintegration  have  been  sorted  by  water,  the  fine 
particles  of  clay  deposited  by  themselves  to  make  the 
present  clay-beds,  in  others  the  quartz  has  been  de- 
posited as  sand  in  beds  by  itself,  and  in  still  other 
places  the  finest  of  the  sands,  with  a  little  mica  al- 
most in  powder,  has  been  deposited  to  make  the  so- 
called  kaolin  beds.  In  other  beds  the  materials  are 
deposited  in  their  original  mixed  condition,  clay  and 
quartz  together  constituting  the  so-called  feldspar 
beds  of  this  district. 

There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  violent  or 
irregular  movements  since  the  deposit  of  the  clay- 
beds  which  has  disturbed  or  distorted  them.  But 
there  must  have  been  high  ground  to  the  southeast 
and  outside  the  present  line  of  sea-coast,  from  which 
the  materials  for  the  clay  and  sand  could  have  been 
washed  and  deposited  on  the  lower  ground,  upon 
which  they  still  lie.  And  this  high  ground,  besides 
what  wore  away  to  make  these  beds,  must  have  grad- 
ually settled  down  till  it  was  hidden  beneath  the 
ocean,  and  the  beds  of  the  clay  formation  have  risen 
along  their  northwestern  border  till  they  were  above 
the  sea-level,  and  till  the  beds  had  so  altered  their 
inclination  as  to  slope  down  towards  the  southeast 
instead  of  towards  the  northwest,  as  they  did  when 
first  deposited. 

Thickne.ss  of  the  Formation. — The  pla.stic  clay 
formation  here  described  consists  of  the  following 
members,  or  sub-divisions,  beginning  at  the  top,  viz. : 

Kert. 

Dark  colovd  clay  {with  beds  and  laminfe  of  lignite) 50 

Sandy  rlay,  witli  sand  in  alleruate  layers 40 

Stuncwaro  clay-brd 30 

Saiiil  and  aaridv  clay  (wilh  lignite  near  the  buttum) 50 

Snutli  Ainboy  flre-cbiv  bed -iU 

ShiiiIv  cIuv  (Beneially  red  or  yellow) 3 

Sand  and  ku.din 10 

Feldspar  bid 6 

Slicn,e..n»  ^Hnd-b.•d 20 

L^iniin  <te<l  clav  an<l  sand 30 

Pi|.e-.liiy  (b.p  while) 10 

Sandy  ilav  (intluilioK  leaf-bed) 6 

Wnoilbridge  flie-clay  bed 20 

Fire-sand  bed  .' I". 

Baritau  clay-beds  :  Fire-clay 15 

Sand\  clay 4 

Putters'  clay i!0 

■W 

The  columnar  section  here  given  shows  the  posi- 
tion and  relative  thickness  of  the  several  members  of 
the  clay  formation.  These  several  members  of  the 
plastic  clay  formation  are  not  equally  well  defined 
and  clearly  marked  by  characteristic  features,  neither 
do  they  always  appear  of  uniform  thickness,  corre- 
sponding to  the  figures  as  stated  in  the  above  general 


section  and  order  of  superposition.  The  series  here 
given  represents  the  succession  of  the  several  sub- 
divisions or  beds,  and  their  average  thickness,  as  ob- 
observed  in  localities  where  they  appear  fully  de- 
veloped, and  have  not  been  subsequently  eroded  or 
otherwise  diminished  in  thickness  through  the  action 
of  outside  agencies.  The  order  of  succession  or  super- 
position is  made  up  from  a  survey  of  the  whole. 


CHAPTER    LXI. 


EARLY    ROADS.i 


The  first  highways  in  New  Jersey  of  which  there 
are  any  records  or  traditions  were  Indian  paths. 
These  are  often  referred  to  in  early  deeds  and  in  the 
old  records  of  commissioners  for  laying  out  roads. 
In  a  very  old  map  which  accompanies  the  edition  of 
the  Elizabethtown  Bill  in  Chancery,  published  by 
.Fames  Parker  in  New  York  in  1747  (which  map  is 
reproduced  from  a  still  more  ancient  one,  called 
"  Popple's  Large  Map  of  the  English  Colonies  in 
America"),  there  is  a  tracing  of  one  of  the  most  no- 
table of  these  Indian  paths,  known  as  the  "Mini- 
sink  Path,"  and  which  extended  from  the  Navesink 
Highlands  on  the  ocean  to  Minisink  Island  in  the 
Delaware,  a  distance  of  about  seventy-five  miles. 
This  path  started  from  Navesink,  near  the  mouth 
of  Shrewsbury  River  or  Inlet,  in  MonmdUth  County, 
and  ran  northwesterly  through  Middletown  to  the 
Raritan  River,  in  Middlesex  County,  crossing  the 
river  at  Kent's  Neck,  near  Crab  Island,  between 
Amboy  and  the  mouth  of  South  River.  After  cross- 
ing the  Raritan  the  path  ran  north-northwest  in  its 
course,  crossing  the  head  of  Rahway  River,  till  it 
reached  a  point  about  six  miles  west  of  Elizabethtown 
Point,  when  it  ran  a  short  distance  due  north,  and 
the  remainder  of  its  route  north-northwest,  passing 
over  the  mountains  to  the  west  of  Springfield  and 
Newark,  and  traversing  the  whole  of  Morris  and 
Essex  Counties  in  a  north-northwest  course  to  Min- 
isink Island  in  the  Delaware,  below  Port  Jervis,  and 
near  the  point  of  intersection  of  Sussex  County  in 
New  Jersey  with  Orange  County  in  New  York.  This 
n(/rtherly  limit  of  the  Minisink  path  was  a  part  of 
the  favorite  hunting-ground  of  the  Minisink  Indians, 
which  extended  throughout  the  entire  valley  lying 
north  of  the  Blue  Mountains  in  Pennsylvania,  stretch- 
ing from  the  Wind  Gap  in  that  State  into  New  York 
near  the  Hudson.  We  may  indulge  the  fancy  that 
this  path  was  devised  to  enable  the  "'  upper  ten" 
among  the  aborigines  to  enjoy  the  "season"  at  Long 
Branch,  and  to  lay  up  stores  of  shells  and  fish.  At 
Amboy,  and  at  intervals  along  the  sea-coast  from 
Shrewsbury  to  Barnegnt,  there  still  remain  relics  of 

1  By  Charbi  D.  Dealiler. 


432 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


these  periodical  visits  of  tlie  Indians,  consisting  of 
various-sized  mounds  of  opened  oyster-shells,  many 
of  which  are  from  six  to  twenty  feet  in  height,  having 
a  corresponding  base,  and  built  in  a  conical  form. 
Some  of  these  are  now  covered  with  alluvial,  which 
has  been  in  course  of  deposit  upon  them  for  centuries. 
There  are  also  remains  of  shell-banks,  made  up  of 
other  than  oyster-shells,  being  of  the  shells  of  clams 
and  periwinkles,  out  of  the  former  of  which  the  In- 
dians made  their  black  (and  most  valuable)  wampum. 
It  is  believed  that  the  shell-banks  or  mounds  of  this 
kind  are  the  refuse  of  Indian  wampum  manufac- 
tories.' 

"  Besides  this  extensive  path  there  were  many 
others.  One  of  these  ran  from  Perth  Amboy  to  New 
Brunswick,  where  it  crossed  the  Raritan,  and  from 
thence  ran  to  Six-Mile  Run,  and  through  the  State 
westward.  The  present  road  through  Six-Mile  Run, 
Kingston,  and  Princeton  was  laid  out  upon  this  path. 
Another  of  these  paths  ran  from  Shrewsbury  through 
Monmouth  County  southerly,  and  was  afterwards 
known  as  the  'Old  Burlington  Path.'  Upon  a  part 
of  this  the  road  called  the  '  Lower  Road'  was  laid  out. 

"As  in  these  cases  so  in  many  others,  the  Indian 
paths  determined  the  location  and  course  of  the  roads 
that  were  afterwards  established  by  the  early  colo- 
nists ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  while  many  of 
the  roads  laid  out  by  our  ancestors  were  afterwards 
voided,  by  reason  of  the  unfavorable  character  of  the 
ground  and  other  natural  disadvantages,  not  a  single 
instance  is  presented  of  a  road  or  part  of  a  road  con- 
structed upon  the  site  of  an  Indian  path  having  been 
abandoned  for  any  such  cause.  The  American  In- 
dian was  a  natural  engineer,  and  the  paths  which  he 
made  were  at  once  direct  and  skillfully  selected  for 
their  combination  of  all  the  natural  advantages  that 
were  required.  If  the  Indian  paths  crossed  a  stream 
it  was  either  at  the  easiest  and  safest  fording-place  or 
above  or  below  the  point  which  was  most  liable  to 
interruption  from  freshets ;  if  they  traversed  a  swamp 
it  was  at  the  precise  spot  where  permanent  or  solid 
ground  was  to  be  found ;  if  they  crossed  a  range  of 
hills  it  was  by  an  easy  grade  and  where  the  height 
and  breadth  were  least  formidable.  In  whatever 
direction  they  tended  the  ground  combined  every 
essential  which  the  highest  civilization  has  since 
ascertained  to  be  desirable  in  a  road,  whether  direct- 
ness, economy  of  labor,  or  permanence  be  considered. 

"  The  first  roads  traversing  New  Jersey  that  were 
made  by  European  settlers  were  laid  by  the  Dutch, 
with  the  purpose  of  connecting  their  settlements  on 
the  Noordt  River  (the  Hudson),  and  especially  at 
Nieuw  Amsterdam  (New  York),  with  those  of  the 
Zuydt  River  (the  Delaware)  at  Fort  Casimir  (New 
Castle,  Del.).  These  must  have  been  constructed  in 
the  period  embraced  between  a.d.  1620  and  1660, 
certainly  after  1623,  when  Fort  Nassau  was  built  by 


Cornelius  Jacobse  Mey,  the  Dutch  Governor  under 
the  West  India  Company,  and  most  probably  after 
1651,  when  Fort  Casimir  was  built  also  by  the  Dutch. 
The  intercourse  between  the  settlements  on  the  Hud- 
son and  those  on  the  Delaware  was  so  infrequent,  how- 
ever, that  the  only  mode  of  communication  at  this  time 
was  by  letters,  which  were  dispatched  across  the  bay 
to  Elizabethtown,  and  from  thence  were  carried  for- 
ward from  tribe  to  tribe  by  runners,  who  were  some- 
times whites,  but  more  commonly  friendly  Indians. 
Much  light  is  thrown  on  the  early  history  of  these 
roads  by  the  Elizabethtown  Bill  in  Chancery,  which 
supplies  two  maps  defining  the  exact  routes  of  these 
early  Dutch  roads  with  great  particularity.  Their 
course  cannot  be  better  illustrated  than  by  referring 
to  these  maps,  and  by  quoting  from  this  old  document 
as  follows : 

"'The  Town  then  (that  is,  in  the  '  Dutch  Time,' A.D.  1620  to  1660) 
called  [few  AvtjUerdjtm  and  Mawidos,  which  is  now  (1745)  the  City  of 
Now  Y.irk,  was  the  first  seltli-nient  and  Uie  chief  Town  of  tlie  Dutch 
upon  H  ndson's  River,  and  tiie  plan  of  Residence  of  tl»e  Director-General 
of  New  Nelherland;  and  Fort  CiiBiuiier,  now  called  Nem  Caslle,  on  tiie 
West  side  of  D'-laware  Kiver,  was  their  chief  Town  ujion  Delaware 
River;  and  tlie  mads  from  the  one  to  the  other  of  the  said  Towns  paat 
ttirougli  tlie  Lands  in  Question  by  this  Bill,  as  is  represented  in  the 
Map  No  1  annexed  ;  and  more  distinctly  by  the  Map  No.  2  annexed. 

"'  And  yonr  Orators  to  shew  your  Excellency,  That  the  Tide  flows  up 
RaritHn  River  to  New  Brunswick  ;  represented  on  the  Map  No. 2,  wliere, 
in  tlie  Dutcli  time,  and  yet,  tlie  Road  to  Delaware  River  from  New 
Amsterdam  did  cross;  and  at  New  Brunswick  the  said  Karitan  River, 
about  Low-water  then  was  and  as  yet  is  fordable  and  usually  crossed  on 
Hoi-seback ;  and  that  Ihe  Tide  of  Delaware  River  rune  up  to  or  near 
Delaware  Falls ;  and  at  Low-water  and  when  there  are  no  Land-Flooda, 
is  fordable  at  said  Falls,  and  was  and  is  usually  crossed  a  Horseback; 
and  at  no  place  below  New  Brunswick  and  Delaware  Falls  are  or  ever 
were  the  said  Rivers  Raritan  and  Delaware  fordable."  ^ 

"  The  same  old  document  states  that  in  the  years 
1668  and  1670  '  one  Peter  Jegow  had  License  for 
and  kept  an  House  of  Entertainment,  for  Accommo- 
dation of  Passengers,  Travellers  and  Strangers  over 
against  Mattinicunk  Island,'  at  Lazy  Point,  '  which 
Island  is  said  to  be  eight  or  nine  miles  below  Dela- 
ware Falls,'  and  '  is  between  Burlington  and  Bristol,' 
.  .  .  '  by  which  Point  the  Lower  Road  from  New  Am- 
sterdam to  Delaware  or  the  Zuydt  River,  in  the 
Dutch  Time,  and  as  yet  doth  cross  by  a  Ferry  there; 
which  two  Roads  are  represented  on  the  Map  No.  2 
annexed.'  '  And,'  it  goes  on  to  say,  '  your  Orators 
Charge  there  were  no  settlements  in  the  Dutch  Time 
(1620  to  1664)  nor  long  after  at  Perth  Amboy,  nor 
near  to  it  on  Staten  Island  over  against  it ;  nor  on 
the  South  Side  of  Raritan  over  against  it,  nor  no 
Ferry  then  kept  there ;  nor  was  there  any  Road  in 
the  Dutch  Time  that  Way  used,  nor  at  any  place 
lower  down  the  Raritan  River  than  where  New 
Brunswick  now  stands,  which  was  formerly  called 
Inian's  Ferry  ;  and  which  road  still  continues  the 
principal  and  most  frequented  Road,  notwithstanding 
many  Endeavors  to  make  it  pass  through  Perth 
Amboy.' ' 

s  Elizabeth  Bill  in  Cbaocery,  p.  4. 
>  Ibid.,  pp.  4, 6. 


EARLY   ROADS. 


433 


"  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  first  road  which 
traversed  New  Jersey  passed  from  New  York  (then 
New  Amsterdam)  through  the  bay  and  the  kills  by 
means  of  a  ferry  to  the  point  afterwards  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  from  thence  through  the  towns  afterwards 
known  as  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway  to  Inian's 
Ferry.  At  or  very  near  this  latter  point  two  roads 
were  formed.  One  of  these,  originally  called  the 
'Upper  Road,'  afterwards  known  as  the  'King's 
Highway,'  passed  on  through  the  present  sites  of 
Kingston  and  Princeton  to  Trenton  (or  Delaware 
Falls,  as  it  was  then  called),  where  it  crossed  the 
Delaware  into  Pennsylvania,  continuing  to  Bristol, 
and  from  thence  to  Fort  Casimir,  or  New  Castle,  and 
subsequently  to  Philadelphia.  ...  A  detailed  out- 
line of  that  portion  of  this  road  lying  between  New 
Brunswick  and  the  province  line  as  it  existed  in 
1765  has  been  preserved  in  a  field-book  of  Col. 
Azariah  Dunham,  who  was  appointed  to  run  the 
line  between  Middlesex  and  Somerset  in  that  year  by 
the  justices  and  freeholders  of  the  county.  This 
map  has  peculiar  interest  for  the  reason  that  it  sup- 
plies the  names  and  residences  of  those  who  lived 
along  the  road  in  1765. 

"The  other  road,  known  in  the  early  times  as  the 
'  Lower  Road,'  diverged  from  the  '  Upper  Road'  near 
Inian's  Ferry,  at  George's  road.  Originally  the  point 
of  divergence  was  several  miles  west  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, but  in  after-times  it  was  shifted  within  the 
present  limits  of  the  corporation.  Leaving  the 
'Upper  Road,'  the  'Lower  Road'  trended  southerly 
and  westerly  through  Cranbury  to  Burlington,  where 
it  crossed  the  Delaware  and  rejoined  the  '  Upper 
Road'  at  Bristol.  The  '  Lower  Road'  was  far  less 
ancient  than  the  '  Upper,'  as  appears  from  an  act 
passed  in  1695,  entitled  '  An  act  for  repairing  the 
new  road  from  Mr.  John  Inian's  to  Burlington,'  the 
preamble  of  which  is  as  follows:  '  Whereas  the  «?«' 
road  from  Mr.  John  Inians,  his  house  upon  Raritan 
River,  to  the  limits  of  this  province  towards  Burling- 
ton is  a  part  of  the  great  thoroughfare  of  this 
province  from  New  England,  New  York,  etc.,  to  the 
westward,  which  yet  being  unsettled  may  fall  to  decay 
to  the  great  inconveniency  of  travellers,  who  may 
pass  and  repass  that  way,  unless  care  be  taken  to 
maintain  the  same  until  such  time  as  it  may  be  main- 
tained by  those  who  may  hereafter  inhabit  it,  etc.' 
The  act  then  goes  on  to  provide  that  the  road  shall 
be  kept  up  by  the  innholders  of  the  towns  of  Piscat- 
away, Woodbridge,  and  Elizabethtown,  who  were  re- 
spectively assessed  three  pounds  fifty  shillings  and 
four  pounds  ten  shillings  annually  for  five  years  for 
that  purpose.  The  duty  of  the  oversight  and  repairs 
of  the  road  was  intrusted  to  George  Drake,  an  inn- 
keeper of  Piscataway,  who  was  empowered  to  receive 
the  above  tax  and  to  employ  laborers.'" 

"  Periodically  for  many  years,  beginning  as  early  as 

•  Learning  and  Spicer,  pp.  359,  ael. 


1683-85  and  continuing  till  1740,  efforts  had  been 
made  to  divert  travel  from  the  established  old  road 
through  Inian's  Ferry  to  Perth  Amboy,  and  by  a 
ferry  across  the  Raritan  at  Radford's,  now  South 
Amboy,  to  extend  another  road  through  Spotswood 
to  Burlington.  The  first  intimation  of  a  purpose  of 
this  kind  is  found  in  the  '  Instructions'  of  the  pro- 
prietors to  Governor  Gawen  Lawrie  on  the  20th  of 
July,  1683,  in  which  they  say,  'We  could  wish  it 
might  be  discovered  whether  there  may  not  a  conve- 
nient road  be  found  betwixt  Perth  Town  and  Bur- 
lington, for  the  entertaining  a  land  commerce  that 
way.' ''  And  in  obedience  to  these  instructions  Gov- 
ernor Lawrie  laid  out  a  road  and  established  a  ferry, 
with  a  boat  to  run  between  Amboy  and  New  York, 
to  'entertain  travellers'  during  his  term  of  office, 
which  closed  in  1686.'  But  the  effort  to  divert  the 
travel  from  the  old  road  proved  ineffectual,  for  on 
the  14th  of  April,  1698,  the  proprietors  in  their  in- 
structions to  Governor  Basse  again  press  the  matter, 
urging  him  to  '  lay  before  the  Assembly  the  great 
advantage  that  will  redound  to  the  Trade  of  the 
Province  in  General  to  cause  the  publick  road  to  pass 
through  the  Post  Town  of  Perth  Amboy  from  New 
York,  Ac,  to  West  .Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  to 
which  good  end'  Governor  Basse  was  further  in- 
structed to  '  endeavor  to  get  an  Act  pa.ssed  to  lay  a 
Tax  on  the  County  to  bear  the  charge  of  a  Work 
tending  so  much  to  the  Publick  Benefit  of  the 
Province." 

"  In  connection  with  these  efforts  for  the  diversion 
of  the  public  travel  and  traffic  to  Perth  Amboy,  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  it  was  a  place  of '  great 
expectations.'  It  was  a  seaport,  and  was  to  be  the 
London  of  the  Western  Hemisphere.  It  was  the 
place  where  the  reflected  light  of  royalty  shone  in 
the  persons  of  the  proprietors  and  their  representa- 
tives. It  was  the  home  of  the  Colonial  Governors, 
and  they  held  their  mimic  court  there.  It  was  the 
appointed  place  for  the  meeting  of  the  General  As- 
sembly, and  for  the  sessions  of  the  courts.  It  was 
perceived  that  it  was  destined  to  become  the  great 
maritime  centre  of  America,  and  perhaps  of  the 
world,  a  fantasy  which  has  never  been  eradicated, 
and  is  soberly  entertained  by  .some  of  their  descend- 
ants in  that  sprightly  city  even  to  this  day.  Their 
pride,  their  interest,  and  doubtless  to  a  great  extent 
their  convictions  led  the  proprietors  and  those  who 
held  under  them  to  concentrate  upon  the  infant  me- 
tropolis every  influence  that  could  contribute  to  its 
welfare. 

"  The  earliest  public  record  I  have  been  able  to 
discover  of  the  positive  existence  of  a  ferry  at  Perth 


2  n.id.,  p.  173. 

3  This  road  appears  on  a  map  in  Whitehead's  "  East  Jersey"  as 
rie's  Road."  It  is  located  south  of  tlie  "  Lower  Road,"  and  rut 
South  Amboy  through  Spotswood,  possibly  intersecting  the  " 
Boad"  before  reaching  Burlington,  but  of  that  the  map  gives 
dence,  being  too  small  to  show  the  road  the  whole  distance. 

*  Leamint;  and  Spicer,  p.  221. 


"  Law- 
3  from 
Lower 


434 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW   JERSEY. 


Amboy  in  connection  with  a  road  leading  from 
thence  to  intersect  the  '  Lower  Road'  to  Burlington 
is  contained  in  an  entry  in  the  venerable  manuscript 
volume  of '  Minutes  of  the  Middlesex  County  Courts,' 
comprising  the  period  between  1683  and  1720,  which 
is  preserved  in  the  clerk's  office  of  the  county  of  Mid- 
dlesex. The  last  eleven  leaves  of  this  ancient  muni- 
ment are  devoted  to  a  record  of  the  acts  of  the  com- 
missioners of  roads  for  Middlesex  County,  and  under 
date  of  June  14,  1705,  it  is  therein  stated  that  the 
commissioners  —  John  Bishop,  George  Drake,  and 
John  Matthews — laid  out  '  our  common  Road  of  six 
Rod  wide,  Beginning  at  the  County  line  between 
Elizabethtown  and  Woodbridge,  near  Robison's 
Branch,  thence  extending  along  through  Wood- 
bridge  to  Perth  Amboy,  the  .same  that  was  laid  out 
in  the  last  Governor  Lowry's  time,  and  from  Amboy 
ferrfi  leading  to  Burlington,  a.s  if  now  lies,  by  South 
River  Bridge  to  Oranbury  brook,  and  so  forward.' 
So  that  in  obedience  to  the  instructions  of  the  pro- 
prietors above  recited  in  1(583  to  Governor  Lawrie, 
and  repeated  in  1698  to  Governor  Bas.se,  a  ferry  had 
been  established  at  Perth  Amboy,  and  a  road  had 
been  laid  out  from  thence  connecting  with  the  'Lower 
Road'  by  way  of  South  River  Bridge  and  Cranbury, 
certainly  at  some  time  after  1698,  and  prior  to 
1705.  The  ferry  at  Perth  Amboy  is  also  spoken  of 
in  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  passed  Jan.  26, 
1716-17,  and  the  rates  charged  for  ferriage  are  given. 
By  this  act,  however,  it  appears  that  the  business  of 
the  ferry  at  that  date  was  chiefly  between  Perth 
Amboy  and  New  York,  Perth  Amboy  and  Staten 
Island,  and  Perth  Amboy  and  Wehauk,  though  men- 
tion is  made  of  a  ferry  from  Amboy  to  Radford's,  the 
latter  being  on  the  south  side  of  the  Raritan,  at  the 
present  site  of  South  Amboy.  It  seems  that  at  this 
time  the  ferry  from  Amboy  to  Radford's  was  used 
rather  for  the  private  convenience  of  the  owners  of 
plantations  there  than  for  any  public  purposes. 

"  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  public  act 
of  the  Assembly  or  other  body  establishing  or  con- 
firming the  main  highway  traversing  the  Slate  and 
crossing  the  Raritan  at  Inian's  Ferry.  It  is  doubtful 
if  there  ever  were  such  an  enactment.  .  .  .  The  earliest 
enactment  relative  to  any  road  which  I  have  been  able 
to  discover  under  the  Engli.sh  rule  is  an  act  of  the 
Assembly  passed  April  6,  1676,  as  follows:  'Be  it 
enacted  by  this  Assembly  that  for  the  more  safe  and 
orderly  Passage  of  the  aforesaid  Deputies  (of  Middle- 
town  and  Shrewsbury  to  the  meetings  of  the  General 
Assembly )  for  the  future  that  care  be  taken  by  the 
Inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Middletown  to  make 
choice  of  two  or  more  Men  out  of  the  said  Town, 
them  to  join  with  two  or  more  also  chosen  out  of 
Piscataqua,  to  make  out  the  nearest  and  most  conve- 
nient Way  that  may  be  found  between  the  said 
Towns  upon  the  Country  charge;  and  this  to  be 
done  between  this  and  the  tenth  of  May  next,  upon 
the  penalty  of  what   Damages  may  ensue   for   the 


want  thereof."  This  was  followed  six  years  later  by 
an  Act  of  Assembly  passed  March  I,  1682,'  which  is 
the  first  one  of  a  general  character  of  which  any  rec- 
ord is  preserved,  and  is  entitled  '  An  Act  for  making 
and  settling  Highways,  Passages,  Landings,  Bridges, 
and  Ferries  within  this  Province.'  This  act  assigned 
the  work  prescribed  to' commissioners  in  each  county, 
of  whom  the  following  were  appointed  '  for  the  County 
of  Middlesex  and  parts  adjacent.  The  Governor,  or 
Deputy  Governor  for  the  time  being,  the  surveyor- 
general,  Capt.  John  Palmer,  Thomas  Worne,  Stephen 
Worne,  Samuel  Dennis,  Samuel  Moore,  Edward  Sla- 
ter, John  Gilman,  Hopewell  Hull.  .  .  .' 

"  Before  the  passage  of  this  act  the  roads  in  New 
Jersey,  with  the  exception  of  the  great  highways  al- 
ready described,  were  mere  Indian  tracks,  cartways, 
bridle-  and  foot-paths,  and  it  was  under  the  authority 
of  this  law  in  East  Jersey  that  the  various  roads  pene- 
trating the  province  were  laid  out.  ...  In  Governor 
Lawrie'stime,  from  1684  to  1686,  numerous  roads  were 
opened,  several  of  them  of  considerable  importance, 
and  which  remain  in  use  until  this  day.  .  .  .  During 
the  period  from  1705  to  1713  no  less  than  thirty-five 
different  roads  were  viewed,  opened,  and  established 
within  the  limits  of  Middlesex  County. 

"  Prior  to  the  passage  of  the  general  law,  .  .  .  and 
as  late  as  1686,  the  roads  which  have  been  above  de- 
scribed were  the  only  ones  stretching  over  any  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  State,  or  linking  together  its 
scattered  plantations,  settlements,  and  embryo  towns. 
The  next  road  of  public  and  general  importance  was 
the  one  familiarly  spoken  of  as  '  the  Road  up  Raritan.' 
This  branched  from  the  main  highway  that  ran  across 
the  State,  starting  out  from  it  at  Piscataway,  and  run- 
ning to  Bound  Brook,  and  so  through  Somenset  County 
to  the  North  and  South  Branches.  There  is  no  official 
record  in  existence,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover, of  the  first  opening  of  this  road,  and  its  exact 
date  is  difficult  to  arrive  at.  In  the  course  of  my  in- 
vestigation, however,  some  facts  have  come  to  light 
which  enable  me  to  fix  the  date  with  tolerable  pre- 
cision. And  as  this  road  was  an  important  one  to 
our  own  county,  at  the  same  time  that  it  was  one  of 
the  earliest  results  of  the  pioneer  plantations  along 
the  Raritan  in  Somerset  County,  and  as  it  after- 
wards became  a  leading  contributor  to  its  settle- 
ment and  development,  it  has  a  strong  claim  upon 
our  interest. 

"  Among  the  other  roads  laid  out  in  1705  by  John 
Bishop,  George  Drake,  and  John  Matthews,  commis- 
sioners of  roads  for  the  county  of  Middlesex,  the  record 
of  which  throws  light  upon  still  earlier  roads,  is  one 
which  is  described  as  follows  :  'And  also  for  one  other 
public,  common,  and  General  Highway,  to  extend  from 
Woodbridge  to  Piscataway,  and  also  from  Amboy  to 
Piscataway,  and  from  thence  along  the  Road  to  and 
through  Somerset  County  to  the  North  Branch,  cu  it 


>  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  118. 


<  Ibid.,  pp.  25A-68. 


EARLY   ROADS. 


435 


was  formerly  laid  out  in  the  late  Governor  Lowery's 
time.'  So  that,  if  this  record  be  accurate,  this  road 
was  first  laid  out  during  the  administration  of  Gov- 
ernor Lawrie,  which  extended  from  1684  to  1686.  That 
it  must  have  been  laid  out  in  1686  appears  from  the 
following  affidavits,  which  were  made  in  1720,  when 
some  difficulties  had  arisen  about  the  true  course  of 
the  '  road  up  Raritan,'  and  which  are  preserved  in  the 
old  book  of  records  of  Middle.sex  County  :' 

"  1st.  '  William  Sharp,  of  Woodbridge  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex  in  the  Province  of  New  Jersey,  Yeoman, 
Aged  About  fifty-seven  years,  maketh  Oath  on  y'  holy 
Evangelists  of  Almighty  God  that  he  this  Deponent 
from  the  year  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighfi/-six 
that  he  settled  upon  the  North  side  of  y'  Raritan 
River  near  the  meeting  of  the  North  and  South 
Branches  he  used  y'  Road  which  was  commonly 
called  and  esteemed  y*  Highway  said  to  be  laved  out 
by  the  authority  of  y'  Government  of  the  Province 
of  New  Jersey.  During  the  nine  years  that  he  lived 
there  the  Highway  led  from  Bound  Brook  near  to  Mr. 
Giles'  House  through  the  land  late  in  the  tenor  of 
John  Rudyard  and  so  behind  the  imi)roved  land  of 
Capt.  Codrington,  Mr.  White's,  and  y'  other  y'  In- 
habitants unto  y*  North  Branch  of  y'' said  River,  near 
to  the  upper  end  of  a  plantation  y'  west  side  thereof 
William  Sharpe,  April  29,  1720.' 

"2d.  'John  Campbell,  of  Piscatua  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex  in  Province  of  New  Jersey,  Yeoman, 
aged  about  58  years,  Maketh  Oath  on  the  Holy  Evan- 
gelists of  AUmighty  God,  That  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1686,  this  Deponent  was  Coming  down  Raritan 
River  with  severall  of  the  Servants  belonging  to  Lord 
Neil  Campbell  going  to  Woodbridge  meeting,  there 
being  no  way  this  Deponent  knew  but  through  the 
Inclosures  of  Mr.  John  White,  Deceased,  they  were 
stopt  by  Mr.  John  White  at  his  gate  for  some  little 
time,  but  then  not  before  this  Dep'  and  other  Servants 
returned,  y'  said  John  White  went  to  Amboy  to  Gov- 
ernor Loury,  and  complained  against  them,  who  were 
called  before  the  said  Governor  Loury,  and  answered 
they  knew  no  other  way.  The  Governor  said  there 
should  be  a  way  appointed  forthwith  to  go  up  the 
Country  clear  of  Mr.  White,  and  the  other  Inhabit- 
ants' Improvements.  Accordingly  before  this  Depo- 
nent, with  others  aforesaid  went  up,  the  Way  was 
marked  out  Leeding  from  Bound  Brook,  near  Mr. 
Giles's  House,  through  the  Land  late  in  the  tenner 
of  Mr.  John  Rudyards,  through  Mr.  Codrington's 
Land  behind  his  fields,  and  so  behind  the  Rear  of  all 
the  Improved  Lands  belonging  to  the  Severall  Inhab- 
itants on  the  said  Raritan  River  to  the  North  Branch 
thereof,  at  or  near  the  upper  part  of  a  Plancation  on 
the  West  Side  of  the  said  Branch  belonging  to  Peter 
Van  Voste,  and  that  during  the  space  of  nine  years 
that  this  Deponent  lived  up  the  Raritan,  and  South 
Branch  thereof,  he  always  understood  that  to  be  y" 


>  Pages  80,  81.  and  91. 


Highway  laved  out  by  y'  authority  of  y"  Government 
of  East  Jersey.     John  Campbell,  April  29,  1720.' 

"  In  connection  with  the  affidavit  of  this  man,  who 
was  a  servant  of  Lord  Neil  Campbell,  and  in  1686 
was  on  his  way  from  the  North  Branch  to  attend 
church  at  Woodbridge,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  in 
1685,  Lord  Neil  Campbell  became  the  owner  of  one- 
fourth  of  a  twenty-fourth  part  of  East  Jersey.  In 
January,  1685,  he  had  located  1650  acres  on  the  Rar- 
itan and  North  Branch,  and  it  was  from  this  '  Plan- 
tation,' without  doubt,  that  his  clansman  was  pro- 
ceeding to  Woodbridge  when  arrested  by  Mr.  John 
White.  .  .  . 

"  The  course  of  the  '  Road  up  Raritan'  from  Piscat- 
away  to  Bound  Brook  is  not  clear.  Certainly  it  did 
not  come  from  Piscataway  to  Inian's  Ferry,  and  run 
from  thence  along  the  river  to  Bound  Brook,  as  the 
road  now  lies,  that  road  being  of  much  later  origin. 
After  combining  all  the  information  I  have  been  able 
to  gather,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  road  left  Piscata- 
way (a  six-rod  road),-  passed  from  thence  in.  a  north- 
westerly direction  west  of  Metuchen,  through  Quib- 
bletown  and  New  Market  to  Bound  Brook.  Consid- 
erable portions  of  this  road  remain  six  rods  wide  to 
this  day,  although  much  of  the  original  road  has  been 
obliterated  by  the  plow,  and  parts  of  the  existing  road 
are  made  up  of  newer  and  much  narrower  ones.  After 
reaching  Bound  Brook  the  road  extended  to  Somer- 
ville,  running,  as  we  have  seen  by  the  above  affidavits, 
in  the  rear  of  improved  lands  and  farm-houses  on  the 
banks  of  the  Raritan,  a  little  to  the  south  of  the 
present  turnpike,  following  the  north  side  of  the  Rar- 
itan to  the  junction  of  the  two  branches,  and  from 
thence  going  west  to  Lambertville,  at  that  time  called 
Howell's  Ferry. 

"The  road  from  Monmouth  County,  provided  for 
by  act  of  1676,  already  referred  to,  '  was  mainly  con- 
structed upon  the  old  Minisink  Indian  path,  begin- 
ning at  Shrewsbury,  passing  through  Middletown  and 
Mount  Pleasant,  and  continuing  on  or  near  the  old 
Indian  path  through  Monmouth  County  and  a  part 
of  Middlesex  to  the  point  where  it  diverged  to  Kent's 
Neck  in  order  to  cross  the  Raritan.  At  this  point 
the  road  continued  west  of  and  along  the  Raritan  to 
the  vicinity  of  Washington,  or  Old  Bridge,  most  prob- 
ably to  a  ford  anciently  known  as  Abraham's  Ford, 
and  from  thence  still  along  the  Raritan,  past  Wes- 
ton's Mills,  to  New  Brunswick,  or,  as  it  was  then 
called, '  Inian's.'  In  the  old  records  of  roads  I  find 
two  e.xtremely  interesting  minutes  throwing  light  on 
that  portion  of  this  old  road  which  was  at  or  near 
New  Brunswick.  The  first  of  these  occurs  under  date 
of  April  12, 1716,  and  describes  a '  highway'  as  having 
been  laid  out  by  the  commissioners,  beginning' About 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  Inyon's  Ferry,  along  the  post- 
road  that  goes  to  Cranberry  Brook'  (this  was  the 
Lower,  subsequently  George's  road), '  and  from  thence 

-  Record  of  Roads  (Degbler'a  copy),  p.  81. 


436 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    aND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


southeast  throw  Capt.  Longfield's  Land,  and  then 
throw  Leander  Smock's  Land,  and  then  throw  Capt. 
Longfield's  till  it  comes  to  y*  road  that  goes  to  his 
Mill.'  This  road  must  have  been  a  cross-road  from 
George's  road  to  theNavesink  road,  on  or  near  which 
last  was  Longfield's  mill.  The  site  of  the  mill  may 
have  been  at  or  near  the  present  Weston's  mill,  or  it 
may  have  been  farther  u])  Lawrence's  Brook,  nearer 
to  Millstone,  or  it  may  have  been  farther  east,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  brook,  as  there  are  old  mill-sites  at 
all  these  points. 

"  The  other  minute  of  commissioners  bearing  upon 
this  old  Navesink  road  is  one  voiding  the  Mill 
road  just  noticed;  and  it  is  so  replete  with  interest 
I  quote  it  in  fall,  interjecting  occasional  explanations, 
as  follows : 

•'County  of  MioDLEgEX,  .Tannarie  y*^  Uth,  1716.  Whereas,  Sometime 
In  April  or  May  Last  past  As  uiay  by  y  Becorda  more  Certainly  Ap- 
pear, Mr.  John  Matlipw,  Mr.  laaac  Smallie,  aod  Mr.  George  Resear- 
rick,  Commissioners  for  y*  County  of  Middx.,  did  Lay  ont  A  Road  to 
Mr.  Coroelins  Longfielda  Mill,  and  it  is  found  hy  ye  Neighbourhood  to 
be  a  Very  bad  Road  to  ye  b^  Mill.  And  Also  at  y  Request  of  Above 
fifty  of  y  Neighbors  that  have  occasion  of  8''  Mills,  who,  by  their  Peti- 
tion and  their  Names  Affixed  to  the  same  desired  that  ye  Road  to  y*  a** 
Mills  might  run  conformable  to  or  near  thereabouts  where  ye  Ant-ieiU 
Way  was  used  for  y"  Navesink  People  for  al>ove  fonrty  yeare.*  [It  wag 
in  1676.  just  forty  years  before  this  date,  when  this  *  Ancient  Way'  was 
ordered  by  tiie  General  Assembly]  '  to  pass  to  ye  Place  now  known  by 
ye  Name  of  Onyons  Fen-y.  These  are  therefore  to  signify  to  All  Persona 
concerned,  that  we  ye  Commissioners  hereiinder  Named  at  ye  Earnest 
Request  of  ye  atwve  s**  Neighbourhood  have  Laid  out  A  road  of  two  Rods 
wide,  beginning  Right  Over  Against  ye  Houae,  Commonly  known  by  ye 
House  of  Mr.  Inions  House,  and  so  running  Southerly  over  ye  brook 
[probably  Lyell'a  Brook]  where  Neveraink  Road  formerly  did  run  along 
by  Benjamin  Pridmores,  thence  by  Landare  Smocks,  within  two  or 
three  Rods  of  his  Houae,  as  y*  old  Road  went;  thence  directly  through 
Mr.  Longiield's  owne  Lands  to  his  Mills.'  Longfield's  Mills  must  have 
been  at  the  site  of  Weston's  Mills  below  New  Brunswick.  By  Reid's 
Map  it  is  shown  that  Cornelius  Longfleld  owned  a  tl-act  of  6lJ(i  acres  at 
that  point.  During  the  Revolutionary  war  a  farm  designated  '  Long- 
field's  Farm'  was  owned  by  Richard  Gibb,  and  the  houses  upon  it  were 
destroyed  by  the  British.  In  bis  inventory  of  the  depredations  com- 
mitted by  the  British  it  is  ilescribed  as  being  '  ?^  of  a  mile  from  town.* 

"  At  the  same  time  the  commissioners  laid  out  a 
cross-road  connecting  the  Navesink  road  with  the 
Upper  road  at  Six-Mile  Run,  which  they  described 
as  '  An  other  Road  of  two  Rods  wide  for  y"  benefit  of 
y"  Five  Mile  Brook  Men  or  any  other  People  y'  have 
occasion  of  s**  Mills,  to  extend  from  y'  said  Leonard 
Smocks  to  y"  Road  y'  leads  to  Six  Mile  Run.'  The 
commissioners  were  George  Rescarrick,  John  Bishop, 
and  John  Martin.  There  was  another  very  early 
road  traversing  Monmouth  County,  to  which  I  merely 
refer,  which  passed  through  Shrewsbury  and  Middle- 
town  in  the  direction  of  Freehold,  Monmouth  Co., 
over  Cream  Ridge,  in  the  vicinity  of  Allentown, 
Crosswicks,  and  Bordentown,  to  Burlington.  This 
also  for  the  most  part  was  originally  an  old  Indian 
path,  afterwards  known  as  the  '  Old  Burlington  Path,' 
and  was  undoubtedly  used  by  the  aborigines  on  the 
Delaware  in  their  periodical  visits  to  the  ocean  at 
Navesink,  whither  they  went  to  gather  clams,  oysters, 
shell  for  wampum,  and  to  lay  in  stores  of  fish. 

"The  Middlebush  Eoad. — One  other  road  having 


something  more  than  a  local  importance  remains  to 
be  noticed.  This  is  the  old  Middlebush  road.  A 
considerable  part  of  this  road  had  been  established 
by  custom  and  use  probably  as  early  as  1690 ;  but,  so 
far  as  I  have  been  able  to  discover,  it  was  first  laid  out 
by  authority  in  1712,  at  which  time  it  was  also  greatly 
extended.  The  record  describing  this  road  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Purauant  to  an  .\ct  of  Assembly  Intitled  An  Act  for  regulating  y» 
Highway  &  for  Appointing  and  Confirming  of  Commissioners  for  every 
County  to  regulate  and  lay  out  ye  same,  Accordingly  ye  CommiaaioDerB 
for  ye  County  of  Summersett  having  layed  out  aud  ordered  ye  Road 
from  Raritau  River  toward  Delaware  Falls  to  run  as  followeth  ye  is  to 
say — Beginning  at  Innion's  Ferry  thence  running  ye  nearest  course  to 
a  brook  known  by  ye  name  of  Salt  Pond  Brook,  l  thence  Along  or  as 
near  ye  Path  as  it  now  goeth  until  it  comes  to  Derrick  Jonseea  Houae, 
thence  upon  A  straight  course  to  Jijhn  Wilsons  shop,'  (tMlother  reconj 
aays  that  John  Wilson  lived  'upon  Rocky  Hill,')  'thence  directly  y* 
moat  convenient  as  can  be  bad  to  Capt.  Harrisons  Mill,'  (this  mill  waa 
on  Millstone  River,  at  the  point  near  where  it  crosses  the  Upper  road, 
near  Kingston), '  thence  along  ye  new  cart  way  to  Justice  Leonards, 
thence  along  ye  old  Road  [the  Upper  road]  till  it  cornea  near  Stony 
Brook,  so  creasing  ye  said  brook  about  three  or  four  chains  below  ye  Old 
Road,  so  turning  up  to  ye  Old  Road  again  and  so  to  ye  Province  Line. 
The  said  Country  Road  is  to  be  four  Rods  in  breadth.  Witness  our  hand 
this  6th  day  of  June,  1712.  Andrew  Bird,  Michael  Van  Veghtie,  John 
Harrison,  Thomas  Yeats.' 

"This  road,  then,  ran  from  Inian's  Ferry  westerly 
to  Middlebush,  and  probably  to  Millstone,  from 
whence  it  ran  southwesterly  to  Rocky  Hill,  and  from 
there  to  Harrison's  Mills,  on  the  Great  road  near 
Kingston,  from  thence  it  ran  alongside  the  Great  or 
Upper  road — now  approaching  to,  now  receding  from, 
and  sometimes  intersecting  it — to  Stony  Brook  and 
the  province  line.'- 

"  The  remaining  roads  that  were  laid  out  in  Mid- 
dlesex County  in  the  early  days,  and  for  many  years 
afterwards,  were  almost  entirely  local  in  their  charac- 
acter,  and  were  intended  either  to  enable  people  who 
had  clustered  together  in  neighborhoods  in  the  inte- 
rior to  get  to  mill  or  to  market,  or  to  tap  the  great 
main  roads  that  traversed  the  province,  or  to  reach 
the  important  towns  of  Woodbridge,  Piscataway,  aud 
Perth  Am  boy.  Nearly  all  of  these  roads  are  made  to 
intersect  the  main  roads  or  country  roads  branching 
off  from  them,  and  they  all  converge  more  or  less  di- 
rectly upon  the  towns  above  named,  at  which  the 
fairs,  markets,  and  courts  were  held,  and  in  one  of 
which  (Perth  Amboy)  the  General  Assembly  con- 
tinued to  be  convened.  Of  course  there  were  also 
numerous  smaller  roads  leading  to  and  from  landings 
and  ferries  at  various  points  on  the  Raritan  River, 
down  which  there  was  constant  travel,  and  on  which 
the  people  from  the  interior  of  Somerset  and  the  in- 
tervening points  on  the  river  transported  their  pro- 


t  Salt  ponds  or  licka  were  numerous  in  the  vicinity  in  the  "  olden 
time,"  when,  as  Denton  relates,  the  "  Countrey"  was  "  stored  with  wilde 
Beasts,  as  Deer  and  Elks"  ;  and  in  an  old  Indian  deed  preserved  in  the 
Book  of  Early  Records,  p.  234,  a  "  great  and  little  salt  Pond"  are  spoken 
of,  and  described  as  being  on  "  Topp  of  the  first  mountain"  of  the  "  Blew 
Hills,  next  to  Woodbridge." 

-  See  old  British  map,  also  Col.  Dunham's  map. 


THE   PARTITION   LINE    BETWEEN    EAST    AND  WEST   JERSEY. 


43t 


duce  in  canoes  and  on  rafts  and  flat-boats  far  more 
easily  and  expeditiously  than  they  were  able  to  do 
over  the  new,  imperfectly  constructed,  and  scarcely 
worked  country  roads." 


CHAPTER    LXII. 

THE    PARTITION    LINE   BETWEEN    EAST    AND  WEST 
JERSEY. 

By  an  indenture  quintipartite,  made  on  the  first  day 
of  July,  1676,  and  in  the  twenty-eighth  year  of  the  reign 
of  Charles  II.,  between  Sir  George  Carteret,  William 
Penn,  Nicholas  Lucas,  Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Edward 
Byllinge,  the  province  of  New  Jersey  was  divided 
into  East  and  West  Jersey.  The  line  of  partition  was 
to  be  a  straight  line  drawn  from  the  east  side  of  Little 
Egg  Harbor,  which  was  agreed  in  the  indenture  to  be 
called  the  South  Station  Point,  to  the  northernmost 
boundary  of  the  province  on  the  River  Delaware.  No 
reference  is  made  in  this  deed  to  latitude  41°  40',  but 
it  is  implied  by  a  reference  made  to  the  boundaries  of 
the  original  grant  by  the  Duke  of  York  to  Berkeley 
and  Carteret. 

It  is  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  partition  line, 
according  to  this  agreement,  was  to  run  to  the  north 
partition  point,  inasmuch  as  the  Keith  line,  subse- 
quently run  as  far  as  the  south  branch  of  the  Raritan, 
paid  no  regard  to  this  condition,  but  was  run  in  a  di- 
rection entirely  independent  of  it,  and  if  projected 
to  the  Delaware  River  would  have  intersected  that 
stream  a  short  distance  above  the  Water  Gap. 

The  commissioners  appointed  by  both  divisions  of 
the  province  to  determine  the  direction  of  the  pro- 
po.sed  line  were  William  Emly  and  John  Reid,  the 
former  a  surveyor  in  Amwell,  West  Jersey,  and  the 
latter  the  deputy  surveyor-general  of  the  eastern  por- 
tion of  the  province.  They  were  appointed  in  1686, 
ten  years  after  the  deed  of  partition  was  drawn  up. 
If  they  could  not  agree  between  themselves  they  were 
authorized  to  choose  a  third  person  to  act  as  umpire. 
They  seem  not  to  have  been  governed  at  all  by  the 
deed  of  partition,  but  to  have  determined  the  course 
of  the  line  from  the  South  Station  Point  according  to 
their  own  arbitrary  pleasure.  Yet  the  Deputy  Gov- 
ernor and  several  of  the  proprietors  of  West  Jersey 
not  only  acquiesced  in  their  award,  but,  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1686-87,  put  themselves  under  bonds  in  the 
sum  of  five  thousand  pounds  lawful  money  of  the 
province  to  abide  by  it  as  a  final  decision.  This  bond 
was  signed  by  John  Skein,  Deputy  Governor  of  West 
Jersey,  Samuel  Jennings,  Thomas  Olive,  George 
Hutchison,  Mahlon  Stacy,  Thomas  Lambert,  and 
Joseph  Pope.  The  award  also  subsequently  received 
the  sanction  and  approval  of  William  Penn.  The 
bond  was  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered  on  the  8th  of 
January,  1686-87,  in  the  presence  of  Henry  Green- 
land and  William  Mount.' 

1  New  Jersey  Archirea,  Series  I.  Tol.  i.  pp.  522-23. 


On  the  same  day  in  which  this  bond  was  signed, 
the  commissioners,  Emly  and  Reid,  made  their  award, 
declaring  that  the  partition  line  between  East  and 
West  Jersey  should  "  run  from  y°  north  side  of  y* 
mouth  or  Inlet  of  y"  beach  of  Little  Egg  Harbor  on  a 
straight  line  to  Delaware  River  north-northwest,  and 
fifty  minutes  more  westerly,  according  to  natural  posi- 
tion, and  not  according  to  y*  magnet,  whose  variation 
is  nine  degrees  westward." 

The  next  thing  in  order  was  the  actual  running  out 
of  the  line  according  to  the  direction  here  decreed. 
It  appears  that  the  East  Jersey  proprietors  and  offi- 
cials were  somewhat  anxious  about  it,  and  so  appointed 
Samuel  Winder,  John  Campbell,  and  Miles  Foster 
commissioners  to  wait  upon  the  authorities  of  West 
Jersey,  remind  them  of  their  contract,  and  hurry  their 
tardy  steps  to  have  the  line  run  as  speedily  as  possible. 
Their  commission  is  signed  by  Thomas  Gordon,  John 
Barclay,  Robert  Fullerton,  Thomas  Warne,  Andrew 
Hamilton,  Gawen  Lawrie.  They  were  instructed  "  to 
require  Governor  Skein  and  the  rest  who  signed  the 
bond  to  give  orders  that  the  line  should  be  run  ac- 
cording to  the  last  award." 

The  East  Jersey  authorities  furnished  the  surveyor, 
George  Keith.  The  line  was  run  in  1687  as  far  as 
John  Dobie's  house,  on  the  south  branch  of  the  Rar- 
itan, and  is  the  straight  line  now  seen  upon  the  maps, 
pointing  towards  the  Delaware  River  at  a  point  quite 
too  low  down  to  meet  the  conditions  of  the  original 
agreement,  but  stopping  short  of  its  destination.  It 
extends  only  so  far  as  to  form  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween Somerset  and  Hunterdon  Counties,  which  is, 
however,  enough  distinction  conferred  upon  it,  con- 
sidering its  origin.  It  could  with  safety  have  been 
blotted  from  the  map  of  the  State. 

Some  of  the  most  influential  of  the  West  Jersey  pro- 
prietors never  approved  of  this  attempt  to  fix  the  par- 
tition line  between  them  and  their  eastern  neighbors. 
It  soon  became  apparent,  if  it  did  not  so  appear  at  first, 
that  the  latter  were  getting  "  the  lion's  share."  Daniel 
Coxe,  Governor  of  West  Jersey,  was  one  of  them,  and 
the  leading  actor  in  resisti  ng  the  proposed  settlement  on 
the  basis  of  the  Emly  and  Reid  award.  He  was  a  man 
of  unblemished  character,  wise  and  sagacious  in  coun- 
cil, a  just  and  public-spirited  man,  above  the  imputa- 
tion of  mere  self-interest  in  the  part  he  took  in  the 
partition  question,  although  one  of  the  largest  pro- 
prietors of  West  Jersey.  He  stood  second  only  to 
William  Penn,  with  whose  opinions  and  actions  he 
felt  himself  obliged  to  differ  as  to  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  West  Jersey ;  but  he  differed  in  the  mag- 
nanimous spirit  of  a  true  Friend. 

In  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Council  of  Proprietors 
of  West  Jersey,  under  date  of  the  5th  of  September, 
1687,  accompanying  his  "  Narrative  Relating  to  the 
Division  Line,"  he  says, — 

"  After  Mr.  Byllings'  decease,  his  heirs  were  greatly  igDorant  of  his 
coDcerns  relating  unto  West  Jersey,  and  therefore  resolved  to  sell  his  in- 
terest both  in  government  and  property.    I  and  another  of  the  chief 


438 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NKW  JERSEY. 


proprietors,  having  together  a  very  great  share  of  the  country,  applied 
ourselves  for  advice  unto  the  lawyen*,  ht'ing  aswured  by  the  most  eminent 
that  however  Bylling's  concessions  might  in  conscience  bind  him  during 
his  life,  they  were  not  always  obligatory  to  a  pnrcliaser  or  successor, 
because  said  concessions  were  made  before  his  right  of  government  was 
granted  ;  we  therefore  consulted  with  several  proprietors  and  others, 
well-wishers  to  your  colony,  amongst  whuni  it  whs  agreed  and  resolved 
to  be  for  the  good  of  your  cnnntry  and  our  own  security  that  one 
amongst  us  should  purchase  from  the  heirs  of  Mr.  BvUings  all  his  and 
their  interest  in  property  and  government;  and  becanse  my  proportion  of 
land  WHS  greater,  or  that  they  apprehended  me  capable  of  serving  them, 
or  to  have  more  mont-y  at  command,  or  because  they  had  ever  perceived 
me  to  be  zealous  and  active  to  promote  the  good  of  the  province,  I  was 
earnestly  pressed  and  requested  to  make  a  purchase  of  the  government 
and  the  property  annexed  thereunto,  wherewith  having  complied,  that  ' 
I  might  demonstrate  the  disinterestedness  of  my  undertaking,  ;ind  that 
I  did  primarily  propose  the  welfare  and  benefit  of  the  peojtle,  and  prefer 
it  to  my  private  advantage.  I  did  many  times  proffer  Mr.  Penn  and  Mr. 
Ford  and  others  who  pretended  to  undei-stand  most  of  your  minds,  what 
was  for  your  good,  and  to  be,  as  it  were,  kind  of  trustee  for  you,  that 
if  they  would  contrive  any  method  whereby  the  government  might  be 
legally  and  severally  vested  in  the  proprietors  or  people  without  a  gov- 
ernor, or  if  they  would  find  any  person  more  fit  to  discharge  the  office 
of  government,  or  who  might  prove  more  acceptable  tt.>  the  people  than 
myself,  I  was  willing  to  consign  or  reconvey  all  my  estate,  power,  au- 
thority as  I  had  received  itand  upon  the  same  condition,  not  desiring  the 
least  advance  beyond  wliat  they  all  know  I  had  disbursed  ;  but  not  find- 
ing any  proposal  to  meet  with  any  other  return  than  au  invitation  to 
proceed,  and  good  wishes  that  I  miglit  therein  prove  successful,  aud 
finding  that  all  the  proprietor's  in  or  near  Loudon  whom  I  could  con- 
vene were  greatly  satisfied  with  my  cimdnct,  encouraging  me  to  expect 
they  would  meet  with  like  acceptance  from  the  propiietore  and  iuhab- 
itants  of  West  Jetsey,  I  therefore  thought  fit  to  recommunicate  unto 
yuu  the  whole  transaction  of  this  affair,  as  likewise  what  I  expect  from 
3'ou,  the  proprietoiB  and  inhabitants  of  West  Jersey,  and  what  you  may 
reciprocally  challenge  from  me.  I  do  therefore  hereby  give  you  under- 
stand that  whereas  all  the  gentlemen  of  the  law  who  have  l»een  hitherto 
consulted  do  unanimously  agree  that  the  government  of  the  province  of 
West  Jersey  is  legally  in  me  as  full  as  Pennsylvania  in  Mr.  Penn,  or 
East  Jersey  in  the  propiietois  there.  I  thereupon  assumed  the  title  of 
governor,  and  lay  claim  to  the  powers  and  autliority  thereunto  annexed; 
and  1  am  resolved  by  the  assistance  of  Almiglity  God  to  exercise  the 
jurisdiction  by  his  royal  highness,  his  last  deed  or  grant  unto  me  con- 
veyed, wiih  all  integrity,  and  faithfulness,  and  diligence,  for  the  benefit 
and  welfare  of  those  over  whom  divine  provideuce  hath  constituted  me 
(under  our  sovereign)  superintendent  or  overseer,  always  preferring 
public  emolument  before  my  own  private  advantage." 

During  the  first  year  of  Governor  Coxe's  adminis- 
tration the  contest  concerning  the  partition  line 
caused  much  excitement.  Governor  Coxe  having 
openly  repudiated  the  Emly  and  Raid  award  as  an 
unjust  and  unequal  division,  and  without  binding 
force  with  the  successor  of  Byllinge,  soon  brought  all 
the  West  Jersey  proprietors  to  his  views  except  Wil- 
liam Penn.  Governor  Coxe  in  his  letter  explains  the 
action  of  Penn  as  follows: 

"I  perceive  that  which  most  influenced  him  is  a  persuasion  that  the 
division  ought  to  be  equal  in  quantity,  and  is  confirmed  therein  by  a 
passage  in  Mr.  Byllinge's  commission  for  settling  the  bounds,  whei'ein 
he  uses  the  word  equal,  and  is  persuaded  (being  herein  influenced  by 
Mr.  Keith's  false  map,  of  which  I  have  sent  you  a  copy)  that  Mr.  Reid'e 
proposal  is  very  fair,  and  an  exact  equal  division  of  the  country.  I  do 
Dot  herein  charg*-  Mr.  Penn  with  any  fault,  who  I  believe  acts  accbrding 
to  his  convictions,  but  I  only  acquaint  you  herewith  that  you  may  un- 
derstand your  own  misfortunes,  for  had  not  Mr.  Penn  embraced  our 
interest  we  should  probably  have  made  a  more  speedy  and  advantageous 
agreement."^ 

Concerning  what  he  calls  '*Mr,  Keith's  false  map" 
he  says  further  on,  "The  draughts  they  produce  for 


1  Letter  from  Daniel  C!ope  to  the  Council  of  Proprietors  of  West  Jer- 


division  are  not  in  tlie  least  according  to  truth,  nor 
according  to  those  they  sent  their  proprietors,  whereof 
T,  having  been  two  years  of  East  Jersey,  have  most 
certain  knowledge  and  exact  copies  of  their  own 
draughts  to  compare  them."  .  .  .  The  Governor,  it 
appears,  had  obtained  these  copies,  and  was  on  his 
guard  as  to  any  deception  that  might  be  attempted 
by  means  of  false  maps.  By  this  means  he  thinks 
William  Penn  was  deceived  and  led  to  approve  the 
award  of  Emley  and  Reid  and  the  Keith  line. 

He  gives  this  advice  to  the  West  Jersey  proprietors : 

"  I  entreat  and  require  that  you  treat  not  with  them  (the  East  Jersey 
proprietors)  any  further  about  any  accommolatiun,  nor  own  that  pre- 
tended tobe  already  made,  but  stand  by  the  letter  of  the  agreement  between 
Sir  George  Carteret  and  Mr.  Byllinge,  viz.:  That  the  line  be  run  directly 
from  the  east  side  of  Little  Egg  Harbor  unto  the  most  northerly  branch 
of  Delaware  River,  in  forty-one  degrees  and  forty  minutes.  And  I  ques- 
tion not  but  we  shall  bring  them  to  mure  reasonable  terms  than  any 
they  have  hitherto  proposed ;  at  least  no  pains  nor  cost  shall  be  wanting 
on  my  part,  and  I  have  the  concurrence  of  all  our  proprietors,  Mr.  Penn 
excepted,  whom  I  could  any  ways  meet  with  or  consult." 

At  this  time  the  East  Jersey  proprietors  had  or- 
dered lands  to  be  taken  up  at  various  places  near  the 
new  pretended  line  of  partition,  and  Governor  Coxe 
ordered  a  protest  to  be  entered  against  this,  and  or- 
dered the  surveyor  of  West  Jersey  or  his  deputy  to 
immediately  take  up  in  his  name  "  all  that  land  which 
is  westerly  of  the  Millstone  and  Raritan  Rivers,"  add- 
ing, ''  and  we  favor  them  very  much  by  going  no 
farther  (for  according  to  strictness  our  line  runs 
within  three  miles  of  Perth  City),  and  by  allowing 
them  that  great  tract  of  most  excellent  land  from 
thence  to  the  meeting  of  the  Millstone  and  Raritan 
Rivers." 

Thus  it  appears  that  in  1687-88  lands  were  being 
rapidly  taken  up,  and  the  West  Jersey  proprietors 
were  pushing  their  claims  eastward  to  within  three 
miles  of  the  mouth  of  the  Raritan.  Piscataway  and 
Inian's  Ferry  were  held  to  be  within  the  bounds  of 
West  Jersey.  In  a  letter  written  to  the  East  Jersey 
proprietors  in  England  about  this  time  we  are  in- 
formed that  Thomas  Budd  had  made  a  large  purchase 
of  land  of  the  Indians  in  what  properly  belonged  to 
East  Jersey,  and  that  on  his  way  from  New  York  with 
the  goods  he  had  purchased  to  pay  off  the  Indians  he 
was  arrested  by  the  authority  of  the  Governor  and 
Council  of  East  Jersey  at  Inian's  Ferry.  The  ac- 
count says, — 


"  By  a  warrant  directed  to  the  Sheriff  he  was  taken  at  John  Inian's 
and  locked  himself  up  two  or  three  days,  and  wonld  not  surrender,  pre- 
tending that  he  was  in  his  own  province,  and  some  other  West  Jersey 
men  came,  under  pretense  to  visit  him,  but,  as  seemed,  to  rescue  him, 
which  obliged  the  deputy  Governor  to  order  to  the  Sherifi"  a  stronger 
guard.  .  .  Afterfivedays'attendancehe  was  brought  before  the  deputy 
Governor,  who  told  him  he  was  informed  against  as  a  person  who,  con- 
trary to  laws  aud  without  our  authority,  had  taken  upon  him  to  convene 
our  Indians  and  purchase  land  within  our  province.  ...  He  wa«  held 
by  recognizance  in  the  sum  of  a  thousand  pounds  for  his  appearance  at 
the  next  Court  of  Common  Right,  to  be  held  in  October.  Bu<ld  claimed 
to  be  acting  under  authority  of  au  act  of  the  .Assembly  of  West  Jersey, 
but  he  appeared  not  to  be  able  to  produce  a  copy  of  it,  nor  to  give  any 
satisfactory  evidence  nf  the  existence  of  such  a  law. 

"  Also,*'  says  the  same  letter,  *'  some  of  West  Jersey  have  forbid  the 


THE    PARTITION    LINE   BETWEEN   EAST    AND    WEST   JERSEY. 


4S9 


people  of  Pfscataway  to  pay  quit-rents,  upon  pretense  that  Piscatjiway 
is  within  their  Province,  which  doth  oblige  our  Governor  and  Council  to 
issue  out  warntnts  of  distress  to  make  tlit-ni  pay  them," 

This  controversy  between  the  proprietors  of  the  re- 
spective provinces  of  East  and  West  Jersey  continued 
only  until  Sept.  5,  1688,  when  Governors  Coxe  and 
Barchiy  agreed  upon  a  compromise  line  at  a  meeting 
in  London.  This  agreement  is  stated  to  be  "  For  the 
final  determination  of  all  diflerences  concerning  the 
deed  of  Partition  and  all  other  disputes  and  contro- 
versies about  dividing  the  lands  and  settling  the 
Bounds  between  East  and  West  Jersey,"  and  gives 
the  line  as  follows  : 

"  First,  the  line  of  Partition  run  straight  h  om  Little  Egg  Harbour  to 
the  must  westerly  corner  of  John  Dobie's  Plantation,  as  it  stands  on  the 
South  Branch  of  Raritiii  Kiver,  shall  be  the  Bounds  so  far  between 
East  and  West  Jersey,  and  shall  not  be  altered,  but  remain  as  it  stands 
ID  a  printed  draught  of  the  Proprietors*  lands  surveyed  in  £a8t  Jersey, 
and  drawn  by  John  Reid,  and  since  printed  here. 

"Secondly,  from  thence  to  run  along  the  back  of  the  adjoining  Plan- 
tations until  it  Come  to  James  Dutidasse  his  plantation,  and  from  thence 
as  the  most  Northwesterly  part  thereof  a  line  to  lye  even  with  the  line 
on  the  back  of  these  Plantations,  and  so  to  run  Northeastward  till  it 
touch  the  North  Brunch  of  llaritan  River,  as  it  is  struck  upon  the  map 
already,  hut  saving  the  Plantations  already  laid  out  to  be  within  the 
line  if  they  happen  to  stand  a  little  more  westerly  than  that  Hue  is 
marked. 

"  Thirdly,  from  the  North  end  of  the  line  where  it  touches  Raritan 
North  Branch,  thence  forward  the  largest  stream  or  current  of  water 
belonging  to  the  said  North  Branch  shall  be  the  Bound  or  Partition,  and 
BO  continuing  along  the  same  unto  the  North  end  thereof  for  the  bounds 
soe  far. 

"  Fourthly,  from  the  said  North  end  of  the  Branch  a  Short  Straight 
line  to  run  to  touch  the  Nearest  part  of  Pisaick  River,  and  so  following 
the  course  of  that  river,  continuing  vinto  Pequariick  River  so  long  its  it 
runs  Northerly  or  Northwesterly,  those  rivers  still  to  be  the  Bounds  be- 
tween both  Provinces,  and  if  Pequanick  River  doe  not  run  far  enough 
to  thi.*  latitude  of  41  degrees  then  from  the  said  river,  a  straight  line  to 
be  run  Northward  to  the  latitude,  and  that  to  be  ihe  utmost  North  Par- 
tition Point,  and  from  the  Said  Point  in  a  straight  line  due  East  to  the 
Partition  Point  on  Hudson's  River  between  East  Jersey  and  New  York. 
Provided  always  that  all  Plantations  and  tracts  of  land  in  East  Jersey 
shall  remain  to  the  Parties  Concerned,  and  the  Partition  shall  so  run  as 
to  includ*'  them  in  the  East  Jersey  Bounds. 

"  Lastly,  Dr.  Coxe  doth  ('ovenant  and  promise  to  make  good  the  agree- 
ments above  written,  and  Warrant  the  Title  and  quiet  Possessions  of  all 
the  lands  so  to  be  appropriated  to  the  Proprietors  of  East  Jersey  accord- 
ing to  the  Limits  and  Bounds  above  mentioned  against  :ill  persons  that 
shall  or  may  pretend  or  claim  any  interest  to  any  of  the  said  lands  as 
West  Jersey  Proprietors." 

Robert  Barclay  made  the  same  stipulation  on  his 
part,  and  each  bound  himself  in  the  sum  of  £5000 
well  and  truly  to  fulfill  the  covenant.  The  document 
was  sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  David 
Howling  and  Stephen  Lucock,  in  London,  the  5th  of 
September,  1688. 

This  compromise  partition  line  is  a  very  plainly- 
traced  dotted  line  on  Faden's  map  of  1777,  republished 
as  the  centennial  map  of  New  Jersey.  It  extends 
from  the  northwestern  terminus  of  the  Keith  line  to 
the  North  Branch  of  the  Raritan  (called  Pepack 
Branch),  a  distance  of  about  sixty  miles;  thence  up 
the  North  Branch  to  near  its  liead,  following  what  is 
now  the  line  between  Somer«tet  and  Morris  Counties, 
and  coinciding  with  that  line  at  the  point  where  it 
strikes  the  Passaic  River;  thence  it  follows  the  Pas- 
saic,  first  southward   and    then    northward,   to   the 


mouth  of  the  Pequannock,  and  after  ascending  that 
stream  to  latitude  of  forty-one  degrees,  makes  a  turn 
directly  east  along  that  parallel  to  the  Hudson  River. 

It  siiould  be  remembered  that  at  this  time  tiiere  was 
no  fixed  boundary  between  New  York  and  New  Jer- 
sey, nor  was  the  line  finally  determined  for  more  than 
three-quarters  of  a  century  afterwards.  Wherever 
the  partition  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey  is 
referred  to  in  any  boundary  between  September,  1688, 
and  September,  1743,  it  is  this  compromise  line  of 
Governors  Coxe  and  Barclay. 

The  compromise  line  above  described  continued  to 
be  the  accepted  partition  line  between  the  provinces 
of  East  and  West  Jersey  until  the  Lawrence  line  was 
run  in  1743.  As  a  preliminary  step  towards  this,  no  less 
than  as  a  necessary  prerequisite  to  the  establishment 
of  the  boundary  line  between  New  Jersey  and  New 
York,  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  on  March 
27,  1719,  under  which  commissioners  were  appointed 
by  royal  patent  to  ascertain  and  determine  the  north- 
ern station-point,  described  in  the  grant  of  the  Duke 
of  York  and  the  several  conveyances  under  it,  at 
which,  according  to  the  quintipartite  agreement,  the 
divisional  line  from  the  east  side  of  Little  Egg  Har- 
bor was  to  terminate  on  the  Delaware  in  latitude 
forty-one  degrees  and  forty  minutes.  The  manner  in 
which  this  duty  was  performed  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing document,  called 

"THE  TRIPARTITE  DEED. 

"This  Indknturk  Tripartite,  made  the  tweuty-fiftli  day  of  July,  in 
the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  George,  over  Great  Britain,  France,  and 
Ireland,  King,  etc,  Anno  Dovi.,  1719,  between  Robert  Walter,  of  the  City 
and  province  of  New  York  :  Isaac  Hicks,  of  Queen's  County,  in  the  said 
province,  Esq.;  AlJain  Jarret,  of  the  City  and  province  aforesaid,  Esq., 
Hurveyor  for,  and  in  behalf  of,  the  said  province  of  New  York,  of  the 
first  part ;  .lohn  Johnson,  and  George  Willocks,  of  the  Kastern  division 
of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  Esq.,  and  James  Alexander,  surveyor- 
general  of  the  said  Eastern  division,  of  the  second  part;  and  Joseph 
Kirkbride  and  John  Reading,  of  the  Western  division  of  the  said  prov- 
ince, and  Jaoies  Alexander,  surveyor-general  of  the  said  Western  division, 
of  the  third  part:  Whereas  his  said  Majesty,  the  King, by  Letters  Patent 
under  the  great  seal  of  the  Province  of  New  York,  did  Comniissionate, 
authorize  and  apijoint  the  said  Robert  Walter  and  Isaac  Hicks  Commis- 
sioners, and  Allain  Jarret  surveyor  of  the  province  of  New  York  ;  that 
the  said  Commissioners  and  surveyor,  or  surveyors,  appointed,  or  to  be 
appointed,  upon  the  part  or  behalf  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  care- 
fully and  diligently  inspect  and  survey  all  such  of  the  streams  of  waters 
that  foi  m  the  river  Delaware  ;  which  they,  the  said  commissioners,  or 
the  surveyor,  or  surveyors,  may  esteem  necessary  to  be  inspected  or  sur- 
veyed ;  in  order  to  find  out  and  determine  which  of  the  strei^me  ie  the 
Northernmost  branch  of  Delaware  river,  and  that  then,  when  such 
branch  is  so  discovered,  the  surveyor,  or  surveyors,  according  to  the 
best  of  their  knowledge  and  understanding,  discover  and  find  out  that 
place  of  the  said  Northermost  branch  of  Delaware  River  that  lies  in  the 
latitude  of  41  degrees  and  40  minutes,  which  is  the  North  partition  point 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey;  and  for  the  bettc  preserving  and  perpet- 
uating the  knowledge  of  the  said  partition  point,  the  said  Commissioners 
and  surveyors,  by  the  said  Letters  Patent  are  required  to  take  notice  of 
the  most  remarkable  and  conspicuous  places  near  to  the  said  North  par- 
tition point,  whether  they  be  rocks,  hills,  gullies, ponds,  ruus.orstreams 
of  water;  and  ubserve  upon  what  course  and  distance  such  remarkable 
places  bear  from  the  said  North  partition  point;  all  which  the  said 
commissioners  are  required  by  the  said  Letters  Patent  distinctly  to  cer- 
tify under  their  hands  and  seals,  unto  the  governor,  or  commander  in 
chief  of  the  province  of  New  York,  to  be  filed  and  recorded  in  the  sec- 
retary's office  of  the  said  province  of  New  York:  All  which  by  the  Let- 
ters Patent,  bearing  date  the  first  day  of  May,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his 


440 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COIfNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


said  Miijesty's  reign,  and  in  the  yenr  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven 
tiundred  »nd  nineteen,  and  remHiniiig  upon  the  records  of  the  said  prov- 
ince of  New  York,  may  more  fully  and  at  large  appear:  And  whereas 
his  said  Majesty  by  other  Letters  Patent  under  the  great  seal  (»f  the 


^ionate  and  appoint  tlie  said  John 
issioners  for  the  Eastern  division  of 
lepli  Kirkbride  and  John  Reading 
oi;  of  New  Jersey,  and  James  Alex- 
lions  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey 
with  the  Commissioners  and  surveyor  or  sur- 
appointed,  upon  the  part  and  behalf  of  the 


province  of  New  Jersey,  did  coninii; 
Johnson  and  George  ■Willocks  Comn 
the  said  province  of  New  Jersey;  Ji 
commissionei^  lor  the  Western  divis 
arid'-r,  surveyor-general  of  both  div 
aforesaid;  in  conjnncf 
veyors  appointed,  or  to 

said  province  of  New  York  ;  that  they  the  said 
veyors  carefnily  and  diligently  inspect  and  survey  all  or  such  of  the 
streams  of  w^ter  that  form  Ihe  said  river  Delaware,  which  they  the  said 
Commissioners,  or  surveyor,  or  surveyors,  may  esteem  necessary  to  be 
inspected  or  surveyed,  in  order  to  tind  out  and  determine  which  of  the 
streams  of  water  is  the  Northernmost  branch  of  the  said  river,  and  that 
tlien  when  such  branch  is  so  discovered,  the  said  surveyor  or  surveyors 
carefully,  according  to  their  best  knowledge  and  understanding,  discover 
and  find  out  that  place  of  the  said  Northermost  branch  of  Delaware  river 
that  lien  in  the  hititHtle  of  41  degrees  and  40  minutes  ;  which  is  the  North  par- 
tition of  New  Jersey  aforesaid,  and  th''  point,  as  well,  of  the  line  of  partition 
or  division  between  Ihe  Eastern  and  Western  division,  as  that  place  where 
the  line  of  partition  or  division  between  New  York  atid  New  Jersey  ter- 
minates; and  for  the  better  perpetuating  and  preserving  the  knowledge 
of  the  said  North  partition  point, the  said  Commissioners  and  surveyors 
for  the  province  of  New  Jersey  are  required  by  the  said  Letters  Patent 
to  take  notice  of  tlie  most  remarkable  and  conspicuous  places  near  to 
the  said  Noith  partition  point,  whether  they  be  rucks,  hills,  gullies, 
ponds,  runs,  or  streams  of  water;  and  ob>erve  on  what  course  and  dis- 
tances such  rt-markable  places  bear  from  the  North  partition  point ;  all 
which  the  said  Commissioners  and  surveyors  are  further  required  as 
aforesaid,  distinctly  to  certify  under  their  hands  and  seals  unto  the  gov- 
ernor or  Commander  iu  Chief  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey  aforesaid, 
to  be  filed  and  recorded  in  the  secretary's  office  thereof;  all  which  by  the 
said  last  recitfd  Letters  Patent,  bearing  date  the  last  day  of  March,  in 
the  fifth  year  of  his  Majesty's  reign,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  and  nineteen,  and  remaining  upon  the  public  rec- 
orils  of  the  said  province  of  New  Jersey,  may  fully  and  at  large  appear. 
'*  Now  this  Indenture  witnesseth,  that  the  said  Commissioners  and  sur- 
vfyors,  as  well  upon  the  part  and  behalf  of  the  province  of  New  York  as 
up'Mi  the  part  and  behalf  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  in  pursuance  of 
the  trust  reposed  in  thfUi  by  the  several  and  above  recited  Letters  Patent, 
undei'  the  great  seals  of  the  respective  provinci'S  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  :  having  carefully  and  diligently  inspected  and  informed  them- 
selves which  of  the  several  and  respective  branrhes  of  the  said  river  of 
Delaware  is  the  Northermost  branch  thereof,  do  find,  and  therefore  hy 
these  presents  do  certify,  and  declare,  that  that  stream  or  river  which  is 
commonly  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  the  Fishkill  is  the  Northern- 
most branch  of  the  said  river  Delaware:  And  further,  that  they  the  said 
Commissioners  and  Surveyors,  according  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge 
and  int'ornialion,  do  esteem  and  believe  the  said  Fishkill  t<>be  the  biggest 
and  deepest  stream  that  forms  the  said  river  Delaware:  And  whereas  the 
said  Allain  Jarret  and  James  Alexander,  having  taken  repeated  observa- 
tions, as  well  nigh  adjoining  to  the  said  Fishkill,  or  the  Northernmost 
braiicli  of  the  Delaware  River,  as  in  sundry  other  places,  in  order  to  dis- 
cover that  place  iu  said  Northernmost  branch  that  lies  in  the  latitude  of 
41  degrees  and  forty  minutes;  and  that  they  the  said  surveyors, accord- 
ing tu  the  best  of  their  skill  and  understanding,  having  discovered  the 
same  to  he  upon  that  place  of  the  said  Fishkill,  or  Northernmost  branch 
of  the  Delaware  aforementioned;  therefore  they  the  said  commissioners 
and  surveyoi-s  do  certify  by  these  presents,  to  all  whom  it  may  concern, 
that  the  said  Nortli  partition,  or  division  point,  upon  tlie  Northernmost 
branch  of  the  river  Delaware,  between  the  provinces  of  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  {which  likeioise  w  the  North  partition  point  between  Ihe  Eastern  unrf 
Wetli-m  divisions  of  A'eic  Jeiiet/j  the  latitude  of  41  degrees  and  40  minutes, 
upon  the  Kxst  side  of  the  said  Fishkill  branch,  is  upon  the  low  land  in 
the  Indian  town  called  Casheightouch ;  which  Indian  town  is  distant 
from  Thomas  Swarlwout's  house,  at  a  place  known  hy  the  name  of  Pin- 
peck,  near  to  Mahackamiick  River;  29  miles  and  a  quarter,  upon  a 
straight  course,  North  44  degrees  20  minutes  West,  by  the  magnetical 
position  ;  or  a  course  North  52  degrees  2n  minutes  West,  by  the  true  po- 
siiitm,  from  John  Dicker's  house,' at  the  place  called  Teteudal,by  said 


1  Probably  John  Decker,  as  the  Deckers  were  among  the  first  settlers 
I  that  neighborhood,  an*]  the  name  of  Joh  n  Decker  appears  in  the  Dutch 
hurch  records  as  adeacuti  of  Machhackemack  Church  in  1741. 


Mahackaniack  River,  about  29  miles  and  three-quarters,  npon  a  course 
North  as  degrees  West,  by  the  magnetical  position ;  or  upon  a  course 
North  4.S  degrees  West,  Iry  the  true  position,  and  upon  the  several  cour8e§ 
hy  the  Indian  paths,  from  said  Dicker's  about  :i5  miles  and  a  half;  which 
point  of  intersection  of  the  latitude  of  41  degrees  and  40  minutes  upon 
the  said  Fishkill,  or  Northernmost  branch  of  the  river  Delaware,  is  dis- 
tant 38  chains  (reckoning  four  perches  to  a  chain^  from  the  mouth  of  a 
hrook  known  by  the  Imiian  name  of  Lamackanock,  and  at  all  times 
coming  to  be  called  or  known  by  the  name  of  Station  Brook;  which  falls 
from  the  hills  at  the  entering  in  or  the  Indian  paths  to  the  said  town, 
Cawhietouck.  upon  a  course  nearly  North  5  degrees  45  minutes  West,  by 
the  magnetical  position;  and  uponacourse  North  I3degrees45  minutes 
West,  by  the  true  position  ;  which  point  of  intersection  is  99  chains  and 
a  half,  reckoning  four  perches  to  a  chjiiu,  from  a  large  stone  or  rock,  the 
greatest  length  of  its  superfices  being  about  eleven  feet  and  three  luches, 
and  its  broadest  part  about  seven  feet  three  inches  ;  lying  partly  in  and 
partly  out  of  the  water  upon  the  hank  of  the  said  branch  called  Fishkill; 
upon  a  course  South  10  degrees  45  minutes  East,  by  the  true  position  ; 
which  stone  is  marked  with  the  letter  M,  and  is  137  chains  distant  from 
the  mouth  nf  the  said  brook,  upon  a  course  North  7**  degrees  40  minutes 
East,  by  the  true  position  ;  at  which  stone  or  rock  the  lowland  ends,  and 
the  hills  come  close  to  the  said  branch  or  river  Fishkill ;  the  courses  and 
situation  of  the  said  brook,  and  of  the  said  river  and  hill,  from  the  said 
brook  to  the  stone  aforesaitl,  will  better  appear  by  the  draught  to  these 
presents  annexed  :  In  testimony  whereof  the  said  parties  to  these  inden- 
tures have  put  their  hands  and  seals,  the  day  and  year  first  above  men- 
tioned 

"B.  Walter  [l.s.]. 

"Isaac  Hicks  fL.8.]. 

"John  Jounson  [l.8.]. 

'HJeO.    WiLLoCKSfL.S.]. 

"Jno.  Reading  [l.8.]. 
"Allain  Jarret  [l.8. J. 
"  Jas.  Alexander  |i..s.1. 
"Sealed  and  delivered  in  the  presence  of  James  Steel,  John  Harrison. 
"I  certify  the  foregoing  to  be  a  true  copy  taken  from  Lib.  D  2  of  deeds, 
page  276,  in  the  secretary's  office  at  Burlington. 

"  Herbert  M'Elroy  for  Bowes  Reru,  Sec^ 

The  year  following  tlie  establishment  of  the  north 
station-point  by  the  commissioners  and  surveyors, — 
viz.,  April  9,  1720, — their  action  was  fully  concurred 
in  and  ratified  by  the  proprietors  of  West  Jersey,  as 
the  following  extract  from  the  minutes  of  their  pro- 
ceedings of  that  date  will  attest : 

"The  managers  appointed  by  taw  for  the  running  and  ascertaining  the 
division-line  between  the  Eastern  :ind  Western  division  of  this  province 
— viz.,  Isaac  Sharp,  James  Logsn,  Thomas  Lambert,  and  John  Reading 
— met  this  day  with  the  Council,  and  agreed  with  them  that  the  whole 
sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  i  mentioned  in  a  former  minute,  made  the 
sixth  of  May  last)  he  forthwith  raised,  in  order  for  the  prosecuting  of  the 
said  affair  according  hs  the  law  directs,  «itb  all  expedition,  for  which  an 
advertisement  is  prepared,  signed  by  the  said  managers  or  Commissioners, 
and  James  Logan  is  desired  to  procure  tlic  same  to  be  printed  and  pub- 
lished without  delay.  And  whereas  the  Norihern  or  Station-point  upon 
Delaware  was  last  year  fixed  by  the  Surveyor-General,  Joseph  Kirkbride, 
and  John  Reading,  appointed  Commissioners  by  the  Governor  under  the 
great  seal,  which  said  point  being  fixed,  there  renmins  now  on  the  part 
of  this  division  only  to  run  the  partition  line  between  the  Eastern  and 
Western  divisions  of  this  province;  In  order  thereunto,  it  is  agreed  by 
the  Commissioners  that  notice  be  given  tothe  managersor  Commissioners 
of  the  Eastern  division  of  the  resolutions  of  the  managers  of  this  divi- 
sion  ;  and  that  they  may  be  desired  to  agree  on  a  certain  day  to  meet  the 
Western  managers  at  Nathan  Allen's,  or  Rt-scarrick's,  t<»  concert  meas- 
ures for  the  running  of  the  said  line,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  act; 
accordingly  a  letter  is  wrote,  subscribed  by  the  maniigei-s,  directed  to  the 
managers  of  the  Eastern  division,  desiring  them,  with  the  surveyor-gen- 
eral, to  meet  them  at  Nathnn  Allen's  on  the  2Kth  instant,  which  letter  is 
delivered  to  David  Lyel,  one  <>f  the  said  Eastern  managei-s,  who  happened 
to  be  here  present ;  and  all  the  managers  and  receivers  are  desired  to  use 
their  utmost  diligence  in  receiving  or  collecting  all  the  moneys  they  can, 
according  t>>  the  tenor  of  the  said  advertisement,  an<l  that  each  produce 
their  accounts  against  the  next  meeting-,  in  order  to  have  a  general  ac- 
count framed  for  the  last  year  according  to  the  direction  of  the  said  act.'* 


THE   PARTITION   LINE    BETWEEN   EAST   AND    WEST   JERSEY. 


441 


Although  the  West  Jersey  proprietors  were  anxious 
at  tliis  time  to  participate  in  running  the  partition 
line,  it  appears  that  they  were  not  able  to  raise  the 
necessary  funds,  and  so  let  the  matter  drop,  paying 
only  their  proportion  of  the  expense  of  establishing 
the  north  station-point.  After  many  years  of  delay 
the  East  Jersey  proprietors  assumed  the  responsibility, 
and  in  1743,  through  their  commissioners,  Andrew 
Johnson  and  John  Hamilton,  employed  John  Law- 
rence to  run  the  division  line.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  Mr.  Lawrence's  commission  : 

"Whereas  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  province  of  New 
York,  passed  in  the  fifth  year  of  the  reign  of  King  George  the  First,  John 
Hamilton  and  Diivid  Lyal,  George  Wilcocks  and  John  Harrison,  and  the 
survivor  of  them,  were  appointed  Commissioners  or  managers  for  the 
Eastern  division  of  New  Jersey,  with  power  to  appoint  tlie  surveyor- 
general,  and  such  other  surveyors  and  fit  able  pei-sons  as  should  be 
judged  necessary  for  running  the  partition-line  between  the  Easternaud 
Western  divisions  of  New  Jersey  ;  And  wtiereas  the  said  John  Hamilton  is 
the  only  surviving  Commissioner  appointed  by  the  said  act ;  and  whereas 
the  said  act  gives  power  to  the  Governor  for  the  time  being  to  appoint 
other  persons  in  the  place  of  such  of  the  Commissioners  aforesaid  as 
should  refuse  to  serve  or  should  die;  and  by  virtue  of  that  power  An- 
drew Johnson.  Esq.,  has  been  appointed  a  Commssioner;  we  therefore 
the  said  John  Hamilton  and  Andrew  Johnson  (by  virtue  of  the  power 
vested  in  us)  as  aforesaid,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  of  the  council  of 
proprietors  of  the  Eastern  division,  have  appointed  John  Lawrence, 
deputy-surveyor,  upon  oath,  to  run,  mark,  fi.\  and  ascertain  the  said  par- 
tition-line, pnrsuaut  to  the  said  act  of  Assembly,  and  to  make  return 
thereof  to  us  with  all  convenient  expedition  ;  with  power  to  him  to  em- 
ploy and  chuse  fit  and  able  persons,  upon  oath,  to  assist  him  in  running 
the  said  partition-line,  and  marking  and  raising  monuments  on  the 
same;  and  in  performing  the  said  work  he  is  to  observe  the  instructions 
herewith  delivered  to  him. 

**  Given  under  our  hands  and  seals  at  Perth  Amboy,  the  26th  of  Aug- 
ust, 1743. 

"  Andbew  Jounbon  [l.8.]. 
"John  Hamilton  [l.s.J." 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  oath  taken  by  Mr. 
Lawrence  before  a  magistrate  : 

'*!  will  well  and  truly  execute  the  within  Commission  to  the  best  of 
my  skill,  judgment,  and  knowledge. 

"So  help  me  God. 

"John  Lawrence." 

From  the  instructions  accompanying  the  commis- 
sion we  make  the  following  extracts,  certified  as  a 
correct  copy : 

"1st.  With  this  you  will  receive  a  Commission  to  you  for  running  the 
partition  line  between  East  and  West  Jereey,  to  the  execution  of  which 
you  will  be  sworn,  as  in  the  draft  of  the  oath  on  the  back  thereof. 

"2d.  You  are  to  employ  Martin  Ryerson,  or  Gorshoni  Mott,  or  some 
other,  as  an  assistant  surveyor,  if  you  think  proper;  and  also  proper 
chain-bearers  and  markers  ;  all  which  are  to  be  sworn,  or  affirmed, 
truly  to  perform  the  office  you  employ  theni  in,  and  to  have  a  certificate 
of  those  oaths  or  affirmations  indorsed  on  the  back  of  your  signed  by 
the  magistrate  who  administers  the  oath  or  affirmation  to  them,  before 
you  proceed  to  the  work.  Only  in  case  when  you  are  on  the  work,  by 
reason  of  sickness  or  otherwise  you  find  occasion  to  employ  more  or 
other  persons  than  at  first  you  intended,  you  may  proceed  with  them  till 
you  come  near  the  habitation  of  a  majistrate,  and  then  cause  them  to  be 
sworn  or  affirmed  before  him,  that  they  have  hitherto  well  and  truly  ex- 
ecuted, and  that  they  will  well  and  truly  execute,  the  office  yuu  have 
employed  them  in  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge  :  And  you  are  to  di- 
rect the  chain-bearers  in  chaining  to  hold  the  stake  they  are  next  to  put 
in  the  ground  in  the  same  hand  with  the  chain,  and  within  thiee  ur 
four  inches  of  the  end  that  they  are  to  push  in  the  ground,  and  stretch 
the  chain  at  setting  it  in  the  ground,  and  to  direct  the  marker  to  mark 
the  trees,  as  shall  hereafter  be  mentioned. 

"  The  foregoing  are  true  copies  and  extract*  : 


In  running  the  partition  line,  Mr.  Lawrence  started 
at  the  designated  point  on  the  east  side  of  Little  Egg 
Harbor,  and  ran  a  random  line  to  the  north  station- 
point,  at  Cochecton.  He  then  found  the  station- 
point  established  and  marked  by  the  commi.ssioners 
in  1719,  and,  taking  his  bearing,  returned,  making 
his  corrections  and  marking  the  true  line  southward 
to  the  place  of  beginning.  We  take  a  few  extracts 
from  his  field-book  while  running  the  line  through 
Sussex  County. 

["Extracts  from  the  original  field-book  of  John 
Lawrence  taken  22d  August,  1841,  during  the  progress 
of  a  trial  between  Ira  Fuller  and  Jonathan  Oliver. 
The  extracts  commence  near  the  Musconetcong,  on 
the  random  line,  and  continue  to  the  Delaware.  Also 
the  return  line  from  the  Delaware  River  to  the  Mus- 
conetcong."— By  Mr,  D.  Ryerson.] 


October  the  9th,  1743. 


Ran 


Line 


94  Ml.— A  Red  Oak  about  2  feet  diameter  on  the  N.  side  of  the  moun- 
tain near  the  foot,  on  the  S.  side  of  Musconetcong  river,  at  69  ch. 
The  river  about  75  L.  wide,  beais  abt.  N.  60  E.  At  70  the  top  of  a 
high  hill. 

95  A  White  Oak  ah't  9  Inches  diameter;  the  ground  descends  West- 
ward; at  48  ch.  a  small  brook,  running  Eastward;  at  52  an  Indian 
Wigwam  1  ch.  East. 

96  A  Red  Oak  ah't  18  inches  Diameter,  14  L.  Westward  on  a  hill ;  the 
ground  descends  N.  ward. 

97  A  Red  Oak  ah't  1}4  foot  diameter.  The  ground  descends  part 
Northerly  and  part  N.  Easterly.  At  37  a  Grassy  Pond  6  ch.  wide 
and  ah't  40  long;  bears  ab't  N.  E.;  an  old  beaver  dam  ab't  10  ch. 
below  ;  S.  W.  a  branch  of  Pequest  called  Alamuche. 

98  A  Red  Oak  in  a  small  plain  ab't  16  Inches  diameter,  60  L.  East  of 
the  line.    At  67  a  branch  of  Pequest,  runs  abt  W.  and  ab't  30  L. 

99  A  White  Oak  stake  in  a  plain  on  the  N.  side  of  a  large  Branch  of 
Pequest.    At  16  ch.  the  N.  edge  of  a  plain,  the  Mountain  begins. 

100  An  Ash  Saplin  ab't  4  In.  diameter,  on  the  N.  side  of  some  low 
swam)>y  ground.  Left  off  and  went  to  a  house  belonging  to  Rich'' 
Green. 

Oct.  10th,  1743. 
At  6(1  ch.  a  bog  meadow  ah't  10  ch.  wide  and  80  cb.  long ;  bore  about 
W.     A  neck   of  laud  about  10  ch.  wide;  the  point  seemed  to  be 
about  10  ch.  West. 

101  A  Maple  standing  in  a  large  swamp  on  the  South  side  about  10 
Inches  diameter.  At  10  a  brook  about  26  L.  wide  ;  at  23,  the  N. 
Sid  of  the  meadow,  a  White  Oak  under  the  edge  of  tlie  hill. 

102  A  White  Oak  ab't  12  Inches  diameter.  The  ground  descends  N. 
Easterlf. 

103  A  Black  Oak  ab't  14  inches  diameter,  and  20  ch  S.  Easterly  on  the 
edge  of  a  hill,  on  the  N.  side  ol  a  swiimp.  At  68  ch.  a  round  about 
6  ch.  East.  At  74  ch.  a  notch  in  the  mountain.  Bore  N.  88  W.  the 
last  half  mile.    Good  Land. 

104  A  Spanish  Oak  ah't  18  inches  diameter  near  the  foot  of  a  very  steep 
hill  ;  the  ground  descemls  Northerly.  At  68  ch.  a  branch  of  Tock- 
hockconetconk  (Paulinskill)  about  6  foot  wide ;  bears  ab't  West- 
crossed  it  about  J.^  ch.  E.  of  a  large  spruce  pine.  At  i;7  Tockhock- 
conetconk  about  70  L.  wide.     Bore  S.  W. 

105  A  White  Oak  ab't  1}4  foot  diameter.  The  ground  descends  East- 
erly— sleep, 

106  A  White  Oak  Saplin  about  5  In.  diameter,  4  ch.  S.  of  a  large  pond 
of  water,  by  estimation  100  Acres.^ 


■The  numbers  in  the  margin  represent  miles  from  the  southern  point 
;  Little  Egg  Harbor.    The  chains  mentioned  in  the  lines  are  so  many 
lains,  or  eightieth  parts  of  a  mile,  over  the  last  mile  figure  represented 
t  the  margin,  or  so  many  cliaius  of  the  next  mile  run. 
^Swartwood  Pond. 


442 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


IVaveite  Courae  Round  the  Pond. 

1  N.  59  B.  33. 

2  N.  5,  45  E.  14. 

3  N.55.  E.  18. 
4N.  2.!  E.8,25. 

5  N.  ^M  E.  9. 

6  N.  16,  W.  22. 

7  8.  78  W.  4. 

8  N.  t>6  W.  36. 

9  S.  86,  W.  53  tu  the  line 
continued.    At  38^ a  Bmatl  brook. 

107  III  tlie  aforesaid  Pond. 

108  A  Black  Oak  ah't  \\i,  foot  diameter,  1  eh.  S.,  the  ground  southerly  ; 
at  46  a  Red  Oak  sapliu  marked  E.  &  W.  with  a  btaze  and  3  notches, 
done  tliis  suiniiiei'.  At  61  a  small  brook,  runs  S.  Easterly.  Pretty 
goc.d  swamp. 

109  A  Wliire  Oak  ai-'t  10  Inches  diameter;  the  ground  descends  S.East- 
erly.     At  15k  bni.ik  abiml  6  teet  wide.     Bore  about  S.S.E. 

110  A  Red  Oak  ab't  i  teel  diameter.  At  41  a  small  bug  on  the  N.  side  9 
ch.  wide.  Now  we  begun  to  ascend  the  Pahaqualin  Mouutaiu;  it 
bore  S.  28  W.    At  70  a  very  steep  ascent— a  mere  body  of  rucks. 

111  A  crooked  Spunish  Oak  among  the  steep  rocks  the  southerly  side  of 
the  mountain 

112  A  Spanish  Oak  on  the  Northerly  side  of  the  mountain,  about  '.'>  in- 
ches diameter,  18  foot  westwanl  of  the  mile  end. 

113  A  pine  tree  1  foot  diameter  l'/4  ch.  southward.  At20  links  Eastward 
the  ground  descends  N.  Easterly.  At  12l^  a  brook  40  links  wi.le, 
ab"l  S.  80  W.    Good  low  Lands,  10  or  12  ch.  wide  on  the  N.  side  of 

114  An  KA\  ab't  6  In.  diameter  standing  in  a  small  gully.  At  58  ch. 
Delaware  River.  Bore  abmt  S.  85  W  ,  5  ch.  wide.  At  the  bank  on 
Delaware  a  Black  (Jak  ab't  15  Inches  diameter,  leaning  over  the 
river,  niaiked  114  and  58  ch. ;  stands  Id  L.  W.  of  the  river.  In  Pa 
Hendliok  Van  Gorder's  house  alK.ut  V,  of  a  mile,  and  Al.rani  Cara- 
nian's  above  the  place  where  the  line  comes  to  the  river  on  the  south 
side;  at  114,  75  ch.  Bower  Decker's  house.  Bore  E.  ;)0  L.  Coutiuued 
15Ut  miles  to  SUition  Point,  near  Cociiecton  on  Delaware." 

Fhidat,  Oct.  21st,  1743. 

Field  Book     I 

Tbub  line.     I 

Began  where  the  random  line  crossed  Delaware  River  at  the  end 

of  114  m.  58  ch.,  thence  run  a  perpendicular  N.  80^  E.  69,  10  L.  to 

the  tnle  line.     O.uine  N.  «  19  W.   22  ch.     The  ll.'.th    mile  an   Elm 

about  1  fo.>t  diameter  in  a  small  bushy  gully.     Runnijig  S.  9,  19  E. 

66  ch.  from  the  1 15th  mile.    Flatbrook  about  50  Ls.  wide,  a  pleasant 

stream  ;  course  S.  B,  19  E. 
114  A  foiked  White  Oak  about  3  feet  diameter,  14  ch.  southerly  of  Flat- 

bri>ok  ill   the  low  lands  on  the  Northerly  side  of  the  Pahaqualin 

Monulaiu. 
113  A  pine  ab't  1  foot  diameter,  45  Ls.  west  of  the  line  on   Northerly 

side  of  the  mountain. 
112  A  Spaiiisli  Oak  ab'l  1  foot  diameter,  on  the  Northerly  side  of  the 

UK'Uutain. 
Ill  in  tlieedgeof  a  |)uTid  on  the  S.  side  ot  the  mountain. 
110  .\  hickory  about  9  In.  diameter,  20  Ls.  W.  of  the  line.    At  67  a  large 

Spanish  Oak  marked  with  a  blaze  and  3  notdles;  supp..Bed  to  be  a 

corner  tree  of  a  survey  made  ab't  2  years  ago — ab't  3  leet  diameter. 
109  A  hickory  alamt  9  inches  diam>.ter ;  about  15  Ls.  West  a  heap  of 

stones  at  the  mile  end.     At  74^2  two  Beach  trees  marked  in  line,  the 

E.  side  of  a  run  ..f  water. 
108  A  WliileOak  al>'t  1  loot  diameter.    Ground  descends  N.  W. 
107  In  a  large  Pond.     (Saturday  laid  by— very  rainy,  some  suow.j 

October  23d,  1743. 

106  Offset  from  White  Oak  saplin  in  the  random  line  aforesaid  63.:)4  to 
a  Black  Oak  ab't  1^  foot  diameter,  25  lili.  Southwardly  of  the  end, 
with  a  stone  at  the  foot  of  it.  At  63  go<id  land  about  8  chs.  wide 
upon  Tockhockam-tconk  (Pauhnskill).  At  65J4  the  brook— two 
dogwoods  5  In.  diameter,  growing  from  one  root  marked  for  side 
lines;  on  the  N.  side  brook  croi.ks. 

105  A  White  Oak  aoont  2  feet  diameter,  on  the  hill  on  S.  aide  of  Tock- 
buckauetuuuk  ab't  14  ch.    Valley  about  4  cliains  wide.  Good  laud  on 


1  This  refers  to  the  distance  from  Little  Egg  Harlsir.  Hence  Cochec- 
lon  or  the  north  station  point,  is  36  miles  above  whore  the  Lawrence 
line  strikes  the  Delaware  Uivur. 


a  branch.    At  4U  another  valley — tolerable  good  land  Eastward  of 

the  line. 
104  A  Spanish  Oak   ab't  IJ^  feet  diameter.    Ground  descends  steep 

Northerly  75  Ls.  S.  S.  E.of  Mile  end.    At  14  ch.  a  small  run  of  water; 

at  50  a  red  oak  marked,  on  top  of  the  hill  in  the  line.     Last  half 

mile  good  land. 
103  A  hickory  aliout  8  In.  diameter.    Ground  descends  Southerly. 
102  A  heap  of  stones  on  a  cluster  of  rocks  on  the  Westerly  side  of  a  hill. 

A  White  Oak  ab't  8  In.  diameter  about  18  Ls.  Westerly  of  the  stones. 

At  50  a  brook  about  ^ch.  wide  issuing  from  Pequest  spring  through 

the  meadow— said  spring  about  20ch.  W.  and  said  brook  aI>out  6  ch. 

above  the  meeting  of  another  brook  near  as  big — very  difficult  to 

get  over. 
101  A  White  Oak  ab't  12  In.  diameter  on  the  edge  of  a  hill  of  limestone. 
100  A  White  Oak  al.'t  1  foot  diameter,  6  feet  S  S.W.  of  aheap  of  stonei 

at  the  mile  end.     At  58  Pequest,  50  Ls.  wide.     N.  B.— the  last  half 

run  through  Robert  Chapman's  laud. 
99  A  hickory  ab't  16  In.  diameter  on  the  S.  by  E.  side  of  a  large  rock 

2  ch.  Westward  of  the  mile  end. 
98  A  hickory  ab't  16  In.  diameter,  2  ch.  Northerly  of  a  heap  of  stones. 

At  20  ch   the  brook  Alamuchee. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  follow  these  field-notes 
further,  as  nothing  of  greater  interest  than  the  mile- 
marks  occur  in  the  remaining  few  miles  of  the  line 
through  Sussex  County.  The  surveyor  records  the 
fact  that  "  every  mile  the  true  line  inclines  towards 
the  random  line  GO^^nV  links."  The  line-trees  in  the 
random  line  were  marked  with  three  notches  on  two 
sides.  The  side  trees  were  marked  with  one  blaze 
looking  towards  the  lines.  The  mile-trees  were 
marked  respectively  with  the  number  of  each  mile 
and  with  three  notches  on  four  sides.  The  course  of 
the  line  is  9°  45'  west,  according  to  the  magnetic 
position. 

Transfer  of  Estates  from  East  to  West  Jersey. 
— The  ett'ect  of  the  establishment  of  the  partition  line 
between  the  eastern  and  western  divisions  of  New 
Jersey  was  to  unsettle  many  titles  to  lands  which  had 
previously  been  given  by  the  respective  proprietors. 
Many  grants  made  by  the  West  Jersey  proprietors 
were  found  to  be  in  East  Jersey,  and  vice  versa.  It 
was,  however,  mutually  agreed  that  in  such  instances 
equivalents  should  be  given  to  the  owners  out  of 
any  of  the  unsurveyed  lands  on  the  other  side  of  the 
partition  line,  and  this  began  to  be  carried  into 
ett'ect  soon  after  the  Lawrence  line  was  surveyed. 
The  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  proprietors 
abound  with  instances  of  such  transfers,  a  few  exam- 
ples of  which  we  give  from  the  West  Jersey  records, 
relating  chictlv  to  Sussex  County  : 


"  Whereas,  informat 
deputy  surveyor,  that  i 


"  February  17,  1745. 
was  given  to  this  board  by  John  Reading, 
surveys  formerly  made  by  him,  the  luie  for 
Samuel  Nevill,  of  1700  acres;  the  other  for  Joseph  Sacket,  of  500  acres, 
happen  to  full  on  the  East  side  of  the  line  run  by  John  Lawrence  for  the 
division-line  of  this  province;  therefore  craves  leave  to  relocate  the  like 
quantity  of  land  in  some  other  place  of  the  said  Western  division. 
"Granted  accordingly." 

"  August  3, 1749. 

"Information  being  given  to  this  board  by  John  Reading,  K*|.,  that 
the  line  run  by  John  Lawrence  cuts  of  a  tract  of  lanJ  formerly  sur- 
veyed to  Thomas  1  ambert,  deceajted,  from  the  Western  division;  for 
which  reason  the  devises  crave  leave  tu  relocate  in  some  other  part  of 
the  said  division  the  quantity  of acres  in  lieu  thereof. 

"  Leave  granted  accordingly." 


THE    PARTITION   LINE    BETWEEN    EAST   AND    WEST  JERSEY. 


U3 


•'August  7, 1752. 
"Thomas  Wetherill  applied  to  this  board  for  a  warrant  to  take  up 25 
acres  of  land,  iu  lieu  of  25  acres,  being  the  one-fourth  of  liK)  acres  sur- 
veyed to  Thomas  Wt-therill,  Isaac  De  Cow,  John  Lyon,  and  Gershom 
Motf,  which  by  the  running  of  the  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey 
by  John  Lawrence,  lies  on  the  Ea^t  side.  John  Reading,  Esq..  assured 
this  hoard  that  the  above  25  acres  did  full  to  the  East  side  of  said  line; 
therefore  a  warrant  was  ordered,  which  was  granted  accordingly." 

"  February  1. 1757. 

**  Joshua  Opdike  laid  before  this  board  one  survey  of  140  acres,  niade 
by  Samuel  Green  for  said  Joshua  Opdike,  situate  in  thecounty  of  Sussex, 
and  is  recorded  in  B.  B.  21*^,  213,  which  appears  on  the  East  side  nf  the 
true  Qnintipartile  line  run  by  John  Lawrenre;  73  acres  of  which  helms 
since  purchased  an  East  Jersey  proprietary  right  [to] and  laid  ;  therefoie 
craves  a  warrant  to  locate  the  same  14U  acres  elsewhere;  and  a  warrant 
was  granted  accordingly." 

'  Ff.bruary  4, 1762. 

"The  agent  of  the  London  Company,  by  John  Beaumont,  applied  to 
this  board  for  a  warrant  to  relocate  the  quantity  of  159  acres,  in  part  of 
168acrfs  that  were  formerly  surveyed  to  the  said  Company  in  the  Coun- 
ties of  Sussex  and  Mun  is ;  which  t^aid  land  whs  laid  out  to  said  Company 
some  time  in  the  year  onethousand  sevt^n  hundred  and  forty,  and  re- 
corded in  the  Surveyor-general's  otBce,  in  Lib.  Ma.  fol.284.  and  upon  the 
report  of  Juhu  Rockhill,  deputy-surveyor,  it  appears  that  159  acres,  pnrt 
thereof  lieth  to  the  Kiistward  of  the  Quintipartite  line;  therefore  it  is 
ordered  that  a  warrant  issue  from  this  board  to  the  said  Company  by  the 
directiouB  of  their  agents,  for  to  relocate  the  said  quantity  of  159  acres. 
A  warrant  was  ordered,  which  was  granted  accordiugly  " 

We  also  take  the  following  extracts  from  the  war- 
rants and  surveys  of  the  West  Jersey  proprietors : 

'*  Extract  from  15M  acres  surveyed  for  John  Hacket,  the  return  where- 
of is  dated  IGth  of  Blarcli,  1759,  beginning  at  a  stone  corner,  it  being  the 
South  East  Corner  of  a  tract  of  land  containing  4U0  acres,  and  is  sur- 
veyed for  the  said  .Iidin  Hackett  and  stands  near  or  in  the  division-line 
late  run  by  John  Lawrence  from  thence,  etc.  Witness  my  hand  the  12th 
day  of  September,  1799. 

"Daniel  Smith,  Jvs.,  i?urve7jor-Getieral. 
"  May  the  9lh,  1760,  inspected  and  approved  by  the  Council,  etc. 

'•Joseph  Hollinoshead,  CU'rk." 
"Extract  from  Joshua  Opdyke's  5;i  acres  and  one-tenth,  being  at  a 
heap  of  stones  in  the  divisionltne  between  East  and  West  Jersey;  being 
a  corner  of  land  formerly  surveyed  to  Richard  Green,  and  runs,  &c.,  to 
a  heap  of  stoneB  iu  the  said  division-line,  thence  along  the  same  South 
10  degrees  East  12  ch.  Witness  my  hand  the  7th  day  of  November, 
1759. 

"  Daniel  Smith,  Jun..  Surveyor- General. 
"Feb.  7th,  17C0.     Inspected  and  approved  by  the  Council. 

"Wii.LiAM  H EULiNOS,  C/erfc. 
'•  Extract  from  167  acres  and  sixty-two-hnmiredths,  surveyed  for  John 
Spratt,  lying  up^n  the  Ea-t  side  of  Delaware  nver,  beginning  where  a 
tract  of  low  land  ends  upon  the  river,  and  where  the  upland  comes  to  the 
river;  being  ai>ont  285  chainson  a  straight  line  from  the  North  partition 
of  NfW  Jersey,  and  from  thence,  Ac.  Witness  my  hand  the  3lBt  day  of 
August.  1747. 

"  James  Alexander,  Survei/or- General. 
*'  February  the  5th,  1747.     Inspected  and  approved  of,  and  ordered  to 
be  recorded. 

"Joseph  Db  Cow,  Clerk. 

"  Weft  Jersey,  Sf. 

"  (."^eal.)  To  the  surveyor-general  of  lands  for  the  divisions  aforesaid, 
or  his  lawful  <lepniy,  grt-eiing:  You,  or  either  of  you,  are  required  to 
survey  to  and  for  John  Jobs  the  quantity  of  :ii:i  acres  of  land,  anywhere 
in  the  Western  divisiun  of  New  Jersey,  being  lawfully  purchased  of  (he 
Indians,  and  not  before  lawfully  surveyed;  which  is  in  lieu  of  a  former 
survey  made  and  recorded,  and  now  appears  to  he  in  the  Eastern  division. 
Dated  tlie  5ih  of  February.  1747. 

"Suiveycd  to  John  Spratt  2.59  acres  and  twenty-hundredths,  beginning 
at  the  upper  end  of  a  piece  of  low  land  upon  the  river  Delaware  where  a 

high  hill  c es  to  the  river,  at  about  44U  chains  distance  on  a  straight 

line  froui  the  Nurth  pariition  jKUUl  of  New  Jei-sey  ;  and  from  which  he- 
ginningthe  river  b«  ais  upwards  npon  a  North  course  for;Hi  cliains,  with 
high  cliff:4  on  the  W.st  side  of  the  river,  and  from  the  said  place  of  be- 
ginning running  Ac;  the  corners  of  this  tract  are  iho8<'  which  the  Mag- 
netical  Compas  pointed  iu  the  year  1719,  the  variation  being  then  observed 


at  the  North  partition  point  to  be  eight  degrees  Westerly.  Witness  my 
hand  the  3d  day  of  August,  1747. 

"James  Ale.\andee,  Surveyor-General. 

"  Inspected  and  approved  of,  and  ordered  to  be  recorded. 

"Joseph  De  Cow,   Clerk. 

"  West  Jerney,  88. 

"(Seal.)  To  the  surveyor-general  of  lands  for  the  proprietors  of  the  di- 
vision aforesaid,  or  his  lawful  deputy,  greeting:  You,  or  either  of  you,  are 
hereby  required  to  survey  for  William  Coxe  1100  acres  of  land  in  any 
part  of  the  Western  divinion  of  New  Jeraey,  where  lawfully  purchased  of 
the  Indians  and  not  before  legally  surveyed,  it  being  in  lieu  and  instead 
of  1100  acres  of  land  which  he  claims  iu  virtue  of  the  will  of  his  father. 
Col.  Daniel  Coxe,  and  his  brother  John  Coxe;  the  said  lloO  acres  being 
part  of  1600  acres  formei  ly  surveyed  to  the  said  Col.  Daniel  Coxe,  and 
which  is  found  to  be  in  east  Jersey,  within  a  former  survey  called  the 
Pepack  patent.     Dated  the  17tli  August,  1754. 

"A  warrant  to  John  Scott,  and  his  wife  Sarah  (who  was  legatee  of  John 
Budd)  the  quantity  of  8(50  acres,  in  lieu  of  the  like  quantity  laid  out  for 
John  Sinipkins  in  five  surveys  to  the  Eastward  of  the  division  line. 
Dated  the  5ih  day  of  August,  1756. 

"  A  warrant  to  John  Opdyke,  the  quantity  of  140  acrea  of  land,  any- 
where in  West  Jersey,  in  lieu  of  the  like  quantity  surveyed  in  £ast  Jer- 
sey.    Dated  the  3d  day  of  February,  1757." 

"  West  Jersey,  M. 

"  (Seal. )  Ti>  the  surveyor-general  of  lands  for  the  division  aforesaid,  or 
his  la"  ful  deputy,  gieeting :  You,  or  either  of  you,  are  hereby  required 
to  lay  forth  and  survey  to  and  for  William  Coxe,  Daniel  Coxe,  Rebecca 
Coxe,  and  Gi«ce  Coxe  the  quantity  of  67o  acres  of  land,  anywhere  in  the 
Western  division  aforesaid,  in  lieu  of  so  much  cut  ofi  by  the  East  and 
West  Jersey  line,  on  a  tract  formerly  surveyed  to  Col.  Coxe  for  1000 
acres  on  the  Paulina  Kill,  in  Sussex  County.  Dated  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1762. 

"Extract  from  254  acres  surveyed  for  John  Emans,  beginning  at  a  black 
oak  standing  by  Delaware  river;  being  a  coiner  of  a  tract  of  land  for- 
merly surveyed  to  Joseph  Kirkbride,  thence  down  the  said  river,  &c. 
Witness  my  hand  this  26th  day  of  April,  17:tl. 

"James  Alexander,  Surwcyor-Ge»era^ 

"  Burlington  May  5th,  1731.  Inspected  and  approved  the  above  survey 
by  the  Council  of  proprietors,  and  ordered  to  be  entered  on  record. 

"  Testis  John  Bpre,  Clerk. 

"  Extracted  from  the  record  in  Lib.  M.  folio  107. 

"  West  Jersey,  ss. 

(Seal.)  "  To  the  Surveyor-general  of  lands  for  the  division  aforesaid, 
or  his  lawful  deputy,  greeting:  You.  or  either  of  you.  are  hereby  required 
to  lay  forth  and  survey  for  John  Emans  i;54  acres  anywhere  unappropri- 
ated in  said  province,  in  lieu  of  the  like  quantiiy  surveyed  to  the  said 
Emans,  and  recorded  in  Lib.  M,  folio  107,  and  is  in  East  J^-rsey;  wherein 
you  are  to  observe  the  rules  and  orders  prescribed  by  the  Council  of  pro- 
prietors for  the  surveying  of  lands,  and  make  return  for  such  parts 
thereof,  that  shall  be  surveyed  to  the  next  Council  after  the  survey  of 
the  same  ;  and  for  you,  or  either  of  you,  bo  doing,  this  shall  be  your  suf- 
ficient warrant.  In  testimony  when-of  we  have  cause  the  seal  ofthe 
Council  of  proprietors  to  be  hereunto  affixed.  Wit  nei^s  John  Ladd,  Esq., 
president  of  the  Council,  this  3d  day  of  November,  Anno  Dom.  1763.  By 
order  of  the  Council. 

"William  Hewlino,  Clerk. 

"  A  warrant  to  Grace  Cox,  devisee  of  Col.  Coxe,  the  quantity  of  360 
acres,  anywhere  in  the  Western  division  of  the  province  aforesaid,  in 
lieu  of  the  like  quantity  that  has  been  located  in  East  Jersey.  Dated 
the  25th  of  October,  1765. 

"The  foregoing  are  true  copies  and  extracts  from  the  warrants  and 
books  lodge  at  Burlington,  iu  the  surveyor-general's  office  for  West 

"Robert  Suits,  Surv^or-Getieral /or  West  Jersey.^' 

Movement  for  a  New  Partition  Line.— Up  to 

the  time  of  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween New  Jersey  and  New  York,  in  1772,  the  quin- 
tipartite division  of  New  Jersey  was  accepted  and  ac- 
quiesced in  by  the  proprietors  of  both  the  eastern  and 
the  western  sections.  In  a  petition  presented  to  Gov- 
ernor Burnet,  in  August,  1725,  the  proprietors  of  West 


444 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Jersey  say,  "  That  it  is  only  by  force  of  this  agree- 
ment and  partition,  executed  as  aforesaid,  that  the 
proprietors  of  tiie  Western  division  are  limited  to  the 
Western  part  of  the  said  province,  on  the  side  of  the 
Delaware;  and  that  the  proprietors  of  the  Eastern  di- 
vision are  limited  to  the  eastern  part  ot  the  said  pro- 
vince towards  Hudson's  River  and  the  sea;  for  had 
no  such  division  been  agreed  on,  as  is  recited  in  all 
the  respective  deeds  of  conveyance  to  the  proprietors, 
those  of  the  Western  division  might  with  an  equal 
right  have  claimed  the  lands  towards  Amboy,  etc., 
and  those  of  the  Eastern  might  have  claimed  the 
lauds  towards  Burlington.  But  the  said  Quintipar- 
tite  indenture  being  executed  as  aforesaid,  before  the 
sales  to  the  proprietors  were  made  and  recited  in  all 
the  deeds  of  conveyance,  became  an  absolute  limita- 
tion, so  that  neither  on  the  one  part  nor  the  other 
any  purchaser  could  claim  otherwise  than  according 
to  that  limitation,  by  which  their  lauds  were  actually 
conveyed. 

"  That  notwithstanding  this  legal,  clear,  and  abso- 
lute partition,  which  is  binding  on  every  proprietor  of 
the  Eastern  division,  and  at  least  on  all  the  nine- 
teen parts  of  the  Western  division,  sold  by  Edward 
Byllynge,  or  his  trustees,  and  from  which  those  who 
are  skilled  in  law  well  know  it  is  impossible  legally  to 
recede  without  the  joint  concurrence  of  every  individ- 
ual interested  in  the  purchases  made  under  Edward 
Byllynge  and  trustees,  and  under  Sir  George  Carteret ; 
forit  is  well  known  that  no  majority  without  the  whole 
will  in  those  cases  determine  the  point;  yet  there 
have  been  some  persons  found  from  time  to  time  who, 
on  partial  views  to  themselves,  have  labored  to  intro- 
duce some  other  sort  of  division,  and  considerable 
numbers  have  been  so  far  unhappily  imposed  upon  as 
to  imagine  a  change  thereof  might  be  practicable ; 
from  which  unfortunate  deception  attempts  have  been 
made  to  alter  it,  and  some  lines  for  that  purpose  have 
been  run  and  settlements  thereupon  made  without 
due  regard  to  the  bounds  of  the  respective  divisions, 
which  introduced  such  coufusion  that  the  value  of 
lands  near  the  boundaries  have  been  much  lessened 
and  the  people  discouraged  from  making  improve- 
ments, where  the  right  to  the  soil  itself  was  liable  to 
be  questioned  as  not  lying  within  the  division  under 
which  it  was  purchased." 

The  petition  from  which  the  above  extracts  are 
taken  is  signed  by  "  John  Ladd,  for  himself  and  Col. 
John  Allford  ;  John  Budd,  for  himself  and  Boulton  ; 
John  Kay,  William  Cooper,  Francis  Rawle,  Jr.,  Charles 
Brogden,  Samuel  Lippincott,  John  Snowden,  Jr., 
Isaac  De  Cow,  for  himself  and  Samuel  Barker;  Mat- 
thew Gardiner,  Isaac  Pearson,  William  Pancoa.st,  Wil- 
liam Biles,  Isaac  Watson,  William  Rawle,  Thomas 
Sharp,  for  himself  and  John  Dennis;  John  Estaugh, 
for  the  London  Company  ;  John  and  William  Dims- 
dale,  Peter  Rich,  Benjamin  Hopkins  and  self;  Wil- 
liam Biddle,  Hugh  Sharp,  Henry  Hodge,  Robert 
Rawle,  George  Budd  ;  James  Logan,  for  proprietors. 


— William  Penn's  family,  12 ;  John  Bellers,  1  ;  Amos 
Stuttle,  1  ;  myself,  one-third ;  Richard,  for  Nath. 
Stanbury  ;  Mary  Willson." 

No  formidable  effort  was  made  to  change  the  Law- 
rence line  for  fifty  years,  or  until  after  the  boundary 
line  between  New  Jersey  and  New  York  had  been 
settled.  This  line,  as  will  appear  in  another  chapter, 
was  established,  not  at  the  north  station-point,  as  as- 
certained and  defined  in  the  tripartite  indenture 
agreed  upon  by  the  commissioners  both  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey,  and  in  accordance  with  the  express 
stipulation  of  the  original  grant  of  the  Duke  of  York, 
but  was  brought  down  to  the  present  termination  of 
the  State  line  on  the  Delaware  at  Carpenter's  Point, 
taking  off  from  New  Jersey  over  two  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land.  When  this  line  became  fixed,  the  pro- 
prietors of  the  western  division  of  New  Jersey  began 
to  agitate  the  question  of  changing  the  quintipartite 
or  partition  line  to  correspond  therewith,  alleging 
that,  at  whatever  point  the  boundary  line  terminated 
on  the  Delaware,  the  partition  line  should  terminate 
there  also.  Hence  originated  the  proposed  line  of 
1775.  In  January  of  that  year  the  proprietors  of 
West  Jersey  presented  a  petition  to  His  Excellency 
Governor  Franklin  and  to  the  Council  and  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey,  praying  that  the  partition  line  so 
long  established  between  the  respective  sections  of 
the  province  might  be  changed.  The  petition  set 
forth,— 

"That  ia  and  by  a  certain  deed  of  indenture  Qnintipnrtite,  made  tlie 
first  day  of  July  Anno  Dom.  1676,  between  Sir  George  Carteret,  of  the 
first  part;  William  Penn,  Esq.,  of  the  second  part;  Gawen  Lawrie,  of  the 
third  part;  Nicholas  Lucas,  of  the  fourth  part;  and  Edward  Byllynge 
of  the  fifth  part,  then  sole  owners  and  proprietors  of  the  whole  province 
of  New  Jersey  ;  they  the  said  George  Carteret,  William  Penn,  Gawen 
Lawrie,  Nicholas  Luchs,  and  Edward  Byllynge  did  agree  to  make  a  pal> 
tition  between  them  of  the  said  province. 

'*  That  in  pursuance  of  the  said  agreement,  an  actual  partition  of  the 
said  Province  was  made  between  the  said  proprietors, and  mutually  re- 
leased to  each  other,  viz.:  One  share  or  portion  thereof  to  Sir  George 
Carteret,  called  East  New  Jersey  ;  and  the  t»ther  part  thereof  to  the  said 
William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  Nicholas  Lucas,  and  Edward  B.vtlynge, 
called  West  New  Jersey  ;  the  line  of  which  said  partition  waaliy  the  said 
proprietors,  parties  to  the  said  indenture  Quintipartite,  mutually  uudei^ 
stood,  intended,  agreed  upon  and  fixed,  to  be  a  straight  line,  to  run  from 
the  most  Northerly  point  or  boundary  of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  on 
the  Northernmost  branch  of  the  river  Delaware,  unto  the  most  Southerly 
point  of  the  East  side  of  a  certain  inlet,  harbor,  or  bay,  on  the  sea  coast 
of  the  province  of  New  Jersey,  conmionly  called  and  knowu  by  the  name 
of  Little  Egg  Harbour." 

After   reciting   briefly    the  history  we   have   gone 
i  over  in  a  former  part  of  this  chapter,  the  petitioners 
say,— 

"That  your  petitioners  being  the  present  owners  and  proprietors  of 
the  said  Western  division  of  New  Jersey,  under  the  aforesaid  Byllynge 
and  trustees;  liaving  long  anxiously  waited  for  an  event  whereby  the 
true  point  of  partition  between  the  said  divisions  might  be  permanently 
fixed  and  determined,  and  which  by  the  said  last  mentioned  act,  con- 
firmed by  his  Migesty  and  Council,  is  now  happily  established,  have  fre- 
quently and  pressingly  made  overtures  and  proposals  to  the  proprietoiB 
ot  tlie  Eastern  division  to  have  tlie  said  Quintipartite  Line  exactly  and 
truly  run.  .  .  .  Your  petitioners  therefore.  .  ,  .  do  earnestly  entreat  the 
kind  interposition  of  t)ie  legislature  of  this  province,  and  submit  to  their 
wisdom  to  frame  and  pass  such  a  law  for  the  final  settlement  of  the  said 


THE   PARTITION   LINE   BETWEEN   EAST   AND   WEST   JERSEY. 


4i5 


This,  on  account  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  was 
laid  over,  and  was  never  acted  upon  by  the  Legisla- 
ture. A  petition  of  similar  import  and  intent  was 
presented  to  the  Legislature  in  October.  1782,  signed 
by  Joseph  Reed,  forthe  West  Jersey  Society  and  him- 
self; Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  Clement  Biddle,  Daniel 
Ellis,  and  Ebenezer  Cowell,  "a  committee  specially 
appointed  to  this  service  by  the  Western  proprietors." 
The  proprietors  of  East  Jersey  sent  in  a  counter-me- 
morial in  June,  1783,  setting  forth  the  history  of  the 
tiuintipartite  agreement  and  defending  it  as  a  final 
settlement  of  the  partition  line  in  the  words  follow- 
ing: 

"That  Charles  the  Second,  as  King  of  England,  was  entiUed  to  the 
continent  of  Nttrth  America,  from  the  north  latitude  of  twenty-tive  de- 
grees to  sixtj -seven  and  a  half  degrees,  by  virtue  of  the  first  discovery 
and  subsequent  possession  thereof  by  subjects  of  the  Crown  of  England, 
properly  authorized ;  which  right  then  was  iirid  always  since  has  been 
universally  ackowledged,  and  is  the  foundation  of  every  title  to  land 
within  this  St«le. 

■'That  Charles  the  Second,  being  so  entitled,  granted  to  his  brother 
James,  Duke  of  York,  all  that  tract  of  country  which  now  comprehends 
the  States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 

"That  the  Duke  of  York,  being  so  seized,  did  on  the  24th  of  June, 
1664,  by  proper  deeds  and  assurances  in  law,  grant  and  convey  to  John 
Lord  Berkley  and  Sir  George  Carteret,  their  heirs  and  assigns  forever, 
part  of  the  said  tract,  lying  and  being  to  the  Westward  of  New  York 
ieland,  and  bounded  on  the  East  by  the  main  sea  and  Hudson's  River,  on 
the  South  by  the  ocean,  on  the  West  by  Delaware  Bay  and  River,  and 
extending  *  Northward  as  far  as  the  Northermost  branch  of  the  said  bay 
or  river  of  Delaware,  which  is  in  41  degrees  and  40  minutes  of  latitude; 
and  from  thence  in  a  straight  line  to  Hudson's  River,  iu  41  degrees  of 
latitude,'  which  said  tract  was  afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  Nova 
Cesarea,  or  New  Jersey. 

"That  Lord  Berkley  lieing  so  seized  of  an  undivided  moity,  orhalf 
part  of  New  Jersey,  did  on  the  ISth  of  March,  1673,  convey  the  same  to 
Juhn  Fenwick  in  fee,  in  trust  for  Edward  Byllange;  and  that  the  said 
JohnFenwick,on  the  10th  of  March,  1674.  did  by  the  consent  and  direc- 
tion of  and  in  conjunction  with  the  said  Edwanl  Byllange,  convey  the 
said  undivided  moity,  or  half  part  of  New  Jersey,  unto  William  Penii, 
Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Nicholas  Luciis  in  tnist  for  the  said  Edward  Byl- 
lynge,  excepting  and  reserving  a  tenth  part  of  the  said  undivided  moity 
to  the  said  John  Fenwick,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  and  that  the  said  John 
Fenwick  did  convey  the  aforesaid  tenth  part  of  said  undivided  moity  unto 
John  Eldridge  and  Edmund  Warner,  who  afterwards  conveyed  the  same 
unto  the  said  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  and  Nicholas  Lucas,  the 
better  to  enable  them,  in  conjunction  with  said  Edward  Byllynge,  to 
make  partition  of  the  entire  Province  of  New  Jersey  with  Sir  George 
Carteret. 

"That  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  Nicholas  Lucas,  and  Edward 
Byllynge,  being  thus  seized  of  Lord  Berkley's  undivided  moity,  or  half 
part  entered  into  an  agreement  with  Sir  George  Carteret  for  the  parti- 
tion of  the  whole  tract,  and  accordingly  a  division  was  made  and  a  line 
of  partition  settled  by  an  indenture  Qrilntipartite,  dated  the  l.«t  of  July, 
1676,  by  which  deed  the  parties  thereunto  after  expressly  declaring  that 
the  said  tract  granted  as  aforesaid  by  the  Duke  of  York,  extends  to  the 
Northward  as  far  as  the  Northermost  brunch  of  the  bay  or  river  Dela- 
ware, which  is  in  41  degrees  and  40  minutes  of  latitude,  do  determine 
that  the  line  of  partition  shall  be  a  straight  line  down  from  the  most 
Northerly  point,  or  boundary,  on  Delaware,  of  the  siiid  tract  granted  as 
aforesaid,  to  the  most  Southwardly  point  of  the  East  side  of  Little  Egg 
Hiiib'Mir,  and  all  the  parts,  shares,  or  portions  of  the  said  tract  to  the 
Enstward  of  the  said  line  of  partition,  are  by  the  said  deed  released,  con- 
firmed and  conveyed  unto  the  said  Sir  George  Carteret;  and  in  the  same 
miiniier  all  the  part*  of  the  said  tract  to  the  Westward  of  the  said  line 
are  released  and  confirmed  unto  the  said  William  Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie, 
Nicliolas  Lucas,  and  Edward  Byllynge. 

"That  the  Quintipartite  deed  having  fully  established  the  division  of 
the  province,  both  Sir  George  Carteret  and  the  Western  proprietors  con- 
tented themselves  with  knowing  the  position  of  the  extreme  points  with- 
out removing  the  intermediate  line,  as  there  was  little  necessity  for  it  at 
tliat  time  ;  few,  if  any,  of  the  settlements  or  surveys  extending  so  far 
29 


back  in  the  country  as  to  render  the  exact  track  of  the  line  necessary  to 
be  known. 

"That  on  the  6th  of  August,  1680,  the  Duke  of  York  did  by  grant  con- 
firm the  province  of  W^est  Jersey  unto  the  said  Edward  Byllynge,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  Gawen  Lawrie,  Nicholas  Lucas,  John  Eldridge,  and  Edmund 
Warner,  according  to  their  several  parts  or  portions,  and  by  the  said 
grant  fixes  the  North  bounds  on  the  Northermost  branch  of  Delaware  iu 
the  latitude  of  41  degrees  and  4(J  minutes,  and  reciting  and  referring  to 
the  Quintipartite  deed  gives  the  limits  accordingly. 

"That  Sir  George  Ca'.-teret  by  his  last  will  and  testament  divided  his 
estate  in  New  Jersey  to  certain  trustees  therein  named,  with  directions 
to  sell  the  same ;  that  accordirigly  it  was  sold  by  them  on  the  2d  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1682,  to  William  Penn  and  eleven  others,  each  of  whom  shortly 
after  sold  a  moity  of  the  same  unto  Robert  Barclay  and  eleven  others; 
which  twenty  lour  persons  constituted  the  general  proprietors  of  East 
Jersey,  aod  under  whom  by  mesne  conveyances  your  memoiialists  and 
others  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey  now  hold. 

"  That  on  the  Uth  of  March  in  the  same  year,  1682,  the  Duke  of  York, 
by  grant,  did  also  confirm  the  right  of  the  said  twenty-four  persons,  pro- 
prietors to  East  New  Jersey,  and  in  the  same  manner  reciting  the  North 
bounds,  fixes  them  as  before  on  the  Northermost  branch  of  Delaware,  in 
latitude  41  degrees  and  40  minutes,  and  referring  to  the  Quintipartite 
deed,  gives  the  same  limits  and  bounds  as  are  therein  mentioned. 

"That  iu  process  of  time,  the  country  being  more  populous  and  the 
settlements  more  numerous,  much  uneasiness  was  occasioned  by  reason 
of  sundry  vague  and  fruitless  attempts  for  dividing  the  provinces  of  Eaat 
and  West  Jersey,  and  running  the  line  of  partition  ;  and  also  by  reason 
of  the  precise  spot  not  being  ascertained  where  the  North  Station  point 
in  the  latitude  of  41  degrees  and  40  minutes  would  ;  that  to  remedy  these 
evils  the  legislature  on  the  27th  of  March,  1719,  passed  a  law  for  the 
running  and  ascertiining  of  the  said  line,  and  for  the  preventing  of  any 
further  disputes  concerning  the  same;  whereby  after  reciting  and  con- 
firming the  Quintipartite  deed,  commissioners  or  managers  were  ap- 
pointed lioth  from  the  Eastern  and  Western  divisions  for  raising  and 
collecting  from  the  different  proprietors,  according  to  their  shares  of  the 
property,  such  sums  of  money  as  should  be  deemed  nece-ssary  for  defray- 
ing the  expenses  of  finding  the  North  station  point  upon  Delaware  and 
of  running  the  necessary  lines  of  paitition." 

The  memorial  then  goes  on  to  recite  in  brief  the 
history  which  we  have  already  given  relating  to  the 
finding,  marking,  establishing,  and  recording  the 
north  station-point,  the  running  of  the  Lawrence  line 
therefrom  to  the  designated  point  at  Little  Egg  Har- 
bor, in  September  and  October,  1743,  and  its  accept- 
ance as  an  absolute  settlement  by  the  proprietors  both 
of  East  and  West  Jersey.  The  memorialists  then  give 
the  following  interesting  bit  of  history  respecting  the 
settlement  of  the  boundary  line  with  New  York: 

"  That  the  division-line  between  the  provinces  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  remained  a  long  time  unsettled,  by  rea^^on  of  the  latitude  of  41 
degrees  on  Hudson's  River  not  being  properly  ascertained ;  and  also  by 
reason  of  the  zealous  and  violent  pretensions  of  each  parly  to  the  prop- 
erty and  possessions  of  the  other,  whereby  such  disiurbances  arose  and 
disorders  were  committed  on  the  borders  of  both  provinces  as  to  demand 
the  interposition  of  their  respective  legislatures:  whereupon  in  the  year 
1764  acts  were  passed  in  both  provinces  for_  submitting  the  property  of 
Innds  affected  by  the  partition  line  to  such  a  mode  of  decision  as  his 
Britannic  Majesty  should  think  proper, 

"That  in  consequence  of  the  said  acts,  his  Britannic  Majesty  thought 
preper  to  appoint  seven  Commissioners  for  the  determining  of  the  said 
matters  in  dispute;  who  meeting  at  New  York  on  the  18th  of  July,  1769, 
did  determine  that  the  boundary-line  between  the  twu  provinces  should 
be  a  straight  and  direct  line  from  the  mouth  of  Mahackaraack,  on  its 
junction  with  the  Fishkill,  or  Delaware,  to  the  latitude  of  41  degrees  on 

"  That  the  said  controversy  with  New  York  then  was  deemed,  as  it  al- 
ways before  had  been  since  the  year  1719,  only  to  affect  the  property  of  the 
proprietors  of  East  Jersey  and  thofe  holding  under  them  :  insomuch  that  the 
then  legislature,  upon  application  matie  by  the  Eastern  proprietors,  re- 
fused to  defray  from  the  public  treasury  any  part  or  portion  of  the  ex- 
pense of  settling  the  said  boundarj'-line  ;  and  the  West  Jersey  proprietors 
thought  themselves  so  little  interested  in  the  settling  thereof  that  they 
even  refused  to  join  in  the  said  application  to  the  legislature,  declaring 


446 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


that  their  Btations  were  already  fixed  and  that  so  they  must  remain ;  by 
which  means  the  proprietors  of  Eaat  Jersey  were  solely  burthened  with 
the  great  charge  and  expense  of  settling  the  said  boundary,  and  which 
amounted  to  more  than  (he  sum  of  six  thmtsaud  poiivdf,  although  the  ex- 
pencesof  their  opponents  in  the  province  of  New  Yjrk  were  defrayed  by 
the  public  at  large. 

"That  by  the  said  determination  and  decree  of  the  Commissioners  at 
New  York,  the  said  boundary-line  terminated  on  Delaware  at  adiflferent 
place  from  the  station  agreed  on  in  1719,  to  the  surprise  and  astonishment 
of  many  ;  though  others  endeavored  to  account  for  it  by  the  Commis- 
sioners all  being  crown  officers  and  some  of  them  notoriously  under  its 
influence,  and  that  this  new  station  gave  large  tracts  of  land  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  New  York,  to  grant  as  it  thought  proper,  and  which  it  has 
since  done. 

"  That  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey  very  much  disapproved  of  the  said 
alteration  on  Dehiware  River,  but  as  they  imagined  as  they  still  do  and 
always  sball,  that  it  only  aflfected  them  with  respect  to  the  boundary  with 
New  York,  they,  after  much  dispute  tbereon,  did  on  certain  conditions 
acquiesce,  knowing  the  little  probability  of  better  success  in  a  future 
contest  between  private  individuals  on  the  one  part  and  a  royal  govern- 
ment on  the  other. 

"  That  the  said  alteration  of  the  boundary  on  Delaware  cut  off  from 
Kast  Jersey  near  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,i  which  had  always 
been  esteemed  part  of  New  Jersey,  in  every  transaction  respecting  the 
same,  from  the  first  grant  thereof  by  the  Duke  of  York  to  the  lat*  deter- 
mination and  decree;  and  that  the  East  Jersey  proprietors  submitted  to 
these  losses  and  hardships,  although  very  grievous  and  vexatious ;  hoping 
that  thereby  there  would  be  a  termination  of  a  tedious,  disagreeable,  and 
expensive  dispute,  and  that  from  thence  forward  they  would  enjoy  peace 
and  tranquillity." 

With  regard  to  the  new  line  of  partition  proposed 
by  the  \ve:5tern  proprietors,  the  memorialists  say, — 

"That  suppo^^ing  the  quantity  of  lands  surveyed  by  the  Western  pro- 
prietoi-B  to  the  Eastward  of  the  Qui  utipartite  line,  run  by  Lawrence,  to  be 
equal  to  the  q\iaiitity  surveyed  by  the  Eastern  proprietors  to  tlie  Westward 
thereof,  then,  if  a  settlement  was  to  take  place  in  which  the  pretended 
liiii'  WHS  to  be  deemed  the  true  one,  the  Eastern  proprietors  would  have 
to  render  an  equivalent  for  all  lands  surveyed  in  the  said  angle  before 
the  year  1719,  which  lands  bo  surveyed  would  amount  to  many  thousand 
acres,  and  which  quantity  as  an  equivalent  by  the  said  act  might  he  lo- 
cated liy  the  Western  proprietors  on  any  lands  whatsoever  survey,  d  since 
the  year  1719,  and  also  on  many  tracts  surveyed  before  that  time,  and 
Bold  as  aforesaid,  many  year^i  ago  to  bona  fide  purchasers. 

"  Your  memorialists  therefore  first  beg  leave  to  observe  that,  as  the 
assigns  of  Sir  George  Carteret  and  Lord  Berkeley  were  each  entitled  to 
m.iities,  or  equal  half  parts  of  New  Jersey,  so  it  was  therefore  intended 
that  the  line  of  partition  should  make  the  two  divisions  equal ;  and  this 
was  the  idea  and  intention  of  the  contracting  parties  to  the  Quintipartite 
deed  ;  hut  trom  the  ignorance  and  infant  knowledge  of  those  times  with 
respect  to  the  geography  of  this  country,  they  imagined  that  thedivision 
in  the  said  deed  made,  from  the  North  station  point,  in  the  latitude  of  41 
degrees  and  40  minutes,  to  Little  Egg  Harbour,  would  nearly  effect  that 
objict,  as  in  those  days  every  one  expected  that  the  same  North  point 
would  bound  the  claims  of  New  York  ;  that  this  idea  and  opinion  that 
the  divisiiius  were  and  ought  to  be  equal  to  each  other  was  maintained 
and  preserved  for  many  years  alter  the  execution  of  the  Quintipaitite 
deed,  and  was  never  once  doubted  or  opposed  until  hr.  Coxe,  who  had 
purchased  some  shares  of  West  Jersey  propriety,  about  the  year  1687, 
maintained  to  the  contrary." 

The  memorialists  conclude  their  petition  by  hoping 
**that  it  will  be  evident  to  all  that  there  cannot  be 
any  just  ground  or  pretense  for  the  late  claim  of  the 
West  Jersey  proprietors,  and  that  it  would  be  much 
more  consonant  to  reason  and  equity  if,  since  the  late 
determination  and  decree  at  New  York,  the  proprie- 
tors of  East  Jersey  were  to  demand  a  part  of  what  has 
hitherto  been  deemed  West  Jersey.  .  .  .  For  since 
two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land,  which  by  the 
said  division  were  intended  to  be  part  of  East  Jer- 


1  Two  hundred  and  ten  thousand  acres,  sworn  to  by  Edward  Bancker, 
Jr.,  before  James  Duane,  Esq.,  mayor  of  New  York,  July  28, 1784. 


sey,  have  been  taken  from  the  same,  whereby  the 
equality  of  the  two  divisions  has  been  destroyed,  .  .  . 
your  memorialists,  the  proprietors  of  East  Jersey,  are 
advised  that  they  have  a  just  and  equitable  claim  to 
demand  and  receive  from  the  West  Jersey  proprietors 
the  quantity  of  one  hundred  thousand  acres,  being 
the  one-half  of  the  said  quantity  cut  off  as  aforesaid 
by  the  New  York  boundary  line." 

A  few  Attested  Facts  and  Figures.— We  append 
herewith  a  statement  of  the  quantity  of  laud  in  the 
respective  divisions  of  New  Jersey,  and  the  difference 
in  each  according  to  the  different  lines  of  partition, 
fixed  and  proposed,  made  from  actual  survey  and  at- 
tested upon  oath  : 

"The  angle  or  gore  of  land  which  East  lost  in  the  controversy  with  New 

York  amounts  to  about 210,000  acres. 

"The  remaining   quantity  of  land  in    New   Jersey,  being  the   whole 

amount  of  the  State,  is  about 4.375,970  acres. 

"Therefore,  supposing  a  line  was  drawn  dividing  the  State  into  two 
equal  half  parts,  and  which  would  be  the  line  ot  partition  be* 
tween    East   and  West  Jersey,  each  division  would    then    contain 

about 2,187,985  acres. 

"Supposing  Keith's  line,  extended  to  the  Delaware  River,  to  be  the  line 
of  partition  between  East  and  West  Jersey.    The  quantity  of  laud 

in  East  Jersey  would  then  be  about 2,214.930  acres. 

"The  quantity  in  West  Jei^ey 2,161,040  acres. 

"  And  East  Jersey  would  then  contain  53,890  acres  more  than  West  Jer- 
sey. 
"  Supposing  the  Lawrence  line  to  be  the  Hue  of  partition.  The  quantity 

of  land  in  West  Jersey  would  then  be  about 2,6S9,680  acres. 

"  The  quantity  in  East  Jersey l,686,-.i90  acres. 

"And  West  Jersey  would  then  contain  1,003,390  acres  more  than  East 

Jersey. 
"Suppi'singa  line  to  be  drawn  from  the  Mahackaroack  (proposed  line 
of  1775)  to  be  the  line  of  partition.    The  quantity  of  land  in  West 

Jersey  would  then  be  about 3,119,260  acres. 

"The  quantity  in  Eiist  Jersey 1,256,710  acres. 

"  And  West  Jersey  would  then  contain  1,862,550  acres  more  than  East 

Jersey. 
"  The  angle  or  gore  of  land  between  Keith's  and  Lawrence's  line  con- 
tains about 528.640  acres. 

"  The  angle  or  gore  between  Lawrence's  line  and  a  line  to  be  drawn  from 

the  Maliackamack  would  contain  about 4^9,580  acres. 

"  Pereonally  appeared  before  me  James  Duane,  Esq.,  Mayor  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  Evert  Bancker,  Jr.,  one  o(  the  surveyors  of  this  city,  ap- 
pointed by  authority,  who  being  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy  Evangelists  of 
Almighty  God,  deposeth  and  saith.that  he,  this  deponent,  has  with  great 
care  and  attention  made  the  calculations  and  comparisons  hereto  an- 
nexed, respecting  the  quantity  of  land  contained  in  New  Jersey,  and  in 
the  angles  or  gores  made  by  the  different  lines  in  the  said  n(>n)putatiou 
mentioned;  that  the  above  computation  wjis  made  from  Mr.  Ratzer's 
general  map,  compiled  the  most  part  from  actual  survey;  and  that  he 
doth  verily  believe  the  number  of  acres  above  specified  to  l)e  as  true  and 
just  as  computations  made  from  Maps  of  that  scale  will  admit;  and  that 
he  has  not  knowingly  added  to  or  diminished  from  any  of  tlie  above 
numbers. 

"Sworn  this  28th  day  of  July,  1784. 

*' Evert  Bancker,  Jun. 
"James  Diiane,  Muyar." 


CHAPTER   LXIII. 

COURTS    OF    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 

Prefixed  to  a  valuable  collection  of  notes  and 
memoranda  pertaining  to  the  Middlesex  County 
Court,  made  by  Mr.  Charles  D.  Deshler  in  1870,  is 
the  following  account  of  the  discovery  of  an  old  book 


COURTS    OF    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


447 


of  records,  from  which  the  most  important  information 
in  this  chapter  has  been  derived  : 

"In  the  year  1852,  by  the  courtesy  of  the  venerable  Nicholas  BooniPni, 
at  that  time  County  Clerk,  I  was  allowed  liberty  to  examine  the  older 
documents  and  manuscript  books  in  the  Clerk's  Office ;  and  in  the 
course  of  my  examination  I  came  upon  a  most  interesting  volume  con- 
taining an  uninterrupted  series  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Middlesex  County 
Court,  from  1683  to  1720. 

"The  volume  is  bound  in  parchment,  and  is  in  the  handwriting  of  the 
Clerks  of  the  Courts,  John  Pike,  Edward  Slater,  and  others,  and  the 
first  entry  is  June  19th,  1683,  the  last  being  February  22,  1720. 

"  Besides  containing  the  minutes  of  the  Court,  this  volume  also  is  oc> 
cupied,  in  its  last  eleven  leaves,  with  a  record  of  the  acts  of  the  Uoad 
Commissioners,  appointed  in  1704  by  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly." 

Of  this  old  volume  we  have  made  free  use  in  com- 
piling the  present  chapter.  The  matter  taken  from 
it,  as  well  as  that  derived  from  later  similar  records 
of  the  Middlesex  County  Court,  are  credited  to  "  Min- 
utes of  County  Court." 

The  First  County  Court.— The  first  County  Court 
of  Middlesex  was  held  at  Piscataway,  June  19,  1683, 
and  is  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  "  Minutes 
of  County  Court."  In  transcribing  this  extract  the 
arrangement  of  the  paragraphs  and  spelling  of  the 
old  minutes  are  adhered  to.  The  extract  is  intended 
to  be  literal,  viz. : 

"  The  First  County  Court 
held  at  Piscataway  June  y  19th,  1683.  .  .  by  act  of  the  General!  As- 
sembly and  by  virtue  of  a  Comition  then  pulili!4hed  under  the  seal  of  the 
province  and  signed  by  Order  of  Council!  of  Thos.  Rudyard  bearing  date 
y«28th  of  March,  1683. 

"  The  members  of  the  s^  Court  were  as  foUoweth  : 

Mr.  Sam!  Dennis — President  or  Judge. 
Mr.  Edward  Slater    1 
Mr.  James  Giles         j 
Capt»  John  Itishop 
Mr.  Sunji  Hall 
Mr.  Benjamin  Hall 

"John  PikeJun'of  Woodbridge  Clerk  of  the  County  Court  allowed 
by  virtue  of  a  Coniitiou  from  tbe  Hou«  Governor  &  Council!  bearing 
date  the  28tb  day  of  March  Anno  Dom.  1683,  &  allowed  by  the  said 
Court. 

"  Jefury  Maning  made  choyce  of  and  appointed  to  be  Marshall  or 
Cryer  of  the  s-*  Court. 

June  the  19tli  1683.     Rules  or  Order  for  the  County  Court  of  Midlx. 

'*  lly  That  the  Declaratii>n  shall  be  entered  at  the  taking  out  of  the 
writt ;  or  at  least  the  Declaration  to  be  entered  in  tbe  Clerks  office  five 
days  exclusive  before  tbe  Court. 

"2ly  That  the  Pleas  of  the  defend"*  be  entered  two  days  before  the 
Court;  il  not  the  Plain^f  not  to  be  deprived  of  his  trial  before  that 
Court; 

"  31y  If  the  Declaration  be  not  entered  five  days  before  the  Court,  tlien 
the  d<feii°t  desiring  it  shall  have  a  non  suite  ; 

"4ly  That  to  the  County  Court  there  shall  not  be  allowed  more  than 
one  Essoine. 

*■  51y  That  in  causes  wherein  the  defeu*  is  arrested  in  accout  of  Debt, 
Detiliue  trespass  for  goods  actituis  upon  the  case  Except  Slander;  If  the 
Debt  or  damage  amount  to  five  pounds  Special)  Baile  to  be  given  ex- 
cept it  be  against  an  heir,  executor  or  aduiinistrator; 

"61y  That  in  battery,  conspiracy  false  imprisonment  noe  Spetiall 
baile  of  course  without  spetiall  order  of  the  Court ; 

"7ly  Spetiall  baile  in  all  cases  of  causes  alajve  mentioned  shall  be  un- 
derstood double  the  debts  or  damages  demanded  laide  or  recovered: 
Comon  baile  tenu  pouiul. 

"  Sly  That  tbe  principle  rendring  himself  at  any  time  after  baile  put 
in,  and  before  or  on  the  day  of  appearance  of  Scieiifacias  returned  in 
bill  or  in  case  there  be  any  action  of  debt  brought  upon  the  bond  or 
recognizance  against  the  baile  then  if  the  principle  shall  render  himself 
upon  or  before  process  returned  served  no  further  proceedings  to  be 
against  tbe  baile. 

"  9ly  In  case  the  plan  of  after  Ishue  joyned  shall  refuse  to  goe  to  triall 


the  next  Court  after  the  Ishue  joyned  nor  shall  discontinue  his  action 
on  record  the  defend"*  monving  the  Court  to  proceed  my  bring  on  the 
case  by  provisoe,  and  if  the  plaintf  be  nonsuited  at  trial  or  discontinue 
bis  action  the  defend"  shall  be  allowed  reasonable  costs  by  y«  Court." 

The  above  is  a  literal  copy  from  the  old  "  Minutes." 
The  rest  of  the  minutes  of  this  session  is  a  record  of 
the  single  case  tried  at  that  term  of  the  court,  in 
which,  by  the  way,  Edward  Slator,  one  of  the  as- 
sistant judges,  acted  as  bail  for  the  defendant.  The 
minutes  also  contain  a  list  of  the  "  Rules  and  fees  of 
the  County  Court  of  Middlesex,"  as  allowed  by  the 
court,  and  also  a  list  of  rules  applying  to  "evidences 
attending." 

The  second  County  Court  was  held  at  Woodbridge, 
Sept.  18,  1683,  and  thereafter,  as  appears  from  the 
minutes,  the  courts  continued  to  be  held  alternately 
at  Piscataway  and  Woodbridge  until  June  28,  1688, 
when  a  session  was  held  for  the  first  time  at  Amboy. 
From  this  time  until  1699  the  courts  were  held  alter- 
nately at  Woodbridge,  Piscataway,  and  Amboy. 

There  is  a  break  in  the  minutes  from  1699  till  1708, 
when  "a  Court  of  Sessions  for  the  counties  of  Somer- 
set and  Middlesex  was  held  at  Perth  Amboy."  For 
a  long  time  after  1708  courts  were  held  at  Amboy 
only. 

Tax  for  Prison  and  Pounds.— The  justices  of  the 
county  of  Middlesex,  at  their  session  held  at  Wood- 
bridge,  March  17,  1683,  did  tax  the  said  county  in 
the  sum  of  forty-five  pounds  in  current  pay  of  this 
country  for  and  towards  the  building  of  a  county 
prison,  and  for  the  erecting  in  each  town  within  the 
said  county  a  pound  ;  that  is  to  say,  for  the  pound  in 
Woodbridge  fifty  shillings,  and  the  like  for  Piscata- 
way, to  be  paid  out  of  the  aforesaid  rate.  Dated  at 
Woodbridge,  March  19,  1683-84.  Samuel  Dennis, 
Edward  Salter,  John  Bishop,  justices. 

The  following  were  the  first  grand  jurors,  drawn 
Sept.  16,  1684,  court  held  at  Woodbridge : 


Ephemis  Andros. 
Israeli  Thomill. 
Isacke  Tapprn. 
Obediah  Harris. 
Nathanlell  Bloomfleld. 
John  Jones. 
Hugh  Dunn. 
Thon.as  Higgins. 


Rehoboth  Gannet. 
Nich.plas  Monday. 
John  Langstafe. 
Andrew  Wooden. 
John  Drake. 
Richard  Smith,  Jr. 
Joseph  Fitz  Randolph. 


The  old  minutes  show  that  in  1694  Capt.  John 
Bishop  and  Samuel  Dennis  were  "  presented"  by  the 
grand  jury  for  fighting  a  duel.  "  The  Court  ordered 
y'  y'  Clark  issue  out  his  Warrants  for  y*  apprehend- 
inge  y"  Persons  presented  by  y«  Grand  Inquest,  so  y' 
they  may  be  brought  to  Trial  before  y"  next  Court." 

During  the  troubles  incident  to  the  close  of  the 
proprietary  government  the  courts  appear  not  to  have 
been  regularly  held.  The  last  County  Court  convened 
at  Perth  Amboy  on  the  third  Tuesday  of  September, 
1699.  Samuel  Dennis  was  judge,  and  Capt.  John 
Bishop,  John  Royse,  and  Samuel  Hale,  assistants. 

The  record  opens  in  1703  with  a  commission  from 
Lord  Cornbury  to  a  new  set  of  judges  and  justices 


448 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


under  the  crown.     We  give  a  portion  of  this  commis- 
sion, as  follows : 

"EdwHnl  Viscount  Cornbury,  Capt.-Generall  and  Governor-in-Chief 
of  J"  Province  of  New  Tori!,  New  Jersey  and  of  all  the  Territories  and 
Tracts  of  land  Depending  tliereou  in  America,  and  Vice  AdmrU  of  y' 
same,  her  Majesties  Lieu'  and  Coninmnder-in-Cliief  of  y  Militia  in  tlie 
Colloiiy  of  Connecticut  and  of  all  the  Posts  and  Places  of  strength  within 
y  same,  &c.  To  Lewis  Morris,  Andrew  Boon,  Samuel  Jennings,  Then : 
Rovell,  Francis  Devenport,  William  Pinhorne,  George  Deacon,  Daniell 
Leeds,  William  Sandford,  Robert  Quarry,  Alexander  Griffith,  Samuel 
Waker,  Miles  Forstor.  John  Bishop,  John  Harrison,  Samuell  Hale,  Ben- 
jamin Griffen,  Samuel  Dennis,  and  Michaell  Van  Veghte— Greeting: 
Know  y  that  the  said  Lord  Cornbury  have  assigned  you  and  every  of 
yon  jointly  and  severally  her  Majesty  Queen  Anne's  Justices  to  keep  y« 
Peace  in  y  County  of  Middlesex,  in  her  said  Majesty's  Province  of  New 
Jersey,  and  to  keep  or  cause  to  be  kept  all  Laws  and  Ordinances  made 
for  y«  good  of  y"  Peace  and  for  y  conservation  of  y«  Law,  and  for  y 
Quiet  Rule  and  Government  of  y  People  in  all  and  every  the  articles 
in  }■'  said  County  according  to  y  form,  force  and  effect  of  y 
same,  to  Chastise  and  Punish  all  persons  offending  against  the 
forme  of  these  Laws  and  Ordinances  of  any  of  them  in  the  County 
aforesaid,  ae  according  to  these  laws  and  Ordinances  shall  be  fitt  to  be 
done,  and  cause  to  come  before  you  or  any  of  you  all  those  Persons  who 
sliall  Threaten  any  People  in  their  persons  or  in  burning  their  houses, 
and  to  oblige  them  to  find  sufficient  secnrity  for  y  peace  or  y  good  be- 
haviour towards  her  said  Majesty  and  her  heirs.  And  if  they  shall  Re- 
fuse to  find  such  Security,  then  to  cause  them  to  be  kept  sale  in  Prison 
till  they  And  such  security.  I,  the  said  Lord  Cornbury,  have  appointed 
you  or  any  three  or  more  of  you  whereof  you  the  said  Miles  F(»rster, 
Jno.  Bishop,  John  Harrison  and  Samuel  Hale  are  to  be  one  of  y  Justices 
to  Enquire  by  y«  oaths  of  Good  and  Lawful  men  of  y  County  atoiesaid 
by  whom  the  truth  may  be  better  known  of  all  and  all  manner  of  Petty 
Larcenys,  Theft,  Tresspass,  Forestalling,  Regulatings  and  Extortions 
whatsoever,  and  all  and  singular  other  misdeeds  and  offences  of  which 
Justices  of  the  Peace  may  or  ought  Lawfully  to  Enquire,  by  whomso- 
ever and  howsoever  done  and  Perpetrated  or  which  shall  happen  here- 
after howsoever  to  be  done  or  attempted  in  the  County  aforesaid,  and  of 
all  those  who  in  the  County  aforesaid  have  either  gone  or  ridden  or  that 
hereafter  shall  presume  to  go  or  ride  in  Ctjmpany  with  armed  force 
against  y  peace  and  to  y  disturbance  of  y  People,  and  also  of  all  those 
who  in  like  manner  have  lain  in  waite  or  hereafter  shall  presiune  to  lye 
in  waite  to  maime  or  kill  the  People,  and  also  of  all  Inholders  and  of  all 
and  singular  other  Persons  who  have  oflended  or  attempted  or  who  shall 
hereafter  presume  to  offend  or  attempt  in  the  abuse  of  Weights  and 
Measures  or  in  the  sale  of  Valuables  against  y*  forme  of  y  Laws  and 
Ordiuances  or  any  of  them  in  that  behalf  made  for  the  common  Good  of 
this  Province  and  the  People  thereof  in  the  county  aforesaid  ;  and  also 
all  Sheriffs  and  Bailyfs,  Constables,  Jaylors  and  other  offlceta  whatso- 
ever in  y«  execution  of  their  offices  about  the  Premises  of  any  of  those 
who  have  unlawfully  demeaned  themselves  or  have  been  or  hereafter 
shall  be  lawless  or  negligent  in  the  execution  of  their  offices  in  ye  County 
aforesaid,  and  of  all  and  singular  articles  and  circumstances  whatsoever, 
by  whomsoever  or  howsoever  d(me  or  perpetrated  in  the  said  County,  or 
which  shall  hereafter  happen  howsoever  to  be  done  or  attempted  in  any- 
wise move  and  concerning  the  truth  of  y«  premises  or  any  of  them  and 
Inquest  Judicial  whatsoever  before  you  or  any  of  you  taken  or  to  be 
taken  or  made  or  taken  before  others  lale  Justices  of  y«  Peace  iu  y« 
County  aforesaid  and  not  as  yet  Determined,  and  to  have  process  there- 
upon against  all  and  singular  Persons  so  Judicated  or  which  hereafter 
shall  happen  to  be  Judicated  before  you  until  ttiey  be  Apprelieuded  or 
render  themselves  or  suffer  themselves  to  be  out  Lawed,  and  to 
hear  and  Determine  all  and  singular  the  Petty  Larceynies,  Thefts, 
Tresspass,  Forestallings,  Regreatings,  Ingrossings,  Extortions,  and 
unlawful  Assembleys  and  Judica"  aforesaid  and  all  and  singular 
ye  promises  according  to  Law.  .\ud  therefore  you  and  every  of 
you  are  hereby  required  that  you  Dilligeutly  Intend  and  keep  the 
Peace,  Laws  and  Ordinances  and  all  and  singular  other  y  prom- 
ises and  at  certain  Days  and  Places  which  you  or  any  such  three 
or  more  of  yon  as  is  aforesaid  shall  in  that  behalf  appoint  or  by 
Law  shall  be  appointed  you  make  Enquiry  upon  ye  promises  and  here 
and  Determine  all  and  singular  the  Promises  and  fullfiil  the  same  in 
forme  aforesaid,  doing  therein  that  which  to  Justice  appertains  accord- 
ing to  ye  Laws,  stattutes  and  Ordinances  aforesaid,  saving  unto  her  said 
Majesty,  her  heirs  and  successoi's  all  Americiam"  and  other  things  to 
her  and  them  thereof  belonging.  And  by  virtue  of  these  presents  the 
SherifiT  of  the  County  aforesaid  is  hereby  required  that  at  Certain  Days 


and  Places  which  you  or  any  such  three  or  more  of  you  as  aforesaid 
shall  make  known  unto  him  or  shall  or  shall  be  by  Law  appointed  aa 
aforesaid  doe  cause  to  come  before  you  or  such  three  or  more  of  you  as 
is  aforesaid,  such  and  so  many  Good  and  Lawful  men  of  his  Baley  which 
by  whom  the  truth  of  the  Promisees  may  be  the  better  known  and  En- 
quired off;  Given  under  my  hand  and  Seal  at  Perth  Amboy  in  the 
Province  of  New  Jersey  this  Six  and  Twentieth  Day  of  August  Anuo 
Dom  1703  and  in  the  Second  of  the  reign  of  our  Sovereign  Lady  Anne 
by  the  Grace  of  God  of  England,  Scotland,  France  and  Ireland  Queen, 
Defender  of  the  Faith,  &c." 

By  another  commission  from  Lord  Cornbury  of  the 
same  date,  John  Wliite  is  appointed 

"to  be  Clerk  of  ye  Peace  and  Clerk  of  y  Court  of  Common  Please  to  be 
holden  in  y  County  of  Middlesex,  within  her  Majesty's  Province  of  New 
Jersey,  in  America,  with  authority  to  do,  perform,  use,  exercise,  and  en- 
joy ye  said  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  with  all  the 
Fees,  Salaries,  Proffits,  Benefits,  Advantages,  and  apertenauces  to  y*  said 
office,  belonging,  or  in  any  ways  appertaining,  to  have  and  to  hold  the 
said  office  of  Clerk  of  the  Peace'  and  Clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  within  the  said  County,  to  him,  the  said  John  White,  for  and 
during  such  lime  as  to  me,  the  said  Lord  Cornbury,  shall  seem  meet." 

The  first  Court  of  Sessions  for  the  county  of  Mid- 
dlese.x  under  Queen  Anne  (or  the  provincial  govern- 
ment) of  which  any  record  has  been  preserved  was 
held  at  Perth  Amboy  on  the  second  Tuesday  in  Sep- 
tember, A.D.  1708.  Peter  Sonmans,  Esq.,  was  judge; 
Cornelius  Longfeld,  John  Tuneson,  and  John  Drake, 
justices.  John  Bishop's  royal  commission  as  clerk 
was  read,  and  the  following  named  persons  sworn  as 
grand  jurors  :  Jonathan  Bishop,  foreman  ;  Cornelius 
Tuneson,  Noah  Bishop,  William  Post,  Derik  Madeak, 
Richard  Smith,  John  Watman,  Hopewell  Hull,  David 
Williamson,  Herrick  Rounerson,  Crose  Foam,  or 
Vroom  (?),  David  Blackford,  Thomas  Sutton,  Corne- 
lius Tice,  Jacob  Probasco,  John  Wanmeter,  William 
Sparpe. 

Laughing  in  the  Face  of  the  Court.— At  the  term 
of  the  Court  of  Sessions  for  May,  1710,  the  following 
was  ordered : 

"That  John  Brown,  for  his  Contempt  in  Laughing  in  the  face  of  and 
at  the  Court,  be  fined  four  Dollars,'  and  to  Continue  in  Custody  till  he 
hath  paid  his  fine." 

Tavern  Rates  in  1717. — The  court  met  according 
to  adjournment,  and  settled  y*  prices  of  Liquors  and 
other  proituions  for  Men  and  Horses  after  y*  following 
manner  (viz.):  At  y'  Rate  or  Equivalent  to  current 
monie  at  8  si.,  y'  ounce  to  be  taken  for  wine  13W.  pr: 
pynt;  for  strong  beer  and  syder,  id.i  pr:  quart;  for 
Rum,  M.  pr:  Gill ;  for  victuals,  as  has  been  usually 
taken  formerly  ;  for  Lodging,  3d.  a  night;  for  Hay  to 
Horse,  as  has  been  formerly  taken  ;  and  for  oats,  .3</. ; 
for  two  quarts  and  so  in  proportion  for  a  larger  ((uan- 
tity,  to  be  taken  by  tho-^e  who  live  at  Cranberry 
Brook,  Milstone  River,  South  River  bridge,  and  other 
Remote  Places  from  water  transportation,  such  prices 
for  what  Liquors  they  Retaile  as  they  have  tbrmerly 
taken." 


'  "Clerk  of  the  Peace"  is  an  abbreviation  for  clerk  of  the  "Court  of 
Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace,"  which  usually  convened  at  the  same 
time  and  place  as  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas.    One  person  held,  etc. 

SThis  was  not  Federal  currency,  but  Spanish  milled  dollars,  which, 
were  then  in  circulation. 


COUKTS  OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


449 


Court-House  and  Jail. — The  first  court-house  and 
jail  in  Middlesex  County  was  built  at  Perth  Amboy, 
as  is  proven  by  the  following  entries  in  the  old  min- 
utes of  the  court : 

"  May  25,  1714.— Whereas  the  severall  Township  of  the  County  of 
Midrilesex  have  neglected  to  chiise  Freeholders  to  Assist  y"  Justices  in 
raising  of  money  for  building  a  Court-Hnuse  and  tioale  in  this  County, 
by  vertueof  an  Act  of  Assembly  Entitled  An  Act  for  building  and  repair- 
ing of  Goals  and  Conrt-Hoiises  in  Each  County  of  this  Province,  by 
which  Act  the  General  Quarter  Sessions  of  y«  Peace  have  power  to  Nom- 
inate the  said  Freeholders,  and  the  Conrt  have  accordingly  Nominated 
for  Perth  Amboy,  Capt.  Samuel  Leonard,  and  David  Harriott  for  Wood- 
bridges.  Mr.  John  Kinsey  and  Capt.  John  Moore  for  Piscataway.  Mr. 
Robert  Hudson  and  James  Mauuer. 

'*  May  21,  1717. — At  a  Court  of  Quarter  Sessions  of  ye  Peace  held  at 
Perth  Amboy  for  y  Counties  of  Middlesex  and  Somerset.  Ordered  that 
public  notice  be  set  up  on  y  most  public  places  in  y»  several  townships 
of  tills  County  of  Middlesex  for  all  ye  Justices  of  y"  Peace  of  said  county, 
and  y  Freeholders  of  each  Respective  Township  in  this  County  to  meet 
together  at  y  Court-House  in  Perth  Amlioy,  on  Saturday,  y  first  day  of 
June  next,  in  order  to  raise  money  for  finishing  ye  said  Court-House  and 
Goals,  etc.  At  which  meeting  ye  managers  and  Collector  are  required  to 
attend  to  render  An  Account  of  their  proceedings  to  ye  Justices  and 
Freeliolders  according  to  ye  Law  in  that  case  made  and  provided." 

Offenses. — Indictments,  Verdicts,  Sentences,  Coro- 
ners' Inquests,  Punishments,  etc. — These  are  very  curi- 
ous, and  to  some  degree  throw  light  upon  the  morals, 
manners,  and  customs  of  society  generally  in  the 
country  at  that  early  period  in  its  history.  It  would 
seem  as  if  especially  those  parts  of  the  counties  of 
Somerset  and  Middlesex  "  lying  in  the  vicinity  of 
Perth  Amboy,  Woodbridge,  and  Piscataway"  were 
inhabited  by  a  quarrelsome  and  litigious  people,  and 
that  the  grossest  immorality  was  prevalent.  Scarcely 
a  session  of  the  court  was  held  but  that  number- 
less petty  and  vexatious,  oftentimes  malignant,  suits 
were  brought  by  neighbors  against  each  other;  while 
fornication,  adultery,  rape,  and  other  crimes  of  a 
grosser  and  more  vilely  unmentionable  character 
were  passed  upon.  We  have  not  quoted  these  last 
for  obvious  reasons.  The  instances  quoted  do  not 
comprise  all  that  are  contained  in  the  old  minutes, 
but  are  merely  a  selection. 

A  Coroner's  Inquest  in  1685. — "John  English, 
late  servant  of  Hopewell  Hull,  of  Piscataway,  was 
drowned  in  Raritan  River,  May  24,  1685.  Mr.  Sam- 
uel Hull,  of  Woodbridge,  Coroner. 

"The  names  of  y'  Jurors  empanelled  upon  y" 
Coroner's  Inquest  about  the  death  of  the  said  John 
English,  May  25,1685:  John  Oilman,  Elias  Higgins, 
John  Martin,  .lunior,  Joseph  Martin,  John  Smalley, 
Junior,  Isaac  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Samuel 
Hull,  Benjamin  Fitzrandolph,  Benjamin  Hull,  Otto 
Laurance,  Cliarles  Oilman,  Thomas  Algor. 

"The  Jurors,  after  strict  search  and  enquiry,  find 
y'  Water  y'  only  cause  of  his  death. 

"John  Oilman,  foreman,  for  and  in  y'  name  of 
himself  and  y'  rest."  ' 

Punishment  for  Felony  in  1684.— "September 
16,  1684.  At  y"  said  Court,  Philip  Ounter,  indicted 
and  found  Guilty  of  Feloniou,sly  taking  of  a  Zith 


Smash  with  Nibs,  heeling,  and  wedges  to  the  value 
of  four  shillings. 

"  The  Jury. — John  Dennis,  Haliack  Codriack,  Wil- 
liam Bingle,  John  Warlock,  John  Conger,  Thomas 
Alger,  Isaac  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Charles 
Oilman,  Eliakim  Higgens,  Joseph  Martin,  Samuel 
Doty. 

"The  Judgement  of  the  Court:  That  Philip  Ounter 
shall  pay  double  y'  Value  of  the  goods  stolen,  which 
is  eight  .shillings,  unto  Mr.  Samuel  Walker  or  his 
agent,  Jeffbry  Manning,  and  also  pay  y"  fees  and 
charges  of  Court. ^ 

"  Paying  double  the  value  of  the  goods  stolen" 
seems  to  have  been  a  very  customary  sentence  in 
those  times,  occasioned,  doubtless,  by  the  fact  that 
the  county  had  no  jail,  except  in  imagination.  More- 
over, there  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of  the  charges 
of  theft  were  malicious,  growing  out  of  neighborhood 
quarrels  and  the  feuds  arising  from  them.  The  fol- 
lowing are  additional  examples  of  this  method  of 
dispensing  justice,  and  are  also  quoted  because  the 
John  Pike  who  figures  in  them  was  an  ancestor  of 
Oeu.  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  the  first  American 
explorer  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  the  brave  soldier 
who  fell  at  Lundy's  Lane : 

"At  the  same  Court  (Sept.  16,  1684)  Capt.  John 
Pike,  of  the  Towne  of  Woodbridge,  was  indicted  and 
found  Guilty  of  feloniously  taking  and  carrying  away 
of  one  Lanthorne  of  Tin  and  home,  value  three  shil- 
lings, of  the  goods  and  Chattels  of  Abraham  Tappin. 

"The  Jury  :  Moses  Collier,  Haliack  Codriack,  Wil- 
liam Bingle,  John  Warlock,  John  Conger,  Thomas 
Alger,  Jacob  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Charles 
Oilman,  Eliakim  Higgins,  Joseph  Martin,  Samuel 
Doty. 

"  The  Judgement  of  y"'  Court :  That  the  said  John 
Pike  shall  pay  double  the  value  of  the  Ooods  stolen, 
which  is  Six  Shillings,  unto  Abraham  Tappin  or  his 
order,  and  y'  goods  be  restored  againe;  also  to  pay 
fees  and  Court  charges.  And  to  remain  in  y'  Sher- 
itfe's  custodie  till  satisfaction  be  made. 

"  At  y*  same  Court,  John  Pike,  Junior,  of  the 
said  Towne  of  Woodbridge,  was  indicted  and  found 
Ouilty  of  feloniously  takinge  and  carrying  away  of 
one  Holland  Sheet,  value  of  twelve  shillings,  and  top 
of  a  Cushion,  of  value  one  shilling,  and  one  remnant 
of  homespun  (commonly  called  Linsey  Wolsey),  of 
value  of  four  shillings  sixpence,  of  y'  goods  and  chat- 
tels of  Abraham  Tappin. 

"Jury:  Moses  Collier,  Haliack  Codriack,  William 
Bingle,  John  Warlocke,  John  Conger,  Thomas  Alger, 
Jacob  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Charles  Oil- 
man, Eliakim  Higgings,  Joseph  Martin,  Samuel 
Doty. 

"  The  Judgement  of  y'  Court :  That  y"  said  John 
Pike,  Junior,  shall  pay  double  y"  value  of  y"  goods 
stolen,  which  is  thirty-five  shillings,  unto  Abraham 


1  Old  minute  of  court. 


450 


HISTORY    OF    UNIOiN    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


Tappin  or  his  order,  and  said  goods  to  be  returned 
againe,  and  also  to  pay  fees  and  Court  charges,  and 
to  remain  in  the  Sheriff's  custodie  till  satisfaction  be 
made." 

Sentenced  to  be  burnt  Alive.— a. d.  1729,  "  At  a 
special  Court  (By  virtue  of  an  Act  of  y'  Generall 
Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  intitled  an  Act  for  Regu- 
lating of  Slaves),  held  at  Perth  Amboy  y"  tenth  day 
of  Januari,  In  y'  third  year  of  his  Majestie's  Reign, 
Anno  Doni.  1729,  before  three  of  His  Majestie's  Jus- 
tices of  y°  Peace  for  y'  County  of  Middlesex.  In 
conjunction  with  five  principall  Freeholders  of  y" 
said  County :  In  order  to  try  An  Negro  Man  named 
Prince  for  murdering  of  one  William  Cook,  A  White 
man.     Present 

"The  Indictment  Against  the  said  Negroman  being 
Read  to  him,  he  pleaded  not  guilty  of  y'  Murder  he 
was  charged  with  ;  but  It  Appearing  to  y°  Court  by 
sundry  Evidences  and  other  substantial  proofTs  that 
he  was  guilty  of  y*  said  Murder,  The  Court  found 
him  Guilty  thereof,  And  pronounced  sentence  Against 
him,  which  was  that  he  shoulde  be  burnt  Alive,  on 
y'  twelfth  of  this  In.stant,  which  sentence  wa-s  accord- 
ingly then  put  in  Execution."  ' 


PILLORY    AND   STOCKS. 

Punishment  of  the  Stocks,  1684.—"  At  the  same 
Court  (held  at  Woodbridge,  Sept.  l(i,  1684)  complaint 
being  made  by  John  Pike,  Jr.,  against  William  Ingle 
for  breach  of  his  Majesty's  Peace.  The  complaint 
being  Juely  proved,  the  Court  ordered  that  the  said 
William  Ingle  shall  forthwith  be  set  in  the  Stocks  by 
y'  Constable  of  y'  Towne  of  Woodbridge,  and  there 
to  remain  for  thespace  of  two  hours  without  relief."^ 

The  Whipping  -  Post,  1683.— March  18,  1683, 
"  William  Toms,  of  Woodbridge,  Taylor,  was  Indicted 
for  assaulting  the  body  of  Rebecca  Bishop. 

"  The  said  Toms  put  himself  upon  the  country  and 
is  found  guilty. 

"  The  Court  sentenced  the  said  toms  to  be  whipped 
thirty  and  nine  lashes." 

Ranging  the  Woods. — This  seems  to  have  been  a 
prevalent  offense  in  the  early  years  of  the  county.     It 

1  Old  minutes  of  court.  2  ibid. 


is  often  chronicled  in  the  old  minutes  of  the  court. 
Thus  in  the  record  of  the  proceedings  of  a  "  Court 
held  at  Piscataway,  y'^  18th  of  June.  Ano  domni  1684," 
there  is  the  following  entry  : 

"  At  the  Court  aforesaid  Samuel  Dotto  complained  against  UttoLowety 
for  ranging  the  woods  and  marking  a  faors  contrary  to  tlie  law  of  the 
province. 

"  Ordered  by  the  Court  that  the  said  Lowery  shall  pay  the  charge  of 
prosecution." 

Precisely  similar  records  are  made  concerning  John 
Fougha,  of  Burlington,  William  Johnson,  of  Eliza- 
bethtown,  and  John  Crammer,  of  Elizabethtown. 
And  at  the  conclusion  of  the  entries  there  is  this  fur- 
ther note:  "Allowed  by  the  Court  twelve  shillings 
for  each  of  the  three  persons  to  pay  in  money  unto 
the  Court,  and  they  paying  the  same  are  clear  of  any 
kirllier  prosecution  in  that  behalf " 

Speaking  against  the  Authority. — "  At  y'  same 
Court  (Sept.  16,  1684)  Mathew  Moore  indicted  and 
found  guilty  of  speaking  reproachful  words  against 
the  authority. 

"  The  jury  :  John  Dennis,  Haliack  Codriack,  Wil- 
liam Bingle,  John  Warlock,  John  Conger,  Thomas 
Alger,  Isaac  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Charles 
Gilman,  Eliakim  Higgin,  Joseph  Martin,  Samuel 
Doty." 

The  judgment  of  court:  "  That  Mathew  Moore  shall 
pay  by  way  of  finde  the  sum  of  three  pounds  Current 
money  of  this  Province,  to  be  taken  by  distress  if 
payment  be  denied,  the  said  money  to  be  disposed  of 
to  pay  y*  Court  charges,  and  y"  overplus  to  be  dis- 
posed of  as  y*  Law  directs.  And  the  high  sheriflF  is 
hereby  ordered  forthwith  to  levie  the  same  fine,  and 
to  dispose  of  it  as  aforesaid."  ^ 

Glimpses  of  the  Indians. — "  At  the  said  Court 
(Sept.  16,  1684)  John  Thompson,  Negro  Servant  of 
Mr.  Daniel  Hooper,  living  upon  Raritan  River,  in 
Middlesex  County,  was  indicted  by  y'  Grand  Inquest 
for  selling,  giving,  or  other  ways  disposing  of,  so 
much  rum  to  certain  Indians  as  to  make  them  drunke, 
and  for  beatinge,  woundinge,  and  willy  entreatinge 
the  said  Indians.     Pleaded  not  guilty. 

"The  jury:  John  Dennis,  Haliack  Codriack,  Wil- 
liam Bingle,  John  Warlock,  John  Conger,  Thomas 
Alger,  Isaac  Smalley,  Thomas  Fitzrandolph,  Charles 
Gilman,  Eliakim  Higgins,  .loseph  Martin,  Samuel 
Doty. 

"  The  Jury  finds  not  Guilty. 

"  The  Court  ordereth  y'  Daniel  Hooper,  or  his 
agent,  for  or  in  behalfe  of  y'  said  John  Thompson, 
his  Negro  Servant  shall  pay  y'  Jury  and  y'  costs  of 
said  Court." 

The  Indians  still  lingered  in  parts  of  Middlesex 
County  in  1686.  In  the  minutes  of  the  court  for  that 
year  there  is  the  following  entry,  having  allusion  to 
them : 

"Hugh  Staniland,  of  Nottingham,  West  Jereey,  having  formerly  ac- 
cused Dr.  Henry  Greenland  for  buying  and  receiving  stolen  hogs  and 


COURTS   OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


451 


marked  hogs  from  the  Indians,  came  in  Court,  and  into  open  Court  ac- 
knowledged that  he,  the  said  Hllgl)  Staniland,  liad  falsely  and  nia- 
Uciously  slandered  him.  y  said  Henry  Greenlend,  and  desired  God  and 
the  Court  to  forgive  him." 

An  Indian  Girl  held  in  Slavery.—"  March,  1692, 
Mr.  Thomas  Gordon  appeared  and  delivered  up  his 
baile  bnnde  for  y"  appearance  at  tliis  Court  of  an  In- 
dian girl  called  Maria,  formerly  belonging  to  Capt. 
John  Palmer,  and  by  him  sold  to  Co).  Andrew  Ham- 
ilton, and  let  an  apprentice  to  Robert  Vauquellan 
alias  Leprairie  for  y'  space  of  ten  years  from  July, 
1680,  and  y"  said  Robert  Vauquellan  not  appearing 
to  make  appear  his  claim  why  y"  said  Indian  girl 
should  not  be  delivered  up  to  y°  said  Coll.  Andrew 
Hamilton,  conformable  to  his  bill  of  sale  and  y*  order 
of  Capt.  Palmer  to  Robert  Vauquillan,  both  in  Court 
produced.  The  Court,  after  three  times  calling  the 
said  Robert  Vauquillan,  and  he  not  appearing.  Do 
order  to  discharge  the  said  Thomas  Gordon  of  his 
baile  bonde  aforesaid,  and  adjudge  y°  said  Indian  girl 
to  be  Coll.  Hamilton's  servant  according  to  the  said 
bill  of  sale."' 

Alarm  at  Indian  Inroads. — There  are  no  entries 
in  the  old  minutes  of  the  court  alluding  to  attacks 
by  the  Indians  within  the  province  of  New  Jersey, 
but  there  are  a  number  of  entries  referring  to  their 
inroads  within  the  province  of  New  York,  and  to  the 
assistance  that  was  furnished  by  Jerseymen  in  repel- 
ling them.  In  a  statement  of  the  debts  of  Middlesex 
County,  made  to  the  court  in  the  term  held  at  Piscat- 
away  Dec.  20,  1693,  there  are  the  following  items : 

£   8.    d. 
To  Jonathan  Bishop,  going  to  the  Indians  wen  y^  report  was 

the  strange  Indians  was  coming  downe  upon  us,  4  days 1  00  00 

John  Blomfleld,  ditto 1  00  00 

Capt.  (;eorge  Drake,  ditto 1  CO  00 

William  Clausen,  ditto 1  00  00 

And  at  a  court  held  at  Perth  Amboy  on  the  third 
Tuesday  in  September,  1693,  being  the  term  previous 
to  the  one  last  referred  to,  there  is  the  following  entry 
of  a  presentment  by  the  grand  jury  : 

"The  Grand  Jury  presents  Thomas  Moore,  Thomaa  Collier,  and 
Mathew  Moore  for  hreach  of  the  Sabbath  by  pressing  men  on  the  Sab- 
bath Day  to  go  to  Albany. 

"  Benjamin  Clarke, /oreiH'm." 

The  Indians  from  Canada  had  just  previous  to  this 
made  a  descent  upon  Schenectady  and  destroyed  that 
place. 

Numerous  instances  of  indictment  and  punishment 
for  breach  of  the  Sabbath  and  drunkenness  are  found 
in  the  old  minutes,  of  which  the  following  are  exam- 
ples; 

Third  Tuesday  of  December,  1692. — "The  Grand  Jury  presents  John 
Taylor,  of  Woodbridge,  for  being  Drunk. 

"The  Grand  Jury  presents  Francis  Walton  for  being  Drunk. 

"The  Grand  July  presents  Daniel  Robins  for  breach  of  Sabbath." 

Third  Tueaday  iii  Seplemher.  1693.— Court  held  at  Perth  Amboy.  "  Dan- 
iel Robins,  Jr.,  and  Nathaniel  Robins  were  presented  by  y*  Grand  Jury 
for  Carting  Wood  on  the  Lord's  Day  or  Sabbath  Day. 

"  Benjamin  Hull,  /o 


1  Old  Minutes  of  the  Court. 


"  Ordered  by  y<  Court  y'  one  or  more  of  the  neighboring  Justices  be 
acqiKiinted  with  the  said  presentment  of  Daniel  Robins,  Jr.,  and  Na- 
thaniel Robins,  for  carting  wood  on  ye  Lord's  Day  or  Sabbath  Day,  y* 
he  or  they  may  issue  out  his  or  their  Warrants  for  their  tines,  or  for 
want  thereof  to  be  further  proceeded  with  as  the  Law  directs." 

Third  Tuesday  of  June,  1694.— At  this  term,  which  was  held  at  Perth 
-\mboy,  Benjamin  Hull,  who  was  foreman  of  the  Grand  Jury  on  the  caae 
last  cited,  was  himself  indicted,  as  appears  from  the  following  entry; 

"  Benjamin  Hull,  of  Piscataway,  presented  by  y  Grand  .fury  for  keep- 
ing  and  allowing  gaming  at  Cards  and  Bowie  and  Pins  at  his  house." 

Two  others — Richard  Powell,  of  Woodbridge,  and 
William  Leveridge,  of  Perth  Amboy — were  presented 
for  the  same  offenses  by  the  Grand  Jury.  In  the  De- 
cember term  of  this  same  year  they  were  brought  be- 
fore the  court,  by  whom  they  were  "reproved  and 
dismissed." 

Third  Tuesday  of  September,  1695. — "  The  Grand  Jury  presented  Joha 
Langstatf,  of  Piscataway,  in  this  County  of  Middlesex,  for  being  at  sev- 
erill  works  upon  the  Lord's  Day. 

"  Also  we  do  present  John  Camington,  of  Amboy,  for  cursing  twice. 

"Also  we  do  present  Thomas  Carhart,  of  Woodbridge,  for  profane 
cursing  and  swearing." 

The  following  is  entered  iu  the  minutes  under  date 
of  Jan.  19,  1747  : 

"  Note  — The  Court  of  Pleas  Dropt  through  the  Absence  and  Sickness 
of  the  Judges,  but  by  a  petition  from  the  Justices  and  Grand  Jury  at- 
tending the  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  Peace,  presented  to  the 
Council  and  Assembly  then  Sitting  at  Burlington,  The.v  passed  an  Act 
to  which  his  E,xceilency,  Jonathan  Belcher,  Esq.,  then  Governor,  gave 
his  Assent  to  Revive  said  Court  of  Pleas,  which  Act  was  published  at 

Burlington  aforesaid,  the day  of ,  1747;  And  Enacte<l  that 

all  Processes  and  Proceedings  whatsoever  depending  in  the  said  Court 
on  the  third  Tuesday  of  January  shall  be  and  hereby  are  Revived  and 
continued  as  fully  aud  effectually  as  if  the  said  Court  had  met  and  con- 
tinued the  said  Processes  and  Proceedings  by  adjournment  to  the  third 
Tuesday  of  April  next  to  Come;  and  all  Processes  to  be  Issued  for  the 
next  said  Court  shall  and  may  be  issued  on  the  said  third  Tuesday  of 
January  ;  and  all  such  Processes  shall  be  as  effectual  as  if  the  said  Court 
had  met  and  Adjourned  on  the  said  Day.  Any  matter  or  thing  to  the 
Contrary  hereof  in  any  wise  notwithstanding." 

Tavern  Rates  in  1748. — "  Prices  of  Liquors  and 
Entertainment  for  Man  and  Provision  for  Horses,  as 
settled  by  the  Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  County 
of  Middlesex  in  their  General  Quarter  Sessions,  As- 
sembled in  October,  1748 — money  at  eight  Shillings 
per  Ounce : 

"Prices  of  Liquors  and  Entertainments  for  Man,  etc.; 

i  I.  d. 

Hot  Meal  of  Meat,  etc 0  0  10 

Cold  Meal  Do 0  0  7 

Lodging  pr  Night 0  0  4 

Rum  by  the  Quartern 0  0  4 

Brandy  Do 0  0  6 

Wine  by  the  Quart 0  2  8 

Strong  Beer  Do 0  0  5 

Cyder  Do n  0  4 

Metheglin  Do 0  16 

>    Lunch  Do 0  1  2 

Aud   so   in   proportion    for  a   larger  or   smaller 
Quantity. 

"  Provision  for  Horses : 

£  s.    d. 

Cate  by  the  Quart 0  u      li^ 

English  Hay  pr  Night 0  1       0 

Do  for  24  Hours 0  16 

Salt  or  fresh  hay  pr  Night 0  0      8 

Dofor24  Hours 0  1       0 

And  so  in  proportion  for  a  Longer  or  Shorter  time. 

"John  Smyth,  ClJt." 

This  John  Smyth  was  clerk  of  the  courts  for  many 
years,  from  1741,  and  perhaps  earlier,  to  1755,  and  his 
records  show  a  clear  and  legible  hand,  as  well  as  a 
neat  and  orderly  arrangement.     One  entire  book  of 


452 


HISTORY    OF    UxVION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


minutes  covering  the  period  referred  to  is  the  woric  of 
his  hand. 

First  Courts  Held  at  New  Brunswick.— The 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas  for  the  county  of  Middlesex 
were  first  held  in  New  Brunswick  in  January,  1778, 
and  a  court-house  at  New  Brunswick  is  first  men- 
tioned in  the  minutes  of  the  court  July  21,  1778. 

By  reference  to  the  minutes  of  the  Council  of  the 
State  some  further  intelligence  on  this  point  may  be 
gathered.  On  Wednesday,  June  18,  1783,  at  the 
afternoon  session  of  the  Council,  "  The  hill  intitled 
'  An  act  to  authorize  the  Justices  and  Freeholders  of 
the  County  of  Middlesex  to  repair  the  Barracks  at 
New  Brunswick,  to  be  made  use  of  as  a  Court-House 
and  Gaol  for  said  County,'  was  read  a  third  time.  On 
the  question,  '  Whether  the  said  bill  pass  ?'  it  passed 
in  the  Affirmative.     Nem.  Cony 

These  "  Barracks"  were  built  by  the  British  during 
the  Revolutionary  war,  and  fronted  on  King  (now 
George)  Street,  occupying  the  lots  from  Paterson  to 
Bayard  Streets,  inclusive.  The  barrack  buildings 
were  subsequently  built  of  stone,  and  were  one  hun- 
dred feet  front  by  sixty  in  depth.  In  179-5-96  they 
were  burnt  down  by  accident,  after  having  been  used 
for  the  court-house  and  jail  of  the  county  for  the 
period  between  1783-84  to  that  date.  John  Adams 
in  his  diary  of  Aug.  27,  1774,  describes  the  barracks 
as  they  were  at  that  date,  proving  that  they  were 
built  before  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution. 
He  says,  "  There  is  a  stone  building  for  barracks, 
which  is  tolerably  handsome ;  it  is  about  the  size  of 
Boston  jail."'  It  is  probable  that  this  building,  or 
a  portion  of  it,  was  used  for  a  jail  in  1776,  as  we  find 
the  following  in  the  journal  of  Provincial  Congress 
under  date  of  Feb.  .5,  1776 : 

"Ordered,  That  William  Steele,  conlirieil  in  the  gaol  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, be  brouglit  before  this  Congress  and  now  heard.  Whereupon  he 
was  brought  accordingly. 

"The  offence  of  which  he  was  accused  being  read  to  said  Steele  be 
acknowledged  the  same,  which  being  duly  considered, 

"  Ri'sotved,  unatiimottsti/.  That  said  Steele  be  discharged  from  his  pres- 
ent coutineuient,  upon  bis  paying  the  cost  of  the  present  prosecution,  aa 
the  same  shall  be  taxed  by  the  committee  of  the  8outh  Ward  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  give  his  obligation  to  the  said  committee  in  the  sum  of 
fifty  pounds  for  his  future  peaceable  and  good  behaviour,  and  yield  up 
to  tile  Chairman  of  said  committee,  all  his  arms  of  defence  tu  remain  in 
custody  of  said  committee  until  they  shall  deem  it  proper  to  redeliver 
them," 

After  the  "  Barracks"  was  destroyed  by  fire  the 
stones  were  immediately  used  in  the  construction  of 
the  old  jail,  which  stood  where  the  public  school 
building  now  stands  on  Paterson  Street.  The  jail 
was  built  in  1797,  as  appears  from  an  inscription 
upon  the  old  lintel-stone,  which  was  copied  by  Mr. 
Deshler  at  the  time  of  its  demolition,  as  follows: 

John  Plum,  1 

E  Phillips,      !■  Man'gers. 

A  Schuyler,   J 

1797. 
C,  Howel, 

J.  Chapman,  Masons. 

C.  Van  Deveotev. 


'  Adams'  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  355. 


CHAPTER    LXIV. 

MIDDLESEX    COUNTY    IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey. — An 

important  part  of  the  history  of  this  county  in  the 
Revolution  is  contained  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey  for  the  years  1775 
and  1776.  The  agitations  and  measures  of  1774  had 
prepared  the  way  for  a  more  responsible  body  than 
had  yet  assembled  in  the  colony,  and  the  Provincial 
Congress  was  a  legitimate  outgrowth  of  the  represen- 
tative convention  which  met  at  New  Brunswick  on 
the  21st  of  July,  1774,  and  continued  in  session  three 
successive  days. 

After  the  dissolution  of  this  first  provisional  repre- 
sentative body  of  the  patriotic  people  of  New  Jersey, 
in  pursuance  of  a  recommendation  of  the  Continental 
Congress  for  a  direct  and  more  general  appeal  to  the 
whole  people,  the  inhabitants  of  the  several  towns, 
townships,  and  counties  met  in  public  meetings  in 
their  several  localities  during  the  fall  and  winter  of 
1774-75  and  tlie  spring  of  1775,  and  chose  dele- 
gates to  represent  them  in  another  provincial  con- 
vention. 

The  course  pursued  in  Middlesex  may  be  taken  as 
a  type  of  what  was  done  in  the  other  counties.  In 
that  county  meetings  were  held  in  all  the  townships, 
at  which  delegates  were  elected  to  a  County  Conven- 
tion that  was  held  in  New  Brunswick  Jan.  14,  1775, 
of  whose  proceedings  its  clerk  has  left  us  the  follow- 
ing record : 

'*  According  to  a  notice  of  the  20th  December,  1774,  sundry  of  the 
Freeholders  of  Middlesex  County  assembled  at  the  Court-House  in  New 
Brunswick  on  the  3d  day  of  January,  1775,  but  iinding  their  number  in- 
sufficient to  punsue  the  business  i-ecommended  by  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, 

*'  It  was  agreed  that  every  city,  township,  and  district  should  have  a 
meeting  by  themselves,  and  choose  Committees  of  Observation  and  In- 
spection, and,  when  chosen,  meet  at  New  Brunswick  the  16th  day  of  this 
instant,  and  by  a  majority  of  votes  choose  a  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence for  the  county,  to  have  existence  for  a  limited  time. 

"Accordingly,  the  several  districts  in  the  county  have  had  meetings, 
and  have  chosen  Committees  of  Observation  as  follows,  to  wit; 

"*For  Woodbridge— Ebenezer  Foster,  Henry  Freeman  (1),  Nathaniel 
Heard  (2),  Reuben  Potter,  William  Smith,  Jeremiah  Jlanning  (3),  Mat- 
thias Baker  (4),  Charles  Jackson  (61,  Samuel  Force  (6),  John  Pain  (7), 
James  lilanning  (8),  John  Heard,  Daniel  Moures  (9),  John  Ross  (10), 
Elli?  Barron,  William  Cutter  (11),  Reuben  Evans,  James  HauUolph, 
Timothy  Bloomfield  (12),  John  Noe  (13),  and  John  Conway  ^14). 

"'  For  Piscataway — John  Gilman  (15),  Henry  Sutton  (16),  John  Lang- 
staff  (17),  William  Manning  (18),  Benjamin  Manning  (19),  Jacob  MartiD 
(2U),  Charles  Suydam  (21),  Jeremiah  Field  (22),  Daniel  Bray  (23),  Jacob 
Titswortb,  Micj^ah  Dunn  (24),  Melancthon  Freeman  (25),  and  John 
Dunn  (26). 

"'For  South  Amboy — Stephen  Pangburn,  John  Layd,  Luke  Schcnck, 
Matthew  Rue,  William  Vance,  and  Joseph  Potter. 

"•For  New  Brunswick— Azariah  Dunham  (27),  J.  Schureman  (28), 
John  Dennis  (29),  John  Lyie,  Jr.  (.30),  Abraham  Schuyler  (31),  George 
Hance  (32),  Jacobus  Van  Huys  (33),  John  Slight,  John  Voorhoea  (34), 
Barent  Stryker  (35),  William  Williamson  (36),  Peter  Farmer,  Ferdinand 
Schureman  (37),  Abraham  Buckelew  (38),  and  Jonathan  Roeff. 

"'For  South  Brunswick — David  W'illiamson,  William  Scudder  (39), 
Isaac  Van  Dyck  (40),  John  Wetherill,  Jr.  (41),  Abraham  Terhune,  Jacob 
Van  Dyck  (42),  and  Charles  Barclay. 

'"For  Windsor — Jamee   Hebron,  Samuel  Minor,  Jonathan   l^mhs, 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY    IN    THE   REVOLUTION. 


453 


Andrew  Davigon,  Isaac  Rogefs,  Ezekiel  Smith,  and  Jonathao  Bald- 
win (43)."' 1 

By  a  meeting  of  the  General  Committee  of  Obser- 
vation and  Inspection  for  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
in  tlie  province  of  New  Jersey,  chosen  in  pursuance 
of  the  eleventh  article  of  the  Association  of  the  late 
Continental  Congress,^  and  assembled  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, in  the  said  county,  on  Monday,  the  16th  day  of 


1  Forty-three  of  the  sixty-nine  delegates  had  their  houses  plundered 
or  burned  by  the  British  in  1776  and  1777.  The  figures  refer  to  mem- 
orandum of  damages  dune  to  their  owners  by  (he  British  when  they 
occupied  New  Brunswick  and  vicinity  in  1776  and  1777,  viz.: 

£         8.       d. 

1.  Cattle  and  hoi-ses  stolen  and  houses  plundered 148     10      6 

2.  Two    dwelling-houses,    holting-house,    hatter's  shop, 

weaver's  shop,  wagon-house,  chair-honse,  two  barns 
and  one  stable  burned,  and  cattle,  hoi-ses.  and  crops 
carrifd  off 2189    17      6 

3.  Store-house  chair-house,  stable,  and  barn  burned,  or- 

chard and  woods  cut  down,  cattle,  store  goods,  and 

crops  carried  off  and  house  plundered 636      9      0 

4.  Large  stores  of  brandy,  rum  spirits,  and  merchandise, 

also  cattle  and  horses  carried  off 478      9    10 

5.  Cattle,  horses,  and  hnusehold  goods  carried  otf 59    15      9 

6.  House  plundered,  farm  devastated,  horses  carried  off...  98     17     11 

7.  Horses,  sheep,  and  household  goods  carried  away 57      5      0 

8.  Cattle  and  crops  carried  off  and  farm  plundered 63     16      6 

9.  Farm  devastated,  cattle  and  horses  stolen,  house  plun- 

dered   465    16      7 

10.  House  plundered  and  cattle  stolen 39    13      3 

11.  Cattle  stolen  and  house  and  farm  plundered 183    16      6 

12.  House  burned,  cattle  and  horses  stolen,  house  and  farm 

plundered 323    17      9 

13.  House  and  farm  plundered,  cattle,  horses,  and  negroes 

stolen 406       6      3 

14.  House    burned,  do.  farm  and  stable,  house  and  farm 

plundered. 186      1      3 

15.  Farm  and  house  plundered     129      5      9 

16.  Barn  burned,  house  sacked  and  plundered,  farm  de- 

vastated    223     16       3 

17.  House  plundered  and  trees  destroyed 19    15      0 

18.  Honse  and  faim  plundered 116      4      3 

19.  "                        "           38    13      0 

20.  '*                        "           147    15      6 

21.  Money  and  valuables  stolen,  house  and  farm  plundered, 

houses  damaged,  barn,  etc.,  burned,  farm  devas- 
tated    2033       8      5 

22.  Cattb- stolen,  fence  devastated,  etc 152    16      0 

23.  Horse  stolen  and  house  plundered 340    12      6 

24.  Horses,  <flc 31       8      0 

25.  House  plundered 38      1      0 

26.  House  and  farm  plundered 313      5      5 

27.  House  plundered  and  occupied     218    11       8 

28.  Store-houses  burned,  negro  and  horses  stolen,  and  mer- 

chandise carried  off 378       0      5 

39.  Valuable  merchandise,  wines,  etc.,  carried  off,  house 

sacked  and  plundered,  sloops  carried  off 1597     15      9 

30.  Negro  stolen  and  house  plundered 181     13      0 

31.  House  plundered 34    18      6 

32.  House  damaged  and  goods  plundered  181     19      4 

33.  House  damaged  aud  plundered,  farm  devastated,  negro 


stole 


500 


34.  Shoe-shop  plundered,  other  store  goods  robbed,  house 

plundered 183  16  0 

35.  House  plundered :«  2  0 

36.  Negroes  and  horses  stolen  and  farm  devastated 825  7  3 

37.  Sundries  plundered 23  5  0 

38.  "                •'           39  10  6 

39.  Grist  and  fulling-mills  burned   and  sundries   plun- 

dered   1188  6  0 

40.  Sundries  plundered 9  10  0 

41.  '•                "           U  8  9 

42.  Horse  and  cattle  stolen  and  house  plundered 131  12  0 

4;J.  House  plundered  and  merchandise  do 630  15  0 

Total  ravages  l>y  British  of  these  patriots,  as  far  as  I  

have  ascertained £15,230 

2  The  following  is  the  article:  "  That  a  committee  be  chosen  in  every 
county,  city,  and  town  by  those  who  are  qualified  to  vote  for  repre- 
sentatives in  the  Legislature,  whose  business  it  shall  be  attentively  to 
observe  the  conduct  of  all  persons  touching  thin  Association  ;  aud  when 
it  shall  be  made  to  appear  to  the  satisfaction  of  a  majority  of  any  such 
committee  that  any  peison  within  the  limits  of  their  appointment  has 
Titrated  this  A>*Bociation,  that  such  majority  do  forthwith  cause  the  truth 
of  the  case  to  be  published  in  tiie  Gazette,  to  the  end  that  all  such  foes 
to  the  rights  of  British  America  may  be  publickly  known,  and  uni- 
vei-sally  contemned  as  the  enemies  of  American  Liberty,  aud  thence- 
forth we  respectively  will  break  off  all  dealings  with  him  or  her." — 
Adopted  by  tite  CoiUineuinl  Congress,  Oct.  20,  1774. 


January,    1775,    Azariah    Dunham,    Esquire,   in   the 
chair. 

"  1.  Resolved,  That  this  committee  have  been  duly  empowered  and 
authorized  by  the  freeholders  and  freemen  of  the  county  of  Middlesex 
to  meet  this  day  at  New  Brunswick,  aud  in  their  names  to  transact  all 
such  public  business  as  the  committee,  or  a  majority  of  them,  think  of 
importance  to  the  general  interest  of  the  county. 

"2.  Resolved^  That  we  heartily  and  entirely  approve  of  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  late  Continental  Congress,  as  published  in  their  journal,  en- 
titled 'Journal  of  the  Proceedings  of  the  Congress  held  at  Philadelphia, 
September  fifth,  1774  ;'  and  that  we  esteem  ourselves  bound  by  the  ties 
of  virtue,  honor,  and  the  love  of  our  country  to  contribute  all  in  our 
power  towards  carrying  into  pmctice  the  measures  which  they  have 
recommended. 

"3.  Resolved,  That  we  look  upon  ourselves  as  under  particular  obliga- 
tions of  gratitude  to  the  worthy  and  public-spirited  gentlemen  who  com- 
posed the  late  Congress  for  the  knowledge  with  which  they  have  pointed 
out  and  defined  our  rights,  the  firmness  with  which  they  have  asserted 
them,  and  the  wisdom  with  which  they  have  devised  the  most  likely 
aud  peaceable  means  of  recovering,  establishing,  and  perpetuating 
them. 

"4.  Resolved,  That  James  Neilson,  William  Oake,  Azariah  Dunham, 
John  Wetherill,  Jonathan.  Combs,  Stephen  Pangburn,  and  Ebenezer 
Foster,  Esquires,  Messrs.  William  Smith,  Matthias  Baker,  Jacob  Tits- 
wortli,  John  Dunn,  David  Williamson,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  and  Jacob 
Schenck  be  aud  they  are  by  this  committee  appointed  a  Committee  of 
Correspondence  for  the  county  of  Bliddleaex,  and  that  they  do,  as  soon  as 
possible,  by  their  humble  petition,  address  the  General  Assembly,  now 
sitting  at  Perth  Amboy,  to  nominate  deputies  from  this  Province  ^  to 
the  General  Congress  U>  be  held  at  Philadelphia  in  May  next;  and  pro- 
vided the  Assembly  do  not  undertake  such  nomination,  that  they  then 
meet  and  join  with  the  other  Committees  of  Correspondence  appointed 
by  the  several  counties  in  the  Province,  at  a  proper  time  and  place,  and 
elect  deputies  for  the  service  aforesaid  ;  and  that  this  committee  be  and 
continue  the  Committee  of  Correspondence  for  the  county  of  Middlesex 
till  the  rising  of  the  next  General  Congress,  and  no  longer. 

"5.  Resolved,  That  we  think  it  our  duty  publicly  to  declare  our  con- 
tempt and  detestation  of  those  insidious  scribblers  who,  with  the  vilest 
views,  enlist  themselves  in  the  cause  of  the  Ministry,  and  by  the  vilest 
means  endeavor  to  effect  a  disunion  among  the  good  people  of  the  colo- 
nies, that  they  may  become  a  prey  to  the  oppression  against  which  they 
are  so  laudably  and  unanimously  struggling;  who  skulk  behind  prosti- 
tuted printing-presses,  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  prostituteil  conduc- 
tors of  them,  labor  to  circulate  their  pestilent  compositions  through  the 
land,  under  the  show  of  friendship  and  a  regard  to  the  public  good  ;  who 
with  the  most  unexampled  effrontery  against  the  sense  of  every  man  of 
the  least  information  and  impartirtlit\,  will  persist  in  retailing  the  rot- 
ten, exploded,  aud  ten  thousand  times  confuted  doctrines  of  a  passive 
acquiescence  in  the  measures  of  government,  Imwever  distempered  aud 
tyrannical. 

"  6.  Resolved,  That  we  will  presei-ve  on  this  trying  occasion  a  resolute 
spirit,  directed  by  loyalty  to  our  King,  prudpnce,  temper,  and  dispassion, 
testifying  that  as  our  cause  is  clearly  just,  wemean  to  support  it  by  just 
exertions,  and  not  by  misrule  and  ontiage. 

*'  Signed  by  order  and  on  behalf  of  the  meeting  by 

"John  Dennis,  CUrk.'** 

One  of  the  acts  of  tlie  Provincial  Convention 
formed  of  the  county  coinmittees,  which  as  we  have 
seen  met  at  New  Brunswick  on  the  21st,  22d,  and  23d 
of  July,  1774,  was  the  appointment  of  a  "  General 
Committee  of  Corresi)ondence"  for  the  whole  colony, 
with  authority  to  call  a  Provincinal  Congress  when, 
in  its  judgment,  it  should  become  necessary.  A 
meeting  of  this  General  Committee  was  held  at  New 
Brunswick  on  Tuesday,  May  2,  177o,  summoned,  as 
its  proceedings  show,  on  the  receipt  of  the  news  of  the 


3  This  was  done,  and  on  the  24th  of  January,  1775,  the  Assembly  reap- 
pointed Jumes  Kinsey,  Stephen  Crane,  William  Livingston,  John  De 
Hart,  aud  Richard  Smith  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress. 

*  Am.  Arch.,  i.  1083, 1U84,  and  1085. 


454 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY 


battle  of  Lexington,  which  occurred  April  19,  1775, 
and  tidings  of  which  were  received  at  New  Bruns 
wick  by  the  Middlesex  Committee  of  Correspond- 
ence on  the  24th  of  April.' 

"The  following  is  the  minute  of  the  proceedings 
and  determinations  of  the  General  Committee : 

*'  At  a  meetiDg  of  the  New  Jersey  Provincial  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence (appointed  by  the  Provincial  Congress)  at  the  City  of  New 
Brunswick  on  Tuesday,  the  second  day  of  May,  Anno  Domini  1776, 
agreeable  to  xummons  of  Hendrich  Fisher,  Esq.,  Chairman. 

"Present,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Samuel  Tucker,  Joseph  Borden,  Joseph 
Rigge,  Isaac  Pearson,  John  Clietwood.  Lewis  Ogden,  I^aac  Ogden,  Abra- 
ham Hnut,  and  Elias  Boudinul,  Esquires. 

"  The  committee  having  seriously  taken  into  consideration  as  well  the 
present  alarming  and  very  extl*aordiuary  conduct  of  the  British  Ministry 
fur  carrying  into  execution  sundry  Acts  of  Parliament  for  the  express 
purpose  of  raising  a  revenue  in  Amei'ica,  and  other  unconstitutional 
measures  therein  mentioned;  as  also  the  several  acts  of  hostility  that 
have  been  actually  commenced  for  this  purpose  by  the  regular  forces 
under  Gen.  Gage  against  our  brethren  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
in  New  England,  and  not  knowing  how  soon  this  Province  may  be  in  a 
state  of  confusion  and  disorder  if  there  are  not  some  effectual  measures 
speedily  taken  to  prevent  the  same.  This  committee  are  unanimously 
of  opinion,  and  do  hereby  advise  and  direct  that  the  chairman  do  imme- 
diately call  a  Provincial  Congress  to  meet  at  Trenton  on  Tuesday,  the 
twenty-third  of  this  instant,  in  order  to  consider  of  and  determine  such 
matters  as  may  then  and  there  come  before  them ;  and  the  several 
counties  are  hereby  desired  to  nominate  and  appoint  their  respective 
deputies  for  the  same,  a.s  speedily  as  may  be,  with  full  and  ample  powers 
for  such  purposes  as  may  lie  tliought  necessary  for  the  peculiar  exigen- 
cies of  this  Province. 

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

"He.ndrick  FtSHER,  Chairman" - 

In  response  to  this  call  the  second  convention  of 
the  province,  under  the  title  of  "  Tlie  Provincial 
Congress  of  New  Jersey,"  met  at  Trenton  at  the  time 
appointed.  May  23d,  and  continued  in  session  until 
the  afternoon  of  June  3d,  1775,  with  eighty-seven 
delegates  in  attendance,  who,  as  we  learn  from  a 
message  which  they  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress 
on  Thursday,  May  25th,  by  William  P.  Smith  and 
Elias  Boudinot,  were  "  appointed  by  the  several 
counties  of  this  province  as  their  deputies  to  meet  in 
Provincial  Congress." 

t  The  original  dispatch  giving  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington 
was  forwarded  by  the  committee  of  Watertown,  Mass.,  at  ten  o'clock 
A  M.  of  Wednesday,  April  19th,  and  was  carried  by  express-riders  to  tiie 
committees  at  Worcester,  Brookline,  Norwich,  New  London,  Lynn,  Say- 
brook,  Killingsworth,  East  Guilford,  Guilford,  Branford,  New  Haven, 
and  Fairfield,  and  reached  the  chamber  of  the  New  York  committee  at 
four  o'clock  on  Sunday  afternoon,  on  the  23d  of  April.  The  dispatch  was 
then  forwarded  with  the  following  indorsement  by  the  New  York  com- 
mittee :  "  Rec'd  the  within  Account  by  express  and  forwarded  by  express 
to  New  Brunswick  with  Directions  to  stop  at  Elizabeth  Town  and  acquaint 
tlie  committee  there  with  the  following  Particulars.  By  order  of  the 
committee,  Isaac  Low,  Chairman.  The  committee  at  N.  Brunswick  are 
requested  to  forward  this  to  Phila."  The  other  endorsements  made  upon 
the  despatch  during  its  progress  through  New  Jersey  were  as  follows  : 
"New  Brunswick,  Ap.  '.i4, 1775.  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  rec'd  the  above 
express  and  forwarded  to  Princeton.  Wm.  Oake,  Ja«.  Neilson,  Az.  Dun- 
ham, Com'e."  ..."  Princeton,  Monday,  Apl.  24,  6  o'clock,  and  forw'd 
to  Trenton.  Tho.  Wiggins,  Jon.  Baldwin,  Com.  Members."  ..."  Tren- 
ton, Monday,  Apl.  24,  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  rec'd  the  alK)ve  per  ex- 
press and  forwarded  the  same  to  the  Committee  of  Philadelphia.  Sam. 
Tucker,  Isaac  Smith,  Com'e." 

=  Am.  Archives,  ii.4B7-68. 


The  Congress  occupied  the  first  day  of  its  session 
in  examining  and  comparing  the  certificates  of  elec- 
tion of  the  members  present,  and  on  the  following 
day.  May  24th,  organized  by  electing  Hendrick 
Fisher,  of  Somerset,  president;  Jonathan  D.  Ser- 
geant, of  Somerset,  secretary;  and  William  Paterson 
and  Frederick  Frelingliuysen,  of  Somerset,  assistant 
secretaries.  On  the  25th,  Samuel  Tucker,  of  Hunter- 
don, was  elected  vice-president.  The  delegates  in  at- 
tendance from  the  thirteen  counties-  composing  the 
province  (the  number  of  counties,  it  will  be  observed, 
was  the  same  as  that  of  the  "  old  thirteen"  States) 
were  as  follows : ' 

Bergen  :  John  Fell,  John  Demarest,*6  Hendrick 
Kuyper,  Abraham  Van  Boskirk,  Edo  Merselius,^8. 

Essex  :  Henry  Garritse,*  Michael  Vreeland,  Robert 
Drummond,  John  Berry,  William  P.  Smith,  John 
Stites,  John  Chetwood,  Abraham  Clark, *||  Elias 
Boudinot,  Isaac  Ogden,  Philip  Van  Cortlandt,  Beth- 
uel  Pierson,  Caleb  Camp, — 13. 

Middlesex :  Nathaniel  Heard,a  William  Smith, 
John  Dunn,c  John  Lloyd,  Azariah  Dunham,*;/  John 
Schureman,  John  Wetherill,*rf  David  Williamson, 
Jonathan  Sergeant,  Jonathan  Baldwin,  Jonathan 
Deare,e — 11. 

Morris  :  William  Winds,*rf  William  DeHart,  Jon- 
athan Stiles,  Peter  Dickerson,  Jacob  Drake,  Ellis 
Cook,  Silas  Condit,— 7. 

Somerset :  Hendrick  Fisher,*  John  Roy,*  Peter 
Schenck,  Abraham  Van  Neste,  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant, 
Frederick  Frelinghuysen.rf  William  Paterson, — 8. 

Sussex :  Archibald  Stewart,  Edward  Dumont, 
William  Maxwell,/  Ephraim  Martin, — t. 

Monmouth  :  Edward  Taylor,*?  Joseph  Saltar,^ 
Robert  Montgomery,  John  Holmes,  John  Coven- 
hoven,  Daniel   Hendrickson,?  Nicholas  Van   Brunt, 

Hunterdon :  Samuel  Tucker,*?  John  Mehelm,* 
John  Hart,||  John  Stout,  Jasper  Smith,  Thomas 
Lowry,  Charles  Stewart,  Daniel  Hunt,  Ralph  Hart, 
Jacob  Jennings,  Richard  Stevens,  John  Stevens,  Jr., 
Thomas  Stout,  Thomas  Jones,  John  Basset, — 15. 

Burlington  :  Joseph  Borden,  Isaac  Pearson,  Colin 
Campbell,?  Joseph  Reed,  John  Pope, — 5. 

Gloucester :  John  Cooper,  Elijah  Clark,  John 
Sparks,— 3. 

Cumberland :  Samuel  Fithian,  Jonathan  Elmer, 
Thomas  Ewing, — 3. 

Salem :  Andrew  Sinnickson,  Robert  Johnson, 
Samuel  Dick,  Jacob  Scoggin,  James  James, — 5. 

Cape  May  :  Jesse  Hand, — 1. 

One  of  the  first  acts  of  this  body,  which  exhibits 

3(a)  Afterward  General;  (6)  Captain;  (c)  Major;  (d)  Colonel;  («) 
liieutenant-CoIonel ;  (/)  afterwards  General. 

The  deputies  marked  (•)  were  also  members  of  the  Colonial  House 
of  Assembly  for  1775. 

The  deputies  marked  (||)  were  afterwards  signers  of  the  declatHtion 
of  independence. 

§  Afterwards  adhered  to  the  British,  or  became  disaBfected.  See  Jour- 
nal of  Council  of  Safety,  pp.  16,  20,  29,  37. 


MIDDLKSEX  COUNTY    IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


455 


the  grave  deliberation  and  dignified  sobriety  with 
which  our  ancestors  entered  upon  their  perilous  but 
patriotic  course,  and  which  also  illustrates  the  active 
religious  principle  that  was  conjoined  with  their  de- 
votion to  liberty,  was  the  adoption  of  a  minute  re- 
citing that  as  the  business  which  would  engage  their 
deliberations  was  of  Dhe  highest  moment,  and  "  may, 
in  the  event,  affect  the  livfts  and  properties,  the  re- 
ligion and  liberties  of  their  constituents,  and  their 
remotest  posterity,  therefore  it  unquestionably  be- 
comes the  representative  body  of  a  Christian  com- 
munity to  look  up  to  that  All-powerful  Being  by 
whose  providence  all  human  events  are  guided,  humbly 
imploring  His  divine  favor,  in  presiding  over  and  di- 
recting their  present  councils  towards  the  re-estab- 
lishment of  order  and  harmony  between  Great 
Britain  and  her  distressed  colonies ;  and  that  He 
would  be  graciously  pleased  to  succeed  the  measures 
that  may  be  devised  as  most  conducive  to  these 
desirable  ends." 

In  accordance  with  this  minute,  it  was  ordered 
that  the  president  wait  upon  the  ministers  of  the 
gospel  in  Trenton,  and  in  behalf  of  the  Congress  re- 
quest their  "  alternate  attendance  and  service  every 
morning  at  eight  o'clock  during  the  session,  in  order 
that  the  business  of  the  day  may  be  opened  with 
prayer  for  the  above  purposes." 

The  Congress  then  took  into  consideration  the 
conflict  which  they  foresaw  to  be  impending  between 
Great  Britain  and  "  these  colonies,"  and  decided  that 
the  crisis  was  of  such  a  character  as  to  make  its 
assembling  absolutely  necessary  for  the  security  of 
the  province,  at  the  same  time  declaring  its  allegiance 
to  the  "  rightful  authority  and  government  of  His 
Sacred  Majesty  George  the  Third."  But  notwith- 
standing the  seeming  loyalty  of  this  declaration,  the 
Congress  promptly  assumed  and  unhesitatingly  exer- 
cised the  functions  of  an  independent  and  supreme 
governing  and  legislative  body  regardless  of  the 
authority  of  the  royal  Governor,  William  Franklin, 
and  unrestrained  by  the  check  of  any  other  power  than 
the  will  of  the  people.  The  following  outline  of  the 
business  transacted  by  the  Congress  will  show  the  scope 
of  the  powers  which  it  assumed  and  exercised  with  a 
firm  hand. 

The  action  of  the  General  Assembly  which  met  at 
Perth  Amboy  the  previous  January  in  electing  five 
deputies  to  represent  the  province  in  the  Continental 
Congress  was  approved. 

It  was  ordered  that  each  county  should  have  one 
vote. 

A  message  was  dispatched  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, in  session  at  Philadelphia,  expressing  a  dispo- 
sition most  heartily  to  concur,  to  the  utmost  of  their 
abilities,  in  the  common  cause  of  America,  in  confor- 
mity with  some  general  plan  to  be  recommended  by 
the  Continental  Congress;  also  desiring  to  be  promptly 
advised  of  what  the  Continental  Congress  may  think 
desirable   to   be   done,   so   that   measures   consistent 


therewith  may  be  adopted,  and  that  none  should  be 
determined  upon  that  would  mar  or  obstruct  the  gen- 
eral views  of  the  Continental  Congress. 

Having  given  this  prompt  and  assuring  evidence  of 
their  voluntary  subordination  to  the  General  Congress, 
and  of  their  disposition  to  co-operate  with  it  in  se- 
curing the  general  welfare,  the  Provincial  Congress 
of  New  Jersey  unanimously  adopted  a  resolution 
recommending  the  people  of  New  Jersey  to  adhere  to 
a  resolution  just  pa-ssed  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
prescribing  that  "all  exportations  to  Quebec,  Nova 
Scotia,  St.  John's,  Newfoundland,  Georgia  (except  the 
parish  of  St.  John's),  and  East  and  West  Florida" 
should  immediately  cease,  and  that  no  provisions  or 
other  necessaries  should  be  furnished  to  British  fisher- 
men on  the  American  coasts. 

A  committee  for  opening  a  correspondence  with  the 
recently  organized  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York 
was  appointed,  and  a  draft  of  a  letter  to  that  body 
was  adopted,  informing  it  of  the  organization  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  suggesting  a  uni- 
form plan  of  action,  and  offering  and  inviting  in  re- 
turn a  "  free  communication"  from  time  to  time  of 
such  measures  and  intelligence  "as  may  be  judged 
most  conducive  to  the  interest  of  the  common  cause," 
which  letter,  a  few  days  later,  was  cordially  responded 
to. 

Articles  of  association  were  adopted  and  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  the  Committee  of  Observation  and  Corre- 
spondence in  all  the  counties,  with  instructions  that 
they  should  procure  them  to  be  signed  by  the  free- 
holders and  inhabitants  of  the  several  townships,  re- 
citing the  design  of  the  British  ministry  to  raise  a 
revenue  in  America ;  referring  in  indignant  terms  to 
the  cruel  hostilities  commenced  in  Massachusetts  ;  ex- 
pressing the  conviction  that  the  preservation  of  the 
rights  and  privileges  of  America  depended,  under 
God,  on  the  firm  union  of  its  inhabitants  and  their 
abhorrence  of  slavery  ;  solemnly  resolving,  under  the 
sacred  ties  of  virtue,  honor,  and  love  of  country,  per- 
sonally and  by  their  influence,  to  support  and  carry 
into  execution  the  measures  recommended  by  the 
Continental  and  Provincial  Congresses  for  defending 
and  preserving  inviolate  the  Constitution  ;  and  pledg- 
ing themselves,  so  far  as  wiis  consistent  with  the 
measures  adopted  for  the  preservation  of  American 
freedom,  to  support  all  existing  magistrates  and  civil 
officers  in  the  execution  of  their  duty,  and  to  guard 
against  the  "  disorders  and  confusions  to  which  all 
citizens  were  exposed  by  the  circumstances  of  the 
times." 

These  measures  having  been  taken  for  co-operation 
with  the  Continental  Congress,  and  forthe  preservation 
of  the  internal  order  of  the  province,  a  still  more  deci- 
ded and  menacing  revolutionary  step  was  taken  on  the 
last  day  of  the  session,  June  3,  1775,  by  the  adoption 
of  a  bill  for  regulating  the  militia  of  the  colony.  The 
preamble  of  this  important  bill  indicates  that  all  ex- 
pectation of  a  redress  of  grievances  and  of  a  re-estab- 


4oG 


HISTORY    UK    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES.  NEW    JERSEY 


lishment  of  the  old  relations  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  colonies  was  rapidly  vanishing,  or,  perhaps, 
that  it  had  already  vanished  ;  and  its  expression  of  a 
hope  for  "  the  restoration  of  the  old  relations"  seems 
to  have  been  merely  a  politic  expedient,  resorted  to 
out  of  deference  to  those  of  their  fellow-citizens  who 
were  not  yet  prepared  for,  and  might  be  dismayed  by, 
the  spectre  of  extreme  measures.  Referring  to  the 
"  arbitrary  measures  adopted  and  pursued  by  the 
British  Parliament  and  Ministry  for  the  purpose  of 
subjugating  the  American  colonies  to  the  most  abject 
servitude,"  and  expressing  the  apprehension  "  that 
all  pacific  measures  for  the  redress  of  our  grievances 
will  prove  ineffectual,"  the  Congress  boldly  declared 
that  it  is  "  highly  necessary  that  the  inhabitants  of 
this  province  be  forthwith  properly  armed  and  disci- 
plined for  defending  the  cause  of  American  freedom," 
and  "  that  such  persons  be  intrusted  with  the  com- 
mand of  the  militia  as  can  be  confided  in  by  the  peo- 
ple, and  are  truly  zealous  in  support  of  our  just  rights 
and  privileges."  The  Congress  meant  war,  if  war 
should  be  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  liberty, 
and  at  once  set  about  to  jirepare  for  it.  They  there- 
fore prescribed  that  one  or  more  companies  of  eighty 
men  each  be  immediately  formed  in  each  township  or 
corporation,  to  betaken  from  the  inhabitants  capable 
of  bearing  arms  between  the  ages  of  sLrteen  and  fifty, 
each  of  which  companies  should  choose  by  plurality 
of  voices  four  persons  from  among  themselves  of  suf- 
ficient capacity  and  substance  for  its  officers,  namely, 
one  captain,  two  lieutenants,  and  one  ensign.  These 
officers  were  authorized  to  select  fit  persons  for  ser- 
geants, corporals,  and  drummers.  The  remainder  of 
the  act  provides  for  the  formation  of  regiments  and 
the  election  of  regimental  officers,  for  the  mustering 
of  the  men,  for  their  assemblage  for  drill,  general 
muster,  and  review,  and  for  their  equipment  with 
arms,  ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

The  next  business  of  the  Congress,  logically  neces- 
sitated by  the  militia  bill,  was  the  passage  of  an  or- 
dinance for  raising  by  taxation  ten  thousand  pounds 
proclamation  money  for  the  use  of  the  province, 
which  tax  was  apportioned  to  the  several  counties  as 
follows  : 

Bergen,  £664  8.».  M. ;  Essex,  £742  18«.  Orf. ;  Mid- 
dlesex, £872  6s.  6'/.;  Somerset,  £904  2s.  Orf. ;  Mon- 
mouth, 1069  2s.  8(/. ;  Morris,  £723  8.«.  Orf. ;  Sussex, 
£593  5s.  id. ;  Hunterdon,  £1368  16s.  id. ;  Burlington, 
£1071  13s.  4rf. ;  Gloucester,  £763  2s.  M.;  Salem, 
£679  12s.  Orf. ;  Cumberland,  £385  6.t.  8rf.;  and  Cape 
May,  £166  18s.  ()</. 

The  remainder  of  this  ordinance  details  the  prin- 
ciples that  should  govern  assessments  and  taxables, 
settles  when  the  tax  should  be  collected,  and  directs 
its  payment  by  the  county  collectors  to  the  provisional 
county  committees. 

Finally  the  Congress  appointed  Hendrick  Fisher, 
of  Somerset;  Samuel  Tucker,  of  Hunterdon;  Daniel 
Hunt,  of  Hunterdon  ;    Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  of 


Somerset;  Isaac  Pierson,  of  Burlington;  Azariah 
Dunham,'  of  Middlesex;  John  Schureman,  of  Mid- 
dlesex ;  John  Hart,  of  Hunterdon  ;  Joseph  Borden, 
of  Burlington  ;  Jonathan  Deare,  of  Middlesex  ;  Jona- 
than Baldwin,  of  Middlesex;  Peter  Schenck,  of 
Somerset ;  Ralph  Hart,  of  Hunterdon  ;  and  Nathaniel 
Heart,  of  Middlesex,  or  any  three  of  them,  with  the 
president  or  vice-president,  a  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence, with  power  to  convene  the  Congress.  The 
Congress  then  adjourned. 

The  second  session  of  the  Provincial  Congress  was 
held  at  Trenton,  beginning  on  Saturday,  Aug.  5, 
1775,  and  continuing  till  Thursday,  Aug.  17,  1775. 
In  the  interval,  since  its  adjourument  on  the  3d  of 
June,  the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  had  been  fought, 
Washington  had  been  ap])ointed  commander-in-chief, 
and  it  was  becoming  plain  that  the  controversy  be- 
tween Great  Britain  and  the  United  Colonies  was  to 
be  referred  to  the  arbitrament  of  war.  The  object 
for  which  the  Congress  now  met  was  to  prepare  for 
this  dread  alternative  by  taking  efficient  measures 
for  the  collection  of  the  tax  which  had  been  levied 
at  the  former  session  and  remained  unpaid  ;  to  ascer- 
tain what  persons  refused  to  pay  the  same  or  to 
associate  in  the  measures  recommended  by  the  Con- 
tinental Congress ;  to  provide  for  the  government  of 
the  province  and  for  the  perpetuation  of  the  Provin- 
cial Congress  as  the  successor  and  substitute  for  the 
overthrown  royal  Governor  and  Colonial  Legislature ; 
to  perfect  the  organization  of  the  friends  of  liberty 
by  the  election  of  county  and  township  Committees  of 
Observation  and  Correspondence  ;  to  further  perfect 
the  bill  passed  at  the  preceding  session  for  the  regu- 
lation of  the  militia;  and  to  appoint  persons  as  a 
Committee  of  Safety,  to  act  during  the  recess  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  and  in  its  stead. 

The  number  of  deputies  in  attendance  at  this  sec- 
ond session  of  Congress  was  eighty-three,  four  of  the 
Essex  deputies  who  were  present  at  the  former  ses- 
sion being  absent.  The  great  body  of  the  delegates 
was  composed  of  those  who  were  present  in  June,  but 
in  several  of  the  counties  there  were  changes;  the 
only  change  in  Middlesex  County  was  the  substitu- 
tion of  Luca.s  Schenck  for  David  Williamson. 

The  first  business  which  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  Congress  was  to  provide  for  the  collection  of  the 
tax  levied  by  the  previous  session,  payment  of  which 
seems  to  have  been  avoided  or  refused  in  many  in- 
stances. The  persons  authorized  to  collect  the  quotas 
of  the  several  townships  were  required  to  pay  the 
money  collected  by  them  to  the  county  collector 
on  or  before  September  10th  prox.,  and  if  any  re- 
fused payment  a  list  of  their  names  was  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  their  several  committees,  which  committees 
were  also  ordered  to  send  the  names  of  such  delin- 
quents, as  well  as  of  those  who  had  refused  to  sign 


1  Azariati  Diiuhuni  and  Johu  Scliure 
Jnnattmn  H'-are  and  Jonathan  Bnldu 
Hearil  at  Wuoilbndge. 


>■  Brunswick, 
id  Natlianiel 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN  THE   REVOLUTION. 


457 


the  articles  of  association  recommended  by  the  Con- 
tinental Congress,  to  tlie  next  Provincial  Congress. 
Provision  was  made  for  paying  assessors  and  collec- 
tors of  taxes  for  their  services,  and  for  refunding  to 
the  several  county  committees  any  surplus  of  the 
money  raised  by  taxation  that  might  remain  over 
and  above  what  should  be  needed  for  the  public  ser- 
vice. 

The  causes  that  made  it  desirable  to  have  a  new 
election  for  deputies  to  the  Provincial  Congress  are 
very  clearly  set  forth  in  the  preamble  to  an  ordinance 
which  vva-s  adopted  ou  Saturday,  August  12th,  the 
language  of  which  evinces  that  all  hope  of  a  peaceful 
accommodation  with  the  mother-country  had  nearly 
died  out,  and  also  illustrates  the  strict  regard  that 
was  paid  to  the  will  of  the  people  as  the  fountain  of 
authority.  "  Whereas,"  says  this  grave  document, 
"  it  is  highly  expedient,  at  a  time  when  this  province 
is  likely  to  be  involved  in  all  the  horrors  of  a  civil 
war,  and  when  it  has  become  absolutely  necessary  to 
increase  the  burden  of  taxes  already  laid  upon  the 
good  people  of  this  colony,  for  the  just  defense  of 
their  invaluable  rights  and  privileges,  fhat  the  inhab- 
itants lliereof  should  have  frequent  opportunities  of  re- 
newing their  choice  and  approbation  of  the  representatives 
in  Provincial  Congress,  it  is  therefore  resolved  that 
the  inhabitants  in  each  county  qualified  to  vote  for 
representatives  in  General  Assembly  do  meet  together 
at  the  places  hereinafter  mentioned  on  Thursday,  the 
21st  day  of  September  next,  and  then  and  there,  b}' 
plurality  of  voices,  elect  and  appoint  any  number  not 
exceeding  five  substantial  freeholders  as  deputies, 
with  full  power  to  represent  such  county  in  Provin- 
cial Congress  to  be  held  at  Trenton,  in  the  county  of 
Hunterdon,  on  Tuesday,  the  3d  day  of  October  next." 
The  remainder  of  the  ordinance  merely  prescribes  the 
routine  details  respecting  the  elections  for  deputies, 
and  also  of  Committees  of  Observation  and  Corre- 
spondence. 

Having  thus  provided  for  the  perpetuation  of  the 
civil  government  of  the  province,  the  Congress  turned 
its  earnest  attention  to  the  more  eftective  organization 
of  the  military  strength  of  the  colony.  To  this  end  a 
series  of  resolutions  were  adopted,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  summary  :  The  county  and  township  com- 
mittees were  instructed  to  send  the  names  of  their 
several  ofticers  of  militia  to  the  Provincial  Congress, 
or  to  the  Committees  of  Safety  it  should  appoint,  that 
they  might  be  duly  commissioned,  reserving  to  the 
Congress  the  appointment  of  all  ofticers  above  the 
rank  of  captain,  save  those  already  appointed  under 
the  ordinance  of  the  last  Congress.  It  was  ordered 
that  the  militia  of  Bergen  and  Salem  should  each 
compose  one  regiment ;  of  Essex,  Middlesex,  and 
Somerset,  each  two  regiments  ;  of  Morris  and  Sus- 
sex, each  two  regiments ;  and  one  battalion  ;  of  Bur- 
lington, two  regiments  and  a  company  of  rangers; 
of  Monmouth,  three  regiments;  of  Hunterdon,  four 
regiments ;  and  of  Gloucester,  Cumberland,  and  Cape 


May,  respectively  three,  two,  and  one  battalions, — in 
all  equal  to  about  twenty-three  regiments.  Disobe- 
dience or  irregular  behavior  on  the  part  of  ofticers 
while  on  duty  was  ordered  to  be  reported  to  the  com- 
mittees of  their  respective  counties,  who  w^ere  empow- 
ered to  suspend  offenders  and  report  the  charges  and 
evidence  against  them  to  the  Committee  of  Safety,  or 
to  the  next  Provincial  Congress,  for  their  action. 
Those  inhabitants  between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  fifty 
who  should  refuse  to  enroll  themselves  and  bear  arms 
were  to  be  required  to  pay  four  shillings  per  month 
as  an  equivalent,  or  upon  their  refusing  such  payment 
were  to  be  reported  to  the  Provincial  Congress  or  the 
Committee  of  Safety,  "  to  be  dealt  with  as  they  shall 
direct."  Persons  who  had  signed  the  muster-roll  and 
neglected  to  attend  on  mustering  day  were  to  be  fined 
two  shillings  for  each  such  absence  (the  fines  of  par- 
ties under  age  to  be  paid  by  their  parents  or  masters), 
not  to  exceed  two  fines  in  a  month,  and  be  reported 
to  the  Township  Committee  and  the  next  Congress. 
The  moneys  so  received  of  delinquents  by  the  several 
captains  to  be  applied  for  defraying  the  expenses  of 
instructing  and  equipping  their  companies.  Each  pri- 
vate soldier  was  to  be  furnished  with  good  arms, 
powder,  and  ball  by  the  county  or  Township  Com- 
mittee when  he  urns  himself  unable  to  procure  them. 
The  precedence  of  rank  in  the  militia  was  established 
in  the  following  order:  1,  Essex;  2,  Salem  ;  3,  Glou- 
cester ;  4,  Morris  ;  5,  Sussex  ;  6,  Cape  May  ;  7,  Mon- 
mouth ;  8,  Somerset;  9,  Bergen;  10,  Cumberland; 
11,  Middlesex;  12,  Hunterdon ;  13,  Burlington.  But 
no  reason  was  assigned  for  this  particular  order,  nor 
is  it  easy  to  conceive  of  one.  Besides  the  above 
twenty-three  regiments  of  militia,  it  was  ordered 
that  four  thousand  able-bodied  eftective  men  be  en- 
listed as  volunteers  and  enrolled  under  officers  ap- 
pointed and  commissioned  by  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, but  nominated  by  the  county  and  township 
committees,  who  should  be  denominated  "  Minute- 
Men,"  and  who  should  hold  themselves  in  constant 
readiness  on  the  shortest  notice  to  march  to  any  place 
where  their  assistance  might  be  required  "  for  the  de- 
fense of  this  or  any  neighboring  colony,"  who  should 
also  pay  due  obedience  to  their  officers,  "agreeablv  to 
the  rules  and  orders"  of  the  Continental  or  Provin- 
cial Congress,  or  during  the  recess  of  the  latter  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety.  These  minute-men  were  to  be 
mustered  in  companies  of  sixty-four  men  each,  officers 
included,  of  which  six  companies  were  to  be  raised  in 
each  of  the  counties  of  Essex,  Middlesex,  Monmouth, 
and  Morris;  five  each  in  Somerset,  Sussex,  and  Bur- 
lington ;  eight  in  Hunterdon  ;  four  each  in  Bergen 
and  Gloucester;  three  each  in  Salem  and  Cumber- 
land; and  one  in  Cape  May;  and  they  were  to  be 
formed  into  ten  battalions, — one  each  in  Bergen,  Es- 
sex, Middlesex,  Monmouth,  Somerset,  Morris,  Su.ssex, 
Hunterdon,  and  Burlington,  and  one  in  Gloucester 
and  Salem.  The  three  companies  from  Cumberland 
and  one  from  Cape  May  were  to  act  as  independent 


458 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


companies  of  light  infantry  and  rangers.  It  was  stip-  i 
ulated  that  these  minute-men  should  receive  like  pay 
as  the  Continental  army,  should  be  furnished  with 
camp  equipage  and  provisions,  be  provided  for  if 
wounded  or  disabled,  that  they  should  serve  for  four 
months,  and  should  have  precedence  of  rank  over  the 
militia. 

Before  adjourning  the  Congress  passed  a  series  of 
resolves,  which  I  summarize  as  follows:  Recommend- 
ing persons  whose  religious  principles  would  not  allow 
them  to  bear  arms  to  contribute  the  more  liberally  for 
the  relief  of  their  distressed  brethren  in  the  several 
colonies  ;  requiring  that  before  persons  received  mili- 
tary commissions  they  should  sign  the  "  Association ;" 
appointing  Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  of  Somerset,  treas- 
urer of  the  province  ;  and  recommending  the  several 
county  committees  immediately  to  employ  gunsmiths 
to  make  the  arms  necessary  and  wanting  in  their  coun- 
ties, in  conformity  with  the  direction  for  their  manu- 
facture set  forth  by  the  Continental  Congress.' 

The  Congress  then  appointed  Henry  Fisher,  of 
Somerset,  Samuel  Tucker,  ot  Hunterdon,  Isaac  Pear- 
son, of  Burlington,  John  Hart,  of  Hunterdon,  Jona- 
than D.  Sergeant,  of  Somerset,  Azariah  Dunham,  of 
Middlesex,  Peter  Schenck,  of  Somerset,  Enos  Kelsey, 
of  Somerset,  Joseph  Borden,  of  Burlington,  Frederick 
Frelinghuysen,  of  Somerset,  and  John  Schureman,  of 
Middlesex,  a  Committee  of  Safety  to  act  during  the 
recess  of  Congress,  and  thereupon  adjourned  "  to  the  \ 
20th  day  of  September  next,  unless  sooner  convened  j 
by  the  Committee  of  Safety.'"  j 

Up  to  this  time  the  Provincial  Congress  had  been 
purely  provisional.  Its  deputies  had  not  been  elected 
in  conformity  with  any  law  that  had  been  enacted 
by  any  really  representative  or  authorized  body,  but 
had  been  chosen  on  the  informal  call  only  of  self- 
con.stituted  or  spontaneous  meetings  or  conventions  j 
in  the  several  counties.  The  grave  exigencies  of  the 
times,  as  was  stated  in  the  preamble  to  the  act  of  the 
Provincial  Congress  providing  for  a  new  election  of 
deputies  by  the  people,  which  has  been  already  quo- 
ted, now  demanded  a  formal  resort  to  the  people  as  i 
the  source  of  power  and  authority  for  a  choice  of 
those  who  were  to  represent  and  legislate  for  them, 
and  whose  acts  would  probably  convert  them  into 
rebels  against  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  or  into 
pusillanimous  supplicants  for  her  clemency  and  pro- 
tection. Accordingly  the  Provincial  Congress  which 
met  at  Trenton  on  Tuesday,  Oct.  3,  1775,  and  con- 
tinued its  sessions  until  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
October  2oth,  was  composed  of  deputies  just  elected 
by  the  people,   fresh   irom  among  them,  and  fully 


1  The  recommendation  of  the  Continental  Congress  was  in  the  follow- 
ing leiTn-  :  *'  That  it  be  reconnnemied  to  tlie  makers  of  arnis  for  the  use 
of  tlie  uiililiu  tliat  tliey  multe  good  subntautial  mtialceta,  with  barrels 
tliree  leet  anil  a  Ijiilf  in  length,  that  will  carry  an  ounce  hall,  and  fitted 
with  a  good  bayonet  and  steel  ramrod,  and  that  making  snch  arms  be 
encounigod  in  these  United  Colonies."— Passed  July  18,  179r). 

2  For  proceedinge  of  Committee  of  Salety  see  next  chapter. 


understanding  their  wishes.  It  was  no  longer  a 
provisional  body,  but  was  a  regularly  elected  repre- 
sentative assembly.  Its  powers  were  peculiar  and 
undefined.  The  royal  authority  had  been  tacitly 
superseded,  though  still  existing  in  form  ;  royal 
charters  were  held  in  abeyance ;  royal  writs  were 
disregarded;  royal  Governors,  Legislatures,  and  other 
officers  were  suspected,  set  at  naught,  and  emptied  of 
power.  There  was  as  yet  no  constitution  in  the  form 
of  a  written  instrument ;  and  save  as  it  was  restricted 
by  the  operation  of  the  common  law,  and  of  former 
statutory  enactments,  and  by  sufferance  of  old  forms 
and  usages,  or  held  in  check  by  a  regard  for  the  opin- 
ions and  interests  of  those  who  brought  it  into  being, 
there  was  no  limitation  upon  its  powers  by  any  in- 
strument then  existing  to  which  they  or  the  people 
of  the  province  acknowledged  fealty.  They  could 
and  did  imprison,  exile,  confiscate,  lay  taxes,  emit 
money,  exercise  power  over  life  and  death,  call  out 
the  militia,  and  levy  war. 

The  new  Congress  consisted  of  forty-eight  dele- 
gates, whose  names  are  appended  in  a  note,'  and  nine 
of  whom  were  also  members  of  the  House  of  Assem- 
bly, five  each  from  Essex,  Morris,  Sussex,  Hunter- 
don, Burlington,  Gloucester,  and  Salem,  two  each 
from  Bergen,  Middlesex,  and  Cumberland,  three 
each  from  Somerset  and  Monmouth,  and  one  from 
Cape  May,  but  iu  voting  each  county  had  only  one 
vote,  as  ordered  by  the  previous  Congress.  On  the 
first  day  there  was  not  a  quorum  present,  the  min- 
utes stating  that  "several  of  the  deputies"  assembled. 
On  the  following  day,  Oct.  4,  1775,  it  organized  with 
Samuel  Tucker,  of  Hunterdon,  president;  Hendrick 
Fisher,  of  Somerset,  vice-president ;  and  John  Me- 
helm,  of  Hunterdon,  secretary.  On  a  subsequent 
day  John  Carey,  of  Salem,  was  appointed  secretary, 
with  Abraham  Clark,  of  Essex,  and  Charles  Stewart, 
of  Hunterdon,  assistants. 

This  session  was  a  busy,  earnest,  and  laborious  one. 
The  minutes  of  the  Congress  reveal  the  revolutionary 
state  of  the  province,  the  unrest  and  agitation  that 

^  Bergen,  John  Pemarest,*  ^  Jacobus  Post. 

Essex,  Abraham  Clark,  Lewis  OgdeD,  Samuel  Potter,  Caleb  Camp,  Kob- 
ert  Drummond, 

Middlesex,  Azariah  Dunham,*  John  Dennis. 

Morris,  William  Winds,*  William  OeHart,  Jacob  Drake,  Silas  Condit, 
Ellis  Cook. 

Somerset,  Hendrick  Fisher,*  Cornelius  Van  Mnliner,  Ruloffe  Van 
Dyke. 

Sussex,  William  Maxwell,  Ephraini  Martin, Thomas  Potts,  Abia  Brown, 
Mark  Thompson. 

Monmouth,  Edward  Taylor,*  John  Coyenhoven,  Joseph  Holmes. 

Hunterdon,  Samuel  Tucker,  *John  Mehelm,*  John  Hart.Chailes  Stew- 
art, Augustine  Stevenson. 

Burlington,  Isaac  Pierson,  John  Pope,  Samuel  How,  Johu  Wood,  Jo- 
seph Newhold. 

Gloucester,  John  Cooper,  Joseph  Ellis,  Thomas  Clark,  Elijah  Clark, 
Richard  Somers. 

Siilem,  John  Holme,  Edward  Keasby,  Benjamin  Holme,*  John  Carey. 

Cumberland,  Theophilus  Elmer,*  Jonathan  .^yars. 

Cape  May,  Jesse  Hand. 

^  Deputies  marked  *  were  also  members  of  the  House  of  Assembly. 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


459 


prevailed  among  the  people,  and  the  industrious 
preparation  that  the  patriots  were  making  for  the 
war  that  they  perceived  was  soon  to  roll  towards 
them.  The  minutes  also  reveal  the  steady  growth  of 
the  democratic  principle  of  equality  among  the  people, 
counting  a  man  a  man  whether  he  owned  property  or 
whether  he  did  not.  Petitions  flowed  into  the  Con- 
gress on  a  multitude  of  subjects  from  every  county 
and  from  nearly  every  township, — from  committees, 
municipal  corporations,  and  individuals,— questioning 
the  election  of  some  of  the  deputies  to  the  Congress, 
and  of  members  of  the  county  and  township  Commit- 
tees of  Observation  and  Correspondence;  craving 
military  commissions  or  objecting  to  some  that  had 
been  issued  ;  soliciting  the  appointment  of  particular 
field,  regimental,  and  other  oflicers,  or  indicating  a 
preference  between  candidates ;  presenting  the  choice 
of  companies  that  had  been  formed  for  one  regiment 
rather  than  another ;  praying  that  money  at  interest 
and  also  mechanics  and  lawyers  be  taxed  ;  from  nu- 
merous quarters  and  from  all  parts  of  the  province 
urging  strongly  that  all  who  pay  taxes,  whether  free- 
holder or  otherwise,  be  admitted  to  vote  at  the  elec- 
tions for  deputies  to  the  Provincial  Congress  ;  asking 
that  elections  be  by  ballot,  that  suits  at  law  for  the 
recovery  of  debt  be  conditionally  suspended  until  the 
final  settlement  of  the  dispute  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  Colonies;  that  persons  (mostly  Quakers  and 
loyalists)  who  refused  to  pay  the  tax  ordered  by  the 
former  Congress  be  compelled  to  do  so,  and  that  the 
making  of  saltpetre,  cartouch-boxes,  etc.,  be  encour- 
aged. All  these  petitions  received  respectful  consider- 
ation, and  the  action  that  was  taken  upon  them  was 
dispassionate,  wise,  independent,  and  dignified. 

Besides  the  consideration  of  these  petitions,  which, 
as  a  purely  popular  body,  deriving  its  power  and  even 
its  very  existence  from  the  will  of  the  people,  it  could 
not  and  did  not  disregard,  the  Congress  was  engaged 
in  receiving  and  scrutinizing  the  reports  of  the  "as- 
sociations" and  committees  that  had  been  formed  in 
the  various  townships  and  counties;  in  corresponding 
with  the  Continental  Congress  as  to  the  raising,  equip- 
ment, organization,  footing,  payment,  and  forwarding 
of  troops;  and  with  the  Congresses  and  Committees 
of  Safety  of  other  colonies,  and  the  county  and  town- 
ship committees  of  the  province,  on  subjects  pertain- 
ing to  the  general  welfare;  in  examining  into  the 
state  of  the  finances  of  the  province,  and  estimating 
the  expenditure  that  would  be  required  for  the  arm- 
ing, equipment,  and  maintenance  of  the  militia,  etc., 
and  for  carrying  on  the  government;  in  preparing 
ordinances  for  the  regulation  of  the  militia,  for  raising 
additional  troops,  for  enforcing  the  former  taxes  and 
levying  new  ones,  for  raising  money  by  the  emission 
of  bills  of  credit,  and  for  the  apprehension  of  desert- 
ers. Their  attention  was  also  largely  occupied  in 
examining  and  deciding  upon  complaints  that  were 
showered  upon  them,  denouncing  loyalists  and  sym- 
pathizers  with    Great    Britain,   and   in   considering 


public   and    private   grievances   of  every   form   and 
variety. 

It  will  be  perceived  that  the  "Ordinances,"  as  all 
formal  and  grave  enactments  of  this  body  were  styled, 
which  were  passed  by  the  Provincial  Congress  were 
of  a  fundamental  character,  embracing  the  evolution 
of  a  State  and  the  administration  of  civil  govern- 
ment within  its  bounds,  while  it  was  itself  passing 
through  a  period  of  revolution,  and  was  threatened 
with  civil  war  within  and  invasion  from  without. 
The  machinery  was  to  be  adjusted  to  an  edifice  whose 
walls  were  yet  unbuilt,  and  the  greatest  wisdom  and 
prudence,  mingled  with  courage  and  fortitude,  were 
required  for  the  undertaking.  To  this  difficult  work 
the  Congress  addressed  itself  with  equal  industry  and 
devotion,  and  every  portion  of  the  task  received  the 
anxious  deliberations  of  the  deputies  unremittingly 
given  by  d;iy  and  by  night. 

The  ordinance  to  compel  the  payment  of  the  ten 
thousand  pounds  tax  of  the  previous  Congress  re- 
quired collectors  to  return  the  names  of  delinquents 
to  the  county  committees,  which  committees  were  or- 
dered to  make  "  distress  on  the  goods  and  chattels"  of 
the  said  delinquents,  and  after  five  days'  notice  by 
advertisement,  to  sell  them  at  public  vendue,  any  sur- 
plus remaining  after  satisfying  the  tax  and  costs  to 
be  returned  to  the  owner.  Provision  was  made  to  fill 
vacancies  in  the  oflice  of  collector.  Where  owners  of 
large  and  profitable  tracts  of  land  were  non-residents, 
and  the  taxes  were  thus  avoided,  the  goods  and  chat- 
tels of  the  tenant  or  agent  were  made  liable  to  be  dis- 
trained and  sold  in  satisfaction  of  the  tax,  and  the 
tenant  was  authorized  to  deduct  the  amount  out  of 
the  rent.  Appeals  in  cases  of  alleged  excessive  tax- 
ation were  allowed  to  the  county  committee,  who 
might  order  the  amount  remitted  to  be  repaid,  but 
no  appeal  was  permitted  to  be  heard  until  the  assess- 
ment had  been  first  paid.  Severe  pecuniary  penal- 
ties were  prescribed  for  non-performance  or  neglect 
of  duty  by  collectors,  or  for  their  failure  to  pay  over 
the  moneys  collected,  which  penalties  might  also  be 
enforced  by  distress  and  sale  of  their  goods  and  chat- 
tels, or  in  case  of  default  by  collectors,  when  suffi- 
cient property  could  not  be  found,  their  "  bodies" 
might  be  taken  and  confined  until  the  moneys  and 
costs  were  fully  paid. 

The  estimate  of  the  amount  required  for  the  "de- 
fense of  the  colony,"  as  finally  arrived  at,  was  the 
result  of  a  prolonged  consideration  by  a  special  com- 
mittee, and  of  several  earnest  debates.  It  finally  cul- 
minated in  ordering  the  purchase  of  three  thousand 
stand  of  arms,  ten  tons  of  gunpowder,  twenty  tons  of 
lead,  one  thousand  cartouch-boxes,  two  medicine 
chests,  four  hundred  tents,  with  the  necessary  furni- 
ture, besides  canteens  and  knapsacks,  and  two  thou- 
sand blankets.  It  also  appropriated  one  shilling  per 
man  per  day  for  troops  in  actual  service  until  they 
arrived  at  the  place  of  destination  ;  £8585  as  a  fund 
for  the  payment  of  troops  for  one  month  when  in 


460 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


actual  service  ;  £300  for  axes,  spades,  and  intrench- 
ing tools ;  £500  for  a  train  of  artillery  ;  and  £1000 
as  a  bounty  of  "  one  shilling  a  pound"  for  the  manu- 
facture in  the  colony  of  "any  quantity  not  exceed- 
ing 20,000  pounds  of  saltpetre  on  or  before  Jan.  1, 
1777." 

In  order  to  meet  these  expenses  the  Congress 
deemed  it  be  necessary  that  the  sum  of  £30,000  proc- 
lamation money  should  be  immediately  emitted  in 
bills  of  credit  for  the  use  of  the  colony,  and  it  ap- 
pointed a  committee,  consisting  of  Hendrick  Fisher, 
John  Hart,  John  Mehelm,  Theophilus  Elmer,  and 
Azariah  Dunham,  to  draft  an  ordinance  for  that  pur- 
pose, with  provision  to  "  sink  the  money"  so  emitted, 
and  designating  the  commissioners  to  purchase  and 
procure  the  articles  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  esti- 
mate. The  ordinance  drafted  by  this  committee  and 
adopted  by  the  Congress  appointed  Samuel  Tucker, 
Abraham  Hunt,  Joseph  Ellis,  and  Alexander  Cham- 
bers commissioners  for  the  western  division  of  the 
province,  and  Hendrick  Fisher,  Azariah  Dunham, 
Abraham  Clark,  and  Samuel  Potter  commissioners 
for  the  eastern  division,  with  authority  to  contract 
with  artificers  for  or  otherwise  purchase  the  articles 
named  in  the  estimates,  and  to  supply  the  troops  of 
the  colony  when  called  into  action  in  this  or  any  of 
the  neighboring  colonies  with  one  month's  subsist- 
ence, provided  that  no  provision  for  the  same  were 
made  by  the  Continental  Congress.  To  defray  these 
expenses  the  sum  of  £.30,000  in  proclamation  money 
was  ordered  to  be  printed,  to  pass  current  in  all  pay- 
ments within  the  colony,  as  follows  :  five  thousand 
seven  hundred  bills,  each  of  the  value  of  £3  ;  six 
thousand  bills  of  £1  iOs.  Orf.  each  ;  four  thousand  bills 
of  15  shillings  each,  and  three  thousand  bills  of  6 
shillings  each,  which  when  |)rinted  were  to  be  de- 
livered to  Hendrick  Fisher  and  Azariah  Dunham, 
of  the  eastern  division,  and  to  John  Hart  and  John 
Carey,  of  the  western,  who  were  to  be  the  signers 
thereof  for  the  respective  divisions  (those  for  the 
western  division  in  conjunction  with  John  Cooper, 
one  of  the  treasurers  of  the  colony  for  the  western 
division,  and  those  of  the  eastern  division  in  con- 
junction with  John  Dennis,  also  one  of  the  treasurers 
of  the  colony  for  the  eastern  division).  The  ordi- 
nance details  with  the  utmost  minuteness,  and  an 
exactitude  that  illustrates  the  wary  circumspection 
of  our  ancestors,  how  the  bills  shall  be  signed,  coun- 
tersigned, counted,  inspected,  receipted  for,  sworn  to, 
protected  from  fraud  or  peculation,  etc.,  and  provides 
for  a  tax  to  be  levied  annually  in  1784,  1785,  and 
1786  for  sinking  and  retiring  the  bills  emitted.  The 
apportionment  of  this  tax  among  the  counties  indi- 
cates the  then  relative  wealth  of  each  as  follows : 
Portion  of  the  £10,000  tax  to  each  county  :  Hunter- 
don, £1363  16».  8(/.  ;  Burlington,  £1071  13«.  4rf. ;  Mon- 
mouth, £1069  2*.  8(/.;  Somerset,  £904  2s.  Orf.  ;  Mid- 
dlesex, £872  6s.  8rf. ;  Gloucester,  £763  28.  8. ;  Essex, 
£742   18s.   Orf. ;   Morris,  £723  8s.  Od. ;   Salem,  £679 


12«.  Orf. ;  Bergen,  £664  8s.  Orf. ;  Sussex,  £593  5«.  4d. ; 
Cumberland,  £385  6s.  8rf. ;  Cape  May,  £166  18s.  Od. 

The  ordinance  for  the  further  regulation  of  the 
militia  forces  of  the  colony  provided  for  a  more  ac- 
curate and  exhaustive  enrollment.  Each  man  en- 
rolled was  to  be  furnished  at  his  place  of  abode  with 
one  pound  of  powder  and  three  pounds  of  "  bullets  to 
suit  his  firelock  or  musket,"  and  he  must  "  furnish 
himself  with  a  good  musket  or  firelock,  and  bayonet, 
sword,  or  tomahawk,  a  steel  ramrod,  worm,  priming 
wire  and  brush,  a  cartouch-box,  twelve  flints,  and  a 
knapsack,"  under  penalty,  of  the  "  forfeiture  of  two 
shillings  for  want  of  musket  or  firelock,  and  of  one 
shilling  for  the  want  of  the  other  above-enumerated 
articles."  Provision  was  made  for  more  frequent  and 
thorough  drills,  and  for  general  musters,  and  heavy 
pecuniary  penalties,  collectable  by  distress,  were  pre- 
scribed for  failure  to  attend  either  by  officers  or  pri- 
vates. To  secure  the  execution  of  these  warrants  of 
distress  the  ])ersons  whose  duty  it  was  to  serve  them 
were  them.selves  made  liable  to  fine  for  neglect  or 
failure  of  duty,  which  fines  were  in  like  manner 
collectable  by  distress  upon  their  goods  and  chattels. 
In  the  event  of  alarm  or  invasion  by  an  armed  force, 
every  enrolled  subaltern  soldier  of  the  militia  or 
minute-man  was  to  "  repair  immediately  to  his  cap- 
tain's residence  properly  armed  and  accoutred,"  and 
the  captain  "  was  at  once  to  march  his  company  to 
oppose  the  enemy,"  first  having  "  sent  an  express  to 
the  commanding  officer  of  his  regiment,"  who,  in 
his  turn,  was  to  "  march  with  the  whole  or  part  of 
the  forces  under  his  command  as  he,  before  receiving 
orders  from  one  of  the  general  officers,  might  judge 
necessary  in  order  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  land- 
ing or  penetrating  into  any  part  of  the  country,  and 
at  the  same  time  should  send  an  express  to  the  gen- 
eral officer  nearest  him,"  giving  intelligence  of  "  such 
alarm  or  invasion."  During  such  times  of  alarm  or 
invasion  the  officers  and  soldiers  were  to  be  subject  to 
court-martial,  but  it  was  expressly  stipulated  that 
"  no  pains  and  penalties  imposed  by  a  court-martial 
shall  extend  to  the  taking  life  or  member  of  any 
delinquent  or  oft'ender  who  shall  be  called  out  as 
aforesaid."  Persons  between  sixteen  and  fifty  capa- 
ble of  bearing  arms  who  came  from  any  neighboring 
province   were   required  within   two   weeks  of  their 

{  arrival   to  enroll  in  the  militia,  and  to  be  subject  to 

j  the  same  duties,  fines,  and  penalties  as  other  citizens. 

j  A  special  provision  was  inserted  to  the  efi'ect  "  that 
minute-men,  when  called  out  to  the  assistance  of  a 
neighboring  colony,"  shall  be  "  under  the  direction 

I  of  their  own  officers,  unless  a  Continental  officer  of 
superior  rank  be  present,  to  whom,  in  such  case, 
they  are  to  yield  due  subordination."  Directions  were 
given  for  raising,  equipping,  and  disciplining  com- 
panies  of    light-horse,    not   to   exceed  one  for  each 

1  county,  and  each  to  consist  of  forty  privates,  "  the 
officers  to  rank  with  the  militia  officers  of  the  foot," 

!  the  whole  to  be  formed  into  regiments,  subject  to  the 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


461 


command  of  the  Ijrigadier-generals  of  the  colony, 
the  Provincial  Congress,  or  the  Committee  of  Safety. 
Respecting  persons  "  whose  religious  principles  would 
not  suffer  them  to  bear  arms,"  it  was  ordered  as  an 
equivalent,  and  in  lieu  of  future  voluntary  contri- 
butions "  for  public  and  benevolent  uses,"  that  they 
should  pay  into  the  hands  of  the  chairman  of  the 
county  committees  four  shillings  per  month  for  such 
exemption,  and  on  their  neglect  or  failure  to  do  so 
they  should  be  proceeded  against  by  the  issue  of  war- 
rants of  distress  on  their  goods  and  chattels.  The 
same  equivalent  was  required  from  persons  under  age 
who  were  capable  of  bearing  arms,  and  in  default 
payment  might  be  demanded  of  the  "  parent,  master, 
or  person  such  delinquents  are  under,"  and  in  case  of 
neglect  or  refusal  the  same  should  be  recovered  by 
distress  and  sale.  But  persons  who  were  sick  and 
unable  to  bear  arms,  or  out  of  the  province,  or  neces- 
sarily engaged  in  the  public  business  of  the  colony 
were  to  be  exempt.  Appeals  might  be  taken  by  per- 
sons for  distress  made  for  fines  and  forfeitures  within 
two  months  to  the  committee  of  the  township  or 
county,  who  were  empowered  to  afford  equitable 
redress. 

Among  other  important  matters  connected  with  the 
public  defense  that  came  before  the  Congress  was  a 
resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress  dated  Oct.  9, 
1775,  recommending  "  the  Convention  of  New  Jer- 
sey" to  raise  immediately  "at  the  expense  of  the 
continent  two  battalions"  of  eight  companies  each, 
each  company  to  consist  of  sixty-eight  privates,  "  offi- 
cered with  one  captain,  one  lieutenant,  one  ensign, 
four  sergeants,  and  four  corporals,"  the  privates  to  be 
enlisted  for  one  year  at  £5  per  month,  and  to  be  liable 
to  discharge  at  any  time  on  allowing  them  one  month's 
pay  extraordinary.  Each  private  was  to  be  allowed, 
'  instead  of  a  bounty,  one  felt  hat,  a  pair  of  yarn 
stockings,  and  a  pair  of  shoes,"  and  was  to  find  his 
own  arms.  The  pay  of  the  officers  was  to  be  the  same 
as  those  of  the  Continental  army.  With  this  resolu- 
tion came  a  letter  from  John  Hancock,  President  of 
the  Continental  Congress,  dated  Oct.  12,  1775,  agree- 
ing "  to  furnish  the  men  with  a  hunting  shirt,  not 
exceeding  the  value  of  one  dollar  and  one-third  of  a 
dollar,  and  a  blanket,  provided  these  can  be  procured ; 
but  these  are  not  to  be  made  a  part  of  the  terms  of  I 
enlistment."  Accompanying  this  letter  were  forty- 
eight  blank  commissions  for  the  captains  and  sub- 
alterns of  the  two  proposed  battalions.  The  resolu- 
tion of  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  letter  of 
President  Hancock  were  received  by  the  Provincial 
C<ingress  on  the  13th  of  October,  and  "after  some 
time  spent"  in  their  consideration  a  response  was  sent 
declaring  that  the  Congress  of  New  Jersey  was  "  ani- 
mated with  equal  afl'ection  to  the  common  cause  of 
America  with  the  other  provinces,  and  an  equal  de- 
sire to  promote  its  general  interest,"  but  expressing 
regret  that  one  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Continental 
Congress  proposed  to  suspend  the  "  appointment  of 
30 


field-officers"  for  the  two  battalions  "until  the  Con- 
tinental Congress  shall  take  order  in  that  matter." 
The  Provincial  Congress  thought  that  it  would  expe- 
dite the  raising  of  the  men  if  the  nomination  of  the 
field-officers  were  first  ascertained  to  belong  to  the 
New  Jersey  Congress,  and  that  the  reverse  would  im- 
pede enlistments.  It  also  suggested  that  as  other 
provinces  had  been  allowed  this  privilege,  its  mem- 
bers could  not,  in  justice  to  their  constituents,  nor 
consistently  with  the  honor  of  the  province,  give  up 
this  claim.  They  therefore  asked  a  reconsideration 
of  the  resolution  so  far  as  it  related  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  field-officers.  No  reply  having  been  received 
to  this  remonstrance,  a  second  letter  was  dispatched 
to  the  Continental  Congress  on  the  21st  of  October, 
expressing  anxiety  for  a  reply,  and  conveying  the 
assurance  that  "from  every  appearance  the  two  bat- 
talions will  speedily  be  completed"  if  the  purport  of 
the  letter  of  October  13th  were  acceded  to.  Without 
waiting  further  for  the  reply,  on  the  2(jth  of  October 
the  Provincial  Congress  passed  the  form  of  an  adver- 
tisement which  was  ordered  to  be  "  sent  to  the  press 
as  soon  as  possible,  and  that  two  hundred  copies  be 
printed  for  this  house,"  which  recites  the  resolution 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  and  announced  that 
warrants  should  be  issued  to  "  proper  persons  for  im- 
mediately raising  the  said  two  battalions,"  which,  it 
was  stipulated,  should  be  made  up  of  "  able-bodied 
freemen."  Elias  Dayton,  Azariah  Dunham,  Joseph 
Ellis,  or  John  Mchelm,  or  either  of  them,  were  ap- 
pointed muster-masters,  to  review  and  accept  the 
companies  and  "  to  certify  the  same  to  the  Provincial 
Congress,  or  in  its  recess  to  the  Committee  of  Safety." 
On  the  27th  of  October  a  letter  was  received  from  the 
Continental  Congress  saying  that  as  "  the  Congress 
are  waiting  the  return  of  the  committee  from  camp, 
in  order  to  establish  permanent  regulations  for  all 
Continental  forces  they  for  the  present  incline  to 
suspend  a  determination  on  the  question  about  the 
appointment  of  regimental  officers."  On  the  28th 
the  Provincial  Congress  recommended  field-officers  for 
the  two  battalions,  the  one  having  been  raised  in  the 
eastern  and  the  other  in  the  western  part  of  the 
province,  and  they  were  subsequently  appointed  by 
the  Continental  Congress.  On  November  10th  six 
companies  of  the  First  (or  Eastern)  Battalion  were 
ordered  to  garrison  the  fort  in  the  Highlands,  on  the 
Hudson  ;  on  the  27th  of  November  the  remainder  of 
the  battalions  were  ordered  into  barracks  near  New 
York,  and  on  December  8th  they  were  ordered  to  the 
city  of  New  York,  where  they  were  mustered  into  the 
Continental  Army  on  the  2t)th  of  December,  Lord 
Stirling  being  the  colonel  of  the  Eastern,  and  William 
Maxwell  of  the  Western  Battalion. 

The  Congress  among  other  matters  which  occupied 
their  attention  adopted  resolves  respecting  the  appre- 
hension of  deserters  from  the  Continental  troops, 
which  empowered  any  member  of  a  town  or  county 
committee  to  issue  his  order  to  tlie  commanding  offi- 


462 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


cer  of  any  company  of  militia  or  minute-men  in  such 
town  or  county,  requiring  him  to  send  one  or  more 
men  to  search  for  and  apprehend  such  deserter,  and 
to  confine  him  safely  till  he  can  be  conducted  to  the 
army  ;  but  if  the  party  denied  that  he  was  a  deserter, 
he  might  have  a  hearing  before  the  town  or  county 
committee,  which  should  be  convened  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  expenses  of  such  arrest,  confinement,  etc., 
were  to  be  paid  by  the  town  or  county  collectors  or 
treasurers,  and  the  accounts  sent  to  the  Provincial 
Congress  or  the  Committee  of  Safety,  to  be  by  them 
forwarded  to  the  Continental  Congress  for  reimburse- 
ment. All  the  inhabitants  of  the  colony  were  desired 
to  exert  them.selves  in  arresting  deserters,  and  were  i 
authorized  to  apprehend  them  without  waiting  for  ! 
any  order  from  any  committee.  i 

The  important  question  of  the  qualification  of  voters  1 
for  deputies  to  the  Provincial  Congress,  which  had  j 
been  the  subject  of  numerous  petitions  from  various 
parts  of  the  State,  but  especially  from  Hunterdon  and 
Sussex,  was  brought  up  in  the  Congress  by  the  depu- 
ties from  Salem  on  a  motion  "  that  as  soon  as  this 
session  is  ended  this  Congress  doth  jiissolve  itself,  in 
order  that  a  new  election  may  take  place  upon  more 
extensive  principles,  to  wit:  that  at  such  new  elec- 
tion some  householders  or  reputable  single  men  as 
are  possesaed  bonajideof  sl  personal  estate  to  the  value 
of  filty  pounds  proclamation  money,  or  upwards,  and  ' 
l);ive  been  resident  at  least  one  year  in  the  county,  | 
may  be  admitted  to  vote  with  those  that  are  freehold-  i 
ers."    The  consideration  of  this  motion  was  postponed 
until  Congress  should  "determine  the  petitions  from  ' 
the  counties  of  Hunterdon  and  Sussex,  praying  that 
householders  may  be  admitted  to  vote  at  future  elec- 
tions."    At  length,  "after  having  duly  weighed  and  ; 
considered,"  says   the  minute  in  the  records  of  the  | 
Congress,  "  the  several  arguments  for  and  against  the 
prayer  of  the  said  petitions,  and  also  the  above  mo- 
tion of  the  deputies  of  the  county  of  Salem  for  a  dis- 
solution of  this  Congress,  the  previous  question  was 
put  whether  this  Congress  shall  proceed  to  determine 
the  consideration  of  the  above  petitions  and  motion 
at  this  time  or  postpone  the  same  to  the  next  session,  i 
in  order  that  the  sense  ot  the  colony  in  general  may 
be  known."     The  resolution  to  postpone  was  carried, 
seven  counties  (Bergen,  Essex,  Somerset,  Monmouth, 
Burlington,  Gloucester,   and   Cape   May)   voting   to 
postpone,  and  six  counties  (Middlesex,  Morris,  Sus- 
sex,   Hunterdon,    Salem,    and    Cumberland)   voting 
against  postponement.     The  principle  we  may  anti- 
cipate here  by  observing  was  successful  in  the  next 
and  last  Provincial   Congress,  held  in   1776  (whose 
history  I  hope  to  comprise  in  a  future  paper),  and 
was  incorporiited  into  the  Constitution   which  they 
formed   and    under    which   our  State   was   governed 
until  1844. 

Among  the  latest  acts  of  this  active  and  important 
session  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  which  fairly 
launched  our  State  on  the  ocean  of  revolution,  was  i 


the  appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Safety  "to  act 
for  the  public  welfare  of  this  colony  in  the  recess  of 
this  Congress,"  for  which  position  the  following  gen- 
tlemen were  chosen:  Mr.  President,  Samuel  Tucker, 
of  Hunterdon;  Mr.  Vice-President,  Hendrick  Fisher, 
of  Somerset;  John  Hart,  of  Hunterdon;  Abraham 
Clark  and  Lewis  Ogden,  of  Essex  ;  Joseph  Holmes, 
of  Monmouth  ;  John  Mehelm  and  Augustine  Steven- 
son, of  Hunterdon  ;  Isaac  Pearson  and  John  Pope,  of 
Burlington  ;  Azariah  Dunham  and  John  Dennis,  of 
Middlesex  ;  and  Ruloff  Van  Dyke,  of  Somerset.  The 
Congress  of  1775  then  adjourned  to  meet  at  New 
Brunswick  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  April,  1776,  unless 
sooner  convened  by  the  president  or  vice-president 
or  the  Committee  of  Safety.  Thus  closed  the  final 
session  of  the  Provincial  Congress  of  1775. 


CHAPTER    LXV. 

MIDDLESEX    COUNTY    IN    THE    REVOLUTION.— 
(ContiiKied.) 

Council  of  Safety. — Before  taking  up  the  proceed- 
ings of  Provincial  Congress  for  the  year  1776,  it  will  be 
well  to  notice  "  The  Committee  of  Safety"  authorized 
by  that  body  to  act  during  the  recess  of  its  meetings. 
"This  committee,"  says  Mr.  Deshler,  "in  etfect  con- 
stituted a  practical  dictatorship,  residing  not  in  one 
man,  indeed,  but  in  a  majority  vote  of  eleven  or  more 
persons,  who  were  appointed  by  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress from  time  to  time.  Its  members  were  invariably 
chosen  by  the  deputies  to  the  Provincial  Congress 
from  among  their  own  number,  and  were  men  upon 
whom  they  could  rely  for  courage,  prudence,  firm- 
ness, activity,  and  sagacity.  They  exercised,  as  a 
committee,  all  the  powers  intrusted  to  or  assumed  by 
the  Provincial  Congress  save  that  of  legislation. 
They  conducted  all  the  correspondence  and  confer- 
ences with  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  Provin- 
cial Congresses  of  the  other  colonies.  They  gave 
orders  for  the  arrest  of  suspicious  or  disaffected  per- 
sons. They  tried  and  acquitted,  or  condemned  to 
imprisonment  or  detention,  men  who  were  charged 
with  disloyalty  or  acting  in  concert  with  or  giving 
information  to  the  enemy.  They  kept  expresses  in 
constant  readiness  to  forward  intelligence  with  all 
speed.  They  appropriated  public  moneys,  commis- 
sioned officers  in  the  militia  or  the  corps  of  minute- 
men,  held  prisoners  of  war,  settled  controversies  be- 
tween officers,  civil  and  military,  acted  as  a  court  of 
admiralty,  confiscated  the  property  of  those  who 
aided  and  abetted  the  public  enemy,  took  order  for 
the  general  security  of  the  province  and  for  its  de- 
fense, and,  in  fine,  they  were  the  executive  branch 
of  the  government,  as  the  representatives  of  the  power 
and  authority  of  the  Provincial  Congress  during  its 
recess,  all  which  they  exercised  with  an  ability  and 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN  THE  REVOLUTION. 


463 


integrity  that  has  never  been  impeached  till  they 
were  superseded  in  October,  1776,  by  the  first  Legis- 
lature under  the  new  State  constitution  (adopted 
July  2,  1776),  which  invested  the  Governor  and  a 
Council  of  twenty  members  with  certain  powers  for  a 
limited  time,  under  the  title  of  "  The  Governor  and 
Council  of  Safety." 

The  Committee  of  Safety  met  during  the  recess  of 
Provincial  Congress  at  Princeton  on  Jan.  9,  1776. 
There  not  being  a  quorum  present,  they  adjourned  to 
the  10th  of  January,  at  which  meeting  there  were 
present  Samuel  Tucker,  president;  Hendrick  Fisher, 
vice-president ;  Abraham  Clark,  deputy  secretary ; 
Azariah  Dunham,  Roelef  Van  Dyke,  John  Dennis, 
Augustine  Stephenson,  and  John  Pope. 

"  The  president  laid  before  the  committee  a  letter 
from  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New  York,  inclosing 
resolutions  of  the  Continental  Congress  and  the  Con- 
gress of  New  York  relative  to  establishing  posts  at 
proper  distances,  to  carry  intelligence  to  the  different 
parts  of  the  colon)-  or  elsewhere,  as  occasion  may  re- 
quire, and  for  erecting  beacons  at  proper  distances, 
which  the  Congress  of  New  York  recommended  to 
the  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  which  letter  and  re- 
solves were  read  in  the  committee,  who  after  duly 
considering  the  .same  approve  of  the  expediency  of 
establishing  post^ as  aforesaid;  therefore, 

"  R/'solced,  That  a  man  and  horse  be  kept  in  cont^tant  readiness  by  each 
of  the  several    committees  of  Newark,  Elizabeth  Town,  Woodbridge, 
New  Brunswick,  Princeton,  and  Trenton,  whose  business  it  shall  be-  to 
forwanl  uU  expresses  to  and  froiu  the  Continental  Congre'^8.   And  that    I 
the  aforesaid  Town  Cominittee  shall,  on  every  intelligence  of  any  inva- 
sion or  alami,  send  expresses  to  the  neighboring  town  couimittees,  who 
are  directed  to  provide  expresses  to  forward  the  satiie  from  town  to  town,    1 
to  the  Town  Committees,  and  to  such  officers  of  the  militia  as  they  may 
think  proper  to  ntttify  thereof  throughout  the  colony,  with  as  niucli  ex- 
pedition as  may  be  in  their  power.     And  that  all  the  expenses  incuned 
by  such  expresses,  the  treasurer  of  this  colony,  appointed  by  Provincial 
Congress,  or  either  of  them,  are  hereby  required   to  pay  on  order  or 
orders,  signed  by  the  chairman  of  either  of  the  ommiltees  of  the  town-    I 
ship  in  this  colony.     Which  orders,  with  indorsements  thereon  by  the 
person  or  persona  to  whom  thesame  are  made  payable,  shall  be  sufficient   i 
Touchers  to  the  said  tieasurers,  or  either  ot  them,  fur  such  sums  of 
money  as  they,  or  either  of  them,  may  pay  thereon  as  aforesaid." 

i 

In  the  minutes  of  the  committee  at  this  date  ap- 
pears a  recommendation  from  Lord  Stirling  tliat 
Matthias  Halsted,  of  Elizabethtown,  be  made  first 
lieutenant,  and  Yelles  Mead  ensign,  in  Capt.  Meeker's 
company.  The  committee  of  Woodbridge  sent  in  two 
recommendations,  one  recommending  .lames  Bonny 
as  captain,  James  Manning  as  first  lieutenant,  David 
Crow  as  second  lieutenant,  and  John  as  ensign  of  a 
company  of  militia  in  that  town  ;  the  other  recom- 
mending Elias  Barron  as  captain,  Rolph  Marsh  first 
lieutenant,  Matthew  Freeman  second  lieutenant,  and 
Jonathan  Bloomfield  ensign  of  another  company  in 
Woodbridge.     All  were  commissioned. 

A  certificate  was  produced  from  the  chairman  of  the 
committee  of  the  North  Ward  of  New  Brunswick,  cer- 
tifying that  John  Taylor  was  elected  captain,  Jacob 
Measural,  first  lieutenant,  James  Schureman,  second 
lieutenant,  and  John  Voorhees,  Jr.,  ensign  of  a  com- 


pany of  minute-men  in  Col.  Neilson's  battalion.  They 
were  ordered  commissioned  accordingly.  Notwith- 
standing the  extraordinary  powers  exercised  by  this 
committee,  they  refused  to  stretch  their  authority  be- 
yond proper  limits  or  what  they  conceived  to  be  for  the 
good  of  the  colony.  One  remarkable  instance  of  this 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  they  declined  to  issue  commis- 
sions on  recruiting  warrants  for  the  raising  of  the  new 
battalion  of  Jersey  troops  called  for  by  the  Continental 
Congress,  "  being,"  as  they  say,  "  persuaded  that  the 
appointment  of  oflScers  by  the  Congress  will  give 
much  greater  satisfaction  to  the  colony  than  if  ap- 
pointed by  the  committee."  At  the  same  time  they 
"recommended  Azariah  Dunham,  Esq.,  to  be  ap- 
pointed commissary  for  supplying  such  battalion  ' 
when  raised."  It  was  the  urgent  responsibility  of 
raising  this  battalion  which  they  did  not  like  them- 
selves to  assume  that  induced  them  to  convene  the 
Provincial  Congress  before  the  time  appointed,  to 
which  the  Congress  had  adjourned  at  its  last  session 
the  previous  year.  There  were  also  other  important 
matters,  such  as  establishing  a  Court  of  Admiralty, 
issuing  regulations  for  the  Continental  forces,  and 
enacting  civil  and  military  ordinances,  which  required 
the  early  meeting  of  the  Provincial  Congress.  Hence 
the  committee  at  their  meeting,  Jan.  12,  1776,  agreed 
to  call  the  Congress  to  meet  at  New  Brunswick  on 
Wednesday,  the  31st  day  of  January,  then  instant. 

Provmcial  Congress  of  1776.— The  Provincial 
Congress  of  1776  met  accordingly;  there  not  being  a 
quorum  present  they  adjourned  till  the  first  day  of 
February,  at  nine  o'clock  a.m.,  and  still  a  quorum 
not  having  arrived,  adjournment  was  had  till  two 
o'clock  P.M. 

The  minutes  of  the  Provincial  Congress  for  the 
preceding  year,  together  With  the  military  ordinance, 
had  been  in  the  mean  time  printed,  and  were  ordered 
distributed  in  the  several  counties  as  follows: 

Minutes,     '""'•f'^' 

To  Bergen  County 66  ;^3 

Essex  C.Minty 74  37 

Middlesex  County 87  4;j 

Somerset  County 90  45 

MiMiniiiulli  County _ lOB  53 

Morels  Canity 72  36 

Sussex  County 59  30 

Hnulenlon  (;oniity 136  68 

Bnrlingtiui  County  Iii7  53 

O ester  Cunty    76  38 

Saleni  County 67  33 

Cnniberlanil  County 38  19 

Cape  May  County 16  8 

Petitions  were  sent  from  the  people  of  Essex  and 
Somerset  Counties,  praying  that  householders  not  free- 
holders and  all  persons  paying  taxes  be  allowed  to 
vote,  and  also  that  money  at  interest  and  other  eflects 
bear  an  equal  proportion  of  the  taxe^s. 

The  meetings  of  the  Congress  during  the  early  part 
of  the  year  were  occupied  chiefly  with  military  affairs. 
Little  had  been  done  as  yet  towards  raising  and  equip- 
ping an  army.  Lieut.-Col.  Wind's  regiment  was  sta- 
tioned at  Perth  Amboy,  but  was  destitute  of  ammu- 
uition.   Somerset  and  Middlesex  Counties  temporarily 


464 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


supplied  him,  the  former  with  "  four  quarter-casks  of 
powder,"  and  the  latter  with  "  150  pounds  of  lead," 
which  the  Congress  agreed  should  be  replaced  at 
"some  convenient  time."  Col.  Maxwell  had  been 
ordered  to  march  with  the  Eastern  Battalion  to  Can- 
ada to  assist  our  forces,  who  had  been  defeated  at 
Quebec,  and  had  been  awaiting  the  meeting  of  Pro- 
vincial Congress  to  secure  the  necessary  assistance 
to  put  his  battalion  in  marching  order.  They  had 
neither  arms,  ammunition,  nor  equipments  of  any 
kind. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  Col.  Maxwell  came  to  New 
Brunswick,  with  his  marching  orders  from  Conti- 
nental Congress,  and  laid  them  before  the  Congress 
'of  New  Jersey.  They  were  read  and  filed,  and  the 
following  action  taken  thereon  : 

"  Wheebas  the  Continental  Congress  have  ordered  Colonel  Maxwell's 
battalion  to  March  to  Canada,  as  soun  aa  the  men  can  be  fnrnished  with 
arms,  and  other  articles  absolutely  essential ;  and  whereas  arms  are  ex- 
tremely scarce,  and  indeed  impossible  to  be  procnred  in  time  for  the 
equipment  of  the  said  battalion,  without  making  application  to  the  sev- 
eral counties  in  this  province, 

"  Beeolved^  That  th«!  Committees  or  other  public  bodies  in  whose  tiands 
any  of  the  New  Jel-sey  provincial  arms  and  accoutrements  are  deposited, 
do  deliver  the  same  to  the  commanding  officer  of  said  battalion,  or  his 
order;  of  whom  they  are  required  to  take  vouciiers,  with  the  valuation 
of  said  arms,  &c.,  there  underwritten;  and  that  this  Congress  will  either 
immediately  pay  for  said  arms,  agreeable  to  appointment,  or  replace 
them  aflsoon  as  possible,  whichever  the  said  Committees,  or  public  bodies, 
shall  think  most  proper." 

The  Congress,  determined  to  raise  all  the  arms  it 
could  in  this  way,  addressed,  through  its  president, 
the  commanding  officers  and  chairmen  of  the  county 
committees  in  the  province: 

"  Gentlemen : 

"The  late  repulse  at  Quebec  requires  every  exertion  of  the  friends  of 
American  freedom,  in  consequeiice  whereof  Colonel  MaxwelPs  battalion 
is  ordered  to  march  forthwith,  and  the  Continental  Congress  have  ap- 
plied to  our  body,  urging  the  greatest  dispatch  iu  procuring  arms  and 
necessaries  for  their  expedition.  Therefore,  in  pursuance  of  the  aforesaid 
application,  we  request  you,  gentlemen,  to  use  the  utmost  diligence  and 
activity  in  collecting  all  the  public  arms  belonging  to  your  county,  l>eing 
your  proportion  of  the  provincial  arms  unsold.  Dispatch  in  this  case  is 
quite  necessary,  as  no  doubt  the  arms  are  distributed  in  the  hands  of  the 
associfltors;  it  will  be  necessary  for  every  officer  to  do  his  part.  The 
value  of  the  arms  will  be  paid  in  money,  or  the  number  be  replaced; 
and  the  expenses  of  collecting  and  forwarding  them  punctually  dis- 
charged. We  put  you  to  this  trouble  with  regret;  but  the  necessity  of 
the  measure  must  apologize.  You  will  have  the  arms  collected  in  your 
county,  valued  by  good  men,  and  sent  to  Burlington  or  Trenton  under 
the  cjire  of  such  officers  of  Colonel  Maxwell's  battaliou  as  may  be  the 
beater  hereof." 

Part  of  the  arms  for  Col.  Maxwell's  battalion  were 
furnished  by  the  people  of  Middlesex  County,  as  we 
learn  from  the  following  minute  of  Feb.  8,  1776: 

"  The  resolution  of  the  justices  and  freeholders,  county  committee,  and 
field-officers  of  Middlesex,  purporting  that  they  would  furnish  Colonel 
Maxwell's  battalion  with  fifty  stand  of  arms,  etc.,  was  read  ;  whereupon 
it  is  ordered  that  Mr.  Martin,  Mr.  Camp,  and  Mr.  Pope  be  a  committee 
to  inspect  said  arms  and  to  report  thereon." 

We  learn  also  that  some  of  the  arms  for  Maxwell's 
battalion  were  purchased  by  John  Posee,  Esq.,  who 
was  ordered  to  give  them  up  to  Col.  William  Max- 
well, or  his  order,  Jan.  13,  1776.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  this  year  one  hundred  stand  of  arms  were 
borrowed  from  the  province  of  New  York. 


On  requisition  from  Lord  Stirling,  the  committee 
of  Elizabethtown  furnished  him  with  six  thousand 
cartridges,  Somerset  County  with  four  quarter-casks 
of  powder,  Woodbridge  with  a  considerable  quantity 
of  the  same,  and  New  Brunswick  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  weight  of  lead. 

John  Dennis,  Esq.,  laid  before  this  Congress  an  ap- 
praisement of  the  blankets  in  the  barracks  in  New 
Brunswick  by  John  Schureman  and  William  Apple- 
gate,  which  is  in  the  words  following : 

"  New  Brunswick,  Feb.  6,  1776. 
'*  In  pursuance  to  order  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  directed  to  us  the 
subscribers  for  appraising  all  the  blankets  in  the  barracks  at  New  Bi-uns- 
wick,  we  find  as  follows : 

62  blankets,  which  we  value  at  16« £46  KX.  nd. 

23  "  "  "    12« 13  I6«.  Od. 

6  "  "  "    7«.  6d 1  17«.  6d. 

Proclamation £62  3s.  6d 

"John  Scuurman. 
"  William  Atpleqate. 
"  To  John  Dennis,  Esq." 

The  new  battalion  called  for  should  consist  of  eight 
companies,  and  each  company  of  seventy-eight  pri- 
vates, and  officered  by  one  captain,  two  lieutenants, 
one  ensign,  four  sergeants,  and  four  corporals.  The 
plan  for  raising  the  troops  was  reported  by  Hendrick 
Fisher,  chairman  of  the  committee.  It  provided  that 
the  officers  be  immediately  recommended  for  commis- 
sions ;  that  the  captains  and  subalterns  be  appointed, 
and  warrants  issued  to  them  to  enlist  the  neces.sary 
complement  of  men.  None  but  healthy,  sound,  and 
able-bodied  freemen,  none  under  sixteen  years  of  age, 
no  apprentice  without  the  consent  of  master  or  mistress 
could  be  recruited  ;  parents  or  guardians  could  secure 
the  discharge  of  an  enlisted  minor  by  applying  to  the 
officer  within  twenty-four  hours  after  enrollment,  re- 
funding the  money  or  necessaries  with  which  the  re- 
cruit had  been  supplied,  or  paying  an  equivalent 
therefor.  The  pay  and  subsistence  of  the  soldiers 
was  determined  by  general  ordinance  of  Continental 
Congress.  The  prescribed  oath  of  enlistment  was  in 
the  following  words : 

"  I,  A.  B.,  have  this  day  enlisted  myself  as  a  soldier  in  the  American 
Continental  Army  for  one  year  unless  sooner  discharged;  and  do  bind 
myself  to  conform  in  all  instances  to  such  rules  and  regulations  as  are 
or  shall  be  established  for  the  government  of  the  said  army.  So  help 
me  God  1" 

For  the  purpose  of  raising  the  companies  of  this 
battalion  and  seeing  that  the  captains  properly  exe- 
cuted their  warrants,  Azariah  Dunham,  of  Middle- 
sex, John  Mehelm,  of  Hunterdon,  Joseph  Ellis,  of 
Gloucester,  and  Edmond  Thomas  were  appointed  by 
the  Provincial  Congress  muster-masters,  to  review  the 
said  companies  and  administer  the  requisite  oath  to 
the  captains,  said  oath  being  in  the  words  following, 
to  wit : 

"  I,  A.  B.,  do  solemnly  swear  that  all  the  men  whose  names  are  en- 
tered in  the  muster-roll  by  me  produced  are  truly  and  bmtajide  enlisted, 
and  so  far  as  T  know  or  believe  intend  going  iu  the  service  of  the  United 
Colonies  in  the  Third  Battalion  raised  or  raising  in  this  colony.  '  So  help 
me  God  !• " 


MIDDLESEX   COUNTY  IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 


465 


Upon  the  certificate  of  the  muster-master  attached 
to  the  back  of  the  muster-roll  of  each  company,  and 
presented  to  Provincial  Congress,  or  in  its  recess  to 
the  committee  of  safety,  the  commissions  of  the  offi- 
cers were  issued. 

The  following  were  the  officers  named  and  commis- 
sioned :  Elias  Dayton,  colonel;  Anthony  Walton 
White,  lieutenant-colonel ;  Francis  Barber,  major. 

Samuel  Potter,  captain ;  Kinear  Blanchard,  first 
lieutenant;  Josiah  Quimby,  second  lieutenant:  Cor- 
nelius Hennion,  ensign. 

Thomas  Patterson,  captain  ;  John  Mott,  first  lieu- 
tehant;  William  McDaniel,  Jr.,  second  lieutenant; 
Edward  Patterson,  ensign. 

John  Ross,  captain  ;  Edward  McMichael,  first  lieu- 
tenant; Richard  Cox,  Jr.,  second  lieutenant;  Thomas 
Coachey,  ensign. 

William  Eugene  Imlay,  captain  ;  Eichard  Lloyd, 
first  lieutenant;  Daniel  Pierson,  second  lieutenant; 
Edgar  Ganlidet,  ensign. 

Peter  Dickinson,  captain  ;  Stephen  Dunham,  first 
lieutenant;  DavidTuttle, second  lieutenant ;  William 
Tenbrook,  ensign. 

Thomas  Reading,  captain ;  John  Anderson,  first 
lieutenant;  Ralph  Guild,  second  lieutenant;  John 
Hagan,  ensign. 

Joseph  Bloomfield,  captain ;  Joseph  Seely,  first 
lieutenant;  William  Giffbrd, second  lieutenant;  Eben- 
ezer  Elmer,  ensign. 

Anthony  Sharp,  captain ;  Samuel  Flanagan,  first 
lieutenant;  Samuel  Hazlett,  second  lieutenant;  Na- 
thaniel Leonard,  Jr.,  ensign. 

The  Committee  of  Safety  of  New  York,  Feb.  12, 
1776,  sent  a  requisition  to  the  Provincial  Congress  of 
New  Jersey  for  troops  to  prevent  the  British  from 
landing  on  Staten  Island.  The  Congress  unanimously 
resolved  that  a  detachment  of  volunteers,  consisting 
of  three  hundred  militia  of  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
three  hundred  of  the  militia  of  the  county  of  Essex, 
and  one  hundred  of  the  militia  of  the  county  of  Som- 
erset, be  ordered  immediately  to  march  to  Staten 
Island,  under  the  command  of  Col.  Nathaniel  Heard, 
Lieut.-Col.  Edward  Thomas,  and  Maj.  John  Dunn, 
to  prevent  the  enemy  from  landing  on  the  said  island, 
and  carrying  oft"  live-stock  and  provisions.  They 
were  to  remain  on  the  island  until  further  orders,  and 
Azariah  Dunham,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  appointed 
commissary  to  supply  them  with  provisions  and  other 
necessaries. 

The  ordinance  of  Oct.  28,  1775,  appointing  com- 
missioners to  purchase  fire-arms  and  military  stores, 
restricted  them  to  a  certain  prescribed  price.  This 
was  found  to  be  a  hindrance,  and  was  repealed  Feb. 
10,  1776,  it  being  "  unanimously  voted  that  the  said 
commissioners  proceed  in  the  purchase  of  fire-arms 
upon  the  best  terms  in  their  power,  without  any  lim- 
itation or  restriction,  and  that  this  Congress  will  in 
convenient  time  pass  an  ordinance  for  that  purpose." 

This  ordinance  was  the  first  among  ten  passed  at 


I  the  session  in  New  Brunswick  in  February  and  March, 
I  1776.  The  entire  list  of  ordinances  passed  at  this 
j  session  is  as  follows : 

I       "An  Ordinance  Directing  the 

I   ation  by  persons  of  tender  coiisc 

for  amending  the  militia  ordin 


ice  fur  exempting  persons  who  enlist  in  the  serrice  of  the 
I  from  arrest." 

nee  for  striking  the  sum  of  fifty  thousand  pounds,  fire 
i  of  credit,  for  the  purpose  therein  mentioned,  and  di- 


er  of  signing  the  General  Assoc!- 
and  enforcing  the  same,  and  also 
passed  at  the  last  session  of  this 
Congress.*" 

"An  Ordin 
united  coluni 

"An  Ordinal 
shillings,  in  bi! 
reeling  the  manner  of  sinking  the  same." 

"  An  Ordinance  to  prevent  persons  deserting  places  in  danger  of  being 
attacked,  and  for  restraining  such  as  are  dangerous  to  the  common  causa 
from  taking  refuge  in  this  colony." 

"An  Ordinance  for  directing  the  mode  and  fixing  the  time  for  the 
election  of  deputies  to  serve  in  Provincial  Congress  for  this  colony,  and 
also  to  ascertain  the  qualification  of  electors." 

"An  Ordinance  for  raising  two  Artillery  Companies  in  New  Jersey, 
and  providing  for  their  pay  and  subsistence." 

"An  Ordinance  for  paying  a  bounty  on  saltpetre  and  common  salt, 
manufactured  in  New  Jersey,  and  for  purchasing  saltpetre." 

"An  Ordinance  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  incidental  charges." 

Among  the  items  provided  for  in  the  last-named 
ordinance  are  such  as  the  following: 

"  To  each  of  the  muster-masters  of  this  colony  the  sum  of  twenty-five 
shillings  for  every  company  he  has  reviewed  or  shall  review  by  order  of 
this  Congress. 

"  To  the  door-keeper  the  sum  of  five  shillings  per  diem  for  each  day 
that  he  hath  or  shall  attend  this  Congress. 

"To  Myndert  Voorhees  the  sum  of  fifteen  pounds  for  firewood  and 
candles,  and  for  the  use  of  his  large  loom  during  the  present  sitting  of 
this  Congress. 

"To  John  Carey,  Esq.,  as  a  recompense  for  his  services  as  secretary 
during  the  last  sitting  of  this  Congress  at  Trenton,  and  for  revising  and 
copying  the  minutes  tor  the  press,  the  sum  of  eleven  pounds  four  shill- 
ings proclamation  money. 

"  To  Dr.  Moses  Scott  the  sum  of  one  pound  sixteen  shillings  and  three 
pence,  in  full  of  his  account  for  attending  certain  sick  soldiers  in  New 
Brunswick. 

"To  Robert  Drummond,  Esq.,  the  sum  of  nine  pounds  three  shillings 
and  four  pence,  in  full  of  his  account  for  removing  the  treasury  and 
records  in  the  secretary's  office  at  Perth  Amboy  to  New  Brunswick. 


"To  John  Dennis,  Esq.,  the  sum  of  i 
three  pence  for  sundry  expenditures 

"To  Elias  Cook,  Esq.,  the  sum  of 
pence,  in  full  of  his  account  for  rem 
general's  office  at  Perth  Ambi.y  to  Ni 

"To  Azariah  Dunham,  Esq.,  the  si 


I  pounds  eight  shillings  and 


nd  eight 
urveyor- 


}  per 

le  pound  six  shillings  i 

•ing  the  records  in  the  i 

V  Brunswick. 

II  of  two  pounds  for  his  expenses 
in  going  to  and  returning  from  Philadelphia  on  a  message  to  the  Hon. 
Continental  Congress. 

"To  Abraham  Clark,  Esq.,  for  copying  and  correcting  the  minutes  and 
ordinances  of  this  session  for  the  press,  such  sum  as  Azariah  Dunham 
and  John  Dennis,  Esqs.,  shall  agree  to  be  paid  for  that  service." 

The  first  election  held  under  the  ordinance  extend- 
ing the  right  of  franchise  to  all  persons  of  full  age, 
whether  freeholders  or  not,  who  had  resided  one  year 
in  the  county,  and  was  worth  fifty  pounds  proclama- 
tion money  in  personal  estate,  and  had  signed  the 
articles  of  association,  took  place  on  the  fourth  Mon- 
day in  May,  1776.  The  names  of  the  deputies  chosen 
were  the  following,  with  the  names  of  their  respective 
counties : 

Bergen. — John  Demarest,  Jacobus  Post,  John  Van 
Boskirk,  Jacob  Quackenbush,  Daniel  Isaac  Brown. 

Eksex. — Stephen  Crane,  Abraham  Clark,  Lewis  Og- 
den,  Caleb  Camp,  Robert  Drummond. 

Morris. — Silas  Condict,  Jacob  Drake,  Elias  Cook, 
William  Woodhull,  Jacob  Green. 


466 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Stisfex. — Ephraini  Martin,  Casper  Shaver  (Shafer), 
Thomas  Potts,  Isaac  Van  Campen,  John  Cleves 
Symmes. 

Somerset.- — Frederick  Frelinghuysen,  William  Pat- 
erson,  John  Witherspoon,  Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh, 
James  Linn. 

Middlesex.  —  Moses  Bloomfield,  John  Wetherill, 
John  Dunn.  .Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  John  Combs. 

Monmniifli. — Edward  Taylor,  John  Covenhoven, 
Joseph  Holmes,  James  Mott,  Josiah  Holmes. 

Hunterdon.  —  Philemon  Dickerson,  John  Allen, 
Samuel  Tucker,  .John  Hart,  John  Mehelm. 

Burlington. — Peter  Tall  man,  Thomas  Reynolds, 
Thomas  Fennimore,  Charles  Read,  Caleb  Shreve. 

Olouce.^ter. — John  Sparks,  John  Cooper,  Elijah 
Clark,  Joseph  Hugg,  Joseph  Ellis. 

Salem. — Andrew  Sinnickson,  John  Holme,  Joseph 
Shinn,  Whitten  Crips,  Samuel  Dick. 

Cumberland. — Theophilus  Elmer,  Jonathan  Ayers, 
Ephraim  Harris,  John  Buck,  Jonathan  Bowen. 

Cape  May. — Elijah  Hughes,  Jesse  Hand,  Thomas 
Learning,  Jr.,  Joseph  Savage,  Hugh  Hathorn. 

This  body  of  men  composed  the  Congress  which 
convened  at  Burlington  on  Monday,  June  10,  1776, 
and  continued  by  adjournments  to  Trenton  and  New 
Brunswick  to  hold  its  sessions  until  the  21st  of  Au- 
gust following.  The  most  important  acts  of  this 
Congress  were  the  deposing  of  Governor  Franklin 
and  the  adoption  of  the  first  constitution  of  New 
Jersey.  The  series  of  resolutions  touching  the  case 
of  Governor  Franklin  was  begun  liy  the  introduction 
of  the  following  on  Friday,  June  14,  1776  : 

.  "1.  ReBnhed,  That  in  the  upioion  of  this  Congress  the  proclamation 
of  William  Franklin,  Esquire,  late  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  bearing  date 
on  the  thirtieth  dny  of  May  last,  in  the  name  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain, 
appointing  a  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  to  be  held  on  the  twen- 
tieth of  this  instant,  June,  ought  not  to  be  obeyed." 

The  above  resolution  passed  as  follows : 
Yeas,  38.— Mr.  A.  Clark,  Mr.  Coudict,  Mr.  Drake, 
Mr.  Cook,  Mr.  WoodhuU,  Mr.  Green,  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen, Mr.  Paterson,  Dr.  Witherspoon,  Mr.  Harden- 
bergh, Mr.  Linn,  Mr.  Hart,  Mr.  Mehelm,  Mr.  Coven- 
hoven, Mr.  Mott,  Mr.  Sparks,  Mr.  Cooper,  Mr.  E. 
Clark,  Mr.  Hugg,  Mr.  Ellis,  Mr.  Elmer,  Mr.  Ayers, 
Mr.  Harris,  Mr.  Bowen,  Mr.  Hand,  Mr.  Leaming, 
Mr.  Hathorn,  Dr.  Bloomfield,  Mr.  Wetherill,  Mr. 
Dunn,  Mr.  Sergeant,  Mr.  Combs,  Mr.  Martin,  Mr. 
Shaver,  Mr.  Van  Campen,  Mr.  Symmes,  Mr.  Sinnick- 
son, Mr.  John  Holme. 

Naijs,  11. — Mr.  Drummond,  Mr.  Dickinson,  Mr. 
Allen,  Mr.  Joseph  Holmes,  Mr.  Hughes,  Mr.  Sav- 
age, Mr.  Demarest,  Mr.  Post,  Mr.  Van  Boskirk,  Mr. 
Brown,  Mr.  Potts. 

It  will  be  seen  that  all  the  members  from  Middle- 
sex voted  in  the  affirmative. 

The  discussion  and  passage  of  this  resolution  occu- 
pied all  day  Friday,  from  8  o'clock  a.m.  to  the  hour 
of  adjournment.  The  first  thing  on  reconvening  at 
8  A.M.  on  Saturday  was  the  reading  of  a  petition  of 


sundry  inhabitants  of  the  North  Ward  of  the  city  of 

Perth  Amboy  and  inhabitants  of  the  township  of 
Shrewsbury,  in  Monmouth  County,  praying  that  the 
government  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  may  not 
be  changed.  A  respectful  hearing  was  given  to  these 
petitions,  but  they  did  not  affect  in  the  least  the  action 
of  the  Congress.  Resolution  No.  2  was  then  intro- 
duced, viz.  : 

"2.  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress,  the  said  William 
Franklin,  Esquire,  by  such  proclamation  has  acted  in  direct  contempt 
and  violation  of  the  resolve  of  the  Continental  Congress  of  the  tifteenth 
day  of  May  last." 

The  vote  on  this  resolution  being  taken,  stood  as 
follows : 

Yeas. — A.  Clark,  Condict,  Drake,  Cook,  Woodhull 
Oie^'n,  Frelinghuysen,  Paterson,  Witherspoon,  Har 
deubcrgh,  Linn,  Hart,  Mehelm,  Covenhoven,  Mott 
Josiah  Holmes,  Elijah  Clark,  Sparks,  Cooper,  Hugg 
Ellis,  Elmer,  Harris,  Bowen,  Hand,  Leaming,  Ha^ 
thorn,  Bloomfield,  Wetherill,  Dunn,  Sergeant,  Combs 
Demarest,  Post,  Quackenbush,  Martin,  Shaver,  Van 
Campen,  Symmes,  Sinnickson,  Holme,  41 — a  gain  of 
three  over  the  last  vote  on  the  affirmative,  Messrs. 
Demarest  and  Post  changing  their  votes  from  the 
negative,  Mr.  Ayers  not  voting,  and  Mr.  Quacken- 
bush and  Josiah  Holmes  being  new  members. 

Nays. — Drummond,  Dickinson,  Allen,  Jos.  Holmes, 
Hughes,  Savage,  Van  Boskirk,  Brown,  Potts,  Taylor, 
the  latter  being  the  member  from  Monmouth  not 
present  when  the  first  vote  was  taken,  or  at  least  not 
recorded  among  the  first  voters.  It  is  probable  that 
this  member  came  in  on  Saturday,  bringing  the  peti- 
tion against  the  change  of  the  government,  signed  by 
numerous  citizens  of  his  county,  and  that  he  was 
pledged  to  his  constituents  to  vote  against  the  cen- 
sure and  removal  of  Franklin  ;  at  all  events,  he  voted 
in  that  way  upon  the  s^ond,  third,  and  fourth  reso- 
lutions. The  following  are  the  two  other  resolutions 
adopted  by  the  Congress : 

"3.  Resolved,  Tliat  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  the  said  William 
Franklin,  Esquire,  has  discovered  himself  to  be  an  enemy  to  the  liber- 
ties of  this  country,  and  that  measures  ought  to  be  immediately  taken 
for  securing  the  person  of  the  said  Wiliiani  Franklin,  Esquire." 

The  yeas  and  nays  on  this  resolution  were  the  same 
as  on  the  last,  except  that  Savage  voted  in  the  affir- 
mative and  Post  in  the  negative,  the  numbers  being 
still  the  same  on  both  sides. 

"4.  i?e8o/red,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Congress  all  payment  of  money 
on  account  of  salary  or  otherwise  to  the  said  William  Franklin,  ¥»■ 
quire,  as  Governor,  ought  from  henceforth  to  cease ;  and  that  the  treaa- 
urersof  this  province  shall  account  for  the  money  in  their  hands  to  this 
Congress,  or  to  the  future  Legislature  of  this  Colony." 

On  taking  the  vote  upon  this  last  resolution  it  was 
found  that  the  nays  had  diminished  to  three,  viz.  : 
Allen,  Brown,  and  Potts. 

It  is  evident  from  the  wording  of  the  last  resolu- 
tion that  the  members  of  the  Congress  considered 
their  mission  only  provisional.  They  had  assumed 
extraordinary  powers,  the  exercise  of  the  functions 
of  government  while  a  government   authorized   by 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


467 


the  king  existed,  and  resistance  to  which  was  high  i 
treason,  for  which  every  one  of  them  would  have 
suffered  death  in  the  event  of  failure.  But  they 
made  it  high  treason  to  resist  their  government, 
which  they  put  in  place  of  that  of  the  king  and  his 
loyal  representative,  "  William  Franklin,  Esq."  It  ■ 
is  evident  that  they  only  regarded  their  work  as  that 
of  providing  for  the  exigencies  of  the  colony  until  a 
constitution  and  better  system  of  government  could 
be  adopted.  Hence  they  speak  of  "  the  future  Leg- 
islature of  this  Colony"  in  anticipation  of  the  work 
that  was  to  be  accomplished  in  less  than  three  weeks 
from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  these  resolutions. 

The  resolutions  were  carried  into  effect  under  the 
following  order,  approved  June  15,  1776: 

"Retolved,  That  the  following  order  do  issue  to  Colonel  NiUliauiel 
Heard,  of  the  first  Baltalion  of  Middlesex  County: 

*'  The  Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  reposing  great  confidence 
in  your  zeal  and  prudence,  have  thought  tit  to  entrust  to  your  care  the 
execution  of  the  enclosed  resolves.  It  is  the  desire  of  Congress  tlntt 
.this  necessary  bnsinesa  he  conducted  with  all  the  delicacy  and  tender- 
nees  which  the  nature  of  the  husiness  can  possibly  admit.  For  this  end 
you  will  find  among  the  papers  the  form  of  a  written  parole,  in  which 
there  is  left  a  Mank  space  for  you  to  fill  up,  at  the  choice  of  Mr.  Frank- 
lin, with  the  name  of  Princeton.  Bordeutown,  or  his  own  farm  at  Ran- 
cocus.  When  he  shall  have  signed  the  parole,  the  Congress  will  rely 
upon  his  honour  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  engagements;  but 
should  he  refuse  to  sign  the  parole,  you  are  desired  to  put  hini  under 
stning  guard,  and  keep  him  in  close  custody  until  the  further 
order  of  this  Congress.  Whatever  expense  may  be  necessary  for  this 
service  will  be  cheerfully  defi'ayed  by  the  Congress.  We  refer  to  your 
discretion  what  means  to  use  for  that  purpose,  and  you  have  full 
power  and  authority  to  take  to  your  aid  whatever  force  you  may  re- 
quire." 

Col.  Heard,  in  obedience  to  this  instruction,  waited 
upon  Governor  Franklin  at  his  residence  in  Perth 
Amboy,  and  read  to  him  the  parole,  which  he  abso- 
lutely refused  to  sign,  and  forbade  the  colonel  at  his 
peril  to  carry  the  order  into  execution.  The  colonel 
then  placed  a  guard  of  about  sixty  men  around  the 
Governor's  house,  and  reported  to  the  Provincial 
Congress  at  Burlington.  That  body  immediately  sent 
Col.  Heard  the  following  order: 

"  Sir  :  It  is  the  desire  of  Congress  that  you  immediately  bring  William 
Franklin,  Esquire,  to  this  place,  under  such  guard  as  you  may  think 
sufficient." 

Being  brought  before  the  Provincial  Congress,  "to 
be  examined  touching  such  portions  of  his  conduct 
as  were  deemed  inimical  to  the  liberties  of  America, 
Mr.  Franklin  refused  to  answer  the  questions  put  to 
him,  denying  the  authority  of  this  body,  which  he 
alleged  had  usurped  the  king's  government  in  this 
province."  It  was  thereupon  resolved  that  the  said 
William  Franklin  be  confined  in  such  place  and 
manner  as  the  honorable  the  Continental  Congress 
shall  direct. 

Upon  the  same  day  that  the  symbol  of  British 
authority  was  thus  deposed  in  the  person  of  the  royal 
Governor,  the  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  in  pursuance 
of  a  special  order,  went  into  the  consideration  of  the 
propriety  of  forming  a  State  government,  agreeably 
to  the  recommendation  of  the  Continental  Congress, 


which  had  been  passed  on  the  15th  of  May  preceding. 
The  vote  in  favor  of  the  proposition  was  almost 
unanimous,  only  Messrs.  Allen,  Taylor,  and  Brown 
voting  in  the  negative. 

June  27,  at  eight  o'clock  a.m.,  the  Congress  re- 
solved itself  into  a  committee  of  the  whole,  and  Mr. 
Covenhoven  being  in  the  chair,  took  under  consider- 
ation the  draft  of  a  constitution.  It  was  voted  that 
twenty  of  the  members  of  this  Congress  be  a  quorum 
suiBcient  to  transact  any  busine.ss  except  such  as  may 
respect  the  formation  of  the  constitution,  that  re- 
quired the  committee  of  the  whole.  On  Tuesday, 
the  second  day  of  July,  the  draft  of  the  constitution 
was  reported,  and  after  full  discussion  and  sundry 
amendments  was  ordered  accepted  and  printed. 

In  order  to  "  prevent  the  failure  of  justice"  pend- 
ing the  organization  of  government  under  the  con- 
stitution, it  was  re-solved  that  all  judges,  justices  of 
the  peace,  sheriffs,  coroners,  and  other  inferior  officers 
of  the  late  government  within  this  colony  proceed 
in  the  execution  of  their  several  offices  under  the 
authority  of  the  people  until  the  intended  Legis- 
lature and  the  several  officers  of  the  new  govern- 
ment be  settled  and  perfected,  having  respect  to  the 
present  constitution  of  New  Jersey  as  by  the  Congress 
of  late  ordained,  and  the  orders  of  the  Continental 
and  Provincial  Congresses :  and  that  all  actions, 
suits,  and  processes  be  continued,  altering  only  the 
style  and  form  thereof,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
said  constitution  prescribed,  in  the  further  prosecution 
thereof." 

Thus  by  the  efficient  action  and  wise  management 
of  the  Provincial  Congress  the  chasm  was  entirely 
bridged  over  from  the  king  to  the  people,  from  a  die- 
pendent  colony  subject  to  the  royal  pleasure  to  an  in- 
dependent, sovereign  State.  This  had  been  done  in 
a  little  over  two  years  from  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Congress  at  Trenton,  23d  of  May,  1775,  and  this  body 
had,  during  the  same  time,  carried  the  colony  through 
the  most  critical  period  of  its  history — furnishing  it 
with  all  needed  guidance  and  direction  to  meet  every 
emergency.  Scarcely  can  we  find  in  history  a  body 
of  men  deserving  more  credit  for  their  practical 
wisdom,  their  energy,  their  firmness  in  holding  on  to 
the  great  principles  of  free  government  amidst  cir- 
cumstances the  most  discouraging. 

Hendrick  Fisher,  Esq.,  was  the  first  president  of 
the  Congress,  and  served  in  that  capacity  till  Oct.  4, 
1775,  when  Samuel  Tucker  was  chosen  president,  and 
Hendrick  Fisher  vice-president.  Samuel  Tucker  re- 
mained president  until  the  Congress  finally  adjourned. 
Jonathan  D.  Sergeant,  Esq.,  was  the  first  secretary, 
with  William  Paterson  and  Frederick  Frelinghuysen, 
assistants.  William  Paterson  was  made  secretary 
Oct.  5, 1775,  and  was  succeeded  by  John  Carey  ;  Wil- 
liam Paterson  again  from  February,  1776,  to  the 
close  of  the  Congress. 

Speaking  of  the  services  of  this  body,  Mr.  Deshler 
I  says, — 


468 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"It  is  impusfiible  for  iib  duly  to  estimate  the  value  of  the  services  of 
these  wise,  indefatigable,  and  courageous  men.  It  is  utterly  heyond  the 
scope  or  the  power  of  our  vision,  accustomed  as  it  is  to  an  atniosphere 
whose  skies  are  golden  with  peace  and  prosperity,  to  descry  the  cloud 
of  gloom  and  apprelieusiou  that  enveloped  our  State  one  hundred  years 
ago.  But  though  we  may  not  see  this  murky  and  lowering  cloud,  we 
may  yet  hear  a  faiut  echo  coming  to  us  over  the  chasm  of  these  hundred 
years,  coming  from  the  lips  of  the  brave  and  patriotic  men  whose  de- 
liberations we  have  been  pondering  this  evening.  It  was  one  of  their 
latest  utterances,  made  by  them  in  this  our  own  city,  and  published  to 
the  people  of  New  Jersey  in  an  ordinance  organizing  the  militia.  It 
was  an  appeal  to  our  people  to  choose  between  freedom  and  servitude. 
Let  us  listen  reverently  to  it,  and  let  it  sink  deep  into  our  hearts,  in- 
citing us  to  hold  fast  with  unyietdiug  grasp  the  liberties  they  secured 
for  us.  '  In  this  interesting  situation.'  they  said,  as  they  contemplated 
the  storm  of  war  that  was  rolling  rapidly  toward  them,  and  called  upon 
the  people  to  enroll  for  the  common  defense,  'in  this  interesting  situa- 
tion, viewing  on  the  one  hand  an  active,  inveterate,  and  implacable 
enemy,  increasiiig  fast  in  strength,  daily  receiving  large  reinforcements, 
and  industi-iously  preparing  to  strike  some  decisive  blow  ;  on  the  other, 
a  considerable  part  of  the  inhabitants  supinely  slnniberingoD  the  brink 
of  ruin,  moved  with  affecting  apprehensions,  the  Convention  think  it 
incumbent  upon  them  to  warn  their  constituents  of  the  impending 
danger.  On  you,  our  friends  and  brethren,  it  depends  this  day  to  de- 
termine whether  you.  your  wives,  your  children,  and  millions  of  your 
descendants  yet  unborn  shall  wear  the  galling,  the  ignominious  yoke 
of  slavery,  or  nobly  inherit  the  generons,  the  inestimable  blessings  of 
freedom.  The  alternative  is  before  you.  Can  you  hesitate  in  your 
choice?  Can  you  doubt  which  you  prefer?  Say!  Will  you  be  slaves? 
Will  you  toil  and  labor  and  glean  together  a  little  pioperty  merely  that 
it  may  be  at  the  disposal  of  a  relentless  and  rapacious  conqueror?  Will 
you.  of  choice,  become  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water?  Impos- 
sible! You  cannot  be  so  amazingly  degenerate  as  to  lick  the  hand  that 
is  raised  to  shed  your  blood  !  Nature  and  nature's  God  have  made  you 
free!  Liberty  is  the  birthright  of  Americans.  The  gift  is  of  heaven  ! 
And  the  instant  it  is  forced  from  you,  yon  take  leave  of  everything  val- 
uable on  earth.  Your  happiness  or  misery,  virtuous  independence  or 
indignant  servitude  hang  trembling  in  the  balauce.  Happily,  we  know 
we  can  anticipate  your  virtuous  choice.  With  confident  satisfaction  we 
are  assured  that  not  a  moment  will  delay  your  important  decision — that 
you  cannot  feel  hesitation  whether  you  will  tamely  and  degenenitely 
bend  your  necks  to  the  irretrievable  wretchedness  of  slavery,  or,  by 
your  instant  and  animated  exertions,  enjoy  the  fair  inheritance  of 
heaven-born  freedom,  and  transmit  it  unimpaired  to  your  posterity.' " 


Col.  John  Neilson,  a  member  from  New  Jersey 
of  the  Continental  Congress  of  1778.  was  born  at 
Raritan  Landing,  near  New  Brunswick,  on  the  11th 
of  March,  174;").  His  father,  John  Neilson,  M.D., 
had  recently  removed  to  this  country  from  Belfast, 
Ireland,  with  his  brother,  James  Neilson,  who  settled 
at  New  Brunswick  as  a  shipping  merchant  and  ship- 
owner. His  vessels  traded  with  Belfast,  Lisbon, 
Madeira,  and  the  West  India  Islands. 

The  south  half  of  the  house  on  Burnet  Street  below 
Green  Hall,  still  in  the  possession  of  the  family,  was 
built  by  him.  He  also  owned  lands  on  Sonman's 
Hill,  now  owned  by  Mr.  Jacob  S.  Carpenter,  and 
also  the  mills  and  water-rights  on  Lawrence  Brook, 
now  the  city  water-works.  James  Neilson  was  also 
the  presiding  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas 
of  Middlesex  County. 

Dr.  Neilson  married  Joanna,  daughter  of  Andrew 
Coeyemans,  who  came  from  Holland  with  his  mother, 
the  widow  of  Andreas  Coeyemans,  and  settled  on  the 
Hudson  on  Coeyeman's  patent,  afterwards  removing 
to  Raritan,  or  Raritan  Landing,  N.  J.  Dr.  Neilson 
died  in  1745,  in  consequence  of  an  accident,  and  while 
a  young  mau. 


His  only  son,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was  mar- 
ried Dec.  31,  1768,  to  Catharine  Voorheese,  daughter 
of  John  Voorheese,  who  owned  and  lived  on  lands 
now  the  College  Farm,  including  the  site  on  which 
James  Neilson,  their  son,  some  sixty  years  ago,  built 
the  house  now  in  the  possession  of  his  widow  and  son. 
John  Neilson  settled  at  New  Brunswick  with  his 
uncle  as  a  shipping  merchant,  and  succeeded  to  his 
business.  In  those  days -New  Brunswick  was  the 
market  and  shipping-point  for  a  large  section  which 
has  since  found  various  outlets  by  rail  and  canal. 

The  commercial  importance  of  the  city  at  this  early 
date  appears  from  a  letter  of  James  Alexander  to  ex- 
Governor  Hunter  in  1731,  in  which  he  asserts  "that 
a  lot  of  ground  there  is  grown  to  near  as  great  a  price 
as  so  much  ground  in  the  heart  of  New  York."  In  a 
previous  letter  the  same  year  he  says,  "  Plantations 
north  of  the  Raritan  have  risen  extravagantly  high, 
even  to  three,  four,  and  five  pounds  per  acre."  He 
had  refused  twelve  hundred  pounds  for  five  hundred 
acres  of  improved  land  south  of  the  Raritan,  belong- 
ing to  Governor  Hunter.  The  small  sea-going  ves- 
sels of  that  day  sailed  up  the  Raritan  directly  to  New 
Brunswick.  As  has  always  been  the  case,  wealth  and 
intelligence  followed  in  the  track  of  commerce.  New 
Brunswick  rapidly  became  a  flourishing  town,  and 
among  its  inhabitants  were  to  be  found  a  large  pro- 
portion of  men  of  note  in  the  State  and  nation. 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary  war  with 
Great  Britain,  John  Neilson,  "  bitterly  resenting," 
to  use  his  own  words,  "the  attempt  of  a  venal  Par- 
liament, bought  by  an  oppre-ssive  ministry,  to  tax 
his  country,"  threw  himself  with  energy  into  the 
struggle,  reminding  his  fellow-citizens  "that  the  only 
alternative  was  victory  or  slavery."  He  raised  a 
company  of  militia,  was  appointed  their  captain,  and 
was  soon  called  into  service  to  the  east  end  of  Long 
Island,  under  command  of  Gen.  Heard,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  disarming  the  Tories  there.  On  Aug.  31, 
1775,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  battalion  of 
minute-men  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and  was 
commissioned  by  the  Provincial  Congress  of  New 
Jersey.  His  commission  was  signed  by  Hendrick 
Fisher,  pre.sident.  A  draft  of  an  address  made  by 
him  on  assuming  command  remains  among  his  papers, 
and  reveals  a  man  who  had  thrown  his  whole  soul 
into  the  struggle,  with  a  thoroug.i  appreciation  of 
the  merits  of  the  contest,  and  must  have  awakened  a 
spirit  of  enthusiasm  among  his  hearers. 

Such  was  the  public  appreciation  of  Col.  Neilson'* 
ability  and  patriotism  that  he  was  urged  early  in 
1776  to  take  a  seat  in  the  Continental  Congress  of 
that  year,  which  was  to  consider  the  grave  measure 
of  the  declaration  of  independence.  His  presence  in 
the  State  was,  however,  considered  so  necessary  that 
he  was  led  to  decline  tne  honor. 

A  copy  of  the  Declaration  was  sent  him  by  Con- 
gress, its  the  man  whose  patriotism  and  influence 
would  be  most  likely  to  secure  it  a  favorable  recep- 


~'V^h'A  KRlKhte 


^-^<^^    v^^^^^^g;^ 


MIDDLESEX   COUNTY   IN    THE    REVOLUTION. 


469 


tion  in  his  part  of  the  State.  A  meeting,  which 
comprised  a  large  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
neighborhood,  was  held  on  the  public  streets  of  New 
Brunswick  to  hear  it  read,  and  a  violent  opposition 
was  feared;  but  Col.  Neilson,  fearless  of  personal 
danger,  read  the  instrument  to  the  people,  and  at  its 
conclusion  was  greeted  with  loud  cheers  by  so  great  a 
majority  that  the  opponents  of  the  measure  did  not 
dare  to  avow  themselves. 

During  the  dark  and  gloomy  days  of  1776,  when 
Washington's  army  was  reduced  to  a  mere  handful, 
and  his  country's  cause  was  trembling  in  the  balance. 
Col.  Neilson  was  bending  every  energy  to  its  service. 
He  devoted  himself  to  recruiting,  the  most  important 
service,  perhaps,  of  the  time,  infusing  his  own  patri- 
otic spirit  into  his  countrymen,  was  employed  in 
guarding  the  State  from  the  incursions  of  the  British, 
cutting  off  their  supplies,  and  otherwise  harassing 
them. 

Appointed  colonel  of  the  Second  Regiment  Middle- 
sex militia  Aug.  1,  177(),  in  September  and  October 
he  served  in  command  of  his  own  regiment  and  of 
the  Middlesex  militia  on  the  lines  in  Essex  and  Ber- 
gen Counties. 

In  December  he  retired  with  the  army  under  Gen. 
Washington  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Delaware,  with 
Lieut.-Col.  Taylor  and  Maj.  Van  Emburgh,  field-olB- 
cers  of  his  regiment,  and  Col.  Frelinghuyseu,  and 
others  of  the  Somerset  militia,  all  of  whom  joined 
the  army  as  volunteers. 

On  the  31st  of  December,  Gen.  Washington  issued 
an  order  directing  Col.  Neilson,  with  the  militia  offi- 
cers before  mentioned,  to  proceed  into  New  Jersey, 
and  use  their  exertions  to  call  together  and  embody 
the  militia  of  the  State. 

The  efforts  of  these  and  a  few  other  brave  men  at 
this  critical  time,  and  the  patriotic  response  of  the 
State  militia,  made  possible  the  victories  of  Trenton, 
Princeton,  and  Monmouth,  which  turned  the  scale 
from  deep  despondency,  and  finally  resulted  in  the 
establishment  of  American  independence. 

On  Feb.  18,  1777,  with  a  detachment  of  his  regi- 
ment, he  surprised  and  captured  every  man  of  an  out- 
post of  refugees  stockaded  on  Bennett's  Island,  or 
Lawrence's  Neck,  now  known  as  the  Island  Farm, 
about  three  miles  below  New  Brunswick  on  the  river, 
without  firing  a  gun.  The  colonel  and  his  kinsman, 
Capt.  Farmer,  both  powerful  men,  seized  the  senti- 
nels and  bound  them  before  they  could  give  the 
alarm.  In  acknowledgment  of  his  services  he  was 
appointed  brigadier-general  of  militia,  Feb.  21,  1777. 

During  the  winter  of  1777  the  British  troops  had 
gone  into  winter-quarters  at  New  Brunswick,  Lord 
Howe  making  his  headquarters  at  Col.  Neilson's 
house  in  Burnet  Street,  which  building  remains  in 
the  possessi(^n  of  his  grandchildren.  An  old  syca- 
more-tree, now  some  four  feet  in  diameter,  from 
which  the  British  flag  then  floated,  still  flourishes  in 
front  of  the  door. 


In  the  months  of  September,  October,  and  Novem- 
ber, 1777,  the  colonel  was  in  service  on  the  lines  at 
Elizabethtown,  with  the  militia  of  Middlesex  and 
Somerset  Counties.  In  June  and  July,  1778,  he  served 
in  Monmouth  County,  being  part  of  the  time  under 
command  of  Gen.  Dickerson,  and  a  part  holding  a 
separate  command. 

On  Nov.  6,  1778,  he  was  chosen  by  the  Assembly 
and  Council  of  the  State  a  delegate  to  the  Continen- 
tal Congress,  together  with  Witherspoon,  Scudder, 
Frelinghuyseu,  and  Fell,  but  again  his  services  could 
not  be  spared  from  the  State  for  the  length  of  time 
required  for  this  service,  so  that  he  never  took  his 
seat. 

In  January  and  February,  1778,  he  served  as  a  dele- 
gate from  this  State,  together  with  John  Cleves 
Symmes  and  Moore  Funnan,  to  meet  delegates  from 
the  Middle  and  Eastern  States  at  New  Haven,  on  the 
recommendation  of  Congress,  to  devise,  if  possible, 
some  means  of  arresting  the  alarming  depreciation  of 
the  currency. 

In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1779  he  commanded 
the  militia  on  the  lines  at  Elizabethtown  and  New- 
ark, and  on  the  20th  of  September,  1780,  he  was  ap- 
pointed deputy  quartermaster-general  for  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.  This  position  threw  upon  him  great  re- 
sponsibility, while  the  State  frequently  failed  to  pro- 
vide for  the  support  of  the  army  either  by  taxes  or 
loans.  The  currency  was  depreciated,  and  forage, 
food,  clothing,  and  transportation  was  at  best  hard  to 
be  obtained.  He  continued  in  this  position  until  the 
close  of  the  war. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1782,  he  was  appointed,  with 
W.  Houston  and  James  Ewing,  commissioners  to 
settle  the  remaining  account  of  depreciation  in  the 
money  value  of  their  pay  with  the  New  Jersey  line, 
thus  closing  his  useful  and  honorable  Revolutionary 
career. 

Col.  Neilson  enjoyed  the  confidence  and  friendship 
of  Washington,  Lafayette,  Governor  Livingston,  and 
indeed  of  all  with  whom  he  was  associated  who  were 
inspired  with  the  same  lofty  purpose. 

Lafayette,  in  evidence  of  his  appreciation,  pre- 
sented him  with  a  sword,  and  during  his  visit  to  this 
country  in  1824  called  on  him  and  evinced  the 
warmest  pleasure  at  seeing  him  again. 

While  the  British  occupied  New  Brunswick,  Mrs. 
Neilson  was  at  Morristown  with  the  army.  Her  seat 
at  table  was  next  Gen.  and  Mrs.  Washington. 

After  the  war,  Washington  never  passed  through 
New  Brunswick  without  calling  on  Col.  Neilson. 

So  well  assured  were  the  enemy  of  the  importance 
of  the  colonel's  influence  and  exertions  to  the  Amer- 
ican cause  that  many  attempts  were  made  to  seize  his 
person.  His  popularity  was  the  means  of  preserving 
him  from  these  attempts,  as  he  always  received  suffi- 
cient notice  from  some  one  of  his  numerous  friends 
to  enable  him  to  escape. 

At  the  close  of  the  war  he  succeeded  to  the  prop- 


470 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


ertv  and  business  of  his  uncle,  James  Neilson,  to 
whom  reference  has  been  made  and  by  whom  he  had 
been  adopted,  and  carried  on  an  extensive  trade  with 
Lisbon,  Madeira,  and  tlie  West  India  Islands. 

He  was  still  called  upon  for  services  to  the  public, 
being  a  delegate  from  liis  county  to  the  State  Conven- 
tion called  to  con.sider  the  adoption  of  the  present 
Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Of  the  forty  mem- 
bers of  that  convention  he  was  the  last  survivor. 

In  1790  and  1791  he  was  appointed  by  act  of  the 
Legislature  one  of  the  commissioners  to  build  bridges 
over  the  Hackensack,  Passaic,  and  Raritan  Rivers. 
The  names  of  John  Bayard,  Andrew  Kirkpatrick, 
Dr.  Lewis  Dunham,  Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  and 
others  were  included  in  the  same  service. 

In  1800  and  1801  he  was  a  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly, where,  as  usual,  he  took  a  prominent  part. 

Throughout  his  life  he  was  an  active  and  devout 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, also  an  elder  and  trustee.  He  remained  clerk 
of  the  session  for  fifty  years,  which  position,  together 
with  that  of  president  of  the  board  of  trustees,  he 
held  to  the  end  of  his  life.  His  death,  which  oc- 
curred on  the  3d  of  March,  1833,  in  his  eighty-eighth 
year,  was  regarded  as  a  public  loss.  Business  was 
suspended  on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral,  and  the 
long  procession  of  citizens  who  followed  his  remains 
to  their  last  resting-place  gave  evidence  of  the  affec- 
tionate regard  with  which  his  memory  was  cherished. 

The  Common  Council  of  the  city  adopted  resolu- 
tions which  but  reflected  the  public  appreciation  of 
his  high  character ;  referring  to  his  services  in  the 
field  and  his  virtues  as  a  man,  they  testified  to  his 
daily  life  as  the  walk  of  a  consistent  and  humble 
Christian,  eminently  worthy  of  all  commendation. 

The  title  of  colonel  has  been  used  throughout  this 
sketch  as  that  by  which  he  was  familiarly  known  by 
his  family  and  townsmen.  He  was  entitled  to  that  of 
brigadier-general. 

James  Neilson,  son  of  Col.  John  Neilson,  was 
born  at  New  Brunswick  in  December,  1784,  just  after 
the  close  of  the  Revolution.  He  inherited  from  his 
parents  a  strong  love  of  his  country,  his  State,  and 
his  native  town.  As  a  young  man  he  was  engaged 
in  the  shipping  business  with  his  father,  and  later 
with  his  brother,  A.  S.  Neilson. 

During  the  war  of  1812  he  raised  a  company,  was 
elected  their  captain,  and  was  stationed  at  Sandy 
Hook,  in  expectation  of  the  landing  of  the  British 
forces.  He  was  afterwards  commissioned  colonel  of 
the  State  militia. 

He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  public  works  of 
the  State,  and  was  recognized  as  the  prime  mover  in 
the  organization  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal 
Company.  He  was  the  treasurer  of  that  company 
from  its  organization  until  1852,  and  continued  a  di- 
rector and  member  of  the  executive  committee  of  the 
joint  canal  and  railroad  companies  until  his  death  in 
1862. 


Mr.  Neilson  perceived  at  an  early  day  that  the 
commercial  importance  of  New  Brunswick  could  not 
continue,  and  failing  to  interest  others,  he,  together 
with  Commodore  R.  F.  Stockton,  organized  the  New 
Brunswick  Manufacturing  Company  about  1845,  and 
built  a  mill  for  the  manufacture  of  print  cloths, 
which  concern  w;is  merged  after  his  death  in  the 
Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery  Company,  and 
which  at  present  contributes  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
city  by  furnishing  employment  to  one  thousand  peo- 
ple. 

Mr.  Neilson  took  the  same  interest  in  the  Presbyte- 
rian Cliurch  of  New  Brunswick  as  did  his  father. 
He  became  a  member,  was  generous  in  his  gifts,  and 
continued  president  of  the  trustees  until  his  death. 
As  a  business  man  he  was  liberal  as  well  as  success- 
ful. He  recognized  that  business  transactions  should 
be  for  the  advantage  of  both  parties.  He  was  a  trus- 
tee of  Rutgers  College  and  of  the  Presbyterian  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Princeton. 


CHAPTER    LXVI. 

MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN    THE    HEVOLUTION.'— 

Condition  of  Affairs  in  1776.— The  latter  part 
of  the  year  1776.  which  witnessed  the  occupation 
of  New  Brunswick  and  the  country  adjoining  by 
the  British,  was  the  darkest  hour  of  the  war  of  the 
Revolution.  No  aid  had  been  received  as  yet  from 
France,  and  as  yet  was  scarcely  hoped  for.  \  por- 
tion of  the  people  sympathized  with  the  invaders; 
and  the  patriots  were  everywhere  exposed  to  their 
bitter  hatred  or  despicable  cupidity,  and  were  kept 
in  constand  dread  of  their  treachery.  Neighbor  sus- 
pected neighbor,  friend  distrusted  friend,  and  even 
fathers  and  sons  ranged  on  opposite  sides.  Trade  and 
industry  were  paralyzed.  The  husbandman  hesitated 
to  plow  liis  fields  or  plant  a  crop;  or,  if  he  did  so, 
confined  his  labors  to  the  production  merely  of  what 
was  absolutely  necessary  for  the  bare  subsistence  of 
his  family.  The  precious  metals  had  vanished  from 
the  land  as  the  armies  of  the  king  swept  triumphantly 
along  ;  and  the  paper  money  had  little  more  value 
than  the  brown  forest-leaves  of  that  bitter  autumn. 
The  means  of  the  patriots  were  almost  exhausted,  and 
their  hope  was  well-nigh  extinguished.  They  had  re- 
sponded again  and  again  to  the  calls  for  men  and 
other  material  aid,  until  none  but  old  men  and  women 
and  children  remained  at  home ;  and  their  houses 
and  garners  were  gleaned  of  every  superfluity,  and 
even  of  the  necessaries  of  life. 

An  illustration  is  furnished  of  the  d(fubt  and  sus- 
picion which  prevailed,  and  of  the  summary  methods 

1  From  a  historical  paper  by  Charles  D.  Deahler. 


MIDDLESEX    COUNTY   IN    THE    REVOLUTION. 


471 


that  were  resorted  by  the  patriots  to  intimidate  the 
disaffected  Tories,  in  a  letter  written  at  the  time  by  a 
British  officer  to  a  friend  in  England.  "  Everything," 
he  says,  "  is  transacted  by  the  Committee,'  which  is 
composed  of  barbers,  tailors,  cordwainers,  etc.,  whose 
pertness  and  insolence  would  raise  any  Englishman's 
indignation,  for  the  better  sort  endeavor  to  keep  their 
own  necks  out  of  the  halter,  and  make  use  of  these 
fellows  only  as  catspaws.  One  of  our  friends  had  got 
several  thousand  in  the  back  country  brought  over 
to  our  interests;  but  about  a  month  ago  a  mob  of 
about  100  dissolute  fellows  surrounded  his  house, 
with  an  intention  to  tar  and  feather  him,  upon  which 
he  came  out  armed,  and  while  he  was  reasoning  the 
case  with  them  at  the  door  he  was  knocked  down  with 
the  butt  end  of  a  musket,  then  laid  like  a  calf  across 
a  horse,  and  tied  to  a  tree,  while  yet  insensible,  and 
tarred  and  feathered."'' 

Another  instance  is  related  by  another  British  cor- 
respondent, who  quotes  from  a  "  rebel  newspaper,"  as 
follows  : 

"  At  Qilibbletown,  Mi'ldlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  Thomas  Randolph,  cooper, 
who  had  publicly  proved  hiniself  an  enemy  to  hie  country  by  reviling 
and  iiBing  his  utmost  endeavors  to  oppose  the  proceedings  of  the  Conti- 
nental ami  Provincial  conventions  and  committees  iw  defence  of  their 
rights  and  liberties,  and  he  being  judged  a  person  of  not  consequence 
enough  for  a  severer  punishment,  was  ordered  to  lie  stripped  naked,  well 
coated  with  tar  and  feathers,  and  carried  in  a  wagon  publicly  round  the 
town,  which  punisliriient  was  accordingly  inflicted;  and  as  he  soon  be- 
came duly  setisible  of  his  offence,  for  which  he  earnestly  begged  pai'don. 
and  promised  to  atone  as  far  as  he  was  able  by  a  contrary  behavior  for 
the  future,  he  was  released  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  punishment  **  ^ 

A  glimpse  is  afforded  of  a  still  different  form  of 
"  public  punishment"  inflicted  by  the  patriots  on 
their  Tory  neighbors  in  a  letter  from  an  officer  in  the 
British  army  to  his  friends  in  England,  to  whom  he 
writes  under  date  of  Aug.  17,  1776 :  "  The  persecu- 
tion of  the  loyalists  continues  unremitting.  Donald 
Maclean,  Theophilus  Hardenbrook,  Young  Feuter, 
the  Silversmith,  and  Rem  Rappalge  have  been  cruelly 
rode  on  rails ,  a  practice  most  painful,  dangerous,  and 
peculiar."'  Even  the  boys  shared  the  sympathies 
and  antipathies  of  their  fathers,  forming  themselves 
into  bands  for  "  liberty"  on  the  one  side  and  the 
"king"  on  the  other,  resulting  in  innumerable  black- 
ened eyes  and  broken  heads.  I  have  heard  my  grand- 
father, the  late  Jacob  Dunham,  M.D.,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, relate  that  when  he  was  a  lad  eight  or  ten  years 
old  and  went  to  school  in  that  city,  his  preceptor, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  great  body  of  the  scholars, 
was  an  ardent  loyalist,  and  outS[X)ken  in  his  disap- 
proval of  the  "irregular"  proceedings  of  the  Whigs. 
The  boys  determined  upon  a  "  public  punishment" 
suitable  to  school-boy  ideas.  Overawing  into  silence 
a  few  of  their  comrades  who  sympathized  with  the 

1  Referring  to  the  Committee  of  Safety. 
»  Scots'  Magazine,  1776. 
3  Ibid,,  for  Febrnary,  177(>. 
<  Ibid.,  October,  1776. 


teacher,  they  prepared  a  large  foolscap  placard,  on 
which  they  printed  in  huge  letters  the  obnoxious 
word  "TORY!!!"  Seizing  the  opportunity  of  the 
dismissal  of  school  at  noon,  they  stealthily  pinned 
this  upon  the  master's  back,  who,  unobservant  of  the 
trick,  walked  down  the  street  to  his  house,  followed 
by  the  boys  marching  in  i)rocession  behind  him  at  a 
safe  distance  from  his  cane,  and  furtively  pointing 
out  to  the  passers-by  the  label  with  which  they  had 
adorned  him.  This  school-boy  trick  led  to  the  dis- 
missal of  the  preceptor  from  his  position  and  the 
breaking  up  of  the  school,  to  the  great  satisfaction, 
doubtless,  of  the  youthful  patriots. 

Unquestionably  the  Tories  had  hard  lines  measured 
out  to  them  by  the  Whigs.  If  persons  were  known 
or  suspected  to  be  "  disaffected,"  to  have  "  spoken 
disrespectfully"  of  the  Provincial  or  Continental  Con- 
gress or  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  to  have  encour- 
aged opposition  to  the  laws  and  regulations  that  were 
put  forth  by  either  of  these  bodies,  or  to  be  engaged 
in  stimulating  gatherings  or  uprisings  against  the 
revolutionary  authorities,  they  were  promptly  re- 
ported to  the  Provincial  Congress,  or  in  its  recess  to 
the  Committee  or  Council  of  Safety,  when  they  were 
speedily  arrested,  examined,  confronted  with  their 
accusers  (who  oftentimes  were  of  their  own  kin),  and 
if  specially  malignant  or  obstinate  were  confined  in 
jail,  or  if  repentant  were  required  to  take  the  "  oath 
of  allegiance,"  and  to  give  bonds  for  their  behavior. 
In  numerous  instances  they  and  their  families  were 
summarily  driven  into  the  lines  of  the  enemy  with 
whom  they  sympathized,  and  their  property  was 
either  confiscated  or  suffered  to  run  to  waste.  I  have 
not  discovered  an  instance,  however,  where  any  one 
of  the  Tories  was  deprived  of  his  life,  or  suffered 
any  further  violence  than  either  a  "  whipping,"  a 
coat  of  tar  and  feathers,  or  an  unpleasant  ride  upon  a 
rail.  Although  an  innocent  man  may  have  occa- 
sionally suffered  tffrough  the  accusations  of  vindic- 
tive personal  enemies,  in  the  main  there  was  ample 
confirmation  of  the  charges  brought  against  them, 
and  they  were  afforded  a  fair  and  full  hearing  before 
men  who  were  carefully  observant  of  the  rights  of 
others,  and  of  the  forms  and  safeguards  of  law,  and 
whose  decisions  appear  to  have  been  singulariy  dis- 
passionate, deliberate,  and  equitable. 

The  Tories,  on  the  other  hand,  retaliated  with 
alacrity  whenever  they  had  the  opportunity.  When 
the  British  army  made  its  appearance  in  a  neighbor- 
hood they  industriously  pointed  out  those  who  were 
directly  or  remotely  identified  with  the  party  of  lib- 
erty. They  maliciously  led  them  to  the  spots  where 
the  patriots  had  concealed  their  property  and  valu- 
ables, and  aided  them  to  pillage  or  destroy  them. 
The  most  of  the  foraging  parties  of  the  enemy  were 
accompanied  or  guided  by  such  as  these,  and  nothing 
escaped  the  keen  scent  of  their  hatred.  As  was  nat- 
urally to  have  been  expected,  they  exhibited  intense 
bitterness,  and   many  of  their  acts  were  marked  by 


472 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COdNTIES,  NEW   JERSKY. 


meanness,  cupidity,  cowardice,  despicable  treachery, 
and  relentless  barbarity. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  which 
was  followed  by  the  evacuation  of  Long  Island  and 
the  city  of  New  York,  the  storming  of  Fort  Wash- 
ington with  the  loss  of  its  valuable  stores  and  over 
two  thousand  men,  and  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Lee 
(which  last  event  occurred  Nov.  18,  1776),  the  Amer- 
ican army  retreated  across  New  Jersey,  too  weak  to 
make  a  stand  at  any  point,  and  so  completely  bereft 
of  all  means  of  defense  as  to  be  "  without  a  single  in- 
trenching tool."  '  They  were  rapidly  followed  by  the 
British  so  closely  that  the  music  of  one  army  was 
often  heard  by  the  other,  who  spread  themselves  over 
the  entire  central,  wealthiest,  and  most  populous  por- 
tion of  the  State.  On  the  28th  of  November,  1776, 
Washington  retreated,  says  Marshall,^  "  to  Brunswick, 
a  small  village  on  the  Raritan,"  and  on  the  same  day 
the  enemy  entered  Newark.  During  the  few  days 
that  Washington  lay  at  New  Brunswick  before  he 
was  again  forced  to  retire  before  the  invaders  a  large 
portion  of  his  army  became  entitled  to  their  dis- 
charge, and  it  was  impossible  by  any  remonstrance 
to  detain  them.  They  abandoned  the  cause  of  their 
country  at  the  hour  of  its  supremest  need,  and  left 
Washington  powerless  of  all  means  of  offense  or 
defense,  and  almost  so  of  the  ability  to  flee.  He 
could  offer  no  resistance,  and  on  the  2d  of  December, 
1776,  as  the  British  advanced  guards  showed  them- 
selves at  the  opposite  side  of  the  bridge  he  evacuated 
New  Brunswick,  retreating  through  Princeton  to 
Trenton,  and  the  British  occupied  the  place.^ 

The  gloom  which  hung  over  the  patriot  army,  and 
which  in  a  special  manner  enveloped  all  this  part  of 
New  Jersey,  was  now  at  the  blackest.  No  ray  of 
hope  penetrated  the  darkness.  The  protracted  cam- 
paign had  been  marked  by  rapidly  successive  dis- 
asters. The  whole  country  was  in  possession  of  the 
British  soldiery,  who  insulted  ana  preyed  upon  the 
people.  The  British  army  was  large,  well  supplied 
with  all  the  effective  means  for  waging  war,  and  pre- 
sented a  splendid  appearance,  while  the  fugitive 
American  army  (of  whom  one-third  were  Jersey 
militia)  consisted  of  less  than  three  thousand  men, 
shortly  afterward  diminished  to  fifteen  hundred,  was 
almost  destitute  of  the  commonest  munitions  of  war, 
was  obliged  to  rely  for  its  bullets  upon  the  lead  that 
could  be  gleaned  from  "  in  and  about  houses,"  from 
"the  leaden  weights  from  windows  and  clocks,"  and 
from  those  used  "  in  shops,  stores,  and  mills,"  and  its 
men  were  tentless,  shoeless,  ragged,  squalid,  hungry, 
and  lacking  even  the  utensils  for  dressing  their  food. 
At  this  supreme  crisis  it  was  reported,  and  the  report 
seemed  so  probable  as  to  be  generally  believed,  that 
the  Continental  Congress  was  about  to  disperse  and 
to  abdicate  its  powers.     Everything  seemed  lost. 

At   this   juncture   Lord   Howe,  the   British   com- 


I  Mareluill,  vol.  I.  p.  119.       a  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  121.      'Ibid.,  vol.  i.  p.  121. 


mander,  issued  a  proclamation  commanding  all  per- 
sons assembled  in  arms  against  the  British,  government 
to  disband  and  return  to  their  homes,  ordering  all  civil 
officers  to  relinquish  their  usurped  authority, and  offer- 
ing a  FULL  PAEDON  to  every  person  who  would  within 
sixty  days  subscribe  a  declaration  of  submission  to 
the  royal  authority.  The  proclamation  completed  the 
apparent  ruin  of  the  patriot  cause.  Timed,  as  it  was, 
when  everything  seemed  lost,  it  was  taken  advantage 
of  by  thousands  throughout  the  State  who  had  hitherto 
espoused  the  side  of  independence  more  or  less  warmly, 
and  who  now  flocked  daily  to  make  their  peace  with 
the  successful  representatives  of  the  crown,  and  to 
obtain  their  protection.  For  ten  days  after  the  publi- 
cation of  this  proclamamation  two  or  three  hundred 
persons  a  day  came  in  to  Lord  Howe  at  New  Bruns- 
wich  to  renounce  their  adhesion  to  the  patriots,  and 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  British  crown. 
Among  these  were  Samuel  Galloway,  a  member  of 
the  first  Continental  Congress;  Col.  George  Taylor, 
of  Monmouth,  successively  colonel  of  the  battalion 
of  "  Detached"  Militia  of  Monmouth  County  and 
colonel  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Monmouth ;  and 
Col.  John  Duyckinck,  of  Middlesex,  successively 
first  major  of  the  Second  Regiment  of  Middlesex, 
major  of  Col.  Samuel  Forman's  battalion  of  "  De- 
tached" Militia,  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Second 
Regiment  of  Middlesex,  and  colonel  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  Middlesex.  These  were  all  gentlemen 
of  consequence  and  influence,  and  their  desertion  to 
the  enemy  produced  great  despondency.  But  among 
all  those  prominent  and  influential  persons  who  aban- 
doned the  cause  at  this  dark  hour  the  one  whose 
weakness  or  treachery  provoked  the  profoundest  de- 
jection was  Samuel  Tucker,  of  Trenton.  Represent- 
ing the  body  of  the  people, — he  was  a  cordwainer, — he 
had  early  embraced  the  cause  of  independence;  had 
been  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial  Congress  in  the  ses- 
sions of  May,  June,  August,  and  October,  1775;  was 
elected  its  vice-president  in  May,  1775,  and  its  presi- 
dent in  October,  1775,  and  acted  in  this  latter  capacity 
so  near  the  period  of  his  defection  as  August,  1776. 
He  had  also  been  one  of  the  Committee  of  Safety, 
appointed  to  act,  with  extraordinary  powers,  in  the 
recess  of  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  one  of  the 
treasurers  of  the  colony.  His  defection  was  a  cruel, 
almost  a  stupefying,  blow.  The  people  felt  that  their 
earliest  and  most  trusted  leaders  were  abandoning 
them,  and  they  knew  not  who  next  would  follow. 

Not  only  was  the  gloom  impenetrable  from  these 
and  other  causes,  but  the  sutt'ering  of  the  people  of 
Middlesex  County  was  intense  and  their  destitution 
deplorable.  A  cold  and  boisterous  winter  had  set  in 
early  and  with  unusual  rigor.  Numbers  had  been 
forced  to  flee  from  their  homes  at  this  inclement 
season,  leaving  their  families  without  protection  and 
support,  and  were  either  in  hiding  or  were  wanderers 
in  a  desolated  country.  .V  hostile  army  occupied 
their  towns  and  villages,  and  harried  their  farms  with 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


473 


oppressive  exactions.  Their  horses  and  cattle  were 
stolen  ;  their  stores  of  hay,  flour,  corn,  bacon,  and 
provisions  were  plundered  ;  their  houses,  churches,' 
stores,  mills,  barns,  and  fences  were  burned  or  de- 
vastated ;  their  household  goods  were  spoliated  and 
carried  away  ;  their  wives  and  children  were  mal- 
treated and  insulted,  and  despoiled  of  their  clothing, 
rings,  trinkets,  and  even  the  cradles  in  which  the 
helpless  infant  was  rocked  to  sleep.  Nowhere  was 
any  alleviation  of  the  distress  to  be  found,  nor  could 
any  prospect  of  its  termination  be  descried.  And 
yet  amid  all  this  desolation,  rapine,  and  insult, — and 
perhaps  because  of  them, — the  people  of  Middlesex 
and  of  the  town  of  Brunswick  remained  Steadfast  to 
their  apparently  ruined  cause.  Here  and  there  a 
few  whose  names  are  preserved  but  need  not  now  be 
repeated  became  "  adherents  of  the  enemy,"  as  they 
were  then  styled  ;  but  the  great  body,  almost  the  en- 
tire population  of  the  county,  continued  unfaltering 
in  their  devotion  to  freedom  and  indepeudence.  The 
journals  of  the  "  Committee  of  Safety,"  and  of  its 
successor,  the  "  Council  of  Safety,"  give  the  names 
of  over  one  thousand  persons  in  New  Jersey  who 
were  disaffected  and  were  required  to  give  bonds  and 
take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Revolutionary  au 
thorities ;  and  of  this  number,  notwithstanding  the 
overshadowing  influence  of  the  British  army,  which 
was  quartered  on  the  county  nearly  seven  months, 
only  twenty-six  were  inhabitants  of  Middlesex  County. 
Besides,  it  furnished  over  fifteen  hundred  soldiers  for 
the  State  and  Continental  military  establishments. 
And  on  a  subsequent  occasion,  when  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton was  about  to  march  through  the  State,  just  before 
the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  needed  guides  for  his 
army,  he  applied  for  them  to  Col.  Simcoe,  whose 
"  Rangers"  were  largely  made  up  of  refugee  Jersey- 
men.  But  although  that  dashing  partisan  had  a  book 
in  which  he  says  "  was  inserted  the  names  of  every 
soldier  in  his  corps,  the  counties  in  which  they  were 
born,  and  where  they  had  lived,  so  that  he  was  seldom 
at  a  loss  for  guides  in  his  own  corps,"  and  although  he 
"  had  also,"  as  he  tells  us,  "  many  refugees  with  him" 
outside  of  those  who  belonged  to  his  corps,  "  who 
served  as  guides,"  he  was  obliged  to  reply  to  Sir 
Henry  that  "  he  had  none  who  knew  any  of  the 
roads  to  New  Brunswick,"  which  could  not  have  been 
the  case  if  he  had  had  any  from  Middlesex  County  in 
his  corps."  In  addition  to  this  unintentional  tribute 
to  the  patriotism  of  the  people  of  Middlesex,  on  two 
other  occasions  Col.  Simcoe  refers,  in  his  journal,^  to 
the  "  vindictive  spirit"  uniformly  exhibited  by  them 
towards  the  British   troops,  and  describes  them  as 


1  The  British  spoliated  six  churches  iu  Middlesex  CoUTitv,  viz, :  "  The 
Dulcli  Refoimed  CImrch  at  New  Biunswick,  tiOO;  Christ  Church  of 
New  Brunswick,  £40  los. ;  St.  James'  Church  in  Piscataway,  £110 
1C>.  9ii.;  the  Presbyterian  Meeting-House  at  New  Brunswick,  £400;  the 
Princeton  Meetiug-Uouse,  £IGu  48.  idd. ;  and  the  Congregation  of  Met- 
uchiug,  £14  5g" 

2  Simcoe'B  Journal,  p.  66. 
'Pp.  109  and  316. 


"most  virulent  in  their  principles,"  and  as  "  attack- 
ing from  their  coverts  the  British  foraging  parties  in 
1776,  and  insulting  their  very  outposts,"  adding  that 
they  had  thus  "  acquired  a  great  degree  of  self-confi- 
dence and  activity." 

The  British  occupied  New  Brunswick  and  its  vicin- 
ity, including  Six-Mile  Run,  MIddlebrush,  Piscata- 
way,  VVoodbridge,  and  Bonhamton,  from  Dec.  2, 1776, 
till  June  22,  1777.  On  the  morning  of  the  day  last 
named  they  retreated  by  way  of  Piscataway  to  Perth 
Amboy, — "  burning  many  houses  as  they  passed 
along."* 

During  their  .stay  they  levied  severe  contributions 
upon  all  who  espoused  or  were  connected  with  those 
who  espoused  the  side  of  independence,  and  their 
outposts  and  foraging  parties  pillaged  the  people  with- 
out mercy.  In  retaliation  for  their  "  vindictive  spirit," 
the  "  virulence  of  the  principles,"  and  "  their  activity 
in  attacking  the  British  foraging  parties,"  to  which 
Col.  Simcoe  bears  testimony,  their  property  was  ruth- 
lessly destroyed.  Within  the  brief  period  of  six  and 
a  half  months  the  British  spoliated  over  six  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  and  burned  more  than  one  hundred 
dwellings,  mills,  and  other  buildings  within  the 
present  limits  of  Middlesex  County,  valued  at  £86 
21«.  4rf. ;  and  counting  eight  shillings  to  the  dollar, 
and  considering  that  one  dollar  in  1776  was  equiva- 
lent in  purchasing  power  to  three  dollars  at  this  day, 
the  loss  was  equal  toi646,605of  our  present  currency. 
The  proportional  loss  may  be  more  clearly  understood 
if  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  the  total  population  of  the 
county  in  1775  was  about  twelve  thousand.  If  from 
this  number  are  deducted  thirteen  hundred  negroes 
and  seven  hundred  adult  white  males  who  were  not 
heads  of  families,  the  population  among  whom  all 
this  devastation  was  distributed  did  not  exceed  ten 
thousand,  of  whom,  if  we  adopt  the  established  aver- 
age, only  one-fifth,  or  two  thousand,  were  householders. 
If  this  estimate  be  correct  one  in  every  three  was 
pillaged,  and  one  in  every  twenty  had  a  house 
burned. 

In  the  forays  ol'  the  enemy  the  dinner  prepared  by 
the  family  was  otten  ravished  from  the  table  by  the 
Hessians,  whose  avidity  for  plunder  and  brutal  out- 
rage drew  upon  them  the  execrations  of  the  people.  No 
respect  was  paid  to  age  or  sex,  and  even  articles  of 
female  wear,  indeed  pverything,  however  minute, 
which  had  any  value  were  swept  into  the  capacious 
maw  of  these  rapacious  mercenaries.  Again  and  again 
our  ancestors  were  required  to  furnish  provisions  for 
large  parties  of  Hessians  and  forage  for  their  horses, 
and  the  demand  was  enforced  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.  On  one  occasion  thirty  Hessians  imposed 
themselves  upon  a  single  family  at  Woodbridge"  and 
demanded  breakfast  and  supper;  the  cowardly 
plunderers  usurped  the  seats  of  the  family  at  the  table, 


*  Marshall,  vol.  i. 

*See  inventory  of  damages  iu  Middlesex,  p.  248. 


474 


HISTORV    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


forced  them  to  wait  upon  them,  and  not  content  with 
this  indignity  drank  or  stole  twenty  gallons  of  rum,  five 
gallons  of  brandy,  and  a  barrel  of  cider,  which  the  good 
man  of  the  house  had  stored  in  his  cellar  in  brighter 
days,  and  when  they  decamped  they  robbed  his  wife  of 
her  stockings  and  the  blankets  from  their  beds,  broke 
his  doors  and  windows,  and  drove  off  three  cows  and 
his  "fine  8  year  old  Mare."  Nor  was  this  a  solitary  in- 
stance. Such  outrages  were  of  daily  occurrence  among 
the  people  of  Middlesex,  who  were  thus  welded  by 
fire  and  rapine  into  "  vindictive"  patriots,  whom  no 
adversity  could  subdue  and  no  disasters  could  entirely 
dishearten. 

Damages  by  the  British. — The  foregoing  view 
of  the  condition  of  affairs  in  Middlesex  County 
in  1776  is  presented  as  a  suitable  introduction  to 
a  description  of  an  interesting  relic  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  from  which  many  of  the  facts  related 
have  been  drawn,  to  which  public  attention  has 
never  been  directed  hitherto,  and  which  affords  us  a 
close  view  of  the  social  surroundings  of  our  ancestors. 
This  relic  is  a  record  of  the  "  Damages  done  by  the 
British  and  their  Adherents  to  the  Inhabitants  of 
Middlesex  County"  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
and  is  preserved  in  the  State  Library  at  Trenton.  It 
is  in  the  form  of  a  bound  folio  manuscript  volume,  of 
between  three  and  four  hundred  pages,  and  contains  the 
inventories  of  over  six  hundred  and  fifty  persons  whose 
property  was  plundered  or  destroyed  by  the  British  be- 
tween 1776  and  1782,  but  mainly  in  1776  and  1777. 
Each  inventory  is  entered  in  detail  in  this  volume,  with 
the  valuation  of  every  article,  and  is  certified  to  under 
oath  or  affirmation  by  the  person  damaged  or  his  rep- 
resentative before  one  of  the  appraisers  appointed  by 
the  State  for  the  purpose. 

The  authority  for  the.se  inventories  is  to  be  found 
in  an  act  of  the  Legislature,  originally  offered  March  8, 
1780,  when  it  was  lost,  which  was  finally  passed  Dec. 
20,  1781,  and  they  were  made,  as  the  preamble  recites, 
in  the  expectation  that  the  losses  would  be  reimbursed 
by  the  State,  as  they  were  afterwards  in  some  of  the 
other  colonies.  In  New  Jersey  they  never  were  re- 
imbursed, and  the  only  fruit  of  the  labor  has  been  to 
preserve  a  record  of  the  injuries  sustained  by  our 
ancestors,  and  to  present  a  vivid  picture  of  their 
sufferings,  their  social  surroundings,  furniture,  dress, 
etc. 

This  act  provided  that  two  separate  registers  of  in- 
ventories should  be  made,  the  one  being  of  the  prop- 
erty danuiged  or  destroyed  by  the  "  enemy  and  their 
adherents,"  and  the  other  of  the  property  damaged 
or  destroyed  by  the  "Continental  army,  or  by  the 
militia  of  this  or  of  the  neighboring  States;"  that 
the  appraisers  were' to  value  and  appraise  the  articles 
inventoried  at  the  prices  current  at  the  opening  of  the 
war  in  1775;  that  the  inventories  were  to  be  certified 
to  by  oath  or  affirmation  ;  that  nothing  was  to  be  ad- 
mitted in  the  inventories  for  which  any  restitution 
had  been  made  or  satisfaction  received  ;  that  no  in- 


ventory was  to  be  received  from  persons  who  were  of 
a  suspicious  character,  or  who  failed  to  substantiate 
that  they  had  been  friends  of  the  government  e.stab- 
lished  under  the  authority  of  the  people ;  that  forged 
or  feigned  inventories  would  render  the  utterers  liable 
to  severe  penalties ;  that  the  losses  sustained  by  pri- 
vateers or  vessels  of  war,  merchant  ships  or  trading 
vessels,  their  tackle,  furniture,  or  cargo  from  the  en- 
emy were  not  to  be  admitted  to  be  inventoried;  and 
that  the  appraisers  were  each  to  receive  as  compensa- 
tion for  their  services  "  seven  shillings  and  sixpence 
by  the  day,"  and  "nine  pence  per  sheet"  of  ninety 
words  for  registering  the  inventories  and  vouchers. 

The  voli5me  of  records  now  under  consideration 
is  the  one  which  relates  to  the  damages  done  by  the 
"enemy  and  their  adherents,"'  and  the  appraisers 
appointed  by  the  act  for  Middlesex  (Benjamin  Man- 
ning, Joseph  Olden,  and  Nathaniel  Hunt)  faithfully 
performed  the  duties  assigned  to  them.  They  were 
all  gentlemen  of  consideration,  and  noted  for  probity 
and  patriotism.  Benjamin  Manning  resided  in  Pis- 
cataway,  and  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  Assem- 
bly from  Middlesex  from  1778  till  1785.  Joseph 
Olden  resided  in  Windsor  township,  near  Princeton, 
and  was  a  grand-uncle  of  ex-Governor  Charles  S. 
Olden.  Nathaniel  Hunt  also  resided  in  one  of  the 
Windsors,  and  early  in  the  war  served  as  colonel 
of  the  Second  Regiment  of  militia  of  Hunterdon 
County. 

In  conformity  with  the  act  the  inventories  that 
were  presented  were  sworn  to  by  the  claimants  before 
one  of  the  appraisers,  the  usual  form  of  the  affidavit 
being  as  follows:  "  Edward  Van  Harlingen  declares 
on  oath  that  the  above  inventory  is  just  and  true  to 
the  best  of  his  Knowledge.  That  he  has  not  received 
any  satisfaction  for  any  of  the  articles  therein  con- 
tained. And  that  he  hath  good  reason  to  believe 
that  the  above  articles  were  taken,  carried  otf,  and 
destroyed  by  the  enemy."  When  personal  property 
only  had  been  plundered  or  destroyed,  the  oath  of 
the  party  injured  alone,  or  of  his  representatives  if 
dead,  was  taken  in  the  above  form.  When  a  claim 
was  made  for  real  property  burnt  or  damaged,  in 
addition  to  the  oath  of  the  claimant,  an  additional 
oath  was  required  from  one  or  more  carpenters  who 
had  "  viewed"  the  premises  and  estimated  the  loss, 
and  was  commonly  in  this  form  :  "  Joseph  Vickers 
and  John  Voorhees,  being  carpentere,  declare  on 
their  oaths,  that  they  knew  the  buildings  of  Gette 
Voorhees,  widow,  which  were  destroyed  by  the  En- 


i  I  liHve  exainitied  rlie  record  uf  the  **  property  damaged  or  destroyed 
by  ll»e  Ooiitiiieiitiil  Jiriiiy  ur  by  the  niililm,"  etc.,  in  New  Joreey.  The 
elitiie  rL'u«'nl  is  cutitaiiied  in  one  suiall  Vulunie,  wliich  is  preserved  iQ 
tlie  iitiite  Library.  'Die  counties  friini  nhivli  there  ute  returns  are  Ber- 
gen, Morris,  Essex,  Souiersft,  and  Burlington.  No  damages  steoi  to 
have  been  cuniiuitted  ni  Middlesex  by  "ur  ariuie!*,  I'lir  the  reason  prolj- 
ably  tliat  tlieir  operations  were  priiic. pally  conhned  to  the  hilly  |iortioQ 
of  the  Stale  lying  to  the  north,  and  also  because  the  British  had  so  Com- 
pletely stripped  the  people  of  Middlesex  as  to  leave  nothing  worth  taking 
lor  the  patriot  troops. 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


475 


emy,  and  also  do  adjudge  the  damages  to  the  amount 
of  £235  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge."  Ordina- 
rily, when  several  buildings  were  destroyed,  the  affi- 
davit of  the  experts  contained  a  detailed  valuation,  as 
follows  :  "  Isaac  Cotheal,  being  a  Carpenter,  declares 
on  Oath  that  he  Knew  the  buildings  of  James  Colyer 
as  destroyed  by  the  Enemy,  and  Judge  the  value  of 
them  as  follows,  to  wit,— Grist-Mill,  £200  ;  Saw-Mill, 
£50 ;  House,  Slaughter-  do,  &  Smith  Shop,  £30  ;  and 
y"  other  House  and  Barn,  £110."  If  a  building  was 
only  partially  damaged  the  form  varied  as  follows  : 
"Joseph  Vickers  being  sworn  saith  that  he  in  con- 
junction with  John  Voorhees,  being  called  upon  to 
view  the  damages  done  the  buildings  of  the  Rev'' 
Johannes  Light,  and  having  viewed  the  same,  do 
adjudge  the  said  damages  done  to  said  buildings  to 
y"  am'  of  £19.0.  to  the  best  of  their  Knowledge." 
Where  woodland  was  destroyed  a  third  person  was 
called  upon  to  estimate  the  loss,  and  his  affidavit  was 
annexed  in  this  form  :  "  John  French  being  sworn 
saith  that  he  Knew  the  Timber  land  of  James  Rich- 
mond as  above  mentioned,  which  was  destroyed  by 
the  Enemy,  and  do  judge  the  said  damages  was  worth 
£160.0.  to  the  best  of  his  Knowledge."  When  valu- 
able horses  were  inventoried,  the  oath  of  the  claim- 
ant was  supplemented  by  the  affidavit  of  a  neighbor, 
which  was  almost  invariably  in  the  curious  form  fol- 
lowing :  "  John  Bennet  declares  on  oath  that  he  was 
knowing  to  the  Enemies  taking  and  destroying  the 
articles  contained  in  the  above  inventory  of  Barent 
Stryker.  And  that  he  personally  Knew  the  said 
horse  (or  mare),  and  do  adjudge  he  was  worth  £15." 

Some  of  the  affidavits  annexed  to  these  inventories 
reveal  very  interesting  facts  illustrating  the  events  of 
that  period,  and  afford  glimpses  of  the  personal  for- 
tunes of  our  ancestors,  showing  the  straits  to  which 
they  were  often  reduced,  and  presenting  brief  but 
vivid  pictures  of  the  dismay  which  attended  the  in- 
roads of  the  British  marauders.  For  example :  On 
the  approach  of  the  British  to  New  Brunswick  in 
1776,  John  Dennis,  who  was  a  wealthy  merchant  and  an 
active  patriot  (having  been  a  delegate  to  the  Provincial 
Congress  for  Middlesex  County  in  1775,  a  member  of 
the  first  Committee  of  Safety,  and  one  of  the  com- 
missioners for  emitting  and  signing  the  colonial  bills 
of  credit),  distributed  a  large  part  of  his  property 
among  various  persons  in  the  town  and  country  adja- 
cent, in  the  hope  that  it  might  thus  escape  the  notice 
of  the  enemy.  Among  other  things,  he  sent  "  sundry 
trunks,  barrels,"  etc.,  containing  valuable  goods,  to 
the  farm-houses  of  Jeremiah  and  John  Field  in  Pis- 
cataway  township,  who  secreted  a  part  in  their  eel 
lars  and  barns,  and  a  part  they  buried  under  a  stack 
of  buckwheat;  but  the  enemy,  guided  by  some  sure 
intelligencer,  discovered  and  plundered  or  de.stroyed 
the  whole.  Mr.  Dennis  presented  ten  different  in- 
ventories of  iis  many  separate  lots,  recording  very 
heavy  damages  to  his  property  left  in  the  town  as 
well  as  to  that  stored  in  different  places.     He  was  also 


the  owner,  or  part  owner,  of  a  number  of  vessels 
which  were  carried  off  by  the  enemy.  One  of  these 
was  a  sloop  named  the  "  Cluster  Valle,"  another  was 
the  sloop  "  Mary  and  Elizabeth,"  and  another  the 
schooner  "  General  Lee."  They  all  had  considerable 
cargoes,  which  shared  the  fate  of  the  vessels.  Each 
of  these  ten  inventories  has  a  separate  affidavit  an- 
nexed. In  one  of  these  Mr.  Dennis  "and  his  wife 
Mary"  make  oath  that  they  left  their  house  in  New 
Brunswick  on  the  1st  day  of  December,  1776,  "  when 
the  enemy  was  on  the  other  side  of  the  river."  In 
another  he  declares  that  he  "  locked  up  his  store- 
house" in  New  Brunswick  "  at  8  o'clock  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  1st  of  December,"  and  that  the  enemy 
"  took  possession  of  said  store-house  at  near  twelve 
o'clock  the  next  day."  In  this  inventory  Mr.  Dennis 
records  the  loss  of  a  great  quantity  of  wine;  and  Jo- 
seph Robinson  (of  whom  a  further  record  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  paper)  certifies  as  a  witness  that  he 
"  knew  numbers  of  pipes"  were  in  the  store-house,  and, 
further,  that  "he  was  in  the  Store-house  when  the 
wine  was  almost  over  his  shoes  on  the  floor,  when  he 
saw  the  Enemy  take  some  of  the  hoggs'  fat"  (of  which 
Mr.  Dennis  had  left  a  considerable  stock  in  the  same 
store-house)  "to  stop  the  holes  in  the  pipes,"  thus 
"  robbing  Peter  to  pay  Paul."  Mr.  Dennis  had  also 
stored  eighteen  tierces  of  fla.xseed  in  the  barn  of  Dr. 
Jaques,  near  New  Brunswick;  and  John  Whitlock 
testifies  to  its  wanton  destruction  by  "  a  party  of  the 
Enemy."  He  says  that  in  March,  1777,  he  saw  these 
tierces,  "some  with  all  and  some  with  a  part  of  the 
heads  knocked  out  and  the  flaxseed  laying  all  over 
the  yard,"  that  "  a  rain  fell  a  few  days  after  and  the 
flaxseed  lay  matted  or  caked  together  between  two 
and  three  feet  high."  Concerning  the  sloop  "Mary 
anti  Elizabeth,"  Mr.  Dennis  and  John  Lyle,  Jr.,  tes- 
tify that  she  was  a  new  sloop,  and  when  the  enemy 
occupied  the  town  she  "  lay  at  the  dock  of  Capt. 
Gibbs,'  near  his  garden  fence,  in  the  slip  before  his 
door."  (This  is  the  slip  between  Agnew's  &  Rolfe's 
saw-mill.)  Concerning  the  "General  Lee,"  George 
Leach  testifies  that  "  she  was  built  on  Gano's  dock," 
that  she  was  seized  by  the  British  when  they  entered 
the  town,  and  that  he  (George  Leach)  "was  com- 
pelled by  the  Enemy  to  carry  the  said  schooner  to 
New  York."  Mr.  Dennis'  own  affidavit  concerning 
the  loss  of  this  vessel  contains  a  touch  of  grim  humor, 
a:^  follows:  "John  Dennis  declareth  on  oath  that  the 
above  schooner  was  taken  by  the  Enemy  and  their 
Adherents,  and  that  he  this  deponent  saw  said 
schooner  in  the  hands  of  the  Enemy,  in  Perth  Am- 
boy  harbour,  when  he  was  put  on  board  a  boat  as  a 


1  Capt.  Richard  Gihb  resided  in  New  Brunswick  in  the  house  lately 
known  as  John  Hicks*,  143  Barnet  Street,  and  had  a  farm  near  by 
which  the  old  inventory  says  was  called  LongHeld's  farin.  This  was  at 
or  near  the  present  site  of  Weston's  mills.  His  houses  at  both  places 
were  pillaged,  and  the  one  at  "  Longdeld's,"  which  he  says  in  his  inven- 
tory was  tliree-quarters  of  a  mile  from  town,  was  totally  destroyed.  His 
losses  are  inventoried  at  over  £44U. 


476 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


prisoner  to  be  conveyed  to  the  Provost  gaol  in  New 
York.  He  further  declareth  that  he  never  hath  re- 
ceived one  farthing  as  a  recompence  for  no  part  of  the 
same,  excepting  one  year's  close  co)ifinement  in  a  loath- 
some Gaol,  and  further  saifh  not." 

John  Fisher,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  convinced  that 
he  had  "just  reason"  to  believe  "that  his  goods  were 
taken  by  the  enemy,  as  stated  in  his  inventory,  be- 
cause all  the  above  articles  was  left  in  New  Bruns- 
wick when  the  British  troops  took  possession  of  that 
place,  and  they  was  all  gone  after  they  left  there." 
Peter  Obert,  of  South  River,  in  presenting  his  dam- 
ages, declares  that  "  he  was  at  a  small  distance  and 
see  the  Enemy  take,  carry  off,  and  destroy  the  above- 
said  articles,"  which  must  have  been  very  tantalizing 
to  Peter,  although  he  contrived  to  save  himself  from 
being  carried  off  also.  Samuel  Sayre,  of  Woodbridge, 
who  was  robbed  of  three  tine  horses,  testified  that  he 
had  "  since  seen  some  of  the  s''  horses  in  the  enemy's 
possession  when  he  was  a  prisoner  among  them." 
"  When  I  was  a  prisoner"  is  a  not  infrequent  record 
in  these  inventories.  John  Mercerau,  of  Wood- 
bridge,  testifies  that  among  other  things  the  British 
took  from  him  a  "Stage  Coach,  for  which  he  had 
been  offered  £60  without  the  wheels."  John  Ward, 
also  of  Woodbridge,  swears  that  his  "  two  likely  cows 
5  years  old  and  forward  with  calf"  were  "  taken  by  a 
party  of  the  enemy  under  y' command  of  Col.  Simco, 
a  British  oflicer,"  and  his  affidavit  is  corroborated  by 
Adolph  Jones,  who  makes  oath  that  he  "  saw  Col. 
Simcoe  and  his  men  drive  away  the  two  cows"  of  said 
Ward.  We  have  several  other  glimpses  of  this  active 
and  daring  partisan  leader.  Cornelius  Van  Duyn' 
deposes  that  in  December,  1776,  "  he  was  in  Bound- 
brook  with  a  horse,  when  he  was  surprised  by  the 
British  Light  Horsemen  in  the  night,  and  fled  a  few 
hundred  yards  out  of  the  town,  and  on  his  return  the 
horse  was  gone,  and  he  verily  believes  the  said  Horse- 
men took  him."  As  Col.  Simcoe  states  in  his  journal 
that  he  was  with  the  British  army  while  it  was  in 
winter-quarters  at  New  Brunswick  in  1776,  it  is  prob- 
able that  he  commanded  this  party,  especially  since 
it  appears  by  another  affidavit,  given  in  connection 
with  inventory  of  Ennis  Graham,  that  the  "Queen's 
Rangers,"  of  which  Simcoe  was  colonel,  were  at 
Bound  Brook  on  the  19th  of  December,  1776.  Two 
weeks  earlier  than  this  a  body  of  "  German  troops" 
made  a  foray  upon  Bound  Brook,  and  among  others 
whom  they  plundered  was  Elias  Van  Court.  His 
aftidavit  gives  a  graphic  description  of  the  rapacious 
character  of  these  hated  mercenaries.  He  states  that 
he  was  absent  from  home  at  the  time,  and  that  on  his 
return  a  few  hours  after  their  departure,  "  he  found 
his  >*ife  in  great  distress,  who  is  since  dead.  She 
told  this  Deponent  that  about  forty  Hessians  had  the 
night  before  quartered  in  their  house  and  gone  away 

'  This  and  the  four  foUowiag  affldnvitsare  to  lie  fouiiil  iu  the  "  Kecoi-ds 
of  Damages"  in  Somerset  County. 


very  early  in  the  morning,  which  was  December  7, 
1776,  and  that  all  her  bedding  and  sundry  other 
things  had  been  plundered  and  taken  away  by 
them." 

In  October,  1779,  Col.  Simcoe  made  his  famous 
raid  from  Perth  Amboy  through  Woodbridge,  Quib- 
bletown,  and  Bound  Brook,  his  ostensible  object  being 
to  destroy  the  boats  belonging  to  our  army  which  had 
been  collected  at  Van  Vechten's  bridge,  but  his  real 
aim  being  to  take  Governor  Livingston  prisoner.  The 
early  part  of  the  march  was  prosecuted  very  quietly, 
and  without  any  depredations  beyond  seizing  all  the 
good  horses  he  could  find  ;  and  his  party  gave  out 
that  they  were  a  detachment  from  Washington's 
army  in  order  to  prevent  any  alarm  from  spreading. 
They  thoroughly  succeeded  in  keeping  up  this  delu- 
sion until  after  they  had  left  Quibbletown,  when 
their  real  character  was  discovered  by  a  man  who 
knew  Col.  Simcoe.  After  this  they  began  to  plunder 
without  stint,  and  from  Bound  Brook  to  Somerset 
Court-House,  and  on  their  return  from  thence  to 
New  Brunswick,  they  left  behind  them  a  trail  of 
burning  hay-stacks,  barns,  and  houses.  Rachel  Lad- 
ner  testifies  to  their  firing  a  hut  and  some  stacks, 
in  which  property  of  Archicald  Van  Norden  was  de- 
stroyed. William  Cock  also  deposes  that  "  a  party  of 
Horsemen  under  the  command  of  Col.  Simcoe  of  the 
British  Army  put  fire  to  the  Court-house  at  Hillsbor- 
ough, and  that  the  said  Cock's  house  kecht  fire  from 
the  same  and  burnt  down."  Nelly  Smock  substan- 
tiated this  recital.  In  singular  requital  for  the  out- 
rages committed  by  his  men,  it  was  the  previous 
burning  of  a  house  by  the  British  which  led  to  the 
capture  of  Simcoe  and  a  portion  of  his  command,  as 
the  finale  of  this  expedition,  by  throwing  them  out 
of  their  way  into  an  ambuscade,  at  the  precise  spot 
he  had  aimed  to  avoid.  Col.  Simcoe  himself  tells  the 
story.  In  his  "  Journal''  (pp.  117,  118)  he  says,  "  His 
guide  misled  him  ;  nor  was  the  reason  of  his  error  the 
least  uncommon  of  the  sinister  events  which  attended 
this  incursion.  When  the  British  troops  quitted  the 
camp  at  Hillsborough  and  hiarched  to  Brunswick, 
among  other  houses  which  were  unwarrantably  burnt 
was  the  one  which  the  guide  relied  upon  as  marking 
the  private  road  the  party  was  to  take.  He  knew  not 
of  its  being  burnt,  and  that  every  vestige  bad  been 
destroyed,  so  that  he  unintentionally  led  thein  into 
the  ambuscade  ...  on  the  high  grounds  beyond 
the  barracks  at  Brunswick." 

The  march  of  the  British  forces  through  Wood- 
bridge  and  Piscataway  to  New  Brunswick  in  Novem- 
ber, 1776,  and  their  retreat  through  the  two  former 
in  June,  1777,  were  marked  by  devastated  and  burned 
dwellings  and  other  buildings,  two  hundred  and 
forty-four  persons  having  been  plundered,  and  forty 
houses,  mills,  barns,  etc.,  having  been  burned  in 
Woodbridge,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-one  per- 
sons plundered  and  thirty-one  houses,  mills,  barns, 
etc.,  burned  in  Piscataway.     The   aflidavits  accom- 


MIDDLESEX   COUNTY  IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 


477 


panying  many  of  these  inventories  fairly  place  us  in 
the  light  of  these  burning  dwellings.  Thus  Thomas 
Edgar  bears  witness  "  that  on  or  about  the  last  of 
June,  1777,  he  saw  the  House  late  of  Samuel  Parker, 
as  above  mentioned,  in  flames,  a-burning,  immediately 
after  the  enemy  past  it,  and  that  he  verily  believes 
they  set  it  on  fire,  and  that  he  believes  the  said  house 
was  worth  £200  as  money  went  in  the  year  1775." 
Hiram  Frazee  also  testifies  "  that  he  saw  the  house 
of  Thomas  Force  on  fire,  and  see  at  the  same  time  a 
number  of  people  at  the  said  house  which  he  took  to 
be  British  troops,  as  they  then  (in  November,  1776) 
was  a-passing  along  the  road."'  And,  again,  Phineas 
Randolph  testifies  that  in  December,  1776,  he  saw 
the  new,  two-story,  well-finished  house  of  Justus 
Dunn  "  a-burning,  and  at  the  same  time  a  number 
of  the  Enemy  around  it,  and  have  good  reason  to  be- 
lieve they  set  it  on  fire  and  burnt  it."  Instances  of 
this  kind  might  be  cited  in  great  numbers,  but  these 
will  serve  for  examples.  One  notable  circumstance 
runs  through  them  all,  namely,  that  those  whose 
property  was  the  most  mercilessly  pillaged  or  de- 
vastated were  the  most  confirmed  and  obnoxious 
patriots. 

The  plundering  of  their  horses  and  cattle  entailed 
severe  losses  upon  the  people  of  Middlesex,  the  num- 
ber carried  away  or  killed  within  its  limits  having 
been  nearly  eighteen  hundred;  and  the  affidavits 
accompanying  the  inventories  reveal  that  in  many 
cases  this  particular  business  was  inspired  or  con- 
ducted by  "refugees"  and  "Tories,"  who  knew  just 
where  to  lay  their  hands  on  the  most  valuable  and 
serviceable  animals,  and  who  could  thus  wreak  their 
revenge  or  retaliate  their  wrongs  on  their  old  neigh- 
bors or  acquaintances.  The  enormous  destruction 
of  fencing  and  of  growing  or  gathered  crops  was 
another  noteworthy  feature.  In  numerous  cases  not 
a  panel  of  fence  was  left,  the  grain  and  hay  were  all 
carried  oft'  or  destroyed,  fruit-trees  and  orchards  were 
hacked  down,  woodland  was  ravaged,  and  the  most 
thrifty  farm  converted  into  a  ruin  of  desolation.  To 
aggravate  the  indignities  which  were  heaped  upon 
them,  our  people  were  often  "  pressed"  by  the  British 
into  the  work  of  carting  away  the  property  and  val- 
uables of  their  friends  and  neighbors.  Numerous 
cases  of  this  kind  are  interspersed  over  the  old  record 
we  are  considering.  It  sometimes  happened  that 
plundered  articles  and  even  captives  were  "  held  to 
ransom"  by  the  British,  or  more  probably  by  the 
mercenaries  in  their  employment,  though  it  generally 
happened  that  they  contrived  to  carry  away  both  the 
plunder  and  the  money  also  by  which  it  might  have 
been  redeemed.  Thus  John  Ross,  of  Woodbridge, 
was  robbed  of  "  1  new  Oyster  craft  and  3  oyster  tongs 
by  a  British  armed  boat,"  but  he  was  afterwards 
allowed  to  ransom  it  by  the  payment  of  six  pounds. 
Daniel  Dunn,  of  Piscataway,  whose  mare  was  taken 
Dec.  1,  1776,  and  kept  till  Aug.  1,  1777,  was  allowed 
to  redeem  her  on  paying  two  pounds  five  shillings. 
31 


And  John  Noe,  of  Woodbridge,  who  besides  having 
his  horse  stolen  was  himself  stolen,  records  that  "  he 
gave  £6  ransom  money  for  to  let  him  go  when  taken 
a  prisoner  in  January,  1777." 

A  clear  notion  of  the  character  of  these  inventories, 
their  exhibition  of  the  honest  exactitude  of  our  an- 
cestors, and  their  illustration  of  the  food,  dress, 
household  goods,  and  manner  of  life  of  the  times 
can  behest  gained  from  an  inspection  of  their  curi- 
ous and  precise  details.  As  specimens  I  have  made 
a  literal  transcript  in  the  appendix'  to  this  paper  of 
five  different  inventories,  exhibiting  the  losses  sus- 
tained by  as  many  different  and  representative  classes, 
of  a  prosperous  mechanic,  a  well-to-do  farmer,  a 
wealthy  merchant,  a  "lone  woman,"  who  was  either 
a  widow  or  a  spinster,  and  of  a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school.  The  last  mentioned  is  the  inventory  of  Mr. 
Ennis  Graham,  who  lived  near  Bound  Brook.  He  was 
not  living  when  the  appraisement  was  made,  and  his 
inventory  was  presented  by  his  sister,  who  was  his 
executrix.  Her  affidavit  is  so  characteristic  of  the 
sex,  and  affords  so  graphic  a  picture  of  the  time,  that 
I  repeat  it  in  this  place,  as  follows: 

"  Middlesex  County,  «s.  Personally  appeHred  before  us  the  apprais- 
ers Klizateth  Graham  and  beiug  duly  Sworn  deposeth  and  Saitb  that 
the  Anicles  innumerated  in  this  Inventory  was  taken  from  Ennis  Gra- 
ham to  the  best  of  this  Deponents  Knowledge  and  behalf,  in  the  follow- 
ing manner,  that  is  to  say:  On  the  2'' of  December  1776  their  came  to 
the  bouse  of  the  said  Ennis  Graham,  then  living  near  Boundbrook  in 
the  County  of  Middlesex,  three  British  Soldiers,  in  appearance,  And  de- 
manded of  the  said  En*  Graham  his  watch  which  they  took  and  rode  off 
with,  in  the  presence  of  this  Deponent. 

"  That  on  or  about  the  fifth  of  said  month  being  the  day  a  large  body 
of  Hessians  marched  through  Boundbrook  on  their  way  to  Trenton  or 
Penny  ton  A  negro  Fellow  named  Oliver  the  property  of  s^  En^  Graham 
either  went  off  to  or  was  carried  off  by  the  Enemy  or  their  Adherents. 

"  That  on  the  Evening  of  the  19'1>  of  said  December  thar  came  to  the 
house  of  the  Said  En'  Graham,  A  party  of  British  Soldiers  called  the 
Queen's  Rangers,  and  Sundry  Tory  Refugees,  commanded  as  they  in- 
formed this  deponent  by  one  George  H.  Fisher,  where  besides  abusing 
Sundries  of  the  Family  to  tlie  gi-eat  endangeiing  of  tlieir  lives,  they  dug 
up  in  the  Barn  of  the  said  En*  Graham  (where  the  said  Ennis  Gra«  and 
this  deponent  had  buried  it)  a  Chest  or  Box  in  which  was  contained  the 
Cash,  Plate,  Watches  and  Jewelry  &c  mentioned  in  this  said  Inventory 
under  the  date  of  the  19'b  of  December.  That  this  deponent  Saw  them 
take  Some  of  the  things  out  of  the  box  and  put  some  in  their  pockets. 
And  upon  this  Deponents  importuning  them  not  to  take  the  things 
away,  the  above  named  George  H.  Fisher  Damu'l  the  British  Soldiers 
and  ordered  them  to  run  this  Deponent  thro'  with  their  Bayonets  if  She 
did  not  go  into  the  House;  upon  which  two  of  the  Said  Soldiers  came 
and  pushed  with  their  Bayonets  the  said  Deponent  out  of  the  Barn,  and 
drove  the  said  Deponent  and  the  said  Ennis  Graham  into  the  House,  and 
there  stood  with  their  Bayonets  fixed  close  to  the  breast  of  this  Depo- 
nent and  of  the  Said  Knnis  Graham  for  a  considerable  time,  till  there 
was  a  Gun  fired  by  the  party  at  the  Barn,  upon  which  the  said  Soldiers 
went  out  of  the  house,  and  the  party  at  the  Barn  also  went  away.  And 
when  they  were  I'Ut  of  sight  this  deponent  and  the  said  Ennis  Graham 
went  to  the  barn  and  found  the  box  which  contained  the  Articles  men- 
tioned nmler  the  19^  of  Dec,  entirely  emptied  and  the  property  taken 
away.  That  on  or  about  the  'W  of  the  said  December  the  6'<  Ennis  Gra- 
ham went  from  home  to  go  to  Brunswick  to  try  if  he  could  not  recover 
some  of  his  property,  and  as  he  was  passing  the  Street  there  came  up  to 
him  a  British  Soldier  and  Demanded  bis  horse  saying  an  Officer  had  sent 
him  for  it.  M'  Graham  went  with  the  Siildier  to  the  Officer  who  insisted 
upon  having  the  Horse,  Saying  it  looked  like  a  good  Strong  Horse,  and 
they  wanted  it  for  his  Majestys  Service.  M'  Graliam  remonstrated  that 
he  was  a  good  way  from  home  and  could  not  walk  it,  he  replied  his 

t  Omitted  here  ou  account  of  lack  of  space. 


478 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JKKSEY. 


Hajesties  Service  could  not  be  retarded  for  any  excuses,  and  then  pointed 
to  an  old  worn  out  Roree  (a  mere  Skeleton)  and  told  Ijim  he  might  take 
that,  perhaps  it  might  carry  him  homi'.  M'  Graham  finding  there  was 
no  alternative  took  him,  hut  as  Soon  as  he  got  on  his  back  the  horse  fell 
down  witli  him,  he  however  brought  nim  home,  where  he  died  soon 
after.  This  account  this  deponent  had  from  the  Said  Ennis  Graham  at 
his  return,  and  verily  believes  it  to  be  true. 

"  And  this  Deponent  further  declares  that  neither  she  nor  the  said 
Ennis  Gniliam  to  her  Knowledge  or  belief  never  received  any  Kind  of 
salisfaction  for  any  of  the  Articles  Mentioned  in  this  Said  Inventory 
(excepting  as  herein  excepted)  and  further  this  Deponent  saith  not. 

"Sworn  the  4>l'  of  Oct'  1782  ■'  Eliz  Graham 

before  me  Benjn  Manning  Appr." 

A  large  proportion  of  those  whose  inventories,  are 
preserved  in  this  record  of  damages  served  as  officers 
or  soldiers  in  the  patriot  armies  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  and  with  their  relatives  and  friends  seem 
to  have  been  specially  selected  for  spoliation  by  the 
British.  In  order  that  this  may  be  made  apparent, 
that  the  substantial  character  of  the  men  who  com- 
posed the  Revolutionary  armies  may  be  seen,  and 
that  the  names  of  these  patriotic  men  may  be  pre- 
served, together  with  some  record  of  their  services 
and  losses,  I  present  a  list  of  nearly  two  hundred  of 
those  whose  inventories  are  given  in  this  old  manu- 
script and  who  served  in  a  military  capacity,  with 
such  brief  particulars  of  their  services  and  references 
to  their  losses  as  I  have  been  able  to  gather  which  are 
noteworthy  for  their  peculiarity. 

William  Applegate,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Middlesex  militia  early  in  the  war,  and 
alterward  in  Capt.  Voorhees'  company  of  the  Third 
Regiment  of  State  troops.  Notable  among  the  things 
of  which  he  was  despoiled  were  "  2  Barrels  of  Bohea 
tea,  about  100  pounds  each,"  and  "  J  Bbl.  of  Sugar, 
100  lb.,"  besides  damages  to  his  house  and  fence.  Mr. 
Applegate  was  an  active  officer  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  New  Brunswick. 

Samuel  Ay  res  and  Jacob  Ay  res,  both  of  Woodbridge, 
were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  They  escaped 
quite  lightly,  the  losses  of  the  former  being  chiefly 
cattle,  sheep,  and  hay,  and  of  the  latter  various  arti- 
cles of  female  apparel,  prominent  among  which  were 
"  1  black  Calamanco  Cloak  lined,  new,"  and  "  1  Scar- 
let Cloak,  i)art  worn." 

Reuben  Ayres,  of  Woodbridge,  served  as  a  private 
in  Capt.  Asher  F.  Randolph's  company  of  State  troops. 
His  barn  was  destroyed,  his  horses  carried  off,  also  a 
"good  Gun,"  and  other  considerable  los.ses. 

Simon  Addis,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  tirst  a  lieuten- 
ant and  afterward  a  captain  in  the  Middlesex  militia. 
The  enemy  rewarded  his  patriotism  by  running  oB' his 
'■  three  Milch  Cows." 

John  Arnold,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia.  Api)arently  he  was  not  in  active 
service  when  he  was  pillaged,  since  the  enemy  carried 
off  his  "  Gun,  Cartouch  Box,  and  Bayonet,"  together 
with  a  "  pair  of  holsters  and  a  sword,"  besides  a  fine 
"  lour  year  old  Sorrel  Mare,"  valued  at  £30. 

Robert  Armstrong,  oi  South  Brunswick,  was  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  also  records  the 
loss  of  "  a  good  gun,  worth  £4." 


Joseph  Brown,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  private  in  Capt. 
Reuben  Randolph's  company  of  Middlesex  militia. 
He  was  robbed  of  a  number  of  small  articles,  mostly 
clothing  and  household  utensils.  Also  "  1  Small 
Bible,  six  shillings." 

James  Bishop,  of  Piscataway,  served  first  as  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  afterward  in  the 
same  capacity  in  the  Continental  army.  Among  his 
losings  he  records  "  2  Guns  and  accoutrements." 

John  Brown,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia.  The  enemy  visited  him  six  times, 
and  plundered  him  at  each  visit.  Among  his  losses 
he  recites  thirty-one  cattle,  three  horses,  and  a  large 
number  of  sheep.  In  his  inventory  he  states  that  the 
enemy  killed  "  1  calf  of  y  old  &  past  &  wounded  2," 
evincing  that  their  destruction  of  his  property  was  to 
a  certain  extent  wanton. 

Solomon  Brecount,  of  Woodbridge,  who  was  a  pri- 
vate in  Capt.  Asher  F.  Randolph's  company  of  State 
troops,  was  plundered  on  three  separate  occasions. 
The  enemy  stole  his  horses,  destroyed  his  apple  or- 
chard of  fifty  trees,  and  burnt  his  fencing. 

Daniel  Brecount,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  was  visited  twice,  and  each 
time  robbed  of  a  hiirse. 

1       Moses  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 

I  Capt.  Asher  F.  Randolph's  company  of  State  troops, 
who  was  greatly  harassed  by  the  enemy.  He  was 
plundered  at  five  different  times,  robbed  of  ten  cattle 
and  seven  horses,  and  his  property  laid  waste.  Among 
his  losses  he  recounts  the  astounding  item  of  "32 
shirts,  part  homespun  and  part  bought  linen,"  to- 
gether with  such  articles  of  finery  as  "  2  pr.  of  Silver 
Shoe  Buckles,  a  pair  of  Silver  Knee  buckles,  a  Silver 
Stock  buckle,  and  .3  large  new  Silver  Spoons."     The 

I  enemy  also  despoiled  his  neighbor,  James  Bonny,  who 
was  a  captain  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  of  "  4  Silver 
tea-spoons." 

Ezekiel  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  was  twice  visited  by  the 
British  and  their  adherents,  when  he  was  pillaged  of 
his  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  and  poultry ;  his  windows  and 

i  doors  were  broken,  the  weather-boards  stripped  off 

'  his  house,  his  fencing  and  hay  were  destroyed,  and 
his  trusty  "  gun"  appropriated. 

Cornelius  Baker,  of  Woodbridge,  was  another  long- 

[  suffering  private  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  Besides 
his  horses,  hogs,  sheep,  and  poultry,  he  chronicles 
among  numerous  other  things  the  loss  of  "  A  new 
pair  of  Velvet  Breeches,"  and  "  a  pair  of  boots  almost 
new,"  "3  Large  Silver  Shoe  Buckles  and  1  do.  Knee 

I  buckle,"  together  with  "40  Galls,  of  Rum,  Brandy, 
and  Gin,"  and  "  £10  in  cash,  greatest  part  hard." 

Jonathan  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  as  was  also  Thomas  Bloom- 
field, of  the  same  place.  They  were  plundered  on 
several  different  occasions,  of  horses,  cattle,  crops, 
and  household  goods. 

Alexander  Cotheal,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY   IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


479 


in  the  Middlesex  militia.  The  enemy  carried  off  his 
cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs,  robbed  him  even  of  his  "  2 
beds  and  bedding,"  and  burned  his  dwelling-house 
and  barn. 

Isaac  Cotheal,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
Capt.  Marsh's  company  of  light-horse,  and  a  much 
aggrieved  patriot.  He  was  not  only  himself  taken 
prisoner  near  his  home,  April  19,  1777,  but  in  July 
of  that  year  his  schooner  of  "about  42  tons  bur- 
then, loaded  with  pork,  flower,  and  butter,"  with  his 
"negro  boy  12  years  of  age  £50,"  were  carried  off; 
and  the  rapacious  maraudersalsostolehissilverwatch, 
which  he  as.sures  us  was  "  good  and  cost  £8  lOs.,"  a 
"  new  pare  of  Leather  Britches,"  and  "  6  pare  of  An- 
keen  and  Drillin  D°  new,"  "a  dozen  of  Shirts  new," 
"6  Wastcoats  Ankeen  and  Striped  Silk,  good,"  and 
"  2  Coats,  1  Ankeen  and  1  Cloth."  From  all  which 
it  would  seem  that  this  worthy  patriot  was  careful  of 
his  personal  appearance,  at  least  in  the  matter  of  his 
attire. 

Ephraim  Compton,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  paid  dearly  for  it.  He 
was  literally  despoiled  of  everything.  His  inventory 
consists  of  over  one  hundred  entries,  and  comprises 
his  crops,  horses,  and  cattle,  his  household  and  farm- 
ing utensils,  his  bedding,  and  his  own  and  his  wife's 
clothing.  Among  the  items  are  "2  Common  Bibles, 
1  Testament,  and  1  Psalm  Book."  So  that  he  was 
bereft  of  even  these  sources  of  consolation.  Only  his 
buildings  were  spared. 

Gabriel  Compton,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  still  greater 
sufferer.  He  was  a  private  in  the  Middlesex  militia. 
His  dwelling-house,  "Large  Dutch  Barn,"  corn-crib, 
and  cider-mill  were  burned  to  ashes,  and  a  clean 
sweep  made  of  his  crops,  cattle,  horses,  fencing, 
wagons,  clothing,  and  household  and  farming  uten- 
sils. He  seems  to  have  been  literally  stripped  of 
everything.  He  makes  special  mention  of  "A  silver 
hilled  sword,  musket,  and  bayonet,"  of  "  1  worked 
pocketbook  with  £9  cash  in  it,"  and  of  "  1  ditto  with 
20/  hard  money  and  8  Dollars  paper  in  it." 

Samuel  Crow,  of  Woodbridge,  was  successively  a 
captain  in  the  First  Regiment  of  Middlesex,  first 
major  and  lieutenant-colonel  in  the  same.  His  prop- 
erty was  twice  visited  by  the  enemy  and  relieved  of  a 
number  of  articles  of  little  value. 

Joseph  Crowell,  of  Woodbridge,  was  first  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  troop  of  light-horse  and  then  in 
the  Continental  army.  He  was  plundered  on  three 
different  occasions,  principally  of  horses  and  cattle. 

Edward  Crowell,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  and  came  off  with  compara- 
tively light  loss,  having  been  plundered  of  a  horse 
only. 

Jeremiah  Clarkson,  of  Woodbridge,  was  first  a 
private  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  then  in  Capt.  Asher 
F.  Randolph's  company  of  State  troops,  and  lastly  in 
the  Continental  army.  He  laments  the  loss  of  "  a 
fine  mare  6  years  old,  near  15  hands  high." 


Stephen  Cutler,  of  Woodbridge,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  was  plundered  twice,  each  time  of 
articles  of  small  value. 

David  Chambers,  of  South  Brunswick,  captain  in 
the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment,  was  plundered  of 
articles  of  slight  value. 

John  Chamberlain,  of  Windsor,  is  one  of  the  few 
who  are  dignified  in  the  "Record  of  Damages"  by 
the  title  "  Esquire."  Nevertheless  he  was  only  a 
private  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  He  was  twice  plun- 
dered, the  first  time  of  "  £8  1.  in  hard  money,  1  Silver 
Watch  good,"  and  "  1  good  4  Horse  Waggon."  The 
second  time  he  chronicled  the  loss  of  "  £1000  Conti- 
nental Money,"  appraised  at  £15  13«.  -id.,  "  3  Silver 
Shoe  Buckles,  &  3  do.  Stock  do,"  "  i  doz.  Teaspoons  & 
3  pr.  do  Sleeve-buttons,"  besides  "  1  Gun  and  Bayonet 
&  1  lb.  of  powder,  and  1  or  2  lbs.  of  shot  and  2  powder 
horns."  He  also  reports  the  loss  of  twenty  one  shirts, 
and  hence,  possibly,  his  appellative  of  "Esquire." 

John  Conger,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  and  was  several  times  a  victim  to 
British  rapacity  or  thirst.  He  is  another  of  those 
upon  whom  was  conferred  the  rare  title  "  Esquire," 
although  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  was  the  distin- 
guished owner  of  as  many  shirts  as  his  brother  patriot 
Chamberlain.  Evidently  he  was  a  well-to-do  person, 
since  he  had  stored  in  his  cellar  "  4  Hhds.  of  Cider, 
i  Pipe  Madeira  Wine,  10  Galls.  Brandy,  7  Galls.  Ja- 
maica Spirits,  2  Barrel  of  Cherry  Rum,  and  J  of  a  Bar- 
rel of  Porter."  These  were  sufficiently  patrician  be- 
longings, certainly,  to  cause  him  to  be  dubbed  "  Es- 
quire," unless  he  derived  the  title  from  the  exercise  of 
the  then  important  and  highly  respectable  function  of 
an  inn-keeper.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  enemy  imbibed 
or  carried  away  his  liquors,  and  then  gave  evidence  of 
their  potency  by  destroying  his  barn,  damaging  his 
house,  tearing  down  and  burning  the  fencing  on  his 
garden  and  farm,  and  finally  by  smashing  fifty  panes 
of  glass  in  his  windows.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  his  liquors  were  good,  judging  by  their  effect 
upon  his  unwelcome  visitors. 

Dugal  Campbell,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia.  Among  the  articles  of  which 
he  was  plundered  were  his  hay  and  cattle,  and  "  1 
Gun  and  bayonet  and  Cartridge-box,  2  Knapsacks, 
and  2  Canteens." 

Samuel  Compton,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  and  suffered  severely  from  the 
enemy.  They  burned  his  "Grist-mill,  Dwelling- 
House  &  Barn,  worth  £355,"  together  with  1022  pan- 
els of  fence,  and  cut  down  "  8  acres  of  good  Wood 
and  Timber;  also  50  bearing  Apple-trees." 

There  were  ten  of  the  Drake  family  in  the  military 
service  of  their  country  in  various  capacities.  They 
all  escaped  the  ravages  of  the  enemy  with  the  excep- 
tion of  George  and  Ephraim,  both  of  Piscatawav,  who 
were  robbed  of  their  horses,  cattle,  and  household 
goods  generally. 

Elijah  Disbrow,  of  South  Amboy,  was  a  private  in 


480 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Capt.  Morgan's  company,  Second  Regiment,  of  Mid- 
dlesex. He  lost  "  Two  Skiffs,  one  a  new  large  Skiff, 
the  other  a  small  one." 

The  Dunn  family  seem  to  have  been  specially 
selected  by  the  enemy  for  their  attentions,  no  less 
than  eleven  of  them  having  been  plundered  out  of  fif- 
teen yiho  were  soldiers  in  the  patriot  army.  Among 
these  were  the  following : 

Daniel  Dunn,  of  Piscataway,  a  private  in  the  Mid- 
dlesex militia,  presents  a  long  list  of  sundries  stolen, 
including  the  rare  luxury  for  those  times  of  "  1  Set 
of  China  Tea-Cups  and  Saucers,  &  a  large  China 
bowl,  £10." 

Benjamin  Dunn,  of  PLscataway,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  was  a  heavy  sufferer,  his  inven- 
tory footing  up  over  £700.  Besides  his  horses,  many 
head  of  cattle,  and  a  great  store  of  grain  and  hay 
carried  off,  "6.50  Trees  and  Saplings  cut  down,"  "200 
acres  of  land  mowed  and  pastured,"  "  Firewood  cut 
and  drawed  for  2  large  fires  and  one  small  one  for  5 
months,"  and  5378  rails  and  stakes  destroyed,  he  re- 
counts the  loss  of  "  1  Stout  Negro  Man,  30  years  of 
age,  £100,"  "  1  Large  Looking-Glass,  3  by  2  feet, 
broke,  £8,"  his  "  Gun,  Cartouch  box,  Bayonet,  and  3 
Cutlasses,"  and  his  valuable  library,  consisting  of  two 
books,  "  Salman's  Gazetteer  and  Harry." 

Hugh  Dunn,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  captain  in  the 
First  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  was  twice  spoliated, 
principally  of  his  "stock,"  grain,  and  household 
goods.  Though  he  was  not  despoiled  of  his  stout 
negro  man,  as  was  the  case  with  Benjamin,  he  pa- 
thetically bewails  the  loss  of  a  "  New  Coat  for  my 
Negro,"  as  doubtless  also  did  that  sable  chattel.  Be- 
sides he  has  an  item  of  "  Wood  for  One  fire  for  a 
picket  of  25  men  for  5  months  £5,"  showing  that  his 
farm  was  the  point  at  or  near  which  the  British  out- 
posts were  quartered. 

John  Dunn,  of  Piscataway,  was  first  a  major  in 
Col.  Heard's  battalion  of  "  minute-men,"  afterwards 
a  major  in  Col.  Samuel  Forman's  battalion  of  "  De- 
tached Militia,"  and  subsequently  first  major  of  the 
First  Middlesex  Regiment.  He  was  plundered  of  his 
horses,  grain,  farming  utensils,  household  goods,  etc., 
to  the  extent  of  £313  5s.  5d.  Among  his  losses  he 
enumerates  "  £18  in  Continental  Cash,"  "  1  Clock 
without  the  case,  of  the  best  kind,  £30,"  and  "  1  Do. 
with  the  Case  £16." 

Jeremiah  Dunn,  of  Piscataway,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  was  robbed  of  his  horses,  cattle, 
crops,  etc.,  to  the  amount  of  £113  M.  But  Micajah 
Dunn,  of  the  same  place,  who  was  a  lieutenant-colonel 
in  the  First  Middlesex  Regiment,  did  not  suffer  in 
proportion  to  his  superior  rank,  his  entire  loss  being 
a  horse,  two  guns,  one  great-coat,  and  a  pair  of  shoes. 

The  Dunhams  were  generous  contributors  to  the 
cause  of  independence,  fifteen  of  their  number 
having  served  in  the  army  in  various  capacities,  and 
nine  having  been  spoliated  by  the  enemy.  Among 
these  last  were  the  following  : 


Azariah  Dunham,  of  New  Brunswick.  Before  the 
war  he  was  a  civil  engineer,  and  was  largely  employed 
in  that  capacity  by  private  parties,  the  Legislature, 
and  other  public  bodies.  In  May,  1775,  he  was 
elected  a  member  of  the  Colonial  Assembly,  and 
during  that  year  proceeded  to  the  city  of  New  York 
to  confer  with  other  patriotic  delegates  from  the 
sister  colonies  as  to  the  measures  to  be  adopted  for 
the  preservation  of  their  menaced  liberties.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  first  Provincial  Congress  of  New 
Jersey  in  1775-76,  and  was  appointed  by  that  body 
one  of  the  "  Committee  of  Safety,"  which  exercised 
extraordinary  powers  in  its  recess.  As  a  member  of 
the  Provincial  Congress  he  served  on  numerous  im- 
portant committees,  and  drafted  and  reported  various 
weighty  measures.  Among  these  were  "  a  resolution 
respecting  apprehending  deserters  from  the  Conti- 
nental troops,"  an  "ordinance  to  compel  payment 
of  a  tax  of  £10,000  from  such  persons  as  have  refused 
to  pay  the  same,"  an  ordinance  premitting  £.30,000 
of  credit,"  and  an  ordinance  for  the  "  manufacture 
and  purchase  of  saltpetre."  In  1775-76  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  review  and  muster  in  the  troops  raised  in 
the  province,  and  was  made  one  of  the  committee  to 
adju.st  and  settle  the  accounts  of  powder  furnished  to 
Earl  Stirling  by  Somerset,  Brunswick,  Woodbridge, 
and  Elizabethtown.  In  1776  he  was  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Second  Battalion  Middlesex  militia, 
but  resigned  from  it  to  devote  himself  to  the  duties 
of  "  superintendent  of  purchases"  for  the  province, 
of  commissioner  to  raise  troops,  and  a  commissioner 
to  sign  bills  of  credit  for  the  Eastern  Department  of 
New  Jersey,  positions  to  which  he  had  been  elected 
by  the  Provincial  Congress,  and  which  he  filled  till 
the  close  of  the  war.  Before  the  enemy  occupied 
New  Brunswick  he  had  been  able  to  remove  his  plate 
and  valuables  to  the  Ford  mansion  at  Morristown 
(his  wife  was  Mary  Ford) ;  but  one  of  the  British 
oflicers  was  quartered  in  his  house,  and  he  was 
plundered  of  household  goods  to  the  value  of  £218. 
His  father.  Rev.  Jonathan  Dunham,  a  venerable  man 
of  eighty,  residing  in  Piscataway,  was  also  plundered 
to  the  amount  of  £80. 

Elisha,  Jonathan,  Josiah,  and  John  Dunham,  of 
Woodbridge,  and  David,  David,  Jr.,  and  Samuel 
Dunham,  of  Piscataway,  were  all  of  them  privates  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  and  experienced  the  tender 
mercies  of  the  British.  The  three  last  named  had 
their  houses  and  barns  burned  after  having  been  first 
pillaged,  their  grain,  etc.,  carried  oft',  and  twenty-five 
thousand  rails  and  stakes  destroyed,  footing  up  for 
the  three  an  aggregate  loss  of  about  £1000. 

William  Davisou,  of  South  Brunswick,  was  a  ser- 
geant in  Capt.  Morgan's  company  of  the  Second  Mid- 
dlesex Militia,  and  was  plundered  of  two  horses  and 
a  wagon,  the  latter  of  which  he  assures  us  was  "as 
good  as  new." 

Cornelius  Dehart,  of  South  Brunswick,  was  a  private 
in   the    Middlesex   militia.      He  was  visited  by   a 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE  REVOLUTION. 


481 


foraging  party  of  the  enemy,  who  stole  his  "  seed 
wheat  and  rye,"  and  after  their  virtuous  perform- 
ances warmed  themselves  over  a  good  fire  made  of 
his  "  rail  fence." 

James  Debow,  of  South  Brunswick,  was  a  captain 
in  the  Middlesex  militia.  His  losses  were  not  heavy, 
but  still  comprised  his  cattle,  swine,  and  clothing, 
besides  a  general  destruction  of  his  windows  and 
shutters. 

Jonathan  Deare,  of  Princeton,  at  the  outset  was 
first  major  of  the  First  Middlesex  Regiment  and 
subsequently  its  lieutenant-colonel.  He  resigned  in 
March,  1778,  having  been  elected  collector  of  customs 
for  the  Ea.stern  District  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  a 
prominent  lawyer.  The  enemy  made  a  full  sweep 
of  his  household  goods  and  his  orchards  and  cellars. 
Among  the  former  were  a  "  number  of  law  and  other 
books  value  of  £40,"  and  among  the  latter  "  1 
hamper  of  wine  in  bottles,  6  Dozen,"  .some  of  his 
pillagers  evidently  having  been  of  a  studious  and 
others  of  a  convivial  turn  of  mind. 

William  Evans,  of  New  Brunswick,  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  was  twice  visited  and  relieved 
of  sundry  luxuries,  among  which  were  "  1  Set  of  Cups 
and  Saucers  best  quality,"  "Cash  in  silver  12/6,  and 
in  Continental  money  40/,"  a  "  pair  of  gold  locket 
sleeve-buttons  and  a  gold  finger-ring,"  and  "several 
fine  books,"  the  authors  not  named. 

James  Edgar,  of  Woodbridge,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  was  visited  three  times  and  very 
effectually  pillaged.  Among  his  losses  he  records  that 
of  a  fine  five-year-old  mare  and  a  number  of  cattle, 
"taken  by  Col.  Simcoe." 

Isaac  Furman  and  John  Fisher,  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  John  Flatt,  of  Woodbridge,  all  were  privates 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  were  thoroughly  de- 
spoiled of  their  cattle  and  household  goods,  special 
attention  having  been  paid  to  their  ample  stores  of 
women's  clothing  and  bedding.  Among  the  multi- 
tude of  caps,  aprons,  gowns,  kerchiefs,  and  other 
articles  of  female  wear  of  which  the  last-named  was 
robbed  he  laments  "  1  pair  of  Stays  as  good  as  new," 
which  some  uxorious  British  or  Hessian  soldier  ap- 
propriated for  the  wardrobe  of  his  better  half  Mr. 
Flatt  also  records  in  one  item  the  loss  of  "  1  Common 
Bible,  1  good  Rifle,  and  a  Bullet-mould,"  an  odd  ad- 
mixture of  weapons,  spiritual  and  carnal. 

Jonathan  Freeman,  of  Woodbridge,  was  first  a 
private  in  Capt.  Morgan's  company  of  the  Second 
Middlesex  Regiment,  and  afterwards  in  Capt.  Nixon's 
troop  of  light-horse.  He  was  robbed  of  his  house- 
hold goods,  and  had  a  fine  horse  shot.  Besides  him 
eleven  others  of  the  Freeman  family  were  privates  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  but  two  only  of  them,  Israel 
and  Samuel,  both  of  Woodbridge,  were  molested. 
The  latter  suffered  the  loss  of  four  fine  horses,  and 
among  other  things  "  6  Silver  teaspoons  and  a  set  of 
china." 

There  were  nine  of  the  Fields  of  Middlesex  in  the 


patriot  service,  and  of  these  three  were  pillaged. 
Benjamin  and  Richard,  both  of  Piscataway,  were 
privates,  and  Jeremiah,  also  of  Piscataway,  was  first 
a  private,  then  sergeant,  and  finally  a  lieutenant  in 
the  First  Regiment  of  Middlesex.  Their  inventories 
amount  to  a  total  of  £414. 

William  French,  of  Piscataway,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  to  use  an  expressive  colloquialism, 
was  thoroughly  "  cleaned  out."  The  enemy  burned 
his  "  Dwelling-House  large,  and  a  Store-House  ad- 
joining the  same,"  "1  other  Dwelling-House,"  "2 
Barns  and  a  Smoke-House,"  valued  by  William  Horn 
and  John  Shippey,  carpenters,  at  £316.  They  carried 
ofl'  his  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  wagons,  sleds,  pleasure 
sleighs,  grain  and  hay,  and  robbed  him  of  his  house- 
hold goods  and  farming  utensils.  From  the  character 
of  many  of  the  articles,  which  could  only  have  proved 
useless  impediments  to  the  marauders,  it  is  evident 
that  they  must  have  been  wantonly  consumed  with 
his  buildings.  In  his  inventory  we  find  mentioned 
that  favorite  article  of  furniture  with  our  ancestors, 
"  3  Cupboards  of  Dutch  make  equal  to  new."  Also 
"  3  Swords  &  1  Gun  and  Bayonet  good,"  and  "  3  bibles, 
1  large  dutch  y'  other  English,  worth  £2.11.6."  Wil- 
liam had  a  Bible  for  each  sword,  and,  doubtless,  was 
equally  a  man  of  war  and  of  prayer. 

Henry  Fouratt,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia.  It  is  evident  from  his  inventory 
that  he  combined  the  occupation  of  an  oysterman 
with  that  of  a  farmer.  Besides  his  "green  grain  in 
the  ground"  he  recites  the  loss  of  a  "  Skiff  17  feet 
long,  2  Oyster  Rakes,  1  pr.  of  Tongs,  1  Anchor,  and 
a  New  Cable." 

Moses  Guest,  of  New  Brunswick,  the  author  of  an 
odd  compound  entitled  "  Guest's  Poems  and  Journal," 
was  first  an  ensign  in  Capt.  Voorhees'  company  in 
the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  afterwards  a  cap- 
tain in  the  Second  Regiment.  While  in  the  former 
capacity  he  had  the  good  fortune  to  capture  the  dar- 
ing partisan.  Col.  Simcoe,  the  incidents  attending 
which  he  himself  relates  as  follows :'  "  Simcoe  was  not 
discovered  to  be  an  enemy  until  he  had  got  seven 
miles  north  of  N.  Brunswick  at  Quibble  town,  from 
which  place  an  express  was  dispatched  to  Col.  John 
Neilson,  at  N.  Brunswick,  who  immediately  ordered 
out  his  regiment.  We  were  soon  marched  to  the 
bridge  at  Raritan  Landing.  From  Quibble  town 
Col.  Siraco  proceeded  rapidly  to  Col.  Van  Horns's 
house  at  Middlebrook.  He  was  much  disappointed  in 
not  finding  the  Governor  there  [Governor  Livingston 
was  then  at  N.  Brunswick].  He  then  went  on  to  Van 
Vechten's  bridge  on  the  Raritan  river,  and  set  fire  to 
some  forage  and  flat-bottom  boats ;  from  which  he 
went  to  Millstone,  a  small  town  8  miles  N.  W.  of 
Brunswick ;  here  he  set  fire  to  the  court-house  and 
jail.  While  we  were  at  the  landing  bridge  we  dis- 
covered the  smoke  of  those  buildings.     It  was  then 

1  Guest's  Poems  and  JourDal,  pp.  144, 145, 146. 


482 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


thought  probable  that  the  enemy  would  endeavor  to 
pass  this  bridge  in  their  retreat.  Col.  Neilson  there- 
fore continued  there,  being  in  hopes  of  cutting  off 
their  retreat,  and  dispatched  me  with  thirty-flve 
men  with  orders  to  endeavor  to  fall  in  with  them,  and 
to  annoy  them  as  much  as  possible.  Soon  after  get- 
ting on  the  road  leading  from  Millstone  village  to  the 
bridge  I  was  informed  by  an  e.xpress  that  the  enemy 
was  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  me;  I  had  just 
time  to  get  to  an  open  piece  of  woods  when  they 
made  their  appearance.  We  attacked  them  as  they 
came  up,  but  they  came  on  so  rapidly  that  we  could 
only  give  them  one  discharge.  Col.  Simco's  horse 
received  three  balls,  fell  on  him  and  bruised  him  very 
badly  ;  there  was  one  man  killed  and  several  wounded. 
I  left  a  physician  with  Simco,  and  proceeded  on.  We 
soon  found  his  party  had  halted  on  the  heights  west 
of  Brunswick.  They  sent  a  doctor  and  his  servant  to 
us  bearing  a  flag.  The  doctor  requested  permission 
to  attend  Col.  Simco,  which  was  granted,  but  as  the 
enemy  was  proceeding  on  their  retreat  whilst  the  flag 
was  negociating,  which  is  contrary  to  the  rules  of 
war,  the  doctor  and  his  servant  were  considered  as 
prisoners.  After  Simco  fell,  Major  Stuart  (a  refugee, 
who  had  piloted  him)  took  the  command.  Soon  after 
we  dismissed  the  doctor,  we  witnessed  a  scene  that 
was  truly  distressing.  We  found  Captain  Peter  Voor- 
hies  lying  in  the  road  mortally  wounded,  and  to  all 
appearance  nearly  breathing  his  last  breath.'  He 
had  just  returned  from  General  Sullivan's  army,  and 
with  a  few  militia  horsemen  was  pursuing  so  close  on 
the  enemy's  rear  as  to  cause  a  detachment  to  sally 
out.  They  soon  came  up  with  him  and  cut  him  with 
their  broadswords  in  a  most  shocking  manner,  which 
caused  his  death  in  a  few  hours.  We  pursued  them 
until  we  got  to  South  river  bridge,  8  miles  south  of 
Brunswick,  at  which  place  we  received  information 
that  500  men  had  been  landed  at  South  Amboy  to 
cover  their  retreat,  and  that  they  were  embarking  for 
Staten  Island." 

So  far  as  the  "  Record  of  Damages"  shows,  Capt. 
Guest  was  not  despoiled  of  any  property  ;  but  his 
relatives,  Henry  and  John  Guest,  also  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  who  were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  mili- 
tia, did  not  fare  so  well.  Henry  was  a  tanner,  and 
was  well  curried  by  the  enemy.  In  his  inventory  he 
enumerates,  among  other  things,  "  122Slaughter  Hides 
from  Fort  Lee,"  which  had  just  before  capitulated  to 
the  British.  This  item  suggests  an  incident  which  I 
have  heard  my  grandfather  (Dr.  Jacob  Dunham,  late 
of  New  Brunswick)  describe  with  great  animation. 
The  British  during  the  Revolution  had  a  fort  oppo- 
site New  Brunswick  on  the  east  side  of  the  Raritan, 
near  the  present  residence  of  Mr.  Augustus  T.  Stout. 
At  one  period  they  expected  the  approach  of  a  body 

1  My  grandfather  pointed  out  to  me  when  a  lad  the  place  of  Yoorhees' 
death.  It  was  on  the  road  between  the  Potter's  Field  and  Town  Lane, 
that  ran  from  the  Trenton  turnpike  to  George's  road,  now  within  the 
city  limits  of  New  Brunswicll. 


of  American  troops  by  way  of  the  road  from  Trenton, 
and  were  vigilantly  on  the  lookout.  One  night  Mr. 
Guest,  whose  tannery  was  just  above  New  Street  on 
Livingston  Avenue,  put  out  a  large  number  of  hides 
to  dry,  possibly  the  identical  "  122"  above  named, 
hanging  them  on  his  fences.  When  the  sun  rose  the 
British  mistook  the  hides  for  the  long  expected  Ameri- 
can troojis,  and  set  up  a  brisk  cannonade  from  the 
fort.  But  fire  as  furiously  as  they  might  they  could 
make  no  impression  on  the  foe,  who  held  their  position 
firmly  without  manifesting  the  least  disorder.  They 
were  as  unflinching  as  any  veterans,  and  the  thing 
began  to  grow  serious.  It  was  not  until  field-glasses 
were  brought  into  use  that  the  enemy  discovered  they 
had  been  training  their  batteries  for  several  hours  on 
a  lot  of  "  recreant"  hides.  When  this  had  been  ascer- 
tained there  was  a  sudden  cessation  of  hostilities ;  and 
the  joke  becoming  widely  known  caused  great  merri- 
ment among  all  good  patriots  in  the  town  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  redcoats. 

David  Gilliland,  of  New  Brun.swick,  was  a  lieuten- 
ant ill  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment.  He  had  his 
wagon  and  pleasure- sleigh  confiscated,  and  these 
comprised  all  his  losses. 

Richard  Gibson,  of  VVoodbridge,  and  James  Griggs 
and  John  Gronendike,  of  South  Brunswick,  were 
privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  Their  losses  were 
chiefly  of  horses  and  cattle.  But  John  Gillman,  of 
Piscataway,  another  private,  records  a  sweeping  de- 
struction of  his  fencing,  cattle,  grain,  and  household 
articles. 

George  Harriott,  of  Woodbridge,  was  first  a  captain 
in  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  afterwards  in 
the  First.  In  one  of  their  forays  the  enemy  robbed 
him  of  his  horses,  cattle,  and  numerous  other  valua- 
bles. But  David  Harriott,  also  of  Woodbridge,  who 
was  only  a  private  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  was  lit- 
erally stripped  of  everything  "  when  the  enemy 
passed  through  in  November,  1776,  and  some  time 
after."  They  confiscated  his  household  finery,  con- 
sisting among  other  things  of  a  "Set  of  Home- 
spun curtains  wove  damask  flowers,  1  do.  of 
White  in  large  damask  flowers,  and  1  do.  of  double 
dimons ;"  his  abundant  store  of  napkins,  quilts, 
bedspreads,  sheets,  "  large  flowered  damask  table- 
cloths," and  sundry  linen  articles.  They  plundered 
his  wife  of  her  "  long  gowns,"  and  "  short  gowns  of 
chintz,  of  calico,  of  striped  Holland  and  homespun;" 
of  her  forty-two  "  bed  sheets  of  3i-hundred  linen," 
and  "  1  do.  of  5hundred  linen  ;"  of  her  "  28  yards 
of  new  whitened  diaper-wove  Huckabuck  ;"  of  her 
"  Shifts  of  5-hundred  linen  ;"  of  her  six  "  petticoats, 
1  of  them  of  flannel,"  and  "  1  of  damask,  new  ;"  of 
her  handkerchiefs  of  "  lawn,  gause,  and  silk  ;"  of  her 
aprons  of  "  new  flowered  lawn,"  of  "striped  muslin," 
of  "  fine  linen,"  and  of  "  homespun  ;"  and  of  her  "  8 
cap.s,  cambric  and  lawn,  all  new,"  comprising  a  com- 
plete female  outfit,  even  including  "  2  diaper  bibs  for 
a  child."     Finally,  they  stole  his  boots,  his  "  broad- 


MIDDLESEX    COUNTY  IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 


483 


cloth  coat,"  liis  "  velvet  Jacket  &  breeches,"  and 
other  unmentionables  innumerable;  besides  "Cash 
£6.4.,  his  silver  teaspoons,  silver  stock-buckle,  and 
silver  sleeve-buttons.  They  smashed  in  his  windows 
and  doors,  tore  up  his  floors,  broke  down  his  parti- 
tions, destroyed  his  grain  and  fencing,  stampeded  his 
cattle,  and  did  not  leave  him  so  much  as  a  bed,  a 
trammel,  or  a  gridiron."  His  neighbor,  James  Hamp- 
ton, also  of  Woodbridge,  and  a  private  in  the  Middle- 
sex militia,  lost  "  a  cow  and  calf." 

William  Hoaglaud,  of  New  Brunswick,  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  met  with  a  "  mixed"  loss, 
among  the  articles  of  which  he  was  despoiled  being 
"  1  Gun,  bayonet,  Cartouch  box  &  Cutlass,  2  pair  of 
Stays,  100  lbs.  of  Tobacco,  and  a  linen  wheel." 

His  townsman,  John  Halfpenny,  was  a  private  in 
Capt.  Voorhees'  company,  Third  Middlesex  Regi- 
ment, and  afterwards  in  the  State  troops.  He  seems 
to  have  followed  the  same  occupation  as  Hortwick, 
and  lost  "  1  Scow  of  ten  tons  burthen  valued  at  £80, 
&  4  Oyster  Rakes." 

Thomas  Hadden,  of  Woodbridge,  was  first  a  cap- 
tain, then  major,  and  at  length  lieutenant-colonel  of 
the  First  Middlesex  Regiment.  He  escaped  for- 
tunately with  the  loss  of  three  fine  horses  only. 

Nathaniel  Heard,  of  Woodbridge,  was  one  of  the 
first  of  our  patriotic  ancestors  to  take  the  field.  In 
1775  he  raised  a  body  of  troops  which  he  placed  at 
the  disposition  of  the  Provincial  Congress  and  the 
Committee  of  Safety.  At  first  he  was  colonel  of  the 
First  Middlesex  Regiment,  then  colonel  of  a  bat- 
talion of  "minute-men,"  then  colonel  of  a  battalion 
named  after  himself — "  Heard's  Battalion,"  then 
brigadier-general  commanding  the  same,  and  finally 
brigadier-general  of  militia.  He  suffered  a  heavy 
penalty  for  his  patriotism,  his  inventory  of  los-ses 
amounting  to  £2186  17s.  6rf.  His  grain  (over  one 
thousand  bushels)  was  carried  away,  together  with 
seventy  tons  of  hay,  one  thousand  panels  of  fence, 
twenty-two  hogsheads  of  cider,  and  two  splendid 
horses.  And,  in  addition,  his  "two  dwelling-houses, 
4  rooms  on  a  floor,  2J  stories  high,  well  furnished,  and 
50  feet  in  length,"  were  burned  to  the  ground,  as  also 
were  his  "  Boalting  House,  Hatter's  Shop,  Weaver's 
Shop,  Chair  House,  &  2  Barns." 

James  Jones,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  and  suflTered  only  the  loss  of  some 
fencing,  sheep,  and  cattle. 

John  Jordan,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia.  Before  the  war  he,  like  other 
heroes,  pursued  the  peaceful  avocation  of  a  tanner, 
with  the  difference  that  it  was  diversified  by  that  of  a 
fisherman.  He  recounts  the  loss  of  fifty-two  kegs  of 
lampblack,  a  lot  of  calf-skins  and  sides  of  leather,  a 
fishing-boat,  and  two  oyster-rakes. 

Peter  Keenan,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  first  a  private 
in  the  Second  Middlesex  Regiment,  then  in  the  State 
troops,  and  afterwards  in  the  Continental  army.  His 
loss  was  limited  to  a  few  articles  of  clothing. 


Robert  Kip,  of  Raritan  Landing,  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  was  thoroughly  despoiled.  It  is 
evident  from  some  phra.ses  in  his  inventory  that  he 
had  attempted  to  secrete  a  portion  of  his  valuables 
from  the  enemy,  but  their  scent  was  too  keen  or  their 
information  too  sure  for  anything  to  escape.  Among 
the  numerous  items  in  his  inventory  are  "  2  Hogs- 
heads of  Rum,  nigh  half  full,"  "  J  Barrel  of  Metheg- 
lin,"  and  "  2  Sets  of  cooper's  tools."  He  also  records 
the  loss  of  "  1  Hog'  of  good  Tobacco,"  and  the  fre- 
quent recurrence  of  entries  of  similar  large  lots  of 
the  "  weed"  in  the  "  Record  of  Damages"  provokes 
the  inquiry  whether  it  was  raised  in  Middlesex  County 
or  brought  from  one  of  the  other  colonies. 

Barnet  Hagaman  and  William  Hillyer,  both  of 
South  Brunswick,  were  privates  in  Capt.  Morgan's 
company  in  the  Second  Regiment  of  Middlesex. 
Besides  a  wagon  and  other  articles,  the  former  was 
plundered  of  his  sword-belt,  while  in  the  inventory 
of  the  latter  such  things  figure  as  "  bobben,"  "  luten," 
"  millenet  and  white  gause,"  and  "790 sewing-needles," 
indicating  that  he  was  in  the  dry  goods  line.  Among 
his  other  entries  appear  the  following  :  "  60  shillings 
in  hard  cash"  and  "  600  Dolls,  in  Continental  cur- 
rency," the  last  named  being  appraised  at  £2  14s.  6d. 

John  Hampton,  of  Woodbridge,  an  ensign  in  the 
First  Middlesex  Regiment,  was  another  heavy  suf- 
ferer. Apparently  he  was  an  inn-keeper,  since  among 
his  losses  are  "  60  Galls.  Spirits,"  "  40  Galls.  Rum," 
"30  Do.  Cherry  Rum,"  "  30  Do.  Brandy,"  "  15  Do. 
Cherry  Brandy,"  "  60  Do.  Madeira  Wine,"  "  40  Do. 
Teneriffe  Wine,"  "  40  Do.  Country  Gin."  and  "  200 
lbs.  of  Tobacco."  He  was  pillaged  on  three  several 
occasions,  and  his  total  losses  exceeded  six  hundred 
pounds.  His  bedding,  clothing,  furniture,  crockery 
(which  was  unusually  plentiful  and  good),  and  house- 
hold stores  were  mercilessly  ransacked  and  appro- 
priated. He  records  the  loss  of  "  Cash  £20,  taken 
at  Quibbletown,"  and  "400  Continental  Dollars,"  the 
latter  of  which,  however,  were  worth  little  more  than 
a  "  continental  darn,"  their  appraised  value  being 
£6  18s.  8rf.  He  also  inventories  a  "  Sloop  of  32  tons 
taken  at  Paulus  Hook  in  Dec.  1776,  when  the  British 
first  came  to  New  York,"  and  "  2  pipes  of  Wine  taken 
out  of  Col.  John  Neilson's  store  at  New  Brunswick, 
paid  him  for  it  £200  York  money,  Octr.  1776." 

Jacob  Hyer,  of  Princeton,  was  first  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  after- 
ward became  its  colonel.  He,  too,  must  have  been 
either  an  inn-keeper  or  a  "  fine  old  gentleman  of  the 
olden  time,"  since  he  notes  (and  if  he  were  an  inn- 
keeper doubtless  his  guests  sorely  bemoaned)  the  loss 
of  "60  Galls.  Madeira  Wine,"  "  65  do.  best  Claret," 
"  8  Barrels  Hores'  best  porter,"  "  30  Galls.  Cherry 
Whiskey,"  "  6  Groce  Black  Bottles,"  "  20  Gin  Cases 
and  flasks,"  besides  spits,  saucepans,  pie-pans,  bake- 
ovens,  etc.,  innumerable.  That  he  was  an  inn-keeper 
is  made  further  probable  by  such  items  as  "o  fluted 
brass   candle-sticks,  best  kind,"  "  2  pr.  Comon   do.," 


484 


HISTORY   OF   UNlOiV    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  1  Doz.  Iron  Do.  and  10  pr.  of  Snuffers,"  "  11 
feather  beds  with  bolsters  and  pillows,"  "  6  pair  new 
Slippers,"  and  a  great  variety  of  other  things  be- 
tokening a  well-to-do  and  amply  furnished  house- 
hold. The  enemy  left  him  literally  nothing,  carry- 
ing away  even  his  "  Iron  Chain  for  Smoke  Jack" 
and  the  trammels  appertaining.  Like  Gen.  Heard, 
Col.  Hyer  appears  to  have  exercised  a  care  for  the 
outer  man.  He  was  a  hatter  as  well  as  a  landlord 
and  a  soldier,  there  being  recited  among  his  losses 
"  .50  tti.  of  Hatter's  wool  carded,  14  Caster,  and  20 
Wool  Hats  and  a  new  hat  press." 

Francis  Letts,  of  South  Amboy,  was  a  corporal,  and 
Elisha,  Elijah,  and  John  Letts,  of  the  same  place, 
were  privates  in  Capt.  Morgan's  company  of  Middle- 
sex militia.  Francis  and  Elisha  had  their  dwelling- 
houses  and  barns  burned,  besides  experiencing  other 
losses,  and  Elisha's  mother,  the  widow  Hannah  Letts, 
was  plundered  of  her  cattle. 

William  Lake,  of  South  Amboy,  Benjamin  Luker, 
and  Aaron  Longstreet,  of  South  Brunswick,  and 
John  Langstaff,  of  Piscataway,  were  all  privates  in 
the  Middlesex  militia.  They  were  plundered  lightly, 
— Lake,  of  his  cattle;  Luker,  of  forage  and  provis- 
ions ;  Langstaff,  of  timber,  clothing,  and  provisions  ; 
and  Longstreet,  who  was  a  blacksmith  apparently,  of 
"  300  Bushels  of  Coal,"  "  200  ft.  of  Iron  and  Steel, 
and  a  Vice,"  "  all  the  small  tools  belonging  to  a 
Smith's  Shop,"  and  sundry  other  things. 

John  Lyle,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  first  a  captain 
and  then  a  major  in  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment. 
Evidently  he  was  another  patriotic  tanner,  as  he 
speaks  of  "  1  shed  and  3  platforms  destroyed  in  y* 
Tan-Yard,"  together  with  "  30  Sides  of  Upper  leather 
and  a  lot  of  bark."  He  also  lost,  or  the  contraband 
lost  himself,  "  1  Negro  Man,  aged  20  yrs.,  £100." 
Mr.  Lyle  was  a  prominent  member  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  New  Brunswick. 

The  Martin  family  had  nineteen  of  their  number 
in  the  patriot  army,  and  twenty  of  that  name  were 
more  or  less  severely  pillaged.  Of  those  who  were 
in  the  army,  David,  Benajah,  and  Nathaniel  lived  in 
Piscataway,  and  were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  mil- 
itia, David  having  also  served  in  Capt.  Asher  F. 
Randolph's  company  of  State  troops.  Daniel,  Elia- 
kim,  James,  William,  and  John  were  privates  in  the 
State  troops,  James  having  afterwards  served  in  the 
Continental  army.  William  was  the  severest  sufferer 
of  them  all.  He  was  visited  five  times  by  the  enemy 
between  February,  1777,  and  April,  1781.  Each  time 
they  carried  off  two  or  three  horses,  besides,  at  their 
several  calls,  seven  geese,  ten  fowls,  four  ducks,  three 
Guinea  fowls,  fifty-five  sheep  and  lambs,  and  eight 
cows.  He  makes  special  mention  in  one  entry  of  two 
of  the  luxuries  of  which  they  rirted  him,  namely,  "6 
fts.  of  Tobacco  and  6  tbs.  of  Sassages."  The  losses  of 
the  others  comprised  horses,  cattle,  provisions,  sheep, 
grain,  hay,  and  household  goods.  Among  the  numer- 
ous entries  there  are  none  worthy  of  special  mention. 


except  "  .5  ft.  of  Spanish  Tobacco,"  and  "  1  pr.  of 
black  Everlasting  Breeches,"  recorded  by  James,  and 
by  John  his  literary  collection,  consisting  of  "  1  Book 
call"  the  London  Art,  1716." 

The  Mundays  of  Middlesex  were  also  good  pa- 
triots, eleven  of  them  having  served  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary armies.  Of  these,  Martin,  Reuben,  Samuel, 
and  Benjamin  lived  at  Woodbridge,  and  Nicholas  and 
Peter  at  Piscataway.  They  were  all  privates  in  the 
Middlesex  militia,  and  were  plundered  of  sundries 
which  caused  their  inventories  to  range  from  £6  to 
£60  each. 

James  Morgan,  of  South  Amboy,  was  first  an  en- 
sign and  then  a  captain  in  the  Second  Middlesex 
Regiment.  He  was  afterward  a  captain  in  the  State 
troops,  and  was  very  active.  Of  course  he  was  not 
overlooked  by  the  enemy.  They  destroyed  his  "  kiln 
of  stone  ware  not  burned,"  broke  open  his  desk  and 
rifled  it  of  a  "  Silver  Watch  and  300  Continental 
dollars,"  took  off  his  wife's  entire  wardrobe  (including 
that  good  lady's  "velvet  hood"),  dashed  in  23  of  his 
window-panes,  made  free  with  his  "  4  pr.  of  Silver 
shoe  buckles  &  1  pair  of  silver  knee  buckles,"  besides 
carrying  off  such  of  his  military  trappings  as  they 
found,  consisting  of  "  1  Appalet,"  "  1  Silver  Hilted 
Sword,"  "  1  Gun  Good  &  1  Gold  lase  &  hat  band." 

