USA > New Jersey > Hudson County > Bergen > Annals of the classis of Bergen, of the Reformed Dutch Church, and of the churches under its care: including, the civil history of the ancient township of Bergen, in New Jersey > Part 6
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29
Very respectfully, yours, &c., BENJAMIN C. TAYLOR.
Bergen, March 11, 1845.
PRAYER.
O Lord, thou art God alone. Neither is there any God beside thee. There is none like unto the Lord our God. Therefore will we adore thee. With rev- erence would we approach thee, and here invoke thy presence and blessing, while we acknowledge thy mercies and seek thy favor.
But wherewith shall we come before the holy and the just One, or how bow ourselves in thy presence ?
86
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
For verily we have sinned against thee, as did all our fathers. This affecting truth we would realize, as we are here assembled. Had not sin entered our world, truth, righteousness, and peace would have prevailed, and holiness cheered onward the human family in thy service. There would have been no need for halls of justice, or the seat of judgment. But now, oh Lord, the whole creation groaneth and travaileth together in pain-and the cry of the oppressed-the moan of the afflicted, and the sigh of the prisoner, resound through the earth. And thou hast ordained the powers that be to aid in meliorating the condition of wretched, dy- ing man. Thou hast been pleased that judgment shall be exercised between man and his fellow, and that while wholesome laws should be enacted, the just judge shall administer righteousness.
We thank thee, this day, that we are permitted to engage in this service, and in the name of the holy God, as citizens of this new, but highly favored county, to dedicate this beautiful and appropriate edifice to the maintenance of law and order, truth and righteous- ness, among our inhabitants. Vouchsafe then, on this auspicious opening of this house, thy favor, and herein may it abide.
From this bench let no unjust judgment be de- clared. In this place let no iniquitous verdict be ren- dered. But here may the right be maintained, purity prevail, and righteousness be dispensed. To these ends give thou that wisdom which is profitable to direct-that patience which is needed for the careful searching of the truth, and that firmness which should ever mark the discharge of duty, while events are left with God the righteous judge, meteing out righteous judgment.
And now, oh Lord, we ask thy favor to thy servant, who presides in this Court at this time. We thank thee for many mercies bestowed upon him during the many years he has held this responsible station, and
87
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
that in faithfulness thou hast permitted him to admin- ister law and justice. Continue to him thy goodness, and aid him in his present and future duties. And may the judges associated with him experience that wisdom, guidance, and assistance, which can only come from on high.
We pray that this Grand Jury, and the subordinate juries, with all the officers of justice, may be favored with prudence, decision, and energy, properly to dis- charge the duties of their stations, and so may they prove worthy of the trusts reposed in them.
Here, also, we ask, that to the members of the bar may be given, ever to maintain purity of purpose, fidelity to their clients, a sacred regard to truth, and that habitual courtesy to the court, the jury, the par- ties interested, and the witnesses adduced, which will show that they appreciate the rights of all; commis- serate the unfortunate, do justice to the widow and the fatherless, relieve the oppressed, and gain to them- selves an honorable name, and a just recompense of reward.
We now crave thy blessing, oh God, on the citizens of this county. Let vice aud immorality flee away from among them. Let contention cease, and purity and peace prevail. Oh, Lord, send now prosperity, that under the administration of wise and wholesome laws, and the integrity of our courts of law and equity, we may prize the privileges we enjoy in this land of civil and religious liberty, where thou art known the Almighty God and an only Savior.
Ere we leave the mercy seat, we would offer unto thee, oh Lord, our thanksgivings for the circumstan- ces of favor under which this house is opened-for thou hast kindly heard and answered our petitions, (offered when its corner stone was laid), for the health, the safety, and the lives of the workmen. With the contractor, the architect, the inspector, the workmen, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders, we unite in
88
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
devout acknowledgement to thee. No one of them has suffered harm. All of them have been strong to labor from the foundation to top-stone, and the beau- tiful finishing of the building. Therefore will we join with them and say-"Bless the Lord, oh our souls, and forget not all his benefits. His mercies have been new every morning and repeated every evening. The Lord hath been mindful of us, and his mercy endureth forever."
