dtiM F HZ Ml CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES ITHACA. N. Y. 14583 JOHN M. OUM UBRARV \^0 li>iy 7*7 ! F 142.M7E47'''""''''"""-"'"'^ "'^.{"[VO' Monmouth County, New Jersey. 3 1924 008 592 630 ® DATE DUE r?-*^ ./c icmo - hii||HifflSr.uf{'&t^ .^4 pWPW*"*^ CAYLORD ffliNTEO IN U.S.A. Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924008592630 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY. NEW JERSEY. ILLUSTRATED. BY ZFie/J^lsTKIXjIIsr ELLIS. PHILADELPHIA: R. T. PECK & CO. 1885. v^fr. r,l/ \'"^' V,. ^. fir ■/<, ^' .0 ""f'f.f/i Copyright, ISH.'., B. T. Peck & Co. Printed hit thv ,\\^^ ./as. B. Rodgers Printing Co Plnlahlplnn ^^ p ■0\ ^' s PREFACE, The History op Monmouth County, here presented to its patrons for their approval, is the result of long and patient labor and research, which have been bestowed upon it with the view of producing an authentic and connected narrative of events of general importance or interest, which have occurred in the territory now comprised in the county of Monmouth, or in which its residents have been actors; confining the account as closely as practicable to the limits of the county, and to its former and present inhabitants, and referring to outside matters only so far as is necessary to show the connection of events. To the general matter pertaining to the county, is added a history of each of its townships, embracing accounts of churches, schools, societies, and other local organizations, and also special matters intended chiefly for reference. Other portions of the work are necessarily arranged according to the subjects of which they treat. A prominent feature of the work is the mention of early settlers, and of the families descended from them. In this connection it is proper to remark that the family names of many of the pioneers and later residents of Monmouth county have been found spelled differently, (and sometimes in as many as three or four different ways), in the county, township and church records; and for that reason it has often been found impossible to decide with any degree of certainty, on the correct orthography, — if, indeed, there is any choice as to correctness, where, as is not infrequently the case in this county, different members of the same family, spell their surname variously, each in his own way. Under such circumstances, it should not be thought strange if the writer, being wholly at a loss to know which manner of spelling to adopt, has sometimes chosen one which may be regarded as incorrect by some who bear the name. Beyond this explanation, no apology will be made, for none is thought to be necessary. It is of course impossible to produce a history which shall be absolutely perfect and complete, but every effort has been used to make this as nearly so as possible, and it is now presented, with full confidence that the verdict of its patrons will be one of approval. To those who have courteously given their aid in the collection of the materials for the work, the historian desires to express his thanks; and among these he would mention in general, the pastors of the churches, the editora of the county newspapei-s, and the members of the legal and medical professions. He is also under special obligations for valuable information and other iv PKEFACE. courtesies extended by a great number of citizens of the county, among -whom were William Lloyd, Judge William P. Forman, Eev. G. C. Sclienck, Ex-Governor Joel Parker, Hon. George C. Beekman, Major James S. Yard, James Steen, Asbury Fouutaiii, Charles R. Hutchinson, Dr. Edward Taylor, Charles G. Allen, Asher Parker, Re-v. Samuel Lockwood, Rev.'^VilHam Reiley, Rev. E. Mead, Rev. Frank Chandler, Mrs. Achsah Hendrickson, Mrs. Theresa W. Seabrook, Dr. Robert Laird, D. C. Perrine, Judge Joseph Barclay, Gilbert Combs, Esq., William H. Vredenburgh, Esq., Edward Hartshorne, Gen. Charles Haight, William R. Maps, Peter Parker, Rufus Ogden, Judge William H. Slocum, Judge Charles A. Bennett, Capt. Joseph Hoif, Theodore Morris, Esq., Jacob C. Lawrence, Esq., D. D. Denise, Charles T. Fleming, Esq., Dr. D. McLean Forman, Jacob O. Burtt, David H. Crater, Pitman Curtis, John L. Conover, Robert Pierce, Osborn Curtis, John C. Vanderbeck. F. E. Philadelphia, April ^st, 1885. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Location, Boundaries and Natui-al Features of Monmouth County . 1 CHAPTER II. Archawlogcy and Paleontology . . , .' ... . 7 CHAPTER III. 1. The Dutch, English and Proprietary Rule in New Jersey .... 16 CHAPTER IV. The Indian Occupation. .... . . 41 CHAPTER V Early Settlements and Land Titles . 57 CHAPTER YI. Early Settlements and Land Titles — {CnnUnited) . . 71 CHAPTER YII, The Provincial Revolt . . 85 CHAPTER VIII. Organization and Subdivision of the County — Monmouth Civil List CHAPTER IX. Monmouth Connty in the Revolution ... CHAPTER X. Monmouth County in the Revolution — (Conlhwed) . CHAPTER XI. Monmouth County in the Revolution — (Contmued) . CHAPTER XII. War of ISlZ-l.l, Mexican War, Civil War of 1861-05 . 239 CHAPTER XIII. The Bench and Bar of Monmouth County 271 CHAPTER XrV. The Medical Society, Bible Society and Agricultural Society of Mon- mouth County 319 CHAPTER XV. Internal Improvementa— Population . 369 CHAPTER XVI. The Town and Township of Freehold . . . CHAPTER XVII. Middletown Township CHAPTER XVIII. Shrewsbury Township and the To\vn of Red Bank . CHAPTER XIX. Upper Freehold Township .... CHAPTER XX. Howell Township . . .... CHAPTER XXI. Millstone Township ... CHAPTER XXIL Atlantic Township . . . . .... CHAPTER XXIII. Manalapan Township CHAPTER XXIV. Raritan Township and tlie Town of Keyport . CHAPTER XXV. Marlborough Township . CHAPTER XXVI. Ocean Township and Long Branch . ... Wall Township Holmdel Township . Matawan Township . . Neptune Township . Eatontown Township . CHAPTER XXVII. CHAPTER XXVIII. CHAPTER XXIX. CHAPTER XXX. CHAPTER XXXI. 38^ 518 i" f ■57! I 646 . ■te5 727' 763^ 795' 829 ( ' I* 876- BIOGRAPHIES PAGE. Ackereon, H, E g28 Allen, Charles G qqY Allen, Charles qq^ Allen, Edmund W 334 Antouides, Charles ggg Applegate, Asher T 350 Applegate, John S 300 Arrowsmith, George 261 AiTowsmith, Joseph E 339 Baird, David G61 Baldwin, James H 335 Barclay, De Witt W 337 Bawden, John 472 Bedle, Joseph D 292 Beekman, George C 299 Bennett, Charles A 296 Bennett, Heni-y 502 Blauvelt, C. C 332 Bray,Sidney 849 Brown, T. S. K 720 Brown, William 828 Biichanon, N. E 873 Caffcrty, Abel 642 easier, John P 901 Chadwick, Francis 007 Chandler, Frank 436 Conover, Arthur V 329 Conover, Azariah 552 Conover, Charles A 352 Conover, Garret B 693 Conover, John R 336 Conover, Lafayette 749 Conover, Robert B 330 Conover, Stacy P ''*9 Conover, William E 512 Conover, William V 558 Cook, A. B 872 Cooke, Henry G ^^ Cooke, Robert W 327 Cooper, T. W ^^^ Corlies, Henry ^^ Crawford, W.S *^' Curtis, Osborn "^^ Dayton, Alfred B ^^ Dayton, William L ^^^ Debow, William L 334 Denise, David D 308 Denise, John S 5<"* Denise, WiUiamT 513 Disbrow, Stephen M 339 Da Bois Family The 695 DuBois, Benjamin 697 DuBois, Henry 697 Du Bois, Livingston 698 Edwards, Aaron ' 782 Ky Ellis, Daniel H 396 Ely, Horatio 611 English, David C 326 English, James 326 English, Jeremiah S ...., 326 Field, Joseph 650 IJ'oi'man, David 324 Forman, David 210 Forman, David, Sr * "325 Forman, Samuel 323 Forman, William 329 Forman, William P 660 Freeman, Otis R 351 Grant, William H 659 Green, W. S 786 Griscom, Samuel W 897 Griggs, Benjamin 670 Ilaight, Thomas G 671 Hall, James D 643 Hall, John 502 Hance, George 610 Hartshorne, A. C 311 Hartshorne, R. S., Jr 313 Hendrickson, Charles J 551 Hendrickson, George C 660 Hendrickson, S. W 793 Hendrickson, William B 567 Hendrickson, W. H 840 Herbert, John W 747 Herbert, 0. '52 Higgins, A. A 342 Hildreth, D. M 794 Holmes, C. S 826 Holmes, Daniel W 724 Holmes, Daniel 821 Holmes, James 345 Holmes, Joseph H 824 Holmes, Joseph 641 Hooper, Edward 572 Hubbard, Jaeobus, Jr 323 Hubbard, William H 336 Hull, John 233 HulBt, Peter D '26 Hunt, Sylvester H 347 Kearney, James P ^27 Kinmonth, HughS 340 Laiid, Joseph T 468 vii VIU BIOGEAPHIES. Lawrence, Jiiniea S Leonard, JamrsII Leonarcl, Richaril A ... Leo^i-d, gliomas LeVvis, Jolin P Lockwood, Samnel Llcvd, Gfiindin , Long;^»^ac S Lonffstreet, Aaron Longstreet, Jonathan.. L6ng.street, John S ... Mips, William R JMCcClane, Sidney McLean, A. C: Mead, Eliixa Meire, Colleu B Metzgar, A. T Mj Baird, David g^;^ Bawden, John 4^2 Bedle, Joseph D 2'.»2 Beekmau, George C 3(iq Bennett, Charles A 21i7 Bennett, Henry 5^2 Bray, Sidney 850 Brown, T. S. R 720 Brown, William 821* Buchanon, N. E 874 Cafferty, Abel 643 Caaler, John P 90(j Chadwick, Francis , coG Chandler, Frank 436 Christ Church, Shrewbbury 5S3 Conover, A^th^lrV 330 Conover, Azariah 553 Conover, Garret B ;,.. C04 Conover, Lafaj-ette 749 Conover, Robert R 336 Conover, Stacy P , 74D Conover, William E 513 Conover, William V 559 Cook, A. R 873 Cooke, Heiiry G 342 Cooke, Robert W 328 Cooper, T. W 782 Corlies, Henry 899 Crawford, W. S 827 Curtis, Osburn 812 Denise, David D 3G9 DeniHC, John S 500 Denise, William T 511 Disbrow, Stephen M 34i) Dn Bois, Benjamin 097 Du Boi8, Henry 095 Dn Bois, Livingstun 696 Edwards, Aaron 783 Ellis, Daniel H 397 Ely, Horatio 511 Field, Joseph 551 PAGE 323 661 351 560 787 570 Funiuui, Siimuel Foriiian, M'illiam P Fi'eeniaii, Otis R Grant, William H Gre(.'U, W. S Griggs, Benj Griscom, Samuel W : ^97 Hiill, Jamcj D ,644 Ilunco, Gfiorge 610 Ilartshorne, A. C ;. ."...<.'' 312 Hi.MnlrickBou, Charles J , 552 Hendrickson, George C 560 Hendrickson, S. AV ; 793 IlendriclvBOU, W. H 84q Hendrickson, Williani B 568 Hcibfrt, John W ^43 Hildrctb, D. M 794 Holmes, C. S _ 825 Holmes, Daniel §22 Holmes, Daniel W 724 Holmes, Josepli 642 Holmes, Joseph H 825 Hooper, Edward 572 Hubbard, "William H 335 Hull, John 284 Hulst, Peter D 726 Huut, Sylvester H 347 Kinmonth, Hugh S 346 Laird, Joseph T 468 Lawrence, James S -. 465 Lcuiiiird, Jatnes H 571 Leonard, llicbanl A 557 Leonard, Thomas 565 Lockwoud, Haniuel 445 Long, laaao S ; 344 Lougstreet, Aarmi 849 LoDgstrcet, Jonathan 298 Longstreet, Jolin S 824 Map of Monmouth County 1 M;ips, William R 769 McClaiie, Sidney r. 561 Mead, Elias 722 Mcire, Collen B 640 Metzgar, A. T 901 Monmouth Battle Mouumeut 489 Monmouth County Court- House 408 Moiford, Charles 555 ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Morford, George 569 Murphy, Holmes W 309 Neafie, John 462 Nevius, Henry M 314 Parker, Charles 106 Parker, Henry W 510 Parker, Joel 288 Patterson, James H 349 Paul, Mifflin 776 Perkins, Henry 641 Perrine, David C 498 Perrine, JohnR 693 Eipley, J. S 875 Roberts, Thomas 566 Bue, Jacob B 467 Eyall, Daniel B 281 Ryall, Philip J 306 Schanck, Daniel S 499 Schenk, Daniel P S2G Schenck, G. 675 Schenck, Tunis V '. 515 Seabrook, H. H 721 Slocum, John 781 Slocum, W. H :. 895 Smith, James M 663 Smith, William M 563 Smock, I. G 676 Spader, William 851 Sproul, Jno. S 725 Statesir, William 466 Stillwell, 0. 1 823 Taylor, James J 677 Taylor Michael ;. 708 PAGE. Tennent Church 685 Tennent Parsonage 686 Thomason, Thomas J 338 Thompson, Joseph 1 564 Thompson, Joseph C 331 Thompson, Sidney 518 Thome, T. W 848 Throckmorton, Edmund 608 Throckmorton Joseph A 609 Throckmorton, Tylee W 609 Truax, Anthony 7S5 Valentine, C. H 791 YanDerveer, G. D 784 Van Derveer, D. 1 747 Van Dorn, D. P 752 Van Mater, Joseph 1 826 Vredenburgh, Peter 286 Vredenburgh, Peter, Jr 252 Ward, William V 50I Walling, Alfred, Jr 305 Walling, George W 709 West, Edmond S93 White, Isaac P 606 Wikoff, Henry 515 Williams, Edmund T gio Williams, T. T 896 Willis, John V. N 750 Wilson, William V 554 Woolley, Eden 771 Woolley, Edwin 792 Woolley, T. B 750 Yard, James S 456 Yard, Joseph A 245 V i^^ . ^4 R I tT' '^nsl Pf % ^ ^ / \/ JoSSswIie svfflt IT ft; -C U ^ * »v .vS' *• >| ii Sfn ^ \8rSta 'f%est . L ' //>- ^* Jerseyvill^ ffi ** 'piiiniiwhs/ttfir'o. ■V, Sl,i BiupfclalB ^* janki Sla Kopev'ille i? Sauankii ATlairP.O X JSI Bethel ,T^ni^ lV Sontliartl r.O I "'^'Tik / l/irr/y/iUi, ,.<; *T- ' LI I tr A^ :r HISTOET MOl^MOUTH COUNTY, NE¥ JERSEY. CHAPTEE I. LOCATION, BOinSTDAEIES AND NATURAL FEA- TURES OP MONMOUTH COUNTY. Monmouth is the most northern of the sea- coast counties of New Jersey, its eastern border being the shore of the Atlantic Ocean, and its northern boundary being formed by Sandy Hook Bay and Raritan Bay. From the north- west corner of the county, on Raritan Bay, the boundary of Monmouth runs in a direction nearly southwest, adjoining the counties of Middlesex and Mercer. On the south, Mon- mouth is bounded by Ocean County, which was erected from the southern part of the original territory of Monmouth in 1850. The surface of the county exhibits almost every variety of contour, from hilly (as in the northeastern, northern and western parts) to nearly level (as in the southeastern part, ex- tending far back from the ocean shore). The boldest elevations are the Navesink Highlands, on which stand the Navesink light- houses. These are the first lands seen by mariners coming from the ocean into the harbor of New York, and are between three and four hundred feet in height above sea-level. From these High- lands, a series of hills (some of which are nearly as lofty as those of Navesink) extend across to the west side of the county, and along that side to its southwestern extremity, where (for the reason that the elevations are less ab- rupt, though about as high as in the northeast- ern part) the country may more properly be de- scribed as one of high rolling uplands. Exi end- ing southwardly from the northwest part of the county is a range of hills and high lands, ter- minating at Hominy Hill, which is a little south and east of the centre of the county. Here the elevations disappear, marking the beginning of the "Pines" region, which is a vast area of barren land, nearly level, and ex- tending in one direction nearly to the sea- shore, and southwardly across the boundary, into Ocean County. At various points in the elevated parts of the county are isolated and distinctly defined hills rising prominently above the high lands sur- rounding them. The heights of a number of these — as also of several other points in the county — above mean tide, are here given, viz. : Telegraph Hill (Holmdel township), 336 feet; Beacon Hill (Marlboro' township), 372 feet; Sugar Loaf Hill (Atlantic township), 199 feet; Crawford's Hill (east of Holmdel and Keyport road), 892 feet; North Hill at Monmouth battle-ground, 159 feet; South Hill at battle- ground, 152 feet; Disbrow's Hill (Millstone township, near Middlesex County line), 281 feet ; Pine Hill (Millstone township), 295 feet ; Garrett's, or Pigeon Hill, 208 feet ; Red Hill, 205 feet ; Perrine's Hill, 165 feet ; Brisbane's Hill (Atlantic townsTiip), 141 feet; North Hill (Red Bank,) 178 feet; South Hill (RedBank), 168 feet; Main Street of Freehold, at court- HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. house, 173 feet; street at Holmdel, 100 feet; street at Middletown, 127 feet; Colt's Neck, 92 feet; Tinton Falls (road), 73 feet; Marl- boro' village (street), 170 feet; Englishtown, 70 feet ; Matawan (street), 70 feet ; Keyport (street), 30 feet ; Tennent Church, 127 feet. The two principal streams of Monmouth are the Navesink (often called the North Shrews- bury) River and the South Shrewsbury River, both of which are in the northeastern part, of the county and flow in that general direction to within a short distance of the ocean ; then, turning northward in a course parallel to the beach, their united waters flow in a single stream, past the foot of the Navesink High- lands, into the Bay of Sandy Hook. The headwaters of the Navesink, or North Shrewsbury, River take their rise in the cen- tral and northwestern parts of the county. Hop Brook trom the northwest, and Big Brook, Yellow Brook and Hockhockson Brook from the west and southwest, with a number of smaller brooks and creeks from the same directions, unite their waters to form Swim- ming River, which is the principal tributary of the Navesink, or, more properly, is the upper and narrower part of the main, stream. Be- low the mouth of Swimming River the Nave- sink becomes a broad and lake-like sheet of navigable water, with attractive shores stretch- ing away to the northeast, where the lofty High- lands stand like sentinels guarding its outlet. The South Shrewsbury River is, in its gen- eral appearance and features, similar to the Navesink, though a much shorter stream. The tides of the bay ebb and flow in this, as in the Navesink ; and the South Shrewsbury, like the other stream, is so much broadened as to ap- pear more like a lagoon than a river, except in its lower part, just above its junction with the Navesink. It has a number of short pond- like tributaries, or arms, among which are Lit- tle Silver, Town Neck, and Parker's Creeks on the northern side, and Blackberry Creek, Long Bi-anch Brook and Pleasure Bay on the south. There are a number of marsh-islands in .the river, and a large proportion of its shores (more particularly the southern) are of marsh-land. The length of the river to its junction with the Navesink is about six miles, and its average width about one and a half miles. Shark River enters the ocean about five and one-half miles north of the southern boundary of the county. It is formed chiefly by the ocean tides and contains but a small proportion of fresh water. The head-stream of Shark River, coming down from the northwest to a point about three miles from the ocean, widens out into what is called Shark River Pond, which is more than a mile in width at the broadest part, but at its lower end abruptly contracts into the narrow outlet through which the tide-waters pass to and from the sea. The Manasquan River enters the ocean at the southeast corner of Monmouth County, and for several miles above its mouth forms the boundary between this and Ocean County. Its head-streams take their rise in the western part of the county, south and southwest of the county seat. The principal one of these is Squan Brook (it being, in fact, the main stream), which flows in a general southeasterly direction to the county line, and thence along the bound- ary (as mentioned) to the sea. The lower part of this stream widens out, like Shark River, into a lagoon or pond, which, at a short distance from the sea, narrows into a channel called Manasquan Inlet, which is the mouth of the river. The north branch of Metedeconk River flows about sixteen miles through the extreme south- ern part of Monmouth, then passes south into Ocean County and joins the main river, which afterwards enters the north end of Barnegat Bay. Through the southwest corner of the county a number of small streams flow westwardly into the Delaware or its tributaries. The principal of these are Crosswieks Creek, which enters the Delaware at Bordentown ; Doctor's Creek, which is a tributary of Crosswieks; and two forks of Assanpink Creek, which joins the Del- aware at Trenton. To the north and east of these streams several others flow northwest across the Monmouth County border into Mer- cer and Middlesex, where their waters find their way into the Millstone River, and through it to the Raritan. These small streams are Rocky LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND NATURAL FEATURES. Brook, Millstone Creek and some others of less size. Beyond these, to the northeast, are the Manlapan and Matchaponix Creeks and Deep Run, all of which flow northwest from Mon- mouth into Middlesex County, where they enter the South River. In the extreme north- west part of Monmouth is Matawan Creek, which flows northeastwardly into Raritan Bay. From this point eastward to the Nave- sink Highlands are Lupatcong, Chingaroras, Thorn's and Wakake Creeks, all running northward into Raritan Bay ; and Pew's and Compton's Creeks and many other small streams, all flowing in nearly the same direction into Shoal Harbor and Sandy Hook Bay. The streams of this region (southeastern New Jersey), says Professor George H. Cook, "unlike those of the northern part of the State, have no apparent connection with the geological struc- ture of the country. They are simply channels worn in the surface of the ground, following the Unes of most rapid descent to tide-water." "With the exception of a small area in its southeastern corner, the county of Monmouth is all of what is known to geologists as the Cretaceous Formation, which includes the plas- tic clays and the several veins or beds of marl. The name Cretaceous, says Professor Cook/ was given to this formation in England, on account of the white chalk which is there a conspicuous member of it. The name is retained among geologists even when the chalk is wanting, as is the case in this country. The mineral sub- stance, green sand, is found in rock of many ages, but nowhere else so abundantly as in the Cretaceous rocks of Europe and of the United States. The organic remains of the formation are very abundant, and furnish satisfactory evidence upon the question of geological age. In the lowest part of the plastic clays, at Fisher's bricl?:- yard, near Woods' Landing, on the Raritan, there is a bed of sand and sandy clay, which is full of impressions of leaves, twigs, cones, etc., 1 Nearly all the facts in this chapter relating to the geology of Monmouth County are taken from the 1868 Ke- port of Professor George .A. Cook, State geologist, and here given chiefly in his own words. beautifully preserved. Among these are leaves resembling those of the willow, sweet gum, mag- nolia, poplar and many other broad-leaved plants, which are considered by geologists as indicating a period not earlier than the Creta- ceous. The bones of enormous crocodiles and other saurians are found in immense numbers in the clay marls and in the beds of green sand ; they are usually found scattered, a single one in a place, but sometimes almost a whole skele- ton is found together. They have been col- lected in many places. The Academy of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia has probably the best collection of them. There are many in the Museum of Rutgers College, and public and private collections in all parts of the country contain specimens. These saurians have not been found in any age in such numbers since the Cretaceous. The Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey is found immediately southeast of the Red Sandstone, and included in a belt or strip of country extending obliquely across the State from Raritan and Sandy Hook Bays, on the northeast, to the head of the Delaware Bay, near Salem, on the southwest. The northwestern boundary of this belt, be- ginning at Woodbridge Neck, on the shore of Staten Island Sound, passes just north of the villages of Woodbridge 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 between 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 exception of some limited patches of marsh or alluvium along the river. The southeastern boundary of the formation is much more difficult to define. There is no rock ; the surface is uniform and the soil and subsoil are everywhere more or less sandy. HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTF, NEW JERSEY. While the line drawn cannot be far from the true location, its exact place has frequently been a matter of doubt. The following, however, is the judgment formed by the State geologist after an examination of the ground : The line of the southeastern boundary runs a mile south of Salem City, and within a half- mile south of Woodstown, near Eldridge's Hill and Harrisonville ; two and a half miles south- east of Mullica Hill ; two miles southeast of Barnesborough ; half a mile southeast of Hurif- ville ; half a mile southeast of Blackwoodtown, through Clementon; near Gibbsborough, Mill- ford, Chairville, Buddstown j two miles south- east of Pemberton; two miles southeast of New Egypt ; thence to the Manasquan a mile above Lower Squankum, in Monmouth County, to Shark River, just above the village, and to Corlies' Pond and the sea-shore at Deal. The eastern boundary is along the shore of the Atlantic, of Raritan Bay and Staten Island Sound to Woodbridge Neck. The extreme length of the formation, from the Highlands of Navesink to the Delaware, above Salem, is ninety-nine and five-eighths miles. Its breadth at the northeast end, from Woodbridge to Deal, is twenty-seven miles, and at the southwest end, from the mouth of Oldman's Creek to Woods- town, it is ten and three-quarters miles. The area included in this formation is not far from one thousand five hundred square miles ; and it will be seen by the preceding description of its boundaries that the Cretaceous Formation embraces the whole county of Monmouth, except a comparatively small area in its south- eastern corner, which is on the Tertiary; extending along the sea-shore from Deal to Manasquan, and back from the ocean to a line passing from New Egypt to • the vicinity of Lower Squankum and Shark River. The Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey consists of a series of beds or strata, lying con- formably upon each other, and all having a gentle descent or dip towards the southeast. The strata differ from each other in mineral composition, but they are all earthy in form, except at a few detached points where the mineral of the strata has been cemented, by oxide of iron, into a kind of sandstone or con- glomerate. They appear to have lain undisturbed ever since their deposition from the ocean, having no folds or curves in them, but lying smooth and parallel, like the leaves of a book. As the dip of the strata is towards the southeast, their edges show themselves upon the surface in northeast and southwest lines. If the surface were uniform these lines would be straight, but owing to inequalities of the surface, they pre- sent irregularities of greater or less extent, curving to the northwest on high ground and to the southeast on low or descending ground. The lowest strata have their outcrop farthest to the northwest. The Plastic Clays, M'hich form the lower strata of the Cretaceous Formation, have their outcrop chiefly to the northwest of the limits of Monmouth County, extending from Raritan Bay and River southwestwardly through Middlesex, and beyond to the Delaware. With these are included the fire and alum clays of Woodbridge, Perth Amboy, South Amboy, Woods' Landing, Washington and Trenton, and the potters' clays of South Amboy, Cheesequakes, Bridgeboro', Billingsport, Bridgeport and other places. There are also beds of light-colored sand, and in many places fossil trees and beds of lignite are found. This part of the fonnation occupies the north- western border of the district of the Cretaceous Formation in New Jersey. The Clay Marls, the outcrop of which is found along the northwestern side of Monmouth County, lie immediately southeast of the Plastic Clays, and are separated from them by a line which is not very easily recognized. It can be traced on the map in an almost straight line from just north of Cheesequakes Creek, on Raritan Bay, to Bordentow;n, on the Delaware. The material of which the Clay Marls is com- posed is chiefly dark-colored clay, with green- sand grains sparingly intermixed. The Lower Marl Bed, which is found out- cropping along the entire length of Monmouth County from northeast to southwest, is a stra- tum of green sand marl, which is very exten- sively and profitably used in agriculture. It lies along the southeast border of the Clay Marls, and can be well seen in Middletown, Marlboro' Holmdel, Freehold township, Cream Ridge, Ar- LOCATION, BOUNDARIES AND NATURAL FEATURES. neystown, near Mount Holly, near Haddonfield, Carpenter's Landing, Batten's Mill, Marshall- ville and other points, and is now largely developed at many places in the county of Mon- mouth. The "strike" of the strata of the Lower Marl Bed was determined by the State geologist by taking two points in that bed, at tide-level, on opposite sides of the State, and drawing a straight line between them. This he marks on his geological map as the " Eegister Line." It touches the Lower Marl Bed at tide-water ; the Sandy Hook isthmus at its narrowest part, north- east of the Highlands ; again on the north bank of the river, opposite the town of Eed Bank ; and at Hop Brook, near Sugar Loaf Hill. From the latter point it passes southwest, directly through the village of Freehold, through West Freehold and the township of Upper Freehold, to and across the Delaware Eiver, striking the Lower Marl Bed at Mount Holly, Clement's Bi-idge, Carpenter's Landing, and above Scull- town at Marshallville, Salem County, and St. George's, Delaware. The distance from St. George's to the northeastern point at Sandy Hook Bay is one hundred and six miles, with a true bearing of north 55° east. The finding of the Lower Marl Bed at intermediate points on the same level and on the same line proves that there is no important change of direction in the strike for the whole distance. The inclination, descent, or, as it is technically termed, the " dip," is at right angles to the " strike." The amount of the dip of the Lower Bed is only about thirty feet in a mile, and trials at diiferent points have shown it to be nearly uniform. The Perrine marl-pits, north of Freehold, are one hundred feet above tide, and three miles north of the Register Line, which shows thirty -three feet per mile descent. This marl-bed is • considerably too high at Cream Ridge and at Arneystown for the usual dip, showing that there is at those places either an elevation of the bed or a curve to the south- east. Farther on towards the southwest the bed is too little exposed to furnish accurate data from which to calculate its dip, but enough has been ascertained to show that it continues nearly the same. The material lying over and to the south- east of the Lower Marl Bed is composed mainly of a reddish sand, having more or less clay inter- mixed at both its upper and lower parts. Its (iharacteristic appearance is well seen at the Navesink Highlands, at the Red Bank hills, and at various other points in Monmouth County. The Middle Marl Bed is found on a belt of varying width, extending southwestwardly across the county from Long Branch and the south' shore of Shrewsbury River to the south- ernmost corner of Upper Freehold township. The northwestern edge of this belt is a little southward of Old Shrewsbury, Scobeyville, Colt's Neck and Freehold, and it includes Long Branch, Horse Neck, Eatontown, Tinton Falls, Blue Ball, Clarksburg and Hornerstown, also New Egypt, in Ocean County. " The old road from Keyport to Holmdel, at its summit on Big Hill, just touches the bottom of the second marl bed at the height of three hundred and two feet ; eight and a quarter miles south- east of this the marl is at tide-level. This gives a descent of nearly thirty-seven feet per mile. Newell's marl, on the east side of the road from Freehold to Blue Ball, is, at top, one hundred and twenty-three feet above tide. Shepherd's marl, south of Blue Ball, is eighty- four feet above tide ; the distance between them, measured in a southeast direction, is about one and one-eighth miles, giving a descent of a lit- tle over thirty-four feet per mile," ^ The Upper Marl Bed, which consists of green sand disposed in layers parallel to those of the Middle Marl Bed, and separated from the latter by a stratum of yellow sand, makes its ap- pearance in a belt of quite regular width, cross- ing the southeastern part of Monmouth County in a southwesterly direction from the ocean shore at and in the vicinity of Deal, by Shark River village, Farmingdale and West Farms, to Ben- nett's Mills, Cassville and the vicinity of New Egypt, in Ocean County. This is the last (up- per) of the Cretaceous strata, and is covered and joined on the southeast by the Tertiary Forma- tion, as before mentioned. I Geological Report of 1868. HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. In climate, Monmouth differs very little from the other sea-coast counties of New Jersey, having a mean temperature only slightly lower than that of the section extending southward from Little Egg Harbor to Cape May. A set- tler in Monmouth County (Richard Hartshorne), writing in the year 1683, said with reference to the climate here : " As for the temperature of the air, it is wonderfully suited to the humours of mankind ; the wind and weather rarely hold- ing in one point, or one kind, for ten days to- gether. It is a rare thing for a vessel to be wind-bound for a week together, the wind sel- dom holding in one point more than forty-eight hours ; and in a short time we have wet and dry, warm and cold weather, which changes we often desire in England, and look for before they come." The climate of places near the sea is always much less variable than that of inland points, though between them there may be but very slight difference in degrees of mean tempera- ture. In the former also the mild weather commences earlier in the spring and continues later in the autumn. To this rule the cli- mate of Monmouth County affords no excep- tion. In the hot season of the year the cool breezes and invigorating influence of the ocean induce many thousands of people from all parts of the country (especially from New York and Phila- delphia) to make their summer residence at the various and widely-famed resorts on the Mon- mouth shore ; and it is not alone in summer- time that its climatic advantages are made ap- parent. Through the fall and until the close of the month of December the air is generally dry and bracing; in January and February light snows fall frequently, but are quickly melted by the sea air. March usually brings with it sharp northwesterly gales and unpleas- ant weather, which, however, is of but short con- tinuance, being soon banished by the early open- ing of spring. The softening influence of the sea and the health-giving atmosphere which pervades the pine districts, lying a short distance inland, have brought this region into notice as a desira- ble place of residence in winter as well as in summer ; and extensive establishments for the accommodation of invalids and others through all the year have recently been opened at Long Branch, on the sea-shore, and also at Lakewood, in the pine region adjoining the southern boundary of Monmouth County. Following is a table of temperature and rain- fall at Freehold, made from careful and accu- rate observations taken at that place, from July 1, 1879, to July 1, 1880 : Table of Temperature and Bain-fall at Freehold, Monmouth County, from July 1st, 1879, to July 1st, 1880. Minimum Temp. Maximum Tbmp. O tn inches of fall, or ,d snow. inches of -fall for years. Mean relative humidity. Percentage. bo er and ling on ays. Date. Deg. Date. Deg. ■S o, o § ^3 Total rain melt* Mean rain five Thunc light d July . . . 1 &6 56 16 97 73.76 10 5.45 4.91 78.3 W. 10 August . . - • 10 51 3 92.5 70.853 10 9.58 6.59 83.4 w. 5 September 26 3V 1 85 61.44 8 1.86 2.92 80.2 w. 6 October . 26 24.5 3 83 58.49 9 0.68 2,85 79.6 w. 2 November 21 16.5 12 72 41.498 7 1.71 4.40 74.2 w. 1 December . . . . 27 8 4 60 36.71 12 6.77 3.82 80.3 N.W. January 14 11 28 58.5 38.183 11 2.06 3.03 81.4 W. 1 February . . 2 9 27 67 34.757 11 2.69 2.67 76.1 .W. March 25 16 6 69 36.863 16 5.71 5.95 74.2 N.W.- April ... 12 23 15 82 49.707 12 2.91 2.90 67.5 N.W. 7 May . ... 1 32 27 94.5 67.15 6 0.82 2.32 69.2 W. 5 June 3 49 24 94.2 71.966 7 1.5S 2.99 71.6 W. 8 Totals. . 332.0 954.7 641.377 119 41.82 916.0 W. 45 Means 29.3 • ■ 79.5 53.448 9.9 3.48 78.3 W. 3.7 ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. CHAPTER II. ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY A STRAIGHT line connecting Raritan Bay and Delaware River at their nearest points would hardly be more than thirty miles long. Here the State of New Jersey is so constricted as to seem nearly cut in two. Lying between these waters, the physical environment of Monmouth County is unique. It is also favored with an open frontage on the sea. Here, too, the Nave- sink Highlands rise to the height of four hundred feet above the ocean-level. This ridge is flanked on the east by Raritan Bay and on the west by the Shrewsbury River. Southward the State is flat. Doubtless this region was the first land seen by Captain Hudson. Nowhere in the State was nature so lavish to the aborigines of the soil; the rivers affording their peculiar fish in abundance, notably the salmon and the trout; the ocean front gave other kinds of fish and mollusks, while the bay, shut in like a nursery of the sea, gave still other fish and immense beds of oysters, a luxury which attracted the ancient red man from far and near. The diversity of soil gave diversity of woods, thus providing these children of the hunt a paradise of game. In the sandy interior flourished the pine, with the grouse. The damp lowlands near the shore were fringed with dark evergreens, — impenetrable thickets of cedar, in summer vocal with the polyglot mocking-bird. On the higher lands grew nobler woods of de- ciduous trees, — the various oaks, maples, poplars and locusts with the elm, ash, tulip, walnut, butternut and the hickories. Many of these were of great magnitude, and in their shelter roamed deer, bears, and even some beasts of prey. Upon this high land is an Indian path or trail extending many miles to the north. This marked the course of their movements; for these children of nature migrated twice in the year, like the birds, only in an inverse order, for when the birds were coming from the south, they were coming from the north, and so in ^ By Samuel Lookwood, Ph.D. the fall they left in contrary directions. The Indian could hunt the large game north in winter, but only in summer could he take the riches of the sea. Hence we might expect that a place so esteemed for ages by the ancestors of those red men who first saw the "pale face" should in some way or other tell something of their history. Such knowledge, though lim- ited, has been got together grain by grain, as stone relics one after another have been un- earthed, through that sort of study known as philosophical or scientific induction. Con- ducted in such a spirit, a description and inter- pretation of these relics would constitute the archseology of the county. It is hardly more than twenty years ago when the Danish savants surprised the scien- tific world with an interesting discovery. Upon their shore existed immense beds of oyster-shells. It had long been held that these beds afforded proof that the land had risen from the sea. or that the sea had re- ceded from the land. Careful examination at last proved that these shells were not in natural position ; that they had been placed there by slow accumulations; that among them were implements of stone and bones of animals in such numbers and condition as proved that the animals had been eaten by an ancient people. In a word, these vast accumulations were the home refuse of a prehistoric race. To these de- posits they gave the homely name Kjoekken- moeddings, which simply means kitchen-leav- ings. In 1856-57 it was our good fortune to discover an immense deposit of this character not two miles from Keyport. It was a great bed of oyster-shells on a farm not far from the bay. As such it had long been known. A study of this accumulation determined, to my surprise, that it was an American Kjoehken- moedding. It was plain that these were not white men's leavings. This deposit was an Algonquin kitchen-midden. Besides oysters, it represented the former mollusks of the bay, and contained broken stone implement? and fragments of Indian pottery. It was a monu- ment of the Stone Age, and doubtless the bottom strata was pre-Columbian. We com- municated our find to Dr. Ran, the archseol- HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ogist, who published an account in Smithsonian Report, 1864. Our discovery is stated on page 371.^ I detected the fire-places or cooking spots of these ancient people, one being covered deeply with humus. The charred remains were there, for carbon is almost imperishable. The very method of cooking was revealed by the vitrified boulders. The stones thus glazed by the intensity of the fire were not obtainable in these parts, and must have been brought from a considerable distance and their carriage in- volved much labor. Hence they had a purpose, and the only purpose supposable is that they were cooking-stones, which were heated to red- ness and put into the pot to make the water boil. In these middens I often found fragments of pottery showing great extremes of quality. Some would be thin, compact and hard, and some quite thick, porous and very coarse. Nearly all were ornamented with geometrical designs, rather crude, but done with a free hand, while others were covered with impressions made by a stamp of the simplest sort. None of these sherds showed glazing, the ancient potter not having reached this stage of the art. Among those primitive folks the women made the pots. These sherds indicated pots of sizes from that which would hold a quart to that which would contain a number of gallons; in fact, large enough to cook a mess for a number of per- sons. They all had convex bottoms ; a flat- bottomed vessel was not to be found, so that to stand alone the pot must rest in a depression of the ground. I found also a broken steatite pot. Doubtless, when the accident happened it occasioned much grief, as a soapstone pot could resist fire and as the stone could only be obtained from a great distance, it had an in- trinsic value. The pots were made of the clay near by, but it had to be tempered to prevent its cracking in the rude baking to which it was subjected. This tempering was effected by mixing sand or pulverized shells, or both, in the clay. The sand iu some was similar to that obtained at the washing up on shore, but in 1 The draft on this deposit for material for road-making and ballast for oyster-vessels going to Virginia through some twenty years has not left a vestige of this midden. some of the pots another sand was used of an extraordinary angular form, so much so as to be evident that it had not been subjected to the action of water. For a while it was a puz- zle to me. At last a lucky find explained it all. I noticed in the fire-place some pieces of gneiss, or granitoid rocks, not at all belonging to the region, and which were friable to a remarkable degree. These had been heated and used often as boiling-stones. I pulverized a piece and it gave me the very sand which had been used in tempering the clay for the pots. In all this there was real economy, for as cooking stones, unless heated to vitrifaction, they could be used again and again, and for sand-making the oftener they were so used the better. It is a little remarkable that these methods of tempering clay for pottery— that is, using pulverized shell and pulverized burnt rock — are identical with the methods shown in the sherds of the Scandinavian middens. As to the fashioning of the pots : while some of the more delicate small ones are the result of the hand-cunning of the potter, some seem to have been made by plastering or working the clay upon some suitable form, such as a gourd, and the larger and coarser ones upon a basket woven for the purpose. In either case the form would be burnt out in the baking of the pot. Some of these pots were used for boil- ing by hanging over the fire. In such case a ring of withes was put around and under the lip or flange at the edge of the pot, and to this ring, or band, was attached a handle of the same character, which was suspended to a pole extended across the fire. The band of withes around the pot was protected from the fire by a plastering of wet clay. Near to the midden I have upon occasion found the remains of what I must call arrow- smithies. These were the places where the Indian arrow-smiths wrought. This making of arrow-heads of stones was, in its best phases, a high art. These smithies told me that then, as now, in a skilled vocation there were grades of professional excellence, with the bungler at bottom and the artist at top. If the modern carpenter is known by his chips, the ancient arrow-maker was known by, his flakes. I have ARCHAEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. found a place where were flakes of a soft ma- terial, simply indurated clay, being nodules or cores taken from the clay cliffs near by. As those flakes would wear away with age, they were not as numerous as they once were. Here were fragments of the arrows broken in the process of making. They were nearly all of the very simplest type of arrow-head, — the loz- euge form. Elsewhere I have found the smithy where a somewhat better type of work was done, the material being a gray, compact basalt. Here the flakes were in quantity and the sur- face white from long oxidation. These ar- rows, as the fragments show, were triangular, with a shank at the base. This arrow in per- fect condition is often ploughed up in the fields. But here is a smithy with gay-colored flakes ; some are white and almost transparent, others are red, yellow, and olive, and pellucid ; and the edges of all these flakes are very keen. They are of quartz and jasper. Of these the finest arrow-heads are made, the leaf types and those with shafts and barbs of complicated forms. The broken arrows here showed very fine workmanship. I must in a few words describe a find which I came upon one day. On scratching up the sand in a place where a pebble would be a curi- osity I exposed the point of an angular stone. Thus incited, I uncovered the place and found that I was in an arrow-maker's shop. Here was the material or stock. A boulder of yel- low jasper as big as a cocoanut had been broken into four pieces. One of these had again been broken into blocks the size of a walnut ; each one of these was material for one arrow, the pattern chosen being a narrow tri- angle, with a shank. There lay the three large pieces and several of the small blocks made by breaking up the fourth piece ; the flakes, too, lay there and two unfinished arrows. These were rejected because the stubborn flak- ing of the material defied the workman. The jasper had in it a number of cavities, and, albeit it was brought from a great distance, it proved worthless. It must have been noticed that already we have instanced three kinds of material used which were not procurable in our county. Steatite, or talc, is no nearer than Sussex County. In some places in New England are quarries from which the ancient red man pro- cured his pot-stone in a most laborious way. The nearest basalt and jasper are in Hudson County. Returning to those oyster-shells. Many years ago I learned from an old man in Ocean County that his grandfather remembered a few Indians coming each summer to the shore to get clams, and that they dried them on slabs of bark and carried them away. Even yet the drying of oysters is practiced in China. And why should not the Lenni Lenapfe, or old Delawares, do the same? The question, however, in my mind was, How did they extract the moUusk without tearing it? I recall the delight experienced at finding among the oyster-shells a little imple- ment of jasper, which answered my inquiry. It was about two inches long by an inch and a half wide. At one end it was carefully chipped to a round cutting edge. One side was a little concave, it representing the cleavage of the material; the other side was convex and chipped. It might be called a spoon-shaped gouge. This was the Indian's oyster-knife. Afterwards several were found. Subjected to heat, the mollusk would open a little way ; it was then easy to open the shells wider, and with this gouge-like implement sever the muscle of the mollusk by a scooping movement. Before the railroad days, in the fall of the year, oysters were taken in sloops up the Hud- son, and supplied to buyers in the towns and villages. These were laid, the round or dish- side down, on the cellar floor, where they kept fit for use several months. In the long ago there were streams in Monmouth County navi- gable by canoes for miles into the interior, but which to-day are insignificant runs. I found in a spot formerly thus advantaged what proved to have been an Indian cache or winter storing- place for oysters. At a depth of several feet a pit was made out of the reach of the frost, in which the bivalves were stored. This pit, de- serted probably before the white man came, had, by the action of the winds, become filled with humus or surface soil, which, when the spade entered, showed a marked contrast with the 10 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JEKSEY. yellow, ferruginous saud in which it was origi- nally dug. This fact and the presence of the shells proved conclusive. Thither, with his canoe, the provident aboriginal had, ere the ice had mantled the waters, laid up his winter sup- ply of oysters. A fair description of the relics of the Stone Age yielded by Monmouth County would need a volume. I can only in studied brevity classify them much in the manner in which my exhibit of the archaeology of our county was done at the exposition of 1876. I, Women's implements. These might be styled domestic. They comprised specimens of pottery and the material of the potter, also cooking-stones, pestles and mortars. Stone rolling-pins, such as the Mexicans and the Pu- eblo Indians use to-day in making the thin cakes called tortillas. In my collection of stone rollers are some displaying remarkable work- manship. They vary in length from seven to twenty-four inches. Some are crude enough, but others are beautifully symmetrical and true. To understand and appreciate the labor and skill required, suppose the task given from a huge piece of compact gray stone, with only flint flakes for tools, to work out a pestle or rolling-pin about three inches thick and two feet long, and to be as true as a wooden one turned in a lathe. Then came the knives. The fine, sharp ones were long, narrow flakes usually of some quartzose material. These long, thin flakes would have a keen cutting edge ; they were best represented by those of the ancient Mexicans, obtained from obsidian or volcanic glass. The oyster-knives have been described. There were also skin-dressers, and an ingenious lunate- shaped knife, not unlike that of the harness- maker. This knife was made from a slaty stone and not chipped like the quartzose knives, but rubbed or ground into shape ; hence these forms are rare. I think these lunate knives were used for skinning. The woman made the clothes, skinned and cooked the game ; she also made the pots, and what of tillage there might be she did it. Hence, here comes the stone hoe. A very singular object is a stone bird, having two small holes through which a cord could pass, and with it be worn by the woman on top and front of the head. It seemed to symbol an incubating bird. This brooding bird, it is said, was worn as a taboo by the married woman anticipating maternity. II. The men's implements. Of these the stone axe is prominent. Of the grooved axe, though, there is a typical form ; yet there are varieties which we have not time to enumerate. Round the neck is a groove, in which a withe handle was fixed. The sizes are so difierent, running from a few ounces to some pounds in weight. There was the axe of war, the toma- hawk, as well as the axe of handicraft. The lighter one was for felling men, the heavier for felling trees. There were hand-axes or celts, a chisel-like tool. There were gouges, too, but these are rare. The stone celt was so common an implement that it is certain it was a tool of very frequent use. Although this is so, I find myself only able to describe its use in one par- ticular, — namely the building of the dug-out, or solid canoe. A log having been fashioned externally to the desired form, was then plas- tered over with wet clay, except the upper part; on this a fire was made, burning into the log. The celt was used to excavate the charred part, when the fire was again applied, and so on. Some of my relics are symmetrical stones with a groove round them. It seems idle to use such elaborated stones for net-sinkers, and it looks as if they were slung-shots. The arrow-heads were of great diversity of form and material. The latter has been men- tioned. Until intercourse with the whites had set in they were all made of stone. I found one of iron. It was made from a bit of a hoop, and was an exact isagon, or equal-sided triangle. Of the immense variety of arrow-points there seem to be but four types at most, — the lozenge or diamond -shaped, the leaf or almond-shaped, the triangle and those having shanks and often also barbs. The first is the simplest, and the last the most complex. It is thought by many that those with shanks and barbs were chiefly used in the hunt, as being secured to the shaft, they could be drawn out of the prey ; and even the barbs would by their laceration when with- drawn provoke the increased bleeding of the game. Those points without shanks, it is AKCH^OLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 11 supposed, were preferred in war, as the victim in withdrawing the shaft would leave the head within, hence incurring terrible surgery to get the arrow out, even if possible. Along the streams where Indian relics are found we meet with stones not shaped at all, but just taken as they occurred, and simply notched so as to hold a withe or cord. These were sinkers, and it is certain that nets were used for fishing. Besides their wars and hunts, and to some extent their handicraft, these ancients had their games. I am not able to describe them, except by borrowing from the present pastimes in some of the tribes, which use similar implements. I may speak of round stone balls, showing that in some of its modes, ball-playing is an Ameri- can game of extreme antiquity. There was also the game of chunks. The stone used was a circular disc, concave on both sides, the thumb being put on the one side and the fingers on the other when the disc was thrown by the pitcher. The men on each side of the course with spears, pursued the stone, and then hurled the speai's, the effort being to have the weapon fall where the stone would stop. The medicine man must not be forgotten. A long and elaborately fashioned stone tube, about twelve inches long, has a perforation for its entire length about three-fourths of an inch in diameter. With one end pressed on the place of his patient's pain and the other at his lips, the native doctor essayed to suck out the evil influence of that mystic thing which he re- garded as disease. Failing in this, he would blow with the tube, thus attempting to drive away the foul spirit who was inflicting the malady. There were ranks, too, and affairs of state and ceremony. Hence we have implements which were borne as badges of distinctidn on occasions of ceremonial display. Some of these were gorgets suspended upon the breast. Others wore a sort of two-edged axe, usually very small and quite ornate. These were borne upon a stem or staff; hence such may be called a I have this implement with notches. mace. making it a tally or record of scalps taken, or of some such notable achievements. A very in- teresting one is a fragment. It unfortunately got broken in the eye, and the owner has elabo- rated a method of repair by drilling a series of holes in each half, and thus lacing the two parts together. How valuable must this have been to warrant such an outlay of labor that the heirloom should be preserved ! On a farm near Hornerstown I obtained some curious relics which digging had exposed, and which I interpreted as indicating the grave of a noted Indian. There was a human skeleton, and the skull was in fair condition for study. It was undoubtedly that of a red man. I noticed that the incisor teeth sat upon each other like molars, not lapping like shears, as the white man's do. Now this is an Indian trait. I have detected it in jaws taken from undoubted Indian graves. It is also characteristic of the Eskimo. The latter will seize with his front teeth the meat on the bone, pull it up, and while between his teeth cut it off with his knife. Such a mode of using the incisor teeth wears them off, and the tips or crowns become flat. Is it not curious that the human remains found in the Scandina- vian middens show this same peculiarity? This skeleton indicated a distinguished man. With him were found other bones, those of the black bear, the Virginia deer and the snapping- turtle. Had the turtle something to do with his totem, or heraldry ? Were the bear and deer game to serve the spirit while on its way to the better hunting-grounds ? It was then, as now, the custom to bury with the dead some- thing that was highly prized when living. Here was found an arrow-head of pellucid quartz. The fineness of the material and the marvelous perfection of the workmanship made it a thing of exquisite beauty; in a word, a gem. Among the thousands of arrow-heads I have inspected this stood peerless and alone. It was my pride. As such, it had a distinguished place in my Philadelphia exhibit. Alas the day ! The case was opened, and the gem stolen, while nothing else was touched ! Du Chaillu describes the sweat-houses of the Laps, in which the sexes together, in a state of nudity, half-cooked themselves, then rushed into the snow. In a less objectionable way the In- dians of our place had a similar usage. In the 12 HISTOEY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. white man's knowledge one of these sweat- houses existed near Crosswicks Creek, at a bend where the water was deep and cold. It was a dug-out in the bank. In it a fire was built, and when the hole was heated like an oven, in went the Indian, and while sweating at every pore he plunged into the stream. In respect to his religion, it is commonly set down that the North American Indian is not an idolater, in that he is not a worshiper of im- ages. As represented by the stone relics in the East, he certainly cannot be regarded as an im- age-maker, except to a very limited extent. To light upon a bit of this sort of thing is regarded as a very lucky find. I can only mention two instances in our county, and both have suggested to my mind the probability of a fetich, or charm. One of them was plowed up on a farm on the left bank of the Shrewsbury. It was a bit of steatite, hardly so large as a silver half-dollar, with a human face on it cut in relief. As to any art in the thing, many a country boy can be found who could whittle in wood a face even moj'e natural. But the In- dian had an eye for any eccentricity in form, a knack of catching at an accidental hint, such as often occurs in nature, as when a stone bears a fancied resemblance to something animate. Such a lusus naturcB would seize the red man's imagi- nation, and would even arrest his reverence. With a flint flake for his chisel he would im- prove upon the object, and help out the resem- blance. I have a very remarkable specimen of such. It was dug up in clearing oiF a bit of wild land for a house at a place now called Keansburgh, about four miles northeast of Key- port. The spot was covered with a dense natural growth of scrub pines, with an undergrowth of azaleas and whortleberries. The object is the size of a large cocoanut. It is a human head in stone, and broken oif at the neck. It was a clay nodule, and obtained from the clay cliff" formerly existing at the shore, about a mile and a half away. The stone had originally borne a remote resemblance to a human head, of which the artist has taken every advantage, and worked it up to a striking resemblance of an Indian head and face, the very racial expression being secured in a remarkable degree. For whatever purpose it was designed, I have no doubt that it was held as an object of much interest, — at first, may be, it only incited curiosity ; but when it left the native sculptor's hands it became an object of serious superstition. In two places near Freehold I have demon- strated the former existence of beaver dams. In excavating peat from one of these old mead- ows which grew upon the desertion of the dams, burnt sticks of great length were found. What was the meaning of a fire in what was a swamp ? In the other meadow, near by, under my directions, some remains of a mastodon were exhumed. The head and tusks were entire. Speaking of the Stone Age in America, a French writer expresses his belief that the mastodon, driven into a swamp, might be surrounded by fire in order to suffocate the beast. Who shall say? Might not the aborigines, when they attacked this behemoth, as I verily believe they did, have used such means ? In his paper read at the Montreal meeting of the American Asso- ciation, 1882, the writer showed by his studies of the mastodon remains obtained from differ- ent parts of the county that the roaming- grounds of this monster once were far out to sea, and of course the prehistoric red man's hunting-ground was equally extensive, — so vastly has the ocean encroached upon the land. I have arrow-heads dredged far off" from shore, but as they might have fallen from a canoe, we have no certainty in their interpretation. East- ward from the sea-line of the county, the shore, or rather water-bed, slopes almost imperceptibly. Actual soundings show that for one hundred miles to sea, the water deepens at the rate of only three feet to the mile. Thus, at one hundred miles out, the water is only three hun- dred feet deep. Six miles farther it sinks to six hundred feet, thus forming a shelf, while twelve more miles out it plunges to the depth of six thousand feet. Now, this, I contend, was the ancient shore-line, and the shelf, or plateau, marked the seaward extent of the mastodon's range and the hunting-grounds of the red man's ancestor, that prehistoric savage and this ele- phantine beast being contemporaries. Paleontology. — The allusion to the masto- don naturally introduces the subject of the extinct ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 13 forms of life which are revealed by the fossils of the county. Both the flora and the fauna are represented, the latter being especially rich. Still, no more can be done in the space allotted than to mention the prominent and, perhaps, typical forms. As respects the Cretaceous Formation, New Jersey is to the geologist classic ground. The Cretaceous period, so finely represented in Monmouth County, opened with a flora in many respects similar to that of the preceding Triassic. It was, however, soon to disappear, so far as this continent was concerned, for that order of plants faded away, to be followed by a nobler vegetal r&gime. From the clay cliff formerly existing at Union we have extracted fossil plants of a lowly rank, and some that we thought might be cycads. Generally they were too imperfect to admit of satisfactory determi- nation. At any rate, their congeners are such as can now only be found in the tropics of Austra- lia, Polynesia and Asia. From the clays of Cliffwood I have often obtained cones and lig- nites of the AbietinecB, suggesting the Araucaria\ which are now confined to the Southern hemis- phere. Many of these fossil cones were very pretty, not unlike catkins, being about as long and as thick as a finger, and exquisitely sculp- tured by the spiral arrangement of the scales. Of these fossils I was able to get one with the leaves or needles preserved. This received from Professor JSTewberry the name Ounning- hamites Loekwoodii. In this same Cretaceous occur fossils which indicate a very stately arbo- real growth in those ancient days, — for the Sequoia, that giant tree, now limited to a small space near the Pacific, is found here. The clays near Cliffwood also reveal an extraordinary leap in nature. Not only is the pine family, the gymnosperms, abundant, but there is a sudden and almost incredible display of the angiosperms, the grand deciduous trees. Here they are for the first time in the earth's floral garniture — the sycamore, tulip, poplar, sassafras, willow, oak, maple, beech, hickory, fig, etc., etc. In a word, here is begun the growth of those trees which are to be a special gift to man, since here are the timber trees, and here the beginning of those that are to be^ pre-eminently the fruit- bearers. Of the immense richness of this early flora, so like that of our present American forests, perhaps our conceptiou may be aided by this statement, — in all Europe the number of native trees is hardly more then forty-five, while, leaving out the cycads and the conifers, so rich in the Cretaceous, the fossils collected indicate more than a hundred species in that period, and we know not how many species may have failed to be thus represented. The fauna, or animal life, of that period was rich in variety of species. Many of these were of monstrous size, and of forms outre and bizarre. I think where our county now is was an estuary of that ancient sea. To me it is quite evident that here the water was land- locked in some way. In these marls are im- mense deposits of shells which were accumulated too quietly for an open, turbulent sea. Besides, as we shall see, some of the reptiles, judging from their construction, had habits not unlike those of the alligator, and some of the turtles, too, seem to have been of this character. Here appeared the earliest oysters, but dif- ferent from that bivalve of to-day. Two oyster- like moJlusks existed then in great numbers, some of them weighing .oiany pounds. They are known technically as Gryphaa and Exogyra. An object of a conical form is found in num- bers, and is called by the marl-diggers a thun- derbolt. It is a belemnite, and is really the inner shell or bone of an extinct cuttle-fish. This creature, a species of devil-fish, swarmed in those waters and must have been very for- midable; and yet this hideous creature was close cousin to the nautilus and ammonite, whose shells were so beautiful, and some so large ; for the cycloidal shell of the ammonite sometimes was as large as a carriage-wheel. Of both these beautiful shells the species was numerous ; but with the close of this age the ammonites all perished, and of the nautilus to- day we have barely two species in existing seas. But the vastest exhibition of animal force and form was in the reptilia. This was em- phatically the reign of reptiles. The species were indeed numerous, but our space will only permit us to mention a few typical forms. The Dinosaurs, or " terrible lizards," were 14 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. a group of which not a single representative exists to day. They must have been restricted to the land, as'their structure would make them illy fitted for any movement in the water. With aspects most portentous, they were the lords of the soil. Though so heavily weighted, their movements and bearing had a sort of stateliness for the reptilian regime, as they did not crawl on shore like the alligator and the crocodile, but walked as does the ostrich, for these dinosaurs had very long hind legs and very short fore legs, with a very heavy tail. In these particulars there was some similitude to the kangaroo ; but it was the merest resemblance, as there was really nothing in common to these animals. The kangaroo is a grazing animal, and when its pasture is ex- hausted it must seek others, even though a hundred miles away. In this movement their forward limbs take no part ; all is done by the hind limbs and tail ; the long legs serve for leaping, and the heavy tail is a balancer. The dinosaur walked like a huge bird ; it stood very high on its two hind feet, using the heavy tail as the third limb of a tripod, and it browsed on the evergreen trees. This immense reptile is known to science as the Hadrosaurus. A very much larger individual, with much the same structure, was taken by myself from that old clay-bank at Union, which the sea has at last carried away. This terrible brute had hind legs thirteen feet in length, and from the tip of its great tail to its snout it must have been over thirty feet long. The part which we unearthed demonstrated the strange fact that this ancient reptile had some true alliance in structure to the present ostrich tribe, or closer still to the extinct moa, the colossal bird of New Zealand. Our relics show that the ankle-bones were wonder- fully bird-like, but so massive ; for the tibia- bone at its union with the tarsus is thirteen and three-quarters inches thick. From these curious facts came the name given it by Cope, Ornitho- tarsus immanis — the immense bird-ankled beast. The above-mentioned reptiles were true herb- ivores, a fact beautifully shown in the singular- shaped teeth of the hadrosaurus. But contem- porary with these creatures was another species of land-lizard, with a similar structure as to long hind limbs and short fore ones, but with an arrangement of every part for the life of a car- nivore. We have said that the ornithotarsus was not less than thirty-five feet in length, that its hind legs were thirteen feet long, and we should add that when browsing on the trees, and resting as on a tripod upon its hind limbs and tail, it stood not far from twenty feet in height. Now Lmlaps, whom we are introducing, was about twenty-four feet in length, and could stand about twelve feet high. But he was a slayer of his more quiet brethren, and his tail had not a tripodal function, but was really a club. He could leap upon the innocent herbivore, and with his great grapnel-like talons holding on to his prey, could put that tail to very efficient use. Nature is economical in skeleton-building. The bones of a mammal are more solid than those of a bird, for obvious reasons. So with the Iselaps, the leaping carnivore, and ornithotarsus, the slow- walking herbivore. With the latter the more central parts of the shafts of the long bones have a cancellate structure, — that is, they are filled with bony threads binding the walls to- gether. But the bones of the Iselaps were more bird-like, being thin and hollow for the presence of air, and the walls were lighter and less por- ous. There was a large group or order of lizai'ds, whose home was the sea, but which could upon occasions bask on the shore-line. These were the PithonomorphcB, the serpent-like lizards, though this serpent resemblance was wholly anatomical and limited chiefly to the head, com- bining bulk and length. These were the great swimming reptiles of that wonderful age. In our Monmouth estuary there were not less than sixteen species, but many more in the more southern waters of that ancient sea. The type of the order was MfmimiiriiH, and 31. princepts was fully seventy-five feet long. The head had an armature of large conical and slightly curved teeth, with great swollen roots, which fitted into the solid bone of the jaNvs. In the upper jaw was a smaller supplemental jaw, with smaller and sharper teeth. This is the strong feature of the serpents, and its use is in the slow swallow- ing of their large prey ; for when the mouth ARCHEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY. 15 opens to take another hitch, the prey is held from slipping out. But hadrosaurus had another most ingenious modification of the lower jaw to aid in the deglutition of its great swimming prey. Say about two-thirds the distance from the tip of the snout to the other extreme of the lower jaw, or not far from over -the pharynx, or opening of the throat, on each side of the mouth, the jaw was jointed like the elbow of one's arm. Now, if one locks his two hands together, then extends them as far as he can in front of him, the two arms will then represent the lower jaw of the mosasaurus when in repose ; now push the elbows out, and the space between the arms is widened, and this represents the jaws when the monster is engulfing his meal. Another order was the Enaliosaurs, or sea- lizards proper. These never went on land, and they could brave the stormiest seas. One of them, named by Cope, Elasmosaurus, was some fifty feet in length, and had a neck containing over sixty vertebrae, whose combined length was twenty-two feet. When we consider that this was the slimmest and lightest built of all we have mentioned, with its long neck for snapping at its finny prey, one can see how well it de- serves to be called the sea-serpent of those times. We are not quite sure whether this is the right niche in which to put the supposed Ple- siosaivrus Lockwoodii (Cope), named from a spe- cimen we discovered in the clay at Cliffwood. It certainly was one of these snaky lizards. But a true serpent was not yet created. And time forbids that we dwell on the flying lizards, and the reptilian birds with true teeth, and the Bottosawrus, a real alligator, and the many tur- tles ; for we must now leave that cemetery of the cretaceous days. In Monmouth County, besides the Cretaceous marls, are those known to the geologist as the Tertiary marls. Here is found DinopMs, the earliest serpent, over twenty feet in length. The reptiles are now so diminished in number and reduced in size as no longer to domineer the depths ; for the sharks, which were at best but secondary in the Cretaceous seas, are now the dominant race. Specimens in my possession demonstrate the fact that some of these immense fishes could not only swallow a Jonah upon occasion without ^injuring the specimen in the act of deglutition, but could, if needed, stow away, sardine-like, a round score of .Jonah's brethren. And there were sword-fishes, too — some not greatly unlike those in modern seas ; but others, altogether unlike these, had a bowsprit exten- sion of the upper jaw. It was a conical ram of solid, pointed bone, something like a marline- spike. These I have obtained from the pits at Farmingdale. One other of these sword-fishes must be mentioned, the Ccelorhyncus ornatus. This is certainly a "fancy" name; for, literally rendered, it means the ornate, beautiful snout. The ram in this instance is quite an elegant weapon, and in form almost identical with the "steel" on which the butcher sharpens his knife. So far as I can learn, they never exceeded eighteen inches in length, being at the base less than one inch in diameter, and terminating in a sharp point. This cylindrical weapon, like the " steel " mentioned, had fine parallel striss throughout its entire length. A more murder- ous instrument for impaling fishes could not be devised. A curious fact, too, is this, that it is harder than the butcher's steel. Desiring to share a fragment of one of these swords with a friend, it was entrusted to a jeweler to cut in two. The specimen was but half an inch thick, and yet the operation destroyed two saws. But our sense of limitation becomes oppress- ive. We feel like a tourist on a fast horse— so little can be accomplished, though the opportu- tunity is so rich and grand. Passing to the Quaternary Age, a few words, and we have done. In the so-called Drift, one phase of the gla- cial period, we have collected in Monmouth County relics of the reindeer, walrus, and even a species of dugong. There was also in this period a great beaver, now extinct. The beaver of the present, which also is extinct in these parts, was a later creation. It is interesting to note that as to-day there are two species of ele- phant, the one in Africa and the one in India, so in these remote times of which we write there were two elephants, whose remains are with us: the elephas, or mammoth, and the 16 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COITNTY, NEW JERSEY. mastodou. With the period of the drift, when the climate became cold, the great fossil-beaver and the mammoth perished. The mastodon survived, until it found itself confronted witli the autochthonic man, the insurmountable en- emy, to whom it succumbed. Of this, the last of the great paleontologic beasts, it would be easy to write a volume. But here the pen drops its cunning; for of its slayer, the Ameri- can prehistoric man, that child of mystery, of the when and the whence of whose coming we know less than we do of the brutes whicli perish. CHAPTEE III. THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. The first European occupants and rulers of the valley of the Hudson River, and of all the territory extending thence to the Delaware and to the ocean, were the Dutch, under whose auspices, in the year 1609, the famed navigator, Henry Hudson, discovered and explored the great river that has since borne his name, and on which discovery and exploration the Dutch based their claim to the country to which they gave the name New Netherlands, — embracing not only the present State of New Jersey, but a vast area of country to the north, east and south of it, now in the States of New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware. The actual occupation of the country by the Dutch began in 1610,^ when they sent over a 1 " When, therefore, Hudson had returned, towards the end of autumn, to Amsterdam in his bark, and made known what he had discovered repecting the river (which he called Maiihattes, from the name of the people who dwelt at its mouth), immediately, in 1610, some Amster- dam merchants [the Dutch East India Company] sent thither a vessel loaded with a variety of goods, and hav- ing obtained from the States-General exclusive authority to visit the river and neighboring regions for purposes of trade, they carried on a commerce with the natives for several succeeding years ; for which purpose our people remained there during winter, and finally, in 1615, built a fort under the auspices of the States-General, and garri- soned it with soldiers. . . . Such was the commence- ment of what resulted in the application of the name, New vessel with a cargo proper for the opening of a fur trade with the natives. This they accom- plished, carrying on their trade at first directly from the A'essel ; but in two or three years they had established trading posts (unfortified until 1715) at the sites of the present cities of New- York and Albany, and at another point between these on the Hudson. It is often mentioned in history that these posts were established in 1614; but the fact that the post at Manhattan (New York) was in existence as early as 1613, and was in that year reduced by an English expedition from the James River, Virginia, Mall be shown in a following account of that occurrence. The occupation of Manhattan by the Dutch is narrated in Heylin's Cosmography (published in 1652), which, after mentioning the fact that ' they had become established there, proceeds : "But they were hardly warm in their new habitations when Sir Samuel Argall, Governor of Virginia, specially so called (having dispos- sessed the French of that part of Canada now called Nova Scotia, August, 1613), disputed the possession with them, alleging that Hudson, under whose sale they claimed that country, being an Englishman, could not alienate or dis- member it (being but a part or province of Virginia), from the crown thereof. Hereupon the Dutch Governor ^ submits himself and his plantation to His Majesty of England and the Governor of Virginia for and under him. But a new Governor being sent from Amsterdam in the year next following, not only failed in pay- ing the conditioned tributes, but began to fortify himself and entitle those of Amsterdam to a just propriety." The statement made in the foregoing account, that Argall was then Governor of Virginia, is incorrect, the Governor at that time being Sir Thomas Gates, under whom Capt. Sir Samuel Argall was commander of several vessels be- longing to the Virginia Company. In the sum- mer of the year 1613 he (Argall) sailed from the Netherlands, to that part of the northern continent."— De Laet's "New World," published in 1633. = The ■' Dutch Governor " here referred to was Hendrigk Christiaensen, or Corstainsen, a superintendent of the Dutch West India Company's little trading settlement, then re- cently established on Manhattan Island. THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPEIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 17 Capes of Virginia on a fishing expedition ' to the vicinity of the island of Mount Desert, off the coast of Maine, for the purpose of securing a supply of cod for the use of the English colo- nists on the James River. He and his party were driven ashore by a storm near the mouth of the Penobscot River, where they were told by Indians that a French ship was at Mount Des- ert,- " whereupon Argall, being in want of pro- visions, and his men in a shattered, half-naked con- dition, resolved, after ascertaining the strength of the intruders [as they considered the French to be], to attack them." They did so, successfully, taking and plundering the ship, killing a French Jesuit priest (Gilbert du Thet), wound- ing several others, and making prisoners of all the survivors, except five of the French party, who, as it appeared, had come out from France with the intention of establishing, under the au- spices of the Jesuits, a colony within the limits of Acadia — afterwards known as Nova Scotia. " The liberal supplies which they had brought from France," says the French writer Lescar- bot, " for the intended colony, the offerings of pious zeal, were plundered and carried away to ^ " It appears from a letter addressed by him [Argall] to a friend In England, dated June, 1613, that he had arrived in the prceeding year ; and in the spring of that year [1613] he was employed in exploring the eastern side of Chesapeake Bay in a shallop. During this time his ship was left to be got ready for a fishing voyage ; and on his return. May 12, 1613. he completed his preparations, and at the date of his letter was about sailing on his intended voyage. He says : ' Thus having put my ship in hand, to be titled for an intended fishing voyage, I left that business to be followed by my master with a ginge [gang] of men, and my lieutenant fortified on shore with another ginge to fell timber and cleave planks, to build a fishing boat ; my ensign with another ginge was employed in the frigate for getting of fish at Cape Charles, and transporting it to Henry's town for the relief of such men as were there ; and myself, with a fourth ginge, departed out of the river in my shallop the first of May for to discover the east side of our Bay, which I found to have many small rivers in it, and very good harbours for boats and barges, but not for ships of any great burthen. ... So having discovered along the shore some forty leagues northward, I returned again to my ship the 12th of May, and hastened forward my busi- ness left in hand at my departure, and fitted up my ship, and built my fishing-boat, and made ready to take the first opportunity of the wind for my fishing voyage, of which I beseech God of his mercy to bless us.' " — JV. Y. Historical Chllections, New Series, vol. i. p. 338. 2 minister to the wants of the English heretics in Virginia." Argall also took with him to Vir- ginia three Jesuit priests, " le Capitaine de Ma- rine, Charles Fleuri d' Abbeville, and fourteen other prisoners. The unexpected success of this voyage of Argall in the acquisition of plunder stimulated the Virginia authorities to further attempts against the French colonists in the northeast, "and an armed expedition, consisting of three vessels, commanded by Argall, sailed forthwith for Aca- dia. Touching at the scene of their late outrage on the island of Mount Desert, they set up there a cross bearing the name of the King of Great Britain instead of the one erected by the Jesuits, and then sailed to St. Croix, where they de- stroyed all the remains of a former settlement. Crossing the Bay of Fundy, they next landed at Port Royal (now Annapolis, Nova Scotia), and finding the town deserted, the Governor be- ing absent and the people at work several miles from the fort, they met with no resistance in pillaging and stripping the place of whatever it contained, loading their ships with the spoil and destroying what they could not carry away. The settlement had existed eight or nine years and had cost its founders more than one hun- dred thousand crowns in money, besides the la- bor and anxiety that necessarily attended their efforts to plant civilization upon a desolate coast." 2 It was asserted by the French authorities that P6re Biart, one of the Jesuit priests whom Ar- gall took with him to Virginia, on the return from Mount Desert, acted as pilot or guide to the Englishman on the expedition against the Acadian towns. Argall arrived at Port Royal on the 1st of November, 1613, and after destroy- ing the place, and having gathered his plunder on board the ships, set sail on the return on the 9th of the same month. A violent storm arose soon afterwards and dispersed the vessels. One of them (a barque) was never again heard from ; the ship having the Jesuit priests and a good share of the plunder was driven to the Azores Islands, and thence made her way safely to England, while the one commanded by Argall •i N, V. Hist. Collections. 18 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. in person, being carried far away from her true course by stress of weather, entered the bay within the shelter of Sandy Hoolc, and passed up to Manhattan Island, where (doubtless unex- pectedly) the commander found the trading post of the Dutch, and at once reduced them to tem- porary submission to the English authority, as before narrated. ArgalFs expedition against the Acadian French colonists, and his reduction of the Dutch trading settlement on Manhattan Island, are mentioned by Plantagenet ' as follows : " Then Virginia being planted, settled, and all that part now called Maryland, New Albion and New Scotland [Nova Scotia] being part of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale and Sir Samuel Argall, Cap- tains and Counsellors of Virginia, hearing of divers aliens and intruders, and traders without license, with a vessel and forty soldiers, landed at a place called Mount Desert, in Nova Scotia, near St. John's River, or Tweed, possessed by the French ; there killed some French, took away their guns and dismantled the fort, and in their return ^ landed at Manhatas Isle, in Hudson's River, where they found four houses built, and a pretended Dutch Governor under the West India Company, of Amsterdam, share or part, who kept trading boats and trucking with the Indians ; but the said knights told him their commission was to expel him and all alien in- truders on his Majesty's dominion and territo- ries ; this being part of Virginia, and this river an English discovery of Hudson, an English- man. The Dutchman contented them for their charge and voyage, and by his letter sent to Virginia and recorded, submitted himself, com- pany and plantation to his Majesty and to the Governor and government of Virginia ; but the next pretended Dutch Governor, in maps of printed cards, calling this, part New Nether- lands, failing in paying of customs at his return to Plymouth, in England, was there, with his 1 BeaucHamp Plantaganet, Esq., in hig " Deaoription of the Province of New Albion," published in London in 1648. 2 Heve Plantaganet makes the mistake of supposing that Argall came to Manhattan Island on the return from his ^s^ Voyage in 161.3, instead of his second, made in the fall of the year. beaver, goods and person, attached to his dam- age of £1500. Whereupon, at the suit of the Governor and Council of Virginia, his now Maj- esty [Charles I.], by his embassador in Holland, complaining of the s;iid aliens' intrusion on such his territories and domains, the said lords, the States of Holland by their publick instrument de- clared that they did not avow, nor would pro- tect them, being a private party of the Amster- dam West India Company, but left them to his Majesty's will and mercy ; whereupon three sev- eral orders from the Council table and commis- sions have been granted for the expelling and removing them from thence, of which they, tak- ing notice, and knowing their weakness and want of victuals, have offered to sell the same for £2600. And lastly, taking advantage of our present war and distraction now ask £5000, and have lately offered many affronts and dam- ages to his Majesty's subjects in New England ; and in general endanger all his Majesty's adjoin- ing countries most wickedly, feloniously and traitorously, and contrary to the marine and ad- miral laws of all Christians, sell by wholesale, guns, powder, shot and ammimition to the In- dians, instructing them in the use of our fights and arms : inasmuch as 2000 Indians by them armed, Mohocks, Raritons and some of Long Isle, with their own guns, so sold them, fell into war with the Dutch, destroyed all their scattering farms and boors, forcing them all to retire to their upper fort, forty leagues up that river [at Albany] and to Manhatas ; for all or most retreating to Manhatas, it is now a prettj- town of trade, having more English than Dutch." The foregoing account, however, is errone- ous in its statement that the claim of the crown of England to New York and New Jersey was based on " an English discovery by Hudson, an Englishman." It was l)ased chiefly on the discovery of the entire eastern coast, from New- foundland southward to Virginia, by John Cabot, in command of an English fleet, in the year 1497, during the reign of King Henry the Seventh, and under his commission and orders, the object of his exploration being, like that of nearly all the other discoverers of that period, to find a western passage to the THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 19 famed land of Cathay. Accompanied by his son, Sebastian, he first came with his ships to the southern coast of Labrador, and sailed thence to Newfoundland, which he reached in June of the year mentioned " and took posses- sion of that island and of all the coast of the northeast part of America as far as Cape Flor- ida, which he also, by landing in several parts of it, claimed in the name of his master, the King of England." ^ He made no landing, however, between Nova Scotia and about lati- tude 38° north ; and, finally, fearing that his ships would run short of provisions (and prob- ably despairing of finding the desired pas- sage), he returned to England,^ taking with him several of the natives of Newfoundland, whose appearance excited great curiosity in London. This ancient claim of the English crown to the ownership and sovereignty of North America, based on the discoveries in 1497, re- mained dormant, at least with regard to any vig- orous attempt at enforcement within the territory now embraced in the States of New York and ^ Sir Humphrey Gilbert. 2 Sebastian Cabot, made a map of the coasts discovered on this voyage ; upon which map was given an account of the expedition, a part of which, referring to the discovery of Newfoundland, was as follows : " In the year of our Lord 1497, John Cabot, a, Venitian, and his son, Sebastian (with an English fleet),, set out from Bristol and discovered that land which no man had before attempted. This discovery was made on the 24th of June, about five o'clock in the morning. This land he called Prima Vista (or the first seen), because it was that part of which they had the first sight from the sea. It is now called Bonavista. The Island which lies out before the land he called the Island of St. John, because it was discovered on the festival of St. John the Baptist." Plantagenet, in his " Description of New Albion," gives the following in reference to Cabot's discovery of the American coast, viz. : " Then the most powerful and richest King of Europe, King Henry the Seventh of England, sent out an Englishmauj born at Bristol, called Cabot, granted under his greate seale to him all places and countrys to be discovered and possesst ; who, then beginning at Cape Florida, discovered, entered on, took possession of, set up crosses and procured atturnment and acknowledgement of the Indian Kings to his then Majesty, as head, lord and emperor of the south west of America, all along that coast, both in Florida, from 20 degrees to 35, where old Virginia, in '6b and 30 minutes, 65 years since was seated by the five several colonies about Croatan Cape, Haloraske and Rawley's Isle, by Sir Walter Rawley." New Jersey, for more than a century and a half from the time of Cabot's voyages, this inaction being caused by the wars in which England was involved in Europe, and particvi- larly in the first half of the seventeenth cen- tury by the home troubles which resulted in the Cromwellian Revolution, and the loss of throne and life by King Charles. Meanwhile, the Dutch had established their settlements on the Hudson and Delaware, built forts and held almost undisputed possession of the country, which they named New Netherlands (in which all of the present State of New Jer- sey was included), with its capital at Fort Am- sterdam or New Amsterdam, where New York City now stands. After Capt. Samuel Argall's reduction of that place, in 1613, the Dutch remained there in possession, without further molestation from the Virginia government or from the English, for more than sixty years, during which time they also retained control of all the territory of New Jersey, except that a small portion of it on the Delaware was held for a short time by the Swedes ; and also excepting an abortive attempt made by some English adventurers to settle and establish what they called the " Province of New Albion." The grant of New Albion was made to Sir Edmund Ployden, Knight, and certain as- sociates, on the 21st of June, 1634, by the King of England, in the expectation that the grantees would plant .settlements within the territory and thus enforce the English right which had so long been dormant. The boun- daries and extent of the grant were very vagaely described, but it included all of the present State of New Jersey, all of Long Island, with a part of New York lying west of the Hudson Eiver, and parts of the States of Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. In the " Description of New Albion," before referred to, published in 1648, by Beauchamp Plantagenet, who was one of the associates of Ployden, it is mentioned as follows : " The bounds is a thousand miles compass of this most temperate and rich prov- ince, for our south bound is Maryland north bounds, and beginneth at Aquats or the south- ernmost or first cape of Delaware Bay [Cape Henlopen], in thirty-eight and forty minutes, 20 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. and so runneth by, or through, or including Kent Isle through Chisapeask Bay to Piscata- way ; including the falls of Patowmecke River tp the head or northernmost branch of that river, being three hundred miles due west, and thence northward to the head of Hudson's River fifty leagues, and so down Hudson's River to the ocean, sixty leagues, and thence to the ocean isles across Delaware Bay to the South Cape, fifty leagues; in all seven hun- dred and eighty miles. Then all Hudson's River, isles. Long Isle or Pamunke, and all isles within ten leagues of said province being ; and note. Long Isle alone is twenty broad and one hundred and eighty miles long, so that alone is four hundred miles compasse." The full title of the pamphlet from which the foregoing is extracted is " A Description of the Province of New Albion and a Direction for Adventurers with small stock to get two for one and good land freely ; and for Gentlemen and all Servants, Labourers and Artificers to live plentifully, and a former Description, re- printed, of the healthiest, pleasantest and richest Plantation of New Albion, in North Virginia, proved by thirteen Witnesses ; together with a Letter from Master Robert Evelin, that lived there many years, showing the Particularities and Excellency thereof; with a brief of the charge of Victualling and Necessaries to trans- port and buy stock for each Planter and La- bourer there to get his Master fifty pounds per annum or more, in twelve Trades, and at ten pounds Charges only a man." And the work was addressed or dedicated by its author, Plan- tagenet, " To the Right Honorable and mighty Lord Edmund by Divine Providence Lord Proprietor, Earl Palatine, Governor and Cap- tain-General of the Province of New Albion ; and to the Right Honorable, the Lord Vis- count Monson, of Castlemain ; the Lord Sher- ard. Baron of Leitrim, and to all other, the Viscounts, Barons, Baronets, Knights and Gentlemen, merchants, adventurers and plant- ers of the hopeful Company of New Albion ; in all forty- four undertakers and subscribers, bound by Indenture to bring and settle three thousand able, trained men in our several Plan- tations to the said Province." The seductive title and high-sounding ad- dress of Plantagenet's work explains in a great degree the plan and character of the New Al- bion project. The chief. Sir Edmund Ployden, was called the Lord Palatine, a title and dig- nity which was to be hereditary, and in which was vested the power of government and the creation of barons, baronets and other orders of nobility, to whom were to be granted the man- ors into which the whole territory of New Al- bion was to be laid out. The Palatine gave a barony to Beauchamp Plantagenet and several others whom he created nobles, and also to each member of his own family ; and to his eld- est son, heir apparent and Governor, Francis, Lord Ployden, Baron of Mount Royal, a very large manor on the Elk River; to Thomas, Lord Ployden, High Admiral and Baron of Roymount, the manor of Roymount, including the site of the town of Lewes, Del.; and to the Lady Winifred Ployden, Baroness of Uvedale, a manor of that name, which was given " from its abundance of grapes ; producing the Tou- louse, Muscat and others." The residence of the Earl Palatine was the great manor of " Watcessit," near Salem, N. J. Plantagenet was made Baron of Belvill, with the grant of a manor of that name, containing ten thousand acres of land. An order of knighthood was also instituted, to be composed of persons of con- dition who would emigrate to the province and there assist iu efforts to convert the native sav- ages to the Christian religion, and the members of this order were to be styled " The Albion Knights of the Conversion of the Twenty-three Kings," — this being, as was supposed, the number of Indian " Kings " who lived and ruled within the province. The royal patent of this territory to Sir Ed- mund Ployden provided that, " in order that the said region may outshine all other regions of the earth, and be adorned with more ample titles, the said region shall be incorporated into a Province to be nominated and called New Albion or the Province of New Albion; to be and remain a free County Palatine, in no wise subject to any other," and it con- ferred on the Lord Palatini and his associ- ates, and their heirs and assigns, the full and ab- THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 21 solute right to and ownership of all the lands embraced within the grant, and also the power of government over it; the Palatine and his heirs and successors being invested with author- ity to make and enforce " fit and wholesome ordinations as well for keeping the peace as for the better government of the people ; provided, however, that such ordinations should be con- sonant to reason, and not repugnant to the laws, statutes and rights of the kingdom of England and Ireland, and so that they do not extend to the right or interest of any person or persons, of, or in free tenements, or the taking, distrain- ing, binding or changing any of their goods or chattels." Such laws and ordinances were to be made " with the counsel, approbation and assents of the free tenants of the Province or the major part of them," who should be called together for that purpose ; but it was also pro- vided that in case these could not be assembled without a delay that might be detrimental to the interests of the province, the Earl Pala- tine should exercise the law-making power alone, — thus, in effect, making his power abso- lute with regard to the local affairs of the province. But Ployden's magnificent enterprise resulted in failure. He, with Plantagenet and about a dozen others, came to New Albion before 1640, and after (or during) an exploration of the whole of New Jersey by Ployden and the " Baron of Belvill," a place was selected within the " Manor of Watcessit," on the Delaware River, at or near the mouth of Salem Creek, where a small settlement was formed and a block-house built, which they called Fort Erewomec. This was the only settlement ever made or attempted to be made by the Lord Palatine and Knights of New Albion, and even in this they were largely assisted by a colony of Connecticut men, under the leadership of Capt. Nathaniel Turner, who, in the year 1640, came from New Haven to the Delaware, expecting to find the lands there unoccujiled, except by Indians, and intending to be under no government ' but that of the ' " The company, consisting of near fifty [?] families, sailed in a vessel belonging to one Lamberton, a mercbant of New Haven, and Robert Cogswell was commander. They touched at Fort Amsterdam on their voyage, and the Connecticut colony. But finding that Ployden was there and in possession under a royal grant, they swore allegiance to him and made their settlement under his authority as Palatine and Governor of New Albion. But after a time the Dutch Governor, Keift, at New Am- sterdam, received information of their having located on the Delaware, within the bounds of New Netherlands, and thereupon, in the year 1642, he sent two vessels to the Delaware, with a military force, under orders to disperse and expel them from the country. In this enter- prise the Dutch were assisted by the Swedes on the Delaware, who, like the Hollanders, were jealous and fearful of English encroachments in the valley of that river. The united forces made a descent upon the settlement on Varck- en's Kill, burned the houses, seized the goods of the settlers, took some of the people prisoners and forced the rest to leave the country. Ac- counts do not clearly state what became of Ployden's party of knights, ad-^enturers, etc., in this affair, but there is no doubt that they (there were not more than fifteen of them at most) were dispersed like the others. Nothing is found to show that they ever attempted to make any other settlement north of the Dela- ware. It has been stated that Ployden went to Maryland and Virginia, where doubtless he was authorities at that place became thus apprised of the nature of the object they had in view. Governor Keift was too much alive to the movements of the English to allow him to look with indifference upon the present attempt, and he at once protested against it [unless they would consent to settle there ' under the Lords, the States and the noble West India Company, and swear allegiance and become subject to them, as the other inhabitants of New Netherlands have done']. The English commander replied that it was not their intention to settle under any government if any other place could be found, but that should they settle within the limits of the States-General, they would become subject to the government. The company then proceeded. They finally reached a place which they selected for a settle- ment, not far from the Delaware, on a small stream called Varcken's Kill [Salem Creek]. Whether these settlers were at all aware of the rights and claims of the Earl Palatine, of Albion, at the time they entered the province is unknown. But finding him in the country as the holder of a grant from the English crown, they were ready to submit to his rule ; and hence, upon being visited by per- sons commissioned by (he Earl, they swore fealty to him as the Palatine of AXhian." —Mulford' s " History of AVw Jersey, 1848. 