Ephraim  and  John  Morris  and  Samuel  Moores,  of 
Woodbridge ;  Andrew  and  David  Manning  and  Rich- 
ard Merrill,  of  Piscataway  ;  John  Messerol,  of  South 
Brunswick;  and  John  and  Humphrey  Mount,  of 
Windsor,  all  were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia, 
and  suffered  for  amounts  varying  from  two  to  sixty 
pounds,  except  Merrill,  whose  loss  exceeded  £160. 

William  and  Jeremiah  Manning,  of  Woodbridge, 
both  were  captains  in  the  First  Middlesex  Regiment, 
and  were  severely  scourged  by  the  enemy,  especially 
Jeremiah,  whose  store-house,  chair-house,  stable,  and 
barn  were  burned,  his  fine  orchard  containing  "  223 
apple  trees,  23  cherry  trees,  and  a  quantity  of  peach 
do.,"  were  wantonly  cut  down,  his  fences  leveled  and 
burned,  and  scarcely  an  article  left  him  for  wear  or 
use. 

John  Noe,  of  Woodbridge,  was  only  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  but  nevertheless  he  was  as 
ruthlessly  harried  as  if  he  were  a  brigadier.  The 
enemy  pillaged  him  on  twelre  different  occasions, 
taking  him  away  as  a  prisoner  at  one  of  their  visits, 
and  carrying  off  literally  every  article  of  clothing 
belonging  to  himself  and  family,  besides  "  1  negro 
man  named  Fenox"  (Phamix?),  and  all  his  household 
goods,  farm  implements,  provisions,  horses,  and  cattle 
to  the  value  of  over  £400. 

Robert  Nixon,  of  South  Brunswick,  suffered  lightly. 
He  was  first  a  captain  in  a  troop  of  light-horse,  to 
which  he  was  afterwards  breveted  major,  and  finally 
was  first  major  of  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment. 
He  was  another  patriotic  tanner,  and  the  enemy  ap- 
propriated from  his  establishment  "  75  Sides  of  Sole 
Leather,  17  Kip  Skins,  and  19  Calf  Skins." 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


485 


John  Neilson,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  first  the 
colonel  of  a  battalion  of  "minute-men,"  the  colonel 
of  the  Second  Middlesex  Regiment,  then  colonel  of  a 
regiment  of  State  troops,  then  brigadier-general  of 
militia,  and  finally  deputy  quartermaster-general. 
He  was  pillaged  of  his  household  goods,  of  "2111  lb. 
of  pork  purchased  that  fall,"  and  of  a  number  of 
things  from  his  store  and  warehouse,  among  which 
are  mentioned,  as  exhibiting  the  heavy  stock  of  cer- 
tain goods  required  at  that  day  as  compared  with  the 
present,  "  25  dozen  New  England  Scythe.s."  His  total 
loss  somewhat  exceeded  £220. 

Frederick  Outgelt,  Peter  Obert,  and  Benjamin 
Ogden,  of  South  River,  and  John  Olden,  of  Windsor, 
were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  were 
aeverally  plundered  to  the  extent  of  from  £21  to  £96. 
Obert's  loss  was  the  heaviest,  being  largely  of  cattle, 
besides  "50  dollars  in  Cash."  Ogden's  loss  was  also 
of  cattle  mainly,  ten  head  having  been  carried  off"  in 
one  swoop.  Among  his  other  losings  were  "  1  fishing- 
net  65  fathom  long,"  "  2  skiffs  and  1  good  firelock." 
But  among  the  items  in  his  inventory  the  one  on 
which  he  lingers  the  most  regretfully  perhaps  of  any 
is  "  1  Iron  bound  Cask  containing  4  Barrels  of  very 
good  cider." 

Samuel  Parker,  of  Woodbridge,  I  believe  to  be 
identical  with  the  Samuel  F.  Parker  who  was  first  a 
captain  in  Col.  Forman's  battalion,  "  Heard's  Bri- 
gade," and  afterwards  a  major  in  the  same.  He  was 
a  printer,  as  was  his  father,  James  Parker,  also  of 
Woodbridge,  who  printed  the  "Votes  and  Proceed- 
ings" of  Assembly  from  1768,  and  perhaps  earlier, 
until  1770.  Early  in  the  session  of  the  Twenty-first 
Assembly,  on  Sept.  28,  1770,  "  a  petition  was  pre- 
sented to  the  House  from  Samuel  F.  Parker,  setting 
forth  that  his  late  father,  James  Parker  dec'',  was 
employed  as  printer  to  the  Ho.  of  Assembly,  and 
that  the  printing-office  in  Woodbridge  has  devolved 
on  him,  praying  the  House  to  appoint  him  their 
printer."  On  September  29th  Isaac  Collins  presented 
a  similar  petition,  and  on  October  1st  the  printing 
was  awarded  to  Collins.  That  Samuel  F.  Parker  and 
the  Samuel  Parker  of  the  "  Record  of  Damages"  are 
identical  is  rendered  probable  by  the  circumstance 
that  in  the  inventory  of  the  latter,  exhibited  by  liis 
widow,  one  of  the  items  is  "  Part  of  a  printing  office" 
and  various  articles  of  furniture  for  the  same.  His 
"  dwelling  house,  well  furnished,"  appraised  at  £200, 
was  burnt,  and  a  number  of  articles  of  unusual  ele- 
gance for  the  time  were  destroyed  or  stolen.  Among 
these  were  "  1  large  Silver  Bowl  would  hold  two 
quarts  £20,"  "  1  Large  Silver  Tankerd  £20,"  "  1  pair 
of  gold  sleeve  bottons,"  "  1  do.  garnet  ring  20s.," 
"  Cash  20  Dolls.,"  "  1  Silver  Nitten  Sheath,"  and  "  1 
Silver  Whistle  for  a  child  to  play  with  Is.  M." 

John  Pane,  of  Woodbridge,  was  successively  a 
lieutenant  and  a  captain  in  the  Middlesex  militia. 
He  was  killed  Sept.  25,  1781,  at  Spanktown  (Rah- 
way),  and  his  widow  presents  an  inventory  of  their 


other  losses,  principally  of  clothing,  household  goods, 
and  horses. 

The  Randolph  family  were  conspicuous  for  their 
patriotism,  three  of  them  having  been  officers  and 
twenty-seven  privates  in  the  Revolutionary  armies. 
One  of  the  foremost  of  these  patriotic  men,  Capt. 
Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  fortunately  escaped  any 
destruction  of  his  property.  Originally  a  captain  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  he  was  elected  naval  officer  for 
the  Eastern  District  of  New  Jersey,  Dec.  12,  1778  ; 
a  sword  was  voted  to  be  presented  to  him  by  Council 
on  the  11th  of  that  month  "for  his  patriotism,  vigi- 
lance, and  bravery  during  the  war;"  he  was  taken 
from  his  bed  by  Tories  in  January,  1779,  and  impris- 
oned in  New  York,  from  whence  he  was  exchanged 
May  26,  1780 ;  and  he  died  at  Woodbridge,  July  23, 
1781,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 

Asher  Fitz  Randolph,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  spir- 
ited and  valuable  officer,  and  extremely  popular 
among  his  neighbors,  many  of  whom  enlisted  in  his 
company.  He  was  successively  an  ensign  in  Capt. 
Freeman's  company  of  State  troops,  lieutenant  in  the 
same,  major  in  Haye's  battalion  of  State  troops,  and 
captain  of  a  company  of  Middlesex  troops.  Although 
conspicuous  and  energetic,  his  losses  were  light,  being 
principally  of  cattle,  clothing,  provisions,  and  a  few 
household  goods. 

Samuel  Randolph,  of  Piscataway,  was  first  a  cap- 
tain and  then  a  major  in  the  First  Middlesex  Regi-. 
ment.  He  escaped  with  slight  loss,  the  chief  item  in 
his  inventory  being  a  fine  stallion  valued  at  £50. 

Eseck  and  Malichi  Randolph  were  first  privates  in 
the  Middlesex  militia  and  afterwards  in  Capt.  Asher 
F.  Randolph's  conipauy.  Eseck  was  plundered  at 
five  different  times  of  everything  in  the  form  of  ap- 
parel that  was  at  that  time  to  be  found  in  the  house 
of  a  comfortable  farmer,  if,  indeed,  he  were  a  farmer, 
which  I  am  led  to  doubt  from  the  items  in  his  inven- 
tory of  "  70  gallons  of  rum"  and  "  6  case  bottles  full 
of  cherry  and  plain  rum."  Malichi  was  plundered 
twice  only,  but  yet  very  effectually.  The  enemy 
burned  his  capacious  barn,  thirty-six  by  twenty-four 
feet  in  dimensions ;  destroyed  his  shed,  cider-mill, 
and  over  five  thousand  rails  and  posts ;  damaged  his 
dwelling-house,  and  wantonly  laid  waste  his  orchards, 
one  of  which,  he  says  regretfully,  was  "  in  its  perfec- 
tion." 

Phineas  and  Ephraim  Randolph,  of  Piscataway, 
and  Joseph  Randolph,  of  Woodbridge,  were  privates 
in  the  Middlesex  militia.  Joseph's  loss  was  small, 
but  among  the  articles  was  a  "  ferry  scow  and  canoe," 
from  which  the  avocation  of  a  ferryman  may  be  in- 
ferred. Ephraim  was  pillaged  four  times,  and  on 
one  of  their  visits  the  enemy  must  have  made  a  long 
stay,  since  one  of  the  items  in  his  inventory  is  "  for 
the  use  of  my  house  3  months  £3."  They  seem  to 
have  made  themselves  entirely  at  home  during  their 
stay,  all  his  grain,  cattle,  poultry,  clothing,  wood, 
household  goods,  and  even  his  wife's  "  cotton  petti- 


486 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


coat"  having  been  appropriated  to  their  use  by  the 
marauders.  Phineas,  however,  was  the  greatest  suf- 
ferer of  the  three.  The  enemy  burned  up  his  fences, 
consisting  of  twelve  thousand  rails  and  stakes;  fed 
up  over  four  hundred  bushels  of  his  grain  and  thirty- 
six  tons  of  ha)';  destroyed  nine  hundred  and  eighty- 
one  trees  and  saplings,  and  carried  oft'  one  horse  and 
sixteen  cows,  with  hogs,  turkeys,  and  other  edibles 
innumerable.  They  made  free  with  his  bedding  and 
apparel,  ate  his  "  2  hives  of  honey"  and  a  flock  of 
sheep,  and  drove  off  with  his  pleasure-sleigh  and  his 
wife's  "  good  red  short  cloak."  His  loss  exceeded 
£440. 

John  Ross  and  James  Rowland,  of  Woodbridge, 
and  Joseph  Robison,  of  New  Brunswick,  were  pri- 
vates in  the  Middlesex  militia.  Ross'  loss  was  trivial. 
Among  Robinson's  losses  were  "  1  pair  of  pockets  with 
£6  in  cash."  It  would  seem  that  he  was  a  cooper  from 
the  large  quantity  of  "  hogshead  staves  and  headings" 
that  he  records.  Rowland's  losses  were  very  serious. 
The  enemy  burned  his  "dwelling-house,  49  feet  by 
31,"  "barn,  35  by  32  feef,"  "cider-house,  36  by  26," 
etc.,  and  carried  away  his  fine  "half-blooded  mares," 
his  sheep,  grain,  hay,  furniture,  clothing,  and  "£14 
in  cash,"  to  the  total  sum  of  £475. 

William  Scudder,  of  Windsor,  at  first  was  first  ma- 
jor of  the  Third  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  afterwards 
lieuteuant-colonel  of  the  same.  He  was  a  miller,  as 
his  ancestors  were  and  as  many  of  his  descendants 
continued  to  be  to  a  late  day,  at  Scudder's  Mills. 
These  consisted  in  the  Revolution  of  a  grist-  and  full- 
ing-mill, which  were  totally  destroyed  by  the  enemy. 
The  grist-mill  is  described  in  the  inventory  as  "  in 
good  repair,  with  2  pr.  Stones  and  all  the  apparatus 
for  carrying  on  the  business  in  the  most  extensive 
manner,  £900;"  and  the  fulling-mill  consisted  of  "  1 
Fulling  House  &  Mill,  Press  House,  and  all  the  ap- 
paratus for  finishing  Cloth,  £200."  Col.  Scudder's 
entire  loss  amounted  to  £1188. 

John  Schenck,  of  Windsor,  was  a  captain  success- 
ively in  the  Second  and  Third  Middlesex  Regiments. 
His  loss  was  a  little  over  £45,  and  among  the  articles 
enumerated  were  "  150  Rations  of  Hay,  £7  in  cash, 
and  3  Regimental  coats." 

Richard  Skinner,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  captain  in 
the  First  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  was  killed  in  a 
skirmish  near  Woodbridge,  July  1,  1779.  Two  years 
before  he  had  been  plundered  by  the  enemy  of  horses, 
cattle,  clothing,  and  household  goods,  £54. 

Thomson  Stelle,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  captain,  and 
afterwards  paymaster  of  the  Middlesex  militia.  Among 
other  things  he  was  robbed  of  his  horses,  one  of  which 
he  describes  as  a  "  half-blooded  Mare  with  fold  by 
true  Britain."  His  hay,  wheat,  and  household  goods 
were  all  thoroughly  plundered.  The  marauding  party 
which  visited  him  were  truly  catholic  in  their  atten- 
tions, and  stickled  at  nothing  from  an  ox  chain  to  a 
pair  of  silver  shoe-buckles.  Some  of  their  number 
must  have  been  of  a  literary  turn  of  mind,  since  they 


carried  oft"  from  his  library  "Phillipses  Dictionary, 
Harris  Do.  in  2  VoUumes,  and  1  Bound  Book  of  New 
Jersey  Laws." 

Joseph  Skelton,  of  Princeton,  was  successively  a 
lieutenant  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  in  Heard's  bri- 
gade, and  in  the  Continental  army.  His  losses  were 
quite  large,  and  consisted  principally  of  horses,  cat- 
tle, and  grain.  In  his  inventory  are  several  items 
which  are  suggestive  of  the  peculiar  hardships  attend- 
ing the  visitations  of  the  enemy,  among  which  we  in- 
stance "  Hay  and  corn  for  24  horses,"  "  Team  prest 
at  sundry  times,"  "  The  Dragoons  1  Night  fed  hay  & 
corn  till  morning." 

Hendrick  Smock,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia  and  a  heavy  sufferer.  His 
dwelling-house,  kitchen,  and  barn,  worth  £250,  were 
burned,  together  with  twenty-three  thousand  rails, 
posts,  and  stakes.  His  horses,  sheep,  cattle,  hogs, 
grain,  and  hay  were  carried  oft',  besides  almost  every- 
thing that  can  be  conceived  of  as  forming  the  stock 
of  household  goods,  clothing,  and  utensils  of  a  pros- 
perous farmer  of  that  day.  Undoubtedly  wealthy  as 
he  was,  the  only  articles  in  his  very  lengthy  and  mi- 
nute inventory  that  might  be  deemed  luxuries  were 
"  1  Quart  China  Bowl  &  4  China  Cups  and  Saucers," 
"  1  pair  of  Silver  Knee-buckles,"  and  "  1  Small  Chest 
with  65  yds.  of  7  Hud  linen."  Noteworthy  among 
the  other  articles  are  "  3  Spanish  Dollars,"  "  1  leather 
pocket-book  with  1  DoF  and  1  Guinea,"  and  "  1  Able- 
bodied  Negro  Man  29  y"  of  age,  £90."  His  losses 
exceeded  £833. 

William  and  Samuel  Stone,  of  Woodbridge,  were 
privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  William  was  three 
times  pillaged,  and  Samuel  twice.  Their  losses  were 
large  of  horses  and  cattle,  of  which  they  had  a  great 
stock,  besides  grain,  hay,  etc. 

George  Soder,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in  the 
Middlesex  militia.  His  losses,  or  more  properly  the 
losses  of  his  wife,  were  mostly  of  female  clothing  and 
bedding. 

David  Stewart,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia.  The  enemy  robbed  him  of 
his  shirts  and  trowsers,  but  his  wife  was  a  great  suf- 
ferer, all  her  wardrobe  having  been  relentlessly  spir- 
ited away,  including  her  "Silk  Bonnet,"  "Short 
Gownd,"  and  even  her  "  petticoat  and  2  Shifts." 

John  Shippey,  of  Raritan  Landing,  was  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia.  The  enemy  burned  his 
dwelling-house,  shop,  and  store-house,  appraised  at 
£320,  together  with  several  thousand  rails  and  posts. 
They  carried  oft"  his  grain,  hay,  and  "  1  fish-net,  80 
fathoms  long,  with  land  and  sea  warp;"  also  quite  an 
armory,  consisting  of  "  1  Gun  &  Bayonet,  1  Sword,  1 
Pistol,  2  powder-horns,  and  1  Rifle  frock." 

Peter  T.  Schenck,  of  Raritan  Landing,  was  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Middlesex  militia.  His  dwelling-house 
and  fences  were  consumed. 

Charles  Suydam,  of  Raritan  Landing,  was  a  private 
in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  one  of  the  heaviest  suf- 


MIDDLESEX    COUNTY   IN   THE   REVOLUTION. 


487 


ferers  from  the  enemy,  his  inventory  amounting  to 
£2033  8s.  5rf.  They  spared  his  dwelling-house,  but 
burned  his  barn,  hovels,  cider-mill  and  house,  and 
wagon-house,  and  carried  off  a  large  amount  of  grain, 
hay,  clothing,  household  goods,  sheep,  cattle,  and 
horses.  There  are  several  noticeable  items  in  his  list, 
some  of  which  betray  wealth  and,  for  the  times,  lux- 
urious surroundings.  Among  these  are  "  £650  in 
Cash,"  "  2  Silver  Tablespoons  &  Do.  Teaspoons,"  "  1 
Quart  China  Bowl,"  "  1  pr.  new  buckskin  breeches  & 
10  Silver  buttons,"  "1  Silver  Watch,"  "  li  Bar'=  of 
Metheglin  &  A  Bar'  Rum." 

John  Sraalley,  Joseiih  Stelle,  Henry  Sutton,  and 
Jonathan  Sharp,  all  of  Piscataway,  were  privates  in  the 
Middlesex  militia.  The  three  first  named  were  robbed 
of  clothing  and  household  good.s  in  considerable  quan- 
tities. Sutton's  barn  and  over  twelve  thousand  rails 
and  stakes  were  burned,  and  his  grain,  hay,  and  cattle 
carried  away.  Sharp  also  had  his  dwelling-house 
and  barn  destroyed,  and  a  number  of  household  and 
farming  utensils  pillaged. 

Peter  Stults,  Jacob  Skillman,  John  Sunderland, 
and  Isaac  Snediker,  of  South  Brunswick,  were  pri- 
vates in  the  Middlesex  militia ;  and  John  Storey,  also 
of  South  Brunswick,  was  a  private  in  Capt.  Morgan's 
company,  Second  Regiment.  They  were  each  pil- 
laged of  small  amounts,  apparently  by  foraging  par- 
ties. 

Garret  Schenck,  of  Penn's  Neck,  was  a  private  in 
the  Middlesex  militia,  and  lost  quite  largely,  among 
other  items  "  1  Negro  Boy,  16  years  old,  cost  £75." 

Peter  Stoothoof,  near  New  Brunswick,  was  a  pri- 
vate in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  was  plundered  of 
his  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  clothing,  and  household 
goods. 

Jonathan  Thorp  and  Isaac  Tappen,  of  Woodbridge, 
were  privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia,  and  Thorp 
also  served  in  Capt.  Asher  F.  Randolph's  company  of 
State  troops.  Thorp  was  robbed  of  stock,  clothing, 
and  household  goods  to  an  inconvenient  amount,  and 
Tappen  was  visited  eight  different  times,  and  each 
time  pillaged  of  valuable  horses  and  cattle. 

John  Thomson,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  a  first  lieu- 
tenant in  Capt.  John  Lyle's  company,  Third  Regi- 
ment. The  enemy  carried  ofl'  his  sloop  of  30  tons 
burden  and  sundry  other  things. 

Daniel  Turner,  John  Van  Harlingen,  Richard  Van 
Arsdalen,  Isaac  Van  Arsdalen,  Ephraim  Vantine, 
and  William  Van  Deursen,  of  New  Brunswick,  were 
privates  in  the  Middlesex  militia.  Their  losses  were 
chiefly  of  horses,  fencing,  cattle,  household  goods, 
and  damages  to  buildings.  Van  Harlingen 's  barn  and 
Van  Deursen's  store-house  were  burnt  by  the  enemy. 
Van  Deursen  was  an  influential  member  of  the  Dutch 
Church  at  New  Brunswick,  and  acting  in  its  behalf, 
exhibited  the  inventory  of  the  damages  which  it  suf- 
fered from  the  British. 

John  Van  Emburgh,  of  New  Brunswick,  was  suc- 
cessively second  and  first  major  of  the  Second  Mid- 


dlesex Regiment.  He  was  taken  prisoner  by  the 
enemy  at  Tom's  River,  May  14,  1780,  but  had  the 
good  fortune  to  effect  his  escape  soon  after.  He  was 
plundered  of  various  household  articles,  provisions, 
etc.  He  wa-s  an  active  member  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  New  Brunswick,  and  was  one  of  its  trus- 
tees in  1785. 

William  Taylor,  John  Thaxton,  and  Israel  Thor- 
nal,  of  Woodbridge,  were  privates  in  the  Middlesex 
militia.  The  losses  of  the  two  first  named  were  light, 
but  Thornal  was  a  heavy  loser.  He  was  plundered  at 
four  different  times  of  a  large  number  of  fine  cattle 
and  horses  worth  £245. 

Jacob  Van  Deventer,  of  Piscataway,  was  a  captain 
in  the  First  Middlesex  Regiment.  He  was  visited 
three  times  by  the  enemy,  and  pillaged  of  household 
goods,  grain,  and  clothing. 

Simon  Van  Nortvick,  James  Wooden,  Samuel 
Walker,  Thomas  Webster,  and  Samuel  Whitehead, 
of  Pi.scataway,  were  privates  in  the  Jliddlesex  militia, 
and  were  all  preyed  upon  by  the  enemy.  Walker 
apparently  was  in  the  tobacco  trade,  as  among  his 
losses  were  "  1  Hog.shead  of  Tobacco  of  1000  lb. 
weight,"  and  "  1  Barrel  of  Cut  D"  100  lb."  Wooden's 
loss  was  large,  of  cattle,  horses,  timber,  grain,  sheep, 
and  a  great  number  of  rails. 

John  Wetherill,  of  South  Brunswick,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  war  was  colonel  of  the  Second 
Middlesex  Regiment.     He  was  plundered  lightly. 

John  Webster,  of  Piscataway,  was  first  a  captain  in 
the  First  Middlesex  Regiment,  and  afterward  succes- 
sively its  lieutenant-colonel  and  colonel.  He  was  a 
farmer  on  a  large  scale,  and  was  heavily  robbed  of 
hay,  grain,  cattle,  flax,  and  household  goods. 

The  examination  of  these  inventories  reveals  many 
characteristics  of  the  people  of  those  times,  and  affords 
numerous  glimp.ses  of  their  social  life.  It  is  evident 
that  they  were  thrifty,  provident  house-keepers  and 
good  livers;  frugal,  careful  in  the  sense  that  Martha 
was,  and  believers  in  the  maxims  then  current, 
"  Many  a  little  makes  a  muckle,"  and  "  A  penny  saved 
is  two  pence  clear."  As  to  wealth,  theirs  was  a  day 
of  small  things,  and  the  solicitude  which  they  showed 
for  articles  of  little  intrinsic  value  according  to  our 
standards  was  due  to  the  fact  that  their  means  were 
largely  composed  of  such.  We  are  not  surprised, 
therefore,  at  the  frequent  record  of  articles  damaged, 
destroyed,  or  stolen,  the  worth  of  which  was  meas- 
ured by  a  sixpence,  a  ninepence,  or  a  shilling.  A 
paper  of  pins,  a  delft  bowl,  a  pewter  dish  or  platter, 
and  the  like  were  prime  necessities,  not  easily  re- 
placed, the  value  of  which  to  our  ancestors  we  can 
scarcely  duly  estimate  in  our  day  of  lavish  and  cheap 
comforts  and  conveniences.  Still  a  silver  thread  of 
honesty  and  simple  integrity  and  truthfulness  runs 
conspicuously  through  all  the  tokens  of  their  provi- 
dent solicitude.  This  is  apparent  in  their  precise 
descriptions  of  their  losses,  and  their  evident  anxiety 


488 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESKX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


that  while  their  goods  should  be  appraised  at  their 
ftill  worth  they  should  not  be  estimated  above  their 
value.  Hence  the  frequent  recurrence  of  such  quali- 
fying phrases  as  "  new."  "  most  new,"  "  nearly  new," 
"half-worn,"  "three-quarters  worn,"  "part  worn," 
"little  worn,"  and  "much  worn,"  "the  worse  for 
wear,"  "  but  little  the  worse  for  wear,"  and  "  none 
the  worse  for  wear,"  etc.  If  a  horse  or  a  cow  was 
"valuable"  they  said  so;  if  old  or  of  inferior  value 
they  as  frankly  stated  the  fact.  Nowhere  can  there 
be  discerned  any  purpose  to  trick  a  bargain  at  the 
public  expense ;  but  their  aim  seems  to  have  been  to 
exhibit  the  exact  loss  they  had  suffered  and  to  secure 
that  they  should  be  made  whole.  Their  careful  ex- 
actitude and  honest  truthfulness  are  marked  features 
of  all  their  inventories,  and  are  in  refreshing  contrast 
with  the  reckless  disregard  for  those  cardinal  virtues 
which  distinguish  kindred  documents  of  our  own 
times. 

The  men  of  "Seventy-six"  were  liberal  "provi- 
ders" so  far  as  the  creature  comforts,  food  and  drink 
and  clothing,  were  concerned.  Barrels  of  pork  and 
beef,  sides  of  beef,  flitches  and  sides  of  bacon,  car- 
cases of  venison  and  mutton,  and  multitudes  of  gam- 
mons and  shoulders  frequently  appear  in  these 
inventories  in  quantities  of  which  we  have  no  expe- 
rience in  these  days  of  abundant  shops  and  markets. 
The  great  number  of  roasting  pigs,  ducks,  fowls,  tur- 
keys, and  geese  which  the  inventories  show  to  have 
been  carried  off  by  the  enemy  at  their  advent  in 
November  and  December,  1776,  indicates  not  only 
the  lavish  store  of  these  maintained  by  our  fore- 
fathers, but  also  that  they  must  have  been  put  on  "  short 
allowance"  for  their  Christmas  and  New-Year  dinners 
in  that  calamitous  year.  Beside  the  meats  already 
mentioned,  they  had  pickled  and  smoked  beef  and 
pork,  veal,  sausages,  wild  fowl  in  abundance,  and 
luscious  tit-bits  of  coon  and  bear.  Shad  and  herring 
were  plentiful  in  their  season,  and  were  laid  down 
by  the  barrel  and  even  hogshead  for  winter  use. 
Every  household  was  supplied  with  butter,  lard,  mo- 
lasses, sugar,  and  honey,  the  last  mentioned  being 
so  common  that  almost  every  farmer  had  his  hive  or 
more  of  bees.  Wheat,  rye,  buckwheat,  Indian  corn, 
potatoes,  beans,  turnips,  and  beets  abounded,  and 
there  was  a  great  wealth  of  apples,  cherries,  peaches, 
and  pears.  For  beverage  they  had  tea,  coffee,  cocoa, 
and  chocolate,  also  cider  and  metheglin,  the  former 
by  the  barrel,  and  even  by  one,  two,  and  ten  hogs- 
heads, and  the  latter  by  the  keg  and  barrel,  while 
for  those  who  were  not  content  with  these  there  were 
brandy,  cider,  spirits,  gin,  and  rum  in  all  their  variety, 
aniseed  cordial,  cherry  brandy,  and  wines  of  all  kinds. 
Almost  every  gentleman  kept  in  his  cellar  a  liberal 
supply  of  these,  wine  especially  being  stored  by  the 
barrel,  or  in  cases  each  containing  six  or  twelve  large 
square  flasks.  Tobacco  and  snutt'  too  were  in  quite 
general  use,  the  last  named  being  greatly  aftected  by 
the    gentility.      Tobacco   was    smoked    in    pipes   or 


chewed,  but  was  not  manufactured  generally  if  at 
all  into  cigars,  not  a  solitary  instance  appearing  in 
all  these  inventories  of  a  cigar  as  forming  part  of  any 
of  the  losses. 

The  people  of  those  times  were  respectably  and 
comfortably  clad.  Their  store  of  clothing  was  abun- 
dant and  good  ;  many  of  the  fabrics  used  were  elegant, 
and  the  fashion  of  their  dress  was  frequently  very 
stately.  Pantaloons,  it  is  true,  were  not  yet  in  vogue, 
but  instead  there  were  breeches  of  leather,  buckskin, 
worsted,  homespun,  stockinett,  black  and  brown 
broadcloth,  plush,  and  velvet  for  winter,  and  for 
summer  of  linen,  cotton,  nankin,  white  dimity,  and 
drilling.  Dress-coats,  surtouts,  and  great-coats  were 
made  of  bearskin,  buckskin,  homespun,  denin,  wilton, 
broadcloth,  velvet,  and  sagatha.'  Cloaks  were  of 
camlet,  broadcloth,  and  velvet  ;  vests  of  linen, 
twilled  cotton,  diaper,  white  dimity,  serge,  broad- 
cloth, and  velvet;  gloves  of  leather;  hats  of  felt, 
castor,  and  velvet;  shirts  of  linen,  cotton,  homespun, 
and  tow ;  stockings  of  woolen,  cotton,  linen,  and 
yarn.  For  boots  and  shoes  almost  every  householder 
had  in  his  house  whole  calf-skins  dressed,  and  sides 
of  sole  and  other  leather.  Such  were  the  materials  of 
which  the  garments  of  the  men  of  "  Seventy-six" 
were  made,  and  they  bespeak  comfort  in  every  case 
and  dignified  respectability  in  most. 

The  apparel  of  the  ladies  was  still  more  varied,  and 
exhibits  their  characteristic  love  of  gay  colors  and 
beautiful  fabrics.  The  assortment  is  almost  endless, 
combining  the  useful  and  the  ornamental.  Judging 
from  the  inventories  presented  by  their  husbands,  the 
ladies  of  those  times  must  all  have  considered  caps 
and  aprons  indispensable  to  their  toilet,  the  humblest 
among  them  having  been  the  possessors  of  an  indefi- 
nite number  of  each,  the  former  being  made  for  the 
most  part  of  cambric,  taffety,  millinet,  gauze,  and 
linen,  and  the  latter  of  lawn,  Holland  linen,  tafi'ety, 
muslin,  millinet,  check,  homespun,  and  even  tow. 
Their  bonnets  and  hoods  were  of  beaver,  satin,  and 
bright-colored  silks  and  velvets;  their  cloaks  of 
worsted,  broadcloth,  camlet,  flannel,  gay-colored 
silks,  white  and  black  satin,  purple  and  black  and 
blue  velvet,  and  brilliant  scarlet  cloth.  Their  dresses 
formed  a  boundless  variety  of  material.  The  com- 
mon short  gown,  which  seems  to  have  been  a  great 
favorite  with  the  ladies  when  they  were  not  in  full 
toilet,  was  of  kersey,  Holland  linen,  worsted,  wilton, 
calamanco,^  check,  homespun,  and  linsey-woolsey. 
Their  gowns  were  of  check,  striped  cotton,  worsted, 
striped  homespun  calico,  "  boughten  calico,"  muslin, 
chintz,  outside  chintz  lined  with  calico,  white  Hol- 
land, blue  and  striped  Holland,  black  and  blue  du- 
rant,^  groset,'-  bombazine,  blue  and  black  russel,-  mo- 
reen, poplin,  velvet,  French  tabby,  and  of  lutestring 


1  A  kind  of  serge. 

2  Durnnt  is  tlie  fabric  known  as  *' everlasting;"  nissel  was  a  kind  of 
linaey-woolspy.  I  liave  not  l»een  ablo  to  ascerlain  wl\ut  groset  was. 
Calamancu  was  a  stuff  resembling  prunella. 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY   IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 


489 


and  white,  crimson,  and  other  colored  silks  and  sat- 
ins. For  the  hands  they  wore  gloves  of  knit  stuff, 
silk,  and  leather;  their  stockings  were  of  thread,  cot- 
ton, muslin,  yarn,  linen,  worsted,  and  silk  ;  and  their 
shoes  of  cloth,  prunella,  calamanco,  silk,  and  leather. 
Shawls  were  of  cloth,  cashmere,  and  taffety.  Hand- 
kerchiefs and  kerchiefs  abounded  in  their  wardrobe, 
and  were  of  linen,  cambric,  taffety,  muslin,  gauze, 
and  Barcelona  silk.  Of  shifts  and  petticoats  their 
supply  seems  to  have  been  well-nigh  inexhaustible, 
some  ladies  recounting  as  many  as  twelve  or  fifteen 
of  each,  the  former  being  made  of  homespun  and 
muslin  at  times,  but  chiefly  of  fine  five-  and  six- 
hundred  linen,  and  the  latter  of  linsey,  tow,  flannel, 
kersey,  dimity,  bombazine,  and  calamanco. 

Equally  abundant  and  various  were  the  articles  of 
household  wear.  The  bed  and  all  that  appertained 
to  it  was  the  special  pride  of  the  mistress  of  the 
house.  It  was  almost  invariably  of  sweet,  soft,  and 
downy  feathers.  Its  sheets  were  of  the  finest  "'  home- 
spun" five-  or  six-hundred  linen.  The  bedspreads 
were  of  calico,  and  of  "  blue  and  white  stuff;"  the 
quilts  of  calico,  calamanco,  black  and  blue  durant,  i 
green  and  blue  "  Persian  "  and  of  lutestring ;  the  ' 
blankets  and  rugs  of  homespun  and  imported  spotted 
woolen  and  flannel,  and  especially  the  famous  Rose 
blanket;  and  the  towering  posts  at  either  corner  sus- 
pended "  testers"  of  cloth,  and  were  garnished  with 
valances  and  showy  curtains  of  dimity,  damask,  cal- 
ico, chintz,  diaper,  blue  and  white  stuff,  homespun 
striped  and  wove  with  damask  flowers,  or  silk.  For 
table  use  they  had  napkins  of  linen,  and  tablecloths 
of  diaper,  diaper-wove  huckabuck,  kersey,  or  damask 
plain  and  flowered. 

The  household  furniture  of  those  simple  times  was  a 
strange  contrast  to  the  kinds  now  in  use.  China  was 
as  rare  as  gold  ;  most  commonly  three  china  cups  and 
saucers  comprised  the  entire  holiday  outfit  of  a  re- 
spectable family,  though  the  number  rose  sometimes 
to  six,  but  seldom  to  a  dozen.  These  and  bowls 
were  usually  of  delft  or  queensware.  Plates  were 
equally  seldom  of  china,  but,  together  with  servers, 
dishes,  platters,  spoons,  tea-pots,  coffee-pots,  and  tank- 
ards, were  of  pewter,  brilliantly  polished,  and  rivaling 
the  richest  silver  in  lustre.  Pewter  and  copper  were 
the  ornamental,  and  iron  was  then  as  now  the  service- 
able metal.  Of  the  two  former  were  also  made  basins, 
ewers,  pint  and  quart  mugs,  porringers,  ladles,  and  tea- 
and  coffee-kettles.  There  was  but  little  white  glass- 
ware in  use,  and  the  few  jelly-glasses,  wine-glasses, 
half-pint  and  gill  glasses,  salt-cellars,  tumblers,  and 
punch-goblets  of  glass  that  are  enumerated  were  evi- 
dently highly  prized.  Looking-glasses  and  clocks  em- 
bellished the  houses  of  the  wealthy  or  highly  genteel, 
and  the  size  of  the  former  seems  to  have  corresponded 
with  the  degree  of  their  owners'  social  standing.  Stoves 
were  not  in  general  use,  and  coal  was  unknown  except 
for  blacksmithing  purposes.  Wood,  turf,  and  char- 
coal were  the  only  fuels.     The  two  former  were  be- 


ginning to  be  burned  in  "  Franklins,"  and  in  cast-iron 
stoves,  known  as  "  ten-plate  stoves,"  but  were  most 
commonly  used  in  fireplaces,  provided  with  dogs  and 
andirons,  and  which  in  the  kitchens  were  huge  cav- 
erns, garnished  with  a  forest  of  chains,  hooks,  pots 
and  trammels,  swinging  on  iron  cranes,  or  "  smoke- 
jacks,"  over  fires  that  were  fed  by  great  logs  from  four 
to  six  feet  in  length. 

The  principal  articles  of  furniture,  even  in  the  best 
ordered  household,  were  not  numerous.  Mahogany 
was  the  most  costly  and  the  most  aristocratic  material, 
and  of  it  were  made  their  choice  chairs,  straight  and 
high-backed,  bedsteads,  chests,  drawers,  stands,  tables, 
and  buffets.  Few  families  were  without  a  "  dresser" 
and  a  "  corner  cupboard  ;"  and  the  wealthier  ones 
adorned  their  houses  with  the  stately  "  Dutch  cup- 
board," made  of  costly  wood  in  Holland,  and  almost 
capacious  enough  for  a  town-meeting.  The  ordinary 
household  furniture  was  usually  made  of  bilsted, 
gum,  pine,  walnut,  cherry,  or  red  cedar.  This  last 
was  the  favorite,  and  being  indigenous  to  the  State 
it  was  within  reach  of  all,  and  applied  to  almost 
every  possible  use, — for  pails,  tubs,  piggons,  lye-casks, 
tables,  stands,  cupboards,  slawbanks,i  churns,  and  be- 
cause of  its  fragrant  odor  and  indestructibility,  as  well 
as  from  the  belief  that  it  was  never  infested  by  ver- 
min, was  especially  appropriated  to  bureaus,  clothes- 
presses,  and  the  like.  If  few  families  were  without  a 
cupboard,  full  as  few  were  without  the  large  and 
small  wheel  for  spinning  wool,  linen,  and  cotton,  and 
the  loom  for  weaving  these  into  the  cloth  for  the 
varied  uses  of  the  household.  It  is  rarely  that  these 
are  absent  from  any  extended  inventory. 

The  men  and  women  of  the  Revolution  had  few 
books,  but  what  they  had  they  mastered  thoroughly 
and  exhaustively.  Out  of  the  six  or  seven  hundred 
whose  losses  are  inventoried  in  the  old  record  we  are 
considering,  only  forty-three  present  any  claims  for 
books  pillaged  or  de.stroyed.  This  may  be  due  in  part 
to  the  fact  that  the  British  and  Hessian  marauders 
attached  slight  value  to  books,  especially  the  kind 
which  formed  the  literary  treasures  of  our  ancestors, 
or  that  they  considered  them  too  cumbersome  to  carry 
oft'.  Still  they  were  not  so  cumbersome  but  that  they 
might  have  been  destroyed.  The  chief  reason  for  the 
small  losses  of  our  ancestors  in  this  line  is  doubtless 
that  books  were  as  rare  as  rubies,  and  were  possessed 
by  a  few  only.  Wherever  there  were  collections  of 
them  a  Bible  or  a  psalm-book  were  found  in  the  num-  • 
ber,  and,  indeed,  most  commonly  constituted  the  en- 
tire library.     As  a  matter  of  curiosity  and  historical         *^ 


1  A  "  slawbank,"  or  "  Blabank,"  was  an  indispensable  article  to  every 
liouselieeper  in  the  olden  times.  The  name  isdeiived  from  tlie  Dntch 
*'  sloap  banck,"  or  sleeping-bench.  It  was  sometimes  constructed  in  the 
shape  of  a  cupboard,  with  closing  doors,  and  contained  a  bed.  More 
commonly  it  was  a  box  holding  the  bedding,  which  was  attached  to  the 
wall  by  hinges.  It  was  folded  up  against  tlie  wall  by  day,  and  at  night 
was  let  down  to  the  floor  to  serve  as  a  bed.  Occasionally  it  took  the 
shape  of  a  bench  or  sofa  to  sit  on  during  the  day,  opening  by  hinges  to 
form  a  bed  by  night. 


490 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLKSEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


record,  I  append  the  names  of  those  who  owned 
books,  together  with  the  titles  of  the  latter  and  their 
value,  as  follows : 

Apiilpgale,  Josiah,  New  Brunswick,  "  1  Bound  Book  of  John  Milton's 
Work,  10/." 

Ayree,  Reuben,  of  WomlbridEe,  "  2  Bibles  &  10  other  Books,  £2.10." 

AyreB,  JoBi'pb,  of  Woodbridge,  "  1  Bible,  I  hynin*buok,  and  some  other 
books,  12/." 

Allfoard,  Bepjanjiii,  of  Woodbridge.  "1  Small  new  Bible,  1  Psalm- 
Book,  8/." 

Bray,  John,  of  Raritnn  Landing,  "The  whole  volumes  of  the  Spec- 
tator, *i;  Barket  on  the  New  Testament,  £2." 

Bisliop,  James,  of  Woodbridge,  "2  Bible»  4  1  new  Dictionary,  15/." 

Brown,  Joseph,  of  PisL-alaway,  "  1  Small  Bible,  6/." 

Brown,  George,  of  Woodbriilge,  "  1  Bible  and  some  olher  Books.  15/." 

Boice,  Cornelius,  of  Piscataway,  "1  Book  bound  with  Silver  and  Silver 
Clasps,  &  a  Silver  Chain,  £3.15." 

Crawford,  John,  of  Woodbridge,  "1  Bible,  6/;  2  Sermon-Books,  1 
large,  7/." 

Compron,  Samuel,  of  Woodbridge,  "2  Common  bibles,  10/;  1  Testa- 
ment, 3/;  1  psalm-book,  2/6." 

Bunn,  Benjamin,  Piscataway,  "2  Bonks.  Salman*s  Gazetteer  &  Harvy, 
£1.4." 

Dally,  Samuel,  Woodbridge,  "1  Bible  *  Sermon  Book,  9/." 

Deare,  Jonathan,  Princeton,  "A  number  of  Law  &  other  books  vallu 
of  £40." 

Evans,  William,  New  Brunswick,  "Several  fine  books  worth  35/," 

FlatI,  John,  Wnodbridtte,  "  I  Common  Bible,  6/." 

Field,  Michel,  Piscataway, "1  Small  Bible.4/6;  1  psalm-book,  & 3  other 
books,  10/ " 

French,  William,  Piscataway,  "  3  bibles,  1  large  dutch,  y  other  Eng- 
lish, f2.t)  6." 

Folkeraon,  Philip,  Middlebush,  "1  Linge  note-book,  3/;  1  Testament, 
lSpellilig-Buok,6/6." 

Freeman,  Henry,  Woodbridge,  "  2  Wolloms  of  Laws  Bound,  £3." 

Griggs,  Benjamin,  South  Brunswick,"  I  dutch  Bible,  Silver  Mounted, 
£3.15." 

Hyer,  Jacob,  Princeton,  "I  large  chest  of  Valuable  Books  of  different 
kinds,  £1(1." 

Lester,  J"8epb,  Woodbridge, "  I  birge  new  Bible,  30/." 

Matcher,  Mary,  New  Brunswick,"  1  new  Bible,  6/." 

Moores,  Samuel,  Woodbridge,  "  Several  Valuable  books,  worth  20/." 

Martin,  Juliii,  Woodbridge,  "  1  Book  call''  the  London  Art,  17.  6."' 

N.-ilS"n,  .lames,  New  Brunswick,  "  1  Case  of  Bucks,  worlh  £60." 

Pound,  Isaac,  Piscataway,  "  1  Bii.le  2  Small  Books,  12/." 

Roe,  Rev.  Azel,  Woodbridge,  "  1  Very  Elegant  Bible,  4  to  £3." 

Randolph  Ruth,  Piscataway,  "  1  Large  Bible,  30/." 

Read,  Uev.  Israel,  Piscataway,  '*  Considerable  part  of  my  Library  which 
contained  upwards  of  160  volumes,  £18.16  " 

Schenck,  Peter  T.,  Raritan  Landing,  "  4  Vollems  of  Josephes  Works, 
£1.10;  1  Silver  Bound  dutch  Psalm  Book,  15/." 

Slivere,  Randolph,  Woodbridge,  '■  1  Small  Bible,  6/." 

Slelle,  ThoiiiBon.  Piscataway,  "  Pliilli(ises  Dictionary,  Harris  D"  in  2 
Vols.,  £1.4;  1  Bound  Book  of  New  Jer.-ey  Laws,  £1.10." 

Stewart,  David,  Woodbridge,  "  1  Bible,  5/." 

Tombs.  Michel,  Woodbridge,  "  1  Bible,  1  Testament  &  Spelling  Book, 
9/," 

Van  Arsdala,  Isaac,  New  Brunswick,  "2  dutch  books,  1  dav^"  psalms 
ye  other  a  prayer,  10/." 

Van  Devei.ter,  Jacob,  Piscataway,  "  1  Sclait,  3/. ;  1  Small  bible,  6/. ;  1 
book  y"  ys  mans  Coin".  3/.;  1  Psalter  i  P.salm  book,  3/." 

Voorhees,  John  (Shuemaker),  New  Brunswick,  "2  English  Bibles,  6 
TeslaiiientH,  and  I  Psalm  Book,  11/.    A  large  quantity  of  books  worth  £7." 

Voorhees,  Gette,  New  Brunswick,"!  Psalm  Book  with  Silver  hooks 
and  clasps,  15/." 

Voorloes,  John  (carpenter).  New  Brunswick.  "  1  large  Dutch  Bible,  1 
Testament,  Silver  Bound,  £4.10.  Harris's  Travels,  Builder's  DictionJ,  2 
Vols.,  £1  1(1," 

Van  lleurseii,  William,  New  BrunHwick,  "a  iiarcel  of  dutch  &  English 
Books." 

Vantilburg,  William,  Kingston,  "5  Maps  of  4  yuarters  of  World  & 
Globe,  £7.1(1." 

Williamson,  Samuel,  Raritan  Landing,  "  1  Bible." 

The  precious  metals,  and  articles  for  ornament  or 
use  made  of  them,  were  almost  as  scarce  as  books. 


Silver  teaspoons  were  very  rare,  and  the  old  record 
8how.s  that  not  more  than  three  or  six  were  possessed 
by  substantial  farmers  and  mechanics,  and  more  com- 
monly they  could  boast  of  one  only.  Silver  table- 
spoons were  yet  more  rare.  It  was  seldom  that  com- 
paratively wealthy  families  owned  them,  or  any  other 
household  articles  made  of  that  precious  material. 
Occasionally,  however,  in  these  inventories  we  come 
across  families  who  counted  among  their  valuables  a 
huge  tankard,  or  a  quart  bowl,  or  a  pint  mug,  or  salt- 
cellars of  silver.  In  one  instance  a  silver  server 
weighing  fifty-nine  and  a  half  ounces  is  mentioned, 
and  a  dozen  silver-handled  knives  and  forks.  Silver 
knee-buckles,  shoe-buckles,  and  stock-buckles  were 
largely  worn  by  our  ance.stors  when  equipped  in  their 
best  breeches  of  broadcloth,  plush,  nankeen,  or  velvet, 
as  also  silver  vest  and  breeches  buttons.  Sleeve- 
buttons  of  gold  and  silver  adorned  their  shirts,  and 
frequently  had  lockets  attached  containing  relics  or 
miniatures.  Watches  and  snuff-boxes  of  gold  and 
silver  formed  an  essential  part  of  every  well-bred 
gentleman's  outfit,  and  the  ladies  wore  finger-  and 
ear-rings  of  gold,  chains  of  gold,  with  pendants,  trin- 
kets, and  lockets,  and  in  some  ca.ses  necklaces,  soli- 
taires, stars,  and  other  ornaments  of  garnet  and  gold 
or  gold  and  brilliants.  But  beyond  the  possession  of 
a  plain  gold  ring,  these  were  rare  and  exceptional 
cases. 

The  modes  of  locomotion  were  widely  different  in 
those  days  from  those  which  now  prevail.  There 
were  then  no  turnpikes,  macadamized  roads,  or  rail- 
roads. The  travel  was  tedious,  and  the  country  roads 
few  and  rugged.  Journeys  were  mostly  undertaken 
on  horseback,  and  it  was  thus  the  men  and  women 
went  to  church,  to  mill,  and  "  to  town."  Side-saddles 
and  riding-coats  and  habits  for  women  were  therefore 
j  a  universal  necessity.  The  vehicles  outside  of  the 
heavy  lumbering  wagon  were  riding-chairs,  chaises, 
and  gigs,  the  bodies  sunk  down  between  two  high 
wheels  and  swung  on  wooden  springs.  In  the  winter 
sleds  were  used  as  now,  and  besides  these  nearly  every 
man  had  his  pleasure-sleigh  for  family  use.  It  must 
have  been  a  pleasant  sight  to  see  these  when  laden 
with  ladies  clad  in  their  many-colored  silks,  satins, 
and  velvets,  and  especially  pleasant  must  have  been 
the  contrast  of  their  brilliant  .scarlet  cloaks  with  the 
snow-white  mantle  which  covered  the  earth. 

It  is  an  interesting  inquiry  to  compare  with  pres- 
ent prices  those  that  then  prevailed  for  such  articles 
as  constituted  the  nece.ssaries  of  life.  And  in  prose- 
cuting it  we  should  bear  in  mind  that  our  ancestors 
followed  "  York"  currency,  as  indeed  we  continued 
to  do  until  a  recent  period.  A  "  pound"  was  twenty 
"York"  shillings,  and  the  "York"  shilling  was 
equivalent  to  twelve  and  one-half  cents.  A  pound 
was  therefore  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  If  wheat 
be  taken  as  the  standard  for  arriving  at  the  purchas- 
ing power  of  money,  it  will  be  found  that  one  dollar 
would  then  buy  as  much  as  three  dollars  will  now 


MIDDLESEX   COUNTY  IN   THE    REVOLUTION. 


491 


buy.  It  follows  that  a  man  who  was  then  worth  one 
dollar  was  as  well  off  as  one  who  to-day  is  worth 
three  dollars,  and  this  is  the  relative  difference  in 
the  purchasing  power  of  money  at  the  two  periods. 

The  men  of  those  times  studied  brevity.  This  is 
apparent  in  all  their  writings,  not  so  much  perhaps 
in  the  expression  of  their  ideas  concisely  as  in  their 
economy  of  letters.  Their  abbreviations  of  words, 
which  was  the  fashion  of  that  and  much  earlier  days, 
were  very  numerous  and  perplexing  from  their  pecu- 
liarity. Some  of  them  require  as  much  patience  lor 
their  interpretation  as  a  rebus.  They  were  not  con- 
fined to  particular  and  much  used  technical  words  or 
to  final  syllables,  but  were  applied  indiscriminately. 
"The"  was  abbreviated  to  "y°,"  "your"  to  "  y'," 
"companion"  to  "  comp°,"  "hundred"  to  "  h"*," 
"young"  to  "y*,"  "  Fitz"  to  "  Fz,"  and  so  on  indefi- 
nitely. When  two  consonants  came  together  one 
was  usually  dropped,  and  a  circumflex  over  the  one 
that  was  retained  denoted  the  elision.  Thus  "wagon," 
according  to  the  established  usage  of  those  days,  was 
correctly  spelled  with  two  "  g's,"  and  when  it  was 
spelled  with  one  only  the  writer  signified  that  he 
knew  better  by  resorting  to  the  circumflex.  So  also 
with  such  words  as  common,  trammel,  cellar,  pillow, 
committee,  etc.,  one  of  the  doublets  was  uniformly 
dropped,  and  the  writer's  knowledge  of  its  absence 
indicated  by  the  circumflex.  Their  capitalization 
was  equally  peculiar,  and  was  as  systematic  as  that 
now  in  use  if  less  correct.  The  leading  and  emphatic 
words,  or,  in  the  language  of  a  writer  of  that  day, 
"all  the  more  eminent  words  in  a  sentence,"  were 
written  with  capitals,  and  also  all  such  as  derived  a 
certain  stateliness  or  solemnity  from  their  forming 
parts  of  legal  phrases  or  doctrinal  formulas,  "  all 
names  of  arts,  sciences,  and  trades,"  and  "all  noun- 
substantives."  In  this,  however,  they  followed  a 
usage  which  had  prevailed  for  many  years  even 
among  elegant  writers  in  the  mother-country,  and 
which  continued  here  some  years  after  it  had  become 
obsolete  there.  As  having  some  relation  to  their 
style  in  composition,  1  am  tempted  to  note  here  some 
very  odd  collocations  that  occur  in  these  inventories, 
by  which  the  most  incongruous  things  are  frequently 
jumbled  together  in  strange  companionship  in  one 
entry.  They  are  very  quaint,  and  their  simplicity 
will  provoke  a  smile.  For  instance,  among  the  entries 
are  such  as  these :  "  2  fine  white  Shirts  and  a  pepper- 
mill  ;"  "  15  tbs.  of  Butter  and  pot  and  6  Shifts ;"  "  1 
pillow-case  with  7  lbs.  of  Sugar ;"  "  1  Silk  camlet 
Vest,  2  pewter  plates ;"  "  24  ttis.  of  cheese  and  1  pr. 
of  common  Gloves;"  "  1  large  Hog  and  1  good  Tea- 
kettle;" "1  Tankard  and  1  pr.  of  new  Sheets;"  "1 
Large  Bible  and  1  new  Silk  Bonnet  ;"  "  1  pr.  of 
Striped  Trowsers  and  1  pewter  teapot;"  "1  looking 
Glass,  1  Bible,  1  hand-saw  and  25  fowls;"  "1  Heifer, 
3  years  old,  and  2  new  Shirts  ;"  "  1  Cradle  and  a  large 
Bake  Trough,"  "  1  good  bedstead  and  16  Bus.  Tur- 
nips ;"  "  1  new  fine  Shirt,  1   sheep ;"  "  1  Tea-kettle 


and  Grindstone;"  "Sett  Chaney  and  good  Bible;" 
"  1  English  Bible  and  1  Smoothing  Iron  ;"  "  1  Mus- 
ket and  1  Mair,  7  years  old ;"  "  1  yearling  Calf  and  1 
Iron  pot;"  "  1  psalm  book  and  2  bus.  hard  salt." 

It  is  impossible  to  make  even  a  cursory  examina- 
tion of  these  old  inventories  without  remarking  the 
great  number  of  guns  that  were  in  the  possession  of 
our  ancestors.  The  abundance  of  deer,  bears,  foxes, 
and  wolves  will  partly  but  not  entirely  explain  this. 
It  is  probable  that  their  nearly  universal  distribution 
was  largely  due  to  the  policy  of  the  proprietors  who 
originally  owned  and  governed  the  State,  and  who 
made  the  ownership  of  a  musket  one  of  the  conditions 
of  their  grants  of  lands  to  settlers.  In  their  "  Grants 
and  Concessions,"  in  order  that  "  the  planting  of  the 
province  may  be  more  speedily  promoted,"  they  stip- 
ulate to  grant  as  follows:  "  Unto  all  persons  who  had 
already  adventured  to  the  province,  or  who  shall 
transport  themselves  or  servants  before  Jan.  1,  1665  : 
To  every  Freeman  who  shall  go  with  the  first  Gov- 
ernor" etc.,  "  armed  with  a  good  Musket,  bore 
twelve  bullets  to  the  pound,  with  ten  pounds  of  Pow- 
i  der  &  20  pounds  of  Bullets,  with  Bandeliers  & 
Match  convenient,"  etc.,  "1.00  acres;  and  for  every 
able  servant  that  he  shall  carry  with  him,  armed 
and  provided  as  aforesaid,  150  acres."  The  .same 
stipulations  were  extended  to  those  who  should  go  in 
two  successive  years  thereafter.  And  the  policy  was 
]  kept  up  by  the  proprietors  to  a  much  later  date. 
Whatever  was  the  cause  of  the  general  supply  which 
was  found  to  exist  in  1775,  it  was  most  fortunate  for 
our  ancestors  and  their  cause,  since  all  soldiers  of  the 
State  establishment  or  of  the  Continental  army  were 
required  to  furnish  themselves  with  arms,  the  reso- 
lution of  Congress  being  "  that  each  of  the  privates 
be  allowed,  instead  of  a  bounty,  one  felt  hat,  a  pair 
of  yarn  stockings,  and  a  pair  of  shoes,  the  men  to 
find  their  own  arms."' 

The  study  of  our  ancestors  in  Middlesex  County, 
which  we  have  now  concluded,  has  been  a  prolonged 
and  quite  clo.se  one,  and  the  views  we  have  been  enabled 
to  take  of  their  social  condition  have  been  clear  and 
minute.  We  have  crossed  their  thresholds  and  in- 
spected the  interiors  of  their  households.  We  have 
seen  their  few  comforts,  elegancies,  and  luxuries,  and 
have  grown  familiar  with  that  which  made  up  the 
sum  of  their  common  necessaries.  Their  food,  rai- 
ment, furniture,  utensils,  and  industries  have  been  in- 
{  spected  in  more  or  less  close  detail.  We  have  had 
j  near  observations  of  their  manners,  customs,  and  pecu- 
!  liarities.  We  have  been  witnesses  of  their  prevalent 
substantial  well-being  at  the  opening  of  the  war  of  the 
Revolution;  and  of  the  privations  which  they  endured 
and  the  indignities  and  outrages  to  which  they  were 
subjected  when  the  British  soldiery  occupied  their 
farms,  villages,  and  towns  and  burned  their  dwellings 
and  crops.      Their  patient  endurance,  their  zealous 

*  Jourual  of  Congress,  Oct.  9, 1775. 


492 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


patriotism,  their  uncoDquerable  devotion  to  the  cause 

of  liberty  and  independence,  their  thrift,  frugality, 
simplicity,  rectitude,  and  fortitude  have  all  passed 
before  us  like  the  scenes  of  a  diorama,  and  the  re- 
sult has  been  to  lift  these  men  to  a  higher  level.  In 
all  the  qualities  which  constitute  genuine  manliood 
they  were  rich  beyond  precedent,  and  they  remain  at 
this  day  the  best  models  for  our  imitation  in  all  those 
solid  and  unobtrusive  virtues  which  make  a  vigorous 
and  great  people.  Their  entire  record  may  be  scanned 
by  those  of  us  who  are  their  descendants  and  in- 
heritors with  praiseworthy  pride  and  reverential 
gratitude.  May  their  memory  remain  green  among 
us  so  long  as  liberty  is  worth  sacrifices,  sufferings, 
privations,  wounds,  and  death  !' 


CHAPTER    LXVII. 


MIDDLESEX    MEN    IN    THE    REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 


Roster  of  State  Troops. 

BRIGADIER-GENERALS. 


Heard,  Nathaniel. 


Hyer,  Jacob. 
Taylor,  John. 


Neilson,  John. 


,  Robert. 

rin.John 


LIEUTENANT-COLONELS. 
Crow,  Samuel.  Haddeo,  Thomas. 

Deare,  Jonathaa.  Lett,  Richard. 

Dunham,  Azariab.  Scudder,  William. 

Duun,  Micajah.  Taylor,  John. 


MAJORS. 


DuDU,  John. 
Clarkeou,  Edgar. 
Egbert,  Thomas. 
Lyie,  John. 
Nixon,  Robert, 

Steele,  Thompson. 


Addis,  Simou. 
Andereon,  Andrew. 
Barron,  Ellis. 

Bjirr, . 

Bonny,  James. 
Chambers,  David. 
Combs,  Thomas. 
Conover,  William. 

Curtis, . 

De  Bow,  James. 
Dey,  John. 
Dunn,  Hugh. 
Ferguson,  Josiah. 
Frazier,  David. 
Freeman,  Matthew. 
Guest,  Moses. 
Guest,  William. 


Parker,  Samuel  F. 
Potter,  Reuben. 
Randolph,  Samuel. 
Van  Euiburgh,  John 


PAYMASTER. 


QUARTERMASTER. 


Gulick,  Joakim. 
Harnott,  George. 
Hartipee,  William. 

Hope, . 

Hulick. . 

Jaquish, . 

Johnston,  Heiithcote. 
Lupitrdus,  Christian. 
Lupp,  ^— . 
Manning,  Jeremiah. 
Manning,  William. 
McCuUouglif  Beujarni 
Muore,  James. 
Morgan,  James. 
Neviue,  Peter. 
Pain,  John. 
Perrine,  Peter. 


^  Paper  by  Charles  D.  Oeshler. 


Piatt,  Jacob. 
Piatt, . 

Piatt, . 

ftindolph,  Nathaniel  Fitz, 
Randolph,  Reuben. 
Rt)8B,  Robert. 
Schenck,  John. 
Schuyler,  Abram. 

Scudder, . 

Sebring,  Jacob. 

Shearer, . 

Skinner,  Richard. 
Smalley,  David. 
Siatsors,  John. 


Stelle,  Thompson. 

Stout,  Samuel. 

Ten  Eyck,  Jeremiah. 

Van  Deventer,  Jacob. 

Van  Nest,  Peter. 

Van  Winkle^ SimeonTs 

Voiirbees,  John,  Jr. 

Wentzel, . 

Welherill, . 

Wetherill, . 

Williamson,  William. 

Woolsey, . 


LIEUTENANTS. 


Barricklo,  Farrington. 
Cape,  John. 
Dean,  Stephen. 
DeGroot,  William. 
Drake,  John. 
Field,  Jeremiah. 
Fisher,  Charles. 
Gilliland,  David. 
Lott,  George. 
McDowell,  Andrew. 
Morgan,  Nicholas. 
Mount,  John. 
Persall,  John. 

Bareford,  Lewis. 
Carman,  Stephen. 
Duun,  Ephraim. 
Gordon,  Archibald. 
Grove,  Samuel. 
Hampton,  John. 


Buckalew,  Josiah. 
Burlew,  Josiah. 
Covenhoven,  Peter. 
Dailey,  John. 
Davison,  William. 
De  Hart,  William. 
Disbrow,  Daniel. 
Flinn,  Benjamin. 
Griggs,  John. 
Lyle,  Moses. 


Ball.  William. 
Crow,  Garret. 
Dunn,  John. 
Green,  John. 


Coddington,  Robert. 
Hortrick,  Barent. 

Adams.  John. 
Addis,  Simeon. 
Alger,  Archibald. 
Allen,  Henry. 
Allen,  Jonathan. 
Allison,  Setb. 
Anderson,  John. 
Anderson,  Joseph. 
Appleby,  Ambrose. 
Applegalo,  Andrew. 
Applegate,  Cliarles. 
Applegate,  Nathaniel. 
Appiegate,  Noah. 
Applegate,  Robert  (1). 
Applegate,  Robert  {2). 


Van  Pel  t, . 

Voorhees,  Daniel. 
Voorhees,  John  L. 
Edyar,  David. 
Marsh,  Ralph, 
Mersiirall,  Jacob. 
Schureman,  James. 
SkiltoD,  Joseph. 
Terhune,  Abram. 
Thompson,  George. 
Thompson,  John. 
Thompson,  John. 


Morford, . 

Morgan,  James,  Jr. 
Phares,  John. 
Randolph,  Lewis  F. 
Suydam,  Hendrick. 


SERGEANTS. 

Marsh,  Joshua. 
Messier,  Simon. 
Morgan,  Abraham. 
Nevius,  Peter. 
Nefies,  Peter. 
Obert,  Henry. 
Suttun,  Jostiph. 
Thompson,  James. 
Voorhees,  William. 
Williamson,  Isaac. 

CORPORALS. 

Height,  David. 
Isleton,  Jonathan. 
Letts,  Francis. 
Toms,  Michael. 

FIFERS. 


Applegate,  Thomas. 
Applegate,  William. 
Applegate,  Zebulon. 
Armstrong,  Robert. 
Armstrong,  William. 
Arnold,  James. 
Arnold,  Johr). 
Arnold,  Lewis. 
Arvin,  James. 
Arvin,  John. 
Arvin,  Peter. 
Asbondon,  William. 
Asht.ui.  Robert. 
Atten,  Evert. 
Attenger,  John. 


MIDDLESEX   MEN  IN   THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 


498 


Ayres,  Benjamin. 
Ayern,  Ezekiel. 
Ayres,  Jacob. 
Ayere,  .ledah. 
Ayere,  Nathan. 
Ayers,  Reuben. 
Ayers,  Samuel. 
Ayres,  Khic. 
Ayres,  Lewi». 
Ayree,  Olmdiab. 
Ayres,  Isaac. 
Ayrea,  Pbineas. 
Badcock,  Joseph. 
Bailey,  Daniel. 
Brtiley,  Richard. 
Baker,  Ctirnetius. 
Buker.John. 
Baldwin,  Caleb. 
Bal'lwiu,  Enos. 
Baldwin,  W<H)lsey. 
Baley,  John. 
Barclay,  Lewis. 
Barkelow,  O>onrod. 
Barkelow,  Henry. 
Barkels,  Farronton. 
Barkels,  John. 
Bai«tedo,  Leo. 
Bateman,  Daniel. 
BaylfS,  Daniel. 
Bayles,  Richard. 
Bayles,  Samuel. 
Beunet,  Abraham. 
Bennet,  llendrick. 
B»-niiet,  William. 
Bennington,  Israel. 
Bercuuut,  Daniel. 
Bergen,  Christian. 
Berlew,  Abraham. 
Bickn.-!,  John. 
Bigner,  Michael. 
B.ngle,  James. 
Bi»hnp,  Aaron. 
Bifihop,  James. 
Bishop,  John. 
Bishop,  Richard. 
Bishop.  Shotwell. 
Bishop.  William. 
Bistiet,  Andrew. 
Black.  .Mexander. 
Black,  Benjamin. 
Blackford,  David. 
Blackford,  Nathan. 
Blacktord,  Phineas. 
Blanchard,  Clark. 
Ulan  chard,  Isaac. 
BUine,  Rubert. 
BloodgMod,  John. 
Bloomfield,  Kliaa. 
Bloomfield,  Ezekiel. 
Bloomfield,  John. 
Bloomfield,  Jouatbao 
Bloomfield,  Moses. 
Bloomfield,  Nathan. 
Bloomfield,  Thomas. . 
BInumfield,  Thomas,  i 
Bloomfield,  William. 
Boice,  George. 
Boiiger,  Jtdin. 
Buoruni,  Hendrick. 
Boorum,  John. 
Boorum.  Nicholas. 
Borhifs,  James. 
Boh erx,  John. 
Bownmn,  Andrew. 
Bowman,  Peter. 
B«>wne,  John. 
Bradbury,  Uezekiah. 
32 


Bradbury,  Rosea. 
Bradley,  Robert. 
Brecourt,  Solomon. 

Brewer,  Thomas. 

Brickcourt,  Daniel. 

Briggs.John. 

Britton,  Joseph  (1). 

Britton,  Joseph  (2). 

Broockes,  John. 

Brotherton,  David. 

Brotherton,  William. 

Brower,  Thomas. 

Brown,  Benjamin. 

Brown,  James. 

Brown,  John. 

Brown.  Joseph  (1). 

Brown,  Joseph  (2). 

Brown,  Joseph  (:i). 

Brown,  Lewis. 

Brown,  I'eler. 

Brown,  William. 

Brown,  Zebulon. 

Buckalew,  Alexander. 

Buckalew,  Cornelius. 

BuckaU-w,  Edward. 

Buckalew,  Frederick. 

Buckalew,  Gilbert. 

Buckalew.  Isaac. 

Buckalew.  John. 

Buckalew,  Peter. 

Buckalew,  Runyon. 

Buckalew,  Samuel. 

Buckalew,  William. 

Bulliii.  James. 

Burcourt,  David. 

Burdine,  James. 

Burding,  Abel. 

Burlen.  Alexander. 

Bmien,  Edward. 

Berlen,  Frederick. 

Berlen,  Frederick,  Jr. 

Burlen,  Gilbert. 

Burlen,  Jfamuel. 

Burlen,  Thomas. 

Burlen,  William. 

Burlen,  Peter. 
Burrili,  Rol^rt. 

Burwell,  Robert. 
Cahill,  James. 
Camburn,  Joseph. 
Camp,  John. 
Campbell,  Benajah. 
Campbell,  Dugal. 
Campbell.  Eliscus. 
Campbell,  Ellis  R. 
Campbell,  JuhD. 
Campbell,  Lewis. 
Campbell,  Nathaniel. 
Campbell,  Robert. 
Compbell,  Spencer. 
Cafon,  Levi. 
Cafoti,  Robert. 
Carlisle,  William. 
Carman,  Richard. 
Can,  Samuel. 
Carson,  Joseph. 
Carter,  Richard. 
Caterline,  Ebenezer. 
Cay  wood,  John. 
C.iy  wood.  Thomas. 
Cay  wood,  William. 
Celly,  Jesse. 
Chambei lain,  John. 
Chamberlain,  Joseph. 
Chamberlain,  Lewis, 
Chambers,  James. 
Chapman,  Daniel. 


Chapman,  James. 

Cbilds,  John. 

Cheeseman,  John. 

Cheeseman,  Joseph. 
,  Samuel, 
n,  William. 

Cheeseman,  Zachariah. 

Clark,  Alexander. 

Clark,  Benjamin. 

Clark,  Eli. 

Clark,  Peter. 

Clark,  William. 

Clarkson,  Jeremiah. 

Clarkson,  Randolph. 

Clarkson,  Iraker. 

Clarkson,  James. 

Clarkson,  Lewis. 

Clinton,  James. 

Cock,  John. 

Coddiugton,  Enoch. 

Cod<lington,  James. 

Coddiugton,  John. 

Colleger,  Joseph. 

Coloni,  Caleb. 

Ccuubs,  Jonathan. 

Combs,  Samuel. 

Combs,  Stephen. 

Combs,  William. 

Compton.  Ephraim. 

Compton,  Gabriel. 

Compton.  John. 
Compton,  Samuel. 

Cod,  Elisha. 

Condon,  John. 
Conger,  David. 
Conger,  John. 
Conger,  Jonathan. 
Conuel,  Michael. 
Connelly,  John. 
Connelly,  Ned. 
Connelly,  William. 
Cook,  David. 
Cook,  Elisha. 
Cook,  Peter. 
Cornelius,  John  (1). 
Cornelius,  John  (2). 
Cornell,  Peter. 
Cornell,  Roelifif. 
Cornell,  Elisha. 
Cornell,  Abraham. 
Cornell,  David. 
Corsat,  Anthony. 
Cortelyou,  Hann. 
Cortelyuu,  John. 
Cortelyou,  IU>eliff. 
Cotheal,  Alexander. 
Covenhoven,  Francis. 
Covenhoven,  Garret. 
Covenboveu,  John. 
Covenhoven,  Lucas. 
Covenhoven,  Restes. 
Covenhoven,  William. 
Covert,  John. 
Covert,  Thomas. 
Craig,  Daniel  T. 
Craig,  David. 
Crane,  Seth. 
Craw,  Thomas. 
Crawford,  William  G. 
Creasey.  Alexander. 
Creasey,  William. 
Creasey,  Andrew. 
Crow,  Abraham. 
Crow,  EleseUB. 
Crowell,  David. 
Crowell,  Edward. 
Crowell,  Joseph. 


Cuffee,  Amos. 

Culver,  Nathaniel. 

Culvert,  Azariah. 

Cutter,  John. 

Cutter,  Kelsey. 

Cutter.  Samuel. 

Cutter,  Stephen. 

Dally,  Jeremiah. 

Dally,  Samuel. 

Daniels,  Jeremiah. 

Daniels,  Randolph. 

Damets,  Richard. 

Davidson,  George. 

Davidson,  John. 

Davis,  Benjamin. 

David.  David  Rhay. 

Davis,  Edmond. 

Davis,  John. 

Davis,  Lewis. 

Davis,  Nathan. 

Davis,  Peter. 

Davison,  James. 

Davison,  Jediah. 

Davison,  Jeptha. 

Davison,  John. 

Davison,  Thomas. 

Davison,  William. 

Dean,  Abraham. 

Dean,  Daniel. 

Dean,  Jacob. 

Drake,  Abram. 

Drake,  Benjamin. 

Drake,  Cheesmau. 

Drake,  Ch»'sur. 

Drake,  Elisha. 

Drake,  Ephraim. 

Drake,  George. 

Drake,  Joseph. 

Drake,  Samuel. 
Drake,  Simon. 
Diingaii,  Samuel. 
Dunham,  Asher. 
Dunham,  Davis. 
Dunliam,  Elijah. 
Dunham,  Enoch. 
Dunham,  Frazee. 
Dunham,  Jacob. 
Dunham,  Jehu. 
Dunham,  John  (1). 
Dunham,  John  (2). 
Dunham,  Jonathan. 
Dunham.  Joseph. 
Dunham,  Joshua. 
Dunham,  £>amuel. 
Duryea,  Frederick. 
Duryea,  John. 
Dunn,  Benjamin. 
Dunn,  Clawson. 
Duuu,  Daniel. 
Dunn,  Enoch. 
Dunn.  Ephraim. 
Dunn,  Gershom. 
Dunn,  Ichabod. 
Dunn,  Isaac. 
Dunn,  .Tames  P. 
Dunn,  Jeremiah. 
Dunn,  Joel. 
Duuu,  Moses. 
Dunn,  Philip. 
Dunn,  Reuben. 
Dunn,  Thomas. 
Dye,  Amos. 
Dye,  Daniel. 
Dye,  James. 
Dye,  John. 
Dye,  Joseph. 
Dye,  Lawrence. 


494 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Dye,  Thomas. 

Gordon,  Samuel. 

Houke,  Tobias. 

Lickran,  Jacob. 

Eaetburn,  Rohert. 

Gordon,  William. 

Hudson,  Nathaniel. 

Light,  Peter. 

Eastlmrn,  Thomiu. 

Graham,  James. 

Hudson,  Samuel. 

Lile,  John,  Sr. 

EaBtwoud,  Amumta. 

Griffith,  John. 

Hulick.  Henry. 

Lile,  John,  Jr. 

Edgar,  JatiieB. 

Griggs,  James. 

Hulick,  John. 

Lile,  Moses. 

Edgar,  William. 

Griggs,  Samuel. 

Hnlet,  Uilliam. 

Ltoculn,  John. 

Egbert,  James. 

Griggs,  Thomas. 

Hull,  Benjamin. 

Lurcom,  Jacob. 

Egbert,  Lewis. 

Grove,  John. 

Hull,  John. 

Lurcom,  Johu. 

Egerlon,  Matthew. 

Grove,  Robert. 

Hull,  Reuben. 

Lipes,  John. 

Ellason,  Paniel. 

Grove,  Samuel. 

Hulst,  John. 

Lisk,  John. 

Elbison,  Josrph. 

Grosvendike,  John. 

Hulst,  William. 

LiKtoD,  Johu. 

EllaBon,  Samuel. 

Grosvendike,  Samuel, 

Hunt,  James. 

Levins,  Richard. 

EIIhbud,  Srth. 

Gnest,  Henry. 

Hutcbings,  Isaac. 

Livingston,  William. 

Elliott,  Daniel. 

Guest,  John. 

Hutchinson,  Cornelius. 

Livingston,  Robert. 

Ellis,  Joseph. 

Gulacar,  Lewis. 

Huyler,  William. 

Loiskerom,  Jacob. 

Ellison,  ijamuel. 

Gulick,  Abram  J. 

Isleton,  Matthew. 

Longstreet,  Aaron. 

ElstoM,  Andrew. 

Gnlick,  Benjamin. 

Isleton,  Samuel. 

Lonestreet,  Samuel. 

Eminuns.  Isfiac. 

Gulick,  Cornelius. 

Jackson,  Lewis. 

Lorton,  James. 

English,  David. 

Gulick,  James. 

James,  Thomas. 

Lorton,  John. 

English,  Robert. 

Gulick,  Peter. 

Jamison,  Alexander. 

Lott,  Abraham. 

Eusley,  Daniel. 

Gume,  John. 

Jaquish,  Jonathan. 

Lott,  Gersbom. 

Erwin,John. 

Hagerman,  Barret. 

JeHnes,John. 

Lott,  Henry. 

Estle,  Willi»m. 

Hagernian,  Garret. 

Jewell,  luhabod. 

Lott,  John. 

Evans,  Crowell. 

Hagermun,  Henry. 

Jewell,  William. 

Lott,  Peter. 

Evans,  James. 

Halipeuny,  Isaac. 

Job,  Richard. 

Loughborough,  John. 

Evans,  William. 

Halfpenny,  James. 

Jobs,  Samuel. 

Loucberry,  Elias. 

Everinghani.John. 

Halfpenny,  John. 

Johiiscjn,  Andrew. 

Low,  Benjamin. 

Fare.v,  Aniariah. 

Hall,  William. 

Johnson,  Barreot. 

Luke,  John. 

Farmer,  George. 

Hampton,  James. 

Johnson.  John. 

Luker,  Beujamiu. 

Farniei",  Jasper. 

Hansen,  Anthony. 

Johnson,  Lewis. 

LuHton,  Jonathan. 

Fai-mer,  Nathan. 

Harber,  Edward. 

Johnson,  William. 

Lusbay,  Abraham. 

Fitrmer,  Peter. 

Harber,  Ohadiab. 

Jotinson,  Jacob, 

Lyon,  William. 

Featlier,  John. 

Harbourt,  Edward. 

Jonas,  John. 

Mrtgee,  James. 

Field,  Benjamin. 

Harculus,  William. 

Jones,  David. 

Manning,  Andrew. 

Field,  Deijiiis. 

Harriott,  Samuel. 

Jones,  James. 

Manning,  Benjamin. 

Fiel.l,  Elnatban. 

Harris,  David. 

Jordon,  John. 

Manning,  Enoch. 

Field,  Jeremiah  B. 

Harrison,  Geoige. 

Jorney,  John. 

Manning,  David. 

Fiel.l,  John. 

Hariison,  Isaac. 

Keeuan,  Peter  B. 

Manning,  John,  Sr. 

Field,  J.din  B. 

Hart,  Cornelius  D. 

Kelly,  Abiaham. 

Manning,  John,  Jr. 

Field,  Joniithan. 

Hartnian,  Christian. 

Kelly,  Jesse. 

Manning,  Pbineae. 

Field,  Richiird. 

Harlmao,  Conrad. 

Kemp,  John. 

Manning,  Samuel. 

Field,  Richard  R. 

Hartnian,  Cornelius. 

Kent.  Phineas. 

Miuining,  Thomas. 

Fisher,  Jacob. 

Hatfield,  John. 

King,  George. 

Maple,  Stephen. 

Fisher,  John. 

Hank,  Jacob. 

Kinsey,  James, 

Maple,  William. 

Fisher,  William. 

Hayhack,  SohimoD. 

Kipp,  Robert. 

Martin,  Nathaniel. 

Flat,  John. 

Hazling,  Richard. 

Knowles,  Jesse. 

Martin,  Benjamin. 

Flood,  Stephen. 

Heddeli,  Jos. 

Kiiu,\,  Joseph. 

Marlin,  Daniel. 

Force,  Samuel. 

Hendrickson,  Cornelias. 

Lain,  Abniliam. 

Marlin,  David. 

Force,  Thunnis  P. 

Hendrickson,  Oaky. 

Laing,  Almiliam. 

Martin,  Eliakim. 

Fordyce,  Jidin. 

Herbert,  Ohediah. 

Lnird,  Riulianl. 

Martin,  Gei^hom. 

Forman,  Isaac. 

Herbert,  Robert. 

Lake,  Benjamin. 

Martin,  Irt-uais. 

Foster,  Nathaniel. 

Herrod,  Saninel. 

Lake,  William. 

Martin,  I^aac. 

Founit,  Henry. 

Higbey,  Heni-y. 

Lambfit,  David. 

Martin,  James. 

Frazee,  Benson. 

Highey,  John. 

Lambertsun,  CorDeliUB. 

Martin,  John. 

Frazee.  Hiram. 

Higbe.v,  Obadiah. 

LuinbertJiun,  David. 

Marlin,  Jushna. 

Fraiee.  Morris. 

Higgins,  Jediah. 

Lambertsun,  Klijah. 

Martin,  Lewis. 

Frazee,  Moses. 

High,  Nathan. 

LaDibertsuii,  Garret. 

Marlin,  Merrick. 

Frazy,  Benjamin. 

Hight,  John  N. 

Lambeitsun,  John. 

Martin,  Michael. 

Fredegburgh,  Wm. 

Hill,  John. 

LanibertBun,  Joshua. 

Miirtin,  Mioses. 

Gariits,  John. 

Hillyard,  Wm. 

LaQibertsuD,  Sioion. 

Martin,  Mnlford. 

Gnrritsun.  John. 

Hinds,  William. 

Lanibertsuu,  Thomas. 

Martin,  Katban. 

Ganitsoii,  Peter. 

Hoagbtnd,  Abnim. 

Lane,  Isaac. 

Martin,  Nathaniel. 

Gibhs.  John. 

Hoaglaiid,  John. 

Lane.  Jacub. 

Martin,  Robert. 

Gibson,  David. 

Hoagland,  William. 

Lane,  Johu. 

Martin,  Will.am. 

Gibson,  Richard. 

Hobba,  David. 

LangBtaft,  Henry. 

Mason.  W.lliam. 

Gibson,  William. 

Holeman,  Thomas. 

Langfitaflr,  James. 

Matterson,  Aaron. 

Gilliland,  David. 

Holl,  Jacob. 

LangstafT,  John. 

MattiMon,  Jacob. 

Gillilai.d,  Matlhew. 

Holloway,  Richard. 

Leach,  Richard. 

McAfee,  Benjamin. 

Gillman,  Charles. 

Holteii,  Ephraim. 

Leforge,  Benjamin. 

McAfee,  Riih.ird. 

Gillnnin,  John. 

Holton.  Jos. 

Leonard,  William. 

McDowell,  Thomas. 

Gillmani  John,  Jr. 

Holton,  Peter. 

Leonard,  William  (2). 

McFadden.  Connoly. 

Gilmore,  Charles. 

Hooper,  William. 

Lester,  Samuel. 

McGee,  John. 

Godden,  Amos. 

Horn,  John. 

Letts,  Elijah. 

McGee,  William. 

Goodwin,  Amos. 

Horn,  Stephen. 

Letts,  ICIi-ha. 

Metvin.  Danifl. 

Gordon,  Arrhnble. 

Horn,  Will  am. 

Letts.  John. 

Melvin,  George. 

Gordon,  Ezekiel. 

Horner,  Timothy. 

Letts.  William. 

Melvin.Jobn. 

Gordon,  James. 

Hartwick.John. 

Lewis,  John. 

Melvin,  Thomas. 

MIDDLESEX    MEN   IN    THE    REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 


495 


.M 


Merrill,  Ricliard. 
Merelioi),  Henry. 
Mershon,  Robert. 
Merelinn.  William. 
MeBserol.  Charlea. 
Measerol,  Jacub. 
Mesaer..!,  John. 
Measerol,  Nicliolu. 

I,  Peter. 
Messerol,  William. 
Messier,  Abram. 
Mickel.  JohD. 
Miers.  John. 
Miller.  Holae. 
Miller,  Marsh. 
Miller,  Noah. 
Minor,  William. 
Mitchell,  John. 
Moon,  Jacob. 
Mi>ore,  David. 
Moore,  James. 
Moore,  Matthias. 
Moore,  Samuel. 
Morehead,  Andrew 
Morgan,  Abraliam. 
Morgan,  J.-hn. 
Morgan,  Philip. 
Morgan,  Ephraim. 
Morgan,  Elijah. 
Morris,  Jiihu. 
MorrJH,  Randolph. 
Morris,  Reuben. 
Morris,  William. 


Morse,  Randolph. 

Morton,  Joseph. 

Moses,  Randolph. 

Moss,  James. 

Mount,  Hezekiah. 

Mount,  Huinphrej. 

Mem  nt,  Joseph. 

Mount,  Richard. 

Mount,  William. 

Mulford,  James. 

Mullen,  William. 

Munday,  Benjamin. 

Munday,  Clarkson. 

Munilay,  Gabriel. 

Muriday,  Henry. 
■   MnndHy,  Martin. 
Munday,  Nicholas. 
Muiiday,  Peter. 
Mundiiy,  Reuben. 
Munday,  Samuel. 
Myers,  John. 
Mylor,  Cornelius. 
Myseler,  Simon. 
Neifes,  Garret  W. 
Neiles,  John. 
NHifus,  William. 
Neplins,  Jacob. 
Kevins,  Peter,  Sr. 
Nevin«,  Peler,  Jr. 
Newton,  Gilbert. 
New  ton,  William. 
Nickolds.  Lewis, 
Nickson,  Alexander. 
Nitius,  Garret. 
Ni.\on,  Ricliard. 
Noe,  Andrew. 
Noe,  James. 
Noe,  John. 
Norris,  William. 
Oakley,  Abraham. 
Obart.  Ge<n'ge. 
Obart,  John. 
Obart,  Peter. 


Obert,  George. 

Ockeman .  Garliue. 

Ockeman,  John. 

Ogden,  Benjamin. 

Ogden,  John. 

Olden,  John. 

Orman,  Benjamin. 

Orman,  Stephen. 

Outsell.  Frederick. 

Overt,  George. 

Pack,  Edward. 

Pain,  I.-aac. 

Pangborn,  Peter. 

Paiigborn,  William. 

Panoman,  Peter. 

Parker,  John. 

Parr,  Th>>ma8. 

I'atrick,  Samuel. 

Paul,  John. 

Paul,  Benjamin. 

Pearson,  Benjamin  P. 

Pence,  William. 

Perrrne,  Andrew. 

Perrine,  Daniel. 

Perrine,  Henry. 

Pernne,  John. 

Perrine,  Joseph. 

Perrine,  Matthew. 

Perrine,  William. 

Perry,  Thomas. 

Peltil,  Daniel. 

Petlit,  David. 

Peltil,  Edward. 

Petty,  Andrew. 
Phares,  Aniaiiah. 
Phares,  Andrew. 

Phillips,  Ralph. 
Piatt,  John. 
Pike,  Asher. 
Pike,  James. 
Pike,  Thomas. 
Plum,  John. 
Porter,  NathanieL 
Potter,  Enoch. 
Potter,  Gilbert. 
Potter,  Joseph. 
Potter,  R<.bert. 
Potts,  Samuel. 
Powell,  Thomas. 
Powelsou,  Powell. 
Powers,  John. 
Pricket,  l»aac. 
Pricket,  John. 
Pricket,  Stephen. 
Pricket,  William. 
Prolau,  Garret. 
Provost,  David. 
Provost,  Jju*per. 
Provost,  John. 
Provost,  Joiiathau. 
Provosi,  Peter. 
Quackenboss,  Isaac. 
Ray,  John. 
Reclaii,  John. 
Keaualds,  Jamee. 
Reed,  James. 
Reed,  Peter. 
Reed,  John. 
Rice,  Riclia  d. 
Richmond,  William. 
Richero  (?),  Abraham. 
RiiiO,  William. 
Robbilis,  Jesse. 
Robertson,  Joseph. 
RobinB.>n,  Andrew. 
Roe,  Asabel. 
Roff,  Ebenezer. 


Bolan,  George. 

Rolen,  James. 

Roler.  George. 

Roler,  William. 

Rolle,  Moses. 

Rose,  William. 

Ross,  Isaac. 

Ross,  Ji'hn. 

Ross,  William. 

Rowland,  Jacob. 

Rowlison,  William. 

Rue,  Matthew. 

Runnals,  Jas. 

Runyan,  Asa. 

Runyan,  Enoch. 

Runyan,  Hugh. 

Runyan,  Job. 

Runyan,  Richard. 

Ryder,  Bernaidus. 

Ryder,  Garret. 

Ryder,  John. 

Ryder,  William. 

Ryon,  William. 

Salard,  Benjamin. 

Sanderson,  John. 

Sands,  Jos. 

Sai  vis,  David. 

Schenck,  Garret. 

Schenck,  Jos. 

Schenck,  Peter  F. 

Schenck,  Roeloff. 

Scliuieman,  Abraha] 

Scott,  John. 
Scott,  Thomas. 
Scott,  William. 
Sebring.  G>.urge. 
Sedani,  James. 
Sedaiii,  Ryke. 
Selleler,  William. 
Selover,  Isaac. 
Service,  John. 
Service.  Joseph. 
Service,  William. 
Sliaip,  Juuathan. 
Shaw,  David. 
Sheldon,  Kphraim. 
Shippey,  John. 
Sherd,  Hugh. 
Shotwell,  Manning. 
Shiibart,  James. 
Sbubart,  John. 
S.mpson,  Abraham. 
Skillman,  Jactib. 
Skinner,  J 'hn. 
Skinner.  William. 
Skiiton,  Tlionias. 
Slaibaik,  Abel. 


Slov 


,  Join 


Snialley,  John. 
Sniiili,  Andrew. 
Smith,  i;ideon. 
Suillli,  Hezekiah. 
Sniilh,  Jeremiah. 
Smith,  John. 
Sniilh,  Simeon. 
Smilb,  William. 
Smock,  Ilendtick. 
Smock,  R.>lierl. 
Snap,  George. 
Snedeker,  C<trneli(i 
Snedeker,  Garret. 
Snedeker,  I.a.ic. 
Snedeker.  Jacob. 
Snedeker,  J,.lin. 


Sofer,  Benjamin. 

Sofer,  Jonathan. 

Sofer,  Joseph. 

Sofer,  Reuben. 

Soulan,  Benjamin. 

South.  Elijah. 

Soulh, Isaac. 

South,  Vtilliam. 

Southard,  Zachaliah. 

Sparling,  Abraham. 

Sparling,  Isaac. 

Sparling',  James. 

Sparling,  John. 

Sparling,  Jos. 

Sparling,  Peter. 

Spencer,  Jos. 

Stan  bury,  Joshua. 

Stanley,  Isaac. 

Starkey,  William. 

Stelle,  Abel. 

Stelle,  Isaac. 

Stelle,  Jacob. 
Stelle,  Jonah. 
Stelle,  Jos. 
Stelle,  Samuel. 
Stephens,  Jos. 
Stephenson,  John. 
Stephenson,  William. 
Stewart,  liavid. 
Stillwell,  Daniel. 
Siiiiias,  Christian. 
StinbfU,  Job. 
Stone,  David. 
Stone,  William. 
Stoueker.John. 
Storey,  Daniel. 
Storey,  John. 
Storey,  William. 
Stotehoff,  Peter. 
Stout,  Abel. 
Stoni,  John. 
Sti-icker,  Cornelius. 
Stultz,  Henry. 
Stnllz,  Jacob. 
Stultz,  Peter. 
Sudani,  John. 
Snllivan,  Patrick. 
Sundei  land,  Thomas. 
Sunderlin,  John. 
Surl,  William. 
Sulphen,  Dirck. 
Sutjiheii,  James. 
Siltpheu,  James  (2). 
SultfU),  Henry. 
Sutton,  Henry  (2). 
Sutton,  Jeany. 
Sutton,  John. 
Sutton,  Joseph. 


SlltK 


,  Nihemiab. 


Sotle 
Sode 


Sutton,  Peter. 
Sutton.  Peler  (^). 
Sutton,  William. 
Siiydam,  Cornelius, 
Suydani,  Charles. 
Snydani,  Jacob. 
Suydam,  Siuiun. 
Swart,  Haltus. 
Swart,  Stephen. 
Talmage,  Thomas. 
Tallyon,  I'eler. 
T..niton,  Francis. 
Tappaii,  Abraham. 
Tappan, Isaac, 
Taylor,  Lewis. 
Taylor,  William. 
Ten  BroecU,  Willia 
Tewell,  Enoch. 


496 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Tharp,  Baker. 
Tharp,  Benjamin. 
Thaxton,  John. 
Thcmias,  W  illiam. 
Thompson,  William. 
Thomson,  Charles. 
Thomson,  Cornelius. 
Thomson,  David. 
Thomson,  Hugh. 
Thomson,  James. 
Thomson,  John. 
Thom,  Kicliard. 
Thormell,  Benjamin. 
Thormell,  Israel. 
Thorp,  Jonattian. 
Till,  Peter. 
Tillny,  Peter. 
Tindall,  John. 
Tindall,  Richard. 
Tlndull,  William. 
Tomhs,  Lewis. 
Totten,  John. 
Totten,  Thomas. 
Touratee,  Peter. 
Toy,  John. 

Tremhley,  Alexander. 
Trout,  Jaeub. 
Turner,  Daniel. 
Underdurik,  Isaac. 
Uptiyke,  Clement. 
Updyke,  William. 
Van  Arsdalen,  John. 
Van  Arsdale,  Urina. 
Van  Campen,  Gideon. 
Van  Cleaf,  Michael. 
Van  Derbeck,  Benjamin. 
Van  Derhoven,  James. 
Van  Derveer,  Abraham. 
Van  Derventer,  Christian. 
Van  Derventer,  Isaac. 
Van  Derventer,  Jacob. 
Van  Derventer,  James. 
Van  Deursen,  William. 
Van  Dyke,  Hendrick. 
Van  Harlingen,  John. 
Van  Hess,  Garret. 
Van  Hess,  John. 
Van  Kirk,  Arthur. 
Van  Kirk,  Jameson. 
Van  Kirk,  William. 
Van  Zanilt,  John. 
Vail  Lew,  Frederick. 
Van  Mickler,  John. 
Van  Nest,  Henry. 
Vail  Nice,  John. 
Van  Nortwick,  Samuel. 
Van  Orsdol,  Cornelius. 
Van  Orsdol,  Isaac. 
Van  Orsdol,  Jacob. 
Van  Orsdol,  John. 
Van  Ostrand,  John. 
Van  Pelt,  Joseph. 
Van  Pelt,  John. 
Van  Pelt,  Jacob. 


Van  Pelt,  Isaac. 
Van  Pelt,  Abraham. 
Van  Sickle,  John. 
Van  Sickle,  Stephen. 
Van  Tilburgh,  Henry. 
Van  Tilburgh,  John. 
Van  Tilburgh,  William. 
Vantine,  Abraham. 
Vautine,  Ephraim. 
Vantine,  Isaac. 
Van  Winkler,  Evert. 
Van  Zandt,  Peter. 
Vaugh,  Jacob. 
Vliet,  William. 
Voorhees,  Abraham. 
Voorhees,  James  J. 
Voorhees,  James  K. 
Voorhees,  James. 
Voorhees,  Nicholas. 
Voorhees,  William. 
Voorhees,  Garret  R. 
Voorhees,  Jacob. 
Voorhees,  Martines. 
Voorhees,  Daniel. 
Voorhees,  John  K. 
Vreeland,  Abraham. 
Waldrou,  Chris. 
Walker,  Asher. 
Walker,  Francis. 
Walker,  Robert. 
Walker,  Samuel. 
Wall,  James. 
Wartenby,  William. 
Wartenabe,  William. 


Wa 


,  Jacob. 


Webster,  Thomas. 
White,  John. 
White,  Samuel. 
Whitehead,  Moses. 
Whitehead,  Samuel. 
Whithick,  William. 
Wickoff,  Garret. 
Wickoir,  Jacob. 
Wilcocks,  Isaac. 
Wilkins,  Jeptha. 
Willett,  Hartshorn. 
Willett,  Samuel. 
Williams,  Isaac. 
Williams,  Stephen. 
Williamson,  Henry. 
Willis,  Henry. 
Willis,  Joseph. 
Willis,  Samuel. 
Willock,  William. 
Wilmouth,  Lazarus. 
Wilson,  Daniel. 
Wilson,  Garret. 
Wilson,  Isaac. 
Woghnn,  John. 
Wooding,  James. 
Wortmati,  David. 
Wright,  Smith. 
Wyckoff,  John. 


CHAPTER    LXVIII. 

BENCH    AND    BAR  OF    MIDDLESEX. 

Lawyeks  appeared  in  regular  practice  in  the 
courts  of  this  county  at  an  earlier  period  than  we 
find  them  in  any  other  county  of  East  Jersey  except 
Bergen.     The  cause  of  this  is  found  in  the  fact  that 


Perth  Amboy,  being  intended  as  the  capital  and  the 
commercial  rival  of  New  York,  drew  thither  at  the 
time  of  its  founding  and  soon  after  a  class  of  men 
who  had  studied  law  and  politics  in  the  schools  of 
England  and  Scotland.  At  a  later  period  New  Bruns- 
wick took  the  lead  in  professional  men, — in  the  law, 
in  medicine,  and  in  divinity. 

The  first  record  we  have  of  the  names  of  counselors 
being  called  in  the  courts  of  this  county  was  at  the 
General  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace  held  at  Perth 
Amboy  in  September,  1708.  They  may  have  prac- 
ticed at  an  earlier  date  even  than  this,  perhaps  be- 
ginning soon  after  the  opening  of  the  courts  in  the 
reign  of  Queen  Anne,  but  the  minutes  being  lacking 
from  the  close  of  the  proprietary  government  till  the 
year  1708,  there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining  whether 
there  were  lawyers  or  not  in  the  courts  prior  to  the 
latter  date.  The  record  of  September,  1708,  mentions 
the  calling  of  the  names  of  Francis  Sites,  John  Lof- 
ton, and  Corse  Froam  (probably  Vrooin),  "  counsel- 
ors," but  none  of  them  appearing,  "  the  under  sheriff 
informed  the  Court  that  Corse  Froam  was  sick." 
The  reason  of  the  absence  of  the  others  is  not  men- 
tioned ;  but  they  were  all  in  court  in  August,  1709, 
and  with  them  Andrew  Gordon,  a  lawyer  of  Perth 
Amboy.  The  latter  appeared  in  nearly  all  the  courts, 
and  had  much  business  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century. 

From  1741  to  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution 
we  find  the  following  lawyers  practicing  in  the  courts 
of  the  county:  Philip  Kearney,  1741;  John  Smyth, 
1741;  Francis  Costigin,  Richard  Williams,  John 
Price,  John  Lawrence,  and  Messrs.  Rosevelt  and 
Patrick  McEwers,  1741-42 ;  Cortland  Skinner,  Lewis 
Morris,  and  David  Ogden,  1742;  Messrs.  Lyne,  Lur- 
tin,  and  Anthony  White,  1743;  Barnardus  Lagrange, 
1745;  Elisha  Parker,  1746;  Messrs.  Lewis  M.  Ashfield 
and  Coxe,  1748;  Peter  Kemble  and  Anthony  Waters, 
1749;  Messrs.  Kelly,  William  Pidgeon,  R.  Lawrence, 
Jacob  De  Hart,  Abraham  Cottnam,  from  1750  to 
1753;  Thomas  Kennedy,  1754;  Richard  Stockton, 
1755;  James  Hude,  Jr.,  1760;  Cornelius  Low,  1760; 
William  Thomson,  Jonathan  Deare,  G.  Ross,  Elias 
Boudinot,  Ravand  Kearney,  1762-63 ;   Jasper  Smith, 

Ephraim  Anderson,  James  Graham,  Waddell, 

1763-64;  John  De  Hart,  1765;  Henry  Allen,  1766; 
Messrs.  Cuyler,  Chetwood.  and  De  Bow,  1767 ;  Jona- 
than Sergeant  and  Bowes  Reed,  1768 ;  Bryan  and  John 
Laferty  and  Abraham  Ogden,  1769. 

During  this  period  the  following  were  judges  of  the 
Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions  of  the  Peace : 


17«.  Robert  Hude. 

James  Thompson. 
Henry  Freeman. 
Ezekiel  Bloomfleld. 
Betuamin  Hull. 
Samuel  Nevil. 
JaDies  Uude. 
John  Heard. 
James  Smith. 


1741.  Jeremiah  Field. 
Richard  Cutter. 
1742    Poutius  Stelle. 
174;l.  Stephen  Warne. 

1746.  John  Nevill. 
Nicholas  KvetBou. 
Riinie  KunyoD. 
Tliomaa  Gacli. 

1747.  William  Hutchins! 


BENCH    AND   BAR   OF    MIDDLESEX. 


497 


1748.  Willian 
Jedediah  Higgins. 

1749.  Janiea  Neilson. 
Jobiati  Drtviaon. 
Jobii  Barclay. 

1761.  Abraham  Lane. 
Jonathan  Frazee. 


17.54.  William  Heard. 
176a  Nehemiah  Dunham. 

William  Crawford. 
|761.  .lames  Parker. 

Thumas  Walker. 
1762.  Samuel  Barron. 


The  following  have  been  chief  justices  and   asso- 
ciate justices  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  Jersey  : 


1709.  Thomas  Gordon. 
1728.  Thomas  Farmer. 


CHIEF  JUSTICES. 

j  1(77.  Robert  Morris. 
18U3.  Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 


1710.  Peter  Sonmaus. 

1711.  Lewis  Morris. 


ASSOCIATE  JUSTICES. 

1748.  Samuel  Neville. 
1797.  Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 
Thomas  Fai  mer.  1838.  James  S.  Kevins. 

1735.  Jolin  Hamilton.  1845.  Joseph  F.  Randolph. 

1739.  John  Allen.  1859.  John  Van  Dyke. 

MEMBERS  OF   THE    MIDDLESEX   BAR   SINCE    1800. 
Joseph  Warrt-n  Scott,  February,  1801,  February,  18114. 
Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  February,  1805,  Febcuary,  1859. 
Cornelius  L.  Hardenbergh,  September,  1812. 
James  S.  Nevins,  November,  1819,  September,  1823. 
Littleton  Kirkpatrick,  May,  1821. 
John  S.  Blauvelt,  November,  1825,  February,  1829. 
George  Richmond,  November,  1825. 
William  H.  Leupp,  September,  1827,  September,  1830. 
George  P.  Molleson,  February,  1828,  May,  1831. 
Bobert  Adrian,  Jr.,  September,  1830,  November,  1833. 
Benson  Milledoler,  September,  IS30,  September,  1833. 
George  H.  Vroom,  September,  1833. 
Henry  V.  Speer,  February,  1834,  November,  1839. 
John  Van  Dyke,  February,  18.36,  February,  1839. 
Garnet  B.  Adrian,  September,  1836,  September.  1839. 
John  C.  Elinendorf,  November,  1837,  September,  1841. 
Edward  S.  Vail,  September,  1842,  January,  1847. 
Abraham  V.  Scheuck,  November,  1843,  January,  1847. 
James  G.  McDowell,  September,  1838. 
Charles  S.  Scott,  February,  1844. 
Warren  Hardenbergh,  October,  1848. 
William  Hartough,  January,  1849. 
Alexander  U.  Stark,  April,  1850. 
John  H.  Frazee,  April,  1S5U. 
Benjami(]  R.  W.  Strong,  February,  1852. 
George  C.  Ludlow,  November,  1853,  November,  1868. 
George  R.  Duttou,  November,  1857. 
J.  Elmer  Stout,  November,  1857. 
Charles  I.  Rutgers,  November,  1857. 
Charles  Morgan  Herbert,  June,  I860,  November,  1866. 
Charles  Morgan,  June,  1860. 
Joseph  J.  Ely,  June,  I860,  June,  1868. 
Herbert  Stout,  June,  1861,  February,  1865. 
Theodore  Strong,  Jr.,  November,  1861. 
J.  Randolph  Appleby,  February,  1862. 
Henry  L.  R.  Van  Dyke,  June,  1862. 
Samuel  M.  Schanck,  November,  1862,  November,  1865. 
Jonathan  Dix..n,  Jr.,  November,  1862,  November,  1865. 
Oliver  E.  Gordon,  June,  1864,  June,  1867. 
Charles  T.  Cowenlioven,  November,  1865. 
James  H.  Van  Cleef,  June,  1867. 
Beasley  Mercer,  Jr.,  June,  1865. 
Edward    Wood. 
William  Disborough. 
Alplieus  Fremau. 
George  W.  Atherton,  June,  1875. 
Geoige  Berdiuo,  February,  1875,  February,  1878. 
Daniel  R.  Boice,  June,  1870,  June,  1873. 
A.  K.  Cogswell,  November,  1870,  February,  1876. 
J.  V.  De  Mott,  June,  1877. 
Silas  D.  Grimsted,  November,  1872,  November,  1875. 

Howard  McSherry, . 

James  Nielson,  November,  1871,  November,  1874. 


William  Beiley,  Jr.,  June,  1869. 

Charles  H.  Runyon,  February,  1876. 

J.  Kearney  Rice,  November,  1876. 

William  Stoddard,  November,  1877. 

David  A.  Storer,  November,  1877. 

Edward  W.  Strong,  June.  1875. 

Allen  H.  Strong,  November,  1877. 

Willard  P.  Voorhees,  November,  1874,  November,  1878. 

M.  Bedell  Vail,  November,  1879. 

H.  Brewster  Willis,  June,  1881. 

J.  W.  Beekman,  February,  1875,  February,  1878. 

J.  M.  Chapman,  April,  1846,  July,  1849. 

William  Patterson,  November,  1838. 

Ephraim  Cutter,  November,  1877. 

Charles  Morgan,  June,  1860. 

A.  S.  Cloke,  February,  1862,  February,  1866. 

Thomas  Gordon  was  chief  justice  of  the  province 
of  New  Jersey  in  the  year  1709.  He  was  from  Aber- 
deen, Scotland,  and  came  to  Perth  Amboy  in  1684, 
with  bis  wife,  Helen,  four  cliildren,  and  seven  ser- 
vants. The  wife  and  children  died  soon  after  of  a 
fatal  disease  then  prevalent.  Mr.  Gordon  became  a 
very  useful  and  prominent  man  in  the  province.  In 
1692  he  was  appointed  deputy  secretary  and  register 
for  the  proprietaries  by  William  Dockwra,  their  cliief 
secretary  in  London.  The  same  year  he  was  made 
clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Right,  register  of  the 
Court  of  Chancery,  and  a  commissioner,  with  David 
Mudie  and  James  Dundas,  for  the  trial  of  small  causes 
at  Perth  Amboy.  The  en.suing  year  he  was  appointed 
judge  of  probate,  and  in  1694  an  officer  of  the  customs, 
Amboy  being  made  a  port  of  entry.  He  was  intrusted 
by  the  proprietors  in  America  with  an  important 
mission  to  England  in  their  interest  in  1695 ;  and  in 
1702,  on  the  vacation  of  the  office  by  Mr.  Dockwra, 
he  was  appointed  chief  proprietary  secretary  and 
register.  Besides  these  responsible  positions  he  held 
various  local  and  political  offices  of  trust,  being  the 
representative  of  Middlesex  County  in  the  General 
Assembly  from  1703  to  1709,  and  part  of  the  time 
Speaker  of  the  House.  He  was  a  member  of  Gov- 
ernor Hunter's  Council,  and  held  the  same  office  under 
the  administration  of  Governor  Burnet.  From  June, 
1710,  to  March,  1719,  he  was  receiver-general  and 
treasurer  of  the  province. 

Thomas  Farmer  was  one  of  the  provincial  jus- 
tices of  the  Supreme  Court,  having  been  appointed  an 
associate  in  1711,  soon  after  his  arrival  at  Amboy 
from  Staten  Island,  where  he  had  previously  resided. 
He  was  made  chief  justice  in  1728,  and  presided  over 
the  court  for  that  year.  He  represented  Middlesex 
County  in  the  General  Assembly  during  the  adminis- 
tration of  Governor  Morris,  1740  to  1743.  Judge 
Farmer  for  some  time  before  his  death  was  insane. 
He  kept  a  country  store  in  Amboy.  He  had  several 
sons,  who  were  interested  in  military  expeditions 
against  the  Spaniards  in  the  West  Indies  in  1740-42. 

Philip  Kearney  was  one  of  the  first  lawyers  at 
the  Middlesex  bar.  He  was  a  son  of  Michael  Kear- 
ney, of  Monmouth  County,  a  native  of  Ireland,  who 
in  1716  purchased  a  lot  of  land  and  settled  in  Perth 
Amboy.     He  was  soon  appointed  to  the  secretaryship 


498 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


of  the  province  (Oct.  24,  1720),  was  made  clerk  of  the 
Assembly,  Dec.  16, 1720,  and  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  April  23,  1731.  His  mansion  house  at  Perth 
Amboy  became  the  residence  of  Governor  Hunter 
upon  his  acces.sion  to  the  office,  and  was  subsequently 
occupied  by  his  son  Philip,  the  lawyer.  Philip  was 
twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  Lady  Barney  Dex- 
ter, whose  maiden  name  was  Ravaud,  and  who  was  a 
client  of  his  in  Philadelphia.  He  became  interested 
in  the  widow,  as  well  as  in  the  defense  of  her  prop- 
erty, and  married  her.  They  had  a  son,  Ravaud 
Kearney,  who  became  a  member  of  the  bar  in  1762, 
and  practiced  in  the  courts  of  this  county.  The  chil- 
dren of  Philip  Kearney  by  the  first  marriage  were 
Philip,  Elizabeth,  Susannah,  and  Ravaud.  He  mar- 
ried for  his  second  wife  Isabella,  daughter  of  Robert 
Lettice  Hooper,  of  Trenton,  chief  justice  of  the  prov- 
ince, by  whom  he  had  five  children,  viz. :  Sarah, 
Michael,  Frances,  Joanna,  and  Isabella.  Mr.  Kear- 
ney died  .Tuly  25,  1775,  "universally  lamented,"  hav- 
ing practiced  in  the  courts  of  Middlesex  and  other 
counties  thirty-four  years,  and  by  his  honorable  char- 
acter and  social  position  exerted  a  wide  influence. 
He  was  one  of  the  first  lawyers  of  this  section  of 
country,  and  was  very  able  and  popular. 

Philip,  his  son,  lived  for  a  time  at  Amboy,  in  the" 
house  occupied  of  late  years  by  Hon.  James  Parker. 
He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  and  subsequently  removed 
to  the  west  bank  of  the  Passaic  River,  above  Newark, 
where  the  old  mansion  is  still  in  the  possession  of 
his  descendants.  He  was  the  father  of  the  Kearney 
Brothers,  merchants,  of  New  York,  and  grandfather 
of  Gen.  Philip  Kearney,  of  the  United  States  army.' 

Ravaud  Kearney  inherited  his  father's  law  library. 
He  lived  at  one  time  near  South  River,  and  also  for 
a  time  in  Monmouth  County.  He  married  Ann, 
daughter  of  James  Hude,  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
county  court,  and  died  Sept.  3,  1806,  in  his  sixty- 
eighth  year.  His  widow,  who  was  a  very  estimable 
lady  and  held  in  high  esteem,  survived  him  until 
April  3,  1828,  when  she  died  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety.  (For  further  information  respecting  the 
family  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  history  of  Perth 
Amboy  in  this  work.) 

CoRTLANDT  Skinner  was  a  lawyer  in  this  county 
for  tWrty-four  years,  having  made  his  first  appear- 
ance in  the  courts  in  1742,  and  practiced  till  he  left 
the  country  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  for  independ- 
ence. His  residence  was  at  Perth  Amboy.  As  a 
lawyer  and  statesman  he  occupied  a  distinguished 
position.  He  was  attorney-general  of  the  province 
and  Speaker  of  the  last  General  Assembly  under  the 


'  In  the  "  Old  Merchants  of  New  York"  is  a  sketch  of  the  Kearney 
family.  The  author  is  probably  In  error  in  supposing  that  the  father 
of  John  W.  and  Philip  Kearney,  founders  of  the  well-known  mercantile 
house  in  New  York  in  18(j;l,  cnnie  from  Ireland  and  was  the  ancestor  of 
the  Kearney  family  in  America.  He  was  of  the  third  giTierntion,  a 
grandson  of  Michael  Kearney,  of  Monmouth,  and  went  from  Perth 
Amboy  lo  his  residence  on  the  Passaic. 


crown.  There  is  evidence  that  Mr.  Skinner,  although 
an  uncompromising  loyalist,  disapproved  of  the  arbi- 
trary and  repressive  measures  of  the  British  ministry 
towards  the  colonies,  regarding  that  policy  as  calcu- 
lated to  drive  them  all  the  sooner  into  a  fruitless 
attempt  to  secure  their  independence  of  the  mother- 
i  country.  To  Governor  Boone,  of  South  Carolina,  he 
wrote  in  October,  1775, — 

"Taxes  and  a  restraint  on  the  West  India  trade  are  most  likely  to 
force  the  colonists  into  manufactures  and  put  independence  into  their 
hands.  They  are  on  the  high  road  to  it  now,  and  though  'tis  true  that 
they  have  not  strength  to  effect  it,  but  must  submit,  yet  'tts  lnying  the 
foundation  for  great  trouble  and  expense  to  Britain  in  keeping  that  by 
force  which  she  might  easily  do  without,  and  alienating  a  people  which 
she  might  make  her  greatest  prop  and  security." 

As  attorney -general  he  continued  to  occupy  his 
position  during  the  year  1775,  although  the  object  of 
continued  distrust  and  suspicion  on  the  part  of  the 
determined  Whigs ;  but  in  January,  1776,  a  letter 
of  his  to  his  brother,  a  lieutenant-colonel  in  England, 
was  discovered,  which  induced  Continental  Congress 
to  order  that  it  should  be  sent  to  the  Committee  of 
Safety  of  New  Jersey,  and  that  orders  be  sent  lo 
Lord  Stirling  to  take  with  him  a  sufficient  force  and 
immediately  apprehend  and  keep  in  safe  custody  the 
said  Cortlandt  Skinner,  of  Amboy,  until  further 
orders.  The  said  Cortlandt  Skinner,  however,  had 
taken  pains  to  leave  the  colony  and  take  refuge  on  a 
British  man-of-war,  and  all  the  Provincial  Congress 
could  do  was  to  direct  their  treasurer  not  to  make  any 
further  payment  of  his  salary.  It  does  not  appear 
that  he  ever  made  any  attempt  to  act  as  attorney- 
general  after  this.  He  no  doubt  confidently  expected 
to  resume  the  position  before  many  years,  but  the 
opportunity  to  do  so  never  came. 

Governor  Joseph  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  and 
Andrew  Bell,  of  Perth  Amboy,  had  been  students  at 
law  with  Mr.  Skinner.  The  latter,  like  his  preceptor, 
embraced  the  royal  cause;  the  former,  after  receiving 
his  license  and  practicing  a  short  time  in  Bridgeton, 
was,  in  February,  1776,  commissioned  a  captain  in 
the  Third  New  Jersey  Regiment,  under  command  of 
Col.  Elias  Dayton.  Bloomfield's  company  of  sixty- 
five  men,  recruited  in  Salem  County,  started  on  the 
march  to  join  the  Northern  army  in  Canada  on  the 
26th  of  March,  and  on  the  18th  of  April  arrived  in 
Perth  Amboy.  Here,  by  a  singular  coincidence, 
Capt.  Bloomfield  was  ordered  by  Lord  Stirling  to 
execute  the  order  of  Continental  Congress  in  the 
arrest  of  Mr.  Skinner,  it  not  being  yet  known  that  he 
had  escaped  and  taken  refuge  with  the  enemy. 

Mr.  Whitehead,  in  his  "Contributions  to  the  Early 
History  of  Perth  Amboy,"  remarks  that  the  "  first 
duty  Capt.  Bloomfield  undertook,  or  upon  which  he 
was  sent,  is  believed  to  have  been  the  arrest  of  his 
former  friend  and  adviser,  Mr.  Skinner."  And  he 
adds,  "  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  duty  was  delegated, 
not  assumed.  We  will  not  venture  to  analyze  the 
feelings  with  which  the  house  in  which  he  had  ever 
found  a  home  was  carefully  searched  in  the  hope  of 


BENCH    AND   BAR   OF   MIDDLESEX. 


499 


securing  the  convicted  loyalist.  Fortunately  its 
mistress  was  absent;  but  it  was  under  any  circum- 
stances a  trial  of  no  ordinary  character  to  have  one 
who  had  dwelt  beneath  their  roof,  and  been  warmly 
cherished,  thus  diligently  seeking  to  entrap  the  object 
of  her  highest  regard,  particularly  as  there  was  no 
reason  for  presuming  Mr.  Skinner  to  be  in  Amboy." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  but  Bloomfield  acted  under 
precise  orders,  and  he  may  have  been  selected  on 
account  of  his  knowledge  of  the  premises.  The 
company  remained  two  days  at  Amboy,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Albany,  arriving  there  on  the  3d  of 
May.  On  the  5th  they  were  to  be  in  readiness  to 
march  to  Quebec;  but  the  news  of  the  retreat  from 
that  city  caused  a  change,  and  on  the  20th  a  part  of 
the  regiment  was  ordered  to  march  up  the  Mohawk, 
"  to  subdue  Johnston  and  his  brood  of  Tories."  On 
the  evening  of  May  19th,  Capt.  Bloomfield  returned 
to  Albany  with  Lady  Johnston  a  prisoner,  bringing 
news  that  the  regiment  was  to  be  stationed  at  or  near 
Johnston  Hall  to  keep  back  the  Indians.  Jolinston 
and  his  Mohawks  fled  to  Canada,  where  they  remained 
permanently. 

Mr.  Skinner  "  took  a  commission  as  brigadier-gen- 
eral from  General  Howe,  with  authority  to  raise  five 
battalions  from  among  the  disaffected  of  New  Jersey, 
of  which  he  only  succeeded  in  obtaining  five  hundred 
and  seventeen.  He  did  all  he  could  to  aid  the  royal 
cause,  and  after  the  Revolution  went  to  England 
with  his  family,  and  received  from  the  government 
compensation  for  his  forfeited  estate,  and  half-pay 
for  life." 

Mr.  Skinner  was  the  eldest  son  of  Rev.  William 
Skinner,  who  in  1721  was  sent  out  as  a  missionary  to 
Perth  Amboy  by  the  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,"  and  became  the  first 
rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church  of  that  place.  His 
mother  was  Elizabeth,  youngest  daughter  of  Stephen 
Van  Cortlandt.  His  brothers  and  sisters  were  Ste- 
phen, William,  John,  and  Gertrude.  Cortlandt 
Skinner  was  educated  for  the  bar,  and  studied  the 
profession  with  David  Ogdeu,  of  Newark,  who  pre- 
ceded him  and  was  associated  with  him  at  the  bar 
of  this  county. 

In  1752  he  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Philip 
Kearney,  Esq.,  of  Amboy,  another  distinguished  legal 
contemporary  at  the  Middlesex  bar.  As  a  lawyer,  Mr. 
Skinner  took  first  rank  among  those  of  his  day.  "  Al- 
though not  of  studious  habits,  he  became  eminent  in 
his  profession,  his  natural  abilities  being  good,  and 
his  oratorical  powers  considerably  above  mediocrity." 

It  is  stated  by  Elmer  and  others  that  Cortlandt 
Skinner  died  at  Bristol,  England,  in  1799,  at  the  age 
of  seventy-one.  We  think  the  statement  with  regard 
to  his  age  must  be. a  mistake.  It  would  make  his 
birth  to  have  occurred  in  1728,  and  the  minutes  of 
the  courts  of  this  county  show  that  he  was  in  the 
practice  of  law  in  1742  ;  hence  he  must  have  been  in 
practice  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  which  is  improbable. 


His  father  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-one  in  1758. 
Cortlandt  Skinner  had  been  ten  years  in  practice 
before  he  was  married,  and  at  that  time  he  was  prob- 
ably about  twenty-eight. 

Stephen  Skinner,  a  younger  brother  of  Cort- 
landt Skinner,  of  Perth  Amboy,  was  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Middlesex 
County.  He  was  also  treasurer  of  East  Jersey,  and 
claimed  to  have  been  robbed  on  the  night  of  July  21, 
1768,  of  over  six  thousand  pounds  in  coin  and  bills. 
Suspicions  were  entertained  of  various  individuals, 
and  some  doubted  whether  there  had  been  any  rob- 
bery. In  1770  the  General  Assembly  took  up  the 
subject  and  referred  it  to  a  committee,  who  reported 
that  the  loss  should  be  attributed  to  the  negligence  of 
the  treasurer,  and  tliat  he  should  be  held  accountable 
for  it,  and  to  this  report  the  Assembly  agreed.  The 
Governor  (Franklin)  took  part  with  Skinner,  and  a 
controversy  arose  which  was  ended  only  when  the 
Revolution  had  so  far  progressed  as  to  make  other 
questions  more  engrossing.  James  (afterwards  chief 
justice)  Kinsey  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  other  com- 
mittee in  1773,  to  whom  the  message  of  the  Governor 
on  the  subject  was  referred.  His  report  took  a  dif- 
ferent view  of  the  subject  from  that  advanced  by  the 
Governor.  The  subject  was  resumed  in  1774,  when 
the  committee  reported  :  "  It  would  give  us  pleasure 
to  be  able  to  join  your  excellency  in  opinion  that  the 
robbery  of  the  Eastern  Treasury  had  been  brought  to 
light;  but  after  having  considered  your  excellency's 
message,  and  examined  the  papers  laid  before  us,  we 
cannot  but  think  that  this  affair  still  remains  in  an 
obscurity  which  we  must  leave  for  time  to  unravel." 
The  popular  feeling  both  against  Skinner  and  the 
Governor  became  so  great  that  the  former  was  com- 
pelled to  resign  the  treasuryship,  and  the  latter,  with 
his  Council,  confirmed  a  new  nomination  by  the  As- 
sembly. A  suit  was  commenced  against  Skinner,  but 
it  was  never  tried ;  he  adhered  to  the  royal  cause,  be- 
came a  wanderer,  and  died  in  Nova  Scotia. 

Gen.  Jo.seph  Bloomfield  was  born  and  spent  the 
early  part  of  his  life  in  this  county.  He  was  the  son  of 
Dr.  Moses  Bloomfield,  of  Woodbridge,  in  which  town- 
ship he  was  born  in  1755.  While  a  youth  he  was  sent 
to  a  classical  school  taught  by  Rev.  Enoch  Green 
in  Deerfield,  Cumberland  Co.,  after  which  he  be- 
came a  student  of  law  in  the  office  of  Cortlandt  Skin- 
ner, attorney-general  of  the  province,  at  Amboy, 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1775.  He  settled  as 
a  lawyer  at  Bridgeton,  but  in  1776  entered  the  mili- 
tary service  of  the  colonies,  in  which  he  remained 
till  1778,  when  he  resigned  his  commission.  In  the 
fall  of  that  year  he  was  chosen  clerk  of  the  Assembly, 
and  was  for  several  years  register  of  the  Court  of  Ad- 
miralty: 

In  1783,  upon  the  resignation  of  William  Paterson, 
he  was  elected  by  the  joint  meeting  attorney -general 
of  the  State;  was  re-elected  in  1788,  and  resigned  in 
1792,  being  then  succeeded  by  Aaron  D.  Woodruff. 


500 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


He  was  the  first  Governor  of  the  State  elected  on  the 
Democratic  (then  called  Republican)  ticket.  In  the 
fall  of  1801  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  ( for  the  first 
time)  was  Democratic,  and  at  a  joint  meeting  held  Oc- 
tober 31st,  Joseph  Bloomfield  received  thirty  votes  for 
Governor,  against  twenty  cast  for  Richard  Stockton. 
In  1802  the  parties  were  equally  divided,  so  that 
on  the  first  ballot  Bloomfield  received  twenty-six 
votes  and  Stockton  twenty-six,  and  on  the  second 
ballot  there  was  a  like  result;  on  the  third  ballot 
Aaron  Ogden  was  substituted  for  Stockton,  but  there 
was  no  change  in  the  vote.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
compromise,  the  Federalists  offering  to  give  the  Dem- 
ocrats their  choice  of  the  Governor  or  the  senator  if 
they  would  give  the  other  to  them;  but  the  Demo- 
crats, under  the  lead  of  William  S.  Pennington,  re- 
fused the  proposition,  and  the  consequence  was  that 
the  State  had  no  Governor  during  that  year,  the 
duties  of  the  office  being  performed  by  the  Demo- 
cratic vice-president  of  the  Council,  John  Lambert. 
The  next  year  Bloomfield  had  thirty-three  votes  and 
Richard  Stockton  seventeen,  and  in  1804  he  had 
thirty-seven  and  Stockton  sixteen  votes.  Afterwards 
he  was  re-elected  up  to  1812  without  opposition. 

It  was  while  first  presiding  in  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery that  Governor  Bloomfield  took  occasion  to  make 
a  short  address  to  those  present,  saying  that  he  was  a 
Republican,  and  did  not  desire  to  be  addressed  by  the 
title  of  excellency,  and  was  replied  to  as  follows  by 
Samuel  Leake,  an  old  and  somewhat  eccentric  law- 
yer: 

"  May  it  please  your  excellency :  Your  excel- 
lency's predecessors  were  always  addressed  by  the 
title  'your  excellency,'  and  if  your  excellency  please, 
the  proper  title  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  was  and 
is  your  excellency.  I  humbly  pray,  therefore,  on  my 
own  behalf,  and  in  behalf  of  the  bar  generally,  that 
we  may  be  permitted  by  your  excellency's  leave  to 
address  your  excellency  when  sitting  in  the  high 
Court  of  Chancery  by  the  ancient  title  of  your  excel- 
lency." 

Gen.  Bloomfield,  the  head  of  the  Democratic  party 
at  this  period,  has  been  compared  in  point  of  ability 
with  Alexander  Hamilton,  the  great  leader  of  the 
Federalists,  who  in  1804  sacrificed  his  life  rather 
than  his  honor  as  a  soldier  in  a  duel  with  Aaron 
Burr.  He  was  a  general  of  militia,  and  in  1794  took 
the  field  as  a  commander  of  a  brigade  called  into  ser- 
vice to  (|uell  the  Whiskey  Insurrection  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, proceeding  with  the  troops  into  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  Pittsburgh,  and  accomplishing  the 
object  intended  without  bloodshed.' 

1  It  was  for  tbe  occasiou  of  this  expedition  thnt  Governor  Howell* 
composed  the  song  entitled  "  Jersey  Blue,"  to  lie  sung  by  the  ^Idiers : 

*  Richard  Howell, Governor  of  New  Jersey  from  1793  to  1801.  He 
came  from  Wales  In  1729;  at  twenty-one  entered  Col.  Maxwells  brigade 
as  captain,  served  till  nearly  the  close  of  the  war,  became  a  lawyer 
in  ('umborlaud  County;  conimaoded  the  right  wing  of  the  army  in  the 


In  the  war  of  1812  he  was  appointed  by  President 
Madison  a  brigadier-general  in  the  army  designed  for 
the  invasion  of  Canada.  His  brigade  marched  to 
Sackett's  Harbor,  and  early  in  the  ^spring  of  1813  a 
part  of  the  troops  under  the  command  of  Gen. 
Pike  crossed  into  that  province  and  made  an  attack 
on  Fort  George,  but  were  repulsed,  and  Gen.  Pike 
was  killed  by  the  fall  of  a  stone  from  the  blown-up 
magazine.  It  does  not  appear  that  Gen.  Bloomfield 
gained  any  laurels  as  a  military  commander. 

In  1816  he  was  elected  on  the  Democratic  ticket  a 
member  of  Congress,  and  was  re-elected  in  1818, 
serving  from  March  4,  1817,  to  March  4,  1821.  He 
was  very  appropriately  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
committee  on  Revolutionary  pensions,  and  introduced 
and  carried  through  the  bills  granting  pensions  toche 
veteran  soldiers  of  the  Revolution  and  their  widows. 
He  died  in  1825,  in  the  seventieth  year  of  his  age,  in 
Burlington,  where  he  had  resided  since  his  entrance 
upon  public  life. 

Richard  Stockton,  Sr. — The  name  of  this  dis- 
tinguished lawyer  and  judge  appears  frequently  upon 
the  minutes  of  the  courts  of  this  county  before  the 
Revolution.  The  first  record  of  his  presence  ap- 
pears in  1755.  He  married  a  sister  of  Elisha  Boudi- 
not,  an  accomplished   woman   of   highly  cultivated 


Sedition  lives  and  order  dies  ; 

To  peace  aud  ease  then  bid  adieu, 

And  dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue. 

"  Chorus. 
"Dash  to  the  niountains.  Jersey  Blue, 
Jersey  Blue,  Jereey  Blue, 
And  dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue. 

*  Since  proud  ambition  rears  its  head. 
And  murders  rage,  and  discords  spread. 
To  save  fiom  spoil  the  virtuous  few 
Dash  over  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue. 

Dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue,  etc. 

"  Boused  at  the  call,  with  magic  sound 
The  drums  and  trumpets  circle  round, 
As  soon  as  the  corps  their  route  pursue; 
So  dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue. 

Dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue,  etc. 


"Unstained  with  crime,  unused  to  fear, 
In  deep  array  our  youths  appear. 
And  fly  to  crush  the  rebel  crew. 
Or  die  in  the  mountains,  Jei-sey  Blue. 

Dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue,  etc. 

"The  tears  bedew  the  maiden's  cheek, 
And  storms  hang  round  the  mountains  bleak  ; 
'Tia  glory  calls,  to  love  adieu. 
Then  dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue. 
Dash  to  the  mountains.  Jersey  Blue,  etc. 

Should  foul  misrule  and  party  rage 
With  law  and  liberty  engage, 
Pueli  home  your  steel,  you'll  soon  review 
Your  native  plains,  brave  Jersi'j  Blue. 

Dash  to  the  mountains,  Jersey  Blue,  etc." 

Whiskey  riots;  died  at  Trenton  at  the  age  of  forty-three  in  1803.  He 
was  the  grandfather  of  Mrs.  Jefferson  Davis,  wife  of  the  late  President  of 
theO.S.A. 


BENCH    AND   BAR  OP    MIDDLESEX. 


501 


mind  and  literary  taste,  and  lived  upon  his  estate  at 
Princeton.  These  were  the  parents  of  Richard  Stock- 
ton, Jr.,  the  eminent  statesman  and  lawyer.  The 
latter  graduated  at  Princeton  before  he  was  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  studied  law  at  Newark  with  his 
uncle,  Elisha  Boudinot,  afterwards  one  of  the  justices 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in 
1784,  when  only  about  twenty  years  old,  was  after- 
wards admitted  as  a  counselor,  and  in  1792  made  a 
sergeant-at-law. 

The  younger  Richard  Stockton  had  no  superior — 
if  indeed  he  had  an  equal — at  the  bar  of  the  State 
during  the  first  quarter  of  the  present  century.  One 
of  the  marked  traits  in  his  character  was  the  pleasure 
it  evidently  gave  him  to  assist  younger  members  of 
the  profe.ssion.  He,  with  Josiah  Ogden  Hoffman, 
afterwards  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  New  York, 
Gabriel  H.  Ford,  and  Alexander  C.  McWhorter, 
who  were  law  students  together  in  Newark,  founded 
the  "  Inslitutio  Legalis,"  a  sort  of  mock  court,  which 
was  kept  up  for  many  years,  and  which  helped  to  pre- 
pare them  and  others  who  succeeded  them  for  those 
forensic  encounters  in  which  they  became  so  famous. 
In  the  absence  of  any  law-school,  this  institution  was 
a  great  benefit  to  the  profession  for  many  years. 

Mr.  Stockton  was  during  his  time  almost  the  only 
lawyer  of  New  Jersey  who  argued  causes  before  the 
Supreme  Court  at  Washington.  His  manner  in 
speaking  was  dignified  and  impassioned,  and  he  held 
his  subject  with  a  profimnd  and  comprehensive  grasp, 
no  less  than  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  its  details. 

In  1796  he  was  chosen  a  senator  of  the  United 
States,  and  served  in  that  body  until  1799.  In  1813 
he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress. 
He  took  a  leading  part  among  the  able  men  then 
in  the  House,  including  Webster,  Calhoun,  and  Clay. 

The  elder  Richard  Stockton  was  an  accomplished 
and  eloquent  lawyer,  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court 
before  the  Revolution,  and  one  of  the  signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence.  Several  of  the  early 
lawyers  of  the  State  were  trained  to  the  profession 
by  him, — Jonathan  Dickerson  Sergeant,  William  Pa- 
terson,  and  others.  His  name  appears  in  the  court 
records  of  this  county  in  many  of  the  most  important 
cases  from  1755  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution. 

James  Hude  was  one  of  the  prominent  citizens  of 
New  Brunswick.  His  father  was  a  Scotch  Presbyte- 
rian who  had  fled  from  religious  oppression  in  his 
native  country,  and  came  early  to  America.  Mr. 
Hude  was  judge  of  the  Common  Pleas  of  Middlesex 
County  for  eleven  years,  filled  all  the  civil  offices  in 
the  city,  and  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the  service  ot 
the  government.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly 
in  1738,  was  one  of  the  council  of  Governor  Morris, 
and  for  several  terms  mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  benevolence,  and  on  his  death,  Nov.  1, 
1762,  the  New  York  Mercury  in  an  obituary  notice 
speaks  of  hira  as  "  a  gentleman  of  great  probity, 
justice,  affability,  moral  and  political  virtues."     His 


residence  was  on  Albany  Street  in  the  house  known 
as  the  Bell  Tavern.  Catherine,  a  daughter  of  Mr. 
Hude,  married  Cornelius  Lowe,  and  a  daughter  of 
theirs  married  Hon.  J.  R.  Hardenbergh.' 

Lewis  Morris,  whose  name  appears  as  a  lawyer 
at  the  bar  of  this  county  in  1742,  was  at  that  time 
Governor  of  New  Jersey,  and  resided  in  the  guberna- 
torial mansion  at  Perth  Amboy.  His  ancestor.  Col. 
Lewis  Morris,  came  from  the  island  of  Barbadoes  in 
1676  and  located  a  tract  of  three  thousand  five 
hundred  and  forty  acres  of  land  in  the  township 
of  Shrewsbury,  Monmouth  County.  The  grant  is 
dated  Oct.  25,  1676.  Full  liberty  was  given  to  him 
and  his  associates  "  to  dig,  delve,  and  carry  away  all 
such  mines  for  iron  as  they  shall  find  or  see  fit  to  dig 
and  carry  away  to  the  iron-works,  or  that  shall  be 
found  in  that  tract  of  land  that  lies  inclosed  between 
the  southeast  branch  of  the  Raritan  River  and  the 
Whale  Pond  on  the  seaside,  and  is  bounded  from 
thence  by  the  sea  and  branch  of  the  sea  to  the  east- 
ward to  the  Raritan  River,  he  or  they  paying  all  such 
just  damages  to  the  owners  of  the  land  where  they 
shall  dig  mine  as  is  judged  is  done  by  trespass  of 
cattle  or  otherwise  sustained  by  the  carting  and  car- 
rying of  the  said  mine  to  the  work."  ^  In  1682,  Col. 
Morris  had  on  this  land  "extensive  iron-works,  em- 
ploying sixty  or  seventy  negroes,  in  addition  to  the 
white  servants  and  dependents." 

Col.  Morris  was  one  of  the  councilors  under  Rud- 
yard  in  1682.  His  son  Lewis  first  appears  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  Governor  Hamilton  in  1695,  to- 
gether with  "  John  Inians,  of  Raritan  River,  David 
Mudie  and  James  Dundas,  of  Perth  Amboy,  John 
Royse,  of  Roysefield,  Samuel  Dennis,  of  Woodbridge, 
and  John  Bishop,  of  Rahway."  Mr.  Morris  repre- 
sented Monmouth  County.  He  was  not  in  the  Coun- 
cil of  Governor  Basse,  owing  to  his  opposition  to  the 
Governor.  The  record  of  the  first  court  under  Gov- 
ernor Basse,  held  in  May,  1798,  contains  the  following 
entry : 

"  Lewis  Murris,  Esq.,  came  in  open  Court  and  demanded  by  what  au- 
thoritie  they  Icept  Court.  The  Court  declared  by  ye  Kings  Authoritie. 
He  denied  it,  and  being  asked.  Who  was  dissatisfied  besides  himself,  he 
said  One  and  all.  The  Court  commanding  y«  said  Morris  to  be  taken  in 
custody,  Col.  Richard  Townley,  Andrew  Hamilton,  both  of  Elizabeth- 
town,  and  three  or  four  more  cried  one  and  all,  and  ye  said  Lewis  Morris 
said  he  would  fain  see  who  dur^t  lay  hold  on  him,  and  when  a  Constable 
by  order  of  y*  Court  laid  hold  on  him,  he,  in  ye  face  of  y«  Court,  re- 
sisted." 

A  manuscript  in  the  library  of  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society  gives  the  result: 

**  Att  the  Court  of  Common  Right,  held  at  Perth  Amboy  ye  11th  day 
of  May,  1698,  the  Court  ordered  that  Lewis  Morris,  Esq.,  for  denying  y« 
Authoritie  of  this  Court,  And  his  other  contempts,  shall  be  fined  fifty 
pounds,  and  be  Committed  to  piison  till  paid.  By  order  of  y*  Court, 
Edward  Slater,  Clerke.    To  y  Sheriff  of  y«  County  of  Mddx  : 

"  A  True  Copy. 

"Joseph  Rolph,  SAr*/.*' 


1  Whitehead's  Amboy,  p.  374 ;  Dr.  Steele 

2  East  .Jersey  Records,  B.  p.  loo. 


Discourse,  p.  .38. 


502 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JEHSKY. 


Mr.  Morris  was  imprisoned  in  a  log  liouse,  but  his 
friends  raised  the  logs  sufficiently  for  him  to  escape. 

Morris  lived  at  this  time  in  Amboy,  for  when  the 
Assembly,  resolving  that  no  one  who  favored  the  pro- 
prietors should  hold  a  seat  in  their  body,  summarily 
expelled  George  Willocks  in  1()99,  the  people  of  Am- 
boy returned  Morris  to  fill  the  vacancy,  although  he 
was  still  a  firm  supporter  of  the  proprietary  interests. 
Both  Morris  and  Willocks  were  summoned  to  appear 
before  the  Court  of  Common  Right  at  its  October 
term,  and  to  give  security  for  their  good  behavior, 
but  they  refused  so  to  do,  and  were  allowed  to  go  on 
their  parole,  and  on  the  16th  of  May  they  wrote  a 
letter  to  the  Council  informing  that  body  that  they 
were  prepared  to  resist  any  proceedings  against  them. 
They  were  neither  of  them  ever  tried,  for  every  day 
brought  greater  anarchy,  and  hastened  the  downfall 
of  the  government  under  Basse.  Under  the  adminis- 
tration of  Hamilton,  which  succeeded,  Morris  was 
restored  to  the  Council.  In  the  spring  of  1701  he 
went  to  England  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  settled  government.  He  desired  to 
secure  the  confirmation  of  Hamilton's  authority  until 
the  proprietary  right  to  the  government  could  be  de- 
termined or  mea.sures  taken  for  its  relinquishment  to 
the  crown.  The  former  could  not  be  accomplished, 
and  in  the  latter  Mr.  Morris  took  a  prominent  and 
influential  part. 

He  was  very  popular  with  the  people.  In  the  new 
government  under  Cornbury  he  was  appointed  a 
member  of  the  Council,  and  held  various  other  re- 
sponsible offices  during  the  rest  of  his  life. 

He  was  the  first  Governor  of  New  Jersey  appointed 
from  among  the  people,  a  native  of  the  province,  and 
the  first  under  the  crown  who  had  not  also  been  Gov- 
ernor of  New  York.  In  the  summer  of  1738  a  royal 
commission  arrived  from  England  to  Lewis  Morris  as 
Governor  of  New  Jersey  separate  from  New  York; 
he  served  until  his  death,  1746.  He  was  followed 
successively  by  President  Hamilton,  1746;  John 
Reading,  1746 ;  Jonathan  Belcher,  1747 ;  John  Read- 
ing, 1757;  Francis  Bernard,  1758;  Thomas  Boone, 
1760  ;  Josiah  Hardy,  17j61  ;  and  William  Franklin, 
sou  of  Benjamin  Franklin,  in  1763,  the  last  royal 
Governor,  he  being  deposed,  arrested,  and  sent  a  pris- 
oner to  Connecticut  in  1776. 

Robert  Morris,  the  chief  justice,  resided  at 
New  Brunswick.  He  was  a  son  of  Robert  Hunter 
Morris,  chief  justice  of  the  province  from  1738  un- 
til his  death  in  1764.  The  son  Robert  was  the  first 
chief  justice  of  the  State  under  the  constitution, 
having  been  elected  by  joint  meeting  in  February, 
1777.  His  associates  were  Isaac  Smith  and  John 
Cleves  Symmes.  They  entered  upon  their  respective 
duties,  and  appear  afterwards  to  have  opened  a  court 
and  sworn  a  grand  jury  as  was  the  custom  then  at 
the  regular  terms  held  in  April,  May,  September, and 
November. 

In  May,  1777,  it  was  the  province  of  Chief  Justice 


Morris  to  hold  a  term  of  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  in 
Sussex  County,  in  obedience  to  an  appointment  made 
by  the  State  Council.  Many  prisoners  of  the  State, 
charged  with  treason  and  other  crimes,  were  lodged 
in  the  jail  at  Newton,  and  the  government  deemed  it 
expedient  that  they  should  be  speedily  tried,  and 
that,  too,  by  the  most  competent  judge  of  the  bench. 
None  of  them  except  Morris  had  had  any  experience, 
he  only  through  what  he  knew  by  his  study  of  the 
English  courts,  and  the  proceedings  of  his  father 
upon  the  bench  when  he  was  a  young  man.  The 
situation  would  have  been  trying  even  to  the  most 
experienced  judge,  for  it  was  in  that  transition  state 
when  the  old  colonial  forms  were  awkward  and  inap- 
plicable, and  nothing  had  been  done  towards  the  re- 
organization of  the  courts  under  the  constitution. 
Judge  Morris  wrote  from  Newton  a  characteristic 
letter  to  Governor  Livingston,  showing  how  the  situ- 
ation appeared  to  him,  June  14,  1777: 

"Sir:  luclosed  your  excellency  has  a  list  of  the  convictions  and  the 
judgments  thereon  at  this  very  tedious  and  I  would  have  said  premature 
court  if  the  Council  had  not  thought  expedient  on  mature  deliberation 
to  have  appointed  it.  I  had  the  pleasure  to  find  Mr.  Justice  Symmes 
here  at  njy  arrival,  and  confess  if  I  had  supposed  the  Council  would 
have  spared  him  for  the  business,  I  would  not  have  traveled  last  over 
the  mountains  through  the  rain  and  late  into  the  night  on  so  very  short 
notice." 

He  then  goes  on  to  describe  the  condition  of 
things: 

"Judges  young  in  office,  and  not  appointed  for  tlieir  legal  erudition  ; 
associates  hut  reputable  farmers,  doctors,  or  shopkeepers;  young  ofKcers, 
no  counsel  nor  clerk,  for  want  of  timely  notice,  which  was  not  even 
given  to  the  sheriff;  and  this  in  a  disaflfected  county,  both  witnesses 
and  criminals  to  be  collected  from  all  parts  of  the  State  Thus  circum- 
stanced was  a  court  of  the  highest  expectation  ever  held  in  New  Jersey ; 
a  court  for  the  trial  of  a  number  of  State  criminals,  some  for  high  trea- 
son, a  crime  so  little  known  in  New  Jersey  that  perhaps  the  first  lawyer 
in  it  would  not  know  how  to  enter  judgment  under  our  Constitution. 
It  would  make  an  excellent  paragraph  in  Gaines'  '  Veritable  Mercury  ;* 
no  other  printer  could  venture  to  publish  it.  .  .  .  We  have  sat  with 
great  patience,  and  have  now  closed  the  third  week.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  negligence  or  villany  of  a  rascally  jailor  in  suffering  John  Eddy, 
the  only  per.<on  indicted  for  high  treason,  to  escape  yesterday  morning, 
I  flatter  myself  we  should  have  acquitted  ourselves  with  tolerable  suc- 
cess, and  I  hope  have  given  satisfaction  to  the  good  people." 

It  was  too  bad  that  this  traitor,  Eddy,  after  having 
been  suitably  caged  and  indicted  already  for  these 
raw  justices  to  try  their  hands  upon,  should  have 
escaped  and  robbed  them  of  their  anticipated  glory  ! 
In  this  letter  Mr.  Morris  rather  curtly  answers  an  in- 
sinuation in  Governor  Livingston's  letter  to  hira 
that  his  not  attending  the  court  at  Burlington  had 
given  some  uneasiness  : 

"  Whatever  private  individuals  might  have  thought,  I  am  perauaded 
no  member  of  the  Legislature  had  the  least  rigiit  to  expect  my  attend- 
ance. Two  hundred  miles  a  day  is  rather  hard  travelling,  and  even 
that  would  not  have  done  unless  they  supposed  me  possessed  of  a  spirit 
of  divination.  I  accepted  my  present  office  to  manifeat  my  resolution 
to  serve  my  country.  I  mean  to  do  the  duty  of  it  while  I  hold  it  accord- 
ing to  my  best  judgment.  Whenever  the  Legislature  think  they  can 
fill  it  any  more  advantageously,  the  tenor  of  my  commissiou  shall  not 
disappoint  tliem." 

In  accordance  with  his  recommendation  the  Legis- 
lature in  September,  1777,  passed  an  act  directing 


BExNCH    AND    BAR   OF    MIDDLESEX. 


508 


that  when  any  person  should  be  convicted  of  treason 
the  sentence  therefor  should  be  the  same  as  in  case 
of  murder,  hanging,  instead  of  quartering,  as  under 
the  English  law;  and  that  all  persons  who  before 
July  2,  1776,  had  committed  a  crime  not  barred  by 
the  statute  of  limitation  might  be  proceeded  against 
and  punished  as  if  committed  against  the  State;  and 
that  all  indictments  found  in  the  name  of  the  king 
should  be  prosecuted  as  if  in  the  name  of  the  State. 
An  act  was  also  passed  by  virtue  of  which  special 
commissions  for  Courts  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  con- 
tinued to  be  issued  until  1794,  when  an  act  was 
passed  constituting  these  courts  substantially  as  they 
now  are. 

Chief  Justice  Morris  lield  the  office  only  about  two 
years,  resigning  in  1779.  In  1790,  upon  the  death  of 
Judge  Brearly,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Wash- 
ington judge  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United 
States  for  New  Jersey,  an  office  which  he  held  until 
his  death  in  181.5. 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick. — His  grandfather,  Alex- 
ander Kirkpatrick,  was  a  Scotch  Presbyterian,  who 
migrated  first  to  Belfast,  Ireland,  and  after  a  few  years' 
residence  there  sailed  for  America  with  his  family  in 
1736.  He  settled  in  Somerset  County,  about  two 
miles  west  of  Basking  Ridge,  and  died  in  1758.  His 
second  son  was  named  David,  who  soon  after  the 
death  of  his  father  purchased  the  homestead  of  his 
brother,  which,  according  to  the  law  of  that  day,  had 
descended  to  the  eldest  son. 

David  Kirkpatrick,  as  described  in  the  memoir 
prepared  by  James  Grant  Wilson,  "  was  a  rigid  Pres- 
byterian of  the  John  Knox  school,  plain  and  simple 
in  his  habits,  of  strict  integrity  and  sterling  common 
sense,  of  great  energy  and  self-reliance.  He  lived  to 
attain  his  ninety-first  year;  educated  with  a  view  to 
his  entering  the  ministry  one  son  at  tlie  College  of 
New  Jersey  ;  know  of  at  least  .six  grandsons  who  were 
liberally  educated,  and  at  his  death,  in  1814,  left  a 
numerous  posterity  to  bless  his  memory.  .  .  .  His 
wife  was  Mary  McEwan,  a  native  of  Argyleshire,  who 
with  her  family  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  the  ship  in 
which  the  Kirkpatricks  took  passage.  She  died  in 
1795." 

Andrew,  the  third  son  of  David,  was  born  in  Somer- 
set County,  Feb.  17,  1756,  and  spent  his  boyhood 
there.  He  received  the  best  education  the  times  af- 
forded, and  graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1775, 
during  the  presidency  of  Dr.  Witherspoon.  He  was 
accustomed  to  walk  to  and  fro  between  his  father's 
residence  and  Princeton,  a  distance  of  not  less 
than  thirty  miles,  carrying  his  homespun  and  home- 
made clotliing  in  a  small  kna])sack.  His  father  had 
'educated  him  with  a  special  view  to  the  ministry  in 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  after  his  graduation  he 
commenced  a  course  of  theological  studies  with  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Kennedy,  a  celebrated  Scotch  divine  settled 
at  Basking  Ridge.  A  few  months'  study  satisfied  him 
that  he  ought  not  to  enter  the  ministry,  and  he  de- 


termined to  study  the  law.  To  do  this  he  was  obliged 
to  relinquish  any  pecuniary  support  from  his  father, 
and  to  rely  upon  his  own  exertions.  His  mother  pre- 
sented him  with  all  her  little  hoard  of  ready  money, 
consisting  of  a  few  pieces  of  gold,  as  she  saw  him, 
with  many  tears,  her  handsome  son,  and  the  pride  of 
her  heart,  depart  to  carve  out  unaided  his  own  career 
in  the  world. 

Now  in  his  twenty-first  year,  he  resorted  for  a  sup- 
port, and  to  procure  resources  for  his  future  studies  as 
a  lawyer,  to  the  business  of  teaching.  He  first  became 
a  tutor  in  the  Taliaferro  family  of  Virginia,  in  which 
Mr.  Southard  afterwards  filled  the  same  place,  sub- 
sequently at  Esopus,  Ulster  Co.,  N.  Y.,  and  then  ob- 
tained the  position  of  classical  instructor  in  Rutgers 
College  Grammar  School.  While  thus  engaged  in 
teaching  he  pursued  with  diligence  in  his  leisure  hours 
the  study  of  the  law.  Soon  he  entered  the  office  of 
William  Paterson,  then  an  eminent  counselor,  as  a 
regular  student,  and  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in 
1785,  when  he  had  attained  the  age  of  twenty-nine. 
He  then  took  up  his  residence  in  Morristown,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  a  respectable  practice.  Having 
the  misfortune  to  lose  his  small  library  by  fire  in 
1787,  he  returned  to  New  Brunswick,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  during  the  remainder  of  his  life. 

His  practice  was  soon  considerable,  a  result  which 
has  always  been  attributed  to  his  untiring  industry 
and  to  his  attention  to  his  favorite  maxim,  that 
"  Whatever  is  worth  doing  at  all  is  worth  doing  well." 
He  was  naturally  energetic,  and  capable  of  great  ex- 
ertions, and  his  acquirements  as  a  profound  lawyer 
attest  the  high  order  of  his  intellect. 

In  the  year  1792  he  married  Miss  Jane  Bayard,  the 
beautiful  daughter  of  Col.  John  Bayard,  of  Revolu- 
tionary memory,  a  distinguished  citizen  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, who  had  removed  a  few  years  before  to  New 
Brunswick.  Andrew  Kirkpatrick  and  Jane  Bayard 
were  at  the  time  of  their  marriage  called  the  hand- 
somest couple  in  New  Brunswick,  and  this  tradition 
exists  with  many  still  living  who  knew  them  at  a  later 
period  in  their  lives. 

In  1797  he  was  elected  one  of  the  members  of  As- 
sembly from  Middlesex  County,  and  at  the  adjourned 
session  in  November  of  that  year  was  appointed  by 
the  joint  meeting  one  of  the  justices  of  the  Supreme 
Court  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the  resignation 
of  Mr.  Justice  Chetwood.  Upon  the  death  of  Chief 
Justice  Kinsey  in  1803  he  was  elected  by  a  Demo- 
cratic joint  meeting  chief  justice,  and  having  been 
twice  afterwards  re-elected,  he  sat  as  a  judge  of  the 
Supreme  Court  twenty-seven  years,  a  longer  term  than 
any  other  judge  except  Isaac  Smith.  He  was  at  the 
bar  about  twelve  years,  but  spent  most  of  his  profes- 
sional life  on  the  bench.  In  1820  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Council,  the  constitution 
then  in  force  admitting  such  a  union  of  offices. 

Mr.  Elmer,  in  his  "Reminiscences,"  from  which 
most  of  the  above  has  been  taken,  speaks  thus  of 


504 


HISTOKY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIKS,  NKW   JERSEY. 


the  appearance  and  character  of  Chief  Justice  Kirk- 
patrick  : 

"  When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  him  he  had 
attained  the  full  maturity  of  his  powers,  and  was  cer- 
tainly the  most  imposing  judge  I  have  ever  seen.  He 
was  a  very  handsome  man,  with  a  white  head  of  hair, 
still  wearing  a  cue,  but  not  requiring  the  powder  with 
which,  in  accordance  with  the  fashion,  he  had  been 
accustomed  to  whiten  it  at  an  earlier  day.  He  had  a 
very  fair  complexion  and  a  remarkably  fine  voice. 
He  spoke  and  wrote  correct  and  idiomatic  English; 
was  a  learned,  and  in  the  law  of  real  estate  a  pro- 
foundly learned,  lawyer;  a  complete  master  of  the  ab- 
struse learning  of  Coke  and  the  black-letter  reporters, 
but  not  well  versed  in  modern  innovations,  which  he 
regarded  as  blemishes  and  not  as  improvements,  and 
did  not  care  to  study. 

"His  opinions,  as  published  in  Pennington  and 
Halsted's  Reports,  upon  questions  relating  to  the 
law  of  real  estate  deserve  the  most  careful  study 
of  every  lawyer  aspiring  to  understand  this  most 
difficult  branch  of  the  law.  They  will  be  found  to 
exhibit  a  fullness  and  accuracy  of  knowledge,  a 
clearness  of  comprehension,  and  a  justness  of  rea- 
soning which  secured  him  the  confidence  of  the  pro- 
fession, and  entitled  him  to  rank  among  the  most 
eminent  of  American  jurists." 

From  1809  until  his  death  he  was  one  of  the  trus- 
tees of  Princeton  College,  and  seldom  failed  to  attend 
the  meetings  of  the  board.     He  died  in  1831. 

Littleton  Kirkpatrick,  son  of  Chief  Justice 
Andrew  Kirkpatrick  and  Jane,  daughter  of  Col. 
John  Bayard,  of  Revolutionary  fame.  Col.  Bayard 
was  a  distinguished  patriot  and  soldier,  and  held  a 
high  command  during  the  war  in  the  Pennsylvania 
line  of  the  Continental  army.  After  the  war  he  was 
distinguished  as  a  civilian,  and  held  important  offices 
in  the  State.  He  was  also  one  of  the  ruling  elders 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
the  first  president  of  the  Humane  Society  of  that  city, 
which  for  more  than  half  a  century  was  a  successful 
agency  for  the  relief  of  the  wants  of  hundreds  of 
people. 

Littleton  Kirkpatrick  graduated  at  Princeton  Col- 
lege, and  studied  law  in  the  city  of  Washington,  D.  C. 
He  was  admitted  both  as  an  attorney  and  counselor' 
in  May,  1821.  He  was  during  one  term  a  member  of 
Congress,  but  he  was  no  seeker  of  office,  nor  did  he 
court  popularity  by  the  artifices  of  the  politician. 
Possessing  ample  means,  after  he  left  Congress  he 
withdrew  to  private  lite,  but  not  to  inactivity.  He 
took  a  lively  interest  in  several  of  the  institutions  of 
the  city  of  his  nativity  ;  was  a  trustee  of  Rutgers 
College  at  the  time  of  his  death  and  president  of  the 
Library  Company;  gave  liberally  and  in  a  wholly  un- 
ostentatious manner  to  the  poor,  while  his  contribu- 
tions to  particular  religious  societies,  especially  to  the 

'  This  was  ilDUaual,  though  it  is  BboWD  by  the  record  to  be  a  fact. 


Domestic  Missionary  Society  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  the  Pre.sbyterian  Church,  were  large  and  constant. 
He  died  at  Saratoga  Aug.  15,  1859,  and  his  funeral 
was  attended  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  New 
Brunswick  on  the  17th. 

James  S.  Nevius  was  born  in  Somerset  County  in 
1786,  and  graduated  at  Princeton  College  in  1816. 
Having  studied  law  with  Frederick  Frelinghuysen, 
he  was  licensed  as  an  attorney  in  1819,  admitted  as  a 
counselor  in  1823,  and  called  to  be  a  sergeant-at-law 
in  1837,  among  the  last  upon  whom  that  honor  was 
conferred  in  the  State. 

In  1838,  upon  the  death  of  Judge  Ryerson,  he  was 
chosen  by  the  joint  meeting  a  justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  was  again  appointed  by  the  Governor  in 
1845,  serving  on  the  bench  fourteen  years. 

He  followed  his  profession  in  New  Brunswick, 
where  he  continued  to  reside  until  after  the  expira- 
tion of  his  second  term  as  judge  in  1852,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Jersey  City,  where  he  died  in  1859. 

As  a  judge  he  was  considered  able  and  well 
informed.  His  ability  was  especially  displayed  in 
presiding  at  the  circuits  and  in  charging  a  jury.  The 
characteristics  which  most  endeared  him  to  his  per- 
sonal friends  were  those  of  the  friend  and  companion. 
His  impulses  were  generous,  his  sympathies  easily 
excited,  and  he  was  ready  in  showing  favors  to  others, 
often  to  his  own  detriment.  His  unfailing  humor 
and  love  of  anecdote  made  him  the  life  of  the  social 
circle  at  home  and  abroad. 

Charles  Kinsey,  a  son  of  Chief  Justice  Kinsey, 
was  associated  in  practice  with  Col.  J.  Warren  Scott 
in  New  Brunswick  prior  to  1825.  He  was  a  good 
lawyer,  in  full  practice,  but  apt  to  be  rather  prosy  in 
his  arguments.  The  following  anecdote  is  told  of  a 
joke  being  perpetrated  upon  him  by  his  partner.  Col. 
Scott.  The  latter  having  made  his  argument  left 
the  court  while  Mr.  Kinsey  was  speaking.  It  hap- 
pened that  at  the  next  term  when  he  entered  the 
court-room  Mr.  Kinsey  was  again  on  his  feet.  Scott, 
going  near,  lifted  up  his  hands  in  mock  astonishment, 
and  exclaimed  in  a  whisper  loud  enough  to  be  heard 
and  enjoyed  by  the  court  and  bar,  "  What,  Charley, 
at  it  yetf" 

George  Wood,  of  New  Brunswick,  had  a  very 
high  reputation  at  the  bar.  He  was  born  in  Burling- 
ton County,  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1808,  studied 
law  with  Richard  Stockton,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
bar  in  1812.  He  immediately  settled  at  New  Bruns- 
wick in  the  practice  of  his  profession,  and  it  was  not 
long  before  he  rivaled  his  master,  to  whom  in  some 
respects  he  was  superior.  His  intellect  was  of  the 
highest  order,  entitling  him  to  rank  with  Mr.  Web- 
ster. His  power  of  analogical  rea-soning  was  very 
striking;  the  most  difficult  subject  seemed  to  arrange 
itself  in  his  mind  in  its  true  proportions.  He  had 
the  faculty  attributed  to  Lord  Mansfield,  of  so  stating 
a  question  as  to  make  the  mere  stateiiient  a  sufficient 
argument.      He   generally    spoke    from    mere   short 


BENCH    AND    BAK   OF    MIDDLESEX. 


505 


memoranda  in  pencil,  and  was  so  accurate  ifl  the  use 
of  language  that  what  he  said  would  when  written 
down  prove  entirely  correct. 

It  has  been  said  that  Mr.  Wood  was  probably  the 
ablest  man  New  Jersey  has  produced.  His  repu- 
tation, however,  is  mostly  connected  with  the  New 
York  bar,  for  after  a  few  years'  practice  here  he  re- 
moved to  the  city  of  New  York,  where  he  took  rank 
among  the  leaders,  and  was  the  equal,  if  not  the  su- 
perior, of  the  best  of  them.  Until  his  death  in  1860 
he  was  engaged  in  the  most  important  causes,  not  only 
in  New  York  but  in  other  States.  He  was  among  the 
few  eminent  lawyers  of  the  country  who  held  no 
oflBce.  Upon  the  death  of  Judge  Thomson  in  1845 
he  was  strongly  recommended  to  President  Tyler  to 
take  his  place  on  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  he 
would  have  adorned  the  station.'  His  political  edu- 
cation was  as  a  Federalist ;  but  he  was  not  addicted 
to  politics,  and  in  later  years  was  quite  conservative. 

Joseph  Warren  Scott  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Moses 
Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  whose  memoir  is  given  in 
the  history  of  the  medical  profession  in  this  work. 
He  was  the  grandson  of  John  Scott,  who  came  to  this 
country  from  Scotland  at  an  early  period,  and  was  an 
elder  in  the  old  Neshaminy  Presbyterian  Church,  in 
Bucks  County,  Pa.  He  removed  to  New  Brunswick 
before  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  where  his  family 
was  reared,  and  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
life  as  an  eminent  physician,  and  was  prominent  in 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  matters  in  the  town. 

His  son,  Joseph  Warren,  was  born  in  1779,  gradu- 
ated at  Princeton  in  1795,  before  he  had  attained  the 
age  of  seventeen,  studied  medicine  for  a  short  time 
with  his  father,  then  studied  theology  ;  but  he  soon 
abandoned  the  design  of  being  either  a  physician  or 
a  minister,  and  determined  to  become  a  lawyer.  He 
studied  law  with  Gen.  Frelinghuysen,  and  was  ad- 
mitted as  an  attorney  in  1801,  as  counselor  in  1804, 
and  was  made  a  sergeant-at-law  in  1816.  He  married 
soon  after  being  admitted  as  a  counselor.  He  attained 
to  a  large  practice,  was  several  times  voted  for  as  attor- 
ney-general and  as  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  but 
declined  every  office  except  that  of  Presidential  elec- 
tor in  1824  (when  he  voted  for  Gen.  Jackson)  and 
prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  the  county  of  Middlesex. 
He  was  profoundly  learned  in  the  law  and  apt  in 
tracing  principles  to  their  sources ;  bad  a  wonderfully 
retentive  memory,  and  was  often  truly  eloquent. 

When  John  Van  Dyke  was  prosecutor  of  the  pleas 
for  Middlesex  County  an  indictment  wiis  found  against 
John  B.  Berrian  for  perjury  on  purely  technical 
grounds.  He  was  convicted  and  fined  one  thousand 
dollars.  The  conviction  was  removed  to  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  thence  to  the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals, 
where  the  judgment  of  the  Oyer  and  Terminer  was 
reversed,  through  the  efforts  and  legal  acumen  of  Col. 


1  Elmer's  Reminiscences,  pp.  417-18. 


Scott.  The  case  is  reported  in  the  Supreme  Court  in 
2  Zabriskie,  9,  January  Term,  1849,  and  in  the  Court 
of  Errors  and  Appeals,  2  Zabriskie,  679,  January  Term, 
1850. 

The  last  time  he  appeared  in  court  was  as  counsel 
for  Donnelly  (2  Dutch,  463)  on  his  trial  for  murder  in 
1857,  when  he  was  nearly  eighty  years  old.  He  had 
practically  given  up  his  profession  nearly  twenty 
years  before  this.  He  died  in  May,  1871.  Rev.  Mr. 
Jewett,  in  the  address  delivered  at  his  funeral,  said, — 

"  He  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  well  versed  in  the  Latin  classics, 
and  accustomed  frequently  to  correspond  with  his  friends  in  the  Latin 
language,  even  to  the  last  year  of  his  life.  .  .  ,  He  v/ as  &  fine  belleti-leUTeM 
scholar,  and  had  the 'pen  of  a  ready  writer.'  He  was  well  versed  in 
English  literature,  and  familiar  with  the  old  poets. 

"  We  stand  to-day  by  the  side  of  one  who  looked  upon  and  was  familiar 
with  the  forms  of  generals,  ^tateBnlen,  and  theologians,  men  whose  names 
are  sacred  to  America  and  the  world.  We  stand  by  the  coffin  of  one 
who  served  in  the  war  of  1812  ;  of  i>ne  who  stood  by  the  bedside  of  the 
dying  Hamilton  (that  brightest  intellectual  star  in  the  galaxy  of  pa- 
triots) ;  of  one  who  heard,  amongst  divine  men  great  in  the  history  of 
the  American  church,  W'itherspoon,  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith,  John  M. 
Mason,  Livingston,  and  Bishop  Hobart.  Not  a  few  of  the  great  men  of 
the  church  and  in  the  State  were  his  warm  personal  friends." 

To  illustrate  how  his  life  connects  the  past  with 
the  present  it  may  be  mentioned  that  he  graduated  at 
Princeton  in  1795,  under  Dr.  Witherspoon,  and  that 
in  1868  he  attended  the  inauguration  of  Dr.  McCosh. 
Thus,  with  his  associate,  Judge  Herring,  then  the  two 
oldest  living  graduates  of  Nassau  Hall,  the  link  was 
supplied  between  two  distinguished  men  invited  from 
Scotland  to  preside  over  this  institution.  On  this 
occasion  he  received  the  honorary  degree  of  LL.D. 

He  also  remembered  having  seen  Gen.  Washington 
in  his  childhood.  When  he  was  a  little  boy,  playing 
in  front  of  his  father's  house,  a  gentleman  called  and 
asked  him, — 

"Is  Dr.  Scott  at  home?" 

"  No,  sir." 

"Mrs.  Scott?" 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Please  go  in  and  tell  your  mother  that  Gen. 
Washington  would  like  to  see  her." 

"The  boy,"  as  he  said,  "gazed  at  him  eagerly,  much 
impressed  with  the  idea  that  he  was  only  a  man,  and 
much  like  other  men  of  imposing  presence.'"' 

Joseph  Warren  Scott  was  received  as  a  member  of 
the  New  Jersey  Society  of  the  Cincinnati,  as  the 
representative  of  his  father.  Surgeon  Moses  Scott,  in 
1825.  In  1832  he  was  chosen  assistant  treasurer  of 
'  the  general  society,  and  in  1838  the  treasurer-general. 
In  1840  he  became  the  vice-president  of  the  State 
society,  and  from  1844  until  his  death  was  president. 
He  died  at  the  age  of  nearly  ninety-three  years. 

Important  Trials. — The  first  trial  held  in  the  pres- 
ent court-house  of  Middlesex  County  was  that  of  the 
State  against  Peter  Robinson,  who  was  indicted  for 
the  murder  of  Abraham  Suydam,  at  that  time  presi- 
dent of  the  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  New 

!  '  Ibid.,  p.  475. 


506 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Brunswick.  The  case  attracted  great  attention  on 
account  of  the  standing  of  Mr.  Suydam  and  the  pe- 
culiar circumstances  of  the  murder.  George  P.  Mol- 
leson  was  at  that  time  attorney-general,  and  John 
Van  Dyke  was  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  the  county 
of  Middlesex.  They  conducted  the  prosecution  on 
the  part  of  the  State,  and  the  prisoner  was  defended 
by  David  Graham,  the  celebrated  criminal  lawyer  of 
New  York,  and  Edward  Wood,  a  brother  of  George 
Wood,  who  was  then  practicing  law  in  New  Bruns- 
wick. Chief  Justice  Hornblower  presided  at  the  trial. 
Robinson  was  convicted  and  executed. 

Molleson  was  a  very  brilliant  speaker,  but  not  pro- 
foundly versed  in  the  law.  Van  Dyke  was  a  very 
strong  and  able  advocate,  especially  forcible  in  the 
presentation  of  his  facts  before  a  jury.  He  was  the 
law  partner  of  Abraham  V.  Schenck,  Esq.,  from  1847 
to  1855.  He  removed  from  New  Brunswick  to  Tren- 
ton, and  was  afterwards  appointed  by  Governor 
Newell  associate  justice  of  the  Supreme  Court.  After 
the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office  he  removed  to  Min- 
nesota and  died  there. 

Several  amusing  incidents  occurred  during  this  trial, 
among  them  the  following:  David  Graham  moved  to 
quash  the  indictment  on  the  ground  that  it  did  not 
specify  the  degree  of  murder  charged  in  it.  He  cited 
a  large  number  of  authorities,  and  many  of  them 
cases  in  the  courts  of  the  Southern  States.  His  mo- 
tion was  overruled,  and  Chief  Justice  Hornblower 
remarked  that  he  did  not  think  it  necessary  to  go 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain the  law  to  settle  the  degrees  of  murder  in  the 
State  of  New  Jersey.  The  retort  was  a  most  happy 
one  in  its  effect,  and  reassuring  to  the  New  Jersey 
judges  and  lawyers  present. 

While  proceeding  to  impanel  the  jury  in  the  case 
Graham  was  very  zealous  in  challenging  jurors  for 
cause,  fully  realizing  that  there  was  a  strong  prejudice 
in  the  community  against  his  client.  The  stereotyped 
questions,  whether  they  had  formed  or  expre.ssed  an 
opinion  upon  the  subject,  and  whether  they  had  read 
the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  murder,  were  put  to 
juror  after  juror  as  they  were  successively  called  to 
the  bar,  until  finally  the  chief  justice,  becoming  im- 
patient, asked  one  stolid  looking  juror  whether  he 
believed  everything  he  read  in  the  newspaper.  He 
replied,  "  Yes,  pretty  much  everything."  The  chief 
justice  then  asked  him  if  he  believed  in  the  publica- 
tions respecting  the  "  moon  hoax,"  referring  to  certain 
alleged  discoveries  made  in  the  moon  by  Sir  William 
Herschel  which  were  then  current  in  the  newspapers. 
The  reply  wa.s,  "  Yes,  of  course."  The  chief  justice, 
with  an  air  of  most  profound  disgn.st,  amidst  the  uni- 
versal laughter  of  bench  and  bar,  decided  that  the 
juror  must  sufi'er  the  penalty  of  his  extreme  credu- 
lity by  standing  aside. 

Another  incident  was  this:  In  summing  up  the 
case  to  the  jury  Attorney-General  Molleson,  in  quite 
an  impa.ssioned  appeal,  attempting  to  quote  the  words 


from  Scripture,  "  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood  by 
man  shall  his  blood  be  shed,"  got  lost  in  the  passage 
and  was  compelled  to  refer  to  the  Bible  to  find  his 
way  out.  The  emjiarrassment  and  perplexity  of  the 
moment  was  mortifying  to  the  attorney-general,  but 
it  was  amusing  to  the  lawyers  and  spectators.  The 
incident  was  a  standing  joke  at  the  bar  for  many 
years  after. 

The  next  most  celebrated  trial  in  the  county  was  of 
the  case  of  the  State  vs.  John  Fox.  .  The  latter  had 
been  indicted  for  the  murder  of  John  Henry,  son  of 
Alderman  Henry,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  The 
place  where  the  murder  was  committed  still  bears  the 
name  of  Fox's  Gully,  just  below  the  city  of  New 
Brunswick.  George  A.  Vrooni,  then  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  for  Middlesex  County,  prosecuted  the  case,  as- 
sisted by  John  Van  Dyke.  Fox  was  defended  by 
Henry  V.  Speer  and  Abraham  V.  Schenck. 

In  this  case  the  question  of  the  right  to  challenge 
jurors  for  catise  arose,  and  the  case  was  carried  by  writ 
of  error  to  the  Supreme  Court  by  defendant's  counsel, 
where  the  principle  involved  was  ably  and  elaborately 
argued,  and  was  finally  settled  by  the  decision  of  the 
Supreme  Court  in  this  case.  The  case  is  reported  in 
1  Dutcher,  566,  June  Term,  1856. 

Mr.  Speer  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  able 
and  astute  lawyer;  he  was  engaged  in  many  import- 
ant suits  in  Middlesex  County;  was  elected  to  the 
State  Senate,  of  which  body  he  became  president,  and 
shortly  afterwards  died.  He  was  a  bachelor,  having 
never  been  married. 

Charles  M.  Herbert  was  prosecutor  in  the  next 
criminal  case  of  importance  in  the  county,  viz. :  that 
of  the  State  vs.  Bridget  Durgan,  indicted  for  the  mur- 
der of  Mrs.  Coriell,  wife  of  Dr.  Coriell,  of  New  Mar- 
ket. He  was  assisted  in  the  prosecution  by  George 
M.  Robeson,  then  attorney-general.  The  counsel  for 
the  defense  were  Garnett  B.  Adrain  and  William  H. 
Leupp,  Judge  Vredenburgh,  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
presiding.  He  also  presided  at  the  trial  of  the  case 
of  the  State  vs.  Fox,  above  referred  to,  and  the  case 
of  the  State  vs.  Donnelly,  a  celebrated  murder  case  in 
Monmouth  County.  It  has  been  professionally  said 
of  Judge  Vredenburgh  that  his  charges  to  juries  in 
cri?ninal  cases  were  more  dreaded  by  counsel  for  the 
defense  than  the  arguments  of  their  opponents. 
Bridget  Durban  was  convicted  and  executed. 

Charles  Morgan  Herbert,  the  prosecutor,  was  quite 
a  brilliant  young  lawyer,  but  he  died  just  as  he  was 
about  gaining  a  reputation  in  the  profession. 

The  next  case  of  importance  tried  in  this  county 
was  that  of  the  State  vs.  Michael  Sullivan,  indicted 
for  the  murder  of  Daniel  Talmage,  a  farmer  of  Pis- 
cataway  township.  The  murder  was  committed  under 
circumstances  of  great  atrocity.  The  trial  was  very 
interesting  because  the  evidence  was  purely  circum- 
stantial. Abraham  V.  Schenck,  being  prosecutor  of 
the  pleas,  conducted  the  prosecution.  Sullivan  was 
defended  by  Garnett  B.  Adrain  and  Charles  T.  Co- 


5^^^^_^^^^  ^^^. 


BENCH    AND    BAR   OF    MIDDLESEX. 


507 


wenhooven,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Scbenck  in  the  office 
of  prosecutor  of  the  pleas.  The  manner  in  which  Mr. 
Schenck  handled  tlie  purely  circumstantial  details  of 
this  case  and  presented  them  in  liis  argument  to  the 
jury  gained  him  great  credit  for  sagacity,  good  judg- 
ment, skill,  and  ability  as  a  lawyer.  Sullivan  was 
convicted  and  executed. 

Mr.  Schenck  was  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  for  Mid- 
dlesex County  from  the  December  term,  1871,  when 
he  was  appointed  to  fill  a  portion  of  the  unexpired 
term  of  Mr.  Herbert,  till  February,  1877,  when  his 
own  full  term  expired.  During  that  time,  although 
he  prosecuted  persons  charged  with  various  degrees 
of  crime,  not  one  of  his  indictments  was  ever  quashed 
nor  one  of  his  convictions  reversed  or  carried  to  a 
higher  court  for  review. 

Abraham  V.  Schenck  was  born  in  New  Brunswick 
in  1821,  his  ancestors  having  settled  in  that  place  be- 
fore the  Revolutionary  war.  He  is  the  son  of  Henry 
H.  Schenck  and  Eva,  daughter  of  Martinus  Voorhees 
and  Maria  Van  Campen,  of  Newburgh,  N.  Y.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  Schenck  genealogy  that  this  family 
are  lineally  descended,  through  Hendrick  Schenck,  of 
Millstone,  N.  J.,  from  Peter  Schenck,  brother  of  the 
celebrated  Sir  Martin  Schenck,  mentioned  by  Motley 
in  his  "  History  of  the  Netherlands."  From  Hen- 
drick Schenck,  on  the  mother's  side,  are  descended 
the  Frelinghuysens,  the  Van  Deveres,  and  the  Mer- 
cers. Henry  H.  Schenck  was  long  a  resident  of  New 
Brunswick,  one  of  its  active  business  men,  a  liberal 
supporter  of  the  First  Reformed  Church,  a  member 
of  its  consistory  through  five  different  terms,  and  one 
of  its  elders  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in  1851. 

Abraham  V.  Schenck  was  educated  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, studied  law  with  Henry  V.  Speer,  was  admitted 
to  the  bar  in  1843,  and  soon  entered  into  active  prac- 
tice. For  nearly  forty  years  he  has  been  a  member  of 
this  bar,  and  has  taken  part  in  some  of  the  most  im- 
portant causes  in  the  county.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned  the  case  of  the  chosen  freeholders  of 
Middlesex  County  rs.  the  receiver  of  the  State  Bank 
at  New  Brunswick.  In  this  case  the  question  of  the 
prerogative  right  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  to  pri- 
ority of  payment  was  raised  and  finally  decided 
against  such  right  of  the  State.  It  was  argued  by 
Attorney-General  Stockton  for  the  State,  and  by  Mr. 
Schenck  for  the  receiver.  The  case  is  reported  in  2 
Stewart,  268,  February  Term,  1878,  in  the  Court  of 
Errors  and  Appeals. 

The  next  important  case  in  the  county  was  that  of 
the  State  against  Hart  Moore,  who  was  indicted  for 
embezzlement  as  county  collector.  Charles  T.  Co- 
wenhoven  was  then  prosecutor  of  the  pleas  ;  he  was 
assisted  in  the  prosecution  by  Woodbridge  Strong. 
Abraham  V.  Schenck  was  counsel  for  the  defendant. 
In  this  case  the  important  question  arose  whether  the 
act  of  the  Legislature  which  extended  the  time  of  the 
prosecution  of  public  officers  in  the  State  from  two  to 
five  years  was  an  ex  post  facto  law.    Mr.  Schenck  took 


the  ground  in  this  trial  that  it  was  an  ex  post  facto  law, 
and  that  it  impaired  the  vested  rights  of  the  defendant 
under  the  constitution.  Judge  E.  W.  Scudder,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  who  presided  at  the  trial,  overruled 
him  on  both  points.  The  defendant  was  convicted 
under  one  indictment,  but  acquitted  under  the  other. 
He  carried  the  judgment  of  conviction  by  writ  of 
error  to  the  Supreme  Court.  Chief  Justice  Beasley 
rendered  the  opinion,  affirming  the  judgment  of  the 
court  below.  He  carried  this  judgment  to  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  which  reversed  the  judgments  of  the 
lower  courts  and  fully  sustained  Mr.  Schenck.  This 
was  one  of  the  most  important  decisions  in  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  and  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
leading  journals  of  the  country.  The  case  is  re- 
ported in  12  Vroom,  208,  June  Term,  1880,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  and  in  14  Vroom,  202,  March  Term, 
1881,  of  the  Court  of  Errors  and  Appeals.  It  was  a 
case  of  national  importance,  and  is  so  reported  in 
The  Central  Law  Journal,  vol.  xiii.,  p.  70,  July  29, 
1881.  Mr.  Schenck's  argument  on  the  occasion  is 
said  to  have  been  the  ablest  ever  made  in  that  court. 

A  very  important  and  absorbing  case  in  this  county 
after  the  Hart  Moore  case  was  that  of  the  State  vs.  Rob- 
ert G.  Miller,  collector  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick, 
indicted  for  embezzlement.  Prosecutor  Cowenhoven, 
assisted  by  Mercer  Beasley,  Jr.,  appeared  on  behalf  of 
the  State,  and  Abraham  V.  Schenck,  Cortland  Parker, 
and  J.  Kearney  Rice,  the  present  prosecutor,  were 
counsel  for  the  defendant.  The  case  excited  great 
interest  on  account  of  the  social  standing  of  Mr. 
Miller,  and  involving  the  investigation  of  the  ac- 
counts of  the  city  finance  for  a  long  series  of  years, 
made  by  expert  accountants  by  order  of  a  justice  of 
the  Supreme  Court  under  a  recent  statute  of  the 
State.  After  a  protracted  trial,  in  which  many  in- 
teresting questions  of  law  were  raised  and  argued 
with  great  ability  by  the  respective  counsel,  the 
defendant  was  finally  acquitted. 

George  Richmond,  of  this  bar,  was  a  gentleman  of 
wealth,  and  had  been  educated  to  the  law.  He  was 
known  as  "Single-case  Richmond,"  from  the  fact  of 
his  having  had  one  suit;  and  in  this  respect  he  was 
likened  to  the  celebrated  "Single-speech  Hamilton." 

Littleton  Kirkpatrick  was  a  son  of  Chief  Justice 
Kirkpatrick.  He  was  educated  lo  the  bar,  and  was 
surrogate  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  from  1831  to 
1836.  For  one  term  he  represented  this  district  in 
Congress.  He  married  Miss  Astley,  a  wealthy  lady 
of  Philadelphia,  and  having  ample  means  in  his  pos- 
session, took  the  labor  of  his  profession  rather  easily 
to  attain  to  much  prominence.  He  was  a  worthy  and 
highly  respected  citizen. 

John  Van  Dyke  was  a  member  of  Congress,  1847- 
49. 

Hox.  Garxett  B.  Adraix. — His  paternal  grand- 
father, Robert,  a  native  of  France,  with  his  two 
brothers,  settled  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  fleeing  from 
religious  persecution  following  the  revocation  of  the 


508 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Edict  of  Nantes.  They  were  manufacturers  of  mathe- 
matical instruments  in  their  native  country,  but  turned 
theirattention  to  teaching  for  a  time  after  reaching  Ire- 
land. Robert  was  for  a  time  engaged  in  sailing  a 
small  vessel  from  Ireland  to  the  neighboring  islands. 
He  was  a  man  of  fine  cultivation,  and  remarkable  for 
his  brilliant  wit  and  versatile  powers  of  conversation. 
After  reaching  Ireland  he  married  and  reared  a  family 
of  five  children,  of  whom  Robert  was  eldest,  and  was 
born  at  Carrickfergus,  Ireland,  Sept.  30,  1775.  He 
early  developed  an  aptitude  forlearningthat  amounted 
to  genius,  and  his  father  determined  to  give  him  a 
thorough  education  and  fit  him  for  the  ministry. 
When  Robert  was  fifteen  years  old  his  father  and 
mother  both  died,  and  with  their  death  his  experience 
as  a  pupil  ended,  and  his  life  as  a  teacher  began.  He 
continued  teaching  until  the  breaking  out  of  the  Irish 
rebellion  in  1798,  in  which  he  commanded  an  Irish 
company.  Mr.  Mortimer,  an  officer  of  the  govern- 
ment, offered  fifty  pounds  for  his  capture,  and  sent 
out  emissaries  after  him  in  every  direction.  Morti- 
mer was  wounded  the  next  day  at  the  battle  of  Saint- 
field,  and  as  far  as  he  was  concerned  the  pursuit  was 
ended.  Adrain  being  a  genuine  independent,  opposed 
some  measures  in  his  division  of  the  army,  and  was 
wounded  by  one  of  his  own  men,  which  gave  rise  to 
a  rumor  that  he  was  dead,  and  all  eflbrts  for  his  cap- 
ture came  to  an  end.  He  recovered,  and  in  the  dis- 
guise of  a  weaver  escaped  to.  America.  Arriving  in 
New  York  he  proceeded  to  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  at 
once  obtained  a  place  in  the  academy  there,  where  he 
remained  for  about  three  years.  He  then  became 
principal  of  the  York  County  Academy  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, where  his  mathematical  talents  were  brought 
before  the  public  by  his  frequent  contributions  to  the 
Mathematical  Correspondent,  published  in  New  York, 
for  which  he  received  several  prize  medals,  awarded 
for  the  best  solutions  of  problems  published  in  its 
columns.  In  1805  he  took  charge  of  the  Reading 
Academy  in  the  same  State,  and  while  there  declined 
the  offer  of  the  editorship  of  the  Muthematical  Corre- 
spondent and  as  principal  of  the  mathematical  school. 
Shortly  after  he  commenced  the  publication  of  a  mathe- 
matical periodical  called  the  Analyst,  which  he  con- 
tinued for  some  three  years,  which  made  him  exten- 
sively and  favorably  known  throughout  the  country 
as  an  able  mathematician. 

In  1810  he  was  called  to  the  Professorship  of  Math- 
ematics and  Natural  Philosophy  in  Queen's  (Rutgers) 
College,  at  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  soon  after  the 
degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws  was  conferred  upon  him. 
In  1812  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  American 
Philosophical  Society,  in  the  following  year  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Arts  and  Sciences,  and  subse- 
quently of  several  of  the  philosophical  societies  of 
Europe.  Besides  other  duties  he  edited  the  third 
edition  of  "  Hutton's  Course  of  Mathematics."  In 
1813  he  was  elected  to  the  chair  of  natural  philos- 
ophy in  Columbia  College.     He  accepted  the  position, 


and  became  the  centre  of  a  brilliant  collection  of 
mathematical  talent  and  culture.  All  gathered  around 
him,  and  all  did  him  honor  as  their  rightful  leader. 
His  contributions  to  the  literature  of  mathematical 
science  while  in  New  York  and  subsequently  were 
voluminous,  and  marked  by  a  force  and  clearness,  a 
profound  and  exhaustive  knowledge,  and  an  elegance 
of  style  that  won  the  admiration  and  commanded  the 
respectful  attention  of  the  scientists  of  the  world.  In 
1825  he  began  editing  the  "Mathematical  Diary,"  a 
work  superior  to  anything  that  had  been  edited  in 
this  country.  In  1826  he  returned  to  Rutgers,  and 
after  three  years  accepted  a  professorship  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania,  of  which  institution  he  was 
also  vice-provost.  He  remained  there  until  1834, 
when  he  resigned  his  position  and  went  to  his  New 
Brunswick  home.  Restive  under  idleness,  the  habit 
of  teaching  was  so  strong  with  him  that  although  his 
wife's  health  had  compelled  him  to  return  to  New 
Brunswick,  he  went  to  New  York  and  taught  in  the 
grammar  school  connected  with  Columbia  College 
until  within  three  years  of  his  death,  when,  yielding 
to  the  entreaties  of  his  family  and  friends,  he  relin- 
quished teaching  forever.     He  died  Aug.  10,  1843. 

Garnett,  son  of  Prof  Robert  and  Annie  (Pollock) 
Adrain,  for  many  years  a  lawyer  of  New  Brunswick, 
was  born  in  the  city  of  New  York,  Dec.  20,  1815. 
His  preparatory  education  was  received  in  the  Rut- 
gers College  Grammar  School,  and  in  1829  he  entered 
Rutgers  College,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
class  of  1833.  After  his  graduation  he  entered  the 
law-office  of  his  brother,  Robert  Adrain,  who  was 
then  a  leading  lawyer  in  New  Brunswick  ;  was  licensed 
as  an  attorney  in  1836,  and  as  counselor  in  1839. 
After  his  admission  as  an  attorney  he  at  once  entered 
upon  the  practice  of  his  profession  in  New  Brunswick, 
where  he  became  eminently  successful  both  as  an  ad- 
vocate and  counselor,  and  where  he  remained  in  con- 
tinuous practice  until  his  death  on  Aug.  17,  1878. 

He  inherited  the  genius  of  his  father  and  a  good 
deal  of  his  independence  of  spirit.  His  star  gradu- 
ally rose  with  undimmed  lustre  until  about  twenty 
years  before  his  decease,  when  an  aflection  of  the 
throat  led  him  to  be  more  careful.  He  was  recog- 
nized by  the  members  of  the  bar  of  the  State  as  a 
legal  light  of  the  highest  order,  and  as  a  forcible, 
ready,  witty,  eloquent  speaker  who  had  few  equals  in 
the  State.  He  was  conspicuous  as  an  advocate,  never 
refused  to  lend  his  aid  to  any  cause  that  claimed  his 
services,  and  known  as  one  of  the  first  criminal  law- 
yers in  the  State.  Mr.  Adrain  was  pleasant  to  every- 
body, rich  and  racy  in  his  conversation,  and  his  soci- 
ety was  highly  enjoyable.  Upon  the  opening  of  the 
September  term  of  the  County  Court  and  Court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer  after  his  decease,  Mr.  A.  V. 
Schenck,  senior  member  of  the  Middlesex  County 
bar,  addressed  the  court,  and  among  other  resolutions 
moved  the  following,  which  was  passed,  and  the  court 
adjourned : 


BENCH    AND   BAR    OF   MIDDLESEX. 


5U9 


"Besohed.Thnl  by  the  death  of  Garnett  B.  Adrain  the  bar  of  the 
county  of  Middlesex  has  lost  one  of  its  most  distinguished  members,  a 
geutleniaii  of  liigh  literary  tastes  and  acciuircmenfs,  an  able,  earnest, 
and  eloquent  advuatte,  a  genial  and  warm-hearted  companion  and 
friend,  and  a  valuable  citizen." 

Other  addresses  were  delivered  by  Judge  John  F. 
Hagemaii,  of  Princeton,  and  Judge  Scudder,  of  Tren- 
ton, then  holding  court  in  New  Brun.swick. 

In  politics  Mr.  Adrain  was  a  Democrat  of  the  old 
school.  He  was  an  ardent  adherent  of  Stephen  A. 
Douglas,  and  concurred  with  him  in  the  position  he 
took  on  the  Lecompton  Compromise  issue.  In  1856 
he  was  nominated  for  Congress  by  the  Democrats  of 
the  Third  District,  was  elected,  and  served  his  term. 
In  1858  there  was  a  "  bolt"  from  the  regular  cougre-s- 
sional  convention  of  Democrats  at  Somerville,  and  he 
was  put  in  nomination  by  the  bolting  party  and 
elected.  His  career  in  Congress  was  an  active  one, 
and  was  characterized  by  great  ability  and  earnest- 
ness. Among  the  more  noteworthy  speeches  deliv- 
ered by  him  during  his  terms  in  the  House  were 
one  on  the  "Treasury  Note  Bill,"  one  on  the  "Neu- 
trality Laws,"  "  Against  the  Admission  of  Kansas," 
"  Impeachment  of  Judge  Watrous,"  "  Election  of 
Speaker,"  "  Organization  of  the  House,"  and  one  on 
the  "  State  of  the  Union."  After  his  retirement  from 
Congress  he  took  no  active  part  in  politics.  He  died 
Aug.  17,  1878.  His  wife,  whom  be  married  Jan.  3, 
1838,  is  a  daughter  of  Joseph  C.  Griggs,  who  for  many 
years  was  one  of  the  leading  merchants  of  New 
Brunswick.  There  are  four  children  who  survive 
him,  three  daughters  and  one  son,  Robert,  a  graduate 
of  Rutgers  College  in  the  class  of  1873.  He  studied 
law  with  his  father,  was  admitted  as  an  attorney  in 
1876,  as  counselor  in  1879,  and  is  practicing  his  pro- 
fession in  New  Brunswick. 

Charles  T.  Cowenhoven  studied  law  with  A.  V. 
Schenck,  and  was  the  first  law  judge  of  the  Common 
Pleas,  appointed  in  1871.  He  was  prosecutor  of  the 
pleas  from  1877  to  1882. 

Robert  Adrain  was  a  brother  of  Garnett  B.,  and  son 
of  Dr.  Robert  Adrain,  LL.D.,' Professor  of  Mathematics 
in  Rutgers  College.  He  was  an  able  and  learned  law- 
yer, but  labored  under  the  disadvantage  of  being  deaf 
in  a  measure.  The  case  in  which  he  displayed  his 
abilities  most  signally  was  that  of  Rue  vs.  Rue  (re- 
ported in  1  Zabriskie,  369,  January  Term,  1848),  ar- 
gued by  Robert  Adrain  and  Col.  J.  W.  Scott  lor  the 
plaintitt',  and  by  R.  S.  Field  and  J.  S.  Green  for  the 
defendant.  Of  Mr.  Adrain's  argument  in  thisca.se 
that  eminent  jurist,  Chief  Justice  Green,  remarked 
that  it  was  the  only  argument  that  had  ever  changed 
his  first  convictions  with  regard  to  any  case  argued 
before  him,  a  very  high  and  yet  justly-deserved  com- 
pliment to  Mr.  Adrain's  great  powers  as  a  lawyer. 

He  was  a  very  courteous  man,  and  exceedingly 
sensitive  upon  the  subject  of  bis  deafness.     If  a  per- 

t  Dr.  Adrian  was  born  at  t^rrick-Fergus,  Ireland,  the  home  of  the  an- 
cestors of  Genei-dl  Andrew  Jackson,  Sept.  M,  1775,  aud  died  Aug.  lu,  1843. 


son  addressed  him  a  question  which  he  did  not  dis- 
tinctly hear  or  understand  he  would  simply  reply, 
"  Yes,  yes."  This  habit  at  one  time  led  to  a  laugh- 
able mistake  while  Mr.  Adrain  was  surrogate.  The 
administrator  of  an  estate  entered  the  surrogate's 
office  and  asked  Mr.  Adrain,  who  happened  to  be 
alone  and  otherwise  engaged,  whether  it  would  be 
proper  for  him  as  an  administrator  to  proceed  and 
sell  some  lands  of  the  intestate.  Mr.  Adrain,  not 
fully  hearing  or  comprehending  the  question,  with 
his  accustomed  suavity  of  manner,  replied,  "  Yes, 
yes;  oh,  yes!"  The  administrator,  acting  upon  this 
advice,  sold  the  land  without  an  order  from  the  court 
for  that  purpose,  as  required  by  the  laws  of  New 
Jersey.  The  public  and  the  profession  were  aston- 
ished at  such  a  result  from  such  a  source,  and  it 
ended  in  a  general  laugh,  in  which  Mr.  Adrain  him- 
self joined,  when  it  became  understood  that  Mr. 
Adrain  had  answered  the  question  proposed  to  him 
without  knowing  what  was  asked. 

Jacob  R.  HARDENBf;RGH  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
of  Middlesex  County  in  February,  1805.  He  was  a 
son  of  Rev.  Jacob  Rutseu  Hardenbergh,  D.D.,  the 
principal  founder  and  first  President  of  Queen's  (now 
Rutgers)  College.  Dr.  Hardenbergh  was  president 
of  the  college  before  the  Revolution,  and  aided  in 
procuring  its  charter  in  1770,  while  he  was  pastor  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  at  Raritan,  now  Somer- 
ville,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.  In  1785  the  trustees  of  the 
college  united  with  the  consistories  of  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Six-Mile  Run  in  calling  Dr.  Hardenbergh 
to  be  at  once  pastor  of  the  two  churches  and  perma- 
nent president  of  the  college.  He  accepted,  and  con- 
tinued in  oflace,  greatly  beloved,  until  his  resignation, 
a  few  months  before  his  lamented  death,  in  1790. 

The  son,  Jacob  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  was  born  in 
Somerville,  N.  J.,  and  was  educated  under  his  father's 
auspices  at  Queen's  College,  now  Rutgers.  After 
his  admission  to  the  bar  he  practiced  but  a  short  time, 
the  stronger  inducements  of  business  leading  him 
into  various  active  enterprises,  which  he  followed 
with  great  ability  and  success.  For  many  years  he 
was  president  of  the  Bank  of  New  Brunswick  ;  founded 
the  Bloomfield  Works  near  Spotswood,  where  for  many 
years  he  carried  on  a  saw-mill,  grist-mill,  powder- 
mill,  and  large  farm.  He  was  an  enterprising  and 
useful  citizen,  filling  many  places  of  trust  and  respon- 
sibility, and  discharging  the  duties  of  all  with  consci- 
entious fidelity.  He  died  on  the  13th  of  February, 
1841,  and  his  wife  died  on  the  23d,  teu  days  after- 
wards. 

His  wife  was  Mary,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Low,  of 
New  Brunswick.  They  had  the  following-named 
children,  viz. :  1,  Cornelius  L.,  mentioned  below;  2, 
James,  married  Miss  McKnight,  and  died  when  a 
young  man  at  Spotswood  ;  3,  Rutsen,  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Pool,  of  Raritan  Landing  (he  was 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  about  1829,  cashier  of  the 
Bank  of  New  Brunswick,  of  which  his  brother,  Cor- 


510 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


nelius  L.,  was  president) ;  4,  Lewis  D.,  married  Ellen 
Voorhees,  of  Middlebush,  N.  J.  (he  was  a  lawyer  in 
New  Brunswick,  admitted  May  term,  1825,  and  as 
counselor  in  1828,  and  in  later  years  was  secretary  of 
the  Hudson  County  Insurance  Company,  in  which 
office  he  died)  ;  5,  Frederick,  married  Emeline, 
daughter  of  Gen.  James  Morgan,  of  South  Amboy, 
who  was  a  member  of  Congress  about  1828 ;  6,  John, 
died  in  infancy;  7,  Theodore,  studied  medicine  with 
Dr.  Charles  Smith,  and  was  house  physician  of  the 
New  York  City  Dispensary  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years,  and  died  in  New  Brunswick,  April  19,  1877  ; 
8,  Catherine,  died  unmarried,  aged  seventy-nine;  9, 
Maria,  died  single  at  the  age  of  twenty-five;  10,  Jo- 
anna, married  Rev.  Ransford  Walls,  of  Conajo- 
harie,  N.  Y. 

Cornelius  Low  Hardenbergh  was  born  in  New 
Brunswick  July  4,  1790.  He  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Jacob  Rutsen  and  Mary  (Low)  Hardenbergh,  and 
was  prepared  for  college  at  the  Somerville  Academy, 
entered  Princeton,  and  studied  there  about  a  year, 
when  he  entered  Rutgers,  and  graduated  in  the  class 
of  1810.  After  studying  law  with  his  father,  he  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  the  September  term,  1812, 
and  became  a  counselor  in  September,  1815.  He  was 
called  to  be  a  sergeant-at-law  in  1828. 

He  was  a  lawyer  of  superior  abilities,  excelling 
before  a  jury  in  criminal  causes,  and  was  an  ambi- 
tious and  indefatigable  student,  so  much  so,  indeed, 
that  he  injured  his  eyes,  becoming  partially  blind  in 
1836  ;  by  surgical  skill  one  of  his  eyes  was  restored, 
but  he  was  again  attacked  in  1843,  and  after  seeking 
relief  in  vain  for  three  or  four  years  his  blindness 
became  permanent.  He  did  sometimes  afterwards 
plead  causes  when  retained  through  the  preference 
and  urgency  of  personal  friends.  But  his  career  as  a 
lawyer,  otherwise  brilliant  and  promising,  may  be 
said  to  have  ended  with  the  loss  of  his  sight.  Be- 
sides his  professional  work  he  was  engaged  in  busi- 
ness, and  to  some  extent  in  politics.  He  follf)wed 
his  ftither  as  president  of  the  Bank  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, bought  his  father's  works  near  Spotswood  in 
1836,  and  carried  them  on  for  a  number  of  years;  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  in  1835,  and  mayor 
of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  in  1837. 

Mr.  Hardenbergh  was  married  four  times: 

First,  to  Catharine,  daughter  of  James  Richmond, 
of  New  Brunswick,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  James 
R.,  now  living  in  California. 

Second,  to  Helen  Mary,  daughter  of  John  Crook, 
of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  One  son  was  born  of  this 
union  :  J.  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  of  New  Brunswick. 

Third,  to  Mary  Hude,  daughter  of  John  G.  Warren, 
of  New  York.  Seven  children  were  the  fruit  of  this 
marriage,  of  whom  three  sons  are  living.  Warren 
Hardenbergh,  one  of  the  sons,  is  a  member  of  the 
present  bar  of  the  county  of  Middlesex,  in  active 
and  successful  practice;  A.  Augustus  Hardenbergh, 
another  son,  president  of  Hudson  County  Bank  at 


Jersey,  and  a  member  of  Congress,  now  in  his  third 
term  in  that  body.  Mr.  Hardenbergh  died  July  17, 
1860,  in  New  Brunswick. 

John  C.  Elmendorf  was  born  on  the  old  Elmen- 
dorf  homestead,  near  Somerville,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J., 
on  March  6,  1814.  His  father,  William  Crook  Elmen- 
dorf. was  of  German  extraction,  and  came  from  Eso- 
pus,  now  Kingston,  N.  Y.,  where  his  ancestors  in  this 
country  first  settled.  His  mother  was  Maria,  daugh- 
ter of  Peter  Du  Mont,  of  Huguenot  ancestry.  Mr. 
Elmendorf  received  his  preliminary  education  in  his 
native  county,  and  graduated  at  Rutgers  College  in 
1884.  He  studied  law  with  Judge  James  S.  Nevius, 
was  admitted  as  an  attorney  in  November,  1837,  and 
as  a  counselor  in  September,  1841.  After  his  admis- 
sion he  commenced  practice  in  Flemington,  N.  J., 
where  he  remained  about  two  years,  and  in  1839  re- 
moved to  New  Brunswick,  which  has  since  been  the 
place  of  his  residence. 

In  1847,  Mr.  Elmendorf  received  the  appointment 
of  pro.secutor  of  the  pleas  for  Middlesex  Cimnty. 
After  serving  a  full  term  of  five  years  he  was  re- 
appointed in  1852,  and  served  another  full  term, 
being  succeeded  in  1857  by  George  A.  Vrooni,  who 
served  one  term,  up  to  1862,  when  Mr.  Elmendorf 
was  again  appointed,  and  finished  his  third  term  as 
prosecutor  in  1867.  On  the  14th  of  May  of  the 
same  year  he  was  appointed  a  register  in  bank- 
ruptcy, which  oflSce  he  still  holds. 

In  October,  1857,  he  was  united  in  marriage  to 
Maria  Louisa  Frelinghuysen,  daughter  of  Hon.  Fred- 
erick Frclinghuysen,  father  of  the  present  Secretary 
of  the  United  States.  They  have  one  son,  John  Ed- 
ward Elmendorf,  a  graduate  of  Rutgers  College  in 
the  class  of  1878,  and  a  member  of  the  bar,  having 
been  admitted  as  an  attorney  in  February,  1882,  after 
having  studied  with  his  father  and  also  in  the  office 
of  Abraham  V.  Schenck,  Esq. 

WooDBRiDGE  STRONG  was  bom  in  Clinton,  Oneida 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  in  1827,  and  came  to  New  Brunswick  with 
his  parents  when  quite  young.  He  graduated  at  Rut- 
gers College  in  1849,  studied  law  with  John  Van 
Dyke,  and  has  practiced  his  profession  in  New  Bruns- 
wick ever  since,  except  during  1849  and  1850,  when 
he  was  in  California  and  Oregon,  and  five  years  dur- 
ing which  he  was  law  judge  of  the  Common  Pleius, 
1876-81. 

Judge  Strong  has  two  sons  in  the  profession  who 
are  his  law  partners  ;  their  names  will  bo  found  in 
list  of  members  of  the  bar. 

James  M.  Chapman,  son  of  Rev.  James  Chap- 
man, was  born  at  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.,  Dec.  15,  1822, 
and  was  educated  at  Perth  Amboy  and  at  Paterson. 
He  read  law  with  Judge  Elias  B.  D.  Ogden,  and  im- 
mediately after  his  admission  to  the  bar  he  became 
the  law  partner  of  Walter  Rutherford,  with  whom  he 
remained  for  about  four  years,  and  nearly  to  the  time 
of  that  gentleman's  death.  Mr.  Chapman  subse- 
quently  opened   a   law-office   in    Wall   Street,   New 


THE    MEDICAL   PKOFESSION    IN    MIDDLESEX  COUNTY. 


511 


York,  where  he  has  continued  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession since.  He  was  instrumental  in  building  the 
branch  railroad  from  Rahway  to  Perth  Amboy,  and 
has  been  a  director  since  its  construction.  He  la- 
bored earnestly  to  get  the  connection  now  being  made 
with  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Road  for  twenty  years. 
Mr.  Chapman  served  as  mayor  of  Perth  Amboy  for 
1869-70.  He  married,  April  23,  1851,  Louisa,  young- 
est daughter  of  Robert  Stockton  Johnson,  a  promi- 
nent iron  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  and  grand- 
daughter of  Thomas  Johnson,  once  a  leading  lawyer 
of  Hunterdon  County.  He  has  one  son  and  five 
daughters.  He  resided  in  Jersey  City  from  the  time 
of  his  marriage  until  18(55,  when  he  settled  on  the 
homestead  at  Perth  Amboy  with  his  brother,  Joseph 
E.,  who  was  formerly  a  merchant  in  New  York. 

The  history  of  his  father  is  in  the  history  of  St. 
Peter's  Church,  Perth  Amboy. 

George  Craig  Ludlow,  Governor  of  New  Jersey, 
was  born  at  Mil  ford,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  April  6, 
1830.  His  father  was  Cornelius  Ludlow,  and  his 
grandfather.  Gen.  Benjamin  Ludlow,  of  Long  Hill, 
Morris  Co.,  a  leading  Democrat  of  his  time.  At 
the  age  of  five  years  his  parents  removed  to  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  has  since  resided.  He  entered 
Rutgers  College,  and  graduated  therefrom  in  his 
twentieth  year  in  1850,  and  soon  afterwards  com- 
menced the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  W.  H.  Leupp, 
in  New  Brunswick.  He  also  studied  in  the  office  of 
Robert  Van  Arsdale,  of  Newark.  In  1853  he  was 
admitted  as  an  attorney,  and  immediately  commenced 
the  practice  of  his  profession  in  New  Brunswick.  In 
due  time  he  was  called  to  the  bar  as  counselor,  and 
earned  tor  himself  the  reputation  of  being  a  sound 
and  careful  lawyer.  He  was  selected  as  counsel  for 
the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  and  acted  in  the  same 
capacity  for  several  corporations  and  many  of  the 
citizens  of  his  county.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
board  of  chosen  freeholders  of  Middlesex  County, 
and  for  a  number  of  years  was  president  of  the  board 
of  education  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick.  In  1876 
he  was  elected  senator  from  Middlesex  County ;  in 
the  second  year  of  his  term,  1878,  he  was  chosen 
president  of  the  Senate,  which  office  he  filled  with 
ability  and  impartiality.  He  was  nominated  at  the 
Democratic  State  Convention  in  1880  for  Governor, 
and  after  a  closely-contested  canvass  was  elected  by 
a  plurality  of  six  hundred  and  fifty-one  votes.' 


CHAPTER    LXIX. 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION  IN  MIDDLESEX  COUNTY. 

Early  Physicians. — Probably  the  earliest  physi- 
cian who  practiced  in  Middlesex  County  was  the  sub- 
ject of  the  following  sketch  : 


'  Legislative  MaDUtil,  p.  45. 


Henky  Greenland  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
of  Piscataway.  His  name  appears  in  the  annals  of 
that  town  as  one  of  those  for  whom  lands  were  sur- 
veyed. He  was  styled  "  doctor"  in  1678,  and  subse- 
quently "captain,"  by  which  title  he  is  designated  in 
some  disorderly  proceedings  in  1681,  for  which  the 
General  Assembly  declared  him  incapable  of  holding 
any  office,  an  act,  however,  disallowed  by  the  propri- 
etaries. He  was  probably  the  person  alluded  to  in 
the  following  extract  from  Coffin's  "  History  of  New- 
bury, Massachusetts,"  pp.  64,  66,  67  :  "  1662,  Doctor 
Henry  Greenland  and  his  wife  came  to  Newbury.  He 
appears  to  have  been  a  man  of  good  education,  but 
passionate,  unprincipled,  and  grossly  immoral.  He 
of  course  soon  became  involved  in  difficulties  with 
his  neighbors,  and  caused  great  excitement  among 
the  sober  citizens  of  the  town,  who  had  not  been  ac- 
customed to  such  specimens  of  immorality  as  he  had 
displayed  before  them."  In  March,  for  some  gross 
oft'ense  against  good  morals,  the  court  sentenced  him 
to  be  imprisoned  till  the  next  sessions  of  the  court, 
then  to  be  whipped  or  pay  a  fine  of  thirty  pounds, 
and  be  bound  to  good  behavior.  One  of  the  witnesses 
in  his  behalf  testified  that  "  he  had  been  a  soldier, 
and  was  a  gentleman,  and  they  must  have  their  liber- 
ties." Another  asserted  that  as  he  was  "  a  great 
man,"  it  would  be  best  not  to  make  an  uprore,  but  to 
let  him  go  away  privately."  In  September  following 
(1664)  he  was  convicted,  with  one  other,  of  an  assault, 
for  which  he  was  again  fined  and  bound  to  keep  the 
peace.  He  appealed  to  the  General  Court,  but  his 
sentence  was  confirmed,  and  he  was  ordered  to  "de- 
part the  jurisdiction,  and  not  to  practice  physick  or 
surgery."  From  1666  to  1672  he  resided  at  Kittery, 
and  it  is  probable  that  soon  after  this  he  became  a 
resident  of  New  Jersey. 

On  a  map  of  Hillsborough  township,  made  in  1685, 
Dr.  Greenland  is  noted  as  a  purchaser  of  a  lot  of  land 
at  the  mouth  of  Stony  Brook,  on  the  Millstone  River. 
In  the  court  minutes  of  Middlesex  County  for  1686  is 
the  following  entry:  "  Hugh  Staniland,  of  Nothing- 
ham,  West  Jersey,  having  formerly  accused  Doctor 
Henry  Greenland  for  buying  and  receiving  stolen 
hogs  .and  marked  hogs  of  the  Indians,  came  into 
court,  and  in  open  court  acknowledged  that  he,  the 
said  Hugh  Staniland,  had  falsely  and  maliciously 
slandered  him,  the  said  Henry  Greenland,  and  de- 
sired God  and  the  Court  to  forgive  him." 

Moses  Bloomfield  resided  and  practiced  medi- 
cine in  Woodbridge.  He  was  a  son  of  Joseph  and 
Eunice  Bloomfield.  Dr.  Bloomfield  was  twice  mar- 
ried,— first  to  Miss  Ogden,  of  Elizabethtown,  and 
second  to  the  widow  of  Dr.  Samuel  Ward,  of  Cum- 
berland County.  His  son  Joseph,  by  the  first  mar- 
riage, born  in  1755,  was  Governor  Bloomfield,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  had  a  brother  Samuel  who  was  a  physi- 
cian. 

Dr.  Bloomfield  was  considered  one  of  the  best 
physicians  of  his  day.     He  was  a  man  of  fine  appear- 


512 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ance  and  of  more  than  ordinary  ability  and  culture. 
He  was  cue  of  tiie  constituent  members  of  the  New 
Jersey  Medical  Society  upon  its  organization  in  1766; 
was  efficient  in  promoting  its  welfare,  and  for  many 
years  its  secretary.  He  and  Dr.  Cochran,  of  New 
Brunswick,  were  the  committee  of  the  society  to  se- 
cure the  passage  of  an  act  for  tlie  regulation  of  the 
practice  of  medicine  in  New  Jersey,  which  act  was 
framed  by  them  and  adopted  by  the  Legislature  in  Sep- 
tember, 1772.  During  the  war  of  the  Revolution  he 
was  an  active  patriot,  and  was  commissioned  surgeon 
United  States  Hospital,  Continental  army.  May  14, 
1777.     He  became  senior  surgeon. 

In  local  no  less  than  in  public  affairs  his  opinion 
was  highly  valued  and  his  services  much  sought.  He 
was  named  as  one  of  the  trustees  in  the  charter  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  1756,  and  subsequently  one  of 
the  trustees  of  the  free  school  lands  of  Woodbridge. 
Being  a  "  good  penman,"  he  was  usually  chosen  clerk 
or  secretary  of  the  town-meetings  of  his  town. 

The  daughters  of  Dr.  Bloomfield  were  Hannah  and 
Ann  ;  the  former  married  Gen.  Giles,  of  Burlington, 
N.  J. ;  the  latter  married  Dr.  Wall. 

In  the  New  Jersey  Journal  of  Aug.  31,  1791,  is  an 
obituary  notice  of  the  doctor,  from  which  we  extract 
the  following : 

"He  maintained  an  eminent  character  as  a  scholar,  a  physician,  and 
a  Christian.  In  the  early  part  of  hiB  life  he  becnme  acquainted  with 
men  as  well  aa  with  hooks.  When  the  war  commenced  he  took  an  early 
and  decided  part  in  favor  of  hie  country.  He  served  in  civil  offices  of 
trust  and  honor.  When  his  assistance  as  a  physician  was  called  for  by 
the  public  he  cheerfully  stepped  forward,  and  served  with  faithfulness 
and  reputation  as  senior  physician  and  surgeon  until  near  the  close  of 
the  war,  when  he  retired  to  private  life  of  his  own  accord.  As  a  physi- 
cian he  was  skillful,  attentive,  and  successful;  easy  and  familiar  in  his 
manners  and  address.  He  was  benevolent  ami  liberal  to  the  poor  witll- 
out  ostentation,  religious  without  bigotry,  never  ashamed  to  own  in  any 
company  that  be  was  a  Christian,  nor  would  he  neglect  his  duty  to  God 
or  to  his  fellow-men  on  any  account  whatever.  His  last  illness,  which 
lasted  more  ttiau  two  years,  he  bore  with  an  uncommon  Christian  pa- 
tience and  fortitude.  In  his  death  the  State  has  lost  a  worthy  citizen, 
and  the  Presbyterian  Church  au  important  member." 

The  following  inscription  is  on  his  tombstone  in 
the  graveyard  at  Woodbridge  : 

"In  memory  of  Dr.  Moses  Bloomfield,  forty  years  a  physician  and 
surgeon  in  this  town,  senior  physician  and  surgeon  in  the  Hospital  of 
the  United  States,  representative  in  the  Provincial  Congress  and  General 
Assembly.  An  upright  Magistrate,  Elder  of  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
etc.  Born  4th  Dec,  1729,  died  14th  Aug.,  1791,  in  his  63d  year.  Tim.  i. 
12:  'I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed.'  "^ 

John  Cochran  was  the  son  of  James  Cochran,  a 
farmer  in  Pennsylvania,  who  emigrated  from  the 
north  of  Ireland  and  purchased  lands  in  the  province 
of  Pennsylvania,  which  as  late  as  1828  were  in  the 
possession  of  his  descendants.  The  ancestor  of  James 
migrated  from  Paisley,  Scotland,  to  the  north  of  Ire- 
land in  1570.  John  was  born  in  Chester  County,  Pa., 
Sept.  1,  1730.  Being  desirous  of  entering  a  learned 
profession,  his  father  sent  him  to  a  grammar  school  in 
the  vicinity  of  his  home,  conducted  by  Dr.  Francis 

1-  Elmer's  Reminiscencea ;  Dally *8  Woodbridge ;  Wickes'  HiBtory  of  N.  J. 
Med.,  pp.  160,  161. 


Allison,  one  of  the  most  correct  and  faithful  gram- 
marians that  ever  taught  in  this  country.  Having 
finished  his  preliminary  studies,  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  instruction  of  Dr.  Thomp- 
son, of  Lancaster.  About  the  time  when  he  com- 
pleted his  medical  studies,  the  war  of  1758  commenced 
in  America  between  England  and  France.  As  there 
were  at  that  time  no  great  hospitals  in  the  colonies. 
Dr.  Cochran  perceived  that  the  army  would  be  a  good 
school  for  his  improvement  in  surgery,  as  well  as  for 
the  treatment  of  general  disease.  He  obtained  the 
appointment  of  surgeon's  mate  in  the  hospital  depart- 
ment, and  continued  in  that  office  during  the  whole 
of  the  war,  enjoying  the  friendship  and  advice  of  Dr. 
Munro  and  other  eminent  English  physicians.  While 
lying  off  Oswego  in  a  British  vessel  during  that  war, 
a  shot  from  the  French  fleet  entered  the  place  where 
he  was  operating  and  carried  away  the  operating- 
table  and  his  instruments.  He  quitted  the  service 
with  the  reputation  of  an  able  and  experienced  prac- 
titioner. He  then  settled  in  Albany,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  married  Gertrude,  then  a  widow,  the  only  sister  of 
Gen.  Schuyler.  In  a  short  time  he  removed  to  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.,  where  he  continued  to  practice  his 
profession  with  great  reputation.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  the  State  Medical  Society  in  1766,  and  in 
November,  1769,  was  elected  president,  as  successor 
to  Dr.  Burnet. 

"  Dr.  Cochran  became  a  zealous  Whig  when  the  events  occurred  which 
resulted  in  war  between  the  mother-country  anil  her  American  colo- 
nies. After  liostilities  commenced  he  was  dnvi-o  from  New  Brunswick 
by  the  British,  who  burned  his  house.  His  family  after  this  event  went 
to  the  manor  of  Livingston,  on  tlie  Hudson  Kiver,  a  daughter  of  Mrs. 
Cocliran  by  her  first  husband  having  married  Ilie  lord  of  the  manor. 
The  doctor  offered  his  services  in  1776  as  a  volunteer  in  the  liospital  de- 
partment. Gen.  Washington  apprei-ialed  the  value  of  a  physician  who 
joined  an  enlarged  experience  to  diligence,  fidelity,  and  sound  juilg- 
ment,  and  in  tlie  winter  of  1777  recommended  him  to  Congress  in  the 
following  words:  *  1  would  take  the  liberty  of  mentioning  a  gentleman 
whom  I  think  highly  deserving  of  nolice,  not  ocily  on  account  of  his 
ability,  but  for  the  very  great  assistance  he  has  oflered  us  in  the  course 
of  this  winter  merely  in  the  nature  of  a  volunteer.  Tliis  gentlemaji  is 
Dr.  John  Cochran,  well  known  to  all  the  faculty.  The  place  fur  which 
he  is  fitted,  and  which  would  be  most  agreeable  to  him,  is  surgeon-gen- 
eral of  the  Middle  Department.  In  this  line  he  served  all  the  last  war 
in  the  British  service,  and  has  distinquisbed  himseil  this  wintei'  par- 
ticularly in  bis  attention  to  the  smallpox  patients  and  the  wounded.' 

"  He  was  accordingly  appointed,  Apiil  10, 1777,  physician  and  surgeon- 
general  in  the  Middle  Department.  In  the  month  of  Octiber,  1781, 
upon  the  resignation  of  Dr.  William  Shippen,  Congress  was  ptea-^ed  to 
commission  him  director-genentl  of  the  hospitals  of  the  United  States, 
an  appointment  that  was  the  more  honorable  because  it  was  imt  solicited 
by  bim.  He  was  attached  to  headquarters,  to  Geu.  WHShingtun's  staff. 
His  pay  was  five  dollars  a  day.  When  he  received  his  cumniiKsion  from 
Congress  be  was  with  the  army  at  New  Windsor.  It  was  sent  to  him  by 
Samuel  Huntington,  president  of  Congress,  by  letter,  under  date  of 
Jan.  18,  17»1. 

"  Upon  the  breaking  up  of  the  army  at  Newhurg,  upon  the  rntifica. 
lion  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  Washington  manifeBted  his  friendship  and 
cordial  relations  with  his  army  sni-geon  by  giving  him  all  his  headquar- 
ters' furniture.  One  piece  only  is  now  left  in  the  family,  a  snnill  tea- 
table,  now  in  the  possession  of  Hon.  John  CXjchrane,  of  New  York,  the 
diictor's  grandson.  That  cordial  relations  were  formed  early  in  the  war 
between  the  commaluler-in-chief  and  Dr.  Cochiau  appears  from  a  letter 
from  the  former,  which  is  published  in  Irving's  '  Life  of  Washington,' 
vol.  iii.  page  477,  ed.  1861. 

"The  historian  remarks  of  the  letter  that  *  it  is  almost  the  only  in- 
stance of  sportive  writing  in  all  Washington's  correspondence.'    The 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION  IN    MIDDLESEX  COUNTY. 


513 


letter  informs  the  doctor  that  he  has  askefl  Mrs,  Coehran  and  Mrs. 
Livingston  to  dine  with  him  on  the  next  day,  and  saye  that  his  talde  is 
large  enougli  to  Iiold  the  ladies,  hut  deems  it  more  essential  to  inform 
him  ' how  it  is  covered.'  ' Since  our  ariival  at  tliia  happy  spot  we  have 
had  a  ham,  sometimes  a  shoulder  of  bacon  to  grace  the  head  of  the 
table,  a  piece  of  roast  heef  adorns  the  foot,  and  a  dish  of  lieans  or  greens, 
almost  imperceptible,  decorates  the  centre.  When  the  cook  has  a  mind 
to  cut  a  figure,  which  I  presume  will  be  the  case  to-monow,  we  have 
two  beefsteak  pies  or  dishes  of  crabs  in  addition,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
centre  dish,  dividing  the  space  and  reducing  the  distance  between  dish 
and  dish  to  about  six  feet,  which  without  them  would  be  twelve  feet 
apart.  Of  late  he  has  had  the  suprising  sagacity  to  discover  that  apples 
will  make  pies,  and  it  is  a  question  if  in  the  violence  of  his  ettbrts  we 
do  not  get  one  of  apples  instead  of  having  both  of  beefsteak.  If  the 
ladies  can  put  up  with  such  entertainment,  and  will  submit  to  parbike 
of  it  on  plates  once  tin,  now  iron  (not  become  so  by  scouring),  I  shall  be 
happy  to  see  them.'  The  dinner  parly  was  at  headquarters,  West  Point, 
1779. 

"  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  observe  that  Dr.  Cochran  was  indebted 
Tery  much  to  his  observation  and  experience  while  in  the  British  ser- 
vice for  the  gre.-it  improvement  he  made  in  the  hospital  department  from 
the  time  it  was  put  under  his  charge.  He  seems  to  have  been  providen- 
tially raised  up  and  trained  for  his  work  as  no  other  surgeon  in  the 
country  was.  Nor  la  it  necessary  further  to  observe,  and  it  is  to  his 
honor  to  add,  that  while  others  high  in  the  medical  staff  were  disgust- 
ing the  public  with  mutual  charges  and  criminations,  Dr.  Cochran 
always  preserved  the  character  of  an  able  physician  and  an  honest  i»nd 
patriotic  man. 

"Soon  after  peace  was  declared  he  removed  with  his  family  to  New 
Tork,  where  he  returned  to  the  duties  of  his  profession  in  the  quiet  of 
civil  life.  Upon  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  his  friend,  Presi- 
dent Washington,'  retaining,'  to  use  his  own  words,  'a  cheerful  recollec- 
tion of  his  past  services,'  nominated  him  to  the  office  of  commissioner  of 
loans  for  the  State  of  New  York.  He  held  this  office  till  a  stroke  of  paral- 
ysis disabled  him  In  the  discharge  of  its  duties.  He  therefore  resigned 
and  retired  to  Schenectady,  N.Y.  .  .  .  Dr.  Cochran  died  at  Schenectady, 
April  6, 1807,  in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age.  ...  His  remains 
were  removed  to  Palatine,  Montgoniery  Co.,  N.  Y.,  by  his  sons,  where  his 
wife  died  in  March,  1813,  in  the  eighty-ninth  year  of  her  age,  and  where 
she  was  buried  by  the  side  of  her  husband.  Whi'ri  the  doctor's  sons  af- 
terwards removed  to  Utica  they  caused  the  remains  of  tlieir  parents  to 
be  removed  thither.     There  they  now  repose  in  Forest  Hill  Cemetery. 

'*  Dr.  Cochran  had  three  sons, — John  (who  was  killed  when  quite  young 
by  the  kick  of  a  horse),  James,  and  Walter  Livingston.  James  married 
(1)  Elenor  Barclay,  of  Philadelphia,  and  (2)  Catherine  V.  R.,  youngest 
daughter  of  Gen.  Philip  Schuyler;  he  died  at  Oswego,  N.  Y.,  at  an  ad- 
vanced age.  They  had  no  surviving  issue.  Walter  L.  married  Cornelia 
W.,  only  daughter  of  Peter  Smith,  of  Peterboro',  and  sister  of  the  late 
Gerrit  Smith.  He  died  in  the  city  of  New  York,  Aug.  13,  1857,  aged 
eighty-six,  leaving  sons  and  daughters,  of  whom  the  eldest  is  Hon.  John 
Cochran,  of  New  York. 

"  A  notice  of  the  doctor,  with  a  portrait,  was  published  in  the  Amer- 
ican Historical  Record  of  July,  1874."i 

Edward  Carroll. — Little  has  been  recortied  of 
the  life  of  this  physician,  except  what  is  engraved  on 
his  monumental  stone  in  the  Episcopal  churchyard 
at  New  Brunswick,  to  wit : 

"In  memory  of  Edward  Carroll,  M.D.,  who  departed  this  life  1840, 
M.  7'.i.  Formerly  of  the  Island  of  Jamaica,  but  for  many  yeare  a  reputed 
inhabitant  of  this  town.  He  was  a  physician  alike  eminent  for  the 
Christian  graces  and  virtues  that  adorned  his  life,  and  for  the  medical 
skill  and  science  that  ranked  him  high  in  Ills  profession.  The  loveliness 
and  purity  of  his  character  secured  to  him  the  esteem  of  all  and  the 
friendship  of  niany."2 

Dr.  Carroll  did  not  practice  after  removing  to 
New  Brunswick.  He  had  been  a  practitioner  in 
Kingston,  island  of  Jamaica,  and  had  become  wealthy. 
He  came  to  New  York,  looking  for  a  place  to  settle 
and  enjoy  leisure  for  the  rest  of  his  life.     In  that 

1  Wickes'  Hist.  N.J.  Med.,  pp.  204-10. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  238. 


city  he  married  a  Miss  Crawford,  who  was  the  aunt 
of  the  widow  of  the  late  Commodore  Cornelius  Van- 
derbilt.  It  is  said  that  she  afterwards  married  an 
actor  named  Ball,  who  was  an  adventurer  and  soon 
squandered  her  property.  Dr.  Carroll  became  totally 
blind  after  his  removal  to  New  Brunswick.  He  died 
without  issue. 

I  Henry  Drake. — Bom  in  New  Brunswick  in  1773. 
His  father  was  James  Drake,  the  proprietor  and 
keeper  of  the  Indian  Queen  Hotel  of  that  place.  As 
New  Brunswick  was  on  the  route  of  travel  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  this  hotel  was  noted  as 
a  resting-place  for  travelers.  John  Adams,  Jefferson, 
Burr,  and  other  distinguished  men  sought  the  comforts 
of  the  hostlery.  The  elder  Wallack,  while  traveling 
in  his  own  carriage,  met  with  an  accident  while 
crossing  the  Raritan  bridge,  by  which  his  leg  was 
fractured.  He  became  an  inmate  of  this  house  during 
his  enforced  confinement.  The  New  Jersey  Medical 
Society  when  it  met  at  New  Brunswick  frequently 
met  "  at  the  house  of  James  Drake."  The  son 
studied  medicine,  and  was  reputed  as  a  man  of  some 
talent  and  skill  in  his  profession.  He,  however, 
abandoned  practice  and  assumed  the  management  of 
the  hotel,  becoming  its  proprietor.  He  died  Dec.  24, 
1817,  aged  forty-four,  and  his  remains  are  buried  in 
Christ  churchyard.' 

Lewis  Dunham  was  a  son  of  Col.  Azariah  Dun- 
ham, grandson  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Dunham,  of  Piscat- 
away,  and  great-grandson  of  Edmond  Dunham,  who 
was  the  first  white  child  born  iu  Middlesex  County. 
His  father,  Azariah,  was  an  active  Revolutionary 
patriot,  a  surveyor  by  occupation,  and  an  honored 
public  servant  in  every  capacity  of  trust  from  the 
local  town  committee  to  the  Provincial  and  Conti- 
nental Congress. 

Dr.  Dunham  was  born  in  New  Brunswick  in  17.54, 
and  died  Aug.  26,  1821.  He  commenced  practice  in 
New  Brunswick,  and  continued  it  till  the  breaking 

I  out  of  the  war.  He  was  commissioned  surgeon. 
Third  Battalion,  First  Establishment,  Feb.  21,  1776; 
surgeon.  Third  Battalion,  Second  Establishment,  Nov. 
28,  1776;  surgeon,  Third  Regiment,  resigned.  He 
became  a  member  of  the  State  Medical  Society  in 
1783,  and  was  constant  in  his  attendance  upon  its 
meetings.  He  was  elected  president  in  1791,  and 
again  in  1816.  Upon  retiring  from  the  chair  the 
first  time  he  read  a  dissertation  on  the  beneficial 
effects  of  bathing.  His  character  is  set  forth  in  the 
monumental  inscription  over  his  remains  in  the  Pres- 
byterian churchyard  of  New  Brunswick : 


DR.  LEWIS    DUNHAM, 

Who  Died  August  26,  1821, 

Agcd  65. 

"Few  men  have  ever  shown  greater  energy  of  character  wisely  and 

uniformly  directed  in  all  the  relations  of  life.     Truly  a  patriot  during 

the  whole  war  of  Independence,  he  was  to  his  country  a  devoted  son. 


'  History  of  New  Jersey,  p.  238. 


514 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


In  peace  lie  resumed  his  profession  in  this  his  native  place,  and  during 
a  practice  of  more  than  forty  years  lie  was  indefatigable  beyond  ex- 
pression. He  WHS  tender  and  skilirul,  t^>  multitudes  the  blessed  instru- 
ment of  restored  health.  As  a  friend  and  a  relative  he  knew  no  change. 
Affectionate  and  ardent  in  social  life,  sincere  and  independent  in  liis 
principles, he  early  acquired  and  always  retained  the  highest  confidence 
of  his  leltow-citizeiiB.  He  crowned  n  life  of  usefulness  with  a  walk  and 
example  so  Christian;  he  dierl  so  calm  and  collected,  so  full  of  hope  and 
of  humble  trust  in  the  Blood  of  the  Atonement  as  to  leave  to  all  the 
consoling  belief,  'The  spark  that  animated  him  from  Deity  given,  now 
beams  a  glorious  star  in  Heaven.'" 

Jacob  Dunham,  brother  of  Dr.  Lewis  Dunham, 
was  born  in  New  Brunswick,  Sept.  29,  1767,  and  died 
Aug.  7,  1832.  When  nineteen  or  twenty  years  old  he 
attended  lectures  at  Philadelphia,  where  he  was  a 
classmate  of  Dr.  William  P.  Dewees,  with  whom  he 
remained  a  life-long  friend  and  correspondent.  The 
latter  always  sent  him  "  authors'  copies"  of  his  works 
as  they  were  published. 

The  doctor  had  an  extensive  practice  in  New 
Brunswick  and  the  adjacent  country,  extending  to 
I5ound  Brook  on  the  north,  to  Six-Mile  Run  and  Ber- 
rien's tavern  (Rocky  Hill)  on  the  west,  to  Millstone 
(Dunham's  Corner),  Washington,  Old  Bridge,  and 
Cross- Roads  on  the  south,  and  to  Piscataway,  Wood- 
bridge,  and  Metuchen  on  the  east.  His  tombstone, 
in  the  churchyard  of  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick, 
bears  the  following  inscription  : 

"IN  MEMORY 

OF 

JACOB  DUNHAM,  M.D., 

WHO 

Departed  this  Life 
AuofST  7th,  1832, 

AGED    65   YEARS." 

Melancthon  Fkeeman  practiced  in  Metuchen, 
and  attained  considerable  reputation  a.s  a  medical 
man.  He  was  a  native  of  Piscataway  township,  born 
in  1746,  and  died  in  1806,  aged  sixty  years.  Dr. 
Freeman's  remains  were  buried  in  Metuchen.  He 
had  a  son  and  a  grandson,  each  bearing  his  name, 
who  were  physicians.  Dr.  Freeman  was  commis- 
sioned "  surgeon  of  State  troops.  Col.  Forman's  bat- 
talion, Heard's  brigade,  June  21,  1776." 

Harris. — Two  physicians  of  this  name  are  men- 
tioned in  Middlesex  County :  one  "  Dr.  Harris"  among 
the  members  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Brunswick,  1786,  and  Dr.  Isaac  Harris,  of  Piscataway 
township.  The  latter  was  born  in  1741,  and  was  edu- 
cated in  East  Jersey.  He  married  Margaret  Pierson, 
of  either  Morris  or  Essex  County,  and  had  four  chil- 
dren, two  of  whom  studied  law,  and  the  third,  Isaac, 
became  a  physician,  and  practiced  at  Woodstown, 
Salem  Co.,  until  his  death,  April  16,  1811.  A  son 
Samuel  by  a  second  marriage  practiced  medicine  in 
Camden  for  twenty  or  thirty  years  previous  to  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1830. 

Dr.  Isaac  Harris  resided  and  practiced  in  the  early 
part  of  his  professional  career  near  Quibbletown, 
Piscataway  township,  where  he  owned  an  elegant 
residence  and  farm,  which  were  purchased  by  the 
father  of  Lewis  Stille,  and  afterwards  occupied  by  the 


latter.  Dr.  Harris,  while  residing  and  practicing 
here,  was  one  of  the  first  movers  for  the  formation  of 
a  medical  society,  and  was  the  sixth  signer  of  the 
"instruments  of  association."  He  posse.ssed  a  good 
medical  library,  and  had  the  reputation  of  a  promi- 
nent man  in  his  profession. 

In  1771  he  removed  to  Pittsgrove,  Salem  Co.,  where 
he  died  in  1808,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 
In  the  war  of  1776  he  was  commissioned  a  surgeon  in 
Gen.  Newconib's  brigade,  State  troops. 

Adam  Hay  was  a  physician  in  Woodbridge  as  early 
as  1737.  At  least  he  resided  in  the  town,  for  in  that 
year  his  name  is  found  attached  to  a  subscription  for 
raising  a  fund  for  inclosing  the  ground  and  plastering 
thecliurcli  of  St.  Peter,  Amboy,  of  which  he  was  a  ves- 
tryman in  1739.  In  his  will,  dated  Nov.  12,  1739,  he 
is  styled  "  Adam  Hay,  Doctor  of  Physick."  Admitted 
to  probate  June  3-5,  1741.' 

John  Johnstone. — We  find  in  Dr.  Wickes'  "  His- 
tory of  New  Jersey  Medicine"  the  following  sketch 
of  Dr.  John  Johnstone  and  his  son,  Lewis  Johnstone, 
physicians  at  Perth  Amboy  : 

"  The  head  of  the  Amboy  family,  supposed  to  beasonof  John  of  Ochil- 
tree, was  of  the  company  of  emigrants  on  board  the  ill-fated  '  Henry  and 
Francis'  that  arrived  in  December,  1685.  He  was  a  druggist  in  Edin- 
burgh, '  at  the  sign  of  the  Unicorn  '  He  is  said  by  Woodrow  to  have 
been  married  to  Eupbam,  daughter  of  George  Scot,  before  embarkation, 
but  the  family  tradition  haa  been  thattliey  were  married  on  the  voyage 
or  soon  after  their  arrival.  An  old  record,  the  correctness  of  which  there 
is  no  reason  to  question,  confirms  the  latter  supposition  by  giving  as 
the  date  of  their  marriage  April  18,  1686. 

"On  the  28th  of  July,  1685,  in  consideration  of  certain  acts  promotive 
of  the  advantage  and  interest  of  East  Jersey,  the  proprietors  in  England 
granted  five  hundred  acres  of  land  to  George  Scot,  on  conilition  that 
he  should  reside  in  the  Province  with  his  family.  In  January,  1685-86, 
his  daughter  petitioned  the  proprietors  to  have  the  same  confirmed  to 
her,  and  on  January  13th,  following,  her  husband.  Dr.  Johnstone,  waa 
put  in  possession  of  the  tract  in  Monmouth  County.  The  doctor  estab- 
lished himself  first  in  New  York.  It  is  not  known  when  he  first  re- 
moved to  Amboy.  It  must  have  been  before  1707,  as  in  that  year  he  is 
mentioned  as  *  of  the  Jersies,'  being  the  bail  of  the  Rev.  Francis  Ma- 
kemie,  when  arresteil  under  the  persecutions  of  Cornbury.  For  several 
yeai-s  prior  to  that  he  spent  much  of  his  time  on  a  plantation  in  Mon- 
mouth County,  named  in  bis  patent  '  Scotschesterburg.'  In  1709  and 
the  following  year  he  was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  .\Bsemb^  of  New 
Jersey,  but  was  still  occa^tionally  styled  as  of  New  York.  He  soon  after 
removed  there,  and  was  mayor  from  1714  to  1718.  In  1720  lie  was  a 
member  of  Governor  Burnet's  Council  for  that  Province.  About  that 
time  he  removed  to  New  Jei-sey  and  permanently  resided  there,  butwaa 
not  superseded  in  the  Council  till  1723.2 

"A  few  stones  remained  until  recently  on  the  banks  of  the  Raritan 
designating  the  site  of  the  doctor's  mansion.  It  was  not  entirely  de- 
stroyed until  after  the  Revolution.  It  was  a  double  two-story  brick 
house,  with  a  large  barn  and  other  outhouses,  and  attached  thereto  was 
a  spacious  garden,  a  well-chosen  collection  of  fruit-trees  and  a  fine  or- 
chard, of  which  a  few  aged  trees  marked  the  site  in  1856. 

"  In  his  profeesiiui  he  was  skilllnl,  and  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunities it  gave  to  exhibit  his  goodness  of  heart,  his  charity,  and  his  es- 
timable character.  On  his  death  the  following  obituary  appeared  in  the 
Philadelphia  Weefcty  Mercury : 

■  '  Perth  Amboy,  Sept.  19, 1732.  On  the  7tli  inst.,  died  here  in  the  71st 
year  of  his  age.  Dr.  John  Johnstone,  very  much  lamented  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  to  the  inexpressibll  loss  of  the  poor,  who  were  always  his 
particular  care.' " 

James  Alexander,  writing  to  the  doctor's  friend, 
Governor  Hunter,  Sept.  20,  1732,  says, — 


i  History  of  New  Jersey  Medic 
2  Valentine's  Manual. 


,  pp.  278-79. 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION   IN    MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


515 


"  Dr.  Jolinseone  died  the  7th  of  this  mouth,  heing  spent  ivith  age  and 
fatigue  in  going  about  to  eerve  those  who  wanted  his  assistance.  I 
believe  bis  family  is  left  in  tolerable  good  circumstances.  I  drew  his 
will  for  him  a  few  years  before  he  died,  when,  altliongh  he  was  worn 
almost  quite  away,  he  retained  his  good  sense  and  spirit,  and  so  1  am 
Informed  he  did  to  the  la=t. 

"He  represented  the  people  of  Middlesex  Connty  and  of  Amboy 
thirteen  years  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Province,  and  for  ten  of 
them  held  the  office  of  Speaker.  He  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for 
settling  the  boundary  between  New  York  and  New  Jersey,'  and  at  dif- 
ferent times  hi^ld  other  offices  with  credit  to  himself.  He  had  several 
children,  a  full  record  of  whom  is  given  in  *  Whitehead's  Contribution 
to  East  Jersey  History,'  from  which  this  sketch  of  Dr.  Johnstone  is 
obtaiueil." 

"  Lewis  Johnstone,  sixth  son  of  Dr.  John  John- 
stone, was  born  in  October,  1704.  He  resided  in 
Ambo}',  in  the  house  then  standing  near  the  site  of 
the  present  mansion  of  Mr.  Paterson,  to  which  it 
gave  place  in  1795.  He  adopted  the  profession  of  his 
father,  and  was  much  respected  as  a  man  and  a  phy- 
sician. His  education  was  principally  received  at 
Leyden,  in  Holland,  then  the  resort  of  all  who  sought 
the  highest  scholarship.  After  his  return  to  this 
country  he  kept  up  a  literal  correspondence  with 
several  eminent  men  of  Europe.  Some  interesting 
letters  to  him  from  Grovonius,  the  botanist,  written 
in  1735-39,  are  in  the  possession  of  Wm.  A.  White- 
head, Esq.,  extracts  from  which  he  has  given  in  his 
'  Contributions,'  etc. 

"  That  he  held  a  high  place  in  the  respect  and  con- 
fidence of  his  associates  in  the  profession  appears  in 
the  fact  that  in  1767,  one  year  after  the  organization 
of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society,  it  was  resolved 
to  appoint  a  committee  '  to  wait  upon  Dr.  Johnstone 
and  invite  him  to  join  the  Society.'  The  committee 
subsequently  reported  that  they  had  waited  upon 
him,  and  that  '  the  doctor  declined  to  become  a  mem- 
ber, yet  assured  the  committee  that  he  highly  ap- 
proved of  the  institution  of  the  society,  that  he  would 
countenance  the  same  at  all  times,  particularly  that 
he  would  use  his  whole  interest  with  the  Legislative 
body  of  this  Province  whenever  requested,  in  order  to 
obtain  a  law,  etc.,  for  the  countenance,  honor,  and 
advancement  of  the  Society.' 

"  Dr.  Lewis  Johnstone  died  Nov.  22,  1773,  at  an 
advanced  age.  The  announcement  of  his  death  is 
made  in  the  papers  of  the  day,  with  the  remark  that 
he  was  '  a  physician  of  the  highest  reputation,  and 
very  greatly  beloved  by  all  who  knew  him.'  He 
married  Martha,  daughter  of  Caleb  Heathcote,  of 
New  York.     They  had  two  sons  and  two  daughters.^ 

"Dr.  Johnstone  seems  to  have  been  a  large  land- 
owner in  this  county.  In  Rivingtnn's  Gazette  for 
Jan.  27, 1774,  James  Parker,  John  Smith,  and  Heath- 
cote Johnstone,  executors,  give  notice  to  the  debtors 
and  creditors  of  Dr.  Johnstone's  estate  for  the  settle- 
ment of  unsettled  accounts  with  the  same,  and  on 


1  This  is  an  error.  He  was  oi 
mine  the  north  etation-poiot  in 
boundary  line. 

2  Whitehead's  Contributions. 


e  of  the  royal  commissioners  to  deter- 
1719, — the  commisflion  for  settling  the 


the  10th  of  February  advertise  to  be  sold  the  follow- 
ing tracts  of  land,  being  parts  of  the  estate  : 

"  660  acres  adjoining  the  farms  of  Nicholas  Van  Vinkle  and  John  Pue, 
situated  on  the  west  side  of  and  adjoining  the  Matcheponix  River,  eleven 
miles  from  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy,  and  four  from  South 
river  landing,  in  the  neighborhood  of  two  mills  and  two  iron-woi-ka, 
'  both  ready  markets  for  all  kinds  of  country  produce,  and  has  a  fine 
outlet  for  cattle  and  hoga.'  The  place  in  the  possession  of  John  Van 
Schaack,  and  improved  by  a  good  house,  a  Dutcli  baru,  and  a  young 
bearing  orchard.  300  acres  are  cleared  land,  20  of  wliich  are  good 
meadow  and  a  great  deal  more  may  be  made  :  is  very  well  watered. 
The  upland  well  timbered  and  proper  for  any  kind  of  grain,  and  may 
be  Conveniently  divided  into  two  or  three  plantations. 

"670  acres,  formerly  the  property  of  Hugh  Taylor,  about  thirteen 
miles  distant  from  New  Brunswick  and  Perth  Amboy,  and  adjoins  the 
lands  of  John  Combs,  Jacob  Sydam,  and  John  Johnston,  with  a  large 
framed  house  and  framed  barn,  a  young  orchard  of  about  200  apple-trees, 
200  acres  of  cleared  land,  30  acres  of  meadow,  with  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  bog  meadow,  capable  of  being  made  valuable  by  improvement. 

"  550  acres  opposite  Perth  Amboy,  adjoining  the  land  of  John  Stevens, 
Esq.,  and  the  Karitan  river ;  well  timbered  and  so  situated  that  the 
timber  and  firewood  can  be  very  easily  transported  to  New  York.  60 
acres  of  this  tract  is  described  aa  '  cleared  land  whereon  is  a  house  and 
well-built  barn,  and  a  young  bearing  orchard  of  200  apple-trees,  grafted 
with  the  best  fruit.' 

"  790  acres  '  situated  on  the  west  side  of  South  river,  and  near  Manala- 
pan  river,  being  one-half  of  a  tract  remaining  unsold  and  held  in  com- 
psny  with  the  desires  of  Andrew  Johnston,  deceased,'  surrounding  the 
village  of  Spotswood ;  well  wooded  and  timbered,  and  a  great  part  of  it 
in  a  fine  rich  swamp  adjoining  'the  mills  and  iron-works  of  Messrs. 
Perry  &  Hayes,  which  lay  in  about  the  centre  of  it;  the  nearest  part  of 
it  about  half  a  mile  and  the  moat  distant  part  about  three  milea  from 
South  river  landing.' 

"The  tracts  are  offered  entire  or  to  be  divided  to  suit.  Title  clear 
and  indisputable."  8 

John  Lawrence  was  a  practicing  physician  at 
Perth  Amboy  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution. 
He  was  a  son  of  John  Lawrence,  of  Monmouth 
County,  born  in  1747,  graduated  at  Princeton,  1764, 
and  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  1768,  being 
one  of  the  first  ten  who  received  literary  honors  from 
that  institution,  and  the  recipient  of  the  first  medical 
degree  in  America.  He  commenced  practice  in 
Monmouth  County,  but  removed  to  Amboy  prior  to 
1776,  as  in  July  of  that  year  Maj.  Duyckink,  who 
had  been  sent  there  by  order  of  Gen.  Washington, 
with  the  Middlesex  militia,  for  the  protection  of  the 
town,  arrested  the  doctor,  with  eight  others,  and  sent 
them  to  Elizabethtown.  He  was  ordered  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  to  Trenton,  as  a  medical  man,  on 
parole. 

In  April,  1777,  he,  with  others,  including  his  father, 
was  arrainged  before  the  Council  of  Safety.  He 
finally  withdrew  from  the  State  to  New  York,  where, 
and  in  its  vicinity,  he  practiced  medicine,  and  was 
also  in  command  of  a  company  of  volunteers  for  the 
defense  of  the  city.  In  1783  he  returned  to  New 
Jersey,  where  he  spent  the  remainder  of  his  days. 

"  That  Dr.  Lawrence  was  held  in  high  esteem  in 
Amboy,  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  ladies  of 
that  town  petitioned  the  convention  which  held  him 
under  arrest,  that  the  doctor  might  be  permitted  to 
remain    there,  '  apprehending  fatal    and  melancholy 


>  HSS.  Hist.  Notee,  J.  H.  Toner. 


516 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


consequences  to  themselves,  their  families,  and  the 
inhabitants  in  general  if  they  should  be  deprived  of 
the  assistance  of  Dr.  Lawrence.'  The  following 
courteous  reply  was  ordered  to  be  .sent  to  Mrs.  Frank- 
lin, one  of  the  petitioners,  signed  by  the  president : 

*'  *  Madam,  I  am  ordered  by  CoHKi'ess  to  acquaint  you,  and  through  you 
the  other  ladies  of  Amlioy,  that  their  petition  in  favor  of  Dr.  John  Law- 
rence haa  been  received  and  considered.  Conld  any  application  have 
procured  a  greater  indulgence  to  Dr.  Lawrence,  you  may  be  assured 
yours  coubi  n»^t  have  failed  of  success.  But,  unhappily.  Madam,  we  are 
placed  in  a  situation  that  motives  of  commiseration  to  iudividnals  must 
give  i)lace  to  the  safety  of  the  public.  As  Dr.  Lawrence  has  fallen 
under  the  suspicion  of  our  generals,  we  are  under  the  necessity  of  abid- 
ing by  the  steps  which  are  taken,  and  are  Madam,  yours,  etc.^" 

He  used  to  say  that  his  residence  in  Araboy  was 
the  happiest  part  of  his  life,  for  the  rea-son  that  the 
officers  of  the  crown  resident  there  formed  a  social 
circle  superior  to  that  of  New  York  or  Philadelphia.' 

After  his  return  to  New  Jersey  he  resided  at  Upper 
Freehold.  He  never  married,  but  lived  with  his 
three  sisters.  He  was  quite  wealthy,  was  full  of  life, 
and  fond  of  convivial  pastimes,  fox-hunting  being 
his  favorite  sport.  He  died  while  playing  a  game  of 
chess  in  Trenton,  April  29,  1830,  aged  eighty-three 
years. 

Nehemiah  Ludlum  was  an  early  physician  in  this 
county.  His  ancestors  lived  on  Long  Island,  whence 
he  probably  came  to  New  Jersey.  He  graduated  at 
Princeton  in  1762,  and  in  1768  became  a  member  of 
the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society,  dying,  a  few  months 
after  his  election,  in  early  manhood.  The  following 
is  the  inscription  on  his  gravestone  at  Cranbury  : 

"Here  Lyes  The 
Body  of  Doctor  Nehemiah  Ludi.um, 
Who  Departed  tris  Life  the  2d  Day  of 
Oct.,  1768,  Aged  29  Teabs.' 

Nathaniel  Manning  practiced  medicine  for  a 
time  in  Metuchen  prior  to  1771,  in  which  year  he 
went  to  England,  and  was  ordained  by  the  Bishop  of 
London  minister  for  Hampshire  Parish,  Hampshire 
Co.,  Va.  In  1775  he  was  its  incumbent.  He  gradu- 
ated at  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  1762,  and 
appears  in  the  catalogue  as  a  clergyman,  the  profes- 
sion probably  having  been  entered  at  a  later  date.  He 
received  his  medical  education  under  the  tuition  of  the 
"Faculty  of  Philadelphia,"  and  upon  testimonials 
from  that  body  became  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey 
Medical  Society  in  1767.  He  was  considered  iu  Metu- 
chen a  most  able  and  excellent  physician,  and  upon 
leaving  the  country  received  a  certificate  from  the  so- 
ciety. He  was  present  for  the  last  time  at  its  meet- 
ings in  1772. 

Rev.  Robert  McKean,  the  first  president  of  the 
New  Jersey  Medical  Society,  was  ordained  in  1757  to 
the  mission  of  New  Brunswick  by  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts.  His 
mission  embraced  the  towns  of  Piscataway  and  Spots- 
wood.     In  1763  he  removed  permanently  to  Perth  Am- 


'  Whitehead's  Contributions,  etc. 


boy,  his  health  being  greatly  impaired  by  his  inces- 
sant labors. 

As  a  physician  he  evidently  ranked  high,  having  been 
one  of  the  original  seventeen  who  founded  the  Medical 
Society  in  July,  1766,  and  having  received  the  honor 
of  being  chosen  its  first  president.  In  a  letter  dated 
Oct.  12,  1767,  Rev.  Dr.  Chandler,  of  St.  John's 
Church,  Elizabeth  town,  informed  the  society  that, 
"  wasted  away  with  a  tedious  disorder,  the  worthy,  the 
eminently  useful  and  amiable  Mr.  McKeau  is  judged 
by  his  physicians  to  be  at  present  at  the  point  of 
death."  He  adds,  "  a  better  man  was  never  in  the 
society's  services."  He  died  October  17th.  His  re- 
mains rest  in  the  graveyard  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Amboy,  where  a  monument  has  been  erected  by  Hon. 
Thomas  McKean,  an  early  Governor  of  Pennsylvania. 
It  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

••  In  memory  of  REV.  ROBT.  McKEAN,  M.A.,  Practitioner  of  Pliysic, 
etc.,  and  Missionary  from  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel 
in  Foreign  Parts  to  Ihe  city  of  Perth  Amboy,  who  was  Iwrn  July  13th, 
1732,  N.S.,  and  died  Oct.  17th,  1707.  An  unsljalien  Friend,  an  agreeable 
Companion,  a  rational  Divine,  ft  skillful  Physician,  and  in  every  rela- 
tion in  life  a  tnily  benevolent  ami  honest  man.  Fraternal  love  hath 
erected  this  I 


Alexander  Ro.ss  practiced  medicine  in  New 
Brunswick.  He  was  originally  from  Scotland,  and 
later  from  the  Island  of  Jamaica.  While  in  New 
Brunswick  he  resided  at  Ross  Hall,  on  the  east  bank 
of  the  Raritan,  one  mile  above  the  city.  Dr.  Charles 
A.  Howard,  who  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Ross, 
after  the  death  of  the  latter,  married  his  widow,  and 
resided  on  the  Ross  property. 

Dr.  Ross  married  Sarah,  the  youngest  daughter  of 
Thomas  Farmer,  of  New  Brunswick,  a  lady  cele- 
brated for  her  beauty.  Her  father  removed  from 
Staten  Island  to  Amboy  in  1711.  He  was  a  man  of 
distinction,  being  second  judge  and  subsequently  pre- 
siding judge  of  the  province.  He  was  also  represen- 
tative of  Middlesex  County  in  the  A.ssembly  from 
1740  to  1743,  during  Governor  Morris'  administra- 
tion. Dr.  Ross  died  at  his  home  at  the  age  of  fifty- 
two,  and  was  buried  in  Christ  churchyard,  where  his 
monumental  stone  bears  the  inscription  : 

*'  In  Memory  of 
Dr.  Alexander  Ross, 
Wlio  Died  the  30th  of  November,  1776, 
Aged  52  years."^ 

MosES  Scott  was  one  of  the  noted  early  physi- 
cians of  New  Brunswick.  His  tombstone,  now  some- 
what defaced,  stands  in  the  Presbyterian  churchyard, 
and  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

"In  the 

Full  triumph  of  Christian  Faith 

And  the  Certain  Assnrauce  of  a  Blessed 

Immortality 

Moses  Scott,  Esquire,  81. D., 

Repaired  to  bis  Mansion  Not  Made 

With  Hands,  Eternal  in  The  Heavens, 

On  the  28th  Day  of  Dec.,  1821." 

'  Hawkins'  Missions  of  the  Church  of  England.    Barber  and  Howe'a 
Coll. 
»  Wickes'  New  Jersey  Medicine,  pp.  376-7Y. 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION    IN    MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


517 


He  was  a  son  of  John  Scott,  of  Neshaminy,  Bucks 
Co.,  Pa.,  born  in  1738.  At  seventeen  years  of  age  he 
accompanied  the  unfortunate  expedition  under  Gen. 
Braddock,  and  shared  the  privations  incident  to  that 
memorable  campaign.  At  the  capture  of  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  three  years  afterwards,  he  had  risen  to  be  a 
commissioned  officer,  but  he  soon  resigned  his  posi- 
tion, and  by  the  advice  of  friends  entered  upon  the 
study  of  medicine.  He  seems  to  have  first  settled  at 
Brandywine,  whence  he  removed  to  New  Brunswick 
about  1774,  having  already  acquired  some  distinction 
as  a  practitioner.  On  Feb.  14,  1776,  he  was  com- 
missioned surgeon  of  the  Second  Middlesex  Regi- 
ment, and  was  subsequently  made  surgeon  in  general 
hospital  of  the  Continental  army.  He  was  liberal  in 
making  provisions  for  his  outfit,  procuring  a  supply 
of  medicine  and  surgical  instruments  from  Europe, 
chiefly  upon  his  own  credit ;  but  almost  before  they 
could  be  used  they  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy, 
who  suddenly  invaded  New  Brunswick.  He  had 
barely  time  to  save  himself  from  capture,  being 
obliged  to  desert  his  dinner  upon  the  table  and  escape, 
leaving  his  house  and  its  entire  contents  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  British  soldiers.  The  doctor's  cases  of 
medicines  were  emptied  into  the  streets  by  the  cau- 
tious officers,  a  Tory  neighbor  having  reported  the 
story  that  the  doctor  had  poisoned  them  on  purpose 
to  destroy  the  British  troops. 

In  1777,  Congress  took  the  entire  direction  of  the 
medical  statt',  and  Dr.  Scott  was  commissioned  as 
senior  physician  and  surgeon  of  the  hospitals  and 
assistant  director-general.  He  was  present  at  the 
battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton,  Brandywine,  and  Ger- 
mantown.  At  Princeton  he  was  near  Gen.  Mercer 
when  he  fell. 

On  the  restoration  of  peace  he  resumed  the  duties 
of  his  profession  at  New  Brunswick,  where  he  con- 
tinued to  reside  until  his  death.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey  in  1782, 
and  was  chosen  its  president  in  1789.  His  reputation 
drew  to  his  ofiice  young  men  from  all  parts  of  the 
State  for  instruction  in  medicine.  In  1814  he  was 
made  a  fellow  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, New  York. 

Dr.  Scott  during  his  life  was  an  earnest  Christian 
and  a  pillar  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  New 
Brunswick.  He  was  an  efficient  elder  and  treasurer 
of  the  board  of  trustees.  His  death  occurred  Dec. 
28,  1821,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three.  His  wife's 
maiden  name  was  Anna  Johnson.  She  died  Aug.  7, 
1833,  aged  eighty-eight.  Their  children  were  Han- 
nah, unmarried;  Mary,  married  Dr.  Charles  Smith; 
Jane,  married  Abraham  Blauvelt;  Joseph  Warren 
Scott,  who  became  an  eminent  lawyer,  died  in  New 
Brunswick,  aged  ninety-four;  Anna,  married  Dr.  Eph- 
raim  Smith,  a  practitioner  in  New  Brunswick,  who 
was  mayor  of  the  city  and  president  of  the  State 
board  ;  Margaret,  unmarried  ;  and  Eliza,  married  Rev. 
Mr.  Rousse. 


Charles  Smith,  physician  of  New  Brunswick, 
was  born  near  Princeton  in  1768.  By  his  own  exer- 
tions he  procured  the  means  of  acquiring  a  classical 
and  professional  education.  He  graduated  at  Prince- 
ton College  in  1786,  and  studied  medicine  with  Dr. 
Moses  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  receiving  his  degree 
of  M.D.  from  Queen's  (Rutgers)  College,  in  the  first 
class  which  obtained  its  honors  from  that  institution 
in  1792.  He  formed  a  partnership  with  his  preceptor, 
and  married  his  daughter,  Mary  Dickinson  Scott. 
He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  State  troops  in  the  Whiskey 
Insurrection  of  1794;  was  elected  a  trustee  of  Rut- 
gers College  in  1804. 

Dr.  Smith  was  a  skillful  and  successful  practitioner, 
and  was  considered  the  most  scientific  and  accom- 
plished physician  of  his  day  in  the  county  of  his  resi- 
dence. In  1814  he  was  elected  a  fellow  of  the  College 
of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  of  New  York.  He  not 
only  rose  to  eminence  in  his  profession,  but  acquired 
an  ample  fortune.  In  his  person  he  was  large  and  of 
fine  presence,  genial  in  his  manners,  and  without 
egotism. 

He  died  without  issue,  leaving  an  estate  valued  at 
one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  The  most  of 
his  property  was  left  to  ex-Governor  Olden,  who  was 
a  son  of  his  sister.  His  death  occurred  May  7,  1848, 
aged  seventy-eight  years. 

Hezekiah  Stiles  practiced  as  a  physician  at 
Cranbury.  He  was  descended  from  John  Stiles,  one 
of  the  original  emigrants  to  New  England,  who 
afterwards  migrated  to  Hempstead,  L.  I.,  and  be- 
came one  of  the  first  grantees  of  that  township.  He 
lived  to  the  extraordinary  age  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-two  or  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  years, 
and  when  upwards  of  one  hundred  was  able  to  walk 
forty  miles  a  day.  His  grandson,  William,  settled  at 
Springfield  among  the  first  inhabitants,  where  his  son 
John  also  resided,  who  was  the  father  of  Hezekiah. 
The  latter  was  born  in  1726,  and,  as  we  have  said, 
practiced  in  Cranbury,  in  this  county.  He  became 
a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society  in  1767, 
and  was  chosen  its  president  in  1775.  He  married 
the  daughter  of  James  Patten.  Upon  the  erection  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Cranbury  in  1785,  he 
gave  the  congregation  a  bell.  His  remains  rest  in  its 
graveyard,  and  by  the  inscription  it  appears  that  he 
died  Nov.  17,  1790,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age, 
and  that  his  wife  died  April  14,  1794,  in  her  fitly- 
seventh  year. 

Augustus  R.  Taylor  was  born  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  in  May,  1782.  He  received  the  rudi- 
ments of  his  education  partly  under  the  paternal  roof 
and  partly  at  Queen's  College,  in  which  his  father 
was  the  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  Natural  Phi- 
losophy. He  removed  to  Schenectady,  his  father 
having  been  appointed  Professor  of  Mathematics  and 
Natural  Philosophy  in  Union  College,  of  which  the 
celebrated  Dr.  Nott  was  then  president,  and  gradu- 
ated in   1800  with  the  highest  honors  of  his  class. 


518 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Having  determined  to  pursue  the  profession  of  medi- 
cine and  surgery,  he  returned  to  New  Brunswick  and 
entered  the  office  of  Dr.  Moses  Scott.  In  the  follow- 
ing winter  he  attended  lectures  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  becoming  a  student  of  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  and  received  his  degree  in  the 
spring  of  1803,  the  subject  of  his  thesis  being  "In- 
sanity." At  their  parting  interview  Dr.  Rush  pre- 
sented him  with  a  pocket-case  of  lancets,  and  im- 
pressed upon  him  the  necessity  of  bleeding  in  all 
cases,  which  advice  he  faithfully  followed  as  long  as 
he  lived. 

He  returned  to  New  Brunswick  and  immediately 
commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  and  surgery. 
He  became  a  member  of  the  Medical  Society  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  upon  its  reorganization  in  1816, 
and  was  chosen  one  of  the  first  board  of  directors 
under  section  .second  of  the  charter  adopted  that 
year,  with  Drs.  LewU  Dunham,  John  Van  Cleve,  Jacob 
Dunham,  Nicholas  Belleville,  William  McKissack, 
Naihaniel  Manning,  Enoch  Wilson,  Charles  Smith, 
Peter  I.  Stryker,  Matthias  Freeman,  Ralph  P.  Loil, 
Moses  Scott,  Charles  Pierson,  and  Ephraim  Smith  as 
associates.' 

At  this  meeting  committees  were  appointed  to  form 
district  medical  societies  in  the  counties  of  Middle- 
sex, Somerset,  Monmouth,  Essex,  and  Morris,  agree- 
ably to  the  third  section  of  the  act  of  incorporation. 
Dr.  Taylor,  living  on  the  north  sideof  Albany  Street, 
was  a  resident  of  New  Brunswick,  and  at  the  same 
time  in  Somerset  County,  and  was  appointed  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  to  form  the  Somerset  District 
Medical  Society.  The  entire  committe  consisted  of 
Peter  I.  Stryker,  Ferdinand  Schenck,  William  Mc- 
Kissack, Augustus  R.  Taylor,  Ephraim  Smith,  Moses 
Scott,  and  Henry  Schenck.  The  committee  to  form 
the  Middlesex  District  Society  were  Leivis  Dicnham, 
Jacob  Dunham,  Enoch  Wilson,  Matthias  Freeman, 
Charles  Smith,  Nathaniel  Manning,  Ralph  R.  Scott, 
and  John  Van  Cleve.'' 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  State  Society  in  1816, 
Dr.  Taylor  was  appointed  chairman  of  the  committee 
to  revise,  correct,  and  amend  the  act  of  incorporation 
of  that  society,  and  in  April,  1830,  he  procured  the 
passage  of  an  act  by  the  Legislature  amending  the 
charter  of  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  under 
which  he  was  elected  fir.st  president. 

He  married,  in  1804,  Catherine  Schuyler  Neilson, 
daughter  of  Col.  John  Neilson,  of  the  city  of  New 
Brunswick.  They  had  eight  children, — six  sons  and 
two  daughters.  One  son  died  in  infancy;  the  other 
five  are  filling  responsible  positions  in  dift'erent  parts 
of  the  country.  The  two  daughters  married  clergy- 
men of  the  Reformed  Church. 

Dr.  Taylor's  political  friends  sent  him  to  the  Legis- 
lature in   1839,  and  in   consequence  of  the  sudden 


1  Those  in  UalicB  belonged  to  Middlesex  County. 
^ Those  in  italics  living  iu  New  Brunawick. 


change  from  active  to  sedentary  habits  the  disease 
was  brought  on  which  caused  his  death  the  following 
August.  He  was  an  excellent  and  successful  physi- 
cian, and  an  eminently  useful  citizen,  possessing  in  a 
high  degree  the  esteem  and  affection  of  his  patients 
and  the  confidence  of  his  professional  brethren.  A 
friend  of  his  paid  him  a  proud  but  just  compliment 
when  he  remarked  that  "  Dr.  Taylor  never  rose  by 
depressing  another."  Those  who  desire  to  possess 
further  information  respecting  his  traits  of  character 
are  referred  to  the  tribute  paid  him  by  Dr.  Pool,  of 
South  River,  Middlesex  Co.  Dr.  Taylor  was  emi- 
nently distinguished  for  science,  beloved  for  the  sim- 
plicity of  his  manners  and  the  benevolence  of  his 
heart,  respected  for  his  inflexible  integrity  and  his 
pure  and  unaffected  piety.  In  all  the  relations  of  his 
professional  life  he  was  sagacious,  candid,  diligent, 
and  humane.  Few  men  ever  united  professional  and 
personal  worth  in  a  higher  or  happier  manner  than 
did  Dr.  Augustus  R.Taylor.  He  died  at  New  Bruns- 
wick Aug.  19,  1840,  and  was  placed  in  the  family 
vault  in  the  churchyard  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church. 

Augustus  Fitz  Randolph  Taylok,  son  of  Dr. 
Augustus  R.  and  Catharine  Schuyler  (Neilson)  Tay- 
lor, was  born  in  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  Oct.  1,  1809. 
He  attended  Capt.  Partridge's  Military  School  at  Mid- 
dletown,  Conn.,  two  years,  during  1825  and  1826,  at 
the  expiration  of  which  time  he  entered  the  Sopho- 
more Class  of  Rutgers  College,  from  which  he  gradu- 
ated in  1829.  He  immediately  entered  his  father's 
office  at  New  Brunswick  as  a  student  of  medicine,  and 
continued  there  till  the  winter  of  1831-32,  when  he 
became  a  student  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Alexander  H.  Ste- 
vens, in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  at  the  same  time  at- 
tended lectures  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons. In  the  spring  he  returned  to  his  father's  office, 
intending  to  resume  his  studies  and  lectures  in  New 
Y'ork  in  the  fall ;  but,  on  account  of  the  breakinc  out 
of  Asiatic  cholera  in  New  Brunswick  in  July,  1832,  he 
was  detained  in  practice  in  that  city.  The  fatal  dis- 
ease had  made  its  appearance  simultaneously  on  the 
16th  day  of  July  in  Quebec,  New  York,  and  New 
Brunswick,  and  according  to  observations  taken  at 
that  time  the  wind  had  blown  steadily  from  the  east 
for  eleven  consecutive  days.  New  Brunswick  was 
filled  with  laborers  on  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal 
then  in  construction,  among  whom  cholera  began  to 
make  its  deadly  ravages.  The  contractors  organized 
a  hospital  and  placed  Dr.  Taylor  in  charge  of  it, 
although  he  had  not  yet  been  licensed  to  practice. 
He  was  also  placed  in  charge  of  the  hospital  devi.«ed 
by  the  citizens,  and  fought  heroically  against  the 
ravages  of  the  fearful  epidemic  till  autumn. 

In  the  fall  of  1832  he  received  a  license  to  practice 
from  the  Medical  Society  of  New  Jersey,  and  the 
honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  was  subse- 
quently conferred  upon  him  by  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians and  Surgeons  of  the  City  of  New  York.     Dr. 


THE   MEDICAL   PROFESSION   IN    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


519 


Taylor  has  practiced  medicine  in  New  Brunswick  for 
half  a  century,  and  is  still  consulted  professionally, 
although  he  has  suflTered  the  loss  of  sii;ht  for  many 
years,  liaving  been  totally  blind  since  1866.  He  is  a 
gentleman  well  up  in  his  profession  and  in  general 
information. 

In  18.39,  as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  the  Med- 
ical Society  of  New  Jersey  to  whom  was  referred  that 
portion  of  the  president's  address  at  the  last  annual 
meeting  relating  to  a  State  Lunatic  Asylum,  he  made 
an  able  and  elaborate  report  on  that  subject,  recom- 
mending that  a  petition  be  presented  by  the  society 
to  the  Legislature.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  Dr.  Taylor 
was  appointed  to  get  the  memorial  printed  and  place 
it  on  the  desks  of  the  members  of  the  Council  and 
Assembly  at  Trenton,  which  he  did.  The  Legislature 
thereupon  appointed  a  commission  consisting  of  five 
persons,  viz. :  Hon.  Lewis  Condict,  of  Morris;  L.  Q.  C. 
Elmer,  Esq.,  of  Cumberland  ;  Dr.  L.  A.  Smith,  of  Es- 
sex ;  Dr.  Charles  G.  McChesney,  of  Mercer ;  and  Dr. 
Augustus  F.  Taylor,  of  Somerset,  to  ascertain  the 
number,  age,  sex,  and  condition  of  the  lunatics  and 
idiots  of  this  State.  The  commission  met  and  organ- 
ized for  action,  distributing  the  territory  among  the 
members  as  follows:  to  Dr.  Condict,  Morris,  Sus- 
sex, and  Warren  Counties;  to  Dr.  Smith,  Essex,  Ber- 
gen, and  Passaic  ;  to  Dr.  Taylor,  Middlesex,  Somerset, 
Hunterdon,  and  Gloucester ;  to  Dr.  McChesney,  Mer- 
cer, Burlington,  and  Monmouth  ;  to  Mr.  Elmer,  Cum- 
berland, Atlantic,  Cape  May,  and  Ocean  Counties. 

The  report  of  this  commission  and  the  valuable 
information  furnished  by  it  to  the  Legislature  were 
the  means  of  inaugurating  the  measures  which  re- 
sulted in  meeting  the  long-felt  want  of  thoughtful 
and  benevolent  men  throughout  the  State  in  the 
founding  and  establishment  of  the  Lunatic  Asylum 
at  Trenton.  In  the  work  of  founding  this  institution 
Dr.  Taylor  took  a  prominent  part,  and  his  friends  may 
well  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  it  will  stand  in  some 
sense  as  a  monument  to  his  memory,  and  that  of  his 
co-workers,  long  after  he  shall  have  passed  from  the 
scene  of  his  earthly  labors. 

Dr.  Taylor  married,  in  1833,  Cornelia  A.  Holcomb, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Holcomb,  Esq.,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. She  died  April  30,  1872.  Two  daughters  sur- 
vive. 

"Ninetieth  Anniversary." — Under  this  head- 
ing the  Lebanon  (Ohio)  Gazette,  dated  February  23d, 
comments  as  follows  on  the  ninetieth  anniversary  of 
the  birthday  of  Dr.  John  Van  Harlingen,  who  grad- 
uated from  Rutgers  College  in  1809 : 

"On  Sunday  last,  FelTuary  19tli,  Dr.  John  Van  Harlingen,  well  knuWD 
to  most  people  tliroiighuiit  this  conutry,  was  ninety  years  of  age.  It  hHB 
beena  usual  custom  for  his  children,  grandchildren,  and  great-grand- 
children to  celebrate  these  t.)Ccasions  by  gathering  at  one  of  their  many 
cheerful  firesides  and  enjoy  the  hospitalities  that  were  ever  ready  and 
waiting  for  one  and  all.  On  this  anniversary  the  day  for  celebrating 
was  deferred  till  Monday,  and  the  place  selected  was  Jil  the  beautiful 
cottage  home  of  his  daughter  Mary,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.J.  Hill.  All 
the  relatives  save  the  doctor  were  notified  of  the  event,  but  some  were 
BO  far  distant  that  it  was  impossible  to  be  present.    There  were  present 


j    his  Hons,  Dr.  R.  L.,  Edward  M.  {of  Columbus),  and  George,  and  members 
I    of  their  families,  Mrs.  Mary  Sliewey  and  son,  of  Fairfield,  Dr.  James 
!    Clark  and  daughter,  Miss  Julia  Soule,  and  J.  C.  Van  Harlinsen  and  wife. 
j   The  number  present  making  twenty,  with  the  doctor  and  his  wife.    A 
good  time  wa-<«  bad  in  social  conversation  and  relation  of  incidents  of  the 
past  before  and  while  enjoying  an  excellently  prepared  and  most  sumptu- 
ous repast,  which  was  continued  afterward,  while  Dr.  John  smoked  a 'pipe 
of  peace'  that  a  nephew  of  the  Rev,  Hill  purchased  from  the  great  In- 
!    dian  chief  Osceola  fourteen  years  ago.    At  a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon  the 
■    Rev.  Hill  gathered  us  all  together  and,  after  a  few  of  his  characteristic, 
:    well. timed  remarks  in  regard  to  the  doctor  and  his  descendants,  read 
!    the  2.'ld  Psalm,  followed  by  a  prayer  of  thanks  for  the  preservation  and 
1   enjoyment  of  the  blessings  of  life,  and  asking  for  their  continuance, 
'    when  all   present  joined    in  'Old    Hundred'   till   thi'ir   voices   echoed 
j    through  the  house,  that  of  the  doctor  being  prominent  for  clearness 
and  sweetness  among  them  .  and  the  voices  of  some  present  were  by  DO 
means  bad.    Then  the  benediction  was  pronounced,  when  we  all  took 
our  departure,  feeling  that  perhaps  the  same  persons  wouhi  never  meet 
I  again  on  a  similar  occasion." 

j       Dr.  Van  Harlingen  was  born  at  Milltown,  in  this 
;  county,  and  formerly  resided  on  the  southwest  corner 
of  George  and  Church  Streets,  in  this  city.    He  grad- 
uated from  Queen's  (now  Rutgers)  College  in  1809, 
I  with  William  Croes,  Cornelius  L.  Hardenbergh,  Wil- 
I  liain    Van    Deursen,   all    of   this   city,    and    Rynear 
Veghte,  of  Somerset  County.     Dr.   Van   Harlingen 
j  is  the  oldest  living  graduate  of  Rutgers  College. 
j      Cornelius    Johnson,    of  Spotswood,    practiced 
I  medicine  and  died  there,  May  11,  1828.     He  had  a 
son,  Cornelius  Johnson,  Jr.,  M.D.,  born  Aug.  22, 1783, 
died  Feb.  1,  1857.     The  senior  Dr.  Johnson  was  the 
father-in-law  of  Dr.  Henry  Du  Bois  LefFerts,  of  Spots- 
wood. 

Henry  Du  Bois  Lefferts  wa-s  born  in  Bucks 
County,  Pa.,  on  March  11,  1808,  and  died  on  Aug.  11, 
1849,  at  Spotswood,  N.  J.  He  was  the  son  of  Leffert 
LefFerts,  whose  father  also  bore  the  same  name,  and 
all  residents  of  Bucks  County,  Pa.  He  received  his 
primary  education  at  Middletown,  Monmouth  Co., 
studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Hubbard,  of  Linton  Falls, 
Monmouth  Co.,  and  graduated  at  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  of  New  York. 

Ralph  P.  Lott  was  of  English  descent,  and  was 
born  in  Princeton,  N.  J.,  in  1770.  He  studied  med- 
icine with  Dr.  Hezekiah  Stiles,  at  Cranbury,  and 
graduated  at  the  Medical  College  of  Philadelphia, 
and  practiced  in  Cranbury  about  forty  years,  having 
a  large  country  practice.  He  often  rode  thirty  and 
forty  miles  to  visit  patients.  He  was  of  a  decided 
and  somewhat  original  character,  well  versed  in  his 
profession,  and  highly  esteemed.  His  characteristics 
have  been  given  as  follows:  "He  was  skillful  as  a 
surgeon,  exceedingly  eccentric,  terribly  profane,  and 
passionately  fond  of  music ;  he  would  often  dance, 
sing,  and  play  the  violin  at  the  same  time." 

Dr.  Lott  married  Annie  Scudder,  and  had  a  son,  a 
physician,  mentioned  below.  He  died  of  pneumonia, 
Sept.  17,  1845,  and  is  buried  in  the  Presbyterian 
churchyard  at  Cranbury. 

John  W.  Lott,  son  of  Dr.  Ralph  P.  Lott,  succeeded 
his  father  in  the  practice  of  medicine  a  short  time  at 
Cranbury,  and  then  went  We.st  and  founded  Jersey- 
ville,  in   Illinois.     He   subsequently  left  that  place. 


520 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW    JERSEY. 


and  since  then  nothing  has  been  known  of  him, 
though  it  has  been  rumored  that  he  was  killed  in  a 
duel  in  Texas. 

William  P.  Lott  was  the  son  of  Dr.  John  W.  Lott, 
and  grandson  of  Dr.  Ralph  P.  Lott.  He  was  born  at 
Cranbury  in  1825,  studied  with  Dr.  Selah  Gulick,  and 
graduated  at  the  LTniversity  of  New  York.  He  was 
never  married.  Owing  to  feeble  health  bis  practice 
was  quite  limited,  but  turning  his  attention  to  specu- 
lation in  grain,  he  was  quite  successful.  As  a  man, 
he  was  kind  and  genial;  as  a  friend,  true  and  stead- 
fast. He  possessed  an  unusual  amount  of  informa- 
tion. His  death  occurred  May  3,  1872,  of  consump- 
tion, being  the  last  of  the  Lott  family  in  this  section. 

Selah  Gulick,  an  old  practitioner  at  Cranbury, 
was  of  German  descent,  born  in  Kingston,  N.  Y., 
about  1807.  He  died  on  the  24th  of  April,  1879,  aged 
seventy-two.  He  studied  with  Dr.  Howell,  of  Law- 
rence, and  graduated  in  medicine  at  one  of  the  col- 
leges in  Philadelphia.  Dr.  Gulick  first  located  at 
Allentown,  Monmouth  Co.,  and  after  a  short  time 
spent  there,  removed  to  Cranbury,  where  he  prac- 
ticed lifty  years.  He  had  an  unusually  large  ob- 
stetric practice,  and  was  noted  for  his  success  in 
fevers.  He  was  faithful  to  all  his  patients,  never 
refusing  a  call  to  any  one;  worked  very  hard,  was  a 
poor  collector,  and  consequently  died  poor.  As  a 
man,  he  was  friendly,  but  talked  little.  His  motto 
was,  "  Speech  is  .silver,  but  silence  is  gold."  He  has 
left  a  memory  dear  to  the  people  among  whom  he 
lived  and  practiced  for  half  a  century.  He  married 
Cornelia  Jobs,  and  had  a  family  of  ten  children, 
three  daughters  and  seven  sons. 

Henry  B.  Poole  was  born  in  London,  England, 
in  1790.  He  died  at  Washington,  South  River,  Mid- 
dlesex Co.,  N.  J.,  Nov.  29,  1861.  In  the  year  1802 
he  immigrated  with  his  parents  to  America,  landing 
in  the  city  of  New  York.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
entered  Rutgers  College,  having  had  the  early  advan- 
tages of  common-school  instruction  under  his  father, 
John  Cyrus  Poole,  who  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
teachers  of  his  time.  He  graduated  after  due  course 
of  study,  attracting  the  particular  notice  of  his  pre- 
ceptors for  his  proficiency  in  the  languages  and  mathe- 
matics, and  after  graduation  held  for  some  time  the 
position  of  private  teacher  to  the  Van  Renssalaers  of 
Albany.  He  then  returned  to  New  Brunswick  and 
took  the  rectorship  of  the  Lancasterian  school,  which 
he  conducted  for  a  number  of  years  with  great  ability 
and  success.  Retiring  from  this  school  he  commenced 
the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of  Abraham  Blaufelt, 
Esq.,  but  soon  abandoned  that  for  the  study  of  di- 
vinity under  Bishop  Croes.  Not  being  satisfied  with 
the  latter,  or  considering  himself  not  adapted  to  it, 
at  the  age  of  twenty-six  he  commenced  the  study  of 
medicine  with  Dr.  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  with  whom 
he  continued  until  he  received  his  diploma  from  the 
Medical  Faculty  of  Queen's  (now  Rutgers)  College,  in 
New  York,  in  1828. 


He  first  commenced  practice  at  Middletown  Point, 
where  he  remained  one  year  and  then  removed  to 
Flemington,  N.  J.,  and  after  practicing  there  two 
years  removed  to  Washington,  South  River,  in  the 
year  1832,  where  he  practiced  his  profession  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  As  a  physician  he  was  one 
of  the  most  careful,  ever  experimenting,  always  ex- 
erci.sing  his  good  judgment,  which,  together  with  his 
usually  quick  perception,  enabled  him  to  secure  the 
full  confidence  of  all  who  knew  him.  He  was  a  man 
of  fine  literary  attainments,  having  added  to  his  col- 
lege studies  a  knowledge  of  the  French  and  Spanish 
languages,  both  of  which  he  spoke  fluently.  For 
some  years  before  his  death  he  was  quite  closely  con- 
fined to  his  room  by  a  stroke  of  paralysis. 

As  a  business  man  he  was  successful  and  useful  to 
the  county  where  he  resided,  being  the  ready  local 
scribe  and  tlie  authority  on  all  things  requiring  math- 
ematical calculation.  He  left  a  wife,  one  daughter, 
and  four  sons.  "  His  affection  for  his  family  was  of 
the  most  devoted  kind,  his  whole  soul  appearing  to 
be  taken  up  in  considering  their  welfare." 

Charles  McKnight  Smith,  of  Perth  Amboy, 
died  on  the  3d  of  February,  1874.  At  the  time  of 
his  death  he  was  one  of  the  oldest  physicians  in  prac- 
tice in  the  State.  He  was  born  at  Haverstraw,  N.  Y., 
Sept.  29, 1803.  His  father,  Samuel  Smith,  was  a  law- 
yer, who  pursued  the  profession  in  Rockland  County, 
N.  Y.  On  the  side  of  his  mother  he  was  named  after 
his  grandfather.  Dr.  Charles  McKnight,  one  of  the 
prominent  surgeons  connected  with  the  American 
army  during  the  Revolution.  He  studied  medicine 
at  Haverstraw  with  Dr.  John  Cornelison,  and  received 
his  degree  at  the  New  York  Medical  College  in  April, 
1827. 

After  practicing  a  sliort  time  in  Maryland  he  re- 
moved to  Perth  Amboy,  where  he  continued  to  reside, 
and  was  recognized  as  the  most  prominent  physician 
until  the  day  of  his  death. 

He  was  no  less  prominent  as  a  citizen  in  civil  and 
political  affairs,  taking  an  active  part  in  the  municipal 
government,  and  filling  many  stations  of  usefulness 
and  trust.  He  was  collector  of  the  port  of  Perth 
Amboy  almost  continually  from  1841  till  his  death, 
his  first  commission  being  given  under  President 
Harrison,  renewed  under  President  Taylor,  1848, 
under  Gen.  Grant  in  1869,  and  again  under  Grant 
in  1873.  For  many  years  he  was  the  health  officer  of 
the  city  where  he  resided,  and  vestryman  of  St.  Peter's 
Church. 

E.  FiTZ  Randolph  Smith  was  born  near  New 
Brunswick  in  the  year  1786.  He  pursued  his  literary 
studies  under  tlie  care  of  Prof.  Lindsey,  of  New^ 
ark,  and  entered  the  College  of  New  Jersey  in  the 
year  1804;  graduating  thence  he  commenced  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Moses 
Scott,  and  finally  graduated  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  the  year  1808.  He  filled  the  office 
of  treasurer  of  the  State  Medical  Society,  was  elected 


'I'HE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION   IN    MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


521 


vice-president  in  1830  and  1831,  and  president  in  the 
year  1832.  As  a  physician  he  was  eminently  qualified 
for  his  profession,  and  enjoyed  in  a  high  degree  the 
confidence  of  the  community  in  which  he  lived.  As 
a  man  and  citizen  he  received  many  marks  of  esteem 
and  public  favor;  he  was  for  many  years  president  of 
one  of  the  most  successful  banking  institutions,  and 
it  was  largely  through  his  instrumentality  that  it  ac- 
quired and  maintained  its  stable  reputation.  He  was 
elected  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  in 
the  year  1842,  which  office  he  adorned.  He  fiilly  re- 
tired from  practice  in  the  year  1854,  devoting  himself 
to  the  care  of  his  property  and  especially  to  agricul- 
ture, of  which  he  was  very  fond.  Here  the  same  re- 
sults followed  that  had  attended  him  in  other  walks 
of  life.  He  was  renowned  for  his  good  judgment 
and  success.  His  final  illness  commenced  in  May, 
1865,  when  he  was  found  almost  insensible  from  an 
attack  of  hemiplegia;  he  lingered  with  gleams  of 
consciousness  for  three  weeks,  when  the  powers  of 
nature  sank  exhausted.  He  ivas  a  just  man.  "  The 
memory  of  the  just  is  blessed."  ' 

Jacob  T.  B.  Skillmax  was  born  on  the  10th  of 
March,  1794,  at  Three-Mile  Run,  N.  J.,  where  his 
father,  an  intelligent  and  industrious  farmer,  lived  in 
comfortable  circumstances.  After  having  pursued 
the  usual  course  of  instruction  at  a  primary  school, 
he  was  sent  to  the  academy  at  Basking  Ridge,  then 
under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  Finley.  In  1810  he  en- 
tered Union  College,  and  in  due  course  of  time  grad- 
uated with  honor.  One  of  his  classmates  was  the 
late  William  H.  Seward.  After  some  time  spent  as 
tutor  in  Hampden-Sidney  College,  Virginia,  in  which 
he  gained  a  high  reputation,  he  commenced  the  study 
of  medicine  with  Dr.  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  was  licensed 'to  practice  in  Novem- 
ber, 1825.  He  at  first  settled  in  Woodbridge  in  part- 
nership with  Dr.  Freeman,  when  a  practice  of  three 
years  enabled  him  to  acquire  much  experience  and 
skill,  particularly  in  the  cure  of  fevers.  He  after- 
wards settled  and  practiced  for  about  two  years  in 
Rahway,  and  upon  the  solicitation  of  friends  left  that 
place  and  a  good  practice  and  removed  to  New 
Brunswick.  Here  during  a  period  of  thirty  years  he 
had  the  confidence  and  patronage  of  a  large  class, 
and  was  held  in  high  esteem.  It  is  said  of  Dr.  Skill- 
man  that  he  did  not  refuse  to  call  even  where  no 
compensation  could  be  expected,  but  was  remarkably 
liberal  and  generous  towards  the  poor ;  he  was  also 
exact  in  the  observance  of  professional  etiquette,  and 
at  the  same  time  firm  and  tenacious  of  his  own  rights. 
But  that  which  most  of  all  distinguished  Dr.  Skill- 
man  was  his  upright,  moral,  and  religious  character. 

He  was  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  So- 
ciety and  its  president  in  1849.  As  a  member  of  the 
District  Medical  Society  of  Middlesex  County  he  was 
ever  active  and  efficient,  doing  all  in  his  power  to 

1  H.  R.  Baldwin  In  Trausactiuns,  1866. 


promote  true  learning  and  science.  He  was  president, 
and  held  other  oftices  in  the  society. 

Soon  after  his  return  from  Virginia  he  married  Miss 
R.  C.  Ayres,  of  Six-Mile  Run,  N.  J.  Of  the  chil- 
dren of  this  union  ouly  a  son  and  a  daughter  sur- 
vive. 

In  early  life  Dr.  Skillman  made  a  profession  of 
religion,  and  was  connected,  both  as  a  member  and 
oflicer,  with  the  First  Reformed  Church  of  New 
Brunswick.  He  died  of  paralysis  June  26,  1864,  in 
the  seventy-first  year  of  his  age. 

William  Van  Deursen  was  born  in  the  city  of 
New  Brunswick,  May  16,  1791.  He  graduated 'from 
Queen's  College  in  the  year  1809,  and  from  the  Col- 
lege of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  in  the  year  1814, 
during  the  period  when  lectures  were  delivered  in 
Barclay  Street.  Dr.  Van  Deursen  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  Rutgers  College 
in  the  year  1823.  He  was  first  settled  in  Imlaystown, 
and  afterwards  at  New  Brunswick,  at  which  place  he 
secured  an  extensive  practice.  He  was  especially 
distinguished  for  his  skill  in  surgery.  In  all  the  de- 
partmentii  of  his  profession  he  was  remarkably  well 
read  ;  he  had  many  students  who  entered  the  pro- 
fession from  his  oflice,  among  others  Dr.  W.  A. 
Newell,  late  Governor  of  this  State.  In  person  Dr. 
Van  Deursen  was  about  the  medium  height,  erect  in 
his  carriage  and  punctiliously  neat  in  his  dress;  his 
manner  was  courteous,  but  guarded  by  a  dignified  re- 
serve which  forbade  familiarity.  For  more  than  fifty 
years  he  was  esteemed  the  leading  physician  of  the 
town,  and  finally,  full  of  years  and  of  honors,  he  died 
on  the  16th  day  of  February,  1873,  leaving  the  leg- 
acy of  a  good  conscience,  and  bearing  his  testimony 
to  the  reality  of  the  Christian  faith,  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-two.- 

Samuel  Abeenethy  was  born  in  Tinicum  town- 
.ship,  Bucks  County,  Pa.,  Feb.  22,  1806.  He  was  de- 
prived of  both  parents  by  death  before  he  was  thirteen 
years  of  age,  and  was  sent  to  pursue  his  studies  with 
Rev.  Mr.  Boyd,  of  Newtown,  Bucks  Co.,  and  was  in 
due  time  sent  to  Union  College,  in  1827.  He  gradu- 
ated at  the  Medical  University  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1830,  and  was  directly  after  appointed  surgeon  in  the 
Hospital  of  Philadelphia,  and  honorary  member  of 
the  medical  society  of  that  city.  In  March,  1831,  he 
removed  to  Rahway,  where,  at  the  age  of  twenty-five, 
he  commenced  practice,  and  which  was  the  scene  of 
his  labors  until  his  death,  which  occurred  Feb.  13, 
1874. 

He  had  an  extensive  practice,  and  was  widely  known 
as  an  eminent  physician  and  surgeon.  "  His  genius 
was  too  great  to, allow  his  reputation  to  be  merely 
local.  Neighboring  cities  and  States  acknowledged 
him  a  peer  and  brought  to  him  their  tribute.  Not- 
withstanding his  great  merits  he  was  peculiarly  unos- 
tentatious, and  was  never  known  to  speak  of  what  he 

»  Ibid.,  1873,  pp.  120-21. 


622 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AiND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


had  done,  but  seemed  always  to  be  looking  forward 
to  what  he  could  do  in  the  future." 

Forty-three  years  he  practiced  his  profession  and 
lived  among  the  people  of  Rahway,  letting  shine 
around  him  the  light  of  his  rare  genius,  his  kindly 
spirit,  and  his  practical  usefulness.  He  thus  endeared 
himself  to  the  people  in  a  manner  rarely  known. 

TheDistrictMedicalSociety  of  the  County  of  Union, 
of  which  he  was  the  first  president,  attended  the  fun- 
eral services  in  a  body,  and  drafted  the  following 
resolutions  : 

"  Whereas,  Tlie  District  Medical  Society  of  the  County  of  Union  has 
heard  witli  liemtlelt  regret  of  the  death  of  its  oldest  and  one  of  its  most 
esteemed  mnnihera,  Dr.  SHmuel  Abernethy.  of  Rahway;  and  while  we 
would  be  submissive  to  the  will  of  an  all-wise  Providence,  we  would 
place  on  record  I'Ur  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  our  deceased 
brother;  therefore, 

"  Hftolved,  That  in  the  ability  and  devotion  he  so  long  manifested  in 
his  profession,  in  his  kindness  and  courtesy  of  manner,  shown  l>oth  to 
his  prBfes^iiuial  brethren  and  to  his  patients,  and  in  the  characteristics 
of  a  good  citizen,  be  has  etideared  himself  to  all  win.  knew  hinu 

"  Hesttlved,  That  his  memory  will  be  cherished  with  respect  and  grate- 


ful i 


nbrai 


"  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  he  sent  to  the  family  of 
the  deceased,  and  that  they  lie  published  in  the  Rahway  Advwate  and 
Timex,  National  Democrat,  Elizabeth  Jorinuil,  ajid  the  Central  Nein  Jersey 
Times  of  Plainfield. 

"T.  N.  McLean, 

"  Recording  Secretary." 


CHAPTER    LXX. 

MEDICAL    PROFESSION.— (t'-iKiHiierf.) 

District  Medical  Society  for  the  County  of  Mid- 
dlesex.— "The  following  physicians  and  surgeons 
having  convened  at  New  Brunswick  on  the  first  Tues- 
day of  May,  1816,  for  the  purpo.se  of  forming  them- 
selves into  a  society  by  the  style  and  name  of  'The 
Medical  Society  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,'  agree- 
ably to  an  act  of  incorporation  passed  at  Trenton, 
Feb.  16,  1816,  and  being  so  convened  did  proceed  to 
appoint  a  chairman  and  secretary  pro  tern.,  when 
Dr.  John  Van  Cleve  was  unanimously  elected  chair- 
man and  William  McKissack  secretary. 

"  Present,  Drs.  John  Van  Cleve,  Lewis  Dunham, 
Augustus  R.  Taylor,  Jacob  Dunham,  EInoch  Wilson, 
Nathaniel  Manning,  Ralph  P.  Lott,  Ephraini  Smith, 
James  Elmendorf,  Charles  Pierson,  Ferdinand 
Schenck,  Jos.  Qiiiniby,  William  D,  McKissack, 
Matthias  Freeman,  John  Reynolds,  Samuel  Forman, 
William  McKissack. 

"  It  was  moved  and  seconded  that  the  present  meet- 
ing proceed  to  appoint  fifteen  managers  agreeably  to 
the  second  section  of  the  Act  of  Incorporation,  when 
the  following  gentlemen  were  duly  appointed  : 

"  Drs.  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  Lewis  Dunham,  John 
Van  Cleve,  Jacob  Dunham,  Nicholas  Belleville,  Wil- 
liam McKissack,  Nathaniel  Manning,  Enoch  Wilson, 
Charles  Smith,  Peter  I.  Stryker,  Matthias  Freeman, 


Ralph  P.  Lott,  Moses  Scott,  Charles  Pierson,  Ephraim 

Smith. 

"A  motion  wa.s  made  and  seconded  to  proceed  to 
the  appointing  of  county  or  district  societies  in  the 
counties  of  Middlesex,  Somerset,  Monmouth,  Essex, 
and  Morris,  agreeably  to  the  third  section  of  the  said 
Act  of  Incorporation,  when  Doctors  Lewis  Dunham, 
Joseph  Dunham,  Enoch  Wilson,  Matthias  Freeman, 
Charles  Smith,  Nathaniel  Manning,  Ralph  P.  Lott, 
and  John  Van  Cleve  were  duly  appointed  for  the 
county  of  Middlesex,  to  hold  their  first  meeting  on 
the  second  Tuesday  of  June  next,  at  10  o'clock  A.  M., 
at  the  city  of  New  Brunswick.' 

"Agreeably  to  the  foregoing  appointment  the  com- 
mittee met,  every  member  attending,  at  Runyan's 
tavern,  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  day 
appointed.  Dr.  Lewis  Dunham  was  chosen  chair- 
man, and  John  Van  Cleve  secretary  of  the  meeting. 

"The  committee  then  proceeded  to  the  formation 
of  a  society  by  electing  by  ballot  Dr.  Charles  Smith 
president,  Matthias  Freeman  vice-president,  Jacob 
Dunham  treasurer,  and  John  Van  Cleve  secretary, 
whereupon  Dr.  Smith  took  the  chair  and  the  society 
proceeded  to  business."  ' 

The  first  business  transacted  was  the  appointment 
of  a  committee,  consisting  of  Lewis  Dunham  and 
Matthias  Freeman,  "to  examine  into  the  qualifica- 
tions of  such  gentlemen  as  should  make  application 
for  admission  into  the  society."  While  the  committee 
were  attending  to  their  duty  a  general  discussion  was 
had  by  the  members  present  upon  the  subject  of  the 
by-laws  of  the  society,  after  which  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  draft  a  system  of  by-laws  and  report  to 
the  next  meeting. 

The  committee  appointed  to  examine  into  the 
qualifications  of  applicants  for  membership  reported 
that  Josiah  B.  Andrews,  John  Van  Dyke,  and  Wil- 
liam Van  Deursen  had  given  satisfactory  testimonials 
of  their  having  been  regularly  admitted  to  the  prac- 
tice of  medicine  and  surgery  ,"  whereupon  the  society 
resolved  that  they  be  admitted  without  further  exam- 
ination. 

Drs.  Charles  Smith,  Enoch  Wilson,  and  John  Van 
Cleve,  the  committee  on  by-laws,  reported  the  follow- 
ing at  the  next  meeting,  Dec.  11,  1816,  which  after 
suitable  discussion  and  amendment  were  adopted: 

BY-LAWS. 

"  {.  This  Society  shall  be  known  and  distinguished  by  the  name  of 
The  Uisti  ict  Medical  Society  lor  the  County  of  Middlesex,  in  the  State  of 
New  Jer^ey. 

"II.  The  olficers  of  this  society  shall  be  a  piesident,  vice-president, 
secretary,  and  treasurer,  to  be  cboseu  at  each  anniversary  meeting  of 
the  society  by  ballot,  to  serve  for  one  year;  and  sliould  no  election  take 
place  at  the  usual  period  they  sliall  continue  in  office  uulil  others  be 
chosen  in  tlieir  stead. 

**  HI.  It  nIihU  be  the  duty  of  the  president  to  0[ien  the  society  with 
an  address  at  the  tirst  stated  meeting  alter  bis  appoliilinent,  to  preside  at 
all  meetings  of  the  society,  to  preserve  order,  to  regulate  the  Ueliatee, 


I  Minutes  of  the  New  Jersey  Medical  Society. 
>  Minuti-B  of  the  District  Society. 


'^^^^w-' 


C   ^^-^^^-r^^Zf^^Z^ 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION    IN    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


523 


to  stHte  nnd  put  qiiestinns,  and  declare  the  sense  of  the  meeting  after  a 
TOle  shall  liave  beeu  taken,  and  to  adjourn  the  society. 

"IV.  In  the  alispnce  of  the  president  tlie  vice-president  shall  perform 
all  the  duties  of  the  president,  and  when  both  president  nnd  vice-presi- 
dent are  absent  the  Rociety  shall  elect  a  president  pro  teviporf. 

"  V.  It  -hall  lie  the  duty  uf  the  secretary  to  take  minutes  of  all  the 
proceedings  of  tlie  society,  and  to  record  them  accurately  in  a  lioi'k  to 
be  provided  for  that  purpose.  He  shall  keep  a  list  of  all  the  members, 
which  he  shall  cal  I  over  as  soon  as  the  society  shall  have  convened. 

"  VI.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  treasurer  to  receive  all  moneys  due 
to  the  society,  and  make  an  entry  thereof  in  a  book  to  be  kept  for  that 
purpose  ;  lie  shall  jiay  all  drafts  made  on  him  by  the  president,  and  ex- 
hibit a  complete  statement  ot  his  accounts  at  every  annual  meeting  of 
the  society,  or  oftener  if  reqnired  ;  and  at  the  expiration  of  his  office 
shall  deliver  over  to  his  successor  all  moneys  and  other  property  belong- 
ing to  the  society  that  may  be  in  his  hands. 

"VII.  The  society  shall  at  every  annual  meeting  appoint  five  members, 
whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  examine  all  candidates  who  may  apply  for 
license  to  practice  physic  and  snrjjery  touching  their  knowledge  in  the 
said  faculties,  and  if  approved  shall  recommend  them  to  the  president 
of  the  medical  society  of  New  Jersey  as  fit  persons  to  receive  a  license 

accordingly;  not  less  than of  the  committee  shall  be  present  every 

examination.! 

"  VI n.  The  stated  meetings  of  this  society  shall  be  held  on  the  Wed- 
nesday of  ci-urt  week  in  June  and  December,  and  five  members  shall 
constitute  a  quorum  to  do  business.^ 

"  IX.  No  person  shall  be  balloted  for  as  a  member  of  this  society  un- 
less he  shall  have  been  admitted  to  the  practice  according  to  law,  and 
shall,  moreover,  produce  testimonials  of  his  moral  character  and  profes- 
sional acquirements  from  at  least  two  members  of  the  society. 3 

"  X.  Every  member  shall  on  bis  election  and  subscribing  the  by-laws 
pay  to  the  treasurer  for  the  use  of  the  society  the  sum  uf  one  dollar,  and 
annnally  thereafter  the  sum  of  fifty  cents. 

"  XI.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  unless  by  order  of 
the  society,  and  certified  by  the  president  or  presiding  officer. 

"XII.  That  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  every  member  to  record  accurately 
and  circumstantially  every  extraordinary  case  iii  physic  or  surgery 
which  may  occur  in  his  practice  aud  its  treatment,  and  lay  the  same 
before  the  society  at  their  next  meeting. 


lenibers  shall  be  appointed  whose 
orological  observations,  together 
isons  ujid  til 


duties  it  shall 
ivith  a  history 
eir  treatmeut, 

in  the  follow- 


"XIII.  Two  or  m 
be  to  keep  accurate 

of  the  prevailing  diseases  of  the  difiereiit  seasc 
and  lay  tlie  same  before  the  society  at  its  stated 

"  XIV.    The  exercises  of  the  society  shall  be 
ingorder : 

"1st.  Calling  the  roll. 

"2d.  The  president's  address. 

":id    Reading  minutes  of  last  meeting. 

"4th.  Reports  of  ci'mmittees. 

"5th.  Essays  and  communications. 

"  6th.  Election  of  officers.' 

"  XV.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  members  of  this  society  to  discoun- 
tenance irregular  practitioners  of  physic,  and  not  to  consult  or  hold  any 
professional  intercourse  with  them. 

"  XVI.  No  member  shall  be  expelled  from  this  society  unless  Ipy  the 
concurring  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present. 

"XVII.  That  the  table  of  fees  nnd  rates  of  chaigingfi.r  sundry  articles 
and  services  in  medicine  and  surgery  as  agreed  upon  and  established 
June  12,  1810,  by  the  Medical  Sficiety  of  New  Jersey  for  the  government 
of  its  members,  be  adopted  by  this  society.^ 

"XVIII.  That  thet^c  laws  shall  not  be  altered  or  amended  unless  the 
alteration  or  anienduient  shall  have  been  submitted  to  the  society  at 
a  previous  stated  meeting,  and  approved  by  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present." 

We  find  in  the  record  the  following  names  sub- 
scribed to  the  laws: 


t  This  article  was  suhsequeutly  expunged. 

2  Time  of  meeting  changed  in  1831  to  first  Tuesday  in  May  and  No 
'emlier. 
s  Amended  June  24,  18.i7 
4  Amended  June  24,  1853. 
'  Amended  .\ng.  14,  IN72. 
•  Subsequently  amended. 


Lewis  Dunham. *7 
Charles  Sniiih.* 
William  Van  Deursen.* 
John  Van  Cleve.* 
Nathaniel  Manning.* 
Jacob  Dunham.* 
Jostah  B.  Andrews.t 
Enoch  Wilson.* 
Ralph  P.  Lott.* 
Matthias  Freeman.* 
John  A.  Pool.* 
J.  T.  B.  Skillman.* 
Solomon  Andrews.* 
Lewis  A.  llall.t 
James  Clark.* 
Garrit  P.  Voorhees.* 
Benjamin  E.  Tomlinson.* 
F,  R.  Smith.* 
Lewis  Diake.* 
II.  D.  B.  Lefierty.* 
George  M.  Maclean. f 
Ellis  U.  Freeman.* 
Theodore  Hardenbergh.f 
Samuel  Abernethy.* 
John  H   Van  Deureeu.* 
A.  D.  Newell.* 
Clifford  Morrogh.* 
Charles  H.  Voorhees.* 
Augustus  F.  Taylor. 
Chailes  Dunham,  Jr.* 
John  O.  Thompson.J 
Henry  M.Stoi.e.* 
James  W.  Leighton.* 
Heniy  R.  Baldwin. 
George  W.  Urittou.* 
Joseph  Steiinett  Martin.f 
Ezr.iM.  Hunt. 
George  U.  Sear8.t 
L.  T.  Baker.* 
C.  McKuight  Smith.* 


Samuel  E.  Freeman.f 
Ambrose  Fregeruowan. 
George  W.  Stout. 
F.  S.  Barbarin. 
N.  Kiemmerer. 
J.  W.  Meeker.t 
C.  E.Woodward.t 
John  J.  De  Molte.f 

C.  M.  Slack. 

A.  S.  Titsworth.t 
David  Slephens.f 
Samuel  St.  John  Smith.-* 
A.  P.  Knapen.* 
John  Helm.* 

D.  C.  English. 

D.  C.  Van  Denrsen.f 
S.  V.  D.  Clark. 
F.  r.  Coreon.t 
D.  Brainerd  Hunt.f 
George  J.  Janeway. 
Hush  Van  Dyke. 
Henry  T.  Pierce.t 
Nichidas  Williamson. 
Samuel  P.  Harned, 
Thomas  T.  Delivan. 
W.  E.  Matlison. 
George  E.  Blackham.t 
J.  H.  Crawford.! 
J.  I.  Mariley.t 
C.  H.  Andrews. 
William  V.  Wilson. 
F.  B.  Norton. 
P.  A.  Shannon. 
William  W.  Hubbard. 
John  G.  Wilson. 
Roland  H.  Slubbs.f 
James  B  Wainright. 
Clifford  M.  Stelle. 
George  G.  Clark. 


Officers. — The  following  have  been  officers  of 
the  society  since  its  organization  in  1816: 

Presidents. — Charles  Smith,  1.S16;  Matthia.s  Free- 
man, 1817;  Nathaniel  Manning,  1818;  Jacob  Dun- 
ham, 1819;  William  Van  Deursen,  1820;  Josiah  B. 
Andrews,  1821 ;  Charles  Smith,  1822;  Jacob  Dunham, 
1825 ;»  Charles  Smith,  1826-28;  Jacob  Dunham,  1829i 
Lewis  A.  Hall,  1830;  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  1831 ;  James 
Clark,  1834;"  F.  K.  Smith,  1835  ;  Charles  Smith,  1836 
-37;  Lewis  Drake,  1838-39;'"  F.  R.  Smith,  pro  tern., 
1840 ;  Samuel  Abernethy,  1841 ;  Ellis  B.  Freeman, 
1842;  John  H.  Van  Deur-sen,  1843;  A.  D.  Newell' 
1844-15;"  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  1846. 

From  the  above  last  date  until  1857  the  society  was 
discontinued.  The  record  of  its  reorganization  ap- 
pears in  the  minutes,  as  follows: 

Society  Reorganized.—"  New  Brunswick,  Jan. 
21,  1857.  A  meeting  of  Physicians  of  Middlesex 
County  having  been  called  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing a  Medical  Society,  Dr.  Augustus  F.  Taylor  was 
appointed  Chairman,  and  Dr.  Henry  R.  Baldwin  Sec- 
retary.    It  was  then  unanimously 


rd  of  the  meeting  kept. 


7  *  Deceased ;  f  Removed  ;  J  Withdrawn. 

8  No  meeting  recorded  between  1S22  and  1825. 

9  No  record  between  1831  aud  1834. 
1»  No  meeting  held  in  1839. 

"  No  meeting,  1845. 


524 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


" '  Betohed,  Tliat  we  physicians  of  Middlesex  County  do  hereby  organ- 
ize the  District  Medical  Society  of  this  county,  and  adopt  its  constitu- 
tion and  by-laws.' 

"  It  was  then  moved  and  seconded  that  Drs.  Leigh- 
ton,  Janeway,  Dunham,  and  Morrogh  be  appointed 
delegates  to  attend  the  meeting  of  the  State  Medical 
Society,  and  that  the  delegates  and  officers  proceed  to 
Trenton  on  Tuesday,  the  27th  inst.  (Signed)  Henry 
R.  Baldwin,  Sec." 

The  following  is  added  : 

"  The  delegates  were  cordially  received  by  the 
State  Medical  Society,  and  the  District  Medical  Soci- 
ety received  in  good  standing." 

Presidents  since  the  Reorganization. — Since  the  re- 
organization of  the  society  the  following  have  held 
the  office  of  president: 

Augustus  F.  Taylor,  1857  ;  Clifford  Morrogh,  1858 
-59;  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  1860;  H.  M.  Stone,  1861; 
Henry  R.  Baldwin,  1862-64;  Ezra  M.  Hunt,  1865; 
A.  Fregernowan,  1866;  Charles  Dunham,  Jr.,  1867; 
Charles  H.  Voorhees,  1869;  S.  St.  John  Smith,  1870; 
A.  Fregernowan,  1871;  D.  C.  English,  1872;  Rush  Van 
Dyke,  1873 ;  C.  M.  Slack,  1874  ;  W.  E.  Mattison,  1875 ; 
Nicholas  Williamson,  1876 ;  T.  T.  Devan,  1877  ;  P.  A. 
Shannon,  1878;  C.  H.  Andrews,  1879;  J.  W.  Rice, 
1880. 

Secretaries.— T\\e  secretaries  of  the  society  from  the 
first  have  been  John  Van  Cleve,  1816 ;  William  Van 
Deursen,  1817-36;  Jacob  T.  B.  Skillman,  1836-46. 
Since  the  reorganization,  Henry  R.  Baldwin,  1857  ; 
Charles  Dunham,  Jr.,  1858^  L.  F.  Baker,  1859;  J.  S. 
Martin,  1860;  S.  E.  Freeman,  1861-64;  George  W. 
Stout,  1865;  J.  W.  Meeker,  1866-68;  David  Ste- 
phens, 1868-74;  Rush  Van  Dyke,  1874-76;  W.  E. 
Mattison,  1876-80;  George  G.  Clark,  1880-82. 

Treasurers.  —  Jacob  Dunham,  1816-18;  AVilliam 
Van  Deursen,  1818;  Nathaniel  Manning,  1819-25; 
John  A.  Pool,  1825-38;  Garret  P.  Voorhees,  1838; 
John  A.  Pool,  1839;  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  1840-44;  F. 
R.  Smith,  1844-46;  Henry  M.  Stone,  1857-60;  J.  C. 
Thompson,  1860;  Joseph  S.Martin,  1861-66;  F.  S. 
Barbarin,  1866-68;  Charles  Dunham,  Jr.,  1868-75; 
T.  T.  Devan,  1875;  D.  C.  English,  1876-82. 

Delegates  to  the  State  Society. — The  fol- 
lowinj;  persons  have  been  delegates  from  the  District 
Medical  Society  of  Middlesex  County  to  the  Medical 
Society  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  : 

Joseph  B.  Andrews,  Charles  Smith,  William  Van 
Deursen,  John  Van  Cleve,  1819-20;  Matthias  Free- 
man, Nathaniel  Manning,  Joseph  B.  Andrews,  1821- 
22;  Joseph  Dunham,  John  A.  Pool,  1823;  William 
Van  Deursen,  1824;  John  A.  Pool,  Jacob  Dunham, 
1825;  Joseph  B.  Andrews,  Matthias  Freeman,  Wil- 
liam Van  Deursen,  1826;  Joseph  B.  Andrews,  Wil- 
liam Van  Deursen,  Lewis  A.  Hall,  1827  ;  Joseph  B. 
Andrews,  Lewis  A.  Hall,  1828-29;  William  Van 
Deursen,  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  Solomon  Andrews,  J. 
A.  Pool,  1830;  Charles  Smith,  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  L. 
A.    Hall,  William   Van   Deursen,    1831;   Garret   P. 


Voorhees,  James  Clark,  1832-33;  William  Van 
Deursen,  George  McLean,  James  Clark,  J.  T.  B. 
Skillman,  1834-35;  Garret  P.  Voorhees,  J.  T.  B. 
Skillman,  1836 ;  Lewis  Drake,  Garret  P.  Voorhees, 
Ellis  B.  Freeman,  William  Forman,  1837;  Lewis 
Drake,  Garret  P.  Voorhees,  H.  D.  B.  Lefferty,  S. 
Abernethy,  1838 ;  Samuel  Abernethy,  Lewis  Drake, 
Garret  P.  Voorhees,  H.  D.  B.  Lefferty,  1839 ;  Samuel 
Abernethy,  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  Theodore  Harden- 
burgh,  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  1840-41 ;  Ellis  B.  Freeman, 
Samuel  Abernethy,  John  H.  Van  Deursen,  J.  T.  B. 
Skillman,  1842;  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  A.  D.  Newell,  J. 
H.  Van  Deursen,  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  1843;  A.  D. 
Newell,  Samuel  Abernethy,  Ellis  B.  Freeman,  J.  H. 
Van  Deursen,  1844-46. 

From  this  date  no  delegates  attended  the  State  So- 
ciety from  the  District  Society  of  Middlesex  till  the 
annual  meeting  in  January,  1857,  when  G.  J.  Jane- 
way,  C.  Morrogh,  Henry  R.  Baldwin,  and  C.  Dun- 
ham were  the  delegates.  From  this  time  the  District 
Society  was  represented  as  follows:  C.  Morrogh,  J. 
C.  Thompson,  H.  M.  Stone,  J.  S.  Martin,  1858  ;  Clif- 
ford Morrogh,  Ezra  M.  Hunt,  S.  St.  John  Smith, 
1859-60;  J.  S.  Martin,  E.  B.  Freeman,  S.  St.  John 
Smith,  A.  Fregernowan  (alternates,  Henry  R.  Bald- 
win, H.  M.  Stone,  L.  F.  Baker,  Clifford  Morrogh), 
1862;  A.  Fregernowan,  J.  C.Thompson,  Henry  M. 
Stone,  S.  E.  Freeman  (alternates,  Clifford  Morn^gh, 
Henry  R.  Baldwin,  Charles  Dunham,  Jr.,  Ezra  M. 
Hunt),  1863;  A.  Fregernowan,  C.  McKnight  Smith, 
R.  I.  Benmagin,  J.  S.  Martin  (alternates,  Ellis  B. 
Freeman,  Henry  M.  Stone,  J.  C.  Thompson,  G.  W. 
Stout),  1866  ; '  Charles  Dunham,  Jr.,  C.  McKnight 
Smith,  A.  Fregernowan,  1867;  S.  St.  John  Smith,  J. 
J.  De  Motte,  C.  H.  Voorhees,  1868;  J.  W.  Meeker, 
John  Helm,  A.  P.  Knapen,  1869;  D.  C.  English,  D. 
B.  Hunt,  S.  V.  D.  Clark,  D.  C.  Van  Deursen,  1870; 
R.  Van  Dyke,  C.  Morrogh,  J.  W.  Meeker,  H.  T. 
Pierce,  1871 ;  R.  Van  Dyke,  Ezra  M.  Hunt,  C.  H. 
Voorhees,  C.  Morrogh,  J.  W.  Meeker,  Charles  Dun- 
ham, Jr.,  1872 ;  C.  H.  Voorhees,  R.  Van  Dyke,  D.  C. 
English,  J.  W.  Meeker,  A.  Fregernowan,   1873-74; 

William  V.  Wilson,  C.  H.  Voorhees, Holmes,  R. 

Vandyke,  1875 ;  G.  J.  Janeway,  C.  H.  Voorhees,  N. 
Williamson,  C.  M.  Slack,  1876;  T.  L.  Janeway,  C. 
H.  Voorhees,  H.  B.  Garner,  D.  C.  English,  N.  Wil- 
liamson, 1877  ;  C.  H.  Voorhees.  T.  L.  Janeway,  James 
B.  Wainwright,  George  G.  Clark,  D.  C.  English, 
1878;  George  G.  Clark,  D.  C.  English,  C.  H.  Voor- 
hees, C.  H.  Andrews,  W.  E.  Mattison,  1879;  C.  H. 
Andrews,  John  Helm,  D.  C.  English,  Clifford  M. 
Stelle,  C.  H.  Voorhees,  1880;  Clifford  Morrogh,  D.  C. 

English, Rice,  W.  V.  Wilson,  J.  B.  Wainwright, 

1881. 

Drs.  Rush,  Van  Dyke,  and  P.  A.  Shannon,  dele- 
gates to  the  American  Medical  Association  held  at 
Philadelphia,  June  6,  1876;  N.  Williamson  and  C.  H. 

1  No  delegates  appear  to  have  been  appointed  <h>m  1863  to  1866. 


THE   MEDICAL  PROFESSION  IN  MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


525 


Voorhees,  1878 ;  Clifford  Morrogh  and  John  Helm, 
1881. 

The  annual  meetings  of  the  Medical  Society  of 
New  Jersey,  with  but  one  or  two  exceptions,  were 
held  at  New  Brunswick  until  1852.  In  that  city  the 
society  was  first  organized  in  1766;  here  it  was  re- 
organized after  its  suspension  in  1807,  and  again  re- 
organized under  a  new  charter  in  1816  ;  and  in  this 
city  also,  in  the  chapel  of  Rutgers  College,  was  held 
the  centennial  or  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the 
society  in  1866.  In  1852  the  annual  meetings  of  the 
society  were  removed  to  Trenton,  where  they  have 
since  been  held. 

LICENSES  GRANTED  BY  THE  NEW  JEKSEY  MEDICAL  SOCIETY 

TO  RESIDENTS  OF  MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  FEOM  1816 

TO  1842. 


John  A.  Pool,  Nov.  13,  1816. 
.lames  A.  Scott,  Dec.  20,  1816. 
George  Van  Nest,  June  11,  1817. 
George  O.  Trenchiird,  1818-19. 
Hugh  KirkpHtrick,  1S18-19. 
Samuel  E.  Smalley,  1818-19. 
Henry  S.  Harris,  1818-19. 
Williiini  R.  Griffllh,  1825--26. 
Garret  Voorhees,  Jan.  4, 1827. 
Elias  Joseph  Marsh,  1827-28. 
Solomon  Andrews,  1827-28. 
James  Clark ,  May  12, 1828. 
Lewis  Drake,  May  12,  1828. 
Jacob  r.  Tlioruton,  June  10, 1829. 
Charles  C.  Blauvelt,  July  7, 1829. 
Henry  Vandervere,  Aug.  19,  1829. 
Samuel  C.  Thornton,  Dec.  17, 1829. 
Richard  Marsli,  Jr  ,  Dec.  17, 1829. 
Samuel  L.  Howell,  June  24,  1830. 
J.  J.  Dunn,  July  1,  1830. 


George  M.  McLean. 
Benj.  C.  Tomlinson,  Nov.  20,  1830. 
Benj.  P.  Howell,  June  14, 1S31. 
Selah  Ghulick  (diploma),  May  14, 

1833. 
Ellis  B.   Fieema 

24,  1833. 
Fred.  W.  Buckel 

24,  1833. 
Andrew  Todd  (li 

1834. 
Theodore  Hardenburgh  (1 

June  18, 1834. 
Jonathan  C.  McChesney  (1: 

June  8,  1835. 
Nelson  Stelle,  Sept.  3,  1835. 
Isaac  B.  Hutchinson,  June  8, 1835. 
John  N.  Vi'oodhull,  Sept.  27, 1836. 
John  H .  Beursen,  1840. 
Azariah  D.  Newell,  1840. 


(license),  Sept. 
IV  (license),  Sept. 
ense),  June  18, 

')■ 
), 


Since  1816  the  following  physicians  of  this  county 
have  been  officers  in  the  Medical  Society  of  New 
Jersey : 

Presidents. — Lewis  Dunham,  1816-17 ;  John  Van 
Cleve,  1818-19;  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  1822 ;  Augustus 
K.  Taylor,  1831 ;  J.  T.  B.  Skillman,  1848. 

Vice-Presidents. — Enoch  Wilson,  1816;  John  Van 
Cleve,  1817 ;  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  1821-22 ;  Joseph 
Dunham,  1825-26;  George  McLean,  1839;  J.  T.  B. 
Skillman,  1845-47  ;  Augustus  F.  Taylor,  1847-48 ;  C. 
C.  Blauvelt,  1854-56. 

Treasurers.— 'E^hraxm  F.  Smith,  1818-30. 

Corresponding  Secretaries. — William  Van  Deursen, 
1822-26;  Augustus  F.  Taylor,  1844-45. 

Recording  Secretaries. — John  Van  Cleve,  1820-23 ; 
William  Van  Deursen,  1827. 

Charles  H.  Voorhees,  physician,  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  descended  from  immigrants  to  America 
from  Holland  in  1670,  a  grandson  of  David  Voorhees, 
a  soldier  in  the  Continental  army,  and  a  son  of  Ira 
C.  Voorhees,  was  born  in  New  Brunswick,  Aug.  3, 
1824;  graduated  from  Rutgers  College  Grammar 
School,  entered  the  Jefferson  Medical  College,  and 
from  that  institution  received  his  degree  of  M.D.  in 
the  spring  of  1850.  In  the  same  year  he  established 
himself  as  a  practitioner  in  New  Brunswick. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  Middlesex  County  Medical 
34 


Society ;  was  president  of  that  organization  in  1870. 
Since  1858  he  has  been  frequently  its  representative 
(with  others)  in  the  conventions  of  the  New  Jersey 
State  Medical  Society ;  from  the  State  Society  he  has 
been  a  delegate  to  the  State  Societies  of  Vermont  and 
Pennsylvania,  and  to  the  American  Medical  Associa- 
tion. 

He  is  a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Microscopic 
Society,  New  Brunswick  Society,  New  Jersey  Sani- 
tary Association,  American  Association  for  the  Ad- 
vancement of  Science,  American  Medical  Association, 
and  Board  of  Health  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick. 
He  was  county  physician  of  Middlesex  County  for 
sixteen  years,  and  served  as  surgeon  of  volunteers  in 
the  Union  army  from  Feb.  1,  1862,  to  1865. 

Dr.  Voorhees  has  assisted  Dr.  Wickes  in  the  "  Medi- 
cal History  of  the  State,"  gathering  and  compiling 
the  materials  in  Middlesex  County,  and  we  are  in- 
debted to  him  for  valuable  aid  in  the  preparation  of 
the  present  chapter. 

Clifford  T.  Morrogh,  M.D.,  was  born  in  the 
city  of  Cork,  Ireland,  on  July  31,  1821,  and  was  con- 
sequently in  his  sixty-first  year  of  age  at  the  time  of 
his  decease,  March  13,  1882.  His  father's  family  was 
an  old,  well-known  family  of  Cork,  and  his  mother,  a 
Miss  Plowden,  came  from  one  of  those  English  fam- 
ilies that  had  continued  loyal  through  good  and  bad 
fortune,  and  through  all  the  changes  of  State  religion, 
to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  family,  con- 
sisting of  father,  mother,  and  ten  children,  came  to 
this  country  in  1834.  Two  sons  entered  the  medical 
profession,  one  became  a  distinguished  lawyer  in 
New  York,  another  a  jurist  of  note  in  Louisiana, 
the  youngest,  ordained  a  priest  in  Rome,  was  for  many 
years  pastor  of  a  prominent  church  in  New  York 
City,  whilst  one  died  quite  young.  The  eldest  sister 
married  John  L.  Burtell,  of  New  York  ;  the  second, 
Cavaliere  Sussarells,  of  Genoa  ;  and  two  others  suc- 
cessively married  Gen.  Avezzana,  who  took  a  very 
prominent  part  in  all  the  wars  for  the  unification  of 
Italy.  Dr.  Morrogh  entered  the  Medical  School  of 
the  University  of  the  City  of  New  York,  whence  he 
graduated  March  6,  1847,  and  came  to  New  Bruns- 
wick the  ■  same  year.  His  brother.  Dr.  Archibald 
Morrogh,  came  with  him,  and  also  achieved  consider- 
able reputation,  afterwards  went  to  the  West  Indies, 
but  after  some  years  returned  to  New  York,  where  he 
died. 

For  some  time  after  settling  in  New  Brunswick 
Dr.  Clifford  T.  Morrogh  found  difficulties  almost  in- 
surmountable, but  Some  fortunate  and  skillful  opera- 
tions gave  him  a  reputation,  and  after  that  his  prog- 
ress was  rapid  and  steady  until  he  stood  among  the 
first  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey  among  physicians, 
and  as  a  surgeon  his  reputation  extended  far  beyond 
it.  The  same  year  of  Dr.  Morrogh's  settlement  in 
New  Brunswick,  Dr.  A.  F.  Taylor  being  the  township 
physician  of  Franklin,  it  became  necessary  to  ampu- 
tate a  leg  from  each  of  two  colored  people  in  the 


526 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


town's  charge,  and  Dr.  Taylor  called  Dr.  Morrogh  to 
perform  the  operation.  They  made  use  of  chloroform 
for  the  first  time  in  this  section  of  the  State,  and  the 
operations  were  successful.  A  year  or  two  afterwards 
he  performed  an  operation  for  stone  in  the  bladder 
upon  a  lad  twelve  years  old.  This  operation,  always 
difficult  and  dangerous,  was  the  first  one  in  the  city, 
and  was  .skillfully  executed.  He  afterwards  performed 
the  operation  thirty-two  different  times.  He  once 
performed  a  very  difficult  removal  of  a  carious  bone 
from  the  ankle-joint,  the  first  time  it  had  been  at- 
tempted in  this  country,  with  a  number  of  original 
and  important  modifications,  yet  it  was  not  till  some 
years  after,  when  Dr.  John  Carnochan  had  received 
great  praise  for  a  successful  operation  of  that  kind 
without  the  ingenious  modifications,  that  Dr.  Mor- 
rogh was  persuaded  to  make  public  the  fact  that  he 
had  previously  done  the  .same  thing.  With  all  his 
skill,  Dr.  Morrogh  was  so  modest  as  never  to  take 
any  steps  to  extend  his  reputation,  nor  would  he  often 
prepare  for  medical  publication  papers  describing  his 
operations. 

As  a  physician  he  excelled  in  diagnosis,  and  would 
never  give  up  a  case  until  he  thoroughly  understood 
it,  and  rarely  made  a  mistake.  During  the  war  he 
was  summoned  by  Director  Simpson  after  all  the 
great  battles  on  the  Peninsula,  at  Fredericksburg, 
Chancellorsville,  Gettysburg,  etc.,  to  assist  the  gov- 
ernment in  treating  the  wounded. 

A  part  of  the  doctor's  great  success  was  doubtless 
owing  to  his  ingenuity  and  fertility  of  resource  in 
difiiculty,  which  was  well  illustrated  upon  an  occa- 
sion where  he  saved  a  woman  from  bleeding  to  death 
by  an  instrument  which  he  devised  and  made  on  the 
spot  from  a  stair-rod  and  the  handle  of  a  whisk- 
broom.  In  the  sick-room  he  was  like  a  ray  of  sun- 
shine. There  .seemed  to  be  healing  in  his  very  pres- 
ence. The  eye  that  had  been  dull  and  the  face  that 
had  been  languid  would  brighten  at  his  approach. 
There  was  something  about  him  that  inspired  im- 
plicit confidence,  for,  while  full  of  life  and  wit,  he 
was  never  undignified.  He  did  not  rely  upon  long 
words  or  professional  utterance  to  inspire  one  with 
an  idea  of  his  importance,  but  his  very  simplicity 
conveyed  the  idea  of  power,  and  it  was  only  neces- 
sary to  mention  his  name  among  the  surgeons  of 
repute  in  New  York  to  find  in  what  estimation  he 
was  held  by  them.  Careless  of  his  own  personal 
comforts,  to  his  social  surroundings  he  was  singu- 
larly particular,  his  house,  his  offices,  his  vehicles, 
and  all  ministering  to  his  recreation ;  his  yachts  and 
boats  were  models  in  their  way  and  witnesses  to  his 
taste,  to  his  ingenuity,  and  to  his  skill.  In  fact  he 
never  undertook  anything  the  details  of  which  he  did 
not  first  master,  and  he  possessed  the  faculty,  peculiar 
to  the  few,  of  seeming  himself  to  be  instructed  while 
he  was  imparting  knowledge. 

Dr.  Morrogh  never  sought  any  public  offices.  He 
at  one  time  took  great  interest  in  the  Young  Men's 


Catholic  Association,  and  made  the  society  a  mu- 
nificent donation.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex County  and  New  Jersey  State  Medical  Socie- 
ties, and  the  week  before  his  decease  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  United  States  Medical  Association, 
which  is  to  meet  in  May,  1882,  in  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
He  was  a  director  of  the  old  State  Bank,  and  was  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  New  Brunswick  Savings-Bank, 
in  which  he  always  took  a  great  interest,  and  of  which 
he  was  at  the  time  of  his  death  vice-president,  and 
had  been  since  the  death  of  Sheriff'  Voorhees,  acting 
president. 

It  was  through  the  doctor's  influence  that  the  lots 
on  which  St.  Peter's  Church  now  stands  were  pur- 
chased. He  drew  the  plans  on  which  the  church  was 
built  (which  included  a  height  for  the  steeple  of  one 
hundred  and  ninety  feet  from  the  sidewalk  to  com- 
plete the  design),  was  appointed  treasurer,  and  issued 
bonds  to  the  amount  of  $60,000,  which  he  succeeded 
in  placing;  and  in  great  part  by  his  exertions,  when 
he  went  to  Europe  in  1868  but  a  few  thousand  dol- 
lars were  outstanding.  He  was  largely  instrumental 
in  securing  for  the  church  the  chime  of  bells,  which 
cost  $4000,  contributing  liberally  himself,  and  in- 
ducing many  of  his  Protestant  friends  to  contribute 
liberally  also.  He  also  took  much  interest  in  St. 
Peter's  Hospital,  and  gave  the  Sisters  .S3000  for  it; 
but  the  city  did  not  as  yet  need  such  an  institution, 
and  it  was  discontinued. 

Dr.  Morrogh  was  twice  married.  Of  his  father's 
large  family  he  outlived  all  but  an  elder  brother, 
a  lawyer  in  New  York. 

Following  Dr.  Morrogh's  decease  the  board  of  man- 
agers of  the  New  Brunswick  Savings  Institution  held 
a  meeting,  March  15,  1882;  the  New  Jersey  State 
Microscopical  Society  held  a  meeting  at  Rutgers  Col- 
lege, March  20,  1882 ;  and  the  District  Medical  So- 
ciety for  the  County  of  Middlesex  held  a  meeting, 
March  1-5,  1882,  and  passed  re.solutions  fitting  the 
great  loss  they  had  sustained  in  the  death  of  tlieir 
associate  and  counselor. 

Bishop  O'Farrell,  on  the  occasion  of  his  funeral, 
said  "  that  his  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Morrogh  had 
been  but  brief,  but  from  his  knowledge  of  him  he  had 
looked  forward  with  great  hope  that  he  would  be  a 
very  great  helper  to  the  church  in  New  Brunswick, 
by  the  nobility  of  his  character  in  its  example  to  the 
young,  by  the  generosity  of  his  soul  and  that  sim- 
plicity of  faith  which  is  so  admirable  in  a  man  of 
such  superior  intellectual  abilities.  Nowhere  is  such 
simple  faith  more  admirable  than  in  a  man  of  that 
profession,  whose  intimate  knowledge  of  the  wonders 
of  the  physical  frame  often  blinds  them  to  the  won- 
ders of  the  soul  and  those  higher  mysteries  which  are 
revealed  to  us  by  the  same  God  who  created  these 
wonderful  physical  frames.  When,  after  taking 
charge  of  this  diocese,  I  spoke  of  opening  a  house  for 
young  children  in  this  city,  the  first  response  I  had 
came  from  Dr.  Morrogh,  and  I  had  looked  to  him  to 


q/^^^^u.^ 


THE    MEDICAL   PROFESSION   IN   MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


527 


1)6  almost  a  father  to  those  orphans,  and  those  little 
helpless  children  would  have  had  one  who  would 
feel  as  deep  an  interest  in  them  as  a  father  in  his 
children,  and  whose  skill  and  scientific  knowledge 
would  have  been  of  great  service  to  them." 

Stephen  M.  Disbrow,  M.D. — Mr.  Disbrow  is  the 
great-grandson  of  John  Disbrow,  a  hero  of  the  Revo- 
lution, whose  son,  Nicholas  Morgan,  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Judge  Cornelius  P.  Vanderhoef  Among 
their  children  was  Andrew  J.,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  biographical  sketch,  who  married  Miss 
Margaret  R.  Searle,  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  and  had  five 
children.  One  of  this  number  was  Stephen  M.,  whose 
birth  occurred  Nov.  30,  1846,  at  Old  Bridge,  where 
his  life  until  the  age  of  seventeen  was  passed.  During 
this  period  he  improved  the  opportunities  for  educa- 
tion aflbrded  at  the  public  school,  and  also  performed 
some  labor  upon  the  farm  of  his  father.  He  then  en- 
listed as  a  soldier  in  the  Thirty-seventh  Regiment 
New  Jersey  Volunteers  for  one  hundred  days,  and 
served  in  the  trenches  in  front  of  Petersburg.  At  the 
close  of  this  period  of  service,  and  on  his  return,  he 
became  a  student  at  the  New  Jersey  Scientific  and 
Classical  Institute  at  Hightstown,  N.  J.,  where  he 
pursued  a  course  in  civil  engineering.  At  the  close 
of  his  studies  he  returned  to  his  home,  and  while  oc- 
cupied with  the  superintendence  of  the  farm  engaged 
in  practical  surveying,  having  been  appointed  deputy 
surveyor  of  East  New  Jersey,  which  position  he  still 
holds". 

Dr.  Disbrow  determined  in  1873  to  adopt  medicine 
as  a  profession,  and  began  his  studies  with  Dr.  J.  C. 
Thompson,  of  South  River,  N.  J.  He  graduated 
from  the  Bellevue  Hospital  Medical  College,  New 
York  City,  in  February,  1877,  and  during  his  term  of 
study  had  charge  of  the  almshouse,  penitentiary, 
lunatic  asylum,  and  smallpox  hospital  of  Hudson 
County,  N.  J.,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Stout,  then 
county  physician. 

He  in  1877  chose  Old  Bridge  as  a  desirable  point 
of  settlement,  and  there  began  the  practice  of  his  pro- 
fession, where  he  has  since  remained.  He  speedily, 
by  close  application,  acquired  an  extended  field  of 
labor,  and  now  enjoys  both  a  large  and  successful 
practice.  The  doctor  is  engaged  in  business  aside 
from  his  profession,  being  the  owner  of  a  general  mer- 
chandise store  at  Old  Bridge,  and  largely  interested 
in  the  culture  of  cranberries  at  Deep  Run.  He  also 
holds  the  position  of  township  physician  for  East 
Brunswick  and  Madison. 

Dr.  Disbrow  is  in  politics  a  pronounced  Republi- 
can, though  more  devoted  to  his  profession  than  to 
politics;  he  holds  the  appointment  of  notary  public 
and  also  of  commissioner  of  deeds. 

The  doctor  was  on  the  26th  of  February,  1880,  united 
in  marriage  to  Miss  Anna  Estelle,  daughter  of  Capt. 
William  Rogers,  of  Old  Bridge. 

John  C.  Thompson,  M.D.— The  father  of  Dr. 
Thompson  was  Pierson  Thompson,  a  native  of  Mon- 


mouth County,  N.  J.  In  early  life  he  married  Miss 
Eleanor  Campbell,  of  Freehold,  N.  J.,  and  settled 
near  Englishtown,  where  he  carried  on  the  business 
of  chairmaking  until  his  death  in  1851,  Mrs.  Thomp- 
son having  died  in  1842.  They  left  four  children, 
two  sons  and  two  daughters.     Their  eldest  son,  John 

C,  was  born  Sept.  27,  1828,  and  spent  his  early  years 
with  his  parents,  where  he  followed  the  usual  routine 
of  labor  and  study.  He  meanwhile  acquired  a  knowl- 
edge of  civil  engineering,  and  was  commissioned 
deputy  surveyor  to  T.  W.  Brinley,  Esq.,  then  surveyor- 
general,  and  for  years  performed  the  duties  pertaining 
to  that  position. 

In  the  mean  time,  an  opportunity  for  studying  med- 
icine having  been  kindly  ofi'ered  him  by  Dr.  Daniel 

D.  Polhemus,  of  Englishtown,  he  entered  his  office 
as  a  student  in  the  spring  of  1850,  and  remained  under 
his  instruction  for  six  years,  graduating  in  March, 
1856,  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons,  New 
York.  In  May  of  the  same  year  he  established  him- 
self at  South  River,  and  on  the  3d  of  April,  1858, 
married  Miss  JuliaL.,  daughter  of  Thomas  McDowell, 
of  that  village.  Their  only  child,  Ira  Van  Giesen, 
who  was  born  June  19,  1859,  died  Aug.  6,  1862,  his 
death  having  immediately  followed  that  of  his  mother, 
which  occurred  on  the  1st  of  the  same  month.  In 
May,  1865,  the  doctor  married  Mary  M.,  daughter  of 
D.  P.  Merrick,  of  Rahway. 

Politically,  Dr.  Thompson  is  a  Democrat,  though 
he  feels  little  interest  in  party  struggles  and  is  never 
a  participant  in  those  contests.  He  has  for  many 
years  been  a  member  of  the  Middlesex  County  Medi- 
cal Society,  and  has  attained  an  enviable  rank  in  his 
profession,  his  reputation  being  extended  rather  than 
local.  Since  his  first  settlement  in  South  River  his 
professional  skill  has  been  greatly  in  demand,  and  his 
practice  now  reaches  far  beyond  the  confines  of  his 
own  county.  This  is  due  no  less  to  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  science  of  which  he  is  an  exponent  than 
to  untiring  devotion  to  the  interest-i  of  the  commu- 
nity in  which  he  resides.  The  doctor  has  no  chil- 
dren. 

De.  John  C.  Barron,  of  New  York,  who  pos- 
sesses an  experience  and  record  as  surgeon  in  the  late 
war  of  which  he  may  well  feel  proud,  was  born  in 
Woodbridge,  Middlesex  Co.,  in  1837,  and  this  county 
having  been  his  home  until  the  beginning  of  the  war 
he  is  entitled  to  notice  in  connection  with  the  medical 
profession  of  this  county.  For  a  full  sketch  of  his 
life  see  biography  of  the  Barron  family  of  Wood- 
bridge. 

Henry  R.  Baldwin  was  born  in  the  city  of  New 
Y'ork,  Sept.  18,  1829,  and  is  the  son  of  Eli  Baldwin, 
M.D.,  D.D.,  and  Pliabe  Van  Nest.  He  received  his 
early  education  in  the  schools  of  New  York,  prepared 
for  college  at  Rutgers  College  Grammar  School, 
graduated  at  Rutgers  College  in  1849,  studied  medi- 
cine, and  took  his  degree  at  the  College  of  Physicians 
in  the  city  of  New  York  in  1853.     The  same  year  he 


528  HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


entered  Bellevue  Hospital  as  interne,  and  after  leaving  | 
the  hospital  practiced  about  eight  months  on  Staten  j 
Island,  when  he  became  surgeon  of  the  steamship  i 
"  Baltic." 

On  Dec.  27,  1855,  he  settled  in  New  Brunswick, 
where  he  married  Elizabeth  V.  C.  Rutgers,  and  has 
had  eight  children,  five  sons  and  three  daughters,  of 
whom  three  sons  and  two  daughters  still  survive. 

Dr.  Baldwin's  career  as  a  practitioner  has  been  re- 
markably successful.     But  as  he  is  still  in  the  prime 
of  life,  and  his  practice  has  not  yet  probably  attained  ; 
its   maximum   extent  and   usefulness,   it   would    be  j 
premature  to  speak  of  it  more  fully  here.     He  is  a 
permanent  member  of  the  American  Medical  Associ-  j 
ation,  has  been  president  and  treasurer  of  the  State 
Medical  Society,  and  president  of  the  District  Medi- 
cal Society  of  the  county  of  Middlesex. 

As  a  citizen  he  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the 
local  municipal  government  and  in  affairs  of  public 
interest  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  having  been 
identified  with  the  establishment  of  the  water-works, 
and  for  twelve  years  a  member  of  its  board,  also  of 
the  board  of  aldermen  and  chosen  freeholders,  and 
for  seventeen  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick. 

Dr.  Baldwin  has  instructed  about  forty  students  in 
medicine  during  the  twenty-six  years  of  his  practice 
in  New  Brunswick. 

LIST   OF  DECEASED    I'HYSICIANS. 


AuRustus  R.  Taylor,  New  Brans- 
wick. 

William  Van  Deiirsen,  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

John  Van  Dnursen,  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

David  Clark  Van  Deursen,  New- 
Brunswick. 

James  Anderson,!  New  Brunswick. 

Jacob  T.  B.  Skillman,  New  Bruns- 


wick. 


Br 


Nicholas  Kaimmer,  Ni 
wick. 

Charles  Dunham,  New  Brunswick. 

William   Campbell,!  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

John    Adams  Pool,!  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

J.  Hatfield    Smith,!  New    Bruns- 
wick. 

Theodore      Ilardenbergh,       New 
Brunswick. 

John  Neilsou,!  New  Brunswick. 

Ealph  Mnndy,!  New  Brunswick. 

Peter  Joseph  O'Neil,!  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

Frederick  Baker,!  New  Brunswick. 

William    Waldrou,!   New    Bruns- 
wick. 

John  De  Motte,  New  Brunswick. 

A.  C.  Booracni,!  New  Brunswick. 

Richard  Manly,!  New  lirunswick. 


Latham,  New  Brunswick. 

David  C.  English,  New  Brunswick. 
Selah  Gulick,  Cranbury. 
Hezekiah  States,  Cranbury. 
Ralph  P.  Lott,  Cranbury. 
William  P.  Lott,  Cranbury. 
John  W.  Lott,  Cranbury. 
Nehemiah  Ludlum,  Cranbury. 

Clow,  Cranbury. 

H.  B.  Lefferts,  Spots'wood. 
Cornelius  Johnson,  Spotswood. 

C.  McKnight  Smith,  Amboy. 
Solomon  Andrews,  Sr.,  Amboy. 

S.  St.  John  SmiU],  Amboy. 

Solomon  Andrews,  Jr.,  Amboy. 

Henry  M.  Stone,  Amboy. 

George  Stout,  South  Amboy. 

Henry  B.  Poole,  Washington,  S.  R. 

W.  S.  Willis,  Old  Bridge. 

A.  N.  Knapen,  Jamesburg  (U.  S. 
I  Navy). 

Knight,  Metuchen. 

Robinson  Mundy,  Metuchen. 

Lewis  A.  Hall,  Metuchen. 

Runyon,  New  Market. 

Coriell,  New  Market. 

Matthias  Freeman,  Woodbridge. 

Ellis  B.  Freeman,  Woodbridge. 

Siimuel  Abernethy,  Kaliway. 

Clitlord  T.  Morrogh,  New  Bruns- 


'  Never  piucticed  he 


CHAPTER    LXXI. 

THE    PRESS    OF    MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 

The  Guardian  and  New  Brunswick  Advertiser 

was  established  by  Abraham  Blauvelt  in  1792.  The 
paper  was  a  zealous  Federal  organ,  and  one  of  the 
oldest  and  best  [lapers  then  published  in  the  country. 
In  addition  to  home  news,  carefully  selected  foreign 
intelligence,  etc.,  it  had  unusually  able  correspond- 
ents, and  their  articles  would  compare  favorably  with 
the  best  found  in  the  leading  papers  of  the  country 
to-day.  It  evidently  was  extensively  circulated  in 
Monmouth,  Somerset,  and  adjoining  counties,  as  seen 
by  its  advertisements.  The  number  for  Dec.  24, 
1799,  is  in  deep  mourning  for  the  death  of  Wash- 
ington. 

Abraham  Blauvelt,  the  publisher  of  this  paper,  was 
one  of  the  most  enterprising  of  the  early  citizens  of 
New  Brunswick.  He  died  about  1834.  He  was  born 
in  Rockhind  County,  N.  Y.,  near  Old  Tappan,  and 
also,  in  connection  with  his  newspaper  business,  was 
to  some  extent  a  book  publisher.  He  married  Jane, 
daughter  of  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
had  the  following-named  children  :  Cornelius,'  who 
was  a  physician  in  Paterson,  N.  J. ;  Helen,  who  died 
young  ;  John  Scott  Blauvelt,  a  lawyer  in  New  Bruns- 
wick ;  Charles,  a  physician  of  Hightstown,  N.  J. ; 
and  Isaac  Alston,  a  teacher  by  profession. 

Mrs.  John  Scott  Blauvelt,  whose  maiden  name  was 
Mary  Boggs,  Robert  Boggs,  James  Lawrence,  Jane 
Mitchel,  and  Frances  Brenton  Blauvelt  are  the  sur- 
viving descendants  in  New  Brunswick. 

Under  the  head  of  the"  City  of  New  Brunswick  in 
1799"  will  be  found  many  interesting  items  taken  from 
an  old  file  of  The  Guardian,  or  New  Brunswick  Ad- 
vertiser, for  that  day.  We  take  from  the  columns  of 
this  paper,  September,  1816,  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Albert  L.  Blue,  of  The  Home  News,  the  following 
cut  and  facsimile  of  the  advertisement  of  one  of  the 
sailing  packets  plying  between  New  Brunswick  and 
New  York  before  the  days  of  railroads  and  steam 
navigation.     (See  page  529.) 

The  New  Brunswick  Fredonian  was  established 
on  the  10th  of  April,  1811,  by  the  brothers  James  and 
David  Fitz  Randolph,  who  were  born  in  the  township 
of  Piscataway,  Middlesex  County.  They  served  an 
apprenticeship  to  tlie  printing  bu.siness  in  the  office  of 
the  Gazette,  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  and  were  but  little 
past  their  majority  when  they  commenced  the  publi- 
cation of  the  Fredonian.  The  paper  was  at  first 
printed  on  a  medium  sheet,  issued  weekly,  and  pre- 
sented a  creditable  typographical  appearance,  the 
Randolphs  being  good  practical  printers  in  their 
day.  The  Randolphs  were  earnest  Republicans  of 
the  Jeffersonian  type,  and  advocated  the  principles 

1  Father  of  the  Rev.  William  Blauvelt,  D.D.,  of  Lamington.N.  J.,  who 
has  been  in  the  pastorate  of  the  Prcsbyteiian  Church  there  over  fifty 


THE   PRESS    OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY. 


529 


of  that  party  in  the  Fredonian,  which  at  once  took 
high  rank  in  importance  and  influence  in  the  State, 
the  paper  circulating  largely  in  all  the  counties. 
The  editorials  were  mainly  written  by  James  F. 
Randolph,  were  models  in  style,  terse,  vigorous, 
and  brief,  full  of  the  advanced  and  cultivated 
thought  of  the  day,  and  in  consequence  were  quoted 


sharing  equally  the  emoluments  of  any  oflice  or 
business  in  which  either  of  them  was  engaged. 
They  did  not  confine  their  labors  solely  to  the  print- 
ing business,  but  also  engaged  in  other  mercantile 
affairs  a  large  portion  of  the  time  of  their  con- 
nection with  the  Fredonian.  During  the  years 
1828,  '29,  '30,  '31,  and  '32,  James   was   a   member 


yew-Brunswick  &  New-  York  Packet 

BRUIMSW/cj^;; 


THE  Subscribers  inform  the  public,  that  they  have  commenced  running,  as  a 
regular  Packet,  between  this  City  and  New- York, 

THE  NEW  SLOOP  BRUNSWICK, 

A.  DEGRAW,  MASTER. 

She  will  sail,  (wind  and  weather  permitting)  every  Tuesday  from  Flagg  and  Degraw's 

wharf,  New-Brunswick  ;  and  every  Friday  from  the  White-Hall  wharf, 

New-York.     The  most  assiduous  attention  will  be  paid  to  all 

Orders  for  or  with  freight,  and  every  convenience  and 

comfort  in  the  power  of  the  Master  will  be 

afforded   to    passengers,  the    vessel 

having  good  accommodations. 

J.  C.  Van  Dyke, 
Flagg  &  Degraw. 
New- Brunswick,  Sept.  l8l6. 

N.B.  Coarse  and  Fine  Salt,  Plaister  of  Paris,  Sic.  (at  New-York  prices,  adding  freight) 
for  sale  ;  and  the  highest  price  given  for  Corn  and  Produce  generally,  at  Flagg  &  De- 
graw's Store,  on  the  wharf  next  below  the  bridge. 


largely  in  other  newspapers,  and  made  their  mark 
upon  the  times.  The  brothers  were  active  in  all  the 
social,  religious,  and  political  movements  in  town, 
county,  and  State,  and  frequently  filled  places  of 
honor  and  trust  in  the  community.  They  were 
honored  with  such  oflSces  as  alderman,  justice  of 
the  peace,  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
mayor,  county   clerk,  postmaster,  etc.,  the   brothers 


of  Congress,  and  took  an  important  part  in  the  de- 
bates therein.  In  consequence  of  a  growing  deaf- 
ness he  resigned  his  seat  in  Congress  in  1832.  He 
continued  very  deaf  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  About  the  year  1848  James  went  to  Easton, 
Pa.,  to  reside,  and  there  engaged  in  the  wholesale 
coal  busine.ss,  in  which  he  succeeded  in  accumula- 
ting a   handsome   fortune.      He    still   continued   to 


530 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


write  the  leading  editorials  of  the  Fredonian,  which 
were  regularly  forwarded  to  it  each  week  until  the 
paper  passed  out  of  the  hands  of  the  Randolphs,  in 
1854.  James  was  the  father  of  Theodore  F.  Ran- 
dolph, Governor  of  New  Jersey  from  1869  to  1872. 
During  the  period  that  the  Fredonian  was  published 
by  the  Randolphs  the  paper  supported  the  national 
administrations  of  Presidents  Madison,  Monroe,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  Harrison,  Taylor,  and  Fillmore,  ad- 
vocating the  doctrines  of  the  Whig  party  during  the 
whole  period  that  party  was  in  existence.  The 
brothers  were  model  citizens,  and  highly  respected 
wherever  known.  David  died  in  New  Brunswick  in 
1863,  and  James  at  Easton,  Pa.,  in  1872.  After  pub- 
lishing the  Fredonian  for  a  period  of  forty-three 
years,  the  establishment  was  sold  to  John  F.  Bab- 
cock  on  the  12th  of  April,  1854,  Mr.  Babcock 
having  occupied  a  subordinate  position  in  the  office 
during  the  previous  fifteen  months.  While  the  Ran- 
dolphs published  the  Fredonian  very  little  attention 
was  given  to  the  publication  of  local  news,  their 
efforts  having  been  almost  solely  directed  to  State 
and  national  affairs.  Under  the  editorship  of  Mr. 
Babcock  the  character  of  the  paper  was  materially 
changed.  Believing  that  the  people  of  the  county 
and  vicinity  were  more  interested  in  matters  occur- 
ring immediately  around  them,  the  new  editor  de- 
voted his  attention  mainly  to  the  collection  and  pub- 
lication of  local  news,  national  and  foreign  matters 
having  only  a  secondary  importance  in  the  paper. 
This  change  proved  to  be  a  popular  one,  and  a  large 
increase  in  the  number  of  subscribers  followed,  its 
present  list  not  being  exceeded  by  more  than  three 
or  four  newspapers  in  the  State.  Local  news  still 
continues  to  occupy  the  largest  share  of  space  in  its 
columns.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  Republican 
party  the  Fredonian  at  once  adopted  its  leading 
principles,  and  its  editorial  and  political  columns 
have  ever  since  been  in  harmony  with  them.  The 
Weekly  Fredonian  for  many  years  of  late  was  printed 
on  a  sheet  twenty-eight  by  forty-two  inches  in  size, 
and  with  its  fi'equent  supplements  furnished  a  large 
amount  of  reading  matter  during  each  year, — more 
than  the  majority  of  the  weekly  newspapers  in  the 
State.  The  weekly  edition  of  the  Fredonian  was  dis- 
continued in  April,  1882,  and  its  place  supplied  by  the 
Semi-  Weekly  Fredonian,  published  every  Tuesday  and 
Friday,  for  two  dollars  a  year  in  advance.  The  Semi- 
Weekly  Fredonian  is  printed  on  a  sheet  twenty-four 
by  thirty-eight  inches  in  size,  eight  columns  on  a 
page,  and  has  become  even  more  popular  with  its 
readers  than  the  Weekly  Fredonian,  because  of  the 
large  amount  of  reading  matter  furnished  and  its 
frequent  issues. 

On  Jan.  15,  1S55,  Mr.  Babcock  commenced  the 
publication  of  a  daily  evening  paper,  which  was  at 
first  called  Tlie  Daily  New  Brunsioicker.  Tlie  title 
was  changed  in  1857  to  the  Daily  Fredonian,  which 
it  has  ever  since  maintained.     The  Dailv  Fredonian 


possesses   the   same   general   characteristics   as  the 

Weekly  and  Semi-  Weekly  Fredonian ,  mentioned  above, 
being  devoted  largely  to  local  affairs  and  Republican 
in  politics.  It  is  printed  on  a  sheet  twenty-four  by 
thirty-eight  inches  in  size,  eight  columns  on  a  page, 
and  sold  for  three  cents  a  single  copy,  or  six  dollars  a 
year  in  advance.  It  has  a  large  and  growing  circula- 
tion. 

In  connection  with  the  Fredonian  office  is  a  large 
book  and  job  printery,  with  four  steam-power  presses 
and  all  the  appliances  of  a  modern  printing  establish- 
ment, which  is  located  at  No.  36  Dennis  Street. 

T/ie  Targum,  a  sixteen-page  monthly  paper,  edited 
by  the  students  of  Rutgers  College,  and  conducted  in 
their  interest,  is  printed  and  published  at  the  Fredo- 
nian office. 

In  the  summer  of  1856,  David  N.  Merritt  bought 
an  interest  in  the  Fredonian  establishment,  and  the 
business  was  conducted  under  the  firm-name  of  "  Bab- 
cock &  Merritt"  until  the  spring  of  1861,  when  Mr. 
Merritt  retired  from  the  concern. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  1869,  Samuel  L.  Johnson 
purchased  an  interest  in  the  office,  and  the  business 
was  conducted  under  the  firm-name  of  "  Babcock  & 
Johnson"  until  April,  1879,  when  Mr.  Johnson  re- 
tired, and  the  business  continued  since  then  by  John 
F.  Babcock  alone. 

John  F.  Babcock,  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Neiv  Brunswick  Fredonian,  was  born  in  New  York 
City,  Aug.  20,  1825,  the  only  son  of  John  Babcock 
and  Sarah  Patch.  The  progenitor  of  the  Babcock 
family  here  was  one  of  the  Roger  Williams  colonists 
in  Rhode  Island,  and  his  ancestors  were  among  the 
earliest  settlersof  Springfield  and  Northampton,  Mass. 

His  grandfather,  Elisha  Babcock,  resided  at  North- 
ampton, was  a  chair  manufacturer,  and  reared  all  his 
sons  to  the  same  business.  He  served  seven  years  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  and  at  the  advanced  age  of 
ninety-four  years  died  about  1842.  His  wife  was  a 
Miss  Windwell  Burt.  John,  son  of  Elisha  Babcock, 
born  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  married  Sarah  Patch, 
and  soon  after  his  marriage,  in  1824,  settled  in  New 
York  City,  where  he  established  the  business  of  chair- 
making  and  fancy  chair-painting  on  John  Street. 
His  business  career  was  prematurely  cut  short  by  his 
death  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  years,  on  May  30, 1826. 
His  widow  and  son  John  F.  removed  west,  where  she 
was  afterwards  married  again,  and  resided  until 
her  death,  which  occurred  at  Cambridge,  Mich.,  in 
1873.  The  son,  John  F.,  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch, 
and  at  the  age  of  fifteen  came  to  Dansville,  N.  Y.,  and 
for  four  years  was  an  apprentice  in  learning  the  print- 
ing business.  He  went  to  New  York  City  in  1844, 
where  he  was  connected  with  the  Home  Journal  pub- 
lishing office,  and  became  foreman  and  private  secre- 
tary for  the  publishers,  Morris  &  Willis.  In  1850 
he  went  into  the  phonetic  office  of  that  city,  where  he 
remained  for  two  years,  and  for  several  years  there- 
after he  was  the  only  phonographer  in  the  State  of 


>^^  7?  ^'tZ/tc.<?u,^^ 


THE   PRESS   OF   MIDDLESEX    COUNTY. 


531 


New  Jersey.  Mr.  Babcock  had  by  this  time  become 
thoroughly  conversant  with  publishing,  and  desiring 
to  be  master  of  his  own  pen  he  came  to  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1852,  and  for  two  years  was  tlie  superintend- 
ent and  foreman  in  the  Fredonian  office.  On  April 
12,  1854,  he  purchased  this  paper,  and  has  remained 
its  editor  and  proprietor  since,  a  period  of  twenty- 
eight  years.  Under  Mr.  Babcock's  management  the 
circulation  of  the  Fredonian  has  increased  from  three 
hundred  and  fifty  to  twenty-three  hundred  sub- 
scribers, and  for  many  years  has  been  not  only  one 
of  the  largest  local  papers,  but  has  wielded  an  influ- 
ence second  to  none  in  the  State.  He  is  a  logical, 
terse,  spirited  writer,  and  his  editorials  and  the  whole 
tone  of  his  paper  are  intended  to  place  before  his 
readers  facts,  and  serve  as  an  educator  in  all  that 
pertains  to  locality.  State,  and  nation. 

Mr.  Babcock  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  State 
Editorial  Association  in  1857,  secretary  of  the  same 
for  twenty-one  years,  treasurer  for  three  years,  and  was 
elected  its  president  in  January,  1882.  Since  his  resi- 
dence in  New  Brunswick  he  has  been  prominently 
identified  with  the  Republican  party,  and  through  his 
newspaper  has  unflinchingly  advocated  its  principles 
of  reform,  not  hesitating  to  criticise  its  measures  when 
opposed  to  justice  and  right. 

Mr.  Babcock  served  the  city  as  clerk  in  1859-60, 
and  was  secretary  of  the  New  Jersey  Senate  for  four 
years,  1861-64.  He  was  united  in  marriage  on  May 
1,  1851,  to  Gertrude  Ann,  daughter  of  William  Wil- 
liamson, of  Franklin  township,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J., 
by  whom  he  has  one  son,  F.  Ford  Babcock,  foreman  of 
the  Fredonian  news-room,  and  one  daughter,  Emily 
Augusta  Babcock. 

The  New  Brunswick  Times  and  General  Ad- 
vertiser was  started  June  1,  1815,  and  was  "  iirinted 
and  published  every  Thursday  morning  by  Deare  & 
Myer  at  '  Washington's  Head,'  New  Brunswick,  New 
Jersey."  Its  introductory  editorial  speaks  of  the 
growing  importance  of  New  Brunswick  as  a  com- 
mercial and  manufacturing  town,  and  of  the  de- 
mands for  the  publication  of  a  newspaper.  It  was 
"  published  at  the  rate  of  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents 
per  annum,  payable  at  the  expiration  of  six  months 
from  the  time  of  receiving  the  first  paper  after  sub- 
scribing." The  publishers  announce  that  they  are 
"  attached  to  and  the  paper  is  conducted  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  Federal-Republican  party."  Mr.  Gordon 
has  a  number  of  The  Times  (vol.  ii.,  whole  No.  71), 
dated  Oct.  3,  1816. 

At  what  date  The  Times  passed  into  the  hands 
of  Mr.  Albert  R.  Speer  we  have  not  been  able  to  as- 
certain, but  he  continued  to  conduct  the  paper  until 
bis  death  in  1869.  He  was  an  able  and  influential 
journalist  and  a  Democrat  of  the  Jeffersonian  school, 
except  for  a  brief  period  subsequent  to  1846,  when  he 
espoused  Free-Soil  principles  and  turned  over  his 
paper  to  the  advocacy  of  that  faction  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party.     This  gave  occasion  for  the  establish- 


ment of  the  New  Jersey  Union  as  a  regular  Democratic 
organ  by  Alphonso  E.  Gordon  in  the  latter  part  of 
May,  1847. 

Alphonso  E.  Gordon  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
March  12,  1826,  and  learned  the  printer's  trade  in  the 
office  of  The  Delaware  State  Journal,  at  Wilmington, 
Del.  He  was  just  past  twenty-one,  and  was  engaged 
in  The  Emporium  office,  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  when  the 
opening  occurred  for  starting  the  new  Democratic 
paper,  the  Union,  at  New  Brunswick.  He  imme- 
diately repaired  thither,  and  issued  the  first  number 
late  in  May,  1847. 

First  Daily  in  New  Brunswick. — Tl>e  Daily  News 
was  started  by  Mr.  Gordon  in  March,  1851.  It  was 
conducted  by  him  in  connection  with  the  New  Jersey 
Union  until  February,  1855,  when  The  Times,  under 
Mr.  Spear,  having  returned  to  its  "  first  love,"  and 
there  being  two  Democratic  papers  in  the  city,  Mr. 
Gordon  sold  the  good  will  of  both  the  daily  and 
weekh'  to  Mr.  Speer,  and  removed  his  printing  mate- 
rials to  Grand  Rapids,  Mich.  The  Daily  Neu's  and 
New  Jersey  Union  were  then  merged  with  The  Times, 
which  latter  Mr.  Speer  conducted  till  his  death,  as 
mentioned  above,  when  The  Timers  was  sold  to  Hon. 
William  B.  Guild,  then,  as  now,  of  the  Newark  Jour- 
nal, who  started  the  Daily  Times  in  November,  1869. 

Dec.  28,  1871,  Alphonso  E.  Gordon  bought  The 
Times  establishment,  and  has  since  conducted  the 
Daily  and  Weekly  Times. 

The  Home  News  (Daily)  was  started  Feb.  1, 1879, 
by  Albert  L.  Blue  and  .Joseph  Fischer,  as  a  penny 
daily  paper,  in  Hope's  building,  Hiram  Street,  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.  It  started  with  an  issue  of  seven 
hundred  copies. 

Summary. — The  papers  now  published  in  the 
count}'  are  the  following,  viz. ; 

The  New  Brunswick  Fredonian.  New  Brunswick. 
Daily  and  weekly.  The  weekly  was  first  issued  April 
10,  1811;  the  daily,  Jan.  15,  1855.  The  daily  pub- 
lished in  the  afternoon,  the  weekly  on  Thursday. 
Dai ly,S6;  weekly,  .S2.  Republican.  John  F.  Babcock, 
Dec.  15,  1852,  editor  and  proprietor.  Edward  Tin- 
dell,  1863,  local  editor.  Abraham  B.  Buzzee,  1849, 
accountant. 

Tlie  New  Brunswick  Times.  New  Brunswick.  Daily 
and  weekly.  The  weekly  was  first  issued  in  1815,  the 
daily  in  October,  1869.  Daily  published  in  the  after- 
noon, the  weekly  on  Thursday.  Daily,  S7 ;  weekly, 
$1.50.  Democratic.  Alphonso  E.  Gordon,  Dec.  28, 
1871. 

The  Targum.  New  Brunswick.  Monthly.  First 
issued  January,  1869.  $1.50  per  year.  Devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  students  of  Rutgers  College. 
Edited  by  students.  Published  by  the  Targum  Asso- 
ciation. Walter  D.  Hasbrouck,  1879,  business  man- 
ager. 

jiFiddlesex  County  Democrat.  Perth  Amboy.  Weekly. 
First  issue  May  23, 1868.  Published  on  Saturday.  $2 
per  year.     Democratic.     Henry  Farmer,  1868. 


532 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  Independent  Hour.  Woodbridge.  Weekly.  First 
issued  April  13,  1876.  Published  on  Thursday.  $2 
per  year.     Independent.     Peter  K.  Edgar,  1879. 

The  Home  News.  New  Brunswick.  Daily.  First 
issued  Feb.  1,  1879.  Published  in  the  afternoon.  S3 
per  year.  Independent.  Hugh  Boyd,  November, 
1879. 


CHAPTER    LXXII. 

.MIDDLESEX    COUNTY    CIVIL    LIST. 

Members  of  the  Legislature  from  Middlesex 
County. — The  records  of  the  Council  from  1082  to 
1750  are  not  to  be  found  at  Trenton,  either  printed  or 
in  manuscript,  nor  those  for  the  years  from  1750  to 
1776.  The  records  of  the  Assembly  are  imperfect  up 
to  1740,  previous  to  which  time  the  only  ones  extant 
are  those  for  the  years  1710,  1716,  1723,  1733,  and 
1738.  On  the  2d  of  July,  1776,  the  State  Constitu- 
tion was  adopted,  from  which  time  forward  we  find 
perfect  minutes  of  the  proceedings  of  the  Legislature. 
The  present  constitution,  ratified  by  the  people  Aug. 
13,  1844,  changed  the  title  of  the  Upper  House  from 
Council  to  Senate,  and  the  term  of  service  of  senators 
from  one  to  three  years.  Several  amendments  to  the 
constitution  were  ratified  by  the  people  Sept.  7,  1875. 

MEMBERS   OF   COUNCIL   AND   SENATE. 


1760.  James  Hude. 
1776.  John  Wetherill. 
1777-79.  Jonatban  Deare. 
1780.  Benjamin  Manning. 
1781-82.  John  Beatly. 
1783.  Benjamin  Manning. 
1784-85.  Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 
1786-87.  Samuel  Randolph. 
1788.  Benjamin  Manning. 
1789-94.  Samuel  Randolph. 

1795.  Ephraim  Martin. 

1796.  Samuel  F.  Randolph. 

1797.  Ephraim  Martin. 
1798-99.  Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 
1800-5.  Ephraim  Martin. 
180G-7.  Ercurius  Beatty. 

1808.  James  Schurenian. 

1809.  Ercurius  Beatty. 

1810.  James  Schurenian. 

1811.  John  James. 

1812.  James  Schureman. 

1813.  John  Neilson. 
1814-17.  Ercurius  Beatty. 

1818.  John  N.  Simpson. 

1819.  James  T.  Dunn. 
18i!0.  Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 
1821.  James  T.  Dunn. 


1822.  Ercurius  Beatty. 
1823-24.  Robert  McChesney. 

1825.  William  Edgar.     ' 

1826.  Robert  McChesney. 
1827-23.  James  T.  Dunn. 

1829.  James  Cook. 

1830.  Samuel  Edgar. 

1831.  Robert  McChesney. 

1832.  John  T.  McDowell. 

1833.  Josiah  B.  Howell. 

1834.  Andrew  Snowhill. 
1836.  John  Perrine,  Jr. 
1836-39.  George  T.  McDowell. 
1840-44.  David  P.  Appleget. 
1842-44.  Abraham  W.  Brown. 
1845-48.  David  Crowell. 
18471-49.  Adam  Lee. 
1850-62.  Edward  Y.  Rogers. 
1853-.55.  Ralph  C.  Stulta. 
1856-68.  Henry  V.  Speer. 
1850-61.  Abraham  Everitt. 
1862-70.  Amos  Robbins. 
1871-76.  Levi  D.  Jarrard. 
1877-79.  George  0.  Ludlow,  Gov- 

1880-82.  Isaac  L.  Martin. 


REPRESENTATIVES   IN    THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 
1710.  Thomas  Farmer.  1723.3  John  Kinsey. 

Adam  Hude.  Moses  Rolpti, 


1716.2  Charles  Morgan. 
John  Kinsey. 


1733.4  Joiin  Kinsey,  Speak e 
James  Hude. 


constitution  changed  from  Council  to  Senate,  and  elected 


1  Under 
for  three ; 

2  No  names  recorded  from  1710  np  to  1716 
»No  names  recorded  from  1716  to  1723. 

4  No  names  recorded  from  1723  to  1733, 


1738 

fi  James  Hude. 

1776 

John  Coombs. 

Edward  Antill. 

Daniel  Moores. 

1740 

fi  Thomas  Fai-mer. 

Benjamin  Manning. 

Roliert  Hnde. 

1777 

Benjamin  Manning. 

1741 

Thomas  Farmer. 

Matthias  Baker. 

Robert  Hude. 

Jacob  Vandike. 

1742 

Thomas  Farmer. 

1778 

Benjamin  Manning, 

Robert  Hude. 

Jacob  Schenck. 

1743 

Thomas  Farmer. 

Ebenezer  Ford. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

1779 

John  Neilson. 

1744 

Robert  Hude. 

Thomas  Steele. 

William  Ouke. 

Matthias  Baker. 

1745 

John  Heard. 

1780 

Jacob  Schenck. 

John  Moores. 

Jacob  Suydam. 

1746 

John  Heard. 

Melancttion  Freeman, 

Philip  Kearney. 

1781 

Jacob  Suydam. 

1747 

John  Heard. 

Jacob  Martin. 

Philip  Kearney. 

John  Conger. 

1748 

Jolin  Wetherill. 

1782 

Jacob  Snydam. 

James  Smith. 

John  Conger. 

1749 

John  Wetherill. 

John  Combs. 

James  Smith. 

1783 

John  Combs. 

1750 

John  Wetherill. 

James  Schuremau. 

James  Smith. 

Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 

1751 

John  Wetherill. 

1784 

John  Combs. 

Shobald  Smith. 

James  Shureman. 

1752 

John  Wetherill. 

Moses  Bloomfield. 

Shobald  Smith. 

1785 

John  Combs. 

1763 

John  Wetherill. 

James  Shureman. 

Shobald  Smith. 

James  Bonny. 

1754 

John  Wetherill. 

1786 

John  Combs. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

James  Bonny. 

1755 

John  Wetherill. 

James  Douglass. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

1787 

John  Combs, 

1766 

John  Wetherill. 

James  Bunny. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

James  Douglass. 

1757 

John  Wetherill. 

1788 

John  Combs. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

James  Schureman. 

1758 

John  Wetherill. 

Melancthon  Freeman. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

1789 

James  Bonny. 

1759 

John  Wetherill. 

John  Beatty,  Speaker. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

Thomas  McDowell. 

1760 

John  Wetherill. 

1790 

Thomas  McDowell. 

Samuel  Nevill,  Speaker. 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

1761 

John  Wetherill. 

John  Runyon. 

Samuel  Nevill,  Speaker. 

1791 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

1762 

John  Wetherdl. 

John  Runyon. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

Johu  Combs. 

1763 

John  Wetherill. 

1792 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

John  Rttttoon. 

1764 

John  Wetherill. 

Thomas  McDowell. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

1793 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

1766 

John  Wetherill. 

John  Rattoon. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

Thomas  McDowell, 

1766 

John  Wetherill. 

1794 

Peter  Vredenburgh, 

Samuel  Nevill. 

James  Morgan. 

1767 

John  Wetherill. 

Benjamin  Manning. 

Reune  Ruuyon. 

1795 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

1768 

.Tohn  Wetherill. 

James  Morgan. 

Reune  Runyon. 

Benjamiu  Manning, 

1769 

John  Wetherill. 

1796 

James  Morgan, 

Reune  Runyon. 

Thomas  McDowell. 

1770 

John  Wetherill. 

Joseph  F.  Randolph. 

Reune  Runyon. 

1797 

James  Morgan. 

1771 

John  Wetherill. 

Gershom  Dunn. 

Reniie  Runyon. 

Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 

1772 

John  Wetherill. 

1798. 

James  Morgan, 

Reune  Runyon. 

Gershom  Dunn. 

1773. 

John  Wetherill. 

Thomiis  McDowell. 

Johu  Moores. 

1799. 

James  Moigan. 

1774. 

John  Wetherill. 

Geixhom  Dunn. 

John  Moores. 

Thomas  McDowell. 

1775. 

John  Wetherill. 

1800 

William  Edgar. 

Azariah  Duuhnm. 

Gerslium  Dunn, 

&  Nn  iianiee  reported  from  1733  to  1738. 
«  No  names  reported  from  1738  to  1740. 


middlesp:x  county  civil  list. 


533 


1800.  John  Neilson. 

1826,  John  T,  McDowell, 

1846.  Simeon  W.  Phillips. 

1864.  Miles  Ross. 

1801.  Gershi.Di  Dunn, 

James  T,  Dunn. 

Ralph  C.  Stults. 

David  B.  Wyckoff. 

John  Neilson. 

1827,  Charles  Carson, 

1847.  Theodore  F.  King. 

Abraham  C.  Coriell. 

Erkurina  Beatty. 

James  Parker, 

Richard  McDowell. 

1865,  Abraham  C,  Coriell. 

1802.  Gerehom  Dunn. 

Andrew  Suowliill, 

Garret  G.  Voorhees. 

Levi  D.  Jarrard. 

Erknria3  Beatty. 

1828,  Charles  Cal-son, 

John  A.  Davison. 

James  C,  Goble. 

John  Combs. 

Andrew  Snowhill. 

1848.  Richard  McDowell. 

1866,  Levi  D,  Jarrard. 

1803.  Gersliom  Dunn. 

Nicholas  Booraem, 

Melancthon  F.  Carman. 

Nathan  H.  Tizrell. 

Erkurias  Beatty. 

1829,  Littleton  Kirkpatrick, 

Lewis  S.  Randolph. 

John  Perrine. 

James  Voorhees. 

Abraham  Cruser, 

Aaron  Gulick. 

1867,  Levi  D.  Jarrard, 

1804.  Gershom  Dunn. 

Josiah  B,  Howell, 

1849.  Lewis  S.  Randolph. 

Nathan  H,  Tizrell, 

Erkurias  Beatty. 

1830,  John  T,  McDowell, 

Aaron  Gulick, 

John  W.  Perrine, 

James  Voorhees. 

Charles  G,  McChesney, 

William  A,  Gulick, 

1868.  George  E,  Strong, 

1805.  Erkurias  Beatty. 

Lewis  Randolph, 

1850,  James  Bishop, 

Alfred  W,  Jones, 

James  Voorhees. 

Abraham  Cruser, 

Henry  Van  Dyke, 

William  M.  Cox. 

Andrew  Elstone. 

1831,  John  T.  McDowell, 

Charles  Abraham, 

1869.  Levi  D,  Jarrard, 

1806.  James  Voorhees. 

Charles  G,  McChesney, 

Israel  R,  Coriell. 

Alfred  W.  Jones. 

James  Parker. 

Lewis  S,  Randolph, 

1851.  Ralph  M.  Crowell. 

William  M.  Cox. 

Alexander  Dunn. 

Davhl  W,  Vail, 

David  Dunn. 

1870.  Levi  D.  Jarrard. 

1807.  James  Voorhees. 

1832.  David  W.  Vail, 

Peter  W.  Dey, 

Albert  L.  Kunyon. 

James  Parker. 

John  H,  Disborough. 

John  B.  Johnson. 

George  E.  Brown. 

Ale.\nnder  Dunn. 

Henry  Van  Dyke. 

1852.  Ralph  M.  Crowell. 

1871.  Albert  L.  Runyon. 

1808.  James  Parker. 

Simon  Mundy. 

Josephus  Shann. 

Isaac  L.  Fisher. 

James  Voorhees. 

1833.  John  M.  Tufts. 

James  Applegate, 

Edward  F.  Roberts. 

George  Boice. 

.\braham  W.  Brown. 

1853,  Josephus  Shann, 

1872.  Isaac  L.  Fisher. 

1809.  James  Parker. 

Richard  S.  Field. 

Martin  A,  Howell, 

Joseph  C.  Letson. 

James  Voorhees. 

Samuel  C.  Johnes. 

Abraham  Everitt, 

Johnston  Hulcombe. 

George  Boice. 

1834.  Richard  S.  Field. 

1854.  Martin  A,  Howell, 

1873.  Isaac  L.  Fisher. 

1810.  James  Parker. 

Ralph  M.  Crowell. 

Abraham  Everitt, 

Joseph  C.  Letson. 

James  Voorhees. 

EliasKunyon. 

Samuel  E.  Stelle, 

Harry  F.  Worthington. 

George  Roice. 

Henry  Van  Dyke. 

1855,  Martin  A,  Howell, 

1874.  John  Van  Deursen. 

1811.  John  Brewster. 

1835.  Ralph  M,  Crowell, 

Samuel  E,  Stelle. 

John  F.  Ten  Broeck. 

Jolin  L.  Anderson. 

EliasRunyon, 

William  Hutchinson. 

Joseph  E.  Magee. 

James  T.  Dunn. 

George  P,  Molleson. 

1856.  William  Hutchison. 

1875.  James  H.  Van  Cleef. 

1812.  James  Voorhees. 

George  T,  McDowell, 

John  T.  Jenkins. 

Josephus  Shann. 

Ercurias  Beatty. 

1836.  George  P,  Molleson, 

Amos  Robbins. 

Joseph  C.  Magee. 

James  Parker. 

William  C,  Alexander, 

1867.  Amos  Rohbins. 

1876.  Isaiah  Rolfe. 

1813.  James  Voorhees. 

Thomas  Edgar. 

Henry  Stults. 

Charles  A.  Campbell. 

Ercurias  Beatty. 

Samuel  C.  Johnes. 

John  D.  Buckelew, 

Daniel  Z.  Martin. 

James  Parker. 

1837.  George  P.  Molleson. 

18,58.  John  D.  Buckelew. 

1877.  John  Waldron. 

1814.  Jolin  N.  Simpson. 

William  C.Alexander. 

Ellis  B.  Freeman. 

Charles  A.  Campbell. 

William  Edgar. 

Samuel  C.  Johnes. 

Garret  I.  Snediker. 

Daniel  Z.  Martin. 

Ale.\anderDunn. 

Thompson  Edgar. 

1859.  Ellis  B.  Freeman. 

1878.  Isaac  L.Martin. 

1815.  John  N.  Simpson. 

1838.  George  P.  Molleson. 

Garret  I.  Snediker. 

Patrick  Convery. 

William  Edgar. 

Richards.  Field. 

Andrew  McDowell. 

Vincent  W.  Mount. 

Ale.xander  Dunn. 

David  D.  Appleget. 

1860.  Ellis  B.  Freeman. 

1879.  Isaac  L.  Martin. 

1816.  James  Parker. 

Lewis  Golding. 

Thomas  Booraem. 

Patrick  Convery. 

Hezekiah  Smith. 

1839.  George  P.  Molleson. 

Elias  Dey. 

Vincent  W.  Mount. 

Allison  Ely. 

David  D.  Appleget. 

1861.  Elias  Ross. 

ISSO.  Robert  G.  Miller. 

1817.  James  T.  Dunn. 

Lewis  Golding. 

James  T.  Crowell. 

John  M.  Board. 

Allison  Ely,  Jr. 

Adam  Lee. 

Orlando  Perrine. 

Stephen  Martin. 

Frazee  Ayres. 

1840.  Lewis  Golding. 

1862.  Elias  Boss. 

1881.  James  H.  Van  Cleef. 

1818.  James  Parker. 

Frederick  Richmond. 

James  T.  Crowell. 

Manning  Freeman. 

Allis.Mi  Ely,  Jr. 

David  Dunn. 

Orlando  Perrine. 

Stephen  Martin. 

Frazee  Ayres. 

Cornelius  C.  Cruser. 

1863.  James  T.  Crowell. 

1882.  James  H.  Van  Cleef. 

1819.  Ohark-s  Caron. 

1841.  Adam  Lee. 

Miles  Ross. 

John  Adair. 

Samuel  Edgar. 

John  Acken. 

David  B.  Wyckoff. 

James  H.  Goodwin. 

James  Cook. 

Israel  R.  Coriell. 

1820.  James  Cook. 

Dean  Britton. 

JUDGES  OF  THE 

COMMON  PLEAS. 

Ercurias  Beatty. 

1842.  John  D.  Field. 

1683.  Samuel  Dennis. 

1796-1801.  Jonathan  Combs. 

John  T.  McDowell. 

Warren  Brown. 

John  Palmer. 

1796.  Ercuries  Beatty. 

1821,  James  Cook. 

William  Patterson. 

1&J4-87.  Samuel  Dennis. 

Jonathan  Bloomtield. 

John  T.  McDowell. 

William  L.  Schenck. 

1688.  Samuel  Winder, 

1797.  Ezekiel  Smith. 

Samuel  Edgar. 

1843.  John  D.  Field. 

1688-93,  Andrew  Hamilton.l 

1798.  Elijah  Phillips. 

1822    .lames  Cook, 

William  Patterson. 

1693-97,  John  Iriians.2 

1799.  Henry  Marsh,  Esq. 

John  T,  McDowell, 

William  L.  Schenck. 

1697,  John  Boyce, 

Thomas  Stelle. 

Samuel  Edgar, 
1823,  .T.ilin  T.  McDowell, 

Joel  B.  Laing. 
1844.  John  D.  Field. 

169S-99,  Samuel  Dennis, 

Samuel  Randolph. 

1708-9.  Peter  Sonmans. 

1801.  John  Rattoone. 

James  F.  Randolph. 

William  Patterson, 

1710.  Thomas  Farmar. 

Daniel  .\gnew. 

David  Schenck. 

William  L.  Schenck, 

1711-14.  Elisha  Parker. 

John  Dey. 

1824,  John  T,  McDowell. 

Joel  B,  Laing, 

1715-20.  Ad&i  Hude. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

James  F,  Randolph. 
David  Schenck, 

1845.  Simeon  W.  Pliillips. 

Ralph  C.  Stults. 

1718.  Michael  Van  Veghte. 

1719.  William  Eier. 

1803.  Benjamin  Lindsay. 
.Tohn  James. 

1825,  John  T.  McDowell, 

David  C.  Dunn. 

Charles  Carson. 

Charles  Abraham. 
1846.  David  C.  Dunn. 

1796-1803.  Evert  Van  Wickle,  Esq. 

1801.  Samuel  Randolph. 

Jame.s  Cook, 

1826,  James  Cook, 

Charles  Abraham. 

t  Governor  HamiltoD.             -  ' 

!he  founder  of  New  Brunswick. 

534 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSKY. 


1804 

Nathanipl  Hum. 

1832 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Tbonias  Hill. 

1833 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

18G6 

Andrew  Ruwan. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

Thomas  Hance. 

M.  Mundy. 

Henry  Freeinans. 

1834 

A.  W.  Brown. 

William  Tindall. 

William  B.  Manning. 

Asa  Riiiiytiu. 

James  Harriot. 

David  Dunham. 

Samuel  C  Jolinee. 

1807 

Ichabod  Potter. 

1835 

Jared  I.  Dunn. 

John  Rattoone. 

John  S.  Vandyke. 

John  F.  Randolph. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

John  L.  Anderson. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

1808 

John  Lewis. 

1836 

F.  Hardenburgh. 

Robert  McChesney. 

1837 

Joseph  Ford. 

Jacob  Van  Winkle. 

John  La  Tourrette. 

1809 

John  James. 

C.  M.  Compbell. 

Samuel  F.  Randolph. 

John  Perrine,  Jr. 

1811 

William  Ti Udell. 

1838 

Jonathan  Booraem. 

Asa  Runyon. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Joseph  BIcChesney. 

D.  W.  Vail. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

1837 

Peter  Duncan. 

Henry  Freeman. 

John  B.  Mount. 

Thomas  Hance. 

Edgar  Freeman. 

Benjamin  Mundy. 

1838 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

John  Aulialt. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

Epbraim  Harriott. 

Peter  P.  Measierell. 

1812 

John  Vhit. 

1839 

Isaac  Story. 

Gorge  Boice,  Jr. 

A.  D.  Titsworth. 

Andrew  Elston. 

1840 

Joseph  Ford. 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

1813 

David  Chambers. 

1841 

Charles  Abrahams. 

Jacob  Van  Winkle. 

1842 

Elias  I.  Thompson. 

Robert  McChesney. 

John  La  Tourrette. 

John  James. 

Edgar  Freeman. 

18U 

John  Fitz  Randolph. 

Haley  Fisk. 

1815 

William  Tindell. 

John  Perrine,  Jr. 

Robert  Arnold. 

Peter  Duncan. 

John  Smith. 

1843 

Jonathan  Booraem. 

1816 

Asa  Runyon. 

Thomas  Potts. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Peter  P.  Measserell. 

Thomas  Hance. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

Bent-yah  Mundy. 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

1817 

George  Boice. 

D,  Fitz  Randolph. 

1818 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Robert  McCheny. 

Bergan  Scott. 

1819 

John  N,  Simpson. 

James  Harriott. 

1820 

John  Gillman. 

James  Conever. 

John  Smith. 

Andrew  Agnew. 

James  Harriott. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Matthias  Brown. 

1821 

Benjamin  Mundy. 

Alanson  Newton. 

N.  Boorai'm,  Jr. 

1844 

John  S.  Cruser. 

Bedford  Job. 

M.  Mundy. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

F.  Stults. 

1822 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Peter  Cortelyou. 

1823 

R.  McCbeney. 

Asher  Martin. 

1824 

Samuel  Stelle. 

S.  G.  Dellh. 

John  Gillman. 

James  N.  Warn. 

1825 

John  M.  Cheney. 

Francis  Huffman. 

James  Harriott. 

John  Van  Brceke. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

1846 

John  Perrine. 

1826 

Jacob  Van  Wlckel. 

1847 

A.  D.  Titsworth. 

Joseph  Ford. 

1848 

Edgar  Freeman. 

X.  Booraem. 

1849 

D.  Fitz  Randolph. 

Thomas  Hance. 

1860 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

William  B.  Manning. 

1851 

Alanson  Newtoii. 

1828 

Robert  McChesney. 

1852 

A.  I'.  Droast. 

1829 

N.  Booraem. 

1853 

Betbuel  Ward. 

John  B.  Mount. 

1854 

James  C.  Goble. 

James  Harriot. 

1657 

Abram  P.  Punost. 

John  S.  Vandyke. 

1858 

Joel  B.  Laing.    ^ 

1830 

Simeon  Mundy. 

1S69 

John  Perriiie. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

1802 

A.  R.  Speer. 

William  B.  Manning. 

Dayton  Decker. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

1869 

Charles  T.  Cowenhov 

1831 

Joseph  Ford. 

H.  H.  Brown. 

Thomas  Hance. 

1872 

Ehhu  Cook. 

1873.  A.  D.  Brown. 

1874.  Woodbridge  Strong. 
Andrew  J.  Disbrow. 


16S3.  John  Pike. 
1684-87.  Edward  Slater. 
1687-90.  Joseph  Fitz  Randolph 
1690-99.  Edward  Slater.= 
1709.  George  Ewbancke.s 
1711-20.  John  Barclay.* 
1749-73.  John  Srnythe.* 
1777-96.  Jonathan  Deare. 
1796-1801.  William  Dnnham. 


1877.  Charles  S.^cott. 

1878.  Charles  F.  Newton. 
1S79-S2,  Andrew  K.  Cogswell. 

CLERKS   OF   COURT. 

1.S01-2.-J.  William  P.  Deare. 
1825-28.  James  F.  Randolph. 
1828-20.  Elias  J.  Thompson. 
1S29-;13.  T.  S.  Van  Arsdalen. 
18:B-57.  Nicholas  Booraem. 
1857-fi2.  George  A.  Vroom. 
1862-72.  J.  Elmer  Stout. 
1872.  Charles  S.  Hill. 


1750-53.  William  Deare. 
1754-57.  John  Deare. 
17.58-61.  William  Deare. 
1761-64.  Samuel  Throcmorton. 
1783-85.  Abraham  Schuyler. 
1786-89.  Thompson  Stelle. 
1789-92.  John  Lyie. 
1792-96.  Thompson  Stelle. 
1795-98.  John  Marsalis. 
1798-1800.  Robert  Ross. 
1800-3.  Andrew  LyIe. 
1803-6.  Alexander  Dunn. 
1806-9.  Robert  Ross,  Jr. 
1809-12.  Alexander  Dunn. 
1812-15.  Abraham  Van  Arsdale 
1815-18.  Alexander  Dunn. 
1818-21.  Abraham  Van  Arsdale, 
1821-24.  Charles  Carson. 
1824-27.  Andrew  Snowhill. 
1827-30.  Samuel  Edgar. 
1830-33.  Andrew  Snowhill. 


1833-36.  Abraham  Cruser. 
1836-39.  Abraham  W.  Brown. 
1839^2.  James  M.  Brewster. 
1842-45.  Asher  Bissett.5 
1845.  James  H.  Newell.o 
1845-48.  James  C.  Stout. 
1848-51.  Garret  G.  Voorhees. 
1851-64.  Jaques  V.  Gordon. 
1854-57.  Henry  Acken. 
1857-611.  James  Applegate. 
1800-63.  Obadiab  Clark. 
1863-66.  William  M.  Cox. 
1866-69.  J.  Manning  Clarkson. 
1869-71.  George  Farr.' 
1871.  Elias  D.  Snedeker.= 
1871-74.  John  D.  Buckalew. 
1874-75.  M.  Martin  Lupardus. 
1875-78.  Edward  F.  Roberts. 
1878-81.  Charles  C.  Campbell. 
1881.  Andrew  J.  Disbrow. 


SURROGATES. 


1804-6.  J.  Phineas  Manning. 
1806-26.  John  Hoard. 
1826.  Charles  Carson. 
1826-31.  David  Menenan. 
1831-36.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick. 
1836-41.  James  C.  Zabriskie. 
1841-46.  Josiah  Ford. 


1840-51.  James  G.  McDowell. 
1851-64.  Tbeophilus  M.  Holcombe. 
1864-66.  Robert  Adrain. 
1866-67.  William  Dunham. 
1867-72.  F.  Schuroman  Holcombe. 
1872.  William  Reiley,  Jr. 


1782-1823.  Pet 

1823-25.  William  P.  Deare. 

1826-68.  Nicholas  Booraem 


COUNTY   COLLECTORS, 
ilenbergh.        ,  1868-72.  Richard  BIcDonald. 


1872-73.  Theodore  B.  Booraem. 
1873.  Han  Moore. 


PROSECUTORS  OF  COMMON  PLEAS. 
1847.  John  C.  Elmendorf.  1877.  Charles  T.  Cowenhovcn. 

1852.  George  A.  Vroom.  1882.  J.  Keaiiy  Rice. 

1857.  John  C.  Elmendorf. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 
1683-87.  Edward  Slater. 
James  Giles. 
John  Bishop. 
Samuel  Hale. 
Benjamin  Hull. 
Joseph  Fitz  Randolph. 


1688.  John  Campbell. 
John  Stryker. 
Samuel  Hale. 
Benjamin  Clarke. 

1690.  Jonathan  Bishop. 

1691.  Thomas  Codrington. 


t  Mr.  Fitz  Randolph  is  said  to  have  been  of  royal  blood ;  he  was  the 
ancestor  of  the  family  of  Randolph  of  New  Jersey,  among  whom  was 
Governor  Randolph.  His  writing  in  the  old  minutes,  as  well  as  in  the 
records  of  Woodbridge,  is  the  most  peculiar  and  beautiful  to  be  found  in 
any  of  the  ancient  records  of  the  country. 

2  Probably  remained  clerk  till  1709,  as  there  is  a  break  in  the  minutes. 

3  Appointed  by  royal  commission. 

*  Barclay  and  Smythe  are  reported  to  have  filled  the  entire  time  be- 
tween 1714  and  1717,  though  the  fact  is  uncertain  on  account  of  the  rec- 
ords being  inaccessible. 

s  Died  in  office. 

•>  Elected  to  fill  vacancy. 


MIDDLESEX  COUNTY   CIVIL    LIST. 


535 


1691.  John  Inians. 

1801.  Robert  Wilson. 

1815.  Peter  Vanderhoef. 

1827.  William  B.  Manning. 

1692.  David  Mudie. 

John  James. 

1816.  Andrew  Rowan. 

Oliver  Johnston. 

James  Diindas. 

1802.  Phincas  Manning. 

William  Tindell. 

1828.  Robert  McCheney. 

Johu  Royce. 

1803.  Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

William  B.  Manning. 

James  Cook. 

1693.  Samuel  Dannis. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

John  James  James. 

Jonathan  Hey. 

1694.  David  Miidie. 

Ephraim  Harriott. 

Stephen  Hamilton. 

N.  Booraem. 

1708-9.  CJorneliils  Longfeld. 

George  Harrison. 

David  Hall. 

Joseph  Ford. 

Join.  Tunison. 

Henry  Freeman. 

Asa  Runyon. 

.lohn  T.  Hutchinson. 

John  Drake. 

John  Randolph. 

Richard  Marsh. 

Peter  P.  Maesserell. 

1710.  Kdmoiid  Dunham. 

William  Holmes. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

James  Dunham. 

Adam  Hude. 

Benajah  Mundy. 

1816-21.  Thomas  Hance. 

John  Bartodo. 

John  Bishop. 

William  Tear. 

Samuel  Drake. 

1828-35.  John  La  Tonrrette. 

John  Pike. 

Benjamin  Lindsay. 

Samuel  Willet. 

1829.  C.  M.  Campbell. 

Elisha  Parker. 

John  Postedo. 

1817.  Oliver  Johnson. 

Abraham  W.  Brown. 

1711.  John  Field. 

1804.  Samuel  ¥.  Riindolph. 

Josiah  Davis. 

John  S.  Vandyke. 

Isaac  Smalley. 

William  Tindall. 

George  Boice. 

Drake  Dunn. 

Tiiomas  Yatea. 

Thomas  Hill. 

1817-21.  Bedford  Job. 

John  B.  Mount. 

1712.  Thomas  Leonard. 

Peter  Vanderhoef. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

William  Rowland. 

1714.  Moses  Ralph. 

1805.  John  Sanderson. 

William  Tindall,  Jr.   . 

Thomas  Arnold. 

1715.  John  Moore. 

Daniel  Attchley. 

1818.  John  Hannell. 

James  Harriott. 

1717.  John  Brown. 

1806.  Thomas  Hance. 

Moses  Morris. 

1830.  Merrill  Mundy. 

1718.  Robert  Gilchrist. 

Josiah  Davis. 

Samuel  Gulick. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Samuel  Walker. 

David  Turvery. 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Aaron  Hassert. 

William  Eier. 

Asa  Runyon. 

Nichols  Booraem. 

A.  Slack. 

1779.  Joseph  Olden. 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

James  Dunham. 

Isaac  Stony. 

Elias  Woodruff. 

Joseph  Marsh. 

Robert  McChesney. 

Henry  Stults. 

Jacob  Martin. 

John  Lewis. 

Benjh.  Mundy. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

Jeremiiih  Manning. 

Robert  Stansbury. 

John  N.  Dey. 

John  Smith. 

Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 

David  Dunham. 

1819.  Josiah  Ford. 

Samuel  Gulick. 

James  Dey. 

John  James. 

John  Bartode.   . 

Tliomam  Blake. 

Joseph  Story. 

1807.  Ichabod  Potter. 

Robert  Arnold. 

Richard  Marsh. 

Nicholls  Mesroll. 

George  Boice. 

John  La  Tourrctte. 

1831.  William  Tindell. 

James  Johnston. 

1808.  Benjamin  Mundy. 

John  N.  Simpson. 

Oliver  Johnson. 

Jonathan  Johnston. 

John  Batterdo. 

1820.  John  Smith. 

Enoch  Fitz  Randolph. 

John  Woldron. 

George  Harrison. 

James  Harriot. 

Abraham  J.  Van  Derver. 

Peter  X.  Connett. 

Ephraim  Harriott. 

James  S.  Primer. 

Samuel  Disbrow. 

John  Voorhis. 

Robert  McChesney. 

Samuel  Stelle. 

Thomas  Hance. 

Henry  Freeman. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Richard  Mai-sh. 

1831-33.  Simeon  Munday. 

1780.  John  Gilman. 

1809.  Peter  Vanderhoef. 

David  Van  Derhoff. 

1831-35.  Ichabod  Potter. 

Peter  Vredenburgh. 

William  Tindell. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

1832.  Aseb  Brokaw. 

1780-87.  Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Samuel  F.  Randolph. 

Joseph  M.  Chioney. 

Jacob  Van  Winkle. 

1781.  John  Lloyd. 

John  F.  Randolph. 

Samuel  Gulick. 

Peter  P.  Maesserell. 

1784.  John  Vredenburgh. 

William  Toan. 

John  Hammell. 

John  Perrine,  Jr. 

Thomas  McDowell. 

1811.  Asa  Runyon. 

William  Herbert. 

1832-34.  William  B.  Manning. 

1784-89.  Robert  Barclay. 

Thomas  Icanell. 

1821.  Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

1833.  Peter  P.  Runyon. 

1785.  Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 

Samuel  Drake. 

1822.  John  Gillman. 

Thomas  Potts. 

James  Douglass. 

John  James. 

Oliver  Johnston. 

Peter  DuMian. 

James  Bonney. 

Samuel  Willett. 

William  B.  Manning. 

D.  Bowne. 

John  Miller. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Aaron  Gulick. 

Stephen  Hull. 

John  Conger. 

Richard  Marsh. 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

Jonathan  Booraem. 

1785-86.  Robert  Wilson. 

David  Hall. 

Peter  P.  Maesserell. 

Albert  Cornell. 

1785-87.  Abraham  Schuyler. 

John  Lewis. 

1823.  Nathaniel  Booraem,  Jr. 

Henry  Lillcocks. 

1786-89.  Jacob  Suidam. 

David  Shobaoh. 

John  Dey. 

Meriill  Mundy. 

1786-87.  Thomas  Steele. 

1812.  Jarvis  Brasted. 

John  Harriott. 

Henry  N.  Low. 

1787.  John  Beatty. 

John  Vliet. 

Robert  McChesney. 

John  W.  Day. 

Moses  Bloomfield. 

Josiah  Davis. 

1824.  John  La  Tonrrette. 

John  Hutchinson. 

William  Lawson. 

George  Boice. 

Drake  Dunn. 

Semuel  I.  Eraly. 

1788.  John  Combs. 

Andrew  Elston. 

Thomas  Arnold. 

1834.  A.  W.  Brown. 

1789.  Thomas  McDowell. 

William  Lawson. 

1826.  John  B.  Mount. 

James  Harriott. 

Jonathan  RettooQ. 

1813.  John  Dey. 

James  Winner. 

Samuel  C.  Johnes. 

1796.  Ercuries  Beatty. 

James  E.  Parker. 

Samuel  Gulick. 

Richard  Saulsbury. 

1797.  Ichabod  Potter. 

Nathaniel  Hunt. 

John  Hammell. 

Samuel  Goidon,  Jr. 

Ezekiel  Smith. 

David  Chambers. 

Daniel  Hutchinson. 

C.  M.  Campbell. 

1798.  Jonathan  Combs. 

Moses  Morris. 

John  Perrine,  Jr. 

William  B.  Manning. 

Joseph  Marsh. 

David  Bowne. 

Henry  Shells. 

John  S.  Cock. 

John  Combs. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

James  Harriott. 

James  Harriott. 

John  Dey. 

Benijah  Mundy. 

Joseph  U.  Kinney. 

William  Rowland. 

1799.  Alexander  Dunn. 

Robert  McChesney. 

Richard  Marsh. 

1835.  Jared  I.  Dunn. 

John  Van  Dyke. 

Ephraim  Harriott. 

Andrew  Rowan. 

John  S.  Vandyke. 

Andrew  McDowell. 

1814.  John  L.  Anderson. 

Samuel  Disbrow. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Jacob  Suidam. 

Robert  Arnold. 

1826.  Samuel  Willeits. 

Richard  Marsh. 

Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 

Peter  Vanderhoef. 

William  Herbert. 

Joseph  For<l. 

John  Combs. 

1815.  William  Tindall. 

William  Tindell. 

Merrill  Mundy. 

Thompson  Stelle. 

Samuel  P.  Aniey. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Isaac  Story. 

1800.  Jeremiah  Manning. 

James  Winner. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

Nathaniel  Labuir. 

James  Bonny. 

John  L.  Andei-son. 

1827.  Enoch  Fitz  Randolph. 

Beverly  R.  Crawell. 

1801.  Daniel  Agnew. 

John  Smith. 

Ichabod  Potter. 

Cornelius  Shuddell. 

536 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


i.  Aaron  Hassett. 

Jared  I.  Dunn. 

Thaniy  HulTntay. 

Elisha  N.  Blew. 

John  S.  Vandyke. 

JoBepii  SIcChesney. 

Henry  Stults. 

Samuel  Gulick. 

Abraham  S.  Van  Deun 
i.  Lewis  Alliward. 

Samue)  Dialjrow. 

E.  F.  Bandolph. 
Daniel  Ormston, 
Icliabod  Putter. 
Price  U.  Bills. 
James  M.  Warn. 

.  Peter  P.  Measserell. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

Job  Silver. 

Tliomas  Blake. 

Jacob  Harbert. 

John  Perrine,  Jr. 

Charles  Frasier. 

John  B.  Mount. 
.  Jonathan  Booraem. 

W.  B.  Gaddes. 

Albert  Cornell. 

Thomas  Potts. 

Ed^ar  Freeman. 

Peter  P.  Kunyon. 

John  Bnrlew. 

Peter  Duncan. 

Jletiry  Lillcocks. 

John  Dey. 

Benjamin  M.  Price. 

George  G.  Nevius. 
.  John  D.  See. 

Jacob  Van  Wickle. 

Joel  Dunham. 

A.  D.  TilBworth. 
.  Joseph  Foi-d. 

Garrett  G.  Voorhees. 

John  C.  Morris. 

Richard  Marsh. 

John  La  Tourette. 

Isaac  Story. 

Beverly  E.  Crawell. 

James  Harriot. 
.  Richard  McDowell. 

Peter  I.  Day. 

James  S.  Combs. 

Thomas  S.  McDowell. 

George  \V.  Price. 

Charles  Abrahams. 
.  Peter  P.  Maesserell. 

Jacob  Herbert. 

Simeon  Mundy. 

John  PeiTine,  Jr. 
.  Jonathan  Booraem. 

Elias  I.  Thompson. 

D.  Fitz  Randolph. 

John  Bnrlew. 

Thomas  Potts. 

Edgar  Freeman. 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

Abraham  Boise. 

George  G.  Nevius. 

Haly  Fisk. 

Isaac  De  Voe. 

Courtney  Hall. 

Peter  Dnnan. 

Benjamin  Scott. 

Joseph  McChesney. 

Merrill  Mundy. 

Matthew  Brown. 

F.  .Stnlts. 
James  McKelvey. 


1843.  Alanson  Newton. 
Freeman  Huffman,  Sr. 
Ichabod  Potter. 

P.  P.  Vanderhoef. 
James  Harriott. 
James  Applegate. 
James  N.  Warn. 
Joseph  Vanderbilt. 
Andrew  Todd. 

1844.  Cornelius  D.  Van  Houten. 
John  S.  Cruser. 
Belhuel  Ward. 

Enoch  Fitz  Randolph. 
Asher  Martin. 
John  R.  Bergan. 
S.  G.  Deelh. 

1845.  Peter  P.  Measserell. 
Nathan  Ayres. 
Ppter  I.  Dey. 
Peter  Duncan. 
Garret  G.  Voorhees. 
John  Perrine. 

A.  D.  Titsworth. 

D.  Fitz  Randolph. 

1846.  George  F.  Webb. 
Thomas  L.  McDowell. 
Samuel  E.  Stelle. 

1847.  Elijah  Brown. 

1848.  George  G.  Hull. 

1851.  Silas  P.  Leonard. 
George  McDowell. 
William  I.  Bastedo. 
Solomon  Andrews. 
Peter  Duncan. 
Jacob  Martin. 
Richard  McDowell. 

1852.  David  Bloorafleld. 
C.  C.  Morgan. 
Charles  Jackson. 
William  Schanck. 

1853.  William  M.  Drake. 
John  H.  Hooker. 

1854.  Timothy  Wood. 
William  H.  Lamberson. 
John  F.  Hunter. 

E.  S.  Conover. 

1855.  Peter  P.  Runyon. 
Martin  Nevius. 
William  Brown. 
Samuel  Wilson. 
Thomas  Huffman. 
Samuel  C.  Ensign. 
Joseph  Fleming. 
John  Perrine. 
Andrew  I.  Disbrow. 
Isaac  Van  Nostrand. 
John  H.  Hooker. 

1856.  Isaac  D.  Ward. 
William  I.  Bastedo. 
Thomas  Appelgate. 
John  Dye. 
Henry  C.  Drost. 
John  D.  Swiss. 
James  Higgins. 
John  D.  Service. 
Adrian  Vernieule. 

1857.  Silas  P.  Leonard. 
Jacob  Martin. 

1858.  William  W.  Clarke. 
John  De  Graw,  Jr. 

1868-59.  Oliver  Cox. 

1859.  W.  A.  Appleby. 
Ebenezer  S.  Conover. 
James  Wood. 
Winant  W.  Lamberson. 
Alanson  Newton. 
William  Scheuck. 


1859-61.  Charles  Sham. 
1860.  Martin  Nevius. 

Peter  P.  Runyon. 

Thomas  UufTraan. 

Leonard  L.  F.  Appleby. 

Edward  Paxton. 

C.  C.  Morgan. 


Silv 


iCun 


ungs. 


Abraham  N.  Conover. 
William  W.  Clarke. 
Andrew  I.  Disbrow. 
Thomas  B.  Liddell. 
James  H.  Webb. 
Isaac  Van  Norstrand. 

1861.  Isaac  D.  Ward. 
F.  Shults. 
Hampton  Cutter. 
James  Higgins. 
Ambrose  Dodds. 
Jacob  Wyckoff. 
William  H.  Wakeley. 
Richard  McDowell. 

1862.  Robert  R.  Vandenbergh. 
Andrew  Agnew. 

David  Voorhees. 

1863.  William  Swain. 
Julat  Harrington. 
Edward  Brinley. 

1864.  John  Disbrow. 
Winant  W.  Lamberson. 
William  B.  Stewart. 
John  D.  See. 


Ala 


vton. 


Nathan  Vara. 
1866.  William  W.  Clarke. 
Peter  P.  Runyon. 
Martin  Nevius. 
Haley  Fisk. 
Merrill  Mundy. 
William  A.  Wakeley. 
Thomas  Pearce. 
Jacob  Wycoff. 
Sylvanus  Cummings. 
Augustus  Blackford. 
Gershom  P.  Dunn. 
John  Tomlinson. 


Ed« 


xton. 


Alfred  Stults. 

1866.  James  Higgins. 
Andrew  J   Disbrow. 
Richard  SIcDouald. 
H.ampton  Cutter. 
Ambrose  Dodds. 
William  H.  Hadkins. 
Richard  McDowell. 
John  W,  Sneath. 
Charles  Shann. 
Jacob  Martin. 

1867.  Newman  A.  Wood. 
William  Thomas. 
Charles  H.  Perrine. 
Robert  R.  Vandenburgh. 
Charles  Shann. 

.1.  V.  Henry. 
William  W.  Clarke. 
David  T.  Jeffries. 
Andrew  Agnew. 

1868.  James  T.  Devendorf. 

1869.  Winants  W.  Lamberson. 
William  B.  Stewart. 
Elihu  Cook. 

John  Disbrow. 
Abraham  Eveiitt. 

1870.  Thomas  Pearce. 
Peter  P.  Runyon. 
Martin  Nevius. 
Baly  Fisk. 


William  H.  Bergan. 

Charles  A.  Perrine. 

Bernard  Rodehy. 

Isaac  Sofleld. 

Edward  Paxton. 

G.  R.  Dunn. 

C.  C.  Morgan. 

Jacob  WyckolT. 

Newman  A.  Wood. 

Thomas  H.  Morris. 

Harry  F.  Worthington. 

Charles  W.  Livermore. 
.  Hampton  Cutter. 

William  Clarke. 

James  Higgins. 

L.  L.  F.  Appleby. 

Enoch  R.  Hardy. 

William  A.Lane. 

Henry  Gordon. 

James  H.  Wheeler. 

Josephns  Shann. 

C.  F.  Newton. 
.  .lohn  V.  Henry. 

Ambrose  Dodds. 

Stoddard  W.  Stout. 

Robert  R.  Vanderbergh. 

William  Thomal. 
.  Sylvanus  Cummings. 

Andrew  Agnew. 

Oliver  A.  Kil.be. 

Isaac  S.  Harned. 

Nelson  Webster. 

James  L.  Ferris. 
.  Lewis  E.  Hayward. 

John  Disbrow. 

Richard  McDowell, 

Michael  Hayes. 

George  W.  Packard. 

Gilbert  W.  Mount. 
.  Martin  Nevius. 

Robert  P.  Mason. 

Charles  P.  Ford. 

William  Hatfield. 

William  H.  Bergan. 

Jacob  Wyckoff. 

C.  C.  Morgan. 

Jeremiah  Dally. 

Andrew  J.  Faroutte. 

Ezra  W.  Arnold. 

Stephen  Martin. 

Isaac  Soper. 

Thomas  H.  Morris. 

Philip  Ruhtthan. 

James  Wood. 
.  William  A.  Lane. 

William  Thomal. 

Charles  F.  Newton. 

James  Higgins. 

Theodore  A.  Wood. 

F.  Stults. 

Charles  L.  Stout. 

Isiuic  Anderson. 

Enoch  R.  Hardy. 

William  F.  Fisher. 

L.  W.  Johnson. 
.  Samuel  J.  Giles. 

Ambrose  Dodd. 

B.  B.  Leupp. 

Robert  R.  Vanderburgh. 

Joshua  Liddell,  Jr. 

Nathan  Vars. 
,  William  E.  Condon. 

Andrew  Agnew. 

John  F.  Hunter. 

James  L.  Terris. 
.  Thomas  I.  Cluke. 

Winant  W.  Lamberson. 


MIDDLESEX   COUNTY   IN   THE   WAR   OF   THE   REBELLION. 


537 


1879.  Andrew  J.  Disbrow. 
Cornelius  Bergan. 
Michael  Hayes. 

1880.  Thomas  H.  Morris. 
Jeremiah  Dally. 
W.  H.  Bergan. 
John  A.  Walling. 
Leonard  T.  Coles. 
John  A.  Vigus. 
Isaac  D.  Ward. 
Ezra  W.  Arnold. 
Charles  P.  Ford. 
Jacob  Wycoff. 
Samuel  G.  Garretson. 
Robert  P.  Mason. 


1880.  Samuel  Luckey. 
William  H.  Hoffman. 
Archibald  I.  Coddington 
Thomas  Pearce. 
Thomas  Flavell. 

1881.  Theodore  A.  Wood. 
Charles  F.  Newton. 
S.  Cumniings. 
Frederick  Stults. 
Isaac  Andei-son. 
William  Palmer. 
James  Higgins. 
Daniel  S.  Duiihanj. 
Henry  D.  B.  Leffarts. 
Charles  L.  Stout. 


CHAPTER    LXXIII. 

MIDDLESEX    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR    OF    THE    RE- 
BELLION. 

Situation  in  1861. — When  the  civil  war  broke  out 
in  1861  no  one  dreamed  of  tlie  magnitude  to  which 
it  would  extend.  The  President  of  the  United  States, 
on  the  15th  of  April,  issued  a  proclamation  calling 
for  seventy-five  thousand  militia  out  of  the  existing 
organization  of  the  States,  to  serve  for  three  months 
unless  sooner  discharged.  The  quota  of  this  call  for 
New  Jersey  was  three  thousand  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  or  four  regiments  of  seven  hundred  and 
eighty  men  each,  to  be  detached  from  the  four  gen- 
eral military  divisions  of  the  State.  The  War  Depart- 
ment also  required  that,  in  addition  to  the  regiments 
called  for,  the  reserve  militia  in  the  several  States 
should  be  organized  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

Governor  Olden  received  the  requisition  of  the  War 
Department  on  the  17th  of  April,  and  immediately 
issued  a  proclamation  directing  all  individuals  or 
organizations  willing  to  respond  to  the  call  to  report 
themselves  within  twenty  days.  On  the  same  day  he 
notified  the  War  Department  that  the  call  for  troops 
would  be  attended  to  as  rapidly  as  possible,  and  is- 
sued orders  to  the  major-generals  of  the  several 
military  divisions  of  the  State  to  detail  each  one 
regiment  of  ten  companies,  and  also  to  organize  im- 
mediately the  reserve  militia  in  the  respective  bri- 
gades. The  major-generals,  in  detailing  the  regi- 
ments required,  were  directed  to  accept  the  services 
of  volunteers;  but  if  the  requisite  number  did  not 
offer,  they  were  required  to  draft  from  the  reserve 
militia  to  make  up  the  deficiency.  No  such  neces- 
sity, however,  was  anticipated,  and  the  result  fully 
justified  the  confidence  of  the  authorities.  The  people 
everywhere  responded  with  enthusiastic  alacrity  to 
the  call  for  troops.  The  existing  military  organiza- 
tions at  once  opened  recruiting-stations;  public 
meetings  were  held  in  every  town  and  city ;  churches 
and  ministers  engaged  with  enthusiasm  in  the  work ; 
committees  were  appointed  to  encourage  and  super- 
intend enlistments.  While  everywhere  the  popular 
heart  beat  responsive  to  the  spirit  in  which  the  call  of 


the  nation's  head  had  been  made,  in  New  Jersey  the 
feeling  was  active  and  intense.  Within  a  few  days 
over  one  hundred  companies  of  volunteers,  equal  to 
ten  thousand  men,  had  offered  their  services  under 
the  Governor's  proclamation,  and  the  military  depart- 
ments were  so  swarming  with  men  and  companies 
ofl'ering  and  pressing  their  services  that  many  who 
could  not  be  taken  were  obliged  to  wait  till  a  second 
call  was  made  by  the  government  or  go  into  regi- 
ments of  other  States  to  have  their  ambition  to  enter 
the  public  service  gratified. 

New  Jersey's  quota  under  the  first  call  was  filled  in 
a  few  days.  The  first  regimental  offer  was  made  by 
the  First  Regiment  of  the  Hunterdon  Brigade  on  the 
day  following  the  Governor's  proclamation ;  on  the 
same  day  Capt.  J.  R.  Cunningham  tendered  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Camden  Zouaves,  and  these  were  rapidly 
followed  by  similar  offers  from  all  parts  of  the  State. 
The  four  regiments  accepted  were  formed  into  a  bri- 
gade known  as  the  New  Jersey  Brigade,  and  placed 
under  the  command  of  Brig.-Gen.  Theodore  Runyon, 
of  Newark.  The  First  Regiment  of  this  brigade  was 
raised  in  Newark  and  vicinity,  and  the  Second  in 
Jersey  City.  It  contained  no  organized  company 
from  Middlesex  County. 

In  the  Second  Brigade  of  the  New  Jersey  troops 
mustered  under  the  call  of  the  President  issued  July 
24,  18G1,  there  were  nearly  five  full  companies,  viz. : 
Company  H  of  the  First  Cavalry,  and  Companies  C, 
E,  F,  and  G  of  the  First  Regiment  of  Infantry  (three 
years'  men).  Companies  A  and  B  of  the  First  Cav- 
alry also  had  some  men  in  them  from  this  county. 
Companies  A  and  B  of  the  Ninth  Regiment,  Com- 
panies C,  D,  E,  I,  and  K  of  the  Fourteenth  Regi- 
ment were  also  from  the  county  of  Middlesex.  These 
were  associated  with  Union  County  troops  in  their 
regimental  organizations,  the  histories  of  which  will 
be  found  in  that  portion  of  this  volume,  and  need 
not  be  repeated  here.  In  other  organizations  the 
Middlesex  County  men  were  most  largely  represented 
in  the  Twenty-eighth  Regiment  New  Jersey  Volun- 
teers, serving  for  nine  months. 

Twenty-eighth  Regiment.— The  Twenty-eighth 
Regiment  was  organized  under  the  provision  of  an 
act  of  Congress  approved  July  22,  18(il,  and  wa.s 
mustered  into  the  United  States  service  for  nine 
months  on  Sept.  22,  1862.  A  draft  had  been  ordered 
for  this  date  to  fill  a  requisition  made  upon  the  Gov- 
ernor for  ten  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  men,  to  serve  for  nine  months  unless  sooner 
discharged.  Such  was  the  enthusiasm  throughout 
the  State  to  raise  the  required  quota  by  voluntary 
enlistments,  and  thus  prevent  the  draft,  that  by  the 
time  for  the  latter  the  quota  for  the  State  was  entirely 
filled.  To  this  creditable  result  Middlesex  County 
contributed  nearly  a  full  regiment,  the  Twenty-eighth, 
the  balance,  Company  E,  being  raised  in  Ocean 
County,  Company  G  principally  in  Gloucester  County, 
Company  H  in  Camden  County,  and  a  few  of  Com- 


538 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


pany  A  in  Monmouth  County.  We  have  condensed 
the  following  brief  sketch  of  the  regiment: 

Company  A  was  recruited  from  the  counties  of 
Middlesex  and  Monmouth :  Captain,  B.  F.  Lloyd ; 
First  Lieutenant,  J.  R.  Appleby;  Second  Lieutenant, 
Wesley  Stoney.  Capt.  Lloyd  was  taken  sick  while 
the  regiment  lay  near  Washington,  and  died  soon 
after  in  hospital.  Lieut.  Appleby  then  took  com- 
mand of  the  company,  but  did  not  hold  the  position, 
being  discharged  soon  after  the  battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg. Lieut.  Stoney  saw  service  witli  the  three 
months'  men,  and  was  a  brave  and  efficient  officer; 
was  promoted  to  the  captaincy  after  the  death  of 
Capt.  Lloyd  and  the  discharge  of  Appleby.  J.  Dob- 
son  and  H.  D.  B.  Lefterts  were  appointed  first  and 
second  lieutenants  alter  the  promotion  of  Stoney. 

Company  B  was  recruited  in  Middlesex  County : 
Captain,  H.  S.  Disbrow ;  First  Lieutenant,  J.  H. 
Gulick;  Second  Lieutenant,  Alexander  Laird.  Capt. 
Disbrow  was  a  gallant  officer,  with  rare  aptitude  for 
command,  and  always  shared  with  his  men  the  hard- 
ships to  which  they  were  exposed.  He  led  his  com- 
pany with  conspicuous  bravery  at  Fredericksburg, 
and  after  the  dismissal  of  Lieut.-Col.  Roberts  was  for 
a  time  in  command  of  the  regiment.  Lieut.  Gulick 
had  seen  service  with  the  Ellsworth  Zouaves,  and 
was  among  the  bravest  of  the  brave.  Generous  to  a 
fault,  and  ever  ready  for  duty,  he  was  universally 
esteemed  in  the  regiment. 

Company  C  was  raised  in  Middlesex :  Captain, 
Joseph  C.  Letson ;  First  Lieutenant,  William  W. 
Stelle;  Second  Lieutenant,  S.  K.  Conover.  Capt. 
Letson  was  an  accomplished  officer,  and  led  his  men 
gallantly  at  Fredericksburg  in  the  position  of  acting 
major,  being  wounded  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  by 
a  rifle-ball  through  the  arm,  but  still  holding  his 
position  until  the  close  of  the  engagement.  When 
his  company  broke  camp  to  move  on  Chancellors- 
ville  he  was  at  home  on  furlough,  but  at  once  hurried 
forward  and  joined  his  command  before  the  battle, 
being  again  severely  wounded.  Lieut.  Stelle,  a  gen- 
uine Christian  soldier,  fought  heroically  at  Chancel- 
lorsville,  and  was  at  all  times  found  prepared  for 
duty,  however  arduous  or  perilous.  Lieut.  Conover, 
also  a  brave  and  faithful  officer,  was  seriously 
wounded  at  Chancellorsville,  and  did  not  return  to 
the  regiment. 

Company  D  was  recruited  in  Middlesex  County : 
Captain,  William  H.  Dunham ;  First  Lieutenant, 
Augustus  Hatfield ;  Second  Lieutenant,  William  J. 
Cook.  Lieut.  Hatfield  displayed  throughout  true 
soldierly  qualities,  and  was  engaged  in  all  the  actions 
in  which  his  company  took  part.  He  for  a  time  filled 
the  post  of  quartermaster  with  zeal  and  fidelity. 

Company  F  was  raised  in  Middlesex  County  :  Cap- 
tain, Isaac  Inslee,  Jr. ;  First  Lieutenant,  Benjamin 
A.  Robbins ;  Second  Lieutenant,  J.  W.  Westerfield. 
Capt.  Inslee  was  a  man  of  ardent  patriotism,  and  en- 
tered with  his  whole  soul  upon  the  soldier's  life.     He 


studied  closely  the  welfare  of  his  men,  and  was  uni- 
versally respected.  Always  at  his  post,  proud  of  his 
command,  and  solicitous  to  promote  its  efficiency, 
no  officer  in  the  regiment  has  a  better  record,  either 
as  a  disciplinarian  or  as  a  fighter.  Lieut.  Robbins, 
who  was  promoted  to  the  adjutancy,  was  a  capable 
officer,  and  discharged  promptly  every  duty  imposed 
upon  him.  Lieut.  Westerfield  being  compelled  on 
account  of  sickness  to  leave  the  service  some  two 
months  after  the  regiment  entered  the  field.  Private 
S.  Marsh  was  appointed  second  lieutenant  from  the 
ranks. 

Company  I  was  raised  in  Middlesex  County :  Cap- 
tain, Joseph  L.  Crowell ;  First  Lieutenant,  James  O. 
Willett;  Second  Lieutenant,  James  Fothergill.  Cap- 
tain Crowell  led  his  company  at  Fredericksburg,  and 
was  slightly  wounded.  Sergt.  John  H.  Tyrrill  of  this 
company  fought  with  great  bravery  at  Fredericks- 
burg, losing  a  foot ;  he  was  afterwards  made  lieutenant, 
but  never  returned  to  the  field. 

Company  K  was  raised  in  Middlesex  County :  Cap- 
tain, George  Storer;  First  Lieutenant,  James  Bris- 
nahan  ;  Second  Lieutenant,  Thomas  Conk.  Sergt.  J. 
T.  Bolton  of  this  company  displayed  great  gallantry 
at  Fredericksburg,  was  made  a  lieutenant,  and  did 
much  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  the  company. 

The  Twenty-eighth  was  mustered  into  the  service 
at  Freehold  on  the  22d  of  September,  1862.  Its  field- 
officers  were  as  follows :  Colonel,  Moses  N.  Wisewell ; 
Lieutenant-Colonel,  E.  A.  L.  Roberts  ;  Major,  S.  K. 
Wilson  ;  Adjutant,  William  A.  Gulick  ;  Chaplain,  C. 
J.  Page ;  Surgeon,  William  D.  Newell ;  Assistant 
Surgeon,  Benjamin  N.  Baker. 

Col.  Wisewell,  who  took  charge  of  the  regiment  at 
its  organization,  was  a  man  of  fine  intellectual  capa- 
city, and  soon  acquired  a  marked  hold  on  the  confi- 
dence of  his  men,  which  he  retained  until  November 
following,  when,  obtruding  upon  his  command  in  a 
public  address  certain  offensive  avowals  in  reference 
to  the  war  and  the  gubernatorial  contest  then  in  prog- 
ress in  New  Jersey,  he  became  obnoxious  to  a  large 
portion  of  his  regiment  His  courage,  however,  was 
undoubted,  and  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg  he 
held  his  regiment  with  great  gallantry,  falling  severely 
wounded  and  being  carried  from  the  field,  to  which 
he  was  unable  to  return  until  June,  1863. 

Lieut.-Col.  Roberts  came  from  New  York,  and  com- 
manded the  regiment  from  the  14th  of  December, 
1862,  until  the  2d  of  January  ensuing,  when  he  was 
discharged  for  tendering  his  resignation  in  the  face  of 
the  enemy.  Lieut.-Col.  John  A.  Wildrick,  who  had 
been  a  captain  in  the  Second  Regiment,  then  assumed 
command  and  by  his  sound  judgment  and  wise  exer- 
cise of  authority  soon  made  the  regiment  one  of  the 
most  effective  in  the  brigade  to  which  it  belonged. 
He  led  the  command  with  great  bravery  in  the  battle 
of  Chancellorsville,  where  he  was  taken  prisoner,  but 
being  exchanged,  returned  to  the  field  shortly  after, 
and  was  discharged  with  the  regiment. 


KECORD   OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY   MEN   IN   THE  CIVIL  WAR. 


539 


Maj.  Wilson  commanded  the  regiment  for  a  short 
time  in  January,  18(53,  and  also  in  the  following  May, 
and  was  discharged  with  it  upon  the  expiration  of  its 
term  of  service. 

Surgeon  Newell  during  the  whole  term  of  service 
performed  the  duties  of  his  po.sition  with  admirable 
efficiency  and  skill,  and  was  ably  seconded  in  all  his 
efforts  to  promote  the  comfort  of  the  men  by  his 
assistant,  Dr.  Baker. 

Adjt.  Gulick  acquitted  himself  with  great  credit  in 
the  battle  of  Fredericksburg,  and  was  throughout 
capable  and  faithful,  exercising  a  controlling  influ- 
ence in  the  regiment.  Resigning  his  position,  he  was 
succeeded,  in  March,  1863,  by  Adjt.  B.  A.  Robbins, 
who  also  proved  a  capable  officer. 

The  chaplain  of  the  regiment,  who  at  the  time  of 
entering  the  service  was  pastor  of  a  Baptist  Church 
in  Pi-scataway,  was  at  all  times  prompt,  earnest,  and 
efficient,  enjoying  the  fullest  confidence  of  the  men, 
and  proving  at  once  a  guide  and  friend  to  all  who 
needed  counsel  and  assistance. 

The  regiment,  nine  hundred  and  forty  strong,  left 
Freehold  on  the  4th  of  October,  1862,  and  reaching 
Washington  on  the  night  of  the  5th,  encamped  on 
Capitol  Hill,  being  furnished  a  few  days  afterwards 
with  Springfield  muskets.  On  the  13th  it  marched 
into  Virginia,  and  was  attached  to  Gen.  Abercrom- 
bie's  command.  On  the  1st  of  December  it  again 
broke  camp,  and  crossing  into  Maryland,  marched  to 
Liverpool  Point,  on  the  Lower  Potomac,  whence  on 
the  5th  it  crossed  to  Acquia  Creek,  and  in  the  midst 
of  a  driving  snow-storm  went  into  camp  until  the  8th, 
when  it  proceeded  to  Falmouth.  Here  it  was  attached 
to  the  First  Brigade  (Gen.  Kimball's),  Third  Division 
(©en.  French's),  Second  Army  Corps. 

"  During  the  whole  time  that  the  Twenty-eighth 
was  connected  with  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  it  held 
a  position  on  the  immediate  front,  within  a  short 
distance  of  the  Rappahannock,  and  was  consequently 
at  all  times  exposed  to  attack  by  '  raiding  parties'  of 
the  enemy.  Extraordinary  vigilance  and  activity 
were  thus  constantly  required,  as  every  alarm,  whether 
trifling  or  otherwise,  summoned  the  men  into  line, 
there  to  remain  for  hours,  and  sometimes  for  a  day 
and  a  night  at  a  time,  exposed  to  all  the  inclemency 
of  midwinter,  as  well  as  to  many  privations  which 
regiments  in  the  rear  never  experienced." 


CHAPTER    LXXIV. 

RECORD  OF   MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  MEN   IN  THE 
CIVIL    WAR. 

FIRST   REGIMENT. 

NON-COMMISSIONED  StaFF. 

Provost,  William  S.,  sergt.  Co.  G,  May  18,  18U1;  sergt.-mHJ.  Sept.  21, 
1861  i  pro.  to  2d  lieut.  Co.  K,  11th  Regt.,  July  15,  1802;  pro.  to  lat 
lieut.  Co.  B,  May  4, 1863 ;  discli.  Oct.  9,  1863,  dis. 


Company  A. 
Diinlmm,  Samuel  H..  1st  sergt.  May  16,  1801 ;  distil,  at  Gen.  Hosp.,  Fair- 
fax Sem.,  Va.,  July  9,  1802,  dis. 
Crossan,  Cornelius,  recruit,  Aug.  13,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Banks,  Va., 

Jan.  22,  1863,  dis. 

Company  B. 
Kelly,  Edward,  private,  April  25, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28, 1803;  served  in 

Co.  A,  1st  Batt. ;  mnst.  out  July  20, 1865. 
O'Brien,  Michael,  private,  April  26. 1861 ;  must,  out  July  23, 1864. 
Wickoff,  Peter,  private,  April  25,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  ManassaB, 

Va.,  Aug.  27,  1862. 
Williamson,  William  H.,  private,  April  25, 1861 ;  taken  prisoner  at  Wil- 

dernpss.  May  6, 1864  ;  died  of  scurvy  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Nov.  26, 

1864  ;  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Andersonville. 
Whitlock,  George  \V.  H.,  private,  June  15,  1861:  must,  out  June  23, 

1804. 

Company  C. 
Roberts,  Edward  F.,  sergt..  May  22, 1861 ;  1st  sergt.  June  8,  1861 ;  Ist 

lieut.  July  2,  1862;  pro.  capt.  Co.  H,  Nov.  4,  1862;  must,  out  June 

23,  1864. 
Phelan,  Tbomas  C,  sergt.,  May  22,  1861;  1st  sergt.  Aug.  4,1862;  2d 

lieut.  Oct.  7,  1802  ;  resigned  Feb.  12,  1863. 
Smith,  J.  Kearney,  Corp.,  May  22,  ISf^l;  eergt.  June  7,  1801 ;  pro.  adjt. 

27lh  Regt.  Oct.  9,  1802;  pro.  capt.  Co.  K,  Nov.  11, 1862;  res.  Dec. 

22,  1862  ;  bvt.  maj.  U.  S.  Vols.  March  13,  1865. 
Stumpf,  Philip,  Corp.,  May  22,  1861 ;  sergt.  Sept.  20, 1861 ;  Ist  sergt.  Jan. 

10, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Benton,  William  H.,  Ist  sergt..  May  22,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Sem.,  Va., 

Sept.  19,  1851,  dis, 
Faller,  John,  corp..  May  22,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va., 

June  27,  1S62. 
Hallman,  Henry,  corp..  May  22, 1861 ;  sergt.  Aug.  0,  1802;  killed  in  ac- 
tion at  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  5,  1864. 
Magnice,  Patrick,  Corp.,  Jan.  16,  1802;  sergt.  July  7,1862;  disch.  at 

U.  S.  Army  Hosp.,  Pbila.,  by  order  War  Dept.,  Oct.  11, 1864. 
Carrigan,  Thomas,  private,  May  22,  1861;  coi-p.  July  2,1862;  paroled 

prisoner;  disch.  May  10,  1865. 
Cody,  Marlin,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  deserted  at  camp  near  Belle  Plain, 

Va.,  Dec.  10, 1862. 
Conover,  Thomas,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  corp.  April  2,  1802;  killed  in 

action  at  Spottsylvania  C.  H.,  Va.,  May  12,  1804. 
Cox,  James,  piivate.  May  22,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Ciampton's  Pass 

Md.,  Sept.  14,  1862. 
Cheesman,  George,  piivate.  May  22,  1861;   deserted  July  27,  1861,  at 

Camp. Princeton,  Va. 
Dilling,  Henry,  private.  May  22,  1861;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov.  1,% 

1863.-  disch.  therefrom  April  27, 1804. 
Dislirow,  William  H.  H.,  private.  May  22,  1862;  desertnd  July  27,  1861, 

at  Camp  Princeton,  Va. 
Foster,  Juliu,  recruit,  Oct.  13,1861;  deserted  April  17,  1862;  returned 

to  duty  ;  sentenced  by  G.  C.  M.  to  make  good  time  lost;  served  in 

Co.  A,  lat  Batt. ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Guinot,  Jean  F.,  private.  May  22, 1861;  deserted  Jan.  20, 1863,  at  camp 

near  White  Oak  Church,  Va. 
Hamilton,  William,  private.  May  22,  1861;  died  at  field   hosp..  May  0 

1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Wilderness,  Va. 
Hamilton,  Archy,  private.  May  22,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23.  1864. 
Lott,  Thomas,  private.  May  22, 1801 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Mullin,  Patrick,  private.  May  22,  1861 ;  deserted  Sept.  20, 1862,  near 

Willianisport,  Md. 
Miller,  Henry,  private.  May  22, 1861;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Noe,  Adam,  private.  May  22,  1861 ;  deserted  July  9,  1863,  at  Emmitts- 

burg,  Md. 
O'Neil,  John,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  died  of  typhoid  fever,  etc.,  at  hos- 
pital near  Mechanicsville,  Va.,  June  15, 1862. 
Perry,  John  J.,  corji.,  May  22,  1861;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm, 

Va.,  June  27,  1862. 
Reilley,  Michael,  private.  May  22, 1861;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept. 

1,  1803;  returued  to  company  Jan.  28,  1864;  corp.  Dec.  8,  1862; 

must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Roberts,  Charles  H.,  Corp.,  May  22, 1861 ;  died  at  Master  St.  Hosp.,  Phil- 
adelphia, Sept.  20, 1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Gaines' 

Farm,  Va. 
Stafford,  Joseph,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  died  at  U.  S.  Army  Hosp.,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  May  23,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Spottsyl- 


540 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Stafford,  Thnnias,  private.  May  22,  1861:  muBt.  out  June  23, 1804. 
Sharbock,  William,  private.  May  22, 1861 ;  discli.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Pliiladelphia,  Oct.  22, 1862,  dis. 
Tappan,  David  B.,  private,   May  22,  1861 ;  liilled  in  action  at  Salem 

Heights,  Va.,  May  3,  1802. 
Welsh,  Dennis,  private.  May  22,  1861;  deserted  at  camp  near  Belle 

PlHin,  Va.,  Dec.  10,  1862. 
Winchester,  Periey  F.,  Corp.,  May  22, 1861 ;  missing  in  action  at  Salem 

Heights,  Va.,  May  3,  186"! ;  supposed  dead. 
Wittenburg,  Gustav,  private,  May  22, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  Zi,  ISM. 

Company  E. 

Ailt,  Joseph,  private.  May  23,  1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  Oct.  7, 1862,  dis. 
Casney,  James  H.,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  deserted  April  18, 1863  ;  re-enl. 

Dec.  28,  1863;  served  in  Co.  A,  1st  Batt. 
Rosser,  Warren,  recruit,  Aug.  28, 1862;  trans,  to  navy  April  18,  1864. 


COMP 


F. 


Elkin,  Isaac  L.  F.,  1st  sergt..  May  26, 1861.;  2d  lieut.,  vice  Vooriiees,  re- 
signed, Sept.  21, 1861 ;  pro.  to  1st  lieut.  Co.  H,  Oct.  7,1862;  trans. 

to  Co.  D,  March  14,  1863;  pro.  to  adjt.  Sept.  20,  1863;  disch.  as  a 

paroled  prisoner  March  12,  1865. 
Blue,  Albert  L.,  sergt..  May  25,  1861 ;  let  sergt.  Sept.  21, 1861 ;  2d  lieut. 

Oct.  7,  1862 ;  pro.  1st  lieut.,  Co.  I,  Dec.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  June 

23,  1864. 
DeHart,  James  W.,  sergt.,  May  26, 1861 ;  1st  sergt.  Nov.  1,  1861 ;  must. 

out  June  23,  1864. 
Smith,  George,  sergt..  May  25,  1861 ;  must,  out  Jnne  23,  1864. 
Taylor,  George  W.,  sergt..  May  18,  1801 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  June  26,  1862,  dis. 
Croken,  John  H.,  Ist  Corp.,  May   18,  1801 ;   Ist  sergt.  Dec.  8,  1862  ;  de- 
serted March  1, 1803,  while  on  furlough. 
McElhaney,  Thomas,  Corp.,  May  25,1861;  sergt.  Aug.  1,1863;  re-enl. 

Dec.  28,  1863  ;  served  in  Co.  B,  1st  Batt. ;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Garrigan,  Miles,  Corp.,  May  18,1861 ;  sergt.  Nov.  1, 1862;  killed  in  action 

at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May  3,  1863. 
Hughes,  William  S.,  private.  May  25,  1801 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28, 1863;  served 

iu  Co.  B,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  June  29,  1865. 
Vooriiees,  Richard  B.,  corp..  May  25,  1861 ;  private  April  18,  1863  ;  must. 

out  June  23, 1864. 
Moffett,  Benjamin  L.,  corp.,  May  25, 1861 ;  sergt.  Sept.  1, 1862;  2d  lieut. 

March  10, 1863;  killed  in  action  at  Wilderness,  Va.,  May  8, 1864. 
Souville,  Lloyd  A.,  corp..  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  Dec.  13, 1862,  dis. 
Pago,  Enoch,  Corp.,  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Sept.  20, 1862,  dis. 
Croken,  James  A.,  musician,  June  17, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  July 

30,  1864. 
Blake,  Price  P.,  wagoner.  May  18,1861;  killed  in  action  at  Spottsyl. 

vania,  Va.,  May  9, 1864;  buried  at  Nat.  Cem.,  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
Barry,  Richard,  private,  June  10,  1861;   corp.  Nov.  1,  1862;   died  at 

Fredericksburg,  May  6,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  there. 
Britton,  Edward  M.,  private.  May  18,1861;  corp.  July  1,1863;  must. 

out  June  23,  1864. 
Burns,  James,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  West  Phila- 
delphia, Aug.  7, 1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm, 

Va. 
Burke,  Peter,  private,  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  Nov.  4, 1862.  to  join  regular 

army. 
Boyce,  Ambrose,  private,  June  5, 1861 ;  died  July  1, 1862,  of  wounds  re- 
ceived in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm,  Va. 
Breese,  William  H.  H.,  private.  May  18, 1R61  ;  <lesprted  July  31, 1861,  at 

Camp  Princeton,  Va. 
Cain,  Felix  V.,  private,  June  10, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp., 

Baltimore,  Md.,  Nov.  6, 1862,  dis. 
Currie,  Thomas,  private,  May  18, 1801 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Oen.  Hosp., 

Portsmouth  Grove,  R  I.,  March  6,  1863,  dis. 
Cook,  Samuel,  private,  May  18,  1861;  disch.  at  U.S.  .\.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I.,  Jan.  9, 1863,  dis. 
Christian,  Henry  P.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Annapolis,  Md.,  Fob.  16, 1863,  (lis. 
Carroll,  Thomas,  private,  Blay  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  White' Oak  Church,  Va., 

Jan.  3, 1863,  dis. 
Cherry,  John  B.,  private.  May  18,  1861  ;  ilisch.  at  Camp  Olilen,  Trontoii, 

N.  J.,  Juno  20,  1861,  dis. 


Churchward,  Abraham,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  deserted  June  10, 1861,  at 

Camp  Olden,  Trenton. 
Dunn,  George  A.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  taken  prisoner  at  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  6,  1864;  died  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  Oct.  8,  1864;  buried 

there  in  Nat.  Cem. 
Dunn,  Patrick,  private,  June  5, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  F,  4th  Regt.,  June  4, 

1864 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,  1863  ;  died  at  Winchester,  Va.,  Sept.  20.  1864, 

of  wounds  received  in  action  there;  buried  there. 
Dobson,  .\1exaiider,  private.  May  18, 1861;  killed  in  action  at  Wilder- 
ness, Va.,  May  6,  1864. 
Dobson,  Henry,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  deserted  July  18, 1863,  on  march 

to  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Dinton,  James,  recruit,  Sept.  25,  1861;  corp.  Nov.  1,  1862;  1st  sergt 

April  3,  1863;  re-enl.  Dec.  28, 1863;  com.  2d  lieut.  Co.  F,  33d  Regt, 

Dec.  1,  1864;  not  mustered;  pro.  1st  lieut.  Co.  A,  1st  Batt.,  Feb.  2, 

1865;  served  in  Co.  C,  Ist  Batt. 
Engster,  John  J.,  private,  June  5,1861;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Jau.  16, 1863,  dis. 
Finnegan,  Edward,  private,  Jnne  10,  1861;  Corp.  March  1, 1863;  sergt. 

July  1, 1863  ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Ferguson,  Philip,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  deserted  July  18, 1863,  on  march 

to  Gettysburg,  Pa. 
Ferguson,  Daniel,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,1863;  served  in 

Co.  C,  1st.  Batt.;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Ferry,  James,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Banks,  Va.,  Jan.  12, 

1863,  dis. 
Fank,  Charles,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Fleming,  Christopher,  private,  May  18, 1861;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminaiy, 

Va.,  Feb.  3,  1862,  dis. 
Gaisbauer,  Charles,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  deserted  Oct.  26, 1862,  at  West 

Philadelphia,  Pa. 
Gack,  Jacob,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Portsmouth  Grove,  R.  I., 

Dec.  27, 1862,  dis. 
Guernsay,  Silas,  private.  May  18, 1861;  re-enl.  Feb.  11,  1864;  served  in 

Co.  B,  1st  Batt. ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Haggerty,  Bernard,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  Corp.  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  sergt.  Nov, 

1, 1862  ;  private,  Feb.  25, 1864  ;  sergt.  March  1, 1864 ;  must,  out  June 

23, 1864. 
Hooker,  George  W.,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  sergt  March  1, 1863;  died  at 

U.S.  A.  Hosp.,  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  May  14, 1864,  of  wounds  received 

iu  action  at  Wilderness,  Va. 
Henry,  Waller  M.,  private.  May  18, 1861;  corp.  Nov,  1,  1862;  trans,  to 

Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov.  15, 1863;  disch.  therefrom  May  31,  1864. 
Hazard,  John  N.,  private.  May  18,1861;   Corp.  Sept.  1,  1862;   deserted 

July  16,  1863;  returned  to  duty  Feb.  10, 1864;  must,  out  Dec^O, 

1864. 
Hickey,  Thomas,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Hoagland,  Wyckoff  V.,  private,  May  18,  1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,  1863; 

served  in  Co.  C,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Hutchinson,  John  H.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  corp.  May  25, 1861 ;  must. 

out  June  23,  1864. 
Jackson,  Charles  C,  recruit,  Sept.  24, 1863;  trans,  to  Cu.  K  ;  served  in 

Co.  B,  1st  Batt.;  must  out  Juno  29, 1865. 
Kemp,  Thomas,  private.  May  18, 1861;  must  out  June  23, 1864. 
Kinney,  Daniel,  private,  May  18, 1861;  corp.  March  1, 1863;  must,  out 

June  23, 1864. 
Klein,  John  H.,  private,  May  18, 1861  ;'disi:h.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

Feb.  7,  1862,  dis. 
Lester,  John  H.,  private.  May  18,1861;  disch.  at  U.S.A.  Hosp.,  West 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Dec.  24, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in 

action ;  leg  amputated. 
Lowry,  James,  private,  May  18,1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,1863;  served  in 

Co.  A,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
McGrath,  Morrii,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, Jan.  20,  1863,  dis. 
McDonald,  Martin,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
McGovern,  Peter,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Alexandria,  Va.,  Jan. 

