USA > New Jersey > Morris County > A history of Morris County, New Jersey : embracing upwards of two centuries, 1710-1913, Volume I > Part 26
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Like their Congregational brethren, the settlers from Easthampton erected a Presbyterian house of worship prior to 1740, between Black River and Mendham, one and a half mile west of the latter village. In 1745 the church building was erected in Mendham village, the Presbyterians of Black River organizing as the First Presbyterian Church of Roxbury, and erecting a house of worship one mile north of the present village of Chester. The first pastor was Rev. Samuel Harker, a graduate of Princeton, licensed to preach by the Presbytery of New Brunswick. He was installed October 31, 1752, and served the Roxbury church eleven years. He became involved with the church authorities on points of doctrine, left the church, and was
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chaplain in the Revolutionary army, perishing at sea with his son, who was on his way to England to receive ordination as an Episcopal minister. The church was without a pastor until 1768, when Rev. William Woodhull was settled as pastor. He was from Brookhaven, Long Island, a graduate of Princeton, class of 1764. A few years after his settlement, Mr. Woodhull was obliged to give up his pastorate on account of bronchial trouble. Later he opened a Latin school in which General Mahlon Dickerson, Secretary of the Navy under President Jackson, was a scholar. Mr. Woodhull repre- sented Morris county in the lower house of the first legislature of indepen- dent New Jersey, held at Princeton, in August, 1776; again in 1777, 1789 and 1790. He was appointed a judge of the common pleas in 1808, and was prominent until his death in Chester, in October, 1824. In 1785, Rev. Lemuel Fordham, of Long Island, was settled as stated supply and in 1786 received a unanimous call as regular pastor. He served the church for thirty years, dividing his time with the church at Succasunna. He was suc- ceeded in 1815 by Rev. Jacob Cassner, a graduate of Princeton College and of Princeton Theological Seminary. He divided his time with the churches at Black River, German Valley and Fox Hill. In the fall of 1815, the first Sunday school was established in Chester Academy, by James H. Woodhull, a grandson of the former pastor. From 1818 to 1823 the church was under the pastoral care of Rev. John Ernst Miller, who was followed in 1823 by Rev. Abraham Williamson, a graduate of Princeton College and Seminary. He was pastor for thirty years, two churches being formed from the Black River church during that period, the Presbyterian Church of Mount Olive in 1838, taking forty-eight members, and in 1852 twenty-six members were dismissed to form the Presbyterian church at Flanders. In 1851 the old church on the hill top was abandoned and a new one erected in the village. The parsonage was built under the pastorate of Rev. James F. Brewster, a graduate of Rutgers College and Princeton Seminary, the church improved and a handsome chapel erected, the gift of James E. Hedges, of Elizabeth, New Jersey.
A congregation of the Methodist Episcopal church was organized in Chester, in the early part of 1881, by Rev. E. S. Ferry, of Orange, New Jersey, who became its first pastor. Services, however, had been held for about six years previous to 1881, but at iregular periods by the pastors of the Peapack church. During the winter of 1880-81 the Methodist Episcopal church at Bedminster was removed and erected in Chester. This building, originally a Baptist church, was bought by Bishop Janes under foreclosure and donated by him to the Newark conference in 1854. It was presented to the Methodists of Chester by the conference and rededicated in July, 1881. It is now (1914) coupled as a charge with the church at German Valley. The church membership is 80, and the Sunday school 73; the church prop- erty being valued at $9,500.
