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1900
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.
HISTORICAL SKETCHES OF
GREENWICH
IN
OLD COHANSEY
BY
BESSIE AYARS ANDREWS
,
Printed for the Author VINELAND, NEW JERSEY VINELAND PRINTING HOUSE 1905
LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Copies Received DEC 11 1905 Copyright Entry Zov. 8. 1903 CLASS Q XXc. No. 131798 COPY B.
ENTERED, ACCORDING TO ACT OF CONGRESS, IN THE YEAR 1905, BY BESSIE AYARS ANDREWS, IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS, AT WASHINGTON.
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"Oh, river winding to the sea! We call the old time back to thee; From forest paths and water-ways The century-woven vail we raise." - Whittier
PREFACE.
Greenwich in "Old Cohansey," the second town laid out by the direction of John Fen- wick in South New Jersey, has always been noted for the intelligence, morality, and lon- gevity of its inhabitants.
As the years go by we learn to appreciate the privations and trials of the pioneers who opened the way for the settlement of the first towns in our state and county.
I have endeavored to present authentic his- tory of the early settlers and their successors, and have written of some of the prominent men and women whom I saw and knew in my youth.
I acknowledge my indebtedness to "Bar- ber's Historical Collections of New Jersey," and have been greatly aided by Judge Elmer's "History of Cumberland County," and other local histories.
Trusting that this little work may be val- ued not only by the present dwellers of "Oid Cohansey," but by all who are interested in the history and memories of the past.
CHAPTER I.
In the old historic town of Greenwich, in 1849, my cousin and I were born; born in homes of plenty, surrounded with all the necessaries of life, and inany of its luxuries.
Our fathers were brothers, living at the head of the village, and doing a thriving bus- iness at the time of our advent.
My cousin had brothers and one sister, while I had sisters and one brother.
At the early age of five years we entered the district school, accompanied by our sisters, clad in hoods and long gray cloaks, made by the same pattern; our mothers partook strong- ly of the Quaker element in our village with regard to color, and our usual attire were garments of a sober hue.
The school house stood a few rods west of our homes: almost hidden from the public road by large hawthorne hedges both east and west until you approached the entrance of the play grounds; to and fro twice a day did we go to that seat of learning, or Haw- thorne Academy, as it was sometimes called.
As we advanced in years, our school days and companionship was most delightful. Our leisure hours and holidays were usually spent at a stream or brooklet that flowed back of
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our homes. When stern winter had relaxed and given place to the early spring days, along its banks we would revel in the sun- shine; searching for the first violets; espying a fish emerging from its mossy bed and swim- ming in the current; watching the shining black bugs-sometimes called beavers-dart- ing and playing on the surface. As the season advanced we would doff our shoes and stockings, wade in the stream and gather the yellow lillies that abundantly flowered there. Our favorite place was near the old bridge, where the willow boughs swayed in the soft western winds-those willows were the first trees in the spring time to array their branches in living green-and in the topmost branches, the cardinal bird in his brilliant plumage trilled his melodious song.
Pine Mount Creek, as the stream is called, has its rise in a spring a mile or so east of our homes, and broadened in its winding way, flowing a few miles south, then losing its identity in the Cohansey River. The river was named after an Indian Chief Cohansic, who lived in former days on the south side, so my sister told us. She said not many cen- turies back, there was an Indian encampment near the head of the stream, and in the open fields on either side could be found arrow points, broken pottery, and occasionally a stone axe, proving they liad formerly lived tliere.
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My mother explained to us girls the work- ing of the old Fulling Mill, that was erected by the early settlers on Pine Mount Creek, or Mount Gibbon Run it was called when the mill was built. She said in those days nearly all the clothing and bedding used by the peopie was spun in the family, and often woven there also. Then it was taken to the Fulling Mill to be dressed. At the Fulling Mill by the use of pestles or stampers they beat and pressed it to a close or compact state, at the same time cleansing it. A little farther down the stream the first settlers erected a grist mill. It stood under the wil- lows very near where the bridge crosses the stream. At one time when rebuilding the bridge, the workmen found some of the tim- bers of the old mill. A romance has been handed down from generation to generation concerning the "Old Mill." One spring morning when all things in nature become new and resonant of life, the birds on the willow boughs were carolling their songs of gladness, one of "Old Cohansey's" fair maidens stood in the doorway, possibly had brought some grain and was awaiting the grinding. A youth was pa-sing and the beau- tiful charms of the maiden so overpowered him, he approached the mill and proposed to hier. She accepted and they were afterwards married. The young man was said to be Thomas Maskell.
