USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. I > Part 1
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M.
Gc 974.9 N33ne v. 1 1448949
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
3 vols ymar 40-
J
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 02232 7867
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016
https://archive.org/details/newjerseycoastin01nels_0
Very truly yours William Nelson
THE NEW JERSEY COAST IN
THREE CENTURIES
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST
WITH
GENEALOGICAL AND
HISTORIC-BIOGRAPHICAL APPENDIX
1
WILLIAM NELSON, EDITOR, AUTHOR OF "THE INDIANS OF NEW JERSEY," ETC .: EDITOR OF THE "NEW JERSEY ARCHIVES."
ILLUSTRATED
-
VOL. I.
50 THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 1902
1448949
PREFACE.
In the following pages it has been the purpose so to present the his- tory of the Coast Region of New Jersey as to outline the salient facts of the long and interesting story in such manner as would prove acceptable to the general reader, and at the same time include much of that purely an- tiquarian lore which is to many the most delightful feature of local history, as it is, indeed, one of the most instructive. Hence much attention has been given to tracing the ancestry of the sturdy races which peopled the region with which the narrative is concerned, and to presenting a series of pen pictures of their manner of living and their accomplishments in the establishment of the community and the institutions of civilization.
In the compilation of this history all previous works relating to the history of the Coast Counties of the State have been laid under contribu- tion. In their use, and particularly in that of the great mass of pamphlet and other rare material found in the rooms of the State Historical Society in Newark, our writers have had the advantage of direction by that accon !- plished historian, Hon. William Nelson, of Paterson, who has out of his broad knowledge pointed the way to wellnigh forgotten sources of informa- tion, and has in other ways rendered helpful assistance in the work of preparation.
To the principal staff writer, Dr. Peter Ross, a ripe scholar, and his associate, Captain F. Y. Hedley, an experienced writer, and to the various contributors and local historians who have afforded their aid, the publishers are desirous of expressing their deep gratitude. Mrs. M. C. Murray Hyde, of New York City, furnishes a rarely interesting chapter concerning "Early Historic Families," and valuable information for other chapters on "Social Life," etc. She has also contributed sketches of some historic landmarks from her own pencil. Mrs. Mary T. Rush, of Ocean City, contributes the excellent chapter "Along the Strand," and various illustrations from her own printed work, the "Ocean City Guide Book." The Rev. A. E. Ballard, D. D., of Ocean Grove, writes of that famous religious resort. Mr. A. M. Heston, of Atlantic City, has permitted the use of matter and illustrations from his published works, particularly for the chapter on "New Jersey in
vi
PREFACE.
the Revolution." Similar favors were accorded by Mr. J. F. Hall, of the same city, whose local volume has been drawn upon, and from which are taken, among other illustrations, the beautiful plates accompanying the chap- ter "Along the Strand." The local historians of Ocean and Cape May Counties, Mr. William H. Fischer, of Toms River, and Mr. Lewis T. Stevens, of Cape May, also permitted the use of their works, and provided various plates. Others to whom gratitude is due for able assistance are Judge John Whitehead, of Newark, author of "The Judicial and Civil His- tory of New Jersey ;" the Rev. Allen H. Brown, of Atlantic City, for valua- ble historical data of church history and for the plates of the Boyd Monu- ment; to Hon. John S. Applegate, of Red Bank, particularly for access to the archives of the Monmouth County Historical Association ; to Judge George C. Beekman, of Freehold, for the use of his published volumes ; and to Mr. O. B. Leonard, of Perth Amboy, for direction to needed authorities.
The publishers also desire to thank the numerous correspondents to whom they are much indebted for details of considerable importance in the history of various towns and regarding particular industries and in- terests. The correspondents of this class are so numerous that only a gen- eral acknowledgment can be made.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS.
Proem
1
CHAPTER I.
Indian and Prehistoric Notes-Legendary and Archaeological 5
CHAPTER II.
Geology and Physical Characteristics
19
CHAPTER III.
On the Strand-Sea Shells and Weeds
29
CHAPTER IV.
Early Voyages and Discoveries-The Cabots-Henry Hudson-Block-De Vries- Mey ... 44
CHAPTER V.