22 HISTORY OF IMONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JEKSEY. accompanied by some or all of his few followers who were dispersed by the Dutch and Swedes in 1642. Both he and Plantagenet were, how- ever, several years later, engaged in explorations in what is now New Jersey. In 1 648 they re- turned to England for the purpose of reviving the enterprise,^ and making jDreparations to send forward another detachment of the " three thousand able, trained men" to people and plant their American domain; but, either on account of the jiolitical troubles which then agi- tated England, or from other causes, they were entirely unsuccessful. Neither of them ever returned to America, and the magnificent enter- prise of the Palatinate of New Albion was defi- nitely abandoned. The Dutch occupation and government of New Netherlands remained undisturbed (except by the comparatively unimportant events above narrated) for more than half a century after the visit of Argall, at New Amsterdam, in 1613. The director, "superintendent, or Governor who was in command at that time was Hendrick Corstiaensen, whose successor was Peter Min- uit, who came to New Netherlands as Governor, with full powers from the States-General, in 1624, and was succeeded in that office by Wouter Van Twiller, in 1633. He, in turn, was suc- ceeded by, in 1638, William Keift, who, as has already been mentioned, made ^^•ar upon and dispersed the English who had seated them- selves in the valley of the Delaware River in 1642. Four years later (1646) the redoubtable old Dutch warrior, Peter Stuyvesant, came to the Governorship of New Netherlands and held it for eighteen yeai-s, and until dispossessed by the power of England. King Charles the Second, being firmly seated on the throne of England after the sub- sidence of the storms of the Commonwealth and Protectorate, and being resolved to enforce the long dormant claims of the English crown to the sovereignty of all the North Ameritsan continent, made a royal grant and patent (dated March 12, 1663-64) to his "dearest l)ro- 1 It was at this time that Plantagenet's " Description of New Albion,'' etc., was published, for the purpose of re- awakening the enthusiasm of the original associates and bringing in others. ther James, Duke of York and Albany," and his heirs and assigns, etc., of " All that Part of the main Land of New England, beginning at a certain Place called or known by the Name of St. Croix, next adjoining to New Scotland in America ; and from thence extending along the Sea Coast unto a certain Place called Petua- quine, or Pemaquid, and so up the river there- of to the farthest head of the same as it tendeth Northward ; and extending from thence to the River of Kenebeque, and so upwards by the shortest course to the River of Canada North- ward. And also, all that Island or Islands, commonly called by the several Name or Names of Matowacks or Long Island, scituate, lying and being towards the West of Cape Codd and the Narrow Higansetts, abutting upon the Main Land between the two Rivers there, called or known by the several Names of Conecticut or Hudson's River, together also with the said River called Hudson's River, and all the Lands from the West side of Conecticut to the East side of Delaware Bay. And also, all those several Islands called or known by the Names of Martin's Vineyard and Nantukes, or other- wise Nantuckett." The consideration to be paid by the Duke of York or his assigns was, "yearly and every year. Forty Beaver Skins when they shall be demanded, or witliin Ninety Days thereafter." And the grant to the duke embraced not only the right of property, but "full and absolute Power and authority to correct, punish, pardon, govern and rule all such the subjects of us, our Heirs and Successors, as shall from time to time adventure themselves into any the Parts and Places aforesaid, or that shall or do at any time hereafter inhabit within the same according to such Laws, Orders, Ordinances, Directions and Instruments as by our said dearest Brother or his Assigns be established." This grant, as will readily be seen, included all of the present State of New Jersey, the greater part of Maine, the sea islands of Massa- chusetts, a part of Connecticut and all of Long Island and Staten Island, together with a part or all of the remainder of the State of New York. And, in order to put the said grantee, the Duke of York (and through THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 23 him the crown of England), in possession of the territory included in the patent, — covering, as it did, nearly the whole of the Dutch New Netherlands, — the King sent out four ships, under command of Sir Robert Carre, carrying also an adequate military force, and Colonel Richard Nicolls, whom the grantee, the Duke of York, had designated and commissioned as his Governor, the object of the expedition being to wrest from the Dutch the territory included in the royal patent. The fleet arrived at New Amsterdam in August,^ 1664, and demanded the surrender of that place and of all New Netherlands, which demand was, after a few days' parley, acceded to by Governor Stuyve- sant, and the surrender was made on the 27th (O. S.) of that month. Thus the Dutch power over New Netherlands passed away, to be re- vived nine years later, and then, after a few months' continuance, to be extinguished forever. While the fleet under Sir Robert Carre was yet at sea, between England and New Amster dam, another change of proprietorship of the country between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers was made by the granting of that terri- tory by the Duke of York (June 24, 1664) to " John, Lord Berkeley, Baron of Stratton, and one of His Majesty's most Honourable Privy Council, and Sir George Carteret, of Saltrum, in the County of Devon, Knight, and one of his Majesty's most honourable Privy Council," ^ the territory conveyed being described as follows : ' Governor Stuyvesant had been apprised several weeks before, by Thomas Willit, of the coming of the fleet and its object, though war had not then been declared between England and Holland. ^ Berkeley had commanded the English forces against the Scotch in 1628. He was one of the King's favorites and was appointed a member of the Privy Council, but was forced to resign the office because of the discovery of some of his grossly corrupt transactions. Then the Duke of York took him in patronage, but he was again detected and disgraced. Sir George Carteret had been a distinguished naval ofBcer and Governor of the Isle of Jersey, in the English Channel, to which King Charles fled to escape capture by the troops of the Commonwealth. Carteret defended the place and the King with the most determined valor and energy against the Parliamentary forces, which service was never forgotten by the King, who ever after held Carteret as one of his especial favorites. He was created a baronet in 1645, and " All that Tract of Laud adjacent to New England, and lying and beingto the Westward of Long Island and Manhitas Island, and bounded on the East, part by the main Sea, and part by Hudson's Eiver, and hath upon the West, Delaware Bay or Eiver, and extending Southward to the main Ocean as far as Cape May, at the Mouth of Delaware Bay ; and to the Northward as far as the Northernmost Branch of the said Bay or River of Delaware, which is in forty-one Degrees and forty Minutes of Latitude, and crosseth over thence in a strait Line to Hudson's River in forty-One Degrees of Latitude ; which said Tract of Land is hereafter to be called by the Name or Names of New Ctesarea or New Jersey ... to the only use and behoof of the said John Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, their Heirs and Assigns, forever ; yielding and render- ing therefore unto the said James, Duke of York, his Heirs and Assigns, for the said Tract of Land and Premises, yearly and every year, the sum of Twenty Nobles of lawful Money of England, if the same shall be lawfully Demanded, at or in the Inner Temple Hall, London, at the Feast of St. Michael the Arch- angel, yearly." — Learning and Spicer, pp. 8-11. By. this grant to Berkeley and Carteret of the territory that now forms the State of New Jersey, the Duke of York also conveyed to them the right of government over the same territory,— a right and power which had been given him by the King's letters patent, to which especial reference was had in the duke's release to the new proprietors The laws by which this province was to be governed were to be made by a General Assembly of delegates from the people,' and to be approved by a Gover- various lucrative offices were given him, but, like Berkeley, he was proved grossly dishonest, and was expelled from the House of Commons for corrupt practices. Both he and Berkeley were notorious for their peculation and breaches of faith, but they had stood by the King in disaster and ex- ile, and when he regained the throne he remembered their fidelity and turned a deaf ear to complaints against them. ' A General Assembly of delegates convened at Elizabeth- town on the 26th of May, 1668. The settlement of what is now Monmouth County had been commenced by John Bowne and others in 1664, and by 1668 a large number of settlers had gathered at the ''two towns of Navesink," as they were then called, meaning Middletown and Shrews- bury. In the first General Assembly of 1668 these settle- ments were represented by James Grover and John Bowne. At the next session, held in November of the same year, the deputies sent by the two towns were Jonathan Holmes, Edward Tartt, Thomas Winterton and John Hans (Hance) ; "but they refusing to take or subscribe to the Oaths of Allegiance and Fidelity but with Provisos, and not submit- ting to the Laws and Government, were dismissed." — Learn- ing and Spicer J p. S5. 24 HISTORY OF ]\IONA[OUTH COUNTY, NEW JP]RSEY. nor aud Council appointed by themselves. Im- mediately after the duke's release to them they appointed Philip C*arteret as their Governor of New Jersey, " with power," as was express- ed in their instructions to him, " to nominate and take unto you twelve able men at most, and six at least, to be of your Council and Assist- ance; or any even number between Six and Twelve, unless we have before made choice of or shall choose all or any of them." These instructions to Governor Carteret, and also his commission, were dated February 10, 1664- 65. He arrived in the province in the summer of 1665, published his commission, aud duly assumed the government. The territory which had been so summarily wrested from Governor Stuy vesant by Sir Robert Carre and Governor Richard Nicolls, in 1664, was retaken by the Dutch in an equally sudden and unexpected manner in 1673. War had been declared in March, 1672, by Charles the Second, of England, and Louis the Fourteenth, of France, against the States of Holland, and the latter had, in consequence, dispatched a squad- ron of vessels to operate against the commerce and possessions of their enemies in the West Indian seas and along the coast of the conti- nent of North America. This Dutch fleet having made very extensive captures in the West Indies, sailed noi'thward to the Carolinas, and thence to Chesapeake Bay and the James River, where they also took a large number of small prizes ; and having learned from some of the passengers on one of these prizas that New York was then very weakly defended, they sailed there without delay, and finding the situation there to be as had been represented to them (Governor Lovelace being absent, and the fort only garrisoned by a small number of men under command of Captain Manning), they at once sent a summons to surrender, which was acceded to without any attempt at defense by the commandant, and the Dutch admirals took possession of the fort and town on the 30th of July, 1673. The circumstances which induced tlie Dutch commanders to move so promptly on New York, and enabled them to effect so easy a cap- ture of the fort and town, are explained in an affidavit of " William Hayes, of London, mer- chant," before Edwyn Stede, December 2, 1673.^ This deponent " did declare that he, the said Hayes, being a prisoner in Virginia on board the Dutch Admiral Euertson, of Zeeland, in company with Binkhurst, Admirall of Am- sterdam, in company w* fine other friggots & a fire ship, who had taken eight Virginia Mer- chant Ships and sunk fine after a hott dispute & the saide Dutch fleete with their prizes being goeing out of James River, mett w"' a Sloope, then come from New Yorke, which Sloope they took & Examined the Master in what condi- cion the said Ne^v Yorke was, as to Itts defence, & promised the said Master, by name Samuel Dauis [Davis], to giue him his sloope againe & all that they had taken from him iff he would tell them the true state of that place, who told them in y" hearing of this Examinant that New Yorke was in a very good condicion, & in all respects able to defend itselfe, hauing re- ceiued a good supply of armes and ammuni- cion from his Royall Highness, the Duke of Yorke, w"" aduice of their designe on that place, w* made them resolue to steere another course & not goe to New Yorke,^ when one ' New York Colonial Documents, vol. iii. p. 213. ^ Thia part of the story is told by another, who was pres- ent at the taking of the sloop by the Dutch, as follows : " Moreouer, this man saith that he stood at the Cabbin doore & heard the Generall demand of the M' of the Sloope, Samuel Dauis by name, what force they had at New Yorke, & tould him if he would deale faithfully w* him he would giue him his Sloope and cargo againe ; the said Sloope's Master replyed that in the space of three hours the Gover- nor Louelace could raise flue thousand men & one hundred and fifty piece of Ordinance, mounted fit for seruice upon the wall ; upon this the Dutch Generall said, if this be true, I will giue you yo"- Sloope & Cargo & neuer see them. Then the enquired of one M'' Hopkins, who tpuld them he thought there might bee between sixty and eighty men in the ffort, and in three or foure days' time it was possible they might raise three or foure hundred men, & that there was thirty or thirty-six piece of ordinance up- pon the wall, that a shot or two would shake them out of their carriages ; then all they' cry was for New Yorke, to which place they came, and thisCaptine stood ther on the Deck and saw them land by the Governor's Orchard ab6ut six hundred men . . . uken before me the date above said [August 8, IGTS.] "Nathan Gould." — New York Colonial Documents, vol. iii. p. 200. THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 25 Samuell Hopkins, a passenger in y° said sloope & Inhabitant at Arthur Call, in New England, & a professor there, did voluntarily declare to y" Dutch that what the said Dauis had in- formed was alltogether false ; that New Yorke was in no condicion to defend itselfe ag' the Dutch ; but they had a few canons mounted and those that were upon such rotten carriages that one discharge would shake them to pieces & dismount the canon ; that there were but few men in amies in the ffbrt ; that any considerable number could not be easely drawn together ; that the Governor was absent, being gone to Canedicott to visitt Governor Winthrope, all w"*" encouraged the Dutch to visitt that place, w°^ was presently taken by them ; Where the said Hopkins yet continues & had encouraged the Dutch to proceede to the takeing of Arthur Cull, having discovered to them allso the weakness of that place ; And this Examinant saith that the said Hopkins had formerly made his aboade with Cap' James Cartrett, & fur- ther saith not." The capture of New York, which the Dutch then renamed " New Orange," gave to them, as a matter of course, the power of government over the settlements in New York and New Jersey, of which it had for more than sixty years been the capital. At first their government was (almost necessarily) a military one, by the com- manders of the fleet, who held a council of war in the fort (which they called " Fort Willem Hendrick ") immediately after its surrender to them. They then called a " Council of New Netherlands," which convened at the "City Hall of the city of New Orange," August 12th, 1673. Present: Commanders Evertse and Benckes, Captains Anthony Colve, Boes and Van Tyll, and deputies from Elizabethtown, Newark, Woodbridge and Piscataway. There were no deputies present from Bergen or the two towns of Navesink (Middletown and Shrews- bury, which were then the only settlements within the territory of the county of Mon- mouth). Notices were at once sent to these towns to appear by their deputies, the sum- mons to the Navesink towns being as follows : " The inhabitants of Middletown and Shrews- bury are hereby charged and required to send their deputys unto us on Tuesday morning next for to treat w"" us upon articles of surrender- ing their said towns under the obedience of the High and Mighty Lords, the States-Generall of the united Provinces and his serene Highnesse, the Prince of Orange ; or by refusall wee shall be necessitated to subdue the said places there- unto by force of armes. " Dated at New Orange this 12th day of August, A°. 1673. "COENELIS EVEETSE, Jun'r. "Jacob Benckes." At a meeting of the Dutch commanders in council of war at "Fort Willem Hendrick," on the 18th of the same month, upon petition of the inhabitants of the villages of Elizabeth- town, Newark and Piscataway, the Council " ordered thereupon that all the inhabitants of those towns shall be granted the same -privi- leges and freedom as will be accorded to native- born subjects and Dutch towns ; also, th§ pe- titioners and their heirs unmolested enjoy and possess their lawfully purchased and paid for lands, which shall afterwards be confirmed to them by the Governor in due form ; in regard to the bounds of each town, they shall here- after be fixed by the Governor and Council ; . . . . Further, the Deputies from the Towns of Woodbridge, Schrousbury and Mid- dletown, situate at Achter Coll, coming into court, the above privileges were, at their verbal request, in like manner granted and allowed to their towns; but all subject to further orders from their High Mightinesses, and his Serene Highness of Orange ; " but the Council refused to grant to any of the towns " the privileges obtained from their previous Patroons." On the 23d of August Middletown and Shrewsbury, with other towns, sent in their nominations for magistrates, or " schepens," to the Dutch Council, which, on the following day, elected John Hance, Eliakim Wardell and Hugh Dyckman for Shrewsbury/ and probably 1 An order by Governor Colve, dated September 29, 1673, sets forth that: "Whereas the late chosen Magistrates off Shrousburij are found to be Persons whose religion Will Not Suffer them to take anij oath or administer the same to others, wherefore they Can Nott be fit Persons for that office; I have, therefore, thought fitt to order that bij y» 26 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. with jurisdiction in Middletowu also, as there is no record found of the election of any others at that time for Middletown. They were sworn into office on the. 1st of September following. "On the 6th of September, A°. 1673.' Captain Kuyf and Captain Snell are this day commissioned and authorized by the Hon'ble Council of War [Dutch] to repair with the clerk, Abraham Varlet, to Elizabets Towne, Woddbridge, Shrousbury, Piscattaway, New Worke [Newark] and Middletowne, situate at Achter Coll, and to administer the Oath of allegiance to all the inhabitants of those Towns in the form as hereinbefore recorded, to which end orders and instructions in due form are also given them." The officers named (Kuyf and Snell) pro- ceeded on their mission, and, returning on the 13th .of September to Fort Willem Hendrick, reported to the Dutch Council that they had administered the oath of allegiance in the several towns as follows : " Elizabethtown, 80 men, 76 of whom have taken the oath, the remainder absent. " New Worck, 86 men, 75 of whom have taken the oath, the remainder absent. " Woodbridge, 54 men, all of whom have taken the oath except one, who was absent. " Piscattaway, 43 men, all of whom have taken the oath. "Middletowne, 60 men, 52 of whom have taken the oath, the remainder absent. " Schrousbury, 68 men, 38 of whom have taken the oath ; 18 who are Quakers also promised allegiance, and the remainder were absent." A number of militia officers elected in the several towns were sworn in by Kuyf and Snell, among whom were the following-named : For Middletown, Jonathan Holmes, captain ; John Smith, lieutenant ; and Thomas Whitlock, en- sign. For Shrewsbury, William Newman, cap- tain ; John Williamson, lieutenant ; and Nicho- las Browne, ensign. On the 29th of September " Notice is this day sent to the magistrates of the toAvn situate at the s'' inhabitants off ye s towne, a New Nomination shall be made off four Persons off the true Protestant Christian religion, out of which I shal Elect two and Continue one off y* former for Magestrates off y a^ towne.'' — Archives, 1st Series, vol. i. p. 134. 1 New Jersey Archives, .1st Series, i. p. 130. Nevesings, near the sea-coast, which they are ordered to publish to their inhabitants that they, on the first arrival of any ship from sea, shall give the Governor the earliest possible informa- tion thereof." Captain Antony Colve was appointed Gover- nor or Director-General over the reconquered territory of New Netherlands. It does not ap- pear that the people of the Jersey settlements (excepting those holding offices by appointment under the proprietors, Berkeley and Carteret) were at all averse to yielding their allegiance to the Dutch government, and this was especially the case with the inhabitants of Newark, Eliza- beth and the " Navesink towns," by reason of property considerations, which will be more fully mentioned in another chapter. In the fall of 1673 a plan of government, intended to be per- manent, was devised by Governor Colve, and adopted without dissent, and a code of general laws was prepared, passed and promulgated (November 18th) " By the Schout and Schepens of Achter Kol Assembly, held at Elizabethtown to make Laws and Orders." These laws were mild and generally unobjectionable to the peo- ple, but it can hardly be said they ever went into actual operation, for within three months after their promulgation a treaty of peace was concluded (February 9, 1673-74) between Eng- land and Holland, by which it was provided " that whatever towns or forts have been recip- rocally taken since the beginning of the war shall be restored to their former possessors," un- der which provision the territory of New Neth- erlands, including what the Dutch called Ach- ter Kol (the settlements in East New Jersey), was surrendered by the States of Holland to the crown of England, under which it remained for more than a century, and until the royal rule was closed by the Declaration of Independence. The surrender was made November 10, 1674, by Governor Colve, to Sir Edmund Andros, whom the Duke of York had commissioned as Governor. The reoccupation of New Netherlands by the Dutch in 1673 and 1674 raised the question whether the rights of the proprietors under the Duke of York's grant might not thereby have become extinct, and the territory again the prop- THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 27 erty of the crown by the subsequent surrender. To settle this question in the easiest and most satisfactory way, King Charles made (June 26, 1674) a new grant to the Duke of York of the same territory which had been granted by his letters patent in 1664. Prior to the making of this grant the King had issued his proclama- tion (June 13, 1674) recognizing Sir George Carteret as the sole original proprietor of New Jersey,^ and commanding all persons to yield obedience to the laws and government which had been or might be established by the said Sir George Carteret, " he being seized of the province and the jurisdiction thereof, and hav- ing sole power under us to settle and dispose of the said country as he shall think fit." The Duke of York, having received the royal grant of 1674, seemed inclined to retain the territory in his own hands, but the King's pro- clamation, above mentioned, left him no choice in the matter, and on the 29th of July follow- ing he released to Sir George Carteret the eastern part of New Csesarea, in accordance with an arrangement and boundaries agreed on by Sir George and those who had become owners of the undivided half originally of Lord Berkeley. The part thus released by the duke to Sir George was from that time known as East New Jersey. The description of it in the duke's release is as follows : "... All that Tract of Land adjacent to New Eng- land, and lying and being to the Westward of Long Island and Manhitas Island, and bounded on the East part by the main Sea and Part by Hudson's Eiver, and extends Southward as far as a certain Creek, called Barnegatt, being about the middle between Sandy Point and Cape May ; and Bounded on the West in a straight Line from the said Creek called Barnegat to a Certain Creek in Delaware Eiver, next adjoining to and below a certain Creek in Delaware Eiver called Eenkokus Kill, and from thence up the said Delaware Eiver to the Northernmost Branch thereof, which is in forty-one Degrees and forty Minutes of Latitude ; and on the North, crosseth over thence in a straight line to Hudson's Eiver, in forty-one Degrees of Latitude, which said Tract of Land is hereafter to be called by the Name or Names of New Csesarea or New Jersey," The proprietary Governor, Philip Carteret, had returned to England in the summer of 1 Lord Berkeley having sold out his interest to John Fen- wick, March 18, 1673. 1672, and remained there during all of the Dutch occupation of 1673-74. He was com- missioned Governor of East Jersey by Sir George Carteret, July 31, 1674, only two days after the latter received the duke's release. Governor Carteret returned in the fall of the same year to New Jersey,- where, on the 6th of November, he published his commission and in- structions as Governor, together with the duke's release, and the King's proclamation sustaining the proprietary government. Sir Edmund Andros arrived at New York from England at about the same time, with a commission from the Duke of York as Governor over all the country " from Connecticut Eiver to the Delaware," this bearing date July 1, 1674, only a week after the King's new grant to the duke, and four weeks before the date of the releaseof East Jersey by the duke to Sir George Carteret. These conflicting claims to the Gover- norship of New Jersey eventually resulted in a collision between Andros and Philip Carteret, of which the immediate cause was the question of collection of customs duties in New Jersey on goods intended for consumption within the prov- ince; Andros insisting on their payment in New York, and being sustained in it by his master, the Duke of York, who, though friendly to Sir George Carteret, was uuwilKng to yield anything which could inure to the advantage of his New York dominion. The sale and transfer by Lord John Berkeley of his undivided half of New Jersey, to John Fenwick, on the 18th of March, 1673, has al- ready been mentioned. Edward Byllinge was associated with Fenwick in that purchase, al- though his name did not appear in the transac- tion. On the 10th of February, 1684, Fenwick and Byllinge sold the Berkeley interest to Wil- liam Penn, Gawen Lawrie and Nicholas Lucas, — Byllinge, however, still claiming an equitable interest in it after the transfer ; and on the 1st of July, 1676, these parties— viz., Penn, Lawrie, Lucas and Byllinge, together with Sir George Carteret — entered into an agreement which has since been known as the Quintipartite Agreement, and joined in a quintipartite deed, which was exe- cuted on the date above mentioned, and of which the declared object was " to make a Par- HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. tition between them of the said Tract of Land," that is to say, the province of New Csesarea, which, by this instrument and the running of the "Province line" named in it, became di- vided into East and West New Jersey. By this deed Sir George Carteret released all his claim to the western part to Penn, Lawrie, Lucas and Byllinge, who, in turn, conveyed to him all their right in and claim to the eastern part, which is described in the quintipartite deed as " extending Eastward and Northward along the Sea-Coast and the said River called Hudson's River, from the East side of a certain Place or Harbour lying on the Southern Part of the same Tract of Land, and commonly called or known in a Map of the said Tract of Land by the Name of Little Egg Harbour, to that part of the said River called Hudson's River, which is in Forty-One Degrees of Latitude, being the furthermost Part of the said Tract of Land and Premisses, which is bounded by the said River ; and crossing over from thence in a strait Line, extending from that Part of Hudson's River, aforesaid, to the North- ernmost Branch or part of the before-mentioned River, called Delaware River, and to the most Northerly Point or Boundary of the said Tract of Land and Premises, so granted by his said Royal Highness, James, Duke of York, unto the said Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, now by the Consent and Agreement of the said Parties to these Presents, called, and agreed to be called, the North Partition Point ; and from thence, that is to say, from the said North Par- tition Point, extending Southward by a strait and direct Line drawn from the said North Partition Southward through the said Tract of Land unto the most Southardly Point of the East side of Little Egg Harbour, aforesaid ; which said most Southardly Point of the East side of Little Egg Harbour is now, by the Con- sent and Agreement of the said Parties to these Presents, called, and agreed to be from hence- forth called, the South Partition Point; and which said strait and direct Line, drawn from the said North Partition Point thro' the said Tract of Laud unto the said South Partition Point, is now, by the Consent and Agreement of the said Parties to these Presents, called. and agreed to be called, the Line of Parti- tion." 1 Sir George Carteret died in England on the 13th of January, 1679-80, and this event re- moved the only consideration which checked Governor Andros in his determination to seize the government of New Jersey under color of his commission from the Duke of York. The Duke had been more than willing to sustain Andros in his schemes to obtain revenue from New Jersey by enforcing the paynient of cus- toms duties at New York on cargoes intended for New Jersey, but the Duke and his Governor were compelled, on account of the King's espe- cial friendship for Sir George, to desist from the execution of this plan during the life of the latter. A very significant passage in reference to this matter is found in a letter from the duke's secretary. Sir John Werden, to Gover- nor Andros,' dated August 31, 1676 : " . . . I add this much further in relation to Sir George Carteret's Colony of New .Jersey ; it is that I have acquainted liis Royal Highness with what Mr. Dyre (the collector of customs and revenues for the duke in New York) wrote to me about his little bickerings with Captain Carteret for not letting a present pass, &c. And though small matters are hardly worth notice, especially where Sir George Carteret himself is concerned (for whom the duke hath much es- teem and regard), I do not find that the duke is at all inclined to let go any part of his prerogative which you and your predeces- sors have all along constantly asserted on his behalf; and so, though at present in regard to Sir George Carteret we soften things all we may not to disturb his choler (for, in truth, the passion of his inferior officers so far affects him as to put him on demands which he hath no color or right to), I verily believe that, should his foot chance to slip, those who succeed him must be content with less civility than we choose to show him, on this point, since that we should ex- ercise that just authority His Royal Highness hath, without such reserves, as though but intend- ed as favors, now may, if confirmed, redound too 'Learning and Spicer, p. 67. '^ Whitehead's " New Jersey." THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 29 much to the prejudice of your colony." But the death of Sir George having removed this obstacle, the Duke and his Governor thought their path clear to the accomplishment of their plan for Andros to consolidate New Jersey with New York in one government under Andros. On the 8th of March, 1679-80, Sir Edmund Andros addressed an official communication to Governor Carteret at Elizabethtown, sending copies of the royal letters patent and his com- mission from the Duke of York, and com- manding him (Carteret) to cease all attempts to exercise governmental power and jurisdiction in New Jersey, and added : " I do acquaint you that, it being necessary for the King's Ser- vice and Welfare of his Majesty's Subjects living or trading in these Parts, that Beacons for Land, or Sea-Marks for Shipping, Sailing in and out, and a Fortification be erected at Sandy Point, I have resolved it accordingly, but having due regard to all Rights or Properties of Land or Soil, shall be ready to pay or give just Satisfac- tion to ISIr. Richard Hartshorn, or any assigned to or interested in said Sandy Point or Place, and not Doubting your observance of the above, remain," etc. On the 13th of the same month Andros issued a proclamation warning all officers under Carteret to desist from the attempt to exercise their functions in East Jersey, and promising oblivion for all past offenses. Governor Carteret, in a letter dated March 20th, in re])ly to Andros' communication of the 8th, gave the latter his firm assurance that he should continue to exercise his proper authoritj' as Governor of East New Jersey, and that he should by force, if necessary, oppose the erection of a fort at Sandy Hook, but entreating Andros at the same time to abstain from any act of hos- tility and to leave him undisturbed in the right- ful duties of his office. Andros had issued a proclamation to convene the East Jersey Assembly on the 7th of April at Elizabethtown. Carteret issued a counter proclamation directing the deputies not to as- semble. At the same time he addressed a com- munication to Andros at New York, warning him to send no more of his emissaries to New Jersey, on penalty of having them arrested, tried and condemned as spies and disturbers of the public peace, and adding : " It was by his Majesty's command that this Government was established, and without the same command shall never be resigned but with our Lives and Fortunes, the people resolving to live and dye with the Name of true Subjects and not Traytors." Andros, however, was determined to convene the As- sembly, if possible, at the stated time, and on the 6th of April he left New York with a large retinue and proceeded to Elizabethtown, where, on the 7th, he read his commission to a large concourse of people who were gathered there; but as Governor Carteret was there with one hundred and fifty armed men to prevent the meeting by force, if necessary, Andros was obliged to con- tent himself for that time mth the publication of his commission, and he went back to New York without having accomplished his object. On the 30th of April a party of soldiers went from New York to Elizabethtown with orders from Andros to take Governor Car- teret dead or alive and bring him to New York. These orders they executed in the night-time, and took Carteret to New York, where he was kept in prison five weeks. Concerning this outrage, Governor Carteret, in a letter addressed to Mr. Coustrier on the 9th of July following, said of Andros that " the Rancor and Malice of his Heart was such that on the 30th day of April last he sent a Party of Soldiers to fetch me away Dead or alive, so that in the Dead Time of the Night broke open my Doors and most barbarously and inhumanly and violently hailed me out of my Bed, that I have not Words enough sufficiently to express the Cruelty of it ; and indeed I am so disabled by the Bruises and Hurts I then received that I fear I shall hardly be a perfect Man again." At New York, Carteret was brought before the Assizes for trial on the charge that he, " with Force and Arms, riotously and routously, with Captain John Berry, Captain William Sandford and several other persons, hath presumed to ex- ercise Jurisdiction, etc., though forewarned not to do so." The trial, which was held on the 27th and 28th of May resulted in his acquittal, but he was compelled to give his parole and se- curity to desist from further attempts to exer- 30 HISTOKY OF IMONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. cise jurisdiction in New Jersey until able to pro- duce proper warrant for so doing. Andros issued a second proclamation calling the Assembly of East Jersey to convene at Elizabethtown on the 2d of June, 1680. His journey from New York to that place, on the 1st of June, is thus narrated by his secretary, who was one of the party : " The Governour with the Councill and several of the gents of the Towne to attend him, came from New York about noone in his Sloope, to come to N. Jersey to the Assembly of Deputys to be held the next day at Elizabeth Towne. My Lady Andros came in company, attended with 9 or 10 gentle- women, my wife for one. Coming by C. Palmer's, my lady and Comp'y landed at C. Palmer's and stayed there all night. My Lady &c. came in the morning to Eliz- Towne." ^ The Assembly met on the 2d. The deputies from the Navesink towns were John Bowne (Speaker) and Jonathan Holmes for Middle- town, and Judeth (?) Allen and John Hance for Shrewsbury. Andros addressed the deputies, assuming the powers of Governor, and asking them to remodel the laws of East New Jersey to correspond with those which had been enacted for New York. The Assembly responded by enacting (June 3d), " That all former Laws and acts of Assembly that was made and confirmed by the General Assembly sitting at Elizabeth- town, in the province of New Jersey, in No- vember last, be confirmed for this present year." Andros and his party returned 'to New York on Saturday, June 5th, came back to Elizabetli- town on Thursday, the 10th, and Andros, hav- ing failed to mould the Assembly to his wishes, dissolved that body on the 12th. It is unnecessary to enter further into the de- tails of this conilict between Andros and the proprietary government. The matter was sent to England for decision by the Crown, and it was favorable to the Carteret interest. The Duke could not, of course, oppose the wishes of the King, and, therefore, with apparent willing- ness, he (in September, 1680) executed a re- lease of East New Jersey, with all his rights of 1 N. Y. Col. MSS., vol. xxix. p. 105. properly and of government in it, to Sir George Carteret, the grandson and heir of Sir George, the original proprietor. The fact of the execu- tion of this release, and of the Duke's disavowal and disapproval of the proceedings of An- dros in New Jersey, was officially communicated to him at New York, and on the 2d of March, 1680-81, Philip Carteret made proclamation at Elizabethtown of his resumption of the duties and functions of Governor of East New Jersey. Andros was called to England, and on his de- parture left Anthony Brockholst (president of the Council) in charge of affairs at New York. He, on the 26th of July, 1681, addressed a com- munication to Governor Carteret, in which he ignored the right of the latter to exercise author- ity in New Jersey, and required him to desist from doing so until he should exhibit proper warrant, according to his parole, and the orders of the court in New York. To this, Carteret replied that his power and authority to act as Governor were sufficient, and that there was no more reason why he should account to the New York authorities than they to him. This closed the controversy, and Carteret held the Gover- norship of East Jersey until his death, in 1682, during which year an entire change was made in the proprietorship of New Jersey, of which the following account is found in Leam- ing and Spicer's " Grants and Concessions," page 73. "December 5, 1678, Sir George Carteret made his Will, and Devised to Edward, Earl of Sand- wich, John, Earl of Bath, Bernard Greenville, Sir Thomas Crew, Sir Eobert Atkins and Ed- ward Atkins, Esqrs., and their Heirs, among other Lands, all his Plantation of New Jersey, upon Trust and Confidence that they, and the Survivers and Surviver of them, and the Heirs and Executors of the Surviver of them, should make Sale of all the said Premises, and out of the Moneys that should upon such Sale arise pay and discharge Debts, &c., as therein men- tioned. "February First and Second, 1682, in the Thirty-fourth of King Charles Second, in pursuance of the Trust aforesaid. Dame Eliza- beth Carteret, John, Earl of Bath, Thomas Lord Crew, Bernard Greenville, Sir Robert At- THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 31 kins, Thomas Pocock, and Thomas Cremer, ^ by Lease and Eelease, conveyed the Eastern Divi- sion of New Jersey aforesaid, in fee Simple, to William Penn, Eobert West, Thomas Rudyard, Samuel Groom, Thomas Hart, Richard Mew, Thomas Wilcox, Ambrose Rigg, John Hey wood, Hugh Hartshorne, Clement Plumstead and Thomas Cooper; the Bounds being according to the Quintipartite Deed. The Twelve Pro- prietors agreed that there should be no benefit of Survivorship. "At Sundry Times in the Year 1682, in the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-fifth of King Charles Second. The above Twelve Persons conveyed to Twelve others, viz. : Robert Barclay, Edward Billinge, Robert Turner, James Brain, Arent Sonmans, William Gibson, Gawen Lowry, David Barclay, Thomas Barker, Thomas Yarne [Warne], James, Earl of Perth, Robert Gordon and John Drummond," ^ one undivided half of all their interests in the eastern division of the province of New Jersey. On the 14th of March, 1682-83, the Duke of York executed a deed confirming to these twen- ty-four proprietors ^ their above-mentioned pur- chase, and on the 23rd of November following King Charles, by his royal letter to the Gover- nor and Council of the proprietors, * recognized and confirmed to them their right to the soil and government of East New Jersey. The proprietors appointed one of their num- ber, Robert Barclay, Governor'; Thomas Rud- yard, Deputy Governor, secretary and treasurer ; and Samuel Groome, receiver and surveyor- general. The appointments of the last two were '■ " In the Recital of the Release it appears that the Grant- ors ahove had conveyed the Premises, among other things, to said Cremer and Pocock, which is the reason of their joining in the Sale. And Edward, Earl of Sandwich, Re- leased all his Estate in the Premises to the other Trustees, before they Sold to the Twelve Proprietors." — Learning and Spicer, ' Thirteen names are here given instead of twelve. One of them — that of David Barclay — properly belongs with the original twelve, he having become purchaser of the share of Thomas Wilcox. 3 Leaming and Spicer, p. 141-150. *Leaming and Spicer, p. 151-152. 5 He was appointed Governor for life, though it was not expected that he would reside in America, but rule New Jersey through a Deputy Governor. dated September 16, 1682, and they both arrived in the province on the 13th of November of the same year. Rudyard appointed as his Council, Lewis Morris (of what soon afterwards became the county of Monmouth), John Berry, John Palmer, William Sandford, Lawrence Andros and Benjamin Price. The first Assembly un- der the government of these proprietors convened at Elizabethtown on the 1st of March, 1682-83. At this session a number of important laws were enacted, among which were those for the reor- ganizing of the judicial department of the gov- ernment, the establishment of courts and the erection of the original counties of East New Jersey, — Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Mon- mouth, — the latter of which will be mentioned more fully in a succeeding chapter. Rudyard failed to give satisfaction to the proprietors in his administration, and was suc- ceeded as Deputy Governor by Gawen Lawrie, a Quaker (also one of the twenty-four proprietors), whose commission bore date July 27, 1683. He arrived in the province February in the fol- lowing year, and assumed the ofiice of Governor on the 28th of that month. He brought with him a new code of laws which had been drafted by the proprietors in England, and called " The Fundamental Concessions," differing materially in some respects from the original " Concessions " of Berkeley and Carteret, and designed to change the form of government of the province in many important particulars; and this new plan or constitution the Deputy Governor was directed by the proprietors to take especial care to have immediately placed before the people and fully explained to them, and " as soon as possible he can order it passed in an Assembly, and settle the country accordingly." But Deputy Gover- nor Lawrie did not push these matters as it was expected he would have done. The first session of Assembly in his administration met at Perth Amboy on the 6th of April, 1686, but neither at this nor at an adjourned session held in the the following October were the " Fundamental Concessions" fully agreed to and adopted. By this delay, and by his failure to enforce payment of the heavy arrears of quit-rents, as also by some irregularities in the taking up of lands, and his disregard of his instructions to change his place 32 HISTORY OF iAfONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. of residence from. Elizabethtown to Perth Am- boy, Lawrie incurred the displeasure of the pro- prietors and of Governor Barclay, who, accord- ingly, on the 4th of June, 1686, appointed Lord Neill Campbell (a Scotch nobleman and brother of the Duke of Argyle) to supersede Lawrie as Deputy Governor. His appointment was for the term of two years, but he held the office only a few months, and (being compelled " by the urgent necessity of some weighty affairs " — as he said — to return to Scotland) surrendered it on the 10th of December next following his appointment, leaving as his substitute a recently- arrived Scotchman, Colonel Andrew Hamilton, who afterwards received a commission as Deputy Governor, which was published at Perth Amboy in March, 1687. In the instructions given to Gawen Lawrie with his commission as Deputy Governor, in 1683, he was charged by the proprietors of East New Jersey to "make all needful prepa- ration towards drawing the line of division be- tween us and West Jersey, that it may be done as soon as possible it can." ^ Pursuant to these instructions, "a council relative to the line be- tween East and West Jersey " was held at New York on the 30th of June, 1686, composed of Governor Dongan, of New York, and Governors Lawrie and Skene, respectively of East and West New Jersey; and by this council it was agreed that George Keith,^ Andrew Robinson and Philip Wells, the surveyors-general of the three provinces, should meet at the Falls of the Delaware (Trenton) on the 1st of September following, and proceed to establish the northern point of the proposed partition line on the Del- aware River. No decisive action resulted from this arrangement, and on the 8th of January, 1686-87, the Governors of East and West Jer- sey, with the resident proprietors, metat Mill- stone River, and agreed to refer the matter of the establishment of the line to John Reid and William Emley, of the east and west divisions respectively, and mutually entered into bonds in the sum of £5,000 to abide by their decision, 1 Learning and Spicer, p. 173. " Surveyor-general of East New Jersey, commissioned August 8, 1684. which they duly reported as follows : " Whereas the Governours of East and West Jersey has wholly referred y' division lyne of j" two prov- inces to us (as by their bonds doth appear), that is to say, given us full power to runn j" Same as wee think fitt. Therefore wee do hereby declare that jt shall runn from y° north side of y° mouth or Inlett of y' beach of little Egg Harbour, on a streight lyne to Delaware River, north-northwest, and fifty minutes more west- erly, according to naturall position, and not ac- cording to y' magnet, whose variation is nine degrees Westward." Notwithstanding the agreement which had been entered into, this decision of Reid and Emley appears to have been unsatisfactory to the west division, and on the 14th of April fol- lowing the East Jersey proprietors empowered John Campbell and Miles Forster to confer with the Governor of West Jersey on the sub- ject, and finally an agreement was made, under which Surveyor-General Keith ran a part of the line in the summer and fall of 1687, as fol- lows : "Beginning at the most southerly part of a certain beach or island lying next to and ad- joining the main sea, to the northward of a certain Bay, Inlet or Harbour, lying on the sea- coast of this Province, and commonly called or known by the name of Little Egg Harbour ; and running thence, according to natural posi- tion, on a north-northwest, fifty minutes more westerly course, to the southwesterly corner of a certain tract of land lying to the westward of the South Branch of Raritan River, heretofore granted by the proprietors of the eastern divi- sion of this Province to John Dobie, and com- monly called or known by the name of Dobie's Plantation." The line run by Keith, as above described, was exactly in accordance with the decision of Reid and Emley ; but it was stopped at about three-fifths of the distance from the southern to the northern point, on account of the dissatis- faction of the West Jersey proprietors, by whom it was never accepted as the boundary of their possessions, though in the following year (1688) Governors Barclay and Coxe, of the east and west divisions respectively, signed an agreement THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND, PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 33 that it should remain as such, and fixed tlie method of continuing it northward to the Del aware. In this condition the matter remained for many years. In 1719 the General Assem- bly passed an act declaring the location of the line. Finally, in 1743, it was run and deter- mined in its entire length, starting from the same southern point, but running thence, in a course considerably farther eastward than Keith's line of 1687, and so continuing to the northern point on the waters of the Delaware. Keith's line, however, remained undisturbed as marking the western boundaries of the counties of Somerset and Monmouth. Immediately after the accession of the Duke of York to the throne of England as James the Second it became evident that he was deter- mined to take from the proprietors the govern- ment of New Jersey and join it with New York in the hands of one and the same royal Gov- ernor. The proprietors remonstrated and pe- titioned the throne to defend them in the rights which they had received from the King himself, while he was the Duke of York, but to no effect, and finally, in despair, they consented to surrender the government of New Jersey, if thereby they could be assured of protection to their rights of property in the province. This the King consented to and promised, and the surrender of both divisions of New Jersey was made on that condition by the proprietors in April, 1688. Sir Edmund Andros was at that time Governor of the New England colonies, and to him the King issued a commission as Governor of New York, and of East and "West New Jersey also, all to be joined with New England in one govern- ment under him. On the receipt of this com- mission, in August, 1688, he immediately pro- ceeded to New York and New Jersey, and assumed the Governorship.^ He soon after re- 1 In a letter to the Lords of Trade, dated New York, Oct. 4, 1688, Andros said: "1 arrived here the eleventh of August past. When his Majestie's Letters Patents being published, received this place, as also East Jersey the fif- teenth and West Jersey the eighteenth following, where by proclamac'on continued the revenue and all oificers in place till further order, and have since settled all Officers, ■Civil and Military." — New Jersey Col. Doc, \st series, vol. a., p. 37. 3 turned to New England, leaving Andrew Ham- ilton still at the head of the government of East New Jersey as Deputy Governor. But the plans of the King and his Governor, Andros, were suddenly cut short by the landing of the Prince of Orange in England, the dethronement and exile of King James, and the accession of William and Mary to the throne. The surrender by the proprietors to King James had never been consummated. It was made on the condition that they should receive from the King, under his royal seal, an assu- rance that they should continue in possession of the right to the soil, surrendering only the gov- ernment of their respective provinces. This assurance had never been given by the King, and the confirmation of the surrender was de- layed until his dethronement made it impossi- ble, and thus gave back to the proprietors the right of government, in which they were sus- tained by the new King. In this condition of affairs Colonel Andrew Hamilton (who had never resigned his office of Proprietary Deputy Governor) left for England to consult with the -proprietors there. His departure from the province was iji the month of August, 1689. On the voyage he was taken prisoner by the captain of a French vessel, but after a short detention was allowed to proceed to England, where he resigned his office of Deputy Governor. For some causes which do not clearly appear he remained in England for nearly three years, during which time Governor Robert Barclay died (October 3, 1690) and the government of East New Jersey became almost entirely inoperative under the nominal admin- istration of John Tatham and, after him, of Colonel Joseph Dudley, both of whom had received the appointment of Governor from the proprietaries, and both of whom were virtually rejected by the people of the province. On the 25th of March, 1692, Colonel Hamil- ton (who was then still in England) received the appointment and commission of Governor of East New Jersey, and in the following Sep- tember arrived in the province, where he at once entered upon the duties of his office. He was well received by the people, and, though he afterwards became obnoxious to many, he had 34 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. the confidence of the proprietors, and remained at the head of affairs in the province until 1698, when he Avas " displaced by the proprietors through a misapprehension of the operation of an act of Parliament." ' The act referred to, which was passed in 1697, declared that no other than a natural-born subject of England should be allowed to serve in any public office or place of profit and trust. Governor Hamilton returned to England and was succeeded by Jeremiah Basse, previously an Anabaptist preacher, whose commission as Gov- ernor M'as dated July 15, 1697, and published in the province April 7, 1698. His adminis- tration awakened an opposition which resulted in anarchy, and in May, 1 699, he departed for England, leaving as his deputy, Captain Andrew Bowne, of Monmouth County, who was sworn into that office on the 15th of May. In the mean time the case of Colonel Hamil- ton's supposed ineligibility on account of his nativity had been submitted to Attorney-Gen- eral Trevor, who had delivered his opinion, — " That a Scotchman borne is by Law capable of being appointed Governour of any of the Plantac'ous, he being a Natural-born Subject of England in Judg'm' and Construcc'on of Law as much as if he had been born in Eng land." This gave the proprietors the right to reappoint Hamilton as Governor, and they did so, soon after the arrival of Governor Basse in England. Hamilton returned to New Jersey, where he found affairs in a deplorable state, a large part of the people being in almost open revolt. Many bitterly opposed his claims to the Gov- ernorship, saying that his disability on account of his Scotch nativity had never been removed, and that he was now sent to govern the province in direct defiance to the act of Parliament. He was also accused of favoring Scotchmen and filling the minor offices of the province with them,^ to the exclusion of Englishmen and 1 We have been," said the proprietors, " obliged against our inclinations to dismiss Colonel Andrew Hamilton from the Government because of a late Act of Parliament disa- bling all Scotchmen to serve in places of Public Trust or Proffit." 2 In a memorial of Edward Randolph, setting forth the condition of East and West Jersey, he says : " Mr. Andrew Hamilton, a Scotchman, is the Gov', of those provinces. others, and they demanded the restoration of Basse, whom they professed to still regard as their rightful Governor. On the other hand, the adherents of Hamilton alleged that Basse had never been in reality a Governor of the province ; that his commission was only signed bv ten (instead of the requisite number of six- teen) of the proprietors, and that it had never been confirmed by the King, as had been pro- claimed on his assumption of the office ; also, that he was in league with the malcontents and enemies of the proprietary government, who sought its overthrow.^ It was in the midst of such a state of confusion and anarchy that Governor Hamilton resumed the Governorship. Among the chief of his opponents was Captain Andrew Bowne, who had been appointed Deputy Governor by Basse on his departure for Eng- land in 1699. On the 7th of June, 1701, Bowne received a commission, dated March 25th, as Governor of East New Jersey, but as it proved lo have been signed by only six of the proprie- tors, it was disregarded by Hamilton, who then continued at the head of the government (if government it could be termed) during the brief period that elapsed before the expiration of the proprietary rule in New Jersey and its erection into a royal province under the crown of England. The proprietary government of the provinces of New Jersey had proved weak and inefficient ; unsatisfactory to the people, and a source of con- stant annoyance to and disagreement among the proprietors themselves, for they had not only failed in the matter of government, but also in securing the object which was much nearer their hearts, — pecuniary profit. Their surrender (never completed) to King Jaincs in 1688 had Appointed by the Proprietors to Leas out their Lands & re- ceive their Quit-Rents. He is a great favourer of the Scotch traders, his countrymen.'' 'Governor Basse, in a letter to Secretary Popple, dated June 9, 1699, complained, — " that I am too much discor- aged & Chequed in my zeale for the Comon good & his Majesty's servis, in that I have nothinge beyond a Proprie- tary Commission to support me & even then persons seem- inge to desert me for no other reason alleged that ear I could yet hear of, then [than] those that are but so many instances of my faithfullness to the interest of the crowne viz'.,— jMy discountenanceinge the Scotch and Pirates in their illegal! trades^" THE DUTCH, ENCtLISH AND PROPKIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 35 been forced on them by that monarch's faith- lessness and duplicity ; but now, after a further trial of thirteen years, resulting the same as before, they had became so entirely discouraged that, if they could be allowed to retain their right of property in the soil, they were willing to surrender that power of government which they had never been able to wield successfully. In an official " Representation," by the Board of Trade and Plantations, to the Lords Justices of England, dated Whitehall, October 2, 1701, they say : ^ " We do not find that any sufficient form of Government has ever been settled in those Prov- inces, either by the Duke of ,York or by those claiming under him ; but that many incon- veniences and disorders having arisen from their Pretence of right to govern, the Proprietors of East New Jersey did surrender their said pre- tended right to the late King James in the month of April, 1688, which was accordingly accepted by him. That since his Majesty's ^ Accession to the Crown the Proprietors both of ' East and West New Jersey have continued to challenge the same right as before, and did, in the year 1697, apply themselves to us in order to their obtaining his Majesty's Approbation of the Person ^ whom they desired to have consti- tuted Governor of the said Provinces, but at the same time refused to enter into Security to his Majesty, pursuant to the Address of the Right Honourable the House of Lords, of the 8th of March, 1696, that the Person so presented by them, the said Proprietors, should duly observe and put in execution the Acts of Trade ; yet nevertheless proceeded from Time to Time to commissionate whom they thought fit to be Governors of those Provinces without his Majesty's Approbation acording to what is required by the late Act for preventing Frauds and regulating Abuses in the Plantation Trade. " That in this manner, having formerly com- missionated Colonel Andrew Hamilton, after- wards Mr. Jeremiah Bass, then again superseding their Commission to Mr. Bass, and renewing or ' Learning and Spicer, 604—607. 2 Meaning the Prince of Orange, King James' successor. 3 GoTernor Jeremiah Basse. confirming that to Colonel Hamilton, and ever since tliat also some of them having sent another Commission to one Captain Andrew Bown, the Inhabitants, sensible of the defects and unsuffi- ciency of all those Commissions for want of his Majesty's Authority, have upon several occasions some of them opposed one of those Governors, some another, according as Interest, Friendship or Faction have inclined them. " That the Inhabitants of East New Jersey, in a Petition to his Majesty the last year, Com- plained of several Grievances they lay under by the neglect or mismanagement of the Pro- prietors of that Province or their Agent; or particularly that from the latter end of June, 1689, till about the latter end of August, 1692, (which was a Time of actual War), they had not taken any manner of care about the Govern- ment thereof, so that, there having been neither Magistrates established to put the Laws in execution, nor Military Officers to command or give Directions in order to the Defence of the Province, they were exposed to any Insults that might have been made upon them by an Enemy ; unto which they also added that during the whole time the Said Proprietors have govern'd or pretended to govern that Province they have never taken care to preserve or defend the same from the Indians or other Enemies by sending or providing any Arms, Ammunition or Stores, as they ought to have done; and the Said In- habitants thereupon humbly prayed his Majesty would be pleased to Commissionate some fit Person qualified according to Law to be Gover- nor over them. " That it has been represented to us by several Letters, Memorials and other Papers, as well from the Inhabitants as Proprietors of both those Provinces, that they are at present in Con- fusion and Anarchy, and that it is much to be apprehended least by the heats of the Parties that are amongst them, they should fall into such Violences as may endanger the lives of many Persons, and destroy the Colony. . . . " That the Proprietors of East New Jersey residing there have signed and sent over hither, to a Gentleman whom they have constituted their Agent and Attorney in that behalf, an absolute and unconditional surrender of their 36 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Eight to the Government of that l^rovince, so far as the Same is in them, and so far as tliey are capable of doing it for others concerned with them in that Propriety. " That in relation to the aforesaid Articles, we have been attended by several of the Pro- prietors here, who have further personally de- clared to us that their Intention in proposing the same is only to secure their Right in such Things as are matter of property ; and that they unanimously desire to surrender the Govern- ment to the King, and submit the Circumstances thereof to his Majesty's Pleasure. But in re- lation to the fore-mentioned Petition that Colonel Hamilton may at present receive his Majesty's Approbation to be Governor of these Provinces, the said Proprietors are so divided amongst themselves, that whereas some seem to insist upon his Approbation as one principal Condi- tion of their surrender, others in the same man- ner insist upon his exclusion." Upon which the board declared their opinion that none of .the proprietors claiming under the Duke of York's release had ever held a legal right to the government of the provinces of East and West New Jersey, and " that it is very expedient for the preservation of those Territories to the Crown of England, and for securing the private Intei-est of all Persons con- cerned, that his Majesty would be pleased to constitute a Governor over those Provinces by his immediate Commission." ^ This " Representation" by the Lords of Trade hastened the action of the proprietors, who, on the 15th of April, 1702, fornmlly surrendered to Queen Anne (who had, in the mean time, suc- ceeded to the throne of England, on the death of King William, in March, 1701-2) all their right of government over the provinces of East and West New Jersey. The surrender was duly accepted (April 17, 1702) by the Queen, who, on the 5tli of the following December, commissioned her cousin, Edward Hyde, Lord Cornbury, " to be our Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over the aforesaid County of Nova Cassarea or New Jersey, viz, — the Division of East and West New Jersey in ' Learning and Spicei", p. 608. America, which we have thought fit to reunite in one Province, and^ settle under one entire Government." Lord Cornbury, who had previously received the appointment and commission of Governor of New York, arrived there from England on the 3d of May, 1702. His commission as Gov- ernor of New Jersey, signed by the Queen in the follo\ving December, as before mentioned, reached him at New York on the 29th of July, 1703, and on the 10th of August following he went to New Jersey and assumed the govern- ment. His Council had previously been ap- pointed by the Queen, consisting of the follow- ing-named persons, viz. : Edward Hunloke, Lewis Morris, Andrew Bowne, Samuel Jen- nings, Thomas Revell, Francis Davenport, William Pinhorne, Samuel Leonard, George Deacon, Samuel Walker, Daniel Leeds, Wil- liam Sandford and Robert Quary. The Lieu- tenant-Governor of New Jersey was Colonel Richard Ingoldsby, commissioned by the Queen, November 26, 1702.2 The first General Assembly under the royal Governor convened at Perth Amboy, November 10, 1703, nearly all the members being present. Those for the eastern division of the province were Obadiah Bowne, Jedediah Allen, Michael Howden, Peter Van Este, John Reid, John Harrison, Cornelius Tunison, Ricliard Harts- horne and Colonel Richard Townly. Of these, Messrs. Bowne, Reid and Hartshorne were of Monmouth County. At this session the Assem- bly appeared to be very humble and subservient to the will of the Governor. He, in his opening address, recommended the passage of certain meas- ures, which the Assembly passed with but little de- lay ; but all these bills, on presentation to the Gov- ernor, were disapproved by him, excepting one prohibiting the purchase of lands from Indians by any others than the proprietors ; and on the 13th of December he prorogued the house. The next session was held at Burlington, be- ginning on the 7th of September, 1704. The members for the eastern division were John Bowne, Richard Hartshorne, Richard Salter, Obadiah Bowne, Anthony Woodward, Jolui 2 Commission revoked by the Queen, October 20, 1709. THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 37 Tuuison, John Lawrence, Jasper Crane, Peter Van Este, Thomas Gordon, John Barclay and John Royce, the first-named four being from Monmouth County. One of the measures which the Governor pressed upon this Assembly was the raising of a militia force, on account of recent depredations upon the people about the Navesinks by the crew of a French priva- teer; and another was the raising of a large sum of money for support of the government, viz. : £2000 per year for twenty years. The Assembly, being unwilling to meet his views on these (particularly) and other measures rec- ommended, he promptly dissolved them on the 28th, after a session of three weeks, and issued writs for the election of a new Assem- bly. _ , From this time the remaining four years of Cornbury's administration in New Jersey was a period of continual discord and of quarrel be- tween him and the Assembly. Two of the leading members of his Council had been sus- pended by him on account of their antagonism to his views and measures. These were Lewis Morris and Samuel Jennings, between whom, especially Morris, and the Governor there arose feelings of the most intense animosity and hatred. His opinion of these two men is very plainly expressed in an address of the Lieu- tenant-Governor and Council of Nova Csesarea, or New Jersey, to the Queen in 1707, a document emanating, in fact, from the Governor, though not signed by him. The " Address," in refer- ring to several causes which had brought about the state of disorder which had ruled in New Jersey /for several years, proceeds ; " The first is wholly owing to the Turbulent, Factious, Uneasy and Disloyal Principles of two Men in that Assembly, M' Lewis Morris and Samuel Jennings, a Quaker ; ' Men notoriously known to be uneasie under all Government; Men never known to be consistent with themselves ; Men to whom all the Factions and Confusions in the Governments of New Jersey and Penn- sylvania for many years are wholly owing ; Men that have had the Confidence to declare in open Council That your Majesties Instruc- tions to your Governours in these Provinces shall not oblige or bind them, nor will they be con- cluded by them further than they are warranted by Law; of which also they will be the judges; and this is done by them (as we have all the reason in the world to believe) to encourage not only this Government, but also the rest of your Governments in America, to throw ofl" your Majesties Royal Prerogative." In the same year, Cornbury, in an address to the Assembly, May 12, 1707, said: "I am of opinion that nothing has hindered the Ven- geance of a just heaven from falling upon this province long agoe but the Infinite mercy, Goodness, long Suifering and forbearance of all-mighty God, who has been abundantly provoked by the Repeated Crying Sins of a perverse generation among us. And more Especially by the dangerous & abominable Doc- trines and the wicked lives and practices of a Number of people, some of whome, under the pretended name of Christians, have dared to deny the very Essence and being of the Saviour of the world." On the other hand, it was charged by Lewis Morris and the party of which he was the leader that, in addition to Cornbury's general unfitness for the position of Governor and the fact that his supporters were of the most un- principled and characterless people in the prov- ince, he was also exceedingly corrupt, and had been led by his avarice to the acceptance of bribes, given in consideration of his dissolving the Assembly and for " having Officers appointed to the good liking of the people, and to be freed of their Quit-Rents." Morris, in a letter to the British Secretary of State, dated February 9, 1707, mentions these matters (beginning with Cornbury's arrival in New Jersey as Governor) as follows : " When he arrived there he found it divided into two parties, the one called Hamilton's and the other Basse's party ; not to troubles your Honor from whence they rose, Hamilton's party in East New Jersey consisted of the gentlemen of the best figure and fortune and majority of the people. Basse being for- merly an Anabaptist Minister, those of that religion, some Quakers and a misclanious mob were of his party That party of Basse's having most of them being, in y" Assembly, and 38 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. having made some endeavours to procure an Act of Indempuity which proved ineffectual], had recoui'se to other measures, and it having got wind that his L^ rec'' money of Doctor John- stone, and guessing the sum much bigger than really 'twas, began to entertain some hopes, very justly conceiving that he that was not proofe against one sum would not withstand another, and since he was to be purchas'd, resolved to bid for him, and being eucourag'd by his confident, D' Bridges, Chiefe Justice of New York, since dead, they raised the severall sums mentioned in the affidavits ^ and many more that we cannot yet get accounts of, as we judge to y° value of about fifteen hundred pounds. This money was paid to one Richard Salter (who had been presented by a Grand Jury for fellony under the former administration) and to one Capt. John Bowne; both which persons travailed through the Province, and by untrue insinua- tions perswaded the raising of this money. They are both protected and honored by my Lord, and what places he can bestow given them. Bowne was a member of the Assembly and by them expelled for refusing to tell what he did with the money.^ Salter kept out of the way and could not be got, but while he kept out of the Serjeant's way, my Lord admitted him to his company, and sent for a boat and had him Shiped over into Pensilvania government. ... It can be proved (without Bowne and t'other) that 'twas [the money raised as alleged] given to D' Bridges in my Lord's house, and there is all the reason in y" world to believe his Lordship had it." With this letter from Morris to the Secre- ' See affidavit following. 2 John Bowne (son of that John who was one of the first five settlers within the limits of Monmouth County) was expelled from the House of Assembly, April 30, 1707, for his complicity in the raising of money for the bribing of Lord Cornbury. On the 5th of May, 1707, the Assembly "Resolved that this House, from the Evidence of Several Persons, taken by the Committee of the Whole House, and Several Petitions Sent to this House, are fully satisfied that there have been Considerable Sums of Money privately raysed in this Prov- ince by the perswasiveness of Richard Saltar, to procure the dissolution of the Assembly to get cleare of the proprie- tors' Quitt rent, and procure such men to be put in office as the Contributors Should approve of." tary of State was forwarded the following, being a part of " A. Collection of Affidavits, Depositions and Petitions to the Assembly of New Jersey, to suppoi-t the accusation of the said Assembly against Lord Cornbury's Admin- istration of that Province. Inclosed in Mr. Morris's 9th Feb'ry, 1707-8 : " "Joseph Meaker, aged fifty-nine years, being Sworn, saith that Mr. Richard Salter told this depon' that he thought the then Assembly would be dissolved and that the Countrey had not a free choice of their Rep- resentatives in that Assembly, and that if a sum of money cou'd be raised, which he, the s'd Salter per- swaded to : He, sd Salter, said he knew he could pro- cure from my Ld Cornbury that they should have a free choice of their Representatives, their Quit rents cleared and new Justices made such as the People had a mind to ; this depon' further saith that Richard Salter, in a great company where himself, Jonas Wood, Joseph Lyon, Benjamine Meaker and severall others were, Salter told them that the money raised was to be given to my Ld Cornbury to obtain the ends aforesd, that this defpon' paid four pounds himself with intent to be given to my Ld Cornbury for to ob- tain the Ends aforesaid, and that most of the Con- tributors in Elizabeth Towne told this depon' that they had given the money to be given to my Ld Corn- bury to obtain a dissolution of the then Assembly and other the ends before named. This depon' says he does not know whether the money was given to my Lord Cornbury or not; but he believes it was." "Apr. 28, 1707. Sworn as before.^ "Lewis Morris, Chairman." "Sefty Grover, Aged forty-nine years, being Sworn, saith that the saw severall Billes in Salter's hands for several sums of money. Particularly one from M' John Royce for a sum above thirty pounds, one from one Lucas (but whether the younger or older he knows not) for forty pounds, and from one Dunham or some such Name for five pounds; that the sd Salter wou'd have had this depon' sign a Bond to Capt. Bowne, and accordingly produced a blank Bond ready drawn, which this depon' refused to sign until he knew what it was for; Salter reply 'd, it was for the good of the country and t' would prove so, and this depon' urged very hard to know what it was for ; he, the sd Salter, told this depon', He should never know more than he did know ; this depon' saith further, that he saw a parcell of Papers in Salter's hands, which Salter told him were Billes, and read severall of them to him, but he does not remember the Persons' Names or Sums, but that they were most or all taken in Capt. John Bowne's Name ; he, the sd depon', also saith, that James Grover told him he gave ten pounds on »N. J. Col. Doc, Series 1, vol. iii. pp. 210-211. THE DUTCH, ENGLISH AND PROPRIETARY RULE IN NEW JERSEY. 39 the account ; James Cox told him six or seven times that he had given ten pounds ; James Bowne told the depon' he had given six pounds; George Allen told this depon' he had given twelve pounds ; Ger- shom Mott told this depon', it had cost him twenty pounds, but whether it was for the Lawyers or upon the other account, which generally obtained the name of the Blind Tack [tax], this depon' cannot tell, y' William Winter told this deponent, he had given four pounds upon that blind tack ; John Bray told this depon' he had given six pounds and that he was straitened to procure the money, y' this deponent heard Salter read a Bill from himself to Bowne, but remembered not the sum ; this depon' further saith tnat by Common fame the Persons hereafter nam'' were supposed to contribute to the blind tack as fol- lows, viz. : Widow Reape, twenty pounds ; Steven Cook, six pounds ; Joseph Cox, twelve pounds ; Garet Wall, thirty pounds, he told this depon' it had cost him forty pounds; Nathaniel Parker, Eight pounds; John Lipincot, six pounds ; Joseph Parker, six pounds; Elisha Lawrence, twenty pounds; and that all the Lawrences, except Benjamine, gave money ; Richard Hartshorne, thirty pounds ; Capt. Andrew Bowne, thirty-six pounds, this depon' thinks Salter shew'd him Cap' Andrew Bowne's Bond for that sum ; Edward Woolly, seven or eight pounds ; John Woolly, eight pounds; John Stout, six pounds; W" Winter told this Depon' he was by when Lipet and Stout gave it; Joseph William, Eighteen shil- lings; Joseph Warden, Eight pounds; John Scot, five pounds and upwards ; John Lawrence, seven pounds; William Hartshorne, six pounds; Richard Lipincot, five pounds and upwards ; Thomas White, eight pounds; James Ashton, seven or Eight pounds; George Hulet, six pounds; Old Robins, forty shil- lings; Richard James, Six pounds; that it was generally believed one man had all the money afore- s'd. William Winter told this depon' Salter promised to get his Quitrents oflf and that Cap' Stillwell should be put out of office, and this depon' saith that it was Salter generally went about to perswade the raising the above sd money ; this depon' further saith it was some little time after he, the sd Salter, had taken the Oaths for to be a Justice of the Peace that this de- pon' had this discourse with him, and that some time before that the sd Salter had desir'd this depon' to send severall persons to meet him at Middletown, at an appointed time, which this depon' did do, and some of the persons afterwards told him they had given him, the sd Salter, Bills on account of the Blind Tack aforesd, and further this depon' saith not. " Apr: 26th, 1707. Sworne as before,^ " Lewis Mokris, Chairman." There were many more depositions produced, all being of nearly the same tenor ; and there IN. J. Col. Doc, Series 1, vol. iii. pp. 211-213. can be no doubt of the truth, in the main, of the allegations brought by Lewis Morris against Cornbury, who was the most detested of all the royal Governors, except, perhaps. Sir Ed- mund Andros; and, indeed, in the matter of private character, the latter was far the better of the two. In an address by the Assembly to Governor Hunter, in 1710, they said, with reference to the administration of Corn- bury, that he had " sacrificed his own reputa- tion, the laws and our liberties, to his avarice," and that he had treated her Majesty's subjects rather as slaves, whose persons and estates he might control, than as freemen, avIio were to be governed by the laws. And he was not more detested and disliked in New Jersey than in New York, where, in fact, his private character ap- peared in even a more unfavorable light. " It was not uncommon for him to dress himself in a wo- man's habit, and then to patrol the fort in -which he resided ; such freaks of low humour exposed him to the universal contempt of the people ; but their indignation was kindled by his despotick rule, savage bigotry, insatiable avarice and injustice, not only to the publick, but even to his private creditors ; for he left some of the lowest tradesmen in his employment unsatisfied in their just demands." — History of New York. Finally, the complaints against Cornbury became so loud and frequent that the Queen was forced to the conviction of his unfitness for the position he held, and although he was her near kinsman, she revoked his commission and appointed John, Lord Lovelace, his successor as Governor of the provinces of New York and New Jersey. Lord Lovelace was commissioned Governor of the two provinces in April, 1708. He ar- rived at New York on the 18th of December following, and on the 20th he met the Council of New Jersey at Bergen, and assumed the government of the province, but his adminis- tration was of less than five months' duration, for he died at New York on the 6th of May, 1709, having never recovered from a sickness resulting from the exposure and hardship of the voyage from England. One of his sons died at New York before him, and another (the eldest) died a fortnight after his father. The 40 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. widowed Lady Lovelace returned to England, heart-broken and in poverty, liaving failed to secure a reimbursmeut of her husband's outlay in coming to America. The successor of Lord Lovelace at the head of the governments of New Jersey and New York was Lieutenant-Govenior Richard In- goklsby, who had held that office since his appointment by the Queen, in 1702. He had been in full sympathy with Cornbuiy, and was almost as much detested by the people as his superior had been. Both provinces memorial- ized the Queen, protesting against his continu- ance in office, which resulted in the revocation of his commission (October 20, 1709). William Pinhorne then (as senior member of the Council) became acting Governor, until the arrival at New York (June 14. 1710) of Brigadier-General Robert Hunter, who had been commissioned as Governor of New York and New Jersey in the preceding December. Governor Hunter favored the interests and measures of what was called the " country party " — -which included the Quaker element — and was vigorously opposed by those who had been ad- herents of Lord Cornbury. But he gained the good- will and respect of a majority of the people, and his administration, which continued ten years, was far more successful than any which had ])rcceded it in New Jersey. In 1719, when writing to Secretary Pop2:)le, notifying him of his intention of returning soon to England, he said : " I shall leave both provinces in perfect peace, to which both had been long strangers." Upon his departure, Lewis Morris, being president of the Council, became for the time acting Governor of New Jersey. When Governor Huntfer left for England, in 1719, it was with the expectation of returning to New York, but not long after his arrival in London an arrangement was made, with the King's sanction, by Avhich he exchangee} offices with William Burnet, Esq., he receiving that of comptroller of the customs, in London, and Burnet being commissioned (lovcrnor of New York and New Jersey, April 1!>, 1720. He arrived at New York in the following Sep- tember. Governor Burnet's administration was marked by disagreements between himself and the As- sembly, chiefly arising from differences of opinion in the matter of raising revenue for the support of government. He remained Governor of the two provinces until the latter part of the year 1727, when he was appointed to the gov- ernment of Massachusetts Bay, and removed to Boston. He was succeeded in the Governorship of the two provinces by John Montgomerie, Esq., who arrived at New York and assumed the government on the 15th of April, 1728. He remained in office three years, and until his death, July 1, 1731. During his administration (in 1728) the first step was taken, by a resolu- tion of the General Assembly, and afterwards a petition to the King, for making the govern- ment of New Jersey separate from and inde- pendent of that of New York. The measure was unsuccessful at this time, but was adopted ten years later. By the death of Governor Montgomerie, the president of the Council, Lewis Morris, became and continued Acting Governor until 1732, when Colonel William Cosby was commissioned Governor (February 4th), and arrived in New York in September of that year. He continued in office until his death, March 10, 1736. John Anderson, president of the Council, then admin- istered the government until his death (which occurred about two weeks afterwards), when it devolved on the next member of the Council, John Hamilton, Esq. (son of the former Gov- ernor, Andrew Hamilton), who continued to act as Governor for about two years. In 1736, about two months after the death of Governor Cosby, a petition from the Council and the Speaker and a number of members of the Assembly, and another petition from the grand jury of the Supreme Court of New Jersey (both dated May 11, 1736), praying for a sepa- ration of the government of New Jersey from that of New York, were forwarded to England and presented to the King, by whom they were referred to the Lords of Trade for their consid- eration and advice. The Lords having reported favorably (August 6, 1736), Colonel Lewis Morris, of Monmouth C^ounty, who had been a prominent man in the affiiii-s of the province for forty -six years, and a, leader in the eflbrts to THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 41 secure the separation of the provinces, was appointed and commissioned, in 1738, Governor of New Jersey, independent of the government of New York. The administration of Governor Morris was a complete surprise and disappointment to tlie people, who had based their expectations on his previous official record. In the office of Gov- ernor he ever manifested a disposition rather to uphold the arbitrary demands and preten- sions of the crown than to promote and defend the interests of the colonists. The Assembly welcomed his appointment to the Governorship with enthusiasm, but they soon found that their expectations were to be disappointed. Great dissatisfaction was felt at his attitude towards the Assembly, especially on account of his con- tinual and pressing demands for the appropria- tion of money. The course pursued by him subjected him to reproachful imputations, and entirely eradicated the sentiment of gratitude which had previously (particularly in Cornbury's time) existed towards him, and created in its place a feeling of strong and bitter resentment. Under such conditions he continued to hold the office of Governor of New Jersey until his death, in May, 1746. The successor of Governor Morris was John Hamilton, president of the Council, who con- tinued as Acting Governor until his death, in 1747. During his administration the province voted to raise five hundred men, and to appro- priate the amount of interest in the treasury and, £10,000 in bills of credit in aid of the expedi-. tion against the French fortress of Louisbourg, at Cape Breton. At the death of President Hamilton the government of the province devolved on the eldest member of the Council, John Reading Esq., who held till the arrival of Jouathan Belcher as Governor. Governor Belcher was commissioned on the 13th of February, 1747, and on the 8th of August arrived at Sandy Hook, where he left his vessel and proceeded in his barge to Perth Amboy. His administration, which was of ten years' duration, embracing most of the period! ■ of the " French and Indian War," was regarded as a successful one. He died at Elizabeth town,; August 31, 1757. At his death the govern-, ment again devolved on John Reading until the arrival of Governor Francis Bernard, in June, 1758. In 1760, Governor Bernard was trans- ferred to the government of the Massachusetts colony, being succeeded in the Governorship of New Jersey by Thomas Boone, who arrived in the province on the 3d of July. In 1761 he was transferred to South Carolina, and was succeeded in the same year as Governor of New Jersey by Josiah Hardy, who, in 1762, was removed from the Governorship and appointed consul at Cadiz, in Spain. His successor was the last of the royal Governors of New Jersey, William Franklin, son of Dr. Benjamin Frank- lin. He was commissioned in September, 1762, and remained Governor of the province until 1776, when the Provincial Congress of New Jersey deposed him from office, and he was sent under military guard to Connecticut, where he remained for a long time a prisoner. On being liberated he joined the British in New York, where he became president of the Board of Associated Loyalists, and so continued until 1782, when the board was dissolved by order of the British commander. Sir Guy Carleton. Soon afterwards the war closed, and Franklin went to England and lived there until his death. CHAPTER IV. THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. In the year 1609, on a mild September day, when the morning fog was lifted from the ocean, off the land that is now the Monmouth County sea-shore, a sight was disclosed such as the Indian natives of the region had never be- fore seen, and which, as was afterwards told in their traditions, excited in them feelings of wonder, anxiety and dread. Far out on the ocean, to the southeast, floated a strange object (really a little Dutch brigantine, the first Euro- pean vessel ever seen in these waters), which some of the savages believed to be a sea monster, while others thought it an enormous bird, which latter belief was strengthened when, with the coming of the breeze from the southeast, 42 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. the little craft spread her sails to it and began to move northward, nearing the shore. There were some among them, too, who believed that it was the floating house of their great Manito, who had come to visit them from his home in the mysterious land beyond the mighty waters, and messengers were dispatched to warn all the neighboring people, and bring them to the shore to see the strange sight and give the mysterious visitor — whether Manito or demon' — such a reception as circumstances might demaijd. Steadily, before the fresh southerly breeze, the little vessel moved on, coming nearer and nearer to the shore, until, about the middle of the afternoon, the savage crowd gathered on the Navesink Highlands saw her pass the northern extremity of Sandy Hook and enter the bay, where, after a while, she became stationary at a point distant from the shore, and remained there in quiet until the shadows of night settled down over bay and highland, leaving the alarmed and wondering natives to pass the 1 " When some of them first saw the ship approaching afar oif they did not know what to think about her, but stood in deep and solemn amazement, wondering whether it was a spook or apparition, and whether it came from heaven or hell. Others of them supposed that it might be a strange fish or sea-monster. They supposed those on board to be rather devils than human beings. Thus they differed among each other in opinion. A strange report soon spread through their country about the visit, and cre- ated great talk and comment among all the Indians. This we have heard several Indians testify." — Van Der Donck' s Description of New Netherland. The missionary, Heckewelder, mentions in his writings that one of the principal traditions which he found among the Indians was this having reference to the coming of the first European vessel — that of Captain Henry Hudson — which many of them firmly believed to be the house or great canoe of the Manito, who was coming to visit them, but whether the visit portended good or evil to them, they re- mained in doubt and fear. In this belief, they sent out runners to notify all the Indians within reach to come to the shore at once to give him as good a reception as possi- ble, and so appease his wrath, if it was in wrath that he was coming. Afterwards, when the vessel came near the shore, and they saw her commander dressed in bright scarlet, with slashings and bands of gold lace, they were confirmed in their belief that it was in reality the Manito. Such is the tradition found by Heckewelder. But it was not long before they discovered that the captain and crew of the liitle vessel were not the Manito and his attendants, but mortal men, and they soon came to regard them as enemies. night with unsatisfied curiosity, waiting for the morning light, ^vhich, when it came, showed them the same mysterious object (but now wingless), still quietly floating on the waters of the bay. This was the first vessel (other than the canoes of the Indians) which ever entered the lower Bay of New York or the adjacent ocean waters.^ She was of Dutch build, high-pooped after the ancient style, of a burden of about forty lasts or eighty tons, and carrying a rig something similar to that of the modern brig- antine. Her name, "The Half-Moon," in Dutch, was painted on her stern, and high above it floated the Dutch colors — orange,^ white and blue. She was, in fact, one of the vessels of the Dutch East India Company, which they had put in commission under command of Captain Henry Hudson, an Englishman, with Robert Juet, also an Englishman, as mate, clerk or supercargo, and with a crew of twenty sailors, partly Dutch and partly English, and had dis- ^ In the spring of 1524, John Verrazano, sailing under the auspices of the King of France, coasted along the shores of Carolina, and sailed thence northeast as far as Newfoundland. On the 8th of July, in that year, he wrote to the King, and in the letter stated that he had " found a very pleasant situation among some steep hills, through which a very large river, deep at its mouth, forces its way to the sea. From the sea to the estuary of the river any ship heavily laden might pass, with the help of the tide, which rises eight feet.'' He also added that he found In- dians, who were delighted to see him, and that the "hills show many indications of minerals." Some writers have endeavored to convince themselves and their readers that the place referred to by Verrazano was the mouth of the Hudson River, and that consequently he, and not Henry Hudson, was the first navigator who ever entered the Bay of Sandy Hook. But there is nothing to sustain such a supposition. No vessel ever built at that day, or for at least two centuries afterwards, would have had any diffi- culty in entering New York Bay without waiting for " the help of the tide ;" nor do the other particulars noticed by Verrazano correspond with those of the mouth of the Hud- son, while they do with those at the mouth of the Penob- scot, with the lofty and rugged hills of Camden and Rock- land, and of Monhegan Island, opposite the mouth. On that island an attempt was afterwards made to plant a French colony (resulting, perhaps, from Verrazauo's ac- count), and there is scarcely a doubt that it was the Penobscot River and hills to which he referred in his letter to the King 5 At that time the flag of Holland was formed by three' horizontal bars, — orange, white and blue,— but in or about the year 1650 the orange bar gave place to one of red. THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 43 patched her from Amsterdam for the purpose of discovering a northeastern or northwestern passage to China and the Indies. The " Half- Moon" left Amsterdam April 4, 1609, and on the 6th she sailed from the Texel. Hudson doubled the Cape of Norway on the 5th of May, but found the sea so full of ice that he was ob- liged to change his course. Early in July, after having cruised farther north, he arrived on the banks of Newfoundland, where he was becalmed long enough to catch more cod than his " small store of salt would cure." He next sailed west, into the Penobscot, where he remained a week cutting timber and making a new foremast. He then stood southward as far as the latitude of the Carolinas ; then turned back and coasted northward, passing the Capes of Virginia, and on the 28th of August entered the mouth of Delaware Bay. He did not anchor there, but continued his way northeast, along the coast of Southern New Jersey, but keeping out of sight of land for several days. The incidents of the voyage along the coast of Ocean and Mon- mouth Counties are here given, as found in the journal or log-book kept by Robert Juet, the " underschipper " and supercargo of the " Half- Moon": " Sept. 2. — In the morning close weather, the wind at south in the morning : from twelve un- til two o'clock we steered north-northwest, and had sounding twenty-one fathoms, and in run- ning one glass we had but sixteen fathoms, then seventeen, and so shoaler and shoaler until it came to twelve fathoms. We saw a great fire, but could not see the land ; then we came to ten fathoms, whereupon we brought our tacks aboard and stood to the eastward, east-southeast, four glasses. Then the sun arose and we steered away north again and saw land from the west by north to the northwest by north, all like broken islands, and our soundings were eleven and ten fathoms. Then we luifed in for the shore, and fair by the shore we had seven fathoms. The course along the land we found to be northeast by north. From the land which we first had sight of until we came to a great lake of water [Barnegat Bay], as we could judge it to be, being drowned land, which made it rise like islands, which was in length ten leagues. The mouth of the lake hath many shoals, and the sea breaks upon them as it is cast out of the mouth of it. And from* that lake or bay the land lies north by east, and we had a great stream out of the bay ; and from thence our sounding was ten fathoms, two leagues from land. At five o'clock we anchored, being little wind, and rode in eight fathoms water ; the night was fair. This night I found the land to haul the compass eight degrees. Far to the northward off us we saw high hills [the Navesink Highlands]. This is very good land to fall in with and a pleasant land to see. " Sept. 3. — The morning misty until ten o'clock, then it cleared and the wind came to the south- southeast, so we weighed and stood to the northward. The land is very pleasant and high and bold to fall withal. At three o'clock in the afternoon we came to three great rivers. So we stood along the northernmost, thinking to have gone into it, but we found it to have a very shoal bar before it, for we had but ten foot water. Then we cast about to the south- ward and found two fathoms, three fathoms, and three and a quarter, till we came to the southern side of them, then we had five and six fathoms and anchored. So we sent in our boat to sound and they found no less water than four, five, six and seven fathoms, and re- turned in an hour and a half. So we weighed and went in and rode in five fathoms, ooze ground, and saw many salmons and mullets and rays very great. The height is 40° 30'." The light-house on Sandy Hook is in latitude 40° 27' 30" varying but little from Hudson's observation, which was probably taken after he had passed the extremity of the Hook. Two of the " three great rivers" which Juet mentions in his journal were doubtless the Narrows and Staten Island Sound ; and the third, being the northernmost, with a shoal bar before it, having but ten feet of water, was probably Rockaway Inlet,' which De Laet laid down on his map as a river, coming from Long Island. This inlet is barred at its mouth with seven feet of water at low tide. It appears that from this bar Hud- son stood over towards the Hook, where he an- chored and sent his small boat round tlie point to take soundings, and after it had returned 44 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. with a favorable report he weighed anchor and went to a new anchorage in Sandy Hook Bay, where his vessel lay for the night in five fathoms of water. " Sept. 4, — . . In the morning, as soon as the day was light, we saw that it was good riding farther up, so we sent our boat to sound and found that it was a very good harbour, and four and five fathoms, two cables' length from the shore. Then we weighed and went in with our ship^ Then our boat went on land with our net to fish and caught ten great mullets of a foot and a half long apiece, and a ray as great as four men could haul into the ship. So we trimmed our boat and laid still all day. At night the wind blew hard at the northwest, and our anchor came home and we drove on shore, but took no hurt, thanked be God, for the ground is soft sand and ooze. This day the people of the country came aboard of us, seem- ing very glad of our coming, and brought green tobacco, and gave us of it for knives and beads. They go in deer-skins loose, well-dressed.^ They have yellow copper. They desire clothes, and are very civil. They have great store of maize, or Indian wheat, whereof they make good bread. The country is full of great and tall oaks." This was the first time that the Indians of this region ever saw the faces of Europeans. On the following day some of Hudson's people went on shore, that being the first time that a white man ever stood on the soil lying within the boundaries of the county of Mon- mouth. It seems that these visits on board and ashore were satisfactory to both savages and sailoi'S ; but the friendly relations between them were soon afterwards broken, as will appear from the continuation of Juet's narrative. " Sept. 6. — In the morning, as soon as the day was light, the wind ceased, and the flood came, so we heaved off our ship again into 1 " There [in Sandy Hook Bay] they were visited by two savages clothed in elk-skins, wlio showed them every sign of friendship. On the land they found an abundance of blue plums, and magnificent oaks of a height and thickness that one seldom beholds, together with poplars, linden- trees, and various other kinds of wood useful in ship-build- iag." — DeLael's "New World." five fathoms water and sent our boat to sound the bay, and we found that there was three fathoms hard by the southern [Monmouth County] shore. Our men went on land there, and saw great store of men, women and chil- dren, who gave them tobacco at their coming on land ; so they went up into the woods, and sa-vv great store of very goodly oaks and some currants [probably wild plums], for one of them caiiie aboard and brought some dried, and gave me some, which were sweet and good. This day many of the people came aboard, some in man- tles of feathers and some in skins of divers sorts of good furs. Some women also came to us with hemp. They had red copper tobacco pipes, and other things of copper they did wear about their necks. At night they went on land again, so we rode very quiet, but durst not trust them. "Sunday, Sept. 6. — In the morning was fair weather, and our master sent John Col- man, with four other men, in our boat, over to the north side to sound the other river [the Nar- rows], being four leagues from us. They found by the way shoal water, two fathoms ; but at the north of the river, eighteen and twenty fathoms, and very good riding for ships, and a narrow river [the Kills] to the westward be- tween two islands. The lands they told us were as pleasant with grass and flowers and goodly trees as ever they had seen, and very sweet smells came from them. So they went in two leagues and saw an open sea [Newark Bay], and returned ; and as they came back they were set upon by two canoes, the one having twelve and the other fourteen men. The night came on and it began to rain so that their match went out, and they had one man slain in the fig'ht, which was an Englishman, named John Colman, with an arrow shot into his throat, and two more hurt. It grew so dark that they could not find the ship that night, but laboured to and fro on their oars. They had so great a stream that their grapnel would not hold them. "Sept. 7.