Schools-The first school of record was that taught by Rev. William Woodhull, in a log house near his residence, he also receiving a few boarders into his family at a weekly price equal to one bushel of wheat. This school was broken up by the war of the Revolution. Private schools were also held in the residences of others. One of the first of these was taught by Phebe Jagger, of Long Island, who afterward married Rev. Mr. Burt, of Laming- ton, New Jersey. The building in which she taught was on the Cooper estate, the families of Cooper and Haines united in its support. Under the public school law enacted in New Jersey in 1829 the township was divided into eight districts, under regulations which were modified in 1847. At the
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Chester Cross Roads a good stone building was erected in 1830, the upper part of which was used as a chapel by the Congregational society. In 1854 William Rankin, who had been teaching at Deckertown, New Jersey, bought and enlarged the brick hotel in Chester and established a classical school that was liberally patronized until his removal to Mendham in October, 1862. While in Chester he had under his instructions nearly 500 scholars. He prepared during his professional career, seventy-six students for college, and 150 for teachers; fifty of his students became ministers, thirty entered the law, and twelve became physicians.
Chester Institute has had as principals, Rev. L. I. Stoutenburgh, Miss Susan Magie, Mrs. M. F. Hoagland, Rev. P. S. Smith, Mrs. C. Y. Baker, and Rev. J. H. McCandless. In 1869, Hon. Daniel Budd erected a spacious three-story stone building for the use of the school in a good location in the village and of this Miss Magie took possession in 1870. A private school was also taught in the chapel of the Presbyterian church, under control of the then pastor, Rev. James F. Brewster.
The public schools of the township as now organized are located and taught as here shown: Chester-grammar, Elmer E. Beams, principal, Mary C. Moore; primary, Frances B. Howell; intermediate, Mildred S. Hoyt; Milldale-Lucy C. Hulbert; Hacklebarney-Myrtle E. Fisher; Masonic-Anna D. Odsted; Forest Hill-Laura M. Fisher ; Pleasant Hill- Robert P. Marsh. The total number of scholars enrolled in these schools for the school year ending June, 1913, was 274 ; the average daily attendance, 194; the total cost of their operation was $8,020.85.
The officials of the township (1913) were: Freeholder, William Dee ; clerk, Lloyd B. Tredway; assessor, Charles Rinehart; collector, Joseph W. Croot; treasurer, William S. Howell; township committee-William S. Howell, Charles B. Pitney, John W. Rourk; surveyor of highways, James Larison ; constables-John Chapman, John P. Stout, Sr .; overseer of the poor, Reuben C. Carlile; justice of the peace, Philip C. Yawger; commis- sioners of deeds-Alonzo P. Green, Lloyd B. Tredway, William S. Howell; president of the board of education, Charles Rinehart; district clerk, Romeo Robinson; custodian, Joseph W. Croot; medical inspector, Dr. Harris Day ; attendance officer, F. H. Hughson. The real estate valuation for 1913 was $648,025 ; personal property, $99,739. The population according to the fed- eral census of 1910 was 1251, Chester village being 1100.
Hon. Daniel Budd, of frequent mention in Morris county history, was one of the most influential men of Chester village and township, both in public and business life. He was a descendent of John Budd who came from England to New Haven about 1632, subsequently moving to Southold, Long Island, thence to Rye, New York. John and Daniel Budd, great-grand- father and grandfather of Hon. Daniel Budd, came to Black River early in the eighteenth century. This Daniel Budd was for a long time assessor and captain of reserves during the Revolution. His son, Joseph Budd, was a captain in the War of 1812. He married Joanna Swayzee and they were the parents of Hon. Daniel Budd, of Chester, who was born June 8, 1809, died in June, 1873. He was at various times, a farmer, manufacturer, surveyor, drover, a general business man, colonel of cavalry and public official. He was for many years continuously returned as freeholder; was a member of the New Jersey house of assembly in 1856-57, and state senator in 1860- 61-62. While senator he was chairman of the committee on corpora- tions; a member of other important committees, and state director of the Camden and Amboy railroad. He carried on the manufacture of malleable
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iron for many years and devoted a great deal of time and energy to the upbuilding of Chester. To him was largely due the construction of the Chester railroad. His remains were followed to his grave in Pleasant Hill cemetery by a large number of friends and acquaintances from all parts of the state, men whom he had met and attracted to him during his years in business and public life. He married, February 25, 1847, Mary K. Hunt, daughter of John Hunt, of Newton, New Jersey.