The Proprietary System-Purchases from the Indians-The Nicolls Grants-The Proprietors of East Jersey and West Jersey. 54
CHAPTER VI.
Colonial Governors -- Swedish, Dutch and British 92
CHAPTER VII.
New Jersey in the Revolution-Political Events-Campaigns in the State-Battle of Monmouth-Siege of Fort Mercer-The Pulaski Massacre Sufferings of the People . 113*
CHAPTER VIII.
Subsequent Wars-With Great Britain and Mexico-The Civil War-The Spanish- American War 191
CHAPTER IX. 231
The Counties of the State-Their Settlement, Organization and Development. 229
CHAPTER X.
Religious History-The Primitive Church-Notable Churches-Theological Schools. 253
VI
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XI.
Educational Institutions-Colonial Schools-Establishment of the Public School
System Princeton University-Rutgers College. 283
CHAPTER XII.
Bench and Bar -- Early Courts-"The Duke's Laws"-Some Misdemeanors and Their Punishment-Founding of Present Courts-Some Notable Jurists. . 331
CHAPTER XIII.
Progress of Agriculture-The State Agricultural College-Agricultural Organiza- tions. 374
CHAPTER XIV.
Roads and Railroads-The Primitive Paths Recent Road Improvement. ........ 390
· CHAPTER XV.
Manufactures-Lumber and Salt-Early Iron Furnaces-Copper Mines-Clay Products, Pottery and Brick-Statistics .. 408
CHAPTER XVI.
The Commerce of the Sea-Whaling-The Oyster Industry-Shipbuilding. ... 425
CHAPTER XVII.
The Wrecks off the Coast-Early Wreckers-Volunteer Life Savers-Pirates. . 444
CHAPTER XVIII.
The Life Saving Service-Its Organization and Development-Hon. William A. Newell-Life Saving Stations-Volunteer Life Saving Corps. 464
CHAPTER XIX.
Light Houses-Sandy Hook and its Story-Organization of the Light House Service -- List of Light Houses 484
CHAPTER XX.
A Chapter of Literary History-Writers of the Colonial Days-Early Annalists The New Jersey Historical Society-Recent Writers-Early Newspapers .. .... 495
THE NEW JERSEY COAST IN THREE CENTURIES
PROEM.
POSITION OF THE COAST COUNTIES IN THE HISTORY OF NEW JERSEY.
In none of the histories of our common country is sufficient credit given to New Jersey for the part she has played as one of the original Thir- teen States in the upbuilding of the Union and the promulgation of those edicts of liberty, equality and fraternity, of perfect religious and civil free- dom, and of the maintenance of an open door by which the weary and oppressed of every race -- except the Chinese-might enter, which have been the real sources of the greatness which the nation has attained, and have brought it to its present recognized position as one of the great powers of the world.
The entire story of New Jersey, from the earliest days to the present, is a wonderfully interesting revelation of the adaptability of its people to the circumstances of the times-of their accurate realization of conditions. and of their masterly ability in meeting them and in turning them to account, to their own immediate advantage, and to the far greater advantage of their posterity. Coming from various lands, with different traditions and habits of thought, they soon unified in sufficient degree to labor together for the establishment of civil institutions based upon a broad conception of per- sonal liberty. So well did they build that when the State was organized, at the time of the revolution, the new government grew so naturally out of the old that the change was without shock and almost imperceptible.
In statesmanship, in warlike achievements, in literature, in science
1
2
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
and in art, New Jersey stands, as she has ever stood, in the forefront among her sister States. Indeed, at the beginning, in the early stages, when history was being made and precedents were being established- while in a degree overshadowed by her great neighbors on either side -- New York and Pennsylvania-she occupied an absolutely unique position and exerted a clearly traceable and unmistakable influence upon the destiny of the entire country. Her people were always obedient to established authority, but when the rights of the individual or the community were assailed or trampled upon-be the government Dutch or English-they led the way in defending those rights, and Colonial Governors and Proprie- tors found the farmers of the Jerseys more troublesome and determined at times, than even were the burghers of New Amsterdam. She was from the first, to a certain extent, a community in herself, as she so remains in a great measure to the present day, and presents, in fact, in her own career, an epitome of all that makes a country really great-thrift, honesty and religion leavening the whole, while progressiveness, energy and a watchfulness for opportunities add year by year to the general wealth.