15,  1863,  dis. 
Meyei-s,  Jnlius,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Miller,  John,  private.  Slay  18,  1861 ;  must,  out  Juno  23, 1864. 
Martiu,  John,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Morris,  John,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Gaines'  Farm, 

Va.,  June  27,  1862. 
McSpaden,  James,  private,  Aug- 13,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

March4,  1862,  dis. 
O'Connor,  John,  private,  June  5,  1801  ;   trans,  to  Bli^sissippi  Gun-boat 

Flotilla  Feb.  22, 1862. 


RECORD   OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY  MEN   IN   THE    CIVIL   WAR. 


541 


O'Neil,  Jubn,  private,  May  18,  1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 

Osnian,  George  H.,  private.  May  18, 1861;  disch.ut  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

Oct.  18, 1861,  dis. 
Plum,  Benijab   M.,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Fortress  Monroe,  Va.,  Sept.  18,  1862,  dia. 
Pixton,  Henry  A,,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Page,  Jolin  D.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  discli.  U.  8.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Fair- 
fax Seminary,  Va.,  Sei)t.  13, 1862,  dis. 
Prall,  David  B.  S.,  private,  Juno  18,  1861 ;  died  at  Ricliniond,  Va.,  July  5. 

1862,  of  wounds  received  iu  action  at  Gaines'  Farm ;  prisoner  of  war. 
Perdiiu,  Charles  A.,  private.  May  18,  1861;   deserted  May  26,  18G1.  at 

Camp  Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Byno,  Joseph,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  (^nvalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Oct.  11, 1862,  dis. ;  sergt.  May^6, 1861. 
Keed,  Steplien  M.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Feb.  11, 1864 ;  served  iu 

Co.  B,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  July  6,  1865. 
Reanies,  Patricli  H.,  piivate,  May  18,  1861  ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Rhodes,  Edward,  recruit,  May  19, 1864 ;  served  in  Co.  B,  1st  Batt. ;  must. 

out  June  29,1865. 
Biker,  Joseph  L.,  private,  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philaiielpliia,  Ph.,  June  2, 1862,  dis. 
Boyer,  Moses  II.,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Seminary,  Va., 

Nov.  4,  1861,  dis. 
Swan,  George  W.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Dec.  11,  1862,  dis. 
Stout,  William  A.,  private,  May  18. 1801 ;  re-eul.  Dec.  28, 1863;  served  in 

Co.  B,  1st  Batt.;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
Smith,  Edward  W.,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  corp.  Oct.  20, 1863;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864. 
Sodeu,  James  D.,  private,  May  18, 1861 ;  dishonorably  disch.  Aug.  9, 1863, 

at  Wurrenton,  Va. ;  deserted  at  Camp  Princeton,  July  28, 1861 ;  re- 
turned to  duty  July  18, 1863. 
Smith,  James,  private,  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  June  18, 

1861,  dis. 

Ten  BroecJc,  Van  Renseler,  private,  Aug.  13,  1861 ;  corp.  Nov.  1, 1862; 

des<*rted  June  28,  1863;  returned  to  duty;  disch.  by  order  War 

Dept.,  May  17, 1866. 
Van  Tiilburgh,  William,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  deserted  April  28, 1863, 

at  Wliite  Oak  Churcli,  Va. 
Voorhees,  George  W.,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  disch.  Dec.  11, 1862,  to  join 

i-eguhir  army. 
Welsh,  Michael,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Welsh,  Patrick,  private.  May  18,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  May  14,  1863,  dis. 
Welsh,  Thomas,  private.  May  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Wilson,  George,  private,  June  5,  1861 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va. ;  buried 

at  Alexandria. 

Company  G. 
Oilman,  Howard  M.,  Ist  sergt..  May  28, 1861 ;  sergt.maj.  July  20,  1862; 

2d  lieut.  vice  Wyckoff.  pro.  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  1st  lieut.  Co.  E,  Nov.  27, 

1862,  Hce  Taylor  res. ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 

Way,  Alexander  M.,  capt..  May  28,  1801  ;  pro.  maj.  July  21, 1863 ;  brev. 

lieut.-col.  and  col.  March  13,  1866. 
Meserole,  Nicholas  W.,  sergt..  May  23, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton  Oct.  6, 

1862,  to  accept  a  com.  as  1st  lieut.  Co.  G,  133d  Regt.  N.  J.  State  Vols. 
Van  Liew,  Augustus  D.,  Corp.,  May  28, 1861 ;  sergt.  Sept.  1,  1862  ;  re-enl. 

Dec.  28, 1863;  served  in  Co.  B,  1st  Batt.;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark, 

by  order  War  Dept.,  Aug.  9,  1865. 
Halstead,  Isaac  S.,  private.  May  23,  1861;  deserted  April  28,  1863,  at 

White  Oak  Church,  Va.;  corp.  May  28,  1861;  private  April  11,  1862. 
Dansbury,  William  F.,  Corp., May  23, 1861;  disch.  at  U.S.  A. Gen.  Hosp., 

New  York  City,  Dec.  1,  1862,  dis. 
Buzzee,  Alexanilcr,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Buzzee,  George  U.,  musician.  May  23, 1861 ;  taken  prisoner  at  the  Wil- 
derness, Va.,  May  6,  1864;  died  at  Florence,  S.  C,  Dec.  16, 1864. 
Abrahams,  Austin,  recruit,  .\ug.  15,  1861;  served  in  4tfa  Regt.;  must. 

out  Aug.  26,  1864. 
Buckley,  John,  private,  Blay  23, 1861 ;  taken  prisoner  at  Wilderness, 

Va.,  May  6,  1864;  died  at  Andersonville,  Ga.,  June  27, 1864. 
Bogart,  Charles  C,  private.  May  23,  1861;  re-enl.  Dec.  28,  1863;  trans. 

to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March  25,  1865;  disch.  therefrom  Oct.  26,  1865. 
Clayton,  William  H.,  private.  May  23,  1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,    Philadelphia,    Pa.,   Sept.   16,   1862;   re-enl.    Feb.   26,  1864; 

disch.  March  28,  1864,  dis. 
Davis,  William  L.,  recruit,  Aug.  15, 1861 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Jan.  6,  1863,  dis. 
36 


Delhanty,  John,  recruit,  Aug.  15, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Dec.  28, 1863;  served  in 

Co.  B,  1st  Batt. ;  must,  out  June  29, 1865. 
De  Hart,  Jacob  S.,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23,  1864. 
Lawrence,  John,  recruit,  Aug.  15,  1861 ;  corp.  Jan.  1,  1863 ;  disch.  at 

Strasburg,  Va.,  Aug.  14,  1864;  served  in  Co.  D,  4th  Regt. 
Lewis,  John  T.,  recruit,  Aug.  15, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  G,  4th  Regt. ;  must. 

out  Aug.  20,  1864. 
Lewis,  William  H.,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Long,  Edward  B.,  private.  May  23,  1801 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp. 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Sept.  29, 1862,  dis. 
Minturn,  Edward,  Jr.,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  disch.  at  New  Brunswick, 

N.  J.,  Oct.  29, 1862,  to  accept  a  promotion. 
Minturn,  Benjamin  O.,  private.  May  23,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Belle  Plain,  Va., 

Dec.  18, 1862,  to  accept  com.  as  1st  lieut.  Co.  C,  92d  Regt.  N.  J.  State 

Vols. 
Mesrole,  William,  private.  May  23,  1861 ;   killed  in  action  at  Gaines' 

Farm,  Va.,  June  27, 1862. 
Phillips,  Theodore  F.,  sergt..  May  23, 1861 ;  killed  in  action  at  Wilder- 
ness, Va.,  May  6,  1864;  buiied  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
De  Hart,  James  H.,  private.  May  23,  1861 ;  Corp.  Oct.  25,  1862;  disch.  to 

join  the  Signal  Corps  U.  S.  A. 
Price,  George  W.,  Jr.,  private.  May  23,  1861 ;  Corp.  April  23, 1863  ;  must. 

out  June  23, 1864. 
Peacock,  John,  private.  May  23,  1861;  disch.  at  Trenton,  Nov.  2, 1864; 

paroled  prisoner. 
Rausch,  Pe'er,  private,  May  23,  1861 ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Regt. 

Hosp.,  at  Harrison's  Landing,  Va.,  July  31, 1862. 
Seilpert,  George,  private.  May  23,  1801;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Philadelphia,  Pa.,  Jan.  15,  1863,  disability. 
Skillmau,  David,  recruit,  Aug.  16, 1861 ;  nmst.  out  Aug.  19, 1864. 
Smith,  Osceola,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Fairfax  Seminary,  Va., 

Sept.  6, 1861,  disability. 
Vanderbilt,  Cornelius,  private.  May  23, 1861 ;  must,  out  June  23, 1864. 
Van  Dnyne,  Isaac,  private,  May  23, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  &)rps,  July 

1,  1863. 
Van  Fleet,  Abraham,  private.   May  23,  1861 ;  disch.  at  Convalescent 

Camp,  AIe.vandria,  Va.,  March  16,  1863,  disability. 
Van  Liew,  John   H.,  fifer.  May  28,  1861 ;  corp.  Dec.  8,  1862;  must,  out 

June  23,  1864.' 

NINTH  REGIMENT. 
Gulick,  William  A.,  sergt.-maj.,  Sept. 23, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 
for  disability  April  25,  1862. 

COMPANr    A. 

Grover,  Charles,  1st  sergt.,  Sept.  17,  1861;  2d  lieut.  tice  Muller,  must. 

out;  res.  Oct.  30,  1864. 
Stillwell,  Symmes  H.,  sergt.,  Sept.  17,1861;  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Applegate,  Arunah  D.,  sergt.,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  1st  sergt.  Jan.  18, 1864;  re- 
enl.  Jan.  18, 1864  ;  2d  lieut.  vice  Grover,  res.  ;  res.  May  13, 1865. 
Mount,  John  G.,  Corp.  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  must,  out  Sept.  22,  1864.  ■ 
Clayton,  David  C,  private,  .Sept.  17,  1861;  corp.  April  24,1862;    sergt. 

Sept.  6,  1S64 :  must,  out  Dec.  8,  1864. 
Messroll,  Charles,  Corp.,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1S64. 
Wood,  Reuben  V.  P.,  corp.,  Sept.  17, 1862;  sergt.  Sept.  18, 1863;  re-enl. 

Jan.  18,  1864;  1st  sergt.  Jan.  1,  1866;  com.  2d  lieut.  May  22,  1865; 

not  must.;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Applegate,  John,  private,  Sept.  17,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25,  1863;  disch.  at 

New  York  City  by  telegraphic  instruction  War  Dept.,  May  4,  1865. 
Arlow,  Robert,  private,  Sept.  17,  1862  ;  must,  out  Oct.  15,  1864. 
Hoaglaud,  Cornelius  B.,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;    corp.  July  1,  1863 ;    re- 

onl.  Nov.  25,  1863  ;  sergt.  Nov.  1,  1864 ;  nrast.  out  July  12,  1864. 
Clayton,  William,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  25,  1863  ;  missing 

in  action  at  Drury's  Bluff,  Va.,  May  16, 1864;  died  at  Florence,  S.  C, 

Nov.  18,  1864. 
Cook,  James,  private,  Sept.  17,  1861 ;    re-enl.  Jan.  18,  1864 ;    must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Carman,  Luke  K.,  private,  Sept.  5, 1864;  must,  out  June  14, 1865. 
Dugan,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;    died  of  typhoid  fever  at  New- 
berne, N.  C,  April  30, 1865. 
Fisher,  Henry  C,  recruit,  Feb.  29,  1864;    corp.  Dec.  8,  1864;    must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Garry,  John,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  re-onl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  disch.  by  order 

War  Dept.,  May  4,  1865. 


1  History  of  First  Regiment  (three  years'  i 
Brigade.    See  Union  County  in  this  work. 


n)  included  in  Second 


542 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Harris,  Williani,  priyate,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept.  1, 

1863  ;  discb.  therefrom  Nov.  10,  1865. 
Ives,  Milton  J.,  private,  Sept.  17,  1801  ;  must,  out  Dec.  7,  1864. 
Kelley,  John  E.,  recruit,  Feb.  22,  1SC4  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865. 
Messroll,  B.  Isaac,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;    re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864:    must. 

out  July  12,  1866. 
McGintay,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  17,  1861 ;   trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

Sept.  1, 1863 ;  discb.  therefrom  March  18, 1864. 
Bonham,  Lucius  C,  corp.,  Sept.  17, 1861  ;    sergt.  June  15,  1863;    re-enl.    1 

Jan.  18, 1864;    2d  lieut.  Co.  U  Sept.  10, 1864 ;    1st  lieut.  March  16,    I 

1865;  capt.  vie.  Applegate,  promoted  ;  must,  out  July  12,  1865.  1 

Bolfe,  George  N.,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps ;  discb. 

therefrom  Sept.  21, 1864. 
Roxberry,  Joseph,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Stults,  Simeon,  private,  Sept.  17,  1861 ;   must,  out  Sept.  22,  1864. 
Scully,  John,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  died  at  field  hosp.,  July  9, 1864,  of 

wounds  received  in  action  at  Petersburg,  Va. 
Snediker,  Howard,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Stout,  William  K.,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18,1864;  discb.  at 

hospital,  Newark,  May  3,  1865. 
Stults,  Salter  S.,  private,  June  5,1862;  died  at  Charleston,  prisoner  of 

war,  October,  1864. 
Silvers,  William  H.,  recruit,  Feb.  29, 1864;  died  at   field  hospital  near 

Petersburg,  Va.,  Aug.  1,  1864. 
Vaubise,  Andrew  M.,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  must. 

out  July  12,  1865. 
Vandervere,  David  G.,  private,  March  1, 1864;  trans,  to  S.  R.  S.  March 

24,  1864. 
Witcraft,  Albert,  private,  Sept.  17, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  must,  out 

July  12,  1.165. 


Danberry,  Henry  M.,  private,  Sept.  26,  1861 ;  discb.  at  Newberne,  N.  C, 

May  30, 1863,  dis. 
Danberry,  William,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Annapijlis,  Md.,  Jan. 

22, 1863  ;  paroled  prisoner. 
Dock,  Isaac,  wagoner,  Oct.  2, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Deady,  John,  private,  Sept.  18, 1S61  ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J. ;  paroled 


Com  I' 


B. 


Blackeny,  Moses  C,  Corp.,  Sept.  18,  1861;  sergt.  May  28,1863;  re-enl. 

January,  1864  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Bennett,  John,  Corp.,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  sergt.  June  11, 1862 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  26, 

1863;  2a  lieut.  March  16,1865;  1st  lieut.  «ce  Sheppard,  pro.  April 

10,  1865  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1866. 
De  Hart,  Theodore,  carp.,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  sergt.  Oct.  16,  1863  ;  must,  out   [ 

Dec.  7,  1864.  1 

Hoyes,  Eugene  M.,  sergt.,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  drowned  at  foot  of  Barclay   I 

Street,  New  York  City,  Oct.  24,  1863,  while  on  furlough. 
Vanderhoef,  Robert  B.,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Lawrence,  John,  private,  Oct.  6, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Beaufort,  N.  C,  Oct.  18, 

1862,  dis. 
Currie,  Edward,  Corp.,  Sept.  28,  1861 ;  deserted  Sept.  5,  1863,  at  New 

Brunswick,  N.  J.,  while  on  a  furlough. 
Acker,  Francis,  recruit,  Feb.  26,  1864;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Butterworth,  Jonathan,  private,  Sept.  18,1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.C., 

May  30, 1863,  dis. 
Buckley,  Tbomiis,  private,  Sept.  26, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  City,  N.  C, 

Nov.  17, 1862,  dis. 
Boudinot,  William  B.,  private,  Sept.  26,  1861  ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden, 

Trenton,  Nov.  2, 1861,  dis. 
Bloodgood,  Phineas  F.,  private,  Sept.  26, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Morehead  City, 

N.  C,  Oct.  23,  1862 ;  wounded  accidentally. 
Boorman,  Edgar  J.,  private,  Oct.  12, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Camp  Olden,  Trenton, 

N.  J.,  Nov.  2, 1861;  dis. 
Breese,  Henry,  private,  Oct.  4, 1861 ;  discb.  at  Morehead  City,  N.  C,  Nov. 

17, 1863,  dis. 
Corolan,  Patrick,  recruit,  Oct.  6, 1864. 
Cosier,  John  W.,  private,  Sept.  26, 1861 ;  discb.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  May 

30, 1863,  dis. 
Clerkin,  John,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861*;  must,  out  Dec.  7, 1864. 
Church,  George  W.,  private,  Oct.  8, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Nov.  26, 1863 ;  disch.  at 

New  York  May  4, 1865,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Coburn, Charles  A.,  private,  Sept.  18,1861 ;  deserted  April,  1863;  returned 

to  duty  July  27, 1864 ;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Cahill,  Francis,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 
Crawford,  Jnmes,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 
Pierson,  John  L.,  Corp.,  Sept.  18, 1861;  disch.  at  Helena  Island,  S.  C, 

March  28,  1863,  dis. 
Collins,  William,  private,  Sept.  26,  1861;  deserted  Oct.  1, 1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Dye,  Walter  J.,  private,  Sept.  18,  1861;  deserted  Oct.  2, 1861,  at  Camp 

Olden,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Dye,  Isaac  S.,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  4tli  Regt.,  Aug.  21, 

1861. 


Disbrow,  Ferdinand,  private,  Oct.  16,  1861 ;  died  at  Hosp.  Roanoke,  N.  C, 

of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Roanoke  Island,  N.  C. 
Dye,  Walter,  private,  Sept.  2, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newport  News,  Va.,  Nov, 

20, 1863,  dis. 
Fowler,  Joseph  W.,  private,  Sept.  26, 1S61 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  Nov. 

17, 1862,  dis. 
Gould,  Richard  N.,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 
Gray,  David  V.  D.,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Norfolk,  on  detached  service 

Sept.  22, 1864. 
Hall,  Reuben,  private,  Feb.  27, 1862;  re-enl. 
Harrison,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  15, 1862. 
Hughes,  Theodore  V.,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 
Houghton,  Michael,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  4th  Regt. 
Hagerty,  Daniel,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861;  must,  out  Dec.  8, 1864. 
Hopkins,  Simon  F.,  private,  Sept.  29, 1864. 
Johnson,  William,  private,  Dec.  3, 1861;  re-enl.  June  18,1864;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Labone,  Wallace  W.,  private,  Sept.  20,  1861;  disch.  at  Morehead  City, 

N.  C,  Nov.  17, 1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Roanoke  Island. 
Lally,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  27,1861;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  March 

1,  1863,  dis. 
Lawless.  Peter,  private,  Sept.  24,  1861. 
Moore,  William  H.,  Sept.  20, 1861. 
Moore,  Tbonijis  B.,  private,  Aug.  29, 1861 ;  missing  in  action  at  Drury's 

Bluff,  Va.,  May  16,  1864. 
Murphy,  James,  private,  Sept.  5,  1862. 
Morris,  William,  private,  Oct.  8,  1861;  reenl.  Dec.  20,  1863;  must,  out 

July  12,  1865. 
Meyers,  John,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;  discb. 

Sept.  21,  1864. 
Munslow,  Isaac  P.  H.,  private,  Oct.  1, 1861 ;  deserted  at  Camp  Olden, 

Trenton,  Nov.  2, 1861. 
McClay,  James,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  Dec.  31, 

1864. 
McAndrew,  Allen,  recruit,  Jan.  12, 1864. 
Moutaloo,  Frank,  recruit,  Feb.  11, 1864. 
Nevius,  Benjamin  F.,  recruit,  Jan.  5, 1862. 
Prall.  James,  musician,  Oct.  2, 1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  18, 1864 ;  must,  out  July 

12,  1865. 
Pierman,  Garret  V.,  recruit,  Feb.  27, 1864. 
Reynolds,  James,  private,  Sept.  26, 1861 ;  discb.  at  Morehead  City,  N.  C, 

May  7, 1863,  dis. 
Silcox,  Bergen,  private,  Sept.  24,  1861. 
Sbardlow,  Williani,  private,  Sept.  18,  1861. 
Skilhnan,  Joakin,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  deserted  Jan.  8, 1862 ;  returned 

to  duty  Aug.  1, 1864  ;  must,  out  July  12, 1865. 
Sherry,  Peter,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  10, 

1865. 
Sheehan,  John,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 
Smith,  George,  recruit,  Sept.  2,  1862. 
Tutenberj;,  Henry  M.,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861. 

Van  Deventer,  John,  private,  Sept.  18, 1861 ;  trans,  to  Co.  C,  4th  Regt. 
Voorhees,  John  C,  private,  Oct.  8, 1861 ;  disch.  at  Newberne,  N.  C,  June 

23,  1862,  dis. 
Voorhees,  John  H.,  private,  Oct.  5, 1864. 

(History  of  Ninth  Regiment  in  Union  County,  this  work.) 


FOURTEENTH   REGIMENT. 

COMP.INY    C. 

Bonnell,  William,  recruit,  Sept.  13, 1864;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Culver,  William,  recruit,  Feb.  9, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  H  (see  Co.  H). 
Cheesman,  Augustus,  recruit,  Sept.  9, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  K  (see  Co.  K). 
Christian,  Henry  P.,  recruit,  Sept.  5, 1864;  disch.  at  draft  rendezvous, 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  Oct.  2,  1864;  rejected  by  medical  board. 
Dunliani,  Samuel  H.,  recniit,  Sept.  12,  1864;  must,  out  June  15,  1865. 
Timmins,  William  H.,  recruit  Sept.  12,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K  (see  Co.  K). 
Young,  Peter  R.,  recruit,  Aug.  11, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  I  (see  Co.  I). 


RECORD  OF   MIDDLESEX  COUNTY  MEN   IN   THE   CIVIL   WAR. 


543 


Company  D. 
Conover,  .Tames  W.,  capt.,  Aug.  15,  1862 ;  died  at  Frederick  City,  Md., 

Aug.  4, 1864,  of  wounda  received  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9, 1864. 
Bookstover,  Henry  D.,  Ist  lieut.  Co.  K,  Aug.  25,  1862;  capt.,  vice  Con- 
over,  died  ;  disch.  May  i2,  1865,  disability. 
Conine,  Henry  J.,  1st  lieut.,  Aug.  15,  1862;  pro.  capt.  Co.  A,  Not.  21, 

1863;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9,  1864. 
Craig,  William  H.,  2d  lieut.,  Aug.  15,1862;  1st  lieut.,  rjce  Conine,  promo- 
ted Nov.  21,  1863 ;  capt.  Aug.  9,  1864  ;  not  mustered ;  disch.  Nov.  8, 

1864,  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Monocacy,  Md.,  July  9,1804. 
Fletcher,  James,  1st  sergt.,  Co.  1,  Aug.   11,  1862;  1st  lieut.,  rice  Craig, 

disch  ,  Nov.  9,  1864 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Kiddle,  James   H.,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  13,  1862:  2d  lieut.,  rice  Craig,  pro.; 

com.  Ist  lieut.  Aug.  9,  1864;  not  must.;  disch.  Oct.  17,  1864,  dis. 
Lane,  Gilbert,  sergt.,  July  28, 1862  ;  1st  sergt.  Aug.  31,  1864;  com.  2d 

lieut.,  Co.  E,  June  2G,  1 865  ;  not  must. ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Reed,  John  T.,  sergt.,  July  28,  1862;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order  War 

Dept.  May  3,  1865. 
Winder,  Jacob  S.,  Corp.,  July  2.'-,  1862;  sergt.  July  10,1863;  must,  out 

June  18, 1865. 
Borden,  Richard,  Corp.,  Aug.  18,  1862;   sergt.  Dec.  7,  1863;  disch.  at 

Trenton  by  order  War  Dept.  May  15,  1865. 
Conk,  Jackson,  corp.,  July  28,  1862;  sergt.    Aug.  31,  1864;  must,  out 

June  18,  1865. 
Emmons,  John  B.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  corp.  July  10, 1863;  disch.  at 

U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  May  3, 1865. 
Brown,  Joseph,  private,  July  20, 1862  ;  corp.  March  1, 1864 ;  must,  out 

June  18,  1866. 
Duncan,  Robert  T.,  Corp.,  Aug.  11,  1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  by 

order  War  Dept.  May  3, 1865. 
Jolees,  Charles  S.;  corp.,  Aug.  7,  1862  ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3,  1866. 
Lacore,  William,  Corp.,  July  28, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Hampton,  Grandon,  Corp.,  July  28, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Stillwagou,  William,  private,  July  28,1862;  Corp.  Aug.  31, 1864;  disch. 

at  U.  S.  Army  Gen.  Hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  May  3, 1865. 
Matthews,  John  H.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862;  corp.  Aug.  31,  1864  ;  must. 

out  June  18, 1866. 
Harvey,  Cornelius,  musician,  July  2G,  1862;  pro.  to  principal  musician 

May  1,  1863. 
Anderson,  William  A.,  private,  July  29, 1863;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Applegate,  Asher,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Allen,  John,  private,  Feb.  10, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt. ;  must,  out 

July  11,  1865. 
Addison,  William,  private,  July  28,1862;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 

Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Jan.  9, 1864. 
Armstrong,  Jacob  J.,  private,  July  30, 1862  ;  died  near  Petersburg,  Va., 

Dec.  30, 1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  near  that  city. 
Anderson,  Henry,  recruit,  March  10,1864;  deserted  March  20, 1864,  at 

draft  rendezvous,  Trenton,  N.  J. 
Beunett,  Joseph  L.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Bond,  William  R.,  private,  July  28,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Brewer,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Brown,  William  L.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Brower,  Charles  A.,  private,  July  28, 1862  ;  disch.  June  1, 1865,  wounds 

received  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor;  leg  amputated. 
Bowden,  Charles  J.,  recruit,  Feb.  13,  1865;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt.; 

must,  out  July  11,1865. 
Brown,  Nelson  P.,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan. 

1, 1865  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  29,  1865. 
Brown,  Matthias,   recruit,   March   3,   1864;  trans,  to  Co.  E,  trans,   to 

Co.  D,  2d  Regt.;  must,  out  July  II,  1865. 
Barker,  Robert,  private,  July  26, 1862 ;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 

Philadelphia.  Pa.,  April  19,  1865. 
Bills,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1, 1864. 
Brown,  Peter,  recruit,  Feb.  25,1864;  died   at   Richmond,  Va.,  July   9, 

1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  ;  prisoner  of  war. 
Clayton,  Edward,  private,  July  29, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Clayton,  William,  private,  .^ug.  7, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Clayton,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Clayton,  John  V.,  private,  July  29,  1862;  disch.  at  U.S.  Army  Gen. 

Hoap.,  Newark,  Jan.  28,  1864,  dis. 
Clayton,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  12,1862;  disch.  at  Newark,  .Vug.  19, 

1865,  dis. 

Caffery,  Charles  S.,  private,  .\ug.  13,  1S62  ;  disch.  at  Newark,  Jan.  28, 
1864,  dis. 


Condit,  Charles,  recruit,  Sept.  20, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  C  disch.  at  New- 
ark by  order  War  Dept.,  May  3,  1865. 

Cook,  Abram  N.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Newark  by  order  War 
Dept.,  May  3, 1865. 

Cook,  Andrew  J.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Cook,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865.    * 

Curtis,  Charles  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  13,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Dec. 
19, 1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  20, 1865  ;  corp.  Oct.  1, 1863. 

Cottrell,  Daniel  G.,  recruit,  April  4, 1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt.,  June 
18,1865;  trans,  to  tk).  K. 

Church,  William,  Ist  sergt.,  July  28, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy, 
Md.,  July  9,  1864. 

Camp,  George  H.,  private,  July  28, 1862;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 
Brandy  Station,  Va.,  Feb.  9,  1864. 

Dow,  Clinton,  private,  July  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Duncan,  Joseph  P.,  private,  Aug.  11, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Dismond,  William,  Aug.  13, 1862;  deserted  Feb.  7,  1863,  at  Monocacy, 
Md. 

Emmons,  Charles  W.,  private,  July  28, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Estell,  Andrew  J  ,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Fred- 
erick City,  Md.,  Dec.  30, 1862. 

Estell,  James,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Va.,  June  1, 1864  :  buried  there  in  Nat.  Cem. 

Ford,  David,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Gaskin,  Benjamin  W.,  private,  July  24, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Newark  Dec.  13, 
1864,  dis. 

Girard,  Frederick,  private,  July  24,  1862 ;  disch.  Nov.  4,  1862,  to  join 
regular  army. 

Gravatt,  John,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  disch.  at  Newark  Sept.  30, 1863, 

Gormam,  William,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy, 
Md.,  July  9,  1864. 

Hagerman,  Nicholas,  corp.,  July  28, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Rea.  Corps  Jan. 
15,  1864  ;  disch.  tlierefrom  June  26,  1865. 

Hall,  Joseph,  recruit,  Feb.  1, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt. 

Holmes,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  II,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Hosp.,  Bal- 
timore, Md.,  Sept.  26,  1863,  dis. 

Hawkins,  James,  recruit,  Feb.  10,  1864 ;  died  at  Field  Hospital,  Winches- 
ter, Va.,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Cedar  Creek,  Oct.  19, 1864. 

Havens,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Fred- 
erick City,  Md.,  Dec.  20, 1862 ;  buried  at  Antietam,  Md. 

Imlay  (or  Emiey),  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  trans,  as  a  deserter  to 
Co.  L,  Ist  Cav.  Regt..  Aug.  29.  1863. 

Imlay,  John,  private,  .\ug.  12, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Jamison,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862. 

Jones,  James,  recruit,  Feb.  II,  1865  ;  trans,  to  Co.D,  2d  Kegt. 

Lawyer,  Joseph  J.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Lewis,  Joseph  0.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Lewis,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  5, 1862;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 
Fieehold,  N.  J  ,  Dec.  7, 1863. 

Longstreet,  Abiaham,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Matthews,  Charles  T.,  private,  July  30, 1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Matthews,  James  H.,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

McDermot,  Charles  V.,  private,  Aug.l3, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order 
War  Dept.  May  15,  1865. 

Matthews,  Charles  J.,  private,  July  28, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 
March  15, 1864 ;  disch.  therefrom  June  18, 1865. 

Minton,  James  F.,  private,  Aug.  8,  I8G2;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Minton,  William  H.,  private,  .\ug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Moore,  William  S.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order 
War  Dept.  May  3,  1865. 

Morton,  David  W.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Morton,  Nichol.TS  P.,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862;  disch.  at  hosp..  West  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  Oct.  11, 1864,  dis. 

Martin,  Levi,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  died  of  pneumonia  at  South  Am- 
boy,  Dec.  11,  1863. 

Patterson,  Caleb,  private,  July  24,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Parker,  Jonathan,  recruit,  Feb.  13, 1865;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt. 

Pettit,  Richard  B.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Pullen,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Pullen,  William  H.  H.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Reed,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Reynolds,  John  T,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  Army  Gen. 
Hosp.,  Newark,  May  4,  1865. 

Reynolds,  William  P.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  corp.  July  10, 1863 ;  must, 
out  June  18,  I860. 

Riddle,  Byers,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy  April  10, 1864. 


54 1 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


RuDyon.BobeitH.,  private,  Aug.  II,  1802;  died  of  chronic  diairhoeaat 

Wnellingrton,  D.  C,  Sept.  24,  1863. 
Sherman,  Gordon,  private,  July  24,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Sherman,  Benajah,  recruit,  Aug.  24,  18(13  ;  trans,  to  Co.  D,  2d  Regt. 
Sherman,  James  W.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  trans,  to  U.  S.  navy. 
Shore's,  William  A.  N.,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Mon- 

ocacy,  Md.,  July  9,  1864;  buried  at  Antietam. 
Soden,  Daniel  P.,  private,  Aug.  11, 1802  ;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 

Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Stimax,  James,  private,  July  28,  1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Strickland,  Alexander,  private,  July  28, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Strickland,  Joseph,  sergt.,  July  28, 1862  ;  died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  Dec. 

3,  1863. 
Sutton,  Charles,  private,  July  24, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Co.  E  Oct.  11, 1862 ;  must. 

out  June  18, 1865. 
Sullivan,  Daniel,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Truax,  John,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order  War 

Dept.  May  3,  1865. 
Van  Dusen,  Jeremiah,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  died  at  Philadelphia,  Pa., 

of  wounds  accidentally  received  at  Winchester,  Va.,  Oct.  31, 1864. 
Wagoner,  Keuben  H.,  private,  Aug.  2, 1862;  disch.  at  U.  8.  Army  Hosp., 

Newark,  May  3,  1865. 
Vau  Kirk,  Henry,  coip.,  July  24,  1862 ;   died  of  chronic  diarrhoea  at 

Washington,  D.  C,  Sept.  25, 1803. 
Yard,  .\lexander,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862  ;  trans,  as  a  deserter  to  Co.  L, 

1st  Cav.,  Aug.  29,  1863. 
Yetman,  Tunis,  private,  July  23,1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  April  17, 

1864;  disch.  therefrom  Sept.  9, 1864. 

Company  E. 

Bayard,  Cornelius,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862 ;  died  of  pneumonia  at  Mon- 
ocacy,  Md.,  April  12,  1803. 

Bodwell,  James  L.,  capt.,  Aug.  25, 1862;  disch.  Dec.  30, 1864,  by  order  of 
War  Dept. 

Bloth,  William,  Corp.,  Aug.  12,  1862;  sergt.  April  1,  1865;  must,  out 
June  18,  1865. 

Dunham,  John  B.,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862;  died  of  chronic  diarrhcea  at 
Newark,  N.  J.,  Jau.  18, 1864. 

Doll  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  corp.  Feb.  2, 1863  ;  disch.  at  Tren- 
ton by  order  War  Dept.,  May  3,  1865. 

Koe,  Elmer,  private,  Aug.  4,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va., 
June  1,  1864. 

Potter,  David  J.,  private,  Aug.  1,  1862;  deserted  April  28,  1863,  at  Mon- 
rovia, Md. 

Struby,  Lewis  B.,  Corp.,  Aug.  13, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May  3, 
1865. 

Turner,  William  F.,  private,  July  25, 1862 ;  trans,  to  navy  April  19, 1864 ; 
disch.  June  14, 1805. 

Yeteman,  Hubbard  B.,  musician,  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1805. 

C0MP.\NY  H. 

Wanser,  Jarvis,  Ist  sergt.,  Aug.  11, 1802  ;  pro.  to  2d  lieul.  Co.  F,  May  7, 
1804  •  Ist  lieut.  vice  Bailey,  pro.  Aug.  9, 1864 ;  pro.  capt.  Co.  B,  Dec.  1, 
1804 ;  must,  out  June  IS,  1865. 

Evcringhani,  Alexander  L.,  sergt.,  Aug.  5,  1802;  disch.  at  Trenton  by 
order  War  Dept.  May  3, 1865 

Hutchinson,  John,  sergt.,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1805. 

Provost,  William  D.,  sergt.,  Aug.  15, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor'. Va.,  June  1, 1804. 

Ingraham,  William  I.,  sergt.,  Aug.  5,  1862;  1st  sergt.  May  18,  1864; 
com.  2d  lieut.  June  26, 1805 ;  not  must. ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Fairgrieve,  George  B.,  corp.,  July  28,  1862;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark, 
N.  J.,  May  3, 1805,  by  order  War  Dept. 

Provost,  David,  sergt.,  Aug.  12,  1802;  killed  in  action  at  Monooacy,  Md., 
July  9, 1804. 

Van  Dorn,  John  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  14, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1,  1804. 

Carman,  Alfred,  corp.,  Aug.  13, 1802;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove, 
Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 

Lott  Henry,  private,  Aug.  11,1862;  deserted  Sept.  18, 1862;  returned  to 
duty  Feb.  6,  1863;  disch.  at  Trenton,  May  3,  1865. 

Higgins,  James  P.,  corp.,  Aug.  16, 1802;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Van  Hise,  George  W.,  corp.,  Aug.  18,  1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 
Jan.  1, 1805;  disch.  therefrom  July  21, 1865. 

Bradley,  Roderick,  musician,  Aug.  13, 1862;  pro.  to  prin.  musician  May 
1, 1803. 

McDonnell,  John,  musician,  Aug.  13, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 


Anderson,  Henry  A.,  private,  Aug.  4,  1802;  drowned  near  Frederick 
City,  Md.,  July  3, 1863. 

Applegate,  Thomas  F.,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Cedar 
Creek,  Va.,  Oct.  19, 1864. 

Anderson,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  4,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy, 
Md.,  July  9,  1864. 

Arbutlmot,  Charles,  private,  Oct.  20, 1864;  trans,  to  Co.  H,  2d  Regt. 

Brewer,  William,  private,  Aug.  2,1862;  died  at  rebel  prison  at  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  March  22,  1804. 

Boorman,  Cornelius,  private,  Aug.  11,  1802 ;  killed  in  action  at  Mou- 
ocacy,  Md.,  July  9,  1804. 

Burtou,  Thomas  A.,  private,  Aug.  14, 1802;  died  in  rebel  prison,  Rich- 
mond, Va.,  April  1, 1864. 

Cunningham,  William,  private,  July  29, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 

Carhart,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  9, 1802  ;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1, 1864. 

Camp,  Gilbert  M.,  private,  Aug.  18, 1862  ;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May 
3,  1805,  order  War  Dept. 

Davidson,  James,  Corp.,  Aug.  18, 1802  ;  disch.  at  hosp.  at  Newark,  May 
20,  1805,  dis. 

Erwin,  Joseph  W.,  corp.,  Aug.  13, 1802  ;  pro.  hosp.  steward  Jan.  31, 1865. 

Emhotr,  Frederick,  private,  July  28,  1862;  deserted  Aug.  29,  1862,  at 
Freehold,  N.  J. 

Emmons,  James  H.,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  corp,  June  1,  1863;  must, 
out  June  18,  186.5. 

Garigan,  Thomas,  private,  July  31, 1862 ;  deseited  Aug.  6, 1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.J. 

Griggs,  Vau  Winkle,  private,  Aug.  15, 1802;  died  at  rebel  prison,  Dan- 
ville, Va.,  Dec.  16,  1864. 

Grover,  Sanniel,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March 
15,  1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  26, 1805. 

Hendricks,  William,  Corp.,  Aug.  4, 1802;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy, 
Md.,  July  9,  1804. 

Hagle,  Frederick,  private,  Aug.  10,  1802;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J.,  May 
3, 1805. 

Hoagland,  William,  private,  Aug.  15,  1804;  killed  in  action  at  Mon- 
ocacy, Md.,  July  9, 1864. 

Jolly,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  7, 1862;  died  at  U.S.A.  Gen.  Hosp.,  Alexan- 
dria, Va.,  Dec.  4,  1863,  of  wounds  received  at  Locust  Grove,  Va., 
Nov.  27,  1803. 

Kensell,  Kasimer,  private,  July  28,  1862 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 

Linder,  Frederick,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18,  1866. 

Leggett,  John  W.,  Corp.,  Aug.  14,  1802;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Feb. 
1, 1866  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  24, 1805. 

Little,  James,  piivate,  Aug.  9,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 
Va.,  June  1,  1804. 

Lott,  William  F.,  private,  Aug.  15,  1802;  sergt.  Nov.  1,  1803;  must,  out 
June  18,  1806. 

Logan,  George,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  niuBt.  out  June  18,1865. 

McLaughlin,  Patrick,  private,  July  25,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 
June  10, 1804  ;  disch.  therefrom  July  13, 1866. 

Mehau,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  20, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 

Mount,  David,  private,  Aug.  9,  1862;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  May 
18,  1805,  dis.;  Corp.  Dec.  1,  180:1. 

Miller,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  4,  1862;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order  War 
Dept.  May  3,  1865. 

McDermut,  Luke,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862;  deserted  Feb.  18,  1863,  at 
Mouocacy,  Md. 

Newton,  ThoJuas,  private,  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  17, 1862,  at  Mon- 
ocacy, Md. 

Perrine,  William,  private,  Aug.  18, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 

(juiuii,  Michael  H.,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  disch.  at  Brandy  Station, 
Va.,  .Ibei.  24,  1864,  dis. 

Ryan,  Tliomas  P.,  sergt.,  July  22,  1862;  disch.  at  Frederick  City,  Md., 
May  15,  1865,  dis. 

Rue,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  4, 1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove,  Va., 
Nov.  27, 1863. 

Rue,  Alfred  S.,  Corp.,  Aug.  11,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 
Philadelpliia,  Pa.,  Feb.  8,  186.6,  dis. 

Richards,  Klias,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862;  deserted  Aug.  18,  1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 

Silvers,  Elwood  K.,  private,  Aug.  16,  1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Opequan, 
Va.,  Sept.  19,  1864. 

Smith,  Thomas,  private,  .4ug.  18, 1862,  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Brandy 
Station,  Va.,  April  2,  1864. 

Sickles,  Tillon,  private,  Aug.  11,  1802;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Sept. 
30, 1863 ;  disch.  therefrom  Jan.  22, 1864. 


KECORD  OF   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY  MEN  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


545 


Sperling,  Daniel  D..  private,  Ang.  11, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Sickles,  Sol.imon,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  disch.  at  liosp.,  Bristol,  Pa., 

June  6,  1865,  dis. 
Snediker,  James  B.,  private,  July  25,  1862;   killed  in  action  at  Cold 

Harlwr,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Suediker,  Daniel  P.,  corp.,  .\ug.  12,  1862;  disch.  at  liosp.,  Newark,  May 

4,  1865,  by  order  War  Dept. 
Sherman,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  disch.  at  Bristol,  Pa.,  May  3, 

1865. 
Schnlts,  John,  private,  Aug.  13.  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Sodan,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  11, 1862;  died  June  11,  1864,  at  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  of  wounds  received  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va. 
Silvers,  John,  Corp.,  Aup.  12,  1862,  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps;   disch. 

therefrom  July  27,  18G5. 
Stewart,  John  J.,  recruit,  Oct.  20.  1864;  trans,  to  Co.  H,  2d  Regt. 
Thomas,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862;  deserted  Jan.  18, 1863,  at  Mon- 

ocacy,  Md. 
A^an  Htse,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Locust 

Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
Van  Pelt,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Van  Dueen,  Robert  A.,  Corp.,  .\ug.  14,  1862;  pro.  to  hoflp.  steward  Jan. 

31,  1865;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Van  Dusen,  Elwood  R  ,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  Corp.  June  1, 1863  ;  must. 

out  June  18,  1865. 
Williams,  James  B,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Kes.  Corps 

Oct.  17, 1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  6, 1865. 
Walters,  William,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J., 

Dec.  19,  1863,  dis. 
Whitlock,  John,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1866. 

COMPANT  I. 
Nolan,  Wilson,  Corp.,  Aug.  12,  1862;  private  Sept.  12, 1862;  deserted 

April  28,  18G3  ;  returned  to  duty  Feb.  8,  1865  ;  must,  out  June  18, 

1865. 
Davis,  Henry  M.,  Corp.,  June  26,  1862 ;  deserted  Aug.  3U,  1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
Wilson,  Cornelius  V.,  musician,  July  24,  1862  ;  deserted  June   ',  1863  ; 

returned  to  duty  Aug.  31,  1863;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Weldon,  Charles  M.,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862;  disch.  at  Alexandria,  Va., 

Nov.  7,  1864,  dis. 
Browning,  William  A.,  private,  July  31, 1862;  deserted  May  1, 1864,  at 

WashingU>n,  D.  C. 
Bruce,  Garret,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862  ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Nov.  15, 

1863;  disch.  therefrom  July  1, 1865. 
Bruce,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862;  died  at  Camp  Parole,  Annapolis, 

Aug.  26,  1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Monocacy ;  leg  am- 
putated. 
Bradford,  George  H.,  private,  July  26,  1862 ;  trans,  to  navy  April  19, 

1864. 
Garrison,  Almerain,  private,  July  24, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  27, 1865. 
Hoagland,  Ralph,  private,  Aug.  8, 1862;  trans,  as  a  deserter  to  Go.  H,  Ist 

Cavalry,  Aug.  28,  1863. 
Johnson,  Theodore,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  2, 1862  ;  returned 

to  duty  Sept.  29,  1863 ;  disch.  May  4, 1865,  by  order  of  War  Dept. 
Payton,  William,  private,  July  30, 1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Ferduu,  Abraham  V.,  private,  Aug.  11, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Locust 

Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27,  ISSt. 
Rively,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  9, 1862 ;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  March 

16,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  July  7,  1865. 
Rogers,  JetTerson  H.,  private,  Ang.  22, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Locust 

Grove,  Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
States,  Samuel    B.,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  killed  inaction  near  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  April  2,  1865. 
Smock,  George  S.,  private,  Aug.  15, 1862;  corp.  Sept.  14, 1862;  sergt. 

July  9,1864;  2d  lieut.  rice  Fisher,  disch.  Jan.  21,1865;  must,  out 

June  27,  1866. 
Stouaker,  Charles  8.,  private,  Ang.  14, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton  by  order 

War  Dept.,  May  3,  18G5. 
Smith,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862  ;  died  at  hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C, 

June  17, 1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor. 
Stroble,  John,  private,  Aug.  U,  1862;  must,  out  June  IS,  1885. 
Voorhees,  Wyckotf,  private,  July  24,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res,  Corps 

Jan.  1, 1865;  disch.  therefrom  Aug.  7, 1865. 
Ward,  John,  private,  Aug.  31,  1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  returned  to 

duty  April  17,  1863;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Wright,  John,  private,  July  30, 1862 ;  corp.  Jan.  28, 1866 ;  must,  out  June 
18,  1865. 


Wilson,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  6, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy  Bridge, 

Md.,  July  9,  1864. 
Young,  Peter  R..  private,  Aug.  14, 1862  ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J., 

Dec.  11, 1863,  dis. 

Company  K. 

Janeway,  Jacob  J.,  capt.,  Aug.  23,  1862;  pro.  to  mHJ.  Sept.  19,  1864; 

lieut.-col.  I'ice  Hall,  res.  Dec.  13,  1864  ;  brev.  col.  April  2,  1865. 
Manning,  John  L.,  sergt.,  Aug.  6,  1862;  Ist  sergt.  Nov.  12,  1862;  Ist 

lieut.  Co.  I,  Oct.  8,  1864;  capt.  vice  Janeway,  pro.  Dec.  13,  1864; 

must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Fisher,  John  G.,  1st  sergt,  Aug.  11, 1862;  pro.  sergt.-maj.  Nov.  10, 1862  ; 

pro.  2d  lieut.  Co.  I,  Jan.  11, 1864;  com  Ist  lieut.  Co.E,  June  20,1864; 

not  must. ;  disch.  Aug.  11, 1864,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in 

Danberry,  Edgar,  sergt..  Ang.  6,  '862;  private  June  30, 1864;  disch.  by 

order  War  Department  May  3,  18f>5. 
Hoaglann,  James  V.,  sergt.,  July  22,  1862:  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps 

March  15,  1865  ;  disch   therefrom  July  12,  1865. 
Hoagland,  John  V.,  Corp.,  July  12, 1862;  deserted  June  4, 1863,  at  Mount 

Airy,  Md. 
Holden,  Horatio,  sergt.,  Aug.  11. 1862;  trans,  to  U.  S.  Signal  Corps  Feb. 

1, 1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  19,  1866. 
Kents,  Naum,  sergt.,  Aug.  11,1864;  com.  2d  lieut.  Co.  B,  June  26, 1865; 

not  must. ;  must,  out  June,  1865. 
Meyers,  Isaac  W.,  corp.,  Aug.  11, 1862  ;  died  of  scurvy  at  Raleigh,  N.  C. ; 

prisoner  of  war. 
Stout,  George  H.,  Corp.,  Ang.  11,  1862;  disch.  at  U.S.A.  Gen.  Hosp, 

Washington,  D.  C,  Oct.  20, 1864,  disability. 
Ryno,  David,  corp..  July  25,  1862;  died  of  consumption  at  Monocacy, 

Mil.,  March  21,  1S63. 
Terrill,  John  N.,  Corp.,  Aug.  11,  1862  ;  must,  out  June,  1865. 
Siddles,  Abram  G.,  Corp.,  Aug.  6, 1862;  deserted  March  10,  1863,  at  Mt. 

Airy,  Md. 
Gardiner,  William  G.,  musician,  Aug.  4, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Buckalew,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Buckalew,  Frederick,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Boice,  Uriah,  private,  Aug.  IS,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  K.  2d  Regt. 
Brilt,  George,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Bennett,  Hugh  M.,  private,  Aug.  4, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  June 

15, 1864  ;  discharged  therefrom  July  8,  1865. 
Beihl,  John,  private,  July  31,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps ;  disch. 

therefrom  July  8,  1865. 
Carver,  Daniel,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862 ;  died  of  fever  at  Monocacy,  Md., 

Dec.  7,  1862. 
Culver,  Jonathan,  private,  Aug.  14,  1862;    disch.  at  the  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Newark,  Ang.  12,  1864;  disability. 
Culver,  William,  recruit,  Feb.  9, 1864  :  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  June  26, 1864,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Vii.,  June  1,1864. 
Dixon,  George  T.,  private,  July  31, 1862;  deserted  April  12, 1864,  at  New- 
ark, N.  J. 
Disbrow,  James  T.,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862;  died  of  diarrhoea  at  Ander- 

sonville,  Ga.,  April  3, 1864. 
Daly,  Henrj'.  recruit,  June  1, 1863;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va., 

June  1, 1864. 
Freese,  George,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862;  disch.  at  Annapolis  Junction, 

Md.,  May  4,  1865. 
Geipel.  .\dam,  Corp.,  July  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  IS,  1865. 
Garrigus,  Jacob  W.,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862;  Corp.  March  22, 1863;  sorgt. 

March  2, 1864 ;  1st  sergt.  Nov.  20, 1864 ;  com.  2d  lieut.  Co.  B,  June 

26,  1865 ;  not  must. ;  must,  out  June  18,  1866. 
Galligan,  David,  private,  July  29.  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Locust  Grove, 

Va.,  Nov.  27,  1863. 
Grogan,  William,  substitute,  Aug.  30, 1864 :  trans,  to  Co.  E,  7th  Regt. 
Hendricks,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  June  28, 

1865. 
Hatfield,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  18, 1862  ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Hardy,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  12, 1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps,  June  15, 

1864  :  disch.  therefrom  July  6,  1865. 
Hagaman,  John  M.,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862  ;  died  of  diarrhcea  at  Ander- 

sonville,  Ga.,  July  28,  1864  ;  buried  there. 
Hoagland,  Henry  L  ,  private,  July  22,  1862;  trans,  to  Co.  A  Oct.  11, 

1862;  disch.  Nov.  15,  1862,  to  join  regular  army. 
Hustwait,  Thomas,  recruit,  Feb.  22,  1864 ;  trans,  to  Co.  K,  2d  Regt. 
Irving,  Eilward  B.,  recruit.  Feb.  15,  1864:  trans,  to  Co.  K,  2d  Regt. 
Lynch,  Peter,  private,  July  31, 1862;  disch.  at  Frederick  City,  Md.,  May 

3, 1865,  order  War  Dept. 


546 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Lake,  Henry  S.,  recruit,  March  11, 1864;  digcb.  at  Newark,  N.  J.,  June 

18, 1865,  wounis  received  iu  action  before  Petersburg,  Va. 
Marsh,  Vincent  R.,  private,  Aug.  15,  1862;  Corp.  June  28,  1863;  sergt. 

July  9,  1864;  pro.  2d  lieut.  Co.  F,  Oct.  II,  1864;  pro.  Ist  lieut.  Dec. 

1,  1864;  capt,  tiice  Patterson,  pro.,  Jan.  30, 1865;  must,  out  June  18, 

1865. 
Messrole,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  4. 1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  New- 
ark, N.  J.,  Dec.  27, 1862;  disability. 
Outcalt,  William  E.,  private,  Aug.  16, 1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  by  order 

War  Dept.,  May  3,  1865. 
Patterson,  Thomas  A.,  Corp.,  July  22,  1862;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Riley,  James,  private,  July  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Sylvester,  John,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  disch.  at  Newark,  Aug.  3, 1864, 

disability, 
Schenck,  William  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  II,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Res.  Corps  Jan. 

19,  1864;  disch.  therefrom  .Tuly  14,  1865. 
Sperling,  Ephraim  D.,  private,  Aug.  18,  1862;  corp.  July  0,  1864;  sergt. 

Nov.  20,  1864 ;  must,  out  June  18,  1865. 
Smith,  George,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862  ;  deserted  Sept.  1, 1862,  at  Freehold, 

N.J. 
Schurm,  Nicholas,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Stout,  Luke,  private,  Aug.  5,  1862;  died  of  fever  at  Monocacy,  Md., 

March  31, 1863  ;  buried  at  Antietam,  Md. 
Schenck,  Aaron  P.,  private,  Aug.  1, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Har- 
bor, Va.,  June  1,  1864;  buried  there. 
Ten  Broeck,  Van  Rensselaer,  private,  Aug.  5,  1862 ;  died  of  consumption 

at  hosp.,  Newark,  N.  J.,  Dec.  24,  1863. 
Ten  Eick,  Cornelius,  private,  Aug.  11,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Annapolis,  Md.,  May  4,  1865. 
Ten  Eick,  John,  sergt.,  Aug.  11, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Monocacy,  Md., 

July  9,  1864. 
Thomas,  Henry  C,  private,  Aug.  13, 1862 ;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Tuuison,  Cornelius  W.,  Jr.,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862;  trans,  to  Vet.  Kes. 

Corps  Jan.  15,  1864  ;  disch.  therefrom  June  29,  1865. 
Taylor,  Benjamin  F.,  private,  Aug.  18,1862;  must,  out  June  18,1865. 
Van  Deventer,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  deserted  Nov.  14, 1862,  at 

Monocacy,  Md. 
Voorhees,  Stephen,  private,  Aug.  14, 1862 ;  corp.  Feb.  10, 1864 ;  killed  in 

action  at  Cold  Harbor,  Va.,  June  1,  1864. 
Van  Duyn,  William,  private,  Aug.  8,  1862;  died  of  disease  at  New 

Brunswick,  N.  J.,  June  12,  1863. 
Wessel,  James,  private,  Aug.  12,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Cold  Harbor, 

June  1,  1864. 
Wilmot,  George,  corp.,  Aug.  13, 1862;  must,  out  June  18, 1865. 
Walters,  John,  private,  Aug.  13,  1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  1,  1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
Note. — See  history  of  Fourteenth  Regiment  in  Union  County,  page 
151  of  this  work. 

TWENTY-EIGHTH    REGIMENT. 

Wisewell,  Moses,  col.,  Sept.  15,  1862;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 

Roberts,  Edward  A.  L.,  lieut.-cd.,  Sept.  15, 1862;  cashiered  Jan.  12,1863. 

Wildrick,  John  A.,  capt.,  Co.  B,  2d  Regt.,  Jan.  21,  1862;  lieut.-col.  vice 
Roberts,  cashiered,  Feb.  11, 1863;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 

Wilson,  Samuel  K.,  Jr.,  maj.,  Sept.  15, 1862;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 

Gulick,  William  A.,  adjt.,  Sept.  15,  1862  ;  res.  Dec.  3,  1862. 

Robins,  Benjamin  A.,  Ist  lieut.,  Co.  F,  Sept.  15, 1862;  adjt.  vicr  Gulick, 
resigned,  March  19,  1863. 

Berdine,  William,  q.m.,  Sept.  15,  1862  ;  dismissed  Feb.  26, 1863. 

Martin,  Bloses,  private,  Co.  I,  Sept.  15,  1862;  q.m.  vice  Berdine,  dis- 
missed, March  11,  1863;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 

Newell,  William  D.,  surg.,  Sept.  15, 1862;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 

Baker,  Benjamin  N.,  asst.  surg.,  Oct.  2,  1862  ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 

Berg,  Joseph  F.,  Jr.,  asst.  surg.,  Sept.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 

Page,  Christian  J.,  cliaplain,  Sept.  15,  1862;  must,  out  willi  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Non-Commietfioited  Stoj/'. 

Giles,  John  U.,  private,  Co.  F ;  pro.  to  sergt.-maj.  Sept.  22,  1862 ;  must. 

out  July  6, 1863. 
Ford,  Charles  P.,  private,  Co.  K  ;  pro.  to  q.m.-sergt.  Sept.  22, 1862 ;  must. 

out  July  6,186:). 
Furness,  William  T.,  private,  Co.  K;  pro.  to   com.-sergt.  Sept.  22,  1862; 

must,  out  July  6,  1863. 
Murphy,  Arthur  C,  private,  Co.  I  ;  pro.  to  liLSp.  steward  Sept.  22,  1862 ; 

must,  out  July  6, 1863. 


Company  A. 

Dobson,  John,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  2d  lieut.  Feb.  11, 1863;  Ist  lieut. 

vice  Appleby,  discharged,  March  11, 1863  ;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 
Lefferts,  Henry  D.  B  ,  sergt.,  Aug.  25,  1862;  2d  lieut.  vice  Dobson,  pro- 
moted, March  11,  1863;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 
Barcalow,  John  L.,  sergt.,  Aug.  22,  1862  ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 
Vandevender,  Christopher,  Corp.,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 
Dobsons,  George,  private,  Aug.  28,1862;  Corp.  May  6,  1863;  must,  out 

July  6,  1863. 
Floyd,  Charles  F.,  musician,  Aug.  27,  1862;  disch.  at  Trenton,  N.  J., 

March  26, 1863,  dis. 
Cozzens,  William  H.,  corp.,  Aug.  27,  1862  ;  sergt.  March  1,  1863;  must. 

out  July  6,  1863. 
Appleby.  William  M.,  corp.,  Aug.  25, 1862  ;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 
Applegate,  William,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  disch.  at  D.  S.  A.  Hosp., 

Washington,  D.  C,  Feb.  22,  1863,  dis. 
Buckelew,  Frederick  C,  corp.,  Aug.  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 
Bush,  George  P.,  private,  Aug.  27, 1862;  must,  out  with  regiment  July 

0, 1863 
Bennett,  Isaac  S.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regiment  July 

6, 1863. 
Bowne,  Edmond  C,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bloodgood,  William  R.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862;  disch.  at  Philadelphia, 

Pa.,  Feb.  5,  1863,  dis. 
Craven,  John  F.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  died  of  sunstroke  at  camp  near 

Falmouth,  Va.,  May  IS,  1863. 
Culver,  Augustus,  private,  Aug.  25,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Compton,  James,  private,  Sept.  1,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Culver,  Jonathan,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Cole,  George  N.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Craven,  James  L.,  private,  Sept.  1,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Conoly,  John,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  corp.  March  1, 1863 ;  must,  out  July 

6,  1863. 
Dolan,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Emmons,  Gordon,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
French,  William,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863 
Gaston,  Forman,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Heardman,  John,  private,  Aug.  27, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hawkins,  Cornelius  H.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Imly,  William  B.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Letts,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  disch.  at  U.S.A.  Hosp.,  Newark, 

April  23,  1863,  dis. 
Letts,  William,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  Feb.  16, 1863,  dis. 
Lisk,  Theodore,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
McGee,John  L.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862:  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
McKeag,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 

burj;,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
Pope,  John  W.,  private.  Aug.  27,  1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  hosp. 

3d  Div.,  2d  Corps,  March  12, 1863. 
Perdun,  Farmer,  private,  Aug.  27, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Pearsall,  Nelson,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Perdun,  Charles  A.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Roller,  Abraham,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  deserted  at  ^a^hington,  D.  C, 

Jan.  14,  I.SC3. 
Richards,  Andrew,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862  ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Portsmouth,  E.  I.,  March  19, 1863,  dis. 
Reynolds,  Archibald,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  disch.  at  Baltimore  March 

8,  1863,  dis. 
Snoden,  Forman  S.,  |irivate,  Aug.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

18G3. 
Striiley,  Jacob,  private,  .Vug.  27,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Smith,  Jacob  S.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862  ;  must,  ont  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Smith,  George,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862 ;  uiust.  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


RECOKD  OP   MIDDLESEX   COUNTY   MEN  IN  THE   CIVIL  WAR. 


547 


Service,  Theodore,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Smith,  Charles,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Smith,  Horatio  E.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Vandevender,  Theodore,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp.,  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  22,  1863,  dis. 
Ward,  Israel,  private,  Aug.  25, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Wheeler,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  27, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Tates,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  March  3,  1863,  dis. 


Chamherlain,  Alfred,  sergt.,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6' 

1863. 
Davison,  John  J.,  Jr.,  1st  sergt,,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Standford,  Jacob  T.,  sergt.,  Aug.  20,  I8C2  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Budd,  Charles  G., sergt.,  Sept.  10,1802;  n\iist.  out  with  rnRt.  July  6,1803. 
Brown,  Alfred,  sergt.,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  li-63. 
Barnes,  William  E.,  corp.,  Aug.  26, 1862;  disch.  at  camp  near  Falmouth, 

Va.,  Dec.  24,  1862,  dis. 
Dntcher,  George  W.,  corp.,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Herron,  William  R.,  corp.,  Aug.  20,  1862;  died  at  Washicigton,  D.  C,  of 

wounds  received  in  action  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec.  13,  18C2. 
Ferris,  Charles  E.,  corp.,  Aug.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6. 1863. 
Eue,  Edwin,  corp.,  Aug.  27,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Shann,  Peler,  corp.,  Aug.  27, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Gulick,  Spencer,  corp.,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Henson,  Patrick,  must.  Sept.  1,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  .luly  6,  1863. 
AmiuD,  William,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  with   regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Applegate,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  oul  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Applegate,  Jacob  S.,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  ri-gt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Bennett,  Martin,  private,  Aug.  29,  1802;  must,  out   wilh   regt.  July  0, 

1863. 
Bennett,  Isaac,  private,  Sept.l,  1S62  ;  disch.  at  U.S.  A.  Hosp.,  Phila.,  I'h., 

Feb.  6,  1863,  disability. 
Bergeu,  George  D.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt   July  6, 

1863. 
Brady,  Alexander,  private,  Sept.  1,  1S62 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Colby,  Allen  F.  G.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Fredericksburg,  Va., 

Dec.  13, 1802;  leg  amputated. 
Crawford,  George  W.,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6, 1863. 
Conover,  Edwin,  corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Dean,  Aaron,  private.  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Davison,  William  V.  P.,  corp.,  Aug.  29, 1862  ;  died  of  diarrhtea  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Feb.  17,  1863. 
Davison,  George,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1862. 
Dey,  Alfred  W.,  Corp.,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Davidson,  David  A.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bveringbam,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Erwin,  William  E.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Fisher,  Henry  C,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
French,  Cornelius  V.  N.,  private,  .\ug.  26,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6,  1863. 
Fate,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  :i0,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0,  1863. 
Fine,  John,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Forman,  Selah  G.,  private,  Aug.  28,  1802 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 

1863. 
Griggs,  Reuben,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Graft,  John,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Grant,  Brazilla,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 


Gavitt,  Ellison  P..  private,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  of 

wounds  received  in  action  at  Fredericksburg,  Pec.  13,  1802. 
Glenning,  Daniel  F.,  private,  Sept.  5, 1862;  disch.  at  Fort  Schuyler  Har- 
bor, N.  T.,  March  31, 1862,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action 

at  Fredericksburg,  Dec.  13,  1862;  arm  amputated. 
Hart,  Noah  L.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862  ;   disch.  at  Convalescent   Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  25, 1863  ;  disability. 
Hammel,  John  F.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hart,  George  S.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Hulse,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  27. 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Hulse,  Thomas  L.,  private,  Aug  27,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hoffman,  Solon,  private,  Sept.  9, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Haggerty,  Henij  C,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1S63. 
Johnson,  David,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Jamison,  Joseph  J.,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Johnson,  John  N.,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Jolly.  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,Dec. 

14, 1862,  of  wounds  received  in  action  there. 
Legilt,  .\nthony  A.,  private,  Sept.  1,  !S62;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Lake,  William  C,  private,  Aug.  26,  1802;  must,  out  wilh  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Labaw,  George  F.,  private,  Aug.  20,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 

1803. 
Linder,  John,  private,  Aug.  20,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Larkin,  Francis  E  ,  private,  Aug.  26, 1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
McDnugall.  Orlando,  private,  Aug.  20,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1803. 
McDougall,  Roberl,  private,  Aug.  26,  1802  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Moran,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Mount,  William  G.,  private,  .\ug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Morse,  Garret  S.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Merryott.  Sitmuel,  private,  Aug.  27, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Merryott,  Peter  B.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  disch.  at  the  U.  S.  A.  Gen. 

Hosp  ,  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan.  6, 1863,  disability. 
Alcllvain,  William,  private,  Sept.  1,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Millette,  William  P.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  disch.  at  army  hosp.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Feb.  17, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  at  Fred- 
ericksburg. 
Monighan,  James,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 

1863. 
Newton,  William,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Peri'ine,  Charles  H.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862 ;  disch.  at  hosp..  West  Phila. 

Feb.  4,  1863,  disability. 
Penson,  Henry  H.,  musician,  Aug.  26, 1862:  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Pullen,  George  B.,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6 

1863. 
Rumphy,  Carl,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Rhodes,  William  D.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,1863. 
Rodgers,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near 

Fredericksburg,  Va.,  March  12, 1863. 
Rue,  Matthias  A.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;   must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Reamer,ParkerB.,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Snediker,  James,  private,  Aug.  28,  1802 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Snediker,  John,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Snediker,  Forman,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862:  must,  out  with  regt,  July  6, 

1803. 
Sedani,  John  L.,  private,  Sept.  1,  1802  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Silvers,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  28.  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Silvers.  Henry,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Soden,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  30,  1802 ;  disch.  at  camp  near  Falmouth, 

Va.,  April  10, 1863,  disability. 


548 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY, 


Sparlin,  Nelson,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862  ;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Hoap.,  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  March  13, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  ac- 
tion at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 

Stultz,  Lewis  D.,  private.  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Slover,  Steplien,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  witli  regt.  July  6, 1863. 

Thompson,  John,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  died  near  Fredericksburg,  Va., 
Dec.  25, 18B2,  of  wounds  received  in  action  there. 

Taylor,  Eugene  Z.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1S62;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Van  Lieu,  Edwin  F.,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 
6,  1863. 

Vautilburg,  John,  private,  Aug.  30.  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Van  Arsdale,  Peter  P.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 
6, 1863. 

Wines,  John  A.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 

Company  C. 
Calder,  Henry  C,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  July  6, 1865. 
Sofleld,  Daniel  W.,  sergt.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  July  6,  1865. 
Hillyer,  Isaac,  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Brokaw,  Isaac  C,  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Brantingham,  Henry,  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Fred- 
ericksburg, Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
Conway,  Robert  S.,  sergt.,  Sept.  2, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Leston,  Joseph  C,  Jr.,  capt.,  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  July  6, 1863. 
Stelle,  William  H.,  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Conover,  Samuel  K.,  2d  lieut.,  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Gunther,  Gustav,  corp.,  Sept.  6, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Clawson,  John  V.,  Jr.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Dayton,  Isaac  S.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Munday,  Thomas  J.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  mifst.  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hummer,  Adam,  Jr.,  corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Stelle,  George  D.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Coulter,  William,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  corp.  April  16, 1863;  must,  out 

with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Drake,  Henry  C,  musician,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  July  6,1863. 
Giles,  Joel,  musician,  Sept.  2, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  18B3. 
Hummer,  Adam,  Sr.,  wagoner,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Field,  Jeremiah  R.,  corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Dec.  13, 1862. 
Adams,  Wesley,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Baker,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Newark, 

March  23, 1863. 
Bauchman,  Benjamin  H.,  private,  Aug.  30,1862;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6, 1863. 
Blackford,  Jeremiah  F.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6,  1863. 
Boice,  Cyrus,  private,  Aug.  30,1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Boice,  George  D.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
Brundage,  Warren,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Car,  Andre,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  disch.  at  camp  in  field  April  1, 1863, 

dis. 
Clawson,  Jonathan  F.  R.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6,  1863. 
Compton,  Israel,   private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Conger,  Charles,  corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  at  camp  in  field  April  1, 

1863,  dis. 
Cooper,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  ontwith  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Corsoir,  Rudolph,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Cronk,  Munson,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Dayton,  Simon  B.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt,  July  6, 

1863. 


Dudling,  Benjamin,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Davis,  Jeremiah,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  at  Philadelphia,   Pa., 

Gen.  Hosp.,  April  4,  1863,  dis. 
Davis,  William  B.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  March  31,  1863,  dis. 
Drake,  Calvin,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  at  U.  S.  A.  Gen.  Hosp., 

Newark,  N.  J.,  March  2,  1863,  dis. 
Dunham,  Daniel  V.,  private,  Sept.  4,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Dunham,  George  A.,  private,  Sept.  4, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Dunham,  Samuel  S.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1S63. 
Dunlap,  James,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Drum,  Jeremiah,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Dutlinger,  Kasper,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
End,  Felix,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Fiaher,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Freeman,  James 6.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Garrelson,  Ralph,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Giles,  George  F.,  private,  Aug.  30,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Giles,  John  V.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  ont  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Giles,  George,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C,  March 

12, 1863,  dis. 
Gleaaon,  Michael,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Green,  Clarendo  D.,  private,  Sept.  4, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Dec.  13, 1862. 
Harris,  Lewis,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1883. 
Henderson,  William  W.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6, 1863. 
Lake,  Philip,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Lake,  George,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862  ;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan. 

15, 1863,  dis. 
Lane,  .\aron  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  of  diarrhoea,  Washington, 

D.  C,  Dec.  27,  1863. 
King,  Lewis,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Martin.  John,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Matchet,  Amos,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Merrell,  John,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  disch.  at  Falmouth,  Va.,  Jan.  1, 

1863,  dis. 
Langstafr,  Joel  F.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 
Merrell,  William  C,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  died  at  hosp.,  Washington, 

D.  C,  Jan.  1, 1803,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 
McCray,  Martin,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 
Mundy,  Phineas,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Pennington,  Nathan  C,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Richards,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Randolph,  Joel  D.  F.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  disch.  at  Newark,  N.  J., 

April  8, 1863,  dis. 
Robinson,  Thomas,  private,  Ang.30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Ryno,  Lewis,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Ryuo,  Augustus,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  of  injuries  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  Jan.  22,  1863. 
Runyon,  Peter  F.,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862;  kiied  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 
Shiney,  George  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Smith,  David  S.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  Jan.  13,  1863. 
Super,  Mahlon,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Stelle,  Isaac  R.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Stelle,  John  N.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1803. 
Straven,  William,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must.  o\il  witli  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 


RECORD   OF    MIDDLESEX   COUNTY    MEN    IN   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


549 


Taylor,  Gilbert  B.,  private,  Sept.  16, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Ten  Broeck,  John,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Tingley,  Charles  D.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July   i    Churchward,  Geo.  W.,  private,  Aug.  29,1862:  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 


Castner,  James  J.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Caviller,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 


6,  1863. 


1863. 


Titsworth,  Calvin  D.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July    i    Coddington,  Martin  S.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6.  186;). 
Comhs,  Benjamin  P.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,    1    CummingH,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  died  at  hosp..  Washing. 


6,1863. 
Toupet,  Charles  W.,  private,  Aug  30,  1862;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Jan.  1, 1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action. 
Van  Nest,  Thomas, 

1863. 
Van  Nest,  William,  private,  Aug.  30,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Wendover,  William  A.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Wooding,   Benjamin,   private,  Sept.  3,  1862;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Newark, 

N.  J.,  March  4,  1863,  die. 

Company  D. 
Dunham,  William  H.,  capt,  Sept.  4,  1862;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 
Hatfield,  Augustus,  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  4,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Cook,  William  J.,  2d  lieut.,  dismissed  Feb.  26,  1863. 
Voorhees,  John  H.,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  27,  1862;  2d  lieut.  tiic!  Cook,  dis- 
missed, Feb.  27,  1863 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Randolph,  Alexander  F.,  Corp.,  Aug.  27, 1862 ;  sergt.  Dec.  13,  1802  ;  1st 

sergt.  March  1,  1863  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Cause,  Andrew,  Jr.,  sergt.,  Sept.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Denton,  Charles,  sergt.,  Sept.  27,  1862;    must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bauer,  Morris,  sergt.,  Sept.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Dunn,  Isaac  E.,  sergt.,  Aug.  27, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Martin,  Alexander,  Corp.,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bergen,  Adrian  W.,  Corp..  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  mu.st.  out  with  regt.  July  0, 

1863. 
Ten  Broeck,  Gabriel  H.,  Corp.,  Sept.  3,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Alcutt,  Howard  J.,  Corp.,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Oakey,  David  V.,  corp.,  Aug.  28,  1862  ;   must,  out  with   regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Cathcart,  Merrit  G.,  Corp.,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hall,  Reuben,  musician,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Danberry,  Mark,  musician,  .\ug.  27,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Agnew,  Robert  E.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  must,  out  with  rpgt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Applegate,  Oscar,  Corp.,  Aug.  27,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp, 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  23,  1863,  dis. 
Baird,  Davhl  S.,  private,  Aug.  29, 1602 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


:)ut  witli  regt.  July  6 
ut  with  regt.  July  6 
lit  with  regt.  July  6, 
ut  with  regt.  July  6 
ut  with  regt.  July  6, 


ton,  D.  C,  Jan.  14,  1863,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Freder- 
icksburg. 
Davidson,  Enos  A.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  musi 

1863. 
Ferote,  Simeon,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;   must. 

1863. 
Ferote,  William,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must. 

1863. 
Finch,  James  H.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  must. 

1863. 
Foster,   Francis,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862  ;    must. 

1863. 
French,  John,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericksburg, 

Dec.  13,  1862. 
Ferguson,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  29,  1802;  deserted   Dec.   1,  1802,  at 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Gamble,  William,  private.  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Gerhardt,  Frederick  G.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent 

Camp,  Alexandria,  Va.,  April  2,  1863,  dis. 
Grace,  Hubert,  private,  Aug.  26, 1882;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 1863. 
Grogan,  William,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

186.3. 
Haggorty,  James,  private,  Sept.  3,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hargrove,  James,  Aug.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Haviland,  Joseph  T.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  disch.  at  Falmouth,  Va., 

Feb.  15, 1863,  disability. 
Hendrickson,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  29, 1802 ;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6, 1863. 
Hickey,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Holman,  George,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1862. 
Holcomb,  Theophilus  M.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  died  of  fever  at  New 

Brunswick,  N.  J.,  April  1,  1863. 
Jeffries,  Joseph  C,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Jeffries,  John,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863- 
Jones,  John  J.,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Kenna,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  witli  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Lally,  Martin,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Lovett,  Richard,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 186:i. 
Baker,  Nichola-s,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  I   McLaughlin,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 


1863. 


Ballou,  Francis,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,   !   Meyers,  John,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


1863. 
Barton,  William,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Bass,  Phineas,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1803. 
,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 


Miller,  Adam,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Marsh,  William,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Chancellors- 

ville,  May3,  1863. 
McDavilt,  Francis,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  deserted  Oct.  12,  1862,  at 

Washington,  D.  C. 


en,  John,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1803.   i    Mooney,  William,  private,  Aug.  29,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 


Boice,  Theodore,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,    I 
1863. 


,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  3,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


Bowman,  Isaac  L.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  re^-t.  July  6,  I   Oakey,  Blanchard,  private,  Aug.  26,  1862;  disch.  at  Washington,  D.  C, 

1863.  Feb.  12.  1863,  disability. 

Bradley,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July      Oliver,  Francis,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 

0,  1863.  I  burg,  Va.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 

Brannagan,  Thomas,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  |   Peyton,  John,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1 

6, 1863. 
Buzzee,  John,  private,  Aug.  29,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


Quinn,  Henry,  private,  Aug,  29, 1862 ;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  Jan. 
11,  1803,  of  wounds  received  in  action  at  Fredericksburg. 


Gapes,  Reuben,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863.      Reed,  John,  private,  Aug.  30, 1802  ;  killed  in  action  at  Chancello 


Carolan,  John,  private,  Srpt.  2,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 


May  3, 1863. 


Carrigan,  Eugene,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  disch.  at  Convalescent  Camp,   I   Homage,  George,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  19, 1863,  wounds  received  at  Fredericksburg.  1863. 


550 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


BoBa,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;   must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,    j 

1863. 
Sanderson,  Walter  E.,  prirate,  Aug.  29, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July   | 
■     6,  1863.  I 

Shand,  James,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Shellady,  George  W.,  wagoner,  Sept.  8,  1862;  disch.  at  Falmouth,  Va., 

March  3, 1863,  disability. 
Skirm,  James,  private,  .\ug.  31),  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 1863. 
Smith,  Henry  G.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,   ■■ 

1863.  I 

Strjker,  David  S.,  |)rivale,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  j 

1863. 
Suydam,  Peter  W.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Tallman,  George  H.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July   | 

6, 1863. 
Taylor,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Thompson,  Walter,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862;  deserted  Sept.  19, 1862,  at 

Freehold,  N.J. 
Trout,  Garret,  private,  Aug.  27,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Tan  Arsdale,  James  C,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Van  Nattii,  Aaron,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Van  Nortwick,  Henry  W.,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6,  1863. 
Van  Syckel,  Jacob,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Watson,  .Tohn,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt,  July  6, 1863. 
Wilson,  Coi-nelius  B.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862;  killed -in  action  at  Freder- 
icksburg, Vii.,  Dec.  13,  1862. 
Wright,  Lewis,  private,  Aug.  31,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


Intle 


COMPANV   F. 
apt.,  Sept.  15,  1862 ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 


Robins,  Benjamin  A.,  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  15, 1802 ;  pro.  adjt.  March  19, 1863; 

must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Westcifleld,  John  W.,  2d  lieut.,  Sept.  15, 1862 ;  resigned  Oct.  31, 1862. 
Marsh,  Seymour,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  2d  lieut.  vice  Westerfield,  re- 
signed, Feb.  11,  1863  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Barton,  John,  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  1st  sergt.  May  1,  1863;  must,  out 

with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Coats,  Uhailes,  sergt.,  Sept.  1, 1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
McUlarence,  John  S.,  sergt.,  Aug.  29,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Harriott,  David  H.,  sergt.,  Aug.  30, 1862;   must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Stroud,  William  F.,  sergt.,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Martin,  Augustus,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Grace,  Thomas,  Corp.,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Giles,  David  S.,  corp  ,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Munn,  John,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Bloodgood,  William  H.  H.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt. 

July  6,  1863. 
Payne,  Jeremiah  F.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;   must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Baldwin,  William  R.,  corp.,  Sept.  26, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Baldwin,  Alfred,  Corp.,  Sept.  3, 1863;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Bogart,  John  H.,  musician,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bessler,  John,  musician,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must. out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Barton,  Augustus,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Bedam,  Charles,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Bergen,  Charles  W.,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6.  1863. 
Blair,  David,  private,  Sept.  2, 1802;  must,  out.with  regt.  July  6, 1803. 
Bloomfield,  Edwin  A.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1803. 
Bones,  John,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Bowman,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Brobell,  Ulrich,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Va.,  Dec. 

14,  1802,  of  wounds  received  the  previous  day  in  action. 
Burns,  Christopher,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 


Cahill,  Dennis,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Challhepp,  John,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Claus,  James,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt,  July  6, 1863. 
Clayton,  Asher  M.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Collins,  Arthur,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Connolly,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Conners,  Patrick,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1603. 
Coddington,  William  K.,  let  sergt.,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  disch.  at  Washington, 

D.  C,  April  17, 1863,  on  account  of  wounds  received  in  action  at 

Fredericksburg,  Va. 
Cook,  Henry,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Gushing,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Cutter,  Joseph,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericksburg, 

Dec.  13,  1862. 
Debold,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  30.  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
DeWitt,  John  C,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  of  measles  near  Falmouth, 

Va.,  Jan.  16,  1863. 
Doty,  William,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1862. 
Dunning,  George  C,  private,  Sept.  3,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Dunnigan,  John,  private,  Sept.  1,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Foley,  Dennis,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,1863. 
Fouratt,  George  E.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt  July  6, 

1863. 
Freeman,  John  J.,  private,  Sept.  2,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Furlong,  William,  private,  Aug.  26,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Frazee,  Henry,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862 ;  disch.  at  hosp.,  Phila.,  Pa.,  Feb.  9, 

1863,  dis. 
Gardner,  Francis,  private,  Sept.  3,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Garretson,  .\lbert  G.,  private,  Aug.  26, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,1803. 
Giles,  John  H.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  pro.  to  sergt.-m^.  Sept.  22,  1862 ; 

must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 1803. 
Gilman,  Charles  D.,  sergt.,  Aug.  30, 1802  ;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  Jan.  24,  1863. 
Grace,  Thomas  K .,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Haggerty,  William,  private,  Sep(.  3,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  0, 

1863. 
Hauxhurst,  Richard  F.,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Hone,  Frederick,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Jackson,  John  T.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Jaques,  Mortimore,  private,  Sept.  3, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Johnson,  James  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Keller,  Christopher,  private,  Aug.  26,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863, 
Eervin,  John,  private,  Aug.  26,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
McElhaney,  William,  private,  Aug.  29, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1803. 
McClay,  John,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862:  deserted  Sept.  25,  1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
McGiail,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  died  at  Fredericksburg,  Va., 

Dec.  15,  1802,  of  wounds  received  in  action  there  on  the  I3th. 
Manning,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30,1662 ;  disch.  at  Point  Lookout,  Md., 

April  10,  1863,  disability. 
Mott,  Samuel,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  disch.  at  hospital.  New  York  Har- 
bor, Feb.  14,  1863,  wounds  received  in  action  at  Fredericksburg, 

Va.,  Dec,  13,  1862. 
Moffett,  George  B.,  private,  Aug.  3,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Morris,  George  B.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Mulligan,  William  F.,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt,  July 

6,  18K). 


RECORD   OF   MIDDLESEX    COUNTY    MEN   IN   THE    CIVIL    WAR. 


551 


Munn,  David  C,  priyate,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with   regt.  July  6,      Culver,  George,  private,  Auj:.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 


1863. 
Oliver,  Thomas  A.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must. 

1863. 

Patterson,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862. 
Payne.  Bethune  D.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Pressler,  Edward,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Roxbilry,  Andrew  J.,  private,  Aug.  28,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1SG3. 
Buddy,  Robert,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Toms,  Ciowell  M.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Temple,  Alfred  S.,  private,  Aug.  28,1862;    deserted  Sept.  25, 1862,  at 

Freehold,  N.  J. 
Tucker,  Patrick,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  25, 1862,  at  Free- 
hold, N.  J. 
Valentine,  Mullbrd  D.,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Webber,  John,  private,  Aug.  3D,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Welsh.  John,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6.  1863. 
Wright,  George  A.,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  G, 

1863. 
Welsh,  David  G.,  wagoner,  Sept.  2, 1862;  died  at  Washington,  D.  C,  of 

wounds  received  at  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
Young,  Henry,  private,  Ang.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Young,  Henry  S.,  private,  Sept.  2,1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Young,  Theodore,  private,  Sept.  2,1862;  must,  out  with   regt.  July  6, 

1863. 

Company  K. 

Storer,  George,  capt.,  Sept.  20,  1862 ;  must,  out  July  6,  1863. 
Bresnalian,  James.  1st  lieut.,  Sept.  2n,  1862 ;  dismissed  by  order  War 

Dept.  May  15,  1863. 
Conk.  Tlioma.s,  2d  lieut.,  Sept.  20,  1862 ;  disch.  Jan.  2,  1863. 
Bolton,  John  T.,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  2d  lieut.  vke  Conk,  disch., 

March  1, 1863. 
Stilwell,  Aaron,  sergt.,  Aug.  30,1862;  Ist  sergt.  March  1,  1863;  must. 

out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Fowler,  Charles  S.,  sergt.,  .\ug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Thorn,  William,  Jr.,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  sergt.  March  1,  1863;  must. 

out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Thomas,  David,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  sergt.  March  1,  1863;  must,  out 

with  regt.  July  6, 1803. 
Van  Dusen,  David,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1803. 
Thorn,  Andrew  C,  Corp.,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Hudnet,  William,  Corp.,  Sept.  2, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Fowler,  John  C,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Hulsehart,  Peter,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1862  :  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Barber,  Peter,  Corp.,  Aug.  30,  1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 
Drake,  Isaac,  Corp.,  March  1, 1863;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 


Dayton,  John  D.,  private,  Sept.  2.  18G2  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
th  regt.  July  6,   I   Dewan.  Michael,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  deserted  Jan.  14, 1863. 

I   Disbrow,  Cortlandt,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 


I  1863. 

Dunn,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  missing  in  action  at  Fredericks- 

burg,  Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862;  supposed  dead. 
Duriiam,  John,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  died  at  U.  S.  A.  Hosp.  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  of  wounds  rccd.  in  action  at  Fredericksburg. 
Ford,  Charles  P.,  private,  Aug.  .30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

186.3. 
Furman,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6,  1863. 
Furness,  William  T.,  privatf,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Githens,  Joseph  M.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Gordon,  Embly  S.,  'private,  Sept.  22, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  G, 

1863. 
Hagar,  Abraham  C,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hogar,  David,  private,  Sept.  22, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Hansen,  Cornelius,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  deserted  Jan.  14,  1863,  at 

hosp..  New  York  Harbor. 
Hauzey,  Charles,  priv.ite,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Hoagland,  John  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Hulsehart,  Cornelius,  Jr.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1802;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6, 1863. 
Hunt,  Kobert,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Jackson,  Robert,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
King,  Robert,  private,  Aug.  28, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Keough,  Thomas,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  deserted  Sept.  23, 1862,  at  Camp 

Vredeuburgh,  Freehold,  N.  J. 
Lester,  Francis  W.,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Letts,  George  V.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

18G3. 
Martin,  James,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  wrth  regt..July  6, 1863. 
McGraw,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862  ;  killed  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Va.,  Dec.  13, 1862. 
McGratb,  John,  private,  Aug.  30,  18G2;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
McNally,  James,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Miller,  Charies,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must.out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Mnllenfels,  William,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
O'Brien,  William,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Prink,  Jacob,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 
Kigbtmire,  William  H.,  private,  Sept.  2, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 

6, 1863. 


Thorn,  Timothy  S.,  Corp.,  March  1,  1863;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,      Rogers,  Henry  A.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  C, 


1863. 

Buzzee,  Aaron,  musician,  Aug.  29, 1862. 

Laforge,  John,  wagoner,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 

Appiegate,  Noah,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Arose,  Elisha,  private,  Sept.  1, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 

Arose,  Abraham,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  died  of  typhoid  fever  near  Fal- 
mouth, Va.,  March  14,  1863. 


1863. 

Seward,  George  H.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

Seward,  John  A.,  Jr.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July 
6,  1863. 

Shaffer,  Philip,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 1863. 

Smith,  Charles,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  missing  in  action  at  Fredericks- 
burg, Dec.  13,  1862. 


Bloodgood,  Peter,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,      Soden,  James,  private,  Aug.  30, 1S62  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 


1863. 
Bloodgood,  Michael,  private,  Sept.  2,  1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 


Stephens,  Miller,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863. 
Stolt.  John,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,  1863. 


Bogart.  Abraham,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,      Van  Nest,  Jacob  M.,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 

1863.  '  1863. 

Bolton,  Tlio 

1863. 
Bray,  George  W.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,   ]   Roberts,  Jonathan  K.,  private.  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  for  disability  i 


i  O.,  private,  Aug,  30,  1802  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6,       Voorhees,  Peter  P.,  private,  Aug.  30,  1862 ;  disch.  at  Convale 

Alexandria,  Va.,  Feb.  17, 1863,  dis. 


18G3. 

Brock,  William,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862 ;  deserted  Feb.  20, 1863,  at  Phila- 
delphia, Pa. 

Compton,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  29,  1862 ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
186'. 


camp,  Virginia,  Nov.  10,  1862. 

Robert,  Isaac,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862;  disch.  for  disability  near  Washing- 
ton, D.  C,  Jan.  3, 1863. 

Passell,  John  V.,  musician,  Aug.  30,  1862;  disch.  at  Portsmouth  Grove, 
B.  I.,  Mar.-h  8,  1803,  dis. 


552 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


,  Md.,  March 


Heeaan,  Martin,  privjite,  Aug.  30, 1862;  ilisch.  at  Balti 
3, 1863,  di9. 

White,  Lewis  A.,  sergt.,  Sept.  1 ,  1862  ;  disch.  at  Conyalescent  Camp,  Alex- 
andria, Va  ,  Jnne  6,  1863,  dis. 

Warner,  Benjamin,  private,  Aug.  30, 1862  ;  must,  out  with  regt.  July  6, 
1863. 

FIRST  REGIMENT  OF  CAVALRY. 
Company  A. 

Smith,  John,  private,  March  11,  1864  ;  trans,  to  Co.  M. 

Clifford,  James,  private. 

Company  B. 

Page,  ChariesW.,  sergt.,  Aug.  5, 1861;  re-eul.  Jan.  1, 1S64;  killed  by  acci- 
dent Nov.  3, 1864. 

Pomeroy,  Christoplier  F.,  private,  Aug.  7, 1861;  disch.  at  Washington, 
D.  C,  May  20,  1862,  dis. 

Van  Derveer,  Arnold  U.,  private,  Aug. 31, 1861;  sergt.  May  6, 1862;  re- 
enl.  Feb.  1,  1864;  sergt.  May  20,  1864;  must,  out  July  24,  1805. 

Wilson,  William  H.,  private,  Aug.  26,  1861 ;  re-enl.  Jan.  1,  1864  ;  sergt. 
Jan.  1.5,  1864;  2d  lieut.  Co.  G  Jan.  30,  1865. 


COMP 


H. 


Stewa 


ander,  1st  sergt.,  Aug.  22,  18C1 ;  2d  lieut.  Co.  E  May  4, 

1862;  res.  Dec.  22, 1862 ;  paroled  prisoner. 
Marks,  Charles  W.,  private,  Oct.  4, 1862;  in  hosp.  at  Washington  May 

31,  1865. 
Lawrence,  James,  Jr.,  sergt.,  Aug.  21,  1861;    disch.  at  Convalescent 

Camp,  Alexandria,  Va.,  April  14, 1863.  [ 

Bailey,  Cornelius.  '- 

Cause,  Robert  B.,  Corp.,  Aug.  27, 1861 ;  sergt.  June  15, 1862 ;  pro.  s"rgt.- 

maj.  Feb.  4,  1863  ;  pro.  2d  lieut.  Co.  G  Aug.  12,  1863;  Ist  lieut.  Co.  E    | 

Marcli  29,  1864  ;  capt.  vice  Robins,  pro.  Nov.  1, 1864 ;  must,  out  July   I 

24,  1865.  I 

Senker,  Henry,  private,  Aug.  21,  1861 ;  Corp.  Aug.  22,  1861 ;  trans,  to   j 

Vet.  Res.  Corps  Aug.  1, 1863 ;  disch.  tlierefrom  Jan.  30,  1864.  I 

Suydam,  Peter  H.,  saddler,  Sept.  7,  1861 ;  pro.  saddler  sergt.,  3d  Batt.,   1 

Feb.  19,  1862.  I 


Shulthise,  Jacob, 
Alston,  William. 
Andrews,  Edward. 
Anderson,  Garret  T. 
Applegate,  George. 
Auld,  James  M. 
Buho,  James. 
Bush,  John. 
Collhip,  Jolin. 
Christ,  Leonard. 
Corridan,  James. 
Cochran,  John. 
Cone,  Daniel. 
Ectil,  John. 
Foster,  John. 
Poller,  Michael. 
Gray,  D.  Eugene. 
Glenn,  William. 
Hunt,  Jonathan. 
Hart,  David. 
Hinckly,  Charles. 
Binckle,  Theodore. 
Hudson,  William. 
Hardy,  Pyatt. 
Jackson,  William. 


Kelly,  Walter. 
Kohler,  John. 
Labar,  Henry  B. 
Letts,  George. 
Letts,  John. 
Messroll,  Jonathan. 
McClellan,  James. 
McLaughlin,  James. 
Norman,  Benjamin. 
Oaks,  John. 
Oliver,  John. 
Plum,  John. 
Porter,  William. 
Pardunn,  Charies  A. 
Rappleyea,  William. 
Reeder,  George. 
Suydam,  Stephen. 
Snyder,  John. 
Snyder,  Stephen. 
Stevens,  William. 
Telus,  Charles. 
Van  Note,  Peter. 
Van  Heise,  Anthony. 
Van  Dervere,  Arnold. 
Voorhees,  Christopher 


CHAPTER    LXXV. 

WOODBRIDGE.i 

General  Description. — Woodbridge  is  one  of  the 
oldest  townships  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and 
was  chartered  as  such  June  1,  lff69.    The  original 

1  The  histories  of  this  township,  Piscntaway,  Karitan,  and  City  of 
Perth  Amboy,  have  been  compiled  from  data  furnished  by  C.  A.  Lever- 
idge,  of  Crauford,  N.  J. 


tract  was  said  to  contain  six  miles  square,  and  by  a 
provision  of  the  charter  was  not  to  comprise  more 
than  sixty  families  unless  by  special  order  of  the 
town. 

The  extreme  lengtli  of  this  township  east  and  west 
is  about  ten  miles,  breadth  nortli  and  south  nearly 
nine  miles.  It  is  bounded  by  Rahway  and  Westfield, 
Union  Co.,  on  the  north,  and  on  the  south  by  Raritan 
River,  east  by  the  Kill  Van  Kull  or  Staten  Island 
Sound,  and  west  by  Raritan  township. 

Woodbridge  was  one  of  the  townships  the  creation 
of  which  was  contemplated  in  an  agreement  entered 
into  by  Daniel  Pierce  and  his  associates  witli  Philip 
Carteret,  John  Ogden,  and  Luke  Watson,  Dec.  11, 
1666.   This  agreement  was  cfinfirmed  by  a  deed  dated 
Dec.  3,  1667,  and  on  the  same  day  Pierce  was  com- 
missioned as  deputy  surveyor  to  run  the  boundary 
lines  and  lay  out  the  lands  to  the  difterent  a.ssociates. 
This  township  was  named  after  Rev.  John  Wood- 
bridge,   of   Newbury,   Mass.      By   reference   to   the 
history   of   the   Elizabethtown    Purchase   in   LTnion 
County  the  reader  will  find  a  copy  of  the  original 
deed  obtained  from  the  Indians  on  the  28th  of  Octo- 
ber, 1664,  which  includes  this  township.    John  Bailey, 
Daniel  Denton,  and  Luke  Watson,  under  permission 
from  Governor  Nicolls,  obtained  from  Mattano,  Man- 
amowaone,  and  Cowescomen,  Indians,  for  "  20  fathom 
of  trayden   cloth,  2  cotes,  2  Cannes,  2  Kettles,  10 
barres  of  Lead,  20  handful  of  Powder,  400  fathom  of 
white  Wampom   or  two  hundred  fathom  of   Black 
wampum,"  the  whole  valued   at  £36  14.?.     The  sur- 
vey is  bounded  on  the  south  "by  a  river  commonly 
called  the  Raritan  River,  and  on  the  east  by   the 
River  which  parts  Staten  Island  and  the  Maine,  and 
to  run  Northward  up  After  Cull  Baye  till  we  come  to 
the  first  river  which  setts  Westward  out  of  the  Bay 
aforesaid,  and  to  runn   Westward  into  the  Country 
twice  the  length  as  it  is  Broad  from  the  North  to  the 
South  of  the  aforesaid  bounds."    This  was  the  whole 
extent  of  the  Elizabethtown  Purchase.     That  part  of 
it  which  was  subsequently  formed  into  the  township 
of  Woodbridge   was   sold   by   Carteret,   Ogden,  and 
Watson  to  Daniel  Pierce  and  his  associates.     Wood- 
bridge  included  ten  thousand  acres  for  the  town  and 
twenty  thousand  for  fhe  adjoining  plantations.     This 
section  of  the  new  purchase  appears  to  have  been 
highly  estimated  by  settlers.     "  Nature  had  furnished 
the  country  with  all  sorts  of  wild  beasts  and  fowl, 
which    gave    them    their   food   and   much   of   their 
clothing.     Fat  venison,  turkeys,  geese,  heath-hens, 
cranes,  swans,  ducks,   pigeons,  and   the   like.     The 
streams  abounded  with  fish,  etc.     Here  you  need  not 
trouble  the  shambles  for  meat,  nor  bakers  and  brewers 
for  beer  and  bread,  nor  run  to  a  linen-draper  for  a 
supply,  every  one  making  their  own  linen  and  a  great 
part  of  their  woolen  cloth  for  their  ordinary  wearing. 
Here  one  may  lodge  in  the  fields  and  woods,  travel 
from  one  end  of  the  country  to  another  with  as'  much 
security  as  if  he  were  locked  within  his  own  chamber, 


WOODBRIDGE. 


553 


and  if  one  chance  to  meet  with  an  Indian  town  they 
shall  give  him  the  best  entertainment  they  have,  and 
upon  his  desire  direct  him  on  his  way."  ' 

SYNOPSIS  OF  WOODBRIGDE   CHARTER,  JUNE  1,  1669. 

Art.  1.  Specifies  the  metes  and  bounds  which  are  particularly  de- 
scribed, and  the  tnict  is  said  to  be  bounded  on  the  east  by  Arthur  Cull 
Sound,  north  by  Elizabethtown,  west  by  New  Piscataway,  and  south  by 
the  Raritan. 

Art.  2.  Stipulates  that  the  corporation  shall  coDsist  of  at  least  sixty 
families,  and  as  many  more  as  shall  be  thought  proper;  directs  how  the 
land  sliall  be  divided,  surveyed,  etc.,  each  patentee  to  pay  a  half-penny 
per  acre  annually  to  the  proprietore. 

Art.  3.  The  freeholders  to  have  power  to  choose  their  own  magistrates, 
to  be  assistants  to  the  president  or  judge  of  tlie  court,  and  for  ordering 
all  public  affairs  within  the  township,  to  nominate  their  justices  and 
military  officers,  to  be  approved  of  and  commissioned  by  the  Governor. 

Art.  4.  The  majority  of  the  freeholders  and  freemen  to  choose  their 
own  minister  or  ministers,  towards  whose  support  each  inhabitant  shall 
contribute  according  to  his  estate;  20<i  acres  of  land  to  be  laid  out  for  the 
nse  of  the  minister,  and  100  acres  for  the  maintenance  of  a  free  school, 
"  which  said  land  shall  not  be  abducted,  but  shall  remain  from  one 
incumbent  to  another  forever."  The  said  lands,  as  well  as  those  for 
building  a  church  or  school-house  and  for  a  churchyard  and  a  market- 
place, to  be  exempted  from  the  quit-rent ;  any  inhabitant  "of  a  different 
judgment  in  matters  of  Religion"  might  maintain  any  other  minister 
without  molestation. 

Art.  5.  Authorizes  *'  a  Court  of  Judicature"  to.  consist  of  a  president 
(who  should  be  a  justice  of  the  peace)  and  at  least  two  magistrates,  a 
clerk,  etc.,  having  jurisdiction  over  all  cases  involving  the  sum  of  £5 
sterling  and  under;  and  also  for  the  trial  of  all  criminals  and  causes  of 
misdemeanor,  inflicting  fines  and  punishments  such  as  *' stocking,  whip- 
ping (not  exceeding  twenty  stripes),  ptlloring,  ducking,  branding,  and 
the  like."  No  freeholder  to  be  arrested  and  detained  for  debt  until  judg- 
ment and  execution,  nnless  it  could  be  made  to  appearthathe  was  about 
detrauding  his  creditors  by  leaving  the  country,  etc. ;  all  fines  to  be  dis- 
posed ol  for  charitable  or  public  uses 

Art.  ti.  Guarantees  liberty  of  conscience  according  to  the  terms  of  the 


Art.  7.  The  inhabitants  to  have  the  privilege  of  a  free  trade,  unbur- 
dened by  any  excise  or  tax,  save  such  as  may  be  imposed  by  the  Gov- 
ernor and  General  Assembly  for  defraying  public  charges. 

Art.  8.  The  inhabitants  to  join  with  those  of  other  towns  in  repelling 
invasion  or  attacks  of  Indians,  but  not  to  make  war  unless  by  consent  of 
the  Governor,  Council,  and  Assembly. 

Art.  9.  The  Ireeholders  to  choose  two  deputies  to  the  General  Asaem- 
Wy. 

Art.  lU.  Tbe  freeholders  to  submit  tbeniselves  to  the  laws  and  goT. 
ernDieiit  of  the  proviuce,  to  swear  allegiaoce  to  tbe  proprietaries,  and  to 
have  full  liberty  to  remove  and  dispose  of  their  lauds. 

Art.  11.  Provides  for  the  general  ordering  of  affaire  for  the  good  of  the 
township  by  a  niigority  of  the  fieeholders.2 

The  document  concludes  with  a  proviso  that  as 
Amboy  was  to  be  reserved  (not  included  in  Wood- 
bridge)  by  the  Lords  Proprietors,  "in  lieu  of  the 
seventh  part  mentioned  in  the  concessions,"  it  was 
understood  and  agreed  that  the  nine  hundred  acres  of 
upland  was  to  be  on  and  about  Amboy  Point,  as  then 
surveyed  by  the  surveyor-general,  and  for  the  hun- 
dred acres  of  meadow  (one  thousand  acres  being  the 
quantity  reserved).  It  was  to  be  laid  out  in  the  most 
convenient  place  nearest  thereto. 

It  was  signed  by  Pliilip  Carteret,  Governor ;  James 
Bollen,  Nicolas  Varlett,  Samuel  Edsall,  Robert  Vau- 
quellen,  William  Pardon,  and  Robert  Bond,  and  con- 
firmed under  date  of  7tli  September,  1672,  by  Lord 
Berkley  and  Sir  George  Carteret  themselves. 

^  Denton's  "  Brief  Description.'' 
'  Daily's  Hist.  WoodbriUge. 


At  this  time  (1672)  Woodbridge  contained  thirty 
thousand  acres,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  fami- 
lies. 

Natural  Features. — The  surface  of  the  township 
presents  a  variety  of  topographical  features.  The 
soil  in  the  northeasterly  and  southwesterly  parts  is  of 
a  clay  loam,  and  it  is  a  fine  farming  region,  mostly  in 
a  high  state  of  cultivation.  In  the  extreme  southerly 
part  and  ranging  easterly  are  the  clay  beds,  which 
are  of'great  commercial  interest  and  value.  The 
Woodbridge  fire-clay  beds  belong  to  one  of  the  most 
important  members  of  the  plastic  clay  formations. 
On  account  of  the  value  of  much  of  its  material  and 
the  important  uses  to  which  it  is  put  this  clay  has 
been  excavated  at  many  points  and  widely  explored 
for  additional  workings.  There  are,  in  con.sequence 
of  these  openings  and  explorations,  the  best  facilities 
for  studying  its  geological  relations,  structure,  and 
character.  It  has  been  named  from  its  development 
and  the  many  pits  where  it  has  been  opened  and 
worked  in  this  township. 

Sandy  Clay,  including  Leaf  Bed. — In  the 
clay  reports  of  this  township  mention  is  made  of  this 
bed,  that  it  is  easily  traced  by  its  contact  with  the 
fire-clay  and  by  the  leaf-prints  or  impressions  so  nu- 
merous in  it.  This  fossil-clay  bed,  as  it  may  properly 
be  called,  has  many  distinguishing  features,  and  care- 
ful explorations  will  in  time  no  doubt  result  in  the 
discovery  of  fossil  remains.  It  is  difficult  to  deter- 
mine accurately  the  thickness  of  this  leaf-bearing 
sand-bed.  Lignite  and  pyrite  are  also  common  in 
this  bed. 

Pipe-Clay'  has  been  represented  in  the  columnar 
section  given  in  the  report  as  ten  feet  thick,  but,  like 
the  sand  bed  underneath,  its  thickness  varies  in  dif- 
ferent localities.  In  Watson's  bank  there  is  eight 
feet  of  pipe-clay.  Generally  there  is  a  thin  and 
sandy  stratum  interposed  between  two  layers  of  pipe- 
clay, as  if  the  middleof  the  bed  had  received  a  larger 
percentage  of  sand.  There  have  been  found  a  few 
shells  and  casts  of  shells,  and  one  particular  species, 
viz.,  Cucul/ea  antrorsa.  They  were  found  in  Valen- 
tine Brothers'  bank,  on  the  Raritan  River.  Addi- 
tional localities  and  specimens  of  this  shell,  as  well  as 
of  other  species,  are  anticipated  as  the  results  of  fur- 
ther diligent  search  for  such  fossil  remains. 

Laminated  Clay  and  Sand. — This  member  of 
the  clay  series  is  well  developed  in  many  of  the  banks 
about  Woodbridge,  and  also  in  those  along  the  Rari- 
tan. This  bed  crops  out  at  Florida  Grove,  in  the 
north  bank  of  the  Raritan,  and  is  also  seen  in  the 
south  bank,  also  near  Kearney's  dock.  It  furnishes 
nearly  all  the  clay  which  is  dug  in  this  district  for 
the  manufacture  of  red  or  common  brick,  and  the 
extent  of  these  beds  is  quite  equal  to  the  largest  de- 
mands. 

Micaceous  Sand  Beds. — In  this  section  twenty 
feet  has  been  assigned  as  the  thickness  of  this  bed. 
Micaceous    sand   and    sandy   clay,   dark-colored    to 


554 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


black,  make  up  the  mass  of  this  bed,  not  uniformly 
mixed,  but  more  or  less  in  layers  of  varying  thick- 
ness, but  the  sand  predominates  over  the  clay  and 
gives  character  to  it,  distinguishing  it  from  the  more 
clayey  beds  under  it.  Mica  also  appears  more  abund- 
ant here  than  in  some  of  the  lower  strata  of  this 
formation.  It  occurs  in  the  form  of  very  minute 
flakes  or  scales.  No  organic  remains  other  than 
those  of  plants  occur  in  it. 

Feldspar  and  Kaolin  Beds. — The  columnar 
section  represents  these  as  distinct  beds.  They  are, 
however,  so  intimately  connected  that  for  the  pur- 
poses of  description  these  layers  and  the  thin  sandy 
clay  stratum  which  is  found  generally  accompanying 
them  are  here  included  under  one  head,  one  subdi- 
vision, as  it  were,  of  this  formation. 

The  names  feldspar  and  kaolin  as  used  everywhere 
in  this  clay  district  to  designate  these  strata  and 
their  materials  are  applied  incorrectly.  The  feldspar 
is  more  properly  a  kaolin,  although  not  answering 
fully  to  all  the  characters  implied  in  that  well-known 
term.      It  is  a  mixture  of  a  rich   clav  with  white 


of  ball  stoneware,  kaolin,  fire-  and  alum-clays;  also 
moulding-  and  fire-sand. 

Woodbridge  Clay-Mining  and  Refining  Company 
is  just  on  the  line  of  this  township  and  Perth  Am- 
boy;  S.  G.  Phillips,  president. 

Birkett  &  Paterson,  dealers  in  ball-clay  No.  1,  fire- 
brick clay,  sager  clay,  stoneware  clay,  pipe-clay,  etc. 

Peter  B.  Melick,  miner  of  superior  clays. 

Messrs.  Warren  Druramond,  David  A.  Flood,  and 
Joel  Melick,  Jr.,  are  clay  merchants  in  the  township. 

The  New  Jersey  Railroad  runs  through  the  north- 
west corner;  the  Perth  Amboy  and  Woodbridge  Rail- 
road traverses  it  centrally,  connecting  Rahway  and 
the  town  of  Woodbridge  with  its  hamlets,  making 
it  convenient  for  those  doing  business  in  the  near 
cities.  The  branch  of  the  New-  Jersey  Central  Rail- 
road runs  through  the  easterly  portion  of  the  town- 
ship, and  has  a  depot  called  Sewaren.  The  township 
is  drained  on  the  north  by  a  branch  of  the  Rahway 
River,  on  the  east  by  Achter  Kull  or  Staten  Island 
Sound,  and  on  the  south  by  the  Raritan  River.  Taken 
all  in  all,  Woodbridge  is  not  only  the  most  ancient  but 


quartzose  sand  and  fragments  of  quartz,  nearly  all  of  I  also  one  of  the  most  prosperous  townships  in  Middle- 
which  are   slightly  rounded.      The   upper   layer   of  [  sex  County. 


sandy  clay  is  not  seen  everywhere  accompanying  the 
■feldspar  and  kaolin.     It  is  quite  often  wanting. 

This  township  is  rich  in  these  clays,  which  are  in 
constant  demand  for  making  earthenware  for  the 
common  purposes  of  daily  life.  The  source  from 
whence  these  clays  was  derived  is  not  plainly  appa- 
rent as  yet.  They  join  on  their  northwestern  edge  the 
red  sandstone  and  shell  formation  from  Woodbridge 
almost  to  Trenton. 

The  surface  is  nearly  level,  and  contains  fourteen 
thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  and  is  well 
watered  by  streams  running  throughout  the  town- 
ship, and  the  Kill  von  Kull  on  the  southeasterly 
boundary  of  the  township,  being  facilities  for  con- 
veying tlie  rich  clays  and  the  produce  of  the  agricul- 
turists to  difi'erent  parts  of  the  country,  finding  ready 
markets. 

Clay  Miners  and  Manufacturers.— The  fol- 
lowing are  those  who  are  at  the  present  engaged  ex- 
tensively in  this  business : 

Woodbridge  "Fire- Brick  Works"  (established 
1845),  Messrs.  William  M.  Berry  &  Co.,  manufac- 
turers of  fire-brick  of  all  shapes  and  sizes,  and  dealers 
in  fire-clays,  sand,  kaolin,  and  fire  mortar. 


Census  Eeport.— Males,  1760;  females,  1376;  total, 
3136.  Number  of  children  in  township  from  five 
years  to  eighteen  years  of  age  is  1203:  males,  511 ; 
females,  692. 

Early  Settlements. — The  following  is  the  list  of 
freeholders  who  settled  at  an  early  date  in  this  town- 
ship, with,  as  far  as  is  known,  the  number  of  acres 
allotted  to  each  :  Obadiah  Ayres,  171  acres ;  Ephraim 
Andrews  (1673),  98;  Thomas  Augar,  or  Alger,  167; 
John  Adams,  97  ;  Samuel  Baker,  170 ;  Joshua  Brad- 
ley, 171;  John  Bishop,  470;  John  Bishop,  Jr.,  77; 
Matthew  Bunn  (he  is  recorded  as  a  "mariner"),  166; 
Thomas  Bloomfield,  326;  Thomas  Bloomfield,  Jr., 
92;  John  Bloomfield,  90;  John  Conger,  170;  John 
Cromwill,  173;  William  Compton  (whose  daughter 
was  the  first  child  born  in  Woodbridge),  174;  Robert 
Dennis,  448;  John  Dennis,  107;  Samuel  Dennis,  94; 
John  Dilly  (1676),  213  ;  Hugh  Dunn,  92;  Jonathan 
Dunham  (1672),  213;  John  French,  "mason,"  15; 
Rehoboth  Gannitt,  448;  Daniel  Grasie,  164;  Samuel 
Hale,  167;  Jonathan  Haynes  (1673),  97;  Elisha 
Ilsley,  172  ;  Henry  Jaques,  Henry  Jaques,  Jr.,  368 ; 
Stephen  Kent,  249;  Stephen  Kent,  Jr.,  104;  Henry 
Lessenby,  88;  George  Little,  100;  Hugh  March,  320; 


Messrs.  M.  D.  Valentine  &  Brother,  manufacturers Js;David  Makany,  168;  Samuel  Moore,  356;  Matthew 

^^  i  Moore,  177;  Benjamin  Parker,  "joiner,"  105;  Elisha 
Parker  (1675),  182:  John  Pike,  308;  John  Pike,  Jr., 
91;  Daniel  Pierce,  456;  Joshua  Pierce,  30;  Daniel 
Robbins,  173 ;  Robert  Rogers,  91 ;  John  Smith, 
"wheelwright,"  512;  Samuel  Smith  (1676),  103; 
John  Smith,  "Scotchman,"  176;  Isaac  Tappen,  172; 
Abraham  Tappen,  95i  ;  John  Taylor,  "  bhicksmith," 
92;  Israel  Thorne  (1676),  96  ;  Robert  Vauquellen,  or 
La  Prairie,  175;  John  Watkins,  92;  Nathan  Webster, 
93 ;  John  Whitaker,  91 ;  Richard  Wath,  172. 


of  fire-brick,  glazed  drain-pipe,  and  sand  tile.    .    <>. 

The  Salamander  Works,  established  1825,  incorpo- 
rated 1871.  This  company  are  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture of  fire-brick,  furnace  blocks,  slabs,  etc.,  of  all 
shapes,  bakers'  ovens,  tile  and  circles,  greenhouse  tile- 
and  heat-pipe,  sewer-  and  drain-pipe;  also  dealers  in 
clay,  sand,  and  kaolin. 

C.  W.  Boynton,  manufacturer  and  wholesale  dealer 
in  vitrified  sewer-pipe  and  farm  drain-tile. 

Hampton  Cutter  &  Son,  established  in  1850,  miners 


WOODBKIDGE. 


555 


These  are  believed  to  have  been  the  first  who  came, 
but  there  are  a  number  of  names  with  and  without 
acres  with  no  date  appended:  Thomas  Adams,  John 
Allen,  "  minister,"  97  acres ;  John  Averill,  William 
Bingley,  186 ;  Jonathan  Bishop,  Capt.  Philip  Car- 
teret, 313 ;  James  Clarkson,  John  and  Neal  Connerly, 
1680;  Jonathan  Dennis,  Hopewell  Hull,  John  Ilsley, 
97;  John  Martin,  Sr.,  2oo ;  Thomas  Pike,  John  Treu- 
man,  97;  Lords  Proprietors,  1000;  for  the  ministry, 
200  ;  maintenance  of  schools,  100. 

"  The  majority  of  the  first  settlers  came  from  New 
England,  and  most  of  them  were  descendants  of  the 
Puritans.  The  inhabitants  of  Woodbridge  pursued 
the  even  tenor  of  their  way  amid  the  quietness  and 
sobriety  of  a  secluded  agricultural  people,  undis- 
turbed by  the  turmoil  of  the  world  around,  and  but 
little  affected  by  the  strife  of  parties  with  which  the 
province  was  so  early  afflicted.  Secure  in  the  pos- 
session of  their  lands, — for  the  existence  at  any  time 
of  any  difterence  of  moment  between  them  and  the 
proprietaries  has  not  been  discovered, — they  were 
alike  loyal  to  the  Dutch  and  English  Governors 
to  proprietary  interests  or  royal  prerogatives,  which- 
ever had  the  ascendancy  ;  and  it  is  somewhat  ludi- 
crous to  observe  with  what  ease  plain  '  Samuel  Den- 
nis, Justice,'  under  the  English  rule,  became  '  Samuel 
Dennis,  Schepen,'  when  the  Hollanders  temporarily 
gained  the  supremacy,  and  the  town  with  equal  facil- 
ity was  tranferred  from  the  province  of  New  Jersey 
to  the  'schoutship  of  Achter  Kull  in  the  New  Neth- 
erlands.' " 

Woodbridge  had  its  ten  thousand  acres  for  the 
town  and  twenty  thousand  for  the  adjoining  planta- 
tions, several  of  these  being  improved,  and  that  sec- 
tion of  the  province  appears  to  have  been  highly 
estimated  by  settlere.  A  court-house  and  prison 
were  there,  although  we  may  presume  them  to  have 
been  of  humble  character,  and  the  possession  of  a 
charter  gave  to  the  town  a  peculiar  consideration  in 
the  province.  Its  population  then  was  about  six 
hundred. 

Obadiah  Ayres  held  in  the  township  171  acres, 
1672.  He  married  Hannah,  daughter  of  John  Pike; 
she  died  May  31,  1689.  It  is  recorded  that  Capt. 
John  Pike  left  in  his  will  to  Mr.  Ayres  the  sum  of 
one  shilling.  Mr.  Ayres  was  a  native  of  Newbury, 
Mass. 

The  Andross  or  Andrews  family  came  at  a  very 
early  date  from  New  Haven,  Conn.  The  name  of 
the  ancestor  was  Joakim,  sometimes  spelled  Yokam. 
He  died  in  1675,  and  his  widow  Amy  sold,  June  22, 
1675,  to  Thomas  Moore  "  the  house.  Orchard,  Home 
Lott,  Pasture  for  Calves,  and  all  that  might  be  claimed 
by  the  concessions — a  first  Lot-right — except  20  acres 
sold  by  her  husband  to  Peter  Moss,  and  one  peare-tree 
and  some  Gousberri/  bushes  reserved  for  her  use." 

Samuel  Bacor  (Baker)  owned  one  hundred  and 
seventy  acres  in  the  first  surveys,  1669;  at  one  time 
he  bought  the  lands  of  Daniel  Denton.     The  family 


of  Baker  emigrated  from  England  and  settled  on  Long 
Island,  and  Thomas,  father  of  Samuel,  first  settled  in 
Connecticut  Farms,  Union  Co.,  and  there  died. 

John  Bishop  was  by  trade  a  carpenter.  He  came 
from  Newbury,  Mass.,  October,  1647.  It  is  recorded 
that  he  owned  four  hundred  and  seventy  acres.  He 
married  Rebecca,  widow  of  Scullard,  daughter  of 
Richard  Kent,  by  whom  he  had  eight  children,  who 
came  with  him  on  his  arrival  at  Woodbridge.  He 
became  one  of  the  Associates,  and  held  several  promi- 
nent offices  in  the  town,  but  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
records  in  a  way  to  throw  any  light  upon  his  character. 
But  we  learn  that  in  March,  1696,  a  Mr.  Webster, 
a  Quaker,  claiming  that  it  was  contrary  to  his  con- 
science to  pay  anything  towards  the  maintenance  of 
a  minister  (Rev.  Mr.  Samuel  Shephard),  who  had 
been  the  means  of  building  up  the  congregation  and 
the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  town,  Capt.  John  Bishop 
agreed  to  pay  for  him  as  long  as  he  shall  live,  show- 
ing that  Capt.  Bishop  was  considerate  for  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  town  and  his  pastor's  comfort.  His 
sons,  John,  Jonathan,  and  Noah,  became  freeholders 
and  prominent  citizens,  and  the  latter  left  several 
children.  There  are  no  births,  deaths,  or  marriages 
recorded  relating  to  the  others. 

Of  the  Bloomfields,  the  first  mentioned  are  Thomas 
and  his  son  Thomas.  They  became  freeholders  in 
1670.  Thomas  Bloomfield  bought,  Aug.  25,  1675,  for 
£12,  the  property  of  Abraham  Shotwell,  and  resold  it 
a  fortnight  later  for  £14,  to  (rovernor  Carteret.  He 
was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  Capt.  John  Bloomfield,  his 
grandson,  was  in  Col.  Dayton's  Third  Continental 
Regiment,  1776. 

John  Conger  became  one  of  the  first  Associates, 
1670.  His  allotment  was  one  hundred  and  seventy 
acres.  The  name  is  now  well  known  throughout  the 
county.     They  first  came  from  Long  Island. 

The  Compton  family  were  among  the  first  who 
came  to  Woodbridge,  when  it  was  a  vast  forest,  Wil- 
liam, the  ancestor,  being  the  first  white  man  to  cut  down 
the  timber.  He  claimed  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
four  acres.  His  daughter  Mary  was  the  first  white 
child  born  in  this  township,  November,  1688 ;  she 
married  Caleb  Campbell,  Jan.  1, 169.5-96,  and  died  Feb. 
15,  1735,  aged  sixty-seven  years.  Her  gravestone  is 
still  standing.  The  name  is  still  found  in  the  county. 
The  family  have  become  numerous. 

Robert  Dennis..  This  family  were  from  Yarmouth, 
Mass.  On  the  3d  of  December,  1674,  being  "by  the 
providence  of  God  disabled  from  managing  and  carry- 
ing on  his  outward  occasions,"  he  gave  to  his  chil- 
dren,— Jonathan,  Joseph,  and  Elizabeth, — all  his  prop- 
erty (the  real  estate  to  the  sons,  and  to  the  daughter 
"  two  cows,  five  yearlings,  with  all  his  movables  in  the 
house"),  on  condition  that  they  should  allow  himself 
and  wife  (Mary)  a  comfortable  maintenance  "  for  meat 
and  drink,  washing,  lodging  and  apparel"  during 
their  lives.  He  held  many  offices  in  the  township, 
and  was  hghly  respected.     His  name,  owing  prob- 


556 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ably  to  infirmities  of  body,  ceases  to  be  mentioned 
after  1675.  For  several  years  he  was  appointed  on 
the  committee  for  assessing  the  town  rates,  an  indica- 
tion that  he  enjoyed  a  full  share  of  the  confidence  of 
his  townsmen.  John  and  Samuel  Dennis  were  prob- 
ably his  brothers. 

John  French  came  at  an  early  date,  and  worked 
at  his  trade,  that  of  mason  and  builder.  He  had  a 
brother  David,  who  settled  in  Union  township  (Con- 
necticut Farms).  Many  of  this  branch  of  the  family 
settled  eventually  in  Somerset  County  (see  Plainfield 
township). 

The  Gannitt  family  came  from  France,  and  with 
other  Huguenots  settled  upon  Staten  Island,  and  in 
this  county  in  1668.  There  is  in  the  records  of  the 
town  mention  made  of  four  hundred  and  forty-eight 
acres  as  Rehoboth  Gannitt's  in  the  year  1670. 

Daniel  Grasie  settled  in  1667,  and  held  office  for 
many  years.  The  family  are  not  numerous.  The 
names  of  Garritse  and  Gascrie  are  mentioned,  but  no 
record  is  now  found ;  they  may  have  been  the  same 
family  as  Grasie,  as  at  this  early  date  many  of  the 
names  in  the  records  difler  widely  in  their  orthog- 
raphy. 

Samuel  Hale  came  from  Newbury,  Mass.  He  was 
one  of  the  early  Associates,  and  had  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  acres.  He  was  surveyor  of  lands,  and 
held  official  relation  in  the  Assembly  and  in  framing 
the  charter  of  the  township.  The  family  have  re- 
moved to  different  parts  of  the  State. 

Jonathan  Haynes,  also  from  Newbury,  Mass.  (1673), 
owned  ninety-seven  acres.  The  name  is  spelled  in 
many  ways,  but  they  are  all  the  same  family,  as 
Hinds,  Heynes,  Haines,  the  last  of  which  is  common. 
Jonathan  was  a  son  of  John  Haynes,  who  died  at 
Southold,  L.  I.,  March,  1652-53.  He  may  have  been 
a  cooper,  and  carried  on  his  trade.  His  brothers  set- 
tled in  or  about  Elizabethtown  at  the  same  time  he 
came  here. 

Henry  Jacques,  Sr.,  was  a  carpenter  by  trade.  As 
such  he  built  in  1661  a  gallery,  and  made  for  it  "  three 
payre  of  stayres,  and  whatever  else  is  requisite  to  com- 
pleate  the  said  gallery,"  and  also  laid  a  fioor  all  over 
the  meeting-house  in  Newbury.' 

He  married  in  Newbury  (October,  1648)  Anna 
Knight,  by  whom  he  had  several  children,  one  of 
whom  only  (Henry,  Jr.),  it  is  thought,  came  with 
him  to  Woodbridge.  The  father,  it  is  probable,  re- 
turned to  Newbury.  He  died  in  February,  1687. 
The  son  Henry  was  born  in  July,  1649.  He  married 
Hannah ,  and  had  two  sons,  John  and  Jona- 
than, who  appear  to  have  survived  him.  The  former 
left  children.  His  name  is  connected  with  others  in 
a  deed  3d  December,  1667,  for  settling  two  townships, 
including  the  "  Towne  now  called  Woodbridge." 

Stephen  Kent  was  also  one  of  the  first  settlers.  His 
name  is  signed  to  the  deed  of  conveyance,  3d  Decem- 

1  CoffiD*8  Kewbury,  Maae.  ' 


ber,  1667,  for  the  formation  of  two  townships.  He 
had  a  choice  of  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  acres, 
and  his  son,  Stephen  Kent,  Jr.,  one  hundred  and 
four  acres. 

George  Littell,  or  Littel,  as  it  is  sometimes  spelled, 
emigrated  from  London  about  1635,  came  to  this 
township  from  Newbury  at  an  early  date,  and  made 
choice  of  one  hundred  acres ;  from  this  stock  the 
family  has  increased  and  spread  into  many  of  the 
townships,  particularlv  into  New  Providence,  Union 
Co. 

Hugh  March,  or  Marsh,  was  a  builder.  He  does 
not  appear  to  have  filled  any  prominent  position  in 
the  young  community,  and  subsequently  returned  to 
Newbury,  where  in  1676  he  commenced  keeping  an 
"  ordinary"  (inn),  and  continued  to  do  so  for  several 
years.  He  died  in  1693.  His  son,  George  March, 
was  admitted  a  freeholder  of  Woodbridge  in  August, 
1669,  but  he  also  returned  to  Newbury,  married,  and 
left  descendants.  It  has  been  generally  thought  that 
the  March  family  were  descendants  of  Hugh  March, 
the  orthography  of  the  name  having  become  changed 
in  the  course  of  time.  But  such  is  not  the  fact ;  the 
two  families  were  of  ditterent  origin.  In  1653  his 
wife  with  two  other  good  women  of  Newbury  were 
"  prosecuted  for  wearing  a  silk  hood  and  scarfe,"  but 
was  discharged  on  proof  that  her  husband  was  worth 
two  hundred  pounds.  The  family  is  quite  extensive 
now  in  this  country. 

David  Makany  (Makernie),  1670,  had  some  lands 
near  Amboy,  and  "  bordering  upon  this  Township 
(one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  acres)."  He  is  recorded 
as  freehelder  in  1683.  Rev.  Francis  Mackernie,  a 
Presbyterian  clergyman,  was  arrested  in  1708  by 
Lord  Cornbury  for  preaching  without  a  license.  His 
case  excited  much  interest  at  the  time,  though  noth- 
ing more  can  be  learned  than  that  a  lawyer  by  name 
of  Jamison  defended  him,  and  also  that  Governor 
Hunter,  who  was  selected  as  chief  justice  of  New 
Jersey  in  1710,  signalized  himself  by  defending  the 
clergyman.- 

Sanniel  Moore  (Moores)  was  the  first  town  clerk  in 
the  township,  and  for  twenty  years,  1668  to  1688,  his 
name  is  so  recorded.  He  and  his  brother  Matthew 
made  New  Jersey  their  permanent  abode  from  the 
time  of  their  arrival,  and  left  several  children, 
whose  descendants  ''remain  to  this  day."  Samuel's 
first  wife  was  Hannah  Plumer;  she  died  in  Decem- 
ber, 1654,  about  eighteen  months  after  marriage,  and 
he  took  for  his  second  wife  (September,  1656)  Mary 
Usley,  who  accompanied  him  to  Woodbridge.  The 
births  of  two  children  by  her  are  recorded.  It  is 
probable  that  he  was  married  a  third  time  (Decem- 
ber, 1678)  to  Ann  Jacques.     He  died  May  27,  1688. 

Matthew  Moore  married  Sara  Savory  March,  1662. 
They  brought  two  children  with  them  to  the  province, 
and   others   are   mentioned.     He   was   a   brother  of 

s  Field's  Provincial  Courts,  pp.  72, 91,  94. 


WOODBRIDGE. 


557 


Samuel,  and  had  allotted  to  him  one  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  acres.     He  died  in  March,  1(591. 

Benjamin  Parker,  a  freeholder  in  1670,  owned  one 
hundred  and  five  acres.  We  cannot  say  that  Elisha 
Parker,  of  Woodbridge,  was  a  relative,  but  they  came 
about  the  same  time,  and  in  lG7o  Elisha  owned  one 
hundred  and  eighty-two  acres  in  Woodbridge  where 
he  first  settled,  as  it  is  recorded,  "  The  first  grant 
of  Land  to  Elisha  Parker,  senior,  yeoman  of  Wood- 
hridge,  was  for  one  hundred  and  eighty- two  acres  on 
the  highway  leading  to  Piscataway  under  date  of 
April  19.  1675,"  and  it  is  presumed  that  shortly  after- 
wards he  removed  to  Woodbridge  from  Staten  Island, 
where  he  had  previously  resided.  Elisha  Parker  was 
in  1694  appointed  high  sheriff"  of  the  county  of 
Middlesex;  in  November,  1707,  he  represented  the 
county  in  the  Provincial  Assembly,  of  which  body 
he  continued  a  member  for  two  years,  and  in  1711 
was  appointed  a  member  of  Gov.  Hunter's  Council. 
His  residence  is  said  to  have  been  the  house  which 
until  a  few  years  back  was  the  parsonage  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Woodbridge.  He  died  June 
30,  1717,  esteemed  by  his  contemporaries  as  "a 
good  father,  a  kind  master,  and  a  sincere  Christian." 
Mr.  Parker  appears  to  have  been  three  times  mar- 
ried, and  to  have  had  several  children. 

Richard,  the  ancestor  of  the  Connerly  family  in 
this  township,  was  Scotch  or  of  Scotch  descent,  and 
came  about  1680.  He  settled  in  this  township  near 
the  "  Blazing  Star  Ferry"  on  the  Kill  von  Kull. 
The  family  are  not  numerous,  but  are  recorded  as 
respectable,  and  Richard  was  a  joiner.  He  probably 
kept  the  ferry  near  which  he  lived.  Richard,  the 
second,  was  a  public  officer,  and  his  son,  James 
Connerly,  was  in  Capt.  Struthers'  troop,  Sheldon's 
regiment,  light  dragoons,  Continental  army,  in 
1778 ;  Thomas  Connerly,  Third  Battalion,  First  Es- 
tablishment, Capt.  Flanagan's  Regiment,  and  the 
First  Regiment  of  the  Third  Battalion  of  Second 
Establishment;  John  and  Neil  Connerly  were  in 
Capt.  Morgan's  Company,  Second  Regiment  Middle- 
sex ;  and  John,  a  cousin  of  John  and  Neil,  in  First 
Regiment  of  Monmouth,  and  was  wounded  at  battle 
of  Monmouth,  1780.  Richard  Connerly  had  five 
children.  Richard  Bishop  Connerly  lived  at  Wood- 
bridge  and  died  there. 

John  Pike  was  one  of  the  earliest  settlers,  with  his 
son  John  ;  they  owned  nearly  four  hundred  acres  of 
land.  He  came  from  Newbury,  Mass.,  where  he  had 
settled  in  1635,  and  after  securing  his  allotment  here 
he  returned  in  1671  for  the  purpose  of  disposing  of 
his  property  in  Massachusetts  belonging  to  himself 
and  son.  He  had  previously  been  elected  president 
of  Woodbridge,  and  in  that  year  (1671)  was  chosen 
to  be  one  of  Governor  Carteret's  council.  After 
1675,  when  he  was  appointed  "  captain"  of  the  militia, 
he  was  uniformly  distinguished  by  that  title. 

His  lands  are  described  as  lying  "  west  of  Straw- 
berry Hill,"  alias  the  sheep  common,  were  granted  to 
36 


him  at  a  meeting  of  the  Associates,  Dec.  9,  1667,  and 
confirmed  to  him  by  the  Governor  in  February  fol- 
lowing. On  the  30th  June,  1685,  he  married  Eliza- 
beth Fitz  Randolph,  of  Piscataway,  and  died  in  Jan- 
uary, 1688-89,  leaving  some  seven  children, — John, 
Thomas,  Joseph,  Hannah,  Ruth,  Samuel,  and  several 
who  died  young.  Capt.  Pike  died  with  his  "  fair 
fame"  impaired  through  calumnious  assaults,  the 
effect  of  which  the  General  Assembly,  by  two  solemn 
acts  at  two  different  times,  subsequently  endeavored  to 
counteract. 

Daniel  Pierce  is  recorded  as  "  blacksmith,"  and 
owning  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  acres,  and  his  son 
Joshua  thirty  acres.  They  were  the  first  to  move  in 
the  enterprise  of  establishing  the  town,  although 
they  do  not  appear  to  have  exerted  any  special  influ- 
ence in  the  management  of  its  aflTairs.  The  father, 
on  his  arrival  in  America,  first  settled  at  Watertown, 
Mass.,  whence  about  1637  he  removed  to  Newbury, 
where  in  1652  he  purchased  considerable  property  of 
a  nephew^  named  John  Spencer,'  and  his  interests 
there  induced  him  to  return  to  Massachusetts  soon 
after  the  settlement  of  Woodbridge,  and  he  died  in 
Ipswich,  Dec.  26,  1677,  leaving  one  son,  Daniel,  who 
was  a  resident  of  the  same  town. 

Joshua,  the  son,  born  May  15,  1642,  had  died  in 
Woodbridge  about  the  latter  part  of  1670,  and  a 
month  subsequent  to  his  death  the  birth  of  a  son 
Joshua  is  recorded.  There  is  a  previous  record  of 
the  birth  of  a  daughter  on  March  IS,  1668,  on  "  the 
fifth  of  the  week  about  break  of  day." 

Daniel  Robbins  came  in  1668,  and  located  his  lands 
of  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  acres  in  Woodbridge, 
where  he  resided  for  many  years;  his  family  are  quite 
numerous  in  the  State. 

.  The  Rogers  family  were  early  settlers  here  ;  they 
owned  nearly  one  hundred  acres  in  1670.  It  is  sup- 
posed they  came  direct  from  Newljury,  Mass.  Robert 
Rodgers'  descendants  are  still  to  be  found  in  the 
county. 

John  Smith  is  named  as  "  wheelwright,"  to  distin- 
guish him  from  a  John  Smith,  a  "  Scotchman,"  another 
of  the  settlers.  He  was  honored  immediately  after 
the  organization  of  the  town  with  the  post  of  consta- 
ble; was  then  promoted  to  be  a  deputy  to  the  Assem- 
bly, an  assistant  judge,  etc.  The  town-meetings  were 
at  first  held  at  his  house,  he  acting  as  moderator,  and 
from  various  other  offices  conferred  upon  him,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  been  an  esteemed  citizen.  There  is  no 
mention  made  in  the  records  of  his  family.  The 
Smiths  who  subsequently  became  numerous  in  this 
vicinity  were  probably  descendants  of  Richard  Smith, 
whose  name  is  mentioned  not  long  after  the  settlement 
was  made,  but  what  connection  there  was  between  him 
and  John  (if  any)  is  not  known.  John  Smith  held 
five  hundred  and  twelve  acres,  and  Samuel  Smith 
(1676)  had  one  hundred  and  three  acres  recorded. 

I  See  Coffin's  Hifitory  of  Newbury. 


558 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Robert  Vaiiquellen,  or  La  Prarire,  was  owner  of 
one  hundred  and  seventy-five  acres  (1668).  He 
was  a  native  of  Caen,  in  France.  He  was  a  sur- 
veyor-general 8th  March,  1669-70.  He  is  called 
"  Robert  La'-Prie"  in  some  of  the  records.  He  was 
acting  secretary  for  the  members  of  the  Assembly, 
Nov.  5,  1675.  The  deeds  of  his  plantation,  as  it  is 
called,  were  not  given  him  until  1681.'  He  came 
over  with  his  wife  at  the  time  of  Governor  Carteret, 
in  the  ship  "  Philip,"  landing  July  29,  166.5,  at  New 
York,  and  was  a  great  acquisition  to  this  young  col- 
ony. As  a  matter  of  curiosity  I  find  that  his  name 
is  spelled  in  twenty-two  different  ways  :  Vauquellin, 
Vanquellin,  Vauguellin,  Van  Quellin  (making  him  a 
Hollander),  Van  Quellion,  Voclin  (as  pronounced), 
Voclan,  Vorklain  ;  then  come  the  La  Prairie,  La- 
pairy,  Laprarij,  Laparary,  Laprerie,  La  Prie,  La 
Priere,  La  Prary,  Liprary,  Delapary,  Deleprierre, 
Delapais,  and  Delapierre. 

Robert  McLellan  bought  a  plantation  in  Wood- 
bridge,  and  resided  there  until  June,  1689,  having  for 
an  inmate  of  his  house  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riddell.  They 
sailed  to  Europe  together.  He  took  his  son  with  him, 
and  after  remaining  in  Scotland  for  some  years  re- 
turned and  took  possession  of  his  lands.  It  is  thought 
that  he  had  left  two  of  his  children  here  liefore  he 
sailed,  but  no  account  is  given  of  the  fact,  only  he  had 
three  children  and  took  one  son  with  him  to  Scotland. 
No  mention  is  made  of  his  son's  return. 

Adam  Hood,  or  Hude,  as  the  name  was  .spelled  by 
himself,  came  as  a  passenger  in  the  ship  "  Henry  and 
Francis."  Where  he  first  went  does  not  appear,  but 
in  June,  1686,  we  find  him  among  the  others  brought 
before  the  Court  of  Common  Right,  at  the  instance  of 
Capt.  Hutton,  and  in  1695  he  resided  on  Staten  Island. 
During  that  year  he  purchased  his  land  in  Woodbridge, 
and  removing  here  built  a  farm-house  for  his  own 
residence,  which,  in  an  altered  condition,  is  yet  stand- 
ing about  a  mile  north  of  the  church,  on  the  road  to 
Railway.  He  is  called  in  the  records  "  Weaver,"  but 
in  1718  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Middlesex,  soon  becoming 
the  presiding  judge,  and  still  acted  in  that  capacity 
as  late  as  1733,  the  records  of  the  court  exhibiting  a 
marked  regularity  in  his  attendance  upon  its  sittings. 
At  one  time  he  was  also  master  in  chancery  and  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Provincial  Assembly.  He  seems  to  have  en- 
joyed in  a  great  degree  the  confidence  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  Mr.  Hude's  death  occurred  on  the  17th  of 
June,  1746,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year,  having  for  many 
years  been  a  communicant  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

The  following  are  names  of  other  settlers  of  the 
township  from  its  earliest  date  to  the  year  1840: 


Thomas  .\cken. 
Thomas  Adams. 
John  Adams. 
.\rtliur  Adlingto 


Benjamin  Alford. 
Rev.  John  Allen. 
Uavid  Atston. 
John  Alstone. 


1  Chancery,  p.  63,  for  tbe  bounds  of  respective  grants. 


Joseph  Alwood. 
Ephraim  Andrews. 
Jedediah  Andrews. 
Milton  Arrow-smith. 
Archibald  Auger  (or  Eag 
Rev.  D.  Austin. 
John  Everel  (or  Averil). 
Daniel  Ayers. 
Ellis  Ayers. 
Ellis  F.  Ayers. 
James  Ayeis. 
Joanna  Ayers. 
John  Ayers, 
Samuel  Ayers. 
Obadiah  Ayers. 
Samuel  Bacon. 
Capt.  Baker. 
John  Baker. 
Cornelius  Baker, 
Rev,  T.  L,  Barrister. 
E,  Barber, 
John  Barclay. 
Robert  Barclay. 
H,  Barkaloo. 
Capt.  Barnet. 
Elizeus  Barron. 
Ellis  Barron, 
John  Barron. 
Joseph  Barron. 
Samuel  Barron. 
Thomas  Barron. 
Joh     Barrow. 
Rev.  William  B,  Barton. 
John  Bayley. 
John  Beatty, 
Rev,  A.  Beach. 
John  Beacher. 
William  Bedman. 
Andrew  Bell. 
William  H.  Benton, 
John  Berry, 
William  Berry, 
William  H,  Berry, 
William  Bingley. 
Alston  Bishop. 
John  Bishop. 
Noah  Bishop, 
Jonathan  Bishop, 
Beuony  Blacklick, 
Francis  Bloodgood. 
James  Bloodgood. 
William  Bloodgood. 
Ezekiel  Bloomfield. 
Benjamin  Bloomfield, 
Hopewell  Bloomtield. 
John  Bloomfield. 
James  Bloomfield. 
Joseph  Bloomfield. 
Jonathan  Bloomfield. 
Moses  Bloomfield. 
Thomas  Bloomfield. 
William  Bloomfield. 
Timothy  Bloomfield. 
James  Bollen, 
Robert  Bond, 
James  Bonny, 
Joseph  Bonny, 
Nicholas  Bonham, 
Capt,  Brown, 
William  Bowman, 
Joshua  Bradley. 
George  Bradshaw, 
John  Brentnall. 
1.  M,  Brewster. 
Timothy  Brewster. 
George  Brewster. 
Daniel  Brittou. 


Rev,  John  Brook, 

Henry  Brotberton, 

Andrew  Brown, 

Benjamin  Brown, 

George  Brown, 

Col.  Benjamin  Brown. 

Carlisle  Brown. 

James  Brown. 

John  Brown. 

Philip  Brown, 

Samuel  Brown, 

Thomas  Brown, 

Warren  Brown. 

William  Brown, 

James  Bunn, 

Seriah  Bunn, 

Matthew  Bunn, 

Nathan  Bunn. 

David  Bunn, 

Rev.  P.  H,  Burghardt, 

Robert  Bnrwell, 

Samuel  Butler. 

Mehitable  Butler. 

Caleb  Dugald, 

David  Dngald. 

John  Campbell, 

Henry  Campbell. 

Richard  Carmon. 

Thomas  Chalkley. 

John  Chaplin, 

David  Chiuabell, 

Jonathan  Chinabell. 

William  Clake. 

Abel  Clarkson, 

James  Clarkson, 

Robert  Clarkson, 

Jeremiah  Clarkson, 

John  Clerk  (or  Clark,  Clarke). 

Benjamin  Clerk. 

Coddington, 

Thomas  Collier, 
John  Conway, 
Daniel  Cumpton, 
Francis  Compton. 
John  Compton. 
William  Compton. 
Gershom  Conger, 
William  Conger. 
John  Conger. 
Isaac  Catheal, 
William  Coxe, 
John  Crandel. 
Benjamin  Cromwell. 
John  Cromwell, 
Col.  Samuel  Crow. 
David  Crow, 
David  Crowell. 
Joseph  Crowell, 
James  Crowell, 
Eward  Crowell, 
Ralph  M,  Ciowell. 
Robert  Cuts. 
Capt.  Cutter. 
Samuel  Cutter. 
Richard  Cutter, 
Kelsey  Cutler, 
Campyon  Cutler. 
William  Cutter, 
Joseph  Cutter, 
John  Cutter, 
Stephen  Cutter. 
Ford  Cutter, 
Samuel  R,  Cutter, 
Hampton  Cutter, 
Jeremiah  Dully, 
Samuel  Dally, 
Daniel  Dane. 


WOODBKIDGE. 


559 


Thomas  Davia. 

John  Ford. 

John  Heard, 

The  Lyon  Family. 

James  De  Camp. 

Jacob  Ford, 

Samuel  Heard. 

David  Makany. 

Morris  De  Camp. 

William  Ford. 

James  Heard, 

Jeremiah  Manning. 

David  Demerest. 

Matthew  Fors. 

William  Heard, 

Benjamin  Manning. 

John  Dennis. 

Ebenezer  Forster  (Foster). 

Daniel  Hendricks. 

James  Manning. 

Jonathan  Dennis. 

David  Frazee. 

William  Herrod. 

John  Manning. 

Bobert  Dennis. 

Jonathan  Frazee. 

Gershom  Higgins. 

Hugh  March. 

Samuel  Dennis. 

Shortwell  Frazee. 

George  Hollister. 

George  March. 

Elias  Dey. 

Hiram  Frazee. 

Sarah  Holland. 

The  Marsh  Family. 

Peter  Designy. 

Morris  Frazee. 

John  Holt, 

John  Oliver  Martin. 

Israel  Disossway. 

Joseph  Freeman. 

H.W.Holton. 

Merrick  Martin. 

John  Dilly. 

Henry  Freeman. 

Col.  Holmes, 

Ephraim  Martin. 

Richard  Dole. 

Dr.  E.  B.  Freeman. 

Rev.  Homans. 

The  Mawbey  Family, 

Hugh  Donn  (Dunn). 

Jedediah  Freeman. 

Samuel  Hopkins. 

The  Meeker  Family. 

Joseph  Douham. 

Dr.  S.  E.  Freeman. 

Adam  Hude. 

Jacob  Melyn. 

John  Drake. 

Israel  Freeman. 

Robert  Hude. 

Leonard  Melick, 

William  Brake. 

Samuel  Freeman. 

James  Hude. 

The  Moore  Family. 

Reuben  Drake. 

Alexander  Freeman. 

Capt.  H.  Hudson. 

The  Moores  Family. 

George  Drake. 

Dr.  Matthew  Freeman. 

F.  Huffmaster, 

John  Mootry. 

Josiah  Dunham. 

Isaac  Freeman. 

Hopewell  Hull, 

Samuel  Moffet. 

Isaac  Dunham. 

Lorrain  Freeman. 

Benjamin  Hull. 

John  Mores. 

Edmund  Dunham. 

Melancthon  Freeman. 

Solomon  Hunt. 

Samuel  Mores. 

David  Dunham. 

Jonathan  Freeman. 

Marmaduke  Hunt. 

Edward  Mundy. 

Benjamin  Dunhant. 

John  Freeman. 

Rev.  H.  W.  Hunt. 

James  Mundy. 

Azariah  Dunham. 

David  Freeman. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt. 

Ezra  Mundy. 

Thomas  Edgar. 

Capt.  Matthew  Freeman. 

Rev.  G.A.Hunt. 

Henry  Mundy. 

James  Edgar. 

Smith  Freeman. 

William  Hutchinson. 

Henry  Napp. 

William  Edgar. 

Josiah  Freeman. 

The  Family  of  Ilsleys. 

Alanson  Newton. 

Alexander  Edgar. 

John  Fullerton. 

Jonathan  Inslee. 

Samuel  Nevill. 

Clarkson  Edgar. 

Col.  John  French  Fullerton. 

Experience  Inslee. 

John  Nevill. 

David  Edgar,  Sr. 

Charles  Fullerton. 

John  Inslee. 

Walter  Noakes, 

James  Eddy. 

Barnes. 

Samuel  Inslee. 

Daniel  Noe. 

Samuel  Edsall. 

Gach  (or  Gage).  There  were 

Capt.  Isaac  Inslee, 

James  Noe. 

William  Ellison. 

Thomas  Gage. 

Charles  Jackson. 

Peter  Noe. 

H.  El  well. 

Ellis  Gage. 

Thomas  Jackson. 

John  Noe. 

William  Elstou. 

James  Cage. 

Henry  Jaques. 

Ogden  Family. 

Peter  Elstone. 

Philip  Gage. 

Samuel  Jaques. 

TheConneriy  Family. 

Thomas  Elston. 

P.  W.  Gallaudet. 

John  Jaques. 

James  Osborne. 

George  Eubanks. 

John  Geddis. 

Rev.  P.  L.  James  Jaques. 

Capt.  Palmer. 

Reubi;:n  Evans. 

Rev.  J.  Giles. 

Col.  Moses  Jaques. 

Peter  Pain,  or  Payne. 

Crowell  Evans. 

Robert  Gilchrist. 

Samuel  Jaquish. 

Capt.  John  Pain,  ur  Payne. 

David  Evan. 

Rev.  GilHspie. 

James  JefFry. 

William  Pain,  or  Payne. 

John  Everitt, 

The  Gillmans  Family. 

Benjamin  Jeffry, 

The  Pangborn  Family. 

William  E.  Fink. 

Amos  Goodman. 

George  Jeffry. 

Benjamin Parcost  (Parkhurst), 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph. 

Goodwin. 

Isaac  Jeffry. 

Rene  Pardepus. 

Capt.  Asher  Fitz  Randolph. 

Daniel  Grasie  (Gresey,  or  Gre- 

Rev.  H.  V.  Jones. 

William  Pardon. 

Hartshorn  Fitz  Randolph. 

sie). 

William  Jones. 

The  Parker  Family. 

Jacob  Fitz  Randolph. 

Joseph  Gray. 

Capt.  Jones. 

The  Pike  Family. 

Edward  Fitz  Randolph. 

Benjamin  Griffith. 

George  Keith. 

James  Paton. 

Joseph  Fitz  Randolph. 

John  Griffith. 

James  Kelly. 

David  E.  Paton. 

Esiah  Fitz  Randolph. 

Edward  Griffith. 

John  Kelly. 

John  Pierce  (Parse  or  Pearce, 

Ezekiel  Fitz  Randolph. 

Dr.  J.  Griffith. 

Benajah  Kelly. 

all  the  same  name). 

Malachi  Fitz  Randolph. 

Samuel  Groome. 

Stephen  Kent. 

The  Perkins  Family. 

David  Fitz  Randolph. 

Robert  Grove. 

William  Kent. 

Capt.  William  Piatt. 

Michael  Fitz  Randolph. 

Thomas  Hadden. 

David  Kent. 

P.  B,  Pope. 

James  Fitz  Randolph. 

The  Haines  Family. 

John  Kent. 

The  Potter  Family. 

Barzilla  Fitz  Randolph. 

Samuel  Hale. 

Rev. Kigga. 

Elijah  Pound. 

Stelle  Fitz  Randolph. 

Abner  Hampton. 

The  Kinsey  Family. 

Richard  Powell. 

Phineas  Fitz  Randolph. 

George  C.  Hance. 

Capt.  Lacy. 

The  Read  Family. 

Thomas  Fitz  Randolph. 

Rev.  C.  Hance. 

Robert  Lacky. 

The   Ren nolds  ^Family    (Rey- 

Zedekiah Fitz  Randolph. 

William  Hanham. 

The  Lainge  (or  Laing)  Family. 

nolds). 

Eseeck  Fitz  Randolph. 

Jonathan  Harned. 

John  Langstaff. 

Col.  Rickets. 

Isaac  Fitz  Randolph. 

Nathan  Harned. 

John  Laaslett. 

Joshua  Rickhow  Rifle. 

Reuben  Fitz  Randolph. 

William  Harned. 

John  Lawrence. 

0.  Rifle. 

Edward  Fitz  Randolph  (2d). 

Dr.  S.  P.  Harned. 

Robert  Lee  Leonard. 

Hannah  Right  (or  the  Wright) 

Samuel  Fitz  Randolph. 

David  Harriot. 

Capt.  N.  Leonard. 

Family. 

Robert  Fitz  Randolph. 

John  Harriot. 

Henry  Lesenbe. 

John  Robeson. 

William  Fleming. 

Samuel  Harriot, 

John  Leshier. 

Daniel  Roberts. 

Isaac  Flood. 

George  Harriot. 

Thomas  Lewis. 

William  Robinson. 

John  Flood. 

Ephraim  Harriot. 

George  Little. 

Daniel  Robins. 

Charles  Fold. 

Benjamin  Harris  Harpendine. 

The  Lochart  Family. 

John  Rolf,  or  Rolph. 

C.  A.  Forbes. 

Peter  Harpendine. 

Michael  Long. 

Samuel  Rolph. 

Benjamin  Furce. 

Col.  J.  Hart. 

John  Loof  bourrow  {spelt  now 

Joseph  Rolph. 

Jeremiah  C.  Force. 

Joseph  Haviland. 

Lufbery). 

Moses  Rolph. 

Samuel  Force. 

James  Haydock. 

Thomas  Louel. 

Henry  Rolph. 

Ehenezer  Ford. 

John   Haydock. 

James  Luckhurst. 

Robert  Rogers. 

Samuel  Ford. 

Major  Hayes. 

Martin  Lupardus. 

The  Ross  Family. 

560 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Thomas  Endyard. 

Capt.  Ryersnn. 

John  Scudder. 

The  Score  (or  Sayree)  Family. 

Daniel  Shaw. 

The  Shotwell  Family. 

The  Skinner  Family. 

Henry  Smalley. 

The  Smith  Family. 

Peter  Sonmans. 

Peter  Sonnmns,  Jr. 

Richard  Soper. 

John  Stewart. 

The  Stillwell  Family. 

William  Stone. 

The  Sutton  Family. 

Thomas  Swan. 

Tappen  (or  Toppen)  Family. 

William  Taylor. 

John  Taylor. 

Daniel  Terrill. 

William  P.  Terrill. 

Thompson  Family. 

Thomson  Family. 

The  Thorn  Family. 

Israel  Thorn  ell. 

Lewis  Thornell. 


Benjamin  Thornell. 
The  Thorp  Family. 
Samuel  Tingley. 
Penelope  Titus. 
John  Trewman. 
The  Tucker  Family. 
J.  H.  Tufts. 
Stephen  Tuttle. 
The  Vail  Family. 
Claude  Valott. 
C.  Vandenhoven. 
Jaques  Venet. 
Nicholas  Ver  Lett. 
Daniel  Voorhees. 
Rohert  Voquillen. 
The  Wade  Family. 
The  Walker  Family. 
John  Warlock. 
The  Weh.5ter  Family. 
John  Witcher,  or  Wlii 
John  White. 
Thomas  Wiatt. 
Robert  Willis. 
The  North  Family. 
C.  Wyckoff. 
John  Zeller. 


These  with  a  few  other  names  not  now  known  were 
the  first  who  came  to  this  township,  which  within  a 
few  years  comprised  parts  of  Rahway  and  Raritan 
townships. 


CHAPTER    LXXVI. 

WOODBKIDGE*-(Con(m«e(/.) 

Civil  History. — In  1695  constables  were  appointed 
to  collect  the  tax,  an  arrangement  which  continued 
until  1700.  The  salary  of  a  rate-gatherer  was  twenty- 
seven  shillings  in  1684,  fifteen  shillings  in  1693,  and 
thirty  shillings  in  1697.  There  were  other  officers 
appointed,  and  styled  the  meat-packers,  allowers  of 
the  town  debts,  fence- viewers,  lot-layers,  rangers,  etc. 
Grand  jurymen  were  first  appointed  in  town-meeting 
April  4,  1671  ;  Thomas  Bloomfield,  Sr.,  and  John 
Martin  were  selected  for  that  year.  No  other  ap- 
pointments appear  to  have  been  made  until  1676, 
when  John  Ilsley  and  Abraham  Toppon  (Tappin) 
were  chosen.  In  1680,  John  Pike  (8r.)  and  Matthew 
Moore  filled  the  grand  jurors'  chairs,  after  which  no 
further  mention  of  the  grand  jury  occurs. 

We  presume  that  Ezekiel  Bloomfield  was  keeper  of 
the  pound  for  many  years,  for  we  read  of  animals 
being  impounded  very  often ;  but  up  to  1700,  Ezekiel, 
who  was  elected  to  that  distinguished  position  in 
1692,  is  the  only  man  whose  name  is  used  in  connec- 
tion with  the  office. 

Overseers  of  the  poor  were  first  chosen  in  1682 ; 
Samuel  Moore  and  Samuel  Dennis  were  elected  at 
that  time,  and  no  successors  were  appointed  for  many 
years.  Sheriffs'  fees  were  not  granted  until  1686. 
Jailors'  fees  were  also  allowed:  "turning  the  key  in 
and  out,"  eight  shillings;  affixing  the  seal  of  the 
province  to  documents,  five  shillings. 


April  18,  1686,  Samuel  Moore  and  Samuel  Dennis 
were  appointed  to  petition  the  new  proprietors  to 
confirm  the  tow7i  charter,  which  met  with  a  favorable 
response,  but  the  confirmation  was  not  given. 

In  the  meeting  of  October  1st,  three  men — Samuel 
Moore,  John  Bloomfield,  and  Jonathan  Bishop — were 
appointed  to  meet  with  a  committee  from  Elizabeth- 
town  to  consult  concerning  the  best  route  for  a  high- 
way between  that  place  and  Woodbridge,  their  de- 
cision to  be  laid  before  the  next  Assembly  for  final 
disposition.  This  road  was  eventually  opened,  whether 
in  consequence  of  these  or  subsequent  negotiations  we 
cannot  tell. 

Deputy  Governor  Laurie  sent  a  message  to  Wood- 
bridge,  which  was  read  in  the  town-meeting  of  June 
30,  1684,  in  which  he  requested  the  gift  for  the  pro- 
prietors of  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  to  be  included 
within  the  bounds  of  Amboy.  This  was  unanimously 
and  decidedly  refused  by  the  freeholders.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1686,  John  Bishop  "ingaged  to  make  a  sufficient 
Bridge  over  the  Brook  called  the  Mill  Brook,  in  the 
country  Highway  leading  to  Elizabeth-towne."  This 
is  the  stream  in  Lower  Rahway  (or  Leesville)  which 
is  now  spanned  by  a  bridge  as  in  those  days,  and 
probably  at  the  same  place.  In  the  same  month  and 
year  "  Obadiah  Hayers"  is  appointed  one  of  the  con- 
stables. This  is  only  a  peculiar  way  of  spelling  the 
name  of  "Ayres,"  or  "Ayers,"  which  appears  in  the 
records  in  1695  as  "  Ayres."  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  identity  of  the  persons. 

June  29,  1688,  John  Dennis  was  appointed  to 
superintend  the  making  of  a  bridge  near  his  house, 
over  the  brook  which  runs  across  the  road  on  the 
west  of  Alexander  Edgar's  residence.  Dennis  lived 
on  the  east  side  of  the  highway,  about  where  Edmund 
Ayres  now  lives. 

It  appears  that  the  death  of  the  rate-gatherer,  Is- 
rael Thornell,  for  the  year  1688,  caused  considerable 
trouble ;  some  of  the  taxes  had  been  gathered,  but  he 
left  his  accounts  in  so  unsettled  a  condition  that  evi- 
dence and  personal  oaths  were  required  to  settle  the 
question  of  payment  in  many  cases.  "Not  that 
Thornell  was  dishonest;  but  being  stricken  down 
suddenly,  he  had  no  time  to  adjust  his  business  with 
the  town."  John  Ilsley  acceptably  filled  out  the  un- 
expired term  of  Mr.  Thornell. 

On  tiie  2d  of  February,  1693,  it  is  recorded  that 
John  Bloomfield  and  Jonathan  Bishop  should  each 
receive  12s.  for  "going  up  to  the  Indians  this  last 
spring."  "  It  is  likely,"  says  Mr.  Daliey,  "that  they 
went  to  the  north  to  treat  with  the  savage  tribes  and 
secure  their  friendship.  At  this  time  the  Indians 
were  in  alliance  with  the  French,  and  were  disturb- 
ing the  frontier.  The  war  between  England  and 
France  was  raging,  and  the  emissaries  of  the  latter 
were  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  English  colonies. 
All  means  were  employed  to  propitiate  the  red  men, 
and  the  Jersey  settlers  generally  were  secure  from 
their  fury."     Governor  Hamilton,  in  October  of  this 


WOODBRIDGE. 


561 


year,  called  for  men  and  money  to  forward  to  New 
York  for  the  defense  of  that  province  from  the  allied 
forces.'  The  deputies  agreed  to  send  fifteen  men  to 
Albany  to  protect  that  point.  The  Governor  was  in- 
dignant. He  wanted  thirty  men  at  least.  They  said 
they  had  five  more,  making  twenty,  who  might  go. 
The  Governor  told  them  it  "  seemed  very  strange 
that  they  should  bargaine  as  if  they  were  buying  or 
selling  a  horse  or  a  cow  when  their  own  safety  & 
credit  lyes  at  stake."  But  the  deputies  would  only 
send  twenty  men,  arguing  that  they  were  too  poor  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  a  larger  number.  They  were 
poor,  however,  but  their  generosity  was  not  remark- 
able. 

In  the  autumn  of  1(194  the  bridge  over  the  Papiack 
was  pushed  forward  to  completion  under  the  super- 
vision of  Matthew  Moore. 

It  appears  that  John  Crandell,  a  blacksmith,  was 
granted  two  acres  of  upland  on  the  18th  of  July, 
1698,  provided  he  would  settle  in  Woodbridge  and 
follow  his  trade.  This  he  agreed  to  do,  and  he  set  up 
a  shop  accordingly. 

Wolves  must  have  become  very  troublesome  to  the 
inhabitants,  as  a  price  was  agreed  upon  March  13, 
1697,  of  25s.  for  every  one  that  was  slaughtered  be- 
fore the  1st  of  January.  And  September,  1698, 
"Many  Wolves  have  been  brought  into  the  village, 
in  too  great  numbers  for  the  condition  of  their 
finances,  as  it  was  agreed  to  reduce  the  price  for  each 
one  slain  to  12s.,"  being  a  reduction  of  13.?. 

In  the  meeting  of  the  town,  1703,  "  A  new  pound 
was  among  the  things  determined  upon,"  the  "  old 
stuff"  condemned  to  be  sold  to  help  pay  for  the  im- 
proved structure.  Pounds,  it  will  be  observed,  re- 
ceived a  large  share  of  the  public  attention.  Ani- 
mals were  not  allowed  to  walk  around  the  village 
with  impunity. 

March  30,  1705,  the  first  Town  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed for  one  year.  They  were  Capt.  Jolm  Bishop, 
Capt.  Elisha  Parker,  John  Ilsly,  Nathaniel  Fitz  Ran- 
doljjh,  John  Pike,  Joseph  Rolph,  and  Thomas  Pike. 

At  the  same  meeting  permission  was  given  to 
Elisha  Parker  to  build  a  "Good  Grist-Mill"  on  the 
Papiack  Creek,  with  a  grant  of  a  piece  of  land  about 
forty  feet  square.  It  was  to  be  built  as  near  the 
bridge  as  possible.  "  This  may  have  been  the  mill 
which  once  stood  on  the  stream  just  back  of  Jaques 
Venet's  residence.  It  has  long  ago  disappeared." 
John  Pike  and  Richard  Cutter,  July  14,  1709,  were 
permitted  b)'  the  town-meeting  to  build  a  grist-mill 
"  on  the  North  side  of  the  Ditch,  at  the  south  side  of 
the  Cornfield  Landing,  and  to  have  so  Much  Land 
adjoining  to  the  said  Ditch  and  the  main  creek  as 
shall  be  for  the  convenience  of  said  Mill,  So  it  Doth 
not  Prejudice  the  said  Landing."  In  1710  the  mill 
was  finished,  and  these  two  men  entered  in  equal 
partnership. 

1  The  Governor  and  Council,  p.  159. 


On  the  6th  of  May,  1713,  three  sheepmasters  were 
appointed  to  protect  the  flocks  from  wolves  and  dogs, 
and  to  prevent  the  destruction  by  the  sheep  of  the 
growing  corn  and  the  grass  in  the  pasture  lands. 

March  1,  1714,  the  sum  of  £15  was  appropriated, 
partly  for  the  purchase  of  a  "  town  book"  and  partly 
for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  This  book  w-as  bought,  and 
is  known  as  the  "  Freeholders'  Book."  It  was  rebound 
in  October,  1868,  by  order  of  the  Town  Committee, 
and  is  therefore  in  a  good  state  of  preservation. 

May  8,  1717,  w'as  a  day  appointed  for  drawing  of 
lots,  being  the  fourth  division  of  the  public  lands, 
and  special  pains  were  taken  to  have  the  disposition 
of  plots  as  fair  and  equal  as  possible.  We  find  that 
Caleb  Campbell  was  permitted  to  draw  a  lot  in  con- 
sideration of  the  fact  that  his  wife  was  the  first  Chris- 
tian child  born  in  Woodbridge.  Robert  Gilchrist  was 
moderator  for  the  day.  John  Parker  was  elected  to 
draw  the  lots.  It  was  agreed  that  each  freeholder 
should  pay  down  to  Daniel  Britton,  the  town  treasu- 
rer, six  shillings  and  sixpence  for  expenses  immedi- 
ately on  drawing  his  lot.  The  plots  had  all  been 
marked  out  and  numbered  beforehand.  The  modus 
operandi  is  fully  explained  by  this  resolution,  to  wit : 
"  Itt  was  voated  &  agred  yt  ye  ffi-eholders  should  pro- 
sede  to  Draw  their  sd  fourth  Division  Lots  (&  accord- 
ingly they  Did)  :  They  being  Numbered  on  Little 
pices  of  Paper  &  Putt  Into  a  bagg  &  Drawn  by  John 
Parker,  according  [to]  ye  fore  going  voatt :  ye  sd 
Lotts  being  Drawn,  In  ye  Names  of  ye  originall  ffree- 
holders."  Eight  acres  of  good  land  were  to  be  repre- 
sented by  each  slip  of  paper.  Caleb  Campbell,  who 
had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  marry  the  first  born  native 
of  Woodbridge,  drew  Lot  No.  35,  and  which  proved 
to  be  a  plot  on  the  road  to  Piscataway.  The  follow- 
ing names  and  numbers  were  drawn :  Daniel  Pierce, 
No.  19;  Joshua  Pierce,  42;  John  Martin,  Sr.,  18; 
Hopewell  Hull,  22;  Hugh  Dun,  20;  Charles  Oilman, 
8;  Matthew  Moore,  45;  John  Smith,  Scotchman,  1; 
Matthew  Bunn,  14;  John  Ileslee,  53  ;  Abraham  Tap- 
pen,  61 ;  Isaac  Tappen,  59  ;  Robert  Dennes,  33;  John 
Dennes,  49  ;  Thomas  Bloomfield,  Sr.,  47 ;  John  Bloom- 
field,  2 ;  Henry  Jaques,  Jr.,  12 ;  Stephen  Kent,  10 ; 
S.  Kent,  Jr.,  63;  Daniel  Gresey  (or  Grasie),  50;  Rich- 
ard Worth,  29;  John  Pike,  Jr.,  — ;  Jonathan  Haines, 
6  ;  John  Witcher,  57  ;  George  Little,  36 ;  Elisha  Iles- 
lee, 23;  Obadiah  Ayres,  56;  Nathan  Webster,  13 
George  March,  51 ;  Thomas  Alger,  67  ;  Robert  Rogers, 
62 ;  William  Compton,  25  ;  John  Watkins,  65 ;  Thomas 
Bloomfield,  3;  Samuel  Moore,  7;  John  Smith,  28 
Samuel  Smith,  27  ;  Elisha  Parker,  58  ;  Henry  Jaques, 
54;  Hugh  Mai'ch,  5;  Samuel  Hale,  21 ;  Henry  Les 
enbe,  39;  John  Adams,  32;  Benjamin  Parkes,  9 
Jedediah  Andrews,  26;  Ephraim  Andrews,  4;  John 
Dilly,  69;  Daniel  Robins,  44;  John  Cromwell,  24 
John  Conger,  15  ;  Samuel  Bacon,  48  ;  Mr.  Le  Prairie, 
31  ;  John  Trueman,  60 ;  Jonathan  Dunham,  38.;  David 
McKenney,  52 ;  Joshua  Bradley,  34 ;  Philip  Cart- 
wright  [Carteret],  40;   John  Allen,  66;   Jonathau 


562 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Bishop,  41 ;  Thomas  Adams,  64 ;  John  Everit,  46 ; 
James  Clarkson,  43;  Thomas  Pike,  30;  Caleb  Camp- 
bell, 35  ;  John  Bishop,  Sr.,  68;  John  Bishop,  Jr.,  17  ; 
John  Tailor,  37. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dalley  in  his  history  says,  "It  was  nearly 
fifty  years  since  the  first  of  these  original  freeholders 
had  come  to  Woodbridge.  Some  of  them  had  died, 
others  moved  away.  Some  had  sold  their  rights,  as 
had  John  Dilly,  whose  claim  was  owned  by  Robert 
Gilchrist.  The  children  of  others  had  inherited  their 
fathers'  rights,  as  had  the  younger  Samuel  Moore.  Of 
the  men  who  drew  in  their  own  rights  as  original  free- 
holders, five  certainly  were  present  on  this  occasion, 
viz.  :  John  Bloomfield,  John  Bishop,  Jr.,  Samuel 
Smith,  Thomas  Pike,  and  Stephen  Kent,  Jr.  Possi- 
bly a  few  others  were  there,  but  it  is  doubtful.  These 
five  were  all  old  men,  and  not  many  years  after 
their  familiar  faces  were  missed  from  their  accustomed 
haunts  in  tlie  village,  and  others  occupied  the  home- 
steads they  had  built. 

The  minutes  recorded  in  the  second  town  book  em- 
brace the  period  from  1717  to  1799.  One  meeting  a 
year  for  the  election  of  ofiicers  is  all  we  find,  except 
in  a  few  instances.  A  large  part  of  the  volume  is 
taken  up  with  the  designation  of  the  ear-marks  put 
upon  cattle  to  indicate  the  ownership  of  them.  This 
peculiar  record  extends  from  1720  to  1809,  and  is  a 
good  means  of  showing  the  number  of  well-to-do 
families  in  Woodbridge.  Here  is  an  entry  made  in 
the  year  1766 : 

"May  ye  2d  Azel  Roe  ye  niiuister  made  eutryey  of  his  ear  mark 
which  is  a  .SwalUiw  fork  in  ye  left  ear  and  two  halfe  peiineya  under  ye 
Eight." 

We   have  many  of  these  ancient  records  in  this 
county,  which  are  nearly  filled  with  the  markings  of 
cattle,  and  signed  by  the  town  clerk's  signature.    It  is 
not  known  if  a  fee  was  paid  for  recording,  as  no  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  fact.    Generally  a  rough  sketch  of 
head  of  animal  with  ear  drawn  erect,  and  showing  the 
markings  described.     A   "  swallow    fork"   is   simply 
made  by  the  cutting  a  piece  out  of  either  the  right 
or  left  ear  in  shape  of  an  acute  triangle,  the  acute 
triangle   extending   inward.     A    "half-penny"   is  a 
piece  cut  out  about  the  size  indicated  by  the  term. 
The  question  has  been  asked  whether  slaves  were 
/  brought  from  Europe  by  the  early  settlers,  but  the 
/  question  has  never  been  answered  with  any  known 
j   authority.     It  seems  that  in  1680  there  were  negroes 
/    in  bondage  in  the  province.     In  1810,  Woodbridge 
j     had  two  hundred  and  thirty  slaves.     The  following, 
1    bearing  date  June  3,  1717,  is  written  in  Liber  B,  folio 
\    100: 


'  "  Know  all  men  liy  (hese  presents  yt  I,  Sh..l,all  Smith,  of  Woodbridge 
'in  ye  county  of  i^liddx  In  ye  province  New  East  Jersey,  for  and  in  con- 
fjideration  of  ye  sum  of  fifty  pound  Current  Silver  Money  of  ye  sd  prov- 
ince to  me  In  hand  paid  hy  Siiniuel  Smith  of  ye  same  place  yeoman  of  ye 
town  and  provence  aforesd — do  bargain  sell  allineat  and  deliver  one 
Negro  woman  rnmied  Pehe  to  sd  Sainll  Smith  for  him  his  heim  and  as- 
signs," etc. 


Building  a  Bridge. — Woodbridge,  June  11,  1757, 
proposals  being  made  for  building  a  good  stone  bridge 
across  the  great  brook  adjoining  to  Thomas  Lewis 
(now  Jacques  Venet's  property),  in  order  to  encourage 
it  the  following  persons  agree  to  give  the  several  helps 
towards  it  as  is  annexed  to  their  names,  on  condition 
that  said  bridge  is  actually  built  directly,  viz. : 

James  Parker  (subscription  illegible). 

Alexander  Edger,  five  loads  of  stone. 

Thomas  Gach,  Esq.,  six  loads  of  stone  and  load  of 
wood. 

John  Bloomfield,  three  loads  of  stone. 

Jonathan  Inslee,  five  loads  of  stone  and  load  of  wood. 

James  Pike,  four  loads  of  stone. 

John  Conway,  14  shillings. 

Benjamin  Bloomfield,  10  shillings. 

Gershom  Conger,  10  shillings. 

Edward  Barber,  two  days'  work  and  10  bushels  of 
shells. 

James  Osborne,  four  days'  work. 

Thomas  Lewis,  twenty  shillings. 

Arthur  Adlington.  five  shillings. 

Thomas  Hadden,  two  loads  of  oyster  shells. 

Joseph  Bloomfield,  five  loads  of  stone. 

William  Thome,  ten  shillings. 

Mary  Jackson,  seven  shillings. 

Daniel  Noe  (if  sent  for),  one  load  of  oyster  shells. 

Ananias  Lewis,  four  shillings. 

Jo.seph  Shotwell,  Jr.,  seven  shillings. 

Daniel  Shotwell,  seven  shillings. 

Jonathan  Kinsey,  one  load  of  shells. 

David  Evens,  two  loads  of  shells. 

William  Frazee,  five  shillings. 

John  Thaxter,  two  days'  work. 

James  Crowell,  three  shillings  and  sixpence. 

James  Walker,  seven  shillings. 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph  (uncle),  two  days'  work. 

Seriah  Bunn,  seven  shillings. 

Nathaniel  Heard. 

John  Heard. 

William  Kent,  cash  14  shillings. 

Isaac  Tappan. 

Joseph  Cutter. 

William  Cutter,  three  loads  of  stone. 

Richard  Cutter,  3  loads  of  stone. 

Daniel  Ayres. 

Nathaniel  Pike,  2  days'  work. 

William  Pike. 

Richard  Wright,  10  shillings. 

William  Smith. 

Shobal  Smith. 

Robert  Stone,  four  loads  of  stone. 

Samuel  Barnes  (or  Barron). 

William  Stone. 

David  Harriot,  4  load  of  stone  and  one  of  wood. 

George  Harriot. 

Benjamin  Alforil,  3  days'  work. 

David  Perkins. 

James  .Jones  three  loads  of  stone. 


SALAMANDER    WORKS. 


This  extensive  clay  manufacturing  interest  was  established 
in  the  year  1825,  and  incorporated  in  1871.  The  clay  lands 
are  situated  west  of  the  town  of  Woodbridge,  on  the  road  to 
Xew  Brunswick,  this  being  their  main  clay  bank.  Mr.  Michel 
Lefoulon  was  for  many  years  the  senior  partner,  and  up  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  in  1842,  carried  on  extensively  the  largest 
cl.iy  manufactory  in  this  State,  employing  a  large  number 
of  men.  In  1878  a  report  of  the  clay  interests  of  this  State 
was  first  published,  giving  quite  an  extensive  account  of  this 
firm, — "The  Salamander  Works;"  and  from  this  account  we 
glean  the  following  interesting  facts,  although  since  that  year 
they  have  extended  their  works,  and  increased  their  facilities 
for  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick,  glazed  sewer-  and  water-jiipes, 
bakers'  ovens,  chimney  tops,  stove  linings,  cylinder  brick, 
grate  cheeks,  dentists'  and  jewelers'  enameling,  annealing,  and 
case-hardening  furnaces  and  retorts,  refiners'  crucibles,  etc. 

The  clay  bank  goes  westward  and  northward  into  the  hill, 
which  is  here  one  hundred  feet  above  mean  high-tide  level. 
The  elevation  of  the  workable  clay  bed  [top]  is  about  eighty 
feet.  This  bank  has  a  long  working  face,  and  exhibits  con- 
siderable v.ariation  in  the  vertical  sections  taken  at  different 
points.  The  following  distance,  in  1875,  of  the  northeast  bank 
strata  showed 

1.  Red  shale  drift 8  feet. 

2.  Yellow  sand  and  g>-avel 6  " 

3.  Clay  and  sand 6  " 

4.  Black  pipe-clay 2  " 

5.  Sandy  clay 3  '• 

6.  Light  blue  and  red  clays 6  " 

7.  Alum  clay 4inches. 

8.  Fire-clay,  No.  1 3  feet. 

9.  Fire-clay,  Ho.  2 2  " 

1(1.     Red  or  spotted  clay 3     " 

Red  sandy  clay  at  the  bottom. 
The  red  shale  drift  as  here  shown  in  the  cut  face  of  the  bank 
contains  many  large  bowlders  of  indurated  shale  and  trap 
rock.  Some  thin  layers  of  very  sandy  white  clay  are  seen  in 
it;  these  are  short  and  unconnected.  No  other  evidences  of 
stratification  are  to  be  seen.  The  bed  of  sand  and  gravel 
under  it  i.s  very  irregular,  sometimes  thinning  out  entirely  and 
leaving  nothing  between  the  dark-colored  clay  and  the  red 
shale  drift.  Generally  this  sand  is  very  beautifully  laminated, 
the  thin  pebbly  sheets  separating  the  thicker  sand  layers; 
some  of  this  sand  is  uniform  in  grain,  and  has  enough  loam 
with  it  to  be  u.sed  in  moulding.  Towards  the  bottom  there 
is  more  gravel  and  the  pebbleS'are  larger.  The  clay  and  sand 
show  stratification  in  irregular,  alternate  layers  or  lamina'. 
Scattered  throughout  this  bed  there  is  much  lignite  and  some 
pyrile.  The  lignite  occurs  very  generally  in  certain  horizons 
or  layers,  and  in  some  of  these  it  makes  up  the  bulk  of  the 
mass.  No  leaf  impressions  have  been  found  at  this  bank. 
The  pyrite  and  lignite  and  the  excess  of  sand  in  this  layer 
make  it  practically  worthless,  and  the  black  clay  is  slightly 
gritty  but  very  tough.  It  is  used  in  the  mixture  for  drain-  and 
sewer-pipe.  An  analysis  of  a  specimen  of  this  cl-ay  gave  the 
following  results: 

Alumina 22.20 

Silicic  acid  and  sand 61.25 

Water 8.00 

Potash 2.44 

Soda 

Lime 

Magnesia 0.94 

Sesquioxide  uf  iron 5.30 

Lignite 0.30 

Total 100.43 


From  the  percentage  of  alumina  and  water  here  given,  it 
follows  that  there  is  comparatively  a  large  percentage  of  quartz 
sand.  The  amounts  of  potash  and  iron,  also,  are  large,  and 
indicate  a  elay  of  low  degree  of  refractoriness. 

A  boring  made  several  years  ago  in  the  bottom  of  a  pit  is 
reported  to  have  gone  twenty-seven  feet  below  this  clay  all  in 
quartz  sand. 

The  fire-sand  pit  is  a  few  rods  south  of  the  Woodbridge  and 
Metuchen  road,  and  south  of  William  H.  Berry's  clay  pits. 
Tlie  bearing  or  top  dirt  on  the  sand  is  red  shale  drift,  and  is 
from  five  to  ten  feet  thick.  In  it  there  are  some  large  bowlders 
of  gneiss,  trap  rock,  indurated  shale,  etc.,  etc.  The  top  of  the 
sand  is  sixty  to  sixty-four  feet  above  high-water  level,  and  it  is 
said  to  be  eight  feet  thick.  This  elevation  agrees  with  the  hori- 
zon of  the  fire-sand  bed.  The  sand  of  this  locality  is  white  and 
consists  almost  exclusively  of  quartz.  This  short  but  interesting 
account  of  these  clays  is  at  the  present  time  (1882)  much 
more  extended,  and  the  manufactory  has  been  enlarged  within 
a  few  years,  buildings  to  accommodate  all  the  material  having 
been  erected.  A  capit.al  of  over  $150,000  has  been  invested, 
giving  constant  employment  to  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
persons.  They  have  reached  a  bottom  of  sandy  silica  clay 
and  a  pure  .alumina,  which  have  become  invaluable  in  the  Sala- 
mander Works. 

The  present  officers  are  William  Poillon,  president;  Cor- 
nelius Poillon,  Jr.,  secretary;  and  Henry  C.  Ingraham,  super- 
intendent. The  main  brick  building  is  two  stories  high,  one 
hundred  find  fifty  by  two  hundred  feet,  and  contains  eight  fire- 
kilns,  which  are  heated  night  and  day.  There  are  brick  build- 
ings and  sheds  for  storing  the  clays  and  finished  materials 
ready  for  market;  also  one  large  brick  building  capable  of 
holding  twenty  teams,  which  are  used  at  the  pits  and  for  load- 
ing the  cars. 

Some  years  .ago.  or  in  1875,  The  Indeptndeut  Hour,  a  weekly 
newspaper  publisheil  in  Woodbridge,  endeavored  to  give  a 
general  history  of  the  different  manufacturing  concerns  en- 
gaged in  the  kaolin  and  clay  business.  Owing  to  the  great 
trouble  and  lack  of  positive  information  necessary  to  their  past 
history,  they  were  compelled  to  omit  the  Salamander  Works, 
but  learned  that  they  were  established  in  1825,  and  that  the 
interest  in  the  same  was  owned  by  two  French  gentlemen, 
Michel  Lefoulon  and  Henry  De  Casse;  that,  in  fact,  all  of  the 
originators  were  Frenchmen,  and  that  a  large  manufacturing 
business  was  carried  on.  The  present  management  has  been 
in  existence  since  1867. 


Tlie  following  opitapli  iippears  on  the  monument  of  Michel  Lefoulon, 
located  in  the  cemetery  of  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  Woodbridge,  N.  J. : 


MICHEL   LEFOULON 


KSPECT   AND 


"  Michel  Lefoulon  was  a  native  of  France,  and  had  located  himself 
in  business  in  this  place,  and  was  the  eenior  partner  of  the  Salamander 
Works,  where,  by  the  suavity  of  his  manners,  his  generous  disposition 
and  integrity  of  character,  he  pained  the  confidence  and  esti'cm  of  the 
community,  by  whom  his  death  was  most  decpl.v  deplored,  which  hip- 
pened  at  sea,  whither  he  bad  gone  for  the  benefit  uf  his  licalth,  on  the 
•24th  of  Seiileml.tr,  1S42,  in  the  41st  yr  of  his  age." 


WOODBRIDGE. 


563 


Jonathan  Harned. 

Dr.  Moses  Bloomfield. 

Francis  Compton. 

Jacob  Fitz  Randolph. 

Joseph  Harilan. 

Joseph  Thome. 

Samuel  Jacques. 

Eev.  Wni.  Nathaniel  Whitaker. 

Henry  Freeman,  3  shillings  and  sixpence. 

Isaac  Freeman,  5  loads  of  stone. 

Alexander  Freeman. 

John  Freeman. 

Esseck  Fitz  Randolph,  5  shillings. 

John  Barron  (Barnes),  10  bushels  of  shells  and  4 
days'  work. 

Isaac  Fitz  Randolph. 

Reuben  Fitz  Randolph. 

Thomas  Thorp. 

Henry  Martin. 

James  Smith. 

David  Dunham. 

James  Brown. 

George  Brown. 

Thomas  Brown. 

John  Brown. 

William  Smith. 

John  Moore,  3  shillings  and  sixpence. 

Joseph  Moore,  8  shillings  and  eiglit  pence. 

James  Kelley,  one  load  of  stone  if  he  can. 

William  Walker,  4  loads  of  stone. 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  blacksmith,  40  Bushels 
of  lime. 

Samuel  Fourd  (Ford),  2  loads  of  stone. 

John  Kent,  1  shilling  and  9  pence. 

Samuel  Moore,  shoemaker,  2  shillings  and  11  pence. 

John  Geddis. 

Andrew  Brown,  3  days'  work. 

Robert  Fitz  Randolph. 

Jacob  Fitz  Randolph. 

Henry  Freeman,  Jr. 

John  Kelley,  Jr.,  10  shillings. 

The  above  appeared  in  one  of  the  Perth  Amboy 
journals,'  entitled  "  A  Relic  of  the  Past." 

It  was  found  by  a  gentleman  of  Philadelphia  among 
the  papers  of  one  of  the  old  AVoodbridge  families,  the 
Fitz  Randolphs,  and  appears  to  contain  not  only  the 
names  of  those  who  did  subscribe  towards  building 
the  bridge,  but  also  those  in  the  neighborhood  whom 
the  promoters  hoped  would  do  so. 

At  the  January  meeting  (3d),  1671,  at  Woodbridge, 
the  following  officers  of  the  township  court  were 
elected  : 

President,  John  Pike,  Sr. ;  Assistants,  John  Smith, 
John  Bishop,  Sr.,  John  Martin,  and  Samuel  Moore  ; 
Marshal, Samuel  Hale;  Jurymen,  Jonathan  Dunham, 
T.  Bloomfield,  Sr.,  Abraham  Tappen,  Isaac  Tappen, 
John  Bloomfield,  Obadiah  Ayers,  John  Adams,  Sam- 

1  Middte«ex  Count//  Democrat^  March,  1S71. 


uel  Dennis,  Benjamin  Parkis   (Parkhurst),  Thomas 
Auger,  Ephraim  Andrews,  and  John  Smith,  "Scotch- 


CHAPTER   LXXVII. 

WOODBRIDGE.— f(7oM(MiMc(/.1 

Civil  List. — The  following  list  of  deputies,  whose 
names  will  be  recognized  as  those  borne  at  the 
present  time  by  residents  in  this  vicinity,  and  they 
were  coupled  with  honorable  distinction  in  the  first 
years  of  its  settlement : 

DEPUTIES  TO  THE  GENERAL  ASSEMBLY. 


Rol>el-t  Dennis,  ir,G8-(i9,  1671-72. 
Samuel  Moore,  lG68-fi9,  ICTl. 
John  Smith,  1669, 1671-72. 
Samuel  Dennis,  1675,  1679,   1682, 

1687-88,  1697-99. 
Thomas  Bloonifleld,  1675. 
Matthew  Bunn,  1676. 
Ephialm   Andrews,  1676,1685-87, 

1692. 
John  Ilsley,  1679,1682-86, 1692-94, 

1696. 
Samuel  Moore,  10-2-83,1687-88. 
Jolin  Bishop,  1684-85. 


Ezekiel  Bloomfleld,  1686-87. 

Thomas  Thorp,  1092-93. 

John  Pike,  1692-93,  1696-98,  1700. 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Kandolph,  1693-94 

John  Worth,  1699. 

Thomas  Pike,  1699. 

Elisha  Parker,  1700-1. 

Adam  Hude,  1700-1. 

Jonathan  Dunham,  1701. 

Jonathan  Bishop,  1701. 

Elislia  Parker,  1702. 

John  Comjiton,  1702. 


OFFICERS  or  TOWNSHIP  COURT. 
B-Miiieiil.— John   Pike,    1669,  1671,  1674,   1681,  1685;    Samuel    Moore, 

1672  ;  Jolin  Bishop,  1688,  1093,  1700. 
.Iwtslniife.— John    Smilli,    1671-72;   John    Bishop,    Sr.,  1669-75,  1681; 

.lolin  Martin,  1071 ;  Samuel  Moore,  1671, 1075, 1683, 1699-1700 ;  John 

Pilie,  1672;  Tla.nias  Bloomfield,  Sr.,  1674-75;  Stephen  Kent,  Sr., 

1069-70,   1674-75;  Samuel  Dennis,  1674;  Ephraim  Andrews,  1679, 

1681,  1093 ;  John  Ilsley,  1679,  1081,  1688,  1693  ;  Samuel  Bacon,  1082  ; 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  1688,  1092-93  ;  Samuel   Hale,  1687,  1692- 

93;  Samuel  Dennis,  1683,  1693. 
Marshals    or   Sergeants.— Samuel   Hale,  1672;   Joshua   Bradley,  1681; 

Thomas  Collier,  1081;  Daniel  Robhins,  1692;  John  Bloomfteld,  1693; 

Isaac  Toppan,  1695;   Abraham  Toppan,  1696-97;    William  Stone, 

1697. 
CTcrib  of  the  rmirt.— Jonathan  Dunham,  1672, 1675  ;  Samuel  Moore,  1676, 

1681,  1687  ;  Thomas  Pike,  1692-93  ;  Samuel  Dennis,  1088,  1692. 

"  The  affairs  of  the  township  ^  were  managed,  as  in 
New  England,  generally  at  town-meetings,  called  at 
first  by  personal  notice  to  every  freeholder  by  the 
constable  or  some  person  specially  authorized,  and 
afterward  by  a  written  notice  placed  on  the  meeting- 
house door. 

"  There  were  committees  or  townsmen  appointed  to 
look  after  the  interests  of  the  community  on  ordinary 
occasions,  but  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  chosen 
at  first  at  any  regular  times.  The  other  officers  of  the 
township,  however,  were  always  elected  annually 
(Jan.  1,  1687-88,  was  Sunday,  but  the  usual  meeting 
was  held,  but  no  business  transacted  save  the  election 
of  deputies  to  the  Assembly),  and  the  administration 
of  the  public  affairs  generally  conformed  to  the  mode 
prescribed  by  the  General  Asseinbly  or  to  the  estab- 
1  lished  customs  of  the  other  settlements.  In  several 
i  of  their  local  regulations  they  set  a  good  example  to 
their  neighbors,  and  in  some  they  might  be  followed 

1  -  Whitehead's  East  Jersey  Hist. 


564 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


even  by  the  legislators  of  the  present  day.  As  an 
indication  of  the  spirit  which  animated  the  com- 
munity the  following  document  is  given  from  the 
township  records : 

"  Corporation  or  Woodhridge.  April  ye  17th,  1695- 
"The  engadgement  of  all  freeholders  by  irigenall  rites  of  all  free 
men  which  have  been  are  or  shall  be  so  admitted  into  this  town  and  Cor- 
poration, 

"  Viz.:  As  a  (cood  and  useful  member  of  this  entire  body  is  gouer- 
ment  and  guidance  I  will  be  subject  to  all  the  lawfull  and  Reggular 
Motions  thereof,  And  to  ye  utmost  of  my  skill  and  ability  I  will  move 
and  act  with  it  so  as  may  most  directly  tend  to  its  peace  and  prosperity. 
Its  nakedness  I  will  cover  its  secrets  I  will  not  discover,  but  its  weak- 
ness I  will  support  and  finally  in  word  and  deed  according  to  ability  and 
its  occasions  att  all  times,  I  will  endeavor  to  prevent  euill  and  to  pro- 
mote ye  good  and  just  interest  of  this  body  and  each  member  thereof  on 
penielty  of  corection  or  expulsion  as  default  may  require.  In  testimony 
herof  wee  under  written  have  subscribed  our  names." 

There  are  only  thirty-four  signatures  appended  to 
this  document,  from  which  it  is  presumed  not  to  have 
been  generally  agreed  to. 

In  this  year  it  was  found  necessary  to  make  it  ob- 
ligatory upon  all  to  attend  the  town-meeting,  and  in 
January,  1699,  the  fiue  for  non-attendance  was  fixed 
at  nine  pence  for  every  omi-ssion,  and  upon  refusal 
to  pay  "every  delinquent  to  be  turned  out  the  Meet- 
ing-house until  complies,"  which  in  some  communi- 
ties would  not  have  been  considered  a  very  grave 
punishment. 

TOWN   CLERKS. 


Alexander  Ayres,  1857. 
John  De  Grow,  Jr.,  1858. 
Noiih  Mund.v,  1858. 
Augustus  Blackford,  1860, 1865. 
David  M.  Demerest,  1867. 


Newman  A.  Wood,  1867. 

Thomas  H.  Morris,  Sr,  1870, 1875, 


Chas.  F.  Newton,  1871, 187«,  1880. 
Edward  J.  Thompson,  1871. 


Joshua  Pierce,  1668. 

Samuel  Moore,  1669-88. 

Samuel  Dennis,  1688-92. 

Thomas  Pike,  1692-93,  1695,  1711. 

Moses  Eolph,  nil-.H. 

Edward  Crowell,  1732-56. 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  1757-69. 

Daniel  Moores.  1769-73. 

Robert  Fitz  Randolph,  1774-83. 

David  Frazee,  1783-84. 

Charles  Jackson,  1784. 

James  Paton,  1788-94. 

Robert  Ross,  Jr.,  1794-95. 

Ichabod  Potter,  1795,  18U0.  ' 

Azel  Freeman,  1801. 

Elias  Thompson,  1802-06. 

John  Brewster,  1807-11. 

Asher  Ayers,  1812-15. 

David  P.  Melick,  1816.  ■ 

James  M.  Brewster,  1821-30. 

Augustus  Coddington,  1831-36. 

Alanson  Newton,  1837. 

William  E.  Fink,  1838. 

JUSTICES   OF 
John  Pike,  1670, 1712.  ) 

John  Bishop,  1670,  1712. 
Adam  Hnde,  1718. 
James  Parker,  1764. 
Thomas  Gach,  1757. 
Jeremiah  Manning,  1769-95. 
John  Moores,  1669. 
Nathaniel  Heard,  1669. 
Moses  Rolph,  1712-14. 
Asher  Martin,  1845. 
Alanson  Newton,  1845, 1850,  1859, 

1864-67. 
Cornelius  Van  Houten,  1846. 
Nathan  Ayres,  1845,  1850. 


Alanson  Newton,  1839.1 
Henry  M.  Ayers,  1840^1. 
Dennis  Mawbey,  1842-45.      . 
Thomas  H.  Morris,  1846-47. 
Joseph  H.  Brewster,  1848-49, 1855- 

66. 
Samuel  E.  Ensign,  1850-52. 
Alexander  R.  Coddington,  1853-64. 
Stewart  Crowell,  1867. 
Samuel  R.  Cutter,  1858-60. 
Theodore  H.  Larrison,  1861-63. 
Lafayette  Reed,  1864-S6; 
Thomas  I.  Dally,  1867-68. 
William  Edgar,  1869,  1871. 
Charles  S.  Demerest,  1870. 
Charles  W.  Anness,  1872. 
George  W.  Dally,  1873-75. 
Ephriani  Cutter,  1876. 
Thomas  H.  Morris,  Jr.,  1877. 
George  W.  Clinch,  1878. 
Albion  R.  Berry,  1870-80. 
John  Lockwood,  1881. 


THE  PEACE. 
Ichabod  Potter,  1845. 
George  F.  Webb,  1846. 
Isaac  C.  Thomal,  1846. 
Elkanah  Vamlerhoven,  1847. 
Edgar  Freeman,  1847-48. 
James  McKelvey.  1850. 
Henry  Hampton,  185(1. 
Silas  P.  Leanord,  1851, 1867. 
Charles  Jackson,  Jr.,  1852. 
David  Bloomfield,  1852. 
Samuel  E.  Ensign,  1855. 
William  Brown,  185.5. 
Solomon  H.  Marsh,  1866. 
Thomas  II.  Morris.  Sr.,  1857. 


Hampton  Cutter,  1861,  1866,  1871,     Jeremiah  Dally,  1875,  1880. 

1876.  Joshua  Liddle,  Jr.,  1877. 

Henry  Freeman,  1867.  Dudley  S.  Anness, '1881. 

TOWN  COMMITTEE. 


'  First  time  Toted  or  elected  by  ballot. 


Capt.  John  Bishop,  1706. 

Capt.  Elisha  Parker,  1705. 

John  Ilsley,  1705. 

Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph,  1705. 

John  Pike.  1705. 

Joseph  Rolph,  1705. 

Thomas  Pike,  1705.* 

Richard  Wright,  1799. 

William  Edgar,  1799. 

Ralph  Marsh,  1799. 

Phineous  Carman,  1799. 

William    F.  Manning,   1799-1811, 

1815-16,  1821-23. 
Benjamin  A.  Brown,  1800-1. 
John  Heard,  1800-2. 
Henry  Mundy,  1800. 
Henry  Freeman,  Jr.,  1800-1, 1803, 

1811. 
Capt.  Nathaniel  Leanord,  1801-3. 
Jonathan  Freeman,  1802,  1804-10. 
James  Edgar,  1802-3. 
Ezekiel  Ayres,  1803. 
William  Baollus,  1804-5, 
Jonathan  Ilarued,  1804-6. 
Joseph  Crowell,  1804-16. 
Lewis  Kelly,  1806. 
William  Flatt,  1806. 
Isaac   Laing,   1806,  1808-9,   1811, 

1816. 
Ezra  Force,  1807-10. 
Nathan  Marsh,  1810. 
Edward  Moore,  1811. 
John  Brewster,  1812-14. 
Thomas  Edgar  3d,  1812-15. 
James  Paton,  1812. 
Henry  Freeman,  Esq.  (3d),  1813, 

1829-32. 
Adam  Lee,  1813-16. 
Jarvis  Brewster,  1814. 
Samuel  Edgar,  1815,  1821-24,  1827. 
Henry  Potter,  1816. 
Nathan  Thoip,  1821. 
Moses  Martin,  1821. 
Jeremiah  Campbell,  1821-24. 
Robert  Lee,  1821,  1823-31. 
Aaron  Brockaw,  1822-24. 
Washington  Ford,  1824-25. 
Jothan  B.  Maish,  1825. 
Ralph  M.  Crowell,  1825-28, 1830-41. 
John  F.  Payne,  1825-29. 
Moses  K.  Martin,  1826-27. 
Frazee  Ayres,  1826. 
Simeon  Mundy,  1828-37. 
James  M.  Brewster,  1828-29. 
Nathan  Stansbiiry,  1830-31. 
John  M.  Tufts,  1832-33. 
Harmanus  Barkaloo,  Jr.,  1832-34. 
Augustus  Coddington,  18:13-34. 
Samuel  Cutter,  Sr.,  1834-36. 
Thompson  Edgar,  183.5-37,  1845. 
Rene  Pardessus,  1836-36. 
Henry  Force,  1836. 
Randolph  Steward,  1837. 


Timothy  R.iss,  la37-40. 
Ezra  Ayres,  1838-41,  1846-49. 
RobertC.  Vail,  1838-41. 
Jeremiah  C.  Force,  1838-10,  1846- 

49.'' 
Joel  Clarkson,  1841. 
William    F.   Manning,   Jr.,    1841, 

1867-68. 
Abijah  0.  Hough  ten,  1842. 
Henry  Ackon,  1842-43,  1861-64. 
Alauson  Newton,  1842-45. 
Warren  Brown,  1842. 
William  H.  Berry,  1842^6,  1874- 

78,  1880. 
Charles  J.  Toms,  1843-44. 
Tompson  Crowell,  1843-44,  1851. 
William  Tappen,  1844-46, 1850-62, 

1864-55,  1861-60. 
John  F.  Badgly,  1845. 
John  E.  Barron,  1846-47. 
William  Edgar,  1846. 
Timothy  I.  Bloomlield,  1846-47. 
Francis  Van  Winkle,  1847-49. 
James  Bloodgooil,  1848-49. 
Luther  I.  Tappen,  1848-49, 1859. 
Moses  Jaques,  M.D.,  1850. 
Christopher  Marsh,  1860. 
William  P.  Edgar,  1850, 1853, 1861- 

64. 
Jotham  Coddington,  1850-52,  1865, 

1871. 
Nathan  Ayres,  1861-52,  1856. 
David  Harriott,  1851-63. 
Hampton    Cutter,    1852,    1856-67, 

1861-71. 
Peter  Melick,  1852, 1855. 
Benjamin  B.  Miller,  1853-56. 
Edon  Haydock,  1853. 
John  M.  Jackson,  1854. 
Joel  B.  Laing,  1854-65. 
John  F.  Lufbcrry,  1854-55. 
Silas  P.  Leonard,  1856. 
Ellis  Freeman,  1866, 
John  Woodruff,  1857-58. 
Cliartes  T.  Inslee,  1857. 
Isaac  C.  Thomal,  1867. 
Moses  M.  IVaig,  1858-59. 
Samuel  Ayres,  1858-liO. 
Isaac  S.  Payne,  1858. 
William  F.  Brown,  1859. 
Henry  W.  Holton,  1859-60. 
Christopher  M.  Crowell,  1860. 
J.  Mattison  Melick,  1860. 
John  J.  Clarkson,  I860. 
Nathan  Robins,  I861-G4. 
Nathan  E.  Mead,  1866,  1875-76. 
Joseph  A.  Martin,  1865. 
Jerome  B.  Ross,  1866-69. 
Walter  Brewster.  1866. 
Jeremiah  Dally,  1867-68. 
David  P.  Carpenter,  1867-68. 
Charles  A.  Campbell,  1869-70. 
Bernard  Dunigan,  1869. 


2  Not  obtained  from  1705-99. 
^  The  yaars  prior  they  voted  i 
by  ballot. 


WOODBRIDGE. 


565 


Warren  Brown,  1870, 1R73-74. 
Albert  D.  Brown,  1870-72. 
Thomas  B.  Marsh,  1870. 
William  H.  Brown,  1S71. 
Samuel  A.  Meeker,  1871. 
C.  W.  Boj-nton.  1872. 
L.  M.  Perking,  1872. 
James  Val>-ntine,  1872. 
Joel  Melick,  Jr.,  1872-74,  1877, 
ChaiU-8  H.  Weiilner,  1873. 
William  E.  Fink,  Sr.,  1873-80. 
Charles  F.  Newton,  1873. 


Daniel  D.  Wiley,  1874. 
William  Van  Sicklin,  1875. 
Josiah  C.  Cutter,  1875-7fi. 
Isaac  Inslee,  Jr.,  1876-77. 
Andrew  R.  Smith,  1877. 
Jeptha  Rilnyon,  1877. 
Charles  B.  Smith,  1878-80. 
Edward  Martin,  1878-81. 
William  H.  Turner,  1878. 
William  Edgar,  1879. 
William  H.  Demerest,  1881. 


ASSESSORS,  OR   RATE-MAKERS. 


John  Smith,  1672. 

Robert  Dennis,  1672,  1674-75. 

Samuel  Moore,  1672, 1674-76, 1679 

-80,1082,1684-87. 
Jonathan  Dunham,  1674,1694. 
John    Bishop,    Sr.,   1675,  1679-80, 

1682,  1686-87,  1693. 
Capt.  Pike,  1679-82. 
Capt.  Bishop,  1681,  1683, 1688, 1091. 
.Tohn  Dennis,  1681. 
J.  Pike,  1683-85,  1691. 
Nathaniel    Fitz    Randolph,    1683, 

1088-89. 
Samuel   Dennis,   1684-85,  1087-88, 

1691,  1693,1090,1098. 
Israel  Thoruell,  1685. 
Ezekiel  Bluomfleld,  1680. 
J.  Pike,  Jr.,  1689. 
John  Rolf,  1089. 
Thomas  Pike,  1091,  1693,  1695-96, 

1697,  17U0. 
E.  Andrews,  1694. 
Jonathan  Bishop,  1694. 
Benjamin  Cromwell,  1695-98. 
Elisha  Parker.  1700. 


Cliirksou  Edgar,  1799,  1800. 
William  F.  Manning,  1801-11. 
Capt.  John  Brewster,  1812-14. 
Richard  Cutter,  1815-10. 
Thomas  Edjar,  1821. 
James  Coddington,  1822-29. 
James  M.  Brewster,  1830-34. 
Stewart  Crowell,  1835-30, 1842, 1851 

-52. 
Gage  Inslee,  1837. 
Simeon  Mundy,  1838. 
Col.  Lewis  Leslie,  1839. 
Timothy  J.  Bloomfield,  1840-41. 
.Augustus  Coddington,  1842. 
Jotham  Coddington,  1844-15, 1854- 

59,  1861-64, 1860, 1870, 1872-76. 
Charles  Laforge,  1846-17. 
Joel  Clarkson,  1848-49. 
Alexander  A.  Edgar,  1860, 1878-80. 
William  Boss,  1853. 
Luther  J.  Tappan,  1S60,  1867-69. 
Robert  B  Crowell,  1865. 
James  M.  Brown,  1871. 
Lewis  D.  Kelly,  1877. 
Charles  P.  Smith,  1881. 


TAX   COLLECTORS,   OR   RATE-GATHERERS. 


John  Bishop,  Sr.,  I07O-71. 

Samuid  Moore,  1675-79, 1683. 

Isaac  Thornell,  1680,  1685,  1687. 

Isaac  Tappen,  1080. 

.John  Pike,  Jr.,  1081. 

Samuel  liale,  1684. 

Ezekiel  Bloomfield,  1085-86, 1689, 

1693-94. 
John  II^ley,  1087. 
Daniel  Bobbins,  1688. 
Samuel. Dennis,  1691. 
Henrj-  Marsh,  Esq.,  1799. 
Abraham  Tappan,  1799. 
Henry  ilarsh,  1800-3. 
Phineas  Mar)ning,  1800-2. 
Israel  Thornell,  1803-4. 
Lewis  Kelly,  1804-11. 
Nathan  Bloomfield,  180.6-16. 
Richard  Marsh,  1812-16. 
John  Harriott,  1821-25. 
Joseph  Crowell,  1821-24, 1826, 1828. 
Aaron  Brokaw,  1825, 1827, 1829-30, 

1841. 
Gage  Inslee,  1826. 
Lewis  Campbell,  1827-31. 
Stewart  Crowell,  1831-34. 
William  Coddington,  1832. 
Nathan  Ayres,  IS-TS-M. 
Samuel  \V.  Ford,  1836-36. 
Jotham  Coddington,  1835-30. 


William  F.  Manning,  Jr.,  1837-40, 

1848. 
Thomas  Fitz  Randolph,  1837-38. 
James  Covenhoven,  1839. 
Allison  Newton,  1840. 
William  E.  Fink,  1841. 
William  B;  Thompson,  1842-4|. 
George  B.  Stelle,  IS42-15. 
Crowell  Martin,  1845. 
Reubeu  Harned,  1846-47. 
Nathan  Bunn,  1846-47. 
Charles  C.  Hofl",  1848-19. 
Charles  E.  Bloomfield,  1849, 1851. 
Charles  I.  Toms,  1860,  1852. 
John  C.  Coddington,  1360. 
William  Cutter,  1851-53,  1858. 
George  M.  Gage,  1853. 
Joel  Clarkson,  1854-56. 
Thomas  Van  Sicklin,1854. 
Charles  M.  Dally,  ia55. 
Alexander  R.  Coddington,  1850-57. 
Peter  B.  Shai-p,  1857-59. 
Jeremiah  Dally,  1859. 
Albert  D.  Brown,  1860. 
Alexander  A.  Edger,  1861-62. 
George  G.  Hancock,  1863-08. 
Charles  C.  Dall.v,  1869,  1877-81. 
Elijah  Hewitt,  1870. 
Charles  S.  Demerest,  1871-72. 
James  E.  Berry,  1873-76. 


Daniel  Robbins,  1680, 1690. 
Isaac  Thoruell,  1682, 1684. 
Ezekiel  Bloomfield,  1682, 1689. 
Isaac  Tappen,  1682,  1 692. 
Marmaduke  Potter,  1682. 
Capt.  Bishop.l  1684-96. 
Samuel  Smith,  1684,  1688. 
Eph.  Andrews,  1084,  1089-90. 
John  Dennis,  1688,  1090. 
Matthew  Moore,  1688. 
Nathaniel    Fitz    Randolph,    1690, 

1098. 

CHOSEN    FB 
James  Paton.  1799,  1800. 
Phineas  Manning,  1799,  1800. 
James  Edgar,  1801-4. 
Henry  Slarsh,  1801-3. 
Lewis  Kelly,  1804. 
Christopher  Marsh,  1805-10. 
Henry  Freeman,  1811-15. 
William  T.  Manning,  1805-16,1846 

-47, 1849,  1851,  1853-54. 
Joseph  Crowell,  1816. 
Samuel  Edgar,  1821-24. 
Robert  Lee,  1822-23,  1825-31 . 
John  M.  Tufts,  1832-33. 
William  Coddington,  1834-35. 
Henry  Force,  1830. 
James  M.  Brewster,  1837-39. 
Simeon  Mundy,  1821. 
Gage  Inslee,  1824-27,  1830-34,1838 

.   ^0. 
Kolph  M.  Crowell,  1828,  1846-49, 

1853-55. 
Jonathan  B.  Marsh,  1829. 
Thompson   Edgar,  1835-37,  1842- 

46. 
Jackson  Freeman,  1840-41. 
Simeon  W.  Phillips,  1841,  1855-56, 

1861-62. 


Joseph  Bloomfield.  1692. 

Garren  Lockhart,  1694, 1696,  1698. 

Thomas  Pike,  1694. 

M.  Moore,  1690. 

Noah  Bishop,  1098. 

John  Conipton,  1698,  1700. 

Jonathan  Bishop,  1700. 

Isaac  Tappen,  1700. 

William  Ellison,  1700. 

John  Ilsley,  Jr.,  1700. 


BEHOLDERS. 
Warren  Brown.  1842-45, 1850, 1852. 
Edward  J.  Jaques,  1848. 
George  W.  Brown,  1850, 1852. 
Samuel  Barron,  1851. 
John  H.  Luf berry,  1856-69. 
John    H.   Campbell,  1857,  1863-66, 

1807. 
Charles  M.  Dally,  1868. 1868. 
Henry  VV.  Holton,  1859-60. 
Lebbeus  Ayres,  1800. 
Henry  ijcken,  1801-64. 
La  Fayette  Reed,  1866. 
Joseph  Shaun,  1866-67. 
Robert  Coddington,  1806. 
David  P.  Carpenter,  1808. 
George  P.  Hancock,  1809-70. 
Richard  Ryan,  1869. 
Isaac  Inslee,  1870-72. 
Dainel  C.  Turner,  1871-72,  1877. 
Ellis  B.  Freeman,  M.D.,  1873-76. 
Charles  A.  Campbell,  1873-74. 
Charles  W.  Anncss,  1875. 
Randolph  Coddington,  1876-77. 
Hampton  Cutter,  1878-79. 
William  Edgar,  1878-81. 
James  P.  Prall,  1881. 


OVERSEERS  OF   THE   HIGHWAYS   TO  1700. 
Robert  Dennis,  1699-70.  J.  Martin,  1070. 

Thomas  Blo<iuifield,  Sr.,  1099-70.        Jonathan  Dunham,  1671. 
Joshua  Pearce,  1699.  Thomas  Bloomflel.l,  Jr.,  1671. 

Samuel  Moore,  1699-70.  '  Samuel  Dennis,  1680, 1690. 


CHAPTER    LXXVIII. 

WOODBRIDGE.— (CoiK/iiKe./.) 

Town  Schools. — The  following  is  the  patent  of 
George  III.,  incorporating  the  trustees  of  the  free 
school  of  Woodbridge  : 

Charter.— "George  the  Third  by  the  Grace  of  God  of  Great  Britain 
France  and  Ireland  King  defender  of  the  faith  &c.  To  all  to  whom  these 
presents  shall  come  Greeting.  Whereas  in  and  by  a  charter  bearing  date 
the  first  day  of  June  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  six  hundred 
and  sixty-nine,  Granted  by  Philip  Carteret  then  Governor  of  the  Prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey  under  the  Right  Honorable  John  Lord  Berkeley  Bar- 
ron of  Stratton  and  sir  George  Carteret  Knight  and  Barronet  the  then 
proprietors  of  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  to  the  Town  and  Freeholders 
of  Woodbridge  among  other  things  it  is  therein  directed  that  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  land  in  the  said  Town  should  be  laid  out  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  free  school.  And  whereas  the  Freeholders  of  the  town  of 
Woodbridge  by  their  humble  petition  presented  to  our  trusty  and  well 
beloved  William  Franklin  Esq  Captain  General  Governor  and  comman- 
der in  chief  in  and  over  our  province  of  New  Jersey  have  set  forth  that 
in  pursuance  of  the  charter  granted  as  aforesaid  by  the  said  Philip  Car- 
terett  Esqr  one  hundred  acres  of  land  hath  been  laid  out  for  the  use  of  a 
free  school  and  the  rents  thereof  received  by  such  persons  as  the  Free- 
holders of  the  said  Town  at  their  yearly  meetings  have  from  time  to  time 
appointed  with  intention  to  make  a  capital  for  the  building  a  School 
house  or  houses  and  the  maintainance  of  proper  and  able  teachers !  But 
that  from  the  want  of  a  proper  charter  of  incorporation  the  said  Free- 

1  His  first  name  was  John,  but  in  records  not  mentioned. 


566 


HISTORY    OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


fur  the  more 
ng  the  said 
j-o  therefore 
dutiful  and  loyal  subjects 
e  iu  their  good  intentions 


holders  find  themselves  unable  and  without  authority  properly  to  settle 
the  accounts  with  such  persons  as  have  from  time  to  time  been  appointed 
to  receive  the  rents  and  issues  of  the  Said  one  hundred  acres  of  land  or 
to  prosecute  such  persons  as  from  time  to  time  have  committed  waste  and 
trespass  on  the  same  or  tu  build  a  School  house  or  to  make  provision  for 
the  maintainance  of  Proper  mastei-s  and  Teachers  and  to  make  and  or- 
dain proper  laws  and  instructions  for  the  good  governing  of  the  said 
Schools  and  have  therefore  prayed  our  Letters  Patent  under  our  Great 
seal  of  our  stid  province  of  New  Jersey  to  incorporate  the  said  freehold- 
ers of  the  Town  of  Woodbridge  with  such  Puwcrs  immunities  privileges 
and  jurisdictions  as  may  be  thought  requisite 
effectual  promoting  and  the  better  ordering  and  d 
school  or  schools  in  the  said  Town  of  Woodbridge.  I 
the  We  willing  and  desirous  to  encourage 
the  freeholders  of  the  said  Town  of  Wood! 
of  our  special  grace  certain  knowlege  and  mere  motion  have  named  con- 
stituted and  appointed  and  by  these  presents  do  name  constitute  and  ap- 
point John  Moores  and  Nathaniel  Heard  Esqi-s  Moses  Bloomfield,  Benja-  | 
min  Thornhill,  Ebenezer  Foster,  Joseph  ShoIweIl,and  Robert  Clarkson,  1 
tlie  present  Trustees  of  the  free  school  in  the  said  Town  of  Woodbridge  j 
which  said  Trustees  and  their  successors  now  are  and  at  all  times  here-  | 
after  shall  he  one  body  politic  and  corporate  and  shall  and  may  have  ', 
perpetual  succes-siun  iu  deed  fact  and  name  to  be  known  and  distin-  I 
guished  in  all  deeds,  grants  bargains  sales  evidences  writings  muniments 
or  otherwise  whatsoever  iTy  the  name  of  'The  Trustees  of  the  Free  j 
Schools  of  the  Town  of  Woodbridge'  and  that  they  and  their  successors  | 
by  tlie  same  name  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Free  Schools  of  the  Town  of  I 
Woodbridge  be  and  forever  hereafter  shall  be  persons  capable  and  able  I 
in  the  law  to  purchase  take  acquire  hold  receive  enjoy  have  and  possess 
any  manors,  messuages,  houses,  buildings,  lands,  rents  Tenements  posses- 
sions and  other  hereditaments  and  real  Estate  whatsoever  within  our  said 
province  of  New  Jersey  in  fee  simple  or  for  term  of  life  or  lives  or  years, 
or  in  any  other  manual  whatsoever  to  the  Value  of  five  hundred  pouads 
sterling  by  the  year  in  the  clear  and  also  goods  and  chatties  and  all 
other  things  of  what  nature  and  kind  soever  not  exceeding  the  sum  of 
ten  Ihonsands  pounds  sterling  in  the  gross  and  also  byname  aforesaid 
shall  and  may  grant  bargain  demise  assign  sell  and  convey  or  otherwise 
dispose  of  all  or  any  of  the  mannors,  Messuages,  houses,  buildings  lands, 
tenements,  rent  possessions  and  otlier  hereditaments,  and  real  Estate 
and  iiU  tlieir  Goods  and  Chatties  and  other  things  aforesaid  in  such 
manner  and  form  as  to  them  shall  seem  meet  and  also  that  they  and 
their  successors  by  the  same  name  of  the  trustees  of  the  free  schools  of 
the  Town  of  Woodbridge  be  and  forever  hereafterShail  be  peraons  capa- 
ble and  able  in  Law  to  Sue  and  be  sued  implead  and  be  impleaded  ap- 
pear answer  and  be  answered  unto  defend  and  be  defended  in  any  of  our 
Courts  of  Judicature  either  in  Law  or  Equity  in  our  said  province  of 
New  Jersey  or  elsewhere  before  us  our  heire  and  Successors  and  before 
all  and  every  the  Judges  Justices  officers  and  Ministers  of 
and  successors  in  all  manner  of  actions  Suits  complaints  pleas  matters 
and  demands  whatsoever  and  of  what  nature  or  kind  soever  and 
also  that  they  and  their  succchsors  by  the  name  aforesaid  shall  and 
may  demand  receive  and  take  of  and  from  the  persons  heretofore  ap- 
pointed by  the  freeholders  of  the  Town  of  Woodbridge  all  such  sum  and 
sums  of  Money  by  them  received  and  arising  and  issuing  out  of  the 
one  hundred  acres  of  land  aforesaid  and  upon  non  payment  thereof  by 
the  name  aforesaid  to  Sue  for  and  recover  the  same  for  the  use  of  the 
schools  aforesaid.  And  also  that  they  the  Said  Trustees  of  the  free 
Schools  of  the  Town  of  Woodbridge  aforesaid  and  their  successors  shall 
and  may  make  and  forever  hereafter  use  one  common  seal  with  such 
device  and  devices  as  to  them  shall  seem  proper  fur  the  sealing  all  and 
singular  Deeds,  Grants,  conveyances  contracts  and  all  and  singular 
other  in 


uments  affairs  and  busin 
d  relating  to  the  said  free  schools 


:ss  any  way  touching  concerning 
Hd  also  that  they  the  sai.l  Trustees 


of  the  free  schools  of  the  Town  uf  Woodbridge  and  Hie  majority  of  them 
shall  and  may  from  time  to  time  make  constitute  ordain  and  confirm 
by  such  name  or  names  as  to  them  shall  seem  Good  and  likewise  to  re- 
voke discharge  change  and  alter  as  well  all  and  singular  Governors, 
Mastei-s,  Teachers  or  other  officers  which  shall  be  by  them  or  the  ma- 
jority of  them  thought  fitt  and  needful  tu  be  made  or  used  for  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  said  free  schools  and  also  to  make  ordain  and  establish 
all  such  orders  laws  directions  instructions  and  forms  fit  and  necessary 
for  and  cunceruing  the  government  of  the  said  schools  and  the  same  at 
all  times  hereafter  to  execute  abrogate  revoke  or  change  as  they  or  the 
Majority  of  them  shall  tliink  fittest  for  the  benefit  and  advantage  of  the 
said  schools  and  wee  have  given  and  granted  and  by  these  presents  do 
give  and  grant  for  us  our  heirs  and  successors  to  the  free  holders  of  the 
Town  of  Woodbridge  full  power  and  authority  to  assemble  and  meet 


together  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  March  annually  at  the  usual  and  accus- 
tomed place  for  holding  the  town  meetings  or  at  such  other  place  as  they 
shall  think  proper  and  then  and  there  by  plurality  of  Voices  to  appoint 
such  and  so  many  persons  as  they  or  the  Major  part  of  them  shall  think 
proper  to  inspect  the  accounts  orders  minutes  and  transactions  of  the 
said  Tiusteesor  their  successors.  And  in  case  of  the  death  refusal  or 
disability  of  either  or  any  of  the  said  Trustees  or  they  or  any  of  them 
ceasing  to  be  freeholders  of  the  said  Town  of  Woodbridge  or  resigning 
the  trust  in  them  reposed  then  and  in  such  case  we  for  us  our  heirs  and 
successors  will  grant  and  ordain  tliat  other  fit  person  or  persons  Free- 
holders of  the  said  Town  of  Woodbridge  be  by  the  said  Freeholders  of  the 
said  Township  of  Woodbridge  or  the  majority  of  them  nominated  elected 
and  chosen  in  the  place  and  stead  of  him  or  them  so  dying  refusing  or  other- 
wise disabled  as  aforesaid.  And  further  we  have  given  and  granted  and 
by  these  presents  do  give  and  grant  to  the  Said  Freeholders  of  our  Said 
Town  of  Woodbridge  full  power  and  authority  to  assemble  and  meet 
together  once  in  three  years  but  not  oftener  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
March  at  the  usual  and  accustomed  place  for  holding  of  the  Town  Meet- 
ings or  at  such  other  place  as  the  Majority  of  them  shall  from  time  to 
time  appoint  and  then  and  there  by  plurality  of  voices  alter  change  or 
continue  all  or  any  of  the  said  trustees  now  appointed  or  that  shall  here- 
after be  appointed  elected  or  chosen  by  virtue  of  these  presents  to  have 
and  to  hold  all  and  singular  the  privileges  advantages  liberties  and  all 
other  the  premises  to  them  the  said  Trustees  of  the  free  schools  of  the 
Town  of  Woodbridge  and  their  successors  forever  yielding  rendering  and 
paying  therefor  yearly  and  every  year  forever  hereafter  unto  ns  our 
heirs  and  successors  at  Perth  Amboy  in  the  county  of  Middlesex  unto 
our  receiver  General  of  the  said  province  on  the  Twenty-fifth  of  March 
one  barley-corn  if  the  same  be  legally  demanded.  And  lastly  our  will 
and  pleasure  is  that  these  our  letters  patent  shall  be  of  full  force  and 
efficacy  to  all  intents  and  purposes  whatever  as  above  mentioned  ex- 
pressed and  declared  and  that  the  same  or  the  enrollment  thereof  shall 
in  all  couits  of  law  and  equity  forever  hereafter  be  construed  and  taken 
most  favorably  and  beneficially  for  the  Trustees  of  the  free  schools  of 
our  Town  of  Woodbridge  according  to  our  royal  intention  herein  before 
declared  notwithstanding  that  any  unit  or  units  of  ad  gttod  dfinmum 
hath  or  have  not  issued  or  is  or  are  not  returned  before  the  making 
these  presents.  And  notwithstanding  the  not  reciting  misreciting  or 
not  rightly  or  certainly  reciting  the  said  rights  privileges  powers,  au- 
thorities or  any  other  the  jtremises  in  and  by  these  presents  granted  or 
meatt  mentioned  or  intended  to  be  granted  or  any  part  or  parcel  thereof. 
In  testimony  whereof  we  have  caused  these  our  Letters  to  be  made  patent 
and  the  Great  Seal  of  our  said  Province  of  New  Jersey  to  be  hereto  af- 
fixed. Witness  our  trusty  and  well  beloved  William 
Franklin  Esq  our  Captain  General  and  Governor  in 
chief  in  and  over  our  Province  of  New  Jersey  and  Ter- 
ritories, thereon  depending  in  America  Chancellor  and 
' — r^ '  Vice  Admiral  in  the  Same  etc.  At  the  City  of  Bur- 
lington the  twenty-fourth  day  of  June  in  the  ninth  year  of  our  reign 
Anno  Domini  1769. 

"  Brought  to  the  office  to  be  recorded  June  13th  1803  and  recorded  the 
Hth  following. 
"Examined  and  agrees  with  the  original  Liber  A.  V.  Deeds  folio  136. 
"John  Beatty,  Secretory, 
"  Secretary  of  State's  Office." 

In  the  year  1701  "a  division  of  the  common  lands 
was  publicly  discussed  and  the  school  lands  were  or- 
dered to  be  laid  out,"  and  the  committee  to  do  it, — "  be 
empowered  to  lay  out  the  same  in  such  place  or  places 
as  they  in  their  discression  shall  judge  best,  most  con- 
venient and  benefieiale  tor  the  town  in  general." 

In  the  year  1715,  George  Brown,  Benjamin  Dunham, 
William  Ilslee,  and  John  Jaquish  were  directed  "to 
resurvey  the  school  lands  as  well  as  the  parsonage 
lands  in  addition  to  their  other  duties." 

A  school  was  regarded  by  the  settlers  as  indispen- 
sable, was  named  in  the  charter,  and  provision  was 
made  for  it  in  the  settlement  of  the  town.  The  school 
land  (by  order  of  the  town  Oct.  10,  1GS2)  consisted  of 
one  hundred  acres,  twelve  were  to  be  marsh  and  the 
remaining  eighty-eight  to  be  upland. 


WOODBllIDGE. 


56Y 


Although  the  allotment  of  a  portion  of  the  common 
lands  for  the  benefit  of  schools  is  evidence  of  the  in- 
terest in  education  felt  by  the  first  settlers,  yet  there 
was  no  action  on  the  part  of  the  town  to  eft'ect  the 
establisliment  of  a  school  until  March,  1689,  when 
James  Fullerton  was,  by  a  resolution  in  town-meeting, 
"to  be  entertained  as  schoolmaster." 

In  February,  ](;94,  however,  there  was  no  school, 
and  John  Brown,  of  Amboy,  or  any  other  person  that 
might  be  suitable  for  that  employ,  was  to  be  "  dis- 
coursed with"  by  a  committee  appointed  for  that 
purpose.  The  following  month  Mr.  Brown  was  en- 
gaged at  a  salary  of  twenty-four  pounds  sterling  to 
keep  a  free  school  for  the  next  year.  Against  this 
proceeding  a  protest  was  entered  by  John  Conger,  to 
which  due  weight  will  in  all  time  to  come  be  given 
when  it  is  stated  tliat  on  a  subsequent  page  of  the 
same  record  the  gentleman  saves  himself  the  trouble  of 
writing  his  name  by  substituting  therefor  "  his  mark." 

There  may  have  been  some  cause  for  Mr.  Conger's 
objection,  for  we  find  that  in  November  of  the  same 
year  the  town  was  in  treaty  with  John  Backer 
(Baker)  to  teach  six  months  on  trial,  he  to  keep  "  ye 
school  this  winter  time  until  nine  o'clock  at  night," 
says  the  record.  He  was  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  of  the  office  in  June  following,  but  thereafter 
no  mention  is  made  of  the  schoolmaster  for  several 
years;  but  in  December,  1701,  a  piece  of  land,  "about 
ten  rods,"  was  allowed  for  a  school-house,  "provided 
it  did  not  prejudice  the  highway."  This  is  presumed 
to  have  been  the  renowned  edifice  on  what  is  known 
as  Strawberry  Hill. 

Thereafter  nothing  appears  on  the  records  respect- 
ing the  school  until  March,  1735,  when  measures 
were  taken  to  make  the  school  lands  more  productive 
by  the  appointment  of  a  special  committee  to  lease 
and  manage  them ;  and  such  continued  to  be  the 
mode  of  administration  down  to  the  present  century. 
The  first  statement  made  of  the  amount  of  the  funds 
which  had  accumulated  for  the  use  of  schools  appears 
in  March,  1761,  when  the  sum  of  t:321  ll.s.  llJrf.  is 
reported  to  be  in  the  hands  of  the  committee ;  and 
from  its  rapid  increase  it  is  probable  more  attention 
was  bestowed  upon  amassing  the  means  than  upon 
disseminating  the  blessings  of  education.  In  March, 
1764,  the  fund  was  £434  Is.  9rf./  in  March,  1765, 
£465  OS.  3d./  in  March,  1766,  £533  8s.  2rf. 

At  this  time  a  vote  was  taken  "  whether  or  not  it 
was  best  to  take  part  of  the  money  that  was  arisen 
from  ye  use  and  Profits  of  the  School  Lands  and 
make  use  of  it  for  ye  Schooling  of  Poor  People's  chil- 
dren, and  the  Votes  passed  in  the  negative."  In 
September,  1769,  the  fund  had  increased  to  £740;  in 
September,  1770,  to  £794;  in  September,  1771,  to 
£850;  in  March,  1773,  to  £900;  in  March,  1774,  to 
£985  4s.  lOrf./  in  March,  1775,  to  £1063  14s.  lid.; 
and  in  November,  1775,  to  £1062  12s.  6d.' 


The  inhabitants  appear  to  have  learned  something 
from  experience,  and  after  1789  the  interest  of  the 
school  fund,  in  connection  with  the  amount  of  tax 
assessed  upon  dogs,  was  appropriated  for  the  schooling 
of  poor  children. 

Woodbridge  Academy. — In  1793  subscriptions 
were  obtained  for  money  to  build  the  far-famed 
Woodbridge  Academy.  It  was  built  by  Jonathan 
Freeman,  at  a  total  cost  of  £342  2s.  4d.  The  site  is 
now  occupied  by  the  down-town  district  school- 
house,  which  was  erected  in  the  fall  of  1851.  "  The 
old  academy  was  sold,  and  removed  to  a  lot  immedi- 
ately adjoining  Mr.  George  Lasslett's  residence,  where 
it  stands  to  this  day." 

A  school-house  is  mentioned  upon  Strawberry 
Hill,  and  during  the  Revolutionary  war,  when  the 
country  was  overrun  by  the  British  soldiers,  large 
herds  of  cattle  were  kept  by  them  in  the  commons 
around  this  school-house. 

"March  ye  12th,  1776.  At  a  regular  town-meeting 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Woodbridge  the  following  was 


'  Town  Record. 


"That  Samuel  Jaquish,  Benjamin  Thornal,  Moses 
Bloomfield,  Nathaniel  Heard,  Robert  Clarkson,  and 
Joseph  Shotwell  be  continued  as  trustees  to  the 
Scool  Land  &  Money  for  thee  year  Insuing.  The 
Report  made  by  thee  aforesd  trustees  is  that  thee  Total, 
Principal,  Interest,  &c.,  of  Schooal  Land  Money 
amounts  to  £1162  15s.  6rf. 

"  June  1, 1669.  Among  other  specific  doings  of  the 
township  it  was  so  recorded  in  their  charter  that  the 
school  lands  should  always  be  free  from  paying  the 
Lord's  rent  of  a  half-penny  per  acre,  or  any  other 
rate  or  taxes  whatsoever  forever." 

The  Elm  Tree  Institute  (formerly  known  as  the 
Elm  Tree  Inn)  was  opened  as  a  high  school  by  Prof. 
James  Stryker  in  the  year  1822,  and  for  many  years 
the  school  was  supported  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
many  from  a  distance  sending  their  children.  After 
Prof.  Stryker  relinquished  it  Mr.  Marshall  took  it 
in  charge,  but  in  a  short  time  it  was  sold,  and  Mr. 
George  Clinch  purchased  the  property,  and  immedi- 
ately raised  the  building  and  made  it  more  desirable 
for  the  purposes  of  a  school.  He  afterwards  sold  it 
to  Thomas  H.  Morris,  Esq.,  and  it  was  then  changed 
to  the  name  of  Elm  Tree  Institute. 

The  following  interesting  statistics  by  districts  for 
this  township  gives  the  number  of  schools  and 
amounts  of  expenses : 

»„„™  Total  nmount 

Name.  No.  District.  "P.   T  ruci-ived  for 

>'"'"<■<'•  schools. 

Locust  Grove 19  S300.00  8300.00 

Wasliiiigton 20  300.00  300.00 

Rahwav  Neck 21  30000  500.00 

Blazing  Star 22  300.00  3IK1.00 

Uniontowii 23  300.00  463  00 

Woodbridge 24  2101.10  5641.10 

Fairfield  Union 26  727.38  1727,38 

S4328.48  S9231.48 

The  number  of  teachers  is:  male,  three;  female, 
eleven. 


568 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  school-houses  in  this  township  are  generally 
kept  in  a  neat  way,  and  have  a  sufficient  amount  of 
grounds  surrounding  them  for  the  children's  play- 
grounds. 

The  numher  of  children  in  the  township  between 
five  and  eighteen  years  of  age  is  twelve  hundred  and 
three.  Number  enrolled  on  the  school  list,  seven 
hundred  and  ninety-nine. 

Among  the  early  teachers  was  Master  William 
Creamer,  who  taught  a  school  for  a  number  of  years 
at  Unioutown  (1817-19).  He  had  a  son  John,  who 
lived  in  that  neighborhood.  He  is  well  remembered 
by  the  older  inhabitants  as  a  "learned  man  and  well 
fitted  for  teaching."  From  "  Record  of  Marriages," 
etc.,  is  the  following : 

School  District  No.  24  was  formed  by  the  consoli- 
dation of  Districts  Nos.  24  and  25  for  the  purpose  of 
a  graded  school.  The  present  fine  school  edifice,  with 
tower,  clock,  and  fine-toned  bell,  was  built  at  a  cost 
of  about  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  the  mason- 
work  being  done  by  William  B.  Van  Voast,  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  the  carpenter  -  work  by  Messrs. 
Manning  &  Randolph,  of  Plainfield,  C.  Graham  & 
Son,  of  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  architects.  Many  improve- 
ments since  it  was  completed  have  been  made  in 
finishing  of  rooms  and  in  furniture,  so  that  the 
present  value  of  the  building  is  thirty-five  thousand 
dollars.  The  building  was  dedicated  to  free  school 
Jan.  20,  1877. 

Trustees  in  1876-77,  William  H.  Berry,  Charles  A. 
Campbell,  and  Howard  Valentine ;  1882,  Joseph 
H.  J.  Martin,  Howard  A'alentine,  and  Charles  W. 
Drummond. 

Teachers,  1876-77,  Mr.  Henry  Anderson,  Miss 
Helen  R.  Williams,  Miss  Kate  A.  Moore,  Miss 
Laura  E.  Miller,  Miss  Helen  A.  Ensign,  and  Miss 
Ida  A.  Ayres;  1881-82,  Mr.  Edward  L.  Anderson, 
Miss  Mattie  J.  Thomas,  Miss  Helen  A.  Ensign,  Miss 
May  A.  Moore,  Miss  Sarah  McEwen,  Miss  Edith 
Scott,  Miss  Carrie  I.  Dally,  Miss  Clara  Acker. 

Number  of  scholars  on  the  roll,  347 ;  average  at- 
tendance, 181.  I 

The  situation  of  the  almshouse  (poor-house)  of 
Woodbridge  is  upon  the  free  school  lands,  which 
were  surveyed  in  the  year  1701. 

Barron  Library. — Thomas    Barron,  a   native   of  ! 
Woodbridge,  and  for  many  years  a  resident  of  New 
York,  left  by  his  will  fifty  thousand  dollars  for  the 
establishment   of   a   free    public    reading-room   and 
library   in  Woodbridge.      By   his   will  Dr.  Ellis  B.  ] 
Freeman,  Rev.  George  C.  Lucas,  foiuner  pastor  of  the 
Presliyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge,  and  Dr.  John  [ 
C.  Barron,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  were  the  trus-  ! 
tees  appointed.     The    ground  on  which  the  Barron 
Library  stands,  on  the  corner  of  Rahway  Avenue  and 
Freeman  Street,  was  donated  by  Dr.  Barron,  it  being 
a  part  of  the  original  Barron  homestead.     The  archi-  , 
tect  of  building  i.s  J.  Cleveland  Cady,  of  New  York, 
and  the  contractor  and  builder  John  E.  Sidman.    The 


original  contract  for  building,  including  the  laying  out 
of  grounds  and  beautifying  them,  $17,5198.53,  and 
five  hundred  dollars  of  which  sum  was  donated  by 
Dr.  Barron  in  the  embellishment  of  the  vestibule, 
and  all  this  exclusive  of  amounts  spent  for  books,  etc. 

The  library  was  dedicated  and  opened  to  the  public 
on  Sept.  11,  1877.  In  the  month  of  April,  1877, 
Anthony  Schisler,  Esq.,  was  elected  librarian,  and 
at  the  same  time  made  secretary  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees. Dr.  John  C.  Barron  at  the  same  time  having  re- 
signed the  secretaryship.  The  present  board  of  trus- 
tees, viz. :  Rev.  George  C.  Lucas,  chairman ;  Dr. 
John  C.  Barron,  treasurer,  and  Hon.  Albert  D. 
Brown.  Anthony  Schisler  is  librarian  and  secre- 
tary. 

It  contains  about  three  thousand  volumes  of  books 
very  carefully  selected,  covering  most  points  in  Eng- 
lish literature,  to  which  additions  are  being  made 
constantly.  The  reading-room  is  furnished  with  daily 
and  weekly  jiapers,  together  with  the  illustrated 
papers. 


CHAPTER    LXXIX. 

WOODBRIDGE.— {ro.i//i,i,^rf.) 

Presbyterian  Church. — The  history  of  this  church 
dates  back  to  the  year  1669.  The  settlers  who  came, 
many  from  the  towns  of  Branford,  New  Haven,  Guil- 
ford, Milford,  and  Hartford,  Conn.,  were  accustomed 
to  a  government  in  which  their  civil  and  religious 
duties  were  closely  commingled,  and  naturally  gave 
their  early  attention  to  the  establishment  of  ministers 
in  all  their  communities.  The  people  of  Woodbridge 
were  not  exceptions,  although  great  difliculty  seems 
to  have  been  experienced  in  giving  permanency  to  the 
residence  among  them  of  those  called  to  the  town. 

The  first  record  made  is  an  account  of  a  committee 
who  were  appointed  to  go  to  Newark,  N.  J.,  and  se- 
cure, if  possible,  the  services  of  a  minister,  June  8, 
1669,  "  as  messengers  from  the  town  to  declare  to  Mr. 
Pierson  junior  that  the  inhabitants  were  all  willing 
and  desirous  that  he  would  be  pleased  to  come  up  to 
them  and  help  thein  in  the  work  of  the  ministry;" 
and  anticipating  an  acceptance,  Robert  Dennis  was 
appointed  to  entertain  him  with  "  meat,  drink,  and 
lodgings:"  and  when  on  the  west  side  of  the  creek, 
called  in  the  records  Papiaek  Creek,  similar  accom- 
modations were  to  be  art'orded  by  John  Smith,  the 
constable. 

The  application  to  Rev.  Mr.  Pierson  was,  however, 
not  favorably  considered  by  him.  The  advanced  age 
of  his  father,  who  was  the  pastor  of  the  Newark  con- 
gregation, rendere<l  the  services  of  an  assistant  neces- 
sary, and  measures  were  in  progress  to  secure  the  son 
in  that  capacity.  The  application  from  Woodbridge 
probably  brought  the  matter  to  a  conclusion,  as  the 
ensuing  month  Mr.  Pierson  was  regularly  employed 


WOODBRIDGE. 


569 


as  an  assistant  minister.  Ttiis  was  a  great  disap- 
pointment to  the  Woodbridge  people.  A  Mr.  Peck, 
of  Elizabethtown,  wiis  in  July,  1670,  to  be  applied 
to.  or  to  secure  a  Mr.  Samuel  Treat  "  to  preach  six  or 
seven  months."  Mr.  Treat  sent  a  letter  on  the  6th  of 
November,  which  was  laid  before  the  town-meeting, 
and  twenty-one  pounds  sterling  was  voted  that 
gentleman  "  for  six  months'  preaching."  But  no 
authentic  account  is  given  of  his  ever  having  per- 
manently settled  in  Woodbridge.  No  further  pro- 
ceedings were  had  on  the  subject  until  July  2,  1674, 
when  the  town  resolved  to  agree  with  Mr.  Benjamin 

Salsbury  to  serve  as  minister  for  the  space  of 

months  on  trial.  The  agreement  was  entered  into, 
but  on  the  27th  of  October  the  connection  was  sum- 
marily broken. 

A  committee  was  appointed  to  agree  with  carpenters 
for  erecting  "a  meeting-house  30  feet  square  and  15, 
16,  or  17  feet  between  joints ;"  and  on  30th  of  No- 
vember a  table,  room,  and  other  necessaries  were 
directed  to  be  provided  for  the  comfortable  enter- 
tainment of  a  minister  when  he  should  come  on  trial 
in  the  spring  ensuing.  At  this  time  Samuel  Dennis 
was  selected  to  go  North  to  procure  a  clergyman,  and 
to  defray  his  expenses  three  thousand  pipe-staves  were 
furnished  by  Robert  Dennis,  John  Bloomfield,  and 
John  Pike,  Jr.  In  May  following  (1675)  negotiations 
were  resumed  with  "  Mr.  Jeremiah  Peck,"  the  same,  it 
is  supposed,  who  declined  their  overtures  in  1670. 
Again  was  the  proposition  unsuccessful,  and  another 
year  passed  away  with  the  vacancy  unsupplied  and 
apparently  without  further  efforts  on  the  part  of  the 
inhabitants.  In  April,  1676,  an  application  was  di- 
rected to  Revs.  Richard  Ball  (or  Hall),  Sr.  and  Jr., 
residing  in  New  England,  but  they  declined,  and 
January,  1677,  a  definite  call  was  made  to  Rev. 
Ezekiel  Fogg,  he  being  assured  for  his  encourage- 
ment the  privileges  of  freeholder  and  fifty  pounds  a 
year,  "  to  be  paid  in  meat,  peas,  jjork,  and  (not  above 
one-fourth  part  in)  Indian  corn  and  beef  at  country 
prices."  The  record  contains  no  entries  until  June, 
1679 ;  we  have  no  information  of  Rev.  Mr.  Fogg's 
acceptance,  or  of  his  ever  being  a  supply.  Though 
discouraged,  the  settlers  were  not  in  despair;  disap- 
pointed in  every  quarter  of  America,  they  next  turned 
their  attention  towards  England,  and  addressed  letters 
to  Dr.  Bums  and  Mr.  Richard  Baxter  in  July,  1679, 
desiring  them  to  be  instrumental  in  obtaining  a  min- 
ister for  them,  and  "  Captain  Bound,  an  early  trader 
between  the  two  continents,  was  requested  to  deliver 
the  letters,  and  to  aid,  if  necessary,  in  securing  him  a 
passage  to  America."  These  exertions  appear  to 
have  been  successful,  for  in  September,  1680,  Mr. 
John  Allen  commenced  preaching  among  them. 
Fifty  pounds  was  granted  to  him,  and  in  November 
following  voluntary  subscriptions  were  directed  to 
be  taken  for  his  permanent  support. 

The  meeting-house  which  it  was  resolved  to  build 
in  October,  1674,  was  by  the  27th  of  May,  1675,  raised, 


and  the  frame  approved  by  the  town,  although  not 
thirty  feet  square  as  originally  contemplated,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  make  the  necessary  ar- 
rangements, to  have  it  shingled  and  clapboarded  and 
a  floor  laid.  But  the  want  of  a  minister  seems  to 
have  prevented  the  observance  of  dispatch  in  the 
complete  execution  of  these  plans,  and  it  was  not 
until  December,  1680,  or  January,  1681,  after  Mr. 
Allen's  arrival,  that  the  house  was  actually  floored. 
In  October  following  it  was  directed  to  be  plastered, 
"  all  but  the  south  side,  over  the  clapboards."  In 
June,  1682,  the  process  of  completion  was  continued 
"by  lathing  and  daubing  the  building  substiintially 
within  as  high  as  the  plate  beams;"  and  the  "daub- 
ing" appears  to  have  been  made  the  employment  of 
all  in  the  town  having  suitable  tools.  Nails  and 
hinges  for  two  doors,  yet  wanting,  were  also  provided, 
and  a  lock  for  a  third.  These  for  the  time  finished 
the  additions  to  the  edifice. 

On  the  1st  January,  1681,  the  following  entry  ap- 
pears on  the  records:  "  We,  the  freeholders  and  in- 
habitants of  Woodbridge,  having  sent  to  England  to 
have  an  iionest,  able,  godly  minister  to  come  over  us, 
to  preach  the  word  of  God  sincerely  and  faithfully, 
and  Mr.  John  Alin  (Allen),  by  the  providence  of  God, 
being  for  that  End  Come  amongst  us,  and  we  having 
had  Sum  Experience  of  his  good  Abilities,  are  n-ill- 
ing,  and  doe  hereby  make  choise  of  him  to  be  our 
minister,  and  desire  to  put  ourselfs  under  his  ministry 
According  to  the  Rules  of  the  gospel." 

The  satisfaction  thus  expressed  was  further  mani- 
fested by  admitting  Mr.  Allen  on  the  13th  February 
as  a  freeholder,  and  by  granting  him  a  house-lot  of 
ten  acres,  and  in  September,  1682,  a  request  was  di- 
rected to  be  presented  to  the  Governor  and  Council 
to  induct  him  formally  as  their  minister,  in  order  that 
all  the  immunities  of  the  station  might  devolve  upon 
him.  From  this  time  until  January,  1686,  we  find  no 
allusion  to  Mr.  Allen  or  the  meeting-house.  But  at 
the  annual  gathering  of  the  freeholders  in  that  month 
a  committee  was  appointed  to  negotiate  with  Mr. 
Archibald  Riddell  to  preach  for  them,  which  argues 
a  dissolution  of  the  connection  between  the  town  and 
Mr.  Allen,  although  the  name  of  that  gentleman  ap- 
pears in  the  records  subsequently  as  still  a  resident. 
Mr.  Riddell  probably  ofiiciated  until  he  left  the 
country,  in  1689. 

"  He  set  sail  with  a  son  ten  years  of  age  in  June, 
1689,  but  was  doomed  to  further  trials  and  disap- 
pointments before  arriving  at  the  end  of  his  voyage. 
Favorable  weather  attended  him,  but  on  the  2d  of 
August,  when  ottthe  coast  of  England,  the  vessel  was 
captured  by  a  French  man-of-war,  and  the  passengers 
sent  to  the  common  jail  of  Rochefort,  whence  they 
were  subsequently  marched  to  Toulon,  chained  two 
and  two  by  their  arms,  and  at  first  each  ten  pair  tied 
to  a  rope,  but  this  being  found  an  impediment  to 
their  traveling  was  abandoned  after  the  second  day. 
Mr.  Riddell  was  chained  to  his  son.     They  were  six 


570 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


weeks  on  their  journey  before  they  arrived  at  Toulon, 
and  after  a  short  time  were  taken  back  to  Rochefort 
and  to  Denain,  and  for  over  two  years  kept  prisoners 
in  a  vault  of  an  old  castle.  At  last  they  were  ex- 
changed for  two  Romish  priests,  and  allowed  to  return 
to  Scotland." ' 

A  committee  was  appointed  "to  write  for  a  min- 
ister," and  in  March,  1694,  a  messenger  was  dispatched 
to  New  England  to  obtain  one  in  the  person  of  Eph- 
raim  Andrews,  who  consented  to  go  "provided  the 
town  doe  furnish  him  with  money  sufficient  for  his 
journey  and  a  horse  to  ride  on."  Ten  pounds  were 
raised  for  the  purpose. 

These  measures,  however,  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  successful,  and  not  until  October,  1695,  do  we 
find  the  town  supplied.  Mr.  Samuel  Sliepard  then 
appears  as  their  minister,  at  a  salary  of  £50,  and 
in  May  following  thirty  acres  of  land  and  a  house 
was  granted  to  him,  provided  he  should  return  from 
New  England,  whither  he  was  about  to  go,  possibly 
for  his  family,  and  permanently  settle  among  them, 
conditions  which  he  complied  with.  The  spiritual 
affairs  of  the  town  seem  to  have  prospered  under  Mr. 
Shepard's  care,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  improve- 
ments made  in  the  temporalities,  the  meeting-house 
galleries,  which  in  May,  1686,  were  directed  to  be  con- 
structed, and  were  finished  in  1697.  £60  were  allowed 
the  minister  instead  of  £50,  he  having  been  "  at  the 
charge  of  his  diet  the  year  past;"  and  in  July,  1698, 
the  walls  of  the  meeting-house  were  to  be  white- 
wa.shed,  and  a  new  pulpit  built  "  forthwith." 

In  March,  1696,  it  is  recorded  that  William  Web- 
ster "  pretending  that  it  was  contrary  to  his  con- 
science to  pay  anything  towards  ye  maintenance  of  a 
minister,"  Capt.  John  Bishop  agreed  to  pay  for  him 
as  long  as  he  shall  live.  Kind  Capt.  Bishop  was  far 
more  considerate  of  the  spiritual  interests  of  Mr. 
Webster  than  of  the  temporal  interests  of  Mr.  Shep- 
ard,  for  we  find  the  following  year  that  the  successful 
pleading  of  Webster  led  others  to  try  a  similar  pro- 
cedure, and  the  town  found  it  necessary  to  ordain 
that  those  refusing  to  pay  Mr.  Shepard's  rate  should 
have  a  distraining  warrant  issued  against  them. 
This  may  have  checked  the  evil,  but  in  February, 
1670,  it  was  found  necessary  to  change  the  mode  of 
raising  Mr.  Shepard's  salary,  making  it  depend  upon 
voluntary  subscriptions,  it  having  been  previously 
provided  for  in  the  common  rate  levied  for  the  gen- 
eral purposes  of  the  town.  At  this  time,  too,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  settle  all  differences  with 
their  "  dissenting  neighbors,  the  Quakers,"  in  refer- 
erence  to  their  refusal  to  contribute  towards  the  sup- 
port of  "  the  publique  ministry."  More  than  five 
years  had  elapsed  since  Mr.  Shephard  had  entered 
upon  his  ministerial  functions  in  Woodbridge,  and 
on  April  10,  1701,  a  committee  were  directed  to  con- 
fer with  him  upon  the  propriety  of  his  being  "  or- 


dained" as  the  minister  of  the  town.  What  necessity 
existed  for  this  I  do  not  know,  but  apparently  to  the 
surprise  and  regret  of  the  people  difficulties  arose  in 
consequence,  which,  increased  by  the  pertinacity  with 
which  female  influence  and  prejudices  will  be  some- 
times exercised,  resulted  in  Mr.  Shepard's  separation 
from  the  congregation. 

The  committee  appointed  to  confer  with  their  pas- 
tor reported  on  the  2-ith  June  "  that  his  wife  is  so  advers 
to  his  settling  here,  thattho'  he  is  otherwise  willing  to 
be  ordained,  he  cannot  admit  of  ordination  to  settle 
as  a  minister  in  this  town  ;  and  it  being  moved  to 
him  that  his  wife  upon  second  thought  might  be  per- 
suaded, Mr.  Shepard  replyed,  there  is  no  hope  of  my 
wife's  complyance  with  my  settling  here,  and  there- 
fore I  would  advise  you  to  look  out  for  another." 
Unwilling  to  relinquish  the  benefits  of  his  ministry, 
another  committee  were  authorized  to  negotiate 
farther  with  him,  but  a  month  later  (July  23d)  they 
too  reported  that  "  his  wife  is  utterly  adverse  to  his 
settling  here,  and  he  concludes  shee  will  so  remaine 
if  we  should  still  wait  longer  for  a  change  of  her 
mind,  and  therefore  adviseth  us  to  have  no  farther 
dependance  on  him."  Whereupon  the  necessary 
steps  were  taken  to  dissolve  the  connection  and 
obtain  another,  but  for  many  years  there  is  no  indica- 
tion on  the  records  of  their  being  supplied.  How 
long  Mr.  Shepard  remained  an  inhabitant  is  not 
known,  but  in  January,  1702,  he  was  requested  to 
preach  for  the  town  until  another  minister  should  be 
obtained.     He  died  in  the  year  1722  or  1723. 

In  1707  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Wade  was  ordained 
and  installed  the  pastor  of  the  congregation,  and  the 
following  entries  in  the  records  of  the  church  in  Mr. 
Wade's  own  writing  are  before  me : 

"  January  29th,  1707-8,  was  gathered  the  church  ol 
Christ  in  Woodbridge  by  Nath.  Wade,  pastor.  Present 
there  were  as  Messengers  two  from  ye  church  of  New- 
ark and  one  from  the  church  of  Elizabeth-town : 
Theophilus  Pierson,  Jonahs  Wood,  Benjamin  Price. 
The  foundation  of  ye  church  was  laid  first  upon 
three  persons  who  had  been  communicants  in  other 
churches,  viz.  :  Sam'l  Hail,  John  Pike,  and  Noah 
Bishop." 

The  names  of  the  members  of  the  church  are  as 
follows : 

Samuel  Hail  (assistant),  John  Pike  (assistant), 
Noah  Bishop  (assistant),  Stephen Tuttle,  John  Foard, 
admitted  Jan.  29,  1707-8. 

Thomas  Pike,  John  Ayres,  Richard  Skinner  (assist- 
ant), Joseph  Gray,  admitted  Feb.  28,  1707-8. 

Lidea  Bishop,  Francis  Skinner,  admitted  June  6, 
1708. 

Matthew  Fors,  admitted  June  20,  1708. 
Joseph    Thorp,   Daniel    Britton,   Richard    Cutler, 
Sarah  Pike,  Elizabeth  Britton,  Sarah  Fors,  Elizabeth 
Gray,  Lidea  Pangborn,  admitte  1  Aug.  15, 1708. 

Sarah  Holland,  John  Ilsley,  John  Jaques,  John 
Skiner,  Nathaniel  Pike,  Mary  Groves,  Ann  Skiner, 


WOODBRIDGE. 


571 


Elizabeth  Ilsley,  Mary  Cutter,  Mark  Pike,  Mary 
Stihvell,  Susannah  Jaques,  Desire  Walker,  Mehitable 
_Butler,  Hannah  Freeman,  Mary  Wade,  Ester  Blum- 
field,  John  Caplin,  admitted  Aug.  20,  1708. 

Benjamin  Jones,  John  Robinson,  Elizabeth  Thorp, 
Nathaniel  Dunham,  Daniel  Dane,  Mary  Curtis,  Phebe 
Ayres,  admitted  Oct.  31,  1708. 

Mary  Ayres,  Sarah  Conger,  admitted  Dec.  26, 1708. 

William  Sharp,  Mary  Sharp,  admitted  Jan.  2, 
1708-9. 

Moses  Ralph,  Hope  Blumfield,  admitted  Feb.  27, 
1708-9. 

John  Conger,  Thomas  Collier,  Mary  Conger,  Anna 
Thorp,  Edward  Wilkinson,  Mary  Ralph,  Samuel 
Butler,  admitted  May  12.  1709. 

John  Dille,  Elizabeth  Foard,  Hannah  Crowell,  Jo- 
anna Pangborn,  Ruth  Dille,  Susannah  Shipley,  ad- 
mitted June  2(5,  1709. 

Peenelipoe  Titus,  admitted  Sept.  4,  1709. 

Rebeckah  Phylip,  Obediah  Ayres,  admitted  Nov.  6, 
1709. 

Peter  Pain,  Joanna  Ayres,  Hannah  Right,  admitted 
Jan.  1,  1709-10. 

Benjamin  Thorp,  John  Scuder,  admitted  June  25, 
1710. 

Hannah  Collier,  Rebeckah  Mills,  admitted  Sept.  10, 
1710. 

Joanna  Jones,  admitted  Oct.  3,  1710. 

The  records  of  the  church  state  that  Mr.  Wade 
administered  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  the 
first  in  the  parish,  but  Whitehead,  in  his  "  East  Jersey 
History,"  thinks  this  a  mistake,  and  that  other  errors 
are  also  contained  in  the  history. 

In  1711,  for  some  cause  not  now  known,  Mr.  Wade 
became  disliked  by  a  number  of  the  people.  They 
seceded  and  formed  an  Episcopal  congregation,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Vaughan,  of  Elizabethtown,  visiting  them 
at  regular  periods.  Previous  to  this  Mr.  Vaughan 
says,  in  one  of  his  letters,  the  people  "  born  in  New 
England  and  Scotland  had  been  bred  in  both  places 
in  the  greatest  prejudice  and  opposition  to  the  Estab- 
lished Church  of  England." 

The  first  notice  of  a  settled  clergyman  thereafter 
appears  in  1714,  when  "Mr.  John  Pierson,  clerk,"  is 
mentioned  as  having  been  called  from  Connecticut; 
but  as  the  salary  seemed  no  longer  to  have  been  raised 
by  a  general  rate  upon  the  inhabitants,  there  is  not 
the  same  frequency  of  allusion  to  the  minister  as  in 
the  earlier  years  of  the  settlement.  In  1722  and  1723, 
Mr.  Pierson  is  mentioned  in  the  town  records  in  con- 
nection with  the  parsonage  grounds  as  "  our  present 
minister,"  although  for  eleven  or  twelve  years  there 
had  been  a  congregation  formed  within  the  town,  wor- 
shiping in  their  own  edifice  according  to  the  forms  of 
the  Church  of  England, — a  significant  indication  of 
what  was  "  the  religion  of  the  States." 

Mr.  Pierson  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Pier- 
son, Jr.,  whom  the  town  had  called  in  1669,  and  the 
grandson  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Pierson,  the  first  min- 


ister of  Newark.  He  continued  in  Woodbridge  until 
1752.  In  1739  his  .salary  was  assured  to  him  by  mu- 
tual agreement  among  sixty  individuals.  He  was  one 
of  the  first  trustees  of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  and 
died  at  Hanover,  N.  J.,  in  1770,  in  the  eighty-first 
year  of  his  age,  and  in  the  fifty-seventh  year  of  his 
ministry.' 

He  was  dismissed  from  Woodbridge  at  his  own  re- 
quest, and  it  is  recorded  of  him  "  that  he  was  justly 
reputed  and  esteemed  a  worthy  and  able  minister, 
sound  in  the  faith  and  of  exemplary  conversation 
and  conduct.  He  well  supported  the  dignity  of  his 
office,  and  had  but  few  equals  in  his  day  in  theologi- 
cal knowledge.  It  was  in  his  time  and  by  his  influ- 
ence that  the  congregation  obtained  a  royal  charter. 

Mr.  Nathaniel  Whitaker,  a  licentiate  of  the  Pres- 
bytery of  New  York,  followed  Mr.  Pierson  as  a  sup- 
ply, and  was  subsequently  called  to  the  pastorate, 
which  he  accepted  Dec.  10,  1755,  and  was  immedi- 
ately ordained  and  installed.  Mr.  Whitaker  con- 
tinued to  officiate  until  1759  or  1760,  when  he  re- 
signed his  charge. 

Mr.  Azel  Roe  was  then  selected  as  their  preacher, 
and  after  being  among  them  for  a  year  or  two  was, 
in  the  autumn  of  1763,  ordained  and  installed  pastor 
of  the  congregation.  Some  time  during  Mr.  Whita- 
ker's  administration  a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  re- 
siding in  the  southern  part  of  the  township  formed  a 
separate  congregation,  subsequently  known  as  the 
Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge,  and 
eventually  as  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Metuchen. 
Mr.  Roe  officiated  alternately  in  the  two  congregations 
very  acceptably,  and  continued  among  them  during 
the  Revolution. 

In  1790  the  old  congregation  were  no  longer  satis- 
fied to  share  the  labors  of  their  pastor  with  another, 
and  after  considerable  opposition  effected  a  separation 
from  the  Metuchen  society,  and  thereafter  until  1815, 
when  he  closed  his  long  and  faithful  career  in  his 
eighty-second  year.  Mr.  Roe  continued  to  "  go  in 
and  out"  among  them,  respected  and  beloved,  having 
been  pastor  of  the  flock  for  about  fifty-four  years. 

In  April,  1803,  a  movement  was  made  towards  the 
erection  of  a  new  place  of  worship,  and  so  vigorously 
was  the  work  prosecuted,  it  was  finished  and  conse- 
crated in  December  of  the  same  year.  It  yet  stands, 
in  all  respects  a  convenient  and  suitable  edifice. 

The  Rev.  Henry  Mills  was  called  in  1816  to  succeed 
Mr.  Roe,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  congregation 
until  1821.  The  next  year  the  Rev.  William  B.  Bar- 
ton was  installed,  and  for  thirty  years  was  their  faith- 
ful minister.  During  his  administration  the  number 
of  members  reached  two  hundred  and  forty-two  (in 
1843),  and  at  the  time  of  his  death,  April  7,  1852, 
there  were  one  hundred  and  sixty  in  communiou 
with  the  church.  The  number  of  church-members 
at  the  different  periods  was  as  follows: 


1  KeWBifc  Daily  Advertiser,  Sept.  11, 1848. 


572 


HISTOllY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Year. 

17s7 

No. 

82 

160 

157 

170 

Year. 

1841 

No. 
194 

ISil 

1845 

233 

1850 

1852 

1853 

1863 

200 

160 

163 

179 

1834 

1835 

1837 

184 

mi 

190 

206 

198 

2(11 

1839 

ISW 

1882 

158 

The  next  minister  was  the  Rev.  William  M.  Martin, 
who  accepted  the  pa.storate  in  1852,  and  resigned  it  in 
1863.  The  Rev.  George  C.  Lucas  began  to  minister 
here  in  the  year  of  Mr.  Martin's  departure,  and  con- 
tinued his  connection  with  the  church  until  the 
autumn  of  1873,  when  he  resigned. 

Rev.  Joseph  M.  McNulty  was  invited  to  this  church 
in  1874;  he  accepted  in  the  month  of  July  of  that 
year,  and  is  the  present  pastor,  1882. 


CHAPTER  LXXX. 

WOODBRIDGE.— (CV/K/inied.) 

Trinity  Church. — In  1711  a  number  of  persons 
seceded  from  the  First  Church  of  Woodbridge  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  a  congregation  to  be  called 
"Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  Church."  An  invita- 
tion was  sent  to  Rev.  Mr.  Vaughan,  of  Elizabeth  Town, 
to  visit  them  at  regular  periods,  of  which  the  follow- 
ing is  a  copy : 

"Sir  the  unhstppy  difference  between  Mr.  Wade^  and  tlie  people  of 
Woodbriiige  is  grown  to  tliat  height  that  we  cannot  joyn  witli  him  in 
the  worehip  of  God  as  Xtians  out  to  do,  it  is  the  desire  of  some  people 
here  that  if  yon  think  it  may  be  for  the  Glory  of  God  and  no  damage  to 
other  chnrches  that  you  would  be  pleased  to  afford  us  your  help  some- 
times on  tlie  sabbath  days,  according  aa  yoil  shall  think  convenient :  we 
do  it  not  with  any  intent  to  augment  the  diS'ereuce  among  us  but  rather 
hope  that  with  the  blessing  of  God  it  may  be  a  means  for  our  better 
joyniug  ^together  in  setting  up  the  true  worship  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  here  amongst  a  poor  deluded  people.  This  is  the  desire  of  your 
hamlle  servants. 

*'  Rich.  Smith,  John  Asllton,  Benj.  Dunham,  Amos  Goodwin,  Gel-shorn 
Higgins,  Ilen'y  Kolph,  John  Bishop,  Will'm  Bingle,  George  Gubancks, 
Kobert  Wright." 

It  appears  that  the  invitation  was  accepted,  as  the 
record  says  "  a  house  was  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
Mr.  Vaughn  as  a  place  of  worship  by  Benjamin  Dun- 
ham, and  for  four  or  five  years  monthly  services  were 
regularly  held.  A  convenient  frame  building  was 
also  put  up  and  inclosed,  but  a  stop  was  put  to  further 
proceeding  and  to  the  growth  of  the  parish  by  the 
death  of  Mr.  Dunham  on  the  31st  December,  1715, 
in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  (his  grave  is  in  the 
rear  of  the  church),  and  the  transfer  of  Mr.  Vaughan's 
services  to  Amboy  and  Piscataway." 

The  ground  upon  which  this  edifice  was  erected  is 
represented  to  have  been  a  portion  of  the  two  hun- 
dred acres  providently  set  apart  b)'  the  proprietors 
for  parsonage  lands,  but  the  Rev.  Mr.  Halliday,  who 
occasionally  ofliciated  after  the  withdrawal  of  Mr. 

^  Pastor  of  First  Church. 


Vaughan,  states  in  1717  that  the  church  was  still  with- 
out either  floor  or  glass,  and  although  divine  service 
was  sometimes  .performed  in  it  afterwards  it  never 
was  finished,  and  eventually  went  to  ruin. 

Subsequently  the  visits  of  clergymen  of  the  Estab- 
lished Church  became  less  frequent,  and  finally  ceased 
entirely,  so  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Chandler,  of  Elizabeth 
Town,  on  commencing  missionary  labors  there  in 
1752,  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  the  society  in  England 
"  they  had  not  been  visited  by  any  of  our  clergy  for 
upwards  of  twenty  years."  Some  few  of  the  congre- 
gation had  during  this  period  attended  public  worship 
at  Amboy,  but  many  connected  themselves  with  other 
denominations.  "  Appearances  now  are  much  in  favor 
of  the  church  there,"  says  Mr.  Chandler,  "  and  I  have 
seldom  had  less  than  two  hundred  hearers."  He  con- 
tinued his  visits  monthly,  the  number  of  families  pro- 
fessedly Episcopalians  being  then  about  fifteen,  and 
his  audiences  generally  numbering  two  hundred. 

In  November,  1752,  he  wrote  that  the  Presbyterians 
had  dismissed  their  minister,  who  had  been  with  them 
for  more  than  thirty  years  (the  Rev.  Mr.  Pierson),  in 
consequence  of  his  being  somewhat  dull  and  too 
feeble  an  antagonist  of  the  church,  at  the  growth  of 
which  they  were  much  disturbed. 

Thus  situated  was  the  congregation  for  several 
years,  excepting  that  the  other  engagements  of  Mr. 
Chandler  did  not  long  admit  of  his  visiting  Wood- 
bridge  oftener  than  once  in  six  weeks,  on  intervening 
Sundays  James  Parker  ofticiating  as  lay-reader  to  the 
general  satisfaction  of  the  congregation. 

In  1754  they  erected  a  church.  In  1760  the  small- 
pox carried  off  many  useful  and  reputable  persons  in 
the  parish,  much  to  the  regret  of  their  zealous  mis- 
sionary. More  than  half  of  those  who  had  the  dis- 
ease in  the  natural  way  died.  Mr.  Chandler  himself 
took  it  in  1757,  and  did  not  entirely  recover  from  its 
effects  for  three  years. 

In  1764  Woodbridge  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
missionary  at  Amboy,  the  Rev.  Mr.  McKean  visiting 
it  once  every  three  weeks,  and  continued  thereafter 
connected  with  that  parish  until  the  Revolution  put 
a  stop  to  all  religious  services  in  the  town  according 
to  the  forms  of  the  English  Established  Church. 
Mr.  Bingley  reading  the  services,  while  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Preston  was  the  missionary,  and  absent  at  Amboy. 
The  congregation  then,  as  for  some  years  before,  num- 
bered about  fourteen  families,  although  the  auditories 
were  large. 

The  charter  of  the  congregation  was  granted  Dec. 
6,  1769,  Samuel  Jaques  and  Samuel  Tingley  being 
named  therein  as  wardens,  and  David  Alston,  Thomas 
Haddon,  Josoph  Donham,^  and  Ebenezer  Foster,  ves- 
trymen. 

In  February,  1770,  Mr.  Preston  wrote  that  his  reg- 
ular induction  into  the  parish  as  rector  was  thought 
advisable  in  order  that  he  might  properly  present  a 

2  DoDham  maybe  Dunham. 


WOODBRIDGE. 


573 


claim  for  a  due  portion  of  the  glebe  set  apart  by  the 
proprietaries ;  but  as  affairs  then  stood  he  deemed  it 
best  to  let  the  matter  remain  in  abeyance  "  till  peo- 
ple," he  adds,  "  are  grown  a  little  cooler,  so  as  to  be 
able  to  distinguish  that  a  trial  of  a  matter  of  right  is 
not  an  attack  upon  their  principles,  which  I  ara  afraid 
would  hardly  be  the  case  at  present."  The  question 
was  again  agitated  in  1774,  and  the  worthy  mission- 
ary, averse  to  entering  into  a  lawsuit,'prevailed  upon 
the  vestry  to  propose  a  compromise;  but  possession 
being  thought  then,  as  now,  "  nine  points  in  the  law," 
no  terms  would  be  made  by  the  Presbyterian  congre- 
gation ;  and  a  project  was  on  foot  to  raise  a  fund  to 
meet  the  expense  of  prosecuting  the  claim  in  the 
courts,  when  the  confusion  and  distractions  of  the  war 
ensued  and  effectually  stayed  the  proceedings.  If 
the  author  has  been  rightly  informed,  no  portion  of 
the  lands  set  apart  for  the  support  of  the  ministry  has 
been  enjoyed  by  the  Episcopal  congregation  except- 
ing the  lot  upon  which  the  church  edifice  is  erected. 

After  the  Revolution,  Woodbridge  was  only  visited 
occasionally  by  missionaries  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church,  and  as  a  natural  consequence  both  the 
temporal  and  spiritual  interests  of  the  congregation 
suffered.  In  1810  such  was  the  dilapidated  condition 
of  the  church  that  the  convention  of  the  diocese  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  its  repair,  which  was  done  in 
the  course  of  the  year,  through  the  agency  of  Mr. 
Daniel  Terrill,  of  Elizabethtown.  From  that  time  till 
1830  the  Rev.  James  Chapman,  of  Perth  Amboy, 
officiated  from  time  to  time  ;  and  during.  1818  and 
1819  the  Rev.  F.  H.  Cuming  also  gave  the  parish  a 
portion  of  his  services.  From  1830  to  1840  the  Rev. 
William  Douglas  had  charge  of  it  in  connection 
with  St.  James',  Piscataway,  and  from  1840  to  1841 
the  Rev.  Frederick  Ogilby.  From  1841  to  1842  the 
Rev.  Hamble  J.  Leacock  ministered  in  the  parish, 
and  from  1843  to  1857  the  Rev.  James  Chapman  has 
performed  missionary.  From  1858  to  1862  Rev.  E. 
A.  Hoffman  ministered  here.  Rev.  Mr.  Chapman 
died  in  1857.  In  1862  Rev.  P.  L.  Jacques  became 
pastor.  In  1869  Rev.  R.  C.  Mcllvaine  succeeded. 
In  1872  Rev.  J.  A.  Penniman  followed.  In  October 
of  the  same  year  Rev.  T.  Lewis  Banister  assumed  the 
pastorate. 

In  1836  the  church  was  whitewashed  on  the  outside 
and  repaired.  Trees  were  planted  in  the  yard  to 
beautify  in  1839,  and  a  new  stove  was  procured,  and 
in  the  summer  and  fall  of  1842  the  building  was 
"  thoroughly  repaired,"  new  seats  added,  and  a  vestry- 
room  built.  The  burning  of  this  old  church  on  Sab- 
bath, March  7,  1858,  was  followed  by  a  vigorous 
effort  to  rebuild.  The  old  timbers  were  drawn  out  of 
the  ruins  and  sold,  contributions  were  solicited  from 
all  quarters,  and  funds  were  soon  raised,  and  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  their  new  church  was  laid  July  7,  1860, 
and  the  following  spring.  May  20,  1861,  the  church 
was  duly  consecrated  by  the  Right  Rev.  W.  H.  Oden- 
heimer,  bishop  of  the  diocese  of  New  Jersey.  It  is 
37 


a  substantial  brick  edifice,  capable  of  accommodating 
the  present  congregation.  On  the  day  of  consecra- 
tion a  beautiful  paten  was  presented  to  the  church, 
thus  inscribed  : 

"  The  Gift  of  Christ  Church,  Elizal.elh,  N.  J., 

to  Trinity  Cliurcli,  Woodhri.Ige,  N.  J., 

■Whit-Sun-Monday,  1861." 

In  1869,  it  being  one  hundred  years  from  the  date 
of  the  church  charter,  a  centennial  service  was  held, 
on  which  occasion  an  elegant  cup  was  given,  bearing 
the  following  inscription : 

"  In  meinoriam. 

Rev.  C.  Hance  to  Trinity  Church,  Woodbridge,  N.  J., 

December,  C,  1SC9." 

An  old  cup  is  still  in  possession  of  the  parish  au- 
thorities on  which  is  engraved  : 

"  The  Gift  of  Mary  Dennis,  Widow,  to  Trinity  Church 
in  Woodbridge,  December  ye  25th,  1700." 

The  following  wardens  from  1810  to  1862:  Daniel 
Terrill,  David  Bunn,  William  P.  Terrill,  John  Lang- 
staff,  James  Jaques,  Henry  Mundy,  Edward  Mundy, 
Henry  Campbell,  Alanson  Newton,  Jotham  Codding- 
ton,  Nath.  Bunn,  Elias  Marsh,  George  A.  Hoilister, 
William  Taylor,  Rene  Pardepus,  Charles  B.  Reed, 
Lorrain  Freeman.  The  following  have  been  vestry- 
men:  Barry  Strangman,  William  P.  Terrill,  Elias 
Marsh,  John  Jaques,  James  Smith,  Alston  Bishop, 
Edward  Munday,  William  Hanhani,  James  Parker, 
Thomas  Barron,  Frederick  Huffmaster,  George  Brad- 
shaw,  Daniel  Terrill,  Elias  Marsh,  James  E.  Parker, 
Capt.  Forbes,  William  Herrod,  William  P.  Terrill, 
Barry  Strangman,  William  Taylor,  Abel  Clarkson, 
James  M.  Brewster,  John  Brentnall,  Nathen  Harned, 
Dr.  Matthias  Freeman,  John  Barron,  Samuel  Barron, 
Robert  Lee,  James  Clarkson,  William  Taylor,  Joseph 
Barron,  James  Parker,  Andrew  Bell,  George  A.  Hoi- 
lister, John  Zellar,  William  E.  Fink,  Rene  Pardepus, 
Alanson  Newton,  James  Jones,  John  M.  Tufts,  W.  H. 
Benton,  Jotham  Randolph,  Dennis Mawbey,  Frederick 
Smith,  Charles  B.  Reed,  W.  W.  Mawbey,  James  Luck- 
hurst,  John  Manning,  J.  H.  Campbell,  Henry  Maw- 
bey, Melancthon  Freeman,  Charles  Young,  David  E. 
Paton,  William  Harriot.  Josiah  Dunham,  James 
Bunn,  Daniel  Terrill,  Orry  Rifle,  H.  Barkaloo,  H. 
EUwell,  Henry  Campbell,  Robert  Lee,  Joseph  Marsh, 
C.  A.  Forbes,  Edward  Munday,  George  Jones,  Joseph 
Marsh,  Thomas  Marsh,  Isaac  Jones,  Frederick  Smith, 
Capt.  C.  A.  Forbes,  P.  B.  Pope,  Jotham  Coddington, 
William  Bedman,  George  Lasslett,  George  Hoilister,  ■ 
Henry  W.  Holton,  Milton  Arrowsmith,  William  H. 
Benton,  James  Bloodgood,  George  C.  Hance,  Samuel 
A.  Meeker,  Daniel  Shaw. 

After  the  Rev.  Mr.  Banister  resigned  the  pastorate 
for  some  months  the  church  was  supplied,  when  Rev. 

;  Julian  E.  Ingle  became  the  rector  in  1876,  and  re- 
mained for  nearly  three  years,  and  in  1879  Rev.  Frank 
Hallque  supplied  the  parish  for  one  year.     The  pres- 

.  ent  rector  is  Rev.  Howard  E.  Thompson,  who  came 


574  HISTORY   OF   UNIOiN    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


October,  1880.  The  following  is  the  list  of  officers  of 
Trinity  Church  at  the  present  time  :  George  C.  Hance, 
senior  warden  ;  Jotham  Coddington,  the  junior  war- 
den ;  John  B.  Osbourn,  James  V.  Freeman,  Jonas 
Coddington,  Milton  Arrowsmith,  Edward  S.  Savage, 
and  Henry  A.  Hind.  Communicants,  one  hundred; 
sittings,  two  hundred. 

The  Episcopal  Mi.ssiox.— Connected  with  Trinity 
parish  is  the  Episcopal  mission  at  Ford's  Corners,  the 
Rev.  Howard  E.  Thompson  officiating  there  nearly 
every  Sabbath,  as  many  of  the  neighborhood  are  in- 
terested in  this  mission.  There  is  an  existing  endow- 
ment fund  of  five  thousand  dollars,  and  with  the 
generous  support  by  the  members  of  Trinity  parish 
this  church  has  bright  prospects  of  its  future  growth. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Clitirch.— The  organization 
of  this  church  dates  prior  to  1820,  which  was  called 
the  Elizabethtown  Circuit,  and  connected  with  Rah- 
way.  They  formed  a  class  of  some  thirteen  members, 
holding  their  meetings  in  private  houses,  but  in  1831 
Mr.  Gagelnslee  gave  them  some  land  on  Main  Street, 
upon  which  was  built  their  first  house  ;  near  them 
had  been  situated  the  Quaker  meeting-house  and  their 
burial-ground. 

From  account  given  by  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Dally  he 
says:  "  At  a  meeting  held  at  Railway  July  15,  1784, 
the  Friends  determined  to  sell  the  meeting-house  at 
Woodbridge.  An  unknown  person  offered  to  buy  it, 
but  the  negotiations  were  broken  off,  for  a  while  at 
least.  The  old  building  has  long  since  been  demol- 
ished, and  the  ancient  burying-ground  is  now  the 
property  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church."  For 
a  number  of  years  the  Methodist  society  worshiped 
in  their  "  plain  frame  structure,"  and  many  were 
added  to  their  numbers.  In  the  year  1869-70,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  official  board,  the  society  decided 
that  a  new  church  be  built  upon  the  same  location, 
which  was  completed  in  the  fiiU  of  1870,  "  an  ele- 
gant brick  Methodist  Church  with  a  graceful  spire," 
at  a  cost  of  $23,000  ;  sittings,  500  ;  communicants, 
170.  They  have  also  built  a  substantial  parsonage  on 
the  same  lot  west  of  the  church. 

The  following  are  the  pastors  who  have  served,  with 
ihe  dates:  David  Bartine,  Thomas  Sovereign,  1831-32 ; 
Rev.  William  Granville,  1832 ;  Rev.  Isaac  N.  Felch, 
183.3-34;  James  Cunningham,  1835;  Isaac  Cross,  1836; 
William  Hanley,  1838;  Wesley  Robertson,  1839-40; 
Mulford  Day,  1843-44;  Edmund  Hance,  1845-46; 
William  A.  Wilmer,  1847  ;  Henry  Trumbower,  1848- 
49;  Abraham  Owen,  1850-51  ;  James  H.  Dandy, 
1852-53  ;  David  Graves,  1854-55  ;  Rodney  Winans, 
1856;  John  W.  Barret,  1857-58;  Ralph  S.  Arndt, 
1859;  Henry  A.  Butts,  1860-61  ;  Edward  W.  Adams, 
1862-63;  Albert  H.Brown,  1864^65;  John  S.  Coit, 
1866;  Jacob  P.  Dailey,  1867-68;  E.  M.  Griffith, 
1870-71  ;  R.  Johns,  1872-73  ;  R.  B.  Lockwood,  1874- 
75 ;  S.  B.  Rooney,  1879 ;  George  F.  Dickerson, 
1881. 

The  First  Congregational  Church.— In  the  year 


1874  a  meeting  was  held  at  the  house  of  Mr.  John 
White  to  consider  the  expediency  of  organizing  a 
Congregational  Church,  when  it  was  decided  the  30th 
day  of  September,  1874,  and  the  following  gentlemen 
were  elected  trustees:  Edward  J.  Thompson,  J.  Mat- 
tison  Melick,  Charles  A.  Campbell,  John  White, 
Matthias  Vanderveer,  George  F.  Fink,  and  William 
W.  Selleck. 

A  certificate  of  incorporation  wa.s  recorded  by  the 
trustees  Nov.  16,  1874.  The  first  church  services  were 
held  in  Masonic  Hall,  Sunday,  Oct.  11, 1874.  During 
a  few  months  of  its  existence  the  church  was  without 
a  regular  pastor,  when,  on  March  23,  1875,  the  Rev. 
S.  Lee  Hillyer  accepted  a  call,  and  June  3,  1875,  he 
was  installed.  A  site  was  selected  and  the  plan  of  a 
church  adopted.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  Sept.  9, 
1875.  The  building  is  of  brick,  standing  on  high 
ground  on  the  corner  of  Barron  and  Grove,  one  of 
the  beautiful  avenues  of  Woodbridge.  It  will  ac- 
commodate nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The 
Rev.  Albert  H.  Shaw  became  pastor  in  the  fall  of 
1877,  and  remained  until  the  spring  of  1880,  when 
the  present  pastor,  Rev.  Charles  Noble,  came.  Mem- 
bership, 115.  The  following  official  members:  Dea- 
cons, 1873-82,  James  P.  Edgar,  Lewis  D.  Kelly, 
Daniel  Voorhees;  1882,  Edward  J.  Thompson. 

St.  James  the  Minor  Roman  Catholic  Chvirch.— 
For  many  years  services  were  held  in  a  hall  supplied 
by  the  parish  priest  from  Perth  Amboy  and  New 
Brunswick.  Father  Quinn  was  the  builder  and  main 
mover  in  the  enterprise  in  1867.  The  parish  is  well 
supported  by  a  large  number  of  communicants,  who 
are  engaged  in  the  clay-works.  Father  Connerly  and 
many  others  have  been  appointed  here.  Rev.  Father 
Bettoni,  from  Hoboken,  is  the  present  pastor.  There 
are  about  seven  hundred  adults  and  children  con- 
nected with  the  church. 


CHAPTER    LXXXI. 

WOODBRIDIjE.— (Co,i(;/iwt(/.) 

Quakers, — It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Friends 
were  much  more  numerous  in  this  part  of  the  State, 
and  especially  in  this  township,  than  they  are  now. 

"The  first  meeting  in  this  section  of  which  we 
have  any  account  was  held  Aug.  3,  1686."  The  old 
book  in  which  this  record  is  made  is  a  curiosity.  It 
is  bound  like  the  Woodbridge  town  book,  in  thick 
sheepskin,  and  is  written  in  the  quaint  chirography 
of  the  time.  The  orthography  is  also  unmistakably 
ancient,  but  remarkably  legible.  "With  this  old 
book  in  our  hands  we  seem  to  be  en  rajjpnrt  with  the 
men  and  events  of  auld  lang  syne." 

The  first  entry,  "  Friends  at  Amboy  agreed  to  have 
a  monthly  meeting  there  and  that  upon  the  second 
4th  day  of  each  month,  and  the  first  to  begin  the 
second  4th  day  of  the  9th  month,  1686." 


WOODBKIDGE. 


575 


The  Monthly  Meetings  continued  at  Araboy  for 
three  years,  when  they  were  changed  to  Woodbridge, 
the  17th  day  of  August,  1689,  and  it  was  voted  that 
the  meetings  should  be  on  the  third  5th  day  in  every 
month  at  Benjamin  Griffith's  in  Woodbridge,  and  that 
friends  in  the  ministry  coming  to  visit  us  should  be 
taken  care  of.  The  meeting-house  was  completed  Sept. 
19,  1713,  when  their  first  session  was  held. 

Two  letters,  signed  "G.  F."  (supposed  to  have  been 
"Grace  Fitz  Randolph,"  wife  of  Nathaniel),  which 
are  full  of  good  counsel,  were  read  in  the  meeting 
Dec.  15,  1704,  at  meeting-house,  Woodbridge: 

"  Dear  Friends,— Be  faithful  in  ye  service  of  God  and  mind  ye  Lord's 
bnisness,  be  diligent  and  bring  ye  power  of  ye  Lord  over  all  those  that 
have  gitinsaid  it;  and  all  you  that  be  faithful  go  to  visit  them  all  that 
have  been  convinced  from  house  to  house,  that  if  possible  you  may  not 
leave  a  hoofe  in  Egypt,  and  so  every  one  go  seek  ye  lost  sheep  and  bring 
him  home  on  your  back  to  ye  Fold,  and  there  will  Vie  more  joy  of  that 
one  sheep  than  of  the  Ninety-nine  in  the  Fold." 

From  the  second  letter  the  following  extract  is 
made  : 

"And  Fi'iends  all  take  heed  of  sleeping,  sotishness,  and  dulness  in 
Meetings  for  it  is  an  illsavory  thing  to  see  one  sit  nodding  in  a  meeting, 
&  so  to  loose  ye  sense  of  ye  Lord  &  shamefac'dness;  and  it  grieveth  ye 
upwright  and  watchful,  that  wait  upon  ye  Lord,  to  se  such  things  and 
for  ye  Priest's  people  and  others  that  come  into  your  Meetings,  to  se  you 
that  come  together  to  worship  God  and  wait  upon  him  to  have  fellow- 
ship in  His  Spirit,  for  you  to  sit  uodding  is  a  shanie  &  unseemly  thing." 

An  act  having  been  passed  by  the  Legislature  '"  for 
the  Ease  and  Benefit  of  the  People  call'd  Quakers," 
the  April  meeting  (21st),  1705,  made  out  a  certificate, 
to  be  used  in  case  of  neces.sity,  which,  under  the  pro- 
visions of  the  law,  secured  to  the  holder  thereof  ex- 
emption from  military  duty. 

About  this  time  there  is  spoken  of  building  "ye 
meeting  house  and  burial  place." 

The  following  extract  will  give  the  reader  an  idea 
of  the  strictness  which  was  enjoined  upon  Friends  in 
"ye  olden  time."  They  are  not  considered  good 
Quakers 

'•  If  any  men  or  womau  friends  young  or  old  keep  not  themselves  and 
children  to  plainness  of  apparrel  as  becomes  our  antient  Chiistiau  pro- 
fession. If  any  men  weare  long  lapped  sleeves,  coats  folded  on  the  sides, 
superfluous  Buttous,  broad  Ribbands  about  their  Hats  or  Gaudy  flower'd 
or  striped  stuffs,  or  any  sort  of  Perriwigs  unless  necessitated,  &  if  any 
are  necessitated  then  that  it  be  as  near  ye  colour  as  niay  be  to  their  own, 
&  in  respects  resembling  as  much  as  may  be  a  sufficient  natural  head  of 
hair  without  the  vain  custom  of  being  long  behind  or  mounting  on  the 
forehead.  Also  if  any  woman  yt  profess  the  truth  wear  or  suffer  their  I 
children  to  wear  their  Gowns  not  plain  or  open  at  the  breast  with  gawdy  I 
stomaclieni,  needless  rolls  at  the  sleeves,  or  line  their  mantnes  or  Bon- 
nets with  Gawdy  colours,  or  cut  tlieir  hair  &  leave  it  out  on  ye  brow  or 
dress  their  heads  high,  or  to  wear  Hoods  with  long  laps,  or  Pinners 
plaited  or  gathered  on  ye  brow  or  double  hem'd  or  pinched,  or  wear  long 
scarfs  open  before,  or  have  their  Gowns  pinn'd  upon  heaps  or  plaits  like 
the  vain  fashions  of  the  worhl,  or  if  any  are  found  to  wear  or  follow  any 
other  vaiu  and  needless  fashion  iV  diesses  for  as  it  hurts  their  growth  so 
it  also  burthens  the  life  in  such  as  are  careful  *  faithful  it  being  not 
agreeable  to  that  shamefacedne&s.  plainness,  and  Modesty  which  people 
professing  godliness  with  good  works  ought  to  be  found  in  as  the  Holy 
Scriptures  testify.  That,  therefore,  friends  be  careful  as  much  as  miiy  ! 
be  not  to  buy  or  sell  any  striped  or  flowered  stuffs,  and  that  all  Taylors  ' 
concern'd  be  advised  not  to  make  any  gaudy  or  superfluous  aparrel." 

"  If  there  be  any  superflous  furniture  in  houses  us  double  curtains  and 
Valiants  great  Fringes,  &c.,  that  they  be  laid  aside." 

"  If  any  accustom  themselves  or  children  to  call  the  week,  dayes,  and 


mouths  the  names  given  them  by  the  Ir  tatheu  in  honor  of  their  Gods  it 
being  contrary  to  scripture  and  our  antient  testimony." 

*'  If  any  accustom  themselves  or  children  to  speak  the  corrupt  and 
unscriptural  Language  of  you  to  a  single  person." 

On  the  21st  of  January,  1706,  Nathaniel  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph informed  the  Friends  that  a  plot  of  land  of 
half  an  acre  could  be  obtained  for  six  pounds  from 
John  Allen.     The  deed  for  the  land  for  the  meeting- 
!  house  and  burial-ground  is  recorded  in  full,  and  the 
I  bounds  are  thus  given  : 

I  "  On  the  north  by  a  highway,  on  ye  west  by  laud 
now  in  the  possession  of  Benjamin  Dunham,  on  ye 
south  and  east  by  land  of  the  said  John  Allen,"  and 
is  dated  "  the  fourteenth  day  of  the  second  month," 
1707. 

In  1709  the  new  building  was  commenced,  twenty 
feet  by  thirty  feet,  and  twelve  feet  high  between  "  ye 
cell  and  plate,"  and  not  until  the  16th  of  February, 
171.3,  was  the  meeting-house  completed  that  they 
were  able  to  hold  their  first  meeting. 

"  John  Allen  was  requested  to  keep  an  eye  on  the 
burying-ground,  to  take  care  that  no  creature  be 
turned  in  there." 

"  On  the  20th  November,  1714,  after  two  months' 
consideration,  it  was  ordered  that  a  stable  should  be 
built  to  accommodate  those  coining  to  meeting  with 
horses,  to  be  twenty-five  feet  in  length,  sixteen  feet 
in  breadth,  and  six  feet  between  sill  and  plate.  It 
was  to  have  a  shingled  roof,  the  sides  and  ends  to  be 
covered  with  boards.  An  agreement  was  accordingly 
made  with  John  Vail  to  put  up  the  building." 

On  Aug.  16, 1718,  Henry  Brotherton  became  janitor 
of  the  meeting-liouse. 

"  In  September,  1719,  John  Vail  was  ordered  to 
take  down  the  glass  (windows)  in  the  meeting-house 
and  alter  it,  and  put  up  the  shutters  on  ye  fore  side." 
The  Woodbridge  Quakers  had  a  very  small  circu- 
lating library,  the  Friends  borrowing  the  volumes  of 
the  Monthly  Meeting.  The  most  popular  book,  if  we 
may  judge  by  the  number  of  times  it  was  called  for, 
was  entitled  "  New  England  Judged."  Besides  this 
there  were  "  George  Fox's  Journal,"  "  Robert  Barck- 
lay's  Apology,"  "  The  History  of  the  Christian  Peo- 
ple called  Quakers,"  "  Forced  Maintenance,"  by 
Thomas  Chalkley,  and  other  works. 

A  Weekly  Meeting  was  begun  Oct.  16, 1725,  at  John 
Laing's,  to  accommodate  the  Friends  who  dwelt  about 
him  that  were  unable  to  attend  the  services  in  the 
meeting-house  on  account  of  the  distance.  John 
Laing  lived  at  or  near  Plainfield,  and  it  was  cer- 
tainly a  long  distance  for  him  to  ride  every  "  First 
day." 

At  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  in  Woodbridge  on 
the  18th  of  February,  1751,  we  find  it  stated  that 
some  Friends  "having  been  concerned  in  setting  up 
gravestones  in  our  burying-ground,  John  Vail  and 
Joseph  Shotwell  are  desired  to  treat  with  them  and 
to  desire  them  to  have  them  removed."  On  the  21st 
of  April  a  report  was  rendered  that  some  had  taken 


576 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  stones  down  but  had  laid  them  on  the  graves. 
Others  had  not  done  even  tliat,  the  stones  remaining 
in  their  original  positions.  On  the  18th  of  the  next 
month,  however,  it  was  reported  that  all  the  stones 
were  taken  down. 

In  1751,  in  May,  their  first  Quarterly  Meeting  was 
held  in  Woodbridge  village  at  the  "  meeting-house." 
Heretofore  this  important  body  had  met  in  Shrews- 
bury. .John  Shotwell  and  Edward  Fitz  Kandolph 
were  the  representatives  from  Woodbridge  Monthly 
Meeting.^ 

Robert  Willis  was  one  of  the  most  active  ministers 
of  the  sect  in  this  part  of  the  country.  He  often 
made  journeys  to  other  places,  to  the  edification  of 
those  among  whom  he  sojourned.  On  the  17th  of 
April,  1760,  he  iuforms  the  Woodbridge  Friends 
that  "  he  has  been  under  an  Ingagement  of  minde 
for  sum  time  to  Vissit  the  meetings  of  friends  in  the 
Southern  Provinces."  His  proposed  trip  was  ap- 
proved, and  a  commendatory  certificate  was  given  to 
him.  Sarah  Shotwell  was  also  known  as  a  speaker 
and  a  pattern  of  humility  and  fiiithfulness.  After 
her  death  a  memorial  was  written  by  a  committee, 
John  Webster  and  Abner  Hampton,  which  was 
adopted  in  the  June  Monthly  Meeting. 

The  senior  John  Vail  (there  were  three  Johns)  had 
some  eminence  several  years  before  as  an  instructive 
teacher  of  the  truth.  Likewise  was  William  Morris 
at  one  time  an  honored  and  useful  minister,  who 
"  went  about  doing  good." 

That  the  society  began  to  wane  in  Woodbridge  and 
grow  in  other  towns  is  made  a  matter  that  the  Friends 
in  Rahway  and  Plainfield  in  1766  take  cognizance  of: 
"  As  Friends  Feel  a  spring  of  Love  in  themselves, 
they  chearfuUy  Give  up  to  Go  and  partake  with  their 
Brethren  at  Woodbridge;"  and  on  the  19th  of  April, 
1769,  the  Monthly  Meeting  held  its  last  session  in 
Woodbridge. 

The  "  sclackness  and  Indifi'erency"  of  the  Wood- 
bridge  members  were  freely  discussed  in  the  Novem- 
ber meetings  at  Rahway. 

During  the  Revolutionary  war,  1776,  the  meeting- 
house was  occupied  by  soldiers.  Joseph  Shotwell, 
Benjamin  Shotwell,  Abraham  Shotwell,  John  Hay- 
dock,  John  and  Hugh  Webster  are  appointed  to  in- 
quire in  what  manner  they  have  taken  possession 
thereof,  and  whether  they  obstruct  Friends  from 
meeting  quietly  therein.  "  And  they  report  they 
took  possession  of  it  without  leave  from  any  Friends ; 
they  at  times  continue  there  yet,  but  don't  much  in- 
terrupt Friends  in  time  of  Meetings."  (And  at  this 
time  they  must  have  held  their  meetings,  yet  the 
record  goes  on  to  say  that  in  1769  they  held  their 
last  meetings.)  The  following  are  a  i'ew  of  the 
names  of  the  Quakers  who  resided  in  Woodbridge 
and  vicinity  :  William  Bloodgood,  1700 ;  Charles 
Brook,  1788;  John  Atkinson,  1727;  Samuel  Ailing, 

1  Rev.  Mr.  Dully's  Hist. 


1728;  Thomas  Burling,  1770;  Henry  Brotherton, 
1710;  Cowperthwait  Copeland,  1750 ;  Nathaniel  Fitz 
Randolph,  1712;  Samuel  and  Joseph  Fitz  Randolph, 
1720 ;  John  Griffith,  1709 ;  Thomas  Gach,  1721  ; 
Jonathan  Harned,  Joseph  Hampton,  Solomon  Hunt, 
1729;  Mootry  Kinsey,  1764;  John  Laing,  1741; 
Joseph  Marsh,  1750  ;  George,  Samuel,  David,  Ben- 
jamin, Hugh,  and  George  Pound,  Jr. ;  William, 
Isaac,  Titus,  John,  Jacob,  Joseph,  Abraham,  Samuel, 
Daniel,  and  Joseph  D.  Shotwell ;  Shobel  Smith ; 
Samuel,  Isaac,  Benjamin,  Abraham,  Webster,  Jacob, 
and  William  Thorn;  John,  Stephen,  Isaac,  Ephraim, 
Clarkson,  David,  and  Edward  Vail ;  Morris,  Smith, 
Isaac,  and  William  Webster;  Jeremiah  and  James 
Wilson.  The  old  meeting-house  has  long  since  been 
demolished,  and  in  or  abc  ut  the  year  1784  the  lots, 
including  the  Friends'  burying-ground,  came  in  pos- 
session of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Burial-Grounds. — No  doubt  in  the  early  history  of 
this  townslii[)  there  were  many  private  or  farm  burial- 
plots,  but  they  have  been  so  sadly  neglected  (real 
estate  frequently  changing  ownership,  and  many  of 
these  places  being  plowed  over)  that  at  the  present 
day  there  is  no  trace  or  remembrance  of  scarcely  any 
of  them. 

Presbyterian  Bueial-Geound. — It  is  said  to 
be  one  of  the  oldest  burying-grounds  in  this  State, 
and  contains  not  only  the  remains  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers but  many  of  those  who  were  noted  worthies  in 
the  Revolutionary  war. 

The  following  record :  "  Samuel  Hale  and  Adam 
Hude  were  appointed  on  the  29th  of  September,  1703, 
to  Repair  the  meeting-house  and  Hang  the  Gates  of 
the  Burying-Place,"  and  in  1705  a  sum  of  money  was 
levied  for  repairing  the  graveyard  fence.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  many  were  buried  here  long  before  the 
church  was  built  in  1675.  Here  are  the  graves  of 
such  ancient  worthies  as  the  warlike  Capt.  Matthew 
Moore,  who  died,  aged  sixty-six,  Feb.  24,  1732.  The 
family  of  Pikes  are  here  sleeping  their  last  sleep. 
Capt.  John  Pike  has  no  stone  to  mark  his  grave,  but 
his  son,  Judge  John  Pike,  died  August,  1714,  aged 
seventy-five  years.  Edward  Crowell,  born  1680,  aged 
and  living  seventy-six  years.  He  was  twenty-five 
years  the  Woodbridge  town  clerk.  Joseph  Gilnuins, 
born  1678,  died  1733 ;  Maj.  Richard  Cutter,  born 
1682,  died  1756 ;  Jonathan  Inslee,  who  was  born  in 
1686,  and  was  buried  in  December,  1744.  Here  lie 
James,  Benjamin,  and  Ichabod  Smitli,  born  in  the 
previous  century,  and  resting  near  each  other.  Sarah, 
the  wife  of  Samuel  Parker,  and  daughter  of  William 
Ford,  lies  buried  here,  her  death  being  recorded  as 
having  occurred  in  October,  1768.  Capt.  Daniel 
Britton,  a  prominent  man  in  the  township  in  his  day, 
died  in  1733,  and  his  children  lie  asleep  around  him. 
At  the  rear  of  the  church,  almost  within  its  afternoon 
shadow,  is  placed  to  rest  the  great  Woodbridge  judge, 
Adam  Hude,  in  his  eighty-fifth  year.  He  died  on 
the  27th  of  June,  1746.     Near  him  reposes  his  worthy 


WOODBRIDGB. 


577 


companion,  over  whose  grave  are  written  these  words:  | 
"Here  L}'es  ye  Body  of  Mrs.  Marion  Hiide,  wife  of 
Adam  Hude,  Esq.,  For  ye  space  of  46  years  dearly 
beloved  in  Life  and  lamented  in  death.  She  lived  a 
Patern  of  Piety,  Patience,  meekness,  and  affability, 
and  after  she  had  served  her  generation  in  ye  love 
and  fear  of  God,  in  ye  71st  year  of  her  Age,  fell 
asleep  in  Jesus  Nov.  ye  30,  1732."  Also  Henry 
Freeman,  born  in  1670,  and  dying  in  his  ninety-fourth 
year.  All  around  us  as  we  stand  on  the  conse- 
crated ground  are  the  unpretending  memorials  of 
Revolutionary  men  and  women.  Here  is  the  sepul- 
chre of  Gen.  Nathaniel  Heard,  who  died  aged  sixty- 
two,  Oct.  28,  1792;  Capt.  Nathaniel  Fitz  Randolph, 
the  brave  and  dashing  chieftain  ;  Capt.  David  Edgar, 
the  spirited  cavalryman ;  Lieut.  James  Paton,  the 
courageous  Scotch  patriot;  Maj.  Reuben  Potter,  the 
faithful  friend  of  liberty ;  and  a  host  of  others  here 
take  their  "  rest  profound."  Col.  Samuel  Crow,  Col. 
Benjamin  Brown,  Capt.  Ellis  Barron,  Capt.  Abraham 
Tappen,  Gen.  Clarkson  Edgar,  and  Capt.  Matthias 
Sayers,  of  Revolutionary  fame,  are  surrounded  by 
many  of  the  "  rank  and  file,"  and  they  wait  in  the 
quiet  graveyard  for  the  grand  reveille,  when  the  army 
of  the  Lord  shall  shine  in  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and 
the  dead  in  Christ  shall  awake  to  swell  its  numbers 
and  shake  the  gates  of  Death  with  their  martial  tread. 

How  suggestive  of  other  days  is  the  mere  mention 
of  the  names  of  those  who  have  "gone  down  the 
valley."  Judge  Jeremiah  Manning,  Dr.  John  G. 
Wall,  Justice  Henry  Freeman,  Timothy  Brewster, 
William  Jones,  Robert  Coddington,  Samuel  Jaques, 
Robert  Lacky,  Thomas  Haddon,  William  Brown, 
John  Alston,  David  Harriot,  all  of  these  and  many 
more  are  gathered  within  the  hallowed  precincts  of 
this  cemetery.  Mr.  Dally  says  in  his  history  it  is 
probable  that  there  are  two  thousand  graves,  and  in 
Dr.  H.  R.  Stiles'  volume  of  inscriptions  there  are 
nearly  twelve  hundred,  and  doubtless  as  many  more 
are  without  stones. 

Episcopal  Burying-Ground. — In  this  burial- 
place,  which  dates  back  to  about  the  year  1714, 
are  a  number  of  graves  without  headstones,  and 
probably  some  of  them  may  have  been  the  graves  of 
the  Rolphs,  Jennings,  Olden,  Glover,  Bishops,  Hull, 
Hodgson,  Mollesons,  Higgins,  Wetherel,  Walker,  Bur- 
row, Wright,  and  many  others,  and  as  they  were  the 
first  who  espoused  the  cause  and  were  the  helpers  in 
building  Trinity  Church,  Woodbridge,  it  may  pos- 
sibly be  that  they  are  buried  here.  A  few  of  the 
earliest  dates  are : 

John  Alston  (son  of  David  and  Mary),  died  April 
1,  1772,  aged  twenty-nine  years. 

Joseph  Barron,  born  Oct.  13,  1796  ;  died  July  17, 
1838. 

Mary  Bunn,  died  Dec.  30,  1750,  aged  thirty-seven 
years. 

Benjamin  Dunham,  died  Dec.  31,  1715,  in  his 
thirty-fifth  year. 


Capt.  Samuel  Henshaw's  wife,  Catherine,  died  Oct. 
17,  1768,  in  her  twenty-fifth  year. 

Samuel  Jaques,  died  May  1, 1780,  aged  seventy-two 
years. 

Nathaniel  Pike,  died  Sept.  29,  1766,  in  his  forty- 
second  year. 

Quaker  Burial-Ground  (now  Methodist  burial- 
ground). — The  deed  for  the  land  for  the  meeting-house 
and  burying-ground  is  recorded  in  full,  and  the  bounds 
are  thus  given :  "  On  the  North  by  a  highway  on  y'  West 
by  land  now  in  the  possession  of  Benjamin  Dunham 
&  on  y"  South  and  East  by  Land  of  the  said  John 
Allen.  Deed  dated  14th  day,  2d  luonth,  1707,  Agreed 
that  Lands  design'd  for  Burying-Place  be  fenced 
with  Posts  &  Rails,  &  John  Loufborrow  &  Joseph 
Fitz  Randolph  were  desired  to  endeavour  to  git  some- 
body to  do  it.  Sept.  20,  1729,  this  recommends  the 
oversight  of  the  burying-ground  to  Daniel  Shotwell, 
and  Desires  that  friends  or  such  others  as  may  have 
leave  to  bury  there  be  careful  in  the  future  to  Dig  and 
Leigh  the  Corps  as  near  to  each  other  as  may  be  with 
conveuiency."  In  1751  complaint  is  made  that  "  Some 
friends  have  sett  up  Grave  Stones,  and  John  Vail 
and  Joseph  Shotwell  are  to  treat  with  them  for  their 
removal."  The  burial-ground  in  1784,  with  their 
meeting-house,  was  sold  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.'  In  this  old  Quaker  burying-ground  are 
sleeping  their  last  sleep  the  first  of  this  sect  in 
East  New  Jersey.  It  is  now  part  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  property,  and  used  for  cemetery. 

Towns  and  Hamlets.— A  portion  of  the  city  of 
Rahway  is  situated  in  what  was  formerly  the  northerly 
part  of  this  township.  The  hamlets  of  Uniontown, 
Ford's  Corners,  Houghtonville,  East  Woodbridge,  and 
Edgar,  with  their  pretty  and  substantial  homes  and 
school-houses,  bear  the  impress  of  that  contentment 
which  is  nowhere  so  generally  prevalent  as  in  the 
agricultural  and  rural  districts.  The  city  of  Perth 
Amboy  lies  in  the  southeast  corner  of  the  township, 
and  Staten  Island  just  over  the  Sound  on  the  east. 

The  Town  of  Woodbridge. — This  ancient  town 
has  within  a  few  years  largely  increased  in  popula- 
tion and  general  importance.  It  contains  many  of 
the  principal  summer  residences  of  New  York  fami- 
lies, and  has  a  population  of  nearly  twenty-five  hun- 
dred. There  are  five  churches,— Episcopal,  Presby- 
terian, Methodist  Episcopal,  Congregational,  and 
Catholic,  which  is  more  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
the  miners  and  laborers  employed  in  the  extensive 
clay  pits  and  potteries  in  the  township.  There  are 
eight  public  schools,  with  an  annual  State  appropri- 
ation of  over  five  thousand  dollars,  which  with  the 
revenue  from  taxation,  etc.,  gives  a  total  of  near  six 
hundred  dollars  for  each  district  per  annum.  There 
are  nearly  four  hundred  buildings  in  the  town,  a 
number  of  stores,  including  the  post-office.  The 
Amboy  and   Woodbridge  Railroad  station  is  nearly 

1  See  Quakers  of  Woodbridge. 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  the  centre  of  the  town.  The  Dime  Saviiigs- 
Bank  is  opposite  the  Methodist  Church.  There 
are  brick  and  clay  yards  situated  on  Berry  Street. 
The  town  has  a  neat  appearance,  with  many  wide 
avenues  and  streets.  This  town  is  a  desirable  loca- 
tion for  home  residences. 

Leesville,  or  Leestown,  now  within  a  short  time 
called  Leestown,  is  a  hamlet  near  the  city  of  Rahway, 
settled  at  a  very  early  date  by  a  family  of  Lees.  It 
contains  many  of  the  early  homesteads  as  they  were 
built  a  century  ago,  and  many  of  them  still  in  pos- 
session of  these  same  families. 

Printing-Press  in  Woodbridge.— The  following 
is  an  interesting  account  of  James  Parker,  the  first 
printer  of  Woodbridge,  who  was  born  here  in  1714. 
His  father,  Samuel  Parker,  born  June  1, 1674,  was  the 
son  of  Elisha  Parker,  who  removed  to  Woodbridge 
from  Staten  Island  about  the  year  1G75.  James  Par- 
ker was  apprenticed  to  William  Bradford,  the  first 
printer  in  New  York,  in  1725.  In  1751,  Mr.  Parker 
established  his  press  in  this  town, — the  first  in  this 
State.  It  is  supposed  that  the  ofiice  was  located  on 
the  lot  north  of  Dr.  Samuel  P.  Harned's  residence. 
In  cultivating  land  near  this  spot  there  has  been 
found  metal  types  at  different  times.  There  was 
printed  upon  this  Woodbridge  press  the  legislative 
proceedings  and  many  public  documents.  In  1753  he 
published  the  New  American  Magazine,  and  this  was 
the  first  periodical  published  in  the  State.  Each 
number  contained  forty  ])ages  octavo,  and  was  filled 
with  a  variety  of  entertaining  and  instructive  matter. 
It  was  issued  monthly  until  March,  1760,  edited  by 
Samuel  Nevill,  of  Perth  Amboy,  who  wrote  under  the 
nom  de  plume  of  "Sylvanus  Americanus." 

In  1761  the  elder  Parker  printed  on  his  Woodbridge 
press  the  second  volume  of  *'  Nevill's  Laws  of  New 
Jersey,"  and  in  1764  he  printed  a  *'  Conductor  Gen- 
eralis,"  intended  as  a  guide  to  justices  of  the  peace. 
"  He  was  a  correct  and  neat  printer,  understanding 
his  business  perfectly." 

The  Woodbridge  printing-office  was  burned  to  the 
ground  by  a  band  of  Tories  during  the  Revolution.^ 

HISTOKIC   INCIDENTS. 

irdinance  was  aflopted  against  tlie  running  at  large, 


!  than  a  year  old. 

jcted  by  Jonathan  Bishop  c 


In  April,  1697, 
unless  sufficiently  fettered,  of  all  fages 

Question.  What  wete,  fages? 

The  firet  saw-mill  in  the  town^jhip  \vi 
Kahawack  River  in  1682. 

The  first  school  that  is  epoken  of  was  in  16S9,  when  Jame^  Fullerton 
was  "  to  be  entertained  as  Bchoolnia8ter."2 

In  1671  some  apprehensions  were  entertained  respecting  the  Indians, 
and  a  rate  was  levied  to  provide  for  an  expedition  against  them,  ten 
pounds  of  powder  and  twenty  pounds  of  lead  being  the  total  quantity  of 
war  material  required,  but  there  is  no  account  given  of  the  prosecution 
of  the  en'erprise,  or  of  any  actual  danger  incurred. 

In  September.  1675,  in  accordance  with  an  order  of  the  Governor  and 
Council,  it  was  resolved  to  fortify  the  prison  forthwith  by  stockades  of  a 
half  or  whole  tree,  of  "  nine  feet  lung  at  least,"  in  the  expectation  of  an 
attack  from  the  natives,  with  the  view  of  providing  a  place  of  safety  for 
the  wunien  and  children,  but  it  was  never  occupied. 

In  Apiil,  1690,  a  ranger  of  the  woods  was  appointed  to  join  simitar  per- 


sons from  other  neighboring  towns,  "  in  order,"  using  the  words  of  the 
record,  "to  prevent  a  danger"  (before  it  comes  to  our  homes)  "threatened 
by  the  French  and  Indians."  He  was  to  be  paid  twenty  shillings  per 
week,  and  Mr.  Lyon  was  subsequently  paid  £1  os.  "for  his  charges 
with  the  Indians."  Tliis  year  the  duty  could  not  have  been  long  per- 
formed. 

These  are  the  only  occurrences  on  record  intimating  the  existence  of 
any  apprehended  difficulty  with  the  natives.''^ 

The  proprietaries  iu  their  concessions  having  directed  that  in  "  laying 
out  lands  for  cities,  towns,  villages,  or  other  hamlets  the  said  lands 
should  he  divided  into  seven  parts,  one-seventh  part  whereof  to  be  by  lot 
laid  out,"  for  then  it  was  provided,  on  granting  the  charter  to  Wood- 
bridge,  June  10,  1669,  "That  Ambo  Point  be  reserved  towards  the  thon- 
sand  acres  of  upland  and  meadow  that  is  reserved  to  be  disposed  of  by 
the  Lord  Proprietors  in  lien  of  the  seventh  part  mentioned  in  the  con- 
cessions," and  that  "  the  nine  hundred  acres  of  upland  are  to  be  in  and 
about  Ambo  Point,  as  it  is  now  surveyed  by  the  surveyor-general,  and 
the  hundred  acres  of  meadow  is  to  be  laid  out  by  the  said  surveyor  in  the 
most  convenient  phice  nearest  adjacent  to  the  saiil  Ambo  Point."  This 
reservation  of"  Ambo  Point"  at  this  early  period  for  the  immediate  ad- 
vantage of  the  Lord  Proprietors  is  no  slight  proof  of  the  sound  discrimi- 
nation and  judgment  of  the  Governor  of  State,  Carteret. 

Elisha  Parker,  son  of  Elisha  Parker,  purchased  from  his  father,  Sept. 
7,  1680,  seven  acres  in  Woodbridge,  part  of  his  "home  lot,  lying  on  the 
west  side  of  the  highway  that  goeth  from  the  prison  to  the  meeting- 
house." 

From  a  newspaper  printed  in  New  York  (Jtferciir?/,  1760),  "It  says 
that  Governor  Thomas  Boone,  who  was  appointed  to  succeed  Governor 
Bernard,  reached  Amboy  by  land  from  New  York  on  Thursday,  July  3, 
1760."  He  had  been  detained  some  time  in  the  latter  city.  "The  Gov- 
ernor wa8  escorteil  on  his  way  through  the  County  of  Essex  by  a  troop 
of  horse  commanded  by  Capt.  Terrill,  of  Elizabethtown,  and  through  the 
County  of  Middlesex  by  a  troop  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Parker,  of 
Woodbridge.  On  his  approach  to  Amboy  he  was  met  by  the  mayor  and 
officers  of  the  corporation,  and  conducted  by  them  into  the  city. 

In  the  year  1732,  William  Eier  "bein  dead,"  this  geutleman's  houses 
and  lands,  near  the  middle  of  the  town  of  Woodbridge,  were  advertised 
for  sale. 

On  the  2d  of  April,  1776,  Capt.  Bloomfield's  company  of  the  Third  Regi- 
ment of  Jersey  troops  arrived,  crossing  the  Raritan  from  South  Amboy 
in  the  afternoon;  but  the  barracks  being  already  occupied  by  Col. 
Heard's  militia,  they  were  oblged  to  proceed  to  Woodbridge  and 
thence  the  next  day  to  Elizabethtown.  On  the  lOth  the  company  re- 
turned, and  from  that  time  to  the  28th,  when  they  again  marched  to 
Elizabethtown,  they  were  engaged  in  throwing  up  intrenchmenis  under 
the  direction  of  Maj.  F.  Barbour,  of  the  First  Battalion. 

The  Virginin  Gazette  of  Aug.  10,  1776,  contains  the  following  extract 
from  a  letter  written  by  an  officer  in  the  Second  Battalion  of  Philadel- 
phia, dated  Amboy,  Jnly  22d  : 

"We  arrived  here  on  Saturday  morning  from  Woodbridge  with  our 
battalion,  except  Captain  Wilcox's  company,  who  are  stationed  at  Smith 


ow  in  foil  view  of  the  enemy,  only 
iu  high  spirits  and  longing  for  an 

came  in  and  marched  along  the 
!,  and  I  think  alarmed  the  enemy 
I  number  of  officers  observing  with 
up  in  line  appeared  greatly  sur- 
is  supposed  the 


farm  on  Woodbrick  Neck.  We  art 
separted  by  the  Sound  ;  our  men  a 
opportunity  to  have  a  skirmish. 

"Yesterday  Col.  Atlee's  battali( 
beach  ;  they  made  a  good  appearai 
not  a  little.    We  could  distinctly  se 
spy-glasses,  and   their   men   drawn    up   in   lint 
prised."     W^e  Imve  in  all  about  fifteen  hundred  i 
enemy  have  about  one  thousand  men  opposite  us." 

"The  New  American  Magazine"  was  the  first  periodical  of  any  kind 
printed  iu  New  Jersey,  aud  only  the  second  monthly  magazine  on  the 
continent.  Each  number  contained  about  forty  pages  octavo.  Jan- 
uary, 1758,  James  Parker,  editor,  a  monthly  periodical,  published  at 
Wuodbri'lge,  called  the  "New  American  Magazine."  A  history  of 
America  aud  a  traveler's  diary  were  published  in  connection  with  each 
number,  paged  separately,  in  order  to  form  distinct  volumes  at  the  end  of 
each  year.  The  appellation  "New"  was  to  distinguish  it  from  its  only 
pretlecessor  at  Philadelphia,  which,  however,  it  superseded,  the  pub- 
lication being  immediately  relinquished  on  the  appearance  of  this  new 
competitor. 

And  to  Mr.  Parker  the  credit  of  establishing  the  press  in  New  Jersey 
at  Woodbridge,  and  from  time  to  time  printed  the  proceedings  of  the 
Legislature  aud  other  official  documents. 

In   January,  175:j.  ho   commenced   a   partnership  with  William  Wey- 


1  So  say  Bobert  Cuddiugton  ami  others. 


t  E.  J.  Hist. 


'  U.-. 


rdbuf  Um 


■ '  yy/^v/Y/. 


WOODBKIDGE. 


579 


man,  which  continued  until  January,  1759,  he  residing  moat  of  the  time 
in  Woodbridge,  attending  to  the  interests  of  the  press  there.  j 

The  ancient  elm  in  Woodhridge,  N.  J.,  fronting  the  Elm-Tree  Tavern,  | 
from  its  decayed  state  has  been  cut  down.  The  trunk  was  hollow,  and 
measured  thirty-two  feet  in  circumference,  capable  of  accommodating 
fifteen  men  standing  upright  within.  One  limb  measured  fifteen  feet  in 
circumference.  About  half  a  barrel  of  honey,  of  exquisite  quality  and 
flavor,  was  found  in  the  tree.     This  was  in  1837.  ■ 

Tlie  first  grist-mill  was  erected  in  1670-71,  by  Jonathan  Dunham,   j 
under   an  agreement  with  the  town,  in  which  he  engaged  to  furnish    ! 
"  two  good  stones  of  at  least  five  feet  over.     He  was  admitted  a  free- 
holder, and  certain  grants  of  land  were  made  to  him  in  consideration  of 
his  erecting  the  mill,  his  toll  to  be  one-sixteenth."    In  1705  another 
mill  was  erected  by  Elisha  Parker;  in  1700,  another  by  John  Pike  and    i 
Kichard  Cutter,  and  in  1710  one  by  Richard  Soper.> 

Previous  to  1707  great  regularity  seems  to  have  lieen  observed  in  re- 
cording the  proceedings  of  the  town,  but  subsequently  they  received  less 
attention,  and  there  are  evident  omissions.    From  1714  to  1718  there   [ 
was  iilso,  judging  from  the  records,  some  irregularity  in  holding  the   j 
usual    meetings   for  the  dispatch  of  busine.«s,  but  thereafter,  although    | 
there  was  less  attention  given  to  minor  mattere  (such  as  were  probably    j 
confided  to   the  discretion  of  committees,  with  powers  rendering   the 
action  of  the  town  upon  them  unnecessary),  the  meetings  were  held   j 
regtilarly.     There  is  only  one  instance  in  the  records  of  any  disorgani-   , 
zation  proceedings  in  the  town,  that  was  in  March,  1764,  when  it  is  said,    [ 
after  the  enumeration  of  sundry  offlcers  elected,  "But  ye  meeting  got 
into   confusion,  and  so   broke  up."=     Until   from  1775  to  178:1,  during 
which  period  they  appear  to  have  ceased,  and  also  from  1784  to  1788. 

It  is  diflicult  at  the  present  day  to  realize  the  fact  that  wolves  should 
have  given  the  inhabitants  so  much  trouble  as  they  seem  to  have  done. 
There  were  town  bounties  established  from  time  to  time,  varying  from  ^ 
ten  to  twenty-five  shillings  for  each  liead,  and  there  are  frequent  entries 
of  the  names  of  claiuiants;  among  them  that  of  John  Ilsley  appears 
most  frequently.  He  is  mentioned  twice  in  1693,  four  times  in  1695, 
twice  in  1696  and  in  1697,  twice  in  1098, and  three  times  subsequently. 

In  February,  1671,  there  were  "two  wolf  Pits"  constructed  by  Eph- 
riam  Andros  and  Thomas  Auger  and  their  respective  companies. 

In  February,  1703,  John  Clake  (or  Cleak  and  perhaps  Clark),  "  for  his 
encouragement  in  fitting  up  a  fulliug-Mill,"  received  a  grant  for  twenty 
acres  on  the  southerly  branch  of  the  Rahawack. 

Under  date  of  July,  1712,  John  Pike  and  John  Bishop.justices,  certify 
that  John  Robison  when  a  child  had  one  of  his  ears  partly  bitten  off 
"  by  a  jade,"  that  they  had  known  him  from  childhood,  and  that  be  had 
never  been  guilty  of  any  crime  to  merit  such  punishment.  Tliey  give 
him  the  certificate, "  to  prevent  any  scandal  that  he  may  be  liable  unto 
by  strangers  in  any  place  where  the  providence  of  God  shall  cast  him." 

As  almost  all  pasturage  was  in  common  in  these  early  periods  of  the 
history  of  the  province,  great  necessity  existed  for  the  due  identification 
of  cattle  by  their  respective  owners,  and  these  marks  were  consequently 
duly  recorded  in  the"  town  book,"  their  number  calling  for  the  exercise 
of  some  ingenuity  in  devising  the  requisite  variety.  Thus  we  have  for 
Elisha  Parker's  mark  "  a  cross  of  the  near  ear  and  a  slit  on  the  under 
side  of  the  same"  ;  for  Kichard  Potter's,  "  three  holes  in  the  left  ear"; 
fur  Obadiah  Ayers', "  two  half  pennies  on  the  under  side  of  the  off  or 
right  ear" ;  and  for  Samuel  Moore's,  "  a  half  penny  on  the  under  side 
of  the  right  or  off  ear,  and  a  slit  across  the  uppersideof  the  near  or  left 

At  the  peiiod  of  the  Revolution  the  position  of  Woodhridge  among 
the  other  towns  of  the  colony  was  far  more  important  than  at  present, 
exceeding  greatly  in  influence  many  which  now  are  far  ahead  in  the 
great  race  of  progress.  The  "  Sons  of  Liberty"  of  Woodhridge  and  Pis- 
catuway  took  the  lead  in  1765-66  in  several  of  the  prominent  measures 
of  the  day,  and  it  was  through  their  interference  mainly  that  William 
Coxe,  of  Philadelphia,  was  led  to  decline  the  office  of  stamp  distributor 
for  New  Jei-sey;  a  deputation  from  them  to  that  gentlemen,  while  in- 
structed to  treat  him  with  great  deference  anil  respect,  bearing  to  him 
a  communication  to  the  effect  that  a  week's  delay  in  resigning  the  office 
would  reuder  a  visit  from  them  in  a  body  necessary,  and  produce  results 
mutually  disagreeable. 

The  town  was  tlien  on  the  great  thoroughfare  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  and  the  road  which  was  traveled  over  by  the  worthies  of 
that  day  retains  for  miles  the  cliaracteristics  it  then  possessed;  so  that 
when  the  octogenarian  points  along  it  and  describes  the  passage  through 
the  place  of  Wasliingtoii  on  his  way  to  New  York  to  be  inaugurated 
Presideat,  or  details  other  events  occurring  on  the  route,  it  is  cou- 


1  Whitehead,  E.  H.,  Perth  Aniboy. 


2  Records. 


paratively  easy  to  conjure  up  the  scenery  and  the  actors.  The  main 
features  of  the  country,  too,  are  unchanged;  the  pleasing  undulations 
of  the  surface,  diversified  with  wood  and  meadow,  exhibiting  the  good 
judgment  of  the  early  settlers  in  selecting  the  site  for  an  agricultural 
community.  "The  forms  which  the  earth  wore  and  the  hues  with 
which  the  air  was  beautified  in  ancient  days  are  still  the  same"  in  gen- 
eral appearance,  however  changed  may  he  the  denizens  of  the  place. 

It  is  manifest,  however,  that  it  is  still  within  the  domain  of  Time  and 
subject  to  the  modifications  which  he  is  forever  working.  Many  objects 
that  were  wont  to  meet  the  eye  of  the  traveler  have  disappeared,  not 
the  least  among  them  being  the  famous  elm-tree,  upon  which  the  author's 
boyish  eyes  were  wont  to  ga/.e  in  admiration,  and  which  was  noted  the 
country  round,  both  for  its  size  and  for  its  pointing  out  the  village  tav- 
ern, and  there  was  no  one  thoughtful  enough  to  perpetuate  its  memory 
either  by  pencil  or  description.  Perhaps  the  woodman,  beneath  whose 
axe  it  fell,  felt  less  its  loss  than  he  who  a  thousand  miles  ofl'  read  its 
obituary  in  a  stray  paragraph  of  a  newspaper.  Another  link  of  the 
chain  connecting  the  present  with  the  past  was  severed.  The  man's 
hold  upon  the  days  of  his  childhood  was  less  secure. 

In  1810  the  population  of  this  township  was  4247 ;  white  males,  1980 ; 
females,  1903  ;  all  other  free  persons,  134 ;  and  slaves,  230. 

Poor  Rates. — No  regular  assessment  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  poor  seems  to  have  been  made  prior  to 
October,  1705,  when  £30  was  to  be  raised  for  that 
purpose.  In  1707  £28,  in  1711  and  1712  £30  each, 
and  in  1714  £15  were  the  amounts  appropriated, 
but  the  last-named  sura  was  not  raised  until  1718. 
Subsequently  a  rate  was  established  almost  yearly, 
varying  from  £30  to  £60,  till  1751,  and  therefore  till 
the  Revolution  from  £70  to  £100,  and  in  some  years 
going  as  high  as  £200,  as  in  1764  and  1765,  and  in 
1775  to  £220,  but  this  was  to  cover  the  expense  also 
of  copying  the  old  town  book,  it  being  "  in  a  Dan- 
gerous Situation"  by  reason  of  its  being  "  Old  and 
Mutch  to  Peases  ;"  but  this  probably  was  never  done 
as  the  old  book  still  exists,  although  the  lapse  of 
time  has  tended  to  increase  the  number  of  its  pieces 
materially.  After  the  Revolution  the  appropriation 
was  £100  to  £800,  but  towards  the  close  of  the 
century  £400  were  raised  for  their  benefit.  It  was  a 
custom  for  a  time  for  the  poor  to  be  supported  in 
private  families,  and  in  1770  the  announcement  is 
made  that  "  the  poor  are  to  be  sold  at  public 
vendue."  And  during  these  years  the  poor  who  were 
put  to  the  lowest  bidders  agreed  to  their  mainte- 
nance, being  at  all  expense  for  clothing,  medical  at- 
tendance, funeral  charges  in  case  of  death,  etc., 
bonds  being  given  to  indemnify  the  township  and  to 
deliver  up  the  paupers  at  the  close  of  the  year  well 
clad.'' 

Copper-Mines. — It  appears  that  at  an  early  date 
"  mining  operations  were  carried"  on  in  different 
parts  of  this  township.  Many  places  can  be  pointed 
out  where  deep  declivities  have  been  made  and 
abandoned.  How  much  and  what  was  obtained  re- 
mains a  blank  to  the  present  time.  Before  the  war 
of  1812  a  mine  was  worked  near  what  is  now  known 
as  Menlo  Park,  and  again  it  was  worked  in  1827,  and 
now  at  the  present  time  Mr.  Edison  and  others  are 
at  work  in  exploring  this  copper-mine,  and  it  is  said 
may  be  successfully  worked.  It  is  just  on  the  line 
between  the  townships  of  Raritan  and  Woodhridge. 

3  East  Jersey  History. 


580 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Paquet  Creek. — In  1804,  Timothy  Brewster  built 
a  bridge  and  niill-d.im  here.  He  had  his  grist-mill 
and  saw-mill.     It  was  pulled  down  a  few  years  ago. 

Interesting  Facts.  —  Gen.  George  Washington 
came  to  Woodbridge  the  22d  of  April,  1789,  and 
put  up  at  the  Cross  and  Key  Tavern, and  was  escorted 
to  the  hotel  by  the  Woodbridge  Cavalry,  Capt.  Ich- 
abod  Potter  commanding.  He  was  on  his  way  to 
New  York  to  be  inaugurated  President  of  the  United 
States. 

When  Gen.  Lafayette  visited  this  town,  on  Sept. 
24,  1824,  one  of  the  special  features  of  his  reception 
was  the  presence  of  sixteen  little  girls  dressed  in 
white,  each  bearing  on  her  bosom  a  letter  made  of 
marigolds,  which  together  formed  the  words,  "  Wel- 
come Lafayette."  The  following  are  the  names : 
Margert,  daughter  of  Maj.  William  and  Phebe  Edgar  ; 
Harriett,  Eliza  J.,  and  Henrietta,  daughters  of  Capt. 
John  and  Margaret  Prior;  Mary,  daughter  of  Gage 
and  Marylnslee;  Deborah  and  Lucretia,  daughters 
of  Abram  and  Deborah  Lee  ;  Adaline  and  Louisa, 
daughters  of  Dr.  Matthias  and  Mary  Freeman  ;  .lulia 
Ann,  daughter  of  Col.  Henry  and  Margaret  Osborn  ; 
Sarah  and  Rebecca,  daughters  of  James  and  Anna 
Coddington  ;  Eliza,  daughter  of  Henry  and  Cathe- 
rine Howell;  Eliza  Ann,  daughter  of  Nathan  and 
Hannah  Stansbury ;  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Prof. 
James  and  Cornelia  Stryker ;  and  Charlotte,  daughter 
of  Josiah  and  Matilda  Ayres.' 

Post-Offices. — Under  Dr.  Franklin's  superinten- 
dence, in  January,  1764,  James  Parker,  comptroller, 
then  residing  at  Woodbridge,  under  a  heading,  "  For 
the  benefit  of  Trade  and  Commerce,"  gave  notice  that 
a  post-rider  with  the  mail  would  leave  New  York 
that  day  at  one  o'clock  for  Philadelphia,  and  until 
further  orders  would  leave  each  city  every  alternate 
day,  "  if  weather  permits."  Letters  to  pass  from 
city  to  city  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours. 

The  following  rates  of  postage  were  established  in 
1765: 

Letters  between  London  and  any  American  port,  in 
British  packet-boats,  1  shilling. 

Letters  by  sea  from  one  port  to  another  in  any  of 
the  British  dominions,  in  such  packets,  4  pence. 

Letters  by  land  to  or  from  any  chief  post-office  in 
America  from  or  to  any  other  part  thereof  not  over 
60  miles,  4  pence. 

Over  GO  miles  and  not  exceeding  100  miles,  6  pence. 

Over  100  miles  and  not  exceeding  200  miles,  8 
pence. 

Any  farther  distance  not  exceeding  100  miles,  2 
pence  additional. 

And  all  farther  distance  2  pence  additional. 

Double,  treble,  and  ounce  letters  paying  in  propor- 
tion. 

What  the  rates  were  previously  is  not  known.  In 
December,  1753,  Parker,  the  editor  of  the  Post-Boij, 

^  We  are  indebted  to  Mr.  Jeremiah  Dally  for  these  two  historical 
facta. 


complained  that  he  had  to  pay  "  twenty  cents"  for 
the  postage  of  a  communication  from  New  Jersey 
that  could  not  have  filled  a  sheet,  from  which  we  may 
judge  the  rates  must  have  been  much  higher. 

The  charge  for  newspapers  sent  from  Europe  by  the 
then  post  was :  Postage  on  "  the  German  papers  at  4 
shillings  and  6  pence  per  year;  the  English  papers 
at  7  shillings  and  6  pence  per  year,"  and  prompt  pay- 
ment each  quarter. 

The  following  have  been  the  postmasters  in  Wood- 
bridge  to  date : 

John  Manning,  appointed  July  31,  1792. 

Philip  Brown,  appointed  July  1,  1795. 

John  Voorhees,  appointed  April  1,  1800. 

Thomas  Jackson,  appointed  July  1,  1800. 

James  Jackson,  appointed  Oct.  27,  1804. 

Alex.  Ayres,  appointed  Nov.  27,  1817. 

Phineas  B.  Freeman,  appointed  Feb.  3,  1818. 

Henry  Potter,  appointed  April  23,  1821. 

James  M.  Brewster,  appointed  April  15,  1824. 

David  E.  Paton,  appointed  Nov.  2,  1825. 

John  Stryker,  appointed  April  10,  1826. 

Harminus  Barkalow,  Jr.,  appointed  Jan.  9,  1828. 

John  E.  Barron,  appointed  Oct.  14,  1828. 

Rene  Pardessus,  appointed  Jan.  4,  1840. 

John  E.  Barron,  appointed  July  1,  1841. 

Isaac  Smith,  appointed  Dec.  2,  1843. 

Alexander  A.  Edgar,  appointed  July  16,  1847. 

Joseph  H.  Brewster,  appointed  March  19,  1850. 

Jeremiah  Ten  Eyck,  appointed  April  2, 1851. 

Alexander  A.  Edgar,  appointed  June  3,  1853. 

Samuel  E.  Freeman,  appointed  June  8,  1861. 

Marcus  A.  Brown,  appointed  Feb.  21,  1871. 

Daniel  W.  Brown,  appointed  April  26,  1878,  the 
present  postmaster. 

Americus  Lodge,  No.  83,  F.  and  A.  M.— This 
Masonic  lodge  (Blue  Lodge)  was  incorporated  Feb. 
18,  1867.  The  names  of  charter  members:  William 
T.  Ames,  W.  M.,  1867:  Isaac  Inslee,  J.  S.  W.,  1867; 
William  B.  Reed,  J.  W.,  1867 ;  Charles  C.  Dalley, 
Robert  J.  Wylie,  Charles  M.  Dally,  Daniel  W.  Brown. 
The  present  ofiicial  members :  Isaac  Inslee,  J.  W.  M., 
1882;  Isaac  N.  Harned,  S.  W.,  1882;  George  Brew- 
ster, Jr.,  J.  W.,  1882;  Robert  J.  Wylie,  S.  D.,  1882; 
B.  W.  Drummond,  J.  D.,  1882;  Daniel  W.  Brown, 
secretary,  1882 ;  William  T.  Ames,  treasurer,  1882. 
They  hold  regular  meetings  in  the  Masonic  Hall. 

"The  Independent  Hour." — In  the  old  school 
building,  which  was  removed  to  its  present  location 
nearly  opposite  the  old  historic  "  Pike  Tavern,"  has 
been  fitted  up  the  publishing  office  of  this  well-con- 
ducted weekly  township  newspaper.  The  Independ- 
ent Hour,  first  established  and  paper  issued  by  the 
former  editor,  Mr.  Alfred  W.  John,  April  13,  1876, 
and  who  conducted  it  for  nearly  three  years.  The 
present  editor,  Peter  K.  Edgar,  Esq.,  purchased  the 
paper  in  1879,  and  every  Thursday  issues  a  neat 
eight-page  news|)aper  containing  interesting  town- 
ship news. 


n 
^ 


U'  cui^-yi^'j^-^yy^  ^L^ -t^o^Ze/t^ 


J^-'G  w^y^^ 


W.    H,    CUTTER. 


WOODBRIDGE. 


581 


Woodbridge  Railroads. — The  facility  for  reach- 
ing this  town.  Tliere  was  laid  a  branch  road  from 
Perth  Amboy  to  Railway,  connecting  with  the  Penn- 
sylvania line,  and  the  depot  here  was  built  in  1873, 
bringing  Woodbridge  and  the  neighboring  towns 
within  a  few  minutes'  ride.  There  i.s  also  a  station, 
called  the  "Spa  Spring,"  and  the  "  Edgar." 

The  Long  Branch  Road  have  a  station  called  "Se- 
waren,"  about  one  mile  and  a  half  from  the  village 
of  Woodbridge. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


JAMES  M.  BROWN. 

George  Brown,  the  progenitor  of  the  family  in 
Woodbridge,  came  from  Scotland,  and  is  the  one 
named  as  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  first  Presbyterian 
Church  organized  in  Woodbridge.  His  son  Thomas 
died  Oct.  28, 1781.  John,  son  of  Thomas,  born  Nov. 
1,  1752,  died  on  the  homestead  in  February,  1828. 
Thomas  C,  son  of  John,  was  born  Dec.  23,  1787,  and 
died  March  12,  1845.  His  wife,  Abigail  Moores,  was 
also  of  Scotch  extraction. 

James  M.,  son  of  Thomas  C.  and  Abigail  Brow.i, 
was  born  on  the  ancestral  homestead  in  Woodbridge 
Aug.  5,  1819,  and  was  third  child  in  a  family  of  six 
children.  He  completed  his  education  in  the  school 
at  Woodbridge  in  1836.  Choosing  a  business  life,  he 
served  for  four  years  as  clerk  in  the  general  store  of 
W.  &  P.  Brown,  of  Railway,  afterwards  in  the  store 
of  his  brother.  John  T.,  in  New  York,  for  two  years, 
when  his  health  failing  he  regained  it  after  service  on 
board  a  coasting  vessel  for  seven  years,  commanded 
by  Capt.  David  Tappan.  In  the  spring  of  1845,  upon 
the  death  of  his  father,  he  returned  and  assisted  in 
the  management  of  the  farm.  He  married,  Oct.  23, 
1846,  Phebe  J.,  daughter  of  Crowell  and  Fanny  L. 
Hadden,  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  formerly  of  Woodbridge, 
who  bore  him  two  children, — Lewis,  died  at  the  age 
of  seven ;  and  Thomas  C,  resides  at  home.  Both  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Brown  have  been  zealous  members  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge,  the  former  since 
1842.  Mrs.  Brown  was  a  lady  of  rare  intelligence 
and  culture,  was  well  versed  in  both  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music,  and  died  Dec.  6,  1880,  aged  fifty-three 
years. 

Mr.  Brown  has  been  a  member  of  the  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  Presbyterian  Church  since  1853,  and  a 
deacon  in  the  church  for  the  same  length  of  time. 
He  cast  his  first  vote  for  President  for  Harrison  in 
1840,  and  has  voted  on  the  Whig  and  Republican 
tickets  at  every  Presidential  election  since.  Mr. 
Brown  is  president  of  the  Rondout  and  Kingston 
Gaslight  Company,  of  Rondout,  N.  Y.,  and  manu- 
factures gas  by  a  new  process,  which  is  made  cheaper 
than  the  old  one,  and  now  becoming  very  popular, 
using  only  naphtha  and  anthracite  coal  in  its  manu- 
facture. 


THE    CUTTER    FAMILY. 

Hampton  Cutter,  who  was  a  farmer  and  clay 
merchant,  was  born  Dec.  25,  1811,  in  Woodbridge 
township,  Middle.sex  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  was  the  fifth 
child  of  the  late  William  C.  and  Sarah  ( Herriott)  Cut- 
ter, of  that  section.  The  Cutter  family  are  of  Scotch 
and  English  extraction.  One  Richard  Cutter,  with 
his  mother,  brother,  and  sisters,  arrived  in  Massachu- 
setts about  1640,  and  settled  in  and  about  Cambridge. 
A  grandson  of  Richard  Cutter,  him.self  bearing  the 
same  name,  and  known  as  Maj.  Richard  Cutter,  was 
the  first  of  the  name  to  leave  New  lEngland  and  settle 
in  a  distant  locality.  He  married  Mary,  daughter  of 
John  Pike,  Aug.  20,  1706.  This  John  Pike  was  one 
of  the  first  and  most  active  settlers  of  Woodbridge. 
Maj.  Cutter  died  in  1756,  leaving  a  numerous  pro- 
geny, and  from  his  fourth  child  and  eldest  son,  Dea- 
con William  Cutter,  who  died  in  1780,  Hampton  Cut- 
ter was  the  third  in  descent,  being  his  great-grandson. 
He  assisted  his  father  in  farming  operations  until 
1836,  when  he  married,  and  then  continued  in  agri- 
cultural pursuits  on  his  own  account.  In  1845  he 
commenced  to  dig  kaolin,  having  discovered  a  large 
deposit  of  this  valuable  material  on  his  farm.  It  is 
used  with  clay  in  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick. 
Several  years  after  he  reached  a  strata  of  fine  blue 
clay,  which  also  largely  enters  into  the  composition 
of  fire-brick,  and  for  many  years  was  engaged  very 
extensively  in  supplying  this  valuable  article  to  manu- 
facturers, not  only  of  his  immediate  neighborhood, 
but  in  Portland,  Boston,  Albany,  Cleveland,  etc. 
During  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  associated  his 
sons,  Josiah  C.  and  William  Henry,  with  him  under 
the  preceding  firm-name.  For  many  years  he  was 
called  upon  to  serve  the  public  in  various  local  offices. 

From  1860  to  1875  he  served  as  justice  of  the  peace, 
declining  to  ofliciate  longer,  and  twice  he  served  on 
the  board  of  chosen  freeholders  of  Middlesex  County. 
From  1868  for  fourteen  years  he  was  a  director  in 
the  National  Bank  of  Eahway.  For  fifty  years  he 
was  a  member,  and  for  twenty-six  years  was  one  of 
the  trustees,  of  the  old  Presbyterian  Church  of  Wood- 
bridge,  seven  of  which  he  was  the  honored  president 
of  the  board.  He  was  married  Jan.  26,  1836,  to  Mary 
R.,  daughter  of  Josiah  Crane,  of  Cranford,  N.  J.,  his 
family  consisting  of  four  children,  two  sons  and  two 
daughters.     He  Sied  Feb.  19,  1882. 

Josiah  C.  Cutter,  eldest  son  of  Hampton  and 
Mary  R.  (Crane)  Cutter,  was  born  in  Woodbridge, 
N.  J.,  Nov.  11,  1836,  where  he  was  educated  and  al- 
ways resided.  Through  boyhood  and  manhood  he  was 
widely  and  most  favorably  known  to  the  entire  com- 
munity, as  he  was  energetic  and  very  ambitious,  and 
always  interested  in  the  public  welfare  of  the  place  and 
church  with  which  he  was  connected.  He  was  a  man 
of  retiring  disposition  and  close  business  application. 
For  several  years  he  had  been  a  member  of  the  Town 
Committee  and  held  several  other  public  offices.  He 
was  treasurer  and  secretary  of  the  Woodbridge  Dime 


582 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Savings-Bank  from  its  organization  in  the  winter  of 
1871  until  his  death.  Politically  he  was  a  Democrat. 
In  early  manhood  he  became  a  member  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbridge,  and  continued 
a  devout  Christian  through  his  life.  He  was  in  feeble 
health  for  some  time,  and  died  Sept.  18,  1877.  In 
his  death  the  church  and  community  lost  one  of  its 
worthy  and  hignly  esteemed  citizens. 

W.  H.  Cutter,  son  of  Hampton  Cutter,  and  suc- 
cessor to  the  firm  of  Hampton  Cutter  &  Sons  in  the 
clay-mining  Inisiness,  was  born  June  22,  1840.  His 
youth  was  spent  i»  the  private  and  public  schools  of 
Woodbridge,  where  he  received  a  fair  education.  At 
the  age  of  eighteen  or  nineteen  he  joined  his  father 
and  brother,  Josiah  C,  the  latter  of  whom  died  Sept. 
18,  1877,  in  the  clay-mining  business,  to  which  he 
succeeded  by  will  upon  the  death  of  the  father,  he 
having  received  the  property  in  the  same  manner  from 
his  father,  William  Cutter.  Through  each  succeed- 
ing generation  this  business  has  been  a  representa- 
tive business  interest  of  that  locality.' 

In  politics  Mr.  Cutter  is  a  Democrat,  though  he 
takes  no  active  part,  frequently  declining  positions 
tendered  him.  He  was  married  June  14,  1871,  to 
Sarah  R.,  daughter  of  Samuel  Barron,  of  Woodbridge. 
Samuel  Barron  died  March  4,  1870.  His  children 
are  Hampton  and  Laura  L.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Cutter  are  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Woodbridge,  he  having  served  three  years  as  trustee 
of  the  same.  Mr.  Cutter  devotes  his  time  chiefly  to 
the  clay-mining  interests. 


WILLIAM  H.  BERRY. 
William  H.  Berry,  manufacturer  in  Woodbridge,  is 
a  native  of  New  England,  having  been  born  in  Litch- 
field, Me.,  Sept.  18, 1805.  His  grandfather,  Nathaniel 
Berry,  served  throughout  the  Revolutionary  war  with 
bravery  and  distinction,  and  shortly  after  1777  was 
attached  to  Gen.  Washington's  life-guard  with  others 
distinguished  for  their  courage,  hardihood,  and  trust- 
worthiness. He  died  at  Pittston,  Me.,  Aug.  20,  1850, 
in  the  ninety-fourth  year  of  his  age,  and  was  buried 
with  civic  and  military  honors  by  a  large  concourse  of 
his  fellow-citizens,  who  continued  to  cherish  the  re- 
membrance of  his  virtues  and  services.  At  the  time 
of  his  death  he  was  the  last  of  Washington's  life- 
guard. His  son,  John  Berry,  was  a  farmer,  and 
married  Elizabeth  Robinson,  a  native  also  of  Maine. 
When  well  advanced  in  life  John  Berry  removed  from 
Litchfield  to  Gardiner,  Me.,  and  there  their  son,  sub- 
ject of  tliis  .sketch,  William  H.,  received  his  education 
in  tlie  public  schools.  Upon  leaving  school,  at  the 
age  of  nineteen,  he  entered  upon  a  maritime  career, 
and  followed  the  sea  for  six  years,  beginning  as  a 
common  sailor  and  finishing  as  first  oflScer.  For  two 
years  following  he  was  in  business  with  his  brother  in 
Jersey  City,  baling  and  shipping  hay.     In  1832  he 

*  See  Prof.  Cook's  report  for  statietics. 


settled  in  Woodbridge,  and  continued  the  same  busi- 
ness and  the  coal  business  until  1845  ;  and  he  was 
the  first  to  introduce  anthracite  to  that  community, 
bringing  from  Rondout,  N.  Y.,  via  Hudson  River. 
So  slowly  did  this  coal  come  into  general  favor  that 
only  forty  tons  of  it  were  sold  during  the  first  two 
years.  In  1845  he  embarked  in  his  present  business, 
the  manufacture  of  fire-brick,  and  with  his  charac- 
teristic energy  soon  rendered  this  one  of  the  leading 
interests  of  the  community.  This  business  he  has  so 
increased  that  with  his  full  complement  of  hands  he 
can  produce  one  million  fire-bricks  per  annum,  and 
with  a  trifling  additional  cost  twice  that  number. 
His  works  being  located  on  the  creek,  he  has  both 
water  and  rail  transportation  for  marketing,  and  the 
reputation  of  his  works  is  wide-spread.  Mr.  Berry 
is  public-spirited,  takes  an  active  interest  in  local 
matters,  and  has  acted  as  township  committeeman 
and  chairman  of  the  board.  He  obtained  from  the 
Legislature  in  1871  a  charter  for  a  Dime  Savings- 
Bank,  and  has  been  president  of  its  board  of  direc- 
tors since.  He  served  as  trustee  of  the  public  schools 
for  eleven  years,  and  in  1877  was  engaged  in  building 
a  school-house,  costing  nearly  thirty  thousand  dollars, 
an  ornament  to  the  village ;  and  he  was  the  first  to 
introduce  into  Woodbridge  scales  of  heavy  draught. 
He  was  an  ardent  supporter  of  the  Union  cause,  giv- 
ing time  and  money,  during  the  late  Rebellion,  and 
fitted  up  a  portion  of  his  factory  buildings,  where 
soldiers  of  the  vicinity  were  exercised  in  the  army 
drill.  His  son,  William  C.  Berry,  on  the  breaking 
out  of  the  Rebellion  organized  a  company  of  the 
young  men  of  the  village,  and  in  August,  1861,  a 
part  of  the  command  joined  Company  H,  Fifth  New 
Jersey  Volunteers,  he  himself  being  commissioned  as 
first  lieutenant.  On  the  5th  of  May,  1802,  while 
leading  his  men  in  the  battle  of  Williamsburg,  he 
fell  a  martyr  to  his  country's  cause.  His  body  was 
recovered  and  now  rests  in  the  Alpine  Cemetery,  be- 
tween Woodbridge  and  Perth  Amboy. 

Mr.  Berry  married  in  May,  1835,  Margaret  Cod- 
dington,  of  Woodbridge,  whose  grandfather,  Robert 
Coddington,  was  one  of  a  party  of  three  who,  during 
the  Revolutionary  war,  captured  off"  Perth  Amboy  a 
British  vessel  laden  with  stores.  It  was  in  the  winter 
.season  when  the  attack  was  made,  and  the  ice  was 
thick  enough  along  the  shore  to  sustain  a  heavy  bur- 
den. The  stores  were  subsequently  drawn  on  the  ice 
to  Perth  Amboy,  together  with  one  of  the  British 
cannon,  which  was  used  for  many  years  afterwards  in 
celebrating  American  independence.  In  1874  the 
Town  Committee  presented  the  gun  to  the  New  Jer- 
sey Museum  of  Revolutionary  Relics  at  Morristown. 
Mr.  Berry  is  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  Woodbridge,  of  which  he  has  served  as 
trustee  for  nearly  forty  years,  and  as  president  of  the 
board  for  about  thirty  years.  For  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century  he  has  acted  as  class-leader,  and  for  several 
years  has  been  superintendent  of  the  Sunday-school. 


^2la^ji0  Ci>  Pfulu^^ 


/f-X.  7S^ 


WOODBRIDGE. 


583 


^/a-'T^^^n^iyL.^c^  (_^(ya^^ 


SAMUEL    DALLY. 

Samuel  Dally,  son  of  Charles  Dally  and  Nancy 
Gamberton,  was  born  in  Mutton  Hollow,  Woodbridge 
township,  N.  J.,  Jan.  26,  1810.  As  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, his  ancestry  on  his  father's  side  was  English  ; 
his  mother  was  of  French  extraction.  The  first  and 
most  remote  ancestor  bearing  the  family  name  was 
one  Sarah  Dally,  widow,  living  in  Bethlehem,  Hun- 
terdon Co.,  N.  J.,  Aug.  28,  1765.  At  this  time  she 
was  quite  advanced  in  years.  Her  husband's  name 
is  not  known.  She  had  a  son  Charles,  who  had  em- 
igrated to  Augusta  County,  Va.  He  married  Eliza- 
beth Tilton,  by  whom  he  had  one  son,  Samuel,  born 
in  1732.  When  Samuel  was  old  enough  to  learn  a 
trade  he  came  to  Woodbridge,  N.  J.,  and  became  a 
weaver.  He  married  Mary  Jones,  by  whom  he  was 
the  father  of  four  children,  to  wit :  Sarah,  May,  Mercy, 
and  Jeremiah.  The  last  named  learned  the  weaver's 
trade  with  his  father,  and  worked  on  a  small  farm 
which  he  owned.  Jeremiah  married  Elizabeth  Gage, 
by  whom  lie  became  the  father  of  Charles,  who  is 
mentioned  above  as  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen  Samuel  Dally  was  indentured 
to  David  Guyon,  of  Rahway  township,  as  an  appren- 
tice to  learn  the  blacksmith's  trade.     After  working 


about  two  years  in  Rahway  he  was  attacked  with 
malarial  fever,  and  became  so  enfeebled  by  it  that  his 
father  stipulated  with  Mr.  Guyon  and  secured  his 
release  from  his  indenture.  After  this  he  remained  at 
home,  working  with  his  father  at  the  weaver's  trade, 
till  he  was  married,  Jan.  2,  1831,  to  Miss  Deborah 
Barnes  Harned,  youngest  child  of  Jonathan  and  Eliz- 
abeth Harned,  of  Woodbridge  township.  Tradition 
says  he  was  a  wild  boy,  but  getting  married  tamed 
him.  Industry  took  the  place  of  idleness,  and  earnest 
business  was  substituted  for  profitless  vacancy.  His 
advantages  to  acquire  an  education  were  small  at 
best,  and  lessened  by  his  own  indisposition  to  study 
and  by  his  love  of  fun.  For  past  folly  he  now  strove 
to  make  amends  as  far  a.s  possible  and  fit  himself  for 
useful  stations  in  life.  He  stipulated  for  a  farm,  and 
by  assiduous  labor  in  farming  through  the  summer 
and  by  peddling  oysters  in  the  winters  through  the 
west  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  exposed  to 
many  hardships  and  privations,  he  succeeded  in  six 
years  in  paying  for  the  farm. 

In  1840  he  commenced  the  butcher  business,  and 
prosecuted  it  successfully  for  eight  years. 

In  1846  his  father  died,  and  by  his  will  made 
Samuel  executor.  In  the  division  of  the  estate  Charles 
M.  received  the  homestead,  and  was  thus  constituted 


584 


HISTOKY   OF    UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  natural  successor  of  his  father  in  the  clay  business. 
But  his  tastes  being  foreign  to  the  prosecution  of  the 
business,  which  his  father  had  to  some  degree  devel- 
oped (he  being  the  first  clay  mercliant  of  Woodbridge 
township),  Charles  proposed  to  sell  the  homestead  to 
Samuel,  and  his  proposition  was  accepted. 

In  1848  Samuel  quit  the  butcher  business  and 
commenced  to  quarry  clay.  In  tliis  branch  of  busi- 
ness he  continued  for  sixteen  years  and  amassed  a 
comfortable  fortune.  In  1849  a  great  sorrow  came  to 
him  in  the  loss  of  the  wife  of  his  youth.  Seven  chil- 
dren were  made  motherle.ss  and  he  solitary  in  this 
crushing  bereavement.  In  November,  1849,  he  mar- 
ried Mrs.  Catharine  M.  Stone,  by  whom  he  had  four 
children. 

The  confusion  and  demoralization  produced  among 
the  laborers  by  the  recruiting  officers  offering  large 
bounty  for  enlistment  in  army  led  him  to  quit  the 
clay  business  in  18G4.  Since  then  he  has  not  been  in 
business. 

It  was  a  common  saying  in  the  community  that 
whatever  he  put  his  hand  to  prospered.  So  it  seemed 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  his  business  career. 
But  no  mere  smile  of  the  fickle  goddess  fortune  secured 
for  him  this  prosperity,  success  came  according  to 
the  inflexible  laws  of  human  limitations  and  sur- 
roundings. In  the  elements  of  his  character  and  the 
method  of  his  working  may  be  found  an  easy  solution 
of  all  his  prosperity.  In  early  life  he  resolved  to  be 
a  sober  man,  and  such  was  the  power  of  his  will  that 
to  resolve  was  the  invariable  antecedent  to  the  fulfill- 
ment of  his  resolution.  He  resolved  to  be  prompt 
and  to  do  without  delay  the  duties  of  the  hour. 
Hence  he  was  saved  all  the  time  usually  wasted  in 
indecision  and  procrastination.  His  promptness  in 
paying  his  bills  led  men  to  believe,  long  before  he  had 
a  fortune,  that  he  must  be  rich. 

He  resolved  always  to  honor  (iod,  and  never  in  the 
family  nor  in  business  did  he  compromise  Christian 
principles.  His  good  health  and  good  judgment, 
joined  with  these  resolutions,  have  made  him  a  man 
of  mark  in  the  county  in  which  he  lives.  At  the  age 
of  seventy-two  he  is  still  strong  and  vigorous, — an 
example  to  young  men  of  the  fruits  of  sober  industry 
and  uncompromising  piety. 


THE    BARRON    FAMILY. 

Thomas  Barron,  second  son  of  Joseph  and 
Fanny  Brown  Barron,  was  born  in  Woodbridge,  June 
10,  1790.  He  received  only  a  common  school  educa- 
tion, and  at  the  age  of  fourteen  became  a  clerk  in  his 
father's  store,  where  he  developed  a  prodigious  apti- 
tude for  business.  He  was  soon  commissioned  by  his 
father  to  buy  and  sell  in  New  York,  where  in  1814 
he  took  up  his  abode ;  for  a  sliort  time  was  a  partner 
of  J.  C.  Marsh  &  Co.,  and  then  of  Laing  &  Randolph, 
one  of  the  leading  houses  in  the  West  India  trade. 
After  making  two  trips  to  the  West  Indies  in  1817, 


he  dissolved  his  business  relations  with  Laing  &  Ran- 
dolph, and  formed  a  partnership  with  J.  I.  Codding- 
ton,  and  the  same  fall  embarked  in  business  in  New 
Orleans.  The  house  of  Thomas  Barron,  during  the 
twenty  years  of  its  existence,  was  one  of  the  best 
known  in  the  South,  and  had  representatives  in  Liver- 
pool, London,  and  New  York.  In  New  Orleans  he 
was  a  director  of  the  Louisiana  Branch  of  the  United 
States  Bank. 

Having  amassed  a  competency  he  withdrew  from 
active  business  life,  and  thereafter  devoted  his  time  to 
unostentatious  philanthropy,  to  study,  and  his  favorite 
sport  of  fishing.  History  and  geography  were  favorite 
fields  of  research,  but  during  the  last  decade  of  his 
life  these  were  largely  supplanted  by  astronomy.  He 
read  Herschel,  Humboldt,  and  other  important  works, 
and  few  men  were  better  read,  and  few  men  were 
better  able  to  arrange  and  utilize  their  mental  acqui- 
sitions. For  many  years  he  was  a  member  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society,  a  fellow  of  the  Ameri- 
can Geographical  Society,  of  the  Americau  Museum 
of  Natural  History,  corresponding  secretary  of  the 
New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  and  for  thirty  years 
he  kept  a  diary  in  which  he  noted  the  important 
events  of  the  times.  He  loved  his  country,  and  took 
an  active  interest  in  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  by 
making  large  contributions  for  sanitary  purposes  and 
the  equipment  and  comfort  of  the  soldiers,  and  after 
the  war  he  aided  largely  the  Military  Post  Library 
Association.  He  died  Aug.  31,  1875,  and  in  his  will 
made  munificent  bequests  to  the  New  York  Historical 
Society,  New  Jersey  Historical  Society,  New  York 
Eye  and  Ear  Infirmary,  Juvenile  Asylum,  Associa- 
tion for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  Ameri- 
can Female  Guardian  Society,  and  Home  for  the 
Friendless,  and,  greatest  of  all,  the  Barron  Library. 

John  Barron  was  the  third  son  of  Joseph  and 
Fanny  (Brown)  Barron,  and  born  at  Woodbridge,  on 
the  family  homestead,  Oct.  IS,  1792.  His  education 
was  mainly  obtained  in  his  native  place,  being  com- 
pleted by  attendance  upon  lectures  in  New  York 
while  passing  two  years  in  that  city  (during  1809  and 
1811),  learning  the  trade  of  cabinet-making.  Upon  his 
return  to  Woodbridge  he  built  a  large  manufactory  and 
prepared  to  conduct  his  trade  on  an  extensive  scale. 
His  adventure  was  in  advance  of  the  times,  and,  un- 
able to  dispose  of  his  wares  near  home,  he  sought  a 
market  for  them  in  New  Orleans,  having  some  knowl- 
edge of  this  city  from  his  brother  Thomas,  who  had 
been  a  resident  there  for  several  years.  Going  South 
by  sea,  he  was  fairly  successful  in  his  sales,  and  these 
being  completed,  he  returned  to  the  North  by  the  cir- 
cuitous stage  and  post  route  then  existing. 

The  limited  demand  in  his  immediate  neighbor- 
hood for  cabinet-ware  and  his  own  failing  health 
induced  him  to  abandon  his  manufacturing.  He 
purchased  a  farm  on  the  then  outskirts  of  Wood- 
bridge,  and  in  agricultural  pursuits  he  passed  the 
remainder  of  his  days.     Until  1858  the  farm  remained 


HENRY    MAURER'S 
EXCELSIOR    FIRE-BRICK    AND    CLAY    RETORT   WORKS. 


Joseph  Forbes,  of  Perth  Amboy,  in  1850  started  a 
brick- manufactory,  and  continued  until  the  year  1802, 
when  he  sold  out  to  Mr.  E.  W.  Crossett,  of  Long  Island, 
who  remained  a  few  years,  and  then  sold  to  Horten  & 
Mabie,  of  Peekskill,  N.  Y.,  when  Mr.  Caleb  Hughes 
commenced  making  Portland  cement  and  ground  lime, 
and  erected  a  Hoftman  kiln,  the  largest  in  this  section  of 
country.  He  afterwards  sold  out  the  works  in  1872-73 
to  Charles  Anness  &  Son,  of  Perth  Amboy,  but  soon 
afterwards  the  present  manager  and  owner,  Henry 
Maurer,  of  New  York  City,  purchased  the  property. 

There  are  about  seventy-five  acres  belonging  to  the 
works,  and  a  mile  of  water  front  on  Woodbridge  Creek 
and  Staten  Island  Sound ;  and  eleven  acres  of  clay- 
bunks,  situated  in  the  village  of  Woodbridge,  consist- 
ing of  ware  and  other  fire  and  retort  clays. 

The  factory  and  clay  lands  are  supposed  to  be  worth 
$100,000.  The  brick-kiln  building  is  75  by  240  feet,  two 
stories  high  ;  the  brick-retort  building  is  80  by  175  feet; 
the  central  building,  with  drying-pans,  is  also  80  by  175 
feet;  the  machine-shop,  engine-room,  and  pit-shed  is  90 
by  300  feet ;  and  the  clay-sheds  are  30  by  300  feet. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  clay  interests  and 
the  manufacture  of  hollow  bricks  prior  to  1875.  Hollow 
bricks  had  been  introduced  for  housebuilding  in  Europe. 
They  are  light,  strong  enough  to  hold  up  all  the  weight 
that  can  be  loaded  upon  them,  and  they  make  a  drier 
wall.  Dry  bricks  are  not  good  conductors  of  heat,  and 
the  air  inclosed  in  the  hollows  increases  this  non-con- 
ducting property.  Houses  built  of  such  brick  keep  out 
the  summer's  heat  and  the  winter's  cold  better  than 
those  built  of  solid  brick.     Thev  were  not  much  used 


in  this  country  until  1878.  Henry  Maurer,  of  Perth 
Amboy,  has  been  engaged  in  their  manufacture  since 
that  time,  and  this  branch  of  bis  business  is  steadily 
increasing. 

Roofing  tiles  have  been  long  in  use,  and  now  fill  an 
important  place  in  ornamental  architecture,  and  their 
strong  colors  and  manageable  forms  make  them  an 
effective  addition  to  the  resources  of  the  architect.  The 
New  Jersey  buildings  on  the  Centennial  grounds  at 
Philadelphia  in  1876  were  covered  with  tiles  made  by 
Mr.  Maurer. 

Draining  tiles  are  jirepared  from  the  same  clay  that  is 
used  for  c(mimon  brick,  of  which  great  quantities  are 
made  from  the  brick  clays  of  this  district. 

Mr.  Maurer  has  every  facilitj-  for  increasing  his 
works,  and  at  the  present  time  is  erecting  a  number  of 
buildings  to  accommodate  his  employees.  This  property 
is  situated  in  Perth  Amboy,  at  nearly  equal  distance  from 
th«  depots  of  that  place  and  Woodbridge.  There  have 
been  a  number  of  analyses  made  out  of  seven  of  the 
richest  and  purest  clays.  The  sum  of  the  averages  for 
silica,  ahimina,  and  water  is  as  follows,  upon  the  basis 
of  100: 

Silica 45  20 

Alumina 40.42 

Water 14.38 

Mr.  Maurer,  the  proprietor  of  the  Excelsior  Firc- 
Brick  and  Clay  Ketort  Works,  and  also  manufacturer 
of  every  variety  of  hollow  brick  for  fire-proof  build- 
ings, has  his  principal  office  and  depot  at  418,  420,  and 
422  East  Twentv-third  Street,  New  York. 


f» 


WOODBRIDGE. 


585 


as  when  he  cultivated  it,  but  since  then,  in  common  i 
with  other  outlying  portions  of  Woodbridge,  it  has  ■ 
undergone  an  entire  change.  Barron  Avenue  divides 
it,  the  Congregational  Church  stands  upon  land  that 
formed  a  portion  of  it,  and  a  large  section  purchased 
by  the  Hon.  Charles  A.  Campbell  has  been  covered 
with  handsome  buildings. 

In  politics,  as  in  everything  else,  John  Barron  was 
a  man  of  decided  opinions.  An  old-line  Whig,  he 
spoke  out  his  views  with  no  uncertain  voice,  and  in 
warmly-contested  elections  his  influence  was  always 
an  important  factor  in  the  success  of  the  Whig  ticket 
in  Middlesex.  In  the  Polk-Clay  campaign  he  was 
especially  active,  his  energy  having  a  very  consider- 
able influence  upon  the  vote  in  his  section  of  the 
State.  Being  much  depressed  by  the  loss  of  his  wife 
in  1851,  his  feeble  health  grew  feebler  day  by  day  till 
his  death,  which  occurred  Oct.  16,  1853. 

JoHX  C.  Barros,  M.D.,  New  York,  son  of  John 
and  Mary  (Conner)  Barron,  was  born  in  Woodbridge, 
Nov.  2,  1837.  After  receiving  preliminary  education 
at  a  select  school  in  his  native  town  he  entered  Bur- 
lington College  at  Burlington,  N.  J.,  the  institution 
being  at  that  time  under  the  rectorship  of  the  Right 
Rev.  (leorge  W.  Doane,  D.D.,  bishop  of  the  diocese 
of  New  Jersey.  In  1858  he  passed  hence  to  Yale 
College,  studying  in  the  scientific  department,  and  at 
the  same  time  attending  lectures  in  the  eminent 
private  school  of  Drs.  Jewett,  Hooker  &  Knight.  In 
1860  he  entered  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons, New  York,  graduating  thence  in  1861.  In 
April  of  that  year,  immediately  upon  receiving  his 
degree,  he  entered  the  United  States  volunteer  army 
as  an  assistant  surgeon,  being  passed  by  the  "  Board 
of  Army  Examiners"  sitting  at  Albany,  and  was  as- 
signed to  the  Mechanics'  Rifles.  This  position  was 
declined  on  account  of  being  tendered  the  assistant 
surgeoncy  of  Sixty-ninth  New  York  Regiment,  then 
in  the  field.  This  regiment  was  among  the  foremost 
to  otter  their  services  to  the  general  government  early 
in  1861. 

Dr.  Barron  immediately  upon  his  appointment,  with 
a  detachment  of  the  regiment,  proceeded  to  Washing- 
ton and  was  sworn  into  the  service  of  the  United 
States,  going  at  once  to  active  work  with  the  regi- 
ment, then  the  advance-guard  in  Virginia,  and,  as 
stated  in  the  publications  of  the  day,  "  showing  his 
devotion  to  the  cause  by  donating  one  thousand  dol- 
lars for  medical  supplies,  etc.,  to  the  hospital  depart- 
ment." The  Sixty-ninth  saw  much  service,  being  at 
Blackburn's  Ford,  and  at  the  first  Bull  Run  battle, 
at  the  latter  losing  in  killed  and  wounded  nearly  two 
hundred  men.  He  held  his  commission  until  the  fol- 
lowing August.  In  June,  1863,  he  re-entered  the 
army,  being  assigned  assistant  surgeon  of  the  Sev- 
enth New  York  Regiment,  N.G.S.N.Y.,  and  serving 
with  the  reserves  called  out  in  1863  to  repel  the  ad- 
vance of  Lee.  In  July,  1869,  he  was  promoted  to  the 
surgeoncy.     In  June,  1871,  he  resigned  from  the  regi- 


ment, and  was  appointed  surgeon-general  of  the  First 
Division,  N.G.S.N.Y.,  with  the  rank  of  colonel,  on 
the  staft"  of  Maj.-Gen.  Alexander  Shaler.  He  was 
married,  June  23,  1869,  to  Harriet  M.,  daughter  of 
Rev.  Albert  Williams,  of  San  Francisco,  Cal.  After 
spending  a  year  in  Europe,  including  an  extended 
tour  of  the  Eastern  countries  and  a  trip  of  seven 
hundred  miles  up  the  river  Nile,  he  returned  and  set- 
tled in  New  York  City,  where  he  now  resides. 


HENRY  MAUREK. 
Henry  Maurer,  born  in  Southern  Germany,  March 
19,  1830,  came  to  New  York  when  eighteen  years  of 
age,  having  spent  five  years  previously  in  Paris, 
France,  learning  the  trade  of  cabinet-making.  Upon 
his  arrival  in  New  York  he  entered  the  employ  of 
one  Kreischer,  a  relative,  as  journeyman  in  the  man- 
ufacture of  fire-brick,  receiving  small  wages,  where  he 
remained  some  eight  years,  when  lie  became  a  part- 
ner under  the  firm-name  of  B.  Kreischer  &  Nephew. 
This  continued  until  1863,  when  he  sold  his  interest  to 
the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  and  began  the  same 
business  with  one  Weber,  under  the  firm-name  of 
Maurer  &  Weber,  with  whom  he  remained  twelve 
years,  when  he  disposed  of  his  interest  to  his  partner 
and  came  to  Perth  Amboy  and  purchased  the  fire-brick 
works  of  Joseph  Forbes,  the  present  site  of  his  manu- 
factory, known  as  the  Excelsior  Fire-Brick  and  Clay 
Retort  Works.  The  original  manufactory  was  a 
meagre  concern,  having  but  two  kilns  and  one  small 
engine.  ,  Mr.  Maurer  has  spent  some  $50,000  in  get- 
ting his  works  to  their  present  capacity  and  condition, 
which  are  equal  to  any  of  the  kind  in  this  portion  of 
the  State.  The  business  comprises  the  manufactory 
of  fire-brick,  gas  retorts,  furnace  blocks  and  tiles, 
hollow  brick  for  fire-proof  buildings,  and  French 
roofing  tile.  He  is  constantly  increasing  his  facili- 
ties and  capacity,  and  in  1881  used  five  thousand  tons 
of  fire-clay  in  the  manufacture  of  five  hundred  and 
twenty  thousand  hollow  brick  and  one  million  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  fire-brick,  gas  retorts,  tiles, 
etc.     The  capacity  was  increased  one-third  in  1882. 

Mr.  Maurer  employs  about  one  hundred  men,  uses 
none  but  the  best  machinery  known  in  the  trade,  and 
has  also  invented  valuable  machines  which  he  em- 
ploys. His  busine.ss  has  increased  so  rapidly  that  the 
Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  Company  have  prom- 
ised to  extend  their  road  to  the  works,  an  event  which 
is  likely  to  soon  take  place. 

Mr.  Maurer  is  owner  of  some  of  the  best  fire-clay 
mines  in  New  Jersey,  located  in  Woodbridge,  N.  .1. 
Has  furnished  hollow  brick  for  the  Vanderbilt  build- 
ings, D.  O.  Mills,  R.  L.  Stewart,  White's  building  on 
Broadway,  and  many  of  the  best-known  citizens  of 
New  York.  At  the  Centennial  the  building  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  was  covered  with  his  roofing 
tile. 

Mr.  JNIaurer  married  in  1856  Mrs.  Dr.  Weber,  of 


586 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


New  York.  They  have  eight  children.  They  reside 
at  219  Secoud  Avenue,  and  his  office  and  depot  are 
located  at  418  to  422  East  Twenty-third  Street,  New 
York. 


CHAPTER    LXXXII. 

PISCATAWAY. 

This  township  was  incorporated  in  1798.  It  is 
about  eiglit  miles  long  and  .six  miles  wide,  and  is 
bounded  north  by  Plainfield  township,  Union  County, 
east  by  Raritan  township,  south  by  Raritan  River, 
and  westerly  by  North  Plainfield  township,  Somerset 
County.  A  small  portion  of  this  township  was  taken 
off  in  the  formation  of  Raritan  township  in  1843, 
and  of  Plainfield  township  in  1847. 

Natural  Features.— The  surface  is  nearly  a  level, 
north  and  westerly  bordering  on  the  Green  Brook,  and 
extending  as  a  belt  to  the  Central  Railroad  of  New 
Jersey.  The  soil  is  a  sandy  loam,  covering  over  the 
whole  extent  until  the  outcropping  of  the  red  shale 
near  the  village  of  New  Market,  when  a  ridge  of  high 
land  runs  quite  across  it  east  and  west,  dividing  it 
into  nearly  equal  parts,  from  which  the  land  slopes 
in  a  gentle  declivity  north  and  south.  This  township 
is  free  from  much  of  the  glacial  drift  rock,  and  only 
in  the  extreme  southerly  part  is  much  gravel  or  peb- 
bles to  be  seen,  and  these  are  so  intermixed  with  the 
red  shale  that  it  is  a  benefit  more  than  a  determent 
in  the  keeping  of  the  soil  in  a  loose,  easy  way  of  cul- 
tivation, while  in  other  parts  of  the  township  we  find 
a  stiff  clay  soil.  The  laud  is  fertile,  and  agriculture 
is  in  a  high  state  of  progressive  improvement. 

Most  of  the  streams  of  this  township  flow  towards 
and  empty  into  the  Raritan  River.  The  Green  Brook, 
on  the  borders  of  the  township,  is  the  largest,  fed  by 
springs  from  the  mountains.  The  New  Brooklyn 
Pond,  which  stream  passes  through  the  village  of 
New  Market,  and  the  Ambrose  Brook  are  water- 
courses, fed  in  the  northeasterly  part  of  the  township 
by  smaller  streams  from  other  townships. 

Early  Records. — The  early  records  of  this  town- 
ship dale  back  to  the  25th  of  June,  1675.  They  are 
a  miscellaneous  collection,  consisting  of  land  grants, 
organization  of  the  township,  surveys,  deeds,  the  first 
town  officers,  marks  of  sheep  and  cattle,  laying  out  of 
highways,  and  building  of  "  cart"  bridges,  as  they 
were  called  at  this  early  date.  Here  may  also  be 
found  a  list  of  early  settlers  and  prices  paid  for  the 
killing  of  wild  animals.  This  old  record  locates 
many  of  the  first  farms,  and  gives  the  names  of  the 
first  justices  of  the  peace,  who  were  the  subscribing 
witnesses  to  the  certificates.  We  give  a  i'ew  items  of 
considerable  interest  of  ye  olden  time. 

The  fir.--t  land  was  granted  to  Jodiah  Higgins,  Jan. 
1,  1082, 


"  by  tlie  Town*,  of  PiBcataway  and  was  layed  out  to  y"  said  Hi^ina  the 
24**"  of  y«  iiioiitlie  by  John  Longstaff,  Beujamiu  Hull  and  GodCerry  Man- 
nin,  and  was  bounded  as  followeth. 

Beginnii'.g  N.  i)ole  marked  on  four  sides  by  y  fild  by  y«  side  of  y«  slow 
or  swunips  uar  M^Sniallys  house  from  thence  downed  the  swamps 20  rod 
to  a  stalte  marked  on  four  Sides  from  thence  runninge  Eastsixteen  rod  to 
a  small  bush  marked  on  four  Bides  and  from  thence  runninge  Northly 
West  twenty  Rod  to  y«  highway  to  a  place  marked  on  four  Sides  from 
thence  running  ponth  west  sixteen  Rod  to  y  stake  where  they  first  be- 
gun in  nil  two  acres— June  25«li  168§     Regestered 

"Lieut  Edward  Slather 

■'  Tomie  Clarlie." 

"  Timothy  Chandler  his  mark  for  cattel  and  hogges  aas  a  cross  on  the 
off  Ear  And  a  Slit  on  the  under  side  of  Noarse  cam  entered  this  21«  of 
February  168  §  "Is\AC  Smalley  Towne  CUirke." 

"John  Cruehrouue  ass  marke  for  Cattoll,  swine  and  horsess  As  a  half 
penny  on  the  outside  off  Near  Earee  Entered  this  twenty  fifthe  of  June 
1088  "  Isaac  Smaley  Towne  Clarke." 

"  Thomas  fitzrandell  Junior  his  mark  for  catel  Horsess  and  hoggea  a 
half  Penny  on  the  uper  sides  of  ech  ear 

"The  27*''  Agust  1712  John  Molleson  Clerked* 

Robert  Mackllon  enters  a  Deed  to  Isaac  smalley 
dated  10th  daye  of  August,  1688.  Also  recorded 
deed  of  hopew^all  hull  to  Edmond  Dunham  dated 
13  days  of  Jonewory,  1689.  Witnesses :  Edward 
Slater,  Nic:ho  RoynoU,  Isaac  Smalley,  Towne  Gierke. 
Also  recorded  1690,  LaSlore  (his  mark)  alias  re- 
missial  to  Thomas  Grub,  blacksmith.  Also  recorded 
1687,  Bonia  hull  to  Comamon  Hull.  Deed  given  by 
exchange  of  other  lands,  no  consideration  in  money 
mentioned.  Also  Issaac  Tappin  sells  to  one  hull  in 
1690  a  tract  of  lands,  and  witnessed  by  Hendricks, 
Doriell,  and  Isbout. 

In  the  year  1698,  Jaques  Pollion,  of  Richmond, 
Staten  Island,  comes  to  this  township  and  sells  Hen- 
dricks Garrison,  yeoman,  a  large  tract  of  land  now 
situated  on  the  old  York  road  and  bordering  upon 
the  Raritan  River,  consideration,  £112.  Witnesses, 
Thomas  Shotwell,  John  Stillwell,  and  Elias  Dux- 
bury. 

The  name  of  John  Royco  is  here  found  as  justice 
of  peace  in  the  year  1706.  He  was  a  large  owner  of 
lands,  not  only  in  Middlesex  County  but  in  and  near 
Sominerville,  Somerset  Co.,  and  from  him  the  small 
hamlet  now  known  as  Roycefields  took  its  name,  a 
station  on  the  New  .Jersey  Central  Railroad. 

The  following  gitl  from  father  to  son  is  interesting ; 
we  only  give  a  part  of  the  contents  devised  in  the 
deed: 

"To  all  Christian  People  to  whom  tliese  I'ressants  slmll  come, 

"  Know  y  Tliat  I,  Joseph  Fitz  randolph,  Senior  of  Piscattaway,  for 
and  in  Consideration  of  the  Love,  good  will,  and  affection  which  I  have 
and  do  bear  towards  my  well  beloved  son,  Jonathan  Fitz-randolph,  of 
Pisscataway,  New  Jereey, — Have  given,  granted,  and  by  these  Presents 
doe  freely,  folly,  clearly,  and  Absolutely  give  and  grant  to  the  said 
Jonathan  Fitz-raudolph,  his  heirs  and  Asigns  forever,  Lands  that  he  had 
bought  of  John  Lai ng,  Deed  hearing  date  November  y  28,  1703,  will 
att  Large  appeare  which  sd  Laud  beginnith  at  a  White  oake  tree,  etc. 
"  Joseph  Fitz-uasdolph  (hie  mark). 

"In  Presence  of  Ben  Hull,  Henry  ScRinnoN." 

"  Memorandum  y*  Aiidrow  Snialloy  has  quit  this  Mark  &  takin  his 
fathers  in  ye  Room  of  this  as  it  is  enterd  this  29  day  of  Apiil,  17C2. 

"BEfNE  RUNYON,  CIA." 

This  old  volume  of  two  Iiundred  years  ago  has 
pages  filled  with  records  of  the  marking  of  cattle, 
and  at  the  side  of  each  a  njugh  drawing  of  the  head 


PISCATAWAY. 


587 


of  the  creature  showing  the  markings.  At  that  early 
day,  there  being  few  fences  for  inclosures,  horses, 
cattle,  and  swine  were  let  loose  to  feed  upon  thou- 
sands of  acres  in  the  township.  Each  owner's  name 
and  mark  was  recorded  so  as  to  prevent  any  dispute 
that  might  arise  in  selecting  his  stock  from  his 
neighbors.  The  ears  were  slit,  clipped,  or  bored  as 
the  drawings  show.  We  find  an  order  upon  the  town 
clerk  as  follows:  / 

"Came  to  the  PLintation  of  the  Subscriber  about  the  first  of  Novem- 
ber a  black  calf,  one  white  spot  on  tlie  Belley,  no  certificates,  marlv  sup- 
posed to  be  coming  two  years  old,  but  small  for  that  age,  the  town 
clerke  will  plese  to  mark  it. 

"  ISAC  Bbown." 

On  account  of  damage  done  by  dogs  to  sheep  and 
cattle,  they  were  accordingly  registered  by  town  clerk. 

The  following  is  recorded  in  the  book  "  for  the 
poor  of  y"  town,"  showing  the  prices  on  Nov.  1.5, 1759 : 

2  Waggons  Load  of  Wood £0  63.  Od. 

1  Bushel  of  Kie 0  ^  6 

14  fl-JB.  of  Flower 0  2  C 

One-half  Gallon  of  Mollasses 0  2  0 

1J4  ttis.  of  Butter 0  1  4 

"Not.  13,  1759,  Kecl  from  Keune  Runyon,  Esq.,  the  fine  of  Wm. 
Classun,  son  of  Conl.  &  his  wife  for  profane  Swearing  the  sum  of 
t\  6s.  Oii 

"  March  24,  1760.  There  received  of  Joseph  Michol  for  his  Excisses 
for  y  year  1769  y"  sum  of  £2  12».  id. 

[The  above  is  Tax  of  Tavern-keeper.] 

"Feb.  29,  1760,  for  i^Bi.  Tea £0    5s.    Od. 

'    IjGall.  Eum U    a       0 

"    '    "  "  and  lit),  of  Candles  3       !)" 

Name  of  the  Town. — Piscataqua  is  an  Indian  name 
of  one  of  the  tribes  in  the  State  of  Maine,  and  also  a 
river  called  the  Piscataqua  River,  on  the  boundary 
line  of  Maine  and  New  Hampshire.  It  is  recorded 
that  Hugh  Dunn,  Hopewell  Hull,  John  Martin, 
Charles  Gilman,  Robert  Dennis,  John  Smith,  John 
Gilman,  and  Benjamin  Hull,  who  came  from  Piscata- 
qua, New  England,  were  granted,  Dec.  18,  1666,  and 
May  30,  1668,  the  right  as  Associates,  and  they  con- 
ferred upon  the  township  the  name  of  the  place  whence 
they  came,  it  being  known  as  Piscataqua  for  some 
time  after  the  settlement,  but  now  commonly  known 
as  Piscataway. 

Early  Settlements. — The  earliest  authentic  history 
of  this  township  is  gathered  from  the  public  records, 
which  state  '  "  that  the  large  tract  on  the  east  side  of 
Raritan  River,  which  comprises  the  towns  of  Piscata- 
way, Elizabethtown,  and  Woodbridge,  was  purchased 
of  the  Indians  in  1664.  The  purchasers  were  John 
Bailey,  Daniel  Denton,  Luke  Watson,  and  others,  who 
obtained  a  patent  in  1664  from  Governor  Nicolls,  who 
acted  under  the  Duke  of  York."  The  names  of  the 
first  settlers  on  record  are  the  Gilmans  (Gilman)  in 
1665 ;  the  Blackshaws,  Blackwells,  Drakes,  Hands, 
and  Hendricks  in  1677;  the  Dotys  (Doughtys)  and 
Wolfs  in  1678 ;  the  Smalleys,  Hulls,  and  Trotters  in 
1679 ;  the  Hansworths,  Martins,  and  Higgins  in  1680 ; 
the  Dunhams,  Laflowers  (Laforge),  and  Fitz  Ran- 
dolphs   in    1681 ;    the    Suttons,   Brindleys,    Bounds 

1  Early  Records. 


(Bownd),and  Fords  in  1682;  the  Grubs  and  Adamses 
in  1683;  the  Pregmores  in  1684;  the  Davises  and 
Slaughters  in  1685 ;  the  Chandlers  and  Smiths  in 
1689.  These  names  are  first  mentioned  in  the  con- 
tracts and  assignments  of  lands  in  this  township. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  freeholders  in  this 
township,  and  of  tho.se  who  took  up  land  in  the  year 
1683,  and  the  names  of  Thickton,  Babcock,  Boicecep, 
Fourath,  and  Wright.  There  are  also  a  few  names  of 
those  who  came  for  a  short  time  but  did  not  locate  in 
the  township : 


Hugh  Dunn. 

Vincent  rugnion. 

Thomas  Blackshaw. 

Benjamin  Sandford. 

Jediah  biggins. 

Joseph  Mash. 

Charles  Gillman. 

Isaac  Smalley. 

Tho.  William  Clawson. 

hope-well  hull, 

Joseph  Fitzrandolfe. 

John  Mullison. 

Beniaman  hull. 

Thomas  Fitzrandolfe. 

thomas  Sutton. 

John  langstaff. 

edmond  dounham. 

Poutenel  for  M'  Metick. 

Andraw  woden. 

Lassore,  alias:  reniphale. 

M'  John  Juiaurs. 

geoi-;;e  drake. 

Johu  Pound. 

Cornelius  Longfield. 

jefery  mauing, 

thomas  biggins. 

D'  Henry  Greenland. 

Rebobah  gannet. 

beniamon  fitzrandolfe. 

Widow  Jones. 

Samuel  Doty. 

niathu  giles. 

Heudrick  (1C87)  Garretsou. 

John  Smalley  senior. 

Alexander  Adams. 

Richard  Swellan. 

John  Marten. 

Daniel  Mac  Daniel. 

John  Hopkins. 

John  Smalley. 

Beniamen  Clarke. 

John  Ilomcr. 

Looks  dnnbam. 

Thomas  grube. 

The  Widdow  Dunn. 

John  fitzrandolfe. 

Thomas  gordeu. 

John  drake. 

Daniel  bandrack. 

Iieziadh  bonhan. 

Daniel    Hendricks   for  his 

Daniel. 
William  Sutton. 
Waller  Robinson, 
.lodiah   Higins. 
William  right. 
William  Clauson. 
Edward  Dunham. 
Richard  Smith. 
John  (Or)eseref. 
Winnifride  Ronce. 
Nicolas  nuindaye. 


William  Olden. 
M'  John  Royce. 
Timothy  Carle. 
John  Mulsen. 
Matthew  Giles, 
edward  slater. 
Nicolas  Monday  Junior. 
Daniel  and  johu  McDonald. 
John  Drake. 
Thomas  Oswood. 

The  Widdow  Robinson,  for  Robin- 
son and  Charles. 
Jabez  hendral. 
Joseph  Worth. 
William  Olden. 
Joseph  Marten. 
Samuel  Blachford. 
Nicolas  Mundy  Junior. 
Benjamin  Gustish. 
Samuel  Hull. 
Vincent  Rugnion  junior. 
John  newbold. 
Samuel  Mailer. 
John  Mash. 
Thomas  Holland. 
Benjamin  marten. 
Benjamin  Grifflth. 
Thomas  Sansworth. 
M'  Samuel  Walker. 
Mr.  Melot  <i;ius  Se  Horhiud. 
Peter  Groon. 
Andrew  Woodward. 
Josei)h  Mamnin, 
Thomas  Lawrence. 
David  Koriel,  1682. 
Jiidah  Sutf.in. 
Andrew  Davis. 
Thomas  Sliotwell. 
John  Sutfan. 
Cabel  Carnbell. 
John  SUllwell. 
Richard  Sutfan. 
Bet^aniin  Korlle,  1663. 
Ellas  Duxbury. 
Mr.  John  Siunius. 
James  Manin. 
Abrahnni  Coriell,  1702. 
John  Homersand  Homer  for  Brush. 
John  &  William  Lange. 
Joseph  Maning,  Jr.,  1700. 
Francis  Drake. 
John  Geddies,  1702. 
Richard  Swettin. 
Joseph  Mannin. 
Doct.  Henry  Stewart,  1702. 
Benjamin  Clarke. 
Daniel  Blackford. 
Nicholas  Buries,  1703. 
Joseph  Worth. 
John  Chambere. 
Samuel  dunu.  1704. 
John  Smalley,  1703. 


588  HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Juhii  Corpee.nO*.  / 
Jacoli  Pj-iitt,  17l)6r 
Thonms  Pussall,  1706. 
AntuDlCliiusnn 
Joseph  dun,  1707. 
Samuel  blacford,  1707. 
tlu.niaa  South,  1707. 
William  Hudsou,  1709. 
Edmoiid  Harrison,  1709. 
tliomas  Wiggins,  1709. 
Carnet  Catlierlin,  1709. 
James  dote  (Poty),  1710. 
Beninutu  pridniore,  1710. 
Daniel  ftiltk.  171". 
Edmou  Dunman,  1712. 
Thomas  Brodemich,  1713. 
Samuel  I'oter,  1713. 
Joseph  and  Jac.  Sutton,  1713. 
Andi'on  Miller,  1714. 
William  Dory,  1714. 
Benjamin  Botli,  1715. 
Duglos  Combol,  1715. 
Peter  Bibout,  1716. 
John  Woulg,  1716. 
matlhew  giles,  171». 

Martin  Wanderhout,  1718. 

Lorraue  Kuth,  1719. 

Dolph  Hardeubrook,  1719. 

Alexander  Thomson. 

M.181-8  Collins,  1720. 

Eljaha  Sinally,  1720. 

Daniel  ltound,1720. 

Thomas  Boys,  1721. 

Aron  boram. 

Samuel  Chandler,  1723. 

Henry  Skibbow. 

Bobert  Allen,  1723. 

Henry  Broner,  1724. 

Josiah  Davis,  1725. 

Josepli  Ross,  1726. 

Honery  Smack. 

John  Vanhorn. 

Joseph  Moor,  1727. 

Daniel  Coper,  1728. 

Eicbard  Harper,  1728. 

Abraham  Berdine,  1729. 

Tlionnis  Davis,  1729. 

Henry  Lowell,  1730. 

William  Harris,  1731. 

Edward  Antill. 

Ecune  Runyon,  1736. 

Thomas  Webster,  1737. 

David  Correll. 
EHsha  South,  1731. 
Doct  Stillwell,  1739. 

John  Stelle,  1739. 
Isaac  Stelle,  1741. 
John  Oilman,  1741. 
John  Hoi  Ion,  1742. 
Aiariah  Dunham,  1743. 
Bowly  Arnold,  1742. 
Thomas  Kitit  MoUeson. 
Jonathan  Dunham. 
Nehemiab  Dunham,  1743. 


Filz  Randolph  Drake,  1748. 
John  Eoyce,  1709. 
John  Parker,  1709. 
E.  S.  Hooper. 
Gideon  Marlott. 
Tristram  Manning,  1733. 
Beiiejah  Dunham. 
Benjamin  Gross. 
Peter  Runyon,  1733. 
David  Conger,  1744. 
John  Kent,  1744. 
Elijah  Whitehead,  1744. 
Elijah  Pound. 
Caleb  Balduiug,  1747. 
Moses  Burgess,  1748. 
Christianus  Lnpardua,  1750. 
Henry  Brass,  1750. 
Williaui  French,  1760. 
Isaac  Dye,  1750. 
Ebenezer  Dauwls. 
George  Gramos,  1751. 
John  Laforge,  H-M. 
Thomas  Davis.  1751. 
Richard  Woldering,  1752. 
Hendrick  Vruom,  1751. 
Thomas  Thicks,  1762. 
John  Miller,  17.53. 
Samuel  Jones,  1766. 
Jacob  Titsworth,  1756. 
Joseph  Mitchell,  1756. 
David  Corriell,  1768. 
Henry  Sharp.  1758. 
Isaac  Faurot.  1767. 
Benjamin  Foster,  1759. 
Kozia  Dunham. 

Benjamin  Blackford,  1762. 
Jeremiah  Jeflfry,  1762. 

Samuel  Sharp,  1702. 

John  and  David  Pound,  1764. 

Thomas  Goodfellow,  1764. 

Benjamin  Pound,  1764. 

David  Jameson. 

Stephen  Bunnel. 

William  Mercer,  1766. 

Samuel  Dayton,  1767. 

Robert  Willson,  1768. 

Aaron  Bishop,  1768. 

William  Thorn,  1768. 

Cornelius  Boiec,  1768. 

John  Folks. 

Samuel  Soper,  1772. 

Enoch  Stewart,  1774. 

William  Terrill,  1775. 

Joseph  Thorn,  1775. 

Joseph  Caywood,  1776. 

Abraham  Freeman,  1776. 

Kicliard  Merrill,  1778. 

John  Probasko. 

John  Vankirk. 

Richard  Field. 

Bersliebe  Laberteaulea,  1780. 

Peter  Marsalis,  1780. 

John  Dayton. 

James  Coddington,  1789. 


We  find  that  many  of  the  original  purchasers  of 
land  are  still  represented  by  tlieir  descendants,  and 
many  of  the  settlements  named  after  the  early  fam- 
ilies, as  Fieldville,  in  the  southeasterly  part  of  the 
township,  the  first  settlement  of  the  Fields,  repre- 
senting a  number  of  farms  and  well-built  homesteads 
upon  the  old  road  leading  to  Raritan  Landing  from 
New  Market.  The  family  annals  in  this  country 
reach  back  to  1638,  when  the  original  ancestor  came 


from  England  with  Roger  Williams,  and  settled  at 
Newport,  R.  I.  From  that  place  he  removed  to 
Flushing,  L.  I.,  whence  John  Field  passed  into  New 
Jersey  at  an  early  day,  and  located  on  a  tract  of  one 
thousand  and  fifty-five  acres,  lying  between  Bound 
Brook  and  New  Brunswick,  along  the  Raritan  River, 
in  Piscataway  township.  From  that  time  the  family 
have  been  prominently  identified  with  the  growth  and 
development  of  that  section  of  country.  In  1774 
Michael  Field  was  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  conven- 
tion at  New  Brunswick  to  consult  regarding  the  points 
of  difference  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies. 
Several  of  the  direct  ancestors  of  the  Fields  of  Fields- 
ville  were  in  active  service  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  one  being  a  lieutenant  in  the  First  Regiment  of 
Middlesex  County,  and  another  losing  his  life  at  the 
battle  of  Monmouth.  The  representatives  of  the 
family  have  always  been  plain,  solid,  substantial 
people,  connected  religiously  with  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  liberal  supporters  of  the  various  evan- 
gelical and  philanthropic  enterprises  of  the  day. 
Michael  Field  left  a  legacy  to  the  Bound  Brook  Pres- 
byterian Church  for  establishing  a  free  school  in  that 
place  over  eighty  years  ago.  The  Massachusetts 
branch  of  the  family  has  contributed  many  able  men 
to  the  country,  and  their  influence  is  felt  in  the  coun- 
sels of  the  nation  to-day. 

The  names  of  Hopewell  and  Benjamin  Hull  are 
mentioned  in  the  year  1682.  They  were  quite  promi- 
nent residents  here,  holding  township  offices,  and 
owners  of  a  large  tract  of  land.  The  name  is  not 
known  in  this  township  at  the  present  day. 

Mention  is  also  made  of  John  and  George  Drake 
very  early,  and  there  are  still  descendants  to  be  found, 
though  many  of  this  name  have  removed  into  other 
portions  of  the  country.  Their  progenitor  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  Sir  Francis  Drake,  who  came  to 
America  in  1577,  accompanied  by  Ralph  Crane;  they 
landed  in  or  near  Massachusetts  Bay. 

Henry  Garritson,  or  Garretson,  was  of  Dutch  stock. 
The  first  of  this  family  in  America  emigrated  from 
Holland  in  1658,  in  the  ship  "The  Gilded  Beaver." 
In  the  records  of  this  township  we  find  a  convey- 
ance of  property,  and  we  copy  the  following  from 
the  original  deed:  "This  indenture,  made  y°  twelfth 
day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety 
and  eight  [1698],  Between  Hendrick  Garrison,  of 
Raritan,  in  ye  county  of  Middlesex,  in  West  Jer- 
sey, Yeoman,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife  .  .  .  and  Jaques 
Poillion  |JamesPoillonJ,of  Staten  Island  and  county 
of  Richmond  in  the  Province  of  New  York,  being  a 
Tract  given  by  the  then  proprietors,  4  day  of  May, 
Anno  Domi  1688,  containing  one  hundred  and  twelve 
acres  |112],  and  bounded  by  Raritan  River,  and 
South  East  by  Rehobath  Gaunet,  North  West  by 
Richard  Smith,  and  North  East  by  lands  not  yet 
surveyed,  and  South  West  again  by  y'  River,  con- 
sideration Money  [£140J  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  current  money  of  this  province." 


PISCATAWAY. 


589 


Hendrick  Garretson  is  also  made  mention  of  in  the 
county  records  of  Staten  Island  at  Richmond  at  an 
earlier  date  than  when  he  came  over  and  purchased 
the  farm  of  Jaques  Poillion  upon  the  Raritan  River. 
Tlie  families  of  Garretson  in  this  township  must  have 
descended  from  this  Henry  or  Hendrick  Garretson. 
The  names  of  Jacob,  Henry,  John,  George,  Peter, 
and  Daniel  are  common  names  in  the  family  of  Gar- 
retsons  now,  as  they  were  two  hundred  years  ago. 

The  first  of  the  Mannings  named  in  the  record  is 
Jefery  Maninng  in  1683  ;  Tristrim  Manning,  1733 ; 
Joseph  Manning  was  a  town  officer  in  1712-16;  Na- 
thaniel Manning,  1734;  John  Planning,  1738;  Ben- 
jamin Manning,  1774;  William  B.  Manning,  1811, 
1814,  1825 ;  William  Manning,  17(;7 ;  Nathaniel 
Manning  again  in  1756;  Jeremiah  Manning,  1814; 
Phineas  Manning,  1787 ;  Samuel  and  Samuel  R. 
Manning,  1869-71  ;  Alexander  Manning,  1874,  rep- 
resenting many  official  positions  in  the  township. 
The  first  mention  made  is  in  1673  of  a  Capt.  John  Man- 
ning, who  had  a  daughter  Mary  (Manningham),  who 
mai-ried  a  Robert  Blackwell,  April  20,  1670,  who  was 
one  of  the  early  settlers  of  this  East  Jersey,  though 
his  name  is  not  found  in  any  town  documents  now 
extant.  In  a  "  deed  on  record  in  New  York,  Robert 
Blackwell  is  spoken  of  as  late  of  Elizabethtown,  in 
New  Jersey,  Merchant."  The  Blackwells  are  still 
represented  by  the  name  in  this  town.ship, — Mr.  S. 
R.  Blackford,  whose  residence  is  near  where  the  Half- 
Moon  Tavern  stood  on  the  main  road  to  Stelton.  The 
Oilman  family  owned  property  near  where  the  bridge 
of  the  Raritan  Landing  crossed  the  river.  It  is  said 
the  building  was  destroyed  June  19,  1835,  by  a  tor- 
nado which  swept  through  this  part  of  the  township. 

Rehobath  Gannet  was  the  first  of  that  name,  1686. 
The  name  has  disappeared  from  the  records. 

The  Doty  (Doughty)  family  removed  to  Berkshire 
Hills,  near  Passaic  Valley,  in  1720,  with  exception 
of  Maj.-Gen.  Solomon  Doughty,  who  was  born  Sept. 
26,  1772 ;  was  the  grandson  of  Samuel  Doty,  who  set- 
tled in  this  township,  1682. 

John  Smalley  (Smaly)  is  named  as  freeholder  and 
owner  of  large  herds  of  "  Horsess,  Hogges,  and  Cat- 
tle, mark  recorded  1691,  halfpenny  with  under  rite 
eare  Swallow  Tale."  All  these  ancient  records  are 
so  many  links  in  the  family  history.  The  Smalleys 
were  early  settlers  here.  It  is  more  than  probable 
that  Jonathan  and  Elisha  Smalley  were  sons  of  the 
original  John.  The  family  is  well  represented 
throughout  the  township.  The  names  of  Ambrose, 
Elisha,  Daniel,  Henry,  and  William  are  prominent 
in  the  family.  The  name  of  Smalley  is  mentioned 
as  among  the  first  (1720)  members  in  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church  in  this  town- 
ship. They  came  with  other  families  from  Newport, 
R.  I.,  very  early,  about  1668. 

John  Marten  sold  to  James  Bollen,  Sept.  30,  1673, 
property,  or,  in  one  of  the  records,  exchanged  with 
Bollen  and  afterwards  resold,  Nov.  6,  1674,  to  Henry 
38 


Lyon,  who  afterwards  sold  it.  May  1, 1675,  "  together 
with  the  cow-yard  orchard,"  for  £30.  John  Martain 
was  one  of  the  founders  of  Piscataway.  He  had  a 
son,  Henry  Martain,  also  James  Marten.  They  came 
from  Dover,  N.  H.  The  family  is  still  well  repre- 
sented in  this  township.  The  following  is  a  quaint 
old-time  record  :  "  1726,  May  the  3  Day,  James  Mar- 
tin came  to  Bord  at  my  House.  1727,  August  the  19, 
Leaft  my  house  and  wee  never  made  no  agreement 
how  much  a  Week.  I  promist  him  to  be  Low  In  price, 
will  take  vp  with  4s  pr.  Weeke,  which  acount  makes 
67  weeks  and  4  Dayes  makes  £13  Os.  Od.  Since  I 
concluded  to  Take  3s.  6rf.,  £11  16«.  6rf."  ' 

Dunham,  Daniel,  David,  Look  (properly  Luke),  Ed- 
mund, Nehemiah,  Jeremiah,  these  are  the  first  names 
of  this  early  family.  They  came  from  Piscataqua  or 
Dover,  in  New  Hampshire,  where  they  landed  from 
sloop  or  ship  "  James,"  1630  or  1632.  They  came  in 
1668,  and  are  mentioned  with  others  as  subscribers  to 
an  agreement  that  a  new  book  be  regarded  as  a  law- 
ful record  of  surveys  and  conveyances.-  The  Rev. 
Edmund  Dunham  was  the  first  clergyman  of  the 
Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church,  1703.  He  died  March, 
1734,  in  his  seventy-third  year.^  This  family  name  is 
well  represented  throughout  the  township. 

John  Fitz  Randolph  (originally  spelled  RandolfeJ, 
with  his  son  John,  is  first  mentioned  in  1683  as  a 
freeholder. 

They  came  early,  and  were  owners  of  a  large  tract 
of  land,  some  thousand  of  acres,  and  the  secretary's 
son,  John  Fitz  Randolfe,  was  among  the  first  at  Ran- 
dolphville  (Newton),  in  the  centre  of  the  township, 
where  ten  or  twelve  farms  are  now  owned  by  this 
family..  Thomas  and  John  (3d)  were  among  the  first 
who  became  members  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist 
Church,  1722,  and  David  Fitz  Randolph  held  many 
official  relations  to  this  township  in  helping  arrange 
for  the  diflerent  highways.  Malachi  Fitz  Randolph, 
1765,  "  was  town  clerke."  David  was  in  1749  chosen 
freeholder,  and  Joseph  held  the  same  position  from 
1767  to  1781.  Capt.  Samuel  is  mentioned  in  1780  as 
a  town  officer  and  officer  of  militia  (see  Military 
Record).  The  family  is  extensive  throughout  this 
and  neighboring  townships,  and  they  have  held  many 
responsible  positions  in  the  county  and  State.  The 
name  of  Daniel  Handrack  is  mentioned  among  the 
freeholders  in  1699,  and  the  name  is  also  recorded  as 
owner  of  personal  property  as  well  as  real  estate.  He 
was  a  yeoman,  stood  well  in  the  community,  was 
called  upon  frequently  as  witness  to  deeds  and  co- 
venants in  relation  to  the  transferring  of  property. 
We  do  not  know  whether  the  names  of  Handrach  and 
Handron  are  the  same,  but  the  latter  name  is  also 
mentioned. 

William  Lutton  was  a  freeholder  in  1686.  The 
family  came  originally  from  Oyster  Bay,  L.  I.     Am- 


1  Ledger,  p.  20.  2  Town  Book. 

3  See  account  of  Seventh-Day  Church. 


590 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


brose  Letten  (as  the  name  was  then  spelled)  was  asso- 
ciated with  Denton,  Baylies,  and  Watson  in  the  pur- 
chase of  land  from  the  Indians,  and  William  must 
have  been  his  son.  The  name  is  not  known  in  this 
township,  but  in  Somerset  County  there  are  many 
epitaphs  in  the  burial-ground  of  the  Lutton  family. 

William  Wright  became  a  freeholder,  1699,  and 
owned  a  herd  of  "  y'  cattle,  horse,  and  hogge,"  re- 
corded in  the  township  book.  The  family  is  not 
numerous  in  this  section  of  the  county. 

Timothy  Carle  (Carll)  must  have  been  a  relative  of 
Jacob  Carle,  who  was  a  freeholder,  and  the  family 
were  prominent  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 

Edward  Slater  was  a  freeholder  in  this  townshij^, 
1683,  and  owned  a  large  number  of  acres.  He  held 
many  prominent  positions  in  township  and  State, 
and  was  the  first  clerk  of  the  courts  of  the  county. 

Benjamin  Gustish  and  Samuel  Mailer  owned  lands 
in  the  township  in  1688. 

Vincent  Rugnion  (Rognion,  Ronyon,  Rugione, 
Runyon).  This  family  came  from  France  ;  they  were 
Huguenots.  The  ancestor  is  first  mentioned  in  1663, 
and  probably  owned  land  which  he  bought  of  Francis 
Barber,  Thomas  Moore's  original  house-lot,  south  of 
George  Pack,  March  20,  1672.  He  removed  to  Pis- 
cataway  in  1677,  and  had  "  allotted  to  him,  March  of 
the  same  year,  on  the  Raritan  River,  154.}  acres." 
He  died  in  November,  1713,  his  wife,  Martha,  sur- 
viving him. 

He  had  a  son  Vincent  (2),'  who  occupied  the  same 
lands,  1683,  and  had  also  a  large  quantity  of  cattle  ; 
he  learned  also  the  trade  of  a  carpenter.  He  is  men- 
tioned as  overseer  of  the  highway,  1717  ;  also  Peter 
Rugnion,  1737  ;  and  Darich  Runione,  1737  ;  Joseph 
Runyon,  1743;  Reune  Ronyon,  from  1749  to  1767 
.served  as  town  clerk  ;  Ephraim  Runyon  served  from 
1768  until  1676  as  town  clerk,  as  well  as  collector  for 
twenty  years.  Asa  Runyon  was  collector  in  1793  ; 
Daniel,  1840-42  ;  and  Eugene,  1869-71,  as  collectors. 
Daniel  Runyon  was  chosen  freeholder  from  1859  to 
1864  ;  Reune  Rugnion,  "  one  of  His  Majesty's  Jus- 
tices of  the  Peace,"  1759-67  ;  and  mention  still  could 
be  made  of  many  more  having  held  positions  in  this 
township  and  State.  The  families  are  owners  of  many 
farms,  as  well  as  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits. 

Jediah  Higginson  (Higgins)  came  and  took  up 
lands  as  early  as  1680,  becoming  a  freeholder,  and 
held  some  positions  in  the  township.  Descendants 
of  the  same  branch  of  the  family  are  now  to  be  found 
in  the  neighboring  townships. 

There  were  two  Wilsons,  the  first,  John,  a  carpenter, 
and  second,  John,  a  wheelwright.  They  were  both 
here  at  an  early  day,  and  were  distinguished  as  Great 
John  and  Little  John.  The  former  died  unmarried 
Oct.  12,  1672 ;  the  other  was  a  freeholder  as  early  as 
1675.  He  must  have  owned  lands  just  on  the  easterly 
borders  of  this  township,  and  also  a  house  and  lot  is 

>  E.  T.  Bill,  96-97. 


made  mention  at  Elizabeth  Town.  He  is  also  made 
mention  of  in  connection  with  a  French  gentleman 
who  came  here  for  a  short  time,  but  sold  his  land  in 
1687,  by  name  of  Lassore  alias  Rempele.  This  is  the 
manner  in  which  his  name  is  signed  to  a  deed  of  con- 
veyance in  Piscataway.  John  Pound  and  Elijah 
South  are  mentioned  early  (about  1710).  They  were 
Quakers.  South  left  and  went  to  Salem  County, 
while  John  Pound  remained.  It  is  said  he  kept  an 
inn  at  the  Gum  Spring,  on  the  River  road  to  Bound 
Brook.     A  few  of  the  name  are  still  in  this  section. 

Mather  Gile  (Giles)  was  among  the  first  settlers; 
owned  farms  near  "  Ambrose  Brook"  in  1699.  This 
family  has  no  connection  with  Rev.  .John  Giles. 
They  are  still  residents  of  this  township. 

Alexander  Adams  was  a  freeholder  in  1699.  His 
name  is  recorded  in  the  records  of  the  town,  and  in 
one  place  is  spelled  Adamss.  A  few  of  the  same 
name  are  still  in  the  count}'. 

Benjamin  Clarke  and  Daniel  McDaniel  are  also 
made  mention  of,  1683.  They  owned  lands  near 
Samptown  (now  Waterville),  and  had  a  saw-mill. 

Thomas  Grube,  Thomas  Gordon,  and  Walter  Rob- 
inson must  have  came  together,  as  these  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  "  Survey  of  Allotment,"  and  "  Hes- 
iadh  bonham"  is  made  mention  of,  but  did  not  locate 
in  the  same  part  of  the  township,  but  near  the  Green 
Run  ( Brook). 

The  Boice  family  probably  were  of  French  e.vtrac- 
tion.  A  branch  of  the  family  settled  at  Newtown, 
Long  Island,  where  we  find  that  some  of  the  family 
are  connected  by  marriage  with  the  Rapelyea  family.'- 
They  must  have  come  to  this  township  on  or  about 
1720,  on  lands  near  or  by  the  River  road,  as  well  as  a 
small  piece  of  land  near  Newtown.  John  Boice  (or 
Boyce)  and  George  Boyce  were  privates  in  the  Revo- 
lutionary war,  and  also  a  William  is  mentioned,  but 
not  enlisting  from  this  county.  The  branches  of  the 
family  have  now  extended  into  other  counties,  as 
well  as  in  the  West.  Charles  Boice  is  now  a  mem- 
ber of  the  committee  and  treasurer  of  the  township. 

John  Clawson  was  a  commissioner  at  an  early  date 
to  sell  confiscated  estates.  His  son,  William  Claw- 
son,  was  a  freeholder  in  1690  in  this  township,  also 
Thomas  William  Clawson  (possibly  the  same  person). 
The  family  came  originally  from  Staten  Island,  where 
the  name  dates  back  to  1669.  Capt.  John  Clawson 
was  in  the  Jersey  Brigade,  May  li;  1776,  at  Albany, 
N.  Y.  The  family  own  still  a  number  of  farms  in 
the  township  where  they  reside,  while  some  are  mer- 
chants in  other  places. 

John  Hopkins,  Daniel  Hendricks,  Winnifride 
Rouce,  Mr.  John  Royce,  and  Nicolas  Mundy  are 
represented  in  1689  as  freeholders. 

Koriell  (Coryell,  Coriell).  This  family  were  among 
the  first  who  came.  The  following  is  copied  from  the 
register  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Bound  Brook  : 

-  Eider's  Newtown,  L,  t. 


PISCATAWAY. 


591 


Baptized  Jan.  2,  1728.— Parents,  David  Eoriel,  wife  Elsie,  child 
Anetie. 

Baptized  May  IG,  1737.— Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Elsie,  child 
Amnettie. 

Baptized  Aug.  25,  1736.— Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Elsie,  child 
Moses. 

Baptized  Aug.  29,  1738.— Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Elsie,  child 
Abraham. 

Baptized  Juue  1,  1740.— Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Elsie,  child 
Imnianuel. 

Baptized  Jan.  31,  1742. — Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Sarah,  child 
Nettie. 

Baptized  June  5,  1743. — Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Sarah,  child 
Elsie ;  godmother,  Annie  Van  Cott. 

Baptized  May  9,  1745. — Parents,  David  Koriel,  wife  Sarab,  child 
Jannettie. 

Abraham  Coriell,  father  of  Abner  Coriell,  died  Sept.  22, 1828,  aged 
ninety  years. 

Esther,  his  wife,  died  March  20, 1796,  in  her  fifty-eighth  year. 

David  Coriell  died  Sept.  22, 18UU,  in  his  sixty-sixth  year,  Abraham's 
brother. 

Elizabeth  Coriell,  wife  of  David,  died  March  22,  1813,  in  her  seventy- 
seventh  year.  Susan  Coriell,  wife  of  Samuel  Blackford,  sister  of  Abra- 
ham Coriell,  died  June  27, 1827,  aged  fifty-four  years.  Samuel  Blackford 
died  April  16, 1837,  aged  eighty-nine  years.  Abraham,  son  of  David  and 
Elizabeth  Coriell,  died  Aug.  15, 180U,  aged  twenty  years. 

John  Geddis,  Samuel  Chandler,  and  Thomas  Web- 
ster are  mentioned  as  freeholders  in  1718,  and  re- 
corded their  cattle,  etc' 

The  Daytons  came  from  Southampton,  L.  I.  The 
early  names  are  Ralph  Dayton,  who  married  the 
"  widdow  of  John  Hinds,  June,  1656."  John  Wood- 
ruff, of  Elizabethtown,  had  a  daughter  Elizabeth, 
who  was  married  to  Robert,  son  of  Ralph  Dayton, 
about  1680.  Jonathan  Dayton,  probably  a  grandson 
of  Ralph  Dayton,  had  with  others  the  "  allotment  of 
Lands  in  1733  above  Essex  and  in  Middlesex,  bor- 
dering upon  Somerset  County."  Elias  Dayton  was 
made  a  marshal  with  others  for  surveying  the  bound- 
ary lines,  1689.  The  family  are  not  numerous  in 
this  township. 

The  names  of  Woden,  Langstafl",  Gustish,  Gritfith, 
Olden,  Holland  are  found  represented  in  other  town- 
ships by  the  making  of  changes  in  the  boundary 
lines. 


CHAPTER    LXXXIII. 

PISCATAWAY.— ((,'o«(/H»frf.) 

Civil  Organization. — Jan.  1,  1683-84,  Maj.  Giles 
and  Lieut.  Doty  were  appointed  to  visit  the  town 
magazine  and  to  report  thereon  to  the  townsmen  at 
the  next  meeting. 

April  2,  1684,  H.  Hull,  G.  Drake,  John  Langstaff, 
John  Gilman  to  go  and  treat  with  Governor  Laurie 
about  the  quit-rents  and  patents.  Another  committee 
for  similar  purpose  the  ne.'ct  year, — Gilman,  Drake, 
Smalley,  and  Slater. 

Jan.  1,  1684-85,  Hopewell  Hull  and  J.  Martin  to 
run  the  lines  and  lay  out  the  bounds  between  "  Beaver 
Dam  and  Woodbridge  Line." 

1  ForStelle  family,  etc.,  see  history  of  Raritan  township. 


Sept.  17,  1686,  "Agreed  y'  every  inhabitant  of  y° 
towne  is  to  paye  nine  pence  in  silver  towerds  ye  buy- 
inge  of  Nailes  for  ye  Towne  house." 

Dec.  10,  1686.     Town  rate  fixed  at  £44  6s. 

Jan.  1,  1689-90,  Edward  Slater,  George  Drake,  and 
Isaac  Smalley  were  chosen  "  to  Discorse  hopewull 
a  bout  the  finishen  the  towne  house,  and  if  hopewell 
hull  refuse  to  finish  it  that  the  above  mentioned  men 
have  power  to  hire  workmen  to  finish  the  saide 
houste." 

March  2,  1690,  Edmond  Dunham  to  have  ten  shil- 
lings "  for  mending  the  buriell  place,  and  to  sett  it  up 
with  good  white  oacke  or  Chestnut  .stakes  And  bound 
with  good  withes." 

"Shingle  Hill,"  "Turtle  Hill,"  "  Scotland's  Bridge" 
are  mentioned  about  this  period. 

Jan.  1,  170.5,  "  The  Stocks,  Burying-place,  Pound, 
and  the  Towne  House  were  all  to  be  substantially  re- 
paired, the  Latter  to  have '  Glaysed  dores  hanged  and 
maid  tite.' " 

May  16,  1732,  a  specific  sum  for  the  first  time  no- 
ticed as  authorized  to  be  raised  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor,  "  fifteen  pounds  of  Current  Lawful  money,  at  8 
shillings  per  owner." 

"  A  pair  of  stocks  to  be  made  and  kept  in  the  usual 
place." 

In  the  Piscataway  township  records,  Oct.  26,  1683: 

"At  Towne  Meetinge  then  held,  George  Drake  and  Hopewell  Hull 
chosen  overseers  for  ye  High-Waye,  and  y'  there  be  a  Cart-bridge  by 
Higginnes,  a  footbrige  by  Rehoboth  Gannet6,and  a  fiToot  bridge  at  Stony 
brook,  goinge  to  Greenlands. 

"Mr.  Martin,  M'  Jiles,  M'  Hull,  and  Hopewell  Hull  chosen  by  y 
Towne  to  be  joyned  with  John  Oilman  4  Edward  Slater  to  treat  with  y" 
Governor  abou^  setlinge  y«  Townshipo  and  about  y*  meadows  on  the 
lower  side  y«  South  River. 

"December  21",  16S3,  Then  published  y«  acts  of  Generall  assemblie, 
which  passed  at  y<"  Sessions  in  November  &  December  dito.  The  same 
day  published  a  proclamation  conserning  cuttinge  or  seilinge  of  Timber. 

"  January  1«,  1684.- George  Drake  i  Isacke  Smally  then  chosen  Deb- 
uties  for  y«  year  1684.  Hopewell  Hull  chosen  Constable  &  Edward 
Slater  Towne  Clarke.  George  Drake  &  Isacke  Smally  rate  makers. 
Major  Giles  &  Lieft  Doty  appointed  to  view  ye  towne's  Magazein  &  to 
bring  report  to  ye  Townesmen  at  y  next  towne  meetinge  in  what  con- 
dition it  is  in. 

"Benjamin  Ffits  Randolph  taken  in  a  Townsman. 

".\prill  2'',  1684. — At  a  Towne  meetinge  then  was  chosen  Hopewell 
Hull,  George  Drake,  John  Langstafe,  &  John  Gilman,  to  goe  and  treat 
with  Governor  Lowrie  about  ovr  quit  rents  &  Patteuinge  ovr  Towne- 
shipe,  &c. 

"  August  11"',  1684.— Alt  ye  Towne  meeting,  Mr.  Martin,  Capl.  Drake, 
Charles  Gilman,  Hopewell  Hull,  George  Drake,  Mr.  James  Giles,  Isacke 
Smally.  &  Edward  Slater  chosen  to  lay  out  landings,  highwayes,  and 
other  wayes  and  conveniences  for  j"  Inhabitants  of  y  said  Towne,  or 
the  Major  part  of  them." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  village  dignitaries 
during  the  early  years  of  the  settlement  and  first 
records : 

liEPUTIES   TO   THE  GENERAL   ASSEMBLY. 
1075.- John  Gilman,  Hopewell  Hull. 
1684-86.— George  Drake,  Isaac  Smalley. 
1687.— George  Drake,  John  LangstalT. 
1692.— George  Drake,  Benjamin  Clarke. 

1693.— Hopewell  Hull,  John  Drake,  Thomas  Fitz  Randolph.^ 
1694-95.— Thomas  Fitz  Randolph,  Thomas  Higgins. 

-  September,  in  place  of  Hopewell  Hull,  deceased. 


592 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1696-97. — Cornelius  Lon^field,  Jediali  Higgins. 
1698. — Samuel  Walker,  Cornelius  Lougfield. 

OVEBSEEES  OF    THE    HIGHWAY. 

1683.— George  Drake,  Hopewell  Hull. 

1684.— Charles  Gilniau,  Jolm  Martin. 

1686-87.— George  Drake,  Hi.l)ewell  Hull. 

1688.— William  Wriglite,  Thomas  Higgins. 

1689.— Benjamin  Clarke,  Benjamin  Hull. 

1690.— Thomas  Higgins,  Matthew  Giles. 

1692 —Benjamin  Claike,  Jediah  Higgius. 

169.'i-86.— John  Drake,  Thomas  Grabs,  Benajah  Dunham. 

1698.— Johu  Field,  John  Drake. 

JUSTICES   OF  THE  TOWN  COURT. 
May,  1688.— Benjamin  Clarke,  George  Drake,  Charles  Gilman. 

There  is  no  further  record  of  their  successors  or 
predecessors. 

Select  men  to  Mauage  tlie  Afl'airs  of  y'  towne  were 
first  established  in  January,  1G93.  Those  first  selected 
were  Capt.  Francis  Drake,  Thomas  Fitz  Randolph, 
Benjamin  Hull,  Isaac  Smalley,  and  Edward  Slater. 

"  September  4'l>,  1685.— (Ord)ered  &  voted  att  y"  Towne  meetinge  that 
(for)  y  encoraginge  of  killiiige  of  Wolves  tliat  for  (eve)ry  wolfe  killed 
in  y  Towne  j«  killer  shall  be  allowed  him  Twenty  Shillings. 

"January  1",  168g, — Granted  to  Alexander  Adams  an  accomodation 
of  lands  with  in  the  Towne  of  Piscataway,  (B)y  the  said  Towne  meet- 
inge accordinge  to  yo  Governors  (wa)rrant,  Isaac  Smally  chosen  Debiity. 

"  The  Towne  of  Piscataway  claime  accordinge  to  and  other 

priveldges,  the  priveledge  of  (cjhosdinge  every  first  day  of  January  two 
Debuties.  (They)  have  chosen  for  their  other  Delmty  George  Drake; 
Nicolas  Munday,  Constable;  Edward  Slater,  chosen  Clarke.  Kate 
Makers  for  y  last  year  is  Isack  Smally  &  Edward  Slater.  George  Drake 
&  Hopewell  Hull  chosen  survayors  lor  the  high  wayes,  and  to  have 
power  to  mend  the  same  and  to  bringe  y«  same  to  a  Towne  Rate. 
"May  11*1685. 

"  Jenewary  1*',  168|. 

"John  Langstaf  and  george  drake  chosen  debutyes  ^or  (the)  Insewin 
yeare. 

"At  the  same  towne  meetinge  thomas  fizrandolfe  cboseu  Cunstubell, 
Isaac  Smalley  Chosen  towue  Clarke. 

"  Jenewary  the  second  168|. 

"  At  a  towne  meeting  then  lielde 

"  William  Right  and  thomas  higgins  chosen  for  over  seears  for  the 
hiwayes  for  this  preasant  yeare.     At  the  same  town  mealing  Isaac 
towne    Clarke.     At  the   same  town  meating  thomas 
i  Gordon  taken  In  townesmen. 

meating  ti  bovesaide  John  langstafe  bad  the  townee 
ell  of  lande  liing  upon  or  nere  Ambrasa  brook  not  ex- 


Smalley   chosen 

grube  and  thomf 

"At  the  town 

sediug  60  acres." 


TOWN   CLERKS. 


Nicolas  Monday,  1685. 

Thomas  Fitz  Randolph,  1687-88. 

John  Martin,  1689. 

William  Sutton,  1692. 

Benjamin  James,  1693. 

Benjamin  Clarke,  1694. 

John  Drake,  1095. 

Thomas  Grub,  1697. 

Edward  Slater,  1683,  1685, 1691-97. 

Hopewell  Hull,  1683. 

Isaac    Smalley,    1686,    1088-1705, 

1709. 
John  Molleson,  1711-14. 
Benajah  Dunham,  1715-29. 
Johu  Dunham,  1730-39. 
John  Slelle,  1740-48. 
Beune  Runyon,  1749-67. 
Ephraim  Uunyon,  1768-76. 
Thomson  Slelle,  1777-1809. 
Isaac  Doty,  1744,  1748-40. 


Henry  Dumont,  1744. 

Benjamin  Wooden,  1744, 1768-69. 

Heudrick  Lane,  1748. 

Joseph  Woatlon,  1748. 

Henry  Langstaff,  Jr.,  1749. 

Peter  Bouart,  1749. 

Benajah  Doty,  1751. 

Thomas  Anton,  1751-56. 
I  John  Langstaff,  Jr.,  1751. 
j  Joseph  Woods,  1752-54. 

Charles  Roloson,  1762-53. 

Nico.  Laforge,  1754. 

Thomas  Pound,  1766. 

Jacob  Sutton,  1766. 

Charles  Sodnm,  1756. 

Elijah  Dunham,  1756-68. 
1  David  Lalorge,  1766. 

John  Laforge,  1 757. 

John  Fitsworth,  1767. 

Joseph  Mitchell,  1768. 


Jonathan  Tontine,  1758. 
Benjamin  Foster,  1759, 1784. 
Joseph  Campbell,  1769, 1770. 
Patrick  Ryley,  1759. 
David  Martin  Jr.,  1761, 1763-64. 
Samuel  Wheton,  1760. 
Bowley  Arnold,  1760. 
Ismael  Shippey,  1760. 
Samuel  Sharp,  1761. 
Falkerk  V.  Notewick,  1761. 
Joseph  French,  1763. 
Thonias  Wolloni,  1763. 
Daniel  Bray,  1764. 
Thomas  Goodfellow,  1764, 1789. 
Malachi  Fitz  Randolph,  1765. 
Andrew  Tenieck,  1766. 
Joseph  Drake,  1766-77, 1784. 
John  Boice,  1766. 
John  Wilson,  Jr.,  1776. 
David  Conger,  1767. 
John  Smock,  1767. 
Thomas  Davis,  1768-69. 


Richard  Field,  1768. 

Aaron  Boorani.  1769. 
I  Benjamin  Field,  1770. 

Jonathan  Dunn,  1770. 
j  James  Gilman,  1777. 

David  Martin,  1777. 
I  Abel  Stelle,  1778. 
j  John  Sliippey,  1778. 
I  Joel  Dunn,  1778. 
j  Trustum  Manning,  1780. 

Jacob  Dunn,  1780. 

Jonathan  Miller,  1780. 
i  John  Bray,  1780. 

Reune  Martin,  1810,  1819-29. 
]  Nathaniel  F.  R.  Dunn,  1811-18. 
I  Samuel  Smith,  1830-50. 
i  Samuel  E.  Stelle,  1851-57,  1865. 

John  T.  Martin,  1858-05,  1868. 
1  Isaac  D.  Titsworth,  1866. 
1  William  B.  Stewart,  1867. 
I  Mahlon  Runyon,  1869. 
i  Isaac  H.  Dunn,  1870-81. 


CONSTABLES. 


Isaac  Webb,  1781-83. 

Samuel  Walker,  1781. 

James  Giles,  1781. 

Juhn  Miller,  Jr.,  1782. 

Henry  Forat,  1782. 

John  Langstaff,  1783. 

Ellas  Van  Court,  1783-84. 

John  Miller,  1785-86. 

John  Marsalis,  1785-80. 

Phineas  Manning,  1785. 

Benjamin  Manning,  1787. 

John  Runyon,  1787. 

Melanctlion  Freeman,  1787. 

James  Wooden,  1788. 

William  Harris,  1788-89,  1793. 

Epbraim  Drake,  1788. 

Abm.  Coriell,  1789. 

Richard  Field,  Jr.,  1790. 

James  Shotwell,  1790-91-93. 

Eilward  Griffith,  1790-92. 

James  Little,  1791-92. 

Joseph  Fitz  Randolph,  1792. 

Asher  Stelle,  1793. 

John  Fitz  Randolph,  1794. 

Cornelius  Boice,  Jr.,  1794-96,  1798- 

1801. 
Samuel  Gilman,  1796. 
Benjamin  Manning,  Jr.,  1797. 
John  Dunham,  1796-97. 
John  Griffith,  1798-1805. 
Jeremiah  Manning,  1802. 
Ephniim  Runyon,  1803-4. 
Edmund    Dunham,    1806-7,  1811- 

14,  1824,  1828-31. 
John  Pbilpatrick,  1800-7. 


Nathaniel  R.  Dunn,  1806. 

Henry  Lafferty,  Jr.,  1808. 

William  Post,  1808-13. 

James  Martin,  1809. 

Benjamin  Sullard,  1810-17. 

William  Kilpatrick,  1SI4. 

William  Kirkpatrick,  1815. 

Barzillia  Dunham,  1815-18. 

Isaac  Mole.«on,  1818-19. 

David  Laforge,  1818. 

Enos  Fourratt,  1818. 

Jonathan  Martin,  1819-21. 

Nathaniel  Hollen,  1819-20. 

Clarkson  Shottwell,  1820-23. 

Ai'.ariah  Dunham,  Jr.,  1822-26. 

Charles  Boice,  1826-27. 

Jacob  Martin,  1827. 

Jeptha  F.  Randolph,  1828-29. 

James  Dunham,  1830. 

Jacob  G.  Boice,  1831-:i7. 

Amos  Moflit,  1838. 

William  W.  Bush,  1839. 

Gersbom  P.  Dunn,  1840-42. 

Richard  Osmun,  1843-44. 

Charles  C.  Morgan,  1846-50. 

Ebenezei-  S.  Conover,  1851-53. 

James  M.  Voorliees,  1852. 

John  Randall,  1854. 

George  Cornell,  1856-64, 1873-77. 

Simon  H.  Bergen,  1856. 

William  Ward,  1862. 

Jacob  R.  Titsworth,  186.1, 1872-73. 

Frederick  Uolden,  1870-71. 

Josiah  F.  Stagg,  1871. 

Robert  L.  R.  Pierce,  1878-81. 


SURVEYORS   AND   OVERSEERS   OF  THE   HIGHWAYS. 


George  Drake,  1083-85. 
Hopewell  Hull,  1683-85. 
Isaac  Smalley,  1684. 
John  Gilman,  1684. 
Edward  Slater,  1084. 
William  Right,  1687. 
Thomas  Higgins,  1687. 
Benjamin  Clark,  1091,  1695. 
Thomas  Higgins,  1691. 
Thomas  Fitz  Randolph,  1693, 17! 
Joseph  Manning.  1712. 
Benaj'  Dunham,  1712. 
John  Drake,  1716. 
Jos.  Manning,  1716. 
Benjamin  Fitz  Randolph,  1710. 


Benj«  Hull,  1716. 
Joseph  Worth,  1717,  1722. 
William  Laing,  1717. 
Vincent  Rugnion,  1717. 
Samuel  Dun,  1719-20. 
Francis  Drak,  1719,  1732. 
Jonathan  Drak,  1719. 
Joseph  Fitz  Randolph,  1719. 
Enoch  Fredeland,  1720-21. 
Jonathan  Martin,  1720. 
Peter  Rngon,  1720, 1725. 
John  White,  1721, 
John  Lang,  1722. 
David  Fitz  Randolph,  1722. 
William  Olden,  1723,  1730. 


PISCATAWAY. 


593 


~M: 


Derick  Vanderpool,  1723. 

■William  Bering,  1723. 

John  Vandick,  17i3. 

Andrew  Drnke,  1724. 

JoBeph   Fitz  RaDdolpb,  Jr.,  1724, 

1730,  1767. 
Joseph  Drake,  1724,  1750,  1753. 
Daniel  Sutton,  1724. 
John  Sutton,  1725. 
John  Ponnd,  1725, 1731,1734,1737, 

174.!,  1746,  1749. 
Kicolas  Manday,  172-5-27. 
Jonathan  Dunham,  1727. 
William  Hucks,  1727-28. 
Honory  Trooum,  1727, 1729. 
Samuel  Conuard,  1727. 
Jonathan  Dunham. 
John  Langstaff,  1728, 1746. 
Londrow  Smack,  1729. 
John  Dones,  1729. 
Gidon  Morlat,  1729-30. 
Benjamin  Marlin,  1730-31. 
John  Holton,  1731. 
William  Classnn,  1731. 
Benjamin  Still,  1732^.5. 
Edmund  Dunham,  Jr.,  1732. 
Joseph  Munday,  1732,  1738. 
Joshua  Martin,  1733,  1745. 
Peter  Martin,  1733. 
James  Gils,  1733. 
Johannas  Seabron,  1733. 
John  Blackford.  1735. 
David  Corrol,  1734,  1754,  1768. 
Nathaniel  Manning,  1734. 
Peter  Runyan,  1737, 1751. 
Darick  Ronoyn,  1737. 
Jonathan  Smalley,  1737. 
Moses  Fitz  Randolph,  1738, 1745. 
Abraham  Shadivell,  1738. 
John  Manning,  1738. 
Abraham  Shotwell,  1738. 
Isaac  Manning,  1738. 
Peter  Burdine,  1738. 
Joseph  Ross,  1740. 
Joshua  Smalley,  1740,  1742^3. 
Peter  Kemble,  1741. 
Samuel  Drake,  1741. 
Cornelius  Cue,  1741. 
Benjamin  Dunn,  1741,  1749. 
Jeremiah  Field,  Jr.,  1742^4. 

Pyatt,  1743-44,  1747-18. 
Marlin  Dunham,  174.5,  1749. 
Hondrak  Vroom,  1745,  1751,  1754, 

1758. 
John  Wolledge,  1746. 
Trustum  Manning,  1746, 1749. 
John  Martin,  1747, 1750,  17.59. 
John  Laforge,  1747^8. 
George  Marlet,  1747,  1753. 
Maiejah  Dunn,  1749. 
John  Smock,  1749. 
Joseph  Runyon,  1750. 
Fitz  Randolph  Drake,  1751. 
Elijah  Pound,  1751. 
Ephraim  Fitz  Randolph,  1763. 
Peter  Martin,  Jr.,  3d,  1753-55. 
John  Martin,  Jr.,  1754,  1762. 
Isaac  Faurat,  1765. 
Thomas  Walker,  1755. 
James  Martin,  1765, 1767. 
Peter  Martaein,  1766. 
Samuel  Dunham,  1756. 
Charles  Sedam,  1756. 
Henry  Moleson,  1756. 
Moleson  Fitz  Randolph,  1757. 
Daniel  Drake,  1767. 
David  Lane,  1768. 


John  Miller,  1768. 

Hendrick  Vroom,  1759-60, 1762. 

David  Corriell,  1759-60. 

Benjamin  Wooden,  1769. 

Jonathan  Fitz  Randolph,  1760. 

Andrew  Smalley,  1762. 

Andrew  Teneick,  1762. 

Jacob  Dunn,  1704-66. 

Jacob  Boice,  1764-66. 

James  Harris,  1767-68. 

John  Dunn,  1867-69. 

Reuben  F.  Randolph,  1768. 

Benjamin  Drake,  1769. 

Moses  Martin,  Jr.,  1769. 

Benjamin  Dunn,  1761 

Henry  Smock,  1772. 

John  Webster,  1772-73. 

Charles  Sadam,  1773-75. 

Jo.  Duyckinck,  1774. 

.John  Boice,  1775. 

Benj.  Runyon,  1776. 

David   Coriell,  Jr.,  1776,  1784-86, 

1794-99. 
Benjamin  Dunn,  1777. 
John  Sebring.  1777. 
Samuel  Whitehead,  1778-79. 
Ephraim  Pyatt,  1778-80. 
Melosou  Randolph,  1780. 
John  Runyen,  1781-82, 1783,  1788- 

90. 
Henry  Langstaff,  1781. 
William  Manning,  1782,  1788-93. 
Joel  Dunn,  1783-84,  1786-87,  1791- 

92. 
Dr.  John  Randolph,  1786. 
Abraham  Dunham,  1787-1807. 
Abraham  Smalley,  1793-1804. 
Benjamin  Foster,  1794,  1803. 
Peter  Runyon,  Jr.,  1800-3. 
Richard  Runyon,  1805,  1808-10. 
David  Stelle,  1806. 
William  Vail,  1807. 
Samuel  Stelle,  1808, 1811-12. 
Jeremiah  Manning,  1811-19,  1829- 

30. 
George  Farmer,  1813-16. 
Ebenezer  Tingley,  1817. 
Elijah  Chamberlain,  1818-19. 
Elijah  Chamberlin,  1820-28. 
John  A.  Smalley,  1820-28. 
Ephraim  F.  Randolph,  1829-35. 
Thomas  F.  Randolph,  1831-36. 
Morris  Giles,  1836-:i7. 
Enos  L.  Blue,  1837. 
Daniel  Runyon,  183.S-39,  1847-52. 
Jonathan  R.  Dunham,  1838-41. 
James  Gilman,  1840-41. 
Joel  Dunham,  1842-46. 
Israel  R.  Coriell,  1842. 
Isaac  S.  Dunn,  1843-46. 
Forman  Runyon,  1847-62. 
Runyon  Walker,  1853. 
Jeptlia  M.  Clarkson,  1853. 
Epiiraim  Coriell,  1864-65. 
John  D.  Field,  1854,  1861-62. 
Vauderveer  Giles,  1855-69,  1863. 
N.  R.  Morse,  1856-58. 
John  Randall,  1869-60. 
Nelson  Boice,  1860-6;i. 
Peter  T.  Stelle,  1864-71. 
Samuel  Blish,  18G4. 
William  M.  Drake,  1865-71. 
Abner  S.  Coriell,  1871-72. 
Martin  D.  Nevtus,  1872. 
Samuel  S.  Giles,  1873-80. 
William  Drake,  1873. 
Peter  Benward,  1874-80. 


John  Oilman,  1684-85,  1687. 
Edward   Slater,  1684-85,   1687-89, 

1695. 
Isaac  Smalley,  1688-89,  1693,  1711 

-13. 
Thomas  Fitchrond,  1688. 
George  Craft,  1689. 
George  Drake,  1691. 
Capt.  Drake,  1693. 
David  Slater,  1693. 
Samuel  Walker,  1693. 
John  Drake,  Sr.,  1711. 
Edmund  Dunham,  1712. 
Jokon  Coronoue,  1713. 
John  Borrows,  Esq.,  1716. 
Samuel  Walker,  1718-22, 1727-28. 
Henry  Skibbon.  1723-25. 
Benjamin  Stelle,  1726. 
Henry  Brocaw,  1729. 
Hendrick  Brees,  1729-30. 
Henry  Skibbon,  1731-32. 
James  Walker,  1733. 
Jonathan  Dunham,  1735-40. 
David  Fitz  Randolph,  1736-40. 
Reune  Runyon,  1741,  1742-14. 
Azariah  Dunham,  1745-47. 
Rehemiah  Dunham,  1749-52,  1756 


George  Vroom,  1753-54. 
Henry  MoUe.son,  1760-61. 


George  Drake,  1689. 

John  Drake,  1716. 

John  Barowe,  1718-19.  \ 

Edmund  Dunham,  1720,  1723-24. 

Hugh  Dunn,  1720. 

Daniel  Nevius,  1722. 

Edmund  Dunham,  Jr.,  1725. 

Samuel  Walker,  1726. 

Benjamin  Stelle,  1727-28,  1733. 

Jonathan  Dunham,  1729. 

David     Fitz    Randolph,    1730-31, 

17.35,  1737-39. 
John  Molle-^on,  1740-15. 
Phiueas  Dunn,  1746-47,  1749-51. 
Henry  Molleson,  1752-53. 
Jonathan  Fitz  Randolph,  1764. 
Jonathan  Fitz  Randolph,  Jr.,  1755 

-62. 
Jacob  Pietsoort,  1764-66. 
Ephraim  Runyon,  1766.  1808-25. 
Reune  Rnnyon,  1767. 
William   Manning,   1767-70,   1773 

-74, 1784. 
Thompson  Stille,  1771-72. 
John  Runyon,  1775-76. 
Edward     Griffith,    1777,    1781-83, 

1795,  1812. 
Thomas  Randolph,  1778-83. 
Abraham  Coriell,  1784-85. 
Capt.  David  Dunham,  1785-86. 


Jacob   Boyse,  1755,  1758-59,  1772 

-73. 
Henry  Sutton,  1762-71, 1776-99. 
Jacob  Dunn,  1767. 
Benjamin  Manning,  1774. 
William  Thorn,  1776. 
Alexander    Dunn,    1800-10,  1812, 

1815-20. 
William  B.  Manning,  1811-14. 
Daniel  Runyon,  Jr.,  1821-23. 
Squire  Dunn,  1824. 
Enos  L.  Blue,  1825-27. 
Asa  Pyatt,  1828-31,  1834-37. 
Edmund  Dunham.  1832-33. 
Jacob  Martin,  1836-.36. 
Simeon  Dunn.  1838-39. 
David  C.  Dunn,  1840-43. 
John  Latourette,  Jr.,  1844. 
Nelson  Webster,  1845. 
Charles  C.  Jlorgan,  1846-60,  1855. 
Ebenezer  Conover,  1851. 
Nelson  Webster,  1852-63. 
Asa  R.  Field,  18.54. 
Isaac  H.  Dunn,  1856, 
Isaac  S.  Runyon,  1867-63. 
Randolph  Martin,  1864. 
Joel  Dunham,  1866. 
Daniel  F.  Randolph,  Jr.,  1866-70. 
Charles  Boice,  1871. 
Abner  S.  Coriell,  1872-80. 


COLLECTORS. 

Joel  Dunn,  1786. 
David  Coriell,  1787-89. 


John  Randolph,  1787. 
^Ephraim  Pyatt,  1788-90. 

Ephraim  Drake,  1790. 

Benjamin  Manning,  1791-91. 

Peter  Marsalis,  1791-92, 1794. 

Asa  Runyon,  1793. 

Ger^hom  Dunn,  1795. 

Abraham  Smalley,  1796. 

Jeremiah  Field,  1797-98. 

David  Coriell,  Jr..  1799, 1807. 

Samuel  Stelle,  1813-15. 

John  Dayton,  1816-26, 1828-31. 

Phineas  Coriell.  1826-28. 

Peter  Smith,  1827. 

Abraham  Boice,  1829-43. 

Henry  S.  Lupardns,  1832-39,  1843 
-63. 

Daniel  Runyon,  1840-42. 