BOONTON TOWNSHIP
This township was set off from Pequannock in 1867, and in area is the smallest in the county. It is long and narrow in shape, and is sandwiched in between Montville on the east and Rockaway on the west. Except the region around the town of Boonton and that part of the valley of the Rockaway lying within its borders, Boonton possesses little arable land. In the east- ern part of the township is a ridge of rough land called Mine Ridge, where iron ore has been known to exist for 150 years, and from which considerable ore of a superior quality has been taken out. On the southern edge of the township, near the month of a small brook running into the Rockaway river is a ledge of soft gray sandstone containing in its crevices or seams fossil fish. Many fine specimens have been found by scientific exploring parties, the fossils being perfect and very valuable in many instances. The part representing the fish is a black, hard substance resembling coal, showing the whole form, with fins, tail and scales quite perfectly. Northeast from and near the town of Boonton is a large elevation called Sheep Hill, the highest point, said to be 940 feet above sea level, from which a magnificent view may be had of the Passaic and Rockaway valleys, and of many beautiful towns and the country eastward as far as New York Bay. The population of the township in 1870 was 3,458; in 1875, 3,576; and in 1880 it had fallen to 2,682, the loss being due to the closing of the extensive iron works in 1876. In 1890 the population had increased to 3,307; in 1900 to 4,710; and in 1910 the federal census showed 5,358 souls, 4,930 of whom were reported from the town of Boonton, and 428 from the remainder of the township.
Schools-In addition to the public schools in Boonton town, there are schools at Powerville and Rockaway Valley, the former having a primary and grammar department, each with a teacher, the latter an ungraded school with one teacher, Charlotte Stark. At Powerville, Nellie E. Sullivan teaches the grammar school, and Phoebe Albertson the primary school. The enroll- ment of the two schools is 78, with an average daily attendance of 60 pupils. The operating expenses for the school year, 1912-13, were $2,455.55. The township officials ( 1913) are: Chosen Freeholder, George Estler; Clerk, Frank Estler; Assessor, Edmund H. Stickle; Collector, John W. Allen; Township Committee-Andrew Kincaid, Emmons D. Decker and Frank Bott ; Treasurer, Frank Estler; Overseer of the Poor, Frank Price.
The assessed valuation of real estate in the township in 1912 outside of Boonton was $189,550; personal property, $22,000.
JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP
Following the line of Sussex county from Lake Hopatcong to its junc- tion with Passaic county-twelve miles, with average width of four miles to Rockaway township-lies Jefferson township, the northwestern and extreme northern part of Morris county, its southern boundary being Roxbury township. Within this parallelogram lies part of Lake Hopatcong, and about
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25,000 acres of mainly broken and rugged land, the scenery in many places grand, and in all, beautiful and picturesque. The Rockaway river flows between two ranges of hills almost the entire length of the township, the hills in places rising to a height of six hundred feet above the level of the river. The valley thus formed rarely exceeds a mile in width, and con- tains most of the arable land in the township. From a geological point of view, the township is most interesting, and tells a wonderful story of the glacial period when rivers, valleys and lakes were formed.
The earliest settler of whom there is record was Humphrey Davenport, who came from Devonshire, England, and purchased land at Newfound- land, probably about 1720. His son, Humphrey, and grandson, Captain Cornelius Davenport, lived on the old homestead that is yet in possession of the family. The next settlement was made in the township about 1776, tradition says by a party of seven or eight trappers or hunters, one of whom was of the name of Slack, his farm lying near Little or Bleachley's Pond, now a part of Lake Hopatcong. William Headley came from the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania, just previous to the massacre. The Hurd family came from near Dover to Hurdtown, about 1800, two brothers, Joseph and Daniel, being the first comers. William Wood, the first of that name in the township, came about 1804, and Colonel John H. Stanburrough in 1806. James L. Hurd kept an excellent public house at Hurdtown, or, as it was sometimes called, New Partners, in 1820. At that time a forge, manufactur- ing bar iron by the bloom process, was in operation.