The keynote of liberty resounded over the Jersey colonies long before the call to arms was made. In Monmouth county was first given formal and emphatic utterance to the doctrine that those actual colonists abiding upon its soil, holding title by honest purchase from the natives and by com- pliance with legal requirements, were freemen and not serfs. The "Mon- mouth Declaration of Independence" in which this principle was embodied, as was also that of local self-government, was of weighty importance in the formation of that public opinion which found final and unequivocal expression in the Declaration of Independence by all the Colonies.
New Jersey was one of the first of the colonies to assert itself as an independent commonwealth, and in the formation of the Union she bore a wonderfully important part. In one scene she occupied a grand position of her own-she was the one State alone among all her sisters to adopt the Constitution of the New Nation unanimously and without amendment. There were those of her sons whose names are imperishable in national history-those signers of the Declaration of Independence, Richard Stock- ton, the eminent lawyer of Princeton, the revered John Witherspoon, President of the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, Fran- cis Hopkinson, whose pen inspired statesmen and soldiers; John Hart and Abraham Clark, men of piety and learning; and those who affixed their signatures to the Federal Constitution-William Livingston, the Revolu- tionary War Governor, and his successor in office, William Paterson ; David Brearley, Chief Justice of New Jersey, and Tonathan Dayton, an eminent patriot. Illustrious, too, were the soldierly achievements of the men of New
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Jersey, who, by their effort and with their lives, supported the infant Na- tion, and brought it to a place among the great governments of the world.
The position the State held in the momentous affairs of the middle portion of the Revolutionary War, when it was regarded by the veteran generals of King George as the key by which the continent was to be opened up again to British authority, was alone sufficient to exalt it to a position among the shrines of the nation, and it became one of the spots upon which the struggle for liberty was most strenuously waged, and where it was shown that in military skill and finesse the Continentals were the equal of their adversaries, the veterans of many wais. It was there, too, that Washington-on the glorious field of Monmouth -- rose to the height of majesty as a soldier, and vindicated his right to be regarded as one of the greatest captains of his time or of any time.
From the days when the echoes of the Revolutionary War had died away, New Jersey has always been found ranged on the side of liberty, and she has fully met every claim made upon her. In the War with Great Britain in 1812 she was ready to meet any invading force, and her ships aided in winning the victory and in wresting from that nation, for a time, at least, its old claim to invincibility on the sea. In the Civil War she literally contributed men and treasure to preserve intact what the founders of the Republic had fought for : and in the War with Spain she freely re- sponded to the call of the General Government.
Even before the Revolution, the people of New Jersey demonstrated their ability to rule themselves, and the various town governments were models of local authority for the rest of the country. Even under the Dutch the townships enjoyed a generous measure of local rule, and what was not allowed by the Colonial and Proprietary authorities they took them- selves. In fact, the whole course of the history of New Jersey shows that the less the general government interfered with local affairs the better the result for all concerned. Dutch and English, differing widely in many ways, could forget even important differences, could respect each other's religious views and notions of statecraft, and could live together in peace and harmony-significant conditions which were not lost upon the states- men who were engaged in the work of bridging this country safely across the chasm which separated the disjointed and jealous colonies and com- bining them into a strong and united nation.
New Jersey's Governors and her representatives in Congress and in the Assembly have been men who by their talents commanded respect and by their efforts added largely to the progress the nation has made in all the arts that render men happy and insure the prosperity of the country.
William Livingston, the first Governor of the sovereign State of
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4
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
New Jersey, in his inaugural address, delivered before the legislature, Sep- tember 13, 1776, closed with the expression of lofty sentiments which became basic principles in the statecraft of the commonwealth during all the days which followed. He said :
"Let us, then, as it is our indispensable duty, make it our invariable aim to exhibit to our constituents the brightest examples of a disinter- ested love for the commonweal. Let us, both by precept and example, encourage the spirit of economy, industry and patriotism, and that public integrity and righteousness that cannot fail to exalt a nation, setting our faces at the same time like a flint against that dissoluteness of manners and political corruption that will ever be the reproach of any people. May the foundation of our infant State be laid in virtue and the fear of God. and the superstructure will rise glorious and endure for ages!"