— "Was fair and by ten o'clock they returned aboard the ship and brought our dead man with them, whom we carried on land and buried, and named the point after his name, Colman's Point. Then we hoisted in our boat THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 45 and raised her side with waist-boards for defence of our men. So we rode still all night, having good regard to our watch." John Colman, then, was the first white per- son ever buried in the soil of Monmouth County. With regard to the place of his burial, called by Hudson " Colman's Point," there have been many different opinions entertained ; but the one most generally concurred in is that which was expressed by the Rev. Mr. Mar- cellus, that " it is identical with Point Comfort, in Raritan township." " Sept. 8. — Was very fair weather ; we rode still very quietly. The people came aboard us and brought tobacco and Indian wheat to ex- change for knives and beads, and offered us no violence. So we, fitting up our boat, did mark them to see if they would make any show of the death of our man, which they did not. "Sept. 9. — Fair weather. In the morn- ing two great canoes came aboard full of men ; the one with their bows and arrows, and the other in show of buying knives to betray us, but we perceived their intent. We took two of them to have kept them, and put red coats on them, and would not suffer the other; [boat] to come near us. So they went on land, and two othera came on board in a canoe ; we took the one and let the other go ; but he which we had taken got up and leaped overboard. Then we weighed, and went off into the channel of the river, and anchored there all night." The preceding entry is the last in Juet's journal which has reference to the stay of the " Half-Moon" and her people in the vicinity of the Monmouth shore. They worked steadily up through the Narrows and the river past where New York City now is, and on the 1 1th reached a place where, says Juet, "the people of the country came aboard of us, making show of love, and gave us tobacco and Indian wheat, and departed for the night; hut we durst not trust them." In his entry of the following day he says : " This morning, at, our first rode in the river, there came eight and twenty canoes full of men, women and children to betray us, but we saw their intent and suffered none of them to come aboard us. At twelve o'clock they de- parted.- They brought with them oysters and beans, whereof we bought some. They have great tobacco pipes of yellow copper, and pots of earth to dress their meat in. "Sunday, Sept. 13. — . . . Then there came four canoes aboard, but we suffered none of them to come into our ship. They brought very great store of very good oysters on board, which we bought for trifles. "Sept. 15. — This morning our two savages got out of a port and swam away. After we were under sail they called out to us in scorn." From this point in their passage up to the vicinity of Albany they had no more trouble with the Indians. On their return down the river, at the Highlands of the Hudson, occurred the events mentioned by Juet, as follows : " Thursday, Oct. 1.— ... The people of the mountains came aboard us, wondering at our ship and weapons. We bought some small skins of them for trifles. This afternoon one canoe kept hanging under our stern with one man in it, which we could not keep from thence, who got up by our rudder to the cabin window and stole out my pillow and two shirts and two bandeleeres. Our master's mate shot at him and struck him in the breast and killed him. Whereupon all the rest fled away, some in their canoes and some leaped out of them into the water. We manned our boat and got our things again. Then one of them that swam got hold of our boat, thinking to overthrow it, but our cook took a sword and cut off one of his hands, and he was drowned." The following entry refers to a point nine leagues farther down the river : " Oct 2. — . . . The flood was come strong, so we anchored. Then came one of the savages that swam away from us at our going up the river with many others, thinking to betray us. But we perceived their intent and suffered none of them to enter our ship. Whereupon two canoes full of men, with their bows and arrows, shot at us after our stern, in recompense whereof we discharged six muskets, and killed two or three of them. Then above a hundred of them came to a point of land to shoot at us. There I shot a falcon [small cannon] at them and. killed two of them, whereupon the rest fled to 46 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. the woods. Yet they manned off another canoe with nine or ten men, which came to meet us ; so I shot at it also a falcon, and shot it through and killed one of them. Then our men with their muskets killed three or four more of them, so they went their way." From this point, in their passage down the river, Hudson and his crew had no more inter- course with the Indians. The " Half-Moon " made no landing below, on river or bay. On the 4th of October she passed Sandy Hook and stood out to sea, and her bold commander never again saw the beautiful river which he had discovered and which now bears his name. From Sandy Hook he made no delay, but laid his course directly across the Atlantic, and ou the 7th of November " safely arrived in the range of Dartmouth, in Devonshire, in the yeere 1609." In the following year another ship was sent over by the East India Company, and prepa- rations were made to establish posts for the pur- pose of carrying on the fur trade, which at that time and for years afterwards was the prin- cipal object of commercial attraction to this part of the New World. The first posts estab- lished were at New Amsterdam, now New York (located on what is now the Battery), at Albany and at the mouth of Rondout Kill, on the Hud- son. From that time the Dutch held posses- sion of the New Netherlands (including all that is now New Jersey) for more than half a cen- tury, during which time the Indians always continued to exhibit, in a greater or less degree, the hostility which had first been awakened by Hudson and his men in 1609. He and his crew were regarded as Dutchmen by the sav- ages, and for this reason they continued to show some degree of enmity against the Dutch through the more than fifty years of their occupation of the country. ^ From 1629 to 1 Yet it was the Dutch themselves who, prompted by avarice, sold the Indians guns and powder in exchange for furs. A pamphlet description of this country, published in 1648, says : " They sell by wholesale guns, powder, shot and ammu- nition to the Indians, instructing them in the use of our fights and arms; insomuch as two thousand Indians, by them armed, Mohawks, Raritons and some of Long-Isle, with their own guns so sold them, fell into war with the 1632 they were actively hostile against the Dutch settlements on the Delaware to such an extent that the settlers were compelled to aban- don their homes, though they afterwards re- turned to them. In 1655 they devastated the Dutch settlements on Staten Island and at points on the Hudson River, compelling the people to leave them and seek the pro- tection of the forts at New Amsterdam, Ron- dout and Albany. No such outrages were then committed by them in what is now Monmouth County ^ for the simple reason that there was not a white settler in all this region at that time. And when the English settlers came here to buy their lands, in 1663, the red men treated them with perfect friendliness and continued to do so ever afterwards. The aborigines whom the earliest white ex- plorers found occupying the valleys of the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, with all the country lying between them, — as, in fact, the entire area now comprised in the States of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, — were of Algonquin stock, and embraced in two nations, or groups of nations, called by Europeans the Iroquois and the Delawares, the former hav- ing been so named by the French and the latter by the English. The language spoken by both these nations was the Algonquin, but differed materially in dialect as used by the different tribes. The nation to which the English gave the name of Delawares was known in the In- dian tongue as the Lenni LenapS, or simply the Lenap6 ; the Iroquois were, in the same tongue, called the Mengwe, which name became Dutch, destroyed all their scattering farms and boors, in- forcing them all to retire to their upper fort, forty leagues up that river, and to Manhatas. . . . Three years since their Governor put out his declaration confessing that the neighbour English might well be offended with their selling Indians arms and ammunition, but being a few and so scat- tered they could not live else there, or trade ; the Indians refusing to trade or suffer the Dutch to plow without they would sell them guns." ''■ The only Dutchman known to have been killed by In- dians in what is now Monmouth County was Aert Theunis- sin, who went in a boat up the Navesink River on a trading expedition in 1643, and was murdered by the Indians, in October of that year, at a place called by the Dutch " Mis- path's Kill," near Port Washington. Whether the murder was committed for robbery or revenge is not known. THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 47 corrupted by the more ignorant white men in " Mingoes," which latter term was adopted to some extent by the Delawares in its contemptu- ous application to their Mengwe neighbors, between whom and themselves feelings of de- testation and hatred existed in no small degree. The Mengwe, or Iroquois, inhabited the ter- ritory extending from the shores of Lake Erie to those of Chaniplain and the Hudson River, and from the head-waters of the Delaware, Susquehanna and Alleghany Rivers northward to Lake Ontario; and they even occupied a large scope of country north of the St. Lawrence, thus holding not only the whole of the State of New York, but a part of Canada, which vast territory they figuratively styled their " long council-house," within which the place of kindling the grand council fire of the nation was Onondaga, not far from the present city of Syracuse, N. Y., and at that place, upon occa- sions, representatives of all the Mengwe tribes met together in solemn, deliberative council. These tribes consisted of the Mohawks, Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas and Oneidas, who collec- tively formed an offensive and defensive con- federation, which has usually been known in English annals as that of the Five Nations.' The Delawares — the Indian people with which this history has principally to deal — oc- cupied a domain extending along the sea-shore, from the Chesapeake to the country bordering Long Island Sound. Back from the coast it reached beyond the Susquehanna Valley to the foot of the Alleghany Mountains, and on the north it joined the southern frontier of their domineering neighbors, the hated and dreaded Mengwe, or Iroquois. This domain, of course, included not only the county of Monmouth, but all of the State of New Jersey. The principal tribes composing the Lenni Lenapfe or Delaware nation were those of the Unamis or Turtle, the Uualachtgo or Turkey, and the Minsi or Wolf. The latter, which was 1 At a later period — soon after the commencement of the eighteenth century — the Tuscaroras, having been subju- gated and driven away from their hunting-grounds in the Carolinas, migrated northward and were received into the . Iroquois confederacy, which from that time became known as the Six Nations. by far the most powerful and warlike of all these tribes, occupied the most northerly portion of the country of the Lenapfe, and kept guard along the Iroquois border, from whence their domain extended southward to the Musconetcong Mountains, in New Jersey. The Unamis and Uualachtgo branches of the Delaware nation (comprising the tribes of Assanpinks, Matas, Shackamaxons, Chichequaas, Raritans, Nanti- cokes, Tutelos and many others) inhabited the country between that of the Minsi and the sea- coast, embracing, of course, Monmouth and all the adjacent counties. The tribes who occupied and roamed through these counties were those of the Turtle and Turkey branches of the Len- ap&, but the possessions and boundaries (if they actually had any boundaries) of each cannot be clearly defined. The Lenni Lenape claimed that theirs was among the most ancient of all aboriginal nations. One of their traditions ran that, ages before, their ancestors had lived in a far-ofi" country to the west, beyond the mighty rivers and moun- tains, at a place where the salt waters constantly moved to and fro ; and that, in the belief that there existed away towards the rising sun a red man's paradise, — a land of deer, and salmon, and beaver, — they had traveled on towards the east and south to find it ; but that they were scourged and divided by famine, so that it was not until after long and wearying journeyings, during which many, many moons had passed, that they came at length to this beautiful coun- try, where the ocean tides forever ebbed and flowed like the waters from whose shores they had come ; and that here, amidst a profusion of game and fish, they rested, and found that In- dian Elysium of which they had dreamed before they left their old homes in the land of the set- ting sun. At the present day there are enthusiastic searchers through the realms of aboriginal lore who, in accepting the narrative as authentic, imagine that the red men come hither from Asia across the Behring Strait, through which they saw the tide constantly ebb and flow, as men- tioned in the tradition. The fact is, that all Indian tribes told of long pilgrimages and of great deeds performed by 48 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. their ancestors far iu the shado^vy past, and claimed to trace back their history and descent for centuries. Missionaries and travelers among them gravely tell us of Indian chronology ex- tending back to the period before the Christian era ; and some enthusiasts have claimed that the American aborigines ^vere descendants of the lost tribes of Israel.^ But it is not the province of the historian to enter any such field of spec- ulation. All their traditions were so clouded and involved in improbability, and so inter- woven with superstition, that, as regards their truth or falsity, it need only be said that they afford an excellent opportunity for indulgence in the luxury of dreamy conjecture. It does not appear that the Indians inhabit- ing the territory of New Jersey were very num- erous. In the before-mentioned pamphlet, published in 1648 by Beauchamp Plantagenet, Esq., and entitled " A Description of the Prov- ince of New Albion " (by which was particu- larly meant the territory lying between the Delaware and Hudson Rivers, comprising the present State of New Jersey), is contained " a letter from Master Robert Evelin, that lived there many years." Iii that letter the writer gives an account of a number of Indian " Kings" located along the Delaware River, and having under them, in all, about eight hundred men. After this statement of Evelin, the pamphlet proceeds : " Now, since master Elme's [Evelin's] letter, and seven years' discoveries of the lord ' In a small, quaint and now very rare volume, entitled, " An Historical Description of the Province of West New Jersey in America, Never made Publick till now. — By Ga- briel Thomas, London, 1698," is found the following in reference to the aborigines of this region : " The first Inhabitants of this Countrey were the Indians, being supposed to be Part of the Ten dispersed Tribes of Israel ; for indeed they are very like the Jews in their Persons, and something in their Practices and Worship ; for they (as the Pennsylvania Indians) observe the New Moons with great devotion and Reverence ; and their First Fruits they offer, with their Corn and Hunting Game they get in the whole year, to a False Deity, or Sham God, whom they must please, else (as they fancy) many misfortunes will befall them and great Injuries will be done them. When they bury their Dead, they put into the Ground with them some House Utensils and some Money (as tokens of their Love and Aifection), with other Things, expecting they shall have Occasion for them in the other World." governour in person, and by honest traders with the Indians, we finde beside the Indian kings by him known and printed in this Province, there is, in all, twenty-three Indian kings or chief commanders; and besides the number of eight hundred by him named, there is at least twelve hundred under the two Raritan kings on the north side, next to Hudson's River, and those come down to the ocean about little Egbay and Sandy Baruegate, and about the south cape two small kings of forty men apiece, called Tirans and Tiascous, and a third reduced to fourteen men at Roymont ; the Sas- quehannocks are not now of the naturals left above one hundred and ten, tho' with their forced auxiliaries, the Ihou a Does and Wico- meses, they can make t^vo hundred and fifty ; these together are counted valiant and terrible to other cowardly, dul Indians, which they beat with the sight of guns only. " The eighth seat is Kildorpy, neer the fals of Charles [Delaware] River, near two hundred miles up from the oceen ; it hath clear fields to plant and sow, and neer it is sweet, large meads of clover and honeysuckle, nowhere else in America to be seen, unlesse transported from Europe ; a ship of one hundred and forty tuns may come up to these fals, which is the best seat for health, and a trading-house is to be built on the rocks, and ten leagues higher are lead-mines in stony hills. "The ninth is called Mount Ployden, the seat of the Raritan King, on the north side of this Province, twenty miles from Sandhay sea and Ninety from the ocean, next to Amara hill, the retired paradise of the children of the Ethi- opian emperour ; a wonder, for it is a square rock two miles compasse, one hundred and fifty foot high, a wall-like precipice, a strait en- trance, easily made invincible, where he keeps two hundred for his guard ; and under it is a flat valley, all plain to plant and sow." But there is no place known answering this descrip- tion, though the Rev. G. C. Schenck, in a paper read before the New Jersey Historical Society, suggests that what is known as the Round Valley (north of Round Mountain, in the township of Clinton, in Hunterdon County) cor- responds in general with Plautagen'et's de- THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 49 scription of the kingly seat.' To concede this, however, requires a considerable stretch of im- agination ; and it is difficult to resist the con- viction that it was in Plantagenet's imagination, and there alone, that the impregnable " mount," the retired paradise of the children of the " Ethi- opian emperor," and the royal guard of two hundred men, had their existence. If the "King" ever had any such guard to his royal person, the detail for that service certainly re- quired fully one-eighth part of all the able- bodied Indian men south of the Musconetcong Mountain, in what is now the State of New Jersey. The comparatively few Indians who, at the first coming of the white men, were found scat- tered through the territory of Monmouth and the lower part of Middlesex County were of the Raritan tribe, of the Unamis and Unalachtgo branches of the LenapS or Delaware nation. In still earlier times, the Raritans had been more numerous, and inhabited the country bordering the upper portion of the river of the same name, but they had migrated to the vicinity of the sea- shore, where they could more easily obtain the means of subsistence. " The Indians living on the Raritan," says the Rev. Dr. Messier,^ " were only a remnant of the large and numerous tribe once located there. It is said they left, and went to live at Metuchen, because the freshets in the river spoiled the corn which they were in the habit of burying in pits on the lowlands. Another inducement was the fish, oysters and clams, so easily obtained on the shores of Rari- tan Bay. The immense heaps of shells found 1 The ReT. E. T. Corwin, in a historical discourse deliv. ered in 1866, said : " The seat of the Raritan King was upon an inland mountain — probably the Neshanio Moun- tain, which answers approximately to the description." The late Rev. Abraham Messier, D.D., of Somerville, in his " Centennial History of Somerset County," says : " If we were inclined to favor such romance, we should claim that no place so well answers the description [of the ' seat of the Karitan King '] as the bluff in the gorge of Chimney Bock [near Somerville] north of the little bridge, on the west and east sides of which the two rivulets flow and meet a few yards southward in the main gorge. But we are not disposed to practise on the credulity of our readers, as the Indians evidently did on Beauchamp Plantagenet, Esq.'' '■* " Centennial History of Somerset County," by Abraham Messier, D.D. | 4 in several localities attest the rich harvest which they gathered out of its waters. ... We may imagine, then, how the lonely river flowed on for centuries between its willow-fringed banks, from summer to winter, while the rich grass on its meadows wasted, because there were no animals, except a few deer, who fed upon it ; and how the wild fruits afforded feasts for the squirrel and the forest bird, or perished un- touched because there was no living creature to enjoy the bountiful repast. It might almost, without romance, be called a ' retired paradise,' but without its ' Ethiopian emperor ' to rule over it. . . . Its primitive inhabitants, even, had deserted it almost entirely, and gone towards the sea-shore, attracted there by the abundant food, and only the beasts claimed it as their home." The small and peaceable bands of the Raritan tribe, who inhabited the country contiguous to the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers, were called the Navesink Indians, whose close con- nection with the other Raritans is shown by the fact that when the first party of Englishmen came to this region, in 16(53, for the purpose of purchasing lands from the chiefs, these Nave- sinks were sent for to meet the upper Raritans and the English, at the Raritan town, located on the river a few miles above the site of Amboy. It is also made apparent that this section of country was frequented by other Indians than those who regarded it as their permanent home, as in the narrative given in a succeeding chap- ter of a trip made to Raritan Bay and Shrews- bury River, by a party of Dutchmen^ from New Amsterdam, in December, 1663, for the jiurpose of watching the movements of the party of Eng- lishmen before mentioned, there is found the following entry : " December 7. — . . . The same evening, towards the end of Staten Island, we cast our anchors just opposite the Raritan River, where we found two houses with South- ern savages." From this, as also from some other references found in the annals of that period, it appears that Indians of other and re- mote tribes were in the habit of making visits 3 Account of " A Voyage to Newasing [Navesink] made in the Company's Sloop." — Albany Records, vol. xxi.p. 401. 50 HISTOEY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. to the shores of the bay and ocean, but proba- bly not so much for summer recreation and sea- bathing as for the purpose of obtaining oysters, clams, sea-fish and fowl, and shells for the manufacture of wampum,^ which was taken in large quantities from the sea-shore, and found its way as a circulating medium even to the tribes living west of the Mississippi. Whatever may have been the causes ^diich brought the stranger savages to the vicinity of the sea-shore, it is evident that the Indian population of this region was augmented (per- haps in as great proportion as is the white popu- lation at the present time) by the presence of non-residents, some of whom were, or claimed to be, landownei-s. Among these was the famous Teedyuscung, the Delaware King, whose home was on the North Branch of the Susque- hanna, in Pennsylvania, and also the somewhat celebrated Christian Indian and interpreter, Moses Tatamy, who lived in the valley of the Lehigh. At a conference between the whites and Indians, held at Crosswicks, in February, 1758, these two Delawares presented claims for certain lands which had not been sold by them. With reference to one of these claims to lands in the county of Monmouth, the min- utes of the Crosswicks conference read as fol- lows : '•' They have a tract of land beginning at the Old Ford, by John Fowler's ; then in a line to Doctor's Creek, above, but in sight of Allen- town ; then up the creek to the lower end of Imlaystown ; then in a line to Crosswicks, by Dulse Horseman's; then along said creek to the place of beginning. Teedyuscung and Tatamy are concerned in the above lands." From the northwest and the southwest, the Indians of the remoter tribes came to the Nave- 1 Wampum was not only the unireraal currency of the Indians, but was also used to a great extent by the whites. For many years eight white or four black " peags " of wampum passed at the value of a stiver, or penny, but in 1673, the supply of wampum having materially decreased by reason of the Indians having carried it away to the in- terior, the Governor and Council of New York made proc- lamation that thenceforward six white or three black peags (instead of eight white and four black, as before) should be accounted and received as a stiver, " and three times so much the value in silver," — the meaning of which latter provision, however, does not clearly appear. sink region by two principal paths (which in the early times were also used to a considerable extent as highways by the white settlors), called the Minisink Path and the Burlington Path. The first named started at Minisink, on the upper Delaware, and passing thence southeast- erly through the present counties of Sussex, Morris, Union and Middlesex, crossed the Bari- tan River at a fording-place about three miles above its mouth, from which point it ran to the site of the village of Middletown, Monmouth County, and thence to Clay Pit Creek and to the mouth of the river at the JSTavesink High- lands. The Burlington Path came from the Delaware River by two branches, one starting at the Falls (Trenton) and the other at Bur- lington, and joining at or near Crosswicks; thence continuing in one path, through the southwestern townships of Monmouth County, to where is now the town of Freehold (the main street of which is, for a considerable distance, on the line of the old path) ; and thence to its junction with the Minisink Path, at or near Middletown — with a branch leaving the main path below Freehold and running to Tinton Falls and the vicinity of Long Branch. Be- sides these main thoroughfares there were shorter and less important paths leading to Wakake landing and various points on tide-water. Concerning the supposed locations of Indian villages in Monmouth County, there are in existence various traditions, on the mere strength of which more than twenty such sites have been recognized (satisfactorily, at least, to those engaged in the search), and descriptions of their several locations have, from time to time, ap- peared in print. Similar traditions are found in every county, not only of New Jersey, but of each and every one of the older States. In a great majority of these cases the tradition rests solely on the fact that at certain places there have, at some time, been found Indian arrow- heads, or supposed hatchets, or remains of abo- riginal domestic utensils, or indications of ancient Indian oorn-fields, or of clusters of graves, sup- posed to be those of the native savages, upon which the conclusion was promptly arrived at that on or in the immediate vicinity of such a spot there must have been a village, which THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 51 supposition thereupon, stated as a fact, without any explanation, and then handed down from father to son for many years, is received with- out any question of its authenticity. But arrow- heads, sharp stones supposed to have been used as hatchets, stone pestles and other similar relics have been found in nearly every part of the United States and in nearly every kind of loca- tion ; on the summits and steep sides of hills, in the middle of parched, sandy plains and along the edges of bogs and swamps, as well as in places which might have been fit for village sites. But neither these nor the Indian corn-fields and graves afford any guide to the Ibcation of their villages. The writer of this has had occasion to make some research as to Indian matters in the West, where the Indian occupation extended down to so recent a period that there are men still living there who lived among them, traded with them and thoroughly understand their peculiarities and mode of life. Two such men are Mr. Ephraim Williams, of Flint, Mich, and his brother, Benjamin O. Williams, of Owosso, in the same State, both of whom were for a number of years traders in the country of the Saginaw Indians, and both of whom speak the Indian language as fluently as English; and they have given the following statement as to the Indian way of living : The Indians located their villages with almost entire regard to their occupation in winter, for in summer-time they were often entirely deserted, the people, old and young, being at such times away in temporary camps, generally made at or near the good fishing-places. For this reason, their permanent villages were always, when practicable, located in open glades, surrounded by the heavy forest, which gave some degree of protection against the piercing winds and storms of winter. Their burial-places were always remote from the villages. Their corn-fields were made on fertile land, if such could be found, combining with that the necessary condition, which was that it be open, free from trees and bushes, soft and friable, and therefore easily worked. They took no pains to make their fields near their villages, and they were frequently located several miles away, they having no fear that their meagre crops would be stolen. If the fields were far away, a temporary camp would be' made near them, at planting and harvesting time, to be occupied by the squaws (who did all the work), and two or three old men, who re- mained there to keep them from quarreling among themselves. The able-bodied men never came to the fields at these times, being at then- fishing camps when the planting was done, and engaged either in fishing or hunting at the autumn harvest. When the squaws had gathered their slender crops, and the frosts and storms of November heralded the approach of winter, the whole Indian population returned to their comparatively comfortable villages, within the shelter of the woods. From these the young men of the tribe went out to the winter hunting and trapping grounds ; and, at the approach of spring, all — men, women and children — went to the sugar-woods, pitched their camps, and spent two or three weeks in sugar-making, after which they prepared for removal to the summer camping-places, to hunt and fish, and plant maize, beans, pumpkins and other Indian crops, as before. The most frequently mentioned (and there- fore supposed to have been the largest and most important) of the Indian villages in this part of New Jersey were the one (before mentioned) on the Earitan, not far from the crossing of the Minisink Path, and another located at Cross- wicks, both of which were outsi,de the limits of Monmouth County. There were, however, several small Indian " towns " within the terri- tory of Monmouth, which are mentioned in several places in the ancient records. In the laying out of a roadway, in the year 1676, reference is made to "the Indian Path that goes from Wake cake to the Indian Town called Seapeckameck," but nothing is found showing the precise location of this or of any of the few other Indian villages in the region, all of which combined could not, at any one time after 1663, have contained more than two hundred inhabitants of both sexes and all ages. It has already been mentioned that the Indians in this part of New Jersey, although they had always been more or less hostile to the Dutch, and had several times made open war upon them, were, and always continued to 52 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. be, friendly and well disposed towards the Eng- lish settlers. This was in a great measure due to the fact that the latter always purchased the Indian lauds before settling on them, which, in fact, they were compelled to do by the instruc- tions given by the first proprietors to their Governor, Philip Carteret: " And lastly, if our Governor and Councellors shall happen to find any Natives in our said Province and Tract of Land aforesaid, that then you treat them with all Humanity and Kindness, and do not in any wise grieve or oppress them, but endeavour by a Christian carriage to manifest Piety, Justice and Charity, and in your Conversation with them, the Manifestation whereof will prove Beneficial to the Planters, and likewise Advantageous to the Propaga- tion of the Gospel." — Instruction of the Lords Propri- etors to the Governor, Philip Carteret, dated February 10, 1664. Smith, in his " History of New Jersey " (pub- lished in 1765), in mentioning the fact that Governor Carteret, acting under the proprietors' instructions, inaugurated the policy of buying the Indian lands in every case, as a matter of policy, to prevent the possibility of awakening their hostility, says that " though the Indians about the English settlements were not at this time considerable as to numbers, they were strong in their alliances, and besides of them- selves could easily annoy, the out-plantations, and there having been before several consider- able skirmishes between the Dutch and them, in which some blood had been spilt, their friend- ship on this consideration, it was thought, stood but ticklish. Upon the whole the Governor so ordered it, that the comers were either to purchase of the Indians themselves, or, if the lands had been before purchased, they were to pay their proportions. The event answered his expectation; for as the ludians parted with the lands to their own satisfaction, they became, from a jealous, shy people, serviceable, good neighbors; and although frequent reports of their coming to kill the white people some- times disturbed their repose, no instance occurs of their hurting them (the English) in those early settlements." In a description of East New Jersey, pub- lished by the proprietors for the purpose of promoting the settlement of the province, they said : " The Indian natives in this country are but few, comparative to the neighbouring colo- nies ; and those that are here are so far from being formidable or injurious to the planters and inhabitants that they are really serviceable to the English, not only in hunting and taking the deer and 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 and peltry, whose skins and furrs they bring to the Eng- lish and sell at less price than the value of time an Englishman -must spend to take them." It appears that, although the Indians in this region exhibited no hostility towards the Eng- lish settlers, the latter distrusted them to some extent for a number of years. That this was the case in the old settlement at Middletown is shown by the following extract from the records of that town, viz. : "September 9, 1670.— The Constable and Overseers, with the assistance of the towne Deputies, taking into consideration the danger- ous practice of selling liquors to the Indians, w'ch (for some years past) hath, at severall times, occasioned mischiefe in the towne ; and, morever, consideriiig that nott onely noe course is taken in the generall for the obstructing of the dangerous practice, but allsoe the eminent danger w'ch dayly hangs over our heads, the weaknes of the towne to withstand the rage and fury of the numerable Indians M''ch in- habites about us; fo> the present safety and preservation of his majesties subjects, the in- habitants of Middletown did, upon the 9th of this present month, upon this following ground, conclude upon the following order : ' Whereas' wee have found, as well by woeful experience^ as allso by severall complaints of many inhabit- ants of this towne of the mischiefes and dan- gers occasioned by some trading of strong liquor to the Indians by w'ch many of them have bin drunken and distempered with the said liquor have oftentimes offered violence and fury to several of the peaceable inhabit- ants, who have been endangered of their lives- for the future prevention of all such mischiefes and dangers occasioned by the violence and THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 53 fury of the Indians in their drunken distem- pers and for the maintenance of the peace of our Sovereigne Lord, the King, doe hereby order and enact that noe person whatsoever shall, either directly or indirectly, sell or trade any sort of wine, strong liquor or strong bearre to any Indian within the limits of this towneshipp, upon the penalty of the forfeiture of ten pounds for every such defalt ; and that after due proces made, to be forthwith levied upon his estate; the one-half to the informer, and the other to bee disposed of at the discretion of the Court. It is likewise ordered that all Indians that any time shall bee found drunke in the towne or neere about shall bee sett in the stocks till they bee sober." In the above there is nothing tending to show that the people of the settlement had any more to fear from the Indians than they would have had from the violence of drunken white men of the ignorant class ; and the fact that they enacted laws to punish Indian drunkenness by setting the culprit in the stocks, as they would have done to one of their own countrymen, shows that the savages were under their con- trol and could hardly have been regarded as dangerous enemies. The truth is, that though the Indians were troublesome when intoxicated, the English settlers in this section of country had no more trouble with them than they M'ould have had with the same number of vaga- bond neighbors of the white race. In 1675, when the Indian King, Philip, M^as waging his war of extermination against the New England settlements, the news of those bloody atrocities coming to New Jersey created a general feeling of alarm and fear of an Indian uprising, on which account the Governor, Council and General Assembly of the province declared that " Forasmuch as it is requisite of Necessity amongst all men to be in a Posture of Defence against Enemies or Dangers that may accrue, and especially we being invited hereunto by the Insolence and Outrages of the Heathens in our Neighbouring Colonies, not knowing how soon we may be surprised," and promptly proceeded to pass a militia law requiring all able-bodied men, from sixteen to sixty years of age, each to be armed at his own expense, and to hold him- self in readiness for immediate service, under severe penalties. And it was also at the same time enacted : " That there shall be a place of Fortification or Fortifications made in every Town of this Province, and a House therein for securing of Women and Children, Provision and Ammunition in case of eminent danger by the Indians." Under the provisions of this enactment a strong block-house was built at Middletown, and for a time, details of militia- men were kept on duty to guard against sur- prise ; but this did not continue long, for no signs of an Indian outbreak could be discovered, and the excitement and alarm gradually passed away. At about this time Thomas Budd came to settle at Burlington, where the Indian alarm was then great. Budd and some others held a conference with the Indians to ascertain what grounds of complaint they had, if any, and the result of the " talk" is given (in a pamphlet afterwards published by him) as follows : " The Indians told us in a conference at Bur- lington, shortly after we came into the country, that they were advised to make war on us and cut us off while we were but few, for that we sold them the small-pox with the match-coats they bought of us ; which caused our people to be in fears and jealousies concerning them. There- fore we sent for the Indian Kings to speak with them, who, with many more Indians, came to Burlington, where we had a conference with them about the matter. We told them we came amongst them by their own consent, and had bought the land of them, for which we had honestly paid them, and for what commodities we had bought at any time of them we had paid them for, and had been just to them, and had been from the time of our first coming very kind and respectful to them; therefore we knew no reason that they had to make war on us ; to which one of them, in be- half of the rest, made this speech and answer: 'Our young men may speak such words as we do not like nor approve of, and we cannot help that ; some of your young men may speak such words as you do not like, and you cannot help that. We are your brothers, and intend to live like brothers with you. We have no mind to 54 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. have war, for when we have war we are only- skin and bones ; the meat that we eat doth not do us good ; we are always in fear ; we have not the benefit of the sun to shine on us ; and we hide us in holes and corners ; we are minded to live in peace. If we intend at any time to make war upon you we will let you know of it, and the reasons why we make war with you ; and if you make us satisfaction for the injury done us, for which the war was intended, then we will not make war on you ; and if you in- tend at any time to make war on us we would have you let us know of it, and the reason ; and then if we do not make satisfaction for the in- jury done unto you, then you may make war on us ; otherwise you ought not to do it. . . . And as to the small-pox, it was once in my grandfather's time, and it could not be the Eng- lish that could send it to us then, there being no English in the country. And it was once in my father's time ; they could not send it to us then either ; and now it is in my time, I do not believe that they have sent it to us now. I do believe it is the man above that hath sent it us ! ' . . . The Indians have been very service- able to us by selling us venison, Indian corn, peas and beans, fish and fowl, buckskins, beaver, otter and other skins and furs. The men hunt, fish and fowl and the women plant the corn and carry burthens. There are many of them of a good understanding, considering their education, and in their publick meetings of business they have excellent order, one speaking after another, and while one is speaking all keep silent and do not so much as whisper, one to the otlier." In 1742 the chiefs and sachems of the Iroquois nation met the Governor and others of the prin- cipal men of Pennsylvania in council at Phila- delphia, the real object of their having been called there by the Governor being to induce them to order the Delawares (who, in fact, were, and had been for many years, their conquered vassals), to remove westward from their domain in the valley of the Delaware River. The object was accomplished, and the order was given in open council by the Iroquois Sachem Counos- satego, addressed to the few Delaware chiefs who were in attendance. They had no alterna- tive but to obey, and the remnant of the ancient and proud nation removed from their domain, many of them going to the Ohio River. But this forced exodus of the Delawares had reference chiefly to the Minsi branch of the nation, whose country lay northwest of the Mus- conetcong Mountains, and had little, if any, effect on the feeble bands in the eastern part of the province, for they had already become wholly insignificant in numbers, as is indicated in a letter written in April, 1749, by Governor Belcher, of New Jersey, to the Lords of Trade, in which he said : " Of Indians, about sixty families reside in the province, who are quiet and easy under his Majesty's Government." About three years prior to this, however, an alarm had been created among the people of this part of the province by a report that stranger Indians had come here from the ISTorth- west secretly, and in considerable numbers, being supposed to have been sent by the French in Canada to stir up the few New Jersey In- dians to hostility, and to take part with and assist them in depredation and bloodshed. Another theory was that the strange Indians who appeared so suddenly in this region had come as allies of a large body of white insurgents who had formed a partial organization to resist enforcement of the laws concerning land titles, and (as was alleged) had threatened to call the Indians to their aid. The following, having reference to the matter in question, is from the records ^ of the Governor and Council of New Jersey : " 1746, April 9th.— The Council received in- formation that tho' for Six years past no In- dian men had lived near Cranberry but Andrew and Peter, and that only two more had Lived for many years before that, who both, for misde- meanours by them Committed, removed thence to Crosswicks, yet within a few weeks before that information there were come forty fighting men of Indians to live there ; that about three weeks before that information, one Indian came who had a blue Laced Coat on, which, it was Said, he had got fromtheGovernour of Canada, and he Lodged in the Informant's house one Night, and some of the other Indians told the ^Col. Doc. 1, vi. 406. THE INDIAN OCCUPATION. 56 Informant that he was a King of some Indians on Delaware, and that he was come to View that place and was to come and Settle there with his Indians, and that they expected they would be about Three hundred Indians there in all ; that the Neighbours thereabout were ex- tremely alarmed at this Number of Indians Coming to Settle there, where it's Esteemed impossible for such a Number to Live without Stealing or killing their Neighbours' Creatures. That the Cause pretended for Such a Num- ber of Indians coming to Live there is, that they are to be taught the Christian Religion by one Mr. Braniard, and for that purpose they are to build a Town, a Church and a School- House upon the Land there of one John Fal- conar, of London, Merchant, upon which In- formation, upon Oath, a Copy was given to one of the Members of the Assembly to Shew it to the rest. Whatever truth there may be in the pretence for these Indians gathering together in that place near the very Centre of this Province We know not, as we are well assured that the said Mr. Braniard has never made any applica- tion to this Government for Leave to gather those Indians there or to give any Notice to it of Such design, but . . . these things being compared with the threats of the Rioters given out at their Riot in September, 1745, Demon- strate that the Threat of their having the As- sistance of a hundred Indians to Support their pretentions, which was Esteemed ridiculous and impossible, is by these means likely to become possible, and as the Same [Indian] Andrew, whom the committee of the Rioters were tam- pering with, is the head of them, and pretends to give those Indians the Land they are to Live upon, it's Submitted how probable it Seems that this gathering of those Indians there may be in Consequence of what has been Concerted between the Said Andrew and the Said Com- mittee, which matter so Concerted, most probably, have been the foundation for the Threat afore- said." The " Mr. Braniard," to whom reference is made in this extract, was Brainerd, the famous missionary, who labored among the Indians in New England, Pennsylvania,, New Jersey and others of the provinces, and who preached for a long time at Cranbury, and at the old Presbyterian Church northwest of Monmouth Court-House. The description of the Indian wearing the " blue-laced coat," and represented to be a King, corresponds exactly Avith that frequently found of the Delaware King, Teedy- uscung, who had doubtless on this occasion come down from the Susquehanna Valley to see and hear Brainerd,' whom he had before met in Pennsylvania, and with whom he was on terms of cordial friendship. It is said that during Brainerd's term of preaching in this part of the province there were at times quite large numbers of Indians gathered to hear him. If so, the audiences must have been made up of those who came with Teedyuscung or of some other stranger savages, as it is shown by the preceding quotation from the Council record that at the time in question the resident Indian population in this vicinity had dwindled to almost nothing. The Indian Peter, referred to^ was a well-known character in the southern part of Monmouth County prior to and during the Revolution. The record of him is that he was remarkably fond of whiskey, and in conse- quence became a vagabond, though not a vicious one. About 1775 he moved to the vicinity of Imlaystown, and built a cabin on the shore of a pond, from which he took large numbers of fish, which he sold to the white people, realizing in that way a sufficient amount to keep him quite well supplied with liquor. During his residence by the pond his squaw died and he was left alone. He lived some years after his bereavement, and was one of the last, if not the very last, of his race living in Monmouth County. The reason why he remained here living alone, so long after the other New Jersey Indians had been collected and placed together on a reservation, is not known, but it was doubtless his love of whiskey and the free life of a vagabond. The right of the Indians to the ownership ot the lands in New Jersey was recognized by the government of the province, and, as has already 1 The fact that Teedyuscung was also an owner of unsold Indian lands in this vicinity, as before mentioned, might have been a partial cause of his coming to Cranbui'y. 56 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. been mentioned, it was always required that the Indian lands should be fairly purchased before settlements were made on them. This was done, and large purchases were made from the natives from time to time, as the need of settlers required, so that most of the Indians had sold most of their lands prior to 1758, in which year, at a treaty council held at Crosswicks for the purpose, the whole of their remaining titles were extinguished, except that there was reserved to them the right to fish in all the rivers and bays south of the Earitan, and to hunt on all unin- closed lands. A tract of three thousand acres of land was also purchased at Edge Pillock, in Burlington County, and on this the few remain- ing Indians of New Jersey (about sixty in num- ber) were afterwards 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 the Stockbridge tribe. Several years afterwards they again removed and settled on a large tract of land on Fox Kiver, Wis., which tract had been purchased for their use from the Menominee Indians. There, in conjunction with the Stockbridges, they engaged in agricul- tural pursuits and formed a settlement, which was named Statesburg. At that place, 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 fish- ing and hunting privileges in New Jersey. They resolved to lay their claims before the Legislature of this State and to 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 na- tion, whom they called Shawuskukhkung (mean- ing " wilted grass "), but who was known among the white people as Bartholomew S. Calvin. He was born in 1756, and was educated at Princeton College at the expense of the Scotch Missionary Society. At the breaking out of the Revolution he left his studies to join the patriot army under Wasliington, in which he served with credit through the war. At the time when his red brethren 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 New Jersey Legisla- ture a petition in his favor signed by a large number of respectable citizens of the State, together with a memorial, written by his own hand, as follows : "My Beethben, — I am old and weak and poor, and therefore a fit representative of my people. You are young and strong and rich, and therefore fit representatives of your people. But let me beg you for a moment to lay aside the recollections of your strength and of our weakness that your minds may be prepared to examine with candor the subject of our claims. "Our tradition informs us — and I believe it corre- sponds with your records — that the right of fishing in all the rivers and bays south of the Earitan, and of hunting in all uninolosed lands, was never relin- quished, but, on the contrary, was expressly reserved in our last treaty, held at Crosswicks in 1758. Having myself been one of the parties to the sale,- — I believe in 1801, — I 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 have at all affected them, but that the courts here would consider our claims valid were we to exercise them ourselves or delegate them to others. It is not, however, our wish thus to excite litigation. We consider the State Legislature the proper purchaser, and we throw ourselves upon its benevolence and magnanimity, trusting that feel- ings of justice and liberality will induce you to give us what you deem a compensation. And as we have ever looked up to the leading characters of the United States (and to the leading characters of this State in particular) as our fathers, protectors and friends, we now look up to you as such, and humbly beg that you will look upon us with that eye of pity as we have reason to think our poor, untutored forefathers looked upon yours when they first arrived upon our then extensive but uncultivated dominions and sold them their lands, in many instances for trifles, in compaori- son, as 'light as air.' "From your humble petitioner, "Bartholomew S. Calvin, "In behalf of himself and his red brethren." In the Legislature the subject was referred to a committee, which, after patient hearing, reported favorably; whereupon the Legislature granted to the Delawares the sum of two thou- sand dollars — the full amount asked for — in consideration of this relinquishment of their last claims and rights in the State of New Jersey. EAKLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 57 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 enthusi- astic applause. The letter was as follows : "Tkenton, March 12, 1832. "Bartholomew S. Calvin takes this method to re- turn his thanks to both Houses of the State Legisla- ture, and especially to their Committees, for their very respectful attention to, and candid examination of, the Indian claims which he was delegated to present. "The final act of official intercourse between the State of New Jersey and the Delaware Indians, who once owned nearly the whole of its territory, has now been consummated, and in a manner which must re- dound to the honor of this growing State, and in all probability to the prolongation of the existence of a wasted, yet grateful people. Upon this parting occa- sion I feel it to be an incumbent duty to bear the feeble tribute of my praise to the high-toned justice which, in this instance, — and, so far as I am acquainted, in all former times, — has actuated the councils of this commonwealth in dealing with the aboriginal inhabitants. "Not a drop of our blood have you spilled in battle; not an acre of our land have you taken but by our consent. These facts speak for themselves and need no comment. They place the character of New Jersey in bold relief and bright example to those States within whose territorial limits our brethren still remain. Nothing save benisons can fall upon her from the lips of a Lenni Lenape. " There may be some who would despise an Indian benediction; but when I return to my people and make known to them the result of my mission, the ear of the great Sovereign of the universe, which is still open to our cry, will be penetrated with the in- vocation of blessings upon the generous sons of New Jersey." While this Indian claim was under consider- ation the cause of the Delawares was volun- tarily supported by the Hon. Samuel L. South- ard, who, at the close of a most powerful and eloquent appeal, made before the committee in favor of the petitioners, said, — "It is a proud fact in the history of New Jersey that every foot of her soil has been obtained from the In- dians by fair and voluntary purchase and trans- fer, a fact that no other State of the Union, not even the land which bears the name of Penn, can boast of." CHAPTER V. EAELY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. The first time that the soil of Monmouth County was ever trodden by the feet of white men was on the 5th of September, 1609, when a boat's crew belonging to Captain Henry Hud- son's little ship, the " Half-Moon," landed upon the southern shore of Sandy Hook Bay (at a place which cannot now be identified), and trav- eled thence a short distance inland, returning later in the day to the ship, and there giving en- thusiastic accounts of the majestic forest-trees, and the strange wild flowers and fruits, and people that they had seen in their short journey of exploration. The incidents of this land trip by Hudson's sailors into the woods of what is now the county of Monmouth have already been more fully mentioned in a preceding chap- ter, as also the subsequent killing of one of their number — John Colman — by the Indians, and the interment of his body in the sands of the Monmouth shore, at a place which they named in his memory " Colman's Point." It was the first burial of a white man in the soil of the present State of New Jersey ; but the location of the spot where his comrades made his lonely grave can never be known. From that time, for more than half a century, the Dutch, claiming the right to all this region by virtue of Hudson's discovery, held possession of it (though only nominally as concerned the interior portions) undisturbed, except tempo- rarily by the appearance of Captain Samuel Argall with his ship and soldiers at New Am- sterdam, in 1613, as has already been noticed. During all that long period the Hollanders had established a town where New York now is, and another at the site of the present city of Albany, with straggling settlements at several interme- diate points on the Hudson Eiver, and two or three small ones along the Hackensack, as far south as Newark Bay, called by them the Ach- ter Koll ; but these remained their frontiers, while beyond them, to the west and south, and also southeastwardly to the ocean shore, the country still remained a wilderness, and in pos- session of the native Indians. Among them a 58 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. few of the more adventurous Dutchmen from New Amsterdam had penetrated for a short distance up the kills and rivers ; but their visits were for purposes of trade only, and not made with a view to the forming of settlements. The Dutch colonists at that time living along the Hudson were merely traders, and most of them had come to America for that especial purpose. But they had about them none of that bold spirit of pioneering enterprise which impels men to seek new homes in the forest ; and so, although for the sake of gain they frequently ventured on trading journeys among the Indians, whom they (not without good cause) regarded with distrust and dread, they chose to smoke their pipes and drink their schnapps in quiet and comparative safety at their settlements on ' the Hudson, the Hackensack and Long Island, rather than take the trouble and incur the dan- ger of opening new plantations and forming new settlements in the interior. And these are the reasons why the region of country now em- braced in the county of Monmouth remained without white inhabitants unti I the Dutch power was overthrown in New Netherlands, and the country was brought under English rule. The surrender of New Amsterdam, in 1664, by the Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, to the English, represented by Sir Robert Carre and Governor Richard Nicolls, has already been noticed. It was a matter of course that the establishment of the English rule over the region between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers would cause the immediate and rapid extension of settlements in the Indian country beyond the Dutch frontier, and it does not seem improbable that some foreknowledge of King Charles' intention to expel the Dutch from their possession of New Netherlands was the prin- cipal cause which induced a party of about twenty English, all or nearly all of whom had previously lived in the New England colonies, but most of whom were then settlers on Long Island, to set out in a sloop from Gravesend, L. I., in December, 1663, and sail across the bay to what is now Monmouth County, for the purpose of purchasing lands of the Indian sachems, with a view to settlement. Some knowledge of the movements and operations of this party, during their visit to the Navesink and Raritan Indians, is to be gained from the following extracts from vol. xxi. of the Albany Records ; being an account of a trip to the same region, and within two or three days of the same time, by a party of Hollanders (evidently traders) from New Amsterdam, viz.: " 1663. — Voyage to Newesing [Navesink] made in the Company's sloop, and what happened during the trip. There were on the sloop Captain Martin Creger, Go vert Loockermans, Jacques Cortelyou, Peter Zevel, with ten soldiers, two sailors and the Sachem, with a savage from Staten Island. " 6th December. — We sailed from the Manhat- tans [New York] about three o'clock and arrived about evening, at 6 o'clock, at Staten Island, where the Sachem of said Island, with the savage, went on shore. They remained about an hour and then returned. Hoisting again our sail, we sailed through the Kil Van Kol, arrived at the back of Shutter's Island upon shallow water, cast our anchor and stayed there until next ebb tide. We raised our anchor again about three in the morning and rowed down with the ebb to the Creek behind Staten Island. Somewhat later in the morn- ing we hoisted our sail and tacked until the ebb tide was over, and then again cast our anchor. The flood tide being gone about two o'clock in the afternoon, we raised the anchor and tacked again. " We discovered a sail towards evening, which we approached and spoke to them. It was Peter Lawrenson and Jacob Cowenhoven, with a small sloop. They said they had been out to trade for venison. We both tacked together, with our sloops the same evening, towards the end of Staten Island, and cast there our an- chors just opposite the Raritan River, where we saw two bouses with Southern Savages. Cowenhoven informed us that the English, in an open sloop, nineteen strong, sailed the day before up the Raritan River, where the Indians of the Newesing and Raritans were collected together about three miles up on the River. The Savages communicated the same. We re- mained that night before Raritan River in order to sail up the next morning and follow the English. In the morning the wind blew EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 59 very heavily from the northwest so that we could not proceed up the Raritan Eiver, and we were compelled to stay there all day. We determined then to send the Indian John by land to the savages of Newesings and Raritans, who were assembled about three miles up the Raritan River. This we did at once, with verbal orders that he should tell the Sachems of the Newesings and Raritans that we were laying with our sloop before the River, and we wished that they would come here and have a talk with us. We also told John to tell the Sachems if some English had arrived or were actually among them with the view to pur- chase lands of them, that they should not sell it to the English, as they had not even asked it of the Dutch Sachems on the Manhattans, and came there secretly. That if the Sachems of the Newesings wished to sell some land, that they should come to us and we would talk it over with them. John, as soon as the sun arose, departed to tell the Indians, Avhile we remained before the River. " December 9th. — We saw in the morning, about nine o'clock, the English sloop coming down ; we immediately raised our anchor and sailed towards them. Arriving near them, we asked from M'hence they came, on which the Captain, Christopher Elsworth, answered ' from the River.' We asked what he had done. He answered that he ' brought the English there.' We told him this was wrong ; it was against our Government to act in this manner, and that he should answer for it ; on which Wil- liam Goulding cried out, ' It is well, it is well.' In the vessel were Charles Morgan, John Bowne, James Holbert, John Totman, Samuel Spicer, Thomas AVhitlock, Sergeant Gybbiugs ; from the First Bay, a man named Kreupels-Bos ; one from Flushing ; two from Jamaica [L. I.], and a few more whom we knew not, to twenty in number. On the same day, in the afternoon, about three o'clock, John, the Savage, returned, whom we had sent in the night to the Newe- sing Sachems, who were encamped at a consider- able distance from the Raritan River. John, the Savage, brought to us six or seven savages, who told us that the English, before John, the savage, came to them, had arrived there and presented the Savages with some rum and two fathoms of black wampum and one of white, after which they asked them if they would sell to them some land. In the mean time, John, our Savage, came, when the whole thing termi- nated and the English left. '' December 10th. — We departed again from Raritan River, accompanied by two Indians, who were acquainted with the lands of the New- asings. We went down the bay and arrived at the creek which enters between Rensselaer's Pier' and the said point ; we met here again Christo- pher Elsworth in his little sloop, and the Eng- lish sitting on shore near the creek. We went with our boat on shore and went towards them, along the strand. When we approached them we saw every one standing with their weapons. When the Sheriff, Charles Morgan, and John Bowne advanced towards us, I asked them what their business was. They answered they were trading. We replied : If they went to trade, why had they such a strong force with them ? They said Indians were villains and could not be trust- ed; and therefore they went in such numbers. We told them we were informed they came to purchase land from the Indians. They answered : 'We only went there to see the lands.' We again told them that they ought not to undertake to purchase any land of the Indians, as the largest part was already purchased by the Dutch. John Bowne then asked me, ' under what Govern- ment I presumed that they resided ? ' I answered that they lived under that of the States-General, and under that of the Director-General and Council here. To which he replied: 'Why, then, are we not permitted to trade and explore lands as well as you ? ' I answered him that they ought not to undertake to purchase any lands from the Indians, except they had previ- ously obtained the consent of Governor Stuyve- sant and Council ; to which John Bowne replied : ' It shall be well.' Then said Christopher Els- 1 " In the old Dutch records the Navesink Highlands are sometimes called Rensselaer's Point or Hook, and some- times Rensselaer's Pier. This last name no doubt origin- ated from the appearance of these hills to a vessel far out at sea. The adjoining lowlands lying below the horizon, the hills project boldly and squarely out and resemble a pier or wharf, to those on a vessel far out on the ocean.'' — Bon. O. 0. Beekman. 60 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JEESEY. worth, ' I told them the same before, that they should not do it.' Govert Loockermans told them then : ' ye are a party of traitors, and you act against the Government of the State.' They said ' the King's patent is quite of another cast.' Loockermans asked ' from whom have you your pass ? ' and they answered ' from the Manhat- tans.' Loockermans retorted, ' Why do you act, then, against the State ? ' To which Charles Morgan answered ; ' Sek noty bey affet' " The English had their savage with them, who was of the Newasings, and had a hand in the murder of Mispath's Kil,^ as our savage in- formed us, whom we had taken with us in our sloop and carried hither, and his name was Quikems, living on the Newasing River at the land called Townsing. We left the English along shore and went up the river about four miles, along the shore under the West Hills, where the country is very mountainous. On the opposite side, as the savage informed us, the soil was very poor, but some good land, — old [Indian] corn-fields and some planting-ground, which I had before explored with Courtelyou. Then we crossed the hilly part, about nine miles, and perceived by a sign on board that Chris- topher Elsworth with his sloop and the English had entered the River. We remained before it during the night. December 11th. — The wind being southwest, we resolved to sail towards the Manhattans, which we did." In this account it is noticeable that the Eng- lish people, by their sneering retort to the Dutch, who accused them of being traitors, — viz. : " the king's patent is quite of another cast," — showed a fore-knowledge that the English sovereign was about to make a grant of the country to the Duke of York, and to send a fleet and land force to place him in possession of it. It is also to be noticed that both the Dutch and the Eng- lish were distrustful of the Indians, the Dutch having a guard of ten soldiers, and the English being there in strong force and armed. " That the Dutch were familiar with the region ad- jacent to the rivers and .other navigable waters is evident through the whole narrative, and 1 The murder, previously referred to, of Aert Theunissen Van Patten, who was killed by Indians in October, 1643, while on a trading expedition. especially where the writer mentions the old Indian corn-field " and some planting-grounds, which I had before explored with Courtelyou." They had sailed up and down the rivers and kills in pursuit of their vocation as traders, but they had made no attempt to plant any settle- ments there. On this occasion they told the English that they (the Dutch) had already purchased the greater part of the lands from the Indians; but this was false, and was only told for the purpose of driving the English away. The Dutch had bought no land of the Indians in this region, nor is anything found tending to show that they had ever thought of such pur- chase; but when they found that the English were here for that purpose, their jealousy became aroused, and they at once sent their " Indian John" up the river with the message "that if the Sachems of the Newasings wished to sell some land, they should come to us and we would talk it over with them." The tenor of the entire narrative sliows plainly enough that at that time there were no permanent settlements of white people within the region referred to. Among the names of the men composing the party of land- seekers from Long Island, as given in the preceding account, are those of William Goulding, John Bowne, " Sergeant Gybbings " (Richard Gibbons), Samuel Spicer and others, who soon afterwards became land-owners and settlers within the territory of Monmouth County. They made two or three other journeys from Ijong Island to the south shore of the bay, and finally concluded the purchase from the .sachems of the three " necks" of land known by the Indian names of Newasink, Navarumsunk and Pootapeck, the first-named being bought first, and the two others included in a subsequent pur- chase.^ Newasink was the region lying between ^ The tract of Newasink was purchased from the chief, Poppamora, and his people. All the expense of the pur- chase, including the payment to the Indian in money, black and white peague, guns, one anchor of brandy, tobacco, clothing, wine, the services of men and boats for several voyages made, and for the recording of the deeds in New York was £149 6s. lOd. The second purchase, — of Navarumsunk and Pootapeck Necks fro/nseveralsaohems— amounted to £359 10«. in the same kind of outlay as the first. The account was ren- dered to the patentees and associates July 6, 1670. EAKLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 61 the bay and Navesink River, and extending northeast to the Highlands of Navesink,^ em- bracing the site of old Middletown. Navarum- sunk was the " neck" lying between the Nave- sink and Shrewsbury Rivers, including the place where the Shrewsbury settlement was afterwards made, frequent references to " Shrewsbury on Navarumsunk" being found in old records. The " neck" of Pootapeck is supposed to have been that lying south of Shrewsbury River. The western and southwestern bounds of these Indian purchases were too vaguely defined to be iden- tified at the present day. Soon after the surrender of New Netherlands by the Dutch to the English, and the establish- ment of the authority of the Duke of York by his Governor, Colonel Richard NicoUs, the latter issued (in the fall of 1664) a printed proclama- tion, which he caused to be widely distributed, for the purpose of promoting the formation of new settlements in the country under his jurisdiction. It was as follows : " The Conditions for new Planters in the Territories of his Royal Highness, the Duke of York. " The Purchases are to be made from the In- dian Sachems, and to be recorded before 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 Sachem without consent of his Associates, or special Warrant from the Governor. " The Purchasers are free from all manner of Assessments or Rates for five Years after their Town Piatt is set out, and when the five years are expired they, shall only be liable to the pub- lick Rates and Payments, according to the cus- tom of other Inhabitants, both English and Dutch. " All Lands thus purchased and possessed shall remain to the Purchasers and their Heirs as free Lands, to dispose of as they Please. ' A tract at the Highlands was reserved by the Indians, it being the same on which Richard Hartshorne afterwards located. '"In all Territories of his Royal Highness Liberty of Conscience is allowed, provided such Liberty is not converted to Licentiousness, or the Disturbance of others in the Exercise of the Protestant Religion. " The several Townships have Liberty to make their particular . Laws, and deciding all small Causes within themselves. " The Lands which I intend shall be first Planted are those upon the West side of Hud- son's 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 Encourage- ment, proportionable to their quality and under- takings. "Every Township is obliged to pay their Minister according to such Agreement as they shall make with them, and no man to refuse his Proportion, the Minister being elected by the Major part of the Householders, Inhabitants of the Town. " Every Township hath the free choice of all their Officers, both Civil and Military, and all Men who shall take the Oath of Allegiance, and are not Servants or Day Labourers, but are admitted to enjoy a Town Lot, are esteemed free Men of the Jurisdiction, and cannot forfeit the same without due Process in Law. " R. NiCOLLS." The people from Long Island and the New England settlements who had commenced their negotiations with the Indian sachems in Decem- ber, 1663, and subsequently concluded the pur- chase from the natives of the tracts of Newasink, Navarumsunk and Pootapeck, having thus already complied with the first of the conditions prescribed for such as wished to obtain lands, under Nicolls' proclamation, made early applica- tion to the Governor for a grant to cover the In- dian purchases which they had made and others which they intended to make of adjacent lands ; upon which, in April, 1665, the Governor issued to them a patent, as desired, of which the follow- ing is a copy : " To all to whom these presents shall come, I, Richard Nicolls, Esq., Governor, under His ^ Esopus'. 62 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. E,oyal Highness, the Duke of York, of all his Territories in America, send greeting : Whereas, there is a certain Tract or Parcel of Land within this Government lying and being near Sandy Point upon the Main ; which said parcel of Land hath been with my Consent and Ap- probation bought by some of the Inhabitants of Gravesend, upon Long Island, of the Sachems (chief proprietors thereof), who before me have acknowledged to have received Satisfaction for the same ; to the end the said Land may be planted, manured and inhabited, and for divers other good Causes and Considerations, I have thought fit to give, confirm and grant, and by these Presents do give, confirm and grant unto William Goulding, Samuel Spicer, Richard Gibbons, Richard Stout, James Grover, John Bown, John Tilton, Nathaniel Silvester, Wil- liam Reape, Walter Clark, Nicholas Davies, Obadiah Holmes, Patentees and their Associ- ates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, all that Tract and Part of the main Land, begin- ning at a certain Place commonly called or known by the Name of Sandy Point, and so running along the Bay, West North West till it comes to the Mouth of the Raritan River ; from thence going along the said River to the Westermost Part of the certain Marsh Land which divides the River into two Parts, and from that Part to run in a direct South West Line into the Woods Twelve Miles, and then to turn away South East and by South until it falls into the main Ocean ; together with all Lands, Soils, Rivers, Creeks, Harbours, Mines, Minerals (Royal Mines excepted), Quarries, Woods, Meadows,. Pastures, Marshes, Waters, Lakes, Fishings, Hawkings, Huntings and Fowl- ing, and all other Profits, Commodities and Hereditaments to the said Lands and Premises belonging and appertaining, with their and every of their appurtenances, and of every Part and Parcel thereof. To Have and to Hold, all and singular, the said Lands, Hereditaments and Premises, with their and every of their Ap- purtenances hereby given and granted, or here- inbefore mentioned to be given and granted, to the only proper Use and Behooff of the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Suc- cessors and Assigns forever, upon such Terms and conditions as hereafter are expressed, that is to say : that the said Patentees and their As- sociates, their Heirs or assigns, shall within the space of three years, beginning from the Day of the Date hereof, manure and plant the aforesaid Land and Premises, and settle there one Hun- dred Families at the least ; in consideration whereof I do promise and grant that the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Suc- cessors and Assigns shall enjoy the said Land and Premises, with their Appurtenances, for the Term of seven years next to come after the Date of these Presents free from Payment of any Rents, Customs, Excise, Tax or Levy whatsoever ; But after the expiration of the said Term of Seven years the Persons who shall be in the Posses- sion thereof shall pay after the same Rate which others within this, his Royal Highnesses Territories, shall be obliged unto. And the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Suc- cessors and Assigns, shall have free leave and liberty to erect and build their Towns and Vil- lages in such Places as they in their Discretions shall think most convenient, provided that they associate themselves, and that the Houses of their Towns and Villages be not too far distant and scattering one from another ; and also they make such Fortifications for their Defence against an Enemy as may seem needful. And I do likewise grant unto the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and As- signs, and unto any and all other Persons who shall Plant and Inhabit in any of the Land aforesaid, that, they shall have free Liberty of Conscience, without any Molestation or Disturb- ance whatsoever in their way of Worship. And I do further grant unto the aforesaid Patentees, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, that they shall have Liberty to elect by the Vote of the Major Part of the Inhabitants five or seven other Persons of the ablest and discreetest of the said Inhabitants, or a greater Number of them (if the Patentees, their Heirs, Successors or Assigns shall see cause) to join with them, and they together, or the Major Part of them, shall have full Power and Authority to make such peculiar or prudential Laws and Constitu- tions amongst the Inhabitants for the better and more orderly governing of them as to them BAKLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 63 shall seem meet ; provided they be not repug- nant to the publick Laws of the {government ; and they shall also have Liberty to try all Causes and Actions of Debt and Trespass arising amongst themselves, to the Value of Ten Pounds, without Appeal, but that they remit the hearing of all Criminal Matters to the As- sizes of New York. And furthermore I do promise and grant unto the Patentees and their Associates aforementioned, their Heirs, Succes- sors and Assigns, that they shall in all Things have equal privileges. Freedom and Immuni- ties with any of his Majesty's subjects within this Government, these Patentees and their As- sociates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns rendering and paying such Duties and Ac- knowledgements as now are or hereafter shall be constituted and established by the laws of this Government, under the Obedience of his E-oyal Highness, his Heirs and Successors, pro- vided they do no way infringe the Privileges above specified. Given under my Hand and Seal at Fort James, in New York, on Manhat- ans-Island, the 8th Day of April in the 17th year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord God, 1665. "RiCHAED NiCOLLS. "Entered in the office of Record in New York, the Day and Year above written. "MATfiiAS NicoLLS, Secretary." This grant by Governor Nicolls was and is known as the "Monmouth Patent." It em- braced parts of the present counties of Middle- sex and Ocean, and all of what is now the <;ounty of Monmouth, except the township of Upper Freehold and the western part of Mill- stone. The patentees and their associates commenced their settlements immediately^ at Middletown and Shrewsbury, and during the summer and fall of 1665 a large number of people, nearly all of whom were from the iJohn Bowne, Richard Stout and three others, with their families, — five families in all, — came and made their settlement in the spring or summer of 1664, nearly a year before the patent was issued. Long Island and Rhode Island settlements, had made their permanent homes at these points. During the succeeding four years their num- bers increased quite rapidly, so that in the year 1670 there were at Middletown and Shrews- bury and in the region to the westward and northwestward of those places, within the limits of the present county of Monmouth, more than the requisite number of one hundred families.^ The following list embraces nearly all those who were at that time settlers or owners of shares of the lands of the Indian purchases. A few of those who were owners of lands did not settle on them, but the greater part of the names here given were those of heads of families, and the remainder, except the few non-resident share-owners, were single men, but actual set- tlers. The list of names, giving also, so far as known, the previous residence of each, is as follows : From Massachusetts Bay. — George Allen, William Gifford, John Jenkins, Richard Sadler, Edward Wharton. From Rhode Island.^ — John Allen, Chris- topher Allmy, Job Allmy, Stephen Arnold, James Ashton, Benjamin Borden, Richard Bor- den, Francis Brindley, Nicholas Brown, Abra- ham Brown, Henry Bull, Robert Carr, George Chutte, Walter Clarke, Thomas Clifton, Wil- liam Coddington, Joshua Coggeshall, John Coggeshall, Edward Cole, Jacob Cole, Joseph Coleman, John Cook, Nicholas Davis, Richard Davis, William Deuell, Benjamin Deuell, Thomas Dungan, Roger Ellis and son, Peter Easton, Gideon Freeborn, Annias Gauntt, ' It appears that there were about that number settled at the two towns and vicinity as early as 1668. At a " General Assembly" of the settlers, held at Portland Point (the Highlands) on the 4th of June in that year, it was : " Ordered, upon full debate hereof, that noe more per- sons whatsoever, either purchasers, townsmen or others, shall hereafter be admitted or taken in, there being in numbers about 100, as near as att present can be found ; or if it be found there are not soe many, yet notwithstand- ing noe moor are to be from henceforth admitted as afore- said." 3 Many of the settlers who came to Monmouth County from Rhode Island and Long Island had previously lived in the colony of Massachusetts Bay, and had left there on account of the religious persecution to which they had been subjected. 64 HISTOEY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JEKSEY. Zachary Gauntt, Israel Gauntt, Daniel Gould, John Havens, Robert Hazard, Samuel Holli- man, Obadiah Holmes, Jonathan Holmes, George Hulett, Richard James, William James, William Layton, James Leonard, Henry Lip- pett, Mark Lucar (or Luker), Lewis Mattux, Edward Pattison, Thomas Potter, William Reape, Richard Richardson, William Shaberly, Samuel Shaddock, Thomas Shaddock, William Shattock, W^illiam Shearman, John Slocum, Edward Smith, John Smith, Edward Tartt, Robert Taylor, John Throckmorton, Job Throckmorton, Edward Thurston, Eliakim Wardell, George Webb, Bartholomew West, Robert West, Robert West, Jr., Thomas Win- terton, Emanuel Woolley. From Long Island. — John Bowne, Gerrard Bowne, James Bowne, William Bowne, Wil- liam Compton, John Conklin (earlier from Sa- lem, Mass.), Thomas Cox, John Cox, Richard Gibbons, William Goulding, James Grover, James Grover, Jr., William Lawrence, Barthol- omew Lippincott, Richard Lippincott, Richard Moor, Thomas Moor, John Ruckman, Nathaniel Sylvester, Benjamin Spicer, Samuel Spicer, John Stout, Richard Stout, John Tilton, Peter Tiltou, Nathaniel Tompkins, John Townsend, John Wall, Walter Wall, Thomas Wansick, Thomas Whitlock. Previous residence unknown except where men- tioned. — John Bird, Joseph Boyer, William Cheeseman, Edward Crome, Daniel Estell, Ralph Gouldsmith, John Hall, John Hance (Westchester, N. Y.), John Haundell, Thomas Hart, John Hawes, James Heard, Richard Harts- home (England),Tobias Haudson, John Horabin, Joseph Huet, Randall Huet, Randall Huet, Jr., John Jobs, Robert Jones (New York), Gabriel Kirk, Edmund Lafetra, Francis Masters, George Mount, William Newman, Anthony Page, Joseph Parker, Peter Parker, Henry Percy, Bartholomew Shamgungue, Richard Sissell, Robert Story, John Tomson, Marma- duke Ward, John Wilson, John Wood, Thomas Wright. On the 8th of July, 1670, the patentees met at Portland Point and voted to admit as associ- ates "a convenient number of purchasers who were the first and principal in the purchase of the three necks : Newasink, Navarumsunk and Pootapeck, . . . henceforth to have a full interest, right and claim in y° Patent given and granted to y° Patentees by Richard Nicolls, Esq'., late Governour of New York." The associates then chosen were William Bowne, Thomas Whit- lock, John Wilson, John Ruckman, Walter Wall, John Smith, Richard Richardson, John Horabin, James Bowne, Jonathan Holmes, Christopher Allmy, Eliakim Wardell, Bartholomew West, John Haunce, James Ashton, Edward Pattison, William Shaddock, Thomas Winterton, Edward Tartt, Benjamin Burden (Borden). On the 31st of May, 1672, Richard Lippincott and Nicholas Browne were added to the list of associates. Of the persons mentioned in the foregoing list, the following named, though owners of shares in the Indian purchases (and some of them being also original grantees in the Mon- mouth patent), did not become settlers here, viz. : Henry Bull, Robert Carr, Walter Clarke (pat>- entee), William Coddington, Joshua Coggeshall, John Coggeshall, Nicholas Davis (patentee), Zachary Gauntt, Daniel Gould, Edward Thurs- ton and Obadiah Holmes (patentee), all of Rhode Island; Nathaniel Sylvester (patentee), of Long Island ; and John Jenkins and Edward Whar- ton, of Massachusetts Bay. The last named had been imprisoned and publicly whipped as a Quaker in the Massachusetts colony, and he came to Monmouth County probably with the intention of making it his permanent home; but after a brief stay he returned to New Eng- land, for some reason which does not appear. Henry Bull, Walter Clarke, William Cod- dington and John Coggeshall were Governors of Rhode Island.' Robert Carr sold his share to Giles Slocum, of Newport, R. I., for his son, John Slocum, who became a settler. Zachariah Gauntt sold his share to his brother, Annias,. who became a permanent settler on the Mon- mouth purchase. Joshua Coggeshall, Edward Thurston and Daniel Gould were Deputy or Lieutenant-Gov- ernors of Rhode Island, as were also several others, who became permanent settlers, viz.: 1 Coggeshall in 1647 and 1668; Clark in 1676, 1686 and 1699 ; Coddington in 1683-85 (died 1688) ; Bull in 168& and 1690. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 66 Francis Brindley,William Reape, Edward Smith, Stephen Arnold, Job Allmy and Christopher AUmy. Nicholas Davis (patentee) was living in the Massachusetts Bay colony at the time when the Quakers began preaching there, about 1656, and he soon afterwards became a member of that society, for which offense he was indicted in April, 1659, and in July of the same year he was sentenced to death. Mary Dyer,' William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson were also sentenced at the same time, and they were hung at Boston. Davis' sentence was commuted to banishment, and he removed to Newport, R. I., where he was living when he became interested in the Monmouth patent. He was drowned about the year 1672. The Rev. Obadiah Holmes, one of the twelve patentees of Monmouth, was living in 1639 at Salem, Mass., where he was engaged with Law- rence Southwick and Ananias Conkliu (descend- ants of both of whom became settlers on the Monmouth purchase) in the manufacture of glass, they being among the first, and probably the first, in that business in America. Mr. Holmes afterwards joined the Baptists and be- came a prominent minister in that denomina- tion, for which offense he was indicted at Ply- mouth, in October, 1650, with Edward Smith, John Hazell and William Deuell, and tried before Governor William Bradford, Captain Miles Standish and other dignitaries, the result of which trial is not very clearly to be under- . stood from the record. In the following year (July, 1651) the Rev. Obadiah Holmes, John Clarke and John Crandal went to Lynn and there held services at the house of William Witter, he being an old and feeble man, unable to journey far to hear the Gospel preached. While engaged in services at Witter's house they were arrested, and thence taken before Magistrate Robert Bridges, who committed them to jail in Boston, where, on the 31st of July, Holmes and Clarke were brought before the court (presided over by His Excellency, Governor John Endicott), found guilty^ and sentenced to pay each a fine of £30 or be "well whipt." A friend of Clarke's paid his fine for him, but Mr. Holmes '' refused to pay, though able to do so. He deemed a payment of the fine to be an ac- knowledgment of error, and he chose rather to suffer than to ' deny his Lord.' " So he suffered the punishment — thirty la.shes "with a three- corded whip" — without a murmur, praying to the Lord the while to forgive his persecutors for their sin and cruelty. " Mr. Holmes," says Backus, in his " History of the Baptists," " was whipt thirty stripes, and in such an unmerciful manner that in many days, if not some weeks, he could take no rest but as he lay upon his knees and elbows, not being able to suffer any part of his bodj- to touch the bed whereon he lay." After this outrage he lived more than 1 Her son, Henry Dyer, was among the early settlers in Monmouth County, though his name does not appear in the foregoing list. 5 2 The crime of which these New England bigots found him guilty is set forth in the following : "The sentence of Obadiah Holmes, of Seaconk, the 31st of the 5th m. [0. S.], 1651. "Forasmuch as you, Obadiah Holmes, being come into this jurisdiction about the 21 of the 5 m., did meet at one William Witter's house at Lynn, and did there privately (and at other times, being an excommunicate person, did take upon you to preach and baptize), upon the Lord's day or other days, and being taken then by the constable, and coming afterwards to the assembly at Lynn, did, in disre- spect to the ordinance of God and his worship, keep on your hat, the pastor being in prayer, insomuch that you would not give reverence in vailing your hat, till it was forced off your head, to the disturbance of the congrega- tion, and professing against the institution of the church as not being according to the gospel of Jesus Christ ; and that you, the said Obadiah Holmes, did, upon the day following, meet again at the said William Witter's in contempt to authority, you being then in the custody of the law, and did there receive the sacrament, being excommunicate, and that you did baptize such as were baptized before, and thereby did necessarily deny the baptism that was before administered to be baptism, the churches no churches, and also other ordinances and ministers, as if all were a nullity ; and also did deny the lawfulness of baptizing of infants ; and all this tends to the dishonor of God, the despising the ordinances of God among us, the peace of the churches,^ and seducing the subjects of this commonwealth from the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and perverting the strait ways of the Lord, the Court doth fine you thirty pounds, to be paid, or sufficient sureties that the said sum shall be paid, by the first day of the next Court of Assist- ants, or else to be well whipt, and that you shall remain in prison till it be paid, or security given for it. By the Court. "Inceease Nowell." 66 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. thirty years, principally at and near Newport, R. I., which was his residence at the time when he became one of the Monmouth patentees. Though he never settled on his Monmouth lands, he made occasional visits here, one of which was upon the organization of the Baptist Church at Middletown, which was the first of that de- nomination in New Jersey and the third or fourth in America. Two of his sons, Obadiah and Jonathan, became settlers in Monmouth. The first named returned to Rhode Island after a few years, but Jonathan remained, and was one of the first officials elected at a meeting of the inhabitants of " Middletown, on Newasunk Neck, and Shrewsbury, on Navarumsunk Neck," held on the 19th of December, 1667. His father, the Rev. Obadiah Holmes (the patentee), died at Newport on the 15th of October, 1682. Nathaniel Sylvester, a non-resident patentee of Monmouth, was a Quaker, and the prin- cipal owner of Shelter Island, near the eastern end of Long Island. His house afforded an asylum for Lawrence Southwick (one of Rev. Obadiah Holmes' partners in the glass-works at Salem, Mass.) and his wife, Cassandra, who, with their son, Josiah, had joined the Quakers in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and had on this account been frequently and cruelly punished by whipping, and were finally banished from the colony. Being old people, they were com- pletely broken clown by the severity of their punishments and persecutions, and they died at Mr. Sylvester's house, in 1659, within three days of each other. Their daughter, Provided Southwick, married Samuel Gaskell, and from them descended the numerous family of Gaskell in New Jersey. Captain John Bowne was a leader in the project of purchasing from the Indian sachems the three " Necks" of Newasink, Navarumsunk, and Pootapeck, and was one of the company who sailed from Gravesend, L. I., in Christo- pher Ellsworth's sloop, in December, 1663, in the prosecution of that enterprise, as is mentioned in the preceding account of the trip of Govert Loockermans and others to the Navesink region, in the same month. Captain Bowne became one of the patentees of the Monmouth grant, by Governor Nicolls, and was one of the first five families who made a permanent settlement on the great tract. The place where he located is in the present township of Holmdel, though in the old records he is mentioned as one of the settlers of Middletown, — a name which was at that time applied to a large and somewhat vaguely-defined region surrounding the " town" or central settlement. Until Captain Bowne's death, in the early part of 1684, he seems to have been the most prominent citizen of the county, esteemed for his integrity and ability. He had been compelled to leave the Massachu- setts colony on account of his sympathy with the Baptists, and he was one of the founders of the Baptist Church at Middletown. He appeared as a deputy to the first Assembly in Governor Carteret's time, which met May 26, 1668, the members of the Lower House being then called "burgesses." He was deputy again in 1675, after Carteret's return from England ; and in the first Legislature under the twenty-four pro- prietors, in 1683, he was a member and the Speaker, and acted until the December following. He held other positions of trust. March 12, 1 677, a commission was issued to him as presi- dent of the court to hold a term at Middletown. In December, 1683, shortly before his last ill- ness, he was appointed major of the militia of Monmouth County. He died in January, 1683- 84, leaving two sons, Obadiah and John, the latter of whom was also a prominent man in the province, and a candidate for the office of Speaker of Assembly in Lord Cornbury's administration ; but he ^vas expelled from the House on a charge of having taken part in the raising of a large sum of money in the province to be paid to Cornbury as a bribe for corrupt official action. No such charge could ever have been brought against the rigid virtue and up- rightness of the first John Bowne, of Mon- mouth. Captain Andrew Bowne, a somewhat later set- tler in Monmouth County, who was a member of the Governor's Council, and also Acting Governor just prior to the surrender by the proprietors to Queen Anne, is supposed to have been a brother of Captain John Bowne. Richard Stout was one of the Monmouth pat- entees, and his was also one of the first five fam- EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 67 ilies who settled on the Indian purchase in 1664. He had previously lived a number of years ou Long Island, and while there had been married to a young Dutch widow, of whom and her two husbands the following account is found in a " History of New Jersey," published in 1765: " While New York was in possession of the Dutch, about the time of the Indian war in New England, a Dutch ship coming from Amster- dam was stranded on Sandy Hook, but the pas- sengers got on shore ; among them was a young Dutchman, who had been sick most of the voy- age ; he was taken so bad after landing that he could not travel, and the other passengers being afraid of the Indians, would not stay till he re- covered, but made what haste they could to go to New Amsterdam ; his wife, however, would not leave him, and the rest promised to send as soon as they arrived. They had not been long gone before a company of Indians coming down to the water-side discovered them on the beach, and, hastening to the spot, soon killed the man, and cut and mangled the woman in such a man- ner that they left her for dead. She had strength enough to crawl up to some old logs not far dis- tant, and getting into a hollow tree, lived mostly in it for several days, subsisting in part by eat ing the excrescences that grew from it ; the In- dians had left some fire on the shore, which she kept together for warmth ; having remained in this manner for some time, an old Indian and a young one, coming down to the beach, found her ; they were soon in high words, which she afterwards understood was a dispute, the for- mer being for keeping her alive, the other for dispatching. After they had debated the point awhile the first hastily took her up, and, tossing her upon his shoulder, carried her to a place near where Middletown now stands, where he dressed her wounds and soon cured her. After some time the Dutch at New Amsterdam, hear- ing of a white woman among the Indians, con- cluded who it must be, and some of them went to her relief; the old Indian, her preserver, gave her the choice either to go or stay ; she chose the first. A while after, marrying to one Stout [Richard], they lived together at Middle- town among other Dutch [?] inhabitants. The old Indian who saved her life used frequently to visit her ; at one of his visits she observed him to be more pensive than common, and sit^ ting down, he gave three heavy sighs ; after the last she thought herself at liberty to ask him what was the matter. He told her he had some- thing to tell her in friendship, though at the risk of his own life, which was, that the Indians were that night to kill all the whites, and ad- vised her to go off for New Amsterdam ; she asked him how she could get oif; he told her he had provided a canoe at a place which he named. Being gone from her, she sent for her husband out of the field and discovered the matter to him, who not believing it, she told him the old man never deceived her, and that she with the children would go ; accordingly, going to the place appointed, they found the canoe, and paddled off. When they were gone the husband began to consider the thing, and sending for five or six of his neighbors, they set upon their guard. About midnight they heard the dismal war-whoop ; presently came up a company of Indians ; they first expostulated, and then told them that if they persisted in their bloody design, they would sell their lives very dear. Their arguments prevailed, the In- dians desisted, and entered into a league of peace, which was kept without violation. From this woman thus remarkably saved, with her scars visible through a long life, is descended a nu- merous posterity of the name of Stout, now inhabiting New Jersey." In another account of these events, based on the same authority (Benedict's "History of the Baptists"), it is added that Mrs. Stout's maiden- name was Penelope Van Princes ; that she was born in Amsterdam about the year 1602 ; that she married Richard Stout in New York when she was in her twenty-second year and he in his fortieth, he being an Englishman of good family ; that they afterwards settled at Middle- town ; that she lived to the age of one hundred and ten years, having borne to Richard Stout seven sons and three daughters,' and before her 1 The sons were Jonathan, John, Richard, James, Peter, David, Benjamin ; the daughters were Mary, Sarah and Alice. Benedict says Richard Stout was a son of John Stout, of Nottinghamshire, England. HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. death saw her offspring multiplied to five hun- dred and two in about eighty-eight years. There is, beyond doubt, a good deal of ro- mance and inaccuracy in both these accounts, though in their main features they are probably correct. The statement that they lived " among other Dutch " at Middletown is clearly incor- rect, as there were no Dutch among the early settlers there. The story of the intended In- dian massacre, too, is undoubtedly the product of a fertile imagination, as it is well known that the Indians of this region wei-e always friendly to the English settlers, and never gave them any trouble except an occasional drunken brawl, which the white men punished by plac- ing the noble red men in the stocks or pillory, just as they did the same class of white offenders, — a fact which in itself shows that they had no fear of any Indian massacre. As to Benedict's statement, if it is true that she was born in 1602, and was married to Richard Stout when she was twenty-two, the time of their marriage must have been the year 1624, at which time he was forty years of age. They went to Mid- dletown, with the first settlers, in 1664, at which time (if this statement is correct) her age was sixty-two, and his eighty years. At that time, and for several succeeding years, Richard Stout was a prominent man in the public affairs of the Navesink settlements, which would hardly have been the case at such an age ; and in 1669, when (according to the above supposi- tion) he was eighty-five years old, Richard Stout, Jonathan Holmes, Edward Smith and James Bowne were chosen " overseers " of Middletown, and Stout made his X mark to the " Ingadgement " in lieu of signature, — which last-mentioned fact makes it improbable that he was, as stated, an Englishman "of good family," according to the usual English under- standing of that term. Richard Stout was, however, one of the most respectable and re- spected men in his day in the Monmouth settle- ments. "William Reape (Monmouth patentee) was a ^(Ong Island settler and a Quaker, on M'hich account he had been arrested and imprisoned by the Dutch Governor, Peter Stuyvesant, who could hardly be termed a religious bigot, but who became a mild persecutor of Quakers be- cause his instructions from the States-General re- quired him to discountenance all forms of religion but that prescribed by the Synod of Dordrecht. Soon after his liberation Reape went to New- port, R, I., where he engaged in mercantile business, and was living there when he became interested in the Monmouth patent. He was one of the first settlers who came to make their homes on the Navesink Indian purchase in 1665. John Tilton was another of the twelve Mon- mouth patentees. " When he first came from England he located at Lynn, Massachusetts. His wife was a Baptist, and in December, 1642, she was indicted for ' holdinge that the Baptism of Infants is no Ordinance of God.' They left Massachusetts with Lady Deborah Moody and other Baptists and settled at Gravesend, Long Island, where again they were made to suffer for conscience' sake. In 1658 he was fined by the Dutch authorities for allowing a Quaker woman to stop at his house. In Sep- tember, 1662, he was fined for 'permitting Quakers to quake at his house.' In October of the same year himself and wife were summoned before Governor Stuyvesant and Council at New Amsterdam (now New York), charged with having entertained Quakers, and frequent- ing their conventicles. They were condemned and ordered to leave the province before the 20th day of November following, under pain of corporal punishment. It is supposed that through the efforts of Lady Moody, who had great influence with the Dutch Governor, the sentence was either reversed or changed to the payment of a fine."