Isaac  S.  Dunn,  1844-51. 

Charles  C.  Morgan,  1852-54,  1867 
-68,1871-73. 

Benjamin  Osmun,  1855-65. 

George  Drake,  1864-69. 

Statts  F.  Randolph,  1866. 

Eugene  Runyon,  1869-71. 
,  Charles  C.  Pope,  1874-75. 

Reune  B.  Manning,  1876-79. 

Martin  D.  Nevius,  1880. 


CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 


Wm.  Hodgson,  1714. 

James  Manning,  1714-16,  1724. 

Hugh  Dunn,  1715-16, 1719-20. 

Daniel  Sutton,  1719. 

Benjamin  Clark,  1720,  1722-23. 

Benjamin    Stille,    1721,    1725-26, 

1730-31. 
Samuel  Dunn,  1722-26, 1728-29. 
Benjamin  Dunham,  Jr.,  1727. 
Benjamin  Martin,  Jr.,  1727,  1751. 
Edmund    Dunham,    Jr.,    1728-29, 

1735-40,  1739. 


Andrew  Drake,  1729. 
Hendrick  Vroom,  1730-31. 
William  Harris,  1833. 
Jonathan  Martin,  1733. 
Benijah  Dunham,  1735-37. 
Gideon  JIarlatt,  1737-38. 
Nathaniel  Manning,  1738-41,  1744 

-46, 1764-55. 
John  Dennis,  1740-41. 
Cornelius  Low.  1742-44. 
Samuel  Walker,  1742. 
Jonathan  Dunn,  1743, 1749. 


594 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Jeremiah  Dunn,  1745^7,1750. 

Joshua  Smulley,  1746-47. 

David  Randolph,  1749-53. 

Jeremiah  Field,  1752-67. 

Samuel  Drake,  1756-63. 

James  Martin,  1764. 

Mica,jah  Dunn,  176.j-(i7,  1769-74. 

Daniel  Bray,  1767-Gii. 

Josepli    Fitz    Randolph,    1767-68, 

1771-75,  1777-81. 
Henry  Langetaff,  Ji-.,  1770. 
Jacoh  Boice,  1775. 
John  Dunn,  1776. 
Benjamin  Manning,  1776,  1787-89. 
David  Dunhnm,  1777-79,  1813-15. 
Capt.  Hugh  Dunn,  1780. 
Capt.  Samuel  Randolph,  1780. 
Dr.  Melaucthon  Freeman,  1780. 
John  Boice,  1780. 
Justus  Dunn,  1780-83. 
Charles  Sydam,  1782. 
William   Manning,    1783,  1794-96. 

1S02-8. 
Edward  Griffith,  1785-86. 
Edward  Runyon,  1785-86. 
John  Myers,  1787-1803. 
Thomson  Stelle,  1790-91. 
David  Coriell,  1792-93,  1800-1. 
John  Langstaff,  1797-99. 
George  Farmer,  1804-6. 


John  Poole,  1807-12,  1816-24. 
Joel  Dunn,  1809-22. 
Jolin  A.  Smalley,  1823-30. 
Edward   F.   Stelle,  1825-30,  1836- 

43. 
Samuel  F.  Randolph,  1832-39, 1851 

-54. 
William  PhilHps,  1832-24. 
Morris  Giles,  1835. 
Lewis  S.  Raudolph,  1840-48. 
Epliraim  Coriell,  1840-50. 
Peter  T.  Stelle,  1849-58, 1861-62. 
William  Ryno,  1855-58. 
Daniel  Runyon,  1859-62,  1864. 
N.  R.  Morse,  1869-60. 
John  D.  Field,  1863. 
M.  M.  Lupardus,  1863, 1868-69. 
George  W.  Stelle,  1864, 1866-67. 
Abraham  Smalley,  Jr.,  1866-67. 
James  B.  Biokaw,  1868-69. 
George  Drake,  1870-71. 
Archibald    Coddington,     1870-73, 

1877-78. 
Ambrose  Smalley,  1872-73. 
Lewis  Daytun,  1874-76. 
Ambrose  Smalley,  1874. 
Moses  H.  Acken,  1874-75. 
Staats  F.  Randolph,  1870-78. 
John  C.  Morris,  1879-80. 


JUSTICES    OF   THE   PEACE. 


John  Royce,  1707. 
Edmund  Dunham,  1711. 
John  Borrowe,  Esq.,  1716. 
Reune  Runyon,  1759, 1767. 
Alexander  Dunn,  Esq..  1802. 
Isaac  Smalley,  Esq.,  1703, 1711. 
Robert  Ketty  Hooper,  Esq.,  1733. 
Thomas  Harr,  1749. 
Alexander  Dunn,  1799. 
George  Boice,  Esq.,  1808, 
William  B.  Manning,  1825. 
Drake  Dunn,  1826. 
Nathan  Vars,  1864,  1870-71. 
W.  B.  Stewart,  1864,  1869. 
W.  N.  Brunbridge,  1865. 
Gurshom  P.  Dunn,  1866, 1870-71. 


Jacoh  Martin,  1866. 
George  Cornell,  l;i67. 
Charles  C.  Morgan,  1869-71. 
Nelson  Webster,  1872-73. 
Leonard  T.  Ooles,  1880. 
Archibalci  I.  Coddiugton,  1880. 
Samuel  Luckey,  1880. 
John  Park,  1821. 
Thomas  Harmor,  1729. 
Samuel  Randolph,  1784. 
Jacob  Martin,  1784. 
John  Miller,  1785. 
Benjamin  Manning,  1798. 
Thompson  Stelle,  1795. 
David  Dunham,  1796 
Joel  Dunham,  1839. 


TOWN   COMMITTEK.l 


William  Tinbrook,  1786-89. 
Dr.  Freeman,  1780-90. 
Jacob  Martin,  Esq.,  1786-90. 
Samuel  Randolph,  1790,  1800. 
Benjaniiu  Foster,  1798. 
David  Coriell,  1798. 
Joseph  Riindolph,  1798. 
Benjamin  Mauniug,  1798. 
Joel  Dniin,  1708, 1801. 
Samuel  F.  Randolph,  1799. 
Thompson  Stelle,  1799, 1801, 1803- 

13. 
David  Dunham.  1799, 1814. 
Alexander  Dunn,  E<q.,  1799,  1813, 

1818-20. 
Daniel  Drake,  1799, 1803. 
Abraham  Coriell,  1802. 
Peter  Runyan,  1802. 
George   Boice,   Jr.,    1803-4,    1809, 

1815-17,  1829. 
Samuel  Stelle,  Sr.,  1804-6,  1816-24. 
William  Vail,  1805-8. 
George  Drake,  1807-8,  1810-19. 


Nathaniel  Dunn,  1809-10. 
Nathaniel  Fitz   Randolph    Dunn 

1811-15,  1821-25. 
Elijah  Coriell,  1814-15. 
Jeremiah  Manning,  1814-15. 
William  Manning,  1816. 
Reune  Runyon,  1816-18. 
Reune  Martin,  1816-27,  1829-31. 
Jonathan  R.  Dunham,  1819-23. 
Johu  La  Tourrette,  1820,  1842. 
John  A.  Smalley,  1821-28. 
Ira  Dunn,  1824-27. 
William  B.  Manning,  1825-26. 
Drake  Dunn,  1826-33. 
James  Oilman,  1827-34. 
Reuben  Drake,  1828. 
William  Phillips,  1828-30. 
Samuel  Smith,  1830-61. 
Asa  Pratt,  1831,  18)8-39. 
Ellas  J.  Bunion,  1832-34. 
Ephraim  Coriell,  1832-34. 
Samuel  Randolph,  1833, 1836. 
Moses  Martin,  1835. 


Abraham  D.  Titaworth,  1836.  1 

Enoch  Randolph,  1836.  j 

DavidSmalley,  1836, 1841,1843-45.  I 

Edward  Stelle,  1836-43. 

John  D.  Field,  1837-39, 1852-53. 

Enos  L.  Blue,  1837. 

Samuel    Fitz    Randolph,   1837-38, 

1851. 
Isaac  S.  Dunn,  1839-43. 
Asa  Fitz  Randolph,  1840^1,  1844- 

47. 
David  A.  Smalley,  1840-42. 
Abel  S.  Runyon,  1813-51. 
Simeon  Dayton,  1844. 
Simeon  Dayton,  1845. 
Jeremiah  D.  Stelle,  1846-48. 
Stephen  Voorhees,  1846-48. 
James  T.  Dunn,  1848-53. 
Randolph  Morris,  1849. 
Daniel  Runyon,  1849-50. 
Samuel    E.  Stelle,  1850-57,  1862, 

1865. 
Israel  R.  Coriell.  1852-55. 
M.  R.  Molsey,  1852. 
John  T.  Martin,  1863. 
George  B.  Stelle,  1864. 
Isaac  C.  Giles,  1854. 
N.  R.  Morse,  1854-56, 1859-60, 1865. 
William  M.  Drake,  1855-56. 
Isaac  H.  Dunn,  1855. 
Clarkson  Giles,  1866-60. 
Adrian  Ver  Muele,  1856-61, 1863. 
Runyon  Walker,  1857-63. 
William  Nisbit,  1857-58. 
John  T.  Martin,  1858-59,  1861-63. 
John  Y.  Martin,  1860,  1868. 


Peter  A.  Runyon,  1861-63, 1865-67. 
Abraham  Coriell,  1861. 
Daniel  Dodge  Randolph,  1862. 
Abraham  C.  Coriell,  1863. 
Erashjs  Humphrey,  1863. 
Isaac  H.  Dunn,  1864. 
Martin  D.  Nevius.  1866-65. 
William  B.  Stewart,  1864-67. 
Jeremiah  Dunn,  1864. 
Nehemiah  R.  Morse,  1866. 
Inslee  Boice,  1865-66,  1870-72. 
Forman  Stelle,  1866-67. 
Samuel  B.  Merrell,  1867-68,  1870- 

71. 
William  P.  Dunn,  1868-69. 
Furman  R  Stelle,  1868, 1870-78. 
William  0.  Crowell,  1868-69. 
Samuel  Manning,  1869-70. 
Farrington  Barcalow,  1869. 
Nelson  Webster,  1870-71. 
Samuel  R.  tlauning,  1871. 
Lewis  Dayton,  1872-7.1. 
Enos  W.  Titsworth,  1872. 
Amhros  Smalley,  1872. 
George  Drake,  1872-75. 
Tunis  C.  Mokaw,  1872. 
George  W.  Stelle,  1872-73. 
Tunis  C.  Brokaw,  1873-78. 
Alexander  Manning,  1874. 
Nathan  Vars,  1874-80. 
Calvin  Drake,  1870-77. 
James  T.  Harris,  1876-78. 
Eugene  Runyon,  1878. 
Charles  Boice,  1879-80. 
J.  Anther  Blish,  1879. 
Allen  W.  Dunn,  1880. 


'The  first  record  made  14tli  of  March,  1786,  for  appointing  a  coin- 
aittee  of  accounts,  which  in  three  or  f.uir  years  afterwards  \va*  called 
T  styled  the  Town  Committee. 


Schools. — The  first  scliool  taught  in  this  township 
dates  about  1682,  at  Piscataway  Town.  It  was  located 
on  lands  conveyed  "  to  George  Drake,  Benjamin  Hull, 
Thomas  Higgins,  and  Edward  Slater  by  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  province  of  East  Jersey."  This  grant  was 
not  only  made  for  school  purposes,  but  also  for  a 
burial-ground  and  training-ground.  A  teacher  by 
name  of  "  Gordon"  is  supposed  to  have  iirst  taught 
here,  as  did  a  Mr.  James  FuUerton  in  the  Short 
Hills,  near  Phiinfield.  These  are  believed  to  have 
been  the  first  teachers,  but  of  the  early  schools  little 
is  known. 

In  the  records  of  the  township  is  the  following: 
"  Oct.  24,  1696,  Master  Robert  Cole  is  engaged  to  keep 
school  in  the  town  for  one  year,  to  be  supported  by 
voluntary  subscriptions." 

Master  John  Warburton,  "as  he  was  called,  taught 
for  a  while  in  the  Harris  neighborhood,  near  Bound 
Brook."  It  is  said  that  he  not  only  believed  in  Dil- 
worth's  Speller,  but  also  in  the  birch.  This  must  have 
been  in  Quibbletown,  now  New  Market,  as  a  Mr.  Gor- 
don is  mentioned  about  1809,  and  followed  by  Rev. 
John  Ellis,  who  was  a  Baptist  preacher.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  names  of  teachers  in  this  school  as  far  back 
as  we  have  been  able  to  learn  them  :  David  White- 
head, Francis  Fitz  Randolph,  Mr.  Wells,  Richard 
Townsend,  Lucy  Titsworth,  Mr.  Gardner,  Mary  Eliza 
Davis,  Mary  Carman,  Fanny  Ingram,  David  Wilson, 
Mary  L.  Gibbs,  Isaac  S.  Dunn,  George  P.  Ma.xson, 

Rachielle  Stelle, Jefl"ry,  Rachielle  Willets,  Lu- 

cretia  Vail,  Richard  Ackerinan  1823,  Eliza  Ackerman, 


PISCATAWAY. 


595 


Miss  Chiena,  and  Miss  Webb.  We  are  not  able  to 
give  all  the  dates  and  the  regular  order  of  their  terms 
of  teaching. 

The  Fieldville  School — This  (as  many  of  the 
other  schools)  cannot  be  traced  back  to  its  origin,  but 
the  list  we  give  is  correct  as  far  as  the  memory  of  those 
now  living  serves.  Mr.  Dunbar,  David  Mack,  Enoch 
Pillsbury,  Abrara  Pillsbury,  Miss  P.  A.  Voorhis, 
Miss  Eliza  Lundy,  Mr.  I.  Spaulding,  Mr.  H.  Smith, 
Miss  D.  Field,  David  Mack,  Elizabeth  Brokaw,  Han- 
nah Coriell,  Mariah  Buxton,  Delio  Gillette,  Mr.  Oars- 
well,  and  the  present  Miss  Annie  Davis  have  been 
teachers. 

DuNELLEN  School. — This  school  is  one  of  the 
oldest  in  the  township,  and  is  situated  on  the  Tits- 
worth  property.  The  earliest  record  is  as  far  back  to 
1800,  when  Ransom  Downs,  a  "  Yankee  peddler,"  as 
he  was  called,  taught.  A  Mr.  Noyes  is  also  men- 
tioned in  1821.  The  Eev.  John  Ellis,  a  Baptist  cler- 
gyman, and  David  Whitehead  were  teachers  here. 
The  school-house  was  rebuilt  in  1841,  when  a  Mr. 
Randolph  came  and  taught  for  some  time.  Matthias 
Brown  taught  in  1850;  Theodore  Vail,  Richard  Town- 
send,  18.53 ;  Lorenzo  Dow,  1855 ;  Samuel  Pound, 
Phebe  Ann  Randolph,  Miss  Townsend,  Jenny  Jen- 
nings, 1864;  Mr.  Willets,  Howard  Titsworth,  1867; 
David  Tingley,  1868;  Miss  G.  S.  Wright  and  Mrs. 
Ella  P.  Hines,  1870.  The  present  are  Prescott  D. 
Vail,  principal,  Mrs.  F.  B.  Coffin,  Miss  Lansing,  and 
Miss  Belle  Sidman.  This  district  erected  a  fine  brick 
building  in  1875,  two  stories,  with  ample  recreation 
rooms  and  many  improvements  needed  for  the  better 
advancement  of  education,  at  a  cost  of  ten  thousand 
dollars.  In  this  district  (No.  2)  are  enrolled  some 
two  hundred  and  twenty-four  children  from  the  ages 
of  five  to  eighteen  years.  Leonard  C.  Coles,  Esq.,  is 
the  district  clerk. 

New  Brooklyn  School. — This  school  district 
was  among  the  first  in  Piscataway  township,  and  it 
is  said  James  Fullerton  at  an  early  date,  living  with 
his  brother  a  short  distance  away  on  lands  that  were 
surveyed  to  them  in  the  first  allotment,  1669,  taught 
here  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  this  county.  In  1822 
Mr.  Campbell  was  a  teacher,  and  also  a  Mr.  Poulison. 
Neil  Campbell  taught  here,  when  Capt.  John  Frasee 
came  in  1825  and  remained  till  1830.  Mr.  Neil  Camp- 
bell took  his  place.  B.  Ward  taught  in  the  years 
1843-45,  Mr.  Cook  in  1846,  and  there  have  been 
many  who  taught  one  quarter.  The  present  teacher 
is  Miss  Ida  Nelson,  1881. 

The  following  statistics  for  the  year  1881  furnish 
some  information  respecting  the  schools  of  the  nine 
districts  in  this  township  : 

District.  Value  Scliool  Property.        Children. 

Harris  Lane No.  1.  Sl.Mii  BO 

Dunellen „ No.  2.  In.uoo  213 

New  Market No.  3.  1,600  76 

^amptown No.  4.  l.-iOO  23 

New  Brooklyn No.  6.  1,200  »2 

Fieldville No.  6.  300  24 

Newtown No.  7.  1,000  3li 

Union No.  8.  400  38 

Karitan  Landing...  No.  9.  1,.5U0  27 


The  whole  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of 
5  and  18  years  residing  in  this  township  is  579,  and 
the  value  of  school  property  $18,600 ;  amount  of 
moneys  received  from  all  sources  for  public  school 
purposes  is  $8347.66 ;  number  of  male  teachers  em- 
ployed, 2 ;  female  teachers,  11. 


CHAPTER     LXXXIV. 

PISCATAWAY.— (Coii(;«««/.) 

Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church. — We  find  the  first 

Sabbatarian  Church,  .as  it  is  called  in  America,  origi- 
nated at  Newport,  R.  I.,  and  the  first  Sabbath-keeper 
was  Stephen  Mumford,  who  left  London  three  years 
after  the  martyrdom  of  John  James,  and  forty-four 
years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrim  fathers  at 
Plymouth.  He  came  as  a  missionary.  Mr.  Isaac 
Bacchus,  the  historian  of  the  early  New  England 
Baptists,  has  made  the  following  record : 

Stephen  Mumford  came  from  London  in  1664,  and 
brought  the  opinion  with  him  that  the  whole  of  the 
ten  commandments,  as  they  were  delivered  from 
Mount  Sinai,  were  moral  and  immutable,  and  that 
it  was  the  anti-Christian  power  which  thought  to 
change  times  and  laws,  that  changed  the  Sabbath 
from  the  Seventh  to  the  First  day  of  the  week.  Sev- 
eral members  of  the  First-Day  Church  in  Newport 
embraced  this  sentiment,  and  yet  continued  with  that 
church  for  some  time,  until  two  men  and  their  wives 
who  had  done  so  turne<l  back  to  the  keeping  of  the 
First  day  ;  but  other  followers  came  to  assist  Stephen 
Mumford,  so  that  the  first  church  of  Sabbatarians 
was  formed,  and  the  following  are  the  names :  Tacy 
Hubbard,  commenced  keeping  the  Seventh  day 
March  11,  1665;  Rachel  Langworthy,  Jan.  15,  1666; 
Roger  Baxter,  April  15,  1666 ;  and  William  Hiscox, 
April  28,  1666.  These  were  the  first  Sabbath-keepera 
in  America. 

Dr.  Edward  Stennet  wrote  them,  in  behalf  of  the 
London  Sabbath-keepers :  "  If  the  church  will  hold 
communion  with  these  apostles  from  the  truth,  you 
ought  then  to  desire  to  be  fairly  dismissed  from  the 
church,  which  if  the  church  refuse  you  ought  to 
withdraw  yourselves."  But  they  told  the  church 
publicly  that  they  could  not  have  comfortable  com- 
munion with  those  four  persons  that  had  sinned.  But 
the  Sabbath-keepers  replied  that  the  ten  precepts 
were  as  holy,  just,  good,  and  spiritual  as  ever,  and 
they  for  several  years  went  on  with  the  church  in  a 
halvish  kind  of  fellowship. 

They  soon  left  the  Newport  First- Day  Church.  On 
the  23d  day  of  December,  1671,  they  covenanted  to- 
gether in  a  church  organization. 

Such  was  the  origin  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptist 
Church  in  America.  And  now  we  find  that  the  sec- 
ond of  these  churches  owes  its  origin  to  this  cir- 
cumstance :     About  the  year  1700  one  of  the  original 


696 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


settlers  of  this  frontier,  a  Mr.  Edmund  Dunham,  of 
now  New  Market,  then  commonly  called  Piscataway, 
N.  J.,  reproved  a  person  for  labor  on  Sunday.  He 
was  asked  for  his  authority  from  the  Scriptures.  On 
searching  for  this  he  became  satisfied  that  the  Seventh 
day  is  the  only  Sabbath  in  the  Bible,  and  then  began 
to  observe  it.  Soon  after  others  followed  his  example, 
and  in  1707  a  Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church  was  or- 
ganized at  Piscataway  with  some  seventeen  members. 
Edmund  Dunham  was  chosen  pastor,  and  sent  to 
Rhode  Island  to  receive  ordination. 

The  first  record  on  the  church  book  after  the  ar- 
ticles of  faith  is  as  follows : 

"  The  Church  of  God  keeping  the  Commandmeuts  of  God  aud  the  faith 
of  Jesua  Christ  living  in  Piscataway  and  Hopewell,  in  the  province  of 
New  Jersey,  being  assenilded  with  one  accord  at  the  house  of  Benjamin 
Martin,  in  Piscatiiway,  the  19th  day  of  August,  1705,  we  did  then  and 
with  one  mind  choose  our  dearly  beloved  Edmund  Dunham,  who  is 
faithful  in  the  Lord,  to  be  our  elder  and  assistant  according  to  the  will 
of  God,  whom  we  did  send  to  New  England  to  be  ordained,  who  was  or- 
dained at  the  church  meeting  in  Westerly,  R.  I.,  by  prayer  and  laying 
on  of  hands  by  their  elder,  William  Gibson,  the  8th  day  of  September, 
1705." 

In  170G,  at  a  church  meeting  held  at  Edmund 
Dunham's,  Benjamin  Martin  was  chosen  deacon  and 
ordained  by  the  laying  on  of  hands  and  prayer  by 
the  Elder  Edmund  Dunham.  This  took  place  the 
29th  day  of  December. 

Rev.  Mr.  Dunham  at  the  organization  of  this 
church  was  about  forty  years  old.  It  is  evident  that 
numbers  became  members  of  this  church  during  Mr. 
Dunham's  lifetime,  but  to  what  extent  cannot  be  now 
ascertained  from  the  manner  in  which  their  records 
were  kept. 

The  following  names  appear  on  the  records,  who 
were  all  members  previous  to  1722 : 

Edmund  Dunham,  elder;  Benjamin  Martin,  James 
Martin,  Benjamin  Martin,  deacon;  Isaac  Martin, 
Samuel  Doty,  .John  Doty,  Samuel  Dunn,  deacon  ; 
David  Cummins,  Thomas  F.  Randolph,  Jr.,  John  F. 
Randolph,  Edmund  Dunham,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Dun- 
ham, Thomas  F.  Randolph,  John  Martin,  David  F. 
Randolph,  Hugh  Dunn,  Peter  Martin,  David  Martin, 
Joseph  Davis,  Jonathan  Martin,  Lawrence  Krith, 
Jonathan  Smalley,  Elisha  Smalley,  Gershom  Hull, 
John  F.  Randolph,  Jr.,  Ephraim  Dunham,  Joseph 
Dunn,  Edmund  Martin,  James  Martin,  Jr.,  Beuejah 
Dunham,  James  Lennox,  Micajah  Dunn,  Hugh 
Dunn,  Jr.,  John  Dunham,  Samuel  Chandler,  Samuel 
Dunn,  Jr.,  Jonathan  Dunn,  Samuel  Pyatte,  Benja- 
min Martin,  Azerial  Dunham,  Jonathan  Martin, 
Thomas  Noble,  .Tonathan  Smalley,  Mary  Dunham, 
Sarah  F.  Randolph,  Elizabeth  Dunn,  Margaret 
Martin,  Martha  Wooden,  Hester  Dunn,  Dorothy 
Dunham,  Sarah  F.  Randolph,  Phebe  Dunham,  Eliza- 
beth Martin,  Mary  F.  Randolph,  Jane  Lee,  Abigail 
Allger,  Elizabeth  Chandler,  Dinah  Dunham,  Mary 
Sutten,  Jane  Dunham,  Temperance  Martin,  Philissa 
Martin,  Dinah  Martin,  Rebecca  Dunn,  Hannah 
Davis,  Esther  Dunn,  Elizjibeth   Dunn,  Ann   Drake, 


Hannah  F.  Randolph,  Ann  Smalley,  Hannah  Martin, 
Lucy  Lennox. 

Rev.  Edmund  Dunham  we  learn  died  in  March, 
1734,  in  his  seventy-third  year.  The  grave  of  this 
spiritual  father,  like  that  of  Moses,  cannot  be  found  to 
this  day.  It  was  supposed  that  he  was  buried  in  the 
Piscatawaytown  burying-ground,  where  scores  of  the 
early  inhabitants  of  this  frontier  lie  waiting  the  res- 
urrection morn,  yet  no  monument  can  be  found  tell- 
ing us  that  he  who  was  the  founder  of  this  church 
lies  there. 

"  All  traces  of  him  should  not  be  lost  to  you, 
Record  his  deeds  and  look  their  meaning  through." 

During  the  lifetime  of  Mr.  Dunham  they  held 
these  meetings  in  private  houses.  They  built  their 
first  house  of  worship  in  17.36.  The  house  is  still 
standing,  though  for  fifty  years  it  has  been  used  as  a 
barn.  The  timbers  of  this  ancient  building  appear 
as  perfect  as  when  taken  from  the  forest.  The  Revo- 
lutionary war  about  this  time  came  upon  these  people 
with  all  its  terrors.  The  British  army  took  posses- 
sion of  Piscataway,  and  for  a  long  time  this  place 
was  their  encampment.  The  inhabitants  were  patriots, 
and  entered  the  regular  army  or  were  enrolled  in 
the  militia.  During  the  ravages  of  the  war  their 
beloved  pastor.  Rev.  Jonathan  Dunham,  son  of  Ed- 
mund Dunham,  died,  March  10,  1777,  aged  eighty- 
three, 

"  Your  birth-place  once  was  home  for  me, 
And  so  will  long  remembered  be, 
.\  long  half  century  and  more 
The  bread  of  life  I  spread  before 
Tour  fathers  there.     Through  weal  and  woe 
I  pointed  them  the  way  to  go 
Ah  well  as  by  my  light  I  could, 
But  not  so  faultless  as  I  should 
Could  I  liave  known  what  now  I  know 
About  soul-saving  there  below." 

In  1802  the  second  meeting-house  was  built  on  the 
lot  where  the  old  one  stood,  concerning  which  we 
find  the  following  record  : 

The  new  meeting-house  was  built  by  Jonathan 
Lenox,  and  cost  about  one  thousand  dollars.  The 
money  was  raised  by  a  tax.  The  old  house  was 
given  to  Elder  McLaferty,  except  the  inside  (in- 
cluding seats,  etc.),  for  him  to  use  as  a  barn. 

At  the  first  meeting  for  business  held  in  the  new 
house  a  record  was  made  of  the  names  of  all  who 
were  present,  twenty-six  in  number.  Not  one  of 
them  is  now  living. 

In  183.5  and  1836  they  built  their  present  house  of 
worship  on  the  parsonage  farm,  two  miles  north  of 
the  old  location,  and  near  the  village  of  New  Market. 
This  house  is  thirty-eight  feet  by  fifty-one  feet,  with 
full  galleries,  neat  in  appearance,  and  costing  some 
three  thousand  si,\  hundred  dollars.  It  was  dedicated 
to  the  service  ot  God  with  appropriate  exercises  in 
February,  1837. 

In  February,  1838,  fifty-six  of  the  members  of  this 
church  were   dismissed   to  a   church   in   Plainfield, 


PISCATAWAY. 


597 


where  they  had  been  building,  and  now  completed 
their  first  church.  This  reduced  the  number  of  the 
Piscataway  Church  to  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
members. 

During  the  year  1849  the  church  built  a  parsonage 
house,  which  adds  much  to  the  comfort  of  their  pas- 
tor's family. 

This  churcii  has  been  in  existence  nearly  two  hun- 
dred years.  During  that  time  it  has  built  three 
meeting-houses  and  installed  some  eleven  pastors, 
recapitulated  as  follows  :  Edmund  Dunham,  who 
planted  this  church  ;  Jonathan  Dunham,  son  of 
Edmund  ;  Nathan  Rogers,  Henry  McLaferty,  Gid- 
eon Wooden,  William  B.  Maxon,  Walter  B.  Gillet, 
Halsey  H.  Baker,  Lester  C.  Rodgers,  Lewis  A.  Plates, 
L.  E.  Livermore.  They  at  the  present  have  good  con- 
gregations, their  pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Livermore,  doing 
them  good  service,  and  occasionally  supplying  other 
pulpits  in  the  neighborhood,  he  being  very  acceptable 
to  the  other  denominations. 

I  find  that  in  1802  their  General  Conference  was 
organized.  At  their  first  session  they  comprised  in  its 
organization  eight  churches,  nine  ordained  ministers, 
and  some  thirteen  hundred  members.  The  Confer- 
ence was  organized  with  only  advisory  powers,  the 
individual  churches  retaining  the  matters  of  discipline 
and  church  government  in  their  own  hands.  The 
Conference  now  has  about  one  hundred  churches  and 
some  twelve  thousand  members.  These  churches  are 
found  in  most  of  the  Northern  and  Western  States, 
and  are  divided  into  five  associations,  which,  however, 
have  no  legislative  nor  disciplinary  power  over  the 
churches  which  compose  them.  There  are  belonging 
to  the  denomination  five  academies,  one  college,  and 
a  university,  with  academic,  collegiate,  mechanical, 
and  theological  departments  in  operation.  The  Sev- 
enth-Day Baptist  missionaries  sustain  many  import- 
ant missions,  and  are  receiving  a  good  degree  of  suc- 
cess in  this  work.  It  has  also  a  missionary  station  at 
Shanghai  and  other  parts  of  China,  and  a  mission 
church  there  of  faithful  Christians.  They  have  a 
publishing  house  at  Alfred  Centre,  New  York  State, 
and  publish  the  Sabbath  Recorder,  their  church  organ, 
and  many  publications  upholding  their  Seventh-Day 
doctrine.  They  have  many  members  scattered  through 
the  land  who  have  not  the  opportunity  to  worship 
with  the  people  of  their  choice,  and  do  as  did  the 
members  of  the  first  church  at  Newport,  R.  I.,  two 
hundred  and  sixteen  years  ago,  worship  with  the  First- 
Day  Christian,  feeling  that  the  God  of  their  Sabbath 
is  the  God  of  the  Christians  of  other  churches.  Many 
■  eminent  men  of  talent  and  moral  worth  are  found 
among  them. 

The  history  of  the  Sabbath  embraces  the  period  of 
six  thousand  years.  The  act  which  constituted  it 
such  were  first,  the  example  of  the  Creator ;  secondly, 
his  placing  his  blessing  upon  the  day  ;  and  thirdly, 
the  sanctification  or  divine  appointment  of  the  day 
to  a  holv  use.     The  Sabbath  therefore  dates  from  the 


beginning  of  our  world's  history.  The  highest  of  all 
possible  honors  therefore  pertain  to  the  keeping  holy 
one  day  of  the  week.  This  divine  appointment  grows 
out  of  the  nature  and  fitness  of  things,  and  was  made 
directly  to  Adam. 

Baptist  Church. — This  church  was  constituted  in 
the  year  1852,  of  a  number  of  members  from  the 
church  at  Stelton,  and  others  who  united  by  letter 
from  the  churches  at  Samptown  and  Plainfield.  The- 
building  is  a  frame,  situated  on  the  main  road  from 
Dunellen  to  New  Market,  near  the  latter  place.  The 
cost  of  the  ground  and  edifice  was  about  six  thousand 
dollars.  The  following  have  been  pastors:  William 
D.  Hires,  George  W.  Clark,  Isaac  Newton  Hill,  Levi, 
Osborn,  Grinnell,  and  the  present,  E.  Everett  Jones, 
who  came  first  as  a  supply  Jan.  1,  1873,  and  on  April 
1, 1873,  was  ordained  as  pastor.  Revivals  have  passed 
over.  In  that  period  nearly  one  hundred  and  ninety 
converts  have  been  added  by  baptism,  and  about  forty 
by  letter.  Mr.  Jones  is  also  clerk  of  the  East  New 
Jersey  Baptist  Association,  and  secretary  of  the  East 
New  Jersey  Baptist  Sunday-School  Convention.  Eu- 
gene Runyon,  Esq.,  is  the  stated  clerk  of  the  parish. 
Members,  two  hundred  and  nineteen  ;  sittings,  five 
hundred  ;  Sabbath-school  teachers,  seventeen  ;  schol- 
ars, one  hundred  and  forty. 

The  Chvireh  of  Holy  Innocents,  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  was  purchased  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  in  1872,  as  the  building  had  be- 
come too  small  for  their  congregation,  they  having 
built  a  larger  edifice  in  Dunellen.  This  parish  is 
feeble  and  has  passed  through  many  discouragements. 
But  by  the  liberality  of  Benjamin  Smith,  Esq.,  it 
was  presented  with  the  edifice  clear  of  all  encum- 
brances Oct.  6,  1881,  at  which  time  it  was  consecrated 
by  Bishop  Odenheimer,  of  this  diocese.  The  Rev.  E. 
Wennian,  of  the  Bound  Brook  Church,  is  the  present 
rector,  and  under  his  care,  with  the  few  families  inter- 
ested, are  in  hopes  of  seeing  the  growth  of  a  larger 
parish. 

Presbyterian  Church. — (For  the  history  of  this 
church  we  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy  of  Charles  A. 
Coriell,  secretary  of  the  board  of  trustees,  and  Rev. 
Alexander  Miller,  the  present  pastor.)  There  were 
many  Presbyterian  families  located  in  this  vicinity 
(Dunellen),  and  it  was  but  natural  that  they  should 
make  some  effort  to  establish  a  church  in  their  neigh- 
borhood. The  great  distance  to  Bound  Brook,  and 
also  to  Plainfield,  where  many  had  attended,  was  an- 
other inducement  to  seek  the  location  of  a  church 
here.  At  a  meeting  held  for  the  purpose  in  the  oflice 
of  William  J.  Stevens,  Esq.,  Sept.  7,  1870,  suitable 
lots  were  offered  by  the  Improvement  Company  on 
Dunellen  Avenue,  which  were  unanimously  accepted, 
and  on  Sept.  lit,  1870,  a  meeting  was  held  for  the  pur- 
pose of  electing  trustees,  when  the  following  gentle- 
men were  chosen  :  Francis  A.  Estey,  president  of 
board ;  Charles  C.  Morgan,  secretary ;  Cornelius 
Boice,  treasurer  ;  Henry  Oakley  and  Abner  S.  Coriell. 


598 


HISTORY   OP    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Arrangements  for  building  were  immediately  made. 
Chauncey  G.  Graham,  Esq.,  was  requested  to  draw 
plans  for  a  church,  which  in  due  time  he  presented 
before  the  board  and  they  were  accepted. 

At  a  meeting  held  for  purpose  of  organization,  at 
the  Dunellen  Academy,  Rev.  John  C.  Bliss,  modera- 
tor, and  other  clergymen  assisting,  the  following- 
named  members  were  received :  William  Vail  and 
Elizabetli,  his  wife  ;  Charles  C.  Morgan  and  Lucy 
Ann,  his  wife;  Miss  Mary  F.  Morgan;  Abner  S. 
Coriell  and  Catherine,  his  wife ;  Adam  Craig  and 
Catherine,  his  wife;  James  Craig;  John  A.  Reed  and 
Julia,  his  wife ;  Mrs.  Harriett  A.  Humpstone,  Henry 
Oakley,  and  Charlotte  E.  Reed.  The  following  were 
elected  the  first  elders:  William  Vail,  Adam  Craig, 
John  A.  Reed. 

The  corner-stone  was  laid  May  15,  1871.  The  Rev. 
Ravaud  K.  Rodgers,  D.D.,  then  pastor  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  at  Bound  Brook,  and  Rev.  John  C. 
Bliss,  D.D.,  of  Plainfield,  were  present  and  assisted 
the  elected  pastor,  Rev.  Merrill  N.  Hutchinson,  in 
the  ceremonies  of  the  occasion.  The  community  gave 
liberally  to  this  new  enterprise,  and  Jan.  26,  1872, 
the  day  named  ibr  its  dedication.  Rev.  Edward  Hop- 
per, D.D.,  made  the  opening  prayer.  The  dedicatory 
sermon  was  preached  by  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.D.,  of 
New  York,  prayer  by  Rev.  W.  C.  Roberts,  of  Eliza- 
beth, and  the  venerable  Rev.  Lewis  Bond,  of  Plain- 
field,  pronounced  the  benediction. 

The  whole  cost  of  this  beautiful  building  was 
$10,400.  The  following  gentlemen  have  been  elected 
as  elders,  and  their  term  of  office : 

William  Vail,  1870-73;  Adam  Craig,  1872-81; 
John  A.  Reed,  1872-81 ;  Charles  C.  Morgan,  1874-81 ; 
George  Beckwith,  1877-78;  Charles  A.  West,  1877- 
80 ;  Chauncey  G.  Graham,  1877-80 ;  J.  Wilbur  Price, 
1879-81;  Orlando  E.  Chamberlain,  1880;  James 
Lowrie,  Nov.  2,  1881. 

The  Rev.  Merrill  N.  Hutchinson  resigned  the  pas- 
torate Jan.  1,  1873,  and  the  Rev.  Theodore  S.  Brown 
was  elected  by  the  church  as  stated  pastor  March  26, 
1873,  and  resigned  June  21,  1880,  after  a  pastorate  of 
little  more  than  seven  years ;  he  removed  near  Chat- 
ham Four  Corners,  N.  Y.  The  Rev.  Alexander  Mil- 
ler was  installed  Oct.  12,  1880;  he  came  from  the 
Ringoes  Church,  N.  J.  Rev.  Dr.  W.  C.  Roberts 
preached  the  installation  sermon,  assisted  by  Rev. 
John  C.  Bliss,  D.D.,  of  Plainfield,  and  Rev.  Knee- 
land  P.  Ketchum,  D.D.,  of  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Plainfield,  who  delivered  the  charge  to  the  people. 
The  following  gentlemen  compose  the  present  board 
of  trustees  : 

J.  Roberts,  president ;  Charles  A.  Coriell,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  Arthur  V.  P.  Sutphen,  John  P.  Con- 
ever,  Ruloffe  J.  Svvackharaer. 

The  sittings,  350;  membership,  117;  teachers  in 
Sunday-school,  15;  scholars,  118. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  —  In  July,  1865, 
Rev.  Charles  E.  Little,  a  supernumerary  member  of 


the  Troy  Conference,  took  up  his  residence  in  New- 
town, about  two  miles  distant  from  New  Market,  and 
found  but  a  single  Methodist  family  in  New  Market 
village,  consisting  of  James  Rutan  and  wife.  The 
Rev.  James  O.  Rodgers,  of  Newark  Conference,  had 
a  few  years  before  held  a  few  Sabbath  afternoon  ser- 
vices in  the  Academy.  The  first  services  held  by  Mr. 
Little  was  by  invitation  of  Hopewell  Bigelow,  Abner 
S.  Coriell,  James  Rutan,  Isaac  H.  Dunn,  Arthur  S. 
Cox,  and  George  Osman,  on  Sabbath  evening,  Jan. 
21,  18G6,  in  the  Academy,  and  this  meeting  was  the 
start  of  a  new  church.  On  Feb.  25,  1866,  the  first 
Sabbath  morning  service  was  held,  a  class  of  twenty- 
three  members  was  organized,  which  was  subsequently 
increased  by  several  Methodist  families  moving  into 
the  place.  About  the  1st  of  March  a  subscription 
was  started  and  some  $2000  or  $3000  raised,  and  on 
the  22d  of  November,  1866,  the  church  was  dedicated. 
The  entire  expense  of  church  and  lots  amounted  to 
$4800.  At  this  time  this  church  was  connected  with 
the  Plainfield  Church  as  her  mission,  the  Rev.  George 
H.  Whitney  pastor,  and  Rev.  Charles  S.  Little,  as- 
sistant pastor. 

During  the  Conference  year  of  1867-68  this  church 
experienced  a  great  loss  in  the  removal  of  several  of 
the  brethren  to  other  places,  and  its  social  meetings 
suffered.  Mr.  Little  closed  his  pastorate  March  24, 
1864,  and  Rev.  Theodore  D.  Frasee  was  appointed 
his  successor.  He  remained  until  the  spring  of  1869, 
when  Rev.  Henry  M.  Simpson  took  charge  of  the 
church.  He  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Martin  Herr 
in  the  spring  of  1870,  who  was  a  non-resident  and 
only  supplied  the  pulpit  on  the  Sabbath.  In  March 
of  1871,  Rev.  G.  W.  Gibson,  a  member  of  the  Black 
River  Conference,  was  put  in  charge  by  Rev.  James 
Ayres,  presiding  elder  of  the  Elizabeth  district. 

In  the  fall  of  this  year  (1871)  the  growing  village 
of  Dunellen  was  attracting  many  families  from  the 
city  to  become  permanent  residents,  and  the  church 
had  become  quite  too  small,  so  that  nearly  all  were  in 
favor  of  building  a  new  church  in  Dunellen.  The  old 
edifice  in  New  Market  was  accordingly  sold  to  the 
Episcopal  Church  for  $3950  in  February,  1872.  The 
Rev.  J.  A.  Kingsbury  was  appointed  March,  1872, 
and  upon  him  rested  the  labor  and  responsibility  of 
building  the  new  church,  which  in  the  fall  of  that 
year  was  completed  and  dedicated  at  ati  expense  of 
nearly  eight  thousand  dollars. 

Rev.  James  W.  Marshall  was  appointed  to  the  pas- 
torate in  March,  1873,  and  remained  for  the  term  of 
three  years,  and  during  that  term  built  the  present 
parsonage  ;  a  large  number  were  added,  and  the  con- 
gregations increased  to  double  what  they  had  ever 
before  been.  In  the  spring  of  1876,  Rev.  Charles  S. 
Woodruff"  was  appointed  pastor  by  the  Newark  Con- 
ference, and  remained  three  years.  He  was  followed 
in  1879  by  the  Rev.  Salmon  D.  Jones,  who  remained 
two  years.  The  church  prospered  greatly  under  his 
ministry.      In  the  spring  of  1881,  Rev.  Ambrose  S. 


PISCATAWAY. 


599 


Compton  was  sent  as  their  regular  pastor,  and  by  his 
interest  in  the  temporal  as  well  as  the  spiritual  affairs 
has  made  considerable  increase  in  the  membership 
and  improvement  in  the  church  property.  Valua- 
tion of  church,  S9000;  parsonage  rectory,  $3200; 
sittings,  350  ;  membership,  70  ;  officers  and  teachers 
in  Sunday-school,  13;  scholars,  100. 

St.  John's  the  Evangelist. — This  new  church  of 
the  Roman  Catholics  was  huilt  but  a  few  months  ago 
(1880),  u|>on  lets  donated  by  Mr.  Peter  Moore,  of 
Plainfield,  N.  J.  Located  upon  Washington  Ave- 
nue, Dunellen.  The  edifice  is  of  brick,  neat  in 
architecture,  and  cost  $2500.  The  Eev.  Father 
Burgneda  is  the  present  pastor.  The  parish  con- 
tains some  thirty-five  families ;  sittings  about  two 
hundred. 

The  Samptown  (New  Brooklyn i  Baptist  Church 
dates  its  existence  from  Dec.  1,  1792,  when  twenty- 
one  members  drew  letters  of  dismission  from  the 
Scotch  Plains  Baptist  Church,  and  Joseph  Manning 
and  Christianus  Lupardus  were  elected  deacons.  The 
church  remained  without  a  settled  pa.stor,  they  hav- 
ing preaching  b)'  supplies  from  the  neiglilioring  Bap- 
tist Churches  until  October,  1793,  when  the  Rev. 
Jacob  Fitz  Randolph  accepted  a  call.  He  remained 
for  nearly  twenty-five  years,  and  it  is  said  there  was 
scarcely  a  church  meeting  in  which  there  were  not 
candidates  present  for  admission  into  the  church  fel- 
lowship. In  November,  1818,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fitz 
Randolph,  with  thirty-two  members  of  this  church, 
took  their  letters  of  dismission  for  the  purpose  of 
constituting  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Plainfield, 
Union  Co..  N.  J.  From  that  time  until  May  23, 
1819,  the  church  had  no  pastor.  Rev.  Lebbeus 
Lathrop  then  accepted  a  call.  He  remained  a  period 
of  twenty-one  years,  which  closed  his  active  work  in 
the  ministry.  He  died  Nov.  5,  1843,  aged  eighty-two 
years,  and  is  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  this  church 
at  Samptown. 

Rev.  E.  M.  Barker  succeeded  to  the  pastorate  May 
28,  1841,  and  remained  for  eight  years  as  minister  in 
this  church.  A  rem.arkable  revival  of  religion  oc 
curred,  with  a  large  accession  of  members,  on  Jan. 
21,  1843.  He  extended  the  hand  of  fellowship  to 
ninety-nine  persons  whom  he  baptized.  One  hundred 
were  expected,  but  one  was  detained  by  sickness. 

The  following  ministers  have  succeeded  to  the  pas- 
torate :  Rev.  W.  D.  Hires,  Rev.  W.  Maul,  Rev.  J.  J. 
Baker,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Gurr  for  less  than  one  year — 
from  May  1,  1868,  to  March  2,  1869,  the  shortest  of 
any  ;  followed  by  Rev.  S.  L.  Cox,  Rev.  W.  H.  Bur- 
lew,  and  the  present  incumbent.  Rev.  Andrew  Arm- 
strong, who  came  from  Easton,  Pa.,  Aug.  1,  1878. 
This  church ,  then  located  at  Samptown,  about  one  mile 
from  New  Brooklyn,  was  burned  the  23d  of  April, 
1879,  by  a  cinder  from  the  engine,  which  set  fire  to 
the  roof.  The  (now)  new  church  was  built  at  the 
latter  place  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  at  a  cost  of 
$4200,   and   the   parsonage,   S3000.      The   following 


named  have  been  deacons  :  Joseph  Manning,  Chris- 
tianus Lepardus,  Samuel  Drake,  Benjamin  Manning, 
Daniel  Fitz  Randolph,  Reune  Runyon,  Sr.,  Reune 
Runyon,  Jr.,  Jephtha  L.  Runyon,  Ephraim  J.  Runyon, 
Joseph  Tingley,  Jeremiah  Blackford,  William  Lap- 
ham,  Louis  Dayton,  E.  D.  Boice,  Thaddeus  Drake, 
D.  Toppin,  Mr.  Dayton.  Boice  and  Toppin  are  the 
present  deacons.     Sittings,  2-50  ;   membership,  100. 

Tavern-Keepers  in  1742. — There  was  a  tax  called 
the  excise  on  all  the  tavern-keepers  in  1742.  We 
find  the  following  names  and  dates  of  those  who  were 
taxed  to  keep  inns  : 

John  Hull,  1740;  Joseph  Michiel,  1750;  Elijah 
Dunham,  1752  ;  George  Vroom,  1755  ;  Aaron  Boorom, 
1774;  James  Gilman,  1774;  Hugh  Dunn,  1775;  Jo- 
.sephus  Drake,  1777  :  Samuel  Moores,  1755  ;  Joseph 
Woods,  1752;  John  Puund,  1770;  Joseph  Drake, 
1771:  TlioiiKis  Fitz  Randolph,  1773;  John  Dunn,  1776. 

New  Market. — In  the  early  settlement  of  this  vil- 
lage it  was  known  by  the  name  of  Quibbletown,  and 
in  Gordon's  "  Gazetteer  of  New  Jersey"  he  speaks  of 
it  by  this  name,  and  also  as  being  called  New  Market 
in  the  year  1834.  It  then  contained  a  grist-mill,  a 
tavern,  a  store,  and  some  twenty  dwellings,  being 
seven  miles  north  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  left 
bank  of  Cedar  Creek,  as  the  stream  of  New  Brooklyn 
Pond  was  then  called,  which  runs  through  the  village. 
The  village  now  contains  about  eighty  dwellings. 
There  are  many  residents  doing  business  in  the  neigh- 
boring cities.  The  Easton  and  Amboy  Railroad  passes 
through  the  centre  of  the  village,  having  a  commodi- 
ous station  and  freight-houses.  There  are  a  number 
of  shops  and  one  large  clothing  establishment  in  the 
place. 

Dunellen  is  situated  in  the  extreme  northwesterly 
part  of  Piscataway  township,  and  is  divided  by  the 
Central  Railroad  of  New  Jersey  from  the  village  of 
New  Market.  The  place  is  of  but  a  few  years'  growth. 
The  streets  are  wide,  and  laid  out  in  regular  lines.  It 
contains  a  number  of  tasty  dwellings  belonging  to 
business  men  of  the  city  and  others,  who  have  selected 
this  location  for  retirement.  The  surrounding  scenery, 
particularly  of  the  mountains  in  the  vicinity  of  Wash- 
ington Rock,  is  quite  picturesque.  It  has  about  two 
hundred  dwellings  and  a  number  of  stores. 

New  Brooklyn  and  Samptown  are  small  ham- 
lets; contain  grocery  and  general  merchandise  store, 
Reune  and  William  Manning,  who  is  also  the  post- 
master ;  school-house.  Baptist  Church,  grist-mill, 
Mr.  H.  Acken,  who  carries  on  the  milling,  and  the 
old  saw-mill  of  Drake  Dunn  and  John  Smalley,  built 
before  the  Revolutionary  war;  Mr.  William  Ryno, 
who  is  the  owner  since  1857,  and  carries  on  the  busi- 
ness. His  father  was  the  first  tavern-keeper  in  1822, 
but  gave  it  up,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no  inn 
kept  in  the  village.  There  are  about  thirty  or  forty 
houses.  The  Eiiston  and  Amboy  Railroad  passes 
through  the  place,  and  it  has  taken  the  name  of  South 
Plainfield,  bv  which  it  is  now  known. 


600 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Burial-Grounds. — At  an  early  day  plots  of  ground 
were  set  apart  in  one  corner  of  a  farm  called  the 
family  burial-ground,  and  in  this  township  there  were 
many  such,  but  in  later  years  the  stones  have  been  re- 
moved and  the  ground  leveled  with  the  rest  of  the  field. 

Among  the  oldest  of  these  plots  is  the  Runyon 
burying-ground.  There  are  a  large  number  here 
buried  without  headstones,  and  their  interment  prob- 
ably dates  back  to  the  burial  of  the  first  settlers.  We 
copy  a  few  of  the  dates  on  the  headstones : 

Benjamin  Runyon,  died  1783,  in  his 58th  year;  Peter 
Runyondied  1821,  in  his  77th  year;  Susannah  Runyon, 
wife  of  Peter  Runyon,  died  1824,  aged  77  years  ;  David 
Stelle,  son  of  David  and  Rachielle  Stelle,  died  1819, 
aged  3  years,  also  their  daughter,  Susannah  Stelle, 
died  1811,  aged  9  years;  Ann  Runyon  died  1805, 
aged  75  years;  Sarah,  wife  of  Runyon  Hamil,  died 
Dec.  11,  1804,  aged  18  years;  Maria  Stelle  died  1825, 
aged  14  years  ;  Samuel  Blackford  died  April  16, 1851, 
aged  89  years. 

A  family  burial-ground  of  Dunn  and  Tingley  lies 
back  on  the  lands  of  the  late  Dr.  C.  \V.  Coriell,  New 
Market.  But  a  few  stones  now  remain,  many  of  them 
having  been  removed  to  the  general  burying-ground 
in  the  township,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  old 
family  burial-ground  of  the  Coriells,  the  stones  having 
been  removed,  the  farm  now  belonging  to  Frederick 
Wessels.  It  is  situated  at  Newton,  now  called  Ran- 
dolphville,  about  the  centi-e  point  of  this  township. 

A  private  burial-ground  of  the  Boices  is  situated 
in  New  Market,  on  lands  of  Dr.  A.  S.  Titsworth.  The 
stones  bear  many  ancient  dates  of  the  first  settlers 
who  came  to  this  town-ship,  and  a  large  number  who 
are  buried  without  anything  that  can  be  recognized 
as  their  graves,  but  we  are  told  that  the  plot  is  filled 
up.  We  copy  a  few.  The  initials  T.  B.,  for  Thomas 
Boice,  may  be  one  of  the  oldest.  P.  C,  1758,  repre- 
senting the  grave  of  Peter  Coriell.  J.  L.,  1756,  Jo- 
seph or  John  Lenox,  and  the  oldest  date  is  roughly 
marked  E.  L.,  1749. 

The  following  are  more  in  detail : 

"  Osee  Dauglit  of  David  and 

Sarah  Coriell  died  Sept.  y 

.   24, 1794,  aged  4  mo.  and  21  days. 

David,  son  of  aliove, 

died  May  y«  20, 1805.  aged 

3  mo.  and  10  days." 

"In  Memory  of 

Lyilia,  wife  of  Daniel  Runyon, 

daughter  of  James  Lenox, 

died  Oct.  y"  17, 1784,  in  her 

31^'  year." 

"  Beny    and    Anne 

died  died 

April  23, 1777,     July  7,  1781, 

aged  2  mo.  13  d.    1  mo.  and  29  d." 

"George  L.  Boite, 

who  died 

Jan.  11,  1817. 

66  years. 

Sarah,  his  wife, 

73  years, 

Died  March  21,1830." 


'  Rachel  Shotwell  died  Sept.  3,  1827,  in  her  68th 
year.     There  are  other  plots  of  the  Giles  family  on 

I  the  Peter  Smith  place;  on  the  W.  H.  Oliver  farm  of 
the  Field  families  ;  and  at  New  Brooklyn,  on  land  of 
John  I.  Holly,  many  of  the  family  of  Laing  are  buried. 
Watekville  Cemeteuy,  sometimes  called  the 
Samptown  burial-ground,  is  one  of  the  oldest  pub- 
lic cemeteries.  It  is  kept  in  a  neat  condition,  with 
good    ta.ste,   trees   planted   and    walks    straightened. 

1  We  will   name  only  a  few  of  the  families  who  bury 

j  here,  viz. :  Pyatt,  Piatt,  Drake,  Coulter,  Stewart,  Os- 
mun.  Tingle}',  Adiar,  Frasee,  Low,  Runyon,  Watts, 

I  Manning,  Mollerson,  Blackford,  Soper,  Pound,  Still- 
born, Whitehead,  Laing,  Bloodgood,  Ross,  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph, Lee,  Barclay,  Dears,  Honeyman,  Harris.  Far- 
rant,  Way,  Gaskell,  Stephens,  Morris,  Beekman, 
Vannest,  Magan,  Bush,  Clark,  Blue,  Shotwell,  Con- 

!  ever.  Lever,  Clauson,  Dunn,  Wright,  Miller,  Clark- 
son,  Holton,  Vandevort,  Lupardus,  Pearsall,  McCor- 
mick,  Scelle,  Sullard,  Coriell,  Brokaw,  Gibson,  Ayres, 
Hoff,  and  Snyder. 
Here  is  an  epitaph  of 

"Rev.  Lebbens  Lathrop,  who  was  born   Ott.  23,  17r.l,  in   Canterbury, 
1    Conn.,  died  Nov.  5,  1843,  aged  82  years." 

I  The  following  are  epitaphs  of  those  who  served  in 
the  last  war : 

1       "In  Memory  of  Augustus  Ryno,  Died  from  Wounds  rec^  while  in  the 

service  of  liis  country,  Dec.  13,  18G3,  aged  38  years." 
I       "In  memory  of  Lieut.  George  C.  Boice,  son  of  Peter  and  Mary  A. 

Boice,  who  was  killed  in  front  of  Petereburgh,  Va,,  while  on  duty  on  the 

Picket  Line,  Oct.  8,  18G4,  Aged  26  years,  3  mo  ,  16  days." 
I       "Erected   to  tlie  memory  of  Aaron  P..  son  of  Jolin  &  Bershela  Fitz 

Randolph,  Died  March  8, 1863,  aged  22  years,  6  mo.,  25  days. 

My  friends  wliom  here  I  leave, 

I  From  whom  I  must  now  part, 

Oh,  look  to  God  to  comfort  yoii, 

Aud  heal  your  broken  heart." 

Many  of  the  stones  in  this  yard  bear  date  1762, 
1773,  and  1792,  and  a  number  have  become  so  ob- 
literated that  they  cannot  be  deciphered. 

The  cemetery  situated  on  the  road  from  New  Mar- 
ket to  New  Brunswick,  about  two  miles  from  the 
former  place,  was,  by  the  liberality  of  Joel  Dunn, 
Esq.,  in  1835,  given  to  the  trustees  of  the  Seventh- 
Day  Baptist  Church  as  their  place  of  interment,  their 
church  having  been  built  in  the  village  instead  of  the 
location  formerly  occupied  by  the  Second  Church, 
where  they  had  a  small  plot  for  burial  purposes.  The 
grounds  are  neatly  inclosed,  and  very  soon  more  room 
will  be  needed. 

The  private  plots  of  the  Gilles,  Lainge,  and  a  few 
others  are  now  of  the  past,  they  not  now  being  used 
as  places  of  interment,  and  in  some  cases  very  much 
neglected  by  their  descendants,  which  is  much  to  be 
regretted,  as  they  are  the  links  in  the  chain  of  fam- 
ilies, and  is  where  the  historian  must  go  for  his  gene- 
alogies of  these  families. 


PISCATAWAY. 


601 


BIOGRAPHICAL   SKETCHES. 

ISAAC  D.  TITSWORTH. 
Isaac  D.  Titsworth  was  born  in  Piscataway  town- 
ship, Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  June  13,  1805.  He  was 
the^fifth  child  and  second  son  of  Lewis  and  Keziah 
(Dunham)  Titsworth.  His  ancestors  came  from 
England,  from  a  township  named  Tittesworth,  in 
Staffordshire,  which  was  the  ancient  seat  of  the  fam- 
ily. From  a  printed  work  containing  a  history  of 
this  township  we  trace  the  name  of  Tittesworth  back 
to  the  year  1030,  in  the  time  of  Canute,  the  Dane, 
and  Edward  the  Confessor.  The  same  work  informs 
us  of  certain  descendants  of  the  original  Tittesworth 


c/p.  (;i^i^h^-u^^T7i^ 


who  greatly  distinguished  themselves.  One  named 
Ralph  joined  Lord  Stanley  at  Bosworth  Field  with  a 
large  body  of  men,  and  himself  slew  Richard  the 
Third  on  the  24th  day  of  August,  1485. 

Another  descendant,  Sir  Benjamin,  was  called  "the 
Silver  Trumpet  of  the  Long  Parliament."  Horace 
Walpole  speaks  of  him  as  "  a  wit  and  poet  in  great 
vogue  in  those  days,"  and  Southey,  in  his  "  Book  of 
the  Church,"  calls  him  "  one  of  the  most  eloquent 
men  in  that  best  age  of  English  eloquence."  Another 
was  the  engineer  and  builder  of  the  second  Eddystone 
Lighthouse. 

When  the  name  first  came  to  this  country  is  uncer- 
tain ;  it  was,  however,  previous  to  1711,  as  the  name 
occurs  at  that  date  as  that  of  the  owner  of  a  planta- 


tion in  Northern  New  Jersey.  The  subject  of  this 
sketch  was  reared  in  poverty.  He  did  not  long  enjoy 
even  the  common-school  advantages  of  those  days  for 
obtaining  an  education.  Circumstances  compelling 
him  at  an  early  age  to  earn  a  living,  he  began  while 
yet  a  lad  to  carry  on  horseback  through  Middlesex, 
Monmouth,  and  Essex  Counties  the  newspapers  then 
published  in  New  Brunswick,  and  continued  to  do  so 
for  a  number  of  years. 

Nearing  manhood  he  was  apprenticed  to  learn  the 
tradeof  a  tanner  and  currier,  and  fora  numberofyears 
successfully  carried  on  that  business  in  Plainfield, 
and  afterwards  in  New  Market.  On  Aug.  25,  1831,  he 
married  Hannah  Ann  Sheppard,  of  Shiloh,  Cumber- 
land Co.,  N.  J.,  thus  forming  a  connection  through 
Lis  wife  with  the  Sheppards  and  Ayers,  two  of  the 
most  reputable  families  of  Cumberland  County  in 
those  days.  Moving  to  Shiloh  in  1838,  he  was  for 
fourteen  years  successively  merchant  and  tanner, 
being  also  the  first  postmaster  of  that  place,  and 
continuing  postmaster  there  till  after  his  removal  to 
Plainfield  in  1852.  In  this  year  he  sold  a  part  of 
his  farm  to  Thomas  B.  Stilliman,  and  with  him  laid 
out  many  of  the  streets  in  Plainfield.  In  1853  he 
exchanged  the  remainder  of  his  farm  for  a  farm  and 
tan-yard  at  New  Market,  where  he  has  since  contin- 
ued to  reside. 

During  the  Rebellion  he  was  active  in  sustaining 
the  State  and  general  government.  Of  his  seven 
sons  the  oldest  four,  aged  sixteen,  eighteen,  twenty, 
and  twenty-two,  enlisted  in  the  ranks  as  volunteers ; 
also  two  sons-in-law,  both  army  and  navy  being 
equally  represented  among  the  six.  All  were  pro- 
moted to  honorable  positions,  all  were  honorably 
discharged,  and  all  to-day  occupy  honorable  positions 
in  the  communities  where  they  reside.  In  politics 
Isaac  D.  Titsworth  was  first  a  Whig  and  afterwards  a 
Republican,  and  has  held  a  number  of  offices  of 
honor  and  trust.  In  society  he  is  respected  for  his 
public  spirit  and  honest,  consistent  life.  He  has  for 
many  years  been  a  deacon  in  theSeventh Day  Baptist 
Church,  and  has  since  early  manhood  been  known  as 
an  active  laborer  in  the  cause  of  temperance. 

On  Aug.  25,  1881,  he  celebrated  with  his  aged  com- 
panion his  golden  wedding,  all  of  the  three  daughters 
and  seven  sons  being  present  with  their  companions 
(one  son-in-law  excepted),  and  all  living  grandchil- 
dren, twenty-one  in  number,  being  also  present  (save 
one). 

It  was  considered  a  matter  of  unusual  interest  that 
during  fifty  years  of  married  life  but  three  deaths  had 
occurred  in  their  family,  and  but  two  of  these  (both 
infant  grandchildren)  being  descendants  of  the  aged 
couple. 

HENRY  V.   DUNHAM. 
The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical 
sketch  was  Squire  David  Dunham,  who  resided  in  the 
township  of  Piscataway,  where  he  followed  agricul- 


602 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


tural  employments  and  wielded  a  considerable  influ- 
ence in  public  aftairs.  He  married  and  had  children,- 
Edmund,  GeorD;e  W.,  Benjamin,  Caroline,  and  Sarah. 
The  death  of  Mr.  Dunham,  after  a  life  of  industry, 
occurred  at  his  home.  His  son  George  W.  was  born 
Dec.  19,  1788,  at  the  homestead,  where  the  years  of 
his  boyhood,  as  also  his  later  years,  were  spent.  He 
subsequently   removed  to  Plainfield,  which   became 


township.  Their  children  are  Alida  V.  (Mrs.  Isaac 
E.  Giles),  and  AVilliam  C,  who  is  married  to  Etta 
Burdick,  and  resides  at  Alfred  Centre,  Alleghanj' 
Co.,  N.  Y. 

Mr.  Dunham  is  a  stanch  Republican  in  politics, 
and  a  close  observer  of  the  political  changes  of  the 
time,  but  cares  little  for  the  distinctions  of  oflicial 
life.  He  is  a  Baptist  in  his  religious  faith,  and  a 
trustee  of  the  New  Market  Baptist  Church.  He  is 
enterprising  and  sagacious  in  matters  of  business,  and 
has  enjoyed  a  success  commensurate  with  these  busi- 
ness qualifications. 


^ 


^£i^^^<^7.^A^^2/y 


<;^yn^ 


his  residence.  By  his  marriage  to  Miss  Phebe,  daugh- 
ter of  William  Vail,  who  was  a  Quaker  in  his  re- 
ligious faith  and  born  in  1792,  he  became  the  father  of 
children,— David  V.,  Eveline  (Mrs.  N.  Randolph), 
Elizabeth  (Mrs.  B.  D.  Randolph),  James  V.,  Jane 
H.  (deceased),  Daniel  V.,  Henry  V.,  Clarkson  C, 
George  H.,  and  Charles  E.  Mr.  Dunham's  death  oc- 
curred June  22,  1876,  in  his  eighty-eighth  year,  and 
that  of  his  wife  Oct.  5,  1881,  aged  nearly  ninety 
years. 

Their  son  Henry  V.  was  born  Dec.  27,  1828,  at  the 
family  residence,  where  his  youth  until  the  age  of  six- 
teen was  devoted  to  study,  varied  by  occasional 
labor  on  the  farm.  He  then  closely  applied  himself 
to  a  trade,  that  of  a  tailor,  which  was  soon  mastered 
and  followed  for  a  period  of  two  years. 

This  proved,  however,  a  narrow  field  of  operation, 
and  Mr.  Dunham  soon  after  embarked  in  the  manu- 
facture of  cloth,  in  which  he  is  still  engaged  at  the 
village  of  New  Market. 

He  was,  Nov.  10,  18.55,  united  in  marriage  to  Miss 
Susan  M.,  daughter  of  .Fohn  Snialley,  of  the  same 


ASA   F.   RANDOLPH. 

The  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biography  was 
Edward  F.  Randolph,  who  had  among  his  children  a 
son,  Eflward  F.,  who  resided  in  New  Jersey  during  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  died  in  Somerset  County. 
He  was  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Mary,  daughter 
of  Hugh  Webster,  of  Plainfield,  and  became  the 
parent  of  eight  children,  two  of  whom  died  in  in- 
fancy. The  others  were  named,  respectively,  Phebe, 
Mercy,  Sarah,  Mary,  Ira,  and  Asa  F.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Randolph  occurred  Jan.  3,  1831.  His  son  Asa 
F.  was  born  Oct.  10,  1796,  in  Somerset  County,  where 
his  youthful  years  were  spent  with  his  parents.  He 
was  married  on  the  4th  of  May,  1816,  to  Miss  Rachel, 
one  often  children  of  William  Vail,  of  Piscataway. 

To  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Randolph  were  born  seven  chil- 
dren in  the  following  order:  Peter  F.,  deceased,  in 
1817  ;  William  F.,  in  1821  ;  Mary  F.  (Mrs.  Daniel 
Randolph),  in  1823;  Lewis  F.,  in  1828;  Edward  F., 
in  1830 ;  Isabella  F.  (Mrs.  Charles  Buekelew),  in 
1836  ;  Harriet  F.  (Mrs.  Smalley),  in  1838. 

About  the  year  1820,  Mr.  Randolph  removed  to 
Piscataway,  where  he  has  since  been  one  of  the  repre- 
sentative farmers  of  the  township.  He  was  also  for  a 
brief  period  engaged  in  the  business  of  milling. 

The  Republican  party  in  politics  has  claimed  his 
allegiance,  and  various  township  offices  have  been 
filled  by  him,  though  these  honors  he  never  specially 
desired.  Both  himself  and  wife  are  members  of  the 
Piscataway  Baptist  Church,  and  have  at  all  times 
manifested  much  interest  in  its  prosperity.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Randolph  are  still  enjoying  health  and  abund- 
ance in  the  sixtv-fifth  vear  of  their  married  life. 


CHAPTER    LXXXV. 

CITY  OF  I'EUTII  AMBOY. 

The  problem  of  establishing  a  seat  of  government 
for  East  Jersey  was  one  whicli  the  proprietors  early 
sought  to  solve.  Although  Carteret  on  his  arrival  in 
the  province  in  August,  1665,  fixed  the  seat  of  his 
government  at  Elizabeth  town,  where  it  remained  for 
over  twenty  years,  yet  he  early   had   his  attention 


Ci^ 


^  (Ptu^dS 


\ 


CITY   OF   PERTH  AMBOY. 


603 


drawn  to  "  Emboyle"  ( Ompoye,  as  it  was  called  by 
the  natives),  known  to  the  English  as  "  Ambo,"  then 
as  "  Amboy,"  and  finally  as  the  city  of  Perth  Aniboy. 
In  a  letter  to  James  Bollen,  dated  Elizabethtown, 
July  9, 1680,  he  mentions  having  made  Aniboy  the 
subject  of  a  special  communication  to  Lady  Carteret, 
and  it  is  not  improbable  that  theestablishnient  of  the 
chief  town  of  the  province  at  this  point  was  then  in 
contemplation,  but  was  delayed  on  account  of  the 
transfer  of  the  province  to  other  proprietors.  The 
new  proprietors  seem  to  have  been  made  fully  aware 
of  the  advantages  of  the  situation  and  of  the  intentions 
of  their  predecessors  respecting  it,  for  upon  receiving 
their  title  the  twelve  associates  set  forth  the  following 
"  proposals"  for  building  and  settling  the  town  : 

"  For  as  inilcli  as  Ambu  Pciiiit  is  a  sweet,  wholesome,  and  delightful 
place  proper  for  trade  by  reason  of  its  conmiodious  situation,  upon  a 
safe  harbor,  being  likewise  acconiniodated  with  a  navigable  river  aud 
fresh  water,  and  hath,  by  many  persons  of  the  greatest  experience  and 
best  judgdment,  been  approved  for  the  goodness  of  the  air,  soil,  and  sit- 
uation, 

"  We,  the  proprietore,  purpose  by  the  help  of  Almighty  God,  with  all 
convient  speed,  to  build  a  convieut  town  for  merchandise,  trade,  and 
tishery  on  Ambo  Point:  and  because  pei-sons  that  hath  a  desire  to  plant 
there  may  not  be  disappointed  for  want  of  proposals,  we,  the  proprietors. 


intend  to  divide  fifteen  huudred  acres  of  land  upon  Ambo 
hundred  and  fifty  lots,  wliich  lots  shall  consist  of  ten 
ne  hundred  of  llie  lots  we  are  willing  to  sell  here,  and 
for  such  as  aie  in  America  and  have  long  desired  to 


otfer  llie  follow 

"  First.  We 
Point  into  one 
acres  the  lot ;  < 
fifty  we  reserve 
settle  there. 

"  Secondly.  The  price  of  each  lot  will  be  fifteen  pounds  sterling  to 
such  who  purchase  before  the  25th  of  December,  1682,  and  to  such  who 
purchase  afterwards,  before  the  25lh  of  December,  16S3,  twenty  pounds 
sterling. 

'*  Thirdly.  Every  lot  is  to  be  as  equally  divided  as  the  goodness  of  the 
place  doth  require  and  the  situation  can  admit. 

"  Fourthly.  The  most  convient  spot  of  ground  for  a  town  shall  be 
divided  into  one  hundred  aud  filty  tqual  shares,  aud  set  out  into  streets 
according  to  rules  of  art ;  and  no  person  shall  he  preferred  before  another 
in  choice,  whether  purchaser  or  proprietor. 

"Fifthly.  We  reserve  four  acres  for  a  market-place,  town-house,  etc., 
and  three  acres  for  public  wharfage. 

"Sixthly.  Each  purchaser  is  obliged  to  bnilda  dwelliug-house  in  the 
place  designed  for  the  town,  and  to  clear  three  acres  of  upland  in  three 
years  or  else  the  proprietors  to  be  reinstated  in  such  lots  wherein  default 
is  made,  repaying  the  purchase-money.  i 

"  Seveutly.  We,  the  proprietors,  do  within  a  year  hope  by  God's  assist-  i 
ance  to  build  for  such  of  us  one  house  upou  Ambo-Point,  which  we  i 
intend  shall  stand  in  an  orderly  manner  according  to  the  best  and  most  | 
convient  model. 

"  And,  in  pursuance  of  the  design  of  the  propositions  abovesaid, —  i 

"  Eighthly.  And  for  the  encouragement  of  carpenters,  joiners,  brick 
and  tilc-makers,  bricklayers,  masons,  sawyers,  and  laborers  of  all  sorts 
who  are  willing  to  go  and  employ  themselves  and  servants  in  helping  to 
clear  ground  aud  build  houses  upon  the  general  account  of  and  for  the    | 
proprietors. 

"The  said  proprietors  will  engage  to  find  them  work  and  current  pay 
for  the  same  in  mone.v  or  clothes,  and  provisions,  of  which  there  is  plenty 
^as  beef,  pork,  corn,  etc.)  according  to  the  market-price  at  New  York  dur- 
ing the  space  of  one  year  at  least  next  after  the  26th  of  December,  16S2,  in 
which  time  (through  God's  blessing  and  their  industry)  they  may  have 
got  wherewith  to  buy  cows,  horses,  hogs,  and  other  goods,  to  stock  that 
land,  which  they  in  the  mean  time  may  take  up,  according  to  the  con- 
cessions; neither  shall  such  persons  pay  rent  for  their  said  land  so  long 
as  they  are  employed  in  the  proprietois'  work  ;  and  their  wages  shall  at 
all  times  be  so  much  as  other  such  artificers  and  laborers  in  the  said 
province  usually  have  ;  nor  shall  they  he  obliged  to  work  for  the  propri- 
etors longer  than  they  fiud  encouragement  so  to  do. 

"  Ninthly.  And  for  the  more  ready  and  certain  employing  those  work- 
men and  laborers  that  shall  transport  themselves  to  East  Jersey,  this  is 
to  let  all  laborers  and  persons  that  shall  transport  themselves  know  they 


must  upon  their  arrival  upon  that  place,  repair  to  the  register  of  the 
above  said  province,  and  enter  themselves  according  to  their  respective 
qualitits  and  designs,  and  thereupon  they  shall  be  entered  into.theser- 
vice  and  pay  of  the  proprietors." 

The  proprietaries  contributed  twelve  hundred 
pounds  in  furtherance  of  the  project,  to  erect  each 
a  house,  and  Thomas  Rudyard,  their  first  deputy- 
governor,  appears  to  have  been  in.structed  to  carry 
out  this  and  other  plans  respecting  their  new  town. 
"Upon  our  view  and  survey  of  Amboy  Point"  he 
wrote  under  date  of  30th  of  May,  1683,  "  we  find  it 
extraordinary  well  situate  for  a  great  town  or  city 
beyond  expectation.  .  .  .  The  point  is  good  lively 
land,  ten,  some  places  twenty  feet  above  the  water." 
Says  Mr.  Charles  D.  Deshler,— 

"  Perth  Amboy,  originally  called  '  Ombo'  and  'Ompoye'  (signifying  an 
elbow)  by  the  aborgines,  and  in  old  records  variously  styled  '  .Amboyle' 
and  '  Emboyle,'  was  settled  and  became  a  town  later  than  Woodbridge 
and  Piscataway.  It  was  still  uninhabited  in  1682,  as  appeal's  from  an 
act  'directing  the  Times  and  places  for  holding  the  County  Courts,' 
passed  in  1686.  This  act  recites  that '  whereas  an  act  was  made  the  first 
day  of  March,  1682,'  providing  that  the  Courts  should  be  held  in  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  at  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway;  and 'the  Town 
of  Amboy  Perth  not  being  then  iuhabUed,  the  Courts  could  not  be  there 
settled;  but,  for  the  better  encouragement  of  the  said  Town,  the  act  of 
1686  goes  on  to  order  that  henceforth  the  Courts  should  '  be  held  at  the 
town  of  Amboy  Perth'  in  September  and  December  of  every  year,  alter- 
nating with  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway.  At  the  date  of  the  '  Instruc- 
tions' by  the  Proprietoi-s  to  Governor  Laurie,  September  7,  1683,  '  Perth 
Town'  was  yet  '  to  be  built.'  The  Instnictions  say  :  As  to  the  Lotts  at 
Ambo  Point  and  the  town  of  Perth  there  to  be  btiill,  we  desire  that  due 
care  may  be  taken  that  it  may  be  made  regularly  according  to  a  scheme 
which  is  intended  herewith  to  be  sent.^  In  this  same  year  '  one  Georgo 
Lockhart'  offered  to  build  a  '  Prison  and  Towne  house'  in  the  place,  and 
Governor  Laurie  was  authorized  to  close  with  the  offer.  But  it  is  cer- 
tain that  neither  were  built  by  Lockhart.  On  some  part  of  the  lands 
allotted  to  the  town  there  was  at  this  time 'a  house  belonging  to  the 
Proprietors,  with  the  Orchards  and  Grounds  belonging  thereto,'  and  the 
Instructions  ordered  Thomas  Rudyard,  the  first.  Deputy-Governor,  to 
'  give  the  Governor  possession  thereof— the  governor  alluded  to  being 
Gawen  Laurie,  who  arrived  in  February,  1684.2 

"  Besides  this  house,  Kudyard  wrote  to  the  Pioprietors  May  30,  1863, 
that  they  had  begun  building  'some  small  houses  fitting  for  work- 
men,' and  August  11,  the  same  year,  Samuel  Groorae.  Surveyor-General, 
wrote  that  three  houses  had  been  erected.  The  Instructions  above 
Cited  also  made  allusion  to  what  is  now  South  Anibo.v,  directing  that 
the  Six  thousand  acres  belonging  to  the  Proprietors  upon  the  South  Side 
of  the  Baritan,  over  against  Ambo  Point,  be  cast  in  three  equal  divisions. 
Two  Thousand  in  each  for  every  eight  Proprietors,  who,  it  is  added, 
are  now  (1683)  sending  over  in  Company  both  stock  and  servants.'  Un- 
til 1686  tlie  General  Assembly  of  East  Jersey  had  been  held  either  at 
Elizabethtown,  Woodbridge,  or  Piscataway ,»  but  on  the  'Jth  of  April  in 
th.-t  year,  it  met  for  the  firet  time  at  the  •  Town  of  Amboy  Perth.'  And 
at  some  time  during  the  session  an  act  wiis  piissed  appointing  'a  public 
Market  on  the  fourth  day  of  every  week  at  the  Town  of  Anjboy  Perth, 
as  likewise  two  Fairs  in  the  year.  The  same  act  empowered  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  town  to  choose  themselves  a  clerk  of  the  Market  and 
Keeper  of  the  Toll-Book.'  Still  later  in  tlie  session  tlie  Court  of  Com- 
mon Rights  was  ordered  to  be  held  tljere  twice  in  each  year.  The  place 
was  variously  called  New  Perth,  Perth  Town,  and  Amboy  Perth,  in  the 
several  acts  of  assembly  till  1692,  when  it  was  first  styled  Perth  Amboy 
in  an  act  passed  that  year  '  for  raising  Money  for  their  Majesty's  Ser- 
vice.' Its  first  municipal  charter  was  obtained  from  Governor  Robert 
Hunter,  August  24, 1718."  < 

The  first  houses  built  in  Amboy  were  "  18  by  30 
feet,  with  a  double  chimney  made  of  timber  and  clay, 

t  Learning  and  Spicer,  p.  175. 
=  Ibid.,  p.  177. 

"  The  general  seat  of  government  was  at  Elizabethtown  until  removed 
to  Perth  AmlK.y  in  1G.96. 
^  Deshler's  Historical  Papere. 


604 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


as  tlie  manner  of  this  country  is  to  build."  Groom 
"  surveyed  the  harbor  and  sounded  the  channel  from 
Amboy  to  Sandy  Hook,  and  found  it  a  '  broad  and 
bold  channel.'  "  The  house  for  the  Governor  was 
"  66  foot  long  and  18  foot  broad." 

The  quantity  of  laud  laid  out  for  this  town,  Gov- 
ernor's house,  and  public  highways  was  estimated  at 
about  two  hundred  acres.  One  hundred  and  fifty  or 
two  hundred  acres  of  salt  marsh,  three  miles  up  the 
Raritan  River,  were  at  first  retained  in  common  to 
furnish  grass  for  the  settlers  on  the  Point.  In  a  letter 
Governor  Laurie  reiterates  his  favorable  impressions 
regarding  the  new  city.  He  .says,  "  Where  the  Toun 
of  Perth  is  now  in  building,  a  ship  of  three  hundred 
Tuns  may  easily  ride  close  to  the  shoar,  within  a 
plank's  length  to  the  houses  of  the  Toun.  The  bank 
of  the  River  is  twenty  foot,  in  some  places  thirty." 
John  Barclay  and  Arthur  Forbes  were  appointed  to 
make  inquiries,  and  they  remark  that  ships  "  came 
close  to  the  houses  and  also  a  ship  of  Three  hundred 
tun  in  there  this  winter,  in  the  hardest  frost  we  had 
and  lay  hard  by  the  toun,  so  near  that  she  was  tyed  to 
a  tree." 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  there  are  not  fuller  records  i 
in  existence  to  throw  light  upon  the  incidents  and  ■ 
counsels  of  this  earliest  era  of  the  city's  history,  but  | 
the  following,  touching  some  of  the  prominent  early 
residents  and  officials,  will  be  of  interest; 

Thomas  Rudyard  and  Gawen  Laurie  were  the  first 
two  deputy-governors,  and  held  land  in  Amboy. 
Samuel  Groom,  one  of  the  twenty-four  proprietaries, 
is  styled  in  the  records  "  Mariner  of  Stepney."  He 
was  appointed  surveyor-general  and  receiver-general 
in  1682,  and  accompanied  Deputy  Governor  Rudyard 
to  the  province  the  same  year.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  activity  and  energy  of  character,  but  "  Rudyard 
dispossessed  Groom  of  his  position  on  account  of  op- 
position made  by  him  to  his  wishes  respecting  lands 
upon  the  Raritan  River."  He  refers  to  the  matter  in 
this  way  :  "  Wee  are  very  sensible  of  Samuel  Groom's 
Honesty  and  Fidelity  to  our  Interests,  and  therefore 
Cannot  but  very  well  approve  of  his  Proceedings, 
both  in  his  care  in  seeking  out  and  Discovering  the 
best  Land,  and  surveying  it  out  for  our  use,  for  his 
Endeavors  to  Clear  it  of  the  Indian  Incumbrance,  and 
for  his  refusing  to  comply  with  the  particular  Interest 
of  any  there,  by  accommodating  them  with  Lands  or 
others,  at  their  desire,  to  our  General  Prejudice,  and 
this  wee  are  willing  it  to  be  signafied  to  him  in  our 
Name  and  wee  wish  there  may  away  be  found  where- 
by he  may  still  continue  to  be  Concerned  with  us." 

The  proprietaries  had  previously  shown  their  con- 
fiudence  in  him  by  placing  in  his  charge,  when  he 
came  to  the  province,  a  cargo  of  goods  worth  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  with  which  to  purchase 
Indian  titles. 

The  will  of  Groom  is  dated  Aug.  21,  1682,  and  he 
died  in  the  course  of  the  following  year,  leaving  on 
the  stocks  unfinished  the  first  vessel   built  in  East 


Jersey.  He  never  brought  his  family  to  this  prov- 
ince. 

William  Haige.  It  is  recorded  that  when  Rud- 
yard removed  Groom  as  surveyor-general  and  receiver- 
general  he  appointed  William  Haige  to  these  offices. 
He  was  one  who  came  to  the  settlement  at  the  earli- 
est period,  and  had  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the 
people  of  the  colony.  Groom  soon  after  died,  and 
Haige  continued  the  duties  of  his  office  until  the 
arrival  of  George  Keith  in  1G85.  Haige,  in  1685, 
married  Mary,  daughter  of  Deputy-Governor  Laurie  ; 
he  died  Jan.  1,  1688,  leaving  no  issue. 

William  Dockwra  owned  several  town-lots,  and  it 
was  to  his  exertions  and  those  of  his  friends  that  the 
prosperity  of  this  town  was  largely  due.  Dockwra 
was  appointed  receiver-general  and  treasurer  of  the 
province  July  6,  1688,  on  the  death  of  William  Haige. 
We  find  him  first  mentioned  in  the  East  Jersey 
records  July  20,  1683,  where  he  is  styled  "  Merchant 
of  the  parish  of  St.  Andrew,  Undershaft,  London," 
and  he  has  secured  for  himself  some  fame  by  having 
originated  the  "  Penny  Post"  in  that  city. 

"  The  people"  mentioned  by  Laurie  were  laborers 
sent  over  in  order  to  obtain  the  grants  for  headlands, 
in  accordance  with  "  the  concessions,"  Dockwra  re- 
ceiving a  portion  of  their  earnings.  Some  forty  came 
at  difl'erent  times,  besides  some  on  account  of  the 
Scottish  proprietaries  generally ;  and  we  are  also  in- 
formed that  many  of  the  Scotch  servants  and  poor 
families  who  came  over  had  cattle,  etc.,  given  them. 

Dockwra  died  in  1747,  leaving  a  large  number  of 
children,  but  no  account  has  been  preserved  of  any 
of  them  who  came  to  America. 

Benjamin  Clarke  was  a  stationer,  and  came  with 
his  son  Benjamin  in  1683.  It  is  supposed  he  built 
himself  a  house  in  Amboy,  on  the  south  side  of  Mar- 
ket Street,  near  the  junction  witli  Water  Street.  The 
next  year  his  wife  ca^nie  over  (1684).  There  is  an 
account  from  a  letter  of  Charles  Gordon,  "Sent  from 
Amboy  to  Edinburgh  under  date  of  March,  1685;" 
he  says,  "  Neither  are  we  altogether  destitute  of 
Books  and  Clergy,  for  Rev.  George  Keith,  who  ar- 
rived three  weeks  since  with  some  others  (they  were 
all  winter  in  Barbadoes),  hath  brought  mathematics, 
and  Benjamin  Clarke  a  library  of  books."  James 
Johnstone  also  writes  to  his  brother,  and  alludes  to 
the  "good  stationer's  shop  of  books  at  New  Perth." 
Mr.  Clarke  died,  leaving  his  son  Benjamin  heir  to  his 
property,  in  1689.  Nothing  is  known  of  any  of  his 
family  at  the  present  time. 

George  Keith  was  a  native  of  Aberdeen,  Scotland, 
an  eminent  Quaker,  and  subsequently  an  Episcopa- 
lian missionary.  He  was  appointed  in  1684  surveyor- 
general,  but  did  not  arrive  in  the  province  till  the 
next  year.  Being  naturally  a  leader  among  the  people, 
through  his  talents  and  energy  he  soon  gathered  a 
party  composed  of  many  Quakers,  inculcating  in- 
creased attention  to  plainness  of  garb  and  language 
and  other  points  of  discipline.     He  was  the  cause  of 


CITY  OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


605 


dissensions  among  the  colonists,  and  in  June,  1692, 
"  a  declaration  was  drawn  up  in  which  both  he  and 
his  conduct  were  publicly  denounced,"  and  from  that 
time  his  authority  and  influence  were  at  an  end.  He 
returned  to  his  home  in  Scotland,  where  he  remained 
for  a  few  years,  when  he  returned  to  America,  as  a 
missionarj'  of  the  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the 
Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  in  1702.  His  labors  were 
very  successful,  and  he  continued  until  his  death  to 
minister  to  Episcopal  Churches  and  to  write  against 
the  doctrines  of  the  Quakers. 

Lord  Neil  Campbell,  brother  of  the  Earl  of  Perth, 
was  a  gentleman  universally  esteemed.  On  account 
of  his  having  espoused  the  liberal  cause  in  Scotland 
he  was  cited  to  appear  before  a  council  in  Edinburgh 
in  1684.  But  leaving  his  wife  and  family,  he  came 
here  in  the  fall  of  1685,  having  in  August  purchased 
the  proprietary  right  of  Viscount  Tarbet,  bringing 
with  him,  or  causing  to  be  sent  out  immediately  after- 
wards, a  large  number  of  settlers  for  whom,  subse- 
quently, headlands  were  granted  to  him.  His  presence 
in  the  province  led  the  proprietaries  to  avail  them- 
selves of  his  services  as  their  deputy-governor,  cir- 
cumstances inducing  them  to  remove  Laurie  from  that 
post;  he  was  commissioned  on  the  4th  of  June,  1686, 
and  entered  upon  his  duties  the  ensuing  October. 
The  change  of  a  number  of  other  offices  soon  followed. 
John  and  Archibald,  sons  of  Lord  Neil  Campbell, 
were  also  obliged  to  seek  refuge  in  America  from  the 
hostility  of  the  English  government. 

Archibald  Campbell  died  in  May,  1702.  No  men- 
tion is  made  of  any  issue.  He  and  his  brother  held 
lots  in  Amboy,  and  a  ravine  in  the  north  part  of  the 
town  bears  the  name  of  "  Campbell's  Gully." 

In  the  month  of  December,  1685,  an  arrival  of  more 
than  ordinary  interest  occurred.  A  vessel  freighted 
with  Scotchmen,  upon  whom  persecution  had  wrought 
its  work  of  purification,  and  whose  souls  had  been 
tempered  for  patient  endurance  by  sore  trials  and 
misfortunes,  anchored  in  the  harbor  of  Amboy,  after 
a  long  and  disastrous  voyage  of  fifteen  weeks,  the  cir- 
cumstances of  which,  with  the  events  attending  the 
embarkation  of  the  emigrants,  are  deserving  of  special 
notice.  Mr.  John  Welsh,  Mr.  Samuel  Amot,  and 
many  others  had  appeared  before  the  Council,  also 
George  Scot,  of  Pitlockie,  who  was  fined  for  contempt, 
and  many  others.  A  decree  in  1674  had  passed  against 
those  who  "  kept  conventicles."  They  were  perse- 
cuted, and  came  on  account  of  their  liberty  of  con- 
science. Many  were  imprisoned.  Margaret  Rigg 
(Lady  Pitlockie)  was  fined  a  thousand  marks.  This 
was  the  cause  of  such  a  large  number  emigrating  to 
East  Jersey. 

Scot,  as  early  as  May,  had  chartered  the  "  Henry 
and  Francis,  of  New  Ca-stle,  a  ship  of  three  hundred 
and  fifty  Tun,  and  twenty  Guns,  Richard  Hutton, 
Master."  They  left  Leith  the  5th  of  September,  1685, 
and  those  of  the  passengers  who  felt  safer  on  board 
had  been  waiting  for  a  long  time  to  sail.  The  foUow- 
39 


ing  is  the  list,  but  all  cannot  now  be  given.  Many 
died  out  of  some  two  hundred  or  more  who  came. 
Those  names  are  marked  with  a  star  who  died  on  the 
voyage. 


1  (Mclgne). 


n). 


Robert  Adam. 

Lady  Aithernie.* 

Jolin  Arbuckle. 

Rev.  William  Aisdale.* 

John  Black. 

George  Brown. 

Robert  Campbell. 

David  Campbell. 

William  Campbell. 

John  Campbell. 

Christian  Carie. 

John  Crichton. 

John  Corbet. 

Andrew  Corbet. 

John  Corsan  (Casson). 

Agnes  Corhead.* 

Barbara  Cowan. 

Marjory  Cowan. 

William  Cunningham.* 

Patrick  Cnnningham. 

William  Douglass. 

Charles  Douglass. 

Isabel  Durie. 

John  Frazer. 

Thomas  Finlater.* 

Elspetli  Ferguson. 

Janet  Fergueson; 

Margaret  Ferret  (Forrest). 

John  Foord. 

James  Forsyth. 

John  Forman. 

John  Gray. 

Thomas  Gray.* 

Thomas  Graham.* 

Grisel  Gemble. 

William  Ged.» 

Fergus  Grier. 

James  Grier  (Grierson). 

Robert  Gilchrist. 

John  GilflUan. 

Bessie  Gordon. 

Aunabel  Gordon. 

Katberine  Govan. 

John  Uanie. 

John  Henderson. 

AJam  Hood. 

Charles  llomgall. 

John  Hutchinson.* 

John  Uodge.* 

Thomas  Jackson.* 

William  Jackson. 

Annabel  Jackson. 

George  Johnson. 

Johu  Johnstone. 

James  Junk. 

John  King. 

John  Kippen.* 

John  Kincaid. 

James  Kirkwood. 

John  Kirkland.* 

John  Kellie. 

Katheriue  Kellie.* 

John  Keunie. 

Margaret  Leslie. 

They  were  charged  five  pounds  sterling  for  each 
adult,  and  those  who  were  unable  to  pay  that  amount 
for  their  passage  were,  on  their  arrival,  to  serve  four 
years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that  time  to  receive 
twenty-five  acres  and  a  suit  of  new  clothes.     They 


Janet  Lintron. 

Gawen  Lockhart. 

Michael  Marshall. 

John  Marshall. 

John  Martin. 

Margaret  Miller. 

George  flioor  {Muirj. 

Gilbert  Monorg  or  Monorgan.* 

Jean  Moffat. 

John  Muirhead. 

James  Muiiliead. 

William  McCalmont. 

John  JMcEwen. 

Walter  McEwe 

Robert  McEwen. 

John  McQueen  (McE« 

Robert  McLellan. 

Margaret  McLellan. 

McLellan. 

Andrew  McLellan.* 

John  McKenman. 

William  McMillan. 

John  McGhie.* 

William  Niven. 

William  Oliphant. 

Andrew  Paterson. 

John  Pollock. 

John  Bamn. 

Rev.  Archibald  Riddel. 

Mrs.  Riddel. 

William  Rigg. 

Eupham  Rigg. 

Marion  Renr.ie. 

John  Renwick. 

James  Reeton. 

Thomas  Russel. 

Peter  Russel.* 

Christopher  Strang. 

William  Sprat. 

(McAgnes  Stevens  Tannis.)* 

William  Spreul. 

Thomas  Shelston. 

John  Swinton, 

John  Smith. 

John  Siuton*  (Seton.) 

George  Scot. 

Margaret  Scot. 

Eupham  Scot. 

Janet  Symington.* 

James  Sittiugtoun. 

John  Targat. 

John  Turpnie. 

William  TurnbulL 

Partrick  Urie. 

John  Vernor. 

Mrs.  Vernor. 

John  Watt. 

Patrick  Walker. 

James  Wardrope. 

Elizabeth  Whitelaw. 

Grizel  Wotherspoon. 

William  Wilson. 

Robert  Young.* 


606 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


had  set  sail  from  the  harbor  of  Leith  on  the  5th  of 
September,  1685,  and  the  many  deaths  were  from 
fever,  which  assumed  a  malignant  type  on  shipboard. 
Seventy  of  the  passengers  are  believed  to  have  died 
on  the  ocean. 

After  their  arrival  considerable  difficulty  took  place 
on  account  of  those  who  had  come  over  without  pay- 
ing their  passage-money,  and  Mr.  Johnstone  tried  to 
prevail  upon  them  to  serve  the  four  years,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  terms  before  mentioned,  in  considera- 
tion of  the  expense  incurred  by  Scot  for  their  trans- 
portation. This  they  would  not  agree  to,  and  suits 
were  commenced  to  compel  them.  The  following 
verdict  was  rendered  in  several  suits :  "  We  Jurours 
finde  for  the  pF  w''  five  pounds  sterling  debt  and  costes 
of  suite." 

It  is  difficult  at  this  time  to  determine  how  many 
of  those  who  came  to  the  province  remained  in  the 
vicinity  of  Amboy.  A  few  eventually  settled  in  and 
about  Woodbridge  and  Metuchen,  but  most  of  them 
removed  to  New  England. 

William  Jackson  was  also  one  that  was  banished ; 
he  was  a  cordwainer  by  trade.  He  left  Amboy  and 
went  to  New  York. 

The  following  were  to  be  delivered  to  Robert  Bar- 
clay, Governor  of  the  province,  under  date  of  7th 
August,  1685,  on  condition  that  they  should  be  trans- 
ported to  East  New  Jersey :  George  Young,  John 
Campbell,  John  Swan,  James  Oliver,  James  Stuart, 
John  Jackson,  John  Gibb,  Gilbert  Ferguson,  Colin 
Campbell.  Then  in  the  canonicate  tolbooth  :  John 
Gilliland,  Thomas  Richard,  William  Drennan,'  Wil- 
liam Mcllroy,'  Archibald  Jamieson.'  Then  in  the 
Laight  Parliament-house  tolbooth  of  Edinburgh : 
John  McKello,  Alexander  Graham,  Duncan  Mc- 
Ewen,  Malcolm  Black,  John  McAulin,  Donald  Moor, 
John  Nicol. 

William  Niven  is  also  mentioned  as  being  sent  in 
banishment.  He  was  placed  on  board  of  a  vessel  at 
Leith,  destined  for  Virginia;  but  on  arriving  at 
Gravesend,  in  consequence  of  the  non-appearance  of 
the  charterer  of  the  vessel,  the  master  put  them  all 
ashore  rather  than  retain  the  charge  of  them  longer, 
and  they  nearly  all  reached  their  homes,  after  an 
absence  of  some  nine  months.^ 

It  is  with  considerable  interest  that  we  give  the 
following  account.  Nivens  was  to  be  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia ;  but  after  his  arrival  at  home  in  Scotland  he 
followed  his  trade  and  lived  quietly,  refraining  from 
any  objectionable  conduct,  save  that  he  attended  not 
the  authorized  religious  services  until  the  29th  July, 
1684,  when  he  was  taken  irom  his  bed  at  midnight 
and  carried  to  the  Glasgow  tolbooth,  where  he  lay 
in  irons  for  three  weeks.  He  was  then  examined, 
but  nothing  of  a  serious  character  was  elicited.     He 


1  They  were  sentenced  to 
executioner. 

2  Wadrow,  ii.  pp.  475,  47r,. 


■  left  eare  cut  off  by  the 


refused,  however,  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance,  and 
was  sent  into  Edinburgh  under  guard  with  five  others, 
fettered  in  pairs,  and  confined  in  irons  until  May, 
1685,  when  upon  a  charge  of  having  some  acquaint- 
ance with  treasonable  documents  he  and  others  were 
sentenced  to  immediate  execution. 

Circumstances  occurring  which  led  to  a  postpone- 
ment, he  was  suffered  to  remain,  subjected  to  all  the 
miseries  of  imprisonment  in  Dunnottar  Castle,  of 
which,  as  so  many  of  the  emigrants  were  subjected 
to  them,  it  will  not  be  irrelevant  to  give  some  ac- 
count. 

The  vault  in  which  about  a  hundred  men  and 
women  were  pent  up  all  summer  was  under  ground, 
ankle-deep  in  mire,  with  but  one  window  overlooking 
the  sea.  They  were  without  any  conveniences  for 
sitting,  leaning,  or  lying ;  and,  indeed,  so  full  was  the 
place  that  little  more  than  sitting  room  was  afforded. 
Stifled  for  want  of  air,  stinted  for  both  food  and 
water,  and  subjected  to  the  direful  influences  of  the 
impurities  which  necessarily  collected,  it  was  miracu- 
lous that  they  did  not  all  die.  Many  did,  and  others 
became  afflicted  with  diseases.  An  attempt  was  made 
by  several  of  them,  including  Niven,  to  escape  by  the 
window  which  has  been  mentioned.  They  succeeded 
to  the  number  of  twenty-five  in  creeping  along  the 
face  of  a  precipice,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  to 
some  distance  from  the  fort  before  the  alarm  was 
given  ;  but  fifteen  of  them  were  retaken  and  bar- 
barously used.  Beaten,  bruised,  and  bound,  they 
were  laid  on  their  backs  and  obliged  to  undergo 
various  processes  of  torture. 

Niven,  who  was  among  those  retaken,  as  well  as 
Peter  Russell,  another  of  the  emigrants,  and  others, 
were  laid  upon  a  form,  their  hands  bound,  and 
matches  placed  between  their  fingers ;  these  were 
kept  burning  "  equal  with  their  fingers"  for  three 
hours  without  intermission.  Some  died  under  this 
torture;  some  were  so  badly  burned  that  the  bones 
were  charred,  and  Niven  himself  lost  one  of  the 
fingers  of  his  left  hand. 

Such,  faintly  sketched,  were  some  of  the  trials  which 
those  in  Dunnottar  Castle  were  obliged  to  undergo, 
and  it  can  cause  no  surprise  that  to  escape  them  a 
voluntary  expatriation  was  gladly  acceded  to.  Scot's 
proposition  to  the  council  was  profited  by,  and  Niven 
and  others  should  have  entered  into  an  engage- 
ment whereby  they  were  to  be  transported  to  New 
Jersey. 

Christopher  Strang  was  the  son,  it  is  believed,  of 
Christopher  who  was  executed  on  Dec.  7,  1666,  for 
treason,  and  his  head  was  exposed  at  Hamilton  and 
hi.s  right  arm  affixed  to  the  public  posts  of  Lanark. 
It  is  possible  this  person  was  the  progenitor  of  the 
family  of  Strangs  in  this  country. 

Rev.  David  Simson's  name  is  found  among  those 
for  wliom  headlands  were  claimed  by  Lord  Neil 
Campbell.  He  is  also  mentioned,  Aug.  14,  1685,  or- 
dering his  bonds  to  be  given  up,  which  had  been  re- 


CITY   OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


607 


quired  of  him  some  months  before,  he  having  been 
confined  in  the  prison  and  now  was  to  be  liberated, 
as  he  was  to  leave  the  kingdom,  and  the  cessation  of 
his  ministerial  services  as  he  was  going  to  New 
Jersey. 

John  Doby,  Robert  Hardie,  John  Forbes,  and  John 
Cockburn  arrived  in  1684.  Coburn  was  a  mason,  and 
built  David  Mudie  a  stone  house.  Forbes  was  a 
brother  to  the  Laird  of  Barula,  and  after  his  arrival 
here  he  had  a  plantation  near  the  Gordons  and  Ful- 
lertons,  on  Cedar  Brook,  now  in  Earitan  township. 
From  a  letter  he  appears  to  have  left  Scotland  with- 
out the  knowledge  of  his  friends. 

John  Emott  came  to  this  province,  but  it  is  not 
known  at  what  date,  supposed  to  have  been  before 
the  purchase  by  the  twenty-four  proprietaries.  The 
Long  Ferry  Tavern  was  kept  by  him  in  1685,  and 
the  following  year  he  was  appointed  secretary  of  the 
province,  and  on  the  10th  December  of  that  year  his 
name  appears  in  the  first  notice  of  the  Amboy  militia, 
being  appointed  lieutenant  of  a  "  company  of  train 
bands,  consisting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Amboy  Perth 
under  the  command  of  the  Honorable  Lord  Neil 
Cambell."  He  was  also  appointed  clerk  of  the 
County  Court  and  Court  of  Sessions. 

John   Barclay  was  a  brother  of  Governor  Robert 
Barclay,  and  came  to  this  province  about  the  same  ' 
time  that  Mr.   Emott   arrived.     He  held  numerous 
positions  of  trust.     In  1688-89  he  was  a  deputy  sur- 
veyor under   George  Keith,  and  succeeded  him   as  • 
surveyor-general,  receiving  the  appointment  together 
with  that  of  receiver-general  April  6,  1692.     Thomas 
Gordon  leaving  the  province  for  England,  Mr.  Bar- 
clay was   appointed   2.5th   November,  1695,  deputy- 
secretary  and  register.     On  the  6th  August,  1698,  he 
was  made  register  of  the  Court  of  Chancery  and  one 
of  the  commissioners  of  the  Court  of  Small  Causes,  ) 
in   1700   he   received    the   clerkship   of  the  County  j 
Court  of  Common  Right  of  the  Supreme  Court  and  ; 
Court  of  Sessions,  and  in  1704  he  represented  Amboy 
in  the  Assembly.     He  died  in  the  spring  of  1731  at 
an  advanced  age.     He  had  a  son  John,  but  little  is 
known  of  him. 

David  Barclay,  brother  also  of  Governor  Barclay, 
came  in  1685 ;  also  John  Loof  borrow,  "  miller ;"  Ben- 
jamin Griffith  in  1687,  he  became  a  commissioner  of 
the  Minor  Court  in  1696  ;  John  Watson,  "  merchant ;" 
Peter  Watson,  "planter;"  Thomas  Knowles,  "sta- 
tioner;" and  Robert  Bridgman,  "  merchant,"  arrived 
in  1684.  The  two  brothers,  Stephen  and  Thomas 
Warne,  were  the  sons  of  Thomas  Warne,  one  of  the 
"  twenty-four"  who  was  a  merchant  of  Dublin.  They 
came  in  1683.  Thomas  and  Robert  Fullerton  arrived 
in  October,  1684.  Thomas  with  his  wife  and  ten 
servants  settled  near  the  borders  of  the  city  of  Plain- 
field,  and  also  had  house  lots  in  Ambo  Point.  They 
were  brothers  to  the  Laird  of  Kennaber,  intelligent 
men,  and  according  to  Mr.  Whitehead  were  enchanted 
with  the  province.   "The  weather  here,"  says  Thomas,  I 


"  is  constantly  clear.  The  sun  rises  and  sets  free  of 
clouds."  John  Reid  in  1683  brought  his  wife  with 
him  and  resided  at  Amboy  for  some  years  after  his 
arrival,  becoming  of  some  note  among  its  inhabitants. 
He  was  (June,  1686)  on  account  of  his  services  in 
drawing  maps  of  the  province  given  a  grant  of  two 
hundred  acres  of  land  in  Monmouth  County  called 
Hortensia,  on  the  east  branch  of  Hope  River,  where 
he  resided  in  1686.  He  had  a  daughter  Anna,  who 
became  the  wife  of  Capt.  John  Anderson,  of  Mon- 
mouth. 

Miles  Forster's  name  appears  in  the  records  in  1684 
as  deputy  to  William  Haige,  the  receiver  and  surveyor- 
general.  He  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the 
early  settlers,  holding  many  important  positions  in 
connection  with  the  revenue.  Upon  the  opening  of 
the  port  of  Amboy  he  was  collector  and  receiver  of  the 
customs  under  Dongan  the  Governor,  Nov.  30,  1687. 
It  appears  that  in  the  year  1689  he  became  engaged 
in  commercial  pursuits  in  New  York  and  there  made 
his  residence,  and  he  is  mentioned  as  a  merchant  in 
that  city  in  1695,  and  was  appointed  in  1690  one  of 
the  executors  of  Col.  Lewis  Morris.  He  left  New 
York  and  resided  in  Amboy  many  years  before  his 
death,  where  he  built  the  first  sloop  launched  at  that 
port,  and  received  from  the  Board  of  Proprietors  the 
grant  of  a  town  lot.  He  died  in  1710.  William 
Bradford,  the  printer  of  New  York,  was  one  of  his 
executors.  His  wife  Rebecca  was  a  daughter  of 
Gawen  Laurie.  They  left  one  son  (William)  who 
lived  in  the  island  of  Barbadoes  in  1721,  and  was 
alive  in  1729,  and  two  daughters,  Elizabeth  and 
Mary. 

David  Mudie,  after  his  arrival  in  November,  1684, 
from  Montrose,  Scotland,  with  four  children  and  thir- 
teen servants  (no  account  of  his  wife),  built  "a  good, 
hansome  house,  six  rooms  off'  a  floor  with  a  study, 
two  stories  high  above  the  sellers,  and  the  garret 
above."  This  was  of  stone,  and  considered  at  that 
time  a  great  achievement.  He  also  erected  a  "  horse- 
mill,"  which  he  believed  would  be  worth  one  hun- 
dred pounds  per  year.  He  was  a  man  of  great  energy 
of  character,  and  one  of  the  most  valued  residents  of 
Amboy.  He  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Right,  and  was  one  of  the  Governor's  coun- 
cil during  the  administration  of  Lord  Neil  Campbell 
and  Andrew  Hamilton. 

Mr.  Mudie  selected  his  plantation  on  South  River, 
at  a  distance  of  two  hours'  sail,  and  says  of  it  in  one 
of  his  letters,  "  I  mind  to  settle  some  of  my  servants 
there  against  the  middle  of  this  month  (March,  1685). 
I  am  provided  with  six  coar.se  horses,  oxen  and  swine 
sufficiently  in  number  for  any  plantation  for  the  first 
year;  the  laud  I  have  settled  on  in  my  judgment  is 
extraordinarily  good."  All  this  indicates  the  posses- 
sion of  pecuniary  resources  such  as  the  majority  of 
the  settlers  did  not  enjoy." 

I  Contributions  to  East  Jersey  History. 


608 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  family  of  Walls  came  about  the  same  time  as 
Mr.  Mudie.  The  place  of  their  nativity  is  not  known. 
Garret  and  Walter  were  brothers.  They  appear  to 
have  been  quite  prominent  at  Amboy  for  a  short  time, 
but  removed  to  Monmouth  County.  Garret  Wall  had 
a  son  John,  who  was  father  of  James  Wall,  who  be- 
came a  resident  of  Amboy  and  the  ancestor  of  Dr. 
John  Golen  Wall,  who  practiced  as  a  physician  in 
both  Amboy  and  Woodbridge.  The  Hon.  Garret  D. 
Wall,  who  for  a  long  period  bore  a  distinguished  part 
in  the  public  affairs  of  New  Jersey,  was  a  son  of 
James  Wall. 


CHAPTER   LXXXVI. 

CITY   OF   PERTH    AMBOY.— (Cmitliuifd.) 

Civil  History  of  Amboy.— Amboy  had  no  special 
municipal  charter  till  in  the  early  part  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  "  The  various  county  officers  and  courts  pre- 
served order  and  regulated  its  police ;  and  its  existence 
as  a  town  was  soon  recognized  by  admitting  one  or 
more  representatives  from  it  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly, which  held  its  first  session  in  Amboy  in  1686. 
In  the  year  1698  it  was  allowed  two  members,  and 
that  number  continued  to  be  its  quota  until  the  war 
of  independence." ' 

The  first  charter  was  obtained  from  Governor  Rob- 
ert Hunter  Aug.  24,  1718,'  and  incorporated  the  city 
under  the  name  of  "The  Mayor,  Recorder,  Aldermen, 
and  Commonalty  of  the  City  of  Perth  Amboy." 
Among  the  petitioners  for  the  charter  are  mentioned 
John  Johnstone,  Thomas  Gordon,  John  Hamilton, 
George  Willocks,  John  Barclay,  William  Eier,  John 
Stevens,  William  Hodgson,  William  Frost,  Henry 
Berry,  John  Sharp,  Thomas  Turnbull,  Andrew  Red- 
ford,  and  Alexander  Walker,  men  prominent  in  the 
affairs  of  the  town  and  province  at  that  period. 

The  mayor,  clerk  of  the  market,  sheriff,  and  water- 
bailiff  were  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  recorder 
and  town  clerk  held  their  offices  according  to  the 
tenor  of  their  commissions,  no  particular  term  being 
specified.  The  aldermen,  assistants,  chamberlain, 
coroners,  overseer  of  the  poor,  and  constables  were 
elected  by  a  majority  of  the  freeholders,  and  the  as- 
sistants not  to  be  chosen  until  it  was  known  who 
were  to  be  aldermen.  The  sergeant-at-mace  (which 
meant  that  the  mayor  of  the  city  should  have  a  mace 
borne  before  him)  was  to  be  appointed  by  the  mayor 
with  the  approval  of  the  Common  Council,  and,  to- 
gether with  all  the  other  officers,  was  required  to  be 
"  of  good  capacity."  The  overseers  of  the  poor  and 
constables  who  should  refuse  to  take  the  oath  of  office 
an«l  enter;upon  their  respective  duties  were  to  be  fined 
five  pounds,  and  others  were  to  be  elected  in  their 
stead,  who  should  be  held  similarly  liable  should 
they  decline  the  honors  conferred. 

1  K  J.  Hist.  '  E.  J.  Eecorda,  Liber  C. 


The  mayor,  recorder,  and  aldermen  constituted  the 
City  Court,  and  held  a  term  once  a  month  for  action  of 
debt,  and  none  but  free  citizens  were  allowed  to  ex- 
ercise "  any  trade,  art,  or  mystery,  saving  during  the 
times  of  fairs,"  which,  with  market-days,  were  duly 
authorized. 

A  common  seal  was  adopted,  and  is  used  at  the 
present  time  by  the  city.  It  has  the  following  device : 
on  the  dexter  a  hunting-horn,  and  over  it  "Arte-tion- 
Impetu;"  on  the  sinister  a  ship  riding  at  anchor  in 
the  harbor,  under  it  "  Portus  Optimus."  Around  the 
seal  is  the  following  motto :  "  Sigilium  Civitatis :  Perth 
Amboyeii  Sis." 

Mr.  Whitehead,  the  historian,  says,  "  There  are 
very  few  notices  of  the  place  to  be  found,  and  none 
at  all,  having  any  pretensions  to  accuracy,  upon  which 
any  estimate  can  be  based  of  its  growth  either  in  popu- 
lation or  wealth.  Some  improvement,  however,  was 
the  result  of  the  privileges  secured  to  it  by  its  charter, 
but  from  that  time  to  the  present  writers  have  been 
obliged  uniformly  to  deplore  the  disappointment 
which  has  attended  the  plans  projected  for  its  pros- 
perity. In  1738,  it  is  stated,  planters  had  not  re- 
sorted to  it  as  was  expected,  notwithstanding  its  com- 
modious situation,  and  the  lapse  of  years  brought  no 
change." 

In  1739-40.  Governor  Morris,  although  he  expressed 
an  opinion  that  the  harbor  is  preferable  to  that  of 
New  York, — "  easier  to  be  entered  or  departed  from, 
and  of  the  two  more  safe," — yet  finds  an  argument 
for  the  establishment  of  another  seat  of  government 
upon  the  fact  that  it  was  "a  poor,  inconsiderable 
place."  ^  Yet  there  were  hopes  expressed  that  Amboy 
would  eventually  become  a  fixed  trading  port,  and  at 
various  times  legislation  was  looked  to  for  the  pur- 
pose of  enlarging  its  commerce,  but  it  was  attended 
by  few  beneficial  results.  Governor  Belcher  arrived 
August,  1747,  and  the  city  authorities  in  their  address 
to  him  say,  "  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy  is  not  only  most 
commodiously  situated  for  a  place  of  trade,  but  it  has 
one  of  the  best  harbors  for  shipping  upon  the  conti- 
nent, and  yet  hath  hitherto  struggled  with  many  difl[i- 
culties;  nevertheless,  by  your  excellency's  favor  and 
kind  protection,  which  we  humbly  pray  for,  we  hope 
will  flourish  amongst  us."  In  his  answer  the  Gov- 
ernor said,  "I  have  hardly  ever  seen  a  place  more 
pleasantly  situated  for  health,  and  more  commodi- 
ously for  trade,  and  you  may  depend  on  everything 
on  my  part  to  render  it  a  flourishing  city."  He  dis- 
appointed the  inhabitants  by  taking  up  his  residence 
at  Elizabeth  Town,  but  his  successors  who  resided  at 
Amboy  gave  convincing  evidence  that  the  patronage 
of  royal  Governors  could  not  alone  make  a  flourish- 
ing city.* 

"  This  city  of  Amboy,"  says  Bumaly,  in  1759,  "  con- 
tained about  one  hundred  houses."  Mr.  Burke,  in  his 
account  of  the  "American  Settlements,"  published  in 


3  Papers  of  Lewi»  Morris,  pp.  69, 121. 
*  Wbitebead's  East  Jersey,  p.  o4. 


CITY  OF  PEKTH  AMBOY. 


609 


1761,  makes  the  number  two  hundred.  It  was  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution  probably  at  the  "  pinnacle  of 
its  fame."  But  that  .struggle  for  independence  caused 
many  of  its  inhabitants  to  remove,  and  when  peace 
was  proclaimed  Amboy  was  but  feebly  prepared  to 
vie  with  other  communities  less  influenced  by  the 
changes  the  war  had  wrought.  In  1784  an  attempt 
was  made  to  revive  its  importance  by  the  renewal  of 
its  corporate  powers  through  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
passed  December  21st,  which  remained  "  the  law  of 
the  land"  unimpaired  by  any  amendments  until  1844. 
The  title  of  the  act  was  "  An  act  for  erecting  the 
North  Ward'  of  Perth  Amboy  and  a  part  of  the 
township  of  Woodbridge,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex, 
into  a  city,  and  for  incorporating  the  same,  by  the 
name  and  title  of  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy."  The 
author  of  the  bill  must  have  been  a  warm  friend  to 
the  young  city,  judging  from  the  preamble,  which  was 
as  follows : 

"  Whbreas,  the  improvements  of  trade  and  navigation  in  this  State  is 
of  the  ntmost  importance  to  the  well-being  of  tlie  same ;  and  whereas, 
the  prosperity  of  trade  requires  tlie  collection  of  merchants  together  in 
sufficient  numbers,  in  order  that  the  union  of  their  force  may  render 
them  competent  to  great  undertakings,  and  that  the  variety  of  their  im- 
portations and  their  wants  may  always  furnish  to  the  purchasers  and  to 
the  sellers  a  secure  and  constant  market ;  and  whereas,  it  is  necessary 
in  the  present  unprovided  and  disadvantageous  condition  of  this  State 
to  bestow  on  merchants  peculiar  imuiunities  and  privileges,  in  order  to 
attract  them  to  its  harbours,  and  to  secure  to  them  for  a  sufficient  and 
definite  duration  the  entire  profits  of  their  commerce  without  burden, 
abatement,  oruncertaint.y,  in  order  to  e.xcite  in  them  a  spirit  of  useful 
adventure,  and  to  encourage  them  to  encounter  the  risks  and  expenses 
of  a  new  situation,  and  of  important  and  beneficial  undertakings;  and  in- 
asmuch as  commercial  cities  require  a  peculiar  mode  of  government  for 
maintaining  their  internal  police  and  commercial  transactions  ;  require 
more  expeditious  and  summary  tribunals  than  others;  antl  whereas, 
divers  good  citizens  of  this  State  residing  in  different  parts  thereof,  by 
their  humble  petition  presented  to  the  Legislature,  have  set  forth  the 
great  public  utility  of  incorporating  certain  towns  iu  the  State,  and  of 
iuvesting  them  with  such  powers,  privileges,  jurisdictions,  and  immuni- 
ties as  shall  conduce  to  the  encouragement  of  its  commerce,  and  have 
prayed  that  Perth  Amboy  aforesaid  may  be  incorporated  forthe  said  pur- 
pose; and  whereas  divers  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  North  Ward  of 
Perth  Amboy,  and  others  in  the  vicinity  thereof,  by  their  humble  peti- 
tion to  the  Legislature,  have  set  forth  that  for  many  years  previous  to 
the  late  revolution  the  said  North  Ward  of  Perth  Amboy,  under  and  b.y 
virtue  of  charters  to  them  granted  for  that  purpose,  did  hold,  enjoy,  and 
exercise  many  powers,  privileges,  and  immunities,  which  they  found 
greatly  beneficial  to  the  inhabitants  thereof,  and  have  prayed  that  the 
said  charter,  or  one  of  them,  so  far  as  may  extend  to  the  said  North 
Ward  and  a  part  of  Woodbridge,  may  be  revised,  corrected,  and  amended, 
or  that  a  law  for  incorporating  the  said  North  Ward,  together  with  a 
part  of  the  township  of  Woodbridge,  into  a  city  and  town  corporate  may 
be  enacted." 

Mr.  Whitehead  says,  "  One  would  suppose  the  wealth 
of  the  Indies,  if  not  the  commerce  of  the  world, 
would  flow  into  the  harbor  after  the  obtainment  of  a 
charter  which  opened  with  so  much  promise,  but 
however  reasonable  such  expectations  from  the  given 
premises  might  have  been  elsewhere,  at  Amboy  they 
were  not  realized,  and  probably  will  not  be  until 
more  innate  energy  is  possessed."  The  genius  of  the 
place  might  say  to  us,  in  the  words  of  the  renowned 
Dr.  Syntax, — 


"AH  those  to  whom  I've  long  been  known 
Must  see  I've  habits  of  my  own." 

The  present  act  of  incorporation  was  approved 
Feb.  27,  1844,  by  which  the  government  of  the  city 
is  confined  to  the  following  officers:  mayor,  recorder, 
three  aldermen,  six  councilmen,  clerk,  assessor,  col- 
lector, and  treasurer. 

The  statistics  of  the  population  can  only  be  given 
since  1810,  the  enumerations  prior  to  that  year  giving 
the  number  of  inhabitants  only  by  counties. 

CENSUS  REPOBT. 


White  males 3.'i8 

•'      females 372 

All  the  free  persons 3(i 


Total 815 


White  males 346 

"     females 372 

All  other  free  persons 50 


Total 798 

1830. 

White  males 404 

"      females 40'1 

Free  colored 63 


Total 879 


White  males 5S1 

"      females 678 

Free  colored 38 

Total 1303 


White  males 885 

"     females 918 

Free  colored 62 

Total 1865 

1800. 
Population,  2302;  increase,  437. 

1870. 
Population,  2861  ;  increase,  669. 

1880. 
Population,  4812;  increase,  1937. 

1882. 


Prior  to  1870  the  increase,  as  above,  was  very  slight. 
The  ratio  of  increase  from  1860  to  1870  was  twenty 
per  cent.,  while  from  1870  to  1880  it  exceeds  sixty- 
eight  per  cent.,  and  at  the  present  time,  1882,  the  in- 
crease is  a  much  greater  percentage. 

The  following  interesting  description  of  Perth  Am- 
boy is  from  one  of  the  first  newspapers  published  here, 
called  the  Kew  Jersey  Gazette,  Aug.  5,  1819: 

"  The  situation  of  Perth  Amboy  ranks  pre-eminent  to  almost  any  other 
in  the  United  States.  It  stands  on  a  peninsula,  with  high  banks,  a  bold 
shore,  surrounded  with  the  pure  ocean  water  free  from  marshes,  swamps, 
or  ponds,  and  consequently  perfectly  exempt  from  agues,  moschetoes, 
and  all  the  other  plagues  that  interfere  with  health  or  comfort.  In  fact, 
in  point  of  salubrity  of  air  and  exemption  from  all  other  diseases,  ex- 
ceptions such  as  the  frailties  of  human  nature  necessarily  inflict,  we  may 
boldly  assert  that  it  is  not  exceeded  by  any  place  in  the  United  States. 
The  excessive  heats  of  summer,  which  are  everywhere  so  oppressive,  are 
here  moderated  by  the  refreshing  breezes  that  almost  daily  set  in  from 
the  ocean.  It  consequently  constitutes  a  most  desirable  summer  resi- 
dence, the  more  soas,  in  addition  to  the  healthful  practice  of  sea-bathing, 
which  here  can  be  enjoyed  to  perfection,  its  vicinity  abounds  with 
mineral  springs  highly  impregnated  with  those  qualities  that  tend  as 
well  to  preserve  health  as  to  cure  many  of  those  diseases  to  which  the 
human  frame  is  subject.  Some  of  them  possesses  at  least  an  equal  degree 
all  the  qualities  of  the  highly  celebrated  springs  at  Schooley's  Mountain, 
which  have  within  a  few  years  become  so  fashionable  a  resort,  and  they 
are  of  course  more  accessible,  and,  in  point  of  situation,  much  more  con- 
venient." 

John,  a  son  of  Dr.  John  Johnstone,-  was  a  colonel 
in  the  provincial  forces,  his  commission  bearing  date 
March  10,  1758,  and  he  was  second  in  rank  on  the 
Oneida  station   in    August   of  that   year.     He   was 


1  South  Amboy,  i 


leparate  township,  was  the  South  Ward. 


2  See  Medical  Profession. 


610 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


killed  by  a  cannon  ball  at  Fort  Niagara  in  the  course 
of  the  war.  He  married  his  cousin  Eupheraia,  daugh- 
ter of  Andrew  Johnstone. 

David,  who  was  the  heir-at-law  of  his  brother  John, 
married  Miss  Walton,  and  lived  and  died  at  "  Nine 
Partners,"  Dutchess  Co.,  N.  Y.  Their  eldest  son, 
John,  was  for  some  years  presiding  judge  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  for  that  county,  and  died  Aug.  19, 
1850.  One  of  their  daughters,  "  a  young  lady  of  great 
merit  and  beauty,"  married  John  Allen,  Esq.,  of 
Philadelphia,  April  6,  1775;  another  married  the 
Hon.  Gulian  Verplank,  M.C.,  etc. ;  a  third  became 
the  wife  of  Dr.  Upton,  then  a  lieutenant  in  the  l^ng- 
lish  army,  and  after  his  death  married  Thomas  A. 
Cooper,  the  tragedian,  leaving  children  by  both  hus- 
bands ;  another  son,  David,  died  unmarried. 

Andrew  Johnstone  was  born  Dec.  20,  1694,  and 
until  1717  or  1718  was  engaged  in  business  as  a  mer- 
chant in  New  York.  In  Amboy  he  resided  for  .some 
time  in  an  old  house  that  stood  back  from  the  street, 
on  the  property  belonging  to  Mr.  George  Merritt, 
which  went  by  the  lofty  title  of  "  Edenboro'  Castle." 
This  edifice  was  vacated  and  soon  after  destroyed  on 
the  erection  of  the  brick  edifice,  now  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Merritt.  Mr.  Johnston  (the  children  dropped 
the  final  e  from  their  name)  inherited  the  proprietary 
rights  of  his  father,  and  at  one  time  was  president  of 
the  board  of  proprietors.  He  also  succeeded  his 
father  in  the  Provincial  Assembly  as  a  representative 
from  Amboy,  and,  like  him,  was  speaker  for  several 
years.  In  January,  1748-49,  he  was  chosen  treasurer 
of  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  then  located  at  Newark, 
and  held  during  his  life  various  other  offices.  The 
following  obituary  notice  is  found  in  the  New  York 
Mercury  for  July  5,  1762  :  "  Last  Thursday  se'ennight 
(June  24th)  died  at  Perth  Amboy  in  an  advanced 
age  the  Hon.  Andrew  Johnston,  Esq.,  one  of  his  Ma- 
jesty's Council  for  the  Province  of  New  Jersey  and 
Treasurer  of  the  eastern  division  of  the  Province,  A 
gentleman  of  so  fair  and  worthy  a  character  that  truly 
to  attempt  to  draw  it  would  be  throwing  away  words. 
He  was  really  equal  to  what  Pope  means  when  he 
says,  '  An  honest  man  is  the  noblest  work  of  God.'  " 
"  During  the  last  fifteen  years  of  his  life,"  says  the 
historian.  Smith,  "  he  was  in  the  Council,  and  a  dili- 
gent attender  on  the  business  there ;  he  had  great 
equality  of  temper,  circumspection  of  conduct,  an 
open,  yet  grave,  engaging  mien,  much  goodness  of 
heart,  and  many  virtues  both  public  and  private." 
A  pencil  sketch  of  him  is  in  the  po.ssession  of  Mr. 
Whitehead.  Mr.  Johnston  died  in  his  sixty-seventh 
year.  He  married  Catherine,  daughter  of  Stephanus 
Van  Cortlandt,  of  New  York,  by  whom  he  had  two 
sons  and  si.x  daughters,  viz. :  John,  who  married  Isa- 
bella, daughter  of  Robert  Lettice  Hooper,  of  Trenton, 
in  February,  1768.  He  was  a  merchant  in  Amboy 
until  1775,  in  partnership  with  Peter  Barberie.  In 
1767  he  was  a  member  of  Assembly,  and  was  ap- 
pointed one  of  the  committee  to  correspond  with  the 


agent  of  the  colony  in  Great  Britain,  the  other  mem- 
bers being  Cortlandt  Skinner,  John  Lawrence,  and 
David  Cooper.  He  left  several  children,  of  whom 
little  is  now  positively  known. 

Sonmans.  The  creek  or  brook  which  flows  into  the 
Earitan  from  the  ravine  at  the  western  termination  of 
Market  Street  is  designated  on  the  map  of  the  town- 
ship as  "  Sonmans  Creek,"  deriving  its  name  from 
Peter  Sonmans,  who  owned  the  adjoining  lands. 
The  father  of  Peter  was  Arent  Sonmans,  a  Hol- 
lander, who  resided  at  Rotterdam,  but  went  to  Wal- 
lingford,  Scotland,  and  became  one  of  the  twenty- 
four  proprietors  of  East  Jersey.  On  becoming 
interested  in  the  province,  he  made  arrangements 
for  visiting  it,  but  on  his  way  to  Scotland  from  Lon- 
don in  August,  1683,  in  company  with  his  wife,  Rob- 
ert Barclay,  and  one  other  person,  when  passing 
through  Hunterdonshire  he  was  shot  by  a  highway- 
man in  his  thigh,  which  proved  fatal.  His  wife's 
name  was  Frances  Hancock,  and  they  had  three 
children, — Peter,  Rachel,  the  wife  of  Joseph  Orms- 
ton,  and  Joanna,  wife  of  Joseph  Wright. 

Peter  Sonmans  inherited  the  greater  part  of  his 
father's  property,  and  came  over  to  New  Jersey  as 
early  as  1688.  He  probably  returned  to  Europe  the 
same  year,  but  came  again  to  New  Jersey  in  1706 
with  the  intention  of  remaining.  He  was  a  man  of 
education,  held  several  ofiices  in  England  under  King 
William,  and,  although  his  character  was  not  above 
reproach,  after  he  arrived  here  he  filled  important 
offices.  He  was  one  of  the  council,  a  member  of 
Assembly,  also  receiver  of  the  proprietary  quit-rents, 
ranger  of  the  forests,  surveyor-general,  and  agent  for 
some  of  the  non-resident  proprietors.  Lord  Corn- 
bury  placed  iu  his  hands  the  records  of  the  province, 
a  circumstance  loudly  complained  of  by  the  people, 
and  the  Assembly,  in  not  very  gentle  terms,  called  in 
question  the  honesty  of  Mr.  Sonmans  in  their  "rep- 
resentations of  grievances"  handed  to  the  Governor 
at  various  times,  he  retorting  the  accusation  upon 
Thomas  Gordon,  from  whom  the  records  had  been 
taken.  And  in  an  address  to  Governor  Lovelace, 
March,  1708,  they  accuse  him  of  malversation  in 
oflice  as  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Sessions, 
and  a  grand  jury,  aggrieved  by  some  of  his  acts,  did 
not  hesitate  to  notify  the  Assembly  in  an  oflicial  man- 
ner that  he  had  been  indicted  at  the  preceding  term 
of  the  Supreme  Court  for  perjury  and  great  immoral- 
ity. He  was  holding  important  positions  in  the  prov- 
ince (a  collector  of  their  quit-rents),  and  Governor 
Burnet,  in  1726,  issued  a  proclamation  pronouncing 
his  conduct  illegal  and  unwarranted. 

Among  the  charges  was  that  of  his  prohibiting 
Quakers  from  sitting  as  jurors.  It  seems  that  he 
(failing  to  vindicate  his  character)  was  obliged  to 
leave  the  province,  but  it  is  now  uncertain  whence 
he  removed.  In  1712  it  is  stated  that  "  he  printed 
and  dispersed  his  libels  against  the  government,  and 
Governor  Hunter   informed  the  board  of  trade  that 


CITY  OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


611 


he  was  in  Pennsylvania."  He  died  in  March,  1734. 
An  obituary  notice  of  him  in  the  Philadelphia 
Weekly  Mercury  of  April  11,  1734,  gives  the  follow- 
ing account: 

"  On  Saturday,  29th  of  March,  was  here  interr'd  the  Boily  of  Peter 
Sonmang,  Esqr,,  one  of  the  Chief  Proprietors  of  East  New  .Jersey.  He 
was  son  of  Arents  Sunmans,  late  of  one  of  the  States  of  Holland,  which 
government,  after  having  finished  his  study  ut  Leyden,  he  quitted  and 
came  to  England,  where  he  had  the  Honour  to  httld  some  considerable 
ofilces  under  his  late  Majesty  King  William,  1705.  Coming  a  second 
time  into  this  country  where  he  had  so  considerable  an  interest.  He 
was  appointed  of  her  late  Majesty's  Hon.  Council  Agent  to  the  Pro- 
prietors,  Surveyor-General,  General  Receiver  of  the  Quit-Rents,  and 
Ranger  of  the  Forests  as  well  as  sea  coasts.  He  was  in  two  succeeding 
Elections  chose  Representative  for  the  County  of  Bargain,  in  which 
Station  he  manifested  himself  a  true  Patriarch  to  his  Country.  He  was 
Justly  esteemed  for  his  Charity  and  Clemency,  his  sincerity  in  Friend- 
ship, Patience  in  oppressions,  and  undaunted  spirit  in  Dangers,  niaui- 
fested  his  firet  Merit  of  the  Slotto  of  his  arms,  PatientUi  est  Fide.  In  Au- 
gtulus  ittlerpridus  much  more  could  be  said,  but  for  Brevity  Sake  is 
omitted." 

Mr.  Sonmans  was  twice  married,  his  second  wife 
being  Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and  Mary  Neville,  of 
Staflbrd,  England,  and  a  sister  of  Judge  Neville,  of 
Amboy,  whom  he  married  Oct.  17,  1723.  He  left  her 
his  sole  heiress  and  executrix,  although  he  had  a  son 
Peter,  a  practicing  physician  in  Philadelphia. 

Willocks.  James  Willocks,  "  Doctor  of  Medicine 
in  Kenny,  Scotland,"  became  possessed  of  a  proprie- 
tary right  to  East  Jersey  in  1G83,  but  died  soon  after, 
and  his  property  was  inherited  by  George  Willocks, 
his  brother.  This  gentleman  arrived  in  the  province 
with  two  servants  in  1684,  and  after  remaining  here 
for  some  years,  during  which  no  particular  mention 
of  him  or  of  his  pursuits  is  made  in  the  early  records, 
he  returned  to  England,  and  in  1697  was  appointed 
attorney  for  his  brother  proprietaries  to  collect  the 
quit-rents  due  to  them  from  thesettlers,  which  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  province  had  caused  to  accumulate. 
In  furtherance  of  this  arrangement  he  sailed  from 
England  about  April,  1698,  in  the  "  Dispatch  Wil- 
liam Fidler,  master,"  and  arrived  at  Amboy.  After 
his  arrival  he  was  appointed  chief  ranger,  an  office  of 
which  Whitehead,  the  historian,  says  there  is  no  ac- 
count. He  became  one  of  the  commissioners  for  the 
Court  of  Small  Causes.  In  1701  he  was  appointed 
deputy-surveyor  of  the  province  under  John  Reid, 
and  March,  1719,  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for 
settling  the  boundary  between  the  province  and  New 
York,  in  which  offices  he  showed  considerable  business 
tact.  He  died  about  February,  1729,  after  a  long  and 
distressing  illness,  his  wife  dying  some  five  years 
before. 

Neville.  Peter  Sonmans,  we  have  stated,  married 
Sarah  Neville,  and  upon  her  death  her  property  be- 
came vested  in  "Samuel  Nevill,  of  London  Gent." 
He  was  her  eldest  brother  and  heir-at-law.  Her  other 
brother,  John  Neville,  was  then  in  New  Jersey,  of 
whom,  although  it  seems  he  was  a  resident  of  Perth 
Amboy,  but  little  is  known  save  that  he  held  various 
offices  under  the  provincial  government,  and  lessee  of 
the  ferry  across  the  Baritan.     His  brother,  however. 


occupied  a  more  important  station  in  society.  Sam- 
uel Neville,  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  his  sister's  death, 
embarked  for  East  Jersey,  reached  the  province  to- 

I  wards  the  end  of  May,  1736,  and  established  himself 
at  the  capital.  He  had  received  a  liberal  education, 
and  was  a  lawyer  by  profession.  He  had  been  editor 
of  the  London  Morning  Post,  and  even  the  few  memo- 
rials of  him  that  are  now  to  be  found  indicate  the 

I  possession  of  character  and  talents  much  above  me- 
diocrity. He  became  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas,  mayor  of  Perth  Amboy  (then  no  trifling  sta- 
tion), also  second  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
province,  and  filled  .several  other  important  offices  to 

;  the  credit  of  himself,  and  it  is  believed  to  the  satis- 

;  faction  of  the  government.  In  1752,  while  holding 
theofficeofsecondjudgeofSupremeCourt,Mr.  Neville 
published  the  first  volume  of  an  edition  of  the  laws  of 
the  province  in  two  vols.,  folio,  and  the  second  volume 
not  appearing  until  1761.  He  was  also  the  writer  of 
various  articles,  and  edited  a  monthly  periodical  pub- 
lished at  Woodbridge,  by  James  Parker,  called  the 
"  New  American  Magazine,"  and  it  was  the  first  peri- 
odical of  any  kind  printed  in  New  Jersey,  and  only 
the  second  monthly  magazine  on  the  continent. 
Each  number  contained  about  forty  pages  octavo,  and 
in  variety  and  interest  it  will  compare  with  many 
modern  publications  in  good  repute.  A  history  of 
America  and  a  traveler's  diary  were  published  in 
connection  with  each  number,  paged  separately,  in 
order  to  form  distinct  volumes  at  the  end  of  each  year. 
On  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Morris,  in  January, 
1764,  Neville  would  probably  have  been  raised  to  the 
vacant  bench,  but  the  infirmities  of  age  rendered  the 
performance  of  its  duties  impracticable.  He  died  soon 
after,  Oct.  27,  1764,  in  the  sixty-seventh  year  of  his 
age,  leaving  a  name  unsullied,  it  is  believed,  by  the 
slightest  stain.  His  wife  preceded  him  to  the  grave, 
dying  in  175.5,  and  their  simple  headstones  yet  mark 
their  places  of  sepulture  in  the  graveyard  of  St. 
Peter's  Church.  They  left  no  children.  Mr.  White- 
head, the  historian,  out  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
one  whom  he  conceived  worthy  of  a  place  among  the 
most  eminent  of  other  days,  he  had  repaired  the  spot 
where  this  eminent  and  distinguished  Neville  was 
buried,  which  had  long  been  neglected. 

Barberie.     A  plain  stone  in  the  burial-ground  of 
St.  Peter's  bears  this  inscription  : 

"John  Barberie 

Aged  50  years 

died  July  2:id  1770." 

He  was  a  French  Huguenot.  The  name  is  first  seen 
upon  the  records  of  1702,  in  a  petition  to  the  proprietors 
for  a  house-lot,  and  which  was  granted  that  the  house 
should  be  built  within  a  year.  The  petitioner  is  pre- 
sumed to  have  been  the  father  of  John  Barberie. 
There  is  a  statement  that  he  was  the  eldest  of  four 
brothers,  and  that  but  two  names  were  shared  among 
them.  Tlie  first  was  called  John,  the  second  Peter, 
the  third  John  Peter,  and  the  fourth  Peter  John. 


612 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


It  is  said  he  was  a  gentleman  of  pleasing  manners 
and  address,  occasionally  marred  by  exhibitions  of 
temper,  and  extremely  proud  of  his  birth  and  family 
connections.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  collec- 
tor of  customs  for  the  port.  He  married  Gertrude, 
daughter  of  Andrew  Johnston,  elsewhere  mentioned 
in  these  pages;  they  had  nine  children,  five  sons  and 
four  daughters. 

Peter  was  a  merchant  in  Amboy,  in  partnership 
with  his  uncle  John  Johnstone,  and  afterwards  re- 
moved to  New  York,  where  he  died,  leaving  a  widow 
and  children. 

John  was  a  captain  in  the  Second  Battalion  of  Cort- 
landt  Skinner's  brigade,  raised  during  the  Revolution, 
and  after  the  war  retired  to  St.  Johns  in  the  province 
of  New  Brunswick,  where  he  died  in  1818,  aged  sixty- 
seven.  He  was  colonel  of  militia  and  a  magistrate 
of  the  county.  A  son,  Andrew,  became  a  member  of 
the  Provincial  Assembly. 

Oliver  commenced  the  study  of  law  in  the  office  of 
Cortlandt  Skinner,  subsequently  entered  the  British 
army,  and  became  a  lieutenant  in  the  Loyal  American 
Regiment.  He  married  a  daughter  of  his  legal  pre- 
ceptor, and  one  of  his  sons  now  holds  an  honorable 
post  in  the  army  or  navy  of  England.  He  died  in 
the  province  of  New  Brunswick. 

Lambert,  died  unmarried. 

Andrew  was  placed  in  the  navy,  and  was  shot  on 
board  of  an  English  vessel  of  war  during  the  Revo- 
lution. 

Susannah,  married  her  cousin  John  L.  Johnston,  of 
Spotswood,  and  had  several  children. 

Francis  married  James  Throckmorton,  of  Mon- 
mouth County.  Catherine  became  the  wife  of  Henry 
Cuyler.  Mr.  Cuyler  died  in  Newark  in  May,  1774, 
aged  twenty-eight,  and  was  buried  under  a  pear-tree 
in  what  was  afterward  the  orchard  of  Col.  Samuel 
Ogden,  north  of  what  is  technically  known  as  "  the 
Stone  Bridge."  Mrs.  Cuyler  is  thought  to  have  died 
at  Amboy.  They  left  several  children.  Gertrude 
died  young  and  unmarried. 

Parker.  There  were  a  number  of  the  name  of 
Parker  residing  in  this  province  of  East  Jersey  be- 
tween the  years  1(370  and  1680.  Among  them  was 
Elisha  Parker,  of  Woodbridge,  the  ancestor  of  the 
present  Amboy  family  by  that  name.  The  first  grant 
of  land  to  "  Elisha  Parker,  senior.  Yeoman  of  Wood- 
bridge,"  was  for  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  acres 
on  the  highway  leading  to  Piscataway,  under  date  of 
April  19,  1G75.  He  appears  to  have  been  married 
three  times  and  had  several  children.  Those  by  his 
first  wife  (Elizabeth)  were  as  follows  : 

1.  Thomas,  who  resided  in  Woodbridge  early  in 
life,  and  in  October,  1680,  his  father  gave  him  sixty 
acres  of  upland  and  fifteen  acres  of  Raritan  meadow. 
It  is  supposed  that  for  a  time  he  resided  on  Staten 
Island  (in  1687).  His  children  by  his  wife  Mary 
were — David,  born  May  1, 1676  ;  Thomas,  born  March 
0,  1682-83 ;  Elisha,  born  August  20,  1684 ;  Joseph, 


born  Sept.  18.  1690  ;  Benjamin,  born  Jan.  4, 1692-93 ; 
and  George  and  Elisha,  twins,  born  March  30,  1695. 

2.  Elisha,  who  in  1681  was  styled  "  Weaver,"  and 
afterwards  in  1701  "  Merchant  of  Woodbridge,"  was 
in  1709  captain  of  the  provincial  forces  and  attached 
to  the  commissariat,  being  charged  with  the  duty  of 
furnishing  supplies  to  the  troops  then  engaged  on 
the  Canadian  frontier.  About  1712  or  1715  he  re- 
moved to  Perth  Amboy,  and  died  April  16,  1727,  un- 
married and  much  regretted,  being  eminent  for  his 
piety.  He  left  his  property  in  equal  proportions  to 
his  three  half-sisters,  Elizabeth,  Ursula,  and  Mary. 

3.  Samuel,  born  March  1,  1669,  died  Dec.  27, 
1672. 

4.  Mary,  born  Dec.  3,  1672,  married  Daniel  Rob- 
ins Nov.  27,  1691. 

5.  Samuel,  born  June  1,  1674. 

And  by  his  second  wife,  Hannah  Rolph  (died  Oct. 
14,  1696),  whom  he  married  March  26,  1691,  he  had: 

1.  Elizabeth,  born  Dec.  23,  1691,  died  March  13, 
1692. 

2.  John,  born  Nov.  11,  1693.  He  was  the  grand- 
father of  the  families  of  Amboy.  He  married,  Sept. 
16,  1721,  Janet,  daughter  of  Dr.  John  Johnstone. 
He  held  the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  provincial  forces 
the  same  year.  From  1726  to  1728  he  was  engaged 
in  business  in  New  York,  but  must  have  at  the  time 
resided  in  the  city,  as  he  is  spoken  of  then  as  a  valued 
citizen.  The  stone  part  of  the  old  Parker  mansion, 
familiarly  termed  "  The  Castle,"  was  built  by  him. 
He  held  many  minor  oftices,  as  well  as  one  of  the 
Council,  being  appointed  by  Governor  Burnet  in  Oc- 
tober, 1719,  and  continued  as  such  until  his  death  in 
1732.  In  his  will  he  left  two  hundred  pounds  "  for 
extraordinary  schooling  and  teaching  one  or  more  of 
my  sons  the  Latin  and  French  tongue,  regard  being 
chiefly  and  in  the  first  place  had  to  the  eldest."  His 
widow  lived  until  Feb.  16,  1741.  Their  children 
besides  one  son,  who  died  in  infancy,  were:  Elisha, 
who  was  bred  to  the  profession  of  the  law  under 
James  Alexander,  was  licensed  May  3,  1746,  and  at- 
tained to  some  eminence.  He  married  Catharine, 
daughter  of  James  Alexander,  and  died  of  consump- 
tion March  14,  1751,  in  his  forty-seventh  year.  He 
left  no  children.  His  widow  married  Walter  Ruther- 
ford, then  an  officer  in  the  army,  and  was  the  mother 
of  the  late  John  Rutherford,  of  Belleville. 

James  will  be  mentioned  more  particularly  on  a 
subsequent  page.  Mary  died  unmarried  Feb.  25, 1813, 
in  her  eighty-sixth  year,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Peter's 
cemetery,  where  most  of  the  family  were  interred, 
although  no  monument  marks  their  graves  as  in  her 
case. 

John  also  will  be  mentioned  more  particularly 
farther  on.  Lewis  Johnston,  born  Dec.  9,  1731,  died 
Feb.  2,  1760,  in  his  twenty-ninth  year,  of  consump- 
tion, while  preparing  himself  for  the  bar,  having 
sought  in  vain  for  health  by  a  sea  voyage  and  resi- 
dence in  another  climate. 


CITY   OF   PERTH    AM  BOY. 


613 


By  his  third  wife,  Ursula  Crage  (Craig),  to  whom 
he  was  married  Sept.  27, 1(J97,  and  who  survived  him, 
he  had  (1)  Elizabeth,  born  March  21,  1U98-99,  and 
married   James    Johnston,   of   Monmouth   County ; 

(2)  Ursula,   born    Dec.    21,    1700,   died   unmarried ; 

(3)  Mary,  born  Dec.  22,  1702,  died  unmarried;  (4) 
Edward,  of  whom  no  information  has  been  obtained, 
excepting  that  he  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  Jedediah 
Andrews,  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, April  .30,  1716. 

John  Parker  was  born  Nov.  7,  1729,  received  a 
mercantile  education,  and  from  October,  1745,  to 
May,  1750,  served  as  a  midshipman  on  board  Her 
Majesty's  ship  "  Chester,"  Capt.  Spry.  In  1751  he 
went  on  a  voyage  to  Jamaica  as  a  supercargo  of  a 
vessel,  arid  subsequently  to  Virginia  and  New  Found- 
land  on  similar  enterprises.  Also  in  the  campaigns 
of  1765  and  1756,  against  the  French,  he  commanded 
a  company  in  the  Fourth  Battalion  of  the  royal 
Americans,  and  after  the  capture  of  Col.  Schuyler  at 
Oswego,  being  the  senior  officer,  the  command  of  such 
of  the  New  Jersey  forces  as  were  not  involved  in  that 
disaster  devolved  upon  him.  Capt.  Parker  was  then 
in  his  twenty-seventh  year,  a  bold  and  energetic  offi- 
cer, and  the  surrender  of  Oswego  seemed  to  him  un- 
called for.  In  the  following  letter  to  his  brother  at 
Amboy,  dated  "  Fort  Eagle,  Aug.  18, 1756,"  he  says, — 

*'  I  am  busy  preparing  for  an  attack  hourly  expected.  .  .  .  my  love  to 
all  friends  and  you  may  venture  to  tell  them  that  Jack  Parker  will 
never  be  taken  in  this  poor,  little,  sooty  fort  without  losing  more  than 
fire,  if  all  the  force  that  was  at  Oswego  comes  against  him  ;  how  that 
affair  was  managed  I  don't  know,  and  therefore  suspend  judgment. 

"  Col.  Schuyler,  Capt.  Skinner,  his  brother  .lack  and  all  Hie  oflicers 
that  were  there  are  well  and  untouched,  except  Col.  Mercer  who  was 
killed  ;  Capt.  Patten,  of  Shirley's,  ensign,  Walter  of  Schuyler's,  wounded, 
five  men  killed." 

The  ensuing  August,  1757,  found  him  holding  the 
rank  of  colonel  at  Fort  William  Henry,  where  he 
came  near  losing  his  life.  He  remained  in  the  ser- 
vice until  he  was  taken  as  a  prisoner,  it  is  supposed, 
as  he  wa.s  at  Martinico  in  1761,  where  fatigue  con- 
nected with  the  service  and  his  health  he  died  Feb. 
15, 1762,  and  was  buried  at  Port  Royal.  Having  ever 
led  an  utisettled  life  consequent  upon  his  military  ca- 
reer, Mr.  Parker  never  married.  He  was  bold,  cour- 
ageous, and  active,  but  his  jiublic  services  secured  him 
but  little  fame. 

"James  Parker  was  the  only  child  of  John  Parker, 
Sr.,  who  left  issue.  He  married  Gertrude,  only  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  William  Skinner,  and  was  the  father 
of  the  present  elders  of  the  Parker  family.  Like 
many  others  of  the  young  gentlemen  of  Perth  Am- 
boy he  entered  the  provincial  military  service,  and  in 
August,  1746,  embarked  for  the  northern  frontier  as 
captain  of  one  of  the  six  companies  raised  for  the  ex- 
pedition of  that  year.  It  is  thought  that  his  military 
services  terminated  with  the  campaign.  He  after- 
wards engaged  in  mercantile  business  in  New  York 
with  Mr.  Beverly  Robinson,  his  transactions  being 
principally  with  the  West  Indies,  some  of  them   in 


partnership  with  Andrew  Johnston  ;  and  in  1750-51 
he  made  a  voyage  to  Jamaica  upon  affairs  connected 
with  these  commercial  projects.  Soon  after  this  he 
took  his  abode  permanently  at  Amboy.  His  time 
was  much  engro.ssed  in  attending  to  the  large  landed 
interests  possessed  by  the  family.  He  held  many 
local  offices  in  this  city,  and  among  others  that  of 
councilor  under  Governor  Franklin,  to  which  he  was 
appointed  in  October,  1764,  to  supply  the  vacancy  oc- 
casioned by  the  death  of  Chief  Justice  Morris.  Mr. 
Parker  took  a  prominent  part  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  council,  and  many  of  the  addresses  and  other 
documents  emanating  from  that  body  during  his  con- 
nection with  it  were  written  by  him.  In  1771,  and 
in  other  years,  he  was  mayor  of  Amboy,  and  in  April, 
1775,  was  appointed  with  Stephen  Skinner  and  Jona- 
than Deare  a  delegate  from  Amboy  to  the  Provincial 
Congress,  but  he  did  not  attend  its  sessions.  The 
deep  interests  he  had  at  stake  led  him  to  pursue  a 
course  dift'erent  from  that  adopted  by  most  of  his 
family  connections,  by  preserving  a  strict  neutrality 
in  word  and  deed  between  the  royalists  and  provin- 
cials. He  took  no  offices  and  endeavored  to  keep 
himself  aloof  from  the  party  dissensions  of  the  time, 
removing  his  family  in  November,  1775,  to  a  farm  in 
Bethlehem,  Hunterdon  County,  where  they  resided 
until  the  peace  in  1783,  when  they  removed  to  New 
Brunswick,  and  two  years  thereafter  returned  to  the 
family  mansion  at  Amboy.  Mr.  Parker  was  a  man 
of  tall  stature  and  large  frame,  possessing  a  mind  of 
more  than  ordinary  strength  and  vigor,  and  his  wife 
was  remarkable  for  her  piety  and  excellence  of  char- 
acter. Mr.  Parker  died  Oct.  4,  1797,  aged  seventy- 
two,  and  she  followed  him  to  the  grave  on  the  10th 
February,  1811,  aged  seventy-one. 

Thomas  Bartow.  In  a  house  standing  on  the  .south- 
west corner  of  Market  and  the  square,  of  late  years 
occupied  by  Mrs.  C.  M.  Kearney,  an  old  and  solitary 
man  resided  prior  to  the  Revolution.  This  lone  indi- 
vidual was  Thomas  Bartow.  He  was  the  grandson  of 
Gen.  Bertant,  a  French  Protestant,  who  fled  from 
France  to  England  in  1685  ;  his  father  being  the  Rev. 
John  Bartow,  the  first  rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Westchester,  N.  Y.,  and  his  mother,  a  Miss  Read  or 
Reid,  a  Scotch  lady,  who  had  a  brother  residing  in 
New  Jersey.     He  was  their  eldest  son. 

Mr.  Bartow  was  feeble,  and,  caused  by  rheumatic 
affections,  being  prevented  from  any  active  participa- 
tion in  the  proceedings  of  the  colonists,  whose  cause 
he  warmly  espoused.  In  his  mansion  he  had  no  other 
inmates  than  one  housekeeper  and  a  male  assistant. 
He  was  a  small,  thin  man,  whose  pale  and  time-worn 
countenance  was  rendered  highly  impressive  by  long, 
gray  locks,  which  divided  from  his  forehead  to  the 
crown  of  his  head,  hung  down  on  either  side  "  in 
comely  guise."  Neat  in  his  person,  for  which  he  was 
remarkable,  made  him  strikingly  venerable  in  appear- 
ance. His  books  were  the  principal  source  of  his 
amusement,  and  apparently  his  only  company.     Oc- 


614 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


casionally  visiting  the  neighboring  villages  in  a  one- 
horse  chaise  in  summer  and  a  sleigh  in  winter,  and  these 
excursions  were  the  extent  of  the  old  man's  traveling. 
His  properly  had  been  accumulated  through  a  long 
series  of  years  by  speculation  in  land,  and  by  the  em- 
ployment of  his  pen  in  different  clerkships,  having 
been,  in  1735,  clerk  of  the  Supreme  and  Chancery 
Courts,  in  1741  of  the  Assembly,  in  1762  of  the  sur- 
veyor-general's office,  and  during  the  absence  in  Eng- 
land of  William  Alexander,  surveyor-general  for  some 
years  subsequent  to  1756,  he  acted  as  surveyor-gen- 
eral of  the  eastern  division.  In  1740  he  also  held 
the  appointment  of  commissioner  of  probate  with 
John  Bartow,  presumed  to  have  been  a  brother. 

Here  we  leave  this  worthy  old  man,  who  died  at 
Bethlehem,  Pa.,  in  1780,  never  having  revisited  his 
peaceful  residence  in  Amboy  after  the  Revolutionary 
war  commenced. 

Sargant.  Samuel  Sargant  was  commander  of  a  mer- 
chant vessel  in  the  European  trade,  and  acquired 
sufficient  property  to  retire  from  the  sea  some  years 
previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his 
industry  on  land  ;  the  receipts  of  a  small  country 
store,  to  which  he  attended  when  called  upon  (which 
was  not  often ) ,  contributing  to  the  support  of  his  family. 
He  was  much  interested  in  the  progress  of  this  colony, 
and  took  measures  for  its  advancement.  He  was  noted 
for  his  energy  of  character.  His  wife  was  a  Mi.ss 
Leonard,  of  New  York,  a  sister  of  Mrs.  Thomas  Farmer 
(elsewhere  mentioned).  Her  death  is  recorded  on  a 
tombstone  in  St.  Peter's  churchyard  as  taken  place 
the  20th  December,  1761.  They  had  four  children, 
one  son  and  three  daughters.  Mr.  Sargant  lived  not 
to  enjoy  the  fruits  of  his  exertions  in  the  cause  of 
liberty,  or  even  to  get  a  glimpse  of  the  happiness 
which  was  to  be  secured  to  the  country.  When  the 
English  took  possession  of  New  Jersey  he  retired  with 
his  two  remaining  daughters  into  Pennsylvania,  and 
served  for  a  time  as  a  commissary,  but  his  health  de- 
clined, and  he  died  about  the  summer  of  1778. 

The  eldest  daughter  married  Lieut.  England,  and 
accompanied  her  husband  to  the  British  camp  in  Bos- 
ton, where  he  and  one  of  his  brothers  were  severely 
wounded,  from  the  sanguinary  fight  of  Bunker  Hill, 
their  wounds  received  from  hands  in  whose  deeds  her 
father  felt  so  deep  an  interest. 

The  second  daughter  married  a  gentleman  by  name 
of  Vanleer,  and  left  children. 

The  third  daughter  became  the  wife  of  Capt.  (after- 
wards General)  .John  Heard,  of  "Sheldon's  Dra- 
goons," and  had  several  children.  Their  onlj' daugh- 
ter, Margaretta  D.,  died  at  Mount  Carmel,  111.  (the 
wife  of  A.  Slack,  Esq.),  on  the  4th  of  March,  1839, 
leaving  four  children. 

Stevens.  Richard  Stevens'  monument  covering  his 
grave  recording  his  death  on  the  4th  of  July,  1802, 
in  the  eightieth  year  sf  his  age.  He  was  small  of 
stature,  had  red  hair,  and  all  the  vivacity  of  a  French- 
man.    He  was  largely  interested  in  landed  property, 


and  said  to  have  been  constantly  traveling  the  pro- 
vince, and  died  from  injuries  being  thrown  from  his 
gig  on  his  way  to  New  Brunswick,  only  living  one  day 
thereafter. 

His  wife  was  Susan,  daughter  of  Philip  Kearney; 
she  followed  him  to  the  grave  the  ensuing  year  (1803), 
lying  an  entire  winter  speechless  from  the  effect  of 
paralysis.  They  lived  in  the  house  of  late  years  the 
residence  of  George  Merritt,  Esq.  They  were  both 
violent  Whigs,  differing  in  that  respect  from  the 
greater  number  of  their  friends.  They  left  one  daugh- 
ter who  married  John,  son  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Roe,  of 
Woodbridge,  who  had  several  children  who  lived  in 
New  England. 

John  Stevens,  brother  of  Richard,  was  also  a  prom- 
inent citizen,  represented  Amboy  in  the  Assembly  at 
different  periods,  and  in  June,  1763,  was  appointed 
one  of  the  Council.  He  is  said  to  have  been  remark- 
able for  his  courteous  and  refined  deportment.  His 
wife  was  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  .lames  Alexander, 
and  sister  to  Lord  Stirling.  He  died  in  Hunterdon 
County  in  1792,  leaving  two  daughters,  one  of  whom 
(Mary)  married  Chancellor  Livingston,  of  New  York, 
and  one  son  John,  renowned  as  the  originator  of  many 
modern  improvements  in  traveling,  and  from  whom 
the  gentlemen  have  descended  who  of  late  years  have 
been  so  extensively  engaged  in  promoting  the  con- 
venience and  comfort  of  those  traversing  the  distance 
between  Philadelphia  and  New  York. 

Mrs.  Stevens,  after  her  husband's  death,  resided  with 
her  daughter  at  Clemont,  Livingston  Manor,  until  the 
year  she  died,  1800. 

There  was  a  John  Stevens  in  Amboy  in  1722,  then 
an  inn-keeper,  and  in  1735  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Chan- 
cery, who  died  in  1737,  and  another  John,  possibly 
his  son,  resided  there  in  1741.  It  is  not  known  if  they 
were  his  ancestors. 


CHAPTER    LXXXVII. 

CITY    OF   PERTH    AMBOY.— ( (V,„rmHeJ.) 

Incorporation  and  Civil  Officers.— The  first  char- 
ter of  incorporation  was  granted  by  Governor  Hunter 
Aug.  24,  1718.  Mayor,  William  Eier,  with  recorder, 
aldermen,  assistant  aldermen,  chamberlain,  treasurer, 
town  clerk,  sheriff,  water  bailiff,  coroner,  marshal,  or 
sergeant-at-maee,  overseers  of  the  poor,  and  con- 
stables, with  a  city  seal,  which  was  adopted  by  the 
Governor  and  was  the  property  of  the  mayor.  This 
charter  was  granted  upon  the  petition  of  many  in- 
habitants recommending  it  as  the  best  place  for  a 
city,  and  was  worked  under  until  by  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  a  second  one  was  granted  Dec.  21,  1784  ; 
and  by  the  minutes  from  a  sheet  of  paper  of  a  meet- 
ing of  the  citizens  held  at  the  court-house  on  Satur- 
day, Nov.  12,  1785,  it  would  appear  that  James  Parker 
was  mayor,  but  the  impression  being  with  the  citi- 


CITY   OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


615 


zens  that  he  would  not  be  eligible  for  reappointment, 
Thomas  Farmer  was  to  be  presented  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, then  in  session  at  Trenton,  to  be  appointed 
mayor,  as  the  appointment  of  municipal  officers  came 
from  that  body. 

The  persons  intrusted  with  the  first  official  stations 
(1718)  are  named  in  the  charter  to  hold  their  offices 
until  the  annual  elections.  They  are  as  follows : 
"Mayor  and  Clerk  of  Market,  William  Eier;  Re- 
corder, James  Alexander;  Aldermen,  John  Parker, 
John  Eudyard,  Samuel  Leonard,  and  William  Hodg- 
son ;  Assistant  Aldermen,  John  Brown,  Andrew  Red- 
ford,  Michael  Henry,  and  Jacob  Isleton  ;  Chamber- 
lain and  Treasurer,  John  Stevens  ;  Town  Clerk,  John 
Barclay  ;  Sheriff  and  Water  Bailifl',  John  Harrison  ; 
Coroner,  William  Harrison;  Marshal  or  Sergeantat- 
Mace,  William  Frost;  Ovei'seers  of  the  Poor,  John 
Ireland,  Henrj'  Berry  ;  Constables,  John  Herriott, 
Fred.  Buckaloo,  Alexander  Cairns." 

There  is  no  record  of  the  city  officers  existing  from 
which  a  perfect  list  can  now  be  made  out  of  those 
who  subsequently  held  these  stations. 

Some  fragmentary  memoranda,  however,  exist,  from 
which  it  appears  that  certain  ordinances  were  passed 
of  which  there  is  no  record, — one  in  1797,  two  in  1818, 
and  others  in  after-years.  The  Council  met  at  the 
house  of  Martin  Chandler,  Feb.  28,  1831,  James 
Parker,  mayor.  At  this'meeting  a  book  of  minutes 
was  procured  and  the  record  commenced.  July  31st 
the  mayor  reported  that  eight  copies  of  an  ordinance 
concerning  dogs  had  been  put  up,  one  at  Woodbridge 
and  the  others  at  ditterent  places  in  the  city.  1832, 
James  Parker,  mayor,  Dr.  Charles  McKnight  Smith 
was  appointed  health  officer  under  the  city  seal,  and 
his  appointment  signed  by  the  president.  At  this 
time  cases  of  cholera  had  appeared  in  New  York,  and 
this  city  was  threatened  with  the  disease.  The  officer 
reported  at  a  subsequent  meeting  that  cases  had  oc- 
curred, but  they  had  been  confined  to  the  localities 
where  they  originated  by  the  necessary  precautions. 
Joseph  Marsh,  mayor,  1834,  first  meeting  at  the  house 
of  John  Arnold,  April  26th.  May  12th,  the  mayor  laid 
before  the  board  an  ordinance  for  striking  and  issuing 
small  notes,  passed  1792.  June  30th,  Patrick  Henry 
was  appointed  city  porter,  and  the  clerk  authorized 
to  sign  and  grant  him  a  license,  Patrick  Henry  to 
pay  the  city  fifty  cents  for  the  certificate.  August  4, 
1834,  the  Council,  by  resolution,  granted  to  the  man- 
ufacturing company,  without  any  valuation,  price,  or 
rate,  the  right  and  title  to  lease  the  cove  or  wet-dock 
property  to  the  Lehigh  Coal  Company  for  the  term 
of  nine  hundred  and  ninety  years.  During  this  year 
the  question  was  argued  as  to  the  city  seal,  as  some 
one  without  authority  introduced  a  new  seal,  and  the 
city  was  in  possession  of  two.  By  resolution  the  old 
one  was  adopted,  the  original  of  which  is  the  seal  now 
used  by  the  city. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  May  20,  1835,  a  reso- 
lution was  passed  that  a  single  row  of  flagstones  be 


laid  in  the  centre  of  Smith  and  High  Streets.  This 
was  the  first  effort  towards  walk  improvements.  At  a 
meeting,  May  2,  1836,  this  was  rescinded,  as  the 
work  had  not  been  done.  Resolution  passed  May 
30th  that  John  Arnold  be  paid,  from  the  first  moneys 
not  appropriated,  five  dollars  for  the  use  of  room, 
fuel,  and  light  for  the  Council  during  the  year;  also 
to  plant  trees  in  square  as  shade  and  ornament.  Dr. 
Solomon  Andrews  was  one  of  that  committee.  Mark 
Harris  was  appointed  pilot,  with  license  to  pilot  ves- 
sels from  New  York  to  New  Brunswick,  and  Perth 
Amboy  to  Sandy  Hook.  The  rates  fixed  by  the  Coun- 
cil as  fees  were:  from  New  Brunswick  to  New  York  or 
Sandy  Hook,  for  a  vessel  drawing  five  feet  of  water  and 
under,  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents;  over  five  feet, 
four  dollars  for  each  and  every  vessel.  October  18th, 
upon  application  of  sundry  citizens,  the  names  of 
most  of  the  streets  were  changed. 

May  12,  1837,  the  mayor  fined  four  members  fifty 
cents  apiece  for  being  twenty-five  minutes  late  at 
Council  meeting.  June  10th,  an  ordinance  was 
passed,  upon  recommendation  of  the  mayor  of  New 
York  City,  levying  a  tax  of  one  dollar  per  head  for 
emigrants  landing  in  the  city.  David  B.  Ogden,  a 
lawyer,  declared  this  ordinance  unconstitutional,  and 
it  was  postponed  indefinitely. 

1838.  The  minutes  are  not  recorded. 

1839.  But  one  meeting  recorded,  Thursday  after- 
noon, September  19th.  This  meeting  declared  the 
lots  on  the  southerly  side  of  the  house  of  Thomas  (t. 
Marsh,  belonging  to  Matthias  Bruen,  a  nuisance. 

1840,  but  two  meetings  recorded.  One  of  these — 
the  last,  September  5th — passed  an  ordinance  regu- 
lating and  protecting  .shade-trees  in  the  streets  and 
squares  of  the  city,  the  trees  to  be  twenty-five  feet 
apart. 

1841,  1842,  1843,  blank. 

1844,  a  new  charter  was  granted  by  the  Legisla- 
ture, February  27th,  repealing  the  charter  of  1784, 
except  the  ninth  section.  This  section  is  relative  to 
the  city  seal  adopted  by  Governor  Hunter,  Aug.  24, 
1718,  and  its  title  clause. 

1844,  James  Harriot  was  elected  mayor,  yet  we 
have  no  minutes  or  any  proceedings  for  that  year. 

1845,  Francis  W.  Brinley,  mayor:  minutes  of  six 
Council  meetings,  the  appointment  of  officers,  and  the 
granting  of  licenses  constituted  the  business  of  the 
year. 

1846,  William  Paterson  was  elected  mayor;  no 
record  of  proceedings. 

1847,  Francis  W.  Brinley  was  again  elected  ;  record 
of  meetings  properly  kept,  ordinances  and  resolu- 
tions passed,  and  general  routine  of  business. 

1848,  Commodore  Lawrence  Kearney  was  mayor, 
with  but  three  meetings  recorded. 

1849,  Dr.  Solomon  Andrews,  mayor.  This  year  ap- 
pears as  a  new  era  as  regards  business,  as  nine  leaves 
are  recorded,  with  ordinances  and  street  improve- 
ments. 


616 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


1850,  James  Parker  was  mayor.  This  year,  as  the 
one  before,  nine  leaves  of  business  were  recorded. 

1851,  Lewis  Compton  was  mayor,  with  minutes  prop- 
erly recorded.  December  17th  a  lease  was  granted  to 
David  Crowell  &  Son,  for  eighteen  years,  of  the  slip 
at  the  foot  of  Commerce  Street. 

1852,  Theodore  F.  King  was  elected,  and  served  as 
mayor;  minutes  properly  kept,  and  ordinances  and 
resolutions  passed. 

1853,  Dr.  Solomon  Andrews  was  mayor;  record 
properly  kept,  and  large  amount  of  improvements. 
During  this  year  four  special  town-meetings  were 
held,  one  on  the  24th  of  August,  to  consider  the  char- 
ter as  regards  the  streets  and  sidewalks ;  another,  Sep- 
tember 8th,  to  raise  five  thousand  dollars  to  facilitate 
improvements ;  January  4th,  to  consider  the  law 
passed  by  the  Legislature  granting  ferry  privileges 
to  certain  parties ;  and  another,  adjourned  from  Janu- 
ary 4th,  to  appoint  committee  to  advise  the  repeal  of 
the  law. 

1854,  Joseph  D.  Forbes  was  mayor.  This  year  the 
record  was  duly  kept,  and  a  number  of  ordinances 
passed,  among  the  rest  one  to  suppress  vice  and  im- 
morality that  stands  upon  the  books  a  monument  to 
the  City  Council  of  1854. 

Solomon  Andrews  was  again  mayor  in  1855;  min- 
utes properly  kept,  and  ordinances  for  improvements 


1856,  William  Paterson  was  mayor.  This  was  a 
noted  year  for  the  granting  of  licenses,  as  the  Council 
was  elected  for  that  special  purpose. 

1857,  Edward  J.  Hall  was  mayor.  At  a  meeting 
held  on  July  15th,  the  slip  foot  of  Fayette  Street 
was  leased  to  Peter  R.  Hawley  for  ten  years ;  records 
kept  and  considerable  business  transacted. 

1858,  William  Paterson  was  mayor  for  the  third 
time,  and  was  re-elected  in  1859.  This  year  the  sewer 
in  Smith  Street  was  commenced.  The  committee  who 
reported  the  plan  were  Ephraim  Martin,  Edward  .J. 
Hall,  and  Charles  Keen.  Length,  1700  feet ;  cost, 
about  $2795.  The  following  year,  1860,  William  Pat- 
erson was  again  elected  mayor. 

1861,  Edward  J.  Hall  was  elected,  this  being  his 
second  term ;  general  business  of  importance  trans- 
acted. 

1862,  Joseph  L.  Crowell  was  elected  mayor,  and 
acted  until  October,  when  John  R.  Watson,  the  re- 
corder, acted  as  mayor,  Mr.  Crowell  having  enlisted 
and  gone  to  the  war. 

1863,  Alfred  Hall  was  elected  mayor.  During  this 
year  the  slip  foot  of  Smith  Street  was  leased  to  Messrs. 
Drake  for  a  ferry,  and  forty-eight  bonds  for  one  hun- 
dred dollars  each,  to  pay  for  volunteers,  were  issued, 
with  other  business,  showing  an  increase  in  the  work 
of  the  City  Council.  . 

1864,  Alfred  Hall  was  re-elected.  This  year  we 
find  recorded  correspondence  with  Governor  Parker 
relative  to  conscript  laws,  as  the  citizens  began  to 
quake  concerning  the  draft,  and  with   the  board  of 


freeholders  to  obtain  county  notes  for  those  con- 
scripted or  volunteered.  A  special  meeting  was 
called,  and  a  tax  of  ten  dollars  each  imposed  on  all 
liable  to  draft,  and  the  City  Council  authorized  to 
pay  a  bounty  of  three  hundred  dollars  to  every  man 
credited  on  the  call  of  three  hundred  thousand  men  ; 
tax  to  be  paid  on  or  after  the  first  day  of  May,  1865, 
the  quota  of  men  being  thirty-five  for  Perth  Amboy. 
A  committee  was  appointed  to  draft  and  superintend 
the  passage  of  an  act  by  the  Legislature  authorizing 
the  borrowing  of  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 
This  act  was  passed,  and  the  action  of  the  City 
Council  confirmed  February,  1865. 

1865,  Alfred  Hall  continues  still  in  office.  This 
year  the  charter  was  revised  with  fifteen  sections, 
principally  relating  to  street  improvements.  A  peti- 
tion was  presented  from  twenty-five  persons  declaring 
the  house  belonging  to  Abram  Dunham  a  nuisance. 
The  petition  was  granted,  and  the  house  demolished. 
The  house  stood  upon  the  site  upon  which  R.  P. 
Barton  has  built  on  Smith  Street.  Ordinances  pre- 
paratory to  improvements  and  enterprise  were  passed 
during  this  year. 

1866,  Alfred  Hall  mayor,  and  continued  in  oflice 
until  1868 ;  street  extended  to  the  suburbs,  and  large 
increase  of  business. 

1867,  In  April  a  resolution  was  passed  instructing 
a  committee  to  purchase  a  new  safe  at  a  cost  not  to 
exceed  three  hundred  dollars  ;  one  was  procured  for 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars.  Ferry  slip  was 
leased  to  Staten  Island  Railroad  Company  for  twenty 
years.  July  15th,  a  contract  was  awarded  to  Schantz 
&  Dutton  for  the  erection  and  completion  of  twenty- 
five  lamps  and  posts,  with  oil. 

1868,  April  6th,  petition  from  Citizens'  A.ssociation, 
asking  for  an  appropriation  of  one  thousand  dollars 
to  repair  streets  and  roads  leading  into  the  city  ;  also 
from  the  Middlesex  Land  Company  relative  to  streets 
and  roads.  Prospect  Street  was  extended  to  Market 
Street,  also  High  Street  irom  Washington  Street  to 
Crane  Creek.  September  1st  a  resolution  was  passed 
preparatory  to  the  extension  of  Smith  Street  to  the 
township  line,  to  run  parallel  with  Market  Street,  and 
to  build  bulkheads  foot  of  Gordon  and  other  streets  ; 
also  opening  King  Street  from  Smith  to  Market 
Streets. 

March  16,  1869,  a  contract  was  awarded  to  A.  S. 
Hotchkiss  &  Co.,  to  furnish  and  put  up  a  clock  for 
seven  hundred  dollars. 

1869,  James  M.  Chapman  was  mayor.  This  year 
Water  Street  was  worked  to  a  grade,  with  shade-trees 
set  out  from  Smith  Street  to  Fayette.  The  city  park 
fence  and  chains  were  reset.  November  1st  the  City 
Council,  by  resolution,  adopted  a  memorial  to  the 
memory  of  Lewis  Golding,  deceased,  late  treasurer  of 
the  city,  who  had  for  thirty-nine  years  faithfully  and 
impartially  held  oflice  under  the  city  government. 

March  17,  1870,  the  charter  was  revised,  and  the 
City  Council  started  out  anew  under  its  workings. 


CITY  OF   PERTH   AMBOY. 


617 


Joseph  L.  Crowell  was  mayor,  and  was  elected  for 
two  years.  The  board  of  education  was  organized, 
and  the  school  enlarged  with  energy.  A  lot  was  pur- 
chased for  the  erection  of  a  new  school-house,  and 
bonds  were  issued.  Sixteen  additional  lamps  and 
posts  were  contracted  for  and  furnished  to  the  city. 
September  20th  a  contract  was  awarded  to  George  W. 
Mercer  to  build  a  lock-up  (jail)  for  eleven  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars.  October  3d  a  map  commission  was 
appointed,  with  surveyor,  to  make  a  map  of  the  city, 
with  street  and  sidewalk  improvements. 

1871,  the  City  Council  at  one  of  its  fir.st  meetings. 
May  1st,  appointed  a  committee  to  take  into  consider- 
ation the  expediency  of  building  an  almshouse.  At 
the  next  meeting,  June  5th,  this  committee  reported 
that  they  deemed  it  expedient  to  build  one  in  their 
opinion  ;  yet  if  this  be  not  the  year,  it  should  be  de- 
ferred only  a  short  time.  This  is  the  most  lengthy 
meeting  of  the  year.  October  2d  the  police  forcewas 
increased  to  two  men.  October  17th,  committee  ap- 
pointed to  examine  plans  for  rebuilding  the  city  hall 
reported  their  approval  of  the  same  with  slight  alter- 
ation, which  was  received.  Committee,  N.  H.  Tyrrell, 
John  Fothergill,  and  Garret  Jacobie.  Committee 
continued,  and  report  laid  on  the  table  for  future 
action.  November 6th,  Council,  by  resolution  offered 
by  L.  A.  Golding,  appropriated  in  bonds,  to  run 
twelve  years,  twelve  thousand  dollars,  and  the  com- 
mittee were  directed  to  advertise  for  sealed  proposals 
for  contract,  according  to  plans  and  specifications 
drawn  by  the  architect,  George  W.  Mercer.  Novem- 
ber 27th  the  proposals  were  opened  and  contract 
awarded, — carpenter  work  to  Moses  Martin,  and 
mason's  work  to  George  W.  Mercer,  with  staling, 
tinning,  painting,  iron-work,  cornice,  etc.,  and  com- 
pleted under  the  supervision  of  the  committee.  This 
Council  completed  its  labors  on  the  19th  of  March, 
1872,  after  accomplishing  improvements  and  other 
enterprises. 

April  29,  1872,  the  cost  of  the  new  city  hall  has 
been  in  bonds,  .S16,000  for  building  and  furniture, 
gas  and  all,  complete  ;  and  the  dedication  of  this 
new  city  hall  took  place  Oct.  15,  1872.  Mayor  John 
G.  Garretson  introduced  ex-Mayor  Alfred  Hall. 
Mayor  Garretson  read  some  interesting  historical 
facts  connected  with  the  history  of  Perth  Amboy. 
Hon.  William  Paterson  made  an  extended  and  deeply 
interesting  address  on  the  occasion,  making  reference 
to  many  incidents  and  the  past  history  of  this  an- 
cient city,  and  was  followed  by  ex-Mayor  Joseph  L. 
Crowell,  who  urged  liberality  in  raising  money  for 
public  purposes,  saying,  "  We  must  not  be  afraid  to 
be  taxed  a  little,"  and  "if  we  fail  in  this  liberal  prin- 
ciple, we  shall  go  backward  instead  of  making  ad- 
vances." Letters  were  read  from  Hon.  William  A. 
Whitehead,  the  "  historian,"  Governor  George  C. 
Ludlow,  Hon.  James  M.  Chapman,  Ed.  J.  Hall,  and 
ex-Councilman  Henry  J.  Hart,  of  Plainfield. 

It  has  been  with  considerable  research  that  the  fol- 


lowing list  has  been  collected,  many  of  the  records 
being  but  meagre  accounts  of  the  officers  present,  the 
business  transacted,  and  the  adjournment,  the  clerk 
often  not  even  signing  his  own  name,  much  less 
giving  a  list  of  those  elected  : 


William  Eier,  1718. 

Samuel  Nevilli>,  1758. 

James  I'alker,  17S4-1815,  1831-33. 

Thomas  Farmer,  1785. 

John  Ratoone,  1808. 

Joseph  Marsh,  1834. 

James  Harriott,  1844. 

Francis  W.  Brinley,  1845,1847. 

William   Paterson,   1846,  1855-56, 

1858-60,  1874-78. 
Lawrence  Kearny,  1848. 
Solomon  Andrews,  1849,  1853-55. 


James  Parker,  1850. 
Lewis  Conipton,  1851. 
Theodore  F.  King,  1852. 
Joseph  D.  Forbes,  1854. 
Edward  I.  Hall,  1857,  1861. 
Joseph  L.  Crowell.  1862, 1870-71. 
Alfred  Hall,  1803-68. 
James  M.  Chapman,  1S69. 
John  G.  Garretson,  1872-73. 
Eber  H.  Hall,  1879-80. 
U.  B.  Watson,  1881. 


James  Alexander,  1718. 
Joseph  Marsh,  1831-33. 
Robert  A.  Thorp,  1834,  1836-37. 
James  A.  Nichols,  1810, 1842-43. 
William  Thomas,  1844-45,  1851. 
Lewis  Golding,  1846,  1848^9. 
Robert  Freenjan,  1850, 1855. 
John  G.  Golding,  1852. 
Joseph  G.  Martin,  1853. 


RECOKDERS. 

William  Paterson,  1854. 
James  L.  Compton,  1855. 
James  S.  Crowell,  18.56-60. 
John  Manning,  1801. 
John  R.  Wats<.n,  1862. 
S.  V.  R.  Paterson,  1863. 
William  Hall,  1864-08. 
Ezra  W.  Arnold,  1869. 


1833, 


John  Parker,  1718. 
John  Rudyard.  1718. 
Samnel  Leonard,  1718. 
William  Hodgson,  1718. 
William   Whitehead,   1831 

1836. 
.Tames  Harriott,  18:n,  1838. 
Matthias  Brueu,  1831. 
Solomon  Andrews,  1835-36. 
Hermon  Bruen,  1840. 
Charles    McK night    Smith,   1840, 

1846-48,  1850-51. 
Thomas  G.  Mnrsh,  1847-48. 
Benoni  Mandeville,  1844-45. 
Benjamin  Hull,  1844,  1856. 
Alexander  M.  Brnen,  1844-46. 
John  Arnold,  1845. 
Theodore  F.  King,  1846. 
James  Harriott,  1846. 
David  Crowell,  1846-51. 
Thomas  G.  Marsh,  1848,  1851. 
David  T.  Wait,  1847-49,  1851. 
Cleavland  A.  Folbs,  1848. 
Charles  M.  Smith,  1849-50. 
James  L.  Compton,  1850. 


ALDERMEN. 

Alfred  Hall,  1850-51, 
Cornelius  White,  1852. 
Edward  J.  Hall,  1854. 
John  Hall,  1854. 
Henry  D.  Tyrrell,  1855. 
EJmond  Dunham,  1852. 
William  Hall,  1856. 
J.  G.  Garretson,  1857. 
Charles  Keen,  1877. 
John  R.  Watson,  1861. 
William  B.  Watson,  1862. 
James  M.  Chapman,  1866. 
Joseph  E.  Chapman,  1869. 
D.  0.  Noe,  1872. 
John  Fothergill,  1872-73. 
William  G.  Thomas,  1872-75. 
Henry  B.  Tyrrell,  1873-75. 
Samuel  Hall,  1874-75. 
James  M.  Chapman,  1876-78. 
Eber  H.  Hull,  1876-79. 
Patrick  Convery,  1876-80. 
Edward  R.  Pierce,  1879-81. 
S.  G.  Phillips,  188U-81. 
F.  W.  Gordon,  1881. 


COMMON 
Benjamin  Maurice,  1831-32. 
Abner  Woodruff,  1831-32. 
Lewis  Golding,  1831-32,  1835. 
Robert  A.  Thorp,  1831-33. 
Josiah  B.  Howell,  1831-34. 
Francis  W.  Brinly,  1831-33. 
William  Thomas,  18:12. 
David  Crowell,  1834-35. 
Lewis  Compton,  1834-:i5. 
John  Arnold,  1835,  1840. 
David  C.  Wood,  1840,  1845. 
James  Harriot,  1840. 
John  Manning,  184ll,  1845-47. 
Elias  Tyrrell,  1845-46. 
John  Wait,  1845. 
Ephraim  Martin,  1845. 
Thomas  Dunham,  1843. 


Willels  Griffen,  1846-48. 

Thomas  G.  Marsh,  1847. 

Ephraim  Martin,  1845. 

William  Thomas,  1848. 

Daniel  Selover,  1848. 

James  Compton,  1848-50. 

Robert  Freeman,  1849-50. 

Charles  Reader,  1849-50. 

Lucius  D.  Moore,  1849. 

Stephen  G.  Woodbridge,  1849-50. 

Joel  Smith,  1849. 

A.  Slaglit,  1851. 

Isaac  S.  Hanied,  1850. 

P.  P.  Woglom,  1850,  1852-63. 

James  Tuite,  1852. 

Elam  Sauford,  1851. 

Merrit  Martin,  1852. 


618 


HISTORY   OP   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Abram  Sleiglit,  1851. 
William  Dunham,  1853-64. 
J.  Complon,  1853-54. 
Daniel  Selover,  1853-54. 
William  Laforge,  1853. 
Garret  Onderdoiik,  1854. 
L.  Golding,  1854-55. 
J.  U.  Coutta,  1854. 
E.  Martin,  1864-65. 
Joseph  L.  Crowell,  18.54-55. 
D.  T.  Wait,  1855. 
Elam  Sanford,  1855-56. 
Eber  H.  Hall,  1854-65. 
Joseph  Tanner,  1855. 
Abram  Dunham,  1856,  1858. 
John  G.  Garrettson,  1856. 
William  Thomas,  1856. 
Thomas  B.  Liddle,  1856-57. 
Henry  Buchanan,  1857. 
Henry  C.  Drost,  1857. 
Henry  M.  Stone,  1857. 
William  Hall,  1851,  1858. 
Cornelius  Winant,  1858. 
James  M.  Martin,  1858. 
H.  Buchanan,  1858. 
John  P.  Woglom,  1855. 
William  King,  1859. 
John  W.  Sneath,  1859. 
Richard  P.  Barton,  1861. 
C.  Van  Doren,  1861. 
James  L.  Beers,  1861. 
Moses  Martin,  1862. 
Albert  S.  Jackson,  1862. 
William  A.  Masker,  1862. 
Hugh  Tininiins,  1862. 
Albert  Koll,  1863. 
Garret  Jacobie,  1863. 
Aaron  Masker,  1864. 
Ezra  W.  Arnold,  1864. 
James  A.  Gillman,  1864. 
John  H.  Kyno,  1865. 
Joshua  B.  Ford,  1866. 
John  Fothergill,  1866. 
George  Foster,  1866. 


William  Hunter,  1866. 
William  W.  Martin,  1868. 
Thomas  Langan,  1868. 
George  H.  Buchanan,  1868. 
James  Smith,  1868. 
William  Meskerous,  1868. 
David  0.  Noe,  1869. 
James  Wait,  1869. 
John  Adair,  1869. 
Lewis  A.  Golding,  1870. 
N.  H.  Tyrrell,  1870. 
Jacob  L.  Martin,  1870. 
J.  T.  Golding,  187U. 
A.  S.Jackson,  1872-73. 
William  Bell,  1872-73. 
J.  S.  Kearney,  1872-73. 
Thomas  Macan,  1872-73. 
James  Wait,  1872-73. 
Solomon  Andrews,  1872. 
Joseph  Burns,  1873-74. 
George  Foster,  1873-75. 
Theodore  Barton,  1873. 
Eber  H.  Hall,  1874-75. 
William  Sofield,  1874-76. 
William  Buchanan,  1874-76. 
Franklin  Griffen,  1874-76. 
William  Adair,  1876-77. 
Kichard  M.  Cornell,  1876-78. 

A.  M.  Johnson,  1876-77. 
S.  G.  Phillipps,  1877-78. 
Thomas  Langan,  1877-78. 
William  Adair,  1877-79. 
Chester  Sneath,  1878-81. 
F.  S.  Mead,  1878. 

Jacob  W.  Martin,  1879. 
1'.  V.  R.  Van  Wyck,  1879-80. 
Charles  T.  Jackson,  1879-80. 
John  McCluskey,  1879-80. 
John  Meshrow,  1880-81. 

B.  Hartung,  1880-81. 
Edward  Keasbey,  1881. 
John  G.  Katbuu,  1881. 
Ellis  Wait,  1881. 


Joseph  A.  Martin,  1848. 
John  D.  See,  1850. 
Isaac  D.  Ward,  1865. 
Lewis  B.  Harrold,  1853. 


Ezra  W.  Arnold,  1875-80. 


CITY  CLERKS. 

Henry  I.  Hart,  1861. 
I.  T.  Golding,  1870. 
1.  D.  Ward,  1872-81. 
Cortlandt  L.  Parker,  1882. 

TREASURERS. 

Richard  P.  Barton,  1876-81. 

ASSESSORS. 

Joseph  L.  Crowell,  1881. 


COLLECTOR   OF  REVENUES. 
Joshua  B.  Ford,  1874.  |  John  Manning,  1876-81. 

John  Hall,  1875.  1 


CONTROLLERS. 


George  A.  Seamen,  1878-80. 
Joseph  E.  Chapman,  1874-77. 


I  J.  Thorn  Golding,  1881. 


Rev.  Aaron  Peck,  1874-77. 
U.  B.  Watson,  1874-76. 
Edward  R.  Pierce,  1874-77. 
Cornelius  Hadden,  1874-78, 
James  M.  Chapman,  1874. 
George  H.  Tice,  1874-76. 
John  L.  Kearney,  1876-81. 
S.  B.  P.  Higgons,  1876-77. 
L.  S.  Blackwell,  1877-78. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

H.D.Tyrrell,  1878-79. 
W.  W.  Hubbard,  1878-79. 
John  Fothergill,  1879-81. 
James  L.  Compton,  1879-81. 
W.  H.  McCormick,  1878-79. 
James  E.  Noe,  1881. 
J.  B.Smith,  1881. 
William  Dally,  1881. 


CITY  SUPERINTENDENT. 
Henry  Farmer,  1874-81. 


CHAPTER    LXXXVIII. 

CITY    OF    PERTH    AMBOY.—(Contin,ierl.) 

Resident  Governors.— The  "Long  Ferry  Tav- 
ern" was  the  first  public  house  erected  in  Perth 
Amboy.  Governor  Rudyard  was  superseded  in  1684 
by  Gawen  Laurie,  and  through  him  the  proprietors 
bestowed  upon  their  new  town  the  name  of  Perth 
in  honor  of  James,  Earl  of  Perth,  one  of  their 
number.  The  suffix  "  Amboy"  is  a  cliange  from  the 
original  Indian  "Ompoge."  Governor  Laurie  (1684- 
86)  appears  to  have  been  the  first  of  tlie  proprietary 
Governors  who  resided  a  portion  of  the  time  at  Perth 
Amboy.  After  1686,  the  date  of  the  removal  of  the 
government  to  Perth  Amboy,  the  proprietary  and 
royal  Governors  resided  here  with  more  or  less  per- 
manence. Governor  Laurie  laid  the  foundations  of 
the  new  city.  Andrew  Hamilton,  Lord  Neil  Camp- 
bell, and  Jeremiah  Basse  filled  respectively  the  chief 
office  in  the  province.  Hamilton  and  Campbell 
appear  to  have  been  permanently  established  here, 
the  latter  during  his  entire  term,  and  the  former  prior 
to  1689,  and  again  from  1692  to  1698.  We  find  that 
Robert  Hunter,  then  Governor,  about  the  fall  of  1709, 
was  the  first  of  the  royal  Governors  of  New  Jersey 
who  regarded  this  province  with  sufficient  favor  to 
make  upon  its  soil  anything  like  a  permanent  home. 
He  has  been  considered  the  first  one  who  made  his 
permanent  home  in  Perth  Amboy.  He  was  much 
esteemed  for  many  excellent  qualities,  and  his  house 
stood  upon  the  knoll  .south  of  St.  Peter's  Church. 
He  was  born  in  Scotland,  but  of  his  parentage  or  of 
the  incidents  of  his  early  life  nothing  is  known.  In 
1707  he  bears  the  title  of  "colonel,"  and  has  as  asso- 
ciates men  of  literary  attainments,  such  as  Swift, 
Steele,  Addison,  and  others.  He  arrived  in  the 
province  at  a  most  inauspicious  period  for  his  own 
ease,  immediately  succeeding  the  unpopular  and  dis- 
organizing administration  of  Cornbury. 

There  is  no  account  given  respecting  the  Governor's 
family.  "  While  in  the  army  he  married  Lady  Hay, 
the  relict  of  Lord  John  Hay,  and  daughter  of  Sir 
Thomas  Orby,  Bart.,  and  had  several  children.  She 
came  with  him  to  America,  and  died  in  August, 
1716." 

In  1719,  the  Governor's  health  not  being  good,  and 
his  interests  seeming  to  require  his  presence  in 
London,  he  left  his  government  here  never  to  return, 
and  in  1720  was  succeeded  in  office  by  William 
Burnet,  who  continued  therein  until  his  death,  which 
took  place  about  nine  years  later,  or  1730. 

Col.  John  Montgomerie,  who  succeeded  Mr.  Burnet, 
died  in  1731,  and  William  Cosby,  his  successor,  also 
died  in  1736,  and  on  the  deatli  of  the  latter,  upon 
John  Anderson,  then  president  of  Council,  the  gov- 
ernment of  New  Jersey  devolved,  but  after  his  assump- 
tion of  the  chief  authority  he  died  in  a  few  weeks. 
The  following  is  an  obituary  published  at  this  time  : 


CITY   OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


619 


"  Perth  Amboy,  March  30, 1736. 
"  On  Sunday  Last,  Marcb  27th,  died  here  in  the  71et  year  of  his  age, 
after  a  short  indisposition,  the  Honorable  John  Anderson,  Esq.,  President 
of  his  Majesty's  Council  and  Commander-in-Chief  of  this  Province  of 
New  Jersey,  which  station  he  held  but  18  days.  He  was  a  gentleman  of 
the  strictest  honor  and  integrity,  justly  valued  and  lamented  by  all  his 
acquaintances." 

The  next  incumbent  was  John  Hamilton,  a  colonel, 
and  the  .son  of  Andrew  Hamilton,  Governor  under 
the  proprietaries,  and  is  the  only  descendant  of  whom 
any  knowledge  has  been,  obtained.  It  has  not  been 
determined  whether  he  was  a  native  of  Scotland  or 
America.  He  first  appears  in  public  life  as  one  of 
Governor  Hunter's  Council  in  1713,  and  continued 
to  hold  a  seat  at  the  board  during  the  succeeding 
administrations  of  Burnet,  Montgomerie,  and  Cosby, 
so  that  when  he  became  chief  magistrate  he  was  fully 
prepared  for  its  duties.  In  1735  he  was  associate 
judge  of  the  Provincial  Supreme  Court.  He  resided, 
it  is  thought,  in  the  house  now  known  as  the  Lewis 
House  or  Place,  beautifully  situated,  overlooking  the 
broad  bay  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Raritan  and 
the  Sound  with  Sandy  Hook  inlet.  He  was  buried  in 
the  old  burial-ground,  then  used,  lying  north  of  the 
Britain  House,  but  no  trace  can  now  be  seen  indicat- 
ing the  spot. 

His  successor  was  Jonathan  Belcher,  who  arrived 
as  Governor  in  1747,  landing  at  Amboy  early  in  the 
morning  of  August  8th,  having  come  in  his  barge 
from  Sandy  Hook ;  the  voyage  across  the  Atlantic 
having  been  made  in  the  '"Scarborough"  man-of-war. 
He  was  well  pleased  with  Amboy,  but  after  a  time 
made  his  residence  at  Elizabethtown,  and  died  there 
in  1757. 

Francis  Bernard  succeeded  Governor  Belcher.  He 
was  descended  from  a  respectable  family  ;  had  been 
educated  at  Oxford,  and  was  engaged  in  the  profes- 
sion of  the  law  at  the  time  of  his  appointment,  being 
:x  proctor  or  solicitor  at  Doctors'  Commons,  in  Lon- 
don. He  arrived  at  Amboy,  Wednesday,  June  14, 
1758,  from  "  His  Majesty's  ship  the  Terrible,"  bring- 
ing his  wife  and  family.  From  the  papers  of  that 
day,  furnishing  account  of  his  reception  in  the  prov- 
ince, it  appears  that  more  honors  were  bestowed  upon 
him  than  were  given  to  any  of  his  predecessors.  It 
may  be  well  to  portray  the  form  and  ceremony  that 
in  those  days  "  did  hedge  about  a  Governor." 

"  On  the  second  day  after  his  arrival,  attended  by  the 
members  of  his  Council,  the  mayor  and  other  author- 
ities of  the  city,  the  Governor  proceeded  to  the  town 
hall  and  published  his  commission  in  the  usual  mode, 
by  causing  it  to  be  read  aloud  in  the  presence  and 
hearing  of  the  assembled  multitude.  He  then  re- 
ceived the  compliments  of  a  great  number  of  persons 
of  distinction  who  had  come  hither  to  witness  the 
august  ceremony  which  placed  once  more  over  them  a 
representative  of  majesty,  and  the  day  closed  with 
various  suitable  demonstrations  of  joy."  The  next 
day  the  corporation  of  the  city  waited  upon  hini,  and 
the  then  mayor,  Samuel  Neville,  Esq.,  presented  him  I 


with  the  usual  complimentary  address.  The  Governor 
returned  satisfactory  replies,  assuring  the  mayor  that 
he  should  "  embrace  every  opportunity  to  show  his 
regard  for  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy." 

His  residence  was  what  was  called  the  "  old  John- 
ston house,"  which  stood  upon  the  bank  of  the  Rari- 
tan, about  half-way  between  Long  Ferry  and  Sandy 
Point.  He  continued  to  Exercise  the  chief  authority 
until  the  beginning  of  the  year  1760,  when  he  was 
transferred  by  the  royal  command  to  the  province  of 
Massachusetts  Bay. 

"  He  was  sober  and  temperate,  and  had  fine  talents 
for  conversation  if  the  subject  pleased  him.  He  had 
an  extensive  knowledge  of  book.s,  and  memory  so 
strong  as  to  be  able  to  refer  to  particular  passages 
with  greater  facility  than  most  men  of  erudition.  He 
would  sometimes  boast  that  he  could  repeat  the  whole 
of  the  plays  of  Shakspeare.  He  was  a  friend  of  lit- 
erature, and  interested  himself  greatly  in  favor  of 
Harvard  College  when  Harvard  Hall  with  the  library 
and  philosophic  apparatus  were  destroyed  by  fire, 
after  which  he  presented  to  it  a  considerable  part  of 
his  own  private  library.  The  building  which  now 
bears  the  name  of  Harvard  is  a  specimen  of  his  taste 
in  architecture.  He  was  a  believer  in  the  principles 
of  Christianity,  the  etiect  of  study  as  well  as  of  edu- 
cation, and  was  regular  in  his  attendance  upon  pub- 
lic worship,  attached  to  the  Church  of  England,  but 
no  bigot,  .  .  .  when  in  the  country  attending  service 
at  the  nearest  Congregational  Church. 

Thomas  Boone  was  the  next  Governor  to  sQcceed 
Governor  Bernard ;  he  received  his  appointment  Nov. 
27, 1769,  but  did  not  reach  Amboy  until  July  30,  1760, 
being  detained  in  New  York  waiting  for  his  commis- 
sion. The  Governor  was  escorted  on  his  way  through 
the  county  of  Essex  by  a  troop  of  horse  commanded 
by  Capt.  Terrill,  of  Elizabethtown,  and  through  the 
county  of  Middlesex  by  a  troop  under  the  command  of 
Capt.  Parker,  of  Woodbridge.  On  his  approach  to 
Amboy  he  was  met  by  the  mayor  and  officers  of  the 
corporation,  and  conducted  by  them  into  the  city. 
The  next  day  the  oath  of  office  was  administered,  and 
then  preceded  by  the  corporation  and  attended  by  His 
Majesty's  Council  he  walked  in  the  procession  to  the 
city  hall,  where  his  commission  was  published  with 
the  usual  formalities.  An  elegant  entertainment  was 
subsequently  spread  for  the  assembled  company,  at 
the  expense  of  the  Governor,  and  the  day  closed  with 
illuminations  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy  "  usual 
upon  such  occasions,"  says  the  record,  now  no  longer 
occurring  within  the  precincts  of  the  old  capital. 

He  was  soon  removed,  and  his  position  filled  by 
Josiah  Hardy,  a  man  of  few  words  and  prompt  action, 
but  his  administration,  too,  was  brief. 

Governor  Boone  was  present  on  the  arrival  and 
installation  of  his  successor,  and  did  not  sail  from 
New  York  till  Dec.  3,  1761,  and  arrived  and  entered 
upon  his  duties  in  South  Carolina  early  in  January, 
1762,  and  remained  there  a  little  over  two  years  (May, 


620 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1764),  when  he  left  for  England,  being  recalled  in  con- 
sequence of  differences  with  his  Assembly. 

Of  Governor  Hardy  very  little  is  known.  He  was 
appointed  the  14th  of  April,  17(51,  to  succeed  Gov- 
ernor Boone.  As  we  have  said,  he  was  a  man  of  few 
words,  and  as  a  specimen  the  following  is  given,  being 
his  answer  to  the  trustees  of  the  College  of  New 
Jersey,  who  presented  their  address  Sept.  29,  1762  : 

"  Gentlemen,— I  heartily  thank  you  for  your  address.  It  win  be  at 
all  times  a  particular  satisfaction  to  me  to  give  you  every  assistance  in 
my  power  in  promoting  the  prosperity  of  this  useful  seminary  of  learn- 
jp„_  JosiAH  Hardy." 

The  Governor  met  the  Assembly  on  the  30th  No- 
vember, 1761,  and  also  in  the  months  of  March,  April, 
and  September,  1762,  but  there  is  no  record  in  the 
public  documents  of  the  time  indicative  of  his  char- 
acter or  acquirements,  and  in  February,  1763,  he  was 
succeeded  by  William  Franklin,  the  last  of  the  colo- 
nial Governors.  He  was  a  son  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Franklin,  and  was  born  in  the  province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1731.  But  little  of  his  youth  is  known.  He 
early  showed  a  marked  predilection  for  books,  which 
his  father,  of  course,  encouraged.  He  received  the 
rank  of  captain  in  campaigns  on  the  northern  fron- 
tier before  he  was  of  age,  rising  from  a  subordinate 
station.  On  his  return  to  Philadelphia  young  Frank- 
lin seems  to  have  become  in  a  great  degree  the  com- 
panion and  assistant  of  his  father  in  his  various  scien- 
tific and  professional  pursuits,  and  subsequently 
himself  entered  into  ofKcial  life,  and  from  1754,  for 
two  years,  1756,  he  acted  as  comptroller  of  the  gen- 
eral post-office,  then  under  the  management  of  Dr. 
Franklin,  and  in  January,  1755,  then  holding  in  ad- 
dition the  clerkship  of  the  Provincial  Assembly,  he 
accompanied  the  troops  that  were  sent  under  the 
command  of  the  doctor  to  build  forts  on  the  frontiers 
of  Peniisylvania,  and  in  June,  1757,  his  father  having 
been  appointed  colonial  agent  at  London,  he  sailed 
with  him  for  Europe. 

William  Strahan,  his  father's  friend,  a  man  of 
talents  and  discrimination,  thus  alludes  to  him  in  a 
letter  written  shortly  after  his  arrival  in  England : 

"  Your  son,"— he  is  writing  to  Mrs.  Franklin,—"  I 
really  think  is  one  of  the  prettiest  young  gentlemen 
I  ever  knew  from  America.  He  seems  to  me  to  have 
a  solidity  of  judgment  not  very  often  to  be  met  with 
in  one  of  his  years.  This,  with  the  daily  opportunity 
he  has  of  improving  himself  in  the  company  of  his 
father,  who  is  at  the  same  time  his  friend,  his  brother, 
his  intimate  and  easy  companion,  affords  an  agreeable 
prospect  that  your  husband's  virtues  and  usefulness 
to  his  country  may  be  prolonged  beyond  the  date  of 
his  own  life."  ' 

Young  Franklin  commenced  the  study  of  law  in 
the  Middle  Temple,  and  was  called  to  the  bar  in  1758, 
after  which  he  traveled  with  his  father  through  Eng- 
land, Scotland,  Flanders,  and  Holland,  and  was  the 

>  Fisnklin't  Writings,  vol.  vii.  pp.  168, 170. 


means  of  profit  as  regards  mental  and  personal  attain- 
ments. Courted  as  was  the  society  of  his  father  by 
men  of  the  highest  literary  and  scientific  acquire- 
ments, he  could  not  but  imbibe  in  such  a  circle  a  taste 
for  similar  pursuits,  and  we  consequently  find  that 
when  the  University  of  Oxford,  in  1762,  conferred 
upon  the  father,  for  his  great  proficiency  in  the  natural 
science,  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  the 
son  was  thought  worthy  of  that  of  Master  of  Arts  for 
having  distinguished  himself  in  the  same  branches  of 
knowledge. 

In  the  year  1762  (August)  he  was  appointed, 
through  the  influence  of  Lord  Bute,  and  without  any 
solicitation  on  the  part  of  his  father.  Governor  of  New 
Jersey,  "previously  undergoing,  it  is  said,  a  close  ex- 
amination by  Lord  Halifax,  minister  of  American 
affairs,"^  deemed  advisable,  perhaps,  on  account  of 
his  colonial  birth  and  youth,  he  at  that  time  being 
only  thirty  years  of  age. 

The  following  account  of  his  marriage  is  interest- 
ing :  "About  the  time  of  his  appointment  Governor 
Franklin  married  a  Miss  Elizabeth  Downs,  of  whom 
recollections  are,  or  were  cherished  by  aged  persons 
who  knew  her,  as  an  exceedingly  amiable  woman, 
possessing  many  virtues  and  of  very  engaging  man- 
ners. With  her  he  arrived  in  the  Delaware  River  in 
February,  1763,  and,  after  some  detention  from  the 
ice,  reached  Philadelphia  on  the  lOth,  whence  he 
started  for  New  Jersey  on  the  23d.  He  slept  at  New 
Brunswick  on  the  24th,  and  arrived  at  Perth  Amboy 
the  following  day.' 

"  Almost  immediately  after  his  entrance  upon  his 
duties  in  New  Jersey  the  vexatious  measures  of  the 
British  ministry  began  to  excite  throughout  the  colo- 
nies that  abhorrence  which  eventually  led  to  their 
separation  from  the  mother-country,  and  Governor 
Franklin,  although  favorably  disposed  towards  the 
colonies  so  long  as  no  direct  opposition  to  the  au- 
thority of  Parliament  was  manifested,  advocated  and 
enforced  the  views  of  the  ministry  with  a  devotion 
and  energy  worthy  a  better  cause.  The  war-clouds 
were  gathering,  and  dissension  for  the  time  crept  into 
the  Council.  Hitherto  this  body  had  coincided  with 
the  views  of  the  Governor,  but  he,  in  the  fall  in  1775, 
felt  obliged  to  suspend  from  membership  in  it  Lord 
Stirling,  the  latter  having  accepted  a  military  com- 
mission under  the  Provincial  Congress.  From  this 
time  a  palpable  estrangement  dates  between  the  Gov- 
ernor and  the  Council,  and  so  rapidly  did  it  grow  that 
all  harmony  of  action  ceased,  and  the  former  was  left 
to  face  the  rising  storm  alone."  Writing  about  this 
period  to  the  Earl  of  Dartmouth,  Franklin  says, 
"  My  situation  is  not  a  little  difficult,  having  no 
more  than  one  or  two  among  the  principal  officers 
of  government  to  whom  I  even  now  speak  confiden- 
tially on  public  affairs."  The  dispatch  containing  this 
passage  was  intercepted  by  Lord  Stirling,  who  took 


ii  Public  CharacUnj  of  Great  Britain,  vol.  iv 


J  E.  J.  Hist.,  p.  188. 


CITY  OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


621 


measures  to  prevent  the  possible  escape  of  Governor 
Franklin,  although  nothing  goes  to  show  that  the 
latter  had  any  such  intention.  Not  long  after  this 
he  was  arrested  by  authority  of  the  Provincial  Con- 
gress, and  upon  refusing  to  give  his  parole  was  placed 
under  guard  and  taken  to  Burlington  and  sent  thence 
to  Connecticut,  where,  he  was  kept  a  prisoner  until 
regularly  exchanged.' 

By  this  time  the  city  had  become  an  important 
centre,  not  only  from  the  fact  that  it  was  the  seat  of 
government  and  the  residence  of  the  principal  royal 
officers,  but  on  account  of  its  commanding  military 
situation,  of  which  both  parties  were  fully  aware,  and 
in  the  month  of  December,  1775,  two  New  Jersey 
provincial  regiments  were  organized,  and  a  company 
under  Capt.  Conway  marched  down  from  New  Bruns- 
wick and  occupied  the  "  barracks,"  since  owned  by 
the  Andrews  family  (see  account  of  barracks).  The 
space  between  the  barracks  and  the  turnpike  was 
used  for  a  parade-ground,  and  was  inclosed  by  a  high 
board  fence,  and  shaded  until  1832  by  numerous  tall 
poplar-trees.  Capt.  Conway's  force  was  soon  strength- 
ened by  a  regiment  under  Capt.  Longstreet,  and  a 
company  under  Capt.  Howell,  and  all  found  quarters 
at  the  barracks.  Meanwhile  the  colonial  officers  con- 
tinued nominally  in  possession  of  their  respective 
posts,  and  several  months  passed  without  any  open 
act  of  hostility  or  breach  of  peace.  But  in  April  a 
detachment  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  Jersey  troops 
arrived  here  and  at  once  began  to  throw  up  earth- 
works. 

Encouraged  by  the  arrest  of  Governor  Franklin, 
and  the  desertion  of  Amboy  by  a  number  of  the  ad- 
herents of  the  royal  cause,  there  was  a  more  active 
display  of  organized  resistance  to  British  rule.  About 
the  end  of  June  the  appearance  of  Sir  William  Howe 
with  a  large  force  on  Staten  Island  decided  Gen. 
Washington  in  his  intention  to  form  a  camp  at 
Amboy,  and  Gen.  Hugh  Mercer  was  jiut  in  command. 
Troops  were  at  once  ordered  here,  and  several  armed 
whale-boats  and  ve-ssels  were  disposed  along  the  front 
of  the  town.  It  was  at  this  period  that  a  British  war 
brig  carrying  twelve  guns  came  up  and  anchored  west 
of  Billop's  Point.  During  the  night  the  Americans 
mounted  an  eighteen-pounder  behind  the  breastworks 
near  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  at  daylight  opened  such 
a  hot  fire  upon  the  brig  that  she  was  obliged  to  retire. 
Her  retreat  was  covered  by  the  guns  of  another 
English  vessel  which  lay  east  of  the  Point,  and  by  a 
shot  from  her  the  tombstone  at  the  grave  of  Capt. 
Bryant  was  broken  and  the  church  itself  hit. 

The  next  hostile  act  occurred  July  24th,  when  an 
American  battery  of  four  guns  fired  upon  two  sloops 
on  their  way  from  Staten  Island  to  Sandy  Hook. 
No  damage  seems  to  have  been  done  to  them,  but 
the  cannonade  provoked  a  rej)ly  from  the  British 
artillery  on  Billop's  Point "  which  lasted  for  an  hour." 

IT.  S.Kearnoy'8  Sketch. 


The  casualties  on  our  side  were  two:  a  man  confined 
in  an  upper  room  of  the  court-house,  and  a  horse 
which  was  killed  in  High  Street  near  the  town  pump. 
Single  shots  from  muskets  and  rifles  were  often  fired 
across  the  Sound,  and  now  and  then  either  from  pre- 
cision or  by  chance  one  would  be  effective.  During 
the  summer  a  want  of  proper  vessels  prevented  the 
Americans  from  undertaking  any  aggressive  opera- 
tions at  Amboy  on  a  large  scale,  but  after  the  failure 
of  the  famous  conference  in  the  Billop  House,  on 
Staten  Island,  between  Lord  Howe  and  the  committee 
from  Congress,  there  were  several  successful  raids  and 
sorties  upon  the  British  on  Staten  Island.  But  noth- 
ing of  much  moment  took  place,  and  in  November, 
1776,  when  Washington  began  his  retreat  through 
New  Jersey,  the  troops  at  Amboy  were  withdrawn 
and  joined  his  army. 

The  English  immediately  took  possession  of  the 
town,  which,  as  well  as  New  Brunswick,  they  retained 
until  July,  1777. 

"On  the  12th  of  April,  1779,  commissioners  ap- 
pointed by  Gen.  Washington  and  Sir  Henry  Clinton 
met  here  to  make  arrangements  for  the  exchange  of 
prisoners,  after  which  the  Revolutionary  history  of 
Perth  Amboy  presents  little  interest  and  nothing  of 
importance. "' 


CHAPTER    LXXXIX. 

CITY   OF   PERTH    AMBOY.— (Continued.) 

St.  Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.— About 

1695  several  of  the  East  Jersey  proprietors  applied  to 
Bishop  Compton,  of  London,  for  the  supply  of  a  minis- 
ter, and  in  compliance  with  their  request  the  Rev.  Ed- 
ward Perthuck  was  sent  out,  who  arrived  at  the  close  of 
1698.  Upon  his  arrival  at  Perth  Amboy  the  proprie- 
tors met  in  February  of  the  following  year,  and  a 
iouse  which  had  been  built  by  them  to  be  given  for 
a  church  having  been  fitted  up  by  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Perthuck  commenced  re- 
ligious services  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Church 
of  England. 

This  building  stood  near  the  ferry  over  the  Raritan, 
and  its  site  is  marked  on  an  early  map.  There  was  a 
stone  taken  down  and  inserted  in  the  rear  wall  of  the 
new  church  edifice  bearing  date  1685,'  and  this  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  date  of  the  foundation  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  Amboy.  It  is 
not  known  how  long  Mr.  Perthuck  remained,  but 
prior  to  the  incorporation  of  the  Society  for  the  Prop- 
agation of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  1701,  clergy- 
men occasionally  visited  the  place.  In  the  year  1702 
the  Rev.  George  Keith  was  sent  by  the  society  as  a 


'  Centenary  Speech,  in  A.  B.,  1876. 
»  William  A.  Whitehead  Acct. 


622 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


missionary  to  the  colonies,  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Talbot 
as  an  associate.  These  visits  awakened  an  interest  in 
the  erection  of  a  new  church,  but  it  was  deemed  ad- 
visable to  repair  the  old  one  for  temporary  use, 
and  six  pounds  were  appropriated  by  the  proprietors 
for  that  object.  In  1705  materials  were  collected 
and  the  new  church  edifice  commenced.  The  Rev. 
Mr.  Brook  is  mentioned  as  their  missionary  at  this 
time,  including  Elizabethtown.  He  was  zealous 
and  indefatigable  in  his  labors.  "Besides  preaching, 
he  used  to  catechise  and  expound  fourteen  times  a 
month,  which  obliged  him  to  be  on  horseback  almost 
every  day,  whicli  was  expensive  as  well  as  toilsome  to 
him."  His  example,  however,  awakened  a  spirit  of 
zeal  among  his  members.  In  the  autumn  of  1707, 
Mr.  Brook,  while  on  his  way  to  England,  was  lost  at 
sea. 

The  Rev.  Thorowgood  Moore,  a  truly  zealous  and 
sincere  clergyman  and  missionary  of  the  society,  ap- 
pears to  have  officiated  for  a  while  in  Amboy,  follow- 
ing Mr.  Brook,  but  on  account  of  his  plainness  in  the 
discharge  of  his  duties  he  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
some  of  the  nobility,  more  especially  of  Lord  Corn- 
bury,  and  was  taken  by  the  sheritt'  to  New  York.  But 
ho  fortunately  escaped  to  Boston,  and  from  there  to 
England  on  the  same  vessel  with  Rev.  Mr.  Brook. 

Rev.  Edward  Vaughan  succeeded  Mr.  Brook  in  1709. 
He  executed  the  duties  of  his  calling  with  the  utmost 
application  and  diligence,  rendering  himself  exceed- 
ingly acceptable  to  the  people.  He  gave  Amboy  as 
much  of  his  attention  as  was  possible,  having  Eliza- 
bethtown and  other  missions  to  visit  frequently.  In 
1711  the  inhabitants  of  Amboy  were  obliged  to  pro- 
cure a  separate  minister,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Halliday 
commenced  his  labors,  in  connection  with  Piscataway 
Town.  (See  Raritan  township.)  He  remained  until 
about  1714,  at  Amboy,  when  that  year  Rev.  Mr. 
Vaughan  for  the  second  time  came  to  Amboy,  and 
once  in  four  weeks  officiated  for  the  parish  here,  going 
to  Elizabethtown  and  Woodbridge  on  the  other  Sab- 
baths. This  arrangement  continued  with  but  little 
intermission  for  several  years.  On  the  30th  of  July, 
1718,  a  charter  was  granted  to  the  parish  of  St.  Peter's 
by  Governor  Robert  Hunter,  in  behalf  of  his  sover- 
eign, George  I.,  in  which  William  Eierand  John  Bar- 
clay were  appointed  wardens  ;  Thomas  Gordon,  John 
Rudyard,  Robert  King,  and  John  Stevens,  vestry- 
men. 

To  Mr.  Gordon,  George  Willocks,  and  John  Barclay 
the  church  is  indebted  for  the  ground  on  which  the 
present  edifice  stands  and  for  other  lands  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  this  city.  .  .  .  The  parsonage  and  grounds  were 
valued  at  £400  sterling.  In  June,  171'J,  John  Harri- 
son and  Mr.  Willocks  gave  twelve  acres  of  land  con- 
tiguous to  the  city  for  the  use  of  the  church  for- 
ever. 

In  1825  this  congregation  erected  a  tablet  in  this 
church  in  memory  of  their  liberal  benefactors.  It 
bears  the  following  inscription  : 


ty 


This  Tablet 

ia  deeigned  to  express  the  gratitude  of  the 

Cougregation  of  St,  Peter's  church  in  this 

to  the  benefactors  of  the  said  clmrcli 

whose  names  follow 

Geobge  Willocks 

who  died  1729— 

Maroabet  Willocks 

his  wife 

who  died  in  1722— 

TUOHAS   GOBDON 

who  died  April  28  1722 

and 

John  Harrison. 

They  loved  the  babitalion  of  God's  bouse  aud 

the  place  where  his  honour  dwelleth. 


Erected  . 


.  1825. 


This  congregation,  upon  receipt  of  their  charter, 
became  regularly  established.  The  erection  of  a  new 
church  soon  followed.  It  was  begun  in  1719,  and  dedi- 
cated by  the  name  of  "  St.  Peter's"  in  1722.  It  was 
an  oblong  building,  thirty  feet  broad,  forty-eight  feet 
in  length,  and  simple  in  architecture.  Save  in  the 
additions  made  to  the  number  who  were  buried  in  the 
graves  surrounding  the  church,  but  few  changes  had 
been  wrought  in  its  appearance  until  1852,  when  it 
was  removed  to  give  place  to  a  more  commodious 
modern  structure.  The  Rev.  William  Skinner  was 
appointed  missionary  to  the  parish,  and  in  the  autumn 
of  1722  commenced  his  labors.  He  was  received  by 
the  people  "  with  much  kindness  and  civility." 

In  the  year  1731  the  pews  were  all  placed  in  the 
church,  and  the  following  is  a  record  of  the  names  of 
pewholders,  the  numbers  allotted,  and  prices  affixed : 


Rector 

,  Philip  Kearney 

.  John  Parker 

.  William  Skinner 

.  Ursula  Parker  and  Eliza- 
beth Johustou 

.  Jolin  Jutiuston 

.  K.  S.  Hooper 

.  J.  Hamilton 

.  A.  Johnston 

F.  Ljell 

.  George  Leslie 

.  John  Ritchie 

.  J.  Webb 

.  Harmon  Stout 


6  17 
6  17 
6  12 


£  a. 

15.  This  seat  may  have  been 

reserved  for  the  poor. 

16.  Aarou  Faitont 5     7 

17.  Peter  Savery  and  Ueiiry 

Berry,  Jr 5    2 

18.  Jos.  Leig,  Richard  Bishop, 

and  Wm.  Davenport....  5    2 

10.  John  Sharp o    2 

2U.  Thomas  Frost,  and  Elea- 
nor Willianm 5  12 

21.  Richard  Hughes .5  12 

22.  Andrew  Hay 6    7 

2;!.  Gabriel  Slelle 6    7 

24.  Michael  Kearnev 6    7 


When  Mr.  Skinner  entered  ujjon  his  duties  there 
were  only  twenty  communicants  reported.  There 
were  in  1724  about  seventy  families  belonging  to  the 
congregation.  He  ordinarily  had  one  hundred  and 
fifty  auditors  in  summer,  and  about  .seventy  in  winter. 
His  cu.stom  was  to  preach  in  the  morning  and  cate- 
chise the  children  in  the  afternoon.  In  1747,  in 
consequence  of  Governor  Morris  having  fixed  his 
residence  at  Trenton,  .-Vmboy  lost  many  of  its  popu- 
lation. The  prevalence  of  the  smallpox  proving  fatal 
to  many  in  the  winter  of  1746—47,  the  congregation, 
which  had  increased  under  the  labors  of  Mr.  Skinner, 
fell  ofl' materially,  and  in  1758  they  were  deprived  by 
death  of  the  labors  of  their  faithful  pastor. 

In  the  year  1759  there  was  appointed  as  missionary 
to  Amboy  the  Rev.  Philip  Hughes,  but  he  must  have 
declined,  as  no  other  mention  is  made  but  that  Rev. 


CITY  OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


623 


Mr.  Palmer  entered   the   station   and   continued   to  j 
officiate  as  missionary  until  1762,  when  the  name  of 
Rev.  Robert  McKean  comes  in  February,  1763,  and 
reports  in  a  few  months  after  some  fifty  families  that 
belonged  to  this  parish,  and  communicants  thirty-  | 
four.     In  the  year  1764  a  committee  were  authorized  | 
"  to  carry  on  the  outside  walls  of  the  church  as  far  as  the 
end  of  the  steeple,  and  inclose  it,  and  to  build  a  plain 
spire  on  top  of  the  steeple,  and  do  any  other  matter  the 
vestry  shall  think  necessary  towards  completing  the 
same."     Rev.  Mr.  McKean  died  Oct.  17, 17G7,  leaving  , 
an  excellent  record  of  a  gospel  minister  and  Chris- 
tian gentleman  ;  he  was  also  a  practitioner  of  physic,  > 
etc.     The  following  epitaph  from  his  tombstone: 

"  lu  Memory  of  I 

The  Rer.  Robert  McKean,  SI.A., 

Practitioner  of  Physic,  etc., 

And  Missionary  from  tlie  Society  for  the 

Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 

Foreign  parts  to  the 

City  of  Perth  Amboy, 

who  was  Born 

July  IS",  1732,  N.  S., 

and  died  October  IT",  1767. 

An  uuBbaken  friend, 

An  agreeable  companion, 

A  rational  divine, 

A  skilful  Physician, 

And  in  every  relation  of  life 

a  truly  benevolent  and 

Fraternal  love  hath  erected 
This  monument," 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Preston,  chaplain  to  the  Twentj'-sixth 
Regiment,  then  quartered  at  Amboy,  was  requested  to 
ofiiciate,  the  necessary  funds  for  his  remuneration  to 
be  raised  by  subscription.  He  accepted  the  offer,  but 
refused  all  compensation  save  the  occupancy  of  the 
parsonage.  Mr.  Preston  remained  at  Amboy  until 
1774,  acting  as  the  chaplain,  and  also  as  missionary 
to  this  church  when  the  "  tide  of  war"  caused  his  re- 
moval. He  was  a  Scotchman,  tall  of  stature,  and 
with  an  athletic  frame  surmounted  by  a  bushy  wig ; 
he  was  a  bachelor,  and  had  accumulated  consider- 
able property,  which  he  lost  by  the  failure  of  his 
banker,  which  caused  his  death,  bringing  him  to  the 
grave  old  and  broken-hearted. 

In  the  year  1768,  as  there  had  been  numerous  ap- 
plications for  pews  which  could  not  be  supplied,  ar- 
rangements were  made  to  put  up  a  gallery  on  the 
south  side  of  the  church,  which  was  accordingly 
done. 

From  1774  to  1782  there  are  no  records  of  the  ves- 
try's proceedings,  and  it  is  believed  that  the  church 
held  no  regular  services.  The  edifice  became  a  place 
for  stabling  the  army  horses,  the  pews  having  been 
removed ;  and  the  graves  and  monuments  were  ex- 
posed to  injury  by  the  destruction  of  the  fences. 
Against  the  headstones  fires  were  lighted  by  the  sol- 
diers to  prepare  their  food,  and  the  tombstones  they 
occupied  as  tables  for  the  meals  which  they  thus  pre- 
pared.   The  church,  however,  escaped  the  fiery  ordeal, 


being  built  of  durable  materials,  while  many  frame 
buildings  were  destroyed.  In  this  connection  the 
following  letter  from  Rev.  Mr.  Preston  is  interesting : 

"  Peeth  Ambov,  N.  J.,  Jan'y  2,  1777. 
"Reverend  Sir, — My  correspondence  with  the  society  has  been  inter- 
rupted for  some  considerable  time,  owing  to  this  place  having  been  made 
a  garrison  town  of  the  rebels,  and  their  endeavoring  to  intercept  all 
letters  that  were  writ  from  hence,  which  was  attended  with  bad  cense- 
quences  to  the  writers  of  them.  Whilst  they  were  here  they  never  inter- 
rupted me  in  the  discharge  of  my  duty  ;  they  threatened  indeed  to  com- 
pell  me  to  observe  the  Fast  Day  that  was  appointed  by  Congress  in  May 
last,  which  I  not  choosing  to  do,  left  town  for  two  days,  and  on  my  re- 
turn had  service  in  church  as  usual  without  any  molestation,  which  I 
continued  till  the  end  of  June,  when  Independence  was  declared.  After 
that  it  would  not  have  been  prudent  in  me,  nor  indeed  would  they  have 
— have  suffered  me  to  officiate,  unless  I  would  have  confoimed  to  the 
alterations  which  they  made  in  the  Liturgy.  Upon  the  King's  Troops 
taken  possession  of  Staten  Island,  which  is  separated  from  this  place  by 
a  narrow  channel,  they  crowded  in  6000  or  7U0U  men  into  this  little  town, 
filled  all  the  houses  w  itb  soldiers,  and  took  the  church  and  made  a  Barrack 
of  it;  they  at  last  gave  out  an  order  that  any  person  that  had  any  connec- 
tions or  acquaintances  upon  Staten  Island  should  quit  the  place.  Upon 
this  the  greater  number  of  the  inhabitants  were  obliged  to  leave  town.  T 
retired  40  miles  back  into  the  country,  where  I  remained  till  one  of  the 
King's  Regiments  passed  along,  which  had  lieen  made  prisoners  and  were 
going  to  be  exchanged,  and  I  joined  them  and  got  to  this  town  the  20th 
of  December.  I  had  service  in  the  church  the  Sunday  before  Christmas, 
and  had  that  day  2U  communicants.  Few  of  the  inhabitants  have  as  yet 
been  able  to  return  here,  the  Roads  are  all  beset  by  the  Rebels  and  their 
houses  are  now  filled  with  the  King's  Troops.  I  found  the  Parsonage 
House  so  demolished  that  it  was  not  habitable;  the  windows  broke  to 
pieces,  the  partitions  torn  down,  the  outhouses  and  fences  all  burnt  and 
destroyed.  £3U0  will  not  repair  the  damage,  and  how  that  is  to  be  done 
I  know  not,  for  everybody  here  have  been  such  suflerers  that  it  cannot 
be  expected  that  they  should  contribute  much  towards  it.  Many  of  them 
will  find  it  a  hard  matter  to  repair  their  own  losses.  My  own  private 
losses  I  do  not  bring  into  the  account,  tho'  I  have  been  a  considerable 
sufferer;  part  of  my  Household  Furniture  is  gone  and  some  of  my  books, 
amongst  which  was  the  register  of  Baptisms,  Ac,  so  that  I  can  make  no 
return  to  the  Society  of  the  occasional  duties  for  these  two  year  last  Past. 
"  I  am,  Reverend  Sir,  yours, 

"John  Preston." 

During  the  years  1782,  1783,  and  1784  the  Rev. 
Abraham  Beach  occasionally  officiated  in  the  parish, 
being  appointed  temporary  missionary  by  the  Society 
for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  at  the  request  of 
the  vestry.  The  war  was  over  and  all  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical connection  with  Great  Britain  severed.     At 

i  the  end  of  the  year  1784  an  invitation  was  extended 
to  the  Rev.  John  Hamilton  Rowland,  who  was  at 
that  time  settled  as  rector  of  St.  Andrew's  Church, 
Staten  Island.  He  officiated  for  the  congregation  at 
stated  periods  for  two  or  three  years,  and  then   re- 

I  moved  to  Nova  Scotia. 

I  The  following  March  (1785)  resolutions  in  relation 
to  the  complete  reparation  of  the  church,  commen- 

I  cing  with  the  windows  and  floors,  Avere  adopted.     On 

'  the  16th  of  April  the  vestry  petitioned  the  board  of 
proprietors  for  aid,  and  received  from  them  a  grant 
of  one  hundred  acres  of  land,  which  was  sold  and 
the  proceeds  made  available,  forming  with  monies 
(£150)  secured  by  private  subscriptions  enough  to 
warrant  the  completion  of  the  interior.  These  im- 
provements were  finished  in  October,  and  some 
twenty-six  out  of  thirty-two  pews  were  sold.  Rev. 
Mr.  Rowland's  labors  in  Amboy  ceased  about  August, 

1  1786,  as  in  the  same  month  a  candidate  for  orders. 


624 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Mr.  Joseph  I.  Bend,  who  also  was  teaching  school  iu 
the  town,  was  engaged  by  the  congregation  as  lay- 
reader. 

Rev.  George  Hartwell  Spicren  was  the  next  rector. 
He  was  called  in  June,  1788,  and  ordained  at  St. 
Peter's,  on  the  18th  of  July,  by  Hight  Rev.  Dr. 
Provost,  Bishoji  of  New  York.  This  was  the  first 
ordination  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
East  Jersey.  During  his  ministry  (1788)  measures 
were  taken  to  procure  a  bell.  The  following  one  was 
presented  to  the  parish  by  Capt.  Philip  Lytheby, 
a  Scotchman  from  Bahama  Islands.  The  captain 
caused  the  following  quaint  inscription  to  be  cast 
around  the  bell : 

"  III  Perth  Amho)j  my  Sound  Enjoy,  1789." 

Rev.  Henry  Van  Dyke,  the  next  rector  at  Amboy 
and  New  Brunswick,  arrived  with  his  family  April 
19,  1791.  After  serving  the  parish  usefully  for  .some 
months  he  (in  July,  1793)  removed  to  Burlington, 
N.  J.  The  church  now  extended  a  unanimous  call 
to  the  Rev.  Richard  C.  Moore,  of  Staten  Island,  who 
became  rector  on  the  25th  of  November,  1793,  and  for 
several  years  performed  his  duties  in  the  parish.  He 
became  Bishop  of  Virginia. 

The  following  have  been  connected  with  this  parish : 
Rev.  Jasper  D.  Jones,  1804-9  ;  Rev.  James  Chapman, 
1809-44 ;  Rev.  Hamble  T.  Leacock,  1845-48  ;  Rev. 
H.  E.  E.  Pratt,  1849-54 ;  Rev.  Alexander  Jones, 
D.D.,  1855-71 ;  Rev.  Alexander  R.  Walker,  1871-77  ; 
Rev.  James  O.  Drumm,  1877-78  ;  Rev.  E.  P.  Miller, 
1879  to  the  present  time. 

The  present  number  of  communicants  is  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  ;  church  sittings,  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty.  The  present  church  edifice  was  first  used 
for  public  worship  June  19,  1853. 

The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the  officers  of 
the  congregation  to  the  present  time,  with  the  years 
of  their  election  : 

WARDENS. 

Williiim  Eier,  1718.  j    Pliilip  Kearney,  1742-74. 

Kol.eit  King,  1719.  3u\m  Deare,  174:i-f)2. 

■William  Bnniet,  "Governor,"  1721.  [    rrancis  Biazier,  1744-45. 


John  Dudswortli,  1745. 
Gerard  SajlB,  1749. 
John  Snijtli,  1749-02. 
George  Leslie,  1750-52. 


Jolin  Barclay,  1718-22. 

John  Rudyard,  1720. 

Jolin  Stevens,  1722-25,  1730-31, 

George  Leslie,  1732-29. 

Michael   Kearney,   1723-26,  1730-  |    JoLu  Barberrie,  1753-62. 

33.  I    John  Johuslou,  1753-74. 

Andrew  Johnston,  1726-29,  1742, 

1762. 
Heron  Putland,  1726-28. 
John  Parker,  1727-32. 
Fenwick  Lyell,  1727-29,  17.17-41.     j 
Andrew  Hay.  1729-39.  ' 

John  Hamilton,  1730-36, 1742-45. 
John  Barclay,  1730-32.  j 


Lawrence  Smytli,  1734-.55.  , 

■William  Cosby,  "Governor,"  1734.  1 

Robert  L.  Hooper,  1734-38.  I 

John  Webb,  1735-40.  i 

Gabriel  Stelle,  1737-38. 

Lewis  .lohnsoii,  1739-41, 1703-73.     ] 

Adam  Hay,  1730. 

Samuel  Neville,  1741.  | 


Cortlanilt  Skinner,  1755-74. 
Samuel  Sargent,  1767-02,  1772. 
Stephen  Skinner,  1763-71. 
James  Parker,  1763,  1774,  1785-96. 
Alexander  Watson,  1703-74. 
Jonathan  Deare,  1770-74. 
Eevaud  Kearney,  1770-74, 1782-83, 

1780,  1791-03,  1797,  1800-1. 
Elijah  Dunham,  1770-74. 
Frederick  Smyth,  1774. 
John  Buttoone,  1782-80. 
Thomas  Lyell,  1782-84. 
Jolm  Halsted,  1782-84,  1709. 
Elias  Marsh,  1782-86,  1796,  1798. 
Stephen  Deare,  1782-83. 
John  Griggs,  1784-86. 


Poole  England,  1784-86, 1788-90. 
Norris  Thorp,  1785. 
Samuel  Farmer,  1785-80. 
Thomas  Farmer,  1786-88. 
Matthias  Halstead,  1785-86, 1788- 

94,  1797. 
Richard  Stevens,  1780-88. 
John  L   Johnston,  1780-87. 
Andrew  Bell,  1787,  1789, 1808. 
Michael  Keainy,  1790. 
John  Johnston,  1791-93,  1795-90. 
JoBe])h  Taylor,  1794-1801. 
Joseph  Marsh,  1794-87, 1810. 
Robert  Palmer,  1798. 
James  Parker,  1799, 1837,  1843. 
James  H.  Kearney,  1809-11. 
Abraham  Webb,  1809-36. 
Philip  Ten  Eyck,  1809.  1 

David  Thorp,  1810-29. 
B.  H.  Tomlinson,  1811.  I 

C.A.Forbes,  1812,  1810-17.  j 

Abraham  Thompson,  1812-19. 
George  Buchanan,  1813-21. 
William  Hamilton,  1814-15,  1830-  I 

31. 
Robert  Arnold,  1810-17, 1822-29. 
Jeremiah  Martin,  1818-30. 
Richard  Gliggs,  1818-19. 
Archer  Gifford,  1820-21. 
Aimer  Woodruff,  182-2-25,  18'28-37. 
F.  W.  Brinley,  1822-23.  • 

William  Whitehead,  1824-34.  ^ 


Thomas  G.  Marsh,  1826-51. 

Lewis  Gelding.  1827-64. 

Robert  A.  Thorp,  1830-35. 

Samuel  Angus,  1830. 

Benoui  MandeviUe,  1834-37. 

Charles  C.  Lawrence,  1836-37. 

Jedediah  Paine,  1837. 

John  Parker,  1723-26. 

Robert  S.  Hooper,  1826. 

John  Hauiiltou,  1727-29, 1737-41. 

Michael  Kearney,  1727-29. 

Andrew  Johnston,  1730-41. 

Fennell  Lyell,  1730-36. 

Lewis  Johnston,  1742-62. 

Samuel  Ncvill,  1742-62. 

Samuel  Sargent,  1703-71. 

John  Smyth,  1703-74. 

Stephen  Skinner,  1772-74. 

Nori  is  Thorpe,  1782-84. 

John  Johnson,  1782-89. 

John  Halsled,  1785-96,  1800-1. 

John  Rattooue,  1790-1801,1809-10. 

James  Parker,  1797. 

Revaud  Kearucy,  1798-99. 

Andrew  Bell,  1S09-42. 

Joseph  Marsh,  1811-41. 

Abner  Woodruff,  1841. 

John  R.  Watson,  1842-55. 

Edward  Brinley,  1843-51. 

James  Parker,  1852-65. 

C.  L.  Parker. 

F.  W.  Gordon. 


VESTRYMEN 
Charls 


Willia 


McK.  Smith,  1843-66. 

ce  Kearney,  1861-55. 

ce  Boggs,  1852-55. 

I  King,  1852-56. 
Joseph  D.  Forbes,  186-2-55. 
Eber  H.  Hall,  1855. 
S.  V.  B.  Patterson,  1856. 
James  T.  Watson,  1876. 
F.  W.  Gordon,  1881. 
E.  H.  Willford,  1882. 
J.  L.  Kearney,  1882. 
De  Witt  Watrous,  1882. 
William  Ding,  Jr.,  1882. 
Aime  B.  Marsh,  1882. 


Thomas  Gordon,  1718-22. 
John  Barclay,  1730-32. 
John  Rudyard,  1718-19,  1721. 
Robert  King,  1718,  1720-36,  1744- 

46. 
John  Stevens,  1718,  1726-30, 1749- 

52. 
William  Nicholls,  1719-21. 
Alexander  FarquerBon,  1719-20. 
John  Sharp,  1720. 
John  Johnston,  1722-28. 
James  A.  Nicholls,  1838-50. 
John  Arnold,  lt-38-65. 
John  R.  Watson,  1839-41. 
Charles  Hamiltou,  1842. 

Rev.  James  Chapman,  the  senior  presbyter  of 
the  Episcopal  Church  in  the  diocese  of  New  Jersey,  and 
for  thirty-five  years  rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Perth 
Amboy,  N.  J.,  died  at  his  residence  in  that  town  on 
the  6th  day  of  April,  1857,  in  the  seventy-second  year 
of  his  age,  and  the  fiftieth  year  of  his  ministry. 

He  was  the  eldest  son  of  James  Chapman,  a  native 
of  Peterboro',  E^igland,  who  early  in  life  came  to  this 
country,  and  settled  at  Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  where  the 
subject  of  this  sketch  was  born  on  May  15,  1785.  His 
father  was  an  active  patriot  during  the  Revolution,  and 
one  of  those  who  suffered  incarceration  in  the  famous 
sugar-house  in  Liberty  Street,  New  York.  His  mother 
was  Mary  Ogden,  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  early 
settlers  of  New  Jersey.  His  parents  were  of  noted 
integrity  and  piety,  and  therein  was  laid  that  strict 
integrity  of  character  which  marked  the  whole  life  of 
their  son.  His  father,  though  originally  an  Episco- 
palian, had,  during  the  awakening  that  attended  the 
preaching  of  Whitefield,  joined  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  so  the  son,  when   about  to   enter  the 


CITY   OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


625 


Christian  ministry,  was  naturally  inclined  to  the  order 
of  that  church.  With  this  view,  after  an  academic 
course  under  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Barry,  to  whom  so 
many  of  the  bishops  and  elder  clergy  of  the  church 
have  been  indebted  for  their  early  classical  training, 
he  was  sent  to  Princeton  College  and  Theological 
Seminary.  After  graduating  at  the  college,  and  while 
pursuing  his  theological  studies,  his  mind  becoming 
impressed  with  the  superior  claims  of  the  order  and 
ministry  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  after  careful  con- 
sideration, he  applied  and  was  admitted  as  a  candi- 
date for  holy  orders  by  the  standing  committee  of  the 
diocese  of  New  Jersey  in  1806.  Forming  an  intimate 
acquaintance  with  the  late  Bishop  Hobart,  he  enjoyed 
the  privilege  of  pursuing  his  theological  studies  under 
the  guidance  of  that  learned  and  able  divine,  and  laid 
the  foundation  not  only  of  sound  church  principles, 
but  also  of  a  warm  friendship  with  that  distinguished 
prelate  which  lasted  through  life.  He  also  had  the 
friendship  and  counsel  of  the  venerable  bishop  Ben- 
jamin Moore,  by  whom  he  was  ordained  deacon  in  St. 
Paul's  Chapel,  New  York,  on  May  31,  1807,  and  was 
immediately  afterwards  employed  as  an  assistant  min- 
ister in  Trinity  Church,  New  York.  This  was  an  in- 
teresting period  of  his  ministry,  as  appears  by  the  jour- 
nal he  regularly  kept  during  his  whole  ministerial  life. 
His  duties  were  constant  and  various.  He  here  formed 
many  valuable  friendships,  one  of  the  latest  fruits 
of  which  was  a  beautiful  epistle  received  by  him, 
shortly  before  his  death,  from  one  who  was  baptized 
by  him,  and  the  first  child  baptized  in  the  then  new 
St.  John's  Chapel,  New  York. 

While  in  New  York  he  received  calls  at  about  the 
same  time  from  Trinity  Church,  New  Haven,  from 
Alexandria,  Va.,  and  from  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J.,  all 
earnest  and  urgent.  By  the  advice  of  his  friend, 
Bishop  Hobart,  concurring  with  his  own  love  for  his 
native  State  and  for  rural  life,  and  more  especially 
regarding  the  depressed  condition  of  the  church  there, 
and  her  great  need  of  the  aid  of  all  her  sons,  he  chose 
the  last,  though  least,  being,  in  the  language  of 
Bishop  Doane  to  his  convention,  "  a  Jerseyman  all 
through."  He  entered  upon  his  duties  in  this  parish 
on  Sept.  9, 1809,  was  ordained  prie.st  by  Bishop  Moore, 
in  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  Sept.  7,  1810,  and  in- 
stituted rector  Aug.  8,  1811.  At  this  time  the  Dio- 
cese of  New  Jersey  had  no  bishop,  and  scarcely  an 
existence.  He  entered  at  once  with  zeal  upon  his 
chosen  work.  His  own  immediate  parish  he  found  in 
a  very  low  state,  small  in  numbers,  and  involved  in 
debt.  This  debt  was  paid  off,  the  numlier  of  pew- 
holders  and  communicants  soon  increa.sed  two-fold, 
the  church  repaired  and  beautified,  a  new  parson- 
age house  built,  and  the  churchyard  and  parsonage 
grounds  improved  and  ornamented,  and  the  affairs  of 
the  parish  brought  into  a  prosperous  condition.  In 
diocesan  affairs  he  held  a  prominent  place,  and  was 
for  a  long  series  of  years  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  dio- 
cese ;  was  for  twenty  years  a  member  of  the  standing 


committee,  frequently  a  delegate  to  the  General  Coun- 
cil of  the  church,  and  held  other  important  offices 
and  trusts  for  many  years;  promoted  the  election  of 
Bishop  Croes,  and  was  his  warm  friend  and  co-oper- 
ator through  the  whole  of  his  episcopate. 

In  1819  he  married  Mary  Marsh,  eldest  daughter  of 
the  late  Joseph  Marsh,  and  had  four  children,  viz. : 
James  M.,  lawyer;  Mary  R.,  died  Sept.  8,  1845,  aged 
twenty  years;  Joseph  E.,  retired  merchant;  and 
Thomas  S.,  died  July  13,  1841,  aged  ten  years.  He 
continued  in  the  rectorship  of  St.  Peter's  Church  for 
the  third  of  a  century,  devoted  to  his  parish,  his 
books,  his  garden,  friends,  and  family  circle, — the 
dear  object  of  his  affections.  In  the  retirement  of  a 
country  parish  he  escaped  to  a  great  extent  the  vicis- 
situdes and  trials  of  more  exposed  positions  in  life; 
indeed,  the  great  trial  of  his  life  was  the  relinquish- 
ment of  the  parish  to  which  he  had  given  his  labors, 
his  prayers,  and  the  best  years  of  his  life, — a  result 
produced  through  the  unfounded  animosity  of  some 
who  for  private  ends  counteracted  his  usefulness, 
making  his  position  painful  and  embarrassing,  and 
finally  compelling  him,  for  the  sake  of  peace,  to  re- 
sign his  charge,  which  he  did  in  September,  1842, 
afterwards  residing  on  an  adjoining  property  belong- 
ing to  him,  where  he  spent  in  comparative  retire- 
ment, though  in  active  usefulness,  his  remaining 
years.  From  this  time  till  shortly  before  his  death 
he  served  gratuitously  the  ancient  parish  of  Trinity 
Church,  Woodbridge,  and  performed  many  ministe- 
rial offices  among  his  neighbors,  by  whom  he  was 
much  esteemed. 

In  the  early  part  of  1856  his  usual  robust  health 
began  to  decline,  and  disease  at  length  broke  down 
his  vigorous  frame.  He  bore  up  under  his  protracted 
sufferings  with  fortitude  to  the  last,  and  fell  emphati- 
cally with  his  armor  on,  a  faithful  soldier  of  the 
cross, — in  youth,  in  manhood,  and  in  age.  The  de- 
ceased was  noted  through  life  for  a  beautiful  sim- 
plicity of  character,  the  strictest  integrity,  a  steady, 
manly  maintenance  of  the  truth,  a  straightforward, 
earnest,  untiring  devotion  to  duty.  No  fear,  no  dan- 
ger could  deter  him  from  the  path  of  duty  or  keep 
him  from  the  bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying. 

He  was  a  man  of  varied  and  extensive  acquire- 
ments ;  was  acquainted  with  the  Hebrew,  Greek, 
Latin,  and  French  languages.  It  was  his  daily  prac- 
tice to  read  in  a  regular  course,  and  he  thereby  ac- 
quired a  great  fund  of  information.  Like  his  brother, 
the  late  Thomas  Chapman,  of  Camden,  N.  J.  (one  of 
whose  collections  forms  part  of  the  library  ofMid- 
dletown  University),  he  was  from  youth  a  great  lover 
of  books,  and  had  collected  one  of  the  best  theologi- 
cal libraries  in  the  State,  also  containing  a  large  col- 
lection of  pamphlets  and  historical  records  running 
through  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  This 
collection  will  not  be  dispersed,  but  is  kept  together 
by  his  sons.  He  was  also  a  great  lover  and  obser- 
ver of  nature.      For  many  years  he  kept  a  regular 


626 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


meteorological  record  and  memoranda  of  natural 
phenomena  with  great  care  and  accuracy.  He  exem- 
plified in  his  life  the  best  ideas  of  the  ancient  philos- 
ophers, adorned  and  perfected  by  the  graces  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  his  place  in  the  circle  in  which  he  moved 
will  not  soon  be  filled. 

Presbyterian  Church. — There  is  little  that  can  be 
learned  respecting  the  early  history  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  Perth  Amboy.  The  following  record 
of  a  meeting  held  by  the  East  Jersey  Proprietors 
July  22,  1731,  will  throw  some  light  upon  the  sub- 
ject: 

"'The  humble  petition  of  some  of  the  iDhabitants  uf  the  city  of  Perth 
Amboy  liumbly  petitioneth — 

"'  To  the  Hon.  Council  of  Proprietors  now  sitting  in  Perth  Amboy  : 
Whereas  several  of  yonr  petitioners  have  in  the  old  Burial-place  so  called 
onr  parents,  wives,  and  children  interred,  we  your  petitioners  humbly 
beg  that  your  honorable  house  would  take  it  into  consideration  and  grant 
us  a  right  of  that  piece  of  ground,  that  we  may  have  a  right  to  erect  a 
meeting-house  for  the  woi-ship  of  God,  and  likewise  for  a  Burial-place; 
and  that  it  may  be  your  Honorable  Couucirs  order  that  the  said  piece  of 
ground  may  be  dedicated  to  the  said  use  and  no  other,  and  your  Ijumble 
petitionei*8  will  for  ever  pray- 

"'John  Matthie,  John  Gaschrie,  William  Thompson,  Thomas  Inglis, 
Thomas  Loggans,  John  Leigh,  John  Moore,  John  Herriott,  John  Thomp- 
son, Samuel  Moores,  Alexander  Carnes.' 

"  Which  petition  being  taken  into  consideration  by  this  Board,  they 
are  of  opinion  that  the  said  piece  of  Land  do  remain  as  formerly  in- 
tended for  a  public  Burial-place  for  the  inhabitants  of  this  city.  But 
that  the  petitioners  have  liberty  to  erect  and  Imild  a  meeting-house  on 
the  southeast  corner  of  the  same,  and  this  Board  do  hereby  lease  as  far 
a^  in  them  lies,  unto  the  said  Petitioners,  so  much  of  the  said  piece  of 
land  in  the  said  southeast  corner  as  shall  be  necessary  for  that  purpose, 
not  exceeding  one  chain  square,  for  the  term  of  one  thousand  years." 

This  was  situated  on  State  Street,  formerly  Back 
Street,  and  from  long  occupancy  is  now  called  the 
"Presbyterian  Bu rial-Ground,"  although  set  apart 
on  the  settlement  of  the  town  as  a  public  cemetery, 
and  no  special  or  exclusive  right  having  ever  been 
granted  to  that  congregation  other  than  appears  in 
the  foregoing  proceedings  of  the  board  of  proprietors. 

Between  the  years. 1731  and  1735  the  privilege  ac- 
corded by  the  proprietors  was  secured  by  the  erection 
of  a  small  building,  which  was  for  a  long  time  occu- 
pied by  this  denomination  as  their  house  of  worship. 
We  find  no  record  of  who  was  the  first  clergyman, 
and  the  information  that  can  be  gathered  at  this  late 
day  of  a  settled  minister  is  very  limited.  The  edifice 
was  demolished  during  the  Revolution.  The  follow- 
ing is  found  "  on  the  Synod  Records  Sept.  17,  1724,  a 
supplication  from  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Perth 
Amboy,  desiring  sermon  sometimes,  being  referred 
to  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia  (which  then  in- 
cluded both  East  and  West  Jersey),  was  approved  by 
the  Synod,  and  Mr.  Anderson  was  appointed  to  write 
a  letter  to  tlieni.  .  .  . 

"  June  29, 1735,  Gilbert  Tennant  preached  at  Amboy 
on  the  '  Necessity  of  Religious  Violence  to  Durable 
Happiness,'  which  was  afterwards  published." 

It  is  supposed  from  various  data  that  the  Rev.  John 
Cross,  of  Baskenridge,  served  Perth  Amboy  and  Staten 
Island,  then  constituting  one  congregation.  Aug.  2, 
1742,  a  call  was  presented  to  Rev.  Charles  McKnight 


from  Staten  Island,  and  it  is  supposed  also  from  the 
Perth  Amboj'  church. 

From  the  year  1761  the  South  Ward  of  South 
Amboy  appears  as  supplicants  for  sermons ;  and  as 
Rev.  Elihu  Spencer  supplied  that  place,  he  probably 
also  preached  in  this  city,  as  they  held  "  weekly 
meeting." 

In  1764  the  building  appears  to  have  needed  re- 
pairs. The  attempt  to  improve  it  at  that  time  was 
delayed  and  finally  frustrated  by  the  war  of  the  Rev- 
olution, during  which  the  meetings  were  for  some 
time  held  in  the  old  courthouse,  and  occasionally  in 
private  residences. 

Capt.  John  Angus,  who  had  been  a  resident  of 
Perth  Amboy  for  a  few  years,  in  1801  commenced  a 
course  of  persevering  efforts  towards  a  new  church, 
and  in  1802  the  foundation  was  laid.  The  committee 
was  appointed,  consisting  of  Capt.  Angus,  Mr.  David 
Wait,  and  Capt.  and  James  Harriot,  and  to  the 
energy  and  perseverance  of  Capt.  Angus  is  the  con- 
gregation of  the  present  day  indebted  for  the  neat 
edifice  it  yet  occupies. 

Rev.  Elias  Riggs,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  became  the  regular  pastor  on  the  7th  of 
March,  1802,  and  on  the  2d  day  of  August,  1803,  he 
was  ordained  in  the  new  meeting-house.  He  re- 
mained for  four  years.  In  1807,  Rev.  Mr.  Keys  was 
settled  as  pastor,  but  remained  only  a  few  months. 
The  following  have  been  pastors  of  the  church:  Rev. 
Peter  Stryker,  1809,  until  September,  1810.  For  four 
years  or  more  after  he  left,  the  congregation  was  de- 
pendent upon  occasional  supplies.  Dec.  17,  1814,  the 
Rev.  Joshua  Young  became  pastor,  but  remained  for 
a  very  short  time.  The  following  named  were  the 
first  communicants :  Capt.  John  Angus,  Margaretta 
Angus,  Margaret  Clark,  Elizabeth  Coddington,  Phebe 
Harriot,  Rachel  Friend,  and  John  Lewis  (7). 

About  June  6,  1816,  the  Rev.  Josiah  B.  Andrews 
began  his  ministerial  labors  here,  and  remained 
nearly  eight  years.  After  his  removal  the  congrega- 
tion was  without  a  regular  pastor  until  1828,  when 
Mr.  Nicholas  A.  Wilson  accepted  a  call.  It  is  said 
he  was  a  most  excellent  and  devoted  man,  and  "  much 
people  were  added  to  the  church."  He  removed  to 
Philadelphia  in  1831,  where  he  soon  died,  greatly 
lamented. 

Rev.  Peter  H.  Shaw  came  in  1831.  He  continued 
about  eighteen  months,  and  was  followed  by  the  Rev. 
David  R.  CJillmer,  who  after  a  brief  term  left  and 
entered  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  after  a  few  years 
returned  to  the  Presbyterian  Church,  and  was  settled 
in  Pennsylvania. 

The  Rev.  Benjamin  Cory  was  the  next  pastor,  Nov. 
9,  1834.  During  his  ministry  both  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  interests  of  tiie  congregation  improved.  At 
no  time  previous  had  the  church  met  with  so  much 
prosperity.  In  1856  there  were  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  members  and  fifty-nine  pewholders. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  oBicers  (ruling  elders  and 


CITY   OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


627 


deacons  are  united  in  one)  from  1817  to  1855 :  John 
Angus,  David  Wait,  John  Lewis,  Alexander  Sample, 
John  V.  Crawford,  John  D.  See,  Zadoc  Mundy,  James 
Harriot,  Charles  Ford,  Samuel  E.  Woodbridge,  David 
Crowell,  Daniel  Selover,  Stephen  G.  Woodbridge, 
Cornelius  D.  Selover,  Caleb  C.  Pierson. 

The  trustees'  book  having  been  destroyed  by  fire, 
we  can  only  give  the  names  from  1838  to  1856 :  Ben- 
jamin Maurice,  David  Crowell,  Charles  F.  Maurice, 
Edwin  Ford,  William  J.  Ford,  John  Wait,  Stephen 
G.  Woodbridge,  Alexander  M.  Bruen,  William  Pat- 
erson,  Cornelius  H.  Schapps,  David  T.  Wait,  Charles 
Keene,  Edward  J.  Hall,  Henry  D.  Tyrrell,  William 
Hall. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Cory  left  after  a  pastorate  of  twenty- 
five  years,  during  which  time  the  church  was  greatly 
prospered. 

Rev.  Charles  C.  Wallace  was  installed  pastor  Oct. 
29,  1860,  and  remained  for  little  over  three  years.  He 
was  dismissed  Dec.  29,  1863,  having  received  a  call  to 
a  church  at  Placerville,  Cal. 

Rev.  James  A.  Little  was  engaged  as  stated  supply 
in  August,  1864,  and  on  the  23d  of  the  following 
March  he  was  called  to  the  pastorate,  and  was  installed 
April  27,  1865.  He  served  in  the  pastorate  about 
three  years,  during  which  the  church  was  repaired  at 
a  cost  of  nearly  $10,000.  He  was  followed  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Pingry,  as  stated  supply  until  July,  1869,  when  a 
call  was  extended  to  Rev.  Aaron  Peck,  who  accepted, 
and  was  installed  Jan.  19,  1870.  During  the  few 
months  of  his  pastorate  steps  were  taken  to  pay  off 
the  last  incumbrance  which  was  secured  by  mortgage 
against  the  church,  and  in  April,  1S76,  it  was  fully 
paid.  Mr.  Peck  remained  until  1877,  when  Rev.  N. 
W.  Cary  came  in  the  fall,  and  continued  with  other 
supplies  until  July  13,  1880.  Rev.  David  Stevenson 
received  a  call  which  he  accepted,  and  was  installed 
Oct.  13,  1880.  The  number  of  members  is  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty-two.  Elders,  Henry  D.  Terrill, 
C.  C.  Pierson,  and  E.  W.  Barnes. 

methodist  Episcopal  Church. — The  first  instance 
on  record  of  Methodist  preaching  in  this  city  is  fur- 
nished by  the  journal  of  the  venerated  Bishop  Francis 
Asbury,  under  date  of  "  Thursday,  Feb.  27,  1772." 
"  After  having  preached  in  a  large  upper  room  at  Mr. 
T.'s,  in  Amboy,  where  many  came  to  hear,  and  I  was 
much  favored  in  my  soul,  an  innkeeper  invited  me  to 
his  house  and  was  kind  enough  to  desire  that  I  would 
call  on  him  when  I  came  again."  It  is  more  than 
likely  that  he  did  return  there,  as  an  entry  shows  that 
he  put  up  at  the  "  Long  Ferry  House,"  and  this  ferry 
connected  with  the  stages  between  New  York  and 
Philadelphia. 

The  regular  services  of  the  Methodist  preacher 
dates  about  1813,  when  Amboy  was  included  in  the 
Elizabethtown  Circuit,  and  Rev.  Thomas  Morrell, 
Robert  Cloud,  John  McCluskey,  Joseph  Totten,  and 
David  Bartine  were  among  the  first  circuit  preachers, 
and  were  instrumental  in  the  formation  of  a  church 


in  this  city.  A  regular  organization  was  formed  in 
1818,  but  it  was  not  until  1837  that  the  church  edifice 
was  erected.  The  success  of  this  undertaking  was 
principally  due  to  the  exertions  of  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Cross,  who  had  ofliciated  occasionally  in  the  city,  and 
who  became  in  1838  the  first  settled  minister  of  the 
congregation.  He  remained  but  two  years  according 
to  the  itinerant  rules  of  the  Methodist  Church.  The 
following  have  been  the  pastors  since  that  time  :  1840, 
Benjamin  Day;  1842,  Josiah  F.  Canfield;  1843,  Curtis 
Tally ;  1844,  Robert  Sutton  ;  1846,  Alexander  Gil 
more;  1848,  John  N.  Crane;  1850,  Jacob  B.  Fort 
1852,  John  W.Barrett;  1854,  James  H.  Dandy ;  1855 
David  Graves;  1857,  Benjamin  Kelly;  1859,  Alex 
ander  Gilmore  ;  1860,  Solomon  Parsons;  1861,  Jer& 
miah  Cowins ;  1863,  Josiah  R.  Daniels  ;  1865,  Walters 
Chamberlin;  1868,  Isaac  N.  Vansant ;  1871,  Stacy  W 
Hilliard;  1872,  John  G. Garrison;  1874,  John  A.  Kins 
bury ;  1879,  William  S.  Gallaway ;  1881,  D.  B.  Fitz 
Randolph. 

When  the  church  was  organized  there  were  but 
twelve  members;  at  the  present  time  (1882)  there  is 
a  membership  of  two  hundred  and  twenty.  During 
the  year  1866  the  new  edifice  was  then  commenced, 
and  in  a  few  months  this  beautiful  church  edifice  was 
erected.  It  is  capable  of  seating  some  six  hundred 
persons.  The  church  property  is  valued  at  nearly 
$30,000. 

The  Roman  Catholic  Church.— The  first  services 
held  by  a  Catholic  priest  in  this  city  was  perhaps  a 
short  time  prior  to  1842,  in  the  house  of  Mr.  James 
Tuite,  on  every  alternate  Sunday.  In  1844  a  neat 
brick  church,  costing  some  three  thousand  dollars, 
was  erected  on  Centre  Street,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Quin  was  the  prime  mover  of  this  enterprise. 

Since  the  founding  of  this  church  the  following- 
named  pastors  have  had  charge :  Fathers  McArdle, 
Medranda,  Rogers,  Sheridan,  Quin,  Cornell,  Connelly, 
the  present  incumbent.  There  is  a  parish  school  con- 
nected with  the  church.  The  membership  is  about 
twelve  hundred.  The  property  is  now  valued  at  about 
thirteen  thousand  dollars. 

Baptist  Church. — It  was  not  until  the  26th  of  Au- 
gust, 1818,  that  this  church  was  organized,  although 
services  had  been  held  in  a  small  building  occasion- 
ally. The  Rev.  Thomas  Winters  received  a  unanimous 
call  to  become  pastor  of  this  small  charge.  He  ac- 
cepted the  call,  and  remained  in  the  successful  dis- 
charge of  the  pastoral  duties  until  in  1823,  when  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Jabez  C.  Gable.  They  had 
held  religious  services  in  the  old  court-house,  and 
sometimes  at  the  residence  of  some  of  the  members, 
but  in  1824  the  erection  of  a  church  was  commenced. 
It  was  not  completed,  however,  for  some  few  years 
after.  In  1855  it  underwent  extensive  alterations  and 
repairs.  The  church  numbers  at  this  writing  (1882) 
one  hundred  and  nine  members. 

The  following  have  been  the  pastors  :  1817,  Rev. 
Drake  Wilson  ;   1818,  Rev.  Thomas  Winters  ;  1823, 


628 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Rev.  Jabez  C.  Gable ;  1826,  Rev.  J.  Booth  ;  1829, 
Rev.  John  Bloomer;  1832,  Rev.  J.  Sloper ;  1835, 
Rev.  T.  Recker;  1837,  Eev.  J.  Blain  ;  1839,  Rev. 
John  B.  Case  ;  1842,  Rev.  John  Rodgers  ;  1845,  Rev. 
George  F.  Hendrickson;  1849,  Rev.  J.  M.  Carpenter; 
1852,  Rev.  John  E.  Reynolds  ;  1854,  Rev.  T.  S.  Rog- 
ers ;  1856,  Rev.  Alfred  Harvej' ;  1860,  Rev.  H.  A. 
Cords  ;  1862,  Rev.  A.  G.  Lawson  ;  1866,  Rev.  G.  W. 
Pendleton  ;  1867,  Rev.  G.  W.  Nicholson  ;  1870,  Rev. 
S.  G.  Woodrow ;  1872,  Rev.  George  R.  Hunter ;  1875, 
Rev.  G.  I.  Ganun  ;  1876,  Rev.  William  James  ;  1876, 
Rev.  George  W.  Pendleton,  returned  for  the  second 
time  ;  1880,  Rev.  W.  A.  Bronson. 

The  first  deacons  of  the  church  were  George  Comp- 
ton,  1818;  Thomas  Freeman,  1818;  Uriah  Burge, 
1825  ;  James  Compton,  1829;  John  Hart,  1832;  Wil- 
liam Hart,  1845  ;  John  P.  Woglam,  1848  ;  George  F. 
Tryner,  1848. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Cross.— In  the  summer 
of  1878  tliis  church  was  built  as  a  mission  of  St. 
Peter's  Episcopal  Church.  The  edifice  was  erected  on 
the  corner  of  State  and  Washington  Streets.  The 
opening  services  were  on  St.  Bartholomew's  Day,  Aug. 
24,  1878,  and  shortly  after  it  was  recognized  by  the 
bishop  as  an  independent  parish,  and  the  foundation 
of  the  church  is  dated  from  Dec.  4,  1878.  Rev.  J.  O. 
Drumm,  former  rector  of  St.  Peter's,  ofliciated  tempo- 
rarily, and  the  building  was  moved  to  the  east  side 
of  High  Street  near  Commerce.  The  following  pas- 
tors have  succeeded  Mr.  Drumm  :  Rev.  A.  B.  Conger, 
from  October,  1879,  to  Easter,  1880,  and  Rev.  William 
S.  Boardman,  A.M.,  June  20,  1880. 

The  first  wardens  were  Hon.  Eper  H.  Hall  and 
Isaac  Thorn  Golding,  who  continue  to  hold  the  office. 
The  first  vestrymen  were  Messrs.  Farmer,  Greely, 
Sneath,  Benton,  Boggs. 

These  with  one  exception  continue  in  office,  Mr. 
Boggs  being  succeeded  by  F.  H.  Kitchel. 

The  communincants  are  forty ;  sittings,  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five. 

Danish  Methodist  Church. — This  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1868.  A  number  of  immigrants  from  Den- 
mark had  settled  in  this  city  and  attended  services  in 
the  Methodist  Church.  One  of  the  prominent  mem- 
bers, Mr.  Buck,  and  his  sons  resided  in  the  antiquated 
stonebuildingon  the  southwest  corner  of  Fayette  Street 
and  Maiden  Lane.  As  they  were  gifted  in  vocal  music, 
it  became  a  Danish  rendezvous  and  the  exercises  soon 
partook  of  a  religious  character,  resulting  in  the  con- 
version of  a  number  of  persons  and  forming  the  nu- 
cleus of  a  society  that  worshijied  for  two  or  three  years 
in  a  building  on  the  e.ist  side  of  State  Street  between 
Fayette  and  Jefferson  Streets,  formerly  occupied  by 
Mrs.  Manderville  for  school  purposes.  A  plain  and 
neat  structure  was  built  in  1876  and  dedicated.  The 
Rev.  B.  Smith  has  helped  them  in  the  establishment 
of  regular  preaching  from  the  first,  but  Rev.  F.  W. 
Erickson  is  their  regular  pastor ;  communicants,  forty- 
seven  ;  sittings,  two  hundred. 


Lutheran  Church. — About  twelve  years  after  the 
settlement  of  Danes  commenced  in  this  city  the  first 
Lutheran  sermon  wiw  preached  in  the  lecture-room  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  Nov.  5,  1868,  by  the  Rev. 
Ole  Juul,  and,  as  far  a-s  known,  this  was  the  first  ser- 
mon preached  in  the  Danish  language  in  tlie  State. 
On  the  20th  of  November  following  "  Our  Saviour's 
Danish  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,"  of  the  un- 
altered "Augsburg  Confession,"  of  Perth  Amboy, 
N.  J.,  was  organized,  and  the  present  neat  edifice,  near 
the  corner  of  State  Street  and  Eaglewood  Avenue, 
was  erected  in  1870,  and  dedicated  to  the  worship  of 
God  on  the  18th  of  December  of  the  same  year.  The 
present  pastor.  Rev.  Mr.  Everson,  a  graduate  of  the 
Lutheran  College  at  Dekorah,  Iowa,  and  Concordia 
Theological  College,  preaches  in  the  church,  and  has 
done  effective  work. 

The  Danish  Lutheran  Church,— This  church  was 
organized  as  St.  Stephen's  Lutheran  Church  in  1871. 
The  Rev.  H.  L.  J.  Soeholm  was  their  first  pastor.  It 
commenced  under  unusually  favorable  circumstances, 
and  held  its  regular  services  in  Combination  Hall. 
In  1876  a  neat  church  was  built  on  East  Avenue, 
north  of  the  New  Brunswick  turnpike. 

Within  the  past  few  years  the  manufacturing  in- 
terests of  this  city  have  declined  to  such  an  extent 
that  their  ranks  have  been  greatly  thinned  by  re- 
movals. But  of  late  the  prospect  of  increased  busi- 
ness appears  more  encouraging,  and  the  church  may 
hope  for  renewed  prosperity  in  the  near  future.  The 
present  pastor  is  Rev.  Mr.  Everson,  and  there  are 
some  40  communicants,  and  sittings  to  accommodate 
some  200. 


CHAPTER   XC. 

CITY  OF  PERTH  AMBOY— {Couiinned.) 

Education  and  Schools. — The  period  under  the 
royal  Governors  seems  not  to  have  been  favorable  either 
for  education  or  for  a  general  difli'usion  of  intelligence 
among  the  people,  judging  from  the  following  passage 
in  the  instructions  to  Lord  Cornbury  : 

"  Forasmuch  as  great  inconvenience  may  arise  by 
the  liberty  of  printing  in  our  said  province,  you  [the 
Governor]  are  to  provide  by  all  nece.ssary  orders  that 
no  person  keep  any  press  for  printing,  nor  that  any 
book,  pamphlet,  or  other  matters  whatsoever  be 
printed  without  your  especial  leave  and  license  first 
obtained." 

Is  it  strange  that  a  civil  policy  which  began  by 
ignoring  the  printing-press  should  have  paid  little 
regard  to  schools?  Accordingly  we  do  not  find  any 
act  of  legislation  relating  to  education  during  the 
entire  period  of  the  royal  authority  in  New  Jersey, 
or  for  the  seventy-five  years  preceding  the  Revolu- 
tion. 

Under  the  proprietors,  in  1693,  it  was  enacted  that 


CITY   OF  PERTH   AM  BOY. 


H29 


the  inhabitants  of  any  town,  by  warrant  from  any 
justice  of  peace,  might  meet  and  choose  three  men  to 
make  a  rate  and  establish  the  salary  of  a  schoolmas- 
ter, for  as  long  a  time  as  they  may  think  proper, 
''  and  any  rates  levied  the  payment  to  be  made"  for 
the  "  cultivation  of  learning  and  good  manners,  which  I 
tends  greatly  to  the  good  and  benefit  of  mankind."       i 

A  record  showing  the  existence  of  a  school  in  con- 
nection with  St.  Peter's  Church  appears  in  the  min- 
utes of  the  vestry  in  July,  17(S5.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Mc-  , 
Kean,  the  rector,  informed  that  body  that  a  school- 
house  was  immediately  necessary,  as  the  barracks  in 
which  the  school  was  then  kept  could  not  be  longer 
had  without  hiring.  The  vestry  took  the  subject  into  I 
consideration,  adopted  a  plan,  and  directed  subscrip-  j 
tions  to  be  obtained  for  the  immediate  construction  of 
the  necessary  building.  It  was  erected  somewhere 
near  the  intersection  of  Rector  and  Gully  (now  Gor- 
don) Streets.  The  rector,  Mr.  McKean,  probably 
taught  this  school  himself,  as  it  is  related  in  1768 
that  the  town  was  without  a  teacher,  Mr.  McKean's 
death  having  occurred  the  October  previous.*  In 
April  a  house  was  hired  for  the  school  for  seven 
pounds  per  annum  by  a  committee  appointed  for  the 
purpose,  and  in  August,  1768,  a  school  was  com- 
menced by  Mr.  McNaughton,  and  continued  until 
May,  1770.  Why  the  school  was  discontinued  then 
does  not  appear,  for  the  master  appears  to  have  been 
in  the  town  for  some  time  thereafter,  and  teaching  in 
the  school-house  in  Rector  Street.  This  appears 
from  a  letter  from  the  late  William  Dunlap,  who 
says,  "  I  was  sent  to  learn  my  letters  while  yet  in  pet- 
ticoats to  Mrs.  Randell,  who  had  a  swarm  of  such 
manikens  about  her,  in  a  house  in  the  street  leading 
out  to  the  Barracks  (Smith  Street).  From  this 
nursery-school  I  was  transferred  to  Master  Mac- 
Naughton's  school,  a  black-looking  Irishman,  who 
had  his  school  in  a  wooden  building  near  the  gully 
which  divides  the  church  green  from  the  building 
north  of  it.  When  the  hour  for  '  school  going  in' 
arrived  he  used  to  appear  at  the  door  and  beckon  us 
to  leave  our  sport  on  the  church  green  and  come  to 
the  dominion  of  his  strap  and  ferrule." 

"  It  appears  that  nothing  was  done  for  a  good  school 
until  August,  1773,  when,  at  a  meeting  of  parents 
having  children,  the  consideration  of  the  subject  was 
referred  to  a  committee,  at  the  head  of  which  was  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Preston,  who  at  a  subsequent  meeting  pre- 
sented a  long  formal  report,  in  which  they  express 
their  conviction  that  a  man  '  proper  for  a  public  school 
in  this  town  should  be  capable  of  teaching  Latin, 
Greek,  and  English  Languages  grammatically,  with 
the  mathematics,  ciphering,  writing,  and  other  useful 
branches  of  literature,'  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  receive  subscriptions  at  the  rate  of  £4  per  annum  for 
every  child  to  be  sent,  and  such  additional  sums  as  '  the 


generous  might  contribute.'  And  '  the  sum  to  be  paid 
the  teacher  was  Limited  to  £100  per  annum,'  and 
preparations  were  then  made  for  a  suitable  school 
building."  -'  The  subscriptions  to  the  school  fund  were 
the  following: 

James  Parker,  £12  ;  Cortlandt  Skinner,  £12  ;  Ste- 
phen Skinner,  £12  10s. ;  Elizabeth  Goelet,  £8  ;  Elias 
Bland,  £8 ;  Alexander  Watson,  £7 ;  John  John- 
stone, £7 ;  Stephen  Johnston,  £7 ;  John  Smyth, 
£6;  Thomas  Skinner,  £6;  Samuel  Dunlap,  £6; 
John  Preston,  £6;  Lewis  Antill,  £5;  Jonathan 
Deare,  £4;  Gertrude  Barberrie,  £4;  Philip  Kearny, 
Jr.,  £4;  William  Burnet,  £4;  Thomas  Stephens,  £4; 
Henry  Cuyler,  £4;  Ravand  Kearny,  £4;  Thomas 
Lyell,  £4;  Samuel  Sargent,  £4;  Michael  Kearny, 
£1  10s.;  John  Barberrie,  £1  10s.;  William  Terrill, 
£1  10s.;  Frederick  Smyth,  £4.  Some  of  them  sub- 
scribed for  five  years,  and  the  meeting  being  at- 
tended by  the  chief  justice  of  the  province,  the  rector 
of  the  church,  Rev.  Mr.  Preston,  with  the  most  of  the 
respectable  gentlemen  of  the  place,  subscriptions  were 
reported  to  the  amount  of  £144  10s.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  perfect  the  arrangements  and  secure 
the  erection  of  a  school-house.  For  the  object  sub- 
scriptions were  obtained  as  follows:  J.  Parker,  £15; 
O,  Skinner,  £12  ;  E.  Bland,  £12  ;  S.  Skinner,  £12  10s. ; 
J.  Smyth,  £6  ;  Thomas  Stephens,  £2  ;  Lewis  Antill, 
£2;  William  Terrill,  £2;  total,  £63  10s.  The  build- 
ing was  never  erected. 

It  appears  that  there  was  considerable  difficulty  in 
securing  suitable  teachers,  and  there  was  nothing  ap- 
parently done  until  1774,  in  July  of  which  year  Mr. 
Thomas  Johnston  arrived  and  entered  upon  his  duties 
as  a  tutor  to  the  children  of  this  city  for  £60  per  year, 
New  York  currency.  Mr.  Johnston  came  recom- 
mended by  Dr.  Miles  Cooper,  president  of  King's  Col- 
lege, as  an  Englishman  who  had  studied  some  time  at 
Oxford.  The  school  was  kept  in  the  court-house. 
Mr.  Johnston  taught  only  a  few  months.  He  was 
succeeded  by  his  assistant,  a  one-armed  man  by  the 
name  of  Garrick,  who  kept  his  school  on  Tower  Hill, 
and  it  is  thought  remained  as  teacher  until  the  Rev- 
olution overturned  all  customary  pursuits  and  em- 
ployments in  the  city.  From  this  time  little  of  in- 
terest pertains  to  the  history  of  schools  in  Perth 
Amboy  till  we  come  down  to  a  quite  recent  period. 
Under  the  new  improved  system  of  State  education, 
and  through  several  private  enterprises  successfully 
carried  out,  a  marked  change  for  the  better  has  been 
wrought. 

On  March  17,  1870,  the  Board  of  Education  of  the 
city  of  Perth  Amboy  was  organized  ;  lots  were  pur- 
chased for  the  site  of  a  new  school-house  ;  bonds  were 
issued  to  raise  money  for  the  erection  of  a  substantial 
and  elegant  building,  which  was  finished  and  opened 
to  the  public  with  appropriate  services  in  September, 
1871,  at  a  cost  of  about  $17,000,  including  the  land. 


'  Mr.  Whiteheftd,  the  historian,  has  in  his  possession  most  of  tlie  doc- 
uments relating  to  the  schools  of  this  city  from  1768  to  1775. 


-  East  Jersey  Kecords. 


630 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


It  is  situated  on  high  ground  in  the  centre  of  the 
city. 

In   1873,  Alanson  Lealce  was  appointed  principal, 
with  the  following  assistants  as  teachers :  Miss  Pea- 
body,    Miss   M.   Keasbey,  Miss  Prentis,  Miss  Martin,  \ 
Miss  Kent. 

Mr.  Henry  Farmer,  superintendent  of  schools  of  ' 
the  city.     This  school  was  subdivided  into  branches  1 
representing  the  different  grades  of  studies,  as  high  i 
school,  grammar,  intermediate,  and  primary,  and  in  | 
1876  the  grammar  department  had:  Boys,  30  ;  girls, 
17 ;   total,  47.     Intermediate  department,   boys,   59 ; 
girls,  53  ;  total,  112.     Primary  department,  boys,  136  ; 
girls,  12'9;  total,  265.     Mr.  A.  Leake,  principal;  Miss 
E.  H.  Prentis,  vice  principal  and  teacher  of  A  class. 

In  1881,  I.  D.  Caldwell,  A.B.,  was  appointed  prin- 
cipal, and  Miss  Emma  Johnson  vice-principal  and 
teacher  of  Class  A.  There  are  upon  the  school  roll 
about  600  scholars.  Mr.  Henry  Farmer  held  the 
position  of  superintendent  for  a  number  of  years,  giv- 
ing his  attention  strictly  to  the  advancement  of  the 
cause  of  education  in  the  city  ;  has  just  retired  to  give 
place  to  Cortlandt  L.  Parker,  the  present  superin- 
tendent. 

From  the  annual  report  of  the  city  treasurer,  show- 
ing the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  city  of  Perth  Amboy  from  March  1, 
1880,  to  March  1,  1881,  we  take  the  following : 

Receipts : $9216.22 

Cr. 

By  BaLiiice  in  hands  of  To  Paid  Salary $4685.72 

—      ■  Incidentals 172.78 

Repairs 22.').64 

Printing 2a  75 

Fuel  and  Liglit 75.97 

Supplies 125.99 

ScliooI-B.ioliB 227.47 

Balance  in  liands  of 
Treasurer,  Marcii 
1,1881 3778.90 

$9216.22 

Burial-Places.— Col.  Hamilton's  remains  were  in- 
terred in  the  burial-ground  lying  north  of  the  present 
Brighton  House.  Time  has  long  since  obliterated 
every  indication  of  the  spot.  A  memorial  of  him, 
however,  existed  until  recently  in  an  old-fashioned 
eight-day  clock,  once  his,  which  continued  to  mark 
with  accuracy  the  passage  of  the  hours  in  the  old 
Parker  mansion  at  Amboy. 

The  next  oldest  burying-ground  is  on  State  Street, 
formerly  called  "  Bock"  Street.  It  was  granted  to 
the  Presbyterians  by  the  proprietors  in  1731,  upon 
the  petition  of  John  Goschire,  John  Mathie,  John 
Moore,  Thomas  Inglis,  William  Thompson,  Thomas 
Loggans,  John  Thompson,  James  Leigh,  Samuel 
Moores,  Alexander  Cames,  and  John  Harriott,  to  be 
used  as  a  burying-ground,  and  also  permission  was 
given  them  to  build  a  church  upon  one  part  of  the 
lot.'  This  ground,  however,  was  an  old  burial-place 
long  before  that  period,  and  had  been  used  by  the 
"  forefathers  of  the  hamlet"  more  than  a  hundred 

1  See  history  of  the  Preebyterian  Church  in  the  preceding  chapter. 


Db. 

1  tiands  of 

Treasurer,  March 

1,  1880 S4774.56 

City  Appropriations.  1600.00 
Reed,   from    County 

Superintendent...     2841.66 

$9216.22 


years.  The  petitioners  speak  of  it  as  "the  old  burial- 
place,  so  called,"  and  refer  to  their  "  parents,  wives, 
and  children"  buried  there. 

In  1872  the  Presbyterian  Church  and  the  "  Board 
of  Proprietors"  transferred  the  property  to  the  city 
for  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars,  and  since  then 
many  of  the  remains  and  headstones  have  been  re- 
moved to  other  cemeteries. 

We  insert  a  few  of  the  epitaphs  : 

"  An  elegie  upon  the 

Death  of  the  truly  virtious 

Mrs.  Helen  Gordon,  spouse  to 

Thomas  Gordon,  of  tlie  family 

of  Strabogh,  in  Scotland. 

died  12  December,  1687.     Aged  27  ys. 

married  10  ys. 

Calm  was  her  death, 

Well  adored  her  life, 
A  piou.s  mother 

And  a  loving  wife. 

Her  offspring  six, 
of  which  four  do  here  lie." 

"J.  J.,  Jolin  Bloore, 
1720." 

"  1729, 

hear  Lyeth  the 

body  of  John  R.  S.  Moor, 

Aged  8  yea 

of  the  —        —        —        — 

in  Scotland." 

*'  Here  lies  y  Body  of  Anna,  y"  wife  of  Gabriel  Stelle.  She  died  March 
24, 1730,  44  yea  wanting  one  day." 

"  Here  lies  y  body  of 

Anatis,  wife  of 

Andrews  Robinson, 

aged  4.'j  ye's. 

Deceased  j'" 

22  [or28J,  17:il." 

"  In  memory  of  Andrews  Herriott,  dec'd  Oct.  y"  14, 1757.  In  the  50 
year  of  hie  age." 

"  Here  lies  ye  body  of  Alexander  Thomson,  who  departed  this  life  May 
14, 1763,  in  the  50  ye'r  of  His  life." 

"  In  memory  of  Hannah,  wife  of  John  Thomson,  who  departed  this 
life  July  15, 1789,  in  the  39  year  of  her  age." 

"  Here  lyes  y"  Body  of  John,  son  of  John  &  Martha  Thomson,  aged 
13  ye's.    Dec'  Oct.  y  18, 1731." 

"  In  hope 

of  a  joyful  resurection 

here  lyes  y«  body  of 

Gabrii-I  Stelle,  Ksq., 

who  departed  this  life 

Nov  y  25,  1738,  aged  53  ye"s  &  9  mo's." 

"  In  memory  of  Margaret  Hodge,  wife  of  John  Hodge,  who  departed 
this  life  December  the  30,  1775,  aged  46  years." 

St.  Peter's  Burial-Ground.— This  also  is  one 
of  the  oldest  burial-grounds;  many  of  the  first  inter- 
ments had  no  stones  erected  to  tell  who  they  were, 
and  many  were  destroyed  during  the  Revolutionary 
war. 

In  1805,  Baltus  Leonard  was  appointed  sexton  and 
grave-digger,  and  held  the  office  thirty-two  years, 
digging  in  that  time,  it  is  said,  four  hundred  graves 
with  his  own  hands.  He  died  in  1837,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  George  Fothergill,  whose  salary  was  twenty 


CITY  OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


631 


dollars  a  year  and  fees  for  grave-digging,  and  in  1846 
John  Foster  was  put  in  the  responsible  post,  which 
he  held  until  his  death  in  1854,  being  succeeded  by 
his  son,  George  Foster,  Esq.,  who  has  entire  charge 
of  this  ancient  burial-ground,  and  under  his  care  it 
is  now  kept  with  considerable  neatness,  surrounded 
by  substantial  fence,  the  grounds  kept  with  the  aid 
of  his  assistant  in  neat  and  proper  order. 

The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  the  Latin 
inscription  on  the  stone  which  marks  Thomas  Gor- 
don's place  of  sepulture ;  the  original  inscription 
is  much  defaced  by  the  hand  of  time,  and  a  few  more 
years  will  make  it  entirely  illegible: 

"In  Hope  of  a  Happy  Resurrection  Here  is  Deposited  what  in  Thomas 
GoRroN  was  found  Mortal,  who  being  descended  from  an  Ancient  Fam- 
ily of  Pitlochie  in  Scotland,  could  have  gloried  hail  that  been  proper  in 
his  extracation,  yet  in  him  Was  not  wanting  that  of  wliiL-h  he  might 
jusfly  boast,  For  As  the  Secretary  of  the  Province  He  e,verted  his  best 
Abilities  in  behalf  of  the  council-*  of  the  State  acceptably  to  All.  Dear 
to  hi^  relations,  A  sincere  Worshipper  of  the  eternal  Deity,  he  enjoyed 
Life,  and  Died  with  resignation  on  the  28th  Day  of  April,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord,  1722,  in  the  70th  Tear  of  his  Age. 

"His  Mourning  Consort,  who  Also  desires  to  be  Interred  Here,  has 
caused  this  Monument,  such  as  it  is,  to  be  set.  He  Lived  as  Long  as 
He  Desired,  as  Long  as  the  Fates  Appointed ;  thus  Neither  Was  Life 
Burdensome,  Nor  Death  Bitter." 

"  Here  lyes  y«  Body  of  Gertrude  Hay,  wife  of 

Andrew  Hay,  aged  47  years, 

Dec'd  December  y»  12.  173.3, 

and  May  Hay,  aged  13  mo.     Dec'd  June  y«  23, 1728. 

James  Hay,  aged  G  weeks.     Dec'd  Feb.  y"  20,  1734." 

Alpine  Cemetery. — In  the  year  1862  a  number 
of  the  citizens  of  this  city  and  Woodbridge  met  for 
the  purpose  of  arranging  a  union  cemetery,  and 
after  the  matter  was  decided  upon  to  secure  lands 
near  the  two  above  places.  They  applied  for  an  act  of 
incorporation  in  the  spring  of  1862  of  the  Legisla- 
ture, which  was  granted.  The  following  gentlemen 
were  then  appointed  directors :  Edward  J.  Hall, 
Samuel  Dally,  John  Manning,  Jarvis  Valentine, 
William  Paterson,  William  H.  Berry,  and  William 
King,  and  the  name  of  "  The  Alpine  Cemetery 
Association"  was  chosen.  The  grounds  have  been 
graded  and  laid  out  with  considerable  care,  and  the 
cemetery  has  become  the  general  burial-ground  of 
the  township  of  Woodbridge  and  this  city  of  Perth 
Amboy. 


CHAPTER    XCI. 

CITY    OF    PERTH    AMBOY.— ( ro,i(,-,,„e(M 

The  Court-House.— In  the  Proprietary  Minutes, 
dated  May  14,  1685,  is  the  following : 

"  It  is  agreed  and  ordered  that  the  Town  House  be 
built  on  that  place  or  piece  of  Land  fenced  in  by 
Thomas  Warne,  next  Thomas  Hart's  and  Clement 
Plumstead's  lot,  and  in  case  any  damage  be  done 
thereby  to  Thomas  Warne's  corn  now  sowed  before 
reaping  that  he  be  paid  for  the  same." 

It  is  not  now  known  where  this  lot  was  situated. 


but  probably  it  ran  through  from  High  Street  to 
Water  Street,  and  what  has  been  lately  termed 
"  Lewis  Place." 

In  the  year  1713  an  act  was  passed  for  building  and 
repairing  jails  and  court-houses  in  the  province,  and 
Amboy  is  particularly  named  as  the  site  for  the  jail 
and  court-house  of  Middlesex  County.  This  build- 
ing was  erected  on  the  corner  of  High  Street  and  the 
Public  Square,  and  served  for  both  the  triers  and 
the  tried,  the  prison  being  under  the  same  roof.  It 
continued  to  be  used  not  only  for  courts,  but  also  for 
all  the  sittings  of  the  General  Assembly.  Each 
Governor  on  his  arrival  at  the  capital — from  Gov- 
ernor Hunter  down  to  Governor  Franklin,  inclusive — 
proceeded  to  it  in  stately  pomp  to  proclaim  to  the 
assembled  throng  the  good  pleasure  of  the  sovereign 
of  England  to  the  effect  that  they  should  respect 
and  obey  his  representatives;  and  beneath  its  roof 
did  Whitefield  preach  some  of  his  spirit-stirring 
sermons  to  attentive  congregations.  There  is  no 
other  notice  of  the  court-house  but  that  it  was  de- 
stroyed by  fire,  1765  or  1766. 

Immediately  the  General  Assembly  passed  an  act, 
June  28,  1706,  for  erection  of  another  and  also  of  a 
jail  upon  two  lots  of  ground  which  had  been  given 
by  the  citizens  of  Amboy,  but  the  amount  appropri- 
ated for  its  building  is  not  named. 

The  following  items  of  the  early  times  will  be  of 
interest.  They  are  quoted  from  the  bill  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  government  passed  in  1738:  "To  Mrs. 
Jannett  Parker  for  the  Use  of  a  Boom,  Fire  Wood, 
etc.,  for  the  House  of  Representatives  the  sum  of 
Thirty  Shillings  per  week  during  this  present  session." 
"  To  Mr.  Andrew  Hay  the  sum  of  Twenty  Shillings 
per  week  for  the  use  of  a  Room,  etc.,  for  the  Gentle- 
men of  the  Council  during  this  present  session." 

After  the  Revolutionary  war  the  county-seat  was 
transferred  to  New  Brunswick.  The  court-house  was 
used  for  school  purposes  and  for  public  meetings.  It 
was  thoroughly  repaired  in  1826  and  at  dift'erent 
periods  since,  and  will  probably  remain  a  monument 
of  the  days  of  "  good  King  George  III."  It  has 
lately  ceased  to  be  a  public  building,  and  is  owned 
by  one  of  the  citizens. 

Jails, — The  first  mention  of  a  jail  in  Perth  Amboy 
appears  in  1713.  It  stood  until  1765-66,  when  it  was 
burned  with  the  court-house.  The  erection  of  another 
was  authorized  by  act  of  Assembly  June  28,  1766, 
and  it  was  finished  in  1767  at  a  cost  of  two  hundred 
pounds.'  There  were  rooms  for  the  keeper's  family 
in  addition  to  those  for  prisoners.  In  consequence  of 
having  no  attention  paid  to  its  preservation  from  the 
little  need  of  such  a  building,  it  was  torn  down  after 
the  removal  of  the  county-seat  to  New  Brunswick. 

The  Stocks. — This  formidable  machine  was  erected 
a  few  feet  south  of  the  market-place,  and  it  is  only  a 
few  years  since  its  removal  from  this  ancient  city. 


I  A.  Whitehead. 


632 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


The  cut  in  the  early  history  of  the  courts  will  give  the 
reader  a  better  idea  of  this  obsolete  instrument  of  pun- 
ishment than  could  be  conveyed  by  any  verbal  de- 
scription. About  the  year  1827  it  was  removed  as 
"  encumbering  the  ground."  The  pillory  was  also  an 
institution  of  a  peculiarly  .salutary  character  belonging 
to  the  same  period  of  civilization.' 

The  Old  Market.— This  old  structure  of  the  early 
days,  after  standing  a  long  time  untenanted,  was  re- 
moved in  the  year  1842.  It  was  several  times  re- 
paired previous  to  that  date,  but  the  corporation  con- 
ceiving it  useless  or  undeserving  the  expense  of 
repairs,  sold  it  to  the  highest  bidder.  It  is  said  that 
during  the  Revolution  this  market-house  was  closely 
boarded  up,  and  here  was  where  many  of  the  British 
soldiers  were  domiciled.  It  was  also  used  for  the 
storage  of  provisions  for  the  troops. 

The  Barracks. — In  the  year  1758  barracks  were 
erected,  the  same  time  with  others  at  Elizabeth  and 
Trenton.  They  were  built  to  accommodate  three  hun- 
dred men.  The  sum  of  twenty-.six  hundred  pounds 
was  appropriated  by  the  province  for  their  construc- 
tion. The  building  committee  consisted  of  Samuel 
Neville,  Thomas  Bartow,  and  John  Smyth.  Three 
trustees  were  appointed  to  receive  the  title-deeds  for 
the  land,  which  was  not  to  exceed  one  acre  in  quan- 
tity, but  more  must  subsequently  have  been  obtained, 
as  the  commons  as  now  inclosed  cover  more  ground. 
They  were  completed  in  1759. 

These  barracks  were  first  occupied  by  the  troops 
returning  from  the  capture  of  Havana  in  1762,  and 
from  that  time  until  the  evacuation  of  this  State  by 
the  British  they  were  seldom  unoccupied  for  any 
length  of  time.  The  47th  Foot  Regiment  was  the  last 
that  occupied  them  previous  to  the  Revolution.  A 
portion  on  the  west  side  was  used  as  a  wood-yard,  and 
the  remainder  for  the  morning  and  evening  parades. 
On  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution  the  barracks 
wfre  taken  possession  of  by  Capt.  Conway's  company 
of  militia,  who  marched  down  and  paraded  on  the  old 
race-course  with  the  air  of  an  invading  army.  This, 
too,  while  all  the  British  colonial  officers  were  yet 
nominally  in  possession  of  their  respective  offices. 
The  official  papers  are  among  the  Stirling  reports  in 
the  New  York  Historical  Society's  Library,  as  well 
as  an  inventory  of  the  furniture,  etc.,  that  Capt.  Con- 
way found  in  the  buildings. 

Being  public  property,  these  buildings  were  con- 
fiscated to  the  United  States,  and  by  a  resolution  of 
Assembly,  1783,  John  Griggs  was  authorized  to  put 
them  in  repair.  They  are  still  standing  as  a  monu- 
ment of  the  early  years  of  this  settlement  and  used  as 
dwellings. 

The  Office  of  Provincial  Records.— This  low, 
hipped-roofed,  square-shaped  record-office  of  the  Pro- 
vincial Assembly  was  built  at  a  cost  of  six  hundred 
pounds  in  pursuance  of  an  act  which  took  effect  Dec. 


'  See  page  4&U  of  this  work. 


5,  1760,  and  the  following  year  it  was  finished.  It 
stood  on  the  corner  of  High  Street  and  Gully  (now 
Gorden)  Street.  Mr.  Whitehead  says,  "  It  had  a  fire- 
proof apartment,  occupying  one  end  of  the  build- 
ing, and  in  the  year  1761  was  used  as  a  place  of  de- 
posit for  the  records  of  the  eastern  division  of  the 
province.  The  building  now  used  for  these  ancient 
records  is  in  the  east  of  the  City  Hall,  and  is  desig- 
nated the  surveyor-general's  office. 

Brig'hton  House.  —  The  proprietors  in  March, 
1762,  adopted  a  plan  and  gave  the  necessary  direc- 
tions for  building  a  proprietary  house  where  the 
present  Brighton  stands.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
finished  in  1765,  and  comprised  only  what  is  now 
the  main  edifice.  (An  account  is  given  of  a  first 
government  house,  which  was  erected  in  1684,  and 
that  the  record  says  was  occupied  by  Governor  An- 
drew Hamilton,  but  little  is  now  known  of  its  his- 
tory.) But  the  record  says,  "  From  May,  1766,  to 
May,  1771,  it  was  occupied  by  Chief  Justice  Smyth, 
at  an  annual  rent  of  twenty-five  pounds  New  York 
currency,  and  in  October,  1774,  it  became  the  resi- 
dence of  Governor  Franklin."  Its  interior  was  burnt 
during  the  possession  of  the  city  by  the  British  troops, 
whose  commander's  headquarters  was  at  this  house. 
This  must  have  been  1777-78,  but  after  the  war,  and 
in  1785,  the  Board  of  Proprietors  sold  it.  It  was 
bought  by  Mr.  John  Rattoone,  who  subsequently 
rebuilt  and  enlarged  it. 

It  was  established  as  a  public  inn  about  the  year 
1809.  It  has  been  kept  in  the  style  of  some  of  the 
best  houses ;  servants  abounded,  bands  of  music  were 
in  constant  attendance,  and  every  arrangement  made 
about  the  premises  to  accommodate  the  public  in  the 
most  luxurious  and  agreeable  style.  This  was  before 
the  war  with  Great  Britain,  and  at  its  commence- 
ment its  prospects  as  a  public  house  of  entertain- 
ment were  blighted,  the  proprietor  became  insol- 
vent, gave  up  the  business,  and  the  property  was 
sold.  It  came  into  the  possession  of  the  late  Mat- 
thias Bruen,  who  purchased  it,  and  it  was  for  many 
years  until  his  death  his  private  residence.  But  it 
has  been  for  a  long  time  a  place  of  summer  resort. 

The  Cove  and  Tower  Hill.— There  existed  an 
inlet  at  the  time  of  the  settlement  at  the  foot  of 
Tower  Hill.  In  a  letter  written  by  Gawen  Laurie 
in  his  description  says,  "The  spot  resembles  the  Keys 
in  London,  and  laid  out  the  lots  of  the  city  accord- 
ingly. The  highest  ground  was  to  be  occupied  as 
stores  and  warehouses,  and  a  basin  was  dug  out  more 
like  a  canal,  so  to  permit  small  vessels  to  come  up  to 
the  warehouse  doors,  and  from  this  it  takes  its  name 
of  'The  Cove,' and  within  the  recollection  of  some 
of  the  oldest  inhabitants  boats  large  enough  to  carry 
several  loads  of  wood  came  inside  and  deposited  their 
freight." 

The  Lehigh  Railroad  Company  now  occupy  the 
ground,  and  the  low  ground  has  been  filled  up  and 
occupied  by  the  coal  company  as  their  docks. 


CITY  OF  PERTH   AMBOY. 


633 


The  elevation  or  high  ground  west  of  this  old  cove 
and  in  front  of  the  church  was  called  Tower  Hill, 
and  so  designated  a  great  many  years  before  the 
Eevolutionary  war.  The  name,  it  is  said,  was  con- 
ferred in  consequence  of  its  having  been  the  place 
where  on  some  occasions  criminals  were  executed. 

Post-0fl5ces. — To  Governor  Andrew  Hamilton  the 
colonies  are  indebted  for  the  first  scheme  for  the  es- 
tablishment of  post-oflices  in  America,  for  which  he 
obtained  a  patent  from  the  crown  about  the  year 
1694,  but  subsequently  for  an  adequate  consideration 
reconveyed  it  to  the  government,  and  it  is  supposed 
the  first  regular  post-oflice  was  established  in  this  city 
on  or  about  the  above  date. 

"For  some  time  the  only  offices  in  New  Jersey 
were  at  Perth  Amboy  and  Burlington;  being  on  the 
direct  route  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia,  they 
partook  of  the  benefits  of  the  first  arrangements. 
Letters  for  large  districts  of  country  were  sent  to 
those  places  for  distribution.  In  December,  1733,  a 
notice  is  inserted  in  the  Philadelphia  Weehlij  Mercury 
stating  that  '  there  are  a  number  of  letters  in  the 
post-office  at  Amboy  for  persons  living  in  the  coun- 
ties of  Somerset,  Monmouth  and  Essex,'  and  direct- 
ing the  inhabitants  of  those  counties  to  apply  for  their 
letters  to  sundry  individuals  named  in  the  advertise- 
ment." ' 

In  1732  the  post  ran  between  the  city  of  Amboy 
and  New  York  once  a  fortnight;  during  the  summer 
it  is  probable  that  letters  were  forwarded  once  a  week. 
The  holders  of  the  honorable  office  of  postmaster  in 
Amboy  previous  to  the  Revolution  have  not  been  as- 
certained except  in  one  instance:  John  Fox  in  1851 
was  the  incumbent.  In  the  year  1791  tliere  were  only 
six  offices  in  this  State,  and  Amboy  and  Burlington 
were  the  principal  ones.  But  in  1793  the  office  of 
postmaster  was  regularly  established  and  John  Thomp- 
son was  appointed  as  postmaster.  "  The  mail  was 
brought  from  Woodbridge  three  times  a  week,  and 
continued  so  to  arrive  until  the  )'ear  1812,  when  it 
was  brought  in  daily.  In  or  about  the  year  1825  it 
arrived  daily  (except  Sundays)  during  the  summer 
and  three  times  a  week  in  winter,  which  continued 
to  be  the  case  until  the  present  arrangements  were 
established  in  1830,"  and  it  is  now  received  daily  win- 
ter and  summer. 

The  names  of  the  postmasters  as  nearly  as  can  be  as- 
certained with  the  dates  of  their  appointment  are  as 
follows : 


1751,  John  Fox. 

July  1,  1703,  John  Thompson. 
Nov.  1,  1794,  EUward  John  Ball. 
Sept.  1,  17'.I5,  Joseph  Goldiug. 
Nov.  1,  1796,  George  Wright. 
June  211,  171)8,  Robert  Butloone. 
April  15,  ISOl,  Simeon  Drake. 
Slay  29,  1812,  Robert  Arnold. 
March  lu,  1827,  Lewis  Golding. 
Oct.  23, 18;iO,  James  Harriott. 
1847,  Lewis  Golding. 


Benjamin  Arnold. 

•  W.  S.  Rnss. 

185:i,  Joliu  Manning. 

1857,  R.  I',  liar  tin. 

1801,  John  F.  Ten  Broeck. 

John  Touilinson. 

1»7:),  Elani  Sanford. 

Miss  Midorn  Sanl'oril  (as  acting  P.M. 
after  lier  fatlior'8  death). 

1681,  John  F.  Ten  Broeck  (his  sec- 
ond term). 


1  East  Jersey  Records. 


CHAPER    XCII. 

CITY   OF    fERTH    AMBOY.— (Cn»(.ii»e./.) 

Sanks  and  Institutions. — In  the  year  1872  a 
number  of  the  business  men  of  this  city  met  for  the 
purpose  of  arranging  the  establishment  of  a  banking 
institution  in  this  city.  It  had  been  deemed  a  matter 
of  considerable  importance  that  something  should  be 
done  to  establish  a  bank  in  this  city,  as  heretofore 
much  of  the  moneyed  interest  was  withdrawn  into 
other  sources  or  channels,  and  difficulty  had  arisen 
in  cashing  paper  without  going  some  distance,  either 
to  Railway  or  New  Brunswick,  being  the  nearest 
banking  institution,  when,  March  14,  1872,  was  or- 
ganized the 

Middlesex  County  State  Bank  of  Perth  Am- 
boy, with  a  capital  of  $35,000.  The  directors  are 
Witliain  Hall,  president;  William  King,  Uriah  B. 
Watson,  Noah  Furman,  R.  N.  Valentine,  and  Eber 
H.  Hall. 

Perth  Amboy  Savings  Institution. — Incorpo- 
rated April  2,  1869.  They  have  a  fine  building,  used 
for  different  purposes  as  well  as  their  institution, 
valued  at  twenty  thousand  dollars.  The  Raritan  F. 
and  A.  M.  have  their  rooms  in  the  third  story,  and 
are  spoken  of  as  being  fitted  up  in  a  superior  manner, 
besides  lawyers',  dentists',  and  Water  Company  offices 
in  the  second  story. 

President,  William  King;  Secretary,  F.  W.Gordon  ; 
and  Treasurer,  William  King. 

The  Perth  Amboy  Gas  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated March  8,  1861,  with  a  capital  of  $65,000,  which 
has  all  been  paid  up ;  and  Dec.  21,  1871,  they  met  at 
John  Manning's,  merchant,  of  this  city,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  organizing.  The  following  gentlemen  com- 
missioners were  present:  John  Manning,  Jo.seph  L. 
Crowell,  William  Hall,  and  John  L.  Boggs,  and 
arrangements  to  put  in  effect  the  lighting  of  this  city. 
The  present  officers  are :  President,  William  Hall ; 
Treasurer,  William  Hall;  Secretary,  William  H.  Hall; 
Directors,  William  Hall,  Rev.  Aaron  Peck,  N.  C.  J. 
English,  and  M.  B.  Watson. 

Manufactures  and  Business  Pursuits, — At  an 
early  date  manufacturing  was  carried  on,  and  much 
of  the  household  as  well  as  tlie  wearing  material  was 
made  in  this  city.  In  1831  the  cove  or  wet  dock 
property  was  leased  to  the  Perth  Amboy  Manufactur- 
ing Company,  and  confirmed  on  Monday,  March  6, 
1831,  for  ninety-nine  years  for  the  sum  of  six  cents  per 
year,  on  the  condition  that  the  Manufacturing  Com- 
pany would  within  five  years  fill  it  up  two  feet  in  height 
with  good  and  wholesome  soil,  on  failure  of  which  the 
lease  to  be  void.  Since  then  various  branches  of  busi- 
ness have  sprung  up,  and  there  is  at  present  a  cork 
manufactory,  terra-cotta  company,  brick  company,  the 
Ashland  Emery  Company,  iron  and  brass  founder, 
shipwrights  and  repairers,  wholesale  oyster  dealers, 
Lehigh  and  Wyoming  coals,  Perseverance  Iron- Works 


634 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


and  Machine-Shops,  1  designer  and  sculptor,  2  car- 
riage-makers, 2  undertakers,  17  hotels  and  saloons,  7 
physicians,  5  dry-goods  stores,  2  harness,  1  real  estate 
and  insurance,  12  groceries,  5  lawyers,  2  news-agents, 
4  merchant  tailors,  8  meat-markets,  2  ship  chandlers, 
2  fruits  and  nuts,  3  dentists,  2  livery  exchange,  1  ship 
stores,  1  stoves,  2  schools,  1  custom-house  collector,  3 
newspapers,  3  millinery,  2  mason  and  builder,  4  car- 
penters and  builders,  3  painters,  5  barbers,  2  express 
companies,  5  cigars  and  tobacco,  4  bakers,  1  fancy 
goods,  2  stationery,  2  boat-builders,  1  lumber,  1  fur- 
niture, 4  blacksmith,  4  stoves,  3  candies,  1  coal  and 
wood  yard,  3  oysters  and  clams,  1  sail-loft,  3  railroad 
stations,  2  machine-shops,  1  clothing,  1  florist,  2  jew- 
elers, 1  bank,  1  savings-bank,  1  photographer,  1  hard- 
ware and  crockery,  1  steamboat  landing,  2  sewing- 
machine,  3  druggists,   1  gas  company,  1  postmaster, 

1  shipmaster,  1  furniture,  1  confectionery  and  saloon, 

2  fruits  and  vegetables,  1  livery,  1  tobacco  and  sta- 
tionery, 3  restaurants,  2  fish,  1  foundry,  1  cooper. 

The  Oyster  Busixess  is  a  large  interest  of  Perth 
Amboy,  giving  employment  to  hundreds  of  men.  The 
beds  in  Prince's  Bay  cover  an  area  of  about  twenty 
square  miles,  and  are  divided  into  lots  varying  in  size 
from  a  few  rods  to  one  hundred  acres  or  more,  and  in 
value  from  ten  to  fifteen  dollars  to  two  thousand  dol- 
lars per  acre. 

The  seed-oysters  are  taken  from  the  Raritan  River 
and  Newark  Bay,  and  placed  in  these  beds  in  quan- 
tities suflicient  to  entirely  cover  the  ground  and  left 
there  until  large  enough  for  the  market,  usually  three 
or  four  years. 

The  Ashland  Emery  Company. — This  company 
commenced  business  in  this  city  some  three  years  ago. 
Their  business  has  steadily  increased  from  the  begin- 
ning, and  they  have  erected  substantial  buildings 
to  handle  the  large  stock  which  the  trade  demands. 
A  large  number  of  men  are  employed,  and  the  amount 
of  business  done  places  these  mills  among  the  im- 
portant industries  of  this  city. 

Emery  ore  is  found  in  Turkey  and  in  the  island  of 
Naxos.  The  mines  in  Naxos  have  been  worked  for 
nearly  a  century,  their  yield  being  about  twelve  hun- 
dred tons  yearly.  The  product  is  owned  by  the  Greek 
government,  and  sold  mostly  in  Belgium  and  Mar- 
seilles ;  for  a  long  time  these  mines  were  held  by 
English  overseers,  who  enjoyed  the  monopoly  of  the 
world  in  emery.  Mr.  Charles  Alden  in  1844,  through 
the  aid  of  a  friend  then  residing  in  Smyrna,  secured 
a  few  hundred  pounds  of  stone  from  that  country, 
which  proved  to  be  pure  emery,  and  from  that  small 
beginning  the  supply  for  the  world  has  mostly  come 
from  that  source,  and  the  demand  is  increasing  to 
thousands  of  tons  every  year. 

The  Ashland  Emery  Company,  now  located  in  this 
city,  on  the  identical  spot  where  the  Long  Ferry 
Tavern  stood,  which  was  built  in  1684  (during  the 
administration  of  Governor  Gawen  Laurie). 

Emery  is  one  of  the  hardest  substances  known,  be- 


longing to  the  same  order  of  minerals  as  the  ruby 
and  sapphire,  and  has  been  used  in  India  from  time 
immemorial  for  cutting  and  polishing  all  gems  and 
precious  stones  except  diamonds.  The  first  question 
that  naturally  arises  is  how  can  a  substance  second 
only  to  the  diamond  in  hardness  be  worked?  The 
miners  have  to  work  around  the  outer  ledges  where 
the  ore  has  been  shattered  by  volcanic  action,  and 
take  out  such  pieces  as  they  can  break  off  with  ham- 
mers and  wedges.  It  comes  in  size  of  a  few  ounces 
in  weight  to  one  hundred  and  sometimes  two  hundred 
pounds,  is  first  put  into  crushers,  which  work  like 
huge  jaws,  and  reduce  it  to  about  the  size  of  a  walnut. 
It  is  then  run  through  six  different  mills,  each  re- 
ducing it  a  little  finer  than  the  last.  The  process  of 
reducing  the  ore  must  be  very  gradual,  so  as  not  to 
destroy  its  crystalline  structure,  on  which  it  depends 
for  its  sharp  points  and  hardness.  It  is  u.sed  for  pol- 
ishing granite  and  marble,  and  so  much  is  required 
to  gratify  the  public  taste  for  the  beautiful  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  dispense  with  its  use  in  almost 
every  department  of  mechanical  work.  It  is  made 
into  solid  wheels.  Emery-cloth,  emery-paper  are 
glued  on  woolen  wheels  and  belts.  It  is  also  used  in 
lapidary  work,  the  cutting  and  polishing  of  precious 
stones,  and  in  these  various  forms  made  to  do  every 
kind  of  work  required  more  rapidly  and  cheaper, 
giving  a  better  quality  of  work  than  can  be  done 
with  file  and  grindstone.  Optical  instrument  makers, 
plate  glass  manufacturers,  plow-makers,  engine- 
builders,  and  nearly  all  workers  in  mechanical  tools 
and  instruments  find  its  use  indispensable.  By  the 
courtesy  of  N.  D.  White,  Esq.,  treasurer  of  this  com- 
pany, I  am  indebted  for  these  facts. 

Harbor  and  Railroad  Facilities. — Although 
the  hopes  and  expectations  entertained  by  the  found- 
ers of  this  city  have  not  been  realized,  the  natural 
advantages  of  this  port  for  trade  and  commerce  were 
not  overestimated,  and  there  are  few  cities  which 
offer  so  many  and  so  great  inducements  to  manufac- 
turers, and  such  excellent  facilities  for  shipping  goods 
both  by  land  and  water  to  all  parts  of  the  globe.  We 
have  harbor  facilities  now  for  vessels  of  fifteen  hun- 
dred tons  burden,  and  United  States  engineers  are  at 
the  present  making  surveys  with  a  view  of  still  further 
deepening  the  channel  so  as  to  admit  the  largest 
ocean  steamers. 

A  large  number  of  sloops,  schooners,  and  other 
vessels  are  here  centred,  making  continuous  voyages 
to  ports  in  the  South  and  East,  carrying  coal,  lumber, 
and  oysters,  also  a  general  trade  with  foreign  vessels 
arriving  at  different  ports,  they  acting  as  "  lighters," 
carrying  the  freight  of  these  ships  and  steamers  to 
ports  where  their  goods  are  consigned.  A  bonded 
yard  has  recently  been  established  here,  and  lighters 
bonded  for  carrying  freight  to  and  from  New  York 
City,  so  that  whether  imported  goods  are  taken  in 
line  steamers  to  New  York  or  are  brought  direct  to 
this  port  the  duty  need  not  be  paid  until  the  goods 


CITY  OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


635 


are  required  for  immediate  use.  This  trade  is  now 
largely  on  the  increase,  and  in  a  few  years  it  is 
expected  that  it  will  more  than  double  in  quantity  of 
freight. 

Three  great  lines  of  railroad  intersect  here,  which 
within  a  few  years  have  opened  this  city  to  the  use 
and  requirements  of  commuters  doing  business  in  the 
near  cities  of  Elizabeth,  Newark,  and  New  York,  and 
by  the  South  Araboy  line  to  Philadelphia.  The  fol- 
lowing facts  are  interesting:  The  Lehigh  Valley 
Railroad,  which  runs  northwest  through  the  coal  and 
iron  regions  of  Pennsylvania  and  through  the  State 
of  New  York,  connecting  with  the  Erie,  the  Northern 
Central,  and  the  New  York  Central  Railroads,  and 
carrying  freights  through  to  Lake  Ontario  without 
change  of  cars ;  the  Pennsylvania,  which  with  its 
branches  furnishes  transportation  to  all  the  great 
markets  of  the  West  and  Northwest ;  the  New  Jersey 
Central,  connecting  with  the  Camden  and  Amboy  for 
Philadelphia  and  the  South,  and  running  through  all 
the  great  watering-places  along  the  coast.  These 
three  great  lines  with  their  connections  furnish  direct 
transportation  to  and  from  all  the  great  inland 
markets  of  the  LTnited  States  and  Canada.  Besides 
these  we  have  the  Staten  Island  Railway  and  the 
steamer  "  Norwalk"  direct  to  New  Y'ork  City,  with 
very  low  rates  of  freight,  especially  by  steamer.  Thus 
we  not  only  have  the  coal  and  iron  region  of  Penn- 
sylvania and  the  great  market  of  New  York  City  at 
our  very  doors,  but  the  most  ample  means  of  com- 
munication by  land  and  water  with  all  the  markets 
of  the  world.  We  have  also  in  our  immediate  ' 
vicinity  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  as  fine  clay  as  j 
can  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world,  and  the  above 
facilities  for  its  being  carried  to  difierent  parts  of  the 
country. 

Clay  Merchants. — John  R.  Watson  established 
in  1836  the  manufactory  of  brick  for  rolling-mills, 
lime-kilns,  blast-furnaces,  iron  foundries,  gas-works, 
tanneries,  boiler-  and  grate-settings,  glass-works,  etc., 
fire-clay,  fire-sand,  kaolin,  and  ground  cement.  The 
firm  is  now  known  as  Watson  Fire-Brick  Company. 
It  is  situated  south  of  Mutton  Hollow  Brook  and 
east  of  Hall's.  The  clays  are  mined  out  and  carried 
to  the  brick-works  at  Perth  Amboy,  being  there 
handy  for  shipping,  etc.  A  large  number  of  men 
are  continually  employed,  and  excellent  work  is 
turned  out  from  the  furnaces  ready  for  market. 

Some  of  the  finest  beds  of  clay  are  Inslee's  pits 
on  Perth  Amboy  road,  also  on  the  William  Cut- 
ter's land  a  fine  white  fire-clay;  within  a  few  years 
the  Meeker  and  Philips  clay  pits  have  been' opened, 
and  over  the  hill  south  of  these  pits  and  southwest  of 
Charles  Anness'  residence  and  just  west  of  the  Perth 
Amboy  road  several  small  pits  in  fire-clay  have  been 
dug  by  Mr.  S.  G.  Phillips,  and  north  of  this  and  on 
the  hill  across  the  road  from  the  Anness  house  there 
is  an  old  pit  where  a  little  dark-colored  clay  was  dug 
some  years   ago  for   making   red  brick   at   the  Spa 


Springs  yard.  This  belongs  in  the  laminated  clay 
and  sand  bed,  which  is  the  great  source  of  the  red 
clay  for  the  several  yards  along  the  Raritan  and  South 
Rivers. 

W.  H.  P.  Benton's  clay  pits  are  situated  on  the  low 
ground  west  of  the  Perth  Amboy  road  and  the  rail- 
road and  south  of  the  one  of  Mr.  Philips.  It  was 
opened  some  eight  years  ago. 

The  Charles  Anness  &  Sons'  mines  are  just  in  the 
line  of  Woodbridge  township.  In  this  clay  pit  there 
is  considerable  irregularity  and  variation  in  the  thick- 
ness of  the  several  layers,  and  the  vertical  section  of 
any  given  pit  is  not  always  representative  of  that 
immediately  adjoining  it.  In  the  southernmost  pits 
the  following  layers  were  observed: 

1.  Red  shale  drift 18  feet. 

2.  Yelliiw  sand  and  gravel 6  feet. 

3.  White  sandy  clay 3  feet. 

4.  Feldspar 4-5  feet. 

and  is  about  ninety-one  feet  above  high-water  level. 

Mention  made  of  the  following  clay-miners  and 
dealers  who  are  interested  in  the  pits ;  in  this  Perth 
Amboy  and  on  the  line  of  roads  from  Woodbridge 
some  of  the  finest  kaolin  clays  have  been  found.  The 
clay  pits  of  Isaac  Inslee,  Jr.,  Merritt's  kaolin  pits,  A. 
Hall  &  Son,  Samuel  Daily's  fire-sand  pit.  Feldspar 
has  been  seen  cropping  out  in  the  Easton  and  Amboy 
Railroad  cut  one  mile  west  of  Perth  Amboy  and  east 
of  the  Eagleswood  road.  This  was  in  the  bottom  of 
the  cut. 

I.  H.  Manning's  clay  pit  is  one  and  a  half  miles 
west  of  Perth  Amboy,  not  far  from  the  New  Brun.s- 
wick  road. 

E.  F.  Roberts'  clay  pits  are  situated  south  of  the 
Easton  and  Amboy  railroad,  near  the  Woodbridge 
and  Perth  Amboy  line,  and  a  third  of  a  mile  north 
of  Florida  Grove. 

These  clay  pits  are  so  intersected  with  the  Wood- 
bridge  clays,  and  as  there  are  a  number  of  firms  and 
individual  owners  in  both  the  township  of  Wood- 
bridge  and  at  Perth  Amboy,  what  has  been  remarked 
for  one  is  represented  by  the  other.  A  number  of 
owners  may  be  mentioned,  but  a  description  given  of 
the  clays  is  all  that  is  necessary.  The  source  from 
whence  the  materials  for  this  formation  originated 
must  be  looked  for  to  the  southeast  of  the  present 
strata.  Though  bordering  upon  and  overlying  the 
red  shale  and  sandstone  which  lies  to  the  northwest  of 
it,  there  is  not  a  fragment  of  those  rocks  to  be  found 
in  any  of  these  beds,  nor  any  of  their  striking  and 
characteristic  red  color  to  be  perceived  in  them. 

On  the  contrary,  the  materials  of  these  beds  are 
white,  gray,  or  blackish,  and  if  at  all  tinged  with  the 
reddish  color  of  oxide  of  iron  it  is  a  yellowish-red, 
and  not  a  purplish-red,  like  the  red  shale  and  sand- 
stone. The  appearances  all  indicate  that  they  have 
originated  from  the  materials  of  disintegrated  and 
partially  decomposed  feldspathic  granite  or  gneiss. 
Mention  may  also  be  made  of  the  kaolin  beds,  but 


636 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  above  will  be  all  that  is  needed  to  say  of  these 
valuable  clay  pits. 

Terra-Cotta  Works. — This  bank  is  at  the  head 
of  "  Mutton  Hollow,"  as  it  is  called,  and  the  most 
westerly  opening  for  clay  in  it.  It  shows  con.sider- 
able  variation  in  the  several  layers  from  the  surface 
to  the  bottom  of  the  pits.  In  some  of  the  pits  at  the 
bottom  there  is  a  gravelly  earth  with  some  shaly  ma- 
terials mixed  with  it.  These  kaolin  pits  are  about  a 
mile  northwest  of  these  works,  and  between  the 
Woodbridge  and  Perth  Amboy  Railroads.  The  kao- 
lin is  eight  by  ten  feet  thick,  and  is  underlaid  by  a 
oark  sandy  earth,  occasionally  called  "black  kaolin." 
They  manufacture  silica  and  white  bricks  also. 

A.  Hall  Terra-Cotta  Company  are  pushing  forward 
buildings  for  pressing-  and  tinishing-rooms,  and  brick- 
sheds  seventy-eight  by  one  hundred  and  thirty-five 
feet  are  about  finished.  The  main  room  will  be  soon 
ready,  as  soon  as  the  machinery  is  in  place,  about  1st 
May,  1882.  The  extensive  manufacturing  of  brick 
and  terra-cotta  will  be  an  impetus  to  business,  and 
the  employment  of  nearly  three  hundred  men,  and 
be  the  means  of  putting  a  large  amount  of  money  in 
circulation  among  our  tradesmen. 

A  large  number  of  clay  pits  could  be  named,  which 
are  employing  a  large  number  of  miners,  among  them 
the  E.  Cutter  Clay-Works,  also  S.  G.  Phillips,  which 
were  newly  opened  east  of  the  Woodbridge  and  Perth 
Amboy  road,  and  a  few  rods  west  of  Spa  Springs 
station,  in  1876,  and  are  shipping  large  quantities  of 
this  superior  clay. 

Custom-House. — In  1683,  Thomas  Rudyard,  the 
Deputy  Governor,  was  instructed  to  take  care  that 
goods  be  not  exported  to  New  York  and  other  places, 
but  that  all  goods  be  brought  to  Perth  Amboy  as  tlie 
port  of  entry  of  the  province.  By  an  order  of  Coun- 
cil of  Proprietors,  Aug.  14,  1687,  the  collector  of  the 
port  of  New  York  was  directed  to  allow  vessels  bound 
to  New  Perth  to  proceed  thither  without  first  entering 
at  his  port,  which  they  had  previously  been  obliged 
to  do,  provided  the  government  of  East  New  Jersey 
would  allow  some  person  appointed  by  the  govern- 
ment or  receiver-general  of  New  York  to  receive  the 
customs  and  imports.'  This  power  having  been  ac- 
corded by  the  government  of  East  New  Jersey,  Miles 
Forster  was  appointed  by  Governor  Dongan  "  collec- 
tor and  receiver  at  New  Perth,"  on  the  26th  of  No- 
vember, 1687,  and  was  recognized  as  such  by  the 
Council  of  the  province  on  the  30th  of  the  same 
month,  and  he  was  directed  to  levy  similar  duties 
upon  imports  and  exports  to  those  levied  at  New 
York,  which  were  as  follows,  the  table  showing  what 
were  the  principal  articles  of  trade  at  that  time: 

ON  IMPOKTS. 

Rum,  Bratiily,  and  Distilled  Spirits 4d.  per  gal. 

Miideil'H,  Kit>'«l,  St.  Geurge,  Cunary,  Malaga,  Slierry, 

and  all  Hweet  wines £2  per  pipe. 

Red,  While,  and  Ulieuinh  Wines £1  per  lilid. 

All  other  Uuodsfruni  Kurupe 2  per  cent,  ad  val. 

All  uther  Goudis  fruui  utlier  ports 12  per  cent,  ad  val. 

1  Manuscript  in  the  possession  of  William  A.  Whitehead,  Esq. 


ON   EXPORTS. 


3  Mullings Is.   (id. 


0  .Marlins 
4  Cipps .., 


6  Minlis 

4  Wolves 

24  Mo..se  

lu  Racoons 

.■setters 1«. 

24.Mu>krat8 

24  Drei-s 


peltry  and  skins  equivalent  to  heaver,  excepting  ox,  bull, 


14  Fo: 

All   oil 
and  cow-1 

On  goods  sold  to  the  Indians  10  per  cent,  ad  val.  upon  certain  valu- 
ations. 

In  1694  the  Assembly  of  East  Jersey,  for  the  better 
encouragement  of  its  trade,  established  a  custom- 
house entirely  distinct  from  New  York,  and  the  inde- 
pendence thus  impliedly  asserted  caused  the  claims 
of  the  oiBcers  of  New  York  to  exercise  authority  in 
East  Jersey  also  to  be  renewed,  and  for  several  years 
the  greatest  confusion  prevailed  from  the  attempts  of 
the  two  governments  to  enforce  obedience  to  their  re- 
spective mandates.  Thomas  Coker  was  collector  for 
Amboy  in  April,  1698,  but  on  July  12th  of  the  same 
year  Charles  Goodman  was  appointed  collector  by 
Edmund  Fitz  Randolph,  surveyor-general  of  the  cus- 
toms in  America,  and  he  was  sworn  into  office  on  the 
15th  of  that  month.  He  remained  in  office  until 
1701,  when  he  died,  and  John  White  (April  21st  of 
that  year)  received  the  appointment  under  Queen 
Anne.  And  in  this  year,  by  a  decision  of  the  Queen's 
Bench  in  England,  the  contention  with  the  New  York 
custom-house  was  put  to  rest,  and  New  Jersey's 
rights  were  fully  established.  At  this  time  the  pro- 
prietors were  zealously  engaged  in  upholding  the 
rights  of  their  capital  as  a  port  of  entry,  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  rival  claim  and  competition  of  New  York. 
But  they  seem  to  have  erred  greatly  in  judgment  as 
to  the  measures  which  would  most  effectually  secure 
this  object,  both  before  and  after  the  privileges  of  a 
port  w-ere  obtained.-  Although  legislation  may  have 
been  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  commercial  pros- 
perity of  East  Jersey,  the  principal  cause  of  the  de- 
cline of  her  port  was  the  growing  commercial  import- 
ance of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  It  appears 
that  no  vessel  was  built  at  Amboy  until  1702.  "  Miles 
Forster  received  a  town  lot  in  consideration  of  his 
having  built  tlie  first  sloop  in  Perth  Amboy  belong- 
ing to  the  province,  and  to  be  navigated  hence." 

The  same  system  was  pursued  after  the  surrender 
of  the  government  to  Queen  Anne.  The  exportation 
of  pipe  and  hogshead  staves  in  1714  to  the  neighbor- 
ing province  was  burdened  with  a  duty  of  thirty 
shillings  on  every  thousand,  and  twenty  shillings  per 
thousand  were  to  be  paid  when  shipped  to  any  other 
part  of  the  continent,  the  reasons  given  being  the 
"great  discouragement  to  the  trade"  of  the  province 
such  exportation  caused  and  the  destruction  of  timber 
which  was  the  result.  In  the  year  1717  this  was  re- 
pealed, having  been  found,  as  might  have  been  anti- 
cipated, "to  be  prejudicial  to  the  inhabitants;"  but  in 
1743,  for  fear  there  "  might  not  be  enough  left  for  the 
necessary  use  of  the  Eastern  Division,"  these  duties 

s  E.  J.  Hist.,  p.  297. 


CITY   OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


637 


together  with  others  upon  timber  generally  were 
revived,  and  the  law  continued  in  force  until  the  Eev- 
olution.  A  duty  was  laid  upon  wheat  in  March, 
1714,  exported  from  the  Eastern  Division  to  any  of 
the  British  colonies  upon  the  continent  of  America, 
and  as  this  law  came  in  force  at  the  same  time  as  a 
law  respecting  staves,  it  shows  that  both  were  re- 
garded in  a  similar  light  and  productive  of  like  re- 
sults ;  and  it  appears  that  tlie  repeal  of  these  laws 
caused  great  discussion,  as  many  pamphlets  were 
published  pro  and  con  upon  the  subject.  In  the  Phila- 
delphia Library  among  the  pamphlets  is  one,  entitled 
"  Proposals  for  Trade  and  Commerce  in  New  Jersey," 
published  at  this  time.  "In  May,  1740,  a  bill  was 
introduced  into  the  Assembly  for  establishing  two 
trading  companies  or  bodies  corporate  for  carrying  on 
a  Foreign  trade,  one  of  them  to  be  located  at  Bur- 
lington and  the  other  at  Amboy."  This  attracted 
considerable  attention,  and  it  was  printed  for  the  in- 
formation of  their  constituents,  postponing  action 
upon  it  until  some  future  jjeriod,  but  the  proper  time 
never  arrived.  To  afford  some  idea  of  wliat  the  no- 
tions of  the  legislators  of  those  days  were  in  relation 
to  commerce,  the  following  synopsis  of  the  bill  is  here 
introduced  : 

"  After  providing  names  and  location  for  the  com- 
panies, commissioners  from  the  counties  of  Middlesex, 
Monmouth,  Essex,  Somerset,  and  Bergen  were  em- 
powered to  record  the  names  of  all  such  persons  as 
were  disposed  to  become  associated  with  the  Amboy 
Company,  and  similar  officials  from  the  county  of 
Hunterdon,  Burlington,  Gloucester,  Salem,  and  Cape 
May  were  to  perform  the  same  duty  for  the  Burling- 
ton Company,  the  persons  so  subscribing  to  give  se- 
curity, if  in  lands  for  double,  and  if  in  houses  for  treble 
the  amount  of  their  respective  subscriptions.  Such 
properly  to  be  the  basis  for  the  issue  by  the  province 
of  £40,000  of  paper  money, — twenty  thousand  to  each 
company, — which  was  to  be  the  capital  upon  which 
they  were  to  trade ;  and  so  confident  were  they  of 
success  that  it  was  provided  for  in  the  bill  that  for 
twenty  days  after  the  books  were  opened  no  persons 
were  allowed  to  subscribe  for  more  than  one  share, 
and  for  the  second  twenty  days  for  not  more  than  two 
shares,  the  shares  being  one  hundred  pounds  each." 

Whitehead  remarks  that  "it  was  expected  that  in 
ten  years  the  profits  of  the  companies  would  be  suf- 
ficient to  sink  the  forty  thousand  pounds,  but  should 
such  not  prove  to  be  the  case  then  the  property  held 
as  security -was  to  become  liable  for  any  deficiency." 

It  was  a  mistaken  policy  to  expect  the  foreign  trade 
would  entirely  concentrate  in  Perth  Amboy.  There 
was  considerable  trade,  as  the  arrival  and  departure 
of  vessels  are  frequently  noticed  in  the  newspapers  at 
that  time,  but  the  removal  of  the  provincial  govern- 
ment from  that  city  and  the  enterprises  of  New  York 
merchants  withdrew  what  little  foreign  imports  there 
were  at  that  time.  The  following  June  24, 1751,  ar- 
rivals and  departures  from  and  to  foreign  ports  and 
41 


Departures. 
2  ships. 

8  brigantines 
13  sloops. 
10  schooners. 

2  Bliatlops. 

38 

coastwise,  not  including,  however,  ordinary  coasting 
vessels  not  obliged  to  enter  and  clear,  were : 

Arrivals. 

7  brigantines. 
IS  Bloops. 
10  scliooners. 

2  sliiillups. 

41 

The  imports  from  foreign  ports  for  the  same  time 
were: 

39,670  gallons  rum.  ,  437  pounds  naval  stores. 

31,600  gallons  molasses.  123  pipes  wines. 

333,968  pounds  sugar.  I      12,759  bushels  salt. 

The  exports  for  foreign  ports  for  the  same  time 
were 

624  pounds  flour.  ,  14,000  pounds  hemp. 

168,000  pounds  bread.  I  And  small  quantities  of  butter, 

314  pounds  beef  and  porlv.  i  bams,  beei',  flax-seed,  bar  iron, 

17,941  bushels  grain.  ;  and  lumber. 

Mr.  Russell  in  his  work  on  America,  printed  in 
1778,  estimated  the  commerce  of  the  province  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Revolution  to  be  twice  as  great 
as  it  was  in  1751. 

The  "  fee  book  of  Jonathan  Deare,"  naval  officer  at 
Amboy,  is  now  in  the  possession  of  the  New  Jersey 
Historical  Society,  showing  the  number  of  entrances 
and  clearances  from  June  8, 1784,  to  Feb.  8, 1788,  three 
years  and  eight  months,  to  have  been  as  follows : 

Entrances. 

Snows 2 

Brigs 6 

Ketch 1 

Schooners 10 

Sloops 33 


52 


Snows 2 

Brigs 6 

Ketch 1 

Schooners 7 

Sloops 34 


These  vessels  were  mostly  from  Nova  Scotia,  St. 
Eustatia,  St.  John's,  St.  Croix,  Tobago,  Barbadoes, 
England,  and  Madeira,  etc. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  collectors  at  the  port 
of  Perth  Amboy  since  the  establishment  of  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  to  the  present  time. 
No  complete  list,  only  what  have  been  mentioned 
prior  to  these  dates,  can  now  be  found  or  previous 
to  the  Revolutionary  war : 


John  Halsted,  Aug.  2, 1789. 
Andrew  Bell,  March  18,  1800. 
Daniel  Marcli,  June  13,  1801. 
John  Ueard,  June  1,1802. 
Phineas  Manning,  Feb.  25, 1806. 
Daniel  Perrine,  April  15,  1809. 
Aaron  Hazard,  June  12, 1812. 
John  Brewster,  April  1,  1818. 
Robert  Arnold,  Jan.  20,  1821. 
James  Parker,  April  1,  1829. 
Joseph   W.  Reckless,  March    11, 

1833. 
David  K.  Schenck,  Jnne  23, 1838. 
Charles  McKnight  Smith,  July  10, 

1841. 

The  following  persons  have  been  connected  with 
the  customs  as  deputy  collectors  : 

D.  R.  Schenck,  1853-67.  ,  Jacob  L.  Martin,  1861-69. 

Louis  V.  B.  Howell,  1857-61.  Lieut.  W.  R.  Coddington,  1861-74. 

J.  Forbes  Morris,  1S61-69.  I  M<y.  J.  Kearney  Smith,  1874-82. 


Francis  W.  Brinley,  Aug.  24, 1843. 
Solomon  Andrews,  June  15, 1844. 
James  A.  NicUolls,  May  6,  1845. 
Charles  McKnight  Smith,  July  31, 

1849. 
Francis  W.  Brinley,  March  26, 1853. 
Amos  Robbins,  June  16,  1857. 
J.  Lawrence  Boggs,  1861-69. 
Dr.  C.  McKnight  Smith,  1869-74. 
Lt.  W.  R.  Coddington,  March,  1874, 

to  March,  1875. 
Col.  C.  H.  Houghton,  March,  1875, 

to  1882. 


638 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JEllSEY. 


As  inspectors : 

Maj.  J.  Kearney  Smith,  1861-74.       |  Lieut.  J.  H.  Tyrrell,  1869-82. 

Fire  Department. — Previous  to  the  Revolution  the 
larger  proportion  of  houses  in  this  city  were  built  of 
wood,  and  there  was  no  means  in  force  for  the  speedy 
arrest  of  fires,  yet  endeavors  had  been  made  to  effect 
some  arrangement,  and  a  letter  in  the  possession  of 
Mr.  Whitehead,  the  historian,  from  Elias  Bland, 
dated  New  York,  May  15,  1767,  says,— 

**  I  hope  the  wurlliy  gentlemen  of  your  corporation  will  not  suppose  I 
want  to  impose  on  tliem  respecting  the  fire-engine  which  comes  here- 
with, with  a  certiticate  from  the  person  who  has  the  care  of  those  belong- 
ing to  this  city.  I  had  three  ;  two  of  'em  wanted  something  done  to  'em, 
owing  to  being  long  out  of  use.  This  now  gent  has  wanted  nothing  done. 
Stoutenburgh  says  it  is  a  vei-y  good  engine,  and  (unless  abused)  will  last 
forty  years.  However,  if  not  approved  let  it  come  back  per  Thompson 
(who  was  the  only  navigator  between  New  York  and  Amboy  at  that  time) 
at  my  expense." 

The  value  of  the  engine  was  "  20  guineas  at  current 
Exchange." 

By  an  act  pa.ssed  by  the  General  Assembly  author- 
izing the  corporation  to  raise  by  a  tax  on  the  inhab- 
itants among  other  things  "  to  purchase  a  fire-engine 
with  the  necessary  paraphernalia,  and  to  dig  public 
wells,"  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Town  Well," 
at  the  junction  of  Smith  and  High  Streets,  was  prob- 
ably dug. 

Perth  Amboy  Water  Company  was  organized 
in  the  month  (jf  January,  ISSl,  and  the  company 
have  built  their  reservoir  at  the  Eaglewood  Park. 
Water  is  dispensed  throughout  the  city,  having  in 
case  of  fire  a  pressure  of  over  forty-two  pounds  from 
stand-pipe  main  in  any  part  of  the  city.  Capi- 
tal, $100,000.  President,  William  Hall;  Secretary, 
C.  C.  Homnianu ;  Treasurer,  William  Stiger.  Di- 
rectors, William  Hall,  Alfred  Hall,  J.  G.  Garretson, 
William  Runkle,  E.  R.  Pearce,  Patrick  Conway,  and 
William  King. 

Lincoln  Hose  Company,  No.  1. — The  following 
list  of  officers  who  were  elected  Feb.  19, 1882,  to  serve 
for  the  ensuing  year :  Foreman,  Lewis  Franke ; 
First  Assistant  Foreman,  James  Dunham  ;  Second 
Assistant  Foreman,  Ambrose  Wood  ;  Treasurer,  G.  W. 
Coutts  ;  Secretary,  A.  C.  Phillips. 

Secret  Societies. — Raeitan  Lodge,  No.  61,  F. 
and  A.  M.  Date  of  January,  a. l.  .586.3.  In  their  by- 
laws, published  in  1873 : 

Section  1.  This  lodge  shall  be  known  and  desig- 
nated as  Raritan  Lodge,  No.  61,  A.  F.  and  A.  M., 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  M.  W.  Grand  Lodge  of 
the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of  Free  and  Ac- 
cepted Masons  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey. 

The  following  were  the  officers  in  1881 : 

Past  Masters,  Isaac  D.  Ward,  William  P.  Dally, 
Frederick  W.  Harper,  William  King,  Jr.,  Eber  H. 
Hall. 

Officers  for  1880-81 :  Joseph  Marsh,  W.  M. ;  Aime 
B.  Marsh,  S.  W. ;  George  H.  Tice,  J.  W.;  R.  H. 
Marsh,  Treas. ;  F.  W.  Gordon,  Sec. ;  William  King, 


Jr.,  S.  D. ;  W.  A.  Slaight,  J.  D. ;  Thomas  Macan,  M. 
C. ;  A.  G.  St.  Clair,  M.  C. ;  George  W.  Mercer,  Steward ; 
Samuel  G.  Miller,  Steward;  Philip  Gabriel,  Tyler; 
Thomas  Macan,  Eber  H.  Hall,  William  King,  Jr., 
trustees. 

Regular  communications  the  second  and  fourth 
Thursday  evenings  of  each  month. 

Election  of  officers  in  the  month  of  December. 

A  beautiful  lodge  room  over  the  bank  building, 
corner  of  Smith  and  Rector  Streets. 

Lawrence  Lodge,  No.  62,  I.  O.  of  O.  F.— The 
following  is  the  list  of  officers:  John  G.  Martin,  N.  G. ; 
George  Adair,  V.  G. ;  Joseph  Efenbacb,  Sec;  George 
W.  Dubois,  P.  S. ;  George  Foster,  Treas. 

Their  regular  meeting  night  is  on  Friday,  at  7.30 
o'clock. 

Algonquin  Lodge,  No.  44,  K.  of  P. — They  have 
considerable  of  a  membership.  The  following:  Wil- 
liam C.  Rhodes,  C.  C;  Louis  H.  Frank,  V.  C;  Wes- 
ley G.  Gardiner,  M.  of  E. ;  Garri  Jacobi,  M.  of  F. ; 
A.  W.  Slaght,  Treas. 

Their  regular  time  for  meeting  is  on  Monday  even- 
ings. 

Endowment  Rank,  Section  427,  K.  of  P. — The 
following  officers  for  1881 :  Adam  Eckert,  Prest. ;  John 
E.  Wood,  Vice-Prest. ;  E.  B.  P.  Kelley,  Ex'g  Physician ; 
Charles  Walters,  Jr.,  Guard  ;  Frederick  F.  Fox,  Treas. 
and  Sec. ;  David  F.  Noe,  Chapl. ;  James  H.  Woglom, 
Guide  ;  George  Liddle,  Sent. 

Their  regular  meeting  is  second  Thursday  evening 
of  each  month. 

Grand  Army  or  the  Republic. — Major  Dandy 
Post,  organized  April,  1870  ;  Joseph  L.  Crowell,  P. 
C. ;  J.  Kearney  Smith,  Adjt. 

Meets  the  first  and  third  Tuesday  evenings  of  each 
month. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


ALFRED  HALL. 
Alfred  Hall,  manufacturer,  of  Perth  Amboy,  is  a 
New  Englander  by  birth,  having  been  born  May  22, 
1803,  in  Meriden,  Conn.  On  his  father's  side  he  is  of 
English,  and  on  his  mother's  side  of  French  ex- 
traction. Both  his  father,  Avery  Hall,  and  his 
mother,  Sarah  Foster,  were  natives  of  Connecticut, 
his  father  being  a  farmer  at  Meriden.  The  early 
education  of  Alfred  Hall  was  obtained  iu  the  public 
schools  of  Meriden.  Later  he  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Great  Barrington,  Mass.,  continuing  his 
studies  in  the  schools  of  that  place.  At  the  age  of 
seventeen  he  taught  .school  at  the  centre  of  Tyring- 
ham,  Mass.  His  father  owned  a  large  tract  of  land 
about  fifty  miles  southwest  of  Cleveland,  to  which 
Alfred  and  his  brother  Seidon,  who  is  now  a  resident 
of  Ohio,  started  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  off  a 
portion  of  the  timber.     They  performed  the  journey 


j4f>JLel  ^o.JL 


CITY   OF  PERTH  AMBOY. 


639 


of  seven  hundred  miles  on  foot,  going  by  way  of 
Albany  and  Rochester  (the  latter  place  being  then  a 
mere  collection  of  log  huts),  and  thence  through 
Butfalo  and  Cleveland,  reaching  their  destination  a 
month  after  leaving  home.  Their  first  work  was  the 
erection  of  a  log  hut.  Three  months  later  the  re- 
mainder of  the  family  joined  them,  making  the 
journey  in  wagons  drawn  by  oxen.  The  clearing  in 
the  forest  now  became  the  family  homestead.  Alfred 
Hall  having  a  natural  aptness  for  mechanical  work, 
was  frequently  called  upon  to  help  his  neighbor 
pioneers  in  preparing  their  log  homes.  Alfred  re- 
mained at  home  about  one  year,  after  which  he  went 
to  Silver  Springs,  Pa.,  to  engage  in  school-teaching, 
remaining  about  two  years,  when  he  returned  to  his 
father's  home,  built  for  himself  a  log  cabin  near  by, 
and  settled  down  as  a  permanent  citizen  of  the  then 
forest  community.  During  the  several  years  of  his 
residence  in  this  place  he  served  as  postmaster, 
trustee  of  the  township,  and  justice  of  the  peace. 

He  iinally  removed  to  Cleveland,  engaging  in  the 
manufacture  of  brick,  which  business  he  continued 
successfully  for  fifteen  years.  He  took  an  active  part 
in  the  public  affairs  of  Cleveland  during  his  residence 
in  that  city,  filling  the  position  of  alderman  and 
member  of  Council. 

Although  in  politics  a  Democrat,  his  public  spirit, 
sterling  integrity,  and  practical  ability  were  so  widely 
and  heartily  recognized  that  he  received  the  support 
of  his  fellow-citizens  irrespective  of  party  considera- 
tions. In  1842,  while  still  in  business  in  Cleveland, 
he  invented  and  patented  a  brick-moulding  machine, 
which  was  adopted  generally  by  the  trade  throughout 
the  country  and  is  still  in  use.  Leaving  Cleveland 
he  removed  to  Coxsackie,  N.  Y.,  where  he  remained 
three  years.  In  1845  he  visited  England,  being  occu- 
pied most  of  that  year  in  securing  patent  rights  in 
that  country  for  his  brick-machine.  He  returned  the 
latter  part  of  the  year  and  located  at  Perth  Amboy, 
where  he  commenced  the  erection  of  buildings 
for  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick.  Ten  years  later,  in 
1856,  a  portion  of  these  buildings  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  and  he  at  once  erected  in  their  place  an  exten- 
sive brick  building  comprising  all  desirable  improve- 
ments, and  in  this  structure  the  work  is  carried  on  all 
the  year  round.  The  former  buildings  being  of  wood, 
continuous  work  throughout  the  entire  year  was  im- 
practicable. The  ground  floor  is  heated  by  four  fur- 
naces, by  which  the  bricks  are  dried,  the  upper  story 
being  used  for  the  manufacture  of  Rockingham-  and 
yellow-ware.  The  works  also  include  extensive  kilns 
for  burning  the  bricks  and  the  ware.  These  are  per- 
fect in  their  way,  embodying  many  improvements 
which  are  the  inventions  of  the  jiroprietor ;  among 
them  may  be  mentioned  a  patent  hinge-grate  of  his 
invention,  which  renders  the  burning  much  more 
speedy  and  less  expensive  than  heretofore.  Beside 
the  works  at  Perth  Amboy  the  firm  of  A.  Hall  &  Sons 
have  a  similar  fire-brick  works,  of  about  the   same 


capacity,  at  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  and  ten  miles  below  Buf- 
falo, at  Tonawanda,  extensive  works  for  the  manufac- 
ture of  red  brick,  which  produce  about  two  million 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  annually,  a  million  of 
which  are  of  the  style  of  Philadelphia  face  brick. 
When  running  in  full  force  the  several  works  employ 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  and  boys,  and  pro- 
duce about  five  million  fire-brick  and  two  million  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  red  brick  annually.  The 
works  in  Buffalo  are  in  charge  of  Edward  J.  Hall,  a 
son  of  Alfred  Hall.  Another  son,  Eber  H.  Hall,  is 
associated  with  his  father  at  Perth  Amboy.  A  fine 
specimen  of  the  colored  building  brick  produced  by 
A.  Hall  &  Sons  was  presented  by  the  large  chimney 
erected  by  them  adjoining  the  New  Jersey  building 
on  the  Centennial  grounds,  and  it  deservedly  attracted 
much  attention  and  admiration. 

Having  retired  from  the  presidency  of  the  Perth 
Amboy  Terra-Cotta  Company  during  the  fall  of  1880, 
he  conceived  the  plan  of  a  new  terra-cotta  works,  upon 
which  he  immediately  began  work  and  proceeded  to 
organize  a  stock  company.  The  success  of  this  un- 
dertaking was  guaranteed  through  the  co-operation  of 
Mr.  Hall's  experience  of  forty  years  and  men  of  ex- 
perience in  this  line.  The  company  was  incorporated 
in  July,  1881,  and  the  work  of  building  begun  in 
August  of  the  same  year;  at  the  present  time  is  well 
toward  completion.  These  works  when  completed 
will  be  the  most  extensive  of  any  in  the  United 
States.  The  capacity  when  completed  will  be  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 
work  annually  without  any  extra  exertion  ;  buildings 
cover  an  area  of  five  acres  independent  of  dockage ;  the 
machinery,  modeling  and  moulding  building,  facing 
the  south,  is  two  hundred  and  seventy-two  by  forty 
feet,  two  stories  ;  facing  the  east  are  the  office  build- 
ing, forty  by  twenty,  two  stories  high  ;  the  flue-house, 
in  which  is  done  the  pressing  and  finishing,  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  by  fifty,  three  stories  high.  This 
is  one  of  four  buildings  of  same  dimensions ;  to  the 
north  fronting  this  is  the  end  of  the  kiln  building, 
which  is  two  hundred  and  twenty  by  sixty  feet,  con- 
taining seven  terra-cotta  kilns.  Still  to  the  north  is 
another  flue-house  and  a  store,  two  hundred  and  eighty 
by  forty  feet,  fronting  the  north,  Buckingham  Avenue ; 
to  the  west  of  this  on  Mechanic  Street  appears  the 
stowing  and  coal-sheds;  these  buildings  are  of  fire- 
proof construction,  all  of  the  partition  walls  being 
made  of  brick. 

Mr.  Hall  has  been  assisted  greatly  in  plans  by  Mr. 
R.  W.  Taylor,  his  foreman,  a  man  of  large  experience 
in  this  line  of  work.  Mr.  Hall's  letter  to  the  State 
geologist,  published  in  their  annual  report,  shows  how 
thoroughly  he  has  studied  the  resources,  and  the  prog- 
nostications have  up  to  this  writing  been  more  than 
realized : 

'*  I  am  doing  all  I  can  to  develop  and  bring  into  nse  the  great  varie- 
ties of  clay,  wliifh  should  be  a  great  source  of  wealth  to  the  State  of 
New  Jersey.    We  have  in  our  employ  men  of  all  nationalities,  who  are 


640 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


familiar  with  the  worliing  of  clay  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  and  their 
opinion  is  unanimous  that  the  red  and  other  colored  clays  of  New  Jersey 
are  snperior  for  making  terra-cotta  to  any  in  the  world.  There  are  also 
many  clays  that  are  now  considered  worthless  that  show  qualities  that 
I  think  will  be  of  great  value  when  applied  to  the  uses  for  which  they 
are  adapted. 

"  Perth  .\uiboy  is  the  natural  centre  for  the  manufacture  of  architect- 
ural terra-cotta,  both  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  the  raw  material  and 
the  great  facilities  for  shipping,  the  docks  here  having  been  unimpeded 
by  ico  all  through  the  last  severe  frost.  The  present  works  cannot  sup- 
ply the  increasing  demand,  the  sales  of  the  six  months  ending  Decem- 
ber 31st  amounting  to  872,916.  January  1st  there  were  orders  exceed- 
ing $55,00",  and  several  large  works  for  which  terra-cotta  is  specified  for 
which  estimates  have  been  given  aggregating  nearly  S200,000  more,  and 
Perth  Amboy  ought  to  become  as  noted  for  terra-cotta  as  Trenton  is  for 

pottery. 

"Alfred  Hall. 

"  Perth  Ambov,  February  2lst,  1881." 

The  manufacture  of  brick  ha.s  been  very  much  ben- 
efited by  various  improvements  introduced  by  Mr. 
Hall,  many  of  them  being  his  own  inventions. 
From  1863  to  1869  he  was  mayor  of  Perth  Amboy, 
and  three  times  he  was  elected  without  the  opposi- 
tion of  any  other  candidate.  He  is,  and  has  been 
since  its  organization,  a  stockholder,  director,  and 
the  president  of  the  Middlesex  Land  Company.  He 
was  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  board  of  free- 
holders of  Middlesex  County,  and  is  president  of  the 
Fire- Brick  Manufacturers'  Association  of  the  United 
States. 

During  the  war  of  the  Rebellion  he  was  an  active 
Union  man,  aiding  the  government  eflectively  with 
money  and  influence.  While  residing  in  Loraine 
County,  Ohio,  the  location  of  the  old  forest  home- 
stead, he  married  Sarah  Buckingham,  a  native  of 
Connecticut,  and  in  their  pioneer  home  the  two  sons 
now  associated  with  him  in  business  were  born.  Their 
family  consisted  of  three  sons  and  three  daughters, 
of  whom  only  two  sons  and  one  daughter  are  now 
living. 

She  (the  mother)  died  in  1853,  highly  esteemed  by 
all  who  knew  her.  Subsequently  he  married  Parmelia 
F.  Robinson,  a  widow  with  three  young  children, — one 
son  and  two  daughters, — whom  he  reared  as  his  own. 
She  is  a  native  of  New  England,  and  a  daughter  of 
Col.  William  Pearl,  of  New  Hampshire.  Mr.  Hall  is 
possessed  of  literary  tastes,  and  his  writings  are  always 
grapliic  and  to  the  point.  An  article  written  by  him 
on  the  "  Manufacture  of  Fire-Brick,"  and  published 
in  the  Scientific  Atiierican  in  January,  1870,  and  re- 
published in  several  English  papers,  is  characteristic. 
He  is  a  supporter  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  which  he 
attends  with  his  family.  He  is  no  sectarian,  and  is  a 
member  of  no  particular  denomination,  but  a  liberal 
contributor  to  all  religious  societies  in  his  vicinity. 


CHAPTER    XCIII. 

CITY    OF    NEW    BRINSWICK'. 

Original  Site. — Where  New  Brunswick  now  stands 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  seventeenth  century 
there  was  a  dense  cedar  forest  and  a  swamp  called 


"  Prigmore's"  or  "  Pridmore's  swamp."  The  latter 
name  often  appears  in  old  records.  The  first  inhabit- 
ant is  said  to  have  been  Daniel  Cooper,  who  resided 
where  the  post-road  afterwards  crossed  the  river  and 
kept  a  ferry.'  This  Cooper  was  one  of  the  very  early 
purchasers  and  settlers  under  the  proprietors,  and  his 
name  appears  as  such  in  the  schedule  to  the  Eliza- 
bethtown  Bill,  but  the  record  does  not  locate  him  at 
the  site  of  New  Brunswick,  where  a  misty  tradi- 
tion only  places  him.  Daniel  Cooper  had  a  tract  of 
two  thousand  acres  of  land  on  "  Pasaick"  River.' 

When  New  Brunswick  was  first  called  "  Inians' 
Ferry"  cannot  be  determined  exactly.  Gordon  and 
other  annalists  state  that  on  the  1st  of  November, 

1681,  John  Inians  and  company  bought  two  lots  where 
New  Brunswick  now  stands,  containing  a  mile  of  river 
front  by  two  miles  in  depth.     On  the  1st  of  March, 

1682,  he  was  a  petitioner  to  the  Governor  and  Council, 
in  connection  with  Joseph  Benbridge,  requesting  that 
"  lands  which  they  and  their  associates  had  purcha.sed 
of  the  Indians,  which  had  by  the  late  surveyor-gen- 
eral been  surveyed  and  a  return  of  the  survey  made 
into  the  secretary's,  might  be  patented  according  to 
said  survey."  The  warrant  was  for  six  thousand 
acres,  and  it  appearing  that  the  surveyor  had  laid  out 
seven  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty  acres  without 
reserving  the  sevenths  that  were  the  proportion  of 
the  proprietors,  further  consideration  of  the  petition 
was  deferred  till  the  next  day.  On  the  following  day 
it  was  determined  by  the  Council  that  "John  Inians 
and  Joseph  Benbridge  and  associates  should  have 
patent-s  for  the  land,  according  to  the  proportion 
mentioned  in  the  warrant  for  the  survey, — John  Inians 
one  thousand  and  all  the  others  five  hundred  acres 
apiece, — at  one  halfpenny  per  acre,  and  that  the  whole 
overplus  of  the  tract  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  pro- 
prietors in  lieu  of  their  sevenths  to  be  laid  out  by 
the  surveyor-general,  and  that  the  proprietors  shall 
pay  and  allow  to  the  said  Inians  and  associates  an  ap- 
porti(mablepartof  the  Indians'  partof  said  overplus."' 

A  map  is  extant  a  literal  copy  of  which  is  in  the 
possession  of  Mr.  Charles  D.  Deshler,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, made  in  1685  by  John  Reid,  first  deputy  sur- 
veyor under  the  proprietors,  and  afterwards  surveyor- 
general,  which  gives  the  situation  and  outline  of  nine- 
teen lots  known  as  "  The  Raritan  Lots,"  lying  on  the 
south  side  of  the  Raritan,  and  stretching  from  the 
mouth  of  South  River  past  the  site  of  New  Brunswick 
to  Bound  Brook,  seventeen  of  which  have  each  about 
a  half  a  mile  of  river  front  by  about  two  miles  in 
depth,  and  extend  in  a  southwesterly  direction  in- 
land. Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  South  River,  the 
first  of  these  lots  is  marked  to  "  Law  Baker"  and  con- 
tains thirteen  hundred  acres;  the  next  to  "  C.  P.  Son- 
mans,"  one  thousand  acres ;  the  next  to  "  Governor 
Barclay,"  five  hundred  thousand  acres ;  the  next  to  "  C. 


1  Gordon's  Gazetteer,  p.  195. 

'Elizabeth  Bill,  p.  8». 

'  Kecords  of  Governor  and  Council  of  £.  J.,  pp.  6, 10. 


CITY  OF  NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


641 


Longfield,"  five  hundred  acres;  thetwonextto  "John 
laians,"  each  six  hundred  and  forty  acres.  This  last 
is  shown  in  the  map  to  be  the  "  Ibrding-place"  (and 
the  original  site  of  New  Brunswick)  by  a  hand  point- 
ing toward  it,  and  also  by  the  word  "  falles"  written 
opposite.  These  "falles"  are  within  the  memory  of 
many,  and  were  more  properly  a  rocky  rift,  extend- 
ing across  the  river  just  below  the  upper  lock,  mak- 
ing the  stream  so  shallow  as  to  be  easily  crossed  at 
low  tides  in  a  wagon  or  on  horseback. 

On  the  3d  Tuesday  of  Septemlier,  l(j86,  John  Inians 
appears  in  the  minutes  of  the  County  Court  of  Mid- 
dlesex as  plaintiff  in  an  action  against  Mordecai 
Boudinot.  He  is  again  spoken  of  as  "  Capt.  John 
Inians"  when  he  acted  as  one  of  the  justices  of  the 
Court  of  Sessions  held  at  Piscataway  March  15,  1686- 
87.  Afterwerds  his  name  often  appears  in  these  min- 
utes in  connection  with  that  office.  He  was  unques- 
tionably a  man  of  some  consequence,  for  besides 
being  an  associate  justice  of  the  court  he  was  one  of 
Governor  Hamilton's  Council  from  October  till  No- 
vember, 1693,  and  again  from  July,  1695,  till  March, 
1697,  and  also  of  Governor  Basse's  Council  from  the 
8th  till  the  Uth  of  March,  1698.'  Inians  became  the 
owner  of  this  property,  as  has  been  seen,  certainly  as 
early  as  March  1,  1682,  and  it  is  probable  that  he 
very  soon  afterwards  started  the  ferry,  for  on  the  19th 
of  April,  1686,  we  learn  from  the  "  Records  of  the 
Governor  and  Council  of  East  Jersey"'-  "a  paper 
was  given  in  here  by  Mr.  John  Inians,  therein  setting 
forth  that  he  has  been  at  considerable  expense  to  ac- 
commodate the  Countrj'  in  making  out  a  Road  to  the 
ti'alls  from  his  house  on  the  Raritau,  which  is  six 
miles  shorter  than  formerly,  and  hath  furnished  him- 
self with  all  accommodations,  as  boats,  canoes,  etc., 
fitting  for  flerrying  over  the  Raritan  River  all  Trav- 
elling with  horses  and  cattle,  etc.  Desiring  that  this 
Board  will  be  pleased  to  order  its  being  a  publicke 
road  for  the  use  of  the  country,  and  settle  the  rates 
for  the  ft'erry,  etc.,  which  being  Read,  Its  agreed  and 
ordered  that  the  Commissioners  appointed  by  Act  of 
the  General  Assembly  for  laying  out  of  all  Highways, 
Landings,  and  fferries,  in  some  short  time  repair  to 
the  said  ft'erry,  and  there  inspect  the  same  and  make 
Returne  to  the  Secretarye's  office,  and  as  to  the  said 
fees  and  Rates  for  the  ft'erry,  the  same  must  be  settled 
by  Act  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  which  end  this 
Board  will  take  care  to  recommend  the  same  to  the 
House  of  Deputyes."  So  that,  as  this  quotation  es- 
tablishes, Inians'  Ferry  was  in  operation  before  the 
date  of  this  petition,  April  19,  1686,  whether  one  or 
more  years  can  neither  be  asserted  nor  denied.  "  When 
it  was  ler/ally  established  as  a  ferry,"  says  Mr.  Deshler, 
"  so  as  to  empower  the  collection  of  fees,  I  have  not 
been  able  to  ascertain  with  certainty."  Gordon  says 
(and  the  statement  has  been  adopted  by  all  later  an- 
nalists), "  The  ferry  was  granted  by  the  Proprietor, 


Nov.  2,  1697,  for  the  lives  of  Inians  and  his  wife,  and 
the  survivor,  at  a  rent  of  five  shillings  sterling  per 
annum."' 

The  place  continued  to  be  called  Inians'  Ferry — 
variously  corrupted  Inions,  Innions,  Onions,  and 
Inyance — in  all  the  public  acts  and  records  as  late  as 
1728,  at  which  time  a  road  and  two  streets  were  laid 
out  in  the  place  on  petition  of  "  the  inhabitants  of 
Innionces'  Ferry."  Before  this  there  was  one  other 
street,  called  "  the  Broad  Street,"  which  undoubtedly 
was  the  one  now  known  as  Burnet  Street.*  As  the 
minutes  of  the  commissioners  relative  to  the  laying 
out  of  these  streets  are  very  interesting,  we  copy 
them  from  the  "Minutes  of  the  County  Court,"  as 
follows  : 

"  Whereas  complaint  hatli  been  made  by  tlie  Inhabitants  of  Inioiises 
ferry  to  us  the  Surveyors  of  the  County  of  Middlesex  concerning  a  Road 
Beginning  att  George's  Road  <tbout  three  chaitu  from  the  River  (from 
thence  running  to  the  Northeast  corner  of  .Jacob  Oakey's  house,  thence 
along  Lawrence  Williamson's  House  to  Freeland'g,  Northwest  corner  of 
his  house),  thence  aloiu/  all  of  tJte  homes  to  the  front  of  Court  Van  Vories 
House,  and  tliere  the  said  Road  ends  as  witness  our  hands  this  twenty- 
second  day  of  July  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  majesty's  Reign  Annoys 
Donii,  1723.    Said  Road  being  a  Rod  and  a  half  wide. 

*' Henry  FFREEMAN, 
"William  Harris, 
I  "Timothy  Bloomkield, 

"DiRlcK  Van  Aersoalen. 

"  .\nother  streetlaid  ont  beginning  at  Lawrence  Williams  House  (from 
thence  running  down  to  Low  water  mark)  which  said  street  is  to  be  one 
Rod  wide  (half  of  the  said  Rod  of  Lawrence  Williamson  Land  and  the 
other  half  of  .lohn  Van  ardsden  Land)  Laid  out  by  us  Surveyors  witness 
our  hands  this  twenty-second  day  of  July  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  majes- 
tyes  Reign  Annoys  Domi  1723. 

"  Henry  ffreeman, 
"  Timothy  Bloomfield 
I  "William  Harris 

"  Dirick  Van  Aersdalen. 

"Another  Road  Laid  ont  by  us  whose  names  are  underwritten  Sur- 
veyors of  the  County  of  Middlesex.  Beginning  att  Samuel  Mulfords 
and  90  along  dildine's  House  and  Abraham  Lefogs  house  into  (*e  Broad 
Street  Leading  to  Court  Van  Vories  house  witness  our  hands  this  twenty- 
j  second  day  of  July  in  the  ninth  year  of  his  Majesty's  Reign  Anno  Domi 
1723.  S.iid  Road  being  a  Rod  wide.  Henky  ffreeman,  William  Har- 
Bls,  DiRiK  Van  Aersdalen."  5 

"  The  earliest  use  of  the  name  '  New  Brunswick' 
which  I  have  been  able  to  discover  in  any  public 
record  is  found  in  the  minutes  of  the  County  Court, 
from  which  we  learn  that  on  the  7th  of  April,  1724, 
two  .surveyors  of  the  roads  and  two  constables  were, 
for  the  first  time,  appointed  by  the  Court  of  General 
,  Quarter  Sessions  for  New  Brunswick,  and  after  this 
date  it  ceases  to  be  called  by  the  name  of  Inians'.  So 
that  the  title  New  Brunswick  was  not  applied  to  it  by 
those  who  were  most  familiar  with  the  facts  until  at 
least  ten  years  after  the  accession  of  the  House  of 
Brunswick  to  the  throne  of  Great  Britain.  At  this 
early  period  the  settlement  at  New  Brunswick  must 
have  been  a  very  small  one,  although  it  was  already 
beginning   to   overshadow  the   older   settlements  of 


nd  Council  East  Jersey,  pp.  166-217.    =  Page  132. 


3  Gazetteer,  p.  195. 

*  William  Burnet,  after  whom  the  street  wa 
Governor,  and  arrived  in  this  country  in  1720. 
&  County  Record  of  Roads. 


642 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Woodbridge,  Perth  Amboy,  and  Piscataway,  and  its 
prospect  of  becoming  an  important  place  was  con- 
sidered to  be  very  flattering.  In  August,  1730-31, 
James  Alexander  writes  to  ex-Governor  Burnet  : 
'  As  to  New  Brunswick  at  Inians'  Ferry,  it  grows 
very  fast,  and  the  reason  is  the  country  grows  very 
fast  baclc  of  that  place  ;  for  when  I  came  to  this 
place  in  1715  there  were  but  four  or  five  houses  in 
the  thirty  miles  between  Inians'  Ferry  and  the  Falls 
of  Delaware,  but  now  the  whole  way  it  is  almost  a 
continued  lane  of  fences  and  good  farmers'  houses, 
and  the  whole  country  is  there  settled  or  settling  very 
thick  ;  and  as  they  go  chiefly  upon  raising  wheat  and 
making  of  flour,  and  as  New  Brunswick  is  the  nearest 
landing,  it  necessarily  makes  that  the  store-house  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  Brunswick  is 
grown  to  near  as  great  a  price  as  so  much  ground  in 
the  heart  of  New  York.'  The  frequency  with  which 
the  necessity  for  a  way  to  Inians'  Ferry  is  at  this  date 
presented  by  the  people  of  comparatively  remote  sec- 
tions as  an  argument  for  the  opening  of  new  roads, 
and  the  readiness  with  which  this  plea  is  accepted 
by  the  road  commissioners  as  a  suflicient  reason  for 
granting  the  petitions,  show  the  importance  of  the 
landing  and  ferry  there  to  the  rest  of  the  province. 
Notwithstanding  all  this,  the  embyro  town  must  have 
been  of  very  diminutive  proportions  in  1730,  for  thirty- 
four  years  later,  in  1774,  .lohn  Adams  describes  it  as 
follows :  '  Went  to  view  the  city  of  New  Brunswick. 
There  is  a  Church  of  England,  a  Dutch  Church,  and 
a  Presbyterian  Church  in  this  town.  There  is  some 
little  trade  here ;  small  craft  can  come  up  to  this 
town.  We  saw  a  few  small  sloops.  The  river  is 
very  beautiful.  There  is  a  stone  building  for  bar- 
racks, which  is  tolerably  handsome ;  it  is  about  the 
size  of  Boston  jail.  Some  of  the  streets  are  paved, 
and  there  are  three  or  four  handsome  houses ;  only 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  families  in  the  town.' " ' 
Inians  procured  his  grant  in  November,  1681.  At 
that  time  a  single  road,  or,  more  properly,  a  bridle- 
path, afforded  the  only  means  of  communication 
with  West  Jersey,  crossing  the  Raritan  at  this  point. 
The  different  rivers  and  streams  were  the  principal 
avenues  whereby  intercourse  was  kept  up  in  other 
directions.  In  1675  William  Edmundson  made  a 
journey  southward  from  New  York.  He  says  that  in 
going  from  Middletown  to  the  Delaware  River,  al- 
though directed  by  an  Indian  guide,  he  was  unable 
for  a  whole  day  to  discover  the  proper  course,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  go  back  until  his  guide  could  strike 
the  Raritan.  They  then  followed  its  margin  until 
they  came  to  a  "small  landing  from  New  York," — no 
doubt  the  crossing  of  the  path  at  Inians'  Ferry, — and 
thence  wended  their  way  along  a  small  path  to  Dela- 


'  Life  and  Works  of  John  Mun 
article  on  New  Brunswick. 


.  p.  ;i65,  Clinrles  D.  Deslil.' 


ware  Falls.  He  says,  "  We  traveled  that  day  and 
saw  no  tame  creature ;  at  night  we  kindled  a  tire  in  the 
wilderness  and  lay  by  it ;  .  .  .  next  day,  about  nine  in 
the  morning,  by- the  good  hand  of  God,  we  came  well 
to  the  falls." - 

Dutch  Immigration. — About  1730  several  families 
immigrated  from  Albany,  N.  Y.,  and  the  tradition  is 
that  they  brought  with  them  their  building  materials, 
according  to  the  Dutch  custom,  and  located  along  the 
public  road,  which  they  called,  after  their  former  home, 
"  Albany  Street."  Among  these  settlers  we  find  the 
names  of  Dirck  Schuyler,  Hendrick  Van  Denrsen, 
Dirck  Van  Veghten,  Abraham  Schuyler,  John  Ten 
Broeck,  Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  and  Dirck  Van  Alen. 
These  were  men  of  considerable  property  and  enter- 
prise, and  their  arrival  gave  a  fresh  impulse  to  trade. 
The  city  was  now  a  growing  town  of  much  activity. 
The  principal  streets  were  Burnet,  Water,  and  Al- 
bany, with  perhaps  a  few  buildings  on  Church  Street. 
The  inhabitants  lived  along  the  river  as  far  south  as 
Sonman's  Hill,  extending  north  for  about  one  mile, 
or  a  short  distance  above  the  ferry.  A  few  of  the 
ancient  buildings  are  still  standing,  but  most  of  them 
have  given  place  to  more  modern  structures.  The  old 
house  recently  standing  in  Burnet  Street  near  Lyle's 
Brook,  known  as  the  property  of  Dr.  Lewis  Dunham, 
was  built  by  Hendrick  Van  Deursen,  one  of  the  Al- 
bany settlers,  who  owned  several  acres  of  land  in  the 
vicinity.^  John  Van  Nuise,  of  Flatbush,L.  I.,*  bought 
a  farm  of  one  hundred  acres  of  Enoch  Freland,  April 
28,  1727,  having  its  front  on  Neilson  Street,  its  north- 
ern line  along  Liberty  Street,  its  southern  along  New 
Street,  extending  west  as  far  as  the  Mile  Run.  For  this 
property,  in  connection  with  five  acres  of  "salt 
meadow"  at  the  mouth  of  South  River,  he  paid  the  .sum 
of  eight  hundred  pounds.  In  the  summer  of  tiiat  year 
he  erected  a  large  farm-house  on  what  is  now  Neilson 
Street,  between  Schureman  and  Liberty,  and  sur- 
rounded it  with  suitable  outbuildings.  This  house  was 
used  as  the  headquarters  of  the  Hessian  commander 
during  the  occupation  of  New  Brunswick  by  the  British 
army  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  is  still  remembered 
by  nearly  every  middle-aged  man.  Some  of  the  older 
citizens  will  remember  the  Applebv  House,  a  stone 
edifice  with  gable  roof  and  broad  hall,  on  the  corner 
of  Church  and  Peace  Streets,  nov/  Van  Pelt's  drug- 
store; the  Gibbs  House,  an  antique  stone  mansion, 
built  by  Hendrick  Voorhees,  standing  between  Bur- 


-  Edniiindson's  Journal,  p.  106.    Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  p. 
91,— note. 

3  Ab^el  and  Hasser  owned  twenty  or  thirty 
Judge  Morris  owned  n  large  farm  on  both 
Mr.  Van  Deursen  was  offered  about  forty  acre 
ria  Street,  west  of  the  lots  on  Burnett  Street, 
for  two  hundred  and  tifty-six  dollars. 

^  "The  ancestor  of  the  Van  Nuise  family  in 
sen  Van  Nuise,  who,  with  liis  wife,  Msg.lalen 
grated  from  Holland  in  18S1  and  settled  in 
birth  is  snpiiosed  to  have  been  Nuise,  in  Grol 
Van  Nuise.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  tnide,  » 
Midwout  (now  Flatbush),  completed  in  1660. 


acres  above  Van  Deursen's. 
des  of  Commercial  Avenue. 
s  of  land  lying  below  Mor- 
between  them  and  George, 

this  country  is  Aucke  Jan- 
Pieterse,  and  children,  emi- 

New  York.  His  place  of 
[lingen  ;  hence  the  surname 
nd  built  the  first  church  of 
"— iJerj/CH  Fainibj,  p.  157. 


CITY  OF  NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


643 


net  Street  and  the  river,  near  Miller's  Brook,  crossing 
the  street  near  Town  Lane;  the  French  property  on 
George  Street,  in  front  of  the  hotel  near  the  depot, 
and  the  large  apple-orchard  on  the  hill,  where  now 
stand  the  huildings  of  Rutgers  College. 

One  of  the  oldest  frame  buildings  in  New  Bruns- 
wick is  the  old  Vanderbilt  House,  No.  143  Burnet 
Street.  Like  the  old  City  Hall  in  Liberty  Street,  it 
is  a  little  the  worse  of  wear.  The  oldest  preserved 
deed  of  the  property-  was  "  made  by  William  Cox  to 
Court  Van  Voorhuise,  in  the  thirteenth  year  of  the 
reign  of  Lord  George  IL,  and  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1725."  With  the  house  was  included  all  the 
mill  property  from  the  brook  at  its  lower  line  up 
along  the  river  about  two  hundred  feet  to  the  south- 
erly line  of  the  Hicks  property.  For  all  of  this  the 
sum  of  forty  pounds  was  paid.  In  1778  the  property 
belonged  to  Richard  Gibbs,  and  was  at  his  death  by 
will  devised  to  his  three  grandchildren,  John,  James 
Neilson,  and  Ann  Gibbs.  The  latter  thereafter  mar-  i 
ried  Thomas  Perkins,  of  Philadelphia,  who  pur- 
chased the  shares  of  the  other  two  grandchildren  for 
sixteen  hundred  dollars,  and  in  1795  sold  the  house 
to  John  Schureman,  who  the  same  year  sold  it  to 
David  Abeel.  The  property  was  afterwards  sold  by 
the  then  sheriff  to  Joseph  Sequine,  w'ho  in  1828  sold 
it  to  Cornelius  Vanderbilt  (price  not  named).  By 
him  it  was  sold  in  1830  to  John  Hicks  for  two  thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  by  his  execu- 
tors deeded  to  Isaiah  Rolfe,  April  22,  1872,  for  forty- 
five  hundred  dollars.  The  house  has  been  vacant 
since  1871,  and  is  now  alone  in  its  old  age,  the  pro- 
prietor being  unresolved  whether  to  repair  or  re- 
move it. 

Below  is  a  copy  of  the  first  part  of  one  of  the  oldest 
deeds  of  the  property  : 

"This  indenture,  made  tiie  eleventh  diiy  of  February,  in  the  tliir- 
teentli  year  of  Uie  reign  of  our  Sovereign,  Lord  George  the  Second,  by 
the  grace  of  God  of  Great  Britarti,  France  and  Ireland,  King,  defender 
of  the  laith,  etc.,  and  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  seven  liun- 
dred  tliirty-uine  and  forty.  Between  Court  Van  Vorliuise  of  tlie  corpo- 
ration of  New  Brunswick,  in  tlie  province  of  New  Jei-aey,  yeouian,  of 
the  one  part,  and  Kichard  Gibbs  of  tlie  same  place,  mariner,  of  the  other 
part,  wUuesseth  that  the  said  Court  Van  Vorhuise,  for  and  in  consider- 
ation of  the  sum  of  fifty  pounds  current  money  of  the  province  afore- 
Baid,  at  eight  shillings  per  pound  to  him  in  hand,  before  the  ensealing 
and  delivery  hereof  well  and  truly  paid  by  the  said  Richard  Gibbs,  the 
receipt  whereof  he  the  said  Court  Van  Vorhuise  doth  hereby  acknowl- 
edge himself  to  be  therewith  fully  satisfied,  contented  and  paid,  and 
of  and  from  every  part  and  parcel  thereof,  tioth  absolutely,  fully  and 
fairly  requit,  exonerate  and  discharge  him  the  said  Richard  Gibbs  his 
heirs,  executors  and  administratoi's  forever  by  these  presents,  hath 
given,  granted,  bargained,  sold,  aliened,  enfeoffed,  released,  conveyed 
and  confirmed  by  these  presents,  do  give,  grant,  bargain,  sole  alien,  en- 
feoff, release,  convey  and  confirm  unto  the  said  Richard  Gibbs,  his  heirs 
and  assigns  forever.  All  tiiat  certain  lot  of  land  situate,  lying  and 
being  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  aforesaid,  beginning  upon  the  hue 
of  the  said  Richard  Gibbs  upon  the  street,  thence  ruuuing  as  the  street 
runs  to  the  brook,  thence  along  the  said  brook  as  the  brook  runs  at  low 
water  to  low  water  mark  in  Raritan  River,  thence  up  the  said  river  to 
the  line  of  the  said  Richard  Gibbs,  thenco  along  the  line  of  the  said 
Bichard  Gibbs  to  the  line  aforesaid  or  place  of  beginning,  etc.,  etc." 

After  the  deed,  which  is  very  long  and  minute  in 

its  description,  comes  the  following: 


"  ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 
"Be  it  remembered  that  on  the  ninth  day  of  July,  1745,  personally 
appeared  before  me  one  of  his  Majesty's  counsels  for  the  Province  of  New 
Jersey,  John  Cholwell,  one  of  the  subscribing  witnesses  to  the  within 
instrument,  who  being  of  full  age  and  duly  sworn  on  the  Holy  Evan- 
gelist of  Almighty  God,  did  declare  that  he  did  see  the  within-named 
Court  Van  Vorhuise,  party  to  the  within  instrument,  execute  the  same 
as  ills  voluntary  act  and  deed  for  the  uses  therein  mentioned,  and  that 
he  signed  his  name  as  a  witness  thereto,  and  that  he  also  did  see  Noah 
Barton  sign  his  name,  also  a  witness  thereto. 

"  Edwaro  Antill." 


A  very  interesting  description  of  New  Brunswick  in 
1748  is  given  in  the  account  of  the  travels  of  Peter 
Kalra,  a  professor  of  the  University  of  Abo,  in  Swe- 
dish Finland,  who  visited  North  America  as  a  natur- 
alist, under  the  auspices  of  the  Swedish  Royal  Acad- 
emy of  Science.  "  About  noon,"  he  writes,  "  we 
arrived  iu  New  Brunswick,  a  pretty  little  town  in  a 
valley  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  Raritan.  On 
account  of  its  low  situation  it  cannot  be  seen  coming 
from  Pennsylvania  before  coming  to  the  top  of  the 
hill  which  is  close  to  it.  The  town  extends  north 
and  south  along  the  river.  The  town-house  makes  a 
pretty  good  appearance.  The  town  has  only  one 
street  lengthwise,  and  at  its  northern  extremity  there 
is  a  street  across.  Both  of  these  are  of  considerable 
length.  One  of  the  streets  is  almost  entirely  inhab- 
ited by  Dutchmen,  who  came  hither  from  Albany, 
and  for  that  reason  they  call  it  Albany  Street.  On 
the  road  from  Trenton  to  New  Brunswick  I  never  saw 
any  place  in  America,  the  towns  excepted,  so  well 
peopled. 

"The  greater  part  of  its  [New  Brunswick's]  trade  is 
to  New  York,  which  is  about  forty  English  miles  dis- 
tant. To  that  place  they  send  corn,  flour  in  great 
quantities,  bread,  several  other  necessaries,  a  great 
quantity  of  linseed,  boards,  timber,  wooden  vessels, 
and  all  sorts  of  carpenter's  work.  Several  small 
yachts  are  every  day  going  backward  and  forward  be- 
tween these  two  towns.  The  inhabitants  likewise  get 
a  considerable  profit  from  the  travelers  who  every 
hour  pa.ss  through  on  the  high  road."' 

The  City  Charter  and  Government.— New  Bruns- 
wick was  incorporated  as  a  city  in  1784,  when  the  first 
president,  directors,  etc.,  were  appointed.  The  presi- 
dents and  assistants  were  afterwards  (till  1801)  elected 
annually  by  the  people.  In  1801  a  new  charter  was 
obtained,  and  under  it  a  mayor  and  aldermen  were 
appointed  by  the  Legislature,  and  six  common  coun- 
cilmen  elected  by  the  Legislature  and  six  common 
councilmen  elected  by  the  people.  Since  1838  all 
these  municipal  officers  have  been  elected  by  the 
people. 

The  following  have  been  presidents  and  mayors  of 
the  city  since  its  incorporation : 


1  It  has  been  pointed  out  by  Dr.  Steele  and  others  that  Professor  Kalm 
was  mistaken  in  some  of  his  statements;  for  instance,  in  reference  to 
"  two  German  Churches,  one  of  stone  and  one  of  wood,"  and  that  "  the 
Presliyterians  were  building  a  chnrcli  of  stone"  at  the  time  of  his  visit. 


644 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


1784.  Azariah  Dunham. 
1706-1801.  Aliraliam  Schuyler. 
1801-13.  James  Schurelnan.' 
1813-21.  Jamea  Beniictt.' 
1821-24.  .lames  Scljurenian. 
1824-29.  AuguBtus  R.  Ta.vh>r. 
1829-38.  C.  L.  narcleuhergh. 
1838-40.  AuKUst  R.  Taylor. 
1840-41.  David  M.  Vail. 
1841-42.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick. 
1842-4:1.  Fitz  Randolph  Smith. 
1843-S5.  John  Acken. 
1845-46.  William  U.  Leupp. 
1846-47.  John  Van  Dyke. 
1847-48.  Martin  A.  Howell. 
1848-49.  Augustus  F.  Taylor. 
1849-51.  David  F.  Randolph. 
1851-52.  Peter  N.  Wyckoff. 
18.52-53.  John  Van  Dyke. 


1853-55. 
1855-56 
1856-57. 
18.57-fS. 
1858-59. 
1859-60. 
1860-61, 
1861-6.'!. 
1863-05. 
1865.  A 
1865-67 
1867-69, 


John  B.  Hill. 
Abraham  V.  Schenck 
Lyie  Van  Nuis. 
John  B.  Kirkpatrick. 
Tunis  V.D.  Hoaglam 
Peter  C.  Onderdonk. 
Ezekit-1  M.  Paterson. 
Lyle  Van  Nuis. 
Richard  McDonald, 
ugustus  T.  Stout.- 
John  T.  Jenkins. 
Miles  Ross. 


-71. 


1871-73. 
1873-76. 
1875-77. 
1877-79. 
1879-81. 
1881.  W 


George  J.  Janeway. 
Garret  Conover. 
Thomas  M.  De  Kuss.v. 
Isaiah  Rolfe. 
Lyle  Van  Nuis. 
T.  De  Witt  Reiley. 
Uiara  S.  Strong. 


ALDERMEN. 


First  Ward,  James  Hurley,  1881 ;  Cornelius  Farley,  1882. 

Second  Ward,  .lames  Neilson,  1881 ;  John  N.  Carpenter,  1882. 

Third  Ward.  Francis  M.  Oliver,  1881 ;  John  S.  De  Hart,  1882. 

Fourth  Ward,  John  C.  Scott,  1881 ;  Charles  B.  Herbert,  1882. 

Fifth  Ward,  Alexander  M.  Way,  1881 ;  Henry  Waker,  1882. 

Sixth  Ward,  John  Fitzjerald,  1881 ;  Charles  McCormick,  1882. 

Aaessor,  Cornelius  W.  Castner,  1881-83 ;  Collector,  Robert  G.  Miller, 
1881;  BoUcUor,  Howard  MacSherry;  Treasurer,  Lewis  R.  Dunham; 
Cilij  Cterl;  Edward  Tindell;  CUif  Phijtkiim,  Staats  V.  D.  Clark;  Overseer 
of  Poor,  Peter  J.  Stults;  CUij  Weigher,  Stelle  F.  Randolph. 

Chosen  Freeholders. — Director,  Cornelius  Powelson;  Clerk,  William  M. 
Cox;  Solicitor,  A.  V.  Schenck;  Jauitor,  Robert  S.  B.  Pierce. 

Boundaries. — The  corporate  limits  of  New  Bruns- 
wick are  inclosed  within  the  following  boundaries  : 
Beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Mile  Run  Brook,  south- 
westerly up  to  where  it  crosses  George's  road,  thence 
east  to  Lawrence's  Brook,  following  said  brook  to  the 
Raritan  River,  crossing  said  river,  and  following  the 
south  boundary  line  of  Piscataway  (now  Raritan  and 
Piscataway)  township,  up  said  river  to  a  point'  oppo- 
site Mile  Run  Brook. 

Ward  Boundaries. — First  Ward. — Bounded  on  the 
north  by  New  Street,  on  the  east  by  the  Raritan 
River,  on  the  south  by  Lawrence's  Brook,  and  on  the 
west  by  George  Street,  Clifton  and  Neilson  Avenues. 

Second  Ward. — North  by  New  Street  and  Living- 
ston Avenue,  on  the  west  by  the  boundary  line  of  the 
city  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  southeast  and  east  by 
Neilson  and  Clifton  Avenues  and  George  Streets. 

Third  TFarrf.— East  by  the  Raritan  River,  south  by 
New  Street,  west  by  Neilson  Street,  and  north  by 
Washington  Street. 

Fourth  Ward. — South  by  New  Street,  west  by 
George  Street,  north  by  Washington  Street,  and  east 
by  Neilson  Street. 

Fifth  Ward. — South  by  New  Street  and  Livingston 
Avenue,  on  the  west  by  the  boundary  line  of  the 
city  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  north  by  Somerset 
and  Albany  Streets,  and  ea.st  by  George  Street. 

Sixth  Ward. — West  by  tlie  boundary  line  of  the 
city  of  New  Brunswick,  north  by  the  Mile  Run 
Brook  and  the  Raritan  River,  south  by  Albany, 
Somerset,  and  Washington  Streets,  on  the  east  by  the 


I  Died  in  office. 

'  Resigned.    Hoagla 


id  ami  Jenkins  elected  to  fill 


Raritan  River  and  George  Street  from  Washington 
Street  to  Albany  Street. 

Geological  Features. — Within  the  boundaries  of 
this  city  the  red  sandstone  and  shale  predominate, 
which  are  of  a  soft  and  argillaceous  character,  decom- 
posing rapidly  when  exposed  to  the  action  of  the 
atmosphere.  There  are  only  a  few  layers  scattered 
through  it  which  furnish  a  stone  that  is  considered  of 
any  value.  The  soil  resting  on  the  top  of  it  presents 
a  tinge  of  color  which  has  been  derived  from  its  de- 
composition. In  many  places  it  comes  so  near  the 
surface  that  tlie  growth  of  trees  is  rendered  difficult 
and  uncertain,  and  the  vegetation  produced  on  it  is 
peculiarly  liable  to  injury  from  drought.  Yet  in  a 
good  season  it  yields  the  farmer  a  profitable  remuner- 
ation for  his  labor,  and  when  it  has  been  treated  with 
lime,  which  absorbs  and  preserves  in  time  of  drought 
the  moisture  of  the  atmosphere,  it  claims  to  be  called 
fertile  land. 

The  rocks  of  the  red  sandstone  and  shale  forma- 
tion of  this  vicinity  are  all  regularly  stratified,  and 
have  a  uniform  dip  to  the  northwest,  except  when 
they  have  been  subjected  to  some  disturbance  from 
the  upheaval  or  protrusion  of  other  formations.  The 
dip  varies  from  five  to  twenty  degrees.  The  State 
geologist.  Professor  Cook,  gives  the  thickness  of  the 
red  sandstone  in  this  vicinity  as  twenty-seven  thou- 
sand feet,  or  more  than  five  miles. 

"  If  the  mode  of  computation  is  right,  the  result 
must  be  accepted.  Those  who  think  the  strata  was 
once  horizontal,  and  were  thrown  into  their  present 
inclined  position  at  some  later  period,  adopt  this  con- 
clusion ;  others,  who  think  the  strata  were  deposited  on 
a  slope,  as  we  now  find  them,  do  not  consider  the 
above  as  being  the  true  thickness.  They  suppose 
that  the  strata  on  the  southeast  border  were  first  de- 
posited on  the  northwest  slope,  and  then  that  the 
upper  edges  were  worn  ofi",  and  the  material  carried 
farther  northwest,  to  be  again  deposited  and  form  new 
strata  upon  the  lower  parts  of  those  already  deposited. 
Without  any  addition  of  material  there  would  then 
be,  in  this  way,  a  multiplication  of  strata,  all  having 
the  same  dip;  and  such  a  process  could  go  on  until 
the  formation  had  widened  out  to  its  present  extent. 
Such  a  mode  of  formation  would  not  require  that  the 
whole  series  of  strata  shoud  be  more  than  a  few  hun- 
dred, or  possibly  a  thousand,  feet  in  thickness." ' 

There  has  been  sunk  a  well  in  New  Brunswick 
some  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  several  at  Newark 
to  a  greater  depth,  and  one  in  Paterson  thirteen  hun- 
dred feet,  all  in  the  red  sandstone  and  shale  ;  and 
all  observations  unite  in  showing  that  the  red  sand- 
stone and  shale  of  New  Jersey  are  of  sedimentary 
character.  The  materials  composing  them  must  have 
been  deposited  in  water  during  the  progress  of  many 
ages,  and  since  an  analysis  shows  so  little  trace  of 
any  of  the  ingredients  of  the  salt  water  of  the  ocean, 
we  may  add  deposited  in  fresh  water. 

3  Geology  of  Mew  Jersey,  p.  176. 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


645 


The  prevailing  red  liue  of  tlie  strata  is  obviously 
due  to  the  fact  that  they  contain  a  portion  of  the  red 
oxide  of  iron.  Some  of  the  beds  of  the  shale  and 
fine-grained  sandstone  from  local  causes  have  a  bluisli- 
green  hue,  while  other  large  tracts  have  a  dull  brown 
color,  the  effect  of  the  heat  of  the  adjacent  trap  rock, 
and  in  some  localities  they  have  been  so  baked  that 
they  have  a  ringing  sound  when  struck  like  clink- 
stone. 

We  give  an  analysis  of  the  red  shale  in  the  vicinit}' 
of  New  Brunswick,  which  will  show  all  tlie  materials 
of  which  it  is  composed : 

In  100  parts, — 73  silicic  acid  and  quartz ;  peroxide 
of  iron,  10 ;  alumina,  3.20 ;  lime,  4.93 ;  magnesia, 
0.98 ;  potash,  0.73 ;  soda,  0.97,  with  a  trace  of  sul- 
phuric and  carbonic  acid  and  water. 

The  lime,  iron,  potash,  soda,  and  magnesia  are 
specially  noticeable  as  valuable  ingredients.  There 
remains  only  one  more  circumstance  of  importance  to 
be  mentioned  respecting  the  red  shale  and  sandstone. 
It  seems  to  have  been  subjected  at  some  period  after 
its  deposition  to  a  process  of  denudation,  by  which 
the  upper  surface  of  the  strata  or  the  outcrop  has 
been  abraded  and  worn  away,  exposing  them  almost 
naked  to  the  action  of  the  weather. 

Copper  has  been  found  in  the  red  sandstone  and 
shale,  and  exists  in  almost  a  pure  native  form  as  a  red 
oxide,  as  a  basilicate,  as  a  gray  sulphuret,  and  as  py- 
rites or  yellow  copper  ore. 

At  an  early  date  copper  was  discovered  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  the  city,  and  promised  quite  a  "boom"  to 
the  little  hamlet.  Some  one  in  passing  the  fields  of 
Philip  French,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the 
town,  observed  a  large  flame  rising  from  the  ground. 
Previously  two  hundred  pounds  of  virgin  copper  in 
lumps  had  been  plowed  up. 

In  1751  a  shaft  was  sunk  about  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  river,  and  the  miners  struck  a  vein  of  blue- 
stone  two  feet  thick,  covered  with  sheets  of  pure  cop- 
per having  the  consistency  of  gold-leaf;  the  stone 
itself  contained  grains  of  copper,  and  occasional 
lumps  were  found.  A  stamping-mill  was  erected  in 
the  hollow  between  the  college  and  seminary,  and 
supplied  with  water  from  Mile  Run.  Many  tons  of 
pure  copper  were  exported  to  England.  Several  other 
spots  in  the  vicinity  were  worked  with  temporary 
success.  There  have  been  several  more  recent  at- 
tempts to  renew  old  Elias  Boudinot's  enterprise,  but 
they  have  failed. 

There  has  been  found  a  compound  of  the  carbon 
and  oxide  of  copper  associated  with  the  red  oxide.  It 
resembles  some  dark  earthy  substance,  and  is  easily 
crushed  between  the  fingers.  On  examination  with  a 
microscope  small  black  shining  particles  were  dis- 
cerned diffused  through  the  mass,  found  to  be  carbon, 
probably  anthracite.  Heated  in  the  flame  of  an  alco- 
hol lamp  it  burned,  and  continued  in  a  red-hot  state 
until  the  carbon  was  consumed.  Heated  to  three 
hundred  degrees  it  loses  seventeen   per  cent,  of  its 


weight.  When  treated  with  nitric  acid  after  being 
ignited,  a  residuum  of  twenty-five  per  cent,  was  found 
to  be  silica.  It  is  an  important  fact  that  so  large  a 
portion  of  carbon  (35.S0)  should  be  associated  with 
this  copper  ore.  This  is  unusual.  Gray  sulphuret  of 
copper  is  massive,  sectile,  has  a  dark  lead-gray  color, 
and  is  seen  sometimes  in  the  form  of  roundish  grains 
in  the  altered  shale  rock. 

The  locality  is  near  the  bed  of  a  ravine,  and  near 
the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal,  a  short  distance 
from  the  city,  and  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  red 
oxide  is  common  in  the  vicinity,  it  will  not  be  difficult 
to  account  for  the  formation  of  these  carbonates,  which 
seems  to  be  continually  going  on.  Water  charged 
with  carbonic  acid  dissolves  a  portion  of  this  oxide, 
and  whenever  circumstances  favor  the  escape  of  the 
excess  of  the  carbonic  acid  these  salts  as  a  residuum 
are  deposited.  The  mineral  is  manifestly  the  product 
of  precipitation  from  an  aqueous  solution,  and  to  find 
the  above  result  it  is  only  necessary  to  admit  that  the 
carbonates  of  copper  are  rendered  soluble  by  an  ex- 
cess of  carbonic  acid.  The  color  varies  from  a  light 
to  a  bluish-green,  and  can  be  scratched  with  a  knife, 
and  is  easily  broken.  The  fracture  is  uneven  and 
slightly  conchoidal.  In  structure  usually  it  is  opaque, 
but  sometimes  translucent  and  having  a  vitreous 
lustre. 

We  can  only  add  if  it  should  ever,  after  sufticient 
trial,  prove  to  be  true,  it  may  bring  into  operation  a 
new  industry,  and  render  the  treasures  that  have  long 
been  claimed  to  have  been  hid  in  this  soil  a  source  of 
extensive  wealth. 

A  short  distance  from  the  city  west  have  been 
found  the  sulphate  of  barytes.  The  specimens  are 
opaque,  having  a  yellowish  color  and  a  foliated  struc- 
ture, but  others  exhibit  crystals  which  are  translu- 
cent and  have  a  bluish  tint.  In  a  commercial  point 
it  is  used  in  chemistry,  and  also  in  the  preparation  of 
paints,  and  valuable  as  a  mineral. 

River  and  Streams. — This  city  is  so  situated  that 
one  prominent  aspect  of  the  surface  is  that  its  gentle 
slope  in  the  southeasterly  parts  insure  a  proper  drain- 
age to  the  Raritan  River,  freeing  the  city  of  all  sur- 
face water  and  giving  power  from  the  river  to  the  ex- 
tensive mills  which  are  situated  upon  its  banks.  We 
find  the  South  Branch  of  the  Raritan  rising  in  Brook- 
lyn Pond,  in  Morris  County,  a  few  miles  north  of 
Drakeville,  whence  it  courses  along  the  western  base 
of  Fox  Hill,  receives  the  waters  of  Budd's  Lake,  and 
drains  the  Sennon  Valley;  it  then  passes  west  of 
Round  Mountain  and  enters  upon  the  red  shale  dis- 
trict, flowing  to  the  northward  of  Flemington,  thence 
nearly  eastward  to  Neshanic,  where  it  changes  its 
course,  its  direction  being  nearl)-  northeasterly  to  the 
point  where  it  joins  the  North  Branch  in  forming  the 
Raritan  River,  through  which  its  waters  after  passing 
along  the  borders  of  the  northeasterly  parts  of  New 
Brunswick,  discharge  into  the  bay  at  Amboy. 

The  North  Branch  has  its  head  near  Calais,  in  Mor- 


646 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ris  County,  and  not  far  from  the  source  of  the  South 
Branch,  but  this  stream  is  not  diverted  by  the  range 
of  Fox  Hill,  and  therefore  naturally  finds  a  channel 
more  directly  towards  the  red  shale  district,  and  flow- 
ing nearly  southerly  meets  the  South  Branch,  and 
sends  its  waters  oceanward  by  the  same  channel.  It 
has  a  larger  branch  and  a  longer,  called  first  Black 
River,  then  the  Lamington,  which  first  receives  the 
waters  of  the  North  and  South  Rockaway.  These 
principal  streams  discharge  almost  all  the  waters  of 
Hunterdon  and  Somerset  Counties.  They  all  flow 
through  broad  valleys,  whose  rich  alluvial  soil  afford 
a  sure  reward  to  the  husbandmen's  labor.  The  South 
Branch  is  the  westernmost  stream  in  New  Jersey 
which  finds  its  way  to  the  Atlantic. 

It  was  of  Governor  Paterson  that  Moses  Guest, 
New  Brunswick's  earliest  poet,  wrote,  July  4,  1791, 
on  seeing  the  Governor  in  his  barge,  which  was  ele- 
gantly decorated  with  laurel  and  flowers,  and  rowed 
by  twelve  men  dressed  in  white : 

"On  Raritjin's  smootli-glidiug  stream  we  view — 
With  pleasure  view — the  man  whom  we  admire, 
On  tiiis  auspicious  day  with  laurel  crowned  ; 
How  gracefully  the  honored  barge  moves  on! 
See  Neptune's  sons,  all  clad  in  while, 
Timing  their  oars  to  the  melodious  flutes. 

Not  Cleopatra's  harge, 
When  she,  full  armed  with  each  bewitching  charm, 
A  tyrant  bound  in  the  sweet  chains  of  love, 
More  elegant  or  pleasing  could  appear, 
Nor  did  contain  a  jewel  of  such  worth  ; 
Not  freighted  with  a  proud,  intriguing  queen, 
She  nobly  bears  New  Jersey's  favorite  son. 
Our  guardian  chief,  our  friend,  a  Paterson." 

The  water  used  for  drinking  and  culinary  uses  is 
said  to  be  of  the  purest.  It  is  well-nigh  entirely  free 
from  the  deleterious  vegetable  and  mineral  sub- 
stances, and  this  fills  out  the  complement  of  its  claims 
to  healtbfuluess.  In  the  State  Geology  of  New  Jersey, 
pp.  701—4,  is  the  following,  the  first  column  of  which 
gives  the  whole  amount  of  solid  matter  in  grains,  ob- 
tained by  evaporating  a  gallon  of  water  to  dryness 
(one  gallon  of  water  contains  58,372  grains) ;  the 
second  column  gives  that  portion  of  the  solid  matter 
that  is  of  vegetable  or  animal  origin  and  can  be 
burned  out.  Both  mineral  and  organic  matter  are 
prejudicial  to  good  health,  the  mineral  matter  affect- 
ing the  kidneys;  the  animal  and  vegetable  matter 
are  recognized  as  especially  injurious  to  the  system; 
so  we  give  both  the  total  solid  matter,  which  com- 
prises the  mineral  and  organic  matter,  and  the  or- 
ganic matter  alone  in  a  separate  column  : 

Solid  Organic 

Stream.                                 Matter.  Matter. 

Lawrence's  Brook  (city  water) 2.03  0.66 

Karitan  River 3.K0  0  78 

Passaic  {Newark,  etc.,  Patereon  water) 7.44  2.86 

Delaware  (Trenton  water) 3..')3  0.63 

Schuylkill  {Philadelphia  water) 6.50  1.24 

Croton  (New  York  water) 10.92  4.31 

Cochiluate  Lake  (Boston  water) 3.11  1.42 

Albany  water  supply 10.72  2.32 

Troy           "         "       0.92  2.12 

Here  is  an  official  report  certifying  that  but  two- 
thirds  of  a  grain  in  nearly  sixty  thousand  grains  of 


this  city  water  is  vegetable  or  animal  matter,  or  one- 
ninety-thousandth  part  of  it,  while  Newark  water  is 
four  times  as  bad,  and  New  York  water  nearly  seven 
times.  But  even  these  are  vastly  superior  to  the  wells 
which  are  even  now  voluntarily  used  by  many  of  the 
citizens. 

The  city  of  New  Brunswick,  with  her  increasing 
population,  has  many  facilities  that  many  cities  are 
without.  The  rich  harvests  of  Middlesex  and  Mon- 
mouth lying  to  the  east  and  southeast,  the  consumers 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  them,  and  are  enabled 
to  procure  fresh  vegetables  and  fruit  in  their  season; 
a  healthy  climate,  well  laid  out  streets  and  avenues, 
make  it  superior  to  many  places  which  have  not  its 
advantages. 

Revolutionary  Incidents.— Capt.  Peter  Voorhees 
was  killed  on  the  2.5th  of  October,  1779,  within  half  a 
mile  of  New  Brunswick,  by  a  party  of  British  horse- 
men commanded  by  Maj.  Stewart,  Col.  Simcoe,  who 
had  been  in  command,  having  been  taken  prisoner  by 
Capt.  Moses  Guest.  This  oificer  gives  in  his  journal, 
published  in  connection  with  a  collection  of  his  poems 
in  1823,  the  following  account  of  Simcoe's  expedition 
into  New  Jersey,  and  his  being  captured  in  this  county 
near  New  Brunswick : 

"  On  the  25tb  day  of  October,  1779,  Simco,  who  then  commanded  a 
regiment  of  horee  in  the  British  service,  crossed  over  from  Staten  Island 
at  the  Blazing  Star  Ferry  to  the  Jersey  shore  in  the  night  with  seventy- 
five  horsemen.  His  main  object  was  to  take  Governor  Livingstone  jfris- 
oner,  which  he  expected  to  do  by  surprise.  Simco  was  not  discovered 
to  be  an  enemy  until  he  had  got  seven  miles  north  of  New  Brunswick, 
at  Quii'bletown,  from  wliich  place  an  express  was  dispatched  to  Col. 
John  Neilson,  at  New  Brunswick,  who  immediately  ordered  out  his 
regiment.  We  were  soon  marched  to  the  bridge  at  Raritan  Landing. 
From  Qnibbletowu  Col.  Simco  proceeded  rapidly  to  Col.  Van  Home's 
house  at  Middlebrook.  He  was  much  dis:ippointed  in  not  finding  the 
Governor  there.l  He  then  went  on  to  Van  Vechten's  bridge  on  the 
Baritan  River,  and  set  fire  to  some  forage  and  flat-bottom  boats ;  from 
which  he  went  to  Millstone,  a  small  town  8  miles  N.  "W.  of  New  Bruns- 
wick ;  here  he  set  fire  to  the  court-house  and  jail.  While  we  were  at 
the  landing  bridge  we  discovered  the  smoke  of  those  buildings.  It  was 
then  thought  probable  that  the  enemy  would  endeavor  to  pass  this 
bridge  in  their  retreat.  Col.  Neilsou  therefore  continued  there,  being 
in  hopes  of  cutting  off  their  retieat,  and  dispatched  me  with  thirty-five 
men,  with  ordei-s  to  endeavor  to  fall  in  with  them,  and  to  annoy  them 
as  nmch  as  possible.  Soon  after  getting  upon  the  road  leading  from 
Millstone  village  to  the  bridge,  I  was  informed  by  an  express  that  the 
enemy  was  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  me;  I  had  just  time  to  get  to 
an  open  piece  of  woods  when  they  made  their  appearance.  We  attacked 
them  a.-^  they  came  up,  but  they  came  on  so  rapidly  that  we  could  only 
give  them  one  discharge.  Col.  Simco's  horse  received  three  halls,  fell 
on  him  and  bruised  him  ver.v  badly ;  there  was  one  man  killed  and 
several  wounded.  I  left  a  physician  with  Simco  aud  proceeded  on.  We 
soon  found  his  party  had  halted  on  the  heights  west  of  Brunswick. 
They  sent  a  doctor  and  his  servant  to  us  bearing  a  flag.  The  doctor  re- 
quest'-d  permission  to  attend  Col.  Simco,  which  was  granted,  hut  as  the 
enemy  was  proceeding  on  their  retreat  whilst  the  flag  was  negotiating, 
which  is  contrary  to  the  rules  of  war,  the  doctor  and  his  servant  were 
considered  as  prisoners.  After  Simco  fell,  Maj.  Stewart  (a  refugee  who 
had  piloted  him)  took  the  command.  Soon  after  we  dismissed  the  doc- 
tor we  witnessed  a  scene  that  was  truly  distressing.  We  found  Capt. 
Peter  Voorhees  lying  in  the  road  mortally  wounded,  and  to  all  appear- 
ance nearly  breathing  his  last  breath,  lie  had  just  returned  from  Gen. 
Sullivan's  and  with  a  few  militia  horsemen  was  pursuing  so  close  on  the 
enemy's  rear  as  to  cause  a  detachment  to  sally  out.  They  soon  came  up 
to  him  and  cut  him  with  their  broadswords  in  a  most  shocking  manner, 

1  The  Governor  was  then  at  New  Brunswick. 


CITY   OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


647 


which  caused  liis  death  in  a  few  hours.  We  pureued  thera  until  we  got 
to  Sontli  Rivei-  bridge,  8  miles  south  of  Brunswick,  at  which  place  we 
received  information  that  five  hundred  men  hail  been  landed  at  Perth 
Amboy  to  cover  their  retreat,  and  that  they  were  embarking  for  Staten 
Island. 

"  Many  persons,  I  doubt  not,  think  it  strange  that  Col.  Simco  could 
penetrate  80  far  into  a  thick  settled  country  witliout  receiving  more  in- 
jury than  he  did.  It  was  not  occasioned  by  the  inactivity  of  the  Jersey 
militia,  who  had  greatly  distinguished  themselves  for  their  zeal  and  ac- 
tivity during  the  Revolutionary  war  in  defending  the  liberties  of  their 
country,  but  it  was  occaj^ioned  by  their  getting  to  a  considerable  distance 
in  the  country  enveloped  in  the  shades  of  night,  by  their  having  the 
address  to  pass,  in  many  places,  for  the  .American  horse,  and  by  the  rap- 
idity with  which  they  proceeded.  Simco  was  in  the  Revolutionary  war 
to  the  Northern  what  Tarletou  was  to  the  Southern  army;  they  were 
both  zealous  partisans,  and  capable  of  undertaking  and  executing  any 
daring  enterprise."  t 

We  con(ien.se  the  following  respecting  the  war  in 
New  Brunswick  from  Dr.  Steel's  Historical  Discourse 
and  other  sources : 

New  Brunswick  suffered  during  the  war  to  an  ex- 
tent to  which  few  town.*!  were  subjected.  It  lay  in  the 
path  of  the  two  armies  crossing  and  recrossing  the 
State,  and  in  the  varying  fortunes  of  war  was  at  one 
time  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  at  another  under 
the  protection  of  friends.  During  the  winter  of 
1776-77  the  city  was  in  the  possession  of  the  British 
army,  who  occupied  it  by  a  large  force.  Lord  Howe, 
the  commander-in-chief,  had  his  headquarters  in  the 
Neilson  house,  ii}  Burnet  Street,  while  the  Hessian 
commander  occupied  the  Van  Nuise  house,  on  Queen 
Street.  The  hill  beyond  the  theological  seminary 
was  fortified  ;  a  post  was  erected  at  Raritan  Landing, 
overlooking  the  river,  and  another  on  Bennet's  Island, 
two  miles  below  the  city.  Many  of  the  British  offi- 
cers were  quartered  upon  the  inhabitants ;  the  citizens 
were  compelled  to  abandon  their  residences;  all  busi- 
ness was  susjjended ;  schools  and  churches  were  broken 
up,  and  the  whole  town  was  under  the  absolute  sway  of 
the  enemy.  On  the  property  of  William  Van  Deur- 
sen,  below  New  Street,  there  was  an  encampment,  with 
a  redoubt  thrown  up  for  their  protection. 

The  soldiers  remained  in  possession  of  the  city  about 
six  months.  Lord  Cornwallis  having  command  of  the 
post.  During  the  months  of  February  and  March  they 
were  shut  up  in  the  town  and  cut  oft"  from  their  base 
of  supplies  at  Amboy.  To  relieve  them  a  fleet  was 
sent  up  the  Raritan  with  provisions. 

The  fate  of  that  fleet  was  a  matter  of  anxious  inter- 
est on  both  sides,  the  British  expecting  it,  yet  fearing 
it  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  the 
Americans  planning  for  its  destruction.  Receiving 
timely  information  that  the  fleet  had  started  up  the 
Raritan,  the  Americans  in  the  night  planted  a  battery 
of  six  cannon  on  the  shore  below  New  Brunswick,  and 
in  the  morning,  as  Lord  Cornwallis  was  watching 
eagerly  for  the  approach  of  the  boats,  and  they  were 
just  rounding  the  point  below  the  city,  the  battery 
opened  upon  them,  "when  five  of  the  boats  were  im- 
mediately disabled  and  sunk,  and  the  remainder  re- 
turned in  a  crippled  condition  to  Amboy." 


'  Guest's  Journal,  pp.  144,  146. 


Gen.  Howe  at  this  time  made  an  unsuccessful  at- 
tempt to  open  communication  by  land. 

The  farmers  throughout  this  whole  section  of  coun- 
try were  compelled  to  deliver  over  their  stores  into  the 
hands  of  the  British.  At  Three-Mile  Run  the  build- 
ings were  all  plundered  and  frequently  fired.  Barns 
were  torn  down  to  supply  timber  for  the  construction 
of  a  temporary  bridge  over  the  Raritan,  and  some  of 
the  most  wanton  cruelties  were  inflicted. 

"But  they  were  not  allowed  to  remain  in  the  un- 
disturbed possession  of  the  town.  Cols.  Neilson  and 
Taylor  gave  them  constant  trouble ;  Capt.  Guest  was  on 
the  watch  for  a  favorable  opportunity  to  pounce  upon 
the  Hessians  ;  James  Schureman,  who  had  learned 
something  of  war  at  the  battle  of  Long  Island,  gave 
them  no  rest,  while  Capt.  Hyler,  whose  adventures 
with  his  whale-boat  around  Staten  Island  seem  almost 
romantic,  and  who  could  fight  on  land  as  well  as  on 
water,  kept  them  in  constant  apprehension.  These 
ofiicers  watched  every  movement  of  the  enemy,  drove 
back  their  foraging  parties  into  the  city,  and  often 
skirmished  with  their  outposts. 

"  Deeds  of  personal  valor  were  of  frequent  occur- 
rence, and  traditions  are  preserved  in  the  families  of 
the  town  of  heroism  unsurpassed  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  conflict. 

"  Col.  Neilson  organized  a  secret  expedition  against 
the  outpost  of  the  British  on  Bennet's  Island,  now 
known  as  Island  Farm.  With  a  picked  command 
numbering  two  hundred  men  he  stealthily  approached 
the  works  on  the  morning  of  February  18th,  some 
time  before  daybreak.  It  was  a  clear,  cold  night,  and 
a  fresh  fall  of  snow  rendered  the  undertaking  ex- 
tremely hazardous.  But  they  reached  the  works  with- 
out being  discovered,  and  Col.  Neilson  was  the  first 
man  to  leap  the  stockade.  Capt.  Farmer  saved  the  life 
of  his  commander  at  this  moment  by  aiming  a  well- 
directed  blow  at  the  sentinel,  who  was  in  the  act  of 
discharging  his  musket  into  his  breast.  The  short 
engagement  lasted  only  a  few  minutes,  when  the 
works  were  surrendered  by  Maj.  Stockton,  who  was 
the  acting  commander  of  the  post  in  the  absence  of 
Col.  Skinner.  ()ne  captain,  several  subordinate 
officers,  and  fifty-five  privates  were  taken  prisoners, 
and  a  quantity  of  munitions  of  war  were  captured. 
The  British  knew  nothing  of  the  event,  as  only  a  few 
guns  were  fired,  until  some  time  during  the  morning, 
when  the  Americans  with  their  prisoners  and  booty 
were  far  on  their  way  towards  Princeton,  where  Gen. 
Putnam  was  stationed,  into  whose  hands  they  deliv- 
ered their  spoils.  Col.  Neilson  and  his  men  received 
from  Gen.  Washington  a  very  high  compliment  for 
the  wisdom  with  which  he  had  planned,  and  the 
secrecy  with  which  he  had  executed,  this  most  suc- 
cessful expedition. 

"  On  the  28th  of  May,  Washington,  who  had  spent 
the  previous  winter  at  Morristown,  marched  his  army 
of  seven  thousand  five  hundred  men  to  the  heights  of 
Middlebrook.     Here  he  lay  for  two  weeks,  watching 


648 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  movements  of  the  enemy  at  Brunswick  from  a 
position  which  has  since  been  called  '  Washington's 
Rock.'  In  the  mean  while  the  route  to  Amboy  had 
been  opened,  both  by  land  and  water,  and  troops  had 
been  pushed  forward  to  this  point  in  large  numbers, 
until  by  the  12th  of  June,  1777,  an  army  of  seventeen 
thousand  British  and  Hessians  was  assembled,  under 
those  veteran  commanders.  Gens.  Howe,  Cornwallis, 
and  De  Heister.  Both  the  English  and  German  com- 
manders were  agreed  that  they  had  never  seen  a 
more  splendid  army,  or  one  so  well  disciplined  and 
equipped,  and  in  better  spirits.'  On  the  14th  they 
marched  out  of  the  city  in  the  direction  of  Middle- 
bush,  with  the  design  of  drawing  on  an  engagement 
with  Washington,  if  they  could  induce  him  to  leave 
the  strong  position  which  he  occupied.  Remains  of 
the  fortifications  which  they  hastily  threw  up  are 
still  visible  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  John  Wilson.  Here 
the  enemy  remained  until  the  19th,  when,  failing  in 
their  design,  they  returned  to  New  Brunswick,  and 
made  immediate  preparations  to  evacuate  the  State. 
They  were  pursued  by  the  Americans,  and  so  greatly 
harassed  on  their  retreat  that  it  was  not  until  the  1st 
of  July  that  they  were  able  to  cross  over  from  Amboy 
to  the  place  of  their  destination  on  Staten  Island." 

Governor  Dowain,  of  Massachusetts,  bore  the  fol- 
lowing testimony  in  regard  to  the  firmness  and  pa- 
triotism of  the  people  of  New  Brunswick  during  the 
struggle  for  independence :  "  With  respect  to  the 
political  principles  of  the  inhabitants  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, it  may  be  proper  to  do  them  the  justice  of  add- 
ing that  they  have,  throughout  the  whole  course  of 
the  war,  approved  themselves  firm  and  distinguished 
Whigs,  and  inflexibly  preserved  their  attachment  to 
the  cause  of  America  in  the  most  gloomy  and  perilous 
times  of  her  conflict  with  Great  Britain." 

Capt.  Hyler,  to  whose  romantic  exploits  reference 
is  made  by  the  historians,  had  his  rendezvous  at  New 
Brunswick.  He  had  under  his  command  one  gun- 
boat, the  "  Defiance,"  and  several  large  whale-boats, 
with  which  it  was  his  custom  to  proceed  down  the 
Raritan,  and  among  the  trading-vessels,  transports, 
and  plundering  parties  of  the  enemy  around  Staten 
Island,  Long  Island,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sandy  Hook.  He  selected  only  the  bravest  men,  so 
expert  in  the  use  of  the  oar  that  when  rowing  at  the 
rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour  they  could  be  heard 
only  at  a  short  distance.  He  had  the  faculty  of  in- 
fusing into  his  men  his  own  spirit  of  adventure  and 
daring.  On  one  of  his  excursions  he  captured  five 
vessels,  two  of  them  armed,  in  about  fifteen  minutes, 
within  pistol-shot  of  the  guard-ship  at  Sandy  Hook. 
In  another  enterprise  he  captured  an  eighteen-gun 


1  For  its  DUinliei'8  that  army  had  not  an  equal  in  the  worlii.  Every 
soldier  was  eager  for  a  battle— CuiiiTo/(,  vol.  ix.  p.  351.  The  time  was 
eventful  and  critical.  About  the  time  when  tlie.se  two  armies  confronted 
each  other,  viz.,  June  14th,  Congress  adopted  the  flag  of  our  country. 
The  historian  reniarlts,  '*  The  inunovable  fortitude  of  Washington  in  his 
camp  at  Middlebrook  was  the  salvation  of  that  beautiful  flag."  p.  352. 


cutter,  which  he  was  forced  to  blow  up,  after  remov- 
ing a  quantity  of  stores  and  ammunition.  His  plan 
was  to  sally  out  of  his  berth  near  the  upper  lock, 
pass  rapidly  down  the  river,  make  his  captures,  and 
dash  back  again,  often  pursued  by  the  enemy,  who 
made  slow  progress  with  their  heavier  vessels,  and 
dared  not  to  follow  him  along  the  tortuous  channel 
of  the  Raritan. 

"The  annoyance  was  so  great  that  an  expedition  of 
three  hundred  men  in  several  boats  was  fitted  out  to 
proceed  to  Brunswick  and  destroy  his  whale-boats  and 
recapture  some  of  the  ammunition.  The  plan  was 
carried  into  effect  Jan,  4,  1782.  The  river  was  clear 
of  ice,  and  proceeding  cautiously  up  the  Raritan,  they 
had  nearly  reached  the  town,  when,  at  midnight,  Mr. 
Peter  Wyckoff"  was  awakened  by  the  barking  of  a 
watch-dog,  and,  holding  his  ear  to  the  ground,  he 
heard  the  measured  stroke  of  muffled  oars,  and  at 
once  concluded  that  an  attack  was  to  be  made  upon 
the  city.  Mounting  a  fleet  horse,  he  gave  the  alarm 
to  Capt.  Guest  and  spread  the  word  i'rom  house  to 
house,  warning  the  inhabitants  of  danger,  A  scene 
of  great  excitement  now  ensued.  Lights  flashed 
through  the  town,  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  all  the 
able-bodied  men  were  under  arms.  But  the  enemj' 
had  reached  the  whale-boats  and  set  them  on  fire, 
when  our  men  came  up  and  driving  them  oft'  pre- 
vented them  from  accomplishing  their  purpose.  They 
now  found  that  their  only  safety  consisted  in  a  hasty 
retreat.  The  night  was  dark,  and  a  running  fight  took 
place  in  the  streets.  The  British  endeavored  to  reach 
their  boats  by  passing  down  Queen  Street  to  their 
rendezvous  at  the  foot  of  Town  Lane.  But  they 
were  intercepted  at  the  Dutch  Church,  from  behind 
the  walls  of  which  a  volley  was  fired  as  they  passed 
on  eager  only  to  escape.  The  principal  skirmish  took 
place  near  Mr.  Agnew's,  but  they  succeeding  in  reach- 
ing the  river  and  made  their  way  back  to  Staten 
Island.  The  enemy's  loss  in  this  encounter  was  four 
men  killed  and  several  wounded.  On  the  side  of  the 
Americans  there  was  the  loss  of  six  men  wounded, 
none  fatally,  and  five  or  six  prisoners.  A  ball  was 
shot  through  the  body  of  John  Nafey  in  this  skir- 
mish, but  the  prompt  attention  of  Col.  Taylor  saved 
his  life.  The  enemy  completely  failed  in  the  object 
of  their  expedition,  and  Capt.  Hyler  was  on  the  water 
in  a  few  weeks,  more  daring  than  ever."  He  died  in 
New  Brunswick  in  1782,  but  the  place  of  his  burial  is 
not  known. ^ 

James  Schureman,  a  young  man  at  the  Revolution, 
was  very  prominent  soon  after  in  civil  afl^airs.  He 
graduated  at  (Queen's  College  about  1773,  and  through 
his  eloquence  chiefly  a  company  was  raised  in  New 
Brunswick,  which  served  with  great  credit  iu  the 
battle  of  Long  Island.  He  had  command  as  a  cap- 
tain in  the  early  part  of  the  war,  and  was  offered  a 
high  position  in  the  regular  army.     But  he  preferred 

=  Dr.  Steele's  Historical  Discourse,  pp.  64.  65. 


CITY   OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


649 


to  serve  as  a  volunteer,  and  held  himself  ready  to  go 
out  at  a  moment's  warning  against  the  enemy.  Beiug 
one  of  Capt.  Guest's  company  at  the  interception  of 
Col.  Simcoe,  on  the  25th  of  October,  177!),  he  saved 
the  life  of  that  officer  by  knocking  up  the  musket  of 
a  comrade,  who  was  in  the  act  of  running  him  through 
with  his  bayonet,  as  Simcoe  had  fallen  wounded  un- 
der his  horse,  which  had  been  pierced  by  three  balls. 
Schureman  averted  the  deadly  thrust  and  took  Sim- 
coe prisoner.  The  dastardly  conduct  of  the  British 
a  few  moments  later  in  taking  the  life  of  Capt.  Peter 
Voorhees  while  a  prisoner  in  their  hands  excited  the 
indignation  of  the  citizens  to  such  an  extent  that 
vengeance  was  threatened  against  the  person  of  Col. 
Simcoe,  and  during  the  night  the  town  was  searched 
for  him.  "  He  was  concealed  in  the  old  stone  house 
on  the  corner  of  Neilson  and  Albany  Streets,  from 
whence  he  was  removed  to  Burlington,  where  he  re- 
mained a  prisoner  until  honorably  exchanged." 

Mr.  Schureman  was  taken  prisoner  during  the  war 
near  the  mills  on  Lawrence  Brook,  and  after  being 
confined  for  a  few  days  in  the  guard-house  near  the 
Neilson  mansion  he  was  removed  to  the  notorious 
"Sugar-House"  in  New  York,  whence  he  made  his 
escape  to  the  American  army  at  Morristown.  After 
the  war  was  closed  he  was  elected  a  member  of  Con- 
gress in  1789,  after  which  he  was  chosen  to  the 
United  States  Senate  for  a  full  term,  and  was  again 
returned  to  the  House  of  Representatives  in  1812  as 
a  colleague  with  Richard  Stockton.  He  served  sev- 
eral terms  as  mayor  of  New  Brunswick,  and  as  a 
citizen  was  held  in  high  esteem.  He  was  a  grandson 
of  the  schoolmaster.  Jacobus  Schureman,  who  came 
from  Holland  with  Dominie  Frelinghuysen,  and 
died  Jan.  22,  1824,  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of  his 
age. 

New  Brunswick  in  1799. — From  the  newswaper 
of  that  period.  The  Guardian  a7id  i\>w  Brunswick 
Advertiser,  which  commenced  its  eighth  year  Oct.  29, 
1799,  we  learn  something  of  the  condition  of  New 
Brunswick  at  the  close  of  the  last  century : 

At  that  time  New  Jersey  was  divided  into  congres- 
sional districts  as  follows  :  Eastern  District,  Essex, 
Bergen,  and  Middlesex;  John  Condit,  representative. 
Northern  District,  Morris  and  Essex  ;  Aaron  Kitchell, 
representative.  Western,  Hunterdon  and  Somerset; 
James  Linn,  representative.  Middle  District,  Mon- 
mouth and  Burlington  ;  James  H.  Imlay,  representa- 
tive. Southern,  Gloucester,  Salem,  Cumberland,  and 
Cape  May  ;  Franklin  Davenport,  representative. 

Then  letters  for  the  following  places  were  directed 
to  the  New  Brunswick  office :  Somerset,  Scotch  Plains, 
Raritan  Landing,  Amboy,  North,  South,  and  Middle 
Branches,  Cranbury,  Bonhamtown,  Millstone,  Stony 
Hill,  Piscataway,  Basking  Ridge,  Spotswood,  Bridge- 
water,  Six-Mile  Run,  etc.  Imagine  the  residents  of 
these  places  at  the  present  day  depending  on  the  New 
Brunswick  office  for  mail  facilities  on  account  of  its 
having  the  nearest  post-office  !   Letters  for  some  of  the 


above  places,  as  Raritan,  Cranbury,  and  Somerset, 
were  sometimes  sent  to  the  Princeton  post-office.  Oc- 
casionally letters  brought  up  at  this  office  intended 
for  the  British  province  of  New  Brunswick,  as  we 
notice  letters  advertised  here  for  well-known  Tories 
who  had  fled  to  New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia  at 
the  close  of  the  war. 

News  from  Europe  averaged  about  six  weeks  in 
reaching  the  city,  and  when  it  arrived  it  was  eagerly 
read  at  this  time,  as  the  citizens  were  deeply  inter- 
ested in  the  wars  of  France  and  England  then  in 
progress.  Most  of  the  citizens  who  had  business  at 
New  York  went  by  private  conveyances,  leaving  their 
teams  at  Powles  Hook  (Jersey  City)  or  Hoboken. 
"The  Hobuck  House  and  Ferry,"  kept  by  John 
Town,  at  Hoboken,  seems  to  have  been  well  patron- 
ized by  New  Brunswickers.  Mr.  Town  took  care  of 
the  teams  while  the  owners  crossed  over  in  sail-  or 
row-boats.  A  New  Brunswick  merchant  would  usu- 
ally require  the  best  part  of  three  days  to  go  to  New 
York,  transact  business,  and  return.  Much  of  the 
merchandise  taken  to  and  from  the  city  was  in  sloops 
and  schooners,  and  by  them  a  large  amount  of  lumber 
was  brought  from  Egg  Harbor,  Virginia,  etc.  Some  of 
these  sailing-vessels  were  regular  packets,  carrying 
passengers  and  freight.  The  sloop  "  Hope  for  Peace," 
Capt.  Nicholas  Auten,  and  the  "  Independence,"  car- 
ried passengers  as  far  as  Albany. 

Among  the  principal  merchants  of  New  Bruns- 
wick at  the  close  of  the  last  century  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following:  Robert  Eastburn,  Church 
Street;  Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  Samuel  Clarkson, 
Samuel  Barker,  Church  Street ;  William  Lawson, 
Jr.,  near  the  market;  Perez  Rowley,  S.  J.  &  H. 
Rudderow,  Albany  Street;  George  Young,  Jr.,  Peace 
Street,  all  dealers  in  dry-goods,  groceries,  medicines, 
etc. ;  Willett  Warne,  Albany  Street,  hardware  ;  James 
Richmond,  lumber,  plaster,  grass-seeds,  etc. ;  Michael 
Pool,  Queen  Street,  hats  and  furs  ;  John  Dennis,  Jr., 
lumber,  plaster,  paints,  etc.,  houses  to  let,  agent  for 
packets,  etc.;  William  Forman,  lumber;  Williams  & 
Leslie,  watch-  and  clock-makers,  plated  ware,  silver 
knee-buckles,  etc.,  had  also  a  branch  store  at  Trenton  ; 
Timothy  Brush,  auctioneer,  land  and  intelligence 
office,  houses,  lots,  plantations,  negro  men,  wenches 
and  children  for  sale,  let,  or  hire,  etc.;  Miss  Hay 
Burnet,  young  ladies'  high  school,  French,  music, 
dancing,  etc. 

Among  the  now  almost  forgotten  articles  then  sold 
by  merchants  were  knee-  and  shoe-buckles,  bellows 
and  snuffers;  and  in  dry-goods,  rattinets,  calaman- 
coes, shalloons,  wildboars  plain  and  figured,  peelongs, 
durants,  dowlass,  moreens,  etc. 

At  that  day  it  will  be  remembered  that  women 
under  certain  circumstances  were  allowed  to  vote.  It 
is  a  sad  commentary  on  the  frailty  of  human  nature 
that  even  the  fair  sex  were  then  charged  with  illegal 
voting!  In  the  New  Brunswick  paper  it  is  charged 
that  the  Jefferson  candidate  for  Congress  in  Essex 


650 


HISTOKY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


was  elected  by  the  large  number  of  fraudulent  or 
illegal  votes  given  by  married  women  and  girls  from 
fifteen  years  old  upwards.  It  is  consoling  to  know 
that  the  Middlesex  ladies  were  above  cheating  at  the 
ballot-box  ! 

A  singular  adjunct  to  the  business  of  the  publisher 
of  the  New  Brunswick  paper  at  that  day  was  the 
acting  as  agent  for  the  sale  of  so  many  things  adver- 
tised in  his  paper,  and  at  the  present  day  the  most 
singular  of  all  seem  such  as  the  following : 

"  To  be  sold,  a  negro  man  about  45  years  old,  with  his  wife  aged  32, 
and  cliild  3  years  old ;  and,  if  wanted,  a  fine  boy  6  years  old ;  also  a 
negro  wench,  liusband  and  child,  2  years  old;  a  negro  fellow,  21  years 
old;  a  fine  wench,  15  years  old,  etc.  Enquire  of  the  printer.  Wanted 
to  purchase  a  healthy  negro  man  for  farm  work.  Enquire  of  the 
printer." 

Stray  negroes  were  occasionally  put  in  jail,  their 
owners  advertised  for,  and  if  none  came  forward  they 
were  sold  to  pay  expenses  of  arrest  and  jail  fees. 

Connected  with  the  early  history  of  the  place  when 
it  was  known  as  Inians'  Ferry  is  the  following  iuci- 
dent :  Thomas  Budd,  from  whom  Budd's  Lake  took 
its  name,  purchased  a  large  tract  of  land  from  the 
Indians,  which  he  supposed  was  in  West  Jersey,  as 
the  division  between  the  provinces  was  not  then  very 
certain.  This  was  in  1687,  or  about  that  time,  before 
Coxa  and  Barclay  had  agreed  upon  their  compromise 
line.  Budd  had  been  to  New  York  to  purchase  goods 
to  pay  ofi'  the  Indians  for  the  land,  and  when  on  his 
way  back,  at  John  Inians',  he  was  met  by  the  sheriff 
and  posse  of  East  Jersey,  armed  with  a  warrant  from 
the  Governor  and  Council  for  his  arrest.  He  was 
charged  with  having  contrary  to  law  convened  the 
Indian.s  within  the  bounds  of  East  Jersey  and  pur- 
chased lands  of  them  which  belonged  to  the  East 
Jersey  proprietors.  He  refused  to  be  arrested,  claim- 
ing that  he  was  then  within  the  bounds  of  West  Jer- 
sey, locked  himself  in,  and  defied  the  authorities  to 
take  him.  Some  of  the  people  of  West  Jersey  came 
over  ostensibly  to  visit  him,  but  with  the  design  of 
effecting  his  rescue.  The  Governor  being  informed 
of  this  state  of  things  sent  up  from  Amboy  a  stronger 
force  to  assist  the  sheriff.  Budd  stood  out  for  five 
days,  incarcerated  in  some  room  of  Inians'  tavern, 
but  finding  it  useless  longer  to  resist  he  surrendered, 
was  taken  before  the  Governor  and  Council,  and 
bound  over  in  the  sum  of  one  thousand  pounds  to 
appear  and  answer  at  the  Court  of  Common  Right  to 
be  held  at  Perth  Amboy  in  October. 

We  are  not  informed  how  the  case  was  finally  set- 
tled, but  it  is  probable  that  Budd  gave  up  his  Indian 
purchase,  as  before  the  convening  of  the  court  in  Oc- 
tober the  partition  line  had  been  agreed  upon. 


CHAPTER    XCIV. 

CITY    OF    NEW    BRUNSWICK.— (Coi.f/iuicrf.) 

Review  of  the  City's  Progress.— About  the  be- 

inning  of  the  jiresent  century  New  Brunswick  was 


a  small  place.  "  The  little  hamlet,"  says  the  Oazette, 
"hugged  the  river,  and  even  Albany  Street  above 
Neilson  was  sparsely  settled."  In  1811  on  the  .south  side 
were  the  old  Revolutionary  .stone  house,  on  the  corner 
the  old  Gazette  printing-office,  just  above,  and  after- 
wards occupied  by  Justice  Henry,  and  the  carriage 
manufactory  of  John  Van  Nuis  ;  above  that,  opposite, 
were  the  roomy  old  place,  afterwards  occupied  by 
Justice  Nevius  and  the  Leupp  estate,  whose  old  white 
wooden  building  has  been  torn  down  within  a  few 
years.  The  north  side  was  several  feet  above  the 
south,  so  that  the  road  shelved  decidedly.  It  was 
very  steep  in  its  descent  to  the  river.  The  door  of 
the  present  Nevius  residence  was  but  one  step  from 
the  sidewalk,  now  it  is  a  dozen.  While  the  ground  was 
higher  above  than  at  present,  it  was  much  lower  be- 
low. The  old  yellow  building  next  to  the  Times  news- 
paper office,  now  even  with  the  sidewalk,  was  formerly 
three  steps  above  the  ground,  and  a  pavement  has 
been  found  several  feet  below  the  present  surface. 
About  the  year  we  speak  of,  1811,  the  street  was 
graded,  the  upper  part  cut  down  and  the  lower  filled 
up.  But  to  make  the  north  side  of  the  street  even 
with  the  south  would  have  left  the  foundations  of  the 
Nevius  residence  clear  above  ground,  so  that  to  this 
day  one  side  of  the  street  in  that  vicinity  is  two  feet 
higher  than  the  other. 

In  1828  there  were  about  five  thousand  population, 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  dwellings,  over  a  hundred 
large  stores,  including  a  dozen  grain-stores  and 
twenty  taverns.  What  rare  old  times  for  Bonifaces 
were  the  stage-coach  days  !  The  hotels  were  of  two 
kinds, — for  farmers  and  for  through  travelers.  The 
former  flocked  in  for  trade,  the  latter  rested  on 
their  journey.  The  city  was  then  bounded  by 
George  and  New  Streets.  South  of  New  Street  the 
houses  could  be  numbered  upon  the  fingers  of  one 
hand,  barring  out,  of  course,  Burnet  Street,  which 
led  to  the  steamboat-dock.  West  of  George  Street 
there  was  but  one  house.  The  old  stone  mansion 
which  stands  on  the  corner  of  Livingston  Avenue  and 
Carroll  Place  was  then  quite  in  the  country,  as  were 
the  two  famous  old  Adrain  willows,  near  making 
many  a  stage-coach  tumble  in  the  hollow,  which 
were  recently  cut  down  in  the  work  of  widening 
and  leveling  the  avenue.  The  house,  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Edward  S.  Vail,  was  built,  according  to  the 
inscription  on  a  stone  over  the  front  portico,  in  1760 
by  Henry  Guest.  The  walls  were  made  three  feet 
thick,  and  "  old  Guest"  himself,  according  to  tradi- 
tion, "  said  to  his  son  that  if  his  descendants  would 
i  only  keep  a  roof  on  it  the  house  would  stand  till 
Gabriel  blew  his  trump."  Tom  Paine  was  barri- 
I  caded  in  the  house  by  his  hosts,  the  Guests,  from  the 
1  violence  of  the  loyal  mob  of  Brunswick,  who  sought 
I  to  punish  him  for  his  treasonable  writings.  Here, 
)  too,  were  written  those  wonderful  '"  poems"  of  the 
son  of  Moses  Guest,  afterwards  published  in  Cinciu- 
1  nati,  among  which  figure  that  gem,  "  To  Pave  or  Not 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


651 


to  Pave,"  and  that  highly  humorous  satire  on  the  old 
"TollBridge." 

Farther  up  the  Trenton  turnpike,  and  then  as  far  out 
of  town  as  it  is  now  in,  stood  the  old  frame  building  oc- 
cuj)ied  by  the  ex-mayor,  McDonald,  which  was  built 
at  the  close  of  the  last  century  by  the  father  of  the 
late  John  Van  Nuis.  From  it  stretched  out  south  to 
the  Mile-Kun  Brook  the  large  Van  Nuis  farm,  which 
has  been  within  some  twenty-five  years  divided  into 
city  lots  and  built  upon.  The  house  was  later  the  resi- 
dence of  the  sainted  Livingston,  president  of  the 
college,  who  is  yet  remembered  as  an  exceptional 
specimen  of  the  muscular  Christian,  a  giant  in  form 
and  in  feith,  strong  in  muscle  and  mind,  a  man  all 
over  and  a  Christian  all  through.  Still  later  the 
Adrain  family  came  into  possession  of  the  place  and 
planted  those  two  wonderful  old  willows  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill,  which  the  local  iconoclasts,  the  street 
commissioners,  have  removed  to  make  way  for  im- 
provements. 

At  this  time  Dennis  Street  was  a  skating-pond 
in  winter  and  a  swamp  in  summer.  Commons  ex- 
tended north  of  Somerset  Street.  The  aristocracy 
lived  on  Little  Burnet  Street  and  the  little  alley 
crossing  it,  a  fine  row  of  elaborately-finished  brick 
houses  standing  there.  The  generous  residence  of 
Governor  Paterson  occupied  the  site  of  the  present 
Paterson  Block.  The  dry-goods  marts  were  on  Bur- 
net Street  below  the  post-office,  the  shops  on  Church 
Street,  grain  warehouses  on  Water  Street,  the  hotels 
tor  the  traders  there  ranged  on  Water  Street  also,  and 
were  always  crowded. 

The  trade  was  then  very  largely  wholesale.  The 
city  drained  Warren,  Hunterdon,  Sussex,  and  Som- 
erset Counties,  and  Northumberland  County,  Pa.,  and 
the  country  along  the  upper  Delaware,  of  grain, 
while  it  supplied  them  with  fish  and  salt,  dry-goods 
and  merchandise.  Old  Monmouth  and  the  country 
to  the  south  was  little  better  than  a  desert  of  sand, 
before  the  mines  of  marl  were  married  to  the  virgin 
soil,  and  the  latter  brought  forth  in  such  abundance 
as  to  make  Monmouth  the  second  county  in  the  Union. 
The  grain  was  brought  by  the  Jersey  turnpike  road 
in  great  wagons  carrying  twenty-eight  barrels,  and 
drawn  by  four  and  six  horses.  They  made  two  trips 
a  week,  and  an  old  resident  remembers  counting  forty- 
two  of  the.se  great  wagons  lying  in  Water  Street,  the 
pole  of  each  under  the  wagon  before  it,  remaining 
there  groaning  with  grain  overnight,  to  be  emptied 
at  morn  into  the  great  warehouses,  of  which  Mr.  Run- 
yon's,  formerly  the  business  house  of  .Tames  Bishop, 
Sr.,  is  now  the  sole  remaining  relic.  Elias  Runyon 
stands  as  the  survivor  or  relic  of  our  solid  men  of 
Brunswick,  like  James  Bishop,  Sr.,  and  John  Bergan, 
and  John  Brush  and  Holcombe  Cox.  These  merchants 
and  their  peers  sold  direct  to  New  York  dealers,  and 
shipped  to  them  by  the  dozen  sloops,  which  at  that 
time  were  constantly  plying  between  our  docks  and 
the  metropolis.     There  were  three  hundred  thousand 


bushels  of  Indian  corn  and  fifty  thousand  bushels  of  rye 
annually  exported  about  the  year  1830,  and  some  years 
later  it  is  said  the  total  number  of  bushels  of  grain 
passing  through  this  market  reached  over  a  million. 
In  these  fast  days  it  is  almost  impossible  to  conceive 
of  a  little  city  like  ours  being  the  entrepot  for  the 
products  of  nearly  all  the  fruitful  sections  of  New 
Jersey,  and  for  a  goodly  stretch  of  Pennsylvania  ter- 
ritory, and  being  also  their  market  for  the  supply  of 
the  necessaries  of  life,  as  well  as  furnishing  a  chief 
source  of  supply  for  the  New  York  agricultural  trade. 
But  it  must  be  remembered  that  before  the  advent 
of  railroads  and  canals  as  a  means  of  intercommuni- 
cation the  Raritan  was  the  only  outlet  to  the  metrop- 
olis from  a  large  territory  west  of  us.  One  item  here 
may  be  mentioned :  "  Our  peach  trade  was  also  con- 
siderable, and  many  of  our  staid  citizens  remember 
the  Saturday  frolic  on  Sonman's  Hill  when  they  were 
allowed  to  sort  out  from  the  great  wagons  the  lus- 
cious fruit  to  be  packed  in  the  steamers,  and  taking 
home  as  recompense  all  they  could  carry  of  the 
'speckled'  but  none  the  less  delicious  flavored  escu- 
lent." 