William H. Seward, the famous statesman and Secretary of State under President Lincoln, was born at Newfoundland, although not on the Jefferson township side of the line, and lived there until a young man. Several Revo- lutionary soldiers lived in the township, including Captain Cornelius Daven- port, whose son Enos was a captain in the War of 1812.
There were at one time eight forges in the township, all built during the period 1790-1810. The only positive date known is that of the Swede- land forge at Milton, in 1797, erected by Captain Cornelius Davenport and John Dow. The Russia forge was owned by Thomas Keepers. The Hard Bargain forge was built by Captain Cornelius Davenport, beyond Peters- burgh, and below that forge was the Upper Longwood, built by John De Camp. The Woodstock forge was conducted and probably built by James L. Dickerson and Stephen Adams; the forge at Weldon by Major Moses Hopping. The forge at Hurdtown was built in 1804 or 1805, by Joseph and Daniel Hurd. In addition to the men already named, who were prominent in the early development of the iron industry, there were John O. Ford, Joseph and Stephen Dickerson, William and Samuel Headley, and Colonel John H. Stanburrough.
Charcoal burning was also an important early industry, the forests which covered nearly all sections of the township affording an easy and abundant supply of the needed wood. Two roads were built-the Union turnpike, and the Longwood road, traversing the township longitudinally, which in their day were works of public utility and of great importance. The Union turnpike, running through Dover, Mount Pleasant, Berkshire, Hurd- town and Woodport, on to Sussex county, was built in 1805, a charter hav- ing been obtained in the previous year.
In 1810 there were 1,281 persons living in the township. The years 1804 to 1816 were years of great prosperity ; iron brought a very high price ($150 per ton, it is said), and the owners of the eight forges rapidly amassed wealth, built fine residences, kept good horses, and bought carriages. It is
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said that at that time this valley (not merely in Jefferson township) was the center of the iron industry of the country. Moses Hopping, at the Russia forge, was famous as the maker of the best iron in the country. He drew it out himself, being a skilled worker. He made plowshares, mouldboards, and harrow teeth, sending them to tidewater towns for sale. John De Camp, owner of the Upper Longwood forge, was perhaps the wealthiest of the early ironmasters of the period that terminated in 1816, when foreign iron came in such quantities that the price fell to a point that forced the Jeffer- son township forges to close down. John De Camp failed, but later he became an official of the New York custom house.
The iron business later revived, and business again became active be- tween 1820 and 1830. Churches were built at Milton, Hurdtown, and Berk- shire. Enos Davenport established a postoffice at Milton, and Joseph Dicker- son, one at Berkshire. The population, which had decreased, again leaped forward, the figures in 1830 reaching 1,551, a number not again reached until 1880. In 1837 the hot blast furnace was introduced, and a period of even greater prosperity prevailed. But with the introduction of anthracite coal into iron manufacture, the forges gradually ceased operations. During the Civil War there was a fitful revival, but in a few years operations again ceased, later again revived, and declined. During the period of activity, Hurdtown, Milton and Berkshire were thriving business centers, it being said that in 1830 Berkshire did a larger business than Dover.
There were also valuable iron ore mines in the township, the earliest and most valuable being the Hurd mine at Hurdtown, the ore of which was simi- lar to that of the famous General Dickerson mine. This mine was active for a great many years. Other mines were the Ford, Dodge, Upper and Lower Weldon, Hurd, Hurdtown, Appetite, Nolan, Davenport, Scofield, Frazer, Duffee, Shongun, Goble and Boss-most of them producers of a high grade of ore.
The Ogden mine railroad was built in 1865. It was ten miles long, built entirely to carry ore from Jefferson township mines to Nolan's Point, on Lake Hopatcong, whence it was shipped by boats to Morris canal points. This road was leased in 1881 to the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and became an extension of the High Bridge branch of that road.