Our narrative is primarily concerned with the Counties of the Coast. Middlesex, which is not geographically of these, is considered to some extent, its settlement having been practically coincident with that of Mon- mouth. Monmouth County has a history of its own, owing to its position, and particularly during the revolutionary period. The other Coast Coun- ties-old Gloucester (out of which was created Atlantic County) and Cape May-were at an early day the abode of a peculiarly simple and con- scientious people who builded for all time in the establishment of com- munities based upon the tenets of Him who would that all men were brothers. Their sons, too, have ever borne a noble part in every struggle in behalf of liberty. Their seamen, in times of war, have written down deeds of daring which have afforded inspiration to succeeding generations, and, in times of peace, they have extended commerce to every clime.
CHAPTER I.
INDIANS AND PREHISTORIC NOTES, LEGENDARY AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL.
In the early history of New Jersey, the Indian plays no such important part as in the story of most of the other colonies. With the exception of the muddle raised by the maladministration of Governor Kieft, and in which what is now Hudson County was practically laid waste and made the scene of many atrocities on both sides-notably the massacre of Pavonia in 1643-the annals of New Jersey contain comparatively little of that sanguinary story of bloodshed which makes so much of the early colonial history of America reflect any thing but credit on the morals and the Christian spirit of the pioneers.
Of course there were outbreaks now and again, and some terrible stories of cruelty have come down to us, but these are mainly individual and local. As a general rule, the white settlers in New Jersey treated the red men with thoughtful consideration, and, according to their lights, strove to deal fairly and honestly with them. The Indian had to go- that was a foregone conclusion, although apparently neither he nor the white intruder understood that point with any degree of clearness. But the aborigine was a hunter, and made his living upon the land which the white man also needed whereon to earn his living, and one must needs give way to the other. There was no getting away from this fact. The red man had to be edged out or squeezed out, or frozen out, or cozened out, or burned out, or sent by some rapid dispatch to his happy hunting ground, but, whatever the method, out he had to go; for the two races could not live together harmoniously and on equal terms for any great length of time.
As a hunter the Indian required a great deal of territory for his support. Some one has figured out that a pioneer farmer might make his living from a cleared patch of twenty acres, but each Indian, on an average, required six hundred acres to yield him sufficient animal food for sus- tenance. The Dutch really paid little attention to New Jersey during the
6
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
time they ruled in New Amsterdam, and to that in a great measure is due the absence of much that is a blot upon the history of the colony of New York. The most disagreeable episode in the entire story, as has been said, took place under Governor Kieft, and for its occurrence and revolting details he and his associates were wholly to blame.
Governor Carteret, as soon as he arrived, saw the necessity of buying up the rights the Indians claimed in the land, and the Long Island settlers who began to people East Jersey knew enough of the Indian problem to understand the necessity of dealing with them by treaty. This they scrupulously did, even, it seems to us, getting more than one deed for the property covered by another. For example, Denton and his associates by deed practically secured the whole territory between the Hudson and the Delaware rivers, and settled around what is now Elizabeth, while the Connecticut pioneers who settled in what is now Newark protected theni- selves with several other deeds from Indian owners and claimants, in which, in addition to a miscellaneous collection of axes, coats, kettles, pistols and wampum, we find such commodities as "thirteen cases of rum," "four barrels of beer," "two ankers (thirty-two gallons) of liquors," and the like. In New Jersey, as elsewhere, the red man fell a victim to intem- perance, and, in the long run, liquor had more to do with his disappear- ance than even his loss of land and the poverty and hopelessness of his condition. The Quaker settlers in West Jersey, themselves opposed to drinking, did not throw much temptation of that sort in the way of their red brethren, and had no thought of such a development of their relations or of extermination, but the Indian disappeared from West Jersey as surely and as silently as he did from the eastern section.