^ They came to Mon- mouth among the settlers of 1665. Jonathan Tilton, who was also one of the earliest settlers, M'as an ancestor of Theodore Tilton, of Brook- lyn, the famous lecturer. The residence of Jonathan Tilton (and the place where he died) was an old house, still (or recently) standing between Balui Hollow and Middletown, just east of Beekman's Woods. James Grover, one of the patentees, be- came a permanent settler, and built the first iron- ^ Hou. Ed-win Salter. EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 69 works in New Jersey. Their location was at Tinton Falls. They Avere sold, with a large tract of adjacent land, to Colonel Lewis Morris, the elder, in 1676. William Goulding (whose name heads the list of Monmouth patentees) was one of the Massachusetts Bay Baptists, who were perse- cuted and banished from that colony on account of their religion. He became a permanent settler, and was one of the founders of the old Baptist Church at Middletown. Richard Gibbons, who is mentioned as " Sergeant Gybbings " in the account of the visit of the Long Islanders to the Navesinks in December, 1663, was one of the twelve pat- entees of Monmouth, and an early settler on the great tract. The old records do not men- tion his name as frequently as those of many of the other patentees and settlers. Samuel Spicer, a patentee and one of the settlers of 1665, had previously resided at Grave- send, L. I. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and, like Reape, Tilton and others, had been severely dealt with by Governor Stuyvesant for non-conformity to the estab- lished religion of the Synod of Dordrecht. Edward Smith, whose name appears as a purchaser of lands within the Monmouth pat- ent, was one of those who were indicted at Plymouth with Rev. Obadiah Holmes and John Hazell, in October, 1650, as before mentioned. The indictment was as follows : " October second, 1650. " Wee whose names are here underwritten, being the Grand Inquest, doe present to this Court John Hazell, Mr. Edward Smith and his wife, Obadiah Holmes, Joseph Tory and his wife, and the wife of James Man, William Deuell and his wife, of the town of Rehoboth, for the continuing of a meeting upon the Lord's day, from house to house, contrary to the order of this Court, enacted June 12, 1650. Thomas Robinson, Heney Tomson, etc., to the number of 14." They were tried before Governor William Bradford, Capt. Miles Standish and other magistrates, and soon afterwards Edward Smith and William Deuell removed to Rhode Island, where Smith became Lieutenant-Governor. Both he and Deuell settled in what is now Mon- mouth County in or about the year 1 665. "John Hance was one of the original settlers of Shrewsbury. He is named as a deputy and overseer at a court held at Portland Point, December 28, 1669. He held various positions in the county, among which was justice, and that of ' schepen,' to which latter he was ap- pointed by the Dutch during their brief rule in 1673. He was a deputy to the Assembly in 1668, but refused to take or subscribe the oath of allegiance but with provisos, and would not yield the claims of his people under the Mon- mouth patent, and. submit to the laws and gov- ernment of the proprietors when directed against those claims, in consequence of which he was rejected as a member, as was also Jona- than Holmes, Edward Tartt and Thomas Win- terton, at the same session, for the same reasons. Hance was re-elected a deputy in 1680 and at other times." ^ William Shattock was a native of Boston, who, about 1656, joined the Quakers in the Massachusetts Bay colony, and for this oifense was imprisoned, cruelly whipped and banished. He removed to Rhode Island and thence to New Jersey in or about 1665, settling on lands of the Monmouth patent. A few years after- wards he moved to Burlington. His daughter Hannah married Restore Lippincott, son of Richard Lippincott. Samuel Shattock (or Shaddock), who was a settler on the Navesink purchase, was a Massa- chusetts Quaker, who removed thence to Rhode Island before his settlement in New Jersey. Not long after the persecution and banishment of Lawrence Southwick and his wife from Massachusetts Bay, their son, Josiah ^ (who had also been banished), with Samuel Shattock and Nicholas Phelps, went to England, where, after long and persistent eiforts, they procured the King's order that thereafter all persons indicted as Quakers should be sent to England for trial instead of being tried in the Massachusetts Bay 1 Hon. Ed-win Salter. ^ A son or nephew of Josiah Southwick settled at Mount Holly about 1700. 70 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. colony. After that time the Friends were comparatively free from persecution in New England. John and Job Throckmorton, ancestors of the numerous Throckmortons of the present time in Monmouth County, were settlers here between 1665 and 1667. They were sons of John Throckmorton, who, with Thomas James, William Arnold, Edward Cole and Ezekiel Holliman (or, more properly, Holman), came over from England in the same ship with Roger Williams, and all of whom are mentioned by Williams as his friends and associates in an account written by him in 1638.^ John Throckmorton was among the first settlers at Providence, R. I., and was afterwards in West- chester, ]Sr. Y., with Ann Hutchinson. After she was killed by the Indians he still held his lands in Westchester and on Long Island, but returned to Providence, where he spent most of his time and held his citizenship. John Smith came to the Monmouth great tract with the early settlers, and was the first " schoolmaster " of Middletown. He M'as the same person who, with three others, accom- panied Roger Williams on his first exploring journey to Rhode Island. Edward Smith, who was also a settler in Monmouth, left Massachu- setts Bay with John Smith, the teacher, because of the persecution against them as Baptists. Richard Hartshorne came to the province of New Jersey in September, 1669, and located himself in Middletown, Monmouth County. Sandy Hook was first held under a grant to him in 1667. He was a Quaker by profession, and an account of the country written by him and circulated in England induced considera- ble emigration. A letter from him, dated Nov. 12, 1676, is one of a collection printed in 1676, a, facsimile of which is in the New Jersey Historical Society Library. He soon attained popularity in East Jersey, but did not enter into public life until early in 1684, when he was appointed one of Deputy-Governor Law- rle's Council. In the succeeding year he was elected to the General Assembly from Middle- town ; was chosen Speaker in 1686, and con- ^ Backus' " History of the Baptists." tinned to hold that position until October, 1693, and again from February, 1696, to March, 1698, when he became one of Governor Basse's Council. He still continued to hold his seat as a member of the Assembly, and filled both positions until the surrender of the government to the crown. ^ He was a brother of Hugh Hartshorne, one of the twenty-four proprietors, who is mentioned as " Citizen and Skinner of London " in Leaming and Spicer, p. 141. Eliakim Wardell, who was one of the asso- ciate patentees of Monmouth, had lived near Hampton, N. H., where he and his wife were persecuted, imjjrisoned, whipped and finally banished because of their Quaker principles. They then removed to Rhode Island, which colony, although it offered to the Quakers a more peaceful and safe asylum than they could find elsewhere in New England, was yet objec- tionable to them in some respects.^ Mr. War- ^ This account of Ricliard Hartshorne is found in New Jersey Archives, Series 1, toI. i. p. 220. ^ " In regard to Quakers in Rhode Island, the toleration extended to them was not so unrestricted as in New Jersey, for the General Assembly of that colony endeavored to compel them to bear arms, which was contrary to the dictates of their consciences, in an important point in their religious faith. The General Assembly of Rhode Island declared that ' In case thev, the said Quakers which are here, or who shall arise, or come among us, do refuse to subject to all duties aforesaid, as training, watching and such other engagements as other members of civil societies, for the preservation of the same in justice and peace ; then we determine yea, and we resolve to take, and make use of the first opportunity lo inform our agent resident in England that he may humbly present the matter They declared that they wished no damage to the principle of freedom of conscience ; but at the same time their demands of the Quakers that th«y should 'train,' or in other words, perform military duty, was certainly an effort to compel them to act contrary to the dictates of their conscience in an essential part of their religious be- lief. This effort to compel them to ' train ' may account for the fact that many members of that sect who had been persecuted in Massachusetts, and sought refuge in Rhode Island, did not become freemen there, but only mnde a temporary stay, and when the Monmouth Patent was granted, they came to that county with the original settlers, where from the outstart they were allowed all the privi- leges enjoyed by other settlers, some of their number being elected as deputies to frame laws and to other of- iices, at the first electjpn, as well as at subsequent elec- tions. They were not required to ' train ' against their conscientious convictions. Besides which it may be added EAELY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 71 dell removed from Rhode Island to New Jer- sey, where he became one of the early settlers on the Monmouth patent, and was the first sheriff of the county, appointed in 1683. Christopher Allmy, who was at one time Lieutenant (or Deputy) Governor of Rhode Island, was one of those who came from that colony to settle on the Monmouth lands, in 1665 or 1666. He afterwards became one of the associate patentees, and remained an inhabit- ant of Monmouth County for several years, during which time he ran a sloop with consid- erable regularity (except in the inclement sea- son of the year) between Wakake Landing and the Rhode Island ports. In Monmouth County he became involved in a great number of lawsuits, by which he was nearly ruined, and he finally left New Jersey and returned to Rhode Island. CHAPTER VI. EAELY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES [Continued). When Governor Richard Nicolls signed the Monmouth patent and other grants of land in New Jersey neither he nor any other person in America knew of the fact that soon after Sir Robert Carre sailed from England with his fleet, carrying Nicolls and a land force for the purpose of dispossessing the Dutch at New Amsterdam, and while that fleet was still on its way thither, the Duke of York had, as before noticed, conveyed (June 24, 1664) all his right, title, and interest, of every kind whatsoever, to and in the territory lying between the Hudson and Delaware Rivers, to Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, who, being thus invested, not only with the proprietorship of the soil, but also with the right and authority of government over its inhabitants, proceeded to appoint and conl- mission Captain Philip Carteret as their Gov- that the first settlers here ooaducted themselves so justly and friendly towards the Indians that they had little or no occasion to 'train' for fear of them." — Hon. Edwin Salter. ernor, and to frame and execute certain " Con- cessions," intended to promote the rapid settle- ment of their purchase. Captain Carteret arrived in the province in the latter part of the summer of 1665, and at once proceeded to publish his commission as Gover- nor of New Jersey, and also " The Concession and Agreement of the Lords Proprietors of the Province of New Jersey, to and with all and every, the Adventurers, and all such as shall Settle and Plant there." This document, which was executed by the proprietors on the 10th of February, 1664-65, contained the fol- lowing promises of grants of land and privi- leges, viz : " And that the Planting of the said Province may be the more speedily promoted : We do hereby grant unto all Persons who have already adventured to the said Province of New Csesarea or New Jersey, or shall transport themselves or Servants before the first Day of January, which shall be in the year of our Lord One Thousand Six Hundred and Sixty-five, these following Proportions, viz : To every Freeman that shall go with the first Governor from the Port where he embarques, or shall meet him at the Rendezvous he appoints, for the Settlement of a Plantation there, arm'd with a good Musket, bore twelve Bullets to the Pound, with ten pounds of Powder and twenty pounds of Bullets, with Bandilears and Match convenient, andwith six Months' Provision for his own Person arriving there. One Hundred and Fifty Acres of Land, English Measure ; and for every able Servant that he shall carry with him, arm'd and provided as aforesaid and arriving there, the like quantity of One Hun- and Fifty Acres, English Measure : And who - soever shall send Servants at that Time shall have for every able Man Servant he or she shall send, armed and provided as aforesaid, and shall arrive there, the like quantity of One Hundred and Fifty Acres: And for every weaker Servant or Slave, Male or Female, ex- ceeding the Age of fourteen years, which any one shall send or carry, arriving there. Seventy- five Acres of Land : And for every Christian Servant exceeding the Age aforesaid, after the Expiration of their Time of Service, Seventy- five Acres of Land for their own use." •72 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. To such as, not going out with the first Gov- ernor, but who should go to the province be- fore the 1st of January, 1665, four-fifths of the before-mentioned quantity of laud was promised, according to their respective classes, which quantity was to be reduced to three- fifths for persons of each class, who should go " with an intention to plant," during the year ending January 1, 1666, and to two- fifths of the first-mentioned quantities, respec- tively, to those who should go out in the third year, ending January 1, 1667 ; every patent to be signed by the Governor (or Deputy-Gov- ernor), and a majority of the Council and sealed with the seal of the province, and to contain an accurate description of the tract granted to the person entitled to it under the Concession, " to hold to him or her, his or her Heirs or As- signs forever, yielding and paying yearly to the said Lords Proprietors, their Heirs or Assigns, every five and Twentieth Day of March, ac- cording to the English Account, one half-penny of lawful Money of England for every of the said Acres, to be holders of the manner of East Greenwich, in free and Common Soccagre ; the first payment of which Rent to begin the Five and Twentieth Day of March, which shall be in the year of our Lord One Thousand Six Hundred and Seventy, according to the English Account." And the Governor and Council were especially directed and charged by the pro- prietors in their Concessions as follows : " They are to take care that Lands quietly held, planted and possessed Seven Years after its being duly surveyed by the Surveyor-General or his Order shall not be subject to any Ee- vievv. Re-survey or Alteration of Bounders, on what pretence soever, by any of us, or by any Officer or Minister under us. ^ ... We do also grant convenient Proj)ortious of Land for High-Ways and for Streets, not exceeding One Hundred Foot in Breadth in Cities, Towns and Villages, etc., and for Churches, Forts, Wharfs, Kays, Harbours and for Publick Houses ; and to each Parish, for the use of their Minis- ters, Two Hundred Acres, in such Places as the General Assembly shall appoint," — all lands 1 Learning and Spicer, page 20. laid out for the purposes named to be "free and exemjDt from all rents, taxes and other charges and duties whatsoever." Carteret sent agents to Massachusetts Bay and the other eastern colonies to publish there the Concessions, with a favorable account of the ad- vantages offered by New Jersey, for the purpose of inducing people to come from New England ^ and make settlements in this province. Many did come from that region, but of all who, prior to the year 1682, came to settle on lands now embraced within the county of Monmouth, few, if any, did so on account of the proprietary Concessions or with the intention of claiming lands under them. They yielded a sort of qualified allegiance to the government of the pro- prietors, without acknowledging or recognizing their ownership of the soil of the territory em- braced within the NicoUs' grant. They regarded the Monmouth patent as their good and suffi- cient title to the lands on which they settled, and in support of that claim they referred to the language used by the Duke of York in his com- mission to Colonel Nicolls as his deputy and agent, dated April 2, 1664, viz., — " I do hereby constitute and appoint him, the said Richard Nicolls, Esq., to be my Deputy Governour within the Lands, Islands and Places aforesaid, to perform and execute all and every the Pow- ers which are by the said Letters Patent granted 2 The following affidavit, taken before Joseph Cott, Febru- ary 4, 1675, and found in the New York Colonial Docu- ments, mentions the situation of affairs with regard to set- tlements in New Jersey at the time of Carteret's arrival; also his sending agents to New England to secure settlers : " Silvester Salisbury, of New Yorke, Gent., maketh o&th thatin or about the yeare 1665, he being then at New Yorke, there arrived Philip Carteret, Esqr., at New Jersey, in America, in a Ship called the Philip, wcli s'^ ship was 100 tuns & had then aboard her about 30 servants & severall goods of great value, proper for the first planting & selling of the Colony of New Jersey, & this deponent sayeth that at the time of y= arrival of the s^ ship, there were about four families in New Jersey (except some few at New Sinks, [Navesinks] that went under the nomen of Quakers), and that y" s"* Philip Carteret, after his arrival there, landed y« s* servants and goods and applied himself to y" planting and peopling of y^ s^ Colony, & that he sent divers persons into New England & other places to publish y" concessions of y« Lds Propriet.i-s and to invite people to come and settle there, whereupon, & within a year's time or thereabouts, severall p'sons did come with their families and settled there in severall towns. . . . '' EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 73 unto Me to be executed by my Deputy, Agent or Assign." In pursuance of the full power thus given, and not revoked by the Duke, they said, Nicolla had granted the Monmouth patent, and it was therefore a good and valid title. On the other liand, the proprietors referred to the fact that the Duke of York had sold and trans- ferred the province to them several months prior to the " pretended " granting of the Mon- mouth patent by Nicolls ; that the New Jersey lands at that time belonged to them (Berkeley and Carteret) and not to the Duke of York ; that therefore, his Governor and agent, Nicolls, had at that time no power or right to transfer those lands ; and that the Monmouth patent, as well as all other grants^ made by him, of lands in New Jersey, was void. These, in brief, were the arguments and claims on both sides, and, without entering more fully on the merits of the case, it is sufficient to say here that the disa- greement between the various proprietors, on the one hand, and the patentees and their rep- resentatives and assigns, on the other, resulted in a controversy of title, which continued for more than a century. 1 Another grant made by Governor Nicolls of lands in New Jersey was called the " Elizabethtown Grant." On the 26th of September, 1664, John Bailey and others ap- plied to Nicolls for permission to purchase from the In- dians certain lands bordering on Raritan River (on the north side) and the kills, which permission was given by the Governor September 30th. The lands were purchased from the sachems October 28th in that year, and the pur- chase was duly confirmed by the Governor, who, on the 16th of December following, issued his patent to John Baker and associates for the land purchased from the In- dians ; being of a certain described extent along the river and kills, and " to run West into the country twice the length of the Breadth thereof, from the North to the South." This was the Elizabethtown grant, which embraced the present sites of Elizabeth, Newark, Rahway, Plainfield, Piscataway, Woodbridge and Perth Amboy. "This grant," says Whitehead (Col. Hist. N. J., 1, i. 17), " occasioned for many years great disorder in the Province. Having been granted by Governor Nicolls after the Duke of York had granted New Jersey to Lord Berk- ley and Carteret, the rights of Baker and his associates were contested by those claiming through them, and the litigation that ensued was not ended when the war of the Revolution commenced and put an end to all such contro- versies. The ' Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery,' printed in 1747, and the ' answer ' thereto, printed in 1759, throw all needful light on the subject." The proprietors intended their government in New Jersey to be mild and, as nearly as might be, unobjectionable to the people, whom they hoped by that means to appease, and easily win over to allegiance and submission. But as their chief object was to realize pecuniary advantage from their proprietorship of the province, they were not long in showing their determination to compel all settlers to take patents from them, and having taken them, to pay the required quiet-rents. This (especially the payment of the rents) the Monmouth patentees and those holding under them were equally determined not to do. Still, they had their misgivings as to the result of a controversy with the proprietors. In July and August, 1667, they addressed commu- nications to Governor Nicolls asking advice, and evidently expecting from him a strong assurance of the validity of his grant to them as against the proprietors; to which, on the 10th of August, the Governor replied, — " Your address to me, bearing date ye 26th day of July, and your letter of ye 4th of Au- gust by the hands of James Grover, is received. In answer to it I shall not deny you my advice. Now as I have contributed on my part to your first settlement, soe I think I must to remove such doubts and questions now remaining amongst you. In the first place, you must rest satisfied with the assignment made by his Royal Highness, the Duke of York, unto Lord Berke- ley and Sir G. Carteret, of all the lands lying on the west side of Hudson's River, wherein your tract is included. You must submit to ye Governour and government established in ye Province of New Jersey. You may depend safely for your title to ye land upon the Patent granted unto you by me, and I am confident when you speak with Capt. Carteret [the Gov- ernor] he will assure you of the same, that your lands are lands to yourselves, paying only such moderate acknowledgement as the rest of your naibours doe, or may doe hereafter. "Having briefly given you answer to the head of your questions, it remains only that I must not pass overyear kind expressions toward me without detaining you with my best assur- ances that whenever I can at any tyme contrib- ute more to your prosperity you shall not faile '74 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. of further assistance. August 10th, at Fort James, in New York. " Your loving Friend, " E. NiCOLLS. " To the Inhabitants at Newasink." This letter of Colonel Nicolls was not very comforting to the Monmouth patentees and as- sociates. It simply told them that they would be allowed to retain their lands (just as all other settlers were allowed the same privilege) by submitting to the proprietary government, and paying the quit-rents required by Berkeley and Carteret. This latter part was what they partic- ularly wished to escape, and which eventually they did escape in a very great degree ; but they were finally couvinced that it was safest and best for them to hold their lands under titles from the proprietors. In May, 1672, they petitioned Governor Carteret for confirmation of their titles and privileges under the Nicolls patent, which address and petition elicited the following, which, however, was not as favorable to them as they had hoped, — viz. : "New Jersey, May 28, 1672. " Upon the address of James Grover, John Bowne, Richard Hartshorne, Jonathan Holmes, Patentees, and James Ashton and John Hanse, Associates, impowered by the Patentees and Associates of the Towns of Middletown and Shrewsbury unto the Governor and Council for Confirmation of certain Priviledges granted unto them by Colonel Eichard Nicolls, as by Patent under his Hand and Seal bearing Date the 8th Day of April, Anno Domini One Thou- sand six Hundred Sixty-five, the Governor and Council do confirm unto the ^;aid Patentees and Associates these Particulars following, being their Eights contained in the aforesaid Patent, viz. : " Impniiiis. — That the said Patentees and As- sociates have full Power, License and Authority to dispose of the said Lands expressed in said Patent, as to them shall seem meet. " II. That no Ministerial Power or Clergymen shall be imposed on or among the Inhabitants of the said Land, so as to inforce any that are contrary minded to contribute to their main- tenance. "III. That all Causes Whatsoever (Crimi- nals excepted) shall first have a hearing within their Cognizance, and that no appeals unto higher Courts, where Sentence have been passed amongst them, under the Value of Ten Pounds, be admitted. " IV. That all Criminals and Appeals above the Value of Ten Pounds, which are to be referred unto the aforesaid higher Courts, shall receive their Determination upon Appeals to his Majesty, not to be hindered. " V. That for all Commission Officers, both Civil and Military, the Patentees, Associates and Freeholders have Liberty to present two for each Office to the Governor, whom they shall think fit, one of which the Governor is to Commissionate to execute the said Office ; and that they have Liberty to make peculiar prudential Laws and Constitutions amongst themselves, according to the Tenor of the said Patent." " Ph. Caeteeet. " JoH]^ Kenxy, " Loedue Andeess, " Samuel Edsall, " John Pike, " JohjS' Bishop." This compromise arrangement by Governor Philip Carteret and his Council with the people of Monmouth did not meet the approval of Sir George Carteret or the later proprietors. It had the eflFect, however, to quiet the people for sometime; but afterwards, when the proprietors in effect ignored the agreement made by their own Governor with the Nicolls patentees, a new and more determined opposition arose, but it was manifested through their deputies in the General Assembly of the province. On the 25th of November, 1672, the Duke of York, in a letter to Colonel Lovelace, his Governor at New York, in referring to the matter' of the Nicolls patents in New Jersey, says he wrote Governor Nicolls on the 28th of November, 1664, notifying him of the re- lease to Berkeley and Carteret, and requiring hun (Nicolls) to recognize the proprietors' rights of soil and government in New Jersey, and to give his best efforts and assistance to secure them in the quiet possession of them; EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 75 and he continues : " I am informed that some contentious Persons there do lay Claim to cer- tain Tracts of those Lands, under Colour of pretended Grants thereof from the said Colonel Nicolls, and therefore I would have you take Notice yourself, and when Occa- sion offers make known to the said Persons, and to all others, if any be pretending from them, that my Intention is not at all to counte- nance their said Pretensions, nor any other of that kind, tending to derogate in the least from my Grant above mentioned, to the said Lord John Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, their Heirs and Assigns. ..." On the 6th of December, 1672, eleven days after the date of the Duke's letter of instruc- tions to Lovelace, the "Lords Proprietors of New Csesarea, or New Jersey," issued a "Decla- ration ... to all Adventurers, Planters, Inhabitants, and all other Persons to whom it may Concern," including the following: — "We being made very sensible of the great disorders in the said Province, occasioned by several Persons, to the great Prejudice of our- selves, our Governor and Council, and all other peaceable and well-minded Inhabitants, within our said Province, by claiming a Right of Pro- priety both of land and Government.^ . For such as pretend to a Eight of Propriety to ^ The people of the "two towns of Navesiuk " assumed the right of government under the Nicolls patent, and until about 1672 held sessions of "General Assembly," which was made up of patentees, associates and general dep- uties, and which also acted as a court, and was sometimes called the General Court. It was held at Middletown, Shrewsbury and Portland Point. At one of the sessions of this body, held at Shrewsbury, December 14, 1667, it was declared, — "That every person who hath right to debate and deter- mine off things pertaining to the orderly settlin' of the land may upon all meet occasions exercise liberty by way of vote. That is to say, such men as shall be made choice off by the general Vote off the Inhabitants, with the proper number of Persons expressed in the charter or Grand Patent, and hate full power and Charge to make all pub- lique Laws and orders, authentique, or the majot Part of them soe chosen, which Privilege is granted only to the number of purchasers. The towns-men, chosen inhabi- tants, holders of shares of land, are hereby restricted and confined to their own Town affairs, according to the second proposition. . . It is ordered that three men out of each Town, that is to say, two of them to be Surveyors, shall in the first place take a full view of each neck of Land and Government within our Province by virtue of any Patent from Colonel Richard Nicolls, as they ignorantly assert, we utterly disown any such thing. A Grant they had from him upon such Conditions which they never perform'd : For by said Grant they were obliged to do and perform such Acts and Things as should be appointed by His Royal Highness or his Deputies ; the Power whereof remains in us by Virtue of a Patent from his said Royal Highness, bearing Date long before these Grants ; which hath been often declared by our Governor (and now ratified and owned under the sign Manual of his said Royal High- ness to Colonel Lovelace, bearing Date the 25th of November, 1672), who demanded their sub- mission to their Authority, and to Patent their Land from us, and pay our Quit Rent according to our Concessions ; which, if they had done, or shall yet do, we are Content that they shall enjoy the Tract or Tracts of Land they are settled upon, and to have such Privileges and Immunities as our Governor and Council can agree upon ; but without their speedy compli- ance as above said, we do hereby Order our Governor and our Council to dispose therefore, in whole or in part for our best Advantage, to any other Persons. And if any Person or Persons do think they have injustice or wrong done by this, our positive Determination, they may address themselves to the King and Coun- cil ; and if their Right to that Land or Gov- ernment appears to be better than ours, we will readily submit thereunto. . . . That all Grants of Land, Conveyances, Surveys or any other Pretences for the Hold of Land Avhatso- ever within our said Province, that are not de- rived from us, according to the Prescriptions in our Concessions, and entered upon Record in our Secretary's Office in our said Province, we Land commonly called Newasink and Narumsunk, and to give report of the same, to the best of their judgment and observation, as to the quantity of upland and meadow, that soe a fair and equal division may proceed, whereby the lymits of each Town might bee appointed and set down with all convenient expedition. That is to say, between this and the first of February ; and that good observation, as well of quality as of quantity, may be given in, that soe each neck might be peopled in such fitt proportion as shall be thought most fitt and equall." 1& HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. declare to be null and void in Law. . . . That the Constable of every respective Town within our Province shall have Power by War- rant from our Governor to take by way of dis- tress from every individual Inhabitant within their respective Jurisdictions, their just Propor- tion of Rent due to us yearly, beginning the 25th Day of March, 1670, and for his Charge and trouble about the same, if they refuse to deliver it at some convenient Place which the said Constable shall appoint within their re- spective Jurisdictions, by the 25th Day of March, yearly ; the Constables only to be ac- countable to our Receiver-General : And altho' our Concessions say it shall be paid in current or lawful Money of England, yet at the request of our Governor and Council, we shall accept of it in such Merchantable Pay as the Country doth produce, at Merchant's Price, to the value of Money Sterling; and if by this Means we cannot obtain our Eent, then the Marshal of the Province shall be impowered, as above said, to collect the same at the Charge of such the Inhabitants as do refuse to pay at the Time and Places aforesaid."^ And in the same document the proprietors declared that " No Person or Persons whatso- ever shall be counted a Freeholder of the said Province, 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 us, the Lords Proprietors." This declaration of the proprietors was not satisfactory to the patentees, associates and pur- chasers under the Monmouth grant, and in May, 1673, John Bowne and James Grover, on behalf of the people of the Navesink settle- ments, petitioned the Governor and Council to make no decision or conclusion as to the rights of the Nicolls patentees until they could make an address to the proprietors, wlibse decision upon such address they would acquiesce in. This petition was forwarded to England and received, September 5, 1673, by Sir George Carteret (Lord Berkeley having sold his inter- est, and so ceased to be a jiroprietor, in the pre- 1 Learning and Spicer, pp. 85-37. ceding March). Sir George replied, in his instructions to the Governor, dated July 31, 1674, which were in the main but a reiteration of the proprietors' declaration (before quoted) of December 6, 1672; but he added, — "As to the Inhabitants of ISTavysink, considering their faithfulness to the Lords Proprietors,^ that upon their Petition their Townships shall be survey'd and shall be incorporated, and to have equal Privileges with other Inhabitants of the Province, and that such of them who were the pretended Patentees, ,and laid out Money in purchasing Land from the Indians, shall have in consideration thereof Five Hundred Acres of Land to each of them, to be allotted by the Governor and Council in such Places that it may not be prejudicial to the rest of the Inhabitants ; and because there is much Barren Land, after Survey taken, the Governor and Council may give them Allowance ; " the allotments of five hundred acres and allowance to be made by the Governor and Council, inde- pendent of all action by the General Assembly. During the time which intervened between the presentation of Bowne and Grover's peti- tion on behalf of the Navesink people and the publication of Sir George Cai'teret's reply, as above, the Dutch had retaken the country em- bi-aced in the provinces of New York and New Jersey, and their Governor, Colve, had con- firmed to the English settlers their rights of property. This, together with the fact that Sir Edmund Andros, on assuming the Gover- norship at New York, after the second expulsion of the Dutch, in 1674, published a proclama- tion promising the confirmation of " all former grants, privileges or concessions heretofore granted, and all former estates legally possessed by any under his Royal Highness before the late Dutch government," revived the hopes of the Monmouth patentees that the validity of their grant from Nicolls would, after all, be 2 Thiis, doubtless, has reference to (he fact that the peo- ple of the Navesink towns were not represented in the disorganizing sessions of the East Jersey Assembly, held in 1671-72, and took little, if any, part in the attempt made at that time to establish a new government with Captain James Carteret at its head as " President of the Country." EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 77 finally conceded and established.' Nevertheless, they very readily accepted the five hundred acre grants, in reference to which the following is found in the " Record of the Governor and Council of East Jersey," under date of May 17 and 18, 1683: "The patentees accepted of the same [the five hundred acre tracts] and pe- titioned to have the same laid out. Warrants were granted for the same. Some were sur- veyed and patented, particularly that of Rich- ard Hartshorne, which appeared to be a full conclusion of that affair, unless it was made to appear that such petition and procedure were not by consent or approbation of the Towns." On the following day (May 18th) the Gov- ernor and Council held a consultation with John Bowne, Richard Hartshorne and Joseph Par- ker, representing the Navesink settlements. " We inquired," says the record, " into the truth of those petitions and addresses, and the sub- mission and resignation of their pretended rights to the late Lords Proprietors.^ And they owned and agreed they were true, but alleged that the same was done for fear. It was answered that the like allegation may ever be made, but as an evidence to the contrary, the petitioners themselves demonstrated, besides, that the patentees had, after the Lords Proprie- tors' grace and favour granted them five hun- dred Acres of Land apiece, they returned a letter of acknowledgement and thanks. And their Associates, in compliance therewith, all patented their land according to the Concessions, none excepted, and continued ever after satisfied 1 The patentees and associates confidently believed th&t the Dutch occupation of 1673-74 had extinguished the King's title, and consequently that of the Duke of York and the proprietors under him, and that a decision to that effect would be had at Westminster Hall. In that case they (the patentees and settlers) believed they could safely rely on the fact of their nine years' possession, con- firmed by the Dutch, and promised to be confirmed by An- dres, as affording them a, valid title. Some such doubts obtained with the Duke and the proprietors, and so, to make all sure, after the country had again passed to the English crown by right of conquest, in 1674, the royal and ducal grants were renewed and confirmed, as mentioned in a preceding chapter. '' At the date of this record the province was in the pos- session and under the government of the twenty-four proprietors. therewith." Then the agents, Bowne, Harts- horne and Parker, claimed for the people that the five hundred acre grants were to be free of quit-rents ; but this the Governor and Council positively denied, and refused to accede to, and finally, after much further unavailing discussion, the conference (which appears to have been the last which was held by the Monmouth patentees with the Governor and Council on the subject) was, closed without any satisfactory result to either side. In 1677 the following "Opinion concerning Coll. Nicolls' Patent and Indian Purchases " was given by the King's Council, viz. : "Upon the questions submitted : 1st, whether the grants made by Col. Nicolls are good against the assigns of Lord Berkeley and Sir George Carteret, and 2d, whether the grant from the Indians be sufficient to any planter without a grant from the King or his assigns. " To y^ first Question the authority by which Coll. Nicolls acted Determined by y® Duke's Grant to y" Ld. Berkeley and Ld. George Cartrett and all Grants made by him after- wards (though according to y® Commission) are void, for y® Delegated power w'' Coll. Nic- olls had of making grants of y° land could Last no .Longer than his Maj'' Intrest who gave him y* Power, and y^ having or not hav- ing Notice of y" Duke's Grant to y^ Lord Berkeley & S"^ George Cartret makes no Differ- ence in y® Law, but j' want of Notice makes it great Equity y* y® Present Proprief^ should Confirm Such Grants to y" People who will submit to y" Cons'sions and Payments of the Present Proprietors' Quitt rents, otherwise they may look upon them as Desseizors, and treat them as such."^ In November, 1684, the twenty-four propri- etors, in a letter of instructions to Deputy-Gov- ernor Gawen Lawrie, empowered and directed him to join with five other proper persons in New Jersey "to end all Controversies and Differ- ences with the Men of Neversinks and Eliza- beth Town, or any other Planters or Persons whatsoever, concerning any pretended Titles or claim to Land in the said Province ; And we 3N. J. Archives, 1st Series, vol. i, page 273. 78 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. do hereby declare that we will not enter into any Treaty on this side with any of those peo- ple who claim by Colonel Nicolls' Patent, nor with any others that challenge Land by any Patents from the late Governour Carteret, as being an Affront to the Government there, and of evil consequence to make Things to be put off by delays, and thereby hinder the settle- ment of our affairs in the Province." The Monmouth patentees were beaten at all points in the matter of validity of title, and they and those claiming under them all took patents for their lands from the proprietors,^ though they eventually gained their paramount object, for they continued to hold their lands and avoided the payment of even the slight quit-rents which were required by the conces- sions. Neither Governor Lawrie, however, nor any of his successors succeeded in performing the duty with which he was charged, viz : " To end all Controversies and Differences with the Men of JSTeversinks and Elizabeth Town." They resisted the payment of the quit-rents, and, holding possession of the lands, they were too numerous to have a general eviction practi- cable, though a few were dispossessed. The controversy (which at times assumed, on the part of the people, much of the character of a revolt against the provincial government) was continued with more or less of intensity until closed by the War of the Revolution. But even that great convulsion did not extinguish the proprietary title. The Hon. A. Q,. Keas- bey, in an address delivered before the Histori- cal Society of New Jersey on the bi-centennial anniversary of the purchase of East New Jer- sey by the twelve proprietors, said : " On the 1st of February, 1682, the deed was made and delivered, and twelve laud speculators, headed by William Penn, became the sole owners in In an answer made by the proprietors, December 9, 1700, to a remonstrance of the inhabitants of East Jersey, they say : " And ye Licenses granted to the Petra by Col. Nicolls then and by the Proprietrs since were ex- pressly under a condition to hold the Lands so purchased of the Proprietors by Patent, and a certain Rent ; and all Olaiming under the License of Coll. Nicolls actually took Patents of the same Lands at certain Rents, as by the records thereof appears ; which ye Petra have artfully foreborne to mention, and rely wholly on the Indian title." fee of all this fair domain, and from them must be traced the title to every lot and parcel of land which changes owners in East Jersey. And the direct successors of Penn and his eleven associates — still an organized body with active managing officers — own eveiy acre of land which they have not sold ; and every pur- chaser who wants to buy can now make his bargain with them, as purchasers did two hun- dred years ago." The next settlements in Monmouth County, after those of the Long Island and New Eng- land people at Middletown and Shrewsbury, and of a few others who came from other parts (among the most prominent of whom were Richard Hartshorne and Col. Lewis Morris) and who settled in the region contiguous to those places, were made by Scotch Avho began to come in the years 1682-83, as a result of the efforts made by Robert Barclay, of Scotland, to promote the emigration of his countrymen to East New Jersey, of which province he had then recently been appointed Governor under the proprietors. They made their settlements chiefly in Freehold township and along the northwestern border of the county^ adjoining Middlesex. Of the coming of these people to Monmouth County the Hon. Edwin Salter says: "About 1682-85 there were many refugee Scotch Quakers and Scotch Presbyte- rians who fled from persecution in Scotland, and located in East Jersey. Occasional de- scendants of the persecuted and banished Huguenots also came to this State ; among them it is said were the Bodiues, Gaskells or Gaskins (originally Gascoyne), Dupuy, Soper and D'Aubigne, which latter was corrupted to Daw- been, and finally to Dobbins." Among the first (as they were also the most prominent of the Scotch settlers in Monmouth county) were John Reid and George Keith, both of whom filled the office of surveyor- general of the province. Reid, who, during a period of nearly forty years, was one of the most widely-known and influential citizens of Monmouth County, was a Scotch Quaker, and was ^ Freehold township at that time extended to the Middle- sex County line. EAELY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 79 employed in 1683 by Barclay and the other Scotch proprietors of East New Jersey as " over- seer," to have charge of a party of emigrants from Scotland. John Hanton was also em- ployed in the same capacity and at the same time, each to receive £25 sterling as an annual salary, and a "share" of ten acres of land at Ambo Point (Perth Amboy). On the 28th of August in the year mentioned, they sailed from Aberdeen with their families in the ship " Ex- change," Captain James Peacock, and on the 1 9th of December following were landed on Staten Island. Hanton brought with him nine cows, two horses and one mare, six oxen and " two breeding sowes," and had the value of £144 6-3. lid. in " provisions and necessaries." E,eid had eight cows, two horses, six oxen, four swine and £147 2s. worth of " provisions and necessaries." Immediately after his arrival he went to Elizabethtown, thence to Woodbridge, and thence, in January, 1 683-84, to Perth Am- boy, where he took up his abode " in the field," in a house the building of which is mentioned in David Barclay's statement of account with the proprietors. Soon after his arrival in New Jersey he was appointed deputy surveyor, and while engaged in that capacity made a map ^ of lands on the Earitan, Kahway, Millstone and South Elvers, for which, and for other services, he received the grant of a tract of land named "Hortensia," located " on the east branch of Hop Eiver in Monmouth County," to which tract he removed from Perth Amboy in the latter part of 1686. During the long period of his residence in this county he was several times elected a member of the General Assembly, and held other hon- orable positions, being appointed surveyor- General in the year of the surrender of the government by the proprietors to Queen Anne. While living at Perth Amboy he was clerk of Amboy Meeting of the Society of Friends, and he continued a member of that society after his removal to Monmouth County until the year 1703, when he adopted the faith of the Estab- lished Church of England. He died on the 16th of March, 1722-23, aged sixty-seven years. and was interred in the old burial-ground of Topanemus, where a stone, still standing, marks his grave.^ George Keith was a native of Aberdeen, Scotland. In his early life he was a Presbyte- rian, which faith he abandoned to adopt that of the Society of Friends. In 1683 he was teacher of a school in Theobalds, having among his pupils a son of Eobert Barclay, the proprietary Governor of East New Jersey. This fact, which, together with his Quakerism, brought him to favorable notice of the Governor, and the addi- tional fact that he was known to be " an excel- lent surveyor," secured for him the appointment of surveyoi'-general of East New Jersey, to which office he was commissioned August 8, 1684. He arrived at New York in the ship " Blossom," Martin, master, in the spring of 'An engraved copy of this map is now in possession of the New Jersey Historical Society. , '' ■' John Reid," says Mr. Whitehead, "appears to have been a bookseller in Edinburgh when selected by the pro- prietaries to take charge of a party of emigrants sent to East Jersey in 1683. A memorandum, written by himself, in the possession of his descendants, gives the following in- formation respecting himself and family. His father and grandfather before him were gardeners, and he was born at Mildrew Castle, in the parish of Kirkliston, on the 13th of February, 1655, and when twelve years old' (1667) was bound apprentice to a wine merchant in Edinburgh. His master dying, he returned to his family in 1673, but his father being dead and his mother married again, he ' went to learn the art of gardening' the ensuing year, seeking improvement in the ' famous Hamilton Gardens.' "-' At this time he became a Quaker. After sojourning a while at Drummond, he went, in 1676, to Lawres alias Fording, where he wrote a book entitled 'The (Scotch Gardener,' and in 1678 married Margaret, daughter of Henry Miller, of Cashon, in the parish of Kirkintiloch. She was eleven years his senior. Previous to leaving Scotland for New Jersey three daughters— Anna, Helen and Margaret— were born to them. His youngest daughter, yet an infant, died on the 15th of January, 1683-84, and was buried the next day, at Perth Amboy, where his son John was afterwards born, in July, 1686. His daughter Anna married John Ander- son, who filled several important positions, and at the time of his death, in 1736, was President of the Council and Acting Governor of the province, in consequence of the death of Governor Cosby. One of their sons was named Kenneth. His daughter Helen married the Rev. John Bartow, of Westchester, N. Y., and left several children. His only son, John, studied law in the office of John Cham- bers, one of the justices of the Supreme Court of the prov- ince of New York, andafterwards practiced at Westchester ; was surrogate of the county from 1760 to 1764 and died at Westchester aged eighty-seven."— iVw Jerse}/ Archives, First Series, vol. i. p- 510. 80 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTF, NEW JERSEY. 1685, and on the 9th of April reported to the Proprietary Council at Perth Amboy, where a house was assigned to him, but he was not sworn into his office until the 12th of June following. Not long afterwards he removed from Perth Amboy to lands which he had purchased in Freehold township, where he " made a fine plantation, which he afterwards sold and went into Pennsylvania." His residence in Monmouth County was of about three years' duration, in which time (in 1687) he ran the province line between East and West New Jersey, as has already been meii- tioned. In 1689 he removed to Philadelphia at the invitation of the Quakers of that town, and there engaged in the teaching of a school, for which service he received the assurance of £50 for the first year and £120 yearly after- ward, wiLh whatever profits might be real- ized from the school beyond that sum, but the children of the poor to receive tuition free. He however, continued in charge of the school only one year. After his resignation of the position of teacher he became a leading Quaker preacher in Phila- delphia, but he was overbearing and aggressive, and created so much trouble among the Friends in Pennsylvania that he was publicly denounced by the Meeting in 1692, and finally, in 1694, he abandoned the Quaker doctrines and adopted the faith of the Established Church of England, in which he soon attained considerable eminence as a clergyman. In 1700, Keith was strongly recommended by Lewis Morris (in a memorial to the Bishop of London, concerning the religious condition of the people of New Jersey and other colonies) as the most suitable person to be sent here as a mis- sionary ; and in 1702 he came back to America in that capacity, under the auspices of the then re- cently established Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to awaken in the people of the provinces " a sense of the duties of Religion." He was the first missionary to the people of " Shrewsbury and the region round about," and of Freehold, of which church (St. Peter's) he was the founder. He also traveled as a missionary of the church through all the colonies from Massachusetts Bay as far south as North Carolina, devoting most of his time and efforts, however, to the churches in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, in all of which, as is recorded, he was very successful in his ministrations, bringing in many of his for- mer co-religionists, the Quakers, as converts to the faith and discipline of the Established Church. At the conclusion of his labors in Virginia he returned thence to England, where he received a benefice, at £120 per annum, at Edburton, in the county of Sussex, and in this he continued during the remainder of his life. The early Scotch settlers in New Jersey were nearly all landed at Perth Amboy, whence they scattered in different directions, locating in Monmouth, Middlesex and other counties. Thomas Lawrie and John Barclay, both Scotch- men of some note, settled in 1684 very near the county line of Monmouth and Middlesex, but on which side of the boundary cannot now be definitely ascertained. A number of Scotch people settled at the place which is now Mat- awan, but which they named New Aberdeen. Nearly the whole northwest border of the county was first peopled by Scotch Presbyte- rians. In 1685 a large number of Covenanters, who had suffered the extreme of persecution for their religious faith, were gathered in the prisons of Scotland, under sentence of banishment, because of their absolute refusal to take the oath of al- legiance as "embodied with the supremacy." Under these circumstances, George Scott, of Pitlochie, made application, asking that a ship- load of these unfortunates might be turned over to him, to be transported to East Jersey as servants in a colony which he intended to plant there. His request was granted, and he received a large number of the proscribed Cov- enanters, the story of whose sufferings during the voyage to America, and of the manner in which they were received on their arrival, is told in C'hambers' " Domestic Annals of Scot- land," as follows: Pitlochie, who was himself a " vexed Pres- byterian," being now in contemplation of a set- tlement in the colony of East Jersey and in want of laborers or bondmen for the culture of his lands, petitioned the Council for a con- EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 81 signment of these tender-conscienced men, and nearly a hundred who had been condemned to banishment were at once "gifted" to him. He freighted a New Castle ship to carry them, and the vessel sailed from Leith Roads [September 5, 1685], carrjang also with her cargo " dy- vours and broken men," besides the Covenant- ers. It was a most disastrous voyage. Partly, perhaps, because of the reduced, sickly state of most of the prisoners at starting, but more through a deficiency of healthful food and the want of air and comfort, a violent fever broke out in the ship before she had cleared Land's End. It soon assumed a malignant type, and scarcely an individual on board escaped it. The whole crew, except the captain and boat- swain, died. Pitlochie himself, and his wife, also, died. Three or four dead were thrown overboard every day. Notwithstanding this raging sickness, much severity was used towards the prisoners at sea by the master of the ship and others. Those under deck were not al- lowed to worship by themselves; and when they were engaged in it, the captain would throw down great planks of timber upon them to disturb them, and sometimes to the danger of their lives. Fifteen long weeks were spent at sea before the prison-ship arrived at her destination ; and in that time seventy had per- ished. The remainder were so reduced in strength as to be scarcely able to go ashore. The people at the place where they landed (Perth Amboy), not having the gospel among them, were indifferent to the fate of the Scot- tish Presbyterians; but at a place a few miles inland, where there was a minister and congre- gation, they were received with great kindness. They then became the subjects of a singular litigation ; a Mr. Johnston, the son-in-law and heir' of Pitlochie, suing them for their value as bond-servants. A jury found that there was I That this should read " one of the heirs," etc., is shown by the following extract from the minutes of a meeting of the Council at Perth Amboy, October 30, 1686, viz. : "James Scott, sonn of George Scott, of picklorkey [Pitlochie], late of the Kingdom of Scotland, Deceased, came before this Councill, being a Minor, and made choyse of m' John Johnstone and m' George Willox to bee his Guardians, — who were admitted accordingly." no indenture between Pitlochie and them, but that they were shipped against their will; there- fore Mr. Johnston had no control over them. At the time when these distressed people were landed at Perth Amboy, John Reid was living there; and being a Quaker, and taking an interest in his suffering countrymen, he prob- ably advised and assisted them to leave Amboy and go to the settlement of the Friends at To- panemus, which was doubtless the " place a few miles inland, where there was a minister and congregation," and where they were induced to remain as settlers, by reason of the "great kindness" which they received, and also by the attractiveness of the country. A few years later a Presbyterian Church was formed, and a house of worship erected about two miles north of the old Quaker Meeting-house at Topanemus. This was the first Presbyterian Church edifice built in Monmouth County, and one of the first two or three in the province of New Jersey. Not a vestige of the old building now remains; but its site may still be known by a slight depression on a vacant spot in the " Old Scotch Burying-Ground," in Marlbor- ough township. Between the Scotch and the English settlers in Monmouth County (as in other parts of the province) there sprang up a mutual jealousy and dislike, which became intensified into some- thing very much akin to hatred. The cause of this cannot, at this time, be clearly understood, but its existence — which, in no small degree, aggravated the disorders which disturbed the peace of the province in the' last part of the seventeenth and the earlier years of the eigh- teenth century — is clearly shown in the records of that time, from which a few pertinent ex- tracts are here given. In a letter by Col. Robert Quary to the Lords of Trade, dated June 16, 1703, he said : " The contests of West Jersey have always been betwixt the Quakers and her majesty's subjects who are no Quakers. . . . The contest in East Jersey is of a different nature, — whether the Country shall be a Scotch settle- ment or an English settlement. The Scotch have had for many years the advantage of a Scotch Governour, Colonel Andrew Hamilton. 82 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. But it is the expectation of all that his Excel- lency, My Lord Cornbury, will reconcile all these diiferences." That expectation, however, was not verified. In a memorial of that time, by Edward Ran- dolph (N. Y. Col. Docs., vol. ii. p. 122), he said : " Mr. Andrew Hamilton, a Scotchman, is the Gov' of those Provinces. Appointed by the Proprietors to lease out their Lands and receive their Quit-Rents. He is a great favourer of the Scotch Traders, his Countrymen." The proprietors of East Jersey, in a memorial to the Lords of Trade, asking for the appoint- ment of Peter Sonmans as councillor in place of Lewis Morris, said : " Yet some of the un- ruly Scots and those of their faction (abetted by their Ring-leader^) in New Jersey, who are the correspondents and informers of the Me- morialists here against the Lord Cornbury, op- posed Mr. Sonmans' commission there, etc." Col. Robert Quary, in another letter to the Lords of Trade, in reference to New Jersey af- fairs, dated December 20, 1703, said : " The Eastern Division hath been for a long time in the hands of a very few Scotch, the head of w"*" party is now Coll. Mori'is ; the whole Number of them are not at most above Twenty, and yett they have always, by the Advantage of a Scotch Governour, carryed it with a high hand ag' the rest of the Inhabitants, tho' more than a thou- sand in Number, and y' greatest part of them Menn of Substance and Sence. The hardships they have received from this small number of Scotch have so prejudiced the whole country ag' them that it is Impossible to reconcile it (It must be a work of time)." The first settlements of Dutch people in Mon- mouth County were made several years later than those of the Scotch, and a full quarter of a cen- tury after the first of the English pioneers came to locate on their lands patented from Governor Nicolls. With (so fav as is known) only a sin- gle exception,^ there were no Dutch settlers in 1 Lewis Morris. " That of Hugh Dyckman, of Shrewsbury, who, at the time of the reoccupation of the New Netherlands by the Dutch under Governor Colve, was chosen one of the "sche- pens," and, with Eliakim Wardell and John Hance, was the county prior to 1690, and very few before 1695; and not until two or three years after the latter date (excepting in the case above- mentioned) do Jiames of that nationality — Schanck, Hendrickson, Guybertson and Van Dorn — appear in the records as jurymen or oth- erwise. Following is given a list of settlers in Monmouth County prior to the year 1700, addi' tional to those given in a preceding chapter of patentees, associates and other inhabitants within the Monmouth purchase in the year 1670. It is not claimed that the list which follows is any- thing like a complete one of people who had located in Monmouth between the last-named year and 1700; in fact, it is not at all likely that it embraces more than one-fourth part of the names of the settlers who came within that period, but, as far as it goes, it is a correct one, having been gathered entirely from lists of jury- men and other matters of official record, viz. : Ashton, William, Applegate, Daniel, Allen, Judah, Allen, Elisha, Allen, Ephraim, Allen, Jedediah, Allen, Caleb, Adam, Alexander, Baker, John, Barclay, John, Barnes, Richard, Blackman, Bryan, Brown, Abraham, Brown, Abraham, Jr., Bray, John, Bennett, Arian, Bennett, Jeremiah, Bryan, Morgan, Boel, Thomas, Compton, Cornelius, Compton, Richard, Cottrell, Eleazer, Cheeseman, William, Dennis, Samuel, Dorsett, James, Dennis, Qiarles, Drummond, Gawen, Davison, William, Dyckman, Hugh, Eaton, Thomas, Edwards, Abiah, Estill, William, Estill, Thomas, Emly, Peter, Fullerton, James, Forman, Alexander, Gordon, Augustus, Gardner, Richard, Gifford, Hananiah, Goodbody, William, Gibbons, Mordecai, Guyberson, John, Hankinson, Thomas, Hewitt, Thomas, Hopping, Samuel, Harbert, Thomas, Cheeseman, William, Jr., Hick, Benjamin, Chamberlain, Adam, Hamilton, Robert, CrafFord, John, Harbert, Francis, Crafford, John, Jr., Hilborn, Thomas, Cook, Stephen, Harbert, Daniel, c:annon, Patrick, Hendrickson, Hendrick, Case, William, ' Hendrickson,», Daniel, Curliss, George, Hewlett, Samuel, Cook, Benjamin, Hoge, William, Child, Samuel, Ingram, Thomas, Caramock, Nathaniel, Jobs, George, sworn into that office at Fort Willem Hendrick, September 1st, 1673. ' The first Dutch sheriff of Monmouth County. . EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND TITLES. 83 Jackson, Francis, Jennings, John, James, Robert, Jeffrey, Francis, Johnston, John, Jollis, Peter, Laing, William, Leeds, William, Leonard, Capt. Samuel, Leonard, John, Lippitt, Moses, Lawrence, John, Lawrence, Elisha, Lippincott, Eemembrance, Marsh, Henry, Masters, Clement, Merling, James, Mott, Gershom, Morford, Thomas, Morford, John, Merrill, William, Melvin, James, Oung, Isaac, Potter, Ephraim, Pintard, Anthony, Pattison, Robert, Bedford, Samuel, Reed, James, Eenshall, Thomas, Stillwell, Jeremiah, Slocum, Nathaniel, Snawsell, Thomas, Shrieve, Caleb, Stout, William, Stout, David, Stout, Benjamin, Stout, James, Stout, Jonathan, Stout, Richard, Stout, Richard, Jr., Stout, Peter, Skelton, Robert, Scott, William, Starkey, John, Sarah, Nicholas, Stevens, Nicholas, Sohanck, John, Schanck, Garret, Sharp, Thomas, Thomson, Cornelias, Tucker, John, Taylor, Edward, Trewax, Jacob, Usselton, Francis, Usselton, Thomas, Van Dorn, Jacob, Vaughan, John, Vickard, Thomas, Whitlock, William, West, John, West, Stephen, West, Joseph, West, William, Williams, Edward, Williams, William, Williams, John, Warne, Thomas, Wall, Garrett, Worth, William, Webley, Thomas, White, Samuel, Winter, William, Woolley, William, Woolley, John, Whitlock, John, Worthley, John, Wilson, Peter, Willett, Samuel, The Hollanders in Monmouth^ came in the first place from 'New York and the western towns of Long Island, principally between 1690 and 1720. Since then there has been some influx of them from Middlesex and Somerset Counties of this State. The original settlers were generally the younger sons, and left the crowded homesteads of their fathers on Long Island to make new ones for themselves. Agri- culture was their chief business, and the owner- ship of a large unincumbered farm, with a sub- stantial house, large, well-filled barns and good stock, their highest desire. As farmers they had and have no superiors. As citizens they were, and have ever been, conservative and ' This and the three succeeding paragraphs, relative to the Dutch settlers in Monmouth County, are from the pen of Hon. G. C. Beekman, of Freehold. peaceable, more ready to do than to talk of what they do, and, with very few exceptions, true to the cause of liberty and free institutions. They were the descendants of the only people who were free when they colonized New York and New Jersey, and were the only original Republicans and Democrats of America. Dur- ing the Revolution they were the principal sufferers from the depredations of the Tories in Monmouth and the ravages of the British army in its march through the county. From such a stock have descended the people of Monmouth who bear the names of Schanck, Smock, Statesir, Stryker, Suydam, Spader, Sut- phen, Lefierts, Leffertsen, Hyer, Quackenbush, Polhemus, Conover, Vandeveer, Barkalow and Barricklo, Antonides, WyckofF, HofF and Hoff- man, Beekman, Neafie or Nevius, Hendricks and Hendrickson, Probasco, Terhune, Cortel- you, Gulick, Tennis, Denise, Bergen, Brincker- hoff, Remsen, Du Bois, Voorhees,Vredenburgh, Vought, Veghte, Truax, Schuyler, Hageman, Honce, Ten Eyck, Luyster, Van Kirk, Van Sickelin or Sickles, Van Dyke, Van Brunt, Van Dorn, Van Mater, Van Schoick, Van Deventer, Van Cleaf, Van Hise, Van Pelt and others of the "Van" prefix. It was by the ancestors of many^ of these people that the old, substantial farm-houses, still seen here and there in parts of this pounty, were built, with roofs running almost to the ground and projecting over both in front and rear, and under tliem the "stoep;" the out- buildings large and massive and often painted red. The old Dutch farmers of Monmouth delighted in large barns, well filled, and with their stock, including negro slaves, sleek, fat and contented.^ Their hospitality was as solid 2 "There were also [among the early Dutch settlers in Monmouth] a few large land-owners, with numerous slaves, who lived like kings on their farms. The leading charac- teristics of this class are happily described by Edmund C. Stedman, in his poem called 'Alice of Monmouth,' by the following lines: ' Hendrick Van Ghelt, of Monmouth Shore, His fame still rings the county o'er. The stock he raised, the stallion he rode, The fertile acres his farmers sowed, The dinners he gave ; the yacht which lay At his fishing dock in the Lower Bay ; 84 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. and wide as the great doors which led into their dwellings, and the open fire-place and hearth, on which blazed and crackled a load of wood at a time. In the same way and for the same purpose that the younger sons of the Dutch farmers of Long Island left their homesteads to make homes for themselves in New Jersey, the younger members of the families of their descendants have, at different periods, emigrated from Mon- mouth County and settled in some of the counties of Eastern Pennsylvania, along the Mohawk River in New York, in the Miami Valley in Ohio, in the Jersey settlement in Illinois, and elsewhere ; and wherever they have gone, the same industry, energy, honesty and hospitality have ever characterized them. Of those who remained on the lands where their ancestors first settled, almost two centuries ago, it may be said that through that long period they and their descendants have so continually intermarried with those of the English, Scotch, and other settlers that the blood of the Bata- vians now flows through the veins of a large proportion of the permanent residents of Mon- mouth County. With regard to the English and Scotch people who preceded the Dutch as settlers in this region, history records a similar migration in later years. From Monmouth County, which had afforded an asylum for these victims of religious perse- cution in Europe and New England, many of The suits which he waged thro' many a year For a rood of land behind his pier. Of this the chronicles yet remain From Navesink Heights to Freehold Plain. 'The Shrewsbury people in autumn help Their sandy topland with marl and kelp, And their peach and apple orchards fill The gurgling vats of the cross-road mill. . They tell, as each twirls his tavern-can. Wonderful tales of that staunch old man, And they boast of the draught they have tasted and smelt, 'Tis good as the still of Hendrick Van Ghelt.' "Some of the oldest citizens of the county can remember how well these lines describe certain characteristics of several farmers of Monmouth who were famous in the early part of the present century, — men like Joseph H. Van Mater, Col. Barnes Smock, Hendrick Schanck, Capt. John Schanck, Capt. Daniel Hendrickson, 'Farmer' Jacob Con- over and others." — Hon. O, 0. Beekman. their descendants removed to other provinces and States, and made for themselves new homes in the valleys of the Delaware, the Susquehanna, the Potomac, the Shenandoah and the Kanawha. " Among the first settlers of the Valley of Vir- ginia, who began to locate there about 1732," says the Hon. Edwin Salter,^ "were Formans, Taylors, Stocktons, Throckmortons, Van Me- ters, Pattersons, Vances, Aliens, Willets (or Willis), Larues, Lucases and others of familiar New Jersey names. Fourteen or fifteen Baptist families from this region settled near Gerards- town, and there were also many Scotch Pres- byterians from New Jersey, among whom were Crawfords, McDowells, Stuarts, Alexanders, Kerrs, Browns and Curamingses. Many of these families eventually passed into the Carolinas, Kentucky and elsewhere, and descendants of some became noted not only in the localities or States where they settled, but in the annals of the nation. Among those of Scotch origin may be named William H. Crawford, of Georgia, once a United States Senator from that State, and also a Presidential candidate, and General Leslie Combs, of Kentucky. Another man still more noted in the history of the nation, who descended from early settlers of New Jersey, and whose ancestors went from Monmouth County to Eastern Pennsylvania, and thence to the Valley of Virginia, was President Abraham Lincoln,^ one of whose ancestors was John ' In an address delivered at the celebration of the bi- centennial anniversary of the New Jersey Legislature in 1883. 2" A few years ago Judge Beekman, in looking over ancient records in the court-house at Freehold, found fre- quent mention of the name of Mordecai Lincoln, and he supposed it was possible that this man might be the an- cestor of Abraham Lincoln, as he went to Eastern Penn- sylvania, and it was said by the late President that, according to a tradition in his family, his ancestors came from thence, but in his lifetime he could trace his ancestry no farther back than to his grandfather, Abraham, who originally lived in Rockingham County, in the Valley of Virginia. Recently it has been definitely ascertained that Judge Beekman's supposition was correct. A relative of the Lincoln family, Mr. Samuel Shackford, of Cook County, Illinois, has been most indefatigable in efforts to trace back the ancestry of the late President by visits to and searches in records in Kentucky, the Valley of Virginia and Eastern Pennsylvania. He found that the great-grand- father of the late President was named John, who came THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 85 Bowne, of Monmouth, Speaker of the House of Assembly more than two hundred years ago. "The founder of the family was Samuel Lincoln, who came from Norwich, England, to Massachusets ; he had a son, Mordecai (1st), of Hingham ; he in turn had sons, — Mordecai (2d), born April 24, 1686 ; Abraham, born January 13, 1689 ; Isaac, born October 21, 1691,— and a daughter, Sarah, born July 29, 1694, as stated in Savage's 'Genealogical Dictionary.' Mordecai (2d) and Abraham moved to Mon- mouth County, N. J., where tjhe first named married a granddaughter of Capt. John Bowne, and his oldest son, born in Monmouth, was named John. About 1720 the Lincolns moved to Eastern Pennsylvania, where Mordecai's first wife died, and there he married again. He died at Amity, Pa., and his will, dated February 23, 1735, and proven June 7, 1736, men- tions his wife, Mary, and children, — John, Thomas, Hannah, Mary, Ann, Sarah, Morde- cai (born 1730) and a ' prospective child.' The latter proved a boy and was named Abraham, who subsequently married Ann Boone, a cousin of Daniel Boone. John Lincoln, the eldest son, with some of his neighbors, moved to Rock- ingham County, Va. ; he had sons, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Thomas and John. John, (1st) died at Harrisonburg, Va. His oldest son, Abra- ham, who was grandfather of President Lin- from Eastern Pennsylvania, where his father, a Mordecai Lincoln, had settled. Mr. Shackford gained the impression that Mordecai and his son John came from New Jersey, and therefore he wrote to persons whom he supposed familiar with old records here, inquiring if there was any mention of a Mordecai Lincoln and his son John in ancient New Jersey records. The records in the office of the Secretary of State at Trenton furnished the desired information. In that office is the record of a deed, dated November 8, 1748 (in Book H, p. 437), from John Lincoln, who describes himself as son and heir of Mordecai Lincoln, late of Caer- narvon Township, Lancaster County, Pa., formerly of New Jersey, for lands in Middlesex County, New Jersey. By reference to a previous record in the same book (page 150) it is found that this was the same land deeded to Mordecai Lincoln, of Monmouth County. February 12, 1720. Thus, after patient researches, running through some twenty-five years, records are discovered in the State House which enable those interested to trace the late President's an- cestry in an unbroken chain back to New Jersey, and thence to the iirst comer from England." — Hon. Edwin Salter's Address. coin, married Mary Shipley, of North Carolina, and had children,— Mordecai, Josiah, Thomas Mary and Nancy. About 1780-82 he moved to Kentucky with his brother Thomas. In the spring of 1784, Abraham, while planting in a field, was killed by an Indian. His, son, "Thomas (President Lincoln's father), who was then about six years old, was with his father in the field, and the Indian tried to capture him, but was shot and killed by Mordecai, the old- est brother of the boy. Thomas Lincoln had only one son, Abraham, who became President of the United States." CHAPTER VII. THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. The Provincial Revolt, or (less properly) Provincial Revolution, is the term which has frequently been applied to a series of disorders which occurred in East New Jersey in the pe- riod extending from the first English settle- ments in 1664 to the time of the proprietary surrender of the government to the British crown, and even afterwards (to some extent) nearly to the opening of the war of independ- ence. These disorders were principally the results of a determined resistance to the pro- prietors' claim of ownership of the soil, and, (in a less degree) of opposition to their right of government. In those parts of the province where the settlers had purchased their lands from the Indians, and — having subsequently fortified themselves by patents of the same lands from Governor Nicolls — had taken peace- able possession, established farms, and built houses and mills, they regarded their titles as good and valid, and were disposed to hold them against all proprietary claims of ownership, even to the extent of open resistance to the government. This was particularly the case in Monmouth and Essex, and it was in these counties that the spirit of resistance was most obstinate and aggressive. In June, 1667, a Legislature, composed of deputies from Middletown, Shrewsbury and 86 HISTOEY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Portland Point, convened at Portland Point, adja- cent to the Highlands of Navesink. This, the first Legislature that assembled in New Jersey, was called under authority conferred by the Nicolls patent, and it met nearly a year be- fore Governor Carteret, his Council and the representatives of the other towns of the prov- ince assembled at Elizabethtown. This Assem- bly of the Monmouth settlers continued to meet at Portland Point, as a body distinct from, and independent of, the proprietors' government, for some years. The records of this Legislature have been preserved. It appears to have been a law-making body, a court and a board of land proprietors combined, and was designated in its proceedings as "The General Assembly of the Patentees and Deputies." ' Besides this representative body, the people of each town had its distinct local government. This was a pure democracy, all proceedings affecting the interests of each particular town being had before the people assembled in town- meeting by a viva-voce vote. The first town- ' The proceedings of the General Assembly that con- vened at Portland Point is preserved in one of the old books in the Monmouth County clerk's office. The record of the iirst meeting opens thus: "At a General Assembly the 12th of December, 1667. Officers chosen by the in- habitants of Middletown,on Newasunk neck, and established by oath at this present Assembly or Court held this day and year above written. Officers for Middletown Kichard Gibbons Constable Jonathan Hulms 1 William Lawrence / Shem Arnold James Ashton ■ Deputies For Portland Point Henry Percy Richard Richardson James Bowne Officers for Shrewsbury on Narumsick Peter Parker Constable Edward Patterson Eliakim Wardell Earth West Overseers and Deputies." Then follows this entry as a heading : "The several acts or orders enacted at this present Assembly upon the proof presented by the inhabitants to the Patentees and Deputies are in order set down, viz." Here follow the acts passed upon a variety of subjects. book of one of these communities is in exist- ence. The first record is in 1667, and it continues almost to the year 1700, embracing interesting matter which has never been published, with reference to the controversy which agitated the province for many years, and concerning which so little has heretofore been known. As this protracted controversy produced a change of government, in the surrender to the ci'own,^ the information here obtained is important in a historical point of view, to show the part the early settlers of Monmouth took in the Provin- cial Revolt. The first Assembly under the proprietors convened at Elizabethtown in May, 1668, and it appears by the proceedings that James Gro- ver and John Bowne claimed to be deputies for Middletown and Shrewsbury, and took the oath. This was always construed as an ac- knowledgment by the towns of the right of the proprietors, not only to the government, but also to the soil. It appears, however, by the town-book of Middletown, that the inhabitants at the next town-meeting hastened to repudiate Grover and Bowne, and to deny that they were ever chosen representatives. This is an import- ant fact, for their participation in the proceed- ings of the first Assembly at Elizabethtown, and voting for the rates to be levied, was made a strong point against the patentees in the con- ^ The question which agitated the inhabitants of Middle- town and Shrewsbury was one of title to their lands. The same question affected other portions of the province, and produced such dissatisfaction and disorder that the pro- prietors finally were obliged to surrender the government. The grant from the Duke of York to Berkeley and Car- teret was prior to that from Nicolls to the patentees, but at the date of the Jlonmouth patent neither Nicolls nor the patentees had notice of the Duke's grant. Nicolls had authority to grant, and promised the patent to those who should settle in Middletown and Shrewsbury, if they would first extinguish the Indian title. This they did, received their patent, and had it recorded previous to notice that the Duke had conveyed to the proprietors. From these conflicting titlfis proceeded the trouble and contention that followed. The proprietors insisted not only upon the right of government over the inhabitants of the towns of Mon- mouth, but also claimed title to the soil, and demanded taxes and quit-rents. The inhabitants of Middletown and Shrewsbury would have consented to submit to the govern- ment of the proprietors, but denied their title to the lands included in the patent from Nicolls. THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 87 troversy that followed, and was taken by the Assembly as an acknowledgment of the pro- prietors' title. The entry in the town-book is as follows : " October 28, 1668.— In a legall towne-meeting, it was ordered that this follow- ing declaration shall bee sent by the Deputies to the General Assembly : Wee, the freeholders, for the satisfaction of the Governour and Coun- sell declare, that whereas certaine men, (by name) James Grover and John Bowne, appear- ing as Deputies to act in the coiintrey's behalfe ; this wee declare, that the men were not Legally chosen, according to summons, it being nott published in any part of the countrey till the night before, being the 24th of May. The in- habitants being maney and setled neere twenty miles distance, could nott be ghathered to- ghether as above said; yet it appears that some few to whom the summons first came made choyce of them unknown to the major part of the countrey, who had noe hand in the choyce, nor knew not of their going till they were gone ; and this wee declare to the Governour and Counsell, conceiving under correction : that we are not at all obliged to stand to their acting, the choyce being soe illegal, being fearefuU to act anything that might infringe or violate any of the liberties and privileges of our pattent ; and this is our result, that we desire our Depu- ties to present to the Governour and Counsell for their satisfaction, that it was neither contempt nor obstinacy, nor willfull on our parts, that the choyce was not legall according to the summons. Testis. James Grover, Town Clarke." From the above it will be seen that while they denied the legality of the election of Grover and Bowne, they were not unwilling to elect deputies in a legal manner, provided (as it appears afterwards) their representatives should not be obliged to take an oath that would compromise their patent. From the town-book it appears that neither Grover nor Bowne had been chosen, as there is no entry to that effect. Neither had Shrewsbury sent dele- gates to Elizabethtown, but the Middletown men had assumed to act for Shrewsbury. The town-meeting of October 28, 1668, also passed the following : " The inhabitants, taking into consideration the liberties and privileges granted by pattent, and fearing to have their Deputies any way involved under any oath, engagement or subscription whereby any pre- judice or infringement may come upon the liberties and privileges thereof, doe hereby order and enact, and by these presents it is ordered and enacted. That this following proviso shall be presented to the Governor and Counsel, de- siring to have it inserted either in the oath, en- gagement or subscription, viz.: provided that noe law, or act or command w"" is or may bee made, acted or commanded, may any way be forceible against the liberties and privileges of your patent. It is further ordered that if the Governour and Counsell please not to admitt of the proviso in the oath, engagement or submis- sion, that then the Deputies shall refuse either to engage, promise or subscribe." This action amounted to open rebellion. On the 1st of November, 1668, it is re- corded that " in legal town-meeting, Jonathan Hulmes and Edward Tart were this day, by the pluralities of votes, chosen Deputies to act with the General Assembly at Elizabethtown." On the 3d day of November, 1668, the Assembly met at Elizabethtown, and Jonathan Hulmes and Edward Tart for Middletown, and Thomas Winterton and John Hans, for Shrewsbury, appeared. The entry in the minutes, as found in Leaming and Spicer, is as follows : " The Deputies for Middletown and Shrewsbury, refusing to take or subscribe to the oaths of allegiance and fidelity but with provisoes, and not submitting to the laws and government, were dismissed." At the May session of 1668 a law had been passed by the Elizabethtown Assembly levying a tax of five pounds on each town. The towns of Middletown and Shrewsbury refused to pay this rate because the Nicolls patent exempted from taxes for seven years. This refusal, to- gether with the conduct of their representatives in declining to take the oath at the opening of the session of November, 1668, called for prompt and decisive action on the part of the provincial government, and the following act was passed, viz.: "Item. — Whereas there was an act of General Assembly passed the thirtieth day of May last, for a rate of thirty pounds to HISTOEY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. be raised upon the county for the defraying of public charge, equally to be laid upon the towns then in being, viz.: the towns of Bergen, Elizabeth town, Newark upon Pishawack river, Woodbridge, Middletown and Shrewsbury, that is to say, five pounds on each town. JSfow the major part of the inhabitants of Middletown and Shrewsbury, refusing to pay the same, con- trary to the consent and act of their own Dep- uties, and likewise refuse to submit to the laws of this government. It is hereby enacted by the present General Assembly that Mr. Luke Watson and Mr. Samuel Moore shall go and demand the aforesaid rate of five pounds from each town, together with forty shillings more from each of said towns, which is their just proportion of the rate of twelve pounds now made by this present General Assembly for the defraying of public charges, which if they re- fuse to pay, the said Luke Watson and Samuel Moore to take by way of distress, together with the charges and expenses the county is and shall be at for their obstinate refusal of paying their just dues according to law, and for so doing, the General Assembly doth undertake to save them harmless. It is further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that Luke Watson and Samuel Moore, aforesaid, do demajid the posi- tive resolution of the inhabitants, or the major part of them of the said towns, whether or no they will submit to the laws and government of this province, under the Right Honorable John Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, Knight and Baronet, the absolute Lords Proprietors of the same, according to His Royal Highness, the Duke of York's grant, upon which answer the General Assembly will proceed accordingly." Luke Watson and Samuel Moore were Wood- bridge men of some note, the latter afterwards being the treasurer of the province. They were not ver}' prompt in performing their duties under the act, probably from fear of en- countering the rebels of the two revolting towns, who were not at all intimidated by this action of the Assembly, as is ajDparent from the following significant entry, dated Feb- ruary, 1669,' bidding defiance to the Lords 1 1668, Old Style. Proprietors and preparing to defend their pat- ent : " In a legall towne meeting, ffor future se- curity of the goods and cattle that belongs to the inhabitants of the towne, it is hereby ordered and agreed upon that every inhabitant is jointly enjoyned to give their assistance to secure the goods of every particular inhabitant from any one that shall attempt to take or cary anything out of the towne under what couler soever ; and it is further ordered that every particular inhabitant shall make their appear- ance at all demands or warning by the constable or other authorized by him to meet anywhere in the towne, upon penalty of five pounds for non-apearance or non-asistance ; and it is likewise ordered and agreed upon by the inhab- itants that if any one being an inhabitant shall come or fall into any trouble about anything concerning the premises above specified, or shall be called by virtue of any writt or warrant to appeare before any Gouvernour or Court upon the same account of such apearance or such asistance, that every such inhabitant shall have his time and expenses discharged by the towne, and his domestick business goe forward all the time of his absence, and these orders to stand forcible till ffurther order. Ordered to be en- tered and subscribed by the major part of the towne." This meant resistance by force to the collec- tion of the rates by distraint. The five pounds was a small sum for the town to pay, but there was a principle involved, and the people -were resolved not to submit to it. The order was directed to be signed by the major part of the inhabitants, as a declaration of their rights, and an alliance defensive to stand or fall together. It was a solemn agreement to provide for the families of those who might suffer for the pub- lic good. On the same day James Ashton, Jonathan Holmes, Richard Gibbens', Richard Stout, William Lawrence and Edmund Tartt were ordered to give answer to the Governor's men in the town's behalf, and that the " Clark " sign and seal the same writing, to be sent to the Governor. The town-meeting at the same time resolved that the Clark at present shall receive the laws from the Governor's messengers, viz. : THE PEOVINCIAL REVOLT. 89 Luke Watson and Samuel Moore, and upon re- ceipt shall declare that the town receives them for their own security only ; and it was likewise ordered that "no inhabitant shall be seized upon, or carried by violence out of the towne, until the towne sees further." On the same day another entry was made by the town clerk, as follows, viz. : " For as much as Luke Wat- son and Samuel Moore, the Gouvernour's mes- ingers, doe command us to aid and assist you in taking distraint of goods from the inhabitants of Middleton to discharge levies levied upon them. This wee declare : That wee own Captain Phillip Carteret to be our Gouvernour, whose lawfull, good and just commands wee shall and will obey in all things not for wrath, but for Conscience' sake towards God, the liberties and privileges of our pattent only maintained in full and ample manner ; but for as much • as the Gouvernour has sent yee to take a distraint of goods from a people that as yet are nott sub- mitted to him (if the act of the General Assem- bly did not hold forth soe much, we would not say so), though the same people will be ready to yield true submission to him, their Gouvernour, in all things good and lawful, the liberties and privileges of their pattent only maintained ; wee say, for as much as he hath sent yee to take distraint of their goods, as in our con- sciences wee judge not to bee just, for how can anything be due from any man or people who are not submitted ? wee shall be passive here in refusing either aide or assistance to yee in the distraynt." On the succeeding 1st of March the follow- ing self-explanatory documents relative to the troubles in Monmouth were issued by the Pro- prietary Governor and Council, viz. : "Warrant for the Navesink Men to Produce the Laws and to Publish them : " Where'as there Was a boddy of Lawes made by the Generall assenably, barring date the 30th May, and another past the 7 Nov' last, the cap- tions Whereof Where sent to the Towns of Shrewsbury and Midleton, and, as I am in- formed, are by some disaffected p'sons Concealed and not published : Wherefore these are to Will and Require you to demande the said Lawes In Whose hands or Custodie so ever they are, and In Case of Eefusall to take them by force, and the same to publish in both the said Townes of Shrewsbury and Midleton, hereby requiring all p'sons to be Ayding and Asisting to you in the Execution of yo' office; and for you so doing this shall be yo"' sufficient Warrant. Giuen Vnd' my hand and Seale the first day of March, 1668 [1668-69]. "Ph. Carteket. "To Mr. Peter Parker, "'Constable of Shrewsbury." "A warrant to Require a paper signed by the Inhabitants of Midleton ag' the Lawes: " These are, by the advice of my Councell, to Require you to demande a certaine paper Sub- scribed by the Inhabitants of Midleton Con- cerneing the Opposition of the Lawes, in Whose hands or Custodie so ever it Is in, and in Case of Refusall to take it by force and to Conway or bring the same vnto me and my Councell, Requiring all p'sons to be ayding and assisting Vnto you in the Executing of this ord'; and for yo' so doing this shall bee your sufficient Warrant. Given Vnd' my hand and Seale the first day of March, 1668 [1668-69]. "[Ph. Carteret.] "To M'. Peter Parker, "■ Constable of Shrewsbury." " Prohibition for those at JSTavesinks to bare any office or have any Vote in Election till they have taken the Ooath : Whereas, by the Lords Proprietors' Concessions, no person or persons are to be admitted as a Freed man or Free- holders of this Province of New Jersey, or have or Injoy the Privilledges granted by the said Concessions until they have taken or subscribed to the Oath of Alaegance to our Sovereign Lord the King and his successors, and to be true and faithfull to the Interest of the Lords Proprie- tors, their heires and successors, it is this day Ordered by the Govern' and his Councell that from henceforth no person or persons within the Townes of Midleton & Shrewsbury and places Adjacent Shall have any Authority or power to bare any Office in any Military or Civil Affairs, nor to have any Vote in Election or publick business, until they have taken the 90 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. said Oath of Alegiance to the King and Fidelity to the Lords Proprietors, upon the penalty of being proceeded agaiost as Mutineers against the Authority of this Government and the Dis- turbers of the Publick Peace ; and that all per- sons may take Notice hereof, Mr. Peter Parker, the sworne Constable of Shrewsbury, is hereby required to Publish this our Order in both the aforesaid Townes and to fix a Copie of the same in some publicq place or places where it may be Seen and Read, & to take Notice with good sufficient Witness in Writing when it was pub- lished. Given under the Scale of the Province the first day of March, 1668 [1668-69], and in the one-and-twentieth yeare of His Majesties Raigne, King Charles the Second, etc. By Order of the Governor & Councell. "JA^ BoLLEN, Pres'." On the 17th of the same month, at a legal town-meeting, — the major part being present,— it was put to vote concerning that part, of the act of May, ] 668, which required Luke Watson and Samuel Moore to demand the posi- tive resolution of the inhabitants of the towns as to submission to the government of the abso- lute Lords Proprietors, "and it was unani- mously resolved that the following shall be the positive resolution, and shall be presented to the General Assembly." This document, though long, is here given at length, because it fully sets forth the position and claims of the settlers on the Nicolls patent. It has sometimes been called the Monmouth declaration of independ- ence: "March 17, 1668-9.— In a legall towne- meeting, the major part being present, it was this day putt to the vote concerning answearing the Demand of Luke Watson and Samuel Moore, who were authorized by the General Assembly to demand our positive resolution of submission to the government of the absolute Lords Proprietors, as sayeth the Act bearing date the seventh of November, it was unani- mously resolved that this following act shall be our positive resolution, and shall be j)resented to the General Assembly, viz: " That if the oath of alleagance to our Sov- ereign Lord, the King, and fidelity to the Lords Proprietors' interest, bee the submission intended in the act, this is our result : that as true loyal subjects to the King, we are ready at all demands either to engage, swear or subscribe all true alleagance to his Royal Majesty of England, as in duty bound, either before the Gouvernour, or any other minister of justice authorized by him to administer the same, with- out any equivocation or mentall reservation, as true loiall subjects ought to doe; and this wee will performe absolutely. . . . "As to the Lords Proprietors' interest, it being a new, unheard thing to us, and soe obscure to us that at present we are ignorant what it is; yet as men not void of judgment, knowing right well that all oaths, engagements or subscriptions ought to be administered in truth, in righteousness and in judgment, upon which consideration wee are nott willing to sweare to (wee know not what), yet by what hath been presented and come to our hands from the Governour at several times, viz: an order or law came in the year 1666, prohibiting any from selling wine to the Indians, under great penalty, though it seems now that above the quan- tity of two gallons may be tollerated by a law. 2d. Warrants coming to our hands, nott in His Majesties name, but in the Lords Proprietors' name, being such a name as wee simple crea- tures never heard of before. 3d An account that our Deputies gave us, being returned from the General Assembly held in November last, who informed us that the hounoured Gouver- nour told them (speaking concerning their patent) that notwithstanding your pattent, said hee, yett new Lords must now have new lawes, and further they declared to us that the Gouv- ernour tould them that Gouvernour Nicolls could not give away his master's land, and further said that when your pattent was in granting, that Captaine James BuUen, my Secretary, putt in his caveat, and soe "put a stop to it, Captaine BuUen then affirming the same. 4th. An order coming from the Gouvernour and Counsell, bearing date the first of March, '68, prohibiting the townes of Middleton and Shrewsbury from electing any officer, or any officer from executing any office, upon penalty of being proceeded against as mutineers. 