The Davenports, of frequent mention, were active in all early enter- prises. Captain Cornelius Davenport kept the first store at Milton being suc- ceeded by his son Enos. Joseph Hurd opened the first store at Hurdtown, about 1806, and Joseph Dickerson as early as 1810 was in business at Berk- shire. Charles F. Davenport had a store for several years in another part of Berkshire valley, and William A. Wood opened the first store at Wood- port in 1831. One of the earliest hotels was kept by Colonel John Seward, at Hurdtown, and after him by his son John. Peter P. Brown was the first landlord at Newfoundland, being succeeded by his son, John P. Brown. William Wood kept the tollgate on the Union turnpike at Woodport, and there built a hotel. Captain Cornelius Davenport kept a hotel in the old stone house at Milton, and there also built a grist mill as early as 1800. There were several distilleries and saw mills in the township, which fell into disuse.
As stated, churches were built in Milton, Hurdtown and Berkshire, between 1800 and 1830. The Presbyterian church at Berkshire was built in 1820, the first pastor being Rev. Mr. Slater. The first Methodist Episcopal church was built at Hurdtown in 1828, on land donated by David B. Hurd. A second church was erected on the same site in 1870, a Methodist church
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also being built that year at Nolan's Point. A Baptist church was built at Milton in 1824, the first settled pastor being Rev. Gabriel Van Duser. A new church was built in 1878, under the pastorate of Rev. Conrad Vreeland. A Methodist church was built at Milton in 1881.
Schools-Prior to 1800 there were no school houses in the township, but schools were kept at Berkshire Valley, Longwood and Milton, in rooms and buildings designed for other purposes. Shortly after 1800, through the exertions of the members of the Presbyterian Church of Berkshire Valley, a school house was built that in 1824 was replaced by another, and by a third in 1859, and a fourth in 1873. The school house at Longwood was built in 1812, on land given by Philip Losey, and a second one, built of stone, re- placed it in 1847. The school house at Milton was built in 1830, and has been since rebuilt more than once. The Hopatcong school house was built in 1845. In 1880 there were eight schools in the township, with a total income of $2,717.12. There were 366 children enrolled; eight teachers were employed, and school property was valued at $4,400. For the school year 1912-13, 253 scholars were enrolled in seven schools; the average daily at- tendance 170; the total cost of conducting the schools being $8,242.06. The schools and teachers for the school year ending June, 1914, are as follows : Supervising Principal, A. H. Gordon; Hopatcong-Grammar, Florence Spencer ; Primary, Lulu M. Taylor; Berkshire, Martha D. Cooper; Hurd- town, Hazel C. Tummey; Ford Mine, Harold Cadman; Milton, Agnes Hos- king ; Holland, Louisa Monks; Newfoundland, D. E. Brainard.
The population in 1890 was 1,611; in 1900, 1,341 ; and in 1910, had fallen to 1,306, the failure of the iron industry after 1890 marking the beginning of the second decline in population. The taxable value of real estate in the township in 1913 was $741,975 ; personal property, $84,560.
Township officials, 1913-John Tierney, freeholder ; John D. Lauerman, clerk; Charles Chamberlain, assessor; William Willis, collector; Horace L. Cook, treasurer ; Edgar H. McCormick, Horace L. Cook, Amzy D. Allison, township committee; William Schulz, constable; Charles Ackerson, overseer of the poor ; Oakley A. Johnson, justice of the peace; Board of Education- E. R. Headley; Horace L. Cook, district clerk; William Willis, custodian; Dr. Joseph P. Riggs, medical inspector ; A. N. Gordon, attendance officer.
The only railroad in the township is the New York, Susquehanna & Western, that crosses at one place one of the northern points formed by the windings of the Pequannock and Passaic rivers, which separate the township from Passaic county, along its northern line. On this point and on the rail- road, is Newfoundland, a thriving village of 570 inhabitants, according to the census of 1910.