Deeply, oh Lord, impress every soul present with a sense of responsibility to thee, the Judge of all the earth. May we live as expectants of eternity, and when we appear at thy bar, may our acquittal be pro- claimed, as resting upon the merits of thy Son, Jesus Christ, who has died to redeem a sinful, ruined world. And unto God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, shall be rendered endless praise. Amen.
ADDRESS.
Gentlemen, members of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, of the Grand Jury, and my Fellow Citizens at large of the County of Hudson :
Assembled as we are for the first time within this beautiful building, which has been erected by your patriotism and liberality, whose corner stone was laid in prayer, and in prayer fervent, appropri- ate and eloquent, has just been dedicated to the ad- ministration of justice, I feel it my pleasure, my privilege to address you in words of congratulation, as well as in the language of official advice and judi- cial instruction. Since the frailty, not to say the depravity of our nature, renders it necessary to estab- lish and maintain courts of justice, to settle the rights of individuals, to punish the guilty and protect the innocent, it is desirable and becoming that the public should provide convenient and suitable build- ings, in which to discharge that high and responsible
89
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
duty. You, my fellow citizens, have met that demand with a noble and generous spirit. In the erection of this edifice you have manifested your attachment to the institutions of your country, and your readiness to sustain the administrators of public justice, in the execution and discharge of their duty. Accept, therefore, I pray you, from me, in behalf of myself and of every member of the court, and of those who may soon succeed me and my associates in the seats we now occupy, unfeigned thanks for the convenient and elegant apartments you have provided for the accommodation of courts and their officers. When you first conceived the plan of being erected into a separate county, it met with my approbation and se- cured my support, from no sinister motive. Iremem- bered the old town of Bergen, when it had very few inhabitants except old-fashioned, honest Dutchmen, and very few houses except those not built for show but for domestic comfort and convenience; long, low and unpretending in appearance, but durable in materials, and opening upon the streets some two or three hospitable doors, into which the friend and stranger might enter and find a welcome, and from which they might retire and leave a blessing behind them. Hoboken then consisted of little else beside a well-kept public house, and a beautiful retreat from the noise and bustle of the neighboring metropolis. No Jersey City then adorned your shores-nothing but a large, long ferry-house, occupied successively by an Elseworth, a Smith, and a Hunt, with here and there a boatman's or a fisherman's cabin, stood upon the heap of sand, called Powles' Hook: your settlements were sparce, your occupations, agricultural and indus- trial, and your population small, but healthy, peaceful and honest: you needed, for many years within my recollection, but one physician to administer to your physical necessities, but one man of God to supply your spiritual want, and not even one lawyer to satisfy
90
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
your litigious propensities; for you had none to be satisfied. Peace reigned throughout your borders- sipmlicity of life and manners and honesty of purpose, were the prevailing characteristics of the good old Dutch, who almost exclusively occupied the soil of your county in the days of my boyhood. A court at Hackensack and a few Dutch justices at home, were all you wanted to punish the few offenders and settle the few lawsuits that troubled you in those days. But alas! we fear those good old days have gone by, never to return. The rapidly increasing population of our country ; the vast improvements in science and the arts, and the enterprising spirit of the age in which we live, have wrought a mighty change within the period even of my memory. The facilities of steam boats and rail road cars, and the increasing spirit of trade and commerce and manufactures and the arts, have brought the good old town of Bergen into con- tact with the world, cut up her territory into small localities, studded her shores with splendid buildings, turned her farms into country seats, her cabbage ground into pleasure gardens, and her dwelling pla- ces into work shops and manufactories. Such in fact has been the change in appearance and population, of that part of the old county of Bergen which now con- stitutes the county of Hudson, that I can scarcely re- trace the footsteps of my boyhood, when in my visits to friends here or in the city of New York, I used to traverse these hills. When, therefore, you first con- templated the formation of a new county, I favored the object, because I was satisfied that if not then absolutely necessary, the time was rapidly approach- ing, when the increased number of inhabitants, the diversified character of your population, the rapidly extending trade and commerce with the city of New York and other places, the consequent increase of bar- gains and contracts, of litigation and of crime, would call for a stronger police, for increased vigilance on