6th. THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 91 An Act of the General Assembly, stiling (the Right Honorable John Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret) the absolute Lords Proprietors. " By all w"", wee conceive : that the Lords proprietors interest is:: not only: the absolute sovereignty : from w"" all laws must be given : but allsoe : the absolute propriety : from w"" all lands must bee holden : (wee say) if this bee the interest soe specified in Gouvernour's late order : and intended in the oath : and ih parte the submission demanded by the Act. "This is our result: wee have received a pattent from his Eoiall highness the Duke of York's Deputy : owning us : nott only to have purchased our lands from the Chief Proprietors of the countrey : but allsoe impowering us to give prudentiall lawes to ourselves : both for our own safety : and our well being : : and should wee submit to interest soe farre : as by either engaging: swearing: or subscribing to the lawes of the government under the Lords proprietors how contrary and prejudiciall to our present safety, as witness a law made the last Generall Assembly: giving liberty to sell wine to the Indians : w"*" liberty tends merely to our destruction, many sad former experiences have we had among us witnessing the same : it being a Liberty soe contrary to the lawes of New Yorke from whence our pattent had its origi- nall: and besides, our pattent giving us such liberty as giving lawes to ourselves, how are wee bound to take lawes from the goverment of the Lords Proprietors (criminalls and apeals ex- cepted) by w""" it is manifest : that neither the Lords proprietors nor the Generall Assembly can in the leaste breake our liberties and privi- leges : but wee ourselves will bee found to bee self-viol aters of them in submitting by swearing to such an interest : as wee are not bound to : besides at present noe provision being made by the Lords proprietors' government for the con- servation of the liberties and privileges of our pattent, they are liable te bee infringed upon by such acts w"" are resolved by the major vote of the generall assembly : then how should wee submit by swearing to the lawes of the gover- ment: and nott bee guilty of self-violation of our pattent ourselves. " And forasmuch as they are styled the abso- lute Lords proprietors ffrom hence, it abso- lutely granted and necessai'ily followeth that all such inhabitants as lives upon this propriety : are absolute tennants to the Lords propri- etors : and by virtue of this their submission : by oath to their interests are irrecoverably involved to pay such Lords rents : as will answer the interest to w"*" they have sworne : and should we submit to the interest so farre as by swear- ing thereunto : having a propriety of land nott onely purchased from the Chief Proprietors of the Countrey : viz. the Indians : but alsoe granted unto us by the Deputy to his Eoyall highness the duke of Yorke (w* appears under hand and seal) : it would be an act beneath the wisdome of the owners of such a patent : and herein wee should apeare to bee self-violators of our pattent ourselves : and for as much as the Lords Proprietors rents from such inhabitants as lives upon the propriety apears in the con- cessions : viz. a half penny an acre at least : should wee submit soe farre to the interest by swearing : whose acknowledgments by virtue of pattent to his Royall Highness : have their de- pendancy upon such payment as others his majesties subjects, doe in the government of New Yorke to his Royall Highnes : it would be an act, as wee conceive, w"*" would bee a dis- honner to him that gave it. " Herein wee should apeare to be self-viola- tors of onr pattent ourselves : but for as much as there is an assignment made by his Royall Highnes to the Lords proprietors of such a tractof land in w""" our pattent may bee com- prehended : wee looke at ourselves to be (noto- riely) responsible to the Lords Proprietors in all such acknowledgments as others his majesties subjects doe : in the government of New Yorke to his Royall highness : (butt alsoe) to transmitt all criminalls arising amongst ourselves : and such apealls as are proper to bee transmitted to the trial of Lords Proprietors' government : These : and no other being the same injunctions : w"*" once we were subordinate to the goverment of New Yorke nott any way now nullified : altered: or changed as wee conceive: butt only transferred by virtue of assignment to the sayd Lords Proprietors and their government : Not- 92 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. withstanding for the future benefitt and tran- quility : and for the establishment of peace in the province : wee shall bee willing to submit to the Lords proprietors' interest according to the late order provided that some secure way could be projected or some provision made by the Lords proprietors' government w* might secure us from destroying of ourselves by weakniug this our interest w* we so highly prize w"*" indeed is the very foundation of our livelyhood : if noe secure way or course can be thought of or pro- jected to secure our owne interest : wee are att present resolved not to entangle ourselves into any other interest appertaining to any men : but shall (by the assistance of God) Stick to our pattent : the liberties and privileges thereof m'* is our interest : w""" once was committed to us : nott to betray : like treacherous men : who for filthy lucre's sake have bin ready to betray them- selves and others : but to deale faithfully with it being a trust committed to us : and in soe doing wee conceive : we need not feare what any man : or power : can doe unto us : and for as much as att present wee conceive : that upon this our interest thare hath bin lately an inroad made upon it : by virtue of an order coming from the Governour and Counsell : and by com- mission : published in our towne : prohibiting any officer that hath bin constituted by virtue of pattent to execute any office till they had sworne to the Lords proprietors' interest upon penalty of being proceeded against as mutineers : (to salve w*), wee shall make our addresses unto the highest authority in the countrey for remedy : and this is our positive resolution in answear to the Act : desiring further that this our answer may be presented to the generall asembly to prevent misinformation." How this resolve of the Monmouth men to stand by their patent was received by the pro- prietors' government is not known, for no min- utes of the Elizabethtown General Assembly from November, 1668, to 1675 have been found. There is reason to believe that the Assembly met occasionally during that period, but it is probable that no business of any importance was transacted. The next entry here quoted from the Middletown town-book proves there was an occasional session, — "December 6, 1671.— In a legall towne meeting : the major partt being present, it was ordered that following writing shall be sent to the Governour and Counsell and Deputies of the townes of the province assembled together at Elizabethtown the 12th of this present month. . . . Honoured Governour: the Counsell and Deputies of the generall assembly. . . . Wee received by the hands of some of the men of Woodbridge the late acts of the generall assembly at their last adjournment bearing date 22 of November : as allsoe a sum- mons under hand and scale of the province for choice of Burgesses for a further Assembly to bee held on the 12th of this present month : both w""" being enclosed in a paper sent unto us by the Honoured Governour : desiring our compliance to answere the summons : and fur- ther requiring our positive answer by the bearer : to w"*" wee say : that such is : and hath bin our forwardness for compliance at all times : that there hath bin : and is noe need of any ocasion : either to instigate or augment our for- wardnes thereunto : having not at any time wilfully omitted any opertunity of apearing by our deputies to doe such service as hath bin re- quired of us : besides : the sincerity of our de- sires : being soe well known to God, and our own consciences herein : in point of true Loyall submission to the government of the Lords proprietors soe farre forth as is proper to our conditon to the very utmost that can bee claimed from us : whose just power wee have formerly (as it is well known) with all . . . owned: but when we consider : (having pondered we in our minds) the late act was presented to us : and being therein charged : with noe les than contempt of authority of government : the charge being soe generall : viz. the townes of Middlesex and Shrewsbury, the forciblenes of the charge be great : viz. an Act of the generall assembly : and withall judging the charge the whole ground of the Act : for what greater force can there be than a generall act : wee say : wee (-weighing these things in the ballances of equity) judge ourselves at present alltogether incapable of answearing the sum- mons : aprehending ourselves at present rather fitter to be cleared publickly of soe weighty a THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 93 charge : then to joyne with the Gouvernour : Counsell : and deputies of the townes of the province in the exercise of any legislative power : for the settlement of any thing : need- ful and necessary for the well governing of this province : and should have now apeared to have answered to the charge if that writt had apeared amongst us w""" the late asembly gave the Gouvernour thatt power to issue forth : further more (conceaving under correction) that noe such prerogative or privilege may bee con- ferred upon contemners and despisers of gov- ernment, much les noe such thing as either the dignity of a freeholder to elect or the dignity of a Deputy to act for the good and welfare of any state or province, and therefore for the full clearing of ourselves our desire is that the late act (according to the current thereof ) may bee exactly prosecuted : that so that power (w"*" the late asembly of deputies at their last adjourn- ment tooke upon them to give the gouvernour) may now bee putt in execution : for had that writt apeared now amongst us : wee question nott : but wee should have shewed our ready and willing obedience to have answeared there- unto: being carefuU of incurring upon any Attayndor of rebellion : but that writt apear- ing nott amongst us : wee judged ourselves not obliged to come to answear : and thus in briefe have wee given account of our present condi- tion : under favour waiting onely with all hu- mility (pro forma tantum) as to what is further required of us in the late act : viz : to shew cause why wee will nott pay our just propor- tion of expences of provision expended at two asemblies in the yeare (68) wee answear that which was expended at the asembly Held 25, May (68) wee had then noe deputies there to expend and further what was expended at the adjournment : in November following in the same yeare : our deputies who were there and nott suffered to act but sume how agayne re- ported to us : that the deputies for the townes of the province : invited them one night to supper w""" before their departure thence they tendered them money for itt soe that : as wee abhorre all such baseness of speritt as to eat any mens bread for nought: soe wee come nott: by what wee have soe lightly as to pay other mens expences: who wee conceive rather show an evell mind in desiring itt : soe that if any- thing by the power of the province be forced from us at any time (upon this account), viz. : for the discharge of expences of provisions for those two asemblies: wee hope wee shall nei- ther be ashamed nor affrayd to declare it to be open and manifest wrong : further wee give yee to understand the cause and reason why our deputies apeared not at the last adjournment: when the time came that they should goe : our vessel was accidentally drove away, by w""" means they were disabled from coming and for the season of neere fourteen days toghether noe vessell could not bee gott in any capacity to transpoi't them : this being the very ground and reason why they came nott : and therefore wee conceive that w"'' providentially fall out men of reason and understanding will bee well satisfied withal .... It is further ordered : that the clarke (at present) shall signe to this above answear in the name of the towne and shall send it backe by Woodbridge men with its di- rection running thus : viz. : To the Honoured Gouvernour and Counsell : and Deputies of the townes of the province asembled toghether at Elizabethtown. "Testis, Edward Takete, T. a" It thus appears that the inhabitants of the town of Middletown would not refuse to ac- knowledge the government of the proprietors and to send deputies ; but they denied the right of the proprietors to the land; nor did they ever rescind the order forbidding their repre- sentatives taking the oath, except with the pro- viso saving their patent. The allusion to the invitation to supper is amusing. It seems that this mode of procuring legislative favor com- menced at an early day. The unsophisticated men two centuries ago could not understand how expensive suppers could be paid for, unless they who gave them reimbursed themselves from the public funds. It is evident that they thought the province was in some way to pay for the feast, their offer of payment having been declined. It is probable that the supper was given at the instance of those representing the proprietor's, to induce the deputies of Mid- 94 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. dletowu and Shrewsbury to take the oath with- out the proviso; but they stood firmly by their patent, and could not be influenced by fine sup- pers or other entertainment. In December, 1672, Berkeley and Carteret, the Lords Proprietors, issued declarations to the people, among which was the fiDllowing, which proves that Middletown and Shrewsbury still held out: "For such as pretend to right of property to land and government within our province by virtue of patent from Gov. Col. Richard NicoUs, as they ignorantly assert, we utterly disown any such things, — a grant they had from him on condition they never per- formed. Lovelace demanded they patent their land from us and pay our quit-rent, which, if they do, we are content they shall enjoy the land they are settled on; but without their speedy compliance as above said, we do order our Governor and Counsel to dispose thereof in whole or in part." They also authorized the constables of the respective towns to take by warrant from the Governor, by way of distress, from every individual inhabitant their just pro- portion of rent due to them yearly, beginning on 25th March, 1670; and if not thus collected, the marshal of the province be impowered, etc. In the above it will be observed that the proprietors did not base their title upon a grant from the Duke of York prior to the Nicolls patent, but upon the allegation that the j)atentees had not performed the conditions of their patent, in what particular is not stated. The command to collect the rents in this summary way was inconsistent with the previous action of the Governor and Council; for in May, 1672, upon the address of James Grover and others, patent- ees, and their associates, of the towns of Mid- dletown and Shrewsbury, unto the Governor and Council, for confirmation of certain priv- ileges granted them by Colonel Richard Nicolls, the Governor and Council did confirm unto said patentees and their associates these partic- ulars following, being their rights contained in the aforesaid patent, among which was the fol- lowing: "Imprimis, that the said patentees and associates have full power, license and authority to dispose of the said lauds expressed in the said patent as to them shall seem meet." The action of the Lords Proprietors in December can only be accounted for upon the supposition that they had not received information of the action of their Governor and Council the prev- ious May. They were certainly bound by the previous action of their Governor and Council confirming the Nicolls patent. The confir- mation of this patent by the Governor and Coun- cil also gave the inhabitants of the towns of Monmouth the liberty to make prudential laws and constitutions among themselves according to the tenor of the patent; and if this confir- mation was valid, it follows that they were free from the crown before the American Revolu- tion, for the proprietors could not in 1702 sur- render the government over them. In 1670 the quit-rents as claimed by the proprietors had become due. They who held under Nicolls refused to pay them, and there followed great confusion, hot only in the towns of Monmouth, but in Essex and elsewhere. At length the revolutionists determined to establish a new government, and on the 14th of May, , 1672, certain delegates from the towns, calling themselves "Deputies or Representatives for the Country," met at Elizabethtown, elected Captain James Carteret (a son of Sir George, the proprietor) " President of the Country," and made proclamation to that effect. On the 28th of the same month Governor Philip Car- teret and his Council made proclamation, offer- ing amnesty to all persons who were concerned in the revolt, who should within ten days give in their written submission to the proprietary government ; otherwise they would be pro- ceeded against as mutineers and enemies to the peace of the province.^ The trouble, however, continued through the year, and the " President of the Country," James Carteret, carried mat- ters with a high hand, arresting and imprison- ing some of the proprietary officers and warning others against attempting to act in their official capacity. In these acts he was sustained by the revolutionary Assembly. Governor Philip Carteret was obliged to leave the province for England, where he remained more than two years, John Berry remaining in New Jersey ' New Jersey Archives, 1st Series, vol. i. page 89. THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 95 as his deputy, but exercising no power as such during the brief control of James Carte- ret, who early in the following year abandoned his so-called office of " President," and fled to Carolina, taking with him his wife, who was a daughter of Thomas Delavall, mayor of New York. The events of the James Carteret re- volt are told, in part, in an address by the Council of Governor Philip Carteret to the proprietors, dated July 1, 1672. In that document they set forth : " That whereas Several persons in this Prov- ince who have a long time been discontented and Opposite unto the Governor and Govern- ment, who have of Late by their plottings and Combinations so Carried matters that they have had such Influence into the Election of Deputies for the Assemblys as that there are such persons chosen as Deputies who having avoided taking the Oath of Assemblymen according to the Concessions, and have taken Liberty to diifer from the Governor and • Council] in Establishing matters for the Peace and Settlement of the People, and have now At last disorderly Assembled and pro- cured Cap* James Carterett as their Pres- ident, who Joyned with them in making dis- turbance in this Province, he taking upon him to head the said persons, endeavoring not only to disengage the people from subjection unto, but also opposing and abusing the Governor and Councill, commanding their Obedience to him- self by virtue of his Warrants which he puts forth in the King's ISTame for that end, and also Prohibiting such Officers as act by the Governor's Commission, and commanding them wholy to cease acting in their offices untill they receive orders from himself; and unto such a hight hath he proceeded that he hath impris- oned Several persons, in p'ticular the Deputy Secretary for Executing his Office, who, having by the Governor's order made an Escape out of their hands, we understand they have seized his goods, and the Like we Expect daily will be the Condition of all others that will not concurr with his Illegall proceedings, he giving forth Continual threatenings against those that doe not obey his orders, and having persons ad- hering to him that probably will be ready to Execute his Will so as they may have the Plundering of o'' Estates, and all these proceed- ings he carried on with pretence that he hath Power sufficient, he being Sir George Carter- ett's Sonn, and that he himself is Proprietor and can put out the Governor as he pleases, and that his Father hath given him his part of the Province ; although he doth not shew any grant or Commission or Legal Power to doe any such thing, but saith ho Scorneth to Shew his Power to such fellowes as wee, neither need he do so, being on his own Land. And as for the Lord Berkeley's part, he saith that is but a small matter ; so that pretending himself to be Proprietor, his proceedings gives the greater hopes to his followers, and Consequently are the more dangerous as to your Honnours' Interest, and the Inhabitants' peace and Safety, both in respect of Liberty and Estate, if not Life also, according as their Outrage may prevail ; and those that doe not submit and yield Obedience to his Orders and Commands, but doe appear to be faithful to your Honnours' Interest and Gov- ernment, because of their Oath they have taken, they are in Continual Danger of being surprised and imprisoned by him. All which Actings of his do Evidently tend to the ruin of the Province as to your Honno" Interest, for either wee must comply with him and his fol- lowers and their proceedings, who aim to get all into their own hands, or Else we must remove out of the Province, Except he doth prevent us by Casting us into Prison ; and although he be Sir George Carterett's Sonn, and for his Father's sake wee Honnour him accordingly, yet our owne reason doth persuade us to believe that his Hon"'" Father will never Countenance his sonn in such dishonorable, unjust and Violent pro- ceedings, which tends to nothing but ruin. . . . Craving pardon for our boldness, wee beseech the God of Wisdom to Give your Honnours a Spirit of discerning, to see where Integrity and faithful! ness are fixt, and where private designs are driven at, that you may Administer that whidi is Just and Equal to all. Encouragement to those that merrit it and Eeproof to Evil doers." In response to this representation of the Council, the proprietors, Berkeley and Carteret, 96 HISTOEY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JEKSEY. wrote the instructions of December, 1672 (be- fore quoted), authorizing and directing the col- lection of rents by distress from every individual inhabitant in the province, and that they be dispossessed of their lands in case of non-jjay- ment. Also King Charles, on the 9th of the same December, signed instructions to Deputy- Governor John Berry, reciting that "having been informed that some turbulent and disaf- fected Persons" had committed disorders and excesses in New Jersey, and directing the Deputy- Governor, in the royal name, to demand and enforce obedience to the laws and government of the proprietors, they " having the sole power under us to settle and dispose of the said Coun- try upon such Terms and Conditions as they shall think fit ;" and to proceed against the mal- contents " with due severity according to Law," in case they should fail to yield submission without delay. The conquest of New York and New Jersey by the Dutch, in 1673, and the restoration of the country to the English in the following year, as also several acts done with reference to the Mon- mouth County people by the Dutch authorities during their brief term of power, have already been fully noticed in a preceding chapter. After the conquest. King Charles gave new grants of soil and government, and on the 31st of July, 1674, Sir George Carteret^ gave new instructions to his Governor and new concessions to the set- tlers on the New Jersey lands. The new con- cessions of Carteret disowned the Nicolls patent, and ordered that if the inhabitants did not take out new patents, the Governor and Council should dislodge them. It is difficult to under- stand this action, after the previous confirmation of the Nicolls title, unless it be that it was held that the Dutch war and conquest destroyed all patents, deeds and grants. In November, 1674, Philip Carteret returned from England, and resumed the office of Gov- ernor. The next general Assembly convened in November, 1675, aud was loyal to the pro- prietors. The deputies from Middletown, Cap- tain John Bowne and John Throgmorton, took ^ Lord Berkeley had sold out his interest in the province March 18, 1673. the oath, as also did John Slocum, from Shrews- bury ; but William Shatock, the other delegate from Shrewsbury, refusing to swear or subscribe, was dismissed. At this session an Act of Ob- livion, as it was called, was passed, abolishing all actions against any and all those who had been in any way concerned in the attempt to change the government here settled by the Lords Proprietors at any time from 1670 to June, 1673 ; and the inhabitants were, by this act, ab- solutely and fully pardoned of all offenses what- soever. ^ On the 10th of October, 1677, the General Assembly, then in session at Elizabethtown, de- clared : " We find by constant Experience for several years past, that the Town of Shrewsbury hath been deficient, if not negligent and careless, in sending of their Deputies, or in sending such as will not conform to the Order of the Conces- sions respecting the Deputies, whereby the said Assembly is weakened and the publick Work hindered." For several years preceding the final surren- der of the government by the proprietors, there were frequent disorders in the province, these occurring in Essex and Middlesex Counties, as well as in Monmouth. The immediate cause was a long and acrimonious dispute between the adherents of Andrew Hamilton on the one side, and of Jeremiah Basse on the other, each of whom claimed to be Governor of the province. Andrew Hamilton was understood to be in favor of maintaining the proprietary title, and the in- habitants of the towns of Monmouth who had claimed title to their lands under Indian rights and the patent of Nicolls joined the party which sustained Basse. But besides the question of the proprietary title and right to the soil, there was at this time (1695 to 1702) in the contro- versy, an element which did not exist in the earlier disorders. This element was a Scotch and an anti-Scotch partisanship, which (particu- larly with regard to the latter) was very strong and bitter. Andrew Hamilton, himself a Scotch- man and firmly supported by the Scotch pro- prietors, was accused of gross favoritism towards his countrymen, by appointing and keeping them in the principal offices of the province, regard- less of their fitness or honesty; while on the THE PROVINCIAL REVOLT. 97 other hand Governor Basse was charged by his opponents with various malfeasances, among which was that of harboring — or at least pro- tecting from punishment — the numerous pirates who at about that time showed themselves boldly in the bays of Sandy Hook, Raritan and Dela- ware, and even recruited men from the regions of country bordering those waters. And there appears to have been some foundation of truth (as will be seen) for this charge, with regard to the conduct of some of Basse's adherents at least. Of the " Scotch party," adhering to Hamilton, one of the chief leaders was Lewis Morris,^ at that time the most prominent and influential man of Monmouth County. He was crafty, unreliable and time-serving, but the most active, energetic and aggressive of the opponents of Basse and his adherents. At a Court of Com- mon Right, sitting at Perth Amboy on the 11th May, 1699, — Governor Basse, present, — Lewis Morris, of Tinton Manor, came in and "de- manded by what authority they kept Court." The court declared " by the King's authority," which was denied by Morris, and the court then ordered him to be taken in custody; whereupon he "tried to draw his Hanger," and defied any one to dare lay hands upon him, "and when a constable, by order of the Court, layed hold on him, he, in the face of the Court, re- sisted." He was fined £50, and on the follow- ing day he, with George Willocks, was indicted by the grand jury and committed to Wood- > This partisan leadership of Morris was mentioned in a letter written in 1702 by the Earl of Nottingham, who, after proposing certain men in New Jersey (among whom were Richard Hartshorne, Andrew Bowne, Obadiah Bowne and William Lawrence, of Monmouth County) as fit persons to serve in the Provincial Council, proceeds : " But against The following Persons many objections are made, as being of the Scotch & Quaker ffactions, concerned sundry years in JO Divisions and incendiary Parties that has brought those Provinces into Confusion of Government, Injustice to yo Proprietors and aversion of yf Planters & Inhabitants, vizt "Mr. Lewis Morris, ye Head of ye ffaction, Mr. Samuel Leonard, Mr. George Willocks, Mr. John Barclay, Mr- Michael Harden, Mr. Thomas Gordon, Mr. David Lyall, Mr. Miles fforster, Mr. John Johnstone, Mr. John Bishop, Samuel Den- nis, William Pinhorne, Samuel Hale. "These last four have other characters rendering them unfit for that Station." —New Jersey Colonial Documents, Series 1, vol. ii. page 488. 7 bridge jail till £300 security should be given for their good behavior and appearance at the October term of the Court of Common Right, But a -mob of Morris' adherents was collected, and " with a Beam of an house they Battered Woodbridge Jail to Pieces, and set him and his Seditious Companion Willocks at liberty." This was done between two and four o'clock in the morning of the 1 3th of May, Captain Isaac White- head being a ringleader of the mob of rescuers'. At Piscataway, in the county of Middlesex, on the 3d of March, 1700,^ a mob collected and debarred the court from the place of its sitting "in the Publick Meeting-House," nailing up the doors, etc. On the 12th of the same month " Samuel Carter and a large number of others" made successful resistance to the authority of the Essex County Court, then and there assem- bled; and in the summer of that year there were troubles of the same nature in Mon- mouth County, as appears from a statement made by Captain Andrew Bowne and Richard Hartshorne^ on the 23d of July, viz. : "Since the departure of Mr. Slater [Salter], Col. Hamilton hath put Mr. [Lewis] Morris into commission of his Councill and Justice, believing him to be the onely man that can make the province Submit to him as Governor without the King's aprobation, & in Order to Effect itt they turned out an English Man who was Sherif and put in a Scotch Man who they thought would Obey them without Reserve, & itt is saide Morris hath given out that he will Carrie his point in making the people submit to Coll. Hamilton's Government, or he will em- brue the province in Blood,* in order to which ' March 3, 1699, Old Style. 8 N. J. Col. Doc, Series 1, vol. ii. page 327. * " We whose names are under-written, do say that some time in the month of June, 1700, was at the house of Abra- ham Brown, in Shrowsburry, in company with Lewis Morris, Esqr., then did hear him say that he had been with the Goverur. & had taken an office upon him & that he would go through with it. & if any man resisted him he would spill his blood, or he should spill his, for he made no Scruple of Conscience, & in further discourse the sd Morris did say that he had taken an office and he would go through with it, though the Streets run with blood." " Joseph Clarke, "Nicholas Brown, Jun., " Sarah Pottee." 98 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. they seised upou several! persons intending to force them to Give security for their good beha- vior, which one of them refused and so Con- tinued in the Sharif's Custody ; this the people took Greaviously, itt being Harvest time ct they had given outt warrants to seise Richard Salter & Others, & the Sherif had like to have taken him, w""" some of his neighbours onderstanding went & met the Sherif, banged him, broake his head and sent him packing, upon which, as we are informed, the people Resolved to meete on Friday, the 19th July, in order to goe & featch home him that was in the Sherif 's hands, upon the which Morris & Leonard dispatched an Express for Coll. Hamilton, who imediately come to them & they pressed about men & came on the 19th July in Armes to Middle Towne & came to the Ordinary, And theare Inquired for the said Salter & one Bray, And then marched off; the people of Mid41etown were assembled to the number of aboutt an hundred, but with- out armes, onely Sticks, yet had itt not been for the persuations of some, much in the people's favour, theare would have been broaken heads, if not further mischiefe ; the said Justices had perswaded the person in the Sherif 's hand to give security for the good behaviour the day before this meeting. In this posture things stand in this County, & we believe, Including the Scotch, that throughout the province theare is six to one against owning Col. Hamilton Governor and almost all biter ly against Morris, whome they looked upon as the first man, as Indead he was, that opposed Government." Another account of the same transaction is found in a letter (without signature) addressed to Jeremiah Basse, and dated, " East Jersey, 30th July,^ 1700," viz.: " . . . Contrary to all Expectation, Col. J-Iamilton hath put in M'. Morris president of the Councill & ordered him, by wliat means he could, to Sjibdue all that oppose his authority " Mr Morris did say that lie would quell the opposite party if they did resist the authority, or he would imbrew the Province in blood, or to that effect, " James Bollen. '■July 5, 1700." — Colonial Documents of New Jersey, Seriex l,vol. in. page 485. I Col. Doc. of N. J., Series 1, vol. ii. page 329. & Settle the Country in his Obedience, oppon which Commission and orders M". INIorris hath undertaken the worke ct threatned that he would obtain his end (which is to settle Col. Hamilton in the Government, Notwithstanding he is in no wayes qualified for Governor) or he would Embrue the Country in Blood ; Com- plaints were made to Col. Hamilton and Cap- tain Leonard against tlie saide Morris, but they were so farr from disowning such inhumane actions that they, on the contrary, rather justi- fied & ridiculed itt. But it wont further than words, for just as harvest began, ]\Iorris & other gave warrants to an Indigent Sherif to Apprehend severall men in Monmouth County, who, in their owne just defence, bcato the saide Sherif to the Shedding of blood on both sides. Col. Hamilton, who resides chiefly att Burling- ton, was sent to inmiodiatoly, who came & raised betwixt fourty & fifty men & armed them and marched from Shrewsbury to Middle- towne, to meete the Country, who opposed him with one hundred A Seaventy men, butt without armes. He, when he came up to them, asked for two men, but they not being theare, he with- drew his men without further harmc, but swore biterly he would have them if above ground, left orders Avith his friend IMorris not to dis- perse ontill he had got tliem, and then returned to Burlington. The Ambition & folly of Mor- ris being known to the people of Monmotli, they sent to advise with their neighberring Countys, Middlesex tt Essex, wliat was best and most convenient to be done, who generally advised to sec^ure themselves and oppose Morris & the rest that assert and would endeavour to set up Col. Hamilton's arbitrary & illegal power, and with- all have promised assisttmec if ocation requires." The following entry in the record" has refer- ence to the same affair, viz : " At a Court of inquirie held at Shrowsberry for the Countie of Monmouth this twentic-scv- enth day August, one thousand seven hundred, Present, Lewis Morris, President; Samuel Leonard, Jedidiah Allan, Samuel Denis, An- thony Pintard, Esquires, Justices. The grand jurie of inquirie for the present service were *N. J. Col. Doc, Series 1, vol. ii; p. 3.32. THE PEOVINCIAL REVOLT. 99 theese, — John Reid, Jeremiah Stilwell, John Slocum, Thomas Hewitt, Abiah Edwards, John West, John Leonard, WiUiam Hoge, Alexander Adam, Thomas Webley, Patrick Cannan, James Melven, Fetter Emley, Samuel Hopemyre, William Lawtone. And having thir ingage- ment. Had the charge given them by the presi- dent, Withdrew with a constable to attend them. The said jurie being called againe gave in this following presentment : " ' August y° 27th, 1700 : Wee jurors present, Richard Salter, John Bray, James Stout, David Stout, Benj amine Stout, Cornelius Compton, William Bonne, Thomas Taylor, Thomas Hanldson, Jacob Vandorne, Arian Bennett, Thomas Sharp, Benjamine Cook, Robert Innes^ Thomas Estal and Samuel, a servant to said Salter, ffor Riotously assembling on the I7th day of July and assaulting John Stewart, high Sheriff, and Henry Leonard on the path neer to the house of Alexander Adam, Beat and grievously wound the said persons, tok their swords from them, cary'd them away and keept them to the value of ffive pounds money of this province. In breach of the peace and terrour of the King's leidge people. Signe in behalf of the rest by John Reid, forman.' " On the 12th of September, 1700, the Court of the County of Essex, then sitting at Newark, was interrupted by a mob of rioters, who chal- lenged the authority of the court. " The Presi- dent, William Sandford, was pulled off the Bench by Abram Hettfield & Daniel Craine, and his hat & wigg pulled off his head by the S** Hettfield." The clerk of the court was also abused, struck and had his wig torn from his head, " the President allso having had his Sword Taken from him by Daniel Craine, & broak in pieces." The other justices were grossly abused, their clothes torn off, " with many other abuse- ful words & Actions, Received from the Rabell of Elizabeth Towne." The " Rabell " consisted of sixty horsemen. Before the grand inquest the following testimony * with regard to the above- mentioned affair was given, viz. : "John Johnson, of Newark, Sein', saith that Jos. Lyon Tould him that he knew who took 1 N. J. Col. Doc, 1, ii. p. 336. away the keys of the prisson from the Sheriffe, and that another stood by and see it as well as he. It was done by a parcell of men who came from Elizabeth Towne in a Riottous manner Sep' y" 12th, 1700, with clubs in their hands, to the house of Mr. Theophilus Pearson, and De- manded of him y° prissoner & asking where these pittiful Rasskalls were that putt this man in prisson, & demanded him out of prisson, & they was ask't by what power they demanded him out of prisson, and they held up their Clubs and said that was their power. Then they de- manded where the Sheriffe was and said they would have him if he was above ground." At a Court of Sessions held at Middletown, March 6, 1701,^ Eleazer Cottrell was fined £5, Richard Salter £15 and John Ruckman, Sr., John Bray, John Wilson, Jr., Daniel Hendrick- son, John Cox, Richard Davis, Mordecai Gib- bons, Nicholas Stephens and Moses Lippett each forty shillings " for contempt and misbehaviour before the Court." And in the minutes of the same session, under date of March 25th,^ there is found the following entry, viz.; "Session at Middletown, March, 1701, being present Col°. Andrew Hamilton, Governour ; Lewis Morris, Samuel Leonard, of the Gover- nour's Council ; Jedediah Allen, Samuel Dennis, Justices. The Court being opened, one Moses Butterworth, who was accused of piracy {& had confessed y' he did sail with Cap' William Kidd in his last voyage when he came from y" East Indies & went into Boston with him), & was bound to make his appearance at this Court, y' he might be Examined & disposed of according to his Ma-j'ties oi-ders, the s"" Butter- worth was Called & made his appearance & when y" Court was Examining him, one Sam" Willet, In holder, said y' y° Gover' & Justices had no autliority to Hold Court and y' he would break it up, & accordingly went down stairs to a Company of men then in arms & sent up a Drummer, one Thomas Johnson, into y" Court, who beat upon his drum & severall of y° Com- pany came up w"" their arms & Clubs, w""" to- gether with y° Drum beating Continually, made ^A.D. 1700, 0. S. »N. J. Col. Doc, Series 1, vol. iii. p. 362. 100 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. such a noise (notwithstanding open proclama- tions made to be silent & keep y° King's peace) y' y" Court Could not Examine y° Prisoner at the Barr, & when there Avas, as y" Court Judged, betwixed 30 & 40 men Come up into y° Court, some with their arms & some with Clubs, two persons, viz., — Benjamin Borden & Richard Borden, — attempted to Rescue y° prisoner at y° Barr, & did take hold on him by y" arms & about y" midle & forc't him from y" Barr, y' Constable & under Sheriff by y° Command of y° Court, apprehended y° s'* Borden, upon w"'' sev- erall of y° persons in y° Court assaulted y" Con- stable & under sheriff (the Drum still beating & y° people thronging up Stairs w"" their arms),' & Rescued y two Bordens, upon w""" y" Justices & King's Attorney-Generall of the province after Commanding y" King's peace to be kept, & no heed being given thereto, drew their swords and Endeavoured to Retake y' prisoner & appre- hend some of y° persons Concerned in y° Res- cous, but was Resisted & assaulted themselves, & y" Examination of y" prisoner torn in pieces & in y' scufle both Richard Borden & Benj. Borden were wounded, buty° Endeavours of y° Court were not Effectuall in retaking y" pris- oner, for he was Rescued & Carried off & made his Escape, and the people, — viz.. Cap' Safetie Grover, Richard Borden, Benj. Borden, Oba- diah Holmes, Obadiah Browue[Bowne?], Nich- olas Stephens, George Cooke, Benj. Cooke, Rich- ard Osborne, Sam" Willett, Joseph West, Garret Bowler, Garret Wall, James BoUen, Sam" Fore- man, Will" Winter, Jonathan Stout, James Stout, Will" Hendricks, John Bray, Will" Smith, Ger. son Mott, Abner Hewght, George Allen, John Cox, John Vaughan, Elisha Lawrence, Zebulon Clayton, James Grover, Jun'., Richard Davis, Jeremiah Evrington, Joseph Ashton, with others toy" number of about one hundred persons, — did I In a petition by Governor Hamilton and some of the justices to tlie King, praying to have their authority sus- tained, they narrate the circumstances of this affair, and say they " were Surrounded by the Riotters in great Num- bers in Arms, having (appearingly) on purpose appointed the same day to be a Training day on which the Court was to sitt, and their destruction by them most insolently threatened (which had been most certainly executed had the Wounded died upon the Spott), and were confined by them ffour days, till they thought him past hazard." traytorously seize y° Governour & y" Justices, the King's Attorney-Generall & y" under sheriff & y° Gierke of y" Court, & keept them close pris- oners under a guard from Tuesday, y" 25th March, till y° Saturday following, being y' 29th of y° same month, & then Released them. " Vera Copia. " P. me, Gav. Drummond, Clark." The proprietors of New Jersey, being finally driven to a relinquishment of their right of gov- ernment, surrendered it to Queen Anne in April, 1 702. In September of the same year the condi- tion of the province was set forth by Lewis Mor- ris in a letter to the Lords of Trade,^ as follows : " New Jersie is still without Government, and the receptacle of abundance of rogues that Cannot be safe anywhere Elce : who dayly re- pair to this Province as to any Asyle ; and so many of the Soldiers from New Yorke are here Protected, y' in a little time who shall be able to Suply that Garrison. I cannot say we suffer all y° miseries of Confusion, but realy a great part of them we do ; Our Province being with- out Law and gospell, having neither Judge or Priest. ... I dare not determine that the present ill circumstances of New Yorke, Jersies, Pennsilvania, y° Carolinas and Lucay Islands are derived from New England ; but y° tran- scripts were go Exact in most or all the circum- stances, y' I feare they were too much Influ- enced by that worst of examples. . . . Y* conservation of the Peace, Putting in Execution the Laws and Administering Justice was both a benefit to the People and a service to the King ; on the contrary, the beating and wounding Sheriffs, Affronting the Courts, driving the Justices of the bench, laying violent hands on y" Governour and Part of his Councill and Im- prisoning them. And all this (excepting three or foure) done by the Verry dreggs and rascal- lity of the People, was an allmost Ireparable Losse to y" Province an' Affront to y° Crowne. . . . I am sorry for the Occasion, but to see men of the best figure and Estates in y° Prov- ince daily insulted by crowds of the most neces- sitous Scoundrells, the scum and dregs of man- kind, is no small temptation to resentment." 'N. J. Col. Boc. , Series 1, vol. ii. page 504. OKGANIZATION AND SUBDIVISION OP THE COUNTY. 101 After the surrender the spirit of lawlessness and disorder subsided almost entirely in Mon- mouth County, but in some other parts of the province it was kept alive, and for half a cen- tury afterwards it continued at times to break out in acts of violence. These outbreaks oc- curred in the counties of Morris, Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon, but more than all in the county of Essex. They were described, in a memorial addressed to the Lords of Trade, as "the gathering together of great Numbers of people Armed, Assaulting and wounding Sheriffs & other Officers, Breaking open the County Gaols & Rescuing and Releasing prisoners Legally Committed." The most notable of these riots occurred at Newark in the fall of 1745, and at Perth Amboy in July, 1747, and there were other and scarcely less formidable demonstrations at various places in the counties mentioned from 1745 to 1750. In a memorial addressed to the King by the proprietors of New Jersey, December 23, 1748, giving an account of the excesses committed in the prov- ince by the insurgents, they say : "Having associated to themselves great Num- bers of the poor and Ignorant Part of the People of thfe Province, they, in the Month of September, 1745, began to carry into Executiou their wicked schemes, when in a Riotous man- ner they broke open the Goal of the County of Essex and took from thence a Prisoner there Confined by due process of Law, and have since that time gon on like a Torrent, bearing down all before them. Dispossessing some People of their Estates and giving them to their Ac- complices, Plundering the Estates of others who do not join with them and dividing the Spoil amongst them, breaking open your Majesty's Prisons as often as any of them are committed and rescuing their accomplices from thence, and keeping daily in Armed Numbers, and travel- ling often in Armed Multitudes to different Parts in this Province for those Purposes, to the great damage and Terror of the People." From 1750 to the end of the royal authority in New Jersey there were no outbreaks of especial note, except the "anti-lawyer riots" of 1796 and 1770, which are mentioned in another chapter. CHAPTER VIIL OEGANIZATIOIs AND SUBDIVISION OF THE COUNTY — MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. On the 13th of November, 1675, the Provin- cial Assembly of New Jersey, then in session at Elizabethtown, passed an act establishing County Courts of Sessions. At that time the province had not been divided into counties, but the courts were established to have jurisdiction over certain towns and settled districts, which were thus temporarily made counties for judicial purposes. The only settled portion of the ter- ritory which afterwards became Monmouth County was then so temporarily erected by the act referred to, in these words: "The two Towns of Nevysink to make a county; their Sessions to be the last Tuesday in March and first Tuesday in September." ' The " two towns of Nevysink," so mentioned, were Shrewsbury and Middletown, and the judicial organization which they were formed into was then called " the County of Nevysink " or (as it was in a few instances designated) " the County of Middleton." On the 6th of April, 1676, the General Assem- bly enacted : "Whereas a near Injunction is laid upon the Deputies for their timely Appearance at the General Assemblys, and the Nevysinks lying so remote, and the Difficulty of Passages by Water sometimes so much, and upon the Request and Desire of the aforesaid Deputies of Middletown and Shrewsbury . . . that for the more sure and speedy Passage of the afore- said Deputies 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 chosen out of Piscataqua, to make out the nearest and most convenient 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."^ The county of Monmouth' was erected as 1 Learning and Spioer, pp. 96-97. 2 Learning and Spicer, page 118. " The name " Monmouth" was given to the county at the request of the most prominent and influential citizen then 102 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. one of the four original counties of New Jersey by an act of the Proprietary Assembly passed in March, 1683/ which provided and de- clared : " That this Province be divided into four counties, as followeth: Bergen County, to contain all the settlements between Hudson's River and Hackensack River, beginning at Constable's Hook and so extend to the upper- most bound of the Province northward between the said rivers. " Essex and the county thereof, to contain all the settlements between the west side of Hack- sack River and the parting line between Wood- bridge and Elizabeth Town, and so to extend Westward and Northward to the utmost bounds of the Province. " Middlesex County to begin from the pai-t- ing line between Essex County and Woodbridge Line, containing Woodbridge and Piscataway, and all the Plantations on both sides the Raritan River as far as Cheesequake Harbour East- ward, and extending South West to the Divi- sion Line of the Province. " Monmouth County to begin at the West- ward Bounds of Middlesex County, containing Middletown and Shrewsbury, and to extend Westward, Southward and Northward to the ex- tream Bounds of the Province. Provided this distinction of the Province into Counties do not extend to the infringement of any Liberty in any Charter already granted."^ The boundaries of the several counties, as es- tablished by the act of 1683, were so vaguely described that some confusion resulted, the officers of some of the counties being unable to determine the limits of their jurisdiction. To remedy this, the Provincial Assembly, on the residing ■within her boundaries, Tiz., Colonel Lewis Morris the surveyor-general of the province, who suggested it in honor of his native county, Monmouthshire, in Great Britain. His residence in Monmouth County, New Jersey, was on a tract of land which he called Tinton Manor, contiguous to Tinton Falls, where he had quite extensive iron-works. His estate in Monmouth County was inherited from him by his nephew, Lewis Morris, who became Governor of New Jersey. ' The Assembly by which this act was passed was in session at Elizabethtown from March 1 to March 2S, 1683, or, as written in the Old Style method, 1682-83. 'Learning and Spicer, page 229. 21st of January, 1709-10, passed "An Act for dividing and ascertaining the boundaries of all the Counties in this Province/' containing the following in reference to the bounds of Mon- mouth and Middlesex : "The county of Middlesex begins at the mouth of the creek that parts the lands of George Wilcocks and the land that was for- merly Captain Andrew Bownes, deceased ; thence along the said Captain Andrew's line to the rear of the said land ; thence upon a direct course to Warn's Bridge, on the brook where Thomas Smith did formerly live ; thence upon a direct course to the south-east corner of Bar- clay's tract of land that lies near Matchiponix ; thence to the most southernmost part of 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, in- cluding William Jones, William Story, Thomas Richman [Ruckman] and John Guyberson in Monmouth County ; thence along the said road to Aaron Robins' land ; thence westerly along the said Aaron Robins' line and James Law- rence's line to the line of the eastern and western division aforesaid,^ including the Robins and Lawrence in Monmouth County; thence northerly along the said line to Sanpinck brook, being part of the bounds of Somerset County ; thence following the lines 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." " The county of Monmouth begins at the creek aforesaid, that parts the lands of Captain Andrew Bowne, deceased, and George Wil- cocks ; thence following the line of Middlesex County to the line of the eastern and western division aforesaid ; thence southerly along the said division line to the sea ; thence along the sea to the point of Sandy Hook ; thence up the bay to the aforesaid creek where it first began." Again, March 16, 1713-14, the Assembly passed " an Act for settling the bounds between the counties of Somerset, Middlesex and Mon- mouth ; " but it does not appear that the bound- aries of Monmouth were at all affected by it, as ^ The division line between East and West Jersey. ORGANIZATION AND SUBDIVISION OF THE CCUNTY. 103 the description of the bounds established by this act, as between Monmouth and Middlesex, is precisely the same as that given in Section 4 of the act of January 21, 1709-10. A supplemental act, passed November 28, 1822, declares "the middle or midway of the waters of Raritan Bay, from the line of Middle- sex County to the main channel which passes by Sandy Hook and along the said channel to the sea," to be Monmouth County's northern boundary. It was, however, again defined by an act passed April 9, 1866, which declares "that the northerly bounds of Monmouth County, from- the line of Middlesex County, are extended along the midway of the waters of Raritan Bay to the main sea." By the provisions of an act passed February 28, 1844, the line between Monmouth and Middlesex Counties was changed by the taking of a part of the township of Monroe from the last-named county and annexing it to Mon- mouth, as a part of the then erected township of Millstone. But this change gave dissatisfaction to people interested, and in the following year an act was passed restoring to Middlesex the territory taken from it by the act of 1844, and leaving the boundary the same as before the passage of that act. In 1847 an act was passed taking from Middlesex and annexing to Mill- stone township, in Monmouth County, a small triangular piece of the territory of Monroe township lying south of a certain line, of which the full description will hereafter be given in the account of the erection of the township of Millstone, and which, as the act declares, " shall hereafter be the boundary line between Mon- mouth and Middlesex Counties." ^ The northern line of Monmouth and its boundary against Middlesex County being thus fixed, its other limits required no re-definition by legislative enactment, as its entire eastern line was (and is) formed by the ocean, and its southwestern boundary from the ocean to where Monmouth joined Middlesex was the " prov- ince line" established by Surveyor-General George Keith in 1687, which, being straight and clearly defined, needed no adjustment, 1 Pamphlet Laws of 1847, p. 86. and remained the boundary of Monmouth until the southern part of its territory (more than one- half of its total area) was taken to form the county of Ocean, which was erected in 1850, as will hereafter be more fully mentioned. The first subdivision of Monmouth County into townships was made by the provisions of an act passed in October, 1693, and approved by Governor Hamilton on the 31st of that month, erecting the three original townships of Monmouth, viz. : Middletown, Shrewsbury and Freehold. The line between the first two named was Navesink River, Swimming River and Saw-Mill Brook, as far west as the Burling- ton Path. North of this line was Middletown, extending north to Raritan Bay, and including the territory of the present townships of Rari- tan, Holmdel and Matawan and a part of that of Atlantic township. South of the boundary mentioned was the township of Shrewsbury, ex- tending to the southern and southwestern bounds of Monmouth County, including the present townships of Howell, Wall, Eatontown, Nep- tune, nearly all of Ocean, a part of Atlantic and all of Ocean County. The township of Free- hold extended to the Middlesex County line, embracing the territory of the present townships of Marlborough, Manalapan, Millstone and Upper Freehold, as also a considerable area in what is now the county of Ocean. The next township formed was that of Upper Freehold, taken from Freehold and Shrewsbury. The exact date of its erection cannot be found, but it is known to be prior to 1730, as an as- sessment roll of the township for that year is now in existence. It embraced, in addition to its present territory, a part of that of the town- ship of Millstone and a large area in what is now Ocean County. In 1749 that part of Shrewsbury township lying south of Barnegat Inlet was taken oif, and erected into the township of Stafibrd, it being entirely within the limits of the present county of Ocean ; and in 1767 another por- tion of the territory of Shrewsbury was cut off, and formed into the township of Dover, this also being in what is now Ocean County. On the 16th of November, 1790, the New 104 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Jersey Legislature enacted that " the jurisdiction of this State in and over a lot of land situate at the point of Sandy Hook, in the county of Monmouth, containing four acres, on which a light-house and other buildings are erected,^ shall be, and the same is hereby ceded to and vested in the United States of America for- ever." And on the 12th of March, 1846, the State ceded to the United States the jurisdic- tion over that part of Sandy Hook "lying north of an east and west line through the mouth of Young's Creek at low water, and ex- tending across the island or cape of Sandy Hook from shore to shore, and bounded on all sides by the sea and Sandy Hook Bay," the government to retain jurisdiction over these lands only as long as they are used for military or other public purposes, and the civil and crim- nal laws of New Jersey to be operative within the ceded territory so far as not incompatible with its use by the United States for the purposes mentioned. Howell township was erected by an act of the Legislature passed February 23, 1801. It was taken from Shrewsbury, and at the time of its erection, embraced, in addition to its present territory, that which was afterwards taken for the formation of "Wall township and also some in the northern part of Ocean County. An act of Legislature, passed February 28, 1844, set off parts of the townships of Freehold and Upper Freehold, and of Monroe township in Middlesex County, to form the township of Millstone, the boundaries of which will be given in full in the hfstory of that township. The part taken from Monroe township was (as be- fore mentioned) annexed to the county of Mon-: mouth, but was restored to Middlesex by an act passed in the following year. In 1847 another small piece of Monroe township was annexed to Monmouth County and to the township of Mill- stone. In 1844 the township of Jackson was erected from parts of Freehold, Upper Freehold and Dover. This township is now wholly in the ' The light-house on Sandy Hook was erected in 1763, and the beacon was first lighted on the night of January 18, 1764. county of Ocean, but when erected it embraced a small area of what is now Millstone township, Monmouth County, this part being annexed to Millstone in 1846. Plumsted township was erected from a part of Jackson in 1845, and Union was set off and formed into a township from parts of Stafford and Dover in 1846. These townships are now in Ocean County. In 1847 parts of the townships of Freehold, Shrewsbury and Middletown were taken to form the new township of Atlantic. In 1848 Marl- borough, Manalapan and Earitan townships were erected, the latter being taken from the old township of Middletown and the others from Freehold. Ocean township was formed from a part of Shrewsbury by an act passed in February, 1849. It included the present town- ship of Neptune, and the greater part of the township of Eatontown. In 1850 the southern part of Monmouth County, embracing the larger part of its terri- tory, was cut off to form the county of Ocean, which was erected by an act approved February 15th in the year mentioned. The part of the act having reference to the line of division is as follows : " All that part of the county of Monmouth contained within the following boundaries, viz. : beginning at Manasquan inlet and mouth of Manasquan river ; thence up the middle of said river to the first bridge over the same ; thence westerly to a corner on the south side of said river near the old bridge ; thence southwesterly to the road leading to Jackson's mills ; thence along said road till it strikes the line between Howell and Jackson townships ; thence along said line to the northeast corner of Jackson township ; thence along the line between Jack- son and Freehold townships till it strikes the road leading from Freehold to Mount Holly ; thence up the middle of said road to the Plum- sted line ; thence down said line to Moses Ivins' floodgate bridge over the LahaM^ay creek, being the beginning corner of Plumsted township; thence following the Plumsted line, the several courses thereof, to the line between Burlington and Monmouth counties ; thence along said line to the sea-shore; thence along the sea to the MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. 105 place of beginning, be, and the, same is hereby erected into a separate county, to be called the county of Ocean ; and the said lines shall here- after be the division lines between the counties of Monmouth, Burlington and Ocean." Wall township (so called in honor of Gar- ret D. Wall) was erected in 1851 from the south- eastern part of Howell township, extending along the ocean shore from Shark River southward to the Manasquan. In 1857 the townships of Matawan and Holmdel were erected, both being taken from the territory of Raritan township. A township called " Lincoln " was erected in 1867 from a part of the territory of Ocean township. But in the following year the act erecting it was repealed, and the township of Lincoln was erased from the map of Mon- mouth County. Eatontown township was formed from parts of Ocean and Shrewsbury in 1878, and Nep- tune, the youngest of the townships of Mon- mouth County, was erected from a part of the territory of Ocean township by an act of the Legislature passed in February, 1879. Monmouth Civil List. The following is a list of persons who held or have held office by election or appointment in the county of Monmouth, and also of those who, being natives or residents of the county, have held important offices under the State or national government : GOVERNORS Or NEW JERSEY. Lewis Morris, 1738-46. George F. Fort, 1851-54. William A. Newell, 1857-60. Joel Parker, 1863-66 and 1872-75. Joseph D. Bedle, 1875-78. JUDGES OF THE COURT OF ERRORS AND APPEALS. Thomas Arrowsmith. Joseph Combs. JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT. David Brearley. William L. Dayton. Joseph F. Eandolph. Peter Vredenburgh. Joel Parker. STATE TREASURERS. James Mott, elected 1799, held to 1803. Charles Parker, elected 1821, held till 1832 ; again elected in 1833, held till 1836. Thomas Arrowsmith, elected 1843, held till 1845. Samuel Mairs, elected 1848, held till 1851. Chaeles Parker, son of Thomas and Sarah Stout Parker, was born on the 27th of April, 1787, in what was then Freehold township. The Parkers were among the first settlers of Monmouth County. Thomas Parker was a large land-owner in the vicinity of what is now called Smithburg, owning several farms, all of which were then in Freehold township, now in Millstone, Manalapan and Jackson townships. The mother of Charles Parker was one of the Stout family, so numerous at the present day in Monmouth, Hunterdon and Mercer Counties. The Stout family descended from the famous Penelope, whose shipwreck at Sandy Hook and subsequent adventures among the Indians have been narrated. She bore her husband (Richard Stout) seven sons and three daughters, and lived to see her offspring multiply to five hundred and two. She died in her one hundred and tenth year. Although Thomas Parker was in comfortable circumstances, it became necessary for some of his numerous family to leave home and shift for themselves. When quite young, his son Charles went as clerk to Barzillai Hopkins, then the most enterprising merchant in his section, who had two large mercantile establishments, one located at New Egypt and the other at Tom's River. He served as clerk at both of those towns (principally at Tom's River) for seven years. In August, 1808, he married, at Tom's River (where he then resided), Sarah S., daugh- ter of Captain Joseph Coward, a soldier of the Revolution, who had served in the Continental line throughout that war. After his marriage Charles Parker commenced house-keeping at Forked River, where he kept a store for two or three years, and served also as wreck-master for th ree years, his district extend ing along the whole coast of Monmouth County, from Sandy Hook to Egg Harbor. He then returned to Freehold township and settled on a farm near Hartshorne's Mill. About that time emigration from the Eastern States to what was called the Miami country (in Ohio) began, and he went there and bought a tract of land where the city of Dayton now stands, intending to remove there the next season with his family. Upon his return the 106 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. leaders of the Democratic party, to which he be- longed, persuaded him to remain and run for sheriff of Monmouth County, then including what is now Ocean County. He was nomi- nated and elected in the fall of 1814- He, of course, forfeited the part of the money he had paid on the purchase in Ohio, but some twenty years afterwards the owner of the land, hav- ing sold it for a large advance, generously re- turned him the money he had paid. After serving as sheriff for three years Mr. Parker was elected, in the fall of 1817, a member of the House of Assem- bly, and re-elect- ed in 1818 and 1819, and again in 1821. While a member of As- sembly, in 1821, he was chosen by joint meeting State treasurer of New Jersey, and re-elected to the same office every year to and including 1831. Again, in 1833, he was elected State treasurer, and re-elected in 1834 and 18 3 5, thus holding that important office by yearly elections under all par- ties for thirteen years. While treasurer, he held also during most of the time the position of State librarian. In 1835 he was appointed by joint meeting one of the judges of the Court of Com- mon Pleas of the county of Hunterdon, the city of Trenton (where he resided at the time), being then in that county. He was also one of the commissioners ■who built the present State Prison. About the year 1832, Mr. Parker purchased a large farm and mill property near Colt's Neck, in Monmouth County, to which he intended to remove, but being again chosen treasurer of the State, and also appointed the first cashier of the Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Bank of Trenton, he, in the course of two or three years, sold the farm. He continued as cashier and president of the bank for many years, and held several positions at vari- ous times under the local govern- ment of Trenton, such as commits teeman when it was a township, and subsequently as member of the Common Council under the city government, also as alderman for five years. In 1848 and 1849 he resided in the town of Free- hold, where he was a town com- mitteeman, and gave valuable aid in dividing the property between Freehold and the then new town- ships of Manala- pan and Marl- boro'. Af- terward he assisted as. a commission- er in division of the property between Monmouth and the new county of Ocean. About the year 1850, Mr. Parker returned to the city of Trenton, where he resided until his death, which occurred on the 4th of October, 1862. He lived to see his son Joel nominated for Governor of the State on September 4, 1862, but did not survive the election, which took place on November 4th. He was very MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. 107 anxious to live until after election, as he often expressed himself, having full confidence in the election of his son. After Mr. Parker returned to Trenton to re- side, he did not engage in active business. His life had been a very busy one. Few men had better business qualifications. He did not have advantages of early education and was wholly a self-made man. All his spare hours while a clerk, were spent in study and reading. Thus he acquired knowledge which enabled him to dis- charge the most important trusts with an ability equal to any with whom he came in contact. Having a strong intellect, Charles Parker be- came one of the prominent men in New Jersey, enjoying the respect and close friendship in early days of such men as Richard Stockton, George Wood, Garret D. Wall, Peter D. Yroom, Stacy G. Potts, Henry W. Green, William L. Dayton, Peter Vredenburgh and Daniel B. Ryall, all of whom he frequently met socially and in busi- ness matters. He was a man of great integrity of character, and was often chosen as executor and guardian where large estates were involved. He had a legal caste of mind, and being familiar with business, he was sought out and consulted by his neighbors, to whom he gave advice, with- out charge, freely on all matters concerning their welfare. He had four children, viz., Helen, Mary, Joel and Charles. Helen mar- ried Rev. George Burrowes, and died in Maryland in 1848 ; Mary resides with her son, Eev. Charles P. Glover, in Sussex County, New Jersey ; Charles resides in Philadelphia ; and Joel, now a justice of the Supreme Court, lives at Freehold, his place of residence for over forty years. QUAETEBM ASTER- GENEEAL OF NEW JERSEY. Jonathan Ehea, 1813-21. Garret D. Wall, 1824-30. Lewis Perrine, 1855 to present time (1885). Lewis Perrine, Quartermaster-General of New Jersey, was born in Freehold township, Monmouth County, on the 15th of September, 1815. He attended the High School at Law- renceville and went to Princeton College, where he graduated in 1838. He studied law,and for a short time after his admission to the bar fol- lowed the practice of his profession. He was the military secretary of Governor Fort and was also on the staff of Governor Price. In 1855 he was appointed quartermaster-general. He made himself thoroughly acquainted with the duties of that position, and during the war of the Rebellion which followed, proved him- self an excellent officer by his industry, energy and perseverance in equipping troops and for- warding them to the field. At the close of the war he was nominated by Governor Parker and confirmed by the Senate as brevet major-gen- eral. DELEGATE TO THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, 1777 to 1779. MEMBERS OF CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES. Thomas Henderson, 1789 James H. Imlay, 1797 to 1801. James Cox, 1809-10. Died September 12, 1810. John Anderson Scudder,' 1810. Rev. Benjamin Bennett,^ 1815 to 1819. Daniel B. Eyall, 1839^1. Died at Freehold, De- cember 17, 1864. Samuel G. Wright, elected 1844, died July 30, 1845, never having taken his seat in Congress. William A. Newell, 1847^8, 1849-60, 1863-64. George Middleton, 1865-66. Charles Haight, 1867-68, 1869-70. MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OF NEW JERSEY.' 1776. Nathaniel Scudder (Speaker). 1777-79. Joseph Holmes. 1780-83. Elisha Lawrence. 1784. John Imlay. 1785. David Forman. 1786-88. Asher Holmes. 1789-92. Elisha Lawrence (Vice-President). 1793-94. Thomas Henderson (Vice-President). 1795. Elisha Lawrence (Vice-President). 1796-98. Elisha Walton. 1800. John Lloyd. 1801. Thomas Little. 1808. William Lloyd. 1810. James Schureman. 1811. Silas Crane. 1812. James Schureman. 1814. Silas Crane. 1822. William Andrews. iTo fill vacancy caused by death of James Cox. 2 Died at Middletown, October 8, 1840. 3 The duties and powers of this body were the same as are those of the State Senate under the Constitution of 1844. 108 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. 1823. William J. Bowne. 1825. William I. Emiey. 1826. Henry D. Polhemus. 1828. William I. Emley. 1830. Samuel G. Wright. 1831. Jehu Patterson. 1832. Daniel Holmes. 1835. Thomas Arrowsmith. 1837. William L. Dayton. 1838. Benjamin Oliphant. 1840. Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. 1841. James Patterson. 1843-44. James Patterson (Vice-President). STATE SENATORS. 1845. Thomas E. Combs.^ 1846. George P. Fort. 1849. John A. Morford. 1852. William D. Davis. 1855. Eobert Laird. 1858. William H. Hendrickson. 1861. Anthony Reckless. 1864. Henry S. Little. 1867. Henry S. Little. 1870. Henry S. Little. 1872. William H. Conover, Jr.'' 1873. William H. Hendrickson. 1876. William H. Hendrickson. 1879. George C. Beekman. 1882. John S. Applegate. 1885. Thomas G. Chattle. MEMBERS OP THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY.' First Assembly, 1703.— Obadiah Bowne, John Eeid, Richard Hartshorne. Second Assembly, 1704.— Richard Hartshorne, John Bowne, Richard Salter, Obadiah Bowne. Third Assembly, 1707.— Lewis Morris, John Bowne, William Lawrence. Fourth Assembly, 1708-9.— Gershom Mott, Elisha Lawrence. Fifth Assembly, 1709.— Gershom Mott, Elisha Law- rence. Sixth Assembly, 1710.— Gershom Mott, William Lawrence. Seventh Assembly, 1716.— Elisha Lawrence, William Lawrence. 'Under the Constitution of 1844 the first Senate was di- vided into three classes of one-third each, their seats to be vacated at the expiration of one, two and three years re- spectively, so that one-third of the members should there- after be elected every year. Mr. Combs drew his lot in the first class, and retired after one year's service. 2 To fill the unexpired term of Mr. Little, who vacated the office to accept the appointment of clerk in the Court of Chancery. ' Otherwise called the " House of Representatives of the Province of Nova Csesarea, or New Jersey." Eighth Assembly, 1721. — Garret Schenck, William Lawrence. Ninth Assembly, 1727. — John Eaton, James Grover. Tenth Assembly, 1730. — John Eaton, James Grover. Eleventh Assembly, 1738. — John Eaton, Cornelius Vanderveer. Twelfth Assembly, 1740. — John Eaton, Corneliu Vanderveer. Thirteenth Assembly, 1743. — John Eaton, Robert Lawrence.* Fourteenth Assembly, 1744. — John Eaton, Eobert Lawrence. Fifteenth Assembly, 1745.— John Eaton, Robert Lawrence. Sixteenth Assembly, 1746. — John Eaton, Robert Lawrence. Seventeenth Assembly, 1749. — John Eaton, Robert Lawrence. Eighteenth Assembly, ■ 1751. — Robert Lawrence, James Holmes. Nineteenth Assembly, 1754. — Robert Lawrence, James Holmes. Twentieth Assembly, 1761. — James Holmes,* Rich- ard Lawrence. Twenty-first Assembly, 1769.— Robert Hartshorne, Richard Lawrence. Twenty-second Assembly, 1772.— Edward Taylor, Richard Lawrence. GENERAL ASSEMBLY, STATE OF NEW JERSEY.* 1776. John Covenhoven, Joseph Holmes, Jr., James Mott, Jr. 1777. James Mott, Jr., Peter Schenck, Hendrick Smock. 1778. James Mott, Jr., Peter Schenck, Hendrick Smock. 1779. James Mott, Jr., Hendrick Smock, Thomas Seabrook. 1780. Thomas Seabrook, Nathaniel Scudder, Thomas Henderson. 1781. Thomas Seabrook, Thomas Henderson, John Covenhoven. 1782. Thomas Henderson, John Covenhoven, Dan'l Hendrickson. 1783. Thomas Henderson, Daniel Hendrickson, Peter Covenhoven. 1784. Thomas Henderson, Daniel Hendrickson,' Elisha Walton. 1785. Thomas Henderson,* Daniel Hendrickson, Elisha Walton. » * Robert Lawrence was Speaker 'in 1746-47, and again from 1754 to 1758. « James Holmes died in office and John Anderson elected to fill vacancy. 8 Under first State Constitution, adopted July 3, 1776. ' Speaker. " Thomas Henderson did not claim his seat. ' October 26, 1785, Charles Gordon, John Covenhoven. MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. 109 1786. Elisha Walton, Joseph Stillwell, Peter Schenck. 1787. Joseph StiUwell, Thomas Little, Jas. Kogers. 1788-89. Joseph Stillwell, Thomas Little, James Rogers. 1790. Joseph Stillwell, Thomas Little, John Imlay. 1791. Joseph Stillwell, Thomas Little, John Imlay. 1792. Joseph Stillwell, Thomas Little, John Coven- hoven. 1793. Joseph Stillwell, Thomas Little, James H. Imlay. 1794. Joseph Stillwell, James H. Imlay, Elisha Walton. 1795. Joseph Stillwell, James H. Imlay, Elisha Walton. 1796. Joseph Stillwell, James H. Imlay,' William Wickoff. 1797. Joseph Stillwell, Eobert Montgomery, William Lloyd. 1798. Joseph Stillwell, William Lloyd, Jonathan Forman.^ 1799. Joseph Stillwell, William Lloyd, Edward Taylor. 1800. Joseph Stillwell, William Lloyd, David Gordon. 1801. John A. Scudder, Peter Knott, James Cox. 1802-3. John A. Scudder, Peter Knott, James Cox. 1804. John A. Scudder, James Cox, Henry Tiehout. xxxxu 1805-7. John A. Scudder, James Cox, Henry Tiehout. 1808. Robert Montgomery, Tylee Williams, David Gordon. and otters presented a petition to the Assembly for leave to set forth certain illegal proceedings held at the late annual election in Monmouth County. Subsequently the Assembly resolved : " That the election of Messrs. Walton, Hendrick- son and Henderson was illegal, and that the same thereupon is void." Also, resolved: "That in the opinion of this House the late annual election in the County of Monmouth was illegal, as well in the choice of a sheriff as of the mem- bers of this House ; and no Coroners having been chosen at said election, and doubts arising whether there is any other oflacer in said county to whom a writ for a new elec- tion can be properly directed, a law ought to be passed for anew election in said County." On the same day a peti- tion was read, praying for a, division of the county, and that a new county be set off from the territory of Monmouth. Subsequently a bill was introduced and passed for a new election. At the second session, on the 26th of February, 1786, Elisha Walton and Joseph Stillwell presented a cer- tificate of election, and were admitted. The same day a petition was presented from citizens of Monmouth asking for a law enabling them to vote by ballot, and recommend- ing a general law, to apply to the whole State, for the same purpose. On the 27th, Peter Schenck appeared and took his seat in the House. 1 Speaker. Declined to serve 1809. Robert Montgomery, Tylee Williams, David Gordon. 1810. Peter Knott, John S. Holmes, Thomas Cox. 1811. John S. Holmes, Thomas Cox, Jas. Anderson, 1812. Tylee Williams, John Stillwell, James Lloyd. 1813. John S. Holmes, Thomas Cox, Jas. Anderson. 1814. John S. Holmes, Thomas Cox, Jas. Anderson. 1815. George Holcombe, Matthias Van Brakle, Reuben Shreve. 1816. George Holcombe, Matthias Van Brakle, Reuben Shreve. 1817. MatthiasVanBrakle, Reuben Shreve, Charles ^ Parker. 1818. Charles Parker, Matthias Van Brakle, Reuben Shreve. 1819. Charles Parker, William Ten Eyck, Thomas Cox, Jacob Butcher. 1820. Thomas Cox, Matthias Van Brakle, Samuel F. Allen, Isaac Hance. 1821. Charles Parker, William I. Conover, Corlies Lloyd, John T. WoodhuU. 1822. William I. Conover, Corlies Lloyd, John T. Woodhull, John J. Ely. 1823. William I. Conover, John T. Woodhull, Cor- nelius Walling, James Lloyd. 1824. William I. Conover, John T. Woodhull, James West, Joseph Conover. 1825. John T. Woodhull, James West, Joseph Conover, James Lloyd. 1826. John T. Woodhull, James West, Joseph Conover, James Lloyd. 1827. John T. Woodhull, James West, James Lloyd, James Hopping. 1828. James West, James Lloyd, Daniel H. Ellis, Leonard Walling. 1829. James West, Daniel H. Ellis, Augustus W. Bennett, Ivins Davis. 1830. James West, Daniel H. Ellis, Augustus W. Bennett, Ivins Davis. 1831. Benjamin Woodward, Thomas G. Haight, Daniel B. Ryall, Ananiah Gifford. 1832. Ananiah Gifford, Elisha Lippincott, James S. Lawrence, Nicholas Van Wickle. 1833. Ananiah Gifford, Daniel B. Ryall, Thomas G. Haight, Benjamin Woodward. 1834. Ananiah Gifford, Daniel B. Ryall, Thomas G. Haight, William Bnrtis. 1835. Ananiah Gifford, Daniel B. Ryall, Thomas G. Haight, William Burtis. 1836. Ananiah Gifford, Thomas G. Haight, William Burtis, Arthur V. Conover. 1837. Samuel Mairs, Edmund T. Williams, Thomas Miller, James Gulick. 1838. James Craig, Thomas E. Combs, William P. Forman, Garret Hires. 1839. James Craig, Thomas E. Combs, William P Forman, Garret Hires. 1840. John Mairs, Henry W. Wolcott, James Grover, Charles Morris. 110 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. 1841. Thomas C. Throckmorton, John E. Conover, Joseph Brinley, Samuel M. Oliphant, Benjamin L. Irons. 1842-43. Thomas C. Throckmorton, John R.Conover, Joseph Brinley, Samuel M. Oliphant, Benjamin L. Irons; Under the Constitution of 1844. 1845.^ George F. Fort, Hartshorne Tantum, Andrew Simpson, Joseph B. Coward, James M. Hartshorne.'' 1846. William Van Doren, Hartshorne Tantum, Joseph B. Coward, Andrew Simpson, John Borden. 1847. William Van Doren, Hartshorne Tantum, Joseph B. Coward, Andrew Simpson, John Borden. 1848. William W. Bennett, Joel Parker, Ferdinand Woodward, Samuel Bennett,^ Joel W. Ayres. 1849. Alfred Walling, George W. Sutphin, John B. Williams, James D. Hall, William G. Hooper. 1850. Alfred Walling, George W. Sutphin, William G. Hooper, James D. Hall, Charles Butcher. 1851. William H. Conover, Bernard Connolly, Samuel W. Jones, Garret S. Smock. 1852. William H. Conover, Samuel W. Jones, Garret S. Smock, Charles Butcher. Under the District System} 1853. Charles Allen, Daniel P. Van Dorn, Samuel W. Jones, Robert Allen. 1854. Forman Hendrickson, John L. Corlies, Henry E. Lafetra, Robert Allen. 1855. Henry E. Lafetra, Thomas B. Stout, William H. Johnston, John Van Dorn. 1856. Samuel Vaughn, John R. Barricklo, Henry E. Lafetra, Samuel Beers. 1857. Jacob Herbert, John R. Barricklo, John V. Conover, Samuel Beers. 1858. George Middleton, Austin H. Patterson, John V. Conover, Richard B. Walling. 1859. George Middleton, Austin H. Patterson, John V. Conover, Richard B. Walling. 1860. William H. Mount, Austin H. Patterson, James J. McNinny, James Patterson. 1861. WilliamH. Mount, William V.Ward, Charles Haight, James Patterson. 1862. William V. Ward, Charles Haight,^ George C. Murray. 1863. Michael Taylor, Osborn Curtis, David H. Wyckoff. 1864. Michael Taylor, Osborn Curtis, David H. Wyckoff. 1 Before 1844 the Legislature met in October of each year. Under the Constitution of 1884 it meets in January of each year. " Mr. Hartshorne died , never having taken his seat. 2 Mr. Bennett died, never having taken his seat. * Prior to the fall election of 1852 members of Assembly were elected on a general county ticket. 5 Speaker. 1865. Michael Taylor, Daniel A. Holmes, George Schenck. 1866. William C. Bowne, Daniel A. Holmes, George Schenck. 1867. Charles Allen, Francis Corlies, Thomas S. R. Brown. 1868. Charles Allen, Francis Corlies, Thomas 8. E. Brown. 1869. William H. Conover, Jr., Daniel H. Van Mater, Andrew Brown. 1870. Austin H. Patterson, Daniel H. Van Mater, Andrew Brown. 1871. Austin H. Patterson, John T. Haight, William S. Horner. 1872. Austin H. Patterson, John T. Haight, Wm. B. Hendrickson. 1873. George W. Patterson, John B. Gifford, John S.Sproul. 1874. George W. Patterson, John B. Gifford, Andrew Brown. 1875. George W. Patterson, Charles D. Hendrickson, William V. Conover. 1876. James L. Rue, Charles D. Hendrickson, William V. Conover. 1877. James L. Rue, William H. Bennett, James H. Leonard. 1878. George J. Ely, William H. Bennett, Arthur Wilson. 1879. Arthur Wilson, Sherman B. Oviatt, John D. Honce. 1880. Sherman B. Oviatt,^ John D. Honce, Grover H. Lufburrow. 1881. Holmes W. Murphy, Grover H. Lufburrow, David A. Bell. 1882. Peter Forman, Jr., David A. Bell, Benjamin Griggs. 1883. Peter Forman, Jr., Alfred B. Stoney, Thomas G. Chattle. 1884. Alfred B. Stoney," Thomas G. Chattle, Charles H. Bond. 1885. Charles H. Bond, William H. Grant, Frank E. Hyer. SHEJRIPFS OF MONMOUTH COUNTY. The first person appointed to the office of sheriff of Monmouth County was "Ijewis Mor- ris, Junior," ' in March, 1682-83. Morris de- clined the office, and Richard Hartshorne was appointed. He also decKned to serve, and there- upon Eliakim Wardell was appointed and com- missioned the first sheriff of Monmouth. The names of a few of the succeeding sheriffs of this * Speaker. 'The same "Lewis Morris, of Passage Point,'" who was murdered by his negroes in 1695. "Passage Point," his residence, was the place now known as Black Point. MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. Ill county during the colonial period have been found, viz., — Samuel Foreman, in 1696-99 ; John Stewart, in 1700 ; Gideon Crawford, in 1715 ; William Nicholls, in 1722 ; John Taylor in 1760-62 ; and Elisha Lawrence, who was the last sheriff of Monmouth under the King of England ; but no consecutive list can well be given commencing earlier than the establish- ment of the State government. From that time the list is as follows ; 1776. Nicholas Van Brunt. 1779. David Forman. 1782. John Burrowes, Jr. 1785. David Ehea. 1788. Daniel Hendrickson. 1790. Elisha Walton. 1793. William Lloyd. 1796. James Lloyd. 1799. Samuel P. Formau. 1802. Elisha Walton. 1805. James Lloyd. 1808. David Craig. 1811. Lewis Gordon. 1814. Charles Parker. 1817. John J. Ely. 1820. James Lloyd. 1823. Eichard Lloyd. 1825. John J. Ely. 1828. Daniel Holmes. 1831. John M. Perrine. 1834. Thomas Miller. 1837. Horatio Ely. 1838. Abraham G. Neafie. 1841. Charles Allen. 1844. Holmes Conover. 1847. Samuel Conover. 1850. John C. Cox. 1853. Holmes Conover. 1856. Samuel Conover. 1859. Joseph I. Thompson. 1862.' Jordan Woolley. 1865. William B. Sutphin. 1868. John H. Patterson. 1871. Samuel T. Hendrickson. 1874. George W. Brown.i 1878. Charles Allen. 1881. John L Thompson. 1884. Theodore Aumack. COUNTY CLERKS. 1789. Jonathan Rhea. 1798. Joseph Scudder. 1807. Joseph Phillips. 1812. Caleb Lloyd. 1817. Joseph Phillips. ' Law fixing term at three years went into effect 1875. 1820. William Ten Eyck.^ 1830. Peter Vredenbiirgh, Jr.^ 1831. Daniel H. Ellis. 1841. Samuel Mairs. 1846. Daniel Christopher. 1856. Jehu Patterson. 1858. John W. Bartleson.^ 1858. Holmes W. Murphy. 1868. Thomas V. Arrowsmith,' 1882 (Nov. 29). Joseph C. Arrowsmith.* 1883. James H. Patterson. Now (1885) in office. SURROGATES.' 1785. Thomas Henderson. 1794. Joseph Scudder. 1797. Caleb Lloyd. ' 1804. William Russell. April 13th. 1804. Richard Throckmorton. December 28th. 1814. Joseph Phillips. 1817. Caleb Lloyd. 1822. Peter C. Vanderhoef. 1833. Henry D. Polhemus. 1848. Arthur V. Conover. 1858. John R. Conover. 1868. Aaron R. Throckmorton.* 1882. David S. Crater.' Now (1885) in office. PROSECUTORS OP THE PLEAS. 1828. Corlies Lloyd. 1833. Joseph F. Randolph. ^ To fill a vacancy. 3 Resigned Nov. 19, 1882. * To fill vacancy caused by resignation of Thomas V. Arrowsmith. ^Priortol720 the Governor was surrogate-general. In that year Michael Kearney was commissioned surrogate of New York and New Jersey. Afterwards a surrogate was appointed for each division (East and West Jersey), and (as occasion required more) sometimes one for a dis- trict of two or three counties, or one for a single county. They were, of course, removable at the pleasure of the Governor, and were simply his deputies, the probate of wills and other official acts being in his name, and under his hand and official seal, as ordinary. In 1784 Orphans' Courts were established, and provision was made by law for one surrogate to be appointed in each county, with power limited to that county. The original jurisdiction of the ordinary remained as before, until, in 1820, it was re- stricted to the granting of probates of wills, letters of ad- ministration and guardianship and to the determining of dis- putes arising thereon. In 1822 the appointment of the surrogate was given to the joint meeting, and so remained until the new constitution provided for the election of that officer by a popular vote. — Elmer. * Resigned February 12, 1882, to accept the presidency of the Freehold National Bank. Died March 3, 1883. 'Appointed February 12, 1882, to fill vacancy caused by resignation of A. R. Throckmorton. Elected November, 1882. 112 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. 1837. Peter Vredenburgh, Jr. 1852. Joel Parker. 1857. Amzi C. McLean. 1867. Robert Allen, Jr. 1872, W. H. Conover, Jr. 1877. John E. Lanning. 1882. Charles Haight. Now (1885) in office. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE. Following is a list of justices of the peace of Monmouth County (with dates of commis- sion) from the time (1850) when it was reduced to its present limits by the formation of Ocean County from the southern part of its territory, viz., — William H. Tilton, May 1, 1851. William Brown, May 1, 1851. Nimrod Bedle, May 1, 1851. Jones Clark, May 1, 1851. John Statesir, May 1, 1851. Thomas Pardon, May 1, 1853. John Headen, May 1, 1853. Benjamin Day, May 1, 1853. Lewis B. Carey, May 1, 1853. Daniel B. Strong, May 1, 1853. Walter C. Parsons, May 1, 1853. Joseph M. Smith, May 1, 1853. W. M. D. Oliphant, May 1, 1854. Charles T. Fleming, May 1, 1854. Anthony Truax, May 1, 1854. James S. Laurence, May 1, 1855. Daniel M. Cubberly, May 1, 1855. John S. Barton, May 1, 1855. Amos Shaw, May 1, 1855. John H. Eulon, May 1, 1855. W. M. D. Oliphant, May 1, 1855. Robert Miller, May 1, 1855. B. Campfield Newman, May 1, 1855. Benjamin D. Pearce, May 1, 1855. James Cooper, May 1, 1855. James W. Borden, May 1, 1855. Samuel C. Algoe, May 1, 1855. George Finch, May 1, 1855. Sidney Thompson, May 1, 1855. Edward E. Pitcher, May 1, 1855. John W. Davison, May 1, 1855. John G. Ely, May 1, 1855. James Martin, May 1, 1856. Edmund Shotwell, May 1, 1856. George W. Cox, May 1, 1856. Christopher Doughty, May 1, 1856. John Statesir, May 1, 1857. Nimrod Bedle, May 1, 1857. Daniel B. Strong, May 1, 1858. John W. Denyse, May 1, 1858. Thomas Pardon, May 1, 1858. Benjamin Day, May 1, 1859. Thomas Ingling, May 1, 1868. John Headen, May 1, 1858. Walter C. Parsons, May 1, 1858. William C. Erwin, May 1, 1858. Esek H. Lovett, May 1, 1858. Benjamin Wardell, May 1, 1859. W. W. Palmer, May 1, 1859. Anthony Truax, May 1, 1869. John W. Davison, May 1, 1860. Sidney Thompson, May 1, I860. Thomas C. Throckmorton, May 1, 1860. James Cooper, May 1, 1860. George L. Britton, May 1, 1860. W. D. Oliphant, May 1, 1860. John W. Rulin, May 1, 1860. Robert Miller, May 1, 1860. Bloomfield Newman, May 1, 1860. Amos Shaw, May 1, 1860. John G. Ely, May 1, 1860. Samuel Rogers, May 1, 1860. P. D. Kneiskern, May 1, 1860. Joseph W. Borden, May 1, 1860. John M. Boice, May 1, 1860. Samuel Algoe, May 1, 1860. William D. Clayton, May 1, 1860. John W. Phillips, May 1, 1861. J. Horton Cooper, May 1, 1861. S. E. W. Johnson, May 1, 1861. James Martin, May 1, 1861. James F. Earle, May 1, 1861. Nimrod Bedle, May 1, 1862. John B. Morris, May 1, 1862. Benjamin Day, May 1, 1862. Henry H. Wolcott, May 1, 1862. John M. Lippincott, May 1, 1862. T. Forman Taylor, May 1, 1862. Levi Soobey, May 1, 1862. William Y. Kennedy, May 1, 1862. Mark L. Mount, May 1, 1863. Samuel Frake, May 1, 1863. W. H. Slocum, May 1, 1863. John Headen, May 1, 1863. D. B. Strong, May 1, 1863. Thomas I. Bedle, May 1, 1863. Aaron R. Combs, May 1, 1863. Thomas Fardon, May 1, 1863. John S. Barton, May 1, 1863. Benjamin Wardell, May 1, 1864. Elijah Combs, May 1, 1864. Benjamin Decker, May 1, 1864. Thomas H. Lafetra, May 1, 1864. Anthony Truax, May 1, 1864. Richard W. Strong, May 1, 1864. William 0. Irwin, May 1, 1864. Joseph McNinney, May 1, 1864. John H. Rulin, May 1, 1866. John S. Barton, May 1, 1865. Thomas S. Throckmorton, May 1, 1865. William D. Clayton, May 1, 1865. MONMOUTH CIVIL LIST. 113 Jacob C. Lawrence, May 1, 1865. E. B. Wainright, May 1, 1865. Eobert Miller, May 1, 1865. Isaac Herbert, May 1, 1865. Peter D. Knieskern, May 1, 1865. Amos Shaw, May 1, 1865. Benjamin D. Pearce, May 1, 1865. Bloomfield Newman, May 1, 1865. Abram Havens, May 1, 1865. Samuel Frake, May 1, 1865. Samuel E. Rogers, May 1, 1866. James T. Earle, May 1, 1866. John Dawes, May 1, 1866. William A. Palmer, May 1, 1866. John H. Mount, May 1, 1866. John W. Phillips, May 1, 1866. James Martin, May 1, 1866. M. H. Jewett, May 1, 1866. Alfred H. Campbell, May 1, 1867. John B. Morris, May 1, 1867. Garrett Forman, May 1, 1867. James C. Whitmore, May 1, 1867. James P. Welling, May 1, 1867. Benjamin Day, May 1, 1867. C. A. Van Cleef, March 25, 1868. Charles B. Clark, May 1, 1868. Abraham Thompson, May 1, 1868. Mark L. Mount, May 1, 1868. P. S. Clayton, May 1, 1868. D. B. Strong, May 1, 1868. T. Forman Taylor, May 1, 1868. Geo W. Houghton, May 1, 1868. John E. Hunt, May 1, 1868. John D. Beers, May 1, 1869. Benjamin Deckers, May 1, 1869. Thomas Cook, May 1, 1869. Benjamin Wardell, May 1, 1869. Thos. H. Lafetra, May 1, 1869. John W. Borden, May 1, 1869. Timothy M. Mason, May 1, 1869. William C. Irwin, May 1, 1869. John E. Norris, May 1, 1869. Samuel E. Rogers, May 1, 1870. Robert Miller, May 1, 1870. E. B. Wainwright, May 1, 1870. J. C. Lawrence, May 1, 1870. Benjamin D. Pearce, May 1, 1870. Bloomfield Newman, May 1, 1870. Levi G. Irwin, May 1, 1870. William C. Norton, May 1, 1870. John M. Boice, May 1, 1870. John W. Davison, May 1, 1870. Ezekiel Maynard, May 1, 1870. Isaac Herbert, May 1, 1870. Cornelius G. Matthews, May 1, 1870. James Cooper, May 1, 1870. Samuel Cowart, May 1, 1870. James F. Earle, May 1, 1871. William Child, May 1, 1871. John W. Perlon, May 1, 1871. Daniel W. Thompson, May 1, 1871. Peter D. Knieskern, May 1, 1871. Robertson Smith, May 1, 1871. John W. Philips, May 1, 1871. Hendrick Wyckoflf, May 1, 1872. John B. Morris, May 1, 1872. James C. Whitmore, May 1, 1872. Henry Johnson, May 1, 1872. James E. Johnson, May 1, 1872. Garret Forman, May 1, 1872. William L. Conover, May 1, 1872. Theodore Sickles, May 1, 1872. Abraham Thompson, May 1, 1872. T. Forman Taylor, May 1, 1873. John W. Denyse, May 1, 1873. D. B. Strong, May 1, 1873. George Martin, May 1 , 1873. Theodore F. Sniffen, May 1, 1873. John Statesir, May 1, 1873. R. W. Miller, May 1, 1873. A. Van Nortwick, May 1, 1873. A. G. Lane, March 11, 1873. William J. Chamberlain, May 1, 1873. Samuel Algoe, May 1, 1873. Levi Scobey, May 1, 1873. John W. Bartleson, May 14, 1874. William Robertson, May 1, 1874. Thomas Cooke, May 1, 1874. John E. Tilton, May 1, 1874, Thomas H. Lafetra, May 1, 1874. William C. Irwin, May 1, 1874. A. G. Lane, May 1, 1874. John E. Norris, May 1, 1874. J. C. Lawrence, May 1, 1875. Samuel Conover, May 1, 1875. John W. Bartleson, May 1, 1875. Robert Miller, May 1, 1875. Benjamin D. Pearce, May 1, 1875. Bloomfield Newman, May 1, 1875. J. M. Wainwright, May 1, 1875. Harris Allen, May 1, 1875. Levi J. Erwin, May 1, 1875. William Armistrong, May 1, 1875. Samuel E. Rogers, May 1, 1875. John W. Harker, May 1, 1875. David Warner, May 1, 1875. Benjamin M. Cooper, May 1, 1875. Cornelius G. Mathews, May 1, 1875. John J. Beers, May 1, 1875. John W. Davison, May 1, 1875. C. A. Van Cleef, May 1, 1875. Theodore Guillander, May 1, 1876. Jacob Corlies, May 1, 1876. Robert W. Miller, May 1, 1876. Frederick H. Earle, May 1, 1876. Jeremiah Bennett, May 1, 1876. Robertson Smith, May 1, 1876. Walter R. Brinley, May 1, 1876. 114 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. James C. Whitmore, May 1, 1877. William Child, May 1, 1877. Peter G. Denyse, May 1, 1877. John B. Morris, May 1, 1877. William L. Conover, May 1, 1877. Daniel H. Morris, May 1, 1877. Hendrick Wyckoff, May 1, 1877. W. J. Cloke, May 1, 1877. James E. Johnson, May 1, 1877. George Gravatt, March 16, 1878. John W. Denyse, May 1, 1878. John Statesir, Jr., May 1, 1878. S. C. Davis, May 1, 1878. William I. Chamberlain, May 1, 1878. G. G. Denyse, May 1, 1878. Abraham Thompson, May 1, 1878. J. E. Corlies, May 1, 1878. Garret Forman, May 1, 1878. Theodore F. Sniffen, May 1, 1878. Thomas Cook, May 1, 1879. John E. Tilton, May 1, 1879. Thomas H. Lafetra, May 1, 1879. James Hardy, May ] , 1879. Cyrenus V. Golden, May 8, 1879. William L. Tilton, May 1, 1879. Tunis D. Probasco, May 1, 1879. William C. Irwin, May 1, 1879. William Eobertson, May 1, 1879. Edward I. Pitcher, May 1, 1879. J. C. Lawrence, May 1, 1880. J. W. Bartleson, May 1, 1880. Levi G. Irwin, May 1, 1880. George H. Sickles, May 1, 1880. Eobert Miller, May 1, 1880. William L. Tilton, May 1, 1880. George W. Truax, May 1, 1880. James E. Rogers, May 1, 1880. David Warner, May 1, 1880. John W. Harker, May 1, 1880. Cook Howland, May 1, 1880. Thomas H. Lafetra, May 1, 1880. William W. Ramsey, May 1, 1880. Cornelius G. Mathews, May 1, 1880. George W. Fielder, May 1, 1880. Harris Allen, May 1, 1880. Benjamin M. Cooper, May 1, 1880. F. E. Perrine, May 1, 1880. William J. Dunn, May 1, 1880. George D. Bradford, May 1, 1880. Samuel Conover, May 1, 1880. Eobert W. Miller, May 1, 1881. Milton Holmes, May 1, 1881. Charles H. Borden, May 1, 1881. Henry J. Child, May 1, 1881. Hezekiah Mount, May 1, 1881. James M. Hopper, May 1, 1881. John C. Edwards, May 1, 1881. John C. Clayton, May 1, 1881. Jeremiah Bennett, May 1, 1881. F. E. Bowman, May 1, 1881. Walter R. Bromley, May 1, 1881. William S. Cloke, May 1, 1881. James C. Whitmore, May 1, 1881. James E. Johnson, May 1, 1881. Jesse Howland, May 1, 1881. Frederick H. Earle, May 1, 1881. Hendrick Wyckoff, May 1, 1881. A. W. Hobart, May 1, 1881. William Curchin, May 1, 1881. William L. Connor, May 1, 1881. Cyrenus V. Golden, May 1, 1881. Stacy F. Van Arsdale, May 1, 1881. John W. Denyse, May 1, 1883. John Miller, May 1, 1883. Martin S. Bissell, May 1, 1883. Theodore F. White, May 1, 1883. John Statesir, May 1, 1883. Edwin E. Disbrow, May 1, 1883. Charles O. Hudnut, May 1, 1883. Samuel S. Scobey, May 1, 1883. Eugene Britton, May 1, 1883. J. Edwin Corlies, May 1, 1883. Daniel Thompson, May 1, 1883. Frederick H. Day, May 1, 1883. A. K. Ely, May 1, 1884. Joseph E. Conover, May 1, 1884. W. C. Irwin, May 1, 1884. John E. Tilton, May 1, 1884. Thomas Cook, May 1, 1884. Tunis D. Probasco, May 1, 1884. Edwin W. Throckmorton, May 1, 1884. W. S. B. Parker, May 1, 1884. Arthur M. Brown, May 1 , 1884. D. B. Strong, May 1, 1884. Charles T. Fardon, May 1, 1884. Edmund I. Pitcher, May 1, 1884. Politically, Monmouth is almost uniformly- Democratic, there having been but one instance in the present half-century when the county has failed to give a majority of its vote to the Democratic Presidential nommee. The votes of the county in each Presidential election dur- ing that period are here given, viz., — 1836. Van Buren (Dem.), 2549; Harrison (Whig), 2344. 1840. Van Buren (Dem.), 2880 ; Harrison (Whig), 2953. 1844. Polk (Dem.), 3434; Clay (Whig), 3221. 1848. Cass (Dem.), 3450; Taylor (Whig), 3119. 1852. Pierce (Dem.), 3179; Scott (Whig), 1806; Hale (Free Soil), 5. 1856. Buchanan (Dem.), 3319; Fillmore (Whig), 1815; Fremont (Free Soil), 1003. 1860. Fusion Ticket, 4089; Lincoln (Rep.), 3096. 1864. McClellan (Dem.), 4410; Lincoln (Rep.), 3001. ^ ^ '' MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 115 1868. Seymour (Dem.), 5236; Grant (Rep.), 3771. 1872. Greeley (Dem.), 4705; Grant (Eep.), 4250. 187€. Tilden (Dem.), 6942; Hayes (Eep.), 4720. 1880. Hancock (Dem.), 7614; Garfield (Eep.), 6693 ; Weaver (Greenback), 47. 1884. Cleveland (Dem.), 7552; Blaine (Eep.), 6446. CHAPTER IX. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE EBVOLUTION. To tell the story of the part taken by the county of Monmouth in the war of the Revo- lution, and of what the people of the county did and suffered and sacrificed in the great struggle for national independence, it is not necessary, nor, indeed, proper, to give a de- tailed account of all the long and bloody con- flict between the colonies and the mother-coun- try, but only of such of its military and civil events as occurred within, or in the near vicin- ity of, the territory of the county, and of such parts of the Revolutionary drama as, being en- acted elsewhere, yet were participated in by meu of Monmouth as prominent actors. The causes which drove the American colo- nies into the conflict which finally resulted in their separation from Great Britain have been too frequently enumerated and too fully set forth in general history to need a recital here. These causes first began to operate between the years 1760 and 1765, when measures were proposed in the British Parliament looking to the taxation of the American subjects of the English King to raise a revenue for the support of the home government. The general feeling of discontent awakened among the colonists by the inauguration of these measures was intensi- fied by the subsequent psssage of the odious " Stamp Act," the imposition of a duty on tea and other similar sell ernes of taxation ; so that, when intelligence was received of the passage of the " Boston Port Bill," on the 31st of March, 1774, there arose an almost universal murmur of indignant remonstrance against a policy which was stigmatized as unendurable tyranny. The measure last named had been directed especially against the chief port of New England, but all the other colonies were in sympathy with that of Massachusetts Bay and made her cause their own, as well they might, for it was clear to the understanding of all intelligent persons that if such acts of op- pression were submitted to in Boston, they would ere long be enforced jn all the colonies, from New Hampshire to Georgia. This conviction produced among the people a feeling, not of indignation alone, but of alarm at the dangerous invasion of their rights ; and, although as yet there had been awakened no general sentiment of disloyalty to King George, there were not a few among the more clear- sighted of the colonists who even then foresaw that they might, and probably would, be finally driven to the d read alternative of armed resistance. " Nothing could have been devised ^ by the wit of man more effective for the speedy education and enlightenment of the people of the colonies than these obnoxious measures. The colony of New Jei-sey broke out in a simultaneous blaze of indignation from Sussex to Cape May, and immediate measures were taken to organize the various counties into a combination of the friends of liberty which should secure prompti- tude and unity of action throughout the prov- ince. It was not the passage of the Port Bill, how- ever, which first led the friends of liberty in this province to combine for mutual safety, for it is found that more than seven weeks before the passage of that act, and three months ^ be- fore the announcement had reached the shores of America, a general " Committee of Corre- spondence and Inquiry " had been constituted here, having for its object consultation with the most prominent men in the New Jersey coun- ties, and correspondence with similar committees in other colonies. The particulars of the for- mation of this committee, its composition, and the duties with which it was charged are shown by the following extract from the Minutes of the House of Assembly of Now Jersey, dated 1 The language of Mr. Charles D. Deshler in a paper read by him before the New Brunswick Historical Club at its fifth anniversary, December 16, 1875. 2 The news of the passage of the Port Act was received in Boston on the 10th of May. 116 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Burlington, Tuesday, February 8, 1774, — viz. : " The House resumed the consideration of the sev- eral Letters and Eesolutions of the other Houses of Assembly on the subject-matter of the common Eights and Liberties of the Colonies; and the House resolved itself into a Commitee of the whole House upon Mat- ters aforesaid; and after some time spent tlierein, Mr. Speaker resumed the Chair, and Mr. Crane, Chair- man of the Committee (by order of the House), re- ported the Eesolutions of the Committee, as follows, viz.: "1. Resolved, That it is the opinion of the Committee that the House should heartily accept of the Invita- tion ' to a mutual Correspondence and Intercourse with our Sister-Colonies; to which the House agreed Nemine Contradicente. " 2. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this commit- tee that a Standing Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry be appointed, to consist of the following persons, to wit : James Kinsey, Stephen Crane, Hen- drick Fisher, Samuel Tucker, John Wetherill, Eobert Friend Price, John Hinchman, John Mehelm and Edward Taylor, Esquires, or any five of them, whose business it shall be to obtain the most early and au- thentick intelligence of all Acts and Eesolutions of the Parliament of Great Britain, or the Proceedings of Administration that may have any Eelation to or may affect the Liberties and Privileges of His Majes- ty's Subjects in the British Colonies of America, and to keep up and maintain a Correspondence and Com- munication with our Sister-Colonies respecting these important considerations ; and that they do occasion- ally lay their Proceedings before the House; to which the House agreed Nemine Contradicente. " 3. Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Com- mittee that the said Committee of Correspondence do write Letters to the several Speakers of the Assem- blies on the Continent of America, inclosing these Eesolutions, and requesting them to lay the same be- fore their respective Assemblies ; and that they do return the thanks of the House to the Burgesses of Virginia for their early Attention to the Liberties of America ; to which the House agreed Nemine Contra- dicente." The Governor, William Franklin (son of Dr. Benjamin Franklin, but, unlike his father, a man of strong royalist proclivities), was op- posed to the formation of such a committee, and in a letter written by him to the Earl of 1 The "invitation" referred to was a proposition made by the House of Burgesses of the colony of Virginia to tlie Assembly of New Jersey to appoint from its members a Standing Committee of Correspondence for the objects re- ferred to above. Dartmouth, on the 31st of May, 1774, ex- pressed his opinion as follows : " The Virginia Assembly some time ago appointed a Committee of Correspondence, to correspond with all the other Assemblies on the Continent, which ex- ample has been followed by every other House of Eepresentatives. I was in hopes that the Assembly of this Province would not have gone into the mea- sure ; for though they met on the 10th of November, yet they avoided taking the matter into consideration, though frequently urged by some of the members, until the 8th of February, and then 1 believe they would not have gone into it but that the Assembly of New York had just before resolved to appoint such a committee, and they did not choose to appear sin- gular." On the 1st of June, the day next following the date of Governor Franklin's letter, a meet- ing (probably the first one) of the Committee of Correspondence and Inquiry was held at New Brunswick, and a brief mention of it is found ^ in a letter written by one of the mem- bers of the committee, under date of June 2, 1774, from which the following is extracted, viz. : " I returned yesterday from New Bruns- wick, where six of our Committee met. We answered the Boston letters, informing them that we look on New Jersey as eventually in the same predicament with Boston, and that we will do everything which may be generally agreed on. We have signed a request to the Govern our to call the General Assembly ' to meet at such time as his Excellency may think proper, before the first of August next. Our Committee is well disposed in the cause of American freedom." The Monmouth County member of this first Committee of Correspond- ence and Inquiry for the colony of New Jersey was Edward Taylor, Esq. The meeting of the committee at New Brunswick was immediately followed by gatherings of the people in nearly 2 X'ide Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of Safety, 1775-76, page 4. ' In a letter addressed by Governor Franklin to the Earl of Dartmouth, dated Burlington, June 18, 1774, he said, " I have likewise had an application made to me by some of the members of the House of Representatives to call a. meeting of the General Assembly in August next, with which I have not and shall not comply, as there is no pub- lick business of the province which can make such a meet- ing necessary." MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 117 all the counties of New Jersey. The object of these meetings (which were convened at the call of prominent and influential citizens of the several counties) was to perfect, as far as possi- ble, a general organization of citizens opposed to encroachments on the rights of the colonies by the home government, and especially to pro- vide for the selection of persons to represent them in a general congress of deputies from the several colonies, proposed by the burgesses of Virginia, to be held for the purpose of forming a plan of union, and, in general, to devise measures for the public welfare. The first of these local gatherings of the people was held in Monmouth County, and is reported in the Minutes of the Provincial Con- gress and Council of Safety, 1775-76, as fol- lows : "At a meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the Township of Lower Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, in New Jersey, on Monday, the 6th day of June, 1774, after notice given of the time, place and occasion of this meeting ; "Resolved, That it is the unanimous opinion of this meeting that the cause in which the inhabitants of the town of Boston are now suffering is the common cause of the whole Continent of North America, and that unless some general spirited measures for the public safety be speedily entered into, there is just reason to fear that every Province may in turn share the same fate with them; and that, therefore, it is highly incumbent on them all to unite in some effec- tual means to obtain a repeal of the Boston Port Bill, and any other that may follow it, which shall be deemed subversive of the riglits and privileges of free- born Americans. "And that it is also the opinion of this meeting that, in case it shall appear hereafter to be consistent with the general opinion of the trading towns, and the commercial part of our countrymen, that an en- tire stoppage of importation and exportation from and to Great Britain and the West Indies, until the said Port Bill and other Acts be repealed, will be really conducive to the safety and preservation of North America and her liberties, they will yield a cheerful acquiescence in the measure, and earnestly recom- mend the same to all their brethren in this Province. "Reiolved, moreover, That the inhabitants of this township will join in an Association with the several towns in the county and, in conjunction with them, with the several counties in the Province (if, as we doubt not, they see fit to accede to the proposal), in any measures that may appear best adapted to the weal and safety of North America and all her loyal " Ordered, That John Anderson, Esq., Messrs. Peter Forman, Hendriok Smock, John Forman and Asher Holmes, Captain John Covenhoven and Doctor Na- thaniel Scudder be a committee for the township, to join with those who may be elected for the neighbour- ing townships or counties, to constitute a General Committee, for any purposes similar to those above mentioned ; and that the gentlemen so appointed do immediately solicit a correspondence with the adja- cent towns." "On Tuesday, July 19, 1774,i a majority of the Committees from the several Townships in the County of Monmouth, of the Colony of New Jersey, met ac- cording to appointment, at the Court-House at Free- hold, in said county; and appearing to have been regularly chosen and constituted by their respective Townships, they unanimously agreed upon the pro- priety and expediency of electing a Committee to represent the whole county at the approaching Pro- vincial Convention, to be held at the City of New Brunswick, for the necessary purpose of constituting a Delegation from this Province to the general Con- gress of the Colonies, and for all such other important purposes as shall hereafter be found necessary. They, at the same time, also recorded the following Resolu- tions, Determinations and Opinions, which they wish to be transmitted to posterity as an ample testimony of their loyalty to his British Majesty, of their firm attachment to the principles of the glorious Eevolu- tion, and their fixed and unalterable purpose, by every lawful means in their power, to maintain and defend themselves in the possession and enjoyment of those inestimable civil and religious privileges which their forefathers, at the expense of so much blood and treasure, have established and handed down to them : " In the names and behalf of their constituents, the good and loyal inhabitants of the County of Mon- mouth, in the Colony of New Jersey, they do cheer- fully and publickly proclaim their unshaken alle- giance to the person and Government of his most gracious Majesty, King George the Third, now on the British Throne, and do acknowledge themselves bound at all times, and to the utmost exertion of their power, to maintain his dignity and lawful sovereignty in and over all his Colonies in America ; and that it is their most fervent desire and constant prayer that, in a Protestant succession, the descendants of the illustrious House of Hanover may continue to sway the British sceptre to the latest posterity. "As a general Congress of Deputies from the several American Colonies is proposed to be held at Phila- delphia some time in September next, they declare their entire approbation of the design, and think it the only rational method of evading those aggravated evils which threaten to involve the whole Continent 1 Minutes of the Prov. Cong, and Council of Safety, 1775-76, p. 19. 118 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. in one general calamitous catastrophe. They are therefore met this day, vested with due authority from their respective constituents, to elect a committee, representing this County of Monmouth in any future necessary transactions respecting the cause of liberty, and especially to join the Provincial Convention, soon to be held at New Brunswick, for the purpose of nom- inating and constituting a number of Delegates, who, in behalf of this Colony, may steadily attend said general Congress, and faithfully serve the laboring cause of freedom, and they have consequently chosen and deputed the following gentlemen to that impor- tant trust, viz.: Edward Taylor, John Anderson, John Taylor, James Grover, and John Lawrence, Esquires ; Dr. Nathaniel Scudder and Messrs. John Burrowes, John Covenhoven, Joseph Holmes, Josiah Holmes and Edward Williams ; Edward Taylor, Esq., being constituted Chairman, and any five of them a sufficient number to transact business. And they do be- seech and entreat, instruct and enjoin them, to give their voice at said Provincial Convention for no per- sons but such as they, in good conscience and from the best information, shall verily believe to be amply qualified for so interesting a department, particularly that they be men highly approved for integrity, hon- esty and uprightness, faithfully attached to his Majesty's person and lawfiil Government, well skilled in the principles of our excellent Constitution and steady assertors of all our civil and religious liberties. " As under the present operations of the Boston Port Bill, thousands of our respected brethren in that town must necessarily be reduced to great distress, they feel themselves affected with the sincerest sym- pathy and most cordial commiseration ; and that they expect, under God, that the final deliverance of America will be owing, in a great degree, to a con- tinuance of their virtuous struggle, they esteem them- selves bound iu duty and interest to afford them every assistance and allevation in their power, and they do now, in behalf of their constituents, declare their readiness to contribute to the relief of the suf- fering poor in that town ; therefore, they request the several committees of the counties, when met, to take into their serious consideration the necessity and ex- pediency of forwarding, under a sanction from them, subscriptions through every part of this Colony, for that truly humane and laudable purpose,^ and that a ^ In accordance with the spirit of this resolution, a large amount of supplies were sent to Boston, Monmouth County contributing most liberally. Boston acknowledged the receipt of them in a letter dated October 1, 1774, from which is extracted the following relating to the Monmouth contributions; "The kind and generous donations of the County of Monmouth, in the Jersies, we are now to acknowl- edge, and with grateful hearts to thank you therefor ; hav- ing received from the Committee of said County, per Cap- tain Brown, eleven Imndred and forty (1140) bushels of rye and fifty barrels of rye meal for the suffering poor of proper plan be concerted for laying out the product of such subscriptions to the best advantage, and afterwards transmitting it to Boston in the safest and least expensive way.'' Similar meetings for the choice of com- mittees were lield in the other counties, and on Thursday, July 21, 1774, "a general meeting of the committees of the several counties in the Province of New Jersey " was convened at New Brunswick, and continued in session until the following Saturday. Seventy- two mem- bers were in attendance, of whom nine were of Monmouth County. The names of these delegates (who had been elected at a meeting of the people held at Monmouth Court-House on the 19th of July) were Edward Taylor, James Grover, John Burrowes, John Anderson, Joseph Holmes, Edward Williams, John Taylor, Dr. Nathaniel Scudder and Josiah Holmes. The general meeting at New Brunswick was organ- ized by the choice of Stephen Crane, Esq., of Essex, chairman, and Jonathan D. Sergeant, of Somerset County, clerk. The record^ of the proceedings of the convention is as fol- lows : " The committee, taking into their serious consid- eration the dangerous and destructive nature of sun- dry Acts of the British Parliament with respect to the fundamental liberties of the American Colonies, conceive it their indispensable duty to bear their open testimony against them, and to concur with the other colonies in prosecuting all legal and necessary measures for obtaining their speedy repeal. There- fore, we unanimously agree in the following senti- ments and resolutions : "1st. We think it necessary to' declare that the in- habitants of this Province (and we are confident the people of America in general) are, and ever have been, firm and unshaken in their loyalty to His Majesty King George the Third; fast friends to the Revolution settlement ; and that they detest all thoughts of an independence of the Crown of Great Britain. Accordingly we do, in the most sincere and solemn manner, recognize and acknowledge His Majesty King George the Third to be our lawful and rightful Sovereign, to whom, under his royal protec- the Town, which shall be applied to the purpose intended by the donors ; and what further cheers our hearts is your kind assurances of a further supply, if necessary, to enable us to oppose the cruel Parliamentary Acts, levelled not only against this town, but our whole Constitution.'' 2 Minutes Provincial Congress and Council of Safety, 1775-76, p. 25. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE EEVOLUTION. 119 tion in our fundamental rights and privileges, Ve owe, and will render, all due faith and allegiance. " 2d. We think ourselves warranted, from the prin- ciples of our excellent Constitution, to affirm that the claim of the British Parliament (in which we neither are nor can be represented) to make laws which shall be binding on the King's American subjects ' in all cases whatsoever,' and particularly for imposing taxes for the purpose of raising a revenue in America, is unconstitutional and oppressive, and which we think ourselves bound, in duty to ourselves and our posterity, by all constitutional means in our power to oppose. " 3d. We think the several late Acts of Parliament for shutting up the port of Boston, invading the Charter rights of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and subjecting supposed offenders to be sent for trial to other colonies, or to Great Britain, the sending over an armed force to carry the same into effect, and thereby reducing many thousands of innocent and loyal inhabitants to poverty and distress, are not only subversive of the undoubted rights of His Majesty's American subjects, but also repugnant to the com- mon principles of humanity and justice. These pro- ceedings, 80 violent in themselves, and so truly alarm- ing to the other colonies (many of which are equally exposed to Ministerial vengeance), render it the in- dispensable duty of all heartily to unite in the most proper measures to procure redress for their oppressed countrymen, now suffering in the common cause ; and for the re-establishment of the constitutional rights of America on a solid and permanent foundation. "4th. To effect this important purpose, we con- ceive the most eligible method is to appoint a Gen- eral Congress of Commissioners of the respective Colonies, who shall be empowered mutually to pledge, each to the rest, the publick honour and faith of their constituent Colonies, firmly and inviolably to adhere to the determinations of the said Congress. "5th. Resolved, That we do earnestly recommend a general non-importation and non-consumption agreement to be entered into at such time, and regu- lated in such manner, as to the Congress shall seem most advisable. " 6th. Resolved, That it appears to us to be a duty incumbent on the good people of this Province to af- ford some immediate relief to the many suffering in- habitants of the town of Boston. " Therefore the several county committees do now engage to set on foot and promote collections without delay, either by subscriptions or otherwise, through- out their respective Counties ; and that they will remit the moneys arising from the said subscriptions, or any other benefactions that may be voluntarily made by the inhabitants, either to Boston, or into the hands of James Neilson, John Dennis, William Oake, Abraham Hunt, Samuel Tucker, Dr. Isaac Smith, Grant Gibbon, Thomas Sinnicks, and John Carey, whom we do hereby appoint a Committee for for- warding the same to Boston, in such way and manner as they shall be advised will best answer the benevo- lent purpose designed. " 7th. Resolved, That the grateful acknowledgments of this body are due to the noble and worthy patrons of constitutional liberty in the British Senate for their laudable efforts to avert the storm they behold impending over a much injured Colony, and in sup- port of the just rights of the King's subjects in America. " 8th. Resolved, That James Kinsey, William Liv- ingston, John De Hart, Stephen Crane, and Richard Smith, Esquires, or such of them as shall attend, be the Delegates to represent this Province in the Gen- eral Continental Congress to be held at the City of Philadelphia on or about the first of September next, to meet, consult, and advise with the Deputies from the other Colonies, and to determine upon all such prudent and lawful measures as may be judged most expedient for the Colonies immediately and unitedly to adopt, in order to obtain relief for an oppressed people and the redress of our general grievances. " Signed by order, " Jonathan D. Sergeant, "Clerk." A new general Standing Committee of Cor- respondence and Inquiry was also appointed, consisting of William Peartree Smith, John Chetwood, Isaac Ogden, Joseph Borden, Eobert Field, Isaac Pierson, Isaac Smith, Samuel Tucker, Abraham Hunt and Hendrick Fisher. It is noticeable, in the proceedings of this con- vention, that, although they evinced an unmis- takable spirit of opposition and resistance to the oppressive measures of the British Parlia- ment and ministry, they were profuse in ex- pressions of unmeasured loyalty to the King, and resolutions of similar import had been passed in all the preliminary meetings in the several counties of this province. The Congress of Delegates from the several provinces assembled at Carpenters' Hall, in the city of Philadelphia, on the 4th of September in the same year, and organized on the following day, with Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, as president. Among the business transacted during the somewhat protracted session which followed was the adoption of resolutions pro- hibiting the importation, purchase or use of goods from Great Britain, Ireland or any of the British dependencies after December 1, 1774, and also directing that (unless the griev- ances of the American colonies should in the 120 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. mean time be redressed) all exportations hence to Great Britain, Ireland and the British West Indies should cease on and after September 10, 1775. An association in accordance with the requirements of these resolutions was then formed, and was signed by all the members present. Article XI. of this Association (adopted October 20, 1774), provided : " That a committee be chosen in every county, city and town, by those who are qualified to vote for Eep- resentatives in the Legislature, whose business it shall be attentively to observe the conduct of all per- sons touching this Association ; and when it shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of a majority of any such committee that any person within the lim- its of their appointment has violated this Association, that such majority do forthwith cause the truth of the case to be published, ... to the end that all such foes to the rights of British America may be publickly known and universally contemned as the enemies of American Liberty; and thenceforth we respectively will break off all dealings with him or her." The formation of the first local Committee of Observation and Inspection in Monmouth County, in accordance with the above-noticed recommendation of Congress, is recorded in the following report of a meeting of the people of Freehold township, held for that purpose, viz. ; "Freehold, December 10th, 1774. " In pursuance of a recommendation of the Continental Congress, and for the preservation of American Freedom, a respectable body of the Freeholders, Inhabitants of Freehold town- ship, met at Monmouth Court-House and unan- imously elected the following gentlemen to act as a Committee of Observation and Inspection for said Township : John Anderson, Esquire, John Forman, Asher Holmes, Peter Forman, Hendrick Smock, Capt. John Covenhoven, Dr. Nathaniel Scudder, David Forman and Dr. Thomas Henderson. This Committee were in- structed by their constituents to carry into exe- cution the several important and salutary meas- ures pointed out to them by the Continental Congress, and, without favour or affection, to make all such diligent inquiry as shall be found conducive to the accomplishment of the great and necessary purposes held up to the attention of Americans." The draft of an interesting communication, addressed to the committee above named, was found by the Honorable William P. Forman among the private papers of his great-grand- father, Peter Forman. It was without signa- ture or date, but there are references in it showing clearly that it was made late in the fall of 1774. As an evidence of the intense feeling of patriotism which then pervaded the greater part of the people of the county, a copy of it is here given, — " To the Committee of the Township of Freehold in the County of Monmouth : — Gentlemen : — In an- swer to the several questions proposed by you on the 3d of this instant, it is the sense of the people : 1st. That as the Province arms were purchased with our money and expressly for our use, we think ourselves properly authorized to apply them to service in any emergency. We therefore request you to call on the Justices and Freeholders, in whose hands they now are, for liberty to have them immediately collected together and put in good repair, the expense of re- pairing them to be defrayed out of the money to be raised as hereinafter expressed. We do, moreover, think it absolutely necessary that a magazine should be immediately established, lest on emergency we should be unable to supply ourselves with ammuni- tion. To effect this grand point we do request you, as speedily as possible, to prepare and send a petition to our General Assembly, praying them to pass an Act for raising a sum of money, as well for the sup- port of a detachment of men that it may be necessary to send from this Colony in defence of your liberties as for the purpose of establishing a magazine. And should the Assembly be prevented from making this provision by a dissolution, or the want of the assent of the Governour and Council, or by any other cause, we do request you will immediately make us ac- quainted therewith, and we will cheerfully subscribe a competent sum of money for these purposes. "2d. We do fully concur with you in thinking the Military ought to be put on a proper footing for speedy improvement, as we are constrained to fear the melancholy time is near at hand when the Amer- ican Militia will, under God, be the only bulwark of our religion and property. The mode that appears to us most proper to be adopted for our becoming a well-regulated Militia is as follows, viz. : That you do immediately write in the name of the People to our Captains, and require them to call a general meeting of the inhabitants of Freehold on the thir- tieth day of this instant at Monmouth Court-House, where, unless some more eligible method be adopted, we will by agreement constitute companies for every neighbourhood, each containing from 40 to 60 men from 16 to 60 years of age, and appoint stated times MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 121 for calling the respective Companies together for Grand Muster. By these measures we shall meet to- gether with little expense, and, we hope, raise a spirit of emulation in the several Companies to excell each other. " 3d. We do request you will call on every mer- chant in your district, without favour or aifection, and demand of them upon honour, and, if necessary, upon oath, to inform you of the average advance they have had in their goods from the 5th of Nov., 1773, to the 5th of Nov., 1774 ; and that they give up to your inspection their original invoices of the goods they purchased this Fall, and permit you to examine the advance they now sell at. By these steps you will easily discover whether they have infringed on the 9th Article of the Association of the General Congress. " In case any of them have transgressed, we do re- quest you immediately to advertise it to the Publick. The like inquiry we desire may be repeatedly made, and on the second offence we do declare we will immediately break off all commerce with him or her so offending, or with his or her agents or factors, and hold them up as enemies to their Country. We do further entreat this enquiry may be made speedily, without information or complaint lodged. " 4th. Those persons who shall persist in extrava- gance, dissipation, gaming, etc., we will view as ene- mies to our Country, and if, after application made to thein by you, they do persist in open violation of the Continental resolves, we will, on information from you, wait on the offenders in such a manner as will for the future convince them of the evil conse- quences of running counter to the sense of the people. "5th. As there are many evil-minded people among us who, for lucrative prospects, would betray this country, and are daily endeavouring to sow the seeds of Discord around them by condemning the measures of Congress, calling our Meetings unlawful and rebellious, and declaring the right of taxing America to be in the British Parliament, we do insist that on your being acquainted with any such person you will publickly advertise their names and places of abode, and we will treat them as rebels against their Country. "6th. We do request that you may have stated times of Meeting, that we may attend, as well to lay any new matter before you as to be informed of your proceedings. " 7th. We desire these instructions may be entered on the Records or in the Town-Book, and acknowl- edged by you as your instruction from us." The Freehold Committee of Observation and Inspection, elected on the 10th of December, 1774, postponed a publication of their forma- tion and official action until the following March, for reasons which fully appear in the report made by them at that time, as follows : ^ " Freehold, Monmouth County, Committee. "Feeehold, March 6, 1775. "Although the Committee of Observation and Inspection for the Township of Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, New Jersey, was constituted early in December last, and the members have statedly and assiduously attended to the business assigned them ever since, ypt they have hitherto deferred the publication of their institution, in hopes of the general concur- rence of the other Townships in the choice of a new County Committee, when one publication might have served for the whole; but finding some of them have hitherto declined to comply with the recommendation of the General Con- gress in that respect, and not knowing whether they intend it at all, they judge it highly expe- dient to transmit the following account to the Press, lest their brethren in distant parts of the Colon)' should think the County of Monmouth altogether inactive at the present important crisis. [Here follows an account of the Free- hold meeting of December 10, 1774, already mentioned.] "At an early meeting of said Committee, a pamphlet, entitled Free Thoughts on the Resolves of the Congress, by A. W. Farmer, was handed in to them, and their opinion of it asked by a number of their constituents then present. Said pamphlet was then read, and upon mature de- liberation, unanimously declared to be a per- formance of the most pernicious and malignant tendency ; replete with the most specious soph- istry, but void of any solid or rational argu- ment; calculated to deceive and mislead the unwary, the ignorant and the credulous; and designed, no doubt, by the detestable author to damp that noble spirit of union which he sees prevailing all over the continent, and, if possi- ble, to sap the foundations of American freedom. The pamphlet was afterwards handed back to the people, who immediately bestowed upon it a suit of tar and turkey-buzzard's feathers ; one 1 Minutes Prov. Cong, and Council of Safety, 1775-76, pp. 95-97. 122 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. of the persons concerned in the operation justly observing that, ahhough the feathers were plucked from the most stinking fowl in the creation, he thought they fell far short of being a proper emblem of the author's odiousness to every advocate for true freedom. The same person wished, however, he had the pleasure of fitting him with a suit of the same materials. The pamphlet was then, in its gorgeous attire, nailed up firmly to the pillory-post, there to remain as a monument of the indignation of a free and loyal people against the author and vendor of a publication so evidently tending both to subvert the liberties of America and the Constitution of the British Empire. "At a subsequent meeting of said committee it was resolved unanimously that on account of sundry publications in the pamphlet way by James Rivington, printer, of New York, and also- a variety of weekly productions in his pa- per, blended, in general with the most glaring falsehoods, disgorged with the most daring ef- frontery, and all evidently calculated to disunite the colonies and sow the seeds of discord and contention through the whole continent, they do esteem him a base and malignant enemy to the liberties of this country, and think he ought justly to be treated as such by all considerate and good men. And they do for themselves now .publickly declare (and recommend the same conduct to their constituents) that they will have no connection with him, the said Riving- ton, while he continues to retail such dirty, scandalous and traitorious performances ; but hold him in the utmost contempt as a noxious, exotick plant, incapable either of cultivation or improvement in this soil of freedom, and only fit to be transported. "This committee did early make application to every other township in the county, recom- mending the election of committees ; and they soon had information that those of Upper Free- hold, Middletown and Dover had chosen theirs, and were resolved to enforce the measiu-es of the Congress. "N. B. — A very considerable number of the inhabitants of Freehold have formed themselves into companies and cliosen military instructors. under whose tuition they are making rapid im- provement. " Signed by order of the Committee, " John Andeeson^, " Chairman." By this report it is shown that while the other townships of Monmouth — Freehold, Up- per Freehold, Middletown and Dover — were prompt to adopt the recommendation of Con- gress, Shrewsbury refused to do so, — partly by reason of the influence of a few Quakers living there, but chiefly because of the Tory element, which was strong in that township from the very first, and which had over- powered the efforts of a few of the patriotic inhabitants of the township who had attempted to secure the organization of a committee there as in the other townships of the county, and to that end had issued the following, which was posted in all the public places, viz. : "Advertisement." "Shrewsbury, January id, 1775. "Agreeable to the Resolutions of the late General Continental Congress : The Inhabitants of the town of Shrewsbury — more especially such as are properly qualified for choosing Representatives to serve in the General Assembly, are hereby warned to meet at the house of Josiah Halstead, in said Shrewsbury, on Tuesday, the 17th of this instant January, at noon, in order to choose a Committee for the several purposes as directed by the said Congress. "As the method ordered by the Congress seems to be the only peaceable method the case will admit of, on failure of which, confirmed Slavery or a civil war of course succeeds ; the bare mention of either of the two last is shocking to human nature, more particu- larly so to all true friends of the English Constitution: Therefore it becomes the indispensable Duty of all such to use their utmost endeavours in favour of the first or peaceable method, and sufier it not to miscarry or fail of its salutary and much desired effects by any sinister views or indolence of theirs. Surely ex- pecting on the one hand to be loaded with the curses arising from slavery to the latest posterity, or on the other hand, the guilt of blood of thousands of their Brethren and fellow Christians to lay at their door, and to be justly required at their hands. Think well of this before it is too late, and let not the precious moments pass." The meeting was held, but without result as to the appointment of a committee, as is shown by the following extract from a letter written MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 123 by an inhabitant of Shrewsbury (evidently of Tory proclivities) to a friend in New York on the day following the meeting. He says : " In consequence of an anonymous advertisement fixed up in this place, giving notice to Free- holders and others to meet on Tuesday, the 17th inst., in order to choose a Committee of Inspec- tion, etc., between thirty and forty of the most respectable freeholders accordingly met, and after a few debates on the business of the Day, which were carried on with great decency and moderation, it was generally agreed (there being only four or five dissenting votes) that the ap- pointment of a committee was not only useless, but they were apprehensive would prove a means of disturbing the peace and quietness which had hitherto existed in the township, and would continue to use their utmost endeavours to preserve and guard against running upon that rock on which, with much concern, they behold others, through inattentive rashness, daily split- ting." The very unsatisfactory result in Shrewsbury and the repeated refusals of the people of that township to organize a committee, continued and adhered to during the following two months, finally brought out the following de- claration from the Freehold Committee,^ viz. : "March 14, 1775, P. M. " The Committee of Observation for the Township of Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, New Jer- sey, have made repeated applications to the inhabit- ants of the Township of Shrewsbury earnestly re- questing and exhorting them to comply with the instructions of the late American Congress in consti- tuting for themselves a Committee of Observation, that they might conspire with their brethren in the other Towns belonging to the County in executing the Re- solves of said Congress; but although they have entertained hopes, notwithstanding their former op- position, that they would do it at their. stated annual town-meeting, they are at this late hour informed that the said annual meeting of Shrewsbury is broke up without a Committee being chosen, or any one step taken whereby the least disposition is discovered of their being inclined to adopt the Resolutions of said Congress. They think it therefore their duty, how- ever painful the declaration, to bear publick testimony against them. And we do unanimously enter into the following 1 Minutes of the Council of Safety, 1775, page ! Resolve, viz. . That from and after this day, during our continuance as a Committee .(unless they shall turn from the evil of their ways, and testify their re- pentance by adopting the measures of Congress), we will esteem and treat them, the said inhabitants of Shrewsbury, as enemies to their King and Country, and deserters from the common cause of true freedom ; and we will hereafter break off all dealings and con- nection with them while they continue their opposi- tion.^ We do furthermore recommend the same con- duct towards them to our constituents and all others, earnestly hoping it may be a means of reclaiming those deluded people to their duty and interest, whom we shall always be pleased to receive and treat as re- turning prodigals. " Signed by order of the Committee. "Nathaniel Soudder, "Clerk, " Freehold." Finally, more than five months after the first committee had been organized in Monmouth County, the patriots of Shrewsbury prevailed over their opponents, as far as concerned the constituting of a Committee of Safety, the election of which is thus recorded : "At a meeting of the Freeholders and Inhabitants of the township of Shrewsbury, this 27th day of May, 1775, the following persons were, by a great majority, chosen a Committee of Observation for the said Town, agreeable to the direction of the General Continental 2 An instance of action taken by the committee under this resolution is found in the minutes of the Council of Safety, 1775-76, p. 100, viz. ; " Feeehold, Monmouth County, Committee, "Aprils, 1775. " Thomas Leonard, Esquire, having been duly notified to appear this day before the Committee of Inspection for the township of Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, New Jersey, and answer to u, number of complaints made against him, did not think proper to attend. " The Committee therefore proceeded, with care and impartiality, to consider the evidence laid before them, and were unanimously of opinion that the said Thomas Leon- ard, Esquire, has in a number of instances been guilty of a breach of the Continental Association, and that, pursuant to the tenour of said Association, every friend of true free- dom ought immediately to break off all connexion and deal- ings with him, the said Leonard, and treat him as a foe to the rights of British America. "Ordered, That their Clerk transmit a, copy of this judgment to the Press, " Signed, accordingly, by " NaTH. SCUDDDEII, '• Clerk." 124 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Congress held at Philadelphia, September 5th, 1774, ' Josiah Holmes Joseph Throckmorton Nicholas Van Brunt Cor. Vanderveer Daniel Hendriokson Thomas Morford John Little Samuel Longstreet David Knott Benjamin Dennis Samuel Breese Garret Longstreet Cornelius Lane "Ordered: That Daniel Hendrickson and Nicholas Van Brunt, or either of them, do attend the Provincial Congress now sitting at Trenton, with full power to represent there this Town of Shrewsbury. And that Josiah Holmes, David Knott and Samuel Breese be a sub-committee to prepare instructions for the Deputy or Deputies who are to attend the Congress at Tren- ton. Josiah Holmes was unanimously chosen Chair- man. " Josiah Holmes, " Chairman and Town Clerk." On the 11th of January, 1775, the New Jersey members of the Continental Congress reported its proceedings to the Assembly of their province, which body unanimously signi- fied its approval of the said proceedings,^ and resolved that the same delegates should repre- sent New Jersey in the next Congress, in which they should propose and vote for every reason- able and constitutional measure for a settlement of the differences between the colonies and Great Britain, and should again report the pro- ceedings of the Congress to the Assembly of the province. A great majority of the people in all pai'ts of the province of New Jersey approved the ob- jects of the association adopted by the Conti- nental Congress, and meetings, numerously attended, were held in the different counties, and in many of the townships, for the purpose of organizing to carry its measures into effect. Some of the means proposed to be adopted to accomplish the objects desired are shown in the minutes of a meeting held in Hanover township Morris County, February 15, 1775, which re- solved unanimously as follows : " 1st. That they will discourage all unlawful, tu- multuous and disorderly meetings of the people within 1 " Such members as were Quakers excepting only to such parts as seemed to wear an appearance or might have a tendency to force, as inconsistent with their religious principles." — Gordon's "History of New Jersey," p. 157. their Districts, and upon all occasions exert them- selves to the utmost of their power, and oppose and prevent any violence offered to the person or property of any one. " 2d. That they will take notice of all Horse Racing, , Cock-Fighting and every kind of Gaming whatsoever, and cause the oflenders to be prosecuted according to law; and discourage every species of extravagant entertainments and amusements whatsoever, agreea- ble to the eighth article of the Association of the Continental Congress. " 3d. That this Committee will, after the first day of March next, esteem it a violation of the seventh article of the said Association if any person or per- sons should kill any Sheep until it is four years old, or sell any such Sheep to any person whom he or they may have cause to suspect will kill them or carry them to market ; and, further, that they will esteem it a breach of said article if any inhabitant of this Township should sell any Sheep of any kind what- soever to any person dwelling out of this County, or to any person who they may have cause to suspect will carry them out of this County, without leave first obtained of this Committee. " 4th. That we do recommend to the inhabitants of this Township the cultivation of Flax and Hemp to the greatest extent that their lands and circum- stances will admit of. "5th. That from several Pamphlets and Publica- tions printed by James Rivington, of New York, Printer, we esteem him as an incendiary, employed by a wicked Ministry to disunite and divide us ; and therefore we will not, for ourselves, have any connec- tion or dealings with him, and do recommend the same conduct towards him to every person of this Township; and we will discountenance any Post- Rider, Stage-Driver or Carrier who shall bring his Pamphlets or Papers into this County. " 6th. That if any manufacturer of any article made for home consumption, or any Vender of Goods or Merchandises, shall take advantage of the necessities of his country by selling at an unusual price, such person shall be considered an enemy to his country; and do recommend it to the inhabitants of this Town- ship to remember that after the first day of March next no East Indian Tea^ is to be used in any case whatsoever. ^A "Monmouth Tea Party" was held in April, 1775, in Sandy Hook Bay. A vessel having arrived at the Hook from England, the pilots all refused to take her up to New York until they were well assured she had no tea on board, —such being their strict instructions from the Committee of S.'ifety. It was iinally found that eighteen chests of the forbidden article were on board, whereupon a party of men boarded her, threw the tea into the bay, and even then forbade the captain from going to the city, but forced him to put to sea and return to England. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 125 " 7tli. That we will in all cases whatsoever, and at all events, use our utmost endeavors to comply with and enforce every article of the Association of the General Continental Congress." These resolutions, being nearly identical in their import with those passed by meetings of freeholders and committees in nearly all the other counties, are reproduced here at length as showing the remarkable earnestness with which the people indorsed and promised " to comply with and enforce every article of the Associa- tion." The condemnation of Rivington and his publications, so strongly expressed in these resolutions— and quite as strongly in the decla- ration of the Freehold committee, before quoted — ^was enunciated in the same forcible manner in other county meetings, by some of which he was denounced as "a vile Ministerial hire- ling employed to disunite the colonies, and ca- lumniate all their measures entered into for the publick good;" as an enemy to his country, and a person to be hated, shunned and dis- countenanced by all friends of American liberty. On the morning of Wednesday, the 19th of April, 1775, a detachment of British regular troops that had been sent out from Boston to the town of Concord, Mass., met and fired on a body of armed, but unorganized and undisci- plined, farmers and mechanics, who had collected at Lexington Common. The volley of the regulars told with an eifect fatal to some of the Provincials, and this was the first blood shed in the war of the Revolution. Before the crack of the yeomen's rifles had ceased to sound along the road from Lexington to Boston, the Com- mittee of Safety of the town of Watertown had sent out express-riders to carry the news south and west. The dispatch destined for New York and Philadelphia passed on through Worcester, Norwich, New London, Lyme, Say- brook, Guildford, Brandford, New Haven and Fairfield (being successively forwarded by re- lays by the committees of these places), and reached the chamber of the New York com- mittee at four o'clock p.m., on Sunday, the 23d of April. From New York ^ the dispatch I At New York the dispatch was thus indorsed bj the committee: " Kecd- the within Account by express and was forwarded with all haste to New Bruns- wick, from which place the momentous tidings spread like wild-fire up the valley of the Raritan to the mountains, and in the other direction, across the hills and plains of Middle- sex and Monmouth to the sea, while the mes- sengers with the committee's dispatch sped on to Trenton and Philadelphia. Upon the receipt of the alarming news from Lexington, the Committee of Correspondence for the province was summoned by its chair- man to convene for deliberation, and to take such action as might seem necessary. The committee accordingly met, and the following is the record ^ of its proceedings on that occa- sion, viz. : " At a meeting of the New Jersey Provincial Com- mittee of Correspondence (appointed by the Provincial Congress) at the City of New Brunswick, on Tuesday, the second day of May, Anno Domini 1775, agreeable to summons of Hendrick Fisher, Esq., Chairman. " Present, Hendrick Fisher, Samuel Tucker, Joseph Borden, Joseph Riggs, Isaac Pearson, John Chet- wood, Lewis Ogden, Isaac Ogden, Abraham Hunt and Elias Boudinot, Esquires. " The Committee, having seriously taken into con- sideration as well the present alarming and very ex- , traordinary conduct of the British Ministry, for carry- ing into execution sundry Acts of Parliament for the express purpose of raising a revenue in America, and other unconstitutional measures therein mentioned; and also the several acts of hostility that they have actually commenced for this purpose by the Regular Forces under General Gage against our brethren of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, and not knowing how soon this Province may be in a state of confusion and disorder if there are not some forwarded by express to New Brunswick, with Di- rections to stop at Elizabeth Town, and acquaint the Committee there with the following particulars. By order of the Committee, Isaac Low, Chairman. The Committee at New Brunswick are requested to forward this to Phila." The other indorsements made on the dis- patch in its passage through New Jersey were as follows : "New Brunswick, Ap. 24, 1775, 2 o'clock in the morning, reed, the above express and forwarded to Princeton, — Wm. Oalce, JaB. Neilson, Az. Dunham, come."; "Princeton, Monday, Apl- 24, 6 o'clock, and forw<3- to Trenton,— Tho. Wiggins, Jon. Baldwin, com. members" ; "Trenton, Mon- day, Apt 24, 9 o'clock in the morning, reci the above per express and forwarded the same to the Committee of Phila- delphia, — Sam Tucker, Isaac Smith, come." '■i Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of Safety, 1775-76, p. 108. 126 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. effectual measures speedily taken to prevent the same; this Committee are unanimously of opinion, and do hereby advise and direct, that the Chairman do im- mediately call a Provincial Congress to meet at Tren- ton on Tuesday, the twenty-third day of this instant, in order to consider and determine such matters as may then and there come before them ; and the several Counties are hereby desired to nominate and appoint their respective Deputies for the same, as speedily as may be, with full and ample powers for such purposes as may be thought necessary for the peculiar exigencies of this Province. "The Committee do also direct their Chairman to forward true copies of the above minute to the several County Committees of this Province without delay. ^ " Hendeick Fisher, " Chairman.'" In accordance with this call of the committee, delegates from the several counties of the prov- ince assembled on Tuesday, the 23d of May, at Trenton, where, on the following day, they organized as " The Provincial Congress of New Jersey," by electing Hendrick Fisher president, Jonathan D. Sergeant secretary, and William Paterson and Frederick Frelinghuysen assist- ant secretaries. The number of delegates in attendance was eighty-seven. ~ Those represent- ing Monmouth County were Edward Taylor, Joseph Saltar, Robert Montgomery, John Holmes, John Covenhoven, Daniel Hendrick- son and Nicholas Van Brunt. One of these, Edward Taylor, was at the same time a mem- ber of the Colonial Assembly of New Jersey. The Provincial Congress remained in session at Trenton eleven days. The most important business of the session was consummated on the day of adjournment, in the adoption of "a plan for regulating the Militia of this Colony," and the passage of "an ordinance for raising a sum of money for the purpose therein men- tioned," — that is to say, for the purpose of organizing and arming the militia troops and preparing them for active service when neces- sary. The preamble and first three sections of the militia bill then passed were as follows : " The Congress, taking into consideration the cruel and arbitrary measures adopted and pursued by the British Parliament and present ministry for the pur- pose of subjugating the American Colonies to the most abject servitude, and being apprehensive that all pacific measures for the redress of our grievances will prove ineffectual, do think it highly necessary that the inhabitants of this Province be forthwith properly armed and disciplined for defending the cause of American freedom. And, further, considering that, to answer this (fesirable end, it is requisite that such persons be intrusted with the command of the Militia as can be confided in by the people, and are truly zealous in support of our just rights and privi- leges, do recommend and advise that the good people of this Province henceforward strictly observe the following rules and regulations, until this Congress shall make further order therein : "1st. That one or more companies, as the case may require, be immediately formed in each Township or Corporation, and, to this end, that the several Com- mittees, in this Province do, as soon as may be, acquaint themselves with the number of male inhabit- ants in their respective districts, from the age of sixteen to fifty, who are capable of bearing arms ; and thereupon form them into companies consisting, as near as may be, of eighty men each ; which companies so formed shall, each by itself, assemble and choose, by plurality of voices, four persons among them- selves, of sufficient substance and capacity for its officers, — namely, one captain, two lieutenants and an ensign. "2d. That the officers so chosen appoint for their respective companies fit persons to be sergeants, cor- porals and drummers. " 3d. That as soon as the companies are so formed the officers of such a number of companies as shall by them be judged proper to form a regiment do assemble and choose one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, a major and an adjutant for each regiment." The " ordinance," also passed on the last day of the session, and having for its object the raising of funds, principally for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of the militia bill, recited and declared that : " Whereas, It has become absolutely necessary, in the present dangerous and extraordinary state of public affairs, in which the usual resources of govern- ment appear to be insufficient for the safety of the people, and in which the good people of this Province have therefore thought proper to choose Deputies in this present Congress, that a fund be provided for the use of the Province : We, the said Deputies, being per- suaded that every inhabitant is willing and desirous to contribute his proportion of money for so import- ant a purpose, do, pursuant to the powers intrusted to us by the people, resolve and direct that the sum of Ten Thousand Pounds, Proclamation Money, be immediately apportioned and raised for the use afore- said; the same to be apportioned, laid out and disposed of in such manner as hereinafter is directed." The amounts to be raised under this ordinance by the several counties of the province were MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 127 apportioned to them as follows: Bergen, £664 8s. Od.; Burlington, £1071 13s. M. ; Cape May, £166 18s. Od ; Cumberland, £385 6s. Sd. ; Es- sex, £742 18s. Od; Gloucester, £763 2s. 8d; Hunterdon, £1363 16s. Sd. ; Middlesex, £872 6s. 8d, Monmouth, £1069 2s. 8d. ; Morris, £723 8s. Od; Salem, £679 12s. Od; Somer- set, £904 2s. Od ; Sussex, £593 5s. 4d. Other sections of the ordinance pointed out the manner of assessing and collecting the tax, and provided that when the amount collected in a county should be received by the county collector he should pay the same over to the county committee, " to be disposed of by them in such manner as they in their discretion shall think most proper" to meet expenses arising from the exigencies of the times. After the adoption of these measures for the public safety it was by the Congress " Ordered, That Mr. Fisher, Mr. Tucker, Mr. Dan- iel Hunt, Mr. Frelinghuysen, Mr., I. Pearson, Mr. Dunham, Mr. Schureman, Mr. John Hart, Mr. Bor- ; den, Mr. Deare, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Schenck, Mr. Ealph Hart and Mr. Heard, or any three of them, in conjunction with the President or Vice-President, be a Committee of Correspondence, with power to con- vene this Congress." Immediately after the appointment of the Committee of Correspondence, the Congress ad- journed, June 3, 1775. It is a rather remarkable fact in the history of this Provincial Congress of New Jersey that, although one of its first acts was to declare that its members had "assembled with the pro- foundest veneration for the person and family of His Sacred Majesty, George III., firmly pro- fessing all due allegiance to his rightful authority and government," ^ the close of its first session was marked by the adoption of the most vigorous measures in preparation for armed resistance to that sovereign's authority. Two weeks from the day on which the Con- gress of New Jersey closed its session at Tren- ton, a force of British regulars moved from Boston to Charlestown, and marched in splendid order and perfect confidence up the acclivity of 1 Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of , 1175-16, p. 171. Bunker Hill to attack the slight defenses of the patriot force that stood waiting for them in silence upon the summit. Twice were the scarlet lines hurled back in disorder down the slope, but as often did they re-form and return to the assault. Their third charge was successful; the Provincial forces, undismayed, but with empty muskets and cartridge-boxes, were at last forced from their position, and the soldiers of the King carried and held the blood-soaked crest. This event — the battle of Bunker Hill — is as well known and conspicuous in history as that of Marathon or Waterloo, and it was more im- portant in its results than either. Just before its occurrence General George Washington had been appointed^ by the Continental Congress ^ commander-in-chief of the forces of the United Colonies, and immediately afterwards he as- sumed command of the army at Cambridge and disposed his thin lines to encircle the British forces in the town of Boston. In less than a week after the memorable battle in Charlesto'wn, the startling news had been re- ceived in Philadelphia, and was known in every township of New Jersey. In this alarming state of affairs the general Committee of Corre^ spondence of the province, exercising the powers intrusted to them, called a second session of the Provincial Congress, which body accordingly convened at Trenton on the 5th of August following. Eighty-three members were in at- tendance. Those of Monmouth County were Ed-^ ward Taylor, Robert Montgomery. John Holmes, John Coveuhoven and Daniel Hendrickson. The Congress at this session adopted a num- ber of measures for promoting the public safety, the principal of which were a resolution to pro- vide for the collection of the ten thousand pounds tax ordered at the May and June ses- sion, and a resolution "for further regulating the Militia, etc.," the first-named being the first business that was attended to after the opening of the session. It appears that many obstacles had been encountered in the collection of the tax, and that in a great number of instances payment had been avoided or refused. 2 .June 15, 1775. » The Continental Congress had convened in Philadelphia on the 10th of May, 1775. 128 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. In adopting "the plan for further regulating the Militia, etc.," the Congress " Resolved, 1. That the several County or (where there is no County) the Township Committees do transmit the names of all the Militia Officers chosen within their respective Districts to the Provincial Congress, or to the Committee of Safety, to be by them commissioned, agreeable to the directions of the Continental Congress. '' Resolved, 2. That all officers above the rank of a Captain, not already chosen or appointed, pursuant to an ordinance of this Congress made at their last session, be appointed by the Congress or, during their recess, by the Committee of Safety. " Resolved, 3. That where the inhabitants of differ- ent Townships have been embodied into one Company, Battalion or Regiment, before the 20th day of June last, it is not the intention of this Congress that they should be dissolved, provided they govern themselves according to the rules and directions of the same.'' Ten resolutions succeeding those above quoted directed the organization of the militia of the province into regiments and battalions, and the number of each of these organizations to be appointed to the several counties ; established the order of their precedence ; prescribed the manner in which they were to be raised, armed and governed ; provided for the collection of fines from " all effective men between the ages of sixteen and fifty who shall refuse to enroll themselves and bear arms," or who, being en- rolled, should absent themselves from the mus- ter, and directed how such fines should be applied. The troops directed to be raised and organized were to be equal to about twenty-six regiments, apportioned to the different counties as follows : The militia of Bergen County to compose one regiment ; of Essex, two regiments or four battalions ; of Middlesex, two regi- ments ; of Monmouth, three regiments ; of Morris and Sussex, each two regiments and one battalion ; of Burlington, two regiments and a company of rangers ; of Gloucester, three bat- talions ; of Salem, one regiment ; of Cumber- land, two battalions ; of Cape May, one battal- ion ; of Somerset, two regiments ; and of Hunterdon, four regiments. And it was pro- vided " that the precedency of rank in the militia shall take place in the following order : 1. Essex; 2. Salem ; 3. Gloucester; 4. Morris; 5. Sussex; 6. Cape May; 7. Monmouth; 8. Somerset ; 9. Bergen ; 10. Cumberland ; 11. Middlesex; 12. Hunterdon; 13. Burlington; and that, when there may be more than one regiment or battalion in a county, the prece- dency shall be determined by the county commit- tee, according to their former seniority." Besides providing for the organization and arming of the militia, as above mentioned, the Congress resolved : " That for the purpose of effisctually carrying into execution the recommendation of the Continental Congress respecting the appointment of minute-men, four thousand able-bodied effective men be enlisted and enrolled in the several counties in this Province, under officers to be appointed and commissioned by this Congress or Committee of Safety, who shall hold themselves in constant readiness, on the shortest notice, to march to any place where their assistance may be required for the defence of this or any neigh- boring colony." These " minute-men " were to be enlisted for a term of four months, at the end of which time they were to be " relieved, unless upon ac- tual service." They were given precedence of rank over the common militia of the province, and -whenever called into actual service were "to receive the like pay as the Continental Army, and be furnished with camp equipage and pro- visions ; and also be provided for, if wounded or disabled in the service of their country." Their officers were to be nominated by the sev- eral county committees, or (in counties having no general committee) by the township commit- tees jointly, " with assurance that as soon as their companies are completed, they shall re- ceive commissions from the Provincial Congress or the Committee of Safety." The organiza- tion of the "minute-raen" was directed to be made in companies of sixty-four men each, in- cluding officers, these companies to be formed into ten battalions for the whole province, and the apportionment to the several counties to be as given below, — viz. : Bergen County to fur- nish one battalion of four companies ; Essex County, one battalion of six companies ; Mid- dlesex County, one battalion of six companies ; Monmouth County, one battalion of six com- panies ; Somerset County, one battalion of five companies ; Morris County, one battalion of six companies ; Sussex County, one battalion of five MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE KEVOLUTION. 12» companies; Hunterdon County, one battalion of eight companies ; Burlington County, one battalion of five companies ; Gloucester and Salem Counties, one battalion of seven compa- nies, — four to be furnished by Gloucester and one by Salem ; Cumberland County to furnish three companies, and Cape May County one company, all to act as " independent companies of light infantry and rangers." Whatever arms and accoutrements were ob- tained by the county and township committees were directed to be issued to the minute-men in preference to the militia until the former were armed and equipped, the remainder to be used for arming the militia. It was "Sesolved, That this Congress do recommend to the several County Comndittees in this Colony that they immediately employ gunsmiths to make such a num- ber of arms as they shall judge to be necessary and wanting in their respective counties ; and that in the manufacture of said arms particular attention be paid to the directions of the Continental Congress. It was also by the Congress Ordered, That the several County Committees do appoint one Surgeon to each Eegiment and Battalion belonging to their respective Counties; and certify the name of such Surgeon to the next Congress, or to the Committee of Safety, in order to his being prop- erly commissioned." The above mentioned, with the appointment of Philemon Dickinson as brigadier-general, were all the important military measures adopted at this session. The Congress adjourned on Thursday, August 17th, after a session of seventeen days, its last act prior to adjournment having been the ap- pointment of Hendrick Fisher, Samuel Tucker, Isaac Pearson, John Hart, Jonathan D. Ser- geant, Azariah Dunham, Peter Schenck, Enos Kelsey, Joseph Borden, Frederick Frelinghuy- sen and John Schureman as a Committee of Safety to control public affairs during the re- cess. This was the first Committee of Safety of the province of New Jersey, — a body which came to be greatly feared by those inimical to the cause of America. During the times when the Congress was not in session this committee wielded extraordinary and almost unlimited power.i It does not appear, however, that it became necessary for the committee to exercise this power in any very important public busi- ness in the less than seven weeks which inter- vened between its formation and the reassem- bling of the Provincial Congress. During that interval the sessions of the committee were held at Princeton. At its August session, the Provincial Con- gress of New Jersey had provided for a new election of deputies from the counties of the province, and under this provision, Monmouth county elected Edward Taylor, John Covenhovcii and Joseph Holmes, Avho, with forty-four other delegates trom the several counties, formed the Second Provincial Congress, which convened in its first session, at Trenton, on the 3d of Octo- ber, 1775. > Jlr. Charles D. Deshler, in his excellent paper read be- fore the New Brunswick Historical Club at its fifth anniver- sary, said of this Committee of Safety ; " In effect it consti- tuted a practical dictatorship, rRsiding not in one man in- deed, but in a majority vote of eleven or more persons, who were appointed by the Provincial Congress 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, pru- dence, firmness, activity and sagacity. They exercised, as a committee, all the powers intrusted to or assumed by the Provincial Congress, save that of legislation. They con- ducted all the correspondence and conferences with the Continental Congress and Provincial Congresses of other colonies ; they gave orders for the arrest of suspicious oi; disaffected persons ; they tried and acquitted or condemned to imprisonment or detention men who were charged with disaffection 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, commissioned oflScers in the militia or in the corps of minute-men, held prisoners of war, settled con- troversies between oflScers, 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 defense, and in fine, they were the executive branch of the government, as the representatives of the power and authority of the Pro- vincial Congress during its recess. All which they exer- cised (with an ability and integrity that has never been im- peached) till they were superseded, in October, 1776, by the first Legislature under the new State Constitution (adopted July 2, 1786), which invested the Governor ,and a. Council of twenty members with certain powers fora limited time under the title of 'The Governor and Council of Safety.' " 130 HISTOEY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. The Congress ajniposed of these members so recently elected and fresh from among the peo- ple was the first thoroughly representative body which had ennvened in New Jersey under the Revolutionary order of things. Among the business transacted by this Congress was the passage, on the 24th of October, of " An Or- dinance for compelling the payment of the ten thousand pound tax from such persons as have refused to pay their quotas." The resolution levying this tax had been passed at the May session, and the subject had received further attention at the session held in August ; not- Avithstanding which, a large amount still re- mained uncollected, — payment being refused,^ — for \vhich reason this ordinance was passed, authorizing more stringent measures against de- linquents and directing the chairman or deputy chairman of any county committee to order the properly authorized persons " to make distress on the goods and chattels " of such delinquents, and to " make sale thereof at public vendue, giving five days' notice thereof by advertise- ment in such town or county." But the most important of the measures taken at this session were those which related to the mustering and equipping of the military forces, and to raising the funds necessary for that pur- pose. One of these [passed October 28th] was ■" An Ordinance for regulating the Militia of New- Jersey," which, after reciting in its preamble that " Whereas, The ordinances of the late Pro- vincial Congress for regulating the Militia of this Colony have been found insufficient to answer the good purposes intended, and it ap- jiearing to be essentially necessary that some further regulations be adopted at this time of imminent danger," proceeded to adopt and direct such " further regulations " as were deemed necessary to accomplisli the object for which the previous ordinances had been found insufficient, — viz., tlie enrollment in the militia of all able-bodied, male inhabitants of the prov- ince between the ages of sixteen and fitly years (except those whose religious principles forbade them to bear arms), their muster, equip- ment and instruction in military tactics under command of proper officers. It was not ma- terially different from the earlier ordinances passed for the same purpose, except that its re- quirements were more clearly defined, thorough and peremptory, and that evasion or non-com- pliance was punished by severer penalties and forfeitures, and these to be rigidly and relent- lessly enforced. One of the provisions of the ordinance was to the effect that every man en- rolled in the militia " shall, with all convenient speed, /m?tos/i himself with a good musket or firelock and bayonet, sword or tomahawk, a steel ramrod, priming-wire and brush fitted thereto, a cartouch-box to contain twenty-three rounds of cartridges, twelve flints and a knapsack, agreeable to the direction of the Continental Congress, under the forfeiture of two shillings for the want of a musket or a firelock, and of one shilling for the want of the other above enumerated articles ; " also " that every person directed to be enrolled as above shall, at his place of abode, be provided with one pound of poM'der and three pounds of bullets of proper size to his musket or firelock." The following extracts from the minutes of the Congress are given here as having reference to military matters at that time in Monmouth county, viz : "October 12, 1775. — A petition from the officers of the united regiment of Freehold and MiddletoM'n, praying that the officers therein named may be commissioned, was read ; Or- dered, That commissions do issue accordingly. "October 20, 1775. — The Congress met pur- suant to adjournment. The certificate of the election of officers of the several companies of Militia in the Township of Freehold was read ; Ordered, That commissions do issue to the sev- eral officers therein named. " The certificate of the election of field offi- cers for the battalion of minute-men for the County of Monmouth was read ; Ordered, That commissions do issue to the officers therein named. " October 25, 1775.— Ordered, That commis- sions do issue to Samuel Forman, Esq., Lieu- tenant-Colonel, Elisha Lawrence, Esq., First Major, and James Mott, Esq., Second Major of the Second Regiment of Militia in the County of Monmouth." The purchase of arms, ammunition, camp MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 131 ■equipage, artillery and other military necessities for the province, and the furnishing of funds for such purchase by the issuance of bills of credit, were provided for by an ordinance passed October 28th,'^ of which the preamble and most important sections were as follows : " Whereas, It appears essentially necessary at this time of increasing danger that the inhabitants of this Colony should be furnished with ammunition and other military stores, and that this Colony should be put into some proper posture of defence: " It is therefore Resolved and Directed, That Messrs. Samuel Tucker, Abraham Hunt, Joseph Ellis and Alexander Chambers be, and they are hereby, ap- pointed Commissioners for the Western Division; and that Hendrick Fisher, Azariah Dunham, Abra- ham Clark and Samuel Potter be, and they are hereby, appointed Commissioners for the Eastern Division of this Colony; which said Commissioners, or the major part of them, are hereby authorized and directed to receive of the Treasurers of this Colony, for the time being, appointed by this Congress, or either of them, all such sum or sums of money as they shall from time to time find necessary to expend for the use of this Colony, pursuant to the resolutions hereinafter mentioned. " And it is further Resolved and Directed, That the said commissioners be, and they are hereby, author- ized and directed to contract with artificers for, or ■otherwise purchase, three thousand stand of arms at any price not exceeding Three Pounds Seven Shil- lings each stand ; and also to purchase ten tons of gunpowder, twenty tons of lead, one thousand car- touch-boxes, at any price not exceeding nine Shil- lings each ; a quantity of flints, brushes, priming wire and cartridge paper, not exceeding one hundred Pounds in value ; two chests of medicine, not exceed- ing three hundred Pounds in value; four hundred tents, with camp equipage, etc., not exceeding one "thousand eight hundred and seventy Pounds in value; two thousand blankets, not exceeding fifteen hundred Pounds in value; a nuinber of axes, spades, and other intrenching tools, not exceeding three hundred Pounds in value ; and a train of artillery not exceed- ing five hundred Pounds in value.^ ' Minutes of the Provincial Congress and Council of Safety, 1775-76, p. 246. ^ It was found that the articles named could not be pur- chased for the sums to which the commissioners were limited; and thereupon, on the 10th of February, 1776, the Congress gave them unlimited authority to purchase, by the following action; "Whereas, By an ordinance of this Congress, passed at Trenton the 28th day of October last, the Commissioners therein named and appointed to purchase firearms and military stores were particularly restricted in the price to be paid for said firearms, whereby "And whereas. It is absolutely necessary to provide a fund for defraying the above expense, it is therefore Resolved and Directed, That bills of credit to the amount of thirty thousand" Pounds Proclamation money* be immediately prepared, printed and made as follows, to wit : Five thousand seven hundred bills, each of the value of three Pounds; six thousand bills, each of the value of one Pound ten Shillings; four thousand bills, each of the value of fifteen Shil- lings ; and three thousand bills, each of the value of six Shillings ; which bills shall be in the form follow- ing, to wit : '"This bill, by an Ordinance of the Provincial Congress, shall pass current in all payments within the Colony of New Jersey for Proclamation Money ; Dated the day of , 1775,' and shall be im- pressed with such devices as the inspectors of the press hereinafter appointed shall direct; and when printed shall be delivered to Hendrick Fisher and Azariah Dunham, Esquires, of the Eastern Division, and to John Hart and John Carey, of the Western Division, four of the signers thereof, in equal moieties; one moiety to be signed by the Treasurer and signers of the Eastern Division, and the other moiety by the Treasurer and signers of the Western Division. . . ." The succeeding parts of the ordinance pro- vided for the numbering, signing, countersign- ing, counting and inspection of the bills, with various other details, all which were laid out and directed with great minuteness as a safe- guard against the possibility of irregularity or fraud. And it Mas further provided by the ordinance that " for the better credit and effec- tual sinking of the said bills of credit there shall be assessed, levied and raised on the sev- eral inhabitants of this colony, their goods and chattels, lands and tenements, the sum of ten thousand pounds annually in every of the years one thousand seven hundred and eighty-four, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-five, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-six ;" . . . and the apportionment of this annual tax the manufactory thereof hath been greatly impeded ; for the remedy whereof it is resolved unanimously that the said Commissioners have full power immediately to proceed in contracting for firearms upon the best terms in their powey, without any limitation or restriction; and tliat this Congress will in convenient time pass an ordinance for that purpose." — Minnies Provincial Congress and Council of Safety, 1715-16, pp. 358, 359. 'The amount was raised to fifty thousand pounds by an ordinance passed February 28, 1776. ■• Proclamation money was reckoned at seven shillings six- pence to the dollar. 132 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH C()UNTY, NEW JERSEY. was made identical in the amounts assigned to each of the counties with tliat of the ten thou- sand pound tax, before mentioned, levied at the session of the preceding May. The question of the enlistment and organiza- tion of two battalions of soldiers in JSTew Jer- sey for the Continental service was among the business brought before the Congress at this session. It originated in the receipt, on the IStli of October, of a letter from the President of the Continental Congress to the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, it being as follows : " Philadelphia, Oct. 12, 1775. "Gentlemen, — Some late intelligence,^ laid be- fore Congress, seems to render it absolutely necessary, for the protection of our liberties and the safety of our lives, to raise several new battalions, and there- fore the Congress have come into the inclosed resolu- tions, which I am ordered to transmit to you. The Congress have the firmest confidence that from your experienced zeal in this great cause you will exert your utmost endeavors to carry the said resolutions into execution with all possible expedition. "The Congress have agreed to furnish the men with a hunting-shirt, not exceeding the value of one dollar and one-third of a dollar, and a blanket, pro- vided these can be procured, but these are not to be made part of the terms of enlistment. " I am, gentlemen, "Your most obedient humble servant, "John Hancock. " President." " By order of Congress, I forward you forty-eight commissions for the captains and subaltern oificers in New Jersey Battalions. " To THE MeMBEBS of the CONVENTION OF NeW JeHSEY. The resolutions of the Continental Congress referred to in INIr. Hancock's letter were passed by that body on the 9th and 12th of October, recommending to the Congress of New Jersey that it should " immediately raise, at the ex- pense of the continent, two battalions, consist- ing of eight companies," of men for the service, and specifying the manner in which they were to be enlisted and officered and the pay and allowances they would receive. A reply was at once sent (October 13th) to the Continental Congress, expressing the desire ^ Unfavorable intelligence from the Canadian expedition under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery. of the Congress of New Jersey to promote the common interests of the colonies as far as lay in their power and to raise the troops as desired, but objecting to the manner in which the field-officers for the proposed battalions were to be appointed. This disagreement resulted in some further correspondence, and the matter was afterwards satisfactorily arranged. On the 28th of October the Provincial Con- gress passed a resolution recommending to the Continental Congress the appointment and com- missioning of the follo\ving-named field-officers for the two battalions to be raised in New Jer- sey, — viz. : For the Eastern Batfciliou, the Earl of Stirling colonel, William Winds lieutenant- colonel, and William De Hart major ; for the Western Battalion, William Maxwell colonel, Israel Shrieve lieutenant-colonel, and David Ray major. These appointments were s(jon after made, and commissions issued by direction of the Continental Congress. The Provincial Congress adjourned on the 28th of October, " to meet at New Brunswick on the first Tuesday in April next, unless sooner convened by the President, Vice-President or the Committee of Safety." The gentlemen ap- pointed to form this committee, to act for the public welfare in the recess of this C(jngress, Avere Samuel Tucker, Hendrick Fisher, John Hart, Abraham Clark, Lewis Ogden, Joseph Holmes, John Mehelm, Isaac Pearson, John Pope, Azariah Dunham, John Dennis, Augus- tine Stephenson, Rnloff Van Dyke. The t^oramittee held a five days' session at Princeton, from the 9th to the 13th of January, 1776, at which a number of Tories and disaf- fected persons M'ere severely dealt Avith, and provision was made for the erection of beacons and the keeping of express-riders in constant readiness to convey intelligence in case of alarm from invasion or other causes. They saw fit, however, to call an extra session of the Provin- cial Congress, as appears by the following ex- tract from their minutes, dated January 12th, — viz. : " This Committee received several resolutions and determinations of the Continental Congress respect- ing raising one new battalion in this Province, erect- ing and establishing a Court of Admiralty, advising MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 133 the forming some useful regulations respecting the Continental forces raised in this Colony; which requisitions, together with many other important con- cerns, render the speedy meeting of a Congress of this province absolutely necessary. This Committee have therefore appointed the meeting of said Congress to be at New Brunswick on Wednesday, the thirty-first •day of this instant, January." The Congress accordingly met at the time and place designated, and commenced business on the 1st of February. The recruitment of the two battalions which Congress at its previous session had ordered to be raised had proceeded successfully and with. rapidity. Lord Stirling, having been commis- sioned colonel of the First or Eastern Battalion, had taken with him to it several of the officers find a considerable number of the men of the regiment of militia which he had previously com- manded, and he found very little difficulty in fill- ing the ranks of his new command. Colonel Max- M'ell's (Western) battalion -was recruited with nearly equal facility. In i;he last week of No- vember (1775) Stirling established his head- quarters at Elizabeth town to fill his battalion to the maximum, six companies of it having previously been ordered to garrison the fort in the Highlands on the Hudson River. Lieu- tenant-Colonel Winds was sc^on after stationed, with a part of the battalion, at Perth Amboy. Colonel ^Maxwell's battalion was ordered to the vicinity of the Hudson River, and Ijoth the Eastern and Western Battalions, having been filled, or nearly so, were niustei-ed into the Con- tinental service in December. The first ]\Ionmouth County company that took the field was that of Captain Longstreet, who, in November, 1775, marched his com-- maud to Perth Amboy, where they took posses- sion of the barracks, which had been vacated by the Forty-Seventh Royal Regiment of Foot in the fall of 1774, when they moved to join the forces of General G-age in Boston. On the 2d of February, 1776, Congress ordered to be sent "to the commanding officers and chairmen of the several county committees in the province " a circular-letter in these words : "Gentlemex, — The late repulse at Quebec' re- 'The unsuccessful assault on the defenses of tint town, quires every exertion of the friends of American free- dom, in consequence whereof Colonel Maxwell's bat- talion is ordered to march forthwith, and the Continen- tal Congress have applied to our body urging the great- est dispatch in procuring arms and necessaries for this 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, being your proportion of the Provincial arms unsold. Dispatch in this case is quite necessary, as, no doubt, the arms are distributed in the hands of the associators, it will be necessary that every oflBcer do his part. The value of the arms will be paid in money, or the number be replaced, and the expenses of collecting and forward- ing them punctually discharged. We put you to this trouble with regret; but the necessity of the measure must apologise. You will have the arms collected in your county valued by good men, and sent to Bur- lington or Trenton, under the care of such officer of Colonel Maxwell's battalion as may be the bearer thereof." That a great scarcity of ammunition as well as of arms existed among the men of the two battalions appears by the following extract from the minutes of the Congress, dated February 1st, — viz. : " Lieutenant-Colonel Winds informed this Congress that he was stationed at Perth Amboy with a part of the Eastern battalion of the Continental forces raised in this Colony, and that he was destitute of amnmni- tion, and thought it not improbable lie might soon have occasion for a supply. And this Congress being informed that the county of Somerset had a quantity of powder in store, and the county of Middlesex a quan- tity of lead, — in consideration whereof : Ordered, That Mr. President request the Chairman of the Committee of Somerset to furnish Colonel Winds with four quar- ter casks of powder ; and that he also request the Chairman of the Committee of the County of Middle- sex to furnish Colonel Winds with ibO pounds of lead ; and that the said powder and lead shall ' be replaced in some convenient time." The committees promptly acceded to this request, as appears from the minutes, dated February 10th, — viz. : "On a requisition from Lord Stirling, the Commit- tee of Elizabethtown have lurnished him with six thousand cartridges, Somerset County four quarter casks of powder, Woodbridge a considerable quantity in the morning of December 31, 1775, by the American forces under Montgomery and Arnold, in which the first- named gallant officer lost his life and the latter was severely wounded. 134 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. and Brunswick one hundred and fifty weight of lead. Our militia are very illy supplied with ammunition ; those who have granted the above supplies are there- fore very desirous that they be immediately re- placed." This extract is from a communication sent by the Provincial Congress on the date named to the Continental Congress asking for " ten tons of gunpowder and twenty tons of lead, or as much as may be spared," out of a large quantity re- ported to have then recently arrived at Philadel- phia. The request was granted to the extent of half a ton of powder, and out of this, the quan- tity bon-owed of Somerset County, Brunswick, Woodbridge and Elizabeth was replaced. In consequence of the unfavorable result of the military operations in Canada, and the strong probability (indicated in letters from General "Washington to Congress) that General Howe in- tended to evacuate his uncomfortable position at Boston and move his forces thence by sea to New York, as also the knowledge that Sir Henry Clin- ton had embarked from England on a secret expe- dition, whose probable destination was New York, a greater degree of activity was infused into mili- tary measures in general, and especially to those having reference to the defense of the middle colonies. The Continental Congress having re- solved, in January, 1776, that it was necessary to raise a number of additional battalions, assigned the raising of one of these to the province of New Jersey, and recommended to the Provincial Congress that it should take immediate steps to that end. Accordingly, on the 5th of February, the last-named Congress passed a resolution to. raise a battalion, in addition to the two previ- ously raised, to be enlisted, organized and offi- cered in the same manner (except that each of the eight companies should be composed of sev- enty-eight instead of sixty-eight privates), and, like the others, to be employed in the Continental service. Company officers for the battalion M^ere appointed by the Congress of New Jersey, but the field-officers were to be appointed and com- missioned by the Continental Congress. The rapid progress made in raising the Third Battalion is indicated by the following extract from a letter written by President Tucker to the Continental Congress on the 24th of February, only nineteen days after the passage of the reso- lution ordering the battalion to be raised,— viz.: " I am likewise to request that commissions may be sent for the officers of the Third Battalion, as some of the companies are already full and others in a fair way." On the 13th of February, Congress resolved "that a train of artillery, consisting of twelve pieces, be immediately purchased for the use of this Colony," and on the .2d of March an ordi- nance was passed directing that two I'omplete artillery companies be immediately raised for the defense of the colony, " one to be stationed in the Eastern and one in the Western Division there- of, .. . to be disposed of in this Colony as the Congress, Committee of Safety, Brigadier- General of the Division to which they re- spectively belong shall direct; each company to be commanded by a Captain, Captain- Lieutenant, First and Second Lieutenants ; and to consist of a Fire-worker, four Sergeants, four Corporals, one Bombardier and fifty matrosses, all of whom are to be able-bodied freemen, and to be enlisted for one year, unless sooner discharged." The commissioned officers ap- pointed for these companies were Frederick Frelinghuysen captain,' Daniel Neil captain- lieutenant, Thomas Clark first lieutenant,, and John Heard second lieutenant of the East- ern Company, and Samuel Hugg captain, Thomas Newark captain-lieutenant, John West- cott first lieutenant, and Joseph Dayton second lieutenant of the Western Company. A com- pany of riflemen was also ordered to be raised, to be joined to Colonel Maxwell's (Second Continental) battalion. In view of the probability, as before mentioned, that General Howe was about to move his army to occupy New York, and the expected arrival, by sea, of a force under Sir Henry Clinton, a con- siderable number of Continental and Provincial 1 Captain Frelinghuysen soon after resigned his coniniis- sion and thereupon his artillery company was disbanded, as is shown by an ordinance passed August 21, 1776, order- ing the payment of certain demands, among them being : " To Frederick Frelinghuysen £61 13s. .2d., being the bal- ance due to him and men by him enlisted for the eastern company of artillery, who were discharged upon his resig- nation." — Min. Prov. Cnng.. 1776,/'. 575. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 135 troops had been ordered to that city, and among these the battalion of Lord Stirling, who received orders to that effect about the 1st of February, and moved his command from Elizabethtown to New York on the 5th and 6th of that month. ^ On the 15th of February the Congress of New Jersey received a communication from the Presi- dent of the Continental Congress, dated Febru- ary 12th, asking this province to send a force of minute-men to New York ; upon the receipt of which the Provincial Congress resolved unani- mously, "That the above requisition be complied with, and that detachments of minute-men, properly accoutred, equal to a battalion in the Continental service, be im- mediately made, and marched to New York under the command of Charles Stewart, Esq., colonel ; Mark Thompson, Esq., lieutenant-colonel ; Frederick Fre- linghuysen and Thomas Henderson,^ Esqrs., majors." But again the scarcity of arms presented a serious difficulty, and this time it proved an in- superable obstacle to the desired movement of the troops, as is explained by the following ex- tract from the minutes of the Continental Con- gress, dated Febru^y 22d, — viz.: "A delegate from New Jersey having informed Congress that the regiment of militia ordered by the Convention of that Colony to march to the defense of New York, in consequence of the resolve of Congress of the 12th of this month, were not sufficiently armed, and that they could not be furnished with arms unless the Congress supplied them, and as this Congress have not arms to spare, — those they have being neces- sary for arming the battalions in the Continental service ; Therefore, Resolved, that the march of said battalion of militia be countermanded." One week after the marching orders to the New Jersey minute-men were thus countermanded the several organizations of minute-men in the colony were disbanded by action of the Provin- Ha a letter addressed by Lord Stirling to the President of Congress, dated New York, February 19, 1776, he says,— " Sib,— On the 14th instant I informed you of having re- ceived General Lee's orders to march with my regiment to this place. I accordingly marched the next morning with four companies from Elizabethtown, and arrived here the next day, as soon as the ice permitted us to cross HudHon's River. The other four companies followed the next day." — Collections of the New Jersey Historical Society, vol. ii.p. 129. 'Dr. Thomas Henderson, of Freehold. cial Congress, which, on the 29th of February,, passed an ordinance in which it was directed " That all the minute-men heretofore embodied in the several parts of this Colony be immediately dis- solved, and incorporated with the militia, in the several companies in the district in which they re- spectively reside, as though such minute-men had never been raised. . . ." The principal reasons for this action, as enu- merated in the preamble to the ordinance, were that large numbers of the members of minute- men organizations had enlisted in the Continental service, thereby greatly reducing the companies and battalions, and so placing them in a condi- tion in which they could not " answer the design of their institution," and that " our defense, under God, chiefly depends upon a well-regulated militia." Thus the " minute-men " organiza- tions of New Jersey ceased to exist, never having had an opportunity to perform any of the pecu- liar services for which they were formed. The Congress of New Jersey adjourned on the 2d of March, 1776, having previously^ passed an ordinance, in which it was " Resolved and di- rected, That there be a new choice of Deputies to serve in Provincial Congress, for every County of this Colony, on the fourth Monday in May yearly, and every year," thus establish- ing regular annual elections of deputies instead of the special elections called, as they had pre- viously been, at the pleasure of Congress. The elections were held at the time specified, and resulted in the choice of Edward Taylor, John Covenhoven, Joseph Holmes, James Mott and Josiah Holmes for Monmouth County. These, with sixty deputies from the other coun- ties, assembled in Provincial Congress at Bur- lington, and organized on the 11th of June by electing Samuel Tucker president and William Patterson secretary. At this session a great amount of business AViis transacted, a large proportion of which was ir- cluded in the measures taken for raising, orgai:- izing and forwarding troops. These measures will not be noticed in detail here, but the most important of them will be mentioned incidentally in succeeding pages, in connection with the events of which the year 1776 was so fruitful. A num- February 28th. 136 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ber of matters ha-s-ing special reference to Mon- mouth County are given here (some of them iu a disconnected form) as found in the minutes of tlie "Convention of Xew Jersey"— as the Pro- vincial Congress then began to be called, viz. : "June 12, 1776. — A letter from Colonel D^vid Brearley, of the County of Monmouth, complaining of sundry disaffected persons in his regiment ; read, and ordered a second reading. "A petition from sundry inhabitants of the County of Monmouth, praying that none of the militia may be taken out of that County, as it lies so exjjosed to hostile invasion ; read, and ordered a second reading. " June 17. — On reading a second time, the memorial of Colonel David Brearley, respecting ■certain disaffected persons in Monmouth County ; and the letter from the President of the Pro- vincial Congress in ISTew York, stating the cir- cumstances of a defei'tion in Bergen County, Ac. Ordered, That the same be referred to Colonel Dick, Mr. Sergeant, Mr. Symmes, Col- onel Covenhoveu and Mr. Brown. "June 18th. — Pursuant to a certificate of el; ction. Ordered, That the folloAving per- sons be conimisssioned as officers iu a com- pany of light infantry, in the To'wnship of Mid- dk'to-wn, County of INIonmouth, to wit : John Burro\^'es, Juu., Captain ; Jonathan Forman, First Lieutenant; James Whitlock, Second Lieu- tenant ; Samuel Carhart, Third Lieutenant. " James Mott, Second Major of the second battalion of foot militia in Monmouth County, having resigned his commission. Ordered, That his resignation be accepted. "June 19. — A petition from sundry inhabit- ants of the Township of Shrewsbury, in Mon- mouth County, praying tliat no new mode of government may be established ; that the pres- ent may continue, as being sufficient for the ex- igency of our affairs ; and that no measures may bo adopted that tend to separate this Colony from Great Britain ; was read, and ordered a second reading. "June 21. — Ordered, unanimously. That Doctor Melancthon Freeman be appointed Sur- geon, and Mr. Benjamin Stockton, Surgeon's Mate, to tlie battalion directed to be raised in the Counties of Middlesex and Monmouth. " Four petitions from the Township of Mid- dletown and Shrewsbury, in the County of Mon- mouth, praying that the government of the Province of New Jersey may not be changed, etc., read. " Two petitions from the Township of Free- hold, in the County of iMonmouth, praying that this Congress will immediately establish such mode of government as shall be equal to the present exigencies of this Colony, and fully co- incide with the resolve of the Honourable Con- tinental Congress of the 15th of May last; were read. " Monday, June 24. — Two petitions from the Townships of Middletown and Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, praying that this Con- gress would immediately establish such mode of government as shall be equal to the exigencies of this Colony, and fully coincide with the re- solve of the Honourable Continental Congress of the fifteenth of May last ; read, and ordered a second reading. "A letter from the County Committee of Monmouth, enclosing an association signed by certain disaffected persons ; read, and oi'dered a second reading. " A representation of the County C'ommittee of Monmouth, giving a detail of Colonel For- man and the minute-men seizing several disaf- fected persons in that county -without the express command of the Committee, though approved l)y them afterwards ; accompanied with an account of the expense attending the seizure of said persons ; read, and ordered a second reading. " AYednesday, June 26. — Whereas, it ap- pears, from undoubted intelligence, that there are several insurgents in the County of Mon- mouth who take every measure in their power to contravene the regulations of Congress, and to oppose the cause of American freedom ; and, as it is highly necessary that an imme- diate check be given to so daring a spirit of disaffection ; It is therefore resolved, unani mously, That Colonel Charles Read take to his aid two companies of militia of the County of Burlington, properly officered and armed, and proceed without delay to the County of Mon- mouth, in order to apprehend such insurgents MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE RB\'OLUTION. 