The  thought  is  a  striking  one  in  illustration  of  the 
remarkable  advance  we  have  made  in  civilization 
during  the  past  half-century,  and  suggests  to  us  a 
picture  of  what  we  should  now  be  if  steam  traflic  and 
the  telegraph  had  been  delayed  in  their  coming  or 
had  advanced  less  swiftly  towards  apparent  perfection, 
as  well  as  shows  us  what  absolute  changes  are  made 
by  the  progress  of  science  in  the  very  structure  and 
nature  of  society  and  of  life.  At  this  time  passenger 
communication  was  had  four  times  daily  with  New 
York  by  steamboat,  with  which  connected  stages  to 
Lamberton,  where  other  steamboats  took  up  the 
journey.  Two  lines  of  steamers  vied  with  each  other 
in  the  passenger  traffic,  while  many  citizens  of  New 
Brunswick  ran  trading  vessels.  These  were  lively  times 
in  the  busy  little  town.  "  Crowds  would  gather  at  the 
steamboat  dock  to  witness  the  Union  line  steamers 
race  to  the  dock  with  their  competitors,  and  extensive 
was  the  betting  on  the  result.  As  the  steamers  bumped 
against  the  wharves  the  passengers  made  a  rush  for 
the  line  of  four-horse  stages  which  stood  ready.  These 
filled,  whips  would  crack,  and  whistling  up  Burnet 
Street  would  race  a  train  of  as  many  as  twenty-two 
stages  in  line.  The  excitement  concerning  the  travel 
north  was  little  less.  From  the  cupola  of  the  steam- 
boat-house a  signal  on  the  straight  turnpike  tavern 
could  be  seen,  and  in  a  few  moments  more  the  blast  of 
bugles  and  the  whirl  of  dust  announced  the  arrival  of 
the  return  stages.  Crowded  with  passengers,  the  horses 
would  gallop  madly  down  New  Street,  and  dash 
around  the  corner  in  a  style  that  would  touch  the 
heart  of  that  Jehu  of  Yosemite,  California  Joe. 
Rattling  along  they  presently  reached  the  boats, 
which  lay,  steam  up,  ready  to  continue  the  journey 
to  the  metropolis.  The  boys  and  young  men,  and 
even  the  older  citizens,  would  take  sides  with  the 


652 


HISTORY    OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


'  Citizens'  or  '  Union'  line  as  excitedly,  and  even 
more  so  than  the  youth  of  the  present  period  bet  and 
yell  over  the  fire-engines.  They  would  gather  on 
Sonman's  Hill,  where  the  view  would  be  clear  to  the 
turnpike  near  the  Adrain  estate,  and  descry  the  vic- 
torious coach,  usually  but  little  ahead  of  her  rival, 
with  which  she  had  run  a  dead  race  all  the  way  from 
Trenton.  If  the  '  Union'  stage  was  ahead  the  wait- 
ing steamer  '  Thistle'  would  peal  out  a  welcome  of 
victory.  With  eager  eyes  the  crowd  watched  the  de- 
scent of  the  hill  to  the  old  willows,  and  waited  for  the 
second  appearance  at  the  turn  into  New  Street,  wildly 
shouting  at  the  hazardous  tilt  around  into  Burnet 
Street  and  the  final  gallop  to  the  dock.  Contrast  these 
scenes  with  that  of  the  Philadelphia  business  man  of 
to-day,  who  at  morning  steps  into  a  vehicular  palace, 
transacts  a  day's  business  in  New  York,  and  sups 
with  his  family  again  at  night  in  the  Quaker  City." 

"  The  boats  and  stages  which  came  into  the  city  at 
night  would  deposit  their  living  freight  in  the  care  of 
our  Bonifaces,  who  kept  open  house  along  Burnet  and 
up  in  Albany  Streets.  Here  were  the  present  Bell 
Tavern,  and  White  Hall  ('Hart  Moore's'  ancient 
predecessor),  and  the  City  Hotel,  and,  the  best  of  all, 
Mann's  Hotel.  This  was  the  long  old  building,  corner 
of  Albany  and  Neilson  Streets,  now  occupied  as  a 
boarding-house  and  by  Van  Cleef's  grocery.  This, 
by  the  way,  continued  to  be  the  only  public  lecture 
hall  the  town  possessed  up  to  a  tolerably  recent  date, 
— 'Mann's  long  room,' — in  which  many  of  our  busi- 
ness men  of  to-day  will  remember  to  have  first  strutted 
forth  upon  the  stage  in  all  the  glory  of  juvenile  ora- 
tory. Opposite  here  stood  the  moss-covered,  stuccoed 
stone  dwelling  which  dated  back  to  the  Revolution, 
which  has  been  credited  with  the  frequent  entertain- 
ment of  Washington,  and  in  front  of  which,  in  July, 
1776,  Col.  Neilson  mounted  a  table  and  first  read  to 
our  loyalists  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
hotel  at  the  foot  of  Burnet  Street  was  kept  by  Skipper 
Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  the  late  commodore  of  steam- 
boats and  general  of  railroads.  His  wife  kept  clean 
and  neat  the  house,  and  attended  to  the  boarders 
during  the  day,  while  her  husband  ran  his  '  perry- 
auger' — a  sloop  without  a  bowsprit — to  New  Y'ork. 
His  ambitious  mind  yearned  for  a  steamboat,  and 
when  an  opportunity  to  buy  one  was  presented  and 
he  lacked  the  money,  his  wife,  according  to  a  story 
Judge  Fisk,  a  great  friend  of  Vanderbilt's,  used  to  tell, 
surprised  him  with  a  considerable  sum  which  she  had, 
unknown  to  him,  saved  by  economy  in  her  manage- 
ment of  the  hotel.  He  was  also  aided  by  Mr.  William 
Gibbons,  who  resided  at  Madison,  N.  J.,  and  also 
owned  the  Union  Line  of  steamers ;  so  he  started  ott' 
then,  where  he  remained  until  his  death,  at  the  head 
of  one  of  the  main  routes  of  travel.  But  how  differ- 
ent the  relations  to  society  and  its  history  this  position 
bore  then  and  bears  now." 

In  the  year  1880  the  railroad  agitation  commenced, 
and  the  State  began  to  be  tickled  with  the  feelers  of 


the  monster  which  was  afterwards  to  grapple  with 
and  subdue  it.  Camden  and  Amboy  made  its  appear- 
ance, and  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  was  soon 
underway.  In  1833  it  was  completed  and  opened  for 
passenger  and  freight  traffic.  There  was  no  particular 
rejoicing  over  it,  although  naturally  the  popular  feel- 
ing for  improved  methods  of  transit  was  gratified  and 
the  health  of  the  town  was  much  improved  by  the 
substitution  of  deep  water  and  docks  for  the  bare 
river-beds  covered  with  filth  which  formerly  lay  ex- 
posed. The  canal  was  projected  as  far  back  as  1804, 
and  companies  were  several  times  in  the  next  quarter 
of  the  century  talked  of  and  chartered.  The  present 
company  was  incorporated  in  1830,  and  in  four  years 
had  built  the  forty-two  miles  of  canal  from  Borden- 
town  to  this  city,  together  with  twenty-three  miles  of 
feeder  along  the  Delaware  north  of  Trenton.  The 
canal  is  seventy-five  feet  wide  and  seven  to  ten  feet 
deep,  admitting  vessels  of  from  seventy-five  to  one 
hundred  tons  burden.  Its  cost,  together  with  that  of 
the  feeder,  was  about  three  millions  of  dollars.  It 
has  some  twenty  locks.  The  benefit  derived  from  the 
canal  has  been  chiefly  from  the  bringing  of  coal  from 
the  mines,  although  its  through  trattic  is  immense, 
and  puts  the  Raritan  among  the  three  greatest  rivers 
in  the  country  for  her  tonnage.  It  is  an  interesting 
fact  that  the  first  steam-propeller  which  ever  passed 
through  a  canal  was  the  "  Hercules,"  which  came  up 
through  the  basin  at  New  Brunswick  soon  after  her 
arrival  in  this  country.  The  vessel  was  an  iron  screw- 
steamer,  built  at  Glasgow  by  order  of  Commodore 
Stockton,  and  sailed  to  America  by  nine  persons, — a 
most  daring  feat,  for  she  was  little  larger  than  our 
present  towing-tugs.  She  is  still  in  use  about  Phila- 
delphia. 

In  1734  the  Bordentown  and  Washington  road  was 
opened,  and  once  a  week  a  freight  wagon  was  run, 
connecting  with  boat  for  New  York. 

But  the  coming  of  the  New  Jersey  Railroad  awak- 
ened the  wildest  enthusiasm.  It  was  bitterly  opposed 
by  the  Camden  and  Amboy,  and  the  feeling  of  the 
people  sided  with  it  as  against  the  monopoly,  aside 
from  their  local  prejudice  in  its  favor.  The  road  was 
incorporated  in  1832,  and  soon  had  horse-cars  run- 
ning from  Newark  to  New  York  eight  trips  daily. 
On  Dec.  3,  1835,  the  first  locomotive,  named  the 
"  Newark,"  ascended  the  grade  at  Bergen  Hill  and 
came  sweeping  in  upon  the  Newarkers  in  gay  style, 
at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour,  now  and  then 
increasing  to  thirty.  A  month  later  the  entire  road 
was  opened  to  this  city.  On  Jan.  2,  1836,  a  new  lo- 
comotive, the  "  New  Brunswick,"  attached  to  thir- 
teen cars  decorated  with  banners  bearing  the  names 
of  the  counties,  cities,  and  villages  along  the  road, 
and  United  States  and  State  flags,  came  down  at  the 
rate  of  about  twenty  miles  an  hour  from  Newark, 
freighted  with  guests  from  all  along  the  line  to  East 
Brunswick.  Here  the  visitors  were  received  by  Al- 
derman Zabriskie,  who  conducted  them  in  carriages 


CITY  OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


653 


over  the  Albany  Street  bridge  to  the  court-house, 
where  had  been  prepared  a  sumptuous  collation.  The 
feast  was  presided  over  by  Hon.  C.  L.  Hardenbergh, 
and  accompanied  by  toasts  and  speeches.  On  January 
4th  the  regular  trains,  three  each  way,  commenced 
running  from  Rahway  to  Newark,  fare  fifty  cents. 

Trains  had  to  stop  across  the  river,  as  there  was  at 
that  time  no  railroad  bridge.  The  depot  stood  on 
the  right  as  the  train  came  in,  on  the  little  knoll  now 
covered  with  a  few  cedars,  and  omnibus  coaches  ran 
thence  to  the  City  Hotel  via  the  Albany  Street  bridge, 
at  the  low  charge  of  six  and  a  quarter  cents.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1838,  the  first  train  ran  across  the 
viaduct  to  the  depot  on  Somerset  Street,  which  had 
meanwhile  been  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  Baptist 
Church,  for  which  was  paid  $6327.50  by  the  company. 
It  is  worthy  of  remark  here  that  tliis  bridge  cost  at 
that  time  $57,532, — twenty-nine  thousand  dollars  less 
than  the  Albany  Street  bridge.  The  company,  having 
obtained  permission  of  Common  Council,  built  their 
road  out  two  or  three  miles  towards  Monmouth  Junc- 
tion, to  what  were  then  the  city  limits,  and  efforts 
were  made  to  continue  the  line  on  to  Trenton,  to  con- 
nect with  the  Philadelphia  and  Trenton  Railroad,  and 
thus  make  a  through  line  to  New  York,  to  compete 
with  Camden  and  Amboy.  To  prevent  this,  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy,  in  1837,  yielded  to  destiny  and  applied 
for  i)ermission  to  build  a  branch  of  their  road  be- 
tween the  Philadelphia  and  Trenton  and  the  New 
Jersey  Railroads,  and  on  March  15th  the  necessary 
bill  became  a  law.  In  the  following  year  the  first 
train  passed  through  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia, 
via  Kensington,  connecting  with  the  Baltimore  train, 
so  that  the  transit  occupied  a  day. 

Prices  and  Premiums,  1822.— In  the  Bridgefoicn 
Museum,  published  at  Bridgetown  (Lower  Rahway), 
the  wliolesale  prices  current  of  flour  and  grain  at  New 
York  and  New  Brunswick,  Sept.  23,  1822,  are  given 
as  follows: 

Ni'w  Ym-li  superfine  flour,  bbl $6.00 

Hhila.lelphiii 6.60 

Bnltiniore. 6.50 

Hichuionii  City  mills 6.75 

Cuuntry  luills 6  00 

Frt»(lerickBbiirg 6.00 

BliiUlling",  flue ; 4.50 

Rye  flour 3.75 

Indian  meal 3.87 

"  "  in  hhda (800) 18.00 

Wheat,  North  River,  bushel 1.18 

'•       Virginia 1,20 

Rye 70 

Corn,  yelluw 

"     North  River 80 

"      Southern 60 

Oats 37 

Prices  tit  New  Bnmswick. 

s.    d.  ».    d. 

Wheat 8     6a      9     U 

Kve 5 

Corn S 

Oats 2    9  3 

Flaxseed 8 

Wheat  flour 26  .30 

Rye         "      16    0  18    0 

Indian  meal 12    0         13    0 

Potatoes 3  3    3 

Butter,  fresh 14  to  16  cents. 

"        firkin 12 

Lard 9  to  9\A  cents. 

Cider  Spirits .35  to  36~cents. 

Flax 7  to  7'4  cents. 

Eggs 9  centsT 

42 


I  "  LIST  OF  PREMIUMS 

"  To  be  awarded  at  'he  Fall  Meeling  of  the  AgricvUural  Socirly  of  New  £ruiM- 
icicby  ott  lltejiret  Tuesday  of  Nove.mher,  1822. 

"1.  For  the  greatest  number  of  btishels  of  corn,  raised  on  two  acres 
of  land  lying  together,  at  therateof  flity-eight  pounds  to  the 
bushel.  The  mode  of  cultui-e,  planting,  and  manuring  to  be 
stated,  and  the  measurement  of  corn  and  laud  to  be  proved 
by  alHdavit  hefcire  the  C.mmitlee.  a  cup $10 

"  2.  For  the  greatest  number  of  bushels  of  Wheat,  raised  on  two  acres 
lyingtogether,  tobe  threshed  and  measured,  the  quantity  and 
kind  of  measure  and  mmle  of  culture  to  be  stated,  a  cup 6 

"3.  For  the  greatest  quantity  of  Millet  raised  on  two  acres,  for  hay, 

a  cup 6 

**4.  For  the  greatest  number  of  bushels  of  Potatoes  raised  on  one 

acre,  a  cup 8 

"5,  For  the  greatest  number  of  bushels  of  Turnips  on  one  acre,  a 

cup 6 

"6.  For  the  greatest  number  of  bushels  of  Ruta  Bagaon  oueacre, 

a  cup 6 

"  7.  For  the  greatest  number  of  bushels  of  Carrots  from  one  quarter 

of  an  acre,  a  cup 6 

"8.  For  the  best  half  acre  of  cabbage,  a  cnp 6 

"9.  For  the  best  two  acres  of  Flax,  to  be  viewed  and  judged  by  a 

committee  before  pulling,  a  cup 6 

"10.  For  the  best  pair  of  Fat  Cattle,  a  cup 10 

"11.  For  the  best  Fat  Cow,  a  cup 6 

(In  both  cases  to  he  owned  and  fed  by  the  owner  on  his  farm 
fur  one  year  previous  to  the  show.) 

"  12.  For  t)ie  best  Calf,  not  exceeding  eight  months,  a  cup 6 

"13.  For  the  best  sucking  foal,  a  cup 6 

"14.  For  the  best  peu  of  spring  pigs,  not  less  than  five,  of  one  litter, 
not  over  nine  mouths  old,  raised  by  the  owner,  stating  pre- 
cisely the  mode  of  feeding  and  nearly  as  may  be  the  expense, 
a  cup 0 

"15.  For  the  bestMeiino  Ram,  a  cup  S 

"16.  For  the  best  English  Ram,  a  cnp 6 

"  Domestic  Manufacttjhes. 

"  Best  pair  of  knit  thread  stockings 3 

Best  pair  of  knit  woolen  stockings 3 

Best  cloth,  not  less  than  leu  yards,  made  in  this  State  from  wool 

raised  by  the  person  otferiug 5 

Best  Bonnet  of  split  straw 3 

2d  Bonnet  of  split  straw 2 

Best  Bonnet  of  grass 3 

2d  Bonnet  of  grass 2 

The  Lest  Diaper  for  table  cloths,  nut  less  than  fifteen  yards 5 

The  best  two  dozen  Napkins 3 

The  beet  thirty  yards  ut  linen  shirting 4 

The  best  piece  of  Flannel,  not  less  than  twenty  yards 4 

The  best  piece  of  Carpeting,  not  less  than  thirty  yards 4 

The  best  Bed-qnilt  or  Counterpane 3 

"In  all  cases  the  materials  must  be  raised  or  manufactured  by  the 
person  otferiug;  and  no  article  that  has  been  used  or  worn  shall  be  ad- 
mitted. 

"  By  order, 

"James  Crommelin,  Sec'ry." 

Manumission  Papers. — The  following  is  a  copy  of 
a  bill  of  sale  for  a  negro  girl,  Jude  : 

"  This  is  to  certify  that  I  have  this  day  sold  to  Peter  Spader  my  Negro 
woman,  Jude,  aged  seventeen  years  for  the  sum  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,  which  Negro  woman  I  promised  to  deliver  or  cause 
to  be  delivered  unto  Peter  Spader  or  order. 
"As  witness  my  Hand  the  26th  day  of  March,  1814. 

"BoELiF  Neviub, 
"  Witness  Present: 

"  Abram  Spader." 

BILL  OF  S.\LE  OF  SLAVE  POLL. 

"For  in  consideration  of  the  sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to 

me  in  hand  paid,  I  hereby  freelly  assign  and  deliver  to  Jane  Spader  of 

New  Brunswick— My  Negro  woman  named  Poll— about  forty  years  of 

age  and  do  warraut  her  against  all  the  claim  of  all  persons. 

"  As  witness  my  hand  the  9th  day  of  January,  1810. 

"  John  M.  Batard. 
"  Witness  Piesent: 

Tornado. — On  June  19,  1835,  our  town  came  near 
meeting  the  most  melancholy  fate  of  total  destruction. 
Two  dark  clouds  approached  and  joined  each  other 
in  the  vicinity  of  Griggstown,  on  the  Millstone  River, 
and  then  started  a  full-blown  tornado  on  a  path 
of  devastation  through  Six-Mile  Run  and  Middle- 
bush  to  this  city,  where  at  five  o'clock  in  the  even- 
ing they  appeared  a  lowering  mass  projecting  down- 


654 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ward  a  pillar  of  fire.  The  hurricane  with  fearful 
violence  took  an  easterly  course,  threatening  Albany 
and  Church  Streets,  but  actually  striking  at  the  heads 
of  Paterson,  Bayard,  Liberty,  and  Sehureman  Streets 
(the  heads  of  these  being  at  George  Street),  whence  it 
took  its  destructive  way  across  Neilson  and  Burnet 
Streets,  killing  several  persons  in  its  path  ;  thence 
over  the  Raritan  to  Piscatavvay,  and  so  to  the  water. 
Sehureman,  Liberty,  and  Burnet  Streets  were  a 
complete  mass  of  ruins,  over  one  hundred  and 
twenty  dwellings,  exclusive  of  numerous  stores,  store- 
houses, etc.,  being  destroyed  or  greatly  damaged. 
The  loss  reached  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dol- 
lars, a  very  large  sum  in  those  days,  and  the  suffering 
was  considerable,  though  speedily  relieved  by  contri- 
butions from  all  over  the  State.  The  razed  parts  of 
the  city  were  speedily  rebuilt,  and  the  industry  and 
commerce  of  the  city  received  no  serious  check. 

Present  Status  of  the  City. — New  Brunswick  is 
well  supplied  with  water,  and  is  under  adequate 
police  regulations.  It  is  protected  from  the  ravages 
of  fire  by  a  well-organized  and  efficient  fire  depart- 
ment. Its  educational  affairs  are  under  the  manage- 
ment of  a  board  of  education  composed  of  twelve 
men.  Its  business  places  number  over  six  hundred, 
and  its  furnishing  stores,  banking  institutions,  and  in- 
surance companies  are  adequate  to  meet  the  city's 
demands. 

The  city  can  claim  high  standing  for  her  educa- 
tional advantages,  being  possessed  of  Rutgers  College, 
the  Theological  Seminary,  the  Conservatory  of  Music, 
Rutgers  Grammar  School,  five  public  schools,  two 
young  ladies'  seminaries,  and  eleven  private  schools. 
The  press  of  this  city  can  boast  of  two  daily  and  two 
weekly  papers.  Times  and  Fredoniayi,  and  two  monthly 
journals,  the  Constellation  and  the  Rutgers  College 
Targiim. 

The  religious  advantages  of  New  Brunswick  are  not 
less  marked.  There  are  twenty-one  churches  besides 
six  missions,  viz.,  four  Reformed,  two  Episcopal,  three 
Baptist,  five  Methodist  Episcopal,  two  Roman  Cath- 
olic, one  Jewish  synagogue,  one  Evangelical  Luth- 
eran (Emanuel,  German)  ;  besides  Bethel  Mission 
Union,  North  Mission  Union,  Hope  Misson,  Plum 
Street  Mission  Union,  Second  Reformed  Mission, 
Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Mission ;  the 
Charitable  Association,  Humane  Society,  established 
in  1807,  object,  to  supply  the  poor  with  fuel,  etc., 
during  the  winter;  Dorcas  Society,  established  in 
1813,  object,  clothing  destitute  widows  and  their  chil- 
dren. 

Ladies'  Depository,  established  in  1856,  object,  to 
supply  work  to  respectable  families.  Burnet  Street, 
foot  of  Hiram,  is  the  headquarters  of  the  society. 

New  Brunswick  Auxiliary  Orphan  Asylum  (aux- 
iliary to  the  Newark  Orphan  Asyium),  established 
18(10.  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  organized 
in  1857,  meets  at  No.  48  Churcli  Street,  S.  S.  Lindley, 
librarian. 


Middlesex  County  Bible  Society,  established  in 
1849  at  New  Brunswick,  meets  annually. in  the  dif- 
ferent townships.  Depository  with  the  executive  com- 
mittee. Chairman  of  the  executive  committee.  Rev. 
R.  H.  Steele,  D.D.,  of  this  city ;  Treasurer,  Johnson 
Letson. 

New  Brunswick  City  Mission,  established  Jan.  26, 
1862.  Anniversary  held  in  the  fall  election  in  the 
spring.  City  missionary,  Silas  E.  Weir.  They  are 
doing  a  vast  amount  of  good,  and  have  plans  well  laid 
for  visiting  and  holding  meetings  throughout  the  city. 

Young  Men's  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  established 
in  1816  (contemporary  with  the  American  Bible  So- 
ciety). 

The  Public  Libraries. — Of  these  there  are  four. 
The  Reformed  Theological  Seminary  Library  was 
organized  at  an  early  date,  and  a  large  number  of 
volumes  were  secured  ;  in  the  year  1873  it  was  reor- 
ganized. The  library  is  in  the  "  Sage  Library  Hall," 
open  daily  from  9  a.m.  to  12.80  p.m.,  and  from  2  to 
4.30  P.M. 

Rutgers  College  Library,  open  to  students  during 
the  week.     Library  in  Kirkpatrick  Chapel  building. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association  Library,  at 
Association  Rooms,  No.  48  Church  Street.  S.  S.  Lind- 
ley, librarian.  It  contains  nearly  six  thousand  vol- 
umes. 

New  Brunswick  Circulating  Library,  established 
1876.  They  now  have  it  in  the  bookstore  of  Messrs. 
Morgan  &  Shivlers,  36  Church  Street.  I.  Heidings- 
feld,  librarian. 

Mu.sicAL  Societies.  —  Hartranft  Choral  Society 
was  organized  April  18,  1870.  Holds  regular  meet- 
ings once  each  week  at  Masonic  Hall. 

Gesang  Verein  Eintract  (Glee  Club  Eintract),  or- 
ganized 1861.  Leader,  Professor  Frederick  Schnee- 
weiss.  They  meet  every  week  at  Saenger  Hall,  Rich- 
mond Street. 

Aurora  Verein,  reorganized  1875.  Leader,  Otto 
Geitner.  Rooms  at  Saenger  Hall.  Singing  school 
on  Thursday  evening. 

Yolks  Concert  Association,  organized  1876.  Pro- 
fessor Frederick  Schneeweiss,  musical  director.  Ob- 
ject, to  give  popular  concerts  of  popular  music  by 
local  artists,  professional  and  amateur. 

Americus  Glee  and  Social  Club,  organized  1872  ; 
object,  to  promote  social  amusement  among  the  Israel- 
ites of  this  city ;  meets  every  two  weeks  on  first  and 
third  Thursdays  of  each  month. 

New  Brunswick  Vocal  Union,  organized  February, 
1877  ;  meets  every  week  on  Monday  evening  at  Ma- 
sonic Hall. 

Bands. — Darrow's  Cornet  Band  was  organized 
March,  1866,  Burritt  Darrow,  leader;  meets  once  each 
week  at  Bull's  Head. 

Goodwill  Cornet  Band,  organized  in  1877,  Kenible 
Dunham,  leader ;  there  are  about  thirty  members. 

Political  Club. — Union  Rei)ublican  Club,  organ- 
ized March  29,  1880;  meets  Frid.ay  in  each  month. 


/^ 


^   /> 


^'v'byAHRUA' 


'^TZ^^^e^^^L—^ 


CITY  OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


655 


BuiLDixG  Loan  Associations. — There  are  some 
nine  associations  in  tliis  city  who  are  regularly  organ- 
ized for  the  purposes  specified  as  a  loan  company  for 
building  purposes. 

The  Middlesex  Building  and  Loan  Association,  or- 
ganized October,  1867.  President,  P.  Wychoff  Voor- 
hees ;  Secretary,  William  A.  Van  Doren. 

Union  Building  and  Loan  Association,  organized 
October,  1869.  President,  James  P.  Langdon;  Secre- 
tary, A.  M.  Way ;  office,  20.}  Albany  Street. 

Raritan  Building  and  Loan  Association,  organized 
March,  1870.  President,  Garret  Conover;  Secretary, 
Arthur  G.  Ogilby  ;  office,  corner  George  and  Albany 
Streets. 

Home  Building  and  Loan  Association,  organized 
April,  1871.  President,  Garret  G.  Voorhees ;  Secre- 
tary, Peter  G.  Polhemus ;  office,  152  George  Street. 

Empire  Building  and  Loan  Association,  organized 
in  1872.  President,  James  L.  Rogers ;  Secretary,  A. 
M.  Way ;  office,  20  Albany  Street. 

New  Brunswick  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
organized  April,  1873.  President,  Kenneth  J.  Dun- 
can ;  Secretary,  Peter  G.  Polhemus;  office,  152  George 
Street. 

Third  Excelsior  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
organized  June,  1877.  President,  William  G.  De 
Hart ;  Secretary,  Theodore  B.  Booraem. 

People  Building  and  Loan  Association,  organized 
January,  1880.  President,  Mahlon  Runyon  ;  Secre- 
tary, D.  F.  R.  Runyon. 

The  Public  Halls  in  the  city  are  as  follows : 

City  Hall,  corner  George  and  Schureman  Streets. 

Masonic  Hall  (containing  opera-house,  assembly- 
room,  lodge-  and  drill-rooms),  corner  Albany  and 
George  Streets. 

Geological  Hall,  College  Campus. 

Greer  Hall.  No.  195  Burnet  Street. 

Helectia  Hall,  22  Albany  Street. 

Kearney  Hall,  20J  Albany  Street. 

Odd-Fellows'  Hall,  134  Neilson  Street. 

Saenger  Hall,  Richmond  and  Dennis  Streets. 

Sage  Library  Hall,  Seminary  Place. 

Schmidt's  Hall,  City  Alley. 

Suydam  Hall,  Seminary  Place. 

Van  Neste  Hall,  College  Campus. 

Public  Buildings. — County  court-house,  Court- 
House  Square,  between  Bayard  and  Paterson  Streets. 

County  collector's  office,'  grand  jury-room,  court- 
rooms of  Supreme,  Circuit,  Oyer  and  Terminer,  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions,  and  of  Dis- 
trict Court,  in  court-house,  erected  in  the  year  1843. 

Sheriff's  house  and  office,  Court-House  Square. 

County  jail,  Court-House  Square. 

County  clerk's  and  surrogate's  office,  Court-House 
Square. 

Pump-house,  water-works,  at  Lawrence's  Brook; 
reconstructed  in  1874. 

Athletic  Associations.— The  following  are  the 
organized  clubs : 


The  Young  Men's  Athletic  Association,  organized 
in  1879.  Its  regular  meetings  are  every  Thursday 
evening,  corner  Hiram  and  Neilson  Streets. 

Rutgers  College  Boat  Club,  organized  in  1876. 
Boat-house  (floating)  in  Raritan  River,  south  of  Al- 
bany Street  bridge.     Navy:  two  four-oared  shells. 

New  Brunswick  Yacht  Club,  organized  in  1875. 
Commodore,  Cliftbrd  Morrogh,  M.D. 

The  Washington  Yacht  Club,  organized  in  1876. 
Commodore,  Augustus  Wilcox. 

Base-Ball  and  Foot-Ball  Clubs. — Rutgers  Col- 
lege Base- Ball  Association,  organized  1860. 

Union  Base-Ball  Club,  organized  1875. 

Rutgers  Foot-Ball  Association,  organized  in  1868; 
now  called  "Rutgers  Foot-Ball  Eleven." 

The  above  associations  are  very  popular  with  the 
community  during  the  pleasantest  parts  of  the  year. 
The  organizations  show  new  life  and  vigor,  and  attract 
much  attention  from  the  college  and  the  citizens  gen- 
erally. 

There  are  a  dozen  loan  associations,  whose  advan- 
tages in  increasing  private  buildings  are  marked. 

There  are  two  military  companies,  eight  Masonic 
lodges,  four  of  the  Independent  Order  of  Odd-Fel- 
lows, one  Knights  of  Pythias,  two  of  the  Order  United 
American  Mechanics,  six  Sons  of  Temperance,  two 
political  clubs,  two  brass  bands,  some  seven  benevo- 
lent societies  and  three  church  benevolent  lodges,  six 
•musical  societies,  one  historical  society,  and  one 
board  of  trade. 

Martin  A.  Howell,  born  Dec.  25,  a.d.  1804,  and 
in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  was  one  of  a  family  of  five, 
and  is  one  of  the  oldest  native  residents  of  New 
Brunswick,  N.  J.  His  paternal  grandfather,  Howell, 
was  of  Welsh  descent,  and  his  maternal  grandfather 
(Armstrong)  of  Scotch  descent,  and  were  both  resi- 
dents of  Franklin  township,  Somerset  Co.,  and  farm- 
ers. His  father,  Christopher,  born  in  Griggstown, 
N.  J.,  settled  in  New  Brunswick  after  his  marriage  to 
Ann  Armstrong,  where  he  resided  until  his  death  in 
1814,  aged  fifty-five  years.  His  mother  died  in  1829, 
aged  sixty  years. 

Children  during  his  boyhood  days  did  not  possess 
the  many  advantages  for  instruction  that  are  freely 
offered  to  the  present  generation,  many  of  the  pupils 
in  the  Lancasterian  School  in  New  Brunswick,  of 
which  he  was  a  member,  having  been  taught  to  write 
in  sand,  which  was  placed  in  a  groove  made  for  the 
purpose  on  a  desk  in  front  of  a  long  line  of  chil- 
dren. But  such  limited  means  of  learning  as  then 
offered  themselves  were  improved  by  young  Howell 
and  he  thus  laid  the  foundation  of  a  sound  and  reli- 
able business  knowledge  and  successful  career.  At 
eleven  years  of  age  he  wa.s  taken  from  school,  and 
one  year  later,  in  1816,  he  began  a  clerkship  in  his 
brother's  store  in  New  Brunswick,  and  subsequently 
served  a  clerkship  with  James  Dunham  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  with  James  F.  Randolph  in  New  York, 
where  he  remained  one  year,  occupying  his  evenings 


656  HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


in  attending  the  school  of  Mr.  Bennett,  the  American 
practical  book-keeper,  at  that  time  celebrated  as  the 
leading  if  not  the  only  place  in  the  country  where 
both  single  and  double  entry  book-keeping  were 
taught.  At  the  end  of  the  year  young  Howell  ap- 
plied to  Mr.  Bennett  for  a  diploma,  which  under  his 
rules  was  never  granted  except  upon  a  rigid  exami- 
nation before  the  school,  and  upon  a  favorable  vote  of 
all  the  scholars.  Mr.  Bennett  was  somewhat  sur- 
prised that  this  boy  who  had  only  attended  at  nights 
and  for  such  a  short  period  should  make  such  a  re- 
quest, but  finally  consented  to  give  him  the  trial. 
The  examination  took  place,  and  at  its  conclusion  he 
was  awarded  the  diploma  by  the  unanimous  vote  of 
the  school.  In  the  spring  of  1826,  upon  settlement 
with  Mr.  Randolph,  he  found  his  entire  capital  in 
money  to  be  four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  but  he  had 
acquired  a  valuable  experience,  and  had  learned  the 
basis  and  principles  of  business.  Starting  out  with 
these  young  Howell,  by  energy,  economy,  and  un- 
tiring industry,  worked  himself  up,  with  varying  for- 
tune, through  many  youthful  disappointments  and 
difficulties,  to  the  head  of  a  business  of  his  own,  the 
manufacture  of  wall-paper,  at  that  time  a  new  enter- 
prise, the  building  for  which  he  erected  in  1837  on 
the  canal  water-power  on  Water  Street,  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

This  was  the  first  manufactory  built  in  that  city, 
and  was  one  of  the  first  for  the  manufacture  of  wall- 
paper erected  in  the  United  States.  The  knowledge 
and  experience  which  he  acquired  during  the  early 
years  of  his  life  now  came  into  use,  and  these,  com- 
bined with  close  attention  to  every  detail  of  his  busi- 
ness, made  the  venture  a  success,  and  a  manufactory 
that  started  with  an  annual  production  of  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  grew  and  increased  in  a  few  years  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

Mr.  Howell,  outside  of  his  business,  has. for  half  a 
century  been  identified  with  nearly  every  important 
enterprise  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick.  He  was 
one  of  the  directors  of  each  of  the  following  banks 
established  in  that  city  :  Bank  of  New  Brunswick, 
Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank,  Bank  of  New  Jersey, 
State  Bank,  First  National  Bank,  and  the  National 
Bank  of  New  Jersey.  He  was  also  one  of  the  incor- 
porators and  a  director  of  the  New  Brunswick  Gas- 
Light  Company,  of  the  New  Brunswick  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company,  of  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber 
Company,  of  the  Perth  Amboy  Steamboat  Company, 
and  of  the  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery 
Company.  In  1802  he  was  elected  a  director  of  the 
New  Jersey  Railroad  and  Transportation  Company, 
and  subsequently  of  the  United  Railroads  and  Canal 
Companies  of  New  Jersey,  and  remained  such  until 
they  were  leased  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany. In  1863  he  was  chosen  a  director  of  the  Perth 
Amboy  and  Woodbridge  Railroad  Company,  of  which 
he  was  subsecjuently  chosen  president,  and  was  also 
a  director   and  afterwards   chosen  president   of  the 


Millstone  and  New  Brunswick  Railroad  Company, 
and  continued  to  hold  these  offices  until  these  roads 
were  also  leased  to  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Com- 
pany. He  is  also  connected  with  several  insurance 
companies  in  New  York  City.  Some  years  since  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Common  Council,  and  recorder 
of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick,  and  in  1847  served  as 
mayor.  In  1852  he  was  elected  to  the  lower  branch 
of  the  State  Legislature  on  the  Whig  ticket,  and  by 
re-election  served  the  two  following  years,  and  al- 
though frequently  requested  since  to  accept  other 
public  offices  has  always  declined. 

Mr.  Howell  has  always  been  a  prominent  partici- 
pant in  the  afiairs  of  his  native  city,  and  was  one  of 
the  most  active  if  not  the  principal  one  among  the 
distinguished  citizens  that  some  few  years  since 
waged  successful  battle  against  the  commissioners  of 
streets  and  sewers,  w^ho,  it  was  claimed,  were  leading 
the  city  into  financial  ruin  through  needless  and  ex- 
travagant expenditures. 

Mr.  Howell  was  united  in  marriage  on  Dec.  23, 
1828,  to  Mary,  daughter  of  George  White,  of  New 
Brunswick.  The  surviving  children  born  of  this 
union  are  Martin  A.,  Jr.,  of  Chicago  ;  Eliza  D. ;  Jane 
A.,  wife  of  Fred  DeCoppet,  of  New  York  ;  John 
Russell ;  Laura,  wife  of  Abel  I.  Smith,  of  Jersey  City ; 
and  Mary  E.  The  mother  died  in  1852.  His  present 
wife,  whom  he  married  in  1859,  is  Sarah  A.,  daughter 
of  the  late  John  Acken,  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
widow  of  the  late  Rev.  George  Schenck,  of  Fishkill, 
N.  Y. 

In  all  the  positions  which  Mr.  Howell  has  occu- 
pied he  has  been  much  esteemed.  His  judgment  is 
most  reliable,  and  his  advice  is  frequently  sought 
alter  upon  private,  public,  and  corporate  affairs.  He 
is  possessed  of  great  decision  of  character,  and  is 
feariess  in  what  he  considers  the  right,  caring  noth- 
ing for  public  or  popular  opinion  and  clamor.  His 
rule  through  life  has  been  to  do  his  best  in  whatever 
position  he  was  placed,  whether  high  or  low. 


CHAPTER  XCV. 

CITY    OF    NEW    BRUNSWICK.— (Cond'micrf.) 

Industrial  Pursuits.  — The  industries  of  New 
Brunswick  may  be  thus  enumerated  :  Architects,  5  ; 
bakers,  15  ;  blacksmiths  and  wheelwrights,  21 ;  books 
and  stationers,  5 ;  boot  and  shoe  dealers,  47  ;  box 
manufacturer,  1;  broom- factory,  1;  buckram  and 
mosquito-netting  factory,  1 ;  butchers,  21 ;  carriage- 
manufactory,  3  ;  carpenters  and  builders,  21 ;  carpet- 
weavers,  8 ;  cedar  cooper,  1 ;  cement,  lime,  and  sand, 
2;  cigar  box-factory,  1;  clothiers  and  tailors,  19; 
confectioners,  21  ;  coal,  brick,  and  stone,  10  ;  corsets, 
1 ;  china  and  glassware,  3  ;  cutlery  grinding,  2  ;  drug- 
gists, 9;    dry-goods,  U;   dyers,  2;  fancy  goods  and 


5|     S3 


CITY   OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


657 


notions,  15 ;  foundries,  3  ;  fruit-dealers,  6  ;  fur  goods, 
4 ;  furniture-dealers,  6 ;  grain,  hay,  and  feed,  3  ; 
groceries,  86  ;  hardware,  3  ;  harness-makers,  7  ;  hats 
and  caps,  6  ;  hides,  3  ;  hotels,  15  ;  house  and  sign 
painting,  11  ;  iron  and  steel,  2  ;  jewelers  and  watch- 
makers, 8  ;  leather  and  shoe  findings,  2  ;  leather  shoe 
factories,  7  ;  lime-kiln,  1  ;  locksmiths,  2 ;  lumber- 
dealers,  2 ;  machine-shops,  3  ;  marble  and  slate  man- 
tels, 1;  marble-works,  4;  mason  and  builders,  9; 
needle-works,  1;  oil-dealers,  2;  paper-hangings,  2; 
parasols,  canes,  and  trunks,  1 ;  photographers,  1  ; 
picture-frame  dealers,  2;  plumbing  and  gas-fitting,  8; 
plow-manufactory,  1  ;  pottery,  1  ;  printing-offices,  4  ; 
pump-factory,  1 ;  roofers,  3 ;  sail-makers,  1 ;  sash 
and  blind-factory,  2 ;  saw-mill,  1 ;  ship-yards,  2 ; 
boat  builders,  1 ;  soap-works,  1 ;  stair-builders,  1 ; 
stonecutters,  2  ;  stoves  and  tinware,  14  ;  taxidermist, 
1  ;  teas,  coffees,  and  spices,  3 ;  besides  many  minor 
employments  that  nothing  short  of  a  thorough  private 
census  could  give  us  the  proper  information  concern- 
ing. As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  however,  the 
industries  of  this  city  number  over  sixty.  Sketches 
of  some  of  the  largest  of  them  are  given  below. 

New  Jersey  Rubber  Shoe  Company. — This 
company,  under  the  name  of  "  New  Jersey  Rubber 
Company,"  was  known  by  that  name  since  1839, 
although  different  companies  have  been  established 
from  the  same  rubber  company.  The  following  in- 
teresting historic  account  gives  the  early  organization 
of  the  former  companies  : 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  they  were  started  by 
Horace  H.  Day,  and  were  the  centre  of  the  famous 
litigation  between  Charles  Goodyear,  with  his  asso- 
ciates, Ford  &  Co.,  the  Newark  Company,  tlie  Hay- 
ward  Rubber  Company,  and  the  L.  Candee  Company 
on  the  one  side,  and  Day  on  the  other,  for  the  latter's 
infringements  of  the  Goodyear  patent.  It  was  here 
that  Day  built  his  first  little  shop,  still  standing  on 
Dennis  Street  and  now  a  part  of  the  great  works,  and 
here  that  he  enlarged  his  business,  made  mints  of 
money  as  the  phrase  goes,  and  persisted  in  his  perse- 
cution of  poor  Goodyear  until  finally  beaten  in  the 
courts  by  the  last  great  effort  of  Daniel  Webster. 
For  years  it  yielded  him  an  annual  profit  of  fifty 
thousand  dollars  on  shirred  goods,  a  great  portion  of 
the  money  going  to  sustain  his  suits  with  the  patentee. 

It  was  about  1839  that  Day  started  his  little  Dennis 
Street  shop,  and  turned  out  carriage-cloth  made  by 
spreading  over  cloth  rubber  dissolved  in  turpentine, 
and  shoes  made  from  the  rubber  uppers  that  came 
from  Para,  by  fitting  them  upon  leather  bottoms.  As 
soon  as  the  Goodyear  vulcanization  process  came  out 
in  1844,  Day  claimed  the  right  to  use  it  as  an  un- 
patented English  invention,  and  began  making  the 
improved  shoes.  After  prosecuting  him,  Goodyear 
compromised  by  permitting  him  to  make  exclusively 
shirred  goods,  leaving  the  shoe  manufacture  to  On- 
derdonk  &  Letson,  the  Newark  Company,  Ford  & 
Co.,  and  the  Naugatuck  Company.     This    compro- 


mise was  violated,  and  lawsuits  followed  in  regular 
succession,  until  Mr.  Day  was  finally  vanquished. 
Meanwhile  being  helped  by  several  of  our  citizens, 
who  had  known  him  from  his  boyhood  (he  came  here 
early  in  life  to  live  with  his  uncle),  he  had  enlarged 
his  works  gradually  until  they  came  to  occupy  the 
very  large  space  they  now  fill. 

The  high  chimney  bears  the  inscription  of  1858, 
with  his  name,  and  it  was  but  two  years  later  that  he 
gave  way  to  the  Goodyear  Elastic  Fabric  Company. 
The  work  of  this  company  for  the  next  four  years  is 
indicated  by  its  name,  and  in  1864  William  Judson 
bought  out  the  works  and  ran  them  for  two  years. 
Rubber  blankets  for  use  in  the  war  were  now  a  prom- 
inent feature  of  the  business,  the  vacant  lot  on  the 
east  side  of  Dennis  Street  being  filled  with  racks  of 
the  sun-drying  cloth.  In  1866,  Cornwell,  Murphy  & 
Bennet  came  into  control  of  the  works,  but  soon  sold 
out  to  the  Manhattan  Rubber  Company.  This  con- 
cern lasted  but  a  short  time  when  it  failed,  and  the 
factory  lay  idle  for  a  long  time.  In  the  fall  of  1869, 
Mr.  Christopher  Meyer  bought  the  works  and  asso- 
ciated with  him  Messrs.  Ford  and  Hyatt,  the  three 
forming  the  Hyatt  Rubber  Company.  This  name 
was  not  continued  a  lull  year,  but  was  changed  to  the 
New  Jersey  Rubber  Company,  which  went  into  opera- 
tion with  a  capital  stock  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars  in  April,  1870.  President,  L.  L.  Hyatt ;  Treas- 
urer. Christopher  Meyer ;  Secretary,  James  B.  Ford  ; 
Superintendent,  J.  H.  Canfield. 

Few  men  have  had  more  varied  and  valuable  expe- 
rience in  the  rubber  business  than  President  Hyatt. 
Formerly  engaged  with  Mr.  Meyer  at  Milltown,  in 
the  year  1855  he  went  out  in  the  employ  of  Hutch- 
inson, Henderson  &  Co.,  to  superintend  their  factory 
near  Montargis,  France.  The  factory  was  an  im- 
mense one,  ranged  along  three  sides  of  a  rectangle, 
with  the  most  spacious  and  elegant  grounds  beyond, 
shaded  with  trees  and  watered  by  a  canal,  which 
served  also  for  shipping  goods  to  the  main  canal  be- 
yond. From  here  he  went  to  Paris  to  superintend 
the  very  large  works  of  the  Compagnie  Nationale, 
there  making  boots  and  shoes,  clothing,  hose-pack- 
ing, and  all  mechanical  goods.  In  1857  Mr.  Christo- 
pher Meyer  planned  a  prodigious  manufactory  at  Ed- 
inburgh, Scotland.  He  had  stocked  the  building  now 
occupied  by  the  Novelty  Rubber  Company  with  ma- 
chinery for  which  he  had  no  use  when  the  hard  rub- 
ber-works began  operations  there,  and  it  occurred  to 
him  to  utilize  it  by  organizing  a  foreign  factory.  He 
therefore  sent  Messrs.  Norris  and  Pannlee  with  it 
to  Edinburgh,  and  bought  for  the  new  works  the 
immense  buildings  of  the  Castle  Silk-Mills.  Two 
years  later,  at  his  request,  Mr.  Hyatt  took  charge 
of  these  new  works,  which  manufactured  on  a 
tremendous  scale,  employing  over  a  thousand  op- 
eratives, including  at  one  time  five  hundred  girls, 
and  turning  out  fourteen  thousand  pairs  of  shoes  per 
day,  besides   hose,  clothing,  etc.     Mr.  Hyatt  came 


(\i)8 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


back  to  this  country  in  1869,  when  the  control  of  the 
Castle  mills  passed  into  other  hands  (Messrs.  Meyer 
&  Ford  still  retaining  stock,  however),  and  took 
charge  of  these  New  Jersey  works,  now  idle  and 
rusty.  He  at  once  went  to  work  preparing  for  their 
successful  operation,  and  in  April,  1870,  started  them. 
The  buildings  were  the  same  as  those  left  by  Day  in 
1860,  occupying  about  two-thirds  of  the  block  facing 
Dennis,  Neil.son,  and  Richmond,  and  measuring  two 
hundred  and  thirty  by  forty-five  feet,  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet,  each  three  stories,  and 
one  hundred  and  fifty  by  thirty  feet,  two  stories,  and 
since  that  time  until  the  present  enlargements  have 
been  made  as  the  business  extended.  At  the  present 
time  the  building  of  a  large  brick  extension  is  in  con- 
templation. New  ovens  and  furnaces  have  been  con- 
structed, and  numerous  additions  made  to  the  ma- 
chinery. The  largest  calender  in  America  is  set  up 
here,  its  face  of  roll  being  five  feet,  the  diameter  of 
the  roll  nearly  two  feet.  It  was  built  at  the  National 
Iron-Works  of  this  city,  and  is  a  triumph  of  iron  work, 
for  although  eight  feet  high,  it  could  be  managed 
perfectly  in  every  particular  by  a  man  on  the  floor 
without  changing  his  position. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1876,  a  fire  destroyed  most 
of  this  structure,  and  since  then  it  has  been  built  and 
remodeled,  and  now,  with  the  proposed  improve- 
ments, will  be  one  of  the  largest  structures  for  manu- 
facturing rubber  in  the  world.  It  now  employs  a 
large  number  of  hands,  nearly  equally  divided  be- 
tween the  sexes,  and  every  day  turns  out  thousands  of 
pairs  of  shoes,  as  well  as  rubber  boots  and  carriage- 
cloth.  It  has  changed  the  name  since  1877  to  the 
New  Jersey  Rubber  Shoe  Company,  with  John  R. 
Ford  as  president ;  Christopher  Meyer,  treasurer ; 
Howard  Meyer,  secretary;  and  John  C.  Meyer,  su- 
perintendent. With  regard  to  the  work  of  this  fac- 
tory, it  may  be  stated  that  it  occupies  an  A  1  place  in 
the  market,  and  is  bound  to  keep  at  the  head  of  it. 

Janeway  &  Co.,  Paper  Hangings. — This  estab- 
lishment was  commenced  in  1844  by  John  P.  Harden- 
bergh,  and  in  the  fall  of  1845  Henry  L.  Janeway 
became  interested.  In  1848,  William  R.  Janeway 
became  one  of  the  firm,  and  in  1849  Mr.  Harden- 
bergh  retired,  and  the  firm  became  Janeway  &  Co. 
They  began  with  a  factory  measuring  forty  feet  by 
twenty-five ;  they  now  use  an  immense  structure 
facing  on  Water  Street  and  the  canal,  covering 
nearly  two  acres  of  ground  and  measuring,  the  main 
building,  fifty  by  two  hundred  and  fifty-four  feet. 
Their  coloring-house  is  a  large  building  attached,  and 
they  have  a  large  engine-room  with  a  seventy-horse 
engine,  and  steam  pipes  are  carried  all  over  the  build- 
ing, bringing  it  to  one  temperature.  Ordinary  wall- 
paper is  printed  from  maple  rollers,  which  have  been 
seasoned  for  several  years  in  the  factory  and  then 
accurately  turned.  Gilt  paper  and  water-colors  are 
printed  from  maple  blocks,  having  a  cross-grained 
pine  back. 


There  are  between  one  and  two  hundred  hands  em- 
ployed, and  the  factory  turns  out  nearly  three  million 
rolls  of  paper-hangings,  borders,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  window-shades  per  year,  consumes  tons  of  paper, 
also  of  clay  and  colors,  chemicals,  and  over  five  hun- 
dred tons  of  coal. 

The  following  is  from  an  earlier  account  of  these 
works  :  In  printing,  Janeway  &  Co.  use  nine  printing- 
machines  made  by  Waldreon,  of  this  city,  including 
one  twelve-color,  four  eight-color,  and  four  six-color 
machines,  costing  from  twelve  hundred  to  three  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars.  Machines  are  made  at  a  cost 
of  over  ten  thousand  dollars  each,  which  print  as  many 
as  eighteen  colors,  being  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter, 
with  the  ett'ect,  of  course,  of  producing  gaudy  and 
cheap-looking  patterns.  The  drying  in  all  the  pro- 
cesses is  done  by  hanging  the  fabrics  over  steam  pipes, 
where  they  are  conveyed  by  a  peculiar  machine  in- 
vented by  Mr.  Janeway,  but  never  patented,  which 
saves  the  handling  that  was  formerly  necessary,  to  the 
great  injury  of  tlie  wet  paper. 

The  secret  was  let  out  by  one  of  their  discharged 
employes,  and  the  machines  are  now  in  use  both  in 
this  country  and  in  England,  where  one  of  the  manu- 
facturers claims  it  saves  him  one  hundred  pounds  per 
day. 

Before  being  printed,  however,  grounding  is  first 
put  upon  the  j)aper.  Clay  from  Amboy  and  the 
South — the  whitest  being  from  England — is  pulver- 
ized in  large  mills  and  mixed  with  coloring  to  the 
desired  shade,  and  also  mixed  with  sizing  to  make 
the  printing  colors  hold  better  to  the  paper.  The 
process  of  printing  gold  and  silver  paper  is  quite  an 
interesting  one.'  These  papers  have  been  made  in 
France,  where  formerly  all  the  paper-hanging  manu- 
facturing was  done  for  many  years,  and  the  gilt  paper 
has  been  long  made  in  this  country  also ;  the  silver  pa- 
per, though  formerly  in  fashion,  was  discontinued  until 
two  or  three  years  ago,  since  which  it  has  been  intro- 
duced by  the  ettbrts  of  Janeway  &  Co.  Velvet  paper 
is  made  by  flock  being  put  on  in  the  same  way  as  the 
bronze,  flock  being  a  French  preparation  of  woolen 
cloth  ground  up  and  colored.  Water-colors  are  put 
on  by  hand-blocks.  For  borders  of  the  common  va- 
riety the  ])rintiug-machines  may  be  used,  but  the 
better  kinds  are  printed  with  hand-blocks.  Window- 
shades  are  printed  from  blocks  on  wide  machines. 

The  designing  is  a  very  nice  part  of  the  business, 
the  aim  being  to  suit  and  attract  the  public  according 
to  the  varying  fashions  which  prevail  in  wall-paper  as 
well  as  in  clothing.  As  we  have  said,  this  factory's 
work  stands  high  in  the  market  for  excellence  and 
durability  of  material,  for  elegance  of  design,  and  for 
artistic  finish,  and  it  occupies  a  very  important  place 
among  tlie  industries  of  the  city.  Their  business  ex- 
tends from  Maine  to  California,  and  all  of  the  States 
north  of  tlie  Southern  States.  For  a  time  there  wa.s 
very  severe  competition  ;  some  of  the  New  York  firms 
lost  large  amounts  of  money,  while  Janeway  &  Co., 


CITY  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


659 


with  their  extensive  facilities  for  business,  still  carried 
on  their  business  in  this  city  and  outlived  all  compe- 
tition, and  owing  to  the  severity  of  this  competition 
they  came  to  an  agreement  of  uniformity  of  price, 
which  system  lias  its  advantages  and  disadvantages, 
but  is  believed  to  be  the  best  system  according  to  the 
views  of  a  majority  of  manufacturers. 

The  design  of  this  establishment  is  to  send  one  of 
the  firm  to  Paris  every  year,  to  obtain  the  designs 
(which  in  France  is  a  business  by  itself).  They 
are  continually  receiving  letters  complimenting  their 
artistic  styles  and  manner  of  manufacturing.  They 
have  also  an  extensive  store-house,  where  their  goods 
are  packed  ready  for  the  market. 

Furniture,  Cornelius  Powelson. — This  large 
manufactory  of  furniture  of  Cornelius  Powelson  was 
located  on  the  corner  of  George  and  Schureman  Streets, 
in  1847.  It  was  at  that  time  the  beginning  of  a  large 
business  in  this  city,  which  sprang  from  a  small  shop 
on  the  corner  of  Xew  and  George  Streets.  The  trade 
increased  until  he  erected  his  present  four-story  brick 
structure  and  launched  out  into  exclusively  first-class 
furniture  and  upholstery  work.  The  designs  are  made 
according  to  the  wish  of  his  customers,  and  the  result 
is  that  he  equals  the  best  dealers  in  New  York,  and 
sells  a  great  deal  cheaper.  He  uses  the  very  best  of 
choice  veneers  and  woods,  and  his  work  is  known  all 
over  the  country. 

Confectionery  Establishment. —About  the 
year  1850,  Mr.  William  Frank  opened  a  small  place 
on  the  east  side  of  Peace  Street,  and  began  to  manu- 
facture and  sell  goodies  to  an  admiring  public  of  little 
ones.  This  was  the  day  of  small  things,  but  in  1873 
he  had  a  large  confectionery  store,  with  an  extensive 
toy  establishment,  the  goods  being  imported  from 
Germany.  He  still  employs  a  number  of  men  at  15 
Peace  Street  in  the  manufacture  of  every  descrip- 
tion of  French  and  American  candies,  numbering 
over  two  hundred  varieties.  He  supplies  at  wholesale 
the  stores  in  the  various  country  towns  within  twenty 
miles  of  the  city,  which,  with  his  city  sales,  bring  up 
his  business  to  over  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually. 
We  have  not  space  for  a  description  in  detail  of  the 
various  processes,  machines,  and  moulds  required  in 
the  making  of  the  multitude  of  varieties  of  goods, 
but  we  may  say  they  belie  the  old  joke  about  the  re- 
luctance of  those  who  see  candy  made  to  eat  it. 

McCrellis  Brothers'  Carrlige  Manufac- 
tory, established  in  1851.  The  three  brotliers  Mc- 
Crellis began  the  manufacture  of  carriages,  wagons, 
and  sleighs  in  their  new  factory  on  Somerset  Street. 
They  have  become  one  of  the  most  extensive  manu- 
facturing firms  in  this  city,  employing  a  large  number 
of  workmen,  constructing  handsome  carriages  equal  to 
any  other  manufactory,  and  have  made  for  themselves 
a  reputation  for  the  excellence  of  make  and  durabil- 
ity of  material  second  to  none  in  the  country. 

Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery  Com- 
pany.—Established  in  1866.     Office,  Neilson  Street, 


above  railroad  bridge.  President,  Johnson  Letson ; 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  John  N.  Carpenter.  It  is 
said  that  this  is  the  largest  manufactory,  and  the 
manufactory  making  the  best  goods  in  tlie  hosiery 
line  in  America,  and  that  the  machinery  used  makes 
it  altogether  superior  to  any  similar  establishment  in 
the  world.  It  is  under  charge  of  the  Norfolk  and 
New  Brunswick  Hosiery  Company,  which  has  an  in- 
teresting history. 

About  fifteen  years  ago  Messrs.  I.  K.  and  E.  E.  Kil- 
bourn  being  engaged  in  making  yarn  in  Norfolk,  Conn., 
determined  to  get  a  hand-knitting  machine  to  use  some 
of  it  U]).  While  working  this  they  gradually  intro- 
duced improvements  until  they  thoroughly  mastered 
the  principles  of  the  machine,  and  conceived  an  or- 
iginal idea  in  the  construction  of  one,  namely,  an 
automatic  motion, — something  that  had  been  often 
tried  but  never  accomplished.  They  went  on  to  New 
York  and  endeavored  to  form  a  company  on  the  pat- 
ent they  had  obtained,  but  met  with  no  success  until 
they  enlisted  their  former  townsman,  Mr.  L.  P.  Porter, 
then  engaged  in  the  rubber  business  in  New  York,  in 
the  enterprise.  The  works  were  established  in  Nor- 
folk in  1858  on  a  capital  of  seventy-five  thousand 
dollars,  and  the  goods  made  there  were  of  a  coarse 
gauge.  Messrs.  Porter  and  E.  E.  Kilbourn  mean- 
while visited  Europe  to  inspect  foreign  works,  but 
found  nothing  like  Kilbourn's  machines.  From  1858 
on  the  works  at  the  Norfolk  fiictory  continued  to  in- 
crease, and  a  great  difficulty  met  the  company  in  the 
fact  that  there  were  not  people  enough  in  the  vicinity 
to  keep  even  with  the  works  in  seaming  the  made 
goods.  Mr.  Porter  having  now  relinquished  the  rub- 
ber for  the  hosiery  business,  looked  about  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  for  a  new  factory,  and  at  the  suggestion 
of  the  Messrs.  Dayton,  who  were  directors,  and  whose 
acquaintance  he  had  made  in  former  business  trans- 
actions, came  out  to  this  city  to  look  at  the  building 
formerly  occupied  by  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber 
Company,  near  the  railroad  bridge.  Dissatisfied  with 
this,  he  gave  up  the  plan  of  locating  here  until  his 
attention  was  called  in  the  cars  on  the  homeward 
trip  by  Mr.  James  Bishop  to  the  old  cotton-factory 
of  Col.  Neilson,  near  the  Novelty  Rubber  Works. 
He  came  back  and  looked  at  it,  and  was  delighted 
with  its  adaptation  to  the  business.  The  factory  and 
machinery  were  bought,  much  of  the  latter  being  put 
to  use ;  the  new  company  was  incorporated.  Since 
then  constant  improvements  have  been  made,  and 
extensions  to  the  buildings.  The  original  factory,  with 
excellent  water-power,  at  Norfolk,  Conn.,  turning  out 
a  large  amount  of  the  coarse  kind  of  work,  and  in 
New  Brunswick  the  factory  is  devoted  to  the  finest 
and  best  work  made  in  this  country,  four  large  build- 
ings being  devoted  to  its  manufacture,  while  others  are 
in  process  of  erection. 

The  old  wooden  saw-mill  of  Col.  Neilson,  near  the 
upper  canal  locks,  is  also  in  full  operation  as  a  pick- 
ing department.   Large  buildings  for  shirt  and  drawer 


660 


UISTOKY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


knitting-looms,  and  also  stocking-looms,  are  in  opera- 
tion. The  amount  of  capital  is  over  five  luindred  and 
fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  about  one  million  dollars 
of  annual  product.  The  following  gentlemen  were 
among  the  first  in  its  organization,  and  held  oflice  up 
to  1874: 

L.  P.  Porter,  Jonathan  Earle,  James  Dayton,  John- 
son Letson,  Jacob  S.  Carpenter,  T.  Deland,  M.  A. 
Howell,  W.  W.  Welsh,  James  Neilson,  S.  V.  Hoflf- 
man. 

The  goods  thus  turned  out  are  sold  by  the  company 
exclusively,  the  main  dealers  being  those  like  Stewart 
and  Claflin,  of  New  York,  and  with  these  the  goods 
rank  next  to  imported  in  reputation  and  price.  In 
quality  and  true  worth  they  are  superior  to  the  im- 
ported, and  would  crowd  the  latter  out  of  the  market 
if  it  were  not  for  the  names  "  domestic"  and  "  foreign," 
which  mean  so  much  to  some  classes  of  people.  It 
is  a  fact,  however,  that  the  demand  is  greater  than  the 
factory  can  supply,  and  is  rapidly  increasing. 

The  following  is  a  description  of  this  immense  es- 
tablishment, the  largest  in  the  world,  covering  fully 
six  acres  of  ground : 

Mill  No.  1 50  by  222  feet,  4  stories. 

"     "   2 60  "    209  "  4      " 

'•      "    6 64"    no  "  4      " 

Storehouse  No.  3 26"    200  "  2      " 

Offire 38"      39  "  2      " 

Office  in  rear 10"     17  "  1  story. 

Piclcet-rooin 50"     50  "  4  stories. 

Carpenter-shop 30"      60  "  2      " 

Engine-house,  No.  1 '. 27"     60  "  1  story. 

"  "    2 26"      92  "  4  stories. 

Picket-room : 50  "     60  "  4      " 

Dye-liouse 25  "     48  "  1  story. 

Blench-liouse 20  "     30  "  1      '• 

BlHcllsniith-shop 12  "      24  "  1       " 

Bride  tower 110  feet  high. 

The  buildings  are  all  brick,  and  kept  in  complete 
order  and  repair.  Over  three  million  pounds  of  wool 
are  used  in  the  manufacture  of  hosiery,  and  over  two 
thousand  tons  of  coal  consumed.  This  immense  es- 
tablishment employs  one  thousand  men,  women,  girls 
and  boys. 

The  following  comprise  the  board  of  directors: 
Johnson  Letson,  president;  John  N.  Carpenter,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer;  Mahlin  Runyon,  Lewis  T.  How- 
ell, James  Neilson,  Christopher  Meyer,  Augustus  F. 
Libby,  William  W.  Welch,  John  Van  Deventer. 

The  head  manager,  who  has  charge  of  the  entire 
establishment,  having  a  large  number  of  foremen 
superintending  over  one  thousand  operators,  Henry 
McMurtry. 

Johnson  Let.son,  merchant  and  manufacturer,  of 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  born  in  that  i)lace  Dec. 
8,  180(3.  He  is  the  son  of  Thomas  and  Ann  Letson, 
both  of  whom  were  natives  of  New  Jersey,  the  former 
having  been  born  at  the  Raritan  Landing,  Oct.  12, 
1763,  the  latter  at  Piscataway  in  1774.  The  father, 
while  yet  a  young  man,  removed  to  New  Brunswick, 
where  he  established  the  leather  manufacturing  busi- 
ness, pursuing  it  until  about  1832,  when  he  retired  to 
his  farm  at  Three-Mile  Run,  where  he  resided  until 
his  death.  May  13,  18.51.     The  mother  died  in  New 


Brunswick,  October,  18.56,  at  the  residence  of  her  son, 
the  subject  of  this  sketch. 

Young  Johnson  Letson  was  educated  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, closing  his  education  at  the  grammar  school 
auxiliary  to  Rutgers  College,  in  the  main  building  of 
which  it  was  then  held,  under  the  Rev.  John  Mabon, 
D.D.  His  education,  though  not  polite,  was  solid, 
like  the  understanding  it  trained,  and  afforded,  on 
the  whole,  a  fair  preparation  for  the  long  and  active 
and  useful  life  before  him.  When  about  the  age  of 
fourteen  he  went  to  New  York  as  clerk  in  a  hardware 
store,  where  he  remained  for  some  three  years,  after 
which  he  returned  to  New  Brunswick,  where  he  served 
in  the  same  capacity  until  1827,  when  he  again  went 
to  New  York,  engaging  this  time  in  the  book  busi- 
ness, which  he  pursued  for  about  two  years,  and  then 
sold  out,  returning  once  more  to  his  native  city. 

The  needle  in  his  life's  compass  now  began  to  rest, 
and  seeing  his  way  clearly,  he  followed  it  hence- 
forward steadily. 

In  March,  1830,  he  started  the  hardware  business 
in  Burnet  Street,  New  Brunswick,  and  prosecuted  it 
tnere  till  1855,  a  quarter  of  a  century,  when,  content 
with  his  large  success,  and  desiring  a  more  quiet  and 
retired  life,  he  disposed  of  all  his  interests  in  it,  and 
has  since  devoted  himself  mainly  to  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  as  an  ofiicer  of  various  corporations,  con- 
spicuously the  duties  devolving  on  him  as  president 
of  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber  Company,  an  office 
which  he  has  held  since  the  organization  of  the  com- 
pany in  1850.  In  connection  with  several  other  gen- 
tlemen he  organized  in  1863  the  Norfolk  and  New 
Brunswick  Hosiery  Company,  of  which  he  was  then 
made  one  of  the  directors;  and  upon  the  decease  of 
Lucius  P.  Porter,  its  first  president,  in  1876,  Jacob  S. 
Carpenter  was  chosen  president  pro  tern.,  and  filled 
the  office  until  1877,  when  Mr.  Letson  was  chosen 
president  of  the  company,  which  position  he  has  held 
since.  He  has  been  one  of  the  directors  of  the 
National  Bank  of  New  Jersey  at  New  Brunswick 
since  its  organization,  was  chosen -one  of  the  directors 
of  the  Willow  Grove  Cemetery  Association  upon  its 
organization,  and  for  several  years  has  been  its 
president. 

In  1863  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  Rutgers  College,  and  for' several  years  past 
has  acted  as  chairman  of  its  finance  committee. 

In  April,  1870,  upon  the  organization  of  the  Par- 
ticular Synod  of  New  Brunswick  (Reformed  Church), 
Mr.  Letson  was  appointed  its  treasurer,  and  has  con- 
tinued the  incumbent  of  the  office  since.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1875,  he  was  induced  to  take  the  treasurership 
of  the  Middlesex  County  Bible  Society  on  account  of 
some  irregularity  in  its  former  accounts. 

There  would  seem  to  be  no  relief  for  him  when  he 
accepted  an  office  at  the  hands  of  a  corporation. 
Such  is  the  sense  of  his  business  capacity  and  of  his 
general  trustworthiness,  that  if  he  serves  once  he  has 
no   choice   but  to   serve   as    long   as   he   is   able   to. 


'<^f-^^^^ 


<^c<.>s-a4^ 


(^(f!^Jv^ 


CITY   OF   NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


661 


Glorious  servitude,  in  which  the  fetters  are  forged  of 
honor  and  fastened  by  esteem.  Mr.  Letson  has  never 
taken  an  active  part  in  politics,  although  long  ago  he 
served  as  a  member  of  the  City  Council  for  several 
years,  and  was  always  identified  with  the  Whig  party 
before  it  was  dissolved,  as  he  has  been  with  the  Re- 
publican party  since  its  organization.  He  is,  indeed, 
as  little  of  a  politician  as  is  consistent  with  good  citi- 
zenship, his  catholic  tastes  and  his  broad  feelings 
chafing  against  the  limitations  set  up  by  political  or- 
ganizations. In  1830  he  married  Eliza  L.,  daughter 
of  Cornelius  and  Eliza  W.  Shaddle,  of  the  city  of 
New  York.  Their  two  surviving  daughters  are 
Amelia  L.,  wife  of  Rev.  Theodore  B.  Romeyn,  of 
Hackensack;  Mary  S.,  wife  of  William  H.  Acken,  of 
New  Brunswick.  One  daughter,  Ann  Elizabeth,  died 
a  young  lady,  another  died  an  infant. 

Lucius  Phelp.s  Porter. — His  father,  Capt.  Henry 
Porter,  was  a  prosperous  farmer  of  Coldbrook,  Conn., 
and  removed  to  Norfolk,  in  the  same  State,  with  his 
family  in  1823,  where  both  himself  and  wife  died. 
The  family  consisted  of  four  sons  and  two  daughters, 
of  whom  only  Frederick  E.  Porter,  superintendent  of 
the  Norfolk  Hosiery  Company  at  Norfolk,  survives 
in  1882. 

The  maternal  grandfather  of  Lucius  P.  Porter  was 
Capt.  Jeremiah  Phelps,  a  prominent  and  influential 
citizen  of  Norfolk.  Lucius  P.  Porter  was  born  at 
Coldbrook,  May  14,  1818,  and  remained  at  home, 
spending  his  time  between  the  routine  of  farm-work 
and  attending  .school  until  the  age  of  seventeen  years, 
when  he  began  a  business  life  for  himself,  and  for  two 
years  was  a  clerk  in  a  store  at  Norfolk.  He  was  a 
clerk  afterwards  for  a  few  years  for  Paulus  Warner 
at  Plymouth,  Conn.,  and  subsequently  for  Henry 
Terry,  of  Colchester,  with  whom  after  one  year  he 
formed  a  copartnership  in  business. 

During  the  continuance  of  his  business  relations 
with  Mr.  Terry  he  first  took  an  interest  in  manufac- 
turing, the  firm  being  the  owners  of  the  Plymouth 
Woolen-Mills.  In  1848,  Mr.  Porter  removed  to  New 
York,  retaining  his  connection  with  the  mills,  and 
in  1851,  with  two  other  gentlemen,  who  also  with  him 
had  become  possessed  of  valuable  patents,  organized 
the  New  York  Rubber  Company,  which  has  since 
become  one  of  the  most  prominent  in  the  country. 
He  superintended  the  building  of  the  branch  mills  at 
Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  was  the  principal  in  developing  the 
large  business  of  the  company,  and  remained  a  trus- 
tee and  actively  connected  with  the  concern  to  the 
time  of  his  death,  April  2,  1876. 

In  1857,  Mr.  Porter,  with  several  other  capitalists, 
among  whom  was  Jonathan  Letson,  Esq.,  present 
president  of  the  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery 
Company,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  late  Charles 
P.  and  James  Dayton,  of  the  same  place,  organized 
the  Norfolk  Hosiery  Company  at  Norfolk,  Conn., 
with  a  capital  of  seventy-five  thousand  dollars,  of 
which   he   was  chosen   as   treasurer.      In   1859   the 


stock  of  the  company  was  increased  to  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  and  the  company 
arranged  to  manufacture  fully  fashioned  hosiery  by 
steam-power.  In  1863  the  demand  for  the  company's 
goods  so  increased  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
enlarge  their  facilities  for  manufacturing,  and  after 
prospecting  in  New  York,  Brooklyn,  and  other  places, 
Mr.  Letson  was  authorized  to  purchase  the  property 
now  occupied  by  the  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick 
Hosiery  Company  in  New  Brunswick,  where  a  large 
branch  of  the  business  has  been  carried  on  since. 
Mr.  Porter  was  chosen  president  of  the  company, 
whose  capital  stock  was  subsequently  increased  to 
five  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars,  and  soon 
after  took  up  his  residence  in  New  Brunswick,  where 
he  resided  until  his  decease.  He  was  public-spirited, 
enterprising,  and  largely  instrumental  in  establishing 
the  largest  and  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
manufactories  of  the  city.  Always  interested  in 
every  worthy  local  enterprise  that  tended  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  city  and  the  welfare  of  its  citizens, 
he  supported  them  morally  and  liberally  financially, 
and  from  his  first  settlement  in  New  Brunswick  until 
his  death  he  was  known  as  kind-hearted,  upright,  and 
a  promoter  of  good  society,  and  given  to  deeds  of 
charity.  He  was  a  much-esteemed  member  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  for  many  years,  and  one  of 
its  board  of  trustees. 

Mr.  Porter  was  twice  married,  and  left  a  widow  and 
two  daughters. 

On  April  3,  1876,  following  his  decease,  the  Board 
of  Water  Commissioners  of  the  city  held  a  meeting 
for  the  purpose,  and  among  other  appropriate  resolu- 
tions passed  the  following : 

"Resolved,  That  in  his  ofBcial  relations  as  a  director  of  the  New 
Briinswicli  Water  Company  from  June  24,  1868,  to  April  30,  1873,  and 
as  president  of  the  Board  of  Water  Commissioners  of  the  city  of  New 
Brunswicli  from  that  time  to  the  close  of  his  life,  he  has  given  his 
time,  already  overoccnpieJ,  and  his  superior  executive  abilities  to  the 
business  of  the  Board  of  the  city,  without  other  compensation  than  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  a  public  work  of  the  highest  importance  to  all  of 
our  citizens  wisely  and  economically  conducted,  and  in  such  a  way  as 
to  best  meet  the  present  and  future  demands  to  be  made  upon  it.  As 
those  who  well  know  the  valuable  services  of  Mr.  Porter  in  this  work, 
we  desire  to  express,  for  ourselves  and  for  our  citizens,  the  high  estimate 
we  put  upon  his  labors  for  this  cause." 

On  the  same  day,  at  a  meeting  called  for  the  pur- 
pose, the  directors  of  the  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick 
Hosiery  Company,  with  other  resolutions,  passed  the 
following  : 

"  Resolved,  That  since  the  organization  of  this  company  Mr.  Porter 
has  been  its  trusted  and  faithful  president,  and  to  his  untiring  devotion 
and  wise  and  prudent  management  it  owes  its  growth  and  prosperity. 
In  all  their  relations  with  Mr.  Porter  the  members  of  this  Board  have 
found  him  a  noble  and  sympathizing  friend,  a  public-spirited  citizen, 
sacrificing  private  conveniences  to  public  interests,  and  a  high-minded, 
unimpeachable  officer,  who  gave  the  best  energies  of  his  life  to  the 
faithful  discharge  of  his  duties." 

Janeway  &  Cakpender,  Manufacturers  of 
Paper-Hangin«s. — This  firm  is  characterized  by  a 
strong  determination  to  excel  those  who  can  date 
back  their  organization  a  score  or  two  of  years.     The 


662 


HISTORY   OF    UiXION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


factory  was  established  in  1863,  their  office  in  Neil- 
son  Street  above  railroad  bridge,  by  Messrs.  Belcher 
&  Nicholson,  the  latter  being  a  retiring  partner  of 
the  firm  of  Janeway  &  Co.  It  turned  out  principally 
bronzes  and  what  are  technically  known  as  French 
drawn  stripes  and  mouldings.  In  January,  1870,  Mr. 
Charles  J.  Carpender  bought  out  the  interest  of  Mr. 
Belcher,  and  the  firm  of  Nicholson  &  Carpender  con- 
tinued the  business  until  July,  1872,  when  Mr.  Nich- 
olson retired  and  Col.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  formerly 
with  Janeway  &  Co.,  formed  a  copartnership  under 
the  name  of  Janeway  &  Carpender.  The  business 
was  at  once  extended  to  include  the  printing  of  blanks 
and  satins,  and  the  firm  has  met  with  such  success 
that  further  additions  to  the  size  and  capacity  of  the 
works  were  found  needed.  Sales  have  been  made  by 
the  firm  all  over  this  country  and  in  Canada  to  jobbers 
and  to  the  trade,  and  the  products  of  the  establishment 
are  circulated  far  and  wide.  Their  works  occupy  large 
buildings  and  employ  a  large  number  of  hands. 

They  turn  out  the  different  varieties  of  blanks, 
satins,  tints,  gold  and  silver  paper,  and  French  drawn 
stripes  and  mouldings.  It  is  not  necessary,  since  we 
have  already  described  the  process  of  printing,  to 
enter  upon  any  delineation  of  this  kind  of  work  at 
this  factory. 

But  the  great  specialty  of  this  factory  is  its  French 
drawn  mouldings  and  stripes,  which  we  have  not  yet 
had  occasion  to  describe.  The  former  are  used  in 
paneling  off  a  room  in  imitation  of  fresco,  the 
mouldings  being  surmounted  by  caps  and  corners  to 
complete  the  panels.  The  French  drawn  stripes, 
which  are  made  by  but  one  other  concern  in  the 
country,  are  exquisite  combinations  and  shades  of 
stripes  which  take  the  place  of  figures  in  wall-paper. 
The  process  of  making  the  stripes  and  mouldings  is 
the  same,  though  several  considerations  unite  to  make 
the  cost  of  production  of  the  latter  greater  than  of 
the  other.  In  mouldings  corners  are  printed  by  hand 
separately,  and  they  with  their  corresponding  mould- 
ings are  fitted  round  a  centre  of  plain  or  fancy  paper 
for  the  interior  of  the  panel.  In  making  the  stripes 
and  mouldings  the  colors,  which  are  a'l  mixed  on  the 
premises,  are  poured  into  "  pans,"  a  separate  one  being 
required  to  be  made  for  each  pattern.  The  pan  is  a 
tin  box  as  long  as  the  pattern  is  wide,  and  its  section 
is  triangular.  It  is  divided  into  compartments,  which 
are  of  course  triangular  in  shape,  and  are  open  at  the 
base  and  have  apertures  at  the  apex.  Each  of  these 
compartments  is  filled  with  a  separate  color,  and  a 
succession  of  them  contains  all  the  colors  of  a  pattern 
in  consecutive  order.  The  pan  then  is  only  to  be  set 
on  edge  and  the  paper  to  be  passed  under  it  for  each 
color  to  flow  out  of  the  aperture  of  its  compartment 
and  imprint  itself  upon  the  paper,  the  color  being 
fed  as  fast  as  used  by  little  gutters  at  the  side,  from 
which  separate  slits  in  the  tin  lead  to  the  various 
compartments.  Thus  the  colors  in  the  order  of  the 
pattern   are  printed   in  what  appears   to  be  a  very 


simple  style,  without  blurring  or  running  together. 
Mouldings  are  commonly  made  in  this  country  by 
printing,  but  by  that  process  each  pattern  requires  as 
many  impressions  as  there  are  colors,  and  by  this 
simpler  process  of  using  pans  the  whole  is  done  at 
once  and  better,  and  of  course  cheaper. 

The  firm  shows  its  enterprise  and  appreciation  of 
public  taste  by  bringing  out  nearly  one  hundred  pat- 
terns in  the  diiferent  goods  every  year,  besides  work- 
ing over  old  rollers  in  brown  blanks.  This  paper- 
hanging  fectory  is  one  of  the  best  in  this  country, 
doing  excellent  work  with  novel  designs  in  French 
mouldings  and  stripes  as  are  to  be  found  in  this 
country  or  in  Europe. 

RoLFE  &  Son's  Saw-Mill. — This  city  possesses 
but  one  saw-mill,  that  of  Isaac  Rolfe  &  Son.  In  the 
year  1863,  Mr.  Rolfe  established  himself,  with  Mr.  G. 
W.  Metlar,  in  the  saw-mill  at  the  foot  of  New  Street, 
in  Burnet  Street.  The  old  Neilson  mill  for  years  had 
stopped  work.  The  necessity  of  a  mill  for  the  con- 
venience of  many  having  use  for  sawed  timber,  be- 
came urgent,  and  this  mill  was  built.  Since  then 
the  grounds  have  been  enlarged  to  meet  the  grow- 
ing demands  of  business,  and  now  measure  one 
hundred  and  eighty  feet  on  Burnet  Street  by  three 
hundred  feet  deep,  the  canal  front  being  about 
three  hundred  and  forty  feet.  The  mill  does  a 
large  amount  of  sawing  and  planing  required  by 
the  sales  of  the  firm,  and  most  of  the  timbei" — white 
pine,  hemlock,  oak,  chestnut,  ash,  etc. — is  brought 
direct  from  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Maine,  Illinois, 
and  from  Canada,  and  the  total  cost  per  year  reaching 
over  8100,000.  Mr.  Rolfe's  son,  John  Rolfe,  the  junior 
partner,  has  the  active  superintendency,  and  employs 
nearly  one  hundred  men  throughout  the  year. 

The  Meyer  Rubber  Company. — Established  at 
Milltown  in  1844,  incorporated  in  1861,  for  the 
manufacture  of  rubber  boots  and  shoes.  President, 
Christopher  Meyer ;  Treasurer,  John  R.  Ford ;  Su- 
perintendent, John  C.  Evans. 

In  the  year  1839  Mr.  Meyer  came  to  New  Bruns- 
wick from  Newark  to  put  up  for  Mr.  Horace  H. 
Day  the  first  steam-engine  and  machinery  for  the 
first  rubber  operations  ever  carried  on  in  this  city. 
Mr.  Day  was  then  making  carriage-cloth  and  rub- 
ber shoes,  but  his  carriage-cloth  was  so  odorous  as 
to  be  intolerable,  and  was  moreover  so  soft  that  when 
the  carriage  top  was  put  down  the  folds  of  the  cloth 
stuck  together  and  peeled  off,  and  his  shoes  in  sum 
mer  were  similarly  unfit  for  use,  while  in  winter  they 
became  hard  as  bricks.  It  was  here  that  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Meyer,  who  had  begun  his  investigations  soon 
after  Goodyear  and  Day,  made  his  first  essay  at  manu- 
facturing, and  here  obtaining  his  right  under  the 
Goodyear  patent,  and  fighting  the  battles  with  Day 
under  the  Goodyear  banner,  he  went  on  inventing 
and  improving  machinery  and  perfecting  the  prog- 
ress of  rubber  shoe  making,  and  to-day  no  man  in 
the    world    more    thoroughly    understands    all    the 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


663 


branches  and  details  of  the  rubber  trade  than  Mr. 
Mej'er.  He  is  the  leading  spirit  of  three  companies 
here, — the  Meyer  Works  at  Milltown,  the  New  Jersey 
Rubber  Shoe  Company,  and  the  Novelty  Hard  Rub- 
ber Works, — every  one  in  a  prosperous  condition  and 
occupying  an  important  place  in  the  rubber  trade. 

And  Mr.  Meyer  discovered  a  plan  by  which  the 
odor  was  almost  entirely  obviated,  and  the  cloth 
and  shoes  rendered  more  durable, — a  plan,  in  fact, 
which  was  only  surpassed  by  the  subsequently-dis- 
covered process  of  vulcanization.  Mr.  Day  refused  to 
recognize  the  value  of  this  process,  and  Mr.  Meyer 
thereupon  decided  to  leave  his  employ,  a  deter- 
mination he  insisted  upon,  even  when  Mr.  Day  re- 
considered his  refusal.  In  1840,  therefore,  Mr.  Meyer 
started  on  his  own  account  near  the  Landing  Bridge, 
and  stayed  there  three  months.  Messrs.  Hutchinson 
&  Onderdonk  had  meanwhile  dissolved  partnership 
in  their  Water  Street  rubber-factory,  and  the  latter 
started  the  rubber-manufacture  in  the  old  saw-mill  of 
James  Neilson,  near  what  is  now  the  upper  lock  of 
the  canal,  the  former  going  to  Newark.  Mr.  Onder- 
donk failing  in  his  experiment,  Mr.  Meyer  bought 
him  out,  and  ran  the  works  with  his  own  machinery 
for  two  years.  He  was  .so  successful  that  Mr.  Ouder- 
donk  bought  him  out  in  turn,  and,  associated  with 
Mr.  Johnson  Letson,  started  the  works  under  the 
name  of  Onderdonk  &  Letson  (this  firm  subsequently 
merging  into  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber  Company). 

Mr.  J.  C.  Ackerman  now  proposed  to  Mr.  Meyer  to 
build  him  a  factory  on  the  site  of  the  old  Milltown 
grist-mill,  and  this  was  done,  Mr.  James  Bishop 
joining  with  Mr.  Meyer  in  the  management.  This 
was  in  1843.  The  next  year  the  works  were  started, 
and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shirred  goods, 
carriage-cloth,  and  rubber  shoes  with  leather  buttons, 
the  latter  being  soon  substituted  by  the  Goodyear 
"  metallic"  or  all  rubber  shoes,  for  though  Mr.  Good- 
year had  a  patent  it  was  not  respected,  the  process 
immediately  becoming  commou  property. 

Before  this  process  of  vulcanization  was  understood 
the  rubber  had  to  be  dissolved  in  turpentine  and  acids. 
The  caoutchouc  was  received  from  Para  in  three 
forms, — in  sheets,  in  bottles,  and  in  rough  shoes  made 
by  dipping  clay  moulds  in  the  sap.  These  three  forms 
were  all  utilized  b)'  Mr.  Meyer;  the  rough  shoes  were 
fur-tipped  and  prepared  for  sale,  the  gum  bottles  were 
dissolved  and  spread  over  cloth  for  carriage-cloths,  the 
imported  sheets  were  cut  into  fore-uppers  and  joined 
with  cloth  quarters  to  cover  leather  soles  for  shoes. 
In  this  manner  the  works  turned  out  some  one  thou- 
sand pairs  of  shoes  per  week.  They  also  turned  out 
rubber  ponton-bridges  and  boats  for  government  use 
in  the  Mexican  war.  In  1845  the  factory  was  burned 
down  with  Mr.  Meyer's  residence,  leaving  him  abso- 
lutely without  a  cent  of  capital  or  stock  or  ma- 
chinery. Mr.  John  R.  Ford  then  came  in  and  fur- 
nished capital  to  start  the  works  anew,  and  under  the 
name  of  Ford  &  Co.  they  continued  in  operation  for 


several  years.  The  new  buildings  measured  twenty- 
five  by  one  hundred  and  thirty  and  thirty  by  forty 
feet,  and  with  them  the  business  steadily  grew  and 
improvements  were  made  until  1851,  when  a  second 
fire  visited  the  works.  In  the  following  year  a  stock 
company  was  formed  named  the  Ford  Rubber  Com- 
pany, and  the  present  buildings  were  occupied.  In 
1858  the  name  of  the  company  was  changed  to  the 
Meyer  Rubber  Company,  and  so  it  still  remains. 

The  process  of  manufacturing  boots  and  shoes  we 
have  already  described  in  detail,  and  for  all  its  branches 
this  factory  is  perfectly  equipped,  even  sawing  its  own 
boards  and  making  its  own  packing-bo.xes. 

As  we  have  already  remarked,  it  is  at  this  factory 
that  most  of  the  improvements  in  machinery  have 
been  invented  and  perfected.  For  example,  the  sole 
of  a  rubber  shoe  w.as  formerly  made  in  three  parts, 
because  there  were  needed  three  different  thicknesses 
for  the  sole,  the  shank,  and  the  heel.  Here  a  machine 
was  invented  which  converted  a  sheet  of  rubber  at 
once  into  shoe-soles  of  three  thicknesses  in  one 
piece  all  ready  for  the  uppers.  The  machinery  for 
making  the  present  style  of  sandal  was  prepared  here, 
and  also  the  patent  engraved  steel-roll,  by  which  a 
permanent  impression  is  made  upon  the  upper  to  re- 
semble the  ridge  eflect  obtained  in  other  factories  by 
laying  rubber  cords  on  top  of  the  fore-upper.  This 
machine,  by  saving  the  manufacture  of  the  cord, 
cheajsens  the  cost  over  a  cent  and  a  half  per  pair, 
and  saves  a  large  amount  per  year  to  the  companies 
who  have  the  right  to  use  it.  Altogether  the  Meyer 
Rubber- Works  are  interesting,  not  only  for  the  large 
extent  of  their  business,  but  as  the  birthplace  of  most 
of  the  improved  machinery  for  making  rubber  shoes, 
and  as  the  origin  of  all  the  new  styles  of  shoes  which 
the  market  brings  out. 

Christopher  Meyer,  son  of  John  Christopher 
Meyer,  was  born  in  Hanover,  Germany,  Oct.  15,  1818. 
At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  left  his  native  country  think- 
ing to  better  his  condition  in  life,  and,  as  others  had 
done  before  him,  find  in  America  a  reward  for  faith- 
ful toil  and  a  competency  for  the  industrious  and 
self-reliant  man.  He  landed  in  New  York  in  1834, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years.  Being  of  a  naturally 
ingenious  turn  of  mind,  and  having  some  knowledge 
of  machinery,  he,  in  1836,  went  to  Newark,  where  he 
engaged  in  a  machine-shop,  and  had  worked  one  year 
when  he  was  intrusted  with  the  superintendence  of 
setting  up  a  mill  at  Ramapo  for  Hugh  Maxwell.  In 
1838  he  was  selected  by  Mr.  Connoson,  his  employer 
at  Newark,  to  a.ssist  Horace  Day,  of  New  Brunswick, 
in  perfecting  patterns,  machinery,  etc.,  for  operating 
in  the  manufacture  of  rubber  goods.  Mr.  Day  found 
in  young  Meyer  a  valuable  assistant,  who  not  only 
designed  but  completed  just  what  was  wanted  for  the 
purpose,  and  engaged  his  services  for  two  years,  prom- 
ising him  large  returns.  When  this  time  was  nearly 
served,  Mr.  Meyer  saw  that  his  most  valuable  talent 
was  being  used  for  the  benefit  of  his  employer  with- 


664 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


out  any  prospects  of  the  promised  return,  and  he  re- 
solved, althougli  without  capital  in  money,  to  start 
business  for  himself 

He  spent  his  evenings,  after  days  of  hard  labor,  in 
making  his  patterns,  and  soon  had  his  machinery 
ready  for  a  beginning.  Through  the  assistance  of 
James  Bishop,  who  lent  him  three  hundred  dollars, 
he  started  business  in  a  small  way  at  Landing  Bridge, 
on  the  canal,  and  manufactured  rubber  shoes  and 
rubber  carriage  cloth.  After  six  months  he  removed 
to  Weston's  Mills,  and  that  location  not  proving 
suitable  he  rented  of  Peter  C.  Onderdonk  the  upper 
part  of  his  saw-mill  at  the  upper  lock,  where  he  car- 
ried on  business  for  two  years,  and  sold  the  busi- 
ness to  Peter  C.  Onderdonk,  which  was  the  germ  that 
developed  into  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber  Company. 
Mr.  Meyer  then  rented  a  place  of  Messrs.  Ackermari 
&  Bishop,  erected  on  purpose  for  him  at  Milltown, 
which,  after  he  had  carried  on  business  one  year, 
burned  down,  and  swept  with  it  nearly  his  entire 
effects.  He  rebuilt  the  works,  and  associated  with 
him  in  business  in  1845  John  R.  Ford,  a  dry-goods 
merchant  of  New  Brunswick,  and  the  firm  of  J'ord 
&  Co.  continued  business  until  1850,  when  the  com- 
pany was  organized  under  the  general  law  as  a  joint- 
stock  concern,  under  the  name  of  "  Ford  Rubber 
Company,"  with  Judge  Ford  as  president  and  his 
son,  John  R.  Ford,  as  treasurer.  After  four  years  the 
name  was  changed  to  "  Meyer  Rubber  Company," 
and  Mr.  Meyer  has  been  president  since,  with  John 
R.  Ford  as  treasurer,  they  holding  and  controlling 
since  its  organization  the  majority  of  the  stock. 

In  1853,  Messrs.  Meyer  &  Ford  built  the  Novelty 
Rubber  Company  Mills  at  New  Brunswick,  which 
after  one  year  they  sold,  transported  their  machinery 
to  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  organized  the  North 
British  Rubber  Company  in  1854,  in  which  they  held 
a  controlling  interest  until  1872,  and  since  have  been 
only  stockholders. 

In  1868  they  purchased  the  New  Jersey  Rubber 
Company's  works  at  New  Brunswick,  with  which  Mr. 
Day  had  been  connected,  as  before  alluded  to,  which, 
however,  soon  after  were  destroyed  by  fire.  In  1877, 
Mr.  Meyer  organized  a  new  company,  "  The  New 
Jersey  Rubber  Shoe  Company,"  and  erected  com- 
modious brick  buildings  on  Little  Burnet  Street,  in 
New  Brunswick.  He  was  also  chosen  president  of 
this  company,  and  controls  a  large  part  of  its  capital 
stock,  which  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  rubber 
boots  and  shoes  and  pipes,  canes,  etc. 

Mr.  Meyer  became  interested  in  the  rubber  business 
of  New  Brunswick  when  in  its  infancy,  and  to  him 
alone  is  largely  due  its  development,  which  has  made 
such  rapid  strides  among  the  most  important  manu- 
factures of  America.  This  interest  has  increased 
under  his  management  and  superior  executive  ability 
from  a  business  of  a  few  thousand  dollars  until  it 
reaches  several  millions  annually.  He  persevered 
and  met  every  obstacle  to  its  success  at  the  beginning. 


and  by  persistency  of  effort,  good  financiering,  and 
judicious  management  has  placed  his  manufactured 
goods  in  the  principal  markets  of  the  world,  ranking 
among  the  best  of  their  kind. 

Mr.  Meyer  may  be  safely  classed  among  the  self- 
made  business  men  of  the  times,  and  an  example  of 
what  properly  directed  ambition  and  a  will  to  succeed 
under  adverse  circumstances  may  achieve. 

Outside  of  his  rubber  interests,  Mr.  Meyer  has  been 
identified  with  many  other  important  interests  in 
New  Brunswick  and  other  places.  He  was  a  director 
and  large  stockholder  in  the  old  State  Bank  of  New 
Brunswick,  is  a  director  of  the  New  Brunswick  Gas- 
light Company,  was  one  of  the  projectors  and  owners 
of  the  Painesville  and  Youngstown  Railroad,  which 
he  built  in  1868  in  connection  with  Mr.  Ford,  and 
sold  out  the  same  in  October,  1881 ;  a  director  of  the 
New  York  and  Boston  and  New  York  and  Northern 
Railroads,  a  director  and  president  of  the  Nashua- 
nick  Company,  of  the  East  Hampton  Rubber  Thread 
Company,  and  of  the  Glendale  Elastic  Fabrics  Com- 
pany of  East  Hampton,  Mass;  a  director  of  the 
German-American  Fire  Insurance  Company,  of  the 
Municipal  Gaslight  Company,  and  of  the  American 
Bank-Note  Engraving  Company  of  New  York. 

Mr.  Meyer  was  united  in  marriage  in  1840  to  Mar- 
garet Evans,  of  Belleville,  N.  J.,  who  died  in  1877, 
leaving  the  following  children:  Martha,  widow  of  the 
late  William  A.  Gray,  of  New  York  ;  Mary,  deceased, 
was  the  wife  of  Henry  A.  Taylor,  of  New  York  ;  John 
C,  a  stockholder  in,  and  manager  of,  the  New  Jersey 
Rubber  Shoe  Company's  works  at  New  Brunswick  ; 
Kate,  wife  of  George  Lowther,  of  New  York;  Mar- 
garet; Clara,  wife  of  Charles  Greer,  of  New  York  ; 
and  Howard  Meyer,  confidential  secretary  for  his 
father  at  their  business  office,  114  Duane  Street,  New 
York  City. 

The  Novelty  Rubber  Company.  —  This  com- 
pany was  established  in  1855.  The  works  are  in 
Neilson  Street  above  the  railroad  bridge.  They  are 
manufacturers  of  hard  rubber,  etc.  President,  Chris- 
topher Meyer;  Secretary,  Nicholas  Williamson. 

The  following  is  an  interesting  account  of  this  com- 
pany and  the  manufacturing  of  hard  rubber  goods 
for  the  market:  The  buildings  were  erected  two  years 
previous  to  1855  by  Mr.  John  R.  Ford  and  Christo- 
pher Meyer,  and  used  for  a  month  or  two  for  grinding 
the  Milltown  factory's  rubber,  the  machinery  being 
subsequently  removed  to  that  factory ;  since  that  time 
the  works  have  been  in  almost  constant  operation. 
The  buildings  are  of  good  size,  some  thirty  by  one 
hundred  feet,  two  stories ;  forty  by  one  hundred  feet, 
five  stories.  The  engine-room  is  forty  feet  square. 
The  goods  manufactured  amount  to  nearly  $600,000 
per  annum,  and  include  every  possible  variety  of 
hard  rubber  goods,  as  the  following  list  will  show: 
buttons  in  great  variety  of  styles  ;  smokers'  requisites, 
such  as  pipes,  pipe-stems,  and  bowls  in  great  diversity 
of  shapes,  sizes,  and  prices,  tobacco-  and  pipe-boxes, 


CITY   OF   NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


665 


cigar-cases,  match-boxes,  etc. ;  crochet-hooks,  knit- 
ting-pins, and  tatting-needles;  a  variety  of  articles 
used  in  trimming  ladies'  dresses.  In  the  line  of  sta- 
tionery goods  they  manufacture  round  rulers  of  all 
sizes;  also  poker,  hotel,  restaurant,  billiard,  and  jew- 
eler's' checks  in  great  variety ;  key  tags  and  business 
of  all  kinds;  elegant  canes  in  immense  variety,  with 
plain  crooks  or  ornamented  with  ivory  or  rubber 
trimmings,  knotted  crooks  with  carved  rubber  heads 
and  ivory  trimmings;  canes  of  innumerable  variety, 
and  many  other  goods,  under  the  name  of  "Yankee 
notions." 

These  goods  are  shipped  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Germany  and  England  is  a  large  market,  also  Cape 
Town,  South  Africa,  Australia,  Central  and  South 
America,  where  these  goods  are  in  large  demand,  and 
these  in  addition  to  the  large  quantities  of  goods  sold 
to  pipe  manufacturers  and  dealers  in  this  country. 

The  upper  story  of  the  main  building  is  used  for  a 
paper-box  manufactory,  to  supply  the  works  with 
boxes  for  the  shipment  of  their  goods,  so  that  from 
the  reception  of  the  caoutchouc  gum  to  the  packing 
and  shipping  of  the  goods  the  factory  is  completely 
furnished  with  all  facilities  for  setting  new  styles  and 
making  great  quantiiies  of  them.  The  company  is 
working  with  a  capital  stock,  which  is  all  paid  in, 
and  is  in  a  very  prosperous  condition,  having  the 
monopoly  of  its  specialties  and  not  abusing  its 
powers. 

The  New  Brunswick  Rubber  Company. — This 
company  was  established  in  1849.  Their  buildings 
are  in  Washington  Street  near  Peace.  They  manu- 
facture rubber  boots  and  shoes.  President,  Johnson 
Letson  ;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  K.  T.  B.  Spader. 

They  are  among  the  best  manufacturers  who  supply 
the  American  trade,  some  years  exceeding  five  hun- 
dred thousand  pairs  of  rubber  boots  and  shoes, 
amounting  to  nearly  $700,000,  and  employing  nearly 
three  hundred  hands. 

The  company  bought  out  from  Onderdonk  &  Let- 
son  the  Goodyear  rights  in  1849,  and  organized  under 
a  charter  early  in  1850,  with  the  following  corpora- 
tors: Johnson  Letson,  Charles  P.  Dayton,  James 
Hutchings,  D.  B.  Stelle,  P.  C.  Onderdonk,  J.  C.  Ack- 
erman,  John  Acken,  M.  A.  Howell,  William  McDon- 
ald, P.  P.  Runyon,  Lewis  Stout,  and  James  Bishop. 
The  capital  stock  was  at  first  placed  at  $60,000,  but  is 
now  increased  to  1^200,000.  J.  P.  Langdon  has  been 
made  superintendent  since  1854.  There  were  then 
but  one  or  two  other  factories  in  America  and  none 
in  England.  Afterwards  English  works  were  started, 
the  export  trade  stopped,  and  other  works  were  estab- 
lished. In  1865  the  rear  four-story  brick  building, 
one  hundred  and  twelve  by  forty  feet,  was  erected, 
owing  to  the  great  increase  of  production.  For  the 
first  ten  years  shoes  were  all  plain  rubber  and  sandals ; 
boots  began  to  be  made  in  1853,  and  "  Arctics"  not 
till  about  1866.  If  it  were  not  for  the  tariff  of  thirty 
per  cent.,  there  would  be  no  production  in  America 


at  all.  The  English  make  shoes  at  a  cost  of  four  or 
five  cents  each,  while  here  they  cost  from  twelve  to 
fourteen.  The  caoutchouc  in  its  raw  state  is  received 
from  South  America.  The  sap  from  the  trees  is 
dipped  upon  a  piece  of  clay,  dried  and  lightly  smoked 
on  the  exterior,  which  prepares  it  for  packing.  When 
cut  open  the  interior  is  found  to  be  of  a  light  yellow 
color.  These  bottles  are  soaked  in  hot  water,  and 
then  placed  between  two  heavy  iron  cylinders  and 
crushed,  bringing  out  the  rubber  in  clean  sheets. 
This  is  dried  thoroughly,  and  is  then  ground  by  a 
similar  process,  the  rollers  in  this  case  being  smooth 
and  hollow,  heated  by  steam.  These  sheets  have  to  be 
ground  three-quarters  of  an  hour  before  sufficient 
smoothness  is  obtained,  and  they  are  then  brought 
to  other  rollers  for  mixing,  etc.  This  is  only  part  of 
the  process,  but  is  the  mode  that  all  the  gum  has  to 
undergo  before  being  fit  for  the  purposes  of  the  man- 
ufactory. New  machinery  is  being  invented  and 
adapted  to  its  further  use  continually,  and  the  de- 
mand for  the  goods  is  generally  greater  than  the 
supply. 

Buckram  and  Mosquito  Netting  Manufac- 
tories.— One  of  the  important  commercial  pursuits 
of  this  city  is  the  manufactory  of  Messrs.  D.  McNair 
&  Son,  a  large  substantially  built  brick  factory  on 
the  corner  of  Hamilton  and  Union  Streets.  For  over 
twenty  years  Mr.  McNair,  Sr.,  has  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  manufacturing  of  buckram,  mosquito 
netting,  and  light  muslin,  having  a  large  number  of 
hands  employed  weaving  these  materials,  which  have 
a  continual  demand  upon  the  market.  The  manner 
of  arranging  and  preparing  the  threads  which  are 
woven  in  muslin  is  very  interesting  to  those  interested 
in  the  mechanism  and  complications  of  machinery. 

Other  Indu.strial  Pursuits.— To  complete  the 
list  of  the  industries  or  manufactories  of  New  Bruns- 
wick not  found  in  the  census  returns  or  in  the  direc- 
tory, a  thorough  private  census  has  been  necessary  to 
obtain  the  proper  information.  A  full  and  reliable 
report  will  be  found  of  the  numerous  companies, 
as  follows :  The  Consolidated  Fruit  Jar  Company, 
organized  in  1870,  with  the  following  officers :  Pres- 
ident, S.  R.  Pinckney;  Vice-President,  H.  C.  Wis- 
ner;  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  H.  E.  Shaffer;  Super- 
intendent, M.  O'Connor.  The  present  officers  are 
R.  W.  Booth,  president,  and  A.  L.  Fisher,  secre- 
tary. They  commenced  running  under  the  combined 
patents  of  three  or  four  former  factories,  with  a  paid- 
up  capital  stock  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
Their  business  has  largely  increased,  orders  being  re- 
ceived from  all  over  Europe  as  well  as  the  Southern 
isles  of  the  sea,  where  large  quantities  of  fruits  are 
prepared  and  put  up  in  these  jars  and  sent  back  to 
the  Northern  markets. 

The  machine-works  are  three  in  number,  of  which 
one,  the  National  Iron-Works,  makes  a  large  propor- 
tion of  the  machinery  in  this  vicinity  and  all  the 
newly  patented  powder-making  machinery;  another, 


666 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  Empire  Machine- Works,  makes  all  the  improved 
knitting-machines  made  in  the  world,  and  a  third,  the 
Waldron  Machine- Works,  is  devoted  to  the  manufac- 
ture of  paper-hanging  machinery,  being  a  very  im- 
portant establishment,  to  which  nearly  every  paper- 
hanging  factory  in  the  United  States  pays  tribute. 

The  rubber  business  is  very  largely  represented  in 
three  large  factories,  of  which  an  account  has  been 
given.  The  hosiery,  also  the  carpet  company.  Star 
Oil  Company,  and  a  white  lead  manufactory.  The 
paper-hanging  manufacture  of  the  city  is  quite  ex- 
tensive, one  old  and  very  large  factory  being  in  con- 
stant operation,  and  another  having  started  a  few 
years  ago,  destined  to  make  a  large  business  of  its 
.specialty  of  French  moulding  and  stripes.  The  shoe 
industry  has  a  large  representation  here,  there  being 
tour  factories,  one  of  which  is  the  largest  in  the  State. 
The  pottery  establishment  of  Mr.  A.  J.  Bntler  in  Bur- 
net Street  is  quite  celebrated  in  its  line  of  terra-cotta 
manufacture. 

Other  industries  may  be  thus  enumerated  :  boat- 
building, 4;  bookbinding,  1;  box-making,  2;  brew- 
ery, 1;  carriage,  4;  cigar-making,  1;  confectionery, 
2;  corset,  1;  foundries,  3 ;  hair-net,  1 ;  lime-kiln,  1 ; 
marble-works,  4 ;  printing,  3 ;  sail-making,  1  ;  sash 
and  blind,  2;  saw-mill,  1;  scouring-mill,  1;  slate 
roofing,  1  ;  soap  and  candles,  1 ;  spice-  and  coffee- 
mills,  1;  stair-making,  2;  taxidermist,  1;  weaving, 
6 ;  wine  sauces,  1 ;  bakers,  cake  and  cracker,  15  ; 
blacksmithing  and  wheelwrighting,  21 ;  boot  and 
shoemakers  and  dealers,  42;  broom  manufacturers, 
1 ;  mosquito  netting,  1 ;  carpenters  and  builders,  21  ; 
carpet-weavers,  8  ;  cedar  cooper,  1  ;  cement,  lime,  and 
sand,  2 ;  clothiers  and  tailors,  19  ;  coal,  brick,  and 
stone,  10  ;  corsets,  1  ;  cutlery-grinding,  2 ;  dentists, 
4;  druggists,  9;  dry-goods,  10;  dyers,  2;  foundries, 
2  ;  fruit  dealers,  3 ;  fur  goods,  4 ;  furniture  dealers, 
7;  groceries,  84;  hardware,  4;  harness-makers,  7; 
hats  and  caps,  6  ;  hides,  3  ;  house  and  sign  painting, 
11;  jewelers  and  watchmakers,  8;  leather  shoe  find- 
ings, 2  ;  locksmiths,  2  ;  marble-works,  5  ;  masons  and 
builders,  9  ;  mineral  waters,  2  ;  oil  dealers,  2  ;  picture 
frame  dealers,  2  ;  plumbing  and  gas-fitting,  8 ;  plow 
manufactory,  1 ;  pump-factory,  1 ;  roofers,  3 ;  root 
beer,  5 ;  sail-maker,  1 ;  cigars  and  tobacco,  29 ;  sewing- 
machine,  3 ;  ship-yards,  2 ;  small  boat-builder,  1 ; 
soap-works,  1 ;  stoves,  tinware,  etc.,  13  ;  team  towing, 
2 ;  teas,  coffee,  and  spices,  3. 

The  Toy  Rifle  Company,  engaged  for  a  while  in  the 
manufacture  of  newly  patented  toy  guns  and  pistols, 
have  ceased  operations  and  are  getting  rid  of  a  stock 
on  hand,  but  will  probably  not  again  start  in  this 
city.  A  specimen  of  their  work  was  sent  to  the 
exhibit  at  Vienna. 

It  would  be  interesting,  if  it  was  feasible,  to  give 
the  prominent  industries,  the  corporate  or  firm- 
name,  the  capital  stock,  the  value  of  the  annual  pro- 
ducts, the  number,  sex,  and  age  of  hands  employed, 
the  aggregate  and  average  wages  paid,  with   other 


remarks  of  general  interest,  giving  in  sums  total 
statistics  and  statements  which  would  be  valuable ; 
aud  we  hope  that  some  day  New  Jersey  will  have 
a  commission  similar  to  that  in  Massachusetts,  whose 
duty  it  will  be  to  investigate  and  publish  such  val- 
uable contributions  to  social  science. 

MoTisHER  &  Shyers,  Shoe  Mani-facturers. — 
This  firm  were  among  many  others  who  came  out  of 
the  strike  in  1871,  and  commenced  in  that  year  to  do 
work  in  manufacturingof  shoes  upon  the  co-operative 
plan,  aud  afterwards  Mr.  Griggs  came  in,  the  firm- 
name  becoming  Motisher,  Griggs  &  Co.,  and  later  Mr. 
Griggs  withdrew  and  Mr.  Shyers  came  in  as  the  junior 
partner,  as  Motisher  &  Shyers.  It  was  equipjied  with 
all  the  necessary  rolling,  splitting,  skiving,  channel- 
ing, the  McKay,  Howe,  and  Singer  sewing-machines, 
and  about  twenty-five  persons  were  employed.  New 
Brunswick  at  that  time  promised  to  become  quite 
celebrated  for  the  extent  of  her  shoe  manufacture, 
leather  as  well  as  rubber. 

VosPER  &  Kramer,  Shoe  Manufacturers. — 
There  was  a  considerable  strike  in  the  shoe  manu- 
factories in  February,  1871,  and  some  of  the  malcon- 
tents failed  to  return  to  their  old  work  at  the  shops. 
In  the  excitement  which  followed  six  men,  among 
whom  were  two  very  intelligent  young  men,  Messrs. 
Vosper  and  Kramer,  started  a  shop  on  the  co-opera- 
tive plan  on  Burnet  Street,  near  New  Street.  Full 
of  enthusiasm,  they  held  on  for  a  while,  and  were 
doing  well,  when  dissensions  arose  among  them  as  to 
the  details  of  management,  and  the  result  was  that 
in  December  of  the  same  year  Mr.  T.  Vosper  bought 
out  the  concern,  and  soon  after  associated  with  him 
Mr.  T.  Kramer.  This  shoe  firm  commenced  to  em- 
ploy about  forty  hands,  turning  out  about  eight  hun- 
dred pairs  of  shoes  per  week.  They  did  consider- 
able business,  when  Mr.  T.  Vosper  established  a  shoe 
manufactory  in  Hamilton  Street,  near  Division,  in 
1879,  and  is  carrying  on  quite  an  extensive  shoe 
trade. 

The  New  Brunswick  Carpet  Company. — This, 
was  once  one  of  the  leading  industries  in  the  city, 
but  the  company  closed  their  works  in  1877.  They 
have  extensive  brick  buildings,  covering  some  three 
acres  of  ground.  Tliey  were  first  established  in  1871  for 
manufacture  of  tapestry  Brussels  carpets.  Mr.  James 
Short  was  the  general  superintendent,  and  on  Water 
Street  near  Somerset  was  erected  their  first  building, 
some  sixty  by  over  two  hundred  feet.  Since  1873  they 
have  finished  two  other  immen.se  buildings,  fifty  feet 
by  two  hundred  and  fourteen  feet,  two  and  half  stories ; 
forty-five  by  eighty-seven  feet,  three  and  half  stories, 
besides  other  smaller  buildings.  They  employed 
nearly  three  hundred  hands,  producing  near  $1,000,000 
worth  of  goods  annually.  The  president  as  well  as 
treasurer  was  Mr.  R.  N.  Woodworth,  but  at  the 
present  time  the  business  has  been  relinquished. 

Fruit-Canxing   Industry,    Holmes    &    Co. —  | 

The   fruit  and  vegetable   canning  establishment  of 


CITY   OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


667 


New  Brunswick,  called  The  Home  Valley  Preserving 
Company,  established  1880,  capital  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars,  growers  and  packers  of  all  kinds  of 
fruits,  vegetables,  meats,  jams,  jellies,  etc.,  Benjamin 
F.  Holmes,  proprietor,  Nos.  7,  9,  and  11  Water  Street, 
New  Brunswick.  The  factory,  originally  tlie  old  Rar- 
itan  Steam-Mills,  a  brick  structure,  sixty  by  forty  feet, 
four  stories  and  basement,  built  on  three  lots  of  ground, 
and  so  convenient  that  their  goods  can  be  shipped 
aboard  of  the  vessels  on  the  river  from  the  fourth 
story  of  the  factory.  They  have  a  fifty  horse-power 
engine  and  elevators  from  the  ba.sement  to  the  top  of 
building  for  delivering  their  goods  to  each  store. 
They  employ  nearly  two  hundred  hands  during  the 
fruit  season  and  half  that  number  in  winter,  and 
from  which  hundreds  of  thousands  of  cans  are  sent 
into  the  markets  of  our  large  cities  every  year,  and 
such  is  the  fact,  however,  and  this  industry  bids  fair 
to  rival,  any.  About  two  years  ago  Mr.  Benjamin  F. 
Holmes,  of  Kentucky,  a  gentleman  of  vast  experience 
in  the  fruit  business,  having  been  engaged  in  the  en- 
terprise for  some  years  in  New  York,  came  through 
this  section  of  the  country  in  search  of  a  proper  loca- 
tion for  a  manufactory  of  this  description.  In  pros- 
pecting about  the  State  he  came  upon  a  spot  which 
for  natural  advantages  could  not  be  equaled  in  an- 
other county.  The  farm  on  which  stand  the  various 
buildings  comprising  the  works  is  situated  about 
three  miles  from  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  in  this 
city,  and  here  he  commenced  this  business,  and  now. 
in  the  spring  of  1882,  he  has  also  secured  the  Rari- 
tan  Steam-Mills  of  this  city,  increasing  his  business 
double,  and  the  apparent  cleanliness  with  which  the 
masses  of  fruits  and  vegetables  are  handled  prepara- 
tory to  sealing  the  same  for  the  shipping  department 
is  worthy  of  notice. 

All  the  cans  are  manufactured  upon  the  place. 
Appliances  in  machinery  are  abundant.  Large  quan- 
tities of  tin  are  purchased.  The  pig  lead  prepared 
running  into  moulds  one  foot  length,  three-cornered 
in  shape,  and  about  a  third  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 
The  moulds  are  then  carried  to  the  solder-cutter, 
manipulated  by  a  girl,  when  they  are  cut  into  "drops," 
three  of  which  are  necessary  to  put  the  can  together, 
and  enough  drops  can  be  cut  by  her  in  one  day  to 
make  twenty  thousand  cans. 

In  the  shearing-  or  cutting-machine  the  body 
of  the  can  is  cut  from  the  sheet-tin,  hundreds  of 
cases  of  which  are  consumed  weekly,  and  a  boy  at 
this  machine  will  cut  out  the  bodies  of  ten  thousand 
cans  in  ten  hours.  The  same  boy,  while  stationed  at 
a  combination  die  and  stamping-machine,  cuts  out 
the  tops  and  bottoms  for  a  like  number  of  cans  in 
one-half  the  time.  Next  in  detail  is  the  capping- 
machines.  These  stamp  out  the  little  cap  for  the 
cans,  and  one  drop  of  solder  is  sufficient  to  place  the 
cap  firmly  on  the  can.  Considerable  dissatisfaction 
has  heretofore  arisen  regarding  the  soldering  of  cans 
on  the  inside,  which  left  particles  of  lead  in  the  pre- 


serves, but  by  the  Holmes  method  this  is  happily  done 
away  with.  The  six  females  have  soldered  seven 
thousand  two  hundred  cans  in  one  day.  There  are 
three  sizes, — Nos.  2,  3,  and  4,  or  pint-  and  quart-  and 
gallon-cans.  They  are  thoroughly  washed,  passed  to 
the  fillers,  and  when  filled  they  are  carefully  wiped 
and  sent  to  the  cappers,  who  finish  four  thousand 
cans  daily.  The  caps  are  soldered  on  in  a  neat 
manner. 

At  the  Home  Valley  Farm  there  are  nearly  two 
hundred  acres  in  a  high  state  of  cultivation,  and  in  a 
measure  supplies  a  great  deal  of  the  fruit  and  vege- 
tables for  the  works,  besides  some  three  hundred  or 
more  acres  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  now  in  cul- 
tivation under  contract,  and  a  fair  price  being  paid 
for  every  fruit  or  vegetable  which  finds  its  way 
hither.  The  business  increasing  from  a  shipment 
of  two  hundred  thousand  cans  in  1880  now  increased 
to  some  six  hundred  thousand  cans,  comprising  fruits 
— apples,  pears,  peaches,  the  varieties  of  plums  and 
grapes,  strawberries,  raspberries,  blackberries,  cher- 
ries, gooseberries,  blueberries,  etc. — and  vegetables, — 
corn,  asparagus,  peas,  tomatoes,  pumpkins,  squash, 
beans,  string  and  lima,  etc. ;  also  preserve  poultry, 
beef,  and  mutton,  and  manufacture  jams  and  jellies. 

Sash  and  Blind  Factory. — Mr.  A.  J.  Butler  is 
one  of  the  leading  manufacturers  of  sash  and  blinds. 
This  business  was  established  in  1856,  and  is  situ- 
ated in  John  Street,  foot  of  Morris  Street.  They  turn 
out  a  large  amount  of  work  during  the  year,  much  of 
which  is  ordered  outside  of  this  city.  Mr.  George 
Butler  is  the  head  manager. 

Machine -Works  (Waldron's). —  One  of  the 
largest  machinery  works  was  established  by  William 
Waldron  in  the  year  1848.  It  has  been  engaged 
largely  in  the  building  of  machinery  for  the  manu- 
facture of  paper-hangings,  this  being  one  of  the 
important  branches  of  business  in  this  city.  The 
Waldrons  have  exported  some  of  these  machines  to 
Europe.  The  present  proprietor,  John  Waldron,  is 
manufacturing  a  large  amount  of  machines  at  their 
brick  building.  No.  31  Dennis  Street. 

John  Boundey,  Shoe  Manufactory. — It  was 
about  1861  or  1862  that  machines  for  making  shoes 
began  to  displace  hand-sewed  work,  and  since  that 
time  the  whole  character  of  the  business  has  changed. 
So  far  from  the  labor-saving  machines  tending  to 
drive  out  operatives,  they  appear,  in  this  trade  at 
least,  to  call  them  in,  and  machines  come  to  be  not 
only  labor-saving  but  labor-creating.  Mr.  John 
Boundey  started  first  in  the  old  court-house,  moved 
subsequently  to  where  the  Fredonian  office  now  is  in 
Dennis  Street,  and  later  still,  in  1866,  removed  to  Bay- 
ard Street.  He  employs  some  fifty  or  more  hands, 
and  supplies  the  New  York  and  other  markets.  He 
has  a  large  amount  of  machinery  for  cutting  and  sew- 
ing, besides  trimming-machines,  etc.  The  McKay 
machine  carries  upon  it  a  meter,  which  registers 
every  stitch,  and  by  inspection  its  agents  can  discover 


668 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


the  average  number  of  stitches  in  a  pair  of  shoes. 
The  factory  is  on  Spring  Street,  near  Albany  Street. 

Manufacturers  of  Paper-Haxgixgs,  Jane- 
way  &  Co. — Since  the  death  of  William  R.  Jane- 
way  this  firm  comprises  the  following  gentlemen, 
under  the  firm-name  of  Janeway  &  Co. :  Henry  L. 
Janeway,  Frank  L.  Janeway,  and  William  R.  Jane- 
way. 

Kilpatrick  Shoe  Manufactory. — In  the  year 
1877,  Frank  E.  and  James  T.  Kilpalrick,  forming  the 
firm  of  Kilpatrick  &.Co.,  manufacturers  of  leather 
shoes.  Their  large  brick  factory  on  the  corner  of 
Neilson  and  Hamilton  Streets.  This  building,  sixty 
by  one  hundred  and  two  leet,  four  stories  high,  with 
engine-room,  thirty  horsepower,  has  all  the  appli- 
ances and  improvements  for  manufacturing  of  me- 
dium class,  of  good  solid  leather  throughout,  and  no 
other  material  used  but  leather.  Women's,  misses, and 
children's  grain,  pebble,  goat,  and  kid,  and  men's, 
youths',  and  boys' ;  a  calf  and  fine  calf  splits.  They 
have  an  extensive  home  trade  East  and  South,  a  busi- 
ness amounting  to  $350,000  per  annum. 

The  New  Brunswick  Carpet  Company. — 
Among  the  industries  of  this  city,  established  in  1871, 
was  the  New  Brunswick  Carpet  Company,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  or  until  1877  carried  on  an  extensive 
manufactory  of  Brussels  carpets.  Immense  brick 
factories,  covering  some  three  acres  of  ground,  on 
Water  Street  and  Somerset  Streets.  They  extended 
their  business  to  nearly  a  million  dollars,  employing 
a  large  number  of  skilled  workmen.  The  process  of 
manufacture  of  tapestry  Brussels  was  not  only  a  curi- 
ous and  intricate  process.  They  also  manufacture 
seamless  druggets,  crum-cloths.  The  superintendent, 
Mr.  James  Short,  came  from  England  and  designed 
much  of  this  machinery,  which  descriptions  were 
published  in  the  Scientific  American,  and  were  copied 
into  the  English  papers  at  that  time. 

Consolidated  Fruit-Jar  Company,  New 
Brunswick. — Sole  proprietors  and  manufacturers 
of  the  Mason  fruit-jar  trimmings,  Boyd's  and  Chace's 
oilers,  can-screws,  and  general  metal  goods.  R.  W. 
Booth,  president ;  A.  L.  Fisher,  secretary ;  Jacob 
Smith,  Jr.,  treasurer.  These  factories  are  situated 
near  the  railroad  bridge  and  canal  office,  in  Water 
Street  near  Railroad.  Running  under  the  combined 
patents  of  three  or  four  former  factories,  with  a  paid- 
up  capital  stock  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
They  establi-shed  themselves  about  the  year  1870. 

Raritan  Soap-Works. — For  more  than  a  century 
has  this  branch  of  the  industry  of  New  Brunswick 
been  established,  and  in  that  time  has  had  a  number 
of  proprietors.  Among  the  chief  have  been  B.  V. 
Ackerman,  who  for  a  number  of  years  made  the  bar 
soap  which  found  a  ready  sale  all  over  the  country, 
and  since  then  John  Belcher  became  proprietor,  but 
in  1880  the  works  were  sold  to  the  present  firm  of 
Max  Lederer  and  Michael  McKenna.  They  employ 
some  twenty  workmen. 


The  Empire  Machine- Works.  —  The  hosiery 
company  must  be  credited  with  bringing  to  New 
Brunswick,  besides  their  own  factory,  the  important 
machine-shops  of  G.  B.  Munn  &  Co.,  called  the 
Empire.  Mr.  Munn  in  1856  was  closeted  with  his 
townsman,  Mr.  E.  E.  Kilbourn,  in  Norfolk,  Conn.,  in 
working  out  the  latter's  new  ideas  with  reference  to 
improving  knitting-machines.  After  a  year  and  a  half 
of  secret  toil,  the  Messrs.  Kilbourn  developed  and  pat- 
ented these  machines,  and  the  Norfolk  company  was 
founded.  Mr.  Munn  was  engaged  to  construct  the 
machinery  for  the  factory.  This  he  continued  up  to 
the  time  of  the  war,  when  for  two  years  he  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  guns.  At  the  close  of  the  con- 
flict he  began  work  for  the  hosiery  company,  which 
had  meanwhile  been  reincorporated  as  the  Norfolk 
and  New  Brunswick  Company  and  located  in  this 
city.  He  came  here  in  18G7  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  his  old  fellow-laborer,  E.  E.  Kilbourn, 
under  the  firm-name  of  G.  B.  Munn  &  Co.  One  year 
thereafter  Mr.  Johnson  Letson,  Mr.  L.  P.  Porter,  and 
Mr.  Kilbourn  joined  with  him  in  the  formation  of  the 
New  Brunswick  Machine  Company,  which  continued 
operations  for  two  years,  being  succeeded  by  Mr. 
Munn  alone  in  1872,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year 
the  firm  again  changed  to  G.  B.  Munn  &  Co.,  and  so 
remained  until  now.  Mr.  George  B.  Munn  has  be- 
come the  proprietor,  situated  at  No.  13  Water  Street, 
near  Albany  Street.  They  have  nearly  fifty  men 
employed.  The  works  have  been  somewhat  enlarged 
since  they  began  operation,  and  will  be  steadily  ex- 
tended and  improved  as  the  amount  of  business  in- 
creases. A  large  amount  of  their  knitting-machines 
not  only  supplied  the  hosiery  factory  here,  but  for 
other  factories  in  other  places  and  States. 

The  National  Iron-Works. — They  were  estab- 
lished by  Elijah  Kelly  in  1847.  About  nine  lots  were 
secured  on  New  Neilson,  Morris,  and  John  Streets. 
He  carried  on  this  important  and  extensive  manu- 
factory, and  gradually  enlarging  it,  until  Jan.  1, 1870, 
when  he  sold  "out  to  his  son,  William  E.  Kelly,  who 
changed  the  name  from  the  Eagle  Foundry  and  Ma- 
chine-Works to  the  National  Iron-Works.  Under 
the  new  energetic  management  the  works  have  gone 
on  enlarging  and  increasing  in  efficiency,  until  now 
with  a  large  force  of  men  nearly  five  hundred  tons  of 
pig  iron  are  used  up  during  the  year. 

The  works  are  particularly  adapted  to  making 
heavy  machinery,  and  for  years  have  made  a  specialty 
of  rubber-goods  machinery,  such  as  that  used  in  the 
manufacture  of  rubber  boots  and  shoes,  belting,  pack- 
ing-hose, car-springs,  etc.,  and  hard  rubber.  They 
now  manufacture  a  great  proportion  of  the  machinery 
for  the  United  States,  nearly  every  rubber  factory  in 
the  country  containing  some  of  their  production ;  be- 
sides which  they  make  all  the  machinery  tor  the  New 
Jersey  brick-yards,  and  besides  numerous  other  ma- 
chinery for  manufacturing  purposes  in  this  city  and 
distant  places.     As  a  specimen  of  what  they  do  in 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


669 


I 


the  National  Iron-Works,  they  have  turned  out  as 
many  as  fifty  thousand  pieces  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  sewing-machines,  and  as  a  specimen  of  their 
heavy  castings  we  may  mention  a  rubber- machine 
weigliing  forty  tliousand  pounds,  and  a  powder-ma- 
chine weighing  sixty  thousand  pounds,  which  we  saw 
under  way  in  our  visits  to  the  works.  Tlie  works  are 
lieated  by  steam,  lighted  with  gas,  .supplied  with  city 
water,  and  well  sewered,  while  the  protection  against 
fire  is  well-nigh  perfect.  Hose  is  ready  in  every  part 
of  the  works  with  attachment  pipes  near,  while 
pipes  are  laid  throughout  the  building,  so  that  any 
floor  can  be  flooded  in  a  few  minutes  by  merely  pull- 
ing a  wire  on  the  bottom  floor,  giving  a  great  advan- 
tage in  case  a  fire  should  gain  headway  up-stairs 
before  discovery.  And  such  is  a  brief  account  of  one 
of  our  largest  manufactories,  whose  machines  supply 
many  of  our  city  factories,  may  be  found  in  most  of 
the  rubber  factories  in  the  United  States,  and  have 
been  sent  to  Montreal,  London,  Manchester,  Edin- 
burgh, St.  Petersburg,  and  to  cities  in  France,  South 
America,  and  Panama. 

Carriage  Manufactory. — At  the  head  of  the 
industries  for  antiquity  stands  the  carriage  manufac- 
tory of  Lyle  Van  Nuis.  In  the  year  1810-11  his  father, 
John  Van  Nuis,  but  recently  deceased,  having  learned 
his  trade  of  a  Mr.  Rowland  (grandfather  of  William 
Rowland,  Esq.),  at  his  place  on  the  corner  of  Rich- 
mond and  Dennis  Streets,  left  the  paternal  mansion 
on  Livingston  Avenue,  the  Van  Nuis  farm,  against 
his  conservative  parent's  advice,  and  built  a  carriage- 
factory  on  Albany  Street.  It  consisted  of  several 
frame  buildings  ranged  around  a  quadrangle  on  the 
south  side  of  thoroughfare ;  the  woodwork,  black- 
smithing,  trimming,  and  painting  each  having  a  sep- 
arate building,  while  in  front  there  was  a  large  build- 
ing used  as  the  repository  for  finished  work.  This 
carriage-house  in  18.39,  upon  the  removal  of  the 
factory,  was  remodeled  into  the  present  substantial 
residence,  and  Mr.  Van  Nuis  afterwards  erected  the 
other  two  houses  next  it.  After  the  establishment  of 
the  factory  Mr.  Van  Nuis  joined  the  late  Col.  Scott's 
light  infantry  in  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  business 
was  carried  on  by  a  partner.  Upon  his  return  in 
1813  many  of  his  carriages  were  sent  to  the  South, 
and  the  name  of  Van  Nuis  carriages  in  1840  was  in 
general  repute  all  over  the  Southern  States.  Soon 
after  the  three  sons,  Lyle,  Robert,  and  James,  joined 
with  their  father  under  the  name  of  Van  Nuis  &  Sons. 
Later  the  firm  became  L.  J.  &  R.  Van  Nuis,  then 
J.  R.  &  J.  Van  Nuis,  then  L.  &  J.  Van  Nuis,  and 
since  1867,  Lyle  Van  Nuis  alone,  James  having  died 
in  1867. 

This  reputation  of  thorough  excellence  has  been 
borne  down  to  the  present,  and  among  the  fine  assort- 
ment of  exceedingly  handsome  carriages  on  hand  now 
not  one  inferior  one  can  be  found.  The  factory  of  Lyle 
Van  Nuis,  Nos.  .33  and  3.5  Washington  Street,  can  be 
confidently  recommended  as  one  not  surpassed  in  the 
43 


reputation  and  quality  of  its  work,  nor  in  the  length 
of  its  term  of  favor,  by  any  State  or  county. 

Sash  asd  Blind  Factory. — The  sash  and  blind 
factory  of  William  S.  Van  Doren,  situated  midway 
between  Morris  and  Somerset  Streets,  on  Neilson 
Street  near  Oliver  Street,  is  nearly  a  score  of  years 
old,  having  been  started  by  William  Wright  about  the 
year  1852.  After  ten  years'  operations  Mr.  Van  Doren 
succeeded  him,  the  date  being  1866,  and  for  the  six 
years  following  he  has  gone  on  enlarging  his  works 
and  increasing  their  capacity  to  double  what  it  was 
when  he  took  charge  of  them.  November,  1872,  he 
received  a  serious  check  by  a  fire  which  burned 
through  half  his  premises,  yet  he  pluckily  had  the 
factory  in  operation  again  within  a  month,  and  it  has 
since  been  running.  The  business  includes  lumber- 
dressing,  sawing,  turning,  moulding,  and  sash  and  blind 
making.  Mr.  Van  Doren,  previous  to  his  beginning 
the  business,  had  more  than  fifteen  years'  experience 
in  the  carpenter  trade,  and  is  therefore  ready  to  give 
plans  and  advice  to  all  who  propose  building,  as  well 
as  to  prepare  the  materials.  Over  two  hundred  thou- 
sand feet  of  lumber  is  used,  coming  in  the  rough,  and 
go  out  finished  for  building  and  ornamentation. 

The  Manufacture  of  Shoes. — There  is  in  this 
city  the  largest  shoe  manufactory  in  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  that  of  Felter  &  Co.  The  senior  member  of 
this  firm  started  business  as  long  ago  as  1856,  in  a 
shop  at  the  head  of  Delevan  Street,  employing  two 
hands  in  the  making  of  hand-sewed  shoes.  Gradu- 
ally enlarging  each  time,  the  factory  was  located  suc- 
cessively in  the  old  court-house,  corner  of  Neilson  and 
Bayard  Streets.  Their  present  factory  is  situated  in 
Bayard  Street,  between  Neilson  and  George  Streets. 
They  employ  over  three  hundred  hands,  and  nearly 
half  are  females. 

From  an  interesting  article  published  some  few 
years  ago  the  following  account  is  taken  :  At  this  time 
they  turned  out  over  five  thousand  pairs  of  boots 
and  shoes  each  week,  including  men's  and  boys'  boots 
and  shoes,  and  ladies',  misses',  and  children's  shoes, 
sewed  and  nailed,  the  yearly  value  of  the  production 
being  about  four  hundred  thousand  dollars.  The 
factory  at  this  time  was  divided  into  four  depart- 
ments, the  bottom  stock  and  cutting-room,  the  upper 
stock  and  cutting-room,  the  upper  fitting-room,  and 
the  buttoning-  or  making-room.  In  the  first  the 
rough  sole  leather  is  cut  into  strips  as  wide  as  the  shoe 
is  to  be  long,  and  then  passed  under  a  knife  which 
renders  the  strips  of  uniform  thickness  and  body; 
next  these  are  passed  between  heavy  iron  rollers, 
which  take  the  place  of  the  shoemaker's  hammer  and 
lapstone  and  give  solidity  to  the  leather.  These  strips 
are  then  cut  into  separate  inside  and  outside  soles 
by  a  die-machine,  the  die  being  in  sizes,  and  the 
leather  being  reversed  as  it  is  fed  to  them,  in  order  to 
get  rights  and  lefts.  The  edges  of  the  sole  are  then 
"  feathered,"  or  made  sharp,  and  the  "  shanks"  or  in- 
steps are  cut  away.     The  soles  are  next  pressed  in  a 


670 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   ANl)   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


mould  to  give  the  bulging  shape  of  the  human  foot,  [ 
and  the  outsoles  are  channeled  and  grooved  ready  for  ' 
stitching.     Thus  before  the  sole  alone  is  ready  for  the 
upper  it  is  handled  by  a  dozen  difi'ereut  men.     The  ' 
heel  lifts  are  cut  out  by  hand-dies  in  the  same  room 
and  tacked  together  ready  to  be  shaped  into  heels,  and 
the  "counters"  or  stift"  leather  heel  linings  are  also 
cut. 

The  next  department  is  where  the  uppers  are  cut 
from  morocco  and  other  leathers  by  hand,  according  '. 
to  brass-bound  pasteboard  patterns,  which  change  in  , 
style  twice  a  year.     The  uppers  are  cut  by  hand,  be-  l 
cause  it  is  found  that  no  machine  can  by  automatic 
motion  take  the  place  of  the  judgment  which  requires  j 
to  be  exercised  in  order  to  save  material.     These  pat- 
terns are  for  "  quarters,"  or  the  part  of  the  shoe  which  in- 
closes the  instep  and  ankle.    "  Vamps,"  or  fore  uppers, 
linings  to  correspond,  trimmings  and  bindings,  and  va-  , 
rious  little  pieces  to  be  fitted  over  seams,  and  to  be  used  j 
in  various  parts  as  the  shoe  is  put  together, — all  these  ! 
are  gathered  in  bundles,  labeled  according  to  their  i 
size  and  the  case  in  which  they  are  placed,  and  rolled  I 
in  boxes  across  to  the  third  department  in  the  north- 
ern building.     Here  are  nearly  one  hundred  sewing- 
machines  of  the  Howe  and  other  patents,  guided  by  ! 
girls  and  run  by  steam-power.    Each  girl  has  a  special 
line  of  work  to  do,  some  sewing  together  the  backs,  or 
"closing"  them,  some  sewing  on  the  flies,  some  sew- 
ing the  button-holes,  etc.     The  flies  of  the  button 
shoes  are  cut  for  the  button-holes,  the  holes  sewed  j 
around  by  machine,  and  underbraided  or  strengthened  i 
by  a  stay  of  strong  thread,  and  the  buttons  sewed  on 
by   hand.      For  the  ordinary  balmoral  or  "  Polish"  ' 
shoe,  the  eyelet  holes  are  cut  by  one  machine  and  the  j 
metal  eyes  put  in  by  another,  when  the  backs  are  I 
sewed  together  and  the  other  parts  ready  to  be  fitted. 
They  are  pasted  together  so  as  to  be  properly  held  for 
the  operation   of  sewing,  the  pasting  corresponding 
to  the  basting  of  tailors'  patterns.    After  the  paste  has 
dried  in  rooms  devoted  to  that  purpose  the  parts  are 
stitched  together,  and  the  now  completed  uppers  go 
to  the  fourth  department  to  be  joined  to  the  bottoms. 
First  they  are  placed  over  an    iron-plated  last  and 
tacked  by  hand  to  the  inner  sole,  then  they  are  taken 
to   the   cable-screw-wire-tacking-on-machine,    which 
fastens  the  outside  sole  to  the  upper  preparatory  to 
sewing.     This  machine  cuts   and  drives  tacks  from 
coils  of  wire  fed  to  it.     Thus  prepared  the  lasts  are 
removed  and  sewing-machines  are  brought  into  use 
which  in   a  short  space  of  time  securely  sews  on  a 
sole  to  an  upper.     Then  "  the  channels"  which  were 
made  for  the  stitching  are  pasted  and  laid  by  the 
American  beating-out  machine,  and  the  shoes  are  re- 
lasted.     Next  the  edges  and  shanks  are  trimmed  and 
blacked  by  hand  and  burnished  by  machine.     The 
heels  are  nailed  on  and  then  trimmed  by  liand  by  the 
Joyce  machine,  and  also  blacked  and  burnished,  the 
.soles  being  shaved  off'  with  sand-paper ;  the  tini.shing 
blacking  is  laid  on  and  burnished  and  the  process  is 


complete.  The  large  amount  of  stock  turned  out 
every  week  by  Felter  &  Co.  is  shipped  to  New  York, 
where  it  is  sold  to  jobbers,  the  firm  keeping  no  ware- 
house, and  the  articles  it  puts  on  sale  bear  a  high 
reputation  with  the  trade. 

Banks. — The  first  bank  organized  in  the  city  was 
The  Bank  of  New  Brunswick,  locally  known  as 
Hardenbergh's  Bank.  It  was  founded  by  Jacob  R. 
Hardenbergh  and  others  in  1807,  and  did  business 
till  about  1834,  when  it  was  suspended.  Mr.  Har- 
denbergh, the  president  of  this  bank,  was  an  active 
business  man  and  member  of  the  bar  of  Middlesex 
County,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred  for  a  fuller 
sketch.  Martin  A.  Howell  was  one  of  the  directors 
in  this  bank,  as  he  has  also  been  in  all  the  banks 
which  have  had  an  existence  in  New  Brunswick. 
The  Bank  of  New  Brunswick  was  located  on  the 
corner  of  George  and  Paterson  Streets. 

The  State  Bank  of  New  Brunswick  was  char- 
tered by  "  An  Act  to  Establish  State  Banks,"  passed 
at  Trenton  Jan.  28,  1812.  It  also  chartered  the  State 
Banks  of  Camden,  Trenton,  Elizabeth,  Newark,  and 
Morris  at  Morristown.  The  commissioners  named  to 
receive  subscriptions  to  stock  in  New  Brunswick  were 
Squire  Martin,  Robert  Lee,  Asa  Runyon,  Bernard 
Smith,  and  Henry  V.  Low.  The  directors  named  in 
the  charter  were  Robert  Lee,  Bernard  Smith,  Phineas 
Carman,  Henry  V.  Low,  John  Outcalt,  John  Bray, 
Jonathan  Hutchings,  Jonathan  Squire,  John  Brew- 
ster, Daniel  Perrine,  Robert  McChesney,  Jacob  Sny- 
der, Jacob  Van  Wiuckle. 

Daniel  W.  Disbrow  was  the  first  cashier.  The 
presidents  have  been  as  follows  :  Charles  Smith,  F. 
R.  Smith,  John  B.  Hill,  John  R.  Ford,  and  Abraham 
Voorhees. 

This  bank  did  business  in  the  old  State  Bank  build- 
ing on  the  corner  of  Peace  and  Albany  Streets,  erected 
about  1820. 

The  State  Bank  of  New  Brunswick  failed  Sept.  13, 
1873.  It  paid  all  its  liabilities,  and  was  resuscitated 
in  October  following  by  means  of  contributions  from 
the  stockholders  and  friends  of  the  bank  to  the 
amount  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
all  of  which  was  paid  in  excepting  about  five  thou- 
sand dollars,  which  was  not  collected  in  consequence 
of  the  donor  being  unable  to  pay  his  subscription. 
It  failed  the  second  time  March  31,  1877,  and  was 
placed  in  the  hands  of  Col.  John  W.  Newell  as  re- 
ceiver. 

Peter  Spader  was  born  in  Somerset  County,  N.  J., 
about  half  a  mile  from  Middlebush  Church,  on  Thurs- 
day, 29tli  September,  1785,  the  only  son  and  child  of 
John  Spader  and  his  second  wife,  Jane  Vanderbill. 
His  ancestors  came  from  Holland.  The  first  records 
we  find  of  them  are  deeds  and  leases  (now  in  posses- 
sion of  Peter  Vanderbilt  Spader)  in  the  purchase  by 
Johannes  Spader  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  acres 
of  land  on  the  Millstone  River  of  Samuel  Royse  on 
Sept.  20, 1718,  and  two  leases,  one  of  two  hundred  and 


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671 


ntiy  a  judge  ol  the  Coxkn.  of 

i-el  Cuuuty,  I  Appeals  and  also  liisutenaut-Goveruor  of  Loi)i:iaa», 

ifSomeraet  I  traces  liis  ancestry  to  Middlesex  County,  N._.T.,  ^ ad 

iirfry  war.  j  Daniel  W.,  Uriit«d  St!ite.<  Sen;iU)r  from  Indiana,  is 

ider  was  elected  ;  the  great-eraiidson  of  St' riben  of  New  Jersey.     A 

'    "''       1  ;        .  ■     .  ■     >-  •'  -yg  found 

f  Couu- 


OuvvcU,  ot 
"d  in   Our  Jl 
•  k  in  the  coUllt^ 
•-■n  we  saw  an  old 

>>t).   Peter  «pac^,       -. 

.11  as  cashier. of  the  ban!-;  in  the 
ired  wholly  from  business,  ex- 
eral  estates  of  which  lie  was 
m|  «(i  hold  tbf  tro^fturership  of 
of  Rutgers 
vears.    The 


lUiil 
iiths, 

'  mes  • 

12, 

I  lays, 

•.■.c."  1 , 

...  _  .d  in 

i.in)  was  born.     Witli  truth  il  may  he 

-pader  he  left  the  name  of  .iu  honest 


\>i  chil- 

en,  mar- 

•  e»,   who 

n,  Abra- 

nelius  tiulick),  Jane  \y- • 

Joanna  (wife  of  Garret  ■  rd 

wife  of  Uarrtt  Garretson),  Emma  ^wile  of  John  Gar- 
retson),  and  Maria  (wife  of  Jacob  Veghte),  all  of 
whom  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  their  birth  after  their 
marriages.     Isaac  L.  Voorhees  was  a  farmer  by  occu- 
■  ■       '  d  near  Six-Mile  Run,  in  Franklin 
I  County.     He  was  inucli  interested 
:-,  and  reared  his  fahiily  i-"  '  ■ 
intiuences  of  ibe  Reformed  Dutch  Church  .«i 
Run,  now  Franklin  Park,  in  which  he  serv 
center  for  over  thirty  years. 

Abraham  Voorhees  was  bom  near  Mi^l^l 
erset  Co.,  N.  J.,  Sept.  IS,  1317.  n    ' 
in  the  routine  of  attending  ihf  u 

the  farm.     At  the  age  of  foil rtu^..  ..> 
town,  N.  J.,  and  for  four  yeari?  wf.s 
learning  tlie  trade  of  a  silversmith.     . 
to  New  Brunswick,  and  established  hiiu- 


V    A.^^/  ••-; 


•    9    •    «•••«#•• 


672 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


watch  and  jewelry  business,  which  he  carried  on  suc- 
cessfully for  twenty-five  years,  during  which  time  he 
became  identified  with  very  many  of  the  local  enter- 
prises of  the  city,  and  has  ever  taken  an  active  part 
in  church,  school,  and  kindred  interests. 

Upon  the  failure  of  the  State  Bank  in  New  Bruns- 
wick in  1873,  Mr.  Voorhees  was  the  first  one  to  make 
a  move  to  rescuscitate  the  bank,  an  institution  which 
had  stood  for  sixty  years,  and  he  contributed  liber- 
ally, giving  twenty-six  thousand  dollars  towards  this 
object. 

At  the  alumni  dinner  the  year  before  the  centen- 
nial celebration  of  Rutgers  College,  in  1870,  Mr. 
Voorhees  was  the  largest  donor  to  the  centennial 
fund,  and  President  Campbell,  in  referring  to  the 
matter  in  an  address  delivered  on  that  occasion,  said, 
"  The  work  in  reality  began  last  year  at  the  alumni 
dinner,  when  Mr.  Abraham  Voorhees,  of  this  city, 
presented  a  property  worth  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the 
college.  That  gift  was  the  first  fruit,  and  for  all 
time  Mr.  Voorhees  has  the  honor  of  being  the  first 
subscriber  to  the  centennial  fund."  The  continua- 
tion of  this  subscription  by  others  raised  a  fund  of 
one  hundred  and  five  thousand  dollars. 

Abraham  Voorhees  was  baptized  by  Rev.  James  S. 
Cannon  upon  the  occasion  of  the  first  sermon  preached 
in  the  Reformed  Church  at  Franklin  Park  after  its 
erection,  and  from  early  manhood  has  been  engaged 
in  Sunday-school  and  church  work.  For  twenty-nine 
years  he  was  superintendent  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  Sunday-school  in  New  Brunswick,  and  ener- 
getic and  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties, 
always  entering  upon  and  continuing  his  services  with 
fervor,  zeal,  au<l  earnestness.  In  connection  with  the 
same  church  he  is  one  of  its  ruling  elders.  His  first 
wife  was  Jane,  daughter  of  Jesse  Jarvis,  of  Rye, 
N.  Y.,  who  died  April  8,  1875,  leaving  one  surviving 
child,  Willard  Penfield  Voorhees,  who  graduated  at 
Rutgers  College,  studied  law  with  Judge  Woodbridge 
Strong,  of  New  Brunswick,  and  is  practicing  his  pro- 
fession in  that  city.  His  present  wife  is  Mattie  J., 
daughter  of  John  Van  Nostrand,  of  New  Brunswick, 
by  whom  he  has  two  children, — Howard  Crosby  and 
Florence  Eliot. 

The  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  New 
Brunswick  was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  Legisla- 
ture passed  Feb.  '26,  1834.  Its  first  president  was 
James  F.  Randolph,  who  was  succeeded  by  Charles 
Dunham,  and  he  by  Abraham  Suydam.  Lewis  Car- 
man was  the  first  cashier.  This  bank  first  did  busi- 
ness where  the  post-ofiice  is  now  situated,  on  Barnet 
Street,  and  subsequently  removed  to  Church  Street, 
where  it  remained  until  its  suspension. 

The  Bank  of  New  Jersey  was  chartered  Feb.  24, 
1837,  John  Van  Dyke,  president ;  Moses  F.  Webb, 
cashier.  It  was  changed  into  the  National  Bank  of 
New  Jersey  in  1864.  The  First  National  Bank 
OF  New  Brunswick,  which  had  been  previously 
organized  with  a  capital  of  $l60,000,  and  which  did 


business  under  the  presidency  of  Israel  H.  Hutchings, 
was,  about  1870,  merged  with  the  State  Bank,  and  be- 
came obsolete  in  that  institution.  Nov.  22,  1864,  the 
Bank  of  New  Jersey  was  reorganized  as  The  Na- 
tional Bank  of  New  Jersey,  with  a  capital  of 
$250,000,  and  is  the  bank  now  doing  business  in  the 
city.  It  was  organized  with  the  following  directors : 
Andrew  Agnew,  Isaac  Fisher,  John  B.  Hill,  Lewis  T. 
Howell,  Isaac  L.  Martin,  Simeon  W.  Philips,  Garret 
I.  Snekeker,  Garret  G.  Voorhees,  and  Peter  A. 
Voorhees. 

The  fine  banking  building  is  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Church  and  Neilson  Streets.     The  following  are 


^^F'^^-  $ 

^^"n    "■ 


the    NATIONAI;    r.ANK    l)F    NEW    .lEKSEY. 


the  directors,  1882:  Mahlon  Runyon,  president; 
Charles  H.  Hill,  cashier;  Peter  A.  Voorhees,  John- 
son Letson,  Lewis  T.  Howell,  William  C.  Stoddard, 
William  Rowland,  Mahlon  C.  Martin,  Isaac  L. 
Martin. 

We  subjoin  the  following  figures,  showing  the  in- 
crease of  footing  and  deposits  from  the  charter  as  a 
national  bank  to  the  close  of  1881 : 

Footing.  Deposits. 

1865 S732.00  $U9.00 

1SG6 716.(10  199.00 

1867 731.00  222.00 

1868 78.^10  266.BO 

180D 768  00  228.00 

1870 841.00  293.00 

1871 862.00  307.(H1 

1872 977.00  406.00 

187:i 10;!9.00  408.00 

1874 1049.00  447.00 

lS7.'i 1182.(10  579.00 

1876 1091.(10  463.00 

1877 1204.00  601.00 

1878 1310.00  691.0(1 

1879 1215.00  585.00 

1880 14I(i.00  752.00 

1881 1666.00  1014.00 


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•  •  #  •■••••I 

•  •■•■9-0.§-i 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


673 


John  B.  Hill,  son  of  Thomas  Hill,  was  descended 
from  a  highly  respectable  English  family  that  settled 
In  New  Brunswick  when  it  was  in  its  infancy.  While 
yet  a  mere  youth  John  B.  Hill  entered  the  office  of  Col. 
James  Neilson  in  the  capacity  of  a  clerk.  Mr.  Neilson 
was  at  that  time  treasurer  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
Railroad  Company,  and  young  Hill  was  aft'orded  an 
excellent  opportunity  to  become  familiar  with  the 
various  details  of  an  extensive  business.  ,A.fter  serv- 
ing them  for  some  time  he  accepted  the  position  of 
book-keeper  in  the  State  Bank  in  New  Brunswick, 
where  he  entered  upon  his  duties  Oct.  3, 183.5.  In  that 
capacity  he  served  faithfully  and  to  the  satisfaction 
of  both  the  public  and  the  officers  of  the  institution, 
until  1841,  when  he  was  promoted  to  the  responsible 
position  of  cashier  of  the  bank.  In  this  position  he 
won  golden  opinions  and  high  laudations  in  recogni- 
tion of  his  close  attention  to  business,  uncompromising 
integrity,  and  great  urbanity.  On  Nov.  1,  1852,  he 
was  elected  president  of  the  bank,  and  under  his  ad- 
ministration the  bank  met  with  almost  unprecedented 
prosperity,  and  its  name  for  reliability  became  second 
to  no  bank  in  the  State.  He  held  this  position  until 
Feb.  1,  1864,  when  he  resigned  his  official  place  as 
president,  and  soon  after  accepted  the  presidency  of 
the  National  Bank  of  New  Jersey,  a  position  which 
he  held  until  his  decease,  Feb.  28, 1874,  being  then  in 
his  sixty-ninth  year.  Mr.  Hill  was  a  modest  and 
unassuming  man,  and  never  sought  political  place  or 
the  emoluments  of  office,  yet  he  served  the  city  as 
mayor  for  one  term  prior  to  tlie  war,  and  during  his 
term  of  office  sought  to  introduce  certain  improve- 
ments which,  had  the  people  co-operated  with  him, 
would  have  greatly  enhanced  the  prosperity  of  the 
city.  He  was  a  candidate  for  State  senator,  but  his 
party  being  greatly  in  the  minority  he  was  defeated. 
He  was  a  warm  supporter  of  the  Union  during  the 
late  civil  war.  His  patriotism  was  strong  and  uncom- 
promising, and  he  made  many  personal  sacrifices  in 
behalf  of  the  soldiers  in  the  field.  His  wife,  Henri- 
etta B.  Chapman,  of  Holmesburg,  Pa.,  died  a  few  years 
before  him.  Their  children  are  T.  Wilton  Hill, 
cashier  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Jame-sburg, 
N.  J. ;  John  T.  Hill,  president  of  the  Ninth  National 
Bank  of  New  York;  Charles  S.  Hill,  cashier  of  the 
National  Bank  of  New  Jersey  at  New  Brunswick,  and 
serving  his  second  term  as  county  clerk  of  Middlesex  ; 
Edward  Hill,  discount  clerk  of  the  Ninth  National 
Bank  of  New  York  ;  and  Sarah  C.  Hill. 

**  At  a  Bpecial  meeting  of  the  board  of  directoreof  the  National  Bank  of 
New  Jersey,  held  on  the  second  day  of  March,  1874,  it  was  resolved  and 
declared — 

"That  this  board  of  directors  are  deeply  impressed  with  the  loss  of  this 
institution  in  the  death  of  our  beloved  and  honored  president,  John  B. 
Hill,  whose  wise  forecast,  sound  judgment,  unswerving  rectitude  of  heart 
and  life,  and  conscientious  devotion  to  duty  established  him  firmly  in 
public  confidence,  and  contributed  largely  to  the  prosperity  and  useful- 
ness of  this  bank. 

"That  in  a  wider  sphere  of  duty  the  community  in  which  he  lived  so 
long  and  honorably  will  miss  and  mourn  him  as  a  sagacious  and  valu- 
able associate  in  the  administration  of  public  afTuirs. 


"  That  we  bear  testimony  to  his  uniform  gentleness,  courtesy,  forbear 
ance,  charity,  and  liberality,  and  that  personally  to  each  of  us  his  mem- 
ory will  ever  be  that  of  a  friend,  trusted  and  honored,  who  bore  to  the 
end  of  his  long  and  useful  life  a  conscience  void  of  offense,  and  of  whom, 
at  the  close  of  his  earthly  record,  we  confidently  say,  '  Behold  the  honest 
man,  the  noblest  work  of  God.* 

"That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to  the  family  of  the  deceased; 
that  they  also  be  published  in  the  newspapers  of  this  city,  and  that  this 
banking-house  be  suitably  draped  in  mourning. 

"  That  we  meet  at  the  banking-house  at  eleven  o'clock  A.M.  on  Tues- 
day, March  3d,  for  the  purpose  of  attending  the  funeral  in  a  body. 

"Peter  A.  Voorhebs. 

"M.\.RTiN  A.  Howell. 

"Johnson  Letsos. 

"J.4.MES  Dayton. 

"Lewis  T.  Howell. 

"Mahlon  Runyon. 

"  H.  C.  Stoddard. 

"  Isaac  L.  Martin.'' 

Mahlos  RrxYOX. — The  homestead  of  this  branch 
of  the  Runyon  family  has  been  in  the  township  of 
Piscataway,  Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.,  for  a  century  and  a 
half,  and  the  progenitor  of  the  family  in  this  country 
is  supposed  to  have  been  among  the  French  refugees 
who  fled  their  country  following  the  revocation  of  the 
famous  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685,  whereby  so  many 
Protestants  were  driven  to  Holland,  and  thence  to  the 
New  World. 

John  Runyon,  a  native  of  Piscataway,  and  a  car- 
penter and  fiirmer  by  occupation,  resided  in  that 
township  during  his  active  business  life.  His  wife, 
Christiana  Stelle,  bore  him  three  sons, — Abel  S., 
father  of  our  subject;  Ephraim,  a  farmer  in  his  native 
township  during  his  life  ;  and  Clarkson,  who  was  for 
many  years  a  merchant  in  New  Brunswick,  and  sub- 
sequently a  manufacturer  of  rubber  goods  both  in  New 
Brunswick  and  Newark,  N.  J.  He  died  in  the  former 
place. 

Abel  S.  Runyon,  born  in  Piscataway  in  1795,  died 
there  in  1875.  His  first  wife  was  Catherine,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  Manning,  of  the  same  place,  whose  an- 
cestors were  old  settlers  of  the  township.  She  died 
in  1826,  leaving  two  surviving  children, — John,  of 
Piscataway,  and  Mahlon. 

Abel  S.  Runyon  was  a  farmer  and  carpenter.  He 
purchased  a  part  of  the  Manning  homestead  after  his 
marriage,  and  there  resided  most  of  his  life  afterwards. 
He  was  a  man  of  decided  and  positive  convictions, 
plain  and  unostentatious  in  his  ways,  and  possessed 
sterling  integrity  in  all  of  his  business  relations.  He 
never  sought  political  place  among  his  fellow-towns- 
men, and  never  held  office  except  to  fill  some  minor 
offices  in  his  township,  although  he  was  always  inter- 
ested in  local  matters  and  somewhat  active  in  pro- 
moting measures  tending  to  the  best  interests  of  his 
political  party  and  the  election  of  honest  men  to 
official  place.  He  was  a  contributor  to  and  pro- 
moter of  religious  work  in  the  community  where  he 
resided,  and  for  many  years  a  member  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church  of  Piscataway.  For  his  second  wife 
he  married  Mercy,  daughter  of  Reune  Runyon,  of  the 
same  place,  who  died  in  1841,  leaving  the  following 
children :  Catherine  A.,  widow  of  Henry  Branting- 


674 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ham,  who  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Fredericksburg 
in  the  late  civil  war ;  Julia  A.,  wife  of  George  Drake, 
of  Piacataway ;  Adeline,  wife  of  George  Heath,  of 
Tarrytown,  N.  Y. ;  and  Mercy,  wife  of  Lewis  Walker, 
of  Piscataway. 

Mahlon,  son  of  Abel  S.   Runyon   and   Catherine 
Manning,  was  born  March   29,  1824.     His  boyhood 
was  spent  in  the  routine  of  farm-work  and  attending 
school  during  the  winter  months.     At  the  age  of  six- 
teen he  came  to  New  Brunswick  and  became  a  clerk 
in  the  store  of  his  uncle,   Clarkson   Runyon,  with 
whom  he  remained  one  year,  when,  his  uncle  selling 
out  his  goods,  he  remained  in  the  same  store  for  two 
years  more.     In  1843  he  established  mercantile  busi-  i 
ness  in  New  Brunswick  on  his  own  account,  which  he  I 
successfully  carried  on  until  1856.     For  eleven  years  ^ 
following  he  was  a  grain  merchant  here,  and  in  1867  j 
he  purchased  a  country  residence  in  his  native  town-  ; 
ship  on  the  Raritan  River,  which  he  has  improved  | 
and  made  one  of  the  most  desirable  outside  of  the 
city,  and  which  he  has  kept  as  his  family  homestead 
since.     Since  his  first  coming  to  New  Brunswick  Mr. 
Runyon  has  been  interested  in  the  various  enterprises 
of  the  place  and  a  contributor  to  its  worthy  local 
objects.     He  was  elected  a  director  of  the  National  \ 
Bank  of  New  Jersey  at  New  Brunswick  on  May  7, 
1867,  and  succeeded  Mr.  James  Dayton  as  its  presi- 
dent on  Dec.  7,  1875,  which  position  he  fills  in  1882. 

Mr.  Runyon  was  united  in  marriage  in  1848  to 
Susan,  daughter  of  Judge  Peter  P.  Runyon,  of  New 
Brunswick,  who  was  alderman  and  recorder  of  the 
city  for  several  years,  justice  of  the  peace,  and  for 
thirteen  years  served  as  judge  of  the  Court  of  Com- 
mon Pleas.  He  was  one  of  the  most  zealous  and  in- 
fluential members  of  the  Baptist  Church  in  the  State, 
a  Sunday-school  worker  and  superintendent  for  many 
years  of  his  life,  and  from  1830  until  his  death  in  1871, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  treasurer  of  the  Baptist  : 
State  Convention. 

The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mahlon  Runyon 
are  Mary,  wife  of  F.  R.  Stout,  of  New  Brunswick  ; 
Charles  H.,  a  lawyer  of  the  same  place  ;  Deborah  A., 
wife  of  Dr.  Samuel  Long,  of  New  Brunswick  ;  and 
Lillie  A. 

New  Brunswick  Savings  Institution. — This  \ 
savings  institution  was  incorporated  March  15,  1851,  ! 
by  an   act  of  the  Legislature   that  Littleton  Kirk- 
patrick,  John   Acken,  Peter  Spader,  James  Parker, 
John  W.  Stout,  David  F.  Randolph,  Peter  Conover, 
William  Dunham,  John  R.  Ford,  Charles  D.  Deshler, 
Robert  Adrain,  Moses  F.  Webb,  Theodore  G.  Neilson, 
David  Bishop,  Peter  V.  Miller,  William  Boylan,  and 
their  successors  shall  be  and  are  hereby  constituted  a  ' 
body  corporate   and   politic   by  the   name  of  "  The 
New    Brunswick   Savings  Institution,"  and   by  that 
name  shall  be  capable  of  purchasing,  taking,  holding, 
and  enjoying  to  them   and  their  successors  any  real 
estate  in  fee  simple  or  otherwise,  etc.     Their  banking- 
house  is  No.  17  Albany  Street.     President,  Garret  G.  ' 


Voorhees;  Vice-President,  Clifford  Morrogh,  M.D. ; 
Secretary  and  Treasurer,  Neilson  Dunham ;  Managers, 
Theodore  G.  Neilson,  Henry  H.  Palmer,  Clifford 
Morrogh,  M.D.,  Lewis  T.  Howell,  Henry  L.  Jane- 
way,  Daniel  M.  Vail,  Garret  G.  Voorhees,  Azariah  D. 
Newell,  M.D.,  William  Rust,  Andrew  Agnew,  Abra- 
ham Voorhees,  William  H.  Acken,  Gustavus  Auten, 
John  T.  Hill. 

Di.ME  Savings-Bank. — An  act  to  incorporate  the 
Dime  Savings-Bank  of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.,  approved  Feb.  7,  1871  :  Be  it  enacted  by  the 
Senate  and  General  .\ssembly  of  the  State  of  New 
Jersey,  that  Levi  D.  Jarrad,  Lyle  Van  Nuis,  A.  V. 
Schenck,  Henry  De  Hart,  Henry  K.  How,  Garret  G. 
Voorhees,  Jehiel  K.  Hoyt,  Robert  G.  Miller,  Peter  I. 
Stryker,  Uriah  De  Hart,  John  V.  H.  Van  Cleep, 
Henry  N.  Marsh,  Adrain  Vermuele,  George  C.  Lud- 
low, Amos  Robins,  Joseph  L.  Mulford,  Jacob  E. 
Stout,  Garret  Conover,  John  M.  Connell,  Miles  Ross, 
and  their  successors  shall  be  and  are  hereby  consti- 
tuted a  body  corporate  and  politic  by  the  name  of 
"  The  Dime  Savings-Bank"  of  the  city  of  New 
Brunswick.  Their  place  of  banking  business  is  situ- 
ated at  137  George  Street.  Open  daily  from  9  a.m. 
to  1  P.M.  and  from  2  to  4  p.m.,  and  on  Monday  even- 
ing from  seven  to  eight  o'clock.  Deposits  received 
from  ten  cents  upwards,  and  interest  allowed  on  de- 
posits from  the  first  of  every  month,  and  the  interest 
credited  on  the  second  Tuesday  of  January  and  Jul)'. 
Lyle  Van  Nuis,  president ;  .Arthur  G.  Ogilby,  secre- 
tary and  treasurer ;  John  Wycoff,  assistant  secretary  ; 
Board  of  Managers,  Lyle  Van  Nuis,  Henry  R.  Bald- 
win, Willard  P.  Voorhees,  James  P.  Langdon,  Adrain 
Vermuele,  Runyon  R.  Ontcalt,  Robert  J.  Hannah. 

New  Brunswick  Gaslight  Company. — About  the 
year  1850,  our  city  having  about  ten  thousand  in- 
habitants, was  looked  upon  as  a  proper  place  for  the 
introduction  of  gas,  and  a  company  was  formed  and 
chartered,  the  majority  of  whose  corporators  were 
residents  of  other  places.  They  had  estimates  made, 
but  these  were  so  large  that  the  company  relinquished 
their  franchises,  and  in  1851  the  following  residents 
were  authorized  by  legislative  charter :  John  W. 
Stout,  E.  M.  Patterson,  Peter  Spader,  David  Bishop, 
Benjamin  D.  Steele,  and  Moses  F.  Webb,  and  in  the 
same  year  the  company  organized  with  the  following 
officers:  President,  John  W.  Stout;  Secretary,  Su- 
perintendent, and  Engineer,  John  G.  Hall ;  Treasurer, 
Jonathan  C.  Ackerman ;  Board  of  Directors,  J.  W. 
Stout,  J.  R.  Ford,  J.  C.  Ackerman,  M.  A.  Howell,  and 
David  Bishop. 

Tlie  erection  of  the  works  was  immediately  pro- 
ceeded with,  and  were  built  at  less  than  half  the  cost 
of  the  estimates  of  the  former  company.  Since 
1868,  when  Col.  J.  W.  Newell  was  appointed,  and 
who  still  retains  the  position  of  secretary,  trea-surer, 
superintendent,  and  engineer,  the  works  have  been 
improved  beyond  recognition.  Nearly  ten  miles  of 
pipes  have  been  laid  in  the  city,  and  about  one  hun- 


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CITY   OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


675 


dred  thousand  dollars  have  been  spent,  including  the 
new  holder  at  a  cost  of  fifty  thousand  dollars,  on  the 
corner  of  Water  and  Washington  Streets,  of  nearly 
one  hundred  and  seventy  thousand  feet  capacity,  and 
Col.  Newell  has  brought  the  company  to  a  very  pros- 
perous condition.  There  are  several  minor  points 
about  the  works  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  with  an  ample  force  of  twenty  or 
thirty  men  the  works  are  kept  in  good  condition. 
The  present  board  of  directors  are  :  President,  Henry 
Richmond ;  Secretary  and  Superintendent,  John  W. 
Newell ;  Treasurer,  Lewis  Applegate ;  Directors, 
Henry  Richmond,  Henry  L.  Janeway,  A.  B.  Newell, 
Christopher  Meyer,  Johnson  Letson. 

Water  Supply. — Tlie  water  for  the  supply  of  the 
city  is  taken  from  Lawrence's  Brook,  at  Weston's 
Mills,  southeast  of  the  city  limits.  The  water  is 
raised  by  two  pumps.  One  is  driven  by  a  fifty-four- 
inch  turbine-wheel,  and  supplies  the  city  from  No- 
vember 1st  to  June  1st,  or  during  that  portion  of  the 
season  when  there  is  sufficient  water  to  run  the  wheel. 
The  other  is  asteam-pumj)  (capacity  two  million  four 
hundred  thousand  gallons  per  twenty-four  hours), 
used  when  pumping  by  water  is  not  practicable.  The 
reservoir  is  located  at  the  head  of  Comstock  Street, 
two  basins,  total  capacity  fourteen  million  gallons. 
The  works  were  constructed  in  1864.  There  are  at 
present  twenty-two  miles  of  mains.  For  fire  purposes 
steam  fire-engines  are  employed. 

The  New  Brunswick  Water  Company  transferred 
their  works  to  the  city  on  April  30,  1873.  Since  then 
they  have  been  managed  by  a  board  of  water  com- 
missioners, two  of  whom  are  appointed  each  year  to 
serve  for  three  years. 

Present  officers  :  Joseph  Fisher,  president ;  Arthur 
G.  Ogilby,  secretary  ;  A.  J.  Jones,  treasurer  and  su- 
perintendent. 


CHAPTER    XCVI. 

CITY  OF    XEW  BRUXSWICK.--(t'o«(/„«e<i.) 

Educational  Institutions.  —  Early  Private 
Schools. — Of  the  early  private  schools  of  New  Bruns- 
wick little  is  known  previous  to  the  year  1800.  During 
the  half-century  following  (1800  to  1850)  private 
schools  were  taught  by  Messrs.  Charles  Poole,  Samuel 
Seymour,  Charles  Burnham,  John  G.  Tarbell,  Charles 
Spaulding,  Luke  Egerton,  Aaron  Slack,  Thomas  Ho- 
bart,  Benjamin  Mortimer,  Miss  McLaughlin,  Miss 
Sally  Vickers,  Mrs.  and  Miss  Bell,  Miss  Johnson, 
Abram  Ackerman,  Samuel  Walker,  and  Prof.  David 
Cole.  The  foregoing  taught  boys  mostly,  though  some 
taught  both  boys  and  girls.  As  teachers  of  girls  ex- 
clusively during  the  same  period  may  be  mentioned 
Miss  Hays,  Madame  McKay,  Miss  Nancy  Drake,  Miss 
Whiting,  and  Miss  Hannah  Hoyt. 

Lancasterian  School. — One  of  the  earliest  private 


}  schools  in  the  city,  which  is  still  in  existence,  has  a 
semi-public  character,  and  is  known  as  the  "  Lancas- 
terian."  In  the  last  will  and  testament  of  Mr.  William 

I  Hall,  made  in  1803,  after  various  bequests,  he  dis- 
posed of  the  remainder  of  his  property  "  to  Thomas 

i  Grant  and  his  son  Ebenezer,  and  to  the  survivors  of 
them,  in  trust  to  be  expended  by  them  in  educating 
poor  children  in  the  City  of  New  Brunswick."  Eben- 
ezer Grant  declined  the  trust,  which  amounted  to  a 
little  more  than  four  thousand  dollars,  and  obtained 
an  act  from  the  Legislature  creating  a  board  of  trus- 
tees to  be  composed  of  two  persons  of  each  of  the 
churches  then  in  the  city.  Under  this  act  the  follow- 
ing gentlemen  were  appointed  :  John  Neilson  and 
Moses  Guest,  from  the  Presbyterian  Church ;  James 
Schureman  and  Staats  Van  Deursen,  from  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  ;  Robert  Boggs  and  William 
P.  Deare,  from  the  Episcopal  Church.  This  board 
had  its  first  meeting  June  8,  1809,  but  it  was  not  till 
April  6, 1814,  that  the  first  teacher,  Mr.  Shepard  John- 
son, was  appointed,  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  per  year  and  house  rent.  The  building 
known  as  the  "  Queen's  College"  was  removed  from 
where  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  now  stands  to 
its  present  site  on  Schureman  Street,  and  on  June  1, 
1814,  the  school  was  opened  with  thirty-five  free  and 
six  pay  pupils.     The  school  was  conducted  for  many 

]  years  on  the  "  Lancasterian  or  monitorial  plan." 
Many  of  the  oldest  citizens  of  New  Brunswick  at- 
tended this  school ;  one  of  them  who  rose  to  the  dig- 
nity of  monitor  gives  the  following  as  striking  in- 
stances of  the  methods  of  teaching  and  discipline  in 
vogue  in  this  famous  institution  three-quarters  of  a 
century  ago : 

i       On  the  form  or  desk  in  front  of  the  pupils  there 

J  was  a  depression  of  about  six  inches  in  width  and  a 

I  quarter  of  an  inch  in  depth,  filled  with  sand.  When 
the  writing  exercise  was  about  to  begin  the  monitor, 
with  a  ruler,  would  stroke  the  sand  as  we  do  a  meas- 
ure of  grain,  making  it  smooth.  Then  each  pupil, 
provided  with  a  stick  resembling  a  butcher's  skewer, 
imitated  in  the  sand  the  copy  placed  before  him  by 
the  monitor.  Corporal  punishment  was  inflicted  in 
the  following  novel  manner:  A  pupil  guilty  of  an  of- 
fense which  merited  punishment  was  called  out  and 
forced  to  mount  upon  the  back  of  the  general  moni- 
tor, when  the  principal,  with  a  rattan  about  three  feet 
in  length,  administered  the  penalty — in  a  striking 
manner. 

Mr.  Johnson  resigned  his  position  Nov.  20,  1816, 
and  Mr.  Henry  B.  Poole  was  appointed  his  successor. 
The  latter  resigned  June  30,  1818,  and  was  succeeded 
by  Mr.  Zenophon  T.  Maynard,  who  resigned  July  7, 
1824.    His  successor  was  Mr.  Harrison,  who  retained 

I  the  position  of  principal  until  the  close  of  1831,  and 
Feb.  25,  1832,  Mr.  Elihu  Cook  was  appointed  to  the 

I  place.  He  resigned  in  1838,  and  April  4th  of  that 
year  the  present  principal,  Mr.  A.  W.  Mayo,  was  ap- 

I  pointed. 


676 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


At  the  opening  of  the  Bayard  Street  school  in  1863 
this  school  became  so  small  that  it  was  suspended, 
and  so  remained  until  Dec.  1,  1855,  when  it  was  re- 
opened. Mr.  Mayo  took  charge  of  the  school  forty- 
four  years  ago,  and  since  that  time  his  best  energies 
have  been  freely  given  to  promote  its  interests.  That 
he  has  given  satisfaction  is  abundantly  shown  by  the 
fact  that  during  the  whole  period  of  his  service  his 
board  of  trustees  have  cheerfully  sustained  him  in 
every  act  involved  iu  the  discharge  of  his  duties  as 
principal  of  the  school. 

Public  Schools.' — The  history  of  the  public  schools 
of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  is  embraced  in  two 
periods:  first,  that  from  April  22,  1851,  to  May  14, 
1855,  when  the  schools  were  under  the  control  of 
three  trustees ;  and  second,  that  from  May  14,  1855, 
to  the  present  time,  during  which  the  schools  have 
been  in  charge  of  twelve  gentlemen,  who  compose  the 
Board  of  Education. 

On  April  22,  1851,  three  gentlemen,  Messrs.  James 
Bishop,  Henry  Sanderson,  and  Moses  F.  Webb,  met 
at  the  house  of  Mr.  Bishop  and  organized  the  first 
board  of  school  trustees  in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick. 
They  elected  James  Bishop  chairman  and  Henry  San- 
derson secretary.  To  this  board  belongs  the  credit  of 
inaugurating  the  public  school  system  of  the  city. 
They  fought  its  first  battles,  and  laid  its  foundations 
firm  and  strong.  At  the  first  meeting  a  resolution 
was  passed  that  the  board  be  incorporated,  and  that 
its  corporate  name  be  the  New  Brunswick  Public 
School.  May  27th  a  certificate  of  incorporation  was 
adopted  and  ordered  to  be  recorded  in  the  county 
clerk's  office. 

Mr.  A.  W.  Mayo,  who  had  been  appointed  to  take 
the  census,  reported  in  the  city  1754  children  between 
the  ages  of  five  and  eighteen  years,  and  that  757  of 
the  same  had  received  instruction  during  some  por- 
tion of  the  year  in  the  various  private  schools.  The 
following  notice  was  ordered  published  :  "  A  meeting 
of  the  taxable  inhabitants  of  School  District  No.  1  of 
the  township  of  North  Brunswick  will  be  held  at  the 
City  Hall  on  Tuesday  evening,  June  3,  1851,  at  eight 
o'clock,  at  which  time  the  trustees  will  ask  authority 
to  purchase  a  lot  and  erect  thereon  a  suitable  building 
for  a  public  school  for  said  district." 

The  board  met  August  18th,  and  after  much  consid- 
eration of  various  lots  offered  for  a  school  site  the  lot 
then  known  as  the  "old  jail  lot"  was  selected.  Sep- 
tember 5tli  the  board  met,  and  Mr.  Jackson  was  ap- 
pointed a  teacher  of  a  public  school  to  be  opened  in 
the  First  Ward,  at  a  salary  of  two  hundred  dollars 
for  six  months.  This  was  the  first  appointment  of  a 
teacher  of  a  public  school  in  the  city ;  but  Mr.  Jack- 
son declined,  and  September  10th  Miss  Anna  Molleson 
was  chosen  to  fill  the  place  at  a  salary  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars  for  six  months.   October  17th 


1  From  data  furnished  by  Prof.  H.  B.  Pierc 
cipal  of  New  Brunswick  Higli  School. 


,  superintendent  and  prin- 


the  board  adopted  the  plan  of  a  Brooklyn  school 
building,  which  with  some  slight  changes  constitutes 
the  present  Bayard  Street  school-house.  On  May  25, 
1851,  a  contract  was  made  with  Messrs.  J.  B.  Inslee, 
P.  N.  WyckofT,  and  Jeptha  Cheesman  to  erect  the 
building  complete  for  school  purposes  for  the  sum  of 
seven  thousand  one  hundred  and  ten  dollars.  Miss 
Molleson  not  finding  the  daily  walk  of  a  public  school 
teacher  a  bed  of  thornless  roses,  resigned  her  position 
Jan.  26,  1852,  receiving  the  first  public  money  paid 
for  teaching  a  public  school  in  the  city  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. She  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  John  Taylor,  at  a 
salary  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year. 

June  2,  1852,  a  communication  was  received  from 
Messrs.  C.  L.  Hardenbergh  and  Judge  Terhune,  ask- 
ing that  a  portion  of  the  public  school  money  be 
given  for  the  support  of  the  Lancasterian  school. 
This  communication  showed  that  the  full  scope  of 
public  instruction  was  not  understood  at  that  time. 
Many  thought  public  schools  were  charity  schools, 
pauper  schools,  and  only  designed  for  those  who 
were  unable  to  pay  for  their  own  children.  They 
did  not  understand  that  the  State  proposed  to  give 
this  education  for  its  own  benefit;  that  is,  for  the 
benefit  of  all  classes,  whether  rich  or  poor,  bond  or 
free.  The  State  recognized  no  sect  or  class,  but  gave 
the  opportunity  of  an  education  to  all.  The  trustees, 
understanding  the  design  of  the  school  law,  respect- 
fully declined  the  request  for  the  division  of  the 
public  money,  on  the  ground  that  the  Lancasterian 
school  was  not  a  public  school  under  the  control  of 
the  Board. 

On  Dec.  10,  1852,  Mr.  Silas  S.  Bowen,  of  the  State 
Normal  School,  was  appointed  principal  of  the  New 
Brunswick  public  school  in  Bayard  Street,  at  a  salary 
of  twelve  hundred  dollars  per  year,  and  on  Feb.  15, 
1853,  the  Bayard  Street  school  was  opened  for  pupils. 
July  8,  1853,  Mr.  Bowen  resigned,  and  on  August  2d 
Mr.  John  S.  Clark,  of  Lyons,  N.  Y.,  was  appointed  to 
fill  the  vacancy. 

On  Sept.  1, 1853,  the  board  finding  that  the  Bayard 
Street  building  could  not  accommodate  those  desiring 
to  attend  the  public  schools,  obtained  and  opened  the 
session  rooms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  for  the  re- 
ception of  pupils.  April  20,  1854,  the  board  passed  a 
resolution  requiring  the  teachers  to  meet  every  Tues- 
day evening  at  the  Bayard  Street  school-house  for 
normal  instruction.  July  21,  1854,  the  board  re- 
solved to  purchase  a  lot  on  the  "old  Trenton  road" 
(now  French  Street)  for  $500  for  a  colored  school,  and 
on  September  10th  they  made  a  contract  for  the  erec- 
tion of  a  building  for  the  same  for  the  sum  of  $1050. 

Jan.  13,  1855,  Miss  McLaury  was  engaged  as  assist- 
ant in  the  highest  female  department,  and  among  her 
duties  she  was  required  to  give  instruction  in  draw- 
ing and  embroidery.  Drawing  is  retained  in  the 
school,  though  embroidery  has  been  discontinued. 
.Ian.  22,  1855,  the  first  public  school  for  colored  chil- 
dren was  opened,  and  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day 


CITY    OP   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


677 


the  first  night  school  was  established  for  those  who 
were  unable  to  attend  the  day  school.  April  23, 185.5, 
a  public  exhibition  of  the  schools  was  held  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  an  address  was  delivered 
by  Rev.  Dr.  Davidson.  This  celebration  was  a  fit 
closing  of  the  first  period  of  public  instruction  in 
New  Brunswick. 

Tlie  second  period  commenced  May  14, 1855,  when, 
under  the  provisions  of  a  special  act  passed  March  3, 
1855,  the  following-named  persons  were  elected  the 
first  Board  of  Education :  First  Ward,  Elias  Ross, 
one  year,  J.  B.  McGuiness,  two  years ;  Second  Ward, 
Charles  Dunham,  one  year,  Henry  Sanderson,  two 
years  ;  Third  Ward,  Randolph  Martin,  one  year,  A.  D. 
Newell,  two  years ;  Fourth  Ward,  Moses  F.  Webb, 
one  year,  George  Janeway,  two  years;  Fifth  Ward, 
John  B.  Hill,  one  year,  A.  V.  Schenck,  two  years ; 
Sixth  Ward,  George  H.  Cook,  one  year,  William  J. 
Thompson,  two  years. 

The  board  organized  by  electing  Henry  Sanderson 
president,  John  B.  Hill,  treasurer,  and  Dr.  Charles 
Dunham,  clerk.  On  June  1, 1855,  they  adopted  a  set 
of  by-laws  and  rules  for  the  government  of  the 
schools,  which  with  some  slight  modification  remain 
in  force  till  the  present  time.  October  8th  com- 
plaints from  various  citizens  were  reported  by  the 
Grievance  Committee  that  their  children  Iiad  been 
suspended  from  school  because  of  their  failure  to  get 
singing-books,  in  accordance  with  the  regulations  of 
the  board.  The  following  resolution,  touching  the 
subject,  was  adopted : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  principal  be  authorized  to  suspend  pupils  who 
neglect  to  procure  books  or  utensils  after  two  daj's'  notice,  and  report 
the  same  immediately  to  the  Committee  on  Books  and  Stationery,  and  if 
in  their  opinion  the  parents  or  guardians  are  able  to  procure  the  neces- 
sary books,  such  pupils  shall  remain  suspended  until  the  meeting  of  the 
board,  unless  they  shall  before  sucli  meeting  report  themselves  to  the 
principal  with  such  book  and  utensils." 

April  5, 1857,  Mr.  Clark  resigned  the  principalship, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Charles  S.  Wright.  Mr. 
Wright  resigned  Dec.  23,  1859,  giving  place  to  Mr. 
Mervin  Hollister  as  his  successor,  who  had  charge  till 
Dec.  21,  1860,  when  he  resigned  on  account  of  ill 
health,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Caleb  M.  Harrison, 
Jan.  1,  1861. 

On  June  12th  of  this  year  the  board  purchased  a  lot 
on  the  corner  of  Carman  and  Neilson  Streets  for  $750, 
and  Aug.  27,  1862,  Mr.  Mabey,  chairman  of  the  com- 
mittee, reported  that  contracts  had  been  awarded  to 
Mr.  E.  B.  Wright  for  carpenter-work,  Mr.  John  Chees- 
man  for  mason-work,  and  Mr.  John  Johnson  for  paint- 
ing, at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $3126. 

Mr.  Harrison  resigned  the  principalship  in  July, 
1864,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Henry  Waters,  who 
resigned  Oct.  1,  1866,  when  the  present  principal  and 
superintendent,  Sir.  Henry  B.  Pierce,  took  charge  of 
the  schools.  At  the  outset  of  his  administration  he 
advocated  similar  accommodations  to  those  now  fur- 
nished by  the  Livingston  Avenue  building.     In  1867 


the  pupils  were  thoroughly  graded,  and  a  course  of 
study  was  adopted  by  the  board.  In  1872  the  lot  on 
Livingston  Avenue  was  purchased,  and  March  6, 
1875,  contracts  for  the  erection  of  the  building  were 
made  with  Messrs.  Bessonett  &  Meagher,  mason- 
work,  Mr.  E.  B.  Golten,  carpenter-work,  and  Mr. 
Hugh  McKeag,  steam-heating,  plumbing,  and  gas- 
fitting,  at  an  aggregate  cost  of  $47,712.  The  plans 
were  prepared  by  Mr.  Stephen  H.  De  Hart,  architect. 
Early  in  the  spring  ground  was  broken,  and  the  work 
of  laying  the  foundation  commenced  May  10th.  The 
building  was  completed  and  dedicated  as  a  centen- 
nial memorial  May  4,  1876,  being  one  of  the  most 
auspicious  events  in  the  history  of  public  schools  in 
New  Brunswick.  On  that  occasion  Prof.  Pierce  read 
a  historical  sketch  of  public  schools  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, from  which  the  facts  have  been  taken  for  the 
present  article.     In  closing  he  said, — 

"This,  then,  in  brief  is  the  history  of  public  in- 
struction in  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  from  its  in- 
ception in  1851  to  1876.  In  1851  the  first  board  of 
trustees  was  elected  and  organized.  There  were  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-four  children  of 
school  age,  but  no  public  school,  no  school  property,  no 
building,  and  no  sj'stem  of  instruction.  To-day  there 
is  a  Board  of  Education,  composed  of  twelve  members, 
two  from  each  ward,  who  have  charge  of  property 
worth  $1.50,000,  and  who  have  control  of  forty-one 
teachers,  who  give  instruction  to  nearly  twenty- 
five  hundred  different  children  during  the  year. 
There  is  also  a  system  of  public  instruction  which 
embraces  a  course  of  study  requiring  twelve  years 
for  its  completion,  divided  equally  into  primary, 
grammar,  and  high  school  periods.  Truly  are  the 
children  of  our  city  to  be  envied  in  their  educational 
advantages,  and  truly  are  our  citizens  to  be  congratu- 
lated in  possessing  them.  As  the  completion  of  the 
Livingston  Avenue  building  ends  the  second  period 
of  public  instruction  in  New  Brunswick,  its  occupants 
in  this  our  centennial  year  begin  the  third  period.  Its 
history  is  yet  to  be  made,  but  it  commences  with  aus- 
picious prospects." 

The  Livingston  Avenue  public-school  building  is 
one  of  the  finest  edifices  of  the  kind  in  the  State. 
It  stands  in  the  central  part  of  the  city,  on  a  lot  that 
cannot  be  excelled  for  healthfulness,  beauty  of  loca- 
tion, and  pleasant  surroundings,  conditions  which  will 
not  be  without  their  effect  in  stimulating  both  teachers 
and  pupils  to  the  high  and  noble  endeavors  required 
by  a  true  education.  The  dimensions  of  the  entire 
building  are  seventy-one  feet  front  by  one  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  feet  deep  and  sixty  feet  high,  with  a 
balustrade  around  the  top  four  feet  high,  and  a  tower 
projecting  in  front  of  all  five  feet  and  rising  to  the 
height  of  one  hundred  feet  from  base  to  apex,  above 
which  a  weather-vane  spire  rises  ten  feet,  making  the 
total  height  one  hundred  and  ten  feet. 

On  the  1st  of  July,  1869,  the  closing  exercises  of  the 
first  graduating  class  of  the  High  School  took  place, 


678 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


since  which  time  a  class  has  been  graduated  at  the 
close  of  each  school  year  in  June. 

Since  the  organization  of  public  schools  in  1851 
there  have  been  seven  principals,  seven  presidents  of 
the  board,  four  secretaries,  five  treasurers,  fifty-two 
members  of  the  board,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight 
teachers. 

The  following  are  the  public  school  buildings  in  the 
city: 

Bayard  Street,  erected  1852;  estimated  value,  fSOj- 
000;  seating  capacity,  720;  primary  and  grammar 
school. 

French  Street,  erected  1854  ;  estimated  value,  $5000 ; 
seating  capacity,  150  ;  primary  school. 

Carman  Street,  erected  1861 ;  estimated  value,  $12,- 
000;  seating  capacity,  400 ;  primary  school. 

Hale  Street,  erected  1871 ;  estimated  value,  $8000 ; 
seating  capacity,  100;  primary  and  grammar  (col- 
ored). 

Ouilden  Street,  erected  1873;  estimated  value,  $20,- 
000;  seating  capacity,  250;  primary  school. 

Livingston  Avenue,  erected  1875;  estimated  value, 
$75,000  ;  seating  capacity,  750  ;  grammar  and  high 
school. 

OFFICEHS   OF   THE   BOARD   OF   EDUCATION. 

PRESIDENTS. 

.THmce  Bishop,  April,  1851,  to  May,  1855. 
Henry  Saniierson,  May,  1855,  to  May,  1857. 
Moses  F.  Webli,  May,  1867,  to  May,  1862. 
John  De  Mott,  October,  1862,  to  May,  1863. 
Hugh  N.  Wilson,  May,  1862,  to  October,  1862. 
David  Cole,  May,  1863,  to  May,  1866. 
George  C.  Ludlow,  May,  1866,  to  May,  1878. 
Henry  L.  Janeway,  May.  1878,  to  May,  1882. 

SECRETARIES. 

Henry  Sanderson,  April,  1851,  to  May,  1855. 
Dr.  Charles  Dunham,  May,  1855,  to  May,  1856. 
J.  G.  Sweet,  May,  1856,  to  May,  1857. 
Lewis  Applegate,  May,  1857,  to  May,  1882. 

TREASURERS. 
John  B.  Hill,  May,  1855,  to  May,  1857. 
Henry  H.  Palmer,  May,  18S7,  to  May,  1859. 
Henry  K.  Baldwin,  May,  1859,  to  May,  1861. 
William  Maloy,  1861,  to  December,  1867. 
Lewis  Applegate,  December,  1867,  to  May,  1882. 

The  number  of  children  of  school  age  in  the  city  in 
1882  is  6305:  females,  3067;  males,  3238.  Number 
enrolled,  1818;  average  attendance,  1743.  E.xpenses 
for  schools  for  the  year  ending  May  1,  1882:  ordinary 
current  expenses,  $27,447.62  ;  extraordinary  expenses, 
$12,302.13  ;  paid  teachers,  .$22,624.50. 

Under  the  new  law  the  colored  children  have  been 
received  into  the  other  schools,  leaving  the  school- 
house  formerly  occupied  by  them  on  Hale  Street 
vacant. 

Statistics. — The  public  school  library  contains 
at  present  1364  volumes,  of  which  the  "  Reference 
Library"  contains  77  volumes ;  the  Miscellaneous 
Library,  867  volumes  ;  and  the  George  W.  Deshler 
Memorial  Library,  420  volumes.  The  number  of 
books  drawn  the  past  year  has  been  nearly  fifty  per 


cent,  in  excess  of  that  of  any  previous  year,  and  the 
character  of  the  books  read  shows  that  an  improved 
taste  for  a  better  cla,ss  of  literature  has  been  cul- 
tivated. 

Some  time  since  the  Board  of  Education  passed  the 
following  resolution  in  reference  to  the  library : 

"  Revived,  Tliat  all  givers  of  money  or  books  to  the  public  school  li- 
brary amounting  to  not  less  than  twenty  dollars  shall  have  their  names 
inserted  on  the  list  of  honorary  patrons,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  all  its 
privileges." 

In  accordance  with  the  above  resolution  the  follow- 
ing names  have  been  placed  upon  the  list :  Mr.  Gus- 
tavus  Auten,  Mrs.  Lewis  Applegate,  Mr.  Charles  D. 
Deshler. 

The  amount  of  money  received  and  expended  each 
year  for  the  library  up  to  the  present  time  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

Received.     Expended. 

1872 $40.00  S44..35 

1876 140.36      78.14 

1877 110.00  125.14 

18TS 242.68  2.51.82 

1879 203.97  183.93 

1880 256.62  141.22 

1881 241.57  211.83 

1882,  to  May  1 70.40  123.67 

Totals Sl:i04.50        S1160.10 

Cash  on  hand $144.40 

Rutgers  College.' — The  Hollanders  who  settled  in 
the  province  of  New  Netherland,  comprising  the  ter- 
ritory between  the  Connecticut  and  Delaware  Rivers, 
brought  with  them  the  love  of  religion  and  learning 
that  characterized  their  mother-country.  The  mem- 
ory of  the  great  universities  of  Leyden  and  Utrecht, 
then  the  most  renowned  institutions  in  the  world,  was 
a  part  of  their  peculiar  treasure  and  glory.  It  never 
occurred  to  them  that  the  care  of  their  churches  could 
be  committed  to  any  but  men  thoroughly  educated, 
not  only  in  general  knowledge,  but  also  and  especially 
in  the  constitution  and  doctrines  adopted  for  the 
Reformed  faith  by  the  National  Synod  of  Dort, 
1618-19. 

During  the  entire  period  of  the  Dutch  supremacy, 
and  for  more  than  a  century  after  the  surrender  of 
New  Netherland  to  the  English  in  1604,  it  was  their 
custom  to  call  clergymen  from  Holland,  or  to  send 
candidates  thither  for  education  and  ordination.  This 
arrangement  did  not,  however,  supply  more  than  one- 
third  the  number  of  ministers  needed.  At  one  time, 
for  example,  there  were  only  seventeen  ministers  for 
sixty  churches.  And,  moreover,  while  it  sometimes 
failed  to  secure  good  men,  it  was  always  attended 
with  delay  and  expense.  Several  prominent  minis- 
ters, therefore,  hoping  to  effect  a  gradual  change  for 
the  better,  met  in  the  city  of  New  York,  1737,  and 
drew  up  a  plan  for  a  yearly  assembly  or  "  Coetus," 
which  should  be  composed  of  delegates,  lay  and  cler- 
ical, from  every  church,  and  which,  under  the  per- 
mission of  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam,  should  have 
power  in  special  cases  to  ordain  ministers,  as  well  as 
to  exercise  limited  jurisdiction  over  the  churches  rep- 

1  By  Prof.  T.  S.  Doolittle,  D.D. 


CITY    OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


679 


resented.  After  a  delay  of  nine  years  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  finally  gave  its  consent  to  the  official  or- 
ganization of  the  Coetus;  but  the  majority  of  its 
member-s  growing  restive  under  their  restricted  priv- 
ileges, and  feeling  sorely  the  need  of  a  more  efficient 
system  of  providing  the  gospel  for  tlieir  brethren  in 
this  New  World,  began  to  aim  at  the  formation  of  an 
independent  Classis,  and  at  founding  a  college  or 
seminary  for  the  education  of  candidates  for  the  pul- 
pit. In  1755  they  boldly  proceeded  to  cut  loose  from 
the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  by  organizing  an  American 
Classis,  and  by  commissioning  Rev.  Theodorus  Fre- 
linghuysen,  of  Albany,  to  visit  Holland  to  solicit 
funds  from  those  in  sympathy  with  the  American 
movement  for  the  establishment  of  an  academy.  The 
conservative  wing  of  the  Coetus,  believing  it  would 
be  impossible  for  the  Dutch  people  alone  to  provide 
means  for  training  up  a  learned  ministry  in  this  coun- 
try, and  regarding  the  above  proceedings  as  radical 
and  destructive,  withdrew  and  formed  an  opposition 
party  under  the  name  of  "  Conferentie,"  the  Dutch 
equivalent  for  Coetus,  and  meaning  an»  assembly. 
The  warfare  between  these  two  parties  (both  of  which, 
while  differing  as  to  methods,  were  yet  animated  by 
the  same  motive,  namely,  the  desire  to  secure  a  learned 
ministry)  was  bitter  and  violent  in  the  extreme,  di- 
viding congregations  and  often  families  into  hostile 
and  abusive  factions. 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  did  not,  however,  sail  for  Hol- 
land until  1759.  How  far  this  progressive  spirit  and 
excellent  divine  succeeded  is  not  known, — he  died 
while  returning  on  ship  of!"  Sandy  Hook.  After  long 
and  violent  opposition  from  the  Conferentie  party, 
and  the  rejection  of  proposals  from  the  Episcopa- 
lians on  the  one  side  to  unite  with  Kings  College 
(which  had  been  established  in  1754),  and  from  the 
Presbyterians  to  unite  with  the  College  of  New  Jer- 
sey (now  at  Princeton,  and  which  had  been  estab- 
lished in  1746),  the  Coetus  party  undertook  in  1769 
to  embody  their  plan  for  an  independent  institution 
in  a  tangible  result.  The  charter  was  reduced  to 
form,  the  name  of  Queen's  College,  as  expressive  of 
loyalty  and  as  an  antithesis  to  the  name  of  Kings 
College,  was  decided  upon,  and  a  board  of  trustees 
was  elected. 

On  March  20,  1770,  in  the  tenth  year  of  the  reign 
of  George  III.,  William  Franklin,  Governor  of  the 
province  of  New  Jersey,  granted  the  long-desired 
charter.  Its  principal  provision  declared  that  the 
college  was  founded  "  for  the  education  of  youth  in 
the  learned  languages,  liberal  and  useful  arts  and  sci- 
ences, and  especially  in  divinity,  preparing  them  for 
the  ministry  and  other  good  offices."  Another  pro- 
vision required  that  there  should  always  be  at  least 
one  professor  or  teacher  grammatically  to  instruct 
the  students  in  the  knowledge  of  the  English  lan- 
guage, while  all  the  minutes,  rules  of  order,  and 
financial  transactions  should  be  in  the  "same  lan- 
guage and  no  other."      In  the  outset  it  had  been  in- 


tended to  exclude  English  entirely  from  the  college, 
but  the  necessity  of  a  change  of  purpose  on  this  point 
had  forced  itself  upon  the  conviction  of  all  but  the 
aged  and  hopelessly  conservative.  For  although  it 
was  considered  as  late  as  1763  "a  dreadful  innova- 
tion" that  Dominie  Archibald  Laidlie  should  be 
called  to  New  York  as  the  first  pastor  in  the  Re- 
formed Churches  to  preach  in  the  English  language, 
yet  the  younger  generation  in  New  York  and  vicinity 
could  not  at  that  date  understand  Dutch  preaching, 
and  in  1770  an  enlightened  regard  for  the  situation 
and  future  growth  inspired  the  founders  to  make 
English  the  leading  tongue  in  their  college.  Forty 
trustees  were  appointed  by  the  charter,  including,  ex 
officio,  the  Governor  or  commander-in-chief  of  the 
colony  of  New  Jersey,  the  chief  justice  of  the  colony 
of  New  Jersey,  and  the  attorney-general  of  the  colony 
of  New  Jersey. 

The  seal  was  to  bear  the  motto,  Sol  justitia:  et  occi- 
dentem  ill.ustra. 

On  May  7,  1771,  at  a  meeting  of  the  trustee.s  held 
at  Hackensack,  the  location  of  the  college,  which  was 
desired  both  at  Hackensack  and  at  New  Brunswick, 
was  fixed  at  the  latter  place,  because  its  citizens, 
through  the  influence  of  Dr.  J.  R.  Hardenbergh  and 
Hendrick  Fischer,  had  come  forward  with  a  great 
amount  of  subscriptions,  and  perhaps  also  because 
New  Brunswick,  being  larger  and  situated  on  the  line 
of  travel  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  gave 
higher  promise  of  prosperity  for  the  institution.  In 
October  of  the  same  year  the  long-contending  factions 
of  the  Coetus  and  Conferentie  were  induced,  mainly 
by  the  agency  of  Dr.  John  H.  Livingston,  to  strike 
hands  in  fellowship  on  the  basis  of  the  organization 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Churches  in  America  into  a 
Synod  and  five  Classes  independent  of  the  mother- 
country,  and  with  power  to  license  and  ordain  minis- 
ters. But  the  Conferentie  party  so  far  carried  their 
point  that  the  united  body  were  not  to  have  a  theo- 
logical professorship  in  connection  with  Queen's  Col- 
lege, thus  defeating  the  object  which  had  been  so 
dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  Coetus  party.  "  One  or 
more  theological  professors  were  to  be  chosen  from 
the  Netherlands,  upon  the  advice  of  Classis,  who 
were  to  have  no  connection  with  any  English  acade- 
mies." 

And  yet  Queen's  College,  whose  proposed  establish- 
ment sixteen  years  before  had  been  the  occasion  of 
the  division,  became  now  by  its  actual  establishment 
the  main  element  in  the  reconciliation,  for  the 
approval  by  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam  of  the  plan 
for  the  union  and  ecclesiastical  independence  of  the 
American  churches  had  been  given  upon  the  express 
condition  that  provision  should  be  made  for  educa- 
tion, "  as  the  Church  of  Holland  could  not  and  would 
not  acknowledge  or  maintain  any  connection  with  a 
Church  which  did  not  provide  herself  with  an  edu- 
cated ministry."  And  Queen's  College,  though  not 
brought   into   official   relation   with   the   theological 


680 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


professorship  about  to  be  founded,  was  nevertheless 
regarded  as  the  child  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  denom- 
ination, and  would,  it  was  expected,  furnish  prepar- 
atory training  to  young  men  on  their  way  to  the  study 
of  divinity.  "  The  Synod  made  but  feeble  attempts, 
in  fact,  to  secure  a  professor  of  divinity,  while  the 
trustees  with  remarkable  energy  determined  to  carry 
out  their  plan  of  a  combined  literary  and  theological 
institution."  Negotiations  to  this  end  were  inter- 
rupted by  the  Revolutionary  war. 

The  precise  date  of  the  opening  of  the  college, 
owing  to  the  loss  of  the  first  book  minutes,  cannot 
now  be  ascertained.  "  It  must  have  been,"  says  Mr. 
Bradley  in  liis  centennial  oration,  "prior  to  1775, 
and  was  probably  as  early  as  1772."  Dr.  John  H. 
Livingston  having  declined  the  presidency,  a  com- 
mittee of  the  trustees  was  appointed  to  act  as  the 
"  faculty."  The  members  of  this  committee  were 
selected  on  account  of  their  learning  and  judgment, 
and  it  was  their  duty  to  attend  the  quarterly  exam- 
inations and  to  recommend  candidates  to  the  board 
for  academic  degrees.  Thus  in  1782  it  appears  from 
the  minutes  that  Rev.  Mr.  Froeligh  and  James 
Schureman  were  added  to  the  faculty,  and  in  1790 
Dr.  Lewis  Dunham  and  R.  C.  Chapman.  The  actual 
instruction  and  management  of  the  institution  were 
for  many  years  performed  by  tutors  of  the  college 
and  teachers  of  the  grammar  school.  Since  the  name 
of  Dr.  Jacob  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  who  had  been 
exceedingly  active  and  influential  in  obtaining  the 
charter,  appears  as  president  on  the  diploma  of 
Simeon  De  Witt  under  date  of  Oct.  5,  1776,  it  is 
inferred  that  he  had  been  filling,  possibly  from  the 
outset  and  certainly  on  some  occasions,  the  ofiice  of 
president /jro  tenjoorc,  although  he  continued  to  dis- 
charge his  duties  as  pastor  at  Raritan.  And  not 
only  did  this  brave  and  self-sacrificing  spirit  give 
instruction  in  the  languages,  moral  philosophy,  and 
other  branches,  but  in  company  with  Rev.  John 
Leydt  he  went  from  door  to  door  through  New 
Brunswick  begging  money  for  an  endowment.  He 
was  a  man  of  great  energy  and  sound  judgment,  and 
is  entitled  to  the  praise  of  being  the  chief  founder 
of  the  college.  His  wife  was  the  widow  of  John 
Frelinghuysen,  and  grandmother  of  Theodore  Fre- 
linghuysen,  the  subsequent  president.  Her  keen 
intellect,  deep  and  fervent  piety,  and  helpful  sym- 
pathy in  behalf  of  the  young  college  have  made  her 
name  honored  and  cherished  among  all  the  families 
of  the  Reformed  faith.  Her  son,  Frederick  Freling- 
huysen, was  the  first  tutor  in  the  college.  He  was  a 
man  of  thorough  scholarship,  and  of  abilities  that 
subsequently  made  him  eminent  as  a  lawyer  and 
patriot.  Another  of  the  early  tutors,  and  probably 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  successor,  was  Col.  John  Taylor, 
who  continued  in  tlie  institution  with  the  exception 
of  one  or  two  intervals  down  to  1793.  Col.  Taylor, 
like  most  of  those  connected  with  the  college,  was 
devoted  to  the  cause  of  American  liberty.    He  drilled 


the  students  as  a  military  company,  and  subsequently 
took  part  in  the  battles  at  Princeton,  Germantown, 
and  elsewhere.  He  wrote  text-books  in  natural  phil- 
osophy, and  rendered  efiicient  service  to  education  in 
various  ways.  Under  these  faithful  men,  whose  hope 
and  courage  are  always  deserving  of  grateful  mention, 
thirteen  students  were  graduated  before  1776. 
Among  these  was  Hon.  Simeon  De  Witt,  who  became 
surveyor-general  of  the  United  States  and  afterward 
of  the  State  of  New  York,  and  by  whom  the  present 
plan  of  laying  out  the  lands  of  our  Western  domain 
was  devised. 

In  the  fall  of  1776,  the  British  troops  having  taken 
possession  of  New  Brunswick  and  burned,  it  is  be- 
lieved, the  original  college  building,  teachers  and 
students  were  scattered.  After  a  brief  suspension  of 
literary  exercises  the  college  began  a  new  but  migra- 
tory existence.  In  consequence  of  the  irregularities 
likely  to  be  caused  by  the  presence  of  soldiers  its 
sessions  were  held  now  at  Millstone  and  now  at  North 
Branch,  while  the  commencement  of  1778  was  held 
at  New  Brunswick.  At  this  time  and  for  some  years 
subsequently  the  future  of  the  institution  was  dark 
enough.  The  General  Synod  would  only  recognize 
it  as  a  preparatory  school,  and  the  value  of  its 
promised  care  over  it  was  much  diminished  by  the 
appointment  of  a  committee  to  establish  a  similar 
school  at  Schenectady. 

In  June,  1785,  the  trustees  united  with  the  consisto- 
ries of  New  Brunswick  and  Six-Mile  Run  in  calling 
Dr.  J.  R.  Hardenbergh  to  be  at  once  pastor  of  the 
two  churches  and  permanent  president  of  the  college. 
He  accepted,  and  continued  in  otfice  greatly  beloved 
until  his  resignation  a  few  months  before  his  lamented 
death  in  1790. 

The  record  of  events  during  this  period  is  of  the 
most  meagre  character.  The  country  was  painfully 
emerging  from  the  prostration  of  the  Revolutionary 
struggle.  The  currency  was  in  a  deplorable  condi- 
tion. The  citizens  of  New  Brunswick  had  sufl'ered 
more  than  the  rest  of  New  Jersey.  Tiieir  property 
had  been  devastated,  their  business  brokeu  up,  their 
churches  burned  or  dismantled,  their  securities  de- 
preciated. The  insignificant  funds  of  the  college 
had  been  invested  in  bonds  and  mortgages,  on  which 
poor  people  could  pay  neither  principal  nor  interest. 
It  may  well  be  conceived,  therefore,  that  it  cost  the 
trustees  a  struggle  to  rebuild  and  equip  their  burnt 
college.  This  they  accomplished  in  1790,  locating  it 
on  the  present  site  of  the  Second  Presbyterian 
Church  in  New  Brunswick,  where,  according  to 
tradition,  their  former  building  bad  stood. 

This  earliest  college  building  of  which  anything 
is  definitely  known  was  a  two-story  frame  white  house, 
fronting  the  north,  and  with  its  gable  end  turned  in  true 
Dutch  style  towards  George  Street.  It  was  without 
cupola  or  belfry,  and  was  as  plain  and  unpretending 
in  its  architecture  as  the  simple  taste  of  the  day  de- 
manded.    This  building  continued  to  be  occupied  by 


CITY  OP  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


681 


the  grammar  school  and  college  until  1811,  when  it 
was  sold  to  the  city  for  a  Lancasterian  school,  and  was 
moved  down  the  hill  below  George  Street,  where  it 
still  stands,  on  the  north  side  of  Schureman  Street. 

The  position  of  president /)ro  tempore  was  occupied 
about  this  time  first  by  Rev.  William  Linn,  of  the 
Collegiate  Church  in  New  York,  and  then  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Ira  Condict,  who  had  followed  Dr.  Hardenbergh 
as  pastor  of  the  church  in  New  Brunswick,  and  who 
was  eminently  active  in  performing  various  duties  in 
behalf  of  the  college.  Unsuccessful  attempts  having 
been  made  to  unite  the  college  with  the  synodical 
professorship,  or  with  the  College  of  New  Jersey,  or 
to  remove  it  to  some  other  place  nearer  New  York, 
it  was  forced  on  account  of  financial  embarrassments 
to  close  its  doors  in  1795. 

Although  this  first  period  of  Queen's  College  was 
troublous,  yet  it  had  accomplished  good  work.  There 
were  graduated  from  it  over  sixty  young  men,  of 
whom  ten  were  subsequently  licensed  by  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church,  while  several  others  became  cele- 
brated leaders  in  politics  and  science. 

To  Rev.  Dr.  Ira  Condict  belongs  the  credit  of  orig- 
inating a  new  movement  in  1807  for  the  revival  of 
the  college.  He  was  a  man  of  untiring  energy,  pub- 
lic-spirited, and  always  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice 
in  order  to  secure  a  noble  object.  Under  his  leader- 
ship the  General  Synod  agreed  to  establish  a  theo- 
logical professorship  in  the  college,  and  ten  thousand 
dollars  were  subscribed  towards  it  in  a  few  days  in 
New  York  alone.  The  college  was  reopened  with 
Dr.  Condict  first  as  temporary  and  then  as  permanent 
president.  A  new,  large,  and  spacious  stone  edifice 
was  begun  in  1807,  and  so  far  advanced  in  1811  as  to 
be  serviceable.  Dr.  Condict  assumed  instruction  of 
the  highest  class,  which  entered  junior.  His  son, 
Harrison  Condict,  became  tutor ;  Robert  Adrain, 
LL.D.,  took  the  chair  of  mathematics,  and  Dr.  Liv- 
ingston accepted  the  professorship  of  theology. 
Through  the  influence  of  Hon.  James  Parker,  the 
devisees  of  the  elder  James  Parker  donated  five  acres 
of  ground,  to  which  was  added  by  purchase  another 
plot  of  one  and  one-third  acres,  which  together  form 
the  present  beautiful  campus.  Dr.  Condict,  after 
having  raised  over  sixty  thousand  dollars  by  his  own 
exertions  in  New  Brunswick  and  vicinity,  and  given 
the  best  .strength  of  his  life  to  the  college  in  manifold 
directions,  died  in  1810.  During  the  same  year  Dr. 
J.  H.  Livingston  accepted  a  renewed  call  to  the  pres- 
idency, but  as  he  was  mainly  interested  with  his 
theological  classes  he  did  little  more  for  the  college 
proper  than  to  "  preside  on  public  occasions  and  sign 
diplomas." 

The  funds  were  increased,  according  to  the  fashion 
of  those  times,  by  a  lottery,  which  was  duly  authorized 
by  the  Legislature,  and  the  proceeds  of  which 
amounted  to  eleven  thousand  dollars. 

At  the  solicitation  of  parties  interested  in  a  medical 
college  in  Duane  Street,  New  York,  the  trustees  in 


1812  appointed  the  medical  faculty  of  that  institution 
to  be  a  medical  faculty  in  Queen's  College,  but  as  this 
department  never  had  more  than  a  nominal  connec- 
tion with  Queen's  College  it  may  be  dismissed  from 
further  notice. 

The  number  of  students  was  encouraging,  but  since 
the  church  was  chiefly  interested  in  the  theological 
professorship,  and  the  trustees  were  unable  to  raise 
means  for  the  completion  of  the  new  building  and  the 
proper  equipment  of  the  literary  department,  the  ex- 
ercises were  suspended  again  in  1816.  Degrees,  how- 
ever, were  conferred  by  the  trustees  until  1818. 

During  this  period  of  nine  years  forty-one  students 
were  graduated.  Eight  of  these  entered  the  theologi- 
cal seminary,  and  one,  Cornelius  L.  Hardenbergh,  a 
grandson  of  the  first  president,  became  subsequently 
professor  of  law  in  the  institution. 

Chance  of  Name.— As  Queen's  College  had  been 
originated  by  the  Dutch  Reformed  denomination  in 
the  .strong  desire  to  provide  itself  with  an  efficient 
and  learned  ministry,  so  its  revival  once  more  under 
the  name  of  Rutgers  College  in  1825  is  traceable  to 
the  same  cause.  "Immediately  after  the  death  of 
Dr.  Livingston,  in  1825,  Dr.  John  De  Witt  proposed 
the  resuscitation  of  the  college  in  the  hope  of  increas- 
ing the  number  of  theological  students,  and  was  sec- 
onded by  Dr.  Milledoler."  The  theological  depart- 
ment had  been  kept  running  as  a  distinct  affair  during 
the  quiescence  of  the  college,  and  the  plan  was  now 
to  obtain  from  the  church  endowments  for  three  pro- 
fessorships (two  of  which  were  already  in  existence 
and  partially  endowed)  in  the  theological  seminary, 
and  then  to  have  the  three  professors  give  gratuitous 
instruction,  and  at  the  same  time  to  make  an  effort 
for  independent  professorships  in  the  college.  The 
Collegiate  Church  in  New  York  agreed  to  pay  seven- 
teen hundred  dollars  a  year  for  three  years,  provided 
that  the  General  Synod  should  raise  twenty-five  thou- 
sand dollars  as  a  permanent  fund,  and  that  the  col- 
lege exercises  should  be  recommenced.  And  the 
promise  was  fulfilled.  Over  fifty  thousand  dollars 
were  eventually  subscribed,  of  which  twenty-seven 
thousand,  contributed  by  the  northern  section  of  the 
church,  were  set  apart  for  the  new  and  third  profes- 
sorship. The  election  of  Abraham  Van  Neste  as 
trustee  helped  very  greatly  to  bring  about  this  happy 
result.  "  The  college  edifice  and  lot  had  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  Synod  in  1825,  in  consideration  of  the 
latter  advancing  the  sum  of  four  thousand  dollars  to 
pay  oft"  a  debt  which  the  trustees  had  incurred."  In 
September,  1825,  an  additional  covenant  was  adopted 
by  which  the  Synod  allowed  the  trustees  the  free  use 
of  such  parts  of  the  seminary  building,  formerly  be- 
longing to  the  college,  as  might  be  necessary,  and  by 
which  the  two  institutions  became  generally  more 
closely  united.  Dr.  Milledoler  became  president,  and 
professors  were  appointed.  .  .  .  The  distribution 
of  duties  was  as  follows:  "Moral  Philosophy  and 
Evidences  of  Christianity,  to  the  Professor  of  Didactic 


682 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Theology  ;  Belles-Lettres,  Elements  of  Criticism  and 
Logic,  to  the  Professor  of  Bibliciil  Literature;  Meta- 
physics and  Mental  Philosophy,  to  the  newly-elected 
Professor  of  Church  History  ;  grammatical  instruc- 
tion of  the  theological  students  in  Hebrew  and  Greek 
was  assigned  to  the  Professor  of  Languages ;  special 
provision  was  made  for  the  religious  education  of  the 
students  ;  biblical  recitations  under  the  conduct  of  the 
president,  and  Sabbath  services  in  the  Theological  Hall 
were  appointed.  The  government  of  the  college  was 
intrusted  to  a  board  of  six  superintendents,  appointed 
by  the  Synod  and  trustees  in  equal  parts.  Its  admin- 
istration was  given  to  a  faculty  consisting  of  the  presi- 
dent, professors,  and  tutors.  That  the  course  of  edu- 
cation might  be  more  beneficial,  the  number  of  pay 
students  was  limited  to  one  hundred.  It  was  deemed 
expedient  to  drop  the  name  of  Queen's,  as  it  recalled 
the  condition  of  vassalage  from  which  the  nation  had 
been  delivered.  The  present  name,  Rutgers  College, 
was  chosen  by  the  Synod  in  consideration  of  the 
character  and  services  of  Col.  Henry  Rutgers."  He 
gave  five  thousand  dollars  towards  its  endowment. 
Thirty  students  attended,  and  the  number  was  soon 
increased  to  sixty.  The  building  was  adorned  with 
a  cupola,  in  which  a  bell  was  hung,  and  a  grammar 
school  edifice  was  erected.  The  library,  for  which 
the  trustees  had  appropriated  eighteen  hundred  dol- 
lars as  early  as  1815,  was  increased,  a  mineralogical 
cabinet  was  commenced,  and  a  society  of  natural  his- 
tory organized  by  the  students.  An  English  and 
scientific  school  was  established  in  1832,  under  Mr. 
Mortimer,  and  a  medical  school  again  attempted, 
which,  however,  was  soon  abandoned.  Medical  de- 
grees were  not  conferred  after  1835,  and  only  rarely 
after  1827. 

In  1833  the  corps  of  instructors  was  increased  by 
the  election  of  Rev.  Dr.  Jacob  J.  Janeway  to  the 
vice-presidency  and  to  an  unsalaried  professorship  of 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity  and  Political  Economy. 
And  to  insure  fuller  instruction  in  Hebrew,  a  profes- 
sorship of  Oriental  Literature  was  created,  and  its 
duties  assigned  to  the  Professor  of  Biblical  Liter- 
ature. 

From  1825  to  1840  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
students  were  graduated,  of  whom  seventy-one  were 
licensed  by  the  Reformed  Church,  and  many  of  the 
others  became  eminent  in  other  learned  professions. 
In  the  class  of  1836,  for  example,  occur  the  names  of 
Joseph  P.  Bradley,  LL.D.,  associate  justice  of  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States;  George  W. 
Coakley,  LL.D.,  Professor  of  Mathematics  in  the 
New  York  University ;  Frederick  T.  Frelinghuysen, 
formerly  United  States  senator;  William  A.  New- 
ell, M.D.,  ex-member  of  Congress  and  ex-Governor 
of  New  Jersey  ;  and  Hon.  Cortlandt  Parker,  LL.D., 
one  of  the  most  eminent  and  successful  lawyers  in 
New  Jersey. 

Gwing  to  a  division  of  sentiment  in  the  church, 
the  relations  between  the  college  and  the  Synod  were 


in  1840  partially  sundered.  The  theological  professors 
were  released  from  obligation  to  give  free  instruction 
in  the  college ;  the  president  of  the  college  was  no 
longer  to  be  one  of  the  theological  professors;  and 
the  trustees  were  to  have  henceforth  the  appointment 
of  the  president  and  the  professors,  as  well  as  the 
provision  and  disbursement  of  funds,  and  the  admin- 
istration of  afl'airs  generally.  By  a  legal  instrument 
the  Synod  guaranteed  to  the  trustees  the  free  use  of 
the  library-room,  the  chapel,  and  recitation-rooms, 
and  bound  itself  not  to  sell  or  lease  the  same  without 
the  consent  of  the  trustees.  Tuition  fees  for  bene- 
ficiaries were  allowed  out  of  the  income  of  the  edu- 
cational funds. 

Dr.  Janeway  had  resigned  in  1839,  and  his  duties 
were  now  assigned  to  the  president.  The  presidency, 
after  the  resignation  of  Dr.  Milledoler  in  1840,  became 
filled  the  same  year  by  Hon.  Abraham  B.  Hasbrouck, 
who,  by  his  lectures  on  constitutional  law,  his  genial 
manners  and  generous  hospitality,  contributed  greatly 
during  the  subsequent  ten  years  to  the  prosperity  of 
the  institution.  The  theological  professors  from  1840 
to  1867  continued  voluntarily  and  gratuitously  to  give 
instruction  in  the  departments  from  which  they  had 
been  entirely  released  as  a  matter  of  obligation,  and 
thus  they  aided  the  trustees  immensely  in  their  efforts 
to  render  the  college  independent,  and  to  make  its 
curriculum  equal  to  that  of  other  first-class  colleges. 
The  faculty  was  enlarged  by  the  creation  of  a  pro- 
fessorship of  Modern  Languages  and  of  an  adjunct 
professorship  of  Ancient  Languages.  The  need  of 
more  lecture-rooms  was  soon  felt,  and  through  the 
efforts  of  the  alumni  a  building  was  erected  for  the 
use  of  the  literary  societies  and  other  purposes  and 
named  Van  Neste  Hall,  in  recognition  of  services 
rendered.  A  residence  for  the  president  was  also 
built,  and  a  fund  secured  for  his  support,  making  the 
entire  endowment  over  $.50,000.  The  graduating 
classes  were  not,  however,  large.  They  numbered  on 
the  average  from  1840  to  1850  only  about  eighteen 
students.  This  is  said  to  have  been  caused  by  the 
misunderstandings  which  prevailed  throughout  the 
church  on  the  policy  of  church  extension  and  on  the 
relation  of  the  college  to  the  Synod.  During  the  con- 
troversy Mr.  Hasbrouck  resigned  the  presidency,  and 
his  place  was  immediately  filled  bj*  Hon.  Theodore 
Frelinghuysen.  The  college  now  entered  upon  a  new 
career  of  prosperity.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  a  man 
of  unu.sual  wisdom  and  guilelessness ;  his  disposition 
was  naturally  gentle  and  always  pervaded  by  a  thor- 
ough Christian  spirit;  his  manners  were  conciliatory, 
and  his  intellect  as  discerning  as  his  heart  was  up- 
right. His  influence,  therefore,  over  the  church,  as 
well  as  over  individuals  nearly  related  to  the  contro- 
versy that  had  for  numy  years  involved  the  college, 
was  strong  and  of  the  happiest  nature.  The  feeling 
of  loyalty  to  the  institution  began  to  extend  through 
the  entire  denomination.  During  the  decade  follow- 
ing the  second  year  of  his  administration  the  average 


CITY   OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


683 


number  of  the  graduating  class  ran  up  to  nearly 
tweuty-three,  while  a  larger  number  than  ever  before 
were,  on  account  of  increased  requirements  in  scholar- 
ship, prevented  from  graduation.  In  the  class  of  1862 
there  were  thirty-eight  graduates.  Considerable  suc- 
cess attended  an  attempt  to  increase  the  endowment 
fund  by  the  .sale  of  scholarships  for  $500  each.  In 
1856  the  removal  of  the  seminary  into  Hertzog  Hall, 
which  had  just  been  completed,  aflbrded  the  college 
increased  accommodations  for  recitation-rooms,  and 
changes  in  the  board  of  trustees  led  to  a  complete 
change  by  the  introduction  of  younger  men  iu  the 
character  of  the  faculty  in  1859  and  the  following 
years.  A  new  professorship  of  English  Language 
and  Literature  was  created  in  1860.  Two  years  later 
Mr.  Frelinghuysen  died,  universally  regretted,  and 
Rev.  Dr.  William  H.  Campbell  was  called  to  sujjply 
his  place. 

With  Dr.  Campbell's  accession  to  the  presidency 
the  college  took  a  new  departure  in  almost  every  re- 
spect. Although  the  endowment  had  been  increased 
during  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  term  so  that  it  amounted 
to  about  $75,000,  yet  it  did  not  aflbrd  sufficient  means 
to  meet  the  salaries  of  the  professors  and  current  ex- 
penses. The  principal  was  being  consumed.  At  the 
same  time  the  number  of  students,  owing  to  enlist- 
ments in  the  array,  to  the  distracting  excitement  of 
the  civil  war,  and  to  the  extraordinary  temptations  to 
business  enterprises,  was  diminished  to  nearly  one- 
half  of  the  usual  number.  In  the  graduating  class 
of  1863  there  were  only  fifteen,  and  in  that  of  1864 
only  eleven. 

The  prospect  was  disheartening,  and  yet  the  presi- 
dent addressed  himself  boldly  to  the  task  of  begging 
money  and  of  selling  limited  scholarships  at  $100 
each.  He  presented  the  claims  of  the  college  in  the 
pulpits  of  the  denomination  and  to  individuals  until 
he  raised  for  a  "  new  endowment  fund"  the  sum  of 
$144,758.  But  it  is  only  just  to  add  that  this  great 
work  could  never  have  been  accomplished  had  it  not 
been  for  the  sympathy  of  every  heart  and  the  help  of 
every  hand  growing  out  of  the  influences  of  the  pre- 
ceding administrations  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  and  Mr. 
Hasbrouck.  This  amount  lifted  the  college  up  to  in- 
dependence, and  opened  the  way  for  enlarging  the 
course  of  study  by  the  creation  of  new  professorships. 

Scientific  Department. — In  1864  the  trustees 
purchased,  by  payment  of  $12,000  to  the  Synod,  the 
entire  right  and  title  of  the  latter  in  the  college 
buildings  and  premises,  on  condition  that  they  should 
never  be  used  for  any  other  than  collegiate  purposes, 
and  that  the  president  and  three-fourths  of  the  trus- 
tees shall  always  be  members  in  full  communion  of 
the  Reformed  Church.  And  in  1865  the  Synod  still 
further,  upon  application  of  the  trustees,  formally  ab- 
rogated the  covenant  relations  of  1807  and  1825. 
Thus  Rutgers  College  became  recognized  as  absolutely 
independent  and  non-sectarian.  The  fruits  of  the 
new  endowment  now  began   to  be  apparent  in  the 


establishment  of  several  new  professorships.  In  1863 
a  new  department,  called  the  Rutgers  Scientific  School, 
was  organized  to  meet  the  demands  for  more  thorough 
and  complete  instruction  in  scientific  and  practical 
studies. 

State  College  of  Agriculture. — The  State 
College  of  New  Jersey,  "  for  the  benefit  of  agricul- 
ture and  the  mechanic  arts,"  was  organized  as  a  de- 
partment in  Rutgers  College  in  1865,  under  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  passed  April  4,  1864, 
and  was  made  a  part  of  the  Scientific  School  already 
in  existence.  Its  object  was  to  carry  into  effect  the 
provision  of  an  act  of  Congress  granting  to  the  sev- 
eral States  a  certain  quantity  of  the  public  lands  to 
enable  them  to  establish  colleges,  the  leading  object 
of  which  shall  be  "to  teach  such  branches  of  learning 
as  are  related  to  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts,  in 
such  manner  as  the  Legislatures  of  the  States  may  re- 
spectively prescribe,  in  order  to  promote  the  liberal 
and  practical  education  of  the  industrial  classes  in  the 
several  pursuits  and  professions  of  life." 

The  sale  of  the  public  lands  allotted  to  New  Jersey 
amounted  to  $116,000,  which  sum  is  invested  in  State 
bonds  under  the  care  of  the  State  treasurer  ;  and  the 
income,  at  the  rate  of  six  per  cent,  interest,  is  paid  to 
the  trustees.  Much  credit  is  due  to  Dr.  George  H. 
Cook,  professor  in  the  college  and  also  State  geologist, 
for  his  energy  and  influence  in  securing  the  location 
of  the  State  College  erected  at  New  Brunswick  by 
these  funds  as  a  part  of  Rutgers  College.  This  State 
College,  or,  as  it  is  generally  called,  "  The  Scientific 
School,"  was  opened  for  students  in  1865.  A  farm  of 
one  hundred  acres  was  immediately  purchased  for  the 
illustration  and  development  of  agriculture.  The 
school  has  now  ten  professorships,  all  ably  manned 
and  affording  instruction  in  three  courses  of  study, 
namely,  one  in  civil  engineering  and  mechanics,  one 
in  chemistry  and  agriculture,  and  one  especially  in 
chemistry.  Its  courses  of  study  and  discipline  are 
under  the  immediate  management  of  the  faculty  and 
trustees  of  Rutgers  College,  subject  to  the  supervision 
and  approval  of  a  board  of  visitors  appointed  by  the 
Governor,  and  consisting  of  two  from  each  congres- 
sional district.  It  provides  for  the  State  forty  free 
scholarships,  which  are  distributed  among  the  counties 
according  to  their  population. 

From  1865  onward,  therefore,  the  history  of  Rut- 
gers College  is  a  history  of  both  the  old  college  proper, 
or  literary  institution,  and  of  the  State  College,  or 
Scientific  School.  The  two  are  served  by  the  same 
professors;  their  classes,  though  distinct,  unite  in 
many  subjects  in  the  same  recitations,  and  are  known 
by  the  same  designations.  The  interests  of  the  two 
departments,  in  short,  are  made  to  harmonize  with 
and  to  aid  each  other.  And  the  reciprocal  benefits 
derived  from  this  intercommunication  and  union  can 
hardly  be  exaggerated.  The  young  men  in  the  literarj' 
department  are  allowed  to  pursue  practical  chemistry 
by  making  actual  analyses  in  the  laboratory  along 


684 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


with  the  scientific  students ;  and  the  latter,  in  turn, 
compete  with  the  former  in  elocution  and  composition, 
in  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  in  political  economy 
and  constitutional  law,  and  in  biblical  recitations. 
The  scientific  students  are  thus  preserved  from  the 
narrowing  process  of  a  purely  technical  education. 
They  do,  indeed,  get  enough  of  technical  training  to 
prepare  them,  when  a  little  experience  has  been  added 
to  their  theoretical  knowledge,  for  entrance  at  once 
upon  civil  engineering  and  analytical  chemistry  and 
into  various  mechanical  and  industrial  spheres,  but 
along  with  this  they  absorb  the  refining  and  liberal- 
izing influences  which  spring  from  the  enlarged  cul- 
ture alluded  to  above,  and  which  it  requires  four  years 
to  complete.  In  addition  to  this  the  students  of  both 
departments  join  the  same  literary  societies,  and  thus 
confer  upon  each  other  all  the  advantages  resulting 
from  the  generous  emulation  and  contact  of  minds 
engaged  at  many  points  on  different  subjects,  and 
having  different  objects  of  ambition.  The  happy 
effects  of  these  interacting,  stimulating,  and  elevating 
associations  are  soon  manifested  in  the  character  and 
aspirations  of  the  entering  pupils.  The  Scientific 
College  has  done  already  a  noble  and  far-reaching 
service  in  thus  educating  thoroughly  and  symmetri- 
cally all  the  faculties  of  its  students,  while  it  has  not 
failed  to  prepare  them  for  the  highest  kind  of  work 
in  practical  science  and  important  industries. 

In  1866-72  several  new  professorships  were  founded, 
namely,  one  of  analytical  chemistry,  one  of  engineer- 
ing and  military  tactics,  one  of  mining  and  metal- 
lurgy, one  of  political  economy  and  constitutional 
law,  and  an  adjunct  professorship  of  mathematics 
and  graphics.  In  1867-68,  Hon.  Joseph  P.  Bradley, 
now  associate  justice  in  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  gave  a  course  of  lectures  on  Political 
Economy  and  Constitutional  Law ;  in  1868-69  he 
added  a  most  instructive  and  satisfactory  course  on 
the  English  Bible. 

The  religious  influences  belonging  to  the  college 
have  always  been  marked  and  happy,  while  at  the 
same  time  entirely  free  from  the  bias  of  sectarianism. 
A  Bible-class  including  all  the  students  is  taught 
every  Sabbath  morning  by  the  president ;  and  this  is 
followed  by  a  sermon,  with  the  attendant  services, 
under  the  conduct  of  one  of  the  clerical  members  of 
the  faculty  or  one  of  the  professors  of  the  theological 
seminary.  A  general  prayer-meeting  for  all  the  stu- 
dents is  held  every  day  at  12  m.,  and  another  general 
meeting  for  fraternal  conference  as  well  as  prayer  is 
held  on  every  Thursday  evening.  In  addition  to 
these  are  class  prayer-meetings,  and  other  exercises 
for  practical  religious  work. 

The  celebration  of  the  centennial  of  the  existence 
of  the  college  took  place  in  1870.  By  this  celebra- 
tion it  was  designed  to  gain  two  ends  :  1.  To  recount 
the  goodness  of  God  in  his  care  for  the  college,  and 
to  return  thanks  for  the  same  ;  2.  To  further  in  some 
marked  way  and  degree  the  interests  of  the  college. 


It  was  proposed  to  accomplish  the  second  of  these 
objects  by  soliciting  subscriptions  and  by  the  sale  of 
scholarships  at  one  thousand  dollars  each,  with  the 
proceeds  of  which  needed  buildings  might  be  erected 
and  new  professorships  founded.  Dr.  Campbell  again 
undertook  the  work  of  raising  funds.  Several  of  the 
trustees  nobly  responded  to  his  appeal  by  giving  five 
thousand  dollars  each  ;  and  the  alumni  and  friends, 
with  unwonted  enthusiasm  and  unanimity,  came  for- 
ward with  such  gifts  as  each  could  afford  in  aid  of  the 
cause.  The  president  canvassed  the  churches,  and 
sought  help  from  all  who  would  be  likely  to  be  inter- 
ested in  the  welfare  of  the  college.  Under  his  guid- 
ance committees  were  selected  from  the  former  classes 
to  gather  class  offerings,  and  June  21,  1870,  was  ap- 
pointed to  hear  the  reports  from  these  committees  as 
well  as  to  renew  old  associations  and  old  love  for 
Alma  Mater.  This  meeting  was  opened  with  an  his- 
torical discourse  by  Hon.  Joseph  P.  Bradley,  and  the 
reports,  interspersed  with  college  songs,  followed. 
Seldom,  if  ever,  has  there  been  held  l>y  the  alumni 
and  friends  of  any  institution  in  the  land  a  meeting 
so  happy  in  feeling  and  so  productive  of  immediate 
and  substantial  results  as  this  immense  centennial 
gathering,  which  marks  one  of  the  most  memorable 
days  in  Rutgers'  calendar.  The  aggregate  of  the 
sums  reported  was  large  and  encouraging.  And  so 
the  president  continued  his  labors  until  one  hundred 
and  forty  thousand  dollars  were  subscribed,  of  which 
one  hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  dollars  have  actually  been  paid. 

A  short  time  after  this  Mrs.  S.  A.  Kirkpatrick  died, 
leaving  to  the  college  a  bequest  which  amounted  to 
seventy-five  thousand  dollars.  Another  bequest  from 
Mr.  Abraham  Voorhees,  of  Six-Mile  Run,  N.  J.,  con- 
sisting of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  for  a  professor- 
ship, and  of  twenty-six  thousand  four  hundred  dollars 
for  a  permanent  fund  to  be  employed  in  maintaining 
and  educating  pious  young  men  for  the  ministry,  had 
been  received  in  1867.  And  in  1872,  Mr.  James  Suy- 
dam,  a  trustee  and  a  great  benefactor  to  New  Bruns- 
wick institutions,  died,  leaving  by  will  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  the  college.  With  these  increased 
resources  the  college  was  enabled  to  advance  to  the 
very  first  rank  among  American  institutions  by  provid- 
ing thorough  instruction  and  in  a  much  greater  num- 
ber of  subjects  than  were  ever  before  embraced  in  its 
curriculum,  by  increasing  the  requirements  of  appli- 
cants for  admission,  and  by  erecting  buildings  for 
more  ample  and  needed  accommodations.  Besides, 
e;ctensive  repairs  were  made  throughout  the  main 
building,  and  its  two  ends,  which  had  been  used  up 
to  1865  and  1867  as  residences  by  two  theological 
professors,  were  converted  into  recitation-rooms,  and 
an  astronomical  observatory,  a  geological  hall,  the 
Kirkpatrick  chapel  and  library,  and  a  grammar 
school  building  were  all  erected  in  rapid  succession. 

There  has  always  been  in  connection  with  the  col- 
lege  a  grammar  school,  which  during  the  darkest 


CITY  OF  NEW  BKUNSWICK. 


685 


days  of  the  college  never  closed  its  doors,  but  went 
on  successfully  in  accomplishing  good  work.  It  now 
sends  thirty  boys  annually  into  the  freshman  class  of 
the  college. 

The  campus,  containing  six  and  one-third  acres,  is 
quadrilateral  in  form,  with  five  hundred  and  sixty- 
five  feet  fronting  on  Somerset  Street,  and  six  hundred 
and  sixty-five  feet  on  Hamilton  Street  on  the  opposite 
side,  while  the  east  end  extends  four  hundred  and 
seventy-seven  feet  along  George  Street,  and  the  west 
end  runs  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  and  one-half 
feet  along  College  Avenue.  It  slopes  beautifully  from 
all  sides  upward  towards  the  centre,  and  from  the 
corners  on  Somerset  Street,  where  stand  massive  stone 
and  iron  gateways,  a  carriage-drive,  curved  nearly  in 
the  shape  of  a  semi-ellipse,  runs  in  front  of  the  main 
building,  while  a  branch  drive  circles  in  front  of  the 
president's  house.  Many  and  noble  elms,  besides 
other  deciduous  trees  and  evergreens,  cover  the 
ground,  aflbrding  delightful  shade  for  the  under- 
graduates in  summer,  and  equally  attractive  retreats 
for  the  meeting  of  friends  and  alumni  at  commence- 
ment. 

In  about  the  centre  of  this  unusually  charming 
campus  stands  the  oldest  and  main  college  building. 
Its  corner-stone  was  laid  on  April  27,  1809,  by  Rev. 
Dr.  Ira  Condict.  It  was  not  entirely  finished  till 
after  1825.  This  is  a  substantial  and  finely  propor- 
tioned edifice  of  brownstone,  one  hundred  and  seven- 
teen feet  long  by  fifty-five  feet  deep,  having  a  grace- 
fully pitched  roof,  from  the  central  portion  of  which 
rises  a  handsome  belfry.  It  is  three  stories  high, 
exclusive  of  the  attic,  and  contains  nine  recitation- 
rooms,  a  draughting-room  fifty-five  by  thirty  feet,  a 
residence  for  the  janitor,  and  other  accommodations 
for  apparatus  and  collegiate  work.  It  cost  over  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  and,  having  been  recently  repaired 
at  an  expense  of  six  thousand  dollars,  it  is  now  in 
first-rate  condition. 

Van  Neste  Hall  was  built  in  1845  by  the  alumni, 
and  named  after  Abraham  Van  Neste,  Esq.,  a  liberal 
trustee,  in  recognition  of  his  services  to  the  college. 
It  is  of  brick,  painted,  and  is  fifty-two  feet  front  by 
sixty-two  feet  deep,  with  a  low  hip-roof.  It  contains, 
besides  a  basement  in  the  rear,  two  large  halls  for  the 
Peithessophian  and  Philoclean  Literary  Societies,  and 
two  small  rooms  used  for  storing  duplicate  mineralo- 
gical  specimens.  On  the  second  floor  are  a  laboratory, 
a  chemical  lecture-room,  and  a  hall  recently  used  as  a 
museum  of  natural  history.  The  actual  cost  is  un- 
known ;  the  estimated  cost,  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  president's  house  was  erected  in  1841— i2.  It 
is  built  of  brick,  painted,  and  is  fifty-two  feet  front 
by  forty-two  feet  deep.  It  is  admirably  adapted  for 
a  president's  mansion.  The  cost  is  estimated  at 
$8000.     In  1875  it  was  thoroughly  repaired. 

The  Daniel  S.  Schanck  astronomical  observatory 
was  erected  in  1865,  at  a  cost  of  $6166,  contributed  by 
the  benevolent  gentleman  whose  name  it  bears.  In 
44 


its  architecture  it  is  a  copy  of  the  Temple  of  the 
Winds  at  Athens,  consisting  of  two  octagonal  towers 
connected  together  by  a  short  passageway.  The  ex- 
treme length  of  the  building,  including  the  porch,  is 
thirty-seven  and  one-half  feet,  and  its  width  twenty 
feet.  Its  material  is  brick,  painted.  The  main  por- 
tion is  of  two  stories,  capped  by  a  revolving  roof, 
and  contains  a  brick  pier  built  free  from  the  floors,  to 
support  the  equatorial  telescope.  The  other  part  is 
square,  one  story  in  height,  and  provided  with  doors 
in  the  walls  and  roof  opening  along  the  meridian. 
It  contains  three  brick  piers,  free  from  the  floor,  for 
mounting  the  meridian  circle  and  sidereal  clock. 
The  building  was  opened  for  use  in  1866. 

Meteorological  observations  have  been  made  here, 
but  never  published.  Since  Jan.  1,  1876,  observations 
of  temperature,  rainfall,  wind,  etc.,  have  been  made  at 
the  college  farm,  and  it  is  proposed  to  continue  the 
series. 

The  Geological  Hall  was  dedicated  to  science  at  the 
commencement  of  1873.  It  is  a  large  brownstone 
structure,  having  a  hip-roof,  with  dormer-windows 
from  each  quarter.  It  is,  exclusive  of  porch  and 
steps,  forty-five  feet  front  by  one  hundred  and  five 
feet  deep.  In  the  basement  is  an  armory  ninety  by 
forty  feet ;  also  an  assaying-room,  a  workshop,  and 
other  smaller  rooms  for  furnaces,  etc.  On  the  first 
floor  are  a  reception-room  or  office,  a  commodious 
chemical  lecture-room,  a  recitation-room,  two  store- 
rooms for  chemicals,  a  balance-room  for  the  safe 
keeping  of  nicely-adjusted  balances,  a  professor's 
laboratory,  and  a  large  analytical  laboratory  for  stu- 
dents. On  the  second  floor  is  a  splendid  hall  ninety 
by  forty  feet,  with  lofty  ceiling  and  gallery  extending 
entirely  around  it.  This  is  the  museum.  The  cost  of 
the  hall  was  $50,000. 

The  Kirkpatrick  Chapel  and  Library  is  built  of 
brownstone,  and  is  in  the  French  Gothic  style  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  It  has  a  front  of  fifty-two  feet, 
and  a  depth  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet. 
The  entrance  to  the  chapel  is  through  a  porch  of  five 
heavy  archways.  The  auditorium  is  exceedingly 
beautiful,  having  a  roof  of  open  timber,  finished  in 
black  walnut  and  stained  pine,  resting  for  its  centre 
support  on  slender  iron  columns  painted  to  corre- 
spond with  the  delicately-tinted  walls.  The  windows 
are  of  stained  glass.  The  walls  are  lined  with  por- 
traits of  former  presidents,  professors,  and  trustees 
At  one  end  is  a  gallery  containing  an  organ  pur- 
chased in  1866  by  the  students;  at  the  other  is  the 
pulpit. 

Back  of  the  chapel  there  is  a  large  room  designed 
for  the  president's  classes,  and  adjoining  is  an  assem- 
bly-room for  the  trustees.  Above  these  rooms  is  the 
library.  This  is  finished  with  open  timber  roof  in 
the  native  wood,  and  is  adorned  with  massive  oak 
cases,  which  form  alcoves. 

The  whole  building  is  as  tastefiil  as  it  is  useful.  It 
cost  $52,376,  and  was  erected  with  part  of  the  money 


686 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


bequeathed  to  the  college  by  the  late  Mrs.  S.  A. 
Kirkpatrick. 

The  library  numbers  8000  volumes.  The  two  liter- 
ary societies  have  libraries  of  about  4000  volumes, 
while  the  Sage  Seminary  Library,  now  of  about 
35,000  volumes,  is  open  to  the  students. 

The  grammar  school  was  entirely  reconstructed,  at 
a  cost  of  §15,000,  in  1869.  It  is  now  fitted  with  the 
best  kind  of  furniture,  and  has  ample  accommodation 
for  two  hundred  pupils.  A  new  building,  needed  for 
agricultural  purposes,  was  erected  in  1876  on  the 
college  farm,  at  a  cost  of  $2000. 

The  principal  room  in  Geological  Hall  is  the  one 
devoted  to  the  collections  in  natural  history.  It  is  a 
room  forty-iive  by  ninety  feet,  and  twenty-two  feet 
high,  with  a  gallery  all  around.  In  this  the  cabinets 
in  geology,  mineralogy,  and  natural  history  generally 
are  arranged.  The  spacious  hall  is  large  enough 
to  accommodate  the  growing  cabinets  for  many 
years  to  come.  Its  stores  are  already  respectable, 
and  in  some  departments  the  specimens  are  among 
the  best. 

The  Beck  cabinet  of  minerals,  which  was  collected 
by  the  late  Professor  Lewis  C.  Beck,  and  was  pur- 
chased by  friends  of  the  college,  is  kept  here.  It 
contains  274  species  of  minerals,  and  more  than 
2800  specimens  altogether. 

The  Laing  cabinet  of  minerals,  shells,  coins,  and 
medals,  which  was  collected  by  the  late  James  B. 
Laing,  Esq.,  of  Kinderhook,  and  bequeathed  to  the 
college  by  his  will,  is  also  among  the  treasures  of  the 
museum.  It  cost  a  very  large  sum  of  money,  and  has 
added  very  many  beautiful  and  rare  specimens  to  the 
various  collections. 

A  duplicate  set  of  the  rocks,  ores,  minerals,  fossils, 
soils,  fertilizers,  and  other  useful  natural  products, 
from  the  geological  survey  of  New  Jersey,  is  also  in 
the  museum.  It  contains  characteristic  rocks  from 
all  the  geological  formations  in  the  State,  ores  from 
more  than  one  hundred  rich  iron-mines,  from  the 
great  zinc-mines,  and  from  many  of  the  promising 
but  uncertain  copper-mines,  marls  from  all  the  best 
pits  in  the  State,  fire  and  potter's  clay  in  great  va- 
riety, soils  of  all  characters,  and  fossils  representative 
of  all  the  ditt'erent  ages.  This  collection  numbers 
more  than  900  good  specimens. 

The  bones  of  a  mastodon  found  in  Salem  County 
were  purchased  by  the  trustees  of  the  college  and  are 
in  the  museum. 

Tlie  skeleton  of  a  whale,  forty-two  feet  long,  which 
was  taken  in  Raritan  Bay,  near  New  Brunswick,  has 
been  given  to  the  college  by  a  liberal  friend,  and  as 
soon  as  its  bones  are  bleached  enough  for  mounting 
it  will  be  set  up.  A  choice  collection  of  coal  fossils, 
including  stems,  bark,  leaves,  fruit,  roots,  aud  one 
large  stump  of  a  tree,  is  in  the  museum  as  a  gift  from 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Polhemus  and  others.  The  collec- 
tion of  marl  fossils  is  particularly  good.  Friends  in 
the  college  and  in  Monmouth  County  have  contrib- 


uted liberally  to  this  collection,  and  there  are  many 
who  never  allow  any  opportunity  for  getting  speci- 
mens for  the  college  to  pass  unimproved.  The  collec- 
tion of  shells,  corals,  fish-teeth,  turtle-bones,  and 
bones  of  saurians  is  large,  and  constantly  increasing 
by  donations.  An  interesting  and  fine  collection  of 
the  rocks  of  Europe,  with  many  ores  and  products  of 
metallurgy,  numbering  in  all  more  than  200  speci- 
mens, has  been  purchased  by  a  friend  and  presented 
to  the  college.  A  large  number  of  shells  from  China 
and  other  Eastern  countries  were  also  presented  by 
the  late  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Doty. 

The  Rutgers  College  Natural  History  Society  con- 
tributed largely  to  the  collections  in  the  museum. 
The  class  of  1858,  in  concert  with  Rev.  Samuel  Lock- 
wood,  Ph.D.,  contributed  rare  and  valuable  Devonian 
fossils ;  the  class  of  1862  contributed  a  large  collection 
of  crystals  and  ores  ;  and  other  classes  and  individual 
students  have  left  substantial  evidence  of  their  share 
in  making  the  collection.  There  is  a  considerable 
collection  of  birds,  an  herbarium  is  well  begun,  and 
a  collection  of  the  woods  of  New  Jersey  is  now  being 
made.  Rev.  Dr.  A.  R.  Van  Nest,  during  his  long 
residence  in  Florence  and  other  parts  of  Italy,  has 
procured  and  sent  to  the  college  a  fine  collection  of 
beautiful  polished  stones,  marbles,  and  other  interest- 
ing specimens  and  curiosities.  At  the  commencement 
of  1873  liberal  friends  contributed  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  for  cases  in  which  to  arrange  the  geological, 
mineralogical,  and  other  collections. 

There  are  two  literary  societies,  named  "  Peithes- 
sophian"  and  "  Philoclean."  They  were  founded  in 
1828,  and  their  object  is  to  train  their  members  in 
composition,  declamation,  and  debate.  Nearly  every 
.student  is  a  member  of  one  of  these  societies,  and 
they  are  about  equal  in  numbers.  They  have  halls 
provided  by  the  trustees,  but  these  halls  are  furnished 
at  the  expense  of  the  societies.  Their  libraries  num- 
ber nineteen  hundred  volumes  each. 

A  chapter  of  the  "  Phi  Beta  Kappa  Society"  was 
established  in  the  college  on  Feb.  22,  1868. 

The  "  Rutgers  College  Bible  Society,"  which  has  for 
its  object  the  distribution  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  was 
founded  in  1829.  It  has  for  a  long  time  been  enabled 
to  send  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars  annually  to  the  American  Bible  Society. 
It  has  now  eighty  members,  and  ha.s  had  six  hundred 
and  twenty-five  in  all  since  its  foundation. 

The  Temperance  Society  was  organized  in  1873 ; 
the  Base-Ball  Association  in  1860 ;  the  Foot-Ball 
Club  in  1868;  the  Boating  A.ssociation  in  1867;  the 
Alumni  Association  in  1832. 

While  Rutgers  College  is  not  a  free  institution,  yet 
ample  provision  is  made  for  granting  free  tuition  to 
every  young  man  who  has  a  good  character  for  moral- 
ity and  studiousness,  and  who  is  not  able  to  pay  his 
own  way.  And  besides  these  general  arrangements, 
it  has  several  large  and  productive  sources  of  bene- 
ficiary aid. 


CITY    OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


687 


Theological  Seminary.' — The  Theological  Semi- 
nary of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States 
had  its  origin  in  the  desire  to  educate  young  men  for 
the  ministry  in  this  country  instead  of  being  depend- 
ent for  a  supply  upon  Holland,  and  particularly  upon 
the  Classis  of  Amsterdam.  Difference  of  opinion  upon 
this  important  question  divided  the  Church  into  the 
Coetus  and  Confereutie  parties,  involving  an  unhappy 
controversy,  which  lasted  for  many  years.  Duringthis 
controversy  the  Coetus  party  not  only  struggled  for 
independent  American  judicatories  but  also  contem- 
plated the  establishment  of  a  university,  with  regular 
advantages  for  a  theological  training,  and  in  May, 
1755,  commissioned  Rev.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen 
to  solicit  funds  for  that  object  in  Holland.  His 
departure  was  delayed  for  four  years,  and  this,  to- 
gether with  the  unhappy  schism  in  the  church, 
defeated  the  movement.  Eight  years  after  this 
J.  H.  Livingston,  while  studying  for  the  ministry 
in  Holland,  proposed  to  his  friends  in  America  that 
both  contending  parties  should  fix  on  some  poor  but 
sprightly  boy  and  send  him  to  Holland  to  be  specially 
trained  for  a  professor  in  the  American  churches, 
(liberal  friends  in  Holland  i)romising  to  defray  the 
expenses),  and  thus  ultimately  perhaps  the  schism 
might  be  healed,  and  the  churches  here  supplied 
with  a  satisfactory  ministry. 

This  plan  seems  not  to  have  been  long  enter- 
tained, for  soon  after  Mr.  Livingston  formed  the 
acquaintance  of  Dr.  Witherspoon,  who  had  been 
called  from  Europe  to  take  the  presidency  of  the 
college  at  Princeton,  and  who  had  visited  Holland 
before  embarking  for  America;  and  attempts  were 
now  made  to  secure  arrangements  for  the  education 
of  ministers  for  the  Reformed  Church  at  the  Prince- 
ton institutions.  This,  however,  was  opposed  by  the 
party  leaders  in  America,  and  the  proposition,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Conferentie,  to  establish  a  divinity 
professorship  in  Kings  College,  was  defeated  in  the 
subsequent  articles  of  union,  which  stipulated  that 
the  professors  of  theology  to  be  chosen  from  the 
Netherlands  by  the  advice  of  the  Classis  should  have 
no  connection  with  any  English  academies,  but 
should  deliver  lectures  on  theology,  etc.,  ;'«  their  own 
houses.  They  were  not  intended  to  be  pastors,  but  a 
fund  was  to  be  raised  for  their  support.  As  no  such 
endowment  could  be  immediately  obtained,  some  of 
the  most  influential  churches  standing  aloof  from  the 
union,  and  the  disturbed  political  condition  of  the 
country  rendering  it  impossible  to  proceed,  no  steps 
were  taken  to  establish  a  professorship  till  after  the 
Revolution.  The  Synod  in  the  mean  time  advised 
students  to  study  at  their  convenience  with  Drs. 
Livingston,  We.sterlow,  Rysdyck,  Hardenbergh,  or 
Goetchius. 

While  the  subject  of  the  professorship  was  thus 


'  Compiled  by  the  editor  of  tliis  wuik  froc 
ual,  1869,  and  some  additional  data. 


cle  ill  Corwiu's  Man- 


pending,  the  trustees  of  Queen's  College  sought  to 
carry  out  the  plans  of  the  Coetus  party  by  calling 
Rev.  John  Brown,  of  Haddington,  Scotland,  to  be- 
come their  professor  of  divinity.  He,  however, 
declined.  They  subsequently  wrote  to  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  and  to  the  Theological  Faculty  at 
Utrecht  to  recommend  to  them  a  professor  of 
theology,  to  be  also  president  of  their  college  and  a 
member  of  the  ecclesiastical  judicatories  in  America. 
The  Synod  indorsed  the  action  of  the  trustees  in 
1774,  and  the  next  year  the  Classis,  in  concurrence 
with  the  Faculty  at  Utrecht,  recommended  their 
last  American  student,  Dr.  Livingston,  as  the  pro- 
fessor. But  the  battle  of  Lexington  had  already  been 
fought,  and  the  subject  was  postponed. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution  the  subject  of  the 
professorship  at  once  occupied  the  attention  of  the 
churches.  Dr.  Livingston  was  in  favor  of  having  a 
Divinity  Hall  opened  in  New  Brunswick,  because  it 
was  the  most  central  place  for  all  portions  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  the  Dutch  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  and  the  Germans  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
Synod,  however,  decided  to  locate  the  chair  in  the 
city  of  New  York.  In  October,  1784,  Dr.  J.  H.  Liv- 
ingston was  chosen  professor  of  theology,  and  Dr.  H. 
Meyer,  pastor  at  Totowa  and  Pompton  Plains,  pro- 
fessor of  languages.  Dr.  Livingston  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  professorship  May  19,  1785  ;  for  a 
number  of  years  he  was  very  poorly  supported,  re- 
ceiving previous  to  1791  only  a  few  honoria-  from 
students  who  were  able  to  pay,  and  a  few  others  from 
the  Synod  for  the  more  indigent  cla.ss.  Only  a  few  of 
the  more  wealthy  students  went  to  New  Y'ork  on 
account  of  the  cost  of  living  in  the  city,  and  the  rest 
studied  with  their  pastors  at  home.  This  induced  the 
Synod  to  appoint  authorized  lectors  in  theology,  to 
whom  the  country  students  could  resort.  One  was 
appointed  in  1786,  viz.:  Dr.  Meyer,  of  Pompton; 
and  in  1792,  Dr.  Solomon  Froeligh,  of  Hackensack, 
and  Dirck  Romeyn,  of  Schenectady.  These  were 
afterwards  raised  to  full  professors. 

In  1791  the  Synod  for  the  first  time  took  active 
measures  towards  raising  a  fund  for  the  endowment 
of  the  theological  professorship.  The  consistory  of 
the  church  in  New  York  were  at  first  made  trustees 
of  the  fund,  and  Peter  Wilson  agent.  Subsequently, 
in  1794,  Peter  Wilson,  John  Vanderbilt,  Robert  Ben- 
son, and  Richard  Varrick  were  made  a  board  of  trus- 
tees of  the  theological  fund.  During  the  two  years 
from  1791  to  1793  the  work  of  raising  the  endowment 
was  suspended,  owing  to  a  proposition  from  Queen's 
College  that  the  Synod  should  recommend  to  them  a 
professor  of  theology,  who  should  also  take  the  presi- 
dency of  the  college,  in  accordance  with  the  expecta- 
tions excited  in  1773.  This  the  Synod  declined  to  do 
until  the  institution  was  properly  endowed. 

In  1793  a  very  strong  influence  was  brought  to  the 
General  Synod  in  favor  of  an  independent  theologi- 

3  Five  pounds  each  paid  by  the  students  for  their  license. 


688 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


cal  professorship.  The  Classis  of  Hackensack  urged 
the  Synod  to  establish  such  a  school  at  once,  and 
claimed  that  if  the  professorship  should  be  connected 
with  Queen's  College  it  could  only  be  a  subordinate 
office.  At  the  General  Synod  in  June,  1794,  a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  report  on  this  question,  con- 
sisting of  Revs.  D.  Romeyn,  S.  Froeligh,  E.  Van 
Bunschooten,  and  three  elders.  They  reported  that 
no  union  could  be  eflected  with  Queen's  College  as 
long  as  it  was  situated  at  New  Brunswick,  that  it 
ought  to  be  removed  to  Bergen  or  Hackensack,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  trustees 
on  the  subject.  The  committee  at  the  same  time  re- 
ported that  the  Divinity  School  could  not  flourish  in 
New  York  on  account  of  the  expense  of  living,  that 
its  continuance  there  prevented  the  raising  of  a  fund, 
that  the  professor  ought  to  remove  to  Flatbush,  where 
a  classical  academy  existed,  or  to  some  other  place. 

Prof.  Livingston  removed  to  Flatbush  in  the  spring 
of  1796,  relinquishing  half  of  his  services  and  half 
of  his  salary  in  the  city,  and  receiving  nothing  in 
return.  But  the  number  of  his  students  at  once 
doubled,  and  everything  appeared  to  be  encouraging. 
The  prosperity,  however,  lasted  but  a  short  time. 
The  Synod  failed  to  meet  the  financial  requirements 
of  the  school,  and  Dr.  Livingston's  health  becoming 
impaired  by  an  over  amount  of  unrequited  labor,  he 
deemed  it  advisable  to  leave  his  school  at  Flatbush 
and  return  to  New  York.  Upon  the  announcement 
of  this  determination  to  the  Synod  Dr.  Livingston 
received  the  thanks  of  that  body  for  his  gratuitous 
services,  and  was  earnestly  solicited  to  continue  the 
duties  of  his  office  as  he  had  previously  done  in  con- 
nection with  his  pastorate  in  the  city.  Believing 
that  it  was  "  exceedingly  inconvenient  for  all  the  stu- 
dents to  get  the  certificate  of  one  professor,"  and  that 
"  different  localities  would  become  interested  by  a 
professor  residing  among  them,"  Synod  distributed 
the  school  into  three  equal  parts,  to  serve  as  many 
different  localities  by  creating  two  other  professors, 
viz.,  Drs.  Froeligh  and  Romeyn,  raised  from  the 
rank  of  lectors  in  theology,  to  whicli  they  had  been 
appointed  in  1792. 

In  1800  two  professors  of  Hebrew  were  appointed, 
namely,  Revs.  John  Bassett  and  Jeremiah  Romeyn. 
Students  desiring  to  be  examined  by  the  Classis  for 
licensure  must  have  a  certificate  of  lingual  attain- 
ments, signed  by  one  of  these  professors. 

Thus  matters  remained  until  the  year  1806,  with 
the  exception  that  every  day  the  prospects  of  the  pro- 
fessorate grew  more  dark  and  dubious,  until  its  most 
sanguine  friends  had  become  ready  to  despair  con- 
cerning it.  The  uncertainty  of  location  seemed  to 
destroy  every  effort  in  its  behalf.  But  just  at  this  time 
the  trustees  of  Queen's  College  made  a  proposition 
which  prepared  the  way  for  the  ultimate  success  of 
the  institution.  They  were  now  engaged  in  earnest 
in  the  revival  of  their  college,  and  they  proposed  to 
unite  with    it   the   theological    professorship.      The 


scheme  was  sanctioned  by  the  General  Synod,  pro- 
viding that  all  the  moneys  raised  in  the  State  of  New 
York  should  be  applied  to  the  endowment  of  the 
theological  professorship. 

"  A  covenant  was  then  drawn  up  between  the  par- 
ties, in  which  the  trustees  promised  to  combine  the 
literary  interest  of  the  college  with  a  decided  support 
to  evangelical  truth  and  the  promotion  of  an  able 
and  faithful  ministry  in  the  Dutcli  Church  ;  that  the 
funds  raised  in  New  York  should  be  appropriated  to 
the  support  of  the  theological  professorship  in  the 
college,  and  to  the  assistance  of  poor  and  pious  young 
men  preparing  for  the  ministry ;  that  the  trustees 
should  hold  the  funds  for  the  theological  professor- 
ship, and  should  call  the  professor  elected  by  the 
Synod  as  soon  as  their  funds  would  allow;  that  a  per- 
manent board  of  superintendents  be  appointed  by  the 
Synod  to  superintend  the  theological  institution,  to 
aid  the  professor  in  arranging  the  course  of  instruction, 
to  attend  the  examination  of  students  in  theology,  and 
to  be  known  by  the  name  of '  The  Superintendents  of 
the  Theological  Institution  in  Queen's  College;'  that 
the  Synod  provide  money  for  a  library  ;  and  both 
parties  were  to  unite  in  erecting  the  necessary  build- 
ings, money  even,  if  needed  for  this  purpose,  to  be 
taken  from  the  professorial  fund. 

"  Synod  now  enjoined  collections  to  be  taken  up  in 
all  their  churches  in  the  State  of  New  York  to  help 
in  the  erection  of  the  necessary  buildings.  It  was 
resolved  that  the  board  of  superintendents  consist  of 
nine  members,  three  to  be  taken  from  each  particular 
Synod,  and  three  from  the  clerical  members  of  the 
board  of  trustees. 

"  The  effort  to  collect  funds  by  the  trustees  met 
with  unexpected  success.  Tlie  church  of  New  York 
at  once  gave  $10,000,  and  the  church  of  Harlem  $400. 

"  In  less  than  a  year  the  trustees  called  Dr.  Living- 
ston as  their  Professor  of  Theology,  according  to  the 
covenant,  oflering  $720,  and  $220  additional  as  presi- 
dent of  the  college.  He  at  first  declined  the  latter 
office,  but  ultimately  accepted,  a  vice-president  being 
appointed  to  take  the  burden  of  the  duties.  He  did 
Tiot  immediately  remove  to  New  Brunswick,  but 
waited  until  the  churches  under  his  care  should  be 
somewhat  provided  for,  and  also  lest  his  removal 
might  retard  the  increase  of  the  professorial  fund. 

"  In  February,  1810,  the  trustees  offered  him  $650 
additional.  He  now,  after  a  pastorship  of  forty  years, 
and  a  professorship  without  compensation  of  twenty- 
six  years  in  the  city,  at  the  age  of  sixty-four,  broke 
all  the  ties  he  had  there  formed  and  removed  to  New 
Brunswick.  He  had  given  his  professional  certificate 
up  to  this  time  to  about  ninety  students.  By  his  re- 
moval he  sacrificed  a  salary  of  $2500  in  his  pastoral 
charge.  In  December  of  the  same  year,  considering 
the  great  sacrifices  he  had  made,  the  trustees  increased 
his  salary  to  $1700,  allowing  also  $300  for  house  rent, 
promising  that  if  there  were  any  deficiency  it  should 
be  made  up  as  soon  as  funds  permitted. 


CITY   OF  NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


689 


"  Dr.  Livingston  opened  the  seminary  in  October, 
1810,  with  five  students.  But  a  few  days  before  he 
left  New  York  he  wrote  a  letter  to  his  venerable 
brother  in  the  ministry.  Rev.  Elias  Van  Bunsehooten, 
suggesting  the  propriety  of  his  devoting  a  portion  of 
his  property  to  the  benefit  of  the  theological  institu- 
tion.' The  eflbrt  was  not  in  vain,  but  resulted  in  the 
endowing  of  the  trustees  in  the  sum  of  $14,6.">0,  which 
was  increased  by  his  will  to  $17,000.  The  income  of 
this  fund  was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  support  'of 
pious  youths  who  hope  they  have  a  call  of  God  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.'^  It  at  present 
exceeds  $20,000,  and  has  been  the  means  of  educating 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  young  men  for 
the  ministry. 

"  In  1812,  Dr.  Livingston  .sent  in  his  first  report  to 
the  Synod,  in  w-hich  he  briefly  reviewed  the  facts,  and 
stated  the  present  condition  of  the  seminary,  urging 
the  necessity  of  prompt  and  vigorous  action  respect- 
ing the  endowment.  At  the  same  time  the  board  of 
superintendents  was  fully  organized  by  the  adoption 
of  a  detailed  plan  respecting  the  government  of  the 
theological  school.  .  .  .  From  this  time  the  board 
of  superintendents  has  regularly  met,  and  has  exam- 
ined more  than  five  hundred  students.  .  .  . 

"  In  1814  the  board  of  superintendents  suggested 
to  the  Synod  the  necessity  of  another  professor.  To 
this  end  the  church  of  Albany  offered  to  contribute 
annually  $750,  and  the  church  of  New  Brunswick 
$200  for  a  term  of  six  years.  Synod  accordingly,  to 
the  great  relief  of  the  aged  Livingston,  the  next  year 
elected  Rev.  John  Schureman  Professor  of  Pastoral 
Theology  and  Ecclesiastical  History.  After  his  death, 
in  1818,  the  second  professorship  embraced  the  de- 
partments of  Oriental  Literature  and  Ecclesiastical 
History.  Rev.  Thomas  De  Witt  having  declined  an 
appointment  to  this  position,  Rev.  John  Ludlow  was 
chosen,  who  continued  in  this  department  for  five 
years,  when  Rev.  John  De  Witt  was  chosen  his  suc- 
cessor. 

"  The  further  endowment  of  the  institution  now 
weighed  heavily  on  Dr.  Livingston's  mind.  He  felt 
that  unless  speedy  measures  were  taken  for  this  end 
the  institution  must  die.  In  1822  subscriptions  were 
started.  Dr.  Livingston  leading  them  with  S500,  and 
nearly  .*27,000  were  subscribed  within  a  year  in  the 
Particular  Synod  of  New  York. 

"  The  Particular  Synod  of  Albany  now  made  efforts 
to  endow  a  third  professorship.  Dr.  Livingston  saw 
this  enterprise  in  its  inception,  but  did  not  live  to  see 
it  completed.  He,  however,  lived  long  enough  to  see 
that  success  was  certain,  and  that  the  institution  for 
which  he  had  sacrificed  so  much  during  forty  years 
was  established  on  a  firm  foundation.  Different  pro- 
fessors in  difl'erent  parts  of  the  church  had  been  ap- 
pointed for  the  convenience  of  students,  and  Dr.  Liv- 


^  Letter  printed  in  Livingston's  Life,  and  in  New  Brunswick  Revi« 
s  See  bequest  in  History  of  Sussex  County,  p  169. 


ingston  had  an  assistant  most  of  the  time  in  New 
Brunswick ;  but  it  was  only  after  his  death,  though  in 
the  same  year,  that  the  theological  institution  was 
fully  organized  by  the  full  complement  of  professors, 
De  Witt,  Milledoler,  and  WoodhuU.  The  Particular 
Synod  of  Albany,  by  the  fall  of  1825,  had  subscribed 
about  $27,000  also  for  the  endowment  of  the  third 
professorship.  It  was  several  years  before  their 
moneys  were  paid  in  (some  of  the  subscriptions  in- 
deed were  lost),  but  in  the  mean  time  the  church  of 
New  York  for  several  years  gave  $1750  per  annum, 
and  other  churches  or  friends  assisted  in  meeting  the 
deficiency.  Synod  now  purchased  the  college  build- 
ing in  payment  of  the  obligation  of  the  trustees  to 
them.  The  trustees  had  saved  the  professorate  in 
1807  by  taking  it  under  their  care,  and  the  Synod 
now  saved  the  college  from  extinction  by  a  similar 
kindne.ss.  The  theological  professors  became  pro- 
fessors also  in  the  college,  and  thus  that  institution, 
under  the  name  of  Rutgers,  was  reopened.  .  .  . 
About  1861  the  theological  professors  were  relieved 
from  further  duties  in  the  college. 

"  The  want  of  a  theological  hall  separate  from  the 
college  building  began  to  be  seriously  felt  about  1851. 
Several  young  men  were  known  to  have  gone  else- 
where to  study  on  account  of  the  high  price  of  board 
in  New  Brunswick.  Elsewhere  they  could  board  in 
common.  The  students  drew  up  a  memorial  stating 
their  difficulties  and  their  wants,  and  which  paper 
passed  through  the  hands  of  the  faculty  to  the  board 
of  superintendents.  The  board  took  immediate  action 
on  it,  and  their  efforts  were  crowned  with  complete 
success.  At  the  personal  solicitation  of  Dr.  Ludlow, 
Mrs.  Anna  Hertzog,  of  Philadelphia,  donated  $30,000 
for  its  erection,  with  the  condition  that  it  should  be 
called  '  The  Peter  Hertzog  Theological  Hall.'^  Col. 
James  Neilson  then  gave  a  lot  of  ground  valued  at 
$14,000  ;  Mr.  David  Bishop  gave  an  adjoining  lot, 
valued  at  $1200 ;  Mr.  Charles  P.  Dayton  gave  an 
adjoining  lot,  and  $2000  were  given  by  Messrs.  Fran- 
cis and  Wessel  Wessels,  of  Paramus,  N.  J.,  to  pur- 
chase still  additional  land  to  make  the  rectangle 
complete.  The  building  was  speedily  erected,  and 
contained  dormitories,  refectory,  lecture-rooms,  chapel, 
and  library.  Since  the  erection  of  James  Suydam 
Hall  the  professors  have  occupied  lecture-rooms  in  it, 
and  the  library  has  been  removed  to  Gardner  A.  Sage 
Library  Building. 

"  In  1864  the  Synod  transferred  the  college  prop- 
erty back  to  the  trustees,  and  the  next  year  the  cove- 
nants of  1807  and  1825  were  finally  annulled.  The 
money  thus  accruing  was  devoted  to  the  erection  of 
the  beautiful  professorial  residences  then  in  course  of 
erection.  The  same  year  a  fourth  professorship, 
namely,  of  Sacred  Rhetoric  and  Pastoral  Theology, 

s  Peter  Hertzog  was  a  native  and  citizen  of  Phitadelphia,  of  German 
ancestry.  He  was  an  upright  and  successful  liusiness  mau,  one  of  tlie 
founders  of  the  Tliird  Reformed  Church  of  that  city,  and  president  of  its 
board  of  trustees. 


690 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


which  had  been  suggested  and  desired  for  many  years, 
was  by  a  very  generous  subscription  through  the 
churches  secured,  and  Dr.  David  D.  Demorest  was 
elected  to  this  position. 

The  Standing  Committee  on  Peter  Hertzog  Hall, 
of  which  the  three  professors  were  members,  reported 
in  18G7  subscriptions  and  moneys  received  amounting 
to  $62,233.09,  of  which  what  remained  after  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  fourth  professorship  was  to  be  used 
for  the  building  of  three  professorial  residences,  which 
now  occupy  the  seminary  grounds.  The  professors, 
as  members  of  the  committee,  raised  almost  the  whole 
amount,  a  work  in  which  they  were  obliged  to  spend 
much  time  and  labor.  They  were  stimulated,  how- 
ever, early  in  the  canvass  by  receiving  from  one  per- 
son a  subscription  of  $40,000  for  increase  of  the  en- 
dowment, on  condition  that  a  like  sum  should  be 
raised  for  a  new  professorship. 

Unfortunately,  a  large  amount  of  the  subscriptions 
could  not  be  collected,  although  the  subscribers  had 
undoubtedly  pledged  their  names  in  good  faith.  This 
caused  embarrassment  and  rendered  a  new  effort 
necessary.  The  Synod,  in  order  to  relieve  the  pro- 
fessors, in  1868  reconstituted  the  committee,  making 
it  up  of  nine  laymen  and  one  professor,  selected  by 
the  faculty.  The  committee  was  authorized  to  em- 
ploy an  agent  to  obtain  subscriptions  and  collect 
moneys.  The  Synod  at  the  same  time  passed  a  reso- 
lution requesting  the  board  of  direction  to  co-operate 
with  the  committee  in  raising  $100,000  for  completing 
the  endowment  of  the  seminary  and  for  the  payment 
of  the  debt  of  the  Synod.  The  committee  and  board 
jointly  employed  Eev.  Dr.  James  A.  H.  Crowell  as 
agent,  who  commenced  the  work  with  enthusiasm 
and  vigor,  and  was  cheered  by  receiving  from  Mr. 
James  Suydam  $40,000  for  the  endowment  of  the 
professorship  of  Didactic  and  Polemic  Theology,  to 
which  he  subsequently  added  the  sum  of  .$20,000. 
Very  appropriately  the  Synod  attached  his  name  to 
the  professorship.  The  committee  has  been  continued 
with  some  changes  to  the  present  time,  and  has  made 
its  regular  reports  to  the  General  Synod.  Extensive 
improvements  and  repairs  have  been  made  to  Peter 
Hertzog  Hall.  Water  and  heating  by  steam  have 
been  introduced  into  it,  and  its  appointments  are  cal- 
culated to  make  an  attractive  dwelling-place.  A 
rector  has  care  of  the  building,  who  also  jirovides 
meals  at  moderate  rates  to  the  students.  James  Suy- 
dam Hall,  the  noble  gift  of  Mr.  James  Suydam,  of 
New  York  City,  has  risen  on  one  side  of  Hertzog  Hall. 
It  was  dedicated  (the  General  Synod  attending)  June 
5,  1873,  and  contains  a  spacious  gymnasium,  chapel, 
museum,  and  four  lecture-rooms.  In  front  of  it  a 
bronze  statue  of  Mr.  Suydam  has  been  placed  by  his 
friends,  a  well-deserved  tribute  to  the  memory  of  this 
liberal  benefactor  of  the  seminary,  whose  contribu- 
tions considerably  exceeded  $200,000. 

On  the  other  side  of  Peter  Hertzog  Hall  stands  the 
Gardner  A.  Sage  Library,  afire-proof  building,  erected 


by  Mr.  Gardner  A.  Sage,  of  New  York  City,  presented 
by  him  to  the  General  Synod,  and  dedicated  June  4, 
1875,  the  Synod  being  in  attendance.  In  addition  to 
his  gift  of  the  building,  Col.  Sage  has  paid  the  salary 
of  the  librarian,  for  the  services  of  the  janitor,  for 
coal  and  other  incidental  expenses  annually.  He  also 
contributed  $2500  for  the  purchase  of  books,  and  $700 
annually  for  several  years  for  ordinary  expenses  of 
Peter  Hertzog  Hall,  and  united  with  Mr.  Suydam  in 
the  purchase  and  presentation  to  General  Synod  of  a 
professorial  residence  at  a  cost  to  each  of  them  of 
$9000.  Quite  as  valuable,  perhaps,  as  these  gifts  have 
been  his  indefetigable  personal  services  to  the  insti- 
tution as  chairman  and  treasurer  of  the  Standing 
Committee. 

Through  the  efforts  of  Dr.  Cornell  about  $50,000 
were  secured  for  the  library,  chiefly  in  subsci'iptions 
of  $2500.  These  moneys  were  given,  not  to  be  in- 
vested, but  to  be  spent,  as  soon  as  it  could  be  judici- 
ously done,  in  the  purchase  of  books.  The  larger 
part  has  been  spent,  and  thus  a  good  beginning  has 
been  made  of  an  excellent  library,  which  now  contains 
over  thirty  thousand  volumes.  The  selection  of  books 
is  made  by  a  committee  of  the  General  Synod,  con- 
sisting of  Rev.  Drs.  T.  W.  Chambers,  E.  T.  Corwin, 
C.  D.  Hartranft,  and  Prof.  Jacob  Cooper,  of  Rutgers 
College,  in  connection  with  the  theological  professors. 
The  library  is  open  daily  from  9  a.m.  to  4.30  p.m., 
and  is  accessible  to  citizens  of  New  Brunswick  and 
others. 

In  1873,  Nicholas  T.  Vedder,  of  Utica,  N.  Y.,  pre- 
sented to  the  General  Synod  $10,000  in  railroad  bonds 
for  the  establishment  of  a  course  of  lectures  to  be 
delivered  by  a  member  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch) 
Church  to  the  students  of  the  seminary  and  of  Rut- 
gers College  on  "  The  Present  Aspects  of  Modern 
Infidelity,  including  its  Cause  and  Cure."  The  lec- 
turer was  to  be  chosen  by  the  General  Synod  by  ballot. 
The  Synod  accepted  the  gift,  and  established  the 
'■  Vedder  Lectures  on  Modern  Infidelity,"  which  have 
been  delivered  yearly  since,  except  in  1878,  as  follows : 

1874,  Rev.  Isaac  S.  Hartley,  D.D.,  "  Prayer  and  its 
Relations  to  Modern  Thought  and  Criticism." 

1875,  Prof.  Tayler  Lewis,  LL.D.,  L.H.D.,  '"The 
Light  by  which  we  See  Light,  or  Nature  and  the 
Scriptures." 

1876,  Rev.  Talbot  W.  Chambers,  D.D.,  "  The  Psal- 
ter a  Witness  to  the  Divine  Origin  of  the  Bible." 

1877,  Rev.  William  R.  Gordon,  D.D.,  "The Science 
of  Divine  Truth  Impregnable,  as  Shown  by  the  Ar- 
gumentative Failure  of  Infidelity  and  Theoretical 
Geology." 

1879,  Rev.  Chester  D.  Hartranft,  D.D. 

1880,  Rev.  Acmon  P.  Van  Gieson,  D.D. 

PBOFKSSOnS   AND    LECTORS   SINCE   1784. 

Rev.  John  H.  Livingston,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Didactic  Theology,  etc., 
n84-182S. 

Rev.  Heruanus  Mkyfr,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Languages  at  PomptoD 
Plains,  1784-91 ;  Lector  in  Tlieology  at  Pomplou  Plains,  1786-91. 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


691 


Rev.  Solomon  Feoeligh,  D.D.,  Lector  io  Theology,  Hackensack, 
N.  J,  1792-97;  Professor  of  Diadactic  Theology,  Hackensack,  N.  J.,  1797, 
1822. 

Rev.  Dirck  Rome-yn,  D.D.,  Lector  in  Theology  at  Schenectady,  N.  Y., 
1792-97  ;  Professor  of  Didactic  Theology,  1797-1804. 

Rev.  John  Bossett,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Languages  at  Boght,  Schoharie 
Co.,  N.  Y.,  1804-12. 

Rev.  Jerebiiah  Romeyn,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Languages  at  Linlithgo, 
N.  Y.,  1804-6. 

Rev.  John  M.  Van  Hablinqen,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Languages  and 
Eccl.  Hist.,  Millstone,  N.  J.,  1812-13. 

Kev.  John  Schcreman,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Eccl.  Hist,  and  Past.  Theol., 
New  Brunswick,  1815-18. 

Rev,  James  S.  Cannon,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Eccl.  Hist,  ajid  Past.  Theol., 
]pro  lem.,  New  Brunswick,  1818-19. 

Rev.  John  Mabon,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Languages,  pro  lem.y  New  Bruns- 
wick, 1818-19. 

Rev.  John  Ludlow,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Bib.  Lit.  and  Eccl.  Hiat.,  New 
Brunswick,  1819-23. 

Bev.  John  DeWitt,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Bib.  Lit.  and  Eccl.  Hist.,  New 
Brunswick,  182.i-31. 

Rev,  Philip  Milledoler,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Didactic  and  Polemic  The- 
ology, New  Brunswick,  1825-41. 

Rev.  Selah  S.  Woodhull,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Eccl.  Hist.,  Church 
Govt.,  and  Past.  Theol.,  New  Brunswick,  1825-26. 

Bev.  James  S.  Cannon,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Eccl.  Hist.,  Church  Govt., 
anil  Past.  Theol.,  New  Brunswick,  1826-52. 

Rev.  Alexander  McClelland,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Bib.  Lit.,  New 
Brunswick,  1832-51. 

Rev.  Samuel  A.  Van  Vbankbn,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Didactic  and  Po- 
lemic Theol.,  New  Brunswick,  1841-Rl. 

Rtv.  William  Campbell,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Bib.  Lit.,  New  Bruns- 
wick, 1851-63. 

Rev.  John  Ludlow,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Past.  Theol.,  Eccl.  Hist.,  ami 
Church  Govt.,  New  Brunswick,  1852-67. 

Rev.  Samtel  M.  Woodbridge,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Past.  Theol.,  Eccl. 
Hist.,  and  Church  Govt.,  New  Brunswick,  1S57. 

Rev,  Joseph  F.  Berg,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Didactic  and  Polemic  Theol., 
New  Brunswick,  1861-71. 

Rev,  John  DeWitt,  D,D.,  Thomas  DeWitt  Professor  of  Bib,  Lit.,  New 
Brunswick,  1863. 

Rev.  David  D,  Demeuest,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Past.  Theol.  and  Sacred 
Rhetoric,  1865. 

Rev.  Abraham  B.  Van  Zandt,  D.D.,  LL,D.,  James  Suydam  Professor 
of  Didactic  iind  Polemic  Theol,,  New  Brunswick,  1872-81, 

Rev.  William  V.  V.  Maven,  D.D.,  James  Suydam  Professor  of  Di- 
dactic and  Polemic  Theol.,  New  Brunswick,  1881, 

First  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick.— Among  the  early  settlers  on  the  Raritan,  in- 
cluding New  Brunswick,  Six-Mile  Run,  Millstone, 
Raritan,  and  North  Branch,  were  many  families  of 
Hollanders  or  their  descendants,  who  brought  with 
them  or  inherited  the  customs  and  faith  of  the  Fath- 
erland. As  those  who  came  earlier  in  the  coloniza- 
tion of  New  Netherland  had  established  churches  at 
New  Amsterdam,  Bergen,  Hackensack,  Acquacka- 
nonck,  and  other  places  in  what  are  now  Bergen  and 
Passaic  Counties,  so  these  .settlers  on  the  Raritan 
made  it  one  of  the  first  objects  of  their  care  to  found 
churches  of  their  faith  and  form  of  worship  in  their 
immediate  neighborhood. 

Early  in  the  last  century  there  were  no  less  than 
five  of  these  churches  situated  upon  the  Raritan 
River  and  its  branches,  which  through  the  agency 
of  Governor  Belcher  received  a  charter  of  incorpora- 
tion constituting  their  elders  and  deacons  one  body 
politic  and  corporate,  by  the  name  of  the  trustees  of 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  of  Raritan,  North  Branch, 
New  Brunswick,  Si-x-Mile  Run,  and  Millstone,  in  the 


counties  of  Somerset  and  Middlesex.  This  charter  is 
dated  June  the  7th,  1753. 

The  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  completed  its  one  hundred  and  fiftieth 
year  April  12,  1867.  On  the  1st  of  October  following 
the  pastor,  Rev.  Richard  H.  Steele,  D.D.,  delivered  a 
historical  discourse,  containing  in  addition  to  the 
history  of  the  church  much  valuable  information  re- 
specting the  early  settlement  and  progress  of  the 
town.  That  which  relates  to  the  general  hi.story  of 
the  town  we  have  aimed  to  utilize  in  such  places  as 
have  seemed  to  us  most  appropriate,  and  to  condense 
under  the  present  head  that  which  belongs  strictly  to 
the  history  of  the  church,  of  course  in  all  cases  giving 
due  credit  to  the  author.  We  regret  that  this  sifting 
detracts  somewhat  from  the  raciness  of  Dr.  Steele's 
work,  and  that  we  have  not  space  to  embody  the 
whole  of  his  valuable  and  interesting  matter. 

"  In  compiling  the  history  of  this  church,"  says  Dr. 
Steele,  "  I  have  labored  under  the  difficulty  experienced 
in  other  quarters  of  the  imperfection  of  early  consis- 
torial  records  and  the  loss  of  important  documents. 
By  diligent  search  I  have  recovered  possession  of  a 
volume  in  the  Dutch  language  which  had  been  lost 
for  upwards  of  thirty  years,  containing  much  valua- 
ble information.  Some  important  facts  are  stated  in 
reference  to  the  origin  of  this  church,  as  also  that  of 
Six-Mile  Run.  It  contains  the  names  of  the  first 
consistory,  a  complete  list  of  the  original  members,  a 
register  of  the  additions  to  the  church  at  each  com- 
munion, and  a  full  record  of  baptisms.  The  first  en- 
try in  this  volume  bears  date  April  12,  1717.  .  .  . 

"The  first  building  erected  within  the  bounds  of 
our  congregation  for  religious  purposes  was  about 
one  mile  and  a  half  beyond  the  limits  of  the  present 
corporation  of  New  Brunswick,  on  the  lot  at  the  east 
of  the  burying-ground  near  the  residence  of  Abraham 
J.  Voorhees.  Our  knowledge  of  the  organization  is 
quite  limited,  and  derived  mostly  from  the  traditions 
of  the  neighborhood.  .  .  .  There  is  in  existence  a 
subscription  paper  recently  discovered,  bearing  the 
date  of  1703,  on  which  the  sum  of  £10  IS.'.  6d.  is  pro- 
vided to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  minister  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  to  be  procured  from  Hol- 
land.' This  church  may  have  existed  some  years  be- 
fore that  period,  and  was  probably  the  first  religious 
organization  along  the  Raritan  ;  for  the  great  high- 
way following  the  Indian  path,  as  it  is  called  in  an- 
cient deeds,  from  Inians'  Ferry  to  the  Falls  of  the 
Delaware,  was  the  first  point  occupied  by  the  Dutch 
settlers  in  this  section  of  the  State.     The  families  rep- 


1  The  names  of  thefoilowing  pei-sons  are  attached  to  the  subscription: 
Dottius  Hagenian,  Tennis  Quick,  Hend.  Eniuns,  Tlios,  Cort,  Jhc.  Robasco, 
Nicolas  Wyckoff,  Mic.  L.  Moor,  John  Schedemeun,  Nic.  Van  Dyke,  John 
Van  Houten,  Wil,  Bennet,  Folkert  Van  Noatrand,  Jac,  Bennet,  Hend. 
Fauger,  Ab.  Bennet,  Cur.  Peterson,  Philip  Folkerson,  Avia  L,  Draver^ 
George  .Anderson,  Stobel  Probasco,  Isaac  Le  Pierre,  Simon  Van  Wicklen, 
Cobas  Benat,  Garret  Cotman,  Lucas  Covert,  Wil.  Van  Duyn,  Brogun 
Covest,  Dennis  Van  Duyn,  John  Folkerson,  Jost.  Bauet.— Won,  Ralph 
Voorhees.  MUldUbush. 


692 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


resented  in  this  list  resided  on  both  banks  of  the  \ 
Raritan  from  near  Bound  Brook  to  New  Brunswick,  i 
and  along  the  route  of  travel  to  Rocky  Hill.  t 

"This  congregation  was  known  as  the  Church  of 
Three-Mile  Run.  Its  prominent  elders  seem  to  have 
been  Frederick  Van  Liew  and  Hendrick  Vroom. 
The  building  stood  for  upwards  of  fifty  years,  and  was 
used  for  neighborhood  services  long  after  the  project 
of  making  it  a  separate  congregation  had  been  aban- 
doned. This  church  never  enjoyed  the  services  of  a 
settled  pastor,  although  two  efforts  are  known  to  have 
been  made  to  procure  one  from  Holland,  the  first  in 
1703,  and  the  second  in  1729. 

"  In  the  mean  time  the  town  around  Inians'  Ferry 
had  grown  into  considerable  importance,  .  .  .  and 
instead  of  completing  their  building  at  Three-Mile 
Run  they  wisely  removed  to  this  locality,  and  erected 
a  larger  edifice  for  the  accommodation  of  the  increas- 
ing population.  This  was  the  first  religious  organiza- 
tion in  town,  i»nd  owes  its  existence  to  the  enterprise 
and  foresight  of  that  portion  of  the  original  congre- 
gation residing  at  this  point  and  occupying  farms 
along  the  Raritan  River.  The  building  was  erected, 
according  to  an  early  map  of  the  city, '  j^revious  to  the 
year  1717,  but  how  long  before  is  not  known.'  There 
are  reasons  for  believing  that  it  was  built  as  early  as 
the  year  1714,  at  which  time  the  place  was  beginning 
to  assume  some  importance,  and  gave  promise  of  con- 
siderable activity.  It  stood  on  the  corner  of  Burnet 
and  Schureman  (then  called  Dutch  Church)  Streets, 
and  at  that  date  it  was  called  the  Church  of  the  River 
and  Lawrence  Brook.  The  building  fronted  the  river, 
and  occupied  the  corner  lot,  subsequently  and  for 
many  years  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  William  Van 
Deursen.  The  structure  was  of  wood,  and,  like  most 
of  the  early  churches,  its  breadth  was  greater  than  its 
depth.  It  was  fifty  feet  broad  and  forty  feet  deep. 
There  were  seven  pews  on  each  side  of  the  pulpit, 
and  eight  along  the  middle  aisle.  The  total  number 
of  pews  in  the  building  was  fifty,  and  the  church  ac- 
commodations three  hundred.  It  was  not  completed 
until  several  years  afterwards,  and  stood  upwards  of 
fifty  years,  giving  place,  in  1767,  to  the  second  church 
edifice,  erected  on  the  site  of  the  one  now  occupied. 

"  The  project  of  forming  a  church  in  this  town  did 
not  proceed  without  some  opposition.  The  old  con- 
gregation at  Three-Mile  Run  were  reluctant  to  part 
with  any  of  their  members,  and  those  families  living 
still  farther  back  in  Franklin  township  urged  the  im- 
portance of  all  continuing  in  one  organization.  Sev- 
eral meetings  of  the  church  seem  to  have  been  held 
and  the  matter  discussed,  and  on  the  12th  of  April, 
1717,  '  in  order  to  prevent  disturbance  and  conten- 
tion, and  thereby  to  establish  peace  in  the  church,' 
the  following  plan  was  harmoniously  adopted  :  '  That 
the  church  built  near  Abraham  Beunet  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  belonging  to  the  church  of  Lawrence 
Brook  and  on  the  river,  and  that  the  members  of  the 
congregation  residing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Six- 


and  Ten-Mile  Run  shall  also  build  a  church  for 
themselves  at  either  of  these  places,  or  at  some  point 
intervening,  as  they  may  agree.'  It  was  also  deter- 
mined that  the  church  at  this  place  and  at  Three-Mile 
Run  should  each  have  a  consistory,  who  should  co- 
operate with  each  other,  and  '  notwithstanding  these 
two  places  of  worship  the  two  congregations  shall 
form  one  church,  and  in  matters  of  great  importance 
the  two  consistories  shall  meet  as  one  body  and  trans- 
act such  business  as  may  come  before  them  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Christian  Church.'  The  agree- 
ment was  not  intended  to  be  permanent,  and  seems  to 
have  been  entered  into  out  of  respect  for  the  older 
members  of  the  church,  who  could  not  but  feel  an  at- 
tachment to  the  first  house  of  worship  and  the  orig- 
inal organization.  In  a  very  short  time  this  relation 
probably  ceased,  and  all  the  services  were  held  in  the 
church  of  New  Brunswick. 

"  In  the  old  book  of  records,  from  which  the  above 
facts  are  taken,  there  is  a  decision  that  Roelef  See- 
bring  be  the  elder  for  the  new  congregation,  and  Hen- 
drick Bries  and  Roelef  Lucas  the  deacons.  This 
number  was  soon  after  increased  to  three  elders  and 
three  deacons,  and  the  names  of  the  following  per- 
sons are  recorded  as  constituting  the  first  full  board 
of  consistory :  Aart  Aartsen,  Izack  Van  Dyk,  Roe- 
lef Seebring,  elders;  Johannes  Folkerson,  Hendrick 
Bries,  and  Roelef  Lucas  (Van  Voorhees),  deacons. 
Thus  was  organized  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of 
New  Brunswick,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.^ 

"  The  register  of  baptisms  begins  on  the  14th  of 
August,  when  three  children  were  baptized :  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  of  Johannes  Soothof ;  Cornelius,  son 
of  Martin  Salem ;  and  Jan,  son  of  Jacobus  Ouke. 
During  the  three  years  of  vacancy  twenty-nine  bap- 
tisms are  recorded,  but  who  occupied  the  pulpit  during 
this  period  we  have  no  information. 

"  We  know  that  Rev.  Bernardus  Freeman,  of  Long 
Island,  took  a  deep  interest  in  this  church,  and  through 
him  early  efforts  were  made  to  obtain  a  minister  from 
Holland,  in  connection  with  three  other  churches  al- 
ready organized,  viz.:  Raritan  (organized  March  9, 
1699),  Six-Mile  Run  (organized  1703),  and  North 
Branch,  now  Readington  (organized  1719).  As  the 
result  of  this  combined  movement  there  came  to  this 
country,  commissioned  by  the  Classis  of  Amsterdam, 
as  the  first  pastor  of  this  church,  Jan.  1,  1720, 

"  Rev.  Theodore  Jacobus  Frelinghpysen. — 
His  name  is  one  of  the  most  honorable  in  the  State 
of  New  Jersey,  and  the  influence  that  he  exerted 
among  the  early  churches  has  given  to  this  whole  re- 
gion the  name  of  the  '  Garden  of  the  Dutch  Church.' 


1  As  this  church  is  a  continuation  of  the  Three-Mile  Run  congrega- 
tion, which  had  au  existence  as  early  as  1703,  tliere  is  a  propriety  in  the 
slatemeDts  made  in  public  documents  that  we  trace  our  origin  as  a  re- 
ligious society  to  near  the  commencement  of  the  last  century,  although 
we  did  not  have  n  distinct  organization  until  April  12,  1717.  The  con- 
sistory was  sometimes  ordained  at  Three-Mile  Run,  at  least  this  is 
known  to  have  been  the  case  in  one  or  two  instances. 


CITY    OP   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


693 


The  field  of  his  pastoral  charge  was  very  extensive, 
embracing  all  the  churches  in  Somerset  and  Middle- 
sex Counties.  Very  little  information  in  reference  to 
this  pioneer  of  the  gospel  ministry  in  this  section 
has  been  transmitted  to  us,  which  is  the  more  sur- 
prising from  the  fact  that  his  descendants  have  al- 
ways lived  in  this  vicinity,  and  have  exerted  a 
great  influence  in  the  political  and  educational  in- 
terests of  the  State.  Short  biographical  sketches  have 
been  published  at  different  times,  giving  the  few  items 
of  history  which  have  been  gathered  from  the  per- 
sonal allusions  in  the  sermons  which  he  printed  during 
his  ministry,  and  from  the  traditional  knowledge  of 
the  inhabitants  covering  his  extensive  pastoral  charge. 
To  Dr.  Abraham  Messier  and  Rev.  William  Demarest 
the  church  is  indebted  for  the  valuable  information 
which  has  been  preserved  of  this  most  remarkable 
man. 

"  The  residence  of  Dominie  Frelinghuysen  was 
within  the  bounds  of  this  congregation,  his  grave  is 
with  us  till  this  day,  and  as  this  was  the  centre  of  his 
charge  his  history  properly  belongs  to  the  sketch  we 
are  giving. 

"  He  was  born  in  the  year  1691,  at  Lingen,  in  East 
Friesland,  now  a  province  in  the  kingdom  of  Hanover, 
and  was  educated  at  his  native  place  under  the  in- 
struction of  Rev.  Otto  Verbrugge,  Professor  of  The- 
ology and  Oriental  Literature.  He  was  ordained  to 
the  ministry  by  Rev.  Johannes  Brunius  at  the  age  of 
twenty-six,  and  for  about  two  years  was  the  pastor  of 
a  church  at  Embden,  in  his  native  country.  While 
thus  engaged  he  received  the  call  from  the  churches 
in  New  Jersey  to  labor  in  this  destitute  field.  The 
circumstances  of  his  selection  by  the  Classis  of  Am- 
sterdam for  this  important  mission,  as  related  By  Dr. 
Thomas  De  Witt,  indicate  the  hand  of  God  in  the 
gift  of  the  first  minister  of  this  church.  A  pious 
elder  entertained  a  young  traveler  on  his  way  through 
the  town  to  Embden  to  assume  the  charge  of  an 
academy  in  that  place.  During  the  evening  he  was 
so  well  pleased  with  the  spirituality  of  his  conversa- 
tion and  his  eminent  gifts,  especially  in  prayer  during 
family  devotions,  that  he  immediately  informed  his 
pastor,  Sicco  Tjadde,  that  he  had  '  found  a  man  to  go 
to  America.'  In  answer  to  this  call  he  made  his  ar- 
rangements to  emigrate  to  this  country,  and  arrived 
in  the  city  of  New  York  about  the  1st  of  January, 
1720,  and  on  the  17th  of  that  month  he  occupied  the 
pulpit  of  Dominie  Boel,  immediately  after  which  he 
came  to  New  Brunswick  and  commenced  his  pastoral 
work. 

"  He  brought  with  him  from  Holland,  according  to 
the  custom  of  the  church,  a  schoolmaster,  holding 
also  the  position  of  chorister  and  '  voorleser,'  Jacobus 
Schureman  by  name,  the  ancestor  of  this  family  in 
New  Jersey.  He  was  a  well-educated  gentleman  and 
noted  for  his  piety.  He  had  the  gift  of  poetry,  and 
wrote  several  pieces,  which  are  said  to  have  displayed 
considerable  genius  as  well  as  literary  taste  and  culti- 


vation. They  were  both  unmarried  and  resided  in  the 
family  of  Hendrick  Reyniersz,  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Three-Mile  Run.  He  had  been  promised  in  his 
call  five  acres  of  land,  which  was  increased  to  fifty 
acres  on  his  arrival,  with  the  use  of  a  parsonage. 
Quite  early  in  his  ministry  he  was  married  to  Eva 
Terhune,  of  Long  Island,  after  which  he  resided  at  or 
near  the  residence  of  the  late  John  Brunson.  About 
the  same  time  Schureman  became  his  brother-in-law 
by  marrying  the  sister  of  his  wife,  Autje  Terhune, 
and  resided  near  the  farm  which  is  known  as  the 
Schureman  property.  .  .  . 

"  At  .the  time  when  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  commenced 
his  ministry  the  churches  under  his  care  were  in  a 
most  deplorable  state.  They  had  been  entirely  desti- 
tute of  the  stated  ministry  of  the  gospel  since  the  first 
settlement  of  the  country.  .  .  .  But  he  was  a  man 
equal  to  the  times,  of  great  energy  of  character,  of 
large  attainments  in  knowledge  and  grace,  and  with 
a  certain  fearlessness  of  spirit  that  enabled  him  to  go 
immediately  at  the  heart  of  the  people.  From  the 
sermons  which  have  been  preserved  we  gather  that 
he  was  a  warm,  earnest  preacher,  dwelling  princi- 
pally upon  the  necessities  of  the  new  birth,  and  hav- 
ing a  dreadful  antipathy  to  all  manner  of  formalism. 
.  .  .  He  was  charged  by  his  enemies  with  preaching 
doctrines  contrary  to  the  standards  of  the  church, 
and  subversive  of  the  whole  spirit  of  the  gospel.  When 
he  insisted  on  the  necessity  of  experimental  evidences 
as  a  qualification  for  the  Lord's  Supper  he  is  repre- 
sented as  introducing  customs  contrary  to  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Reformed  Church.  A  very  elaborate 
pamphlet  was  published  by  his  enemies  in  the  year 
1723,  setting  forth  their  grievances  and  making  an 
appeal  to  public  opinion  against  the  course  he  was 
pursuing.  The  complaint  is  issued  under  the  sanc- 
tion of  Simon  Wyckoff,  a  deacon  of  the  church  of 
Six-Mile  Run,  Peter  Dumont,  an  elder  at  Raritan, 
and  Henry  Vrooni,  a  former  deacon  at  Three-Mile 
Run.  In  addition  to  these  names,  the  signatures  of 
sixty-four  heads  of  families  are  appended  from  all 
the  congregations  to  which  he  ministered  with  the 
exception  of  New  Brunswick.  The  controversy  seems 
to  have  been  quite  bitter,  and  was  continued  several 
years.  Indeed,  it  seems  to  have  disturbed  the  peace 
of  the  church  in  some  portions  of  his  field  during  his 
entire  ministry,  becoming  so  violent  that  on  one  oc- 
casion the  door  of  a  church  was  shut  against  him 
and  he  was  not  allowed  to  administer  the  sacraments. 
As  late  as  the  year  1729  a  party  existed  of  sufiicient 
strength  to  make  an  attempt  to  bring  over  from  Hol- 
land a  pastor  more  after  their  own  mind.  .  .  .  But 
Dominie  Frelinghuysen  met  all  this  opposition  in  the 
true  spirit  of  a  gospel  minister,  and  was  eminently 
successful  at  Raritan  and  New  Brunswick  in  gather- 
ing together  large  congregations.  Rev.  Gilbert  Ten- 
nent,  who  settled  over  the  first  Presbyterian  Church 
of  New  Brunswick  in  1726,  and  with  whom  Mr.  Fre- 
linghuysen was  on  intimate  terms,  in  a  letter  to  Rev. 


694 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Mr.  Prince,  a  historian  of  Boston,  in  1744,  bore  the 
following  testimony  to  the  services  of  his  contempo- 
rary : 

"  '  The  labors  of  Kev.  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  a  Dutch 
Calvinist  minister,  were  much  blessed  to  the  people 
of  New  Brunswick  and  places  adjacent,  especially 
about  the  time  of  his  coming  among  them,  which  was 
about  twenty-four  years  ago.  When  I  came  there, 
which  was  about  seven  years  after,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  much  of  the  fruits  of  his  ministry  ;  divers  of 
his  hearers  with  whom  I  had  the  opportunity  of  con- 
versing appeared  to  be  converted  persons  by  their 
soundness  in  principle.  Christian  experience,  and 
pious  practice  ;  and  these  persons  declared  that  the 
ministrations  of  the  aforesaid  gentleman  were  the 
means  thereof  This,  together  with  a  kind  letter 
he  sent  me  respecting  the  dividing  the  word  aright 
and  giving  every  man  his  portion  in  due  season 
through  the  divine  blessing,  excited  me  to  greater 
earnestness  in  miuisterial  labors.' 

"  The  eminent  evangelist,  George  Whitefield,  paid 
frequent  visits  to  New  Brunswick,  and  preached  to 
large  congregations  gathered  from  this  whole  section 
of  country.  He  frequently  speaks  in  his  journal  of 
the  pleasure  he  enjoyed  in  the  society  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen. He  is  very  earnest  in  his  praise,  and  repre- 
sents him  as  a  sound,  fearless,  and  highly-successful 
minister.  Mr.  Whitefield,  under  date  of  Nov.  20, 
1739,  writes  in  his  journal :  '  Preached  about  noon  for 
near  two  hours,  in  Mr.  Tennent's  meeting-house,  to  a 
large  assembly  gathered  from  all  parts.'  On  the  26th 
of  April,  1740,  be  again  passed  through  New  Bruns- 
wick, reaching  the  town  about  four  in  the  afternoon, 
'  and  preached  to  about  two  thousand  in  the  even- 
ing.' 'The  next  day,'  he  adds,  'preached  morning 
and  evening  to  near  seven  or  eight  thousand  people; 
and  God's  power  was  so  much  amongst  us  in  the 
afternoon  service  that  had  I  proceeded  the  cries  and 
groans  of  the  people  I  believe  would  have  drowned 
my  voice.'  It  was  upon  this  occasion,  according  to 
the  statement  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cannon,  received  from  per- 
sons who  were  present,  that  Mr.  Whitefield  preached 
in  front  of  the  Dutch  Church  in  Burnet  Street,  stand- 
ing on  a  wagon,  and  the  immense  audience  were 
spread  over  a  meadow  sloping  down  to  tlie  river,  list- 
ening to  the  sermon." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  one  of  the  originators  of 
the  movement  for  the  independence  of  the  churches 
in  this  country  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland, 
and  was  a  delegate  with  Hendrick  Fisher,  an  elder  of 
this  church,  to  the  convention  in  New  York  which 
drew  up  the  plan  for  the  "Coetus,"  an  assembly  of 
ministers  and  elders  who  should  exercise  jurisdiction 
over  the  American  churches,  subject  to  the  super- 
vision of  the  Synod  of  North  Holland,  in  1738. 
Hitherto  cases  of  discipline  had  to  be  referred  to 
the  mother-church,  and  all  ministers  were  required 
to  be  ordained  and  sanctioned  by  the  Classis  of 
Amsterdam  before  they  would  be  allowed  to  preach 


in  this  country.  The  time  had  now  arrived  when 
the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in  this  country  had 
grown  to  sufficient  strength  and  importance  to  man- 
age its  own  affairs,  and  the  action  of  the  convention 
of  1738  was  the  beginning  of  a  movement  which  soon 
grew  into  entire  independence  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Holland.  Of  course  the  measure  was  strenuously 
opposed  by  the  church  in  Europe.  The  more  aged 
and  conservative  of  the  ministers  and  elders  in  this 
country  also  vigorously  opposed  it,  and  organized 
the  opposition  known  as  the  "Conferentie."  "This 
was  the  beginning  of  a  strife  which  has  hardly  been 
surpassed  in  the  history  of  ecclesiastical  disputes, 
and  was  not  finally  adjusted  until  Dr.  John  H.  Liv- 
ingston matured  a  plan  of  union  in  1772." 

Mr.  Frelinghuysen  was  a  thorough  representative 
of  the  Coetus  party,  and  exerted  great  influence  in 
connection  with  this  and  other  reforms.  He  saw  that 
the  interests  of  the  church  demanded  an  independ- 
ent organization,  with  all  the  facilities  of  school,  col- 
lege, and  seminary  to  provide  a  well-educated  minis- 
try. Although  he  did  not  live  to  see  this  result,  yet 
he  is  justly  honored  as  one  of  the  originators  of  a 
system  which  at  first  greatly  agitated  but  finally 
prevailed  to  the  establishment  and  enlargement  of 
the  church.  There  were  a  few  in  this  congregation 
who  sympathized  with  the  Conferentie  party,  but 
they  never  attained  to  any  considerable  strength. 

On  account  of  the  accession  of  Dutch  population 
from  Albany  between  the  years  1730  and  1734,  and 
of  families  from  Long  Island,  who  continued  to  ar- 
rive and  settle  on  farms  along  the  Raritan  on  both 
sides,  above  and  below  the  town,  the  increase  and 
prosperity  of  the  congregation  became  such  that  the 
completion  and  enlargement  of  the  church  edifice  was 
demanded,  and  in  1735  the  object  was  accomplished 
under  the  direction  of  a  committee,  of  which  Dirck 
Schuyler  was  chairman.  The  amount  expended  in 
reseating  the  church  was  about  £200.  At  this  date 
the  pews  were  sold  under  an  article  of  agreement,  to 
which  the  names  of  the  heads  of  families  in  the  con- 
gregation were  affixed.  As  a  matter  of  general  inter- 
est, as  well  as  completeness  of  this  record,  we  give 
them  as  they  are  found  in  the  Appendix  to  Dr. 
Steele's  Discourse : 

LIST   OF   FAMILIES    IN   THE    CONGREGATION,   1732-35. 


Jan  Acten. 
Jan  Acten,  Jr. 
Thunias  Aden. 
Gerardus  Banker. 
Jacob  Bnj'B. 
James  Bennet. 
Jan  Bennet. 
Elias  Barger. 
Andrew  Blaew. 
Cornelins  Bennet. 
Hendrick  Blaew. 
Aerie  Bennet. 
Jobn  Buj-8. 
Francis  Costigin. 
Cornelius  Cornell. 
Peter  Cocbrau. 


Jacobus  Cornell. 
Jobannes  Fontyu. 
Reyner  Fontyn. 
John  Guest. 
Gerrit  Gerritsen. 
Jobn  Gedeman. 
James  Hude. 
Abrabam  Heyer. 
Daniel  Hendrickson. 
IsaJic  Jansen. 
Peter  Kenible. 
Paul  Le  Boyton. 
Cornelius  Low. 
Tennis  Montague. 
Cbristopber  Probasco. 
I)irck  Schuyler. 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


H95 


Jacobus  Schureman. 
CorneliHB  Suydam. 
Henilrick  Scheiick. 
Roelef  Seebring. 
PetrUB  Sleight. 
Abraham  Schuyler. 
Gersel  Stoothof. 
Johannes  Seebring. 
Lucas  Smack. 
Aaron  Sulfiu. 
John  Ten  Broeek. 
Isaac  Van  Noorstrand. 
Dirck  Van  Arsalen. 
Hendrick  Van  Deursen. 
Gerrit  De  Grow. 
John  De  Witt, 
G.  De  Pe.vster. 
Frans  Dilden. 
Hendrick  Dally. 
Gideon  De  Camp. 
Philip  French. 
Charles  Fontyn. 
Hendrick  Fisher. 
Abraham  Fontyn. 
Folkert  Folkers. 
Jacob  Fontyn. 
Jaques  Fontyn. 
Johannes  Folkers. 
Isaac  Fontyn. 
Johannes  Van  Norden. 
Christopher  Van  Norden. 
Frana  Van  Dyck. 
Nicholas  Van  Dyck. 
Court  Van  Voorhees. 
Christian  Van  Doren. 
Hendrick  Van  Lieuwen. 
Johannes  Messier. 
Paul  Miller. 
Johannes  Meyer. 
Peter  Metselaer. 


Peter  Bloon. 

Samuel  Mulford. 

Paul  Miller. 

Andrew  Norwood. 

Roelef  Nevius. 

Frederick  Outgell. 

Jacob  Ouke. 

Abraham  Ouke. 

William  Ouke. 

Jan  Probasco. 

Jan  Van  Nuys. 

Roelef  Voorhees. 

Dirck  Van  Norstrand. 

William  Van  Der  Rype. 

Johannes  Voorhees. 

Folkert  Van  Noorstrand. 

Jeremiah  Van  Derbilt. 

Hendrick  Van  Derbilt. 

Aris  Van  Ardalen. 

Jan  Van  Bnrcn. 

Dirck  Van  Ve^hton. 

Dirck  Van  Allen. 

Johannes  Martinus  Van  Ha 

lingen. 
Benjamin  Van  Clef. 
Aris  Van  Derbilt. 
Abraham  Van  Deursen. 
Abraham  Van  D..ren. 
Aris  Van  Clef. 
Minne  Van  Voorhees. 
Peter  Voorhees. 
Lucas  Voorhees. 
Gerrit  Voorhees. 
Frederick  Van  Lieuwen. 
Hendrick  Van  Derbilt. 
William  Willii 
Lawrence  Willij 
Leffert  Waldron. 
Philip  Young. 


Among  these  names  Dr.  Steele  makes  special  men- 
tion of  the  following: 

James  Hude  was  one  of  the  prominent  citizfens  of 
New  Brunswick,  and  held  in  high  esteem.  His  father 
was  a  Scotch  Presbyterian,  and  fled  from  the  religious 
oppressions  of  the  (Jld  World  to  enjoy  the  freedom 
promised  in  the  New.  Mr.  Hude  filled  all  the  civil 
offices  in  the  city,  and  spent  most  of  his  life  in  the 
service  of  the  government.  He  was  one  of  the  judges 
of  the  pleas  for  eleven  years,  a  member  of  the  Assem- 
bly in  1738,  one  of  the  Council  of  Governor  Morris, 
and  for  several  terms  mayor  of  the  city.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  benevolence,  and  at  his  death,  Nov.  1, 
1762,  the  New  York  Mercury,  in  an  obituary  notice, 
speaks  of  him  as  "  a  gentleman  of  great  probity,  jus- 
tice, affability,  moral  and  political  virtues."  His  resi- 
dence was  in  Albany  Street,  in  the  house  known  as 
the  Bell  Tavern,  the  original  part  of  which  is  one  of 
the  oldest  buildings  in  the  town.  He  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  a  communicant,  but  his  children  were 
all  baptized  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  and  appear  on  the 
church  register. 

Philip  French  was  a  man  of  great  liberality  and 
distinction.  He  came  into  possession  of  Inians'  pat- 
ent, and  one  of  the  streets  of  the  city  bears  his  name. 

Jacob  Ouke  was  one  of  the  original  members  of 
the  congregation  and  a  prominent  elder.     He  was 


several  times  mayor  of  the  city,  and  held  "  an  office 
which  had  been  created  by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  to 
meet  the  growing  demands  of  his  large  charge." 

Minne  Van  Voorhees. — Perhaps  no  name  was 
more  prominent  than  this  in  the  early  church  records. 
Dr.  Steele  calls  him  "  the  distinguished  elder."  He 
was  one  of  the  ancestors  of  a  large  family  of  this 
name  in  Middlesex  and  Somerset  Counties.'  He 
came  to  this  vicinity  from  Long  Island  about  the 
year  1715,  and  two  years  after,  on  the  organization  of 
the  church,  his  name  was  placed  on  the  roll  of  com- 
municants. He  resided  at  first  on  the  property 
known  as  the  College  Farm,  and  was  the  proprietor 
of  a  large  tract  of  land  in  that  vicinity,  including  the 
mills  below  the  city.  Subsequently  he  removed  to 
New  Brunswick,  where  he  resided  till  his  death, 
which  occurred  about  the  year  1734.  He  was  elected 
to  the  oflice  of  elder  in  the  church  when  quite  a  young 
man,  and  was  a  ruling  spirit  in  the  congregation, 
being  always  a  stanch  supporter  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen. When  the  latter  was  exhausted  by  his  ex- 
cessive labors  he  would  frequently  call  upon  Mr.  Van 
Voorhees  to  "  take  the  evening  lecture  in  one  of  the 
neighborhoods,  and  he  would  conduct  the  services 
with  great  edification.  .  .  .  His  descendants  were 
connected  with  some  of  the  most  distinguished  fami- 
lies of  the  city, — the  Pools,  Neilsons,  Abeels,  Bennets, 
Schuylers,  Van  Deursens,  and  Hasserts." 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  Van  Derbilts, 
Schencks,  and  Van  Harlingens  deserve  mention  as 
equally  prominent.  The  list  embraces  the  names  of 
about  one  hundred  heads  of  families,  showing  that 
in  1735  there  was  a  large  congregation  here,  built  up 
under  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen. 

In  1737  the  plan  of  procuring  a  college  was  dis- 
cussed at  a  joint  meeting  of  the  consistories  held  at 
Raritan  ;  it  was  agreed  to,  and  application  was  made 
to  Holland,  but  no  suitable  assistant  could  be  pro- 
cured. In  this  emergency  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  resorted 
to  an  expedient  no  less  novel  than  it  proved  success- 
ful, that  of  appointing  helpers,  after  the  manner  of 
the  apostles  (1  Cor.  xii.  28),  from  among  those  most 
gifted  in  exhortation  and  prayer,  and  of  the  most  ex- 
emplary Christian  lives  in  his  own  congregations. 
The  appointments  were  as  follows  :  North  Branch, 
Simon  Van  Arsdalen  ;  Raritan,  Hendrick  Bries  and 
Teunis  Post;  Six-Mile  Run,  Elbert  Stoothof;  New 
Brunswick,  Hendrick  Fisher,  Roelef  Nevius,  and 
Abraham  Ouke.     These  men  held  the  ofiBce  during 

1  The  ancestor  of  the  family  of  Voorhees  in  this  section  of  country 
was  Steven  Coerte,  or  Coers,  who  emigrated  from  Holland  in  1660,  on  the 
ship  "  Bontekoe"  (Spotted  Cow),  and  settled  in  Flatlands,  L.  I.  Having 
no  surname  they  subscribed  themselves  "  Van  Voorhees,"  or  "  from  be- 
fore Hees,"  the  place  in  Holland  whence  they  cime.  Steven  Coerte 
married  Willenipie  Roelefse,  and  died  about  1684.  His  son,  Lucas  Ste- 
vense,  married  on  Long  Island,  and  six  of  liis  children  emigrated  to  New 
Brunswick  and  vicinity.  Hans  (Jan)  Luras  married  Neetlije  NeviuB; 
Catryntje  Lucas  married  Roelef  Nevius :  Roelef  Lucas  married  Helena 
Stoothof;  Minne  Lucas  married  Antje  Wyckoff;  Wilmetje  Lucas  mar- 
ried Martin  Nevius;  Albert  Lucas  married  Catryntje  Cornell. — Genealogy 
of  Bergen  Family,  p.  61. 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


life,  and  one  of  them  became  a  lay  preacher  and 
catechist. 

Of  the  events  towards  the  close  of  Mr.  Freling- 
huysen's  life  Dr.  Steele  thus  speaks :  "  In  the  summer 
of  1744  he  bought  of  Danie  1  Hendrickson,  of  this  city, 
a  farm  of  two  hundred  acres,  for  which  he  paid  £550. 
This  properly  is  located  at  Three-Mile  Run,  and  is  a 
part  of  the  land  occupied  by  the  late  John  Brunson. 
Here  he  built  a  spacious  house,  a  part  of  the  founda- 
tion of  which  was  used  in  the  construction  of  the 
edifice  now  standing.  At  this  place  he  probably  re- 
sided at  the  time  of  his  death,'  which  must  have 
occurred  about  the  commencement  of  the  year  1748, 
when  he  had  not  yet  reached  his  fifty-seventh  year. 
He  is  buried,  according  to  all  the  evidence  we  can 
gather,  in  the  old  yard  of  the  Six-Mile  Run  Church, 
and  a  spot  is  still  pointed  out  as  his  last  resting- 
place."^ 

But  his  deeds  live  after  him.  When  he  came  to 
this  field  he  found  it  spiritually  dead  and  unculti- 
vated ;  when  he  was  called  away  he  left  behind  him 
a  strong  body  of  Christians  and  the  savor  of  an  ex- 
ample and  life  which  exerted  a  moulding  and  en- 
nobling influence  upon  a  large  circle  of  society. 
Tennent,  Whitefield,  Edwards,  and  Alexander  speak 
of  him  as  one  of  the  great  lights  of  the  American 
church,  the  latter  remarking,  "  If  you  wish  to  find 
a  community  characterized  by  an  intelligent  piety,  a 
love  of  order,  and  all  that  tends  to  make  society  what 
it  should  be,  seek  it  among  the  people  of  Somerset 
and  Middlesex.  And  their  present  character  is  owing 
very  much,  under  God,  to  the  faithful  preaching  of 
the  gospel  under  old  Dominie  Frelinghuysen." 

Dr.  Steele,  speaking  of  the  character  of  the  children 
for  piety,  says, — 

"We  attribute  this  fact  mainly  to  the  piety  and  religions  instruction 
of  the  mother,  Kva  Terhune.  They  were  baptized  in  this  church,  and 
their  names  appear  upon  our  register,  Theodore  was  settled  in  Albany 
from  1745  to  1759.  He  is  represented  to  have  been  frank  and  popular 
in  his  manners,  earnest  and  eloquent  in  the  pulpit,  and  blameless  in 
his  life.  He  sailed  for  Holland  in  the  year  1759,  with  the  expectation 
of  returning  to  his  field  of  labor.  The  date  and  circumstances  of  his 
death  are  not  known.  His  memory  was  very  precious  in  the  church  of 
Albany,  meriting  the  tribute  paid  to  him  of  Hhe  apostolic  and  much- 
beloved  Frelinghuysen.' 

"His  second  son,  John,  succeeded  his  father  at  Raritan  in  August, 
1750,  and  died  very  suddenly  while  on  a  visit  to  Long  Island,  attending 
a  meeting  of  the  Coetus,  in  1754.  The  third  and  fourth  sons,  Jacobus 
and  Ferdinand,  died  on  their  return  passage  from  Holland  of  the  small- 
pox in  1753,  and  were  buried  at  sea.  They  were  promising  young  men, 
and  had  both  received  calls,  the  one  at  Marbletown,  and  the  other  at 
Kinderhook,  N.  Y.  The  fifth  son,  Hendricus,  pursued  his  studies  in 
this  country,  was  licensed  by  the  Coetus,  and  in  175G  settled  over  the 
church  at  Wawarsing,  Ulster  Co.  N.  T.  ;  but  in  a  short  time  he  also 
died  from  an  attack  of  smallpox,  and  was  buried  at  Napanock.  .  .  . 

"One  of  his  daughters,  Anna,  was  married  to  the  Rev.  William  Jack- 
son, who  for  thirty  years  was  the  pastor  of  the  church  in  Bergen;  she 


1  Dr.  Steele  says,  "He  lived  at  one  time  in  Burnet  Street,  as  I  find 
a  reference  to  bis  'residence*  in  an  old  deed  in  my  posi^ession,  but  the 
precise  location  I  have  not  ascertained.  He  spent  his  whole  ministerial 
life  within  the  bounds  of  this  congregation,  and  his  family  made  this 
church  their  religious  home." 

3  Is  it  not  a  striking  fact  that  the  minister  who  first  broke  ground  for 
the  gospel  of  this  new  territory  lies  in  an  unknown  grave? 


died  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  in  May,  1810.  And  Margaret  became 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Thomas  Romeyn,  whose  only  son,  Theodore  Freling- 
huysen Romeyn,  was  pastor  at  Raritan,  in  the  same  charge  of  his 
grandfather  and  uncle,  whose  short  and  promising  ministry  of  only 
eighteen  months  was  brought  to  a  close  by  hie  sudden  death  at  an  early 
age,  amid  the  lamentations  of  a  bereaved  people. 

"  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen,  the  churches  under  his  charge 
. .  .  immediately  resolved  to  settle  two  pastors.  Raritan,  North  Branch, 
and  Millstone  (now  Harlingen)  settled  Rev,  John  Frelinghuysen,  whose 
short  ministry  of  only  four  years  was  eminently  successful." 

His  death  has  already  been  referred  to.  During 
his  short  ministry  he  instructed  a  number  of  candi- 
dates for  the  ministry  in  a  house  which  he  built  of 
brick  brought  from  Holland,  still  standing  in  Somer- 
ville,  where  Hardeubergh,  Jackson,  and  others  pur- 
sued their  theological  studies. 

The  churches  of  New  Brunswick  and  Six-Mile  Run 
united  in  September,  1748,  in  extending  a  call  to 

Rev.  Johannes  Leydt,  a  young  man  who  had 
just  completed  his  studies.  He  was  born  in  Holland 
in  1718,  educated  in  one  of  the  universities  ;  came  to 
this  country  with  an  older  brother,  settling  first  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Fishkill,  on  the  Hudson.  The  rec- 
ords of  the  Coetus  held  in  New  York,  April  28,  1748, 
contain  the  first  notice  of  him  in  these  words  :  "  The 
student  Leydt,  according  to  appointment,  delivered  a 
proposition  upon  2  Corinthians  iii.  6-8,  and  gave  such 
satisfaction  that  he  was  likewise  received  with  Van  der 
Linde,  to  be  examined  in  the  morning,  after  reading 
the  church  certificate,  from  which  it  appeared  tha:  they 
had  been  communicants  for  some  years."  The  elder 
Hendrick  Fisher  was  a  member  of  the  Assembly,  and 
presented  a  letter  from  the  consistory  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, "  urging  the  speedy  examination  of  the  student, 
in  order  that  their  congregation,  which  was  vacant, 
might  employ  him  as  a  candidate,  and,  if  satisfied, 
might  call  him."  He  was  ordained  ;  a  formal  call  was 
extended  by  the  consistories,  Sept.  27,  1748,  and  he 
became  the  second  pastor  of  the  churches  of  New 
Brunswick  and  Six-Mile  Run. 

"  The  first  act  of  the  consistories  was  to  provide 
him  a  home  ;  accordingly  they  purchased  a  parsonage 
with  fifty  acres  of  land.  This  property  was  located 
at  Three-Mile  Run,  and  is  known  as  the  Skillman 
farm.  .  .  . 

"  Very  shortly  after  his  settlement  Mr.  Leydt  in- 
terested himself  in  procuring  a  charter  from  the  royal 
Governor  for  the  churches  originally  embraced  in  the 
charge  of  Mr.  Frelinghuysen."  This  is  the  instru- 
ment alluded  to  at  the  commencement  of  the  history 
of  this  church.  The  first  trustees  under  the  charter 
were  the  two  ministers,  Rev.  Joiiannes  Leydt  and 
Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  with  the  several  members 
of  the  consistories  of  the  five  churches.  The  first 
meeting  of  the  new  corporation  wa.s  held  at  Raritan, 
Oct.  31, 1753,  when  Hendrick  Fisher,  one  of  the  elders 
of  this  church,  was  chosen  president  of  the  board,  and 
arrangements  were  made  to  carry  out  the  provisions 
of  the  charter. 

Mr.  Leydt  was  a  popular  and  able  minister,  and 
soon  gathered  so  large  a  congregation  as  to  call  for 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


697 


increased  accommodations.  "The  old  building  on 
Burnet  Street  was  full,  and  as  early  as  1754  the  plan 
was  agitated  for  the  erection  of  a  new  and  more  com- 
modious church  edifice  in  a  more  central  location." 
The  subject,  however,  was  postponed  for  several  years. 
On  the  12th  of  September,  1765,  Philip  French,  Esq., 
a  member  of  the  congregation,  conveyed  as  a  gift  to 
the  consistory  the  plot  of  ground  on  which  the  pres- 
ent church  stands.  A  building  committee  was  imme- 
diately appointed,  of  which  John  Schureman  was 
chairman,  under  whose  management  the  new  church 
was  erected.  It  was  completed  and  occupied  by  the 
congregation  in  the  autumn  of  1767,  when  the  old 
church  in  Burnet  Street  was  taken  down  and  the  lot 
sold  to  John  Schureman.  "  The  building  was  of 
stone,  nearly  square,  and  would  seat  comfortably  four 
hundred  persons.  The  cost  of  construction  was  £1097 
13«.  Id.  It  had  a  front  entrance  on  Queen  (now  Neil- 
son)  Street,  and  a  side-door  on  Prince  (now  Bayard) 
Street.  At  the  south  side  was  a  long  pew  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  public  officers  of  the  city,  and 
on  the  north  similar  pews  running  parallel  with  the 
walls,  which,  it  is  said,  were  much  sought  after,  '  as 
one  eye  could  be  directed  towards  the  minister  and  the 
other  to  anything  that  might  require  attention  in  the 
other  part  of  the  house.'  Far  off  and  up  in  a  circular 
pulpit  supported  by  a  pedestal  was  the  minister, 
beneath  the  old  time-honored  sounding-board.  Two 
pillars  supported  the  roof  from  the  centre,  which 
went  up  on  four  sides,  ending  in  a  small  steeple.  A 
bell  was  put  up  about  the  year  1775,  and  the  .sexton 
in  ringing  stood  in  the  middle  aisle,  winding  the 
rope  during  service  around  one  of  the  pillars.'  The 
church  was  never  desecrated  with  stoves,  but  in  the 
midst  of  winter  the  good  Dutchmen  kept  up  what 
heat  they  could  by  an  occasional  stamp  on  the  floor, 
and  tradition  says  the  dominie  would  keep  warm  by 
an  extra  amount  of  gesture." 

The  services  in  the  church  were  held  on  each  al- 
ternate Sabbath.  Mr.  Leydt  was  a  laborious  minis- 
ter and  a  faithful  pastor.  He  was  a  regular  member 
of  the  Coetus,  and  a  constant  attendant  upon  the 
meetings  of  that  body.  On  the  erection  of  the  Gen- 
eral Synod  he  was  associated  with  Dr.  Livingston  in 
conducting  the  princijial  part  of  their  business,  and  at 
their  annual  meeting  at  New  Paltz  in  1778  he  was 
chosen  president.-  Mr.  Leydt  was  one  of  the  promi- 
nent movers  in  the  establishment  of  Queen's  (now 
Rutgers)  College.  It  was  a  measure  designed  to  carry 
out  the  object  of  the  Coetus  ;  as  that  body  had 
declared  in  favor  of  a  ministry  educated  and  or- 
dained in  this  country,  a  college  was  necessary  to 
educate  them.  Mr.  Leydt,  however,  seems  to  have 
taken  a  wider  view,  and  to  have  considered  the  general 

1  "  I  liave  been  informed,"  says  Dr.  Steele,  "  thnt  the  bell  was  taken 
down  at  some  period  during  the  war,  and  buried  in  the  orchard  where 
now  stands  Rutgers  College,  and  restored  to  its  place  after  the  enemy 
left  the  city." — Z>i«cour8e,  p.  51  ;  note. 

2  Minutes  of  Synod,  vol.  i.    Gun's  Life  of  Liringston,  p.  143. 


benefits  of  a  college  in  relation  to  the  State  as  well  as 
to  the  church.  In  a  letter  to  Dr.  Livingston  he  .says, 
"  I  humbly  conceive  that  without  a  regular  course  of 
collegiate  studies  we  shall  never  make  any  respect- 
able figure  in  church  or  State."  As  soon  as  the  college 
was  chartered,  in  1770,  it  became  easy  to  settle  the 
controversy  which  had  been  long  pending  respecting 
independence  of  the  church  of  Holland,  and  hence 
the  events  were  almost  simultaneous,  the  approval  of 
the  church  of  Holland  being  granted  the  following 
year  on  condition  that  the  Dutch  Church  in  America 
should  make  provision  in  her  constitution  to  provide 
herself  with  an  educated  ministry. 

The  pastorate  of  Mr.  Leydt  carries  the  history  of 
the  church  through  the  period  of  the  Revolution.  He 
was  a  firm  and  earnest  patriot,  and  took  a  warm  in- 
terest in  the  struggle  for  independence.  "  He  preached 
upon  the  topics  of  the  day  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
rouse  the  patriotism  of  his  people  to  a  pitch  of  enthu- 
siasm. He  prayed  for  the  success  of  the  American 
cause,  and  counseled  the  young  men  to  join  the 
army." 

During  the  time  the  British  army  occupied  the 
town,  the  winter  of  1776-77,  services  were  entirely 
suspended.  Afrer  the  evacuation  of  the  city,  when 
the  inhabitants  returned  to  their  homes  they  foHud 
everything  in  a  most  desolate  condition.  The  work 
of  destruction  had  been  carried  on  indiscriminately 
and  ruthlessly.  It  was  a  dark  and  discouraging  time. 
But  the  people  went  to  work  to  repair  the  havoc 
which  had  been  wrought.  "Our  church  edifice,"  says 
Dr.  Steele,  "  underwent  a  temporary  repair,  and  for 
some  time  was  occupied  on  alternate  Sabbaths  by  the 
Presbyterian  congregation,  the  blackened  walls  of 
whose  building  were  left  standing  below  Lyle's 
Brook."  Mr.  Leydt  was  immediately  at  his  post,  and 
preached  for  his  people  two  Sabbaths  in  the  month 
of  July,  the  first  services  which  he  had  been  able  to 
hold  in  the  city  since  the  beginning  of  December.  .  .  . 
Indeed,  during  the  whole  subsequent  part  of  his  min- 
istry, which  was  brought  to  a  close  in  1783,  the  town 
was  kept  in  a  constantstate  of  alarm.  Mr.  Leydt  died 
suddenly  of  paralysis  on  the  2d  of  June,  1783,  in  the 
si.xty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  after  having  ministered  to  the 
church  nearly  thirty-five  years.  He  had  preached 
on  the  preceding  morning,  which  was  Sabbath,  and 
about  noon  he  was  stricken  down.  His  remains  were 
buried  at  Three-Mile  Run.  None  of  his  descendants 
are  now  living,  although  he  left  two  sons,  both  of 
whom  graduated  from  Queen's  College  and  entered 
the  ministry.  Matthew  was  pastor  of  a  church  in 
Bucks  County,  Pa.,  and  died  Nov.  24,  1783.  Peter 
was  settled  at  Ramapo,  Bergen  Co.,  and  died  there 
June  12,  1796. 

During  the  vacancy  which  followed  the  death  of 
Mr.  Leydt  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  neighboring 
ministers.     The  next  regular  pastor  was 

Rev.  Jacob  Rutsen  Hardenbergh,  D.D. — He 
received   a  call  in   October,  1785,  but  did    not  be- 


698 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


gin  his  ministry  till  the  spring  following,  at  which 
time  he  assumed  the  presidency  of  Queen's  College. 
"  His  father,  Colonel  Johannes  Hardenbergh,  emi- 
grated from  Prussia  in  the  latter  part  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  by  purchase  became  the  proprie- 
tor of  a  tract  of  land  in  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  known 
as  the  Hardenbergh  Patent.  Jacob  was  born  at 
Rosendale  in  1738."  He  acquired  his  literary  edu- 
cation at  an  academy  in  Kingston,  and  pursued  his 
theological  studies  under  the  direction  of  Rev. 
John  Frelinghuysen  at  Somerville.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach  by  the  Coetus  in  1757,  when  only  twenty 
years  of  age.  His  preceptor  dying  suddenly,  he  was 
immediately  called  to  succeed  him  in  the  pastoral 
charge,  and  in  the  month  of  May,  1758,  he  com- 
menced his  labors  in  the  five  united  congregations 
of  Raritan,  North  Branch,  Millstone,  Bedminster, 
and  Neshanic.  Of  two  of  these  congregations  he 
was  relieved  in  1761.  In  this  extensive  field  he 
labored  with  great  fidelity  during  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years.  He  remained  at  Somerville  until  the 
year  1781,  his  church  having  been  burned  by  the 
British  under  Col.  Simcoe  in  1771),  and  was  not 
rebuilt  till  1788.  On  his  removal  from  .Somerville 
he  served  the  church  at  Rochester,  Ulster  Co., 
N.  'Y.,  until  April,  1786,  when  he  came  to  New 
Brunswick,  having  received  the  double  call  of  the 
consistory  of  the  church  and  the  trustees  of  the 
college.  The  high  estimation  of  his  talents  and 
qualifications  thus  indicated  was  not  disappointed. 
He  labored  with  the  utmost  zeal  and  devotion,  and 
drew  around  him  a  strong  congregation,  who  loved 
and  honored  him,  not  only  for  his  qualities  as  a 
preacher  but  for  the  influence  he  had  exerted  during 
the  struggle  for  independence.  He  had  shown  him- 
self capable  of  any  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  his 
country,  and  had  suffered  much  personal  loss  and 
privation.  He  was  the  personal  friend  of  Washing- 
ton, whose  headquarters  during  several  months  were 
within  the  bounds  of  his  congregation  at  Raritan, 
and  who  uniformly  attended  his  church,  taking  his 
seat  at  the  head  of  the  elders'  pew.  On  two  different 
occasions  he  was  selected  by  the  citizens  of  New 
Brunswick  to  deliver  the  oration  on  Independence 
Day,  and  with  all  classes  he  was  eminently  popular. 

Being  a  man  of  slender  frame  and  predisposed  to 
pulmonary  disease,  his  labors  were  seriously  hindered 
by  feeble  health,  but  his  zeal  and  energy  never  fal- 
tered. Among  his  last  memorable  acts  was  the 
procuring  of  a  charter  for  this  church  on  the  30th  of 
March,  1790.  It  was  incorporated  in  accordance 
with  the  general  law  of  the  State,  passed  at  Perth 
Amboy  Nov.  25,  1789,  under  the  name  of  "  the 
Ministers,  Elders,  and  Deacons  of  the  Congregation 
of  New  Brunswick,"  the  seal  of  the  corporation  being 
the  device  of  a  burning  lamp  in  the  centre,  and 
around  it  the  words,  "  Dutch  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick." 

Dr.  Hardenbergh  died  on  the  30th  of  October,  1790, 


in  the  fifty-third  year  of  his  age.  The  inscription  on 
his  tombstone,  prepared  by  Dr.  Livingston,  is  a 
beautiful  tribute  to  his  memory  :  "  He  was  a  zealous 
preacher  of  the  Gospel,  and  his  life  and  conversation 
afforded,  from  his  earliest  days,  to  all  who  knew  him 
a  bright  example  of  real  piety.  He  was  a  steady 
patriot,  and  in  his  public  and  private  conduct  he 
manifested  himself  to  be  the  enemy  of  tyranny  and 
oppression,  the  lover  of  freedom,  and  the  friend  of  his 
country.  He  has  gone  to  his  Lord  and  Redeemer,  in 
whose  atonement  he  confidently  trusted.  He  has 
received  the  fruits  of  his  faithful  labors  and  the 
reward  of  a  well-spent  life.  Reader,  while  you 
lament  the  loss  to  society  and  his  friends,  go  walk 
in  his  virtuous  footsteps  ;  and  when  you  have  finished 
the  work  assigned  you,  you  shall  rest  with  him  in 
eternal  peace." 

"  Dr.  Hardenbergh  was  the  last  minister  of  this 
church  who  preached  in  the  Dutch  language.  His 
plan  was  to  use  the  Dutch  in  the  morning  and  the 
English  in  the  afternoon.  From  this  date  all  the 
records  of  the  church  are  kept  wholly  in  English,  and 
the  Dutch  ])assed  away  forever. 

"  His  wife,  who  w.as  known  by  the  familiar  name 
of  the  Juforow  Hardenbergh,  was  distinguished  as 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  women  of  her  day.  She 
was  the  widow  of  Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  and  in 
maidenhood  Dinah  Van  Berg,  born  in  the  city  of 
Amsterdam,  Feb.  10, 1725.  Her  father  was  a  wealthy 
East  India  merchant,  who  reared  his  family  in  the 
midst  of  the  fashion  and  refinement  of  the  city,  but 
she  early  gave  up  her  mind  to  religion,  and  while  still 
residing  in  her  father's  house  her  attainments  were  so 
marked  and  decided  as  to  arrest  the  attention  of  all 
who  knew  her."  Her  naturally  strong  intellect  was 
developed  by  her  early  education,  and  the  vigor  of 
her  mind  was  seen  even  down  to  the  period  of  old 
age.  We  regret  that  space  will  not  allow  us  to  give 
a  somewhat  extended  sketch  of  this  woman,  of  whom 
it  is  said  that  both  "  at  her  first  home  in  Raritan  and 
in  New  Brunswick  she  has  left  a  name  which  places 
her  in  the  highest  rank  of  female  Christians."  Those 
who  desire  a  fuller  account  of  her  are  referred  to  the 
excellent  discourse  of  Dr.  Steele,  which  we  have  made 
the  basis  of  this  church  history.  We  quote  one  pas- 
sage given  by  Dr.  Steele  from  her  remarkable  journal, 
wherein  she  relates  her  religious  experience  at  the  age 
of  twenty-two.  She  thus  commences  :  "  It  was  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1747,  midnight  had  arrived 
and  passed,  and  I  continued  in  earnest  supplication 
before  the  Lord,  yielding  myself  anew  to  walk  in  his 
ways,  and  to  cleave  to  his  people.  My  heart  went 
forth  in  earnest  desire  after  larger  measures  of  the 
renewing  grace  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  Oh,  that  old 
things  might  be  made  more  fully  to  pass  away,  the 
power  of  depravity  be  brought  into  subjection,  and 
the  blessed  image  of  the  Lord  Jesus  be  more  fully 
transferred  to  me,  and  all  things  become  new !  My 
soul  arose  in  petitions  to  God  for  the  dear  people  of 


CITY   OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


699 


the  Lord,  both  at  my  own  place  at  Amsterdam  and 
elsewhere,  that  God  would  grant  them  a  renewal  of 
his  loving  kindness  and  larger  measures  of  faith. 
Oh,  that  the  Lord  would  bring  many  of  the  people 
out  of  their  darkness,  that  a  formal  Christianity 
might  pass  away,  and  the  power  of  godliness  be  made 
again  to  appear !  For  God's  ministering  servants  I 
also  found  in  my  heart  to  supplicate  much  assistance 
in  their  weighty  work,  that  they  might  be  more  and 
more  faithful  and  firm  in  their  attachment  to  the 
cause,  truth,  and  people  of  God,  and  be  enabled  by  a 
consistent  and  godly  walk  to  be  examples  to  the 
flock." 

She  attained  the  venerable  age  of  eighty-two  years, 
departing  this  life  at  the  residence  of  her  son,  Hon. 
J.  R.  Hardenbergh,  in  Water  Street,  New  Brunswick, 
March  26,  1807.  The  following  verse  appropriately 
testifies  to  her  exalted  attainments,  and  is  engraved 
on  her  tombstone : 

"  Tell  how  she  climbed  the  everlasting  hills. 
Surveying  all  the  realms  above; 
Borne  on  a  strong-winged  faith,  and  on 
The  fiery  wheels  of  an  immortal  love." 

"  The  children  of  her  first  marriage  were  a  daugh- 
ter Eva,  who  became  the  wife  of  Mr.  Casper  Van 
Nostrand,  of  Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  where  several  of 
her  descendants  are  still  living,  and  Frederick,  the 
father  of  the  late  Hon.  Theodore  Frelinghuysen.  All 
who  bear  this  honored  name  in  our  section  of  country 
are  the  descendants  of  Frederick,  the  only  son  of 
Rev.  John  Frelinghuysen,  of  Raritan."  ' 

"  At  the  close  of  Mr.  Hardenbergh's  ministry  the 
church  was  in  a  settled,  prosperous,  and  harmonious 
condition.  .  .  As  soon  as  the  church  could  recover 
from  the  pain  of  their  loss  they  sought  a  suitable 
successor,  but  were  subjected  to  repeated  dis- 
appointments. Dr.  Livingston  and  Dr.  Theodoric 
Romeyn  were  called  jointly  by  the  consistory  of  the 
church  and  the  trustees  of  the  college,  but  both  de- 
clined. An  eflbrt  was  made  to  settle  Rev.  John  Bas- 
sett,  of  Albany,  in  October,  1792,  but  without  success. 
The  pulpit  remained  vacant  until  Aug.  24,  1793, 
when  a  unanimous  call  was  extended  to  Rev.  Ira  Con- 
diet,  D.D.,  who  accepted,  and  became  the  third  pastor 
of  the  church.  He  had  been  previously  associated 
with  the  Presbyterian  Church, and  on  the  Sabbath  pre- 
ceding his  call  had  preached  for  the  Presbyterians  of 
New  Brunswick,  making  so  good  an  impression  upon 
those  who  heard  him  from  this  church  that  his  ser- 
vices as  pastor  were  immediately  sought  for  and  ob- 
tained. 

"  Ira  Condict  was  born  in  Orange,  N.  J.,  on  Feb. 
21,  1704.  He  received  his  academic  instruction  un- 
der Rev.  Dr.  McWhorter,  of  Newark,  and  became  a 
student  at  Princeton  College,  graduating  from  that 
institution  in  17S4.  He  pursued  his  theological 
studies  with  Dr.  Woodhull,  of  Freehold,  Monmouth 


Co.,  and  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick  in  1786.  For  six  years  he  was  settled 
over  the  churches  of  Newton  and  Hardwick,  Sussex 
Co.,  before  accepting  the  call  of  this  church.  He 
commenced  his  pastoral  duties  here  in  November, 
1793.  He  resided  on  Church  Street  till  1798,  when 
he  removed  to  a  farm  near  Milltown,  still  known  as 
the  Condict  farm.  Dr.  Condict  excelled  in  pastoral 
duties  and  labors,  while  as  a  preacher  he  was  studious, 
able,  and  scholarly.  In  June,  1800,  he  was  elected 
president  of  the  General  Synod,  and  when  Queen's 
College  was  revived  he  was  chosen  vice-president  and 
Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy.  He  was  mainly  in- 
strumental in  securing  from  Mr.  James  Parker  the 
donation  of  the  land  on  which  the  college  building 
now  stands.  Connected  with  the  revival  of  the  col- 
lege, and  as  part  of  the  plan,  was  the  removal  of  the 
theological  seminary  to  this  city  in  1810.  Dr.  John 
H.  Livingston,  who  had  charge  of  the  seminary,  re- 
moved to  New  Brunswick  that  year,  and  also  assumed 
the  presidency  of  the  college. 

■'  Under  the  efficient  labors  of  Dr.  Condict  the 
church  steadily  increased  in  strength,  and  with  the 
growth  of  the  population  enlarged  accommodations 
were  again  demanded."  It  was  decided  to  erect  a 
new  building,  and  on  March  11,  1811,  the  following 
persons  were  chosen  a  building  committee  :  Matthew 
Egerton,  Staats  Van  Duer.sen,  John  Clark,  John  D. 
Van  Liew,  and  Michael  Garrish.  While  the  arrange- 
ments were  thus  being  completed  a  cloud  was  thrown 
upon  the  enterprise  by  the  sudden  and  unexpected 
death  of  the  beloved  pastor.  Dr.  Condict.  The  last 
sermon  by  the  pastor,  and  the  last  in  the  old  church, 
was  preached  on  Sunday,  May  20th,  from  a  text  which 
seemed  almost  prophetic  of  his  approaching  dissolu- 
tion, although  that  event  was  entirely  unanticipated 
by  any  of  his  people  :  "  But  I  must  die  in  this  land, 
I  must  not  go  over  Jordan  :  but  ye  shall  go  over,  and 
possess  that  good  land.  Take  heed  unto  yourselves, 
lest  ye  forget  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  your  God, 
which  he  made  with  you,  and  make  you  a  graven 
image,  or  the  likeness  of  anything,  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  forbidden  thee." — Dent.  iv.  22,  23.  It 
is  said  that  during  the  delivery  of  the  sermon  the 
congregation  was  very  much  affected,  and  that  many 
shed  tears. 

On  Monday  the  work  of  tearing  down  the  old 
church  was  begun.  On  Friday  intelligence  was  re- 
ceived that  Dr.  Condict  was  confined  to  his  house  by 
a  serious  illness.  Wednesday  of  the  next  week  came, 
and  his  recovery  was  considered  doubtful.  On  Sat- 
urday, June  1,  1811,  he  departed  this  life  at  eleven 
o'clock  P.M.  The  scene  of  his  departure  was  mem- 
orable, as  he  gathered  his  family  and  near  friends 
around  him  and  bestowed  his  last  benediction  and 


^  This  was  formerly  the  i 


I  of  Somerville. 


The  next  pastor  was  Rev.  John  Schuremajt, 
D.D.,  a  grandson  of  the  schoolmaster  who  came  from 
Holland  with   Dominie   Frelinghuysen,  and  son  of 


700 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Hon.  John  Schuremau.  He  was  born  Oct.  19,  1787, 
near  New  Brunswick,  his  parents  liaving  retired  to 
the  country  upon  the  occupation  of  the  city  by  the 
British  in  1776.  His  father  was  a  member  of  the 
congregation,  and  a  prominent  patriot  during  the 
Revolution;  his  mother  was  a  member  of  the  Schuy- 
ler family,  who  came  from  Albany  among  the  early 
settlers.  In  con.sequence  of  his  father's  absence  in 
the  public  service  his  early  education  devolved  chiefly 
upon  his  grandmother,  to  whom  he  was  much  indebted 
for  his  religious  training.  He  became  a  member  of 
this  church  in  the  nineteenth  year  of  his  age,  being 
received  into  fellowship  upon  the  profession  of  his 
faith  under  the  ministry  of  his  predecessor  in  the  pas- 
toral office  in  April,  1797.  He  had  completed  his 
literary  course  before  the  age  of  seventeen,  graduating 
at  Queen's  College,  Sept.  30,  1795.  After  studying 
theology  with  Dr.  Livingston  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  in  1800,  preaching  his  first  sermon  for  Dr. 
Condict  in  the  old  church.  Thenceforth  his  career 
was  brilliant  and  successful.  He  was  for  six  years 
pastor  at  Bedrainster,  two  years  and  a  half  at  Harlin- 
gen,  and  two  years  settled  over  the  Collegiate  Church 
of  New  York.  In  the  latter  charge  his  health  failed, 
and  he  came  to  New  Brunswick,  succeeding  Dr.  Con- 
dict as  vice-president  of  the  college.  Thus,  after  a 
season  of  rest  and  recuperation,  he  was  prepared  to  ac- 
cept the  urgent  call  of  this  church  to  become  their 
pastor. 

He  has  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  useful  and 
popular  ministers  of  his  day.  Coming  to  his  native 
town  with  the  confidence  and  love  of  those  who  had 
known  him  from  youth  up,  and  with  a  reputation 
which  had  not  disappointed  his  most  sanguine  friends, 
it  is  not  strange  that  his  settlement  should  have  cre- 
ated his  expectations  as  to  his  usefulness  in  his  new 
field  of  labor.  Nothing  but  failing  health  interfered 
with  the  realization  of  this  expectation.  Frequent 
hemorrhages  of  the  lungs  compelled  him  to  resign  in 
June  after  his  acceptance  of  the  charge,  and  he  seldom 
after  entered  the  pulpit. 

The  new  church,  whose  corner-stone  had  been  laid 
July  6, 1811,  was  finished  and  occupied  Sept.  27, 1812. 
The  dedication  sermon  was  preached  by  Dr.  Living- 
ston, from  Ezekiel  xliii.  12,  and  the  pews  were  sold  on 
the  5th  of  January  following.  The  cost  of  the  build- 
ing was  $16,415,  and  was  turned  over  by  the  commit- 
tee to  the  consistory  on  the  day  of  dedication  entirely 
free  from  debt.  The  dimensions  of  the  building  are 
ninety-four  feet  in  length,  including  the  tower,  which 
projects  four  feet,  and  sixty-six  feet  in  width ;  it  will 
comfortably  seat  eleven  hundred  persons.  This  build- 
ing has  stood,  with  its  massive  proportions,  nearly 
three-fourths  of  a  century,  and  has  been  twice  remod- 
eled,— in  1847  by  lowering  the  galleries  and  erecting 
a  new  pulpit,  and  in  1862  by  reseating  and  furnishing 
the  entire  edifice. 

After  his  resignation.  Dr.  Schureman,  in  October, 
1815,  was  elected  a  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History 


and  Pastoral  Theology  in  the  seminary  at  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  died  in  that  office,  May  15,  1818. 

Rev.  Jesse  Fonda  was  called  after  'a  short  va- 
cancy, Oct.  2, 1813,  and  was  dismissed  in  order  that  he 
might  accept  a  call  from  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
of  Montgomery,  July  3,  1817.  He  was  born  at  Water- 
vliet,  N.  Y.,  April  27,  1786,  graduated  at  Union  Col- 
lege in  1806,  and  was  licensed  to  preach  by  the  North 
Consociation  of  Hartford  County,  beginning  his  min- 
istry at  Nassau,  N.  Y.,  where  he  preached  successfully 
until  he  came  to  minister  to  this  church. 

"  During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Fonda  there  was  a 
healthy  growth  of  the  church,  and  at  one  communion 
twenty-eight  persons  made  a  public  profession  of  their 
faith.  The  total  nunaber  of  communicants  received 
into  the  church  was  one  hundred  and  seven.  Mr. 
Fonda  continued  the  pastor  of  the  church  at  Mont- 
gomery until  his  death  in  1827.  Few  ministers  excelled 
him  as  a  preacher.  He  had  a  full,  sonorous  voice, 
well  modulated,  and  would  draw  attention  by  the 
pleasantness  of  his  countenance.  He  prepared  his 
sermons  with  great  care,  writing  them  out  in  full,  and 
then  preaching  from  memory.  He  never  paused  for 
a  word,  but  carried  his  hearers  along  in  a  train  of 
rapid  argument  or  pungent  appeal  to  the  close  of  his 
discourse." 

Mr.  Fonda  left  New  Brunswick  in  the  summer  of 
1817.  In  the  graduating  class  of  that  year  there  was 
a  young  man,  a  member  of  this  church,  of  great 
abilities  and  promise,  to  whom  all  eyes  were  imme- 
diately directed  as  a  suitable  person  to  fill  the  vacant 
pulpit.  It  was  not  necessary  for  him  to  preach  as  a 
candidate,  for  all  knew  him  ;  and  so  urgent  was  the 
consistory  that  even  before  he  had  received  his  license 
a  committee  waited  upon  him  with  an  informal  pre- 
sentation of  a  call.  This  student,  who  became  the 
next  pastor  of  the  church,  was 

Rev.  John  Ludlow,  D.D. — His  call  bears  date 
Sept.  17,  1817.  The  first  invitation  was  declined,  but 
on  its  renewal  he  accepted  the  charge,  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  he  was  not  expected  to  preach  but 
once  on  the  Sabbath  during  the  first  year,  and  be 
released  from  all  pastoral  labor.  He,  however,  broke 
through  these  conditions  almost  immediately,  and 
labored  zealously,  both  in  and  out  of  the  pulpit,  for 
two  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  a  professorship  in  the  theological  semi- 
nary, and  resigned  his  charge  as  pastor. 

His  character  and  history  are  well  understood  in 
this  community,  where  the  last  years  of  his  life  were 
spent  in  the  education  of  young  men  for  the  ministry. 
After  spending  four  years  as  professor  under  his  first 
appointment  by  the  General  Synod,  he  returned  to 
the  pulpit,  for  which  he  had  special  qualifications, 
and  was  for  eleven  years  pastor  of  the  North  Church 
at  Albany,  N.  Y.  In  1834  he  accepted  the  position 
of  provost  in  the  University  of  the  City  of  Philadel- 
phia, which  office  he  held  for  fourteen  years,  and 
only  resigned  that  he  might  obey  the  will  of  the  Gen- 


CITY   OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


701 


eral  Synod  in  his  election  to  the  professorship  of  Ec- 
clesiastical History,  Pastoral  Theology,  and  Church 
History  in  the  seminary  at  New  Brunswick,  succeed- 
ing the  venerable  Prof.  Cannon,  which  position  he 
filled  with  great  ability  until  his  death,  Sept.  8,  1857. 

The  resignation  of  Dr.  Ludlow  left  the  church 
vacant  for  the  third  time  in  the  short  space  of  si.x 
years.  Rev.  Gabriel  Ludlow,  the  brother  of  the  late 
pastor,  was  called,  but  declined  the  invitation.  The 
pulpit  was  supplied  by  the  professors  in  the  seminary 
for  about  one  year,  during  which  time  the  attention 
of  the  consistory  was  directed  to  another  young  stu- 
dent, and  on  Jan.  21,  1821,  there  was  called  as  the 
eighth  pastor  of  this  church 

Rev.  Isaac  Ferris,  U.D. — Dr.  Ferris  was  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  church  on  the  third  Thursday  in 
April,  1821.  The  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  in 
October,  1824,  when  he  I'emoved  to  Albany  and  be- 
came pastor  of  the  Second  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
of  that  city.  He  subsequently  removed  to  the  city  of 
New  York,  where  he  was  chancellor  of  the  Univer- 
sity from  1852  till  the  time  of  his  death. 

During  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Ferris  seven  young 
men  who  devoted  their  lives  to  the  work  of  the  min- 
istry united  with  the  church  upon  the  profession  of 
their  faith.  One  of  these  was  Rev.  David  Abeel,  one 
of  the  most  devoted  of  foreign  missionaries.  He 
united  with  the  church  on  the  10th  of  November, 
1821,  and  has  been  called  "the  beloved  Abeel,"  on 
account  of  his  gentleness  and  amiableness  of  temper. 
"  His  early  death  at  the  age  of  forty-two  filled  the 
whole  church  with  mourning." 

Rev.  James  B.  Hardenbeegh,  D.D.,  was  the 
ninth  pastor  of  the  church,  and  the  second  minister 
of  that  name.  He  was  called  April  2,  1825,  and  re- 
mained in  charge  until  December,  1829.  Born  in 
Ulster  County,  N.  Y.,  he  graduated  at  Union  College 
in  1821,  at  Rutgers  Theological  Seminary  in  1824, 
and  was  immediately  after  installed  pastor  of  the 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Helderberg,  Albany  Co., 
N.  Y. 

After  his  resignation  as  pastor  of  this  church  Dr. 
Hardenbergh  preached  in  New  York  City,  at  Rhine- 
beck  six  years,  to  the  First  Church  of  Philadelphia 
four  years,  and  then  to  the  Northwest  Church  in  New 
York  fourteen  years. 

The  property  on  which  the  church  edifice  stands 
was  enlarged  in  182.3  and  1825  by  the  purchase  of 
two  lots  of  forty-three  feet  front  on  Bayard  and 
Paterson  Streets,  with  a  depth  along  the  alley  of  two 
hundred  and  forty-four  feet,  at  a  cost  of  $395.50. 
The  first  lecture-room  owned  by  the  congregation 
was  erected  in  1826  on  the  corner  of  the  alley  and 
Bayard  Street,  at  an  expense  of  $1468.  All  the 
weekly  services  of  the  church  up  to  this  date  had 
been  held  in  the  Lancasterian  school-room  in 
Schurenian  Street.  The  church  edifice  was  further 
improved  by  the  erection  of  a  steeple  in  1827,  under 
the  direction  of  Staats  Van  Deursen,  Matthew  Eger- 
45 


ton,  and  Peter  Spader,  the  amount  expended  being 
$2725. 

Rev.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  D.D.,  the  tenth  pastor, 
was  called  Feb.  23,  1830.  He  had  previously  been 
called  to  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  this  city  as  the 
successor  of  Dr.  Joseph  Clark  in  1814,  but  had  de- 
clined. Previous  to  his  settlement  here  he  had 
occupied  prominent  positions  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  and  at  the  date  of  his  call  had  just  resigned 
the  professorship  of  theology  in  the  Western  Theo- 
logical Seminary  at  Allegheny,  Pa.  Yet  his  early 
afliliations  had  been  with  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church.  His  parents  were  members  of  the  Colle- 
giate Church  of  New  York,  into  whose  communion 
he  was  received  upon  profession  of  his  faith  after 
graduating  from  Columbia  College.  His  theological 
studies  were  pursued  under  the  direction  of  Dr. 
Livingston.  Dr.  Janeway  served  the  church  but  one 
year,  when  upon  his  petition  to  the  Classis  the  rela- 
tion was  dissolved,  Feb.  24,  1831.  After  a  short 
residence  in  the  city  of  New  York  he  returned  to 
New  Brunswick,  and  in  1833  was  called  to  the  vice- 
presidency  of  the  college  and  to  the  professorship  of 
Belles-Lettres  and  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  filled 
the  positions  with  eminent  ability  till  he  resigned  iu 
1839.  He  died  June  27,  1858,  in  tlie  eighty-fourth 
year  of  his  age. 

Rev.  Samuel  B.  How,  D.D.,  was  called  to  the 
pastorate  of  this  church  May  18,  1832.  He  was  born 
in  Burlington,  N.  J.,  graduated  at  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1811,  was  licensed  by  the  Presby- 
tery of  Philadelphia  in  1813,  and  before  his  settle- 
ment over  this  church  had  preached  two  years  for 
the  church  at  Salisbury,  Pa.,  five  years  at  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  two  years  as  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  Brunswick,  seven  years  as  pastor  of 
the  Independent  Church  of  Savannah,  Ga.*  and  for  a 
short  time  had  been  president  of  Dickinson  College, 
Pa.  He  had  resigned  this  latter  position,  and  was 
engaged  in  a  new  enterprise  in  the  city  of  New 
York  at  the  time  of  his  call  to  New  Brunswick. 

Under  Dr.  How's  ministry  the  church  of  Middle- 
bush  was  organized,  March  17,  18.34,  of  a  part  of 
the  New  Brunswick  congregation  living  in  that 
vicinity.  In  1837  a  noted  revival  occurred  among 
the  churches.  One  hundred  and  thirty-seven  were 
added  to  this  church,  and  about  five  hundred  to  all 
the  churches  of  the  city.  The  additions  from  year 
to  year  under  Dr.  How's  ministry  increased  the 
number  of  communicants  in  the  church  to  five  hun- 
dred and  forty-nine,  according  to  a  report  made  to 
the  Classis.  On  Feb.  14,  1843,  the  Second  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  of  New  Brunswick  was  organized. 
Rev.  Dr.  Demarest,  now  of  the  theological  seminary, 
was  their  first  pastor. 

The  failure  of  Dr.  How's  health  in  the  winter  of 
1860  led  him  to  seek  rest  from  mental  and  physical 
exercise.  June  14,  1861,  he  resigned  his  charge. 
During  his  ministry  there  had  been  received  into  the 


702 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


church  five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  on  profession, 
and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  by  certificate  from 
other  churclies.  He  had  been  pastor  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  the  most  harmonious  relations  had  existed 
in  the  church. 

The  pulpit  remained  vacant  until  Dec.  3,  1863, 
when  Rev.  Richard  H.  Steel?:,  D  D.,  was  installed, 
the  sermon  being  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  How. 

First  Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Brunswick, 
N.  J.' — The  first  positive  date  in  the  history  of  the 
church  is  a.d.  1726,  when  the  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent 
became  its  pastor.  Its  organization  may  have  oc- 
curred previous  to  this  settlement,  but  concerning 
this,  for  reasons  which  will  appear  hereafter,  nothing 
can  be  stated  with  certainty.  So  far  as  can  be  ascer- 
tained, therefore,  it  completed  the  first  fifty  years  of 
its  history  in  1776.  On  the  year  that  the  nation  was 
born  it  might  have  celebrated  its  semi-centennial. 

The  records  of  the  church  during  its  first  half-cen- 
tury are  not  to  be  found.  The  subsequent  care  taken 
on  this  point  justifies  the  inference  that  records  were 
made,  but  they  are  supposed  to  have  been  destroyed 
during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  when  the  house  of 
Dr.  Moses  Scott,  a  prominent  elder,  was  entered  and 
plundered  by  the  British  troops.  For  this  reason  our 
acquaintance  with  the  history  of  this  period  is  ex- 
ceedingly meagre.  The  names  of  the  founders,  of 
the  first  oflicers,  of  the  families  originally  composing 
the  congregation  are  all  wanting. 

But  while  there  is  this  obscurity  in  regard  to  the 
church,  its  first  pastor,  as  is  well  known,  was  one  of 
the  most  celebrated  religious  characters  of  his  day, 
and  his  personal  prominence  brings  his  people  into 
view.  Moreover,  through  his  correspondence  and 
memoirs,  even  if  names  are  wanting,  we  can  learn 
something  at  least  of  their  religious  character  and 
sympathies.  It  is  as  when  we  read  general  church 
history  of  the  first  two  or  three  centuries.  We  see 
the  colossal  men  here  and  there,  and  so  through 
them  and  their  writings  the  church. 

It  is  needless  to  reproduce  here  with  any  particu- 
larity the  well-known  portrait  of  Gilbert  Tennent. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  natural  gifts,  excellent  men- 
tal training,  ardent  piety,  dating  from  an  early  con- 
version, and  with  a  zeal  so  abounding  as  to  become 
at  once  his  strength  and  his  weakness.  Son  of  a 
minister,  William  Tennent,  Sr.,  himself  celebrated, 
and  with  three  brothers  in  the  sacred  oflSce, — John, 
William,  and  Charles,  each  a  conspicuous  figure, — he 
easily  surpassed  them  all  in  talents  and  influence, 
and  in  fact  in  these  respects  was  second  to  but  few 
men  in  his  generation.  Born  to  be  a  leader,  he 
sprang  with  eagerness  to  that  place  at  the  front 
which  others  as  willingly  resigned  to  him.  We  read 
with  delight  of  the  piety  of  his  brother  William, 
which  has  undoubtedly  left  behind  it  a  sweeter  savor, 


1  CoudeuBed    from   e 
preached  July  2, 1876. 


by    Kev.   Tlion 


but  we  find  at  the  same  time  that  in  all  public  mat- 
ters this  saintlier  spirit  was  content  to  follow  where 
Gilbert  showed  the  way. 

Conspicuously  associated  with  Gilbert  in  friendship 
and  in  labor  was  the  celebrated  George  Whitefield, 
who  during  his  visits  to  America  came  several  times 
to  New  Brunswick,  and  on  one  occasion,  April  26, 
1740,  preached  in  the  open  air  to  a  congregation 
of  from  seven  to  eight  thousand.  A  detailed  ac- 
count of  these  services  may  be  found  in  Dr.  David- 
son's sketch,  which  want  of  space  forbids  us  to  re- 
produce. Copious  extracts  are  also  given  from  Mr. 
Tennent's  narrative  of  his  labors  in  New  Brunswick, 
— the  character  of  the  truth  presented,  the  serious 
and  powerful  impressions  produced  by  it,  the  '"  melt- 
ing seasons"  enjoyed,  especially  on  sacramental  oc- 
casions, with  other  matters  of  a  like  nature.  It  is 
noticeable,  however,  that  the  best  statement  which 
can  be  made  concerning  this  community,  even  during 
the  period  of  the  Great  Awakening,  1740  and  there- 
about, is  that  "New  Brunswick  felt  some  drops  of 
the  spreading  rain,  but  no  general  shower."  In  the 
same  connection  notice  is  taken  of  the  character  and 
labors  of  the  good  Dominie  Frelinghuysen,  first  pas- 
tor of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  without  abundant 
reference  to  whom  no  history,  and  especially  no  re- 
ligious history,  of  early  New  Brunswick  could  be 
written.  He  and  Mr.  Tennent  seem  to  have  been 
kindred  spirits  in  many  things,  and  to  have  labored 
together  for  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people. 

A  building  was  erected  by  the  congregation  in 
1727.  It  was  of  wood,  small  and  unpretentious, 
standing  on  Burnet  Street,  the  west  side,  just  north 
of  Oliver,  in  the  centre  of  the  old  Presbyterian 
burying-ground.  From  this  ground  the  remains 
of  the  dead  were  removed  now  several  years  since 
and  the  space  built  over,  with  the  exception  of  lot 
No.  140,  so  that  no  trace  of  its  original  use  now 
appears.  As  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  the  build- 
ing stood  on  lots  140  and  142. 

Concerning  this  building,  the  accepted  tradition  has 
been  that  it  was  set  fire  to  and  destroyed  by  the  British 
troops  in  their  attack  on  New  Brunswick  during  the 
Revolutionary  war,  a  force  of  Americans  under  Capt. 
Adam  Huyler  having  previously  been  dislodged  from 
it.  With  this  the  statement  upon  the  tablet  in  front 
of  the  present  edifice  corresponds,  reading :  "  The  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  New  Brunswick  was  erected 
on  Burnet  Street,  A.D.  1727,  and  was  destroyed  by 
the  Public  Enemy  during  the  war  of  the  Revolu- 
tion." 

Upon  the  substantial  facts  in  this  story  no  doubt 
has  ever  been  thrown  ;  the  question  which  has  since 
been  raised,  as  to  whether  the  destruction  was  partial 
or  entire,  may  be  of  interest  to  the  curious,  but  does 
not  invite  serious  investigation.'' 

-  The  following  statement  in  the  excellent  paper  road  before  the  New 
Brunswick  Historical  Society  in  December,  1875,  by  Charles  D.  Deshler, 
Esq.,  may  throw  some  light  upon  the  subject : 


CITY   OF   NEW    BKUNSWICK. 


703 


In  connection  with  the  labors  of  the  Tennents  and 
of  Whitefield,  with  others  of  a  kindred  spirit,  arose 
the  first  great  controversy  in  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  this  country,  resulting  in  the  disruption  of  1741,  not 
healed  till  1758.  The  question  between  the  two  sides, 
the  original  "  old"  and  "  new"  in  Presbyterian  history, 
was,  briefly,  whether  revivals  are  to  be  encouraged  or 
the  contrary,  and  whether  piety  or  education  is  the 
more  important  in  the  gospel  ministry.  In  this  state- 
ment, however,  exactness  is  sacrificed  to  brevity,  and 
it  is  not  supposed  that  it  would  have  been  perfectly 
acceptable  to  either  party  in  the  controversy. 

In  this  strife,  as  in  almost  all  similar  cases,  there 
were  faults  on  both  sides.  Of  the  New  Side  Gilbert 
Tennent  was  the  acknowledged  leader,  "  so  com- 
pletely the  .soul  of  the  party,"  says  Dr.  Hodge,  as 
quoted  by  Dr.  Davidson,  "that  without  him  it  would 
never  have  existed  ;"  and  his  church  adhered  to  him. 

It  is  in  this  position  that  he  makes  so  striking  a 
figure  in  the  religious  history  of  the  times.  The  im- 
partial historian  must  set  his  approval  upon  him,  in 
view  of  his  refusal  to  be  satisfied  with  a  dead  ortho- 
doxy, his  earnest  efforts  for  a  more  aggressive  relig- 
ion, and  his  sympathy  with  the  great  revival  move- 
ment which  was  then  sweeping  over  the  land. 


"The  Presbyterian  Church  ii 
opening  of  tlie  Revolutionary  w; 
now  the  northerly  corner  of  Oliv 
built  in  1726.     A  tal)let  in  the  prs 


'  Sworn  Oct.  4, 1782, 


New  Brunswick,  before  and  at  the 
-.  stood  on  Burnet  Street,  on  what  is 
r  Street,  below  Lyle's  Brook,  and  was 
Biit '  Fir^t  Presbyterian  Church'  states 
that  the  old  cliurch  on  Burnet  Street  was  '  Destroyed  by  the  Public 
Enemy  During:  the  War  of  the  Revolution  ;'  and  Kev.  Robert  Davidson, 
D.D.,  in  his  'Historical  Sketch  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
City  of  New  Brunswick,'  states  that  it  was  set  fire  to  by  the  enemy  and 
was  'consumed.'  [I*.  17.]  But  in  the  'Book  of  Registry  and  Copy  of 
Inventory  of  Damages  done  by  the  Enemy  and  their  Adherents  to  the 
Inhabitants  of  Middlesex  County,'  [preserved  in  manuscript  in  the  State 
Library  at  TreTitou,  No.  172]  the  inventory  presented  by  the  congregation 
does  not  state  that  the  church  was  wholly  'consumed,"  but  that  it  was 
'  damaged.'    The  following  is  a  transcript  of  the  inventory  : 

"  Ditto  of  the  Presbyterian  Meeting-House  at  New  Brunswick,  Ex- 
hibited by  Captain  Richard  Gibb  and  others,  a  Committee  of  ye  Congre- 
gation, viz.,  between  November,  1776,  and  June,  1777  ; 

"  To  damages  done  to  the  alwve  said  Meeting-House  to  ye  am't  of  £400 
£400.0.0. 

"John  Lyle,  Junior,  being  sworn,  saith  that  he  was  an  Eye  Witness 
to  the  British  Troops  and  their  Adherents  damaging  of  the  above  said 
Meeting  House.  John  Lyle,  Ju'r. 


before  Nath.  Hunt.  / 

"  Joseph  Vickers  and  John  Voorhees,carpentei-B,  being  sworn,  saith  that 
they  knew  the  above  said  Meeting  House  mentioned  in  this  Inventory, 
and  do  adjudge  the  damages  done  to  the  same  by  the  Enemy  amounts  to 
£400. 

"  Sworn  before  Nath'l  Hunt,  i  Joseph  Vickers, 

Oct.  4, 1782.  J  John  Vooehees." 

More  decisive  is  an  entry  in  the  records  of  the  congregation,  Jan. 
19,  1784,  as  follows  :  "  Agreed  that  John  Van  Emburgh  and  John 
Lyle  be  authorized  to  dispose,  in  the  best  possible  mauner,  of  the  old 
church  edifice,  and  erect  a  suitable  fence  around  the  lot." 

Dr.  Steele,  in  his  Historical  Discourse,  already  referred  to,  says,  "The 
building  was  not  entirely  destroyed,  but  as  the  congregation  contem- 
plated removing  to  another  part  of  the  city,  instead  of  repairing  the  old 
edifice  it  was  sold  to  Mr.  Ilassert,  who  removed  it  to  New  Street  and 
converted  it  into  a  dwelling-house.  This  building  is  still  standing,  and 
is  now  No.  21."    [P.  62,  note.] 

This  statement  of  course  would  not  have  been  made  except  upon 
grounds  presumably  sufficient,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain 
what  they  are. 


As  these  difliculties  increased.  New  Brunswick 
Church,  which  had  at  first  been  connected  with  the 
Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  was  transferred  to  that 
of  East  Jersey  (1733),  and  subsequently,  when  the 
Presbyteries  of  East  Jersey  and  Long  Island  were 
merged  in  that  of  New  York  (1738),  it  was  set  off 
with  several  other  churches  to  form  the  Pre.sbytery 
of  New  Brunswick.  Here  we  have  the  origin  of  a 
Presbytery  which  has  exerted,  in  the  course  of  its 
long  history,  a  more  commanding  influence,  per- 
haps, than  any  other  in  the  body.  There  are  older 
churches  than  ours  now  on  its  roll,  but  as  ours  fur- 
nished to  it  its  name  and  the  leading  man,  and 
through  this  man  the  very  occasion  for  its  existence, 
it  has  sometimes  been  called,  it  would  seem  not  in- 
appropriately, the  Mother  Church  of  the  Presbytery. 
It  gave  the  name,  indeed,  to  that  whole  branch  of  the 
church  with  which  it  stood  connected  in  the  division. 
In  the  history  of  the  times  the  terms  the  "New  Side" 
and  the  "  New  Brunswick  party"  are  constantly  oc- 
curring as  interchangeable. 

Between  this  party  and  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia 
— the  Old  Side — the  Presbytery  of  New  York  occupied 
for  a  time  an  intermediate  position.  But  in  a  few 
years,  having  endeavored  in  vain,  while  standing 
aloof,  to  effect  a  reconciliation  between  the  contest- 
ants, it  came  into  organic  union  with  the  Presbytery 
of  New  Brunswick,  the  united  body  growing  into 
that  Synod  of  New  York  which,  in  the  reunion  of 
1758,  outnumbered  the  Old  Side  three  to  one,  and  in- 
cluded within  itself  the  best  part  of  the  vigor  and 
piety  of  the  Presbyterian  body,  being  the  stock 
largely  from  which  the  denomination  has  grown  to 
its  present  imposing  dimensions.  And  what  congre- 
gation, therefore,  among  the  four  thousand  and  over 
of  our  communion  occupies  a  position  more  directly 
in  the  focus  of  our  early  denominational  history  than 
our  own  ?  And  its  record  here  is  one  of  which  it  may 
well  be  proud.  If  it  must  share  with  its  past  the 
charge  of  divisive  measures  and  of  a  turbulent 
spirit,  it  is  entitled  also  with  him  to  the  credit  of 
standing  fast  for  an  earnest  and  spiritual  religion  in 
the  very  crisis  of  the  struggle,  and  of  giving  an  im- 
pulse to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  the  direction  of  evan- 
gelical effort  and  experimental  piety,  which  it  feels 
to-day.'  On  this  account  it  is  all  the  more  to  be  re- 
gretted that  the  early  records  are  lost,  and  that  the 
very  names  of  the  founders  have  perished. 

In  1743,  Mr.  Tennent  removed  to  Philadelphia, 
where  he  died  in  1764,  in  the  sixty-second  year  of  his 
age.  His  career  after  leaving  New  Brunswick  is  a 
part  of  the  general  history  of  the  church. 

The  congregation  thus  left  without  a  pastor  con- 
tinued in  this  state  for  several  years.  Dr.  Gillett,  in 
his  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  speaks  of 

^  Since  writing  the  above  we  have  been  exceedingly  gratified  to  hear 
a  similar  statement  with  reference  to  Mr.  Tennent  from  the  lips  of  the 
venerable  Dr.  Charles  Hodge,  at  the  centennial  meeting  of  the  Presby- 
tery of  New  Brunswick,  at  Lawreuceville. 


704 


HISTOKY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  Arthur  who  succeeded  Tennent  at  New  Brunswick." 
This  is  in  accordance  with  an  old  tradition  which 
assigns  tlie  pastorate  between  1746  and  1751  to  a 
minister  of  that  name,  Rev.  Thomas  Arthur;  but,  so 
far  as  any  local  knowledge  goes,  the, matter  is  doubt- 
ful. In  1760  the  minutes  of  the  Presbytery  show 
that  a  temporary  supply  was  appointed  ;  and  arrange- 
ments of  this  character  were  repeated  irom  time  to 
time  till,  in  1768,  Rev.  Israel  Read,  who  had  some 
years  previous  been  installed  pastor  at  Bound  Brook, 
was  appointed  to  supply  the  pulpit  regularly  one- 
fourth  of  his  time. 

On  this  scanty  diet  the  church  entered  upon  and 
passed  through  the  stormy  era  of  the  Revolutionary 
war,  closing  up  what  I  have  designated  as  the  first 
period  in  its  history.  Through  the  patriotism  and 
personal  heroism  of  several  of  its  members,  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned  Cols.  Neilson  and  Taylor 
and  Dr.  Moses  Scott,  it  furnishes  a  brilliant  page  to 
the  story  of  the  war. 

In  January,  1784,  when  we  first  strike  the  solid 
historical  footing  which  we  have  so  long  felt  the  need 
of  (the  records  of  the  congregation,  which  have  since 
been  kept  with  great  regularity,  beginning  at  that 
time),  we  find  the  people  assembled  for  deliberation  ; 
and  whether  there  was  on  hand  the  shattered  frame 
of  the  former  edifice  to  sell,  or  simply  its  blackened 
foundations,  a  new  building  is  at  once  resolved  upon, 
and,  to  meet  the  wants  of  a  growing  community,  a 
new  location.  Lots  were  purchased  on  Paterson 
Street,  corner  of  George,  a  point  which  is  still  as 
central  as  any  in  the  city,  and  where,  after  a  lapse  of 
ninety  years,  the  surroundings  are  still  of  the  most 
desirable  character  ;  and  the  work  was  almost  imme- 
diately commenced.  "  In  1785,"  says  Dr.  Davidson, 
"  the  walls  were  up  and  under  cover,"  though  in 
some  minor  particulars  it  was  two  or  three  years 
before  all  was  completed.  The  description  con- 
tinues :  "  The  structure  was  convenient,  though  not  so 
large  as  the  present  church.  It  stood  a  little  below 
the  corner  of  George,  fronting  on  Paterson  Street. 
It  was  built  of  bricks,  painted  yellow  (the  '  Old  Yel- 
low Church'  it  is  still  called  by  those  who  remember 
it).  At  the  north  end  was  a  small,  narrow  pulpit; 
and  square  high-backed  pews  ran  along  the  sides." 

Some  slight  changes  occurred  from  time  to  time, 
but  the  building  remained  substantially  as  it  was  first 
erected  until  it  gave  place  to  the  new  edifice  in  1837. 
The  pulpit,  however,  seems  early  to  have  become  an 
offense  in  some  eyes,  for  in  1819,  at  a  meeting  of 
the  congregation,  it  was  resolved  "  That  the  congre- 
gation proceed  to  erect,  in  the  place  of  the  one  now 
standing,  another  pulpit  of  different  form  and  con- 
struction, in  consequence  of  many  exceptions  made 
to  it  by  many  speakers  and  various  hearers  as  to 
height,  depth,  and  contracted  form."'     One  hundred 

1  Dr.  Augustus  R.  Taylor,  oue  of  the  trustees  of  tlie  churcb.  was  the 
original  Diover  iu  this  matter,  drew  the  plan  for  the  new  pulpit,  and 
collected  by  subscription  the  uecessai-y  funds  for  its  erection.    The  pul 


dollars  were  appropriated  to  this  object.  Should  the 
voice  of  criticism  be  lifted  against  the  present  pulpit 
to  effect  a  similar  change,  a  larger  sum  would  proba- 
bly be  required. 

The  church  found  itself  thus  with  a  new  building, 
but  without  means  to  pay  for  it.  To  obviate  this  dif- 
ficulty application  for  assistance  was  made  to  the 
people  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  and  to  facilitate  the 
project  a  handsome  recommendation,  certifying  to  the 
patriotism  of  the  congregation  and  their  losses  during 
the  war,  was  furnished  by  Governor  Livingston,  and 
indorsed  by  Governor  Bowdoin,  of  Massachusetts. 
Nothing  came  of  it  except  thirty  dollars  in  money, 
unless  a  "box  of  spermaceti,"  forwarded  at  the  same 
time,  was  a  contribution  to  the  building  fund  instead 
of  a  consignment  to  a  private  hand.  It  brings  the 
past  and  the  present  into  very  close  sympathy  to  find 
this  want  of  success  ascribed  to  "  the  failure  of  several 
persons  in  the  region  of  Boston,  together  with  the 
uncommon  scarcity  of  specie."  Dr.  Davidson  gives  the 
correspondence  entire. 

With  the  beginning  of  the  new  era,  1784,  the  Leg- 
islature was  applied  to  for  an  act  of  incorporation, 
which  was  granted,  and  the  congregation  was  invested 
with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  usually  conferred 
in  this  way.  The  original  trustees  were  John  Neilson, 
Moses  Scott,  William  Patterson,  John  Taylor,  James 
Richmond,  John  Meyers,  and  John  Lyle,  Jr. 

It  was  at  about  the  same  period  again  that  atten- 
tion was  directed  to  the  securing  of  more  regular  ser- 
vice in  the  pulpit.  In  1786  the  congregation  relin- 
quished its  partial  claim  upon  Mr.  Read,  and  Rev. 
Walter  Monteith  was  called  to  the  pastorate,  on  a 
salary  of  £200  ($500).  Mr.  Monteith  was  a  native  of 
Scotland,  and  a  man  of  ability.  His  sermons,  it  is 
said,  were  strongly  doctrinal  in  character. ,  He  dressed 
in  the  old  style,  was  dignified  in  his  bearing,  and 
greatly  respected.  The  church  prospered  under  him, 
though  there  is  no  evidence  of  great  activity.  He 
held  the  charge  till  April  22,  1794,  when  he  resigned. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Joseph  Clark,  who  was 
installed  Jan.  4,  1797,  on  a  salary  of  £250.  Dr.  Clark 
died  in  ofiice  suddenly  on  Wednesday,  Oct.  20,  1813, 
having  served  the  church  faithfully  for  sixteen  years. 
The  Sabbath  previous  he  had  preached  from  the  text, 
"The  time  is  short."  His  death,  it  is  said,  made  a 
great  impression.  The  whole  city  was  in  mourning. 
His  remains  lie  in  the  yard  in  the  rear  of  the  church. 

There  are  those  in  the  congregation  who  still  re- 
member Dr.  Clark  and  speak  of  him  with  interest, 
though  information  of  him  now  must  mostly  be  gath- 
ered at  second-hand.  Dr.  Davidson's  brief  outline 
of  his  life  and  character  is  exceedingly  interesting. 


pit  when  completed  was  greatly  admired,  and  when  the  second  edifice 
was  torn  down  was  thouglit  too  good  to  be  destroyed,  and  so  was  removed 
to  the  lecture-room.  It  stood  there  till  the  spring  of  IST.'J,  when,  having 
had  its  full  day,  it  also  gave  way  to  the  march  of  improvement.  It  had 
a  kind  of  sacreduess  in  some  eyes  to  the  last,  and  portions  of  it  are  still 
preserved  as  relics. 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


705 


1 


According  to  this,  he  was  a  man  of  tlie  old  style,  like 
Mr.  Monteith,  in  dress  and  manner.  His  preaching 
was  very  impressive,  particularly  by  re.ison  of  its  emo- 
tional character.  Few  ministers  have  enjoyed  to  a 
greater  degree  the  confidence  and  atfection  of  their 
people.  He  exerted  a  commanding  influence  also  in 
the  church  at  large,  and  his  counsel  was  greatly 
prized  by  his  brethren.  He  left  a  church  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-seven  members,  nearly  double  what 
it  had  been  at  his  accession. 

The  choice  of  the  people  then  fell  on  the  Rev.  Lev- 
erett  F.  Huntington,  a  young  man  from  Princeton 
Seminary,  who  was  installed  Dec.  5,  1815.  A  high 
character  for  ability  and  piety  is  given  him  by  those 
who  recall  his  ministry.  His  services  were  particu- 
larly attractive  to  the  young,  and  he  interested  him- 
self greatly  in  the  colored  people  of  his  parish,  hold- 
ing special  services  for  them.  These  the  remainder 
of  the  congregation  were  requested  not  to  attend,  but 
they  would  go  notwithstanding. 

During  this  pastorate,  in  the  year  1816,  the  Sab- 
bath-school was  established.  It  appears  to  have 
grown  out  of  conferences  over  the  religious  destitu- 
tion of  the  city,  had  at  tlie  meetings  of  the  Dorcas 
Society.  "The  ladies  of  the  Presbyterian  Church," 
says  the  record,  "  volunteered  their  services  to  collect 
children  on  the  Sabbath  for  religious  instruction."  It 
was  a  school,  like  the  original  ones  in  England,  for 
neglected  children,  rather  than  for  those  of  Christian 
families.  It  is  to  this  feature,  no  doubt,  Dr.  David- 
son refers  when  he  speaks  of  it  as  "  organized  on  the 
modern  plan,"  adding,  "  It  was  the  first  in  the  city." 
Miss  Hannah  Scott,  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Moses  Scott, 
and  a  lady  of  eminent  piety,  was  the  leader  in  the 
movement  and  the  first  superintendent.  This  pe- 
culiar indebtedness  of  the  school  to  woman  seems 
to  have  characterized  it  throughout  its  history. 
Woman's  hand  and  heart  have  never  been  wanting 
to  carry  on  the  work,  and  its  success  is  largely  due  to 
her  instrumentality. 

While  the  whole  Sabbath-school  work  was  of  a 
missionary  character  at  first,  in  1828  a  mission  school 
was  started,  since  known  as  the  North  Mission.  Pres- 
byterians were  the  principal  movers  in  this,  though 
members  of  other  churches  were  a.ssociated  with 
them.  The  character  of  the  work  at  that  day  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  ladies  were  con- 
strained to  take  soap  and  towels  with  them,  to  put 
tlie  children  in  decent  outward  plight  before  begin- 
ning the  work  of  in.struction.  This  mission  has  had 
a  checkered  history.  It  is  now  (1876)  flourishing, 
under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Gallup. 

The  Sabbath-school  movement  had  the  full  appro- 
bation of  Mr.  Huntington,  and  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise thus  manifested  by  him,  together  with  his  sin- 
gular sweetness  of  disposition  and  his  faithfulness  in 
embracing  every  opportunity  to  say  a  word  for  his 
master,  gave  hopes  of  great  prosperity  under  his  min- 
istry, but  these  were  speedily  blighted  by  his  death, 


which  occurred  May  11,  1820,  in  the  thirty-fourth 
year  of  his  age.  He  left  a  church  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-five  members.  His  remains  lie  by  the  side 
of  Dr.  Clark's. 

Rev.  Samuel  B.  How,  D.D.,  was  installed  pastor  in 
1821.  Dr.  How  was  a  native  of  Burlington,  N.  J., 
and  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  was  licensed  to  preach  in  1813  by  the  Presbytery 
of  Philadelphia,  and  ordained  over  the  church  at 
Lambertville.  He  then  removed  to  Trenton,  whence 
he  was  called  to  New  Brunswick.  Here  he  remained 
but  two  years,  resigning  in  1823,  under  a  strong  im- 
pression of  duty  to  accept  a  ca'l  to  Savannah,  Ga. 
Returning  from  Savannah  he  became  president  of 
Dickinson  College  in  1830,  passing  from  there  to  New 
York,  from  which  point  he  was  called  to  the  First 
Reformed  Church  in  New  Brunswick  in  1832.  His 
long  and  successful  ministry  in  this  position  (till 
1861)  is  evidence  that  our  people  did  not  err  when 
they  judged  him  a  suitable  person  to  set  over  them 
in  the  sacred  oflBce.  And  tangible  results  of  his 
labors  among  them  were  not  wanting,  though  the 
term  of  service  was  so  brief.  He  left  a  church  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  members. 

In  1825,  July  the  28th,  a  new  pastor  was  installed, 
the  Rev.  J.  H.  .Tones,  a  man  truly  the  gift  of  God  to 
the  people.  Under  him  the  church  immediately 
leaped  forward  on  a  new  career.  There  was  an  im- 
mediate and  decided  advance  in  temporal  things.  A 
parsonage,  the  same  now  in  the  possession  of  the 
church,  though  since  greatly  enlarged,  was  built  in 
1827  at  a  cost  of  $3355 ;  a  new  session-house  in  1832, 
costing  $2696  ;  and,  to  crown  all,  the  present  church, 
dedicated  to  the  worship  of  God  Dec.  15,  1836,  at  a 
cost  of  $23,328.26.  At  the  time  that  this  last  enter- 
prise was  undertaken  the  old  edifice  was  still  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation,  but  the  congregation  had 
considerably  outgrown  its  dimensions,  and  on  mature 
consideration  it  was  determined  that  instead  of  being 
enlarged  it  should  be  entirely  taken  down  and  a  new 
one  erected.  Improvement  in  style  as  well  as  capacity 
was  thus  secured,  and  by  a  slight  change  of  location 
a  front  on  George  instead  of  Paterson  Street,  a  change 
every  way  desirable. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  temporal  prosperity  there 
was  spiritual  vigor  to  at  least  an  equal  degree.  Dr. 
Jones  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts,  both  in  pulpit  and 
parish,  and  his  piety  was  of  th.at  devoted  character 
which  among  an  appreciative  people  is  in  itself  al- 
most an  assurance  of  success.  He  had  the  hearts  of 
his  entire  congregation,  and  their  co-operation  in  all 
his  etforts.  Deep  religious  impressions  were  the  re- 
sult, and  large  ingatherings.  In  1828  sixteen  were 
added  to  the  church  on  confession  of  faith ;  in  1830, 
nineteen;  in  1832,  thirty-four ;  in  18^,  thirty-seven. 
The  great  work,  however,  was  reserved  to  1837,  the 
year  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the  church  as  that 
of  the  great  revival. 

The  year  following  Dr.  Jones  resigned  his  charge, 


706 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


though  with  great  reluctance,  to  accept  a  call  to  the 
Sixth  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadelphia.  He  left 
amid  the  deep  regrets  of  the  people.  His  pastorate 
may  be  called,  without  disparagement  to  others,  the 
palmy  period  in  the  history  of  the  church.  In  thir- 
teen years  five  hundred  and  three  persons  were  re- 
ceived to  membership,  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
by  profession  of  faith,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  by 
letter.  The  membership  when  he  left  was  four 
hundred  and  eleven. 

In  the  Index  of  the  Princeton  Heriew,  vol.  ii.,  will 
be  found  an  interesting  biographical  sketch  of  Dr. 
Jones,  prepared  by  the  Rev.  George  Hale,  D.D.,  from 
which  the  following  has  been  condensed  : 

Joseph  Huntington  Jones  was  born  in  Coventry, 
Conn.,  Aug.  24,  1797.  He  graduated  at  Harvard 
University  in  1817,  with  George  Bancroft,  Caleb 
Cushing,  Stephen  H.  Tyng,  and  other  men  of  mark. 
While  at  the  university  he  was  at  one  time  iu  great 
danger  of  being  led  astray  by  the  erroneous  teachings 
of  the  Unitarians,  but  he  was  saved  through  influ- 
ences in  which  the  warnings  and  instructions  of  a 
praying  mother — a  woman  of  great  force  of  character, 
as  well  as  of  piety — bore  no  small  part.  After  taking 
his  degree,  Mr.  Jones  was  for  a  time  tutor  in  Bowdoin 
College,  Maine.  Then,  feeling  that  "  necessity  was 
laid  upon  him"  to  preach  the  gospel,  he  entered  upon 
a  course  of  study  for  this  purpose,  completing  it  at 
Princeton  Seminary,  where  he  spent  one  year,  1823- 
24.  He  was  licensed  to  preach  Sept.  19,  1822,  at 
Braintree,  Bradford  Co.,  Pa.,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Susquehanna,  and  was  ordained  by  the  same  Presby- 
tery as  an  evangelist  at  Wilkesbarre,  Pa.,  April  29, 
1824.  In  June  of  the  same  yfear  he  was  installed 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Woodbury, 
N.  J.  Here  he  found  a  church  almost  extinct,  steps 
having  already  been  taken  to  dissolve  it,  but  by  his 
earnest  labors,  blessed  of  God,  new  life  was  infused 
into  it;  thirty -three  were  added  to  the  roll  of  commu- 
nicants in  a  single  year,  and  the  whole  moral  aspect 
of  the  town  was  changed.  From  Woodbury  he  was 
called  to  New  Brunswick,  and  from  New  Brunswick 
to  Philadelphia,  where  he  continued  twenty-three 
years.  Here  again  a  feeble,  almost  dying  church 
was  reinvigo rated,  and  large  accessions  were  made  to 
its  membership. 

He  was  a  model  pastor.  Wherever  he  went  the  chil- 
dren, the  sick,  the  poor  were  especially  cared  for. 
Though  always  in  delicate  health,  and  sometimes  suf- 
fering deep  spiritual  depression,  he  was  never  idle. 
In  1801  he  resigned  his  charge  in  Philadelphia,  to 
accept  the  secretaryship  of  the  fund  for  disabled  min- 
isters. In  this  work  he  had  already  been  engaged  for 
seven  years  without  compensation.  He  now  devoted 
his  whole  strej|gth  to  it,  with  the  same  success  which 
had  attended  his  other  labors,  continuing  without  in- 
termission at  his  post  until  his  death,  Dec.  22,  1868. 

Tlie  congregation  next  enjoyed  the  ministry  of  Rev. 
Robert  Birch,  who  was  installed  March  4,  1839.     His 


pastorate  was  short,  being  terminated  by  death  on 
Sept.  12, 1842  ;  but  it  was  long  enough  to  win  for  him 
the  high  admiration  of  the  people  for  his  many  excel- 
lent qualities  both  of  mind  and  heart ;  and  the  sorrow 
at  his  death  was  sincere  and  general.  His  remains  lie 
in  the  new  Presbyterian  cemetery,  and  the  spot  is 
marked  by  a  handsome  monument  erected  by  the 
congregation.  Dr.  Davidson  gives  an  account  of  his 
early  life,  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  Birch  wa«  the  Bon  of  an  eminent  physician  in  the  city  of  New 
Yorli,  and  was  born  in  January,  1808.  While  an  infant  he  was  attaclted 
by  a  severe  iutlamniation  of  the  brain,  and  life  was  despaired  of.  inso- 
much that  his  mother  made  his  shroud  while  watching  at  his  couch. 
He  was  only  saved  by  a  vein  being  opened  in  his  head  when  he  was 
apparently  near  dying,  but  he  always  suffered  somewhat  from  the  effects 
of  this  illness  to  the  end  of  his  days.  At  a  very  early  age  he  tost  bis 
father,  and  with  him  his  expectation  of  a  liberal  education.  He  was 
taken  from  school  and  placed  in  a  counting-house.  Becoming  pious  he 
was  received  to  the  communion  of  the  Cedar  Street  Church,  uuder  Dr. 
Romeyn,  at  the  age  of  twelve.  The  fatherless  and  sprightly  boy  at- 
tracted the  notice  of  Dr.  John  Breckinridge,  and  was  induced  by  him  to 
resume  his  studies.  Having  graduated  at  Dickinson  College  he  taught 
a  classical  school,  hrst  at  Lancaster  and  afterwards  at  Savannah,  where 
he  made  friends  of  gentlemen  of  the  first  distinction.  His  theological 
studies  were  commenced  at  Andoverand  completed  at  Princeton.  After 
his  licensure  by  the  Presbytery  of  New  York,  he  preached  for  a  short 
time  to  a  new  church  in  a  haU  in  Broadway,  from  which  he  was  called 
to  New  Brunswick." 

One  of  the  longest  pastorates  in  the  history  of  the 
church  followed,  that  of  Rev.  Robert  Davidson,  D.D., 
who  was  installed  May  4, 1843,  with  a  salary  of  $1200 
and  the  parsonage. 

Dr.  Davidson  was  born  in  Carlisle,  Pa.,  on  Feb.  23, 
1808.  His  father.  Dr.  Robert  Davidson,  Sr.,  was  for 
many  years  professor,  afterward  president,  in  Dickin- 
son College,  and  for  more  than  thirty  years  he  com- 
bined with  the  duties  of  these  successive  ofiices  those 
of  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Carlisle. 

Robert  graduated  from  Dickinson  College  in  1828, 
having  previously  made  a  profession  of  religion,  and 
devoted  himself  to  the  ministry.  He  pursued  his 
theological  course  at  Princeton,  completing  it  in 
1831.  In  1832  he  became  pastor  of  the  McChord 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Lexington,  Ky.,  which  he 
served  successfully  for  eight  years.  He  left  it  in 
1840  to  become  president  of  Transylvania  University, 
and  from  that  position  he  passed  in  1842  to  the  ofiice 
of  superintendent  of  public  instruction  in  the  State 
of  Kentucky.  In  1843,  declining  more  than  one  in- 
vitation to  a  professorship,  he  accepted  the  call  of  this 
church.  After  leaving  New  Brunswick,  from  1860  to 
1864  he  was  pastor  of  the  Spring  Street  Church  iu 
New  York,  and  from  1864  to  1868  was  pastor  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Huntington,  L.  I. 
Subsequently  he  resided  at  Philadelphia,  busy  to  the 
last,  so  far  as  his  strength  would  permit,  with  his 
voice,  and  especially  with  his  pen,  iu  the  cause  of 
truth.  He  died  suddenly  on  Thursday,  the  6th  of 
April  of  the  present  year  (1876).  Tlie  circumstances 
were  somewhat  unusual.  For  some  time  previous  he 
had  been  .suffering  from  a  complication  of  difficulties, 
confining  him  at  times  to  the  house.     On   this  day 


CITY    OF   NEW    BKUNSWICK. 


707 


he  felt  well  enough  to  gratify  a  desire  which  he  had 
long  cherished  to  visit  the  Centennial  Grounds  at 
Fairmount  Park.  But  he  had  miscalculated  his 
strength.  AVhile  he  was  upon  the  grounds  the 
stroke  fell,  and  he  scarcely  lived  to  reach  his  home. 
His  funeral  occurred  at  Carlisle,  Pa.,  on  Saturday, 
April  the  8th,  and  from  the  biographical  sketch  pre- 
pared for  that  occasion  most  of  the  particulars  given 
here  have  been  taken. 

A  few  more  may  be  added  mostly  from  the  same 
source.  He  was  for  five  years  permanent  clerk  of  the 
General  Assembly,  for  twenty  years  a  member  of  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  for  ten  years  preced- 
ing his  death  a  director  of  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Princeton.  The  address  to  the  graduating  class  of 
that  institution  this  year  had  been  assigned  to  him, 
and  he  had  prepared  it  with  his  usual  care.  Death 
intervened,  and  the  reading  of  it  by  another  formed 
one  of  the  impressive  incidents  of  the  graduating 
exercises.  The  year  previous  he  prepared,  by  Syn- 
odical  appointment,  a  centennial  discourse,  which 
was  delivered  in  Philadelphia  in  October,  and  a  copy 
of  it  was  deposited  in  the  corner-stone  of  the  Wither- 
spoon  monument  in  Fairmount  Park. 

As  these  things  indicate,  he  had  great  fondness  for 
literary  pursuits,  for  which  the  high  order  of  his 
scholarship  admirably  fitted  him.  Throughout  his 
life  he  made  his  influence  felt  scarcely  less  through 
the  press  than  through  the  pulpit.  The  list  of  his 
published  works  is  quite  extensive,  several  being  of  a 
substantial  character.  To  these  were  added  numer- 
ous pamphlets  and  articles  in  the  Princeton  Review 
and  other  periodicals.  His  taste  for  historical  research 
appears  in  his  sketch  of  this  church,  and  a  similar  one 
of  the  church  in  Huntington,  L.  I.,  and  still  more 
conspicuously  in  his  "  History  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Kentucky,"  a  considerable  volume. 

Dr.  Davidson's  own  sketch  of  the  church  covers 
his  pastorate  for  a  period  of  nine  years.  In  it  modest 
reference  is  made  to  two  seasons  of  special  interest, 
one  in  1843,  when  twenty-seven  were  received  to 
membership,  the  other  in  1852,  when  the  additions 
amounted  to  thirty,  mostly  from  the  children  of  Chris- 
tian families. 

In  1852  a  collection  of  $1500  was  made  for  repairs 
on  the  session-house  and  the  introduction  of  gas  into 
the  church.  A  year  or  two  later  a  thorough  refur- 
nishing of  the  cliurch  was  undertaken.  The  pews 
were  recushioned,  new  carpets  were  laid,  and  with  a 
single  exception  the  interior  was  put  into  the  condi- 
tion in  which  we  now  find  it.  The  single  particular 
in  which  change  has  since  been  made,  is  in  the  orna- 
mentation in  the  rear  of  the  pulpit.  Rich  curtains  of 
damask  hung  there  till  1863,  when  they  were  taken 
down,  and  the  present  recess  was  let  in.'  The  en- 
largement of  the  dimensions  of  the  church  was  not 
considerable  enough  to  require  particular  mention. 


>  With  a  paiot-brush. 


A  few  years  subsequent  to  this  Dr.  Davidson  found 
it  necessary  to  seek  temporary  relief  from  his  duties 
on  account  of  failing  health.  Leave  of  absence  for 
several  months  was  granted  him  in  November,  1856, 
the  congregation  providing  for  the  pulpit.  He  im- 
proved the  vacation  by  making  a  short  trip  to  Europe, 
and  Professor  Green,  of  Princeton,  supplied  his  place 
during  his  absence.  He  returned  in  season  to  partic- 
ipate in  the  revival  scenes  of  1858.  During  1857-58, 
thirty-six  were  received  on  confession  and  eighteen 
by  letter,  mostly  at  the  spring  communion  ;  during 
the  succeeding  year,  thirty-seven  on  confession,  sev- 
enteen by  letter  ;  fifty-four  each  year.  Such  a  bless- 
ing and  ingathering  was  a  beautiful  close  to  a  long, 
happy,  and  prosperous  settlement.  At  Dr.  David- 
son's request,  the  pastoral  relation  was  dissolved  in 
September,  1859. 

A  call  was  next  extended  to  the  Rev.  John  M.  Bu- 
chanan, of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  which  was  declined,  and 
on  Feb.  18,  1861,  Dr.  Howard  Crosby,  Professor  of 
Greek  in  Rutgers  College,  was  elected  pastor. 

Dr.  Crosby  was  born  in  New  York  City,  Feb.  17 
1826.  In  the  midst  of  our  centennial  recollections 
it  is  interesting  to  note  that  he  is  a  great-grandson  of 
Gen.  William  Floyd,  one  of  the  signers  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  Independence.  He  graduated  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  New  York  in  1844 ;  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Greek  in  that  institution  in  1851 ;  from  1852 
to  1855  was  president  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  of  New  York  ;  was  appointed  Professor 
of  Greek  in  Rutgers  College  in  July,  1859,  and  in  the 
same  year  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  in 
Divinity  from  Harvard  University.  He  was  licensed 
to  preach  in  October,  1859,  and  in  1861  was  ordained 
and  installed  pastor  of  this  church.  In  1862  he  re- 
signed his  charge,  the  trustees  of  the  college  objecting 
to  his  retaining  it.  In  1863  he  resigned  his  profes- 
sorship to  accept  a  call  to  the  Fourth  Avenue  Presby- 
terian Church  of  New  York,  and  in  1870  he  was 
elected  chancellor  of  the  University  of  New  York, 
the  duties  of  which  he  has  since  combined  with  those 
of  the  pastorate,  with  rare  success  in  each. 

Dr.  Crosby's  incumbency  as  pastor  of  this  church 
it  is  thus  .seen  was  brief,  too  brief  for  the  wishes  of 
the  people,  but  it  was  a  peried  of  earnest  effort. 
Every  department  of  church  work  felt  at  once  the 
vigor  of  his  touch,  and  the  future  appeared  to  open 
brightly.  Within  the  church  he  left  behind  him  as 
a  witne.ss  to  his  wise  activity  a  people  greatly  stimu- 
lated and  strengthened,  and  without  the  church  one 
enterprise  at  least  which  deserves  to  be  noted, 
the  New  Brunswick  City  Mission,  organized  largely 
under  his  influence,  after  which  the  City  Mission  of 
New  York  has  since  been  remodeled.  The  income 
of  this  mission  in  1861  was  .1303  ;  in  1875  it  was  $1250, 
of  which  this  congregation  gave  §300.  Last  year  it 
was  incorporated  by  act  of  the  Legislature.  It  has 
always  had  some  of  its  warmest  supporters  in  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church. 


TOS 


HISTORY   OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Turning  aside  from  the  succession  of  pastors,  we 
may  note  here  the  loss  which  the  congregation  suf- 
fered about  this  time  by  the  deatli  of  several  of  its 
more  prominent  members. 

In  1858  died  Samuel  Baker,  for  more  than  thirty 
years  one  of  the  elders  of  the  church.  He  was  born 
in  the  vicinity  of  New  Brunswick,  and  passed  most 
of  his  life  in  business  pursuits  in  the  city.  His 
Christian  character  was  one  of  rare  consistency  and 
purity,  and  he  was  unwearied  in  the  discharge  of  all 
the  duties  of  his  office.  His  convictions  of  duty  were 
clear,  and  he  stood  ready  to  illustrate  them  in  his 
practice.  Appointments  to  represent  the  church  in 
Presbytery  and  Synod  were  regarded  not  as  a  hard- 
ship but  as  an  important  trust  to  be  conscientiously 
attended  to,  and  neither  distance  of  the  place  of 
meeting  nor  difficult)'  of  access  deterred  him  from 
attending.  He  was  for  many  years  the  almoner  of 
the  church's  charity,  a  position  which  he  filled  with 
equal  faithfulness  and  delicacy.  He  was  greatly 
endeared  to  his  associates  in  office,  who  hold  his 
memory  precious. 

Hon.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick,  long  an  honored  citi- 
zen of  the  community  and  member  of  the  congre- 
gation, died  suddenly  at  Saratoga,  Aug.  15,  1859.  He 
was  born  in  this  city  Oct.  19,  1797,  and  was  the  old- 
est son  of  Chief  Justice  Kirkpatrick,  so  highly  dis- 
tinguished in  his  generation.  Graduating  at  Prince- 
ton College,  he  studied  law  in  the  city  of  Washington, 
returning  to  enter  upon  the  practice  of  the  same  in 
his  native  city.  He  was  successively  member  of  the 
State  Legislature,  mayor  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
representative  in  Congress.  At  the  expiration  of 
his  term  in  Congress  he  retired  from  public  life,  but 
not  from  useful  activities.  On  the  death  of  his  father. 
Chief  Justice  Kirkpatrick,  he  was  chosen  to  succeed 
him  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  this 
church,  in  which  office  he  continued  for  twenty-five 
years.  He  was  greatly  interested  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  congregation,  and  his  mature  judgment  had  a 
decided  influence  in  shaping  its  affairs.  At  the  same 
time,  from  the  means  which  Providence  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  he  was  always  ready  to  respond  to  a  call 
for  its  pecuniary  support,  or  to  assist  in  its  benevolent 
operations. 

His  personal  character  is  depicted  by  his  pastor. 
Rev.  Dr.  Davidson,  in  the  following  words:  "An 
unbending  rectitude  is  said  by  those  who  should  best 
have  known  him,  to  have  characterized  him  from  his 
earliest  years.  'Is  it  right?'  was  the  question  he 
always  asked,  both  of  himself  and  others.  No  gloss 
or  sophistry  could  blind  his  perceptions,  and  his 
abhorrence  of  duplicity  gave  even  an  air  of  sternness 
and  severity  to  his  judgments.  He  was  a  foe  to  all 
shams,  hypocrisy,  and  deceit."  Throughout  his  life 
he  was  reserved  upon  the  subject  of  personal  religion, 
but  in  March  of  the  year  of  his  death  he  made  a 
public  profession  of  his  faith  in  Christ,  and  so  it  was 
subsequently  felt  God  was  making  him  ready  for  that 


sudden  departure,  then  unforeseen  but  so  near  at 
hand. 

Associated  with  Mr.  Kirkpatrick  in  varied  useful 
activities,  and  in  the  esteem  of  the  congregation  and 
the  community,  were  the  brothers  James  and  Abram 
S.  Neilson,  sons  of  Col.  John  Neilson,  of  Revolu- 
tionary memory.  They  were  soon  associated  with 
him  also  in  death. 

Abram  S.  Neilson  departed  this  life  on  June  30, 
1861,  dying  in  the  same  room  in  the  old  Neilson 
mansion  in  Burnet  Street  in  which  he  was  born ;  and 
his  funeral  was  attended  in  this  house  (the  Presby- 
terian Church)  on  July  2d,  just  fifteen  years  ago  to- 
day. He  became  a  communicant  of  the  church  in 
1844,  and  the  following  year  was  elected  to  the  office 
of  ruling  elder,  which  he  filled  with  characteristic 
faithfulness  and  efficiency.  For  ten  years  the  min- 
utes of  session  are  recorded  in  his  hand,  as  they  had 
been  for  forty-three  years  in  the  hand  of  his  father, 
and  are  now  intrusted  to  one  of  the  third  genenition 
in  the  same  line.  The  following  tribute  to  his  mem- 
ory was  oflJered  at  his  funeral  by  his  pastor,  Rev.  Dr. 
Crosby  : 

"In  this  city,  where  every  cliild  knew  him  to  love  him;  in  this 
church,  where  his  examples  and  efforts  were  felt  and  prized  for  a  score 
of  years,  why  need  I  describe  tlie  character  of  this  saint?  From  my 
childhood  it.  was  my  privilege  to  know  liim,  and  my  testimony  will  be 
confirmed  by  all  when  I  speak  of  his  gentleness,  his  modesty,  his  kind- 
ness, and  his  liberality.  His  manner  was  winning  to  all.  -\lthongli  pos- 
sessed of  a  sound  mind  and  excellent  judgment,  he  patiently  listened  to 
the  opinions  of  others,  and  deferred  to  their  wishes.  He  was  eminently  a 
man  of  peace.  No  one  ever  heard  him  utter  a  harsh  or  uncourteous 
word.  He  hid  his  own  high  merits  behind  his  disinterestedness.  ...  A 
father  in  Israel  has  fallen  !  Well  may  we  mourn,  for  no  one  among  us  had 
won  a  more  hearty  confidence,  a  more  profound  respect,  a  more  intense 
affection.  But  wo  know  that  Jesus  has  taken  him  to  himself.  On  last 
Sunday  week  I  had  jnst  prayed  by  his  bedside,  wlien  he  clasped  my  band 
with  great  fervor  and  exclaimed,  'Precious  truths!  precious  truths!' 
referring  to  Christ's  presence  and  salvation,  which  had  been  the  burden 
of  the  prayer.  On  Thursday  last,  when  President  Frelinghuysen  and 
Dr.  Davidson  called  upon  him,  he  answered  their  inquiries  regarding  his 
trust  in  Christ  with  the  firm  words, '  Not  a  doubt — not  a  doubt!*  Upon 
the  day  before  his  death  he  exclaimed  in  a  distinct  voice  (almost  the  last 
words  he  used), '  My  dear,  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour,  come  and  take  me  to 
thyself,  to  be  with  thee  through  eternity.'  " 

If  through  these  historical  sermons  such  memories 
alone  are  preserved  to  posterity,  the  labors  of  those 
who  prepare  them  will  not  be  in  vain. 

Col.  James  Neilson,  an  older  brother  of  the  fore- 
going, was  born  Dec.  3,  1784,  and  died  Feb.  21,  1862. 
He  was  a  man  not  only  prominent  in  his  own  com- 
munity, but  well  known  throughout  the  State  with 
many  of  the  public  enterprises  of  which  he  was  iden- 
tified, contributing  by  his  skill  and  energy  to  their 
success.  He  was  a  leader  of  men.  not  by  showy  but 
by  solid  qualities,  exerting  an  influence  when  not 
appearing  to  do  so.  With  quiet  habits  and  unobtru- 
sive manners  he  combined  a  rare  power  of  discern- 
ment and  great  strength  of  purpose.  Of  the  church 
he  was  the  steadfast  friend,  serving  it  for  many  years 
as  a  trustee,  and  bearing  with  his  brother  no  small 
share  of  its  responsibilities.  He  was  greatly  inter- 
ested also  in  the  literary  and  theological  institutions 


CITY    OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


709 


of  the  Reformed  Church  located  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  extended  his  benefactions  to  them.  He  was  a 
Christian  of  consistent  piety.  The  approacli  of  deatli 
gave  him  no  alarm  ;  acknowledging  himself  a  sinner, 
and  resting  all  his  hopes  upon  the  person  and  work 
of  his  Redeemer,  he  resigned  himself  submissively  to 
the  will  of  God.  Thus  his  death  corresponded  with 
his  life,  and  he  was  laid  to  rest  amid  the  regrets  of 
the  community. 

Mr.  John  W.  Stout,  born  June  15,  1790,  died  May 
5, 1861,  w;is  also  one  whose  loss  was  severely  felt.  He 
was  a  leading  man  in  the  business  community,  and 
this  prominence  reappears  in  his  relations  to  the  con- 
gregation, his  steady  friendship  for  which  was  an  ex- 
ample to  all.  In  the  building  of  the  new  church 
especially  he  manifested  a  great  interest,  being  one  of 
the  principal  promoters  of  that  enterprise.  And  on 
many  subsequent  occasions  he  was  one  of  the  first  to 
put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel  when  assistance  was  re- 
quired. His  name  does  not  appear  on  the  roll  of  com- 
municants, but  it  is  believed  that  early  education  in 
another  denomination  had  much  to  do  with  this. 

Mr.  John  Acken,  born  Aug.  28,  1796,  died  May  5, 
1862,  was  another  who  stood  side  by  side  with  the 
men  already  mentioned,  and  his  name  naturally  re- 
curs with  theirs.  Success  in  business  enterprises  gave 
him  large  means,  which  were  freely  used  for  the  sup- 
port of  religion,  and  high  character  gave  him  influ- 
ence. His  friendship  for  the  church  sprang  from  his 
love  of  it,  and  of  that  which  it  represents.  In  it  were 
centred  his  hopes  for  this  life  and  the  next.  He  was 
long  enrolled  as  a  member,  and  adorned  his  profession 
by  a  life  of  exemplary  piety. 

In  1864  the  eldership  was  still  further  depleted  by 
the  death  of  Josiah  Ford,  who  had  served  in  that 
oflice  with  great  acceptance  for  nineteen  years.  He 
was  a  man  to  represent  religion  to  others,  steadfast, 
consistent,  and  faithful,  and  the  influence  of  his  ex- 
ample throughout  his  life  as  a  Christian  was  felt  as 
one  of  the  conservative  forces  for  religion  in  the  com- 
munity. Always  in  his  place,  and  always  ready  to 
take  his  part  in  Christian  duty,  he  quietly  filled  up  his 
days  with  usefulness,  and  he  left  behind  him,  as  it  is 
believed  he  bore  with  him,  a  good  record  when  the 
Master  called  him  home. 

From  so  many  losses  the  session  would  have  been 
greatly  reduced,  but  meanwhile  it  had  been  increased 
by  the  election  and  ordination  in  1858  of  Dr.  George 
J.  Janeway  and  Abraham  Voorhees,  which  was  fol- 
lowed in  1864  by  the  election  and  ordination  of  Theo- 
dore G.  Neilson,  William  L.  Bogert,  and  William 
Rust. 

Rev.  William  Beatty  was  installed  pastor  of  the 
church  June  2,  1863,  with  a  salary  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  and  the  parsonage.  Rev.  William  Hamill 
preached  the  installation  sermon;  Rev.  Mr.  Yeomans, 
moderator  of  the  Presbytery,  gave  the  charge  to  the 
pastor,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Rogers  the  charge  to  the  people. 

Mr.  Beatty  graduated  at  Miami  University,  Ohio, 


in  1854,  and  studied  theology  one  year  at  Danville, 
Ky.,  and  two  years  at  the  Western  Theological  Sem- 
inary at  Alleghany,  completing  his  course  in  1860. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Zanesville  in 
1859,  supplied  the  Fourth  Church  of  Pittsburgh 
during  the  summer  of  1860,  and  was  ordained  and  in- 
stalled pastor  of  the  church  of  Greencastle,  Pa.,  by 
the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  May  16,  1861,  from  which 
place  he  was  called  to  New  Brunswick.  His  pastor- 
ate here  continued  about  four  years,  when  he  resigned 
to  accept  a  call  to  the  Shadj'side  Church  of  Pittsburgh, 
Pa.,  where  he  still  continues. 

During  his  pastorate  the  records  show  decided  ac- 
tivity in  all  branches  of  church  work  ;  one  hundred 
and  thirty-eight  were  added  to  the  membership, 
eighty-three  on  profession,  and  within  the  same  pe- 
riod the  contribution  to  benevolent  objects  amounted 
to  over  thirteen  thousand  dollars.  In  1866  the  pew- 
rents  were  raised  by  a  considerable  percentage,  and 
the  pastor's  salary  increased  in  proportion,  making  it 
two  thousand  dollars. 

March  2,  1868,  Rev.  A.  D.  L.  Jewett  was  installed 
pastor.  Dr.  Jewett  was  born  Jan.  12,  1830,  and 
graduated  at  Williams  College  in  1852.  His  theo- 
logical course  was  pursued  at  Princeton  and  extended 
through  four  years.  Meanwhile  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  by  the  Presbytery  of  Luzerne.  He  was  or- 
dained and  installed  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church 
of  Piermont,  N.  Y.,  by  the  Chassis  of  Paramus,  and 
continued  there  three  years.  Being  compelled  to  re- 
sign by  a  temporary  loss  of  voice,  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  Presbytery  of  New  York.  By  that  body 
he  was  sent  to  the  church  at  Throgg's  Neck  to  de- 
clare the  pulpit  vacant,  and  the  result  was  the  speedy 
filling  of  the  vacancy  by  his  own  election  to  that 
post.  He  continued  over  that  charge  for  seven  years, 
when  he  was  called  to  New  Brunswick. 

In  1868  extensive  repairs  were  put  upon  the  par- 
sonage, and  in  1870  the  pastor's  salary  was  increased 
to  S2500.  In  the  same  year  Hope  Mission,  a  Sab- 
bath-school on  the  west  side  of  the  city,  was  taken 
under  the  care  of  the  church,  and  a  building  erected 
for  it,  costing,  with  the  lots  on  which  it  stands,  about 
$2500,  part  of  which  was  raised  by  subscription  and 
part  carried  as  debt.  The  mission,  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Mr.  Jacob  J.  Janeway,  has  since  en- 
joyed great  prosperity,  enlisting  as  teachers  quite  a 
large  number  of  our  communicants,  together  with 
others  from  our  sister  denominations,  and  reaching  a 
considerable  population  remote  from  religious  privi- 
leges. Exemplary  enterprise  has  been  shown  in  its 
management,  both  in  the  gathering  in  of  attendants 
and  in  the  conducting  of  the  services. 

Dr.  Jewett  had  the  gratification  in  1871  of  seeing 
the  church  complete  its  organization  by  an  election 
of  deacons.  The  following  persons  were  chosen  and 
installed :  J.  P.  Langdon,  D.  C.  English,  Wood- 
bridge  Strong  C.  S.  Scott,  F.  R.  Stout,  and  Andrew 
Agnew 


710 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Another  change  occurred  in  1873,  when,  an  increase 
in  the  eldership  being  deemed  desirable,  four  ad- 
ditional elders  were  elected  to  serve  for  a  term  of 
years,  subject  to  the  action  of  the  Presbytery.  Since 
then  rotation  or  term  service  in  the  eldership  has 
been  engrafted  upon  the  constitution  of  the  church 
in  the  manner  prescribed  by  law,  giving  full  sanction 
to  the  action  here  taken,  at  least  in  its  general  prin- 
ciples. Any  adjustment  of  details  which  may  be 
necessary  to  bring  our  practice  into  perfect  accord- 
ance with  the  new  rule  can  be  easily  reached  in  due 
time.  The  persons  thus  chosen  were  James  P.  Lang- 
don,  D.  C.  English,  Andrew  Agnew,  and  Charles  S. 
Scott;  and  the  same  were  re-elected  in  May  of  this 
year. 

Dr.  Jewett's  labors  during  the  latter  portion  of  his 
term  were  interrupted  by  continued  ill  health.  In 
April,  1873,  a  vacation  of  six  months  was  granted 
him,  during  which  his  place  in  the  pulpit  and  parish 
was  ably  supplied  by  Rev.  Dr.  .John  Woodbridge, 
now  pastor  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 
Failing  to  receive  by  this  rest  anything  more  than 
temporary  relief,  on  the  16th  of  October,  1874,  he 
requested  a  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation,  which 
was  reluctantly  granted.  He  has  since  resided  in 
Fordham,  N.  Y. 

A  call  was  then  extended,  Dec.  14,  1874,  to  the 
Eev.  John  Paxton,  which  was  declined  ;  and  May 
17,  1875,  the  present  pastor,  Eev.  Thomas  Nichols, 
was  installed ;  Rev.  Prof  H.  C.  Cameron  presiding, 
sermon  by  Dr.  Howard  Crosby  ;  charge  to  the  pastor 
by  the  Rev.  Dr.  S.  Hall,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Newark  ; 
charge  to  the  people  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  John  Wood- 
bridge. 

The  brief  period  which  has  since  elapsed  has  been 
partly  occupied  in  inventorying  the  'assets  of  the 
church,  one  result  of  which  has  been  the  taking  of 
over  one  hundred  and  forty  names  from  the  roll,  leav- 
ing, instead  of  a  membership  of  four  hundred  and 
ninety-four,  only  three  hundred  and  fifty.  This  is  a 
work  the  necessity  of  which  had  long  been  felt,  the 
roll  being  encumbered  with  the  names  of  many  ab- 
sentees of  long  standing.  A  partial  effort  in  this 
direction  was  made  during  Dr.  Jewett's  ministry. 
The  bringing  of  the  roll  down  to  its  actual  number  of 
communicants  it  is  believed  will  not  weaken  but 
strengthen  the  church. 

A  reduction  of  a  more  grievous  character  remains 
to  be  noted.  The  past  winter  has  been  one  of  griev- 
ous losses  by  death.  Who  are  to  fill  the  places  made 
vacant  by  the  removal  in  this  manner  of  James  Day- 
ton, Jeremiah  Wilbur,  and  Lucius  P.  Porter,  or  the 
places  which  devoted  Christian  women,  now  gone, 
recently  occupied  ?  Here  we  acknowledge  ourselves 
losers  indeed ;  and  if  God  of  late  has  given  us  a  few 
trophies  of  his  grace,  must  not  many  more  be  re- 
ceived, and  especially  new  devotion  be  kindled  in  all 
hearts,  to  make  such  losses  good? 

But  the  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  our  history 


encourage  us  to  implicit  confidence.  May  we  not 
say  of  our  church,  "  God  is  in  the  midst  of  her." 
What  we  are  to-day  He  has  made  us.  How  manifest 
His  power  and  grace  as  the  generations  have  come 
and  gone  !  He  was  the  God  of  the  fathers,  and  will 
be  of  the  children.  What  we  fail  of  being  and  doing 
we  must  attribute  to  ourselves.  We  look  out  upon  a 
future  filled  with  solemn  responsibilities.  May  we 
faithfully  meet  them,  until  we  too  shall  be  gathered 
to  our  fathers,  and  exchange  the  church  on  earth  for 
the  church  in  heaven. 


LIST  OF  THE   PASTUKS, 

1.  Gilbert  Tenneot,  1726-43. 

2.  Thomas  Arthur  (?),  1746-51. 

3.  Israel  Reed,  1768-86. 
i.  Walter  Monteith,  1786-94. 
6.  Joseph  Clark,  D.D.,  1797-1813, 
6.  Levt.  J.  F.  Huntington,  1815- 


20. 
7.  Samuel  B.  How,  D.D..  1821-23. 


8.  Joseph  H.  Jones,  D.D,,  1825-38. 

9.  Robert  Birch,  1839-42. 

10.  Robert  Davidson,  D.D.,  1843-69. 

11.  Howard  Crosby,  D.D.,  1861-62. 

12.  William  Beatty,  1863-67. 

13.  A.  D.  L.  Jewett,  D.D.,  1868-74. 

14.  Thomas  Nichols,  1875. 


LIST  OF  THE  RULING  ELDERS. 
John  Lyle,  in  office  March  22, 1790;  deceased. 
Col.  John  Bayard,  in  office  March  22, 1790;  deceased  Jan.  7, 1807. 
Dr.  Moses  Scott,  in  office  March  22, 1790 ;  deceased  Dec.  28, 1821. 
Thomas  Talmadge,  in  office  March  22,  1790;  removed,  1797. 
Col.  John  Neilson,  ordained  April  24,  1791 ;  deceased  March  3,  1833. 
John  Pool,  ordained  July  12,1797;  deceased  Feb.  27, 1825. 
Moses  Guest,  ordained  July  12,  1797;  removed,  1817. 
John  A.  Meyer,  ordained  June  26,  1803 ;  deceased. 
William  Lawson,  ordained  June  26,  1803;  deceased. 
Phineas  Carman,  ordained  Dec.  30,  1810;  deceased. 
Samuel  Holcombe,  ordained  Dec.  30,  1810;  deceased  Dec.  17,  1838. 
John  N.  Simpson,  ordained  April  14,  1822;  deceased. 
Elias  MoUeson,  ordained  Oct.  28,  1825  ;  deceased  June  6, 1831. 
David  W.  Vail,  ordained  Oct.  2,  1826;  deceased  Jan.  16,  1842. 
Samuel  Baker,  ordained  Oct.  2,  1826;  deceased. 
Peter  Dayton,  ordained  April  8,  1838;  deceased  Oct.  2,  1861. 
Dr.  Frederick  Richmond,  ordained  April  8, 1838;  deceased  May  19, 1849. 
John  Terhune,  ordained  March  5, 1843;  living. 

Hon.  Geo.  P.  Molleson,  ordained  March  5, 1843;  deceased  May  17, 1849. 
Josiah  Ford,  ordained  Nov.  16,  1845;  deceased. 
Abm.  S.  Neilson,  ordained  Nov,  16, 1845;  deceased  June  30, 1861. 
William  R.  Janeway,  ordained  Nov.  16,  1845;  removed,  1848. 
George  J.  Janeway,  ordained  March  21, 1858;  living. 
Abraham  Voorhees,  ordained  March  21, 1858  ;  living. 
Theo.  G.  Neilson,  ordained  May  29,  1864;  living. 
William  L.  Bogert,  ordained  May  29,  1864;  removed. 
William  Rust,  ordained  May  29,  1864;  living. 
Andrew  Agnew,  ordained  May  4,  1873  ;  living. 
James  P.  Langdon,  ordained  May  4, 1873  ;  living. 
David  C.  English,  ordained  May  4, 1873;  living. 
Charles  S.  Scott,  ordained  May  4, 1873  ;  living. 


LIST   OF  THE   TRUSTEES. 


1785.  John  Neilson. 
John  Taylor. 
Moses  Scott. 
William  Palerson. 
William  Ten  Brooke. 
John  Van  Emburgh. 
John  Y.  Noel. 

1786.  John  Pool. 

1787.  James  Drake.  ' 

1788.  Lewis  Dunham. 
Andrew  Kirkpatrick. 

1790.  James  Cole. 
John  Plum. 

1791.  John  Bayard. 

1793.  James  Crommelin. 
William  Letson. 

1794.  Charles  Smith. 


1796.  Moses  Guest. 

James  Richmond. 
1799.  John  Meyer. 
1802.  William  Lawson. 
180).  John  Baker. 

1807.  William  Applegate. 

1808.  Phineas  Carman. 
1811.  Samuel  Holcombe. 

1813.  John  N.  Simpson. 

1814.  Augustus  R.  Taylor. 
John  W.  Bray. 

1822.  Joseph  W.  Scott. 

1824.  Elias  Molleson. 

1825.  Peter  V.  Pool. 

1826.  Peter  Dayton. 

1827.  John  Terhune. 
Arthur  B.  Sullivan. 


CITY   OF   NEW    BKUNSWICK. 


711 


1828.  John  Arkeu. 

1854.  Henry  L.  Jaueway. 

1829.  Fitz  R.  Smith. 

1855.  Abraham  Voorhees. 

Frederick  Richmond. 

1860.  John  Foster. 

1830.  Joseph  C.  Griggs. 

1861.  George  C.  Ludlow. 

1831.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick. 

1862.  Woodbridge  Strong. 

David  W.  Vail. 

Theo.  G.  Neilson. 

1833.  James  Neilson. 

1864.  Charles  P.  Dayton. 

1835.  John  W.  Stout. 

1867.  Lucius  P.  Porter. 

1841.  Miles  C.  Smith. 

1869.  James  Neilson. 

1846.  Abm.  Schuyler  Neilson. 

1870.  William  H.  Acken. 

Martin  A.  Howell. 

1871.  Robert  H.  Neilson. 

1851.  James  Hutchings. 

JohnT.  Hill. 

Peter  V.  Miller. 

1872.  J.  Bayard  Kirkpatrick 

1853.  John  K.  Ford. 

LIST   OF   TH 

E  DEACONS. 

Andrew  Agnew,  installed  1871. 

F.  Randolph  Stout,  installed 

D.  C.  English, 

Woodbridge  Strong,        " 

James  P.  Langdon,    "          " 

Robert  Eastburn,             " 

Charles  S.  Scott, 

George  H.  Stout,              " 

CHAPTER   XCVII. 


CITY    OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK.— (0-;.r 


.,/.) 


Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick.'— The  proceed- 
ings of  the  rector,  wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  Christ 
Church,  New  Brunswick,  previous  to  the  year  1790, 
have  not  been  preserved  among  the  records  of  the 
parish.  The  only  information  that  can  now  be  ob- 
tained relative  to  its  origin  and  early  history  is  de- 
rived from  the  proceedings  of  the  venerable  society 
in  England,  which  was  established  in  the  beginning 
of  the  last  century  for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel 
in  foreign  parts.  By  the  bishops  and  members  of 
that  celebrated  association  the  missionaries  were  sent 
out  who  ministered  to  the  congregation  until  the 
period  of  the  independence  of  the  American  colonies, 
and  from  their  annual  reports  the  materials  are  chiefly 
collected  which  form  the  first  portion  of  this  narra- 
tive. 

The  first  reference  that  I  have  found  to  the  exist- 
ence of  a  congregation  in  New  Brunswick  is  in  the 
abstract  of  the  society's  proceedings  for  the  years 
1742—13,  where  it  is  stated  that  the  "  people  of  Pis- 
cataqua  and  New  Brunswick  are  marking  out  a  place 
for  a  new  church  about  two  miles  distant  from  the 
old  one."  This  must  refer  to  St.  James'  Church  in 
the  adjoining  parish,  which  had  been  built  in  1722. 

Mr.  Skinner,  the  minister  at  Araboy,  describes  it 
as  "  a  handsome  wooden  chappel,"  and  says  also 
''that  the  congregation  grows  daily,  and  in  all  proba- 
bility will  be  as  numerous  as  any  in  those  parts." 

The  same  missionary  reports  in  1744  that  zeal  for 
God's  worship  among  the  inhabitants  had  stirred 
them  up  to  the  building  of  a  church  in  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

In  the  year  following  "the  inhabitants  of  New 
Brunswick  petitioned  the  society  to  send  them  a  mis- 


>  By  Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs,  D.D.,  rector  of  the  parish. 


sionary,  setting  forth  that  they  had  erected  a  church 
of  stone  fifty-five  feet  long,  forty-five  wide,  and  twenty 
high,  which  may  be  of  great  service,  not  only  to  them- 
selves but  also  to  a  well-settled  country,  extending 
many  miles,  in  which  many  of  the  inhabitants  profess 
themselves  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  others  who 
were  formerly  Dissenters  seem  now  well-affected 
towards  it ;  that  the  confidence  they  had  in  the  most 
pious  and  truly  Christian  society  that  they  would 
make  them  happy  in  an  able,  discrete  divine  to  ad- 
minister in  that  church  put  them  upon  building  it ; 
and  they  had  obliged  themselves  and  were  ready  to 
give  proper  security  to  raise  £40  that  currency  per 
annum  towards  his  siipport ;  and  were  persuaded  that 
by  the  good  behavior  of  such  a  missionary  they  should 
so  far  add  to  their  numbers  as  considerably  to  increase 
that  sum." 

The  society,  well  pleased  with  the  laudable  zeal  of 
these  gentlemen,  acquainted  them  "  that  as  soon  as 
they  shall  have  provided  an  house  with  some  acres  of 
land  round  it,  according  to  the  standing  rules  of  the 
society,  to  the  £40  engaged  for  the  support  of  a  mis- 
sionary they  will  send  one  to  be  a  resident  with 
them."  And  in  the  mean  time  they  commended 
them  to  the  care  of  the  neighboring  missionaries. 

In  the  society's  report  for  the  year  1749-50  it  is 
stated  "  that  the  inhabitants  of  New  Brunswick, 
having  built  a  large  and  handsome  church,  raised 
£300  towards  the  purchase  of  a  house  and  glebe,  and 
obliged  themselves  to  pay  £40  per  annum  to  the  sup- 
port of  a  missionary,  earnestly  pray  to  have  Mr.  Wood, 
a  gentleman  of  very  good  life  and  conversation,  bred 
to  physic  and  surgery,  admitted  to  holy  orders,"  and 
sent  to  them  in  that  capacity. 

We  learn  from  the  proceedings  of  the  next  year 
that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wood  had  been  appointed  mission- 
ary to  the  churches  of  New  Brunswick  and  Elizabeth- 
town.  At  the  latter  place  he  was  able  to  officiate  only 
every  fourth  Sunday,  where,  in  his  absence,  the  ser- 
vices of  the  church  were  performed  by  Mr.  Chandler, 
who  held  the  oflice  of  a  catechist. 

Mr.  Chandler  was  then  a  young  man,  recently  from 
Yale  College,  and  a  candidate  for  holy  orders.  He 
received  ordination  from  the  Bishop  of  London  in 
1751,  and  returned  the  same  year.  The  chief  sphere 
of  his  missionary  labor  was  Elizabethtown,  where  he 
spent  the  greater  part  of  his  useful  life,  and  where  he 
died  in  1790.  His  memory  is  still  "  green,"  and  much 
revered  in  that  venerable  parish.  But  he  is  chiefly 
distinguished  for  the  unremitting  efforts  he  made  to 
obtain  from  the  home  government  the  appointment 
of  bishops  for  the  colonial  church.  His  efforts,  like 
those  of  Bishop  Butler,  and  of  many  other  eminent 
men  in  the  same  good  cause,  did  not  succeed,  in  con- 
sequence of  political'jealousy  and  sectarian  animosity. 

The  failure  to  accomplish  this  purpose  has  been 
always  greatly  lamented,  and  at  first  sight  it  appears 
most  disastrous  for  the  infant  church  in  this  country, 
which  required  the  nurturing  care  and  guidance  of 


•712 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


wise  ecclesiastical  rulers.  The  members  of  our  church 
had  no  Protestant  bishop  within  three  thousand  miles 
of  them, — a  case  which,  as  Archbishop  Seeker  said, 
"  never  had  its  parallel  before  in  the  Christian  world," 
yet  the  failure  to  obtain  the  episcopate,  apparently  so 
unfortunate,  may  have  been  owing  not  so  much  to 
the  devices  of  designing  men  as  to  the  foresight  of  a 
preventing,  superintending  Providence.  If  bishops 
had  been  appointed  at  the  time,  and  they  had  acted 
when  the  Revolution  occurred,  like  many  of  the 
clergy  who  came  from  England,  who  preferred  their 
allegiance  to  the  king  of  Great  Britain  to  that  of  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  would  not  submit  to  the 
new  government  established,  the  effect  would  have 
been  far  more  injurious  to  the  church  than  anything 
else  which  afterwards  happened.  It  seems  a  remark- 
able confirmation  of  this  opinion  that  while  at  this 
time  the  opposition  to  the  appointment  of  bishops  came 
chiefly  from  New  England,  after  the  Revolution  was 
accomplished  the  object  so  long  desired  was  effected 
through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Adams,  the  American 
minister  with  the  British  government.  Thus  in 
God's  good  time  the  prayers  and  efforts  of  Chandler 
were  crowned  with  success,  and  "  the  wrath  of  man 
was  made  to  praise  Him." 

Mr.  Wood  having  removed  to  Nova  Scotia,  the  so- 
ciety then  "  thought  proper  to  fix  on  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Seabury,  son  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seabury,  the  society's 
missionary  at  Hempstead,  on  Long  Island,  to  be  their 
missionary  to  New  Brunswick,  out  of  regard  to  the 
request  of  the  inhabitants,  and  to  the  united  testimony 
of  the  Episcopal  clergy  of  New  York  in  his  favor  as 
a  youth  of  good  genius,  unblemished  morals,  sound 
principles  in  religion,  and  one  that  had  made  as  good 
proficiency  in  literature  while  in  America  as  the  pres- 
ent state  of  learning  there  would  admit  of  Mr.  Sea- 
bury, being  of  full  age  for  holy  orders,  presented  him- 
self to  the  society  from  the  University  of  Edinburgh, 
and  upon  examination  being  found  worthy  he  was 
ordained  deacon  and  priest,  and  soon  after  set  out 
for  New  Brunswick,  where  the  society  hopes  he  will 
follow  the  example  of  his  worthy  father,  and  prove  a 
very  diligent  and  useful  missionary  in  his  station." 

"  The  Rev.  Mr.  Seabury,  Jr.,  arrived  happily  there," 
says  the  report,  "on  the  25th  of  May,  1754,  and  was 
received  with  a  most  hearty  welcome  from  the  inhab- 
itants, who  appeared  very  sensible  of  the  society's 
goodness  in  sending  a  missionary  to  them,  and  dis- 
posed to  do  everything  in  their  power  to  show  their 
acknowledgments.  The  church  is  a  handsome  stone 
building,  which  when  finished  will  conveniently  hold 
a  large  congregation,  and  this  was  proposed  to  be 
done  in  that  ensuing  summer ;  it  is  generally  well 
filled,  and  as  there  was  no  dissenting  teacher  at  that 
■time  of  any  sort,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
several  persons  of  various  denominations  come  to 
church,  and  he  hoped  they  would  in  time,  through 
the  grace  of  God,  conform." 

The  grandfather  of  our  eminent  missionary  was  "  a 


deacon,"  and  his  father  a  licensed  minister  among  the 
Congregational ists  of  New  England.  His  father  be- 
came a  convert  to  the  Episcopal  Church  (like  some 
other  prominent  men  of  that  day,  including  the  rector 
of  Yale  College),  gave  up  his  Congregational  ministry, 
and  went  to  England  for  holy  orders. 

The  son  embraced  the  faith  and  the  profession  of 
his  "  worthy  father."  After  graduating  at  Yale  Col- 
lege he  pursued  first  the  study  of  medicine  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  then  he  prepared  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  and  was  ordained  by  the  cele- 
brated Sherlock,  Bishop  of  London,  in  1753. 

Seabury  was  of  the  purest  Puritan  extraction,  his 
descent  being  traced  from  John  Alden,  "the  first  man 
that  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock."  But  he  found  a 
surer  footing  on  another  "  Rock,"  that  on  which  the 
church  is  built,  and  the  chief  effort  of  this  "  wise 
master-builder"  here  seems  to  have  been  to  bring  all 
Christian  people  of  every  name  "  unto  that  agreement 
in  the  faith  and  knowledge  of  God,"  unto  that  con- 
formity to  the  worship  and  order  of  His  church  to 
which  he  himself  gladly  submitted  on  his  return 
home  to  the  church  of  his  fathers. 

In  1756  the  Rev.  Mr.  Seabury  was  collated  to  the 
cure  of  the  church  in  Jamaica,  L.  I.,  of  which  he  was 
inducted  rector  on  the  13th  of  January,  1757. 

In  October  of  the  same  year  he  writes  to  the  soci- 
ety :  "  I  have  constantly  attended  at  Brunswick  every 
seventh  Sunday,  and  shall  continue  to  do  so,  except 
the  severity  of  the  winter  sliould  render  it  imprac- 
ticable." 

Under  date  of  Jamaica,  May  5,  1761,  in  another 
letter,  he  says,  "  When  it  was  proposed  to  me  to 
remove  from  New  Brunswick,  I  was  told  it  would 
prevent  a  good  deal  of  uneasiness  and  confusion  in 
the  parish  (at  Jamaica),  both  with  regard  to  the  Dis- 
senters and  the  professors  of  the  Church  of  England 
themselves,  who  were  unanimous  in  their  desire  of 
having  me  for  their  missionary;  and  as  a  further  en- 
couragement, it  was  represented  to  me  that  the  people 
would  do  everything  that  could  be  reasonably  ex- 
pected to  render  my  situation  every  way  commo- 
dious. These  motives,  together  with  a  desire  of  being 
near  a  most  valuable  and  aftectionate  father,  prevailed 
on  me  to  solicit  a  removal  to  Jamaica." 

Mr.  Seabury,  with  apostolic  zeal,  "went  evei-ywhere 
preaching  the  word,"  and  on  one  of  these  missionary 
tours  an  incident  occurred  which  proved  nearly  fatal 
to  the  career  of  this  celebrated  man.  While  returning 
in  a  sail-boat  from  Brunswick  to  New  York  a  sudden 
gust  of  wind  arose  which  threatened  to  upset  the 
little  bark.  The  danger  was  increased  by  the  obsti- 
nacy of  the  steersman,  who  would  not  or  could  not 
govern  the  boat.  Mr.  Seabury  submitted  in  patience 
as  long  as  it  could  be  done  with  safety  ;  at  last  he 
seized  the  helm,  thrust  the  man  away  from  it,  and 
guided  the  vessel  to  the  shore.  A  crowd  of  anxious 
spectators  were  gathered  on  the  beach,  who  felt  so 
indignant  at  the  conduct  of  the  helmsman,  in  expos- 


CITY   OP  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


713 


ing  the  life  of  the  faithful  missionary,  that  they  laid 
hands  on  him  as  soon  as  he  reached  the  land  and 
inflicted  the  punishment  he  so  richly  deserved. 

Mr.  Seabury  was  thus  providentially  saved  "  from  i 
perishing  by  water,"  to  become  long  afterwards  the  1 
guide  of  the  ark  of  Christ's  church,  which  has  been 
more  than  once  preserved  by  his  firmness  and  skill 
from  the  winds  and  storms  that  threatened  her  de- 
struction. 