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As we played near the old bridge on the grassy slope, we frequently saw an elderly gentleman passing. We knew him, and would often go where he would notice us. Sometimes his greeting would be by the crook of his cane, bringing us to a halt, which would amuse us very much. Then we would saunter along by his side. He was a phys- ician, and also lived at the head of the village. Our mother said he had been a greet blessing to the people, and helped us into the world, so we regarded him as superior to most of the villagers. My sister said lie was a descendant of one of those brave men who burned the tea near the village landing just before the Revo- lutionary war, and just as soon as we would take an interest in it, she would teach us the history of our town and early settlers.
CHAPTER II.
Life to my cousin and me in our childhood, had been one glad summer day. As we were growing into larger girlhood, a great shadow crossed my cousin's pathway; her mother met with an accident, which in a few days termin- ated in death.
Sorrow which is a part of every human experience, had touched her heart for the first time, and left an aching void. The va- cant place was soon filled by an estimable lady, who kindly ministered to the family, and the days came to ns witlı the same radi- ancy of dawn, and departed with splendor at evening time. The flowers blossomed by the wayside, and the birds sang in the waving willow branches, while beneath the stream rippled in its ceaseless flow to the broader sea.
We were learning new lessons, year by year as they passed; learning that we inust study and enrich our minds with knowledge, to meet the work and stern realities of life.
With the aid of my sister, we began in earnest to study "Old Cohansey." My sister was a student of history, having all the books in her possession we needed for information. She impressed upon our minds the importance of acquiring the knowledge of the early his-
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tory of our town, which in after life would prove of value.
We learned that probably the first settlers of West New Jersey, were the Dutch and Swedes, but so far as is known, they never took any steps to secure permanent titles to the land upon which they settled. Whatever titles they may have claimed were ignored by the English, although they were per- mitted in many cases to purchase the unim- proved land.
It is stated that there is no certain evidence that any white settlers had located in the limits of what is now Cumberland County pre- vious to the settlement of Salem by Fenwick in the fall of 1675. My sister said that John Fenwick was the founder of the town of Salem and what was known as Fenwick's Col- ony. Then she had us read from history, how "King Charles II grauted all that territory called by the Dutch" New Netherlands, including part of the state of New York and all New Jersey, to his brother the Duke of York, afterwards James II, March 12th, 1633-4. The Duke conveyed New Jersey to Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, June 24th, 1664. In 1672 the Dutch reconquered the province, but in 1673 it was restored, and new grants executed. At this time Lord Berkley became alarmed at the spirit which the planters of New Jersey mani- ested, and, dissatisfied with the pecuniary
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prospects of his adventure, offered his interest in the province for sale. It was not long be- fore he received from two Quakers in Eng- land, John Fenwick and Edward Billinge, a satisfactory offer, and in 1674 conveyed his interest to Fenwick in trust for himself and Billinge. A difficulty arose between these purchasers, the precise nature is not known, and the matter was submitted to William Penn. He awarded one tenth to Fenwick which was said to include 150,000 acres, and the remain- der to Billinge.
Fenwick was dissatisfied with the decision at first, but at length assented to it, and in 1675 sailed in the ship Griffin for his new possession in America. He sailed into the Delaware with his family, servants, and asso- ciates consisting of masters of families. Fen- wick's immediate family consisted of three daughters, Elizabeth, Ann and Priscilla. John Adams, husband of Elizabeth, of Reading, in Berks, weaver, and three children: Elizabeth, aged eleven years, Fenwick, aged nine years, and Mary, aged four years; Edward Champ- neys, husband of Priscilla, of Thornbury, Gloucestershire, joiner, and two children, John and Mary. John Fenwick brought ten servants: Robert Twiner, Gervis Bywater, William Wilkinson, Joseph Worth, Michael Eaton, Elinor Geere, Sarah Hutchins, Ruth Geere, Zachariah Geere and Ann Parsons.