137 and disaffected persons in said County as this Congress shall give in direction to Colonel Read. " Resolved, unanimously, That Colonel Read take, if necessary, to his assistance the militia of jMonmoutli. " Resolved, unanimously, That such officers and militia as engaged in this service shall re- ceive the like pay as the Continental troops. "Resolved, uitanimously, That the said mili- tia furnish themselves with provisions, and that this Congress will order payment therefor. "Resolved, That the following directions, signed by the President, be given to Colonel Read. " Colonel Charles Read : You are hereby ordered to apprehend Richard Robins and Moses Ivius, and to deliver them unto the keeper of the common gaol of the County of Glou- cester, who is hereby commanded to keep said persons in close and safe confinement until this Congress, or Committee of Safety, shall take further order therein : And you are also to apprehend Anthony "NA'oodward, junior, Joseph Grover, Guisebert Guisebertson, and Thomas Lewis Woodward, and bring them before this Congress, or, during their recess, the Committee of Safety. . . . " Ordered, That the Company under the com- mand of Captain Stillwell, which was directed by the late Committee of Safety to guard the coast of this Colony near Saudy Ho(jk, be con- tinued until the further order of this Convention or Committee of Safety. If it be inconvenient for any of the Company to continue in the said employment. Captain Stillwell is hereby empow- ered to supply such deficiency by enlistment. Ordered, That Colonel George Taylor be Com- missary for the said Company. "Friday, June 28. — Two petitions from sundry inhabitants of the Township of Upper Freehold, in the County of Monmouth, praying that this Congress would immediately establish such mode of govern ment as shall be equal to the exigencies of this Colony, and fully coin- cide with the resolve of the Honourable Conti- nental Congress of the 15th of May last; read, and ordered a second reading. "Saturday, June 29. — A petition from the County Committee of Monmouth, setting forth that in pursuance of a resolution of the late Congress, said Committee furnished Colonel Maxwell's battalion with fifty stand of arms and that it was in their option to have them re- placed or receive their value in money, and pray- ing that this Congress would order the value of said arms to be paid in money ; read a second time, and ordered that the treasurer pay the amount of said arms according to the apprais- meut. " Two memorials, the one from the County Committee of Monmouth, the other from the Committee of Safety of that County, respecting certain disaffected persons in said County, and requesting that this Congress would take some decisive order therein, were read, and ordered a second reading. " Congress received a letter from Colonel Taylor of Monmouth, dated ten o'clock in the forenoon of this day, informing that nineteen sail of the enemy's fleet lies at the Hook, and forty-five in sight; read and filed. Ordered, That the President write to the Continental Congress, enclosing a copy of the above letter, and requesting a supply of powder. " Tuesday, July 2. — Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress, the militia of Mon- mouth County ought, for the present, to remain in their own County, excepting such part thereof as by the late ordinance of this Congress were required to form their proportion of the New Jersey brigade of three tliousand three hundred men. " Henry Waddell, Esq., captain of a grenadier company in the militia of Monmouth, having, by petition, prayed that this Congi-ess would ac- cept a resignation of his commission, assigning for reason that he was so frequently afflicted with the gout that he was rendered incapable of doing the duty of an officer ; Ordered, that his resignation be accepted. "July 4th. — Whereas, this Congress has been given to understand that divers persons in the County of Monmouth, have embodied them- selves in opposition to the measures of Con- gress ; and are informed that numbers have ex- pressed their willingness to return to their duty upon assurances of pardon, alledging that they 138 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. have been seduced and misled by the false and malicious reports of others ; It is therefore de- dared, That all such persons as shall without delay return peaceably to their homes, and con- form to the orders of Congress, shall be treated with lenity and indulgence ; and upon their good behaviour, shall be restored to the favour of their country; provided that none such as shall appear to have been the leaders and principals in those disorders, who to their other guilt have added that of seducing the weak and unwary shall yet be treated according to their demerits. "Trenton, Friday, July 6, 1776.— Ordered, that Colonel Joseph Borden do provide wagons, and every other necessary, to accommodate the rifle battalion of Pennsylvania, consisting of five hundred men under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Broadhead, in their march to Monmouth County, the place of their desti- nation. "July 5. — -Ordered, That the President do take the parole of honour of Mr. John Law- rence, of Monmouth County, not to depart the house of Mr. Renssellier Williams ; and, if Mr. Lawrence should refuse to give the same, that the President order him to be confined under •such guard as he may deem necessary. " Tuesday, July 9. — Colonel Breese having resigned his commission of Colonel of the third battalion of militia in the County of Mon- mouth, assigning for reason the great backward- ness of the people ; himself so indifferently at- tended on field days, and so few ready to turn out, hiding themselves and deserting their houses, when called upon to defend the shore ; Or- dered, That his resignation be accepted. Or- dered, That Daniel Hendrickson, Esq., be Colonel of the third battalion of foot militia in the County of Monmouth. " Tuesday, July 23. — Whereas, the Honour- able Continental Congress have resolved, ' That it be earnestly recommended to the Convention of New Jersey to cause all the stock on the sea coast, which they shall apprehend to be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy, to be immediately removed and driven back into the country to a place of safety.' And whereas, this Convention deem it necessary that the above resolution .should be carried into im- mediate effect, particularly in the County of Monmouth, which is at present most exposed to depredations. It is therefore unanimously resolved and directed. That the County Committee of Monmouth proceed, without delay, to remove all the stock on their coast which may be in danger of falling into the hands of the enemy back into the country, to a place or j)laces of safety. "Convention being informed that Colonel Hendrickson, of Monmouth, was at,the door and desired admittance, Ordered that he attend. " Colonel Hendrickson informed Convention that the Monmouth coast was exposed extremely to the incursions and depredations of the enemy, and requested that a guard might be stationed along the same, and maintained at the publick expence. He further informed Convention that some of his negro slaves had run off, and were on board the enemy's fleet ; that he had rea.son to believe he could recover the said slaves if he were permitted to send a flag, and requesting that, thro' the intei-ference of this House, he might have sucli permission. "Ordered, That Oake Wikoff, Esq., be Lieu- tenant-Colonel, Denice Denice, Esq., First Ma- jor, and Hendrick Van Brunt, E,sq., to be Second Major of the third battalion of the foot militia in the County of Monmouth. "Saturday, July 27. — Ordered,That Captain John Cook, of Monmouth, be directed to take to his assistance as many of the militia as he shall find neces.'iary, and apprehend any persons whom he has reason to suspect of enlisting or being enlisted for the British army, and to take them before the County Committee of Mon- mouth, who are required to commit or discharge such accused persons, as they shall find necessary. " Monday, July 29.— Jacob Wardell, Joseph Wardell and Peter Wardell, persons appre- hended by a detachment of the Monmouth militia, on account of furnishing the enemy with provisions, were brought before the House,, and witnesses examined in support of the charge ; Ordered, That the determination there- of be deferred till to-morrow. " Tuesday, July 30. — Convention resumed the consideration of the charge against Jacob War- dell, Joseph Wardell, and Peter Wardell ; and, after .'jome time spent therein. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 139 "Ordered, That Jacob Wardell be committed to the custody of the Sheriif of Monmouth, to be by him safely kept until discharged by this Convention, or delivered by due course of law. " Ordet^td, That Joseph Wardell and Peter Wardell be discharged on giving bond, each with security in the sum of five hundred pounds for their future good behaviour, and for their appearance when called upon by the Con- vention or future Legislature of this State. The County Committee of Monmouth are directed to take the said bond, and to judge of the se- curity. " Ordered, That Jacob Wardell pay twenty- eight Pounds seven Shillings and eleven Pence, Proclamation money, being the expense of ap- prehending and bringing him before this Con- vention, and conducting him to the Sheriff of Monmouth. "August 1. — Resolved, That it be recom- mended to the County Committee of Mon- mouth, and to the several Township Committees and Colonels of the battalions in the said County, that they assist Captain Wikoff by fur- nishing him with arms for his levies in General Heard's brigade, as far as they may be able, to expedite the equipment of the said levies. It is further recommended to the said Committees and Colonels that Captain Wikoff be furnished with such of the arms and accoutrements taken irom non-associators, etc., within their bounds, as may be fit for service, he giving sufficient vouchers on receiving the said arms. " August 2. — Guisebert Guisebertson, Captain of a company in the second battalion of foot militia in the County of Monmouth, having re- signed his commission for reasons mentioned in his letter ; Ordered, That his resignation be accepted. " The petition of sundry persons in the sec- ond battalion of Monmouth ; read the second time, and referred to the same Committee. "The memorial of Captain Hankinson, of Monmouth, setting forth that he had raised a company of minute-men to continue in service for the space of two months, agreeable to the directions of the late Committee of Safety ; that the said company had been called to the Hook on the arrival of General Howe ; and praying that the said company may be paid for such service ; an account of which accompanied the aforesaid memorial ; read, and referred to the Committee of Accounts." On the 17th of July the Congress ratified the Declaration of Independence by the adoption of this resolution^ — viz. : " Whereas, The Honorable Continental Congress, have declared the United Colonies Free and Inde- pendent States : We, the Deputies of New Jersey in Provincial Congress assembled, do resolve and declare that we will support the freedom and independence of the said States with our lives and fortunes, and with the whole force of New Jersey." And on the following day it was by the same body " Resolved, That this House from henceforth, instead of the style and title of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey, do adopt and assume the style and title of the Convention of the State of New Jersey." On the same day (July 18th) an ordinance was passed defining the crime of treason against the State of New Jersey, and making it puni.sli- able " in like manner as by the ancient laws t)f this State," — that is, by the infliction of the pe::- alty of death. The old colonial Legislature of New Jersey had held its sessions and (nominally) exercised its functions in 1775 until the 6th of December in that year, when Governor Franklin pro- rogued the House, and this proved to be its dis- solution. The Governor, who was notoriously inimical to the American cause, issued his proc- lamation in tlie following May, calling a session on June 20th, but this was met by prompt ac- tion on the part of the Provincial Congress, which, on the 14th of June, " Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress the Proclamation of William Franklin, late Governor of New Jersey, bearing date on the thirtieth day of May last, in the name of the King of Great Britain, ap- pointing a meeting of the General Assembly to be held on the twentieth day of this instant June, ought not to be obeyed." This action had the desired effect ; the colonial Legislature never reassembled. On the 16th of June the Congress "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Congress the said William Franklin, Esquire, by such proclama- 140 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTF, NEW JERSEY. tion, has acted in direct contempt and violation of tlie resolve of the Continental Congress of the fifteenth of May last. That in the opinion of this Congress the said William Franklin, Esquire, lias discovered him- self to be an enemy to the liberties of this country ; and that measures ought to be immediately taken for securing the person of the said William Franklin, Esquire.'' Oa the .same day, orders were issued to Colo- nel Xathaniel Heard, of the First Battalion of Middlesex militia, to wait on the Governor, to offer him a parole, by Avhich he was to agree to remain quietly at Princeton, BordentoAvn or on his farm at Rancocas (whichever he might elect), and, in case of his refusal to sign this parole, to arrest him. On the 17th, Colonel Heard and Major Deare proceeded to Amboy, waited on tiie Governor, offered him the parole, and, upon his refusal to sign it, surrounded his house with a guard of sixty men to hold him prisoner until further orders were received from Congress. The orders came to remove the Governor to Burlington, and he was accordingly taken there. Upon examination he was adjudged a violent enemy to his country and a dangerous person, and he was then placed in custody of Lieutenant- Colonel Bowes Read to await orders from the 10NM0UrH COUNTY, ^^]^V JKl!SIe- ceiuber. On the 8th of that month the Amer- ican army was nuived across the Delaware, tlie last man of Lord Stirling's rear-guard reaching the Pennsylvania shore in safety at about mid- night, just as the head of tlie Hessian eolunin entered Trenton. The main body of the Brit- ish force halted a few miles before reaching the town. The American army which crosscil the Dela- ware into Pennsylvania numbered about two thousand two hundred men, but two or tiiree days later this force was furtht'r reduced b\- the departure of about fi\c hundred whose terms of service had then expired. Hut even then Washington did not despair. General Gates at the Xt.rth and General Heath at Pcckskill liad been ordered to join him with their troops with all possible dispatch, and expresses were sent out through Pennsylvania, Delaware and Mary- land urging the militia to niareli to him without delay; and it was beliex'cd that by these means a suilicient force might be collected to enalile him to resume otfensiN-c operations at no distant day. Probably lie had ahx'ady conceived the plan wiiicii he afterwards executed so sncccss- i'ully at Trenton. The position of Washington on the IVnnsvl- vania side of the Delaware was one of safetv for his troops, — at least for a time. He made his dispositions at once by posting Generals I^ord Stirling, Dc Fcrinoy, Stephens and Mercer, MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE RK VOLUTION. U9 witli their brigades, at cliiferent pi)iiits along the river from Yardley's to Coryell' .s Ferry (Lam- bertville), with the remaining troops of the Fly- ing Camp, under General Irvine, to guard (as well as their feeble strength would permit) the west bank of the river from Yardley's to the point opposite Bordentown. The Pennsylvania mi- litia, under Colonel Cadwallader, was posted along the Neshaminy, and the Third Philadelphia Bat- talion, under Colonel Nixon, occupied a position at Durck's Ferry. General Putnam was sentto as- sume command at Philadelphia, and to take im- mediate measures for fortifying the approaches to the city. Defensive works were rapidly thrown up at the most exposed points on the river from Coryell's to McConkey's Ferry. Special orders were given to the several brigade commanders holding this section of the shore to exercise sleepless vigilance in guarding every practicable crossing-place, and to be prepared to support one another promptly in case of emergency ; and fiually, in case the worst should come and the army be forced back from the Delaware, the several commands were or- dened to retreat to a general rendezvous at Ger- mantown. The British army in New Jersey was posted in detachments along a very extended line. The largest force was at New Brunswick, which was their principal depot of military stores. A strong detachment was stationed at Princeton ; another, consisting of one thousand five hundred Hessians and a troop of cavalry, at Trenton ; a body of troops of about equal strength was at Bordentown, under Count Donop ; and smaller detachments occupied Black Horse, Mount Holly and several other posts, extending below Burlington. The chief command in New Jer- sey was held by Lord Cornwallis, General Howe remaining at his headquarters in New York. Having been reinforced by the forces of Generals Sullivan and Gates and by a consider- able number of troops from other quarters, "Washington immediately prepared to execute the plan which he had for some time had in contemplation, — viz., to recross the Delaware by night and march rapidly to Trenton, in the hope "of surprising, and possibly of capturing, the force of about fifteen hundred Hessians which then occupied that post in winter-quarters. His plan also contemplated simultaneous at- tacks by other detachments of his army on the several British posts along the Delaware below Trenton ; but that part ^\hich had refer- ence to the surprise of Trenton was regarded as of the most importance, and this was to be un- der the personal supervision of the commander- in-chief. The time fixed on for its execution ^\•as on the night of the 25th and morning of the 26th of December, because, knowing the convivial habits of the German soldiers and the universal custom among them of celebrat- ing Christmas with bacchanalian revelry, he believed that in the unheralded visit which he proposed to make in the early morning of the 26th he would find the guards less vigilant than usual, and both officers and soldiers in poor fighting condition, as a result of the previous night's debauch. The plan was an excellent one, and the secrecy with which it was carried out seems remarkable, particularly when it is re- membered that the Jei'sey shore of the Del- aware at that time was infested by a great number of Tories, all elo,sely watching the movements of the patriots on the other side, and eager to carry in all haste any information tliev might obtain to the nearest British post. The means for transporting the troops across the Delaware were furnished by the boats which had previously been collected on that river and the Lehigh. Among those collected for the purpose were sixteen Durham ^ boats and four scows, sent down by General Ewiug to McConliey's Ferry ,^ which was to be the place of crossing. There, on the evening of the 25th of December, as soon as the early night- fall of winter had settled down upon hill and river, the troops destined for the expedition -were mustered in silence and inspected by 1 So called because this particular kind of boat was first constructed to transport iron on the Delaware from the Durham furnaces to Philadelphia. They were very large, flat-bottomed, and rounded at bow and stern, instead of being square at the ends like scows. 2 Now known as "Washington's Crossing" on the New .Teisey side and Taylorsville on the Pennsylvania aide of the river. 150 HISTORY OF MONjNIOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Washington and his generals. The commander- in-cliief had expected to land his army on the Jersey side with but little delay and to reach Trenton by midnight; but the river was filled with masses of floating ice, and the weather was so thick, by reason of a storm of snow and sleet which had just commenced, that it hardly seemed practicable to cross at all , and when it was decided to move forward regardless of these obstacles, the transportation was found to be so slow and difficult that it was not until nearly four o'clock in the morning that the last of the troops and cannon were landed in safety on the eastern shore. The expeditionary corps, consisting of two thousand four hundred men, with ten pieces of artillery, was marched in a body, by way of the " Bear Tavern," to Birmingham (between four and five miles from Trenton), where it was halted, and the men took some refreshment.^ The force was then divided into two columns, — one, under General Sullivan, taking the river road, and the other, under General Green, with Generals Mercer, Stevens and Lord Stirling, and accompanied by the commander-in-chief, moving to and down the Scotch road to its junction with the Pennington road, and thence down the latter to Trenton. The march of the two columns was so well planned and ordered that both reached the enemy's outposts at Trenton at almost exactly the same time, Sullivan coming in from the west and Washington and Greene from the north. At a few minutes before eight o'clock^ the Hessian encampments came into view, and, at the sight, Washington, riding to the head of the troops and pointing with his sword towards ' "General Washington with hisarmy halted at the house of Benjamin Moore at Birroingham and ate a piece of mince- pie and drank a glass of cider. His men also partook of some refreshments before marching into Trenton." — Raum. ^ Washington, in his olKoial report of the Trenton fight, said, " The upper division arrived at the enemy's advanced post exactly at eight o'clock ; and in three minutes after I found from Ihe fire on the lower road that the division had got up. The out-guards made but a small opposition, though, for their numbers, they behaved very well, keeping up a constant retreating tire from behind houses. We presently saw their main body formed, but from their motions they seemed undetermined how to act." Trenton, shouted, "There, soldiers, you see the enemies of your country, and now all I have to ask is that you remember what you are about to fight for. March ! " They moved forward with great impetuosity, drove in the outposts, and in a few minutes had possession of all the British artillery. The brave Colonel Kahl, the Hessian commander, surprised, and not yet re- covered from the effects of his Christmas pota- tions, rushed frantically out of his quarters and mounted his horse to form his men for defense, but he almost immediately received a mortal wound ;' and, as further resistance then appeared hopeless, the place, with its troops (except such as had escaped and fled towards Princeton and Bordentown) and military stores, surrendered to the American commander. The captures made by the Americans at Trenton comprised six brass field-pieces, one thousand stand of arms, four colors and nine hundred and nine pris- oners, of which latter twenty- three were com- missioned officers. In reference to the losses in action of the British and American forces re- spectively. General Washington said, in his re- port, — " I do not know exactly how many they had killed, T3ut I fancy not above twenty or thirty, as they never made any regular stand. Our loss is very trifling indeed — only two officers and one or two privates wounded." The plan of Washington in recrossing the Delaware had contemplated the probability, that, in the event of success at Trenton, he might be able to maintain his position in New Jersey ; but, on account of the inability of Ewing and Cadwallader to cross the river, as was expected, there were still left at Bordentown, Mount Holly '" Colonel Rahl, the Hessian commander, whose head- quarters were at the City Tavern, corner of Warren ;nid Bank Streets, opposite Still's Alley, was mortally wounded during the early part of the engagement, being shot from his horse while endeavoring to form his dismayed and disordered troops. When, supported by a file of sergeants, he presented his sword to General Washington (whose countenance beamed with complacency at the success of the day), he was pale and bleeding, and in broken accents seemed to implore those attentions which the victor was well disposed to bestow upon him. He was taken to his headquarters, where he died.''— iiaum's '' History of Tren- ton." The shot that killed Rahl was said to have been fired by Colonel Frederick Prelinghuysen. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 151 and other points below Trenton and within striking distance several British detachments which were collectively far stronger than the American force which conld be mustered to hold them at bay. Under these circumstances, Washington thought it his only prudent course to return with his army to the west side of the river ; and this he did without delay, remaining in Trenton only a few hours to allow his men sufScient.time for rest and refreshment. In the afternoon of the 26th the columns were again put in motion and marched back by the route over which they had come in the morning, and, recrossing at McConkey's Ferry with their prisoners and captured material, were all safely quartered before midnight in the camp which they had left in the evening of the preceding day. But though he had found it expedient to re- tire to his strong position on the Pennsylvania shore after the victory at Trenton, Washington had by no means abandoned his plan of repos- sessing West Jersey, and he at once commenced preparations for a second expedition to that end. On the 29th of December — only three days after the Trenton exploit — he wrote from his headquarters at Newtown, Pa., to Con- gress, saying, — " I am just setting out to attempt a second passage over the Delaware with the troops that were with me on the morning of the 26th. General Cadwallader crossed over on the 27th, and is at Bordentown with ahout one thousand eight hundred men. General Mifflin will be to-day at Bordentown with about one thousand six hundred more. ... In view of the meas- ures proposed to be pursued, I think a fair opportunity is offered of driving the enemy entirely from Jersey, or at least to the extremity of the province. In anticipation of the projected resumption of operations in New Jersey, orders had been sent to General Heath, who was still at Peeks- kill-on-the-Hudson, to leave only a small de- tachment of his -troops at that place, and to move at once with his main body, cross into New Jersey, and march towards the British cantonment, to divert their attention, but with- out intending an attack. General William Maxwell, who in the retreat through this State had been left at Mf)rristown with a considerable force (in which was included a considerable number of Monmouth County soldiers), was ordered to advance his troops towards New Brunswick, as if threatening an attack, and harass all the contiguous posts of the enemy as much as possible ; and finally. Generals Cad- wallader and Mifflin, at Bordentown and Cross- wicks, were directed to hold their forces (then amounting to more than three thousand five hundred men) in constant readiness to reinforce the main body under Washington when it should make its appearance at Trenton. These dispositions having been made, and all prepara- tions completed, Washington moved his army across the Delaware into New Jersey on the 30th of December, and marched to Trenton. At this point he was under serious embarrass- ment, for the terms of service of a large part of the Eastern militia expired on the 1st of Janu- ary, and it was very doubtful whether thej' could be persuaded to remain. The arguments of the commander-in-chief, however, were suc- cessful in prevailing on them to continue for an additional term of six weeks, in view of the brightening prospects of the American cause and the promise of a bounty of ten dollars per man. There was no money in the military chest to pay these promised bounties, but Wash- ington at once sent a messenger to Robert Morris, at Philadelphia, asking him to supply the means, if possible; and that patriotic finan- cier promptly responded by sending fifty thou- sand dollars in cash, borrowed from a rich Quaker, on Morris' individual note, and the pledge of his honor to repay it. At the time of the Hessian disaster at Trenton the British forces in New Jersey were under command of General Grant, whose head- quarters were at Ncm' Brunswick. Lord Corn- wallis was at New York, making preparations to sail for England, in the belief that the rebel- lion was virtually crushed and the war nearly over. Upon receipt of the amazing news from Trenton, he at once relinquished his voyage, returned to New Jersey, and put his troops in motion towards Trenton. The British post at Bordentown, previously held by a strong force under Count Donop, had been abandoned on the 27th of December, and the troops which 152 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. had been stationcid there retreated to Princeton, where they joined the force of General Leslie, and threw up defensive earthworks. When t'ornwallis advanced from New Brunswick, the force at Princeton, excepting three regiments under Colonel Mawhood, joined the main col- umn, which moved towards Trenton, and arrived there about four o'clock in the after- noon of Thursday, the 2d of January, 1777. The two hostile armies which then and there confronted each other were each about five thousand strong, but one-half the force of AA'^ashington ^ was made up of undisciplined militia, while that of his adversary included many of the finest troops of the British army. Before the advance of Cornwallis, AVashington's forces retired across the bridge to the south side of Assanpink Creek, where it was soon after- wards joined by General Greene's division, which had been sent out to reconnoitre and skirmish with the enemy, hoping to so delay his movements that no engagement would be brought on until morning. But the British regulars promptly drove Greene's detachment into Trenton and across the Assanpink, and tlien with very little delay moved in two col- umns, one down Green Street towards the bridge, and the other down Main Street to- wards the point where the lower bridge now stands, intending to force a passage over the bridge and across the ford; but they v/ere repulsed by the vigorous fire of Washington's artillery, which, being posted on the high south- ern bank of the stream, was so effective that the assailants failed to cross, and were com- pelled to retire, but with what loss is not known.^ After the failure of this attempt of 1 Cadwallader and Mifflin, with their forces from Borden- town, had joined Washington on the night of the 1st of January. ^The "battle of Assanpink" has frequently been de- fcribed as a fearful conflict, in which the stream was filled with the bodies of slain Britisli soldiers. That tliis is a gross exaggeration, and that there was really no battle at all (but merely a brisk cannonade from the American artillery on the south bank, preventing the enemy from crossing the stream), is pretty clearly shown by an authority as high as General Washington himself, in the reportwhichhemadeto Congress, dated Pluckamin, January 5, 1777, in which, re- ferring to this affair, he says, " On the 2d, according to my expectations, the enemy began to advance upon us ; and the British to cross, the Americans kept up their artillery fire till dark, and the British withdrew to the higher ground in the outskirts of the town, along the Princeton road, where Cornwallis established his headquarters, and directed dispositions to be made for a renewal of the battle in the morning, when, he said, he would " catch that old fox," Washington, whom he imagined he had now so securely entrapped beyond the Assanpink. But his boast failed most signally of its execution. The situation of Washington was now peril- ous in the extreme, for nothing could be more certain than that Cornwallis would renew the battle in the morning, and it was almost equally certain that in such an event, the victory would be Avith the disciplined soldiers of Britain. If such should be the result, the American army could hardly escape the alternative of surrender or annihilation, for a retreat across the Delaware in presence of such an enemy would be impos- sible. Immediately after dark a council of war was called, at which were assembled the com- mander-in-chief and Generals Greene, Sullivan, Knox, Mercer, St. Clair, Dickinson, Stevens, Cadwallader, Mifflin, Stark, Wilkinson and others. Some of the more impetuous officers advised a stand for battle in their present posi- tion; others favored a retreat down the left bank of the Delaware, and a crossing of the river at Philadelphia under protection of the guns of General Putnam ; but the plan which was adopted was that of a rapid night- move- ment around the enemy's flank to his rear, and a sudden attack on the British force at Prince- ton, which consisted of only three regiments of cavalry and three squadrons of dragoons. The execution of this plan was singularly favored by Providence, for, even while the council of after some skirmishing the head of their column reached Trenton about four o'clock, whilst their rear was as far back as Maidenhead. They attempted to pass Sanpink Creek, which runs through Trenton, but finding the fords guarded, halted and kindled their fires. We were drawn up on the other side of the creek. In this situation we re- mained until dark, commanding the enemy and receiving the fire of tlieir field-pieces, which did us but little damage." This is all the mention made by the commander- in-chief, in his official report, of the so-called "battle of .\ssanpink." MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 153 war was engaged in its deliberations, the weather, which had been warm during the day, turned suddenly cold; so that in a few hours the muddy roads were frozen sufficiently hard to bear up the artillery, and greatly to fapilitate the marching of the troops. The movement to Princeton being decided on, its immediate execution was ordered. The camp-fires of the American army along the shore of the Assanpink v,-ere kept brightly burning, and were replenished with fresh fuel about mid- night ; and soon afterwards, leaving the sentinels on their posts, to delude the enemy, the forces were all put in motion, and marched rapidly but silently away in the darkness. The baggage- train of the army was sent away quietly on the road to Burlington. The route taken led, by way of SandtoA\'n, across Miry Run, and, farther up, across the Assanpink, around the left flank of the British army ; then, veering to the left, along the "Quaker road" to and across Stony Brook, where the main column left the highway and took a by-road passing through lowlands directly to Princeton ; while General Mercer, with about three hundred and fifty men and two pieces of artillery under Captain Neal, continued along the Quaker road, with orders to proceed to Worth's Mill and take possession of the bridge Ijy which the old road from Princeton to Trenton crossed Stony Brook. The marcii of the American forces had been slow during the two or three hours immediately following their departure from their camp on the Assanpink, because on that part of their route they had been compelled (in order to avoid the outposts of the enemy's left flank) to traverse a new road, from which the logs and stumps had not been cleared. But the last part of their march had been made very rapidly over the hard-frozen highway ; so that when the sun rose they were already nearing Princeton. And never was a sunrise more auspicious than that which sent its rosy rays through the frosty air on the morning of the 3d of January, 1777. To Cornwallis at Trenton' it revealed the mortify- ing fact that the " fox " had escaped from his trap, and the unpleasant truth was soon after emphasized by the dull sound of distant artillery coming from the northward. To the eyes of Washington and his officers that sunrise was welcome, for it showed them the position of the foes they had come to seek ; and it lighted them on their way to one of the most important vic- tories achieved in the war for independence. The British troops in Princeton were a body of cavalry and the Seventeenth, Fortieth and Fifty-fifth Infantry Regiments of the line, all under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Maw- hood. He had during the night received orders to march at daylight \\'ith the greater part of his command for Trenton, to give his assistance in the battle which Cornwallis intended to open along the shoi-es of the Assanpink on the morn- ing of the 3d, and in obedience to that order he had put the Seventeenth and Fifty-fifth Regi- ments, with a part of the cavalry, in motion, and, accompanying them in person, moved out on the old Trenton road. The commanding officer, with the Seventeenth Regiment and nearly all his cavalry, was fully a mile in advance of the rear division of the column, and had already crossed the Stony Brot)k bridge at "Worth's Mill when he discovered JNIereer's force moving rap- idly along the opp(jsite bank of the stream to- wards the mill. Upon this he promptly coun- termarched his men, moved them on the double- quick l)ack to the bridge, recrossed it, and hast- ened on to secure a commanding position on high ground to the right of the road. General Mer- cer, as his detacliment emerged from a piece of woods near the Quaker meeting-house, discov- ered the Britisli, and, divining their object, double-quicked his troops towards the same eminence, determined to occupy it in advance of the enemy, if possible. Having reached the house and orcliard of William Clarke, he per- ' "Great was Ms [Cornwallis'] astonishment, and alarm at dawn to find the patriot camp-fires still burning, but not a man, nor hoof, nor tent, nor cannon there. All was silent and dreary on the south side of the Assanpink. and no man of the British army knew whither the Americans had fled until the din of battle in the direction of Prince- ton came faintly upon the keen morning air at sunrise. Cornwallis heard the booming of cannon, and, although mid-winter, he thought it was the rumbling of distant ' thunder. The quick ear of Erskine decided otherwise, and he exclaimed, ' To arms, general ! General Washington has outgeneraled us ! Let us fly to Princeton !' "—Lossing, vol. a. p. 234. 154 IILSTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ceived the enemy's liiieis advancing up the oppo- site slope. The Americans pushed on to the slight cover of a rail-fence which was between the opposing forces, and there they delivered their volley with precision and deadly effect, firing afterwards at will. The British promptly returned the fire and charged with the bayonet. Mercer's riflemen had no bayonets on their pieces. and, being unable to withstand the furious onset of the British, fled in precipitation and disorder, abandoning their two field-pieces and closely pursued by Mawhood's grenadiers ; but when they reached the east brow of the slope near Clarke's house, they were met by the Continentals and militia under Washington, who had left the by-road on which he was marching, at a point near the Olden farm, and hurried up to the support of Mercer. The fugitive Americans here rallied and reformed on a new line, and a section of one of Washington's batteries, commanded by Captain William Moulder, poured a storm of canister into the faces of the pursuers. At this point, Mawhood, discovering for the first time the prasence of Washington and his force, ceased the pursuit, brought up his artillery pieces, and - services." Colonel Mawhood, with the Seventeenth Brit- ish Regiment and his cavalry, fled from the bat- tle-field to the same road over which they had marched in the morning, and, crossing the Stonv Brook bridge at Worth's Mill, moved rapidlv on towards Maidenhead, where they knew Gen- eral Leslie had passed the night with his divi- sion, the rear guard of Coi'nwallis' army. Leslie, however, hearing the cannonade in the direction of Princeton, was already on the march towards Stony Brook, and in his advance met the routed troops of Mawhood, which latter had been pur- sued only a short distance by the Americans, because Washington knew of the proximity of General Leslie in the direction in which they re- treated. Mawhood's artillery pieces were left on the field, and fell into the hands of the Ameri- cans ; but, as they could not take them away for want of horses, they afterwards returned to the j)o.ssession of the enemy. At the close of the action near (Clarke's house General Washington sent a detachment, imder Major Kelley, of the Pennsylvania militia, to destroy the bridge over Stony Brook, for the purpose of delaying the advance of General Les- lie with the reserve division of Cornwallis ; but before they had accomplished the work the enemy came in sight on jNIillett's Hill and opened a fire on the working-party from their artillery, which finally drove them from the bridge, though not until it had been rendered impas.sable for the British artillery and trains. The commanding officer of the detacliment. Major Kelley, was knocked off the bridge into the stream, but, suc- ceeding in crawling out, was making his way towards Princeton, Avhen he fell into the hands of the enemy. The British commander, Corn- wallis, on coming up to the bridge, found it im- passable for his column ; but so great was his anxiety for the safety of his magazines of supply at New Brunswick (which he fully believed to be Washington's destination) that, bitterly cold as it was, he ordered his troops to ford the stream, whicli they did, and then, with their clothing frozen stiff, pushed on as fast fis they were able in pursuit of the Americans. In the battle with Mawhood, the left wing of his force, the Fifty-fifth Regiment, was cut off from the right, and was driven into the town, MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 155 where it took a position in a ravine near the col- lege. There it was attacked by the New Eng- land regiments of Stark, Poor, Patterson and Reed, and after a desperate resistance was utterly routed and sent flying in disorder along the road towards Kingston. A part of the Fortieth Regi- ment (which had been left in Princeton when Mawhood marched out in the morning, and which consequently participated very little in the day's fighting) joined in the retreat and swelled the throng of fugitives. A detachment of the Ameri- can force pursued them, but they soon left the main road, and, striking off to the left, fled in a northerly direction along the by-ways and through the fields and woods, where most of them es- caped.* In the college buildings at Princeton there re- mained a part of the Fortieth Regiment, wliich had occupied it as barracks. Washington, sup- posing that these men would stand and defend their position, ordered up a section of artillery, which opened on the buildings. The first shot fired passed into the Prayer-Hall and through the head of a portrait of His Majesty George IT. which hung on the wall. But little show of re- sistance was made by the British within the buildings, and finally James Moore, of Prince- ton, a captain of militia, with the assistance of a few others as bold as himself, burst open a door of Nassau Hall and demanded a surrender of the forces within. The demand was at once complied with, and the entire body, including a number of sick, gave themselves up as prisoners of war. This was the last of the British forces in Princeton, and Washington, having no\\ en- tirely cleared the town of his enemies, immedi- ately evacuated the place, and with his army moved rapidly away towards Kingston. The advance division of Comwallis, which had hurried up from Maidenhead towards the scene of action and dashed through the icy waters of Stony Brook, as before mentioned, moved for- ward in the greatest haste from tliat point to Princeton. Guarding the southwestern approach 1 Washington had no cavalry with him, and of course the pursuit of a terrified crowd of fugitives by infantry was fruitless. Many of them, however, were captured, and the pursuing parties kept up the chase so long that they had notall rejoined the main body two days later. to the town was a bastioned earth-work which had been thrown up a week or two earlier by their own forces, and upon its rampart a thirty- two-pounder gun had been mounted by Count Donop. Now, as the head ofLeslie's division came on at a quick-step, it \vas greeted by a thundering report from the great gun, which had been fired by two or three American soldiers who still lingered near it. The rush of the ponderous shot above the heads of the British caused the advancing column to halt, and the commander, who now believed that Washington had determined to defend the place, sent out parties of cavalry to reconnoitre, the infantry in the mean time ad- vancing slowly and with great caution prepara- torj- to an assault of the work. By these move- ments Comwallis lost one precious hour, and when his men at last moved up to the fortifica- tion they found it entirely deserted, and soon after the cavalry-parties reported that there was not a rebel soldier in Princeton. Upon this the British general, chagrined at the delay resulting from his useless caution, ordered his columns to move on Avith all speed on tlie New Brunswick road. Arriving at Kingston, three miles fi-om Princeton, he found that the Americans had broken down the bridge at that place ; but this was soon repaired, and the army, having crossed the stream, was again hurried on in the hope of overtaking the Americans in time to prevent the destruction of the military stores at New Bruns- wick. Comwallis arrived at that place during the succeeding night, and was rejoiced to find his stores untouched ; but he found no American army, for " the fox " had again eluded him, and was at that time safe among the hills of the upper Raritan. Washington, on leaving Princeton, moved his force with the greatest possible speed to Kingston, crossing the Millstone River and destroying the bridge behind him. Having proceeded thus far, he was not a little jier- plexed in deciding on his subsequent move- «ients. The heavy column of Comwallis was following so closely in his rear that it was only at great peril that he could pursue his original plan^ of marching to Ne^v Brunswick. The 2 ''My original plan," said Washington in his letter to Coneress dnted rincknmin. .January •''.th, "was to ha^e 156 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. destruction of the British magazines and stores at that place would have been a most glorious ending of the winter campaign, and would, be- yond doubt, have driven the last vestige of British military power out of New Jersey ; but, on the other hand, a collision with the superior forces of Cornwallis, — which it seemed hardly possible to avoid if the march to New Bruns- wick was continued, — could hardly result other- wise than in defeat, and not improbabl}' in the riiut and destruction of the American army. At this juncture the commander-in-chief adopted his usual course, — called a council of war, which was held by l^imself and his generals in the saddle, and, although "some gentlemen advised that he sliould file oif to the southward," the council resulted in the decision to abandon the original ])lan, strike off from the New Bruns- wick road, and march the arm)' by way of the Millstone valley, and tlience across the Raritan, to the hill)' country in the northwest. The plan adopted by the council of war was at once put into execution. The army filed off from the main highway, and, turning sharply to the left, mai'ched over a narrow and unfre- quented road to Rocky Hill, where it recrossed the Millstone River and moved on, as rapidly as was practicable in the exhausted condition of the men, to Millstone, where it bivouacked that night, and on the evening of tlie 4th reached Pluckamin. General Hngli ^Nlcrcer, the commanding officer of the American detachment A\'hich first joined Ijattle with the British troops under Mawhood on the morning of the 3d of January, near Princeton, was mortally wounded in that first sliort, but disastrous conflict. In the volley pushed on to Brunswic ; but the harassed state of our troops (many of them having had no rest for two nights and a day), and the danger of losing the advantage we had gained, hy aiming at too much, induced me, by the advice of my officers, to relinquish the attempt ; but, in my judg- ment, six or eight hundred fresh troops, on a forced marjh, would have destroyed all their stores and magazines, taken (as we have since learned) their military chest containing seventy thousand pounds, and put an end to the war. The enemy, from the best intelligence I have been able to get, were so much alarmed at the apprehension of tliis that they rferched immediately to Brunswic without halting, except at the bridges (for I also took up those on Millstone on the the iippeal. 168 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. sued, Morgan lay with his corps of riflemen three miles south of Monmouth Court-House, at Richmond's ]\Iills/ awaiting orders, only kept from participation in the engagement by failure to receive the instructions which he promptly sent for as soon as he heard the roar of the opening conflict. The division commanded by Major-Geueral Charles Lee in the battle of the 28th of June was composed (according to the statement of General Wayne) of the following-named troojis, besides the flanking detachments of Dickinson and Morgan : " In front, Colonel Butler with two hundred men ; Colonel Jackson, with an equal number ; Scott's own brigade, with a part of Woodford's, six hundred, -with two pieces of artillery ; General Varnum appeared about the same number, with two pieces of artillery ; my own detachment was about one thousand, with two pieces of artilleiy ; General Scott's detachment, fourteen hundred, with two pieces of artillery ; General ^Maxwell's was one thou- sand and two pieces of artillery ; in all, five thousand, with twelve pieces of artillery, exclu- sive of the militia." General Lee claimed that this was a loose statement, and that his force did not exceed four thousand one hundred men ; but the force which Grayson took to the front was nearly eight hundred men, and although temporarily detached from Scott's and Varnum's brigades, it should enter the aggre- gate, and be counted as if not detached. The entire force which Lee had at his disposal on the evening of the 27th and morning of the 28th considerably exceeded five thousand men, including the corps of Dickinson and Morgan, though lie took no steps to communicate with these two leaders until after aroused to action by Washington's stern censure. General Lafay- ette accompanied Lee with his consent as a vol- unteer. The total numerical strength of the American army was more than equal to that of the Brit- ish, and although fresh from the squalid can- tonments of Valley Forge, it •was not M-auting in 1 Now called Shuraar's Mills, the pond or reservoir of which has been named Morgan Lake, in honor of the bold leader who unwillinoly kej t his station there during the battle uf Monnioiitli. nerve and energy. The supply of provisions was scanty, but the army was eager in the pur- suit. It felt the onward spur when the force which had so long kept it on the defensive crossed the Delaware in full retreat from the theatre of the conflicts of the fall of 1777. Washington neither underrated nor despised his enemy, but giving credit for courage and wisdom equal to his own, measured the forces that were to meet in conflict, and, as usual, struck or struck back as best he could. The military issue between Clinton and Wash- ington was in soiue respects unequal. Clinton must get to New York. He had nothing to hope from a battle, more than to gain a clear path to Sandy Hook. His heavy baggage-train restricted his operations to the repulse of an at- tack, and rendered any protracted pursuit, even of broken columns, a fruitless strain upon his command. But for Washington to have shrunk back from tliat retreating army, M-hich he had been prompt to meet on reasonable terms, would have accredited the British forces with that in- vincibility which Lee affirmed of it, would have sacrificed the impetus which the offensive position imparted to his command, and would have made every subsequent issue of the war more hopeless or uncertain. It would have canceled the memory of Trenton and Princeton. It would have stultified the movement which made Germantown a pledge that the American connnander-in-chief was ready at all times to seize opportunity and to do real fighting. The situation of the British army — occupying the village and vicinity of Monmouth Court- House during the two days and nights preceding the memorable Sabbath when the opposing hosts joined in battle — has already been noticed. It held a strong position, with its " right extending about a mile and a half beyond the Monmouth Court-House, in the parting of the roads leading to Shrewsbury and Middletown, and its left along the road from Allentown to Monmouth, about three miles west of the court-house." This position, well protected on the right and left, and partially in front, by low grounds and woods, was regarded by Washington as "too strong to be assailed with any prospect of sue- MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 169 cess." The general direction of tiie British line while thus encamped, and when its march began on the folloAving morning, was northeasterly, exposing its left and centre to an- attack from the American troops, whose offensive advance was from a northwesterly direction. It there- fore became important for General Clinton to change his position and gain the Middletown road to the sea as quickly as possible, especially as a march of only ten or twelve miles would place him upon strong defensive ground, beyond danger of successful pursuit. Lieutenant-Gen- eral Knyphausen was under orders to move at daylight on the following morning. The single road which was available for tiie proposed march passed almost immediately into a series of bluffs, where a baggage-train would be greatly exposed to attack from skirmishing parties, and General Clinton undertook the protection of its rear by his own division of selected troops. The main body of the American army was about three miles beyond Englishtown and less than seven miles from the camps of the British centre. The advance division, under command of General Lee, was about two and a half miles west-northwest from Monmouth Court-House, the headquarters of that general being on a hill near Wemrock Creek. The detachments under Morgan and Dickinson respectively were already on the alert, ready to attack the British flanks when that army should break camp and move out on the road towards Middletown. No general engagement in the Revolutionary War has been so vaguely and unintelligibly described, as to localities and the movements of the opposing forces, as the battle of Monmouth.' The country had not been reconnoitred, and very blind statements were made, even by officers 'This, aa well as much that precedes and follows rela- tive to the situation and movements preliminary to the Monmouth battle, — including the events of the forenoon of June 28th, and down to the time when Lee's retreating forces joined the main army, near the old Tennent parson- age, — is largely from Carrington's " Battles of the Amer- ican Revolution." The narrative of the general engage- ment which followed in the afternoon of that bloody day, is taken from Marshall, Custis, Lossing, Thatcher and other standard accounts, and also to a great extent from the reports of Washington and his subordinate officers, and from other official documents having reference to the battle. who were present, and who afterwards testified before the court-martial which was convened for the trial of General Lee. The official re- ports of Washington, Clinton and other general officers who took part in the engagement are so ambiguous and imperfect as to localities that some explanation is necessary for a clear under- standing of the narrative. The distinctions of "right" and "left" are greatly confused through the changing positions of the troops, especially as the right and left of Clinton's line were re- versed when he assumed the offensive, and the statetnent of American officers that "Morgan was on the left " did not become true until they commenced their retreat. Thus, though Dicl:- inson threatened the British left on the morning of the battle, his demonstration was upon their right when, later in the forenoon, they changed front to assume the offensive. The terms " ravine" and " morass" are extremely confusing and almost unintelli- gible in the narrative, and need an explana- tion, which is here given, having especial refer- ence to the account of the battle, which foll(n\s farther on. Three ravines or morasses, as they were indiscriminately termed, were mentioned by American officers in their accounts of the battle. Only two of these are mentioned by Sir Henry Clinton in his report as intervening between his advance from the Middletown road and the main army of the Americans. The ravine or morass behind which Washington formed the divisions of Greene and Stirling, to cover the retreat of Lee's brigades, is about a half mile southeasterly from the old Tennent Meeting-house and about two and a half miles from Englishtown. The skirmish which oc- curred early in the morning, and which led General Dickinson to believe that the British army had not left Monmouth, but was advanc- ing in force towards the hill, took place on the high ground just east of this "west ravine" or morass. It was simply a demonstration by the enemy's light troops to beat back the militia and conceal the withdrawal of the main army of Clinton. On this same high ground were located the hedge fence, the orchard and the parsonage, near which the principal engagement was fought. 170 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. A second ravine or morass, called the middle ravine, crossed the road nearly a mile farther east, and on the high ground on the east side of this ravine the British troops remained a few hours after the battle. This high ground extended still farther eastward, blending with the so-called "heights of Monmouth" (just west and southwest of the village of Freehold), and then dipping towards the low plain, about a mile wide and three miles long, just east of the Amboy road, running from the court- house neai-ly north. This plain or valley, where Clinton first formed his line of attack, was also marshy, near a little pond and along a small rivulet,' the latter extending from near the court-house, northeasterly, past Briar Hill, the low ground bordering it being the eastern ravine or morass, which was crossed and re- crossed by Wayne, Varnum, Jackson, Scott, Grayson, and Oswald's artillery, and behind which they retired when the British line ad- vanced in force. Just west of the Amboy road, and nearly parallel with it, " so as to cover both roads," is the high, wooded ground where Lee proposed to re-form his line, and from which, in fact, the divisions had advanced into the plain without definite orders or due regard to their mutual dependence and relations. At the head of the Manasquan, near Mon- mouth Court-House, there was formerly marshy ground, where the small tributaries of the stream gathered their waters, and on the north side of Monmouth village Geblard's Branch was bordered by marshy ground. The small stream, or drainage, west of Briar Hill, and sometimes called Briar Creek, had across it and the marshy ground bordering it, at the time of the battle, a bridge and causeway. A small fork of the Manalapan Brook flowed north- easterly from the Allentown road, and along its sides was the swampy ground which protected the British camp on the night preceding the battle. The low plain below the slope from the court- house and the Amboy road was quite open for at least a quarter of a mile, with woods well 'The same which crosses the road a few rods north- wardly from the gas-works of the village of Freehold. distributed beyond this narrow belt as far north as Briar Hill, to the Middletown road, on the edge of which Colonel Grayson halted his command, nearly parallel with the road on which the British column was marching. The summit between the Amboy road and the mid- dle ravine was mostly in woods, with open ground near and just northwest of the court- house, where Butler drove back the Queen's Rangers. To the left of the British line, after it faced west to return the offensive, was an- other piece of woods out of which the dragoons advanced, and from which a strong column emerged for an advance toM'ards the court- house to turn the American right and cut off Grayson, Scott, Jackson, Max:well and Oswald, when they retired behind the eastern ravine and reached the summit. Until within six or seven years — if not until the present time — the middle ravine remained covered with tangled under-brush and briars, as was mentioned by officers who passed through it during the bat- tle. The present road to English town runs considei'ably north of the ancient road, and there are now no traces of two old paths, which were particularly mentioned by witnesses on the Lee trial. The fact that all the com- manders made reference to the " west ravine," or or morass, indicates clearly that the bridge over it was a common crossing ; and although one division marched to the left from the old meeting-house, while other troops took the shar^J turn to the right at the forks, the two divisions took two routes for the double purpose of extending their front to prevent flank attacks in a general ad- vance, and also to gain room for the movement. There M'as difficulty in obtaining guides,'' and repeated halts ensued on that account. General Maxwell said he advanced along a morass from the meeting-house, but crossed the hill finally occupied by General Stirling. The small creek emptying into a pond fills the con- ditions of his statement. He was informed that there was a second road to the north, lead- ing to Englishtown by Craig's Mill, and fears were expressed that the British would seek to ''■ David Formau (father of Dr. Samuel Forman, of Free- hold) and Peter WikofF acted as guides to the com- mander-in-chief in his operations in Monmouth County. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 171 .gain the American rear by means of that road, but they did not attempt it, and the entire re- treat was finally made over the causeways at the middle and west morasses. The great conflict of the 28th of June, 1778, was preceded, or, more properly, opened, in the morning of that day, by a series of skirmishes which took place at several points at the west, northwest and northeast of the village of Freehold ; one of them at least being in full view of the old court-house of Monmouth, and not more than four hundred yards from it, — the location, as nearly as can now be determined, being on and immediately around the spot, A\'hich has, on that account, been selected as the site of the monument commemorating the battle. General Dickinson, with his force of about €ight hundred men, held a position on the right and two and a half miles in advance of English- town. He was posted there to watch the Brit- ish closely and instantly report the forward movement of their force. Discovering indica- tions that they wei-e about to move forward, he sent a messenger to communicate the intelligence to Washington and Lee. This was done at a little before five o'clock in the morning. About two and a half hours later, Dickinson encoun- tered a small flanking-party of the enemy, and became engaged in a sharp skirmish with them, «rroneously supposing that the British had turned back after setting out on the march, and that the force with which he was skirmishing was their advance-guard. This was the first skirmish of the day. It took place on a rise of ground a little east of the west ravine, or morass, behind which, in the afternoon of that memorable day, Washington formed the two divisions of Greene and Stirling to check the British advance. At about three o'clock in the morning, Colo- nel Grayson had received orders " to put Scott's and Varnum's brigades in readiness to march, and to give notice when they are ready." He moved with his command to Englishtown, and there, having reported to General Lee, "was ordered to advance and halt three miles from the enemy, and send repeated intelligence of their movements." He marched as directed, and, " at a distance of two and a half miles from E»glishtown, was ordered to march slow; shortly afterwards, to advance." Under these orders he moved rapidly to the causeway over the west ravine. As he approached he saw fir- ing, and a party of militia retreating from the enemy. The militia referred to were the forces of General Dickinson, who was retir- ing before what he supposed to be the advance- guard of the British main body. Colonel Gray- son crossed the causeway and bridge with one of his regiments and one piece of Oswald's artil- lery, and on ascending the hill beyond, the Brit- ish skirmishing party at once retreated. Gen- eral Lee arrived on the ground soon after, and was told by Dickinson that the British were returning from the court-house. Concerning this, there was much difference of opinion among the officers present, as no reconnoissance in force had been made to ascertain the truth, but General Lee remained firm in his opinion (which proved to be correct) that the British army was on its way towards Middletown, and that it was merely a light covering party that had skirmished with Dickinson and caused him to fall back. To this point, the high ground east of the west ravine, where the first skirmish of the day had been opened by General Dickinson, the other troops of Lee's command came up successively and were halted. Soon afterwards Lee sent Colonels Butler and Jackson forward, each with two hundred men, and then followed in person, to reconnoitre the British position. As soon as General Lafayette arrived at the west ravine the troops crossed, and soon after nine o'clock the whole division advanced towards the court-house, it having then been definitely ascertained that the British left wing had left the AUentown road and was on the march towards Middletown, and so the oppor- tunity for striking it on the left flank while it was so greatly extended had been lost. The second fight of the day (amounting only to a slight skirmish) was made by Colonel But- ler against a detachment of the Queen's Ran- gers, who were found a short distance northwest of the court-house, on the ground which now forms the Monument Park. Butler, under or- 172 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ders from General Anthony Wayne, attacked them and drove them past the court-house through the little village that then clustered about it. General Lafayette also, with some of the light horsemen of INIaxwell's brigade, passed beyond the court-house to the east to reconnoi tre, and found that the rear-guard of the Brit- ish army was then " a mile in advance." As soon as the Queen's Rangers had been driven through the village, Wayne sent Colonel But- ler across the east ravine, or morass (northerly from the present gas-works of Freehold), where he placed his detachment, with two ^artillery pieces, on a small eminence in the plain, the other brigades of Lee's command coming up, following the general lead of those in advance, until they formed an iri'egular line, extending to Briar Hill. The movement of the troops of General Lee's command up to this time, including the skirmish at the court-house, Avere thus detailed by General Wayne: Early in the morning he " received orders to prepare and march [from Englishtown]. Having marched about a mile with a detachment there was a halt made in front. Half an hour after received a message by one of General Lee's aids to leave my de- tachment and come to the front and take com- mand of the troops in front ; that it was a po.~t of honor. When I arrived there I found about six hundred rank and file, with two pieces of artillery, from Scott's and AVoodford's brigades, and General Varnum's brigade drawn up, Scott's advanced up a morass, the other in the rear of it. " Upon notice that the enemy were advanc- ing from the court-house,^ General Lee directed that the troops be formed so as to covei' two roads that were in the woods, where the troops had advanced and formed. Colonel Butler, with his detachment, and Colonel Jackson, with his detachment, were ordered to the front. Colonel Butler formed the advance-guard and marched on. The troops took up again the line of march and followed him. When we 1 The notice sent by Dickinson when he encountered the British flanking-party between seven and eight o'clock, and supposed them to be the advance of the British army. arrived near the edge of some open ground in view of the court-house we observed a body of the enemy's horse drawn upon the northwest side, between us and the court-house. General Lee ordered the troops to halt, and by M'heeling them to the right they were reduced to a proper front to the eneixiy's horse, though then under cover of the woods. General Lee and myself were advancing to reconnoitre the enemy. In advancing a piece forward, General Lee re- ceived some message which stopped him. I went on to a place where I had a fair prospect, from my glass, of the enemy. Their horse seemed so much advanced from the foot that I could hardly perceive the movement of the foot, which induced me to send for Colonel Butler's detachment and Colonel Jackson's detachment, in order to drive their horse back. I then de tached part of Butler's people, who drove the horse into the village." This affair was the second skirmish of the day (as before men- tioned), in which Butler attacked the Queen's Rangers and drove them beyond the court- house to the east, Lafayette following imme- diately after with some of Maxwell's light hoise. " I could perceive," continued Wayne, " that the enemy were moving from us in very great disorder and confusion. In about ten or fifteen minutes the enemy made a halt and appeared to be forming in some order. This intelligence I sent by one of m\' volunteer aids to General Lee, and requested that the troops might be pushed on. It was General Lee's orders that I should advance with Colonel Butler's detach- ment and Colonel Jackson's detachment. Upon advancing, the enemy took up their line of march and began to move on. I crossed the morass about three-quarters of a mile east [northeast] of the court-house, near to the edge of a road leading to Middletown, near the road where the enemy were marching upon. The whole of the enemy then in view halted. I advanced a piece [meaning a short distance] in front of the troops, upon a little eminence, to have a view of their position and of their movements. Our troops were advancing and had arrived at the edge of a morass, rather east of the court-house." The morass here men- MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 173 tioned is the low ground along Ihe little stream that runs northeastwardly from near the gas- works. Wayne's account thus far includes most of the movements of the morning to the time when, as before mentioned, the troops of Lee's command had ranged themselves in an irregular line reaching beyond the eastern mo- rass to the vicinity of Briar Hill, where Col- onel Butler, holding an advanced position, was suddenly and briskly attacked by the British light horse, whom he successfully repulsed. " The enemy," said "Wayne, " then advanced their horse, — about three hundred, — and about two hundred foot to cover them. The horse then made a full charge on Colonel Butler's de- tachment, and seemed determined upon gaining their right flank, in order to throw themselves in between us and our main body, which had halted at the morass. He broke their horse by a, well-directed fire, which ran the horse among their foot, broke them and carried them off likewise." This, the third skirmish of the day, -occurred at about half-past ten o'clock in the forenoon (as stated by Captain Stewart, of the artillery, in the subsequent trial of Lee), and while the troops were moving from the woods near the Amboy road to the plain beyond the east ravine, under the general direction of General Wayne. At the time when Butler repulsed the charge •of the British horsemen near the Middletown road, a mile northeast of the court-house, as above described. Colonel Grayson was in ad- vance, with an orchard at his left; Jackson about a hundred yards in his rear ; then Scott, somewhat detached from the other commands ; -and Maxwell's force on the edge of the eastern morass. The last-named officer gave the follow- ing account of the movements of his brigade during the morning, from the time when he marched from his camp of the previous night, at Englishtown, until he reached the position above named, which was near the northeast end of the present town of Freehold. "Eeceived orders after five o'clock (a.m.) to put my brigade in readiness to march imme- diately. Ordered the brigade to be ready to march ; M'ent and waited on General Lee. He seemed surprised I was not marched, and [said ?] that I must stay until the last, and fall in the rear. I ordered my brigade to the ground I understood I was to march by, and found my- self to be before General Wayne and General Scott, and halted my brigade to fall in the rear. . . . Came back to my former position ; waited a considerable time before General Wayne and General Scott got past me ; then I marched in the rear. There were three pretty large halts before I got up within a mile of the Court- House. The Marquis de Lafayette informed me that it was General Lee's wish that we should keep to the woods as much as possible ; that as I had a small party of militia horse, he desired I should keep these horse ' pretty well out upon my right. It was thereabout that I heard some firing of cannon and small-arms." This firing was that of the British horsemen's charge on Butler and a few shots from the enemy's artillery. " We had not advanced above two hundred yards," said General Wayne, — referring to the movement of his troops just at that time when Butler repelled the charge, — " before they began to open three or four pieces of artillery upon us. They inclined first to our right, in order to gain a piece of high ground to the right of where I lay, nearly in front of the court-house.^ I sent off' Major Biles to desire our troops that were in view, and in front of the morass, to advance. Our artillery [Oswald's] began to answer theirs from about a half a mile in the rear of Butler's de- tachment. . . ." Wayne's messenger carried orders from the general to Colonel Grayson, to hold his ground, as the enemy was retiring — which Wayne at that time fully believed to be the case. On receipt of that order, Grayson " hallooed to Jackson to come and form upon the hill [Briar Hill] upon his left," but Jackson disregarded the request, because he had no artillery. Scott was then a little to the rear and right of Jackson. Maxwell, who was then 1 This party of horsemen marched under Lafayette through the village of Monmouth Court-House and to the open lands east of it, as before mentioned. 2 From this description by " Mad Anthony '■ it appears most likely that he was at that time occupying the ground where the Freehold and New York Railroad station and freight houses now stand. 174 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. farther to the rear, expected Scott to move to the right, join on Wayne's troops, and let Iiiin [Maxwell] into the line. Wayne meanwhile held the regiments of Wesson, Stewart and Liv- ingston to the left of Varnum, to cover Butler, with whom he advanced still further into the open ground, and also to cover Oswald's artil lery, which had drawn two additional guns from Varnum's brigade, and was exchanging shots with the enemy's artillery. Until this time Sir Henry Clinton had ex- pected to be able to take off his trains in safety, and pursue his retreat to Middletown Heights without being compelled to risk a general en- gagement. But now that Lee's entire force was crowding close upon his rear and flank, at a time when Knyphausen's column was en- tering upon part of the route which was exceed- ingly perilous for the safety of the miles of wagon-trains which that column -was guarding, and which he (Clinton) believed the movement of the American force to be especially directed against, he promptly resolved to turn and give battle ; and the course thus quickly adopted was as promptly acted upon. His artillery pieces were placed in position and opened fire on the Americans, and by half-past eleven o'clock his rear division — the elite of the British army — had been halted in its retreat to Middle- town, and formed with an oblique front to the rear, in a line facing towards the west, and ex- tending from Briar Hill, on its right, nearly to a little ravine— then much deeper and more clearly defined than now — which crossed the main street of the village below the site of the old Academy building. This line was strength- ened and supported by the rest of Clinton's own division and by as many of Knyphausen's troops as could be spared from guarding the trains. The troops ordered back from Knyp- hausen's own division were the Seventeenth Light Dragoons. Although General Lee, when afterwards placed on trial by court-mai-tial, gaid that he in- tended to fight Clinton, and that the retreat be- fore the advancing British was commenced without his orders, it was well known that he believed the British veterans to be invincible, — " the finest troops in the world," — and that his division could not successfully resist their advance, even had he wished to do so, which has been rendered improbable (to say the least) by testimony obtained many years afterwards.. Whatever may have been his feelings and in- tentions, it is sure that ^^hen the British com- mander-in-chief wheeled his rear division and prepared to advance on the American line, the brigades of Lee's command began to retreat,, all the subordinate commanders believing that they were doing so under Lee's orders, as it still seems probable that they were. Wayne's first knowledge that a retreat was in- tended was received from his aid-de-camp,. Major Biles, whom he had sent out with orders for the troops that were in view, and in front of the morass, to advance. " Major Biles re- turned and informed me [Wayne] that the troops M^ere ordered to repass the morass, and they were then retiring over it. I galloped up to the Marquis de Lafayette, who was in the rear of Livingston's or Stewart's regiment, who^ said he was ordered to recross the morass,^ and form near the court-house, from that to the woods. I again sent to General Lee, asking that troops might be brought up. Major Biles or Major Fishbourne returned and informed me that the troops had beeu ordered to retire from the court-house, and that they were then retiring. About the same time one of General Lee's aids told me that it was not General Lee's intention to attack them in front, but that he intended to take them, and was preparing a. detachment to throw upon their left. I then crossed the ravine myself, and went with Gen- eral Scott to the court-house. . . . After viewing the ground about the court-house, sent off one off my aids to General Lee to request him that the troops might again be returned to the place they had left. At this time the enemy did not appear to be above two thousand, about a mile distant in front, moving on to gain the hill before mentioned. A fire was kept up by cannon between us and the enemy at this time. Major Fishbourne returned and informed me that the troops were still retreating, and that ^ At or near -where now stands the farm-house belonging to the Schanck estate, and occupied by Mr. Edward Hanoe. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 175 General Lee would see me himself. After- wards I perceived the enemy begin to move rapidly in column towards the court-house. I again sent Major Lenox and Major Fishbourne to General Lee, requesting him at least to halt the troops to cover General Scott, and that the enemy were advancing ; and also sent an order to Colonel Butler to fall back, as he was in danger of being surrounded and taken." With reference to the position and retirement of General Scott's command, General Maxwell said : " I did expect that General Scott would have moved to the right, as there was a vacancy between him and the other troops ; but while I was riding up to him I saw his troops turn about and form in column, and General Scott coming to meet me. He told me our troops were retreating on the right, and we must get out of that place ; that he desired his cannon to go along with me, as there was only one place to get over that morass [the one northeast of the Schanck farm-house], and he would get out of thatif he could. I ordered my brigade to march back." Colonel Jackson, in describing how he retired from his advanced position near Briar Hill, said : " I asked Lieutenant-Colonel Smith if he did not think it best for me to cross the morass, and post myself on the height that crowned it. He asked if I had any orders ! I answered no. He made reply, ' For God's sake don't move without you have orders ! ' I desired him, or he offered, to go and see if there was any person to give me orders ; he returned in a few minutes, and told me there was no person there. I told him I'll risk it, and cross the morass." General David Forman said, " I rode forward to discover the number and situation of the en- emy shortly after the enemy's horse had charged Colonel Butler's detachment; then rode in quest of General Lee and offered to take a de- tachment, and by taking a road upon our left, to double their right flank. General Lee's an- swer was, ' I know my business.' A few minutes afterwards I saw the Marquis de La- fayette direct Colonel Livingston's and Colonel Stewart's regiments to march towards the enemy's left, and I was informed by the Mar- quis that he was directed by General Lee to gain the enemy's left flank. In this time there M^as a cannonading from both parties, but princi- pally on the part of the enemy. The Marquis did not gain the enemy's left flank ; as I sup- posed, it was occasioned by a retreat that had been ordered to the village, I presume by Gen- eral Lee, as he was present, and did not contra- dict it." The first disposition of the troops of Lee's. command on the ground between the eastern morass and Briar Hill had been made without any general order from Lee, each subordinate commander taking his position and deploying his men according to his own ideas. Colonel Oswald maintained his artillery in position un- til his ammunition was exhausted, and then retired behind the morass, to the high grounds now included in the Schanck farm. There he met General Lee, who ordered him, upon ob- taining ammunition, to continue firing, and this was done over the heads of Butler's advanced detachment, and with great danger of doing injury to them. At this time General Lee sent orders to General Wayne to move toward the right, nearer to the court-house, where the enemy was threatening a movement. The reg- iments of Livingston and Stewart, in Wayne's. brigade, were the first to move under these or- ders from Lee. Grayson and Scott, seeing the movement of these regiments, considered it as a general retreat, and that opinion was confirmed by the evident pressure of the British towards the court-house, while their centre and right emerged from the woods into the open ground, thus threatening to sever the American line, already wealtened in the centre, and to cut off" the regiments which were on the left toward Briar Hill. Grayson, Scott, Jackson and Yar- num recrossed the morass, as has already been shown, and, with Maxwell, entered the woods upon the hill west of the Amboy road. There- they received orders from General Lee to re- form the line in the woods on the high ground, with the right resting on the village. General Lee stated that he had supposed that the houses, around the court-house were of stone, but when he found that they were of wood, and that the village was open (that is, that the- 176 HISTORY OP MOx\MOUTH COUxNTY, NEW JERSEY. houses were scattering), he decided to fall back before the British advance, which was then ap- pearing in the edge of the woods less than a mile distant, and was variously estimated by the American officers at from fifteen hundred to twenty-five hundred men. The force of Lee at that time disposable for attack or resistance, if jDroperly in hand, was not less than three thousand men, besides Gray- son's detachment. Wayne, during tlie hour and a half that elapsed while he was in the plain, had sent three times to urge General Lee to advance with the troops, and, as he stated, refrained from pressing the attack, under in- structions, constantly expecting that Lee would carrv the left wing around the right of the British column, to cut it off from tlie main body of the army. Lee himself afterwards stated that such was his purpose, and also that when he notified General Washington, who had sent an aid to learn the situation of affairs,' ^ Lieutenant-Colonel Brooks, acting adjutant-general of Washington's staff, who "was with General Lee, said: " Within fiew of Monmouth court-house there was a halt for an hour, in which inter^ial General Lee reconnoitred the enemy, who put on the appearance of retiring from the court-house somewhat precipitately and in disorder. When they had retreated about a mile, on the Middletown road, they halted, and formed on high ground. General Lee observed that if the body now in view were all or near all that were left to cover tlie retreat of the main body, instead of pushing their rear, he would have them all prisoners. He marched his main body to gain the enemy's rear, leaving General Wayne with two or three pieces of artillery to amuse the enemy in front, but not to push them, lest his project should be frustrated. After coming into the plain, about a mile below the court-house, I observed the head of General Lee's column filing to the right toward the court-house. A cannonading had now taken place between us and the enemy. When I came in the rear of Scott's detachment I perceived a very great interval between that and the front of iMaxwell's brigade. Upon General Max- well seeing me, he asked if I had any orders from General Lee. I told him I had not. . . . General Scott came up about this time and observed that our troops were going oS the field toward the court-house. He asked me whether it was the case. I told him I knew nothing of it if it was so. During this time all the columns except Maxwell's were moving to the right. After having seen several baltalions pass [repass] the ravine, I returned to the point where General Maxwell was, and found General Scott and Max- well standing together. General Maxwell again asked me if I had any orders, I told him I had not. . I rode to- ward the [east] ravine to find General Lee, but finding the that he was confident of success, he supposed the British rear-guard did not exceed fifteen hundred men. His estimate was probably nearly correct, and the plan a good one at that time, for his whole division was then pressing to the front, eager to engage the enemy; but at noon the case was different, for Clinton had fully realized the weakness of the pursuit, and had gained time to turn it into failure. Lee's entire division was then in retreat, quickened at this time by his orders ;^ and the left wing only saved its connection with the main body of the division by a march through the woods, leaving their artillery to the charge of Colonel Oswald, who, with his few men, brought off ten pieces, though he took only two into action at first. It was at this time, or perhaps a little earlier, that a messenger from Colonel Morgan, "having sought in vain for General Lee," came to General Wayne for instructions. Morgan was posted, as before mentioned, at Richmond's Mills, nearly three miles in a southerly direc- tion from Monmouth Court-House, and having heard the sound of the firing in front, was anxious for orders to march his riflemen to the scene of conflict; but Wayne simply told his messenger that he (the messenger) could see the condition of things for himself and report the facts to General Morgan. " ']''he enemy," said he, "are advancing, and Colonel Morgan should govern himself accordingly." Gqneral Lee (through Major Mercer of his staff) had pre- viously expressed displeasure at Wayne's having ordered Colonel Scott to a position on the left, and this probably was the reason why Wayne now declined to give the desired orders to Morgan, who, in consequence, was deprived of the opportunity of advancing to take a place in enemy were pushing that way, thought best to return and come round the ravine, and found General Lee about a quarter of a mile this [west] side of the court-house. He said ' you see our situation, but I am determined to make the best of a bad bargain.' . . . Upon asking several officers, who appeared to command the battalions, why they left the ground, they said it was by General Lee's and the Marquis de Lafayette's orders." ' At about the time the retreat began Colonel Stewart, of Wayne's brigade, asked General Lee where he should take his men. General Lee replied, " Take them to any place to save their lives," — pointing to an orchard in front. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 177 the line, and so remained at his post through the long hours of that blazing afternoon, hear- ing the dull roar of the distant battle, but taking no part in it.* The British forces, having completed their formation in the woods to the northeast of the court-house, emerged from their cover and advanced steadily, in good order and with solid ranks, towards the village. Wayne, under direction of Lafayette, had placed two regiments — Stewart's and Livingston's — to resist their advance, but it was useless for this small force to attempt to impede their advance, and the regiments joined the retreat, the details of which, with reference to the several brigades and regi- ments, it is unnecessary here to narrate. " The troops," said Lieutenant-Colonel Brooks, of Washington's staff, "in a very easy, moderate way, continued their march until they had passed the ravine in front of Carr's house." This has reference to what has before been mentioned as the "middle ravine," or morass. It has gener- ally been supposed that the retreat of Lee's division to the main body under Washington ■was a disorderly one, — almost a panic, — but this is a very erroneous idea. There was certainly some confusion, occasioned by a lack of proper direction of their movements, but there was nothing in the nature of a panic. No com- mander knew why he was retreating, only that such was understood to be the orders, and be- cause he saw others retreating; but no troops could have rallied more promptly than they did when they felt the presence of Washington. Credit was due to General Lee for his self- possession and for his evident purpose to bring •A night or two before the Monmouth battle, Morgan, contrary to the express orders of Washington (personally given) "not to fire a single shot, or bring on any skirmish- ing with the enemy," disobeyed both. For this he was placed in arrest. The next day after this disregard of orders and subsequent fright, occasioned by a reprimand from the chief, he was released and restored to favor. No doubt this occurrence was the cause of his remaining at his post, fearing to move up without positive orders, much as he desired to take part in the engagement. Late in the afternoon orders reached him to move up at once, and these orders he promptly obeyed ; but being obliged to take a circuitous route, he did not arrive on the field till night, after the battle was over. 12 the men away in safety, whatever may be said of his failure to fight, as Washington had ex- pected him to do. The troops who had marched and countermarched under blind guidance and conflicting orders — or no orders at all — during seven or eight hours of extreme heat were fall- ing by the roadside, worn out with fatigue and fainting with thirst, with no stimulus of hope to bear them up, and it cannot be denied that the retreat from Briar Hill to the old meeting- house was a victory of courage, manhood and endurance over every possible discouragement that could befall a brave and steadfast army in earnest pursuit of a retiring adversary. Regi- ment after regiment, brigade after brigade, has- tened to cross the western morass, and to the credit of Lee it is to be recorded that he was among the last to pass the causeway. At this point the broken detachments met the main army. Some went to its rear to rest and rally for a fresh advance, while some turned their faces again to the enemy and fought until their pursuers retired from the field. Colonel Ogden said that he asked General Maxwell to halt his command and face the enemy, and that he did so promptly, rallying hi.s men without difficulty. It seems clear that the division of General Lee was saved by the self-possession of its officers and the wonderful endurance of the rank and file, produced in a great degree by their hard- ships during the preceding ^vinter at Valley Forge. The noise of the desultory conflict in the vicinity of the court-liouse during the fore- noon had been heard by Washington, and it had aroused him to his full fighting energy. The return of his aid-de-camp with the assurance that General Lee had overtaken the British army, and expected to cutofi^the division form- ing their rear-guard, was received as a vindi- cation of his previous judgment and a presage of success. He hurried forward the advance of the main body under his immediate com- mand, and the troops dropped every incum- brance to the celerity of their march to the front. At the old Tennent INIeeting-house Greene took the right and Lord Stirling led the left directly towards the high ground, where he subsequently took his strong position. 178 HISTOKY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. The vanguard, under the immediate command of Washington, approached the causeway at the western morass, when repeated interruptions of his progress began to warn him that disaster was impending, and that the troops of the Con- tinental army needed the presence of their com- mander-in-chief. First a mounted farmer, then a frightened fugitive fifer, told his story. "After a few paces, two or three more persons said that the Continentals were ret)'eating." Like lightning the whole career of General Charles Lee flashed through the mind of Wash- ington, awakening vagne and painful suspi- cions and more painful apprehensions, arousing the chief to a sense of the danger which threat- ened the army. At this crisis his action was prompt. Colonels Harrison and Fitzgerald were dispatched to ascertain tlie exact situation of affairs. They met Major Ogden, who told them with strong expletives that Lee and his troops were " flying from a shadow." Officer after officer, detachment after detachment, came over the causeway and bridge, all alike ambiguous in their replies or ignorant of the cause of their retreat: Generals and colonels came in with their broken commands, all know- ing that they were retreating, but no one able to say more than that such were the orders, and that just behind them was "the whole British army." Washington hastened towards the bridge and met Wayne, Varnum, Oswald, Stewart, Ram- sey and Livingston. Upon them he imposed the duty of meeting the British columns, and, leading the way in person, placed them in posi- tion on the high ground bordering the west morass. On the left, in the edge of the woods, he posted Ramsey and Stewart, with two pieces of artillery, and with the solemn charge that he depended on them to stop the pursuit. On the right, in the rear of an orchard, and cov- ered by a thick hedge-row, he posted Wayne, Varnum and Livingston; and four of Oswald's guns were placed there under the directions of General Knox, chief of artillery. Maxwell and other commanders, as they arrived, were ordered to the rear to re-form their columns, and Lafayette was intrusted with the formation of a second line until he could give the halted troops a position which they might hold while he should bring up the main army to their support. It was an occasion such as tests the abilities of a great leader and proves the stead- fastness of soldiers. , Already, with the last retreating column, General Lee had appeared, and finding the troops in line, proceeded to make such change in their position and arrangement as he thought best under the circumstances. He afterwards stated that it had been his purpose, after he passed Carr's house and after consultation with Wikoff (one of the guides), who knew the country, to place a battery on Combs' Hill, which attracted his attention. Wikoff showed him that he could take fence rails and make a crossing of the morass, and that the British army could not attack him without making a circuit of three or four miles to the south ; but he said there was no timB for that, and continued his retreat. While demanding the reason for the disposition which he found of the troops on the hill near the west morass, he was informed that Washington had himself made that disposition. Regarding this as virtually superseding him in command, he thereupon rode forward to find Washington and report to him for further orders. He soon met the chief, who, aroused to a fury of wrath by the conviction that the cause of his country and the safety of his army had been willfully imperiled by the disobe- dience — if not treachery — of his lieutenant, sternly demanded of Lee an explanation of his conduct; and the manner, tone and words of Washington at this meeting were such that Lee (as he afterwards stated before a court-martial) Avas " disconcerted, astonished and confounded," so that he was " unable to make any coherent answer." It was a well-established fact that on this occasion the Father of his Country did (perhaps for the first and last time in his life) use some profane expressions, which have been variously reported by different witnesses and writers, as will be more fully noticed in succeed- ing pages. This colloquy between the two generals was closed by Washington asking Lee if he would take command at the front while he (Washing- ton) was forming the maiu body. " When Gen- eral Washington asked me," said Lee after- MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 179 ■wards, " whether I would remain in front and retain the command, or whether he should take it, I answered that I undoubtedly would, and that he should' see that I myself should be one of the last to leave the field. Colonel Hamil- ton, flourishing his sword, immediately exclaimed ' That's right, my dear General, and I will stay, and we will all die here on the spot.' ... I answered, ' I am responsible to the General and to the Continent for the troops I have been en- trusted with. When I have taken proper measures to get the main body in a good posi- tion, I will die with you on the spot if you please.' " He spoke in terms of ridicule of Hamilton's " flustrated manner and frenzy of valor," and gave it as his opinion that " the position was not one to risk anything further than the troops which were then halted on it." The commands of Ramsey and Stewart had been (as already noticed) placed in a command- ing position on the high ground, supporting the two pieces of Oswald's artillery, with the solemn charge from Washington to hold their ground, stop the British pursuit, and so give hira time to bring up the main body and save the day. They performed well the duty as- signed them. The fire from Oswald's guns was well directed, and told with such effect on the troops of Cornwallis that for the first time since they had been faced to the rear at Briar Hill their advance was checked, and they found their way barred by the firm front and deter- mined courage of their antagonists. The fugi- tive troops of Lee's division had been inspired with confidence by the presence of the com- mander-in-chief, and within ten minutes after he appeared before them the retreat was suspended, the troops rallied and order soon came out of the midst of the utmost confusion. Stewart and Ramsey had formed in the cover of the wood and co-operated with Oswald in keeping the enemy at bay. While the British grenadiers were pouring their destructive fire upon the ranks of the Americans the voice of Washington seemed omnipotent with the inspiration of courage ; it was the voice of faith to the despairing soldiers. Fear- lessly he rode in the face of the iron storm and gave his orders. The whole patriot army, which half an hour before had seemed to be on the verge of destruction, panic-stricken and without order, was now drawn up in battle ar- ray and prepared to meet the enemy with a bold and Avell-arranged front. Washington rode back in haste to the main army, and with wonderful expedition formed their confused ranks into battle order on the eminences on the western side of the morass. Lord Stirling was placed in command of the left wing, while General Greene, on receiving intelligence of Lee's retreat, had marched back, and now took an advantageous position on the right of Stirling. In the confiict that followed the retreat from the court-house. General Lee displayed all his skill and courage in obedience to Washington's order to "check the enemy." When the com- mander-in-chief recrossed the morass to form and bring up the main army, Oswald's guns on the right of Stewart and Ramsey had opened a vigorous cannonade on the enemy, whose artil- lery replied with equal energy, while the Brit- ish light-horse charged furiously upon the right of Lee's division, and finally the Ameri- cans gave way before the fierce onset and over- whelming numbers of the attacking enemy. As they emerged from the woods the combatants seemed completely intermingled. The next assault of the British was on Var- num's brigade and Livingston's regiment, who lay behind the hedge-row that stretched across the open field in front of the causeway over the morass. Several artillery pieces, posted on a rise of ground in the rear of the fence, delivered an effective fire on the enemy's line and for a time the confiict raged furiously, until a heavy body of British infantry and horse made a charge with bayonet and sabre, broke the American ranks, and the troops of Varnum and Livingston, with the two sections of Oswald's battery, retreated across the morass by orders of General Lee, their crossing being covered by Colonel Ogden's troops, who were partially sheltered in a wood near the causeway. Lee was the last to leave the position, bringing off Ogden's regiment, as a rear-guard to the retreat- ing forces of Varnum, Livingston and Oswald, in excellent order, and instantly forming them 180 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. on a slope on the west side of the morass. He then reported to Washington, " Sir, here are my troops; how is it your Excellency's pleasure that I should dispose of them." The men, who had been on the march and in the battle since the early morning, were worn out with hunger, thirst and fatigue, and therefore Washington ordered them to be withdrawn and posted in the rear of Englishtown, while he prepared to engage the enemy himself with the fresh divi- sions of the main army, which were formed in line of battle on the wooded eminence on the west side of the morass, Washington command- ing the centre in person, while the right and left wings were, respectively, as before mentioned, under command of Greene and Stirling. General Wayne, with an advanced corps, was posted in an orchard on the high ground a little south of the parsonage, and a five-gun battery was, by order of General Greene, posted on Combs' Hill, to pour an enfilading fire on the British columns in their advance against the American lines. This battery, which was under the immediate eye of General Knox, did most excellent service during the ensuing en- gagement, for which it received the special commendation of Washington. The British, finding themselves warmly op- posed in front, made a desperate attempt to turn the American left flank, but were repulsed. Then they moved against the right in heavy force, but were driven back with severe loss, being enfiladed by Knox's guns on Combs' Hill. In the mean time Wayne's position in the orchard was repeatedly attacked by the enemy, but each time he drove them back in disorder, and poured a destructive fire into their central position. Finally, the British — apparently resolved to carry Wayne's position at whatever cost — prepared for a still more determined assault, and one which proved to be the most desperate and bloody of the day. It was made by Lieutenant-Colonel Monckton, with his battalion of Royal Grenadiers, — a vet- eran corps, and the finest one in Clinton's armv. Preparatory to the charge they were harangued by their brave commander in a clear, ringing voice, plainly heard above the uproar of the battle by the troops of Wayne's command. Then came the order "Forward!" and the grenadiers advanced in solid array, rapidly, but steadily, as if on parade, and with such preci- sion of movement that (it was said) a shot from one of Knox's guns on Combs' Hill, "enfilad- ing a platoon, disarmed every man." Awaiting the assault, "Mad Anthony" or- dered the men of his brigade to stand firm, and under no circumstances to pull a trigger until the signal was given. When the grenadiers had reached the proper point, the word was given, a terrific volley blazed out from Wayne's whole line, and three-fourths of the officers of the British battalion fell, among them its brave commander, the gallant Monckton.' The spot where he fell is said to be about eight rods northeast of the site of the old parsonage. 