To  him  more  than  to  any  other  man,  save  good 
Bishop  White,  we  owe  it  that  she  now  lies  moored  in  i 
safety  in  the  haven  of  peace. 

Bishops  Seabury  and   White  seemed  to  have  per- 
formed the  same  providential  part  in  organizing  the  I 
church  in  this  country  which  Cranmer  and  Ridley 
did  in  reforming  it  in  England.  ! 

■'  Opposite  tendencies,  widely  differing  views  of  I 
party  and  doctrine,  were  to  be  reconciled  and  made 
to  dwell  in  unity.  This  difficult  result  was  obtained 
by  the  kindly  co-operation  of  these  two  men,  of  very 
opposite  constitutions  of  mind  and  habits  of  thought. 
By  their  mutual  forbearance  and  concessions  the 
happy  mean  between  too  much  stiffness  in  refusing 
and  too  much  facility  in  yielding  was  kept,  and  a  re- 
sult reached  which,  in  the  main,  has  continued  to  be 
satisfactory  to  'all  the  classes  of  views  which  the 
American  Episcopal  Church  harbors  in  its  bosom. 
Bishop  Seabury  was  the  conservative  element  in  the 
church,  the  firm  opposer  of  needless  innovations,  of 
a  latitudiiiarian  theology,  and  a  lax  estimation  and 
treatment  of  her  peculiar  principles.  And  it  has 
been  wisely  said  by  Dr.  Hallam  that  perhaps  that 
church  owes  him  less  for  what  he  did  than  for  what 
he  prevented  from  being  done." 

This  truly  apostolic  man,  who  began  his  missionary 
work  here,  was  consecrated  the  first  bishop  of  the 
American  church  by  the  bishops  of  the  church  in 
Scotland,  Nov.  14,  1784.  Immediately  after  his  con- 
secration he  entered  upon  his  episcopal  duties  in  the 
diocese  of  Connecticut,  where  he  labored  assiduously 
till  1796,  when,  on  the  25th  of  February,  his  prayer 
for  a  speedy  release  was  granted.  "  A  voice  from 
heaven  was  heard  saying,  Friend,  go  up  higher,"  and 
he  suddenly  departed. 

The  church  of  New  Brunswick  by  their  letters, 
dated  Dec.  20,  1757,  return  their  thanks  for  the 
society's  goodness  to  them  in  appointing  the  Rev.  Mr. 
MacKean  to  succeed  their  late  worthy  missionary, 
Mr.  Seabury ;  and  write,  further,  "  that  it  is  with 
great  pleasure  they  see  the  Church  of  England,  by 
the  benevolence  of  the  society  and  the  prudent  choice 
they  make  of  discreet  men,  raising  its  head  in  an  in- 
fant country,  where  at  its  first  settlement  different 
sects,  as  well  as  Popery,  had  taken  footing."  And 
Mr.  MacKean  acquaints  the  society  by  his  letter, 
dated  Jan.  8,  1758,  "  that  he  arrived  at  New  Bruns- 
wick on  the  16th  of  December,  and  was  kindly  re- 
ceived by  his  congregation,  and  had  officiated  regu- 
larly to  them  from  that  time." 


In  1761,  Mr.  MacKean  reports  that  the  congrega- 
tion of  the  church  had  obtained  a  charter  of  incor- 
poration. He  remained  in  Brunswick  until  Feb- 
ruary, 1763,  when  he  removed  to  Perth  Amboy. 
There  he  died  in  1766.  On  the  tombstone  erected  to 
his  memory  he  is  described  as  "  unshaken  friend,  and 
in  every  relation  of  life  a  benevolent  and  honest  man." 

He  informs  the  society  on  his  removal  "that  the 
Hon.  Edward  Antill,  Esq.,  a  man  of  most  exemplary 
life  and  singular  piety,  has  undertaken  to  read  prayers 
and  a  sermon  every  two  Sundays  at  Brunswick,  and 
every  other  two  at  Piscataqua,  till  the  arrival  of  a 
Missionary." 

The  society  directed  their  thanks  to  be  returned  to 
Mr.  Antill  for  his  pious  labors. 

It  is  to  be  lamented  that  so  little  is  known  of  the 
history  of  this  zealous  and  devoted  churchman.  His 
papers,  which  were  in  possession  of  a  nephew,  were 
nearly  destroyed  in  the  great  fire  of  1835  in  New 
York.  He  left  three  sons, —  Edward,  John,  and 
Lewis, — the  first  of  whom  became  a  colonel  in  the 
American  army  and  served  in  the  war.  On  one  oc- 
casion he  was  taken  prisoner  and  confined  on  board 
the  English  fleet.  Happily  for  him  John,  who 
joined  the  British  ranks,  was  sent  to  examine  the 
prisoners,  and  the  first  person  on  whom  he  cast  his 
eyes  was  his  own  brother.  He  succeeded  in  procur- 
ing his  release.  Lewis  also  retained  his  loyalty,  and 
fell  in  the  battle  of  Brandywine.  John  survived 
many  years,  and  died,  it  is  supposed,  in  Orange 
County,  N.  Y. 

There  is  a  large  and  handsome  marble  font  in  the 
church,  on  which  is  inscribed,  "  The  gift  of  John 
Antill,  Esq.,  as  a  token  of  his  affection  to  his  native 
place."  The  tradition  in  the  family,  however,  was 
that  this  font  was  presented  by  his  father,  the  Hon. 
Edward  Antill,  as  a  votive  offering  in  consequence  of 
deliverance  from  imminent  danger.  He  died  Auo-. 
15,  1770,  and  his  remains  are  now  deposited  under 
the  floor  of  the  church  near  the  tower. 

A  joint  letter  from  the  clergy  of  New  Jersey,  dated 
Dec.  5,  1762,  was  received  the  year  following,  repre- 
senting that  the  small  congregation  of  Piscataqua 
have  within  a  few  years  been  at  the  expense  of 
building  a  new  church,  and  they  earnestly  recom- 
mend them  to  the  society's  favor.  It  was  agreed  to 
unite  Piscataqua  to  the  mission  of  Brunswick,  which 
mission  being  vacant  by  the  removal  of  Mr.  Mac- 
Kean to  Perth  Amboy,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Leonard  Cut- 
ting was  appointed  to  succeed  him.  This  gentleman 
had  for  several  years  be^n  a  public  tutor  in  the 
College  of  New  York,  and  produced  the  most  ample 
testimony  to  his  character  "  for  learning,  piety,  and 
virtue,  and  firm  attachment  to  the  present  govern- 
ment in  Church  and  State." 

Under  date  of  Oct.  3,  1764,  Mr.  Cutting  gives  a 
particular  account  of  the  state  of  his  churches. 

In  New  Brunswick,  he  says,  there  are  about  one 
hundred  and  thirty  families,  most  of  them  in  but  in- 


714 


HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND    MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


different  circumstances.  In  this  town  are  three 
places  of  public  worship, — an  English  and  a  Dutch 
Church,  and  a  Presbyterian  meeting,  the  members  of 
which  live  together  in  a  friendly  manner  without  dis- 
putes and  animosities  on  account  of  religion.  His 
own  congregation  seems  to  be  composed  of  serious, 
zealous,  and  devout  members,  and  is  likely  to  flourish 
greatly.  His  communicants  at  present  are  about 
twenty-five.  He  catechises  the  children  at  Bruns- 
wick and  Piscataqua  every  Sunday.  The  congrega- 
tion at  Brunswick  have  given  a  bond  for  £40  a  year, 
Jersey  currency,  and  allow  £20  currency  for  house- 
rent  till  they  are  able  to  purchase  a  glebe. 

Nothing  is  here  said  of  the  land  on  which  the 
church  is  built,  which  was  given  by  Philip  French, 
Esq.,  in  1745.  During  the  Revolution  the  deed  was 
lost,  and  only  found  a  few  years  ago  in  the  garret  of 
an  old  house  in  New  York.  There  is  no  evidence 
that  either  house  or  glebe  were  ever  purchased.  If 
so,  church  robbery  and  sacrilege  stand  to  the  account 
of  some  poor  soul. 

In  his  report  of  April  29,  176.3,  Mr.  Cutting  "  with 
pleasure  observes  that  in  New  Brunswick  the  same 
catholic  spirit  prevails,  all  denominations  living  to- 
gether in  a  friendly  manner  without  disputes  and 
animosities." 

In  Piscataqua,  he  says,  the  church  is  well  filled,  and 
the  people  appear  serious  and  attentive. 

During  the  next  year  this  worthy  missionary 
removed  to  Hempstead,  L.  I. ;  thence  he  writes  that 
the  churcli  at  Brunswick  appears  to  increase  in  num- 
bers, and  there  were  thirty- four  communicants. 

The  society  now  appointed  the  Rev.  Abraham 
Beach  to  this  mission,  where  he  arrived  safe  in  the 
end  of  September,  1767.  He  reports  that  he  was 
kindly  received,  and  found  an  agreement  among  all 
denominations. 

In  his  next  letter  Mr.  Beach  informs  them  "  that  his 
own  churches  are  frequented  by  serious  persons  of  all 
denominations,  and  that  he  halh  in  his  mission  a  great 
number  of  negroes,  to  some  of  whom  he  reads  at  his 
own  house  every  Sunday  evening." 

In  the  proceedings  of  1773  it  is  reported  that  the 
people  of  New  Brunswick  have  by  a  subscription 
repaired  the  church  and  very  nearly  erected  the 
steeple. 

In  1774  "  the  Rev.  Abraham  Beach's  mission  is  in  a 
good  state.  He  endeavoreth,  by  a  kind  and  candid 
treatment,  to  overcome  the  prejudices  of  the  Dissent- 
ers, and  hath  experienced  the  good  effects  of  it  in  sev- 
eral instances." 

During  the  following  year  Mr.  Beach  represents 
"  how  hurtful  the  American  disputes  are  to  the  clergy, 
and  assures  the  society  that  he  has  endeavored  to  pro- 
mote moderation,  peace,  and  good  order,  and  trusts  to 
Providence  for  the  success." 

Though  Dr.  Beach  was,  says  his  grandson,  "  liberal 
in  his  intercourse  with  his  brethren  of  other  denomi- 
nations, it  appears  from  his  correspondence  that  he 


was  tenacious  of  Episcopal  ordination,  and  unwilling 
to  accede,  even  as  a  temporary  expedient,  to  the  plan 
brought  prominently  forward  in  1783  by  Dr.  (after- 
wards Bishop)  White  to  organize  the  church  and 
provide  for  the  ordination  of  ministers  without  a 
consecrated  bishop.  Nor  did  he  give  a  voluntary 
assent  to  all  the  alterations  in  the  liturgy,  and  which, 
as  the  English  bishops  declared,  went  beyond  the 
necessity  of  the  case."  In  accordance  with  the  advice 
of  his  friend.  Dr.  Chandler,  he  maintained  "  a  firm 
and  manly  adherence  to  the  true  principles  of  the 
Church,  a  persevering  activity  in  performing  the 
duties  of  his  station,  together  with  prudence,  candor, 
and  good  temper." 

The  last  letter  found  among  the  proceedings  of  the 
society  relative  to  this  church  was  written  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Cook,  missionary  at  Shrewsbury.  It  is  dated  at 
Brunswick,  May  1,  1777. 

This  gentleman  states  that  he  was  confined  to  the 
army,  unable  to  reach  his  mission  or  to  see  his  family. 
He  reports  that  for  the  last  four  months  he  had  been 
at  Brunswick,  and  had  oflSciated  occasionally  in  the 
church,  the  only  one  in  the  province  in  which  di- 
vine service  was  then  regularly  performed.  He  adds 
"that  although  Mr.  Beach  had,  from  his  prudent  and 
good  conduct,  been  permitted  to  stay  at  home,  he 
was  not  free  from  insults,  and  being  nearly  two  miles 
out  of  the  British  lines,  was  in  a  state  of  constant  ap- 
prehension." 

At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  everything  that  bore 
the  English  name  naturally  shared  the  dislike  ex- 
tended to  the  English  nation.  When  the  nation  was 
opposed  and  rejected,  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that 
the  national  establishment  would  receive  much  favor. 

The  first  missionaries  of  our  church  in  this  country 
were  ministers  of  the  Church  of  England.  The 
church  there  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  state 
that  they  are  very  generally  confounded  together,  and 
it  is  not  wonderful,  therefore,  that  when  the  govern- 
ment of  the  state  was  cast  off  the  government  of  the 
church  should  be  involved  in  the  same  fate. 

This  prejudice  was  aggravated  by  the  fact  that  a 
great  number  of  the  ministers  of  the  church  at  the 
time  of  the  Revolution  proved  loyal  to  the  parent 
country.  In  many  instances  they  left  their  people 
and  returned  to  Great  Britain  or  her  provinces  rather 
than  discontinue  the  public  prayers  for  the  king  and 
the  royal  family.  At  their  ordination  they  had  taken 
the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  crown,  and  were  ready  to  en- 
dure any  degree  of  suffering  rather  than  renounce 
their  allegiance. 

The  Rev.  Charles  Inglis,  rector  of  Trinity  Church, 
New  York,  and  afterwards  the  first  Bishop  of  Nova 
Scotia,  under  date'  of  Oct.  31,  1776,  thus  describes 
the  sufferings  to  which  most  of  the  ministers  of  the 
church  were  at  this  time  exposed  :  "  The  clergy  were 
everywhere  threatened,  often  reviled  with  the  most 
opprobrious  language,  sometimes  treated  with  brutal 
violence.    Some  have  been  carried  prisoners  by  armed 


CITY   OF  NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


715 


mobs  into  distant  provinces,  where  they  were  detained 
in  close  confinement  for  several  weeks,  and  much  in- 
sulted, without  any  crime  being  even  alleged  against 
them.  Some  have  been  flung  into  jails  by  commit- 
tees for  frivolous  suspicions  of  plots,  of  which  even 
their  persecutors  afterwards  acquitted  them.  Some 
who  were  obliged  to  fly  their  own  province  to  save 
their  lives  have  been  taken  prisoners,  sent  back,  and 
are  threatened  to  be  tried  for  their  lives  because  they 
fled  from  danger.  Some  have  been  pulled  out  of  the 
reading-desk  because  they  prayed  for  the  king,  and 
that  before  independency  was  declared.  Others  have 
been  warned  to  appear  at  militia  musters  with  their 
arms,  have  been  fined  for  not  appearing,  and  threat- 
ened with  imprisonment  for  not  paying  their  fines. 
Others  have  had  their  houses  plundered  and  their 
desks  broken  open  under  pretence  of  their  containing 
treasonable  papers.  AVhatever  reluctance  or  pain  a 
benevolent  heart  may  feel  in  recounting  such  things, 
which  are  indeed  a  disgrace  to  humanity  and  religion, 
yet  they  ought  to  be  held  up  to  view  the  more  effectu- 
ally to  expose  the  baneful  nature  of  persecution, 
make  it  detestable,  and  put  mankind  on  their  guard 
against  its  first  approaches.  Were  every  instance  of 
this  kind  faithfully  collected,  says  the  writer,  it  is 
probable  that  the  sufterings  of  the  American  clergy 
would  appear  in  many  respects  not  inferior  to  those 
of  the  English  clergy  in  the  time  of  the  great  rebel- 
lion." 

Mr.  Inglis  himself,  in  reply  to  a  message  from  Gen. 
Washington,  requesting  a  change  in  the  liturgy,  that 
prayers  might  be  omitted  for  the  king  and  royal 
family,  declared  to  the  general  in  person  "that  it 
was  in  his  power  to  close  their  church&s,  but  by  no 
means  in  his  power  to  make  the  clergy  depart  from 
their  duty." 

Such  conduct  as  this  a  man  of  Washington's  firm- 
ness and  valor  was  capable  of  appreciating.  It  did 
not  diminish  his  reverence  for  the  men,  nor  for  the 
church  of  which  they  were  ministers.  He  was  him- 
self, like  many  of  our  eminent  patriots  and  statesmen, 
devotedly  attached  to  it,  partaking  of  her  commu- 
nion and  serving  as  a  vestryman ;  her  ministers  were 
chosen  for  his  chaplains,  and  in  her  solemn  forms  of 
devotion  he  offered  up  his  thanksgivings  for  victory 
or  for  peace. 

It  is  not  wonderful,  however,  that  this  loyal  con- 
duct of  many  of  the  clergy  should  have  excited 
against  them  and  the  church  the  hostility  of  the  mul- 
titude, and  it  cannot  but  be  lamented  that  they  should 
have  taken  this  view  of  their  duty,  that  they  had  not 
restricted  themselves  to  the  discharge  of  their  clerical 
functions,  and  placed  the  service  of  Christ  and  His 
church  before  that  of  their  king  and  country.  By 
this  course  they  would  have  better  promoted  the  in- 
terests, temporal  and  spiritual,  of  all  concerned. 

But  we,  who  live  in  peace  and  quietness,  are  hardly 
competent  to  judge  of  the  conduct  of  men  whose  lot 
was  cast  in  those  days  of  trouble  and  confusion.     It 


may  be  they  foresaw  that  "the  children's  teeth  would 
be  set  on  edge"  by  "  the  grapes"  of  which  "  their 
fathers  ate,"  and  they  forbore.  At  any  rate,  we 
cannot  but  respect  men  of  such  uncompromising 
principles,  even  while  we  pity  their  mistakes  or  con- 
demn their  errors.  It  is  not  just  to  charge  their  mis- 
takes or  their  errors  upon  the  church  of  which  they 
were  ministers,  or  to  desert  her  altars  because  they 
would  not  desert  their  country. 

This,  however,  has  been  the  case  in  too  many  in- 
stances, and  the  church  in  this  place  has  in  times 
past  shared  the  obloquy  extended  to  her  elsewhere. 
Political  prejudices  have  kept  great  numbers  from 
joining  her  communion,  which  to  this  day  is  denom- 
inated by  some  of  the  older  inhabitants  "the  English 
Church." 

During  all  these  troublous  times  Mr.  Beach  re- 
mained at  his  post  of  duty,  having  a  sweet  home- 
stead and  retreat  on  the  banks  of  the  Karitan,  where 
in  the  bosom  of  a  large  and  happy  family  he  found 
peace  and  solace  amid  surrounding  perils,  discord,  and 
confusion. 

He  continued  to  ofliciate  in  Brunswick  till  1784, 
when  he  became  an  assistant  minister  of  Trinity 
Church,  New  York.  On  resigning  this  office  he  re- 
tired to  the  old  homestead,  that  mansion  of  hospi- 
tality, where  his  declining  years  were  spent,  and 
where  he  rested  from  his  labors. 

A  tablet  has  been  erected  to  his  memory  in  the 
church,  with  the  following  epitaph  from  the  pen  of 
the  late  James  A.  Hillhouse,  Esq.  : 

"  In  the  adjoining  church  yani 

lie  interred  tlie  remains  of 

■  Abraham  Beaih,  D.  D., 

Who  was  ordained  in  London,  in  1707,  to  otticiate 

in  this  church,  wliere  lie  faithfully  performed 

bis  duty  for  17  years.     After  devoting  25  years 

more  to  his  Sacred  profession  in  the  City  of 

New-York,  he  returned  to  close  his  days  amidst  the 

scenes  of  his  youthful  exertions.    Having  completed 

his  88th  year,  he  departed  on  the  14th  of 

September,  1828,  in  the  humble  but  assured  hope 

of  entering  in  the  enjoyment  of  those  promises, 

of  which  he  uas  so  long  the  Herald. 
He  was  born  in  Cheshire  Conn.  Sept.  gth  1740." 

On  the  same  tablet  are  inscribed  the  names  of  Ann 
Van  Wickle,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Beach,  who  died  in  New 
York,  Jan.  22,  1808,  and  of  their  daughters,  Ann 
Chandler  Beach,  wife  of  the  Rev.  T.  Lyell,  who  died 
Dec.  23,  1821,  and  Maria  Beach,  who,  with  her  hus- 
band, the  Rev.  A.  Carter,  fell  a  victim  to  the  yellow 
fever  in  Savannah,  Ga.,  1827.  Another  daughter, 
the  venerable  Mrs.  Rattoone,  on  the  12th  of  October, 
1848,  was  reunited  to  this  happy  family  circle  "  in 
the  blest  kingdoms  meek  of  joy  and  love ;"  and 
more  recently  the  eldest  daughter  of  Dr.  Beach,  Mrs. 
Isaac  Lawrence,  has  been  added  to  that  numerous 
gathering  in  Paradise. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Rowland  immediately  succeeded  Mr. 
Beach  in  the  charge  of  this  church,  and  continued 
one  year.  He  some  time  afterwards  removed  to  Shel- 
bourne,  in  Nova  Scotia. 


716 


HISTOKy   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


It  appears  that  the  churcli  was  vacant  of  a  regu- 
larly settled  clergyman  till  some  time  in  the  year 
1787,  when  the  Rev.  George  Ogilvie,  a  deacon,  was 
engaged  to  officiate  to  the  congregation. 

He  is  described  as  "  a  man  of  fine  personal  appear- 
ance, an  agreeable  companion,  an  excellent  reader, 
and  an  acceptable  preacher."  Mr.  Ogilvie  resigned 
his  charge  in  the  year  1790,  and  removed  to  Nor- 
walk,  in  Connecticut,  theuce  to  Rye,  N.  Y.,  where 
he  died. 

After  this  period  the  proceedings  of  the  rector, 
church  wardens,  and  vestrymen  of  the  church  have 
been  preserved  on  file,  from  which  the  following 
statements  are  chiefly  derived  : 

In  1791  the  Rev.  Henry  Vandyke,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beach,  was  chosen  minis- 
ter of  the  parish.  The  register  does  not  state  when 
his  ministry  terminated,  but  there  is  still  preserved 
on  file  a  letter  from  this  gentleman  to  the  vestry, 
dated  at  Burlington,  June  20,  1794,  from  which  it 
appears  that  he  must  some  time  previously  have  re- 
moved from  New  Brunswick. 

lu  this  letter  Mr,  Vandyke  complains  that  his  salary 
had  not  been  paid  him  ;  that  he  was  consequently 
"  threatened  by  suits  at  law  ;"  and  he  implores  the 
vestry  to  save  him  and  themselves  from  this  "  re- 
proach and  shame"  by  paying  the  balance  due  him. 

At  this  time  the  lottery  system  was  sanctioned  by 
the  State,  and,  unfortunately,  it  was  introduced  into 
the  church.  Some  of  the  old  tickets  are  still  pre- 
served. But,  as  in  every  such  case,  much  harm  was 
done,  and  very  little  good. 

The  church  was  defrauded  of  the  money  collected 
by  some  of  the  agents ;  quarrels  ensued,  lawsuits 
were  threatened,  and  at  last  the  clergyman's  just 
dues  were  left  unpaid.  All  such  methods  of  obtain- 
ing money  end  the  same  way.  The  only  true  plan, 
and  the  only  one  that  will  prove  finally  successful,  is 
the  one  enjoined  in  the  gospel :  "  Let  every  one  lay 
by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath  prospered  him ;  so  let 
him  give,  not  grudgingly  or  of  necessity,  for  God 
loveth  a  cheerful  giver."  The  deed  that  is  not  based 
on  Christian  motives  will  be  "unblessed."  It  cer- 
tainly will  not  benefit  "  him  that  gives,"  and  seldom 
does  it  benefit  "  him  that  takes." 

The  parish  seems  to  have  continued  vacant  until 
May  4,  1799,  when  the  Rev.  John  Henry  Hobart  wiis 
"  invited  to  perform  divine  service  for  the  congrega- 
tion for  one  year,"  and  "  the  sum  of  $266.G7  was 
allowed  for  such  services." 

Mr.  Hobart  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
Bishop  White  to  the  Rev.  Abrm.  Beach,  in  which  the 
bishop  speaks  of  him  as  "a  young  gentleman  who 
has  lately  entered  into  Orders  in  our  Church,  with 
the  general  expectation  of  all  who  know  him  that 
he  will  be  eminently  useful  in  it."  How  fully  these 
expectations  were  realized  need  not  here  be  said. 

Mr.  Beach  forwarded  this  letter,  which  is  still 
among  the  church  records,  to  the  vestry,  recommend- 


ing them,  in  consideration  of  "  the  young  gentleman's 
charcter,  as  given  by  Bishop  White,  and  the  destitute 
condition  of  your  church,  to  employ  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hobait." 

In  a  letter  dated  at  Philadelphia,  April  10,  1799, 
Mr.  Hobart  accepts  the  invitation  of  the  vestry, 
though  he  says,  "  The  salary  allowed  will  not  be  ade- 
quate to  defray  my  necessary  expenses ;  but  I  can 
make  no  objection,  because  I  acquiesced  in  it  when 
first  proposed."  The  reason  assigned  for  his  removal 
from  the  churches  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia  was 
"  that  he  could  not  look  on  them  as  a  permanent  resi- 
dence, and  that  he  wished  for  some  time  longer  to 
pursue  his  studies  at  Princeton,  where  he  enjoyed 
peculiar  advantages  of  books,  of  retirement,  and  of 
society." 

After  serving  the  church  here  a  little  more  than 
two  months,  Mr.  Hobart,  in  a  communication  dated 
July  15,  1799,  says,  "  I  have  thought  it  my  duty  to 
state  to  the  vestrymen  my  desire  that  they  would  re- 
lease me  from  my  temporary  engagement  with  them 
for  the  last  six  months,  to  enable  me  to  accept  a  per- 
manent settlement,"  offered  at  Hempstead,  L.  I.  He 
expresses,  however,  his  "  determination  and  wish  to 
fulfill,  to  the  best  of  his  abilities,  his  engagement 
with  the  church  here,  unless  regularly  released  there- 
from." 

On  the  very  day  after  this  was  written  he  ad- 
dressed another  letter  to  the  vestry,  in  which  he  says, 
with  characteristic  disinterestedness  and  magnanim- 
ity, "  I  think  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  in  existing  cir- 
cumstances to  receive  a  release  from  my  engagement 
with  your  church,  and  I  must,  therefore,  beg  leave  to 
withdraw  my  request  for  it.  I  shall  accordingly 
answer  the  call  of  the  church  at  Hempstead  by  in- 
forming them  that  my  immediate  acceptance  of  it  is 
incompatible  with  my  engagements  and  duty  to  the 
church  at  Brunswick.  I  would  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood that  my  determination  lias  arisen  from  any  view 
to  a  permanent  settlement  at  Brunswick,  but  from  a 
desire  to  secure  the  ease  of  my  own  mind,  and  to  pre- 
vent any  cause  of  censure,  by  the  complete  discharge 
of  my  engagement  with  your  church,  and  so  fully 
have  I  made  up  my  mind,  that  I  would  not  receive  a 
release  from  my  engagement  were  it  to  be  offered  me." 

When  this  communication  was  laid  before  the  ves- 
try they  appointed  one  of  their  number  to  express  to 
Mr.  Hobart "  the  pleasure  with  which  they  received 
it,  and  that  though  they  would  from  views  of  advan- 
tage to  him  have  consented  to  part  with  him,  yet  con- 
sulting their  own  feelings  and  the  interests  of  the 
church  they  should  have  afforded  that  consent  with 
painful  reluctance." 

In  accordance  with  the  resolution  he  had  formed, 
Mr.  Hobart  did  not  leave  the  parish  until  the  close 
of  the  year  for  which  his  services  were  engaged. 

"  I  take  this  opportunity,"  he  writes  to  the  vestry, 
"  of  repeating  what  I  shall  always  express  with  pleas- 
ure, that  the  attentions  and  kindness  I  have  uniformly 


CITY   OP  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


717 


received  from  the  members  of  the  church  here,  lay 
claim  to  my  respectful  and  grateful  remembrance." 

In  another  letter   to  Robert  Boggs,  Esq.,  clerk  of 
the  vestry,  he  writes  in  the  same  pleasing  style :  "  Your 
good  wishes  are  grateful  to  me.     I  look  forward  to 
the  pleasure  of  often  seeing  you,  and  through  life  to  , 
the  cultivation  of  your  regard  and  friendship.     My  ' 
intercourse  with  you  has  been  marked  by  acts  of  at- 
tention and  friendship  on  your  part,  which  are  not  ' 
less  pleasing  in  the  remembrance  that  they  were  ac- 
ceptable at  the  time.     Whatever  may  be  the  changes  j 
and  trials  of  our  state  here  (for  who  can  expect  un- 
alloyed enjoyment),  let  me  hope  that  we  shall  meet  ' 
where  our  happiness  shall  be  perfect  and  eternal." 
Exactly  four  months  intervened  between  the  depart- 
ure of  the  two  friends  from  this  world  of  "  changes 
and  chances,"  and  during  the  Easter  season  of  last 
year  the  excellent  and  venerable  Miss  Maria  Boggs, 
that  mother  of  honored  memory  and  name,  joined 
the  company  of  her  husband  and  his  friend. 

On  Mr.  Hobart's  resignation,  "  Mr.  Beasley  was  in-  i 
vited  to  read  prayers  in  the  church  until  a  rector  i 
could  be  provided,"  and  in  November,  1800,  the  Rev.  [ 
Charles  C.  Cotton  was  engaged  to  take  charge  of  the 
parish  until  Easter  Monday  following.  He  continued  i 
his  services  for  six  months  afterwards. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  wardens  and  vestrymen  on  the  j 
16th  day  of  March,  1801,  it  was  "  Resolved  and 
agreed  unanimously.  That  the  Rev.  John  Croes,  of 
Swedesborough,  N.  J.,  be  invited  to  accept  the  per- 
manent rectorship  of  this  church  at  a  salary  of  $375 
per  annum." 

The  invitation  given  to  Mr.  Croes  was  made  in 
conjunction  with  "  the  trustees  of  Queen's  College," 
who  desired  to  secure  his  services  as  a  teacher.  In 
this  institution,  which  attained  under  him  a  wide- 
spread and  justly-earned  reputation,  as  well  as  in  a 
school  for  young  ladies,  which  was  one  of  the  most 
celebrated  in  its  time,  he  labored  with  great  assiduity 
and  success.  As  a  scholar  and  a  disciplinarian  he 
was  admirably  fitted  for  such  a  sphere  of  usefulness, 
and  many  of  the  most  respectable  and  best-educated 
citizens  of  the  place  were  trained  and  taught  in  the 
school  of  Mr.  Croes.  Influential,  however,  as  he  was 
in  this  capacity,  the  work  of  the  teacher  must  have 
seriously  interfered  with  that  of  the  pastor.  The 
parish  could  not  but  sufl'er  when  the  rector  was 
obliged  to  devote  the  greater  part  of  his  time  and  at- 
tention to  scholastic  pursuits.  All  this  he  frankly 
acknowledges  and  laments  in  his  correspondence  on 
the  subject.  By  an  express  stipulation  with  the 
vestry  the  number  of  sermons  he  should  preach  was 
"  limited  to  one  a  day."  "  I  did  this,"  he  says  in  one 
of  his  letters  on  the  subject,  "  not  because  I  thought 
it  too  much  labor  to  deliver  two,  but  because  I  be- 
lieved I  could  not  prepare  a  sufficient  number  and 
perform  the  duties  of  the  academy  also.  The  busi- 
ness of  the  academy  will  so  occupy  my  time  that 
preaching  more  frequently  than  once  a  day  would 
■16 


compel  me  to  make  greater  exertions  than  my  health 
would  bear.  Could  the  church  afford  support  suffi- 
cient without  the  school,  it  would  be  my  choice  and 
delight  to  preach  twice  every  Sunday." 

What  a  sad  pity  that  this  "  choice  and  delight" 
could  not  have  been  gratified  through  the  liberality 
of  the  people  he  undertook  to  serve ! 

It  is  a  common  impression  that  school-teaching  is 
peculiarly  suited  to  the  clerical  office,  and  that  cler- 
gymen are  of  all  men  best  fitted  to  be  instructors  of 
youth.  This  cannot  be  denied,  provided  the  instruc- 
tion be  of  a  religious  character. 

"  Apt  to  teach"  is  one  of  the  qualifications  for  the 
office.  But  "apt  to  teach"  what?  Not  Latin  or 
Greek  or  mathematics,  not  grammar  or  science  or 
profane  literature.  We  were  not  ordained  for  this, 
but  to  "  teach  all  things  whatsoever  Christ  hath  com- 
manded," and  every  other  kind  of  instruction  which 
interferes  with  this  duty  is  forbidden  by  the  terms  of 
our  commission.  Of  all  men  in  this  world  the  parish 
priest  is  the  last  man  who  should  be  the  teacher  of  a 
school.  In  order  to  feed  the  lambs  of  his  flock,  as  he 
is  expressly  commanded,  to  guide  and  instruct  the 
children  of  his  charge,  he- must  gain  their  esteem  and 
their  affection.  If  they  do  not  regard  him  as  a  father 
and  a  friend,  if  they  cannot  approach  him  with  con- 
fidence and  love,  he  can  have  no  influence  over  them, 
and  can  do  them  little  or  no  good. 

Now  they  will  rarely  entertain  such  feelings  for  the 
man  who  sustains  towards  them  the  relation  of  a 
schoolmaster.  In  that  capacity  to  be  faithful  the  in- 
dividual must  exercise  discipline,  and  sometimes  ap- 
parent severity.  And  children  will  generally  regard 
such  a  person  with  dread,  if  not  with  aversion.  How 
then  can  they  view  him,  for  whom  they  entertain 
such  feelings,  in  the  light  of  a  pastor,  whom  they 
should  at  all  times  approach  with  feelings  of  filial 
attachment!  Thus  a  clergyman  can  hardly  take  a 
surer  means  of  sacrificing  the  afl'ection  of  the  younger 
members  of  his  flock  than  by  uniting  with  his  cleri- 
cal functions  the  duties  of  the  academy.  Observation 
and  experience  confirm  this  assertion.  Many  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens  of  New  Brunswick  have 
been  heard  to  say  that  much  as  they  esteemed  Bishop 
Croes  they  never  could  overcome  the  feeling  of  child- 
ish repugnance  they  entertained  for  him  as  their 
former  teacher. 

Under  these  circumstances  such  persons  never 
could  have  been  drawn  into  the  church  ;  nay,  they 
were  absolutely  driven  from  it,  and  who  can  deny 
that  all  this  tended  in  no  small  degree  to  retard  the 
progress  of  the  parish  during  his  lifetime?  It  must 
not  be  forgotten  in  justification  of  Dr.  Croes,  that  he 
had  no  other  alternative.  The  income  offered  him 
here  was  entirely  inadequate  to  his  support,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  keep  school,  to  his  great  regret,  in 
order  to  secure  a  maintenance  for  his  family,  but  it 
was  undoubtedly  for  himself  and  his  parish  an  un- 
happy and  disastrous  alternative.     Who  ever  found 


718 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


profit  in  "  muzzling  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the 
corn"  ? 

In  November,  1801,  Mr.  Croes  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  rector  of  the  parish,  and  in  the  faithful  dis- 
charge of  these  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1832. 
During  the  long  period  of  his  rectorship  but  few 
events  of  note  are  recorded.  In  February,  1803,  the 
spire  of  the  church  was  struck  by  lightning  and 
wholly  consumed.  The  building  itself  was  in  immi- 
nent danger  of  being  destroyed,  and  the  excitement 
produced  by  it  throughout  the  town  was  so  great  that 
to  this  day  it  is  spoken  of  by  the  older  inhabitants 
as  one  of  the  great  events  of  the  period.  "  When 
the  fire  raged  with  the  greatest  violence,"  says  Bishop 
Croes  in  his  account  of  this  fearful  scene,  "  and  when 
the  prospect  of  saving  the  building  was  almost  noth- 
ing, a  sudden  squall  of  wind  and  snow  commenced 
and  blew  the  flakes,  sparks,  and  burning  timber  in 
such  profusion  over  the  roof,  and  indeed  over  that 
part  of  the  town  between  it  and  the  river,  that  not 
only  all  hope  was  lost  of  the  church  but  the  greatest 
apprehensions  were  entertained  for  the  town.  The 
whole  atmosphere  seemed  on  fire.  Houses  one  hun- 
dred yards  distant  were  covered  with  sparks  to  such  a 
degree  that  the  roofs  appeared  like  a  mass  of  fire,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  snow  that  fell  in  great  profu- 
sion and  the  wet  state  of  the  houses  no  human  ex- 
ertions could  have  saved  the  town."  By  the  contri- 
butions of  the  congregation,  the  citizens  of  the  place, 
and  some  friends  in  New  York  and  Savannah  (whose 
names  are  all  recorded  in  the  parish  register),  the 
steeple  was  rebuilt  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 
In  1814  the  whole  interior  of  the  church  was  remod- 
eled. The  pulpit  was  removed  from  the  north  side  to 
the  east  end,  a  new  desk  and  chancel  were  made,  and 
the  pews  arranged  to  face  them.  The  church  was 
afterwards  provided  with  "  Venetian  blinds  for  the 
east  window,  furniture  for  the  vestry-room,  a  cover- 
ing for  the  communion-table,  and  the  two  mahogany 
chairs  by  the  generous  donation  of  Mrs.  Isaac  Law- 
rence." 

The  general  esteem  entertained  for  Mr.  Croes  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  in  1815  he  was  chosen  by  the 
convention  of  the  diocese  the  bishop  of  the  same,  and 
on  the  19th  of  November  of  that  year  he  received 
consecration  from  the  hands  of  Bishops  Wliite,  Ho- 
bart,  and  Kemp.  He  did  not,  however,  resign  his 
rectorship  on  this  occasion,  though  he  gave  up  the 
school  and  devoted  his  time  thenceforward  to  the 
care  of  his  diocese  and  of  his  parish. 

In  October,  1830,  "  in  consequence  o>f  severe  and 
protracted  illness,"  the  bishop  summoned  his  vestry, 
and  desired  them  to  appoint  as  his  assistant  his  son, 
the  Rev.  John  Croes,  offering  to  surrender  to  him  the 
half  of  his  own  salary.  The  vestry  acceded  to  the 
proposal,  and  Mr.  Croes  entered  immediately  upon 
his  duties. 

On  the  27th  of  Majch,  1832,  "the  rector,  induced 
by  illness  and  an  anxious  d&sire  to  divest  himself  of 


the  care  of  the  rectorship,  presented  his  resignation" 
of  the  same;  the  vestry,  however,  besought  him  to 
withdraw  it  in  the  following  appropriate  resolutions, 
which  did  them  as  much  honor  as  it  must  have  given 
their  venerable  pastor  pleasure :  "  Whereas,  the  Right 
Rev.  John  Croes  has  presented  his  resignation  to  this 
board  as  rector,  and  wherea-s  under  any  circumstances 
j  the  vestry  would  deeply  regret  the  dissolution  of  a 
connection  which  has  existed  in  uninterrupted  har- 
j  mony  between  themselves  and  their  esteemed  rector, 
[  and  which,  as  they  think,  has  mainly  contributed, 
with  the  blessings  of  Almighty  God,  to  the  preserva- 
tion and  prosperity  of  the  church  during  so  long  a 
period,  whilst  they  have  witnessed  with  deep  anxiety 
his  severe  and  protracted  illness,  and  would  cheerfully 
contribute  to  the  repose  of  his  declining  years,  yet 
they  cannot  but  think  that  the  withdrawal  by  the 
rector  of  his  resignation  tendered  to  them  would  sub- 
serve the  interests  of  that  church  which  he  has  so 
long  loved  and  so  faithfully  served  ;  therefore.  Re- 
solved, That  the  Right  Rev.  Rector  be  respectfully  re- 
quested to  withdraw  his  said  resignation."  To  this 
earnest  request  "  the  rector  in  his  reply  cheerfully 
acceded." 

On  the  30th  of  May  this  year  the  convention  of  the 
diocese  met  in  Morristown.  The  bishop  was  too  in- 
firm to  be  present.  His  address  was  read  by  the  secre- 
tary, from  which  the  following  extract  is  taken.  It 
seems  necessary  to  introduce  it  here  as  an  illustration 
of  the  condition  of  the  parish  and  diocese  at  that 
time,  otherwise  I  would  fain  have  kept  back  a  docu- 
ment which  cannot  but  excite  in  every  generous  mind 
feelings  of  shame  and  sorrow : 

"Taking  into  con.sideration,"  says  the  bishop,  "the 
probable  injury  the  diocese  may  suffer  from  the  want 
of  an  efficient  Episcopal  Head,  I  am  strongly  induced 
to  recommend  to  you  to  take  measures  to  elect  some 
suitable  Presbyter  of  the  church  as  an  assistant  bishop, 
to  perform  those  duties  which  I  shall  in  all  proba- 
bility not  be  able  to  discharge.  I  am  well  aware  of 
the  obstacles  that  present  themselves  to  this  measure, 
especially  that  of  the  want  of  sufficient  funds,  as 
during  the  short  time  I.  may  be  permitted  to  live  the 
withdrawal  of  or  even  diminishing  the  small  stipend 
which  has  been  statedly  contributed  by  the  church  in 
the  diocese  in  aid  of  my  support  would  reduce  my 
means  of  living  much  below  what  would  be  necessary 
for  that  purpose,  especially  as  I  have  already  volun- 
tarily relinquished  $300  a  year  of  the  salary  I  received 
as  rector  of  Christ  Church  in  New  Brunswick  (when 
the  whole  salary  which  I  previously  received  was  but 
$500),  rather  than  suffer  that  church  to  be  shut  up 
and  the  congregation  deprived  of  the  services  of  the 
sanctuary.  But  as  in  all  probability  the  obstacles  I 
speak  of  will  be  of  short  duration,  less  than  a  year 
perhaps,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  some  means  may  be 
devised  to  obviate  it  in  the  interim.  At  any  rate  I 
am  assured,  my  brethren,  that  your  sense  of  equity 
and  propriety  will  not  permit  you  to  adopt  any  meas- 


CITY  OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


719 


ure  which  may  lessen  my  means  of  support  or  comfort 
during  the  short  period  I  yet  may  live." 

The  convention  did  make  then  some  "  provision  for 
his  temporal  wants,"  and  a  "  committee  was  appointed 
to  address  a  respectful  letter  to  Bishop  Croes,  expres- 
sive of  their  grateful  estimation  of  his  long  and 
faithful  services,  their  aflectionate  sympathy  in  his 
sufferings,  and  their  hope  that  he  may  be  sustained 
under  them  by  the  Divine  blessing." 

It  was  well  indeed  that  the  aged  prelate  and  pastor 
had  "  the  Divine  blessing  to  sustain  him,"  for  "  vain 
had  been  the  help  of  man."  The  good  old  man's 
days  were  happily  drawing  to  a  close,  and  in  July  of 
this  same  year  he  was  removed  from  all  earthly  cares 
and  entered  into  his  rest. 

Agreeably  to  the  wishes  of  the  family,  the  vestry 
had  his  body  interred  beneath  the  chancel  in  the 
church  ;  they  desired  "  to  defray  the  funeral  expenses, 
and  in  further  testimony  of  their  respect  for  the 
memory  of  their  late  rector  they  resolved  to  take 
measures  to  erect  a  marble  tablet  to  record  and  per- 
petuate his  great  zeal  for  the  church  generally,  and 
especially  for  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick,  over 
which  he  presided  for  so  many  years  as  rector."  A 
tablet  was  accordingly  placed  in  the  east  end  of  the 
church,  with  this  appropriate  inscription,  composed 
by  his  son  : 

"  Beueath  the  Chancel  are  deposited  the  remains 

of  tlie 

Right  Reverend  John  Croes,  D.D.,  first  Bishop 

Of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  this  Diocese. 

Born  in  New  Jersey,  lie  held  the  office  and  performed  the  duties  of 

A  Christian  Minister,  in  his  native 

State, 

For  more  than  42  years,  the  last  30  of  which  were  devoted 

To  the  service  of  this  Parish. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  1832,  he  closed  a  useful  life, 

And  calmly  slept  in  the  Lord,  in  the  71st  year  of  his  age 

And  the  17tb  of  his  Kpiscopate. 

This  Tablet 

Is  erected  by  his  bereaved  congregation. 

As  a  testimonial 

Of  their  grateful  recollection  of  the  many  private  virtues 

Of  their  departed  Pastor  and  Friend; 

And  of  the  high  estimation  in  which  they  held 

His  piety  and  talents, 

As  a  Minister  of  the  Gospel  of  Peace; 

And  his  consummate  prudence,  untiring  activity. 

And  constant  vigilance. 

As  a  Spiritual  Overseer  of  the  Church." 

Bishop  Croes  was,  in  the  truest  sense  of  the  word, 
"a  self-made  man."  He  had  been  in  early  life  a 
soldier  of  the  Revolution,  and  after  the  war  "  fought 
manfully  under  Christ's  banner.  His  faithful  soldier 
and  servant  unto  his  life's  end."  He  pursued  his 
studies  diligently,  and  by  the  advice  of  his  friend, 
Dr.  McWhorter,  an  eminent  Presbyterian  minister 
of  Newark,  took  orders  in  the  church,  which  he  lived 
to  serve  and  govern  with  zeal  and  ability  so  many 
years.  Though  not  famed  for  popular  eloquence. 
Bishop  Croes  possessed  many  eminent  qualities  for 
his  high  and  holy  office.  He  was  the  laborious  parish 
priest,  the  sincere  friend,  the  judicious  counselor,  the 


watchful  pastor,  the  instructive  preacher,  the  thought- 
ful writer,  the  sound,  well-read  divine.  He  had  the 
happy  faculty  of  "speaking  the  truth  in  love,"  and 
he  seems  to  have  gained  the  esteem  and  affection  of 
all  who  came  within  the  sphere  of  his  influence.  To 
this  day  he  is  generally  spoken  of  throughout  the 
town  by  the  name  of  "  the  good  bishop." 

On  the  22d  of  August  the  vestry  was  convened, 
and  chose  for  their  rector  the  Rev.  John  Croes,  the 
son  of  the  bishop,  and  the  late  assistant  minister.  In 
October  of  the  same  year  the  convention  of  the  dio- 
cese assembled  in  New  Brunswick  for  the  purpose  of 
choosing  a  successor  to  their  late  venerable  bishop 
and  father.  It  resulted  in  the  election  of  the  Rev. 
George  Washington  Doane,  D.D.,  rector  of  Trinity 
Church,  Boston.  He  was  consecrated  on  the  31st 
day  of  the  same  month,  and  with  characteristic  en- 
ergy and  promptness  commenced  his  primary  visi- 
tation on  Wednesday,  November  28th,  at  Christ 
Church,  New  Brunswick. 

"  I  was  induced,"  says  Bishop  Doane,  "  to  enter  on 
my  official  labors  at  this  point  that  I  might  follow 
more  immediately  in  the  footsteps  of  my  venerated 
predecessor,  who  for  thirty  years  ministered  in  holy 
things  to  the  people  of  that  congregation.  I  was 
desirous  also  thus  especially  to  acknowledge  the 
friendly  attention  shown  to  myself  personally,  and 
the  valuable  services  so  long  and  faithfully  rendered 
to  the  diocese  by  him  who,  bearing  the  name,  has  so 
worthily  succeeded  to  the  parochial  charge  of  the 
lamented  incumbent.  It  was  the  object  of  the  dis- 
course here  and  elsewhere  delivered  as  the  visitation 
sermon  to  set  forth  the  plan  of  salvation  through 
Jesus  Christ,  "  the  counsel  of  God,"  as  St.  Paul  de- 
nominates it,  the  whole  of  which  the  Christian  min- 
ister who  would  keep  himself  "  pure  from  the  blood 
of  all  men  is  bound  to  declare."  And  to  the  last 
day  of  his  life  this  was  the  great  theme  of  this  great 
bishop's  preaching,  "Jesus  Christ  and  Him  cruci- 
fied," the  gospel  of  His  grace,  and  the  church  of  His 
love. 

Mr.  Croes  continued  in  the  rectorship  of  Christ 
Church  until  October,  1839,  when  his  resignation 
took  effect,  according  to  notice  given  to  the  vestry  in 
July  preceding,  to  the  great  sorrow  of  many  of  his 
beloved  parishioners  and  friends.  He  retired  to  a 
family  residence  in  Keyport,  where  he  undertook  the 
work  of  a  missionary,  and  finished  his  earthly  course 
of  labor  in  the  month  of  August,  1849. 

On  his  resignation  a  committee  was  appointed  at 
the  next  meeting  of  the  vestry,  "with  power  to  con- 
fer with  the  Rev.  John  D.  Ogilby,  and  to  secure  his 
services  temporarily  for  the  church  until  permanent 
provision  shall  be  made  with  reference  to  the  rector- 
ship." 

Mr.  Ogilby  was  at  that  time  residing  in  New 
Brunswick,  holding  the  professorship  of  languages 
in  Rutgers  College.  He  very  kindly  undertook  the 
charge  offered  him,  without  any  remuneration   for 


720 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


"  his  acceptable  services,"  until  the  29th  of  October, 
1839,  when  the  present  incumbent,  the  Rev.  Alfred 
Stubbs,  "  was  unanimously  elected"  to  the  rectorship. 

At  this  time  the  congregation  was  small  in  num- 
bers and  in  a  state  of  great  depression,  for  "the  house 
had  been  divided  against  itself,"  and  it  was  well-nigh 
"brought  to  desolation;"  but  being  built  upon  "a 
precious  corner-stone,  a  sure  foundation,"  "all  the 
lauilding  fitly  framed  and  compact  together"  in  the 
unity  of  the  spirit,  it  soon  began  to  grow  with  "  living 
stones  unto  a  holy  temple  in  the  Lord." 

On  the  feast  of  St.  Philip  and  St.  James,  the  year 
following,  the  rector-elect  was  admitted  by  Bishop 
Doane  to  the  holy  order  of  priests,  the  candidate 
being  presented  by  the  Rev.  John  D.  Ogilby ;  and  in 
October  of  the  same  year,  on  the  festival  of  St.  Simon 
and  St.  Jude,  he  was  instituted  by  the  bishop  into 
the  rectorship  of  the  parish. 

On  this  occasion  the  bishop  preached  that  admi- 
rable sermon,  since  widely  circulated,  and  then  by 
request  first  published,  "  On  the  Faith  which  was 
once  delivered  unto  the  Saints;"  and  it  was  one  of 
the  great  sorrows  of  his  life  that  a  brother  bishop, 
who  was  present,  to  whom  he  was  ardently  attached, 
and  to  whom  the  discourse  was  dedicated,  not  very 
long  afterwards  denied  that  faith,  "quod  ubique,  quod 
semper,  quod  ab  omnibus  creditum  est,"  and  embraced 
a  creed  of  modern  invention,  neither  catholic  nor 
apostolic. 

Love  of  the  church  which  the  Redeemer  purchased 
with  his  blood  was  the  ruling  passion  of  Bishop 
Doane's  life,  and  a  defection  from  her  communion 
was  in  his  estimation  the  saddest  offense  that  man 
could  commit.  Alas,  once  and  again,  with  a  keener 
edge,  did  that  sword  pierce  his  loving  and  faithful 
heart ! 

During  the  rector's  absence  in  the  winter  on  a  visit 
to  the  West  Indies  most  acceptable  services  were 
rendered  to  the  congregation  by  the  Rev.  Hamble  J. 
Leacock,  who  afterwards  became  a  distinguished 
missionary  in  Africa,  where  he  died,  leaving  behind 
him  the  name  of  "  the  martyr  of  Pongas." 

In  his  annual  address  to  the  convention  in  May, 
1842,  the  bishop  states  that  in  his  last  visit  to  Bruns- 
wick he  found  a  valuable  organ  had  been  presented 
by  a  former  member  of  the  parish,  Charles  M.  Leupp, 
Esq.,  "  as  a  memento  of  his  att'ection  to  the  church  in 
which  his  infancy  was  trained  and  nurtured;"  "and 
with  this  addition,"  says  the  bishop,  "to  the  music  of 
the  public  services  theie  is,  through  grace,  a  constant 
increase  of  that  harmony  of  heart  which  makes  the 
church  on  earth  most  like  the  church  in  heaven, 
and  best  prepares  its  members  ior  worship  here  and 
for  enjoyment  there." 

The  next  incident  of  note  in  the  parish  occurred  in 
the  year  1846,  when  a  valuable  property  was  pur- 
chased for  a  parsonage.  The  purchase-money  in- 
cluded the  proceeds  of  a  sale  of  lots  which  had  been 
presented  some  years  before  by  Mr.  Edward  Boggs 


and  Mrs.  Mary  R.  Blauvelt ;  the  remainder  was  pro- 
cured by  subscription  of  different  amounts  from  the 
members  of  the  congregation  and  their  friends.  Chief 
among  these  should  be  mentioned  the  name  of  Fred- 
erick Schuchardt,  Esq.,  who  has  been  on  all  occasions 
the  unfailing  and  generous  friend  of  the  church  and 
its  rector. 

During  the  same  year  a  large  lot  adjoining  the 
churchyard  was  bequeathed  to  the  corporation  by 
Mrs.  Mary  Leupp,  that  saintly  woman,  of  whom  it 
was  well  and  truly  said  by  one  who  could  appreciate 
her  worth : 

"  So  like  Charity  slie  lived  on  earth  that  doubtless, 
Like  Charity,  she  reniaiueth  evermore  in  heaven." 

On  Aug.  1,  1850,  the  congregation  being  in  a  pros- 
perous condition,  the  rector  expressed  a  wish  to  retire, 
and  proffered  his  resignation  to  the  vestry.  They  ap- 
pointed a  committee  consisting  of  Messrs.  Wells, 
Hoffuian,  and  Blauvelt,  who  in  a  letter  overflowing 
with  earnest  and  aflTectionate  feeling  urged  him  to 
remain  in  his  present  sphere  of  duty ;  as  they  were 
pleased  to  say,  he  had  "triumphed  over  past  difficul- 
ties, and  his  labors,  through  the  blessing  of  heaven, 
would  be  crowned  with  entire  success." 

During  this  year  eflbrts  were  made  by  the  rector 
to  organize  an  independent  parish  in  Somerville. 
Frequent  services  had  been  held  there  in  years  pre- 
ceding during  the  week  and  a  congregation  formed. 
The  effort  was  successful,  a  zealous  missionary  was 
appointed,  and  on  Sept.  4,  1852,  the  corner-stone  of 
St.  John's  Church  was  laid  by  Bishop  Doane.  The 
beautiful  plot  of  ground  on  which  the  church  is  built 
was  presented  by  Joshua  Doughty,  Esq.,  who,  with 
Richard  Duyckinck,  Isaac  R.  Cornell,  A.  Camman, 
and  William  Thomson,  Esq.,  aided  most  efficiently  in 
its  construction  and  support. 

The  consecration  next  year  is  described  in  the 
bishop's  happiest  style :  "  I  was  joined  on  my  way  to 
Somerville  by '  troops  of  friends,'  till  when  we  reached 
our  place  of  destination  we  had  already  a  congrega- 
tion with  us.  Our  zealous  friend  [Rev.  John  Row- 
land], the  missionary,  was  ready  for  us,  with  his  beau- 
tiful church  adorned  with  gifts  of  love  from  numer- 
ous hands;  the  day  was  of  the  season's  best;  there 
was  an  assemblage  that  overflowed  the  building,  and 
the  noble  service  proceeded  with  as  much  of  tender- 
ness, devotion,  and  solemnity  as  any  that  I  have  ever 
shared  in.  How  I  thought  of  those  missionary  jour- 
neys, year  after  year,  when  'two  or  three'  were  gath- 
ered in  the  court-house,  and  how  I  '  rejoiced  for  the 
consolation.'  Altogether  it  was  a  day  for  the  whitest 
stone,  and  I  could  forget  many  things  that  had  past 
and  were  to  come  in  the  fullness  of  its  spiritual  joy." 

The  next  year  witnessed  the  consecration  of  Christ 
Church,  New  Brunswick.  In  his  annual  report  to 
the  convention  the  year  previous  the  rector  states : 
"  Our  old  church  has  been  taken  down,  with  the 
exception  of  the  tower,  for  the  purpose  of  being  en- 
larged, and  our  service  has  been  celebrated  mean- 


CITY   OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


721 


while  in  a  room  kindly  offered  us  by  the  trustees  of 
the  Presbyterian  congregation."  Every  place  of  re- 
ligious worship  in  the  city  was  generously  offered 
for  the  same  purpose.  In  his  next  parochial  report 
the  rector  proceeds  to  say,  "  The  new  building  was 
completed  in  the  month  of  August,  and  consecrated 
on  the  feast  of  St.  Bartholomew.  It  is  built  in  the 
Norman  style,  from  a  plan  furnished  by  Messrs.  Wills 
and  Dudley,  the  work  being  superintended  by  John 
G.  Hall,  Esq." 

As  much  of  the  old  material  as  could  be  used  was 
put  in  the  new  structure,  stone  of  similar  color  being 
found  in  the  neighborhood  to  supply  what  was  want- 
ing for  the  prolongation  of  the  side  walls.  The 
present  building  consists  of  a  nave  fifty  by  seventy- 
five  feet,  with  a  chancel  of  twenty  feet  in  depth  and 
a  south  porch.  It  is  admirably  adapted  for  convey- 
ing sound  ;  the  officiating  clergyman  has  only  to  speak 
in  the  ordinary  tone  of  conversation  to  be  heard  in 
every  part  of  the  church.  The  interior  is  plainly  but 
substantially  finished,  and  the  church  retains  its 
former  venerable  appearance. 

The  expense  of  these  improvements  has  not  much 
exceeded  ten  thousand  dollars,  and  as  the  memory  of 
the  church's  benefactors  should  never  be  forgotten,  it 
seems  proper  to  mention  the  names  of  the  chief  donors. 
Two  sisters,  Mrs.  S.  V.  Hoffman  and  Mrs.  R.  J.  Liv- 
ingston, contributed  five  thousand  dollars.  To  them 
belongs  the  praise  of  laying  the  foundation  of  this 
noble  undertaking.  Mrs.  Carjiender,  Mrs.  Kinney, 
and  Mrs.  Hoffman  presented  the  chancel  windows, 
which  represent  our  Lord's  prayer  in  the  garden,  his 
crucifixion  and  resurrection.  A  side  window  was 
given  by  Mrs.  I.  R.  Cornell,  in  memory  of  her  grand- 
mother, the  late  Mrs.  Donan,  who  was  also  a  benefac- 
tor of  the  church.  Some  friends  of  the  lamented  and 
"greatly  beloved"  Prof  Ogilby,  who  now  sleeps  with- 
in the  church's  shade,  contemplate  placing  another 
memorial  window  on  the  opposite  side.  The  ladies 
of  the  congregation  united  generally  in  furnishing  a 
handsome  carpet  for  the  aisles  and  chancel,  and  Mrs. 
F.  Schuchardt  also  supplied  a  complete  set  of  new 
and  elegantly  bound  books  for  the  altar,  lecturn,  and 
desk.  In  addition  to  this  three  members  of  the 
vestry,  Messrs.  I.  E.  Cornell,  F.  S.  Kinney,  J.  S.  Car- 
pender,  and  the  senior  warden,  S.  V.  Hoffman,  Esq., 
contributed  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  The  rest  of  the 
money  necessary  for  completing  the  building  was 
chiefly  supplied  by  the  legacy  of  the  late  Mrs.  Clark- 
son,  of  New  Brunswick,  who  bequeathed  to  the  church 
a  few  years  since  one  thousand  dollars. 

The  main  characteristic  of  the  building  and  its 
chief  excellence  consists  in  its  exquisite  appropriate- 
ness. Every  one  who  looks  at  it  sees  that  it  was  in- 
tended for  a  church  and  for  nothing  else  but  a  church, 
and  as  he  enters  within  its  porch  the  conviction  is 
forced  upon  his  mind  and  involuntarily  escapes  from 
his  lips,  "  This  is  none  other  than  the  house  of  God." 
The  church  being  now  fitted  to  accommodate   a 


larger  number  of  worshipers,  many  were  added, 
through  God's  ble.ssing,  during  the  years  ensuing, 
years  consecrated  by  sorrows  which  swept  with  a 
desolating  flood  over  that  abode  of  peace,  as  much 
the  people's  as  the  rector's  home,  put  out  its  light, 
and  buried  its  gladness. 

The  heart  of  all  was  touched,  and  if  the  most  gen- 
erous sympathy  could  stanch  such  wounds  there 
would  have  been  no  lack  of  healing  balm  and  con- 
solation. 

The  self-sacrificing  bishop,  who  came  with  love's 
eager  haste  and  a  blessing  on  his  lips  to  the  house  of 
mourning  on  that  memorable  Easter-day  to  perform 
the  last  sad  office  of  friendship,  was  taken  two  years 
afterwards,  about  the  same  season,  to  his  own  needful 
and  blessed  rest. 

By  order  of  the  vestry  the  church  was  draped  in 
mourning,  resolutions  expressive  of  the  loss  they  ex- 
perienced in  common  with  the  whole  diocese  were 
unanimously  passed  and  placed  on  record.  Worthy 
of  perpetual  record  and  remembrance  were  the  last 
words  of  this  devoted  servant  of  Christ,  "  I  die  in 
the  fiiith  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  in  the  Communion 
of  His  one  Catholic  and  Apostolic  Church.  I  have 
no  merit ;  no  man  has ;  my  trust  is  in  the  mercy  of 
Jesus ;"  and  if  "  the  merciful  shall  obtain  mercy," 
great  will  be  the  reward  of  that  gifted  "  man  of 
loves." 

"  His  heart  lay  open ;  and  by  nature  tuned 
And  constant  disposition  of  his  thoughts 
To  sympathy  with  man,  he  was  alive 
To  all  that  was  enjoyed  where'er  he  went 
And  all  that  was  endured. 

He  could  afford  to  suffer 
With  those  whom  he  saw  suffer.'* 

The  toil-worn  bishop  now  rests  in  that 

"  One  inclosure  where  the  voice  that  speaks 
In  envy  or  detraction  is  not  heard, 
Which  malice  may  not  enter. 

Where  no  jarring  tone  intrudes," 

by  the  side  of  that  dear  church  which  was  watered 
by  his  tears  and  blood,  while  the  flowers  planted  by 
loving  hands  never  cease  to  bloom  on  his  grave. 

As  far  back  as  the  year  1852,  when  the  enlarge- 
ment of  the  parish  church  was  in  contemplation,  the 
rector  had  occasion  to  say  to  the  congregation,  in 
furtherance  of  that  design,  "  It  is  necessary  that  we 
should  have  larger  accommodation  than  this  building 
allows ;  there  is  a  demand  for  pews  which  cannot  be 
gratified;  how  then  shall  this  demand  be  met?  By 
one  of  two  ways :  either  a  new  church  must  be  erected 
in  another  part  of  the  city,  or  the  present  building 
be  made  more  commodious.  The  first  is  now  im- 
practicable. Sufficient  funds  cannot  be  obtained  for 
such  an  object;  and  if  there  could  be,  the  number 
of  persons  attached  to  our  communion  is  not  now 
great  enough  to  justify  the  formation  of  another 
parish.  At  some  future  day  this  may  be  done,  but 
the  attempt  under  existing  circumstances  to  form 
a   new   congregation    would   probably   terminate   in 


722 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


weakening  and  crippling  both.  The  only  practica- 
ble plan,  then,  for  obtaining  more  church  accommo- 
dation, is  to  enlarge  the  present  building,  and  we  may 
hope  to  see  the  other  purpose  accomplished  in  the 
course  of  a  few  years." 

It  is  well  known  that  this  appeal  was  instantly  re- 
sponded to  by  a  contribution  of  five  thousand  dollars 
for  the  enlargement  of  the  church,  and  from  that 
time  the  other  purpose  was  steadily  kept  in  view. 
Many  obstacles,  however,  interposed  to  hinder  the 
work,  and  not  until  the  lapse  of  several  years  could 
it  be  accomplished. 

In  the  autumn  of  1860  two  members  of  the  vestry, 
Samuel  V.  Hoffman  and  Robert  J.  Livingston,  Esqs., 
offered  the  rector  one  thousand  dollars  towards  erect- 
ing a  mission  chapel.  Other  members  of  the  vestry 
and  of  the  congregation  followed  the  example,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  weeks  a  sufficient  sum  was  collected 
to  justify  the  purchase  of  land  and  materials  for 
building.  Several  citizens  of  the  town  not  connected 
with  the  church  kindly  offered  their  aid  ;  rich  and 
poor  united,  and  the  contributions  varied  from  one 
dollar  to  five  hundred. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  chapel  was  laid  by  the 
rector  on  Thanksgiving-day,  Nov.  28,  1860.  In  it 
were  placed  a  copy  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  of  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer.  A  large  concourse  of 
people  united  with  one  voice  in  commending  the 
work  to  the  care  and  protection  of  Almighty  God, 
the  Father,  the  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  in  whose 
name  the  foundation  stone  was  laid. 

The  plans  and  specifications  were  furnished  by 
John  G.  Hall,  Esq.,  a  member  of  the  vestry,  and  the 
carpenter's  work,  including  chancel  furniture,  was 
executed  by  Edward  B.  Wright,  a  member  of  the 
congregation. 

On  the'  28th  day  of  December,  1861  (the  feast  of 
St.  John  the  Evangelist),  the  building  was  ready  for 
consecration,  and  on  that  day  the  solemn  ceremony 
was  performed  by  the  bishop  of  the  diocese,  under 
the  name  and  title  of  "  The  Church  of  St.  John  the 
Evangelist." 

The  ladies  of  the  congregation  zealously  aided  the 
enterprise,  and  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Carpen- 
der,  Mrs.  Swift,  Mrs.  Van  Rensalaer,  and  Mrs.  John- 
son, by  their  work  and  contributions  were  enabled  to 
furnish  the  chapel  with  carpeting,  upholstery,  and 
gas  fixtures.  The  bell  and  the  melodeon  were  the 
gift  of  Mrs.  Littleton  Kirkpatrick ;  Miss  Mary  R.  Croes 
presented  the  font ;  Miss  Kearney,  books  for  the  pews ; 
Mrs.  Frederick  Schuchardt,  the  Bible  and  prayer- 
books  for  the  lecturn  and  altar.  A  rich  and  beauti- 
ful set  of  silver  vessels  for  the  celebration  of  the 
Holy  Sacrament  were  offered  by  Mrs.  Robert  J.  Liv- 
ingston "  in  memory"  of  her  departed  son. 

The  first  minister  appointed  by  the  rector,  with  tiie 
sanction  of  the  vestry,  to  aid  him  in  this  missionary 
work  in  the  parish  was  the  Rev.  Louis  Van  Dyke, 
a  deacon  of  New  York.    At  the  end  of  his  term  of 


duty  the  Rev.  Alfred  B.  Baker,  A.M.,  was  appointed, 
who  is  still  rendering  most  acceptable  service.  Mr. 
Baker  had  been  ordained  on  the  5th  of  July  previous, 
1864,  by  Bishop  Odenheimer,  in  Christ  Church,  to- 
gether with  Alfred  Houghton  Stubbs,  A.M.,  the  eldest 
son  of  the  I'ector.  The  candidates  were  presented  by 
the  Rev.  Robert  Merritt  and  the  Rev.  Prof  Mahan, 
of  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  who  also 
preached  the  sermon. 

It  was  an  hour  of  grateful  recollections  that  in 
which  one  who  had  been  baptized,  catechised,  and 
confirmed  in  the  same  church  was  admitted  in  God's 
good  providence  to  receive  there  a  commission  by 
his  father's  side  to  serve  at  the  same  altar  and  preach 
the  same  gospel. 

"  Spirit  of  light  anJ  truth  !     To  thee 
We  triiBt  them  in  that  musing  hour, 
Til!  the)',  with  open  heart  and  free, 
Teach  all  thy  word  in  all  its  power." 

The  last  ordained  was  the  twelfth  of  the  candidates 
for  holy  orders  admitted  in  this  parish  during  the 
present  rectorship.  Among  whom  maybe  mentioned 
Dr.  A.  B.  Carter,  Dr.  Eugene  Hoffman  and  his  brother 
Charles,  the  two  brothers,  Edward  and  Samuel 
Appleton,  the  Revs.  Benjamin  Leacock,  Henry  H. 
Loring,  Edward  B.  Boggs,  James  Chipchase,  and 
John  Cornell.  Good  Dr.  Milledoler,  son  of  the  late  ven- 
erable president  of  Rutgers  College,  was  the  first  to 
begin  and  to  "  fulfill  his  course." 

On  the  day  before  the  consecration  of  the  church 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  St.  Stephen's  day,  the 
bishop  laid  the  corner-stone  of  St.  Paul's  Mission 
Chapel  at  South  Bound  Brook,  within  the  northern 
precincts  of  the  parish.  The  rector  presided  at  a 
meeting  called  for  organizing  this  congregation  in 
the  district  school-house,  Oct.  6,  1861,  when  the 
primary  election  of  wardens  and  vestrymen  was  made. 
This  election  was  ratified  at  an  adjourned  meeting 
held  on  the  18th  of  the  same  month,  on  which  oc- 
casion a  handsome  lot  of  ground  was  offered  by  Daniel 
Talmage,  Esq.,  and  accepted  for  the  site  of  the  church. 
Measures  were  immediately  taken  for  building  on  a 
plan  furnished  by  Duncan  J.  McRhea,  Esq.  There 
being  no  suitable  room  near  to  accommodate  the  con- 
gregation, an  opening  service  was  held  in  the  building 
while  yet  incomplete  by  the  rector  on  Septuagesima 
Sunday,  1863 ;  and  when  the  rector  could  not  be 
present  the  services  were  conducted  by  Thomas  L. 
Wells,  Esq.,  who  by  the  appointment  of  the  bishop 
acted  as  a  lay  reader. 

During  this  time  the  first  funeral  was  solemnized 
within  the  new  parish.  One  who  took  the  liveliest 
interest  in  the  good  work,  the  wife  of  the  junior 
warden,  Capt.  John  S.  Nicholas,  U.S.N. ,  and  the 
mother  of  a  daughter  whose  heart  and  life  have  been 
devoted  to  this  mission,  was  called  from  her  sphere 
of  labor  in  the  church  militant.  The  absence  of  one 
so  much  lamented  cast  the  only  shade  of  gloom  over 
that  joyful  morning  of  the  consecration,  the  6th  of 


CITY   OF   NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


723 


June,  1863,  which  was  the  brightest  and  sweetest  of 
all  summer  days.  Since  that  time  the  senior  warden, 
the  gallant  Tunis  Augustus  Craven,  found  a  glorious 
sepulchre  in  his  ship  while  leading  the  attack  on  a 
fortress  in  Mobile  Bay.  The  congregation  in  Bound 
Brook  has  sadly  felt  the  effect  of  these  bereavements. 
Capt.  Craven  was  present  at  the  consecration  of  the 
chapel,  and  in  conjunction  with  his  wife,  Mrs.  Marie 
Louise  Craven,  presented  the  rich  silver  communion 
service  used  then  for  the  first  time,  in  memory  of 
their  beloved  son,  Lieut.  Augustus  C.  Craven,  who 
fell  likewise  in  his  country's  service  from  sickness 
contracted  amid  the  hardships  of  military  life.  The 
altar,  chancel  furniture,  and  lecturn  were  given  by 
their  son  and  daughter,  Charles  and  Mary  Thomse ; 
the  font  was  presented  by  the  Rev.  Edw.  Anthon ; 
the  Bible  and  prayer-books  by  Mrs.  Boream  and 
Miss  Mary  Cornell ;  the  melodeon  by  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
William  Vail ;  and  the  stained  glass  for  the  window 
in  the  chancel  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Moran. 

The  Rev.  James  Thomson  while  at  Somerville 
often  held  service  at  Bound  Brook,  and  with  the  aid 
of  Mr.  John  F.  Blake  and  Miss  Sarah  Van  De  Water, 
who  gathered  in  the  children,  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  congregation.  The  church  is  now  under  the  pas- 
toral care  and  ministry  of  the  Rev.  William  B.  Otis, 
who  has  also  in  time  past  ministered  most  acceptably 
in  St.  James'  Church,  Piscataway.  Here  likewise 
occasional  service  has  been  rendered  by  the  Rev.  and 
venerable  Robert  B.  Croes,  the  only  surviving  son  of 
the  bishop,  whose  honored  name  he  bears.  How  pleas- 
ant to  recollection  is  the  name  of  another  most  faith- 
ful, devoted  servant  of  God,  who  labored  a  while  in 
that  sweet  country  church,  and  now  sleeps  near  the 
altar  within  its  peaceful  cemetery,  the  Rev.  Isaac 
Smith,  and  the  brief  story  of  his  guileless  life  and 
happy  death  cannot  be  told  by  the  present  writer  in 
fitter  terms  than  he  has  used  already  in  a  letter  ad- 
dressed to  Bishop  Doane,  under  date  of  April  20, 1855, 
which  is  published  in  the  Convention  Journal  of  that 
year: 

"  Good  Mr.  Smith  has  at  length  gone  to  his  rest. 
He  departed  from  all  '  the  ills  that  flesh  is  heir  to' 
this  morning  at  six  o'clock.  Happy  dawn  it  was  for 
him,  for  he  woke  to  '  see  the  King  in  his  beauty.' 
Mr.  Smith  had  been  confined  to  his  bed  for  more 
than  a  week.  I  saw  him  on  Wednesday,  and  made 
an  appointment  to  administer  the  holy  communion  to 
him  to-day,  but  a  more  glorious  celebration  awaited 
him  ;  surely  he  is  among  that  blessed  company  who 
are  '  without  guile  before  the  throne  of  God.'  A 
more  childlike,  gentle  spirit  I  never  knew.  He  al- 
ways spoke  of  God  as  his  father.  '  My  Heavenly 
Father  is  very  good  to  me'  was  his  frequent  expres- 
sion during  his  illness.  He  loved  you  deeply,  and 
doubtless  he  has  carried  his  love  with  him,  and  will 
not  forget  us  where  he  is.  May  my  soul  rest  with 
his  1 

"  His  most  faithful  and  loving  wife  saw  a  change  in 


his  features  this  morning,  and  suddenly  exclaimed, 
'  Lord  Jesus,  receive  his  spirit !'  He  looked  steadily 
at  her  for  an  instant,  and  with  a  smile  of  thanks 
closed  his  eyes  and  died.  He  will  be  laid  in  his  last 
earthly  abode  on  Sunday  afternoon.  The  spot  which 
has  been  watered  by  the  labors  of  such  men  as 
Bishops  Seabury,  Hobart,  Croes,  and  John  Ogilby, 
and  now  is  to  be  enriched  with  the  dust  of  this  hum- 
ble saint,  will  surely  one  day  'blossom  as  the  rose,' 
desolate  as  it  now  seems  to  be. 

"  '  How  happier  far  than  life  the  end 
Of  souls  that,  infant-like,  beneath  their  hurden  bend.'  " 

Missionaries  of  the  church  seem  to  have  officiated 
at  Piscataqua,  or  Piscataway,  as  it  is  now  commonly 
called,  as  early  as  the  year  1701.  It  was  then  styled 
"  The  Anabaptist  Town,  from  about  twenty  that  agree 
in  that  persuasion,  the  rest  of  the  people  being  of  all 
or  of  no  religion."  Since  1722  no  less  than  three 
churches  have  been  built  there ;  one  was  destroyed 
by  the  violent  tornado  which  swept  through  this  re- 
gion on  the  19th  of  June,  1835.  The  present  edifice 
was  soon  afterwards  erected  by  the  liberality  of  the 
late  Joseph  Foulke,  Esq.,  of  New  York.  He  now 
sleeps  within  its  churchyard,  by  the  side  of  this  noble 
monument  to  his  memory.  The  church,  unfortu-' 
nately,  has  been  for  many  years  deprived  of  the  ser- 
vices of  a  resident  minister.  Its  most  flourishing 
state  was  during  the  years  1839  and  1840,  when  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Fred.  Ogilby,  now  assistant  minister  of  Trin- 
ity Church,  New  York,  had  charge  of  the  congrega- 
tion. It  has  since  been  dependent  in  great  measure 
on  such  ministrations  as  the  rector  of  Christ  Church 
has  had  the  opportunity  to  render.  These  have 
always  been  cheerfully  given  and  gratefully  accepted. 

On  Easter-even  of  the  present  year,  while  on  the 
way  to  morning,  service,  the  appalling  intelligence 
reached  us  of  the  assassination  of  the  President  of 
the  United  States  on  the  evening  of  Good  Friday. 
The  national  heart  was  strong  in  faith,  and  there  was 
no  appearance  of  consternation,  but  every  face  bore 
traces  of  sadness  and  grief.  Men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren were  seen  in  tears,  for  each  one  seemed  to  feel 
that  he  had  lost  in  the  Father  of  his  Country  a  per- 
sonal friend  or  brother,  so  greatly  had  he  endeared 
himself  to  the  people  by  his  genial  disposition,  his 
unaffected  humility,  and  unfeigned  sincerity  of  heart. 

During  the  excitement  and  distractions  of  the  late 
unhappy  civil  war  all  allusions  of  a  political  charac- 
ter had  been  studiously  omitted  in  the  services  of  the 
church.  Men  of  the  most  opposite  opinions  knelt  by 
each  others'  side  forgetful  in  that  house  consecrated 
to  the  God  of  love  and  peace  of  their  differences  and 
troubles.  But  no  good  man  ditt'ered  from  his  brother 
in  reference  to  the  enormous  crime  which  had  been 
committed,  and  the  rector  on  Easter  morning  ad- 
dressed the  large  congregation  assembled  to  keep  the 
joyful  festival  of  the  resurrection  in  words  of  the  fol- 
lowing import,  which  met  a  response  in  every  heart 
and  which,  referring  to  one  of  the  marked  events  in 


724 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  history  of  the  country,  he  has  been  requested  to 
insert  in  this  narrative  : 

"  We  are  this  day  surrounded,  brethren  and  friends, 
by  the  emblems  of  death  and  of  national  sorrow. 
What  a  sad  contrast  to  the  joy  which  should  fill  our 
hearts  on  this  morning  of  the  resurrection  ! 

"  It  hardly  becomes  me  here  in  this  sacred  place  to 
speak  of  that  parricidal  crime  by  which  the  whole 
country  is  this  day  plunged  into  grief.  Indeed,  words 
would  fail  in  the  attempt.  The  effect  of  it  is  paraly- 
zing. The  heart  is  appalled  at  its  enormity.  It  does 
not  seem  possible  that  any  human  being  could  reach  j 
that  height  of  wicliedness  as  to  raise  his  hand  against 
the  life  of  one  who  represents  at  once  the  majesty  of 
his  country  and  the  majesty  of  God.  What  enemy 
hath  done  this?  No  man  surely  who  bears  the  image 
of  his  Maker.  The  earth  has  borne  a  monster  who  is 
the  agent,  the  emissary,  the  embodiment,  the  imper- 
sonation of  that  great  adversary  of  our  race  who  was 
a  murderer  from  the  beginning. 

"As  we  contemplate  with  grief  and  horror  the  enor-  1 
mity  of  the  crime  which  has  been  perpetrated  by  his  I 
power  and  agency,  should  not  at  the  same  time  our  ! 
hearts  be  lifted  up  with  chastened  joy  that  a  Deliverer 
•has  come  to  the  rescue  of  our  fallen  race,  that  One 
has  risen  who  has  taken  away  the  penalty  of  sin,  who 
has  broken  through  the  barriers  of  the  grave,  who 
has  'abolished  death  and  brought  life  and  immortal- 
ity to  light'  ? 

"  Blessed  be  His  name  for  the  consoling  promise  that 
'  He  does  not  willingly  grieve  the  children  of  men  ;' 
that  He  '  chastens  us  for  our  profit ;'  that  when  He 
leads  us  through  the  wilderness  of  discipline  and  suf- 
fering it  is  to  bring  us  to  the  land  of  promise;  that 
when  He  tries  us  in  the  furnace  of  aflliction  it  is  '  to 
refine  us  as  gold  and  silver  is  tried,'  that  each  ran- 
somed soul,  cleansed  by  blood  and  purified  in  fire, 
may  be  fitted  to  shine  with  undimmed  lustre  in  that 
glorious  crown  of  living  gems  which  shall  encircle 
the  Redeemer's  brow  and  illumine  the  mansions  of 
our  Father's  house. 

"  '  Weep  ye  not  for  the  dead,'  for  even  the  heathen 
felt  that  no  man  could  be  counted  happy  before  his 
death,  and  the  Christian  '  knows  that  his  Redeemer 
liveth.'      That  man's  death  is  surely  not  to  be  la- 
mented, whatever  cause  we  may  have  to  mourn  his  - 
loss,    whose    sun,   having   reached    its    zenith    and 
illumined  the  earth   and  filled  other  stars  with  its 
light,  descends  amid  halos  of  glory ;  whose  memory 
shall  be  cherished  to  the  latest  generations,  and  shall 
terminate  only  with  the  duration  of  his  country.     To  I 
her  service  his  heart  and  life  were  devoted,  and  she  ; 
has  shown  her  appreciation  of  his  character  by  all  the  i 
tenderness  of  a  mother's  love   mourning  the  loss  of 
her  dearest  child ;  his  name  will  doubtless  be  en- 
shrined in  her  annals  beside  the  first  and  worthiest  of 
her  sons.  I 

"  While  then  weshare  the  common  grief  and  deplore 
this  national  calamity,  there  is  no  ground  for  despond-  • 


ency  or  hopeless  sorrow.  Rather  does  it  become  us 
as  Christians  to  say  with  the  heroic  apostle,  '  Thanks 
be  to  God  who  giveth  us  the  victory'  over  sin,  death, 
the  grave  and  hell ;  who  hath  opened  to  us  the  gates 
of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ;  and  who  '  shall  reign 
until  He  hath  put  all  enemies  under  his  feet.'  May 
He  reign  triumphantly  over  the  country  of  our  love  ; 
may  He  stanch  her  bleeding  wounds  and  bind  up 
her  broken  heart ;  may  He  save  her  from  rebellious 
children  and  treacherous  friends ;  may  He  arrest  the 
parricidal  hands  that  seek  her  life's  blood  ;  may  He 
give  us  pardon  and  peace !" 

An  occurrence  remains  to  be  mentioned  in  connec- 
tion with  this  parish  which  had  a  most  important 
bearing  on  the  establishment  of  the  American  Church. 
"  The  first  step,"  says  Bishop  White  in  his  memoirs, 
"  towards  the  forming  of  a  collective  body  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States  was  taken 
(through  the  medium  of  the  Rev.  Abraham  Beach) 
at  a  meeting  of  a  few  clergymen  of  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania  at  Brunswick,  in  New  Jer- 
sey, on  the  13th  and  14th  of  May,  1784.  The  first 
day  was  chiefly  taken  up  with  discussing  principles 
of  ecclesiastical  union.  The  next  morning  (in  con- 
sequence of  new  information  received)  it  was  agreed 
that  nothing  should  be  urged  further  on  the  subject 
at  present.  But  before  the  clergy  parted  it  was  de- 
termined to  procure  a  larger  meeting  on  the  5th  of 
the  ensuing  October  in  New  York,  to  confer  and 
agree  on  some  general  principles  of  a  union  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  throughout  the  States." 

Here  did  the  Lord  cause  that  "  noble  vine"  which 
He  before  had  planted  "  to  take  deep  root,  and  it 
has  filled  the  land.  She  has  sent  out  her  boughs 
unto  the  sea,  and  her  branches  unto  the  river.  The 
hills  are  covered  with  the  shadow  of  it,  and  the 
boughs  thereof  are  like  the  goodly  cedars."  God 
forbid  that  it  should  ever  wither  and  droop  in  the 
place  where  it  first  was  planted  ! 

It  is  a  pleasing  reflection  that  the  parish  has  been 
blessed  with  the  services  of  the  most  eminent  men 
that  have  adorned  the  American  Church.  Mr.  Wood, 
the  first  missionary,  having  established  the  church 
here,  became  afterwards  distinguished  for  his  labors 
among  the  Indian  tribes  of  Nova  Scotia.  Dr.  Chand- 
ler says  of  "  the  worthy,  the  eminently  useful,  and 
amiable  Mr.  MacKean,  probably  a  better  man  was 
never  in  the  Society's  service."  Chandler  himself, 
"  whose  praise  is  in  all  the  Church,"  with  Antill  as 
catechists,  sustained  the  services  when  the  clergy 
were  driven  or  fled  from  their  posts  of  duty.  Mr. 
Cutting  is  described  as  a  "  person  of  piety  and  vir- 
tue, and  of  much  learning  and  eloquence."  To  the 
prudence  and  fidelity  of  Mr.  Beach  the  records  of  the 
society  bear  ample  testimony;  almost  twenty  years  of 
his  useful  life  were  passed  in  active  duty  here.  Here 
it  was  the  Apostolic  Bishop  Seabury  commenced  his 
missionary  labors  ;  here  it  was  that  the  zealous,  lion- 
hearted  Bishop  Hobart  ministered  in  the  dawn  of  his 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


725 


illustrious  career ;  here  one  who  had  sat  at  his  feet 
and  imbibed  his  spirit,  the  man  of  his  mould  and 
model,  that  "  great-hearted  shepherd,"  was  chosen 
to  receive  his  pastoral  crook  and  sceptre,  and  began 
here  his  pastoral  episcopate  ;  and  here  it  was  that 
the  faithful  Bishop  Croes  "  finished  the  work  which 
was  given  him  to  do." 

God  grant  that  His  church  may  be  always  "  ordered 
and  guided  by  pastors"  so  "  faithful  and  true."  Upon 
pastors  and  people,  under  God's  blessing,  rests  the 
future  condition  of  the  parish.  It  cannot  be  foreseen 
or  foretold ;  but  one  thing  is  certain,  that  so  long  as 
peace,  based  on  truth,  continues  to  reign  within  its 
borders  prosperity  will  crown  its  sanctuary.  The 
present  rector  (with  his  co-workers),  after  many  years 
of  "  patient  waiting,"  has  been  cheered  to  see  the 
church  enlarged  and  filled  with  devout  worshipers, 
and  three  other  churches  built  within  the  original 
boundaries  of  the  parish.  They  all  rest  upon  one 
foundation,  "  the  apostles  and  prophets,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  chief  corner-stone,"  and  they  are 
all  animated  by  one  spirit  of  life  and  love.  "  Esto 
perpetua,"  and  to  the  triune  God  be  the  praise! 

MISSIONARIES,    RECTORS,   AND   WARDENS   OF   THE   CHURCH 
FROM   1760  TO  1865. 


1750.  Rev.  Mr.  Wood. 
1754.  Rev.  Samuel  Seabury. 
1760.  Rev.  Mr.  MacKean. 
1764.  Rev.  Leonard  Cutting. 
1767.  Rev.  Abraham  Beach. 
1784.  Rev.  Mr.  Kovvlaiid. 
1787.  Rev.  George  Ogilvie. 


Dr.  Cliarles  A.  Howard. 
Jonathan  Deare. 
John  Dennis. 
John  Parker. 
Robert  Morris. 
Matthew  Egerton. 
WiUet  Warne. 
George  Farmer. 
Stephen  Kerable. 


Of  the  ministers  of  the  parish  the  present  incum- 
bent is  the  only  one  living,  and  of  the  wardens  all 
have  been  removed  from  the  service  of  the  church 
militant  with  the  exception  of  the  last  three  on  the 
list.  Three,  not  the  least  worthy  of  the  faithful 
band,  have  been  taken  from  us  since  the  present 
rector  entered  upon  his  pastoral  care.  Never  can  he 
forget  the  generous  hospitality,  the  meek  and  gentle 
manners  of  good  Dr.  Carroll,  nor  the  sterling  integ- 
rity and  unfeigned  humility  of  worthy  Mr.  Leupp, 
the  fervent  devotion  of  the  venerable  Col.  Kemper. 
"These  all  died  in  faith,  and  their  works  do  follow 
them."  Sweet  is  their  remembrance  upon  earth,  and 
may  "  God  remember  them  for  the  good  deeds  they 
have  done  for  His  house  ami  for  the  ofiices  thereof" 

"  The  time  would  fail  me  to  tell"  of  the  "  holy  and 
humble  men  of  heart,"  "  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy,"  of  the  godly    women  adorned   with   that 


1791.  Rev.  Henry  Van  Dyke. 

1799.  Rev.  John  Henry  Hobart. 

1800.  Eev.  Mr.  Cotton. 

1801.  Rev.  John  Croes. 
1832.  Rev.  Jolin  Croes,  Jr. 
1839.  Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs. 


Robert  Boggs. 
Isaac  Lawrence. 
Daniel  Kemper. 
William  Leupp. 
Dr.  Edward  Carroll. 
Charles  Dunham. 
Franklin  Smith. 
Samuel  V.  Hoffman. 


meek  and  quiet  spirit  which  God  esteems  and  man 
overlooks,  of  the  little  "  children  in  malice"  and 
guile  who  were  enwielded  round  with  heavenly 
grace,  which  shone  in  their  daily  life  of  unostenta- 
tious piety,  whom  it  has  been  my  happiness  to  know 
in  my  pastoral  course  of  duty  here.  "  In  the  sight 
of  the  unwise  they  seem  to  die,  and  their  departure 
is  taken  for  misery,  and  their  going  from  us  to  be 
utter  destruction,  but  they  are  in  peace  ;"  side  by 
side  they  lie,  unknown  to  fame,  in  that  peaceful 
churchyard  ;  and  they  will  thence  arise  clothed  in 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  with  radiant  forms  of  glory, 
"at  the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

The  members  of  the  present  corporation  are  :  Rec- 
tor, the  Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs  ;  Wardens,  Samuel  V. 
Hoffman,  Franklin  Smith  ;  Vestrymen,  William  H. 
Leupp,  Robert  J.  Livingston,  Edward  Flash,  William 
Parsons,  J.  S.  Carpender,  William  H.  Armstrong, 
McRee  Swift,  Treas. ;  John  G.  Hall,  Sec;  Robert 
Howell,  Beadle. 

Me.morials. — Of  the  clergymen  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  narrative  who  performed  ministerial  duty 
in  this  parish  no  one  has  left  a  dearer  memory  or  a 
more  honored  name  than  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ogilby. 

In  the  year  1832,  when  only  in  his  twenty-third 
year,  he  was,  in  consequence  of  his  reputation  for 
mature  scholarship,  elected  Professor  of  Languages  in 
Rutgers  College.  He  was  not  then  in  orders,  and 
continued  a  lay  member  of  the  congregation  of  Christ 
Church  until  18.38,  when  he  was  admitted  to  the  dea- 
conate  and  priesthood  by  the  Bishop  of  New  York. 
Not  long  after  this  parish  became  vacant,  and  by 
request  of  the  vestry  he  readily  and  freely  undertook 
the  temporary  charge,  in  addition  to  his  other  labors 
in  the  college.  While  thus  engaged  he  wrote  to  the 
present  rector,  who  had  just  been  ordained  deacon  by 
the  Bishop  of  New  York,  and  by  permission  of  his 
diocesan  was  ofliciating  in  the  Church  of  St.  Albans, 
Vermont.  We  had  never  met  nor  seen  each  other ; 
he  was  induced  by  the  over-indulgent  friendship  of 
Professors  Whittingham  and  Turner,  of  the  General 
Theological  Seminary,  to  recommend  me  for  the  rec- 
torship of  the  church,  which  was  accordingly  offered, 
and  by  the  advice  of  ecclesiastical  superiors  and 
friends  promptly  accepted.  From  this  period  to  the 
end  of  his  short,  useful,  and  brilliant  course  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  constant  and  familiar  intercourse  with 
him,  and  I  may  safely  say  that  a  more  perfect  char- 
acter than  his  I  have  never  met,  and  do  not  expect  to 
meet  again. 

He  probably  enjoyed  better  health  at  this  time  than 
at  any  other  period  of  his  life.  His  accurate  scholar- 
ship and  high  classical  attainments  enabled  him  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  his  professorship  without 
laborious  study;  he  had,  therefore,  many  leisure 
hours  to  devote  to  active  exercise  and  to  the  society 
of  his  friends.  His  mind  was  then  free  also  from 
those  corroding  cares  with  which  it  was  afterwards 
weighed  down    in   the   more   active   service   of  the 


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HISTORY    OF    UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


church.     As  a  natural  consequence  of  such  favorable  i 
circumstances  he  was    remarkable  for    cheerfulness 
and   hilarity.     His  spirits    seemed    never  to  flag   at 
home  or  abroad.     Whether  in  his  study,  or  at  the  | 
festive  board,  or  in  the  social  circle,  his  was  always  ' 
the  merriest  laugh  and    the    happiest  repartee.     It 
would  be  strange  if  such  an  agreeable  and  instructive  ) 
companion  did  not  find  a  cordial  welcome  by  every  i 
hearth  and  at  every  table.     He  could  adapt  himself 
with  unaffected  ease  to  any  age  or  condition,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  say  whether  young  or  old  greeted  him  most 
heartily.  i 

Professor  Ogilby  made  it  a  point  to  treat  every  one 
he  met  with  the  utmost  politeness.     He  would  take  ' 
off  his  hat  with  as  much  deference  to  a  poor  laborer  i 
as  to  any  gentleman  of  his  acquaintance.     This  uni-  ' 
versal  courtesy  and  kindness   secured  for  him  uni- 
versal   respect  and    afl'ection,  and    hence   the    very 
general  sorrow  that  prevailed  when  the  sad  news  of 
his  decease  reached  us. 

Disinterestedness  was   one  of   his  most   attractive 
characteristics.     He  would  undergo  any  labor,  under- 
take any  journey,  run  any  risk  in  order  to  serve  a  i 
friend.     However  feeble  his  own  health  might  be,  he 
could  not  resist  the  appeal  of  a  brother  clergyman  to  ! 
aid  him  in  the  performance  of  his  duties.  | 

All  who  knew  Dr.  Ogilby  were  astonished  at  the  ' 
readiness  with  which  he  could  master  another  man's 
thoughts  or  give  expression  to  his  own.  As  an  in-  | 
stance  of  this  I  may  mention  that  in  the  General 
Convention  of  1847  he  immediately  answered,  with-  ' 
out  previous  preparation,  one  of  the  most  elaborate 
speeches  ever  made  in  that  body,  and  produced  on  his 
side  an  array  of  authorities  which  a  bystander  would 
have  supposed  he  had  been  many  months  in  collect-  | 
ing  and  arranging.  A  still  more  striking  instance  of  [ 
the  rapid  movement  of  his  mind  came  under  my  per- 
sonal observation  some  years  before.  His  work  on 
lay  baptism,  which  exhibits  much  careful  research, 
was  composed  during  a  few  days  of  his  summer  vaca- 
tion, the  books  he  used  as  authorities  being  chiefly 
taken  from  my  own  library.  His  learning,  however, 
was  not  so  extensive  as  profound ;  but  he  thought 
more  and  thoroughly  digested  all  that  his  capacious 
mind  received.  Whatever  he  learned  was  retained 
and  stored  up  ready  for  use  at  the  proper  season. 
His  mind  resembled  a  well-furnished  armory, — at  a 
moment's  warning  he  could  lay  his  hand  upon  any 
implement  of  war  he  found  it  necessary  to  use ;  or, 
like  a  perfect  musical  instrument,  it  was  always  in 
tune,  "  always  ready  to  yield  the  harmonious  concert 
of  sweet  sounds." 

As  a  preacher.  Dr.  Ogilby  was  remarkable  for  the 
thoughtfulness  of  his  discourse  and  the  earnestness  of 
his  delivery.  He  spake  "as  one  having  authority," 
but  "  with  the  meekness  of  wisdom."  No  one  that 
heard  him  could  fail  to  be  impressed  by  his  manly 
appearance  and  the  peculiar  raciness  of  his  style. 
Every  word  was  distinctly  uttered,  and  every  word 


was  adapted  to  tell  upon  the  heart  and  conscience. 
The  eyes  of  all  were  fixed  steadfastly  upon  him  as 
soon  as  he  arose,  and  were  seldom  withdrawn  until 
his  discourse  was  finished.  Yet  his  sermons  were  not 
written  to  produce  popular  effect ;  he  studied  to  be 
an  instructive  preacher,  and  eminently  succeeded  in 
conveying  in.struction  in  the  most  engaging  form. 

To  the  interests  of  the  church  of  which  he  was  a 
member  and  minister  he  was  most  intensely  devoted, 
ready  to  sacrifice  at  her  altar  every  private  feeling 
and  pleasure  that  interfered  in  any  degree  with  these 
higher  obligations.  He  was  for  this  reason  regarded 
by  many  as  both  bigoted  and  intolerant;  but  such 
persons  neither  understood  his  principles  nor  could 
they  appreciate  his  magnanimous  spirit.  Decided 
and  uncompromising  in  his  own  views,  he  was  yet 
charitable  to  those  who  differed  from  him,  and  neither 
respected  nor  loved  a  man  less  for  being,  as  he  him- 
self was,  true  to  his  own  convictions  and  decided  in 
maintaining  them. 

A  person  who  saw  Dr.  Ogilby  only  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  official  duties  would  hardly  believe  that 
so  much  determination  and  even  sternne.ss  as  he 
sometimes  manifested  on  particular  occasions  could 
consi.st  with  so  much  gentleness  and  affection  as 
constantly  appeared  in  his  social  and  domestic  inter- 
course. He  was  the  soul  of  whatever  company  he 
was  in,  "the  cynosure  of  every  eye;"  and  even  the 
coldest  and  hardest  could  not  help  being  enlivened 
and  softened  by  his  genial  warmth  and  affable  de- 
portment. I  must  not  omit  to  say  that  he  was  re- 
markable for  his  attention  to  little  children.  As  an 
illustration  of  this  I  may  mention  that  during  his 
last  illness,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  two  years  from 
us,  so  tender  was  his  recollection  of  some  young 
friends  whom  he  left  behind  that  he  made  it  his 
business  to  purchase  for  each  of  them  an  appropriate 
toy,  suited  to  the  age  and  sex,  on  which  he  carefully 
inscribed  the  name  of  the  child  for  whom  it  was  de- 
signed. He  little  imagined  the  priceless  value  his 
own  death  was  so  soon  to  affix  to  the  last  mementos 
of  his  unwavering  affection. 

The  attempt  to  convey  a  just  impression  of  Dr. 
Ogilby's  character  is  strangely  embarrassed,  as  his 
friend  Bishop  Doane  said,  "  by  its  singular  complete- 
ness, consistency,  and  harmony  ;  it  strikes  you  as  a 
whole  rather  than  in  any  of  its  parts,  like  some 
exquisite  mosaic,  where  an  infinite  variety  of  tints 
and  shades  combine  to  make  a  perfect  picture.  He 
was  a  man  of  wonderful  reality.  No  one  could  ever 
doubt  him  ;  he  gave  you  all  his  heart;  he  gave  it  to 
whatever  he  undertook  ;  he  went  half-way  in  nothing; 
he  had  the  highest  standard,  and  held  himself  up  to 
it.  For  the  learning  of  the  scholar,  for  the  prudence 
of  the  counselor,  for  the  helping  hand  of  the  execu- 
tive how  many  looked  to  him  and  leaned  on  him  ! 
How  many,  alas,  have  missed  him  since  he  has  de- 
jiarted !" 

How  tenderly  he  was  beloved  was  manifest  on  the 


CITY   OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


727 


sad  occasion  of  his  funeral.  The  eloquent  and  im- 
pressive discourse  preached  by  Bishop  Doane  in  the 
morning  at  Trinity  Church,  New  York,  was  repeated 
in  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  in  Christ  Church, 
New  Brunswick.  The  students  of  the  General  The- 
ological Seminary,  who  loved  him  as  a  brother,  fol- 
lowed his  remains  to  their  last  resting-place.  The 
church  was  filled  with  sympathizing  friends,  and 
none  who  were  present  will  ever  forget  the  irrepressi- 
ble emotion  which  burst  forth  from  every  heart,  and 
the  copious  tears  that  were  shed  over  his  grave. 

On  the  south  side  of  Christ  Church,  near  the  chan- 
cel, a  window  of  richest  color  and  finest  manufacture, 
the  gift  of  numerous  friends,  commemorates  the  name 
of  Dr.  Ogilby.  It  represents  by  appropriate  emblems 
his  prophetic  and  priestly  ofiice  in  connection  with 
the  trials  and  the  triumph  of  the  Christian  "faithful 
unto  death." 

Not  far  off,  in  the  adjoining  churchyard,  in  a  se- 
cluded spot  selected  by  himself  a  few  years  before  his 
death,  lie  his  mortal  remains,  and  over  his  grave  a 
chaste  and  solid  headstone,  erected  by  his  bereaved 
and  loving  wife,  bears  this  inscription  : 

"To 

the  beloved  memory 

of 

John  David  Ogilbt,  D.T)., 

Professor  of  Eccl.  Histoi"y  : 

Who  entered  into  his  rest 

Feb.  II,  MDCOCLI. 

At  the  age  of  forty  years, 

after  a  life 

of  unreserved  devotion 

to  Christ  and  His  Church." 

In  closing  this  imperfect  sketch  I  can  scarcely  re- 
frain from  saying  a  word  more  in  addition  to  what 
has  been  already  said  in  the  course  of  the  preceding 
narrative  of  Dr.  Ogilby's  great  friend.  Bishop  Doane, 
who  has  been  the  subject  of  so  much  animadversion. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  I  enjoyed  his  friendship 
and  intimacy.  I  .had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  him 
on  all  occasions  which  exhibit  a  man's  character  in 
its  fullest  light,  in  public  and  in  private,  at  home 
and  abroad,  in  the  church  and  in  the  house,  at  the 
table  and  by  the  fireside,  in  the  meetings  of  the  con- 
vention, and  in  those  of  the  standing  committee,  in 
trouble  and  in  joy,  amid  trials  and  triumphs,  and  on 
all  occasions  he  never  appeared  otherwise  than  as  the 
Christian  bishop  and  the  Christian  gentleman.  He 
was  a  man  of  colossal  dimensions  and  gigantic  power, 
of  great  designs  and  far-seeing  vision.  He  was  ahead 
of  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  and  was  therefore  mis- 
understood and  misrepresented.  As  the  representa- 
tive of  great  church  principles  he  could  not  escape 
the  hostility  of  men  of  Romish  or  sectarian  proclivi- 
ties, to  which  those  principles  are  opposed,  some  of 
whom,  unhappily,  sought  to  suppress  the  principles  by 
crushing  their  unbending  advocate ;  but  he  had  friends 
as  well  as  foes, — friends  who  never  doubted  the  sincer- 
ity of  his  purpose  and  the  honesty  of  his  heart,  who 
were  ready  to  make  allowance  for   mistakes   which 


proceeded  occasionally  from  an  overzealous  devotion 
to  the  interests  of  the  church  and  her  institutions. 

They  who  gazed  at  Bishop  Doane  through  a  mi- 
croscopic glass,  or  with  eyes  blinded  by  party  preju- 
dice, could  only  see  spots  on  the  surface  of  his  char- 
acter which  flitted  like  shadows  across  the  face  of  the 
sun  ;  he  was  to  be  taken  as  a  whole,  complete  in  all 
his  parts,  in  the  fullness  of  his  stature,  to  be  thor- 
oughly understood  and  appreciated.  They  who  saw 
him  in  this  light  perceived  what  a  splendid  "  piece  of 
work"  the  man  was.  "  How  noble  in  reason !  how 
infinite  in  faculties !  in  form  and  moving,  how  ex- 
press and  admirable!"  Now  that  he  is  dead  and 
party  enmities  buried  in  his  grave,  all  who  knew  him, 
friend  and  foe,  realize  and  acknowledge  the  greatness 
of  his  worth  and  the  greatness  of  their  loss.  He  has 
left  to  the  church  the  example  of  a  bishop  faithful 
and  fearle-ss,  who  "  dared  do  all  that  may  become  a 
man,"  and  he  has  left  to  his  dioce.se  besides  two  noble 
institutions  of  Christian  learning,  which  he  bought 
with  his  life's  blood,  from  which  many  in  generations 
past  and  future  will  arise  and  bless  his  name  and 
memory. 

On  the  chalice  and  paten  presented  to  the  church 
of  St.  John  the  Evangelist  on  the  day  of  the  conse- 
cration is  this  inscription: 


At  the  request  of  Bishop  Doane  the  rector  wrote 
him  a  brief  account  of  this  remarkable  young  man. 
The  bishop  incorporated  it  in  his  eighth  baccalaureate 
address  to  the  students  of  Burlington  College,  of 
which  the  substance  is  as  follows  : 

Warren  Livingston  was  born  in  New  York  in  Oc- 
tober, 1834.  My  acquaintance  with  him  began  when 
he  was  a  boy  of  nine  or  ten  years  old.  As  there  was 
no  school  in  connection  with  my  parish,  I  offered  to 
give  him  and  some  other  young  parishioners  in- 
struction in  my  study.  During  a  year  or  more  he 
was  there  my  sole  companion.  He  was  such  a  lover 
of  books  and  so  earnest  to  learn  that  he  needed  no 
fellow-students  to  excite  his  emulation,  no  rivals  to 
arouse  his  ambition.  There  was  scarcely  ever  occa- 
sion to  find  fault  with  him  ;  and  so  sensitive  was  he  to 
reproof,  that  a  word  or  sign  of  disapprobation  would 
fill  his  eyes  with  tears. 

He  was  a  child  of  wonderful  memory,  of  quick 
perception,  of  vivid  imagination,  thoughtful  beyond 
his  years,  with  the  faculty  of  expressing  his  ideas  in 
language  not  less  elegant  than  accurate.  It  was  a 
perfect  treat  to  hear  him  translate  the  finest  passages 
of  Virgil  and  Cicero.  He  could  discern  and  appreci- 
ate their  most  delicate  shades  of  meaning,  and  express 
them  in  words  which  fell  like  music  on  the  ear. 

Warren  entered  Burlington  College  in  1849.  His 
teachers  and  his  cla.ssmates  will  testify  to  the  perfect 
accuracy  of  these  expressions.  He  was  a  scholar 
heart  and  soul. 

After  he  went  to  Burlington  I  only  saw  him  during 


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HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


his  vacations,  but  I  have  been  informed  by  one  of  his 
fellow-students  that  he  was  there  considered  facile 
princeps  in  all  the  studies  of  the  college,  and  that  in 
a  class  of  young  men  of  uncommon  abilities. 

His  love  of  knowledge  was  but  kindled  there.  So 
far  from  supposing  his  education  completed  when  he 
had  finished  the  course  of  study,  he  longed  for  wider 
opportunities  of  learning  and  higher  ranges  of  sci- 
ence and  letters.  Instead  of  giving  himself  up  to  a 
mere  life  of  literary  ease  or  being  content  to  drift 
with  the  mad  currents  of  the  world,  he  had  no  sooner 
received  the  degree  of  Bachelor  in  Arts  than  he  pro- 
posed to  repair  to  the  ancient  University  of  Oxford, 
and  was  entered  at  Worcester  College.  Here  he  re- 
mained four  years.  His  principal  studies  were  his 
favorite  classics,  ancient  and  modern  history,  and 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  with  especial  reference  to  chro- 
nology. How  well  he  used  his  opportunities  the 
distinctions  which  he  won  best  prove.  He  took  a 
second-class  honor  in  hi.story  and  a  fourth-class  honor 
in  the  classics.  The  last  was  beyond  all  expectation, 
as  it  requires  a  thorough  training  in  what  in  this 
country  has  been  little  regarded,  Greek  and  Latin 
versification.  Notwithstanding  the  competition  which 
he  had  to  meet  with  from  scholars  trained  at  Eton 
and  at  Harrow,  he  attained  a  high  position  at  Oxford. 
Alas !  he  there  too  became  the  subject  of  the  insid- 
ious disease  which  undermined  his  life.  He  scarcely 
lived  a  year  after  his  return,  and  on  the  very  day 
which  completed  his  three-and-twentieth  year  ceased 
to  be  mortal. 

Our  young  friend's  character  was  composed  of  so 
many  delicate  traits,  all  blending  like  rays  of  light  to 
form  a  perfect  arch  of  beauty,  that  it  is  not  easy  to 
separate  the  various  tints,  or  to  say  which  shone  with 
the  brightest  lustre.  I  was,  however,  peculiarly  at- 
tracted by  his  gentleness  of  disposition.  He  was,  in 
the  highest  and  best  sense  of  the  word,  a  perfect  gen- 
tleman,— gentle  in  his  demeanor,  gentle  in  his  tastes, 
gentle  in  his  feelings.  There  was  in  the  temper  of 
his  mind  "a  radiant  sweetness"  which  spread  into 
his  words  and  actions.  This  suavity  of  manner  was 
not  with  him  an  external  grace.  It  had  its  seat  in 
the  affections.  It  sprang  from  kindness  of  heart.  It 
was  doubtless  the  product  of  that  blessed  Spirit  whose 
first  fruits  are  love  and  peace.  "  For"  (to  use  a  beau- 
tiful illustration  of  Archbishop  Leighton)  "as  the 
roots  of  plants  lie  hid  under  ground  and  manifest 
their  excellence  in  branches  and  flowers  and  fruits, 
so  the  graces  of  the  Spirit,  planted  in  the  soul,  though 
themselves  unseen,  yet  discover  their  being  and  life 
in  the  words,  actions,  and  demeanor  of  a  Christian. 
Now,  if  the  root  be  love,  the  fruits  of  gentleness  and 
courtesy  will  spring  from  it  and  discover  it."  It  was 
in  this  sense  of  the  word  that  I  styled  our  young 
friend  a  gentleman.  He  was  a  thorough  Christian 
gentleman, — affable  in  his  speech,  courteous  in  his 
address,  refined  in  his  feelings,  and  gentle  in  his  man- 
ner. 


In  connection  with  this  characteristic  may  be  men- 
tioned another  feature  of  Christian  loveliness,  his 
unaffected  humilUij  and  meekness  of  spirit.  A  young 
man,  educated  in  the  most  celebrated  university  in 
the  world,  and  enjoying  there  the  highest  advantages, 
entitled  by  his  fortune  and  family  connections  to  move 
in  the  best  society,  might  naturally  have  spoken  with 
complacency,  not  unmingled  with  youthful  pride,  of 
the  magnificent  scenes  through  which  it  was  his  fa- 
vored lot  to  pass,  and  of  the  distinguished  company 
which  it  was  his  singular  privilege  to  enjoy.  But 
Warren  seldom  spoke  of  them.  He  seemed  utterly 
devoid  of  vanity  and  self-conceit.  He  prided  not  him- 
self on  his  wealth,  his  learning,  or  his  personal  ad- 
vantages. He  exhibited  no  conscious  superiority  over 
his  fellows.  No  one  felt  humbled  in  his  presence, 
for  no  one  felt  that  he  exacted  undue  admiration  or 
respect.  All,  therefore,  who  knew  him  loved  him. 
All  were  ready  to  acknowledge  his  worth,  and  to  pay 
the  regard  which  was  richly  due. 

But  if  in  his  intercourse  with  men  our  friend's 
humility  was  so  apparent,  much  more  was  it  in  the 
service  of  his  God.  He  never  obtrusively  displayed 
his  religious  feelings,  for  true  religion  is  "  too  genuine 
to  be  ostentatious."  His  disposition  was  retiring  and 
self-communing,  for  he  had  learned  of  Him  "  who 
was  meek  and  lowly  of  heart,"  and  whose  "  voice 
was  not  heard  in  the  streets."  Like  Him,  he  went 
apart  to  meditate  and  pray,  and  poured  forth  the 
sorrows  and  joys  of  his  heart  on  the  bosom  of  his 
God.  That  a  spirit  of  this  modest,  childlike  nature 
was  favored  with  special  manifestations  of  the  Divine 
presence  who  can  doubt?  For  as  the  highest  heav- 
ens are  the  habitation  of  God's  glory,  so  "  the  humble 
heart  hath  the  next  claim  to  be  the  habitation  of  His 
grace." 

The  unselfishness  of  our  dear  friend's  disposition 
was  another  characteristic  to  which  I  will  briefly  ad- 
vert. Sickness,  especially  if  long  protracted,  has 
often  the  unhappy  tendency  to  make  us  selfish,  queru- 
lous, and  exacting.  Invalids  will  frequently  exag- 
gerate their  sufferings  to  excite  the  sympathy  of 
friends.  But  in  this  instance  the  effect  was  evi- 
dently made  to  conceal  weakness  and  pain.  He  strove 
to  dissipate  the  anxiety  and  sorrow  which  he  perceived 
were  weighing  heavily  on  the  hearts  of  relatives  and 
friends.  Instead  of  exacting  sacrifices  of  their  time 
and  attention,  this  generous  and  disinterested  son  and 
brother  was  continually  making  sacrifices  of  his  own 
ease  and  pleasure  to  procure  for  those  whom  he  loved 
comfort  and  enjoyment. 

My  feelings  scarcely  allow  me  to  dwell  more  at 
length  on  the  pure  and  lovely  character  of  our  deceased 
brother.  The  more  I  reflect  on  his  worth  the  greater 
appears  our  loss ;  and  the  thought  that  we  shall  see 
his  face  no  more  is  almost  insupportable  to  the  faith- 
ful and  loving  friends,  who  seemed  to  live  in  the  light 
of  his  countenance.  But  we  may  not  lament  that  he 
has  left  his  parental  home  to  enter  the  glorious  man- 


CITY  OF  NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


729 


sions  of  his  Father's  house.  Nor  may  we  desire  that 
he  should 

"  Wander  back  to  life,  and  lean 
On  our  frail  love  once  more," 

who  is,  we  believe,  among  that  happy  company  of  the 
redeemed  which  "  follow  the  Lamb  whithersoever  he 
goeth,  in  whose  mouth  was  found  no  guile,  who  are 
without  fault  before  the  throne  of  God,"  and  in  his 
presence  partake  of  fullness  of  joy. 

Let  me  hasten  to  the  scene  which  closed  the  earthly 
career  of  this  excellent  young  man.  On  the  Sunday 
previous  to  his  death  he  was  in  his  customary  place 
at  church,  and  partook  in  his  usual  devout  manner  of 
the  blessed  sacrament.  On  Friday  morning  of  the 
same  week  I  was  summoned  at  an  early  hour  to  his 
last  bed  of  sickness.  On  entering  the  room  he  wel- 
comed me  with  a  smile,  but  with  his  finger  on  his 
lips,  to  inform  me  that  he  was  not  allowed  to  answer. 
He  spoke  first  when  I  offered  to  pray  with  him,  and 
requested  that  the  door  might  be  shut,  in  order  that 
we  might  be  alone  with  Him  who  heareth  and  seeth 
in  secret.  He  was  fully  aware  that  his  life  was  fast 
ebbing  away,  but  no  murmur  escaped  his  lips,  no 
sign  betrayed  the  lea,st  symptom  of  fear  or  despond- 
ency :  his  countenance  was  calm.  Now  and  then 
smiles  of  resignation  and  peace  seemed  to  play  upon 
his  pallid  features,  and  they  beamed  radiant  with 
hope.  When  his  bodily  weakness  deprived  him  of 
the  power  of  speech  and  he  reclined  in  apparent  in- 
sensibility, I  said  to  him,  "  Warren,  your  Saviour 
does  not  leave  you  in  this  dark  hour?"  He  answered 
in  the  negative  by  a  gentle  movement  of  his  head. 
I  said  to  him  again,  "  You  know  in  whom  you  have 
put  your  trust?"  and  he  in  like  manner  gave  the  sig- 
nal of  assent.  A  few  moments  after  I  commended 
his  soul  into  the  hands  of  a  faithful  Creator  and  most 
merciful  Saviour.  A  brief  struggle  with  the  last 
enemy  ensued ;  the  victory  was  won.  His  immortal 
spirit  was  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh,  and 
was  carried  by  the  angels  into  the  bosom  of  his  Sav- 
iour and  his  God. 

"  Oh,  sir,  the  good  die  first ; 
And  they  whose  liearts  are  dry  as  summer  dust 
Burn  to  the  socket." 

This  has  been  sadly  exemplified  in  another  instance 
of  more  recent  date. 

Remsen  Schuchardt  partook  of  Warren  Living- 
ston's gentle  disposition  and  guileless  spirit,  with  his 
mind  "  tempered  to  finest  issues"  by  heaven's  finest 
touch.  His  health  was  likewi.se  undermined  by  the 
same  insidious  disease  just  as  he  had  completed  his 
education  in  the  schools  of  Germany.  He  came  back 
to  the  happy  home  of  his  childhood,  whose  voices 
filled  his  heart's  pure  depths  with  unalloyed  delight 
and  yearning  love  only  to  be  transferred  to  that  hap- 
pier household  of  sisters  and  brothers  in  the  man- 
sions of  heaven.  He  fell  asleep  as  sweetly  as  the 
tired  child  rests  in  confiding  love  on  its  mother's 
breast. 


"  And  in  his  father's  arms 
Contented  dies  away." 

Did  time  and  space  allow,  many  more  might  be 
added  to  these  memorials  of  the  departed,  but  the 
record  has  already  extended  beyond  the  original 
design. 

Warren  Livingston  and  Remsen  Schuchardt  were 
only  two  among  the  many  who  as  children  were  cate- 
chised in  the  church,  and  who  have  since  grown  in 
grace  as  in  stature.  Some  have  been  called  with  them 
to  a  higher  seat  in  "  the  church  of  the  first-born 
written  in  heaven,"  and  others  remain  as  "  polished 
pillars"  to  uphold  and  adorn  the  church  on  earth. 

Of  the  hundreds  admitted  into  her  fold  by  holy 
baptism,  and  who  have  sealed  their  vows  in  confirma- 
tion and  in  the  sacrament  of  the  altar,  many  have 
become  teachers  and  catechists,  and  in  schools  and 
classes  on  Sunday  and  week-day  have  aided  the  rector 
in  instilling  those  principles  of  the  Creed  and  the 
Catechism  which  must  form  the  basis  of  thorough 
church  instruction.  Without  compromise  of  these 
principles  the  congregation  has  grown  and  flourished, 
and  peace  and  love  maintained  with  all  Christian 
people.  The  observation  of  Seabury  and  Beach  and 
Cutting  a  century  ago,  that  all  denominations  were 
living  here  together  in  a  friendly  manner,  without 
strife  or  animosities,  holds  true  at  the  present  day, 
and  the  rector  is  happy  to  acknowledge  among  them 
some  of  his  most  esteemed  and  excellent  friends ; 
meanwhile  no  sacrifice  has  been  made  or  asked  of 
those  distinctive  doctrines  and  services  by  which  the 
church  is  denoted. 

It  is  on  record  that  in  the  times  of  the  Revolution 
this  was  the  only  church  in  the  province  in  which 
divine  service  was  regularly  performed,  and  she  has 
always  enjoyed  this  singular  blessing ;  her  doors  have 
never  been  closed,  in  summer  or  winter,  on  the  Lord's 
day,  and  but  seldom  on  the  days  in  each  week  which 
commemorate  His  betrayal  and  crucifixion,  or  the 
memory  of  His  saints.  By  this  means  her  children 
have  been  trained  to  worship  among  that  blessed  com- 
pany who  "  serve  God  day  and  night  in  His  temple." 

Of  this  childlike,  "  Christ-like  throng,"  who  adorn 
their  Father's  household  in  heaven  and  celebrate  His 
praise,  is  one  whose  memorial,  written  by  her  bishop 
and  friend,  now  in  Paradise,  will  close  this  record  of 
the  living  and  the  dead: 

"  The  bishop  of  New  Jersey,  as  will  appear  by  the 
diocesan  record,  was  drawn  aside  from  his  double 
duty  to  his  parish  and  to  the  visitation  by  one  of 
those  sacred  claims  which  lay  hold  of  the  '  most  dear 
heart-strings.'  Death  had  entered  the  dwelling  of 
one  of  his  most  excellent  and  beloved  presbyters,  and 
taken  from  it  the  partner  of  his  hearth  and  heart, 
and  he  hastened  to  consign  his  darling  to  her  sacred 
resting-place  '  beneath  the  church's  shade.' 

"  Mrs.  Stubbs  was  the  daughter  of  Abel  Houghton, 
Esq.,  of  St.  Albans,  Vt.  She  was  educated  partly  in 
Burlington,  Vt.,  and  partly  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and 


730 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


she  did  honor  to  her  teachers.  A  woman  of  a  more 
judicious  and  available  education  is  seldom  seen.  She 
was  remarkable  at  the  schools  for  her  proficiency  in 
mathematics  and  in  music.  The  former  was  among  the 
foundations  of  her  intellectual  character.  The  latter 
she  continued  to  the  last  to  make  profitable  to  her 
children  and  delightful  to  her  friends. 

"  She  was  married  in  1840  to  the  Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs, 
rector  of  Christ  Church,  New  Brunswick,  and  died  on 
the  morning  of  Good  Friday,  April  10th,  in  the  thirty- 
ninth  year  of  her  age.  She  was  the  mother  of  seven 
children,  two  of  whom  went  before  her  into  rest.  The 
birthday  of  the  first  of  these  two  children  was  also 
the  birthday  of  her  immortal  life. 

"  An  annual  inmate  of  her  house  for  seventeen  years, 
the  present  writer  can  well  bear  testimony  to  her  ex- 
cellence. She  had  been  early  taught  to  be  wise,  to 
love  her  husband,  to  love  her  children.  She  was  em- 
phatically a  keeper  at  home.  She  was  '  well  reported 
of  for  good  works  ;'  she  had  '  brought  up  children ;' 
she  had  '  lodged  strangers  ;'  she  had  '  washed  the 
saints'  feet;'  she  had  'relieved  the  afflicted;'  she 
had  '  diligently  followed  every  good  work.'  She  was 
the  very  kind  of  woman  who  supplied  the  portrait  to 
'  King  Lemuel,'  in  the  last  chapter  of  the  book  of 
Proverbs.  Her  diligence,  her  economy,  her  skill,  her 
taste,  her  tact,  her  gentle  lovingness  made  the  par- 
sonage one  of  the  most  pleasant  of  all  houses  to  be  at 
home  in.  To  her  husband  she  was  indeed  '  a  help- 
meet for  him.'  And  no  children  were  ever  blessed 
with  a  better  mother.  She  was  mistress  of  that 
crowning  art,  the  government  of  the  tongue.  With 
the  utmost  gentleness  she  combined  the  utmost  firm- 
ness. She  was  unwearied  in  the  discharge  of  every 
domestic  duty  and  relation.  And  yet  her  heart  took 
in  the  world  for  sympathy  and  charity,— 


"  '  She  was  a  woman  of  a  steady  mind ; 
Tender  and  deep  in  her  excess  of  love  ; 
Not  speaking  nuich  ;  pleased  rather  with  the  joy 
Of  her  own  thoughts.    By  some  especial  care 
Her  teDtper  had  been  framed  as  if  to  make 
A  being  who,  by  adding  love  to  peace, 
Might  live  on  earth  a  life  of  happiness.' 

"  But  she  had  outgrown  this  present  life,  and  He  in 
whom  she  lived  has  taken  her  to  be  with  Him.  Her 
death  was  scarcely  counted  on  until  it  came.  But  it 
did  not  take  her  unawares.  To  the  Christian  physi- 
cian who  referred  her  to  the  highest  source  of  strength, 
she  replied  that  she  had  not  then  to  seek  such  grace. 
She  had  lived  on  it.  But  half  an  hour  before  her 
death  she  started  from  her  tranquil  state,  and  asked 
for  '  more  light,'  and  for  '  paper.'  She  was  think- 
ing, doubtless,  of  her  absent  parents.  When  her  hus- 
band, with  a  strength  not  human,  oftered  by  her  bed- 
side the  commendatory  prayer,  she  meekly  crossed 
her  hands  upon  her  bosom,  and  in  a  few  moments  was 
at  rest.  '  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord ; 
for  they  rest  from  their  labors.' 

"The  concourse  of  people  which  filled  the  church 
and  the  adjoining  ground  at  her  funeral  was  a  be- 


coming tribute  of  sympathizing  respect  to  her  bereaved 
husband.  The  sobs  and  tears,  which  could  not  be  re- 
pressed, were  her  be.st  eulogy.  God  comfort  his  own 
stricken  ones !" 

In  the  north  angle  of  the  ivy-clad  tower,  in  a  sweet 
nook  of  ground,  by  the  side  of  the  beds  of  roses  which 
she  planted  for  her  little  ones  who  had  fallen  asleep 
before  to  re.st  in,  lie  the  sacred  relics  of  the  purest 
shrine  that  was  ever  tenanted  by  an  immortal  spirit; 
and  the  headstone  bears  this  inscription,  written  by 
one  who  knew  no  words  that  could  fully  express  the 
greatness  of  her  worth  : 

*'  Here  sleeps 

in  the  blessed  hope 

of  a  joyful  resurrection, 

EMLIA  HOUGHTON  STUBBS, 

of  a  meek  and  quiet  spirit 

full  of  faith  and  good  works, 

who  entered  into  rest 

on  Good  Friday,  MDCCCLVII, 

Aged  thirty-eight  years. 

'  Lord,  remember  me  when  Thou  comest !' " 

First  Baptist   Church,   New  Brunswick.— As 

the  First  Baptist  Church  in  New  Brunswick  is  the 
daughter  of  next  to  the  oldest  Baptist  Church  in  the 
State,  it  is  claimed  that  of  these  early  settlers  six 
men  at  least  were  Baptists.  The  celebrated  Hansard 
KnoUys  preached  Baptist  sentiments  in  old  Piscat- 
aqua  as  early  as  1638,  and  as  New  Brunswick  had 
after  the  long  pastorate  of  Rev.  John  Drake  of  fifty 
years  been  occasionally  supplied  by  him  coming  from 
Piscataqua  to  this  city,  and  also  of  Rev.  Mr.  Stelle 
occasional  visits  here,  this  city  had  in  that  time  in- 
creased considerably,  and  Rev.  Reune  Runyon  in 
1783  became  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church 
after  preaching  here,  also  many  of  the  members  of 
the  above  church  having  fixed  residences  here  ("in 
our  town"). 

When  Deacon  Asa  Runyon  built  the  fine  substan- 
tial brick  house  corner  of  Neilson  and  Church 
Streets,  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  he  did  not 
forget  to  consecrate  it  to  the  Lord.  In  the  room 
adjoining  that  now  occupied  by  the  insurance  com- 
pany many  meetings  were  held  for  prayer  and  praise. 
Preaching  services  were  held  occasionally. 

"  The  Hon.  James  Parker,  of  Perth  Amboy,  N.  J., 
having  kindly  oftered  to  deed  a  lot  of  ground  lying 
on  the  northeast  corner  of  George  and  Somerset 
Streets  (the  present  site  of  the  depot  of  the  railroad 
company,  then  used  as  a  family  burying-place)  to 
any  religious  body  who  would  erect  thereon  a  respect- 
able house  for  public  worship,  some  twenty  or  more 
individuals,  Baptist  in  sentiment,  most  of  whom 
were  members  in  good  standing  of  the  church  in 
Piscataway  living  in  New  Brunswick,  resolved  to 
avail  themselves  of  his  offer  and  erect  for  the  denom- 
ination a  meeting-house."  In  the  summer  of  1809 
Asa  Runyon,  together  with  John  Bray,  Esq.,  called 
on  Mr.  Parker,  and  signified  to  him  their  acceptance 
of  his  proposition,  and  contracted  with  him  for  the 


CITY    OF   NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


731 


purchase  of  additional  land,  by  which  they  secured  a 
lot  more  than  two  hundred  feet  square.  In  the  month 
of  September  a  meeting  was  called  at  the  house  of 
Asa  Runyon.  There  were  present  at  that  meeting 
Asa  Runyon,  John  Bray,  Abraham  Potts,  Squire 
Martin,  George  Clark,  James  Dunham,  and  James 
Concklin.  They  soon  secured  about  three  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  considered  ample  to  warrant  them 
in  building,  and  in  the  spring  of  1810  the  foundation 
was  commenced,  and  by  degrees  the  work  was  carried 
on.  It  was  not  until  the  fall  of  1812  that  it  was  com- 
pleted, at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars.  This  church 
with  the  Piscataway  congregation  jointly  called  as 
their  pastor  the  Rev.  James  McLaughlin,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  services  of  the  Lord's  Day  were 
to  be  held  in  Piscataway  in  the  morning,  and  in  New 
Brunswick  in  the  afternoon.  This  arrangement  con- 
tinued until  September,  1817.  On  Sept.  21,  1816,  the 
members  residing  in  New  Brunswick  were,  by  the  adop- 
tion of  a  series  of  articles  of  faith,  and  by  entering 
into  .solemn  covenant  one  with  another,  constituted  a 
regular  gospel  church.  The  following  are  the  names 
of  the  first  members  : 


extensive  revivals.     The   following  account  is  here 
given  : 


Asa  Kunyou. 
Henry  Wright. 
Richard  Lupardus. 
Sarah  Merrill. 
JoBepli  Runyon. 
Hephzibah  Walker. 
Phebe  Runyou. 
Abigail  Coon. 
Elizalieth  Runyon. 
Sqnije  Martin. 
Charlotte  Lupardus 
Sarah  Pust. 


Sarah  Runyon. 
Sarah  Probasco. 
Walter  M.  Henry. 
Ruth  Brenner. 
Abin  Potts. 
Susannah  Martin. 
Richard  E.  Runyon. 
Sarah  Ayre^. 
Sarah  L.  Dunham. 
Charles  E.  HoUingshead. 
Sarah  Kent. 
Esther  Potts. 


Comprising  twenty-four  members,  who  have  long  ago 
passed  away. 

Rev.  James  McLaughlin  was  a  man  of  deep  piety, 
a  good  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  one  whom  the 
members  looked  as  to  a  father.  He  resided  in  this 
then  town  during  his  pastorate  of  the  two  churches  ; 
he  gave  much  time  and  energy  to  build  up  the  little 
band.  In  1817  he  removed  to  the  pastorate  of  the 
Second  Church  in  Philadelphia.  HediedatLambert- 
ville,  Aug.  19,  1827,  and  his  dust  lies  buried  in  the 
cemetery  at  Harborton.  After  some  months  the 
church  was  supplied.  The  following  list  of  pastors 
of  this  old  historic  church  : 

James  McLaughlin,  September,  1816-September, 
1817. 

John  Johnson,  July,  1818-August,  1819. 

Greenleaf  S.  Webb,  April,  1821-October,  1843. 

George  R.  Bliss,  October,  1843-April,  1849. 

Shobal  S.  Parker,  April,  1850-April,  1852. 

George  Kempton,  July,  1852-May,  1857. 

Thomas  R.  Howlett,  September,  1858-September, 
1859. 

Mortimer  S.  Riddell,  September,  1860-April,  1868. 

Henry  F.  Smith,  April,  1869;  vacant,  1882. 

The  extent  of  the  visitation  of  God's  mercy  eter- 
nity only  will  disclose.     This  church  has  had  many 


rom  September 

1816,  to  Jun 

,      1820,    U; 

membership,    40 

"     June, 

1820,  "      " 

1830,    43; 

80 

"          " 

1830,  "      " 

1840,214; 

253 

" 

1840,  "      " 

1850,  65; 

207 

1850,  "      " 

1800,129; 

296 

"  "  1860,  "October,  1870, 215;  "  471. 

'•      October,        1870,"         "        1880,333;  "  540. 

There  are  those  who  remember  the  first  church, 
many  of  whose  bricks  are  now  in  the  depot  which  oc- 
cupies its  site.  They  recall  its  ascent  by  steps,  its 
plain  front,  double  rows  of  windows,  high  pulpit,  oil 
lamps,  candles,  and  old-fashioned  furniture.  They 
have  seen  Mr.  Webster,  the  old-time  sexton,  fill  the 
foot-stoves  with  glowing  coals  to  keep  the  ladies'  feet 
warm.  But  the  "march  of  improvement"  sweeps 
away  time-honored  structures.  The  construction  of 
the  railroad  necessitated  removal.  The  living  must 
seek  a  new  locality  where  they  may  listen  to  the 
gentle  sound  of  the  gospel  undisturbed  by  the  loco- 
motive's shriek,  and  the  dust  that  rests  in  the  old 
graveyard  must  be  taken  to  a  new  sepulchre.  A  fa- 
vorable sale  to  the  railroad  company  was  made,  and 
with  additional  subscriptions  the  edifice  now  occupied 
was  built.  The  trustees  of.  that  period,  among  whom 
were  Judge  Runyon,  Messrs.  Dean  and  Randolph, 
who  have  departed,  and  Ambrose  Randolph,  Esq., 
still  among  them.  The  new  church  is  situated  on 
corner  of  George  and  Bayard  Streets.  A  lecture-room 
on  Remsen  Avenue  was  built  and  dedicated  March 
16,  1872.  The  lot  was  given  by  Deacon  A.  Van 
Wickle. 

The  following  is  the  list  of  deacons  from  the  first: 


ved  from  the  plai 


his  return  he 


elected  deacons 


"  Randolph  Martin, 
was  re-elected. 

"  Richard  Van  Arsdale  and  Peter  D.  CI: 
1836,  but  never  served. 

"  Asa  Runyon,  chosen  Nov.  15, 1816;  died  May  11, 1818. 

"  Richard  Lupardus,  chosen  Nov.  15, 1816;  died  Nov.  6, 1835. 

"Robert  Lyle,  chosen  Jan.  3,  1826;  died  Jan.  28,  1876. 

"Jeptlia  Dunham,  chosen  Dec.  8,  1835;  died  February,  1859. 

"  Randolph  Mnrtiu,  chosen  May  6, 1839;  died  December,  1876. 

"  Peter  R.  Stelle,  chosen  April  9,  1839 ;  died  February,  1871. 

"S.  Van  Wickle,  chosen  Jan.  29,  1857. 

"  William  Kent,  chosen  May  27, 1859. 

"  I.  S.  Van  Angleu,  chosen  Jan.  25,  1871. 

"John  T.  Morgan,  chosen  Jan.  25,  1871. 

"  Elias  Baker,  chosen  March  22,  1871 ;  died  August,  1874. 

"  William  Dunham,  Jr.,  chosen  Nov.  24,  1874. 

"  H.  B.  Zimmerman,  chosen  Feb.  21,  1877. 

"Henry  Whitney,  chosen  Feb.  21, 1877." 

The  church  clerks  have  been  Charles  E.  HoUings- 
head, Henry  Wright,  Stephen  F.  Randolph  (from 
1838  to  1846),  David  F.  Randolph  (from  1846  to  1849), 
Nelson  Dunham  (from  1849  to  the  present  time,  forty- 
one  years). 

The  following  have  been  the  trustees :  Asa  Runyon, 
John  Bray,  James  Dunham,  Richard  Lupardus,  Rich- 
ard E.  Runyon,  Squire  Martin,  Peter  P.  Runyon, 
Daniel  Dean,  David  F.  Randolph,  Ambrose  F.  Ran- 
dolph, William  Dunham,  Alexander  Moore,  Walter 
Henry,  George  H.  Stout,  Oliver  Dunn,  Jeptha  Dun- 


732 


HISTORY   OP  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ham,  Nelson  Dunham,  Thomas  Stout,  Randolph  Mar- 
tin, William  Kent,  Robert  Lyle,  Edward  Stelle,  Peter  | 
J.  Stelle,  Samuel  Stelle,  Peter  C.  Onderdonk,  Elihu  i 
Cook,  Elias  Baker,  Joel  G.  Sweet,  Daniel  M.  Vail,  ' 
Lewis  R.  Dunham,  William  Rowland,  Peter  Suydam,  ! 
S.  Van  Wickle,  Isaac  L.  Martin,  Mahlon  Runyon,  ; 
Samuel  C.  Ballard,  A.  T.  Stout,  M.  F.  Webb,  Mahlon 
C.  Martin,  John  T.  Morgan,  S.  C.  Coriell,  James  S.  i 
Van  Anglen,  H.   P.  Hart,  John  D.  Runyon,  H.  P. 
Zimmerman. 

Shiloh  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  — Meth- 
odism was  established  in  America  in  1766.  A  com- 
pany from  Ireland  settled  in  New  York,  among  whom 
were  Philip  Embury  and  Barbara  Heck,  whose  names 
have  been  household  words  in  Methodist  circles.  Shi- 
loh Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  granted  a  charter 
June  13,  1799;  Rev.  J.  Totten,  minister.  After  ten 
days'  notice,  a  public  meeting  for  the  election  of.  a 
hoard  of  trustees  was  held  May  27,  1811.  Before  Mr. 
Runyon,  justice  of  the  peace,  appeared  on  July  18, 
1811,  Jacob  Snyder,  James  Williams,  David  Oliver, 
Michael  Pool,  Joel  Conger,  Henry  Gross,  and  John 
Vliet,  and  took  oath  severally  to  faithfully  administer 
the  office  of  trustees  of  the  Shiloh  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  of  New  Brunswick.  This,  the  first  church, 
was  erected  in  1811,  on  the  site  of  the  chapel  now  in 
Liberty  Street,  which  was  purchased  by  Rev.  James 
Smith,  of  Philadelphia,  from  the  trustees  of  Queen's 
College,  for  $528.  The  deed  was  recorded  Feb.  25, 
1817,  and  conveyed  by  Smith  to  the  congregation, 
April  26,  1817,  for  one  dollar.  It  therefore  appears 
that  Rev.  J.  Totten  secured  a  charter  in  1799,  but 
little  was  done  till  1811,  when  the  cburch  was  erected. 
There  is  no  record  of  a  pastor  till  1820,  and  the  church 
was  probably  an  appointment  on  one  of  the  large  cir- 
cuits, and  had  preaching  by  the  pastor  in  charge  once 
in  two  weeks,  and  by  the  junior  preacher  the  same. 

In  1820,  Rev.  Charles  Pitman  was  stationed  in  New 
Brunswick,  and  found  twenty  members,  and  remained 
two  years,  and  left  a  membership  of  sixty.  This 
church  was  blown  down  by  the  tornado  on  June  19, 
1835,  and  through  the  eflbrts  of  Mr.  Robert  Miller 
and  Jacob  Edmonds  funds  were  secured,  less  one 
thousand  dollars  loaned  on  mortgage  (which  was 
afterwards  given  to  the  church),  and  a  new  building 
erected,  and  until  May,  1876,  they  worshiped  in  this 
their  second  building,  but  owing  to  the  large  increase 
of  members  it  was  decided  to  build  their  noble 
edifice,  which  in  1876  was  dedicated,  situated  on  the 
corner  of  Liberty  and  George  Streets,  at  a  cost  of 
nearly  sixty  thousand  dollars.  As  near  as  can  be 
learned  the  following  have  been  the  pastors:  Rev. 
Mr.  Colcloser  came  in  1839,  and  remained  till  the 
spring  of  1840,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Philadel- 
phia Conference  ;  Rev.  Charles  H.  Whitecar,  1840-41 ; 
Rev.  M.  E.  Ellison,  1841-42;  Rev.  J.  S.  Porter. 
1842-43;  Rev.  Wesley  Hudson,  1843-44;  he  died 
while  pastor  here;  Rev.  James  Ayres,  1845,  1849- 
50 ;  Rev.  Samuel  T.  Monroe,  1851-52 ;   Rev.  L.  R. 


Dunn  remained  about  six  weeks,  when  Rev.  John 
D.  Blane  came,  1852-53 ;  Nicholas  Van  Zant,  18.54- 
55 ;  Rev.  Richard  Chalker,  1856-57,  and  returned 
in  1874-75;  Rev.  R.  V.  Laurence,  1866-68;  Rev. 
Richard  Strattan,  1870;  Rev.  B.  F.  Sharp,  1871-72; 
Rev,  William  E.  Boyle,  1873 ;  Rev.  R.  J.  Phelps, 
1876-78  ;  Rev.  J.  C.  Heisler,  1879-80 ;  Rev.  Edmund 
Heuitt,  1881 ;  Rev.  William  P.  Davis,  the  present  pas- 
tor, 1882. 

The  present  board  of  trustees  are  Adam  Green, 
president ;  John  Dixon,  secretary ;  Theodore  Ash- 
more,  treasurer ;  David  Buzze, Kidder,  and  Isaac 

Vanarsdale.  It  is  contemplated  to  commence  the 
building  of  a  chapel  in  the  rear  of  the  church  for 
their  Sabbath-school  and  other  meetings,  at  a  cost  of 
ten  thousand  dollars.  Membership,  four  hundred  and 
fifty-one;  church  accommodations,  one  thousand. 

Pitman  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— This 
church  was  erected  in  1853.  It  had  forty -seven  mem- 
bers from  Liberty  Street.  It  is  situated  on  the  corner 
of  George  and  Oliver  Streets.  A  neat  frame  building, 
with  brick  basement.  Their  church  property,  inclu- 
ding their  parsonage,  fifteen  thousand  dollars.  The 
society  are  free  from  incumbrances.  Rev.  Charles  E. 
Coit  was  their  first  pastor,  and  remained  two  years, 
1853-54. 

In  1851  there  was  but  one  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  New  Brunswick.  In  view  of  the  prosperous 
condition  of  Methodism,  and  also  of  the  prospective 
growth  of  the  town  in  the  section  where  the  present 
church  edifice  stands,  it  was  deemed  well  to  establish 
another  organization,  and  build  another  church  in 
the  new  district.  Measures  were  immediately  inaug- 
urated to  bring  about  this  result.  Subscriptions  were 
soon  secured,  and  a  lot  on  Carman  Street  purchased. 
This  was  found  not  to  he  the  best  location,  and  through 
the  agency  of  James  Bishop  the  present  site,  corner 
of  George  and  Oliver  Streets,  was  secured  in  exchange 
for  the  Carman  Street  lot.  The  project  having  been 
so  far  successful,  it  soon  became  a  serious  question. 
Who  shall  constitute  the  new  organization?  To 
answer  this  a  meeting  of  the  officers  was  called,  and 
it  was  determined  by  that  body  (then  consisting  of 
twelve  persons)  that  six  of  their  own  number,  with 
their  families,  should  be  chosen  by  the  pastor  to  con- 
stitute the  new  organization,  while  the  remaining  six 
should  stay  with  the  old  cliurch.  The  six  persons 
chosen  to  go  over  to  the  new  church  were  Davis  Carel, 
Robert  Miller,  John  Helm,  William  Ovens,  George 
W.  Price,  and  Staten  Jeffries.  In  those  days  it  was 
common  for  the  same  man  to  hold  at  one  time  the 
three  offices  of  trustee,  steward,  and  class-leader. 
Four  of  these  persons  already  mentioned  being  class- 
leaders,  they  were  followed  by  most  or  all  of  their 
several  classes,  so  that  the  actual  membership  of  the 
new  church  when  first  started  was  nearly  fifty  persons. 

The  building,  which  is  frame  with  a  brick  base- 
ment, was  dedicated  to  divine  worship  by  Bishop 
Janes  on  Sunday,  Aug.  11,  1852. 


CITY   OF   NEW   BKUNSWICK. 


733 


The  following  is  the  list  of  pastors  and  their  time 
of  service :  Revs.  Charles  S.  Coit,  1852-53  ;  Charles 
E.  Hill,  1854-55 ;  Elwood  H.  Stokes,  1856-57  ;  Joseph 
B.  Dobbins,  1858-59  ;  Philip  Cline,  1860-61  ;  Elwood 
H.  Stokes,  1862;  Henry  M.  Brown,  1863-64  ;  George 
Hughes,  1865  ;  Richard  Thorne,  1866-68  ;  Charles  R. 
Hartranft,  1869-71  ;  Charles  W.  Heisley,  1872-74 ; 
David  H.  Schock,  1875-77  ;  C.  K.  Flemming,  1878  ; 
E.  C.  Hancock,  1879-81  ;  Henry  Belting,  present 
pastor,  appointed  March,  1882. 

The  name  of  Pitman  was  given  the  church  in  honor 
of  Rev.  Charles  Pitman,  who  had  once  been  the  pas- 
tor of  the  old  church,  and  who  was  now  in  the  height 
of  his  remarkable  career  of  usefulness. 

The  building  has  accommodations  for  sis  hundred 
persons.  The  membership  at  present  (April,  1882) 
is  two  hundred  and  eighty-one. 

The  following  persons  constitute  the  officers :  Pas- 
tor, Henry  Belting;  Supernumerary,  James  Caughy  ; 
Local  Elder,  J.  R.  Van  Kirk ;  Trustees,  A.  Gulick 
(president),  S.  Murgatroyd  (secretary),  David  Carel 
(treasurer),  J.  S.  Doyle,  J.  Cheeseman,  R.  S.  Wark, 
H.  W.  Needham;  Stewards,  J.  R.  Van  Kirk  (record- 
ing steward),  A.  J.  Wark,  George  Rule,  M.  H.  Vick- 
ery,  J.  A-^oorhees,  L.  Cronk,  R.  Timmons,  George 
Buckelew,  S.  S.  Priestley ;  Sunday-school  Superin- 
tendent, W.  S.  Van  Doran  ;    Sexton,  William  Tindell. 

St.  Peter's  (Catholic)  Church. — The  following  in- 
teresting sketch  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Catholi- 
cism in  New  Brunswick  is  taken  from  the  Sacred 
Heart  Union.  It  is  indorsed  by  the  authorities  of  St. 
Peter's  Church  as  being  a  correct  history  of  the 
period  which  it  covers,  and  it  is  certainly  as  interest- 
ing as  anything  we  could  write  were  we  to  attempt  to 
cover  the  same  ground  with  a  newly-prepared  article. 
It  is  therefore  inserted  here  as  a  part  of  the  history 
of  St.  Peter's,  as  well  as  of  the  Catholic  Church  in 
general  in  New  Brunswick  and  some  of  the  neigh- 
boring cities : 

"This  is  an  age  and  country  of  rapid  and  extensive  progress.  And 
yet  how  few  of  us  consider  where  we  stood  a  century  ago,  or  even  lifty 
years  back.  True  as  tliis  is  in  matters  political,  it  is  none  the  less  so  in 
religious  affairs.  How  few  of  us  who  worship  in  large,  commodious, 
coQifortjihle,  and  highly-ornamented  temples,  who  have  priests  at  every 
call,  and  Catholic  schools  in  every  locality,  who  have  Catholic  news- 
papers and  Catholic  magazines,  how  few  of  us  have  any  idea  of  the 
hardship  and  suffering,  the  frequent  humiliations,  the  bitter  trials  un- 
dergone by  the  grandfathers  and  graudmothers  of  the  youth  of  to-day 
in  the  practice  and  transmission  of  that  faith  which  is  to-day  our 
choicest  blessing,  our  glory,  and  our  pride.  Scattered  and  bare  as  are 
the  facts  preserved  to  us,  yet  they  are  defined  enough  in  their  character 
to  make  their  tracings  matter  of  some  interest. 

"  In  the  hope,  therefore,  that  this  paper  may  not  be  uninteresting,  we 
have  collected  such  facts  as  we  could  concerning  early  Catholicity  in 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  and  concerning  him  to  whose  untiring  and  self- 
sacrificing  efforts,  firm  yet  kind  government  and  shrewd  management, 
as  well  as  holy  example,  we  owe,  under  God,  whatever  of  success  we 
now  possess  in  matters  religious.  It  goes  without  saying  that  we  refer 
to  the  good,  saintly,  and  venerable  Father  Rogers,  who  has  braved  the 
heats  and  the  colds  of  half  a  century  of  missionary  life,  and  is  to-day 
clear  in  mind  and  sound  in  body,  ready  at  bis  post  to  exercise  the  duties 
of  the  priesthood. 

**  We  have  been  unable  to  obtain  one  iota  from  the  reverend  gentle- 
man himself  concerning  hia  life  and  labors,  his  modest  retiring  disposi- 
tion making  him  as  reticent  as  a  marble  statue  when  any  information 
47 


of  that  nature  is  aouglit.  But  to  an  intelligent  and  trustworthy  member 
of  the  congregation  our  application  was  more  successful,  and  to  her  we 
are  mainly  indehted  for  the  following  facte. 

"The  first  Catholics  concerning  whose  coming  to  New  Brunswick 
there  is  any  remembrance  was  a  colony  from  the  province  of  Ulster, 
Ireland.  They  did  not  number  fifty  in  all,  and  came  in  two  divisions, 
the  first  about  1814,  the  second  in  1816.  Included  among  these  were 
the  jMcDede,  McConlough,  McGrady,  McShane,  Campbell,  Hagerty, 
Gillen,  Kelly,  DeVinne,  Murphy,  Butler,  and  Ilasson  families.  These 
children,  from  the  Isle  of  Saints,  form  the  original  stock  of  our  present 
Catholic  population.  For  years  they  met  in  one  another's  houses  to 
recite  the  rosary  and  keep  burning  the  light  of  failh.  It  was,  owing  to 
the  scarcity  of  priests  at  the  time,  and  the  difiiculty  of  transit  to  and 
from  New  York,  very  hard  to  obtain  one  even  to  say  mass.  There  are 
the  descendants  of  one  of  these  families  who  proudly  tell  that  from  the 
day  their  grandfather  set  foot  in  New  Bninswick  there  has  not  passed 
one  evening  in  which  the  family  has  not  been  assembled  and  the  beads 
recited.  It  was  to  such  piety  as  this  that  the  original  stock  owed  it  that 
they  kept  the  faith,  kept  it  though  they  were  laughed  and  jeered  at, 
kept  it  though  they  had  no  priest,  and  if  they  wanted  to  see  one  or  to 
hear  mass,  or  to  receive  the  sacraments  they  had  to  go  to  New  York,  a 
three  days' trip,  undertaken  only  at  great  expense  and  difficulty,  but 
which  they  counted  for  almost  nothing  compared  with  the  benefit  and 
comfort  received. 

"Tlie  first  priest  concerning  whom  there  is  any  recollection  who 
visited  New  Brunswick  was  a  Father  McDonough.  He  was  on  his  way 
from  New  York  to  Philadelphia.  As  he  was  coming  up  George  Street 
Mr.  Butler  and  another  Catholic  were  coming  down.  The  pair  espied 
the  stranger  and  surmised  from  his  appearance  that  he  wps  a  priest.  He 
noticed  that  they  were  comparing  notes  concerning  him,  and  stepped 
over  to  interview  them.  'You're  Irishmen?'  was  his  opening.  'We 
are,'  was  the  response.  'And  Catholics?'  he  continued.  'And  you're 
a  priest?'  came  the  quick  half  question,  half  affirmation.  'I  am,'  was 
the  answer,  which  settled  their  surmises,  and  which  opened  fur  him  a 
welcome  such  as  Irishmen  alone  could  give  to  the  first  priest  they  had 
seen  in  their  midst  since  they  had  landed.  The  priest  stayed  at  Butler^s 
that  night,  and  preached  to  the  Catholics  who  gathered  there  that  even- 
ing, and  next  day  started  for  Philadelphia. 

*'  Next  came  the  Rev.  Dr.  Powers,  from  St.  Peter's,  New  York,  about 
1825.  He  said  the  first  mass  ever  celebrated  in  the  town,  iu  a  house  oc- 
cupied by  Terence  Kice,  in  the  upper  end  of  Albany  Street.  The  first 
baptism  administered  in  New  Brunswick  was  to  Sarah  Butler  in  1825. 
Later  on,  when  Rice  moved  to  the  old  '  Bartle  Mansion,' on  Church 
Street,  where  Zimmerman's  store  now  is,  mass  was  said  there  once  a 
month. 

"In  1829,  Father  Schneller  came  in  Dr.  Powers'  place  every  month. 
He  suggested  and  urged  the  building  of  a  church.  The  people  were 
delighted  with  the  idea.  But  the  most  difficult  part  of  the  plan  was  to 
obtain  a  plot.  No  one  would  sell  ground  fora  Catholic  Church.  In  this 
difficulty  Father  Schneller  borrowed  six  hundred  dollars  from  Dr. 
Springer,  of  New  York,  a  Protestant,  intrusted  it  to  Robert  Butler  with 
instructions  to  try  and  buy  from  Dominie  Jacob  Edmunds  the  plat  oppo- 
site the  present  public  school  on  Bayard  Street.  Butler  saw  the  domirne, 
said  he  wanted  the  property  for  himself  and  his  children,  which  was 
true  as  far  as  it  went.  The  sale  was  successfully  consummated  in  the 
name  of  Butler.  But  when  the  transfer  was  made  to  the  priest  there 
ensued  great  excitement  and  objection  on  the  part  of  our  separated 
brethren;  nevertheless  the  church  went  up  all  the  same,  and  it  was 
called  SS.  Peter  and  Paul's. 

"It  was  a  very  plain  structure  of  brick,  with  but  two  windows,  and 
without  a  bit  of  paint  on  any  of  the  woodwork.  This  was  in  1830.  The 
entirepopulationof  the  town  was  six  thousand,  and  the  Catholic  portion 
some  three  hundred  souls.  Father  Schneller  came  once  a  month  and 
said  mass  till  1833.  At  times  Iiis  place  was  filled  by  Father  (afterwards 
Bishop)  O'Reilly,  who  went  down  with  the  steamer  '  President'  some 
years  ago- 

"In  1833,  Father  McArdle  came  and  took  up  his  residence  in  New 
Brunswick,  where  he  remained  until  1839,  when  he  was  transferred  to 
Patersoii.  It  was  in  his  time  that  the  terrible  tornado  which  visited  New 
Brunswick  with  such  sad  results  iu  1835  tore  away  the  rear  end  of  the 
church.  The  open  space  was  closed  up  with  boards,  and  so  remained  till 
1847. 

"For  some  time  the  people  were  again  without  a  resident  priest,  hut 
Father  Medima,  and  after  him  Father  Deniber,  came  every  two  weeks 
and  said  mass  and  ministered  to  the  faithful.  Next  came  Father  McGuire, 
who  took  up  his  residence  with  Mr.  Boylan,  and  remained  until  1845, 
saying  mass  every  Sunday  in  the  little  brick  church. 


734 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


J  at  his  pre 


i  liis- 


**  And  now  in  184o  came  Father  Rogers, 
tory  will  be  interesting. 

"He  was  born  iu  Fermanagh  County,  Ireland,  seventy-seven  years  ago, 
and  was  well  advanced  in  the  classics  when  he  met  Bishop  Dubois  at  his 
consin's  in  Dublin.  The  bishop  gained  the  good  will  of  the  young  student, 
who  soon  after  left  home  and  came  to  New  York  at  his  lordship's  invita- 
tion. Before  leaving  home  he  went  to  the  curate,  between  whom  and 
himself  there  was  a  warm  friendship,  to  seek  his  blessing.  *  God  bless 
you,'  said  the  priest, '  and  may  be  I'll  soon  be  after  you  to  the  big  land.' 
'Little  did  I  then  think,'  said  Father  Rogers,  some  time  since, '  that  I 
would  ever  see  him  again,  much  less  that  I  would  one  day  succeed  him 
here  as  pastor  of  St.  Peter's.'  The  curate  alluded  to  was  the  Rev.  Father 
McArdle,  the  first  resident  pastor. 

"  Having  finished  his  studies  at  Cliarably  and  Montreal,  he  was  ordained 
priest  in  1834  by  the  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Lartigue.  For  some  months, 
on  request  of  Bishop  Lartigue,  he  remained  in  Canada  to  administer  the 
sacraments  to  some  of  the  English-speaking  residents,  but  his  own  su- 
perior, Bishop  Dubois,  recalled  and  appointed  him  to  the  parish  of  Onon- 
daga, N.  T.  As  a  pioneer  in  this  section  of  the  country  much  hard 
work  was  his  share,  but  he  proved  equal  to  the  burden,  and  soon  a  new 
church  was  started,  and  by  his  untiring  energy  and  the  earnest  co-oper- 
ation of  the  people  successfully  completed.  Indeed,  so  great  was  his 
zeal  that  it  nearly  cost  him  his  life,  for,  giving  all  the  time  possible  to 
the  supervision  of  the  new  structure,  he  was  one  day  on  the  ground 
when  a  hod-carrier  was  taken  sick.  The  masons  were  calling  for  mortar, 
and  a  strong  effort  was  being  made  to  have  a  certain  portion  of  the  wall 
finished  at  a  fixed  time.  The  sun  sent  his  fierce  rays  down  upon  the 
workers,  yet  the  priest  seized  the  hod,  and  actually  carried  brick  and 
mortar  till  he  was  sunstruck  himself.  And  it  was  while  he  was  in  bed 
under  this  stroke  that  a  sick  call  came.  He  was  wanted  to  attend  a  man 
fourteen  miles  off.  The  doctor  told  the  priest  he  would  never  reach  the 
place  alive.  Nothing  daunted,  the  young  priest  ordered  a  bed  to  be  put 
in  a  wagon,  saying  to  those  around  hira,  'I  took  the  cross,  and  I'm  not 
going  to  tlirow  it  down  now  that  a  man  needs  my  help  to  get  to  heaven. 
If  I  only  reach  him— and  please  God  I  will— and  administer  the  sacra- 
ments, I'm  not  afraid  to  die  in  harness.'  And  so  he  on  his  bed  was  taken 
to  the  man  in  his  bed.  The  priest  prepared  the  sick  man  and  was  carried 
home.     The  doctor's  prophecy  never  got  a  more  living  denial. 

"  During  the  ten  years  he  remained  in  Onondaga  he  was  often  known 
to  attend  sick  calls  at  a  distance  of  fifty  miles,  and  on  one  occasion  went 
over  one  hundred  miles  in  a  sleigh  to  administer  the  last  sacraments. 
Yet  amidst  all  this  he  found  time  for  teaching  the  children,  as  instanced 
in  the  case  of  the  present  Bishop  Boltes,  who  received  his  first  Latin 
lessons  from  him  in  Onondaga. 

"  In  1844  he  was  sent  to  Jersey  City,  where  he  resided  with  the  late 
Father  Kelly,  and  went  every  Sunday  for  some  time  to  say  mass  in  Ho- 
boken,  in  an  old  barn  opposite  the  site  of  the  present  magnificent  struc- 
ture of  St.  Mary's. 

"In  1845,  Bishop  Hughes  sent  him  to  New  Brunswick,  telling  him 
that  he  would  have  to  soak  the  rod  of  firmness  in  the  oil  of  kindness, 
and  with  it  whip  out  the  serpent  of  the  hateful  old  trustee  system, 
which  there  as  elsewhere  had  caused  much  trouble.  And  the  priest 
was  faithful  to  the  charge;  for  though  the  serpent  raised  its  head  the 
first  Sunday  he  came,  and  occasionally  afterwards,  he  then  and  always 
beat  it  down  stoutly,  but  without  any  noiso  or  commotion. 

"  The  year  before  he  came  the  church  had  been  sold  under  foreclo- 
enre,  and  bought  in  for  the  cnngregation  for  $600.  Meantime  mass  was 
said  in  Mr.  Boylan's  on  Church  Street.  Father  Rogers'  first  step  was  to 
lift  this  debt,  and  this  he  soon  did  by  extraordinary  work,  and  the 
church  was  again  opened. 

"In  1847  he  tore  away  the  boards  that  inclosed  the  back  of  the  church 
and  enlarged  the  edifice.  Next  he  built  a  school  and  had  abont  thirty 
children  in  attendance.  Meanwhile  he  lived  in  a  little  house  beside  the 
church,  and  some  of  the  old  fulks  laughingly  tell  that  when  they  called 
on  the  priest  he  would  invite  them  in  and  bid  them  take  a  chair,  seating 
himself  on  a  trunk  beside  a  little  wooden  table.  Then  allowing  the 
visitor  to  remain  iu  perplexity  for  some  moments,  he  would  suddenly,  as 
if  reminded  of  Ihe  fact,  apologize  for  the  absence  of  chairs  by  saying  in 
a  very  confidential  tone  that  he  had  loaned  them  out  the  night  before 
to  a  wedding  party. 

"Beside  attending  to  New  Brunswick,  ho  also  visited  Perth  Amboy, 
South  Amlwy,  Woodbridge,  Somerville,  Millstone,  Plainfield,and  Prince- 
ton. He  would  have  mass  at  8  o'clock  in  New  Brunswick  on  one  Sun- 
day, and  then  go  in  a  carriage  to  one  of  the  above-mentioned  places  and 
Bay  another  muss.  On  the  succeeding  week  he  would  go  on  Saturday 
afternoon  to  one  of  these  places,  hear  confessions,  and  say  early  mass  on 
Sunday.    Hard  work  this,  yet  he  never  complained  of  anything  save  the 


I  mosquitoes  that  would  meet  him  on  the  way  to  Amboy,  and  escort  him 
'  there  and  back  with  musical  and  insinuating  assiduity,  never  leaving 
I  him,  not  even  while  he  was  on  the  altar.  He  has  built  churches  in  South 
I  Amboy,  Plainfield,  and  Princeton,  and  added  something  to  the  one 
!  already  in  Perth  Amboy.  For  years  these  places  were  the  subjects  of  his 
j   unremitting  care. 

]       "  Id  1854  he  had  the  Bayard  Street  church  enlarged  again,  and  put  in  a 
j    gallery  and  an  organ.     A  Miss  Fanny  Ward  was  the  first  organist,  and 
I    the  present  Miss  Ann  Nugent,  whose  hair  is  now  snowy  white,  and  whose 
i    voice  is  not  as  good  as  it  used  to  be,  was  one  of  the  first  singers.    There 
are  those  living  who  yet  speak  in  high  terms  of  Ann's  touching  rendi- 
tion  of  the  hymn, '  Mother  Sweet.' 
"The  building  of  the  railroad  bridge  in  1835,  the  erection  of  the  old 
I   saw-mill  by  Mr.  Neilson,  the  starting  of  the  rubber-factory  by  Mr. 
Horace  Day  shortly  after,   and  the  other  improvements  undertaken 
brought  an  increase  of  population,  principally  Irish  Catholics,  so  that 
with  those  already  here  and  those  arriving  it  became  necessary  to  build 
a  larger  church  to  accommodate  them.    In  1858  the  site  where  the  present 
St.  Peter's  Church  now  stands  was  purchased  and  the  work  started.    The 
building  and  completion  of  the  church,  which  is  now  one  of  the  largest 
and  most  ornate  as  well  as  desirably  located  in  the  State,  stands  a  worthy 
monument  to  honor  the  memory  of  this  veteran  priest,  and  a  credit  to 
the  parish  over  which  he  has  so   long  and  faithfully  presided.     The 
coming  of  Father  McCosker,  now  in  Rahway,  the  work  of  Father  Dug- 
gan  and  Father  Dowues,  the  large  and   commodious  school  on  George 
Street,  with  eight  hundred  children,  under  the  guidance  of  seven  devoted 
Sisters  of  Chairty  and  two  lay  teachers,  from  whose  lips  the  little  ones 
learn  the  secret  of  true  wisdom,  the  establishment  of  societies  for  young 
and  old  to  uuite  and  -emulate  efforts  in  the  practice  of  virtue,  the  un- 
tiring and  eminently  successful  efibrts  of  the  gifted  Father  O'Grady  are 
mattors  of  present  history. 

"  Father  Rogers  still  lives,  as  hale  and  full  of  vigor  as  most  men  at 
half  his  age,  and  to  mark  his  ruddy  cheek  and  elastic  step  as  he  comes 
down  every  morning  to  say  mass  one  would  never  suppose  they  belonged 
to  one  who  probably  labored  with  greater  and  more  continuous  zeal  than 
any  other  leader  of  the  good  cause  in  New  Jersey,  and  that  against  obsta- 
cles almost  inconceivable.  And  yet  a  more  retiring,  unostentatious  person 
it  would  be  difficult  to  find.  Every  one  of  his  people  remember  some  in- 
teresting anecdote  about  which  his  characteristic  wit  and  humor,  or  his 
gentleness,  benevolence,  and  sanctity  are  conspicuous.  May  he  live  not 
only  to  see  his  golden  jubilee  in  1884,  but  many  years  after,  as  our  glory 
and  our.pride  iu  the  future  as  he  has  been  iu  the  past!" 

Mount  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  (Colored) 
Church  i-s  one  of  the  oldest  organizations  among  the 
colored  people  in  this  city,  being  for  many  years 
(1827)  holding  services  in  different  places  until  their 
church  was  built,  situated  in  Division  Street.  It  is 
with  considerable  difficulty  to  learn  of  the  many 
pastors  who  have  served  this  people.  The  Rev. 
Thomas  Cuff  took  charge  iu  1879,  and  found  a  small 
membershij),  less  than  one  hundred.  The  congrega- 
tions are  good,  and  the  church  accommodates  about 
three  hundred  and  fifty.  They  have  quite  a  large 
Sabbath-school ;  Josiah  Heusou,  superintendent. 

St.  James'  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— This 
church  was  organized  from  the  First  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  about  the  year  1860.  Their  beautiful 
Gothic  brick  church,  with  steeple  about  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  feet  in  height,  cost  $75,000 ;  located 
on  the  corner  of  Bayard  and  Schuyler  Streets  (now 
called  St.  James'  Place);  was  dedicated  Nov.  11, 
1866. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  pastors:  Revs,  John  E. 
Cookman,  D.D.,  1860-61 ;  Frank  B.  Rose,  1862-63  ; 
James  R.  Bryan,  1864-65;  R.  M.  Strattan,  D.D., 
1866-67;  Robert  Laird  Collier,  D.D.,  1868-69;  John 
McClintock,  D.D.,  LL,D.;  Otis  H.  Tiffany,  D.D. ; 
William  V.  Kelly,  A.M.;  G.  K.  Morris,  D.D.;  Ed- 


CITY  OF  NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


735 


ward  Wilson,  D.D.,  1877-78 ;  John  E.  Adams,  1879- 
80  ;  John  E.  Price,  A.M.,  1880-82.  Trustees,  James 
Bishop,  Garret  Conover,  Joseph  Fisher,  Jr.,  William 
E.  Kelley,  J.  H.  Mattison,  Christopher  Meyer,  R.  G. 
Miller,  G.  W.  Davies,  J.  G.  Palmer.  Stewards,  J.  O. 
Bedford,  J.  W.  Fielder,  J.  J.  Holland,  William  H. 
Mailler,  H.  S.  Manning,  G.  B.  Munn,  G.  B.  Merri- 
man,  W.  S.  Pettit,  I.  J.  Schock.  Financial  Secretary, 
Joseph  Fisher,  Jr.  Treasurer,  William  E.  Kelley. 
Membership,  125;  sittings,  450. 

St.  John's  Evangelist  Episcopal. — This  church 
was  organized  in  1860.  Their  building  is  brick,  situate 
on  corner  of  George  Street  near  Commercial  Avenue, 
valued  at  $5000 ;  accommodations,  300.  The  mem- 
bership is  one  hundred  and  twenty.  The  first  rector 
of  this  parish  was  Eev.  E.  B.  Boggs,  who  remained 
for  some  four  years,  and  whose  labors  in  this  new 
church  were  successful.  The  present  rector,  who  came 
in  1869,  is  the  Rev.  Charles  E.  Phelps.  Senior  War- 
den, J.  S.  Carpender ;  Junior  Warden,  W.  G.  Par- 
sons; Vestrymen,  J.  N.  Carpender,  Gen.  J.  B.  Mcin- 
tosh, W.  Carpender,  J.  Belcher,  L.  T.  Ives,  W.  Ree. 
Swift,  C.  D.  Deshler,  E.  B.  Young,  M.D.,  and  C.  E.  D. 
Phelps. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Emmanuel  (German)  was 
organized  from  some  of  the  members  withdrawing 
from  St.  John's  German  Reformed.  Their  church 
situated  on  corner  of  New  and  Kirkpatrick  Streets, 
built  1878.  Eev.  Mr.  Berkemeyer  was  first  pastor, 
1877.  The  Rev.  John  A.  Dewald  became  their  pastor 
in  1878.  Their  membership  is  about  150 ;  sittings, 
500. 

St.  John  German  Reformed. — This  organization, 
with  sixty  members,  elected  their  trustees  in  1861. 
They  have  the  same  confession  of  faith  as  the  Re- 
formed Church  in  this  city.  Their  building  is  frame, 
valued  at  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

Their  first  pastor,  in  1861-64,  was  Rev.  A.  Hoching. 
After  he  left  the  Rev.  I.  M.  Steiner  came  and  stayed 
one  year.  Their  third  pastor,  Rev.  Oscar  Lohr,  came 
in  1865  and  stayed  but  a  few  months.  Their  present 
pastor.  Rev.  Charles  Banks,  was  installed  in  1868. 
Their  present  membership  is  two  hundred  and  sev- 
enty. Their  church,  situated  on  corner  of  Albany 
and  George  Streets,  has  accommodations  for  five 
hundred. 

Third  Reformed  (German)  Church.— Organized 
in  1851.  Their  building  is  small,  built  in  1857, 
frame,  situated  in  Guldin  Street.  The  Rev.  Prof 
Carl  Meyer,  D.D.,  took  charge  in  1862.  Their  mem- 
bership is  small,  numbering  not  over  thirty.  Sittings, 
two  hundred.  Their  pastor,  Dr.  Meyer,  is  one  of  the 
professors  in  Rutgers  Theological  College. 

Union  African  Methodist  (Colored)  Church. — 
This  has  been  but  lately  organized,  in  1879,  and  has 
but  a  small  membership,  about  thirty-nine.  Their 
pastor.  Rev.  E.  H.  Chippey,  took  charge  in  1880, 
with  the  prospect  of  seeing  an  increased  attendance 
upon  the  worship  of  this  young  society.     There  is  a 


large  colored  population  residents  of  this  city  who 
attend  no  church. 

St.  John  the  Baptist  German  Roman  Catholic. — 
This  church  was  organized  in  the  year  1865.  It  is 
situated  in  Neilson  Street,  near  Cannon,  and  accom- 
modates about  four  hundred  persons.  The  Rev. 
Henri  T.  Martens  is  the  pastor,  and  took  the  charge 
in  1874,  and  also  conducts  the  Sunday-school. 

Colored  Baptist  Church.— In  1876  a  number  of 
colored  people  belonging  to  the  First  Church  were 
organized  by  themselves.  They  worship  in  a  brick 
building  built  for  them  by  tlie  First  Church.  They 
are  now  known  as  the  Ebenezer  Colored  Baptist 
Church,  situate  in  Hale  Street  near  Lee  Avenue. 
They  have  been  supplied  with  regular  services,  and 
now  (1881)  have  a  membership  of  about  eighty.  The 
Rev.  Archie  G.  Young  took  charge  in  1880.  The 
church  accommodations,  one  hundred.  Their  Sun- 
day-school superintendent,  Hannibal  Brown. 

Second  Baptist  Church,— The  subject  of  church 
extension  had  been  agitated,  but  h:id  been  laid  aside 
for  the  time.  But  a  large  number  of  the  member- 
ship of  the  First  Church  desirous  of  having  a  new 
organization,  March  16,  1872,  a  large  plot  of  land 
was  generously  given  by  Deacon  Van  Wickle.  A 
neat  church  was  built  thereon,  on  corner  of  Remsen 
Avenue  and  Redmond  Street.  Church  accommoda- 
tions, five  hundred.  A  Sunday-school  w.as  established. 
This  was  the  first  start  of  the  Remsen  Avenue  Baptist 
Church  ;  now  has  nearly  three  hundred  and  fifty  com- 
municants. The  Rev.  A.  E.  Waffle,  their  pastor,  has 
been  zealous  in  all  its  enterprisas.  It  now  has  a  large 
Sabbath-school,  an  efficient  band  of  workers,  and  has 
greatly  helped  the  cause  of  evangelical  religion  in 
that  part  of  the  city.  Frequent  gracious  visits  of  the 
spirit  in  revivals  have  gladdened  all  hearts.  John 
T.  Morgan  was  the  first  deacon,  1872,  and  is  also  the 
superintendent  of  Sabbath-school. 

Rev.  W.  H.  Marsh,  pastor,  1881. 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Emmanuel  (German).— 
This  church  was  organized  in  the  year  1878,  when 
Rev.  John  A.  Dewald  became  their  pastor.  Their 
church,  which  will  accommodate  some  five  hundred, 
is  situated  on  the  corner  of  New  and  Kirkpatrick 
Streets.  The  president  of  the  board  of  trustees  is 
Mr.  William  Lins.  This  church,  with  a  small  mem- 
bership and  but  five  years  old,  is  destined  to  be  within 
a  few  years  one  of  the  largest  German-speaking 
churches  in  the  State.  This  society  is  growing,  and 
the  pastor  has  everything  to  encourage  him  in  his 
efforts  in  building  up  this  congregation. 

Jewish  Sjmagogue.— There  are  a  few  fiimilies 
resident  in  this  city,  but  feeling  an  interest  in  having 
a  synagogue  organized  in  New  Brunswick,  and  feeling 
that  the  distance  and  expense  to  New  York  on  their 
Sunday  (Saturday)  was  too  much,  they  in  the  year 
1861  organized  a  congregation  in  a  hall  Nos.  9  and 
11  Peace  Street,  named  the  congregation  of  "  Anshe 
Emett,"  "  Man  of  Truth."    Reader,  Rev.  Isaac  Shick- 


736 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


len;  President,  William  B.  Plechner;  Secretary,  L. 
Opper ;  and  Treasurer,  Aaron  Wolfson. 

Capt.  Eidd. — It  is  stated  that  at  an  early  day  an  or- 
ganized attempt  will  be  made  to  dig  out  a  mysterious  ' 
wreck  recently  discovered  imbedded  in  the  mud  on  | 
the  shores  leading  into  the  Raritan  River,  and  it  is  1 
now  supposed  to  have  been  one  of  the  privateers  of 
Capt.  Kidd,  and  the  idea  has  been  lately  strengthened 
by  the  finding  in  the  vicinity  of  several  pieces  of  sil- 
ver and  copper  coins  and  some  strange-looking  tools, 
evidently  fashioned  hundreds  of  years  ago.     It  was 
in  1695  that  adventurous  privateers  ripened  into  bold  i 
and  merciless  buccaneers  and  plunged  right  and  left,  j 
regardless  of  the  flag,  which  was  supposed  to  be  a  guar- 
antee of  protection.  The  American  coast  swarmed  with 
pirates.     No  vessel  was  safe  upon  the  waters,  and  the  j 
ocean  commerce  was  almost  destroyed.  New  York  mer- 
chant vessels  were  rifled  and  burned  within  sight  of  her  , 
shores,  and  the  pirates  even  entered  her  harbors  and 
seized  her  ships  as  they  lay  at  anchor.     A  vessel  was 
fitted  out  to  secure  if  possible ;  "  subscriptions  were 
raised  to  stimulate  the  capture  of  this  noted  pirate, 
Capt.  Kidd.    Ballamont  was  Governor  at  this  time,  and 
his  maxim  was  no  quarter  for  jjirates,"  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  he  would  be  found  at  anchor  in  the  Rari- 
tan Bay,  in  some  of  its  inlets,  "  as  this  was  one  of  his 
rendezvous."    The  faith  has  descended  to  the  present 
day,  and  the  mention  of  "  Kidd's  Treasure"  still  sug- 
gests to  credulous  minds  visions  of  untold   wealth 
lying  almost  at  their  doors,  awaiting  only  the  vigorous 
application  of  the  pick  and  shovel. 

The  result  of  Kidd's  enterprise  caused  great  ex- 
citement and  indignation  both  in  America  and  Eng- 
land, and  Ballamont,  Livingston,  and  even  the  king 
were  openly  accused  of  having  secretly  connived  at 
it  and  shared  in  the  spoils.  A  motion  was  made  in 
the  House  of  Commons  that  all  who  had  been  in- 
terested in  the  adventure  should  be  deprived  of  their 
official  positions,  and  this  motion  being  lost  by  a  large 
majority,  the  noblemen  were  impeached,  and  forced 
to  undergo  the  form  of  a  trial  for  their  lives ;  but 
these  charges  against  them  could  not  be  sustained, 
and  all  the  accused  were  honorably  discharged.  The 
spot  selected  by  Kidd  for  the  burial  of  his  treasures 
was  along  the  Jersey  shore,  and  the  opinion  is  that 
vast  treasures  are  buried  near  this  city  as  well.  The 
probably  correct  solution  is  that  entertained  in  the 
early  days,  that  Kidd's  wife  and  daughter  (he  mar- 
ried a  widow  lady  by  name  of  Mrs.  Sarah  Oort,  in 
New  York  City)  knew  of  the  location  of  the  treasure, 
and  that  they  secured  the  greater  portion  of  it. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


8TAATS    CLARK. 
His  father,  John  Clark,  was  born  Feb.  29,  1768,  at 
Flemington,  N.  J.,  was  a  blacksmith,  and  while  a 
young   man   settled   in   New    Brunswick,   where   he 


worked  at  his  trade  for  a  time,  and  about  1800  es- 
tablished the  iron-store  on  Peace  Street  in  New 
Brunswick,  which  he  carried  on  until  his  death, 
Nov.  14,  1815.  His  wife,  Ellen  Schuyler,  belonged 
to  the  old  Schuyler  stock,  who  were  among  the  first 
Holland  settlers  in  New  York  and  on  the  Hudson, 
and  was  born  Feb.  20,  1776,  married  Feb.  12,  1795, 
was  a  devoted  member  of  the  Reformed  Dutch 
Church,  and  died  Dec.  27,  1844.  The  children  of 
this  union  were  Catharine,  died  young;  Abraham 
S.,  born  November,  1797,  was  a  merchant  in  New 
Brunswick,  and  died  Sept.  5,  1880 ;  John,  born  April 
20,  1800,  succeeded  his  father  in  the  iron  business, 
which  he  carried  on  until  1863,  then  retired,  and  died 
in  March,  1874 ;  James,  born  Aug.  8,  1802,  studied 
in  New  York  for  a  physician,  settled  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, where  he  gave  his  attention  mostly  to  business 
pursuits  instead  of  his  profession,  and  died  Aug.  30, 
1850;  George,  died  young;  George  (2d),  born  May 
22,  1807,  was  a  merchant  in  New  Brunswick  during 
his  active  business  life ;  Staats,  born  Nov.  4,  1809, 
subject  of  this  sketch ;  Ira  Condit,  born  April  2, 
1812,  was  a  lumber  merchant  in  New  Brunswick,  and 
died  May  22,  1865;  and  David,  born  Dec.  4,  1814, 
partner  with  his  brother  John  in  the  iron  trade,  died 
October,  1863. 

Staats  Clark,  in  common  with  his  brothers,  inher- 
ited from  his  father  habits  of  industry,  economy,  and 
a  capacity  for  business,  and  probably  no  family  has 
ever  lived  in  New  Brunswick  whose  members  have 
so  unanimously  turned  their  attention  to  mercantile 
pursuits  as  that  of  the  Clarks,  and  the  iron  business 
founded  by  the  father  about  the  beginning  of  the 
century  was  continued  at  the  same  place  by  his  sons 
successively  and  grandson  after  his  decease  until 
1881,  a  period  of  eighty-one  years,  and  was  in  that 
year  sold  out  to  Philip  Weigle.  At  the  age  of  fifteen 
Staats  Clark  began  a  business  life  for  himself,  and  for 
several  years  was  a  clerk  in  the  dry-goods  house  of 
Beekman  &  Johnson,  New  York.  Returning  to  his 
native  city,  he  became  a  partner  with  James  Van 
Nuys  in  the  dry -goods  trade  on  Church  Street,  where 
he  remained  until  the  death  of  his  brother  James, 
and  then  became  a  partner  with  his  brother  Ira 
Condit  in  the  lumber  trade.  Upon  the  death  of 
David,  in  1863,  he  bought  out  the  iron  business, 
which  had  been  carried  on  by  his  brothers,  David 
and  Ira  Condit,  and  with  his  son  John  S.  as  a  partner 
continued  the  business  until  1874,  when  he  retired 
from  business,  and  left  the  iron  business  with  his  son 
John  S.,  who,  as  before  stated,  sold  it  in  1881.  Thus, 
for  a  period  of  a  half-century,  Mr.  Clark  was  known 
in  the  business  circles  of  the  city,  and  always  known 
as  a  man  of  strict  integrity  in  all  his  business  rela- 
tions. He  has  never  sought  political  place  and  never 
held  office,  but  quietly  and  unostentatiously  pursued 
the  even  tenor  of  his  way  as  -a  business  man.  For 
several  years  he  was  a  director  in  the  Novelty  Rubber 
Company  of  New  Brunswick.    In  July,  1844,  he  mar- 


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CITY   OF   NEW  BRUNSWICK. 


737 


ried  Sarah,  daughter  of  Josiah  Ford,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, who  died  May  7,  1852,  aged  thirty-seveu  years, 
leaving  three  children, — Ellen,  born  in  October,  1845, 
died  at  the  age  of  fourteen ;  Margaret  is  the  wife  of 
Henry  De  Mott,  of  Minneapolis ;  and  John  S.  Clark, 
only  son,  before  alluded  to  in  this  sketch. 


GEORGE    B.   MUNN. 

George  B.  Munn,  master-mechanic  and  inventor,  of 
New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  was  born  at  West  Stockbridge, 
Berkshire  Co.,  Mass.,  July  16,  1831. 

His  paternal  grandfather,  Nathaniel,  was  an  inge- 
nious blacksmith  of  that  county,  and  his  ancestors 
on  both  his  father  and  mother's  side  were  among  the 
early  settlers  of  New  England.  His  father,  James, 
was  a  carriage  manufacturer,  and  carried  on  his  busi- 
ness in  Massachusetts,  Roxbury,  N.  Y.,  and  removed 
during  the  latter  part  of  his  life  to  Shawano,  Wis., 
where  he  died  in  1868,  aged  about  seventy-five  years. 
His  mother,  Elvira  Bidwell,  died  in  1844,  aged  about 
thirty  years.  One  brother.  Rev.  Anson  F.  Munn,  was 
graduated  at  Rutgers  College  in  1852,  at  the  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  in 
1856,  was  licensed  by  the  Classis  of  New  Brunswick, 
and  installed  pastor  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  East 
New  York,  L.  I.,  where  he  preached  for  twelve  years. 
In  1867  he  accepted  an  invitation  to  the  pastorate  of 
the  Reformed  Church  at  Coxsackie,  N.  Y.,  where  he 
labored  until  his  decease  in  1878,  being  at  that  time  i 
nearly  fifty  years  of  age.  Another  brother,  Guy  P. 
Munn,  was  a  farmer  and  hat  manufacturer  of  Pratts- 
ville,  N.  Y.,  where  he  died. 

George  B.  Munn  received  little  book  knowledge 
during  his  boyhood,  and  on  account  of  the  limited 
means  of  his  parents,  he  early  in  life  learned  that  he 
must  care  for  himself.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  we 
find  him  making  miniature  saw-mills,  windmills,  and 
boxes,  showing  a  genius  and  inventive  talent,  the  de- 
velopment of  which,  after  a  quarter  of  a  century,  has 
given  him  an  enviable  place  among  the  leading  ma- 
chinists and  inventive  geniuses  of  this  country.  At 
the  age  of  sixteen,  in  1847.  he  apprenticed  himself  to 
Harlow  Taylor,  of  Prattsville,  N.  Y.,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  his  machine-works  and  foundry  for  three 
years,  and  there  he  had  charge  of  the  works  during 
his  fourth  year.  In  1851,  having  made  himself  a 
trunk,  he  set  out  for  Massachusetts,  but  stopped  on 
his  way  at  Philmont,  N.  Y.,  where  he  engaged  with 
Whiting  &  Marshall,  manufacturers  of  woolen  ma- 
chinery. After  one  year  spent  there,  he  was  one  year 
with  Mackay  &  Hoadley,  engine- builders,  of  Pittsfield, 
Mass.  Young  Munn's  reputation  may  be  said  to  have 
now  been  fully  established,  and  his  services  began  to 
be  sought  for  to  fill  important  and  trustworthy  places. 
He  set  up  woolen  machinery  for  Whiting  &  Marshall 
for  a  year,  aided  Taylor  &  Whiting,  of  Winsted, 
Conn.,  one  year  in  perfecting  machinery  for  the  man- 
ufacture and  setting  of  pins,  and  after  a  time  spent 


with  a  Mr.  Frink,  the  inventor,  he  went  to  Norfolk 
by  request,  and  for  one  year  and  a  half  was  closeted 
with  E.  E.  Kilbourn  in  working  up  an  invention  in 
knitting  machinery,  for  the  manufacture  of  full-fash- 
ioned goods.  At  this  time  such  work  was  only  done 
by  hand,  and  mostly  in  England.  The  result  of  their 
united  labors  was  "  Kilbourn's  Patent  Automatic 
Knitting-machine,"  which  with  its  improvements  has 
been  largely  controlled  since  by  the  "  Norfolk  Hosiery 
Company"  and  the  "  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick 
Hosiery  Company."  Mr.  Munn  then  manufactured 
knitting  machinery  for  the  Norfolk  Hosiery  Com- 
pany until  some  time  after  the  war  broke  out,  and  for 
two  years  thereafter  he  was  engaged  with  Welsh, 
Brown  &  Co.  in  the  manufacture  of  guns  for  the  war. 

In  1867  he  came  to  New  Brunswick,  and  took 
charge  of  the  Norfolk  and  New  Brunswick  Hosiery 
Company's  machinery  department,  which  he  superin- 
tended until  1869,  when  he  formed  a  partnership 
with  his  old  fellow-laborer,  E.  E.  Kilbourn,  under 
the  firm-name  of  G.  B.  Munn  &  Co.  One  year  there- 
after, Messrs.  Johnson  Letson,  L.  P.  Porter,  Jonathan 
Earle,  and  E.  E.  Kilbourn  joined  with  him  in  the 
formation  of  the  "  New  Brunswick  Machine  Com- 
pany," which  continued  operations  for  two  years, 
being  succeeded  by  Mr.  Munn  alone,  who  changed 
the  name  to  the  "  Empire  Machine- Works,"  and  has 
continued  sole  owner  and  proprietor  of  them  since. 

Mr.  Munn's  specialty  is  the  manufacture  of  knit- 
ting machinery,  yet  he  manufactures  steam-engines, 
seaming-machines,  fine  machinery  of  all  kinds,  and 
constructs  models  for  patents,  works  up  patent-rights 
from  inventors'  crude  ideas,  etc.  The  reputation 
of  the  Empire  Machine- Works  stands  second  to  none 
in  the  United  States,  and  here  have  been  manufac- 
tured hundreds  of  knitting-machines  for  the  local 
industry  and  for  shipment  to  all  parts.  He  is  the 
only  builder  of  these  knitting-machines,  and  owns  all 
the  patterns. 

Mr.  Munn  is  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  an  enthu- 
siast in  his  profession,  and  always  acts  as  his  own  super- 
intendent, foreman,  and  draughtsman,  thus  giving  the 
benefit  of  his  life's  work,  by  advice  and  direction,  to 
every  piece  of  machinery  that  is  manufactured  at  his 
works.  His  identification  with  all  local  enterprises  of  a 
worthy  nature,  both  by  encouragement  morally  and  as 
a  contributor,  has  made  him  favorably  known  in  New 
Brunswick.  He  became  a  member  of  the  Masonic 
fraternity  in  1862,  and  since  his  residence  here  he  has 
been  identified  as  a  member  of  Union  Lodge,  No.  19, 
of  Scott  Chapter,  No.  4,  is  officially  connected  with 
the  St.  James  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  is 
freeholder  from  the  Fifth  Ward. 

Mr.  Munn  has  taken  a  somewhat  active  part  in 
political  matters,  and  cast  his  first  vote  in  1856  with 
the  Republican  party.  He  was  twice  a  delegate  to 
State  conventions  in  which  Governor  Buckingham 
was  nominated  each  time,  and  assistant  secretary  of 
one.     He  was  elected  freeholder  of  the  Fifth  Ward 


•738 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  the  city  in  1881,  and  re-elected  in  1882.  Upon 
the  breaking  out  of  tlie  rebellion,  he  assisted  in  the 
organization  of  companies,  and  was  oflered  a  com- 
mission by  Governor  Buckingham,  but  declined  in 
favor  of  the  more  useful  service  of  manufacturing 
guns  for  the  government.  He  has  been  a  member  of 
the  National  Guard  of  New  Jersey  for  ten  years,  has 
been  commissioned  four  times  by  the  Governors  of  the 
State,  and  is  in  1882  judge-advocate  of  the  Third 
Regiment,  N.  G.  N.  J. 

He  has  been  twice  married,,  his  present  wife  being 
S.  Louise,  daughter  of  John  Anderson,  of  Dayton, 
Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J. 


GARRET  CONOVER. 
Garret  Gonover,  clothing  merchant  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  was  born  at  Hightstown,  Mercer  Co., 
N.  J.,  Feb.  3,  1817.  The  name  was  originally  spelled 
"Covenhooven"'  in  Holland,  and  the  progenitor  of  the 
family  in  America  was  Wolfert  Gerretson  Von  Coven- 
hoven,  who,  with  his  three  sons,  Jacob  (died  in  1670), 
Gerret  (born  1610,  died  1645),  and  Peter,  came  from 
near  Amersfoort,  Holland,  in  1630,  and  settled  on 
Long  Island.  Gerret  is  the  paternal  ancestor  of  our 
subject,  married  Cornelia  Lambertson  Cool,  and 
reared  two  sons,  William  Gerret  and  John,  and  two 
daughters,  Nellie  and  Maritjie.  William  Gerret  mar- 
jied  Altie  Brinckerhoff,  and  had  one  son,  Gerret,  who 
married  Janett  Montfoort,  who  bore  him  twelve  chil- 
dren, of  whom  John  married  Coba  Vanderveer  and 
removed  to  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  where  they  reared 
a  family  of  eight  children,  of  whom  William,  the 
eldest  son,  was  great-grandfather  of  our  subject,  and 
was  born  Oct.  25, 1705.  He  married  Catherine  Lane, 
born  May  16,  1709,  who  bore  him  nine  sons  and  two 
daughters,  of  whom  Peter  was  grandfather  of  our  sub- 
ject, and  was  born  Oct.  18, 1743.  liis  wife  was  Phebe 
Dey,  born  Nov.  18,  1748,  who  bore  him  six  sous  and 
four  daughters.  Of  these  children,  John  P.  Conover 
-was  the  father  of  Garret,  was  born  Oct.  3,  1778, 
and  died  in  the  winter  of  1832.  His  wife  was  Lydia 
Duncan,  a  native  of  Cranbury,  born  in  March,  1777, 
and  died  Aug.  1,  1851.  Their  children  were  Ste- 
phen, born  April  17,  1801,  was  a  school-teacher, 
surveyor,  and  farmer,  and  died  in  1836  ;  Peter,  born 
Jan.  14,  1803,  was  a  farmer  in  Hunterdon  County, 
and  died  about  1854;  John  D.,  born  Aug.  5,  1804,  re- 
sided in  New  Brunswick,  was  a  shoe  manufacturer, 
and  died  about  1850;  David,  born  March  25,  1805, 
was  a  cabinet-maker  at  Hightstown,  where  he  died 
April  8,  1870;  Margaret,  born  Dec.  5,  1807,  is  the 
wife  of  David  Hill,  of  Mercer  County  ;  Catherine, 
born  Feb.  1,  1810,  wife  of  Peter  Selover,  of  South 
Amboy ;  Lette,  born  Dec.  3,  1812,  wife  of  Richard  j 


White,  and  resides  at  Robbinsville,  N.  J.;  Thomas 
D.,  born  Nov.  12,  1813,  died  in  1879;  Garret,  subject 
of  this  sketch ;  Phebe,  born  Jan.  29,  1819,  wife  of 
Peter  V.  Voorhees,  both  deceased;  George  S.,  born 
Dec.  20,  1821,  a  merchant  in  Brooklyn,  L.  I. ;  Joseph 
D.,  born  Oct.  6,  1823,  was  a  farmer,  and  resided  near 
Bordentown,  where  he  died. 

Garret  Conover  spent  his  early  boj'hood  at  home. 
At  the  age  of  twelve  he  came  to  New  Brunswick,  and 
was  apprenticed  to  learn  the  tailor's  trade  with  Wil- 
liam Owen,  and  at  that  youthful  age  started  out  in 
life  for  himself,  and  since  his  beginning  in  1829  he 
has  been  continuously  identified  with  the  clothing 
trade  in  New  Brunswick.  He  came  to  New  Bruns- 
wick without  money,  but  he  learned  that  industry 
and  economy  form  the  basis  of  wealth  and  success. 
He  finished  learning  his  trade  with  John  Stryker, 
who  left  the  place  in  1835. 

In  1836,  Mr.  Conover  resolved  to  start  business  for 
himself  as  a  merchant  tailor,  and  accordingly  estab- 
lished himself  on  Commerce  Square,  where,  after  he 
had  been  in  business  about  one  year,  his  goods  were 
destroyed  by  fire,  leaving  him  in  debt.  The  confi- 
dence of  New  York  merchants  from  whom  he  pur- 
chased his  goods  in  his  integrity  and  honesty  of  pur- 
pose enabled  him  at  once  to  start  again,  and  from 
that  time  liis  trade  rapidly  increased  until  in  1851  he 
added  to  his  business  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
clothing,  which  he  has  carried  on  successfully  since. 
He  purchased  his  property  for  a  residence  on  Albany 
Street  in  1845,  and  kept  store  near  by  on  the  same 
street,  and  in  1851  purchased  property  and  established 
his  business  at  33  Church  Street,  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  block,  where  he  continues  to  do  business  in 
1882.  For  several  years  Mr.  Conover  has  dealt  quite 
largely  in  real  estate,  and  through  his  business  owns 
a  fine  estate  of  desirable  property  in  the  city.  He 
has  served  on  the  board  of  chosen  freeholders  of 
Middlesex  County,  and  was  elected  mayor  of  New 
Brunswick  on  the  Democratic  ticket,  and  served  in 
that  capacity  in  1874  and  1875.  He  has  been  identi- 
fied with  several  local  enterprises  in  the  city,  and 
served  for  ten  years  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, and  for  several  years  as  president  of  the 
building  and  loan  association.  He  is  a  member  of  St. 
James'  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  president  of 
its  board  of  trustees.  He  married  in  1838  Ann  Louisa 
Wetsel.  Their  children  are  Caroline,  deceased ; 
Joanna,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty-six ;  George,  died 
at  the  age  of  twenty-four;  Wesley  Hudson,  Charles, 
and  Garret,  in  business  with  their  father;  Emma, 
deceased  ;  Howard  William,  died  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  ;  and  Katie.  Four  generations  of  Mr.  Conover's 
ancestors  resided  near  Hightstown,  where  he  wa.s  born, 
and  were  farmers. 


NORTH  BRUNSWICK. 


739 


CHAPTER   XCYIII. 

NORTH    BRUNSWICK.i  ] 

Situation  and  Boundaries,  etc.— As  originally  sur- 
veyed, North  Brunswick  contained  an  area  of  23,000 
acres,  of  which  5000  were  unimproved.     By  the  or-  [ 
ganization,  partially  from  its  territory,  of  the  town- 
ship of  East  Brunswick  and  the  separation  of  New  i 
Brunswick  from  it,  the  former  extent  of  the  township  ' 
was  reduced  to  8256  acres,  and  most  of  the  formerly 
unimproved   land  has  been  put   under   cultivation. 
North  Brunswick  is  bounded  north  by  New  Bruns- 
wick, east  by  East  Brunswick,  south  by  South  Bruns- 
wick,  and   west    by   Franklin    township,   Somerset 
County. 

The  population  of  North  Brunswick,  according  to 
the  last  census,  was  1251. 

In  1880  the  assessed  value  of  real  estate  was  $496,380 ; 
amount  of  deduction  therefrom,  mortgages,  S19,850. 
The  value  of  personal  property  was  $120,170  ;  amount 
of  deduction  therefrom,  notes,  81825.  The  total  amount 
of  real  and  personal  property  taxed,  including  mort- 
gages and  notes,  was  $638,257.  The  rate  of  tax  for 
State  purposes  was  $2  per  $100  ;  the  rate  of  tax  for 
county  purposes  was  $6.10  per  $1000 ;  and  the  rates 
of  tax  for  local  purposes  was  as  follows:  for  incidental 
expenses,  S0.60  per  $1000 ;  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
poor,  $1.60  per  $1000 ;  for  road  construction  and  re- 
pairs, 81.10  per  $1000.  The  whole  amouut  of  tax 
ordered  to  be  raised,  including  a  special  school  tax,  a 
poll  tax,  and  a  tax  on  dogs,  was  87833.73.  The  ex- 
penditures during  the  previous  fiscal  year  amounted 
to  $400  for  incidental  expenses,  .f  1000  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  the  poor,  and  $700  for  road  construction  and 
repairs. 

Physical  Features.— The  surface  of  this  township 
is  level.  The  soil  is  red  shale  and  sandy  loam,  and 
much  of  it  is  under  a  high  state  of  cultivation  ;  the 
drainage  being  provided  by  Lawrence's  Brook  on  the 
east,  One-Mile  Run  on  the  west,  and  in  the  southern 
part  and  centrally  by  Oakey's  or  "  Cow  Yard"  Brook 
and  other  tributaries  to  Lawrence's  Brook.  The  latter 
is  by  far  the  largest  and  most  important  stream  wash- 
ing any  part  of  the  township.  It  has  its  source  in 
South  Brunswick,  and  flowing  in  a  northeasterly 
course  separates  North  Brunswick  from  East  Bruns- 
wick, emptying  into  the  Raritan  at  the  eastern  ex- 
tremity of  the  city  of  New  Brunswick ;  and  at  Mill- 
town  and  at  Brookford,  just  above,  affords  excellent 
water-power,  which  has  been  employed  for  manufac- 
turing purposes  since  early  in  the  history  of  the 
country  south  of  the  Raritan.  The  Trenton  and 
New  Brunswick  turnpike  traverses  the  town  in  a  di- 
rect line  from  the  northeast  to  the  southwest,  west  of 
the  centre,  and  George's  road  of  historical  fame  has 
its  deviating  course  in  the  same  general  direction  near 


•  By  M.  0.  Rolfc. 


the  eastern  boundary.  The  Princeton  and  Brunswick 
turnpike  forms  the  western  boundary  of  the  township, 
the  dwellings  on  the  west  side  of  that  thoroughfare 
being  in  Somerset  County.  One  branch  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  crosses  North  Brunswick  from  near 
its  northern  to  its  southern  extremity,  with  a  flag 
station,  known  as  Adams,  within  the  township.  The 
branch  railroad  to  Millstone  has  its  junction  with  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  near  the  northwest  corner. 

Settlement. — Much  that  would  be  interesting  con- 
cerning the  early  settlement  of  this  township  has  long 
since  been  buried  in  the  grave  of  the  past,  and  no  clue 
remains  by  which  it  can  be  brought  to  light.  The 
ancient  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at  Three-Mile  Run 
was  doubtless  the  earliest  outgrowth  of  civilization 
within  the  present  borders  of  North  Brunswick,  and 
it  is  so  much  a  thing  of  the  past  that  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  some  of  the  present  residents  of  the  town- 
ship are  ignorant  that  it  ever  existed.  At  Three-Mile 
Run  was  first  planted  the  banner  of  Christianity  in 
that  portion  of  Middlesex  County  south  of  the  Rari- 
tan. The  interesting  story  of  a  long  struggle  to 
establish  a  permanent  church  there  and  its  final 
abandonment  is  told  by  Dr.  Steele  in  an  historical 
discourse  published  in  1867.  It  is  published  in  this 
work  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  First 
Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New  Brunswick,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred. 

"  The  names  of  the  following  persons  are  attached 
to  a  subscription  designed  to  raise  means  to  import  a 
minister  from  Holland  in  1703  :  Dollius  Hageman, 
Teunis  Quick,  Hend.  Emens,  Thos.  Cort,  Jac.  Pro- 
basco,  Neclas  Wyckofl",  Mic.  L.  Moor,  John  Schede- 
meun,  Nee.  Van  Dyke,  John  Van  Houten,  Wil. 
Bennet,  Folkert  Van  Nostrand,  Jac.  Bennet,  Hend. 
Fauger,  Ab.  Bennet,  Cor.  Peterson,  Philip  Folkerson, 
— avi  L.  Draver,  George  Anderson,  Stabel  Probasco, 
Isaac  Le  Priere,  Simon  Van  Wicklen,  Cobas  Benat, 
Garret  Cotman,  Lucas  Covert,  Wil.  Van  Duyn,  Den- 
nis Van  Duyn,  John  Folkerson,  Jost  Banat." — Hon. 
Ralph  Voorhees,  Middlebush. 

It  is  not  probable  that  many  members  of  the  Three- 
Mile  Run,  and  later  of  the  New  Brunswick  Church, 
resided  within  the  limits  of  North  Brunswick  as  now 
bounded.  Many  of  the  family  names  are  familiar 
ones  in  the  township  to-day,  however,  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  some  few  present  residents  are  able  to  trace 
their  descent  from  those  whose  labors  and  strifes  in 
the  cause  of  Christianity  have  been  depicted.  A 
majority  of  representatives  of  pioneer  families  are 
of  Holland  Dutch  descent,  and  the  old  families, 
through  successive  generations,  have  intermarried 
with  each  other  till  they  form  practically  one  fam- 
ily. It  is  worthy  of  note,  too,  that  these  families 
have  all  along  been  identified,  with  few  individual 
exceptions,  with  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church  at 
New  Brunswick,  the  continuation,  in  a  certain  sense, 
of  the  historical  church  which  centred  at  the  old 
house  of  worship  at  Three-Mile  Run  and  sowed  the 


740 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


seeds  of  religious  development  in  all  the  country 
round  about. 

One  of  the  oldest  families  of  North  Brunswick  is 
the  family  of  Voorhees,'  descended  from  one  or  more 
of  several  members  of  the  original  family  in  America, 
who  came  from  Long  Island  to  New  Brunswick  and 
vicinity  at  an  early  date.  Who  was  the  first  settler 
of  the  name  in  the  township  is  not  ascertainable. 
An  early  resident,  who  was  contemporary  with  others 
of  that  name  there,  was  (1)  John  G.  Voorhees,  who 
lived  on  a  farm  adjoining  Henry  Van  Liew's  and 
died  in  1800,  leaving  two  daughters.  These  were 
named  Catharine  and  Helena.  (2)  Catharine  be- 
came the  wife  of  John  Voorhees  and  died  before  he 
did,  leaving  a  son  named  Peter,  who  died  some  time 
ago  at  Princeton,  where  he  lived.  (3)  John  Voor- 
hees remarried,  and  afterwards  had  two  sons, — Craig, 
a  silversmith,  resident  at  New  Brunswick,  and  Ste- 
phen, who  was  killed  during  the  late  war.  (4)  Helena 
married  Dennis  Vanderbilt. 

Jeremiah  Voorhees  was  many  years  ago  a  resident 
near  Bodine's  Corners.  He  was  a  wheelwright  by 
trade,  and  married  Margaret  Outcalt.  His  daughter 
Catharine  died  in  1804,  and  his  son  Frederick  only 
twelve  days  before.  Abbie,  one  of  his  daughters, 
married  Nicholas  DeHart.  Another,  called  Gettie 
Ann,  became  Mrs.  Dennis  Bodine.  None  of  his  sons 
are  living. 

John  S.  Voorhees,  who  died  in  1877,  was  of  the 
eighth  generation  of  descendants  of  Stephen  Coert, 
and  his  father  was  the  fourth  (1)  Peter  in  the  line  of 
descent.  The  latter  married  Jane  Schenck,  and  was 
a  prominent  resident  of  North  Brunswick.  The  chil- 
dren of  (2)  John  S.  Voorhees  were  A.  DeHart,  Peter, 
John  S.,  Jr.,  and  Anna  M.  A.  DeHart  and  Anna  M. 
live  on  the  homestead,  and  Peter  and  John  S.,  Jr.,  are 
lawyers  at  New  Brunsw'ick  and  in  Canada  respectively. 

(1)  Jaques  Van  Liew  was  an  early  resident  on  the 
Henry  Van  Liew  place.  He  married  Maria  Voorhees, 
dying  in  1810,  she  in  1824.  Their  children  were 
Henry  and  Garret  Van  Liew.  (2)  Henry  married 
Ann  H.,  daughter  of  Enos  Ay  res,  who  survives  him, 
and  lived  on  the  farm  previously  occupied  by  his 
father.  (3)  Garret  Van  Liew  was  also  a  farmer,  liv- 
ing on  George's  road,  and  died  some  years  since.  His 
son,  Jacques  Van  Liew,  died  on  his  father'.s  farm  at 
a  recent  date. 

(1)  Nicholas  Bodine,  blacksmith,  is  said  to  have 
been  the  first  of  the  name  at  Bodine's  Corners.  His 
best-known  son,  (2)  Cornelius,  lived  on  his  father's 
place  after  the  latter's  death,  and  died  an  old  man 
some  time  before  1850.     His  sons,  who  lived  and  were 

^  The  ancestor  of  the  family  of  Voorhees  in  this  section  of  the  coun- 
try is  Stephen  Coert,  or  Koers,  who  emigrated  from  Holland  in  1660, 
and  settled  on  Long  Island.  Having  no  surname,  members  of  the  fam- 
ily snbsciibed  themselves  Van  Voorhees,  or  "from  before  Hees." 
Stephen  Coerte  married  Willimpie  Raelefse,  and  died  about  1684. 
His  son,  Lucas  Stevense,  married  on  Long  Island,  and  six  of  his  chil- 
dren emigrated  to  New  Brunswick  and  vicinity.  See  genealogy  of 
the  Bergen  family,  p.  61. 


known  in  the  township,  were  Abraham,  Dennis,  and 

I  John.     Others   died   early   in   the   present   century. 

'■  Abraham,  a  farmer  and  speculator,  for  a  time  kept  a 

hotel  in  New  Brunswick,  and  died  of  the  cholera  in 

1849.     Dennis  was  a  wheelwright,  and  passed  his  life 

:  at  Bodine's  Corners,  where  he  died  a  few  years  ago. 

John  is  a  farmer,  and  lives  near  New  Brunswick. 

(1)  Frederick  Outcalt  was  an  early  resident  in  the 
vicinity  of  Bodine's  Corners,  and  died  there  at  an 
advanced  age  in  1818.  His  sons,  Frederick,  Henry, 
John,  and  Richard,  were  well  known.  (2)  Frederick 
lived  at  Three-Mile  Run,  and  died  there  about  fifteen 
years  ago,  very  old,  leaving  two  sons,  Jacob  and 
Frederick.  (3)  Henry  removed  to  New  Brunswick, 
and  died  there  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  ago.  His 
sons  were  Frederick,  Jacob,  John,  and  Richard. 
Jacob  and  John  are  living  in  New  Brunswick.  (4) 
John  found  a  home  in  Ohio  in  1820,  revisited  the 
place  of  his  nativity  about  1866,  and  returned  to 
Ohio  and  died  there.  His  family  all  live  in  the 
West.  (5)  Richard  was  a  farmer,  and  spent  his  life 
on  his  father's  homestead,  dying  there  past  ninety. 
John,  Henry,  and  Frederick  are  names  of  his  sons. 
John  and  Henry  are  West.  Frederick  lives  in  New 
Brunswick. 

The  Vanderbilt  family  has  become  firmly  rooted  to 
the  soil  of  North  Brunswick  by  several  generations' 
residence.  The  first  there  of  the  name  of  whom 
their  descendants  have  any  knowledge  were  two  broth- 
ers, Cornelius  and  Jeromus.  (1)  Cornelius  owned  the 
farm  now  known  as  the  John  Brush  place,  and  died 
in  1800.  He  had  a  son  (1)  Dennis,  and  a  daughter 
(2)  Johannah. 

(1)  Dennis  married  Helena,  daughter  of  John  G. 
Voorhees.  Their  children  were  John,  Cornelius, 
James  C,  Dennis,  Henry,  Garret,  Catharine,  and  Jo- 
hannah Jane.  John  died  in  1824,  at  the  age  of 
twenty-one.  (2)  Cornelius  married  a  Tunison,  and 
had  sons  Cornelius,  William,  and  Dennis;  Cornelius 
lives  in  New  York ;  William  died  in  1881 ;  Dennis 
lives  in  New  Brunswick.  (3)  James  C.  married  Sarah, 
daughter  of  Luke  and  sister  of  Matthew  Edgerton, 
and  is  living,  at  the  age  of  seventy-two,  on  George's 
road.  (4)  Dennis  went  West,  and  married  and  died 
there.  (5)  Henry  lives  in  New  York,  and  married 
there.  (6)  Garret  G.  is  living  in  New  York,  unmar- 
ried. (7)  Catharine  married  John  Bergen,  of  Mill- 
town,  and  is  dead.  (8)  Johannah  Jane  is  married 
and  living  in  Raritan. 

(2)  Johannah  married  Cornelius  Bodine. 
Jeromus   Vanderbilt,   brother    of   Cornelius,    Sr., 

early  lived  near  Milltown,  subsequently  removing  to 
New  Brunswick,  where  he  owned  property  and  died 
nearly  half  a  century  since. 

(1)  John  Ryder  was  one  of  the  early  comers.  His 
sons,  John,  Ber'naidus,  and  Stephen  Ryder,  all  lived 
on  Lawrence's  Brook,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
township,  early  in  the  present  century.  (2)  John 
had  sons, — William,  now  living  on  the  place  where 


NORTH    BRUNSWICK. 


741 


his  father  died,  and  Stephen,  now  of  East  Brunswick. 
(3)  Bernardus  was  a  bachelor,  and  has  been  dead  about 
fifty  years.  (3)  Stephen  has  been  dead  forty  years, 
and  none  of  his  descendants  are  in  the  township. 
The  Ryder  property  is  a  portion  of  the  three-thousand- 
acre  tract,  embracing  the  brook,  once  owned  by 
Thomas  Lawrence,  and  which  came  into  the  posses- 
sion of  Cornelius  Longfield  and  Gbvernor  Barclay  in 
1689.  John  Ryder,  Sr.,  bought  one  hundred  and 
forty-four  acres  of  Longfield  in  1741,  and  from  him 
it  passed  to  his  heirs. 

(1)  Martin  Stevenson  located  early  where  his  son, 
the  late  Peter  Stevenson,  lived  and  died.  John,  his 
eldest  son,  has  been  dead  some  time.  (2)  Peter  mar- 
ried Mary,  a  daughter  of  Jeremiah  Voorhees.  After 
her  death  he  married  the  daughter  of  an  early  resi- 
dent at  Cheesquake.  (3)  Borent  Stevenson,  son  of 
Peter,  married  a  daughter  of  James  Edgerton,  and  is 
a  well-known  citizen. 

A  man  named  Runyan  lived  for  many  years  oppo- 
site Peter  Stevenson's,  in  a  house  which  has  long  since 
disappeared,  and  had  two  sons,  named  Reuben  and 
Walter.  The  former  removed  to  New  Brunswick  and 
spent  his  days  there,  the  latter  lived  on  his  father's 
homestead  on  George's  road  until  1849,  when  he  died 
of  cholera. 

(1)  Cornelius  Tunison  came  about  1765,  and  though 
he  was  not  a  land-owner  was  a  farmer  of  repute, 
renting  land.  His  family  consisted  of  Cornelius,  John, 
Caroline,  and  Mary  Ann.  (2)  Cornelius  married  and 
had  a  large  family.  (3)  John  married  a  Miss  Walker 
and  removed  to  Ohio.  (4)  Caroline  married  William 
Brookfield,  a  stone-cutter,  of  New  Brunswick.  (6) 
Mary  Ann  became  the  wife  of  Jacob  De  Hart,  of 
North  Brunswick. 

James  Bennit  was  a  settler  in  the  southwestern  part 
of  the  township  considerably  earlier  than  1800,  and 
reared  a  large  family.  His  sons,  John,  James,  and 
Daniel,  are  men  of  families  residing  in  the  vicinity. 

At  an  early  date  (1)  Capt.  Jehu  Dunham  located 
in  the  township,  and  later  removed  to  East  Bruns- 
wick, where  he  remained  until  his  death  in  1841,  past 
eighty.  His  wife  was  Eleanor  Van  Tine,  born  in  1767, 
who  died  in  1737.  Their  children  were  Elizabeth, 
David,  James,  Lewis,  William,  and  Abraham,  and  all 
of  the  sons  were  useful  citizens.  (1)  Elizabeth,  born 
in  1792,  married  Nicholas  Rappleyea  and  died  in 
1857.  (2)  David,  born  in  1794,  married  Jaue  Wilson 
and  died  in  1840.  (3)  James,  born  in  1796,  married 
Eleanor  Peterson  and  died  in  1872.  (4)  Lewis,  born 
in  1799,  married  Mary  Perry  and  died  in  1848.  (5) 
William  was  born  in  1801  and  died  in  1863.  (6)  Abra- 
ham was  born  in  1802.  Rev.  Dr.  Ira  Condict,  fourth 
pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  New 
Brunswick,  in  1798  removed  to  a  farm  of  one  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  acres  near  JNIilltown,  late  the  prop- 
erty of  Henry  H.  Booraem,  but  still  known  as  the 
Condict  farm. 

Christian  and  Simeon  Van  Nortwick  lived  near 


Lawrence's  Brook  early  in  the  history  of  settlements 
and  clearings  thereabouts.     The  former  had  quite  a 
I  family,  including  Christopher,  Jr.,  John,  and  Cornelia. 
!  Christopher,  Jr.,   married  a  daughter   of  Archibald 
I  Gordon,   of  Machaponix ;   John,   a   blacksmith,    re- 
moved to  Englishtown. 

(1)  Cornelius  De  Hart  in  1720  settled  at  the  upper 
forks  of  Six-Mile  Run,  in  the  present  township  of  North 
I  Brunswick,  purchasing  two  hundred  and  ten  acres  of 
I  land  of  the  Indians,  which  he  was  afterward  com- 
pelled to  repurchase  of  the  proprietors,  paying  there- 
for a  second  time.  He  had  a  number  of  children. 
Some  of  his  sons  died  early.  Those  who  survived 
were  named  Cornelius,  Guisbert,  and  Abraham.  After 
the  death  of  the  pioneer,  (2)  Cornelius,  Jr.,  owned 
and  lived  on  one-third  of  his  late  father's  property, 
now  in  the  possession  of  Charles  Dunham  (Guisbert 
and  Abraham  owning  the  remaining  two-thirds),  liv- 
ing in  the  house  his  father  had  erected,  and  which 
with  additions  which  have  been  made  to  it  from  time 
to  time  is  now  the  residence  of  the  widow  and  family 
of  the  late  John  S.  Voorhees.  (3)  Guisbert  never 
married.  (4)  Abraham  married  Sarah,  daughter  of 
John  Van  Cleef,  Sr.,  and  died  in  1832,  his  wife  sur- 
viving till  1844.  (5)  Sarah,  one  of  the  daughters  of 
Cornelius  De  Hart,  Sr.,  married  Roeloff  Voorhees, 
grandfather  of  Abraham  D.  Voorhees,  of  Adams  Sta- 
tion. (6)  Another  daughter  married  Jacobus  De 
Hart. 

The  children  of  (4)  Abraham  were  as  follows:  (1) 
John,  who  married  Anna  Ayers  and  died  in  1819;  (2) 
Cornelius,  who  died  in  1805;  (3)  Moyca,  who  mar- 
ried Peter  P.  Van  Doren,  of  Somerset  County,  and 
died  in  1857.  The  children  of  the  last  mentioned 
were  Margaret  and  Sarah  Ann,  the  latter  being  the 
widow  of  John  S.  Voorhees,  and  now  in  possession  of 
the  old  De  Hart  homestead. 

The  Indians  were  often  attracted  to  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Cornelius  De  Hart,  Sr.'s  pioneer  home  by 
the  various  kinds  of  game  with  which  the  neighbor- 
hood abounded,  including  deer.  Mr.  De  Hart  was  a 
successful  deer-hunter.  Behind  his  barn  he  kept  a 
decoy  doe,  by  whose  presence  susceptible  bucks  were 
lured  within  range  of  his  monster  shot-gun.  This 
weapon  has  been  preserved  in  the  family  as  a  relic. 
It  is  doubtless  two  hundred  years  old,  and  is  nearly 
eight  feet  long,  and  weighs  fifteen  pounds. 

(1)  Powe  De  Hart  lived  on  Lawrence's  Brook,  and 
was  identified  with  the  earlier  history  of  the  township. 
His  wife,  Dinah  Bodine,  died  in  1815.  They  had 
several  children,  among  whom  were  Cornelius,  Jacob, 
Henry,  and  Nicholas. 

(2)  Cornelius  was  a  carpenter  and  died  many  years 
ago.  His  son  William  lives  in  East  Brunswick. 
(3)  Jacob  died  recently  in  the  township.  His  son, 
Samuel  B.  How,  is  a  resident  of  Long  Island  ;  Jacob, 
another  son,  is  living  in  Milltown.  (4)  Henry  is  a 
cabinet-maker  of  New  Brunswick.  (5)  Nicholas,  a 
railway  conductor,  was  killed  by  the  cars. 


742 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Harle  Farmer,  a  native  of  the  township,  was  the 
son  of  an  early  settler.  He  was  for  many  years  a 
prominent  agriculturist  and  dealer  in  ship-timber, 
dying  past  eighty  a  few  years  since,  and  leaving  nu- 
merous descendants.  The  names  of  Verdine  E.  and 
Arnold  Farmer,  Jr.,  are  familiar  as  those  of  leading 
citizens. 

In  1816,  (1)  Thomas  Letson,  from  New  Brunswick, 
purchased  and  located  on  the  Letson  farm.  His  chil- 
dren were  John  S.,  Warren,  Lewis  G.,  Johnson, 
Maria,  and  Henry.  (2)  John  S.  located  in  New 
Brunswick  early  in  life  and  engaged  in  tanning.  He 
married  Letitia  Brunson.  Their  children  were  Mary 
F.,  Ann,  Sarah,  William,  Julia,  Louisa,  and  Thomas 
W.,  the  latter  now  living  on  the  Letson  homestead. 
(3)  Warren  was  long  in  government  employ.  (4)  Lewis 
G.  became  a  farmer  in  North  Brunswick.  (5)  John- 
son located  in  New  Brunswick,  was  a  merchant  there, 
and  is  now  president  of  the  New  Brunswick  Rubber 
Company.  (6)  Maria  married  and  has  been  dead 
many  years. 

Enos  Ayres  came  from  Metuchen  about  1800  and 
bought  land  near  the  Black  Horse  Tavern.  Later  he 
removed  to  the  Trenton  turnpike,  and  lived  there 
until  his  death  in  1835. 

Jacob  I.  Bergen  was  early  at  Milltown,  and  owned 
the  old  grist-mill  there  early  in  the  century,  and  was 
for  a  time  a  prominent  merchant  and  business  man. 

Peter  Gordon  was  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Milltown 
in  1800  or  a  little  later.  His  sons  were  Jacques  Van 
Lieu  Gordon,  deceased,  once  sheriii'  of  Middlesex 
County,  and  Archibald,  living  near  Milltown. 

Nicliolas  Booraem  was  an  early  wheelwright  and 
millwright  at  Milltown.  He  had  sons, — Jonathan, 
Henry,  and  Nicholas.  Jonathan  was  a  millwright 
and  ship-builder,  and  early  established  a  sliip-yard  at 
Washington,  in  East  Brunswick,  which  is  now  the 
property  of  his  son  Nicholas.  Nicholas  was  county 
collector,  1825-68,  and  county  clerk  of  Middlesex 
County,  1833-57.  Theodore  B.  Booraem,  the  latter's 
son,  was  county  collector  in  1872  and  1873. 

James  Counet  was  an  early  blacksmith  at  Bodine's 
Corners.  Subsequently  he  removed  to  Washington, 
and  for  a  time  he  lived  there,  and  returned  to  North 
Brunswick,  where  he  died.  Some  of  his  descendants 
are  well  known  in  North  Brunswick  and  adjoining 
townships. 

The  names  of  Williamson,  Buckalew,  Vanderveer, 
Snedeker,  and  MesseroU  have  long  been  prominent 
among  those  of  residents  and  office-holders  in  East 
Brunswick.  Isaac  J.  Williamson  is  mentioned  early  in 
the  records,  and  William  A.,  Nelson  S.,  Lucius,  and 
Jolin  W.  Williamson  are  referred  to  therein  at  a  more 
recent  date.  The  Buckalew  family  have  long  been 
both  numerous  and  well  known  in  North  Brunswick 
and  the  country  surrounding.  The  names  of  Peter  O. 
Buckalew  and  others  are  familiar  to  elderly  citizens. 
Probably  the  most  prominent  present  citizen  of  the 
name  is  Frederick  S.  Buckalew.     Thomas  Vanderveer 


was  a  township  officer  in  1881.  Richard  Snedeker's 
name  appears  at  a  comparatively  early  date.  Garret 
I.  Snedeker,  once  a  resident  here,  lives  in  East  Bruns- 
wick. David  P.  MesseroU  has  figured  more  or  less 
prominent  in  local  affairs  during  recent  years. 

Civil  History. — North  Brunswick  was  among  the 
first  townships  organized,  immediately  after  the  erec- 
tion of  Middlesex  County  and  the  permanent  establish- 
ment of  the  local  government  of  the  same.  It  was 
formerly  embraced  within  the  borders  of  the  ancient 
township  of  Piscataway,  and  early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury was  referred  to  in  the  township  records  of  North 
Brunswick  as  the  North  Ward  of  New  Brunswick,  but 
since  1803  it  has  been  uniformly  mentioned  therein 
by  tlie  name  now  so  fiimiliar. 

Until  1860  New  Brunswick  was  within  the  township 
limits  of  North  Brunswick,  and  the  annual  town- 
meetings  were  generally  held  there.  By  an  act  of 
Assembly,  approved  Feb.  28,  1860,  New  Brunswick 
was  separated  from  North  Brunswick,  and  a  large  sec- 
tion of  the  township  set  oft'  to  form  a  portion  of  East 
Brunswick,  then  erected.  It  was  enacted  that  at  ten 
o'clock  A.M.  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  the  ensuing  May 
the  town  committees  of  North  Brunswick,  New 
Brunswick,  and  East  Brunswick  should  meet  at  the 
public-house  of  Saxon  M.  Tice,  iu  East  Brunswick, 
to  adjust  all  the  mutual  interests  of  the  said  town- 
ships, and  effect  an  equitable  division  of  the  assets  and 
liabilities  of  the  former  township  of  North  Bruns- 
wick between  North  Brunswick,  New  Brunswick,  and 
East  Brunswick,  on  the  basis  of  the  proportion  borne 
by  the  population  and  amount  of  taxable  property  of 
each  of  the  parts  of  the  townships  set  oft'  to  the  whole 
population  and  amount  of  taxable  property  of  North 
Brunswick  as  previously  bounded. 

The  western  boundary  line  of  North  Brunswick, 
formed  by  the  Princeton  and  New  Brunswick  turn- 
pike, separating  it  from  Franklin  township,  Somerset 
County,  has  at  times  been  slightly  changed  in  places 
by  local  alterations  in  the  course  of  the  road,  which, 
as  so  altered,  was  subsequently  declared  the  township 
and  county  boundary  line. 

The  Towxship  Records. — The  earliest  township 
records  of  North  Brunswick  are  contained  in  a  book 
devoted  to  the  preservation  of  the  minutes  of  the 
successive  town-meetings,  and  date  back  to  the  year 
1800.  The  first  entry  in  the  said  book,  on  a  page 
numbered  "  1,"  is  as  follows: 

"No  of  Votes  given  for  Representatives  in  Congress  for  the  State  of 
New  Jersey,  in  the  North  Ward  of  New  Bninswiclt,  at  an  Election  held 
the  23rf  and  24""  of  Deceniher,  1800,  for  tlie  Seventli  Congress: 


Tranklin  Daven|Kirt 
Aaron  Ot,dt  n 
J;imes  H   Itiilny 
Pct^r  D  Vrooni 
William  (    \   Jnn' 
.Tohn  Con  lit 
William  H  lins 
Henry  Southard 
Elienezf  1   plnioi 
James  Stott 


..f  \oi. 


,^„  II.ii,d.<:d  ond  n.netj-two. 
"  Jacob  Dunham.  Cleric." 


NORTH    BRUNSWICK. 


743 


Proceedings  of  the  Annual  Town-Meeting, 
1801. — The  earliest  town-meeting  recorded  was  tliat 
of  1801,  the  minutes  of  which  begin  on  page  "  2"  of 
the  record,  and  read  as  follows : 

"At  a  Town-meeting  held  at  the  Court-House  on  the  2d  Monday  in 
April,  1801,  for  the  North  Wanl  of  New  Brunswick,  the  following  per- 
sona were  by  plnrality  of  votPS  clioaen  officers  for  the  ensuing  year,  viz. : 

"  Abraham  Sclmylar,  President ;  Jacob  Dunham,  Town  Clerk. 

"The  Town  Committee  report  that  they  have  examined  the  accountd 
and  vouchei-s  of  the  collector  &  Ovei-geer  uf  the  Poor,  do  report  the  same 
to  be  accurate,  and  find  by  the  same  a  balance  a  ballance  of  three  hun- 
dred and  ninety-two  Dollars  &  63  Cents  due  from  the  township  to  Wil- 
liam Ten  Brook,  the  said  collector  and  overseer,  and  that  he  has  prose- 
cuted Elisha  Cox,  late  constable,  for  the  sum  of  £13  ^  6,  deficiency 
remaining  in  his  hands  of  the  year  1799,  and  reports  that  there  is  no 
probability  of  recovering  the  sd  sum. 

"  Ordered,  that  the  sum  of  £600  be  raised  for  the  use  of  the  Poor  for 
the  ensuing  year,  equal  to  $1333. fVii- 

"Ordered,  that  the  sum  of  £.500  be  raised  for  the  use  of  the  Roads, 
equal  to  <!l333.f\ji. 

"  Ordered,  that  the  above-mentioned  sums  be  raised  by  the  15th  of 
May,  1801. 

"A  communication  from  the  township  of  Franklin,  in  the  county  of 
Somerset,  requesting  the  sense  of  this  Township  on  the  subject  of  erect- 
ing a  Poor-House  for  the  joint  benefit  of  the  counties  of  Somerset  and 
Middlesex,  It  was  agreed  that  thif  Town  will  unite  with  the  other  towns 
in  ad  Counties  to  effect  under  such  regulations  &  on  such  principles  as 
may  be  deemed  just  &  equitable. 

"Elijah  Phillips,  Assessor;  John  Van  Nuise,  Isaac  Williamson,  Sur- 
veyors of  the  Higliway;  John  Neilson,  Benjamin  Taylor,  Freeholders; 
John  Dennis,  Seur.,  David  Voorhees,  Nicholas  Bodine,  William  Lawson, 
Commissioners  of  Appeal ;  John  Whitlock,  Daniel  Brinson,  Samuel 
Carlile,  Jephtha  Cheeseman,  Constables;  William  Tenbrook,  Overseer 
of  the  Poor  and  Collector;  Abraham  Schuylar,  Judge  of  Election ; 
Nicholas  Boorani,  William  Tenbrook,  Abm  Bennit,  Pound-Keepers; 
Abraham  Schuylar,  James  Schureman,  James  Bennit,  Abraham  Blau- 
Talt,  William  Lawson,  Town  Committee. 

"The  above  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  Settle  with  the  Several 
Town  officers  and  report  Annually,  stateing  at  the  Town-meeting  in 
their  report  the  amount  of  all  moneys  expended  for  the  use  of  the  Town, 
and  specifying  the  purpose  to  which  tljey  were  applyed. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  several  town  officers  exhibit  their  accounts  and 
Vouchers  to  said  committee  for  settlement  at  least  Ten  days  previous  to 
the  next  annual  town  meeting. 


'OVERSEERS   OF   THE   ROADS.l 


ndof  the  town 


"1.  John  Van  Harlingen,  from  John  MesseroU's 
lane,  and  from  thence  to  Lyle's  Bridge. 

"2.  Robert  Boggs,  from  Slatthew  Sleight's  corner  to  the  mouth  of 
Georges,  and  from  thence  to  Reuben  Runyon's  bridge,  as  well  as  the 
Boad  from  James  Richmond's  to  Queen  street,  and  also  the  road  from 
the  late  Johannah  Wilson's  to  the  dutch  church,  together  with  that 
piece  of  road  from  the  mouth  of  the  drift  (?)  road  to  the  Post  road  that 
leads  to  the  3-mile  Run,  likewise  including  George  and  Prince  Street, 
and  from  Prince  Street  to  Henry  Guest's. 

"Nicol.  Smith,  from  John  MeseroU's  brook  to  Benjamin  Taylor's 
Mills. 

"  4.  Nicholas  Bodine,  from  Nicholas  Van  Brint'a  Mills  to  Nicholas  Van 
Barlingen's  brook,  and  also  the  lane  that  leads  to  the  3- mile  run,  as  far 
as  Van  Sickles'  SeMs. 

"  John  Dennis,  Senr.,  of  the  road  from  Van  Harlingen 's  Brook  to  Cor- 
nell's brook. 

"6.  Abraham  Bennit,  from  Cornell's  Brook  to  Oakley's  brook. 

"7.  John  Denham,  from  Taylor's  Mills  to  Runyon  Buckilew's,  and 
from  thence  to  the  landing  formerly  Robert  Eastburn's,  and  from  thence 
to  Stanlie's  brook  ;  likewise  that  piece  of  road  beginnitig  on  James 
Commeline's  lands  and  John  Norman's,  &  from  thence  to  the  end  of 
McKeel's  lane. 

"8.  Jacob  Stults,  from  Runyon  Buckelyew's  to  the  old  bridge,  and 
from  thence  to  the  pf)8troad  to  James  Hays';  also  the  new  road  from 
the  end  of  McKeel's  lane  to  the  post  road. 


"  9.  Lewis  Johnson,  of  the  road  beginning  from  Johnson  Voorhees' 
Ears  ;  thence  to  Sparling's  Tavern ;  then  to  Jonathan  McKeil's  lane,  and 
from  Sparling's  to  the  Post  road  ;  then  beginning  on  the  road  laid  out 
by  Act  of  Assembly  to  McDowell's  tavern,  where  it  crosses  the  old  Post 
road  ;  thence  down  the  same  to  James  Hay's  road  :  then  beginning  at 
the  Post  road  near  Pondwater's  field,  leading  to  Abraham  Berkellew's 
landing,  as  far  as  James  Hay's  road. 

"  10.  Winant  D.  Hart,  from  Van  Brunt's  to  Peter  Sparling's  Tavern, 
and  the  road  from  Archibald  Thompson's  blacksmith-shop  to  Sanlie'a 
brook. 

"11.  Jacobus  D.  Hart,  from  George's  road  to  Freeland's  brook. 

"  12.  Jacob  Dunham,  of  the  Road  called  Great  Post  road,  as  far  as  the 
old  corporation  line  ;  also  Church  Street  Barrack  and  George  Street  too 
Prince  Street. 

"  13.  Simon  Addis,  from  the  Corporation  line  to  the  Six-mile  Run. 
(Signed)    "  Jacob  Dunham,  Clk." 

The  proceedings  of  the  annual  town-meetings  of 
the  years  1811-14  are  not  recorded,  and  the  names  of 
township  officers  chosen  during  that  period  cannot  be 
ascertained. 

Below  is  as  complete  a  civil  list  as  the  records 
would  aid  the  writer  to  make.  The  names  of  chosen 
freeholders  elected  previous  to  1801  were  obtained 
from  the  records  of  the  board  of  freeholders  of 
Middlesex  County : 

CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 


Coert  Voorhees,  1779-81. 

John  Voorhees,  1780,  1781, 1T83. 

James  Voorhees,  1783. 

John  Runyon,  1784. 

Joseph  Vickers,  1784-86. 

Joseph  Cheeseman,  1785, 1786-88. 

James  Douglass,  1787-89. 

Minne  T.  Voorhees,    1789,  1791,   I 

1792, 1794.  I 

Moses  Lyie,  1790. 
James  Schureman,  1793, 1794, 1803 

-5, 1807-12.  I 

John  Dennis,  1793, 1795-98, 1813- 

23.  ! 

John  Neilson,  1796-1809. 
Benjamin  Taylor,  1799-1801, 1807.    j 
George  Clark,  1810-16. 
William  Law,  1816. 
James  Crommelin,  1817-26. 
Staats  Van  Deursen,  1824.  j 

Peter  Spader,  1 825-30. 
Jonah  C.  Ackrman,  1827-30. 
Peter  Dayton,  1831.  ( 

John  Aikin,  1831. 


James  Bishop,  1832-35. 

Henry  Van  Liew,  1832-37,  1843- 

64,  1866,  1860-62. 
Frederick  Richmond,  183^40. 
Jacob  Edmonds,  1838-40. 
Peter  P.  Runyon,  1841. 
Abraham  Bergen,  1841-42. 
Abraham  S.  Neilson,  1842-59. 
Elias  Ross,  1855,  1858-69. 
John  S.  Voorhees,  1857,  1860-64, 

1870-71. 
Peter  Stevenson,  1863,  1865. 
James  H.  Webb,  1864. 
William  Dunham,  1865-67, 1871. 
Philip  Kuhltham,  1878-79. 
Henry  H.  Bitoraem,  1878. 
Dennis  Vanderhilt.  1866-69, 1872- 

73. 
Obadiah  Buckalew,  1868-69. 
Arnold  Farmer,  Jr.,  1872-77. 
John  M.  Bodine,  1874-76. 
Jacob  V.  D.  Cliristopher,  1870, 1877. 
James  M.  Parsotis,  1880-81. 


JUSTICES   OF   THE   PEACE. 


Peter  P.  Runyon,  1845, 1850, 1855. 
David  F.  Randolph,  1845. 
Andrew  J.   Disbrow,   1845,   1850, 

1855. 
Jonathan  Booraem,  1845. 
Peter  P.  Mesaeroll,  1845, 1850. 
John  D.  Serviss,  1848, 1856. 
Haley  Fisk,  1850, 1855. 


Stephen  Smith,  Jr.,  1850. 
John  Hooker.  1853, 1855. 
Martin  Nevius,  ISbb. 
James  H.  'tt'ebb,  1860. 
Henry  H.  Booraem,  1860. 
Thomas  Pearce,  1870, 1880. 
Philip  Knhlthan,  1875. 


TOWN  CLERKS. 


^  This  appears  to  have  been  the  first  di' 
'  road  districts." 


of  the  township  into 


Jacob  Dunham,  1801-10,  1815-31. 

Josiah  Ford,  1832-33. 

Isaac  G.  Lillcocks,  1834-39. 

Isaac  M.  Nevius,  1840-41. 

Stephen  Moore,  1842. 

Nelson  Dunham,  1843. 

Lewis  Applegate,  1844-47. 

W,  H.  Taylor,  1848. 

William  H.  Van  Nortwick,  1849. 


Israel  H.  Voorhees,  1850-52. 
Theodore  H.  Booraem,  1853. 
Alexander  M.  Way,  1834-56. 
Charles  P.  Atkinson,  1857-58. 
David  S.  Blew,  1859. 
John  S.  Voorhees,  1860-61. 
Thomas  Pearce,  1862-76. 
John  C.  Evans,  1877-79. 
Tliomas  J.  Collins,  1880-«1. 


744 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


TOWNSHIP   COMMITTEE. 


Abraham  Schuyler,  1801-10. 
James  Schureman,  1801-03,  180R- 

8. 
James  Bennit,  18(Jl-5, 1810. 
Abraham  Blauvalts,  1801-8. 
■William     LawBon,    1801,   1804-8, 

181,5-17. 
William  Dunham,  1802-10, 1815. 
Jasper  Farmer,  1809-10,  1815. 
Isaac  Williamson,  1809-10. 
Nicholas  Bodine,  1809. 
William  Low,  1815. 
Squire  Martin,  181G-30. 
Cornelius  Bodine,  1816-20,  1837- 

39. 
Staats  Van  Deursen,  1816-24. 
John  Van  Nuis,  1816-21. 
James  Crommolin,  1818-27. 
Peter  Spader,  1821-24,  1826, 1828- 

30. 
Henry  Van  Liew,  1822-30,  1832, 

1840-41,1862. 
Peter  Dayton,  1825-30. 
Vincent  Biirkelew,  1827-30. 
James  Bishop,  1831-34. 
Jonathan  Booraem,  1831,  1839-47. 
Eichard    Outcalt,   1831,   1833-36, 

1842^14. 
Isaac  S.  Brower,  1831. 
Henry  De  Hart,  1831. 
Stephen  Voorhees,  1832. 
Matthew  Edgerton,  1832, 1836. 
Isaac  G.  Williamson,  1832,  1849, 

1864-66. 
William  W.  Conover,  1833. 
Jacob  Edmonds,  1833-35,  1854-56. 
Peter  P.  Messeroll,  1833,  1848-49. 
John  R.  Reid,  1834-35, 1851-53. 
Charles  Dunham,  1834-35, 1867-58. 
David  W.  Vail,  1835. 
Nicholas  Booraem,  1836. 
Isaac  C.  Voorhees,  1836-50. 
Asher  Bissett,  1836. 
Peter  Van  Tine,  1837-43. 
Richard  De  Mott,  1837. 
John  P.  Voorhees,  1837-41. 
Isaac  B.  Van  Dyke,  1838. 
Abraham  Bodine,  1842-43. 
Abraham  Van  Liew,  1844-47. 
James  S.  Combs,  1844-45. 
Peter  Walker,  1845-48. 


Dennis  Bodine,  1845-47. 

Garret  I.  Snedeker,  1848-50. 

Jesse  Hayer,  1849-50. 

John  Terhune,  1850. 

John  S.  Voorhees,  1850, 1873-74. 

John  Hatfield.  1851. 

Robert  Miller,  1851. 

Ralph  Stout,  1861-52. 

Peter  0.  Buckalew,  1851-63. 

George  H.  Stout,  1852-63. 

Abraham   L.  Van    Liew,  1862-55, 

1858-71. 
Phineas  Kent,  1853-66. 
Stephen  Smith,  Jr.,  1864-56. 
Nathaniel  A.  Wallace,  1864. 
Clayton  Kent,  185.6-66. 
Edward  Elkin,  1866-58. 
Garret  Van  Sickle,  1857. 
Arnold  Farmer,  Jr.,  1862-63. 
John  Van  Nuis,  1857. 
Stephen  H.  Barkelew,  1857, 1859. 
Richard  Serviss,  1858. 
Philip  Kuhlthan,  1867-76. 
James    H.  Webb,    1859-61,  1863, 

1867-71. 
Israel  H.  Voorhees,  1869. 
William  G.  De  Hart,  1869. 
Verdine  E.  Farmer,  1860, 1874-76. 
William  Dunham,  1861-64. 
James  C  Edmonds,  1860-61. 
Ellsworth  Farmer,  1861,  1864. 
Abraham  D.  Voorhees,  1862-63. 
Dennis  Vaiiderbilt,  1864-66. 
David  P.  Messeroll,  1866-66. 
William  A.  Van  Sickle,  1866. 
Henry  Hart,  1872. 
Thomas  Gibson,  1872-73. 
William  A.  Williamson,  1876. 
Peter  Williamson,  1876-77, 1881. 
Thomas  Pearce,  1877. 
William  Voorhees,  1877-78. 
Frederick  Cox,  1877-78. 
John  N.  Bodine,  1877,  1879. 
Thomas  Lebon,  1878. 
William  A.  Van  Sickle,  1878-79. 
Edwin  Allen,  1878. 
Obediah  Buckalew,  1879. 
Thomas  Boyd,  1880-81. 
Isaac  D.  Cozzens,  1880. 
Nelson  Williamson,  1880. 
David  Pearce,  1881. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF   APPEAL. 


John  Dennis,  1801-3,1805. 

David  Voorhees,  1801-10, 1815-26. 

Nicholas  Bodine,  1801-8. 

William  Lawson,  1801-10,  1815-16. 

Isaac  Williamson,  1804-10, 1816-29. 

William  Ryder,  1806-10. 

John  Hendricks,  1810. 

Staats  Van  Deursen,  1816,  1817. 

James  Ackerman,  1815. 

James  Neilson,  1810-19. 

Daniel  Perrine,  1816-19. 

Ephraim  Van  Tine,  1S17. 

William  Dow,  1817-1819. 

John  Hutchings,  1820-26. 

Peter  Spader,  1820. 

Thomas  Letson,  1820-29. 

Jacob  I.  Bergen,  1821-29. 

B. M.  Voorhees,  1830-33. 

Isaac  Brower,  1830,  1831,  1833. 

Thomas  Hance,  1830-30. 

Isaac  L.  Brown,  1832. 

James  Hutchings,  1834-36. 


I    John  Branson,  1834-38. 
I   James  Fisher,  1836, 1842, 1843. 
I   George  G.  Nevius,  1837-41,  1846, 
1847,  1851, 1865. 

Jonathan  Booraem,  1837-38. 

Henry  Van  Liew,  1839,  1860. 
1    Henry  Cock,  1839-49. 
[    Peter  Gordon,  1840-41. 
I    Heury  H.  Booraem,  1844-49. 
I    John  Bergen,  1850-54,  1856. 
I   Dennis  Hodine.  18.50. 

Isaac  G.  Williamson,  1851-56, 1868. 

Samuel  R.  Marsh,  1856. 

Thomas  Hobart,  1857-59. 

Clayton  Kent,  1867. 

Isaac  Fisher,  1868-59. 
!   John  S.  Voorhees,  1860, 1867, 1869, 
1872. 

James  Edgarton,  1860. 

Arnold  Farmer,  Jr.,  1861. 

John  Beckman,  1861-65. 
I   William  Thompson,  1861,1878. 


Lucius  Williamson,  1S62-G5. 
Obediah  Buckalew,  1862-68,  1875- 

77. 
Gillitte  Fredericks,  1866.  ', 

Abraham  L.  Van  Liew,  1866, 1873. 
Henry  Outcalt,  1867. 
Pliny  F.  Park,  1868,  1870,  1872- 

74. 
Van  Liew  Booraem,  1869. 
Thomas  Pearce,  1869. 
Boss  Drake,  1870. 
H.  P.  Hart,  1870. 


William  Voorhees,  1870-76,  1880. 

1881. 
William  A.  Williamson,  1874, 1876, 

1878. 
Dennis  Vanderbilt,  1875. 
N.  D.  Baird,  1877-78. 
Frederick  S.  Buckalew,  1877. 
B.  Wagner,  Jr.,  1879. 
Arnold  V.  Farmer,  Jr.,  1879. 
John  H.  Garretson,  1879. 
Thomas  Letson,  1880-81. 
A.  D.  Voorhees,  1880-81. 


ASSESSORS. 
Elijah  Phillips,  1801.  ]    Garret  I.  Snedeker,  1851-53, 1857. 

John  Voorhees,  1802-4, 1807.  |   Stephen    H.    Buckelew,    1854-66, 

Jonathan    Combs,    1806,    1808-10,  1868. 

1815-16.  j    Dennis  Vanderbilt,  1860-63. 

Matthew  Suydam,  1864-66. 


Nicholas  Booraem,  1817-32. 

David  Mercereau,  1833-36. 

Peter  P.  Eunyon,  1837. 

Henry  B.  Pool,  1838-42,  1844. 

Samuel  Gordon,  1843. 

Stephen  Smith,  Jr.,  1846-47, 1859. 

Thomas  Booraem,  1848-50. 


William  Hammell,  1866-69. 
Frederick  0.  Low,  1870-71. 
Nelson  S.  Williamson,  1872-76. 
B.  Stevenson, 1877, 1878, 1880, 1881. 
J.  B.  Wainright.  1879. 


COLLECTORS. 


William  Tenbrook,  1801. 
John  Van  Nuis,  1802-10. 
Moses  Guest,  1815. 
Thomas  Hance,  1816. 
Abraham  Van  Arsdalen,  1817-24. 
Staats  Van  Deursen,  1826-33. 
Josiah  Ford,  1834,  1835. 
Samuel  C.  Cook,  1836-41,  1853-56. 
Jacob  Edmonds,  1842^44. 
David  F.  Randolph,  1843. 


llisha  Suowdon,  1846^7. 
Lewis  Applegate,  1848-51. 
Robert  Miller,  1882. 
John  W.  Kempton,  Sr.,  1857. 
Lawrence  Fisher,  1858-59. 
Henry  H.  Booraem,  1860-76. 
Phillip  Kuhlthan,  1877-78. 
Edwin  Allen,  1879-80. 
Nelson  S.  Williamson,  1881. 


The  Care  of  the  Poor. — The  first  formal  provision 
for  the  poor  in  North  Brunswick  of  which  there  is 
any  mention  in  the  records  was  made  in  1802.  At 
the  annual  town-meeting  held  on  the  second  Monday 
in  April  that  year  the  following  resolution  was 
passed  : 

"  Hesolved,  that  for  the  ensuing  year  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  rent  a  house  in  behalf  of  this  town- 
ship, and  that  the  poor  of  the  town  be  collected  and 
maintained  in  said  house  at  the  expense  of  the  town 
and  under  the  superintendence  of  the  said  committee, 
who  are  further  authorized  to  employ  them  in  such  use- 
ful labor  as  in  their  discretion  they  may  think  advan- 
tageous, and  provide  such  attendance  and  supplies  as 
may  tend  to  their  comfort  and  support."  William 
Lawson,  John  Baker,  John  Plum,  Robert  Eastburn, 
and  John  Neil  were  appointed  to  carry  the  above 
resolution  into  effect.  It  was  ordered  that  S1200  be 
raised  "  for  the  use  of  the  poor."  Also  that  the  above- 
mentioned  committee  should  "be  allowed  the  same 
compensation  as  the  township  committee."  At  the 
annual  town-meeting  of  1803  it  was  ordered  "  that 
the  overseer  of  the  poor  be  permitted  to  call  one  per- 
son to  his  assistance  to  superintend  the  business  of 
the  poor-house,  and  that  a  compensation  be  allowed 
him  for  his  services  by  the  township  committee,  and 
for  advice  he  shall  call  on  the  said  committee  from 
time  to  time." 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  of  1804,  in  the  annual 
financial  report  of  the  township  committee,  appeared 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


745 


the  following  charges  on  account  of  the  maintenance 

of  the  poor : 

For  the  maintenance  of  12  poor  in  the  poor-house $506.30 

For  maintaining  8  poor  out  of  the  poor-house 482.93 

i  furnislied  suudry  poor  persons 37.24 


At   this   time   it   was   ordered    that  $1026   **  poor 
money"  be  raised.     In  1805,  upon   the   expense  of 
maintaining  the  poor  during  the  preceding  year,  the  ! 
township  committee  reported  as  follows: 

*'  It  appears  to  your  committee  that  there  have  been  supported  in  the 
poor-house  10  adult  paupers  and  three  children  for  the  whole  year  past, 
2  adult  paupers  and  6  children  for  three  months,  and  1  adult  pauper  for 
six  weeks, — all  iu  the  pooi-house  for  the  sum  of  S670,  and  that  four 
adult  paupers  have  been  supported  out  of  the  poor-liouse  the  whole  year 
for  the  sum  of  :5263.50." 

In  1805,  $1000  '*  poor  money"  was  ordered  to  be 
raised,  $800  in  1806,  and  $1250  in  1807.  In  1808 
$1500  was  ordered  raised  "  for  the  support  of  the  poor, 
building  small  bridges,  and  for  incidental  expenses." 
In  1809  the  allotment  of  "poor  money"  was  $1000; 
in  1810,  $14,000.  The  mode  of  supporting  the  poor, 
which,  as  is  indicated,  had  prevailed  from  1801  to 
1810,  does  not  seem  to  have  been  found  satisfactory 
during  the  next  five  years.  Whether  it  was  changed 
in  the  interval  cannot  be  ascertained,  there  being  no 
record  of  township  business  from  1810  to  1815,  but  at 
the  annual  meeting  of  the  last-named  year  it  was 

"  Eesolved.  That  a  special  committee  be  appointed  to  report  to  a  future 
township  meeting  to  be  called  on  the  second  Monday  in  June  ensuing 
the  best  place  of  supporting  the  poor  of  this  township,  and  that  John  H. 
Lain,  Thomas  Hauce,  and  Phineas  Muudy  be  that  committee." 

The  annual  expense  of  maintaining  the  poor  seems 
to  have  about  doubled  since  1810,  as  it  was  found 
necessary  this  year  to  authorize  the  raising  of  $2500 
for  such  use  during  the  ensuing  twelve  months.  At 
the  special  meeting  appointed,  held  in  the  court-house 
in  New  Brunswick,  June  12,  1815,  the  committee  re- 
ported as  follows  : 

"  The  committee  appointed  by  the  last  town-meeting  to  investi^teand 
report  to  the  adjourned  meeting  of  eaid  township  on  the  propriety  of 
changing  the  mode  of  supporting  the  poor  of  the  township  beg  leave 
to  submit  for  consideration  the  following  statement,  obtained  by  them 
from  persons  to  whom  the  poor  of  the  township  of  Woodbridge  are  in- 
trusted, it  being,  as  he  informed  us,  the  result  of  five  years*  experience : 

1st.    For  rent  of  farm $180 

2d.    To  the  persons  having  the  care  of  the  poor  and 

working  the  farm 200 

3d.    Firewood „ 100 

4th.  Doctora'  bills 20 


which  leaves  a  surplus  of  SlOO,  which  has  generally  been  sufficient  for 
all  the  incidental  expenses.  When  the  iustitution  was  first  established 
they  purchased  3  cows,  one  of  which  was  for  a  beef,  8  sheep,  a  wagon  and 
horses,  and  farming  utensils.  .  .  .  Their  stock  has  increased  to  5  milch 
cows,  and  one  for  beef,  1  yoke  of  oxen  and  (1)  pair  of  young  cattle,  20 
ewes,  and  17  lambs;  they  have  4  hogs  and  plenty  of  poultry  ;  they  have 
now  on  hand  upwards  of  100  bushels  of  com.  agreat  sufficiency  of  rye, 
wheat,  and  other  grain  to  support  them,  and  salt  meat  and  vegetables  to 
spare.  Your  committee  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  comfortable 
manner  in  which  the  poor  were  supported,  the  cleanliness  and  good 
order  that  prevailed,  and  the  industry  of  those  that  were  able  to  labor, 
and  they  are  satisfied  that  if  the  whole  township  had  been  present  they 
would  cheerfully,  iu  compassion  to  the  poor,  adopt  a  similar  mode. 
Your  committee  recommend  the  purchase  or  renting  of  a  farm  on  which 
the  poor  may  be  supported  as  a  committee  to  be  appointed  may  recom- 
mend : 


Calculating  the  interest  of  a  farm  that  would  cost 

86i)00at  7  percent $420 

Hire  of  an  overseer 300 

Doctors'  bills  and  incidental  expenses  will  make 280 

$1000 
which  is  calculated  much  higher  than  in  Woodbridge,  and  will  leave  a 
clear  gain  to  the  township  of  $15U0,  an  object  well  worth  the  considera- 
tion of  the  township,  as  no  one  of  us  can  tell  where  we  shall  stop  whilst 
the  present  mode  is  pursued." 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  report  be  referred  to  the  next  annual  town-meet- 
ing  for  their  consideration. 

**  Resohed,  That  James  Schureman  and  Staats  Van  Deursen  be  a  com- 
mittee, with  the  present  members,  to  investigate  on  what  terms  a  farm 
may  be  rented  or  purchased  for  the  use  of  the  township,  and  report  to 
the  next  annual  town-meeting." 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  of  1816  the  commit- 
tee reported : 

"The  committee  appointed  to  investigate  on  what  terms  a  farm  can  be 
rented  or  purchased  for  the  accommodation  and  support  of  the  poor  do 
report  that  they  have  ascertained  that  there  are  tliree  or  four  farms  for 
sale  in  the  township,  either  of  which  would  be  convenient  and  suibible, 
that  the  prices  are  from  $45  to  $60  per  acre ;  that  y  committee  would  re- 
commend the  purchase  of  a  farm  in  preference  to  renting.  And  in  order 
to  carry  the  proposed  plan  into  speedy  operation,  they  do  advise  that  a 
select  committee  be  appointed  at  this  meeting  to  purchase  a  farm  and 
such  stock  and  fanning  utensils  as  are  necessary. 

(Signed)  *'  Thomas  Hance. 

"James  Schureman. 

"Phineas  Mundy. 

"Staats  Deursen.'* 

In  compliance  with  the  recommendation  of  the 
committee,  James  Schureman,  Thomas  Hance,  Staats 
Van  Deursen,  Squire  Martin,  and  Jan  Van  Nuis  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  carry  into  effect  the  object 
of  the  report.    The  following  resolutions  were  passed: 

"  Resolved,  That  $10,000  be  appropriated  by  the  township  for  the  pur- 
chase of  a  farm  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  and  that  the  committee  be 
authorized  to  purchase  such  a  farm  within  that  sum  as  shall  in  their 
opinion  answer  the  object  in  view,  and  that  the  sum  of  $2000  be  raised 
by  tax  on  the  township  for  the  present  year  to  answer  Ihe  first  payment, 
and  that  such  farther  sum  shall  be  raised  annually  as  shall  be  sufficient 
to  meet  the  successive  payments  as  they  become  due. 

"Resohed,  That  the  sum  of  $700  be  raised  on  the  township  for  pur- 
chasing such  implements  of  husbandry,  cattle,  furniture,  etc.,  as  may 
be  wanting  on  said  farm. 

"  Resolved,  That  $2000  be  raised  for  the  support  of  the  poor  for  the 
present  year." 

At  a  township-meeting  held  at  the  court-house 
April  14,  1817,  the  following  report  of  the  township 
committee  was  read,  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  en- 
tered upon  the  records : 

"  The  committee  who  were  appointed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town- 
ship of  North  Brunswick  at  their  annual  meeting  in  April  last,  under 
an  appropriation  of  $10,000,  to  purchase  a  farm  as  a  poor-house  estab- 
lishment, report  that  they  have  bought  a  farm  on  George's  road  of  Jacob 
Klady,  containing  139j%fj  acres  for  $50  per  acre,  which  will  amount  to 
$6992,  the  payments  to  be  made  in  the  following  manner,  viz. ;  They 
have  assumed  a  debt  due  to  the  estate  of  the  late  Robert  Morris,  Esq., 
on  the  first  day  of  May,  1816,  for  $2000,  to  be  paid  on  the  first  of  Janu- 
ary, 1817  ;  one-third  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1818,  and  the  balance 
on  the  first  of  Januarj',  1819.  The  committee  further  report  that  being 
largely  within  the  appropriation  made  by  a  vote  of  the  town,  and  de- 
siring to  carry  into  effect  the  wishes  of  the  inhabitants  fully  expressed 
at  the  last  annual  town-meeting,  they  were  obliged  to  erect  a  building, 
fencings,  and  other  improvements  on  the  farm  absolutely  necessary  be- 
fore any  number  of  paupei-s  could  there  be  accommodated  and  supported. 
The  expenses  of  the  above  building  and  improvements  will  amount  to 
$1546.96,  which  will  make  the  cost  of  the  farm  $8538.06.   The  committee 


746 


HISTORY   OF    UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


also  report  that  in  further  prosecuting  tlie  plan  adopted  by  the  town 
they  employed  Henry  Marshall  on  the  28th  of  April  last,  at  S225  per 
annum,  to  be  the  township  farmer,  and  to  take  charge  of  all  such  per- 
sons as  should  be  sent  to  the  farm,  and  that  as  soun  as  the  buildings  were 
prepared  all  tlie  regularly  admitted  paupei-s  were  taken  to  the  poor-house. 
Mr,  Slarshall  ha-ving  resigned  his  charge,  your  committee  have  con- 
tracted with  William  Henderson  to  bo  the  township  farmer  for  the  en- 
suing year  for  the  sum  of  S170.  To  enable  your  committee  to  comply 
with  the  contract  above  mentioned  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  town  to 
raise  by  tax  or  loan  tlie  sum  of  S2140,  due  to  the  estate  of  the  late  Robert 
Morris,  Esq.,  and  the  further  sum  of  $3444.40,  to  meet  the  first  and  second 
payments  due  to  Mr.  Klady. 

(Signed)  "James  Schubeman. 

"John  Van  Nnis. 

"  Thos.  Hance. 

*'  Staats  Van  Deursen. 

"Squire  Martin." 

It  was  resolved  at  the  annual  town-meeting  in  1816 : 

"  That  the  sum  of  $1200  be  raised  for  the  ensuing  year  for  the  support 
of  the  poor  and  the  salary  of  the  overseer  of  the  farm,"  and  ordered 
that  the  sum  of  $:iUUO  be  raised  towards  paying  for  the  purchase  of  the 
farm,  "and  that  $2S0  be  raised  towards  disciiarging  the  interest  due  ou 
the  mortgage  to  Robert  Morris." 

The  following  extract  from  the  report  of  the  town- 
ship committee  in  1817  shows  how  satisfactory  were 
the  operations  of  the  new  place  in  comparison  with 
the  experience  of  the  past : 

"  It  also  appears  from  the  account  of  tlie  overseer  that  about  $800  have 
been  expended  for  the  support,  clothing,  and  medical  attendance  of  21 
paupers  maintained  at  the  poor-house  farm  during  the  last  year.  The 
town  committee  beg  leave  to  draw  the  attention  of  the  town  to  the  sum 
expended  for  the  support  of  the  poor  in  the  year  1816,  previous  to  the 
present  plan  being  adopted,  and  it  will  be  found  to  have  exceeded  $2484, 
while  tbeir  support  under  the  present  arrangement  does  not  amount  to 
more  than  $1290,  calculating  tlie  interest  on  the  purchase  money  of  the 
farm  at  $490,  and  the  amount  expended. in  the  last  year  at  $800,  making 
a  difterence  in  favor  of  the  present  plan  of  S1200,  all  which  is  respect- 
fully submitted. 

(Signed)  "James  Crommelin, 

"John  Van  Nuis, 
"  Squire  Martin, 
"  Cornelius  Berdine, 
"Staats  Van  Deussen, 

"  Toii^iship  Committee" 

In  1819  it  was  ordered  that  $1897  be  raised  "  for  the 
last  payment  of  Jacob  Klady's  bond  for  the  poor- 
house  farm,"  and  that  "  $500  be  raised  for  the  support 
of  the  poor." 

At  the  annual  town-meeting  in  1820  the  following 
ordinance  was  passed : 

"  Be  it  ordained  by  the  inhabitants  of  North  Brunswick  in  town-meet- 
ing convened  that  the  township  committee  for  the  time  being  with  the 
overseer  of  the  poor  shall  be  and  they  are  hereby  constituted  a  board  of 
directors,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  employ  some  suitable  person  to  work 
the  poor-house  farm.  Said  board  shall  alsodirectand  advise  the  manner 
of  cultivating  and  improving  said  farm,  and  from  time  to  time  form  such 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  internal  government  of  the  bouse  as  shall 
appear  to  them  necessary  and  expedient." 

In  relation  to  the  care  of  paupers  in  the  township, 
the  committee  rendered  the  following  report  at  the 
annual  town-meeting  of  1821: 

"  They  report  that  your  farm  is  in  a  progressive  state  of  improvement, 
that  there  is  between  40  and  50  acres  of  young,  flourishing  wood  belong- 
ing to  it  which  is  carefully  husbanded.  This  year  the  money  you  have 
allowed  has  been  amply  sufficient  to  secure  every  desirable  object,  and 
when  you  compare  the  amount  raised  for  the  poor  with  that  formerly 
required  you  will  have  cause  to  be  gratified  at  the  vast  diminution  of  ex- 
pense.   Your  pour  are  well  clad  and  abundantly  supplied  with  good  and 


wholesome  food.  There  is  as  much  comfort  and  content  diffused  among 
them  as  is  reconcilable  with  a  state  of  poverty,  dependence,  and  their 
attendant  ills,  and  your  committee  congratulate  you  upon  the  complete 
success  of  this  system,  which  combines  in  its  operation  with  the  least 
possible  call  upon  the  property  of  individuals  a  perfect  relief  extended 
by  society  to  its  indigent  membei's  and  a  liberal  fulfillment  of  the  great 
law,  that  of  benevolence  and  humanity. 

(Signed)  "John  Van  Nuis. 

"  Sta.^ts  Van  Deursen. 

"Squire  Martin. 

"James  Crommelin." 

It  was  ordered  in  1823  that  $60  be  raised  for  paint- 
ing the  poor-house. 

In  1836  it  was  ordered: 

"  Tliat  the  township  committee  be  auttaorixed  to  erect  a  suitable  build- 
ing on  the  farm  in  some  most  convenient  place  for  the  accommodation 
of  all  or  any  insane  person  or  persons  which  is  now  or  may  hereafter 
become  a  town  charge  to  the  amount  of  any  sum  not  to  exceed  four 
hundred  dollars." 

The  following  statement  of  expenditures  on  account 
of  the  poor  was  rendered  by  the  committee  at  the  an- 
nual town-meeting  in  1838,  covering  the  time  from 
March  1,  1837,  to  March  1,  1838 : 

"Henry  Smith,  for  manure 8100.00 

"Lewis  Slover,  services 150.00 

"2  cows  purchased,  $42;  2  hogs  do.,  $18 60.00 

"  Paid  labor,  $28.40;  rails,  $23.36 61.76 

"  Repairing  building 19.83 

"  Seed  rye,  oats,  and  buckwheat,  and  grass-seed 50.12 

"  Expenses  of  poor  on  the  farm 988.55 

"  Expenses  of  poor  off  the  farm 307.08 

81727.34." 

In  the  compilation  of  the  above  history  of  the  incep- 
tion and  establishment  of  the  township  poor  farm  and 
poor-house  of  North  Brunswick  the  records  have  been 
drawn  upon  liberally,  for  the  twofold  reason  that  they 
contain  all  that  there  is  of  interest  connected  with  the 
early  history  of  the  institution,  and  that  such  a  pre- 
sentment of  the  facts  embraces  not  alone  the  names  of 
those  prominent  in  the  affairs  of  the  township  during 
the  period  1802-38,  but  a  contemporary  record  of  the 
part  taken  by  each,  and  of  dates  and  measures  and 
amounts  which  will  be  more  and  more  interesting  as 
the  early  days  recede  into  the  past.  From  time  to 
time  additions  were  made  to  the  accommodations  af- 
forded by  the  institution.  Its  buildings  increased  in 
number,  and  the  poor-house  proper  was  rendered 
more  comfortable  and  cheerful  as  the  years  went  by. 
The  poor-house  is  a  two-story  wood  building,  about 
20  by  40  feet,  with  an  addition  about  15  by  23  feet, 
kept  in  good  repair,  and  painted  white.  There  are 
two  good  barns  and  other  necessary  outbuildings  on 
the  farm.  In  the  settlement  of  the  accounts  of  the 
townships  of  North  Brunswick,  East  Brunswick,  and 
New  Brunswick,  after  the  division  of  the  township  of 
North  Brunswick,  in  1860,  the  poor-house  and  farm, 
which  had  been  established  and  maintained  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  taxpayers  of  the  whole  township  of  North 
Brunswick  as  previou.sly  bounded,  were  allotted  to 
New  Brunswick,  and  have  since  been  maintained  at 
the  expense  and  for  the  benefit  of  that  city.  The 
average  number  of  inmates  has  been  thirty-three  for 
several  years  past.  At  present  there  are  thirty,  rang- 
ing from  two  to  eighty-five  years  of  age,  about  equally 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


747 


I 


divided  between  the  sexes.  In  1881  the  amount  of 
money  devoted  by  the  city  of  New  Brunswick  to  this 
institution  was  $6000.  The  steward,  Mr.  Alexander 
Gulick.  The  farm  now  ranks  with  the  best  in  the 
township,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  forty  acres, 
one  hundred  and  five  of  which  are  under  cultivation. 
Since  1860  the  township  of  North  Brunswick  has 
adopted  the  plan  of  liaving  its  paupers  kept  in  private 
families. 

The  township  records  show  that  from  1820  to  1821, 
inclusive,  the  following  sums  were  voted  by  the  in- 
habitants of  North  Brunswick  for  all  purposes  con- 
nected with  the  care  and  sustenance  of  paupers  within 
its  limits,  the  figures  having  been  copied  from  the 
minutes  of  the  annual  township  meetings:  1820, 
$1870;  1821,  $700;  1822,  $700;  182.3,  $-500;  1824, 
$300;  1825,  .$650;  1826,1800;  1827,1750;  1828,  $700  ; 
1829,  $650;  1830,  $700;  1831,  $700;  1832,  $1100; 
1833,  $1100;  1834,  $1100;  183.5,  $1300;  1836,  $1500; 
1837,  $1500  ;  1838,  $1500 ;  1839,  $1500  ;  1840,  $1000 ; 
1841,  $800;  1842,  $900;  1843,  $1000;'  1844,  $1200;' 
1845,  $1200 ;'  1846,  $1200 ;'  1847,  $1000  ;>  1848,  $1000 ;' 
1849,  $1200  ;'  1850,  $1500  ;  1851,  $1500;  1852,  $1500; 
18.53,  $1500 ;'  1854,  $1500;'  1855,  $2000;  1856,  $2500; 
1857,  $2,500  ;'  1858.  $3000;'  1859,  $5000;'  1860,  $300; 
1861,  $100;"  1862,  the  money  in  the  hands  of  the  col- 
lector ;  1863,  $300  f  1864,  $375  ;  1865,  $450 ;  1866, 
$600 ;  1867,  $600 ;  1868,  $600 ;  1869,  $800 ;  1870,  $800  ; 
1871,  $600;  1872,  $700;  1873,  $700;  1874,  $700;  1875, 
$700;  1876,  $700;  1877,  $850;  1878,  $800;  1879, 
$1000;  1880,  $1000;  1881,  $1000. 

Educational.—  The  early  school-houses  in  the 
township  were  built  by  subscription,  and  teachers 
were  hired  by  those  who  were  well  enough  oft'  to 
bear  the  expense,  much  as  select  schools  of  a  late 
date  have  been  supported.  The  first  entry  to  be 
found  in  the  township  records  relative  to  the  pro- 
vision of  means  of  education  to  those  too  poor  to  pay 
for  it  in  North  Brunswick  was  made  in  1827,  and  reads 
as  follows : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  sum  of  five  hundred  dollars  be 
raised  for  the  education  of  poor  children  in  this  town- 
ship." 

This  resolution  was  passed  that  year  at  the  annual 
town-meeting.  In  1828  three  hundred  dollars  was 
likewise  appropriated,  and  the  same  amount  was 
voted  in  1829.  That  year  the  first  school  committee 
was  elected,  consisting  of  Staats  Van  Deursen,  Lewis 
D.  Hardenbergh,  Peter  Dayton,  James  Gable,  and 
Isaac  Brower.  In  1830  it  was  ordered  "  That  the 
balance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  the  hands 
of  the  collector,  belonging  to  the  fund  for  educating 
poor  children,  be  transferred  to  the  school  committee." 


1  And  the  interest  of  the  surplus  State  money  or  other  surplus  funds 
deducted. 

~  And  any  necessary  amount  from  money  in  the  collectors'  bands  not 
otherwise  appropriated. 

3  And  a  portion  of  the  previous  years'  surplus  ta.x,  aggregating 8251.67, 
if  needed. 


There  seems  to  have  been  no  other  provision  made 
for  public  schools  in  the  township  than  the  annual 
election  of  a  school  committee  until  1833,  when  it  was 
ordered : 

"Tliat  the  balance  of  8600  in  the  hands  of  the  collector  of  school 
fund  be  divided  among  all  the  schools  organized  by  the  1st  Monday  of 
April  next. 

"  That  the  town  committee  pay  the  expenses  of  publishing  the  school 
act  for  last  year,  $6,  and  also  for  the  present  year  the  same  sum  for 
the  like  publication." 

In  1834  it  was  ordered  : 

"That  the  school  fund  now  in  band  be  distributed  in  due  proportion 
to  such  schools  as  the  trustees  thereof  have  or  may  report  on  or  before 
the  first  of  May  next  ensuing." 

Similar  provision  for  public  school  was  several 
times  made  at  the  annual  town-meetings  during  the 
ensuing  five  years.  The  following  report  was  ren- 
dered by  the  school  committee  in  1840  : 

"  The  school  committee  of  the  township  of  North  Brunswick  report 
that  the  whole  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of  five  and  sixteen 
years,  as  reported  by  the  trustees  of  the  several  districts  in  said  town- 
ship to  your  committee,  is  1535,  viz. :  From  District  No.  1,930;  No.  2, 
28 ;  No.  3,  44 ;  No.  4,  16 ;  No.  5,  74  ;  No.  6,  87 ;  No.  7,  12 ;  No.  8, 26 ;  No. 
9,  72  ;  No.  10,  69;  No.  11,  148;  No.  12,  39. 

'*  And  they  further  report  that  the  appurtionmont  of  public  school 
money  to  this  township  is  S411.39,  giving  to  each  scholar  26  cents, 
amounting  to  $399  10,  leaving  a  balance  in  the  hands  of  the  collector  of 
S12.29  to  meet  expenses." 

Below  are  the  statistics  of  the  schools  of  the  town- 
ship, 1841-45 : 


No.  of  Districts. 


School-houses  built. 


(SpartsofDists.)      '"" 
1845..L„„.....*,,„...    I     1615 


650    :W9.40,One  in  Dist.  No.  2; 

I    in  No.  11. 
707    I  452.91! 

j  459.11[ 

698    !  519.391 

S02    !  809.13  One  in  Dist.  No.  11. 


In  1841  the  tuition  ranged  from  $1.50  to  $5  in  Dis- 
trict No.  1 ;  it  was  $2  in  Districts  Nos.  3  to  11,  and 
$2.50  in  District  No.  12.  School  was  kept  open  all 
the  year  in  Districts  Nos.  1,  3,  5  to  8,  and  11  and  12; 
three  quarters  in  District  No.  10;  and  two  quarters  in 
Districts  Nos.  4  and  9.  The  money  received  from  the 
collector  was  apportioned  to  parents  in  all  the  dis- 
tricts, and  by  them  used  in  paying  tuitions.  In  1842 
the  tuition  was  $2  to  $5  in  District  No.  1 ;  $2  in  Dis- 
tricts Nos.  2  to  11,  and  $3  in  District  No  12.  Schools 
were  kept  four  quarters  in  Districts  Nos.  1,  3,  4,  and 
6  to  12,  and  two  quarters  in  Districts  Nos.  2  and  5. 
The  money  was  paid  directly  to  the  teachers.  In  1844 
the  tuition  was  $2  to  $3  in  District  No.  1  ;  $2  in  Dis- 
tricts Nos.  5,  6,  9,  and  11,  and  part  Districts  Nos.  3,  4, 
and  7,  and  $2.50  in  District  No.  12,  and  part  District 
No.  2.     School  was  kept  open  twelve  months  in  Dis- 


748 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


tricts  Nos.  1  and  11,  and  part  Districts  Nos.  2,  3,  4, 
and  7 ;  nine  months  in  part  District  No.  10  ;  seven 
months  in  District  No.  9,  and  six  weeks  in  part  Dis- 
trict No.  8.  In  1845  the  tuition  was  $2  to  $6  in  Dis- 
trict No.  1,  $2  in  Districts  Nos.  5,  6,  11  and  12,  and 
part  Districts  Nos.  3,  4,  7,  8  and  10,  and  $2.50  in  part 
District  No.  2.  Schools  were  kept  a  year  in  District 
No.  1,  and  part  Districts  Nos.  2,  3,  4,  7,  and  10  ;  nine 
months  in  District  No.  9,  and  half  a  year  in  District 
No.  5. 

The  only  time  the  names  of  the  school  trustees 
were  entered  in  the  record  was  in  1843,  when  the  fol- 
lowing named  were  serving :  Peter  P.  Eunyan,  George 
G.  Nevins,  J.  Whitnach,  John  Christopher,  Eichard 
DeMott,  J.  H.  Outcalt,  H.  Cock,  Benjamin  L.  Smith, 
H.  H.  Booraem,  J.  Van  Deventer,  Peter  L.  Buckalew, 
Matthew  Gilland,  J.  Combs,  Abraham  Eappleyea,  E. 
D.  Applegate,  F.  Stutts,  Stephen  Smith,  J.  L.  Pier- 
son,  and  Cornelius  W.  Tunison. 

School  committeemen  were  not  elected  after  184G. 
In  1847  Dr.  Henry  B.  Poal  was  elected  the  first  town- 
ship superintendent  of  schools.  The  annual  reports 
upon  the  condition  of  the  schools  of  the  township 
were  not  thereafter  entered  in  the  records  till  1851. 

"The  report  of  the  sujjerintendent  of  schools  was 
received,  showing  the  whole  number  of  districts  to  be 
12;  whole  number  of  children  taught,  1055;  amount 
of  money  raised  and  expended,  $653.91 ;  whole  num- 
ber of  children  between  the  ages  of  5  and  16  in  the 
district  (township),  2440." 

The  "  free  school"  system'  was  adopted  in  1851. 
The  report  of  the  superintendent  for  that  year,  ren- 
dered at  the  annual  town-meeting  of  1852,  showed 
the  following  comparison  between  the  years  1850  and 
1851: 

•'Schools  upou  tlie  oW  eyBtem,  in  which  the  biUs  of  tuition  .iveiaged 
83  per  quarter,  were  open  for  eleven  months  in  1850. 

"Free  schools  were  open  ten  and  one-fourth  months  in  1851. 
"  The  whole  number  of  cliildren  taught  was  1055  in  1850. 
"The  whole  number  of  children  taught  was  1351  in  1851. 
"  The  average  number  of  children  attending  school  in  the  several  dis- 
tricts was  as  follows : 

Average  per  quarter. 
District.  1850.      1851. 

No   1 748        868 

"  ■  2 m    9 

"    3 19%      28 

"4  11  18 

"  5.;;;;..; 3714   ei 

••     6  18  28 

"  7:::::: 2%  12 

"     8 16 

"    9 24%  53 

"  10 «g  62 

"  11 6lg  113 

"  12 19>|  36 

This  surely  must  be  regarded  as  a  triumph  for  the 
free  school  system. 

Statistics  of  schools,  1852 :  Number  of  districts,  12 ; 
number  of  children  of  the  school  age,  2785  ;  number 
of  children  taught,  1765 ;  average  number  of  months 
schools  were  kept,  101  I  amount  of  school  money 
raised  by  tax,  $7803  ;  amount  received  from  the  State, 
$1463.23;  number  of  teachers  (11  male,  7  female),  18; 
total  amount  apjiropriated  for  school  purposes, 
$9366.23. 


School  statistics  of  1857  :  Number  of  districts,  12 ; 
number  of  children  of  the  school  age,  3403 ;  number 
who  attended  school,  2217 ;  average  number  of  months 
schools  were  kept  open,  lOJ  ;  amount  of  money  raised 
by  tax  for  the  support  of  schools,  $10,209. 

This  showing,  together  with  all  previous  statistical 
statements,  included  the  schools  in  the  city  of  New 
Brunswick  and  those  in  the  tlieu  portions  of  North 
Brunswick  now  embraced  within  the  limits  of  the 
township  of  East  Brunswick.  It  is  probable  that 
the  advanced  thought  and  educational  experience  of 
members  of  the  successive  committees  resident  at 
New  Brunswick — the  cradle  of  learning  in  Middle- 
sex County  and  a  wide  range  of  country  in  all  direc- 
tions beyond — had  their  influence  in  emancipating 
the  schools  of  North  Brunswick  from  the  primitive 
condition  of  contemporary  country  schools  in  New 
Jersey  at  an  earlier  period  than  that  at  which  im- 
provements would  otherwise  have  occurred.  With 
the  separation  of  New  Brunswick  from  the  township 
in  1860  came  a  marked  change  in  the  organization  of 
school  affairs  in  North  Brunswick ;  but  the  seed  that 
had  been  sown  by  the  early  and  long  alliance,  and  the 
community  of  interests  educationally  that  had  existed 
between  the  two  sections  of  the  old  township  as  a 
whole,  has  borne  good  fruit  since  the  division,  and 
at  this  time  the  opportunities  for  the  acquirement  of 
a  common-school  education  are  as  good  in  North 
Brunswick  as  in  any  town  of  similar  status  in  New 
Jersey. 

The  number  of  children  between  the  ages  of  five 
and  eighteen  in  North  Brunswick  during  the  period 
from  1867  to  1880  is  shown  below:  1867,  335;  1868, 
319;  1869,  354;  1870,  381;  1871,  400;  1872,  312; 
1873,  302;  1874,  326;  1875,  350;  1876,  344;  1877, 
352;  1878,364;  1879,347;  1880,360. 

There  are  in  the  township  three  school  districts, 
numbered  in  the  enumeration  of  tlie  school  districts 
of  Middlesex  County  27,  28,  and  29,  and  known  re- 
spectively as  "Oak  Hill,"  "Milltown,"  and  "  Eed 
Lion"  districts.  Their  statistics  in  1880  were  as 
follows : 

Amount  of  apportionment  from  State  appropria- 
tion: No.  27,  $300;  No.  28,  $565.08;  No.  29,  $300. 
Amount  of  district  school-tax  voted  for  payment  of 
teachers'  salaries  :  No.  28,  $400.  Amount  of  district 
school-tax  voted  to  be  used  for  building,  purchasing, 
hiring,  repairing,  or  furnishing  public  school-houses : 
No.  28,  $100 ;  No.  29,  $75.  Total  amount  of  district 
school-tax  ordered  to  be  raised :  No.  28,  $500 ;  No. 
29,  $75.  Total  amount  received  from  all  sources  for 
public  school  purposes :  No.  27,  $300 ;  No.  28,  $1065.08 ; 
No.  29,  $375.  Present  value  of  school  property  :  No. 
27,  $1500 ;  No.  28,  $3500 ;  No.  29,  $800.  Number  of 
children  of  the  school  age  in  the  districts:  No.  27, 
90;  No.  28,  199;  No.  29,  71.  Average  number  of 
months  schools  have  been  kept  open :  No.  27,  9} ; 
No.  28,  10 ;  No.  29, 10.  Average  attendance :  No.  27, 
22;  No.  28,  76;  No.  29,  24.    Estimated  number  of 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


749 


children  in  the  districts  attending  private  schools: 
No.  27,  15;  No.  28,  6;  No.  29,  2.  Estimated  number 
of  children  in  the  districts  who  attended  no  schools 
during  the  year:  No.  27,  33;  No.  28,  48;  No.  29,  9. 
Seating  capacity  of  school-houses  and  condition  of 
same :  No.  27,  50,  good  ;  No.  28,  150,  very  good ;  No. 
29,  60,  good.  Number  of  male  teachers  employed : 
No.  27,  1 ;  No.  28,  1.  Number  of  female  teachers 
employed:  No.  27,  1 ;  No.  28,  1 ;  No.  29,  1.  Average 
salary  per  month  paid  male  teachers :  No.  28,  $45. 
Average  monthly  salary  of  female  teachers :  No.  27, 
«31 ;  No.  28,  $30 ;  No.  29,  $25. 

Industrial  Pursuits. — A  grist-mill  was  built  where 
Milltown  now  is,  on  the  North  Brunswick  side  of 
Lawrence's  Brook,  at  a  very  early  day.  Soon  after 
the  beginning  of  the  present  century  it  was  owned  by 
Jacob  I.  Bergen,  and  called  Bergen's  Mill.  Its  pre- 
vious history  the  writer  ha.s  been  unable  to  trace. 
The  water-power  at  Brookford  was  first  made  use  of 
as  long  ago  as  1750,  when  it  turned  the  machinery  of 
a  grist-mill  which  stood  within  the  area  now  occu- 
pied by  Parsons'  Brookford  Snuft'-Mills.  Early  in 
the  present  century  a  saw-mill  was  in  operation  there 
under  the  same  roof  with  the  grist-mill,  and  the 
concern  was  owned  or  operated,  or  both,  by  Isaac 
Petty,  who  after  a  number  of  years  sold  out  to 
Matthew  Edgerton. 

A  fulling-mill  was  introduced,  and  when  machin- 
ery put  an  end  to  the  domestic  carding  of  wool 
and  the  periodical  bringing  of  it  to  a  mill  to  be  made 
into  cloth  for  private  families,  the  works  were  con- 
verted into  a  snuff-mill,  and  as  such  were  operated  by 
Mr.  Edgerton  from  1839  to  1856. 

In  1851  the  establishment  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
and  whatever  remained  of  the  old  grist-mill  and  saw- 
mill disappeared  forever.  The  snuflT-mill  was  rebuilt 
in  1852,  and  the  manufacture  of  snuflf  was  carried  on 
with  considerable  success  by  Mr.  Edgerton  until  he 
disposed  of  the  property  to  Mr.  William  G.  Parsons 
in  1856. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  history  of  manufacturing  en- 
terprise at  this  locality,  which  from  about  the  time 
of  any  general  settlement  in  the  surrounding  country 
has  been  a  scene  of  industry  and  business  activity 
second  to  no  other  in  the  country  south  of  the  Rari- 
tan  either  in  importance  or  celebrity. 

The  Brookford  Snuff-Mills. — These  mills,  the 
property  of  Mr.  William  G.  Parsons,  he  purchased  of 
Matthew  S.  Edgerton  in  1856,  and  has  improved  them 
from  time  to  time,  erecting  the  large  brick  building, 
now  so  conspicuous,  in  1872.  He  is  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  four  varieties  of  snuff,  known  to  the 
trade  as  "  Scotch,"  "  Maccaboy,"  "Lundyfoot,"  and 
the  "  French  Rappee"  snuffs.  His  purchases  of 
tobacco  are  large  each  year,  and  it  comes  mainly 
from  Richmond,  Va.,  though  some  is  bought  from 
Missouri,  Kentucky,  and  in  the  New  York  market. 
Little  or  no  Connecticut,  Delaware,  or  New  Jersey  | 
tobacco  is  used,  that  grown  in  these  States  being  too 
48 


light  for  use  in  this  factory.  Of  the  four  varieties 
mentioned,  the  Brookford  mills  make  many  times  as 
much  "Scotch"  as  of  all  the  remaining  three  kinds. 
The  quality  of  the  snuffs  manufactured  here  is  as 
good  and  the  price  they  bring  as  high  as  those  of  any 
snuffs  in  the  market.  Mr.  Parsons  sells  in  large 
quantities,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  supplies  the 
New  York  jobbers.  But  it  is  to  the  South  that  snuff 
is  sent  in  the  largest  quantities,  and  there  it  is  in 
most  general  use,  and  there  it  is  that  Parsons'  yellow 
"  Scotch"  snuff  is  in  the  greatest  demand  and  has  the 
best  reputation. 

The  Brookford  mills  are  situated  on  the  bank  of 
Lawrence's  Brook,  the  old-time  water-power  pre- 
viously referred  to  supplying  the  motive-power, 
about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  Milltown.  In 
the  management  of  the  concern  Mr.  Parsons  is  assisted 
by  his  sons,  James  M.  Parsons  and  William  G.  Par- 
sons, Jr. 

The  Meyer  Rubber  Company.' — The  cradle  of 
rubber  shoe  manufacture  is  undoubtedly  at  Milltown. 
It  was  there  that  Christopher  Meyer,  who  had  begun 
his  investigations  soon  after  Goodyear  and  Day,  made 
his  first  essay  at  manufacturing,  and  there,  obtaining 
his  right  under  the  Goodyear  patent  and  fighting  the 
battles  with  Day  under  the  Goodyear  banner,  he 
went  on  inventing  and  improving  machinery  and 
perfecting  the  process  of  rubber  shoe  making.  To- 
day no  man  more  thoroughly  understands  all  the 
branches  and  details  of  the  rubber  trade  than  Mr. 
Meyer.  He  is  the  leading  spirit  of  three  companies, 
all  having  manufactories  in  the  county, — the  Meyer 
Works  at  Milltown,  and  the  New  Jersey  Works  and 
the  Novelty  Hard  Rubber  Works  at  New  Brunswick, 
— and  all  occupying  important  places  in  the  rubber 
trade. 

In  1839,  Mr.  Meyer  went  to  New  Brunswick  from 
Newark  to  put  up  for  Horace  H.  Day  the  first  steam- 
engine  and  machinery  Day  ever  owned  for  the  first 
rubber-works  ever  put  in  operation  there.  Day  was 
then  making  carriage-cloths  and  rubber  shoes,  but  the 
former  was  so  odorous  as  to  be  intolerable,  and  so 
soft  that  when  the  carriage-top  was  put  down  the 
folds  of  the  cloth  stuck  together  and  peeled  off,  and 
the  latter  in  summer  were  similarly  unfit  for  use, 
while  in  winter  they  became  hard  as  bricks.  Mr. 
Meyer  devised  a  plan  by  which  the  unpleasant  smell 
was  almost  entirely  obviated  and  the  cloth  and  shoes 
rendered  more  durable.  Mr.  Day  refused  to  recog- 
nize the  value  of  this  process,  and  Mr.  Meyer  there- 
upon decided  to  leave  his  employ,  even  insisting  upon 
doing  so  after  Day  had  reconsidered  his  refusal. 

In  1840,  Mr.  Meyer  began  business  on  his  own 
account  near  the  Landing  Bridge  in  New  Brunswick, 
and  remained  there  three  months.  Messrs.  Hutch- 
inson and  Onderdonk  had  meanwhile  dissolved  part- 


1  Largely  from  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  New  Brunswick  and  its  Indus- 
tries," revised  to  date,  with  additions. 


750 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


nership  in  a  rubber  business  they  had  been  carrying 
on  in  Water  Street,  New  Brunswick,  and  the  latter 
started  the  rubber  manufacture  in  James  Neilson's 
old  saw-mill,  the  former  going  to  Newark.  Failing 
in  his  experiment,  Mr.  Onderdonk  sold  out  to  Mr- 
Meyer,  who  ran  the  works  with  his  own  machinery 
two  years  so  successfully  that  Mr.  Onderdonk  in  turn 
bought  him  out,  and,  in  company  with  Mr.  Johnson 
Letson,  established  the  works  now  of  the  New  Bruns- 
wick Rubber  Company. 

At  this  juncture  Mr.  J.  C.  Ackerman  proposed  to 
Mr.  Meyer  to  build  for  him  a  factory  on  the  site  of 
the  old  Milltown  grist-mill,  and  this  was  done,  Mr. 
James  Bishop  joining  with  Mr.  Meyer  in  the  man- 
agement. This  was  in  1843.  In  1844  the  works  were 
started  and  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  shirred 
goods,  carriage-cloth,  and  rubber  shoes  with  leather 
bottoms,  the  latter  being  soon  substituted  by  the 
Goodyear  all-rubber  shoe,  for  though  Goodyear  had  a 
patent  on  the  process,  it  was  not  respected  and  soon 
became  common  property.  Before  the  process  of 
vulcanization  was  understood  the  rubber  had  to  be 
dissolved  in  turpentine  and  acids.  The  caoutchouc 
was  received  from  Para  in  three  forms, — in  sheets,  in 
bottles,  and  in  rough  shoes  formed  by  dipping  clay 
moulds  in  the  sap.  All  these  were  utilized  by  Mr. 
Meyer.  The  rough  shoes  were  fur-tipped  and  pre- 
pared for  sale  ;  the  gum  bottles  were  dissolved  and 
spread  over  cloth  for  carriage-cloth  ;  the  imported 
sheets  were  cut  into  fore-uppers  and  joined  with 
cloth  quarters  to  cover  leather  soles  for  shoes.  In 
this  manner  the  works  turned  out  about  one  thousand 
pairs  of  shoes  per  week.  These  shoes,  however, 
were  found  to  get  hard  in  winter  and  sticky  in  sum- 
mer, and  were  soon  condemned  by  popular  disfavor, 
and  the  business  received  a  serious  check.  The  works 
also  turned  out  rubber  ponton-bridges  and  boats  for 
government  use  in  the  Mexican  war.  In  1845  the 
factory  was  burned  down,  with  Mr.  Meyer's  residence, 
leaving  him  absolutely  without  a  cent  of  capital  and 
without  stock  or  machinery.  Mr.  John  R.  Ford  then 
came  in  and  furnished  capital  to  start  the  works 
anew,  and  under  the  name  of  Ford  &  Co.  they  con- 
tinued in  operation  for  several  years.  The  new  build- 
ings meii-sured  twenty-five  by  one  hundred  and  thirty 
and  thirty  by  forty  feet,  and  in  them  the  business 
steadily  grew  and  improvements  were  made  until  in 
1851  a  second  fire  visited  the  establishment.  In  1852 
a  .stock  company  was  formed,  named  the  Ford  Rubber 
Company,  and  all  of  the  present  buildings  except 
the  new  brick  building  were  occupied.  In  1858  the 
name  of  the  company  was  changed  to  the  Meyer 
Rubber  Company,  and  so  it  still  remains.  The  com- 
pany is  now  working  with  $200,000  capital  stock,  and 
is  officered  as  follows  :  President,  Christopher  Meyer; 
Treasurer,  John  It.  Ford  ;  Superintendent,  John  C. 
Evans.  Mr.  James  C.  Edmonds  very  efficiently  filled 
the  office  of  secretary  from  184()  until  his  death,  Dec. 
6,  1879.     For  a  long  time  Mr.  John  Evans,  father  of 


the  present  superintendent,  was  in  charge  of  the  fac- 
tory, and  his  close  attention  to  all  the  details  of  man- 
ufacture, of  which  he  had  an  admirable  knowledge, 
conduced  much  to  the  success  of  the  enterprise.  The 
present  superintendent  has  a  practical  knowledge  of 
the  business,  gained  by  years  of  experience,  which 
fitted  him  to  fill  the  responsible  position  made  vacant 
by  his  father's  death. 

The  buildings  occupied  for  manufacturing  purposes 
by  the  Meyer  Rubber  Company  are  eight  in  number, 
the  larger  ones  so  separated  that  some  of  them  might 
be  saved  in  case  of  fire,  and  the  smaller  ones  attached 
to  them.  A  large  frame  building,  measuring  fifty  by 
one  hundred  and  twelve  feet,  four  stories  high,  with 
a  wing  extending  from  it  about  thirty  feet,  contains 
machinery  for  steaming,  crushing,  and  washing  crude 
rubber,  obtained  in  immense  quantities  from  Para, 
Nicaragua,  Esmeralda,  and  other  places  in  Central 
and  South  America,  store-rooms,  the  "  stripping"- 
room,  a  last-room,  a  varnishing-room,  a  large  room 
occupied  as  a  stock-room  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
"  Arctic"  overshoes,  and  a  room  in  which  rubber  boots 
are  made.  Attached  to  one  end  of  this  building  is  a 
steam  heater  in  a  building  forty  by  fifty-eight  feet, 
to  which  is  attached  a  boiler-house  containing  ap- 
paratus for  supplying  steam  to  the  heater,  and  attached 
to  this  building  also  are  two  round  dry  heaters.  In 
the  wing  are  located  the  offices  of  the  company. 

In  1878  a  brick  building  (now  the  main  building)  was 
erected.  It  measured  fifty  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
is  four  stories  high,  and  contains  on  the  ground  floor 
machinery  for  preparing  rubber  for  manufacture  into 
boots  and  overshoes,  while  on  the  three  floors  above 
are  carried  on  the  various  processes  of  cutting  and 
manufacturing  until  the  boots  and  shoes  are  turned 
out  complete.  Attached  are  an  engine-house,  twenty- 
two  by  fifty  feet,  containing  an  engine  of  five  hun- 
dred horse-power ;  a  boiler-house,  thirty  by  forty 
feet,  containing  three  boilers ;  and  a  building,  thirty 
by  sixty  feet,  in  which  are  compounded  from  divers 
ingredients  the  various  colors  given  to  rubber  for  use 
in  these  works.  The  other  buildings  are  S,  three-story 
brick  store-house,  sixty  by  seventy-five  feet,  where 
are  stored  both  the  crude  material  as  received  at  tlie 
factory  and  the  products  of  the  same  awaiting  ship- 
ment, and  a  frame  three-story  building,  forty  by  sixty 
feet,  on  the  opposite  side  of  Lawrence's  Brook,  in 
which  are  manufactured  the  boxes  in  which  goods 
are  packed  for  shipment.  The  two  principal  build- 
ings are  connected  by  an  elevated  gangway  over  the 
street,  and  the  box-factory  is  connected  with  the 
large  wooden  building  by  a  narrow  and  slender 
bridge,  which  spans  the  brook.  Besides  these  factory 
buildings  the  company  owns  a  farm  of  about  one 
hundred  acres,  upon  which  is  raised  produce  to  sup- 
ply the  stock,  consisting  of  a  dozen  or  more  horses. 

From  350  to  400  hands  are  employed  by  the  Meyer 
Rubber  Company,  mostly  German,  and  about  equally 
divided  between  the  sexes.     Over  7000  pairs  of  san- 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


751 


dais,  boots,  shoes,  "  Arctics,"  etc.,  per  day,  or  between 
1,400,000  and  1,800,000  per  year,  at  a  value  of 
$1,000,000,  are  turned  out.  Most  of  the  shoes  are 
made  for  city  wear,  light  and  stylish,  and  the  works 
often  introduce  new  and  attractive  styles.  It  is  at 
this  factory  that  most  of  the  important  improvements 
in  machinery  for  rubber  manufacture  have  been  in- 
vented and  perfected.  For  example,  the  sole  of  a 
rubber  shoe  was  formerly  made  in  three  parts,  because 
three  different  thicknesses  were  required  for  the  sole, 
the  shank,  and  the  heel.  Here  a  machine  was  in- 
vented which  converted  a  sheet  of  rubber  at  once  into 
shoe-soles  of  three  thicknesses  in  one  piece,  all  ready 
for  the  uppers.  The  machinery  for  making  the  pres- 
ent style  of  sandal  was  prepared  here  ;  also  the  pat- 
ented engraved  steel  roll,  by  which  a  permanent 
impression  is  made  upon  the  upper  to  resemble  the 
ridge-effect  obtained  in  other  factories  by  laying  rub- 
ber cords  on  top  of  the  fore  upper,  which  by  saving 
the  manufacture,  the  cutting  it,  and  the  laying  it  on 
by  hand,  cheapens  the  cost  over  a  cent  and  a  half  per 
pair,  and  saves  eight  thousand  dollars  or  ten  thousand 
dollars  a  year  to  such  companies  as  have  secured  the 
right  to  use  it.  The  new  process  of  mixture  for  the 
manufacture  of  shoes,  including  the  use  of  resin  and 
tar,  was  also  devised  here  by  Mr.  Meyer,  and  is  next 
in  real  importance,  in  the  estimation  of  practical 
manufacturers,  to  the  invention  of  vulcanization  itself, 
but  was  never  patented  on  account  of  the  difficulty 
of  sustaining  patents  at  the  time  against  infringe- 
ments. It  was  kept  a  secret  for  a  while,  but  has 
now  become  common  property.  Altogether,  the 
Meyer  Rubber- Works  are  interesting,  both  on  ac<*unt 
of  their  extensive  business,  and  as  being  the  birth- 
place of  most  of  the  improved  machinery  for  making 
rubber  shoes,  and  of  all  the  new  styles  of  shoes  which 
the  market  brings  out.  As  a  local  industry  they  take 
rank  with  the  first  in  the  State,  and  Milltown  and 
the  surrounding  country  are  better  off  for  their  pres- 
ence and  that  of  the  substantial  workingmen  to 
whom  they  afford  well-paid  employment. 

The  Voobhees  Station  Tannery. — In  Frank- 
lin, Somerset  County,  is  a  stopping-place  on  the  Branch 
Railway  to  Millstone,  known  as  Voorhees  Station. 
The  depot  is  just  west  of  the  Princeton  and  New 
Brunswick  turnpike,  acro.ss  which  highway,  within 
the  borders  of  North  Brunswick,  is  located  a  tannery, 
which  was  first  put  in  operation  at  a  date  so  remote 
that  it  cannot  be  more  definitely  stated  than  as  dur- 
ing the  latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century.  In  1806 
it  was  the  property  of  Daniel  King,  and  at  that  time 
was  by  no  means  a  new  structure.  In  1826  it  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

The  present  building  was  soon  erected  on  the  old 
site  by  Mr.  King,  who  was  the  proprietor  until  his 
death,  about  two  years  later.  The  property  was  then 
sold  to  James  Moran,  who  disposed  of  it  to  John 
Christopher  in  1836,  when  he  could  not  have  been  the 
proprietor  more  than  a  few  months.    Mr.  Christopher 


carried  on  quite  an  extensive  business  there  until  his 
death  in  1850,  when  the  premises  passed  into  the  pos- 
session of  his  son,  Jacob  V.  D.  Christopher,  the  present 
owner.  The  tannery  contains  twenty-eight  vats.  A 
fifteen  horse-power  engine  is  used,  and  four  men  are 
employed.  Harness,  shoe,  and  upper  leather  is  man- 
ufactured. 

Other  Indu.stries. — Considerable  nursery  stock 
is  raised  in  the  township,  and  in  various  localities  are 
a  convenient  number  of  wheelwrights',  blacksmiths', 
shoemakers',  and  other  small  mechanics'  shops. 

Church  History. — The  George's  Road  Baptist 
Church. — The  field  occupied  by  the  George's  Road 
Church  was  missionary  ground  of  the  New  Jersey 
Baptist  State  Convention.  Before  any  church  organ- 
ization was  formed  Rev.  John  B.  Case  labored  there 
as  a  missionary  of  the  Convention.  Brethren  also  from 
the  New  Brunswick  Baptist  Church — G.  S.  Webb, 
Randolph  Martin,  and  Robert  Lyle — used  to  visit  the 
place  and  hold  preaching  services,  prayer-meetings, 
and  Sabbath-school  sessions.  Those  who  were  bap- 
tized as  the  fruit  of  these  labors  were  received  into 
the  fellowship  of  the  New  Brunswick  Church.  After 
a  while  measures  were  taken  to  constitute  the  present 
church.  This  movement  seemed  to  be  a  proper  one, 
as  the  distance  from  New  Brunswick  was  five  miles, 
and  to  some  of  the  members  it  was  twice  that  distance ; 
and  besides  this,  the  road  was  a  hard  one  to  travel. 
Nevertheless  there  were  sisters  who  used  to  walk  there 
to  attend  Mr.  Webb's  ministry. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  John  T.  Bennett's  on  the 
20th  of  January,  1843,  articles  of  faith,  church  cove- 
nant, and  the  name  of  the  church  were  agreed  upon. 
On  the  23d  of  January,  1843,  a  Council  met,  consisting 
of  the  following  Baptist  Churches  :  First  New  Bruns- 
wick, Independent  Bethel  at  Washington,  Hights- 
town,  Penn's  Neck,  Nottingham  Square,  Piscataway, 
and  Jacksonville.  Everything  being  satisfactory  to 
the  Council,  the  new  organization  was  recognized 
with  appropriate  exercises  as  a  regularly  constituted 
Baptist  Church. 

The  number  of  members  thus  organized  were  33, 
whose  names  are  as  follows  : 

Rev.  John  B.  Case  and  his  wife,  Mary  B.  Case, 
from  the  Independent  Bethel  Church  at  Washington  ; 
Mary  Steward,  from  the  Abysinia  Church,  New  York 
City;  and  the  following  thirty  members  dismissed 
from  the  New  Brunswick  Church  :  David  Provost, 
William  Suydam,  Elizabeth  Creamer,  Ann  Meseroll, 
Thoma-s  W.  Bastedo,  William  W.  Dehart,  Jane  Eliza 
Buckelew,  Phebe  Drake,  William  Bound,  Peter  Z. 
Buckelew,  Jane  Suydam,  Mary  Thompson,  Elizabeth 
Sperling,  Margaret  Ann  Bennett,  Eliza  Dehart,  Fred- 
erick W.  Buckelew,  Maria  Ann  Bennet,  William  Major, 
Ida  Buckelew,  David  Creamer,  Phebe  M.  Thompson, 
Louis  Sperling,  Elizabeth  Meseroll,  Leah  Dehart, 
Fanny  Buckelew,  Mary  Buckelew,  Catherine  Major, 
and  Sara  Hendricks. 

Its  first   pastor  was  Rev.  John  B.  Case,  who  re- 


752 


HISTORY   OF   UNION    AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


mained  a  little  over  two  years.  At  this  time  the 
church  had  no  meeting-house,  but  held  meetings  at 
private  houses  and  at  the  school-house.  In  March, 
1845,  Rev.  Mr.  Case  resigned,  and  an  invitation  was 
given  to  Rev.  David  P.  Perdun  to  become  the  pastor, 
which  he  accepted,  commencing  his  pastorate  in 
April,  1845.  In  this  year  the  church  began  to  build 
a  house  of  worship,  which  was  dedicated  on  the  17th 
of  March,  1847.  Rev.  Mr.  Hopkins,  from  New  York 
City,  preached  the  dedication  sermon  from  Haggai  ii. 
7:  "And  I  will  shake  all  nations,  and  the  desire  of 
all  nations  shall  come :  and  I  will  fill  this  house  with 
glory,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts." 

Mr.  Perdun  was  noted  for  revival  effort,  and  quite 
a  number  were  brought  into  the  church  through  his 
protracted  meetings.  In  his  last  will  he  left  a  legacy 
of  $300  to  the  church,  which  it  found  to  be  very  use- 
ful. In  December,  1847,  Rev.  Mr.  Perdun  resigned 
his  charge  of  the  church,  after  which  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  for  a  few  months  by  Rev.  Mr.  Gesner.  The 
next  pastor  was  Rev.  B.  Stelle,  who  came  as  a  supply, 
and  later  assumed  the  pastorate,  remaining  until  the 
close  of  1853.  In  October,  1854,  Rev.  Morgan  Cox 
came,  and  remained  until  April,  1860,  after  which 
the  pulpit  was  supplied  for  a  time  by  Rev.  Mr.  Night- 
ingale. In  1862,  Rev.  Charles  Cordo  was  called  to 
the  pastorate,  and  was  in  charge  until  June,  1863. 
After  this  few  meetings  were  held  during  the  suc- 
ceeding two  years,  the  church  having  neither  sup- 
plies nor  pastor.  In  March,  1865,  Rev.  Christian 
Brinckerhoff  was  called,  and  was  pastor  until  1868, 
and  remained  somewhat  longer  as  supply.  Rev.  Mr. 
Brinckerhoff  was  a  builder  of  churches  both  spiritual 
and  substantial.  During  his  pastorate  the  house 
underwent  a  very  general  alteration,  which  much 
improved  it  in  appearance  internally  and  externally. 
During  the  winter  of  1868  and  1869,  Rev.  "  Father" 
Webb  acted  as  a  supply,  when  an  interesting  state  of 
religious  feeling  was  manifested.  In  the  early  part 
of  the  latter  year  Rev.  Louis  Silleck  became  pastor, 
remaining  until  February,  1874,  and  the  parsonage 
was  built  during  his  pastorate.  Rev.  Messrs.  Davis 
and  Babbage  acted  as  supplies  for  a  few  months,  and 
in  1875  the  latter  accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate, 
the  duties  of  which  he  still  continues  to  discharge. 

From  the  organization  of  this  church  to  1880  there 
were  added  to  it  by  baptism,  144 ;  by  letter,  33.  The 
decrease  was  as  follows :  Dismissed,  67 ;  deceased, 
33;  excluded,  60.  The  membership  at  this  time  is 
about  60. 

The  first  officers  of  the  church  were  the  following: 

William  Major,  David  Provost,  Matthew  Edgerton, 
Peter  D.  Buckalew,  and  John  Wolf,  trustees;  Wil-  i 
liam  Major,  John  Hendricks,  and  John  Wolf,  dea- 
cons ;  William  W.  Dehart,  clerk. 

The  present  officers  are  William  Major,  Ross  Drake,  i 
and  Isaac  Messeroll,  trustees ;  William  Major  and  ,' 
Ross  Drake,  deacons ;  Edwin  B.  Drake,  clerk  ;  David  j 
Pearce,  treasurer.  i 


The  Sunday-school  connected  with  the  George's 
Road  Church  has  four  officers,  nine  teachers,  and 
seventy-three  scholars.  The  average  attendance  is 
forty-five.  The  library  numbers  one  hundred  volumes, 
and  the  superintendent  is  Mr.  E.  B.  Drake. 

The  Milltown  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
— In  1844  a  Methodist  class  was  formed  at  Milltown 
by  Rev.  Ralph  Stout,  a  local  preacher  and  a  member 
of  the  Liberty  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
New  Brunswick,  the  meeting-place  being  in  an  old 
school-house  opposite  the  site  of  the  present  parsonage, 
and  was  attached  to  the  Liberty  Street  Church.  In 
the  spring  of  1846  this  class  and  the  organizations  at 
Washington,  Old  Bridge,  and  Fresh  Pond  were  formed 
into  a  circuit,  known  as  the  Middlesex  Circuit.  Three 
years  later  the  Milltown  charge  was  separated  from 
the  Middlesex  Circuit,  and  again  attached  to  the  Lib- 
erty Street  Church,  and  in  the  spring  of  1851  it  was 
separated  from  the  New  Brunswick  charge  for  the 
second  time,  and  since  that  date  has  been  an  inde- 
pendent church. 

The  constituent  members  of  the  Milltown  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  were  nineteen  in  number, 
named  as  follows :  Christopher  Meyer,  Margaret 
Meyer,  James  C.  Edmonds,  Mary  E.  Edmonds,  Ella 
Evans,  Evans  Edmonds,  David  Evans,  Mary  A.  Van 
Arsdale,  John  Evans,  Elizabeth  Howard,  Lewis  S. 
Hyatt,  Hannah  A.  Hyatt,  John  M.  Thompson,  Charles 
C.  Hyatt,  Catharine  Atcherson,  Elizabeth  Titatus, 
Susan  Stephens,  and Brown. 

A  meeting  was  called  by  the  society,  Feb.  19,  1851, 
at  which  arrangements  were  made  for  the  erection  of 
a  house  of  worship,  and  John  R.  Ford,  Christopher 
Meyer,  John  Evans,  James  C.  Edmonds,  Isaac  G. 
Van  Arsdale,  Lewis  S.  Hyatt,  and  Charles  C.  Hyatt 
were  elected  trustees.  The  board  of  trustees  organ- 
nized  with  Christopher  Meyer  as  president,  Isaac  G. 
Van  Arsdale  as  treasurer,  and  James  C.  Edmonds  as 
secretary.  The  trustees  started  a  subscription  with 
pledges  of  eleven  hundred  dollars.  John  R.  Ford 
donated  a  lot,  upon  which  a  church  was  built  by  Ed- 
ward B.  Wright,  contractor,  at  a  cost  of  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  dollars,  and  dedicated  Dec.  25, 
1852  ;  the  bell,  which  cost  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
two  dollars,  being  donated  by  Mrs.  John  R.  Ford. 
A  wing  was  attached  to  the  main  body  of  this  church, 
which  was  occupied  as  a  chapel. 

The  church  above  described  was  torn  down,  and 
the  chapel  sold  and  removed,  and  the  present  brick 
church  was  erected  on  the  old  site  in  1872,  at  a  cost 
of  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  and  was  dedicated  by 
Bishop  Simpson,  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  located  on 
Main  Street,  nearly  in  the  centre  of  that  part  of  the 
village  northwest  of  Lawrence's  Brook. 

The  following-named  preachers  have  served  the  class 
and  church  in  Middletown  in  the  order  named  :  Revs. 
Ralph  Stout,  1844-46  ;  James  Ayers,  1846-47  ;  James 
Jaquette,  1847-49 ;  James  Hilliard,  1849-52  ;  James 
Freeman,  D.D.,  1852-54;  I.  D.  King,  1854-56;  Jo- 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


753 


seph   Horner,  1856-57;    A.    Owen,    1857-58;  H.   P. 
Staats,  1858-60;  T.  D.  Hanlon,  1860-61 ;  S.  E.  Post, 
1861-63  ;  Jesse  Styles,  1863-65  ;    William  Franklin,  j 
1865-67;  A.  Lawrence,  1867-71  ;  G.  Reed,  1871-73;  I 
T.  C.  Carman,  1873-74;  C.  F.  Garrison,  1874-77  ;  S.  | 
C.  Cliatlin,  1877-79;  L.  M.  Atkinson,  1879-81. 

In  1858  the  trustees  purchased  the  present  parson- 
age, at  a  cost  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  It 
is  a  comfortable  two-story  frame  dwelling,  situated  on 
Main  Street,  near  the  church. 

The  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1851.  James 
C.  Edmonds  was  the  first  superintendent.  At  his 
death,  in  December,  1879,  he  was  succeeded  by  E.  J. 
Carhart,  having  served  continuously  twenty-eight 
years.  The  membership  of  the  Sunday-school  in 
1881  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-five.  The  library 
contained  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes. 

The  Livingston  Park  Chapel. — This  is  a  small 
frame  building,  occupied  by  any  or  all  of  the  denom- 
inations of  Christians  represented  at  and  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  Franklin  Park.  It  was  erected  in  1875  and 
1876  on  land  donated  by  the  late  Henry  K.  How,  and 
dedicated  in  June  of  the  latter  year  by  Rev.  Henry 
F.  Smith,  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  New 
Brunswick,  just  one  year  to  a  day  from  the  death  of 
the  generous  donor  of  the  site,  religious  services  hav- 
ing previously  been  held  in  the  house. 

On  the  first  Sunday  in  each  month  in  1881,  Rev. 
Henry  F.  Smith  or  Rev.  Mr.  Marsh  holds  a  service 
in  the  chapel.  On  the  remaining  Sundays  in  each 
month  services  are  conducted  by  theological  students 
from  Rutgers  College. 

Soon  after  the  completion  of  the  chapel  a  Sunday- 
school  was  organized,  with  William  M.  Van  Sickle 
as  superintendent.  The  present  superintendent  is 
Eugene  Carrigan.  The  school  numbers  thirty-five 
scholars,  and  has  a  small  library. 

Burial-places. —  There  can  be  little  doubt  that 
the  earliest  interments  within  the  present  township 
were  made  at  the  old  graveyard  now  included  in 
Van  Liew  Cemetery,  and  at  the  ancient  burying- 
ground  at  Three-Mile  Run.  Whicli  of  the  two  places 
has  any  claim  to  i)riority  would  be  a  difficult  ques- 
tion to  answer.  In  both  grounds  are  graves  with 
monuments  on  which  the  inscriptions  have  been 
rendered  undecipherable  by  the  hand  of  Time,  and 
in  both  are  doubtless  many  graves  unmarked  and 
unrecognizable  as  such.  The  earliest  legible  inscrip- 
tion to  be  seen  in  the  old  portion  of  Van  Liew  Cem- 
etery is  in  the  German  language,  and  is  to  the  follow- 
ing effect : 

"Johannes  Martinus  Van  Harlingen  waa  bom  January  11th,  1684,  at 
"Westbrock,  in  Holland,  and  died  October  22nd,  1768,  at  Lawrence^s 
Brook." 

Near  by  are  other  time-worn  monuments,  bearing 
the  following  inscriptions: 

"  In  Memory  of  Maria  Van  Harlingen,  Relict  of  J.  M.  Van  Harlin- 
gen, bom  March  loth,  1700,  and  died  October  8th,  1788." 
"  Richard  Jaqties  departed  this  life  May  9th,  1792." 


'*  In  memory  of  Eva  Van  Harlingen,  who  departed  thie 
the  6th,  1799,  age  64  years,  9  months,  and  12  days. 
"Holland  was  her  nation. 
New  Jersey  waa  her  dwelling  place. 
And  Christ  is  her  salration." 


The  following-named  persons  were  interred  in  this 
burying-ground  previous  to  1825,  as  appears  by  the 
dates  on  the  headstones  erected  at  their  graves  : 

Johannah,  wife  of  Garret  Voorhees,  Oct.  22,  1799  ; 
Samuel,  son  of  John  and  Hannah  Outcalt,  June  11, 
1800 ;  John  G.  Voorhees,  Sept.  7,  1800 ;  Caty,  wife  of 
Jacob  Musero,'  Sept.  8,  1800;  Cornelius  Van  Derbilt, 
Sept.  26,  1800  ;  Hannah,  wife  of  Peter  Buckerlew," 
Feb.  28,  1803  ;  Frederick,  son  of  Jeremiah  and  Mar- 
garet Voorhees,  Aug.  31,  1804;  Catharine,  daughter 
of  Jeremiah  and  Margaret  Voorhees,  Sept.  12,  1804; 
Sarah,  daughter  of  John  M.  and  Frances  Bloom,  Jan. 
12,  1807  ;  Cornelius  Vanderbilt,  son  of  Cornelius  and 
Jane  Bodine,  March  31,  1807  ;  Johannah  Vanderbilt, 
April  17,  1807;  Nicholas  Bordine,  Jr.,'  May  21,  1807; 
Catharine,  daughter  of  Nicholas  and  Eliza  Van  Brunt, 
Feb.  23, 1808;  Jacob  Meserole,'  Dec.  12, 1809;  Jacques 
Van  Liew,  Aug.  28,  1810;  Peter  Buckerlew,^  Dec.  28, 
1810;  Mrs.  Johannah  Voorhees,  Jan.  9,  1811  ;  Ruth, 
widow  of  William  Budd,  March  .30, 1814;  Dinah  Bor- 
dine,' wife  of  Fowl  DeHart,  Jan.  31,  1815  ;  Nicholas 
Bordine,'  March  16,  1814  ;  Cornelia  Ann,  daughter  of 
Cornelius  and  Jane  Bodine,  May  1,  1815  ;  Jane,  wife 
of  Cornelius  Bordine,  May  14,  1815 ;  George,  son  of 
Nicholas  and  Elizabeth  Van  Brunt,  May  12,  1815; 
Frederick  Outcalt,  Jr.,  Aug.  26,  1818  ;  Elijah  Hunt, 
Dec.  3,  1818  ;  John  Ryder,  Jan.  2,  1823,  aged  eighty- 
one  years  and  ten  days ;  Peter  Voorhees,  Oct.  10, 1823 ; 
Elizabeth  Stephenson,  wife  of  Peter  Voorhees,  Jan. 
11, 1824;  Bernardus  Ryder,  Feb.  3, 1824,  aged  seventy- 
five;  Maria  Voorhees,  wife  of  Jaques  Van  Liew,  Oct. 

1,  1824;  John  Vanderbilt,  Nov.  18,  1824. 

The  old  graveyard  at  Three-Mile  Run  had  no  con- 
nection with  the  early  church  at  that  spot,  as  it  was 
not  used  as  a  place  of  burial  until  some  years  after 
the  church  was  removed.  Rev.  Johannes  Leydt, 
second  pastor  of  the  First  Reformed  Dutch  Church 
of  New  Brunswick,  died  June  2,  1783,  and  he  was 
buried  there.  His  tombstone  stands  directly  in  front 
of  the  gate,  with  an  inscription  stating  the  day  of  his 
death  and  age.    His  wife,  Treuntje  Sleight,  died  Dec. 

2,  1763,  and  is  buried  by  his  side.  Two  other  stones 
mark  graves  of  his  children, — Elizabeth,  who  died 
Oct.  22,  1760,  aged  twelve,  and  Anna,  who  died  June 
10,  that  year,  aged  seven  months. 

The  following  names  and  dates  are  from  other  head- 
stones there : 

Johannes  Van  Liew,  Oct.  10,  1794 ;  Mary,  wife  of 
John  Hampton,  Aug.  28,  1796  ;  Gertrude,  wife  of 
Cornelius  Cornell,  March  19,  1805  ;  Henry  Cortel- 
you,  Feb.  22,  1806  ;  Dorothy  Lott,  wife  of  Johannes 
Van  Liew,  Oct.  9,  1813  ;   Cornelius  Cornell,  March 


754 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


29,    1819;    John   Hampton,   Aug.   30,   1822,   in   the 
seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age. 

There  is  a  burial-place  on  the  Princeton  and  Bruns- 
wick turnpike,  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. In  the  vicinity  of  the  George's  Road  Baptist 
Cliurch  is  another.  Neither  of  these  possesses  suffi- 
cient antiquity  to  render  it  interesting  historically. 

The  burying-place  of  St.  Peter's  Catholic  Churck  ' 
of  New  Brunswick  is  located  on  the  Princeton  and 
Brunswick  turnpike,  about  a  mile  from  the  city  line, 
and  in  the  northwestern  corner  of  North  Brunswick 
township.  It  has  an  area  of  about  seven  acres,  and 
is  laid  out  in  lots.  The  earliest  grave  that  can  be 
found  there  is  that  of  Bridget  Win,  who  died  Jan. 
14,  1865.  This  cemetery  contains  several  beautiful 
monuments,  those  of  the  O'Neal,  the  Lyons,  the 
Dixon,  and  the  McGahill  families  being  conspicu- 
ous. This  cemetery  is  in  charge  of  a  committee 
constituted  as  follows :  Rev.  Father  O'Grady,  Mar- 
tin Kelley,  John  McCloskey,  and  John  Lawrence. 

The  Van  Liew  Cemetery. — The  Van  Liew 
Cemetery  Association  was  incorporated  in  1861. 
The  first  officers  were  Dennis  Vanderbilt,  president ; 
Henry  H.  Booraem,  treasurer;  and  Philip  Kuhl- 
than,  secretary  ;  Directors,  Dennis  Vanderbilt,  Ross 
Drake,  Philip  Kuhlthan,  Henry  H.  Booraem,  and 
Peter  Stevenson.  Van  Liew  Cemetery  embraces 
about  five  acres,  including  the  old  cemetery,  in 
which  were  buried  many  members  of  the  Van  Har- 
lingen,  Voorhees,  Vanderbilt,  Van  Liew,  Bodine, 
Buckalew,  Messeroll,  and  other  old  families  of  North 
Brunswick,  and  which  has  been  referred  to.  It  is 
beautifully  laid  out,  and  is  rendered  attractive  by 
several  fine  monuments. 

Elmvitood  Cemetery. — This  cemetery  is  situated 
on  George's  road,  near  the  northern  border  of  the 
township,  not  far  distant  from  Van  Liew  Cemetery, 
and  contains  about  forty  acres.  It  is  the  property  of 
the  Elmwood  Cemetery  Association  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. This  association  nominally  succeeded  the 
Cedar  Lawn  Cemetery  Association  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, which  was  incorporated  by  an  act  of  the  Senate 
and  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey, 
approved  March  18,  1868,  of  which  the  following  is 
the  first  section  : 

"  Be  ((  ennctedby  the  Seuate  iind  General  Assembly  of  the  Stale  of  New  Jer- 
sey, Tliat  Lucius  P.  Porter,  John  W.  Newell,  Henry  R.  Baldwin,  M.D., 
Levi  D.  Jari-ard,  Henry  L.  Janeway,  JolinBon  Letson,  A.  D.  Newell, 
M.D,,  Simon  Van  Wickle,  and  such  other  i»ersons  aa  are  now  or  shall 
hereafter  become  stockholders,  their  successors  or  assigns,  be  and  are 
hereby  made  and  constituted  a  corporation  and  body  politic  by  the  nan)e 
of  the  Cedar  Iiawn  Cemetery  Association  of  tlie  City  of    New    Bruns- 

A  supplement  to  this  act  was  passed  and  approved 
March  26,  1873,  of  which  the  subjoined  is  a  copy: 

"  1.  Be  a  eimcled  bij  the  Senate  and  General  A  ssemblij  of  the  Slule  oflfetv  Jer- 
sey, That  the  name  of  the  *  Cedar  Lawn  Cemetery  Association  of  the  City 
of  New  Brnnewick^  be  changed  to  the  *  Elmwood  Cemetery  Association 
of  tlie  City  of  New  Brunswick,' and  bysucli  name  shall  be  invested  with 
all  the  powers,  rights,  and  duties  which  belonged  to  said  Cediir  Lawn 
Cemetery. 


"  2.  And  be  it  ennrted,  That  the  first  section  of  the  act  to  which  this  is  a 
supplement  is  hereby  amended  by  striking  out  the  names  of  the  corpo- 
rators individually  named  therein  and  inserting  in  lieu  thereof  as  such 
individual  corporators  the  following  persons,  viz. :  Henry  H.  Booraem, 
Daniel  G.  Stnbblebine,  Garret  Van  Liew  Booraem,  Levi  D.  Jarrard, 
Henry  Arbogast,  Cornelius  Farley,  and  Davis  Carel. 

"3.  And  be  it  enacted,  That  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  inconsistent  with 
this  act  be  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed,  and  this  act  shall  take  ef- 
fect immediately." 

"  Elmwood"  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  beauti- 
ful burial-places  in  this  section,  and  is  marked  by  a 
number  of  elegant  and  costly  monuments.  The 
officers  of  the  association  are  as  follows:  Daniel  G. 
Stubblebine,  president  and  superintendent ;  Cornelius 
Farley,  secretary;  and  Davis  Carel,  treasurer;  Di- 
rectors, D.  G.  Stubblebine,  William  G.  Parsons, 
Davis  Carel,  L.  D.  Jarrard,  John  C.  Meyer,  Van 
Liew  Booream,  and  Henry  Arbogast. 

Villages  and  Hamlets. — Milltown  is  the  only 
village  lying  wholly  or  partially  within  the  township 
of  North  Brunswick.  It  is  located  on  Lawrence's 
Brook,  mostly  in  North  Brunswick,  but  partly  in  East 
Brunswick,  and  is  a  small  but  thrifty  and  home-like 
place,  owing  its  existence  to  the  presence  there  of  the 
extensive  factory  of  the  Meyer  Rubber  Company, 
which  affords  employment  to  nearly  the  entire  adult 
and  a  good  share  of  the  juvenile  population.  It  has 
an  aspect  of  comfort  and  solidity  which  is  to  be  seen 
only  in  villages  in  which  a  majority  of  the  heads  of 
families  own  their  own  houses,  the  policy  towards  its 
employes  of  the  Meyer  Rubber  Company  (which 
pays  cash  for  labor  and  has  no  store)  being  to  extend 
an  opportunity  to  such  as  so  desire  to  purchase  on 
easy  terms  and  own  a  house  in  the  village,  thus  in- 
suring the  permanent  service  of  desirable  artisans, 
and  diflTusing  a  spirit  of  thrift  and  contentment 
among  its  workmen,  which  redounds  to  the  benefit  of 
the  company  eventually  by  going  far  to  prevent  dis- 
affection through  the  absence  of  the  abject  .subservi- 
ence of  labor  to  capital,  which  is  the  fruitful  source 
of  that  rancor  and  antagonism  which  engender 
strikes,  and  result  only  too  often  in  the  stagnation  or 
utter  prostration  of  manufacturing  industry. 

The  history  of  this  village  is  brief.  Its  nucleus 
was  the  old  grist-mill  known  early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury as  Bergen's  Mill,  in  honor  of  its  then  proprietor, 
Jacob  I.  Bergen,  the  locality  being  known  at  that 
time  and  later  as  Bergen  Mills.  This  mill  changed 
ownership  several  times,  and  finally,  in  1843,  the  last 
vestige  of  it  disappeared  with  the  utilization  of  the 
water-power  by  Mr.  J.  C.  Meyer  for  the  manufacture 
of  rubber  goods.  The  beginning  of  the  new  enter- 
prise was  insignificant  when  compared  with  its  pres- 
ent extent,  but  it  made  the  beginning  of  the  growth 
of  the  settlement  called  Bergen's  Mills  to  the  later 
flourishing  village  of  Milltown. 

In  1816  the  place  consisted  of  the  old  grist-mill,  a 
little  tavern,  and  five  or  six  houses  west  of  the 
brook;  east  of  it  were  only  two  or  three  dwellings. 
The  population  was  not  more  than  twenty-five  all 


y.^  j^//^- 


NORTH   BRUNSWICK. 


755 


told.  Early  tavern-keepers  there  were  Jeptha  Cheese- 
man,  John  Outcalt,  Robert  Watts,  and  Daniel  Lott. 
Jacob  I.  Bergen,  the  mill-owner,  wa.s  an  early  mer- 
chant.    Christian  Van  Nortwick  was  another. 

The  present  merchants  west  of  Lawrence's  Brook 
are  Philip  Kuhlthau  and  Dennis  Vanderbilt,  and 
there  are  also  located  there  a  brick  Methodist  Church, 
erected  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of  fourteen  thousand  dollars, 
the  factories  of  the  Meyer  Rubber  Company,  covering 
a  considerable  acreage,  and  many  substantial  and 
comfortable  dwellings.  East  of  the  brook  are  the 
Meyer  Rubber  Company's  box-factory,  two  stores, 
two  meat-markets,  a  German  Reformed  Church,  two 
taverns,  and  quite  a  number  of  dwellings.  The  pop- 
ulation of  the  village  is  about  four  hundred.  The 
post-office  was  established  Dec.  13,  1870.  Philip 
Kuhlthau  was  commissioned  postmaster,  and  still  re- 
tains the  office. 

Milltown  has  a  large  German  population,  whose 
love  of  music  led,  in  1880,  to  the  organization  of  two 
cornet  bands,  one  of  nineteen,  the  other  of  twenty 
pieces,  with  John  Fuchs  and  George  Schlosser  as  their 
repective  leaders. 

Livingston  PAEK.^This  is  the  name  by  which  a 
hamlet  is  known  containing  a  union  chapel  and  eight 
dwellings,  and  located  a  little  north  and  west  of  the 
centre  of  the  township,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
and  the  Trenton  and  New  Brunswick  turnpike.  This 
turnpike  is  locally  known  as  Livingston  Avenue,  it 
being  a  continuation  of  an  avenue  of  that  name  of 
New  Brunswick.  A  large  tract  of  land  there  was  in- 
herited by  Mrs,  Henry  K.  Haw ;  and,  in  1865,  Mr. 
Haw  had  it  surveyed  into  lots,  which  he  offered  for 
sale  at  a  low  price,  in  the  hope  of  gathering  sufficient 
population  at  that  point  to  induce  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company  to  make  it  a  stopping-place  for 
trains  between  New  Brunswick  and  Trenton.  This 
hope  was  not  yet  realized  at  Mr.  Haw's  death,  in  1876, 
since  which  time  no  eflbrt  has  been  put  forth  for  the 
attainment  of  that  end. 

Adams  Station. — This  is  a  flag-station  on  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad,  a  little  south  of  the  centre  of 
the  township,  and  is  the  only  railway  station  in  North 
Brunswick. 

Taverns. — The  "  Red  Lion"  tavern,  on  George's 
road,  about  the  centre  of  the  township,  north  and 
south,  has  been  built  more  than  a  century,  and  was 
formerly  the  scene  of  sundry  public  meetings  and 
local  jollifications.  It  is  now  merely  a  halting-place 
for  travelers  over  this  thoroughfare. 

The  "  Black  Horse"  tavern  was  erected  on  George's 
road,  near  the  present  southeastern  boundary  of  the 
township,  some  time  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  as  is  supposed. 

The  Brunson  hotel,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
township,  was  built  about  1800,  and  was  later,  for  a 
number  of  years,  kept  by  Daniel  B.  Brunson.  At  his 
death  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  who,  after  doing 
the  honors  of  the  house  several  years,  sold  the  stand 


to  Richard  De  Mott.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  De  Mott, 
in  1850,  the  hotel  was  managed  by  his  widow  two 
years,  when  a  German  from  New  York  purchased 
and  renamed  it  the  "  Hines  House."  In  1873  he  sold 
it  to  John  Tolen,  who  has  since  repaired  and  reno- 
vated it,  leasing  it  to  other  parties. 

Local  Nomenclature.  —  Bodine's  Corners  is  the 
name,  derived  from  pioneers  there,  of  a  neighborhood 
on  George's  road  in  the  northern  part  of  the  township. 
Three-Mile  Run  is  a  name  which  in  common  use 
designates  a  small  portion  of  North  Brunswick  and 
Franklin  (Somerset  County)  townships,  near  a  stream 
of  that  name.  Six-Mile  Run  is  a  title  similarly  ap- 
plied to  another  neighborhood,  also  on  the  county 
line,  farther  south. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


HENRY  H.  BOOREAM. 

The  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch  was  the  son 
of  Joseph  Booream,  an  enterprising  farmer,  residing 
at  Matchaponix,  Middlesex  Co.,  who  married,  in  Jan- 
uar}',  1798,  Miss  Abigail  Potter.  Their  children  were 
Gilbert,  born  in  1797  ;  Jane,  whose  birth  occurred  in 
1799;  Joseph,  born  in  1802;  Elizabeth,  in  1803; 
Nicholas,  in  1807 ;  Henry  H.,  in  1811 ;  and  Sychee 
Maria,  in  1813. 

Mrs.  Booream's  death  took  place  April  11,  1865, 
her  age  having  been  generally  believed  to  have 
exceeded  one  hundred  years. 

Their  son,  Henry  H.,  was  born  Oct.  6,  1811,  at 
Matchaponix,  where  his  early  life  was  spent  upon 
the  farm  of  his  father.  He  later  acquired  the  ma- 
son's trade  under  the  direction  of  his  brother,  which 
was  successfully  followed  until  failing  health  com- 
pelled its  abandonment,  when  he  pursued  the  busi- 
ness of  marketing.  In  1837  he  purchased  the  property 
now  the  home  of  his  widow,  where  he  resided  during 
the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  was  on  the  28th  of 
February,  1833,  married  to  Maria,  daughter  of  Gar- 
ret Van  Liew,  of  North  Brunswick,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred Nov.  20,  1812.  Their  children  were  Garret 
Van  Liew,  born  Dec.  7,  1833,  who  married  Miss 
Martha  Gilliland,  Dec.  6,  1855,  and  Mary  Elizabeth, 
born  Sept.  29,  1836.  She  was  married  to  Daniel  G. 
Stubblefine,  and  had  three  children,  of  whom  one, 
Henry  L.,  is  still  living.  Mrs.  Stubblefine  died  Sept. 
29,  1866. 

Mr.  Booream  was  a  dealer  in  general  produce,  and 
followed  the  business  of  marketing  during  his  active 
career,  having  been  generally  regarded  as  a  successful 
man.  He  was  also  a  man  of  much  public  spirit,  and 
participated  in  all  enterprises  having  the  interest  of 
the  township  of  North  Brunswick  in  view.  He  was 
in  politics  a  Republican,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death 
was  the  chosen  freeholder  of  the  township.  He  had 
also   been   for   twenty  years   its   collector,  and  held 


756 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


other  offices  of  minor  importance.  He  wais  an  ex- 
emplary member  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church 
of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.,  in  which  he  was  formerly 
a  deacon.  Mr.  Booream  was  greatly  esteemed,  not 
less  for  his  capacity  and  energy  than  for  his  integrity. 
He  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  having  a  more  profound 
knowledge  of  the  township  interests  than  any  other 
resident,  and  by  his  watchfulness  and  executive  abil- 
ity aided  greatly  in  reducing  its  expense  account. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Booream  occurred  Jan.  10,  1879, 
in  his  sixty-eighth  year.  As  a  useful  public  man,  his 
place  cannot  be  readily  filled. 


HENRY   K.  HOW. 

The  earliest  members  of  the  How  family,  who  are 
of  English  lineage,  located  in  Burlington,  N.  J.,  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biography  having 
been  John  How,  who  was  united  in  marriage  to  Mary 
Ann  Blanchard.  Their  children  were  James,  a  cler- 
gyman who  settled  in  Delaware ;  William,  Anna, 
Jane,  who  became  Mrs.  Fairbairn,  and  Samuel  Blan- 
chard. The  last-named  son  was  born  Oct.  14,  1790, 
at  Burlington,  and  graduated  from  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  1811.  He  was  licensed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery of  Philadelphia  as  a  minister  of  the  gospel  in 
1813,  and  was  finst  settled  at  Salisbury,  Pa.,  where  he 
remained  two  years.  He  was  then  called  to  Trenton, 
N.  J.,  where  he  resided  for  five  years,  after  which  he 
accepted  the  pastorate  of  the  First  Presbyterian 
Church  of  New  Brunswick.  He  later  removed  to  Sa- 
vannah, Ga.,  where  he  was  for  seven  years  pastor  of 
the  Independent  Church  of  that  city.  After  filling 
for  a  brief  period  the  presidency  of  Dickinson  Col- 
lege, Pennsylvania,  he  engaged  in  a  new  enterprise 
in  New  York,  and  on  the  18th  of  May,  1832,  accepted 
a  call  to  the  First  Reformed  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, N.  J.,  where  he  remained  until  his  resignation, 
June  14,  1861,  on  account  of  failing  health.  Dr. 
How's  ministerial  labors  in  New  Brunswick  were 
eminently  successful.  During  the  twenty-nine  years 
of  his  pastorate  there  were  received  into  the  member- 
ship of  the  church  five  hundred  and  thirty-eight  per- 
sons on  profession,  and  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
by  certificate  from  other  churches,  in  all  the  large 
number  of  seven  hundred  and  sixty-three.  His  rela- 
tions with  his  people  were  harmonious  and  cordial, 
and  his  death  was  sincerely  lamented  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

The  doctor  was  first  married  to  Miss  Mary  Snow- 
den,  to  whom  were  born  children:  Cornelia  (Mrs. 
Potts),  Henry  K.,  and  Samuel  B.,  who  died  in  early 
childhood.  Mrs.  How  died  Dec.  12,  1837,  and  he 
married  a  second  time.  Miss  Mary  Ann,  daughter  of 
Chief  Justice  Kirkpatrick  and  his  wife,  Jane  Bayard. 
Dr.  How  died  March  1,  1868,  in  his  seventy-ninth 
year,  and  his  wife  on  the  17th  of  April,  1882,  in  her 
ninetieth  year. 

Henry  K.  How  was  born  April  21,  1825,  in  Savan- 


nah, Ga.,  and  during  childhood  removed  with  his 
parents  to  Carlisle,  Pa.  He  later  became  a  resident 
of  New  Brunswick,  where  he  began  a  course  of  study 
preparatory  to  entering  Rutgers  College,  from  which 
he  graduated  in  1842.  He  then  entered  the  Theologi- 
cal Seminary  with  the  intention  of  studying  for  the 


ministry,  but  was  compelled  by  failing  health  to  re- 
linquish his  purpose. 

After  a  brief  residence  in  Texas  he  engaged  in  the 
drug  business  in  New  Brunswick,  and  subsequently 
removed  to  Trenton,  where  he  embarked  in  business. 
He  afterwards  returned  to  New  Brunswick,  but  at  the 
time  of  his  death  was  a  resident  of  the  township  of 
North  Brunswick.  He  was  married  in  1857  to  Miss 
Mary,  daughter  of  John  Kinnan,  of  New  Brunswick, 
to  whom  were  born  children :  John  K.  and  Mary 
Blanchard.  Mr.  How  was  in  politics  a  stanch  Dem- 
ocrat, and  although  at  all  times  manifesting  a  keen 
interest  in  public  affairs  he  cared  little  for  official  dis- 
tinctions, and  could  not  be  induced  to  accept  office. 
His  excellent  judgment  and  practical  wisdom  made 
his  services  invaluable  to  the  township  of  his  resi- 
dence, and  measures  having  for  their  aim  improve- 
ments which  redounded  to  the  public  welfare  met 
from  him  a  hearty  .sympathy. 

He  was  not  only  president  but  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Farmers'  Club  of  Middlesex  County,  and  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Agricultural  Society.  Mr.  How  pos- 
sessed fine  mental  endowments  and  a  ripe  culture, 
which,  had  his  health  enabled  him  to  pursue  a  profes- 
sional career,  would  doubtless  have  led  to  distinction 


'M^  V4^Aez/t 


CC^.<~Cy 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


757 


in  any  field  of  labor.     Both  himself  and  wife  were  i  Van  Liew  Cemetery  Association.     He  is  in  connec- 
members  of  the  First  Reformed   Dutch   Church  of  !  tion  with  his  mercantile  enterprises  actively  engaged 


New  Brunswick.  The  death  of  Henry  K.  How  oc- 
curred on  Sabbath  morning,  June  20,  1875,  in  the 
fifty-first  year  of  his  age. 


PHILLIP    KUHLTHAU. 

The  town  of  Oberzell,  Kurhessen,  Germany,  was 
the  early  home  of  the  Kuhlthau  family,  where  the 
grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch 
was  engaged  in  agricultural  employments.  He  was 
married  and  became  the  fiither  of  four  children, 
among  whom  was  John  Henry,  who  was  born  and  re- 
sided in  the  town  above  named.  The  latter  was  mar- 
ried to  Barbara  Lins,  also  a  native  of  Oberzell,  and 
had  children :  Anna  Margaretta,  Conrad,  Phillip,  A. 
Elizabeth,  Eva  Margaret,  Henry,  William,  Kuni- 
gunda,  John,  Barbara,  and  Seaman. 

Phillip,  of  this  number,  was  born  at  Oberzell  on  the 
22d  of  October,  1829,  where  his  boyhood  was  spent  at 
school.  At  the  age  of  sixteen  he  was  employed  and 
filled  for  two  years  the  position  of  clerk  on  the  public 
highway.  Having  determined  to  explore  the  re- 
sources of  the  New  World,  he,  in  1848,  emigrated  to 
America,  and,  landing  in  New  York,  finally  located 
in  Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.  He  for  two  years  engaged  in 
farm  labor,  and  was  for  the  succeeding  three  years 
employed  by  the  Ford  Rubber  Company,  at  Milltown. 
In  August,  1852,  he  decided  to  visit  the  fatherland, 
mainly  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  again  his  maternal 
grandfather,  to  whom  he  was  strongly  attached.  On 
his  return  the  following  year  he  brought  to  America 
his  parents  and  their  family. 

Mr.  Kuhlthau  again  became  an  employe  of  the 
Ford  Rubber  Company  until  April,  1855,  when  he 
determined  to  engage  in  business  pursuits,  and  opened 
a  grocery  store  at  Milltown,  in  a  building  16  by  32 
feet  in  dimensions. 

This  enterprise  steadily  increased  in  magnitude 
until  more  spacious  apartments  were  found  necessary, 
and  its  owner  ultimately  became  one  of  the  leading 
merchants  of  the  village.  He  also,  in  185(i,  erected  a 
residence  adjoining  the  store,  which  he  now  occupies. 

Mr.  Kuhlthau  was  on  Feb.  17, 1856,  married  to  Miss 
Catherine,  daughter  of  Christopher  Klein,  of  Mill- 
town,  N.  J.  They  have  had  children :  John  H.,  Philip 
C,  Mary  A.,  Catherine,  Conrad  W.,  and  three  who  are 
deceased. 

Mr.  Kuhlthau  is  in  politics  a  Republican,  and  has 
been  honored  by  various  public  oflices.  He  has  been 
freeholder  of  North  Brunswick  for  two  years,  member 
of  the  township  committee  for  ten  years,  justice  of  the 
peace  for  five  years,  commissioner  of  deeds  six  years, 
collector,  and  postmaster  for  twelve  years  of  the  vil- 
lage of  Milltown. 

He  is  a  man  of  much  enterprise,  and  has  been  ac- 
tive in  the  purchase  of  property  and  the  improvement 
of  the  village.     Mr.  Kuhlthau  is  also  a  trustee  of  the 


in  farming.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Kuhlthau  are  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  Milltown, 
of  which  the  former  is  both  trustee  and  steward. 


CHAPTER    XCIX. 


EAST    BRUN.SWICK.1 


Situation  and  Boundaries. — This  township  is 
situated  nearly  in  the  centre  of  Middlesex  County 
north  and  south,  varying  only  a  little  from  the  same 
position  in  the  county  east  and  west  in  the  latter 
direction,  the  town  of  Washington,  on  its  northeastern 
border,  occupying  a  position  which  well-nigh  entitles 
its  citizens  to  claim  it  as  the  geographical  centre  of 
the  county.  Dunham's  Corners,  near  the  centre  of 
the  township,  is  about  equidistant  from  the  city  of 
New  Brunswick  lying  to  the  northward  and  James- 
burg  to  the  southward. 

The  township  is  bounded  northwest  by  North 
Brunswick  and  New  Brunswick,  north  by  New 
Brunswick  and  Raritan,  northeast  by  Raritan  and 
Sayreville,  east  by  South  Amboy,  southeast  by  Madi- 
son and  Monroe,  south  by  Monroe,  and  southwest  by 
South  Brunswick,  and,  as  is  indicated  by  its  bound- 
aries, is  very  irregular  in  form.  The  town  of  Wash- 
ington was  formed  from  East  Brunswick  in  1870, 
reducing  the  area  of  the  township  somewhat,  though  it 
can  hardly  be  said  to  have  been  thus  far  independent 
of  East  Brunswick  in  many  important  particulars. 
The  area  of  the  township,  including  the  town  named, 
is  13,130  acres.  In  1880  the  valuation  of  its  real 
estate  was  $789,170,  of  its  personal  property  $241,400. 
The  total  taxable  valuation  was  $900,000.  The  popu- 
lation of  the  township  was  3272,  675  of  whom 
were  voters.  The  total  township  indebtedness  was 
$130,570. 

Physical  Features. — The  surface  of  East  Bruns- 
wick is  generally  rolling,  and  it  declines  unevenly 
from  near  the  centre  in  all  directions  towards  its 
borders,  which  are  defined  by  streams,  except  where 
the  township  adjoins  the  eastern  extremity  of  South 
Brunswick.  Occupying  nearly  all  of  the  territory 
between  South  River  and  Lawrence's  Brook,  two 
important  tributaries  to  the  Raritan,  which  flows 
along  its  northern  boundary  between  the  points  of 
confluence  with  the  two  streams  mentioned,  fully 
one-half  of  its  southern  boundary  is  formed  by  Grog 
Brook,  a  tributary  to  Lawrence  Brook,  and  which,  like 
a  number  of  small  tributaries  to  all  of  the  streams 
mentioned,  has  its  source  within  its  borders.  The.se 
streams  afford  an  ample  drainage  to  the  township, 
and  at  places  good  water-powers,  which  have  long 
been  utilized  to  a  considerable  extent  by  manufac- 
turers.     South    River   is   navigable   for   sloops   and 

'  By  M.  0.  Bolfe. 


738 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


schooners  as  far  up  as  Old  Bridge,  and  vessels  of 
greater  tonnage  have  been  floated  by  its  waters  beween 
its  mouth  and  Washington. 

The  soil  of  East  Brunswick  is  composed  of  red 
shale  and  sandy  loam  reddish  in  color,  measurably 
productive,  and  very  adhesive  when  wet.  Extensive 
beds  of  plastic  and  fire-clays  underlie  the  surface  of 
a  large  portion  of  the  township,  which  are  admirably 
adapted  for  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick  and  other 
articles  of  a  similar  composite  character,  the  utiliza- 
tion and  sale  of  which  have  for  many  years  formed  a 
prominent  feature  in  the  businesshistory  of  the  town- 
ship. These  clays  are  found  iu  regular  beds.  Some 
of  them  are  of  the  purest  and  most  refractory  kind, 
and  very  pure  quartz  is  found  to  mix  with  and  give 
body  to  them.  In  the  vicinity  of  Washington  such 
beds  are  very  large  and  especially  rich.  Stoneware 
and  pottery  clays  are  also  obtained  in  the  township, 
and  have  a  large  market.  At  Old  Bridge  and 
Washington  the  manufacture  of  potters'  wares  was 
formerly  a  prominent  industry. 

Bog-iron  ore  is  found  in  many  of  the  moist  and 
swampy  tracts  about  Spottswood,  and  was  an  article 
of  transportation  and  commerce  within  the  memory 
of  a  few  of  the  older  residents  there. 

Timber  was  formerly  plentiful  in  all  parts  of  the 
township,  but  most  of  it  has  long  since  disappeared 
before  the  axes  of  the  wood-cutters  and  ship-builders, 
who  once  played  a  prominent  part  in  its  industrial 
history.  A  plateau  of  elevated  land  a  little  remote 
from  South  River  was  covered  with  a  growth  of  tim- 
ber as  hardy  and  as  luxuriant  as  any  in  the  central 
and  eastern  portions  of  New  Jersey,  and,  as  con- 
verted into  merchantable  form,  was  the  most  impor- 
tant article  of  commerce  in  the  township  during  the 
period  of  its  rapid  development  from  a  wooded  to  an 
agricultural  condition.  Nearly  every  kind  of  timber 
native  to  this  climate  was  found  in  plentitude,  prin- 
cipal among  which  commercially  were  pine,  cedar, 
maple,  and  nearly  all  of  the  varieties  of  oak,  the  latter 
being  especially  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the 
ship-builder,  and  ash  in  more  limited  quantities  was 
also  found. 

Settlement— John  Reid,  of  Edinburgh,  Scotland, 
who  became  deputy  surveyor  of  East  Jersey  under 
Keith,  Oct.  13,  1(585,  made  a  somewhat  rude  but 
measurably  accurate  map,  which  is  in  possession  of 
Hon.  William  A.  Whitehead,  of  Newark,  and  the 
only  copy  of  which  extant  is  the  property  of  Mr. 
Charles  D.  Deshler,  of  New  Brunswick.  This  map, 
which  is  very  interesting  to  the  student  of  the  early 
history  of  the  older  portions  of  the  present  county  of 
Middlesex,  is  designated  by  the  following  curious  and 
verbose  title :  "  A  mapp  of  Rariton  River,  Millstone 
River,  South  River,  Raway  River,  Bound  Brook, 
Green  brook.  Cedar  brook,  with  the  Plantations 
thereupon;  also  these  on  Chinkquarora,  Wickatonk, 
the  Heads  of  Hop  River,  and  Mauasquam,  likewise 
appends  on  Hackingsack  River,  &c."     As  shown  by 


this  map,  land  had  been  taken  up  at  and  contiguous 
to  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  Washington  by  P. 
Sonmans,  T.  Fulerton,  G.  Lawry,  D.  Mudy,  0.  Gor- 
don, R.  Gordon,  William  Docwra,  I.,  J.,  or  T.  Forbes, 
R.  Hardie  and  I.,  J.,  or  T.  Mudy  ;  and  Law  Baker  had 
taken  up  thirteen  hundred  acres  farther  north,  and 
extending  within  the  present  limits  of  the  city  of 
New  Brunswick.  A  corner  of  a  tract  of  one  thousand 
acres  assigned  to  P.  Sonmans,  and  lying  mostly  north- 
west of  Lawrence's  Brook,  was  southeast  of  that  stream, 
and  consequently  within  the  present  boundaries  of 
East  Brunswick.  The  lots  which  included  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Washington  were  long  and  narrow,  ex- 
tending east  and  west,  bounded  east  by  South  River, 
the  present  eastern  limit  of  the  township  and  village. 
The  names  of  some  of  those  above  referred  to  will  be 
recognized  as  those  of  men  prominent  in  the  history 
of  East  Jersey  at  a  period  prior  and  subsequent  to 
that  date,  and  some  of  them  as  those  of  men  who 
were  early  large  purchasers  of  lands  south  of  the 
Raritan,  probably  for  speculative  purposes.  None  of 
them  were  ever  residents  of  the  territory  described, 
and  none  of  their  descendants  are  known  ever  to 
have  lived  in  the  vicinity. 

Hartshorne  Willett  settled  on  the  bank  of  South 
River,  directly  in  front  of  the  present  town  of  Wash- 
ington, about  1720.  He  was  of  English  descent,  and 
a  grandson  of  Sir  Thomas  Willett,  baron,  the  an- 
cestor of  the  well-known  family  of  Willett  in  America. 
He  was  the  owner  of  considerable  land  where  he 
located,  and  by  intermarriage  his  immediate  family 
became  connected  with  about  all  of  the  families  who 
came  to  the  township  at  an  early  date.  Samuel  Wil- 
lett, a  descendant  of  Hartshorne  Willett,  was  long  a 
resident  at  Washington,  and  died  leaving  a  large  fam- 
ily of  daughters,  wlio  reside  in  that  village,  and  are 
the  pioneer's  great-granddaughters. 

The  first  Barkelew  of  whom  any  one  in  the  town- 
ship has  any  knowledge  was  Abraham,  who  was  born 
in  1720,  and  doubtless  came  to  the  section  while  yet  a 
comparatively  young  man.  He  located  on  the  lower 
road  to  Old  Bridge  from  Washington,  where  James 
Bissett  now  lives,  and  was  one  of  the  largest  property- 
owners  of  his  day.  His  son,  Runyon  Barkelew, 
located  near  Washington,  on  the  main  road  to  Old 
Bridge,  and  was  the  father  of  Vincent,  who  lived  in 
Washington;  Abraham,  a  farmer,  who  lived  about  a 
mile  from  Washington,  on  the  road  to  Milltown  ;  and 
Stephen  H.,  who  lived  on  the  old  Ogden  property, 
about  ten  miles  and  a  half  from  Washington,  ail  of 
whom  are  dead.  Enoch,  son  of  Vincent,  and  Isaac 
and  Lemuel,  sons  of  Stephen  H.,  are  living  in  East 
Brunswick.  So  extensive  was  the  tract  of  land 
owned  by  the  progenitor  of  this  family,  Abraham 
Barkelew,  that  he  is  often  referred  to  as  "  Barkelew 
the  landgrave." 

The  Oberts,  Peter  G.,  Paul,  Henry,  and  John,  came 
early  to  the  township.  Henry  owned  the  square 
bounded  east  by  South  River  and  north  by  Main 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


759 


Street,  Washington.  Peter  located  at  first  on  prop- 
erty at  Washington,  owned  at  an  earlier  date  by 
George  Obert,  father  of  the  brothers  named,  and 
afterwards  removed  to  the  early  home  of  the  latter, 
between  Washington  and  Milltown.  Paul  lived  near 
him,  on  the  New  Brunswick  road.  John  was  a  Bap- 
tist preacher,  and  preached  occasionally  in  the  town- 
ship years  ago.  The  only  male  representative  of  the 
family  living  in  the  vicinity  is  John  Shepard  Obert, 
of  Washington,  now  at  an  advanced  age. 

The  Vreeland  family  were  among  the  pioneers,  as 
were  also  the  Vandeventers  and  the  Manabaus.  The 
Vandeventers  and  Manabaus  were  prominent  among 
the  early  boatmen  on  South  River. 

The  Stults  family  are  of  German  origin.  Two 
brothers,  Jacob  and  John,  settled  in  East  Brunswick 
in  1785.  Of  the  family  of  Jacob  the  writer  has  no 
knowledge.  John  purchased  a  farm  about  three 
miles  from  Washington,  on  what  is  known  as  the 
New  road,  and  was  until  his  death  a  highly-respected 
citizen.  His  children  were  Henry,  Elizabeth,  Mary, 
Jemima,  and  Frederick.  The  daughters  all  married 
and  are  now  dead.  Henry  and  Frederick  are  living 
at  the  ages  of  86  and  84,  respectively.  Both  have 
been  judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Middle- 
sex County  and  justices  of  the  peace.  Frederick 
learned  the  trade  of  a  weaver,  but  followed  it  only 
a  short  time,  leaving  it  to  engage  in  the  hotel  busi- 
ness. Three  years  later  he  became  a  merchant  and 
speculator  in  wood.  He  was  appointed  justice  of  the 
«  peace  in  1844  in  North  Brunswick  township,  before 
the  division,  and  since  the  erection  of  East  Bruns- 
wick has  been  repeatedly  elected  to  the  same  office. 
Henry  is  the  father  of  a  numerous  family,  members 
of  which  have  become  wealthy  as  the  result  of  gi- 
gantic business  operations. 

The  Booraems  are  of  Holland  Dutch  extraction, 
and  the  name  has  long  been  well  known  in  the  town- 
ship. The  early  home  of  the  family  there  was  at 
Bergen's  Mills,  now  known  as  Milltown,  and  the 
father  of  the  present  generation  was  Jonathan 
Booraem,  who  was  born  at  Bergen's  Mills.  He  be- 
came a  millwright  and  house-  and  ship-carpenter,  and, 
either  alone  or  in  company  with  his  sons,  was  long  a 
boat-builder  at  Washington.  His  sons,  William, 
Nicholas,  Thomas,  and  James,  were  well  known  to 
the  earlier  residents  of  East  Brunswick,  and  Nicholas 
and  Thomas  are  still  living  at  Washington,  the  former 
yet  engaged  in  the  handicraft  of  his  father. 

The  Messlers  are  an  old  family.  The  first  of  the 
name  who  was  known  to  have  lived  in  Ea.st  Bruns- 
wick was  Simon  Messier,  who  had  located  there  prior 
to  the  Revolution,  in  which  he  fought  in  the  Ameri- 
can ranks.  His  sons,  Jacob,  Vincent,  and  Abraham, 
are  remembered,  and  it  is  possible  there  were  others 
not  well  known  in  their  time  in  the  section,  or  who 
died  young.  Abraham  and  Jacob  lived  and  died  in 
the  township,  and  the  descendants  of  Abraham  live 
there  now.     Abraham's  sons  were  named  Abraham, 


James,  David,  Cronimeline,  and  William.  His  daugh- 
ters, Martha,  Esther,  and  Mary,  married  three  broth- 
ers, Benjamin,  Richard,  and  Henry  Serviss,  and  many 
descendants  of  each  of  them  are  living  in  East  Bruns- 
wick. 

John  J.  Serviss  was  an  early  resident  in  the  town- 
ship. Whether  his  father  was  there  before  him  is 
unknown.  His  property  has  come  down  to  living 
descendants,  through  Richard  to  Richard  his  son  and 
others.  Richard  occupies  a  portion  of  the  old  family 
homestead,  the  house  itself  and  a  part  of  the  original 
farm  being  in  possession  of  George  Askew.  David 
Serviss,  the  present  township  clerk  of  East  Bruns- 
wick, is  a  son  of  Richard,  and  a  great-grandson  of 
John  J.  Serviss. 

Abraham  Ackerman  had  settled  in  East  Brunswick 
previous  to  the  Revolution,  living  on  the  John  Curtin 
place,  and  his  family  was  a  highly-respectable  one. 
His  sons,  James  and  Clyde,  are  well  remembered. 
James  had  a  son  named  Abraham,  and  lived  on  part 
of  the  paternal  property.  James,  a  son  of  Abraham, 
is  now  living  in  the  township. 

It  was  among  the  earlier  pioneers  in  East  Bruns- 
wick that  Benjamin  Ogden  cast  his  lot.  His  prop- 
erty was  on  the  river  road  from  Washington  to  Old 
Bridge,  where  the  late  Stephen  H.  Barkelew  formerly 
lived.  Descendants  of  Ogden's  intermingled  with 
the  Willetts,  and  none  of  the  name  now  reside  in  the 
vicinity. 

Benjamin  Norman  was  a  large  land-owner  in  the 
town-ship,  and  was  among  the  early  settlers.  He  lived 
on  the  elevation  near  South  River,  on  the  Old  Bridge 
turnpike  and  Washington  road,  and  was  prominent 
and  highly  esteemed.  No  one  bearing  the  name  is 
now  known  to  be  living  in  East  Brunswick. 

An  early  and  well-known  resident  was  Isaac  Van 
Deventer,  son  of  Christopher  Van  Deventer,  progeni- 
tor of  the  numerous  family  of  that  name  living  in 
Sayreville. 

Peter  Letts  was  in  the  township  before  the  Revolu- 
tion. The  Letts  family  became  numerous,  many  of 
the  name  now  living  in  Sayreville.  Of  a  generation 
later  than  that  of  the  original  Peter  Letts  there 
were  three  Peter  Lettses.  Ezekiel  Letts,  of  Wash- 
ington, is  a  descendant  of  the  Peter  Letts  of  pioneer 
days. 

Smith  Tunison  was  early  located  on  the  hill  south 
of  Lawrence's  Brook,  where  his  father  had  lived  be- 
fore him. 

Garret  Van  Arsdalen  and  Thomas  Walker  settled 
early  on  Lawrence's  Brook. 

The  name  of  Combs  was  early  and  long  a  familiar 
one  to  residents  in  East  Brunswick.  John  and  Jon- 
athan Combs  were  brothers  and  sons  of  Samuel 
Combs,  who  owned  considerable  property  in  the 
township,  and  lived  at  Fresh  Ponds.  Jonathan  was  a 
farmer  and  prominent  resident  in  the  same  vicinity, 
and  John  was  long  a  merchant  and  ship-owner  at 
Washington. 


760 


HISTORY    OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


At  an  early  date  Capt.  Jehu  Dunham  settled  at 
Dunham's  Corners,  a  locality  which  came  to  be   so  | 
known  in  his  honor,  and  left  a  numerous  family,  none  I 
of  whom  reside  in  East  Brunswick.     James  Dunham, 
merchant,   died   many   years   ago,  leaving   valuable 
property.     He  is  referred  to  as  a  gentleman  held  in  1 
the  highest  esteem  for  probity  and  business  capacity.  ] 
The  father  of  Capt.  Jehu  Dunham  was  a  resident  in  i 
North  Brunswick,  near  the  Raritan,  where  the  latter 
was  born.  ' 

James  Crommelin  was  a  pioneer  on  the  creek  bear-  i 
ing  liis  name,  and  was  a  leading  citizen  in  his  time  i 
and  well   regarded.     His  property  is  now  occupied 
by  a  canning-factory,  which  has  given  an  appearance 
of  life  and  activity  to  its  neighborhood. 

A  family  of  Wyckoffs  were  at  one  time,  many  years 
since,  prominent  in  the  township.  At  an  early  date 
they  lived  on  Crommelin's  Creek,  removing  thence 
to  New  Brunswick.  Peter  and  John  Wyckoff,  of  the 
second  generation  resident  there,  were  quite  well 
known  in  the  township.  The  former  home  of  this 
family  is  now  owned  by  Terrence  Claney. 

The  name  of  Samuel  Gordon,  hotel-keeper,  stage 
proprietor,  contractor,  and  general  business  man,  is 
well  remembered  in  connection  with  several  enter- 
prises of  a  time  gone  by  for  the  general  improvement 
of  traveling  and  transportation  facilities.  His  son, 
Samuel  Gordon,  is  a  resident  of  Washington,  and  at 
the  age  of  eighty-three  still  busy  with  various  light 
mechanical  pursuits.  He  is  one  of  the  mo.st  remark- 
able mechanical  geniuses  the  section  has  produced, 
and  excels  as  painter,  carpenter,  wheelwright,  or 
cabinet-maker,  always  so  combining  the  durable  and 
the  beautiful  as  to  render  the  result  of  his  handicraft 
valuable  both  ornamentally  and  intrinsically. 

The  Martin  family,  of  whom  Samuel  Martin,  boat- 
man, was  the  progenitor,  is  numerous  and  well  known. 
Samuel  Martin  married  a  woman  of  the  Willett  fam- 
ily, and  had  a  number  of  sons  and  daughters.  His 
sons,  Willett,  Henry,  Julius,  and  Samuel,  took  up  the 
occupation  of  their  father,  embarking  as  pilots  and 
captains  of  steamboats,  and  became  celebrated  as  pilots 
while  yet  comparatively  young.  Samuel  became  noted 
also  in  the  special  department  of  coast-piloting,  taking 
several  steamers  to  California  through  Magellan's 
Straits.  He  was  lately  in  command  of  the  steamer 
"Plymouth  Rock,"  plying  between  New  York  and 
Long  Branch,  and  the  large  Coney  Island  steamer 
"  Taurus."  The  reputation  of  these  men  among 
steamboaters  is  unsurpassed. 

An  early  settlement  and  clearing  was  made  on  the 
Outcalt  mill-site  by  a  half-breed  named  Weechqueech- 
ley,  who  was  a  sagamore  and  a  man  of  note  among  the 
Indians.  Just  when  he  became  possessed  of  property 
there  can  scarcely  be  conjectures  at  this  time,  but  it 
is  supposed  to  have  been  years  before  white  settlement 
began  in  the  vicinity  or  the  Indian  title  to  land  there 
was  extinguished.  He  owned  a  considerable  tract  of 
land,  and  had  a  rude  saw-mill  as  far  back  as  tradition 


extends.  When  he  left  the  locality  and  how  he  dis- 
posed of  his  property  are  not  known.  Evidences  of 
his  former  residence  and  operations  there  in  the  form 
of  half-buried  remains  of  his  improvements  are  all 
that  has  ever  been  visible  of  them  to  any  living 
person. 

Captain  Samuel  Leonard  early  owned  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Weechqueechley's 
property,  and  tradition  has  it  that  a  brother  of  his 
lived  on  it  contemporaneously  with  the  half-breed's 
residence  there.  There  is  a  vague  story  to  the  effect 
that  one  of  the  Leonards,  but  neither  the  captain  nor 
the  brother  mentioned,  was  murdered  by  Weech- 
queechley.  Conflicting  versions  of  the  tragedy  have 
been  recounted.  The  most  plausible  one,  and  the  one 
accepted  by  some  of  the  older  residents  of  Spottswood 
and  vicinity  as  probably  nearly  correct,  is  to  the  effect 
that  as  Mr.  Leonard  was  one  day  walking  in  his 
brother's  garden  adjoining  the  half-breed's  land,  car- 
rying his  brother's  child  in  his  arms,  Weechqueech- 
ley,  who  had  been  lying  in  wait  for  him  concealed 
behind  .some  shrubbery,  shot  him,  killing  him  in- 
stantly. The  alleged  murderer's  enmity  against 
Leonard  is  supposed  to  have  been  aroused  by  some 
conflicting  claims  concerning  the  ownership  or  right 
of  use  of  the  mill  privilege.  By  some  it  is  thought 
Weechqueechley  was  not  the  murderer,  but  that 
another  half-breed  was,  and  that  other  property  than 
the  mill-seat  was  in  dispute.  It  is  said  the  murdei'cr 
was  hanged  for  his  crime,  while  Weechqueechley  is 
not  supposed  to  have  so  died. 

It  is  probable,  though  not  by  any  means  certain, 
that  for  a  considerable  period  prior  to  the  Revolution 
James  Perry,  Peter  Corne,  and  Thomas  Hays  lived  at 
Spottswood,  where  they  had  a  forge.  At  least  some 
one  in  their  employ  who  operated  the  concern  must 
have  been  located  there,  and  doubtless  one  or  two  or 
all  three  of  the  members  of  the  "  Forge  Company," 
resided  there  much  of  the  time. 

Among  the  early  residents  of  Spottswood  was  John 
Lewis  Johnston,  a  descendant  of  the  Johnston  family, 
for  many  generations  of  Spottiswoode,  Scotland,  who 
represented  an  important  landed  interest  at  Spotts- 
wood, vested  in  his  father,  John  Johnston,  who  then 
lived  or  had  previously  lived  at  Perth  Amboy.  The 
part  taken  by  Jlr.  Johnston  in  the  early  affidrs  of  the 
locality  was  a  conspicuous  one.  He  was  one  of  the 
founders  of  St.  Peter's  Church. 

Others  who  were  referred  to  as  inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Spottswood  as  early  as  1773,  and  who  were 
also  founders  of  St.  Peter's  parish,  were  Frederick 
Bucklen,  John  Barclay,  Jr.,  Thomas  Newton,  James 
Rue,  Samuel  Neilson,  David  Stout,  John  Rue,  Joseph 
Perrine,  James  Abraham,  Richard  Lott,  John  Perrine, 
John  Rue,  and  Right  Hon.  David  Carnagie,  com- 
monly called  "Lord  Rosehill ;"  but  it  is  certain  that 
some  of  these,  and  probable  that  others,  did  not  at 
the  time  have  a  permanent  residence  within  the 
present  limits  of  East  Brunswick.     Descendants  of 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


761 


some  of  those  mentioned — the  Rues,  Stout,  and  Per- 
rine — now  live  at  and  near  Spottswood,  and  some  of 
the  names  are  at  this  time  familiar  in  various  sections 
of  Middlesex  County.  Land  in  the  township  was 
deeded  to  James  Rue  in  1785  by  Johannes  Van 
Leuwen,  of  Somerset  County,  and  Jeromus  Lott, 
of  Kings  County,  N.  Y.  He  came  from  Monmouth 
County  considerably  earlier,  as  is  supposed.  James, 
his  son,  and  James,  his  grandson,  have  been  his  suc- 
cessors. Joseph  Perrine  settled  early  in  Madison,  near 
Spottswood.  He  was  much  at  Spottswood,  where  he 
was  well  known,  until  his  death  in  1797.  His  son 
John,  father  of  Judge  John  Perrine,  lived  at  Spotts- 
wood from  1805  to  1812.  Judge  John  Perrine  located 
at  Old  Bridge  in  1829,  and  removed  to  Spottswood  in 
1831,  and  was  a  leading  business  man  there  for  many 
years.  Since  his  retirement  he  has  lived  on  the 
Bloom  field  mill  property,  between  Spottswood  and 
Old  Bridge. 

The  Mundys  were  quite  early  at  Spottswood,  where 
Phineas  Mundy  was  prominent  as  a  property-owner 
and  business  man  for  many  years,  dating  from  some 
time  early  in  the  present  century.  Merril  Mundy,  of 
this  family,  now  at  an  advanced  age,  is  a  resident  of 
the  village. 

The  advent  in  the  township  of  John,  father  of 
Asher  Bissett,  the  progenitor  of  the  present  large 
family  of  the  name  resident  there,  was  some  time  prior 
to  the  Revolution.  He  located  at  Old  Bridge,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death  ;  Asher  also  lived  and 
died  there.  Perhaps  the  better  known  of  the  sons 
of  the  latter  were  Asher  and  David.  Asher  was  a 
large  land-owner,  and  served  Middlesex  County  as 
sheriff'.  He  left  several  sons  and  one  daughter. 
David  was  a  manufacturer  and  business  man  at  Old 
Bridge.  The  Bissetts  have  ever  been  men  of  charac- 
ter, well  regarded  by  their  fellow-citizens.  Well 
known  among  many  of  the  name  in  the  township 
at  this  time  are  James  Bissett,  brick  manufacturer, 
F.  W.  Bissett,  merchant,  Evert  Bissett,  retired,  and 
William  Bissett. 

The  Van  Wickle  family  were  early  at  Old  Bridge. 
By  intermarriage  several  of  the  prominent  families  of 
that  part  of  the  town  are  related  to  them.  They 
doubtless  settled  there  as  early  ;is  1765  or  1770. 
Michael  Van  Wickle  was  a  member  of  the  Middlesex 
County  board  of  freeholders  in  1778  and  1779,  and 
Evert  Van  Wickle  was  a  justice  of  the  peace,  1795 
-97.  The  family  were  extensive  land-owners  in  the 
vicinity  of  Old  Bridge,  and  early  in  the  present  cen- 
tury some  of  them  were  leading  business  men  there. 
Evert  Van  Wickle  was  a  surveyor,  and  in  1800  or  a 
little  later  went  to  the  Holland  Purchase  in  Western 
New  York  as  surveyor  for  Judge  Philip  Church,  pro- 
prietor of  the  Church  tract  in  Allegany  County. 

James  and  Leonard  Appleby,  from  Monmouth 
County,  became  well-known  citizens  of  East  Bruns- 
wick, where  many  of  the  descendants  of  both  now 
live.    James  came  to  Old  Bridge  in  1829,  and  the  two 


began  a  mercantile  career  there  as  partners  in  a  store, 
and  both  resided  in  the  township  during  life.  James 
was  three  times  married,  and  reared  a  large  family. 
His  son,  William  M.  Appleby,  is  a  merchant  at  Old 
Bridge,  and  other  sons  are  well  known  in  East  Bruns- 
wick and  elsewhere.  Leonard  Appleby  was  promi- 
nent in  social  and  business  life  for  many  years,  and 
died  at  an  advanced  age  in  1879. 

Gen.  Obadiah  Herbert  is  well  remembered  as 
having  carried  on  important  business  enterprises  at 
Old  Bridge.  Obadiah  Herbert,  grandfather  of  Gen. 
Herbert,  was  a  resident  at  Perth  Amboy  previous  to 
17.57.  He  had  a  family  of  six  sons  and  two  daugh- 
ters. One  of  these  sons,  Obadiah,  w.is  a  farmer,  and, 
like  his  father,  a  surveyor.  He  married  Elizabeth 
Warne,  and  had  children, — John,  William,  Obadiah, 
Elizabeth,  and  Sarah.  About  1870,  Obadiah,  last 
mentioned,  and  known  as  Gen.  Herbert,  came  to  Old 
Bridge,  where  he  married  a  daughter  of  Judge  Jacob 
Van  Wickle.  She  died,  and  he  subsequently  mar- 
ried a  daughter  of  Amos  Stout,  who  survives  him. 
His  sons  are  Jacob,  Robert  S.,  and  J.  Biddle  Herbert. 
He  had  three  daughters. 

Gen.  James  Morgan  was  a  settler  at  Old  Bridge 
soon  after  the  Revolution,  and  was  interested  with 
some  of  the  Van  Wickles  in  business  enterprises. 
He  was  an  uncle  to  Andrew  J.  Disbrough',  surveyor 
(son  of  John  Disbrow,  a  light-horseman  in  the  Revo- 
lution), who  has  been  postmaster  at  Old  Bridge  con- 
tinuously since  1836,  was  justice  of  the  peace,  1840- 
80,  and  county  judge,  1874-79,  and  was  elected  sheriff 
of  Middlesex  County  in  1881. 

The  Skinners,  an  old  family  at  Spottswood,  are  de- 
scended from  John  Skinner,  who  came  to  that  place 
from  England.  He  married  Elizabeth  Ford,  and  his 
sons  were  William  (died  in  infancy),  Lewis  Ford  (a 
sailor),  Ford  C.  (a  shoem.aker),  Benjamin  F.  (manu- 
facturer), William  (died  in  Philadelphia),  and  Phin- 
eas Manning.  The  latter  was  a  paper-maker  by  trade, 
but  was  a  snuff'  manufacturer  for  some  time  before 
his  death.  He  had  three  sons  and  five  daughters. 
Of  these,  William  A.  and  Lewis  E.  Skinner  are  prom- 
inent residents  of  Spottswood. 

It  is  believed  that  this  chapter  embraces  an  account, 
more  or  less  full,  of  all  of  the  settlers  in  the  township 
during  the  pioneers'  period,  and  that  succeeding  it  in 
which  the  enterprises  of  a  later  day  had  an  inception. 
No  pains  has  been  spared  to  render  this  department 
of  the  history  of  East  Brunswick  complete,  and  every 
available  source  of  information  has  been  consulted 
with  a  view  to  that  end.  A  good  many  of  the  early 
settlers  had  slaves  for  some  time  after  they  came. 
Many  of  the  latter  are  buried  in  the  township,  and  it 
is  said  some  of  the  colored  residents  of  the  present 
day  are  descended  from  some  of  them. 

During  the  Revolution  many  citizens  of  the  State 
sustained  such  loss  or  damage  to  property  as  is  inci- 
dent to  a  time  of  war  or  the  presence  of  armed  forces 
depending  upon  the  country  for  subsistence.     Among 


762 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


claims  against  government  presented  at  a  later  day, 
in  consequence  of  alleged  loss  or  damage  from  the 
causes  mentioned,  were  the  following,  sworn  to  ac- 
cording to  law,  by  residents  within  the  borders  of 
East  Brunswick : ' 

£  s.  d.  '  £  »■  <!■ 

William  KeniBen 142  17  6  ,  Cornelins  Booraem....  47  9  0 

William  Bemsen 1380  0    0  '  Peter  Lfitte 38  5  0 

Peter  Wilmurt 4  3     9  1  Peter  Obert... 95  15  0 

Abraham  Barkelew...       39  10    6  |  Benjamin  Ogden 58  14  0 

Abraham  Ackerman..      55  10  8 

Organization  and  Civil  History.— By  an  act  of 

the  Senate  and  General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey,  ap- 
proved Feb.  28,  1860,  all  those  parts  of  the  townships 
of  North  Brunswick  and  Monroe  lying  within  the 
following  limits,  viz. :  "  Beginning  at  the  mouth  of 
Lawrence's  Brook,  where  it  falls  into  the  Raritan 
River ;  thence  southwesterly  up  the  said  Lawrence's 
Brook  to  where  Ireland's  Brook  falls  into  the  said 
Lawrence's  Brook  and  line  of  the  township  of  South 
Brunswick ;  thence  southeasterly  up  said  Ireland's 
Brook  and  line  of  South  Brunswick  to  the  township 
line  of  Monroe;  thence  southwesterly  along  the  town- 
ship line  of  South  Brunswick  and  Monroe  to  the  line 
known  as  Bass'  patent  line;  thence  southerly  and 
easterly  along  said  Bass'  patent  to  Manalapan  River; 
thence  northeasterly  down  Manalapan  River  to  the 
mouth  of  the  stream  that  drains  the  burnt  meadows ; 
thence  up  the  stream  thereof  to  Slab  Bridge  ;  thence 
a  due  east  course  to  Matchajjonix  River  and  the  line 
of  South  Amboy ;  thence  northerly  down  the  Match- 
aponix  and  South  Rivers  to  the  mouth  thereof  at 
Raritan  River;  thence  northwesterly  up  Raritan 
River  to  the  mouth  of  Lawrence's  Brook  and  begin- 
ning," were  set  oft"  from  the  townships  mentioned  and 
established  a  separate  township,  to  be  known  as  the 
township  of  East  Brunswick  ;  and  it  was  enacted  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  new  township  and  their  suc- 
cessors should  be  constituted  a  body  politic  and 
corporate  by  the  name  of  the  "  Inhabitants  of  the 
Township  of  East  Brunswick,  in  the  County  of  Mid- 


It  was  further  enacted  that  the  inhabitants  of  East 
Brunswick  should  hold  their  first  town-meeting  at 
the  inn  of  Stephen  H.  Barkalew,  in  the  said  town- 
ship, at  the  time  appointed  by  law  for  holding  the 
annual  town-meetings  in  the  other  townships  of  Mid- 
dlesex County  ;  and  that  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  the 
following  May  the  town  committees  of  North  Bruns- 
wick, East  Brunswick,  and  New  Brunswick  (which 
was  formed  at  the  same  time  with  East  Brunswick) 
should  meet  at  the  inn  of  Saxon  M.  Tice,  in  East 
Brunswick,  at  ten  a.m.,  to  allot,  divide,  and  assign  to 
the  townships  of  East  Brunswick  and  New  Brunswick 
such  portions  of  all  the  real  estate  and  personal  prop- 
erty and  of  all  surplus  moneys  of  the  parent  town  of 
North  Brunswick  then  on  hand  as  the  taxable  prop- 

i  There  may  have  been  others  who  resided  within  the  present  town- 
ship limits  whose  names  will  be  found  in  a  similar  list  in  the  history  of 
South  Brunswick  or  in  that  of  South  Amboy. 


erty  and  ratables  of  those  parts  of  the  townships  of 
New  Brunswick  and  East  Brunswick  which  were 
taken  from  the  township  of  North  Brunswick  bore 
to  the  whole  taxable  property  and  ratables  of  the 
former  town  of  North  Brunswick,  according  to  the 
last  assessment,  the  townships  of  New  Brunswick 
and  South  Brunswick  to  pay,  in  like  proportion,  ex- 
isting indebtedness  of  the  township  of  North  Bruns- 
wick, and  the  poor  chargeable  upon  the  old  township 
to  be  divided  according  to  the  same  rule  of  proportion 
between  the  three  townships  named. 

The  act  also  provided  that  at  ten  a.m.,  on  the  third 
Tuesday  of  the  following  May,  the  town  committees 
of  Monroe  and  East  Brunswick  townships  should 
meet  at  the  public-house  kept  by  Mrs.  Van  Cleef  at 
Spottswood,  to  efl'ect  a  similar  apportionment  of  as- 
sets, liabilities,  and  township  responsibilities  between 
the  townships  of  Monroe  and  East  Brunswick,  in  the 
proportion  of  the  amount  of  real  estate  and  the  num- 
ber of  taxable  inhabitants  of  that  portion  of  East 
Brunswick  set  oft'  from  Monroe  to  the  whole  amount 
of  real  estate  and  the  number  of  taxable  inhabitants 
of  the  township  of  Monroe  as  previously  bounded. 

That  portion  of  the  township  of  East  Brunswick  set 
ofi"  from  Monroe  was  constituted  a  separate  election 
district,  to  be  known  as  the  Spottswood  Election  Dis- 
trict of  East  Brunswick,  and  the  first  election  therein 
was  ordered  to  be  held  at  the  hotel  of  Mrs.  Van  Cleef, 
at  Spottswood  village. 

The  First  Town-Meeting. — The  first  town- 
meeting  of  the  newly-erected  township  was  held 
April  9,  1860,  at  the  place  appointed  in  the  act. 
Stephen  Martin  was  chosen  moderator,  and  Henry 
Gordon  clerk.  The  following  resolutions  were  passed: 

"  On  motion  it  was  resolved  that  the  snm  of  $550  be  appropriated  for 
the  poor,  as  well  as  the  interest  of  the  surplus  revenue  for  purpose 
aforesaid. 

"  Resoliied,  That  the  sum  of  8500  he  appropriated  for  roads. 

"  Re&oUed,  That  the  sum  of  $300  be  appropriated  for  incidental  ex- 
penses. 

"  i?e80irc(?,  That  the  sum  of  83  per  scholar  for  all  children  residing 
in  the  township  between  the  ages  of  five  and  eighteen  be  appropriated 
for  school  purposes. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  next  meeting  be  held  at  ten  o'clock  a.m.,  and  that 
the  vote  at  said  meeting  shall  bo  by  ballot. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  next  fall  and  State  election  shall  be  held  at  the 
house  of  S.  H.  Barkelew,  in  the  village  of  Washington. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  next  annual  town-meeting  be  held  at  the  house 
of  Enos  Ayres. 

"  Resolved,  That  three  constables  be  elected  in  East  Brunswick." 

Civil  List. — The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the 
ofiicers  elected  at  the  first  town-meeting: 

B.  F.  Lloyd,  judge  of  election;  Stephen  Smith,  as- 
sessor ;  S.  H.  Barkelew,  collector ;  Henry  Gordon, 
clerk ;  Andrew  Snowhill  and  James  C.  Stout,  chosen 
freeholders;  A.  Vandewater,  school  superintendent; 
Leonard  Appleby,  R.  S.  Herbert,  G.  I.  Snedeker, 
Furman  Smith,  and  John  Griggs,  township  commit- 
tee ;  Richard  Serviss,  overseer  of  the  poor ;  Lewis 
W.  Spencer  and  Jeremiah  Rappelyea,  surveyors  of 
highways ;  James  Appleby,  James  Bissett,  and  George 
Lane,  commissioners  of  appeals ;  Lemuel  Barkelew, 


EAST  BKUNSWICK. 


763 


James  Jernee,  and  William  Hardenbrook,  constables ; 
John  Hoey,  S.  H.  Barkelew,  B.  F.  Lloyd,  Enos  Ayres, 
and  James  Jernee,  pound-keepers ;  Andrew  J.  Dis- 
brow,  Ambrose  Dobbs,  and  Leonard  L.  F.  Appleby, 
justices  of  the  peace;  Phineas  M.  Skinner,  George 
H.  Snowhill,  and  I.  L.  Cole,  judges  of  election  in  the 
Spotswood  precinct ;  and  Murrill  Mundy,  clerk  of  the 
same. 

The  following  civil  list  embraces  the  names  of  the 
principal  township  officers  chosen  at  the  ensuing  and 
subsequent  elections : 


James  C.  Stout,  1861-66,1867-71 
Andrew  Snowhill,  1861-62. 
Henry  Stults,  1863-65. 
Leonard  L.  F.  Appleby,  1866. 
J.  Biddle  Herbert,  1866. 
Daniel  B.  Martin,  1867. 


CHOSEN   FREEHOLDERS. 

Zenas  Van  Deventer,  1868. 
James  Bissett,  1869-70, 1872-76. 


Charles  P.  Blew,  1871-76. 
Isaac  N.  Blew,  1877-78. 
Abial  Price,  1877-79. 
Peter  Hoey,  1880-81. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE   PEACE. 
Frederick  Stults,  1861, 1868,  1876,     Henry  Gordon,  1870-71. 


1881. 
Ambrose  Dobbs,  1861,  1866,  1872, 

1877. 
Alfred  Stults,  1865. 
Merrill  Mundy,  1865. 
Andrew  J.  Disbrow,  1866, 1879. 
Leonard  L.  F.  Appleby,  1870-71. 


John  Hoey,  1871. 
John  B.  Polhemus,  1871. 
Stoddard  Vf.  Stout,  1872-78. 
Stephen  Martin,  1875. 
Isaac  Anderson,  1876-81. 
Abner  Lee,  1876-77. 


TOWN  COMMITTEEMEN. 


Leonard  Appleby,  1861-62. 
John  Griggs,  1861-62. 
John  Culver,  1861-63. 
Charles    P.    Blew,  1861-«5,  187 

1881. 
Joseph  H.  Bloodgood,  1861. 
James  Rue,  1862-65. 
Joseph  Applegate,  1863. 
Stephen  Palmer,  1863. 
Francis  A.  Williams,  1864. 
Wilson    Housel,  1864-65,  1867-7: 

1874-75. 
Merrill  Mundy,  1864,  1871-72. 
Stephen  T.  Christian,  1865, 1868. 
Daniel  B.  Martin,  1865,  1868. 
Garret  I.  Snediker,  1866. 
John  C.  Cozzens,  1866. 
Jehiel  Petty,  1866. 
Joel  B.  Carhart,  1866. 
John  B.  Polhemus,  1866. 


Ebenezer  Drury,  1867-72. 
Luther  H.  HatfleUl,  1867,1868. 
Orlando  Perrine,1867. 
Abner  Lee,  1869-70. 
Jacob  F.  Rne,  1869-73. 
Joseph  D.  Johnson,  1869-70,  1877. 
Charles  Tanner,  1871. 
Abial  Price,  1872. 
William  J.  Bissett,  1873-74. 
Conrad  Kuhlthan,  1873. 
Albert  W.  Wilson,  1874-75. 
George  Gordon, 1875-78,  1880-81. 
George  Boeder,  1876-77. 
Mount  Davison,  1876. 
William  H.  H.  De  Yoe,  1877. 
Hezekiali  Smith,  1877. 
John  0.  Cozzens,  1878-80. 
David  V.  Stonaker,  1878-79. 
Thomas  Smith,  1878. 
Eli  Shafer,  1881. 


TOWNSHIP  CLERKS. 
Henry  Gordon,  1861-65,  1867-74.      l  W'illiam  J.  Bissett,  1875-77. 
William  H.  Smith,  1866.  I  David  Serviss,  1878-81. 

SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENTS. 
William  A.  Appleby,  1861,1863-65.  |  R.  J.  Bnimagen,  1866-67. 
ASSESSORS. 

Serviss,    1871-75,    1879, 


Samuel  Gordon.  1861-63, 1867-70. 
Isaac  N.  Blew,  1864-65. 
Daniel  Herbert,  1866. 


Richard 

1881. 
Maximillii 


I  J.  Fronmiel,  1876-78. 


Theodon 
1866. 
Daniel  Morgan,  1864, 1865 
Richard  Serviss,  1867-70. 
Daniel  L.  Martin,  1871. 


COLLECTORS. 
Appleby,    1861-63, 


William  W.  C.  Barkelew,  1872. 
Charles  H.  Counet,  1873. 
Stoddard  W.  Stout,  1874-75. 
Abraham  Barkelew,  1876-78. 
George  Boeder,  1879,  1881. 


The  above  civil  list  embraces  only  that  period  dur- 
ing which  East  Brunswick  has  been  an  independent 
township.    During  the  protracted  period  of  the  civil 


connection  of  the  township  with  North  Brunswick, 
and  its  later  partial  connection  with  Monroe,  citizens 
within  its  present  borders  were  prominently  identified 
with  the  civil  aifairs  of  the  two  parental  townships ; 
the  names  of  Jonathan  Combs,  Evert  Van  Wickle, 
James  Crommelin,  and  others,  residents  within  the 
present  township  limits  at  an  early  date,  appearing 
often  among  those  of  North  Brunswick  officials,  while 
those  of  Leonard  Appleby  and  some  of  his  contempo- 
raries figured  conspicuously  in  the  records  of  Monroe 
before  East  Brunswick  was  erected. 

Educational.  —  Public  Schools.  —  At  this  time 
data  cannot  be  secured  upon  which  to  base  a  particu- 
lar history  of  the  schools  of  the  town.ship  in  the  ear- 
lier period  of  its  civilization.  Teachers  and  pupils 
have  long  since  passed  away,  leaving  no  record  of 
the  schools  of  the  time  in  which  they  lived,  and  the 
oldest  living  residents  do  not  recall  events  connected 
with  the  earlier  period  of  educational  history.  It  is 
probable  that  from  the  time  of  the  first  settlement 
of  any  number  of  families  contiguously  within  the 
present  borders  of  the  township  measures  were  em- 
ployed, as  the  exigencies  of  the  times  required,  to 
establish  and  maintain  schools  under  the  successive 
regulations  made  by  governmental  authority  to  that 
end.  Possibly  the  first  regularly  constituted  public 
schools  in  the  territory  now  embraced  in  the  town- 
ship were  put  in  operation  under  the  provisions  of 
the  act  pa.ssed  by  the  East  Jersey  Council  in  1693, 
authorizing  the  appointment  of  a  schoolmaster  for 
each  town,  and  sanctioning  the  employment  of  force  to 
compel  reluctant  tax-payers  to  contribute  their  share 
for  the  support  of  public  schools,  and  maintained 
with  varying  success  until  superseded  by  other  public 
schools,  opened  at  a  later  period  by  authority  of  the 
school  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and  such  select 
schools  as  have  in  all  sections  of  the  country  borne  so 
prominent  a  part  in  the  advancement  of  the  cause  of 
public  education.  Doubtless  a  school  of  some  sort 
was  established  in  the  settlement  at  South  River  (now 
the  town  of  Washington)  about  as  early  as  at  any 
point  within  the  limits  of  East  Brunswick;  but  our 
information  respecting  this  district  reaches  no  farther 
back  than  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when 
a  then  old  school-house  stood  on  a  hill  nearthegrove 
which  has  so  often  been  the  scene  of  the  summer  fes- 
tivities of  the  adjacent  population.  Frederick  Stults, 
still  living  at  an  advanced  age,  taught  a  school  in  this 
building  during  1824  and  1825.  The  present  school- 
house  was  built  in  1838,  and  was  a  one-story  brick 
building.  In  18.52  it  was  enlarged,  and  another  story 
was  added  to  it,  at  a  cost  of  $580.  It  was  again  reno- 
vated and  repaired  in  1867,  at  an  expense  of  $900.  It  is 
now  regarded  as  too  small  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  children  of  this  populous  district,  and  a  new  and 
more  commodious  building  is  felt  to  be  a  pressing  ne- 
cessity, but  the  project  of  erecting  one  has  not  as  yet 
assumed  any  tangible  form.  Ira  Gage  Barnes  taught 
a  school  at  South  River  as  early  as  1829. 


764 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  earliest  schools  at  Spottswood  are  not  remem- 
bered by  any  one  now  living,  nor  can  the  date  at 
which  the  first  public  school-house  there  was  erected 
be  accurately  fixed.  The  establishment  of  schools 
there  was  probably  contemporary  with  a  like  advance- 
ment at  Washington,  and  by  some  is  claimed  to  have 
occurred  at  a  date  somewhat  earlier.  There  was  a 
school-house  there  as  early  as  1805,  and  Joshua  Pit- 
tingu  taught  in  it  in  1806.  It  was  torn  down  some- 
thing less  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  has  been  super- 
seded by  the  building  now  in  use.  Amusing  stories 
of  events  connected  with  early  schools  at  this  place 
have  been  told  by  some  of  the  old  men  of  the  vicinity 
who  were  school-boys  there  years  ago.  It  is  related 
by  Judge  John  Perrine  that  it  was  common  for  the 
scholars  to  bar  out  the  teacher  if  he  manifested  a  de- 
sire to  continue  the  regular  sessions  of  the  school  dur- 
ing the  interval  between  Christmas  and  New  Year's, 
a  period  always  eagerly  claimed  by  the  youth  of  that 
day  and  this  as  their  peculiar  season  of  jollity  and 
freedom  from  the  restraints  of  the  school-room. 

An  early  teacher  at  Old  Bridge  was  the  man  who 
became  famous  during  the  Mexican  war,  and  is  known 
in  history  as  Gen.  Shields.  When  the  first  public 
school-house  was  built  there  is  not  now  known.  One 
which  was  long  known  as  an  old  school-house  gave 
place  to  the  more  modern  structure  now  in  use  only  a 
year  or  two  ago. 

Under  the  school  law  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
the  township  was  divided  into  districts,  which  have 
from  time  to  time  since  undergone  changes  in  bound- 
aries and  in  number.  Some  of  them  are  of  late  and 
one  or  two  of  comparatively  recent  origin.  At  this 
time  there  are  eight  districts,  known  by  name  and 
number  as  follows:  Brick  School-House,  No.  30; 
Washington,  No.  31 ;  Lawrence  Brook,  No.  32 ;  Sum- 
mer Hill,  No.  33 ;  Dunham's  Corners,  No.  34 ;  Old 
Bridge,  No.  45;  Spottswood,  No.  36;  South  Eiver, 
No.  74.  The  latter  had  only  just  been  formed  when 
this  work  went  to  press. 

In  1881  the  number  of  children  of  the  school  age 
in  East  Brunswick  was  793,  divided  as  follows  among 
the  several  districts:  District  No.  30,  52;  No.  31, 
234  ;  No.  32,  66  ;  No.  33,  48  ;  No.  34,  92  ;  No.  35,  64  ; 
No.  36,  147  ;  and  No.  74,  90.  The  total  amount  re- 
ceived from  all  sources  for  public  school  purposes 
was  $350  each  in  Districts  No.  30,  32,  33,  34,  and  35, 
$825  in  No.  31,  and  $518.39  in  No.  36.  The  value  of 
school  property  in  the  several  districts  was  as  follows 
in  1880  :  District  No.  30,  $1000 ;  No.  31,  $1500  ;  No. 
32,  $800;  Nos.  33  and  34,  $1200  each  ;  No.  35,  $1250  ; 
and  No.  36,  $2500.  The  average  attendance  in  the 
several  districts  during  the  time  the  schools  have 
been  kept  open  (averaging  eight  and  eight-tenths 
months)  has  been  23  in  No.  30;  74  in  No.  31 ;  12  in 
No.  32 ;  18  in  No.  33  ;  27  in  No.  34 ;  25  in  No.  35 ; 
and  44  in  No.  36.  It  is  estimated  that  in  the  town- 
ship 177  children  attended  private  schools,  and  that 
200  attended  no  school  during  the  year.     The  school- 


house  in  District  No.  30  will  seat  50  scholars  ;  that  in 
District  No.  31,  66  ;  that  in  District  No.  32,  80  ;  that 
in  District  No.  33,  80  ;  that  in  District  No.  34,  50 ; 
that  in  District  No.  35,  75  ;  and  that  in  District  No. 
36,  100.  These  buildings  are  all  of  them  in  fair  and 
some  of  them  in  excellent  condition.  Two  male  and 
seven  female  teachers  were  employed  in  the  town- 
ship, the  former  at  an  average  salary  of  $43.50,  the 
latter  at  an  average  salary  of  $32.  District  No.  74 
having  been  only  recently  formed,  has  as  yet  no  sta- 
tistics other  than  the  number  of  school  children 
within  its  borders. 

A  Braxch  of  Rutgees  College. — Under  the 
supervision  of  Rev.  Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh,  a  branch 
of  Rutgers  College  was  established  at  Spottswood  in 
1830  with  the  object  of  preparing  classes  to  enter 
Rutgers  for  the  senior  year,  affording  the  same  facili- 
ties and  the  same  course  of  study,  with  the  same 
thorough  system  of  instruction,  that  characterized 
Rutgers  College,  at  a'  cost  for  board  and  other  ex- 
penses considerably  lower  than  at  New  Brunswick, 
and  holding  out  special  inducements  to  many  living 
in  the  vicinity,  who  were  thus  enabled  to  live  at  home 
and  enjoy  the  same  educational  advantages  that  were 
afforded  to  inmates  of  the  college  at  New  Brunswick. 
The  successive  teachers  were  Thomas  O.  Daniels,  a 
graduate  of  Princeton ;  Jacob  B.  Gaddis,  of  Mill- 
stone, N.  J.,  a  graduate  of  Rutgers  College ;  James 
Schureman  Johnson,  son  of  Dr.  Johnson,  then  a  res- 
ident physician  of  Spottswood  ;  and  John  O.  Brown, 
a  resident  of  Rutgers  College.  The  first  and  only 
class  prepared  here  finished  in  1834,  under  the  tuition 
of  Mr.  Brown,  and  entered  Rutgers  College  for  the 
senior  year,  after  which  the  Spottswood  branch  was 
discontinued,  and  the  building  which  it  had  occupied 
was  converted  to  public  school  purposes. 

Rev.  William  0.  Ward's  Academic  School.— 
In  1830,  Rev.  William  O.  Ward  opened  an  academic 
school  at  Spottswood,  where  he  was  then  rector  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  It  was  patronized  mostly  by  New 
Yorkers,  though  some  of  the  students  lived  at  and 
near  Spottswood,  and  all,  or  nearly  all,  were  members 
of  families  attached  to  the  Episcopal  Church.  The 
school  was,  in  fact,  regarded  as  a  rival  to  the  branch 
of  Rutgers  College  just  alluded  to,  which  was  con- 
ducted, like  the  main  institution,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  and  at  times  the 
feelings  of  hostility  of  supporters  of  each  against  the 
other  were  marked.  The  course  of  study  pursued  at 
this  school  was  thorough,  and  the  instruction  such  as 
to  render  it  measurably  successful  for  some  years. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Van  Liew's  School.— From  1844  to 
1848  Rev.  John  C.  Van  Liew,  then  pastor  of  the  Re- 
formed Dutch  Church  at  Spottswood,  conducted  a 
private  school  at  that  place,  which  was  patronized  by 
fifty  or  sixty  students,  and  was  at  the  time  one  of 
the  best  educational  institutions  in  New  Jersey  of  its 
class.  Rev.  Mr.  Van  Liew  having  occupied  a  foremost 
position  among  educators  in  the  State. 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


765 


The  Home  Boaeding-School  foe  Childeen. 
— This  institution  is  the  outgrowth  of  a  select  school 
started  in  the  upper  part  of  the  village  of  Old  Bridge 
by  Miss  A.  E.  Conover  in  1849.  It  was  opened  in  one 
room  of  a  cottage,  which  was  burned  in  1880,  and 
continued  there  six  months.  In  the  mean  time  Miss 
Conover,  perceiving  that  circumstances  favored  the 
establishment  of  a  permanent  school,  erected  a  small 
school-house  for  the  accommodation  of  her  class, 
which  now  forms  a  part  of  a  tenement-house  owned 
by  her. 

The  families  resident  at  and  near  Old  Bridge  ex- 
tended to  Miss  Conover  a  liberal  patronage,  and  her 
school  gradually  increased  in  numbers  as  well  as  in 
popularity  abroad  till  it  became  apparent  that  a 
boarding-school  would  meet  with  a  remunerative  pa- 
tronage, Miss  Conover  being  frequently  solicited  to 
accept  the  care  of  children  as  inmates  of  her  home  as 
well  as  members  of  her  class.  To  meet  this  demand 
she  enlarged  her  residence  in  1865,  and  prepared  for 
the  accommodation  of  boarding  pupils,  receiving  such 
as  came  and  continuing  the  instruction  of  day  pupils 
from  the  neighborhood  until  1879,  when  the  number 
of  the  first-mentioned  class  had  so  increased  that  she 
deemed  it  advisable  to  conduct  the  institution  as  a 
boarding-school  exclusively,  which  is  kept  entirely 
within  her  residence. 

The  location  of  this  school  is  very  pleasant,  and  as 
healthy  as  any  portion  of  the  State.  The  character- 
istics of  the  house  and  its  surroundings  ai'e  such  as  to 
justly  entitle  the  establishment  to  the  name  of  the 
"Home  Boarding-School."  The  care  bestowed  upon 
the  inmates  by  Miss  Conover  is  such  as  to  make  them 
feel  like  members  of  a  common  household,  which  takes 
the  place  of  their  respective  homes  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  Scholars  are  received  at  any  time  and  re- 
tained during  vacation  if  desired.  The  terms  are  as 
low  as  is  consistent  with  the  accommodations  and  the 
thorough  course  of  rudimentary  instructions  ofi'ered, 
and  the  establishment  is  easily  and  quickly  accessible 
from  New  York  and  Philadelphia  and  intermediate 
points. 

Othee  Peivate  Schools. — At  different  periods 
other  private  schools  of  lesser  note  have  been  taught 
in  the  township.  A  successful  one  has  been  main- 
tained at  Washington,  most  of  the  time  since  1861, 
by  Mrs.  Caroline  Kline  ;  and  another  for  some  time 
past  by  Mrs.  C.  H.  Woolston,  wife  of  the  pastor  of 
the  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church. 

Industrial  Pursuits. — The  fine  water-power  af- 
forded by  Soutli  River  at  Spottswood  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  that  village  was  made  available  by  man- 
ufacturers at  a  period  so  remote  that  its  date  cannot 
be  recalled.  When  white  settlement  there  begun  a 
half-breed  Indian  had  the  water-power  now  utilized 
by  Outcalt's  hominy-mills  and  a  considerable  acre- 
age round  about,  where  he  was  operating  a  primitive 
saw-mill.  This  person  must  have  inherited  a  share 
of  both  the  enterprise  and  the  mechanical  ingenuity 
49 


of  his  white  progenitors,  whoever  they  may  have 
been,  if  he  constructed  and  operated  this  mill,  as  it 
is  believed  he  did,  though  by  some  it  is  claimed  that 
the  mill  was  probably  built  for  him  by  some  adven- 
turesome Europeans  who  had  doubtless  penetrated, 
at  a  very  early  period,  into  this  then  almost  unin- 
habited region  from  some  settlement  at  a  distance. 
The  name  of  this  man  is  said  to  be  correctly  spelled 
Weechqueechley,  and  it  is  pronounced  by  many  Wa- 
queeley,  a  pronunciation  which  by  others  has  been 
corrupted  into  McQueelij.  This  property  afterwards 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  Johnstons,  represen- 
ted at  Spottswood  in  1773  and  probably  much  earlier 
by  John  Lewis  Johnston,  and  has  been  long  since  by 
them  conveyed  to  others. 

The  "  Forge  Company,"  composed  of  James  Perry, 
Peter  Corne,  and  Thomas  Hays,  played  an  early  and 
conspicuous  part  in  the  ])rimitive  industrial  history 
of  this  section.  An  old  map  made  by  the  surveyor- 
general  of  New  York,  without  date,  but  reasonably 
believed  to  have  been  drawn  about  1750,  and  indi- 
cating the  various  parcels  of  real  estate  belonging  to 
the  "  Forge  Company,"  showed  the  location  of  a 
grist-mill  on  the  site  of  the  present  old  red  mill 
occupied  partially  by  the  snuff-factory  of  Isaac  De 
Voe  &  Son.  This  spot  was  named  on  the  map 
"  Penkridge."  The  forge  proper,  with  a  trip-ham- 
mer, was  drawn  on  the  margin  of  the  map,  and  was 
on  or  near  the  site  of  the  old  saw-mill  recently  de- 
molished. The  "  Forge  Company"  possessed  many 
tracts  or  lots  of  land,  which  had  been  purchased 
evidently  with  the  purpose  of  "  charcoaling"  the 
wood  thereon  for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  iron. 
There  are  sometimes  found  the  remains  of  a  coal- 
kiln,  covered  by  the  sandy  soil  and  iron  slag  in  such 
quantities  as  to  interfere  with  digging  about  the  site. 
At  the  time  of  the  Revolution  it  appears  the  mem- 
bers of  the  company  became  refugees  and  fled  to 
England,  their  property  becoming  forfeited  in  conse- 
quence after  the  success  of  American  arms  led  to  the 
establishment  of  a  national  government.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1796,  at  a  general  auction  sale,  which  was  prob- 
ably ordered  by  the  State  authorities,  of  various 
lauded  property  formerly  belonging  to  the  "  Forge 
Company,"  the  mill-seat  was  "  struck  off"  to  Daniel 
Lott  for  £1275.  In  1801  it  was  sold  by  the  sheriff  to 
Robinson  Thomas.  In  1819  the  title  to  a  half,  and 
in  1827  to  the  remaining  half,  ownership  in  the  mill- 
seat  was  purchased  by  John  H.  Disborough,  who 
instituted  enterprises  there  which  belong  to  the  more 
modern  industrial  history  of  the  township. 

Snuff  Manufacture.— The  manufacture  of  snuff 
and  tobacco,  long  so  prominent  an  interest  at  Spotts- 
wood, was  introduced  by  Messrs.  Daniel  Snowhill  and 
William  Dill  at  a  comparatively  early  date.  Dill 
died  about  1838,  and  Snowhill  about  1840,  the  former 
having  withdrawn  from  the  business  some  years  be- 
fore. Mr.  Snowhill  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  An- 
drew Snowhill,  and  he  by  Andrew  Snowhill  &  Sons, 


766 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


who  ceased  operations  about  1850.  About  1868-78, 
George  H.  Snowhill,  of  the  same  family,  was  exten- 
sively engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  fine-cut  tobacco 
and  cigars,  commanding  a  large  trade  throughout 
the  surrounding  country. 

In  1840,  John  Appleby  purchased  the  Spottswood 
mill  and  water-power  of  Andrew  Snowhill,  who  had 
bought  it  of  the  administrators  of  the  will  of  John 
H.  Disborough,  and  converted  the  old  paper-mill  into 
a  tobacco  and  snuff-mill,  the  machinery  for  which 
Mr.  Appleby  removed  from  "  Texas,"  as  a  locality  in 
Monroe  township  is  now  known,  where  he  had  begun 
the  manufacture  of  snuff  in  1836.  He  conveyed  the 
mill-seat  in  1858  to  his  son,  William  Appleby,  and 
Isaac  DeVoe,  who  continued  the  business,  which  in 
the  earlier  years  of  the  late  civil  war  was  so  exten- 
sive as  to  require  the  use  of  twenty  mortars  or  "  mills," 
as  they  are  commonly  called.  The  war  and  the  con- 
sequent taxation,  with  its  incidental  annoyance,  re- 
duced the  business,  besides  changing  its  mode  and 
character.  It  is,  however,  gradually  recovering  its 
former  magnitude.  In  1865,  Isaac  De  Voe  became 
sole  owner,  and  the  business  is  now  continued  by 
Isaac  De  Voe  &  Sou. 

John  D.  Outcalt  had  a  snuff  and  tobacco  manufac- 
tory at  Spottswood  about  1845.  He  was  succeeded  by 
his  son  John,  who  abandoned  the  business  in  1870  to 
embark  in  a  manufacturing  enterprise  of  a  different 
kind. 

About  1818,  John  Browne,  who  had  been  on  the 
ground  in  another  line  of  business  about  twelve  years, 
converted  a  distillery,  two  miles  southwest  of  Spotts- 
wood, into  a  snuff-mill,  which  he  operated  nine  years, 
and  then  sold  it  to  William  Dill  and  William  Per- 
rine,  who,  between  four  and  five  years  later,  sold  out 
to  Leonard  Appleby,  who,  in  1866,  was  succeeded  by 
Appleby  &  Helme.  In  1879,  George  W.  Helme  be- 
came sole  owner  of  the  establishment,  now  known  as 
the  Railroad  Mills.  The  mill  is  now  a  large  brick 
building,  the  old  wooden  structure  having  most  of  it 
long  since  disappeared. 

The  Tecumseh  Snuff-Mills  of  Skinner  &  Co.  were 
established  in  May,  1854,  by  Phineas  M.  Skinner  & 
Son,  on  the  historical  paper-mill  property  '  on  the 
Machaponix,  in  Madison  township,  near  Spottswood, 
and  are  in  a  certain  sense  to  be  accounted  among 
Spottswood  industries. 

John  Dill,  a  son  of  William  Dill,  put  a  snuff-mill 
in  operation  at  Old  Bridge  previous  to  1860,  and  at  his 
death  was  succeeded  by  his  son  William  Dill,  who 
continued  the  business  until  about  1875.  A  snuff-mill 
was  operated  for  a  time  at  Bloomfield.  The  Bloom- 
field  mill-site  is  located  partially  in  this  township  and 
partially  in  Madison.  The  manufactories  which  have 
been  successively  in  operation  there  have  been  on  the 
Madison  side  of  the  river,  though  the  residence  for 
many  years  of  Judge  Perrine,  the  former  owner,  on 


1  See  article  on  "  Industrial  Pursuits"  iu  the  history  of  Madison. 


the  same  property,  and  within  the  borders  of  East 
Brunswick,  has  obtained  for  the  place  a  claim  to  local 
mention.^ 

Grist-Mills. — The  grist-mill  known  as  the  "  old 
red  mill,"  now  occupied  by  Isaac  De  Voe  &  Son  as  a 
snuff-factory,  was  built  by  John  Hilliker,  from  Staten 
Island,  early  in  this  century,  on  the  ground  long  since 
occupied  by  the  early  grist-mill  of  the  Forge  Com- 
pany. There  has  been  evidence  discovered  that  the 
previous  mill  had  been  burned,  as  in  relaying  the  floor 
of  the  red  mill  cinders  and  scorched  corn  were  dug 
up.  The  red  mill  was  controlled  at  various  times  after 
Hilliker  severed  his  connection  with  it  by  John  H. 
Disborough,  George  H.  Snowhill,  and  William  Con- 
over.  John  H.  Disborough  converted  a  part  of  the 
building  and  power  into  a  paper-mill  some  time  sub- 
sequent to  1827,  and  it  was  continued  as  such  (a  por- 
tion of  the  time  by  Beebe  &  Disborough)  till  1840, 
when  the  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  John  Ap- 
pleby as  has  been  stated. 

The  present  Spottswood  grist-mill,  containing  two 
runs  of  stones,  was  built  by  John  Appleby  about  1847, 
across  the  road  from  where  it  now  stands,  and  was 
subsequently  removed  to  its  present  location.  It  is 
owned  by  Isaac  De  Voe,  and  managed  by  Charles  B. 
Hulit,  lessee,  who  does  a  general  merchant  and  cus- 
tom business,  which  was  never  larger  than  at  this 
time. 

About  1867,  Whitehead  &  De  Voe  built  a  grist-mill 
on  Overt's  dock,  at  Washington,  which  was  operated 
as  such  only  about  a  year,  and  has  since  been  in  use 
as  a  store-house. 

Ship-Building. — Jonathan  Booraem  began  build- 
ing sloops  and  schooners  at  Washington,  for  river 
navigation,  in  1824,  and  succeeding  in  the  enterprise, 
subsequently  built  a  large  number  of  vessels,  some  of 
which  are  yet  navigating  South  River.  He  trained 
his  sons  William,  Nicholas,  Thomas,  and  James  in 
the  trade  of  ship-building,  and  some  of  them  contin- 
ued the  business  after  his  retirement  and  death,  mak- 
ing a  reputation  as  ship-builders  second  to  none.  In 
1832  he  admitted  some  of  his  sons  to  partnership,  and 
the  firm  was  thereafter  known  as  Jonathan  Booraem 
&  Sons  until  1840,  when  the  ship-yard  passed  into 
the  possession  of  Nicholas  and  Thomas  Booraem, 
who,  under  the  firm-name  of  N.  &  T.  Booraem,  con- 
tinued the  business  until  1851,  when  Nicholas  Boo- 
raem became  the  sole  proprietor.  In  1854  the  firm  of 
N.  &  T.  Booraem  was  revived,  carrying  on  the  busi- 
ness until  1860,  when  Nicholas  Booraem  again  as- 
sumed entire  ownership,  continuing  to  build  vessels 
quite  extensively  until  within  a  few  years  and  to 
overhaul  and  repair  them  to  the  present  time,  one  of 
the  conveniences  of  his  ship-yard  being  a  marine 
railway  of  improved  construction.  Among  vessels 
built  by  the  Booraems  were  the  "  President,"  a  sloop, 
and  the  schooners  "  Christopher  Columbus"  and  "  Jon- 

2  See  article  on  "  ludustrlal  Pursuits"  iu  the  history  of  Madiaon. 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


767 


athan  Booraem."  Besides  many  vessels  for  river 
navigation,  they  built  some  coasting  schooners  rang- 
ing from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  and 
fifty  tons  burden. 

Maj.  Samuel  Peterson,  who  died  many  years  ago, 
made  his  mark  as  a  ship-carpenter,  building  at  Wash- 
ington several  large  sea-schooners  and  one  sea-steamer, 
which  was  rated  first-class.  At  Old  Bridge,  Gen.  Oba- 
diah  Herbert  had  some  few  vessels  built  between  1837 
and  1840. 

The  Fruit- Culture  and  Trade. — At  a  com- 
paratively early  date  large  quantities  of  peaches  were 
brought  by  wagons  from  West  Jersey  to  tide-water  at 
Washington  for  shipment  to  New  York. 

Samuel  Whitehead,  Sr.,  a  native  of  England,  came 
to  America  at  the  age  of  twenty  and  purchased  and 
located  on  a  large  tract  of  land  about  four  miles  from 
Washington,  with  the  intention  of  devoting  himself 
to  agricultural  pursuits,  but  engaged  in  the  peach 
trade  largely,  buying  from  West  Jersey  and  sending 
to  the  city  markets.  Finding  the  soil  suitable  for  the 
cultivation  of  apple,  peach,  and  other  fruit  trees,  he 
planted  the  seed  of  several  choice  varieties  of  apples 
and  peaches  and  gave  his  attention  and  industry  to 
the  cultivation  of  nursery  stock,  which  he  later  set 
out,  planting  fine  orchards,  and  becoming  so  success- 
ful as  a  fruit-grower  as  to  attract  general  attention  to 
that  industry,  in  which  the  neighboring  farmers 
engaged  one  after  another  until  the  cultivation  of 
peaches  was  the  leading  pursuit  of  the  land-owners 
for  miles  roundabout,  and  an  immense  trade  grew  up, 
of  which  Washington  naturally  became  the  depot. 
This  trade  flourished  from  1825  to  1855,  and  was  at 
its  height  about  1850.  At  first  sloops,  then  schoon- 
ers, and  later  steamboats  were  employed  in  carrying 
fruit  to  New  York,  and  from  1840  to  the  time  when 
the  business  began  to  decline  on  account  of  failing 
crops  from  four  to  six  steamers  left  Washington 
daily  loaded  to  their  utmost  capacity  with  peaches. 
The  business  thus  introduced  by  Mr.  Whitehead,  who 
gave  to  several  kinds  of  peaches  the  names  by  which 
they  are  known  in  the  markets  to  this  day,  gradually 
extended  to  neighboring  counties  and  became  impor- 
tant over  a  wide  area,  which  was  for  years  a  leading 
source  of  supply  to  the  fruit  markets  of  New  York. 

Sand,  Clay,  and  Kaolin. — Retiring  from  fruit- 
culture  with  an  ample  fortune,  Samuel  Whitehead, 
Sr.,  established  another  trade,  which  ranks  with  the 
most  important  enterprises  of  the  day,  and  has  made 
all  concerned  in  it  wealthy.  He  searched  for  and 
found,  upon  the  lands  in  East  Brunswick  and  adjoin- 
ing townships  adjacent  to  the  river  navigation,  fire- 
sands  and  clay-moulding  sands,  and  by  the  purchase 
of  such  sand  and  clay  beds  became  in  a  few  years  al- 
most the  only  source  of  supply  to  New  York  and  sur- 
rounding cities  of  those  articles,  employing  a  large 
number  of  men  and  teams  in  digging  and  carting 
them  to  docks,  supplying  freights  to  numerous  ves- 
sels, thus   aflbrding   profitable   employment  to  hun- 


dreds and  amassing  a  large  fortune,  taking  rank  at 
his  retirement  with  the  wealthiest  men  of  the  section. 
His  sons  had  grown  to  manhood  before  tliis  enterprise 
was  fairly  established,  and  Mr.  Whitehead  trained 
them  thoroughly  in  all  branches  of  the  business,  im- 
parting to  each  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  quality 
and  suitableness  of  the  material,  which  has  proved  of 
great  benefit  to  them  since  their  father,  upon  retiring 
about  twenty  years  ago,  transferred  to  them  by  sale 
his  trade  and  extensive  business,  the  firm  being 
Whitehead  Brothers,  and  its  members,  Charles,  Wil- 
liam, James,  and  John.  Since  that  time,  when  about 
ten  thousand  tons  were  shipped  per  year,  the  White- 
head Brothers  have  gradually  increased  the  business, 
purchasing  lands  adapted  to  it  in  all  directions,  and 
shipping  now  an  average  of  two  hundred  thousand 
tons  of  sand  and  clay  per  annum,  having  extended 
their  trade  as  far  east  as  Boston  and  to  Philadelphia 
westward.  The  several  departments  of  this  immense 
trade  are  supervised  by  Charles  Whitehead  at  Wash- 
ington, William  Whitehead  in  New  York,  and  John 
and  James  Whitehead  on  the  Hudson  River,  the  firm 
owning  a  number  of  large  schooners,  sloops,  barges, 
and  other  vessels,  all  of  which  are  employed  in  the 
transportation  incident  to  their  business,  which  is 
said  to  be  so  profitable  as  to  clear  quite  a  fortune 
every  year. 

W.  S.  Pettit's  clay  bank  is  near  South  River,  and 
half  a  mile  north  of  Washington.  It  is  worked  for 
the  supply  of  the  red  brick  yard  near  it  and  on  the 
river.  The  following  is  the  order  of  the  several  beds 
seen  in  the  bank,  and  in  the  face  of  the  hill  above  it, 
on  the  road  leading  west  to  the  Old  Bridge  turnpike : 
(1)  Reddish  gravel  and  sand,  10  feet;  (2)  light-col- 
ored sandy  clay,  with  layers  of  sand,  25  feet ;  (3) 
clay  and  sand  alternating,  20  feet;  (4)  cemented  sand 
(stone)  3  to  5  feet;  (5)  black  clay,  5  feet;  (6)  lami- 
nated sand  and  sandy  clay,  containing  lignite,  at  the 
bottom. 

This  level  or  working  floor  of  the  bank  is  eighteen 
feet  above  high  water.  Of  the  above-mentioned  sub- 
divisions only  3,  4,  and  5  are  excavated,  and  of  these 
No.  4  is  thrown  aside.  The  black  clay  (5)  is  very 
tough  and  solid,  and  is  the  best  in  the  bank,  contain- 
ing very  little  lignite  and  pyrite.  In  the  bottom  of 
the  pit  a  light-colored  sandy  clay  has  been  found, 
which  burns  hard  and  appears  to  be  quite  refractory, 
like  the  second  quality  of  fire-clay.  Northwest  of 
the  main  bank  there  is  an  excavation  for  white  sand, 
which  is  used  in  moulding.  This  lies  below  the  level 
of  the  main  bank,  not  more  than  ten  feet  above  high 
tide.  Just  over  it  there  crops  out  a  dirty  white  sandy 
clay.  Below  the  level  of  this  sand,  in  the  ditches  . 
northeast  of  the  bank,  there  is  sandy  black  clay, 
which  goes  down  to  tide-level.  The  pits  across  the 
road,  and  south  of  the  main  bank,  furnish  a  light- 
colored  clay,  which  burns  to  a  paler  shade.  The 
bluish  and  the  black  clays  of  the  main  bank  make  a 
deep-colored  red  brick.     The  clay  at  the  bottom  is  at 


768 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  same  height  of  the  Woodbridge  fire-clay  bed, 
and  from  its  character  and  elevation  may  be  regarded 
as  part  of  it.  Nothing  definite  is  known  of  its  thick- 
ness or  of  its  character,  except  what  has  been  learned 
from  the  surface  specimens.  The  clays  worked  in 
these  banks  all  belong  to  the  laminated  clay  and 
sand  beds,  the  source  of  nearly  all  of  the  best  red 
brick  clays  dug  in  the  State.  In  the  old  bank  south 
of  the  kilns  a  black,  pyritiferous  and  lignitic  clay  is 
seen. 

The  clay  bank  of  the  Newark  Company  is  at  the 
side  of  the  New  Brunswick  road,  close  to  and  north- 
east of  the  village  of  Washington.  The  excavation 
has  been  confined  within  the  ten  and  thirty  feet  con- 
tour lines  above  tide-level,  corresponding  to  the 
heights  at  Pettit's  bank,  and  the  clays  dug  here  are 
geologically  the  same  as  those  at  the  latter  place. 
This  bank  belongs  to  the  same  bed  as  the  brick-clay 
bank  of  Sayre  &  Fisher,  in  Sayreville,  and  it  has  not 
been  much  worked  for  several  years  past.  Northwest 
of  this  bank  kaolin  and  a  clayey  sand  crop  out  in 
the  hill  on  the  North  Brunswick  road.  The  top  of 
this  outcrop  is  eighty-five  to  ninety  feet  above  high- 
water  mark.  The  height  is  the  same  as  that  of  the 
kaolin,  which  is  worked  on  the  Whitehead  estate, 
southwest  of  the  village  of  Washington,  but  it  is  one- 
third  of  a  mile  north  of  that  locality,  and  conse- 
quently does  not  show  any  dip  in  the  bed,  correspond- 
ing more  with  the  elevations  of  the  bed  as  opened 
north  of  the  Raritan,  and  showing  the  Whitehead 
bank  to  be  exceptionally  high. 

The  Whitehead  kaolin  bank  is  in  the  village  of 
Washington,  at  the  side  of  the  Hardenburgh  Corners 
road,  near  the  top  of  the  hill.  It  is  covered  by  a  red- 
dish sandy  gravel,  which  is  thicker  westward  in  the 
higher  ground.  In  the  excavation  for  road  material, 
this  gravel  appears  in  layers  of  irregular  extent  and 
thickness,  with  thicker  strata  of  coarse  sand.  The 
kaolin  (surface)  has  an  elev.ation  of  eighty-two  feet 
above  mean  high-water  level,  and  the  workable  bed 
averages  six  feet  in  thickness.  Under  it  there  is  a 
fine  white  sand,  and  then  the  black  clay  of  the  brick- 
clay  bank.  This  kaolin  is  very  white  and  rather 
coarse-grained,  contains  more  white  mica  than  is 
commonly  found  in  the  kaolins  of  other  localities  in 
this  district,  and  is  not  regarded  as  a  first  class  article. 
According  to  a  partial  analysis  it  is  composed  as  fol- 
lows: Alumina  and  sesquioxide  of  iron,  7.80  per 
cent. ;  silicic  acid  and  sand,  89.40  per  cent. ;  water, 
2.60  per  cent. ;  total  (determined),  99.80  per  cent. 

As  the  stripping  is  light  and  the  drainage  easy,  this 
bank  is  cheaply  worked. 

The  brick-clay  bank  of  Willett  &  Yates  is  almost 
connected  with  the  above-described  kaolin  bank, 
being  a  few  yards  southeast  of  the  latter,  in  the 
village  of  Washington'.  The  strata  between  the  top 
of  this  bank  (fifty-nine  feet  elevation)  and  the  bottom 
of  the  kaolin  (seventy-six  feet)  are  not  seen,  except- 
ing in  the  gentle  slope  of  hill,  and  as  to  these  there  is 


some  uncertainty.  The  several  subdivisions  of  the 
bank  and  their  relation  to  the  kaolin  are  expressed  in 
the  following  order,  beginning  at  the  top  of  the  hill 
at  the  gravel- pit: 

(1)  Reddish  sand  and  gravel,  10  to  15  feet;  (2) 
kaolin,  workable  bed,  6  feet;  (3)  black  clay,  with 
layers  of  sand  partially  obscured,  35  feet ;  (4)  yellow, 
loamy  clay,  li  feet ;  (5)  black  pyritiferous  clay,  6  feet; 
(6)  bluish,  clayey  kaolin,  4  feet;  (7)  slate-colored 
clay,  5  feet;  (8)  clay  full  of  pyrite,  IJ  feet;  (9) 
bluish  kaolin,  1  foot. 

Blue  clay  is  at  the  bottom  of  the  digging,  which  is 
22  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  No.  3  occupies 
the  interval  between  the  kaolin  near  the  top  of  the 
hill  and  the  top  of  the  working  face  of  the  clay  bank. 
In  No.  8  there  is  very  much  of  both  lignite  and 
pyrite,  and  it  is  sometimes  called  pyrites  '  clay. 
Layers  6  and  9  are  sands  which  are  known  in  the 
bank  as  kaolins.  They  are  mixed  with  the 'clays 
for  bricks.  No.  7  is  very  tenacious,  burns  hard,  is 
quite  refractory,  and  free  from  pyrite,  and  is  con- 
sidered the  best  clay  in  the  bank.  The  working  face 
of  the  bank  stops  at  the  bottom  of  this,  although  in 
the  drains  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  bank,  nearer 
the  yards,  lower  clays  have  been  dug ;  the  several 
clays  and  sands  are  mixed  together  in  using  them  for 
the  brick. 

James  Bissett's  clay  bank  is  on  the  west  bank  of 
South  River,  one  mile  southeast  of  Washington. 
There  is  here  at  the  top  yellow  sand  and  gravel  8  feet 
thick,  then  a  grayish  clay  1  foot  thick,  then  a  kaolin- 
like sand,  which  is  about  8  feet  thick.  Then  comes  the 
black  clay,  thick  layers  of  which  alternate  with  very 
thin  seams  of  white  sand  and  sandy  clay.  This  is  a 
very  solid,  tenacious  clay,  has  a  specific  gravity  of 
1.778  to  1.812,  and  is  superior  for  brick.  The  height 
of  the  black  clay  outcrop  is  22  feet  above  high-tide 
level,  and  the  bottom  of  the  digging  is  10  feet  below 
the  same  plane.  At  the  bottom  the  clay  is  more 
sandy.  It  burns  very  red.  The  materials  of  the  sev- 
eral layers  are  generally  mixed  together,  and  all  put 
into  common  red  brick.  At  the  top  there  is  over  the 
black  clay  and  the  kaolin  a  grayish  streak  of  clayey 
sand,  which  is  said  to  be  hard  to  burn.  Neither  the 
top  clay  nor  the  kaolin  over  the  black  clay  are  used. 
Mr.  Bissett  found  a  whitish  clay  in  a  pit  and  boring 
about  100  yards  west  of  his  residence,  at  a  depth  of  22 
feet  beneath  the  surface,  in  ground  40  feet  high  ;  con- 
sequently this  clay  was  nearly  20  feet  above  high- 
water  level. 

About  twenty  years  ago  3000  tons,  perhaps,  of  pot- 
ter's clay  was  dug  near  Old  Bridge,  in  the  Snake  Hill, 
and  at  the  tide-level,  by  Andrew  J.  Disbrow.  As 
worked  the  bed  was  S  feet  thick,  and  was  underlaid 
by  sand.  There  was  about  25  feet  of  top  dirt  over  it. 
The  clay  was  of  a  greenish  slate  color.  An  analysis 
of  a  specimen  gave  the  following  percentages: 

Alumina,  19.85;  silicic  acid,  24.55;  water  (com- 
bined), 5.70;  sand  (quartz),  44.80 ;  titanic  acid,  1.00; 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


769 


potash,  1.90;  soda,  9.32;  sesquioxide  of  iron,  1.00; 
water  (moisture),  .90.     Total,  100.02. 

These  figures  indicate  a  composition  suitable  for 
pottery,  corresponding  as  they  do  quite  closely  with 
the  stoneware  clays  of  this  district.  This  outcrop, 
from  its  elevation,  appears  too  low  for  tlie  stoneware 
clay,  unless  there  is  a  curve  in  the  line  of  strike  of 
that  bed,  which  is  not  sustained  by  any  other  fact ; 
hence  it  seems  more  reasonable  to  regard  this  clay  as 
part  of  the  South  Amboy  fire-clay  bed,  though  in 
compositiou  and  character  it  is  allied  to  the  stone- 
ware clays. 

Higher  up  in  the  side  of  Snake  Hill,  and  50  feet 
above  tide-water  level,  there  is  another  layer  of  light- 
colored  sandy  clay.  It  has  not  been  worked,  and 
none  of  it  has  been  examined. 

Northwest  of  this,  and  nearer  the  New  Brunswick 
road,  on  the  same  property,  clay  has  been  dug  in  two 
small  openings  at  intervals  during  the  past  forty 
years.  These  pits  are  about  100  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  tide.  This  clay  has  been  used  in  making  drain- 
pipe. Specimens  from  near  the  surface  of  the  ground 
are  drab-colored,  sandy,  and  streaked  with  yellow 
earth.  The  same  clay  has  been  struck,  as  is  supposed, 
in  several  wells  on  the  high  ground  in  this  neighbor- 
hood. 

Potter's  clay  at  the  river-level  is  seen  in  the  bank 
up  the  stream,  in  the  village  of  Old  Bridge,  where  it 
is  two  feet  thick.  It  is  thought  it  can  be  traced  to 
the  southwest  as  far  as  Outcalt's  mills,  above  Spotts- 
wood. 

With  the  trade  in  sand  and  clays,  brick-making 
and  pottery  are  closely  allied.  Both  of  these  branches 
of  indu.stry  have  been  extensively  plied  in  East 
Brunswick. 

Brick-Making. — -At  Washington  and  in  its  vicin- 
ity a  very  extensive  business  has  been  done  for  some 
time  past  in  the  manufacture  of  common  hard  brick. 
Immense  quantities  of  brick  are  shipped  from  Wash- 
ington annually. 

John  Griggs  established  the  first  yard  a  little  later 
than  1850,  which  he  operated  abimt  nine  years.  After 
a  period  of  inactivity  the  premises  were  owned  suc- 
cessively by  Messrs.  Johnson  and  Servison,  finally 
passing  into  the  possession  of  the  present  owner,  W. 
S.  Pettit. 

Wynant  Griggs  began  to  manufacture  brick  just 
previous  to  1860,  selling  out  after  a  time  to  William 
Wright.  This  brick-yard  has  several  times  changed 
hands,  now  being  known  as  Price's. 

The  Washington  Brick  and  Clay  Company  was  in- 
corporated in  1869.  The  brick-yard  is  connected  with 
Willett's  dock  by  a  horse  railroad  about  three-eighths 
of  a  mile  in  length,  by  means  of  which  the  brick  are 
conveyed  to  navigation.  The  area  of  the  yard  is 
nearly  three  acres.  The  Yates  brick-yard  adjoining 
is  an  enterprise  of  more  recent  date. 

In  1869  the  East  Brunswick  Brick  Company  was 
organized  by  Messrs.  James  Bissett,  William  De  Voe, 


Jacob  F.  Rue,  and  Charles  H.  Bissett.  William  De 
Voe  retired  from  the  business  in  1870  and  Jacob  F. 
Rue  and  Charles  H.  Bissett  in  1875,  since  which  time 
it  has  been  managed  by  James  Bissett. 

Potteries. — Some  time  after  the  Revolution  a 
pottery  was  started  at  Old  Bridge  by  Gen.  James 
Morgan  and  Jacob  Van  Wickle,  which  was  in  op- 
eration till  about  1828.  The  building  they  had  used 
went  to  ruin,  and  was  torn  down  about  1840.  About 
1815  some  of  the  Bissetts  established  a  pottery  on  the 
wharf  at  Old  Bridge,  which  was  in  existence  as  such 
until  about  1830. 

Jacob  Eaton  and  Samuel  Stout  had  a  pottery  at 
Washington  about  182.5-45,  where  the  residence  of 
John  Jacob  Bissett  now  is. 

About  1840-60,  Samuel  Whitehead  was  extensively 
engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  white  and  stoneware 
in  a  building  on  Jackson  Street,  Washington,  which 
was  erected  by  him  as  a  pottery,  and  is  still  standing. 

The  Wood  Trade. — Formerly  there  was  an  ex- 
tensive trade  carried  on  in  this  township  in  lumber 
and  wood,  the  latter  being  by  far  the  larger  of  the 
two.  Under  the  impulse  given  to  local  business  by 
this  trade  the  villages  of  Washington  and  Old  Bridge 
grew  considerably  until  it  began  to  flag  and  land  in 
all  directions  was  cleared  and  fitted  for  cultivation. 
It  also  furnished  employment  to  many  watermen,, 
who  made  these  two  villages  their  headquarters. 

Miscellaneous  Manufactures. — In  1823,  Rob- 
ison  Thomas  was  making  paint  in  Washington  within 
the  present  limits  of  Theodore  Willett's  brick-yard. 

A  tannery  was  built  at  Spottswood  about  1808  by 
Matthias  Prest.  It  was  not  successful,  and  was  aban- 
doned after  a  few  years.  George  Lane  had  a  tannery 
and  shoe-factory  there  from  about  1833  to  about  1853, 
and  for  some  years  later  manufactured  a  limited  quan- 
tity of  shoes. 

At  Old  Bridge  one  of  the  Van  Wickles  managed  a 
fanning-mill  manufactory,  1835-40  or  thereabouts. 
Another  was  established  about  the  latter  date  by 
Leonard  Appleby  and  James  C.  Stout,  and  continued 
until  about  1850. 

On  the  site  of  the  Railroad  Mills,  near  Spottswood, 
John  Browne  started  a  distillery  about  1806,  and  con- 
ducted it  as  such  about  twelve  years.  About  1818  it 
was  converted  into  a  snutf-mill. 

James  C.  Stout  began  distilling  apple  brandy  and 
whisky  at  Old  Bridge  about  1835,  and  did  quite  an 
extensive  business  until  his  death  in  February,  1878. 
His  son,  S.  W.  Stout,  succeeded  him,  making  apple 
brandy  only,  the  amount  of  his  business  depending 
on  the  plentitude  of  the  apple  crop.  This  industrj^ 
has  created  a  market  at  Old  Bridge  for  apples,  which 
are  hauled  in  in  their  season  by  the  farmers  for  sev- 
eral miles  around.  John  H.  Disbrough  for  some  time 
previous  and  subsequent  to  1835  had  a  distillery  at 
Spottswooa. 

For  a  few  years  past  a  fruit-canning  factory  has 
been  in  operation  on  Crommelin's  Creek. 


770 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


About  1875,  William  Dill  converted  his  snufF-factory 
at  Old  Bridge  into  a  saw-mill,  which  is  still  in  exist- 
ence and  at  times  in  operation. 

The  hominy-mills  of  John  Outcalt  were  established 
on  the  historical  mill-site  of  Weechqiieechley ,  the  half- 
breed  Indian,  in  1870,  the  snufl'-milt,  in  the  manage- 
ment of  which  he  had  succeeded  his  father,  John  D. 
Outcalt,  being  remodeled  to  adapt  it  to  the  present 
enterprise,  which  occupies  three  two-story  buildings 
and  aflbrds  employment  to  seven  hands.  About  one 
hundred  and  four  thousand  bushels  of  corn  are  con- 
sumed in  this  mill  annually,  most  of  which  is  brought 
from  Monmouth  County.  The  hominy  is  put  up  in 
five-  and  ten-pound  packages  and  shipped  to  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  and  Boston. 

Gilbert  Brown  started  the  first  and  only  manufac- 
tory of  clothing  at  Old  Bridge  in  1872.  The  materials 
are  cut  and  the  garments  trimmed  in  New  York. 
Twenty  hands  are  kept  busy  in  Brown's  factory  mak- 
ing the  garments,  and  a  business  which  averages  six 
thousand  dollars  annually  is  done. 

Feb.  1,  1879,  V.  Henry  Rothschild  established  a 
shirt-factory  at  Spottswood  in  a  building  formerly  oc- 
cupied as  a  snuff  and  tobacco-factory.  During  the 
busy  season  about  one  hundred  hands  are  employed, 
and  fifty-one  No.  8  and  forty-one  No.  2  sewing- 
. machines  are  operated.  The  average  output  is  five 
hundred  dozen  shirt-s  per  week,  which  are  shipped  to 
Mr.  Rothschild's  New  York  house,  at  the  corner  of 
West  Broadway  and  Leonard  Street.  The  factory  is 
superintended  by  Mr.  Leonard  Appleby. 

There  is  also  a  shirt-factory  at  Washington,  in  a 
building  which  was  some  years  ago  occupied  as  a 
carpet-  and  rug-factory. 

Churches.  —  St.  Peter'.s  Episcopal  Church, 
Spottswood. —  From  a  brief  account  of  the  early 
history  of  this  church,  compiled  from  various  sources 
by  Rev.  John  M.  Ward,  sometime  rector,  it  appears 
that  about  thirty  residents,  mainly  settlers  from 
Staten  Island,  who  were  descendants  of  members 
of  the  Church  of  England,  had  collected  materials 
and  raised  the  first  building  in  1757,  but  it  was  not 
fit  for  use  until  1759,  the  first  service  therein  being 
held  by  Rev.  Mr.  Skinner,  missionary  at  Amboy. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  services  were  held 
at  intervals  some  time  before  the  church  was  built, 
as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Skinner  wrote  in  1747,  "  My  circuit  is 
from  Amboy  to  South  River,  thence  to  Piscataway, 
and  thence  to  Amboy."  In  another  letter  he  men- 
tions crossing  the  river  "  two  miles"  wide,  and  thence 
over  a  sandy  road  "twelve  miles"  to  South  River. 
This  agrees  quite  well  with  the  distance  by  the  old 
road  to  Spottswood,  and  there  was  no  settlement  of 
any  note  nearer  Amboy.' 

After  this  time  Rev.  Mr.  McKean,  a  missionary  at 

1  It  is  worthy  of  nottj  that  on  the  map  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on 
"  Industrial  Pursuits"  an  Kpiscopalian  Church  was  marked  as  on  the  site 
of  the  present  one  and  called  '*  Christ  Church."  This  may  have  been 
to  show  the  intended  location  of  the  churcii  afterwards  erected. 


New  Brunswick,  ofliciated  part  of  his  time,  1760-62. 
The  communicants  then  numbered  twelve.  In  April, 
1768,  Rev.  William  Ayres  was  appointed  missionary 
by  the  "  Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel" 
to  the  churches  at  Spottswood  and  Freehold.  This 
report  of  the  first  year  shows  that  he  baptized  twenty- 
two  children  and  four  adults.  In  1787  he  was  elected 
rector  and  removed  from  his  former  residence  on  the 
glebe,  located  between  the  two  churches,  to  Spotts- 
wood (bringing  with  him  a  small  but  valuable  library 
from  England),  and  there  resided  until  1799. 

During  his  ministry  (Nov.  23,  1773)  a  charter  for 
the  church  was  granted  by  William  Franklin,  the 
last  royal  Governor  of  New  Jersey.  In  the  words 
of  the  charter,  the  corporators  beside  Rev.  Mr.  Ayres 
were  "  Right  Hon.  David  Carnagie,  commonly  called 
Lord  Rosehill,  John  Lewis  Johnston,  Frederic  Buck- 
lew,  John  Rue,  Thomas  Newton,  John  Barclay,  Jr., 
Joseph  Perrine,  James  Rue,  David  Stout,  Samuel 
Neilson,  Richard  Lott,  James  Abraham,  and  John 
Perrine,  all  freeholders  and  inhabitants  of  the  town 
of  Spottswood,  within  the  South  Ward  of  the  city  of 
Perth  Amboy,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex."  The 
first  wardens,  as  named  in  the  charter,  were  Lord 
Rosehill  and  John  Lewis  Johnston,  the  other  lay- 
men corporators  being  designated  as  vestrymen. 

Mr.  Ayres  resigned  in  1799  and  removed  to  Vir- 
ginia. The  next  rector  was  Rev.  Andrew  Fowler, 
who  remained  but  fifteen  months,  after  which  the 
services  of  Rev.  Mr.  Cotton  from  New  Brunswick  were 
obtained  at  intervals  for  a  short  period. 

Beginning  in  1802,  Rev.  John  Croes  (afterwards 
bishop),  of  New  Brunswick,  ofliciated  "  half  his  time" 
till  1803,  when  he  became  rector,  remaining  till  1809, 
when  impaired  health  induced  him  to  resign. 

Until  1822  there  was  no  settled  minister  and  there 
were  but  occasional  services.  In  1816  the  church  was 
finished,  having  been  before  this  time  merely  inclosed 
with  shingles.  The  Rev.  John  M.  Ward  took  charge 
in  1822,  and  in  1824  became  rector.  He  resigned  in 
1835,  and  was  for  many  years  rector  at  Mamaroneck, 
N.  Y.,  but  eventually,  on  account  of  impaired  health, 
resigned  and  returned,  residing  at  his  former  home 
until  his  death.  There  are  some  yet  living  who  regard 
his  cheerful  and  genial  nature  with  affectionate  re- 
membrance. 

In  1836,  Rev.  John  Jones  ofliciated  a  short  time. 
Rev.  Thomas  Tauser  was  in  charge  one  year,  in  1837 
and  1838.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Robert  B. 
Croes  (son  of  the  bishop),  who  was  rector  1838-40. 
In  1842  Rev.  Isaac  Smith  took  charge  as  rector  and 
resigned  in  1847,  removing  to  Piscataway.  Rev. 
Joseph  F.  Phillips  succeeded  the  same  year  and 
resigned  in  1858.  During  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Phillips,  in  1850-51,  the  old  church  was  taken  down 
and  the  present  one  built  on  the  same  site  and  com- 
pleted so  far  as  to  have  services  held  in  it.  The 
church  is  of  wood,  and  in  style  it  partakes  of  the 
perpendicular  Gothic,  being  from  designs  of  Frank 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


771 


Wills,  then  recently  from  England  and  a  very  prom- 
inent architect.  The  chief  builder  was  Samuel  B. 
Leonard.  The  style,  location,  and  surroundings  com- 
bined, in  summer  especially,  are  strikingly  beautiful. 
The  church  was  consecrated  by  Bishop  Doane  on 
Oct.  21,  1854. 

Rev.  Thomas  Lyle  was  rector  from  1858  to  1864, 
and  Rev.  John  Stearns,  M.D.,  a  short  time  in  1864, 
dying  in  that  year.  His  mortal  part  with  that  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Ward  are  resting  in  the  shadow  of  the 
church. 

Rev.  Kinsey  J.  Stewart  was  rector  from  1865  to 
1868,  and  later  Rev.  George  Crowe  a  short  time  until 
his  death.  Rev.  Dr.  Southard  Corapton  served  the 
church  in  1869  and  1870,  and  Rev.  Frederic  M.  Bird 
from  1870  to  1874.  During  his  ministry  the  present 
parsonage  was  built.  Rev.  Lorenzo  S.  Russell  came 
in  1874  and  remained  until  1880,  when  he  resigned 
and  removed  to  Long  Island.  In  April,  1881,  Rev. 
Charles  M.  Parkman,  B.D.,  took  charge  as  rector. 

The  Church  of  the  Holy  Trinity  at  Wash- 
ington.— In  1S66  an  Episcopal  Church  was  organ- 
ized in  the  present  township  of  Sayreville,  opposite 
Washington,  under  the  ministrations  of  Rev.  Gideon 
J.  Burton,  then  rector  of  Christ  Church  at  South 
Amboy.  The  corner-stone  of  the  Holy  Trinity 
Chapel  was  laid  by  Rev.  Mr.  Burton  Jan.  12,  1860, 
and  he  held  the  first  service  in  the  new  church  on 
the  14th  of  the  following  April.  The  building  was 
consecrated  by  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Odenheimer  on 
Whit-Sunday  of  the  year  1861.  The  sum  of  $1000, 
nearly  the  whole  amount  necessary  for  its  erection, 
was  given  by  Miss  Sophia  Conover,  then  of  South 
Amboy.  The  lot  on  which  the  church  stood  was 
donated  by  William  Van  Deventer.  In  the  summer 
of  1876,  at  the  suggestion  of  Rev.  Mr.  Burton  and 
with  the  consent  of  those  who  were  parties  to  its 
erection  and  of  the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the 
diocese,  the  church  edifice  was  taken  down  and 
removed  to  the  village  of  Washington,  Mr.  Daniel 
B.  Martin  presenting  a  lot  upon  which  to  rebuild  it 
and  bearing  the  expense  of  its  removal.  He  also  had 
it  somewhat  enlarged  and  improved  in  its  reconstruc- 
tion, and  contributed  largely  towards  its  being  com- 
fortably furnished  and  fitted  up.  The  bishop  of  the 
diocese  decided  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  re- 
dedicate  the  building.  The  first  service  held  in  it 
after  its  removal  and  before  it  was  completed  was 
the  funeral  of  its  generous  benefactor,  Daniel  B. 
Martin.' 