Besides these he was accompanied by Mary
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White, the faithful nurse of his children, who had lived in his family several years be- fore coming to America; she was very much attached to the three daughters and resolved to share their good or bad fortuue in a strange land. Their father's house was her home, where she had entire charge. Edward Champneys brought three servants: Mark Reeve, Edward Webb and Elizabeth Waite; in all twenty-four persons of the immediate family of the chief proprietor. Samuel Hedge, Jr., married the daughter Ann, soon after their arrival.
Samuel Nicholson, his wife Ann, and five children, Parobal, Elizabeth, Samuel, Joseph and Abel, came in the same ship. Samuel Nicholson had been a farmer and resident of Wiston, in Nottinghamshire.
John Smith, his wife Martha, and four children, Daniel, Samuel, David and Sarah, came also in the Griffin. John Smith was a miller and came from Roxbury.
The following persons were also passengers: John Pledger and his wife, Elizabetlı, lived at Portsmouth, Southamptonshire; he was a ship carpenter; James Nevill had been a weaver and lived in the parish of Stepney, London; Edward Wade and his wife Prudence, had been residents of London; he was a citizen and cloth worker; Robert Wade, his brother, was a carpenter and lived near by Edward; Richard Hancock and his wife, Margaret,
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lived in Bromley, near Bow, London; he was an upholsterer; Isaac Smart came from Wilt- shire; he was a single man; Hippolit Lefever and Wn1. Malster were "gentlemen;" the first lived in St Martins in the fields; the last in Westminster, both towns in the suburbs of London. Whatever may have been their calling, all became tillers of the soil, to secure food for themselves and families.
Once on board the ship and free from the shore, these adventurers found themselves crowded and inconvenienced in many ways not anticipated; hence the tidy housewife, whose delight it had been to have her home attractive, was sadly annoyed at the want of neatness around her, and a glance at the cook- ing arrangements put an end to all enjoyment of meals from that time forward. Exclusive- ness within such limited space was not to be considered and the annoyance of "going down to the sea in ships" seemed to multiply. The English Channel was not passed before all the romance had departed, and Neptune, the god of the great deep, demanded and re- ceived his tribute. The routine of the ship and the broad expanse of waters that sur- rounded them on every side soon became monotonous, and put their patience and brav- ery to the severest test. As they left "Lands End" and saw the shores sink into the waves, each could have said with the poet,
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"Adieu, oh fatherland ! I see Your white cliffs on th' horizon's rim, And thoughi to freer skies I flee My heart swells-and my eyes are dim."
The first approach of the ship to the shores of America was near Cape Henlopen, on the southerly side of Delaware Bay, at a small island subsequently called Fenwick island. Nothing reminded them of their native land save the beautiful autumn tints upon the for- ests that crowded down to the water's edge and fringed the streams with marvelous color- ing. The absence of shipping contrasted strangely enough with the river Thames where vessels from all parts of the world found a port; while here, seldom but the canoe of the Indian or the fishing sinack of the Swedes disturbed the waters.
They sailed up the bay about fifty miles along the eastern shore from Cape May, and anchored opposite the Old Swedes fort, "Elsborg" near the mouth of Assamhocking river, on the 23d of September, 1675.
The day following they ascended the As- samhocking river, (now Salem) about three miles, and landed on the south side of the river, where now is the city of Salem. They had been two and a half months crossing At- lantic's troubled waves, and the thankfulness of landing at that beautiful spot, suggested the name of Salem, the City of Peace.
CHAPTER III.
As soon as practicable after his arrival John Fenwick bought from the Indians or natives, his tenth of New Jersey, which included Salem and Cumberland counties.
My sister explained to us that titles to land in New Jersey was derived from the British Crown. Among the nations of Europe, it was a settled principle that all uninhabited countries, and also those inhabited by savage tribes, became the property of the sovereign whose subjects sailing along its rivers and harbors, first took possession of it. So Fen- wick had a legal right, but policy and a sense of justice, prompted liim and the early settlers to make compensation for the land. The friendship of the Indians was worth a great deal to the few and scattered settlers. Im- mense tracts could be bought for a few bau- bles, and to the fair and reasonable treatment they received from the Quakers, may prob- ably be ascribed the absence of those desolat- ing wars which prevailed in New England.
His third purchase was from the Canna- ockink river (now Cohansey) to the Wahat- quenack (now Maurice river).