91
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
the part of the magistrates and peace officers, and for a seat of justice nearer your own doors. I rejoiced, therefore, in the consummation of your wishes, and was the more gratified from the reflection that your courts would be held within my judicial district, and thus give me an opportunity of meeting more fre- quently than I otherwise should, with my respected friends and fellow citizens of the county of Hudson. I have long since marked it down in the chronicle of those events, the memory of which I cherish, and which I desire to be transmitted to and remembered by my children, that I had the honor of presiding at the first court ever held in Hudson county. To that I have since been permitted to add the interesting fact, that I was privileged to act a conspicuous part in the solemn and imposing ceremony of laying the foundation stone of this edifice, and now shall have the pleasure of adding to this history the gratifying circumstance, that I have been spared by a kind Provi- dence to preside at the first court, and address the first Grand Jury that ever assembled within these walls. For this privilege I feel thankful, and I invite you all to unite with me in rendering thanksgiving and praise to HIM who is Judge over all, and in whose hands our lives are, that through his kind and pro- tecting care this edifice has been reared from its foun- dation to its superstructure, without any fatal accident or the slightest injury to any of the worthy and industrious mechanics and laborers, who have been employed in its erection.
May the same all-wise and merciful Providence ever preside over the councils and the deliberations of judges and jurors within these walls : may the ermine of justice, by whomsoever it may be worn, after we shall have gone to our final account, ever be kept pure and unspotted here, and this sanctuary of justice never be desecrated by bribery or corruption-never be an arena for the indulgence of prejudice, partiality or
92
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
unhallowed passions of any sort ; but may the una- dulterated stream of public and private justice ever flow from this sacred hall, and from the pure fountain of eternal truth and righteousness.
And now, gentlemen of the Grand Jury, permit me very briefly to call your attention to your immediate and appropriate duties. You have so often been called upon to act in the responsible station you now occupy -the reiterated advice you have received from the court, and your own good sense, I am sure, render it unnecessary to occupy your time with any extended remarks upon the proper functions of your office, the duties you owe the public, the manner in which those duties should be performed, and the great importance to the public peace and private security in the protec- tion of life and property, that attaches itself to the faithful action of the Grand Jury at every recurring court. You will enter upon the task assigned you, I doubt not, under the influence of that solemn pledge you have just taken, the record of which is already made on high upon tablets more durable than marble, never to be obliterated, unless your recorded vow shall be fully and fairly redeemed in the manner in which you shall perform your present duty. Let your inqui- ries be conducted with firmness and a determination to find out and bring to trial and punishment the perpetra- tors of crime; but at the same time let moderation and sound discretion preside in your deliberations, and be careful not to expose to the odium of an indictment for any serious or highly criminal offence, one who is not guilty. In general, the evidence on the part of the state, to justify an indictment, should be of such a character as would satisfy your minds, if you were a traverse jury, of the guilt of the accused, if that evi- dence should not be satisfactorily explained or con- tradicted on the trial. Cases sometimes happen, how- ever, and they are generally such as are among the higher classes of crimes, when Grand Jurors can find
93
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
out but little evidence of the guilty deed or its perpe- trators, in detail, but yet enough to satisfy them that crime has been committed, and that there is evidence within the future reach of justice to fix it strongly on the accused. Such cases may be considered an ex- ception to the general rule I have laid down.
After some further remarks relating to the office and duty of grand jurors, the Chief Justice conclu- ded by expressing an earnest prayer that it might be long before the occurrence of high and alarming crimes within the county, would become the subject of investigation in the chaste and beautiful building which the Court now occupied for the first time; but while it proved to be a sanctuary and protection to the innocent, it may be a terror to evil doers.