1  Daniel  B.  Martin  waa  born  at  Perth  Amboy  in  181.3.  When  about 
ten  yeare  old  he  attracted  the  attention  of  William  Shepard,  then 
engineer  of  the  steamer  "New  Tork"  {the  first  that  ran  to  W.iahing- 
ton  of  the  Citizens'  Line),  and  was  made  greiiser  on  that  vessel,  and  in 
1826  became  fireman.  When  the  Citizens'  Line  ceased  to  rnn  the 
"  New  York"  became  the  property  of  the  Camden  and  .\mboy  Railroad 
Company,  and  Robert  L.  Stevens,  president  of  that  company,  made 
Martin  her  engineer.  In  1846,  through  the  influence  of  Mr.  Stevens, 
he  was  made  chief  engineer  of  the  United  States  steamer  *'  Mississippi," 
which  did  active  service  in  the  Mexican  war.    In  1850  Mr,  Stevens 


The  first  regular  service  in  the  reconstructed 
edifice  was  performed  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Burton  and 
Jaques,  the  former  preaching  and  the  latter  reading 
the  service.  Previous  to  this  time  monthly  Epis- 
copal services  had  been  held  in  the  village  in  the 
public  school-house  by  Rev.  Joseph  F.  Phillips  during 
his  connection  as  rector  with  St.  Peter's  Church, 
Spottswood  (1847-58),  and  later  more  frequently  in 
Mrs.  O.  M.  Poale's  residence  by  Rev.  James  H. 
Smith,  assistant  rector  of  the  parish  of  South 
Amboy.  Under  Rev.  Mr.  Burton's  direction,  Rev. 
G.  H.  Williams  held  regular  services  in  the  church 
in  1866  and  1867,  leaving  in  September  of  the  latter 
year.  From  that  time  until  October,  1868,  occasional 
services  were  held  by  Revs.  P.  L.  Jaques  and  Gideon 
J.  Burton.  At  the  date  mentioned  Rev.  William 
Homman  began  to  labor  in  Washington  as  a  mission- 
ary by  appointment  of  the  bishop,  there  being  as  yet 
no  parochial  organization.  He  has  been  succeeded 
by  Rev.  Frederic  M.  Bird,  who  served  the  church 
1870-74;  Rev.  Lorenzo  S.  Russell,  1874-80,  and  Rev. 
Charles  M.  Parkinson,  B.D.,  who  began  his  labors  in 
April,  1881,  all  rectors  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  Spotts- 
wood. 

The  records  show  that  there  were  eleven  baptisms  of 
children  from  Feb.  2, 1869,  to  May  7, 1876,  and  eight  of 
adults  from  May  21,  1871,  to  March  1,  1876 ;  eleven 
confirmations  from  April  19,  1869,  to  Oct.  25,  1874; 
five  marriages  from  Oct.  2,  1869,  to  Nov.  6,  1874,  and 
eleven  burials  from  Jan.  29, 1862,  to  Oct.  ,31, 1878.  A 
Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1866  with  fifty  mem- 
bers. The  first  superintendent  was  Rev.  G.  H.  Wil- 
liams ;  the  present  one  is  Charles  Hall.  The  library 
contains  two  hundred  volumes. 

The  Old  Baptist  Church  of  Washington.— 
By  some  of  the  oldest  living  members  this  church  is 
thought  to  have  been  organized  previous  to  1800,  but 
the  records  contain  no  entries  of  an  earlier  date  than 
1805.  During  that  year  the  following  list  was  written 
in  the  record  book  of  the  "constituent  members,"  so 
designated : 

secured  him  the  appointment  as  chief  engineer  of  the  steamer  "  Pacific," 
of  tlie  Collins  Line  of  European  steamers.  For  valuable  service  ren- 
dered the  Collins  Steamship  Company  he  was  made  the  recipient  of  a 
handsome  silver  pitcher  bearing  the  following  inscription  :  '•  D.  B, 
Martin,  chief  engineer  of  the  United  States  Mail  Steamer  '  Pacific,' 
Ezra  Nye,  commander.  Presented  by  Ed.*  K.  Collins  for  his  skill  in  the 
performance  cf  and  assiduity  to  his  duties,  which  aided  much  in 
achieving  for  America  the  credit  of  the  first  passage  between  Liver- 
pool and  New  York  under  ten  days.  New  York,  April,  1851."  In  1851 
Mr.  Martin  was  appointed  engineer-in.chief  of  the  United  States  navy, 
and  served  four  years,  in  the  mean  time  patenting  for  the  government  a 
boiler  called  the  "hood"  boiler,  which,  in  consideration  of  its  economy 
and  the  small  space  it  occupies,  is  regarded  aa  the  best  boiler  ever  in- 
vented for  steamboat  use.  During  the  Rebellion  he  was  appointed  by  the 
Secretary  of  War  to  visit  England  to  examine  ironclad  steamers  and  re- 
port upon  their  merits  and  adaptability  to  the  needs  of  the  government. 
He  waa  also  commissioned  to  inspect  certain  river  steamers  and  decide 
upon  their  availability  for  the  government  service.  He  made  hiB 
home  in  Washington  from  1842  until  his  death,  living  retired  since  the 
close  of  the  late  war,  taking  a  lively  interest  in  religiius  and  educa- 
tional affairs,  and  doing  much  substantial  good  for  both  churches  and 
schools. 


772 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Joseph  Clieeseman,  Abraham  Barkelew,  Phebe 
Cheeseman,  Jacob  Stults,  Stephen  Barkelew,  Samuel 
AVillet,  Martha  Willet,  Sarah  Willet,  Ephraim  Roff, 
Sarah  Roff,  Martha  Mager,  Martha  Hooper,  Charles 
Gilmore,  Catharine  Dunham,  Ruth  Barkelew,  "  Oli- 
ver, a  man  oC  color,"  James  Homan,  Sarah  Barkelew, 
Mary  Van  Sykle,  Hannah  Pitney,  Elizabeth  Morgan, 
Ann  Ryder,  Sarah  Dunham,  John  Stults,  L.  M.  Bow- 
man, Peter  Obert,  Slary  Obert,  Mary  Cotrall,  Catha- 
rine Craven,  Martha  Davis,  Anna  Johnson,  Sarah 
Barkelew,  Samuel  Pitney,  Catharine  Prooste,  Linda 
Brown,  Rebecca  Owens,  Ann  Dean,  Francis   Letts, 

Anthony  Collins,  Linda   Collins,  Mrs.  Brown, 

Jennie  Van  Cart,  and  Rebecca  James. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  successive  pas- 
tors of  this  church,  with  the  dates  at  which  they  be- 
gan their  pastorates,  so  far  as  they  can  be  ascertained  : 

Revs.  Peter  Wilson  (was  preaching  to  the  congre- 
gation in  1805,  and  perhaps  considerably  earlier), 
Jeukin  Davis  (supply),  John  Segar  (supply),  Augus- 
tus Elliot,  1824;  James  C.  Goble,  1824-  William 
Clark,  1837  (the  church  having  been  without  a  pastor 
since  1826)  ;  James  C.  Goble,  1839  ;  John  Jones,  1840 ; 
Wilson  Housel,  1844  (there  having  been  no  pastor 
since  1842) ;  William  Curtis,  1850 ;  James  C.  Goble, 
1851 ;  David  Flandro,  1861  ;  Wilson  Housel,  1862 
(pastor  to  the  present  time). 

The  first  trustees  mentioned  in  the  records  (1805) 
were  as  follows :  Charles  Gilmore,  Joseph  Cheeseman, 
Jacob  Stults,  Samuel  Pitney,  Stephen  Barkelew,  Sam- 
uel Willet,  and  Peter  Obert. 

The  trustees  in  1881  were  the  following:  Henry 
Stults,  Frederick  Stults,  Richard  Serviss,  Jacob  F. 
Rue,  S.  T.  Christian,  and  George  W.  Peterson. 

The  present  membership  is  eighteen.  The  church 
is  located  on  Main  Street,  nearly  in  the  centre  of  the 
village,  and  has  been  built  many  years.  It  is  a 
frame  building,  and  the  oldest  church  in  the  village. 

The  Tabernacle  Baptist  Church  of  Wash- 
ington.— The  early  history  of  this  church  is  so  re- 
cent as  to  belong  to  the  modern  period  of  the  town- 
ship's history.  A  company  of  Baptists,  small  in 
number  but  true  to  their  distinctive  principles,  having 
long  felt  the  necessity  of  erecting  at  Washington  a 
church  of  their  own  faith,  met  at  the  house  of  Ezekiel 
Wade,  in  that  village,  on  the  evening  of  Nov.  15, 
1870,  to  consider  the  propriety  of  erecting  a  Baptist 
Church  in  the  village. 

The  following-named  individuals  were  present : 
Samuel  C.  Ballard,  Furman  Smith  and  wife,  Ezekiel 
Wade  and  wife,  Charles  Henderson  and  wife.  Miss 
Emily  Willett,  Miss  Louisa  Willett,  Mrs.  Harriet 
Willett,  Mrs.  Elvira  Culver,  and  Benjamin  Ballard. 
After  a  prayer  was  offered  by  Ezekiel  Wade,  Samuel 
C.  Ballard  was  chosen  chairman,  and  Ezekiel  Wade 
secretary  of  the  meeting.  After  a  discussion  of  the 
purpose  which  had  called  them  together,  those  assem- 
bled decided  to  take  steps  towards  the  erection  of  a 
church. 


A  building  committee  was  appointed,  consisting  of 
Ezekiel  Wade,  Benjamin  Ballard,  and  Samuel  C.  Bal- 
lard. It  was  decided  to  erect  a  building  twenty-three 
by  thirty-two  feet,  and  six  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars 
were  subscribed  by  those  present  to  be  devoted  to  that 
purpose,  and  a  building  lot  was  donated  by  Samuel 
Whitehead. 

The  church  was  completed  and  dedicated  Sunday, 
May  3,  1871,  the  dedicatory  sermon  being  preached 
by  Rev.  John  Dowling,  D.D.,  of  New  York.  On  the 
evening  of  the  same  day  Dr.  Devan  preached  an  im- 
pressive sermon,  after  which  subscriptions  to  the 
amount  of  seven  hundred  and  five  dollars  were  re- 
ceived. 

On  Sunday  afternoon,  Nov.  12, 1871,  after  the  usual 
services,  a  business  meeting  was  held,  when  a  formal 
organization  was  effected,  under  the  title  of  the  Tab- 
ernacle Baptist  Church,  of  which  Ezekiel  Wade  was 
elected  clerk.  The  members  present  all  signed  the 
articles  of  faith,  as  follows  :  Mrs.  Harriet  Willett, 
Miss  Emily  Willett,  Miss  Louisa  Willett,  William  H. 
De  Voe,  Jesse  Heustis,  Elizabeth  A.  Heustis,  Sarah 
Cox,  Mrs.  E.  E.  Simmons,  Matilda  Wilmurt,  Sarah 
DeVoe,  Ezekiel  Wade,  Susan  Wade,  and  Mary  A. 
Rue. 

Wednesday  evening,  Nov.  29,  1871,  a  council  was 
called  to  publicly  recognize  the  new  organization  as 
a  regularly  constituted  Baptist  Church.  Eleven 
churches  were  invited  to  send  pastors  and  delegates. 
After  the  usual  formalities  the  council  by  a  unani- 
mous vote  declared  the  organization  in  harmony  with 
the  faith  and  practice  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  and 
at  the  yearly  convention  in  October,  1872,  the  church 
was  received  into  the  Central  Baptist  Convention. 

From  this  time  until  the  settlement  of  the  first  pastor 
the  pulpit  was  very  ably  supplied  by  Dr.  Devan,  of 
New  Brunswick.  Sept.  29, 1872,  a  unanimous  call  was 
extended  by  the  church  to  Rev.  Matthew  Johnson  to 
become  their  pastor,  which  was  accepted  at  once. 
During  the  ministry  of  Mr.  Johnson  twenty-three 
were  added  to  the  numerical  strength  of  the  church, 
and  on  the  last  Sunday  in  June,  1874,  he  preached  his 
farewell  sermon  to  a  large  and  regretful  congregation, 
after  a  pastorate  of  one  year  and  nine  months,  re- 
moving to  Trenton,  N.  J.,  to  assume  charge  of  the 
Calvary  Baptist  Church  of  that  city.  The  church 
was  without  a  pastor  during  nearly  two  years  fol- 
lowing, but  the  pulpit  -was  supplied  by  Mr.  J.  B. 
L'Hommedieu,  then  a  student  in  the  Hightstown 
Baptist  Institute.  Nov.  1,  1875,  Rev.  H.  D.  Doo- 
little,  of  Putney,  N.  Y.,  was  called  to  the  pastorate, 
and  served  the  church  until  he  resigned  the  pastoral 
charge  in  August,  1878.  During  his  pastorate  nine 
were  added  to  the  membership  of  the  church  by  letter 
or  baptism.  During  a  year  and  a  half  succeeding  Mr. 
Doolittle's  departure  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  stu- 
dents from  Crozer  Theological  Seminary  of  Ches- 
ter, Pa.  On  the  first  Sunday  in  January,  1880,  a  call 
was  extended  by  the  church  to  Rev.  C.  H.  Woolston, 


EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


773 


who  accepted  it,  and  soon  entered  upon  his  duties  as 
pastor.  He  inaugurated  a  revival  of  religion,  which, 
with  his  other  efforts  to  the  present  time,  resulted  in 
adding  thirty-eight  members  to  the  church  by  bap- 
tism and  eight  by  letter.  The  membership  in  1881 
was  eighty-three. 

The  Sunday-school  connected  with  Tabernacle 
Church  dates  back  nearly  to  the  organization  of  that 
body.  The  number  of  original  scholars  was  eight. 
Ezekiel  Wade  was  the  first  superintendent.  Succeed- 
ing ones  have  been  Rev.  H.  D.  Doolittle,  David 
Wade,  Edwin  Farmer,  Jesse  Heustis,  Oliver  Cox, 
and  Rev.  C.  H.  Woolston,  the  present  incumbent  of 
the  office.  The  membership  in  December,  1881,  was 
eighty,  exclusive  of  fourteen  officers  and  teachers, 
and  is  larger  than  that  of  any  other  Sunday-school 
in  Little  Washington.  The  Tabernacle  Times,  a  small 
local  newspaper  devoted  especially  to  the  Tabernacle 
Sunday-school  and  Church,  has  been  issued  during 
the  past  year  under  the  auspices  of  the  Sunday- 
school,  edited  by  Rev.  C.  H.  Woolston.  The  Sunday- 
school  library  contains  more  than  three  hundred 
volumes. 

In  July,  1881,  alterations  were  made  in  the  church 
edifice,  and  services  to  commemorate  its  completion 
were  held  in  the  Tabernacle  Sunday  afternoon,  August 
28th,  at  which  the  following  clergymen  were  present: 
Revs.  H.  F.  Smith,  D.D.,  Dr.  Devan,  and  Joseph 
Horner,  of  New  Brunswick,  O.  P.  Eaches,  of  Hights- 
town,  and  T.  E.  Sleeper,  pastor  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  of  South  River.  Tabernacle  Church 
is  one  of  the  notable  buildings  of  Washington,  and 
it  is  probable  that  the  average  congregations  which 
convene  within  its  walls  are  as  large  as  have  been 
called  out  at  any  time  in  the  history  of  the  village. 

The  Independent  Bethel  Baptist  Church. — 
The  house  of  worship  of  this  church  is  located  on 
Willow  Street,  in  the  village  of  Old  Bridge,  and  is 
a  frame  building,  thirty-six  by  forty  feet,  with  a 
steeple  and  bell,  and  with  the  other  church  property 
is  valued  at  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.  It 
was  completed  in  1844  by  Samuel  Sproul,  a  Baptist 
preacher,  who  was  also  a  carpenter  and  builder,  and 
who  did  the  work  under  contract  with  the  officers  of 
the  Independent  Bethel  Baptist  Church  of  Herberts- 
ville  and  Washington. 

This  church  was  organized  Oct.  2,  1840,  with  thir- 
teen members,  as  follows :  John  Jones,  Jonathan 
Boraem,  Paul  Van  Arsdale,  James  Van  Arsdale, 
Enos  Van  Pelt,  Elizabeth  Van  Arsdale,  Cornelius 
Homans,  Cornelia  Van  Arsdale,  Cortland  Disbrow, 
D.  C.  Van  Arsdale,  William  Tracy,  R.  Van  Arsdale, 
and  Mary  Jones.  Rev.  John  Jones,  the  first  men- 
tioned of  these  constituent  members,  was  the  first 
pastor  of  the  church,  and  it  was  under  his  ministra- 
tions that  the  organization  was  effected. 

The  succeeding  pastors  with  their  terms  of  service 
were  Revs.  John  B.  Case,  One  year;  Samuel  Sproul, 
six  years ;  Lewis  Stelle,  three  years ;  Jacob  Gesner, 


one  year;  J.  C.  Salisbury,  two  years;  John  Davis, 
two  years ;  H.  H.  Rouse,  thirteen  years ;  Henry  Shipe, 
one  year ;  Charles  P.  De  Camp,  one  year ;  and  Jacob 
Janun,  one  year.  The  church  has  at  times  been 
without  a  pastor,  and  has  had  none  since  the  de- 
parture of  Rev.  Jacob  Janun  in  1877.  Between  the 
close  of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Jacob  Gesner  and  the 
beginning  of  that  of  Rev.  J.  C.  Salisbury  there  was 
an  interval  of  six  years,  during  a  portion  of  which 
period,  and  often  since  the  close  of  the  pastorate  of 
Rev.  Jacob  Janun,  the  pulpit  has  been  supplied  by 
students  from  theological  schools  and  such  Baptist 
clergymen  as  have  from  time  to  time  visited  the 
village. 

The  church  was  recognized  in  1844  by  a  council  com- 
posed of  T.  I.  Snedeker,  of  Hydestown,  J.  M.  Carpen- 
ter and  J.  Van  Brakle,  of  Jacksonville,  P.  P.  Ryon, 
of  New  Brunswick,  and  C.  W.  Mulford,  D.  Prest,  and 
Samuel  Sproum. 

The  present  trustees  are  John  Montgomery,  John 
D.  Reed,  Ephraim  Van  Arsdale,  John  S.  Slover,  and 
Henry  Appleby,  the  latter  of  whom  is  clerk. 

The  Sunday-school  connected  with  Bethel  Church 
was  organized  in  1863  with  fifty  scholars,  under  the 
superintendency  of  E.  Wade.  He  has  been  succeeded 
in  the  order  named  by  Rev.  H.  H.  Rouse,  Gilbert 
Brown,  and  William  M.  Appleby,  the  jiresent  super- 
intendent. 

The  library  contains  about  2.50  volumes. 

Washington  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
— When  and  by  whom  the  first  service  according  to 
the  usages  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was 
held  at  Washington  are  alike  unknown  to  any  in- 
habitant of  the  township.  The  first  Methodist  meet- 
ing of  which  any  knowledge  is  extant  as  having  been 
held  in  the  vicinity  was  held  in  the  old  district  school- 
house,  yet  standing  near  the  old  Baptist  Church,  by 
Rev.  Charles  S.  Downs,  about  thirty-five  years  ago. 
Meetings  were  held  regularly  in  the  old  school-house 
during  the  succeeding  three  years,  during  which  Mr. 
Downs  by  a  year's  labors  gathered  the  nucleus  of  the 
present  church  organization,  and  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  Samuel  Jaquette,  who  remained  two  years, 
strengthening  the  bonds  which  held  the  struggling 
congregation  together,  and  preparing  the  way  for  the 
more  conspicuous  labors  of  his  successors. 

At  the  expiration  of  three  years  the  congregation 
was  yet  so  small  that  it  was  deemed  best  to  hold  the 
meetings  in  the  houses  of  some  of  the  most  ardent 
members  rather  than  go  to  the  trouble  of  heating  the 
school-house  in  the  winter  and  otherwise  providing 
for  services  as  they  had  theretofore  been  conducted. 
In  the  mean  time  measures  were  adopted  looking  to 
the  erection  of  a  permanent  house  of  worship.  A  lot 
was  purchased  on  the  principal  street  of  the  village, 
since  known  as  Main  Street,  and  a  small  church  was 
built  thereon,  which  now  serves,  having  been  altered 
for  such  use,  as  a  parsonage  belonging  to  the  present 
organization.     This  building  was  dedicated  and  occu- 


774 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


pied  about  1850,  Eev.  Stacy  Howland  being  the  regu- 
lar preacher  at  that  time,  remaining  two  years  as 
pastor  of  tlie  church.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Horner,  who  served  the  church  two  years,  dur- 
ing which  the  South  River  appointment  was  a  mission 
charge. 

The  preachers  who  have  since  then  ministered  to 
this  church  have  been  regularly  stationed  on  the 
South  River  charge.  Their  names  and  terms  of  service 
have  been  as  follows,  in  the  order  named :  Rev.  John 
H.  Stockton,  two  years  ;  Rev.  Robert  Sutcliffe,  two 
years;  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Wilson,  two  years;  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Atwood,  one  year;  Rev.  David  McCurdy,  two 
years ;  Rev.  James  W.  McDougall,  two  years ;  Rev. 
W.  W.  Christine,  two  years ;  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Wheeler, 
two  years;  Rev.  L.  J.  Rhoads,  one  year;  Rev.  John 
I.  Corson,  two  years ;  Rev.  William  Franklin,  three 
years ;  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Stone,  two  years ;  Rev.  Edward 
Lippincott,  one  year;  Rev.  George  Collins,  who  died 
in  the  middle  of  his  second  year,  the  vacancy  for  the 
ensuing  six  months  having  been  filled  by  Rev.  Jo- 
seph Horner  ;  Rev.  T.  D.  Sleeper,  the  present  pastor, 
who  has  served  the  church  since  the  spring  of  1880. 

The  constituent  members  of  this  church  at  its  or- 
ganization, about  1846,  were  James  Peterson,  Henry 
Gordon,  George  Norman,  Peter  Smith,  Z.  Van  De- 
venter,  John  Slover,  John  R.  Reed,  Margaret  Norman, 
and  others.  About  1857  or  1868  the  membership  had 
so  increased  that  it  was  apparent  the  little  church 
edifice  would  soon  have  to  be  enlarged  or  a  larger  one 
built  in  its  stead,  and  Mrs.  Nancy  Conklin,  a  promi- 
nent member,  volunteered  to  contribute  one  thousand 
dollars  towards  a  fund  to  be  expended  in  either  of  the 
above-mentioned  ways  that  might  seem  most  desirable 
to  a  majority  of  the  members,  and  at  a  subsequent 
meeting  of  the  board  of  trustees  it  was  decided  to 
erect  a  new  church,  which  was  completed  and  dedi- 
cated with  appropriate  religious  ceremonies  in  1859. 
This  structure,  which  is  still  standing  on  Main  Street 
and  in  use,  is  one  of  the  most  sightly  buildings  in 
Little  Washington  borough,  and  cost  five  thousand 
eight  hundred  dollars,  including  a  second  donation 
by  Mrs.  Conklin  of  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and 
ninety-five  dollars. 

The  trustees  under  whose  management  the  present 
church  was  erected  were  Messrs.  James  Peterson, 
Henry  Gordon,  George  Norman,  and  William  D. 
Serviss. 

In  1881  the  official  board  was  constituted  as  follows : 
Trustees,  Charles  Serviss,  Conover  Bowne,  Edward 
Barkelew,  J.  J.  Kleine,  and  William  French ;  Stewards, 
Theodore  Irons,  George  Serviss,  James  Peterson,  J.  J. 
Kleine,  Conover  Bowne,  Charles  Serviss,  and  Daniel 
Morgan. 

The  Beacon-Light  Sunday-school,  under  the  au- 
spices of  this  church,  was  organized  about  1848,  with 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  members.  The  sessions 
were  held  in  John  R.  Reid's  store  until  the  comple- 
tion of  the  church.     The  following  have  been  the 


superintendents :  William  D.  Serviss,  P.  B.  Smith,  R. 
V.  D.  Reed,  Z.  Van  Deventer,  O.  Gordon,  E.  Booraem, 
William  Smith,  A.  Sperling,  William  H.  Peterson, 
and  Rev.  T.  D.  Sleeper.  The  present  membership  is 
one  hundred.  The  library  contains  two  hundred 
volumes. 

The  Simpson  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
Old  Bridge. — Methodist  services  were  not  held  at 
Old  Bridge  at  a  very  early  date,  though  for  a  consid- 
erable time  before  the  organization  of  the  church 
above  mentioned  preaching  was  heard  by  the  few 
Methodists  there  with  more  or  less  frequency  from 
circuit  preachers  in  the  old  district  school-house,  and 
at  length  a  class  was  formed,  which  for  a  time  was 
connected  with  the  South  River  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  and  became  the  basis  of  the  present  society. 

Simpson  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  so  named  in 
honor  of  Bishop  Simpson,  the  very  prominent  histo- 
rian of  his  religious  denomination,  was  organized  in 
1860.  The  following  were  among  its  most  prominent 
constituent  members :  Benjamin  D.  Brown,  J.  H. 
Bloodgood,  William  Rogers,  Mrs.  Jane  Bloodgood, 
Mrs.  Adeline  Rogers,  Susan  Brown,  Mrs.  Sarah  Greg- 
ory, Henry  P.  Hoffman,  Mrs.  Jane  Hoffman,  and  L. 
E.  Collins. 

The  church  edifice,  a  wooden  building  about  thirty- 
two  by  fifty  feet,  with  a  steeple  and  bell,  was  erected 
in  1860  at  a  cost  of  $2000. 

The  successive  pastors  of  this  church  have  been 
Revs.  William  Eakins,  E.  M.  Garton,  Frank  Mundy, 
William  H.  Lawrence,  J.  W.  Clark,  John  Handley, 
J.  Bradshaw,  and  L.  B.  Edwards,  in  charge  in  1881. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Simpson  Church  is 
about  fifty. 

The  board  of  trustees  is  composed  of  William  Rog- 
ers, president;  J.  H.  Bloodgood,  B.  D.  Brown,  Law- 
rence Collins,  Charles  Brown,  and  E.  F.  Brown.  The 
stewards  are  J.  H.  Bloodgood,  B.  D.  Brown,  Law- 
rence Collins,  E.  F.  Brown,  and  J.  W.  Davidson. 

A  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1860,  which  has 
since  had  an  uninterrupted  existence.  The  first  super- 
intendent was  J.  H.  Bloodgood.  Rev.  L.  B.  Edwards 
is  the  present  superintendent.  The  membership  of 
the  school,  including  officers  and  trustees,  is  forty- 
five.  The  library  contains  about  one  hundred  vol- 
umes. 

Spottswood  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.^ 
If  there  was  ever  a  Methodist  meeting  held  at  Spotts- 
wood previous  to  1873  it  was  at  a  period  so  remote 
as  to  be  beyond  the  knowledge  of  any  persons  of  that 
denomination  at  this  time  resident  there.  In  the 
spring  of  the  year  mentioned  Rev.  Frank  Mundy,  at 
that  time  pastor  of  the  Simpson  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  at  Old  Bridge,  held  a  series  of  meetings  in 
the  ball-room  of  one  of  the  hotels  in  the  village, 
which  resulted  in  the  conversion  of  a  goodly  number 
to  Christianity,  and  led  to  a  desire  on  the  part  of 
many  of  the  converts  for  the  establishment  of  regular 
Methodist  worship  in  their  midst.    Before  the  close 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


775 


of  the  year  a  church  was  organized,  and  preparations 
were  begun  for  the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship. 

A  church  was  completed  and  dedicated  in  1874.  It 
is  a  wooden  building  large  enough  for  the  accommo- 
dation of  the  congregation,  and  with  the  lot  on  which 
it  stands  and  such  other  property  as  the  organization 
possesses  is  valued  at  about  SLWO. 

This  church  has  a  membership  of  twenty-five 
or  thirty,  and  the  Sunday-school  connected  with  it 
(also  organized  in  1873)  a  membership  of  thirty,  and 
a  library  of  about  seventy-five  volumes,  its  teachers 
and  officers  numbering  five.  The  present  trustees  are 
David  White,  John  Bowers,  Thomas  Matthews,  Mer- 
rill Mundy,  and  William  Rogers.  The  stewards  are 
William  Petty,  Charles  Campbell,  and  Mrs.  John 
Vliet. 

Rev.  Frank  Mundy,  William  H.  Lawrence,  J.  W. 
Clark,  John  Handley,  J.  Bradshaw,  and  L.  B.  Ed- 
wards, the  present  pastor,  have  successively  served 
this  church  as  pastor. 

The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  of  Spotts- 
WOOD. — The  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  having  located  a  missionary  at 
Spottswood  in  the  hope  of  ultimately  supplying  a 
large  portion  of  the  population  of  that  village  and 
its  vicinity  with  the  stated  preaching  of  the  gospel 
and  the  administration  of  its  ordinances  according  to 
the  usages  of  that  denomination,  and  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  the  inhabitants  cordially  seconding  the  designs 
of  the  board  that  a  church  should  be  organized  in 
their  midst,  an  application  was  made  to  Rev.  John 
Ludlow  to  ettect  the  desired  organization.  In  com- 
pliance with  this  application.  Rev.  Mr.  Ludlow  for- 
mally organized  a  church  Aug!  5,  1821,  with  the 
following-named  members:  Jacob  R.  Hardenbergh, 
Cornelius  Johnson,  Joseph  Gulick,  Daniel  Dean,  and 
Jonathan  Combs,  Jr. 

The  following  officers  were  elected :  Elders,  Jacob 
R.  Hardenbergh  and  Cornelius  Johnson  ;  Deacons, 
Joseph  Gulick,  Cornelius  Johnson,  and  Jonathan 
Combs,  Jr. 

Following  are  the  names  of  the  successive  pastors, 
with  the  date  at  whicli  each  began  his  labors :  Revs. 
John  McClure,  1821 ;  Henry  L.  Rice,  1825 ;  John  C. 
Van  Liew,  1834;  William  R.  Betts,  1842;  William 
Knight,  184.5;  John  H.  Manning,  1847;  A.  Vande- 
water,  1854;  Ralph  Willis,  1868;  Stephen  J.  Har- 
meling,  1881. 

The  first  house  of  worship  of  this  church  was  on 
Main  Street.  It  was  a  small  building,  erected  by 
subscription,  and  was  dedicated  Aug.  21,  1821,  by 
Rev.  John  H.  Livingston,  D.D.  The  dedicatory  ser- 
mon was  preached  by  Rev.  Philip  Milledoller,  D.D., 
of  New  York,  the  text  being  2  Chronicles,  vi.  18 : 
"  But  will  God  in  very  deed  dwell  with  men  on  the 
earth  ?  Behold,  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens 
cannot  contain  thee  :  how  much  less  this  house  which 
I  have  built."  The  concluding  prayer  was  made  by 
Rev.  Samuel  B.  House,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 


This  church  served  the  congregation  forty-five 
years,  when  it  had  become  so  numerous  as  to  require 
a  larger  house  of  worship,  and  in  1866  the  old  church 
was  torn  down  and  the  present  one  built  on  the  same 
site.  It  is  a  frame  structure,  measuring  forty  by  sixty- 
three  feet,  with  a  slate  roof,  surmounted  by  a  steeple 
seventy-six  feet  high,  which  contains  a  bell  costing 
three  hundred  dollars.  The  building  is  heated  by  a 
furnace  in  the  basement,  and  is  carpeted  and  cush- 
ioned throughout.  It  was  completed  and  furnished 
at  an  expense  of  six  thousand  dollars.  The  parson- 
age, which  .stands  on  the  church  lot,  cost  three 
thousand  dollars. 

The  present  membership  of  this  church  is  eighty. 
The  officers  are  as  follows :  Elders,  Henry  Van  Dyke, 
Joseph  Johnson,  H.Smith,  and  Thomas  Smith  ;  Dea- 
cons, Benjamin  Conover  and  Isaac  Perdun ;  Treasurer, 
Lewis  E.  Skinner;  Secretary,  Robert  Frishmuth. 

The  Sunday-school  was  organized  early  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  church,  and  has  had  a  continuous  exist- 
ence to  the  present.  Rev.  Stephen  J.  Harmeling  is 
the  superintendent.  The  membership  is  sixty.  The 
library  contains  one  hundred  volumes. 

The  Milltown  German  Reformed  (St.  Paul's) 
Church. — During  a  short  time  previous  to  1872 
those  of  the  German  Reformed  faith  at  Milltown  met 
Sunday  afternoons  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
different  clergymen  of  the  denomination  preaching  as 
circumstances  favored.  During  that  year  St.  Paul's 
Church  was  organized  and  a  house  of  worship  built 
at  a  cost  of  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars, 
located  something  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
Lawrence's  Brook,  in  that  portion  of  the  village  lying 
in  the  township  of  East  Brunswick.  It  was  dedicated 
by  Rev.  Charles  Banks  in  1872. 

Rev.  Mr.  Banks  was  the  first  regular  pastor  of  the 
church,  and  remained  in  that  capacity  two  years, 
when,  in  1874,  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  G.  B.  Chick, 
who  has  served  the  church  uninterruptedly  since  that 
date. 

In  1873  the  Sunday-school  connected  with  this 
church  was  organized,  with  F.  Gerhart  as  superintend- 
ent. The  present  superintendent  is  Rev.  G.  B.  Chick. 
The  school  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred,  and  a 
library  of  two  hundred  volumes. 

Burial-Flaces, — It  is  probable  that  the  earliest 
interments  in  the  township  were  made  in  private  bury- 
ing-grounds  on  the  farms  of  the  early  residents.  Many 
of  these  are  supposed  to  have  contained  not  more 
than  one  or  two  graves,  and  to  have  disappeared  long 
since  in  consequence  of  changes  made  about  their 
localities  by  subsequent  owners  of  the  property. 

In  a  small  burying-ground,  where  no  graves  have 
been  made  for  years,  near  the  Summer  Hill  School- 
house,  in  School  District  No.  32,  a  number  of  the 
Obert  family  are  buried. 

On  the  farm  now  owned  by  James  Bissett,  on  the 
lower  road  from  Washington  to  Old  Bridge,  the  early 
residence  of  the  Barkelew  family,  are  a  number  of 


776 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX    COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


old  graves,  in  which  lie  the  remains  of  some  of  the 
earlier  generations  of  Barkelews.  From  headstones 
in  this  burying-ground  the  following  names  of  de- 
ceased persons,  with  the  dates  of  their  deaths,  have 
been  copied  : 

Anne  Sherer,  wife  of  Gilbert  Sherer,  Sept.  21, 1791 ; 
Elizabeth,  wife  of  Stephen  Barkelew,  Dec.  18,  1801 ; 
Ann  Barkelew,  wife  of  Abraham  Barkelew,  July  20, 
1807  ;  Stephen  Barkelew,  March  26,  1808  ;  Abraham 
Barkelew,  March  18,  1814 ;  Isaac  Barkelew,  Jan.  8, 
1814;  Abraham  S.  Barkelew,  July  5,  1818.  On 
another  portion  of  the  old  Barkelev.'  farm  is  a  burial- 
ground  containing  the  remains  of  a  goodly  number  of 
slaves  who  died  on  the  place  many  years  since. 

There  is  a  private  burying-ground  on  the  Furman 
Smith  farm,  where  are  some  graves  said  to  have  been 
made  as  much  as  a  century  ago.  Here  are  buried 
members  of  the  families  of  Cheeseman,  Perdun,  and 
Smith. 

There  are  some  old  gravestones  in  the  churchyard 
of  St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church  at  Spottswood,  the 
records  on  which  are  scarcely  legible,  but  challenge 
the  attention  and  reflection  of  the  observer.  From 
some  of  these  the  writer  has  copied  the  following 
names  with  dates  of  death  :  Peter  Lott,  Jr.,  July  19, 
1762;  Peter  Lott,  Sr.,  March  9,  1764;  Michael  Rey- 
nolds, Dec.  3,  1769 ;  Joseph  Dennis,  Oct.  7,  1779 ; 
John  Kiunan,  Sept.  13,  1793 ;  James  Dorset,  Sept. 
18,  1794 ;  Jesse  Stout,  Aug.  18,  1795 ;  Margaret 
Mears,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Martha  Mears,  Sept. 
9,  1796 ;  Leonoro  Bissett,  Nov.  8,  1796 ;  Richard 
Mears,  son  of  Richard  and  Martha  Mears,  Oct.  1.5, 
1803;  John  Combs,  Oct.  23,  1803;  Phebe,  wife  of 
John  Herbert,  Dec.  6,  1804;  Gemina,  wife  of  Samuel 
Culver,  April  6,  1805;  Asher  Bisset,  Oct.  3,  1805; 
Benjamin  Brown,  April  14,  1806. 

The  burying-ground  of  the  old  Baptist  Church  at 
Washington  was  opened  early,  and  it  is  probable  that 
interments  were  made  there  in  1800.  Theold  graves 
are  numerous,  but  none  of  them  are  marked  by  any 
headstones,  except  in  some  instances  common  fleld- 
stones  with  no  inscriptions  whatever.  The  oldest 
monuments  to  be  seen  have  not  been  standing  more 
than  sixty  years.  Like  many  of  those  of  a  later  date, 
they  bear  the  names  of  deceased  members  of  the 
families  of  Obert,  Messier,  De  Voe,  Rue,  Barkelew, 
Norman,  Stults,  Frazer,  Willet,  Hardenbrook,  Shep- 
pard,  Kleine,  Ackerman,  and  Booraem,  all  prominent 
names  in  the  history  of  the  township  in  successive 
periods.  The  following  inscription  is  from  one  of 
the  oldest  monuments  in  the  cemetery,  that  of  Fred- 
erick A.  Kleine,  formerly  a  leading  citizen  of  the  vil- 
lage and  southern  part  of  Middlesex  County : 

"In  memory  of  Frederick  A.  Kleine,  who  died  the  18th  day  of  Au- 
gust, 1829,  in  the  62d  year  of  his  nge.  He  was  a  native  of  Gernuiny,  but 
for  many  yeara  a  respectable  residentof  this  place.  As  postmaster  of  this 
Tillage  he  was  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  lie  was  a  man 
of  sound  understanding.  Of  a  tenacious  memory,  and  of  an  even,  kind, 
and  pacific  disposition,  he  wan  a  kind  neighbor,  a  sincere  and  steady 
friend,  and  felt  a  brotherly  attachment  for  the  wliole  race  of  man." 


The  cemetery  in  the  churchyard  of  the  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  of  Spottswood  contains  many  graves, 
but  none  of  them  were  made  at  a  date  sufficiently 
early  to  render  the  publication  of  inscriptions  from 
any  of  the  monuments  of  historical  interest. 

In  the  neighborhood  of  Old  Bridge  are  some  old 
graves,  and  it  is  possible  there  are  others  scattered 
about  the  township,  which,  if  they  could  be  rescued 
from  the  oblivion  into  which  they  are  gradually  sink- 
ing, would  be  regarded  as  interesting  memorials  of 
the  days  that  are  gone. 

Washington  Monumental  Cemetery  Associ- 
ation.—  The  Washington  Monumental  Cemetery 
Association  was  formed  Dec.  6, 1856,  under  the  laws  of 
the  State.  The  first  board  of  managers  was  composed 
of  Nicholas  Booraem,  John  S.  Connet,  Thomas  Peter- 
son, John  R.  Reed,  Samuel  Whitehead,  Sr.,  Elisha  N. 
Blew,  Robert  M.  Taylor,  Henry  Gordon,  and  Garret 
I.  Snediker.  The  president  of  the  association  was 
Samuel  Whitehead,  Sr. ;  the  vice-president,  John  R. 
Reed  ;  the  secretary,  Henry  Gordon ;  and  the  treas- 
urer, John  S.  Connet.  The  cemetery  is  located  on 
an  elevation  a  little  less  than  half  a  mile  .south  of 
the  centre  of  the  village,  overlooking  Sayreville, 
Bonhamtown,  and  Piscataway.  It  is  laid  out  in  lots 
twenty-four  by  thirty-four  feet  each,  is  well  shaded 
by  numerous  fine  cedars,  and  is  kept  in  good  order. 
In  the  centre  stands  a  monument  about  twenty-four 
feet  in  height,  on  which  are  cut  the  names  of  the 
contributors  to  its  erection  and  the  managers  of  the 
cemetery  and  several  appropriate  inscriptions.  The 
first  body  interred  in  the  cemetery  was  that  of  Re- 
becca J.,  wife  of  Peter  Fisher,  Jan.  3,  1857.  The  in- 
terments to  the  present  time  number  about  1500. 

Chestnut  Hill  Cemetery  Association. — The 
Chestnut  Hill  Cemetery  Association  was  formed  in 
1861,  with  William  Rogers  as  president,  J.  H.  Blood- 
good  as  treasurer,  James  Cooley  as  secretary,  and  the 
following-named  directors  :  William  Rogers,  John  J. 
Disbrow,  Stephen  H.  Herbert,  John  B.  Herbert,  and 
John  A.  Montgomery.  The  association  purchased  of 
David  Bissett  fifty  acres  of  land  on  the  elevation 
northwest  of  and  overlooking  Old  Bridge  village, 
which  was  surveyed  and  laid  out  in  lots  suitable  for 
burial  purposes,  and  opened  to  the  public  under  the 
name  of  Chestnut  Hill  Cemetery.  The  present  offi- 
cers of  the  association  are  A.  J.  Disbrow,  president; 
J.  H.  Bloodgood,  treasurer ;  and  Herbert  Appleby, 
secretary.  The  directors  are  William  Rogers,  Wil- 
liam M.  Appleby,  J.  H.  Bloodgood,  A.  J.  Disbrow, 
Herbert  Appleby. 

Villages  and.  Hamlets. — Washington  is  located 
on  the  left  bank  of  South  River,  three  miles  from  its 
confluence  with  the  Raritan,  five  miles  from  New 
Brunswick,  and  thirty-five  from  New  York.  It  is 
said  to  have  been  first  settled  about  1720  by  Harts- 
horne  Willett,'  who  owned  considerable  land  in  the 

1  There  is  a  tradition  that  a  man  named  Sheppard  was  there  earlier, 
and  that  the  locality  was  called  Sheppard'a  Landing. 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


777 


vicinity,  from  which  circumstance  the  locality  was 
known  as  Willettstown  until  about  1784,  when  Abra- 
ham Barkelew,  a  pioneer  and  a  great  admirer  of 
Washington,  renamed  the  then  mere  frontier  settle- 
ment in  his  honor.  The  post-office  was  established 
under  the  name  of  Washington,  and  was  so  called 
until  it  became  necessary  to  change  the  title  on  ac- 
count of  frequent  miscarriage  of  mail  intended  for 
this  place  to  other  post-offices  of  the  same  name,  when 
the  present  post-office  name  of  South  River  was 
adopted  by  authority  of  the  Post-Office  Department. 

In  1800,  Washington  did  not  embrace  more  than 
half  a  dozen  houses.  In  1823  the  number  did  not 
exceed  ten.  There  was  one  store,  kept  by  Vincent 
Barkelew,  then  the  principal  business  man,  on  the 
south  side  of  Main  Street  near  the  dock.  About  182.5 
the  post-office  was  opened  by  Frederick  A.  Kleine, 
first  postmaster,  in  a  small  building  within  the  pres- 
ent limits  of  Theodore  Willett's  brickyard,  where 
Robinson  Thomas  was  at  that  time  manufacturing 
paints.     The  present  postmaster  is  Mr.  H.  Schroeder. 

The  earliest  local  merchant  of  whom  any  record 
exists  was  a  man  named  Perrine.  Reden  Wood  and 
Elias  Doughty  had  a  store  at  the  dock  during  the 
war  of  1812-14,  and  were  engaged  in  carrying  govern- 
ment property  via  the  South  River.  In  consequence 
of  the  embargo  of  that  time  great  quantities  of  goods 
were  brought  overland  to  Washington  and  carried 
thence  by  water  to  New  York.  Samuel  Gordon,  of 
South  Amboy,  and  later  of  Washington,  was  then  a 
prominent  boatman.  In  1823  he  came  to  Washing- 
ton, and  was  instrumental  in  securing  the  passage  of 
au  act  of  Legislature  authorizing  the  construction  of 
a  canal  from  the  South  River  to  the  Raritan  with  a 
view  to  improving  the  transportation  between  New 
York  and  Washington,  later  constructing  the  canal 
under  contract.  He  also  opened  the  road  from  Wash- 
ington to  Cranbury.  His  son,  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr., 
still  a  resident  of  the  village,  erected  the  first  brick 
house  there  in  1825. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  wood  and  grain  trade  a 
large  shipping  business  grew  up  at  Washington. 
From  1825  to  1855  the  peach  trade  was  a  prominent 
interest,  and  Washington  became  a  depot  for  the 
transportation  of  fruit  to  New  York.  From  1840 
onward  until  the  trade  subsided  it  was  not  uncommon 
to  see  the  streets  of  the  village  filled  for  a  long  dis- 
tance from  the  dock  with  wagons  laden  with  peaches 
awaiting  their  turn  to  unload,  and  from  four  to  half 
a  dozen  steamers  left  Washington  daily  for  New 
York.  These  industries  caused  an  increase  in  popu- 
lation, and  in  1834  the  village  had  two  taverns, 
three  stores,  and  thirty  or  forty  dwellings.  Several 
docks  were  built,  which  were  known  respectively  as 
"  Overt's,"  "  Reed's,"  "  Barkalew's,"  "  Dunham's," 
"  Booraem's,"  and  "  Blew's."  Some  of  these  have 
been  abandoned,  and  some  of  them  are  now  known 
by  the  names  of  later  owners. 

Washington  occupied  an  advantageous  position  on 


the  shortest  and  most  direct  route  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia  before  the  era  of  railways.  In 
1823  a  steamboat  route  was  established  between  New 
York  and  Washington,  whence  a  regular  line  of 
stages  conveyed  passengers  to  the  Delaware  River  at 
Bordentown,  provided  with  the  facilities  for  freight 
transportation  then  in  vogue.  It  was  known  as  the 
"Citizens'  Line,"  and  was  superseded  about  1830  by 
the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  then  completed  as 
far  as  Hightstown.  During  this  period  Washington 
advanced  somewhat  in  population  and  importance. 
New  inhabitants  moved  into  the  surrounding  country, 
larger  stores  were  built,  and  an  extensive  trade  grew 
up,  which  has  continued  in  a  great  measure  to  the 
present  time. 

Prominent  among  local  merchants  of  the  past  were 
Messrs.  John  Combs,  James  R.  Dunham,  Reid  & 
Snedeker,  Aaron  Gulick,  Thomas  McDowell,  the 
Stults  Brothers,  William  Conover,  and  William 
Whitehead.  John  Combs  has  been  referred  to  as  a 
pioneer  and  the  son  of  a  pioneer.  Mr.  Dunham  was 
highly  esteemed,  and  has  been  de.ad  many  years. 
John  R.  Reid  was  a  large  property-owner  and  a  suc- 
cessful business  man.  He  died  two  years  ago,  aged 
eighty-five.  He  began  his  mercantile  career  in  the 
store  of  John  Combs  as  a  clerk.  Messrs.  Snedeker 
and  Gulick  were  both  enterprising  men,  and  left  their 
impress  on  the  fortunes  of  the  village.  The  latter 
was  for  a  short  time  a  partner  of  Thomas  McDowell's, 
who  succeeded  the  firm  of  Gulick  &  McDowell,  es- 
tablishing a  large  trade  and  engaging  largely  in  the 
carrying  trade.  In  1836  he  had  a  sloop  built  for  the 
river  trade,  in  1838  a  vessel  for  the  coasting  trade, 
and  in  1848  a  sea  steamer  (for  the  Southern  trade 
mentioned  below).  In  1838  he  engaged  in  the  carry- 
ing trade  between  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  Georgetown. 
In  1840  he  was  prominent  in  the  introduction 'of 
steamers  between  Washington  and  New  York  in  the 
peach  trade.  In  1849  he  became  a  pioneer  merchant, 
business  man,  and  official  at  Sacramento  City,  Cal., 
and  revisited  that  State  in  1852  and  1858  ;  was  in 
business  in  Melbourne,  Australia,  1853-55,  and  was 
consul  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  1862-64.  The 
Stults  brothers,  Henry  and  Frederick,  are  both  else- 
where referred  to,  and  are  still  living.  Mr.  Conover 
is  remembered  as  an  enterprising  man.  Mr.  White- 
head represents  the  interests  of  Whitehead  Brothers 
in  New  York.  These  merchants  dealt  largely  in 
wood,  fruit,  and  all  marketable  produce.  An  early 
physician  was  Dr.  Tomlinson,  who  was  there  some 
time,  dying  about  1832.  About  this  time  came  Dr. 
Henry  B.  Pole,  a  man  of  fine  attainments,  previously 
a  Professor  of  Mathematics  and  a  teacher  under  the 
direction  of  Rutgers  College.  He  died  about  twenty 
years  ago.  His  widow  survives  him,  aged  eighty-six. 
Dr.  John  C.  Thompson  came  about  1857,  and  still  re- 
mains. Dr.  Dye  came  a  few  years  ago,  remaining 
only  a  short  time. 
The  earliest  tavern  in  the  village  of  which  any  in- 


778 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


formation  is  obtainable  stood  on  the  present  site  of 
the  residence  of  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  and  was  early- 
kept  by  Henry  Obert  for  many  years.  Capt.  Samuel 
Martin  was  the  landlord  in  1823,  and  the  building  was 
torn  down  about  1830.  George  Obert  kept  another 
early  tavern  on  Jackson  Street,  which  was  also  torn 
down.  The  next  was  the  East  Brunswick  House,  now 
kept  by  B.  B.  Walker.  Its  builder,  Robert  Carson, 
was  an  Irishman,  educated  and  of  fine  address,  a 
man  of  honor,  who  died  childless,  leaving  a  large  es- 
tate. Abraham  Barkelew  and  Joseph  Gulick  built 
the  Washington  Hotel,  now  kept  by  J.  C.  Voorhees. 
In  the  past  it  has  been  kept  by  both  of  the  builders, 
and  later  by  Stephen  H.  Barkelew. 

Ship-building  has  been  carried  on  from  1824  to  the 
present  by  the  Booraems,  father  and  sons,  many  ves- 
sels, large  and  small,  having  been  built.  From  1825 
to  1860  much  potter's  ware  was  made  by  Jacob  Eaton, 
Samuel  Stout,  and  Samuel  Whitehead.  There  was  a 
grist-mill,  owned  by  Whitehead  &  De  Voe,  in  opera- 
tion about  1867  for  a  short  time,  and  there  are  some 
later  enterprises  of  lesser  magnitude.  During  recent 
years  brick-making  has  been  a  leading  industry,  and 
a  large  business  is  done  in  the  stronger  clays,  known 
as  "  fire-clay,"  "  fire-sand,"  and  "  kaolin,"  nearly  all 
the  lands  in  the  village  bordering  the  river  being  de- 
voted to  these  two  interests. 

An  act  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  improvement  of 
the  town  of  Washington,  in  the  county  of  Middle- 
sex," was  passed  in  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly 
of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  and  approved  Feb.  23, 
1870.  It  provided  for  the  improvement  of  the  vil- 
lage under  the  direction  of  a  board  of  commissioners, 
to  be  elected  annually,  defining  the  limits  of  the 
town,  as  follows: 

"  Beginning  at  South  River,  in  a  line  of  lands  be- 
tween Randolph  Low  and  John  Culver,  and  running 
thence  first  up  said  line  and  on  the  same  course  to 
the  centre  of  the  road  leading  from  Old  Bridge  to  New 
Brunswick,  near  (formerly)  Sheriff  Bissett's  house; 
second,  following  the  centre  of  said  road,  the  differ- 
ent courses  thereof,  to  a  line  of  lands  between  Charles 
Van  Deventer  and  Messrs.  Mesler's;  third,  down  the 
said  line,  and  a  line  of  Garline  and  Abraham  Van 
Deventer,  to  South  River  aforesaid ;  fourth,  up  said 
river,  the  courses  thereof,  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

The  first  meeting  of  the  commissioners  was  held 
May  12,  1870,  at  the  public-house  of  B.  B.  Walker. 
The  following  have  served  as  commissioners :  Garret 
I.  Snediker,  1870,  1872,  1874,  1875;  James  Bissett, 
1870 ;  Charles  Whitehead,  1870-74,  1875-81 ;  W.  C. 
Barkelew,  1870,  1871 ;  Maximilian  Frommel,  1870, 
1873;  Daniel  Morgan,  1871,  1874-76;  William  Van 
Zandt,  1871-73;  Charles  Connet,  1871;  Frederick 
Stults,' 1872,  1874-78;  George  E.  Brown,  1872,  1876- 
81  •  Thomas  Booraem,  1873-76  ;  Jonathan  H.  Peter- 
son, 1873 ;  William  H.  Peterson,  1873 ;  Isaac  Blew, 
1877-79;  Isaac  Barkelew,  1877-81;  Charles  Serviss, 
1879-81 ;  Daniel  Selover,  1880,  1881. 


The  population  of  Washington  is  about  1200.  It 
contains  one  extensive  dry-goods  and  clothing-store, 
Jacob  Levinson,  proprietor,  three  large  grocery  and 
provision-stores,  with  Messrs.  F.  W.  Bissett,  Kleine 
&  Thorburn,  and  C.  W.  Connet  as  proprietors,  and  a 
smaller  store  kept  by  Mrs.  Phebe  Tuttle,  two  hotels, 
several  saloons,  a  liquor-store,  a  ship-yard,  four  brick- 
yards, a  shirt-factory,  the  usual  variety  of  small  me- 
chanics' shops,  and  a  Methodist  and  an  Episcopalian 
Church  and  two  Baptist  Churches. 

Spottswood  is  on  the  southeast  border  of  the 
township,  on  South  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Macha- 
ponix  Creek,  and  is  a  station  on  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  ten 
miles  from  South  Amboy. 

Among  the  earliest  residents  at  or  near  there  of 
whom  any  records  are  extant  were  Right  Hon.  David 
Carnagie  (Lord  Rosehill),  John  Lewis  Johnston, 
James  Rue,  Samuel  Neilson,  David  Stout,  Richard 
Lott,  James  Abrahams,  and  Joseph  and  John  Per- 
rine,  referred  to  in  the  charter  of  St.  Peter's  Church, 
granted  Nov.  23,  1773,  by  William  Franklin,  the  last 
royal  Governor  of  New  Jersey,  as  "  all  freeholders  and 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Spottswood,"  etc.  There 
ace  at  least  two  different  accounts  of  the  manner  in 
which  the  village  received  its  name,  and  there  is  a 
difference  of  opinion  as  to  whether  Spottswood  should 
be  spelled  with  one  t  or  two.  The  historian  inclines 
to  the  belief  that  John  Lewis  Johnston,  of  the  ancient 
family  of  "  Spottiswoode  in  Scotland,"  conferred  the 
name  upon  the  then  small  settlement  which  the  village 
now  bears  in  honor  of  his  ancestral  town,  and  that 
having  been  derived  from  such  a  source  its  correct 
modernized  orthography  is  as  it  appears  in  these 
pages.  In  the  charter  referred  to  above  Spottswood 
is  described  as  being  "  in  the  South  Ward  of  the  city 
of  Perth  Amboy,"  and  from  the  fact  that  Joseph  and 
John  Perrine,  grandfather  and  father  of  Judge  John 
Perrine,  were  both  at  that  time  located  at  Machaponix, 
now  in  Monroe,  it  would  appear  possible  if  not  prob- 
able that  the  area  known  as  Spottswood  in  1773  was 
much  more  extensive  than  the  present  boundaries  of 
the  village.  It  is  pretty  certain  some  of  those  above 
mentioned  did  not  remain  at  Spottswood  as  permanent 
residents.  John  Lewis  Johnston  or  another  member 
of  his  family  whom  he  represented  was  in  possession 
of  much  land  at  and  adjacent  to  the  present  village. 

Spottswood  owes  its  existence  as  a  village  to  the 
splendid  water-power  there  and  near  there.  It  has 
been  known  as  a  manufacturing  point  since  1750  and 
perhaps  longer.  An  association  of  three  men  named 
Perry,  Come,  and  Hays,  and  known  as  the  "  Forge 
Company,"  were  manufacturing  iron  there  for  at  least 
twenty-six  years  before  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, at  which  time  or  soon  afterwards  they  are  sup- 
posed to  have  fled  to  England,  whence  it  is  thought 
they  had  come,  abandoning  their  property,  which  con- 
sisted, as  is  believed,  of  a  grist-mill,  a  furnace  with 
trip-hammer,  a  store,  and  several  houses  and  other 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


779 


buildings,  and  an  extensive  tract  of  land  or  numerous 
small  tracts  near  each  other.  By  a  series  of  transfers 
the  site  of  the  active  operations  of  these  men  has  come 
into  the  possession  of  Isaac  De  Voe.  During  the 
Revolution  there  was  a  paper-mill  in  operation  where 
the  Tecumseh  Snuff-Mills  now  are,  in  which  it  is 
authoritatively  stated  the  paper  was  manufactured  on 
which  the  Continental  notes  were  printed.  A  still 
earlier  mill-site  was  that  where  Outcalt's  hominy- 
mills  are  located,  where  the  half-Indian  Weech- 
queechley  had  a  saw-mill  at  a  date  too  remote  to  be 
fixed  at  this  time. 

The  supremacy  which  Spottswood  thus  early  as- 
serted a.s  a  manufacturing  centre  it  has  maintained 
steadily  to  the  present,  especially  in  certain  depart- 
ments of  manufacturing  industry,  most  prominent 
among  which  has  for  many  years  been  snuff-making, 
nearly  all  the  snuft-mills  in  New  Jersey  having  been 
located  there.  From  some  time  early  in  the  present 
century  until  1881  Messrs.  Daniel  Snowhill,  William 
Dill,  Andrew  Snowhill,  George  H.  Snowhill,  John 
Appleby,  William  Appleby,  Isaac  De  Voe,  Augustus 
A.  De  Voe,  John  D.  Outcalt,  John  Outcalt,  John 
Browne,  William  Perrine,  Leonard  Appleby,  George 
W.  Helme,  Phineas  M.  Skinners,  William  A.  Skin- 
ners, Lewis  E.  Skinners,  and  others  have  all  been 
extensively  engaged  in  snuff  manufacture,  some  of 
them  adding  a  large  business  in  the  manufacture  of 
fine-cut  tobacco  and  cigars,  involving  an  immense 
aggregated  capital  and  affording  employment  to 
many  persons  of  both  sexes.  The  milling  interest 
has  always  been  prominent.  It  has  been  represented 
by  many  enterprising  men,  among  them  the  "  Forge 
Company,"  John  Hilliker,  John  H.  Disborough, 
George  H.  Snowhill,  William  Conover,  John  Ap- 
pleby, Isaac  De  Voe,  and  Charles  B.  Hulit ;  the  paper- 
making  business  by  John  H.  Disborough  and  Dis- 
borough &  Beebe ;  the  tanning  interest  by  Matthias 
Prest  and  George  Lane ;  and  the  distilling  interest 
by  John  Browne  and  John  H.  Disborough.  The 
leading  manufacturers  of  the  present  time  are  Isaac 
De  Voe  &  Son,  Skinners  &  Co.,  and  George  W. 
Helme,  snuff  manufacturers  ;  Charles  B.  Hulit,  mil- 
ler; John  Outcalt,  hominy  manufacturer;  and  Leon- 
ard Appleby,  manager  of  Rothschild's  shirt-factory, 
several  others  carrying  on  a  variety  of  manufacturing 
and  mechanical  pursuits  in  shops  in  various  portions 
of  the  village. 

Merchants  have  been  numerous  in  Spottswood,  and 
some  of  them  only  remained  in  the  village  a  short 
time,  years  since,  and  their  names  cannot  now  be 
recalled.  Prominent  tradesmen  there  have  been  the 
following :  Messrs.  Perry,  Corne  &  Hays  (the  "  Forge 
Company"),  Daniel  Snowhill,  John  Disborough, 
Stephen  Smith,  Jr.,  Richard  Manny,  Merrill  Mundy, 
John  Perrine,  Remsen  Appleby,  George  H.  Snowhill, 
Orlando  Perrine,  John  Appleby,  James  D.  Farring- 
ton,  Isaac  De  Voe,  Male  &  Mathews,  Stephen  D. 
Smith,  James  L.  Cole.    The  present  merchants  are 


Messrs.  E.  Ayres,  J.  A.  Charlton,  Charles  Breucker,  L. 
A.  Snowhill,  W.  A.  Skinner  &  Son,  C.  B.  Culver. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  principal  phy- 
sicians who  have  practiced  at  Spottswood  :  Drs.  Cor- 
nelius Johnson,  H.  D.  B.  Lefferts,  F.  L.  Wagner, 
H.  J.  Disbrow,  and  H.  B.  Garner,  the  present  resi- 
dent practitioner.  The  first  public-house  was  built 
by  Jacob  Van  Cleef,  and  kept  by  him  for  many 
years.  After  his  death  it  was  for  a  time  presided 
over  by  his  widow.  Her  successors  have  been  Joseph 
Wallace,  James  Jernee,  and  the  present  landlord, 
John  Vleit.  Another  tavern  was  kept  by  George 
Sharp,  and  later  by  James  Jernee.  It  is  now  out 
of  use.  The  Railroad  House  was  built  by  some  of 
the  Snowhills,  and  completed  soon  after  the  con- 
struction of  the  railway  through  the  village.  It  was 
kept  by  William  Snowhill,  and  at  a  later  date  and 
until  a  few  years  since  by  his  widow.  William  Saw- 
yer succeeded  to  the  management,  and  at  his  death 
was  succeeded  by  his  widow,  Mrs.  M.  E.  Sawyer,  at 
present  in  charge. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  various  manufacturing 
enterprises  which  have  been  carried  on  there,  Spotts- 
wood long  since  became  a  place  of  note,  and  is  now 
known  throughout  the  Union  as  the  oldest  and  one  of 
the  most  important  of  the  few  snufT-manufacturing 
towns.  The  place  has  an  air  of  thrift  and  comfort, 
and  schools  and  the  churches  are  well  sustained 
there.  The  latter  are  three  in  number, — St.  Peter's 
Episcopal,  the  Spottswood  Methodist  Episcopal,  and 
the  Reformed  Dutch.  The  present  postmaster  is 
Stephen  Smith. 

Old  Bridge.— The  village  of  Old  Bridge  derives 
its  somewhat  curious  name  from  the  fact  that  the  first 
bridge  spanning  South  River  was  built  there,  and  after 
other  bridges  were  built  across  the  stream  at  other 
points  became  known  as  "  the  old  bridge,"  and  the 
settlement  at  that  point  early  acquired  and  has  since 
retained  the  name  of  "  Old  Bridge,"  though  for  a 
time  it  was  by  many  called  "  Herbertsville,"  in  honor 
of  Gen.  Obadiah  Herbert,  who  was  for  many  years, 
dating  from  early  in  the  present  century,  a  prominent 
man  of  busine.ss  there,  and  the  projector  and  propri- 
etor of  business  enterprises  which  added  to  the  im- 
portance and  reputation  of  the  locality. 

Old  Bridge  is  located  at  the  head  of  navigation  on 
South  River,  and  is  a  station  on  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  branch  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  It 
early  became  a  point  at  which  immense  quantities  of 
produce,  wood,  and  other  merchandise  was  received 
and  shipped  by  way  of  South  River  to  New  York, 
some  of  which  was  hauled  many  miles  from  neigh- 
borhoods far  beyond  the  limits  of  Middlesex  County. 

A  large  tract  of  land  at  and  near  the  village  was 
early  owned  by  the  Van  Wickle  family,  and  some  of 
it  has  descended  by  inheritance  to  heirs  of  the  orig- 
inal purchasers,  who  hold  it  at  this  time.  Another 
large  tract  of  land  there  was,  and  some  of  it  is  now, 
owned  by  members  of  the  Bissett  family. 


780 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


The  site  of  the  village  was  the  scene  of  an  incident 
of  historical  interest  during  the  Revolutionary  war. 
In  the  early  part  of  1777,  when  the  British  were  in 
possession  of  New  Brunswick  and  Aniboy,  quite  a 
large  force  of  their  soldiery  crossed  the  country  to 
Old  Bridge,  destroying  property  and  seizing  cattle  and 
desirable  portable  articles  in  their  march,  and  were 
there  met  by  a  small  detachment  from  Amboy,  who 
conducted  them  to  the  latter  place  by  bateaux  via 
South  River. 

An  early  and  enterprising  resident  of  Old  Bridge 
was  Gen.  James  Morgan,  who  soon  after  the  close  of 
the  Revolution,  in  company  with  Jacob  Van  Wickle, 
put  a  pottery  in  operation  there  which  was  continued 
until  about  1828,  a  second  establishment  of  a  similar 
character  having  been  started  by  some  of  the  Bissetts 
about  1815,  which  was  in  operation  till  about  1830. 
Gen.  Obadiah  Herbert  came  to  the  place  about  1810, 
and  at  once  became  a  large  property-owner,  and  a 
leading  spirit  in  business  and  social  life  there.  He 
opened  a  store  and  constructed  docks  and  warehouses 
and  engaged  very  extensively  in  the  shipment  of  wood, 
produce,  and  other  marketable  merchandise  to  New 
York.  The  wood  trade  there  was  at  one  time  im- 
mense, and  it  was  a  leading  interest  until  within  a 
few  years.  For  the  trade  which  he  thus  established 
he  had  several  vessels  built  at  Old  Bridge,  and  a  ship- 
yard was  in  existence  there  for  a  few  years. 

The  distillery  established  by  James  C.  Stout  about 
1835,  and  now  continued  by  his  son,  S.  W.  Stout ; 
Van  Wickle's  fanning-mill  factory,  in  operation 
about  1835^0,  and  that  of  Leonard  Appleby  and 
James  C.  Stout,  about  1840-50,  and  the  snuff-mill, 
operated  successively  by  John  and  William  Dill, 
about  1860-75,  were  prominent  enterprises  of  the 
past  in  the  line  of  manufacture.  Stout's  distillery. 
Dill's  saw-mill,  and  Brown's  clothing-factory  are  the 
principal  manufacturing  industries  of  the  present 
time.  J.  H.  Bloodgood  has  a  wheelwright-  and 
blacksmith-shop,  and  there  are  two  or  three  other 
small  repair-shops  of  different  kinds. 

The  following  physicians  have  at  various  times 
resided  in  Old  Bridge :   Drs.  Lears,  Jamison,  H.  D. 

B.  Lefl'erts,  and  James  Leighton.  The  present  resi- 
dent medical  practitioner  is  Dr.  S.  M.  Disbrow. 

The  following-named  merchants  have  had  stores  in 
the  village,  either  as  sole  proprietors  or  in  company 
with  others  referred  to  at  periods  nearly  coincident 
with  the  dates  mentioned : 

Charles  Morgan,  from  soon  after  the  Revolution 
until  1800  ;  Gen.  Obadiah  Herbert,  1810-10  ;  James 

C.  Stout,  1826-60  ;  Leonard  Appleby,  1826-36  ;  John 
Perrine,  1829-36;  James  Appleby,  1829-55;  A.  J. 
Disbrow  (most  of  the  time),  1836-61  ;  Theodore  Ap- 
pleby, 1838-74 ;  William  Appleby,  1857-81  (most  of 
the  time)  ;  Jacob  Waters,  1858-60  ;  Thomas  Vande- 
veer,  1860-65  ;  R.  S.  Herbert,  1865-70  ;  George  Dob- 
son,  1865-70 ;  E.  T.  Brown,  1869-81 ;  William  P. 
Brown,  1874r-77 ;    J.  H.  Charlton,  1877-78;    S.   M. 


Disbrow,  1877-81 ;  John  W.  Davison,  1878-81.  A 
man  named  Willis  was  for  a  time  a  partner  of  Gen. 
Herbert's.  James  Rickets  was  an  early  merchant, 
and  his  son  traded  there  in  partnership  with  one 
Patton.  Charles  P.  Hoffrnan,  who  began  business 
there  in  1881,  S.  M.  Disbrow,  and  John  W.  Davison 
are  the  present  merchants. 

There  are  two  churches  in  this  village,  the  Inde- 
pendent Bethel  Baptist  and  the  Simpson  Methodist 
Episcopal.  The  one  hotel  there  is  kept  by  Mrs.  Re- 
becca Spencer.  The  postmaster  since  1836  has  been 
Judge  A.  J.  Disbrow,  now  sheriff"  of  Middlesex 
County. 

MiLLTOWN  is  a  small  but  thrifty  manufacturing 
village,  mostly  in  North  Brunswick  but  partially  in 
this  township,  which  owes  its  existence  to  the  pres- 
ence at  that  point  of  the  factory  of  the  Meyer  Rubber 
Company.  It  was  early  known  as  Bergen's  Mills, 
from  the  circumstance  of  the  erection  of  an  early 
grist-mill  there,  which  later  (sixty-five  or  seventy 
years  ago)  was  owned  by  Jacob  I.  Bergen  ;  but  that, 
like  the  nucleus  of  the  present  village,' was  on  the 
North  Brunswick  side  of  Lawrence's  Brook.  On  the 
East  Brunswick  side  there  were  only  two  or  three 
houses  as  late  as  1816.  There  are  now  a  good  num- 
ber of  substantial  dwellings,  most  of  which  are  occu- 
pied by  operatives  in  the  rubber-shoe  factory  and 
their  families.  A  German  Reformed  Church,  the 
stores  of  William  Kuhlthan,  George  Roeder,  and 
Philip  Schlosser,  two  hotels,  some  small  shops  of 
different  kinds,  two  meat-markets,  a  barber-shop  and 
cigar  manufactory,  and  the  box-factory  of  the  Meyer 
Rubber  Company,  whose  principal  works  are  in 
North  Brunswick. 

Bloomfield  Mills,  Dunham's  Corners,  and 
OTHER  Neighborhoods. — Bloomfield  Mills  is  the 
site  of  the  extensive  liquorice-factory  of  that  name, 
and  a  flag-station  on  the  Camden  and  Amboy  branch 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  Dunham's  Corners  is 
a  well-known  cross-roads  neighborhood,  very  near  the 
centre  of  the  township,  which  received  its  name  from 
Capt.  Jehu  Dunham,  the  pioneer  in  that  vicinity. 
The  Central  Hotel,  where  town-meetings  have  been 
sometimes  held,  was  formerly  called  the  "  Franklin 
House."  Former  landlords  there  were  Apple- 
gate,  Enos  Ayres,  and  William  Hoagland.  Charles 
Culver  is  the  present  proprietor.  Ryder's  tavern, 
where  Seaman  F.  Christian  now  lives,  between 
New  Brunswick  and  Washington,  was  long  kept  by 
"Widow  Ryder,"  and  was  known  as  the  "Swan 
Hotel."  It  was  destroyed  by  fire.  The  old  sign 
now  swings  before  another  hostelry  near  by. 

Societies. — The  Washington  Benevolent  So- 
ciety was  organized  Feb.  21, 1869,  with  the  following 
charter  members,  twelve  in  number:  Maximilian 
Frommel,  Aloys  Allgaier,  John  Brown,  George  Koch, 
Charles  Kananssmenn,  John  Knab,  Jacob  Levinson, 
Gustav  Wall,  Peter  Hoffman,  John  Adam,  Frederick 
Tacke,  and  Henry  Schroeder. 


EAST  BRUNSWICK. 


7S1 


The  principal  officers  of  this  society  were  as  fol- 
lows: President,  Aloys  Allgaier,  1869-70,  Conrad 
Breaker,  1871;  Vice-President,  Charles Kananssmenn, 
18()9-70,  John  Adam,  1871  ;  Secretary,  Maximilian 
Fromniel,  1869-71;  Treasurer,  Christopher  Stoble, 
1869-71. 

Meetings  were  held  in  Peter  Hoffman's  hall,  at 
the  corner  of  Reed  and  Main  Streets.  Dissensions 
arose  among  the  members  and  the  society  disbanded, 
and  was  reorganized  two  oT  three  times  under  differ- 
ent names,  for  a  time  having  an  existence  as  a  lodge 
of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Druids  (No.  21).  Later  it 
was  known  for  a  time  by  its  original  name,  but  finally 
ceased  to  be. 

Whitney  Lodge,  No.  191,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  insti- 
tuted Aug.  6, 1877,  by  A.  B.  Crane,  P.  G.,  as  Deputy 
Grand  Master  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  the  State  of 
New  Jersey. 

The  first  officers,  as  installed,  were  P.  V.  Petty, 
N.  G.  ;  W.  H.  Petty,  V.  G. ;  W.  J.  Bissett,  Sec.  ;  F. 
Beebe,  Treas.,all  of  Fidelity  Lodge,  No.  141,  of  James- 
burg,  and  D.  W.  Cozzens,  Warden,  from  General 
Morgan  Lodge,  No.  96,  of  South  Amboy.  The  above 
were  also  the  charter  members  of  the  lodge. 

At  the  first  meeting  six  members  were  initiated. 
The  lodge  was  established  in  a  building  near  the  rail- 
road station,  and  removed  to  other  and  more  suitable 
quarters  in  the  spring  of  1878.  Only  one  death  has 
occurred  among  the  membership  of  the  lodge  since 
its  institution.  The  present  membership  is  forty-four, 
and  the  success  of  the  lodge  thus  far  warrants  it  in 
erecting  a  building  near  the  centre  of  the  village, 
which  will  be  much  more  comfortable  than  its  pres- 
ent place  of  meeting,  and  will  also  be  of  benefit  to 
the  community  by  affording  a  convenient  and  com- 
modious assembly-room  on  the  ground  floor,  which 
has  been  for  a  long  time  regarded  as  a  necessity  in 
Spottswood. 

The  successive  Noble  Grands  have  been  P.  V.  Petty, 
W.  H.  Petty,  W.  H.  Frishmuth,  George  W.  Stanton, 
Charles  Housel,  Forman  Matthews,  and  Augustus  A. 
De  Voe. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  present  officers : 
Augustus  A.  De  Voe,  N.  G. ;  James  Riddle,  V.  G. ; 
W.  J.  Bissett,  Sec.  ;  Francis  Beebe,  Treas. 

An  Incident. — The  old  Clarkson  Brown  grist-mill, 
now  in  the  possession  of  Peter  Jernee,  on  Tenant's 
Creek,  below  Old  Bridge,  is  said  to  have  been  the 
scene  of  an  incident  that  may  as  a  reminiscence  pos- 
sess some  interest  for  some  of  the  readers  of  this 
work.  It  is  stated  that  after  the  murder  of  the  no- 
torious Bill  Poole  in  New  York,  officers  from  that  city 
searched  this  mill  and  watched  in  the  vicinity  several 
days  under  the  impression  that  his  murderer  was 
in  hiding  there. 
50 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 

ISAAC    DE    VOE. 

The  name  of  De  Voe  was  formerly  spelled  Deveaux, 
the  family  being  of  Huguenot  descent.  Its  members 
fled  from  France  to  escape  religious  oppression,  and 
passing  through  Alsace  landed  at  Mannheim,  Ger- 
many. Two  of  their  number  afterwards  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  and  settled  in  the  vicinity  of  New 
York.  Among  the  descendants  of  one  of  these 
brothers  was  the  great-grandfother  of  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  who  resided  on  what  was  known  as  the 
Philip's  Manor,  within  the  present  corporate  bounds 
of  New  York  City,  before  and  during  the  war  of  the 
Revolution. 

His  son  John,  to  whom  this  property  was  be- 
queathed, also  made  this  his  residence,  and  married 
his  cousin,  Rebecca  De  Voe.  Their  children  were 
Isaac,  John,  Frederick,  Daniel,  James,  William, 
Abram,  Sarah,  Alida,  Jane,  and  Rebecca. 

Jolin,  the  second  son,  was  born  on  the  De  Voe 
homestead,  and  later  removed  to  what  was  then  New 
York  City  (the  family  home  being  outside  the  city 
limits)  and  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits.  He  mar- 
ried Sophia,  daughter  of  Thomas  Farrington,  of  West- 
chester County,  N.  Y.,  and  had  children, — -Isaac, 
Thomas  F.,  James,  Moses,  John  A.,  George  W., 
Frederick  W.,  Susanna,  and  two  who  died  in  infancy. 

Isaac,  whose  life  is  briefly  reviewed  in  this  sketch, 
was  born  Aug.  20,  1808,  at  the  homestead  on  Philip's 
Manor.  The  first  six  years  of  his  life  were  spent  on 
the  farm,  after  which  he  removed  to  New  York.  A 
brief  period  having  been  spent  at  school,  he  began  a 
business  career,  first  as  clerk  for  his  father,  and  later 
at  King's  Bridge.  He  removed  to  Spottswood  in  1834, 
and  engaged  as  clerk  with  John  Appleby,  of  that  vil- 
lage. After  an  association  of  several  years,  in  which 
he  exhibited  a  marked  fidelity  to  the  interests  of  his 
employer,  he,  in  1847,  formed  a  copartnership  with  the 
latter's  son,  William  A.,  and  engaged  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  snuff.  He  has  from  that  time  to  the  present 
continued  the  business,  having  recently  admitted  his 
.son,  Augustus  A.,  to  a  partnership  in  the  enterprise. 

Mr.  De  Voe  was  married  in  18.39  to  Miss  Mary, 
daughter  of  John  Appleby,  of  Spottswood.  To  this 
union  were  born  twelve  children,  of  whom  two,  Wil- 
liam H.  H.  and  Augustus  A.,  survive  and  reside  in 
Spottswood. 

Mrs.  De  Voe  having  died  in  1866,  he  was  a  second 
time  married,  Dec.  26, 1871,  to  Miss  Ann,  daughter  of 
Henry  B.  Appleford,  who  was  of  English  extraction. 
Mr.  De  Voe  was  in  politics  formerly  a  Henry  Clay 
Whig,  but  later  changed  his  views  and  became  a 
Democrat.     He  does  not  seek  official  honors,  though 


782 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  has  been  filled  with 
ability  and  discretion  by  him.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  senior  warden 
of  St.  Peter's  Church  at  Spottswood.  Mr.  De  Voe  has 
attained  a  position  of  independence  and  influence 
entirely  by  his  own  force  of  character  and  industry, 
and  is  still  actively  identified  with  the  business  inter- 
ests of  Spottswood,  his  residence. 


LEONARD    APPLEBY. 

Mr.  Appleby's  life  presents  one  of  the  marked  ex- 
amples of  success  as  the  reward  of  indefatigable 
industry.  His  family  are  of  English  descent,  his 
grandfather  having  came  from  England  and  settled 
on  Williams  Manor,  Westchester  Co.,  N.  Y.  He  had 
a  numerous  offspring,  among  whom  was  James,  who 
located  in  New  York  and  later  removed  to  Middle- 
town,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.  He  married  a  Miss 
Crawford,  of  Westchester  County,  N.  Y.,  and  had  chil- 
dren,— William,  John,  and  Elizabeth.  By  a  second 
marriage  to  Miss  Sarah,  daughter  of  Obadiah  Her- 
bert, of  Mount  Pleasant,  Monmouth  Co.,  N.  J.,  who 
was  a  surveyor,  he  had  sons,  Leonard  and  James, 
both  of  whom  were  born  in  New  York  City.  The 
birth  of  their  son  Leonard  occurred  Oct.  4,  1798,  in 
Duane  Street,  New  York,  where  his  early  life  was 
spent.  He  enjoyed  but  limited  advantag&s  of  edu- 
cation, and  when  a  lad  engaged  as  clerk  in  a  grocery- 
store  on  the  corner  of  Morris  and  Greenwich  Streets, 
after  which  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  carpenter  in  the 
city  of  Brooklyn.  He  did  not,  however,  complete 
this  apprenticeship,  but  came  to  Old  Bridge,  Middle- 
sex Co.,  and  engaged  as  a  clerk  for  his  uncle,  Obadiah 
Herbert.  After  the  war  of  1812  he  embarked  with 
John  Appleby  as  a  dealer  in  groceries  at  White's 
Landing,  Middlesex  Co.  He  was,  on  the  24th  of  Oc- 
tober, 1821,  united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Ann  Amanda 
Fitzallen  Van  Wickle,  the  ceremony  having  been 
performed  by  Bishop  Cruse,  of  New  Jersey. 

Mrs.  Appleby  was  the  daughter  of  Jacob  and  Sarah 
Morgan  Van  Wickle,  of  Old  Bridge,  the  former  having 
been  for  fifty-three  years  judge  of  Middlesex  County. 
The  Morgans  were  of  Revolutionary  stock,  Mrs.  Van 
Wickle  having  been  a  niece  of  Gen.  Daniel  Morgan. 
Their  children  were  Stephen  Van  Wickle,  born  Nov. 
19,1822;  Leonard  Lafayette,  whose  birth  occurred 
Sept.  9.  1824;  Hyacynthia  Adeline,  born  Oct.  31, 
1826,  who  became  Mrs.  John  S.  Sutphen  ;  Sarah  Au- 
rora Morgan,  born  Oct.  18, 1828  (deceased),  who  mar- 
ried George  W.  Bampton ;  Malvenah,  born  Oct.  29, 
1830  (deceased) ;  Margaret,  born  Nov.  30,  1832,  now 
Mrs.  George  Helme;  Ann  Amanda,  born  July  11, 
1834  (decea.sed);  Jacob  Charles,  born  July  4,  1836; 
Remsen,  born  March  31, 1838 ;  Lyman,  born  Sept.  27, 
1839  (deceased) ;  and  Julia,  born  Aug.  26,  1842,  who 
became  Mrs.  John  Outcalt. 

In  connection  with  the  business  in  which  he  first 
engaged,  Mr.  Appleby  began  the  purchase  and  ship- 


ment of  wood,  having  secured  nearly  all  the  Forge 
lands,  of  which  George  C.  Thomas  was  the  agent. 
He  also  dealt  extensively  in  lime,  and  embarked  in 
the  manufacture  of  pottery  and  fanning-niills.  He 
began  soon  after  the  snuff  and  tobacco  business,  two 
miles  southwest  of  Spottswood,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Railroad  Mills,  a  portion  of  the  mills  erected 
by  him  being  still  in  use. 

Mr.  Appleby  in  1837  repaired  to  New  York  and 
engaged  with  William  Allison  in  the  business  of  dry- 
goods  under  the  style  of  Appleby  &  Allison.  Here 
he  remained  two  years,  after  which  he  resumed  the 
snuff  trade,  and  also  conducted  a  brokerage  business. 
He  was  at  this  time  a  considerable  owner  of  real 
estate,  and  largely  engaged  in  its  improvement  and  in 
the  erection  of  buildings.  In  1856  he  removed  to 
Spottswood,  and  having  made  extensive  purchases  of 
real  estate  at  Perth  Amboy  devoted  much  of  his  time 
to  the  improvement  or  sale  and  transfer  of  property 
at  this  point.  Mr.  Appleby  was  also  a  practical  en- 
gineer, which  knowledge  greatly  aided  him  in  his 
various  business  operations. 

In  politics  he  was  formerly  an  Old-Line  Whig,  but 
later  supported  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  and  for  the  re- 
mainder of  his  life  continued  a  Democrat.  He  was 
a  strong  party  man,  but  without  official  aspirations. 
He  was  a  man  of  integrity  in  all  business  transac- 
tions, and  in  the  panic  of  1837-38  met  every  obliga- 
tion, as  he  did  on  all  subsequent  occasions.  The 
death  of  Leonard  Appleby  occurred  March  17,  1879, 
at  Spottswood,  in  his  eighty-second  year.  Here  an 
imposing  monument  marks  his  last  resting-place,  the 
site  being  adjacent  to  St.  Peter's  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church,  of  which  he  was  a  cordial  supporter. 


COL.  LEONARD   L.  F.  APPLEBY. 

Col.  Appleby  is  the  grandson  of  James  Appleby, 
and  the  son  of  Leonard  Appleby  and  his  wife,  Sarah 
Herbert.  An  extended  sketch  of  the  former  appears 
elsewhere  in  this  volume,  and  renders  repetition  here 
unnecessary.  He  was  a  man  of  remarkable  business 
capacity,  and  transmitted  these  qualities  in  a  marked 
degree  to  his  children. 

The  birth  of  his  son,  Leonard  L.  F.,  occurred 
Sept.  9, 1824,  at  Old  Bridge,  Middlesex  County,  where 
the  years  of  his  boyhood  were  spent.  After  such  ad- 
vantages as  were  offered  at  the  district  schools  of  the 
township,  he  engaged  with  his  father  in  business  as  a 
clerk,  having  begun  this  active  career  at  the  age  of 
seventeen. 

After  a  faithful  service  of  four  years  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  a  partnership  with  him  in  the  snuff  busi- 
ness and  removed  to  New  York  City,  where  this 
branch  of  industry  was  conducted.  From  that  date 
until  the  day  of  his  death  the  business  relations  of 
father  and  son  were  most  intimate.  They  were  joint 
owners  of  property  and  together  engaged  in  various 
commercial  transactions. 


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EAST   BRUNSWICK. 


783 


Col.  Appleby  was,  on  the  27th  of  January,  1847, 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Harriet  Amanda,  daugh- 
ter of  John  Appleby,  of  Spottswood,  N.  J.,  the  cere- 
mony having  been  performed  at  St.  Peter's  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  Spottswood,  by  Eev.  Alfred  Stubbs, 
of  New  Brunswick,  N.  J.  To  this  marriage  were 
born  children, — Leonard,  whose  birth  occurred  April 
30,  1849,  in  Spottswood ;  Charles  Edgar,  born  in  New 
York,  Aug.  2,  1850,  and  who  died  Dec.  30,  1851; 
Sarah  Farrington,  born  at  Old  Bridge,  Oct.  27,  1855, 
and  now  Mrs.  William  Sawyer,  of  Spottswood. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Appleby  having  occurred  Dec. 
23,  1867,  the  colonel  was  again  married  on  the  16th 
of  July,  1872,  to  Miss  Georgianua  Jackson,  grand- 
daughter of  Moses  Wilcox,  of  New  Brunswick,  J^.  J. 
This  marriage  was  also  solemnized  by  Rev.  Alfred 
Stubbs. 

The  politics  of  Col.  Appleby  were  formerly  of  the 
school  of  Old-Liue  Whigs,  but  subsequent  events 
changed  his  views  and  caused  him  to  espouse  the 
platform  of  the  Democratic  party,  which  he  still  in- 
dorses. He  is  not  an  aspirant  for  official  honors, 
which  have  been  frequently  offered  him,  but  has  nev- 
ertheless been  twice  elected  justice  of  the  peace  of 
his  township,  which  office  he  still  holds.  He  has 
been  identified  with  the  militia  of  the  State,  and  has 
served  on  the  staffs  of  both  Governors  Charles  S. 
Olden  and  Theodore  F.  Randolph.  He  still  mani- 
fests an  active  interest  in  the  politics  of  the  county 
and  State,  and  frequently  participates  in  the  various 
campaigns  to  the  extent  of  exerting  his  influence  in 
favor  of  all  measures  for  the  public  welfare.  Though 
practically  a  gentleman  of  leisure,  he  is  identified 
with  the  business  interests  of  Spottswood,  and  the 
owner  of  an  extensive  shirt-factory,  of  which  his  son 
Leonard  is  manager.  The  colonel  is  iu  his  religious 
preferences  an  Episcopalian,  though  he  and  his  father 
were  the  principal  contributors  towards  the  erection 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  village. 
The  cause  of  morality  and  religion,  irrespective  of 
denomination,  finds  in  him  a  cordial  helper  and 
friend.  

HON.  ANDREW  J.  DISBROW. 
The  present  incumbent  of  the  office  of  sheriff  of 
Middlesex  County,  Hon.  A.  J.  Disbrow,  is  of  sturdy 
English  stock.  His  grandfather,  John  Disbrow,  was 
a  farmer,  residing  in  Matchaponix,  Middlesex  Co., 
and  served  with  the  New  Jersey  light-horse  cav- 
alry at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  during  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  after  which  he  with  others  was  detailed 
to  bury  those  who  had  fallen  in  that  sanguinarj- 
encounter.  He  was  married  to  Susanna  Morgan,  of 
South  Amboy,  sister  of  Gen.  James  Morgan,  and 
granddaughter  of  Nicholas  Everson.     Their  children  , 


were  Daniel,  who  died  unmarried,  Nicholas  Morgan, 
James  Morgan,  Charles  Morgan,  Hannah  (Mrs.  Wil- 
liam I.  Dey),  Catherine  (Mrs.  Peter  Burlew),and  Elsie 
(Mrs.  Alfred  Letts). 

Nicholas  Morgan,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  was  born  at  Matchaponix,  N.  J.,  in  1783,  and 
in  early  life  removed  to  Matawan,  N.  J.,  where  he  ac- 
quired the  trade  of  a  hatter.  There  he  married  Mary, 
daughter  of  Cornelius  P.  Vanderhoef,  and  a  descend- 
ant of  the  Hun  family,  who  then  occupied  a  position 
of  much  prominence  in  the  State. 

Their  children  are  Stephen  M.,  a  physician  residing 
at  Farmingdale,  N.  J. ;  Andrew  J.  ;  John  N.,  living 
at  Matawan  ;  Peter  C,  also  at  Matawan;  Edwin  C, 
of  Ocean  Grove ;  Mary  (Mrs.  John  W.  Denyse),  de- 
ceased ;  Delia  Ann  (Mrs  Charles  Fardon),  of  Holm- 
del,  N.  J.;  Catherine  (Mrs.  Richard  Van  Brackel) ; 
and  Edwin  C.  and  Phebe,  who  died  in  infancy. 

Andrew  J.  was  born  Feb.  29,  1816,  at  Matawan, 
N.  J.  His  active  career  was  begun  as  clerk  in  the 
post-office  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  also  as  assistant 
in  a  book-store.  He  removed  in  1834  to  Old  Bridge, 
!  as  clerk  for  Leonard  Appleby,  with  whom  he  re- 
[  mained  six  years,  after  which  he  succeeded  to  the 
'  business.  He  then  acquired  a  knowledge  of  survey- 
ing and  conveyancing,  in  which  he  has  been  engaged 
during  his  active  business  career.  He  was  married  in 
1835  to  Miss  Susan,  daughter  of  James  Brown,  who 
died  soon  after,  and  Mr.  Disbrow  was  again  married 
to  Miss  Margaret  R.,  daughter  of  Mahlon  G.  Searle, 
of  Philadelphia.  They  have  had  children, — Mary 
(Mrs.  Joseph  A.  Charlton),  Sarah  (Mrs.  S.  W.  South), 
Stephen  M.,  Euretta,  deceased,  and  one  who  died  in 
infancy. 

When  a  lad  Mr.  Disbrow  was  a  fearless  champion 
of  the  Democracy,  though' he  later  became  a  Whig, 
from  which  resulted  his  indorsement  of  the  principles 
of  the  Republican  party. 

He  has  been  actively  identified  with  politics  during 
the  whole  of  his  life,  having  been  postmaster  at  Old 
Bridge,  N.  J.,  for  a  period  of  forty-six  years,  which 
commission  he  still  holds.  He  has  also  served  for 
forty-two  years  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  has  for 
years  been  commissioner  of  deeds  for  the  township. 

Mr.  Disbrow  held  for  five  years  the  honorable  posi- 
tion of  judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  at 
present  fills  the  office  of  sheriff  of  the  county  of  Mid- 
dlesex. His  excellent  judgment  and  marked  probity 
make  his  services  much  sought  in  the  settlement  of 
estates  and  in  the  duties  devolving  upon  trustees  and 
guardians. 

]Mr.  Disbrow  is  in  his  religious  preferences  a  Bap- 
tist. He  contributed  liberally  towards  the  erection  of 
the  Baptist  Church  at  Old  Bridge,  and  has  served  as 
a  member  of  its  board  of  trustees. 


784 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHAPTER   C. 


SOUTH  BRUNSWICK.l 


Situation  and  Boundaries.— South  Brunswick  is 
located  in  the  southwestern  part  of  Middlesex  County. 
Its  boundaries  are  formed  by  North  Brunswick  and 
East  Brunswick  on  the  north,  East  Brunswick,  Mon- 
roe, and  Cranbury  on  the  east,  Cranbury  and  West 
Windsor  (Mercer  County)  on  the  south,  and  Prince- 
ton (Mercer  County)  and  Franklin  (Somerset  County) 
on  the  west. 

Descriptive. — The  most  extensive  township  in  the 
county  and  one  of  the  earlier  in  organization.  South 
Brunswick  has  long  been  historically  one  of  the  most 
important  of  those  lying  south  of  the  Raritan.  Its 
nearness  to  Princeton  and  Trenton  caused  its  territory 
to  be  occupied  early,  and  the  passage  through  it  of  the 
"  straight"  or  Trenton  turnpike  and  the  more  serpen- 
tine George's  road,  now  known  as  the  New  Brun.swick 
and  Cranbury  turnpike,  have  rendered  its  rolling  sur- 
face long  familiar  to  the  travelers  from  New  Bruns- 
wick southward.  Friendship  road  and  Ridge  road  are 
much  traveled  thoroughfares  in  the  southern  part. 
The  great  ditch  in  the  northeastern  part  is  evidence 
of  time  and  money  expended  in  the  drainage  of  Pigeon 
Swamp,  an  extensive  tract  of  marshland,  long  unre- 
claimed, and  the  "  Indian  Fields,"  near  the  south- 
eastern corner,  mark  the  location  of  an  Indian  en- 
campment when  settlement  begun. 

The  township  is  drained  by  Lawrence's  Brook, 
which  rises  in  the  northern  part,  by  Devil's  Brook  in 
the  southwestern,  and  Heathcote's  Brook  in  the  west- 
ern part,  the  latter  two  emptying  into  the  Millstone 
River,  which  flows  for  some  distance  along  its  south- 
ern and  western  boundary. 

The  soil  is  good  tillable  land,  abounding  in  difierent 
places  in  gravel,  and  containing  much  sandy  and 
clayey  loam. 

The  New  York  Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road traverses  the  township  north  and  south,  and  at 
Monmouth  Junction,  a  little  west  of  the  centre,  con- 
nects with  the  Rocky  Hill  Railroad  and  the  Western 
Extension  of  the  Freehold  and  Jamesburg  Railroad. 

The  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal  has  its  course,  in 
a  north  and  south  direction,  across  the  extreme  west- 
ern portion  of  the  township,  parallel  with  the  Mill- 
stone, which  it  crosses  by  an  aqueduct  near  Gray's 
Mills. 

In  1880  the  value  of  real  estate  in  South  Bruns- 
wick was  $1,280,966.  The  personal  property  was 
valued  at  $257,958.  The  total  taxable  valuation  was 
$1,366,000.     The  number  of  voters  was  675. 

In  1840  the  poi)ulation  was  2795;  in  1850,  3389; 
in  1880,  2803. 

Settlement. — The  location  of  South  Brunswick 
near  Trenton  and  other  old  towns  west  and  south, 

1  By  M.  0.  Kolfe. 


and  the  passage  through  it  of  the  roads  traversed 
from  Amboy  and  New  Brunswick  south  and  south- 
west, and  early  and  long  the  principal  stage-routes  of 
this  section  of  the  State,  were  conducive  to  its  early 
settlement.  Along  the  stage-routes  taverns  were  at  a 
remote  date  established  at  Rhode  Hall,  at  Dayton, 
and  at  Kingston,  and  about  these  houses  of  public 
entertainment  settlements  gradually  grew  up,  which 
in  time  extended  in  all  directions,  until  the  township 
became  generally  populated.  After  the  tavern-keepers 
it  is  thought  that  blacksmiths  and  wheelwrights  were 
the  next  to  locate  at  the  "  stage-houses"  they  had 
established,  the  large  number  of  stages  and  horses 
used  in  the  passenger  transportation,  in  constant  need 
respectively  of  reshoeing  and  repairs,  giving  them 
them  ample  employment.  At  Rhode  HalP  the  pioneer 
inn-keeper  was  David  Williamson,  from  bonnie  Scot- 
land, who  bestowed  upon  the  locality  the  appellation 
by  which  it  has  since  been  known,  and  gathered  about 
him  a  little  settlement  of  people,  most  of  whom  were 
Scotch  by  birth  or  descent. 

Williamson  came  as  early  as  1730,  and  purchased 
a  large  tract  of  land.  He  had  three  daughters, — 
Mary,  who  married  George  Thompson  and  removed 
to  New  Brunswick,  and  after  his  death  returned  to 
Rhode  Hall,  and  becoming  the  wife  of  Thomas  Mc- 
Dowell lived  and  died  there;  Lydia,  who  married 
Stephen  Jones  and  resided  at  Clarksville,  N.  J. ;  and 
Ann,  who  married  James  Schureman,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. 

(1)  Thomas  McDowell  located  at  Rhode  Hall  in 
1774,  and  purchasing  the  estate  of  David  Williamson 
engaged  in  farming  and  tavern-keeping.  He  was 
twice  married,  first  to  Mary  Williamson,  a  daughter 
of  David,  and  after  her  death  to  Catharine  Lott,  and 
had  four  sons, — Andrew,  George  T.,  John,  and 
Thomas.  (2)  Andrew  married  Ann  Wetherill  and 
settled  at  Dayton.  (3)  George  T.  married  Rachel 
Gulick,  and  bought  and  lived  on  the  McDowell  home- 
stead, and  was  a  somewhat  extensive  farmer.  His 
children  were  Emeline,  James,  Thomas,  Catherine, 
Andrew,  Elizabeth,  Mary,  Susan,  and  Agnes.  Eme- 
line married  Jacob  Owens,  from  New  York,  and  set- 
tled at  Rhode  Hall ;  James,  Amelia  Freeman,  loca- 
ting and  dying  in  New  Brunswick  ;  Thomas,  Jane  L. 
Martin,  of  Washington,  where  he  is  now  living; 
Catharine,  Israel  H.  Voorhees,  of  New  Brunswick ; 
Andrew,  Mary  Ann  Conover,  locating  on  a  portion  of 
the  family  homestead;  Mary,  Isaac  S.  Bennett,  now 
a  resident  on  part  of  the  homestead ;  Susan,  first, 
Reed  Slover,  and  second,  Daniel  Griggs ;  and  Agnes, 
Samuel  Applegate,  living  in  Ohio.  Elizabeth  re- 
cently died  unmarried. 

Simmons  Smock,  who  married  Lydia  Schenck,  of 
New  Brunswick,  located  early  at  Rhode  Hall,  and  en- 
gaged in  farming  and  later  in  tavern-keeping,  opening 


3  For  an  accoUDt  of  settlers  at  Kbode  Hall  not  here  mentioned,  see 
the  history  of  Monroe.  The  name  Rhode  Ilall  is  applied  to  considerable 
territory  surrounding  the  original  settlement. 


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SOUTH   BRUNSWICK. 


r85 


the  well-remembered  "Stage  Hall  House,"  now  kept 
by  his  son,  John  Smock.  He  had  two  sons,  James 
and  John,  and  three  daughters.  James  married 
Rachel  Gulick,  and  lives  on  the  homestead.  John, 
the  hotel-keeper,  married  Emeline  Gulick.  One  of 
the  daughters,  Catharine  Ann,  married  and  located 
in  New  Brunswick. 

Jehu  Pierson,  a  farmer,  settled  in  the  Rhode  Hall 
neighborhood  about  1760.  He  married  Maria  Van- 
derhoof,  and  had  children  named  John  Cornelius, 
Peter,  Ellen,  and  William.  John  located  at  Wash- 
ington, in  East  Brunswick.  Cornelius  married  and 
remained  at  Rhode  Hall  and  reared  a  family.  John, 
his  son,  resides  on  the  homestead.  Peter  was  a  farmer 
at  Rhode  Hall,  where  he  married  and  had  several 
children.  Ellen  died  unmarried.  William  was  a 
farmer,  and  lived  and  died  at  Rhode  Hall.  Another 
settler  in  this  vicinity  was  John  Probasco,  a  carpen- 
ter, who  came  about  1775,  married  there,  and  had 
children  named  Letitia,  Sarah,  John,  and  Maria,  and 
died  there  about  1835. 

About  1774,  Farrington  Barkelew  was  a  settler  at 
Rhode  Hall,  where  he  became  an  extensive  land- 
owner. His  children  were  John,  William,  Sarah, 
Daniel,  and  Elizabeth.  William  married  Rachel  Mc- 
Dowell, and  removed  to  Cranbury  ;  Sarah  became  the 
wife  of  Richard  Slover,  of  Rhode  Hall,  and  bore  him 
children  named  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Farrington  B.,  and 
William  R.  Slover ;  Daniel  lived  on  the  old  place 
and  never  married ;  Elizabeth  married  Cornelius 
Slover.  Their  children  were  named  Mary,  Margaret, 
John  P.,  and  WoodhuU. 

In  the  same  vicinity  Reuben  Van  Pelt  located  as 
early  as  1774.  He  was  a  farmer,  and  married  a  Miss 
Griggs,  and  had  children  named  Gilbert,  John,  Isaac, 
Sarah,  Letitia,  and  Mary.  None  of  his  descendants 
are  living  in  the  township. 

About  1800,  Benjamin  Petty,  from  Long  Island, 
N.Y.,  located  at  Rhode  Hall,  and  was  a  farmer.  His 
children  were  Isaac,  Benjamin,  Absalom,  Charity, 
James,  Jason,  and  John.  The  family  became  scat- 
tered, and  none  of  them  now  live  in  the  township. 
Benjamin  Petty  and  his  wife  both  died  in  South 
Brunswick  within  a  week,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two, 
there  being  only  fifteen  days'  difference  in  their  ages. 

The  Van  Dyke  family  settled  here  before  the  Revo- 
lution and  were  numerous.  One  of  them,  John  Van 
Dyke,  a  farmer,  married  Catharine  Reed,  of  Mon- 
mouth County.  He  had  children  named  Sarah,  Cath- 
arine, Henry,  and  Richard  Reid.  The  daughters 
married  and  removed  from  the  township.  The  sons 
remained  on  the  homestead  and  became  well  known. 

William  Rue  was  a  farmer  at  Rhode  Hall  at  a  com- 
paratively early  date,  and  died  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five. 

John  Rue  lived  in  the  township  during  the  Revo- 
lution it  is  supposed. 

The  pioneer  inn-keeper  at  Dayton  was  James  Whit- 
lock,  who  was  there  as  early  as  1750,  and  later  sold 


out  to  John  Barricklo.  The  Terhune  family  were 
early  settlers  in  that  locality,  and  are  supposed  to 
have,  some  of  them,  been  there  as  early  as  1700,  if  not 
earlier.  However,  there  is  no  means  of  ascertaining 
the  date  of  their  arrival.  The  earliest  record  of  the 
family  to  be  found  is  in  the  family  Bible,  where  Gar- 
ret Terhune  is  stated  to  have  been  born,  as  is  thought, 
in  South  Brunswick,  as  now  defined,  in  1737.  This 
relic  of  the  past  is  one  of  the  old-fashioned  kind, 
bearing  evidences  of  many  years'  use,  and  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  Abraham  Terhune,  a  grandson  of 
Garret's,  now  advanced  in  life,  and  in  whose  family 
his  sister,  Mary  Ann,  is  living,  unmarried,  aged  about 
eighty.  Garret  Terhune  was  the  owner  of  a  large 
tract  of  land  near  Dayton,  some  of  which  was  after 
his  death  owned  by  his  descendants.  He  married 
Ellen  Hoagland,  who  bore  him  children,  as  follows: 
John,  Abraham,  Cornelius,  Garret,  Isaac,  Alchia, 
Helen,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  and  Catharine.  Besides  the 
facts  above  stated  little  can  be  learned  of  the  Ter- 
hunes  except  that  John  died  many  years  ago ;  Abra- 
ham married  Mary  Van  Pelt ;  Cornelius  married  and 
removed  to  Princeton  ;  Garret  died,  unmarried,  at 
Dayton ;  Isaac  married  Jane  McDowell  and  lived 
near  the  old  homestead ;  and  that  the  children  of 
Abraham  were  Mary  Ann,  Eliza  Jane,  Garret,  and 
Abraham,  of  whom  Eliza  Jane  married  M.  R.  Ander- 
son, of  Dayton,  and  after  his  death  removed  to  and 
is  living  at  Spottswood,  while  Garret  died  unmarried, 
and  Abraham  married  Sarah  McDowell,  and  is  a 
hotel-keeper  at  Dayton. 

At  Kingston  settlement  began  very  early,  and  the 
names  of  few  of  the  pioneers  can  be  learned.  With- 
ington  and  Vantilburgh  were  the  early  landlords 
there.  Vantilburgh's  house  was  often  honored  by 
visits  from  Washington  and  the  early  Governors  of 
the  province,  and  Withington's  was  a  great  stage 
depot,  and  was  one  of  the  most  famous  inns  in  East 
New  Jersey.  There  was  a  church  in  this  settlement 
as  early  as  1723,  but  it  was  not  in  the  present  county 
of  Middlesex,  and  Vantilburgh's  was  also  across  the 
line  in  Somerset  County. 

As  early  as  1700  (1)  Jediah  Higgins  located  near 
Kingston,  on  the  road  from  New  Brunswick  to  Bor- 
dentown,  purchasing  one  thousand  acres  of  land  of 
the  Indians  for  the  amazingly  low  price  of  a  sow  and 
a  litter  of  pigs.  It  seems  inconceivable  that  the 
noble  red  men  should  have  parted  with  so  much  soil 
for  such  a  compensation.  It  may  be  that  pork  was 
scarce  with  them  that  year,  or  they  may  have  known 
where  some  one  had  some  red  cloth  and  brass  gew- 
gaws to  barter  for  a  small  herd  of  swine.  If  it  could 
be  ascertained  that  they  had  such  a  speculation  as 
this  in  mind  the  wonder  would  not  be  so  great.  That 
an  Indian  should,  in  a  country  full  of  game,  sell  land 
enough  to  make  four  or  five  respectable  farms  for  not 
enough  pork  to  make  a  mouthful  around  at  one  tribal 
pow-wow  seems  incredible.  If  a  bottle  of  the  good 
old-fashioned    unadulterated   whiskv    which  is  said 


786 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


to  liave  been  plentiful  with  the  pioneers  had  been  the 
price  offered,  any  account  of  the  transaction  would 
be  received  as  a  matter  of  course  by  the  average 
reader  with  even  a  traditional  knowledge  of  the  In- 
dian's love  for  "  fire-water." 

The  sons  of  Jediah  Higgins  were  named  Joshua, 
Jediah,  and  Joseph.  Joseph  and  Jediah  removed  to 
Huntingdon  and  Monmouth  Counties  respectively. 
(1)  Joshua  married  and  remained  on  the  homestead 
in  South  Brunswick,  rearing  a  family  of  children 
named  Samuel,  Jediah,  Mary,  and  Tunis.  (2)  Sam- 
uel married  Rebecca  Friese,  and  located  near  his 
father,  having  children  named  Samuel,  Jr.,  James, 
Sarah,  Stout,  and  Jediah.  (3)  Jediah  married  a  Miss 
Putnam,  and  (4)  Mary  a  member  of  the  Gulick 
family,  both  living  near  Kingston.  (5)  Tunis  was 
killed  by  accident  at  New  Brunswick  while  in  the 
line  of  march  as  a  member  of  a  military  company 
during  the  last  war  with  Great  Britain.  Accounts 
differ  as  to  how  the  accident  occurred.  Samuel,  Jr., 
son  of  Samuel,  married  Sarah  Selover,  and  is  living 
in  South  Brunswick ;  James,  also  a  resident  of  the 
township,  married  Catherine  Van  Pelt,  and  after  her 
death  Margaret  Smith.  Sarah  married  Alexander 
Cook  ;  Stout,  Catharine  Brown  ;  and  Jediah,  Elmira 
Fisk,  and  all  three  removed  to  Somerset  County. 

Near  Plainsboro,  (1)  Matthew  Griggs  was  a  resident 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century.  His  children 
were  Matthew,  Thomas,  William,  Sarah,  Susan,  Julia 
Ann,  and  David.  (2)  Matthew  was  a  hatter  by  trade. 
After  conducting  a  hat  manufacturing  business  for  a 
time  at  Princeton  he  removed  to  Ohio.  (3)  Thomas 
married  Catharine  Opdyke,  and  settled  midway  be- 
tween Dayton  and  Plainsboro'.  (4)  William  married 
a  Miss  Stout,  and  removed  from  this  section.  (5) 
Sarah  married  and  went  away.  (6)  Susan  died  in 
Indiana.  (7)  Julia  Ann  removed  to  New  York  State 
and  died  there.  (8)  David  married  Ann  McDonald, 
and  lived  near  Dayton.  The  children  of  Thomas 
were  E.  M.,  William,  Charles  H.,  Matthew,  Johnson, 
Thomas,  Julia  Ann,  and  David.  E.  M.  Griggs  mar- 
ried Ruth  Dean,  and  removed  to  Mercer  County. 
William  married  Isabel  Dean,  and  emigrated  to  Illi- 
nois. Charles  H.  married  Elizabeth  Longstreet,  and 
lives  in  Cranbury.  Matthew  married  a  Miss  Misser- 
oU,  and  is  a  farmer  in  South  Brunswick  with  a  large 
family.  Johnson,  Julia,  and  David  removed  to  Illi- 
nois. Thomas  married  into  the  Misserol!  family,  and 
resides  near  Dayton.  James  and  Benjamin  Griggs 
located  in  the  township  prior  to  or  during  the  Revo- 
lution. 

In  1780,  John  McCabe  located  at  Plainsboro',  and 
established  himself  as  a  tiller  of  the  soil.  He 
married  Lydia  Woodward,  who  bore  him  two  chil- 
dren, who  were  named  Apollo  and  Saraii.  Apollo 
married  Sarah  Bunting,  and  lived  on  a  part  of  his 
father's  farm.  Lydia,  John,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Sarah, 
George,  William,  and  Zedekiah  were  his  children. 
Lydia  married  Charles  Blake,  and  removed  to  East 


Brunswick.  John  married  Deborah  Clayton,  and 
lives  near  the  place  of  his  birth.  Mary  married 
Edward  Cromwell,  and  removed  to  Trenton,  later 
returning  to  Plainsboro',  where  he  died.  Elizabeth 
and  Sarah  never  married.  The  former  is  dead  ;  the 
latter  lives  in  Cranbury.  George,  unmarried,  lives 
on  the  homestead.  William  married  Margaret  So- 
den,  and  lives  at  Dayton.  Zedekiah  lives  at  Plains- 
boro'. Sarah,  daughter  of  John  and  sister  of  Apollo 
McCabe,  died  young. 

A  family  of  Claytons  have  been  quite  numerous  in 
the  township.  It  is  thought  the  first  of  the  name 
there  was  John  Clayton,  soon  after  the  Revolution. 

Robert  Davison  was  an  early  comer  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  north  of  Plainsboro',  where  he  purchased 
an  extensive  tract  of  land  and  reared  a  somewhat 
numerous  family.  Many  of  his  descendants  are  resi- 
dents of  South  Brunswick  and  adjoining  townships. 

At  Fresh  Ponds  Samuel  Combs  was  a  settler  about 
1780,  buying  much  land  and  setting  up  what  was 
doubtless  the  first  distillery  in  the  township.  His 
sons,  Jonathan,  John,  and  James,  became  well  known. 
John  located  at  Washington,  in  East  Brunswick,  and 
became  a  merchant  and  leading  business  man  there. 
Later  he  lived  for  a  time  in  New  York  City,  remov- 
ing thence  to  Old  Bridge,  in  East  Brunswick,  where 
he  was  for  some  little  time  manufacturing  lime.  His 
wife  was  a  Miss  Jaques.  Jonathan  was  a  farmer 
near  his  father,  and  James  resided  upon  the  home- 
stead. It  is  more  than  probable  that  Samuel  Combs 
was  not  the  first  of  the  name  to  locate  in  the  county, 
and  possible  that  John  Combs,  who  was  a  chosen  free- 
holder in  North  Brunswick  in  1780  and  a  justice  of 
the  peace  1778-98,  and  Jonathan  Combs,  who  was  a 
justice  of  the  peace  1785-98,  were  his  brothers,  if  they 
were  not  of  a  generation  earlier.  At  least  the  iden- 
tity of  their  Christian  names  with  those  of  two  of 
Samuel's  sons  and  the  unvarying  orthography  of  the 
surname  would  justify  such  a  supposition.  Isaac  and 
Daniel  Slover  were  early  in  the  township.  They 
were  Holland  Dutchmen,  and  came  about  1785,  then 
young  men.  Isaac  married  Ann  Grigg  and  had  chil- 
dren named  James,  John,  Abraham,  Isaac,  Peter,  and 
Sarah.  John  died  unmarried.  Abraham  was  twice 
married,  the  last  time  to  a  Miss  Abrahams.  Peter 
married  Miss  Vanderveer,  and  Sarah,  Alexander  Sne- 
diker,  and  toth  lived  in  the  township.  Daniel  Slover 
married  Mary  Vanderhoof,  and  had  children  named 
Peter,  James,  Daniel  Crommelin,  and  Mary,  none  of 
whom  live  in  the  township. 

George  Wrightmire  had  located  here  before  the 
Revolution.  Many  of  the  same  family  name  are  to 
be  found  in  this  and  adjoining  townships  at  this  time. 

Such  particulars  have  been  given  as  are  obtainable 
at  this  date  regarding  the  early  settlers  of  South 
Brunswick  and  their  families.  Below  appear  the 
names  of  persons  who  were  residents  of  the  township 
during  the  Revolution,  and  who  claimed  to  have  sus- 
tained loss  or  damage  to  property  in  consequence  of 


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SOUTH  BRUNSWICK. 


787 


the  war,  for  which  they  sought  reimbursement  from 
government  at  a  subsequent  date,  each  one  swearing 
to  a  bill  in  detail  which  footed  up  to  the  amount  set 
opposite  his  or  her  name.  Some  of  the  persons 
named  were  members  of  families  already  mentioned, 
and  of  many  of  them  no  inhabitant  of  the  township 
at  this  time  has  any  knowledge.  The  property  dam- 
aged and  destroyed  was  mostly  outbuildings  and 
fences,  and  that  carried  away  consisted  of  cattle, 
swine,  sheep,  and  household  stores,  including  cooked 
food  and  such  movable  property  as  soldiers  marching 
or  foraging  through  the  country  would  be  likely  to 
confiscate  for  their  immediate  personal  convenience 
and  benefit ;  for  it  is  related  that  many  a  red  Brit- 
isher and  many  a  hungry  patriot  sat  down  to  dinners 
to  which  they  had  never  been  invited  in  South  Bruns- 
wick, and  ate  many  a  roasted  fowl  and  many  an  ear  of 
roasted  corn  stolen  from  the  scattered  settlers  along 
the  roads  through  the  township,  which  delicacies 
were  prepared  for  consumption  over  fires  made  of  the 
settlers'  fences  or  sticks  abstracted  without  undue 
ceremony  from  their  wood-piles. 

The  following  are  the  names  of  the  claimants,  with 
the  amount  claimed  by  each,  expressed  in  pounds, 
shillings,  and  pence : 


81  14    0 


John  Morton 

Robert  Nixon,... 
James  Patten  — 

George  Wrightmire 6    0  0 

.John  Rue 76    0  0 

Margaret  Simpson 40  17  6 

Jacob  Skillman 70     8  13 

JohnSuediker 2  15  0 

Isaac  Snediker 10    0  0 

Thomas  StillweU 44    2  3 

John  Story,  Jr 3    0  0 

Peter  Stothoff 68  15  0 

Peter  Stults 8    2  0 

John  Sunderland 25  12  6 

Isaac  Van  Aradalen 24    0  4 

John  Van  Dyke 201  19  6 

Jacob  Van  Dyke 131   12  0 

Isaac  Van  Dyke 9  10  0 

Matthew  Van  Dyke 15    8  6 

Matthias  Van  Dyke 115  13  6 

John  Van  Dykei 2    7  7 

John  Van  Tine 62  15  0 

So|>hia  Van  Tine 14    8  0 

Ephraim  Van  Tine 39    1  4 

Henry  Wagner 3  13  1 

John  Wetherell 11     8  9 

Thomas  Wetherell 70    9  0 


James  Abrahams 23  17  4 

Robert  Armstrong *  4  12  u 

John  Bayles,  Sr 13  13  0 

Joliu  Bayles,  Jr 15  15  0 

Jolin  Bickner 4    0  0 

Nicholas  Britton 30    0  0 

Capt.  David  Chambers...  14  16  7 

Abraham  Cruser 57  10  0 

William  Davison 45    0  0 

Cornelius  DeHart 24    0  0 

James  DeBow 54  12  6 

Peter  DeWitt 6  19  0 

■William  Dunn  1 38  11  12 

James  Gn^gs 21     G  6 

Benjamin  Giigg 15    0  0 

John  Groendike 11    4  0 

John  Gulick 4    7  0 

Formant  Gulick.  36    9  6 

Joachim  Gulick 116 

Barnet  Hagerinan 24    0  0 

James  Higgins 30    1  0 

Joshua  Higgins 36  19  0 

Jediah  Higgins 17  16  0 

William  Hiller 26    7  5 

Joel  Jobs 75  11  4 

Aaron  Longstreet,  Jr....  34  10  9 

Benjamin  Luker 7  12  6 

Mary  McCullongh 6  15  6 

Organization, — Erected  as  au  independent  town- 
ship at  a  period  nearly  contemporary  with  the  organi- 
zation of  its  sister  townships.  North  Brunswick  and 
South  Amboy,  South  Brunswick  formerly  ranked  in 
size  with  the  largest  townships  in  this  section.  Its 
area  was  reduced  in  1872  by  the  formation  from  its 
territory  of  a  portion  of  Cranbury.  From  its  extreme 
eastern  point  to  its  extreme  western  point  it  measures 
about  eleven  miles.  Its  greatest  length  north  and 
south  is  a  little  more  than  eight  miles. 

Civil  List. — An  act  was  passed  by  the  Senate  and 
General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  in  1841  authorizing 
the  inhabitants  of  South  Brunswick  to  vote  by  ballot 
at  township-meetings.  Previous  to  that  date  the 
voters  met  and  appointed  a  moderator,  who  conducted 

1  Resident  in  what  is  now  Cranbury  township. 


the  election  by  standing  a  candidate  in  a  conspicuous 
place  and  demanding  that  such  voters  as  were  in  favor 
of  his  election  to  a  specified  office  should  station 
themselves  on  a  given  side  of  the  road,  and  those  op- 
posed to  his  being  so  elected  upon  the  opposite  side. 
The  fate  of  the  candidate  was  decided  by  an  enumer- 
ation by  the  moderator  of  his  adherents  and  oppo- 
nents, and  his  choice  or  defeat  was  duly  declared. 
This  method  of  voting  was  locally  known  as  "  run- 
ning ofl"." 

The  following  list  of  the  freeholders  representing 
South  Brunswick  from  1778  to  1881,  inclusive,  was 
extracted  with  much  labor  from  the  records  of  the 
Middlesex  County  board  of  chosen  freeholders  at 
New  Brunswick : 


David  Williamson,  1778-85,  1788- 

91,1793-97. 
Joachim  Gulick,  17S0-S2. 
William  Williamson,  1778. 
James  Abrahams,  1782. 
John  Wetherly,  1784,  1785,  1788. 
John  Wetherell,  1783, 1786-92. 
Andrew  McDowell,  1793, 1794, 1798, 

1799,  1800-10,  1812-24,  1827-35. 
John  Bailey,  1796, 1797. 
Christopher  Longstreet,  1798, 1800, 

1801. 
Aaron  Longstreet,  1801-10,  1812. 
Andrew  Rowan,  1811. 
Ellison  Ely,  1811, 

John  Kev ,  1813-18, 

Abraham  Gulick,  1819-24. 
Samuel  Gulick,  1825-30, 
Joseph  McChesney,  1825,1826, 
Isaac  Storey,  1831-36, 
John  T.  McDowell,  1836-42, 
Abraham  Cruser,  1837^0. 


Dean    Britton,    1841-i6,    1850-54, 

1859,  1863. 
Thomas   S,   Snediker,   1843,   1844, 

1851-54, 
John    I,    Davison,   1S44-50,   1855, 

1856, 1860-62,  1864,  1865. 
Elias  W,  Conover,  1847^9. 
Andrew  McDowell,  1855-62, 1866. 
William  G,  Bayles,  1857, 1858, 
Elias  Dey,  1863-08, 
James  Scudder,  1867-70. 
Aaron  Dean,  1869-72, 
John  Smock,  1871,  1872, 
Gabriel  M,  Tenbroeck,  1873. 
Thomas  W,  Schenck,  1873,  1874, 

1880,  1881. 
Isaac  S  Snediker,  1874,  1875. 
C,  M.  Slack,  1875,  1876. 
Frederick  Farr,  1876. 
John  L,  Suydani,  1877,  1878. 
David  D.  Applegate,  1878,  1879. 


JUSTICES    OF   THE   PEACE. 

James  Abrahams,  of  South  Brunswick,  is  mentioned 
in  the  records  of  the  board  of  chosen  freeholders  of 
Middlesex  County  as  having  been  a  justice  of  the 
peace  in  1780.  The  old  records  of  South  Brunswick 
were  burned  with  the  house  of  Richard  McDowell, 
then  township  clerk,  in  1844,  and  the  records  covering 
the  period  1844^54  have  never  been  in  the  possession 
of  the  present  clerk  and  their  whereabouts  is  un- 
known. Therefore  this  civil  list  is  as  nearly  complete 
as  it  can  be  made.  The  election  of  the  following- 
named  justices  of  the  peace  are  duly  recorded  in  such 
records  as  remain  : 


William  A.  Wakely,  1861-65. 
Charles  Shann,  1861-66. 
James  Higgins,  1861, 1871-81. 
James  Van  Nostrand,  1860. 
William  Schenck.  1859. 
Samuel  Higgins,  1866. 
William  Hutchinson,  1866, 
William  C,  Clark,  1867-71, 


Henry  H,  Stults,  1867, 
William  H,  Bergen,  1870, 
James  H.  Wheeler,  1871. 
James  L,  Ferris,  1873,  1878. 
Richard  McDowell,  1874, 
C,  H.  Stout,  1876, 
George  I,  McDowell,  1876, 
C.  L.  Stout,  1881. 


TOWNSHIP   CLERKS. 


Robert  D.  Montgomery,  1854, 1855. 
William  N.  Stults,  1855-60, 1863. 
John  J.  Davidson,  Jr.,  1861,  1862, 

1865,  1866. 
William  A.  Wakely,  1864. 


George  Logan,  1867,  1869-74,  1876, 

1877. 
William  Dean,  1868. 
William  V.  Wilson,  1874. 
George  D.  Vanderveer,  1878-81. 


788 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


William  Hutchiiieon,  1S54. 
Richard  Perrin,  1855, 1866. 
William  M.  Cox,  1857-63. 
Ralph  C.  Stults,  1864. 


ASSESSORS. 

i    J.  G.  Van  Dyke,  1865-69. 
'   John  H.  Stults,  1870. 

Henry  M.  Griggs,  1871-74, 1876-8 
I    John  Smock,  1S74. 

COLLECTORS. 


Ezekiel  Silvers,  1854-56, 1858, 1869.  |    Charles  Shann,  1866. 
Vincent  W.  Mount,  1857.  ,  John  W.  Dcy,  1867-77. 

John  J.  Davidson,  1860.  Abraham  Britton,  1878. 

Ralph  C.  Stults,  1861,  1862.  Aaron  D.  Britton,  1879-81. 

Henry  M.  Griggs,  1863-65. 

TOWNSHIP   COMMITTEE. 


John  G.  Stults,  1854,  1863. 

Peter  Cortelyou,  1854-69, 1871-72, 

1874,  1878. 
Ralph  E.  Stults,  1854-65. 
James  P.  DeHart,  1854. 
John  C.  Morris,  1854-65. 
William  A.  Pierce,  1856-66. 
George  T.  McDowell,  1855. 
Jacob     B.    Wrightmire,    1855-57, 

1860-02, 1867-68, 1874. 
Vincent  W.  Mount,  1850. 
Dean  Britton,  1856. 
John  H.  Stults,  1867-60, 1862, 1864, 

1868,  1878-79. 
Aaron  Lane,  1867-^8,  1863. 
Thomas  Applegate,  1859. 
Robert  Stockton,  1858-59. 
Martin  Cruser,  1858,  1863,  1875-78. 
Isaac  See,  1859-60,  1862,  1865. 
John  R.  Holmes,  1859. 
John  G.  Van  Dyke,  1860. 
James  Scudder,  1801-62. 
George  C.  Van  Dyke,  1861. 
Aaron  Dean,  1864. 
John  B.  Thompson,  1864. 
Abraham  B.  Wyckoff,  1864-65. 
R.  C.  Stults,  1865-74. 


John  G.  Stults,  1866-70. 

George  T.  McDowell,  1866. 

William  Hutchinson,  1866-67. 

John  Smock,  1867-68. 

S.  H.  Gulick,  1R69-70,  1872-74. 

Henry  H.  Stults,  1869-70. 

I.  D.  Barclay,  1870-71. 

Isaac  Snediker,  1871. 

Peter  Barclay,  1872, 1875. 

Henry  C.  Messeroll,  1873. 

George  W.  Dutcher,  1873. 

Jacob  W.  Suydam,  1874. 

John  L.  Suydam,  1875. 

John  Hunt,  1875. 

Henry  McDowell,  1875. 

George  I.  McDowell,,1876. 

Robert  Gulick,  1876. 

J.  S.  Bennett,  1876-77. 

John  W.  J)ey,  1876-77. 

William  A  Robinson,  1877. 

Richard  Farr,  1877. 

William  H.  Giles,  1878-80. 

Abraham  S.  Meyrick,  1878-79. 

Abijah  E.  Chamberlain,  1880-81. 

George  R.  Dey,  1880. 

J.  C.  Dean, 1881. 

John  S.  Voorhees,  1881. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  APPEAL. 


Elijah  Brown,  1854. 
Andrew  McDowell,  1854-65, 1865. 
Jacob  B.  Wrightmire,  1854. 
William  A.  Peirce,  1855. 
Jeremiah  J.  Buckley,  1855. 
William  G.  Bayles,  1866-57, 1860- 

66. 
William  Dean,  1856-57. 
Horatio  S.  Disbrow,  1858. 
John  J.  Lake,  1858,  1860-62,  1867, 

1870. 
Henry  M.  Griggs,  1868-59. 
John  G.  Van  Dyke,  1859, 1864. 
Joseph  W.  Reed,  1869. 
James  Scudder,  1860. 
Benjamin  Budd,  1861-62. 
A.  W.  Baldwin,  1863. 
John  J.  Conover,  1863. 
John  Applegate,  1864. 
Samuel  Grovendyke,  1865,  1868-69. 
Jonathan  Emmons,  1866. 
William  Hutchinson,  1866. 
Thomas  W.  Schenck,  1867-69, 1871- 

72. 


George  I.  McDowell,  1868. 

John  Smock,  1869-70. 

Charles  R.  Everetts,  1870. 

Charles  Groves,  1871-74. 

Jacob  W.  Hagermann,  1871,  1874, 

1877. 
James  P.  De  Hart,  1871. 
Peter  Cortelyou,  1873. 
Samuel  Pullen,  1873-74. 
John  Riverson,  1876. 
George  W.  Schenck,  1875. 
J.  H.  Bergen,  1876. 
J.  H.  Stults,  1876. 
Alexander  Bayles,  1876, 1881. 
Gilbert  H.  Perrine,  1876, 1878. 
James  N.  Shann,  1877,  1879-80. 
Richard  McDowell,  1877-78. 
Samuel  W.  Sliann,  1878. 
Jacob  Wrightmire,  Jr.,  1879. 
W.  A.  Robinson,  1879. 
R.  C.  Stults,  1880-81. 
J.  S.Bennett,  1880-81. 


OVERSEERS   OF  THE  POOR. 
Richard  McDowell,  1854.  James  Higgins,  1859-74, 1876-81. 


SCHOOL  COMMITTEEMEN. 
Jeremiah  J.  Buckley,  1854-55,1857.  [  William  A.  Peirce,  1855-56. 
Isaac  See,  1854.  I  James  D.  Hubbard.  1856-57. 

Thomas  Potts,  1854.  I  William  A.  Stults,  1856. 

William  P.  Letts,  1855.  |  Benjamin  Budd,  1857. 

SUPERINTENDENTS   OF   SCHOOLS. 
C.  R.  Holmes,  1858.  H.  S.  Clow,  1863. 

Jeremiah  Buckley,  1859-63,  1866- 


Henry  McDonald,  1866-66. 
John  H.  Martin,  1857-58. 


Aaron  Dean,  1869. 
J.  R.  Hunt,  1875. 


Educational. — Undoubtedly  the  first  school  in  this 
township  or  south  of  New  Brunswick,  in  the  western 
part  of  Middlesex  County,  was  that  at  Kingston. 
The  early  school  history  of  that  time-honored  village 
is  very  imperfect.  It  is  known  that  a  church  existed 
there  in  1723,  and  it  is  fairly  presumable  that  then 
or  a  little  later  there  was  a  school  connected  with  it. 
The  first  school-house  of  which  any  information  can 
be  obtained  was  built  in  the  northern  part  of  the 
present  site  of  the  village  (in  Somerset  County)  in 
1776.  Twenty  years  later  it  was  torn  down,  and 
another  was  built  in  the  southern  part,  in  Middlesex 
County,  which  in  1831  was  converted  into  a  dwell- 
ing, and  another  erected  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
site  of  the  present  school-house.  The  latter  is  a  very 
neat  structure,  erected  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dol- 
lars. There  were  early  schools  at  Cross-Roads  (now 
Dayton)  and  in  the  Rhode  Hall  neighborhood.  At 
Dayton  a  new  shool-house  was  built  by  the  railroad 
company  to  replace  one  which  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
move in  constructing  the  jiresent  New  York  Division 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Road  through  that  hamlet. 

Previous  to  the  adoption  of  the  provisions  of  the 
common  school  law  the  modus  operandi  of  organizing 
schools  in  South  Brunswick  was  for  the  trustees  to 
canvass  around  the  township  among  the  heads  of 
families,  each  of  whom  signed  an  agreeinent  to  send 
such  a  number  of  children  to  school  as  he  or  she  had 
of  the  school  age  or  could  spare  from  home,  and  to 
pay  a  certain  specified  amount  per  scholar.  The 
teachers  boarded  around,  stopping  a  week  more  or 
less  with  each  family  who  patronized  his  school.  For 
a  time  the  money  voted  at  the  annual  township- 
meetings  for  school  purposes  and  received  from  the 
surplus  State  fund  was  apportioned  by  the  trustees 
to  the  heads  of  families,  and  by  them  paid  to  the 
teachers  as  tuition  at  so  much  per  scholar,  and  after- 
wards it  was  paid  by  the  trustees  directly  to  the 
teachers  and  credited  to  the  parents ;  but  the  present 
system  did  away  with  these  and  other  inconvenient 
methods,  which  are  recalled  by  the  older  residents 
simply  as  reminiscences  of  the  days  when  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  township  were  struggling  along  under 
still  more  serious  inconveniences  than  any  connected 
with  the  schools. 

The  township  is  divided  into  twelve  school  districts, 
known  as  Six-Mile  Run  District,  No.  40  ;  Sand  Hills 
District,  No.  41  ;  George's  Road  District,  No.  42  ; 
Fresh  Ponds  District,  No.  43  ;  Ridge  District,  No. 
44;  Dayton  District,  No.  45;  Rhode  Hall  District, 
No.  4(5 ;  Mapleton  District,  No.  47 ;  Little  Rocky 
Hill  District,  No.  48  ;  Scott's  Corners  District,  No. 
50  ;  Pleasant  Hill  District,  No.  51  ;  and  Kingston  Dis- 
trict, No.  65. 

In  1852  the  number  of  school   districts  was   17; 


^'^^  e/e^^z.^^^;^^^^ 


SOUTH  BRUNSWICK. 


789 


number  of  children  between  five  and  eighteen,  1098  ; 
number  of  children  taught,  640 ;  average  time  schools 
were  kept,  10  months;  total  amount  appropriated  for 
school  purposes,  $1692.28. 

In  1880  the  total  amount  received  by  tJie  several 
school  districts  in  South  Brunswick  from  all  sources 
for  school  purposes  was  as  follows  :  In  Districts  Nos. 
40,  41,  43,  44,  47,  48,  50,  and  61,  $300  each;  in  Dis- 
trict No.  42,  $412.09  ;  in  District  No.  45,  $440.18 ;  in 
District  No.  46,  $460 ;  and  in  District  No.  55,  $746.13. 
The  value  of  school  property  in  the  township  was 
$17,100,  divided  as  follows  among  the  several  dis- 
tricts: Districts  Nos.  40  and  45,  $2000  each;  Dis- 
trict No.  41,  $200;  District  No.  42,  $1400;  District 
No.  43,  .$400;  Districts  Nos.  44  and  50,  $900  each  ; 
District  No.  46,  $1900 ;  District  No.  47,  $1500  ;  Dis- 
trict No.  48,  $600 ;  District  No.  51,  $300 ;  and  District 
No.  55,  $5000.  The  number  of  children  in  the  town- 
ship of"  the  school  age  was  1189,  of  whom  89  belonged 
to  District  No.  40  ;  74  to  District  No.  41 ;  131  to  Dis- 
trict No.  42 ;  58  to  District  No.  43  ;  82  to  District  No. 
44;  128  to  District  No.  45  ;  69  to  District  No.  46  ;  235 
to  District  No.  55 ;  46  to  District  No.  47  ;  49  to  Dis- 
trict No.  48;  and  64  each  to  Districts  Nos.  50  and  51. 
It  was  estimated  that  28  in  the  township  attended 
private  schools,  and  that  148  did  not  attend  schools. 
Schools  were  kept  open  an  average  of  ten  months 
during  the  year,  affording  employment  to  one  male 
and  thirteen  female  teachers,  the  former  at  a  monthly 
salary  of  $50,  the  latter  at  an  average  monthly  salary 
of  $28.30.  District  No.  41  has  a  school  library  of  41 
volumes.  Funds  are  being  established  in  Districts 
Nos.  47  and  55  for  the  same  purpose. 

Industrial  Pursuits.'— An  Anciext  Grist-Mill. 
—Gray's  grist-mill,  at  Gray's  Mills,  on  the  Millstone, 
in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  township,  is  one  of 
the  successors  of  a  mill  which  stood  there,  as  is  sup- 
posed, many  years  before  the  Revolution,  and  was  for 
a  time  known  as  "  Aqueduct  Mill,"  on  account  of  its 
proximity  to  an  aqueduct  carrying  the  Delaware  and  I 
Earitan  Canal  over  the  Millstone  River.    The  earliest 
proprietor  of  whom  any  knowledge  can  be  gained  i 
was  a  man  named  Cooley,  who  was  a  pre-Revolu-  ' 
tionary  operator  there.    During  the  war  the  mill  was 
burned,  and  soon  afterwards  was  rebuilt  by  Cooley. 
After  a  while  it  was  purchased  by  a  man  named  Scud- 
der,  and  later  it  had  several  successive  owners  until 
it  was  purchased  by  Dr.  Hunt,  who  tore  it  down  and 
rebuilt  it,  finally  selling  it  to  Alexander  Gray,  since  I 
whose  death  it  has  been  owned  by  his  widow.  | 

The  Dean  Mill.— About  1810,  Abraham  Dean 
built  a  saw-mill  at  what  is  now  Dean's  Station,  and 
carried  on  a  lumbering  business  there  until  succeeded 
by  his  son  Aaron,  who  conducted  it  about  twenty 
years,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  brother,  Thomas 
Dean.  From  Thomas  Dean  the  business  passed  to 
the  latter's  son,  Aaron  Dean,  who  erected  a  grist-mill 

•  See  sketch  of  Mapletoivn  for  a  mentioo  of  industries  there.  ' 


adjacent  to  the  saw-mill,  and  has  continued  the  busi- 
ness to  the  present. 

Distilleries.— Samuel  Combs  had  a  distillery  in 
the  Fresh  Ponds  neighborhood  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  last  century,  which  was  probably  the  pioneer  in 
its  line.  In  1852,  John  H.  Martin  established  a  dis- 
tillery at  Dean's  Station,  and  soon  sold  it  to  William 
Hammell,  who  died  in  1877,  and  was  succeeded  in 
the  business  by  his  son,  James  H.  Hammell. 

J.  C.  Powers  has  had  a  distillery  just  below  Gray's 
Mills. 

Hay-Pkesses.— Wheeler  &  Thomas  erected  a  hay- 
press  at  Dean's  Station  in  1873,  where  they  estab- 
1  lished  a  business,  which,  in  1875,  they  sold  to  S.  I. 
Snediker.     The  machine  has  a  capacity  of  six  tons 
I  per  day.     The  baled  hay  is  shipped  to  New  York. 
j  At  Dayton  a  similar  business  was  started   by  S.  I. 
Snediker,    which   is   now   owned    by   the   Reynolds 
i  Brothers. 

Mechanics'  Shops.— At  Plainsboro'  are  the  wagon- 
I  shop  of  John  E.  Shultz  (established  in  1850)  and  the 
blacksmith-shop  of  William  Wilson ;  at  Gray's  Mills 
Charles  Williamson  has  a  blacksmith-shop,  and  E.  S. 
Williamson  a  wheelwright-shop.  The  blacksmith- 
shop  of  John  Owens  at  Kingston  was  established  in 
1880,  and  the  wheelwright-shop  of  J.  W.  Shann  some 
years  earlier.  There  is  a  blacksmith-shop  at  Dayton. 
Quarries. — North  of  Mapletown  on  the  river  are 
some  excellent  quarries  of  freestone,  a  fine  gray,  with 
portions  of  no  sandstone,  streaked  with  small  veins  of 
quartz.  It  works  well  under  the  hammer,  and  was 
used  in  constructing  the  locks  of  the  Delaware  and 
Raritan  Canal. 

Between  Gray's  Mills  and  Kingston  is  a  quarry 
where  considerable  stone  has  been  taken  out,  and 
which  is  known  as  the  Cruser  quarry. 

Burial-PIaces. — Much  interest  attaches  to  the  first 
death,  the  first  funeral,  and  the  first  grave  in  any  lo- 
cality. If  settlement  begun  at  an  early  date,  the  cer- 
tainty that  all  earthly  things  have  an  end  is  strongly 
impressed  on  the  mind  of  the  wanderer  in  the  old 
graveyard  by  the  thought  that  the  people  who  pre- 
pared the  occupant  of  the  first  grave  for  burial,  the 
man  who  made  the  first  rude  coffin,  the  man  who 
dug  the  lonely  grave,  first  opening  Mother  Earth  in 
the  vicinity  for  the  reception  of  one  of  her  children, 
the  minister  who  officiated  at  the  first  funeral,  the 
sorrowing  friends  who  lowered  the  departed  into  his  . 
long  home,  the  bereaved  household,  to  whom  that 
spot  became  an  attraction  that  endeared  the  neigh- 
borhood to  them  during  their  lives,  and  every  sym- 
pathetic or  curious  person  who  stood  by,  all  lie  in 
other  graves  around  it  or  elsewhere,  an  old  and 
weather-worn,  often  partially,  sometimes  wholly,  il- 
legible headstone,  if  there  be  one  at  all,  being  the 
only  remaining  evidence  to  any  living  person  of  the 
event  which  it  commemorates. 

The  early  graves  were  made  on  the  lands  of  the 
se'ttlers;  the  early  coffins  were  roughly  fashioned  out 


790 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  unsuitable  material  with  few  tools  by  unskilled 
hands;  there  were  no  plumed  hearses,  and  the  fu- 
nerals were  conducted  without  formality,  often  pro- 
viding opportunity  for  the  blunt  and  unconventional 
preachers  of  the  early  days  to  preach  effective  ser- 
mons, which  would  otherwise  have  fallen  unheeded 
upon  the  callous  ears  of  their  auditors ;  for  death  had 
then  been  stripped  of  little  of  its  awe,  and  by  the 
pioneer  preachers  was  literally  brandished  before  the 
mental  vision  of  their  auditors  as  an  admonition  that 
the  time  for  repentance  was  neither  long  nor  certain. 
It  is  related  of  one  stalwart  circuit  rider,  with  whom 
the  settlers  were  long  familiar,  that  on  one  occasion 
he  said,  "  There's  a  certain  class  that  won't  come  to 
preaching.  My  only  chance  at  some  of  them  is  when 
I  am  addressing  them  as  mourners  at  the  funeral  of 
some  member  of  their  family.  When  I  do  get  them 
there  where  they  can't  leave  I  make  the  best  of  my 
opportunity."  This  may  have  been  taking  an  unfair 
advantage,  and  it  is  an  open  question  whether  much 
grace  and  mercy  and  charity  was  inculcated  in  that 
way  ;  but  perhaps  the  dominie  was  honest  in  his  in- 
tent, and  has  long  since  received  his  reward  accord- 
ingly. 

It  was  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  a  man  to  save  a 
few  good  boards  of  suitable  wood  for  years,  with  the 
design  of  having  his  coffin  made  out  of  them,  and 
there  have  been  instances  related,  one  at  least  of  an 
early  resident  of  South  Brunswick,  of  men's  making 
their  own  coffins  and  putting  them  carefully  away 
until  they  should  be  needed.  The  earliest  burials 
were  made  near  the  houses  of  the  settlers,  and  all 
traces  of  the  graves  have  long  since  disappeared  from 
view.  Many  who  have  died  in  the  township  have 
from  an  early  date  been  buried  at  Cranbury  and  in 
the  cemetery  at  Kingston,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
road  forming  the  county  line  at  that  place,  and  con- 
sequently in  Somerset  County. 

In  the  graveyard  of  the  Baptist  Church  at  Dayton 
are  about  one  hundred  graves  visible,  many  hav- 
ing doubtless  become  indistinguishable.  There  are 
many  graves  entirely  unmarked  ;  some  are  marked 
with  wooden  headboards,  and  others  with  headstones, 
the  inscriptions  on  which  are  in  various  degrees  of 
legibility.  The  oldest  of  the  latter  is  that  of  John 
T.,  son  of  Samuel  and  Mary  Ann  Disbrow,  who  died 
Feb.  23,  1854. 

There  is  an  old  burying-ground  at  Fresh  Ponds,  the 
inscriptions  on  some  of  the  headstones  there  being  un- 
decipherable. It  covers  an  area  of  about  three-quar- 
ters of  an  acre,  and  there  are  about  thirty  graves  to  be 
seen.  The  oldest  legible  memorial  here  is  as  follows : 
"  In  memory  of  Farrand  Jacobs,  who  departed  this 
life  in  the  full  hope  of  a  glorious  immortality.  May 
24th,  1844." 

Villages  and  Hamlets. — Kingston,  three  miles 
northeast  of  Princeton,  at  the  intersection  of  the  old 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  turnpike  with  the  Dela- 
ware and  Raritau  Canal,  is  a  station  on  the  Rocky 


Hill  Railroad,  located  mostly  in  Franklin  township 
(Somerset  County),  a  small  portion  in  South  Bruns- 
wick, and  its  western  extremity  in  Princeton  township 
(Mercer  County),  and  contains  five  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, a  school-house,  two  churches,  two  hotels,  a  sash 
and  blind  factory,  a  lumber-yard,  a  blacksmith-shop 
and  wheelwright-shop,  some  stores,  and  a  goodly 
number  of  dwellings.  Here  was  one  of  the  earliest 
settlements  in  the  country  around  about,  and  it  is 
stated  that  there  was  a  church  there  as  early  as  1723, 
and  considered  probable  that  a  school  was  opened 
there  at  a  date  not  much  later. 

Vantilburgh's  inn,  which  stood  in  Somerset  County, 
on  the  north  side  of  the  road  dividing  that  county  at 
that  point  from  Middlesex  County,  was  long  known 
as  the  favorite  stopping-place  of  Washington  and  the 
Governors  of  New  Jersey  in  passing  from  the  eastern 
towns  to  the  State  capital. 

It  was  at  this  village  that  Washington,  with  the 
American  troops,  eluded  the  British  on  the  day  of 
the  battle  of  Princeton  by  filing  off  to  the  left  at  the 
church,  down  the  narrow  road  leading  to  Rocky  Hill, 
while  the  enemy  in  pursuit,  supposing  he  had  gone 
to  New  Brunswick  to  destroy  their  winter  stores,  kept 
on  the  main  road. 

The  old  Withington  tavern,  now  known  as  the 
Kingston  House,  was  built  previous  to  1776,  its  ear- 
liest occupant,  so  far  as  is  known,  having  been  Phin- 
eas  Withington.  Before  the  era  of  railroads  Kings- 
ton was  on  the  great  thoroughfare  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  and  it  is  related  that  the  stage 
travel  was  so  large  between  the  two  cities  that  forty- 
nine  stages  loaded  with  passengers  have  halted  at  the 
same  time  at  Withington's,  four  hundred  harne-ssed 
horses  standing  before  the  house.  Those  must  have 
been  lively  times  in  Kingston,  and  since  then  some 
of  its  citizens  may  be  pardoned  if  they  have  sighed  in 
idle  hours  for  "  the  good  old  days"  of  bustle,  activity, 
and  excitement  which  have  long  been  signally  lack- 
ing there,  the  place  having  settled  down  to  the  usual 
monotonous  every-day  experiences  of  other  villages 
of  its  size.  "  Mine  host"  Withington  is  spoken  of  as 
having  been  a  very  popular  landlord,  who  did  his  ut- 
most to  please  his  guests,  having  a  sufficiency  for  all 
in  both  larder  and  cellar,  and  a  private  fish-pond, 
which  he  constructed  at  considerable  expense  in  order 
to  furnish  his  table  with  "  trout  right  out  of  the 
water,"  as  he  expressed  it.  Some  of  his  descendants 
are  now  prominent  residents  and  property-owners  at 
Kingston.  The  old  house,  many  times  repaired  and 
renovated,  having  passing  through  the  hands  of 
numerous  landlords,  is  now,  under  its  modern  name, 
kept  by  J.  B.  Titus. 

That  portion  of  Kingston  lying  within  the  borders 
of  South  Brunswick  contains  the  stores  of  Cornelius 
Van  Duyn,  postmaster,  and  C.  B.  Moore,  the  Kings- 
ton House,  the  school-house  belonging  to  District  No. 
55,  and  a  few  dwellings. 

The  post-office  was  in  the  Somerset  County  part  of 


^2jM^^^  ^/o^u-dL^c6 


SOUTH   BRUNSWICK. 


791 


the  village  until  1870,  when  Cornelius  Van  Duj'n 
was  appointed  postmaster,  succeeding  C.  B.  Moore, 
and  removed  it  across  the  line  into  Middlesex  County. 

The  first  merchant  in  Kingston,  in  South  Bruns- 
wick, was  Joseph  C.  Higgins,  who  opened  a  store 
there  in  1867.  Mr.  C.  B.  Jloore  formerly  had  a  store 
in  the  northern  part  of  the  village,  and  removed  to 
the  South  Brunswick  side  of  the  road  a  few  years 
ago.  Higgins  was  not  long  in  trade,  and  Ezra  De 
Hart,  P.  Robinson,  James  Gray,  and  a  man  named 
Thome  each  had  stores  there  for  a  short  time. 

Mapletown,  which  received  its  name  from  the 
Maple  family  formerly  resident  there,  is  a  somewhat 
ancient  hamlet  on  the  "straight"  turnpike  from 
Trenton  to  New  Brunswick,  now  nearly  connected 
with  Kingston  by  a  continuation  of  dwellings.  Gor- 
don mentions  it  in  his  "Gazetteer,"  published  in 
1832,  as  follows :  "  A  hamlet  on  Millstone  River,  a 
short  distance  above  the  mouth  of  Stony  Brook,  two 
miles  southeast  of  Princeton  and  fifteen  miles  from 
New  Brunswick,  containing  a  fine  grist-mill  and  saw- 
mill and  fulling-mill,  and  four  or  five  dwellings." 

Dayton,  formerly  known  as  Cross-Roads,  is  situ- 
ated about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  New  York 
Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  southeast  of 
the  centre  of  the  township,  at  the  intersection  of  the 
Kingston  road,  the  Plainsboro'  road,  and  the  Rhode 
Hall  road  with  the  New  Brunswick  and  Cranbury 
turnpike,  and  was  named  in  honor  of  William  L. 
Dayton,  of  Trenton,  the  change  having  been  neces- 
sitated by  the  frequent  miscarriage  of  mails  intended 
for  that  locality,  there  being  another  post-ofiice  in  the 
State  called  Cross-Roads.  Mr.  Dayton,  who  was  at- 
torney for  the  railroad  company  at  the  time  of  the 
construction  of  the  line,  had  favored  the  citizens  by 
securing  them,  at  the  railroad  company's  expense,  a 
new  school-house  in  place  of  an  old  one  which  it  was 
necessary  to  move  in  order  to  clear  the  way  for  the 
track-layers,  and  later  contributed  liberally  towards 
building  the  Presbyterian  Church  there. 

The  first  public-house  at  Dayton  was  kept  by  James 
Whitlock  as  early  as  1750,  and  after  a  time  sold  to 
John  Barricklo,  who  occupied  it  many  years,  during 
which  it  was  known  as  the  Barricklo  tavern.  Of 
Barricklo  William  L.  Schenck  bought  it  and  kept 
it  about  thirty  years,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  son, 
William  B.  Schenck,  who  remodeled  the  building 
for  use  as  a  dwelling,  and  later  converted  a  portion 
of  it  into  a  store.  Thomas  Wetherell  built  a  public- 
house  at  Dayton  during  the  latter  part  of  the  last 
century,  and  kept  a  tavern  there  until  1817  or  1818, 
when  he  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  his  daughter, 
Mrs.  Ann  McDowell.  The  tavern  many  times 
changed  hands  until  1880,  when  it  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Frederick  Farr,  the  present  occupant. 
The  Exchange  Hotel  was  built  by  its  present  pro- 
prietor, Abraham  Terhune,  in  1860. 

The  first  store  at  the  Cross-Roads  was  kept  by  Mrs. 
Abigail  Van  Pelt.     It  was  a  small  concern,  and  'he 


stock  of  no  particular  kind  of  merchandise  was  at 
all  extensive,  but  there  were  many  kinds,  including 
whisky,  and  it  is  said  "  Mother"  Van  Pelt  was  able 
to  furnish  a  customer  with  about  anything  that  could 
by  any  possibility  be  required.  A  still  earlier  store 
stood  on  the  New  Brunswick  and  Cranbury  turnpike, 
south  of  the  Corners,  the  name  of  whose  proprietor 
cannot  be  learned.  W.  B.  Schenck  kept  a  store  in 
the  old  Barricklo  tavern  building  for  some  years, 
and  was  succeeded  by  J.  C.  Vanderveer  and  others. 
Thomas  W.  Schenck  has  had  a  store  in  the  village 
about  thirty  years,  during  the  past  few  years  in  the 
old  Barricklo  building.  George  F.  Vanderveer  has 
been  a  merchant  there  since  1877. 

J.  C.  Vanderveer,  insurance  agent,  is,  and  for  a 
number  years  has  been,  postmaster.  The  village 
contains  two  stores,  two  churches,  a  school-house,  a 
blacksmith-  and  wheelwright-shop,  a  hay-pressing  es- 
tablishment, and  thirty-five  dwellings. 

Dean's  Station,  on  the  New  York  Division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad,  is  a  hamlet  on  the  New  Bruns- 
wick and  Cranbury  turnpike  and  near  the  headwaters 
of  Lawrence's  Brook,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  town- 
ship. The  locality  was  early  known  as  "  Dean's,"  in 
honor  of  Abraham  Dean,  who  built  a  saw-mill  there 
in  1810,  and  was  a  prominent  business  man  there  until 
succeeded  by  other  members  of  his  family.  About 
1845,  John  H.  Martin  had  built  several  houses  and 
opened  a  store  there,  and  from  that  time  onward 
until  after  the  erection  of  the  depot  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  regular  railway  station  there  to  super- 
sede a  flag-station  the  hamlet  was  known  as  Martins- 
ville, and  by  some  is  so  called  to  this  day  ;  but  when 
the  station  was  opened  the  railroad  company  named  it 
Dean's  Station,  and  from  it  the  hamlet  received  the 
name  by  which  it  is  commonly  known. 

John  H.  Martin  had  several  successors  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  one  after  another,  and  his  former 
store  has  been  occupied  since  1878  by  William  A. 
Wines,  and  is  owned  by  Samuel  Giles.  Besides  the 
store  the  place  contains  a  distillery,  a  hay-pressing 
establishment,  and  twelve  dwellings.  Formerly  there 
was  a  blacksmith's  shop. 

Plainsboro'. — This  hamlet  is  located  on  the  line 
between  South  Brunswick  and  Cranbury,  on  the 
Princeton  turnpike,  and  contains  a  hotel,  two  stores,  a 
blacksmith's  shop,  a  wheelwright-shop,  two  churches, 
and  a  number  of  dwellings. 

The  Plainsboro'  tavern  was  erected  about  1800,  and 
the  first  occupant  of  whom  any  information  is  obtain- 
able was  Mrs.  Mary  Gulick,  who  perhaps  was  the  suc- 
cessor there  of  a  deceased  husband.  About  1820  the 
stand  passed  into  other  hands,  and  the  changes  of 
proprietors  and  occupants  have  been  frequent.  The 
present  landlord  is  Arthur  Ruding.  John  D.  Van 
Dorea  is  a  merchant,  and  has  for  a  year  been  post- 
master.    Another  merchant  is  William  Schooley. 

Gray's  Mills,  at  the  western  extremity  of  South 
Brunswick,  on  Millstone  River,  and  near  the  aque- 


792 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


duct  of  the  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal,  is  a  hamlet 
of  six  houses,  named  in  honor  of  Alexander  Gray, 
and  was  settled  before  the  Revolution,  its  nucleus 
having  been  the  ancient  grist-mill  elsewhere  referred 
to.  Besides  the  mill  there  are  in  the  settlement  a 
wheelwright-shop  and  a  blacksmith-shop. 

Monmouth  Junction. — This  is  a  hamlet  contain- 
ing a  church,  a  store  and  post-ofBce,  a  hotel,  a  rail- 
way station,  and  fourteen  dwellings,  located  on  the 
New  York  Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  at 
its  junction  with  the  Jamesburg  and  Freehold  Rail- 
road and  the  Rocky  Hill  extension  of  the  same.  The 
first  merchant  was  Stryker  Rowland.  The  only  store 
now  is  that  of  H.  B.  Groves,  opened  in  1879.  The 
first  postmaster  was  Charles  O.  Greggs,  about  1878; 
the  present  is  H.  B.  Groves. 

The  first  and  only  public-house  was  built  in  1871, 
by  John  H.  Martin,  and  was  occupied  by  John 
Shreeve  until  1876.  At  the  latter  date  James  S.  Hig- 
gins  bought  the  property,  and  has  since  conducted 
the  business. 

Franklin  Park. — The  above  is  the  name  of  a 
hamlet  of  twenty  dwellings,  more  or  less,  a  hotel,  a 
school-house,  and  a  store  and  post-oifice,  at  the  north- 
ern limit  of  the  township,  and  p.artially  in  Somerset 
County.  The  store  is  kept  by  C.  C.  Beekman,  who  is 
also  postmaster. 

Fresh  Ponds. — A  hamlet  of  a  dozen  houses,  a 
church,  and  a  school-house,  known  variously  as  Pigeon 
Swamp,  Woodville,  Woodside,  and  Fresh  Ponds,  is  lo- 
cated at  a  cross-roads  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town- 
ship. It  has  been  long  called  as  above,  on  account 
of  the  proximity  in  former  years  of  several  marshy 
ponds,  known  collectively  as  "  Pigeon  Swamp,"  since 
partially  drained  by  an  improvement  called  the 
"  Great  Ditch." 

Rhode  Hall  is  a  neighborhood  on  the  boundary 
line  between  Monroe  and  South  Brunswick,  and  con- 
tains a  store,  a  hotel,  and  several  dwellings.  It  is  an 
old  settlement,  the  early  residents  having  been  sev- 
eral Scotch  families,  some  of  the  descendants  of  whom 
have  risen  to  distinction  in  various  walks  of  life. 

The  nucleus  of  the  settlement  was  an  old  tavern, 
formerly  known  as  the  "  Half-way  House,"  which  was 
often  a  scene  of  much  activity  in  the  old  staging 
days,  and  was  first  kept,  probably  as  early  as  1730,  by 
David  Williamson,  who  gave  the  locality  its  name. 
Williamson  was  succeeded  by  Thomas  McDowell 
about  1774.  A  public-house  is  now  kept  at  Rhode 
Hall  by  John  Smock,  who  succeeded  his  father,  Sim- 
mons Smock,  as  landlord  at  the  latter's  death.  A 
race-course,  known  as  the  Rhode  Hall  Driving  Park, 
was  made  there. 

Churches. — The  Bethel  Methodist  Church 
OF  Plainsboro'. — This  church  was  erected  by  sub- 
scription in  1812,  the  land  on  which  it  stands  having 
been  donated  to  a  Methodist  society  then  formed  in 
the  neighborhood  by  Robert  Davison,  Jr.  (a  zealous 
Methodist),  with  the  provision  that  in  case  the  church 


to  be  built  thereon  at  any  time  ceased  to  belong  to 
and  be  used  by  the  Methodist  denomination,  the  lot 
should  revert  to  him,  his  heirs,  or  his  legal  repre- 
sentatives. 

The  first  preacher  who  held  meetings  in  the  build- 
ing is  reasonably  supposed  to  have  been  Rev.  .loseph 
Totten,  who  closed  his  labors  there  about  1814  or 
1815.  Much  aid  towards  the  erection  of  the  church 
was  rendered  by  Mr.  Davison,  in  the  hope  of  estab- 
lishing a  Methodist  Church  there.  This  hope  was 
never  realized,  though  the  few  Methodists  in  the 
vicinity  have  maintained  a  class  organization  to  the 
present,  thus  retaining  the  control  of  the  house  of 
worship,  which  has  been  used  by  all  Christian  denom- 
inations irregularly,  without  aiding  to  form  a  church 
of  any  sect  in  the  neighborhood.  In  course  of  time  it 
became  dilajjidated  and  was  unserviceable  for  a  num- 
ber of  years.  It  was  repaired  and  reopened  in  1850, 
and  has  been  kept  up  by  contributions  from  people  in 
the  vicinity,  prominent  among  whom  was  Mrs.  Char- 
I  lotte  ZefT,  a  granddaughter  of  the  giver  of  the  lot. 

The  Baptist  Church  of  Dayton. — The  ground 
upon  which  stands  the  Baptist  Church  at  Dayton  was 
deeded  to  the  trustees  of  the  Baptist  Church  of  Dayton 
by  William  Jones,  and  services  were  first  held  in  the 
church  in  1848,  immediately  after  its  completion,  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Gessner.  The  last  pastor  was  Rev.  Morgan 
Cox,  who  severed  his  connection  with  it  in  1874. 

The  church  is  located  on  the  New  Brunswick  and 
I  Cranbury  turnpike,  opposite  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
i  and  is  a  wooden  building  forty-five  feet  by  thirty- 
three.  Prior  to  the  erection  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  the  Presbyterians  held  frequent  meetings 
in  it. 

A  legal  organization  is  preserved,  and  the  present 
trustees  are  James  Higgins,  Andrew  Rowland,  N.  B. 
Guire,  and  Charles  Groves.  No  records  of  this  church 
are  known  to  be  in  existence. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  of  Dayton. — One 
of  the  numerous  outlying  stations  of  the  Cranbury 
pastors  was  Dayton,  where  a  regular  service  was 
maintained  for  some  time  previous  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  Presbyterian  Church  there.  About  1867, 
as  the  result  of  prayer-meetings  and  exhortations, 
there  was  a  religious  awakening  that  led  to  many 
conversions,  and  soon  afterward  the  demand  for  a 
church  organization  became  apparent. 

Oct.  16,  1869,  the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick 
organized  a  church  at  Dayton  with  the  following- 
named  members  (fifty-eight  in  number)  :  Richard 
McDowell,  Abbie  McDowell,  Thomas  W.  Schenck, 
Mrs.  Elizabeth  A.  Schenck,  William  B.  Schenck, 
Mrs.  Emmeline  Schenck,  John  C.  Vanderveer,  Mrs. 
John  C.  Vanderveer,  William  Dean,  Mrs.  Jane  Dean, 
Rufus  Conover,  Mrs.  Caroline  Conover,  George  W. 
Schenck,  Mrs.  Mary  Ann  Schenck,  William  B.  Mil- 
ler, Mrs.  Mary  J.  Miller,  Daniel  D.  Applegate,  Mrs. 
Roxannah  Applegate,  Peter  Rogers,  Mrs.  Parmelia 
Rogers,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Perrine,  Mrs.  Margaret  Hig- 


^Wai^c^^/ia^A^ 


SOUTH    BRUNSWICK. 


793 


gins,  Charles  Everett,  Mrs.  Julia  Ann  Everett,  Mrs. 
Sarah  F.  Burlew,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Rowland,  Mrs. 
Eliza  Ann  Conover,  Miss  Celia  J.  Conover,  Mrs.  Har- 
riet N.  Anderson,  Miss  Louisa  Anderson,  John  Mc- 
Dowell, Mrs.  Adeline  H.  McDowell,  Addison  H. 
McDowell,  Mrs.  Sarah  Terhune,  Cornelia  J.  Stults, 
John  P.  Stults,  Andrew  B.  McDowell,  Mrs.  Matilda 
McDowell,  Mrs.  Rachel  Griggs,  Mrs.  Mary  I.  Grover, 
Anne  McDonald,  Daniel  Davison,  Mrs.  Mattie 
Davison,  Isaac  B.  Rowland,  Mrs.  Catharine  Higgins, 
Mrs.  Mary  E.  Anderson,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  S.  Hagerman, 
Jacob  W.  Hagerman,  Sarah  S.  Van  Dome,  Mrs.  John 
H.  Allendorph,  Benjamin  Miller,  Mrs.  Benjamin  Mil- 
ler, Andrew  Rowland,  Ann  Van  Pelt,  Mrs.  Adeline 
Robbins,  Louise  Rowland,  and  Mrs.  Ellen  Soden. 

Forty-six  of  these  constituent  members  were  from 
the  two  churches  at  Cranbury.  Those  churches  hav- 
ing reached  the  critical  period  of  "  full  and  flourish- 
ing," the  pastors  and  people  fully  agreed  to  give  the 
new  enterprise  a  hearty  godspeed  and  substantial 
assistance.  Two  consequences  followed  :  the  young 
church  started  self-sustaining,  and  in  six  months 
more  than  twice  as  many  had  been  added  to  the 
parent  churches  as  they  had  dismissed. 

The  elders  chosen  at  the  organization  of  the  church 
and  now  in  service  are  Richard  McDowell,  Thomas 
W.  Schenck,  John  W.  Hagerman,  and  Lewis  Row- 
land. 

For  a  time  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  Rev.  J.  H. 
Schofield.  In  May,  1870,  Rev.  J.  W.  Hubbard  was 
installed  first  pastor.  In  December,  1875,  Rev.  A. 
Westveer  was  installed.  The  present  pastor,  Rev. 
S.  J.  Rowland,  was  installed  in  July,  1880. 

Early  meetings  were  held  iu  the  Baptist  Church. 
The  erection  of  a  house  of  worship  had  been  begun 
prior  to  the  organization,  which  was  completed  and 
dedicated  in  August,  1870.  A  parsonage  was  built 
the  same  year.  The  house  of  worship  is  located  north 
of  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  with  the  other  prop- 
erty vested  in  the  church  is  valued  at  about  ten  thou- 
sand dollars. 

The  Church  at  Monmouth  Junction. — A  frame 
church  was  erected  at  Monmouth  Junction  in  1879 
by  James  Hunt,  which  is  often  referred  to  as  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  but  is  devoted  to  the  use  of  all  Chri.s- 
tian  denominations. 

"  The  Old  Church,"  Plainsboro'. — In  Plains- 
boro',  on  a  hill  near  the  school-house,  stands  the"  Old 
Church"  (bearing  date  1779).  It  is  the  first  house  of 
worship  of  an  organization  of  that  name  and  date, 
and  chooses  to  be  called  the  "  Old  Church"  as  claim- 
ing a  primitive  simplicity  in  its  beliefs.  A  second  "Old 
Church"  is  forming  in  Princeton,  where  already  a  still 
larger  building  has  been  put  up.  These  organizations 
are  under  the  care  of  Rev.  John  Miller,  who  by  the  ac- 
tion of  his  Presbytery  was  obliged  to  withdraw  from 
the  Presbyterian  body  for  difl'erence  of  doctrine.  He 
makes  no  attempt  to  join  any  other  denomination, 
but  prefers  a  Presbyterian  order,   only   he   decrees 


that   morality  has  dropped   out  too  much  from  the 
teachings  of  religion.' 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  Fresh 
Ponds. — At  Fresh  Ponds  is  an  old  wooden  church, 
which  was  erected  many  years  ago,  and  had  served 
as  a  mission  church  under  the  auspices  of  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  denomination,  meetings  having  for- 
merly been  held  there  once  a  week,  and  later  semi- 
monthly. During  the  past  few  years  there  have  been 
no  regular  services. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


WILIjIAM  g.  bayles. 

John  Bayles,  the  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
biography,  was  of  English  birth,  and  resided  in 
Somerset  County,  N.  J.  He  was  united  in  marriage  to 
a  Miss  Davidson,  and  had  children, — Robert,  Samuel, 
John,  Rachel,  and  Susan.  His  wife  having  died,  he 
married  a  second  time  a  Mrs.  Bergen,  to  whom  were 
born  several  children. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Bayles  occurred  about  the  year 
1820.  Robert,  one  of  his  sons,  was  born  in  South 
Brunswick,  and  during  a  portion  of  his  life  resided  in 
Somerset  County.  He  later  removed  to  the  township 
of  his  birth,  where  his  death  occurred. 

He  married  Rebecca,  daughter  of  Maj.  John  Gulick, 
and  had  children, — William  G.,  Susan  A.  (Mrs.  Dr. 
Dunn),  George,  James,  Margaretta  M.,  Emma  (Mrs. 
William  McCauley),  Maria  E.,  John  G.,  a  physician, 
and  Alexander. 

Their  son,  William  G.,  was  born  Nov.  9,  1802,  in 
Somerset  County  (now  Mercer  County),  and  spent  his 
boyhood  with  his  parents.  After  a  brief  residence 
at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  the  family  removed  to  Kingston, 
Middlesex  Co.,  when  William  G.  was  sent  to  Law- 
renceville,  and  later  to  Princeton,  to  pursue  his  studies. 

On  his  return  he  for  a  while  assisted  his  father,  and 
also  became  interested  in  a  line  of  stages  running  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  New  York,  and  known  as  the 
Union  Line. 


1  It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  tirst  pubUcatiou  designed  for  perma- 
nent use  iu  which  this  new  religious  sect  (wbicli  in  time  possibly  may 
become  more  numerous)  lias  been  represented.  A  brief  account  of  the 
creed  and  differences  taught  by  Rev.  Mr.  Miller  may  be  deemed  of  in- 
terest. Mr.  Miller  teaches  (I)  total  depravity;  (2)  the  deity  of  Christ; 
(:i}  vicarious  atonement ;  (4)  regeneration  ;  (5)  the  necessity  of  faith  ;  (6) 
the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures;  (7)  eternal  rewards  and  punishments. 
His  differences  are  six  in  number: 

(1)  Tliere  is  no  Trinity.  The  one  personal  God  is  incarnate  in  Christ, 
and  is  the  Holy  Ghost. 

(2)  There  is  no  child  not  of  Adam.  Christ  was  made  sinless  by  the 
power  of  His  Godhead  through  the  grace  of  His  intended  sacrifice. 

(3)  There  is  no  grace  not  moral.  Faith  is  a  moral  grace,  and  it  is  the 
eye  of  conscience  that  is  opened  in  believing. 

(4)  There  is  no  imputed  obedience.  Christ's  sufierings  are  imputed, 
and  it  is  an  obedience  of  our  own  that  is  the  fruit  of  our  redemption. 

(5)  There  is  no  perseverance  promised  in  conversion.  Election  unto 
life  is  of  those  who  endure  unto  the  end. 

(6)  There  are  no  disembodied  souls.     Men  die  in  death,  and  wake  in 
:tion. 


794 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


He  was  married  on  the  24th  of  September,  1827,  to 
Miss  Sarah,  daughter  of  Judge  Frederick  Cruser,  of 
Eocky  Hill,  Somerset  Co.,  N.  J.,  and  had  children, 
— Robert,  who  is  president  of  the  Market  National 
Bank  of  New  York  City  ;  Martha,  George  A.,  Fred- 
erick C,  William  H.,  and  Westley  H.,  all  the  sons 
with  the  exception  of  George  A.  being  residents  of 
New  York  City.  The  death  of  Mrs.  Bayles  occurred 
April  22,  1877. 

Mr.  Bayles  is  in  his  political  sympathies  a  Repub- 
lican, and  has  always  been  a  strong  advocate  of  the 
principles  of  his  party.  He  has  served  as  freeholder 
of  his  township,  and  held  various  minor  offices,  but 
has  neither  sought  nor  desired  such  honors. 

He  has  officiated  as  director  of  the  Princeton  Na- 
tional Bank,  as  did  also  his  father.  He  has  been  for 
years  identified  with  the  educational  interests  of  the 
township,  and  filled  the  office  of  trustee  of  the  public 
school  of  the  district  where  he  resides. 

His  religious  sympathies  are  with  the  Presbyterian 
denomination,  tlie  church  at  Kingston  having  num- 
bered him  among  its  worshipers  and  its  board  of  trus- 


PETER  CORTELTOU. 

The  Cortelyou  family  (sometimes  written  Cortil- 
leau)  are  of  French  extraction,  the  progenitor  in 
America  having  been  Jaques  Cortelyou,  who  arrived 
in  New  Amsterdam  (now  New  York)  about  1651,  to- 
gether with  his  wife,  Neltje  Van  Duyn,  she  being  also 
of  French  lineage.  His  children  were  Jaques,  Peter, 
Cornelius,  William,  Helena,  and  Maria. 

In  a  direct  line  of  descent  from  Jaques  Cortelyou 
was  Henry,  father  of  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  who 
was  born  in  1761,  and  married  to  Elizabeth  Nevius, 
whose  birth  occurred  in  1762.  The  death  of  Henry 
Cortelyou  took  place  March  14,  1841,  and  that  of  his 
wife  Jan.  22,  1848.  Their  only  son,  Peter,  was  born 
Sept.  27,  1796,  in  the  township  of  South  Brunswick, 
where  his  youth  was  spent  upon  the  farm  of  his  father. 
At  a  later  period  he  removed  to  New  York,  and  began 
mercantile  life  as  a  clerk.  He  continued  business  in 
Griggstown,  but  ultimately  returned  to  the  farm, 
which  became  his  by  inheritance  on  the  death  of 
his  father.  Here  he  followed  agricultural  employ- 
ments during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  the  homestead 
being  still  occupied  by  his  son. 

Mr.  Cortelyou  was  married  Sept.  23,  1820,  to  Miss 
Mary  Ann,  daughter  of  Cornelius  Gulick,  of 
Ten-Mile  Run,  Middlesex  Co.  Their  children  are 
Elizabeth,  born  Aug.  25,  1821 ;  Henry  P.,  whose 
birth  occurred  Dec.  4,  1823,  and  two  who  died  in 
early  childhood.  Mrs.  Cortelyou's  death  took  place 
Sept.  21,  1831,  and  he  was  again  married  on  the  21st 
of  November,  1844,  to  Miss  Julia  Ann,  daughter  of 
Garret  Beekman,  of  Griggstown.  They  had  one  son, 
Peter,  above  mentioned  as  the  owner  of  the  paternal 
estate. 


Mr.  Cortelyou  was  in  politics  a  Republican,  having 
during  the  late  civil  war  abandoned  the  principles  of 
the  Democracy  which  he  had  formerly  espoused. 
He  was  for  many  years  freeholder  of  the  township, 
and  held  other  less  important  offices.  He  was  for  a 
long  period  an  active  and  exemplary  member  of  the 
Reformed  (Dutch)  Church,  Franklin  Park,  and  one 
of  its  liberal  supporters.  The  death  of  Peter  Cortel- 
you occurred  Aug.  25,  1879,  in  his  eighty-third  year. 
His  life  was  a  bright  example  of  integrity  and  purity 
of  character,  and  won  for  him  the  respect  of  all  who 
were  associated  with  him. 


I.  CHANDLER    WITHINGTON. 

Mr.  Withington  is  descended  from  an  old  New 
England  family,  the  progenitor  of  whom  was  Elder 
Henry  Withington,  of  Dorchester,  Mass.,  who  emi- 
grated from  England  in  1635,  the  subject  of  this 
biographical  sketch  having  represented  the  eighth 
generation  of  the  family.  During  the  early  settle- 
ment of  Dorchester,  which  was  the  third  Puritan 
colony  (Plymouth  being  the  first  and  Salem  the 
second),  the  Withingtons  appear  prominent  in  affairs 
of  church  and  State,  and  were  allied  by  marriage  to 
many  of  the  older  New  England  families.  Phineas 
Withington,  the  father  of  Isaac  Chandler,  was  born 
April  13, 1790,  at  Jamaica  Plain,  now  Roxbury,  Mass., 
and  in  1810,  when  twenty  years  of  age,  came  to  Kings- 
ton, Middlesex  Co.,  N.  J.  He  was  well  known  as  one 
of  the  proprietors  of  the  old  Union  Stage  Line,  run- 
ning between  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  which  was 
afterwards  merged  into  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road, and  controlled  that  portion  of  the  route  between 
New  Brunswick  and  Kingston.  He  was,  Oct.  26, 1815, 
united  in  marriage  to  Miss  Sarah,  daughter  of  Henry 
and  Margaret  (Skillman)  Gulick,  of  Kingston,  N.  J. 
Phineas  Withington  was  a  man  of  indomitable  energy 
and  enterprise,  and  added  greatly  by  his  extensive 
business  connections  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
the  village  of  his  residence.  He  was  to  his  family  a 
kind  protector,  to  the  poor  a  steadfast  friend,  and  to 
the  community  generally  a  valuable  citizen.  His 
death  occurred  Nov.  21,  1834,  at  the  early  age  of 
forty-four  years. 

His  son,  Isaac  Chandler,  was  the  second  of  four 
children, — Amanda  B.,  Isaac  C,  Henry  G.,  and  Hiram 
R.  He  was  born  at  Kingston,  Jan.  29,  1820,  and  was 
but  fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his  father's 
decease. 

His  early  years  were  spent  in  school  at  Burlington, 
N.  J.,  after  which  he  became  a  clerk  in  the  post-office 
at  Princeton,  N.  J.,  and  later  assistant  postmaster  at 
Trenton,  N.  J. 

On  the  death  of  his  mother,  in  1842,  he  purchased 
the  interest  of  his  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  home- 
stead farm,  and  devoted  his  energies  to  agricultural 
pursuits.  On  the  18th  of  September,  1844,  he  was 
married  to  Miss  Maria  Roshore,  daughter  of  George 


SOUTH   BRUNSWICK. 


795 


W.  and  Eliza  Roshore  Piatt,  of  New  York  City.  He 
entered  into  business  relations  with  Mr.  Piatt,  which 
were  continued  until  the  death  of  the  latter,  in  1881. 
In  1850,  the  State  of  New  Jersey  having  purchased  the 
land  embraced  in  the  homestead  farm  with  a  view  to 
locating  a  House  of  Kefuge,  Mr.  Withington  removed 
to  New  York,  and  made  the  city  his  permanent  resi- 
dence. The  project  was,  however,  abandoned  in  1852, 
and  he  repurchased  the  property,  added  to  its  dimen- 
sions, and  in  1857  erected  a  spacious  and  elegant 
mansion  surrounded  by  broad  avenues  and  expansive 
lawns. 

The  cultivation  and  improvement  of  this  property 
was  a  source  of  great  pleasure  to  Mr.  Withington,  and 
the  summer  months  were  invariably  spent  on  his 
country  estate.  He  was  a  thorough,  practical,  care- 
ful, and  intelligent  farmer,  and  eager  to  avail  him- 
self of  all  the  modern  appliances  which  added  to  the 
success  of  his  efforts. 

He  cared  little  for  public  honors,  was  unostentatious 
in  his  life,  and  while  high-minded  and  sensitive  in  his 
nature,  was  invariably  courteous  and  genial  in  his 
bearing.  These  qualities,  added  to  an  unu.sually  dis- 
tinguished jihysique  and  a  certain  quality  of  personal 
magnetism,  rendered  his  presence  always  command- 
ing and  impressive. 

He  affiliated  in  religion  with  the  Presbyterian  de- 
nomination, and  was  for  many  years  identified  with 
the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Kingston,  N.  J. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Withington  were  the  parents  of  four 
sons  and  four  daughters,  the  eldest  of  whom  was 
George  Piatt,  who  died  at  the  age  of  five  years.  The 
survivors  are  Charles  Sumner,  who  graduated  at 
Princeton  College  in  the  class  of  1868,  was  admitted 
to  the  New  York  bar  in  1871,  and  is  now  in  active 
practice ;  Laura  Elliott,  Annie  Louise,  Irving  Piatt, 
who  graduated  at  Princeton  in  1880 ;  Chandler,  who 
graduates  during  the  present  year  from  the  John  E. 
Green  School  of  Science,  Princeton  College ;  Marea 
Roshore,  and  Eliza  Piatt.  The  death  of  Mr.  With- 
ington occurred  Nov.  22,  1881,  in  his  sixty-second 
year,  at  his  residence  in  New  York.  His  remains 
were  interred  in  the  family  plot  in  Greenwood 
Cemetery. 


THOMAS  S.  SNEDEKER. 
Garret  Snedeker  came  from  Long  Island  about  1766 
and  settled  in  South  Brunswick  township,  Middlesex 
County,  N.  J.,  where  he  became  the  possessor  of  sev- 
eral hundred  acres  of  land.  He  was  a  man  of  quite 
large  means  and  influence,  and  was  known  as  "Gen- 
tleman Garret."  He  was  an  elder  in  the  Presbyterian 
church  at  Cranbury,  and  in  his  will,  dated  1791,  he 
left  £1.50  to  the  theological  seminary  at  Princeton, 
and  divided  the  balance  of  his  property  among  his 
children.  He  died  Aug.  1, 1825.  His  wife,  by  whom 
he  had  issue,  was  Margaret,  sister  of  Col.  David 
Chambers,  who   served   in   the   Revolutionary   war. 


She  was  born  Feb.  23,  1746,  and  died  May  9,  1791. 
His  children  were  Alexander,  Abram,  Rose,  Isaac, 
Maria,  and  Craige.  The  third  son,  Isaac,  was  born 
Oct.  2,  1782.  He  succeeded  to  a  part  of  the  home- 
stead, and  was  a  farmer  during  his  active  business 
life.  He  died  in  Cranbury,  Feb.  22,  1862,  where  he 
retired  after  leaving  his  farm.  He  was  a  ruling  elder 
in  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cranbury  for 
twenty-four  years.  His  wife,  Anne  Salter,  bore  him 
children, — Getty,  wife  of  Dominicus  Mershon  ;  Garret, 
resides  in  Washington.  S.  R.,  Thomas  Salter  ;  and 
Margaret  Chambers,  who  became  the  wife  of  James 
Buckalew,  of  Jamesburg. 

Thomas  Salter,  second  son  of  Isaac  Snedeker,  is  the 
subject  of  our  sketch,  and  was  born  on  the  homestead, 
June  9, 1809.  He  succeeded  to  that  part  of  the  home- 
stead called  the  "  Bennett  tract,"  containing  some 
four  hundred  acres,  partly  by  purchase  and  partly  by 
inheritance,  which  has  remained  the  homestead  since. 
As  a  farmer,  a  merchant  at  New  Brunswick,  and  a 
large  dealer  in  timber,  he  spent  an  active  business 
life.  He  was  a  man  of  good  judgment,  sterling  in- 
tegrity, and  unsolicitous  of  public  place  or  the  emol- 
uments of  office.  He  was  an  active  and  influential 
member  of  the  Whig  and  Republican  parties,  a  zealous 
supporter  of  the  Union  cause  in  the  late  civil  war,  and 
during  the  war  and  for  three  years  afterwards  he  filled 
the  place  of  revenue  assessor  and  inspector.  Then  he 
was  succeeded  by  his  son  Isaac,  who  held  the  office 
until  a  change  was  made  in  the  district.  He  was  a 
deacon  in  the  Baptist  Church  at  Hightstown  for  thir- 
teen years,  was  one  of  the  founders  of  Peddie  Insti- 
tute of  that  place,  and  for  a  time  a  member  of  its 
board  of  trustees,  and  he  was  frequently  selected  to 
administer  upon  estates.    He  died  Aug.  3,  1868. 

His  wife  was  Sarah  Stryker,  a  daughter  of  John  I. 
Bergen  and  Mary  Mer-shon,  of  Cranbury.  She  is  a 
descendant  in  the  seventh  generation  from  Hans 
Hansen  Bergen,  a  native  of  Bergen,  Norway,  who 
removed  to  Holland,  and  came  to  New  Amsterdam  in 
1633.  Her  great-grandfather,  George  Bergen,  in  1720 
settled  from  Long  Island  upon  a  plantation  in  Mid- 
dlesex County,  N.  J.,  which,  with  its  families  of  ne- 
groes, descended  to  his  son,  John  B.  Bergen,  who  was 
born  March  27,  1739,  and  died  June  2,  1808 ;  served 
with  the  Jersey  Blues  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Princeton.  John  B. 
Bergen  had  for  his  insignia  of  office  a  long  staff  with 
a  spear  and  slender  battle-axe  attached,  which  he 
preserved  during  his  life.  Mrs.  Thomas  S.  Snedeker 
survives  in  1882.  Her  children  are  Mary  A.,  wife  of 
Austin  I.  Richardson,  residing  upon  a  part  of  the 
homestead ;  Sarah  E.,  wife  of  R.  Baxter  Konover, 
of  Trenton  ;  Emeline,  wife  of  Abigail  Chamberlin, 
residing  upon  a  part  of  the  hom&stead ;  Isaac  S.,  a 
grain  and  hay  merchant  and  farmer  at  Dayton,  N.  J., 
and  a  manufacturer  of  edge-tools  at  Newark,  N.  J., 
married  Miss  Mamie  Ten  Broeck ;  and  the  youngest 
child,  Willard,  who  died  at  the  age  of  nine  years. 


r96 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


ANDREW    ROWLAND. 

The  Rowlands,  as  elsewhere  stated,  are  of  French 
extraction,  the  subject  of  this  biographical  sketch 
being  the  great-grandson  of  James  Rowland  and  his 
wife,  Letty  Guest.  Among  their  children  was  William, 
born  March  13,  1780,  and  married  to  Miss  Catherine 
Stryker,  who  had  eleven  children,  among  whom  was 
James,  born  in  New  Brunswick  and  married  to  Miss 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Andrew  McDowell,  of  South 
Brunswick.  Their  children  were  William,  Andrew, 
Adeline  (Mrs.  Robbins),  Catherine,  Richard,  and 
Charles.  William  resides  in  Brooklyn,  while  Charles 
and  Richard  are  residents  of  Dayton,  N.  J.  Andrew 
was  born  Sept.  28,  1829,  on  the  homestead  farm  at 
present  occupied  by  Stryker  Rowland.  The  village 
of  Dayton  attbrded  him  the  earliest  advantages  of 
education,  after  which  he  removed  to  Brooklyn,  and 
'acquired  the  trade  of  a  ship-joiner.  This  business  he 
carried  on  for  a  number  of  years  successfully,  in  con- 
nection with  his  brother  William,  in  New  York  and 
Brooklyn. 

Having  a  taste  for  country  life  and  the  labors  of 
the  agriculturist,  he  removed  to  South  Brunswick 
in  1864,  and  has  since  followed  farming  pursuits.  He 
was  married  Oct.  20,  1853,  to  Miss  Mary  F.,  daughter 
of  James  Foster,  of  Brooklyn,  where  he  followed  the 
trade  of  a  ship-joiner,  his  father  having  been  a  ship- 
captain.  The  children  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rowland  are 
James  Andrew,  born  Aug.  2,  1854;  Sarah  L.  (Mrs. 
Harvey  B.  Groves),  born  May  10,  1866;  William  F., 
born  May  28,  1864;  Clarence  S.,  whose  birth  occurred 
Aug.  18,  1867  ;  and  Sylvester  Hill,  born  Oct.  6,  1873. 
The  death  of  Mrs.  Rowland  occurred  March  30,  1881. 
Her  memory  is  tenderly  cheri.shed  by  a  devoted  hus- 
band and  children.  In  politics  Mr.  Rowland  may  be 
classed  in  the  ranks  of  the  Republicans,  though  he 
takes  but  little  interest  in  the  conflicts  of  party,  and 
has  never  sought  official  position. 

He  is  a  Presbyterian,  and  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  church  at  Dayton,  of  which  he  was  formerly  a 
trustee  and  is  now  an  elder.  Mrs.  Rowland  was  a 
member  of  the  First  Church  at  Green  Point. 


Brunswick  and  engaged  in  farming  occupations.  He 
married  Miss  Catharine  Stryker,  and  had  children, — 
Elizabeth  S.,  James,  William,  Letty  A.,  Charles  S., 
Lewis  D.,  William  (second),  Adeline,  Richard,  Cath- 
erine, and  Stryker.  Mr.  Rowland  was  a  man  of  strong 
force  of  character  and  of  exceptional  ability.  He  was 
a  lifelong  Democrat,  participated  actively  in  public 
affairs,  and  lield  for  years  the  office  of  justice  of  the 
peace  of  the  township.  His  death  occurred  July  26, 
1857,  in  his  seventy-eighth  year,  and  that  of  his  wife 
Jan.  31,  1845,  in  her  sixty-sixth  year. 

Their  son  Stryker  was  born  Oct.  25, 1818,  and  after 
obtaining  the  rudiments  of  an  education  at  the  vil- 
lage school  at  Dayton,  in  the  township,  engaged  in 
agricultural  employments  on  the  farm  of  his  father, 
which  is  still  occupied  by  him,  and  known  as  the 
Long  Bridge  farm. 

He  was  married  to  Miss  Ann,  daughter  of  Isaac 
Bogert,  of  South  Brunswick,  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1841.  Their  children  are  Isaac  B.,  born  in  1843 ; 
James  E.,  whose  birth  occurred  in  1847 ;  and  Anne 
E.  (Mrs.  Philip  H.  Allendorf ),  born  in  1850.  Isaac 
has  two  children, — Anne  J.  and  Charles  S. ;  James 
has  one  daughter,  Ella  D. ;  and  Mrs.  Allendorf  has 
two  daughters,  Nettie  S.  and  Millie  L.  Mr.  Rowland 
has  always  been  a  strong  Democrat  in  his  political 
predilections,  and  though  not  in  any  sense  a  politician, 
has  been  for  several  years  postmaster  of  Monmouth 
Junction.  He  has  devoted  himself  during  his  life- 
time to  farming  employments.  He  is  a  member  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Dayton,  Mrs.  Rowland 
having  been  a  member  of  the  church  of  the  same  de- 
nomination at  Cranbury. 


STRYKER  ROWLAND. 

The  name  of  Rowland  is  intimately  associated  with 
French  history,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  ancestors 
of  Stryker  Rowland  were  of  Frencli  descent.  His 
grandfather,  James  Rowland,  was  born  Aug.  18, 1755, 
and  married  to  Miss  Letty  Guest,  whose  birth  oc- 
curred Jan.  12,  1756.  Their  children  were  Elizabeth, 
William,  Catharine,  James,  Charles,  Letty,  Sarah, 
Richard,  John,  and  Susannah. 

William,  the  second  of  these  children  in  the  order 
of  birth,  was  born  March  13,  1780,  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, and  later  removed  to  Penn's  Neck,  Mercer 
Co.,  where  he  was  a  popular  landlord,  and  also  en- 
gaged in  carting  for  the  government  during  the  war 
of  1812.    He  subsequently  became  a  resident  of  South 


JOHN    STRYKER    CKUSER. 

The  family  of  Crusers  originally  settled  on  Staten 
Island,  where  Abraham  Cruser,  grandfather  of  John 
Stryker,  resided.  He  was  born  June  1,  1733,  and 
married  to  Martha  Doolhagen,  the  ceremony  having 
been  performed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Eaton  on  the  5th  of 
April,  1758.  Their  children  were  Helena,  born  in 
1759  ;  Rachel,  in  1761 ;  Martha,  in  1764 ;  Frederick, 
in  1766  ;  Cornelius,  in  1769 ;  and  John,  in  1778.  Abra- 
ham Cruser  removed  at  a  later  period  to  the  family 
projjerty,  which  was  partly  inherited  by  his  wife,  and 
the  remainder  purchased  by  him.  He  served  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  active  in  preventing 
the  landing  of  the  British  oft'  Sandy  Hook.  He  was 
an  influential  citizen,  and  accumulated  a  fortune  in 
farming  pursuits. 

His  death  occurred  April  2,  1819,  in  his  eighty- 
sixth  year.  His  son  John  was  born  July  24,  1778, 
and  was  married  to  Cornelia,  daughter  of  John 
Stryker,  on  the  14th  of  February,  1797,  by  Rev. 
Samuel  Snowden,  of  Princeton.  Their  children  were 
Abraham,  born  May  5,  1798;  John  Stryker,  whose 
birth  occurred  Sept.  25, 1799,  deceased  ;  John  Stryker 
(2d),  born  Oct.  26,  1800;  Cornelia  (Mrs.  Voorhees), 


(iX^^Co&iJ-^t^r^ 


MONROE. 


797 


born  Feb.  8,  1803;  James  McRee,  born  July  7,  1804; 
Jaquish  V.,  Aug.  13,  1806;  Frederick,  Feb."  14,  1808; 
Van  Cleef,  Feb.  13,  1810;  Catherine,  May  11,  1811. 

John  Cruser  died  April  5,  1816,  and  the  death  of 
his  wife  occurred  Jan.  28,  1852.      Their  son,  John 
Stryker,  who  is  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  remained 
upon  the  homestead  until  his  twenty-eighth  year,  after 
which,  having  sold  his  portion  of  the  property  to  his 
brother,  he   removed  to  his   present   residence  and  i 
continued  farming  occupations.     He  has  been  during  ; 
his  lifetime  a  strong  Democrat  and  a  firm  party  ad-  j 
herent.    He  received  the  appointment  of  judge  of  the  i 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  and  declined  the  honor,  but  1 
has  served  as  justice  of  the  peace,  and  held  other  I 
township  offices.    He  has  been  largely  identified  with 
county  politics,  and  exercised  no  small  influence  on 
the  annual  elections.    The  Cruser  family  have  always 
been   identified   with   the  religious   interests  of  the 
community.     Abraham   Cruser  a.ssisted   in   rebuild- 
ing   the   First   Presbyterian    Church   of   Princeton, 
and  John  Stryker  Cruser  was  formerly  a  member  of  | 
the  Kingston  Presbyterian  Church,  and  one  of  its  [ 
trustees,  and  a  member  of  its   building  committee. 
He  is  now  associated  with  the  Second  Presbyterian  i 
Church  of  Princeton. 


CHAPTER    CI. 


MONROE. 

Situation  and  Boundaries. — Monroe  is  the  south- 
ernmost township  in  Middlesex  County,  and  is 
bounded  north  by  East  Brunswick,  east  by  Madison 
and  Manalapan  (Monmouth  County),  south  by  Ma- 
nalapan  (Monmouth  County)  and  East  Windsor 
(Mercer  County),  and  west  by  Cranbury  and  South 
Brunswick. 

Natural  Features. — Like  most  of  the  stretch  of 
country  south  of  the  Raritan,  between  New  York 
and  Philadelphia,  the  surface  of  Monroe  is  rolling. 
The  soil  is  measurably  productive,  and  contains 
clayey  and  sandy  loam  in  considerable  quantities.  It 
is  watered  centrally  by  the  Manalapan  Creek,  and 
along  a  portion  of  its  eastern  border  by  Matchaponix 
Creek,  which  unite  at  its  northern  extremity,  form- 
ing South  River.  These  streams  were  so  named  by 
the  Indians  in  description  of  the  country  through 
which  they  flow  as  it  was  regarded  by  them,  manala- 
pan signifying  a  good  country  producing  good  bread, 
and  matchaponix  poor  land  not  producing  anything 
out  of  which  good  bread  may  be  made.  At  James- 
burg  the  Manalapan  affords  a  fine  water-power,  which 
was  first  utilized  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  The  southern  part  is  drained  by  Cranbury 
Brook,  which  has  its  source  in  Cedar  Brook  and  other 
small  streams  in   Monroe,  traverses  Cranbury  town- 

1  By  M.  0.  Rolfe. 


ship  centrally,  and  near  its  western  limit  flows  into 
Millstone  River.  The  Camden  and  Amboy  Division 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  crosses  the  northwest- 
ern part  of  the  township,  forming  a  junction  at 
Jamesburg  with  the  Freehold  and  Jamesburg  Rail- 
road, and  the  extension  of  the  latter  to  Monmouth 
Junction  in  South  Brunswick. 

The  area  of  Monroe  is  22,000  acres.  In  1880  its 
real  estate  was  valued  at  $1,029,000 ;  its  personal 
property  at  $395,200;  the  total  taxable  valuation 
being  $1,129,000.  The  voters  numbered  635.  The 
county  tax  was  $6815 ;  the  school  tax,  $2237.  In 
1840,  two  years  after  its  organization,  its  population 
was  2453,  and  ten  years  later  it  was  3004.  In  1880  it 
was  3010. 

Early  Settlement  and  Pioneer  Life.'— In  colonial 
days,  when  the  first  settlements  were  made  in  this 
vicinity  of  which  we  now  find  any  mention,  New 
Jersey  was  divided  into  the  provinces  of  East  and 
West  Jersey,  and  the  Duke  of  York,  under  date  of 
March  14,  1682,  had  confirmed  the  .sale  of  the  prov- 
ince of  East  Jersey  to  the  twenty-four  proprietors, 
including  James,  the  Earl  of  Perth,  and  Robert  Bar- 
clay, from  whom  the  title  to  a  part  of  Edmund  Rue's 
farm  was  acquired,  with  only  three  intermediate 
changes.  The  representatives  of  the  proprietors  ap- 
pear to  have  been  very  active  in  disseminating  favor- 
able accounts  of  this  section,  and  the  first  settlers 
were  very  enthusiastic  in  their  descriptions  of  their 
new  homes  and  prospects. 

Further  inducements  were  made  by  the  proprietors 
in  1684,  granting  fifty  acres  to  each  head  of  a  family 
settling  in  the  province,  and  twenty-five  acres  for  each 
of  the  other  members  of  his  household.  Under  this 
provision  James  Johnstone  came  from  Edinburgh  in 
December,  1686,  and  settled  on  the  southeastern  bank 
of  the  Manalapan,  near  Spottswood,  and  within  the 
present  borders  of  Monroe.  He  soon  purchased  ad- 
ditional land,  extending  towards  the  Matchaponix, 
and  was  doubtless  the  first  person  to  reclaim  land  in 
the  township. 

A  little  later  William  Davison,  son  of  Robert  Davi- 
son, also  from  Scotland,  settled  on  a  tract  of  land 
commencing  about  two  hundred  feet  southeast  of  the 
residence  of  Isaac  S.  Buckelew,  in  Jamesburg,  ex- 
tending beyond  Daniel  R.  Schenck's  and  including 
most  of  the  land  now  known  as  the  Davison  tract. 
His  descendants  have  been  numerous,  and  have  done 
much  towards  improving  the  land  and  advancing  the 
agricultural  interests  of  that  vicinity.  His  nephew,' 
Paul  Davison,  who  died  seven  or  eight  years  ago,  was 
well  known,  and  the  widow  of  his  son,  William  W. 

~  In  the  preparation  of  this  cliapter,  as  elsewhere,  tlie  historian  has, 
by  permission,  made  free  use  of  the  historical  address  delivered  by  T. 
Wilton  Hill,  Esq.,  at  Jamesburg,  July  4,  1870. 

3  Some  statements  above  regarding  the  relationship  of  William  Davi- 
son to  members  of  the  family  of  a  later  generation  conflict  somewhat 
with  the  version  given  in  Mr.  Hill's  address.  Peter  V.  Davison  is  au- 
thority for  the  change,  the  family  Bible  seemingly  confirming  its  pro- 
priety. 


798 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


Davison,  the  venerable  Sarah  Davison,  is  still  living 
in  the  family  of  the  late  Abrain  S.  Davison,  of  which 
her  grandson,  Peter  V.  Davison,  is  the  nominal  head. 
Abram  S.  Davison  and  his  sisters,  Nancy,  Margaret, 
and  Rebecca,  were  children  of  William  W.  Davison. 
Abram  S.  married  a  daughter  of  Peter  Voorhees. 
His  children,  Peter  V.,  Benjamin  D.,  Isaac  S.,  Wil- 
liam H.,  Sarah  V.,  and  Anna  M.,  are  all  living  at  and 
near  Jamesburg. 

The  letters  written  by  the  first  settlers  to  their 
friends  at  home  describing  the  country  and  offering 
inducements  for  the  latter  to  follow  them  were  quaintly 
interesting.     The  following  is  a  specimen  : 

"  Wolves  are  so  far  from  troubling  men,  that  if  a  man  should  lay  a 
glove  upon  a  carcass  or  their  prey  they  will  yell  but  not  come  nigh  it. 
You  cannot  come  nigh  a  rattlesnake  but  they  will  rattle  with  their  tail, 
whereby  a  niau  is  advertised  either  to  kill  them  or  go  by  them.  They 
frequently  charm  the  squirrels  or  other  little  beasts  off  the  tops  of  the 
trees  into  their  mouth,  and  that  without  touching  them  with  their  teeth, 
which  if  they  did  they  would  poison  themselves.  The  flea  that  is  trou- 
blesome on  the  low  and  marshy  grounds  is  not  found  en  the  uplands. 
I  am  mightily  well  pleased  with  my  coming  over,  neither  do  I  think  I 
could  live  again  in  Scotland.  It  is  a  place  that  produces  many  fine  fruits 
and  physic  herbs.  The  woods  are  stored  with  wild  deers,  conies,  wolves, 
bears,  raccoons,  some  beavers,  and  several  other  beasts  which  have  fine 
furs,  and  (i.sh  and  water-fowl  for  the  killing.  The  timber  are  mostly 
oak  of  all  soits,  walnut  and  chestnut.  .Strawberries  grow  very  thick 
tipou  the  ground  amongst  the  trees,  so  that  some  places  in  the  woods 
are  in  summer,  m  it  were,  covered  with  a  red  cloth.  The  land  is  e.\- 
ceediug  good  which  is  yet  to  take  up,  much  better  than  what  is  in- 
habited. There  is  very  much  'syder'  here  which  is  our  principal  driuk. 
The  Indian  natives  are  not  troublesome  any  way  if  we  do  them  no  harm, 
but  are  a  kind  and  loving  people.  The  men  do  nothing  but  hunt,  and 
the  women  they  plant  corn  and  work  at  home.  They  come  and  trade 
among  the  Christians  with  skins  or  venison,  and  in  the  summer-time 
they  and  their  wives  come  down  the  rivers  iu  their  canoes,  which  they 
make  themselves  of  a  piece  of  a  great  tree  like  a  little  boat,  and  there 
they  fish  and  lake  oysters.  Wliat  I  most  earnestly  desire  of  you  for  the 
encouragement  of  this  plantation  is  that  you  would  be  instrumental  to 
send  us  over  some  ministers,  who  I  dare  engage  shall  ever  afterwards  be 
thankful." 

Little  is  to  be  learned  of  interest  in  reference  to  the 
development  of  the  lands  mentioned  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  this  century.  The  old  building  standing 
on  the  State  Reform  School  farm  remains  as  a  link 
connecting  the  eighteenth  century  with  the  present. 
Tradition  alone  tells  us  that  it  was  built  during  the 
French  war  of  1754-56,  and  used  for  the  detention  of 
French  prisoners.  In  the  old  graveyard  attached  to 
it  are  found  some  old  headstones  bearing  date  pre- 
vious to  that  time.  On  the  Monroe  side  of  the 
Manalapan  there  can  still  be  seen  the  remnants  of  a 
dam  that  was  in  use  by  the  Forge  Company,  Messrs. 
Perry,  Covne  &  Hays,  before  the  Revolution.  This 
side  of  the  brook  the  land  was  included  in  what  was 
known  as  the  Faulkner  tract,  and  as  late  as  1758  was 
inhabited  mostly  by  Indians;  the  patent  line,  reach- 
ing from  a  point  marked  by  a  peculiar  stone,  still 
well  preserved,  on  the  farm  of  Edmund  Rue,  at  the 
edge  of  Manalapan  Brook,  thence  along  the  ftirm 
of  Alexander  Redmond  and  others,  may  still  be 
traced  to  the  Delaware  River. 

On  the  farm  of  Alexander  Redmond  and  adjoining 
the  land  of  the  Widow  Lane  was  the  Brainerd  settle- 
ment, and  there  was  the  scene  of  the  distinguished 


labors  of  the  great  missionary.  Rev.  Mr.  Brainerd 
first  preached  to  the  Indians  in  the  woods  between 
Stockbridge  and  Albany,  N.  Y.,  but  without  much 
apparent  success.  He  then  about  1745  turned  his 
attention  to  the  Indians  at  the  forks  of  the  Delaware 
and  at  Crossweeksung,  this  section,  where  his  labors 
were  crowned  with  remarkable  success.  He  and  his 
brother  John  also  at  one  time  labored  in  the  Wyom- 
ing Valley  in  Pennsylvania.  "His  'Life  and  Diary 
Among  the  Indians,'  "  wrote  an  eminent  English 
divine,  "  exhibits  a  perfect  pattern  of  the  qualities 
which  should  distinguish  the  instructor  of  rude  and 
barbarous  tribes, — the  most  invincible  patience  and 
self-denial,  the  profoundest  humility,  exquisite  pru- 
dence, indefatigable  industry,  and  such  a  devotedness 
to  God,  or  rather  such  an  absorption  of  the  whole 
soul  in  zeal  for  the  divine  glory  and  salvation  of  men, 
as  is  scarcely  paralleled  since  the  age  of  the  apos- 
tles." Imagination  pictures  Brainerd,  earnest  in 
purpose,  eloquent  in  speech,  gracious  in  manner, 
persuasive  in  conversation,  doing  his  work  among 
the  Indians  in  the  primitive  forests  of  Monroe,  inter- 
ested solely  for  their  spiritual  and  mental  develop- 
ment and  the  consequent  improvement  in  their 
temporal  affairs,  and  his  name  seems,  like  those  of 
Heckewelder  and  Eliot,  a  reproach  upon  the  "  Indian 
policy"  now  pursued  by  a  powerful  government 
towards  the  remnant  of  a  once  numerous  and  in  many 
respects  admirable  people. 

When  Alexander  Redmond  purchased  the  property 
in  1841  many  cellars,  showing  the  former  location  of 
houses  in  the  Brainerd  settlement,  were  visible,  and 
he  long  retained  stones  that  had  been  used  as  hearths, 
as  well  as  many  relics  of  the  Indians  exhumed  there. 
The  old  apple-  and  cherry-trees  of  the  settlement 
were  then  quite  numerous.  Some  of  the  apple-trees 
still  remain.  The  brook  from  which  this  grove  takes 
its  name  was  called  by  them  "  Wigwam  Brook,"  and 
has  its  source  in  springs  located  in  their  settlement. 
In  the  life  of  John  Brainerd,  jjublished  by  the  Pres- 
byterian Board,  the  year  1754  is  spoken  of  as  one  of 
great  despondency  for  the  missionary,  as  "  Bethel,  to 
procure  which  as  their  permanent  home  David  Brain- 
erd had  paid  the  debts  of  the  Indians,  amounting  to 
some  ninety  pounds,  and  aided  them  to  clear  its 
forests  with  his  own  labor,  was  now  passing  from 
their  hands  forever."  A  short  time  after  the  Scotch 
society  which  had  supported  him  in  his  mission.ary 
field  withdrew  that  assistance,  and  Brainerd  sought 
other  service.  In  this  connection  it  is  interesting  to 
read  an  old  deed  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Alexander 
Redmond,  by  which  it  appears  that  on  the  12th  of 
July,  1754  (the  year  above  mentioned),  the  Rev.  John 
Brainerd  conveyed  to  Peter  Dereraer  the  land  adja- 
cent to  Wigwam  Brook,  including  lands  now  owned 
by  Mrs.  James  Redmond,  Alexander  Redmond,  Ed- 
mund Rue,  and  the  estate  of  James  Buckelew.  The 
historic  character  of  this  locality  becomes  still  more 
interesting  when  we  remember  that  Brainerd's  help- 


MONROE. 


799 


mate  was  the  Rev.  William  Tennent,  at  that  time  the 
remarkable  and  powerful  pastor  of  the  old  Tennent 
Church  in  Monmouth  County.  After  Brainerd  went 
to  Newark,  in  17.55,  the  Scotch  society  made  an 
agreement  to  give  him  twenty-five  pounds  per  annum 
for  visiting  the  congregation  once  a  week,  catechising 
their  children,  and  sometimes  administering  the  com- 
munion on  the  Lord's  day,  hoping  thereby  to  keep 
the  Indian  congregation  together.'  Previous  to  1738 
some  Presbyterians,  mostly  from  the  Cranbury  neigh- 
borhood, and  certain  members  of  the  Church  of 
England  owned  a  house  of  worship  conjointly  which 
stood  in  School  District  No.  32,  in  Monroe,  where 
the  "  Old  Church"  school-house  now  is.  ■  The  two 
sects  are  thought  to  have  separated  in  the  years  men- 
tioned, and  nothing  later  is  known  of  the  church  or 
its  Episcopalian  worshipers,  who  about  that  time 
seem  to  have  become  sole  owners.^ 

Tice  Mount,  of  English  descent,  located  very  early 
at  Matchaponix,  now  known  locally  as  "Texas,"  in 
the  northeastern  part  of  the  township,  and  died  there 
at  an  advanced  age.  His  sons  were  Joseph  and 
Hugh  Taylor  Mount,  and  he  had  daughters  named 
Catharine  and  Rebecca.  Joseph  married  a  daughter 
of  Henry  Dellatosh,  and  located  on  the  Alexander 
Redmond  farm,  near  Jamesburg.  His  children  were 
quite  numerous,  but  only  one  son,  Morgan,  lived  to 
manhood.  Of  his  daughters,  Elsie  married  Joseph 
Cosner,  Polly  married  Benjamin  Hayes,  and  lives  at 
Freehold,  and  Catharine  is  unmarried.  Hugh  Tay- 
lor Mount  married  Catharine,  daughter  of  Cornelius 
Johnson,  and  both  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age.  Their 
children  were  named  Cornelius  .T.,  Catharine,  Tice, 
Joseph,  Rachel,  and  Ellen.  Cornelius  J.  married 
Nancy  Davison,  daughter  of  William  Davison,  and 
both  are  living,  he  aged  eighty-three,  she  aged  sev- 
enty-five. Their  sons,  John,  Alfred,  and  William  H. 
Mount,  are  well  known.  The  former  married  Ellen, 
daughter  of  Thomas  Day ;  the  latter,  Amanda, 
daughter  of  Paul  Davison. 

Peter  Mount,  who  has  been  dead  many  years,  was 
another  early  settler  at  Matchaponix,  as  was  John 
Rue,  who  owned  a  good  deal  of  land,  and  was  often 
referred  to  as  "  rich  Johnny  Rue."  His  sons  were 
named  Isaac,  Joseph,  and  John,  and  none  of  them 
are  now  living  there.  Tice  Rue  was  another  early 
comer  in  that  neighborhood.  His  sons  were  Tice, 
Joseph,  Matthias,  and  John.  Matthias'  death  was 
so  sudden,  and  the  circumstances  surrounding  it  so 
strange,  that  it  will  long  be  remembered  how  he  was 
taken  suddenly  ill  in  the  court-room  at  New  Bruns- 
wick years  ago  and  died  almost  immediately.  John, 
a  .son  of  Matthias,  is  living  at  Matchaponix.  Edmund, 
a  son  of  John  and  a  grandson  of  Tice  Rue,  resides 
near  Jamesburg.  Cornelius  Johnson  was  an  early 
resident  in  the  same  section,  and  was  a  man  of  some 

1  For  further  mention  of  Brainerd  and  his  own  account  of  some  of  bis 
meetings,  see  the  history  of  Cranhury. 
*  See  history  of  Cranhury. 


prominence,  taking  a  leading  part  in  matters  of  im- 
portance. We  find  his  name  among  those  of  the 
subscribers  to  the  fund  for  the  erection  of  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Cranbury,  which  was  pledged 
between  1785  and  1788.  He  had  sons  named  Wil- 
liam, Cornelius,  Reuben,  and  Tice.  William  married 
Rebecca  Tone.  Cornelius  became  a  physician,  and 
for  many  years  lived  and  practiced  his  profession  in 
Spottswood.  He  married  into  the  Schureman  family 
of  New  Brunswick.  Reuben  married  Phebe  De  Witt, 
of  Cranbury;  Tice  (first  wife),  Ann,  daughter  of 
James  Cottrell ;  and  John,  Polly  Tone,  a  sister  of 
William's  wife. 

Another  family  of  Mounts  than  the  one  previously 
mentioned  are  quite  numerous  in  Monroe.  They  are 
the  descendants  of  (1)  Joseph  B.  Mount,  who  died 
about  1840  at  the  age  of  eighty-four.  His  children 
were  named  William,  Samuel,  Brittain,  John,  Joseph, 
David,  Lewis,  Barbara,  Mary  Ann,  Catharine,  Susan, 
Lucinda,  Lydia  A.,  and  Hannah.  (2)  William  lived 
and  died  in  the  township  a  few  years  ago,  aged 
ninety-six.  His  sons  were  Joseph,  Samuel,  Benja- 
min, Augustus,  and  William,  some  of  whom  are 
dead,  and  none  of  whom  live  in  Monroe.  He  had 
daughters  named  Mary  Ann,  Barbara,  Hannah,  and 
Elizabeth.  (3)  Samuel  went  West  and  died  there, 
leaving  no  family.  (4)  Brittain  also  went  West  and 
married  there,  and  at  his  death  left  two  sons.  (5)  John 
married  Sarah  Bennett,  by  whom  he  had  children 
named  Joseph  B.,  Aaron,  John,  Henry,  Brittain, 
Ursula,  Hannah,  Sarah  Ann,  and  Helen.  Josejih  B. 
married  Margaret  Applegate,  and  is  living  in  Monroe. 
His  son,  John  H.  Blount,  is  a  farmer.  Another, 
Daniel  A.,  is  a  wheelwright  at  Half-Acre.  Other 
.sons  of  his  are  named  Charles  B.,  William,  and 
George,  and  he  has  daughters  named  Eleanor,  Sarah, 
Caroline,  and  Anna.  (6)  Joseph  is  a  resident  of 
Monmouth  County.  (7)  David  married  Elizabeth 
A.,  daughter  of  Furman  Applegate,  and  is  a  farmer 
and  resident  of  Monroe,  having  children  named 
Joseph  H.,  John  A.,  Benjamin  L.,  Hannah  L.,  Ann, 
Amelia,  Irene,  and  Sarah  L.  (8)  Lewis  is  a  resident 
of  Canada,  aud  there  married. 

William  Day  settled  in  Monmouth  County  in  1720. 
He  had  two  sons,  John  and  William.  The  former 
located  early  in  Monroe,  and  reared  a  family  there. 
The  latter  remained  in  Monmouth  Countj-,  and  his 
sons  settled  in  Monroe,  ^Wiere  the  descendants  of  both 
are  numerous. 

At  Matchaponix  Joseph  Perrine  was  an  early  set- 
tler. He  was  a  descendant  of  one  of  two  brothers, 
who  were  the  progenitors,  as  is  supposed,  of  all  of 
the  name  in  America.  They  were  named  Henry  and 
Daniel  Perrine,  and  were  natives  of  France.  After 
the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  (1686)  they 
fled  from  La  Rochelle,  Lower  Charente,  France,  and 
in  company  with  others  embarked  for  America,  the 
hope  of  the  Huguenots,  in  a  large  sailing-vessel 
named  the  "Caledonia,"  which  entered  the  bay  at 


800 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Amboy  in  so  dilapidated  a  condition  as  to  be  unable 
to  make  a  landing  and  stranded,  and  was  abandoned 
on  the  southeastern  shore  of  Staten  Island.  Joseph 
Perrine,  who  was  a  large  landowner  at  Matchaponix, 
had  six  sons,  one  of  whom,  John,  inherited  a  portion 
of  the  tract  and  settled  on  it.  He  had  eight  children, 
of  whom  one  is  John,  known  as  ex- Judge  Perrine, 
now,  at  the  age  of  eighty-four,  a  resident  at  Bloom- 
field  Mills,  in  East  Brunswick,  near  Spottswood.  He 
was  early  and  long  a  surveyor  and  conveyancer,  and 
at  different  times  and  places  a  merchant  for  nearly 
forty  years.  Elected  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1825, 
he  served  more  than  thirty  years.  He  was  elected  a 
member  of  the  New  Jersey  Council  in  1834;  wasjudge 
of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  Middlesex  County, 
1837-64,  serving  much  of  the  time  as  presiding  judge ; 
was  appointed  a  master  in  chancery  in  1851,  and  was 
a  member  of  the  New  Jersey  Legislature,  1866-67. 
His  sons  are  prominent  business  men  of  South  Am- 
boy. 

(1)  Peter  Vanderhoof  settled  at  Rhode  HaW  about 
1775,  and  was  a  farmer  and  a  prominent  man  in  his 
day,  holding  the  office  of  justice  of  the  peace  many 
years.  His  children  were  named  David,  John,  Peter, 
Michael,  and  Ann.  (2)  David  married  Mary  Barclay 
and  located  across  the  present  township  line  in  South 
Brunswick,  near  the  homestead,  and  had  a  son  named 
Alfred,  and  two  daughters  named  Margaret  Ellen  and 
Mary  Ellen.  (3)  John  died  a  bachelor.  (4)  Peter 
married  and  settled  at  New  Brunswick.  (5)  Michael 
married  Margaret  Van  Pelt  and  remained  on  the 
family  homestead  at  Rhode  Hall,  and  his  sons,  David, 
John,  and  Peter,  all  lived  there. 

Early  in  the  last  century  (1)  James  Gulick  settled 
at  Rhode  Hall,  and  became  a  farmer  and  blacksmith. 
He  married  Elizabeth  Snediker,  and  had  a  family  of 
five  sons  and  a  daughter.  The  sons  were  named  Da- 
vid, Moses,  Aaron,  James,  and  Isaac.  The  daughter 
was  named  Rachel.  (2)  David  married  Catharine 
Scott  and  removed  to  New  York,  where  he  was  a 
merchant  until  1828,  when  he  purchased  the  place  in 
South  Brunswick  since  known  as  the  Gulick  farm, 
where  he  lived  until  his  death,  about  1835.  His 
family  consisted  of  a  son  named  Alexander  and  four 
daughters  named  Eliza,  Mary,  Jane,  and  Nancy. 
Eliza  married  Henry  Van  Aken  and  resides  on  the 
farm.  (3)  Moses  removed  to  New  York  and  died 
without  issue.  (4)  Aaron  married  Agnes  Force  and 
resided  on  the  homestead,  keeping  a  public-house, 
and  dying  there  at  the  age  of  ninety-two.  His  chil- 
dren were  Eliza,  Mary,  David,  Sarah,  Rachel,  and 
Emeline.  Rachel  married  George  T.  McDowell,  and 
lived  and  died  at  the  old  homestead.  (5)  James  went 
to  New  York  and  engaged  in  the  mercantile  business, 
and  served  the  city  five  years  as  recorder  and  two 
years  as  chief  engineer  of  the  fire  department.     He 


1  For  an  account  of  other  aettlerB  at  Rbode  UaU  than  those  here  i 
tioned,  see  the  history  of  South  Brunswick. 


was  also  superintendent  of  the  Croton  water-works, 
I  and  died  at  the  age  of  seventy-five.     (6)  Isaac  raar- 
I  ried  Millicent  Calvin,  and  was  in  trade  in  New  York. 
I      The  McDowell  family,  mentioned  in  the  history  of 
1  South   Brunswick,  had  as  their  progenitor  Thomas 
i  McDowell,  who  located  at  Rhode  Hall  in  1774,  and 
who,  after  marrying  Mary  Thompson,  nee  Williamson, 
kept  the  old  Williamson  tavern.     His  descendants  are 
numerous,  and  some  of  them  have  attained  promi- 
nence.    E.  A.  McDowell,  a  well-known   actor,  is  a 
:  great-grandson   of  his,  and  a  son   of  his   grandson, 
Thomas  McDowell,  of  Washington. 

At  a  date  considerably  anterior  to  the  Revolution 
(1)  Anthony  Applegate  located  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  township,  on  the  road  from  Hightstown  to 
Englishtown,  and  near  the  "Red  Tavern."  During 
the  war  he  was  awakened  in  the  night  by  some  one 
i  at  the  door  demanding  entrance.  Leaping  from  his 
bed,  he  hastily  threw  open  the  door,  when  he  was 
'  shot  by  a  band  of  desperadoes  outside.  Who  they 
were  and  in  what  manner  Applegate  had  incurred 
their  enmity  was  never  ascertained.  He  was  a  quiet 
and  unobtrusive  man,  and  had  not  taken  a  decided 
stand  either  for  or  against  the  colonies,  and  could 
hardly  have  been  marked  as  a  victim  on  political 
grounds.  Two  of  his  children  were  named  Thomas 
and  Abigail.  (2)  Thomas  married  Sarah  Baird,  who 
died,  more  than  one  hundred  years  of  age,  in  1881,  and 
lived  on  the  place  where  his  father  settled,  and  reared 
a  family  of  seven  children,  named  Lydia,  Anthony, 
David  B.,  Thomas,  Sarah,  Abigail,  and  John.  (3) 
Lydia  married  John  Wycoff  and  lived  in  Mercer 
County.  (4)  Anthony  espoused  Helen  Riggs,  and 
after  her  death  Edna  Perrine.  His  children  were 
Cornelia,  who  married  Stephen  Box  and  removed  to 
Indiana;  John,  Kenneth,  Mary  Ann,  and  Ida,  all  of 
whom  died  young ;  Thomas,  who  married  Helena 
Voorhees  and  emigrated  to  Nebraska ;  Helena,  who 
became  Mrs.  Luther  Dey,  and  after  his  death  Mrs. 
Egbert  Brown,  removing  to  Cranbury ;  Sarah  Ann, 
who  married  Frederick  Applegate  and  resides  in  the 
"  Red  Tavern"  neighborhood ;  Harriet,  who  is  the  wife 
of  Thomas  C.  Mount,  of  Cranbury ;  Abbie,  who  mar- 
ried Levi  Opdyke  and  lives  in  East  Brunswick;  David 
B.,  who  married  Rebecca  Hutchinson  and  lives  at 
Red  Tavern ;  and  John  P.,  Disbrow,  and  Gertrude, 
who  live  on  the  homestead. 

James  Snediker,  of  Holland  Dutch  nativity,  located 

near  the  South  Brunswick  line,  where  he  was  an  ex- 

I  tensive  farmer,  and  lived  to  the  age  of  one  hundred 

years.     He  reared  a  large  family,  some  of  whom  are 

residents  of  the  township. 

(1)  Cornelius  Van  Dome  located  near  Prospect 
Plains  (now  so  called)  at  an  early  date.  His  wife 
was  Sophia  Snediker.  Their  children  were  Cornelius, 
Jr.,  Grace,  Elizabeth,  Henry,  Isaac,  Sophia,  Sarah 
Ann,  and  Eliza.  (2)  Cornelius,  Jr.,  died  unmarried. 
(3)  Grace  became  the  wife  of  Daniel  Voorhees,  now 
of  Piscataway.     (5)  Elizabeth  married  Michael  Camp, 


MONROE. 


801 


and  both  died  in  the  township.  (6)  Henry  married 
Elizabeth  Stults  and  located  at  Prospect  Plains. 
Cornelius,  James,  William,  John  H.,  Gideon,  Ellen, 
Sophia,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth  were  their  children. 
The  only  one  of  these  now  resident  in  Monroe  is 
Mary,  now  Mrs.  Daniel  I.  Day,  living  at  an  advanced 
age  at  Union  Valley.  (7)  Isaac  married  Ruth  Rudd 
and  removed  to  Toms  River,  N.  J.  (8)  Sophia  died 
young.  (9)  Sarah  Ann  married  Martin  Nevius  and 
removed  to  New  Brunswick.  (10)  Eliza  espoused 
John  Vanderhoof  and  lived  near  Prospect  Plains. 

Another  settler  in  the  vicinity  of  Prospect  Plains 
was  Henry  Stults,  who  located  there  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century.  He  married  Ellen  Cortelyou. 
Their  children  were  Albert,  Peter,  Jacob,  William, 
Ralph  C,  Henry,  Mary,  Elizabeth,  Ellen,  and  Kate. 
Albert  married  Martha  Van  Dome  ;  Peter,  Charity 
Salters  ;  Jacob,  Margaret  Snediker ;  William,  Eliza 
Snediker ;  Ralph  C,  Hannah  Dey;  Henry,  Rose 
Snediker  ;  Elizabeth,  Henry  Van  Dome  ;  Kate, 
.  Lewis  Dey.  All  of  these  lived  in  the  township  and 
reared  families.  Ellen  died  unmarried  ;  Mary  mar- 
ried Asa  Applegate  and  lived  at  New  Brunswick. 

Items  of  War  History. — In  1778,  when  the  British 
evacuated  Philadelphia  and  the  American  army  pur- 
sued, the  memorable  days,  June  26th  to  28th,  found 
the  inhabitants  of  this  township  alert,  especially  a.s 
Washington's  army  passed  almost  within  hailing  dis- 
tance from  the  locality  of  Jamesburg. 

"  William  Lyon,  a  Continental  soldier,  died  in  this 
township  in  1841.     He  served  throughout  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,   and  was  in   most  of  the  actions  in 
which  the  Jersey  troops  were  engaged.     About  the 
time  of  the  battle  of  Trenton,  as  he  was  marching  i 
with  his  feet  bare  and  bloody  over  the  frozen  ground,  I 
he  took  from  a  clothes-line  near  a  dwelling  a  pair  of  ; 
stockings.     The  lady  of  the  house  came  out  and  re- 
proached him  for  the  act.    He  answered  her  by  simply 
pointing  to  his  lacerated  feet.    Further  argument  was 
unnecessary.      She  went  back  in  tears.     Washington 
saw  him,  and   tapping    him   on   the   shoulder  said, 
"My  brave  boy,  you  deserve  a  better  fate!" 

"  Ah,"  replied  the  heroic  soldier,  "  there  is  no  dan- 
ger of  my  feet  freezing  as  long  as  the  blood  runs  !"' 

The  war  of  1812-1-t  had  its  patriots  from  Monroe, 
and  pensioners  of  that  war  lived  there  many  years. 

The  soldiers'  monument  in  the  cemetery  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church  at  Cranbury  bears  the 
names  of  heroes  from  Monroe  who  gave  their  lives 
in  their  country's  service  during  the  Rebellion.  It  is 
remembered,  to  the  honor  and  credit  alike  of  Monroe 
and  the  committee  who  had  the  matter  in  charge, 
that  in  response  to  the  demand  of  the  President  for 
the  township's  quota  of  soldiers  in  1864  a  subscrip- 
tion was  raised  to  defray  the  expense  of  placing  the 
requisite  number  of  men  in  the  field,  and  so  generous 
was  the  response  that  only  fifty  per  cent,  of  the  money 


subscribed  was  required,  and  the  remainder  was  re- 
turned to  the  subscribers  pro  rata.  The  committee 
consisted  of  Ezekiel  Silvers,  Gilbert  S.  Davison,  and 
Isaac  L.  Buckelew. 

Organization. — By  authority  of  the  Council  and 
General  Assembly  of  New  Jersey  it  was  enacted,  Feb. 
23,  1838,  that  all  that  portion  of  the  township  of 
South  Amboy  lying  west  of  the  Matchaponix  and 
South  Rivers  be  established  a  separate  township,  to  be 
known  as  Monroe,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  territory 
designated  were  constituted  a  body  politic  and  cor- 
porate by  the  name  of  "  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town- 
ship of  Monroe,  in  the  County  of  Middlesex." 

Provisions  were  made  in  the  act  for  the  assumption 
of  assets  and  liabilities  by  the  townships  of  South. 
Amboy  and  Monroe  in  the  proportion  of  the  taxable 
property  and  inhabitants  within  the  limits  of  their 
territory  respectively,  and  for  the  division  between 
the  two  towns  of  the  paupers  chargeable  to  South 
Amboy  prior  to  the  erection  of  Madison  from  its  terri- 
tory. It  was  provided  that  the  poor-house  farm,  pre- 
viously belonging  to  the  township  of  South  Amboy, 
with  the  buildings  and  improvements  thereon,  should 
thenceforth  belong  to  the  townships  of  Monroe  and 
South  Amboy  in  the  proportion  of  the  tax  assessed  to 
the  inhabitants  residing  within  the  bounds  of  each 
on  the  last  duplicate,  to  be  held  by  them  in  common. 
The  first  town-meeting  of  Monroe  was  appointed  to 
be  held  "  at  the  house  of  Jacob  Vancleef,  inn-keeper, 
on  the  second  Monday  of  April,  1838."  A  portion  of 
East  Brunswick  was  taken  from  Monroe  in  1860,  and 
a  portion  of  Cranbury  in  1872. 

Civil  List. — Below  will  be  found  a  complete  list  of 
all  the  principal  township  officials  chosen  in  Monroe 
each  year  from  1838  to  the  present  time.  The  records 
of  the  township  are  in  excellent  condition,  complete, 
and  well  kept,  reflecting  much  credit  on  Mr.  Robert 
R.  Vandenberg,  who  has  been  township  clerk  contin- 
uously since  1850. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 

Adam  Smith,  1839-49.  Jacob  Wjckoff,  1869-72. 

John  Baird,  1839-50.  '  Joseph  C.  Magee,  1870-71. 

William  Perrine,  1850-54,  1855-62.  S.  L.  Vandenberg,  1872-75,  1880- 
Antbony  Applegate,  1851-58.  81. 

Leonard  Appleby,  1855-66.  ,  David  M.  Perrine,  1873-76. 

John  B.  Applegate,  1859-68.  !  Thomas  A.  Wyckoff,  1876-78. 

Peter  Voorliees,  1863.  j  Vincent  W.  Mount,  1877. 

George  Perrine,  1864-69.  1  Charles  G.  Hoffman,  1878-79. 


George  A.  McDowell,  1838. 
Aaron  Gulick,  1839-41. 
Jacob  O.  Burtt,  1842-43. 
Peter  W.  Dey,  1844-45. 
Edward  Paxton,  1846-48,  1856-5' 
Jacob  Wyckoff,  1851. 
Peter  Voorhees,  1851. 


»  New  Jersey  Historical  Collections,  Barber  and  Howe,  1844. 


James  Buckalew,  1838-42. 
John  A.  Davison,  1843-49. 
Peter  Voorhees,  1848. 
Stephen  M.  Van  Wickle,  1850-53, 

1860-61. 
John  H.  Johnson,  1851-55. 
Joseph  C.  Magee,  1856-57. 


ASSESSORS. 

I    John  B.  Applegate,  1851-55. 

Alexander  Laird,  1858-59. 

Abijah  Applegate,  1860-66. 

David  Mount,  1867-71. 

David  McL.  Voorhees,  1872-75. 
I   William  S.  Dey,  1876-77. 

Ellas  D.  Applegate,  1878-81. 
COLLECTORS. 

Abijah  Applegate,  1858-59. 

William  S.  Dey,  1862-69. 

John  Gibson,  1870-71. 

George  B.  Perrine,  1872-66. 

George  Van  Artsdalen,  1877. 

David  McL.  Voorhees,  1878-81. 


802 


HISTOKY   OF  UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


TOWNSHIP  CLERKS. 
John  A.  Davieon,  1838-42.  |    Robert  R.  Vandenberg,  1850-81. 

Jacob  S.  BrumaghiD,  1843-49.  | 

JUDGES   OF   ELECTION. 


DaviiJ  R.  Schenck,  1838. 
Jacob  Van  Clecf,  1839^6. 
William  Longslreet,  1847-49. 
Peter  Voorhees,  1850-54. 
Elias  Dey,  1861-52. 
Stephen  M.  Van  Wickle,  1855-59. 
Garrett  A.  Snediker,  1860-66. 
Derrick  G.  Davieoa,  1869. 


James  Ives,  1870-71. 
Ridiard  C.  Dey.l  1872-74,  1878- 
Jacob  Wyckoff,!  1875-77. 
Josepli  C.  Magee,  1877-79. 
John  H.  Dey,  1880. 
William  Redmon,  1880-81. 
Cornelins  B.  Hoagland,  1881. 


TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 


Aaron  Gulick,  1838. 

Peter  W.  Dey,  1838,  1860. 

John  Applegate,  1838,  1847. 

Lewis  Riggs,  1838-40. 

Thomas  Potts,  1838,  1839. 

Stephen  Van  Wickle,  1839. 

Peter  Wycoff,  1839^4,  1850-51. 

Andrew  Snowhill,  1839. 

Isaac  Rue,  1840. 

William  Paxton,  1840,  1842,  1849- 

51,  1853-55,  1862-64. 
Enoch  Perrine,  1841, 1843-45. 
John  N.  Applegate,  1841^7. 
Thomas  Ely,  1841-51,  1863-54. 
John  Paxton,  Jr.,  1841. 
Daniel  K.  Schenck,  1842^8. 
David  K.  Perrine,  1845^6, 1852. 
William  D.  Jamison,  1846. 
Charles  Abrahams,  1847-48. 
Eleazer  Ayers,  1848. 
John  R.  Wetherill,  1848. 
James  Applegate,  1849, 1854, 1856- 

67, 1870. 
John  L.  Rue,  1849-51, 1863-54. 
Samuel  B.  Forman,  1849. 
Enocli  Pnllen,  1860-51. 
Peter  Voorhees,  1852, 1856-57, 1859. 
William  I.  Reed,  1852. 
William  C.  Rue,  1852. 
Peter  C.  Stryker,  1852. 
Garrit  A.  Snediker,  1853-54. 
Henry  H.  Stults,  1863-64. 
John  D.  Buckelew,  1855-56. 
Derrick  G.  Davison.  1855. 
Orlando  Perrine,  1856. 
Gilbert  W.  Mount,  1856-69,  1860. 
James  Paxton,  1856. 
John  P.  Voorhees,  1860. 


William  A.  Applegate,  1857-59. 
J.  B.  Wyckoff,  1867-69. 
A.  J.  Applegate,  1868-62. 
Nelson    Thompson,  1860-63,  1872 

-75. 
Edward  Rue,  1860. 
Daniel  Davison,  1860. 
Aaron  Bennett,  1861-65. 
Isaac  S.  Stults,  1862-66. 
Gilbert  S.  Davison,  1863-64. 
Thomas  S.  Hulit,  1864,  1866. 

E.  Silvers,  1865-69. 

F.  L.  Buckelew,  1865-67,  1870-71, 

1876-78. 

Edward  Paxtou,  1865-67. 

Thomas  A.  Wyckoff,  1867-68, 1870 
-71,  1873-74. 

Richard  C.  Dey,  1867-69. 

Peter  W.  Applegate,  1868-71. 

Thomas  E.  Perrine,  1868-69. 
j  David  Applegate,  1870. 

Joseph  B.  Mount,  1871-72. 

Samuel  E.  Perrine,  1871-72. 

Elias  D.  Applegate,  1872-75. 

William  Redmond,  1872-76. 
j  William  H.  Clayton,  1873-76. 

John  E.  Rue,  1875-76. 

Jacob  Applegate,  1876. 

C.G.Hoffman,  1876-77. 

Joseph  K.  Mount,  1877. 

A.  I.  Richardson,  1877-78. 

John  N.  Paxton,  1877. 

Benjamin  Vandenbergh,  1878. 

William  H.  Hoffman,  1878. 

C.  B.  Stults,  1878-81. 

Peter  V.  Davison,  1879-81. 

Alfred  Davison,  1879-81. 

William  G.  Mount,  1880. 


COMMISSIONERS   OF  APPEAL. 


John  I.  Voorhees,  1838-41. 

Thomas  Hoffman,  1838. 

Andrew  Snowhill,  1838. 

Peter  J.  Dey,  1839^4. 

Peter  Voorhees,  Sr.,  1839. 

Henry  H.  Stults,  1840-47,1855, 1859 

-64. 
Thomas  Ely,  1842-57. 
John  R.  Wetherell,  1845-47. 
Elias  Riggs,  1848-61. 
George    McDowell,   1848-64,   1856 

-60. 
John  Appleby,  1852. 
.lobn  S.  Davison,  1853. 
Isaac  De  Voe,  1854. 
George  Sharp,  1855. 
Anthony  Applegate,  1856-58. 
William  H.  Stults,  1858. 
Garret  A.  Snediker,  1859-63. 
John  B.  Wyckoff,  1801-63. 
Elekiel  Silvers,  1864-67. 


Peter  W.  Dey,  1864-68. 
David  K.  Perrine,  1865-70. 
Isaac  Covert,  1868-70. 
Alfred  M.  Perrine,  1869-71. 
Peler  Farr,  1871. 
Charles  H.  Perrine,  1871. 
Jacob  Applegate,  1872-76. 
Thomas  A.  Wyckoff,  1872,  1881. 
Joseph  0.  Magee,  1872-75. 
Derrick  G.  Davison,  1873-75. 
William  H.  Hoffman,  1876-77. 
Vincent  W.  Perrine,  1876,  1878. 
Andrew  D.  Perrine,  1876. 
Lewis  C.  Perrine,  1877-78. 
William  D.  Perrine,  1877. 
William  E.  Paxlon,  1878. 
William  S.  Dey,  1879. 
Samuel  E.  Parrine,  1879-81. 
Lewis  P.  Dey,  1879. 
Cornelius  B.  Hoagland,  1880. 
Samuel  Marryott,  1880-81. 


SUPERINTENDENTS  OF  SCHOOLS. 
John  Perrine,  Jr.,  1847^8.  George  H.  Snowhill,  1868. 

John  H.  Manning,  1849-52.  1  James  Ives,  1869-61,  1863-67. 

E.  J.  Brumaghim,  1853.  '  Rodger  G.  Isham,  1862. 

JUSTICES  OF  THE   PEACE. 


1  In  the  first  polling  district. 


John  Perrine,  1850,  1866. 
George  McDowell,  1850-51. 
Matthew  A.  Rue,  1850. 
Thomas  Hoffman,  1850-60. 
Peter  Duncan,  1851.2 
John  Plemming,  1865. 
John  Dey,  1856. 
William  W.  Clark,  1858,  1865. 


William  A.  Appleby,  1859.3 
Edward  Paxton,  1860-70. 
Robert  R.  Vandenbergh,  1862-81. 
Jacob  Wyckoff,  1865-81. 
Charles  H.  Perrine,  1870. 
Samuel  Marryott,  1872. 
Alfred  Davison,  1874.^ 
Gilbert  W.  Mount,  1874-75. 


Educational. — Public  Schools.— There  are  in 
Monroe  eight  school  districts,  l^nown  as  Janiesburg 
District,  No.  56  ;  Matchapouix  Di.strict,  No.  57  ;  Pros- 
pect Plains  District,  No.  58 ;  Monroe  District,  No.  59  ; 
Gravel  Hill  District,  No.  60 ;  Old  Church  District, 
No.  62  ;  Grove  District,  No.  63  ;  and  Pleasant  Grove 
District,  No.  64. 

The  first  school-house  in  the  Jaraesburg  District 
was  located  about  half  a  mile  from  the  mill,  on  the 
road  to  Englishtown.  It  had  slab  seats  and  straight 
benches,  and  was  abandoned  in  1847,  and  a  new  two- 
story  brick  building  of  more  modern  construction  was 
erected  by  James  Buckelew,  on  a  lot  owned  by  him 
near  the  Presbyterian  Church,  which  for  a  number 
of  years  he  permitted  the  district  to  use  without  rent. 
In  1864  the  school-room  on  the  ground  floor  was  fur- 
nished with  improved  desks,  and  in  1866,  to  make 
room  for  the  Presbyterian  parsonage,  the  building 
was  removed  to  its  present  site,  at  the  corner  of  Church 
Street  and  Gatzner  Avenue.  In  August,  1875,  the 
heirs  of  James  Buckelew  deeded  the  house  and  lot  to 
the  district,  and  by  the  expenditure  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  the  building  was  enlarged,  remodeled,  and  re- 
furnished. The  improvements  made  were  of  the  most 
substantial  character,  within  and  without,  and  the 
district  now  has  a  valuable  property.  In  1846  there 
was  a  division  of  this  district  because  the  trustees  re- 
fused to  admit  a  colored  boy  to  the  school.  One  fac- 
tion built  the  school-house  now  in  Monroe  District, 
and  Jamesburg  was  supplied  by  the  school-house 
erected,  as  above  stated,  by  James  Buckelew. 

The  early  schools  at  Matchaponix  are  said  to  have 
been  established  far  beyond  the  memory  of  the  oldest 
inhabitant.  The  fathers  of  men  now  past  fourscore 
were  taught  in  them.  They  wereof  the  kind  usually  de- 
nominated "  pay-schools,"  and  at  first  do  not  appear  to 
have  been  kept  in  any  regular  school-house.  The  first 
school-houses  remembered  were  log  structures  of  a 
truly  primitive  style.  The  teachers  were  men  who  came 
into  the  neighborhood  prospecting,  or  without  any 
regular  employment,  and  who,  to  have  something  to 
do  and  turn  an  honest  penny,  opened  schools  by  sub- 
scription. Some  of  them  were  smart,  passably  edu- 
cated  young   Irishmen,  who   were  trying  their   for- 


3  To  fill  unexpired  term  of  Matthew  A.  Bue. 
3  To  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  John  Perrine. 
1  To  fill  the  unexpired  term  of  Edward  Paxton. 


MONROE. 


803 


tunes  in  the  new  country,  and  had  not  yet  settled 
upon  what  their  occupation  was  to  be  and  where  they 
should  locate.  The  oft-told  stories  of  "  lockings 
out,"  "  barring  in,"  etc.,  which  seem  to  have  had 
foundation  in  nearly  every  pioneer  section,  had  their 
counterparts  in  events  which  occurred  at  Matcha- 
ponix.  It  is  said  that  at  one  time  the  scholars 
locked  the  teacher  out,  and  in  retaliation  he  clambered 
to  the  roof  and  placed  a  slab  over  the  chimney,  with 
the  design  of  smoking  out  the  scholars.  This  they 
soon  dislodged,  seeing  which  the  teacher  again  went 
up  and  put  the  slab  on  the  chimney  and  sat  on  it, 
with  the  expectation  that  the  scholars  would  soon 
have  to  open  the  door  to  get  air.  But  they  were  no 
less  determined  than  he,  and  taking  a  rail  or  large 
strong  pole  of  some  sort  which  was  fortunately  at 
hand,  several  of  the  big  boys  literally  "  bounced"  the 
slab  and  the  surprised  pedagogue  oif  the  roof  and  into 
an  adjacent  snow-bank.  At  another  time,  it  is  related, 
a  teacher,  having  been  "  barred  out,"  barred  the 
scholars  in  and  kept  them  there  several  days,  during 
which  their  parents,  who  enjoyed  the  joke,  carried 
them  provisions,  which  they  received  through  an 
opening  so  small  as  to  forbid  ingress  or  egress,  the 
resolute  and  unyielding  "  master  of  the  birch"  mean- 
while standing  guard  outside. 

There  was  an  early  school  in  the  Rhode  Hall 
neighborhood ;  nothing  of  particular  interest  can  be 
learned  of  the  other  schools.  The  following  statis- 
tics show  the  status  of  the  schools  of  Monroe  in  1880 : 
Number  of  school-houses  in  the  township,  8,  in  fair 
condition.  Total  valuation  of  school  property,  $7300, 
divided  among  the  several  districts  as  follows :  Dis- 
trict No.  56,  $3000 ;  No.  57,  $600 ;  No.  58,  $1500  ;  No. 
60,  $300  ;  No.  64,  $400 ;  Nos.  59,  62,  and  63,  $500 
each.  Number  of  children  of  the  school  age  in  Dis- 
trict No.  66,  134 ;  No.  57,  50  ;  No.  58,  87  ;  No.  59, 
61  ;  No.  60,  56  ;  No.  62,  75  ;  No.  63,  40  ;  No.  64,  41  ; 
total  in  the  township,  553.  Estimated  number  at- 
tending private  schools,  32 ;  attending  no  schools, 
161.  Number  of  teachers  employed :  males,  4 ;  fe- 
males, 5.  Average  monthly  salary  of  males,  $32  ;  of 
females,  $30.50  ;  average  number  of  months  schools 
were  kept  open,  10 ;  total  amount  received  from  all 
sources  for  public  school  purposes,  $3246.76  ;  amount 
of  apportionment  from  State  appropriation,  $2864.26; 
amount  raised  by  taxation  for  the  support  of  district 
schools,  $382.50.  Districts  Nos.  56  and  57  have 
libraries  containing  respectively  22  and  36  volumes. 
In  Districts  Nos.  60  and  63  movements  are  on  foot 
looking  to  the  establishment  of  libraries. 

The  Jamesbueg  Institute. — A  desire  on  the  part 
of  many  citizens  for  a  more  advanced  system  of  edu- 
cation than  that  afforded  in  the  public  schools  led 
the  Messrs.  Buckelew,  in  1873,  to  erect  a  building  for 
the  use  of  an  academic  school  to  be  known  by  the 
above  name.  The  institute  was  opened  in  the  fall  of 
that  year  by  Mr.  M.  Oakey  with  a  class  of  young 
men.     His  labors  were  appreciated  and  encouraged 


to  such  an  extent  as  to  render  the  enterprise  a  suc- 
cess. 

The  New  Jersey  State  Reform  School. — In 
1865  the  Legislature  of  New  Jersey  enacted  a  law 
providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  reform  farm 
school  for  juvenile  delinquents,  to  which  boys  be- 
tween the  ages  of  eight  and  sixteen  years  were  to  be 
sent  with  a  view  to  their  instruction  and  amendment 
of  life.  A  farm  of  four  hundred  and  ninety  acres 
was  purchased  in  1866  near  Jamesburg.  Buildings 
were  erected  and  the  school  opened  by  the  reception 
of  the  first  pupil  July  6,  1867.  There  are  now 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  scholars,  who 
are  instructed  in  the  elementary  branches  of  learning 
and  accustomed  to  agriculture  and  other  branches  of 
labor,  with  an  allowance  of  time  for  youthful  recrea- 
tion. When  regarded  as  having  been  fitted  for  re- 
moval (in  .not  less  than  a  year  after  admission  to  the 
school),  good  homes  are  sought  for  them  either  with 
their  friends  or  by  indenture  to  proper  persons,  the 
board  of  trustees  continuing  their  guardianship  over 
them  during  their  minority. 

The  board  of  control  of  this  institution  consists  of 
Governor  George  C.  Ludlow,  Chancellor  Theodore 
Runyon,  and  Chief  Justice  Mercer  Beasley.  The 
trustees  are  Messrs.  Samuel  Allinson,  of  Yardville, 
Mercer  Co.;  Nathan  T.  Stratton,  of  Mullica  Hill, 
Gloucester  Co. ;  Nathaniel  S.  Rose,  of  Cream  Ridge, 
Monmouth  Co.;  David  Ripley,  of  Newark,  Essex 
Co.;  M.  S.  Higbee,  of  South  Amboy  ;  and  George  W. 
Helme,  of  Jersey  City. 

The  establishment  is  in  charge  of  James  H.  East- 
man, superintendent,  Samuel  L.  McFadden,  assistant 
superintendent,  and  Elizabeth  F.  Eastman,  matron. 

The  receipts  from  the  Reform  School  farm  and  from 
the  mechanical  industries  in  1881  were  $50,722.67,  of 
which  $33,000  was  from  the  State,  $15,492.16  from  the 
labor  of  boys  in  the  shirt  manufactory,  $1978.82  from 
produce,  material,  and  stock  sold,  and  $251.09  from 
miscellaneous  sources. 

The  disbursements  were  $56,392.24,  of  which 
$40,835.07  were  for  salaries,  provisions,  labor,  fuel, 
clothing,  and  other  expenses  for  the  use  of  the  institu- 
tion, $11,459.67  for  machinery,  farm  implements,  boil- 
ers and  boiler-house,  pumps  and  fire  apparatus,  fur- 
niture, repairs  and  improvements  to  buildings,  and 
labor  and  machinery  at  brick-yard,  and  $4097.50  for 
new  barns. 

Villages  and  Hamlets.' — Jamesburg  is  located  on 
Manalapan  Creek,  in  the  northeast  part  of  the  town- 
ship. "  Upper"  and  "  Lower"  Jamesburg  are  local 
names  distinguishing  the  two  extremities  of  the  vil- 
lage. The  grist-mill,  saw-mill,  and  fulling-mill  at 
the  present  site  of  Jamesburg  had  been  established 
previous  to  the  year  1792,  and,  together  with  one  or 
two  buildings  for  residences  and  a  small  store,  con- 

1  lo  this  sketch  the  writRr  has  again,  by  permission,  drawn  quite 
largely  upon  the  historical  address  by  T.  Wilton  Hill,  Esq.,  delivered  at 
Jamesburg  July  4, 1876. 


804 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


stituted  what  was  then  known  as  Ensley's  Mills. 
Billy  West's  tavern  stood  on  the  corner  of  the  Half- 
acre  road,  just  inside  Mr.  J.  D.  Buckelew's  present 
inclosure,  and  the  last  of  it  was  taken  down  nine  or 
ten  years  ago,  it  having  for  a  year  previously  been 
used  as  a  canning- factory.  Nov.  15,  1800,  John 
Mount  bought  the  mill  property  of  George  Eossell, 
and  it  was  for  eighteen  years  afterward  known  as 
Mount's  Mills.  Mount  prospered,  and  added  to  his 
lands  from  time  to  time  until  he  owned  most  of  the 
land  on  the  west  side  of  Manalapan  Brook  lying  be- 
tween the  present  lands  of  Alexander  Redmond  and 
the  estate  of  Abraham  S.  Davison.  In  1818  the  mill 
property  was  turned  over  to  William  Gordon,  who 
married  the  only  child  of  John  Mount,  after  which 
the  place  was  called  Gordon's  Mills  until  Nov.  10, 
1832,  when  Mr.  James  Buckelew  purchased  Mount's 
entire  interest,  from  which  date  it  was  -known  as 
Buckelew's  Mills. 

At  that  time  the  property  consisted  of  the  saw-mill, 
still  preserved  ;  the  grist-mill,  since  enlarged  and  im- 
proved; the  fulling-mill,  standing  at  the  easterly  end 
of  the  grist-mill,  long  since  destroyed  ;  the  dwelling- 
house,  now  the  enlarged  and  remodeled  residence  of 
Mrs.  James  Buckelew ;  also  the  dwelling  since  occu- 
pied by  Mrs.  Marsh,  then  standing  near  the  centre  of 
the  present  road,  one  end  being  used  as  a  store,  and 
the  dwelling  since  occupied  by  James  D.  Browne. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  brook  opposite  the  saw -mill 
stood  a  small  house,  now  on  the  south  side  of  Willow 
Street.  The  old  Gwinnip  house  stood  on  the  lot  at 
the  corner  of  Church  Street  and  Gatzmer  Avenue. 

Simon  Van  Meker's  old  residence,  later  the  house 
of  Nelson  B.  Smock,  stood  near  its  present  site,  while 
the  old  Peter  Deremer  house,  since  metamorphosed 
into  the  residence  of  James  Redmond,  was  sugges- 
tive of  a  generation  familiar  with  Brainerd  and  his 
Indian  friends.  Opposite  was  the  farm-house  of 
William  W.  Davison,  built  in  1807,  since  removed 
by  his  son,  the  late  Abraham  S.  Davison,  to  the  site 
of  the  present  family  homestead.  At  West's  tavern 
were  three  log  houses,  and  at  the  other  end  of  the 
settlement,  within  the  present  limits  of  Col.  I.  S. 
Buckelew's  lawn,  was  the  dwelling  of  Daniel  Da- 
vison, afterwards  moved  and  changed  into  the  house 
since  occupied  by  Mrs.  Mahala  Mount. 

James  Farrington  kept  the  store  for  some  time,  and 
was  succeeded  by  James  Buckelew,  followed  by  John 
A.  Davison,  and  in  1848  by  James  Redmond.  The 
building  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  (1830- 
33)  formed  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  this  vicinity. 
James  Buckelew's  interests  were  at  an  early  period 
largely  identified  with  that  road,  he  no  doubt  antici- 
pating therefrom  great  advantages  for  his  embryo 
village. 

The  first  trains  were  drawn  by  horses,  and  though 
it  seems  strange  that  an  accident  of  a  serious  nature 
could  occur  to  a  train  with  such  a  motive-power,  a 
fatal  accident  did  occur  within  the  village  limits,  a 


passenger  being  killed  by  the  upsetting  of  a  car  near 
the  station,  then  called  "  West's  Turnout."  He  was 
a  stranger,  and  the  last  sad  oflices  for  the  dead  were 
reverently  performed  by  the  villagers  at  West's  tavern. 
The  railroad,  as  originally  laid  out,  followed  the  pres- 
ent line  of  the  Freehold  and  Jamesburg  Railroad,  di- 
verging therefrom  near  the  present  engine-house, 
crossing  Gatzmer  Avenue  on  a  curve,  passing  a  little 
north  of  the  L.  Cox  residence,  and  thence  at  an  angle 
across  a  lot  formerly  occupied  by  Buckelew's  canning- 
factory,  and  entering  the  present  road  near  the  John 
Bennett  place.  The  granite  stones  upon  which  the  bed 
of  the  road  was  originally  laid  are  still  occasionally 
unearthed  along  the  line.  The  first  station  in  the 
village  stood  near  the  willow-trees  opposite  the  Charles 
West  residence,  and  was  a  one-story  building.      In 

1850  the  railroad  was  straightened  and  the  station 
built  on  its  present  site.  When,  Jan.  1,  1872,  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  was  leased  by  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  with  the  branches  from 
Bordentown  to  Trenton  and  from  Jamesburg  to  Mon- 
mouth Junction,  it  was  constituted  the  Amboy  Divi- 
sion, and  Isaac  S.  Buckelew  appointed  superintendent. 

The  name  Jamesburg  was  first  applied  to  the  district 
school  in  honor  of  James  Buckelew,  who  erected  and 
granted  to  the  district  the  use  of  a  school-house,  as 
has  been  stated,  and  at  once,  in  honor  of  the  man  by 
whose  untiring  perseverance,  energy,  shrewdness,  and 
sound  judgment  the  place  owed  its  prospects  for  fu- 
ture advancement,  was  given  by  common  consent  to 
the  village,  which  was  duly  christened  by  the  insertion 
of  a  tablet  in  the  gable  of  the  school-house  bearing 
the  inscription,  "Jamesburg,  1847." 

It  was  several  years  before  the  railroad  company 
thought  it  advantageous  to  stop  for  passengers  at  the 
village,  and  after  they  concluded  to  do  so  the  name 
was  not  at  first  popular  on  the  railroad.  Perhaps  the 
company  wanted  to  use  up  the  old  tickets  marked 
"  West's ;"  at  any  rate  the  conductor  would  call 
"  West's,"  and  then  in  an  undertone,  "  Jamesburg." 

July  21,  1845,  James  Buckelew  and  Nathaniel  S. 
Rue  established  a  stage  line  between  Freehold  and 
Jamesburg,  connecting  with  the  railroad  for  New 
York,  carrying  in  the  second  year  of  their  enterprise 
five  thousand  and  seventy-four  through  passengers, 
the  fare  being  eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents.  After- 
wards they  established  a  through  line  from  Philadel- 
phia to  Long  Branch,  often  sending  out  from  here  as 
many  as  thirty  coaches  and  wagons  to  accommodate 
their  patrons.  This  gave  way  to  the  Freehold  and 
Jamesburg  Agricultural  Railroad,  which,  surveyed  in 

1851  by  Col.  I.  S.  Buckelew,  under  direction  of  Gen. 
William  Cook,  chief  engineer  of  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  Company,  was  completed  so  that 
trains  commenced  running  regularly  from  Freehold 
July  18,  1853. 

The  first  regular  morning  train  left  Freehold  at 
6.30,  running  through  to  South  Amboy,  and  connect- 
ing there  with   the  New   Brunswick  boat   for  New 


MONROE. 


805 


York,  Charles  Worts,  of  Jamesburg,  being  the  en- 
gineer. 

About  this  time  there  arose  a  demand  for  increased 
mail  facilities,  Spottswood  being  the  nearest  post- 
office,  and  sharing  with  Uranbury  the  distribution 
of  mail  matter  for  tlie  intermediate  country.  It  is 
said  that  often  two  weeks  were  required  to  transmit  a 
letter  from  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  to  Jamesburg.  In  1848, 
soon  after  succeeding  John  A.  Davison  in  the  mer- 
cantile business,  James  Redmond  was  commissioned 
postmaster,  retaining  his  commission  until  1853, 
though  from  1850  onward  his  brother  William  was 
the  acting  postmaster.  In  1833,  James  C.  Stout  had 
built  a  small  store  building  near  the  present  crossing 
of  Gatzraer  Avenue  with  the  Freehold  and  Jamesburg 
Railroad,  which  had  been  unoccupied  for  some  time, 
when,  in  1851,  Mr.  J.  C.  Magee  renovated  it  and 
opened  a  store  in  it.  In  1853.  Mr.  Magee  relinquished 
this  store  and  opened  one  in  the  building  erected  by 
Mr.  Buckelew  for  that  purpose  not  far  from  the  mill, 
but  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  and  succeeded 
Mr.  Redmond,  becoming  the  second  village  post- 
master, which  position  he  retained  for  nearly  fifteen 
years.  He  was  succeeded  by  George  Van  Artsdalen, 
who,  in  the  spring  of  1878,  turned  over  his  trust  to 
the  present  postmaster,  Harrison  W.  Crosby.  It  was 
not  until  after  Mr.  Magee  had  been  postmaster  some 
two  years  that  he  succeeded  in  having  a  direct  mail 
from  Philadelphia  and  New  York.  Previous  to  that 
time  all  local  mail  matter  from  the  cities  was  sent  via 
Freehold,  and  was  two  or  three  days  in  transit. 
■  In  1866,  Mr.  Magee  removed  his  store  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  village,  and  is  now  senior  partner  in  the 
firm  of  Magee  &  Davison,  lumber  shippers  and  mer- 
chants in  coal  and  hardware.  Other  merchants  in 
the  village  are  Paxton '  &  Buckelew,  George  Van 
Artsdalen,  Harrison  W.  Crosby,  Thomas  Charlton, 
and  I.  S.  Bennett.  Benjamin  Arber  has  a  boot  and 
shoe  store,  and  F.  H.  Pownall  an  undertaking  estab- 
lishment. There  are  two  tin-shops  and  stores,  kept 
by  Adam  Schellbacher  and  Albert  Keinzle  respect- 
ively. 

The  Jamesburg  House  was  erected  in  1856  by 
James  Buckelew.  Richard  Fleming  was  the  first 
occupant  and  landlord.  It  has  several  times  changed 
hands,  and  in  1881  was  purchased  by  the  present  pro- 
prietor, David  C.  Bowne. 

In  18.55  the  village  contained  thirty  houses  and  two 
hundred  inhabitants.  Its  present  population,  inclu- 
sive of  operatives  in  the  shirt-factory  of  Downs  & 
Finch,  is  estimated  at  nearly  one  thousand.  Since 
about  1866  the  growth  has  been  rapid,  and  new  dwell- 
ings are  constantly  appearing  in  all  directions.  The 
immense  business  of  Messrs.  Downs  &  Finch  has 
given  an  added  impetus  to  the  material  advancement 
of  the  place.  Another  powerful  aid  has  been  the 
Mutual  Building  and  Loan  Association.  This  was 
organized  Feb.  18,  1869,  and  349  shares  were  issued. 
A  second  series  was  started  in  October,  1872,  with  543 


shares ;  a  third  series  in  November,  1876,  with  251 
shares ;  a  fourth  series  in  November,  1879,  with  443 
shares;  and  a  fifth  series  in  November,  1881,  with  267 
shares.  The  first  ofiicers  of  the  association  were  J. 
C.  Magee,  president ;  C.  S.  Worts,  vice-president ;  A. 
P.  Knapen,  secretary;  Benjamin  Snyder,  treasurer; 
W.  H.  Courter,  solicitor.  The, directors  were  F.  L. 
Buckelew,  J.  D.  Buckelew,  W.  H.  Courter,  J.  D. 
Heath,  Isaac  Brown,  Samuel  Marryott,  and  H.  A. 
Perrine.  The  present  officers  are  J.  C.  Magee,  presi- 
dent; Samuel  Marryott,  vice-president;  John  D. 
Courter,  secretary ;  T.  Wilton  Hill,  treasurer ;  W.  H. 
Courter,  solicitor.  The  directors  are  George  A.  Shultz, 
William  H.  Williams,  James  D.  Bowne,  Charles  E. 
Paxton,  and  Isaac  S.  Davison. 

There  are  in  the  village  the  usual  variety  of  small 
mechanics'  shops. 

Union  Valley  is  a  hamlet  in  the  southwest  part 
of  the  township,  containing  a  store,  one  church,  and 
about  fifteen  dwellings.  The  first  store  there  was 
opened  by  Samuel  Mace  in  1855.  He  was  soon  suc- 
ceeded by  Edgar  W.  Reed  ;  he  in  1860  by  Charles 
Perrine;  he  in  1862  by  George  Wader;  and  he  in 
1864  by  William  TDoty,  who  continued  in  business 
there  until  1865.  The  old  store  building  is  still  stand- 
ing, at  the  intersection  of  the  Cranbury  and  English- 
town  roads. 

Half- Acre. — This  is  an  abbreviation  of  a  flippant 
name  of  a  sulphurous  suggestiveness  by  which  is 
known  a  settlement  in  the  west  part  of  Monroe,  about 
two  miles  and  a  half  southerly  from  Jamesburg,  con- 
taining a  store,  a  hotel,  a  wheelwright-  and  blacksmith- 
shop,  and  a  few  dwellings.  Years  ago  the  locality 
was  called  "  the  Devil's  half-acre,"  on  account,  it  is 
said,  of  having  gotten  into  bad  odor  with  the  public 
as  a  consequence  of  frequent  unseemly  orgies  and 
hand-to-hand  encounters  at  the  old  tavern  there,  in  the 
days  when  a  resort  to  arms  is  stated  to  have  been  a  fa- 
vorite mode  of  adjusting  personal  misunderstandings, 
and  "  hard  hitters"  are  supposed  to  have  been  plenty 
everywhere.  There  is  another  version  of  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  place  came  to  be  called  Half-Acre, 
which  totally  ignores  the  suppositious  connection  of 
the  Evil  One  with  the  locality.  It  is  to  the  efl'ect  that 
there  were  two  wagon  roads  passing  the  ancient  hos- 
j  telry,  one  in  front  and  the  other  just  at  its  rear,  and 
that  the  latter  road  was  fenced  up  by  the  then  pro- 
prietor in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  an  inclosure  be- 
hind the  tavern  of  half  an  acre  of  land,  which  cir- 
cumstance caused  the  name  "  Half- Acre  House"  to 
attach  to  the  hotel,  and  in  time  to  the  immediate 
neighborhood. 

The  tavern  at  Half-Acre  is  now  known  as  the 
Monroe  House,  and  was  built  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  The  earlie.st-remembered 
occupant  was  Daniel  Lott,  who,  it  is  claimed,  fenced 
up  the  back  road  as  above  mentioned.  Joseph  Schenck 
was  his  successor,  till  the  property  was  purchased 
by  Samuel  Wetherell,  who  leased  it  to  various  ocou- 


806 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


pants.  After  his  death,  about  1832,  it  was  purchased 
by  Thomas  Hoffman,  who  also  rented  it  to  transient 
keepers.  About  1860  it  was  bought  by  Nelson  Thomp- 
son, who  in  about  a  year  was  succeeded  by  E.  A. 
Thompson,  since  whose  death,  in  July,  1881,  it  has 
been  managed  by  bis  widow,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Thomp- 
son, and  his  son,  Jolui  N.  Thompson. 

The  blacksmith-shop  has  been  in  charge  of  Nelson 
Barkelew.  D.  A.  Mount,  wheelwright,  began  busi- 
ness there  in  1878.  The  store  of  Mrs.  H.  A.  Mount, 
wife  of  the  latter,  was  opened  in  1877.  The  store 
and  the  two  shops  mentioned  are  the  property  of 
George  Morse. 

Red  Tavern. — -A  hamlet  in  the  southern  part  of 
the  township  derived  the  above  name  from  an  old 
tavern  there,  which  was  kept  during  the  Revolution, 
and  perhaps  earlier.  Col.  Jones,  who  was  the  pro- 
prietor in  1800,  had  probably  then  been  some  time 
there.  Jones  had  many  and  frequent  successors  till 
1853,  when  the  property  was  purchased  by  S.  D. 
Vandenbergh.  It  stands  on  the  road  leading  from 
Hightstown  to  Englishtown,  and  its  long-familiar  red 
exterior  has  for  some  time  been  obscured  by  paint  of 
a  different  hue. 

Cook  &  Jones  established  a  store  there  about  1857 
in  a  building  which  has  been  since  their  time  occu- 
pied by  several  merchants  for  longer  or  shorter 
periods.  The  present  proprietor  is  Anthony  Apple- 
gate. 

Besides  the  tavern  and  the  store  there  are  two 
wheelwright-shops,  owned  by  William  and  Ellison 
Everingham  respectively,  and  a  dozen  houses,  more 
or  less. 

Prospect  Plains  is  the  name  of  a  railroad  station, 
post-office,  and  hamlet  located  on  the  old  Camden 
and  Ainboy  Railroad,  near  the  western  border  of  the 
township,  south  from  the  centre,  containing  a  store, 
a  hotel,  a  school-house,  a  blacksmith-shop,  a  hay- 
pressing  and  shipping  establishment,  and  a  shirt 
laundry. 

The  store  at  Prospect  Plains  was  opened  by  Davi- 
son &  Stonaker  in  1832,  and  kept  by  them  till  1833. 
It  has  been  since  kept  by  Garret  S.  Davison  until  his 
death  in  1845 ;  by  his  widow  and  son,  J.  S.  Davison, 
until  1850;  by  J.  S.  and  D.  G.  Davison  until  1860; 
and  by  D.  G.  Davison  to  this  date.  The  post-office 
was  established  in  1851,  with  D.  G.  Davison  as  post- 
master. He  has  held  the  office  continuously  to  the 
present. 

The  Railroad  House  was  built  in  1832  for  a  dwelling- 
house  by  William  Stults.  In  1862  it  was  converted 
into  a  hotel.  The  present  proprietor,  George  D.  Ber- 
gen, purchased  it  in  1878,  previous  to  which  time  it 
had  had  several  occupants. 

A  blacksmith-shop  was  long  the  property  of  the 
Davison  family,  its  first  owners  having  been  J.  S.  and 
D.  G.  Davison.  It  was  rented  to  several  successive 
wielders  of  the  hammer,  the  first  of  whom  was  Gil- 
bert Perrine.     The  shop  at  present  in  use  is  the  prop- 


erty of  the  A.  J.  Hoffman  estate.  The  "  smithy"  is 
Nathaniel  Cox. 

The  shirt  laundry  is  managed  by  D.  G.  Davison, 
employing  twenty-four  hands. 

The  hay-press  was  set  up  in  1876  by  Gedney  & 
Hoffman.     It  is  now  operated  by  A.  W.  Dey. 

Hoffman  and  Tracy  Stations  are  flag-stations 
located  on  the  Freehold  Railroad,  in  the  easterly  and 
extreme  eastern  portions  of  the  township  respect- 
ively. 

Rhode  Hall  is  a  hamlet  containing  a  hotel  (one 
of  the  oldest  in  the  section),  a  store,  and  several 
dwellings,  lying  mostly  in  South  Brunswick,  but  par- 
tially in  the  northwestern  portion  of  Monroe. 

Industrial  Enterprises. — The  Downs  &  Finch 
Shirt-Factory. — The  fancy  shirt  manufactory  of 
Downs  &  Finch  was  founded  in  1871,  by  Finley, 
Gourlay  &  Finch,  in  which  firm  Mr.  Downs,  of  the 
present  firm  of  Downs  &  Finch,  was  a  special  partner. 
In  1874,  Finley,  Gourlay  &  Finch  were  succeeded  by 
Downs,  Gourlay  &  Finch,  and  the  latter  firm  by 
Downs  &  Finch  in  1876.  The  factory  at  first  con- 
sisted of  a  -single  building  about  seventy  feet  by  thirty, 
with  a  capacity  to  turn  out  fifty  to  one  hundred  dozen 
shirts  per  week,  and  gave  employment  to  about  one 
hundred  hands.  Since  that  time  the  business  has 
grown  to  be  the  most  extensive  of  its  kind  in  the 
world,  having  overleaped  the  limits  of  the  village  of 
Jamesburg  in  its  rapid  development  and  necessitated 
the  establishment  of  a  branch  at  Bordentown  as  large 
as  the  parent  factory,  a  second  branch  at  Hightstown, 
and  a  third  at  Trenton.  The  aggregate  capacity  (ff 
the  three  factories,  which  have  their  headquarters  at 
Jamesburg,  is  between  4000  and  5000  dozen  shirts  and 
15,000  to  20,000  dozen  collars  and  cufts  per  week. 
The  firm  has  3500  hands  on  its  pay-rolls,  and  $15,000 
to  $20,000  is  disbursed  each  semi-monthly  pay-day. 
About  7,500,000  yards  of  cloth  and  spool-cotton,  to  the 
value  of  $30,000,  are  consumed  annually  in  the  manu- 
facture of  shirts,  and  the  firm  buys  starch  for  use  in 
their  laundries  in  lots  of  four  or  five  car-loads  of 
fifteen  tons  each. 

Additions  to  the  works  at  Jamesburg  have  been 
made  by  the  erection  of  new  buildings  from  year  to 
year  as  the  growing  business  has  required.  The  main 
building,  known  as  "No.  1,"  is  an  imposing  brick 
structure  with  two  wings,  making  a  frontage  of  170 
feet  by  50  feet  depth,  three  stories  high,  with  a  sightly 
five-story  entrance-tower  in  front,  containing  stair- 
cases leading  to  the  several  floors  and  extending  two 
stories  above  the  main  building.  At  the  rear  of  the 
eastern  wing  is  a  two-story  brick  extension  about 
seventy  feet  by  thirty-five,  which  is  occupied  as  a 
laundry.  At  the  rear  of  the  main  building  is  a  boiler 
and  engine-room.  The  third  floor  of  the  main  build- 
ing is  occupied  as  a  cutting-room,  the  second  floor  as 
a  sewing-room,  and  the  first  floor,  in  connection  with 
the  extension  above  referred  to,  as  an  ironing  and 
stock-room.     About  three  hundred  feet  to  the  rear  of 


MONROE. 


807 


the  main  building  is  factory  building  "  No.  10,"  occu- 
pied as  a  laundry  for  one  class  of  shirts.  Across  the 
water-way  which  supplies  power  to  the  factories  is 
located  a  building  about  forty  feet  by  thirty,  which 
contains  the  general  offices  of  the  firm,  in  which  is  a 
telegraph-offlee  and  a  telephone  connecting  with  the 
three  other  factories,  enabling  the  firm  to  control  its 
complicated  business  with  a  facility  that  before  the 
invention  of  the  telephone  would  have  been  impossi- 
ble. At  Upper  Janiesburg  are  located  the  firm's  box- 
factories,  which  occupy  three  large  buildings,  emjsloy 
about  thirty-five  hands,  and  produce  on  an  average 
10,000  boxes  per  week. 

Magee  &  BucKELEw's  FOUNDRY. — The  foundry 
of  Magee  &  Buckelew  at  Upper  Jamesburg  was 
built  in  1878,  and  enlarged  to  its  present  capacity  in 
1879.  It  was  operated  by  C.  J.  Crosby  &  Brother 
until  1880,  and  since  then  has  been  under  the  per- 
sonal management  of  Magee  &  Buckelew,  who  do  a 
large  business,  shipping  the  products  of  the  works 
throughout  the  Middle  States,  and  to  some  extent 
beyond. 

Distilleries.— From  1822  to  1834,  Garret  S.  Da- 
vison had  a  distillery  at  Prospect  Plains.  Charles 
P.  Mount  put  a  distillery  in  operation  at  Red  Tavern 
about  twenty  years  ago,  and  continued  the  business 
about  ten  years.  The  establishment  passed  into  the 
possession  of  Joseph  Chamberlain  about  1872,  and  in 
1876  into  that  of  the  present  proprietor,  S.  D.  Van- 
denbergh,  who  had  previously  leased  it  a  year,  and 
who  has  since  continued  the  business.  The  works 
consist  of  a  still-house  twenty-two  feet  by  eighteen, 
and  a  three-story  and  a  basement  building  thirty-five 
feet  by  thirty,  in  which  are  carried  on  various  other 
processes  necessary  to  the  production  of  such  liquors 
as  are  made  there. 

George  McDowell  established  a  distillery  near 
Union  Valley,  which  he  operated  a  number  of  years 
until  it  was  purchased  by  D.  M.  Perrine,  who  re- 
moved it  to  a  point  near  Half- Acre,  and  continued  the 
business  until  1880.  In  the  southwestern  part  of  the 
township  A.  Petty  established  a  distillery,  now  con- 
tinued by  his  estate.  At  diflerent  times  others  in  the 
township  have  been  more  or  less  extensively  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  peach  and  apple  brandy  and 
apple  whisky,  for  which  this  section  has  considerable 
reputation. 

Miscellaneous  Industries.  —  Appleby's  drug- 
and  spice-mill,  on  Matchaponix  Brook,  on  the  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  township,  was  for  some  time, 
until  a  comjjaratively  recent  date,  an  enterprise  of 
importance. 

The  farmers  in  the  vicinity  of  Prospect  Plains  in 
1826  and  later  made  brick,  which  was  carted  to  Prince- 
ton. A  brick-yard,  now  idle,  on  the  Buckelew  estate, 
northwest  of  Janiesburg,  was  established  by  James 
Buckelew  about  twenty  years  ago,  and  brick  was 
manufactured  there  quite  extensively  for  a  number  of 
years. 


The  steam  saw-mill  of  Edward  Snediker  at  James- 
burg was  built  in  1881,  and  furnishes  employment  to 
three  men.  Much  lumber  is  sawed  there  for  Magee  & 
Davison,  who  are  shippers  of  large  quantities. 

The  First  National  Bank  of  Jamesburg.— In  our 
modern  system  success  in  finances  is  closely  allied 
with  sound  banking  institutions.  The  founder  of 
Janiesburg,  early  in  the  history  of  national  banks, 
took  the  steps  essential  towards  supplying  that  need, 
and  in  January,  1864,  in  connection  with  his  sons, 
Isaac  S.,  John  D.,  and  F.  Lemuel  Buckelew,  Mr. 
Joseph  C.  McGee,  John  G.  Schultz,  and  Nathaniel 
W.  Morris  (who  were  the  first  board  of  directors), 
and  some  twenty  of  their  neighbors,  formed  the  two 
hundred  and  eighty-eighth  national  bank,  styled  the 
First  National  Bank  of  Jamesburg. 

The  officers  and  directors  of  this  institution  are  as 
follows :  President,  Isaac  S.  Buckelew  ;  Cashier,  T. 
Wilton  Hill ;  Directors,  Isaac  S.  Buckelew,  Joseph 
C.  McGee,  T.  Wilton  Hill,  George  H.  Townsend,  and 
F.  Lemuel  Buckelew. 

Former  directors  not  now  in  service  have  been 
James  Buckelew,  Nathaniel  W.  Morris,  John  D. 
Buckelew,  John  G.  Stults,  and  James  Applegate. 
William  H.  Courier  and  Benjamin  Snyder  were  former 
cashiers. 

The  following  statement  shows  the  condition  of  this 
bank  at  the  close  of  business  Jan.  4,  1882: 

Hesources. 

Loans  and  discounts 8110,904.15 

U.  S.  bonds  to  secure  circulation  75,000.00 

Other  stocks,  bonds,  and  mortgages 4;i,587.00 

Due  from  approved  reserve  agent 17,792.38 

Due  from  other  national  banlis 8,593.11 

Checks  and  other  cash  items G98.05 

Bills  of  other  banks 2,700.00 

Specie 1,596.22 

Legal  tender  notes 6,500  00 

Due  from  U.  S.  Treasurer 3,375.00 

8270,745.91 
LUibUUies. 

Capital  stock 875,000.00 

Surplus  fund 21,000.00 

Undivided  profits 3,927.61 

Circulation 67,500.00 

Individual  deposits 100,169.71 

Due  to  other  national  banks 3,148.59 

8270,746.91 

Burial- Places. — The  burying-ground  on  the  State 
Reform  School  farm,  near  the  ancient  traditional 
prison-house,  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  graveyard  in 
Monroe.  Here  and  there  about  the  township  are 
spots  where  one  or  two  graves  have  been  made  which 
are  still  visible,  and  doubtless  others  have  disappeared 
entirely.  Near  Hoffman  Station  are  some  graves  of 
members  of  the  Hoffman  family  and  others.  At 
Union  Valley  is  a  burying-ground  containing  about 
fifty  graves,  the  first  of  which  was  opened  early  in 
July,  1852.  This  ground  was  given  to  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  by  Mr.  aud  Mrs.  E.  D.  Stults. 

Fernwood  Cemetery. — Fernwood  Cemetery,  ad- 
jacent to  Wigwam  Grove,  beautifully  situated,  with 
a  commanding  view  of  a  fine  landscape,  hallowed  by 
its   associations  with  the  work  of  the  devoted    and 


808 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


faithful  Brainerdg,  is  most  appropriately  set  apart  for 
its  sacred  purpose. 

The  original  association  was  formed  in  1853,  and  the 
first  land  selected  for  cemetery  purposes  was  on  the 
north  side  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  about 
three-fourths  of  a  mile  west  of  the  present  depot. 
Objection  being  made  to  its  location,  by  consent  of 
its  lot-holders  it  was  changed  to  its  present  site  in 
1859  and  its  removal  was  sanctioned  by  the  New  Jersey 
Legislature,  which  in  1861  passed  the  act  which  cre- 
ated the  present  "  Fernwood  Cemetery  Association." 

Under  its  present  charter  Messrs.  T.  S.  Snedeker, 
J.  C.  Magee,  W.  H.  Courter,  J.  B.  Thompson,  and 
C.  W.  Johnson  were  its  first  board  of  trustees,  and 
Mr.  J.  D.  Buckelew  treasurer. 

The  plot  of  ground,  containing  a  little  over  three 
acres,  was  generously  donated  to  the  association  by 
Mr.  James  Buckelew.  Among  the  first  family  plots 
selected  and  improved  was  one  by  Mr.  Buckelew. 
On  the  shaft  erected  to  his  memory  is  the  simple 
inscription,  "  Born  August  13,  1801.  Died  May  30, 
1869." 

The  association  is  officered  as  follows  :  President, 
John  D.  Buckelew ;  Treasurer  and  Secretary,  F.  L. 
Buckelew ;  Trustees,  John  D.  Buckelew,  William  H. 
Courter,  C.  W.  Johnson,  W.  H.  Mount,  and  T. 
Wilton  Hill. 

Associations  and    Societies. — The  Jamesbueg 

SUXDAY-SCHOOL   CONVENTION"    A.SSOCIATION. — The 

Jamesburg  Sunday-School  Convention  was  founded 
in  1866  by  Mr.  J.  D.  Buckelew,  superintendent  of  the 
Jamesburg  Sunday-school,  in  connection  with  Mr. 
Franklin  Dey,  of  Mercer  County,  and  other  superin- 
tendents and  friends  of  the  Sunday-school  cause,  for 
the  purpose  of  giving  the  scholars  an  annual  picnic, 
and  at  the  same  time  furnishing  them  and  their 
friends  with  exercises  and  addresses  calculated  to 
both  instruct  and  enhance  the  interest  in  Sunday- 
schools,  and  has  grown  to  such  magnitude  as  to 
require  the  management  of  a  thoroughly  systematized 
organization,  which  is  supplied  in  the  board  of  offi- 
cers and  teachers  of  the  Jamesburg  Sunday-school, 
who  are  now  recognized  as  ex  officio  the  Jamesburg 
Sunday-School  Convention  Association.  The  gen- 
eral committee  in  1881  was  organized  as  follows : 
T.  Wilton  Hill,  chairman;  John  D.  Courter,  secre- 
tary ;  Rev.  B.  S.  Everitt,  John  D.  Buckelew,  Alfred 
Davison,  Joseph  C.  Magee,  J.  B.  Tallman,  F.  L. 
Buckelew,  William  H.  Courter,  William  H.  Mount, 
L.  E.  Riddle,  A.  I.  Richardson,  Alfred  W.  Dye. 

The  annual  convention  is  held  in  Wigwam  Grove 
on  the  fourth  Wednesday  in  August,  and  strenuous 
efforts  are  made  to  secure  addresses  from  able  and 
popular  Sunday-school  workers  (representing  various 
Christian  denominations),  illustrations  of  the  most 
improved  methods  in  teaching,  together  with  attrac- 
tive and  inspiring  music.  It  has  been  estimated  that 
from  10,000  to  12,000  persons  have  often  attended  the 
annual  conventions. 


The  Jamekbueg  Agricultural  Society. — The 
Jamesburg  Agricultural  Society  was  formally  organ- 
ized on  the  27th  of  April,  1853,  with  Mr.  James  Buck- 
elew as  president,  and  Joseph  C.  Magee  and  William 
H.  Courter  as  secretaries.  The  society  was  nomi- 
nally in  existence  the  previous  year,  and  consisted 
of  James  Buckelew,  Alexander  Redmond,  Aaron 
Gulick,  Samuel  R.  Forman,  Charles  Middleton, 
Thomas  S.  Snedeker,  Ralph  C.  Stults,  Frederick 
Farr,  and  Stephen  Van  Wickle. 

These  gentlemen  organized  and  held  an  agricul- 
tural fair  Oct.  6,  1852,  for  the  sale,  purchase,  and 
exhibition  of  stock,  farming  implements,  and  pro- 
duce, offering  no  premiums,  but  giving  every  oppor- 
tunity for  a  free  and  complete  exhibit  of  everything 
useful  to  the  farmer.  The  fair  was  a  success,  and 
resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  society,  having  for 
its  object  the  benefit  and  improvement  of  the  farming 
community. 

Fairs  were  held  at  Jamesburg  for  five  years,  attract- 
ing many  visitors  and  disseminating  much  good.  The 
society  was  the  first  of  its  kind  organized  in  the  county, 
— in  fact,  for  a  number  of  years  the  only  society.  Of 
late  years  it  has  confined  its  labors  to  the  distribution 
of  seeds  and  miscellaneous  documents  through  its  cor- 
responding secretary,  William  H.  Courter. 

Fidelity  Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  Jamesburg,  was 
organized  July  6,  1870,  with  the  following  charter 
members  and  principal  officers :  William  H.  Coulter, 
N.  G. ;  Charles  P.  Clymer,  V.  G. ;  Charles  E.  Liming, 
Sec. ;  Isaac  S.  Buckelew,  Treas. ;  and  John  H.  Heath, 
William  J.  Courter,  and  Charles  E.  Woolley. 

The  present  officers  are  F.  Nodocker,  N.  G. ;  Henry 
Jobs,  V.  G. ;  John  D.  Courter,  Sec. ;  C.  M.  Davison, 
Treas. 

This  lodge  has  a  membership  of  ninety-one,  and  is 
represented  in  the  Grand  Lodge  of  New  Jersey  by  one 
of  its  members,  George  S.  Courter,  Grand  Master. 
The  lodge-room  is  in  the  second  story  of  the  building 
containing  the  offices  of  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Jamesburg,  and  regular  meetings  are  held  every 
Wednesday  evening. 

Matilda  Lodge,  No.  28,  was  instituted  April  6, 
1871,  and  the  following  officers  were  installed:  John 
H.  Heath,  N.  G. ;  Sarah  E.  Smock,  V.  G. :  William 
H.  Courter,  Sec. ;  Jennie  Smock,  Treas. ;  C.  B.  Cly- 
mer, O.  G. ;  C.  G.  Cox,  I.  G. ;  George  Smock,  W. ; 
N.  B.  Smock,  C.  The  present  officers  are  Thomas  P. 
Ryan,  N.  G. ;  Mrs.  Joseph  P.  Eler,  V.  G. ;  John  D. 
Courter,  Sec. ;  Miss  A.  Golden,  Treas. 

Encampment  No.  51,  I.  O.  0.  F.,  of  Jamesburg. 
Instituted  Jan.  3,  1879,  this  encampment  comprised 
the  following  charter  members:  Charles  S.  Brown,  J. 
D.  Browne,  George  S.  Courter,  Frank  H.  Dey,  John 
H.  Heath,  John  N.  Heath,  F.  McNamee,  F.  No- 
docker,  P.  V.  Petty,  W.  H.  Petty,  George  Van  Arts- 
dalen,  and  William  G.  Mount.  The  members  num- 
ber thirty-four.  Regular  meetings  are  held  Friday 
evening  of  each  week.     The  present  officers  of  this 


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MONROE. 


encampment  are  as  follows  :  James  D.  Browne,  C.  P. ; 
John  H.  Elliott,  H.  P.;  J.  Albert  Keinzle,  S.  W. ;  C. 
M.  Davison,  Sec. ;  William  H.  Courter,  Treas. 

EvERiTT  Lodge,  I.  O.  G.  T.— About  1870  a  lodge 
of  the  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  named 
as  above,  was  organized  at  Jamesburg. 

Churches. — Eaely  Keligiou.s  History.' — After 
the  days  of  Brainerd  the  first  religious  services  in  the 
township  were  probably  held  at  the  beginning  of  or 
very  early  in  this  century  in  the  old  school-house  at 
Jamesburg,  and  there  was  early  preaching,  too,  in  the 
Matchaponix  neighborhood.  Though  this  section  was 
from  the  first  settled  by  those  whose  predilections  were 
Presbyterian,  yet  the  earliest  services  were  generally 
held  by  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Church,  and  Rev. 
Mr.  Fountain,  living  near  what  is  now  "  Texas," 
preached  occasionally  at  Jamesburg,  and  during  one 
year  every  two  weeks.  The  people  expressed  great 
satisfaction  with  his  services,  gathering  from  distances  ; 
of  three  or  four  miles,  and  giving  him  flour,  meal,  and 
other  products  as  his  pay.  However,  the  next  year, 
when  an  eftbrt  was  made  to  raise  money  for  him  and 
the  people  were  called  on  to  contribute  the  same,  there  j 
is  said  to  have  been  a  great  diminution  in  attendance, 
for  produce  was  the  more  easily  obtainable  than  cash. 
At  John  Hoffman's,  toward  Englishtown,  the  Meth- 
odists held  regular  Sunday  evening  services,  and  the  ' 
scattered  inhabitants  were  glad  to  walk  even  from 
as  far  as  Jamesburg  to  attend. 

Although  thus  early  in  possession  of  the  field,  the 
Methodists  failed  to  occupy  it  fully,  and  Rev.  Mr. 
Rice,  of  Spottswood,  and  after  him  Rev.  William  R.  j 
S.  Betts,  of  the  same  church.  Rev.  Mr.  Woodhull,  of 
Tennent  Church,  in  Monmouth  County,  and  his  son,  j 
Rev.  Spaffbrd  Woodhull,  and  perhaps  other  Presby-  i 
terian  clergymen,  preached  occasionally  at  James- 
burg, and  later  Rev.  Luther  Van  Doren,  of  Tennent 
Church,  and  Rev.  Symmes  Henry,  of  Cranbury.  Rev. 
Mr.  Blythe  also  came,  and  Mr.  Vincent  W.  Mount,  : 
who  led  the  singing.  The  people  were  not  satisfied, 
however,  with  such  occasional  services  as  were  thus 
brought  to  them,  but  attended  meetings  in  neigh- 
boring settlements.  Some,  especially  the  Van  Wickle 
family,  and  that  of  William  W.  Davison,  went  to 
Cranbury  First  Church,  and  a  little  later  Alexander 
Redmond's  and  S.  R.  Freeman's  famifies  in  the 
same  direction,  though  more  went  to  Spottswood. 
This  was  after  the  railroad  was  constructed.  A  flat 
car,  provided  with  temporary  seats  for  the  purpose, 
was  drawn  by  a  mule,  arid  often  thirty  or  forty  per- 
sons would  thus  go  to  Spottswood  to  church.  When 
the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cranbury  was 
organized  a  number  of  families,  among  them  James 
Buckelew's  and  C.  G.  Snediker's,  became  identified 
with  it,  and  continued  for  several  years  to  attend  ser- 
vices there. 

When  the  second  school-house  at  Jamesburg  was 

1  Condensed  from  the  introductory  portion  of  the  history  of  the  Pres' 
byterian  Church  of  Jamesburg,  by  Rev,  B.  S.  Everitt,  1876. 


built  by  Mr.  James  Buckelew,  in  1847,  to  meet  the 
want  of  religious  worshipers-,  a  room  was  partitioned 
off  in  it,  and  provided  with  pulpit  and  seats,  and  con- 
nected with  folding-doors  with  the  school-room. 
Here  Revs.  Henry  and  Blythe,  of  Cranbury,  held  oc- 
casional services,  Avith  now  and  then  others,  till  in 
the  spring  of  1850,  Rev.  George  C.  Bush,  who  was 
preaching  at  South  Amboy  and  South  River,  came 
regularly  to  preach  at  Jamesburg  every  other  Sab- 
bath evening,  and  found  (as  he  has  said)  good  con- 
gregations and  attentive  hearers.  After  about  nine 
months'  service  he  yielded  the  work  to  Rev.  John  A. 
Annin,  then  just  leaving  the  .seminary  at  Princeton. 
During  Mr.  Bush's  labors  about  twelve  were  con- 
verted, and  with  these  he  expected  about  twelve  from 
other  churches  were  ready  to  enter  a  church  organi- 
zation which  had  been  talked  of  for  a  time  and  then 
took  more  promising  form.  Mr.  Bush  wrote :  "  I 
shall  never  forget  the  kindness  with  which  the  people 
of  Jamesburg  treated  me.  They  sent  a  team  to  Wash- 
ington for  me,  and  gave  me  a  good  home  among  them, 
and  worked  and  prayed  with  me,  giving  opportunity 
for  conversation  and  prayer  with  their  families. 
They  were  quick  to  discern  the  time  "to  build  and 
organize." 

The  Presbyterian  Chdech  of  Jamesburg.* — 
Although  the  prospects  when  Rev.  John  A.  Aonin 
took  charge  of  the  work  at  Jamesburg  were  hopeful, 
his  services  continued  but  three  months,  to  July, 
1851,  after  which  there  seems  to  have  been  no  regular 
supply,  and  services  were  held  with  much  irregu- 
larity. The  matter  was  not  allowed  to  rest,  and  the 
next  tangible  thing  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  year 
1853,  when  a  subscription  was  circulated  for  securing 
funds  for  a  church  building,  which  succeeded  so  well 
that  March  3,  1853,  a  meeting  of  the  subscribers  was 
held,  and  William  Johnson,  Alexander  Redmond, 
Aaron  Gulick,  Edmund  Rue,  Joseph  C.  Magee,  I.  S. 
Buckelew,  and  S.  R.  Foreman  were  elected  trustees, 
thus  completing  a  legal  organization. 

At  the  same  time  a  petition  was  signed  by  seven- 
teen members  of  other  churches  and  twenty-nine 
persons  not  members  asking  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick  to  organize  a  church  at  Jamesburg,  in  re- 
sponse to  which  a  committee  consisting  of  Revs.  S. 
C.  Henry,  J.  W.  Blythe,  L.  H.  Van  Doren,  and  S.  D. 
Alexander  met  June  6, 1854,  and  organized  the  church 
with  eleven  members  :  John  C.  Vandeveer  and  Han- 
nah, his  wife  ;  Samuel  Marryott  and  Ann  Maria,  his 
wife  ;  James  Mount  and  Mahala,  his  wife ;  Margaret 
C.  Buckelew,  C.  J.  Applegate,  Sarah  Davison,  J.  B. 
Johnson,  and  David  C.  Bastido.  John  C.  Vandeveer 
and  John  B.  Johnson  were  elected  elders. 

A  building  committee,  consisting  of  J.  D.  Bucke- 
lew, J.  C.  Magee,  and  S.  M.  Van  Wickle,  had,  under 
instructions  from  the  congregation  and  trustees,  pro- 
ceeded to  erect  a  church  building  on  Church  Street, 


2  Partially,  in  a  condensed  form,  from  the  history  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  Jamesburg,  by  Rev.  B.  S.  Everitt,  its  present  pastor. 


810 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


to  which  it  gave  its  name,  the  corner-stone  being  laid 
Sept.  7,  ]853,  Rev.  George  C.  Bush,  of  Stewartsville, 
and  Kev.  S.  D.  Alexander,  of  Freehold,  conducting 
the  exercises.     The  building  was  dedicated  June  26, 

1854,  Rev.  S.  D.  Alexander  preaching  the  sermon. 
Now  regular   Sunday  services   were   inaugurated, 

and  the  church  began  at  once  to  raige  money  for  pay- 
ing supplies,  the  subscrijition  list  showing  thirty-nine 
contributors  and  the  amount  $194  for  the  first  quarter, 
ending  Dec.  31,  1854.  The  supplies  were  largely 
students  of  the  theological  seminary  at  Princeton, 
although  the  names  of  Drs.  J.  C.  Moffat,  L.  At- 
water,  J.  McDonald,  Charles  Hodge,  and  Rev.  J.  W. 
Blythe,  among  those  of  supplies,  show  that  some  of 
the  leading  ministers  of  the  day  preached  there. 
These  supplies  were  paid,  and  June  30,  1855,  the  re- 
port of  the  treasurer  showed  that  $503.32  had  been 
raised  for  the  year,  being  an  excess  of  $148.59  over 
what  had  been  paid  for  supplies,  which,  with  a  fund 
subsequently  raised  by  the  trustees,  was  appropriated 
to  paying  a  debt  of  $400  still  due  on  the  house  of 
worship. 

The  church,  now  convinced  of  its  ability  to  sup- 
port a  pastor,  called  Rev.  J.  Halstead  Carroll,  Feb.  2, 

1855,  at  a  salary  of  $550,  and  he  was  ordained  and 
installed  May  30th,  when  Rev.  Charles  Hodge,  D.D., 
presided.  Rev.  John  Hall,  D.D.,  preached,  Rev.  W. 
H.  Green,  D.D.,  charged  the  pastor,  and  Rev.  J.  M. 
McDonald,  D.D.,  charged  the  people.  The  new 
church  then  began  its  full  work  with  sixteen  members 
and  the  following  official  organization  :  Rev.  J.  H. 
Carroll,  pastor ;  J.  C.  Vandeveer,  Aaron  Gulick,  and 
J.  Bergen  Thompson,  elders  ;  J.  B.  Thomson,  presi- 
dent of  trustees  ;  Joseph  C.  Magee,  secretary  ;  J.  D. 
Buckelew,  treasurer;  Thomas  S.  Mershon,  James 
Mount,  I.  S.  Buckelew,  Alexander  Redmond,  and  S. 
R.  Foreman,  trustees  ;  William  H.  Courter  had  charge 
of  collecting  salary  and  renting  pews  ;  Charles  A. 
Craig  was  chorister ;  Samuel  Marryott,  sexton  ;  and 
J.  D.  Buckelew,  Sunday-school  superintendent. 

Mr.  Carroll  was  pastor  until  Feb.  2,  1858.  Rev. 
William  M.  Wells,  of  the  theological  seminary, 
Princeton,  was  called  August  10th  following,  at  a 
salary  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  ordained 
and  installed  November  4th,  Rev.  P.  O.  Studdiford, 
D.D.,  preaching,  Rev.  T.  D.  Hoover  charging  the 
pastor,  and  Rev.  R.  Taylor  the  people.  Rev.  Mr. 
Wells  ended  his  pastorate  July  1,  1869.  Rev.  B.  S. 
Everitt,  of  Montclair,  N.  J.,  was  called  Nov.  2,  "1869, 
and  installed  Jan.  4,  1870,  Rev.  J.  L.  Kehoe,  Rev.  A. 
P.  Cobb,  and  Rev.  F.  Chandler  taking  part  in  the 
exercises. 

During  Rev.  Mr.  Carroll's  pastorate  the  church 
prospered,  and  at  its  close  had  a  membership  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine.  Notwithstanding  that 
during  the  first  two  years  of  his  connection  with  the 
church  twenty  members  were  dismis.sed  and  four  died, 
the  labors  of  Rev.  Mr.  Wells  were  so  successful  that 
in  the  third  year  of  his  pastorate  the  church  num- 


bered one  hundred  and  thirty-five,  and  at  the  time 
of  his  departure  one  hundred  and  sixty  members, 
though  during  his  stay  sixty-five  had  united  with 
other  churches  and  twenty-six  had  died.  In  1864 
the  present  parsonage  was  purchased,  and  in  1867  the 
church  was  enlarged  at  an  expense  of  about  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars,  and  Feb.  8, 1868,  rededicated  by 
Rev.  R.  M.  Patterson,  of  Philadelphia.  As  a  result 
of  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr.  Everitt  the  membership 
of  the  church  has  been  increased  to  three  hundred 
and  ninety-eight.  The  parsonage  has  been  enlarged 
and  repaired,  the  seating  capacity  of  the  main  audi- 
ence-room of  the  church  has  been  increased,  and 
the  lecture-  and  Sunday-school  rooms  built  in  1871 
and  dedicated  November  30th,  at  an  expense  of  about 
five  thousand  dollars,  and  a  considerable  sum  in  the 
aggregate  has  been  otherwise  expended  in  improving 
and  beautifying  the  church  property,  which  is  now 
valued  at  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 

The  present  elders  are  Joseph  C.  Magee,  William 
H.  Courter,  C.  W.  Johnson,  John  Pierson,  Alfred  W. 
Dey,  James  P.  De  Hart,  J.  B.  Tallman,  and  William 
H.  Mount.  The  trustees  are  T.  Wilton  Hill,  presi- 
dent ;  John  D.  Courter,  secretary  and  treasurer;  and 
Nelson  B.  Smock,  Garret  G.  Davison,  James  Vande- 
ripe,  and  Robert  M.  Cole. 

The  Presbyterian  Sunday-school  was  organized  in 
1847,  with  Alexander  Redmond  as  superintendent. 
John  D.  Buckelew  has  been  superintendent  since 
1854.  The  membership  is  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
five,  exclusive  of  oflicers  and  teachers.  The  library 
contains  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  volumes. 
William  H.  Courter  is  first  and  J.  C.  Morgan  second 
assistant  superintendent.  John  D.  Courter  is  secre- 
tary and  treasurer,  and  Thomas  J.  Parks  librarian. 

Methodist  Protestant  Church,  Union  Val- 
ley.— Rev.  (better  known  years  ago  as  "  Daddy") 
Perkins,  a  circuit  preacher,  organized  a  class  at 
Union  Valley  in  1840,  with  the  following  named  per- 
sons as  members:  Brittain  Clayton,  Eliza  Clayton, 
Lydia  Robbins,  Maria  Rue,  Matilda  Jamison,  Alfred 
Jamison,  David  Dey,  Sarah  Ann  Dey,  Mary  Dey, 
Eliza  Laning,  Caroline  Laning,  and  Daniel  I.  Dey. 

During  the  ensuing  year  the  class  met  weekly  at 
the  house  of  Daniel  I.  Dey,  and  services  were  led  by 
Mr.  Perkins.  Local  preachers  held  meetings  more  or 
less  frequently  during  the  succeeding  five  years,  and 
in  1846  a  wooden  church,  thirty  feet  by  twenty-two, 
was  built  by  subscription  at  a  cost  of  about  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  present  house  of  worship,  a  wooden 
building  forty-four  feet  by  thirty-six,  was  erected  in 
1866-67,  also  by  subscription.  The  pulpit  wiis  filled 
by  local  preachers  until  1867,  when  Rev.  Elias  D. 
Stults  became  pastor.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J. 
Leuppie,  the  present  pastor,  about  three  years  since. 
The  membership  is  eighty.  The  trustees  are  J.  W. 
Stults,  R.  Applegate,  J.  L.  Brown,  G.  McDowell, 
T.  Hulit,  George  Dey,  and  R.  I.  Reed.  John  Wolf, 
George  McDowell,  and  John  M.  Stults  are  stewards. 


■ss^^v-o.-^    9  a<?c 


C-t^^K^ 


MONKOE. 


811 


St.  James  the  Less  Catholic  Church,  James- 
burg. — This  church,  on  Lincoln  Avenue,  Jainesburg, 
was  erected  in  1878,  on  a  lot  donated  for  that  purpose 
by  the  Buckelew  estate,  and  consecrated  in  December 
that  year  by  Bishop  Corrigan,  now  Archbishop  of  New 
York.  The  congregation  was  organized  in  18G5,  and 
then  consisted  of  ten  families,  including  those  of 
Richard  Lewis,  Patrick  Pierce,  John  Coyne,  Patrick 
Connaty,  John  Connaty,  John  Breene,  and  John  Cal- 
lahan, and  meetings  were  held  in  private  houses  until 
the  erection  of  the  church.  The  congregation  now 
numbers  forty  families. 

The  successive  pastors  have  been  Fathers  O'Don- 
nell,  Moran,  Kivolitz,  and  Joseph  Bussing. 

A  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1879  with  fifty 
scholars.  John  Pierce  was  the  first  superintendent. 
The  present  superintendent  is  William  Breene.  The 
library  contains  one  hundred  and  fifty  volumes. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


JOHN    PAXTON. 

Edward  Paxton,  the  grandfather  of  John,  whose 
life  is  here  briefly  sketched,  was  of  Irish  birth,  and 
having  decided  to  seek  a  home  on  American  shores, 
left  his  native  city  of  Dublin  and  sailed  (probably  in 
the  "Mayflower")  for  the  New  World.  He  chose 
Trenton,  N.  J.,  as  a  place  of  settlement,  and  there 
located  as  a  shoemaker.  He  was  married  to  Eliza- 
beth Cunningham,  of  Trenton,  and  had  children,  nine 
in  number,  as  follows  :  William,  David,  Hugh,  Ed- 
ward, John,  Mary  (Mrs.  Clun),  Elizabeth  (Mrs.  Lock- 
ard),  Catherine,  and  Sally. 

Edward,  of  this  number,  joined  Gen.  Montgomery's 
expedition,  having  as  its  purpose  the  storming  of 
Quebec,  and  was  while  en  route  accidentally  killed 
at  St.  John's  by  the  bursting  of  a  bomb. 

John  was  born  at  Allentown,  Monmouth  Co.,  and 
after  being  apprenticed  to  a  tailor  removed  to  New 
York,  where  he  pursued  his  trade.  He  later  returned 
to  Allentown  and  followed  the  same  industry.  Mr. 
Paxton  was  married  to  Theodosia  Tindall,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  had  children, — Catherine  (Mrs.  J.  V.  An- 
derson), Mary  (Mrs.  Peter  Casler),  Margaret,  Eliza- 
beth (Mrs.  Peter  Casler),  William,  Edward,  John, 
and  James.  Mr.  Paxton  finally  abandoned  his  trade 
and  followed  farming  pursuits  at  Matchaponix,  where 
be  reared  his  family  of  children  and  lived  until  his 
death. 

His  son  John  was  born  at  the  latter  place.  May  3, 
1813,  and  remained  with  his  parents  until  his  twenty- 
eighth  year,  having  been  engaged  in  labor  upon  the 
farm.  He  then  decided  upon  the  purchase  of  land, 
and  with  a  capital  of  four  hundred  dollars  secured  a 
farm  valued  at  two  thousand  four  hundred  dollars. 
Industry  and  frugality  soon  enabled  him  to  liquidate 


the  indebtedness  upon  the  property,  which  he  subse- 
quently sold  and  removed  to  Trenton.  Here  he  made 
a  second  purchase,  and  after  a  residence  of  eight 
years  disposed  of  the  land  at  an  advance  of  thirteen 
thousand  dollars.  He  then  removed  to  Matchaponix, 
now  Monroe  township,  Middlesex  Co.,  where  he  still 
resides  and  is  actively  engaged  in  agricultural  em- 
ployments. 

Mr.  Paxton  was  married  March  4,  1846,  to  Miss 
Theodosia,  daughter  of  Daniel  Ivins,  of  Mercer 
County,  who  is  the  mother  of  three  children, — Eve- 
line (Mrs.  C.  M.  Johnson),  Mary  E.  (Mrs.  David 
Kirkpatrick),  and  Rebecca  V. 

Mr.  Paxton  is  in  his  political  view^  a  Republican, 
and  while  a  strong  advocate  of  the  principles  of  his 
party,  is  never  an  aspirant  for  party  favors,  his  time 
and  energies  being  given  rather  to  his  daily  routine 
of  farming  avocations.  The  family  worship  at  the 
Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  at  Spottswood,  of  which 
the  daughters  are  members. 


HON.   JOSEPH    C.   MAGEE. 

Mr.  Magee's  progenitors  were  for  many  years  resi- 
dents of  the  north  of  Ireland,  his  grandfather  having 
been  Richard  Magee,  whose  children  were  James, 
Erick,  John,  Jonathan,  and  Barbara,  who  became 
Mrs.  Emmons. 

Jonathan,  one  of  these  sons,  was  born  near  Free- 
hold, Monmouth  Co.,  and  married  Miss  Mary  Hulse, 
of  the  same  county.  Their  children  were  Margaret, 
(Mrs.  Stultze),  James,  William,  Lydia  (Mrs.  Taylor), 
and  Alfred. 

Mr.  Magee  spent  his  life  in  farming  pursuits,  but 
at  a  later  period  removed  to  the  home  of  his  son  in 
Jamesburg,  where  his  death  occurred. 

Joseph  C.  Magee  was  born  in  Monmouth  County, 
Oct.  8,  1821,  and  at  the  age  of  nine  months  was  de- 
prived by  death  of  the  tender  care  of  a  mother.  His 
boyhood  was  passed  with  his  father  on  the  farm  until 
his  twelfth  year,  when  he  was  apprenticed  to  Eliaa 
C.  Clayton,  of  Manalapan,  Monmouth  Co.  After  a 
service  of  six  years,  and  on  attaining  his  eighteenth 
year,  he  engaged  as  a  clerk  for  the  same  gentleman, 
and  at  the  expiration  of  five  years  was  admitted  to 
a  partnership.  After  a  business  connection  of  four 
years  with  Mr.  Clayton  he  formed  a  copartnership 
with  John  E.  Hunt,  and  three  years  later  removed  to 
Jamesburg,  where  he  engaged  in  mercantile  pursuits. 

Mr.  Magee  was  married  in  March,  1846,  to  Miss 
Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Daniel  Van  Artsdalen,  of 
West  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  to  whom  were  born  children, 
— Harriet  C.  (Mrs.  Perrine),  Mary  E.  (Mrs.  Finley), 
deceased,  Eugene  V.,  Anna  B.,  and  George,  who  died 
in  infancy. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Magee  occurred  in  1866,  and 
Mr.  Magee  was  again  married  in  April,  1871,  to  Mrs. 
Eleanor  B.  Perrine,  of  Monmouth  County,  who  is 
the  mother  of  one  daughter,  Alice. 


812 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Mr.  Magee  has  during  the  whole  of  his  life,  and 
particularly  since  his  residence  in  Jamesburg,  been 
an  active  business  man.  He  has  contributed  largely 
to  the  growth  and  enterprise  of  the  place,  having 
been  instrumental  in  the  erection  of  many  of  its 
dwellings. 

In  politics  he  may  be  mentioned  as  an  Andrew 
Jackson  Democrat.  He  was  during  the  years  1874-75 
a  member  of  the  State  Legislature,  and  served  on  the 
important  Committee  on  Railroads  and  Canals,  of 
which  he  was  chairman  during  the  last  year  of  his 
official  service. 

He  has  been  for  two  years  chosen  freeholder  of 
Monroe  townsWp,  and  held  various  other  minor  offi- 
ces. He  is  president  of  the  Jamesburg  Mutual  Build- 
ing and  Loan  Association,  a  director  of  the  Princeton 
Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company,  and  also  one  of 
the  founders  and  a  director  of  the  First  National 
Bank  of  Jamesburg.  He  has  been  active  in  the 
temperance  organization  of  the  village,  and  one  of 
the  chief  promoters  of  the  cause  of  temperance  in 
the  township. 

Mr.  Magee  is  a  Presbyterian  in  his  religious  faith, 
and  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian Church  of  Jamesburg,  of  which  he  is  both 
elder  and  trustee. 


JAMES    BUCKELEW. 

The  Buckelew  family  is  of  Scotch  extraction,  their 
progenitor  in  America  having  been  Frederick  Bucke- 
lew, a  Scotch  emigrant,  who  fled  from  his  native  land  to 
avoid  religious  persecution.  He  sailed  from  Inver- 
nfess,  Scotland,  in  1715,  on  the  ship  "  Caledonia."  It 
will  be  remembered  that  in  1711,  shortly  after  the  union 
of  England  and  Scotland,  patronage  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  re-established  by  royal  command,  minis- 
ters of  the  Church  of  Scotland  being  appointed  by  the 
government  in  the  same  manner  as  in  the  Church  of 
England.  Frederick  Buckelew  became  identified  with 
those  who  objected  to  the  taking  away  of  a  right  that 
the  Scotch  Church  had  enjoyed  for  over  a  century,  and 
rather  than  be  subjected  to  what  he  believed  to  be  a 
wrong  determined  to  leave  his  native  land.  He  landed 
at  Perth  Amboy,  in  New  Jersey,  and  a  short  time  af- 
terwards selected  a  permanent  settlement  near  the 
present  village  of  Jamesburg,  Middlesex  Co.  His 
two  sons  were  Frederick  and  John,  the  latter  of  whom 
was  also  born  in  Scotland,  Feb.  14,  1705,  and  ten 
years  of  age  when  his  father  sailed  to  America.  John 
subsequently  married  Isabel  Dove,  a  Scotch  lady, 
who  was  a  passenger  on  the  same  vessel  with  the  elder 
Frederick's  family  to  America.  Their  children  were 
Abram,  James,  Thomas,  John,  Samuel,  Frederick, 
Jane,  who  became  Mrs.  Gilland ;  Percilla,  who  was 
Mrs.  Westlack  ;  and  Mary,  who  became  Mrs.  Hol- 
lingshead. 

Of  this  number  Frederick  was  born  Feb.  14,  1756, 
upon  the  fifty-first  anniversary  of  his  father's  birth. 


He  married  Margaret,  daughter  of  William  Dunn,  of 
Staten  Island,  March  4,  1784,  just  after  the  close  of 
the  Revolution.  They  had  eleven  children, — Nancy, 
Frederick,  Margaret,  Mary,  James,  Robert,  and  five 
who  died  in  childhood.  James,  who  is  the  subject  of 
this  sketch,  was  born  Aug.  13,  1801,  in  that  portion 
of  South  Amboy  township  now  known  as  Monroe 
township,  Middlesex  County.  His  early  advantages  of 
education  were  limited  to  the  ordinary  instruction 
aflx)rded  at  a  country  school. 

He  entered  into  business  at  the  age  of  twenty,  and 
after  eight  years  of  experience  married,  Dec.  12, 1829, 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Isaac  G.  Snedeker  and  Ann  Sal- 
ter, of  Cranbury,  N.  J.  Their  children  are  Isaac  Sned- 
eker, John  Dunn,  Margaret  S.  (deceased),  Frederick 
Lemuel,  Mary  G.,  married  to  George  H.  Townsend, 
of  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  Ida  (deceased). 

James  Buckelew  at  first  engaged  in  milling  and 
farming  operations  at  the  homestead  bordering  the 
Manalapan  stream,  four  miles  above  Jamesburg,  and 
in  1832  purchased  the  property  at  Jamesburg  then 
known  as  "  Gorden's  Mills,"  and  afterward  called 
Buckelew's  Mills  until  1847.  In  184G  the  school  dis- 
trict was  divided,  the  trustees  having  refused  to  admit 
a  colored  boy  to  the  school.  This  was  a  violation  of 
Mr.  Buckelew's  views  on  a  subject  which  a  quarter  of 
a  century  afterwards  caused  the  great  civil  war,  and 
he  erected  at  his  own  expense  a  brick  school-house, 
which  was  used  by  the  district  free  of  charge  during 
his  life.  In  it  a  stone  was  placed  bearing  the  inscrip- 
tion, "  Jamesburg,"  in  honor  of  Mr.  Buckelew's  Chris- 
tian name  James. 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  was  being  built 
when  he  removed  to  Jamesburg,  and  Mr.  Buokelew 
was  one  of  its  few  early  friends.  While  the  enemies 
of  the  road  cried  monopoly  and  ridiculed  what  they 
thought  a  wild  and  visionary  scheme,  he  with  the  re- 
markable foresight  that  characterized  so  many  acts  of 
his  life  saw  in  the  railroad  the  great  civilizer  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  and  welcomed  the  arrival  of  the 
iron  horse. 

Mr.  Buckelew's  milling  and  farming  operations 
proved  to  be  financially  successful.  His  early  intro- 
duction of  that  great  New  Jersey  fertilizer,  marl,  on 
his  farm  lands  in  and  around  Jamesburg  added  greatly 
to  the  value  of  the  many  acres  that  he  gradually  ac- 
cumulated. The  marl  was  conveyed  from  the  Squan- 
kum  marl  pits,  near  Farmingdale,  about  twenty  miles 
from  Jamesburg,  and  during  the  winter  months  one 
hundred  mules  were  often  employed  in  carting  this 
valuable  fertilizer  to  diflerent  portions  of  the  Buckelew 
farms.  With  the  completion  of  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  and  Delaware  and  Raritan  Canal, 
in  1834,  the  tide  of  passenger  tr.avel  from  Philadel- 
phia to  New  York  via  South  Amboy,  and  the  carrying 
of  freight  by  canal  via  Bordentown,  New  Brunswick, 
to  New  York,  began,  and  during  the  next  five  or  six 
years  the  business  rapidly  developed.  In  1840,  Mr. 
Buckelew  obtained  the  contract  for  team-towing  on 


^^^//  -1^.  ^-^^ 


MONROE. 


813 


the  canal,  which  he  continued  for  twenty-five  years. 
This  business  increased  proportionally  with  the  great 
freight  traffic  on  the  canal,  and  at  the  time  of  his 
transfer  of  interest  to  other  parties  in  1866  seven 
hundred  mules  were  employed  on  the  forty-three 
miles  of  tow-path  between  Bordentown  and  New 
Brunswick.  In  1845  he  in  connection  with  Nathaniel 
S.  Rue,  Esq.,  now  President  of  the  First  National  Bank 
of  Hightstown,  N.  J.,  established  a  stage-route  between 
Jamesburg  and  Freehold,  it  being  the  first  link  in  the 
chain  of  the  great  route  from  Philadelphia  to  Manas- 
quan,  Ocean  Grove,  and  Long  Branch. 

This  became  a  very  popular  route,  and  carried  five 
thousand  and  seventy-four  passengers  during  the 
second  year,  as  many  as  thirty  coaches  being  run  in 
one  day  during  the  height  of  the  summer  travel  be- 
tween Philadelphia  and  Long  Branch.  His  ideas  of 
personal  advancement,  even  in  this  particular,  yielded 
to  the  public  good,  and  in  1851  he  was  first  and  fore- 
most in  his  etibrts  to  establish  the  Freehold  and 
Jamesburg  Agricultural  Railroad,  giving  it  the  right 
to  his  stage-route  in  1853,  when  the  road  was  opened, 
free  of  charge.  As  time  advanced  the  value  of  marl 
as  a  fertilizer  began  to  be  realized  by  the  farming 
community,  and  the  demand  for  it  by  persons  living 
at  a  distance  led  him  to  undertake  the  construction 
of  a  railroad  from  Freehold,  nine  miles,  to  the  Squan- 
kura  marl  pits.  This  road  was  opened  for  travel  in 
1869,  after  a  most  bitter  opposition  from  those  who 
were  not  willing  to  sacrifice  personal  interest  for  a 
great  public  good.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  Mr. 
Buckelew  placed  himself  on  the  roll  of  earnest  friends 
of  the  government. 

When  the  national  banking  law  went  into  effect,  in 
1862,  he  was  among  the  first  to  see  its  advantages, 
and  in  1864  established  the  First  National  Bank  of 
Jamesburg,  of  which  institution  he  was  a  director 
until  the  day  of  his  death.  Mr.  Buckelew  was  also  a 
pioneer  in  the  cultivation  of  cranberries,  which  has 
developed  into  one  of  the  most  important  industries 
of  the  State.  The  extensive  bogs,  which  during  the 
picking  season  afford  employment  to  hundreds  of 
persons,  are  on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad  from 
Jamesburg  to  South  Amboy,  and  embrace  perhaps 
the  largest  single  tract  of  land  now  in  cranberry 
culture  in  the  State.  These  were  laid  out  and  cul- 
tivated to  a  limited  extent  during  Mr.  Buckelew's 
lifetime,  and  have  become  one  of  the  most  valuable 
legacies  to  his  children.  Mr.  Buckelew  possessed  a 
well-balanced  mind,  an  indomitable  will,  and  a  firm- 
ness of  purpose  which,  in  the  Scotch  character,  is 
nearly  allied  to  stubbornness.  He  was  a  man  of 
much  public  spirit,  and  all  projects  which  resulted  in 
benefit  to  the  public  received  hearty  encouragement 
from  him.  In  his  efforts  for  the  public  good  he  was 
52 


frequently  involved  in  legal  contests,  and  his  advanced 
ideas  did  not  at  all  times  receive  the  cordial  sympathy 
they  merited.  A  man  of  deeds  rather  than  words,  the 
utility  of  his  various  projects  was  demonstrated  more  by 
successful  accomplishment  than  plausible  argument. 

Liberal  without  ostentation,  the  land  for  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  parsonage  and  cemetery  were  among 
his  gifts  to  Jamesburg.  Among  his  friends,  of  whom 
he  had  many,  his  advice  and  counsel  was  frequently 
asked,  and  his  residence  at  Jamesburg  was  for  many 
years  the  headquarters  where  were  frequently  assem- 
bled those  who  were  prominent  and  instrumental  in 
the  construction  of  railroads  and  other  improvements. 
About  his  table  were  discussed  many  of  the  early 
plans  of  th«  managers  of  the  pioneer  railway  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia,  the  direct  management 
of  which  was  given  to  his  son.  Col.  Isaac  S.  Buckelew, 
when  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  leased  the  United 
Railways  of  New  Jersey  in  1871,  and  who  was  super- 
intendeht  of  the  Freehold  and  Jamesburg  Railway 
from  the  date  of  its  completion. 

The  historian  who  desires  to  record  the  acts  of  the 
men  who  are  identified  with  the  progress  of  the  times 
is  apt  to  select  those  whose  political  experience,  sci- 
entific knowledge,  or  early  surroundings  have  placed 
them  upon  a  plane  higher  than  their  fellows.  The 
subject  of  this  sketch,  however,  rose  to  a  place  in  the 
front  rank  of  the  citizens  of  Middlesex  County  with- 
out any  of  these  substantial  aids.  While  having 
strong  political  convictions,  being  first  a  Whig  and 
then  a  Republican,  he  never  aspired  to  place  or 
power,  though  the  aid  he  rendered  the  cause  which 
he  espoused  was  valuable,  and  recognized  as  such 
by  his  political  friends.  His  advantages  of  edu- 
cation, while  of  the  most  ordinary  character,  were 
sufficient  to  develop  a  kind  of  mental  strength  pecu- 
liar in  character,  but  invaluable  to  those  who.are  en- 
dowed with  it,  a  discernment  by  which  he  was  able 
to  judge  in  advance  and  act  in  accordance  with  his 
judgment. 

With  no  distinguished  ancestry  to  poiut  to  with 
pride,  he  chose  to  earn  the  esteem  of  his  contempo- 
raries and  to  point  to  the  future  consummation  of  his 
plans.  In  all  his  business  relations  he  observed  the 
strictest  probity,  and  at  his  death  on  the  30th  of  May, 
1869,  had  amassed  a  considerable  fortune,  which  he 
accumulated  by  unusual  sagacity  in  his  financial  op- 
erations. Not  one  cent  of  this  came  to  him  by  means 
that  were  ever  questionable. 

Mr.  Buckelew's  remains  were  interred  at  Fernwood 
Cemetery,  in  Jamesburg,  on  the  land  that  originally 
belonged  to  his  great-grandfather.  A  substantial 
monument  marks  the  last  resting-place  of  one  to 
whom  the  people  of  Middlesex  and  adjoining  coun- 
ties owe  much  of  the  prosperity  which  they  enjoy. 


814  HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


CHAPTER    CII.  ] 

MADISON.' 

Situation  and  Boundaries.— Madison  is  situated 
on  the  eastern  border  of  Middlesex  County,  some- 
what south  of  the  centre,  and  is  a  little  more  than 
eight  miles  long,  measuring  from  its  northern  to  its 
southeastern  extremity,  its  average  width  being  four 
miles  or  thereabout.  It  is  bounded  north  by  South 
Amboy  and  Raritan  Bay;  southeast  by  Matawan, 
Marlborough,  and  Manalapan  townships,  Monmouth 
County  ;  southwest  by  Monroe ;  and  northwest  by 
East  Brunswick  and  South  Amboy. 

Physical  Features.— The  area  of  Madison  is  19,560 
acres,  and  much  of  it  is  quite  heavily  wooded.  The 
surface  is  rolling,  and  broken  by  several  streams. 

The  largest  stream  flowing  through  any  portion  of 
the  township  is  Cheesquake  Creek,  rising  in  the 
northern  part  and  emptying  into  the  5laritan  at  the 
northwestern  corner,  forming  for  a  short  distance  the 
boundary  line  between  Madison  and  South  Amboy. 
The  Cheesquake  has  its  source  in  several  smaller 
streams  rising  about  Jacksonville  and  flowing  to- 
gether a  little  north  of  that  village,  and  is  navigable 
nearly  to  its  head-waters. 

Deep  Run,  a  mill  stream  of  considerable  import- 
ance, is  fed  by  several  little  streams  rising  or  having 
their  sources  mostly  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town- 
ship, their  confluence  being  within  a  short  distance  of 
their  several  sources.  This  creek  afibrds  good  water- 
power  in  the  western  part  of  Madison,  and  empties 
its  waters  into  South  River  just  northwest  of  the 
township  line. 

Tenant's  Creek  rises  south  of  Jacksonville,  and 
flowing  northwest  empties  into  South  River  near 
where  the  latter  receives  Deep  Run,  providing  a  good 
water-power  not  far  from  the  boundary  line. 

Iresick  Brook  is  formed  by  the  confluence  of  Grog 
Brook  and  another  unimportant  rivulet  southwest  of 
Deep  Run,  and  flows  into  South  River  near  the 
Brookfield  Mills. 

Matchaponix  Creek  and  South  River  wash  about 
two-thirds  of  the  western  border  of  the  township, 
and  the  juxtaposition  of  the  latter  has  been  a  source 
of  material  prosperity  to  its  inhabitants. 

Barclay's  Brook  is  a  small  tributary  to  the  Matcha- 
ponix, near  the  southern  extremity  of  the  township. 

That  portion  of  Madison  bordering  on  Monmouth 
County  is  considerably  elevated  above  those  portions 
lying  contiguous  to  South  Amboy,  East  Brunswick^ 
and  Monroe,  and  the  land  there  is  more  valuable  for 
agricultural  purposes  than  that  watered  by  the  streams 
referred  to.  The  soil  is  composed  of  red  shale  and 
sandy  loam,  and  west  of  Cheesquake  Creek  are  lo- 
cated some  extensive  and  valuable  beds  of  fire  and 
potter's  clay,  which  is  a  leading  article  of  commerce. 

The  timber  native  to  Madison  is  pine,  cedar,  maple, 


ash,  and  nearly  all  the  various  kinds  of  oak.  Some 
of  it  has  been  found  well  adapted  to  ship-building 
purposes,  and  has  at  times  commanded  a  ready  and 
profitable  sale.  The  smaller  trees  have  been  exten- 
sively cut  into  wood,  and  so  sold  in  immense  quan- 
tities. 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  branch  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  runs  along  the  northwestern  border  of 
the  township  for  quite  a  distance.  Old  Bridge,  Spotts- 
wood,  and  Bloomfield  Mills  being  convenient  stations. 

The  two  principal  highways  are  the  Mount  Pleasant 
and  Old  Bridge  turnpike  and  the  South  Amboy  and 
Mount  Pleasant  road,  which  form  a  junction  near  the 
eastern  border,  between  Jacksonville  and  Matawan, 
Monmouth  Co. 

Early  Settlement.— On  account  of  the  intimate 
natural  and  business  connection  which  has  so  long 
existed  between  Amboy  and  the  region  bordering  on 
the  Cheesquake,  the  carrying  trade  by  way  of  that 
stream  forming  the  connecting  link,  settlement  and 
improvement  naturally  began  at  Jacksonville  and 
near  the  head  of  navigation.  It  was  in  that  vicinity, 
on  the  Old  Bridge  road  and  in  the  Browntown  neigh- 
borliood,  that  most  of  the  pioneers  located.  The 
most  diligent  inquiry  has  in  most  cases  failed  to  elicit 
any  definite  information  as  to  the  dates  of  the  settle- 
ment of  the  few  who  were  pioneers  in  Madison,  and 
in  some  instances  it  is  not  certain  that  the  fathers  of 
some  who  are  supposed  to  have  been  pioneers  did  not 
come  into  the  township  previous  to  the  latter's  birth. 

.The  first  land-owners  in  Madison  were  not  settlers 
there,  and  probably  purchased  the  land  which  bor- 
dered on  the  Cheesquake  and  Raritan  Bay  with  a 
view  to  disposing  of  it  advantageously  at  some  future 
time,  when  the  manifest  advantages  ottered  by  the 
section  for  commercial  transactions  should  render  it 
desirable  property  to  enterprising  settlers.  By  some 
of  these  grantees  this  hope  was  doubtless  realized  to 
a  certain  extent,  but  it  is  probable  none  of  them  had 
in  view  the  future  value  of  the  sand  and  clay,  which 
could  not  at  that  time  have  been  regarded  as  particu- 
larly desirable.  It  is  thought,  rather,  that  the  con- 
tiguity of  these  lands  to  Perth  Amboy,  then  looked 
upon  as  the  future  metropolis  of  the  New  World,  and 
with  some  show  of  reason,  and  their  convenience  to 
navigable  waters,  were  the  considerations  upon  which 
was  based  a  conviction  of  their  ultimate  value. 

On  "Reid's  map"  of  the  Raritan  and  South  Rivers 
and  the  country  bordering  them  and  for  some  dis- 
tance inland,  which  was  made  some  time  between 
1683  and  1686  by  John  Reid,  deputy  surveyor  under 
Keith,  several  tracts  of  land  are  shown  at  the  mouth 
of  Cheesquake  Creek  and  along  its  eastern  shore  and 
south  of  its  source  as  belonging  to  "  T.  L."  and  S. 
Winder  (1000  acres),  Scots'  Proprietors  (1000  acres), 
T.  Warne^   (1000   acres),  "Scots'   Proprietors  with 


1  By  M.  0.  Kolfe. 


-  Wavue  is  the  ouly  one  of  tb«se  uauies  afterwards  borne  by  : 
of  tlie  township.  No  connection  between  T.  Warne  above  m 
and  the  Warne  family  of  Madison  has  been  traced. 


^sidents 
ntioned 


MADISON. 


815 


William  Decwray"  (1000  acres),  and  William  Dec- 
wray  (1000  acres),  portions  of  which  must  have  been 
in  the  township  as  at  present  bounded. 

David  Owens  settled  not  far  from  Jacksonville 
about  1730.  He  had  one  son  (2),  David,  who  married 
and  had  a  son  and  daughter  named  Peter  and  Rosan- 
nah.  (3)  Peter  married  a  Miss  Lamberson,  descended 
from  another  pioneer  family,  and  had  a  son,  whose 
name  is  thought  to  have  been  Harrion,  and  who  died 
young.  He  has  been  dead  about  forty  years,  prob- 
ably, as  he  is  said  not  to  have  long  survived  his 
father,  who  died  about  fifty  years  ago.  (4)  Rosannah 
married  John  Prest  and  lived  in  the  township.  Peter 
Owens  lived  about  a  mile  from  Jacksonville  on  the 
road  to  South  Amboy,  where  his  widow  lived  after 
Ills  death,  owning  a  farm  by  inheritance  from  her 
father,  James  Lamberson,  which  embraced  the  present 
clay  banks  of  Whitehead  Brothers. 

A  man  named  AV^ard  was  early  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Jacksonville.  He  was  a  boatman  and  hunter, 
and  died  at  the  age  of  eighty  or  thereabouts  early  in 
the  present  century.  He  was  a  great  hunter  of 
water-fowl,  and  is  said  to  have  spent  a  good  part  of 
his  time  searching  in  the  sedges  and  marshes  and  up 
and  down  the  streams  of  Madison  and  the  adjacent 
country  in  quest  of  his  favorite  game.  To  facilitate 
his  journeyings  to  and  fro  he  had  a  frail,  portable 
canoe,  which  he  carried  on  his  shoulders  overland 
from  creek  to  creek.  His  gun  is  said  to  have  been  a 
curiosity  in  its  way,  very  long,  very  heavy,  and  very 
true  to  its  aim  in  the  experienced  hands  of  its  owner. 

David  Hall  was  an  early  comer  and  located  on  the 
road  from  Jacksonville  to  Matawan,  Monmouth  Co., 
and  has  been  dead  since  the  early  part  of  the  century. 
One  of  his  sons,  named  William,  died  in  1811 ;  John 
R.,  another,  in  1819.  His  sous,  Stephen  and  Court- 
ney, were  well  known  in  that  part  of  the  county,  and 
both  have  long  been  dead.  The  latter  married  a 
daughter  of  Thomas  Lamberson.  David  Hall  had 
several  daughters  also,  one  of  whom  married  a  promi- 
nent .ship-builder  of  New  York,  and  after  his  death 
returned  to  Madison,  where  she  died. 

(1)  Andrew  Bound  .settled  in  Monmouth  County  in 
1760.  His  sons  were  David,  Obadiah,  and  Andrew. 
The  latter  removed  to  Staten  Island.  (2)  David  came 
to  Madison  about  1800,  and  owned  a  large  tract  of 
land  on  the  Raritan  Bay  shore,  and  has  been  dead 
many  years.  He  married  Catharine  Morgan,  a  sister 
of  Gen.  James  Morgan,  by  whom  he  had  a  daughter, 
who  married  William  Jaques.  His  second  wife  was  a 
sister  of  Clarkson  Brown,  and  bore  him  three  chil- 
dren, of  whom  only  Clarkson  Bound  is  living;  Rhoda, 
a  daughter,  married  a  son  of  Parker  Brown  ;  (3)  Oba- 
diah married  a  Miss  Newton  and  lived  near  David. 
James  and  David  were  his  sons. 

The  father  of  Gen.  James  Morgan  early  interested 
himself  in  the  fortunes  of  Jacksonville,  where  he  wa.s 
largely  interested  in  lands  extending  along  the  Chees- 
quake  to  its  mouth,  and  was  a  manufacturer  of  pot- 


ter's wares  before  the  Revolution.  Gen.  James  Mor- 
gan later  was  also  a  large  property-owner  and 
manufacturer  in  the  same  line.  He  removed  to  Old 
Bridge,  and  was  prominent  in  business  affairs  there. 
Much  of  the  property  once  owned  by  the  elder  Mor- 
gan is  now  in  possession  of  his  descendants,  some  of 
whom  are  residents  of  South  Amboy.  The  Morgan 
clay-beds  are  on  this  tract. 

An  early  settler  on  the  J.  V.  L.  Gordon  property 
was  Obadiah  Buckalew,  a  farmer  and  speculator  in 
woodlands,  timber,  and  wood,  shipping  extensively 
from  South  Amboy  and  Jacksonville.  His  son,  Oba- 
diah Buckalew,  Jr.,  married  a  daughter  of  Ephraim 
Rose,  of  Jacksonville.  One  of  his  daughters  married 
Jaques  Van  Liew  Gordon,  and  survives  him.  Mr. 
Gordon  was  a  son  of  Peter  Gordon,  of  Milltown, 
North  Brunswick,  and  a  grandson  of  Archibald  Gor- 
don, of  Matchaponix.  He  was  a  speculator  in  lands, 
and  served  Middlesex  County  as  sherifi',  1851-54,  and 
the  township  of  South  Amboy  as  freeholder,  with  but 
two  interregnums  aggregating  only  six  years,  1842- 
70,  dying  only  a  few  years  ago. 

Thomas  Warne  settled  on  the  Mount  Pleasant  and 
Old  Bridge  turnpike  previous  to  1800,  purchasing  a 
tract  of  one  thousand  acres,  much  of  which  is  now 
owned  by  numerous  descendants.  (1)  John  Morgan 
located  on  the  old  road  from  Jacksonville  to  Matawan. 
William,  Samuel,  and  perhaps  others  were  his  sons. 
(2)  William  was  a  blacksmith  near  Browntown,  and 
died  there.  Daniel  Morgan,  blacksmith,  and  Charles 
Morgan,  of  Washington,  are  his  sons.  (3)  Samuel 
lived  and  died  on  the  homestead. 

An  early  resident  who  was  once  familiar  to  nearly 
all  of  the  leading  men  in  the  country  about  Amboy 
was  (1)  Wynant  Wood,  who  came  to  Madison  in  1800, 
and  spent  the  balance  of  his  life  there.  His  children 
were  William,  Timothy,  John,  Peter,  Caroline,  So- 
phia, Matilda,  Gertrude,  and  Elmira.  (2)  Timothy 
was  a  militia  officer,  and  was  sometimes  called  "Col." 
Wood.  He  married  Sarah  Lamberson,  and  had  sons, 
— Timothy  and  David.  The  latter  married  a  daugh- 
ter of  Ambrose  Maxfield,  of  South  Amboy.  (8)  John 
married  Mary  Ann  Bennit,  and  located  near  Jack- 
sonville, at  the  landing,  and  is  living  at  the  age  of 
eighty-nine.  His  children  were  Cornelia,  Mary,  and 
John.  Cornelia  married  Abraham  Warne,  Mary 
married  Hezekiah  Warne,  and  John  married  Lucinda 
Martin.  (4)  Peter  lives  in  New  York,  and  is  eighty 
years  old. 

On  South  River,  near  Old  Bridge,  Edward  Furman 
was  an  early  settler,  dying  about  fifty  years  ago.  His 
son  Noah  removed  to  Jladison  many  years  ago,  and 
w.as  during  an  extended  period  speculating  in  wood- 
lands and  dealing  in  wood,  which  he  shipped  in  im- 
mense quantities  from  Jacksonville,  Old  Bridge,  South 
Amboy,  and  elsewhere.  He  died  in  1832.  His  sons 
were  Noah,  William,  and  George.  Noah  is  a  promi- 
nent business  man  of  South  Amboy.  William  is 
dead.     George  remained  in  Madison. 


816 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


(1)  Whitehead  Brown  located  early  at  Browntown, 
owning  much  land  there,  and  dying  many  years  ago. 
His  only  son  was  (2)  Abraham  W.  Brown,  who  was 
sheriff  of  Middlesex  County,  1836-39.  The  latter 
married  a  daughter  of  Ebenezer  Price,  of  Sayreville, 
and  died  some  years  ago.  His  sons,  Hendrick  and 
Whitehead,  are  living.  (3)  Hendrick,  known  later  in 
life  as  ex-Judge  Brown,  married  a  Miss  Crowell,  of 
Perth  Amboy,  and  is  living  on  the  homestead  farm. 
(4)  Whitehead  lives  in  Monmouth  County.  One  of 
the  daughters  of  this  family  married  James  Bissett, 
now  a  brick  manufacturer  between  Old  Bridge  and 
Washington,  in  East  Brunswick.  Another  became 
the  wife  and  is  now  the  widow  of  Dr.  Cross,  of  Mon- 
mouth County.  Well-known  Browns  in  Madison  and 
around  about  have  been  Daniel,  Joshua,  Clarkson, 
and  Dr.  Jacob  Brown. 

The  Hilliers  were  among  the  early  comers  to  Madi- 
son. Probably  the  best  known  of  the  family  was  Col. 
Nathaniel  Hillier,  born  in  the  Browntown  neighbor- 
hood (where  his  father  was  before  him),  who  lived  in 
Jacksonville,  keeping  tavern,  holding  public  oflices, 
and  dying  some  years  ago  aged  about  threescore  and 
ten.  He  was  twice  married, — to  Euphemia  Rose, 
daughter  of  Tinpothy  Rose,  and  to  a  daughter  of  Ja- 
cob Martin. 

"  Squire"  Samuel  Pitney  was  early  on  the  Ten 
Eyck  farm. 

Egbert  Wright  was  a  blacksmith  at  Jacksonville 
early  in  this  century,  and  died  there  somewhat  less 
than  fifty  years  ago.  His  son  William  was  his  suc- 
cessor, both  in  his  house  and  his  shop,  living  until  a 
few  years  ago. 

Lewis  Josiah  Buckalew  emigrated  to  this  country 
from  Bokoloh,  Hanover,  and  settled  in  what  is  now 
Madison,  and  Josiah  Burlew,  son  of  Lewis  Josiah 
Burlew  (for  they  then  were  known  as  Burlew),  was  in 
the  Revolutionary  war,  and  presented  the  army  with 
a  team  of  horses,  which  were  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Monmouth.  He  returned  home  at  the  close  of  the 
war,  married,  and  had  two  sons,  Richard  and  George, 
both  of  whom  married.  Richard  took  the  farm,  and 
George  went  to  New  York  City.  Richard  had  two 
sons,  Josiah  by  his  first  wife,  and  Martin  Lewis  by 
his  second  wife.  George  had  one  son,  Richard,  who 
■was  an  importer  of  china  in  Pearl  Street,  New  York. 
The  Burlew  farm  contains  one  hundred  and  fifty-three 
acres,  extending  from  the  main  road  from  Jackson- 
ville to  South  Amboy  to  Cheesquake  Creek. 

Mulford  Martin,  Jr.,  was  also  for  many  years  a 
blacksmith  at  Jacksonville.  Mulford  Martin,  Sr., 
was,  however,  the  pioneer  in  the  township  of  the 
name.  He  was  early  in  life  a  resident  of  Piscataway, 
and  subsequently  lived  for  a  time  at  South  Amboy 
before  locating  in  Madison. 

Capt.  William  Clark,  farmer  and  boatman,  came 
to  the  head  of  navigation  in  this  township  at  a  com- 
paratively early  date.  His  wife  wa,s  a  sister  of  ex- 
Sheritf  Asher  Bissett.      His  son  Obadiah  married  a 


daughter  of  Ephraim  Rose,  and  was  sheriff  of  Mid- 
dlesex County,  1860-(j3. 

Benjamin  R.  Seaman,  now  about  seventy  years  with 
"  the  great  majority,"  had  for  many  years  previous  to 
his  death  resided  on  a  farm  near  Jacksonville.  He  is 
remembered  as  a  man  of  fine  presence  and  courtly 
address. 

David  Provost,  a  farmer,  lived  near  Seaman,  and 
died  about  sixty  years  ago. 

Rily  Bennit  was  a  boat-captain  in  the  pioneer  days 
of  the  carrying  trade,  living  near  the  present  resi- 
dence of  John  Wood. 

Jonathan  and  Francis  Bloodgood  came  early  to 
Madison,  and  have  descendants  living  there  and  in 
adjoining  townships.  They  were  boatmen  and  small 
land-owners,  and  have  been  dead  many  years. 

Organization. — By  an  act  of  the  General  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey,  approved  March  2,  1869,  the  town- 
ship of  Madison  was  erected  from  the  township  of 
South  Amboy. 

The  inhabitants  within  the  boundaries  were  consti- 
tuted "  a  body  politic  and  corporate  in  law,  to  be 
known  as  the  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Madison, 
in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  and  the  act  provided  that 
the  first  town-meeting  of  the  new  township  should  be 
held  at  the  inn  of  Robert  L.  Skillman,  in  the  village 
of  Jacksonville,  on  the  second  Sunday  in  March,  1869. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  principal  ofiicers  who 
have  since  served  the  township  : 

CHOSEN  rBKEHOLDEliS. 

Skinner,  1870-71.  Abraham  Warn e,  1874-76. 

L.  K.  Hillier,  18711-72.  ,  Joseph  Driskel,  1876-77. 

David  H.  Brown,  1872-73.  Ira  Warne,  1877-70. 

William  B.  Dill,  1873-75.  |  Courtney  H.  Warne,  1878-81. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 

Charles  Brown,  Sr.,  18B9-72,  1879-  '   John  Morril,  1876-77. 

81.  Charles  Brown,  Jr.,  1877-78. 

H.  H.  Brown,  1869-75, 1879.  Daniel  Burlew,  1S7T-78. 

A.  L.  Warne,  1869-7U.  Charles  D.  Brown,  1878-81. 

George  Dobson,  1869-70.  James  V.  Dobson,  1878. 

Obediah  Clark,  1869-73.  Abraham  Vreeland,  1879. 

Courtney  Hillier,  1873-74.  Otto  Ernest,  1880. 

Courtney  H.  Warne,  1874-76.  Abraham  Warne,  1881. 

K.  Brown,  1875-77. 

COLLECTORS. 
Abraham  Warne,  1869.  i  William  Rose,  1873-77. 

A.  J.  Rose,  1S70.  Hezekiah  Warne,  1878-81. 

Samuel  Van  Wiokel,  1871-72.  ' 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
Martin  L.  Burlew,  1869-72.  ,  Egbert  Wright,  1873-81. 

ASSESSORS. 
Courtney  H.  Warne,  1869.  i  Garrett  Cottrell,  1873-74. 

John  Wood,  Jr.,  1S70-72,  1875-81.    j 

COMJUSSIONERS   OF   APPEAL. 


Lotson  Chandler,  1869. 
James  Cottrell,  1869. 
Courtney  Hillier,  1869-72,  1876. 
Henry  Hawkins,  1870. 
Hezekiah  Warne,  1870. 
Cornelius  Hulshart,  1871. 
T.  W.  Furman,  1871-73. 
Sylvester  Hardy,  1872-73. 


Charles  H.  Wordell,  1873-76. 
Charles  Brown,  Sr.,  1874-75,  1877- 

78. 
George  W.  Connor,  1874-76. 
John  Burlew,  1876-81. 
John  M.  LambersoD,  1877-79. 
Obediah  Clark,  1879-81. 
George  M.  Henderson,  1880-dl. 


MADISON. 


817 


JUSTICES  OF  THE   PEACE. 


Wynant  W.  LauiberaoD,  1869, 1879.  t 
Timothy  Hancock,  1809. 
Enoch  R.  Hardy,  1871, 1876. 


!  W.  Packard,  1874. 
m  Palmer,  1881. 


OVERSEERS  OF   THE   POOR. 

Joseph  Driskel,  1S69, 1871-73, 1875.      Charles  Burlew,  1874. 
George  W.  Ferriiigton,  1870,  1880-     Cornelius  Burlew,  1876-79. 


Villages    and   Hamlets.— Jacksonville.— The 

only  place  in  Madison  which  has  the  slightest  claim 
to  the  name  of  village  is  Jacksonville,  on  the  South 
Amboy  and  Mount  Plea.sant  road,  at  the  head  of 
Cheesquake  Creek,  and  lying  mostly  in  the  forks  of 
two  little  brooks  which  run  together  and  expand  into 
that  stream. 

This  place  was  early  known  as  Cheesquake,  and 
bore  that  name  until  rechristened  Jacksonville,  prob- 
ably in  honor  of  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson.'  Settlement 
begun  there  very  early,  and  the  place  had  attained  to 
its  present  proportions  years  ago  under  the  influence 
of  the  carrying  trade  early  established  upon  the 
Cheesquake,  navigable  to  that  point. 

Several  of  the  earlier  residents  there  were  men  of 
means  and  enterprise.  They  purchased  large  tracts 
of  land  there  and  thereabout,  and  engaged  exten- 
sively in  the  timber  and  wood  trade.  When  this 
commerce  was  assured,  they  made  and  lost  much 
money  in  speculating  in  lands. 

Before  the  days  of  railroads  the  water  traffic  along 
South  River  and  the  Cheesquake  was  something  im- 
mense, large  quantities  of  produce  and  merchandise 
designed  for  shipment  to  New  York  being  brought  to 
the  various  landings  from  far  inland  by  teams  for 
transfer  to  vessels,  and  after  the  beginning  of  the 
reign  of  the  "  iron  horse"  there  was  for  a  time  sharp 
competition  between  the  railroaders  and  the  boatmen 
for  the  transportation  business.  Ship-yards  were  com- 
mon throughout  the  whole  section  watered  by  the 
navigable  portions  of  these  streams  and  the  Raritan, 
and  timber  suitable  for  ship-building  was  in  good  de- 
mand and  brought  a  fair  price.  In  the  advantages 
afforded  by  this  traffic  Jacksonville  participated  to  a 
considerable  degree.  The  docks  there  were  scenes  of 
life  and  activity,  and  as  at  other  places  similarly  con- 
ditioned, half  of  the  population  were  watermen  and 
their  families. 

The  clay  beds  in  the  vicinity  were  early  utilized 
for  manufacturing  purposes,  and  potteries  were  in  op- 
eration at  Jacksonville  for  many  years. 

To  an  inland  port  as  to  a  seaport,  public-houses 
have  ever  been  found  to  be  a  nece.ssity.  Of  these 
Jacksonville,  considering  its  size  and  present  preten- 
sions, has  had  its  share. 

The  pioneer  tavern  was  the  old  Cheesquake  hotel. 


1  By  some  it  is  said  the  place 
Jackson  Disbrow,  but  he  lays 
guisbed. 


Darned  in  honor  of  Sheriff  Andrew 
claim  to  havinir  been  thus  distin- 


and  the  father  of  Gen.  James  Morgan  was  its  pro- 
prietor. This  hostelry  was  established  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century.  It  was  early  known  as  the 
Morgan  House,  and  has  had  many  keepers,  finally 
coming  into  the  possession  of  Robert  S.  Skillman,  the 
present  proprietor. 

The  Hillier  House  was  erected  some  time  prior  to 
1828,  and  presided  over  by  Col.  Nathaniel  Hillier 
until  his  death,  about  1860.  Then  the  property  passed 
to  the  possession  of  the  colonel's  son,  who  removed  it 
from  the  old  site  and  converted  it  into  a  dwelling. 

The  memory  of  the  Lamberson  tavern  is  recalled 
from  time  to  time  by  the  old  men  about  the  village. 
It  closed  its  doors  forever  as  a  public-house  half  a 
century  ago. 

For  many  years,  up  to  about  1850,  Stephen  Hall's 
old  tavern  was  a  favorite  place  of  resort  to  the  men 
of  a  former  period. 

The  earliest  merchant  of  Jacksonville  of  whom 
present  residents  have  any  knowledge  was  Stephen 
Hall,  who  had  a  grocery  there  as  early  as  1825. 

For  a  number  of  years,  dating  from  1830,  A.  J. 
Disbrow  (now  sheriff),  of  Old  Bridge,  was  a  leading 
merchant  and  business  man. 

Courtney  Hall  was  trading  there  as  early  as  1828 
or  1830,  and  for  some  time  later. 

The  present  merchants  are  Martin  C.  Burlew  and 
Stephen  Hall. 

The  village  now  contains  two  stores,  two  black-, 
smith's  shops,  one  public-house,  a  Baptist  Church,^  a 
Methodist  Church,  a  school-house,  and  about  twenty 
dwellings.  The  two  blacksmiths  are  A.  O.  Smith  and 
Paul  Yanson. 

In  1840  a  post-office  was  established  at  Jackson- 
ville, with  Col.  Nathaniel  Hillier  as  postmaster;  but 
it  was  abolished  a  few  years  later. 

Beowntown  is  a  neighborhood — for  it  can  scarcely 
be  denominated  a  hamlet — on  the  Mount  Pleasant 
and  Old  Bridge  turnpike.  It  received  the  appella- 
tion by  which  it  is  known  from  the  early  and  long 
residence  there  of  families  of  the  name  of  Brown, 
and  embraces  the  store  of  C.  J.  Eaton,  the  black- 
smith-shop of  W.  Palmer,  a  school-house,  and  a  few 
dwellings. 

Statistics,  Taxation,  and  Expenditures.— In 
1880  the  total  value  of  real  estate  in  Madison  was 
$320,075.  The  personal  property  was  assessed  at 
180,000.  The  total  taxable  valuation  was  $350,000. 
There  were  314  voters.  The  school-tax  amounted  to 
$551 ;  the  county  tax  to  $1687.  The  population  was 
1662. 

The  following  is  an  exhibit  of  the  sums  raised  in 
the  township  each  year  since  its  organization  for  the 
uses  specified : 


2  On  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  Baptist  Church  there  was  a  log 
cabin,  used  by  the  Primitive  or  Old-School  Baptists,  before  the  erection 
of  the  first  church.  The  present  house  of  worship  was  built  and  dedi  - 
cated  in  1832.  , 


818 


HISTORY  OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


or  Poor. 

For  Road 

?500 

8600 

KKX) 

600 

800 

600 

800 

600 

900 

800 

1000 

800 

1000 

.   800 

1000 

80O 

1000 

800 

1000 

800 

Tear. 

1869 

1870 

1871 

1872 

1873 

1874 

1875 

1876 

1877 

1878 

1879 

1880 

1881  700       900       500 

Schools. — The  earliest  schools  within  the  present 
borders  of  Madison  were  kept  at  Jacksonville  and 
Browntown.  The  date  when  the  iirst  school-  was 
opened  cannot  be  ascertained.  The  first  school- 
houses  were  very  primitive  afl'airs,  and  were  built  by 
subscription. 

The  teachers  were  of  the  old-fashioned  migratory 
sort  for  the  most  part,  and  their  names  are  gone  from 
the  memory  of  any  one  now  living  in  the  township. 
These  schools  were  supported,  when  they  were  kept 
open,  by  the  payment  of  tuition  fees  by  the  parents 
of  the  pupils  directly  to  the  teachers. 

Under  the  public  school  system  the  township  was 
divided  into  districts  of  convenient  dimensions,  and 
as  the  population  increased  and  new  portions  were 
occupied,  their  number  and  boundaries  underwent 
successive  changes. 

In  1881  the  school  districts  of  this  township  were 
seven  in  number,  designated  as  Nos.  65  to  71,  inclu- 
sive, of  the  school  districts  of  Middlesex  County,  and 
known  locally  as  "  Jacksonville"  District,  No.  65 ; 
"Morristown"  District,  No.  66;  "Old  Bridge"  Dis- 
trict, No.  67  ;  "  Bro^xntown"  District,  No.  68 ;  "  Cedar 
Grove"  District,  No.  69 ;  "  Millbridge"  District,  No. 
70;  and  "Hillsborough"  District,  No.  71. 

In  1880  there  were  484  children  of  the  school  age 
in  Madison,  83  of  whom  resided  in  District  No.  65, 
73  in  No.  66,  86  in  No.  67,  55  in  No.  68,  69  in  No.  69, 
50  in  No.  70,  and  65  in  No.  71. 

It  was  estimated  that  12  children  attended  private 
schools,  and  that  there  were  105  who  did  not  avail 
themselves  of  the  educational  advantages  offered. 

There  were  3  male  and  4  female  teachers  employed, 
the  former  at  an  average  monthly  salary  of  $32,  the 
latter  at  an  average  monthly  salary  of  $35.  The 
schools  were  kept  open  an  average  of  nine  months 
during  the  year. 

The  total  valuation  of  school  property  was  $6050, 
divided  as  follows  among  the  several  districts  :  Dis- 
tricts Nos.  65  and  67,  $1200  each;  Districts  Nos.  66 
and  71,  $400  each  ;  District  No.  68,  $2000  ;  District 
No.  69,  $350  ;  and  District  No.  70,  $500. 

The  amount  of  apportionment  to  each  district  from 
the  State  appropriation  was  $349.62  to  District  No. 
65,  and  $300  each  to  Districts  Nos.  66,  67,  68,  69,  70, 
and  71.  The  total  amount  of  district  tax  ordered  to 
be  raised  in  District  No.  65  was  $150.  The  total 
amount  received  from  all  sources  for  public  school 
purposes  in  the  several  districts  was  $2299.62. 

District  No.  69  has  the  nucleus  of  a  library  fund. 


The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. — There  are  no 
records  in  existence  that  the  more  active  members  of 
this  church  know  of  that  will  throw  any  light  on  the 
early  history  of  this  body.  Old  members  say  that  it 
was  organized  at  an  early  date,  within  the  limits  of 
the  township  of  South  Amboy,  which  at  that  time 
embraced  Madison. 

After  the  organization  of  the  society  the  congrega- 
tion met  in  the  old  Baptist  Church  at  Jacksonville 
until  they  could  erect  a  house  of  worship,  which  now 
stands  about  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  is  of  the 
old-fashioned  order  of  architecture. 

The  church  was  built  by  subscription,  and  is  valued 
at  $800.  The  parsonage,  with  a  small  body  of  land, 
cost  $1000. 

For  a  number  of  years  this  church  has  been  without 
a  pastor,  but  the  pulpit  is  now  supplied  by  Rev.  Sam- 
ue'  Crissburn,  a  local  preacher. 

Burial-Places. — There  are  only  two  regular  burial- 
places  in  this  township,  and  these  have  been  in  use 
for  many  years.  They  are  located  in  the  church- 
yards of  the  Baptist  and  Methodist  Churches  at  Jack- 
sonville. 

The  older  of  the  two  is  the  Baptist  burying-ground, 
and  in  it  are  buried  members  of  pioneer  families  about 
the  Cheesquake  and  its  head-waters.  The  bones  of 
others  who  came  into  the  township  at  a  period  little, 
if  any,  later  lie  in  the  Methodist  graveyard. 

In  both  burial-places  are  graves  unmarked  by  monu- 
ment or  headstone,  and  inscriptions  which  were  placed 
over  some  have  become  so  illegible  by  long  exposure 
to  wind  and  storm  as  to  be  totally  undecipherable. 
In  the  Baptist  churchyard  is  a  low  headstone,  of  com- 
mon brown  field-stone,  which  challenges  attention  and 
arouses  conjecture  in  the  mind  of  the  beholder  as  to 
when  and  to  whose  memory  it  was  set  up.  On  it  are 
rudely  chiselled  in  one  line  the  letters  R,  E,  n,  R  (re- 
versed), and  a  hieroglyphic  composed  of  a  curved  line 
and  two  sides  of  a  triangle,  joined  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  suggest  a  thought  of  the  figure  6.  Underneath 
this  line  and  parallel  with  it  are  the  letters  D  (re- 
versed) and  A.  Two  other  stones  of  similar  appear- 
ance in  the  yard  bear  the  legends  "  R.  O."  and  "  D. 
O.  S.  C."  respectively.' 

On  headstones  in  the  Baptist  burying-ground  are 
the  following  names  and  dates  of  the  death  of  persons 
buried  there  from  1798  to  1825  : 

"Martiia,  daughter  of  Seth  and  Martha  Ellison,  and  wife  of  Obediah 
Burlew,  horn  November  23rd,  1729,  died  May  9th,  1798." 
"  Oliadinh,  son  of  Peter  Burlew,  October  9lh,  1802." 
"  Eleanor,  daiigliter  of  Samuel  and  Catharine  Burlew,  1814,  aged  37." 
"  T.  Rose,  August  2d,  1820." 

"  Abigail,  daughter  of  Obediali  and  Elizabeth  Burlew,  May  20th,  1822." 
"Susann,  wife  of  Richard  Burlew,  April  2nd,  1825." 

The  following  names,  dates,  inscriptions,  and  epi- 
taphs are  to  be  seen  in  the  Methodist  churchyard: 

1  Imiuiry  failed  tu   elicit  any  informal 


MADISON. 


819 


"  Mellenney,  wife  of  Joshua  Warne,  May  10th,  1892,  aged  58." 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Thomaa  Clark, 

who  departed  this  life  July  30th,  1805,  aged  G8  years,  )i5  days. 

My  flesh  shall  rest  in  hope." 
"  Mary,  wife  of  William  Warne,  June  14th,  1809,  aged  34." 
"William,  son  of  David  and  Hannah  Hall,  June  20th,  1811." 

,  "  In  Memory  of  William  Warn, 

Who  departed  this  life  March  20th,  1812,  aged  43  years. 
Come  listen  all  to  my  call, 
Which  I  do  make  to-day ; 
For  you  must  die  as  well  as  I, 
And  pass  from  thence  away." 
"Joshua  Warne,  Febniary  lOtli,  1814,  aged  73  year«,  1  month,  and  28 
days." 
"John  R.,  son  of  Stephen  and  Sarah  Hall,  April  19th,  1819." 
"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Elizabeth  Herbert, 
Who  departed  this  life  February  2nd,  1822,  aged  85. 
Beneath  this  stone  a  body  lies, 
No  more  to  mourn,  hut  yet  to  rise, 
And  still  to  roam  amongst  the  skies. 
Where  God  is  known  that  never  dies." 

"Nancy,  wife  of  Francis  Bloodgood,  June,  13,  1828." 

■"In  memory  of  Noah  Furmim, 
who  departed  this  life  in  1832.1 

It  was  in  the  year  of  thirty-two. 
Which  mournful  date  will  show, 
A  husband  dear  and  kind  to  me 
Died  with  that  dreadful  cholera." 

During  the  past  few  years  some  families  in  Madi- 
son have  buried  tlieir  dead  at  Old  Bridge  and  Spotts- 
wood. 

Industrial  Pursuits. — The  wood  and  timber  trade, 
elsewhere  referred  to,  was  early  and  long  a  prominent 
industry  in  Madison,  and  the  carrying  business  from 
Jacksonville  and  another  old  landing  on  South  River, 
opposite  Old  Bridge,  afforded  profitable  employment 
to  many,  and  was  a  source  of  consideraljle  pecuniary 
gain  to  a  few  enterprising  citizens. 

The  Clay  Interests. — The  Amboy  clay  mines  of 
Otto  Ernst  are  in  this  township,  near  the  head  of 
Cheesquake  Creek.  The  stoneware  clay  on  this  prop- 
erty was  opened  at  first  by  digging  and  sinking  pits 
in  the  upland,  where  it  sloped  to  the  tide  meadows 
south  of  Mr.  Ernst's  residence,  and  southeast  of  the 
mines  since  worked.  Several  years  later  the  then 
proprietors  began  mining  on  a  small  scale,  sinking 
shafts  and  removing  the  clay  by  short  horizontal 
drifts  in  the  clay  bed.  In  1868,  Mr.  Ernst  came  into 
possession  of  the  property,  and  continued  this  system 
of  mining  on  a  more  extensive  scale.  New  shafts  were 
put  down,  west  and  northwest  of  the  old  bank  and  old 
shafts,  and  nearer  the  centre  of  the  small  valley  in 
which  all  the  clay  workings  in  the  vicinity  are  located. 
Three  of  them,  put  down  in  1868,  1872,  and  1876,  re- 
spectively, are  in  line  east  and  west,  and  their  vertical 
sections  are  as  follows : 

(1)  yellow  sand  and  gravel,  7  feet;  (2)  "black  stuff" 
(sandy  earth,  lignite,  and  pyrite),  2  feet;  (3)  blue 
quicksand,  5  feet ;  (4)  good  clay,  4}  feet ;  (5)  good 
clay  (red  streaks  at  top),  main  drift,  8  feet ;  (6)  good 


1  Commonly  referred  to  as  the  cholera  a 


clay,  4  feet.  The  bottom  is  at  high-water  level.  The 
stoneware-bed  includes  (4),  (5),  and  (6),  or  a  thick- 
ness of  16.2  feet.  The  place  of  the  drift  is  represented 
by  (5),  while  (4)  is  left  as  a  roof,  and  (6)  as  flooring 
to  the  mine. 

The  middle  shaft,  put  down  in  1868,  is  100  feet  east 
of  that  above  described,  and  240  feet  west  of  that  of 
1876.     In  this  the  stratification  is  as  follows  : 

(1)  yellow  sand  and  gravel,  13J  feet;  (2)  sandy 
earth,  containing  lignite,  2  feet;  (3)  blue  quicksand, 
3  feet;  (4)  good  clay,  3  feet;  (5)  sandy  clay,  2  feet; 
(6)  dark-colored  clay,  2  feet;  (7)  red  clay,  2  feet;  (8) 
good  clay  (main  drift),  9  feet;  (9)  good  clay,  5  feet; 
(10)  clay  (boring),  13  feet. 

The  top  of  the  drift  (8)  is  three  feet  above  high- 
water  level.  Here  the  worked  portion  of  the  bed  is 
represented  by  (8),  but,  as  this  section  shows,  there  is 
good  clay  five  feet  under  it. 

The  following  is  the  order  of  succession  of  the  strata 
and  their  thickness  in  the  east  shaft,  sunk  in  1876  : 

(1)  yellow  sand  and  gravel,  17  feet;  (2)  quicksand, 
3J  feet ;  (3)  blue  gravel,  2  feet;  (4)  good  clay  (lower 
6  feet  main  drift),  10  feet;  (5)  sandy  clay,  5  feet ;  (6) 
black  stuff,  2  feet. 

The  top  of  the  good  clay  (4)  is  four  feet  above  high- 
water  level.  Most  of  (5)  and  (6)  were  determined  by 
borings. 

The  composition  of  the  best  average  clay  in  these 
mines  is  as  follows : 

Alumina,  20.20  ;  silicic  acid,  28.80 ;  water  combined, 
5.80;  sand  (quartz),  39.95;  titanic  acid,  .90;   potash, 

1.58  ;   soda,  ;   lime,  traces ;   magnesia,  .50  ;  ses- 

quioxide  of  iron,  1.45;  water  (moisture),  1.20.  Total, 
100.38.  The  specific  gravity  of  this  clay  is  1.971  to 
2.138.  It  has  the  "  fly-speckled"  appearance  charac- 
teristic in  this  stoneware  clay  bed.  The  sand  in  it  is 
very  fine-grained  quartz.  Mr.  Ernst's  practice  has 
been  to  keep  his  mining  considerably  ahead  of  the 
immediate  demands,  keeping  a  large  stock  of  clay  on 
hand,  which,  in  his  opinion,  has  been  improved  by 
some  months'  exposure.  The  mining  operations  have 
consisted  in  sinking  vertical  shafts  to  the  clay  substra- 
tum, and  the  removal  of  the  clay  by  a  system  of  hori- 
zontal drifts,  the  ventilation  being  effected  through  a 
board  flue  built  up  in  one  corner  of  the  shaft,  and  run- 
1  ning  from  the  surface  down  to  within  three  feet  of  the 
bottom.  A  current  of  air  is  created  by  the  heat  of 
two  or  three  kerosene  lamps  burning  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  flue.  As  the  clay  bed  is  impervious  to  water, 
and  the  shafts  which  cut  the  overlying  strata  are 
water-tight,  there  is  practically  no  water  to  be  raised, 
except  that  which  comes  in  as  the  result  of  occasional 
unavoidable  accidents.  The  clay  thus  obtained  is 
carted  half  a  mile  to  Mr.  Ernst's  dock  on  Cheesquake 
'  Creek,  and  shipped  to  all  points  on  the  Atlantic  coast 
j  from  Maine  to  Texas.  It  is  known  in  the  market  as 
"  mine  clay,"  in  distinction  from  "  pit  clay." 

About  half  a  mile  southeast  of  Ernst's  mines  is  the 
i  old  bank  of  Noah  Furman,  which  was  described  in 


820 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEX". 


the  report  of  the  State  geological  survey  of  1855  as 
showing  :  (1)  sand,  3  to  10  feet ;  (2)  black  clay,  10  to 
15  feet ;  (3)  stoneware  clay,  14  feet.  This  bank  has 
not  been  worked  much  since  the  report  referred  to 
was  made.  The  top  black  clay  includes  in  its  mass  a 
great  deal  of  lignite  and  pyrite. 

The  clay  bank  of  the  Morgan  estate  is  situated 
southwest  of  the  above-described  locality  and  at  the 
border  of  the  marsh.  According  to  the  same  report 
this  bank  cut  the  following-named  materials:  (1) 
sand,  15  to  16  feet;  (2)  black  clay,  7  feet;  (3)  stone- 
ware clay,  10  feet. 

No  work  has  been  done  here  lately.  At  this  and 
the  last-mentioned  bank  the  clay  was  found  partly 
below  tide- water  level. 

Near  the  old  Morgan  bank,  and  about  a  mile  north- 
west of  Jacksonville,  are  the  clay  mines  of  Noah  Fur- 
man,  which  were  opened  about  1867.  They  are  in 
the  upland,  near  the  marsh,  and  the  surface  is  twenty 
to  thirty  feet  above  mean  high-tide  level.  In  one  of 
the  shafts  the  top  of  the  stoneware  clay  is  found  at 
an  elevation  of  twenty  feet ;  in  a  second  shaft,  one 
hundred  yards  west  of  the  first,  it  was  at  nearly  the 
same  height, — 19.5  feet  above  the  same  plane.  The 
surface  here  is  sand  and  gravel ;  then  there  is  a  black 
clay  full  of  wood  and  pyrite,  and  containing  some 
leaf  impressions,  three  to  six  feet  thick ;  then  the 
stoneware  clay,  five  to  seven  feet,  and  at  the  bottom 
a  white  sand.  The  extraction  here  is  mostly  by  un- 
derground tunneling  or  mining  proper.  A  vertical 
shaft  is  sunk  to  the  bottom  of  the  clay  bed,  and  drifts 
generally  one  hundred  feet  long  are  cut  from  it  into 
the  clay,  which  is  in  this  manner  taken  out.  By 
means  of  a  succession  of  such  drifts  the  bed  is  w^orked 
out,  excepting  a  stratum  left  at  the  top  as  a  roof  and 
another  at  the  bottom  as  a  floor.  This  clay  has  the 
same  characteristic  physical  qualities  that  belong  to 
the  stoneware  clays  in  general.  The  specific  gravity 
is  2.012  to  2.022,  and  it  is,  on  the  average,  a  little  more 
sandy  than  that  taken  out  at  Ernst's  mines.  A  selected 
specimen  has  the  chemical  composition  represented 
in  the  following  analysis : 

Alumina,  21.13;  silicic  acid,  29.23;  water  (com- 
bined), 6.81;  sand  (quartz),  37.85;  titanic  acid,  1.00; 

potash,  1.81 ;  soda,  0.18;  lime, ;  magnesia,  0.22 ; 

sesquioxide  of  iron,  1.68;  water  (moisture),  0.69; 
total,  100.60. 

This  clay,  also  known  in  the  market  as  "  mine  clay," 
has  been  sold  for  stoneware,  being  carted  to  the  dock 
on  the  creek,  whence  it  is  transported  to  various  points 
by  water. 

Theodore  Smith's  clay  pits  are  half  a  mile  east  of 
the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  and  a  mile  and  a 
half  northeast  of  Jacksonville.  The  ground  here  and 
towards  the  south  is  30  to  40  feet  high,  rather  flat,  and 
drained  by  the  head-waters  of  a  small  brook,  a  tribu- 
tary to  South  River.  The  bearing  of  the  clay  is 
about  9  feet  thick,  of  which  the  surface  layer,  2  feet 
thick,  is  a  moulding  sand.     The  remaining  7  feet  is 


common  yellow  sand.  The  top  of  the  clay  bed  has 
an  average  elevation  above  tide-level  of  40  feet,  its 
thickness  being  between  3  and  10  feet.  The  top  spit 
is  very  sandy,  and  is  thrown  aside  as  waste.  Towards 
the  bottom  also  it  grows  sandy,  and  under  it  there  is 
a  laminated  sand  and  sandy  clay.  There  is  some 
pyrite  and  lignite  in  the  lower  part  of  the  bed.  All 
of  the  clay  is  carefully  sorted  so  as  to  avoid  the 
pyrite,  which  occurs  occasionally  in  all  parts  of  the 
bed.  Most  of  the  clay  dug  in  these  pits  is  sold  for 
stoneware  and  shipped  by  rail. 

Charles  B.  Reynolds'  pits  are  near  the  head  of 
Jernee's  mill-pond,  about  two  miles  southwest  of 
Jacksonville.  The  surface  of  the  ground  hereabout 
is  flat,  and  does  not  exceed  30  feet  in  height  above 
tide-water.  The  clay  dug  here  is  covered  by  a 
sandy  loam  and  yellow  sand  to  the  depth  of  3  feet. 
It  is  5  feet  thick  and  quite  sandy,  and  near  the  sur- 
face streaked  with  yellow  earth.  The  best  is  drab- 
colored,  sandy,  and  dries  quite  white,  and  is  lacking 
in  the  speckled  appearance  observable  in  some  of  the 
stoneware  clays  previously  described.  Only  a  few 
small  pits  have  been  dug.  The  clay  from  these  has 
been  carted  to  a  pottery  at  Matawan,  Monmouth  Co., 
where  it  has  been  mixed  with  Furman's  clay  in 
making  stoneware. 

The  excavation  and  traffic  in  the  clays  in  Madison 
began  early,  and  has  continued  more  or  less  exten- 
sively to  the  present  time,  aflbrding  employment  to 
many  men  in  mining  and  transporting  it,  and  taking 
rank  commercially  above  every  other  interest.  It  has 
made  possible  the  manafacture  of  pottery  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  beds,  which  in  the  past,  as  will  be  seen 
by  reference  to  other  pages,  has  been  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent.  The  lands  containing  it  are  very 
valuable,  and  must  grow  more  so  in  proportion  as  the 
demand  for  such  clays  increases  through  the  more 
and  more  extensive  sale  of  the  domestic  wares  and 
bricks  manufactured  from  them. 

Pre-Revolutionary  Enterprises. — At  a  date 
probably  considerably  anterior  to  the  Revolution  a 
paper-mill  was  established  on  the  site  of  Skinner's  Te- 
cumseh  Snuff'-Mills.  It  is  stated  on  good  authority 
that  at  this  mill  was  manufactured  the  paper  on 
which  the  Continental  money  was  printed  which  was 
issued  by  governmental  authority  during  the  struggle 
of  the  colonies  for  independence. 

This  property  seems  to  have  been  in  three  portions, 
the  first  of  which  was  transferred  by  Samuel  Neilson 
to  James  Dorset  and  John  Earhart,  June  20,  1786  ; 
and  the  second  by  Garret  Dennis  to  the  same,  March 
5,  1792.  The  third  passed  from  William  Searle  and 
Margaret  Kenous  to  Messrs.  Dorset  and  Earhart,  who 
by  its  purchase  became  possessed  of  the  entire  prop- 
erty. Later,  portions  of  the  property  seem  to  have 
passed  to  other  hands,  but  the  lot  containing  the 
"paper-mill  and  other  buildings  and  houses"  at- 
tracted the  attention  of  Messrs.  Phineas  Mundy, 
Lewis  Carman,  and  James  Bishop,  who  purchased  the 


^,4^^:;^^;^-wv^^ 


MADISON. 


821 


interest  in  it  of  James  Dorset,  deceased,  from  his 
widow,  at  the  time  the  wife  of  Peter  Wilmurt.  May 
17,  1821,  John  Earhart,  mother  and  sister,  the  lieirs 
of  John  Earhart,  deceased,  disposed  of  their  interest 
to  Cornelius  Johnson,  from  whom  it  was  sold  by  the 
sheriff  July  21st  following,  and  bought  by  Messrs. 
Mundy,  Carman,  and  Bishop,  who  thus  obtained  a 
title  to  the  entire  paper-mill  property.  May  26, 1825, 
Phineas  Mundy  bought  the  interest  of  James  Bishop, 
and  June  1st  following  that  of  Lewis  Carman,  becom- 
ing some  owner.  From  him  the  property  passed  to 
Phineas  M.  Skinner,  Jan.  9,  1854. 

There  was  a  pottery  near  the  head  of  Cheesquake 
Creek  before  the  Revolution,  which  was  owned  and 
operated  bj^the  father  of  the  late  Gen.  James  Morgan. 

The  Tecumseh  Sxuff-Mills. — The  Tecumseh 
Snuft'-Mills  were  established  in  May,  1854,  by  Phineas 
M.  Skinner  &  Son,  on  the  old  paper-mill  property, 
which  Phineas  M.  Skinner  had  purcha.sed  of  Phineas 
Mundy  on  the  9th  of  the  preceding  January. 

In  1872,  Mr.  William  A.  Skinner  succeeded  the 
firm  of  Skinner  &  Son,  subsequently  admitting  Lewis 
E.  Skinner  to  a  partnership  in  the  business,  the  title 
of  the  firm  changing  to  Skinner  &  Co. 

At  these  mills  about  one  hundred  thousand  pounds 
of  tobacco  are  annually  converted  into  snuft',  and 
eight  hands  are  employed.  The  machinery  is  turned 
by  a  water-power  equal  to  that  of  seventy-five  horses. 
The  works  are  situated  on  the  Matchaponix,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  township,  and  about  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  from  the  centre  of  the  village  of  Spotts- 
wood,  East  Brunswick,  in  a  northeasterly  direction, 
and  consist  of  a  drying-house,  thirty-two  by  thirty- 
five  feet ;  a  mill,  twenty-five  by  thirty-five  feet ;  a 
curing-  and  packing-house,  thirty  by  sixty -five  feet ; 
and  a  fermenting-house,  twenty-five  by  thirty  feet, 
with  a  wing  attached,  thirteen  by  thirteen  feet,  occu- 
pied as  an  office,  all  ranging  in  height  from  a  story 
to  a  story  and  a  half. 

Manufactures  at  "  Bi.oomfield."  —  On  the 
site  of  the  Bloomfield  Mills,  about  midway  between 
Old  Bridge  and  Spottswood,  on  South  River,  Messrs. 
Embley  &  Keyser  began  the  manufacture  of  powder 
about  1805.  After  a  number  of  years  Jacob  R.  Har- 
denbergh  purchased  the  property  and  established  a 
large  saw-mill  thereon,  continuing  to  manufacture 
powder  till  1833,  when  the  concern  blew  up.  He 
did  an  extensive  lumber  business  for  some  years, 
and  the  property  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  son, 
Cornelius  L.  Hardenbergh,  who,  after  manufacturing 
lumber  a  few  years,  sold  out  the  water-power  and 
lands  connected  therewith  to  Anthony  C.  Rosier,  of 
New  York,  who  introduced  the  manufacture  of  lin- 
seed oil  there,  the  business  being  under  the  immediate 
supervision  of  parties  who  managed  it  for  him  or  had 
an  interest  therein.  At  length  the  mill-site  passed 
into  the  ownership  of  Judge  John  Perrine,  who  car- 
ried on  some  manufacturing  enterprises  there,  and 
soon  after  1870  disposed  of  it  to  the  present  proprietors. 


The  Bloomfield  Mill  Company  was  organized  in 
1872  by  R.  Atkinson,  R.  S.  Conover,  and  F.  S.  Cono- 
ver,  who  began  the  manufacture  of  liquorice  in  a  fac- 
tory fitted  up  for  that  purpose.  Two  years  later  they 
were  succeeded  by  a  stock  company  under  the  same 
name. 

The  works  of  the  company  are  contained  in  a  num- 
ber of  substantial  buildings,  which  cover  about  four 
acres  of  ground.  Fifty  men  are  employed,  and  the 
motive-power  of  the  machinery  in  use  is  furnished 
by  an  engine  of  two  hundred  horse-power  and  a 
water-power  of  half  that  capacity. 

The  raw  material  used  consists  principally  of  liquo- 
rice-root, which  is  imported  from  Spain  and  Asia 
Minor,  and  about  five  million  pounds  are  consumed 
annually.  About  one  million  pounds  of  other  mate- 
rials are  used  in  the  composition  of  flavors  for  the 
use  of  tobacco-manufacturers.  About  one  million 
pounds  of  mass  liquorice  is  made  annually,  which  is 
used  chiefly  in  the  manufacture  of  plug  tobacco.  A 
portion  of  the  root  is  crushed,  ground,  and  pressed 
for  use  in  the  preparation  of  smoking  and  chewing 
tobaccos. 

The  Dill  Snuff-Mill. — On  Deep  Run,  near  its 
mouth,  and  near  the  Mount  Pleasant  and  Old  Bridge 
turnpike,  is  located  the  Dill  Snufl-Mill.  It  was  erected 
by  John  Dill  about  1830.  In  1870,  Mr.  Dill  was  suc- 
ceeded by  his  son,  William  R.  Dill.  In  1878  the 
establishment  became  the  property  of  Richard  Brown, 
of  New  York,  and  since  that  time  has  been  idle. 

Other  Manufactures. — Gen.  James  Morgan 
erected  the  Morgan  Pottery  near  the  head  of  naviga- 
tion on  Cheesquake  Creek,  not  far  from  the  site  of 
his  father's  former  pottery,  in  1785,  and  was  an  exten- 
sive manufacturer  of  potter's  wares  there  until  1810, 
when  he  leased  it  to  Josiah  Letts,  who  operated  it 
until  1815.  From  1815  to  1825  it  was  managed  by 
different  parties  under  a  lease  from  the  proprietor. 
Since  that  date  it  has  been  idle,  and  the  building  has 
gone  to  decay. 

About  1840,  Noah  Furman  started  a  pottery  in  the 
same  neighborhood,  and  was  operating  it  from  that 
date  to  18.56,  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire.  Peter 
Jernee's  grist-mill  on  Tenant's  Creek  has  been  built  a 
good  many  years.  Clarkson  Brown  was  an  early  pro- 
prietor. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCH. 


HON.  HENDRICK  H.  BROWN. 
The  grandfather  of  Judge  Brown  was  Whitehead 
Brown,  who  resided  in  what  is  now  Madison  town- 
ship, where  he  was  owner  of  an  extensive  tract  of 
productive  land  and  followed  farming  employments. 
He  was  married  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Warne  and  had 
one  son,  Abram  W.  Brown,  who  spent  his  youth 
under  the  paternal  roof,  and  married  Miss  Maria, 


822 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


daughter  of  Ebenezer  Price.  Their  children  were 
George  W.,  Hannah  (Mrs.  Johnson),  Elizabeth  (Mrs. 
Vanderveer),  Ebenezer,  Lorinda  (Mrs.  Croft),  White, 
head,  Hendrick  H.,  Parker,  who  died  in  childhood, 
Maria,  (Mrs.  Bisset),  and  Sarah  (Mrs.  Eeid).  Mr. 
Brown  engaged  in  agricultural  employments  during 
his  lifetime,  but  also  manifested  much  interest  in 
public  affairs.  He  was  an  active  Democrat,  and  held 
the  offices  of  justice  of  the  peace  and  freeholder.  He 
was  elected  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1836,  and  in  1843 
-44  represented  his  constituency  in  the  State  Senate. 
He  was  honored  by  Governor  Haines  as  a  member  of 
the  Privy  Council  during  his  administration.  He  was 
an  influential  citizen,  and  remarkable  for  soundness 
of  judgment,  which  rendered  his  services  much  in 
demand  in  the  settlement  of  estates. 

He  was  a  regular  worshiper  at  the  Baptist  Church 
of  Jacksonville,  and  one  of  its  board  of  trustees.  Mr. 
Brown's  death  occurred  in  1857,  in  his  fifty-eighth 
year. 

His  son,  Hendrick  H.,  was  born  June  23,  1833,  on 
the  homestead  farm,  where  the  years  of  his  child- 
hood were  spent.  He  first  attended  the  public  school 
of  the  district,  and  later  repaired  to  Matawan,  Mon- 
mouth Co.,  where  his  studies  were  continued. 

Having  decided  upon  the  life  of  a  farmer,  he  culti- 
vated the  paternal  acres  until  the  death  of  his  father, 
when  he  purchased  the  property.  He  was  married 
May  15,  1861,  to  Miss  Sarah  A.,  daughter  of  David 
Crowell,  of  Perth  Amboy.  They  have  children, — 
Amelia  C,  George  M.  (deceased),  Howard  H.,  Grade, 
(deceased),  and  Josephine  A. 

In  polities' Judge  Brown  is  a  pronounced  Demo- 
crat, and  has  been  actively  engaged  in  public  life  for 
many  years.  He  has  officiated  as  surveyor  of  high- 
ways of  the  township,  was  a  member  of  the  township 
committee,  has  been  for  three  years  freeholder,  and 
was  later  appointed  one  of  the  lay  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  office  he  held  for  a 
period  of  ten  years.  He  manifests  a  deep  interest  in 
the  cause  of  education,  and  has  been  foremost  in 
promoting  its  advance  in  the  township  of  Madison. 

His  family  are  among  the  supporters  and  regular 
worshipers  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Matawan, 
of  which  Mrs,  Brown  is  a  member. 

The  judge  is  actively  engaged  in  Sabbath-school 
work  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  his  home,  and  con- 
tributes in  many  ways  to  the  growth  of  the  community 
in  morality. 


CHAPTER    CIII. 

SOUTH    AMBOY." 

Situation  and  Boundaries. — South  Amboy  is  situ- 
ated on  the  eastern  border  of  Middlesex  County,  and 
is  separated  from  Staten  Island  and  Perth  Amboy  by 


Raritan  Bay,  which  forms  its  northern  and  north- 
eastern boundary.  Southeast,  south,  and  west  the 
township  is  bounded  by  Sayreville. 

Descriptive. — This  is  one  of  the  oldest,  and  was 
formerly  one  of  the  largest  townships  in  the  county. 
By  successive  reductions  of  its  area  in  the  formation 
of  other  municipalities  it  is  now  the  smallest  of  all, 
occupying  only  a  little  spot  on  a  map  of  its  former 
territory.  Yet  the  small  portion  that  remains  is  by 
far  the  most  important  commercially,  and  by  virtue 
of  its  admirable  location  enterpri.se  first  took  root 
there,  and  extended  its  civilizing  and  improving  in- 
fluences far  inland  in  every  direction,  the  South  Am- 
boy of  to-day  being  not  simply  the  parent,  but  the 
feeder  as  well  of  all  its  once  extensive  area,  and  at 
the  same  time  a  point  of  much  importance  to  a  large 
sweep  of  country  beyond. 

The  surface  of  the  township  is  rolling  and  uneven, 
sloping  gradually  towards  the  bay.  The  soil  is  sterile 
and  unproductive,  but  beds  of  valuable  sand  and  clay 
abound  and  extend  in  all  directions  inland,  which 
have  from  early  in  the  history  of  the  locality  been 
important  factors  in  the  commerce  and  manufactures 
of  South  Amboy,  and  of  which  it  is  the  purpose  of 
the  writer  to  speak  at  greater  length  hereafter.  The 
two  principal  highways  in  the  township  are  the  Bor- 
dentown  turnpike  and  the  South  Amboy  and  Wash- 
ington road,  which  begin  at  two  points  in  the  central 
and  western  portions  respectively,  long  known  as  the 
Upper  and  Lower  Landings,  crossing  the  township  in 
a  southerly  course,  and  afford  a  means  of  communica- 
tion with  the  interior.  The  most  noticeable  thorough- 
fare traversing  any  portion  of  South  Amboy  east  and 
west  is  a  road  known  as  Broadway,  beginning  at  the 
western  border  of  the  township,  forming  the  principal 
street  of  South  Amboy  village,  and  intersecting  with 
Main  Street  not  far  from  the  northern  terminus  of 
the  latter. 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  branch  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  and  the  New  York  and  Long  Branch 
Railroad  afford  excellent  facilities  for  travel  and 
transportation,  the  former,  which  caused  the  growth 
of  the  village  and  gave  the  place  its  present  impor- 
tance, supplying  employment,  on  its  trains,  its  tracks, 
and  its  coal-docks,  and  in  its  shops,  offices,  and  im- 
mense freighting  industry,  to  a  good  share  of  the 
population  of  the  village  and  township. 

In  1880  the  real  e.state  of  South  Amboy  was  esti- 
mated at  $609,300.  The  personal  property  amounted 
to  $81,400.  The  total  amount  of  taxable  property 
was  $690,700.  The  amount  of  funded  debt,  com- 
posed of  bonds  and  interest  at  six  per  cent,  due  in 
1882,  was  $2137.16.  The  amount  of  floating  debt 
was  $3120.28,  due  the  county  collector.  The  rates  of 
taxation  for  specified  local  purposes  were  as  follows  : 
Poor,  24  cents  per  $100 ;  ways  and  means  and  interest 
on  bonds,  18  cents ;  roads,  8  cents.  For  state  pur- 
poses the  rate  was  20  cents. 

The  population  of  South  Amboy  in  1810  was  3071; 


SOUTH  AMBOY. 


823 


in  1820,  3406  ;  in  1830,  3782  ;  in  1840, 1825 ;  in  1850, 
2268  ;  in  1870, 4526  ;  in  1880, 3648.  Tlie  fluctuations 
which  have  not  been  due  to  gradual  growth  are  ex- 
plained by  the  formation  from  the  former  territory 
of  South  Amboy  of  townships  and  parts  of  townships. 
At  this  date  most  of  the  population  consists  of  labor- 
ing men  and  their  families,  and  much  of  it  is  trans- 
ient in  consequence  of  the  number  of  boatmen  tarry- 
ing for  a  longer  or  shorter  time  within  the  township 
limits,  but  not  becoming  permanent  resident.s. 

The  range  of  hills  overlooking  South  Amboy  vil- 
lage offer  some  finely  located  sites  for  residences.  The 
scenery  is  magnificent,  with  Earitan  Bay  lying  at  the 
beholder's  feet,  the  southeastern  shore  ot  Staten 
Island  skirting  the  horizon  to  the  left,  Sandy  Hook 
visible  to  the  right,  reaching  out  into  the  bay  like  a 
long  finger  pointing  the  way  up  the  Narrows  to  New 
York,  and  Coney  Island  just  discernible  in  front 
across  the  blue  waters  of  Lower  Bay,  which  forms 
the  foreground  of  the  picture,  and  in  fair  weather  is 
speckled  far  and  near  with  white  sails,  sometimes 
momentarily  obscured  by  the  smoke  of  passing  steam- 
ers, while  the  sloping  promontory  upon  which  the 
cottages  and  churches  of  Perth  Amboy  have  found 
lodgment  rises  up  at  the  extreme  left,  covered  in  the 
summer  with  verdure  and  plentifully  dotted  with  um- 
brageous trees,  all  mingling  in  a  land  and  water  view 
scarcely  equaled  elsewhere. 

Settlement. — In  1683  the  proprietors  made  stren- 
uous exertions  to  open  a  road  from  Perth  Amboy  to 
Burlington,  to  draw  oft'  the  travel  that  was  then 
taking  the  road  from  near  Elizabethtown  Point  to 
the  Delaware  I'ia  New  Brunswick,  and  in  1684  Dep- 
uty Governor  Laurie  succeeded  in  opening  the  road 
which  is  still  used,  connecting  it  by  a  ferry-boat  at 
South  Amboy.  Notwithstanding  aid  was  sought  from 
the  Assembly  to  compel  people  to  travel  by  this  route, 
the  old  Dutch  road  was  long  the  more  popular.  It 
would  not  require  any  stretch  of  the  imagination  to 
presume  that  the  establishment  of  this  ferry  was  the 
first  step  taken  at  South  Amboy  in  the  gradual  pro- 
gress to  the  present.  The  pioneers  within  the  pres- 
ent township  limits  were  few  in  number,  but  there 
were  some  of  them  full  of  enterprise,  and  it  was  the 
ferry  and  inland  travel  that  they  seized  upon  for  a 
means  of  livelihood  and  profit,  for  the  soil  was  too 
poor  to  tempt  the  agriculturist,  and  it  must  have  been 
early  evident  that  if  South  Amboy  was  to  be  a  place 
of  importance  it  was  in  consequence  of  its  location 
rather  than  of  any  promise  which  it  gave  of  ever  being 
the  centre  of  a  farming  country.  It  might  some  day 
be  a  prominent  shipping-point,  and  the  locality  of  the 
transfer  of  the  freights  of  a  great  extent  of  territory, 
embracing  numerous  large  cities  and  populous  towns, 
but  it  would  never  have  that  steady  and  substantial 
growth  which  makes  a  town  to  which  a  rich  and  fer- 
tile agricultural  section  is  tributary.  Nature  did  little 
to  render  the  soil  attractive  either  to  the  tiller  or  the 
resident,  much  of  the  area  now  covered  by  South 


Amboy  village  having  been  a  marshy  jungle  of 
stunted  pines. 

One  of  the  first  settlers  in  South  Amboy  was 
Lazarus  Wilmurt,  who  located  very  early  on  the 
property  now  owned  wholly  or  in  part  by  Mr.  R.  S. 
Conover,  where  he  resided  a  number  of  years.  His 
children  were  Daniel,  Joshua,  Elizabeth,  and  Sally. 

Daniel  Wilmurt  married  and  had  quite  a  family  of 
children,  named  Jacob,  Lewis,  Thomas,  and  Sally 
Ann.  Jacob  and  Lewis  died  young.  Thomas  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Applegate  and  had  one  child.  The 
daughter  married  Andrew  K.  Morehouse,  of  New 
York. 

Of  Daniel  Wilmurt,  who  was  well  known  early  in 
the  present  century  as  a  hotel-keeper  and  the  pro- 
prietor of  lines  of  boats  and  stages,  further  mention 
will  be  found  farther  on,  his  enterprises  having  ranked 
with  the  foremost  oT  that  time. 

Joshua  Wilmurt  married  and  located  in  Brooklyn, 
and  does  not  seem  to  have  borne  any  part  in  histor- 
ical events  in  South  Amboy.  Elizabeth  married  Capt. 
William  Rose,  a  somewhat  well-known  early  water- 
man at  South  Amboy,  and  had  children  named  Gar- 
ret, Catharine,  Phcebe,  Sally,  Maria,  Hannah,  and 
Ann.  Sally,  daughter  of  Lazarus  Wilmurt,  married 
Peter  Johnson,  and  early  located  near  her  father's 
place.  Her  sons  were,  some  of  them,  James,  Peter, 
and  Wilmurt  Johnson. 

The  land  of  Wilmurt  extended  beyond  the  present 
limits  of  South  Amboy  into  Sayreville,  but  for  reasons 
which  must  be  obvious  to  any  one  at  all  familiar  with 
the  history  of  that  part  of  old  South  Amboy  border- 
ing the  bay,  all  of  which,  in  common  with  the  South 
Amboy  of  to-day,  has  ever  been  and  is  devoted  to  the 
same  interests  which  have  made  the  present  township 
what  it  is,  it  is  deemed  best  to  treat  that  part  of  the 
township  as  formerly  bounded  without  reference  to 
the  boundary  lines  of  the  present.  On  the  Kearney 
tract,  west  of  the  village,  located  a  pioneer  named 
Rose,  whose  descendants  intermarried  to  some  extent 
with  the  Wilmurts.  His  son,  Timothy  Rose,  resided 
there  from  about  1804  to  1811,  and  about  the  latter 
date  purchased  land  on  the  Bordentown  turnpike. 
His  family  consisted  of  sons  named  Elias,  Ephraim, 
John,  and  William,  and  two  daughters.  Ephraim 
married  and  remained  on  the  homestead  a  number  of 
years,  until  the  death  of  his  wife.  He  was  a  second 
time  married,  and  soon  after  removed  to  Jacksonville, 
in  Madison,  where  he  lived  until  his  death.  By  his 
first  wife  he  had  sons  named  Elias,  John,  and  William, 
and  two  daughters.  The  former  took  the  old  home- 
stead on  the  Bordentown  road  after  his  father's  re- 
moval, and  yet  lives  upon  it.  William  lives  near 
Jacksonville.  Elias,  brother  of  Ephraim,  married  a 
Miss  Brown  and  located  near  his  father.  His  sons, 
John  and  William,  died  young. 

The  Disbrow  family,  of  which  John  Disbrow  was 
the  earliest  remembered  representative,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the   present   century,   and   perhaps   earlier, 


824 


HISTORY  OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


owned  a  considerable  tract  of  land   embracing  the 
eastern   part  of  the  village   of  South   Amboy,   and  | 
extending  down  to  the  bay.     John  Disbrow,  whose  1 
mother  is  said  to  have  been  a  sister  of  William  Bur-  | 
net,  of  Allentown,  N.  J.,  sold  this  tract  to  Samuel 
Gordon,  Sr.,  in  1808,  and  removed  to  Roundabout,  ! 
now  in  Sayreville  township.     This  property  is  his- 
torically of  much  local  interest,  and  will  be  seen  to 
figure  prominently  in  the  subsequent  history  of  South  i 
Amboy.  ; 

Early  in  this  century  there  were  residing  along  the 
bay-shore,  within  and  adjacent  to  the  present  borders 
of  South  Amboy,  several  families,  among  them  the 
Morgans   (from  whom  were  descended  Gen.  James 
Morgan  and  his  grandsons.  Dr.  L.  O.  Morgan  and 
Charles  Morgan,  counselor-at-law,  the  two  latter  resi-  ( 
dents  of  South  Amboy  village  at  this  time),  some  of  ; 
the  Wilmurts  and  Roses  previouslj^  mentioned ;  Phin-  ' 
eas  Rolfe,  father  of  Hon.  Isaac  Rolfe,  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, then   a  waterman   and    later  a  boat  captain ; 
Jacob  Brookfield,  Joseph  Bloodgood,  and  Matthias 
Johnson,  and  also  the  Hansel,  Kearney,  and  Hanks 
families.     In  1806  there  were  only  three  habitations 
within  view  from  the  central  part  of  the  present  vil- 
lage of  South  Amboy.     These  were  the  farm-houses  i 
of  John  Disbrow  and  Joshua  Wilmurt  and  an  an-  j 
cient  public-house,   later  known   as   the   "  Railroad  I 
House."  ' 

The  Old  Rattoone  House. — By  the  above  name  I 
was  the  old  hostelry  just  referred  to  known  at  the  time  ' 
under  consideration.     Its  beginning  is  shrouded  in 
the  past,  and  uncertain  tradition  discloses  no  date  at 
which  it  was  probably  built.     It  was  located  at  the 
end  of  the  old  Bordentown  road,  extending  in  an  east- 
and-west  direction  nearly  parallel  with  the  bay-shore,  t 
The  main  part  was  three  stories  high  and  about  sixty  \ 
feet  by  forty.     At  the  east  side  was  a  wing  long  and 
low,  being  only  a  story  and  a  half  high   and  about 
fifty  feet  by  twenty-five,  and  at  the  west  side  was  a 
wing  about  forty  feet  by  thirty,  and  two  stories  high. 
The  latter  was  known  early  as  "  the  Princeton  end," 
probably  because  it  was  in  the  direction  of  Princeton, 
then  one  of  the  few  places  of  importance  near  Amboy 
inland.     The  latter  wing  is  thought  to  have  been  the  j 
original  portion  of  the  rambling  structure,  and  for 
many  years  perhaps  all  of  it  that  existed.  I 

There  is  a  tradition  of  "  the  Princeton  end"  of  this 
old  house  which,  while  it  is  too  improbable  to  throw  j 
any  light  upon  prehistoric  events  there,  may  at  least 
prove  interesting  as  illustrating  the  conjectural  range 
of  the  human  mind.  Seventy-five  years  ago  it  was 
sometimes  said,  but  with  no  tangible  authority,  that 
before  the  days  of  stages  drawn  by  horses  and  before 
the  beginning  of  anj'  considerableshippingtraflic  be- 
tween New  York  and  Philadelphia  by  way  of  the  bay 
and  the  Delaware  River  and  the  intervening  country, 
merchandise  was  carried  overland  from  South  Amboy 
to  the  Delaware  by  means  of  heavy  wagons  drawn  by 
cattle,  and  that  there  was  a  passenger  line  with  the 


same  motive-power,  which,  if  it  ever  really  existed, 
could  scarcely  have  been  regarded  as  a  means  of  rapid 
transit,  "  the  Princeton  end"  of  the  old  hotel  and  a 
dilapidated  dock,  which  was  then  located  at  the  salt 
meadows  half  a  mile  above,  playing  their  part  in  the 
accommodation  of  passengers  e»  route  and  the  transfer 
of  goods  to  and  from  vessels. 

The  hotel  entire  as  it  has  been  described  was  cer- 
tainly standing  there  during  the  Revolutionary  war, 
when  it  was  kept  by  John  Rattoone,  of  Perth  Amboy, 
who  was  a  justice  of  the  peace  in  1791  and  1792,  and 
was  familiarly  referred  to  in  1800  and  later  as  "  Squire" 
Rattoone,  and  it  remained  there  until  destroyed  by 
fire  only  a  few  years  since,  a  link  connecting  the 
locality  in  the  unknown  past  with  the  South  Amboy 
of  the  last  decade.  During  the  Revolution  it  is  said 
to  have  been  much  frequented  by  British,  and  to  some 
extent  by  American,  officers.  It  is  related  of  Rat- 
toone that  he  was  a  man  of  infinite  tact,  and  was  able 
to  entertain  British  and  American  officers  in  the  house 
at  the  same  time,  locating  them  in  the  opposite  ends 
without  allowing  either  to  know  of  the  presence  of 
the  other,  and  was  "  hail  fellow  well  met"  with  all. 
If  this  is  true  he  must  have  possessed  diplomatic  tal- 
ent of  a  high  order,  which  he  could  doubtless  have  em- 
ployed more  profitably  during  those  troublous  times. 
After  the  Revolution  the  hotel  and  much  land,  em- 
bracing the  western  part  of  the  village  and  township 
as  now  bounded,  passed  into  the  possession  of  Daniel 
Wilmurt,  who  was  "mine  host"  at  the  old  stand  up 
to  April  1, 1806,  when  he  sold  tlie  property  described, 
measuring,  with  a  water-front  -nearly  a  mile  long, 
about  three  hundred  and  forty  acres,  to  Gen.  Obediah 
Herbert  and  his  brother  John.  Immediately  there- 
after Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  purchased  a  half-interest  of 
the  Herberts  in  this  property,  and  became  the  land- 
lord at  the  ancient  hostelry. 

The  First  Era  of  Business  Activity. — The 
advent  of  Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  in  South  Amboy 
marked  the  beginning  of  a  new  era,  an  era  of  progress 
and  sharp  business  competition,  which  resulted  in 
much  substantial  good  to  the  locality.  He  came  from 
Bordentown,  where  he  had  been  a  tavern-keeper  and 
stage  proprietor,  and  was  a  man  of  enterprise  and 
ability,  daring  in  his  conceptions  and  far-seeing  in  his 
plans,  and  bold  in  their  execution,  resolute,  pushing, 
and  untiring,  not  given  to  hesitating  at  obstacles. 

Daniel  Wilmurt  was  a  man  of  similar  mental  char- 
acteristics. Gordon  and  Wilmurt  became  enemies 
and  rivals  in  business,  and  the  sharp  competition  be- 
tween these  two  men,  each  determined  to  outdo  the 
other  in  enterprise  and  gain  the  greater  popularity 
with  the  public,  was  a  means  of  advancement  to 
South  Amboy  and  the  whole  country  between  there 
and  the  Delaware.  Previous  to  1830,  or  thereabout, 
stage-lines  carried  passengers  between  Bordentown 
and  South  Amboy,  and  they  were  conveyed  by  sloops 
between  New  York  and  South  Amboy,  and  Borden- 
town and  Philadelphia. 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


823 


No  sooner  had  Gordon  taken  possession  of  the  old 
hotel  in  180G,  becoming  half-owner  of  the  stand  and 
the  adjacent  property,  than  he  established  a  line  of 
sloops  between  New  York  and  South  Amboy,  and  put 
a  line  of  stages  on  the  road  between  South  Amboy 
and  Bordentown,  beginning  what  soon  proved  to  be 
a  profitable  business,  observing  which,  Wilmurt,  in 
1807,  probably  with  the  thought  of  sharing  in  the  en- 
terprise, purchased  of  Obediah  and  John  Herbert  the 
other  half-interest  in  the  property,  thus  becoming  an 
equal  sharer  with  Gordon  in  its  ownership.  For  a 
few  months  the  two  attempted  to  manage  the  hotel 
as  partners,  but  each  was  too  much  set  in  his  own 
way  and  too  tenacious  of  his  own  rights  to  agree  with 
the  other,  and  it  soon  became  apparent  to  both  that 
an  early  separation  and  the  withdrawal  of  one  or  the 
other  from  the  stand  was  inevitable.  But  each  wished 
to  stay  and  neither  wished  to  go.  The  business  was 
too  profitable  and  was  growing  too  fast  for  either  to 
consent  to  relinquish  his  shareof  it  without  a  struggle. 
It  is  not  improbable  that  Wilmurt  thought  to  take  the 
carrying  trade  from  Gordon  if  he  could  obtain  entire 
possession  of  the  hotel,  land,  and  dock,  and  that  it 
was  the  dislike  to  yield  to  another  the  business  he  had 
built  up  that  led  Gordon  to  strenuously  refuse  to  sell 
his  share  of  the  property,  for  presently  there  came  a 
time  when  each  clamored  for  the  privilege  of  buying 
out  the  other,  and  both  refused  to  sell.  This  state  of 
things  could  not  long  continue,  and  they  at  last  de- 
cided mutually  to  leave  the  adjustment  of  their  diffi- 
culty to  three  referees,  one  of  whom  was  to  be  chosen 
by  Gordon,  one  by  Wilmurt,  and  one  by  the  two  so 
chosen. 

Robert  Montgomery  and  Joseph  Marsh,  of  Allen- 
town,  N.  J.,  and  George  Compton,  of  Perth  Amboy, 
■were  selected  and  consented  to  act  as  referees  in  the 
matter  in  dispute,  and  they  decided  that  Gordon 
should  leave  the  property  in  the  possession  of  Wil- 
murt, and  that  the  latter  should  pay  Gordon  the  cost 
price  of  everything  he  had  bought  to  furnish  the  hotel 
with,  or  stock  its  larder  and  its  wine-cellar,  reimburse 
him  in  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  pur- 
chase-money he  had  paid  for  his  half-interest  in  the 
property,  and  pay  him  a  bonus  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  trouble  and  inconvenience  attendant  upon 
the  reliuqnishment  of  his  share  of  the  land,  house, 
dock,  and  hotel  business.  To  this  decree  Gordon 
assented,  and  left  the  premises  as  soon  as  he  conveni- 
ently could,  refusing  a  liberal  offer  from  Wilmurt  for 
his  sloops,  stages,  horses,  and  other  property  employed 
in  the  transportation  of  passengers  between  New  York 
and  Bordentown. 

If  Wilmurt  had  calculated  upon  being  left  in  un- 
disputed possession  of  the  carrying  trade  at  South 
Amboy  by  this  purchase  of  Gordon's  interest  in  the 
old  hotel  and  dock,  he  had  done  so  without  an  ade- 
quate knowledge  of  Gordon's  character  and  resources. 
No  sooner  did  the  latter  become  aware  that  he  must 
relinquish  the  hotel  and  water-privileges  to  Wilmurt 


than  he  purchased  the  John  Disbrow  farm,  on  the 
bay-shore  in  the  eastern  portion  of  the  present  village, 
previously  referred  to,  and  began  at  once  to  enlarge 
and  remodel  the  old  farm-house  for  use  as  a  hotel, 
running  his  packets  to  a  point  opposite  there,  and 
taking  passengers  from  his  stages  to  his  boats  and 
from  his  boats  to  his  stages  by  means  of  row-boats 
until  he  could  construct  a  landing-place  and  dock. 

A  few  years  later  the  Bordentown  turnpike  was 
chartered  and  constructed,  and  Gordon,  who  was  a 
stockholder,  secured  its  terminus  in  South  Amboy 
at  his  hotel,  a  measure  which  proved  very  favorable 
to  his  business,  and  a  year  or  two  afterwards  Wil- 
murt obtained  a  charter  for  a  branch  of  the  Bor- 
dentown turnpike  to  his  hotel  and  dock.  The  com- 
petition thus  early  begun  between  these  two  men 
was  continued,  it  is  said  somewhat  acrimoniously,  for 
years.  Each  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  to  gain 
favor  with  the  public,  and  to  shorten  the  time  con- 
sumed in  a  passage  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia. It  is  related  that  one  of  them  boastingly  proph- 
esied that  he  would  cut  the  time  down  to  a  day  and 
a  half  between  the  two  cities.  This  then  unattained 
so-called  quick  time  seems  long  when  compared  with 
the  present  transit  from  Jersey  City  to  Philadelphia 
in  an  hour  and  fifty  minutes,  much  of  the  way  over 
nearly  the  same  route.  Both  stage  proprietors  had 
extra  relays  of  horses,  and  in  speaking  of  this  period 
it  is  common  for  old  residents  of  South  Amboy  to 
remark  that  "  things  were  kept  hot  between  Amboy 
and  Bordentown."  Each  line  ran  two  or  three  stages 
each  way  every  day  between  South  Amboy  and  Bor- 
dentown in  the  summer,  and  between  South  Amboy 
aud  Camden  in  the  winter,  when  the  ice  prevented 
the  navigation  of  the  Delaware.  The  late  John  Sew- 
ard and  William  P.  Wisner,  who  is  eighty-three  years 
of  age  and  still  a  resident  of  South  Amboy,  were 
drivers  over  this  route,  and  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  son 
of  Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  now  living  in  Washington, 
in  East  Brunswick,  at  an  advanced  age,  was  also 
identified  with  the  business. 

The  passengers  in  transit  both  ways  invariably 
stopped  in  South  Amboy  overnight,  the  stages  from 
Bordentown  and  Camden  and  the  sloops  from  New 
York  both  arriving  there  late  in  the  day  or  at  night, 
and  starting  on  their  return  trips  in  the  morning. 
This  rendered  hotel-keeping  very  profitable,  and  the 
travelers  often  made  the  two  hotels  there  the  scenes 
of  jollifications  which  they  doubtless,  some  of  them 
remember  to  the  present  time.  It  is  claimed  by  those 
who  had  an  opportunity  to  know  that  good  liquor  was 
sold  in  South  Amboy  in  those  days,  and  much  of  it 
was  drank  there.  The  bar  in  the  old  Rattoone  House 
during  this  time  was  partitioned  off  from  the  bar-room 
proper,  and  communication  with  the  bar-tender  was 
had  only  through  a  large  wicket  or  window-hole, 
which  was  part  of  the  time  closed,  and  opened  only 
at  the  will  of  that  functionary.  It  is  stated  that 
business  was  conducted  on  the  most  democratic  plan 


826 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


imaginable,  patrons  of  high  and  low  degree  all  faring 
alike,  each  receiving  through  the  aperture  an  honest 
gill  of  such  kind  of  "  liquid  cheer"  as  he  called  for, 
no  more,  no  less.  Whether  that  amount  made  a 
drink  larger  or  smaller  than  the  customer  desired 
was  a  question  about  which  the  bartender  did  not 
trouble  his  brain.  Often  both  houses  were  jammed 
almost  to  suffocation,  and  it  is  said  travelers  fre- 
quently found  themselves  in  the  company  of  strange 
bedfellows,  and  submitted  to  inconvenience  with 
commendable  grace  and  resignation,  the  landlords 
possessing  the  tact  to  very  often  happily  turn  into  a 
joke,  by  an  opportune  pleasantry,  afi'airs  that  other- 
wise would  have  become  so  serious  as  to  demand 
recourse  to  pugilistic  displays,  with  a  fair  field  and 
no  favors  asked.  The  business  was  exacting,  and' 
from  its  very  nature  trying,  to  both  Gordon  and  Wil- 
murt,  but  they  made  it  profitable,  and  kept  up  their 
rivalry  till  the  latter's  death,  about  1824,  Gordon's 
hotel  burning  down  in  1814,  and  being  immediately 
rebuilt. 

From  1823  to  1825,  Gordon  was  at  Washington,  en- 
gaged in  the  construction  of  the  Washington  Canal, 
from  South  River  to  the  Raritan,  and  during  that 
time  he  leased  or  otherwise  disposed  of  the  hotel 
at  the  new  dock,  later  keeping  it  from  1828  to  1834. 
It  was  afterwards  kept  by  George  Parisen  and  others, 
then  converted  to  other  purposes,  and  burned  about 
184(i.  After  the  death  of  Daniel  Wilmurt  his  widow 
kept  the  Rattoone  House  about  a  year,  and  in  1825 
was  succeeded  by  Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  who  was  again, 
after  a  lapse  of  seventeen  years,  in  possession  of  the 
house  he  had  resigned  to  Wilmurt  in  1808,  and  con- 
tinued in  charge  until  1828.  Saxon  M.  Tice  was  his 
successor,  giving  place,  two  or  three  years  later,  to 
mine  host  Brookfield,  who,  like  Tice,  is  remembered 
by  many  who  were  once  patrons  of  the  house.  In 
1846,  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  became  landlord,  remain- 
ing till  184'J.  Subsequently  to  the  completion  of  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  the  hotel  became 
kuQwn  as  the  Railroad  House.  After  Gordon  left  it 
it  had  several  other  landlords  in  succession,  the  last 
being  Willett  Martin,  who  was  doing  the  honors  of 
the  establishment  at  the  time  of  its  destruction. 

The  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  did  away  with 
any  necessity  for  stage-travel  between  the  two  points 
named,  and  the  packets  which  had  been  so  long  and 
so  profitably  run  between  South  Amboy  and  New 
York  were  forced  to  give  way  to  the  more  rapid 
steam  navigation  introduced  by  Cornelius  Vanderbilt 
and  others. 

The  Village  of  South  Amboy.— The  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  was  chartered  Feb.  4,  1830; 
$1,000,000  stock  was  subscribed  by  April  12th  ;  work 
was  commenced  by  June  or  July,  and  Sept.  19,  1832, 
the  track  from  Bordentown  to  Hightstown  was  first 
used  with  horse-cars,  and  December  17th  following 
passengers  were  conveyed  from  Bordentown  to  South 
Amboy.     The  first  car  of  freight  over  the  road  was 


drawn  by  horses  driven  by  Mr.  Benjamin  Fish,  leav- 
ing Amboy  Jan.  24,  1833.  It  was  not  until  Septem- 
ber of  the  same  year  that  trains  were  drawn  by  a 
locomotive,  which  had  that  year  been  built  in  Eng- 
land for  use  on  this  road.  It  was  on  exhibition  at 
the  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  in  1876, 
and  is  still  in  the  shop  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
Railroad  Company  at  Bordentown.  It  has  always 
been  known  as  the  "  Johnny  Bull"  on  account  of  its 
English  manufacture.  There  are  yet  living  at  South 
Amboy  several  persons  who  saw  it  set  out  on  its  first 
trip  over  the  road,  and  relate  that  the  day  on  which 
it  did  so  was  long  remembered  as  a  red-letter  day  in 
the  memory  of  the  inhabitants.  The  passenger-cars 
composing  the  train  were  like  the  old-fashioned 
round-bodied  coaches,  with  doors  at  the  sides,  and 
were  intended  to  seat  six  persons  each. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  early  history  of  the  Cajnden  and 
Amboy  Railroad.  It  introduced  a  new  element  at 
South  Amboy  and  changed  the  occupation  and  aspira- 
tions of  tiie  few  people  there,  building  up  new  indus- 
tries on  the  ruins  of  those  it  destroyed,  and  causing 
the  then  sparse  settlement  to  grow  to  a  flourishing 
village  of  nearly  4000  souls.  But  this  development 
was  far  from  being  as  rapid  as  it  has  been  in  other 
places  under  like  circumstances. 

Land  Purchases  and  Speculations.  —  The 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company  purchased 
the  land  upon  which  their  depot,  offices,  tracks, 
shops,  docks,  and  other  property  are  located,  and 
several  hundred  acres,  including  the  western  part  of 
the  village,  of  William  Gibbons,  who  had  bought  it 
of  the  representatives  of  the  estate  of  Daniel  Wil- 
murt, deceased,  in  1827,  and  built  houses  upon  it  for 
the  use  of  some  of  their  employes,  the  first  so  erected 
having  been  the  brick  ones  on  Main  Street  below 
Broadway ;  but  aside  from  these,  few  dwellings  were 
built  anywhere  in  the  village  for  some  years.  Re- 
taining control  of  the  hotel  and  dock  on  the  Disbrow 
farm,  in  1816,  Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  sold  a  half-interest 
in  the  land  to  Lewis  Abrahams.  From  the  latter  it 
passed  to  Daniel  Wilmurt  in  1822,  and  until  the 
death  of  Wilmurt,  soon  after,  he  and  Gordon  were 
again  partners  in  the  ownership  of  real  estate.  In 
1824,  Wilmurt's  interest  passed  by  inheritance  into 
the  possession  of  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Andrew  K. 
Morehouse,  who  sold  it  to  Henry  and  David  Cotheal 
in  1832.  About  1830,  Gordon  sold  the  remaining 
half-interest,  and  the  title  to  it  presently  became 
vested  in  George  C.  Thomas,  from  whom  Gordon 
bought  a  one-fourth  interest  in  1832,  and  dying  in 
1834,  bequeathed  it  to  his  son,  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr. 

This  tract  embraced  much  of  the  eastern  portion  of 
the  village.  In  1833  it  was  surveyed  into  lots  by  a 
civil  engineer  of  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  named  Graves. 
These  lots  were  of  the  usual  size  of  village  lots,  and 
were  2900  in  number.  They  were  offered  at  reason- 
able prices,  but  found  no  purchasers.  In  1834,  Samuel 
Gordon,  Jr.,  sold  one-half  of  his  one  fourth  interest 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


827 


in  the  property  to  Messrs.  Graves  and  Butler,  of 
Brooklyn.  It  was  then  owned  as  follows  :  One-fourth 
each  by  Henry  Cotheal,  David  Cotheal,  and  George 
C.  Thomas,  and  one-eighth  each  by  Samuel  Gordon, 
Jr.,  and  Graves  and  Butler  conjointly.  Some  years 
later  the  whole  tract  was  sold  at  auction  in  New 
York  to  various  parties  for  $22,300.  None  of  the 
purchasers  ever  located  on  their  lots,  and  few  of  them 
ever  saw  them.  No  important  improvements  were 
made  in  the  village  during  the  following  few  years 
other  than  those  which  were  gradually  appearing  on 
the  railroad  company's  lands  in  the  western  part. 
In  1834,  Gordon,  in  his  "  Gazetteer,"  stated  that  the 
village  contained  "  a  hotel  and  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
dwellings,  and  an  extensive  manufactory  of  stone- 
ware." The  latter  was  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
present  village,  and  its  history  is  given  elsewhere. 

About  1848,  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  bought  two  hun- 
dred and  forty  of  the  lots  above  referred  to  at  one 
dollar  each  of  Messrs.  Pine  &  Van  Antwerp,  of  New 
York,  who  had  purchased  them  at  the  auction  sale, 
and  been  unable  to  dispose  of  them  since  then. 
Meeting  Abraham  Everett  the  next  day,  he  informed 
him  of  the  transaction,  and  asked  him  to  become  a 
])artner  in  the  speculation,  to  which  he  consented, 
later  buying  and  selling  several  hundred  lots  on  his 
individual  account.  A  short  time  afterwards  Samuel 
Gordon,  Jr.,  and  George  H.  Weston  bargained  with 
David  Hill,  a  speculator  of  New  York,  for  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  lots  at  one  dollar  each.  Hill  was  not 
by  any  means  a  substantia!  man,  and  his  business  was 
so  precarious  that  it  is  said  he  seldom  occupied  the 
same  office  more  than  a  few  days,  and  when  Weston 
went  to  New  York  to  pay  him  for  the  lots  and  receive 
the  titles  to  the  same,  he  was  unable  to  find  him.  Ee- 
turning  to  South  Amboy,  he  was  advised  by  Gordon 
to  write  a  letter  to  Hill  asking  the  latter  to  appoint 
an  interview  at  which  money  and  titles  could  be  ex- 
changed. Hill  responded,  meeting  Gordon  and  Wes- 
ton at  some  convenient  place  in  the  lower  part  of  the 
city.  In  the  course  of  the  conversation  which  ensued, 
Hill  said  something  which  indicated  that  he  was 
greatly  in  need  of  money,  and  did  not  regard  the  lots 
as  of  any  particular  value,  from  which  Weston  sur- 
mised that  a  better  bargain  might  have  been  made 
with  him,  a  supposition  which  he,  Yankee-like,  re- 
solved to  put  to  a  practical  test.  Presently  he  in- 
formed Hill  that  it  would  be  inconvenient  for  him  to 
pay  him  the  cash  that  day,  and  hinted  tliat  an  ar- 
rangement of  a  different  kind  would  be  desirable  to 
him.  Hill  insisted  on  having  the  money,  and  finally 
offered  to  deduct  twenty-five  dollars  from  the  total 
price  of  the  lots  (one  hundred  and  forty  dollars)  if  he 
could  have  the  money  then.  Weston  intimated  that 
he  hoped  to  be  able  to  raise  the  required  amount 
among  his  friends  in  the  city,  and  went  out.  After  a 
while  he  returned,  and  paid  Hill  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  dollars  for  the  one  hundred  and  forty  lots,  ef- 
fecting a  saving  of  twenty-five  dollars  on  the  trans- 


action. Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  who  related  this  inci- 
dent to  the  writer,  states  that  he  and  Weston  soon  sold 
a  majority  of  these  lots  at  ten  to  twenty  dollars  each, 
and  some  of  the  choicest  of  them  at  fifty  U>  seventy 
dollars  each,  clearing  a  nice  little  sum  by  the  specu- 
lation. This  circumstance  has  been  given  place  in 
these  pages  to  show  how  cheaply  lands  were  regarded 
in  South  Amboy  less  than  thirty-five  years  ago.  Hill, 
like  other  New  York  owners  of  these  lots,  had  no 
idea  that  they  were  becoming  valuable,  and  during 
the  few  years  following  many  of  the  lots  which  had 
been  almost  literally  "  sent  to  New  York  to  market" 
were  eagerly  bought  back  by  residents  of  South 
Amboy,  and  by  them  sold  at  a  good  profit  to  men 
who  bought  them  at  only  fair  prices  and  reared  up 
homes  upon  them  one  after  another  until  what  was  at 
a  comparatively  recent  date  a  barren  waste  grew  to 
be  a  thrifty  village.  Among  those  not  already 
mentioned  who  bought  and  sold  village-lots  in  South 
Amboy  were  Charles  Fish,  freight  agent  for  many 
years  for  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company  ; 
Ward  C.  Perrine,  merchant  and  clay  operator ;  and 
Philip  J.  Parisen,  formerly  also  a  dealer  in  merchan- 
dise and  clay,  but  now  dead.  The  dwellings  belong- 
ing to  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company 
gradually  increased  in  numbers,  and  the  space  be- 
tween the  "  railroad  tract"  and  the  "  Gordon  tract" 
in  time  became  thickly  settled,  uniting  the  once  iso- 
lated eastern  and  western  portions  of  the  village. 

Building  Loans. — Building  loans  have  assisted 
very  materially  in  building  up  the  village.  The  first 
loan  was  organized  in  1853,  and  through  its  means  a 
good  many  houses  were  erected.  Loan  No.  2  was 
organized  in  1865,  and  proved  very  successful,  running 
out  in  less  than  eleven  years,  and  greatly  facilitating 
the  growth  of  the  place.  The  continued  demand  for 
dwellings  led  to  the  organization,  in  1868,  of  Loan 
No.  3,  with  thirteen  hundred  shares.  Within  three 
years,  as  the  result  of  this  movement,  new  dwellings 
were  erected  in  all  parts  of  the  village,  and  there  was 
a  considerable  increase  in  population.  In  1881  its 
affairs  were  wound  up,  and  an  extra  dividend  of  three 
dollars  and  sixty-nine  cents  was  returned  to  each 
stockholder.  In  1873,  Enterprise  Building  Loan  was 
organized,  and  twenty-two  hundred  shares  were  is- 
sued. It  was  successful  for  a  short  time,  until  the 
panic  caused  a  sudden  cessation  of  all  active  business. 
Among  the  prominent  projectors  of  and  workers  for 
the  success  of  these  loans  were  Abraham  Everett, 
Edward  O.  Howell,  Albert  Roll,  R.  H.  Guild,  and 
Bernard  Roddy. 

Railroads. — The  liberal  policy  of  the  early  pro- 
moters of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad,  Messrs. 
John  C.  and  R.  C.  Stevens,  then  of  New  York,  and 
Edwin  Stevens,  of  Hoboken,  aided  the  growth  of  the 
village  to  a  great  extent,  and  they  and  members  of 
their  families  were  foremost  with  labor  and  means  in 
establishing  schools  and  churches, — a  task  in  which 
they  were  aided  and  succeeded  by  the  Conover  family, 


828 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


now  represented  at  South  Amboy  by  Mr.  R.  8.  Cono- 
ver.  Due  mention  of  the  benefactions  of  these  fami- 
lies will  be  seen  in  the  histories  of  the  educational 
and  religious  interests  of  the  township.  Mr.  John  C. 
Stevens  and  others  of  his  family  became  permanent 
residents.  Messrs.  Abraham  Everett,  Charles  Fish, 
Aaron  H.  Van  Cleve,  William  G.  Wisner,  John  Sex- 
ton, and  other  employes  of  the  company,  were  men 
of  enterprise  and  sound  judgment,  and  became  iden- 
tified with  the  leading  interests  of  the  place,  making 
a  record  as  good  and  progressive  citizens. 

The  old  depot,  the  first  in  the  village,  was  built  in 
1833  ;  the  present  one  about  1848.  The  first  general 
agent  of  the  company  at  South  Amboy  was  Jacob 
Campbell.  His  successors  have  been  Abraham  Ev- 
erett, Aaron  H.  Van  Cleve,  Charles  Sayler,  Samuel 
Wright,  and  Alexander  Southerland,  now  in  service. 
Charles  Fish  was  freight  agent  from  the  beginning  of 
the  company's  business  until  his  death,  a  few  years 
since.  The  present  freight  agent  is  Mr.  J.  V.  P.  Bis- 
sett.  William  G.  Wisner  has  been  constantly  on  the 
pay-roll  of  the  company  as  an  eniployS  in  the  freight 
department,  much  of  the  time  as  superintendent,  since 
1831.  The  various  departments  of  the  company's  local 
business  are  under  the  superintendence  of  Thomas 
Kerr,  master-mechanic,  with  eighty  men  ;  Peter  S. 
Bogert,  foreman  of  car  repairs,  with  iifty-two  men ; 
Joseph  Wilson,  foreman  of  the  ship-yard,  with  ninety 
men  ;  Josiah  D.  Stults,  road  foreman,  with  twelve 
men ;  Frederick  I.  Stults,  foreman  of  road  repairs, 
with  ten  men ;  John  Sexton,  foreman  of  the  round- 
house, with  ten  men ;  and  D.  W.  Cozzens,  superin- 
tendent of  maintenance  of  way,  with  forty-five  men. 

The  increasing  railroad  business  attracted  many 
workingmen  to  the  place,  and  the  war  of  the  Eebel- 
lion  gave  an  impetus  to  the  growth  of  South  Amboy 
by  the  increased  freight  business  of  the  railroad  com- 
pany. A  great  number  of  soldiers  and  immense  stores 
of  munitions  of  war  were  shipped  over  the  road,  giv- 
ing employment  to  a  large  force  of  men  at  this  end 
of  the  route.  Several  large  steamboats  and  barges 
were  employed  to  transport  freight  to  and  from  South 
Amboy.  Many  houses  were  built  during  this  time,  and 
the  village  a.ssumed  considerable  importance.  After 
the  war  ended  the  place  continued  to  grow,  but  in 
January,  1872,  the  railroad  was  leased  to  the  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company,  which  soon  after  began 
to  construct  car-floats  to  transport  loaded  freight-cars 
across  the  Hudson  River  between  New  York  and  Jer- 
sey City.  This  change  was  the  cause  of  the  town's 
losing  one  of  its  most  honored  citizens  in  the  person 
of  the  late  A.  H.  Van  Cleve,  then  agent  of  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy  Railroad  Company  at  South  Amboy, 
as  well  as  nearly  all  of  the  vast  freight  business  of  the 
road.  Many  of  our  old  citizens  were  thrown  out  of 
employment,  as  they  were  not  able  to  do  the  work 
required  on  the  coal-docks,  which  industry  had  beeu 
growing  in  importance  for  several  years.  The  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad  Company  continued  to  increase  the 


shipment  of  coal  and  to  build  wharves  for  that  purpose, 
until  to-day  South  Amboy  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant coal  ports  in  the  country.  The  coal  docks  and 
railroad-shops  give  the  greater  part  of  the  employ- 
ment to  be  had  in  the  place. 

In  July,  1875,  the  New  York  and  Long  Branch 
Railroad  was  opened  to  the  public,  with  a  station 
centrally  located  in  South  Amboy,  from  which  New 
York  may  be  reached  in  an  hour's  time.  There  are 
living  in  the  village  persons  who  remember  when 
there  was  no  other  means  of  reaching  the  metropolis 
from  that  point  than  the  slow  and  uncomfortable 
sloop,  which  often  consumed  from  two  to  three  days 
in  making  the  trip.  The  local  agent  of  this  railway 
is  Mr.  C.  H.  Southwick. 

Merchants  and  Dealers. — The  first  store  within 
the  present  limits  of  South  Amboy  was  opened  about 
1808  by  Samuel  Gordon,  Sr.,  near  his  hotel  and  dock. 
At  a  later  period  Oliver  Johnson  was  a  partner  in  the 
enterprise.  Samuel  Gordon,  Jr.,  then  a  mere  boy, 
was  an  assistant  there,  and  tells  many  interesting 
anecdotes  of  trade  there  at  that  date.  Many  custom- 
ers came  from  a  distance.  It  would  probably  be  hard 
to  conceive  of  a  more  heterogeneous  stock  of  merchan- 
dise than  was  crowded  into  that  little  store,  for  the 
proprietors  were  alive  to  the  demands  of  the  people 
and  the  times,  and  made  it  a  point  to  keep  about 
everything  any  patron  could  possibly  desire  to  buy. 
The  nearness  of  this  store  to  New  York  and  Gordon's 
facilities  for  quick  and  cheap  transportation  of  goods 
gave  him  an  advantage  over  neighboring  merchants 
in  the  way  of  low  prices  that,  judging  from  the  char- 
acteristics manifested  in  his  other  transactions,  he  was 
doubtless  quick  to  avail  himself  of.  This  enterprise 
was  abandoned  after  a  time,  and  up  to  1831  the  town 
depended  upon  Perth  Amboy  for  supplies,  which,  in 
cold  and  stormy  weather  or  when  the  water  was 
rough,  were  not  brought  over  without  much  trouble. 

John  Perrine,  father  of  Orlando  and  H.  C.  Perrine, 
now  a  resident  at  Bloomfield  Mills,  near  Spottswood, 
and  known  as  ex-Judge  Perrine,  in  1831  opened  the 
first  store  in  what  we  may  perhaps  be  permitted  to 
call  the  modern  South  Amboy,  in  distinction  from  the 
South  Amboy  of  an  earlier  date,  from  which  fact  he 
is  generally  accredited  with  having  been  the  pioneer 
merchant  in  the  village.  The  building  in  which  it 
was  kept  was  long  known  as  "  the  railroad  store,"  and 
was  the  lower  building  on  the  east  side  of  Main 
Street,  formerly  the  Wilmurt  branch  of  the  Borden- 
town  turnpike.  This  structure  was  burned  a  few 
years  ago.  James  Buckelew  and  Capt.  Shippen,  pay- 
master for  the  Camden  and  Amboj'  Railroad  Com- 
pany, were  also  early  identified  with  the  management 
of  "  the  railroad  store."  Thomas  and  John  Apple- 
gate  traded  there  a  while,  and,  after  them,  Charles 
Perrine.  The  latter  was  succeeded  by  James  Breese 
and  Charles  S.  Clark.  Clark  succeeded  Breese  about 
1848,  and  traded  there  until  a  little  after  the  begin- 
ning of  the  late  war.    This  store  was  afterwards  kept 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


829 


by  Richard  S.  Conover,  with  Capt.  P.  V.  De  Graw  in 
charge,  until  about  the  close  of  the  war.  John 
Mount  was  the  next  merchant  there.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  John  Cozzens,  who  was  the  last.  Ward  C. 
Perrine  came  to  South  Aniboy  from  Hightstown  in 
1852,  and  opened  a  store  on  Augusta  Street,  near 
Broadway,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  February, 
1860.  Mr.  Perrine  occupied  a  building  on  Broadway 
belonging  to  Abraham  Everett  until  the  following 
August,  when  he  removed  into  his  store,  then  just 
completed,  at  the  corner  of  Broadway  and  Augusta 
Street.  In  March,  1881,  he  was  succeeded  there  by 
J.  E.  Montgomery,  who,  in  September  of  the  same 
year,  sold  out  to  William  G.  Howell. 

Philip  J.  Parisen,  a  portion  of  the  time  in  partner- 
ship with  George  W.  Warner,  had  a  store  on  Broad- 
way, between  Augusta  and  David  Streets,  from  1853 
to  1857,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Orlando  Perrine. 
His  son,  A.  C.  Parisen,  is  a  druggist  on  Broadway. 
C.  C.  Parisen  is  a  dealer  in  coal  and  wood. 

Orlando  Perrine  came  to  South  Amboy  in  1857, 
and  began  business  in  the  Parisen  store.  In  1862  be 
left  the  place,  returning  in  1871  to  open  a  store  at  the 
Hillmann  stand  on  Broadway.  In  December,  1878, 
he  removed  to  the  store  he  lately  occupied  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Broadway  and  First  Street,  and  in  February, 
1882,  returned  to  the  Hellniann  store  with  the  inten- 
tion of  there  remaining. 

B.  F.  Howell  began  in  South  Amboy  as  a  merchant 
in  1866,  in  a  building  on  the  site  of  his  present  store, 
which  was  removed  and  replaced  by  that  now  in  use 
in  1875.  Mr.  Howell  has  an  extensive  coal-yard,  and 
was  formerly  engaged  in  the  lumber  trade. 

John  Hillmann,  William  Thorn  &  Son,  Jacob 
Goodman,  Isaiah  Disbrow,  and  others,  whose  names 
cannot  now  be  recalled,  have  been  merchants  in  the 
village  at  different  periods  for  a  longer  or  shorter 
time.  Moses  Laird  built  a  store  on  Broadway  some 
years  ago,  which  he  has  rented  to  several  persons  who 
have  traded  there.  Meinzer  &  Stutzel  had  a  store  at 
the  corner  of  Broadway  and  the  Bordentown  turn- 
pike, and  were  succeeded  by  a  son  of  the  former. 
The  merchants  and  shop-keepers  of  the  present  are 
as  follows,  their  places  of  business  being,  unless 
otherwise  designated,  on  Broadway :  E.  C.  Akin, 
proprietor  of  the  ship-stores,  Wyoming  pier ;  William 
Birmingham,  grocer,  Augusta  Street;  Joseph  Chris- 
toph,  boot  and  shoe  dealer  ;  William  C.  Cook,  grocer, 
First  Street ;  J.  O.  Cozzens,  grocer  ;  Philip  Dangler, 
clothier ;  J.  L.  Disbrow,  grocer,  David  Street ;  Peter 
Disbrow,  tobacconist  and  confectioner,  Conover 
Street;  L.  Dolau,  tobacconist;  G.  Lawrence,  boot 
and  shoe  dealer,  Augusta  Street ;  Joseph  Guttman, 
dry-goods  dealer;  Mrs.  Lizzie  Hoffman,  dealer  in 
dry-goods  and  fancy  goods  ;  William  G.  Howell,  gro- 
cer; B.  F.  Howell,  general  merchant;  George  W.' 
Jaques,  druggist ;  J.  Knochel,  dealer  in  boots  and 
shoes;  James  Levy,  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes,  Au- 
gusta Street ;  Mrs.  McAdams,  confectioner ;  Neil  Mc- 
53 


Gonigle,  jeweler ;  Nathan  Marks,  clothier ;  John 
Martin,  furniture-dealer  and  undertaker  ;  J.  E.  Mont- 
gomery, general  merchant ;  L.  O.  Morgan,  druggist ; 
J.  B.  Merrill,  druggist;  Phineas  Mund)',  dealer  in 
boots  and  shoes ;  A.  C.  Parisen,  druggist ;  Orlando 
Perrine,  general  merchant;  Alfred  S.  Rue,  tobac- 
conist and  confectioner,  Conover  Street;  Bernard 
Roddy,  news-dealer ;  Frank  Schantz,  dealer  in  stoves 
and  tin-ware  ;  Jacob Schmid, jeweler;  Mrs.  M.  E.  Sex- 
ton, confectioner;  William  Sexton,  furniture  and 
hardware-dealer;  Andrew  J.  Slover,  grocer;  M.  B. 
Thompson,  grocer ;  Henry  Timmins,  dealer  in  stoves 
and  tinware  ;  J.  M.  Voorhees,  green-grocer ;  Frank 
Weaver,  dealer  in  boots  and  shoes;  Henry  Wolff, 
general  merchant ;  A.  Blodgett,  jeweler ;  and  Mrs. 
Patrick  McCormick,  grocer,  David  Street. 

Semuel  Pimlott,  John  Disbrow,  and  William  Dixon 
are  bakers,  and  meat-markets  are  kept  by  Christian 
and  Gottlob  Straub. 

Professional  Men. — The  pioneer  lawyer  at  South 
Amboy  was  Charles  Morgan,  still  practicing  his  pro- 
fession there.  Other  attorneys  are  Thomas  J.  Cloke 
and  James  Corkery. 

The  first  resident  physician  was  Dr.  L.  D.  Morse, 
who  came  about  1832.  The  second  was  Dr.  Bene- 
dict. Drs.  George  Hubbard,  Charles  Marsh,  and 
George  W.  Stout  practiced  there  at  different  times. 
One  of  the  oldest  of  the  present  physicians  is  Dr. 
Ambrose  Treganowan,  who  came  in  1860.  For  a 
number  of  years  previous  to  the  lease  of  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  he  was  a  salaried  surgeon  in  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  and  has 
since  sustained  a  similar  relation  to  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad  Company.  Other  practitioners  of  the  "  old 
school"  are  Drs.  L.  O.  Morgan,  Leon  White,  and  J. 
H.  Carman.  Dr.  Thomas  T.  Howard,  Jr.,  a  homceo- 
path,  is  well  known,  and  has  a  good  practice  among 
the  adherents  to  the  principles  of  his  "school." 

Postmasters.— The  post-office  at  South  Amboy 
was  established  about  1844,  with  Charles  Perrine  as 
postmaster.  His  successors  have  been  Dr.  L.  D. 
Morse,  George  W.  Warner,  Charles  S.  Clark,  Peter  P. 
Voorhees,  Oliver  Cox,  Albert  Roll,  Abraham  Everett, 
Henry  C.  Cadmus,  and  Mrs.  H.  C.  Cadmus,  widow  of 
the  last  mentioned,  who  was  commissioned  in  1881 
by  President  Arthur. 

Organization. — An  offspring  of  the  once  extensive 
township  of  Piscataway,  and  formerly  included  in 
that  wide  sweep  of  country  known  in  early  records 
as  "  the  South  Ward  of  Perth  Amboy,"  South  Amboy 
was  erected  as  a  separate  township  soon  after  the 
organization  of  Middlesex  County  in  1685.  Origi- 
nally it  was  eighteen  miles  long  and  six  miles  wide, 
and  had  an  area  of  sixty-four  thousand  acres.  In 
1838  Monroe  was  taken  from  its  territory ;  in  1869, 
Madison  ;  and  in  1876,  Sayreville.  It  is  now  the 
smallest  but  still  one  of  the  most  important  townships 
in  the  county,  embracing  little  more  than  the  village 
of  South  Amboy. 


830 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


An  act  passed  by  the  Council  and  General  Assem- 
bly of  New  Jersey,  Feb.  23,  1838,  erecting  the  town- 
ship of  Monroe  out  of  that  part  of  South  Amboy 
lying  west  of  the  Matchaponix  and  South  Rivers, 
also  provided  that  the  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the 
said  township  of  South  Amboy  that  lies  east  of  the 
Matchaponix  and  South  Rivers  •'  be  constituted  a 
body  politic  and  corporate,  by  the  name  of  the  In- 
habitants of  the  Township  of  South  Amboy,  in  the 
County  of  Middlesex,"  appointing  the  first  town- 
meeting  to  be  held  on  the  second  Monday  of  April, 
1838,  at  the  public-house  of  Clarkson  Brown.  Al- 
though there  appears  nothing  in  the  records  of  either 
township  to  warrant  the  statement  that  South  Amboy 
was  reorganized  at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  Monroe, 
such  would  seem  to  have  been  the  case,  judging  from 
the  clause  in  the  act  referred  to.  None  of  the  records 
of  South  Amboy  prior  to  1838  are  to  be  found.  April 
16th  that  year  the  township  committee  ordered  four 
dollars  to  be  expended  in  the  purchase  of  "  town 
books,"  and  the  records  now  to  be  seen  appear  to  have 
been  then  begun  in  new  books  of  entry.  The  min- 
utes of  town-meetings,  1864  to  1869,  inclusive,  appear 
to  have  been  torn  from  the  books,  and  the  present 
authorities  disclaim  any  knowledge  of  them. 

Below  is  as  complete  a  civil  list  of  South  Amboy  as 
the  records  aftbrd  data  to  present.  The  list  of  chosen 
freeholders  was  obtained  from  the  records  of  the  Mid- 
dlesex County  board  of  freeholders,  and  is  believed 
to  be  complete  to  date  : 

CHOSEN   FEEEHOLDEKS. 


Abraham  N.  Applegate,  1869-63. 
H.  C.  Periine,  1869. 
Johnson  Holcomb,  ISVO-TS. 


L.  T.  Meinzer,  1878-79, 1881. 
Leonard  Furman,  1880. 


Charles  Suydam,  1781. 

James  Egbert,  1782-85. 

Joseph  Hight,  1786. 

John  Dey,  1786. 

Jacob  Suydam,  1788, 1802. 

Nicholas  Van  Wickle,  1778-79. 

Matthias  Kue,  1788, 1790-93. 

Simon  Van  Wickle,  1789. 

James  Voorhees,  1790-96,  1803-10. 

James  Morgan,  1794,  1803-5, 1808- 

13. 
John  Airhart,  1795-97. 
John  L.Anderson,  1797-99,1800-2. 
Jacob  Van  Wickle,  1812-16,  1817, 

1819-25,  1827. 
John  L.  Johnston,  1814-16. 
David  Mercenau,  1817-22. 
John  Baird,  1824-30,  1833-34. 
Allison  Ely,  1826. 
John  H.  Disborough,  1828-32. 
Peter  Wyckoff,  1831-32. 
Joseph  Taylor,  1833-41. 


John  P.  Miller,  1835-36. 
James  Buckelew,  1837. 
Charles  Morgan,  1838-40. 
Abraham  W.  Brown,  1841-61, 1853, 

1868. 
J.  V.  L.  Gordon,  1842-61,  1857-63, 

186.5-70. 
Edward  B.  Honks,  1862-64. 
Noah  Furman,  1852, 1854-57, 1866- 

66,  1870-71. 
Ward  C.  Perrine,  1865-66,  1867-69, 

1872-77. 
Obediah  Clark,  1869-60. 
Hendrick  H.  Brown,  1861-63,1869. 
David  H.  Brown,  1864. 
Horatio  S.  Burlew,  1864. 
John  Scully,  1871. 
Benjamin  F.  Howell,  1878-79. 
H.  Eathburn,  1878. 
George  W.  Stout,  1872-75. 
Leonard  Furman,  1876-77. 
A.  H.  Furman,  1880-81. 


ASSESSOES. 

I  Hezekiah  Warne,  1859, 1863. 
j  John  Disbrow,  1860. 
Henry  French,  1861-62. 
A.  V.  Applegate,  1869-74,  1876-78, 

1880-81. 
Johnson  Holcomb,  1875. 
I.  B.  Martin,  1879. 


Clarkson  Brown,  1838-41. 
Warner  Brown,  1842. 
Daniel  Burlew,  1843-46,  1848-49, 
Samuel  Gordon,  1846-47. 
Nathaniel  Hillier,  1850. 
Obediah  Clark,  1851-53,  1866. 
William  W.  Seward,  1851-56. 
Timothy  Wood,  1867-68.    .  1 

COLLECTORS. 
Stephen  Burlew,  1838-41.  |  Robert  M.  Taylor,  1860, 

Joshua  B.  Brown,  1842-48.  John    Disbrow,    1851-58,1874-76, 

Obediah  Clark,  1849.  IS''- 


TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 


Phineas     Mundy,    Jr.,      1838-39, 

1842-44. 
J.  V.  L.  Gordon,  1838-39. 
Charles  Abraham,  1838. 
Jacob  Soby,  1838. 
James  M.  Warne,  1838-40. 
Stephen  Van  Pelt,  1839-40. 
James  Cottrell,  1840,  1856-60. 
Charles  Morgan,  1841. 
Edward  E.  Hanks,  1841. 
Abraham  W.  Brown,  1841. 
Joseph  M.  Taylor,  1841. 
Abraham  J.  Brown,  1841. 
Courtuey  Hall,  1842-43. 
Stephen  Burlew,  1842-43,  1845. 
Charles  Adams,  1842. 
John  Wood,  1842. 
John  Burlew,  1843. 
William  Applegate,  1843-44. 
Joseph  Brown,  1844. 
Timothy  Wood.  1844. 
Elias  Disbrow,  1844-46. 
James  K.  Megu,  1845. 
Ebenezer  Price,  1846-47,  1860-51. 
Thomas  Roberts,  1846. 
Elisba  Disbrow,  1846. 
Ephraim   Eose,   1846-51,    1853-64, 

1856-68, 1860-63,  1872. 
Charles  M.  Brown,  1847-48, 1856, 

1861-62. 
Joseph  Vanderbilt,  1847-49. 
R.E.  Shank,  1847-51). 
Abraham  B.  Everett,  1848-52, 1854- 

66,  1867-69. 
Joshua  B.  Brown,  1849-53. 
William  K.  Mount,  1861,  1853-65. 
Freeland  Vanderwenter,  1852-55, 

1S59. 


Nathaniel  Dayton,  1853-56. 
Cornelius  Hulshart,  1865. 
John  Wood,  Jr.,  1856-68,  1863. 
Joseph  H.  Miller,  1857-69. 
Ward  C.  Perrine,  1859-62. 
Allen  Quackenbush,  1860-61. 
John  Delow,  1860. 
John  Disbrow,  1861. 
Clarkson  Brown,  1862-63. 
William  Clark,  1862. 
Hezekiah  H.  Warne,  1862. 
SilvanuB  Cummings,  1863. 
Joseph  Morrell,  1863. 
Albert  Roll,  1869. 
Johuson  Holcomb,  1869. 
Jolin  Se.xton,  1869. 
William  Rhea,  1869,1831. 
J   E.  Everett,  1869-70. 
John  R.  Culver,  1870. 
J.  F.  Hillman,  1870. 
Henry  Arrowsmith,  1870, 
L.  F.  Meinzer,  1870. 
C.  Rouke,  1871-73. 
R.  H.  Rathburn,  1S71,  1879. 
Daniel  Fisher,  1871. 
John  Scully,  1S71. 
W.  C.  Disbrow,  1872. 
J.  M.  Capner,  1872-73. 
R.  B.  Dayton,  1872-73. 
E.  M.  Applegate,  1873. 
George  \V.  Jaques,  1879. 
Neil  McGonigle,  1879-80. 
William  H.  Brown,  1880. 
A.  C.  Parisen,  1880. 
J.  M.  Voorhees,  1881. 
C.  Straub,  1881. 