We never tired of reading and studying about the Red Men of the forest, and learned
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when kindly treated, they were capable of de- voted and enduring friendships and were extremely sensitive to contempt and injury. They had no written language, important events were kept in memory by carefully re- peated traditions, handed from generation to generation with accuracy. They were very fond of personal adornment, and sometimes their vanity and ignorance were taken advan- tage of, but no part of New Jersey was ever taken from them by force; all was acquired by voluntary sale.
When weary of the early history, my sister would relate to us, what she had read about some of the Indian Kings. She said the old King "Ockamicon" who died in Burlington, New Jersey, abont the year 1754, appointed his brother's son, Iahkursoe, his successor. He earnestly desired him to hear his last words, and addressed him after this manner.
"My brother's son, this day I deliver my heart into your bosom; and mind me, I would have you love what is good, and keep good company; refuse what is evil, and by all means avoid bad company.
"Brother's son, I would have you cleanse your ears, and take all foulness out, that you may hear both good and evil, and then join with the good, and refuse the evil; and also cleanse your eyes, that you may see good and evil, do not join with it, but join to that' which is good. Be sure always to walk in a
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good path, and if any Indian should speak evil of Indians or of Christians, do not join with it; but look at the sun from the rising of it to the setting of the same."
My mother remarked it was the same lesson that the Apostle Paul taught the Thessalon- ians; "Cleave to the good, and resist the very appearance of evil." Then she quoted from the old prophet Isaiah, "He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly, he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shak- etli his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shuttetli his eyes from seeing evil, he shall dwell on high; his place of defence shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure."
Then she sang to us an old Indian hymn, that her father taught her.
"In de dark wood, no Indian nigh, Den me look heben and send up cry, Ubon my knee so low. But God on high in shiny place, See me at night, with teary face, De priest he tell ine so.
"God send de angel take him care, He conie he'self to hear him prayer If Indian heart do pray. He see me now, he know me here. He say poor Indian 'neber fear' Me wid you night and day.
20 GREENWICH, IN OLD COHANSEY "So me lub God, with inside heart He fight for me, he take him part, He save im life before, God hear poor Indian in de wood So me lub God, and dat be good Me pray him two times more."
CHAPTER IV.
In gleaning the page of history we learned the first proprietors of the land all about us, including our homes, were Leonard and Nicholas Gibbon.
The rights west of the Cohansey seem all to have been purchased of Fenwick or his executors. Most of the land was covered by surveys before 1700. James Wasse, Joshua Barkstead, R. Hutchinson. George Hazle- wood, John Budd, Cornelius Mason, and Edmund Gibbon, made large surveys which extended nearly from the Cohansey to the Salem line.
Edward Gibbon was an English merchant in New York. In 1677 in order to secure a debt due to him by Edward Duke and Thomas Duke-he took from them a deed for 6,000 acres in West New Jersey, which had been conveyed to them by John Fenwick in Eng- land. Gibbon by virtue of this deed had a tract of 5,500 acres surveyed for him by Richard Hancock in 1682. It was resurveyed in 1703 by Benjamin Acton, and lay in Co- hansey precinct, now in Greenwich and Hope- weli Townships, including Roadstown, ex- tending southward to Pine Mount Branch, and westward to the Delaware.
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He devised this tract to his grandson Ed- mond who devised it to Francis Gibbon of Bennesdere, England. In 1700 Francis de- vised it to his two kinsmen, Leonard and Nicholas Gibbon of Gravesend, Kent, Eng- land, describing it as all the tract of land known as Mount Gibbon, upon the branches of an un- known creek, (Stow Creek) near Cohansey, in West New Jersey, provided they settle upon it.
Mount Gibbon, or Pine Mount as it was afterwards called, stood a short distance from our homes. Its wealth of Flora afforded us girls more happiness, than the glittering gold of Ophir, or the sparkling diamonds of India, could possibly have given us in later years. The middle or last of April, with joyous step, did we hasten to the hillside, to gather the pink and white clusters of the Trailing Arbutus while the feathery pines reverberated to the gentle wind in mournful song. In May we would hunt for the pink Moccasin Shoe and Dog toothed Violets; in early June the wild Honey Suckle scented the air and the stately Laurel would adorn its evergreen branches with pink and white cup-like flow- ers. A few weeks later we inhaled the aro- matic whiffs of the Magnolia blossoms, tow- ering just beyond our reach, while at our feet the modest Pipsissaway was opening snowy petals, and emitting its most delicious fragrance in the summer air.