1 Lieutenant-Colonel the Honorable Henry Monckton was one of the bravest and most honorable oiEcers in the British service, — accomplished, gallant, of irreproachable moral character and splendid personal appearance. He was in the battle of Long Island in August, 1776, and was there shot through the body, from which wound he lay many weeks apparently at the point of death. On his re- covery he was, for his gallantry on that occasion, pro- moted from the Fifth Company, Second Grenadiers, to be lieutenant-colonel, and was in command of the battalion at the battle of Monmouth, in which the First Grenadiers also took a conspicuous part. The charge of his battalion and the death of the brave Monckton are thus mentioned by Lossing : ''At the head of his grenadiers on the field of Monmouth he kept them silent until they were within a few rods of the Americans, when, waving Ms sword, he shouted, — ' Forward to the charge ! ' Our General Wayne was on his front. At the same moment ' Mad Anthony ' gave the signal to fire. A terrible volley poured destruc- tion on Monckton's grenadiers, and almost every British officer fell. Amongst them was their brave leader. Over his body the combatants fought desperately, until the Americans secured it and bore it to the rear." The flag of the Second Grenadiers, which went down in the charge in which their brave leader fell, was taken by a Pennsylvauian,— William Wilson, who was afterwards judge of the Northumberland (Pa.) court. The flag fell into possession of his grandson, Captain William Wilson Potter, of Bellefonte, Centre County, Pa., and is still (or was recently) to be seen at his house. It is of heavy, corded silk, lemon-colored, with the usual blue union, bearing the combined crosses of St. George and St. An- drew. Its size is five feet four inches by four feet eight inches. " The flag has the appearance of having been wrenched from its staff, and has a few blood-stains on the device ; otherwise it looks as bright and new as if it had just come from the gentle fingers that made it, though a. century has rolled away since its golden folds drooped in the sultry air of that June day's battle." MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 181 He was buried in the yard of the old Tennent Church, a few feet from the west end of the ancient edifice, where his grave is marked by a wooden tablet, erected many years later, by a school-teacher of Monmouth County, — William Wilson, — whose remains also lie in the same inclosure. The rout of the grenadiers by Wayne, vir- tually closed the battle of Monmouth. For a short time afterwards the conflict was continued at different points along the opposing lines, and the artillery fire was continued on both sides, but the British made no more attempts to ad- vance against the strong positions of the Americans, and they soon withdrew to the heights above Carr's house, — the same ground which Lee had occupied in the morning. Here they took a strong position, where both flanks were secured by thick woods and morasses, and there was only a narrow way of approach in front. The sun was now near the horizon ; the long summer day, then drawing to its close, had been one of the hottest ever known, and the troops were worn down with fatigue ; yet Washington immediately resolved to pursue the advantage he had gained, and attack the forces of Clinton in their new and strong position. Accordingly, he ordered General Poor, with his own and the Carolina brigade, to gain their right flank, while Woodford with his brigade was directed to do the same on their left ; and the artillery was ordered to take post and open fire on their front. These orders were obeyed promptly and with enthusiasm ; but the obstacles on the British flanks wei-e so many, on account of the woods and roughness of the ground, that before these could be overcome, so that the troops could approach near enough to attack, darkness began to come on and rendered further operations impractica- ble. Very unwillingly, Washington then re- linquished his plan of renewing the engagement that night, but being resolved to do so at day- light on the following morning, he ordered that the brigades of Poor and Woodford should keep their places on the British flanks during the night, to be ready for the assault at dawn, and that the other troops should lie on their arms on the field in readiness to support them. The commander-in-chief, who had been in the saddle during nearly the whole day, regard- less of fatigue or danger, lay down on the field wrapped in his cloak, and passed the night in the midst of his soldiers. The conflict of the day, disastrous enough at first, had ended with a decided advantage to the American arms, and he felt confident of a decisive victory on the morrow. But the returning daylight dispelled all his hopes, for the bivouac-ground of the royal troops was vacant, and not a scarlet uniform (save those of the dead and wounded) could be seen on the heights and plains of Freehold. " The fires were bright in Clinton's camp, But long ere morning's dawn His beaten host was on the tramp And all the foes were gone. Never again may cannon sweep Where waves the golden grain, And ne'er again an army sleep Upon old Monmouth plain." The troops of Sir Henry Clinton had stolen away from the field in the early part of the night,^ and so silently and secretly had the move- 1 Most of the accounts of the battle of Monmouth say that Clinton left the field at about twelve o'clock. Lossingsays : " At midnight, under cover of darkness, Sir Henry Clinton put his weary host in motion. With silent steps column after column left the camp, and hurried toward Sandy Hook." But Clinton himself said : " Having reposed the troops till ten at night, to avoid the excessive heat of the day, I took advantage of the moonlight to rejoin Lieutenant- General Knyphausen." (The italics are not so indicated in Sir Henry's report.) On the night of June 28, 1778, the moon (which had made its change to the new on the 24th, at 10 A.M.) was only four days old, and the time of its setting was 10.55 p.m. So, if Sir Henry moved his troops from the field at ten o'clock, as he stated, he thus secured about an hour of moonlight to facilitate the march through the woods, over the morasses, hills and unfamiliar ground that intervened between the battle-field and the Middletown road. That hour of moonlight was invaluable to him for that purpose, and there is no reason to doubt that he marched from the field at about ten, as he stated. The different accounts which place the time of his departure at midnight are based on Washington's statement, nearly to that effect. But it is to be borne in mind that Washing- ton could only guess at the time the British left, for he did not even know that they had left at all until' the daylight of the following morning revealed the fact. On learning that such was tlie case he sen? out scouts to ascertain their position ; and when these returned with the intelligence that the enemy was already more than half-way from the court-house to Middletown, he knew that they must have been several hours on the march, and it was natural enough 182 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. ment been executed that the officers and men of General Poor's brigade, which lay near the right of the British position, knew nothing of their departure. Washington was greatly surprised and somewhat chagrined to find that the British had eluded him, but he knew that it was useless to attempt any further movement against them, for it was perfectly certain that they would reach the " heights of Middletown " before they could be overtaken, and in that almost impregnable position they could not be attacked with any hope of success. No idea of pursuit was there- fore entertained, though orders were given to Morgan to press forward and annoy the British rear, if opportunity should offer, and the Jersey brigade was detailed for the same duty ; but neither of these corps were able to accomplish anything of importance. A scouting-party, which had been sent out on the 29th to observe Clinton's movements, returned to Englishtown in the evening of the 30th, reporting that " the enemy have continued their march very pre- cipitately. The roads are strewn with knap- sacks, firelocks and other implements of ^\'ar. . . . To-day they are at Sandy Hook, from whence it is expected they will remove to New York." Clinton's forces, on reaching Sandy Hook Bay, found there the fleet of Admiral Howe, who, having sailed from Delaware Bay for the purpose, took the wearied and defeated troops of the British army on board his ships and transported them to New York.^ to suppose that they had left -about midnight, for it ■would be hard to believe that the Americans were all so soundly asleep at the early hour of ten as to make it possible for the British to escape undiscovered, as they did. Doubtless Sir Henry hurried his departure for the very reason that there was but an hour of moonlight left, which was barely sufficient to light his troops over the rough and difficult ground which they had to pass to reach the Middletown road. Having reached that point, the most difficult and dangerous part of the movement was accomplished, for they then had before them a tolerably good road and an unob- structed way to rejoin Knyphausen's corps. 1 Fallowing is a British account (from the Annual Regis- ter, London, 1Y78) of Clicton's arrival and embarkation at Sandy Hook Bay : "In the mean time the British army arrived at the High- lands of Navesink, in the neighbourhood of Sandy Hook, on the last day of June, at which latter place the fleet from the Delaware under Lord Howe, after being detained in that river by calms, had most fortunately arrived on the pre- In the account of the battle of Monmouth given by Sir Henry Clinton, in his official re- port, he states that General Knyphausen, with the corps having charge of the trains, moved out on the road to Middletown at daybreak ; that the rear division of Cornwallis, accompa- nied by Sir Henry in person, having remained some hours longer on the high grounds in the vicinity of the court-house, also marched away on the Middletown road, and he then proceeds : "The rear-guard having descended from the heights above Freehold into a plain, about three miles in length and about one mile in breadth, several columns of the enemy appeared like- wise, descending into the plain, and about ten o'clock they began cannonading our rear. In- telligence was at this instant brought to me that the enemy were discovered, marching in force on both our flanks. I was convinced that our baggage was their object; but it being at this juncture engaged in defiles which continued for some miles, no means occurred of parrying the blow but attacking the corps which har- assed our rear, and pressing it so hard as to oblige the detachments to return from our flanks to its assistance. I had good informa- tion that Washington was up with his whole armj^ estimated at about twenty thousand ; but as I knew there were two defiles between him ceding day. It had happened in the preceding winter that the peninsula of Sandy Hook had been cut off from the continent, and converted into an absolute island, by a violent breach of the sea, — a circumstance then of little moment, but which now might have been attended with the most fatal consequences. By the happy arrival of the fleet at the instant when its assistance was so critically necessary, the ability of the noble commander and the extraordinary efforts of the seamen, this impediment was speedily removed, a bridge of boats being completed with such expedition that the whole army was passed over this new channel on the 5th of July, and were afterwards con- veyed with ease to New York, neither army nor navy yet knowing the circumstances or danger and ruin in which they had so nearly been involved," the last remark hav- ing reference to the fact that the French fleet under DTstaing had arrived on the American coast (as Howe learned on the day after his arrival at New York), and if it had appeared at Sandy Hook before the embarkation, it would probably have been extremely disastrous to the Brit- ish army. The French fleet, consisting of twelve heavy ships, and having on board a land force of eleven thousand men, did appear at the Hook on the llt.h of July, but their opportunity was gone, and the British safe in New York. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 183 and the corps at which I meant to strike, I judged that he could not have passed them with a greater force than what Lord Cornwallis' division was well able to engage. The enemy's cavalry, commanded, it is said, by M. La Fay- ette, having approached within our reach, they were charged with great spirit by the Queen's light dragoons. They did not wait the shock, but fell back in confusion upon their own in- fantry. Thinking it possible that the event might draw to a general action, I sent for a brigade of British and the Seventeenth Light Dragoons, from Lieutenaut-General Knyphaus- en's division, and having directed them on the march to take a position effectually covering our right flank, of which I was most jealous, I made a disposition of attack upon the plam ; but before I could advance, the enemy fell back and took a strong position on the heights above Freehold Court-House. . . . The British gren- adiers, with their left to the village of Free- hold, began the attack with so much spirit that the enemy gave way immediately. The second line of the enemy, on the hill east of the west ravine, stood the attack with great obstinacy, but were likewise completely routed. They then took a third position, with a marshy hol- low in front, over which it would have been scarcely possible to have attacked them. How- ever, part of the second line made a movement to the front, occupied some ground on the en- emy's left flank, and the light infantry and Queen's Rangers turned their left. By this time our men were so overpowered by fatigue that I could press the aflkir no farther, especially as I was confident that the end was gained for which the attack had been made. I ordered the light infantry to join me; but a strong de- tachment of the enemy [Wayne] having pos- sessed themselves of a post which would have annoyed them in their retreat, the Thirty-third Regiment made a movement toward the enemy, which, with a similar one made by the First Grenadiers, immediately dispersed them. I took the position from whence the enemy had been first driven after they had quitted the plain; and having reposed till ten at night, to avoid the excessive heat of the day, I took ad- vantage of the moonlight to rejoin Ljeutenant- General Knyphausen, who had advanced to Nut Swamp, near Middletown." The American loss in the battle of June 28th was, (according to the original report of Gen- eral Washington) eight officers and sixty-one non-commissioned officers and privates killed, eighteen officers and one hundred and forty-two non-commissioned officers and privates wounded, — total, two hundred and twenty-nine killed and wounded. The missing were five sergeants and one hundred and twenty-six privates, — total killed, wounded and missing, three hundred and sixty ; but many of the missing, having dropped out on account of the excessive fatigue and heat of the day, afterwards reported for duty. The British had taken about fifteen prisoners (among them being Colonel Ramsey), but had left them all behind on parole. Sir Henry Clinton reported four officers and one hundred and eighty-four enlisted men of his command killed and missing, and sixteen officers and one hundred and fifty-four privates wounded, — total, three hundred and fifty-eight. But Marshall remarks that this account, so far as respects the British killed, cannot be correct,' as four officers and two hundred and forty-five privates were buried on the field by the Anleri- cans. This is the report of the burial -parties to the commander-in-chief ; and some few were afterwards found and buried. The British also buried some of their own dead, and they took many of their wounded with them, though nearly fifty of the latter were left by them at the court-house in the night after the battle. "Fifty-nine of their soldiers perished by the heat, without receiving a wound ; they lay under the trees and by rivulets, whither they had crawled for shade and water." Early in the morning after the battle. General Poor's brigade of the American army advanced to Monmouth Court-House, in which they found five wounded British officers and more than forty i"It is evident lliat a great error was made in the re- port of Sir Henry Clinton to the Government, from v^hioh this statement is copied, as four officers and two hundred and forty-five privates were buried by the Americans, be- sides those who had been buried by the enemy."— General Washington to the President of Congress, July Isi, and Joseph Glarke's diary, June 28th. 184 HISTOEY OF MOxVMOUTH COQNTr, NET\' JEKSEY. wouuded private soldiers of Clinton's army, who had been left there in the retreat of the previous night, because of a lack of transporta- tion to take them along with the column.* Many of the American wounded were placed in the old building, and the Episcopal Church, in the village, and the old Tennent Church, near the battle-ground, were also filled with them, and they remained after the departure of the army, while such of the sick and slightly wounded as could bear removal were sent to the hospitals at Princeton. It has often been said that Washington had his headquarters in the court-house after the battle ; but this is evidently a mistake, as the building was filled to its fiill capacity by the wounded. It is not shown that the commander-in-chief came to , the court-house at all, and it is very unlikely that he did so, as the army moved to English- town in the afternoon of the 29th. The fact that his orders of the 29th were dated " Free- [ hold" has by some been regarded as proof that i he was located at the ^'iIlage, when, in fact, its j signification is just the reverse. All his orders and dispatches from the battle-field were simi- \ larly dated ; while, had he occupied the village, 1 they doubtless would have been dated " Mon- , mouth Court-House," Ijy which name the little ! cluster of a dozen houses was then known, i The name " Freehold," as used by Washington, I applied to the tovrnshijj, just as " Hopewell," at , the head of other orders and dispatches of his. applied to the township of that name. General Knox, who, as chief of artillery, was a member ; of Washington's staff, wrote his wife on the 29th, dating the letter " near ^Monmouth Court- ; House," which (even if there were no other evidence to that eftect) goes to show that the village was then generally known by that name. Colonel John Laurens wrote a letter to his father, dated " Headquarters, Englishtown, 30th June, 1778," in which he said: "My Dear ' The following entry is found in the before-mentioned diary of Andrew Bell, Sir Henry Clinton's private seere- ', tary : " SuDdav, June 28th. — . About fifty of our wounded were obliged to be left at Freehold for want of wagons, [ and all the Eebels wounded giTing their paroles as prisoners. ' | Father, I was exceedingly chagrined that pub- lick business prevented my writing to you from the field of battle when the General sent his dis- patches to Congress." This is a strong indica- tion that Washington's dispatches of the 30th of June were written on, and sent from, the field. There was no reason why Washington should, but every reason why he should not, consume any part of the few hours that elapsed before the time of the army's marching for Englishtown, in moving his headquarters in exactly the opposite direction. Every hour of the forenoon of the 29th must have been neces- sary for him to perfect his plans and issue his orders for the marching of the army in the afternoon ; and it seems very unlikely that, under those circumstances, he would move his headquarters from the field to the court-house, and then move back over the same ground in the afternoon, — thus making five mUes of extra travel in the excessive heat of that time. There is no reason to believe otherwise than that his headquarters of the 29th were at a point on or very near the battle-field, — whence he issued the following general order of the day: " Headquaetebs, Feeehold, " MOXilOrTH COITN'TY, "June 29th, 1778. " Parole — ilonckton ; C. Signs — Bonner, Dickinson. "The commander-in-chief congratulates the Army on the victory obtained over the arms of His Brit- annic MajestT.-, and thanks most sincerelv the gallant officei^ and men who distinguished themselves upon this occasion, and such others as, by their good order and coolness, gave the happiest presage of what might have been expected had they come to action. " General Liiekinson and the militia of this State are also thanked for their nobleness in opposing the enemy on their march from Philadelphia, and for the aid which they have given in embarrassing and im- peding their motions so as to allow the Continental troops to come up with them. " A Party, consisting of two hundred men, to parade immediately to bury the slain of both armies : General AVoodfords brigade is to cover this Party. The officers of the American Army are to be buried with military honours, due to men who have nobly fought and died in the cause of Liberty and their country. "Doctor Cochran will direct what is to be done with the wounded and sick. He is to apply to the Quartermaster and Adjutant-General for necessary assistance. The several detachments (except those MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 185 under Colonel Morgan) are to join their respective Brigades immediately, and the lines are to be formed agreeable to the order of the 22d instant. The army is to march from the left ; the second line in front, the cavalry in the rear ; the march to begin at five o'clock this afternoon. " A Sergeant, Corporal and twelve men from Oeneral Maxwell's brigade to parade immediately to guard the sick to Princetown Hospitals. Doctor Conik will give directions to the guards. Colonel Martin is appointed to superintend collecting the sick and wounded on the army routebetween Coryell's and Mon- mouth, and send them to Princetown Hospitals. He •will call immediately at the Order office for further orders. "It is with peculiar pleasure, in addition to the above, that the commander-in-chief can inform General Knox and the officers of the Artillery that the Enemy have done them the justice to acknowl- edge that no Artillery could have been better served than ours." On the night of the 29th, and through the day of the 30th, the headquarters were at Englishtown, where, at seven o'clock p.m., thanksgiving services were held for the vic- tory of Monmouth, on which occasion it was ordered : " The men to wash themselves this afternoon (30th), and appear as clean and decent as possible." At this place also it was ordered that at evening parade the soldiers' packs should be searched for articles which (according to complaints made at headquarters) had been stolen from places where the owners had con- cealed them to save them from the British army. If any such articles were found in the packs, the offenders were to be " brought to condign punishment." * It was also ordered that the whole army, except Maxwell's brigade, should move on the following morning at two o'clock, — everything to be made ready the night before; General Maxwell to apply at head- quarters for special orders for the movement of his brigade. July 1st, from the general headquarters at Spottswood, the order was issued for the army to march at one o'clock next morning, — the " general " to beat at half-past twelve. Also at same time the order was issued for a general court-martial to sit at New Brunswick on the lAnd the soldiers were notified iu the order that "the detestable crime of marauding will henceforward be pun- ished with instant death." following day, for the trial of Major-General Charles Lee. The battle of Monmouth was one of the most severely contested of the conflicts of the Revolution, and its result has always been re- garded as a victory for the American arms. That it was so considered by Washington is shown by the general order in which he " con- gratulates the army on their victory obtained over His Britannic Majesty." This view is sustained by the fact that the British stole away in the darkness, leaving Washington master of the field. Lossing remarks ^ that the result might have been a complete rout of the British, and not improbably a surrender of their whole force, if Washington had brought into the battle the corps of riflemen under the redoubtable Morgan. " For hours the latter was at Rich- mond's [Shumar's] mills, three miles below Monmouth Court-House, awaiting orders, in an agony of desire to engage in the battle, for he was within sound of its fearful tumult. To and fro he strode, uncertain what course to pur- sue, and, like a hound in the leash, panting to be away to action. Why he was not allowed to participate in the conflict we have no means of determining. It appears probable that had he fallen upon the British rear with his fresh troops, at the close of the day, Sir Henry Clin- ton and his army might have shared the fate of the British at Saratoga." The American army under Washington at Monmouth consisted of sixteen weak brigades of infantry, which, together with the artillery and cavalry forces at his disposal, amounted to about thirteen thousand men, — a numerical strength somewhat greater than that of the British army, which was further weakened by desertions in its passage through New Jersey. " It is stated," says De Peyster, " that Clinton lost from one thousand to two thousand men by desertion betAveen Philadelphia and Sandy Hook. Of these, six hundred returned to wives, sweethearts and other connections with whom alliances had been formed during the winter of 1778-79 in the City of Brotherly— and in this case, Sisterly— Love." And many of the de- 2 Field Book of the Eevolution, vol. ii. p. 364. 186 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUiVTY, NEW JERSEY. serters remained in New Jersey, where some of their descendants are still living. As among the most prominent and ^vell- known names of Monmouth County officers (including also some of private soldiers) who served in the army of Washington at the battle of Monmouth, the following were mentioned in a discourse by the Rev. Mr. Cobb, pastor of the Tennent Church : Anderson, Applegate, Baird, Bennett, Bowue, Buckalew, Carr, Covenhoven, Covvart, Craig, Denise, Dey, Disbrow, Emley, English, Fisher, David, Jonathan, Samuel and William Forman, Garrison, Gordon, Hankinson, Herbert, Haviland, Hendrickson, Imlay, Jobes, Johnstone, Walter and William Kerr, Joseph Knox, Robert and William Laird, Lloyd, Long- street, Magee, Morris, Mount, Newell, Ogborn, Parker, Perrine, Polhemus, Quackenbush, Ray, Reed, Rhea, Rue, Schenck, Scudder, Smock, Stillwell, Story, Sutphin, Taylor, Thompson, Throckmorton, Underwood, Vancleaf, Van Mater, Van Pelt, Voorhes, Wilson, Wood, Woolley, WyckofF. These names, he said, are still remembered in the county with filial pride. There were also a considerable number of In- dians serving (principally with Morgan's rifle corps) with the forces of Washington, and " more than seven hundred black Americans fought side by side with the white." The story of the battle of Monmouth could never be regarded as anything like complete if omitting a mention of the brave woman to whom the Continental soldiers gave the sobri- quet of " Molly Pitcher," from the name of the vessel in which she carried water from spring or rivulet to quench the thirst of her husband (an artilleryman) and his comrades on the field. For more than a century the name of " Molly Pitcher, the Heroine of Monmouth " has been almost as familiar as the name of the battle-field on which she did the deeds that have been told and retold in history, and the memory of which has now been perpetuated on the bronzes of the battle monument at Freehold. " She was," says Lossing, " a sturdy young camp-follower, only twenty-two years of age, and in devotion to her husband, who was acan- nonier, she illustrated the character of her coun- trywomen of the Emerald Isle. In the action. while her husband was managing one of the field-pieces, she constantly brought him water from a spring near by. A shot from the enemy killed him at his post, and the officer in com- mand, having no one competent to fill his place, ordered the piece to be withdrawn. Molly saw her husband fall as she came from the spring, and also heard the order. She dropped her bucket, seized the rammer, and vowed that she would fill the place of her husband at the gun, and avenge his death. She performed the duty with a skill and courage which attracted the at- tention of all who saw her. On the following morning, covered with dirt and blood, General Greene presented her to General Washington, who, admiring her bravery, conferred upon her the position of sergeant. By his recommenda- tion, her name was placed upon the list of half- pay officers for life. She left the army soon after the battle of Monmouth, and died near Fort Montgomery, among the Hudson High- lands. She usually went by the name of ' Cap- tain Molly.' The venerable widow of General Hamilton, who died in 1854, told me she had often seen Captain Molly. She described her as a stout, red-haired, freckled-faced young Irish woman, with a handsome, piercing eye. The French officers, charmed by the story of her bravery, made her many presents. She would sometimes pass along the French lines with her cocked hat, and get it almost filled M'itb crowns." The same writer visited the region in the Highlands where he says the heroine ended her days, and there found some old residents who " remembered the famous Irish woman called Captain Molly, the wife of a cannonier who worked a field-piece at the battle of Mon- mouth, on the death of her husband. She generally dressed in the petticoats of her sex, with an artilleryman's coat over. She was in Fort Clinton with her husband M'heu it was attacked in 1777. When the Americans re- treated from the fort, as the enemy scaled the ramparts, her husband dropped his match and fled. Molly caught it up, touched oif the piece and then scampered off. It was the last gun the Americans fired in the fort. Mrs. Rose remembered her as 'Dirty Kate,' living be- MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 187 tween Fort Montgomery and Buttermilk Falls at the close of the war, where she died a hor- rible death from syphilitic disease. Washington had honored her with a lieutenant's commission for her bravery on the field of Monmouth, nearly nine months after the battle, when reviewing its events." But another account of Molly Pitcher — re- cently written at Carlisle, Pa.— differs very ma- terially from that given by Lossing, in reference to the later years and death of Captain Molly. It is as follows : " Few localities in the country more abound in memories of great historic events than the picturesque little town of Carlisle. It was here that the famous Molly Pitcher made her home during the last years of her life, and here her granddaughter, Mrs. Polly McLeister, a widow about seventy-five years of age, now lives. In the Carlisle cemetery there is a grave, at the head of which stands a heavy slab of marble, pure white, solid and substantial, like the character of her whose-resting place it marks, and it bears the following inscription : '"MOLLIE McCAULEY, EEXOWNED IX HISTORY AS THE HEROINE OF MONMOUTH, DIED JANTJAKY, 1833, AGED 79 YEAES, ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS Or CUMBERLAND COUNTY, JULY 4, 1876.' " The Carlisle account further states that Molly was a daughter of John Hanna, of AUentown, and wife of John Mahan, the cannonier who was killed at Monmouth. The inference is that the name McCauley came to her by a second mar- riage. It is not proposed to attempt to decide here which of the foregoing accounts is the cor- rect one of the last years and death of Molly Pitcher, the female cannonier of Monmouth. The coui-t-martial ordered by General Wash- ington for the trial of General Charles Lee con- vened at New Brunswick on the 4th of July. It consisted of Major-General Lord Stirling (who was the president), four brigadiers and eight colonels. The immediate cause of the or- dering of this court-martial was that Lee, smarting under the recollection of the severe language used towards him by Washington on the day of the battle, had written to the com- mander-in-chief two very disrespectful letters (dated June 29tb and 30th), for which offense, as also on two other charges, — viz., " Disobedi- ence of orders in not attacking the enemy on the 28th of June, agreeably to repeated instruc- tions," and " Misbehavior before the enemy on the same day, by making an unnecessary, disor- derly and shameful retreat," — he was tried by the court-martial, which, after a long and ex- haustive investigation, rendered its decision on the 8th of August, finding him guilty on all charges (but softening the finding on the second charge by substituting for the words " an un- necessary, disorderly and shameful retreat " the words " an uimecessary and, in some instances, a disorderly retreat "), and sentencing him to suspension from any and all command in any of the armies of the United States for the term of twelve months. The finding was approved by Congress, and thereupon Lee left the army and removed to Philadelphia, where he died four years afterwards, having never again been called into the service. The conduct of Major-General Charles Lee — who had been second in command under Wash- ington down to the time of the battle of Mon- mouth— had for a long time been regarded with suspicion not only by the commander-in-chief, but by nearly all the higher officers of the Con- tinental forces, who believed (and, without doubt, justly) that the object constantly pursued by Lee was to bring about a situation of military affairs which would enable him to supersede Washington in the position to which he (Lee) thought himself entitled— that of commander- in-chief of the American army. He had shown a contempt for (or, at least, a disregard of) the orders of his superior on several occasions, one of which was the marching of his command through New Jersey in the fall of 1776. At that time, when Washington crossed the Hudson River into New Jersey, soon after the battle of White Plains, Lee was left at the latter place with his division of about three thousand men. When Washington reached Hackensackhe wrote Lee at White Plains, requesting him to move 188 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. his command to the west side of the Hudson and join the main body Avithout delay. Lee having taken no notice of this request, an order to the same effect was transmitted to him from headquarters ; and when it was found that he still delayed, the order was repeated in the most peremptory terms. In obedience to this second order, but with apparent reluctance, he moved his division, and crossed into Jersey; but his march was so dilatory that three weeks were consumed by him in bringing his force to Morristown. "It is evident," says Lossing, ''from Lee's conduct, and the tenor of his letters at that time, that it was not so much a spirit of determined disobedience which gov- erned his actions as a strong desire to act inde- pendent of the commander-in-chief, and perform some signal service which would redound to his personal glory. He was ambitious as he was impetuous and brave. He had endeavored, but in vain, to induce General Heath, who was left in command at Peekskill, to let him have a de- tachment of one or two thousand men with which to operate. Heath refused to vary from his instructions, and it was well that he did." "Washington continued to urge Lee to form a junction with him; yet as late as the 11th of December, two days after Washington had crossed the Delaware into Pennsylvania, he re- ceived a letter from Lee hinting at various con- templated movements, not one of which referred to a junction of forces. This was the last com- munication Washington received from Lee dur- ing that campaign . Two days later, whi le pursu- ing his dilatory march, Lee was taken prisoner at Basking Ridge, Somerset County, by Colonel Harcourt, of the British Light-Horse, and was taken to New York, where he remained until May, 1778, — only about a month before the bat- tle of Monmouth, — when he was exchanged for the British general Prescott, and rejoined "W^ash- ington at Valley Forge. By some it was believed that Lee's capture was premeditated and prepared for by himself, and the belief was held by a few that he intended to have his entire command also taken, but there is no proof that such was the case. The opinion expressed by Lossing (as above quoted) was gen- eral, and doubtless well founded ; but beyond this, it does not appear that any well-defined be- lief that Lee was absolutely a traitor to the American cause was widely entei'tained until three-fourths of a century after his death, when evidence going far towards the establishment of the latter theory as a fact was furnished by the discovery of a document written by Lee's own hand while he was a prisoner with the British in New York, in February, 1777. The document referred to was first brought to light in this country, in 1858, by Mr. George H. Moore, librarian of the New York Historical Society. It had been surreptitiously obtained from a connection of the Lee family in England, who had possession of his papers, and it had been brought to this country and offered for sale. Mr. Moore, after writing to England and satisfying himself of its authenticity, purchased it, and was afterwards permitted to retain it by the gentleman from whom it had been unlaw- fully obtained. The document, which was sub- mitted by Lee to Admiral Lord Howe and his brother. General Howe, for their inspection and approval, and which bears the indorsement, " Mr. Lee's Flan— 29th March, 1777," is as follows : "As on the one hand, it appears to me that by the continuance of the War, America has no chance of obtaining the end She proposes to herself; that altho' by struggling She may put the Mother-Country to very serious expense, both in blood and Money, yet She must in the end, after great desolation, havock and slaughter, be reduc'd to submit to terms much harder than might probably be granted at present; and as on the other hand, Great Britain, tho' ultimately vic- torious, must suffer veiy heavily even in the process of the victories, every life lost and every guinea spent being, in fact, worse than thrown away, it is only wasting her own property, shedding her own blood and destroying her own strength; and as I am not only persuaded, from the high opinion I have of the humanity and good sense of Lord and General Howe, that the terms of accommodation will be as moderate as their power will admit, but that their powers are more ample than their Successors (should any accident happen) wou'd be vested with, I think myself not only justifiable, but bound in conscience to furnish all the lights I can, to enable 'em to bring matters to a con- clusion in the most compendious manner, and conse- quently the least expensive to both Parties. I do this with the more readiness, as I know the most generous use will be made of it in all respects ; their humanity will incline 'em to have considerations for Individuals MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 189 who have acted from principle, and their good sense will tell 'em that the more moderate are the general conditions the more solid and permanent will be the union, for if the conditions were extremely repugnant to the general way of thinking, it wou'd be only the mere patchwork of a day, which the first breath of wind will discompose, and the first symptoms of a rupture betwixt the Bourbon Powers and Great Britain absolutely overturn ; but I have really no apprehensions of this kind whilst Lord and General Howe have the direction of affairs, and I flatter myself that under their auspices an accommodation may be built on so solid a foundation as not to be shaken by any such incident; in this persuasion and on these principles I shall most sincerely and zealously con- tribute all in my power to so desirable an end ; and if no untoward accidents fall out, which no human foresight can guard against, I will answer with my life for the success. " From my present situation and ignorance of cer- tain facts, I am sensible that I hazard proposing things which cannot without difficulties be comply'd with; I can only act from surmise, therefore hope allowances will be made for my circumstances. I will suppose that (exclusive of the Troops requisite for the security of Rhode Island and N. York) General Howe's Army (comprehending every species, British, Hessians and Provincials) amounts to twenty thou- sand men, capable to take the field and act offensively ; by which I mean, to move to any part of the Continent where occasion requires; I will suppose that the General's design with this force is to clear the Jerseys and take possession of Philadelphia; but in my opinion the taking possession of Philadelphia will not have any decisive consequences; the Congress and People adhering to the Congress have already made up their minds for the event ; already They have turned their eyes to other places where They can fix their seat of residence, carry on in some measure their Government ; in short, expecting this event. They have devis'd measures for protracting the War, in hopes of some favorable turn of affairs in Europe ; the taking possession therefore of Philadelphia, or any one or two Towns more, which the General may have in view, will not be decisive ; to bring matters to a conclusion, it is necessary to unhinge or dissolve, if I may so express myself, the whole system or machine of resistance, or, in other terms. Congress Government; this system or machine, as affairs now stand, depends entirely on the circumstances and disposition of the People of Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania; if the Province of Maryland, or the greater part of it, is reduced or submits, and the People of Virginia are prevented or intimidated from marching aid to the Pennsylvania Army, the whole machine is dissolv'd and a period put to the War, to' accomplish which is the object of the scheme which I now take the liberty of offering to the consideration of his Lordship and the General ; and if it is adopted in full, I am so con- fident of the success that I wou'd stake my life on the issue. I have at the same time the comfort to reflect that in pointing out measures which I know to be the most effectual, I point out those which will be attended with no bloodshed or desolation to the Colonies. As the difficulty of passing and of re-passing the North River, and the apprehensions from General Carleton's Army will, I am confident, keep the New Englanders at home, or at least confine 'em to the east side of the River; and as their Provinces are at present neither the seat of Government, strength nor Politicks, I cannot see that any offensive operations against these Provinces wou'd answer any sort of Purpose; to se- cure N. York and Rhode Island against their attacks will be sufficient. " On the supposition, then, that General Howe's army (including every species of Troops) amounts to. twenty, or even eighteen thousand men, at liberty to- move to any part of the continent ; as fourteen thou- sand will be more than suflcient to clear the Jerseys and take possession of Philadelphia, I wou'd propose that four thousand men be immediately embarked in transports, one-half of which shou'd proceed up the Potomac and take post at Alexandria, the other half up Chesapeake Bay and possess themselves of Annap- olis. They will most probably meet with no opposi- tion in taking possession of these Posts, and, when possessed, they are so very strong by nature that a few hours' work and some trifling artillery will se- cure them against the attacks of a much greater force than can possibly be brought down against themj their communication with the shipping will be con- stant and sure, for at Alexandria Vessels of a very con- siderable burthen (of five or six hundred Tons, for in- stance) can lie in close to the shore, and at Annapolis, within musket-shot ; all the necessaries and refresh- ments for an Army are near at hand and in the greatest abundance ; Kent Island will supply that of Annap- lis, and every part on both banks of the Potomac that of Alexandria. These Posts may, with ease,, support each other, and it is but two easy days' march from one to the other, and if occasion re- quires, by a single day's march They may join' and conjointly carry on their operations wherever' it may be thought eligible to direct 'em, whether to take possession of Baltimore, or post themselves on some spot on the Westward bank of the Susquehanna, which is a point of the utmost importance. But here I must beg leave to observe that there is a measure which, if the General assents to and adopts, will be attended with momentous and the most happy conse- quences. I mean that from these Posts proclama- »" On the Eoad from Annapolis to Queen Ann there is ona considerable Biver to be pass'd ; but as the ship's boats can easily be brought round from the Bay to the usual place of passage or Ferry, this is no impediment if the Two Corps ohuse to unite. They may, by a single day's march, either at Queen Ann or Marlborough." 190 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. tions of pardon shou'd be issued to all those who come in at a given day ; and I will answer for it with my life that all the Inhabitants of that great tract southward of the Patapsico, and lying between the Patomac and Chesepeak Bay, and those on the East- ern shore of Maryland, will immediately lay down their arms. But this is not all. I am much mis- taken if those potent and populous German districts — Frederic County, in Maryland, and York, in Penn- sylvania — do not follow their example. These Ger- mans are extremely numerous, and, to a Man, have hitherto been the most staunch Assertors of the American cause; but, at the same time, are so remark- ably tenacious of their prbperty, and apprehensive of the least injury being done to their fine farms, that I have no doubt when They see a probability of their Country becoming the Seat of War, They will give up all opposition ; but if, contrary to my expectations, a force should be assembled at Alexandria sufficient to prevent the corps detached thither from taking possession immediately of the place, it will make no disadvantageous alteration, but rather the reverse. A variety of spots near Alexandria, on either bank of the Patomac, may be chosen for Posts, equally well calculated for all the great purposes I have men- tioned — viz., for the reduction or compulsion to sub- mission of the whole Province of Maryland ; for the preventing or intimidating of Virginia from sending aids to Pennsylvania; for, in fact, if any force is as- sembled at Alexandria sufficient to oppose the Troops sent against it getting possession of it, it must be at the expence of the more Northern Army, as they must be compos'd of those Troops which were other- wise destined for Pennsylvania, — to say all in a word, it will unhinge and dissolve the whole system of defence. I am so confident of the event that I will venture to assert, with the penalty of my life, if the plan is fully adopted, and no accidents (such as a rupture between the Powers of Europe) intervenes, that in less than two months from the date of the proclamation not a spark of this desolating war re- mains unextinguished in any part of the Continent.'' This document goes a long way towards clear- ing up the mystery which for eighty years en- veloped the conduct of Charles Lee at the battle of Monmouth, leading inevitably to the con- clusion that he was in sympathy with the British, and that it was not so much his intention to sup- plant as to betray the great commander, before whose sublime wrath and fierce invective he afterwards cowered and shrank away like a criminal. Concerning the precise language used by General Washington to Lee when he met the latter in retreat on the day of the battle, very much has been written and man}- accounts of the occurrence given. These accounts differ widely as to the exact words used by the chief but all agree that his language and manner to- ward his lieutenant on that occasion were terri- bly severe. It is related by Irving that when the intelligence came that Lee with his division was retiring towards the rear with an apparently victorious, army in pursuit, "Washington galloped forward to stop the retreat, his indignation kind- ling as he rode. The commander-in-chief soon en- countered Lee approaching with the body of his command in full retreat. By this time he (Washington) was thoroughly exasperated. " What is the meaning of this, sir ? " demanded he, in the sternest and even fiercest tone, as Lee rode up to him. Lee, stung by the manner more than by the words of the demand, made an angry reply and provoked still sharp sr expressions, which are variously reported ; by which " vari- ously reported " expressions is meant the pro- fanity which, acccording to general admission and belief, was used by Washington on that occasion. He very rarely (if ever, except at that time) used profane language, but he was a man of fierce temper when aroused, and it burst forth in ungovernable fury when he saw the shameful conduct of Lee, reviving, as it did, a suspicion of treachery which had before that time forced itself into the mind of the chief. The Marquis de Lafayette, when revisiting the United States in 1824, mentioned the circum- stance to Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, and said, " This was the only time I ever heard General Washington swear. He called Lee a damned poltroon, and was in a towering rage." ' Another witness said that Washington shouted to Lee, " In the devil's name, sir, go back to the front, or go to hell." Weems, in his " Life of Washington," says : "As Washington was advancing, to his infinite as- tonishment he saw Lee retreating and the enemy pursuing. 'For God's sake. General Lee,' said he in great warmth, ' what is the cause of this ill-timed prudence?' 'No man, sir,' re- plied Lee, ' can boast a larger portion of that 1 This statement of Lafayette was made ty him on the piazza of the' residence of Vice-President Tompkins, on the morning of Sunday, August 15, 1824. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE EBVOLUTION. 191 rascally virtue thau your excellency ! ' Darting along like a madman, Washington rode up to his troops, who, at sight of him, rent the air with ' God save great "Washington ! ' ' My brave fellows, can you fight ? ' said he. They answered with cheers. 'Then face about, my heroes, and charge ! ' This order was executed with infinite spirit." This account by Weems, however, seems much less like a correct state- ment of an actual occurrence on a battle-field than like an imaginative creation of the author. The Rev. C. W. Upham, in his " Life of Wash- ington," says: "When General Washington met Lee retreating at the battle of Monmouth he was so exasperated as to lose control of his feelings for a moment, and in his anger and in- •dignation he burst forth in violent expressions of language and manner. Very harsh words were exchanged between him and Lee, and a sharp correspondence ensued, which resulted in Washington putting Lee under arrest. He was tried by court-martial. . . ." No witness on the court-martial of Lee made any mention of profane words used by Wash- ington on the occasion referred to; but this omission can have no weight, for indeed it would have been strange if any allusion had been made to it, as it was not the commander in-chief and his language, but Lee and his actions, that were then under investigation. General Lee, in his defense before the court- martial, said : " I confess I was disconcerted, •astonished and confounded by the words and manner in which his Excellency accosted me. It was so novel and unexpected, from a man whose discretion, humanity and decorum I had, from the first of our acquaintance, stood in ad- miration of, that I was for some time unable to make any coherent answer to questions so abrupt and, in a great measure, unintelligible." Neither Sparks, Bancroft nor Marshall, in their excellent works, make more definite men- tion of the language used by the commander- in-chief on Monmouth field than to say, in ■effect, that Washington spoke in terms of warmth, implying disapprobation of Lee's conduct. Dr. Samuel Forman, of Freehold, gave the following account, as he had heard it from his father, who, with Peter Wikoff, had acted as guide to General Washington on the day of the battle: "Washington met Lee in the field immediately north of the parsonage of the Tennent Church, and, riding up to him, asked in astonishment, 'What is the meaning of this ? ' Lee, being confused and not distinctly understanding the question, said, 'Sir, sir?' Washington again asked, ' What is all that confusion and retreat for?' Lee answered that he saw no confusion except what arose from his orders not being properly obeyed. Washington said he had certain information that the enemy before him was only a strong covering party. Lee said it might be so, but they were stronger than he (Lee) was, and that he had not thought it prudent to risk so much. 'You should not have undertaken it,' said Washington, and rode on. Soon afterwards Washington again met Lee, and asked him if he would take com- mand there ; if not, then he (Washington) would ; but if Lee would take the command, he would return to the main army and make the proper dispositions for battle. Lee answered that his Excellency had already given him command there. Upon which Washington told him he should expect him to take the proper measures to check the enemy's advance. Lee replied that his orders should be obeyed, and that he (Lee) would not be the first to leave the field. Washington then rode away." No harsh lan- guage is mentioned in this account, but it is to be remembered that persons acting in the capa- city of guides, though at certain times held near the person of the commander, would hardly be in a position, at such a time as the one referred to, to know all that passed between the two highest generals of the army. One of the Virginian officers in the battle (General Charles Scott), who was himself one of the worst of swearers, and seemed to take delight in hearing profanity from the lips oi others, was onccj in later years, asked if it was possible that the great Washington ever used profane language. His reply (evidently an exaggeration of the facts) was : " He did, sir, once. It was at Monmouth, and on a day that would have made any man swear. He swore, sir, till the leaves shook in the trees. I never, 192 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. sir, enjoyed such swearing before or since. On that memorable day, sir, he swore like an angel from heaven." It was either Scott or another of the Virginian officers present in the battle who said that Washington, enraged by Lee's excuse that he had thought it safest to retire before the enemy, who greatly outnumbered him, wrathfully burst out: "D — n your multi- plying eyes. General Lee ! Go to the front, or go to hell, I care little which ! " No person now living knows, or even can know, what were the precise words which Washington used on that blazing, blistering day, when he was driven to a frenzy of rage by the base conduct of his lieutenant ; but we may accept and agree to the conclusion arrived at by a certain college professor of divinity, who, having held up the Father of his Country as a model in all things, from cherry-tree to Farewell Address, and being thereupon inquired of by one of his pupils whether he would have them include all the events of the 28th of June, 1778, stammered out, after a moment of hesitation and perplexity : " Ahem ! ah, w-e-1-1, I sup- pose if anybody ever did have an excuse for swearing, it Avas General Washington at the battle of Monmouth." The British army committed many depreda- tions and outrages on the people of New Jersey (particularly on those of Monmouth County) during its march through the State from the Delaware to the Navesink Highlands. With reference to those outrages, there appeared in Collins' New Jersey Gazette, soon after the Monmouth battle, the following article, attrib- uted to Dr. (Colonel) Thomas Henderson, who had himself suffered severely in property from their barbarous vandalism : " The devastation they have made in some parts of Freehold exceeds, perhaps, any they have made for the distance in their route through this State, having, in the neighbour- hood above the court-house, burnt and destroyed eight dwelling-houses, all on farms adjoining each other, besides barns and out-houses. The first they burnt was my own, then Benjamin Covenhoven's, George Walker's, Hannah Solo- mon's, Benjamin Van Cleve's, David Coven- hoven's and Garret Vanderveer's ; John Ben- ham's house and barn they wantonly tore and broke down, so as to render them useless. It may not be improper to observe that the two first houses mentioned as burnt adjoined the farm, and were in full view of the place where General Clinton was quartered. In the neigh- borhood below the court-house they burnt the houses of Matthias Lane, Cornelius Covenho- ven, John Antonidas and one Emmons; these were burnt the morning before their defeat. Some have the effrontery to say that the British officers by no means countenance or allow of burning. Did not the wanton burning of Charleston,^ and Kingston, in Esopus, besides many other instances, sufficiently evince to the contrary, I think their conduct in Freehold may. The officers have been seen to exult at the sight of the flames, and heard to declare they could never conquer America until they burnt every rebel's house and murdered man,, woman and child. Besides, this consideration has great weight with me towards confirming the above, that, after their defeat, through a retreat of twenty-five miles, in which they passed the houses of the well affected to their country, they never attempted to destroy one. Thus much for their burning. ■ To enter into a minute detail of the many insults and abuses those inhabitants met with who remained in their houses would take up too much time in your paper ; I shall, therefore, content myself with giving you an account of General Clinton's conduct to one of my neighbours, a woman of seventy years of age and unblemished reputa- tion, with whom he made his quarters.^ After he had been for some time in her house, and taking notice that most of the goods were re- moved, he observed that she need not have sent off her effects for safety ; that he would have secured her, and asked if the goods could not 1 The -writer of the above was wholly mistaken about the " wanton" burning of Charlestown at the battle of Bunker Hill. Charlestown was accidentally set on fire at that timet by shells from the frigate " Glasgow " and other British vessels enfilading the " Neck." 2 Said to have referred to Mrs. William Conover, who. then lived in the house since known as the Murphy house, where Clinton made his quarters on the nights of the 26tli and 27th of June, 1778. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 193 be brought back again. The old lady objected, but upon repeated assurances of General Clin- ton in person that they should be secured for her, she consented, and sent a person he had ordered, along with a wagon, to show where they were secreted. When the goods were brought to the door, in the latter part of the day, the old lady applied to General Clinton in person for permission to have them brought in and taken care of, but he refused, and ordered a guard set over the goods. The morning fol- lowing, the old lady, finding most of her goods plundered and stolen, applied again to him for leave to take care of the remainder. He then allowed her to take care of some trifling arti- cles, which were all she saved, not having (when I saw her and had the above information from her) a change of dress for herself or hus- band, or scarcely for any of her family. In regard to personal treatment, she was turned out of her bed-room and obliged to lie with her wenches, either on the floor, without bed or bedding, in an entry exposed to the passing and repassing of all, etc., or to sit in a chair in a milk-room, too bad for any of the officers to lie in, else it is probable she would have been deprived of that also. If the first officers of the British army are so divested of honour and humanity, what may we not expect from the soldiery?" The depredations by Clinton's army were, of course, much greater in the vicinity of Free- hold than elsewhere, because his entire force lay within about three miles of the court-house through the two days and nights preceding the battle. After the army had left the vicinity of the village, and taken the road leading to Mid- dletown, many of the people who had suffered from their outrages pursued and wreaked their vengeance by firing on the soldiers from the cover of the woods and thickets. Several iso- lated graves along the road to Middletown were to be seen seventy years afterwards, supposed to be the last resting-places of some of Clinton's men killed in this way. The departure of Clinton's army from Sandy Hook Bay left New Jersey free from the pres- ence of armed enemies upon her soil, and the 13 militiamen of the State were then allowed to return to their homes, to remain until some other exigency should require them to be again called to the field. Washington moved his army (as has already been noticed) from Mon- mouth field to Englishtown, to Spottswood, and thence to New Brunswick, from which place, after a brief stay, it was moved to and across the Hudson River, to a position in Westchester County, N. Y. Washington made his head- quarters at White Plains, and there narrowly watched the movements of Clinton, suspecting it to be the design of the latter to move into the New England States. "Sir Henry gave currency to the reports that such were his inten- tions, until Washington moved his headquarters to Fredericksburg, near the Connecticut line, and turned his attention decidedly to the pro- tection of the eastern coast. Clinton then sent foraging parties into New Jersey, and ravaged the whole country from the Hudson to the Raritan and beyond." ^ Finally, being convinced that the enemy had no designs on New England, Washington re- solved to place his army in winter-quarters at different points, and in the most advantageous positions. This was done in December, 1778. Five brigades were cantoned on the east side of the Hudson, one brigade at West Point, one at Smith's Cove, near Haverstraw, one at Elizabethtown, and seven brigades at and in the vicinity of Middlebrook, Somerset County. Maxwell's brigade (in which were a consider- able number of soldiers of Monmouth County) was stationed during the winter at Elizabeth- town, to watch the British and Tory troops on Stateu Island, and prevent, as much as possible, their depredations in the contiguous part of New Jersey. In May, 1779, this brigade was ordered to join the army of General Sullivan, which marched from Easton, Pa., to the Seneca country, in New York, for the purpose of pun- ishing the Indians of that region for their par- ticipation in the massacres of the preceding year at Wyoming and Cherry Valley,— a pur- pose which was most successfully and com- pletely accomplished. ' Lossing. 194 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. About the 1st of June, 1779, the American army left its winter-quarters, and moved to the Hudson River. General Wayne moved from his encampment south of the Raritan to the Hudson, where, on the loth of July, he stormed and captured the British fortifications at Stony Point. In the latter part of October a detachment of the Queen's Rangers,^ under command of Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe, — the same officer who commanded that battalion on the 28th of June, 1778, when it fought Butler on the ground now the Monument Park, at Freehold, — made a daring foray up the valley of the Raritan, for the purpose of destroying some boats on that river, which object they accomplished, and also did much other damage, but lost their commander, who was taken pris- oner by a party of Americans under command of Captain Guest. After Simcoe's capture the Rangers became scattered, and reached South River bridge in a very demoralized condition. The American army went into winter-quarters about December 20, 1779, — the Northern Divi- sion, under General Heath, locating on the east side of the Hudson, below West Point, and the main body with the commander-in-chief, at Morristown. In January, 1780, Lord Stirling commanded a partially successful expedition to Staten Island. On the 6th of June following, a British force of about five thousand men, under Knyphausen, crossed from Staten Island to Elizabethtown Point, and advanced towards the interior, but was driven back to the Point. Again, on the 23d of the same month, a large force, under Sir Henry Clinton, advanced from the same place to Springfield, and burned the town; but being resolutely met by the Con- tinental troops and the Jersey militia, thought it prudent to retire, which he did the same day, and crossed back to Staten Island. In the same month (June, 1780) a large force of French troops arrived, under General Count Rochambeau, to take the field as auxiliaries of iThe celebrated corps known as the " Queen's Rangers" was mostly made up of Americans, Tories, enlisted into the corps in Westchester County, N. Y., and in neighboring por- tions of Connecticut. Colonel Simcoe had assumed com- mand of this body in 1777, and afterwards brought it up to a condition of excellent discipline and great efficiency. the Americans, and to operate under the orders of Washington, who thereupon projected a joint attack on the British in New York, but afterwards abandoned the project. On the Hudson the most notable events of the year were the culmination of Arnold's treason and the capture of the unfortunate Major Andr6. Early in December the American army went into winter-quarters. In the summer of 1781 the American army and its French aHies concentrated on the Hud- son River, for the purpose, as it was understood, of making a combined attack on the British in the city of New York. They remained in the vicinity of Dobbs' Ferry for about six weeks, during which time Washington abandoned the project (if he ever entertaioed it seriously) of attacking the city, and resolved instead to move the armies to Virginia to operate against Corn- wallis. He, however, concealed his new plan, and wrote letters containing details of his pre- tended object to move against the city, intending that these should fall into the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. The result was as he had intended it to be. The letters were intercepted and taken to Clinton, who was completely de- ceived by them, and, continuing to watch the American force on the Hudson, failed to rein- force Cornwallis, as the latter had requested him to do. Meanwhile, Washington completed his preparations, and in the latter part of August crossed the Hudson at Verplanck's Point with the American and French armies, and marched rapidly across New Jersey to Trenton, some of the troops passing tlirough the Ramapo Valley and Morristown, and others passing the Ringwood Iron- Works. The French forces took the route by the Hacken- ■sack Valley to Newark and Perth Amboy, at which place they built ovens, constructed boats, collected forage and made other movements indicating an intention to move on New York ; but these were suddenly abandoned, and the march was resumed to Trenton, where all the forces arrived before Clinton was aware of the significance of the movement. Crossing the Delaware at Trenton and the neighboring ferries in the morning of Septem- ber 1st, the armies marched on towards Phila- MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 195 delphia, which city they passed through on the 2d, and on the 14th of September reached Williamsburg, Va., from which point Wash- ington and Rochambeau went on board the French flag-ship, the "Ville de Paris," in the York Eiver, and there, Avith the French admiral, Count de Grasse, concerted the plan of the campaign which ended in the surrender of Lord Cornwallis with his army at Yorktown, on the 19th of October. CHAPTEE X. MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. [Continued.) Through all the years of the Revolutionary conflict, Monmouth suffered far more severely than any other county of New Jersey from the forays and depredations of bands of men who were partisans of the royal cause, though in general they did not belong to the regular or- ganization of the British army, These men, who were known by the name of Tory Refugees, were inveterate enemies of the patriots and of the cause of American liberty, who had fled to the enemy's lines, and made a principal rendez- vous on Staten Island, under protection of the encircling war-vessels of the British. They had also a camp on Sandy Hook, called Refugees' Town, fortified to some extent and also pro- tected by the guns of the royal fleet. The Staten Island base of operations was for them a peculiarly convenient one from which to sally out on the marauding expeditions, by which they continually harassed the people inhabiting the neighboring territory of the county of Monmouth. Besides being thus unfortunately situated for the peace and security of its patriot inhabitants of that time, Monmouth (then the richest of the counties of New Jersey) offered also the advan- tage of extensive woods and almost impenetrable swamps for hiding-places, which, together with the facilities of the rivers and inlets of the ocean coast and the bays of Raritan and Sandy Hook for the sending of plunder to New York, brought hither some of the worst villains and desper- adoes of the whole country, who became notori- ous as the " Pine Woods Robbers of Mon- mouth, " who not only never hesitated at the shedding of blood to secure booty, but often committed cold-blooded murders for the mere gratification of malice or revenge. They always professed to be stanch Royalists, and they were always bitter and inveterate enemies of the patriots; but their principal object was rob- bery, and they plundered Tories as well as Whigs whenever an opportunity offered to do so in safety. They were, however, much more careful and secret in their outrages against the former, because they depended on the British and Tories in New York as purchasers of the plunder, and therefore they must not sacrifice the friendship of their patrons by open depre- dations on their friends and allies, the Tories of Monmouth. These robbers infested the whole county, but particularly the region known as " The Pines," and hence the general term "Pine Robbers " which was applied to them. They had their hiding-places and headquarters in caves burrowed in the sand ; along the borders of swamps, and in other spots so secluded and masked by nature as to be comparatively safe from detection ; and from these places they went forth, usually by night, in bands" and individ- ually, to rob, burn and murder ; so that, for de- fense against these worse than Indian prowlers, the people of the county were obliged to keep their firearms constantly by them at their work in the fields, at their meetings for worship, and by their bedsides at night. Among the worst of the ferocious gang ot desperadoes who had their lair in " The Pines " of Monmouth, whence they sallied out on their forays of robbery and murder through the county during the Revolution, were Jacob Fagan, Lewis Feuton, Ezekiel Williams, Richard Bird, John Giberson, John Wood, John Farnham, DeBow, Davenport, Jonathan and Stephen West, John Bacon and two brothers named Thomas and Stephen Burke, the last-men- tioned of whom also sometimes assumed the alias of Emmons, and generally accompanied Fagan or Fenton, or both of them, in their ne- 196 HISTORY OP MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. farious expeditions. Fagan was a resident of the southeast part of the present county, living on or near the Manasquan River before he en- tered on the career of crime which he continued in safety for two or three years, but which was finally closed by the avenging bulletsofadetach- ment of Monmouth militia under command of Captain Benjamin Dennis, whose daughter, A me- lia, then a girl of fifteen years, was an eye-witness of, and an actor in, the beginning of the affair which resulted in the death of the outlaw. The circumstances were narrated by her, years after- wards, as follows : She said that on a certain Monday in September, 1778, Fagan, Burke and a man named Smith came to the house of Cap- tain Dennis (on the south side of Manasquan River, four miles below the Howell Mills) to rob it of some goods captured from a British vessel. Mrs. Dennis and her daughter, Amelia, were in the house at the time of their arrival, and they knew Fagan, who had formerly been a near neighbor. Smith, although then in com- pany with two of the most notorious villains in the country, was in reality an honest man, who had joined the robbers for the purpose of be- traying them. On reaching the vicinity of the house, Fagan and Burke remained concealed, and sent Smith forward to reconnoitre, and see if the way was clear. Entering the house, he at once warned Mrs. Dennis of the danger, where- upon the girl Amelia, hiding a pocket-book con- taining eighty dollars in a bed-tick, slipped out of the back-door, and with her little brother made good her escape to a swamp near by. Scarcely had she gone when the two robbers en- tered, searched the house (including the bed) for booty, and failing to find any, endeavored, by threatening the life of Mrs. Dennis, to frighten her into disclosing the place where the valuables were concealed, and, failing also in this, they proceeded to put their threat in execution, though the narrative states that Burke was op- posed to murdering her. Fagan's determina- tion, however, prevailed, and she was hung by the neck with a bed-cord to a young cedar-tree ; but the work was so carelessly done that in her struggles she freed herself and escaped, just as the attention of the robbers was attracted by the approach of John Holmes in a wagon belonging to Captain Dennis. The girl, Amelia, also saw him from her hiding-place and ran towards him, upon which the robbers fired at her, but without effect. Holmes, alarmed by the firing, aban- doned the wagon and fled to the swamp, and the bafiled bandits, after plundering the wagon, lefl the place. In the evening of the same day the man Smith stole away from the other two, and mak- ing his way to where Captain Dennis was on duty with a detachment of militia, informed him of the affair, and that it was the intention of the robbers to make another descent on his house. Upon this, the captain, seeing that his family could no longer remain there in safety, removed them the next day to Shrewsbury, un- der guard of some of the militiamen, and at the same time concerted a plan with Smith for the capture or killing of the villains Fagan and Burke. In pursuance of this plan. Smith ar- ranged with his supposed confederates to make a second visit to Dennis' house, on the Wednesday evening next following the first attempt. Cap- tain Dennis, fully apprised of their plan, lay in concealment with a party of his men, at a place agreed on by himself and Smith, on the way which the robbers would pass on their way to the house. They came at the time appointed ; Smith first, in a wagon intended for carrying away the plunder, then Fagan and Burke on foot, as a rear-guard. As they passed the ambuscade, at a preconcerted signal from Smith (a chirrup to the horse he was driving), the militiamen fired on the two robbers, who in an instant leaped into the brushwood and disap- peared, Burke being little, if any, hurt, but Fa- gan (as was afterwards ascertained), carrying a mortal wound. On the following Saturday some hunters (who had probably discovered his dead body in the woods) were drinking at a, tavern in the vicinity, and made a bet with some of the people there that Fagan had been killed. This resulted in a so-called search, in which his body was found, recognized and buried. The M'elcome news spread rapidly through the region from Colt's Neck to Free- hold, and on the following day "the people as- sembled,' disinterred the body, and after heaping indignities upon it, enveloped it in a tarred MOiNMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 197 cloth, aad suspended it in chains, with iron bands around it, from a large chestnut-tree about a mile from the court-house, on the road to Colt's JSTeck.^ There hung the corpse in mid- air, rocked to and fro by the winds, a horrible warning to his comrades and a terror to travel- ers, until the birds of prey picked the flesh from the bones, and the skeleton fell piecemeal to the ground. Tradition affirms that the skull was afterwards placed against the tree with a pipe in its mouth in derision. " ^ The killing ofFaganwas mentioned in Col- lins' New Jersey Gazette of October 1, 1778, as follows : "About ten days ago Jacob Fagan, who having previously headed a number of villains in Monmouth County that have committed divers robberies, and were the terror of travel- ers, was shot, since which his body has been gibbetted on the publick highway in that county to deter others from perpetrating the like de- testable crimes." The robber Stephen Bnrke, who so narrowly escaped at the time when his confederate, Fa- gan, was killed by the militiamen, was himself killed (with his fellow-robbers, West and Wil- liams) by Captain Dennis' detachment in Jan- uary, 1779. An account of the affair (embraced in a letter from Monmouth County, written, as is supposed, by Dr. Thomas Henderson) was given in Collins' Gazette, of the 29th of that month, viz. : "The Tory Pine-Robbers, who have their haunts and caves in the pines, and have been for some time past a terrour to the inhabitants of this county, have, during the course of the present week, met with a very eminent disaster. On Tuesday evening last Captain Benjamin Dennis, who lately killed the infamous robber Fagan, with a party of his Militia, went in pur- suit of three of the most noted of the pine-rob- bers, and was so fortunate as to fall in with them, and kill them on the spot. Their names ^ It was related by Dr. Samuel Forman, of Freehold, that in the time of the Revolution he (then a youth) assisted in the erection, near the court-house, of a gallows, on which no less than thirteen Pine Robbers, murderers and Refugees were hung at different times during the war. ^Hiat. Coll. of New Jersey. are Stephen Burke, alias Emmons, Stephen West and Ezekiel Williams. Yesterday they were brought up to this place, and two of them, it is said, will be hanged in chains. This signal piece of service was effected through the instru- mentality of one John Yan Kirk, who was prevailed upon to associate with them on pur- pose to discover their practices and lead them into our hands. He conducted himself with so much address that the robbers, and especially the three above named, who were the leading villains, looked upon him as one of their body, kept him constantly with them and entrusted him with all their designs. "Van Kirk, at proper seasons, gave intel- ligence of their movements to Captain Dennis, who conducted himself accordingly. They were on the eve of setting off for New York to make sale of their plunder, when Van Kirk informed Captain Dennis of the time of their intended departure (which was to have been on Tuesday night last), and of course they would take to their boats. In consequence of which, and agreeable to the directions of Van Kirk, the captain and a small party of his militia planted themselves at Rock Pond, near the sea-shore, and shot Burke, West and Williams in the manner above related. We were at first in hopes of keeping Van Kirk under the rose; but the secret is out, and of course he must fly the country, for the Tories are so highly exas- perated against him that death will certainly be his fate if he does not leave Monmouth County. The Whigs are soliciting contributions in his favour ; and from what I have seen, I have no doubt that they will present him with a very handsome sum. I question whether the de- struction of the British fleet could difiuse more universal joy among the inhabitants of INIon- mouth than has the death of the above three most egregious villains." The killing of Burke, West and Williams was narrated by William Courlies, of Shrews- bury, who joined the British in the fall of 1778, and who testified before a British court-martial as follows : "The deponent was carried prisoner to Monmouth in January, 1779, on the night of the 24th of that month. He saw Captain Dennis, of the rebel service, bring to Freehold 198 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. Court-House three dead bodies; that Captain Dennis being a neighbor of his (the deponent's), he asked where those men were killed. He replied they were killed on the shore, where they were coming to join their regiments. Two of them, he said, belonged to Colonel Morris' corps, in General Skinner's brigade; the other had been enlisted in their service by those two belonging to Colonel Morris' corps. He said also that he (Captain Dennis) had employed a man to assist them in making their escape at a place where he (Dennis) was to meet with them on the shore ; at which place he did meet them ; that, on coming to the sj)ot, he (Dennis) sm'- rounded them with his party ; that the men at- tempted to fire, and not being able to discharge their pieces, begged for quarters, and claimed the benefit of being prisoners of war. He or- dered them to be fired on, and one of them by the name of Williams fell ; that they were all bayoneted by the party, and brought to Mon- mouth ; and that he (Dennis) received a sum of money for that action, either from the Gover- nour or General Washington, — which of the two he does not recollect." The outlaw Fenton, who was a comrade of Fagan and Burke in their crimes, was a black- smith by trade, to which he had been appren- ticed in Freehold. His depredations were as numerous and as long continued as those of the others, and his record was foul and bloody with many murders. One of the most diabolical of these was the killing of Thomas Farr and his wife, an aged couple, who lived in Upper Free- hold township, near Imlaystown. The murder was committed in July, 1779, by Fenton, Thomas Burke and several other villains of the gang, who came to Farr's house in the dead of the night for purposes of robbery. The inmates were Mr. and Mrs. Farr and their daughter, who, as it appears, were on the alert and had the doors barricaded with logs. The assailants attempted to beat open the front door by using a rail as a battering-ram ; but failing in this, they fired in on the defenders, wounding the daughter and breaking one of Mr. Farr's legs. They then went to the back door, and being successful in gaining entrance, they immediately shot Mrs. Farr and beat her husband to death as he lay on the floor helpless from his broken leg. The daughter, notwithstanding her wounds, slipped out and made her escape to the woods, and the ruffians, fearing that she would give the alarm and so bring a party of militia upon them, did not wait long to plunder the house, but beat a hasty retreat towards their hiding- place in the Pines. An account of this murder was given in the Gazette, as follows: "July 31, 1779. — Thomas Farr and wife, in the night, near Crosswicks Baptist meeting-house, and daughter were badly wounded by a gang supposed to be under lead of Lewis Fenton. About the same time Fenton broke into and robbed the house of one Andrews, in Monmouth County. Governor Livingston offered £600 reward for Fenton and £300 and £250 for persons assisting him." Two months later Fenton met the fate he deserved, the fol- lowing account of his death being given in a communication printed in Collins' Gazette, of September, 1779: "On Thursday last (Septem- ber 23'', 1779) a Mr. Van Mater was knocked off his horse, on the road near Longstreet's Mills, in Monmouth County, by Lewis Fenton and one De Bow, by whom he was stabbed in the arm and otherwise much abused, besides being robbed of his saddle. In the mean time another person coming up drew the attention of the robbers and gave Van Mater an opportunity to escape. He went directly and informed a Serjeant's guard of Major Lee's Light Dragoons, who were in the neighborhood, of what had happened. The Serjeant immediately impressed a wagon and horses and ordered three of his men to secrete themselves in it under some hay. Having changed his clothes and procured a guide, he made haste, thus equipped, to the place where Fenton lay. On the approach of the wagon Fenton (his companion being gone) rushed out to plunder it. Upon demanding what they had in it, he was answered a little wine and spirit. These articles he said he wanted, and while advancing toward the wagon to take pos- session of them one of the soldiers, being pre- viously informed who he was, shot him through the head, which killed him instantly on the spot. Thus did this villain end his days, which, it is to be hoped, will at least be a warning to MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. im' others, if not to induce them to throw themselves on the mercy of their injured country." About two weeks before Fenton's death four of his gang were captured and placed in Monmouth jail, from which some of them, if not all, were soon after taken to the gallows. The outlaws of the Pines were very bitter in their hatred of Captain Benjamin Dennis, who often led the militia to punish them for their depredations, and the feeling of enmity towards him was particularly intense on the part of the villain Fenton, on account of the killing of Fagan and Stephen Burke. Determined to have his revenge for this, he, a short time before his death, waylaid and murdered the captain while he was on his way from Coryel's Ferry (Lambertville, Hunterdon County) to Shrews- bury, in July, 1779. His daughter Amelia, who escaped from Fagan and Burke when they attempted to rob her father's house, afterwards became Mrs. Coryel. Mrs. Dennis, who on that occasion escaped so narrowly with her life, had previously been the victim of a murderous assault by a party of Hessians, who came to her house and beat her with their muskets until they supposed she was dead. This was in June, 1778, when the British army under Sir Henry Clinton was on its march through Mon- mouth County. After the murder of her hus- band she became the wife of John Lambert, who was afterwards for a time Acting Governor of New Jersey. She lived fifty-six years after the murder of her first husbaud by the Mon- mouth County outlaws. Many murders and robberies, other than those which have been noticed in the preceding ac- counts, were committed .by the banditti who infested the Pines of Monmouth ■ (then em- bracing what is now Ocean County), and who at length became so numerous and audacious that "the State governmeut offered large re- wards for their destruction : and they were hunted and shot like wild beasts until the close of the war, when they were almost totally extirpated." The Eefugees (or Loyalists, as they called themselves) were renegade Americans, organized as allies of the British, with officers commis- sioned by the " Board of Associated Loyalists," which was constituted at New York, having for its object the examination of American prisoners of war and suspected persons, and the planning of measures for procuring intelligence and otherwise giving aid to the royal cause. Of this body, the first president was Daniel Coxe, a Jerseyman, Avho (as was said by a Refugee officer) received the appointment to deprive him of the opportunity of speaking before the board, as he had in a great degree " the gift of saying little with many words." He was succeeded as president of the board by William Franklin, a natural son of Dr. Benjainin Franklin, and the last Royal Governor of New Jersey. Most of the Tories of Monmouth County wiio entered the service of the British were found in the First Battalion of the brigade known as the " New Jersey Royal Volunteers," other- wise often called " Skinner's Greens," from the name of their brigade commander and the color of their uniforms. Following are given the names of officers of this corps, as far as they have been ascertained, viz. : Brigadier-General Cortland Skinner, brigade com- mander. First Battalion. Elisha Lawrence (previously sheriff of Monmouth County), colonel. B. G. Skinner, colonel in 1781. Stephen Delancey, lieutenant-colonel. Thomas Millidge, major. William Hutchinson, captain. Joseph Crowell, captain. James Moody, lieutenant. John Woodward, lieutenant. James Brittan, lieutenant. Osias Ausley, ensign. Joseph Brittan, ensign. Second Battalion. John Morris, colonel. Isaac Allen, lieutenant-colonel. Charles Harrison, captain. Thomas Hunlock, captain. John Combs, lieutenant. Third Battalion. Abraham Van Buskirk, lieutenant-colonel. Eobert Timpany, major. Philip Cortland (N. Y.), major. Jacob Van Buskirk, captain. James Servanier, lieutenant. Philip Cortland, Jr., ensign. John Van Orden, ensign. 200 HISTOKY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. The following-named were also ofEicers in the brigade, but the battalions to which, respectively, they belonged cannot be designated : Elislia Skinner, lieutenant-colonel. John Barnes, major. E. V. Stockton, major. Thomas Lawrence, major. John Lee, captain. Peter Campbell, captain. John Barbara, captain. Richard Cayford, captain. William Chander, captain. Daniel Cozzens, captain. Keating, captain. Troup, lieutenant. Fitz Eandolph, lieutenant. Peter Meyer, ensign. Dr. Absalom Bainbridge, surgeon. Though the terms Loyalist and Royalist would properly include all who favored the cause of the crown, yet they were generally limited in their application to those who joined the Royal Vol- unteer organization, to distinguish them from the viler and more detestable bands of maraud- ing and plundering Refugees, of whom Gover- nor Livingston, in a message to the Legislature of New Jersey in 1777, said : " They have plundered friends as well as foes; effects capable of division they have divided ; such as were not, they have destroyed. They have warred on decre])it old age and upon defenseless youth ; they have committed hostili- ties against the ministers of religion, against public records and private monuments, books of improvements and papers of curiosity, and against the arts and sciences. They have butchered the grounded when asking for quar- ter, mangled the dead while weltering in their blood, and refused to them the rite of sepulture ; suffered prisoners to perish for want of sustenance, violated the chastity of women, disfigured private residences of taste and ele- gance, and, in their rage of impiety and barbar- ism, profaned edifices dedicated to the worship of Almighty God." But the Tories were not all as hardened vil- lains as those described by Governor Living- ston. The best class of them were too honora- ble to engage in midnight expeditions to rob and murder their former friends and neighbors. Men of this class (which, however, formed a small part of the whole Tory league) rarely com- mitted acts dishonorable as soldiers ; yet the fact that they had previously stood well, and that some of them had held influential positions in the community, exerted a most injurious influence on the patriot cause among their former friends and acquaintances. The example of such men served to entice many to the ranks of the enemy and to cause others secretly to wish them well, or, at least, to strive to remain neutral at a time when their country most needed their services, and in a county which was suffering most severely from the devastation of a bloody parti- san warfare. During the first year or two of the war the patriot cause was seriously endangered by Tory sympathizers, many of whom had sons, brothers or other relatives in the British army, but who, themselves, remained at home because age or other disability unfitted them for service in the field. These men endeavored for a time to injure the American cause by their insidious wiles and secret scheming wherever and when- ever opportunity offered ; but when their con- duct became known, they received peremptory orders to leave, and did so, seeking safety within the enemy's lines, while those who remained quietly and strictly neutral at home (as a few of them did) ^vere seldom molested, though a strict and continual watch was kept over their conduct. Another fact to be remembered is that many men of good standing and influence, who stood ^vith the patriots at the outbreak of the war and remained true to their country for a year or two afterwards, became alarmed at tiie disasters sustained by the Americans in the campaigns of 1776, and, abandoning their friends and country, sought safety and advancement by joining the enemy. Some of these are noticed in the follo^ving brief mention of a few of the more prominent of the better class of Monmouth County Ijoyalists : John Brown Lawrence was a lawyer and a member of the Provincial Council of New Jer- sey. On account of his official relations to the royal government he was arrested by the com- mittee and imprisoned in Burlington County jail, charged with holding treasonable intercourse MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE REVOLUTION. 201 "with the enemy. On that charge he was bronght to trial and acquitted. After the war he re- ceived from the British government a large tract of land in Canada, and settled upon it. His son was that celebrated Captain James Lawrence who commanded the American frigate "Chesa- peake " in her encounter with the British frigate " Shannon, " whose last words were " Don't give up the ship," and whose monument, with that of his brave lieutenant, Ludlow, may be seen on left of the main entrance to Trinity Church-yard, in the city of New York. Clayton Tilton, of Shrewsbury, was a Tory who joined the corps of Loyalists and received a oommission as captain. He was taken prisoner by the Americans in the spring of 1782, at or about the time when Philip White was captured. He was confined in the jail at Freehold, but was soon exchanged for Daniel Randolph, Esq., who was made prisoner with Captain Huddy at the Dover block-house. It is supposed that he went with the British when they evacuated Xew York, as mention is made of a person of the same name, a New Jersey Loyalist, having mar- ried the widow of Thomas Green, at Musquash, New Brunswick, soon after the close of the war. John Wardell, of Shrewsbury, an associate judge of Monmouth County, sided with the Tories and took refuge in the British lines. His name is among those whose property was sold under confiscation in 1779. He had been a neighbor, in Shrewsbury, of the notorious Ca]3- tain Richard Lippincott, and was on the most intimate terms of friendship with him. Elisha Lawrence, son of John, the surveyor, and brother of Dr. John Lawrence, was born in 1740. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was sheriff of Monmouth County. Early in the war he joined the enemy and raised (chiefly by his own efforts) about five hundred men, over whom he was placed in command, and was commis- sioned by the British, colonel of the First Bat- talion, New Jersey Royal Volunteers. In 1777 he was taken prisoner on Staten Island by Col- onel Ogden, acting under orders of General Sul- livan. In the list of persons of Upper Free- hold whose property was confiscated and ad- vertised for sale in 1779 ai-e the names of "Elisha Lawrence and John Lawrence, sons of John, late of Upper Freehold." At the close of the war he left New York with the British, retaining his rank of colonel, and was retired on half-pay. The English government granted him a large tract of land in Nova Scotia, to which he removed, but finally went to Eng- land, and thence to Cardigan, Wales, where he died. Thomas Leonard, a prominent citizen of Freehold township, was denounced by the Committee of Safety for his Tory proclivities, and every friend of freedom was advised to sever ^11 connection with him for that reason. He joined the British in New York, and at the close of the war went to St. John's, New Brunswick. Joseph Holmes, by adhering to the Royalists, lost £900. At the close of the Revolution he went to Nova Scotia, and settled at Shelburne. John Lawrence, of Upper Freehold, Mon- mouth County, was born in 1709. He was a justice of the court and a surveyor, and in his last-named capacity he ran the division line between East and West Jersey in 1743. It was known as " Lawrence's Line," in contra- distinction to "Keith's Line " of 1687. Being advanced in years at the beginning of the Revolution, Mr. Lawrence did not bear arms, but he accepted from the British the important service of issuing Royalist protections to such Americans as he was able to induce to abjure the cause of their country and swear allegiance to Great Britain, for which he was arrested by the committee, and confined for nine months in Burlington jail. He died in 1794, at the age of eighty-five years. John Lawrence, Jr., M. D., son of John Lawrence, was born in 1747, graduated at Princeton, studied medicine in Philadelphia, and became a somewhat prominent physician of Monmouth County. In 1776 he was arrested by order of General Washington, and was or- dered by the Provincial Congress of New Jersey to remain at Trenton on parole, but he was afterwards permitted to remove to Morris- town. As his father and brother were holding positions under the British, he was narrowly watched as a suspected Tory and a dangerous person. Soon afterwards he joined the British 202 HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. in New York, where he practiced medicine, and was also captain of a company of volunteers for the defense of the city. After the close of the war (in 1783) he returned to iVIonmouth County, where he lived unmolested. He died at Trenton, April 29, 1830. Rev. Samuel Cooke, D.D., Episcopal clergy- man at Shrewsbury, was educated at Cambridge, England, and came to America as a missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gos- pel in Foreign Parts, in September, 1751, locat- ing in Shrewsbury as the successor of the Rev. Thomas Thompson, in charge of the churches at Freehold, Middletown and Shrewsbury. The Revolution divided and dispersed his congrega- tions. As a minister of the Church of England he thought it his duty to continue his alle- giance to the crown, and joined the British in New York. At the court-martial convened in June, 1782, for the trial of Captain Richard Lippincott for the murder of Captain Joshua Huddy, he was a witness, and was styled " the Reverend Samuel Cooke, clerk, deputy chap- lain to the brigade of guards." His property in [Monmouth County was advertised to be sold, uuder confiscation, at Tinton Falls, March 29, 1779. In 1785 he settled at Fredericktown, New Brunswick, as rector of a church there. In 1791 he was commissary to the bishop of Nova Scotia. He was drowned in crossing the St. John's River in a birch-bark canoe in 1795, and his son, who attempted to save his life, per- ished with him. Thomas Crowell, of Middletown, joined the Loyalists and was commissioned captain in that corps. His property was confiscated and or- dered to be sold at the house of Cornelius Swart, in Middletown, Mareii 22, 1779. During the Avar, Governor Franklin, president of the Board of Loyalists, ordered him to execute, without trial, a ]\Ionmouth County officer (one of the Smocks?), but the Refugees who captured him made such earnest protest that the order was not enforced. Lawrence Hartshorne, of Shrewsbury, made himself so obnoxious as a Royalist that he was compelled to leave the county and go to the British at New York. He was a merchant and gave the enemy much valuable information. Colonel George Taylor, of the New Jersey Loyalists, was a resident in Middletown, and quite prominent on the patriot side in the be- ginning of the war, but soon afterwards went over to the British, and was rewarded by a col- onel's commission. He was a son of Edward Taylor, who was a member of the Colonial Assembly in 1775, and a leading member of the Provincial Congress of New Jersey in 1775 and 1776 ; but when his son. Colonel George Taylor, deserted to the enemy, the father's pa- triotism gave way, and he became in sympathy, if not in secret acts and services, an adherent and supporter of the Royalist cause. The suspi- cion with which he was regarded by the patriots is exjiressed in the following notification, ad- dressed to him by General David Forman : " Middletown, Monmouth Co., July 2, 1777. " Sir : — Several complaints have been made to me respecting your conduct, particularly for acting as a spy amongst us, and from several corroborating cir- cumstances, especially that of giving information to a party of Tories and British, commanded by your son, George Taylor, late militia Col. in this county, now a Refugee, by which means your son and his party escaped the pursuit of a body of militia sent to attack them ; I do therefore enjoin it upon you j;hat you do for the future confine yourself to your farm at Middletown, and do not re-attempt traveling the road more than crossing it to go to your land on the north side of said town, unless by liberty obtained from the legislative body of this State, or this order be recalled, under the risk of being treated as a spy. "Yours, &c., "David Fokmax, "Brig.-Gen." On the 26th of November, 1777, the Council of Safety " Agreed, that Edward Taylor and Jere- miah Taylor, of Middletown, and George Taylor and Josiah Parker, of Shrewsbury, be sum- moned to appear before the Council as persons disaffected to the present Government." On the 3d of December following, the Council " Agreed, that Edward Taylor give a Bond in £100 to stay within a mile of the College at Princeton, and not depart beyond these limits without the leave of the Council of Safety, & that he be set at liberty when Thos. Canfield, a prisoner at New York, shall be discharged by the Enemy and suffered to return home." On the 27th of May, 1778, "Agreed, that Edward MONMOUTH COUNTY IN THE KEYOLUTION. 203 Tavlor be discharged from the Bond he gave to the Council of Safety Some time in tlie beginning of December last »t have leave to return home for 3 weeks upon ent