TOWNSHIP  CLERKS. 


Timothy  Wood,  1838-43. 
Courtney  Hall,  1844, 1847-62. 
Obadiah  Clark,  184&-46. 
John  H.  West,  1863-61. 
Matthew  E.  Dey,  1862-63. 
William  Ogden,  1809-71. 


F.  H.  Tobias,  1872-73,  1875. 
John  Disbrow,  1874. 
T.  S.  Fi-azer,  1876-77. 
John  Martin,  1878-79. 
John  E.  Ratliburu,  Jr.,  1880. 
William  Birmingham,  1881. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEAL. 
John  B.  Johnson,  1838-41. 
Lewis  Weston,  1838-39. 
Garret  Cothell,  1838-41. 
Jacob  W.  Fountoiu,  1840. 
Warren  Hall,  1841^2. 
Abraham  J.  Brown,  1842. 
Clarkson  Brown,  1842,  1847-64. 
Lewis  Brown,  184;i-45. 
Alpbonso  Warne,  1843. 
James  Cottrell,  1843-59. 
Peter  Vaudemeter,  1844. 
Warne  Hall,  1844. 
John  Disbrow,  1846-46. 
Xer.\es  French,  1846. 
John  Wood,  1847-50. 
Frederick  Hennell,  1851-62. 
Ephraim  E.  Eose,  1882-63, 1873-76, 
William  E.  Mount,  1862. 
William  Fuiman,  1864,1856,1859, 

1860,  1863. 
Benjamin  Dill,  1S65. 
Isaac  W'alling,  1856. 
William  Taylor,  1856. 
Obadiah  Clark,  1857-58. 
Horatio  N.  Burlew,  1857-61. 


I   Samuel  Wood,  18G0. 
David  Wood,  1861,  1862. 
Silvanus  Cummings,  1861, 1862. 
John  Disbrow,  1862,  1863,  1871-73. 
Andrew  Petty,  1863. 
John  F.  Hillman,  1869, 1870, 1875, 

1876. 
A.  Everett,  1871. 
Isaac  Walling,  1872. 
Oriando  Perriue,  1874, 1877. 
John  E,  Everett,  1874. 
H,  Timmins,  1875. 
J.  H.  Worthington,  1876. 
R,  H.  Guild,  1876. 
John  Murphy,  1877. 
John  Sexton,  1877. 
Martin  Berry,  1878. 
J.  D.  Stults,  1878. 
Matthew  Pease,  1878. 
John  Heston,  1879. 
W.  W.  Cook,  1879. 
Ueury  Miller,  1879. 
Thomas  J,  Cloke,  1880,  1881. 
John  Vandemeier,  1880,  1881. 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


831 


JUSTICES   OF  THE  PEACE. 


John  T.  Hunter,  1854. 
William  Laraberson,  1854. 
Timothy  Wood,  1854. 
Philip  J.  Paiisen,  1856. 
Abraham  Everett,  1857,  1869, 1874. 
Oliver  Cox,  1858-59. 
James  Wood,  1869, 1874-75. 
W.vnant  W.  Lamberson,  1859. 
Silvanus  Cummings,   1860,    1873, 

1S8I. 
John  Disbrow,  1869,1874,  1879. 


Bernard  Baddy,  1870. 
Henry  Worthingham,  1870. 
William  L.  Davis,  Jr. 
Charles  Fisk,  1872. 
J.  B.  Sweeney,  1875. 
Lorenzo  W.  Johnson 
J.  B.  Martin,  1877. 
John  F.  Hunter,  1878. 
K.  B.  Dayton,  1878. 
Thomas  J.  Cloke,  1879. 
William  Mills,  1881. 


,1871. 


,  1876. 


Industrial  Pursuits. — The  railroads  and  the  coal 
trade  supply  most  of  the  employment  to  laborers  in 
South  Amboy.  Something  of  the  extent  of  the  busi- 
ness of  the  former  may  be  learned  from  a  perusal  of 
other  pages.  The  coal  trade  here  is  very  large,  and 
many  men  are  employed  about  the  docks  and  yards 
where  it  is  handled.  The  following  are  the  names  of 
the  principal  coal  agents,  merchants,  and  shippers  : 
Andrew  J.  Furman,  C.  C.  Parisen,  John  Scully,  B.  F. 
Howell,  Thomas  Cahill,  F.  E.  DeGraw,  George  R. 
Dingee.  Formerly  many  carpenters  at  South  Amboy 
found  employment  in  building  or  repairing  vessels 
which  plied  between  there  and  New  York.  Elisha 
Blew  was  an  early  contractor  and  builder,  erecting 
many  houses  for  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad 
Company.  William  Dayton  was  also  a  well-known 
builder.  Messrs.  Disbrow  and  Slover  and  Ambrose 
Maxfleid  are  builders  of  a  later  date.  The  lumber 
trade  is  now  represented  by  Leonard  Furman  and 
others. 

Sand  and  Clay. — A  white  clay  crops  out  in 
South  Amboy  near  the  wharf  at  the  end  of  Borden- 
town  turnpike.  It  appears  about  five  feet  above  high- 
water  level.  A  few  rods  southwest  of  this  point,  and 
also  along  the  shore,  a  dark,  drab-colored  clay  crops 
out  in  the  upland  bluft',  rising  eight  feet  above  tide- 
level.  This  appears  to  lie  above  the  white  clay.  In 
Mrs.  Clark's  pits,  near  the  shore,  this  clay  is  seen  ten 
feet  above  the  same  level.  The  clay  dug  in  these  pits 
is  very  sandy,  as  is  seen  in  the  following  analysis  of 
a  specimen : 

Alumina  and  titanic  acid,  17.58;  silicic  acid,  19..50  ; 
water  (combined),  4.50;  sand  (quartz),  53.20;  potash, 
2.2-1 ;  magnesia,  0.42 ;  sesquioxide  of  iron,  1.42 ; 
water  (moisture),  1.20. 

Its  composition  is  much  like  that  of  the  stoneware 
clays  of  this  district.  It  is  used  in  making  yellow- 
ware.  Towards  the  bottom  it  is  not  so  sandy,  and  is 
said  to  be  too  refractory  for  ware.  In  some  of  this 
drab-colored  clay  there  is  much  lignite  and  many 
leaf  impressions.  Their  outlines  are  well  preserved 
and  clearly  marked.  There  is  a  close  correspondence 
between  this  clay  and  that  of  Disbrow's  bank  at  Old 
Bridge,  both  in  position  and  chemical  composition. 
The  place  of  these  clays  is  doubtful.  They  are  cer- 
tainly below  the  horizon  of  most  of  the  stoneware 
clays,  and  they  are  too  high  for  the  South  Amboy 
fire-clay  bed,  unless  there  is  a  change  in  the  rate  of 
dip  of  the  latter,  and  that  is  here  higher  than  it  would 


otherwise  be.  The  whiter  portions  resemble  the  fire- 
clays in  external  appearance.  The  leaf  layer  over 
this  would  also  correspond  with  that  seen  over  the 
fire-clay  in  the  bank  on  the  Brick  estate.  If  it  be  a 
part  of  that  bed,  the  drab-colored  clay  at  the  top  and 
that  dug  for  ware  are  hardly  parts  of  the  same 
stratum.  Deeper  diggings  may  discover  the  more 
refractory  clay  of  the  South  Amboy  bed. 

The  fire-sand  of  Maxfield  &  Parisen  is  dug  at 
the  side  of  the  New  York  and  Long  Branch  Railroad. 
It  is  on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  and  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  southeast  of  the  station.  There  is  at  least 
thirty  feet  thickness  of  this  bed.  At  the  top  there  is 
a  thin  layer  of  loam.  It  shows  fine  lines  of  stratifi- 
cation, which  descend  at  an  angle  of  ten  degrees  to- 
wards the  southeast.  Along  some  of  these  lines 
there  is  a  little  yellowish  earth.  These  alternate  ir- 
regularly with  the  sand.  The  sand  is  very  firm  and 
solid  in  the  bank,  requiring  the  use  of  a  pick  to  cut  it 
down,  and  the  bank  stands  up  nearly  vertical.  The 
digging  goes  down  to  tide-level,  and  the  sand  is 
loaded  on  boats  off  the  shore. 

Everett  &  Perrine's  clay  pits  are  in  South  Amboy, 
near  the  Jacksonville  road.  The  ground  is  ninety  to 
one  hundred  feet  high,  and  rises  rapidly  on  all  sides 
excepting  towards  the  east.  The  top  of  the  clay 
opened  in  the  several  pits  is  eighty-two,  eighty-four, 
eighty-five,  and  eighty-eight  feet  high.  In  some  dug 
quite  recently  there  is  one  to  six  feet  of  yellow  sand 
and  gravel  at  the  top  ;  then  one  foot  or  about  that  of 
black,  sandy  earth,  quite  full  of  wood  ;  then  four  to 
ten  feet  of  clay,  light-colored  and  rather  sandy,  be- 
coming more  sandy  and  of  a  darker  color  towards 
the  bottom.  Also  pyrite  occurs  towards  the  bottom. 
It  is  underlaid  by  sand.  This  clay  is  dug  for  the 
supply  of  the  pottery  in  South  Amboy  belonging  to 
the  Fish  estate.     It  is  used  in  making  yellow-ware. 

Southeast  of  the  above  openings  clay  was  formerly 
dug  at  several  points  by  Mr.  Parisen.  Sandy  clay  of 
a  dark  color  and  containing  lignite  and  pyrite  ap- 
pears in  the  old  bank,  but  as  no  work  has  been  done 
here  in  some  years  the  lower  strata  have  not  been 
seen. 

East  of  the  Parisen  bank  there  is  another  opening 
in  the  side-hill  worked  by  Messrs.  Everett  &  Perrine. 
The  clay  is  covered  by  five  feet  of  sand  and  gravel. 
At  the  top  it  is  slightly  stained  on  seams  by  oxide  of 
iron.  The  main  body  is  drab-colored,  drying  bluish 
white,  and  is  very  sandy.  It  is  only  a  few  feet  thick, 
and  is  underlaid  by  sand.  It  is  inferior  to  the  clay 
of  the  western  pits.  It  goes  to  the  pottery  on  the 
bay-shore  half  a  mile  east  of  this  opening. 

Samuel  Gordon,  who  began  to  dig  clay  in  small 
quantities  on  his  property  at  South  Amboy  as  early 
as  1807,  continuing  until  his  death  in  1834,  was  un- 
doubtedly the  pioneer  in  the  sand  and  clay  industry 
as  he  was  in  other  enterprises  in  the  township  and 
elsewhere. 

P0TTERIE.S. — A  pottery  which  came  to  be  known 


832 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


as  Congress  Hill  Pottery  was  early  established  at  the 
foot  of  the  Bordentown  turnpike,  on  the  beach  and 
near  the  old  dock  known  as  Gordon's  dock,  by  William 
Hancock,  an  Englishman  by  birth,  who  manufiictured 
a  superior  quality  of  chinaware.  Hancock  was  soon 
succeeded  by  George  Price  and  others,  who  carried 
on  the  manufacture  of  stoneware  for  several  years, 
when  the  pottery  was  abandoned  and  stood  idle  until 
1849,  when  it  was  purchased  by  Abraham  Cadmus, 
who  made  Rockingham  and  yellow-ware  until  his 
death,  about  1854.  The  pottery  remained  inactive 
until  1857,  when  it  was  bought  by  Joseph  Wooton, 
who  operated  it  until  1860,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  William  A.  Allen.  In  1861  the  establishment  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  This  factory  is  well  remembered 
by  the  older  residents.  It  was  a  wood  structure  rest- 
ing on  a  brick  foundation. 

The  Swan  Hill  Pottery,  on  Raritan  Bay  shore,  was 
established  in  1849  by  Sparks  &  Moore,  who  manu- 
factured Rockingham  and  yellow-ware  about  a  year, 
and  in  1850  were  succeeded  in  the  business  by  Fish 
&  Hanks,  who,  in  the  fall  of  that  year,  abandoned 
the  enterprise.  The  pottery  was  idle  until  1852.  At 
that  time  the  works  were  again  put  in  operation  by 
James  Carr,  Thomas  Locker,  Daniel  Greatbach,  and 
Enoch  Moore,  under  the  firm-name  of  James  Carr  & 
Co.  Not  long  afterwards  Messrs.  Greatbach  and 
Moore  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  were  succeeded 
by  Joseph  Wooton  and  Samuel  Riley.  In  1854  the 
pottery  was  destroyed  by  fire.  It  was  soon  rebuilt 
by  James  Fish  and  James  Carr,  who  managed  it 
during  the  ensuing  year,  then  removing  to  New  York. 
Joseph  Wooton  next  assumed  control  of  the  pottery, 
operating  it  about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Charles  Coxon,  who  managed  the  enter- 
prise during  a  period  of  about  the  same  duration, 
giving  way  to  J.  L.  Rue  &  Co.,  a  firm  in  which  James 
Fish  was  a  partner.  About  1867,  Rue  withdrew  from 
the  firm,  E.  O.  Howell  becoming  his  successor,  the 
firm  being  styled  Fish  &  Howell.  At  the  death  of 
Mr.  Fish,  several  years  later,  Mr.  Howell  became  sole 
manager.  After  conducting  it  a  year,  he  sold  the 
pottery  to  Mr.  H.  C.  Perrine,  the  present  proprietor, 
who  manufactures  Rockingham  and  yellow-ware,  em- 
ploying about  thirty  hands,  and  consuming  three 
hundred  tons  of  clay  per  annum  upon  an  average. 

The  Providence  Pottery,  near  the  Swan  Hill  Pot- 
tery, was  established  in  1876  by  Joseph  Wooton,  its 
present  proprietor,  who  manufactures  Rockingham 
and  yellow-ware,  white  majolica-ware,  white  and  col- 
ored vases  and  plaques,  employing  thirty  hands.  This 
business  occupies  several  buildings.  The  largest  of 
these  is  twenty  by  forty  feet  and  three  stories  high. 
The  ground-floor  is  used  as  a  press-room,  and  there 
the  clay  is  prepared  for  manufacturing  purposes.  In 
the  second  story  a  portion  of  the  ware  is  made.  When 
finished  and  awaiting  shipment  it  is  stored  in  the 
third  story,  which  is  occupied  as  a  wareroom.  Another 
building  is  three  stories  high,  with  a  basement.     The 


basement  is  used  as  a  store-room  for  prepared  clay. 
The  first  floor  is  a  store-room  for  ware  in  process  of 
manufacture.  The  second  and  third  floors  are  de- 
voted to  the  manufacture  of  Rockingham  and  yellow- 
ware.  A  low  building,  sixteen  by  twenty  feet,  is 
known  as  the  packing-room.  There  are  two  kilu- 
sheds.  One  of  these  is  thirty-six  by  forty  feet;  the 
other  eighteen  by  twenty  feet.  An  average  of  one 
hundred  tons  of  clay  is  used  annually. 

The  Bergen  Iron-Wobks. — The  Bergen  Iron- 
Works  were  established  in  1832  by  Joseph  W.  Brick, 
in  Ocean  (then  Monmouth)  County.  Mr.  Brick  man- 
ufactured water-  and  gas-pipe  until  his  death,  in 
1847.  The  business  was  afterwards  managed  by  the 
executors  of  his  will  until  1859,  when  his  son,  R.  A. 
Brick,  who  had  attained  to  his  majority,  assumed  the 
control  of  the  business,  which  he  removed  to  South 
Amboy  in  1880,  beginning  the  manufacture  there  of 
gas-  and  water-pipe  in  1881.  The  works  are  located 
on  the  line  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  half  a  mile 
from  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  have  a  capacity 
of  thirty-five  tons  per  day.  They  consist  of  a  foundry, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  by  two  hundred  feet, 
and  a  machine-shop  about  thirty  by  eighty  feet. 
Other  buildings  are  in  course  of  erection.  The  num- 
ber of  men  required  to  run  the  works  up  to  their  full 
capacity  is  one  hundred  and  twenty-five. 

Lesser  Enterprises. — The  township  and  vil- 
lage are  well  supplied  with  mechanics  of  various 
kinds.  Prominent  among  these,  in  different  branches 
of  mechanical  industry,  may  be  mentioned  Edwin 
Applegate,  carriage-maker;  William  Brown,  wheel- 
wright ;  D.  B.  Bunting  and  John  Thorp,  shoemakers ; 
August  Elirlich,  harness-maker;  J.  A.  Sexton,  car- 
penter; Joseph  Capner,  house-mover;  and  J.  W. 
Wallace,  painter. 

Burial-Places. — The  people  of  South  Amboy  have 
only  two  burial-places  in  their  vicinity.  These  are 
the  cemetery  of  Christ  Church  and  that  of  St.  Mary's 
Catholic  Church.  Christ  Church  Cemetery  is  located 
at  the  outskirts  of  South  Amboy  village,  and  the  first 
interment  there  was  that  of  a  German  child,  in  Au- 
gust, 1868.  The  land  embraced  in  this  cemetery, 
about  twelve  and  a  half  acres,  was  deeded  to  the 
wardens  and  vestrymen  of  Christ  Church  in  1868  by 
R.  S.  Conover  and  wife  in  consideration  of  one  dollar. 
The  cemetery  is  situated  on  an  elevation  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  high-water  mark,  on  the  road  to 
Matawan,  and  is  laid  out  in  lots  fifteen  by  fifteen  feet, 
which  range  in  price  from  twenty  dollars  to  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  according  to  location.  Up  to  January, 
1882,  the  total  number  of  interments  was  one  thousand 
and  forty-three.  A  portion  of  the  area  is  reserved  for 
a  chapel,  school,  and  parsonage,  it  being  intended  to 
remove  the  Doane  Memorial  Chapel  within  this  in- 
closure.  The  cemetery  is  under  the  management  of 
a  committee  of  three,  appointed  by  the  vestrymen  of 
Christ  Church.  In  1868  this  committee  was  consti- 
tuted as   follows :   R.  8.  Conover,   chairman ;   John 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


833 


Sexton,  treasurer,  and  Richard  McGuire.  The  pres- 
ent committee  is  composed  of  R.  S.  Conover,  chair- 
man; John  Sexton,  treasurer,  and  R.  H.  Rathhurn. 
The  fund  received  from  the  sale  of  the  lots  is  de- 
voted to  the  improvement  of  the  cemetery.  St.  Mary's 
Catholic  Cemetery  is  located  on  the  road  to  Wash- 
ington, about  half  a  mile  from  the  village  of  South 
Amboy,  and  has  an  area  of  five  acres.  It  is  laid  out 
in  lots  twelve  by  eighteen  feet,  selling  at  forty  dollars 
each,  and  is  under  the  control  of  Rev.  John  Kelly, 
pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church.  The  first  burial  therein 
was  that  of  a  Mrs.  Byrnes  in  1849.  Her  grave  is 
unmarked,  and  her  Christian  name  is  not  known  to 
the  writer. 

Both  of  these  cemeteries  contain  fine  monuments, 
which  were  erected  at  considerable  expense ;  both 
are  well  cared  for  and  are  being  constantly  improved, 
and  bid  fair  to  rank  with  some  of  the  finest  in  the 
county  at  no  distant  day. 

Educational. — Public  Schools. — The  public 
schools  of  South  Amboy  compare  favorably  with 
those  of  any  other  similar  township  in  the  State. 
The  first  school  within  its  present  limits  was  a  select 
school  which  was  opened  about  1841  in  the  old  Union 
Chapel.  The  name  of  the  teacher  cannot  be  recalled. 
Sept.  11,  1843,  John  F.  Hunter,  now  living  in  the 
village  of  South  Amboy,  began  teaching  in  that 
building,  and  continued  until  May  27,  1848.  Later 
a  man  nanied  Jackson  taught  a  few  months.  C.  H. 
Knickerbocker  taught  between  two  and  tbree  years, 
and  Oliver  Cox  for  about  the  same  length  of  time. 

About  1850  a  school-house  was  built  and  presented 
to  the  district  by  Mrs.  John  C.  Stevens.  It  was  en- 
larged about  two  years  later  at  the  expense  of  the 
Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company.  It  stood  at 
the  intersection  of  Broadway  and  Main  Street,  and 
did  service  until  two  districts  were  established  within 
the  present  township  limits  and  new  buildings  were 
erected.  These  two  districts  are  known  as  "  Pack" 
District,  No.  38,  and  "  Raritan"  District,  No.  39.  The 
school-houses  in  both  are  of  recent  erection,  and  are 
well  ventilated  and  supplied  with  necessary  school 
apparatus.  The  existence  in  South  Amboy  of  two 
independent  and  leading  public  schools  is  a  phenom- 
enon of  rare  occurrence  in  any  of  the  other  towns  or 
villages  of  the  State.  A  single  educational  edifice  of 
sufficient  size  to  accommodate  all  the  children  erected 
in  some  central  locality  would  in  the  first  place  have 
been  more  economical  and  eftective,  but  as  the  schools 
are  at  the  present  constituted  consolidation  could  not 
easily  be  efi'ected. 

In  1880  the  amount  of  apportionment  from  the 
State  appropriation  to  the  school  districts  of  South 
Amboy  was  as  follows :  No.  38,  $1988.71 ;  No.  39, 
$1442.35.  In  District  No.  38,  $530  was  voted  for 
building,  purchasing,  hiring,  repairing,  or  furnishing 
public  school  houses ;  in  District  No.  39,  $125.  In 
District  No.  39,  $600  was  voted  to  pay  salaries  of 
teachers.     The  amount  of  district  tax  ordered  to  be 


raised  in  District  No.  38  was  $530 ;  in  District  No.  39, 
$725.  The  total  amount  received  from  all  sources  in 
District  No.  38  was  $2518.71,  and  in  District  No.  39 
$2167.35. 

The  present  value  of  school  property  is  $13,000  in 
District  No.  38,  and  $12,000  in  District  No.  39.  The 
number  of  children  of  the  school  age  in  District  No. 
38  was  695  in  1880,  and  480  in  District  No.  39.  Schools 
were  kept  open  ten  months  during  the  year.  The 
average  attendance  in  District  No.  38  was  245,  and  in 
District  No.  39,  172.  It  is  estimated  that  70  children 
in  District  No.  38,  and  75  in  District  No.  39  attended 
private  schools,  and  that  150  in  the  former  and  90  in 
the  latter  did  not  attend  schools  of  any  kind. 

Both  school-houses  are  in  very  good  condition. 
That  in  District  No.  38  has  a  seating  capacity  of  400 ; 
that  in  District  No.  39,  250.  In  District  No.  38  one 
male  and  four  female  teachers  were  employed;  four  fe- 
male teachers  in  District  No.  39.  The  male  teacher  re- 
ceived a  salary  of  $90  per  month.  The  average  salary 
of  the  female  teachers  in  District  No.  38  was  $40,  and 
in  District  No.  39,  $55.  District  No.  38  has  a  school 
library  of  176  volumes ;  District  No.  39  has  $20  toward 
a  library  fund. 

Of  Pack  public  school  the  educational  staff  is  as 
follows :  Prof.  James  Corkery,  principal ;  Miss  Kate 
L.  McCoy,  vice-principal ;  Miss  Agnes  H.  Scudder, 
first  assistant ;  Miss  Sarah  McAdams,  second  assistant. 
The  instructors  in  Raritan  public  school  are  Miss 
Mary  L.  Thomas,  principal ;  Miss  M.  E.  Gunning, 
vice-principal;  Miss  M.  B.  Dayton,  first  assistant; 
Miss  E.  Albertson,  second  assistant;  Miss  Kate 
Bogert,  third  assistant. 

The  trustees  in  District  No.  38  were  R.  H.  Rath- 
burn  and  William  Birmingham  in  1881,  and  in  Dis- 
trict No.  39,  Thomas  Keer  and  F.  E.  De  Graw.  The 
clerks  of  the  two  districts  were  C.  H.  Thompson  and 
Josiah  D.  Stults  respectively. 

A  comparison  of  the  statistics  above  given  with 
those  of  the  schools  of  the  township  as  it  was  bounded 
thirty  years  ago  may  not  be  uninteresting.  In  1852 
there  were  twelve  school  districts  in  the  township ; 
the  number  of  children  of  the  school  age  within  its 
borders  was  835  ;  the  whole  number  taught  was  467 ; 
the  amount  of  money  raised  for  the  support  of  schools 
by  tax  was  $500  ;  $442.18  was  received  from  the  State, 
and  the  total  amount  appropriated  for  educational 
purposes  was  $942.18. 

Peivate  Schools. — In  the  township  there  are 
four  private  schools,  all  more  or  less  rudimentary  in 
character.  Of  these,  one  is  a  parochial  school  and 
three  are  "  pay"  schools. 

The  parochial  school  is  under  the  patronage  of  Rev. 
R.  B.  Post,  rector  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  is 
taught  by  Mrs.  D.  Colver.  The  "pay"  schools  are 
respectively  conducted  by  Miss  Elizabeth  A.  Sexton, 
Miss  Mary  Sullivan,  and  Mr.  Thomas  Kirby. 

There  is  no  provision  in  the  township  for  classical 
or  collegiate  education.     It  is  the  belief  of  many  that 


834 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


there  are  materials  in  South  Amboy  for  the  organiza- 
tion and  maintenance  of  a  good  boarding-school. 

The  Orphan  School. — There  is  an  orphan  school 
in  South  Amboy  which  is  known  as  the  Episcopal 
Infant  School.  It  is  located  ou  Main  Street,  adjacent 
to  the  property  of  Christ  Church.  It  was  organized 
at  the  desire  of  Mrs.  T.  A.  Conover  and  a  few  other 
person.s  of  South  Amboy,  with  a  view  to  caring  for 
and  teaching  the  young  children  of  women  who  went 
out  to  work  by  the  day  and  who  had  no  means  of 
providing  for  their  care  while  absent  from  home.  In 
the  spring  of  1857  a  lot  was  given  by  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  Company  to  Miss  Sophia  C.  Stevens, 
with  the  understanding  that  a  building  for  the  above- 
mentioned  purpose  should  be  erected  upon  it.  The 
deed  for  this  property  was  issued  Jan.  15,  1858,  and 
recorded  in  the  office  of  the  county  clerk  of  Middle- 
sex County,  Feb.  12,  1859.  In  the  mean  time  a  sub- 
stantial brick  building  was  erected  upon  the  lot  by 
Miss  Sophia  C.  Stevens,  and  completed  in  September, 
1857.  Mr.  John  C.  Stevens,  of  South  Amboy,  died 
June  8,  1867,  leaving  a  bequest  in  the  hands  of  his 
sisters,  Mrs.  T.  A.  Conover,  wife  of  Commodore  T.  A. 
Conover,  of  the  United  States  navy,  Miss  Esther  B. 
Stevens,  and  Miss  Sophia  C.  Stevens,  as  trustees  for 
the  purpose  of  building,  if  necessary,  an  Episcopal 
Church  and  parsonage,  or  either,  and  establishing, 
endowing,  and  maintaining  a  school  for  children  at 
South  Amboy.  The  building  for  the  school  having 
been  erected  as  stated,  it  was  unnecessary  to  use  any 
of  the  fund  left  by  Mr.  Stevens  for  that  purpose. 
Neither  was  it  used  to  erect  a  church  or  parsonage. 
The  school  was  opened  Oct.  1, 1857,  with  eleven  chil- 
dren, ten  of  whom  were  named  as  follows :  Susie 
Thomas,  Lucy  Letts,  Phebe  Letts,  Mary  Goble,  Lu- 
cinda  Buckelew,  Edward  Letts,  James  Goble,  Chaun- 
cey  Buckelew,  John  Roberts,  and  Manuel  Roberts. 
The  superintendent  and  instructor  was  Miss  Caroline 
Craig,  a  lady  of  much  ability,  especially  fitted  to  take 
charge  of  such  an  institution. 

Experience  soon  proved  that  in  a  small  village  like 
the  South  Amboy  of  that  time  there  were  too  few 
women  going  out  to  work  by  the  day  who  had  chil- 
dren to  be  taken  care  of  to  make  it  worth  while  to 
maintain  a  house  exclusively  for  that  purpose,  and 
also  that  the  plan  of  receiving  both  boys  and  girls 
would  not  be  satisfactory.  The  charter  of  the  school 
was  consequently  amended,  and  the  trustees  decided 
to  receive  only  small  girls,  either  orphans  or  half- 
orphaus,  and  to  so  rear  and  instruct  them  as  to  render 
them  eligible  for  situations  as  servants  in  first-class 
families.  Dec.  27,  1858,  the  school  building,  with  the 
lot  on  which  it  stands,  was  made  over  to  the  trustees 
by  Miss  Sophia  C.  Stevens,  and  Jan.  25,  1864,  an  ad- 
ditional lot  was  deeded  to  the  trustees  by  the  Camden 
and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  that  the  children 
might  have  a  larger  play-ground.  In  1864,  Miss 
Grace  Harkness  succeeded  Miss  Craig  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  school,  and  was  in  time  succeeded 


by  Miss  Ellen  Packard,  of  Princeton,  N.  J.  Miss 
Train  was  appointed  matron  in  1859,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded Oct.  1, 1867,  by  Miss  E.  C.  Mish,  who  has  been 
in  charge  continuously  since  that  date,  and  is  assisted 
by  Miss  Mary  E.  Tice.  In  1870  the  school  building 
was  much  enlarged  and  improved  by  a  gift  from  Miss 
Caroline  Conover. 

Children  ranging  from  three  to  seventeen  years  of 
age  are  received,  and  control  of  them  is  retained  un- 
til they  attain  to  the  age  of  eighteen ;  and  at  the  age 
of  seventeen  good  homes  are  provided  for  them,  the 
number  of  scholars  being  limited  to  twenty,  who 
must  be  at  the  time  of  admission  residents  either  of 
New  Jersey  or  Pennsylvania. 

Christ  Church  (Episcopal), — Episcopal  services 
were  first  held  in  South  Amboy  in  1850,  in  a  small 
building  erected  by  persons  connected  with  the  Cam- 
den and  Amboy  Railroad  Company,  on  Main  Street, 
near  the  present  house  of  worship  of  this  parish,  and 

which  did  service  for  a  time  as  a  meeting-house  for 
the  various  Protestant  denominations  represented  in 
the  vicinity,  and  until  the  erection  of  the  first  public 
school-house  also  for  the  accommodation  of  the  dis- 
trict school. 

Services  were  held  monthly  by  Rev.  Joseph  F. 
Phillips,  rector  at  that  time  of  St.  Peter's  Church  at 
Spottswood,  there  being  no  parochial  organization. 
Nov.  17,  1852,  a  meeting  was  called  by  notice  given 
to  the  inhabitants  of  South  Amboy  to  take  into  con- 
sideration the  propriety  of  establishing  Episcopal 
services  in  their  midst,  at  which  a  parish  was  organ- 
ized, the  following-named  persons  and  perhaps  others 
becoming  the  constituent  members  of  St.  Stephen's 
Church  of  South  Amboy  : 

Edwrad  R.  Hanks,  Mrs.  Edwin  R.  Hanks,  John  C. 
Stevens,  Mrs.  John  C.  Stevens,  John  Sexton,  Dr.  L. 
D.  Morse,  Oliver  Cox,  Mrs.  E.  J.  Conover,  Mrs.  Cad- 
mus, Charles  Fish,  Peter  P.  Voorhees,  Mrs.  Charles 
Fish,  and  Mrs.  Charles  Morgan. 

Charles  Fish  and  Dr.  L.  D.  Morse  were  elected 
wardens ;  Edward  R.  Hanks,  John  C.  Stephens,  Abra- 
ham Everett,  John  Sexton,  and  Peter  P.  Voorhees 
were  chosen  vestrymen  ;  Dr.  L.  D.  Moore  was  elected 
parish  clerk,  and  Peter  P.  Voorhees  clerk  of  the 
vestry. 

The  membership  of  the  church  increased  until  in 
1858  the  little  chapel  was  inadequate  to  the  needs  of 
the  congregation.  During  that  year  Mrs.  Esther  B. 
Stevens  erected  the  present  large  stone  church  and 
oftered  it  to  the  wardens  and  vestrymen  of  St.  Ste- 
phen's parish  for  use  as  a  house  of  worship.  It  was 
consecrated  in  1860  by  Bishop  William  H.  Oden- 
heimer,  D.D. 

In  1862  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  of  New  Jersey  changing  the  name  of  the  parish 
from  St.  Stephens's  parish  to  Christ  Church  parish, 
as  it  has  since  been  known. 

In  1857  Rev.  Charles  L.  Little  became  rector,  and 
was  succeeded  Nov.  4, 1858,  by  Rev.  Gideon  J.  Burton. 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


835 


The  present  rector,  Rev.  R.  B.  Post,  succeeded  Mr. 
Burton  Feb.  16,  1869. 

It  has  been  seen  tliat  this  parish  owes  its  existence 
to  the  benefactions  of  wealthy  and  zealous  adherents 
of  the  church.  These  benefactions  were  such  as  to 
permanently  establish  it,  and  its  perpetuity  is  in  a 
measure  assured  by  a  continuance  of  the  same.  At 
his  death  Mr.  John  C.  Stevens  endowed  this  parish 
with  six  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  to  be  devoted  to 
the  payment  of  the  salary  of  the  rector.  The  large 
organ,  so  familiar  to  attendants  at  the  church,  was 
presented  to  the  parish  by  Mrs.  R.  S.  Conover.  Mrs. 
E.  J.  Conover,  Frank  S.  and  R.  S.  Conover  donated 
to  the  church  the  parsonage  property,  and  offered  to 
contribute  one  hundred  dollars  yearly  for  its  main- 
tenance. The  old  union  church  building  was  replaced 
in  1862  by  a  chapel  erected  by  Miss  C.  Conover,  and 
donated  to  the  vestrymen  for  use  as  a  chapel  and 
parish  school.  A  school  is  kept  in  it  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  children  of  members  of  the  congre- 
gation, and  is  in  charge  of  Mrs.  D.  Culver.  Mrs.  J. 
C.  Conover  endowed  this  school  with  five  thousand 
dollars,  which  was  by  her  directed  to  be  placed  at 
interest  for  its  benefit.  There  are  twenty-five  scholars, 
ranging  from  five  to  twelve  years  of  age. 

The  Episcopal  Sunday-school  was  organized  with 
twenty-five  scholars,  Mrs.  T.  A.  Conover  being  the 
first  superintendent.  The  present  wardens  of  Christ 
Church  are  R.  S.  Conover  and  John  Sexton.  The 
vestrymen  are  H.  C.  Perrine,  P.  S.  Bogart,  Frank  E. 
De  Graw,  Richard  McGuire,  R.  H.  Rathburn,  L.  F. 
Meinzer,  John  L.  Parker,  William  P.  Rathburn,  and 
Hugh  Hutchinson.  William  P.  Rathburn  is  treasurer, 
and  Richard  McGuire  secretary. 

Doane  Memorial  Chapel. — The  Doane  Memorial 
Chapel  was  erected  in  18(36  by  Mrs.  R.  S.  Conover,  in 
memory  of  Rev.  George  Washington  Doane,  late 
bishop  of  the  diocese  of  New  Jersey.  It  stands  on 
the  road  leading  from  South  Amboy  to  Matawan, 
about  a  mile  from  South  Amboy  village,  and  was 
designed  for  use  as  a  chapel  and  day-school  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  poor  in  its  neighborhood.  Pre- 
vious to  1877  no  regular  services  were  held  there,  but 
occasional  services  were  held  by  the  rectors  of  Christ 
Church,  South  Amboy,  of  which  Doane  Chapel  is  a 
station.  During  that  year  Rev.  Frederick  W.  Wey 
began  to  officiate  there,  holding  services  twice  each 
Sunday,  preaching  once  in  German  and  once  in  Eng- 
lish. The  first  communicants  there  were  Nelson 
Barkelew,  Richard  B.  Hillman,  Ambrose  Gordon, 
John  AVeismann,  Emma  Barkelew,  Mary  Covert,  Mary 
Weisraann,  SophiaScheinbein,  Louisa  Click,  and  Rose 
Rodell.  The  communicants  numbered  forty-one  in 
January,  1882. 

This  chapel  is  a  wooden  building,  about  seventy 
by  twenty-five  feet  in  size.  It  is  the  intention  of 
Mr.  R.  S.  Conover  to  remove  it  to  a  new  location  in 
Christ  Church  Cemetery,  and  to  enlarge  it  and  add 
greatly  to  its  convenience  by  judicious  alterations. 


St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church  is  the  oldest 
in  South  Amboy.  Previous  to  18-1:9  its  members  were 
attended  by  the  Rev.  Father  Rogers,  the  present  ven- 
erable pastor  of  the  Catholic  Church  of  New  Bruns- 
wick. After  him  came  Fathers  Sheridan  and  McCar- 
thy. 

In  1849,  Rev.  Michael  A.  Madden  was  appointed 
the  first  resident  Catholic  pastor  of  South  Amboy. 
At  that  time  the  Catholics  were  few  in  number, — some 
twenty-five  families  only, — and  in  very  moderate  cir- 
cumstances, nearly  all  being  laborers  in  the  employ 
of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  Company.  They 
had  a  small  building  which  answered  the  purpose  of 
a  church.  It  was  only  eighteen  by  thirty-six  feet  in 
size,  and  had  been  built  in  1846  on  a  portion  of  the 
Catholic  cemetery  lot.  When  Father  Madden  came 
the  congregation  was  so  large  as  to  crowd  this  little 
meeting-place  to  overflowing,  and  in  a  short  time  he 
set  to  work  to  build  a  church.  This  the  generosity  of 
his  people,  though  poor,  enabled  him  to  accomplish 
in  a  short  time. 

Rev.  Father  James  Callen  succeeded  Father  Mad- 
den, and  remained  pastor  for  nearly  two  years.  The 
Rev.  John  A.  Kelley,  the  present  Catholic  pastor, 
came  to  preside  over  the  congregation  October,  1854. 
After  a  few  years  he  remodeled  and  considerably 
enlarged  the  church,  and  in  1864  built  the  rectory, 
and  the  church,  a  frame  building  thirty  by  ninety 
feet,  was  removed  to  an  adjacent  lot,  where  it  is  now 
used  as  a  school-house  and  lecture-hall. 

In  1873  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  new  and  more 
substantial  building,  fifty-nine  by  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  feet,  grander  and  more  costly  than  any  in  the 
village.  The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid 
Oct.  25,  1873,  by  Bishop  (now  Archbishop)  Corrigan, 
a  large  number  of  people  attending  the  ceremonies. 
The  new  church  excited  the  wonder  and  admiration 
of  all  that  so  magnificent  an  edifice  could  be  erected 
by  a  congregation  the  adult  male  members  of  which, 
with  but  few  individual  exceptions,  depended  on  the 
shovel  and  the  car-truck  for  the  means  of  supporting 
their  families.  It  must  be  mentioned  that  generous 
donations  were  received  from  many  persons  from  all 
denominations.  The  church  was  dedicated  and 
opened  for  divine  service  Sept.  17,  1876. 

Father  Kelley  has  had  a  wide  field  of  labor  in  his 
parish,  and  in  the  earlier  days  of  his  pastorate  it  was 
almost  wholly  of  a  missionary  character.  As  an  evi- 
dence of  appreciation  of  his  long  years  of  useful 
work  in  South  Amboy,  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary 
of  his  pastorate  was  made  the  occasion  of  presenting 
him  with  a  magnificent  service  of  silver,  for  which 
people  of  all  denominations  contributed. 

The  present  membership  of  St.  Mary's  Church  is 
about  eleven  hundred. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— Rev.  L.  W. 
Johnson  was  the  first  Methodist  preacher  who  held 
meetings  at  South  Amboy,  conducting  services  in 
private  houses  as  early  as  1830.     In  1832  he  organ- 


836 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ized  a  class  of  eleven  members,  and  services  were 
held  in  the  old  Union  Chapel,  sometimes  referred  to  as 
the  "  Railroad  Chapel"  from  the  fact  that  the  ground 
on  which  it  stood  was  donated  by  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad  Company. 

Rev.  Mr.  Johnson  was  located  at  South  Amboy 
and  remained  there  five  years,  assisted  a  portion  of 
the  time  by  Rev.  Mr.  Cross,  of  Staten  Island,  and 
Rev.  John  Littleton,  of  Perth  Amboy.  The  Confer- 
ence sent  Rev.  John  Stockton  to  Mr.  Johnson's  assist- 
ance during  the  latter  part  of  this  period,  and 
divided  his  labors  between  South  Amboy  and  Wash- 
ington, remaining  after  the  close  of  Mr.  Johnson's 
connection  with  the  South  Amboy  class,  and  effecting, 
as  is  thought,  the  organization  of  the  present  church. 

The  church  edifice  which  stands  on  Broadway  near 
the  centre  of  the  village  was  built  in  1853,  and  dedi- 
cated in  March,  1854,  by  Bishop  James,  of  New  York. 
It  was  remodeled,  enlarged,  and  painted  in  1880.  The 
original  building  committee  consisted  of  the  follow- 
ing-named persons :  John  Seward,  Dana  Nichols, 
■ Hudnut,  John  Sexton,  and  John  F.  Hunter. 

Rev.  William  Franklin  succeeded  Rev.  John  Stock- 
ton in  1855,  and  was  the  first  pastor  stationed  in  South 
Amboy  and  devoting  himself  exclusively  to  that 
church.      His  successors   have  been  Revs.   William 

Brook,   1857-58 ;    William    Osborn,    1858-61  ;    

Sardia,  1861-63  ;  William  Chatten,  1863-65  ;  William 

Racley,  1865-67  ;  Shock,  1867-69 ;  Owens, 

1869-70 ;    William    Mickle,    1870-71 ;    Norris, 

1871-73 ;  Joseph  Ashbrook,  1873-75  ;  Samuel  Chat- 
ten,  1875-77;  Thomas  Carman,  1877-79;  J.  J.  Graw, 
1879-80 ;  and  John  Wilson,  1880.  The  church  is  at 
present  without  a  pastor. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church. — Previous  to 
the  year  1864  unsuccessful  efforts  were  made  from  time 
to  time  by  the  Rev.  G.  C.  Bush  and  others  to  form  a 
Presbyterian  Church  at  South  Amboy.  In  1864  a 
church  was  organized  by  the  New  Brunswick  Pres- 
bytery with  ten  members  and  the  following  oflicers : 
Elders,  A.  H.  Van  Cleve  and  R.  M.  Dey ;  Trustees, 
A.  H.  Van  Cleve  ;  President,  E.  0.  Howell ;  Treas- 
urer, John  Muirhead,  Albert  J.  Rue,  John  Applegate, 
Alexander  Southerland,  and  Matthew  R.  Dey. 

In  October,  1865,  the  Rev.  W.  C.  Westervelt  was 
installed  as  the  first  pastor.  Meetings  were  held  in 
the  school-house.  The  present  house  of  worship  was 
completed  in  1868,  at  a  cost  of  nearly  eleven  thousand 
dollars,  including  the  cost  of  the  furniture. 

The  successive  pastors  have  been  as  follows  :  Revs. 
William  E.  Westervelt,  1867-70;  John  Brash,  1871; 
Robert  J.  Burtt,  1872-79.  The  present  pastor.  Rev. 
Rufus  Taylor,  D.D.,  was  installed  Aug.  21,  1879. 
The  present  number  of  members  is  sixty,  with  the 
following  ofiicers  :  Elders,  Moses  Laird  and  A.  V.  P. 
Jones ;  Deacons,  A.  Blodget  and  A.  V.  P.  Jones ; 
Trustees :  President  and  Treasurer,  A.  V.  P.  Jones ; 
Enoch  Bergen,  John  Watson,  G.  W.  Russell,  Addison 
Bergen,   Morris   Voorhis,   and    James   Griffith ;    R. 


Taylor,  D.D.,  clerk  of  sessions.  Organist,  Miss 
Emma  Laird. 

The  Sabbath-school  has  been  maintained  from  the 
organization  of  the  church.  The  present  number  of 
scholars  on  the  roll  is  ninety,  with  the  following 
officers  :  A.  V.  P.  Jones,  superintendent ;  Addison 
Bergen,  librarian;  Charles  Bergen,  secretary;  Wil- 
liam Ingraham,  treasurer;  Miss  Edith  Roll,  organist. 
The  number  of  classes  and  teachers,  nine. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  of  South 
Amboy  was  organized  Jan.  17,  1866,  with  sixteen 
members  and  Josiah  D.  Stults  as  class-leader.  It  was 
then  under  the  pastoral  care  of  Rev.  O.  Ellerson,  of 
the  Union  Valley  (Monroe)  Methodist  Protestant 
Church. 

About  two  years  later  a  house  of  worship  was  built. 
During  the  summer  of  1880  it  was  repainted  inside 
and  out,  and  new  carpets  and  other  comforts  were 
added. 

The  first  trustees  of  this  church  were  Josiah  D. 
Stults,  Peter  L.  Dey,  and  W.  Woodhull  Dey.  The 
successive  pastors  have  been  Revs.  O.  Ellerson,  L.  D. 
Stults,  E.  D.  Stults,  J.  W.  Laughlin,  P.  S.  Vreeland, 
J.  Shepherd,  F.  Stringer,  J.  H.  Algoe,  and  the  present 
incumbent,  G.  S.  Robinson. 

The  present  membership  is  seventy.  There  is  a 
flourishing  Sunday-school  in  connection  with  this 
church,  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifteen  scholars. 

The  First  Baptist  Church.— Previous  to  the  year 
1871  no  Baptist  meetings  were  held  in  South  Amboy. 
In  the  early  days  of  the  Camden  and  Amboy  Rail- 
road the  Rev.  Mr.  Honsell,  a  Baptist,  and  ministers  of 
other  denominations  visited  the  place  occasionally, 
and  held  services  in  the  old  Union  chapel  and  school- 
house  that  stood  at  what  now  is  the  junction  of  Broad- 
way and  Main  Street. 

On  the  12th  day  of  December,  1871,  the  missionary 
committee  appointed  by  the  Trenton  Baptist  Associa- 
tion convened  in  South  Amboy  for  the  purpose  of 
advancing  the  interests  of  their  denomination.  The 
committee  consisted  of  Rev.  D.  B.  Stout,  of  Middle- 
town  ;  Rev.  F.  S.  Griflith,  of  Holmdel ;  and  Rev.  D. 
S.  Parmlee,  of  Freehold,  who  met  at  the  house  of  Mr. 
W.  W.  Cook.  At  this  meeting  nine  residents,  mem- 
bers of  the  Baptist  denomination,  associated  themselves 
together  to  form  a  church,  and  in  the  evening  service 
was  held  in  the  basement  of  Concert  Hall  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Stout.  This  little  band  met  often  for  prayer  at 
the  residences  of  the  different  members,  and  on  Jan. 
14,  1872,  the  meetings  were  transferred  to  the  base- 
ment of  Concert  Hall,  where  services  were  held  morn- 
ing and  evening  by  Brother  Horace  Waters,  of  New 
York  City.  On  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  after  a 
sermon  by  the  Rev.  James  Huggins,  a  meeting  was 
held,  with  Thomas  Baker,  moderator,  and  R.  Beman, 
clerk,  when  the  articles  of  faith  and  covenant  were 
read  and  adopted,  and  signed  by  twenty  members. 

On  Feb.  11,  1873,  a  council  was  held,  composed  of 
representatives  of  the  Middletown,  Bordentown,  Tren- 


SOUTH   AMBOY. 


837 


ton  (First),  Freehold,  and  Hightstown  Churches, 
which  organized  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  South 
Amboy.  Thomas  Baker  and  W.  W.  Cook  were  elected 
deacons;  Isaac  Van  Duzen,  Josepli  Carman,  Joseph 
Jackson,  Thomas  Lingle,  and  Timothy  Woodruff  a 
Ijoard  of  trustees ;  Robert  Ayres,  clerk ;  and  W.  W. 
Cook,  treasurer. 

The  church  was  supplied  from  week  to  week  until 
Oct.  2,  1873,  when  a  call  was  extended  to  the  Rev. 
Thomas  S.  Snow,  which  was  accepted,  and  Mr.  Snow 
entered  upon  his  duties  November  1st  following. 

A  brick  church  edifice  was  commenced  in  August, 
1875,  but  was  not  completed  until  1878.  The  build- 
ing, which  has  a  seating  capacity  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  was  dedicated  and  opened  for  service  March  27th 
of  that  year. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Snow  resigned  Aug.  1,  1877,  and  on 
September  11th  following  the  Rev.  D.  D.  Read  was 
called  to  the  pastorate.  He  resigned  April  24,  1879, 
and  on  July  lOtli  following  a  call  was  extended  to 
the  Rev.  L.  H.  Copeland,  who  entered  upon  his  pas- 
toral labors  August  22d.  He  served  the  church  until 
Feb.  1,  1881. 

The  present  pastor,  Rev.  D.  S.  Mulhern,  was  called 
Feb.  10,  1881. 

Tlie  present  membership  numbers  sixty-one.  The 
officers  are :  Deacons,  Thomas  Baker  and  Joseph 
Jackson ;  Treasurer,  Joseph  Jackson ;  Clerk,  James 
Dykes ;  Trustees,  Phineas  Mundy,  Thomas  Blakesley, 
Bernard  Roddy,  Benjamin  Green,  and  Samuel  L. 
Durand. 

The  Sunday-school  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  was 
organized  in  January,  1872,  with  less  than  ten  schol- 
ars. W.  W.  Cook  was  elected  superintendent,  and 
Miss  Carrie  Cook,  treasurer.  The  library  and  other 
property  of  the  school  was  carried  in  a  wicker  basket 
to  Concert  Hall,  where  the  earlier  sessions  were  held. 
At  the  present  time  there  are  seventy-five  scholars 
enrolled,  and  the  officers  are  as  follows :  Bernard 
Roddy,  superintendent ;  Harry  Ayres,  assistant  su- 
perintendent;  Miss  M.  E.  Gunning,  treasurer;  Henry 
A.  Snow,  secretary;  and  Charles  H.  Roddy,  libra- 
rian.    The  library  contains  three  hundred  volumes. 

Lodges,  Societies,  and  Bands.— Gen.  Morgan 
Lodge,  No.  96,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  of  South  Amboy,  was  in- 
stituted Aug.  2,  1849,  with  the  following  officers : 
Peter  P.  Voorhees,  N.  G. ;  Letchworth  Cox,  V.  G. ; 
Alfred  A.  Miller,  Sec.  ;  Charles  A.  Clark,  Asst.  Sec. ; 
Charles  Fish,  Treas. 

The  lodge  now  numbers  sixty-six  members,  and 
meets  every  Tuesday  evening  in  Howell's  Hall.  The 
officers  in  1881  were  Robert  Shepherd,  N.  G. ;  George 
Bond,  V.  G. ;  C.  P.  Thomas,  Sec;  James  Betchel, 
P.  S. ;  David  Watson,  Treas. 

St.  Stephen's  Lodge,  No.  63,  F.  and  A.  M.,  was 
chartered  Jan.  22,  1863,  with  the  following  charter 
officers,  they  comprising  the  membership :  Robert 
Walker,  W.  M. ;  John  Sexton,  S.  W. ;  J.  Watson, 
J.  W. ;  M.  E.  Day,  R.  Stewart,  J.  Capner,  J.  Stewart, 


J.  Sharp.  The  first  lodge-room  was  over  the  store  of 
W.  C.  Perrine.  After  the  erection  of  Concert  Hall 
they  occupied  the  upper  rooms  of  that  building  for 
several  years.  In  1871  the  lodge  returned  to  the  hall 
over  W.  C.  Perrine's  store.  In  1873,  on  the  comple- 
tion of  B.  F.  Howell's  building,  the  upper  floor  was 
fitted  up  by  St.  Stephen's  Lodge  and  Gen.  Morgan 
Lodge,  I.  O.  O.  F.,  and  both  occupy  it  at  the  present 
time. 

The  following  are  the  Past  Masters  and  the  year  of 
service:  Robert  Walker,  1863;  John  Sexton,  1864 
and  1865;  M.  R.  Dey,  1866-67  and  1869;  Hiram 
McConnell,  1868  ;  John  B.  Vancleve,  1871-72 ;  Am- 
brose Treganowan,  1873  and  1875  ;  William  S.  Young, 
1874;  Rollin  H.  Guild,  1876-77;  Bernard  Roddy, 
1878-79  ;  Samuel  L.  Durand,  1880-81. 

The  following  are  the  newly-elected  and  appointed 
officers  for  1882 :  George  R.  Dingee,  W.  M. ;  Charles 
C.  Pearce,  S.  W. ;  John  V.  P.  Bissett,  J.  W. ;  George 
W.  Jaques,  Treas. ;  Richard  Maguire,  Sec. ;  Samuel 
L.  Durand,  W.  M.  S.  D. ;  Charles  H.  Southwick,  J. 
D. ;  Rev.  G.  S.  Robinson,  Chaplain  ;  Bernard  Roddy, 
P.  M.  M.  of  C. ;  John  H.  Green,  M.  of  C.  ;  George 
L.  Everett,  Steward  ;  William  Mathis,  Steward  ;  Sam- 
uel C.  James,  Tyler. 

The  lodge  numbers  about  seventy-five  members, 
and  meets  the  first  and  third  Monday  evenings  of 
each  month  in  Howell's  Hall. 

St.  Patrick's  Benevolent  Society,  No.  2,  was 
organized  Oct.  10,  1869,  with  Rev.  John  A.  Kelly, 
president;  John  Rea,  Sr.,  vice-president;  William 
Sullivan,  secretary;  John  F.  Rea,  corresponding  sec- 
retary ;  Patrick  Campion,  treasurer. 

A  charter  for  this  society  was  granted  April  10, 
1870.  The  present  ofiicers  are  Rev.  John  A.  Kelly, 
president;  William  Rea,  1st  vice-president;  L.  Dolan, 
Sr.,  2d  vice-president ;  Patrick  Campion,  treasurer ; 
William  Birmingham,  secretary ;  Michael  Welch, 
corresponding  secretary ;  George  Cheeseman,  mar- 
shal ;  Richard  Burdon,  sergeant-at-arms ;  Patrick 
Torlan,  Patrick  Connoll,  John  Lyons,  James  Collins, 
and  William  Merrick,  investigating  committee;  L. 
Goode,  Thomas  Shanaphy,  and  John  Torlan,  visiting 
committee  ;  Charles  H.  Thompson,  John  Sutclifl',  and 
Stephen  Lucid,  auditing  committee ;  M.  P.  Byrne, 
William  Minck,  and  Adam  Rea,  trustees  of  the  wid- 
ows and  orphan's  fund. 

The  present  membership  is  one  hundred.  Meetings 
are  held  in  St.  Mary's  Hall  on  the  second  Sunday  in 
each  month. 

Good  Samaritan  Lodge,  No.  52,  K.  of  P.,  was 
organized  June  29,  1870.  The  officers  were  installed 
by  A.  W.  Mayo,  D.  D.  G.  C,  of  New  Brunswick,  as- 
sisted by  a  number  of  the  officers  of  Friend.ship  Lodge 
of  New  Brunswick,  and  Algonquin  Lodge  of  Perth 
Amboy. 

The  first  officers  were  Joseph  Wooton,  C.  C.  ; 
William  Wooton,  V.  C. ;  Levi  Vooton,  prelate;  Ber- 
nard Roddy,  M.  of  E.;  Albert  Roll,  M.  of  F. ;  Isaac 


838 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


H.  Holmes,  K.  of  E.  S. ;  Richard  H.  Herring,  M.  A. ; 
Robert  Dykes,  I.  G. ;  John  M.  Voorhees,  O.  G. 

The  officers  in  1881  were  as  follows  :  Joseph  Jack- 
son, C.  C.  ;  Charles  H.  Dey,  V.  C. ;  Arthur  W.  Bost- 
wick,  P. ;  Thomas  Baker,  M.  of  E. ;  J.  F.  Fulton,  M. 
of  F. ;  Robert  Dykes,  K.  of  R.  S. ;  Charles  Berrian, 
M.  A. ;  Andrew  Newman,  I.  G. ;  Garrett  Hendnute, 
O.  G. ;  Trustees,  Bernard  Roddy,  William  B.  Endi- 
cott,  and  J.  F.  Fulton. 

This  lodge  meets  every  Wednesday  evening  in 
Concert  Hall  building,  up-stairs. 

&ENECA  Teibe,  No.  23,  I.  O.  or  R.  M.,  is  of  com- 
paratively recent  organization,  and,  like  Good  Sam- 
aritan Lodge,  No.  52,  Knights  of  Pythias,  meets  in 
the  lodge-room  over  Concert  Hall.     In  1881  it  had  a 
membership  of  fifty,  and   was  officered  as   follows 
James   McKenna,   Sachem ;    George   Story,    S.    S. 
Charles  P.  Thomas,  J.  S. ;    Aaron  Culver,  W.   P. 
Isaac  Slover,  K.  W. ;  John  Berlew,  G.  W. ;   Clark 
Mundy,  G.  F. ;  Tobias  Grace,  C.  R. ;  C.  B.  Pearce, 
A.  C.  R. 

The  committee  of  Good  Samaritan  Lodge,  Knights 
of  Pythias,  and  Seneca  Tribe  of  the  Improved  Order 
of  Red  Men,  No.  23,  recently  completed  the  refur- 
nishing of  their  lodge-room  over  Concert  Hall,  from 
the  proceeds  of  a  late  fair  and  festival,  at  a  cost  of 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars.  Besides 
a  new  carpet  and  matting,  three  new  chandeliers  were 
placed  in  the  room.  Four  elegant  walnut  upholstered 
chairs  for  the  officers  were  added,  and  canopies  of 
rich  material  were  erected  over  the  officers'  stations. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  No.  1,  of  South 
Amboy,  was  organized  Dec.  10,  1873,  with  the  follow- 
ing officers :  County  Delegate,  P.  McDonald ;  Pres., 
S.  Scully ;  Vice-Pres.,  M.  Lucid  ;  Fin.  Sec,  E.  Mc- 
Donough ;  Rec.  Sec,  J.  Murphy ;  Treas.,  Martin 
Berry. 

The  oflBcers  in  1881  were  as  follows  :  Prest.,  Daniel 
Coyne;  Vice- Prest.,  Philip  McDonald;  Fin.  Sec, 
Daniel  Duryer;  Rec.  Sec,  Patrick  Coghlin;  Treas., 
Martin  Berry. 

The  membership  at  that  time  was  sixty,  and  the 
division  met  the  second  Sunday  of  each  month. 

St.  Mary's  Temperance  and  Benevolent 
Society. — At  a  meeting  called  by  the  pastor  of  St. 
Mary's  Catholic  Church,  April  7,  1872,  it  was  re- 
solved to  form  a  temperance  society.  The  pastor 
was  appointed  president  pro  tern.,  and  an  election 
of  officers  was  held  which  resulted  as  follows:  Rev. 
John  A.  Kelley,  president;  Edward  Gleason,  treas- 
urer ;  Thomas  Bowe,  secretary ;  James  Manahan, 
Michael  Mahone,  Thomas  Maguire,  and  Matthew 
Connell,  investigating  committee. 

The  constituent  members  were  Michael  Mahone, 
James  Manahan,  James  Collins,  Michael  Kennedy, 


Thomas  Finley,  Matthew  Connell,  Jeremiah  Lynch, 
Michael  Noland,  John  Powell,  Michael  Corbit,  Peter 
Migher,  James  Migher,  James  Britt,  Martin  Duggan, 
William  Dollton,  Patrick  Morris,  Welton  Costello, 
Thomas  Maguire,  John  Wood,  Timothy  Burns,  Ste- 
phen Cannon,  Bernard  Cannon,  and  Patrick  McDer- 
mond. 

This  society  was  designed  both  to  inculcate  upon 
its  members  the  principles  of  abstinence  from  alco- 
holic liquors  as  a  beverage,  and  for  their  mutual 
benefit  when  deprived  by  sickness  of  the  means  of 
earning  their  livelihood,  a  funeral  benefit  of  thirty 
dollars  being  paid  upon  the  death  of  a  member.  It 
meets  at  St.  Mary's  Hall  on  the  third  Sunday  in  each 
month,  and  the  membership  is  ninety-six. 

The  present  officers  are  as  follows  : 

James  H.  Gordon,  president ;  Edward  H.  Shana- 
phy,  vice-president;  Richard  Burden,  treasurer;  John 
SutclifT,  secretary;  George  Cheeseman,  corresponding 
secretary  ;  Matthew  McGovern,  marshal ;  James  Col- 
lins, messenger;  Christopher  Dole,  sergeant-at-arras; 
Thomas  Bowe,  Patrick  Coan,  Michael  Halton,  John 
Mulery,  and  Thomas  Mason,  investigating  committee; 
William  Birmingham,  Patrick  Cleary,  and  Michael 
Byrnes,  auditing  committee ;  N.  Scott,  Thomas  Byrnes, 
Matthew  McGovern,  Neil  Leary,  and  James  Collins, 
sick  committee. 

Commodore  Conover  Post,  No.  2,  G.  A.  R., 
Department  of  New  Jersey,  was  instituted  March 
11,  1878,  with  the  following  offices  : 

F.  W.  Reeder,  Commander;  A.  L.  Rue,  S.  V.  C. ; 
John  D.  Cottrell,  J.  V.  C. ;  John  B.  Morrell,  Q.  M. ; 
Dr.  L.  O.  Morgan,  S. ;  William  Dykes,  C. ;  H.  A. 
Snow,  A.  ;  John  Ibbs,  O.  D. ;  Hugh  Capner,  O.  G. ; 
Jacob  Buckelew,  S.  M. ;  Joseph  Swift,  Q.  M.  S. 

The  last  annual  election  of  officers  of  this  post  to 
date  was  held  on  Monday,  Dec.  11,  1881,  when  the 
following  comrades  were  chosen  to  the  offices  men- 
tioned : 

P.  C,  Gideon  H.  Hutchinson ;  S.  V.  C,  Philip  Stump ; 
J.  V.  C,  Walling  Wainwright;  Q.  M.,  James  Mattson; 
Chap.,  William  L.  Davis;  Surg.,  Hugh  Capner ;  O.  D., 
Hugh  Hutchinson ;  O.  G.,  M.  B.  Kelley ;  Delegate  to 
Dept.  Encampment,  James  Mattson  ;  Alternate,  M. 
B.  Kelley ;  Past  P.  C,  Joseph  Swift,  Hugh  Hutchin- 
son, Hugh  Capner. 

This  organization  numbers  about  thirty  veterans  of 
the  late  war,  and  meets  every  Monday  evening  at 
Concert  Hall. 

Cornet  Bands. — The  South  Amboy  Liberty  Band 
was  organized  in  1869,  with  John  F.  Rea  as  leader.  It 
now  numbers  sixteen  members,  led  by  Daniel  Reagan. 

The  Citizens'  Band  was  organized  Dec.  1,  1880, 
and  contains  eighteen  pieces.  The  leader  is  William 
P.  Rathburne. 


RARITAN   TOWNSHIP. 


839 


CHAPTER    CIV. 

RARITAN    TOWNSHIP. 

Natural  Features. — Earitan  was  set  oft'  from  parts 
of  Woodbridge  and  Piscataway  townships  on  the  17th 
of  March,  1870. 

This  township  has  a  somewhat  diversified  soil.  In 
some  parte,  towards  the  Union  County  line  (continu- 
ation of  Short  Hills),  the  soil  is  generally  a  stiff  clay 
loam,  while  that  of  the  plains  is  mostly  a  sandy  loam, 
being  a  transition  formation  of  the  old  red  sandstone. 
All  are,  however,  fertile  under  proper  cultivation,  and 
the  township  may  vie  with  the  neighboring  townships 
of  Piscataway  and  Woodbridge  in  the  variety  and 
quantity  of  agricultural  products.  This  township  is 
well  watered  by  the  Raritan  River,  which  lies  upon 
the  southerly  border,  and  also  by  some  smaller  streams, 
which  pass  through  the  township.  The  highways  and 
roads  are  kept  generally  in  good  condition,  and  in 
some  instances  shade-trees  are  planted  along  their 
sides,  adding  much  to  the  natural  beauty  of  the 
scenery. 

Early  Settlements. — This  territory  having  been 
parts  of  Piscataway  and  Woodbridge  until  1870,  the 
same  family  names  appear,  with  few  exceptions, 
among  its  pioneer  settlers. 

The  Fitz  Randolph  family  are  supposed  to  be  de- 
scended from  the  ancient  Fitz  Randolphs  of  York- 
shire, in  England,  mention  of  whom  we  find  many 
centuries  ago.  As  early  as  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  the  name  of  Count  Herald  Fitz  Randolph 
is  mentioned  (in  the  Doomsday  Book  ordered  by  King 
William)  among  those  nobles  who  accompanied  him 
to  England,  and  upon  whom  he  settled  various  es- 
tates. From  the  "  Annals  of  the  Church  of  Middle- 
ham,"  a  work  by  the  Rev.  William  Atthill,  canon 
and  sub-dean  of  Middleham,  we  ascertain  that  the 
manor  of  Middleham  was  bestowed  by  William  the 
Conqueror  upon  his  nephew,  Alan  Rufus,  after  the 
conquest  of  England,  and  that  Alan  Rufus,  dying 
without  issue  in  a.d.  1089,  bequeathed  the  manor  and 
honor  of  Middleham  to  his  younger  brother.  Ribald, 
whose  grandson,  Robert  Fitz  Randolph,  of  Yorkshire, 
Lord  of  Middleham,  built  upon  it  the  castle  of  Mid- 
dleham; and  from  Robert  Fitz  Randolph,  Lord  of  Mid- 
dleham, it  passed  in  regular  succession  to  his  lineal 
descendants  (male  and  female)  until  it  came  into  the 
hands  of  King  Henry  YI.  of  England  upon  the  for- 
feiture of  Robert  Neville,  Earl  of  Salisbury  (the  earl 
being  a  descendant  in  the  female  line  of  the  above 
Robert  Fitz  Randolph,  Lord  of  Middleham).  In 
A.D.  1265  we  find  Lady  Mary  Fitz  Randolph,  daugh- 
ter of  Ralph  Fitz  Randolph,  third  Lord  of  Middleham, 
married  Robert  Neville,  Earl  of  Raby. 

In  A.D.  1450,  Lady  Catherine  Fitz  Randolph, 
daughter  of  Ralph  Fitz  Randolph,  Esq.,  was  mar- 
ried to  Sir  Christopher  Danby,  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  to  King  Edward  IV.     Notwithstand- 


ing the  forfeiture  to  the  English  crown  (in  the  reign 
of  King  Henry  VI.)  of  the  estate  of  Middleham,  the 
Fitz  Randolphs  still  clung  aftectionately  to  their  old 
domain,  and  we  find  Sir  Ralph  Fitz  Randolph  and 
Lady  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  as  late  as  A.D.  1.557  yet  re- 
maining at  their  seat  of  "SpennythorneHall,"  within 
one  mile  of  the  old  "  Middleham  Castle"  of  Sir  Ralph's 
ancestors,  the  ancient  F'itz  Randolphs,  Lords  of  Mid- 
dleham. Lady  Elizabeth,  wife  of  Sir  Ralph  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph,of  Spennythorne  Hall,  was  daughter  and  heiress 
of  Lord  Scope,  of  the  barony  of  Mesham  and  also  of 
Upsal ;  and  Lady  Elizabeth  F.  Randolph  was  heiress 
of  the  above  baronies  after  the  death  of  her  mother ; 
she  (Lady  Agnes  Fitz  Randolph)  married  Sir  Mar- 
rnaduke  Nyvil,  of  Constable  Barton,  member  of  Par- 
liament for  Ripon. 

Edward  Fitz  Randolph,  of  the  Fitz  Randolphs  of 
Yorkshire,  England,  the  founder  of  the  family  in 
America,  was  born  a.d.  1616.  He  came  with  his 
mother,  the  Widow  Fitz  Randolph  (as  she  is  styled  in 
the  records  of  that  day),  to  New  England  in  1630, 
and  was  married  May  10,  1637,  to  Elizabeth  Blossom, 
of  Barnstable,  Mass.  (daughter  of  Thomas  Blossom, 
one  of  the  "  Pilgrim  Fathers").  Edward  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph and  Elizabeth  Blossom  had  nine  children, — ■ 
Nathaniel,  Hannah,  Mary,  John,  Joseph,  Elizabeth, 
Thomas,  Hope,  Benjamin. 

About  the  year  1668,  Edward  Fitz  Randolph  and 
Elizabeth  Blossom,  his  wife,  with  their  unmarried 
children,  John,  Joseph,  Elizabeth,  Thomas,  Benjamin, 
and  perhaps  Hope,  removed  from  Massachusetts  to 
this  township,  then  called  Piscataway,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  New  Jersey.  Edward  died  shortly  afterwards, 
and  his  widow,  Elizabeth  Blossom  Fitz  Randolph,  was 
allowed  in  a.d.  1676,  by  the  honorable  the  proprie- 
tors of  the  province,  to  locate  land  in  the  right  of 
her  deceased  husband,  which  she  did,  as  appears  by 
patent  to  her  for  three  hundred  acres  in  Piscataway, 
the  patent  being  dated  March  31,  1676.  There  are 
also  other  patents  to  her  and  to  other  members  of  the 
family  on  record  for  thousands  of  acres  of  land  be- 
sides in  Piscataway,  "  Province  of  New  Jersey."  Eliz- 
abeth Blossom  Fitz  Randolph  deeded,  June  26,  1685, 
a  large  amount  of  the  lands  which  she  had  located  to 
her  sons,  Joseph,  John,  Thomas,  and  Benjamin,  and 
four  days  after  she  married  her  second  husband,  Capt. 
John  Pike. 

Edward  Fitz  Randolph  was  a  man  of  note,  and  is 
mentioned  in  the  records  of  Barnstable,  Mass.,  as  one 
of  the  earliest  of  that  town.  But  a  short  account  can 
be  given  of  all  the  branches  of  this  family,  at  the 
present  but  one  interesting  historic  account  of  Ed- 
ward Fitz  Randolph,  seventh  and  youngest  child  of 
Edward  and  Phebe,  who  was  born  23d  day,  4th  month, 
1749,  about  three  miles  west  of  Rahway,  N.  J.,  and 
when  Gen.  Washington  with  his  army  was  located 
in  the  vicinity,  he  got  Edward  to  show  him  to  some 
prominent  point  where  he  could  overlook  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy,  and  he  took  him  to  what  is  now 


840 


HISTORY   OP   UNION   AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


known  as  Washington's  Rock,  on  the  mountain  back 
of  Plainfield.  Washington  watched  the  movements  of 
the  enemy  (in  company  with  Edward)  during  the 
skirmish  between  the  troops  of  Sir  William  Howe 
and  Lord  Stirling,  near  Plainfield,  in  the  campaign 
of  1777,  also  during  the  retreat  of  his  army  from  the 
swamps  near  Rahway. 

Edward  was  the  fifth  in  line  from  Edward  of  the 
first  generation  in  America.  He  married  26th  day, 
11th  month,  1782,  Mary  Webster,  near  Rahway,  and 
had  eight  children, — Phebe,  Sarah,  Mercy,  Hugh, 
Mary,  Edward,  Ira,  and  Asa. 

The  Stelle  family,  whose  progenitor  in  this  country 
was  one  Pontius  Stelle,  a  Huguenot,  born  in  France, 
and  emigrated  to  Staten  Island  with  other  French 
Huguenots  between  the  years  1668-75,  is  largely  rep- 
resented in  this  township,  and  the  beautiful  town  of 
Stelton,  situated  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  is 
named  after  them.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  Stelle,  a  dis- 
tinguished Baptist  minister  at  an  early  day,  was  the 
elder  son  of  Pontius  Stelle,  and  was  born  in  New 
York  in  the  year  1683,  and  ordained  a  pastor  of  the 
Piscataway  (Stelton)  Baptist  Church  about  the  year 
1739.  He  continued  in  this  relation  till  January, 
1759,  or  about  twenty  years,  when  he  was  called  to 
his  rest  at  the  good  old  age  of  seventy-six  years.  He 
united  the  ofiioe  of  magistrate  with  that  of  pas- 
tor. 

In  the  judgment  of  his  cotemporaries  he  was  a  pop- 
ular preacher  and  very  upright  in  the  administration 
of  justice.  He  was  succeeded  in  the  pastorate  of  the 
Stelton  Church  by  his  son  Isaac,  who  had  been  or- 
dained as  assistant  to  his  father  in  1752.  He  took 
the  exclusive  oversight  of  the  church  in  1759.  "  I 
need  not,"  says  Edwards,  "  publish  the  goodness  of 
the  man  or  the  excellence  of  his  preaching,  for  many 
are  now  alive  who  know  both  and  who  regard  him  as 
their  spiritual  father.  He  was  remarkable  for  his 
travels  among  the  American  churches  in  company 
with  his  other  self,  Rev.  Benjamin  Miller."  He  died 
Oct.  9,  1781,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of  his  age,  after 
a  pastorate  of  twenty-two  years  and  a  ministry  of 
twenty-nine  years. 

Thus  have  we  referred  to  the  early  members  of  the 
Stelle  family,  in  order  to  show  that  this  now  exten- 
sive family  in  this  township  are  not  only  the  first 
who  settled  here,  but  are  also  the  first  in  organizing 
the  church,  schools,  and  many  beneficial  enterprises 
for  the  improvement  of  this  township  when  it  was  a 
wilderness. 

Thfe  Rev.  Isaac  Stelle  had  among  others  two  sons, 
Joseph  and  Samuel.  Joseph  had  a  son  Isaac,  who 
had  five  sons,  namely,  Samuel,  who  died  some  twenty- 
five  years  since ;  Lewis  R.,  who  was  for  some  fifteen 
years  the  proprietor  of  the  New  Brunswick  Times,  and 
subsequently  of  the  Paterson  Ouardian,  and  has  been 
engaged  in  the  silk  business  in  New  York  State;  Au- 
gustus and  James,  who  are  now  residents  of  Stelton ; 
and   Alexander,   who   died   in   youth.     Isaac   Stelle 


lived  a  long,  active,  useful,  and  blameless  life,  and 
died  as  one  who,  wearied  of  his  labors, 

"  Wraps  the  drapery  of  his  couch  about  him  and  lies  down  to  pleasant 
dreams." 

He  reached  the  age  of  eighty-four.  His  widow,  an 
intelligent  and  worthy  lady,  still  survives. 

John  Barron  is  made  mention  of  in  the  records. 
He  was  one  of  the  prominent  movers  in  building  St. 
James'  P.  E.  Church,  and  for  many  years  held  posses- 
sion as  warden.  Dec.  24,  1714,  he  sends  with  others 
a  communication  from  the  vestry  of  this  church.  He 
is  represented  as  a  prominent  man  in  Piscataway 
Town. 

Thomas  Wetherel  was  among  the  early  settlers 
prior  to  1700,  and  also  interested  in  the  new  St. 
James'  Church,  of  which  he  was  a  warden. 

John  Molleson  was  a  freeholder  in  1668.  He  took 
up  an  allotment  of  land.  He  was  for  many  years 
connected  with  others  in  arranging  the  boundary 
lines,  and  was  a  vestryman  in  the  early  church  in 
Piscataway.  His  brother,  Gilbert  Molleson,  was  one 
of  the  claimants  under  the  Indian  titles  and  the  Nic- 
olls  grant.' 

William  Hodgson  is  represented  as  having  been 
connected  with  the  building  of  St.  James'  Church 
and  as  vestryman  in  1714.  He  was  among  the  first 
settlers  in  Piscataway  Town.  Many  of  the  name  are 
now  residents  in  the  county. 

Robert  Webster  is  among  the  first  named  as  a  free- 
holder and  as  a  proprietor  in  1669 ;  a  member  of  the 
Episcopal  Church  in  Piscataway  Town. 

Hopewell  Hull  was  from  New  Haven.  His  father, 
Andrew  Hull,  was  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  Connec- 
ticut. Benjamin  and  his  brother  Hopewell  are  rep- 
resented in  a  grant  dated  Dec.  18,  1666,  in  Piscat- 
away, and  among  others  of  the  township  Benjamin 
Hull,  30th  of  May,  1668,  was  announced  as  an  asso- 
ciate. Hopewell  Hull  was  prominent  in  establishing 
the  church  in  Piscataway  Town,  and  for  many  years 
as  one  of  the  vestrymen  of  the  parish.  (See  Piscataway 
township.) 

Henry  LangstafT  came  from  Piscataqua,  Me.,  in 
1666,  and  was  a  freeholder  in  1682.  His  name  is 
found  in  the  civil  list,  holding  township  ofiices,  at  an 
early  date.  He  was  interested  in  the  church,  holding 
ofiicial  relations  thereto  in  1714  in  Piscataway  Town. 
Mention  is  made  of  Mr.  Langstaff  in  Piscataway 
township. 

Samuel  Walker  was  also  an  early  settler.  His 
name  is  often  mentioned  in  relation  to  the  affairs  of 
township  and  church.  The  family  are  largely  rep- 
resented throughout  the  county.  John  Jennings  (or 
Gennings,  as  it  is  sometimes  spelled)  is  mentioned  in 
a  communication  from  the  vestry  in  Piscataway 
Church  in  relation  to  building,  etc. 

William  Olden  resided  in  this  township  prior  to 

1  Smith's  N.  J.,  pp.  211  to  220. 


RARITAN  TOWNSHIP. 


841 


1714,  but  little  is  now  known  of  the  family  in  the 
township. 

Koyce.  In  the  early  records  "  There  were  planta- 
tions both  above  and  below  the  town  of  Piscataway 
on  the  Karitan  River,  and  some  lands  were  located  on 
Millstone  River."  "  John  Royce,  with  Governor 
Carteret  and  Thirteen  other  Associates,"  had  planta- 
tions, or  were  interested  in  the  lands  on  the  River 
Raritan.  Their  deeds  were  obtained  in  1861.'  Mr. 
Royce  held  a  patent  which  contained  about  twenty 
thousand  acres.  Samuel  Royce,  probably  a  son  of 
Jolin,  is  mentioned  with  others  in  Piscataway  Town  in 
connection  with  building  the  first  churcli  and  acting 
as  one  of  its  officers,  Dec.  24,  1714. 

The  following  familiar  names  of  the  early  settlers 
are  still  to  be  found  as  residents  of  the  township,  and 
in  some  instances  still  occupying  and  owning  lands 
of  these  ancestors  :  Acken,  Blake,  Lang,  Laing,  Kelly, 
Robbins,  Edgar,  Compton,  McPherson,  Laforge,  La- 
flower,  Agen,  Andross,  Andrews,  Stelle,  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph, Sage,  Jaques,  Hunt,  Row,  Roe,  Ralph,  Roth, 
Ellison,  Lodge,  Farrote,  Martin,  Lupardus,  Meeker, 
Dunham,  Hardy,  Livingston,  Whitehead,  Dunn,  Tap- 
pin,  Sandford,  Lambert,  Hoyt,  Campbell,  Bloomfield, 
Giles,  Dunn,  Martin,  Bonham,  Manning,  Mundy  or 
Mundage,  Stelle,  Thomal,  Ford  or  Foard,  Talmadge 
or  Talmage,  Freeman,  Hampton,  Thomas,  Pain  or 
Payne,  Kelley.  These  families  came  to  a  wilderness 
inhabited  by  Indians,  and  here  they  were  compelled 
to  build  their  homes,  clear  the  lands  of  the  first 
growth  of  timber,  which  was  said  to  have  been  im- 
mense in  size,  "  many  of  the  stumps,"  as  an  old 
record  affirms,  being  "  over  thirty  feet  in  circumfer- 
ence. 

Civil  List. 

TOWN   CLEEKS. 
John  T.  Mai-tin,  1870-72, 1875-S2.    |   Theodore  A.  Wood,  1873-74. 

ASSESSORS. 
Luther  J.  Taljpin,  1870-74.  |    Theodore  A.  Wood,  1876-81. 

COLLECTORS. 
Charles  C.Campbell,  1870-78.  |   Manning  Freeman,  1879-81. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 
Michael  M.  Lupardus,  1870-73.         i    Joseph  Leriginotto,  1876. 
Lewis  Thomas,  1870.  Manning  Freeman,  1877-78. 

R.  B.  Crowell,  1870-73.  Forman  Martin,  1877-79. 

Alexander  Campbell,  1874-76.  '    Luther  H.  Tappiu,  1880-81. 

Thomas  N.  Acken,  1874-76. 

TOWN   COMMITTEE. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 


Manning  Freeman,  1870-76. 
Theodore  A.  Wood,  1870-71. 
Augustus  Stelle,  1870-73, 1877. 
Augustus  Blackford,  1871-72. 
William  E.  Crowell,  1871-74. 
Forman  Martin,  1872-73, 1875. 
Isaac  S.  Eunyon,  1872,  1874-76. 
Moses  M.  Craig,  1873-76. 
Erastus  H.  Tappin,  1S74,  1879-81. 
Samuel  C.  Stelle,  1875,  1878-79. 
David  Fisher,  1876. 


Oilman  T.  Comings,  1876. 
Zenas  Henderson,  1877-78. 
Jerome  B.  Boss,  1877. 
James  R.  Potter,  1877 . 
Charles  C.  Campbell,  1877-78. 
Henry  Acken,  1878. 
Samuel  Laforge,  1878. 
Luther  H.  Tappin,  1879. 
Israe  ITliomal,  1880-81. 
Daniel  S.  Dunham,  1880.' 
Stelle  Fitz  Randolph,  1881. 


N.  A.  Wood,  1870. 
C.  W.  Livennore,  1870. 
William  N.  Brundage,  1870. 
William  A.Lane,  1871-76. 
Josephus  Shann,  1871. 
Theodore  A.  Wood,  1874-76,  1881. 
Abraham  V.  N.  De  Forest,  1874. 


Isaac  S.  Runyou,  1875. 
Isaac  Soper,  1876, 1880-81. 
William  Thomal,  1876. 
Joseph  Marcell,  1879. 
Riallo  0.  Arnold,  1880. 
Daniel  S.  Dunham,  1881. 
Martin  B.  Meeker,  1881. 


Although  the  allotment  of  a  portion  of  the  common 
lands  for  the  benefit  of  schools  is  evidence  of  the 
interest  in  education  felt  by  the  fir.st  settlers,  yet  there 
was  no  action  on  the  part  of  the  town  (then  Wood- 
bridge)  to  effect  the  establishment  of  a  school  until 
1689.  This  was  in  March  of  that  year,  and  James 
Fullerton,  who  owned  lands  with  his  brother,  near 
what  is  now  Plainfield  township,  and  near  the  Oak-Tree 
School,  as  it  was  called,  in  this  township,  was  em- 
ployed as  "  schoolmaster." 

In  1694  it  appears  that  one  John  Conger  was  opposed 
to  a  free  school  for  the  next  year,  which  Mr.  Brown 
was  desired  to  teach  at  a  salary  of  twenty-four  pounds, 
and  Mr.  Conger  protested  against  the  school  over  his 
signature,  which  was  that  of  "  his  mark."  We  next 
learn  of  John  Baker,  in  the  same  year,  being  em- 
ployed "  to  teach  for  six  months  on  trial,"  he  to  keep 
"  ye  school  this  winter  time  until  nine  o'clock  at 
night." 

During  the  Revolutionary  war,  and  until  about 
1784,  there  were  no  schools  taught.  A  tax  upon  dogs 
was  appropriated  for  schooling  poor  children. 

The  present  school  districts  in  the  township  are 
named  Lafayette,  Fairfield,  Oak-Tree,  New  Durham, 
Friendship,  No.  10,  and  the  old  Franklin  school- 
house.  The  names  of  Miss  Abigail  Thomas,  Mr. 
Lane,  Mr.  Tibbitts,  Mr.  Fuller,  Mr.  Alpheus,  W.  Kel- 
logg, 1839,  J.  Newton  Smith. 

The  Metuchen  school-house  in  the  year  1842  was 
removed,  and  the  present  substantial  building  has 
taken  its  place,  finished  in  1871  at  a  cost  of  about 


1  Bill  in  Chancery,  p.  53,  for  bounds  of  their  respective  grants. 


About  the  year  1860,  Prof.  William  Hopkins  opened 
a  select  school  in  the  academy  under  prosperous  aus- 
pices, as  did  Mr.  L.  P.  Cowles  a  few  years  after. 

The  Piscataway  town  school  was  built  in  1695.  It 
was  situated  on  a  part  of  lands  conveyed  to  Messrs. 
Drake,  Hull,  Higgins,  and  Slater  by  the  proprietors 
of  the  province  of  East  Jersey,  dated  March  5,  1695. 
It  was  built  of  logs,  and  "  had  ample  play-ground." 
It  was  situated  adjacent  to  the  present  burial-ground, 
on  the  southerly  side  of  the  road  leading  through  the 
town.  About  the  year  iSOO  it  was  abandoned  and  a 
new  house  built  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  public 
road.  This  was  a  small  unpainted  building,  with  rude 
desks  against  the  walls  and  seats  made  of  oak  planks 
or  slabs, — a  fair  specimen  perhaps  of  most  of  the 
country  schools  of  that  day.  The  fearful  tornado 
which  swept  over  this  section  of  country  on  the  19th 
day  of  June,  1835,  destroying  so  much  property,  de- 
molished in  its  course  the  school  building  of  this 
place.     Much  damage  was  done  to  property  in  the 


842 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


neighborhood,  and  the  inhabitants  were  compelled  to 
delay  the  building  of  another  school-house  until  1837, 
when  a  two-story  building  was  erected  by  subscription. 

In  1852  this  building  was  enlarged  atacost  of  $331, 
defrayed  by  special  tax.  After  this  enlargement  a 
female  teacher  was  employed  and  a  female  depart- 
ment established.  Repairs  were  again  made  upon 
this  building  in  1871,  and  the  pupils  supplied  with 
modern  desks.  More  recently  (1875)  this  building 
was  extensively  repaired  and  put  in  a  condition  of 
neatness  and  comfort  worthy  of  its  historic  character. 
Z.  T.  Martin  taught  in  this  school  for  more  than  forty 
years,  a  testimony  lo  his  character  and  worth  of  no 
small  significance. 

The  following  statistical  report  of  schools  of  this 
township  will  not  be  without  interest: 

Scholars  Value  of 
enrolled,    school  property. 

Friendship,  No.  10 50  S161X) 

Mouut  PleosHUt,  No.  11 57  3UU 

New  Dover,  No.  12 20  900 

Oak-Tree,  No.  13 49  1500 

New  Durham,  No.  14 42  500 

Metuchen,  No.  15 256  9000 

Lafayette  Union,  No.  16 37  1000 

PiBCataway  Town,  No.  17 76  30O0 

Bonhamtown,  No.  18 64  1290 

The  whole  number  of  children  enrolled  is  641 ; 
value  of  school  property,  $18,900 ;  number  of  male 
teachers,  1 ;  female  teachers,  10. 


CHAPTER    CV. 

RARITAN    TO WNSHIP.— ( Conthined.) 

Quakers. — For  the  convenience  of  a  number  of  the 
Society  of  Friends  residing  in  this  vicinity,  a  weekly 
meeting  was  begun  Oct.  16, 1725,  at  John  Laing's,  the 
distance  being  too  great  to  the  meeting-house  in 
Woodbridge,  especially  during  the  season  of  bad 
roads.  John  Laing  lived  at  or  near  Plainfield  (Tow- 
town,  now  New  Brooklyn),  and  it  was  certainly  a 
long  distance  for  him  to  ride  every  "  First-day."  He 
bequeathed  to  the  Friends  a  plot  of  ground  on  which 
to  build  a  meeting-house,  and  on  the  27th  of  March, 
1731,  the  Woodbridge  Monthly  Meeting  gave  permis- 
sion for  its  construction,  directing  that  it  should  not 
exceed  in  its  dimensions  twenty-four  feet  square,  and 
fourteen  feet  "  between  joynts."  It  was  completed 
and  all  accounts  settled  by  the  latter  part  of  the  year 
1736.  About  the  year  1787  the  meeting  was  removed 
to  Plainfield  ;  the  building  was  also  removed  thither 
and  used  for  a  time,  until  the  present  building  was 
finished  in  1789.  All  trace  of  the  former  place  and 
burying-ground  in  the  Short  Hills  is  now  lost.' 

Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  (Me- 
tuchen), situated  on  the  corner  of  Main  Street  and 
Middlesex  Avenue,  is  a  neat  building,  with  belfry 
and  ample  plot  of  land  for  enlarging  the  building 
when  so  desired.  It  was  for  many  years  the  desire  of 
a  few  Methodist  families  in  this  town  to  have  regular 


1  Rev.  J.  W.  Daily's  account. 


services,  and  in  the  year  1866  the  academy  was  offered 
them.  In  the  fall  (October)  of  1866  an  organization 
was  effected  under  the  corporate  name  of  the  Centen- 
ary Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Metuchen,  and 
the  following  gentlemen  signed  the  certificate  of  in- 
corporation :  Walter  S.  Petit,  Robert  Idell,  Isaac  M. 
Whittier,  Henry  F.  Coon,  Robert  Petit,  and  Rev.  M. 
Daly.  The  Rev.  J.  S.  Coit,  pastor  of  Woodbridge 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  became  the  stated  sup- 
ply from  April,  1866,  until  the  spring  of  1867,  when 
the  Conference  sent  them  Rev.  I.  L.  Gilder. 

The  present  edifice  w.as  commenced  in  1868,  and 
dedicated  in  April,  1869.  The  following  have  filled 
the  pastorate  according  to  the  usage  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church : 

Rev.  E.  G.  Thomas,  who  had  graduated  at  Rutgers 
College,  was  sent  as  their  stated  supply  by  the  Con- 
ference of  1868.  He,  unfortunately,  had  to  resign  in 
a  few  months  on  account  of  a  bronchial  aflection. 
He  gave  promise  of  great  usefulness,  and  was  an  ex- 
cellent preacher. 

Rev.  J.  J.  Reed,  now  of  the  Washington  Avenue 
Church,  New  York,  was  sent  to  fill  the  term  until 
Conference,  when  the  Rev.  Edward  Wilson,  a  resi- 
dent of  Metuchen,  was  appointed  in  1869  as  pastor. 
The  Rev.  J.  H.  Manaton,  1871 ;  H.  M.  Simpson,  Rev. 
T.  H.  Oak.s,  P.  G.  Blight,  1873;  E.  M.  Garton,  1874; 
Isaac  C.  Decker,  1874 ;  J.  R.  Adams,  1879 ;  and  the 
present  pastor,  Rev.  W.  D.  Cam  mens,  formerly  a 
member  of  the  North  Ohio  Conference,  is  now  the 
stated  pastor.  Sittings,  three  hundred;  membership, 
seventy-five ;  Sabbath-school  ofiicers  and  teachers, 
twelve ;  scholars,  sixty. 

New  Dover  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.— A 
few  families  of  Methodists  had  settled  in  the  small 
hamlet  of  New  Dover,  and  for  years  had  attended 
church  in  Rahway  and  Woodbridge,  with  occasional 
preaching  in  the  school-house  in  the  neighborhood. 
It  had  been  long  contemplated  building  a  small 
church  for  their  use,  but  not  until  the  year  1847, 
when  this  charge  was  united  with  the  Woodbridge 
Church  and  supplied  on  the  Sabbath  with  regular 
preachers,  was  the  work  undertaken  in  earnest.  In 
the  year  1848  ground  was  broken  and  a  ne.at  frame 
church  erected  at  a  cost  of  about  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  dollars.  At  this  time  there  was  a  member- 
ship of  about  eighteen,  and  a  class  was  formed.  Rev. 
Abraham  Owens  having  the  supervision,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  Woodbridge  Church.  At  the  Confer- 
ence, 1850,  it  was  made  a  separate  charge,  and  the 
Rev.  J.  R.  Adams  was  sent;  1851,  Rev.  R.  S.  Arndt; 
1853,  Rev.  R.  B.  Lockwood ;  1855,  Rev.  Jeremiah 
Cowins,  and  the  membership  had  increased  to  fifty- 
five  members ;  1857,  Rev.  Rodney  Winans.  In  the 
former  year  Metuchen  was  united  to  New  Dover,  and 
Rev.  ^^iilliam  H.  McCormick  was  sent,  but  was  made 
a  separate  charge  in  1858,  and  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Dandy 
was  sent  as  the  regular  minister,  and  remained  until 
the  spring  of  1861,  and  was  supplied  by  the  elder. 


KARITAN   TOWNSHIP. 


843 


John  S.  Porter,  and  1862,  Kev.  H.  B.  Edwards  was 
sent;  1864,  Rev.  John  Coyle;  1865,  Rev.  E.  F. 
Hadley  ;  1866,  Rev.  Bartholomew  Weed ;  1867,  Rev. 
James  Irvine;  1868,  Rev.  A.  Vandeasen ;  1870,  Rev. 
Theodore  D.  Frazee;  1872,  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Dally; 
1874,  Rev.  J.  W.  Miles  ;  1875,  Rev.  L.  T.  Janes ;  1878, 
Rev.  H.  M.  Simpson;  1879,  Rev.  W.  W.  Stevens; 
1880,  Rev.  C.  O.  Mead  ;  1881,  supplied  by  Rev.  L.  R. 
Dunn.  The  church  has  been  improved  within  a  few 
years.  It  is  situated  in  an  agricultural  district  and 
some  miles  from  the  railroad. 

Stelton  Baptist  Church. — The  Baptists  were  the 
first  to  establish  religious  services  in  this  township,  in 
1683,  being  a  part  of  Piscataway  township,  and  at 
this  early  date  "the  names  of  Hugh  Dunn,  who  was 
an  exhorter;  John  Drake,  afterwards  the  pastor; 
Nicholas  Bonham,  John  Smalley,  Edmund  Dunham, 
afterwards  minister  of  the  Seventh-Day  Baptists,  and 
John  Fitz  Randolph.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  but  the 
said  men  had  wives,  or  sisters,  or  daughters  of  the 
same  way  of  thinking."  They  soon  after  received 
additions  to  their  numbers  by  the  arrival  of  a  com- 
pany from  Tipperary,  Ireland.  Messrs.  Drake  and 
Dunham  and  also  Mr.  Hugh  Dunn  are  said  by  Bene- 
dict to  have  preached  in  Pi.'^cataway  prior  to  1689, 
although  unordained  ;  but  in  the  spring  of  that  year, 
when  the  church  was  constituted,  the  Rev.  Thomas 
Killingsworth  visited  the  town,  organized  a  congrega- 
tion, and  ordained  Mr.  Drake,  who  continued  as  the 
pastor  thereafter  until  his  death  in  1739.  He  bore 
an  excellent  character.  He  had  three  wives,  by 
whom  he  had  six  sons — Isaac,  Abraham,  Francis, 
John,  Benjamin,  and  Samuel — and  two  daughters, — 
Sarah  and  Rebecca.'  The  Rev.  Henry  Lovell  was 
associated  with  him  towards  the  close  of  his  career. 

The  successor  of  Mr.  Drake  was  Benjamin  Stelle, 
of  French  parentage,  but  born  in  New  York,  "  a 
popular  preacher  and  upright  magistrate."  He  con- 
tinued in  charge  of  the  congregation  until  his  death, 
in  January,  1759,  in  his  seventy-sixth  year,  having 
been  assisted  in  his  ministerial  labors  for  several  years 
by  his  son,  Isaac  Stelle,  who  continued  to  officiate  for 
nearly  twenty-three  years  after  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  died  Oct.  9,  1781,  in  his  sixty-third  year,  highly 
esteemed.  In  company  with  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Mil- 
ler, Mr.  Stelle  travelled  much  among  the  Baptists  of 
America.  He  married  Christiana  Clarkson,  by  whom 
he  had  six  sons, — Benjamin,  John,  Abel,  Joseph,  Oli- 
ver, and  Samuel.  The  Rev.  Reune  Runyon  succeeded 
Mr.  Stelle  in  1783,  having  been  called  to  the  ministry 
in  1771,  when  thirty  years  of  age.  He  was  ordained 
at  Morristown  in  March,  1772,  where  he  remained 
until  1780,  Mr.  Runyon  died  in  November,  1811, 
having  been  assisted  in  his  labors  part  of  the  time  by 
Henry  Smalley.  "He  was  remarkable  for  dexterity 
in  administering  baptism."  "  On  30th  June,  1786,  a 
gentleman  held  his  watch  in  his  hand  till  he  had  bap- 


tized thirty  in  fifty-eight  minutes."  His  wife  was 
Ann  Bray,  by  whom  he  had  five  daughters — Ann, 
Rachel,  Charlotte,  Matilda,  and  Isabella — and  three 
sons, — Vincent,  Daniel,  Reune.' 

The  Rev.  James  McLaughlin,  then  pastor  of  the 
Baptist  Church  at  Kingwood,  N.  J.,  was  called  to 
succeed  Mr.  Runyon,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  in 
October,  1812.  A  portion  of  the  congregation  re- 
sided in  New  Brunswick,  where  a  convenient  meeting- 
house liad  been  built  two  years  before,  and  as  there 
was  no  parsonage  in  "  Piscataway"  (Stelton),  Mr. 
McLaughlin  took  up  his  residence  there,  holding  his 
services  at  both  places, — at  Stelton  in  the  morning  of 
each  Lord's  Day,  and  in  New  Brunswick  in  the  after- 
noon. On  the  1st  of  September,  1816,  the  members 
of  the  congregation  residing  in  New  Brunswick, 
twenty-three  in  number,  were  formed  into  a  separate 
church. 

Mr.  McLaughlin  continued  to  serve  both  congre- 
gations until  his  resignation,  which  was  presented 
Oct.  19,  1817.  He  is  remembered  by  many  as  a 
worthy  man  and  excellent  minister,  grave  in  his  de- 
portment, and  unusually  solemn  in  his  pulpit  ad- 
dresses. 

The  congregation  was  without  a  pastor  about  a 
year,  but  on  the  1st  of  October,  1818,  tlie  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Dodge,  of  Wilmington,  Del.,  took  it  under  his 
charge,  and  for  nearly  fourteen  years  continued  its 
efiicient  and  exemplary  pastor,  attracting  the  people 
to  him  by  a  happy  union  of  dignity  and  aSability  in 
his  deportment,  his  neatness  of  person,  and  becom- 
ing walk  and  conversation,  and  though  dead  still 
lives  in  the  warm  aifections  of  many  of  his  flock. 
During  the  pastorate  of  Mr.  Dodge  the  congregation 
prospered  materially.  In  February,  1825,  it  was  de- 
termined to  erect  a  new  house  of  worship  on  the  site 
of  the  old  one  (the  old  church  was  properly  the  one 
built  in  1686),  and  so  vigorously  was  the  building  pros- 
ecuted that  in  the  following  October  it  was  dedicated. 
It  cost  three  thousand  dollars.  When  he  first  entered 
upon  his  duties  Mr.  Dodge  resided  in  New  Bruns- 
wick, as  his  predecessor  had  done,  but  in  1830  re- 
moved to  a  farm  near  the  Piscataway  meeting-house. 
On  his  resignation  he  removed  to  Newark,  and  be- 
came the  pastor  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  there  in 
1832. 

The  Rev.  Daniel  D.  Lewis  succeeded  Mr.  Dodge  in 
June,  1833,  and  remained  in  charge  of  the  congre- 
gation until  his  death,  Sept.  27,  1849,  having  served 
the  church  faithfully  and  successfully  for  more  than 
sixteen  years.  His  remains  were  interred  in  the  yard 
near  the  house  where  he  labored  so  long  and  where 
he  finished  his  course.  A  plain  stone  marks  the 
place  where  they  rest.  He  was  a  plain  man,  making 
no  pretensions  to  learning  or  eloquence,  difllident  and 
retiring  in  his  manner,  but  sound  in  the  faith  and  earn- 
est in  his  delivery  of  the  truth,  seeking  the  honor  of  his 


1  Edwarda'  Materials,  page  25. 


844 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Divine  Master,  and  the  peace  and  liarmony  of  his 
people.'  On  April  1,  1850,  Rev.  Henry  V.  Jones 
accepted  a  call  to  the  pastorate,  removing  from  New- 
ark, where  he  had  charge  of  the  First  Baptist  Church, 
Mr.  Lewis,  like  his  predecessor,  had  resided  in  New 
Brunswick,  but  shortly  after  his  death  it  was  resolved 
to  provide  a  parsonage  within  the  town  limits,  which 
was  accomplished  by  purchasing  a  small  farm  of 
twenty  acres,  and  constructing  thereon  a  new  house 
at  an  expense  of  four  thousand  dollars.  On  the  1st 
of  January,  1851,  the  meeting-house  which  was  built 
in  1825  took  fire  and  was  entirely  consumed,  biit  with 
commendable  zeal  the  people  at  once  took  measures 
to  build  another,  and  in  January,  1852,  a  little  more 
than  a  year  after  the  destruction  of  the  old  one,  a 
handsome  new  edifice,  costing  seven  thousand  five 
hundred  dollars,  was  completed  and  dedicated,  oc- 
cupying the  same  spot  which  had  been  the  site  of 
the  two  former  ones. 

"  Where  ...  in  many  a  mouldering  heap, 
Each  in  hie  narrow  cell  forever  laid, 
The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep," 

who  were  the  worshipers  within  their  walls,  and 
their  children,  grandchildren,  and  the  great-grand- 
children constitute  the  congregation  that  now  peri- 
odically assembles  within  the  present  meeting-house. 

We  find  that  Rev.  Henry  V.  Jones  was  the  eighth 
pastor.  He  remained  until  in  March,  1856,  when  his 
health  became  impaired.  Under  his  fervent  minis- 
trations greater  spirituality  and  vigor  began  to  per- 
vade the  church.  The  cause  of  missions  received 
much  attention,  and  a  number  of  mission  Sabbath- 
schools  were  established.  He  left  the  parish  amid 
universal  regret. 

Rev.  Christian  J.  Page,  the  ninth  pastor,  came 
from  Bristol  in  the  same  year,  and  began  his  success- 
ful ministry  on  the  1st  of  October,  1856.  He  resigned 
in  March,  1867,  and  went  to  Spring  Valley,  N.  Y.,  in 
the  autumn.  A  revival  followed  his  advent,  resulting 
in  the  addition  of  one  hundred  souls  to  the  church 
within  eighteen  months.  In  September,  1862,  Mr. 
Page,  having  received  an  appointment  as  chaplain  in 
the  Union  army,  was  voted  leave  of  absence  for  nine 
months  with  salary. 

Rev.  James  F.  Brown,  the  tenth  pastor  of  this  an- 
cient church,  became  Mr.  Page's  successor.  He 
came  March,  1868,  and  is  now  worthily  filling  this 
honorable  position.  He  came  from  Bridgeton,  N.  J. 
The  various  interests  of  the  church  under  his  care 
have  not  suftered.  There  has  been  a  gradual  im- 
provement in  the  spiritual  condition,  a  large  number 
having  been  received.  In  the  year  1878,  Mr.  Brown 
suffered  for  some  time  with  loss  of  voice  and  general 
debility,  was  granted  four  months'  vacation,  and  after 
some  months'  absence  from  his  charge,  finding  him- 
self unable  to  perform  the  pastoral  duties,  resigned 
the  church,  Sept.  28,  1878.  After  a  season  of  sup- 
plies, the  church,  guided  by  the  Spirit,  with  marked 
iTown  Kecords. 


unanimity  called  Rev.  J.  W.  Sarles,  D.D.,  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y.,  who  accepted  the  call  and  settled  among 
them  April  1,  1879. 

This  church  is  now  two  hundred  years  old,  and  is 
the  second  in  age  in  the  State.  It  has  been  burned 
down  twice  in  its  history,  but  immediately  sprang 
into  new  life  with  larger  and  better  buildings.  It 
has  had  eleven  preachers,  which  is  an  average  of 
nearly  eighteen  years  to  each.  Of  these  the  longest 
pastorate  continued  fifty  years,  the  shortest  five  years. 
The  first  four  and  the  seventh  died  on  the  field,  full  of 
years  and  honors. 

The  total  membership  of  the  church  in  1800  was 
124  ;  at  the  present  time  the  membership  is  292.'  The 
property  is  valued  at,  including  the  Piscataway 
Church,  $17,500  ;  sittings,  700. 

St.  James'  (Protestant  Episcopal)  Church.— 
The  first  regular  religious  services  in  Piscataway 
Town  according  to  the  forms  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land were  performed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brooks,  whose 
labors  in  the  province  commenced  in  1704.  He  per- 
formed services  in  seven  different  places,  covering 
ground  fifty  miles  in  extent, — at  Elizabethtown, 
Rahway,  Perth  Amboy,  Cheesquake,  Rocky  Hill, 
and  in  a  congregation  at  Freehold  near  Page's.  He 
usually  visited  the  place  once  a  month,  and  some 
steps  were  taken  towards  the  erection  of  a  church. 

Mr.  Vaughan  succeeded  him  in  similar  services, 
and  subsequently  Mr.  Halliday  ofliciated  once  a 
fortnight.  At  this  time  the  building  of  a  brick 
church  "  eighty-seven  feet  long,  twenty-three  feet 
wide,  thirteen  feet  high  on  the  side  walls"  was 
undertaken,  and  more  than  £100  subscribed,  a  por- 
tion of  which  is  stated  to  have  been  expended  for 
materials,  but  no  further  progress  was  made.  "  Rev. 
George  Keith,  in  his  journal,  mentions  officiating 
once  in  Piscataway  on  Dec.  30,  1702;"  communica- 
tion to  the  society  from  the  vestry,  Dec.  24,  1714. 
The  most  prominent  man  of  the  congregation  at  that 
time  was  Mr.  John  Barron,  one  of  the  wardens.  The 
other  warden  was  Thomas  Wetherel.  The  vestry, 
John  MoUeson,  William  Hodgson,  Robert  Webster, 
Charles  Glover,  Hopewell  Hull,  Henry  Langstaff", 
Samuel  Walker,  John  Jennings,  William  Olden, 
Samuel  Royse.  Subsequently,  about  the  year  1717, 
by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Vaughan,  the  frame  of  a  timber 
church  was  put  up,  but  the  funds  being  exhausted  it 
remained  in  an  unfinished  state  until  1724,  at  which 
time  they  received  occasional  visits  from  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Skinner,  of  Perth  Amboy,  who  gives  as  the 
number  of  communicants  in  that  year  eighteen  or 
nineteen,  and  represents  the  congregation  as  increas- 
ing, the  attendance  being  .is  large  there  as  in 
Amboy. 

For  more  than  thirty  years,  and  probably  until  his 
death,  did  Mr.  Skinner  discharge  his  duties  faithfully 
as  a  missionary  to  this  flock.  In  1747  he  wrote, 
"  My  circuit  from  the  first  Sunday  in  May  is  from 
Amboy  to  South  River,  from  thence  to  Amboy,  while 


RARITAN  TOWNSHIP. 


845 


the  river  is  passable  or  traveling  possible ;  and, 
indeed,  the  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  render  the 
service  at  sixty  years  of  age  very  hard  to  your  humble 
servant." 

He  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  congrega- 
tion enlarge  under  his  ministrations,  stating  in  1741 
that  his  hearers  generally  numbered  200,  and  on 
Christmas-day,  1748,  he  reports  the  number  of  com- 
municants to  have  been  forty-five. 

The  parish  subsequently  passed  into  the  charge  of 
the  missionaries  stationed  at  New  Brunswick,  the 
Kev.  Messrs.  Wood,  McKean,  and  Cutting,  who 
officiated  there  at  difierent  periods.  The  latter 
gentleman,  who  commenced  his  labors  in  1764,  ap- 
pears to  have  been  of  a  truly  catholic  spirit,  living  at 
New  Brunswick  and  associating  harmoniously  with 
all  denominations,  in  addition  to  his  clerical  func- 
tions having  under  his  care  a  few  young  gentlemen 
whom  he  prepared  for  college.  His  services  at 
Piscataway  Town  were  well  attended,  and  he  states 
that  he  was  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  the 
Baptist  clergyman  (Stelton),  by  agreement  with  him 
officiating  every  third  Sunday  in  the  month  when 
that  gentleman's  duties  called  him  elsewhere.  He 
met,  however,  with  much  to  discourage  him ;  so 
strong  were  the  prejudices  which  education  and  asso- 
ciation had  engendered  in  those  composing  his  con- 
gregation, on  his  proposing  to  them  baptism  they 
preferred  objections  to  sprinkling,  and  on  offering  to 
immerse  them  they  declined  receiving  the  sign  of  the 
cross  upon  their  foreheads,  and  what  gave  him  great 
uneasiness  was  the  divisions  existing  among  them 
respecting  land  titles,  one  of  the  principal  men  of 
the  congregation  becoming  very  inimical  to  many, 
who  wished  Mr.  Cutting  to  exercise  ecclesiastical 
discipline  upon  him.  "  I  remonstrated  to  them," 
says  the  missionary;  "it  was  a  matter  of  law  too 
intricate  for  me.  In  vain  did  I  endeavor  to  convince 
them  the  church  had  no  business  with  disputes  con- 
cerning property.  I  oflered  everything  in  my  power 
to  mediate  matters,  and  at  last  brought  the  principal 
parties  to  agree  to  leave  the  affair  to  arbitration  ;  the 
rest  were  still  violent,  and  became  more  so  because  I 
refused  to  do  what  I  could  not  answer  to  God,  my 
conscience,  and  society.  .  .  .  They  threatened  to 
leave  the  church,  and  the  last  communion  some  really 
absented  themselves."  This  was  in  1765.  The  next 
year  he  states  with  pleasure  that  the  hostility  of  the 
parties  was  somewhat  mollified,  though  he  found  it 
more  difficult  to  appease  them  when  their  temporal 
interest  was  concerned  than  when  any  scruples  arose 
in  their  minds  concerning  religion. 

Shortly  after  this  the  Rev.  Abraham  Beach  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  Cutting  at  New  Brunswick,  and  officiated 
occasionally  at  Piscataway  Town  until  the  Revolution. 
From  the  re-establishment  of  peace  up  to  1830  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  or 
clergymen  from  the  nearest  towns  visited  the  place 
only  two  or  three  times  a  year.  In  1830  the  congre- 
51 


gation  was  placed,  along  with  that  of  Trinity  Church, 
Woodbridge,  in  charge  of  the  Rev.  William  Douglas, 
and  so  continued  for  ten  years  and  until  Mr.  Douglas' 
removal  to  the  West.  In  1840  the  Rev.  Frederick 
Ogilby  officiated  occasionally ;  in  1841  and  1842  the 
Rev.  Hamble  J.  Leacock ;  in  1843  and  1844  the 
Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs,  of  New  Brunswick  ;  in  1848  the 
Rev.  James  Chipchase;  and  from  1847  to  1855  the 
Rev.  Isaac  Smith  were  in  charge  of  the  parish  or  gave 
to  it  a  portion  of  their  time.  The  Rev.  Alfred  Stubbs 
has  now  charge  of  the  church  (1882). 

On  the  19th  of  June,  1835,  the  church  was  entirely 
destroyed  by  a  tornado.  The  present  neat  edifice  was 
completed  in  a  few  months  after,  situated  on  the  wide 
avenue  in  the  centre  of  the  village.  The  Wardens, 
(1843)  Joel  Dunham,  Franklin  Smith,  (1882)  William 
N.  Smith,  Benjamin  Ellimore.  Vestrymen,  (1843) 
John  Kirkpatrick,  Henry  Langstaff,  William  Orme, 
Abraham  Beach,  Joseph  S.  Arnold,  James  Arnold, 
Jr.,  John  T.  Martin,  (1882)  John  T.  Martin,  John 
Conaway,  John  E.  Linstedt,  and  Edward  Allen. 

Sittings,  200;  communicants,  57. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church  of  Metuchen.— 
This  church  is  situated  on  the  corners  of  Belle  and 
Middlesex  Avenues,  in  a  beautiful  part  of  the  town'of 
Metuchen.  They  first  held  services  at  the  residence 
of  H.  C.  Hardy,  Esq.,  and  in  the  year  1866  the  use  of 
the  lecture-room  of  the  Reformed  Church  was  kindly 
offered,  and  here  stated  services  were  held,  and  a  Sab- 
bath-school formed.  The  Rev.  Alfred  Goldsborough, 
a  recent  graduate  of  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  was  appointed  their  rector.  But 
he  remained  but  a  few  months,  he  not  having  much 
encouragement  or  prospect  of  the  building  of  a  church. 
The  following  were  the  first  wardens:  William  H.  C. 
Hardy  and  Nathan  Robins.  For  some  time  the  ser- 
vices of  Rev.  Dr.  Abercrombie,  of  Rahway,  N.  J.,  and 
others  supplied  this  weak  church.  With  the  liberality 
of  Messrs.  Robins,  Thorn,  Strong,  and  others  the  pres- 
ent St.  Luke's  was  built,  and  the  first  services  held 
therein  June  30, 1869.  The  beautiful  rectory  on  Belle 
Avenue  was  soon  erected.  The  Rev.  Stephen  P.  Simp- 
son w-as  called  as  rector  in  the  year  1869  ;  he  came 
from  Newark,  N.  J.  The  Rev.  Lewis  Norton  is  the 
present  rector. 

Sittings,  350;  communicants,  65. 

The  St.  Francis'  (Roman  Catholic)  Church.— 
This  neat  edifice,  erected  in  the  year  1873  by  the  per- 
sonal efforts  of  Rev.  Fathers  Rogers  and  Duggan,  of 
St.  Peter's  Church,  New  Brunswick,  and  also  the 
earnest  labors  of  Rev.  Father  Downs,  the  church  has 
been  much  benefited.  The  Rev.  Father  Bettoni  is 
the  present  pastor,  who,  with  the  Woodbridge  church, 
which  are  connected  under  his  care.  The  church  cost 
about  six  thousand  dollars,  and  has  some  two  hundred 
and  fifty  adults  and  children  connected  with  the 
parish. 

First  Reformed  Church  of  Metuchen. —This 
church  was  organized   by  Classes  of  the  Reformed 


846 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Dutch  Church  of  New  Brunswick,  which  met  in  Me- 
tuchen,  Dec.  27,  1857,  and  received  some  thirty  or 
fort}'  letters  of  membership  from  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  from  this  colony,  from  the  sister-church  ;  en- 
gaged in  building  their  present  beautiful  edifice  on  a 
plot  donated  by  D.  G.  Thomas,  Esq.,  and  the  day  of 
its  dedication  was  named  Aug.  5, 1858,  when  the  ven- 
erable Rev.  Dr.  Bethune  preached  on  the  occasion. 
The  first  elders  and  deacons  con.sisted  of  Albert 
Edgar,  David  G.  Thomas,  Smith  Bloomfield,  David 
Bloo'mfleld,  William  F.  Manning,  Martin  Compton, 
Henry  Weston,  and  Charles  E.  Bloomfield.  The  first 
pastor.  Rev.  J.  Bodine  Thompson,  was  installed  Feb. 
15,  1859,  and  Nov.  6,  1866,  he  resigned  to  accept  a 
call  to  the  Reformed  Church  of  Tarrytown,  N.  Y. 
Mr.  Thompson  was  a  graduate  of  Rutgers  College  and 
of  the  theological  seminary  of  New  Brunswick,  and 
a  son  of  Judge  J.  Thompson,  of  Readington,  Somerset 
Co.,  N.  J.  His  removal  was  much  regretted  by  his 
congregation. 

The  second  call  to  the  pastorate  in  this  church  was 
made  to  Rev.  Nicholas  J.  M.  Bogart,  who  was  installed 
Aug.  14,  1867 ;  but  his  health  caused  him  to  resign 
Feb.  1,  1870.  He  also  was  a  graduate  of  Rutgers 
College.  In  the  fall  of  this  year  the  church  extended 
a,  call  to  the  Rev.  E.  Lord  from  Adams,  Jefferson  Co., 
N.  Y.,  who  was  duly  installed  and  remained  in  charge, 
but  was  forced  to  sever  his  connection  here  on  account 
of  his  continued  ill  health.  He  resigned  in  June, 
1880,  after  seeing  many  added  to  this  church  in  his 
ten  years'  pastorate.  As  one  said,  "A  good  man  and 
beloved  by  the  people." 

The  Rev.  James  Cruckshanks,  from  the  pastorate 
of  a  church  in  Kenosha,  Wisconsin,  has  now  become 
the  stated  pastor.  Value  of  church  property,  $10,000 ; 
sittings,  500 ;  membership,  160;  Sunday-school  offi- 
cers and  teachers,  15;  scholars,  100. 

Presbyterian  Church  of  Metuchen. — Some  time 
during  Rev.  Mr.  Whitaker's  administration  as  pastor 
of  the  Woodbridge  Presbyterian  Church,  about  1763, 
a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  residing  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  township  (Metuchen)  formed  a  separate 
congregation,  subsequently  known  as  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  of  Woodbridge,  and  eventually  as 
the  Presbyterian  Church  at  Metuchen.'  In  1790  a 
separation  was  effected  from  the  Woodbridge  Church 
after  nearly  thirty  years  of  united  action.  Rev.  Azel 
Roe  ofliciated  during  this  time  alternately  in  the  two 
congregations  very  acceptably,  and  continued  among 
them  during  the  Revolution. 

The  church  in  Metuchen  at  this  time  must  have 
been  rather  a  rude  structure.  By  the  kindness  of 
Mr.  Hampton  we  were  shown  the  place  where  it 
stood  upon  the  upper  end  of  Main  Street,  in  the  old 
burial-ground,  next  to  Mr.  Vanderhoven's  lot  or  resi- 
dence. 

The   first   official    record   is   dated   June   2,   1784. 


1  Eaat  Jersey  Hist.,  AVoodbridge,  p.  389. 


There  were  no  trustees  for  the  church  appointed,  but 
collectors  were  named  for  the  purpose  of  looking 
after  the  finances  of  the  church  and  to  pay  the 
amounts  to  their  pastor.  Rev.  Mr.  Roe.  There  were 
sixty-four  seats  up-  and  down-stairs,  with  one  aisle, 
as  was  common  in  those  days  in  most  of  the  churches. 
A  high  pulpit  with  sounding-board.^  We  well  re- 
member these  early  churches  without  chimneys  built, 
as  no  stoves  were  used,  only  the  little  tin  foot-stove 
that  had  a  cup  to  hold  a  coal  of  fire,  which  was  gen- 
erally supplied  by  the  near  neighbor.  The  size  of 
this  church  was  twenty-five  by  thirty-six  feet. 

This  church  was  incorporated  in  the  year  1787  as 
the  Second  Church  of  Woodbridge.  The  following 
trustees  were  elected,  they  being  the  first :  Benjamin 
Manning,  John  Conger,  John  Ross,  Ebenezer  Ford, 
Ellis  Ayers,  Timothy  Bloomfield,  Robert  Ross. 

In  1792,  after  an  extensive  revival  of  religion,  when 
large  additions  were  made  to  the  church,  it  was  de- 
cided to  enlarge  this  meeting-house  by  adding  some 
fifteen  feet,  building  of  chimneys,  and  having  its  roof 
changed  (perhaps  new  shingled),  some  £300  was  ex- 
pended. Mr.  Jonathan  Freeman  was  empowered  to 
do  the  work. 

Mr.  James  Manning  was  chosen  a  ruling  elder  April 
15,  1793.  Rev.  Mr.  Roe's  services  were  retained  for 
one-third  of  the  time  authorized  by  the  Presbytery 
of  New  York,  which  met  at  Orange,  May  9,  1793. 
"  But  another  account  says  that  the  church  dissolved 
their  connection  with  Woodbridge,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Roe 
was  not  supplying  the  congregation."  He  must  have 
been  very  old ;  he  remained  with  the  First  Church, 
Woodbridge,  until  his  death,  in  1818. 

In  the  year  1794  a  call  was  made  to  Rev.  Henry 
Cook,  of  Morris  County,  at  a  yearly  salary  of  £120, 
and  he  accepted  the  charge  of  the  Metuchen  Church, 
May  1,  1794. 

The  parsonage  was  purchased  in  1795  for  £200,  and 
was  where  Mr.  Ellis  F.  Ayers  lived.  In  the  year  1805 
the  salary  of  the  pastor.  Rev.  Mr.  Cook,  was  raised  to 
$400,  and  in  1807  the  parsonage  grounds  was  enlarged 
by  an  addition  of  a  small  lot,  and  also  more  land  was 
added  to  the  burial-ground. 

In  the  year  1813,  Lewis  Thornal  and  Richard  Ross 
were  made  the  elders.  In  1814,  Robert  Ross,  Jr.,  and 
David  Kelley  were  appointed  as  choristers,  and  per- 
haps Mr.  William  Lover  was  also  appointed,  as  he 
was  a  singing-master  and  taught  singing-schools  in 
the  neighborhood. 

In  1824  the  pastor.  Rev.  Mr.  Cook,  died  at  the  age 
of  fifty-five,  and  after  a  pastorate  of  thirty  years.  It 
was  a  great  loss  to  this  church.  He  was  buried  in  the 
old  burying-grouud,  and  a  stone  with  a  suitable  in- 
scription placed  over  the  grave.  An  extensive  revival 
visited  this  church  in  1818,  when  over  one  hundred 
were  added  to  its  communion.  The  Rev.  Holloway 
Whitfield  Hunt  received  a  unanimous  call  at  a  salary 

'  Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt,  Bist.  of  Metuchen. 


RARITAN  TOWNSHIP. 


847 


of  four  hundred  dollars  with  parsonage,  and  which  he 
accepted  and  was  installed  April  29,  1828.  He  mar- 
ried a  Miss  Henrietta  Mundy,  of  this  place.  He  was 
born  at  Kingwood,  Hunterdon  Co.,  N.  J.,  March  31, 
1800.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Gardiner  A.  and  Ruth 
Page  Hunt,  afterwards  of  Harmony,  N.  J.  During 
his  pastorate  extensive  ingatherings  to  the  church 
occurred,  and  in  1834  a  new  church  was  in  contem- 
plation forty  by  sixty.  Messrs.  Stelle  Manning,  Wil- 
liam M.  Ross,  and  many  others  were  its  prime 
movers.  It  was  finished  and  dedicated  Jan.  30,  1836. 
Mr.  Hunt,  after  a  useful  term  of  years,  retired  from 
the  church,  and  for  several  months  there  was  a  va- 
cancy, when  Rev.  Peter  H.  Burghardt  was  called. 
He  accepted  and  was  installed  Nov.  30,  1847,  and  his 
pastorate  continued  until  June  5,  1850. 

In  the  fall  the  Rev.  Robert  J.  Finley  accepted  a 
call  to  this  church,  and  was  installed  on  the  14th  of 
November,  1850.  He  was  the  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Finley. 
He  had  studied  law,  and  soon  after  entered  upon  its 
practice  in  the  city  of  Cincinnati.  But  after  a  while 
he  relinquished  it  for  the  ministry,  and  after  laboring 
for  some  years  in  the  South  and  having  acted  as  the 
agent  of  the  American  Colonization  Society,  in  1850 
he  settled  over  this  church,  where  he  preached  ac- 
ceptably until  October,  1857.  During  that  time  the 
church  was  enlarged  to  its  present  size.  It  may  be 
said  justly  that  Mr.  Finley  was  a  useful  and  honest 
Christian  clergyman,  and  this  church  parted  with  him 
with  regret;  many  were  added  to  the  church  during 
his  pastorate.  He  died  at  Talladega,  Ala.,  July  2, 
1860,  where  he  had  the  charge  of  the  Presbyterian 
Institute. 

The  Rev.  Gardner  S.  Plumley,  of  New  York  City, 
received  a  call  in  January,  1858,  which  he  accepted, 
and  on  April  28, 1858,  he  was  installed  as  pastor.  He 
was  born  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  attended  Yale 
College,  where  he  graduated  in  1850,  also  at  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  New  York,  and  in  the  year 
1855  was  pastor  of  the  Bloomingdale  Church  in  New 
York.  "  Within  the  last  few  years  the  property  of  the 
church  has  been  improved.  A  spire  was  erected  in 
1863,  and  a  bell  was  purchased  in  1865.'" 

In  1876,  Rev.  Mr.  Plumley  resigned  the  pastorate, 
after  a  number  of  years  of  great  usefulness  in  this 
church. 

Rev.  James  Gilbert  Mason  accepted  a  unanimous  call 
as  pastor  to  this  church,  which  had  been  supplied  for 
several  months  after  Dr.  Plumley's  resignation.  He 
was  installed  April  24,  1877.  He  was  born  at  the 
town  of  Jonesborough,  East  Tennessee,  attended  Wil- 
liams College,  was  pastor  of  the  North  Church  at 
Washington  City,  D.  C. 

In  connection  with  this  church  there  is  a  flourish- 
ing Sabbath-school,  and  also  four  mission  schools, 
under  the  care  of  the  ofiicers  of  the  church.  The 
number  of  sittings  is  seven  hundred  and  fifty,  commu-  I 

1  Dr.  E.  M.  Hunt's  History.  I 


nicants  two  hundred  and  seventy-five.  The  following 
are  the  present  elders :  Cornelius  Voorhees,  William 
C.  Martin,  John  J.  Clarkson,  Augustus  Blackford, 
Francis  Grimstead,  Robert  Bruce  Crowell,  Benajah 
M.  Kelly,  James  A.  Grimstead. 

Burial-Places.  —  Piscataway  and  Stelton  burial- 
grounds  are  among  the  oldest  places  of  interment  in 
the  township.  Here  for  nearly  two  hundred  years 
has  lain  the  dust  of  the  pioneers.  Among  the  older 
monuments  is  that  of  George  Drake's  wife,  Eliza- 
beth, who  was  buried  in  1768  at  the  age  of  fifty-six, 
and  has  the  following  flattering  testimonial  upon  her 
tombstone : 

**  Frugal  like  Martha  as  a  wife, 
And  lived  Mary's  godly  life." 

There  is  Edward  Griffith's  grave.  He  died  March 
23,  1813,  aged  seventy-five  years.  Upon  the  stone 
we  read  these  words :  "  He  worthily  fulfilled  the  oflice 
of  Deacon  in  this  church  [Baptist  [  near  50  years." 
Ephraim  Martin's  death  occurred  in  his  seventy- 
third  year,  on  the  28th  day  of  February,  1806. 
William  Drake's  wife,  Hannah,  sleeps  near  at  hand, 
buried  in  March,  1797,  in  the  forty-first  year  of  her 
age.  Fitz  Randolph  Drake  died  Oct.  6.  1791,  aged 
seventy-five,  and  his  body  is  slumbering  here.  Rev. 
Edmund  Dunham,  Capt.  Andrew  Drake,  Elizabeth 
Sutton,  and  many  of  the  other  old-time  people  are 
buried  here. 

There  are  a  few  private  farm  burial-lots,  but  most 
of  the  stones  have  been  removed  and  many  of  the 
graves  have  been  leveled  even  with  the  soil. 

Metuchen  Old  and  New  Graveyards.— The 
old  venerable  graveyard  on  the  line  of  the  railroad  at 
Metuchen  contains  many  moss-covered  headstones  of 
the  pioneers  and  their  descendants  for  many  genera- 
tions : 

Henry  Allen  died  April  10, 1783,  in  ye  age  of  43. 

Reuben  Ayres  died  March  22,  1703,  in  his  63d  year. 

Timothy  Bloonifleld  died  January  18,  1813,  in  his  74th  year. 

Capt.  Smith  Bloomfield  washed  ashore  from  schooner  "Lafayette"  while 

on  a  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  September  26, 1826,  in  his  27th 

year. 
David  Corapton  died  May  7, 1789,  aged  67  years. 
Doctor  Jolin  Cool  died  August  14,  I8'23,  aged  49  years. 
John  Campbell  died  October  16,  1731,  aged  73  years.    This  monument 

ia  of  rough  blue  slate,  with  quaint  inscriptions  that  are  hard  now 

to  decipher. 
Neil  Campbell  died  October  16, 1777,  in  his  43d  year. 
Richard  Carmon  died  December  22, 1768,  in  his  Vlst  year,  and  his  son 

(Ricliard,  Jr.)  died  May  4,  1769,  in  his  36th  year. 
Lewis  Evens  died  Oct.  25,  1776,  in  his  32d  year. 
James  Eddy  died  August  19, 1792,  in  his  82dyear. 
Ebenezer  Ford  died  July  15, 1797,  in  his  58th  year. 
James  Flatt  died  Aug.  8,  1800. 
Ellis  Freeman  died  Feb.  11, 1773. 
John  Freeman  died  1764. 
Joseph  Freeman  died  March  12,  1797. 

Doctor  Matthias  Freeman  died  Sept.  23, 1831,  in  his  57th  year. 
Dr.  Melancthon  Freeman  died  Nov.  11, 1806,  in  his  60th  year. 
David  and  Phebe  Goodfellow  died  September,  1789. 
Daniel  Hampton  died  April  15,  1795,  aged  50  years. 
Peter  Knapps  died  March  17,  176U,  aged  50  years. 
Samuel  Kelly  died  November  22,  1780,  in  his  63d  year. 
Rachel  Laforge  died  July  26,  1801,  aged  19  years. 
Capt.  Leonard  died  May  9, 1803,  in  his  50th  year.    He  served  during  the 

Revolutionary  war,  doing  valiant  service. 


848 


HISTORY  OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


Nathaniel  Leonard,  formerly  of  Huntingdon  County,  died  Sept.  11, 1797, 

aged  72  yeare. 
Mr.  Eliakira  Martin  died  May  18,1782,  in  his  69tb  year. 
James  Martin  died  May  10, 1776,  in  his  67th  year. 
John  MorriB  died  January  2, 1788,  in  his  46th  year. 
Daniel  McGregor  died  October  27,  1806,  aged  69  years.    "  He  donated 

the  sum  of  S.'iSS  to  the  cliurch." 
Capt.  William  Manning  died  Sept.  26,  1814,  in  his  75th  year.     "  He  was 

eminently  useful  in  life,  and  at  bis  death  left  a  donation  of  8700  for 

the  support  of  the  Gospels  in  this  church." 
Dr.  Robinson  Munday  died  May  20. 1833,  aged  22  years. 
Jonathan  Rowland,  born  June  10. 1768,  died  May  20, 1827. 
Matilda  Slivers  died  April  16, 1307,  in  his  38th  year. 
Thomaa  Streamback  died  Feb.  11, 1812,  in  his  23d  year. 

Also  are  buried  here  at  an  early  date  the  Thonials, 
Terrys,  Thatcher,  Tappiu,  Thicksion,  Thorp,  Tal- 
mage,  Warren,  Vanderbergh,  Voorhees,  Van  Sickia, 
Vanderhoover,  Taylor,  Vermule,  Watson,  Wales, 
Wooding,  and  Wilson. 

In  the  new  cemetery  between  the  church  and  par- 
sonage lie  interred  many  names  represented  in  the 
old  colonial  ground,  such  as  the  families  of  Edgar, 
Wilson,  Taylor,  Vanderhooven,  Manning,  Fitz  Ran- 
dolph, Thonial,  Tappen,  Thorp,  Tabon,  Thomas, 
Terry,  Schuerman,  Throckraartin,  Sofield,  Savidge, 
Sherwood,  Stivers,  Soaper,  Noe,  Potter,  Nicholas, 
Mundy,  Frazee,  Ayres,  Acken,  Allward,  Bloomfield, 
Bloodgood,  McKnight,  Clark,  Crowell,  Compton, 
Campbell,  Crow,  Clarkson,  Conger,  Cook,  Kelly, 
Daniels,  Evens,  Eddy,  Fourat,  Freeman,  Foster, 
Griffiug,  Hampton,  Hall,  Hull,  Humpries,  Hunt, 
Martin,  Morris,  and  many  others. 

Villages  and  Hamlets.  —  Bonhamton,  named 
after  Nicholas  Bonham,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
this  part  of  Middlesex  County,  having  become  a 
freeholder  in  1682-83,  and  so  recorded  as  owner  of 
lands  by  allotment.  This  is  one  of  the  most  ancient 
settlements  in  the  county. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  letter  of  an 
otficer  while  at  camp,  and  dated  Bonhamton,  April 
15,  1877: 

"A  detachment  under  the  command  of  Capt,  Alexander  Paterson,  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Twelfth  Regiment,  commanded  by  Col.  Cook,  attacked 
the  Piquet  Guard  of  the  Enemy  at  2  o'clock  this  morning,  about  four 
hundred  yards  from  Bonliamton,  and  after  a  short  but  obstinate  engage- 
ment the  whole  of  the  guard,  twenty-five  in  number,  were  either  killed 
or  taken  prisoners.  Lieut.  Krazier  of  the  Seventy-first  Regiment  was 
killed  ou  the  spot.  The  enemy,  though  advantageously  posted,  did  not 
attempt  to  support  their  guard,  but  retired  with  precipitation  to  their 
works.  Our  officers  and  soldiers  behaved  with  the  greatest  cool  ness  and 
courage  on  this  occasion.  Their  conduct  would  do  honor  to  the  best  dis- 
ciplined troops.  We  had  Lieuts.  McAlharton  and  Reily,  of  Col.  Cook's 
Regiment,  wounded  not  mortally," 

We  also  give  a  second  extract  from  the  same  letter: 

"Post  near  Bonhamton,  May  11, 1777,  says,  'I  have  the  pleasure  to 
inform  you  that  yesterday  part  of  Gen.  Stevens'  division  attacked  the 
Royal  Highlanders  and  six  companies  of  light  infantry.  It  was  a 
bold  enterprise,  they  being  posted  within  two  miles  of  Bonhamton 
and  about  the  same  distjince  from  Brunswick.  The  action  continued 
about  one  hour  and  half.  The  Continental  troops  behaved  well  and 
drove  in  the  piquets  at  Bonliamton,  attacked  and  drove  tlie  Highland- 
ers out  of  a  wood  they  had  taken  possession  of  near  to  Piscataway  Town. 
The  enemy  were  reinforced  but  were  again  compelled  to  give  away. 
They  were  reinforced  a  second  time,  when  upon  due  consideration  of 
our  situation  with  respect  to  the  enemy's  diflerent  posts  (at  Brunswick, 
Baritan  Lauding,  and  Bonhamton}  it  was  judged  advisable  to  retire. 


The  retreat  was  made  in  excellent  order,  and  our  loss  is  inconsiderable. 
I  congratulate  you  on  this  advantage  obtained  over  the  enemy's  best 
troops.  The  Highlanders,  obstinately  brave,  were  too  proud  to  surren- 
der, which  cost  many  of  them  dear.'" 

Bonhamtown  is  five  miles  northeast  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, on  the  turnpike  road  leading  to  Woodbridge, 
from  which  it  is  distant  six  miles.  It  contains  a  few 
dwellings,  store,  tavern,  and  district  school-house  No. 
18,  and  a  Union  Chapel.  It  is  mostly  a  farming  com- 
munity. There  are  also  a  number  who  are  engaged 
in  manufacture  of  bricks  and  fire-clay.  A  small 
branch  railroad,  called  the  Clay  Company's,  runs  from 
this  town  to  the  Raritan  River,  where  vessels  are 
loaded. 

Ford's  Corner  and  Saxd  Hills,  small  settle- 
ments, are  just  ou  the  line  of  Woodbridge  township. 
The  Amboy  Railroad  branches  pass  through.  The 
hamlet  contains  a  store  and  school-house.  Highland 
Park,  as  it  is  called,  is  situated  on  the  Raritan  River, 
in  the  southerly  part  of  the  township  and  opposite 
the  city  of  New  Brunswick.  It  is  a  desirable  loca- 
tion for  suburban  residences,  and  already  contains 
many  handsome  mansions,  with  fine  grounds,  drives, 
and  other  accessories. 

The  village  (or  town)  of  PiscATAWAY  is  one  of 
the  earliest  of  settlements,  dating  back  to  1668.  In 
modern  times  it  has  been  nearly  described  as  "  three 
miles  northeast  from  New  Brunswick,  and  one  mile 
from  the  Raritan  River,  on  the  turnpike  road  from 
New  Brunswick  to  Woodbridge,  containing  an  Epis- 
copal Church,  a  Baptist  Church,  a  store,  and  some  ten 
or  twelve  dwellings  in  a  tolerably  fertile  country. 
This  was  an  old  Indian  village,  and  is  remarkable  for 
having  been  the  seat  of  justice  for  Middlesex  and 
Somerset  Counties  as  early  as  1683.  At  that  period 
the  courts  were  holden  sometimes  at  this  place  and 
sometimes  at  Woodbridge." 

Metuchen. — The  following  account  of  this  village 
we  find,  with  many  other  historical  records  of  the 
olden  times,  in  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Daily's  very  interest- 
ing story  of  a  New  Jersey  township :  Metuchen 
begins  to  figure  in  the  records  in  1701.  John  Comp- 
ton was  chosen  surveyor  of  the  highways  in  "  Ma- 
tuching  for  that  year."  Metuchen,  an  Indian  chief, 
tradition  declares  to  have  inhabited  that  section  be- 
tween 1630  and  1700.  It  is  asserted  that  the  warrior 
IS  buried  on  a  farm  near  the  village.  Metuchen  is 
therefore  of  Indian  etymology,  the  meaning  of  which 
is  "  high  hill ;"  and  local  authority  says  that  it  was  a 
descriptive  name  given  by  the  tribe  of  Raritans  be- 
cause of  the  undulating  character  of  the  country. 
Hence  the  chief  who  held  sway  there  was  called  Me- 
tuchen, chief  of  the  rolling  land.' 

In  the  freeholders'  meeting,  held  Jan.  9,  1724,  Jus- 
tice Hude  presiding,  it  was  voted  that  certain  pieces 
of  lands  should  lie  perpetually  common,  among  which 
were  these  :  "  A  plot  at  Metuchen  adjoining  the  south- 
west  corner  of  Israel    Thomell's    land ;    one    lying 


1  Dr.  £.  M.  Hunt's  pamphlet. 


RARITAN  TOWNSHIP. 


849 


before  Moses  Rolph's  door  (John  Allen's  house-lot 
forming  the  rear  boundary);  and  one,  as  the  clerk 
describes  it,  'on  the  end  of  Strawberry  Hill,  next  the 
town,  between  the  road  that  leads  to  Amboy  and  the 
dwelling-house  of  Ephraim  Andrews,  deceased.' " 
These  commons  were  to  be  devoted  to  "  publique 
uses"  only,  such  as  "  the  building  of  school-houses, 
market-places,  etc." 

Soon  after  the  British  camp  was  formed  at  Bon- 
hamton,  a  Mr.  Compton,  grandfather  of  Henry  Comp- 
ton,  was  visited  by  the  British,  who  had  learned  that 
two  of  his  sons  were  serving  in  the  Continental 
army,  and  telling  him  to  pack  up  his  bed  and  furni- 
ture, gave  him  the  old  gray  horse  and  a  wagon  and 
sent  him  away.  They  then  burned  his  house  and  out- 
buildings and  stole  his  six  horses,  thirty  head  of  cattle, 
and  fifty  sheep.  Mr.  Compton's  dwelling  stood  by 
the  brook  between  Metuchen  and  Bonhamton.  The 
camp  at  the  latter  place  was  composed  of  five  British 
regiments.  The  ofiicers  occupied  the  house  now  the 
dwelling  of  Benjamin  Tappin,  owned  at  the  time  by 
the  grandfather  of  Jerome  Ross. 

The  town  of  Metuchen  is  situated  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  Raritan  township.  The  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road has  there  stations,  and  runs  continuous  trains  to 
and  from  New  York  and  the  Eastern  and  Western 
cities,  making  this  a  desirable  point  for  residents 
doing  business  in  the  adjacent  cities  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, Newark,  and  New  York,  and  there  are  some  of 
the  finest  villas  that  have  been  built  within  a  few 
years  scattered  along  these  beautiful  avenues.  There 
are  five  churches,  jtost-ofiice,  hotel,  a  number  of  stores, 
including  bakery,  confectionery,  butcher-  and  car- 
penter-shops. School  District  No.  15  have  built  a 
neat  academy,  situated  on  Middlesex  Avenue  near  the 
terminus  of  Union  Avenue.  Prospect  Hill,  a  very 
peculiar  elevation,  in  nearly  a  circular  form,  and 
strongly  resembling  many  of  the  Indian  mounds  of 
the  West,  the  summit  of  which  commands  a  fine  view 
of  the  adjacent  country. 

The  Eastern  and  Amboy  Railroad  (a  branch  of  the 
Lehigh  Valley  route)  has  regular  connection  with 
this  road  at  the  Water  Tanks,  where  passengers 
change  cars  for  the  Amboy  and  Lehigh  Valley  Rail- 
road, then  passing  on  to  the  depot  at  Metuchen,  where 
passengers  can  change  for  New  Brunswick  and  Phila- 
delphia, or  continue  in  same  train  to  Elizabeth, 
Newark,  and  New  York.  This  town  has  so  many 
desirable  points  for  the  convenience  of  the  residents 
that  in  a  few  years  the  prospects  are  that  it  will  double 
its  population. 

Post-Ofl&ces. — It  is  said  that  a  post-office  was  first 
established  in  1832  in  Metuchen  by  one  Lewis 
Thomas,  for  nearly  nine  years,  when  Mr.  George  B. 
Steile  was  then  the  postmaster.  For  many  years 
since  the  office  had  been  established  in  Upper  Me- 
tuchen, and  after  its  removal  to  near  the  centre  or 
lower  part  of  the  town  near  the  depot  the  following 
gentlemen   have   held   the   position   as   postmaster: 


July  23,  1841,  R.  R.  Freeman,  and  after  holding  it 
for  nearly  four  years,  in  184.5  Mr.  Ezekiel  Merritt  was 
placed  in  charge.  The  following  have  held  the  posi- 
tion :  Freeman  Edgar,  Ezekiel  Merritt,  Thomas  Van 
Siclen,  1853;  J.  J.  Clarkson.  I.  E.  Van  Geisen,  and 
the  present  postmaster,  Albert  Acken.  The  Stelton 
post-office  has  been  established  but  a  few  years.  Jo- 
seph France,  1870-71 ;  Augustus  Steele,  postmaster, 
1873-82. 

NE^y  Durham,  situated  just  on  the  border  of  this 
township  and  Piscataway,  is  a  hamlet  composed  of  a 
number  of  families  and  a  school-house. 

There  are  a  number  of  smaller  settlements  or  clus- 
ters of  houses,  school-houses  in  other  parts  of  the 
township. 

Menlo  Park,  situated  on  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road, is  a  beautiful  location  on  high  ground.  It  has 
its  post-office,  "  Edison  Electric  Light  Manufactory," 
and  a  copper-mine. 

New  Dover,  a  small  settlement  a  short  distance 
from  Metuchen,  has  one  store,  a  church,  school-house, 
and  post-office. 

Steltox  is  a  growing  village  on  the  line  of  Penn- 
sylvania Railroad,  about  four  miles  from  New  Bruns- 
wick. It  has  a  church,  school-house,  store,  and  post- 
office.  Its  appearance  is  neat ;  the  dwellings  in  good 
taste ;  streets  laid  out  with  shade-trees  ;  the  town  is 
surrounded  by  a  farming  community.  There  is  a 
large  number  by  the  name  of  Steile,  who  were  first 
settlers  here  in  1668,  and  from  which  the  village  re- 
ceived its  name. 

Mamifacturing  Interests. — Some  of  the  finest  fire- 
clays, similar  to  that  in  Woodbridge  township,  which 
is  of  great  value  and  manufactured  at  different  points 
in  Raritan  township. 

The  Raritan  Ridge  Clay  Company, — Mrs.  Augustine 
Camjibell  who  is  treasurer, — miners  and  shippers  of 
clay,  sand,  and  kaolin.  Their  banks  and  docks  are 
on  the  north  shore  of  the  Raritan  River. 

A.  M.  Mervin,  manufacturer  of  building-brick  on 
the  Raritan  River  near  Ford's  Corner. 

At  Bonhamton  and  other  points  clay  has  b6en 
mined.  At  Menlo  Park  a  copper-mine  has  lately 
been  worked.  Here  are  the  electric  light  factories  of 
Thomas  A.  Edison. 

There  is  water-power  sufficient  in  this  township  for 
all  needed  purposes  of  use  in  manufacturing  and 
steam-power.  The  Pennsylvania  Road  gives  all  facili- 
ties required.  Their  track  pa.sses  through  this  town- 
ship east  and  west,  while  the  Lehigh  Valley,  passing 
through  from  Easton  and  the  coal-fields  to  Metuchen, 
gives  all  needed  fuel  to  the  factories  and  private 
dwellings.  It  is  said  that  over  two  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  tons  pass  through  this  town  to  Perth  Amboy 
every  year. 

Copper-Mines. — About  the  year  1784  a  rich  copper- 
mine  was  discovered  nearly  on  the  line  of  this  and 
Woodbridge  townships.  It  is  just  a  short  distance 
from  Menlo  Park  and  near  the  track  of  the  Pennsyl- 


850 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX  COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


vania  Railroad.  Mr.  Ellis  Ayres  can  yet  remember 
seeing  it  when  being  worked,  and  he  says  that  plates 
of  native  copper  were  taken  from  between  the  seams  of 
the  rocks  two  feet  wide  by  six  feet  long.  He  says  they 
had  arrangements  for  hoisting  up  the  water  by  mule- 
power,  the  mule  backing  and  lowering  a  tub,  which 
would  fill  at  the  bottom  and  be  hoisted  out  again,  just 
as  horses  are  now  used  in  unloading  vessels  at  the 
present  time.  But  the  shafts  and  drifts  filled  so 
fast  with  water  that  the  miners  became  discouraged 
on  being  "  drowned  out,"  and  Mr.  Edison,  the  electric 
light  inventor,  recently  obtained  the  property  for 
pros|)ecting,  and  has  commenced  to  work  them.  He 
has  opened  the  shaft,  and  found  it  to  curve  with  the 
hill  as  a  convex,  keeping  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  from 
the  surface,  and  extending  three  hundred  feet  or  more 
till  it  again  came  out  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill.  They 
also  discovered  a  shaft  which  had  also  been  worked 
before.  Mr.  Edison  instantly  set  a  force  to  work,  and 
after  digging  almost  fifteen  feet  down  at  the  spot  they 
came  to  the  cross-timbers  which  had  been  laid  across 
and  covered  up  the  old  shaft.  Strange  to  say,  the 
chestnut  timbers  were  in  good  preservation.  A  steam- 
engine  had  been  set  to  work  to  pump  out  the  water, 
and  soon  had  it  clear  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
down.  When  forty  feet  were  cleared  they  came  to  a 
drift  which  crossed  the  shaft  at  right  angles  and  went 
both  ways,  in  one  direction  running  into  the  first  drift 
above  alluded  to.  It  was  in  these  drifts  the  ancient 
miners  worked.  At  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet 
down  the  drift  is  clear  and  has  not  yet  been  followed 
to  its  endways,  going  like  the  other  drift  both  ways 
from  the  bottom  of  the  shaft. 

It  was  at  this  bottom  that  a  wheelbarrow  was 
found  of  very  primitive  construction,  and  .some  home- 
made picks  and  shovels,  just  as  left  by  the  workmen. 
They  were  evidently  the  work  of  blacksmiths  of  the 
period,  and  not  like  the  factory-made  shovels  and 
picks  of  to-day.  The  shovels  had  nearly  corroded 
away,  however,  but  the  wooden  handles  were  as  sound 
as  ever.  The  wheelbarrow  also  was  in  a  good  state 
of  preservation.  Mr.  Edison  values  these  relics  very 
highly,  and  has  kept  them  all. 

In  pumping  out  the  water  from  the  main  shaft, 
ladders,  formed  of  chestnut,  with  split  chestnut  sap- 
lings for  the  rungs,  were  found  leading  down  entirely 
to  the  bottom  of  the  big  shaft  in  a  perfect  state  of 
preservation.  There  were  six  or  seven  of  these  lad- 
ders, and  there  must  be  a  preservative  quality  in  the 
water  of  this  mine,  or  it  would  not  so  well  have  kept 
these  saplings. 

As  these  mines  must  have  filled  rapidly  with  water, 
and  steam  had  not  been  invented  at  the  early  time 
these  mines  were  worked,  may  have  been  the  cause 
of  their  desertion,  leaving  these  tools  behind  them. 

Mr.  Edison  expects  to  secure  the  copper  enough 
needed  in  his  factory  near  by,  and  it  is  somewhat 
strange  that  so  little  is  known  of  the  early  workers. 
No  traditions  have  been  remembered  save  by  an  old 


resident,  Mr.  Ellis  F.  Ayres,  and  his  memory  in  lo- 
cating the  site  of  the  old  shaft.  It  may  probably  be 
that  his  ancestors  may  have  told  him  about  the  mines, 
as  they  were  not  worked  in  his  memory. 


BIOGRAPHICAL    SKETCHES. 


ISRAEL    THORNAL. 

The  origin  of  this  family  in  this  country  is  thought 
to  be  Scotch-Irish.  Israel  Thornal,  the  fourth  gener- 
ation from  the  present  Israel,  came  to  Woodbridge, 
N.  J.,  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury. Little  is  known  of  him.  His  son  Benjamin 
settled  in  what  was  then  Woodbridge,  now  Raritan 
township,  near  the  site  of  the  present  Thornal  home- 
stead. Benjamin  had  one  son,  named  Israel,  of  whom 
we  have  some  account. 

In  the  war  of  1776  a  detachment  of  British  troops 
stationed  at  Perth  Amboy  came  to  the  residence  of 
Benjamin  Thornal  and  took  him  and  his  sou  Israel 
prisoners.  At  the  same  time  they  drove  from  the 
farm  twenty-seven  head  of  cattle.  The  prisoners 
were  taken  to  New  York  City,  to  what  was  then 
known  as  the  "Sugar-House."  Benjamin  died  in 
prison.  His  son  was  exchanged  and  returned  home, 
became  a  large  and  prosperous  farmer,  and  a  promi- 
nent man  in  the  township.  There  is  a  record  of  his 
renting  a  pew  in  the  Pre.sbyterian  Church  in  Me- 
tuchen,  June  2,  1784.  His  children  were  Louis, 
Ephraim,  Benjamin,  Manning,  Margaret,  Betsey, 
Mary,  and  Lockie. 

Manning,  the  young&st  son,  the  father  of  the  sub- 
ject of  this  sketch,  was  born  May  21,  1793,  and  died 
Jan.  19,  1868.  AVhen  sixteen  years  of  age  he  moved 
to  Uniontown,  and  there  spent  five  years,  learning 
the  trade  of  a  hatter.  On  reaching  his  twenty-first 
year  he  came  home  to  Woodbridge,  and  began  farm- 
ing with  his  father.  He  was  married,  June  11,  1816, 
to  Deliverance  Freeman,  who  was  born  April  18, 
1793,  and  died  June  23,  1858.  The  issue  of  this  mar- 
riage was  eleven  children, — Sarah  F.,  born  Feb.  3, 
1817;  William,  Feb.  26,  1818;  Eliza  E.,  Nov.  15, 
1819;  Israel,  Aug.  22,  1821;  Arold  F.,  Feb.  13,  1823; 
Margaret  R.,  Nov.  16,  1824  (died  in  infancy) ;  Ben- 
jamin C,  Jan.  3,  1827  ;  Rachel  A.,  June  20,  1828 ; 
Margaret  R.,  1831 ;  Mary  J.,  May  18,  1833;  Joanna, 
Oct.  31,  1836. 

Israel,  the  .subject  of  our  sketch,  is  the  fourth  gen- 
eration in  regular  descent  having  the  Thornal  name 
who  has  owned  and  lived  upon  the  place  he  now  oc- 
cupies. While  a  boy  he  attended  the  district  school 
and  worked  on  the  farm,  as  was  the  custom  of  those 
times.  After  finishing  his  studies  at  school  he  turned 
his  whole  attention  to  farming,  and  had  sole  charge 
of  the  farm  for  eight  or  ten  years  before  his  father's 
death.     By  his  will  his  father  gave  him  the  farm,  and 


RARITAN  TOWNSHIP. 


851 


made  him  sole  executor  of  the  estate.  His  Aunt 
Lockie  made  her  home  with  him.  She  died  April 
25,  1878,  aged  eighty-six.  She  used  to  relate  many 
interesting  incidents  of  the  dark  days  of  the  Revolu- 
tion, as  told  by  her  father  and  his  friends. 


ISRAEL   THORNAL. 

Israel  Thornal  was  married,  April  11,  1872,  to 
Georgia  Williams,  who  was  born  June  1,  1836.  The 
children  of  this  marriage  are  Dillie  F.,  born  Aug.  13, 
1873;  Georgia  F.,  Oct.  9,  1874;  Manning,  Feb.  9, 
1877. 

Mr.  Thornal  united  with  the  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Metuchen  in  the  spring  of  1862,  and  has  been  a 
member  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  that  church  for 
the  last  ten  years.  He  has  a  large,  wall-cultivatad 
farm  and  a  pleasant  home.  Ha  has  been  a  life-long 
Democrat,  and  although  not  taking  an  active  part  in 
politics  he  has  repeatedly  refused  to  accept  office. 
He  is  now  chairman  of  the  town  committee.  Mr. 
Thornal  is  a  gentleman  well  thought  of  in  his  town- 
ship, and  is  a  good  representative  of  the  careful, 
thrifty,  progressive  farmer.  He  has  always  lived  on 
the  Thornal  homastea^. 


WILLIAM  T.  EDGAR. 
The  paternal  grandfather  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch  came  from  Scotland  and  settled  in  Wood- 
bridge,  N.  J.  He  was  the  fiither  of  twelve  children. 
Albert,  the  third  son,  was  the  father  of  the  sulyect  of 
our  sketch,  and  started  life  in  Woodbridge  as  a  mason, 
subsequently  became  a  farmer.  In  the  last  days  of 
his  declining  years  ha  retired  from  business  on  a  com- 


petency won  by  industry  and  good  management.  Mr. 
Edgar  was  highly  respected  by  the  people  of  his  na- 
tive town.  He  died  in  Woodbridge  in  1878,  aged 
seventy-four.  He  was  married  three  times.  His 
first  wife  was  Miss  Martha  Laforge,  by  whom  he  had 
one  child.  For  his  second  wife  ha  married  Susan 
Tappin,  who  bora  him  four  children.  His  third  wife, 
who  still  survives  him,  was  Emiline  Tappin. 

William  T.  Edgar,  the  subject  of  this  sketch,  was 
the  second  child  of  Albert  and  Susan  Edgar,  and  was 
born  Jan.  17,  1847.  He  attended  school  at  Bonham- 
ton.  After  leaving  school  he  went  to  work  on  a 
farm.  In  1863  Mr.  Edgar's  patriotism  called  him  to 
shoulder  his  musket  in  defense  of  our  nation's  honor 
and  our  nation's  life.  He  enlisted  Fab.  15,  1863,  and 
remained  until  peace  was  proclaimed.  After  being 
"  mustered  out"  he  returned  to  his  home  in  Raritan 
township  and  began  farming.  Soon  after  he  opened 
a  clay  bank,  and  has  been  in  the  cla}'  business  ever 
since.  He  recantlj'  purchased  the  Burgen  estate,  and 
has  opened  and  is  working  a  fine  bank  of  good  terra- 
cotta clay.  There  seems  to  be  a  large  quantity  of  this 
clay  on  the  farm.  He  is  building  a  good  house  on  the 
place,  and  expects  to  move  there  as  soon  as  the  build- 
ing is  completed. 

Mr.  Edgar  was  married  in  1870. 


WILLIAM    H.    CALLARD. 

William  Callard,  the  father  of  the  subject  of  this 
sketch,  emigrated  from  England  in  1819,  and  settled 
in  Piscataway  township,  N.  J.,  near  where  his  son, 
William  H.  Callard,  now  lives.  He  was  married 
Aug.  31,  1819,  to  Miss  Harriet  Smith,  of  Bound 
Brook,  N.  J.  Two  sons  were  born  unto  them,  viz., 
William  Henry,  born  March  26,  1834,  and  George  S., 
born  Oct.  25,  1839. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Callard  were  hard-working,  frugal 
people,  and  by  their  united  industry  and  frugality 
became  possessed  of  a  considerable  property.  Mr. 
Callard  died  April  19,  1860.  His  wife  still  survives 
him.  She  lives  with  her  son,  William  Henry,  to 
whom  his  father  left  his  farm. 

George  S.  died  Oct.  6,  1861 ;  William  H.  was  mar- 
ried Nov.  28, 1860,  to  Miss  Sarah  E.  Hodge,  of  Bound 
Brook,  N.  J.     Miss  Hodge  was  born  Sept.  9,  1835. 

The  children  of  this  marriage  were  Harriet  E.,  born 
March  7,  1862;  George  S.,  Feb.  24,  1864;  Lillie,  July 
25,  1866;  William  H.,  Dec.  29,  1868;  Ella  Adelia, 
Jan.  3,  1872;  Da  Witt,  June  14,  1874;  Mary  Eugenia, 
April  17,  1877.  Harriet  was  married  to  Mr.  Harry 
Copperthwaithe,  of  New  York,  by  the  Rev.  J.  W. 
Sarles,  in  the  Baptist  Church  at  Stelton,  Oct.  27, 
1880. 

Mr.  Callard  has  added  to  the  homestead,  so  that  the 
farm  is  much  larger  than  when  it  came  into  his  pos- 
session. Mr.  Cal  lard's  residence  is  situated  on  the 
north  bank  of  the  Raritan  River,  with  a  fine  view  of 
the  river. 


852 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


He  has  terra-cotta  clay  of  a  superior  quality  and  a 
large  quantity  of  the  best  fire-sand  on  his  farm. 

Banks  have  recently  been  opened,  from  which  terra- 
cotta clay  and  fire-sand  are  shipped.  He  rents  the 
clay  banks  and  conducts  his  farm  himself. 


CHAPTER    CVI. 
SAYREVILLE.l 

Situation  and  Boundaries.-— Sayreville  is  situ- 
ated in  tlie  eastern  jiortion  of  Middlesex  County,  a 
little  north  of  the  centre,  and  is  the  last  civil  deriva- 
tion to  date  from  the  township  of  South  Araboy.  It 
is  very  irregular  in  form,  and  is  bounded  as  follows  : 
North  by  Raritan,  Woodbridge,  and  South  Amboy, 
east  by  Raritan  Bay  and  Madison,  south  by  Madi- 
son, and  west  by  East  Brunswick.  Its  area  is  twelve 
hundred  and  forty  acres.  The  population  in  1880 
was  about  nineteen  hundred. 

Natural  Features.— South  River  flows  along  the 
entire  western  border  of  Sayreville,  and  Raritan 
River  and  Bay  wash  its  northern  boundary.  Chees- 
quake  Creek  flows  along  the  east  side  to  its  junction 
with  Raritan  Bay.  Deep  Run,  near  its  mouth,  crosses 
the  extreme  southern  point  of  the  township,  and  Ten- 
ant's Creek  crosses  a  little  farther  north.  Along  the 
northern,  eastern,  and  western  sides  are  several  small 
streams  tributary  to  Raritan  River  and  Bay,  Chees- 
quake  Creek,  and  South  River. 

The  surface  is  mostly  low  and  level,  though  very 
slightly  rolling  in  the  portion  adjacent  to  Madison. 
Much  of  it  is  covered  with  a  sparse  growth  of  timber, 
such  varieties  being  represented  as  are  indigenous  to 
the  soil  of  Middlesex  County  bordering  the  rivers, 
oak  and  cedar  predominating. 

The  soil  is  sandy,  and  abounds  in  an  excellent 
quality  of  clay,  much  of  which  has  been  shipped  to 
various  parts  of  the  country,  some  of  it  having  been 
early  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  delftware  in 
Jersey  City,  and  in  the  fabrication  of  china  at  Tren- 
ton and  Philadelphia,  large  quantities  now  being 
used  within  the  township  in  the  manufacture  of 
common  and  fire-brick. 

The  old  Camden  and  Amboy  Railroad  traverses 
the  township  in  a  nearly  north-and-south  course,  the 
nearest  stations  being  at  South  Amboy  and  Old 
Bridge,  in  South  Amboy  and  East  Brunswick  town- 
ships respectively.  The  principal  highways  crossing 
Sayreville  are  the  roads  from  South  Amboy  to  Wash- 
ington, and  from  South  Amboy  to  Old  Bridge,  the 
latter  dividing  Sayreville  and  Madison  for  some  dis- 
tance. 

In  1880  the  taxable  valuation  of  real  and  personal 
property  in  this  township  was  $287,000.  The  amount 
of  real  estate  was  $232,000  ;  the  amount  of  personal 

1  By  M.  0.  Rolfe. 


property,  $82,000.  The  polls  numbered  314.  The 
rate  of  taxation  for  specified  purposes  was  as  follows: 
State,  .20  per  $100 ;  county,  .fiO  per  $100 ;  poor,  .38  per 
$100  ;  ways  and  means,  .10  per  $100  ;  roads,  .22  per 
$100;  schools,  $1.50  and  $1.90  per  $100,  in  different 
districts.  The  amount  of  tax  ordered  to  be  raised 
was  $5589.72.  The  expenditures  during  the  year 
closed  at  date  of  statement  were  as  follows :  For 
State  purposes,  $551 ;  for  county  purposes,  $1678 ; 
for  schools,  $474.64;  for  the  poor,  $1200;  for  ways 
and  means,  $300  ;  for  roads,  $700. 

As  an  agricultural  township  Sayreville  does  not 
take  high  rank,  most  of  its  surface  being  either  cov- 
ered with  timber  or  devoted  to  the  clay  and  sand 
trade  and  brick  manufacture.  The  extreme  western 
portion  is  rendered  an  island,  and  to  a  degree  isolated 
from  the  remainder  of  the  township,  by  the  old  Wash- 
ington ship  canal  connecting  South  River  and  the 
Raritan. 

Settlement. — Land  in  Sayreville  township  adjoin- 
ing the  South  and  Raritan  Rivers  was  taken  up  as 
early  as  1683  to  1686  (the  date  of  John  Reid's  map  of 
the  Raritan  River  and  the  regions  north  and  south  of 
it)  by  the  following-named  persons  :  G.  L.  (probably 
G.  Lawry,  an  extensive  land-owner  in  the  vicinity), 
850  acres,  including  550  acres  embraced  in  the 
"  Roundabout  Meadows,"  bounded  east  and  north  by 
the  South  and  Raritan  Rivers  respectively  at  their 
confluence ;  P.  Son  man's  two  lots  of  200  and  300  acres 
respectively ;  T.  Rudyard,  300  acres ;  A.  Galloway 
and  W.  Gerard,  300  acres ;  Thomas  Robison,  300  acres. 
These  allotments  were  narrow  lots  extending  north 
and  south  and  bordering  on  the  Raritan.  Farther  east 
several  other  lots  were  laid  out  which  had  not  been 
taken  up  at  the  time  Reid's  survey  was  made.  At  a 
point  which  must  have  been  nearly  opposite  the 
borough  or  town  of  Washington,  East  Brunswick,  D. 
Violent  and  G.  Gordon  had  taken  up  two  long  and 
narrow  lots,  extending  east  from  the  South  River, 
containing  100  and  150  acres  respectively.  Portions 
of  two  tracts  of  300  acres  and  200  acres  each,  also 
then  the  property  of  "  G.  L.,"  and  of  a  tract  of  600 
acres  indicated  on  the  map  as  belonging  to  R.  Town- 
ley,  and  three  tracts  of  100,  150,  and  ISO  acres  each, 
designated  as  the  property  of  "  I.  L.,"  "  W.  L.,"  and 
"  N.  L."  respectively,  were  undoubtedly  within  the 
pre.sent  boundaries  of  Sayreville. 

None  of  these  land-owners  were  ever  residents  of 
the  township,  and  none  of  |heir  descendants  are 
known  to  have  since  lived  within  its  borders.  Doubt- 
less the  land  was  bought  cheaply,  as  large  tracts  of 
land  have  been  bought  in  all  new  countries,  with  the 
idea  that  money  would  be  made  upon  their  probable 
subsequent  increase  in  value.  Their  commercial 
value,  as  now  estimated,  was  probably  not  considered, 
for  the  basis  upon  which  it  is  computed  must  have 
been  then  undreamed  of.  A  knowledge  of  the  avail- 
ability to  manufacturing  purposes  of  the  extensive 
beds  of  sand  and  fire-clay  with  which  these  lands 


SAYREVILLE. 


853 


abound  is  referred  to.  Or,  if  the  character  of  the 
soil  was  known,  it  is  improbable  that  at  that  remote 
date  the  purchasers  had  any  prophetic  advice  of  the 
immense  demand  for  these  materials  which  has  Jseen 
developed  by  a  subsequent  growth  of  interests  of  which 
they  must  have  had  no  conception  at  that  time. 

It  is  probable  that  settlement  began  in  Sayreville 
as  early  as  1770,  and  it  is  pos.sible  some  one  may  have 
located  there  prior  to  that  time.  After  it  had  begun 
it  was  slow,  and  until  the  brick  and  clay  industries 
brought  numerous  laboring  men  within  its  borders 
the  township  was  sparsely  inhabited.  There  was  no 
town  of  any  size  near  it  that  was  not  isolated  by 
water.  The  land  was  low  and  sandy,  and  not  well 
adapted  to  agriculture.  Surely  there  was  little  to 
attract  the  pioneers. 

It  is  believed  that  not  far  from  the  date  above 
mentioned  Elijah  Disbrow  made  an  opening  in  the 
forest  about  midway  between  the  site  of  the  present 
Sayreville  and  Washington  bridge  and  the  locality  of 
the  Burt's  Creek  settlement.  He  had  two  sons,  An- 
drew and  Stacy,  who  inherited  their  father's  prop- 
erty and  lived  and  died  there.  Both  married.  The 
wife  of  Stacy  was  a  Miss  Applegate,  who  survives 
him,  aged  about  ninety-five.  The  children  of  Stacy 
Disbrow  were  named  Gamaliel,  William,  Elijah, 
Henrietta,  Maria,  Sarah,  Margaret,  and  Eliza. 

Roundabout  Landing,  as  a  landing  on  the  project- 
ing point  of  land  between  South  River  and  the  Rari- 
tan  has  come  to  be  known,  was  the  place  selected  by 
Ebenezer  Price  for  his  future  home.  He  was  one  of 
the  earliest  settlers  in  the  township,  and  his  house 
stood  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Wood's  brick- 
yard. It  was  built  there  considerably  earlier  than 
1800,  and  its  builder  has  been  dead  many  years. 
Many  of  his  descendants  are  living  in  Middlesex 
County  and  elsewhere.  Xerxes,  Ebenezer,  and  Ma- 
ria were  the  names  of  his  children. 

Xerxes  Price  married  Nancy,  daughter  of  Francis 
Letts,  and  located  on  land  near  his  father.  His 
children  were  George,  John,  and  a  daughter  who  be- 
came the  wife  of  Capt.  Isaac  Fauratt;  George  mar- 
ried and  removed  to  New  Brunswick,  where  he  is  yet 
living;  John  went  to  the  West. 

On  a  portion  of  the  Morgan  estate,  near  the  mouth 
of  Cheesquake  Creek,  the  father  of  Gen.  James  Mor- 
gan was  a  very  early  resident.  Some  of  his  descend- 
ants are  well-known  citizens  of  South  Amboy. 

For  some  time  Xerxes  Price  was  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  pottery  in  Sayreville  township,  and 
he  was  well  known  to  the  business  men  of  the  vicin- 
ity during  his  active  career.  His  death  was  a  sad 
one,  and  his  suicide  by  hanging  was  for  many  years 
the  topic  of  occasional  conversations  among  his  ac- 
quaintances. 

Ebenezer  Price  married  and,  living  near  his  father, 
reared  a  family,  two  of  whom,  Abial  and  Abraham, 
are  residents  of  Washington,  East  Brunswick.  The 
former  married  a  daughter  of  Henry  Smith,  a  promi- 


nent hotel-keeper  of  New  Brunswick,  the  latter  a 
Miss  Connet. 

The  daughter,  Maria,  married  Henry  French,  who 
built  a  tavern  at  Roundabout  at  an  early  date,  and 
kept  it  until  about  1820,  selling  it  to  a  man  named 
Brookfield,  who  sold  it  and  the  land  about  it  to  James 
Wood  in  1851.  Since  then  it  has  been  at  times  occu- 
pied as  a  tenement-house,  but  is  now  in  an  advanced 
stage  of  dilapidation.  This  hostelry  was  for  years  a 
favorite  resort  of  the  watermen  who  stopped  at  Round- 
about Landing,  and  Mrs.  French,  who  is  said  to  have 
been  a  woman  more  than  ordinarily  prepossessing 
in  appearance  and  uncommonly  attractive  in  her 
manners  and  conversation,  was  known  far  and  near 
by  the  appellation  of  the  "  handsome  landlady." 

The  pioneer  on  the  south  side  of  the  road  at  the 
end  of  the  bridge  between  Sayreville  and  Washington 
was  Christopher  Van  Deventer,  who  purchased  a 
good-sized  farm  there  and  took  up  his  residence  on 
it  at  an  early  day.  His  family  was  large  and  became 
well  known  and  respected.  The  names  of  the  sons 
were  Isaac,  Peter,  Abraham,  .John,  Jacob,  and  Zenas. 

Isaac  Van  Deventer  married  into  the  Ackerman 
family,  was  a  sloop-owner  and  captain  and  a  farmer, 
and  lived  in  East  Brunswick.  His  sons  were  Abra- 
ham, Garline,  and  Charles.  Abraham  married,  and 
for  a  time  lived  on  a  portion  of  his  father's  property, 
but  subsequently  removed  from  the  township.  Gar- 
line  is  living  on  the  homestead.  Charles  lives  in  East 
Brunswick.  Isaac  also  had  three  daughters.  Of  these, 
Jane  married  Samuel  Martin,  of  Piscataway. 

Peter  Van  Deventer  also  came  into  possession  of  part 
ot  his  father's  original  farm,  and  lived  on  it  until  his 
death.  His  family  was  large.  Three  of  his  sons  were 
named  Freeland,  Peter,  and  Dean,  the  latter  receiving 
as  a  Christian  name  the  surname  of  his  mother's 
family. 

Another  of  the  sons  of  Christopher  Van  Deventer 
who  inherited  a  portion  of  his  land  was  Abraham,  who 
lived  upon  the  property  and  reared  a  family,  of  which 
Warren,  Watson,  and  others  were  members.  John 
Van  Deventer  never  married.  He  died  while  en 
voyage  by  water  from  Philadelphia,  about  twenty 
years  ago.  Jacob  Van  Deventer  married  a  daughter 
of  David  Provost,  and  took  up  his  residence  in  Madi- 
son.    Two  sons  of  his  were  named  Jacob  and  Zenas. 

Zenas  Van  Deventer,  son  of  Christopher,  espoused 
Julia  Ann  Martin,  daughter  of  Samuel  Martin.  Both 
he  and  his  wife  are  dead,  leaving  no  issue.  Tina  Van 
Deventer,  Christopher's  daughter,  married  twice,  the 
last  time  James  Ivins,  and  lived  for  a  while  on  the 
old  Taylor  place,  opposite  the  Van  Deventer  home- 
stead. At  his  death  Christopher  Van  Deventer 
owned  considerable  land,  which  was  divided  among 
his  children.  Most  of  his  sons  bought  more,  and  the 
family  became  known  as  quite  extensive  land-owners. 
The  old  homestead  was  sold  by  Abraham  to  Henry 
F.  Worth  ington,  who  for  some  years  carried  on  an 
extensive  brick  manufactory  there. 


854 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 

1 


An  early  owner  of  the  Taylor  farm,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  road  from  tlie  Van  Deventer  place,  was 
Robert  Montgomery,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Allen- 
town,  N.  J.,  who  was  a  non-resident  in  Sayreville, 
and  probably  acquired  the  property  in  some  business 
transaction  with  a  former  owner.  Later  it  came  into 
the  possession  of  Joseph  M.  Taylor,  who  sold  a  part 
of  it  to  Robert  L.  Serviss  and  John  Tuttle  about  1853. 
The  latter  replaced  the  old  house  by  a  new  one  of 
more  modern  architecture,  turning  the  land  into  a 
brick-yard.  Subsequently  the  house  was  removed  to 
another  portion  of  the  farm.  Some  years  ago  this 
brick-yard  was  sold  to  William  Fisher,  who  now  oc- 
cupies the  house.  The  other  portion  of  the  original 
farm  is  now  the  residence  of  a  married  daughter  of 
Peter  Fisher. 

Near  the  Elijah  Disbrow  farm,  about  half-way  from 
the  Sayreville  and  Washington  bridge  to  Burt's  Creek, 
Francis  Letts  was  an  early  resident,  and  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  bis  father  was  there  before  him.  He 
married  Polly  Van  Deventer,  and  their  children  were 
Isaac  and  Nancy  Letts,  who  married  a  Miss  Hoffman 
and  Xerxes  Price  respectively.  Isaac  succeeded  to 
the  farm  of  his  father,  and  had  a  numerous  family. 

Benjamin  Peterson,  a  native  of  New  Egypt,  N.  J., 
settled  in  Sayreville  in  1810,  and  purchased  a  tract 
of  land  and  engaged  in  farming,  remaining  there 
until  his  death  in  1840.  He  had  seven  sons  and  six 
daughters.  The  brothers,  with  two  exceptions,  were 
watermen,  and  died  quite  young.  One  of  the  daugh- 
ters died  in  infancy.  The  others  lived  to  a  ripe  old 
age.  James  Peterson,  son  of  Benjamin,  is  an  aged 
and  respected  resident  of  Washington,  in  East  Bruns- 
wick. 

Who  was  the  first  settler  in  Sayreville  of  the  name 
of  James  is  not  now  ascertainable.  Thomas  James, 
a  native  of  the  soil,  was  living  two  miles  from  South 
Amboy,  on  the  road  to  Washington,  early  in  the  pres- 
ent century.  Lawrence  and  Gamaliel  were  his  sons. 
Lawrence  died  unmarried;  Gamaliel  married  and 
had  a  family  of  children,  some  of  whom  are  among 
the  residents  of  South  Amboy. 

On  the  road  which  was  afterwards  converted  into 
the  Bordentown  turnpike,  three  miles  from  South 
Amboy,  James  Applegate  was  living  eighty  years 
ago.  His  sons  were  James  and  Lewis.  James  owned 
and  kept  a  tavern  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Poor- 
house  Farm,"  which  later  became  the  property  of 
South  Amboy  township.  This  tavern  was  a  stop- 
ping-place for  stages  in  the  days  when  staging  was 
brisk,  and  was  a  fairly-conditioned  and  kept  wayside 
inn.  James  Applegate,  the  landlord,  died  there  about 
fifty  years  ago.  He  had  sons  named  James  and  Wil- 
liam Applegate. 

A  property  at  Burt's  Creek  was  early  owned  by 
two  brothers  named  Bennett  and  resident  upon  Long 
Island,  but  was  bought  by  other  parties  who  operated 
clay  banks  upon  it.  Another  property  in  the  same 
neighborhood  was  purchased  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago 


by  Perrine  &  Everett.  Perrine  sold  his  interest  to 
Samuel  Gordon,  and  Gordon  &  Everett  sold  the  prop- 
erty to  Samuel  Whitehead,  from  whom  it  passed  to 
members  of  the  Brick  family.  In  1806,  Thomas 
Roberts  was  living  at  Burt's  Creek,  and  owned  a 
little  land  there.  Isaac  Roberts,  a  son  of  his,  is  a 
resident  of  South  Amboy. 

Organization. — Sayreville  township  was  created 
and  its  boundaries  defined  by  an  act  of  the  Legislature 
passed  April  6,  1876.  The  act  provided  that  the  first 
town-meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  Sayreville  should 
be  held  at  the  school-house  in  School  District  No.  37 
of  Middlesex  County  on  the  second  Monday  in 
April  following.  The  town  committees  of  the  town- 
ships of  South  Amboy  and  Sayreville  were  directed 
to  meet  May  1st  next  at  the  inn  of  Mrs.  Clark  in 
South  Amboy,  to  allot  and  divide  between  the  said 
townships  all  property  or  moneys  on  hand  or  due  in 
proportion  to  the  taxable  property  and  ratables  as 
valued  and  assessed  by  assessors  within  the  respective 
limits  of  the  two  townships  at  the  last  preceding  as- 
sessment, and  it  was  provided  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Sayreville  should  pay  their  just  proportion  of  any 
debt  against  the  mother- town  atthe  time  of  its  division, 
and  that  the  paupers  dependent  on  the  two  townships 
should  be  divided  in  accordance  with  the  law  then  in 
force  determining  tUe  legal  settlement  of  the  poor. 

CivU  List. 

CHOSEN  FREEHOLDERS. 

James  Sweeney,  1878, 1879, 1881. 


Elias  Rose,  1877. 
Richard  S.  Conover,  1877 
George  Such,  1878. 


John  Hart,  188U. 
James  Blew,  1881. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 
James  Wood,  1881.  |  John  H.  Congor,  1881. 

TOWN  CLERKS. 
Timothy  Quade,  187T.  ;  Charles  M.  Fisher,  1878-81. 

TOWNSHIP  COMMITTEE. 

James  Wood,  1878. 

John  H.  Congor,  1878,1879. 

J.  W.  Walling,  1880. 

J.  F.  Ilillman,  1881. 

C.  Frost,  1881. 


William  E.  Dayton,  1877-80. 
Isaac  Walling,  1877. 
J.  R.  Morgan,  1877. 
Stephen  Kelley,1877. 
George  Such,  1877-81. 
Timothy  Quade,  1878. 


Charles  Rose,  1877. 
Edward  E.  Hillraai 


ASSESSOttS. 

L.  Smith,  1879. 
,  1878, 1881. 


COLLECTORS. 
J.  M.  Blew,  1877-80.  Lewis  Miller,  1881. 

CONSTABLES. 
WilUam  0.  Maxfleld,  1877.  ,  A.  L.  Rue,  1878-81. 

JUDGES   OF   ELECTION. 
John  R.  Fauratt,  1878.  [  James  Wood,  1881. 

John  H.  Congor,  1878.  I 

OVERSEERS  OF  THE  POOR. 
Patrick  McKeon,  1877, 1878.  !  A.  L.  Rue,  1879-81. 

COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEAL. 


John  R.  Fauratl,  1877. 
A.  B.  Maxfleld,  1877. 
John  Hart,  1877. 
James  Wood,  1878-81. 


L.  W.  Johnson,  1879. 
John  Krunil),  1879-81. 
John  F.  Hillman,  1880. 
j  John  A.  Davis,  1881. 


SAYREVILLE. 


855 


SURVEYORS  OF  HIGHWAYS. 

Andrew  J.  Disbrow,  1877-81.  M.  Bftiley,  1879. 

John  Mead,  1877,  ls78. 

Industrial  Pursuits. — The  extensive  beds  of"  sand 
and  clay  to  be  seen  almost  everywhere  in  Sayreville 
directly  and  indirectly  furnish  to  the  township  all  its 
present  industries  except  a  limited  agricultural  in- 
terest to  which  a  comparatively  few  of  its  citizens, 
mostly  thrifty  Germans,  have  devoted  themselves,  en- 
hancing the  value  of  the  otherwise  undesirable  land 
far  beyond  that  of  farming  areas  in  any  part  of  the 
country.  The  trade  in  these  sands  and  clays  and 
the  manufacture  from  them  of  brick  and  potter's 
ware  has  gained  for  the  township  a  reputation  far 
and  wide  which  it  never  could  have  obtained  by  vir- 
tue of  any  other  resources  appertaining  to  it. 

Kaolin  Clay.s  and  Sand. — The  laminated  clay 
and  sand  bed  is  worked  for  brick-clay  in  the  pits  on 
the  William  F.  Fisher  property,  north  of  the  road 
from  Washington  to  Amboy,  in  those  of  Peter  Fisher, 
just  south  of  the  same,  and  in  H.  F.  Worthington's, 
still  farther  south.  Those  at  the  side  of  the  road  go 
down  a  few  feet  below  tide-level.  The  clay  of  these 
pits  is  all  dark  and  very  tough,  making  good  brick. 

At  the  northerly  Worthington  pits  the  bottom  of 
the  excavation  is  about  ten  feet  below  high-water 
mark  ;  at  the  southern  end  of  the  opening  it  is  about 
at  tide-level.  Here  the  clay  runs  to  the  top  of  the 
ground,  and  there  is  no  waste  material  to  be  removed. 
The  thickness  worked  is  about  fifteen  feet.  At  the 
bottom  is  a  sandy,  laminated  bed,  and  mier  it  a  tough, 
bluish-black  clay  layer.  The  layers  are  all  mixed 
together  for  the  brick  made  there.  A  short  distance 
northwest  of  the  pits  and  near  the  yard  a  well  sixty- 
five  or  sixty-eight  feet  deep  was  dug  about  twelve 
years  ago  which  went  through  the  clay  formation.  It 
was  six  feet  in  diameter  for  a  depth  of  about  thirty 
feet,  and  was  then  bored  thirty-two  feet  in  six  holes, 
each  two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  From  one 
of  them  water  rose  in  abundance  and  filled  the  well 
to  the  overflow  drain.  In  descending  the  first  four  or 
five  feet  the  workmen  passed  through  impure  surface 
clay  containing  large  quantities  of  sulpliuret  of  iron. 
From  that  on  they  passed  through  blue  clay,  which, 
however,  grew  gradually  darker  in  color  in  descend- 
ing until  it  became  almost  black.  No  sand  was 
reached,  but  at  the  depth  of  thirty-five  feet  a  clearly- 
defined  stratum  of  clay  was  struck  which  was  almost 
white  and  contained  but  very  little  sand.  It  is  safe 
to  infer  that  this  white  clay  belongs  to  the  Wood- 
bridge  fire-clay  bed,  and  that  the  water  came  from 
the  underlying  fire-sand  bed,  the  bottom  of  the  well 
representing  the  bottom  of  the  Woodbridge  bed  at 
this  place. 

On  the  Van  Deventer  place  on  the  Jacksonville 
road  a  red  brick-clay  was  formerly  dug.  The  yard 
was  on  the  meadows  near  the  river,  and  the  pits  were 
not  extensive.  Nothing  has  been  done  there  for  a 
number  of  years.     On  the  Freeland  Van   Deventer 


place  there  is  a  red  brick  yard,  at  the  border  of  the 
tide  meadows,  and  from  it  a  canal  to  the  river.  Here 
Mr.  Van  Deventer  made  brick  for  several  years  from 
clay  obtained  from  pits  near  the  yard,  but  the  works 
are  now  idle.  White  fire-clay  has  been  found  at 
several  points  on  the  tract,  lying  within  two  feet  of 
the  surface,  about  fifty  yards  northeast  of  the  farm- 
house, on  the  Washington  road.  This  clay  is  sandy, 
contains  white  quartz,  and  has  the  appearance  of  some 
of  the  feldspars.  The  same  bed  is  said  to  have  been 
struck  in  a  pit  dug  a  few  rods  east  of  the  house ;  also 
close  to  the  surface  in  the  swampy  ground  northeast 
of  the  house.  The  line  of  strike  of  the  clay  beds 
runs  from  George  Such's  banks  across  this  property 
to  South  River,  and  the  elevation  of  the  South  Am- 
boy fire-clay  bed  on  this  line  is  thirty  feet,  which  is 
about  the  height  of  the  ground  where  the  white  clay 
has  been  discovered.  The  clay  dug  at  the  brick-yard 
is  lower  than  this  white  fire-clay,  and  belongs,  most 
likely,  close  under  the  kaolin.  None  of  the  fire-clay 
at  this  tract  has  been  tested,  the  diggings  having  been 
made  for  exportation  only. 

The  large  brick-clay  bank  of  Sayre  &  Fisher  af- 
fords a  very  fine  section  of  the  strata,  overlying  the 
Woodbrige  fire-clay  bed  and  extending  upward  nearly 
to  the  horizon  of  the  feldspar.  The  vertical  section 
from  the  top  of  the  bank  to  the  tide-water  in  the 
river  shows  the  following  strata:  (1)  laminated  clay 
and  sand  layers  about  40  feet;  (2)  laminated  sand 
containing  some  leaf  impressions,  IJ  to  6  feet;  (3) 
drab-colored  clay  (for  front  brick),  4  to  10  feet;  (4) 
white  sand,  5  feet;  (5)  black,  sandy  bed,  very  full  of 
lignite  and  containing  some  leaf  impressions,  6  to  7 
feet ;  (6)  sand  (leaf-bed)  at  low-water  mark.  The 
bearing  on  (1)  is  nothing  more  than  a  part  of  the 
clayey  soil  changed  by  atmospheric  agents  and  by 
cultivation.  Towards  the  top  of  the  bank  the  clay  is 
somewhat  faded  and  of  a  grayish  color.  Pyrite  and 
lignite  occur  throughout  all  the  strata.  No  order  is 
recognized  in  the  succession  of  the  layers  of  the  clay 
and  sand,  nor  do  they  run  in  an  unvarying  thickness 
from  one  end  of  the  bank  to  the  other,  but  vary  from 
point  to  point.  Near  the  bottom  of  this  thickness 
(1)  there  is  a  very  tough  and  fiit  black  clay  about  4 
feet  thick;  then  comes  the  sand  (2),  which  is  of  clean 
quartz  and  beautifully  laminated;  (3)  is  a  drab-col- 
ored clay  very  persistent  in  all  parts  of  the  bank, 
from  4  to  10  feet  thick,  with  an  average  top  elevation 
above  high-water  mark  of  15  feet,  which  is  very  com- 
pact and  finely  laminated,  and  splits  on  the  strata 
lines  into  flat  sheets  and  masses.  Its  specific  gravity  is 
1.705  to  1.732 ;  that  of  the  more  sandy,  common  brick- 
clay  of  the  bank  is  1.860  to  1.882.  Under  a  magnify- 
ing glass  of  low  power  it  appears  full  of  minute  plates 
of  mica.     Its  composition  is  as  follows  : 

Alumina,  27.42;  silicic  acid,  28.30;  water  (com- 
bined), 6.60;  sand  (quartz),  27.80;  titanic  acid,  1.00; 
potash,  2.71  ;  magnesia,  18;  sesquioxide  of  iron,  2.68; 
water  (moisture),  2.90.     Total,  99.59.     A  very  little 


856 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


lignite  and  occasional  small  nodules  of  pyrite  are  in 
it.  On  burning  it  becomes  pale  yellow  to  white,  and 
it  is  used  successfully  in  the  manufacture  of  pressed 
front  brick.  Geologically  this  bed  is  considered  the 
equivalent  of  the  top  white  clay  north  of  the  Raritan 
and  the  pipe-clay  of  other  banks.  Under  this  sand 
and  leaf-bed  and  a  few  feet  below  tide-level  has  been 
found  a  white  clay  which  is  sufficiently  refractory  to 
make  a  No.  2  fire-brick.  This  latter  bed  of  white 
clay  was  struck  25  to  30  feet  beneath  the  surface  in  a 
well  dug  near  Saye  &  Fisher's  office  and  store.  The 
dip  of  the  Woodbridge  bed  should  therefore  be  found 
here  at  a  depth  of  10  to  15  feet  below  the  water-level. 
The  bank  has  a  working  face  over  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  and  a  very  large  amount  of  clay  is  dug  every 
year.  Cars  running  on  narrow-gauge  railways  carry 
it  to  the  yards. 

Less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  bank  of 
Sayre  &  Fisher  James  Wood  digs  a  similar  clay  for 
his  red  brick  yard.     The  strata  are  like  those  above  j 
described,  and  are  an  extension  of  the  same.     The 
digging  does  not  go  down  quite  so   deep,  the  bottom  ^ 
being  about  ten  feet  above  the  level,  but  as  the  bank 
is  farther  to  the  southeast  the  dip  of  the  strata  com-  [ 
pensates  for  this  less  depth,  and  the  same  brick  clay  ] 
is  obtained  as  in  Sayre  &  Fisher's  bank,  and  the  bank 
not  being  so  high  less  thickness  is  worked.   Mr.  Wood 
uses  his  clay  in  his  yards  adjoining  those  of  Sayre  & 
Fisher  on  the  east.     The  dark  brick-clay  has  beeiT 
found  fifteen  feet  beneath  the  surface  on  the  line  of 
Sayre  &  Fisher's   railway,  about  half-way   between 
the  brick-clay  bank  and  the  fire-clay  pits,  and  it  is 
also  reported  to  have  been  found  sixty  feet  beneath 
the  fire-clay  of  this  firm. 

Fire-clay  has  been  dug  at  several  points  on  Sayre  & 
Fisher's  large  tract.  The  banks  formerly  worked  are 
between  a  quarter  and  a  third  of  a  mile  northeast  of 
the  one  now  occupied,  and  all  are  north  of  the  Wash- 
ington and  South  Amboy  road.  At  the  latter  there 
is  much  variation  in  the  stratification,  but  the  follow- 
ing order  is  generally  observed  : 

(1)  Gravelly  earth  and  loam,  3  to  4  feet;  (2)  sand 
with  earthy  layers,  18  to  20  feet;  (3)  white  fire-clay, 
1  to  4  feet;  (4)  blue  fire-clay,  4  to  9  feet;  (5)  sandy 
fire-clay,  2  to  3  feet;  (6)  clayey  kaolin  containing  py- 
rite, 5  feet ;  (7)  fine  kaolin,  6  feet. 

The  gravelly  earth  at  the  top  evidently  is  part  of 
the  drift  which  covers  most  of  this  country.  The 
sand  over  the  clay  is  beautifully  laminated,  and  the 
thin,  gently  undulating  layers  have  a  slight  dip  to- 
wards the  southeast,  though  in  places  they  are  hori- 
zontal. Through  it  there  are  some  thin,  loamy  layers, 
in  which  the  sand  is  mixed  with  a  yellow  earth.  To- 
wards the  bottom,  near  the  clay  surface,  the  sand  re- 
sembles glass-sand.  The  fire-clay  is  exceedingly  un- 
even. The  mean  elevation  above  high-water  level  is 
sixty-five  feet.  In  places  there  is  a  thickness  of  sev- 
eral feet  of  white,  clayey  kaolin  between  the  top  drift 
sand  and  the  fire-clay  bed.    The  white  fire-clay  at  the 


top  is  probably  blue  clay  faded ;  sometimes  a  little 
lignite  is  seen  in  it  just  over  the  blue  clay.  Towards 
the  bottom  of  the  bed  the  fire-clay  becomes  more 
sandy,  grading  into  what  is  there  termed  a  clay  kaolin. 
The  blue  clay,  the  best  of  the  fire-clay  of  the  bank,  is 
a  homogeneous  compact  mass,  having  a  specific  grav- 
ity of  1.657  to  1.705.  It  does  not  fade  or  become  dis- 
colored by  exposure,  and  is  composed  as  follows : 

Alumina,  38.66;  silicic  acid,  41.10;  water  (com- 
bined), 13.55;  sand,  3.10;  titanic  acid,  1.20;  potash, 
0.28;  soda,  18;  sesquioxide  of  iron,  0.74;  water 
(moisture),  1.00.     Total,  99.81. 

The  kaolin  at  the  bottom  is  very  fine-grained,  and 
contains  a  little  white  mica.  The  pits  are  generally 
stopped  in  this  bed,  as  the  water  comes  in  quite  freely, 
but  borings  have  gone  through  it  and  into  a  dark 
sand,  and  then  stopped  in  a  dark  clay.  All  of  the 
clays,  kaolin,  and  top-sand  dug  in  this  bank  are  used 
by  this  firm  in  their  own  works  on  the  Raritan.  The 
kaolin  is  largely  used  in  the  mixture  for  front  brick, 
and  is  sent  to  the  brick-yards  by  cars.  The  fire-clays 
are  carted  to  the  fire-brick  works  by  team. 

Only  half  a  mile  from  the  Raritan,  along  the  old 
road  to  Burt's  Creek,  are  the  clay  banks  of  Whitehead 
Brothers,  extending  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  north- 
west to  southeast,  and  on  the  line  of  the  dip.  Con- 
siderable variation  in  the  character  of  the  strata  is 
seen,  as  well  as  in  their  arrangement.  The  first  dig- 
ging was  in  the  southeast,  in  what  is  known  as  "  the 
Bolton"  pit.  In  this  there  was  about  sixteen  feet  of 
top-dirt  and  tlien  a  fire-clay  bed  twenty  feet  thick, 
having  a  top  elevation  of  seventy  to  seventy-two  feet, 
and  lying  upon  kaolin.  The  bank  as  now  worked 
shows  at  the  south  end  the  following  order  of  strata : 
(1)  yellowish-white  sand,  in  places  including  some 
sandy  clay  layers,  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet;  (2)  yel- 
low-buff clay  and  (3)  blue  fire-clay,  one  to  twenty 
feet;  (4)  sand  and  kaolin,  eight  feet. 

There  is  in  places  a  thin  layer  of  reddish  gravel 
at  the  surface  overlying  the  sand.  In  the  northern 
part  of  this  bank  the  strata  appear  in  the  following 
order  and  thickness : 

(1)  Reddish-yellow  gravel  and  (2)  yellowish-white 
sand  with  streaks  of  clay,  twenty  to  twenty-five  feet; 
(3)  sandy  bed  (called  kaolin),  six  feet;  (4)  fire-clay, 
four  feet;  (5)  kaolin,  four  feet;  (6)  blue  pipe-clay  at 
the  bottom.  Some  of  the  sand  is  sold  to  foundries  and 
for  building  purposes.  In  the  northmost  pits  there  is, 
between  the  sand  and  the  clay,  a  sandy  layer  which 
is  sold  as  a  kaolin.  In  some  of  the  pits  there  is  a  thin 
stratum  full  of  wood  on  the  clay.  It  has  not  yielded 
any  leaf  impressions.  Both  the  top  and  the  bottom  of 
the  fire-clay  bed  are  very  uneven.  The  top  height, 
northeast  of  the  Burt's  Creek  road,  is  seventy-six  feet. 
South  of  this  and  west  of  the  road  it  is  only  sixty  feet. 
The  best  fire-clay  in  this  bank  contains  a  little  fine 
sand.  Its  specific  gravity  is  1.745  to  1.771.  The 
layer  under  the  fire-clay  is  not  as  sandy  as  that  over 
I  it,  and  is  the  kaolin  bed  of  the  clay  series.     It  is  used 


SAYREVILLE. 


857 


in  fire-brick.  The  black  clay  at  the  bottom  contains 
both  pyrite  and  lignite,  and  is  not  generally  reached 
or  dug.  Only  the  best  of  it  is  valuable  as  pipe  ma- 
terial. The  red  clay  is  sold  to  foundries  and  known 
as  foundry  clay.  Some  of  the  blue  clay  goes  into  fire- 
brick, and  some  of  it  is  used  for  boiler  linings.  The 
clays  from  this  bank  have  usually  been  sold  in  bulk, 
unsorted.  Northwest  of  Whitehead's  bank,  near  the 
Methodist  Church,  fire-clay  has  been  dug. 

From  fifty  to  three  hundred  yards  south  of  the 
Sayreville  and  Burt's  Creek  road,  and  near  the  head 
of  a  small  stream  running  northward  to  the  Raritan, 
are  the  east  banks  of  Whitehead  Brothers.  The  west 
group  of  pits  were  dug  in  1877,  and  are  nearest  to  the 
road.  The  surface  of  the  ground  is  between  forty  and 
sixty  feet  high,  and  the  yellow  sand  on  the  clay  ranges 
from  six  to  eight  feet  thick  in  a  pit  near  the  road  to 
a  thickness  of  twenty  feet  in  the  main  bank  one  hun- 
dred yards  from  it.  The  top  of  the  clay  is,  therefore, 
from  thirty-five  to  forty  feet,  and  that  lying  highest 
is  sandy.  About  five  feet  down  there  is  a  layer 
eighteen  inches  thick,  streaked  very  slightly  by  oxide 
of  iron,  which  dries  white.  Under  this  the  clay  is 
blue  and  better,  and  toward  the  bottom  it  becomes 
sandy.  The  pits  are  dug  eight  to  nine  feet  in  clay, 
and  do  not  go  through  it.  The  best  of  the  clay  pro- 
cured here  is  slightly  sandy,  but  that  does  not  render 
it  less  refractory.  A  little  southeast  of  these  pits  there 
is  an  older  opening  which  has  not  been  worked  re- 
cently. The  top  of  the  clay  bed  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  this  opening  is  fifty-four  feet  high,  which  is 
probably  above  the  average  elevation. 

Whitehead  Brothers'  fire-sand  pit  is  by  the  road- 
side a  quarter  of  a  mile  east  of  the  clay  pits  last  re- 
ferred to.  At  the  top  it  shows  from  one  to  four  feet 
of  gravelly  earth,  eight  feet  of  yellow  fire-sand  with 
streaks  of  loam,  very  sandy  clay  in  a  thin  layer,  and 
at  the  bottom  sand  and  a  clayey  kaolin.  The  sand 
in  this  pit  is  mostly  quite  coarse  and  sharp-grained. 
It  is  carted  to  boats  which  load  at  the  proprietors' 
dock  on  the  river,  and  is  sold  for  use  in  foundries  and 
iron  furnaces.  About  half-way  from  this  pit  to  the 
dock  and  west  of  the  road  the  same  firm  dig  a  mould- 
ing sand  in  the  eastern  side  of  a  round  hill  which 
rises  fifty  feet  above  the  surrounding  surface  and 
seventy  feet  above  tide-level.  A  long  excavation  ex- 
poses to  view  about  thirty  feet  of  quite  clean  white 
quartz  sand,  finely  laminated  and  covered  by  a  yellow 
sandy  earth  a  few  feet  thick  and  thinning  away  on 
the  hillsides.  This  sand  is  sold  to  foundries  and  for 
building  purposes.  It  is  said  there  is  a  dai-k-colored 
clay  under  this  sand  bed.  If  there  is,  it  doubtless 
belongs  to  the  laminated  clay  and  sand  bed. 

At  Burt's  Creek  there  is  a  clay  bank  on  the  J.  K. 
Brick  estate.  The  digging  has  been  along  the  eastern 
and  northeastern  side  of  a  ridge,  and  has  exposed  the 
strata  along  this  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile  north  and 
south.  The  top  of  the  fire-clay  is  between  twenty- 
eight  and  thirty-six  feet  high  ;   but  various  heights 


appear  within  a  few  yards.  The  following  shows  the 
order  and  thickness  of  the  several  layers:  (1)  yellow 
sand,  with  some  gravelly  layers  through  it,  fifteen  to 
forty  feet;  (2)  buft'-colored  fire-clay;  (3)  blue  fire- 
clay and  (4)  sandy  fire-clay,  six  to  fourteen  feet ;  (5) 
extra  sandy  clay  and  sand,  seven  feet. 

The  sand  at  the  top  is  nearly  all  fine  white  quartz, 
alternating  with  very  thin  layers  of  quartz  pebbles, 
and  is  thrown  aside  or  used  in  filling  up  the  pits.  In 
some  parts  of  the  bank  is  a  thin  layer  of  black  sandy 
earth,  between  this  sand  bed  and  the  fire-clay,  and  in 
this  lignite  is  abundant,  and  leaf  impressions  have 
been  found  init.  At  other  points  the  sand  just  over  the 
clay  for  two  to  eight  inches  is  cemented  into  a  kind  of 
stone  by  iron  oxide.  A  red  clay  is  got  at  the  top  of 
the  more  .southeastern  pits,  and  very  frequently  the 
top  of  the  bed  is  buff-colored.  The  upper  portion  of 
the  blue  clay  of  the  bed  is  considered  the  best,  and  is 
there  designated  as  "  XX"  or  "  No.  1"  clay.  The 
paler  blue  portion,  lower  down,  is  marked  "  X"  or 
"  No.  2."  Toward  the  bottom  the  bed  is  more  sandy. 
The  best  clay  is  bluish-white,  compact,  having  a  speci- 
fic gravity  of  1.760  to  1.773,  and  containing  an  occa- 
sional scale  of  white  mica.  The  No.  2  grade  is  a 
little  sandy,  and  its  specific  gravity  is  1.852  to  1.901. 
The  kaolin  consists  of  fine  quartz  and  a  little  white 
clay,  without  mica,  is  considered  a  first-class  article, 
and  is  used  with  the  clays  of  this  bank  in  fire-brick 
by  the  proprietors,  E.  D.  White  and  Co.,  at  the 
Brooklyn  City  Clay  Retort  and  Fire-Brick  Works, 
Van  Dyke  Street,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  The  following 
layers  are  shown  in  the  opening  of  another  clay  bank 
owned  by  the  firm  and  located  a  few  rods  northwest  of 
the  main  bank : 

(1)  Yellow  sand,  ten  to  fifteen  feet;  (2)  dark-col- 
ored sandy  clay,  four  feet;  (3)  black  clay,  full  of 
lignite  and  pyrite,  two  to  three  and  one-half  feet;  (4) 
black  clay,  used  for  ware  or  No.  2  brick,  four  feet; 
(5)  yellow  sand  (boring),  six  feet. 

The  clay  layer  No.  2  is  sandy,  but  the  sand  in  it 
is  fine-grained  and  dries  nearly  white.  It  is  used  in 
the  manufacture  of  yellow-ware.  The  next  layer  is 
quite  full  of  leaf  impressions.  Its  only  use  is  as  a 
substitute  for  Albany  slip  or  glazing  pipe.  The  next 
lower  clay  is  another  potter's  clay  stratum,  although 
generally  put  in  the  mixture  for  No.  2  fire-brick. 
The  materials  of  these  banks  of  the  Brick  estate  are 
carted  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the  dock,  at  the 
head  of  the  long  slip  or  canal  which  opens  northward 
into  the  Raritan,  and  shipped  to  the  works  in  Brooklyn. 

The  clay  banks  of  George  Such  are  on  the  Ridgway 
tract,  east  of  Burt's  Creek.  A  large  area  has  been 
dug  over,  but  it  is  all  comprised  in  two  groups  of  pits 
or  openings.  The  eastern  group,  east  of  old  Burt's 
Creek  and  Jacksonville  road,  is  not  now  worked. 
The  western  bank  is  much  larger,  and  is  the  scene  of 
present  operations.  In  so  large  an  area  there  is  con- 
siderable variation  in  the  stratification,  but  all  are 
within  the  range  of  the  general  order  of  arrangement 


858 


HISTORY   OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


of  the  members  of  the  plastic  clay  series.  The  fol- 
lowing order  is  presented  as  a  fair  approximate  repre- 
sentative of  the  bank : 

(1)  Yellow  sand,  with  thin  layers  of  gravel,  five  to 
thirty-five  feet ;  (2)  dark-colored  sandy  clay,  ten  feet 
and  under ;  (3)  white  fire-clay  (average),  ten  feet ;  (4) 
mottled  clay  and  (5)  red  clay,  up  to  ten  feet. 

The  dark-colored  clay  is  sandy,  containing  more  or 
less  lignite,  and  some  trunks  of  trees  three  feet  across 
have  been  found  in  it.  Pyrite  is  common  in  it,  and 
amber  is  occasionally  found.  At  present  no  use  is 
made  of  this  clay,  though  some  of  it  is  said  to  be  good 
enough  for  drain-pipe.  The  average  thickness  of  the 
fire-clay  is  ten  feet.  White,  buff,  and  red  clays  are  got. 
Some  of  the  white  clay  contains  pyrite.  This  clay  is 
washed  and  thus  cleared  of  this  injurious  constituent, 
probably  about  one-third  of  the  total  amount  dug 
being  thus  treated.  Some  of  it  is  very  pure  and  of 
superior  quality,  and  is  sold  for  fire-brick.  The  so- 
called  "  paper"-clay  used  for  glazing  wall-paper  is 
all  washed.  By  a  proper  mixture  of  clays  of  different 
colors  almost  any  desired  shade  is  obtained.  The  fol- 
lowing shows  the  composition  of  washed  white  clay : 
Alumina,  38.34  ;  silicic  acid,  42.90;  water  (combined) 
13.50;  sand  (quartz),  1.50;  titanic  acid,  1.20;  potash, 
0.26 ;  soda,  0.18 ;  sesquioxide  of  iron,  0.86  ;  water 
(moisture),  1.10.  Total  (determined),  99.84.  These 
washed  samples  are  lighter  than  the  crude  clays,  the 
specific  gravity  of  a  buff  paper  clay  being  1.530  to 
1.571  ;  that  of  the  unwashed  white  clay  being  1.716 
to  1.751.  All  of  its  varied  phenomena  of  arrangement, 
extent,  and  character  give  a  peculiar  interest  to  this 
bank,  and  make  it  a  favorable  place  for  observations 
both  of  a  geological  and  practical  nature.  Generally 
the  top  of  the  fire-clay  bed  is  white,  lower  down  it  is 
spotted  red  and  white,  and  at  the  bottom  red,  and 
this  order  of  colors  not  uniform  nor  everywhere  ob- 
served. Some  of  the  richer  white  clays,  containing 
some  pyrite,  are  sold  for  the  manufacture  of  alum. 
A  track  runs  to  the  washing-works  near  by,  and  to 
Such's  dock  on  the  Raritan,  a  mile  distant.  In  the 
bank  the  track  is  shifted  to  suit  the  digging,  and  top- 
dirt  and  clays  are  readily  carried  in  cars  drawn  by 
teams  to  the  works,  to  the  dock,  or  to  the  waste-dump. 
The  washing-works  are  north  of  the  clay  bank,  and 
about  them  are  the  large  drying-vats  used.  The  im- 
provement of  clays  by  washing  is  practiced  at  no 
other  establishment  in  New  Jersey.  Half  a  mile 
southeast  of  Such's  clay  works  are  the  clay  pits  of 
Laird  &  Furman.  But  little  clay  has  been  dug  here, 
and  the  pits  have  not  been  operated  for  some  years. 
There  is  an  overlying  yellow  sand  bed  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  thick.  The  Middlesex  Company,  on  Burt's  Creek, 
is  mining  and  dealing  in  furnace  sand  and  potter's 
clay  and  manufacturing  much  brick. 

A  tract  of  about  seven  hundred  acres,  known  as  the 
Kearney  tract,  borders  the  Raritan  northeast  of  Burt's 
Creek,  and  upon  it  clay  pits  have  been  dug  at  several 
points.    "  The  Western  Pits"  are  on  both  sides  of  the 


old  Burt's  Creek  and  South  Amboy  road.  Here  the 
roadway  divides  the  diggings  into  two  groups  of  pits, 
one  north  the  other  south  of  it.  On  the  north  the  top 
of  this  bed  has  an  elevation  of  thirty-two  to  thirty- 
six  feet;  on  the  south  its  height  is  twenty-nine  to 
thirty-five  feet ;  but  a  difference  of  several  feet  is 
common  within  short  distances.  South  of  the  road 
the  average  thickness  of  the  clay  bed  is  eight  feet. 
Under  it  there  is  fine  sand  and  kaolin.  At  the  top  a 
spit  or  two  of  the  clay  is  white,  next  comes  the 
blue  or  bluish-white,  then  the  red  clay.  These  are 
merely  shades  of  color,  all  in  one  bed,  and  the  color- 
line  is  the  only  one  seen.  The  upper  part  of  the 
northern  bed  is  a  buff  clay.  Below  this  it  is  bluish- 
white,  the  line  between  the  two  shades  of  color  being 
distinct  and  clearly  marked.  Pyrites  are  quite  abund- 
ant in  the  top  of  this  buff  clay.  Each  spit  is  exam- 
ined, and  the  pyrite  cut  out  and  thrown  aside.  The 
clay  thus  sorted  is  sold  for  alum-making.  The  lower 
part  of  this  buff  clay  is  very  rich,  and  is  sold  for  glaz- 
ing paper,  commanding  a  high  price.  The  bluish- 
white  clay  is  rich  in  alumina,  contains  little  foreign 
matter,  and  is  esteemed  the  best  of  the  bank.  Its 
composition  is  given  in  the  following  analysis: 

Alumina,  39.24  ;  silicic  acid,  42.71 ;  water  (com- 
bined), 13.32  ;  sand  (quartz),  0.70  ;  titanic  acid,  1.60  ; 
potash,  0.47  ;  soda,  0.42 ;  lime,  0.20 ;  sesquioxide  of 
iron,  0.46;  water  (moisture),  1.158;  total,  100.70. 

This  clay  approaches  a  pure  kaolinite  in  composi- 
tion, dries  white  and  retains  its  whiteness.  It  is  the 
most  refractory  of  the  clays  dug  here,  and  is  sold  for 
fire- brick.  The  best  of  the  clays  obtained  here  have 
a  specific  gravity  of  1.702  to  1.742.  No  attempt  has 
been  made  in  these  pits  to  utilize  a  fire-sand  or  kaolin 
found  under  the  fire-clay.  There  is  so  much  water 
in  the  stratum  that  its  extraction  is  not  practicable 
while  digging  the  cl.ay,  as  it  would  soon  rush  up  and 
fill  the  pits.  The  "  Northeastern  Bank"  is  less  than 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  northeast  of  the  pits  just  described. 
It  is  an  older  bank,  in  which  work  was  resumed  a 
few  years  ago.  At  the  side  of  the  road  the  pits  pass 
through  a  bed  of  black  sandy  clay,  also  several  feet 
thick,  into  the  fire-clay.  North  of  this  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  there  is  none  of  the  black  clay,  but  the 
sand-bed  attains  a  maximum  thickness  of  forty  feet.  A 
very  few  thin  layers  of  white  gravel  occur  in  it.  The 
whole  has  a  plainly  laminated  structure,  and  much  of 
the  bed  is  very  clean,  sharp  sand.  The  removal  of  so 
great  a  thickness  of  bearing,  which  is  waste  material, 
is  costly,  and  compensated  for  only  by  the  superior 
quality  of  the  clays  which  it  covers.  The  top  of  the 
clay  bed  here  also  has  its  characteristic  inequalities  of 
surface.  At  the  top  there  is  a  white  to  faint-buff 
clay,  reaching  down  four  feet.  The  top  spit  of  this 
contains  a  few  pyrites,  which  are  cut  out.  The  re- 
maining mass  is  very  rich  fine  clay.  The  lower  por- 
tion of  this  buff  clay  is  almost  free  from  impurities, 
and  is  considered  the  best  clay  of  this  tract.  The 
following  is  the  result  of  an  analysis :  Alumina,  39.14 ; 


SAYREVILLE. 


859 


silicic  acid,  42.20 ;  water  (combined),  14.05 ;  silica 
(sand),  0.20;  titanic  acid,  1.06;  potash,  0.25;  sesqui- 
oxide  of  iron,  0.45;  water  (moisture),  0.90.  Total, 
100.24.  The  purity  of  this  clay  is  apparent  at  a 
glance  at  these  figures.  The  blue  portion  of  the  bed 
under  the  buff  is  thought  to  be  equally  good,  but  it 
burns  a  little  darker  color.  Selected  lots  from  this 
bank  are  sold  for  ware,  the  buff  going  as  a  paper 
clay.  The  rest  is  good  enough  for  fire-brick.  Sand 
underlies  the  clay,  and  the  digging  stops  when  it  is 
reached. 

The  Kearney  clay  bank  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
northeast  of  the  Roberts  opening,  and  half  a  mile 
southeast  of  Kearney's  dock.  The  ground  about  this 
opening  is  70  to  80  feet  high,  and  the  top  of  the  clay, 
as  ascertained  by  the  leveling  done  in  1855  by  the 
geological  survey,  is  57  feet  high.  The  fire-clay  bed 
was  17  feet  thick,  of  which  13  feet  of  the  top  was  of 
good  quality,  and  4  feet  at  the  bottom  of  spotted  clay. 
Tlie  pits  stopped  at  a  sandy  clay  at  the  bottom.  Rest- 
ing on  the  fire-clay  bed  there  was  in  places  a  black, 
lignite-bearing  clay,  but  most  of  the  top  or  bearing, 
which  was  10  to  18  feet  thick,  was  yellow  sand.  A 
kaolin  was  dug  in  the  lower  ground,  about  200  feet 
from  this  clay  bank,  and  at  the  side  of  the  road.  Its 
height  above  tide-level  was  44  feet.  In  Roberts'  bank 
(worked  in  1855,  but  not  lately),  a  few  rods  northeast 
of  the  Kearney  bank,  there  was  yellow  sand  15  to  30 
feet  thick,  then  14  feet  of  fire-clay,  and  the  surface  of 
this  latter  was  found  to  be  58  feet  above  mean  tide- 
level.  The  operators  upon  the  Kearney  tract,  Messrs. 
E.  F.  &  J.  M.  Roberts,  make  a  practice  of  throwing 
the  spits  in  heaps  upon  a  board  flooring  at  the  side  of 
the  pit,  sorting  them  into  paper,  ware,  fire-brick,  and 
alum  clays,  according  to  their  quality.  Most  of  these 
clays  go  either  to  Jersey  City  or  to  Trenton,  although 
some  are  sent  as  far  as  Baltimore  and  Boston.  The 
fire-brick  clay  is  sold  to  manufacturers  in  Philadel- 
phia, Reading,  the  Lehigh  Valley,  and  other  distant 
points.  The  aggregate  production  of  the  banks  on 
this  tract,  worked  steadily  for  so  many  years,  is  very 
large,  and  of  this  amount  an  unusually  large  propor- 
tion has  been  of  very  superior  quality  and  has  com- 
manded high  prices. 

Fire-sand,  feldspar,  and  sandy  clay  have  been  dug 
at  the  pits  on  the  J.  N.  Coleman  estate,  a  mile  north- 
west of  South  Amboy,  and  near  the  road  to  Kearney's 
dock.  At  the  most  westerly  pit  a  sandy  material  re- 
sembling feldspar  is  found  a  few  feet  below  the  sur- 
face. The  top  of  this  layer  is  about  thirty  feet  high. 
In  the  pit  southeast  of  the  feldspar  some  clay  has 
been  dug,  but  it  is  said  to  have  been  in  thin  layers 
and  of  limited  extent.  A  yellowish-white  quartz 
sand  forms  the  bearing  in  these  pits.  The  fire-sand 
pit  is  in  lower  ground,  northeast  of  the  road.  Both 
the  fire-sand  and  clay  dug  on  this  property  are  very 
probably  of  drift  origin,  a  part  of  the  great  sheet  of 
sand,  grave),  and  clays  which  cover  the  members  of 
the  plastic  clay  beds  in  this  part  of  the  clay  district. 


The  clays  nearer  the  shore  and  southeast  of  these 
pits  appear  to  be  of  like  character. 

W.  C.  Perrine's  clay  pits  are  located  half  a  mile 
south  of  South  Amboy,  200  yards  northwest  of  the 
old  Bordentown  turnpike.  A  shaft  was  sunk  46  feet, 
32  feet  through  sand  and  gravel,  and  14  feet  in  a  dark- 
colored  tough  clay,  containing  a  little  lignite  and 
pyrite.  This  clay  was  deemed  unsatisfactory  for 
stoneware,  and  the  shaft  was  abandoned.  West  of 
South  Amboy,  and  near  Roberts'  banks,  W.  C.  Per- 
rine  dug  a  little  clay,  merely  as  an  exploration,  and 
operations  there  were  speedily  abandoned.  The  clay 
pits  of  E.  R.  Rose  &  Son  and  the  adjacent  diggings 
of  W.  C.  Perrine  are  at  the  side  of  the  Camden  and 
Amboy  Railroad,  near  the  old  Bordentown  turnpike. 
The  ground  here  and  for  some  distance  to  the  north 
and  west  is  rather  flat,  and  60  to  80  feet  above  tide- 
level.  The  strata  observed  in  these  pits  are  in  the 
following  order  and  tliickness,  beginning  at  the  sur- 
face : 

(1)  Sand,  gravel,  and  very  sandy  clay,  six  to  ten 
feet;  (2)  stoneware  clay,  six  feet;  (3)  dark-colored 
sandy  earth  at  the  bottom. 

The  clay  bed  varies  in  thickness,  having  been  found 
as  much  as  fifteen  feet  thick,  including  eight  feet  of 
the  top  clay,  which  is  sandy  and  stained  a  little  by 
oxide  of  iron.  This  top  clay  is  sold  for  common 
yellow-ware  manufacture.  The  stoneware  clay  has  a 
grayish  color,  and  is  marked  by  dark  spots  of  oxide 
of  iron,  so  characteristic  of  the  clay  of  this  bed,  and 
known  as  "  fly-specked  clay."  It  is  very  solid,  and 
its  specific  gravity  is  2.129  to  2.151.  The  composition 
of  this  clay  is  as  follows: 

Alumina,  20.12 ;  silicic  acid,  28.60 ;  water  (com- 
bined), 7.22;  sand  (quartz),  37.10;  titanic  acid,  1.10; 
potash,  1.50;  soda,  traces;  magnesia,  0.29;  sesqui- 
oxide  of  iron,  1.38;  water  (moisture),  4.18.  Total, 
101.49. 

The  bed  becomes  more  sandy  towards  the  bottom, 
and  in  the  more  northeastern  pits  it  is  underlaid  by 
a  dark-colored  sandy  clay,  which  farther  west  is  re- 
placed by  a  looser  sandy  earth.  The  top  of  the  bed, 
as  opened  in  Rose's  pits,  has  a  mean  height  of  seventy 
feet  above  tide-level.  W.  C.  Perrine's  clay  pits  are 
in  the  flat  ground  southwest  of  Rose's,  and  the  beds 
have  the  same  average  thickness  as  the  latter.  West 
of  the  pits  of  W.  C.  Perrine,  and  near  the  Burt's 
Creek  and  Jacksonville  road,  stoneware  clay  has  been 
found  in  borings  made  by  Otto  Ernst.  The  layer 
penetrated  was  only  one  foot  thick,  a  foot  and  a  half 
beneath  the  surface,  and  under  it  there  was  white 
sand.  Its  elevation  above  tide-level  was  about  sixty- 
seven  feet.  So  thin  a  layer  is  of  no  practical  value. 
Two  other  borings  near  this  one  did  not  show  any 
clay. 

The  deep  valley  of  Crossway  Brook,  south  of  South 
Amboy,  running  from  the  old  Bordentown  turnpike 
to  Cheesquake  Creek,  aflbrds  favorable  localities  for 
opening  the  stoneware  bed.   E.  R.  Rose  &  Son,  Morgan 


860 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


&  Furman,  W.  C.  Perrine,  and  William  Hayes  have 
pits  in  this  valley,  and  near  its  mouth  Otto  Ernst  has 
a  clay  bank.  At  the  clay  pits  of  E.  R.  Rose  &  Son 
the  following  strata  are  cut:  (1)  yellow  sandy  gravel 
and  (2)  yellowish-white  sand,  ten  feet;  (3)  dark  drab- 
colored  clay,  one  foot;  (4)  blue  stoneware  clay,  six  to 
seven  feet;  (5)  yellow  streaked  earth  at  the  bottom. 
These  pits  are  on  the  west  side  of  the  valley,  south- 
east of  the  residence  of  Mr.  Rose.  Morgan  &  Fur- 
man's  pits  and  mines  are  across  the  brook  from  the 
pits  iust  described,  and  not  more  than  a  mile  south- 
west of  South  Amboy.  The  following  is  the  order  of 
beds: 

(1)  Yellow  sandy  gravel,  2  to  4  feet;  (2)  yellow 
sand,  10  to  11  feet;  (3)  black  clay  (not  in  all  the 
pits),  3  to  4  feet;  (4)  blue  stoneware  clay,  10  feet; 
(5)  dark  red  clay,  IJ  feet.  At  the  bottom  there  is 
generally  a  sandy  black  clay.  The  northeast  pits  are 
about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  western  opening  and 
in  higher  ground.  The  surface  has  an  elevation  of 
ninety-six  feet.  In  these  pits  the  top-dirt  consists  of 
yellow  sand  and  gravel,  6  to  8  feet,  and  black  clay, 
3  to  4  feet.  The  blue  stoneware  bed  is  10  feet  thick, 
and  lies  upon  a  black  clay.  Neither  of  these  places 
is  now  being  worked.  The  first  work  was  done  in 
1876.  On  ground  northeast  from  the  last-mentioned 
openings  shafts  have  been  sunk  and  work  has  since 
been  done.  The  pit  of  Ward  C.  Perrine,  about  sixty 
rods  southeast  of  Morgan  &  Furman's  mines,  is  one 
of  the  oldest  in  this  valley.  The  stoneware  clay  there 
is  said  to  be  about  three  feet  thick.  Down  the  valley 
farther  are  the  pits  of  William  Hayes,  which  were 
opened  in  1867,  the  clay  being  carted  to  South  Am- 
boy.    The  following  strata  are  seen  in  these  pits  : 

(1)  Yellow  gravel,  1  to  3  feet ;  (2)  yellow  sand,  12 
feet ;  (3)  stoneware  clay,  5  to  6  feet ;  (4)  dark  drab- 
colored  clay,  1  to  2  feet;  (5)  yellowish  earthy  clay 
(yellow  streaked)  at  the  bottom. 

Morgan's  old  and  well-known  clay  bank  is  one  mile 
south  of  South  Amboy,  on  the  shore  of  Raritan  Bay. 
The  following  is  the  order  of  the  succession  of  strata 
and  their  thickness  at  this  bank,  beginning  at  the 
surface : 

(1)  Laminated  sand  and  sandy  clay,  40  feet;  (2) 
sandy  clay  (inferior),  8  feet;  (3)  blue  stoneware-clay, 
3  feet;  (4)  red  (including  peach-blossom  clay),  6 
feet;  (5)  stoneware-clay,  becoming  sandy  at  the  bot- 
tom, 5  feet;  (6)  sand  at  the  bottom. 

The  method  of  excavation  here  has  been  somewhat 
varied.  More  commonly  the  top  dirt  is  removed,  and 
then  large  pits  are  sunk  in  the  clay,  which  are  in  turn 
filled  by  the  bearing  of  the  succeeding  pit,  and  so  on. 
Sometimes  a  pit  is  dug,  and  then  from  it  short  drifts 
are  cut  in  the  clay  bed,  after  which  the  top  is  allowed 
to  fall  down  and  fill  the  excavated  space.  From  the 
pits  the  clay  is  carted  at  low  tide  to  vessels  lying  off 
the  shore.  Most  of  it  is  sold  for  stoneware,  but  a 
large  quantity  goes  to  Norwalk,  Conn.,  and  elsewhere 
to   door-knob  factories.     This  bank   is    one    of  the 


oldest  in  the  State  or  country,  potter's  clay  having 
been  dug  here  before  1800.  Otto  Ernst's  clay  beds  at 
salt-works  dock,  on  the  north  bank  of  Cheesquake 
Creek,  half  a  mile  from  its  mouth,  were  formerly 
worked  by  the  Amboy  Clay  Company.  Here  there 
seem  to  be  two  distinct  beds, — an  upper  one,  which 
was  ^yorked  in  the  bank,  being  from  5  to  7  feet 
thick  and  10  feet  above  high-water  level,  and  a 
lower  one,  which  is  17  feet  thick  and  12  to  29  feet 
below  the  same  level. 

Pottery  and  Brick-Making. — Clay  from  Mor- 
gan's banks  was  used  in  making  stoneware  about 
1800.  Soon  afterwards  Xerxes  Price,  perhaps  in 
company  with  some  of  his  brothers,  purchased  the 
property  at  Roundabout  and  began  making  stone- 
ware pottery,  using  clay  from  Morgan's  old  bank. 
The  plentiful  supply  of  clay  close  at  hand  and  its 
excellent  adaptation  to  brick  manufacture,  the  small 
amount  of  waste  material  to  be  removed,  the  natural 
drainage,  and  the  convenience  of  navigable  waters 
combine  to  render  Sayreville  one  of  the  greatest 
brick-making  areas  in  the  country. 

James  Wood  was  the  first  to  embark  in  this  busi- 
ness, beginning  to  make  common  brick  in  1851  on  . 
his  clay  property  at  Roundabout.  At  the  outset  his 
works  had  a  manufacturing  capacity  of  fifteen  thou- 
sand bricks  daily,  which  has  increased  to  fifty  thou- 
sand. His  yard  covers  a  large  area,  his  sheds  being 
seventy  by  five  hundred  feet,  and  containing  five  kilns, 
each  twenty-eight  by  fifty-six  feet,  all  heated  from 
ninety-four  arches.  A  fifty  horse-power  engine  is 
employed,  seventy  men  being  required  to  do  the  labor 
connected  with  the  various  processes.  The  present 
annual  production  is  eight -million  brick.  There  is  a 
store  on  the  property,  which  Mr.  Wood  conducts  for 
the  accommodation  of  his  employes. 

In  the  fall  of  1851,  Peter  Fisher  and  James  Sayre, 
Jr.,  the  former  from  Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  the  latter  a  resi- 
dent of  Newark,  began  the  manufacture  of  common 
brick  on  the  Price  property,  west  of  Wood's  yard. 
In  18G1  this  firm  began  making  fire-brick  at  Sayre- 
ville. Sayre  &  Fisher  rank  among  the  most  exten- 
sive brick  manufacturers  of  the  United  States,  having 
five  yards  containing  twenty-one  kilns,  their  opera- 
tions covering  many  acres,  involving  the  erection  of 
several  large  sheds  and  the  employment  of  about  two 
hundred  men.  In  the  report  of  the  State  geological 
survey  of  1878  the  annual  product  of  the  yards  of 
Sayre  &  Fisher  was  computed  to  twenty-two  million 
bricks,  to  make  which  would  require  at  least  fifty 
thousand  tons  of  raw  material.  In  1858  this  firm 
began  manufacturing  common  brick  near  the  bridge 
from  Sayreville  to  Washington.  This  business  passed 
entirely  into  the  ownership  of  Peter  Fisher  in  1876. 
At  this  place  the  annual  production  is  estimated  at 
four  million  bricks. 

Near  this  last-mentioned  yard  Robert  L.  Serviss 
began  making  common  hard  brick  in  1853,  abandon- 
ing the  enterprise  in  1871.     During  a  portion  of  this 


SAYREVILLE. 


861 


time  the  yard  was  operated  by  Tuttle  &  Serviss.  In 
1877  the  property  was  purchased  by  William  F. 
Fisher,  who  made  many  improvements  upon  it  and 
added  much  to  the  capacity  of  the  works. 

Adjoining  Peter  Fisher's  brick-yard  on  South 
River,  near  the  road  from  Washington  to  South 
Amboy,  the  Washington  Brick  Company  established 
a  yard  in  1868,  and  the  business  was  continued  until 
the  death  of  H.  F.  Worthington  in  1879.  The  capac- 
ity of  these  works  is  large,  but  they  are  now  idle. 

The  brick-yards  of  the  Middlesex  Company  are 
located  on  Burt's  Creek  near  the  Raritan.  This  com- 
pany began  operations  in  1881,  with  Peter  H.  Valen- 
tine as  president,  E.  Belknap  as  treasurer,  Mr.  S. 
Higbee  as  general  manager,  Lawrence  Neubrandt 
as  superintendent,  and  M.  S.  Ross  as  secretary, 
manufacturing  fire-brick  and  furnace-blocks,  which 
are  burned  in  what  are  known  among  brick-makers 
as  "  square-down  draught-kilns."  The  capacity  of  the 
works  is  twenty  thousand  bricks  per  day,  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  men  are  employed,  the  factory  measures 
ninety  by  one  hundred  and  sixty  feet,  the  kilns  are 
four  in  number,  each  having  four  arches,  and  an 
engine  of  one  hundred  horse-power  is  used.  The 
products  of  this  establishment  are  shipped  chiefly  to 
New  York  State  and  Pennsylvania. 

E.  F.  Roberts  carried  on  the  manufacture  of  com- 
mon brick  for  some  years  on  the  Kearney  tract,  but 
abandoned  the  business  to  engage  in  the  sand  and 
clay  trade. 

Geoege  Such's  C4REEN-H0USE.— One  of  the  most 
notable  of  Sayreville's  industries  is  the  celebrated 
green-house  of  George  Such,  on  the  Ridgway  property 
on  Burt's  Creek.  This  enterprise  has  gradually  grown 
to  large  proportions,  having  its  nucleus  in  a  small 
green-house  established  by  Mr.  Such  for  his  recreation, 
and  with  no  idea  that  it  would  ever  become  in  any 
sense  a  business.  Its  growth  has  been  of  that  kind 
which  cannot  be  expressed  statistically  or  descrip- 
tively, but  it  has  been  steady  and  substantial,  and 
Mr.  Such  now  offers  to  lovers  of  the  beautiful  in 
flower-culture  as  good  a  collection  of  fine  plants  as 
is  to  be  found  in  the  Union,  his  trade  extending  to 
all  parts  of  this  country  and  to  foreign  lands,  many 
of  his  plants  surpassing  those  of  the  same  varieties 
grown  in  England  and  France.  His  hot-houses  are 
six  in  number.  Three  of  them  measure  each  one 
hundred  feet  by  twelve,  and  three  each  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  feet  by  twenty.  Near  by  are  a  fernery 
fifty  feet  by  forty,  and  a  house  for  pitcher  plants  one 
hundred  feet  by  twenty.     Ten  men  are  employed. 

Villages  and  Hamlets.— Sayeeville  is  a  small 
village  which  has  grown  up  under  the  influence  of  the 
extensive  brick  industry  carried  on  there  and  near 
there.  It  was  formerly  called  Roundabout,  a  name 
derived  from  the  fact  that  it  was  accessible  by  water 
only  by  a  very  circuitous  route  by  way  of  the  Rari- 
tan and  South  Rivers.  In  1872  it  was  renamed  in 
honor  of  James  R.  Sayre,  Jr.,  an  extensive  land-owner 
55 


and  manufacturer  there.  The  first  and  only  post- 
master to  date  is  Peter  Fisher.  The  population  is 
above  eight  hundred,  mostly  employfe  at  the  several 
brick-yards  about  the  village  and  other  families. 

There  are  at  Sayreville  two  stores,  kept  by  Sayre  & 
Fisher  and  James  Wood,  a  Methodist  Church,  a  school- 
house,  a  hotel,  and  a  saloon,  with  such  a  number  of 
dwellings  as  are  necessary  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  Sayreville  Hotel  was  estab- 
lished in  1870  by  Maximilian  Bailey ;  the  Mitchell 
House,  as  the  other  public-house  is  known,  in  1877 
by  Christian  Mitchell.  Sayreville,  as  the  principal 
settlement  within  the  new  township,  gave  its  name  to 
the  latter  upon  its  organization. 

Buet's  Ceeek — This  is  the  name  by  which  is 
known  a  scattered  neighborhood  extending  along  the 
creek  of  that  name  from  near  its  mouth  to  its  head- 
waters. Within  its  not  very  definite  limits  are  the 
steam  clay-works  and  green-houses  of  George  Such, 
and  the  brick-factory  of  the  Middlesex  Company,  and 
several  dwellings. 

Mechanicsville. — The  extreme  southwestern 
corner  of  what  was  the  village  of  South  Amboy  be- 
fore the  erection  of  Sayreville,  now  separated  from 
South  Amboy  proper  by  the  boundary  line  between 
the  two  townships,  is  called  Mechanicsville.  It  em- 
braces between  four  and  five  blocks  of  village  lots, 
and  contains  a  few  dwellings. 

Schools. — Nothing  definite  or  interesting  of  early 
schools  in  this  township  is  ascertainable.  There  are 
two  school  districts  in  Sayreville,  of  which  that  at  the 
village  is  the  older  and  most  important.  These  are 
numbered  37  and  25  in  the  enumeration  of  the  school 
districts  of  Middlesex  County,  and  are  locally  known 
respectively  as  "  Brickland"  and  "  Ernston." 

The  number  of  children  of  the  school  age  in  Sayre- 
ville township  in  1881  was  148  in  District  No.  37,  and 
92  in  District  No.  2.5.  In  1880  schools  were  kept  open 
nine  and  three-tenths  months  in  District  No.  37,  and 
eight  months  in  District  No.  25.  In  District  No.  37 
the  average  attendance  was  90,  in  District  No.  25,  20. 
It  was  estimated  that  in  the  former  district  8  attended 
select  school,  and  in  the  latter  25 ;  37  in  District  No. 
37  and  28  in  District  No.  25  attended  no  school.  The 
school-house  in  District  No.  37  will  seat  125  scholars; 
that  in  District  No.  25,  60.  One  male  and  one  female 
teacher  were  employed  in  District  No.  37,  at  salaries 
of  845  and  S33  per  month  respectively.  A  female 
teacher  was  employed  in  District  No.  25  at  816.50  per 
month.  The  apportionment  from  State  appropriation 
to  Districts  Nos.  37  and  25  was  8633.77  and  8300  re- 
spectively. For  the  payment  of  teachers'  salaries  $150 
was  voted  in  District  No.  25.  The  amount  of  district 
school  tax  voted  for  building,  purchasing,  hiring,  re- 
pairing, or  furnishing  public  school  houses  was  8400  in 
District  No.  37,  and  8150  in  District  No.  25.  In  Dis- 
trict No.  37  the  total  amount  of  district  tax  ordered  to 
be  raised  was  8400;  in  District  No.  25, 8300.  The  total 
amount  received  from  all  sources  for  public  school  pur- 


862 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


poses  in  Districts  Nos.  37  and  25  was  $1033.77  and  $600 
respectively.  The  present  value  of  school  property  in 
District  No.  37  is  S1600.  The  school-house  in  District 
No.  25  is  a  rented  building.  In  District  No.  37  a  fund 
is  being  raised  with  a  view  to  establishing  a  school 
library,  !?20  having  been  received  to  date  (1882). 

Churches.— Sayreville  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. — Old  Bethel  Circuit,  out  of  which  Sayreville 
station  grew,  had  its  origin  in  1842,  at  which  time 
Bev.  J.  B.  Dobbins  was  pastor.  The  charges  as  then 
arranged  were  Bethel  Church  of  Sayreville,  with  80 
members;  Old  Bridge  Church,  with  27  members;  and 
Princeton  Church,  with  12  members,  making  119  mem- 
bers. The  circuit  at  this  time  included  the  district 
of  country  embracing  Princeton,  South  Amboy,  and 
Koundabout. 

In  1848  occurred  in  records  the  first  mention  of 
what  is  now  the  Sayreville  Church.  The  class  was 
formed  at  Roundabout,  and  was  composed  of  John 
Van  Deventer,  Eliza  Van  Deveuter,  John  Slover, 
Peter  Van  Deventer,  Louisa  Bolton,  Lorenzo  Van 
Deventer,  Mary  Slover,  and  Sister  Bolton,  and  services 
were  held  in  private  houses.  In  1850  the  name  of 
the  charge  was  changed  to  Middlesex  Mission,  and 
then  included  Washington,  Old  Bridge,  South  Amboy, 
Fresh  Pond,  and  Roundabout. 

In  18G9  the  erection  of  a  church  edifice  in  Sayre- 
ville was  commenced,  and  the  corner-stone  was  laid 
with  appropriate  ceremonies  by  Revs.  E.  H.  Stokes, 
C.  R.  Hartranft,  B.  F.  Sharp,  I.  H.  Mickel,  and  J.  J. 
Corrin.  This  building  was  completed  in  1872,  and 
dedicated  in  June,  1878.  The  dedicatory  sermon  was 
preached  by  Rev.  T.  Hanlan,  D.D. 

For  a  period  of  years  this  church  and  that  at  Wash- 
ington were  connected.  In  1874  Roundabout  was  sepa- 
rated from  the  Washington  Church  and  became  a 
separate  station,  with  Rev.  Firman  Robbins  as  its 
first  pastor.  His  successors  have  been  Rev.  David 
McCurdy,  1875-77;  Rev.  A.  J.  Gregory,  1878;  and 
Rev.  John  Handly,  the  present  pastor,  1879-82. 

The  present  trustees  are  Peter  Fisher,  I.  Letts,  J. 
Blew,  J.  Slover,  and  I.  Grifiin.  The  church  has  a 
membership  of  fifty,  and  is  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  house  of  worship  is  of  brick,  thirty-three  by 
forty-three  feet,  with  a  "  recess  pulpit,"  is  pleasantly 
located  on  a  high  elevation  overlooking  South  River, 
and  cost  $6600.  The  parsonage,  which  is  of  brick, 
cost  $1816. 

The  Holy  Trinity  Chapel. — In  the  school- 
house  at  Sayreville  Episcopalian  services  were  held 
in  1859  by  Rev.  Gideon  J.  Burton,  rector  at  that  time 
of  Christ  Church,  South  Amboy. 

Jan.  12,  1860,  Rev.  Mr.  Burton  laid  the  corner-stone 
of  the  Holy  Trinity  Chapel,  and  on  the  14th  of  the 
following  April  he  held  the  first  service  in  the  new 
house  of  worship,  which  was  consecrated  by  Right 
Bev.  Bishop  Odenheimer  on  Whit-Sunday,  1861. 

The  cost  of  the  erection  of  this  chapel  was  but  little 
more  than  $1000,  which  amount  was  donated  for  such 


use  by  Miss  Sophia  Conover,  then  a  resident  of  South 
Amboy.  The  land  on  which  it  stood  was  given  by 
Mr.  William  Van  Deventer. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Rev.  Gideon  J.  Burton,  and 
with  the  consent  of  those  whose  benefactions  had 
made  its  erection  possible,  and  with  the  sanction  of 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  of  the  diocese,  this  struc- 
ture was  taken  down  and  removed  to  Washington,  in 
East  Brunswick,  in  the  summer  of  1876. 

The  "Washington  Canal.— In  1823  a  charter  was 
procured  for  a  canal  something  more  than  a  mile  in 
length  from  South  River  to  the  Raritan,  traversing 
the  narrowest  part  of  the  western  portion  of  the 
present  township,  its  object  being  to  shorten  the  dis- 
tance by  water  from  Washington  to  the  Raritan,  thus 
facilitating  the  carrying  trade  from  that  point.  This 
canal  was  constructed  by  Samuel  Gordon,  of  South 
Amboy,  as  contractor,  and  finished  about  1824  or  1825, 
and  has  since  been  familiarly  known  by  the  above 
name. 


CHAPTER   CVIL 


CRANBURT.i 


Situation  and  Boundaries.— Cranbury,  contain- 
ing nine  thousand  one  hundred  and  sixteen  acres,  is 
the  smallest  township  in  the  county  except  South 
Amboy,  and  was  the  last  organized.  In  its  entirety 
it  is  the  most  southern  of  the  townships,  though  the 
southern  extremity  of  Monroe  extends  farther  south- 
ward than  the  southern  limit  of  Cranbury.  It  is 
bounded  north  by  South  Brunswick  and  Monroe, 
east  by  Monroe,  south  by  East  Windsor  and'  West 
Windsor  (Mercer  County),  and  (if  from  its  peculiar 
wedge-like  shape  it  may  be  said  to  have  a  western 
boundary)  on  the  west  by  Princeton  (Mercer  County). 

Descriptive. — The  surface  of  Cranbury  is  slightly 
rolling,  and  the  soil  is  generally  well  cultivated  and 
in  most  parts  quite  productive.  It  is  drained  by 
Cranbury  Brook,  which  flows  across  it  east  and  west, 
and  Millstone  River,  which  has  its  course  along  its 
southern  border.  The  principal  thoroughfares  are 
the  New  Brunswick  and  Cranbury  turnpike  (the  old 
George's  road)  and  the  Cranbury  and  Princeton 
turnpike.  The  Camden  and  Amboy  Division  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  defines  a  portion  of  the 
eastern  boundary  and  crosses  the  southeastern  corner, 
and  tlie  New  York  Division  of  the  same  railroad 
crosses  the  township  near  its  western  extremity.  In 
1880  the  real  estate  in  Cranbury  was  valued  at 
$624,600,  the  personal  property  at  $805,000,  the 
number  of  voters  w.as  890. 

Settlement  and  Early  Occurrences.— The  earliest 
data  concerning  any  portion  of  the  present  township 
of  Cranbury  is  to  the  effect  that  within  ten   days 

IByM.  0.  Holfe. 


CRANBURY. 


863 


after  the  confirmation  (March  14,  1682)  of  East 
Jersey  to  the  twenty-four  proprietors  (of  whom  John 
Haywood  and  Thomas  Cooper  werp  two)  by  the 
Duke  of  York,  John  Haywood  conveyed  his  share 
to  Robert  Burnett,  who  divided  his  possessions  and 
sold  thera  out  in  parcels,  one  of  which,  embracing  a 
tract  in  Cranbury,  bounded  east  by  George's  road 
and  south  by  Cranbury  Brook,  was  granted  in  1703 
by  Isabella  McKinsie  to  Philip  French,  of  New 
York  City. 

In  1734  the  heirs  of  Philip  French  sold  this  tract 
to  Noah  Barton,  who  sold  the  part  on  which  most  of 
the  northern  part  of  Cranbury  village  has  grown  up 
to  Samuel  Leonard.  From  Leonard  it  passed  to 
Peter  Wyckotf,  and  a  portion  of  it  has  since  remained 
in  possession  of  successive  generations  of  his  descend- 
ants. 

Thomas  Cooper  seems  to  have  held  the  land  em- 
bracing that  part  of  the  village  south  of  the  brook. 
In  1683  he  sold  one-half  of  his  tract  to  Sir  John 
Gordon,  whose  son.  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  sold  the 
same  in  1720  to  John  Rochead.  In  1736,  John 
Rochead  conveyed  four  acres  and  a  half  on  the  brook 
to  Thomas  Grubbs,  doubtless  as  a  seat  for  a  grist- 
mill, for  it  is  recorded  that  Thomas  Grubbs  conveyed 
this  same  lot,  together  with  a  grist-mill,  to  John  ! 
Collins  in  1741.  There  is  no  means  of  ascertaining 
how  much  of  a  settlement  had  at  that  time  grown 
up  about  the  mill,  which  must  be  regarded  as  the 
probable  nucleus  of  whatever  population  the  vicinity  j 
then  and  has  since  contained.  [ 

The  Name  of  the  Township. — The  settlement 
and  subsequent  village  received  their  name  from  the 
brook  on  whose  banks  thej'  had  their  beginning  and 
growth,  and  the  village  transmitted  the  name  to  the 
township. 

When  and  by  whom  Cranbury  Brook  was  named  is 
not  known.  During  former  years  the  name  was  often 
erroneously  spelled  Cranberry.  The  following  para- 
grajjh  on  this  subject  from  the  pen  of  Rev.  Joseph  G. 
Symmes,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Cranbury  since  1857,  will  be  found  interesting  in  this 
connection : 

"Tlie  liiinie  of  the  fruit  cranberry  is  of  Scotcli  origiu.  It  was  called 
craueberry,  from  a  real  or  fancied  resemblance  of  its  stem  to  the  neck 
of  the  crane,  and  was  modified  by  dropping  the  '  e.'  It  was  the  emblem 
in  Scotland  of  the  Grant  clan.  The  name  was  undoubtedly  given  to 
the  stream  on  which  our  village  stands  from  the  fact  that  the  berries 
were  found  upon  its  meadows.  And  when  applied  to  a  stream,  or 
meadow,  or  prairie,  the  correct  spelling  is  Cranberry.  But  there  is  no 
reason  or  meaning  in  that  spelling  as  applied  to  a  town.  The  old  Eng- 
lish custom,  which  our  early  fathers,  of  course,  followed,  was  to  call  a 
district  or  town  a  borough,  which  was  contracted  into  hnrg  or  bury,  ac- 
cording to  whichever  they  thought  sounded  best.  Hence  the  ending  of 
many  names  of  towns,  both  in  England  and  in  this  country,  as  Canter- 
bury, Woodbury,  Danbury,  Williamsburg,  Janiesburg, — never  spelled 
berry.  When  this  village  began  to  grow  up  the  natural  method  was  to 
call  it  Cranberry  borough  or  town;  the  6crr// would  be  dropped,  and 
there  would  be  Cranborough,  or,  contracting  it,  Cranbury.  And  so  the 
old  documents  and  records  which  were  written  by  those  who  knew  how 
to  spell  or  were  careful  in  spelling  have  the  name  Cranbury.  The  or- 
igin of  the  name,  its  proper  meaning,  and  the  best  authority  in  spelling 
make  it  Cranbury.    Cranberry  suggested  to  strangers  a  low,  swampy, 


sandy  country,  which  this  is  not.  It  is  possible  on  some  spots  along  the 
brook  to  raise  the  fruit,  but  the  surrounding  country  is  adapted  to 
almost  anything  better  than  t^  that  purpose.  Let  us  have  the  correct, 
respectable,  historical  spelling." 

While  it  is  possible  a  very  few  scattering  settlers 
may  have  located  west  of  the  site  of  Cranbury  vil- 
lage, towards  Plainsboro',  prior  to  the  beginning  of 
settlement  at  Cranbury,  it  is  not  by  those  who  have 
given  the  subject  much  investigation  deemed  very 
probable  that  such  was  the  case. 

The  Wyckoff  and  Perrine  families  were  early 
comers,  and  the  latter  is  now  very  numerous  in  the 
township  and  adjoining  ones. 

The  grist-mill  property,  as  has  been  seen,  was  in 
possession  of  Thomas  Grubbs  from  1736  to  1741,  and 
it  is  reasonably  supposed  that  the  mill  was  erected 
about  1737  or  1738.  In  July,  1739,  James  Rochead 
conveyed  to  Coert  Van  Voorhees  and  Thomas  Storey 
a  lot  of  ground  adjoining  the  mill  property,  "  to  be 
for  the  use  of  the  elders  and  deacons  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  of  Cranbury,"  for  erecting  a  house  of 
worship,  in  consideration  of  two  pounds  to  him  duly 
paid. 

The  settlement  must  by  that  date  have  contained 
several  families,  as  a  church  had  been  formally  or- 
ganized and  officered.  Voorhees  and  Storey  immedi- 
ately conveyed  the  lot  to  Nicholas  Stevens  and  Peter 
Perrine,  elders,  and  John  Brown  and  William  JIagee, 
deacons  of  the  said  church,  which  is  thought  to  have 
been  then  only  recently  organized,  and  it  is  supposed 
there  had  been  little  preaching  in  the  Cranbury  set- 
tlement until  the  year  before.  At  the  first  meeting  of 
the  Presbytery  of  New  Brunswick,  in  1738,  appeared 
John  Chambers,  a  commissioner  from  Cranbury, 
asking  for  a  supply.  Rev.  Gilbert  Tennent  was  ap- 
pointed to  preach  there  and  at  Allentown. 

At  another  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  held  in  the 
autumn  of  the  same  year,  Stephen  Wagner  presented 
a  petition  from  the  people  of  Cranbury  and  vicinity 
asking  for  advice  in  a  matter  of  difliculty  concerning 
a  house  of  worship.  It  seems  that  Presbyterians  and 
"people  of  the  Church  of  England  persuasion,"  as 
they  were  termed,  had  united  in  building  a  church 
on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  "  Old  Church" 
school-house,  in  School  District  No.  62  in  Monroe, 
east  of  Cranbury.  When  the  house  was  built  and 
how  it  was  used  it  has  not  been  possible  to  ascertain.' 
Diligent  search  has  not  revealed  one  fact  concerning 
it  previous  to  1738,  nor  can  it  be  ascertained  when  it 
ceased  to  be  used  as  a  house  of  worship  ;  but  it  was 
long  used  as  a  school-house.  All  traces  of  the  house 
have  now  disappeared  except,  it  may  be,  a  few  tim- 
bers in  some  ifeighboring  building,  and  the  spot  is 
only  marked  by  a  few  neglected  graves.  But  the 
trouble  then  concerned  its  use.  Presbytery  held  an 
adjourned  meeting  at  Cranbury  to  compose  the  diflS- 
culty,  which  was  done  by  advising  that  one  or  the 

1  Rev.  Joseph  G.  Symmes,  who  supplied  these  facts,  has  laboriously  but 
vainly  tried  to  learn  more  of  the  matters  under  consideration. 


864 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


other  party  should  sell  out  their  right.  The  record  i 
does  not  state  the  fact,  but  it  was  evidently  the  Pres-  i 
byterians  who  sold  out,  for  they  took  measures  the 
next  year  to  build  a  new  house;  and  for  the  site  they 
came  near  the  mill,  as  has  been  seen.  Probably  the 
settlers  at  Cranbury  had  not  until  then  attained  any 
numerical  strength.  Whenever  and  by  whomsoever 
besides  some  persons  supposed  to  have  lived  in  Cran- 
bury the  old  church  in  Monroe  had  been  erected,  it 
must  have  been  located  there  because  its  supporters 
in  that  direction  outnumbered  all  others  elsewhere, 
those  at  Cranbury  included,  for  in  such  matters  the 
majority  generally  ruled  then  as  now. 

Prominent  Men  of  the  Pioneer  Period. — 
It  has  been  seen  that  the  leading  spirits  in  the  move- 
ment to  establish  a  church  at  Cranbury  were  Coert 
Van  Voorhees  and  Thomas  Storey,  who  purchased  the 
lot  from  James  Kochead ;  Nicholas  Stevens  and  Peter 
Perrine,  elders,  and  John  Brown  and  William  Magee, 
deacons,  to  whom  they  transferred  it ;  and  John 
Chambers  and  Stephen  Wagner,  who  represented  the 
Cranbury  Presbyterians  at  New  Brunswick ;  and 
these,  with  James  Rochead,  Peter  WyckofT,  and 
Thomas  Grubbs,  the  mill  proprietor,  may  be  fairly 
regarded  as  having  been  at  the  time  among  the  most 
prominent  residents  at  and  near  the  Cranbury  settle- 
ment, if,  indeed,  they  all  did  live  in  that  vicinity. 
John  Collins,  who  bought  the  grist-mill  and  the  four 
acres  of  land  surrounding  it  of  Grubbs  in  1741,  is 
reasonably  supposed  to  have  become  a  resident  there, 
but  whether  Grubbs  removed  to  some  other  locality 
or  remained  is  uncertain.  Except  that  Coert  Van 
Voorhees  was  a  descendant  of  the  Van  Voorhees  who 
was  the  progenitor  of  the  present  family  of  Voorhees 
in  America,'  and  a  later  supporter  of  the  church, 
nothing  can  be  stated  concerning  him,  save  that  he  is 
believed  upon  reasonable  ground  to  have  been  de- 
scended indirectly  from  some  of  the  name  living  in 
North  Brunswick,  which  included  New  Brunswick 
till  1860.  Save  what  is  above  set  forth,  little  of  in- 
terest is  known  in  reference  to  any  of  the  others  above 
mentioned.  One  John  Storey  was  during  the  Revo- 
lution a  resident  of  South  Brunswick,  of  whose  ter- 
ritory Cranbury  was  then  a  part,  and  is  thought  to 
have  been  a  descendant  of  Thomas  Storey,  who,  as 
was  also  John  Storey,  was  later  a  supporter  of  the 
church.  The  names  of  AVyckoff  and  Perrine  have 
come  down  to  the  present  through  several  generations. 
Peter  Perrine  had  two  brothers  named  William  and 
Elijah,  who  were  also  early  settlers  in  the  vicinity  of 
Cranbury.  They  were  without  doubt  descended  from 
the  brothers  Henry  and  Daniel  Peryne,  Huguenot 
refugees,  who  with  others  of  French  nativity  were 
stranded  on  the  southeastern  shore  of  Staten  Island 
with  the  rickety  old  ship  "  Caledonian,"  whose  tim- 
bers providentially  held  together  long  enough  to  bring 


1  Thie  family  is  numerous  in  Middlesex  County.    See  tlie  history  of 
North  Brunswick  for  further  information  concerning  the  family  and 


her  passengers  to  the  land  they  sought,  some  time 
after  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes  in  1685. 

Peter  Perrine  married  a  woman  named  Holman, 
and  had  several  children.  It  is  to  be  regarded  as 
somewhat  remarkable  that  five  of  his  daughters  mar- 
ried men  named  Dey,  of  some  of  the  Dey  families  of 
South  Brunswick,  and  many  of  their  descendants  are 
living  in  the  county  now.  Two  of  the  sons  of  Peter 
Perrine  were  named  Enoch  and  Andrew,  whose  de- 
scendants have  been  numerous  and  many  of  them 
well  known. 

A  considerable  tract  of  land,  embracing  Cranbury 
Station,  was  the  farm  of  William  Perrine.  It  was 
cut  in  two  by  the  construction  of  the  railroad,  the 
depot  now  standing  about  in  its  centre  as  formerly 
bounded. 

William  Perrine  married  Hannah  Mount;  his 
children  were  named  Matthias,  John,  Peter,  Hum- 
phrey, William,  Daniel,  Lydia,  Ann,  Margaret,  Re- 
becca, and  Hannah.  (1)  Matthias  married  Ann 
Knott  and  lived  between  Cranbury  and  Prospect 
Plains.  He  had  children  named  David  K.,  Ann  K., 
Hannah,  Lydia,  Eliza  Jane,  Catharine,  Rachel,  Mar- 
garet, Susan,  and  Mary.  David  K.  married  Eliza- 
beth Tilton  and  lived  near  Prospect  Plains.  His  chil- 
dren were  Charles  H.,  Mary  E.,  and  Elwood.  (2)  John 
lived  and  died  in  Cranbury.  His  wife  was  Betsy 
Riggs.  Peter,  William,  John,  Abraham  J.,  and 
George  were  the  names  of  his  children,  none  of 
whom  live  in  the  vicinity.  (3)  Peter  married  Ann 
Duncan  and  removed  to  New  York  State  before 
1800.  (4)  Humphrey  espoused  Fanny  Dodd,  and  his 
son,  Dr.  William  Perrine,  is  a  resident  of  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.  (5)  William  married  Sarah  Voorhees  and  re- 
moved to  Philadelphia,  and  thence  to  Somerville, 
N.  J.,  where  he  died.  He  had  two  daughters.  (6)  Dan- 
iel and  (7)  Hannah  died  unmarried.  (8)  Lydia  mar- 
ried Thomas  Baldwin ;  (9)  Anna,  Israel  Baldwin ; 
(10)  Margaret,  Maj.  James  Cook;  and  (11)  Rebecca, 
John  McMichael. 

(1)  Elijah  Perrine  married  Betsy  Perrine  and  lived 
on  the  Trenton  road.  Of  what  family  of  Perrines 
his  wife  was  does  not  appear,  though  she  is  supposed 
to  have  descended  from  the  same  ancestors  as  the 
three  brothers  mentioned.  The  children  of  Elijah 
and  Betsy  Perrine  were  Peter,  Henry,  William,  John, 
Ellen,  Margaret,  Lydia,  and  Sarah.  (2)  Peter  mar- 
ried into  the  Rue  family,  and  after  the  death  of  his 
first  wife  married  Lydia  Ward.  His  children  were 
Alfred,  Ward  C,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  Ward  C. 
has  long  been  a  prominent  business  man  at  South 
Amboy.  (3)  Henry  married  Jemima  Healy,  by  whom 
he  had  children  named  Charlotte,  Ann,  Matilda, 
Lydia,  Samuel  E.,  John  Henry,  Rebecca,  and  Mary. 
(4)  William  espoused  Mary  Hunt.  Their  children 
were  Sarah,  Ann,  Ellen,  and  Hannah.  (5)  John  was 
twice  married, — first  to  Miss  P.  Vinewright,  then  to 
Elizabeth  Wilbur.  His  children  were  Elizabeth, 
Rebecca,  Elijah,  and  Sarah,  and  two  sons.     (6)  Ellen 


CRANBURY. 


married  William  Rue,  and  settled  at  Matchaponix  in 
Monroe.  (7)  Margaret  married  Cornelius  Suydam; 
(8)  Lydia,  Peter  Rue.  Both  removed  to  Matchapo- 
nix. (9)  Sarah  married  Garret  J.  Snediker,  of  Cran- 
bury,  and  bore  him  children  named  Alexander, 
Jacob,  Anna  Elizabeth,  Edward,  John,  and  Henry. 

Peter  Wyckoff  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  pro- 
genitor of  Peter  Wyckoff,  who  married  Elizabeth 
Baird,  and  located  at  the  locality  known  as  WyckofTs 
Mills,  and  had  children  named  Peter,  Jr.,  John,  Jacob, 
David  B.,  Mary  Ann,  Gertrude,  and  two  others.  Peter 
married  a  Miss  Fallen,  and  died  at  Wyckoft''s  Mills. 
John  died  at  Hight^town.  Jacob  married  Amelia 
Robbins,  and  located  in  the  vicinity  of  Cranburj'. 
David  B.  married  Elizabeth  Perrine,  and  settled  at 
Hightstown.  Mary  Ann  married  Elias  Conover,  and 
resided  and  died  in  Monmouth  County.  Gertrude 
married  Rev.  James  Maxwell,  and  lives  at  Hights- 
town. The  children  of  David  B.  were  Addison, 
Anna,  John  P.,  Elizabeth,  Monroe,  Virginia,  and 
Josephine,  who  died  young. 

Other  Pioneer  FAjriLiES. — An  early  settler  in 
Cranbury  was  Thomas  Duncan,  and  we  trace  his  ge- 
nealogy as  far  back  as  scanty  records,  land  titles,  and 
well-founded  traditions  will  permit.  The  Duncan 
fathers  came  from  Scotland,  and  in  a  sectarian  way 
were  what  may  be  termed  Presbyterians.  It  appears 
that  Jabez  Duncan  was  a  soldier  in  Philip's  war,  of 
Capt.  Turner's  company,  in  April,  1676.  Joseph  Dun- 
can was  killed  by  the  Indians  June  27,  1689,  with 
twenty-two  others.  Nathaniel  Duncan,  at  Dorches- 
ter, in  1630  came,  doubtless  in  the  "  Mary  and  John," 
with  the  other  first  settlers  of  that  town,  bringing 
with  him  perhaps  his  wife,  Elizabeth,  and  his  son, 
Nathaniel  (who  was  connected  with  an  artillery  com- 
pany in  1644),  and  later  had  a  son  Peter.  About 
1641  he  removed  to  Boston,  and  died  about  1668. 
The  last-named  son  also  belonged  to  the  artillery 
company  in  1654.  He  removed  to  Gloucester,  and 
had  children, — Martha,  Elizabeth,  Ruth,  Peter,  Pris- 
cilla,  Margery,  and  Daniel.'  The  tradition  of  one  of 
the  ancestors  of  the  Duncan  family  having  been  killed 
by  the  Indians  was  handed  down  to  later  generations, 
and  Stephen  Duncan,  who  died  aged  eighty-three  in 
1867,  often  spoke  of  it.  Little  doubt  is  entertained  that 
either  Peter  or  Daniel  Duncan  above  mentioned  was 
the  father  of  Thomas,  the  statements  made  years  ago 
by  several  of  the  old  men  of  the  Duncan  family  sup- 
porting this  theory.  Thomas  purchased  a  large  tract  of 
land  on  Cranbury  Neck,  lived  upon  it,  and  apportioned 
it  out  among  his  children.  Two  old  deeds  for  lands, 
including  the  old  farm  of  Stephen  Duncan,  dated 
Feb.  1,  1749,  are  in  existence.  They  are  from  Thomas 
Duncan  to  his  sons,  William  and  John.  The  name 
Thomas  Duncan  is  written  in  a  good  business  hand, 
though  evidently  the  signature  of  an  old  man.  John 
(sou  of  Thomas)  had  sons, — Daniel,  John,  Thomas 

1  Savage's  Genealogical  Dictionary  of  New  England  settlers. 


(for  nearly  thirty  years  a  ruling  elder  in  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Cranbury),  and  Stephen. 
John  Duncan  had  two  sons,  Peter  Duncan,  Esq.,  and 
John  I.,  and  a  daughter,  the  late  wife  of  William 
Tindall,  of  Hightstown.  The  descendants  of  Elder 
Thomas  Duncan  are  numerous  and  respectable.  The 
Duncan  descendants  are  still  very  generally  Presby- 
terians in  the  old  neighborhood.  John  I.  Duncan, 
who  died  aged  seventy-three  in  1873,  was  highly 
esteemed,  and  was  for  many  years  a  land  surveyor 
and  business  man.  He  leaves  a  large,  respectable 
family. 

Among  the  early  settlers  was  Isaac  De  Bow. 
Whether  any  one  of  the  name  of  an  earlier  gener- 
ation was  in  Cranbury  is  unknown.  (1)  Isaac,  the 
progenitor  of  later  generations,  was  a  blacksmith, 
and  plied  his  avocation  in  Cranbury  as  early  as 
1750.  His  children  were  Garret,  John,  James, 
Daniel,  and  Isabel.  (2)  Garret  married  Elizabeth 
Gilliand  and  located  in  the  village.  His  children 
were  James  and  David.  James  married  Matilda 
Dey,  and  removed  to  Allegheny  County,  Pa.  David 
married  Ellen  Reed,  and  located  in  the  village.  His 
children  were  Jane,  Elizabeth,  Margaret,  James, 
Sarah,  and  William.  (3)  John  married  and  re- 
moved to  New  York  State.  (4)  James  died  un- 
married. (5)  Isabel  married  a  Griggs,  and  removed 
to  New  Brunswick. 

(1)  Matthew  Rue,  who  located  in  Monroe  previous  to 
1750,  buying  a  large  tract  of  land  partially  in  what  is 
now  Cranbury,  had  children  named  Joseph,  Samuel, 
William,  Matthew,  Jr.,  James,  Matthias,  John,  Ellen, 
and  Margaret.  But  little  is  known  of  any  of  them  ex- 
cept (2)  Matthew,  Jr.,  who  married  Catherine  Voor- 
hees,  settling  on  a  portion  of  his  father's  property, 
which  he  intersected,  lying  on  the  Cranbury  side  of  the 
present  township  boundary  line,  and  had  children 
named  Matthew,  Samuel,  Margaret,  Catherine,  Ellen, 
and  Charlotte.  (3)  Matthew  went  to  Ohio,  and  there 
died.  (4)  Samuel  married  Anna  Wyckoff,  and  located 
on  the  homestead.  His  children  were  John,  Matthew 
A.,  Edmund  S.,  William  C,  Alfred,  Margaret,  and 
Elizabeth.  John  died  unmarried.  Matthew  A.  mar- 
ried Emeline  Anderson,  and  is  a  well-known  business 
man  of  Cranbury  village.  His  children  are  Alfred  A., 
William  H.,  and  L.  A.  Rue.  Edmund  married  Mar- 
garet Gilliand,  and  located  on  the  homestead.  Wil- 
liam married  Rebecca  Shreeve,  and  died  on  Staten 
Island.  Alfred  espoused  Mary  Ann  Stalls,  and  lives 
in  the  village.  Margaret  married  Henry  Vandewater, 
and  removed  from  the  township.  Elizabeth  is  the 
wife  of  James  Heath,  of  Kingston.  (5)  Margaret 
married  William  Perrine,  and  removed  to  Ohio.  (6) 
Catherine  became  the  wife  of  John  Dey,  and  (7) 
Margaret  of  Runey  Dey.  Charlotte  married  John 
Veighte.  The  latter  three  located  in  South  Bruns- 
wick. 

Among  the  old  families  of  Cranbury  may  be  ac- 
counted that  of  the  Van  Kirks.     The  first  of  the  name 


866 


HISTORY   OF  UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


who  is  known  to  have  resided  in  the  township  was 

(1)  John  Van  Kirk,  who  lived  near  the  grist-mill  in 
the  village,  and  had  sons  named  Oakley  and  Andrew. 

(2)  Oakley  died  unmarried,  and  (3)  Andrew  married 
and  had  eleven  children,  named  Gordon,  Nancy, 
Lavinia,  Ida,  Jane,  Mary,  Catherine,  John,  Lucinda, 
Sarah,  and  Keziah.  Gordon,  Nancy,  Lavinia,  Ida, 
Sarah,  and  Keziah  all  died  unmarried.  Jane  married 
and  removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  and  died  there. 
Mary  married  Alexander  Alexander,  and  died  in  New 
York,  where  Catherine  removed  with  her  husband, 
Henry  Hathaway.  John  is  living  at  Allentown,  Pa. 
Lucinda  married  Abraham  Voorhees,  and  after  his 
death  William  Schenck,  and  is  a  resident  of  Cranbury. 

All  that  it  has  been  found  possible  to  learn  of  those 
who  have  any  claim  to  memory  as  pioneers  in  Cran- 
bury has  been  carefully  set  forth  with  all  the  detail 
the  data  has  permitted.  The  names  of  many  others, 
about  whom  the  writer  has  been  unable  to  learn  any- 
thing in  detail,  will  be  presented  fartlier  on. 

Uev.  David  Brainerd  at  Cranbury. — In  the 
journal  of  David  Brainerd  appears  this  record  ;  "  June 
18,  1745.  In  the  afternoon  came  to  a  place  called 
Cranbury,  and  meeting  with  a  serious  minister  lodged 
with  him."  This  "  serious  minister,'*  whose  bearing 
seems  to  have  favorably  impressed  the  missionary, 
was  Rev.  Charles  McKnight,  pastor  of  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Cranbury  from  1744  to  1778. 
Whether  Brainerd  had  visited  the  place  previous  to 
the  date  of  tlie  above  entry  in  his  journal  does  not 
appear,  but  his  mention  of  the  locality  as  "a  place 
called  Cranbury"  inclines  us  to  believe  that  he  was 
not  at  the  time  familiar  with  it.  In  1746  he  removed 
to  this  vicinity  with  some  of  his  Indian  followers. 
At  the  north  end  of  the  present  village  of  Cranbury 
stood  a  majestic  elm,  under  whose  wide-spreading 
branches  some  of  the  forefathers  of  the  present  resi- 
dents there  heard  the  devoted  missionary  preach  to 
his  wondering  and  at  times  greatly  moved  aboriginal 
congregation.  A  few  years  ago  the  tree  fell  before 
the  progress  of  improvement,  but  some  few  relics  re- 
main of  the  town  of  Bethel,  which  Brainerd  began, 
a  few  miles  away,  and  his  brother  John  completed.^ 

Brainerd  was  full  of  fire  and  force,  vividly  pictur- 
ing in  beautiful  yet  simple  language  to  his  red  audi- 
tors the  blessings  of  salvation.  The  following  extracts 
from  his  journal  will  show  the  effects  which  followed 
his  preaching  : 

"August  8tb.  In  the  afternoon  I  preached  to  Indians.  Tlieir  number 
was  now  about  sixty-five  persons, — men,  women,  and  chiUh'eu.  I  dis- 
coursed from  Luke  xiv.  16-23,  and  was  favored  witii  uucommon  free- 
dom. There  was  much  concern  among  tlieni  while  I  was  discoursing 
publicly,  but  afterwards  when  I  spoke  to  one  and  another  more  partic- 
ularly whom  I  perceived  under  concern,  the  power  of  God  seemed  to 
descend  upon  tlie  assembly  '  like  a  rushing  mighty  wind,'  and  with  an 
astonishing  energy  bore  down  all  before  it. 

"  I  stood  amazed  at  the  influence  that  seized  the  audience  almost  uni- 
versally, and  could  compare  it  to  nothing  more  aptly  than  a  mighty 
torrent  that  bears  down  and  sweeps  before  it  whatever  is  in  its  way. 


1  In  the  history  of  Mon 
this  place. 


i  will  be  found  much  of  interest  c 


Almost  all  pei-sons  of  all  ages  were  bowed  down  together,  and  scarce 
one  was  able  to  withstand  the  shock  of  the  surprising  operation.  Old 
men  and  women  who  had  been  drunken  wretclies  for  many  years,  and 
some  little  children,  not  more  than  six  or  seven  years  of  age,  appeared  in 
distress  for  their  souls,  as  well  as  persons  of  middle  age.  And  it  was 
apparent  these  children  were  not  merely  frightened  with  seeing  the 
general  concern,  but  were  made  sensible  of  their  dauger,  the  badness  of 
their  hearts,  and  their  misery  without  Christ.  The  most  stubborn  hearts 
were  now  obliged  to  bow.  A  principal  man  among  the  Indians  who  be- 
fore thought  his  state  good  because  he  knew  more  than  the  generality 
of  the  Indians,  and  who  with  great  confidence  the  day  before  told  me 
he  had  been  a  Christian  more  than  ten  years,  was  now  brought  under 
solemn  concern  for  his  soul  and  wept  bitterly.  Another  man,  consider- 
able in  years,  who  had  been  a  murderer,  a  jjoi«-i«o(r,  and  a  notorious 
drunkard,  was  likewise  now  brought  to  cry  for  mercy  with  many  tears, 
and  to  complain  much  that  he  could  be  no  more  concerned  when  he 
saw  his  danger  so  great. 

"There  were  almost  universally  praying  and  crying  for  mercy  in  every 
part  of  the  house,  and  many  out  of  doors,  and  numbers  could  neither  go 
nor  stand  ;  their  concern  was  so  great,  each  for  himself,  that  none  seemed 
to  take  any  notice  of  those  about  them,  but  each  prayed  for  themselves, 
and  were,  to  theirown  apprehension,  as  much  retiied  as  if  every  one  had 
been  by  himself  in  a  desert,  or  rather  they  thought  nothing  about  any 
but  themselves,  and  so  were  every  one  praying  apart  although  all  to- 
gethf.r.  It  seemed  to  me  there  was  an  exact  fulfillment  of  that  prophecy, 
Zech.  xii,  10, 12,  for  there  was  now  '  A  great  mourning,  like  the  mourn- 
ing of  Hadadrimmon,'  and  each  seemed  to  'mourn  apart.'  Metliuught 
this  had  a  near  resemblance  to  the  day  of  God's  power,  mentioned  Josh. 
X.  14,  for  I  must  say  I  never  saw  any  duy  like  it  in  all  respects  ;  it  was  a 
day  wherein  the  Lord  did  much  destroy  the  kingdom  of  darkness  among 
the  people. 

"This  concern  was  most  rational  and  just;  those  who  had  been 
awakened  any  considerable  time  complained  especially  of  the  badness  of 
their  hearts,  and  those  newly  awakened  of  the  badness  of  their  lires  and 
actions,  and  all  wore  afraid  of  the  anger  of  God,  and  of  everlasting  mis- 
ery as  the  desert  of  sin.  Some  of  the  white  people  who  came  out  of 
curiosity  to  '  htar  what  this  babbler  would  say'  to  the  poor  ignorant 
Indians  were  much  awakened,  and  appeared  to  be  wounded  with  a  view 
of  their  perishing  state. 

"  Those  who  had  lately  obtained  relief  were  filled  with  comfort ;  they 
appeared  calm  and  rejoiced  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  some  of  them  took  their 
distressed  friends  by  the  hand,  telling  them  of  the  goodness  of  Christ, 
and  the  comfort  that  is  to  be  enjoyed  in  him,  and  invited  them  to  come 
and  give  their  hearts  to  him.  And  I  could  observe  some  of  them  in  the 
most  unaffected  manner  lifting  up  their  eyes  to  heaven  as  if  crying  for 
mercy,  while  they  saw  the  distress  of  the  poor  souls  around  them. 

"August  9th.  In  the  afternoon  I  discoursed  lo  them  publicly.  There 
were  now  present  about  seventy  persons.  I  opened  and  applied  the 
parable  of  the  sower,  and  was  enabled  to  discourse  with  much  jdain- 
ness.  There  were  many  tears  among  them  while  I  was  discoui-sing, 
but  no  considerable  cry,  yet  some  wece  much  affected  witli  a  few  words 
spoken  from  Matt.  xi.  29,  with  which  I  concluded.  But  while  I  was 
discoursing  near  night  to  two  or  three  of  the  awakened  persons  a  divine 
influence  seemed  to  attend  what  was  spoken,  which  caused  the  persons 
to  cry  out  in  anguish  of  soul,  although  I  spoke  not  a  word  of  terror,  but 
on  the  contrary  set  befttre  them  the  fullness  of  Christ's  merits  and  his 
willingness  to  save  all  that  came  to  him. 

"  The  cry  of  these  was  heard  by  others,  who  though  scattered  before 
immediately  gathered  round.  I  then  proceeded  in  the  same  strain  of 
gospel  invitation  till  they  were  all  melted  into  tears  and  cries  except 
two  or  three,  and  seemed  in  the  greatest  distress  to  find  and  secure  an  in- 
terest in  the  great  Redeemer.  Some  who  had  but  little  more  than  a  ruffle 
made  in  their  pasaiona  the  day  before  seemed  now  to  be  deeply  affected, 
and  the  concern  in  general  appeared  near  as  prevalent  as  theday  before. 
There  was  indeed  a  veri/  great  mourning  among  them,  and  yet  every  one 
seemed  to  mourn  apart.  For  so  great  was  their  concern  that  almost 
every  one  was  praying  and  crying  for  himself,  as  if  none  had  been  near. 
*Guttummaukalummeb,  guUummaukalummeh  !*  i.e., '  Have  mercy  upon  me, 
have  mercy  upon  me  !'  was  the  common  cry. 

"  It  was  very  affecting  to  see  the  poor  Indians,  who  the  other  day  were 
yelling  in  their  idrdalrous  feasts,  now  crying  to  God  with  much  impor- 
tunity for  and  interest  in  his  dear  Son." 

The  most  friendly  relations  existed  between  the 
missionaries  and  Rev.  Mr.  McKnight,  and  often  they 
are  said  to  have  preached  for  each  other. 


CRANBURY. 


867 


PioxEER  Names. — The  names  of  subscribers  to- 
wards the  purchase  of  the  parsonage  property  of  the 
Cranbury  Presbyterian  Church  in  1758  have  been 
handed  down  to  the  present  generation  on  a  worn  and 
faded  document.  A  list  of  them  is  presented  as  con- 
taining among  many  others  those  of  residents  within 
the  present  township  limits  at  the  date  mentioned. 
Some  of  those  not  residents  there  were  residents  of 
South  Brunswick,  Monroe,  and  perhaps  other  adjacent 
townships  as  the  county  is  now  divided,  and  doubtless 
a  few  lived  in  the  contiguous  portions  of  what  are 
now  Somerset,  Mercer,  and  Monmouth  Counties.  To 
residents  of  the  territory  represented  by  them  these 
names  will  be  of  especial  interest,  and  as  those  of  helpers 
in  the  early  progress  of  Cranbury  they  are  entitled  to 
insertion  here  :  John  Hume,  James  Gaston,  Eupha- 
miah  Wilson,  Jonathan  Combs,  Barney  Karney,  Na- 
than Davis,  Leaford  Haughhawout,  Henry  Swinler, 
Matthias  Mount,  John  Stevens,  Joseph  Clayton,  Eliz- 
abeth Cluu,  Peter  Perrine,  Charles  Barclay,  Eliza 
Swain,  Samuel  Bayles,  Isaac  Davis,  Peter  Covenhoven, 
John  Sutphen,  Robert  Davison,  William  Dorrance, 
Duncan  Campbell,  George  Davison,  John  Thompson, 
Jr.,  Lucas  Schenck,  William  Davison,  Adam  New- 
ell, John  Muirhead,  Andrew  Davison,  John  Reed, 
Ram  Vanderbeek,  Cornelius  Voorhees,  John  Carson, 
Stephen  Voorhees,  Coert  Voorhees,  David  Gilliland, 
Peter  Bonham,  Zachariah  Gapen,  Nehemiah  Sutten, 
Adrian  Bennett,  Samuel  Kerr,  Eleanor  Gilliland, 
James  Mulligan,  Daniel  Disbrow,  Elizabeth  Wright, 
William  Chela,  Richard  Jewell,  Joseph  Storey,  John 
Storey,  John  Gordon,  James  Peters,  Joseph  Wilson, 
Catorene  Disbrow,  Cornelius  Carhart,  Richard  Sparks, 
Arthur  Vankirk,  Nicholas  Britton,  Thomas  Storey, 
Albert  Cortelyou,  Thomas  Mershon,  Charles  McLean, 
Barnet  Griggs,  John  Chapman,  John  Jewell,  Benja- 
min Griggs,  Cornelius  Wyckotf,  John  Soden,  William 
Guest,  James  English,  Barent  Hagerman,  Stephen 
Ketcham,  Hugh  McCullom,  Robert  Magee,  Andrew 
Wilson,  John  Gaston,  Matthias  Vankirk,  John  John- 
ston, Thomas  Mount,  Arthur  Wyckoff,  Menke  Peters, 
John  Stephenson,  John  Thompson,  John  Kerr,  Jr., 
William  Cole,  Tobias  Neiphews,  John  Faris,  William 
Magee,  Stephen  Pangborn,  Thomas  Dier,  Luke 
Smock,  Richard  Major,  Lines  Pangborn,  John  Weth- 
erell. 

The  names  below  are  of  those  who  pledged  money 
for  the  purpose  of  building  the  first  church.  The 
subscription  was  begun  in  1785,  and  its  object  was 
attained  in  1788:  Charles  Barclay,  Matthew  Griggs, 
Samuel  Kerr,  James  Gaston,  Henry  Wagner,  Jacob 
G.  Bergen,  William  Covenhoven,  Cornelius  Arvin, 
Josiah  Skelton,  William  Smith,  John  Mount,  Reuben 
Davison,  David  Chambers,  Humphrey  Mount,  John 
Duncan,  Reuben  Morris,  Peter  Covenhoven,  John 
Erwin,  John  Perrine,  Peter  Gulick,  William  Sloan, 
Elias  Lovberry,  Richard  Handley,  Anna  Chambers, 
Andrew  Rowan,  Nathaniel  Hunt,  John  Wyckotf, 
William  Dey,  George  McAvoy,  Jacob  Wyckoff,  John 


Gulick,  Peter  Bergen,  Thomas  Mershon,  Benjamin 
Vanderbeek,  Dr.  Stites,  Robert  Mershon,  Andrew 
Applegate,  Jr.,  Samuel  Bayles,  William  Perrine, 
Elijah  Perrine,  William  J.  Davison,  Thomas  Mc- 
Dowell, Henry  Stults,  Paul  Miller,  Jr.,  Andrew  Mc- 
Dowell, Rul iff  Cortelyou,  Stephen  Voorhees,  Jemima 
Griggs,  Henry  Cortelyou,  Else  Schenck,  Anthony 
Danton,  Abraham  Van  Hise,  John  Stults,  Jonathan 
Combs,  Sr.,  Mary  Egborts,  Matthias  Mount,  Jr., 
Daniel  Sparling,  Joshua  Ely,  Daniel  Lott,  John 
Davison,  .Jr.,  William  Davison,  Isaac  Snediker, 
Charles  Roberson,  John  Slaback,  Cornelius  Messier, 
Sr.,  George  Thompson,  David  Stout,  David  William- 
son, William  Jewell,  Peter  Cammer,  Jonathan  Combs, 
Jr.,  John  Jourdan,  James  Jernee,  James  Hulick, 
Cornelius  Hulick,  Joseph  Mount,  Matthias  Gilli- 
land, John  Snediker,  John  Davison,  Sr.,  David  Gil- 
liland, John  Reed,  Joseph  Riggs,  Daniel  Stover, 
Hezekiah  Mount,  Peter  Perrine,  Peter  Hulfish,  Vin- 
son Carterline,  Samuel  Longstreet,  Samuel  Bayles, 
Jr.,  Luke  Smock,  Samuel  Applegate,  Cornelius  John- 
ston, Zebulon  Morford,  Garrett  Voorhees,  Widow 
Wyckoff,  Garrett  J.  Snediker,  James  Dey,  John 
Wetlierell,  Hendrick  Barkalow,  Peter  Barclay,  John 
Sutphen,  John  Sutphen,  John  Davison,  Sr.,  Aaron 
Van  Pelt,  Benjamin  Ashley,  John  Storey,  John  Car- 
man, Peter  C.  Covenhoven,  Lewis  Barclay,  Nathan 
Davis,  Mat'thias  Johnson,  Farrington  Barkalow,  Jo- 
seph Dey,  William  Johnson,  John  Van  Dyke,  John 
Dey,  Koert  Voorhees,  Henry  Applegate,  William  D. 
Perrine,  Jacob  Deremer,  William  Palmer,  Israel 
Baldwin,  Peter  Deremer,  Elnathan  Baldwin,  Jane 
Bordine,  William  Gordon,  Oke  Hendrickson,  James 
Barclay,  Anna  Deremer,  Elisha  Jewell,  James  Moore, 
Garrett  Snediker,  George  Davison,  Bernard  Moore, 
Hendrick  Lott,  Lippincott  South,  John  Davis, 
Thomas  Applegate,  Cornelius  Hendrickson,  Isaac 
Davis,  Abraham  Lott,  John  Sutphen,  James  Free- 
man, John  Stonaker,  John  Sutten,  John  Fisher, 
Widow  Wetherell,  Robert  Wiley,  Daniel  Ashley, 
Rochard  Slover,  David  Brotherton,  Jacobus  Hager- 
man, Peter  Stults,  Isaac  Perrine,  Francis  Vaune, 
Abraham  Slover,  Orre  Bennett,  John  Marlen,  Joel 
Jobs,  Isaac  Van  Hise,  Nicholas  Britton,  Isaac  Van 
Pelt,  Joseph  Applegate,  Isaac  Britton,  Isaac  Debow, 
Joseph  Jernee,  Robert  McGee,  Thomas  Nixon,  Jo- 
seph Perrine,  William  McGee,  John  Van  Kirk,  Tim- 
othy Horner,  William  Britton,  James  Perrine,  Ben- 
jamin Luker,  Thomas  Slack,  Benjamin  Griggs,  David 
Luker,  William  Covenhoven,  Hendrick  Hoagland, 
Samuel  Van  Kirk,  Anthony  Applegate,  Joachim  Van 
Arsdale,  Benjamin  Luker,  Jr.,  Enos  Baldwin,  Corne- 
lius Van  Arsdale,  William  Jordan,  Woolsay  Baldwin, 
David  Wortman,  Nehemiah  Sutton,  Richard  Jobs, 
Cornelius  Cruser,  Henry  Disbrow,  Daniel  Bayles, 
Samuel  Disbrow,  Andrew  Morehead,  Peter  Arven, 
James  Myrick,  Thomas  Allen,  Thomas  Soden,  James 
Reed,  Peter  Jobs,  John  Storey. 

Organization. — The    township   of    Cranbury   was 


HISTORY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


erected  by  an  act  of  the  Senate  and  General  Assembly 
of  New  Jersey,  approved  March  7,  1872. 

The  act  constituted  the  inhabitants  of  the  new 
township  a  body  politic  and  corporate,  to  be  known 
as  the  "  inhabitants  of  the  township  of  Cranbury,  in 
the  county  of  Middlesex;"  directed  that  they  hold 
their  first  town-meeting  at  the  inn  of  William  Stults, 
in  Cranbury  village,  on  the  day  set  apart  by  law  for 
holding  the  annual  town-meetings  of  the  other  town- 
ships of  Middlesex  County;  appointed  Ezekiel  Silvers, 
Matthew  A.  Rue,  and  D.  Chambers  Lewis  judges  of 
election,  to  hold  and  preside  over  the  first  town-meet- 
ing, and  Edwin  A.  Brown  town  clerk  of  Cranbury,  all 
to  hold  their  ofiices  until  their  successors  should  be 
elected  and  qualified;  appointed  Messrs.  Silvers,  Rue, 
and  Chambers,  above  mentioned,  commissioners  to 
divide  the  township  into  convenient  road  districts ; 
and  provided  that  the  town  committees  of  the  several 
townships  of  Cranbury,  South  Brunswick,  and  Mon- 
roe should  meet  at  10  A.M.  on  the  second  Tuesday  of 
April,  1872,  at  Stults'  inn  in  Cranbury  village,  and 
allot  and  divide  between  the  said  townships  all  their 
paupers  which  were  chargeable  to  that  township 
within  the  bounds  of  which  they  had  acquired  their 
settlements  respectively,  and  to  arrange  an  equitable 
division  of  the  assets  and  liabilities  of  the  three  town- 
ships on  the  basis  of  the  amount  of  their  taxable 
property  and  the  number  of  their  taxable  inhabitants 
respectively. 

Civil  List. 

CHOSKN   FEEEHOLDERS. 


Ezekiel  Silvers,  1873. 
Matthew  A.  Rue,  1872-74,  1876. 
H.  C.  Scudder,  1873-75. 
Abijah  Applegate,  1875. 
J.  J.  Buckley,  1876. 


Peter  R.  Bergen,  1877-78. 
D.  0.  Lewis,  1877. 
George  Thompson,  1878. 
G.  M.  Tenbroeck,  1879. 
I  James  H.  Goodwin,  1880-81. 


JUSTICES  OF  THE  PEACE. 
■William  H.  Bergeu,  1875-80.  |   Robert  P.  Mason,  1875-80. 

TOWNSHIP  CLERKS. 


Edward  A.  Brown,  1872. 
James  Walker,  1873. 


Abyah  Applegate,  1872-74,1877-81, 
Elias  D.  Snediker,  1875-76. 


I  James  H.  Goodwin,  1874-76. 
I  John  Davis,  1877-81. 

ASSESSORS. 

Ezekiel  Silvers,  1876. 


David  P.  MesseroU,  1872. 
William  Duncan,  1873-74. 


COLLECTORS. 

,  Ezekiel  Silvers,  1875, 1878-81. 
I   E.  D.  Snediker,  1876. 


COMMISSIONERS  OF  APPEAL. 


Henry  H.  Stults,  1872. 
James  H.  Conover,  1872. 
William  R.  Johnson,  1872-74. 
Alfred  M.  Perrino,  1873, 1879,1880. 
John  D.  Grover,  1873. 
Elijah  Perrine,  1874-78. 


Charles  H.  Herbert,  1874-81. 
J.  I.  Bulkeley,  1875. 
Garret  I.  Stults,  1876-78. 
John  M.  Chamberlain,  1879-81. 
I.  D.  Barclay,  1881. 


Villages  and  Hamlets. — Cranbury. — Much  of 
interest  relative  to  Cranbury  village  is  to  be  found  in 
other  portions  of  the  history  of  Cranbury  township. 
The  builders  of  the  mill  and  church  were  the  earliest 
residents  of  the  locality  of  which  any  record  or  tra- 
dition is  extant,  and  the  mill  and  the  church  them- 


selves the  earliest  monuments  erected  to  progress  and 
civilization  in  the  township.  As  the  mill  was  the 
nucleus  of  the  substantial  growth  of  the  settlement 
and  later  village,  so  the  church  gathered  around  it 
the  best  elements  of  enlightenment  and  advancement, 
and  as  surely  led  the  way  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
present  as  its  older  co-laborer  the  mill.  This  village 
has  an  added  claim  to  historical  interest  from  the  fact 
that  the  American  army  passed  through  the  place 
just  previous  to  the  battle  of  Monmouth. 

The  early  growth  of  the  village  is  supposed  to  have 
been  slow,  and  in  1810  it  contained  only  fifteen 
houses,  eight  north  and  seven  south  of  Cranbury 
Brook.  At  what  date  it  began  to  be  regarded  as  of 
sufficient  importance  to  contain  a  store  is  not  known. 
There  may  have  been  a  store-keeper  in  the  settlement 
prior  to  David  Chambers,  who  was  trading  there  in 
1800  near  the  mill,  but  if  so  no  tradition  of  him  has 
been  handed  down,  nor  is  it  known  how  long  he  had 
been  in  business  there  at  that  date,  but  he  was  there 
years  afterward.  As  early  as  1807,  and  for  a  few 
years  later,  a  man  named  Halsey  was  keeping  a  store 
near  the  United  States  Hotel.  Near  this  hotel  also 
Mershon  &  Hawley  had  a  store  in  1812  and  later,  and 
Charles  Carson  from  1815  or  1816  until  his  death 
about  eight  years  later.  The  next  merchants  are 
thought  to  have  been  Reuben  Morris  and  Benjamin 
M.  Clarke.  The  latter  is  said  to  have  begun  business 
(later  than  Morris,  the  pioneer  at  the  J.  H.  Goodwin 
stand)  where  J.  D.  Chamberlin  is  now  trading,  about 
1825  or  1830.  It  is  possible  that  up  to  this  time,  and 
perhaps  later,  there  were  others  who  embarked  in 
trade  in  the  village  previous  to  the  beginning  of  those 
mentioned  below,  but  the  most  persistent  inquiry  has 
failed  to  elicit  their  names. 

A  tavern  which  stood  on  the  north  side  of  Main 
Street,  about  six  hundred  feet  east  from  the  mill-pond, 
was  built  in  the  last  century,  and  in  1805  was  kept  by 
Timothy  Horner.  About  1807,  Samuel  Disbrow  took 
charge  and  kept  it  until  he  died,  after  which  his 
widow,  Sarah  Disbrow,  kept  it  many  years,  until  it 
was  torn  down.  Probably  the  oldest  hotel  now  stand- 
ing in  the  village  is  the  American  House,  which  was 
kept  by  Henry  Wagoner  at  an  early  date.  It  has  had 
many  occupants,  and  about  fourteen  years  ago  passed 
into  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Maria  Bowne.  The 
United  States  Hotel  was  built  in  1790  by  Peter  Per- 
rine as  a  dwelling.  In  1808,  Timothy  Horner  con- 
verted it  into  a  hotel.  Its  occupants  have  been  many. 
The  present  one,  John  G.  Grover,  assumed  control  in 
1872. 

The  earliest  resident  physician  was  undoubtedly 
Dr.  Titus,  who  came  prior  to  1800.  Dr.  Ralph  Lott 
and  Dr.  Van  Dyke  came  about  that  year.  Dr.  Ho- 
ratio Sandsbury  came  about  1816  ;  Dr.  John  Lott 
about  1825 ;  Dr.  Garret  Voorhees  about  1830  ;  Dr. 
Selah  Gulick  about  1834. 

Thf  Village  in  1840.— In  1840  there  were  in  the  vil- 
lage the  stores  of  Garret  G.  Voorhees,  Benjamin  M. 


CRANBURY. 


869 


Clarke,  and  John  Dey.  The  first  was  the  Goodwin 
store.  The  second  was  kept  in  the  brick  house  now 
occupied  by  Joseph  Chamberlain,  and  the  proprietor 
lived  in  another  part  of  the  same  building.  The 
third  was  the  store  now  occupied  by  John  W.  Dun- 
can. The  grist-mill  and  saw-mill  were  then  owned 
by  John  I.  Duncan.  Drs.  Gulick,  Voorhees,  and  Lott 
were  the  resident  physicians.  Jacob  Hagerman  and 
Matthew  A.  Rue  were  wheelwrights.  William  New- 
ton had  a  blacksmith's  shop.  The  village  Crispins 
were  Isaac  Brokaw,  Jacob  Snediker,  and  Harmon 
Conover.  Two  tanneries  were  owned  by  James  Clark 
and  Aaron  Lane  respectively.  Isaac  Van  Arsdale 
had  a  hatter's  shop,  and  Jefferson  Halsted  a  cabinet- 
shop.     A  man  named  Page  was  the  Cranbury  tailor. 

The  National  Hotel  was  kept  by  John  Laning,  and 
the  United  States  Hotel  by  Abraham  Voorhees. 

From  1840  to  1882. — The  store  now  managed  by 
Mr.  J.  H.  Goodwin  is  the  oldest  in  the  place,  and  was 
started  by  Mr.  Reuben  Morris  many  years  ago.  After 
passing  through  the  hands  of  ex-Sheriff  Voorhees, 
Mr.  John  S.  Davison,  Stults  &  Bro.,  Van  Horn  & 
Bergen,  and  afterwards  Mr.  Vincent  D.  Bergen,  who 
still  owns  the  property,  it  was  rented  by  Mr.  Goodwin 
about  1862. 

Mr.  J.  D.  Chamberlin,  general  merchant,  started 
business  with  his  brother,  Mr.  S.  J.  Chamberlin,  about 
1861,  and  rented  the  stand  which  he  now  occupies. 
In  1877  he  purchased  the  property  of  Mr.  William 
Warwick.  The  store,  which  is  one  of  the  oldest  in 
the  place,  was  established  by  Mr.  Benjamin  M.  Clarke 
over  fifty  years  ago.  After  purchasing  the  property 
the  Messrs.  Chamberlin  Brothers  remodeled  and  im- 
proved the  same  by  putting  in  a  large  glass  front,  and 
also  by  building  over  the  store  a  large  public  hall,  the 
erection  of  which  has  been  greatly  appreciated  by 
the  people  of  our  town.  In  connection  with  the  store 
is  an  office  of  the  American  Union  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, Frank  Davis  operator. 

The  store  kept  in  1840  by  John  Dey  had  formerly 
been  kept  by  David  Clark.  From  Dey  it  passed  to 
Dey  Conover,  who  rebuilt  the  building  and  in  time 
transferred  the  business  to  James  Conover,  who  was 
succeeded  by  his  brother,  who  gave  way  to  the  present 
proprietor,  John  W.  Duncan.  The  drug-store  now 
owned  by  S.  A.  French  and  managed  by  Addison 
Stillwell  was  established  several  years  ago  by  a  man 
named  Walker,  from  whom  Mr.  French  purchased  it 
in  1880. 

In  the  building  for  the  past  few  years  occupied  bv 
the  boot  and  shoe  store  and  shop  of  D.  W.  Hoagland, 
Isaac  Van  Arsdale  opened  a  store  about  1844.  Nelson 
Petty  was  a  successor.  Benjamin  Sutton  had  a  gro- 
cery-store where  Cole's  furniture  and  undertaking 
establishment  now  is.  The  latter  establishment  was 
purchased  in  1833  by  Ezekiel  Silvers  of  his  employer, 
who  was  a  prior  owner.  Up  to  the  year  1857  Mr. 
Silvers  conducted  the  business  alone.  Associating 
with  him  Mr.  Cole,  the  business  continued  until  1870 


under  the  firm-name  of  Silvers  &  Cole,  when  Mr.  Sil- 
vers retired,  and  Mr.  Cole  becauie  sole  proprietor. 
The  store  of  John  G.  Grover  was  established  in  1879. 

The  following  were  merchants  in  Cranbury  in  Jan- 
uary, 1882 :  J.  D.  Chamberlin,  James  H.  Goodwin, 
John  W.  Duncan,  and  John  G.  Grover.  S.  A.  French 
was  a  druggist ;  D.  W.  Hoagland  had  a  boot  and  shoe 
store. 

Drs.  Gulick,  Lott,  and  Voorhees  have  been  men- 
tioned as  physicians  in  the  village  in  1840.  The  first 
died  a  few  years  ago,  the  second  prior  to  184.5,  and 
the  third  about  that  date.  Dr.  Holmes,  a  later  comer, 
died  a  little  earlier  than  Dr.  Gulick ;  and  Dr.  H.  S. 
Clow,  who  came  in  1849,  beginning  his  professional 
career  in  Cranbury,  died  in  January,  1882.  Dr.  Green, 
who  had  been  in  the  place  some  years,  went  away 
about  1859,  and  Dr.  Clark,  a  later  comer,  about  two 
years  ago.  The  present  resident  medical  practitioners 
are  Dr.  John  C.  Holmes  and  Dr.  Henry  C.  Symmes. 

In  January,  1882,  Alexander  S.  Cole,  undertaker, 
R.  L.  McDowell,  coal  dealer,  William  Steel,  tobacco- 
nist, Jacob  Price  and  John  Davis,  tailors,  E.  V. 
Wakeley,  insurance  agent,  Charles  Ehrlich,  harness- 
maker,  Jacob  Snediker,  shoemaker,  Mrs.  M.  K.  Chris- 
topher, confectioner,  Mrs.  L.  Wakeley,  proprietor  of 
a  confectionery,  toy,  and  notion  store,  and  Mrs.  R.  M. 
Vanderveer,  Mrs.  Emily  Mouret,  and  Miss  J.  Flem- 
ing, milliners,  were  doing  business  at  Cranbury.  Mrs. 
W.  A.  Wakeley  was  postmistress. 

A  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  Company  was  organized 
May  31,  1879,  with  Ezekiel  Silvers  as  president, 
Richard  C.  Dey  as  vice-president,  D.  C.  Lewis  as 
treasurer,  John  G.  Groves  as  secretary,  and  Alfred 
Davison,  Isaac  Covert,  William  S.  Dey,  John  R. 
Hunt,  Martin  Cruser,  Arnold  F.  Stout,  Ezekiel  Sil- 
vers, A.  J.  Duncan,  and  John  Wyckofl'  as  directors. 

The  initial  number  of  the  Cranbury  News,  R.  M. 
Stults,  editor  and  publisher,  appeared  Jan.  5,  1882. 
This  is  the  first  journalistic  venture  in  the  village. 

Cranbury  Station  is  a  hamlet  on  the  eastern 
border  of  the  township,  on  the  Camden  and  Amboy 
Division  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  lying  partially 
in  Monroe,  and  containing  a  store,  a  blacksmith-shop, 
a  depot,  several  dwellings,  and  an  establishment  for 
pressing  hay.  The  first  merchant  there  was  Abijah 
Applegate,  who  has  been  succeeded  by  Gibson  & 
Voorhees,  Voorhees  &  Stevens,  and  E.  Stevens,  the 
present  merchant.  A  former  blacksmith  was  W.  W. 
Reed,  deceased ;  the  present  one  is  John  Wolfe.  The 
hay-press  is  the  property  of  William  Perrine.  A 
hotel  was  formerly  kept  by  James  Applegate,  Nelson 
Petty,  and  Isaac  Petty  successively. 

Plainsboro',  partially  the  northwestern  part  of  the 
township  and  partially  in  South  Brunswick,  contains 
the  stores  of  John  D.  Van  Doren  and  William 
Schooley,  the  hotel  of  Arthur  Rnding,  built  about 
1800,  a  Methodist  Church,  built  in  1812,  and  an  old' 

1  See  the  history  of  South  Brunswick. 


870 


HISTORY   OF   UNION   AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JERSEY. 


church,  a  blacksmith-shop,  a  wheelwright's  shop,  and 
several  dwellings. 

Society  History. — Middlesex  Lodge,  No.  90, 
I.  O.  O.  F.,  was  instituted  Feb.  1,  1849,  and  meets  in 
the  second  story  of  the  school-house  near  the  First 
Presbyterian  Church. 

The  first  officers  were  F.  H.  Holmes,  N.  G. ;  Selah 
Gulick,  V.  G. ;  G.  M.  Burgess,  Sec. ;  J.  H.  McChes- 
ney,  Asst.  Sec. ;  John  R.  Holmes,  Treas.  The  lodge 
was  officered  as  follows  in  January,  1882 :  Peter 
Rathgeber,  N.  G. ;  L.  A.  Rue,  V.  G.  ;  John  Davis, 
Sec. ;  Alfred  Chamberlin,  Treas. ;  W.  S.  McEwen, 
Chap. 

Educational. — The  first  schools  in  the  township 
were  at  Cranbury  village.  The  early  schools  of  Crau- 
bury  were  supported  by  the  payment  of  a  stated  tui- 
tion per  .scholar,  and  kept  in  small  school-houses 
built  by  subscription,  or  by  the  combined  efforts  of  the 
heads  of  families  who  clubbed  together  and  erected 
them.  The  early  teachers  boarded  around,  staying 
with  each  family  a  week,  more  or  less,  or  as  long  as 
he  was  welcome  and  liked  the  fare.  The  earliest  re- 
membered teacher  at  Cranbury  was  John  Campbell, 
who  was  teaching  in  1805,  but  doubtless  there  were 
schools  there  much  earlier.  John  Van  Kirk  was 
teaching  in  1808,  and  a  man  named  Lowry  in  1809. 

Public  Schools. — The  township  is  divided  into 
five  school  districts  under  the  operation  of  the  com- 
mon school  law  of  the  State.  In  the  enumeration 
and  nomenclature  of  the  school  districts  of  Middle- 
sex County  they  are  known  as  Plainsboro'  District, 
No.  61;  Cranbury  Neck  District,  No.  52;  North 
Cranbury  District,  No.  53 ;  South  Cranbury  District, 
No.  54;  and  Wyckoff's  Mills  District,  No.  61. 

The  number  of  school  children  in  Cranbury  town- 
ship according  to  the  census  of  1880  was  342,  residing 
in  the  several  districts  as  follows :  61  in  District  No. 
49,  35  in  District  No.  52,  123  in  District  No.  53,  73  in 
District  No.  54,  and  50  in  District  No.  61.  The  num- 
ber in  the  township  who  attended  private  schools  was 
estimated  at  24,  the  number  not  attending  school  at 
87.  The  total  number  of  teachers  employed  was  seven, 
all  of  whom  were  females,  at  an  average  salary  of  $36.50 
per  month.  There  were  five  school-houses  in  the  town- 
ship, all  in  good  condition.  Schools  were  kept  open  an 
average  of  nearly  ten  months  during  the  year.  The 
total  amount  received  from  all  sources  for  public 
school  purposes  was  $1959.43.  Of  this  sura,  $759.43 
was  devoted  to  District  No.  53,  and  $300  each  to  Dis- 
tricts Nos.  49, 52, 54,  and  61.  Of  this  amount  $1774.43 
was  the  apportionment  to  the  districts  of  the  township 
from  State  appropriations,  and  $185  was  raised  by  tax- 
ation in  the  township.  The  value  of  school  property 
in  the  township  was  $6250,  of  which  $1200  belonged 
to  District  No.  52,  $550  to  District  No.  61,  and  $1500 
to  each  of  Districts  Nos.  49,  53,  and  54. 

The  Braixerd  In.stitute. — The  frequency  of  ap- 
plications for  admission  to  the  college  at  Princeton  by 
persons  not  fitted  to  enter  that  institution  as  students 


led  the  faculty  and  managers  to  the  discussion  of  sgme 
means  of  affording  such  persons  opportunities  for 
preparation  in  the  vicinity.  This  agitation  resulted 
in  a  determination  to  encourage  the  establishment  of 
a  suitable  preparatory  institution  either  at  Hights- 
town  or  Cranbury.  The  latter  place  was  selected 
after  some  deliberation,  and,  with  the  above-men- 
tioned object  in  view,  a  stock  company  was  formed  in 
1865,  with  Ellas  Dey  as  president ;  William  Snediker, 
as  treasurer ;  Ezekiel  Silvers,  as  secretary  ;  and  Elias 
Dey,  George  Farr,  Derrick  Perrine,  William  L. 
Schenck,  Isaac  Brokaw,  Garret  A.  Snediker,  and 
Ezekiel  Silvers  as  trustees. 

A  building  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of 
Derrick  Perrine,  Garret  A.  Snediker,  and  George  Farr, 
and  a  four-story  brick  building  was  erected  on  spacious 
grounds  which  had  been  purchased  north  of  Main 
Street,  at,  its  intersection  with  the  Cranbury  and 
Princeton  turnpike.  The  school  opened  with  Rev.  S. 
E.  Schenck  as  principal.  Rev.  T.  D.  Hoover  having 
been  first  appointed  to  the  position  and  refusing  to 
serve.  In  September,  1870,  Rev.  Mr.  Schenck  was 
succeeded  by  William  S.  McNair,  and  the  latter,  in 
1873,  by  Rev.  Frederick  Knighton,  D.D.  Since  Dr. 
Knighton  there  have  been  several  in  charge.  Rev. 
Joseph  S.  Van  Dyke  was.  appointed  in  1879,  and  is 
yet  in  charge,  with  William  E.  Marshall  as  assistant 
and  teacher. 

Backward  scholars  and  young  pupils  receive  especial 
attention.  The  course  of  instruction  is  comprehen- 
sive and  practical,  and  the  drill  most  thorough.  Pu- 
pils are  prepared  for  business,  for  college,  or  for  any 
scientific  school.  The  latest,  most  approved  methods 
of  teaching  are  employed,  and  scholars  are  received 
at  any  time.  Lessons  are  given  on  piano  and  organ, 
and  opportunity  is  allowed  for  practice.  The  insti- 
tute is  well  adapted  for  its  purpose,  and  boarding 
pupils  from  abroad  enjoy  all  the  care  and  comfort  of 
a  home. 

The  association  is  at  this  time  under  the  following 
management :  Ezekiel  Silvers,  president ;  D.  C.  Lewis, 
treasurer  and  secretary ;  Ezekiel  Silvers,  D.  C.  Lewis, 
Dr.  J.  C.  Holmes,  P.  R.  Bergen,  Derrick  G.  Perrine, 
William  Hughes,  and  Isaiah  D.  Barclay. 

Industrial  Pursuits.  —  Although  Cranbury  has 
never  been  noted  for  the  number  of  its  manufactures, 
it  was  to  its  manufacturing  facilities  that  it  owed  its 
early  settlement,  the  water-power  afforded  by  Cran- 
bury Brook  having  been  first  utilized  for  manufactur- 
ing purposes  one  hundred  and  forty-four  or  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  years  ago. 

The  ancient  grist-mill  erected  by  Thomas  Grubbs, 
as  is  reasonably  supposed  about  1737  or  1738,  stood 
with  frequent  change  of  ownership  and  occasional 
repairs  until  destroyed  by  fire  in  1860.  It  was  soon 
rebuilt,  and  is  grinding  away  as  busily  to-day  as  when 
patronized  by  the  pioneers  in  Cranbury  and  adjoining 
townships.  Prominent  among  its  numerous  owners 
since  Grubbs  and  his  successor  (in  1741),  John  Collins, 


CRANBURY. 


871 


have  been  Nathaniel  Hunt  (as  early  as  1776),  Randall 
Hunt,  son  of  Nathaniel  Hunt,  William  Schenek, 
Hamilton  Jones,  James  Prall,  Samuel  Nutt,  Alex- 
ander Snediker,  Gabriel  Ten  Broeck,  and  M.  K.  Wil- 
son. In  April,  1881,  it  was  leased  by  the  present 
operator,  John  P.  Wyckoff.  For  many  years,  until 
its  destruction,  there  was  a  saw-mill  in  connection 
with  it,  which  played  its  part  in  aiding  the  settlers 
and  later  residents  to  render  their  homes  comfortable 
and  erect  buildings  upon  their  farms  and  for  various 
business  purposes. 

The  Wyckoff  mills  at  the  extreme  southeastern 
corner  of  the  township,  on  the  Millstone,  were  built 
at  an  early  date  by  Peter  Wyckoff,'  who  was  succeeded 
in  their  ownership  by  David  B.  Wyckoff,  who  in  1871 
was  succeeded  by  John  P.  Wyckoff,  his  son,  who  in 
1881  gave  place  to  Frank  Wescott. 

Two  other  grist-mills  in  the  township  are  Grover's 
mills,  located  on  Cranbury  Brook,  about  midway  be- 
tween Cranbury  village  and  Plainsboro',  and  owned 
by  Joseph  H.  Grover,  and  the  Plainsboro'  Mills,  near 
Plainsboro',  owned  by  George  W.  Thompson.  To 
both  of  these  Cranbury  Brook  supplies  the  motive- 
power. 

Isaac  Debow  was  a  blacksmith  at  Cranbury  as  early 
as  1750,  and  for  many  years  afterward.  If  he  had 
any  predecessors  their  names  are  unknown.  There 
have  been  many  disciples  of  Vulcan  since  his  time. 
William  Newton  was  the  village  blacksmith  at  Cran- 
bury in  1840.  The  present  representatives  of  the 
craft  there  are  IM.  G.  Rue  and  F.  T.  Labow.  Prom- 
inent among  former  wheelwrights  were  Matthew  A. 
Rue  and  John  Hagerman.  W.  W.  Rud  was  a  black- 
smith at  Cranbury  Station.  At  Cranbury  two  tan- 
neries were  formerly  in  existence ;  one  of  them  was 
probably  established  by  William  Conover,  and  by  him 
was  sold,  about  1820,  to  Aaron  Lane,  and  was  later 
owned  by  Henry  Van  Deventer.  David  Chambers 
had  a  tannery  as  early  as  1806,  which  after  some  years 
passed  to  John  Clark.  The  latter  was  succeeded  by 
James  Clark,  and  later  again  owned  the  tannery. 
Both  tanneries  were  located  on  the  brook  near  the 
old  Cranbury  mill,  and  both  went  out  of  use  about 
twenty  or  twenty-five  years  ago.  Isaac  Van  Arsdale 
manufactured  hats  for  a  few  years  in  Cranbury  about 
forty  years  ago. 

In  the  early  days  there  were  many  small  distilleries 
in  the  township  at  different  times  and  places.  Mat- 
thew A.  Rue  erected  a  cider-mill  at  Cranbury  in  1852, 
and  has  been  more  or  less  extensively  engaged  in  cider 
manufacture  since.  When  his  factory  is  run  to  its 
full  capacity  three  hundred  bushels  of  apples  are  con- 
sumed daily.  Nathaniel  Britton  has  a  distillery  near 
Plainsboro'. 

In  the  spring  of  1861,  Mr.  P.  R.  Bergen  leased  the 
lower  room  of  a  wheelwright-shop  then  occupied  by 

1  Probably  the  $eco»d  Peter  Wyckoff  in  Craubury,  and  not  the  pio- 


Joseph  McChesney  at  Cranbury,  on  the  corner  of 
Monroe  and  Dey  Streets.  In  1865,  business  having 
increased  largely,  Mr.  Bergen  purchased  the  entire 
establishment.  Since  that  time  additional  ground 
has  been  purchased  and  more  buildings  erected.  At 
the  present  time  he  has  over  eight  times  the  shop- 
room  that  he  had  in  1861,  and  has  increased  the 
working  force  from  one  man  and  a  boy  to  nine  men 
during  the  busy  season,  and  six  men  during  the  bal- 
ance of  the  year,  in  the  manufacture  of  carriages  and 
light  wagons  of  every  description. 

The  well-known  American  Steam  Coffee  and  Spice 
Mills  of  Davison  &  Silvers  was  established  by  Mr. 
John  S.  Davison,  the  senior  member  of  the  firm,  in 
October,  1865,  who  while  engaged  in  the  mercantile 
business  in  the  village  felt  the  necessity  of  supplying 
his  customers  with  pure  spices.  Selling  oiit  his  store 
goods  to  his  brother,  S.  W.  Davison  (now  of  the  firm 
of  Lee,  Davison  &  Dye,  of  Trenton),  he  commenced 
the  manufacture  of  ground  coffee  and  pure  spice  in  a 
frame  building  formerly  used  as  a  bakery.  Instead 
of  steam  he  used  a  one-horse  tread-power,  which 
failed  before  the  first  roast  was  half  done,  and  it  had 
to  be  finished  by  hand.  Coffee  then  was  worth  sixty 
cents  per  pound.  Upon  the  failure  of  the  horse- 
power a  second-hand  boiler  and  engine  were  pro- 
cured. After  getting  the  steam-power  in  operation, 
Mr.  Davison  found  that  he  needed  a  partner,  and  se- 
lected Mr.  John  S.  Silvers,  then  about  twenty-four 
years  of  age,  and  the  firm  of  Davison  &  Silvers  was 
formed.  Shortly  after  the  new  firm  was  established 
the  building  and  contents  were  completely  destroyed 
by  fire.  Immediately  afterwards  Davison  &  Silvers 
purchased  the  lot  on  which  the  factory  now  stands. 
Many  friends  volunteered  to  contribute  all  the  cart- 
ing necessary  if  the  firm  would  erect  a  fire-proof 
stone  building,  which  they  were  enabled  to  do  at  a 
small  cost.  Business  having  largely  increased,  in 
1875  they  enlarged  their  establishment  by  a  two-story 
frame  addition,  about  doubling  their  storage-room. 
At  the  present  time  the  establishment  is  in  a  most 
thrifty  condition.  By  manufacturing  none  but  strictly 
reliable  goods  Messrs.  Davison  &  Silvers  have  gained 
a  wide  reputation,  and  their  goods  are  to  be  found  in 
every  State.  Their  trade  has  so  largely  increased 
within  the  past  few  years  that  they  have  deemed  it 
wise  to  enlarge  their  factory  some  time  during  the 
present  year. 

The  shirt-factory  of  Matthew  A.  Rue  at  Cranbury 
occupies  two  buildings,  thirty-six  feet  by  sixty  and 
twenty  feet  by  forty  respectively,  and  was  established 
in  1879.  The  shirts  manufactured  by  Mr.  Rue  are 
cut  out  in  New  York,  and  returned  to  New  York  by 
him  when  finished. 

The  Cranbury  Manufacturers  were  also  extensively 
engaged  in  manufacturing  shirts  for  New  York  par- 
ties in  1880-81.  During  the  latter  year  they  were 
succeeded  by  E.  T.  Dancer,  who  leased  their  factory, 
and  has  since  continued  the  business,  using  sixty  sew- 


872 


HISTORY  OF  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


ing-tnachines  and  employing  sixty  bands,  in  a  build- 
ing eigbty  feet  by  twenty  and  two  stories  high.  The 
Cranbury  Manufacturers  were  an  association  of  the 
following-named  persons:  J.  S.  Davison,  president; 
James  H.  Goodwin,  treasurer;  John  G.  Grover,  sec- 
retary; J.  S,  Silvers,  J.  C.  Holmes,  R.  L.  McDowell, 
Alexander  S.  Cole,  J.  B.  Chamberlin,  John  Chamber- 
lin,  Jones  Chamberlin,  S.  A.  French,  and  George 
Lane. 

At  no  time  in  its  history  has  the  township  had  as 
many  manufactories  of  various  kinds  as  are  now 
within  its  borders,  a  majority  of  them  at  Cranbury 
village,  where  the  first  enterprise  was  planted. 

The  First  Presbyterian  Church.— There  was  a 
Presbyterian  Church  more  or  less  completely  organ- 
ized at  Cranbury  in  July,  1739,  when  the  church-lot 
previously  mentioned  as  having  been,  in  consideration 
of  two  pounds,  transferred  by  James  Rochead  to  Coert 
Van  Voorhees  and  Thomas  Storey  was  by  the  latter 
conveyed  to  "  Nicholas  Stevens  and  Peter  Perrine, 
elders,  and  John  Brown  and  William  Magee,  deacons, 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cranbury."  No  record 
can  be  found  of  the  organization  of  this  ancient  church, 
though  it  is  deemed  probable  it  took  place  in  1738, 
immediately  after  the  separation  of  the  Presbyterians 
and  the  Episcopalians,  who  had,  as  has  been  stated, 
been  joint  owners  of  and  worshipers  in  the  "old 
church,"  in  what  is  now  Monroe.*  The  new  building 
was  erected  in  1740,  and  stood  for  forty-eight  years  in 
the  old  cemetery  on  its  highest  point.  Rev.  Joseph 
G.  Symmes  gives  the  subsequent  history  of  this  region 
in  a  historical  sermon  delivered  in  1867,  as  follows : 

"The  church  had  no  settled  pastor  for  four  years.  But  the  people 
were  not  negligent  of  the  means  of  grace,  as  at  every  meeting  of  Pres- 
bytery it  is  recorded,  *  Cranhury  supplicated  for  supplies.'  In  June,  1741, 
Charles  McKnight  was  taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of  New 
Brunswick,  and  licensed  probably  in  the  fall  of  that  year.  He  was 
called  to  Staten  Island  and  Basking  Ridge,  and  to  several  other  places. 
But  he  was  not  settled  until  called  to  Cranbury,  in  1744.  He  was  at  the 
same  time  called  to  AUentown.  It  is  a  matter  of  interest,  to  the  speaker 
at  least,  that  the  Rev.  Timothy  Symnies,great-great-grandfather  of  your 
present  pastor,  was  present  as  a  uiemberof  Presbytery  when  the  call  was 
placed  in  Mr.  McKnight's  hands,  and  arrangements  made  for  his  installa. 
tion;  and  Mr.  McKnight  recommended  Mr. Symmes  to  Woodbury.  The 
installation  took  place  at  AUentown,  July  18,  1744,  the  Rev.  William 
Tennent,  of  Freehold,  preaching  the  sermon,  and  the  exercise  was  ac- 
companied with  fasting  and  prayer.  There  was  a  contest  between  the 
two  places  as  to  where  the  pastor  should  reside.  But  Cranbury  had  the 
preference,  and  it  is  conjectured  for  this  reason:  Mr.  James  Rochead 
was  disposed  to  favor  religon,  and  then  owning  the  southwest  section  of 
the  town,  he  probably  offered  terms  for  the  pastor's  residence  in  the 
present  parsonage,  which  decided  his  remaining  in  Cranbury.  .  .  ."  Re- 
ferring to  the  fact  that  the  missionary,  David  Brainerd,  lodged  with 
Eev.  Mr.  McKnight  in  1745,  Mr.  Symmes  inferred  that  McKnight, 
though  unmarried,  kept  house,  especially  as  Brainerd  was  his  guest 
several  times,  continuing  thus: 

"  That  a  parsonage  was  needed  is  evident  from  a  record  actually  en- 
tered upon  the  minutes  of  Presbytery  for  Oct.  15,  1746,  viz. :  *  Mr.  Mc- 
Knight could  not  attend  with  the  committee  to  install  Mr.  Hunter,  be- 
cause he  was  absent  marrying  a  wife.  .  .  .'  But  the  dispute  between 
AUentown  and  Cranbury  concerning  the  residence  of  the  minister  be- 
came 80  strong  that  the  Presbytery  was  called  in  to  compose  it,  and  did 
80  by  appointing  a  large  committee,  of  whom  John  Brainerd  was  one. 
This  committee  met  Oct.  12, 1748,  and  was  opened  with  a  sermon  by 


'  See  previous  pages. 


William  Tennent.  They  advised  that  the  pastor  should  continue  at 
Cranbury,  and  that  AUentown  should  be  allowed  to  employ  a  minister 
as  soon  as  possible.  But  the  double  relation  continued  until  1756.  The 
Rev.  Mr.  Snowden  states,  in  a  record  written  in  1791,  that  during  all  this 
time  the  elders  and  deacons  in  the  two  churches  constituted  but  one 
session.  But  he  states  it  as  an  uncertain  thing,  and  it  may  well  be 
doubted. 

"  But  now  for  forty  years  it  is  impossible  to  learn  any  particulars  els  to 
the  state  of  the  church,  for  either  no  records  were  kept  or  they  were  lost. 
We  can  only  learn  a  few  facts  from  some  legal  documents  and  from 
records  of  Presbytery.  From  the  last  source  we  gather  that  Mr  Mc- 
Knight was  subjected  to  many  trials  at  Cranbury,  and  hence  be  moved 
to  AUentown  in  1756.  He  was  dismissed  from  AUentown  in  1766,  and  set- 
tled at  Shrewsbury  and  Middletown  Point  in  1767.  It  is  indicative  of  the 
sentiments  and  influence  of  the  man  that  he  was  seized  by  the  British 
during  the  Revolutionary  war  and  his  church  burned.  He  was  released, 
and  died  soon  after  in  New  York,  Jan.  1, 1778,  and  was  buried  in  Trinity 
churchyard,  where  his  grave  may  be  seen  to  this  day.  Soon  after  Mr, 
McKnight  left  Cranbury  the  people  of  that  church  called  the  celebrated 
Alexander  McWhorter.  Presbytery  met  at  Cranbury  in  July,  1759,  to 
ordain  Mr.  McWhorter,  because  he  was  under  appointment  of  the  Synod 
to  go  to  Virginia,  but  instead  of  going  to  Virginia  he  was  settled  in  New- 
ark. This  church  was  without  a  stated  pastor  until  1762,  a  space  of  six 
years.  But  there  is  constant  notice  of  supplications  to  Presbytery  for 
temporary  supplies.  And  it  is  proof  of  the  interest  of  the  people  in 
their  church  affairs  that  it  was  during  this  vacancy  that  the  parsonage 
property  was  purchased." 

Early  in  1758  a  subscription  was  circulated  and 
was  liberally  responded  to.^ 

"  Tlie  deed  was  given  May  26,  1759,  by  George  Jobs  to  John  Stevens, 
John  Thompson,  and  Leaford  Haughawout,  calling  for  150  acres,  for  the 
sum  of  £425  current  money  of  New  Jersey.  George  Jobs  had  bought 
the  property  of  James  Rochead  in  1751.  In  1770  this  property  was  con- 
veyed in  tinist  to  Charles  Barclay,  Joseph  Clayton,  and  Arthur  Wyckoff, 
and  finally  conveyed  to  the  trustees  of  this  church  in  1790,  which  tras- 
tees  had  only  then  become  incorporated  under  the  new  law,  consisting 
of  Nathaniel  Hunt,  Jonathan  Combs,  Thomas  McDowell,  Jacob  Fisher, 
William  Covenhoven,  Samuel  Longstreet,  and  Humphrey  Mount,  and 
the  instrument  was  signed  in  the  presence  of  Timothy  Horner  and  Cor- 
lis  Lloyd.  To  complete  the  history  of  this  matter,  it  is  only  necessary 
to  be  mentioned  that  the  trustees  of  this  church  sold  60  acres  of  this 
tract  in  1841.  The  remainder  yet  continues  the  property  of  the  church. 
In  17G1,  Thomas  Smith  was  received  into  the  Presbytery  from  that  of 
Suffolk,  and  oidered  to  supply  Cranbury.  He  was  called  here  in  1762, 
and  installed  in  October  of  that  year.  From  all  that  can  be  gathered, 
Mr.  Smith  was  a  man  of  piety  and  excellent  spirit.  But  his  health  was 
very  precarious,  and  his  duties  were  many  of  them  neglected,  his  name 
seldom  appearing  as  present  at  meetings  of  Presbytery.  How  he  per- 
formed his  duties  in  the  church  can  only  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that 
he  left  uo  records  whatever.  If  Mr.  McKnight  left  any  records  they 
were  lost,  and  Mr.  Smith's  successor  found  nothing  but  a  few  loose 
scraps  of  paper,  containing  nothing  of  value.  But  that  Mr.  Smith  was 
interested  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that 
Presbytery  met  in  Cranbury  six  or  seven  times  during  his  pastorate. 
We  may  lament  this  loss  of  records,  because  we  can  know  nothing  of  the 
state  of  the  church  during  our  warof  independence.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
because  we  can  never  recover  a  list  of  members  and  officers.  It  is  more 
to  be  regretted  because  the  loss  of  marriage  records  has  been  in  some 
instances  a  serious  matter.  We  have  still,  on  a  time-stained  sheet,  the 
names  of  subscribers  to  Mr.  Smith's  support.  A  proposition  to  raise 
salary  by  assessing  the  pews  had  been  voted  down  in  1760.  And  so  a 
contract  was  drawn  up,  binding  the  subscribers,  their  heirs,  executors, 
and  administrators,  to  pay  the  sums  affixed,  the  largest  being  two  pounds 
and  the  smallest  six  shillings.  It  was  stipulated  tlial  Mr.  Smith  should 
preach  every  sixth  Sabbath  m  the  neighborhood  of  Cornelius  Voorhees, 
which  became  the  nucleus  of  the  Dutch  Neck  Church.  Whether  this 
arrangement  continued  duriug  Mr.  Smith's  pastorate  does  not  ap- 
pear. The  proposition  of  assessing  the  pews  continued  to  be  discussed 
until  1773,  when  it  was  adopted.  And  we  have  a  plan  of  the  original 
church,  drawn  April  Istof  that  year,  with  the  price  attached,  the  highest 
being  three  pounds;  and  a  tax  for  salary  was  levied  on  the  pews,  the 
highestbeingeighteenshillings.  Andthe  plan isa curiosity.  The  pulpit 
was  on  the  north  side  of  the  church,  in  a  square  that  rested  on  a  long 

8  For  names  of  subscribers,  see  page  867. 


CRANBURY. 


873 


aisle  running  east  and  west;  there  was  a  door  at  each  end  of  this  aisle. 
The  main  door  was  at  the  end  of  a  short  aisle  directly  in  front  of  the 
pulpit.  The  pews  on  each  side  of  this  short  aisle,  filling  down  the  pulpit 
square,  were  placed  lengthwise  of  the  church,  all  the  other  pews  across, 
and  the  gallery  stairs  opened  out  of  doors. 

"  It  is  a  pleasing  fact,  as  showing  that  amid  the  confusion  of  war  this 
church  enjoyed  the  means  of  grace,  that  the  Presbytery  met  in  Cran- 
bury  in  April,  1778,  in  the  midst  of  the  exciting  scenes  of  wliich  New 
Jersey  was  then  the  theatre.  And  it  is  indicative  of  growth  that  it  was 
under  Sir.  Smith's  ministry  a  new  house  of  worship  was  erected.  The 
project  woe  agitated  several  years  before  it  was  begun;  indeed,  prepa- 
rations were  made  three  years  before  the  house  was  built.  Tlie  old  sub- 
scription list  is  still  in  existence,  and  shows  that  the  first  name,  that  of 
Charles  Barclay,  was  signed  Dec.  13, 1785.1  The  terms  prove  that  it  was 
intended  the  subscription  should  he  good:  'We,  the  under  subscribers, 
do,  each  one  for  himself,  and  not  one  as  security  for  another,  promise  and 
oblige  ouraelves,  our  heirii,  executors,  and  administrators,  to  pay,  or  cause 
to  be  paid,  to  Nathaniel  Hunt,  Esq.,  Treasurer  of  the  Presbyterian  Con- 
gregation of  Cranbury,or  to  his  successor  in  office,'  etc.  The  house  was 
not  built  until  1788,  only  the  year  before  Mr.  Smith's  death.  It  was  built 
where  the  present  house  now  stands,  and  partly  upon  the  very  same 
foundations.  Mr.  Jacob  Fisher,  one  of  the  eldere,  was  the  builder. 
There  is  no  hint  as  to  the  time  of  its  dedication.  The  whole  cost,  at 
least  the  whole  amount  of  subscriptions,  was  twelve  hundred  and  forty- 
seven  pounds.  The  salary  of  the  pastor  had  been  £60  until  the  move- 
ment for  the  new  church,  then  it  was  raised  to  £100,  or  $500.  It  is  cer- 
tainly proof  of  stability  at  least  on  the  part  of  our  fathers  that  this 
salary  of  ^(JO  was  continued  until  1857.  Mr.  Smith  had  long  been  in- 
firm, his  infirmities  being  of  such  a  nature  that  he  was  often  apprehen- 
sive that  his  end  would  come  in  a  long  and  painful  illness.  He  liad  often 
prayed  that  he  might  be  spared  such  a  trial,  and  tliat  his  end  might  be 
by  some  speedy  method.  And  his  prayer  was  mercifully  answered,  for 
on  Wednesday  evening,  Dec.  23, 1789,  he  was  attending  a  prayer-meet- 
ing at  a  private  house, — one  that  stood  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the 
residence  of  Mr.  William  M.  Perrine, — and  while  in  the  act  of  prayer  he 
fell  back  into  a  chair  and  was  carried  home.  There,  apparently  con- 
scious, but  unable  to  utter  intelligible  words,  in  two  hours  he  gently  fell 
asleep.  Hts  renuiins  rest  among  the  people  for  whom  he  labored  and 
among  whom  he  died. 

''After  Mr.  Smith's  death  the  church  depended  upon  temporary  sup- 
plies, but  only  for  a  few  months.  During  the  following  summer  Mr. 
Gilbert  T.  Snowden,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  fre- 
quently preached  here,  and  on  the  2lst  of  September,  1790,  he  was  called 
to  the  pastorate.  On  the  24th  of  November  following,  Presbytery  met 
at  Cranbury  to  ordain  and  install  Mr.  Snowden.  Among  those  present 
on  this  occasion  were  Dr.  Witherspoon,  Dr.  Jolin  Woodhull,  Dr.  Stan- 
hope S.  Smith,  and  Dr.  J.  F.  Armstnmg,  men  long  to  be  remembered. 
Dr.  Witherspoon  being  then,  and  Dr.  Smith  afterwards,  president  of 
Princeton  College.  Dr.  Smith  preached  the  sermon  from  2  Tim.  ii.  2, 
and  Dr.  Woodhull  delivered  the  charges.  Mr.  Snowden  was  a  man  of 
more  than  ordinary  abilities  and  piety.  He  devoted  himself  with  great 
zeal  and  diligence  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  church.  He  found  all 
of  its  affairs  in  great  disorder,  and  his  first  work  was  to  arrange  and 
settle  them.  Six  new  elders  and  five  deacons  were  ordained  in  less  than 
two  years  after  his  settlement.  His  testimony  is  that  he  found  that 
sound  doctrine  had  been  preached,  and  that  the  people  relished  such 
preaching.  But  pasttiral  visiting,  catechising  the  children,  and  disci- 
pline had  been  almost  entirely  neglected,  owing  to  infirmities  which 
Mr.  Smith  greatly  lamented.  From  this  time  we  have  very  full  rec- 
ords. And  from  them  one  may  be  led  to  judge  tliat  Mr.  Snowden  en- 
tered upon  the  work  of  discipline  with  too  much  zeal.  It  is  very  cer- 
tain this  would  be  the  judgment  of  some  in  our  day  when  they  read 
such  a  record  as  this:  'The  session  prohibited  one  member  coming  to 
the  communion  table,  and  gave  her  and  another  member  an  exhortation 
to  use  more  gentle  and  decent  language,  and  to  keep  from  intermeddling 
with  and  speaking  of  her  neighbor's  affairs  improperly.'  Mr.  Snowden  in- 
stituted meetings  of  session,  to  be  held  on  thefirst  Monday  of  every  month, 
to  meet  at  one  o'clock  and  adjourn  at  five  o'clock,  neither  sooner  nor 
later,  and  excuses  for  absence  from  these  meetings  were  required,  the 
fact  of  excuse  being  entered  upon  the  records.  The  session  was  com- 
posed of  the  elders  and  deacons.  Accompanied  with  an  elder,  Mr. 
Snowden  made  visits  to  his  families,  reporting  to  the  monthly  meeting 
the  number  visited,  their  circumstauces  and  spiritual  condition,  and 
especially  the  numbers  where  the  family  altar  was  erected.  Frequent 
days  of  fasting  were  appointed  on  account  of  the  low  state  of  religion, 


'  See  page  867. 


and  once  at  least  with  reference  to  the  yellow  fever  then  raging  in  the 
near  neighborhood.  Tokens  were  ordered  to  be  distributed  among 
those  desiring  to  come  to  the  Lord's  table.  After  lengthy  discussions  it 
was  resolved  by  the  session  that '  singing  in  the  church  should  he  per- 
formed without  giving  out  the  line.'  But  it  was  found  that  the  people 
were  opposed  to  the  innovation,  and  so  Mr.  Kzekiel  Price  and  Mr.  Wil- 
liam McChesney  were  sent  for  and  engaged,  '  the  former  carefully  and 
constantly  to  set  the  tune,  and  the  latter  to  give  out  the  line,  for  which 
the  session  engaged  to  get  them  exempted  from  the  salary  they  now 
pay.'  Six  years  afterwards,  in  1799,  the  session  again  called  npon  the 
people  for  a  vote  on  this  subject,  when  reading  the  hue  was  dispensed 
with.  Mr.  Snowden  was  greatly  exercised  during  the  whole  of  his  short 
ministry  with  cases  of  discipline,  some  long  and  painful,  some  settled 
only  after  an  appeal  to  Presltytery,  and  some  bequeathed  to  his  suc- 
cessor. It  is  one  of  the  saddest  lessons  of  history  to  read  the  story  of 
the  quarrels  of  those  who  now  sleep  together  in  the  dust,  and  quarrels 
often  about  causes  trivial  as  the  small  dust  of  the  balance.  .  .  . 

"  Mr.  Snowden  was  not  satisfied  with  the  parsonage-house,  and  so  built 
himself  a  house,  the  one  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Nelson  Petty,  and  received 
the  rent  of  the  parsonage.  But  in  December,  1793,  he  procured  the 
adoption  of  a  resolution  '  highly  approving  of  the  measure  proposed  to 
erect  a  dwelling-house  on  the  parsonage,'  particularly  as  Mr.  Snowden 
oCFered  £40  towards  it,  and  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  was  called  'to 
attend  to  the  business.'  Whether  the  meeting  was  held  or  what  further 
action  was  had  is  not  known.  But  this  is  certain,  a  new  house  was  not 
erected.  During  the  first  years  of  Mr.  Snowden's  successor  the  house 
was  repaired,  and  the  southern  half  added  to  it,  and  the  house  then  be- 
came very  much  what  it  is  now.  A  portion  of  it,  then,  must  be  consid- 
erably more  than  a  hundred  years  old.  But,  redolent  of  prayers  and 
sacred  with  associations,  it  would  be  almost  sacrilege  to  pull  it  down. 
Indefatigable  worker  as  he  was,  Mr.  Snowden's  race  was  soon  run.  In 
November,  1796,  he  last  met  his  session,  when  he  was  zealously  engaged 
in  promoting  the  comfort  of  Rev.  Mr.  Smith's  family.  Soon  after,  hav- 
ing occasion  to  vi8i,t  New  York,  he  returned  ill  with  yellow  fever,  which 
spread  great  consternation.  He  was  faithfully  cared  for,  as  well  as  the 
case  would  admit,  by  his  servants,  and  by  them  carried  to  his  last  rest- 
ing-place, Feb.  20,  1797.  He,  too,  rests  among  the  people  among  whom 
he  spent  the  whole  of  his  short  ministerial  life.  A  sermon  was  preached 
on  the  occasion  of  his  death  by  Dr.  S.  S.  Smith  from  Rev.  xiv.  13,  and 
his  congregation  paid  every  tribute  of  respect  to  his  memory  which  a 
grateful  people  could  pay  to  the  memory  of  a  faithful  pastor. 

"  Being  thus  suddenly  deprived  of  their  under-shepherd,  the  session 
sent  one  of  their  number  to  solicit  supplies  from  the  Presbytery. 
Among  those  appointed  by  Presbytery  to  supply  the  vacancy  was 
George  SpafTord  Woodhull,  a  sou  of  Dr.  John  Woodhull,  of  Freehold. 
He  had  been  licensed  at  a  meeting  of  Presbytery  held  in  Cranbury, 
Nov.  14:,  1797,  and  was  appointed  to  supply  at  discretion.  He  per- 
formed the  duty  so  much  tu  the  satisfaction  of  the  people  that  on  the 
6th  day  of  March,  1798,  a  meeting  of  the  congregation  was  held,  which 
was  opened  by  a  sermon  by  Rev.  Sanmel  F.  Snowden,  after  which  a 
unanimous  call  was  voted  to  Mr.  Woodhull  to  become  the  pastor  of  the 
church.  He  found  it  in  a  more  vigorous  state  than  with  his  pre- 
decessor. And  he  seems  to  have  continued  in  exercise  the  system  of 
order  and  catechetical  instruction  and  visitation  introduced  by  Mr. 
Snowden.  Cases  of  discipline  were  not  so  numemus,  and  the  church 
increased  more  rapidly  in  numbers.  The  Lord's  Supper  continued  to 
be  administered  four  times  in  the  year,  according  to  the  custom  estab- 
lished by  Mr.  Snowden.  Previous  to  his  time  there  had  been  no  regular 
seiisons.  It  is  recorded  that  on  the  Slh  of  May,  1803,  there  was  a  snow- 
storm of  such  severity  that  the  administration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
was  deferred  to  the  third  Sabbath  of  June.  Early  in  the  next  pastorate 
the  custom  of  holding  three  communion  seasons  in  the  year  was  estab- 
lished and  still  continues.  .  .  .  Dr.  Woodhull,  having  been  pastor  of 
this  church  for  twenty-two  years,  in  April,  1S20,  determined  to  accept  a 
call  from  the  church  in  Princeton.  He  remained  there  for  twelve 
years,  when  he  removed  to  Middletown  Point.  Here  lie  had  labored 
but  two  years  when  an  attack  of  scarlet  fever  ended  his  life  on  the 
25th  of  December,  1834,  and  here  his  remains  were  laid  to  rest.  His 
still  spoken  of  with  affectionate  respect  by  many  in  this 
ity.  His  sojourn  among  this  people  was  pleasant  to  himself, 
and  his  labore  were  fruitful  of  much  good. 

"  During  this  time  there  was  residing  at  Lamington  James  Henrv,  a 
colonel  in  the  New  Jersey  militia.  On  the  7th  of  June,  1797,  the  year 
Mr.  Snowden  died,  a  son,  and  his  only  one,  was  born  to  Col.  Heniy, 
whom  he  named  Symmes  Cleves  for  his  brother-in-law,  Judge  John 
Cleves  Symmes.  This  son  early  entered  Princeton  College,  graduating 
there  in  1815  at  the  age  of  eighteen.    He  was  brought  toaknowledgeof 


874 


HISTOKY   OF   UNION  AND   MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW  JEESEY. 


Christ  during  the  remarkahle  revival  in  college  of  1815,  to  which  many 
eminent  men  of  God  date  their  spiritual  birth.  He  entered  at  once  the 
seminary  at  Princeton,  where  he  graduated  in  1818.  He  was  licensed 
the  previous  year,  October,  1817,  by  the  Presbytery  of  Newton,  being 
but  little  more  than  twenty  years  of  age.  After  filling  various  tempor- 
ary engagements  in  Massacliusetts,  New  York,  Pliiladelphia,  and  Vir- 
ginia, he  returned  to  Princeton  in  1820.  Here  he  received  simultaneous 
calls  from  Cranbury  and  New  Brunswick.  His  final  decision  was 
to  accept  the  former.  .  .  .  Within  ten  years  after  his  settlement 
the  cliurch  had  more  tlian  doubled  her  membership,  the  number  ad- 
mitted during  that  period  being  two  hundred  and  twenty-eight.  This 
growth  continued  until  the  church  was  filled  to  overflowing,  and  a  di- 
versity of  sentiment  arose  with  reference  to  the  building  of  a  nev."  house 
of  worehip.  This  diversit.v  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Second 
Church  of  Cranbury,  which  was  organized  by  a  committee  of  Presbytery, 
June  8,  1838.  ...  In  the  next  year,  1839,  those  who  remained  in  the  old 
church  resolved  on  rebuilding  their  house  of  worahip.  They  retained 
the  old  frame,  and  added  to  it  considerably.  The  work  was  finished  so 
that  the  dedication  services  were  held  on  the  first  day  of  January,  1840, 
Dr.  Archibald  Alexander  preaching  the  sermon.  Thence  the  affaii-s  of 
the  church  moved  quietly  and  prosperously  along  until  18.57,  when  the 
church  was  again  bereft  of  her  under-shepherd.  In  the  midst  of  pre- 
paring a  sermon  on  the  text,  *In  whom  all  the  building  fitly  framed 
together  groweth  into  an  holy  temple  in  the  Lord,'  Dr.  Henry  was 
called  to  attend  a  funeral.  In  this  service  he  took  a  violent  cold,  which 
at  once  fastened  upon  the  infirmity  in  his  throat  that  was  contracted 
thirty  years  before,  developing  into  an  inflammation  of  the  bronchial 
membrane.  He  at  once  recognized  his  approaching  end,  though  none 
around  him  were  alarmed.  On  the  following  Sabbath  afternoon,  March 
22, 1857,  whilst  his  people  were  assembled  in  his  church,  having  taken 
a  farewell  look  at  this  lower  world,  he  walked  calmly  to  his  bed,  and 
taking  there  his  accustomed  place  he  looked  up  and  beheld  the  gates  of 
heaven  open  to  receive  him,  and  passed  away  as  gently  as  a  child  falls  to 
sleep  in  its  mother's  arms.  On  the  succeeding  Thursday  his  well-heloved 
and  loving  people  followed  his  remains  to  the  grave,  and  instantly 
turned  their  eyes  upon  his  son-in-law,  the  Rev.  Joseph  G.  Symmes,  then 
of  Madison,  Ind.,  to  fill  the  vacant  place.  .  .  .  Let  me  conclude  this  sketch 
with  a  reference  to  two  facts  in  the  history  of  this  church  that  are  re- 
markable, or  at  least  are  matters  of  thanksgiving.  One  is  that  tliis 
church,  though  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  old,  has  had  but  six  pas- 
tors and  no  stated  supply.  Mr.  Smith  and  Mr.  WoodhuU  each  served  a 
few  months  as  supply,  but  it  was  only  as  a  trial  for  a  pastorate.  There 
was  indeed  a  space  of  six  years  after  Mr.  McKnight  left  when  there  was 
no  pastor,  but  the  people  more  than  once  called  for  one,  and  the  session  was 
constantly  appearing  in  Presbytery  supplicating  temporary  supplies. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  disposition  to  have  a  minister  among  them  ex- 
cept as  regularly  settled.  And  then  for  more  than  a  hundred  years  this 
is  the  record  :  Mr.  Smith  wiui  settled  in  1762,  and  died  Dec.  23,  1789 ;  Mr. 
Snowden  was  installed  Nov.  24,  1790,  and  died  Feb.  20,  1797 ;  Dr.  Wood- 
hull  was  installed  June  6. 1798,  and  left  April,  IS20  ;  Dr.  Henry  was  in- 
stalled Aug.  8, 1820,  and  died  March  22, 1857  ;  and  the  present  pastor  was 
installed  May  28, 1857.  It  is  seldom  such  a  close  succession  in  the  pas- 
toral office  can  be  found  for  so  long  a  period. 

"Colonies  have  gone  out  to  form  the  following  churches  in  whole  or 
in  part :  Spottswood  Reformed  (Dutch)  Church  ;  Dutch  Neck,  organized 
in  1816 ;  Millstone,  organized  in  1826  ;  Second  Cranbury,  1838  ;  James- 
burg,  1854  ;  Manalapan,  1856;  and  Hightstown,  1857." 

lu  1869  a  church  was  organized  at  Dayton,  fifty -six 
of  whose  fifty-eight  members  were  from  the  two 
Cranbury  churches.  The  pastorate  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Symmes  has  been  a  signally  successful  one,  and  bids 
fair  to  terminate  only  with  his  life.  The  following  is 
a  list  of  the  ruling  elders  so  far  as  the  records  permit 
us  to  present  their  names.  For  the  first  fifty  years 
there  is  an  imperfection  in  the  record  of  elders  that 
cannot  now  be  corrected ;  where  only  one  date  is 
given,  that  of  dismissal  or  death  does  not  appear  or 
has  not  arrived : ' 

Nicholas  Stevens,  1744;  Peter  Perrine,  1744;  Rob- 


1  Those  marked  with 
diamissed. 


B  deceased  ;  those  marked  thus  f  have  been 


ert  English,  1744;  John  Thompson,  1744;  Matthias 
Mount,*  1744,  1744-91  ;  Jonathan  Combs,*  1748- 
1800  ;  Samuel  Bailey,*  1748-1802 ;  Cornelius  Arvin,* 
1748-91 ;  Jonathan  Combs,  Jr.,*  1791-1803 ;  William 
Perrine,*  1791-1820;  Jacob  Fi-sher,*  1791-1837;  Hum- 
phrey Mount,*  1792-1801  ;  Garret  Snediker,*  1792- 
1825;  Matthias  Mount,  Jr.,*  1792-1807;  John  Slay- 
back,!  1792-1816;  Isaac  Snowden,!  1798-1806;  John 
Mount,*  1802-4 ;  Enos  Baldwin,*  1802-21 ;  Thomas 
Allen,!  1804-5;  Israel  Baldwin,!  1804-25;  Henry 
Stults,*  1813-32;  Richard  Reid,!  1813-27;  George 
Morris,*  1813-56  ;  Abraham  Bergen,*  1813-26  ;  John 
Davison,*  1821-31 ;  Derrick  Griggs,*  1821^1 ;  John 
Day,*  1821-47;  Thomas  Duncan,*  1826-55;  John 
Stiiiaker,*  1826-37  ;  Lewis  W.  Dey,*  1826-55 ;  Chris- 
topher Bergen,*  1826-44 ;  Elias  Dey,!  1829-38  ;  Aaron 
Lane,!  1829-38  ;  Jacob  Snediker,!  1829-38  ;  Peter  C. 
Bergen,!  1829-57 ;  Jacob  Stults,*  1841-54 ;  Richard 
McDowell,!  1841-69 ;  Peter  J.  Dey,*  1841-64 ;  An- 
drew M.  Duncan,*  1855-60;  John  J.  Applegate, 
1855;  Derrick  G.  Perrine,  1855;  Matthias  M.  Per- 
rine,* 1860-78 ;  Henry  H.  Stults,*  1860-72 ;  Neilson 
L.  Formau,*  1860-65  ;  Stephen  T.  Duncan,*  1860- 
78;  William  Everitt,  1870;  J.  Williamson  Bergen, 
1870;  Alexander  J.  Stults,  1870;  John  Gibson,  1870; 
Peter  R.  Bergen,  1870;  William  Duncan,  1870;  Ed- 
mund 0.  Howell,  1873  ;  William  E.  Cole,  1877. 

The  present  deacons  with  the  dates  of  their  in- 
stallation are  as  follows : 

William  M.  Perrine,  John  M.  Chamberlin,  Garret 
S.  Stults,  William  H.  Thomas,  David  J.  Clayton, 
Joseph  ■  P.  Dey,  Alexander  S.  Stults,  Samuel  J. 
Bergen,  1871  ;  Jacob  Bergen,  1877. 

The  Second  Presbyterian  Church. — In  the  above 
quotations  from  the  historical  sei'mon  of  Rev.  Joseph 
G.  Symmes,  pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
reference  is  made  to  the  cause  which  led  to  the 
organization  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church. 
Alluding  to  the  organization  of  the  Second  Church 
he  says,  "  And  this  result,  it  is  now  plainly  to  be 
seen,  was  ordered  in  the  wisdom  of  God  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  kingdom  of  his  Son.  None  now 
can  fail  to  see  that  this  was  just  what  was  needed. 
A  full  church  must  either  extend  its  growth  be\'ond 
its  own  borders  or  decline.  .  .  .  The  Second  Church 
went  rapidly  forward,  side  by  side  with  the  mother- 
church,  and  we  feel  that  we  are  almost  as  one  con- 
gregation with  two  houses  of  worship." 

The  causes  that  led  to  the  separation  are  thus  re. 
ferred  to  in  the  records  of  the  Second  Church  : 

"  A  number  of  the  members  of  the  First  Presbyte- 
rian Church  in  Cranbury  finding  themselves  unable 
to  obtain  adequate  room  for  their  families  to  worship 
in  their  old  church,  and  having  endeavored  in  vain  to 
obtain  either  an  enlargement  of  that  edifice  or  the 
erection  of  a  new  and  more  spacious  one,  thought  it 
their  duty  to  withdraw  and  erect  a  new  house  of 
worship  for  themselves  and  such  others  as  might 
unite  with  them." 


CRANBURY. 


875 


Accordingly  in  the  autumn  of  1837  they  com- 
menced the  erection  of  a  new  building,  which  was 
completed  in  June,  1838,  and  was  dedicated  June  26, 
1838.  The  said  members  also,  by  delegate  duly  ap- 
pointed for  that  purpose,  applied  to  the  Presbytery  of 
New  Brunswick  to  take  measures  for  organizing  them- 
selves into  a  new  church.  The  Presbytery  having  had 
the  subject  before  them  repeatedly  at  previous  meet- 
ings, June  19,  1838,  in  conformity  with  their  request, 
appointed  Rev.  Samuel  Miller,  D.D.,  professor  in  the 
theological  seminary  at  Princeton,  and  Rev.  David 
Comfort,  pastor  of  the  church  in  Kingston,  a  commit- 
tee to  attend  as  soon  as  convenient  and  organize  a 
second  church  in  Cranbury. 

The  committee  attended  at  Cranbury  agreeable  to 
due  notice  given  June  28,  1838,  and  performed  the 
service  for  which  they  were  appointed.  A  sermon 
was  preached  by  Rev.  Dr.  Miller  from  Acts  xiv.  23. 
After  the  sermon  testimonials  of  membership  and  dis- 
mission from  the  First  Church  in  Cranbury  were  pro- 
duced in  favor  of  the  following-named  persons : 

Dominicus  Mershon,  Gertrude  Mershon,  Isaac  G. 
Snediker,  Jacob  Snediker,  Mrs.  Catharine  Snediker, 
Aaron  Lane,  Elias  Dey,  Mrs.  Eliza  Dey,  Miss  Leah 
Stults,  Dr.  Garret  P.  Voorhees,  Mrs.  Cornelia  Voor- 
hees,  George  Barclay,  Mrs.  Margaret  Barclay,  Henry 
Lane,  James  Clark,  Mrs.  Sarah  Clark,  William  Hutch- 
inson, Benjamin  M.  Clark,  Mrs.  Violetta  Clark,  Mrs. 
Ellen  Dey,  Garret  S.  Davison,  Mrs.  Ann  Davison, 
Sarah  Schenck,  Reuben  Morris,  Mrs.  Catharine  Mor- 
ris, George  Davison,  Mrs.  Mary  Davison,  Mrs.  Mar- 
garet Snediker,  Miss  Mahala  Everett,  Miss  Keturah 
E.  Everett,  John  Covert,  and  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Covert. 

The  first  ruling  elders  were  Jacob  Snediker,  Elias 
Dey,  Aaron  Lane,  Isaac  G.  Snediker,  Dominicus  Mer- 
shon, and  John  Covert.  The  elders  now  serving  are 
J.  D.  Barclay,  D.  C.  Lewis,  J.  H.  Stults,  and  J.  S. 
Silvers.  The  deacons  are  J.  S.  Dey,  J.  T.  Mershon, 
Peter  Barclay,  John  H.  Dey,  J.  G.  Grover,  Frank 
Brown,  James  Faw,  and  William  Stults. 

Rev.  J.  W.  Blythewas  installed  first  pastor  in  1838. 
His  successors,  with  the  years  in  which  they  have  been 
installed,  have  been  as  follows :  Rev.  Thomas  D. 
Hoover,  1856;  Rev.  J.  B.  H.  Janeway,  1868;  and 
Rev.  J.  L.  Van  Dyke,  186y. 

A  chapel,  built  in  1839-40  on  the  site  of  the  present 
one,  was  sold  in  1869,  removed,'  and  replaced  by  the 
latter  at  a  cost  of  S3000.  The  house  of  worship  and 
the  lot  on  which  it  is  built  are  valued  at  §12,000.  The 
value  of  the  parsonage  is  $4000. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Second  Church  is 
325.  Many  members  of  this  church  united  with  the 
Jamesburg  Church  in  1854,  the  Manalapan  Church  in 
1856,  the  Hightstown  Church  in  1857,  and  the  Dayton 
Church  in  1869. 

The  Sunday-school  was  organized  in  1838,  with 
Benjamin   M.   Clark   as    first  superintendent.      Mr. 


^  Now  the  reeideuce  of  John  Petty. 


Clark  was  succeeded  in  1860  by  the  present  superin- 
tendent, J.  S.  Davison.  The  school  numbers  about 
one  hundred  and  thirty  scholars,  and  has  a  library  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  volumes. 

The  Old  Baptist  Church. — Some  Baptists  seem 
to  have 'located  in  Cranbury  at  an  early  date,  and 
there  was  a  Baptist  Church  planted  in  the  village  in 
1749.  In  1788  it  was  removed  to  Hightstown,  where 
it  has  grown  into  a  large  and  flourishing  congrega- 
tion. The  old  Baptist  burying-ground  is  elsewhere 
referred  to. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Cranbury. 
— Previous  to  1847  Methodist  services  were  held  in 
Cranbury  at  the  houses  of  members  of  an  organ- 
ization of  that  denomination  which  had  then  been 
formed,  and  at  times  in  the  village  school-house. 
December  10th  that  year  the  organization  was  per- 
fected, and  a  church  was  soon  incorporated,  of  which 
the  following-named  persons  were  the  first  trustees  : 
Matthew  A.  Rue,  Isaac  Silvers,  Elijah  Brown,  Gil- 
bert S.  Day,  James  Prall,  and  Reuben  Sutphin. 

A  lot  was  purchased  of  George  W.  Shenck,  and  ' 
the  erection  of  a  house  of  worship  begun.  Dec.  10, 
1848,  the  corner-stone  was  laid  with  appropriate 
ceremonies.  The  basement  of  the  building  was 
ready  for  occupation,  and  first  used  by  the  con- 
gregation in  the  spring  of  1849,  and  the  church  was 
completed  and  dedicated  by  Rev.  Wesley  Burtine 
and  others  March  13,  1851.  In  1868  the  membership 
had  so  increased  that  the  church  was  inadequate  to 
the  accommodation  of  the  congregation,  and  it  was 
enlarged,  thoroughly  renovated,  and  provided  with  a 
spire  and  bell,  which  until  then  had  been  wanting. 
The  present  value  of  the  church  property,  including 
a  parsonage  worth  $1200,  is  15200. 

The  successive  pastors  of  this  church,  with  the 
dates  at  which  they  have  respectively  begun  their 
labors,  are  as  follows : 

Revs.  Isaac  Hugg,  1847 ;  Samuel  Van  Zandt,  1849  ; 

F.  Loorais,  1850;  John   B.  Hill,  1851;  Smith, 

1852 ;  Isaac  W.  Hough,  1854 ;  Francis  F.  Wolfe,  1855  ; 
George  H.  Jones,  1856  ;  Daniel  L.  Adams,  1858  ;  Jo- 
seph Jones,  1859 ;  J.  T.  Tucker,  1861 ;  B.  T.  Wool- 
ston,  1863;  J.  W.  McDougall,  1865;  Alexander  Gil- 
more,  1866  ;  C.  D.  Mead,  1867  ;  J.  H.  Stockton,  1868  ; 
T.  C.  Barman,  1870;  J.  F.  Heileman,  1873;  W.  S. 
McGowan,  1875  ;  T.  D.  Sleeper,  1877;  S.  Goldsmith, 
1878  ;  E.  A.  Bray,  1878  ;  Enoch  Green,  1879  ;  W.  N. 
Ogborne,  1881. 

The  membership  is  one  hundred  and  two.  The 
Sunday-school  was  organised  in  1848.  It  has  a  mem- 
bership of  fifty.  The  library  contains  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  volumes.  The  superintendent  is  A. 
H.  Snow. 

In  January,  1882,  the  stewards  of  this  church  were 
E.  V.  Wakely,  recorder ;  Alexander  S.  Cole,  E.  R. 
Van  Dusen,  A.  H.  Snow,  E.  Brown,  W.  H.  Reynolds, 
T.  L.  Reed,  and  B.  C.  Reynolds.  The  trustees  were 
Samuel  Nutt,  president ;  E.  R.  Van  Dusen,  secretary 


876 


HISTORY   OP  UNION  AND  MIDDLESEX   COUNTIES,  NEW   JERSEY. 


and  treasurer ;  Alexander  S.  Cole,  Robert  P.  Mason, 
Matthew  Reynolds,  and  Joseph  Reynolds. 

The  African  Methodist  Church.— Formerly  there 
was  an  African  Methodist  Church  in  a  portion  of 
Cranbury  village  locally  known  as  "  Africa"  and 
"  the  colored  neighborhood."  The  organization  was 
always  weak,  and  finally  and  some  years  ago  its  little 
house  of  worship  was  converted  into  a  dwelling. 

Burial-Places.— The  Braineed  Cemetery. — 
Brainerd  Cemetery  is  located  on  Main  Street,  Cran- 
bury, south  of  the  brook.  Its  affairs  are  under  the 
management  of  the  following  oflicers  and  trustees : 
John  G.  Stults,  president ;  E.  0.  Howell,  treasurer; 
A.  S.  Applegate,  secretary ;  Vincent  Perrine,  W.  I. 
Stults,  and  Ellison  Dey.  This  burying-ground  was 
donated  to  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of  Cran- 
bury by  James  Rochead  in  1740,  and  embraces  five 
acres.  It  was  laid  out  in  lots  in  1858.  Burials  were 
made  there  soon  after  the  donation  of  the  land.  It 
is  not  known  that  there  were  earlier  ones  elsewhere 
in  the  township. 

The  following  inscriptions  are  copied  from  head- 
stones in  this  cemetery,  in  which  about  four  thousand 
bodies  are  supposed  to  be  buried  : 

"Here  lies  the  body  of  John,  son  of  Henry  and  Catherine  Disbrow, 
who  departed  this  life  January  the  3rd,  Anko  Domini,  one  thousand, 
seven  hundred  and  forty-eight." 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  James  Cofton,  son  of  Hugh  and  Jane  Cofton, 
who  departed  this  life  October  20th,  1768." 

"In  memory  of  Catharine,  wife  of  Isaiah  Shaw,  who  departed  this 
life  March  the  3rd,  1767." 

"In  memory  of  Susannah  Beid,  who  departed  this  life  August  12th, 
1792." 

"In  memory  of  Margaret,  wife  of  William  Reid,  who  departed  this 
life  November  22nd,  17U3." 

"  In  memory  of  Phebe,  wife  of  Daniel  Duncan,  who  departed  this  life 
July  23rd,  1793." 

"  In  memory  of  John  DuHcan,  who  departed  this  life  May  2lBt,  1795." 

Many  headstones  in  this  cemetery  bear  no  inscrip- 
tions. The  inscriptions  on  some  are  illegible.  Here 
was  erected  by  "  his  many  friends"  a  fine  monument 
to  the  memory  of  the  engineer  for  the  various  rail- 
road companies  that  constructed  lines  of  railway 
through  this  portion  of  the  State,  "Maj. -Gen.  Wil- 
liam Cook,  born  at  Hightstown,  N.  J.,  May  29,  1801 ; 
died  at  Hoboken,  N.  J.,  April  21,  1865." 

Here  is  also  a  monument  erected  to  the  memory 
of  soldiers  from  the  townships  of  Cranbury,  Monroe, 
and  South  Brunswick  who  lost  their  lives  in  service 
during  the  late  civil  war.  It  bears  the  following 
names  and  dates  of  death: 

"Charles  R.  Stout,  Co.  G,  N.  J.  V.,  June  27,  1862;  Winchester  S. 
Bennett,  Co.  D,  Ist  N.  J.  V.,  June  29,  1862;  Austin  W.  Roberts,  Co.  G, 
1st  N.  J.  v.,  Dec.  12,  1862 ;  Perley  F.*Winchester,  Co.  C,  1st  N.  J.  V.,  May 
4, 1863;  George  W.  Conover,  Co.  C,  1st  N.  J.  V.,  May  4,  1863;  Thomas 
J.  Conover,  Co.  C,  let  N.  J.  V.,  May  12, 1864;  Sergt.  William  Vreeland, 
Co.  G,  10th  N.  J.  v..  May  24,  1864;  William  Moore,  Co.  K,  6th  N.  J.  V., 
June,  1862;  James  Rhodes,  Co.  M,  6th  N.  J.  V.,  May,  1863  ;  John  T.  Mc- 
Dowell, Co.  H,  21st  N.  J.  v.,  May  11,  1863 ;  John  H.  Rue,  Co.  B,  llth 
N.  J.  v.,  July  3, 1863 ;  Isaac  S.  Dey,  Co.  H,  4th  N.  J.  V.,  Sept.  ID,  1864 ; 
Isaac  V.  D.  Blackwell,  Co.  F,  9th  N.  J.  V.,  Feb.  8, 1862 ;  Price  P.  Blake, 
Co.  F,  N.  J.  v..  May  12,  1864;  William  V.  P.  Davison,  Co.  B,  28th  N.  J. 
v.,  Feb.  17,1863;  John  Read,  Co.  D,  28th  N.  J.  V.,  May  3,  1863;  Col. 
Joseph  McChesney,  let  N,  C.  V.,  formerly  captain  Co.  M,  9th  N.  J.  V., 


Aug.  14,  1865;  Alfred  S.  Perrine,  Co.  A,  9th  N.  J.  V.,  April  10,  1862; 
Safford  Perrine.  Co.  A,  9th,  May  23,  1862;  William  H.  Silvere,  Co.  A, 
9th,  Aug.  1,  1864;  Salter  S.  Stults,  Co.  A,  9th,  Oct.  11,  1804;  William 
Clayton,  Co.  A,  9th,  Nov.  1, 1864;  Thomas  Dugan,  Co.  A,  9th,  .\pril  30, 
1865 ;  Robert  F.  Perrine,  Co.  H,  9th  N.  J.  V.,  June  3, 1864  ;  Sergt.  Lewis 
D.  Hughes,  Co.  D,  Ist  N.  J.  Cav.,  May  6, 1864;  Garret  Anderson,  Co.  H, 
1st  N.J. Cav., March  28,1862;  Edward  S.  Anderson, Co.  H, Ist  N.  J.  Cav., 
May  28,  1864;  Jonathan  Hunt,  Co.  I,  1st  N.  J.  Cav.,  Aug.  2,  1864;  James 
M.  Applegate,  Co.  A,  38th  N.  J.  V.,  Nov.  17,  1864 ;  Leonard  W,  Dunham, 
Co.  A,  36th  N.  J.  v.,  Aug.  26, 1864 ;  Curtis  W.  Dunham,  Co.  A,  36th  N.  J. 
v.,  June  15,1864;  John  Conover,  Co.  B,  6th  N.J.  V.,  Aug.  10,  1864; 
Alfred  Blake,  Co.  K,  N.  J.  V.,  May  30,  1862;  Capt.  Symmes  H.  Stults, 
Co.  H,  14th  N.  J.  v.,  fell  at  Monocacy  July  9,  1864;  Lieut.  Marcus  A. 
Stults,  Co.  H,  N.  J.  v.,  missing  at  Cold  Harbor,  June  2,  1864.  The  14th 
N.  J.  v. :  Capt.  John  H.  Van  Dorn,  Co.  H,  June  2, 1864;  Alfred  Carman, 
Co.  H,  Nov.  27, 1863  ;  Peter  G.  Rue,  Co,  H,  Nov.  27, 1863  ;  Cornelius  Boor- 
aem,  Co.  H,  Nov.  27, 1863;  Elwood  Silvers,  Co.  H,  Nov.  27,  1863;  Joseph 
Jolly,  Co.  H,  Nov.  27,  1863;  Jefferson  H.  Rogers,  Co.  I,  May  4,  1864; 
James  B.  Snediker,  Co.  H,  June  2, 1864;  James  Little,  Co.  H,  June  2, 
1864;  John  Compton,  Co.  I,  July  9,  1864;  Van  Wickle  Griggs,  Co.  H, 
July  9,  1864;  Thomas  F.  Applegate,  Co.  II,  Oct.  19,  1884;  B.  M.  Brown, 
Co.  F,  Oct.  19,  1864;  Sergt.  David  Provost,  Co.  H,"July  9, 1864;  Henry 
A.  Anderson,  Co.  H,  July  4,  1863 ;  Thomas  Van  Hise,  Co,  H,  Nov.  27, 
1863  ;  George  W.  Cathcart,  Co,  H,  June  3,  1864 ;  Thomas  Smith,  Co.  H, 
Feb.  5, 1864;  Lieut.  Uselma  Duncan,  Co.  G,  71st  New  York,  Bull  Bun, 
July  21, 1861 ;  Lieut.  James  C.  Burt,  Co,  A,  14Ist  N.  Y.  V.,  Atlanta,  July 
20,  1864;  Robert  Coates  Voorhees,  Co.  H,  1st  N.  Y.  Cav.,  Aug.  12,  1864; 
Alfred  H.  Voorhees,  Co.  H,  1st  N.  Y.  Cav.,  Aug.  12,  1864;  Richard  Coi, 
Co.  A,  68th  Mass.  V.,  June  3, 1864;  William  H.  Craig,  Co.  H,  84th  Ohio 
Vols.,  Sept.  20, 1863;  Joseph  Roth,  Co.  H,  36th  N.  J.  V.,  March  28, 1864; 
Richard  Baker,  Co.  C,  2d  N.  J.  Cav.,  Sept.  14, 1866  ;  George  F,  Labaw,  Co. 
C,  3d  N.  Y.  Cav.,  March  12,  1866;  Thomas  Jolly,  Co.  B,  28th  N.  J.  V., 
Dec.  14,  1862;  John  Thompson,  Co.  B,  28th  N.  J.  V.,  Dec.  26,  1862;  Wil- 
liam Reed  Herron,  Co.  B,  28th  N,  J.  V.,  Jan.  4, 1863;  William  H.  Pullen, 
Co.  A,  6th  N.  J.  v.,  March  6, 1862 ;  Peter  M.  Abrahams,  Co.  K,  2d  111. 
Cav.,  March  4,  1861 ;  Frank  Berkley,  Co.  H,  14th  N.  J.  V.,  June  3, 1864; 
Patrick  Kelly,  Co.  H,  14th  N.J.  V.,  April  10,  1863:  William  H.  Sodon, 
Co.  H,  N.  J.  v.,  July  9, 1864." 

The  Old  Baptist  Burying-Ground. — During 
the  period  of  the  Cranbury  Baptist  Church  (1749-88) 
a  burying-ground  was  in  use  by  that  denomination, 
which  has  been  long  neglected  and  contains  many 
early  graves,  whose  location  and  the  names  of  whose 
occupants  will  never  be  known.  Only  four  headstones 
remain  standing,  and  only  two  or  three  are  to  be  found 
lying  on  the  ground.  The  inscriptions  on  the  latter 
are  undecipherable.  The  following  inscriptions  are 
copied  from  the  four  headstones  which  are  yet  sup- 
posed to  mark  the  resting-place  of  the  persons  whose 
names  they  bear  : 

"  Here  lies  buried  the  body  of  John,  son  of  Joseph 
and  Margaret  Taylor,  who  departed  this  life  January 
20th,  1761." 

"In  memory  of  John  Chamberlain,  who  departed 
this  life  March  15th,  178.3,  aged  71." 

"  In  memory  of  Hannah  Chamberlain,  who  departed 
this  life  June  30th,  1807." 

"In  memory  of  James  Perrine,  who  departed  this 
life  March  26th,  1811,  aged  79  years  and  10  months." 

The  Bury'ing-Ground  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church. — In  the  yard  of  the  Second  Pres- 
byterian Church  at  Cranbury  is  a  burjnng-ground, 
which  has  been  laid  out  in  lots  and  is  in  charge  of 
James  Dafter.  Its  area  is  about  three  acres,  and  it 
was  opened  soon  after  the  erection  of  the  church 
(1837-38),  and  contains  many  graves.  The  proceeds 
from  the  sale  of  lots  are  devoted  to  improvements. 


INDEX. 


Abemetby,  Samuel,  521. 

Achter  Kull,  15. 

Act  to  erect  Union  County,  118. 

Acts  relating  to  boundaries  of  Middlesex,  418. 

Adams  Station,  755. 

Adrain,  Garnett  B.,  607. 

Alarm  at  Indian  inroads,  451. 

Alton,  415. 

Annin,  Joseph,  11^8. 

Appleby,  Leonard,  782. 

Appleby,  L.  L.  F.,  782. 

ArniBtroug,  J.  F.,  21.'!. 

Associates  of  Elizabethtown,  21. 

Associations  (see  Societies). 

Attempt  to  capture  Livingston's  and  Maxwell's 

brigades,  82. 
Attested  facts  and  figures,  446. 
Austin,  David,  214. 
Ayres,  John  K.,  285. 

B. 

Babcock,  John  F.,  530. 
Bailies,  John,  22. 
Baker,  Aaron  M.,  387. 
Baker,  Henry,  facing  342. 
Baker,  James  C,  facing  384. 
Baker,  John,  22. 
Baldwin,  Henry  K.,  527. 
Ballard,  Jeremiah,  97. 
Bank  of 

City  National,  Plainfield,  311. 

Dime  Savings,  Plainfield,  311. 

Farmers'  aud  Mechanics'  of  New  Bruns- 
wick, 672. 

First  National,  Elizabeth,  191. 

First  National,  Jamesburg,  807. 

First  National,  Plainfield,  311. 

National  of  New  Jersey,  672. 

National,  Rahway,  256. 

Nalional  Slate,  of  Elizabeth,  191. 

New  Brunswick,  670. 

New  Brunswick  Savings  Institution,  674. 

New  Jei-sey,  672. 

Perth  Amboy  Savings  Institution,  633. 

Savings,  Rahway,  257. 

State,  Perth  Amboy,  633. 

State  Bank  of  New  Brunswick,  670. 

Union  National,  Rahway,  257. 
Baptist  Church  of 

Broad  Street,  Elizabeth,  237. 

Central,  Elizabeth,  237. 

Colored,  New  Brunswick,  735. 

Dayton,  792. 

East,  Elizabeth,  237. 

Fanwood,  413. 

First,  Elizabeth,  235. 

First,  New  Brunswick,  730. 

First,  Plainfield,  302. 

First,  Rahway,  276. 

First,  South  Afliboy,  836. 

Fourth,  Elizabeth,  237. 

Georges  Road,  North  Brunswick,  751. 
5t5 


Baptist  Church  of 

Independent  Bethel,  East  Brunswick,  773. 

Mount  Olive,  Plainfield,  305. 

Old,  Cranbury,  875. 

Old,  at  Washington,  771. 

Park  Avenue,  Plainfield,  307. 

Perth  Amboy,  627. 

Piscataway,  .597. 

Boselle,  399. 

Samptown,  599. 

Second,  New  Brunswick,  735. 

Second,  Plainfield,  304. 

Seventh-Day,  Piscataway,  595. 

Seventh-Day,;Plainfleld,  305. 

Stelton,  Raritan,  843. 

Summit,  395. 

Tabernacle,  Washington,  772. 

"Westfield,  339. 
Barnet,  Ichabod,  122. 
Barnet,  Ichabod,  Jr.,  123. 
Barnet.  William,  Sr,  122. 
Barnet,  William,  122. 
Barnet,  William  M.,  122. 
Barracks,  Perth  Amboy,  632. 
Barron  Family,  584. 
Barron,  John  C,  527. 
Battle  of  Long  Island,  72. 
Bayles,  W.  G.,  793. 
Beasley,  Frederick,  224. 
Beginning  of  Revolutionary  struggle,  62. 
Belcher,  Governor  John,  163. 
Bench  and  bar,  history  of,  108. 
Bench  and  bar,  Middlesex  County,  496. 
Benedict,  Thomas.  22. 
Berry,  John,  55,  56. 
Berry,  W.  H.,  582. 
Bill  in  Chancery,  61. 
Biographies  of 

Abernethy,  Samuel,  521. 

Adrain.  Garnett  B.,  507. 

Annin,  Joseph,  118. 

Appleby,  L.  L.  F.,  782. 

Appleby,  Leonard,  782. 

Armstrong,  James  F.,  213. 

Austin,  David,  214. 

Ayres,  John  R.,28a. 

Babcock,  John  F.,  530. 

Bailies,  John,  22. 

Baker,  Aaron  M.,  387. 

Baker,  Henry,  facing  342. 

Baker,  James  C,  facing  384. 

Baker,  John,  22,  23. 

Baldwin,  Henry  R.,  527. 

Ballard,  Jeremiah,  97. 

Barnet,  Ichabod,  122. 

Barnet,  Ichabod,  Jr.,  123. 

Barnet,  William,  122. 

Barnet,  William,  Sr.,  122. 

Barnet,  William  M.,  122. 

Barron  Family,  584. 

Barron,  John  C,  527. 

Bayles,  W.  G.,  793. 

Beasley,  Frederick,  22. 


Biographies  of 

Belcher,  Governor  John,  183. 

Benedict,  Thomas,  22. 

Berry,  William  H.,  582. 

Bloomfield,  Henry,  511. 

Bloomfield,  Gen.  Joseph,  499. 

Boice,  Cornelius,  116. 

Boice,  D.  J.,  319. 

Booream,  H.  H.,  755. 

Boudinot,  Elias,  111. 

Brani,  William,  facing  376. 

Brown,  H.  H.,  821. 

Brown,  James  M.,  581. 

Buckelew,  James,  812. 

Burnet,  Aaron  W.,  between  378,  379. 

Burnet,  Daniel,  between  378,  379. 

Caldwell,  James,  210. 

Callard,  W.  II.,  851. 

Camp,  Stephen,  123. 

Carroll,  Edward,  513. 

Chandler,  Thomas  B.,  221. 

Chandler,  William,  123. 

Chapman,  Rev.  James,  624. 

Chapman,  James  M.,  .510. 

Chetwood,  Francis  B.,  115. 

Chetwood,  John,  114. 

Chetwood,  John  J.,  115. 

Chetwood,  Robert  E.,  115. 

Chetwood,  William,  115. 

Claik,  Abraliam,  97. 

Clark,  Abraham,  123. 

Clark,  Andrew  H.,  341. 

Clark,  John,  123. 

Clark,  Samuel  A.,  226. 

Clark,  Staats,  7.'i6. 

Clark,  Thomas,  114. 

Clark,  William,  343. 

Clark,  William,  Jr.,  340. 

Cochran,  John,  512. 

Coleman,  John,  13. 

Conover,  Garret,  738. 

Coriell,  Richard  R.,  321. 

Coriell,  William  McD.,  325. 

Cortelyou,  Peter,  794. 

Cory,  Joseph,  342. 

Cory,  Levi,  342. 

Craig,  David,  123. 

Craig,  John,  128. 

Crane,  John,  facing  383. 

Crane,  M.  B  ,  facing  385. 

Crane,  Gen.  William,  97. 

Cruser,  John  S.,  796. 

Cutter  Family,  581. 

Dally,  Samuel,  583. 

Daly,  John  J.,  facing  133. 

Darby,  John,  123. 

Darby,  Levi,  415. 

Dayton,  A.  0.,  113. 

Dayton,  Gen.  Elias,  96,  240. 

Dayton,  Jonathan,  96. 

Dayton,  Jonathan,  M.D.,  124. 

Dayton,  Jonathan  I.,  124. 

De  Hart,  John,  112. 

877 


878 


INDEX. 


Biographies  of 

De  Hart,  Mattliias,  125. 

Denman,  John,  407. 

Denman,  John  C,  290. 

Denton,  Daniel,  22,  121. 

De  Voe,  Isaac,  781. 

De  Vries,  David  P.,  U. 

Dickinson,  Jonathan,  124,  201. 

Disbrow,  A.  J.,  78;i. 

Dishrow,  S.  M.,  527. 

Dralte,  Henry,  613. 

Dunham,  D.  B.,  facing  253. 

Dunliam,  H.  V.,  601. 

Dunham,  Jacob,  514. 

Dunham,  Lewis,  513. 

Earl,  William,  facing  382. 

Edgar,  Ale.\ander,  124. 

Edgar,  William  T.,  851. 

Elmendorf,  John  C,  510. 

Elmer,  H.  G.,  126. 

Elmer,  John  C,  131. 

Elmer,  Moses  G.,  124. 

Elmer,  Philemon,  124. 

Farmer,  Thomas,  497. 

Ferris,  Isaac,  7ol. 

Flatt,  William  H.,  286. 

Fletcher,  Seth,  197. 

Foote,  r.  W.,  136. 

Foster,  John,  22. 

Freeman,  John  L,,  255. 

Freeman,  51.,  514. 

Frelinghuj-sen,  Theo.  Jacobus,  692. 

French,  Philip,  095. 

French,  Robert,  facing  34. 

Gay,  Edward,  121 . 

Gordon,  Thomas,  497. 

Greenland,  Henry,  511. 

Grifflth,  John,  125. 

Griffith,  Thomas,  125. 

Hall,  Alfred,  638. 

Halsted,  Robert,  125. 

Hardenbergh,  C.  L.,  510. 

Hardenbergh,  J.  B.,  701. 

Hardenbergh,  J.  K.,  609,  697. 

Harriman,  John,  197. 

Harris,  614. 

Hay,  A.,  514. 

Headley,  John  S.,  facing  380. 

Higgins,  David  S.,  385. 

Hill,  John  B,  673. 

Hole,  John,  126. 

Hough,  De  Witt,  facing  132. 

How,  H.  K.,  766. 

How,  Samuel  B.,  701. 

Howell,  Martin  A,,  666. 

Hude,  James,  501,  695. 

Hudson,  Henry,  13, 14. 

Hutchinson,  John  T.,  386. 

Hyer,  Lewis  S.,  140. 

Janeway,  J.  J.,  701. 

Jaques,  Moses,  126. 

Jardioe,  Andrew,  254. 

Jobs,  Eugene,  133. 

Johnson,  Cornelius,  619. 

Johnstone,  John,  614. 

Johnstone,  L.,  516. 

Jones,  Evan,  322. 

Kearney,  Philip,  497. 

Kempershall,  Everard,  217. 

Keteltas,  Abraham,  210. 

Kidd,  Capt.,  730. 

Kinch,  F.  A.,  126. 

Kinsey,  Chas.,  604. 

Kirkner,  Jacob,  324. 

Kirkpatrick,  Andrew,  503. 

Kirk  Patrick,  L.,  604. 

Kollock,  Henry,  215. 


Biographies  of 

Kollock,  Shepard,  135. 
Kuhlthau,  Pliilip,  757. 
Laforge,  Joel  and  Ira,  294. 
Lambert,  Jno.,  416. 
Langford,  W.  S.,  227. 
Latimer,  H.  G.,  323. 
Lawrence,  Jno.,  515. 
Lee,  Thomas,  415. 
Letferta,  Henry,  519. 
Letson,  Johnson,  660. 
Leveridge,  C.  A.,  406. 
Leydt,  Johannis,  C96. 
Lilly,  Samuel,  225. 
Linn,  Wm.  A.,  214. 
Livingston,  Governor  Wm.,  110. 
Long,  Dennis,  between  386,  387. 
Loring,  Ephraim,  126. 
Lott,  E.  P.,  519. 
Lowry,  Robert,  307. 
Ludlow,  Geo.  C,  511. 
Ludlow,  Jno.,  700. 
Ludhim,  N.,  616. 
Lufbery.Jno.  H.,  293. 
Magee,  Jos.  C,  811. 
Magie,  Edwin,  386. 
Magie,  W.  J.,  115. 
Male,  Job,  324. 
Manning,  N.,  616. 
Manning,  Stephen,  128. 
Marsh,  S.  C,  401. 
Maurer,  Henry,  685. 
McDowell,  John,  216. 
McKean,  R.,  516. 
Melyen,  Samuel,  201. 
Mershon,  William,  288. 
Meyer,  Christopher,  663. 
Micheau,  Paul,  126. 
Miller,  John,  340. 
Moore,  R.  C,  Jr.,  226. 
Morgan,  Lewis,  127. 
Morrell,  Thomas,  233. 
Morris,  Lewis,  501. 
Morrogh,  Clifford  T.,  525. 
Morse,  Isaac,  127. 
Munn,  George  B.,  7.37. 
Murray,  Nicholas,  216. 
Neilson,  James,  470. 
Neilson,  John,  468. 
Nevins,  James  S.,  504. 
Nicolla,  Governor,  18. 
Noble,  B,  G.,  226. 
Ogden,  Aaron,  112. 
Ogden,  John,  facing  196. 
Ogden,  John,23,  23. 
Osborn,  Corra,  130. 
Osborn,  Isaac,  293. 
Ouke,  Jacob  C,  696. 
Parkhurst,  A.  M.,  facing  343. 
Paxton,  John,  811. 
Peck,  Jeremiah,  196. 
Pierson.Oliver  M.,  341. 
Pier8on,Squeir,  342. 
Poole,  H.  B.,  620. 
Pope,  Elias  R.,  322. 
Porter,  L.  P.,  601. 
Potter,  Charles,  Jr.,  320. 
Potter,  Jotham,  361. 
Pyne,  Smith,  226. 
Randolph,  Asa  F.,  602. 
Rayner,  Menzies,  223. 
Richards,  John,  375. 
Robinson,  William,  122. 
Rodgers,  Charles  W.,  127. 
Rogers,  Edward  Y.,  117. 
Ross,  Alexander,  516. 
Ross,  John,  114. 


Biographies  of 

Rowland,  Andrew,  796. 
Rowland,  Stryker,  796. 
Rudd,  John  C,  225. 
Runyon,  Enos,  117. 
Runyon,  Mahlon,  673. 
Kyno,  Daniel  K.,  295. 
Savage,  Joseph  W.,  286. 
Scott,  J.  W.,  605. 
Scott,  Moses,  616. 

Scudder,  Isaac  F.,  between  340,  341. 
Skillman,  J.  T.  B.,  521. 
Skinner,  Cortlandt,  498. 
Skinner,  Stephen,  499. 
Smith,  Charles,  517. 
Smith,  Charles  M.,  620. 
Smith,  E.  F.  R.,  620. 
Smith,  Samuel  C,  375. 
Snedeker,  T.  S.,  795. 
Spader,  Peter,  670. 
Spencer,  Elihu,  209. 
Spraggs,  Samuel,  223. 
Squier,  William  C,  289. 
Stiles,  Hezekiah,  517. 
Stillman,  Charles  H.,  128. 
Stites,  William,  373. 
Stockton,  Richard,  Sr.,  500. 
Street,  Robert,  382. 
Strickland,  John,  21. 
Strong,  Woodbridge,  510. 
Sutphen,  John  C,  130. 
Swain,  Samuel,  127. 
Taylor,  Augustus  R.,  517. 
Taylor,  A.  F.  R.,  518. 
Teller,  Henry  W.,  .371. 
Thornal,  Israel,  860. 
Thompson,  John  C,  527. 
Titsworth,  Randolph,  134. 
Tittsworth,  I,D.,601. 
Towuley,  Jonathan,  148. 
Townley,  Robert  W.,  facing  185. 
Tucker,  Moses,  343. 
Tucker,  W.  B.,  facing  194. 
Urmston,  John,  facing  252. 
Vanderventer,  J.  R.,  311. 
Van  Deursen,  William,  521. 
Van  Hartingen,  Dr.,  519. 
Van  Rensselaer,  K.,  14. 
Van  Voorhees,  Minne,  696. 
Vaughan,  Edward,  219. 
Voorhees,  Abraham.  671. 
Voorhees,  Charles  H.,  525. 
Watson,  Luke,  22. 
Williamson,  Benjamin,  114. 
Williamson,  Isaac  H.,  112. 
Williamson,  M.  H.,  127. 
Winans,  Edward  P.,  401. 
Winans,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  facing  381. 
Winans,  Dr.,  127. 
Winans,  Job,  400. 
Withington,  I.  Chandler,  794. 
Wood,  George,  504. 
Woodruir,  Jonathan,  291. 
Woodruft,  Noah,  3is6. 
Bloomlield,  Henry,  511. 
Bloomfield,  Gen.  J.,  499. 
BloomSeld  Mills,  780. 
Board  of  Freeholders  Union  County,  119. 
Boice,  Cornelius,  116. 
Boice,  D.  J.,  319. 
Boudiuot,  Elias,  111. 
Bunhamton,  848. 
Booream,  H.  H.,  755. 
Boundaries  of  Cranbury,  862. 
Boundaries  of  Monroe,  797. 
Boundaries  of  New  Brunswick,  644. 
Boundaries  of  Sayreville,  852. 


INDEX. 


879 


Boundaries  of  South  Amboy,  822. 

Brant,  William,  facing  376. 

Bridgetown  3Iugeiim  and  New  Jersey  AdoocatSy 

138. 
Brief  Account  of  East  Jersey,  420. 
Brighton  Honse,  Perth  Amboy,  632. 
Brooke,  John,  218. 
Brown,  H.  H.,  821. 
Brown,  James  M.,  581. 
Browntowu,  817. 
Buckelew,  James,  812. 
Burial-places  (see  Cemeteries). 
Burnet,  Aaron  W.,  between  378,  379. 
Burnet,  Daniel,  between  378,  379. 
Burr,  Aaron,  65. 
Burt's  Creek,  »61. 

C. 

Caldwell,  James,  210. 
Callard.W.  H.,  861. 
Camp,  Stephen,  123. 
Carroll,  Edward,  512. 
Carteret,  James,  55. 
Carteret,  Philip,  51,  63,  54,  103. 
Catholic  Church  of 

Holy  Trinity,  Westfield,  339. 

Perth  Amboy,  627. 

St.  Francis',  Raritan,  845. 

St.  James',  of  Jamesburg,  811. 

St.  James',  Woodbridge,  574. 

St.  John's  (German),  New  Brunswick,  735. 

St.  John's,  PiBcataway,  599. 

St.  Mary's,  Eliziil.eth,  238. 

St.  Mary's,  Pliunfield,308. 

St.  Mary's,  Rah  way,  282. 

St.  Mary's,  South  Amboy,  835. 

St.  Michael's,  Cranford,  406. 

St.  Michael's,  Elizabeth,  238. 

St.  Patrick's,  Elizabeth,  239. 

St.  Peter's,  New  Brunswick,  733. 

St.  Teresa's,  Summit,  394. 
Cemeteries  of 

Cranbury,  876. 

East  Brunswick,  775. 

Fanwood,  414. 

Madison,  818. 

Monroe,  807. 

New  Providence,  360. 

North  Brunswick,  753. 

Perth  Amboy,  630. 

Piscatnway,  600. 

Plainfield,  313. 

Bah  way,  282. 

Raritan,  847. 

South  Amboy,  832. 

South  Bruuswick,  789. 

Summit,  394. 

Union  township,  384. 

Westfield,  .■539. 

Woodbridge,  576. 
Centennial  in  Springfield,  371. 
Central  Xew  Jersey  Herald,  138. 
Central  Neic  Jersey  Times,  142. 
Chandler.  Thomas  B.,  221. 
Chandler,  William,  123. 
Chapman,  Rev.  James  M.,  510. 
Chapman,  Rev.  James  M.,  624. 
Charter  of  New  Brunswick,  643. 
Chetwood,  F.  B.,  115. 
Chetwood,  John,  114. 
Chetwood,  John  J.,  115. 
Chetwood,  Robert  E.,  115. 
Chetwood,  William,  115. 
Churches  (see  special  list  each  denomination). 
City  buildings,  Perth  Amboy,  631. 
Civil  history  of  Amboy,  608. 
Civil  history  of  Monroe,  801. 


Civil  history  of  North  Brunswick,  743. 

Civil  list,  Cranbury,  868. 

Civil  list,  Raritan,  841. 

Civil  list,  Sayreville,  854. 

Civil  list.  South  Brunswick,  787. 

Clark  township,  409. 

Civil  list,  409. 

Early  settlement,  409. 

Manufacturing  interests,  410. 

Natural  features,  409. 

Schools,  410. 
Clark,  Abraham,  123. 
Clark,  Abraham,  97. 
Clark,  Andrew  H.,  341. 
Clark,  John,  123. 
Clark,  Samuel  A.,  226. 
Clark,  Slaats,  736. 
Clark,  Thomas,  114. 
Clark,  William,  343. 
Clark,  William,  Jr.,  340. 
Cla.y  merchants,  635. 
Cochran,  John,  512. 
Coleman,  John,  13. 
Colonial  courts,  107. 
Condition  of  affairs  in  1776,  470. 
Congregational  Church  of 

First,  Elizabeth,  239. 

Plainfield,  307. 

Westfield,  339. 

Woodbridge,  574. 
Connecticut  Farms,  381. 
Conover,  Garret,  738. 

Conquest  of  Lenni  T.enape  by  Iroquois,  43. 
Constitntionalisty  142. 
Copper-mines,  579. 
Coriell,  Richard  R.,  321. 
Coricll,  William  McD.,  325. 
Coroner's  inquest,  1685,  449. 
Cortelyou,  Peter,  794. 
Cory,  Joseph,  342. 
Cory,  Levi,  311. 
Council  of  Safety,  462. 
County  buildings,  118. 
County  ofliceris,  119. 
Court-house  and  jail,  449. 
Courts  of  Middlesex  County,  440. 
Courts  of  Union  County,  100. 
Cove  and  Tower  Hill,  630. 
Craig,  David,  123. 
Craig,  John,  128. 
Cranbury,  862,  868. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  876. 

Cemeteries,  876. 

Civil  list,  868. 

Cranbury  Station,  869. 

Cranbury  village,  868. 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  872. 

Industrial  pursuits,  870. 

Methodist  Church,  875. 

Old  Baptist  Church,  875. 

Pioneer  families,  865. 

Schools,  870. 

Second  Presl>yterian  Church,  874. 

Settlements  and  early  occurrences,  862. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  862. 

Societies,  870. 

Yillages  and  hamlets,  868. 
Crane,  John,  facing  383. 
Crane,  Matthias  B.,  facing  385. 
Crane,  Gen.  Wm  ,  97. 
Craneville,  404. 
Cranford,  402. 

Craneville,  404. 

Early  settlements,  402. 

Methodist  Church,  405. 

Natural  features,  402. 

Post-offices,  405. 


Cranford : 

Presbyterian  Church,  405. 

Schools,  405. 

St.  Michael's  Catholic  Church,  406. 

Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  406. 
Cruser,  John  S.,  796. 
Custom-house,  636. 
Cutter  Family,  581. 


Daily  and  Weekly  BuUelin,  142. 

Daly,  John  J.,  facing  133. 

Darby,  John,  123. 

Darby,  Levi,  415. 

Darcy,  Edward  A.,  128. 

Dally,  Samuel,  583. 

Damages  by  British,  474. 

Danish  Lutheran  Church,  G28. 

Dayton,  791. 

Dayton,  A.  0.,  113. 

Dayton,  Gen.  E.,  71,  73,  96,  240. 

Dayton,  Jonathan,  96,  124. 

Dayton,  Jonathan,  M.D.,  124. 

Dayton,  Jonathan  I.,  124. 

Dean's  Station,  791. 

De  Hart,  John,  125. 

De  Hart,  John,  69,  112. 

Delawares,  or  Lenni  Lenape,  41. 

Deuman,  John,  407. 

Denman,  John  C,  290. 

Denton,  Daniel,  22,  49,  121. 

Depreciated  currency,  83. 

De  Voe,  Isaac,  7S1. 

De  Vries,  David  P.,  14,  45. 

Dickinson,  Jonathan,  124,  201. 

Dishrow,  A.  J.,  783. 

Disbrow,  S.  M.,  527. 

District  Medical  Society  Middlesex  Co.,  522. 

Doane  Memorial  Chapel,  835. 

Drake,  Henry,  513. 

Dunellen,  599. 

Dunham,  H.  V.,  601. 

Dunham,  D.  B  ,  facing  '253. 

Dunham,  Jacob,  514. 

Dunham,  Lewis,  513. 

Dunham's  Corners,  780. 

Dutch  immigration.  New  Brunswick,  642. 

Dutch  Reformed  Church  (see  Reformed  Church). 

Earl,  William,  facing  382. 

Early  courts  and  lawyers,  100. 

Early  officers  Union  County  Med.  Soc,  129. 

Early  physicians.  Union  County,  121. 

Early  records,  Piscataway,  586. 

Eariy  roads,  Middlesex  County,  431. 

Early  settlement  of  Madison,  814. 

Early  settlement  of  Monroe,  797. 

Eariy  settlement  of  Raritan,  839. 

Early  settlements,  Woodbridge,  554. 

East  Brunswick,  757. 

Baptist  Church,  771. 

Bethel  Baptist  Church,  773. 

Bloomfield  mills,  780. 

Burial-places,  775. 

Civil  list,  758. 

Dunham's  Corners,  780. 

Educational,  763. 

Holy  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  771. 

Industrial  pursuits,  765. 

Milltown,780. 

Milltown  German  Reformed  Church,  775. 

Old  Bridge,  779. 

Organization  and  civil  history,  758. 

Physical  features,  757. 

Reformed  Dutch  Church,  775. 

Simpson  Methodist  Church,  774. 


INDEX. 


East  Brunswick : 

Situation  and  boundaries,  757. 

Societies,  780. 

Spottswood,  778. 

SpotUwood  M.  E.  Church,  774. 

St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Cliurch,  770. 

Tabernacle  Baptist  Church,  772. 

Villages  and  liamlets,  777. 

Washington,  776. 

Washington  Methodist  Church,  773. 
Edgar,  Jonathan,  124. 
Edgar,  W.  T.,  851. 
Effect  of  battle  of  Lexington,  65. 
Eleventh  Regiment,  149. 
ElizahelJ,  Pieie  Press,  138. 
EtUabelh  Freie  Zeilung,  138. 
Elizabethtown,  settlement  of,  17. 
Elmendorf,  John  C,  510. 
Elmer,  H.  G.,  125. 
Elmer,  John  C,  131. 
Elmer,  Moses  G.,  124. 
Elmer,  Philemon,  124. 
Elizabeth  borough  : 

Broad  Street  Baptist  Church,  237. 

Central  Baptist  Church,  237. 

City  charter,  184. 

Court-house,  182. 

East  Baptist  Church,  237. 

Educational,  187. 

Ferries  and  steamboats,  181. 

First  Baptist  Church,  235. 

First  Congregational  Church,  239. 

First  National  Bank,  191. 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  195. 

Fourth  Baptist  Church,  237. 

German  Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  239. 

German  Moravian  Church,  240. 

German  Presbyterian  Church,  232. 

German  Presbyterian  Church,  239. 

Grace  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  227. 

Improvement  of  streets,  181. 

Madison  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, 231. 

Manufacturing  companies,  194. 

Mai-shall  Street  Presbyterian  Church,  231. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  232. 

Militia,  191. 

Missions,  240. 

Mutuallnsurance,  191. 

National  Fire  and  Marine  Insurance,  191. 

National  State  Bank,  191. 

Komau  Catholic  Church,  237. 

Second  Presbyterian  Church,  227. 

Secret  and  benevolent  societies,  192. 

Siloam  Presbyterian  Church,  239. 

St.  John's  Protestant  Epis.  Church,  217. 

Third  Presbyterian  Church,  231. 

Trinity  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  227. 

Water  Company,  186. 

Westminster  Presbyterian  Church,  228. 
Elizabeth  township,  173. 

Allotments  of  1736,  176. 

Boundaries  of  township,  174. 

Name  of  township,  179. 

Organization  and  civil  olficors,  177. 

Original  dimensions,  173. 

Progress  of  settlements  and  surveys,  174. 

Resurvey  and  allotment,  175. 

Subdivisions  of  township,  178. 

Town  of  Newark  set  off,  173. 
Episcopalian  Church : 

All  Saints,  Fanwood  township,  414. 

Calvary,  Summit,  394. 

Christ's  Church,  South  Aniboy,  834. 

Christ's,  of  New  Brunswick,  709. 

Christ's  Refornjed,  Kahway,  282. 

Grace,  Elizabeth,  227. 

Grace,  Linden,  399. 


Episcopalian  Church: 

Grace,  Plainfleld,  307. 

Grace,  Westfield,  339. 

Heavenly  Rest,  Plainfleld,  308. 

Holy  Comfor^r,  Bahway,282. 

Holy  Cross,  Perth  Amboy,  623. 

Holy  Innocents,  Piscataway,  597. 

Holy  Trinity,  Sayreville,  862. 

Holy  Trinity,  Washington,  771. 

St.  James'  Protestant,  Raritan,  844. 

St.  John's,  Elizabeth,  217. 

St.  John's,  New  Brunswick,  735. 

St.  Luke's,  Linden,  399. 

St.  Luke's,  Raritan,  845. 

St.  Luke's,  Union,  383. 

St.  Paul's,  Rah  way,  282. 

St.  Peter's,  Perth  Amboy,  621. 

St.  Peter's,  Spottswood,  770. 

Trinity,  Cranford,  406. 

Trinity,  Elizabeth,  227. 

Trinity,  Woodbridge,  572. 

F. 

Fanwood  township,  411. 

All  Saints',  Episcopal,  414. 

Baptist  Church,  412. 

Boundaries,  411. 

Census,  412. 

Civil  officers,  411. 

Eariy  settlers,  411. 

Inns  and  inn-keepers,  414. 

Methodist  Church,  414. 

Natural  features,  411. 

Physicians,  415. 

Post-offlce,  414, 

Schools,  412. 

Villages  atid  hamlets,  415. 
Fanwood  village,  415. 
Farmer,  Thomas,  497. 


Fcri 


,  Isaac,  701. 


nswick,  452. 
iswick,  531. 


Final  disposal  of  Delaw 
Fire  department  of 

Perth  Amboy,  638. 

Plainfleld,  314. 

Rahway,  251. 
First  county  court,  447, 
First  courts  at  New  Bri 
First  daily  in  New  Bru 
First  New  Jersey  Legislature,  53. 
Flatt,  Wm.  H.,286. 
Fletcher,  Seth,  197. 
Foote,  F.  W.,  136. 
Ford's  Corners,  848. 
Foster,  John,  22. 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  151. 
Franklin  Park,  792. 
Freeman,  John  L,,  255. 
Freeman,  M.,  514. 
Frelinghuysen,  Theo.  Jacobus,  692. 
French,  Philip,  695. 
French,  Robert,  facing  341. 
Fresh  Ponds,  792. 
Friends'  meeting  of 

Plainfleld,  300. 

Rahway,  270. 

Raritan,  842. 

Woodbridge,  574. 

G. 

Gay,  Edward,  121. 
Glimpses  of  Indians,  450'. 
Gordon,  Thomas,  497. 
Government  of  Carteret,  51, 
Gray's  Mills,  791. 
Greenland,  Henry,  511. 
Griflith,  John,  125. 


Griffith,  Thomas,  125. 

Guardian  and  New  Brunswick  Advertiser,  528. 

H. 

Half-Acre,  805. 

Hall,  Alfred,  638. 

Halsted,  Robert,  125. 

Hamilton,  Andrew,  106, 

Harbor  and  railroad  facilities,  Perth  Amboy, 

634. 
Hard  times,  S3. 
Hardenbergh,  C.  L.,  510. 
Hardenbergh,  J.  B.,  701. 
Hardenbergh,  J.  R.,  509. 
Hardenbergh,  J.  R.,  697. 
Harriman,  John,  197. 
Harris,  514. 
Hay,  A.,  514. 

Headley,  J.  S  ,  facing  380. 
Heath,  John,  76. 
Higgins,  David  S  ,  385. 
Hill,  John  B.,  673. 
Hoffman  and  Tracy  Stations,  806. 
Hole,  John,  126. 
Some  NeioB  (Daily),  531. 
Hough,  De  Witt,  facing  132. 
How,  H.  K.,  756, 
How,  Samuel  B,,  701,  705. 
Howe,  Lord,  75. 
Howe,  William,  77. 
Howell,  Martin  A.,  655. 
Hude,  James,  501. 
Hude,  James,  695. 
Hudson,  Henry,  13, 14. 
Hutchinson,  John  T.,  386. 
Hyer,  Lewis  S,,  140. 


Important  trials,  505. 

Incorporation  of  Amboy,  614. 

Indian  girls  held  in  slavery,  451. 

Indian  hostilities,  45. 

Indian  occupation,  40. 

Indian  population,  43, 

Industrial  pursuits  (see  Manufacturing  Inter- 
ests). 

Insurancecompanies: 

Elizabeth  Mutual,  Elizabeth,  191. 
Mutual  Assurance,  Plainfleld,  312. 
National  Fire  and  Marine,  Elizabeth,  191. 
Washington  Fire  Insurance  Company,  312 


Jacksonville,  817. 
Jamesburg,  803. 
Janeway,  J.  J.,  701. 
Jaques,  Moses,  126, 
Jardine,  Andrew,  254, 
Jobs,  Eugene,  133, 
Johnson,  Cornelius,  519. 
Johnstone,  John,  514. 
Johnstone,  L.,  515. 
Jones,  Evan,  322. 

K. 

Kearney,  Philip,  497. 
Kempershall,  Everard,  217. 
Keteltas,  Abraham,  210. 
Kidd,  Capt,,  536. 
Kinch,  Frederick  A,,  126, 
Kingston,  790. 
Kinsey,  Charies,  604, 
Kirkner,  Jacob,  324. 
Kirkpatrick,  Andrew,  503, 
Kirkpatrick,  L.,  504. 
Knyphansen's  invasion,  87. 
Kollock,  Henry,  215. 
Kollock,Shepard,  135. 


INDEX. 


881 


Laforge,  Joel  and  Ira,  294. 

Lambert,  JohH,  416. 

Land  controversy,  59. 

Langford,  W.  S.,  227. 

Latimer,  H.  G.,  323. 

Laugliing  in  tlie  face  of  court,  448. 

Lawrence,  Jolln,  525. 

Lee,  Thomas,  415. 

Lcfferts,  H.  D.,  519. 

Lenni  Lenape,  41. 

Letson,  .lolinson,  660. 

Leveridge,  C.  A.,  400. 

Leydt,  Johannes,  696. 

Library  of 

Plainfleld,  316. 

Kahway,  252. 

Summit,  393. 
Lilly,  Samuel,  225. 
Linden  township,  396. 

Baptist  Church,  Roselle,  399. 

Civil  list,  397. 

Description,  396. 

Early  settlements,  396. 

Grace  Episcopal  Church,  399. 

Inns  and  inn-keepers,  400. 

Linden, 399. 

Linden  post-oftice,  400. 

Methodist  Churcll,398. 

Natural  Features,  396. 

Presbyterian  Church,  399. 

Reformed  Church,  399. 

Eosellc,  399. 

Boselle  post-office,  400. 

Schools,  398. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Church,  399. 

Tremlily's  Point,  4U0. 
Linn,  William  A.,  214. 
List  of  deceased  physicians  Middlesex  County, 

528. 
List  of  members  Union  County  bar,  1774-1881, 

109. 
List  of  members  Legislature  from  Middlese.x 

County,  532. 
List  of  present  members  of  tJuion  County  bar, 

109. 
List   of  Kevolutionary  troops    in    Middlesex 

County,  492. 
List  of  Middlesex  County  soldiers,  539. 
List  of  Union  County  soldiers,  1861-65, 157. 
List  of  Union  County  soldiers  in  Revolution, 

98. 
Littell,  Eliakim,  77. 
Livingston  Park  Chapel,  753. 
Livingston,  William,  69,  71,  73,  84, 110. 
Lodges  and  societies  (see  Societies). 
Long,  Dennis,  between  386,  387. 
Loring,  Ephraini,  126. 
Lett,  R.  P.,  519. 
Lowry,  Robert,  307. 
Ludlow,  George  C,  511. 
Ludlow,  John,  700. 
Ludlum,  N.,  516. 
Lufbery,  John  H.,  293. 
Lutheran  Church : 

Danish,  Perth  .Amboy,  628. 

Emmanuel  (German),  735. 

German,  Elizabeth,  239. 
Lyons  Farms,  380. 

M. 

Madison,  814. 

Browntown,  817. 
Burial-places,  818. 
Early  settlement,  814. 
Industrial  pursuits,  819, 
Jacksonville,  817. 


Madison : 

Methodist  Church,  818. 

Organization,  816. 

Physical  features,  814. 

Schools,  818. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  814. 

Statistics,  taxation,  etc.,  817. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  817. 
Magee,  Jos.  C,  811. 
Magie,  Edwin,  385. 
Magie,  William  J.,  115. 
Magietown,  381. 
Male,  Job,  324. 
Manning,  N.,  516. 
Manning,  Stephen,  128. 
Manufacturing  companies,  194,  769. 

Ashland  Emery  Co.,  Perth  Amboy,  634. 

.•Vyres  &  Lufbery,  Rahway,255. 

Bergen  Iron- Works,  832. 

Blacksmithing,  871. 

Boundey,  John,  shoe-works,  667. 

Brick-works,  East  Brunswick, 769. 

Brooklield  snufr-mills,  749. 

Buckram  and  Mosquito  Netting  Co.,  665. 

Butler's  sash  and  blind  works,  667. 

Carriage  manufactory, 669. 

Clay-works,  Perth  Amboy,  635. 

Confectionery,  659. 

Congress  Hill  Pottery,  831. 

Copper-mines,  Menlo  Park, 849. 

Davison  &  Selver's  spice-inill,  871. 

Dean  Mill,  South  Brunswick,  789. 

Distilleries,  7S9,  807. 

Downs  &  Finch,  806. 

Eliziibethport    Manufacturing    Company, 
191. 

Embley  &  Keyser,  821. 

Ernst,  Otto,  clay-works,  819. 

Essex  Felting  Mills,  Clark  township,  410. 

Everett  &  Perrine,  clay-pit*,  831. 

Foundries,  saw-mills,  etc.,  191. 

Freeman,  J.  L.,  Rah  way,  facing  255. 

Fruit  cultuie,  etc.,  7D7. 

Fruit  Jar  Company,  668. 

Gordon  printing-press,  256. 

Grist-mills,  East  Brunswick,  766. 

Grist-mills,  South  Brunswick,  789. 

Grubbs,  Thomas,  870. 

Hardenbergh,  J.  R.,  S21 

Hecla  PowderMills,  411. 

Hetfield  Ic  Jackson,  Rahway,  253. 

Holmes  &  Co.,  fruit-canning  company,  666. 

Horseman  &  McManus,  Rahway,  255. 

Jaueway  &  Carpenter,  661. 

Janeway  &  Co.,  650. 

Jardine  &  Co.,  Rahway,  254. 

Kaolin   clay  and  sand  mines,  Sayreville, 
855. 

Eilpatrick  Shoe  Company,  668, 

Laforge,  I.  &  J.,  Rahway.  256. 

McCrillis  Brother.*,  659. 

Mervin,  A.  A.,  849. 

Meyer  Rubber  Company,  662,  749. 

Miller  Brothers,  Rahway,  253. 

Miscellaneous  industries,  Monroe,  807. 

Motislier  &  Shyers,  666. 

New  Brunswick  Carpet  Company,  666. 

New  Brunswick  Rubber  Company,  665. 

Norfolk  Hosiery  Company,  659. 

Novelty  Rubber  Company,  664. 

Potter  Printing-Press  Works,  318. 

Potteries    and    brick-making,    Sayreville, 
860. 

Potteries,  East  Brunswick,  769. 

Powelson,  C,  furniture,  659. 

Providence  Pottery,  832. 

Quarries,  789. 


Manufacturing  companies: 

Raritau  Ridge  Clay  Company,  849. 
Raritan  Soap- Works,  668. 
Rolfe  &  Sons'  saw-mill,  662. 
Rue,  M.  A.,  871. 
Sand,  clay,  etc.,  767. 
Schepflin,  B.  T.  &  Co.,  318. 
Ship-building,  766. 
Shullz,  John  E.,  789. 
Singer,  of  New  Jersey,  191. 
Snuff  manufacturer.  East  Brunswick,  765. 
Snuff-mills,  820,  821. 
Such's  green-house,  861. 
Swan  Hill  Pottery,  832. 
Taurino  factory,  Rahway,  253. 
Terra-cotta  works,  636. 
Voorhees  Tannery,  751. 
Vosper  &  Kramer,  666. 
Waldron's  machiue-works,  667. 
Wheeler  &  Thomas,  789. 
Wood  trade.  East  Brunswick,  769. 
Wyckoff  Mills,  871. 
Mapleton,  791. 
Marsh,  S.  C,  401. 
Maurer,  Henry,  585. 
Maxwell,  Gen.,  77,  78,  84. 
McDowell,  John,  216. 
McKean,  R.,  516. 
Mechanicsville,  861. 

Medical  profession,  Middlesex  County,  511. 
Medical  profession.  Union  County,  120. 
Medical  societies,  128. 
Methodist  Church : 

African,  Cranbury,  876. 

Africar.  Methodist  Episcopal,  Westfield,  339. 

Bethel,  Rahway,  282. 

Centenary,  Raritan,  842. 

Cranbury,  875. 

Cranford  township,  405. 

Danish,  Perth  Amboy,  628. 

Elizabeth,  232. 

Fanwood,  414. 

First,  Rahway,  272. 

Free,  Rahway,  282. 

Fresh  Ponds  Methodist  Protestant  Church, 

793. 
Linden  township,  398. 
Madison,  818. 

Milltown,  North  Brunswick ,  752. 
MountZionfColored),  New  Brunswick,  734. 
New  Dover,  Raritan,  842. 
New  Providence,  358. 
Perth  Amboy,  627. 
Piscataway,  598. 
Pitman,  New  Brunswick,  732. 
Plainfleld,  304. 
Plainsboro',  Bethel,  792. 
Protestant,  South  Amboy,  836. 
Sayreville  Methodist  Episcopal,  862. 
Second,  Rahway,  281. 
Shiloh,  New  Brunswick,  732. 
Simpson,  East  Brunswick,  774. 
South  Amboy,  835. 
Spottswood,  East  Brunswick,  774. 
Springfield,  371. 

St.  James',  New  Brunswick,  734. 
Summit,  395. 
Union  African  (Colored),  New  Brunswick, 

735. 
Union  Valley,  810. 
Washington,  East  Brunswick,  773. 
West  Roselle,  383. 
Westfield,  338. 
Woodbridge,  574. 
Zion,  Rahway,  282. 
Melyen,  Samuel,  201. 
Members  Legislature  from  Sliddlesex  Co.,  532. 


INDEX. 


Menlo  Park,  8«. 

Milltown,  754,  780. 

New  Brunswick: 

Mercer,  Gen.,  72. 

Monmouth  Junction,  792. 

Second  Baptist  Church,  735. 

Merchants  and  dealers,  South  Amhoy,  829. 

Monmouth  Junction  Church,  793. 

Shiloh  Methodist  Church,  732. 

Mershon,  William,  288. 

Monroe,  797. 

Societies,  654. 

Metuchen,  848. 

Associations  and  societies,  808. 

St.  James'  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  734. 

Meyer,  Christopher,  663. 

Burial-places,  807. 

St.  John's  Episcopal  Church,  735. 

Micheau,  Paul,  126. 

Catholic  Church,  Jamesburg,  811. 

The  city  iu  1709,  649. 

Middlesex  County,  417. 

Churches,  809. 

Theological  Seminary,  687. 

Acts  relating  to  boundaries,  418. 

Civil  list,  801. 

Third  Reformed  Church,  735. 

Bench  and  bar,  496. 

Early  settlement  and  pioneer  life,  797. 

Tornado,  653. 

Brief  Account  of  East  Jersey,  420. 

Firet  National  Bank,  Jamesburg,  807. 

Union      African      Methodist       Episcopal 

City  of  New  Brunswick,  64(1. 

Half-Acre,  805. 

Church,  735. 

Condition  of  affairs,  1776,  470. 

Hoffman  and  Tracy  Stjitions,  806. 

Water  supply,  675. 

Coroner's  inquest,  1685,  449. 

Industrial  enterprises,  806. 

New  Dover,  849. 

Council  of  Safety,  462. 

Items  of  war  history,  801. 

New  Durham,  849. 

Court-house  and  jail,  449. 

Jamesburg,  803. 

New  Jersey  Journal,  135. 

Courts,  446. 

Methodist  Church,  Union  Valley,  810. 

New  Market,  579. 

Cranbury,  862. 

Natural  features,  797. 

New  Netherland,  discovery  and  occupation  of. 

Damages  by  British,  474. 

Presbyterian  Church,  Jamesburg,  809. 

13. 

District  Medical  Society,  522. 

Prospect  Plains.  806. 

New  Providence : 

Early  physicians,  511. 

Bed  Tavern,  806. 

Burial-grounds,  360. 

East  Brunswick,  737. 

Schools,  802. 

Civil  organization,  351. 

Elevations,  table  of,  424. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  797. 

Early  settlements,  345. 

Facts  and  figures,  446. 

Union  Valley,  805. 

First  tanner,  360. 

Eirst  court,  447. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  803. 

Methodist  Church,  358. 

First  courts  in  New  Brnnawick,  452. 

Moore,  Enoch,  127. 

Natural  features,  344. 

First  daily  in  New  Brunswick,  531. 

Moore,  R.  C,  Jr.,  226. 

Powder-mill,  360. 

Glimpses  of  Indians,  450. 

Moravian  German  Church,  Elizabeth,  240. 

Presbyterian  Church,  356. 

Guardian   and   New   Brunswick  Advertiser^ 

Morgan,  Lewis,  127. 

Salt  Brook,  360. 

528. 

Morrell,  Thomas,  233. 

Schools,  354. 

Home  Neics  (Daily),  531. 

Morris,  Lewis,  62,  501. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  344. 

Indian  alarm,  4.51. 

Morrogh,  Clifford  T.,  525. 

Sons  of  Temperance,  360. 

Indian  girl  in  slavery,  451. 

Morse,  Isaac,  127. 

St.  Mary's  Catliolic  Church,  359. 

List  of  soldiers,  539. 

Movement  for  new  partition  line,  443. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  352. 

Madison,  814. 

Munn,  George  B.,  737. 

Newspapers : 

Medical  profession,  511. 

Murray,  Nicholas,  216. 

Bridgetown  Museum  and  New  Jersey  Ad" 

Monroe,  797. 

vocate,  138. 

Movement  for  a  new  partition  line,  443. 

N. 

Central  New  Jersey  Herald,  138. 

New  Bnitiswick  Fredonian,  528. 

Naiioiial  Democrat,  140. 

Central  New  Jersey  Times,  142. 

New  Brunswick  Times,  .531. 

Neilson,  James,  470. 

Constitutionalist,  142. 

North  Brunswick,  739. 

Neilson,  John,  468. 

Daily  and  Weekly  Bulletin,  142. 

Offenses,  449. 

Kevins,  James  S.,  504. 

Elizabeth  Freie  Press?,  138. 

Organization,  417. 

New  Brooklyn,  579. 

Eliznbeth  Freie  Zeituug,  138. 

Partition  line  between  East  and  West  Jer- 

New Brunswick  Gaslight  Company,  674. 

First  daily  in  New  Brunswick,  531. 

sey,  437. 

New  Bnmswick  Fredonian,  528. 

Guardian  and  New  Brunswick  Advertiser, 

Perth  .\mboy,  602. 

New  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary,  687. 

528. 

Piscataway,  586. 

New  Brutiswick  Times,  551. 

Home  News  (Daily),  531. 

Press  of  Middlesex  County,  529. 

New  Brunswick ; 

National  Democrat,  140. 

Provincial  Congress,  1776,  463. 

Boundaries.  644. 

New  Brunswick  Fredonian,  528. 

Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  452. 

Catholic  Church,  735. 

New  Brunswick  Times,  531. 

Punishment  for  felony,  1684,  449. 

Christ  Church  (Episcopal),  711. 

New  Jersey  Journal,  135. 

Punishment  of  stocks,  450.. 

City  charter  and  government,  643. 

Plaiufield  Gazette,  142. 

Ranging  the  woods,  450. 

Colored  Baptist  Church,  735. 

Summary  of  papers,  531. 

Earitau,  839. 

Dutch  immigration,  642. 

Summit  Herald,  394. 

Roads,  431. 

Educational  institutions,  675. 

Westfield  Monitor,  339. 

Roster  of  Revolutionary  troops  Middlesex 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  735. 

Nicoll,  Wm.,  60. 

County,  492. 

Evangelical    Lutheran    Emmanuel    (Ger- 

NicoUs, Governor,  18,  21,49. 

Sayrcville,  852. 

man)  Church,  735. 

Ninetieth  anniversary  Dr.  Van  Harlingen,519. 

Sentence  to  be  burned  alive,  450. 

First  Baptist  Church,  730. 

Ninth  Regiment,  146. 

Situation  in  1861,  .537. 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  702. 

Noble,  B  G.,  226. 

South  Aniboy,  822. 

First  Reformed  Dutch  Church,  691. 

North  Brunswick,739. 

South  Brunswick,  784. 

Gaslight  Company.  674. 

Burial-places.  753. 

Speaking  against  antliority,  450. 

German  Reformed  Church,  735. 

Care  of  the  poor,  744. 

Tavern  rates,  1717,  448. 

Industrial  pui'suits,  656. 

Civil  history,  742. 

Tavern  rates,  1748,  451. 

Jewish  synagogue,  735. 

Georges  Road  Baptist  Church,  751. 

Tax  for  prison  and  pound,  447. 

Manumission  papers,  653. 

Industrial  pursuits,  749. 

The  Revolution,  455. 

Mount  Zion  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

Livingston  Park  Chapel,  753. 

Topography,  422. 

734. 

Local  nomenclature,  755. 

Townsliips,  419. 

Original  site,  640. 

Milltown  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  752. 

Transfer  of  estates  from  East  and  West  Jer- 

Pitman Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  732. 

Physical  features,  739. 

sey,  412. 

Present  status  of  city,  654. 

Schools,  747. 

Tripartite  deed,  439. 

Prices  and  premiums,  653. 

Settlement,  739. 

Twenty-eightlf  Regiment,  537. 

Public  schools,  676. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  739. 

Whipping-post,  450. 

Review  of  the  city's  progress,  650. 

Taverns,  755. 

Wooubridge,  560. 

Revolutionary  incidents,  646. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  754. 

Middlesex  County  in  the  Rebellion,  537. 

Rivers  and  streams,  645. 

Miller,  John,  340. 

Rutgers  College,  678. 

INDEX. 


883 


o. 

Piscataway : 

Presbyterian  Church : 

Occupation  of  Elizaliethtown  by  the  British, 

Civil  organization,  .591. 

German,  Elizabeth,  232. 

90. 

Dunellen,  599. 

German  (First  Avenue),  Elizabeth, 

239. 

Offenses,  449. 

Early  records,  586. 

Jamesburg,  809. 

Office  of  provincial  records,  632. 

Early  settlements,  687. 

Linden  township,  399. 

Ogden,  Aaron,  65,  112. 

Episcopal  Church,  597. 

Madison  .Avenue,  Elizabeth,  231. 

Ogden,  Abraham,  68. 

Methodist  Church,  598. 

Marshall  Street,  Elizabeth,  231. 

Ogden,  John,  facing  195. 

Name  of  town,  687. 

Metuchen,  846. 

Ogden,  John,  22,  23,  62. 

Natural  features,  586. 

New  Providence,  356. 

Ogden.  Robert,  C2. 

New  Brooklyn,  599. 

Old  Westfield,  336. 

Old  Bridge,  779. 

New  Market,  679. 

Perth  Amboy,  626. 

Old  market,  Perth  Amhoy,  662. 

Presbyterian  Church,  697. 

Piscataway,  597. 

Old  Plainsboro'  Church,  793. 

Samptown,  599. 

Second  Cranbury,  874. 

Organization  and  civil  history,  East  Bruns- 

Samptown Baptist  Church,  599. 

Second  Elizabeth,  227. 

wick,  762. 

Schools,  694. 

Second  Plainfield,  306. 

Organization  of  Madison,  816. 

Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church 

595. 

Second  Railway,  275. 

Organization  of  Middlesex  County,  417. 

Tavern-keepers,  1742,  599. 

Siloam,  Elizabeth,  239. 

Organization  of  Monroe,  801. 

Places  of  burial  (see  Cemeteries). 

South  Amboy,  836. 

Organization  of  Sayreville,  854.'     . 

Ptainfidd  Gazelle,  142. 

Springfield,  366. 

Organization  of  South  Amboy,  820. 

Plainfleld  city  and  township,  297 

Summit  township,  .395. 

Organization  of  South  Brunswick,  787. 

Banks,  311. 

Third  Elizabeth,  231. 

Original  site  of  New  Brunswick.  740. 

Business  of,  308. 
T        Cemeteries,  313. 

Union  township,  381. 

Osborn,  Corra,  130.  S^D'^'S't;^'-'-'^ 

Westminster,  Elizabeth,  228. 

Osborn,  Isaac,  293. 

Census,  298. 

Woodbridge,  568. 

Ouke,  Jacob,  695, 

Central  Reformed  Dutch  Chu 
Congregational  Church,  307. 

rch,  306. 

Press  of  Union  County,  135. 
Printing-press,  Woodbriiige,  578. 

P. 

Evona,  319. 

Professional  men.  South  Amboy,  829. 

Paquet  Creek,  580. 

Fire  department,  314. 

Prospect  Plains,  806. 

Parkhurst,  A.  M.,  facing  343. 

First  Baptist  Church,  392. 

Provincial  Congress  of  New  Jersey,  452 

463. 

Partition  line  between  East  and  West  Jersey, 

Friends,  200. 

Pugh,  George,  127. 

437. 

Gaslight  Company,  316. 

Punishment  for  felony,  1684,  449. 

Patentees  of  Elizabethtown,  21. 

German  Reformed  Church,  .308. 

Punishment  of  stocks,  1684,  450. 

Paxton,  John,  811. 

Grace  Episcopal  Church,  306 

Pyne,  Smith,  226. 

Peck,  Jeremiah,  196. 

Heavenly  Rest  (Episcopal;  C 

lurch,  308. 

Perth  Amboy  city,  602. 

Hospital,  316. 

Q. 

Banks,  633. 

Inn-keepers,  312. 

Quakers  (see  Fi  lends). 

Baptist  Church,  627. 

Insurance,  312. 

Barracks,  632. 

Land  Company,  319. 

K. 

Brighton  House,  632. 

Library,  316. 

Rah  way  City : 

Burial-places,  630. 

Manufacturing  companies,  318. 

Banks,  266. 

Catholic  Church,  627. 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 

304. 

Bethel  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

282. 

Civil  history,  608. 

Mount  Olive  Baptist  Church, 

305. 

Cemeteries,  282. 

Court-house,  631. 

Netherwood,  319. 

Christ  Reformed  Episcopal  Church, 

282. 

Cove  and  Tower  Hill,  632. 

Park  Avenue  Baptist  Church 

307. 

Early  History,  241. 

Custom-house,  636. 

Post-offices,  310. 

File  of  an  old  paper,  246. 

Danish  Lutheran  Church,  628. 

Relief  Association,  316. 

Fire  department,  261. 

Danish  Methodist  Church,  628. 

Roads  and  avenues,  313. 

First  Baptist  Church,  276. 

Episcopal  Church,  628. 

Schepflin,  B.  &  Co.,  318. 

First  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church.  272. 

Fire  department,  638. 

Schools,  298. 

First  mills  and  roads,  244. 

Gas  Company,  633. 

Second  Baptist  Church,  304. 

First  Presbyterian  Church,  259. 

Incon'oration  and  civil  officer?,  614. 

Second  Presbyterian  Church, 

305. 

Free  Metliodist  Episcopal  Church,  282. 

Jail,  631. 

Seventh-Day  Baptist  Church, 

305. 

Friends'  meeting,  270. 

Lincoln  Hose  Company,  638. 

Societies,  317. 

Gaslight  company,  251. 

Lutheran  Church,  628. 

St.  Mary's  (Catholic)  Church, 

308. 

Holy  Comforter  (Episcopal),  282. 

Manufacturing  interests,  633. 

Trinity  Reformed  Church,  306. 

Incorporation  and  boundaries,  249. 

Methodist  Ciiurch,  627. 

Water  supply,  316. 

Library  Association.  252. 

Office  of  provincial  records,  632. 

Plainiield  township,  296. 

Manufacturing,  253. 

Old  market,  032. 

Civil  list,  297. 

Rahway  in  1827  and  1834,  248. 

Post-office,  633. 

Early  settlement,  296. 

Removal  of  mill-dams,  249. 

Presbyterian  Church,  626. 

Natural  features,  296. 

Schools,  267. 

Resident  Governors,  618. 

Plainsboro',  869. 

Second  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

,281. 

St.  Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  621. 

Plainsboro',  791. 

Second  Presbyterian  Church,  275. 

Schools,  628. 

Plainsboro'  Church,  793. 

Sparktown,  245. 

Societies,  638. 

Poole,  H.  B.,  520. 

St.  Mary's  Roman  Catholic  Church, 

282. 

Stocks,  631. 

Pope,  Elias  R.,  322. 

St.  Paul's  Episcopal  Church,  282. 

Water  company,  638. 

Porter,  L.  P.,  661. 

Transfers  of  mill  property,  244. 

Petitioners  of  Elizabetlitown,  23. 

Post-ofBce,  Woodbridge,  580. 

Water  supply,  253. 

Physical  and  descriptive  features,  48. 

Potter,  Charles,  Jr.,  320. 

Zion  M.  E.  Church,  282. 

Physicians  of  fnion  County,  120,  415. 

Potter,  Jotham,  361. 

Raids  from  Staten  Island,  79. 

Pierson,  Oliver  M.,  341. 

Presbyterian  Church : 

Randolph,  Asa  F.,  602. 

Pierson,  Squier,  342. 

Cranford  township,  405. 

Banging  the  woods,  450. 

Pioneer  families,  Cranbury,864. 

Dayton,  792. 

Raritan,  839. 

Piscataway,  Raritan  township,  848. 

First  Cranbury,  872. 

Bonhamton,  847. 

Piscataway,  686,  848. 

First  Elizabeth,  195. 

Cemeteries,  846. 

Baptist  Church,  597. 
.  Catholic  Church,  699. 

First  New  Brunswick,  702. 
First  Plainfield,  303. 

Centenary  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  842. 
Civil  list,  841. 

Cemeteries,  600. 

First  Bahway,  259. 

Copper-mines,  849. 

884 


INDEX. 


Bah  way  City  : 

Early  settlement,  839. 

First  Reformed  Church  of  Metuchea,  845. 

Ford's  Corners,  848. 

Triends,  842.  * 

Manufacturing,  849. 

Metuchen,  848. 

Natural  features,  839. 

New  Dover  M.  E.  Church,  842. 

Post-offlce,  849. 

Piesbyteriau  Church  of  Metuchen,  846. 

Sand  Hills,  848. 

St.  Francis'  Catholic  Church,  845. 

St.  James'  Episcopal  Church,  844. 

St.  Luke's  Epis.  Church  at  Metuchen,  845. 

Stelton  Bnplist  Church,  843. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  847. 
Bayner,  Menzies,  '.^23. 
Bed  Tavern,  806. 
Beformed  Church : 

Central,  Plainfleld,  306. 

Duti-h,  of  Spottswood,  775. 

First,  of  Metuchen,  845. 

First  Dutch,  New  Bruuswick,  691. 

Gei-man,  Plainfleld,  308. 

Linden,  399. 

MiUtown,  Gei-man,  775. 

St.  John's  Geiinan,  New  Brunswick,  735. 

Third  German,  Nflw  Brunswick,  735. 

Trinity,  Plainfleld,  306. 
Bemoval  uf  Tories  and  Kefugees,  84. 
Besideut  Governors  of  Amboy,  618. 
Bevolutioniiry  incidents.  New  Brunswick,  646. 
Revolutionary  troops,  492. 
Rhode  Hall,  792. 
Bichards,  John,  375. 
Bobiuson,\Villi.im,  122. 
Bodgers,  Chail^s  W.,  127. 
Rogers,  Edward  Y.,  117. 
Bosidle,  381,  399. 
Boss,  Ale.xauder,  516. 
Boss,  John,  114. 

Boster  of  officers  and  men  in  Revolution,  98. 
Boster  of  Union  County  soldiers,  1861-65,  157. 
Bowland,  Andrew,  796. 
Eowland,  Stryker,  796. 
Boyal  African  Company,  17. 
Rudd,  John  C,  225. 
Runyon,  Euos,  117. 
Bunyon,  Mahlon,  673. 
Rutgers  College,  678. 
Byno,  Daniel  K.,  295. 

S. 

Salt  Brook,  360. 
Samptown,  699. 
Sand  Hills,  848. 
Savage,  Joseph  W.,  286. 
Sayreville,  832,  861. 

Burl's  Creek,  861. 

Civil  list,  854. 

Holy  Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  862. 

Industrial  pursuits,  855. 

Mechanicsville,  861. 

Natural  features,  852. 

Organization,  854. 

Sayreville    Methodist    Episcopal    Church, 
862. 

Schools,  861. 

Settlement,  852. 

Situation,  S62. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  861. 

Washington  Canal,  862. 
Sayreville  village,  861. 
Schools  of 

Clark,  410. 

Cranbury,  870. 


Schools  of 

Cranford,  405. 
East  Brunswick,  763. 
Elizabeth,  187,  ^37. 
Fanwood,  412. 
Linden,  398. 
Madison,  818. 
Monroe,  802. 

New  Brunswick,  675,676. 
New  Providence,  354. 
Perth  Amhoy,  628. 
Piscataway,  594. 
Plainfleld,  298.       ' 
Rahway,  2.57. 
Sayreville,  S61. 
South  Amboy,  833. 
South  Brunswick,  788. 
Spi'ingfield,  366. 
Summit,  394. 


Uu 


,383. 


Westfield,  335. 

Woodbridge,  565. 
Scotch  Plains,  415. 
Scott,  J.  W.,  505. 
Scott,  Moses,  516. 

Scudder,  Isaac  F.,  between  340,  341. 
Secret  societies  6(ee  Societies). 
Sentence  to  be  burned  alive,  450. 
Settlement  of  Cranbury,  862. 
Settlement  of  East  Brunswick,  758. 
Settlement  of  North  Brunswick,  739. 
Settlement  of  Sayreville,  852. 
Settlement  of  South  Amboy,  823. 
Settlement  of  South  Brunswick,  784. 
Situation  of  Madison,  814. 
Situation  and  boundaries  of  East  Brunswick, 

757. 
Situation    and    boundaries    of   South    Bruns- 
wick, 784. 
Skillman,  J.  T.  B.,  521. 
Skinner,  Cortlandt,  498. 
Skinner,  Stephen,  499. 
Smith,  Charles,  517. 
Smith,  Charles  M.,  520. 
Smith,  E.  F.  R.,  520. 
Smith,  Samuel  C,  375. 
Snedeker,  Thomas  S.,  79.'i. 
Societies : 

Cranbury,  870. 

East  Bruuswick,  781. 

Elizabeth,  192. 

Monroe,  808. 

New  Providence,  360. 

Perth  Amboy,  638. 

Plainfleld,  316. 

South  Amboy,  837. 

Woodbridge,  580. 
Soldiers  of  Middlesex  County  in  late  war,  639. 
Soldiers  of  the  Rebellion,  Union  County,  157. 
Soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  98. 
Soldiers  of  Middlesex  County,  639. 
South  Amboy,  822,  826. 

Building  loans,  827. 

Cemeteries,  832. 

Christ  Episcopal  Church,  834. 

Descriptive,  822. 

Doane  Memorial  Church,  835. 

First  Baptist  Church,  836. 

First  Presbytcriau  Church,  836. 

Industrial  pursuits,  831. 

Merchants  and  dealers,  828. 

Methodist  Church,  835. 

Methodists  of  South  Amboy,  836. 

Organization,  829. 

Professional  men,  829. 

Public  schools,  833. 

Rattoone  House,  824. 


South  Amboy: 

Settlement,  823. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  822. 

Societies,  837. 

South  Amboy  village,  826. 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  835. 
South  Bruuswick,  784. 

Baptist  Church,  Dayton, 792. 

Bethel  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Plains- 
boro',  792. 

Burial-places,  789. 

Civil  list,  7»7. 

Dayton,  791. 

Dean's  Station,  791. 

Description,  784. 

Educational,  788. 

Franklin  Park,  792. 

Flesh  Ponds,  792. 

Gray's  Mills,  791. 

Industrial  pursuits,  789. 

Kingston,  790. 

Mapleton,  791. 

Monmouth  Junction,  792. 

Monmouth  Junction  Church,  793. 

Old  Church,  Phiinsboro',  793. 

Organization,  787. 

Plaiusboro',  791. 

Presbyterian  Church,  Dayton,  792. 

Rhode  Hall,  792. 

Settlement,  784. 

Situation  and  boundaries,  784. 

Villages  and  hamlets,  790. 
Spader,  Peter,  670. 
Speaking  against  authority,  450. 
Spencer,  Eliliu,  209. 
Spencer,  Oliver,  77. 
Spottswood,  778. 
Spraggs,  Samuel,  223. 
Springfield  township,  362. 

Centennial  of  1876,371. 

Civil  organization,  364. 

Early  settlements,  362. 

Methodist  Church,  371. 

Natural  features,  362. 

Original  boundaries,  362. 

Presbyterian  Church,  368. 

Present  census,  366. 

Schools,  366. 

Village  of  Springfield,  366. 
Squier,  W.  C,  289. 
Stelton,  849. 
Stiles,  Bezekiah,517.' 
Stillman,  Charles  H.,  128. 
Stirling,  Gen.,  88. 
Stites,  William,  373. 
Stockton,  Richard,  Sr.,  500. 
Street,  Robert,  382. 
Strickland,  Jolni,  21. 
Strong,  Woodbridge,  510. 
Stuyvesant,  Governor,  47. 
Summary  of  papers,  Middlesex  County,  531. 
Summit  township,  387. 

Baptist  Church,  395. 

Business  houses,  393. 

Calvary  Episcopal  Church,  394. 

Catholic  Church,  394. 

Cemetery,  394. 

Census,  388. 

Civil  organization,  392. 

Early  settlement,  388. 

Geographical  situation,  387. 

Historic  incidents,  394. 

Library  .Association, 393. 

Methodist  Church,  395. 

Natural  features,  387. 

Newspapers,  394.  • 

Post-offlce,  394. 


INDEX. 


885 


Snmmit  township; 

Presbyterian  Cliurcli,  395. 

Railroads,  393. 

Schools,  394. 

Villages  and  liaralets,  393. 
Siitphen,  John  C,  130. 
Swain,  Samuel,  127. 
Synagogue,  Jewish,  New  Brunswick,  735. 

T. 

Tavern-keepers,  1742,  699. 

Tavern  rates  in  1717,  448. 

Tavern  rates  in  1748,  450. 

Taylor,  A.  F.  U.,  518. 

Taylor,  Augustus  R.,  517. 

Tax  for  prisons,  Middlesex  County,  447. 

Teedyescung,  47. 

Teller,  Henry  W.,  371. 

Theological  Seminary,  New  Brunswick,  GS7. 

Thirtieth  Regiment,  156. 

Thompson,  John  C,  527. 

Thornal,  Israel,  850. 

Title  to  lauds,  67. 

Titsworth,  I.  D.,601. 

Titsworth,  Randolph,  134. 

Topography  of  Middlesex  County,  422. 

Tornado  at  New  Brunswick,  653. 

Tower  Hill,  632. 

Townley,  Jonathan,  149. 

Townley,  Robert  W.,  facing  185. 

Townships  of  Middlesex  County,  419. 

Traditions  of  Delaware  tribes,  42. 

Transfer  of  Estates  to  East  and  West  Jersi 
442. 

Trembly's  Point,  400. 

Tribal  badges  of  Indians,  43. 

Tripartite  deed,  439. 

Tryon,  Governor,  72. 

Tucker,  Hoses,  343. 

Tucker.  W,  B.,  facing  194. 

Twenty-eighth  Regiment,  537. 


Union  County,  13. 

Afiairs  in  1669,  55. 
Answer  to  Bill  in  Chancery,  62. 
Attempt  to  capture  Livingston  and  Max- 
well's brigades,  82. 

Attempt  to  cohinize  Achter  KuU,  15 

Beginuing  of  Revolutionai  y  struggle,  62. 

Bench  and  bar  of  Middlesex  County,  108. 

Bill  in  Chancery,  61. 

Board  of  Freeholders,  119. 

Borough  of  Elizabeth,  179. 

Biidgftown  Museum  mul  Nrw  Jerseij  Adm^ 
cute,  138. 

Campaign  transferred  to  New  Jersey,  74. 

Cenlral  Neic  Jermj  Herald,  138. 

Central  New  Jersey  Times,  142. 

City  of  Plainfleld,  296. 

City  of  Rahway,  241. 

Civil  organization,  118. 

Claik,  409. 

Conquest  of  Delawares,  43. 

CuiiaUlulionaUsI,  142. 

County  buildings,  118. 

Cranford,  402. 

Vail)  md  Weekli/  BulUVn,  142. 

Uelawares,  41. 

Delawares,  traditiors  of,  42. 

Depreciated  currency  and  hard  times,  S3 

Discovery  and  o9.;upation  of  New  Netlioi 
land,  13. 

Disposal  of  T)(f  wares,  47. 
57 


Jnion  County: 

Early  courts  and  lawyers,  100. 

Early  physicians,  121. 

Early  status  of  medicine,  120. 

Effect  of  battle  of  Lexington,  65. 

Eleventh  Regiment,  149. 

Elisabeth  Freie  Presse,  138. 

Elizabeth  JVfi«  Zeitumj,  138. 

Fanwood,  411. 

First   English  settlement,  Elizabetlilowr 

17. 
First  litigation  of  land  controverey,  59. 
First  New  Jersey  Legislature,  53. 
Fourteenth  Regiment,  151. 
Government  of  Philip  Carteret,  51. 
Indian  hostilities,  45. 
Indian  occupation,  40, 
Knyphansen's  invasion,  87. 
Linden, 396. 
Li.*t  of  members,  109. 
List  of  soldiers,  157. 

Medical  profession  of  Union  County,  1-0. 
Medical  societies,  128. 
S'ational  Democrat,  140. 
Ne,w  Jersey  Journal,  135. 
New  Providence,  344. 
Ninth  Regiment,  145. 
Occupation  of  Elizabethtowo  by  Britisli.f 
Original  petitioners  and  associates,  21. 
Physical  and  descriptive  features,  48. 
Plainfield  Gazette,  142. 
Population,  43. 
Press  of  the  comity,  135. 
Raids  from  Staten  Island,  77. 
Removal  of  Tories  and  Refugees,  84 
Rosters  of  soldiers  Union  County  in  lte\ 

lution,  98. 
Severe  winter  of  1780. 
Springfleld,  362. 
Summit,  387. 
Tatem's,  43. 

Thirteenth  Regiment,  156. 
Title  to  lands,  57. 
Township  of  Elizabethtown,  173. 
Union,  376. 

Union  County  in  the  Rebellion,  14;i. 
War  of  Revolution,  70. 
Westfield,  328. 
Union  township,  376. 
Burial  ground,  384. 
Census,  379. 
Civil  list,  379. 
Connecticut  Farms,  381. 
Early  settlement,  376. 
Evergreen  Cemetery,  384. 
Lyons  Farms,  380. 
MagiPtown,  381. 

Methodist  Church,  West  Roselle,  383. 
Pliysical  features,  376. 
Presbyterian  Church,  3sn, 
Roselle,  381. 

St.  Luke's  Episcopal  Mission,  383. 
Schools,  383. 
Wade's  Farms,  381. 
Union  Valley,  805. 
Uruiston,  John,  facing  252. 


Vauderventer,  J.  R.,  311. 
VanDeusen,  William,  531. 
Van  Dyck,  Hendrick.  47. 
Van  Uarlingeii,  Dr.,  519. 
Van  Rensselaer,  K.,  14. 


,  Mil 


,  095. 


Vaughan,  Edward,  219. 
Voorhees,  Abraham,  671. 
Voorhees.  Charles  H.,  .525. 

War  of  the  Revolution,  70. 
Washington,  776. 
Washington  Canal,  8G2. 
Washington,  George,  66,  70,  76,77. 
Watson,  Luke,  22,  53. 
Westfield  township,  326. 

African  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  339. 
Baptist  Church,  339. 
Branch  Mills,  334. 
Catholic  Church,  339. 
Cemeteries,  .339. 
Census  reports,  335. 
I  Civil  list,  327. 

j  Congregational  Church,  339. 

Early  settlements,  328. 
Grace  Episcopal  Church, '339. 
Methodist  Church,  33S. 
Morgan's  Hill,  334. 
Natural  features,  326. 
Old  Westfleld  Church,  336. 
Organization,  326. 
Original  boundaries,  326. 
Post-offices,  333. 
Purchase  of  powder,  332. 
Schools,  334. 
Taverns,  334. 
[  Village  of  Westfield,  332. 

'  Westfield  Monitor,  339. 

'    Whipping-post,  4.50. 
Williamson,  Benjamin,  114. 
Williamson,  Gen  ,  74. 
Williamson,  Isaac  H.,  112. 
Williamson,  M.  II.,  127. 
';    Wilson,  Allen,  128. 
Winans,  Dr.,  127. 
Winans,  E.  P  ,  401. 
'   Winans,  Job,  400. 

Winans,  Jonathan,  Jr.,  facing  381. 
'    Withiiigton,  I.  C,  794. 
Wood,  George.  5114. 
Woodbridge  Academy,  567. 
Woodbridge,  552. 

Buildins  a  bridge,  562. 
Cemeteries.  57G. 
Census  reports.  554. 
!  Civil  history,  560. 

Civil  list,  503. 

Congregalional  Church,  574. 
Copper-mines,  .579. 
Early  settlements,  554. 
Friends,  574. 
General  description,  552. 
Interesting  facts,  580. 
Metliodist  Church,  574. 
Natural  features,  5.53. 
Paquet  Creek,  580. 
Poor  rates,  579. 
Post-oflicen,  680. 
Presbyterian  Chnrch,  568. 
Printing-press  in  Woodbridge,  .578. 
Railroads.  681. 
Schools,  566. 
Societies,  680. 
St.  James'  (Roman),  574. 
Towns  and  hamlets,  577. 
Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  .572. 
Woodbridge  Academy,  667. 
Woodruff,  Jonathan,  291. 
Woodruff,  Noah,  386. 


36  9