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The Christmas Holly grew everywhere in the wood at the foot of the hill, the beauty of those Holly trees in the wintry season after a carpet of snow had fallen, covering the sere leaf, and all unsightliness, almost rival- ed the spring time verdue.
At almost every excursion to Mount Gib- bon, we girls would climb to its pine clad summit to view the landscape o'er. Far away to the South we could see the waters of the noble Delaware, winding its way to the great Ocean, whose sails glanced in the sunlight like birds at sea. Lord Delaware on a voyage to Virginia touched at Delaware Bay, which has since borne his name. In an easterly direction, we could catch occasional glimpses of Old Cohansey gliding through its meads and marshes to the bosom of the bay; suddenly a canvass white as sunlit snow would appear in view, then disappear and reappear in the same place apparently in sailing the reaches of the river. Just below us was our village church, store and scattered houses surrounded with fertile farms dotted here and there with white residences, almost hidden by orchards of green and tall stately sycamores, while over all the white cumulus clouds drifted in the azure skies, ever change- ing and dissolving in the atmosphere.
Nicholas Gibbon borne in 1702 was a son of Arthur and Jane Gibbon, Gravesend Kent, England. Nicolas and his younger brother
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Leonard came to New Jersey and erected one of the first grist-mills near Cohansey, upon the stream called Macanippuck. My cousin and I loved to go when the monthly grist was taken to see the mysteries of that old mill. In every story we would watch the revolutions of the moss covered wheel and listen to the roar, as the grain was made into flour. When at the mill we often called upon Mrs. Tyler, the widow of Rev. Ben- jamin Tyler, the owner and proprietor who lived in the brick mansion. She always gave us maidens a cordial welcome. A lady so amiable and generous that none knew her but to love her. She was said to be a direct descendant of Nicholas Gibbon.
In 1730 they divided the tract, Nicholas taking the Southern part including the mill and two thousand acres of land. Leonard erected a stone house about two miles north of Greenwich, afterwards owned by Asa Horner. Nicholas built a substanial brick house in Greenwich which he occupied until he moved to Salem in 1740. They were Episcopalians and at their own expense erect- ed an Episcopal Church in "Old Cohansey," not very far from the Greenwich landing. The Gibbons were said to have much wealth and built the church for the accommodation of their own and neighbors' families. The consecration of the church took place in the year 1729 and was named St. Stephen. As
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the tide of emigration seemed to flow to- wards that part of Old Cohansey, so did the religion of the community tend toward the Quakers, Baptist and Presbyterians and so overpowered the Episcopalians, that in after years the church waned into insignificance and was finally obliterated.
CHAPTER V.
We learned in resuming the study of Fen- wick that directly after his arrival he provid- ed for laying out a neck of land for a town at Cohansey. He paid the Indians for Cum- berland County and adjoining parts of his ten- th, four guns, powder and lead, 336 gallons of rum, an uncertain number of shoes and stockings, four blankets, and 16 match-coats. The sale of the land being ratified by the Indian Chiefs Mahowskeys, Newswego, Chee- keenaham, Tinecho and Shacanan. He de- signed calling the town Cohansey but the settlers called it Greenwich probably after Greenwich, Connecticut, which place some of the settlers had come from. The lots were to be sixteen acres each. A street was laid out from the whart one hundred feet wide to where the Presbyterian church now stands. The laying out of the town seemed to be delayed until after Fenwicks death.
Fenwick died in the latter part of 1683 but by his will directed his executors to proceed with the laying out of Cohansey. Sixteen acres at the wharf on the north side they sold to Mark Reeve, who came over with Fenwick in the Griffin. The Griffin was the first English ship that came to West Jersey after its purchase by the Friends. Sixteen lots
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were sold to Alexander Smith, Thomas Watson, John Clark, John Mason, Thomas Smith, William Bacon, Joseph Brown, Sam- uel Bacon, Edward Hurlburt, Joseph Dennis, Enoch Moore, Obadiah Holmes and Frances Alexander by 1700 and most of them settled upon these lots and were the first settlers of Greenwich.
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