It has been pointed out by several New Jersey historians that the credit of being the first to deal honestly with the Indians for their lands has been erroneously bestowed upon William Penn. For, before his time. the settlers on the Delaware had been as scrupulous in this respect as it was possible to be-that is to say, they met the idea of the Indians as to price as closely as possible, and when a bargain was struck they carried out its details to the letter. So it was in East Jersey, and it seems that direct land dealings with the Indians continued to a comparatively late day, for we find that a tract of land in Monmouth County was covered by a deed given to George Willocks by an Indian named Wesquehetah, June 16, I703.
In 1832 occurred the final act of official intercourse-the extinguish- ment of certain rights reserved to the Indians-between the people of New Jersey and the Indians, the former named through their State legislature, and the latter through their living descendant, Bartholomew S. Calvin,
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
who said, "Not a drop of blood you have spilled in battle; not an acre of our land have you taken but by our consent." And it was upon this occasion that the Hon. Samuel L. Southard said, "It is a proud fact in the history of New Jersey that every foot of her soil has been obtained from the Indians by fair and voluntary purchase and transfer, a fact that no other State in the Union, not even the land which bears the name of Penn, can boast of.". Calvin, who is quoted above, was an Indian whose native name was Shawuskukung, meaning "Wilted Grass." He had been a Revolutionary war soldier. He was educated by the Scotch, became a teacher, and taught in white schools as well as among his own people.
We are not aware that any satisfactory effort has ever been made to determine the number of Indians who had their habitat in New Jersey, but the probability is that, at the best, the territory was never thickly populated even in an aboriginal sense. Dr. Beesley has estimated the entire number in West Jersey, when the European settlement began, at eight hundred, and figures out that by 1708 they had been reduced to two hundred. Probably the figures for East Jersey would be about the same.
The early records speak of the Indians near the white settlements as never very numerous. There are traditions of Indian towns, but the traditions have never been verified and are probably exaggerated stories of general encampments during the height of the hunting season. One of these traditions may here be given.
Soon after Elizabeth was settled a party of Dutchmen were on an expedition, seemingly for the purpose of exploration, in company with some of the pioneers who were Long Island colonists. They made their way along a river for quite some distance, and then decided to go no further. One of the party, prompted by curiosity, or love of adventure, or fascinated by the beauty of the scene-probably by all these considera- tions-passed on alone, and after a time came most unexpectedly upon a town of wigwams built closely together and evidently having a large population. He was detected as soon as he discovered the place, and was at once surrounded by a wild and angry mob anxious to punish him on general principles. With entire equanimity the adventurous visitor drew a paper out of his pocket, which he announced was a message from the Governor on Manhattan Island to the Indians before him, and proceeded to read it. He manufactured his story as he went on, and his sheet of paper promised to the Indians all sorts of gifts and concessions, and all this so pleased the red men that they permitted the discoverer to depart unharmed. As soon as he reached Manhattan Island he laid what he saw before the government, and offered to lead a party to the spot. As Indians
8
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
in such numbers as were represented were always sooner or later dangerous, the authorities determined to disperse them, and accordingly dispatched a force under the direction of the informant upon that mission. They timed their progress so as to get to the vicinity of the settlement after nightfall, and, sneaking up, they set fire to the frail wigwams built of branches of trees, brushwood and other easily inflammable matter. The Indians, taken by surprise, quickly retreated out of the burning mass, but when they recovered from their astonishment they used their bows and arrows on the marauders with considerable effect, until finally put to flight by the muskets of the white invaders.
In this story there is likely to be little more than the customary grain of truth, but, like all traditions, it is useful in giving us a little light on the matter with which it deals. All the old tellers of this tradition seem to look upon the discoverer of the settlement as a hero, and express smug satisfaction at the easy way in which the surprise was effected, the town burned and the Indians sent flying. Had it been a huge rat burrow, the satisfaction could not be greater, and so from the story we get an idea of the value attached to Indian life and property in those early days. So . far as we can see, and judging by our own code of ethics, the white men in this entire transaction were the aggressors, and had all concerned been wiped out in the midst of their perfidious and cruel work the most just verdict would have been-it served them right.
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