MENDHAM TOWNSHIP
From Somerset county on the south, Mendham extends to Randolph on the north, and from Chester on the west to Morris and Passaic townships on the east. The north branch of the Raritan river flows across its southwest- ern corner, and for several miles forms its western boundary line. The Rockaway Valley railroad crosses the township, and in the days of its active operation, Mendham borough and Ralston were important stations. Brook- side, the other important village of the township, lying just off the line. Numerous small brooks and springs water the township, which was formerly well wooded and is yet very fertile. There are no authentic records of the township prior to 1713. The early settlers were men of high grade, indus-
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trious, intelligent, moral and from circumstances ingenious. They were an agricultural people, the township always having been strictly a farming com- munity, although in very early times there was manufacturing at both Ral- ston and Brookside, John and Abraham Byram having a mill at the latter point for carding wool and fulling cloth. Ebenezer ("Boss") Fairchild had a tannery and shoeshop at Brookside, Charles Thompson carrying on the same business. In fact shoes were made in about every house in that village and exchanged with the farmers for provisions. There were mills at Ral- ston and there was in early days a forge on Indian Brook, Mendham Moun- tain, operated by the father and grandfather of Henry C. Pitney, of Morris- town. According to the New Jersey Historical Collections, there were in the township in 1840: Two grist mills, one saw mill, one fulling mill, one woolen mill, one cotton factory, with a total of capital invested in all manufactures, $20,800. At the same time there were: "3 academies with 95 students, 5 schools with 180 scholars."
The tillable lands of the township have long been under cultivation, the assessment of 1880 showing the acreage as 13,525 acres, valued at $837,665. The total valuation of township and borough for the year 1912 was: Real estate, $1,407,045 ; personal property, $180,650. The population was 1,266 in 1890 ; 1,600 in 1900; 1,921 in 1910. In 1906 Mendham borough was incor- porated, the census four years later showing 1,129 of the 1,921 inhab- itants living in the borough, 792 in the township.
John Marsh made fine carriages in Mendham village, designed for southern trade, the Civil War consequently destroying his business, which at one time reached $25,000 annually. Prominent early names in the town- ship were Jacob Cook, Joseph Beach, James Pitney, Caleb Baldwin, Joseph Thompson, Ebenezer Condict, Nathan Cooper, Henry Wick, Robert Cum- mins, Henry Axtel, Stephen Dod, Jacob Drake, Ephraim Sanders, James Mc Vickers, Henry Clark, Elias Howell, Zebulon Riggs, and Benjamin Hurl- burt. In the eastern part of the township there were families named Beach, Loree, Tingley, Condict, Turner, Cary and Smith. Job Loree lived on land next west of Major Lewis Loree's, before 1739, and Major Henry Axtell, son of Henry Axtell, who came from Massachusetts in 1739, lived in the same neighborhood as early as 1760. Near Washington Corners lived in early days Riggs, Vance and Bedell. Day is also an early name, a daughter of Henry Axtell marrying a Day. The Connet, who built a grist mill at Brookside, then called Water Street, came from Chatham about 1800, but there was then an old mill there called Smith's Mill. On the mountain lived the Clarks from Long Island, the Pool, Styles, Cazad, McIlrath and Bonnell families. Ebenezer Byram, the ancestor of all the Byrams of Morris county, was born in Bridgewater, Massachusetts, in 1692, and came to Mendham in 1743 with five sons and three daughters. He built the "Black Horse" tavern and changed the site of the church from Roxiticus to its present beautiful site on "Hill Top." The Pitneys came from England by way of New Bruns- wick and Basking Ridge. A brother of James Pitney is said to have bought land of the original proprietors in Mendham in 1722. The Pitneys were tall, finely built men, full of vigor, industry and thrift. They made iron, were thrifty farmers and large landowners. Henry Cooper Pitney, of Mor- ristown, owns and keeps up the old homestead. Henry Axtell came to Mendham about 1741. He was a blacksmith, having a shop and owning land near the Drakes. He was a descendant of the "Roundhead," Colonel Axtell, who suffered death for his fealty to Cromwell.
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