In 1724, one Archibald Kennedy claimed title to a valuable part of the tract granted by the charter of Carteret to Bergen. In 1802, the attorney of his heirs, in a report to the Legislature, stated that Kennedy was one of the king's counsel in New York, and Re- ceiver-General ; that he made a location under the East Jersey proprietors, of the farm at Harsimus, called the Dutch West India Company's Garden. This occasioned a protracted legal controversy be- tween the trustees of the Freeholders of the township of Bergen, and the heirs of Archibald Kennedy, who had in occupancy this very valuable tract of land claimed by the trustees aforesaid. After years of per- plexity and no inconsiderable expense in maintaining the suit, it issued in the award of the property to the trustees. The tract was located at Ahasimus, or Har- simus, now in the Fourth Ward of Jersey City, and on the 4th of February, A. D., 1804, the trustees sold the same to John B. Coles for the sum of fourteen
94
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
thousand, two hundred and eighty-five dollars and seventy-five cents. This constituted, at that time, the whole amount of money belonging to the Corporation. The costs of the suit amounted to $2,523 10, up to November 12th, 1804.
In 1809, the trustees paid the quit rent to the pro- prietors, for the whole township, or rather bought off. the rent for $1,500. In 1821, the Poor Farm at Sea caucus was purchased, and is still held by the Corpo- ration. And on January 28th, 1843, after having paid various expenses from year to year, including grants for the poor, the erection or enlargement and repairs of the Poor House, a committee of the trustees reported the amount in hands, including bonds and notes, to be fifteen thousand five hundred and eighty- two dollars.
It is pleasant to add that when the site of the Court House had been selected, the trustees of the Corpora- tion having ascertained the cordial concurrence of the citizens of the whole township, as it then existed, agreed to pay over nearly the whole of this unexpend ed balance of money to the Chosen Freeholders of the County of Hudson, to be applied by them to the erec- tion of the county buildings. And it has been so paid over and applied.
This done, the trustees have now comparatively lit- tle to do beside maintaining their succession for the purposes of the township property yet vested in them.
But there is another matter in respect to this vener- able Corporation, which must be presented. It is the school fund which came into their possession.
Throughout the entire extent of this ancient town-
95
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
ship, the changes adverted to by the Chief Justice in his address, are to be seen. Bergen Point, with its beautiful mansions and elegant conveniences for plea- sure-taking on the splendid bay and channels ; Pem- bripogh, now the site of the New York Bay Ceme- tery ; Danforth Place, Point Breeze, Bay View, and the elegant residences of Abraham Becker, Esq; the richly cultivated and elegantly laid out villa, known as Armstrong Place, owned and occupied by Mat- thew Armstrong, Esq., and his sons and son-in-law, present evidences of taste, architectural skill, and beauty of arrangement seldom found. While from these points, all the glories of the large expanse of waters immediately in front of them, open fully to the eye of the beholder.
Following the Bergen ridge in a Northerly direc- tion, we find the new and beautiful villa residences of Claremont and Sherwood. And on stopping to view the splendid scenery at the summit of the Easterly slope, by the residences of Mr. McBirney, Mr. Elisha Bliss, and Mr. John Brinkerhoff, all with elegant grounds, we cannot but admire the location, overlook- ing as it does the New York Bay and Narrows, and the cities of New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, with Communipaugh a little distant on the shore of the river. Thence, urging our way still Northward, we find on the Bergen Heights the stately mansion of Walter Storm, Esq., and near by, the Wescott range of seven fine cottages, and a little beyond, Montebella- with the mansions of Mrs. Maria Mead, and John Rudderow, Esq., near whose residence commences the town of Bergen, which a very few years ago had
96
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
in it many of the long, low, one story stone dwellings, and near by them the old sharp-roofed barns of the sturdy yeomanry. These are removed, or so modified as to invite the attention of strangers. Commodious new dwellings have been reared, and an air of com- fort invests the town, which extends to the New Jer- sey Rail Road. The residences of Colonel Garret Sip and Smith Garrabrant, Esq., are large and attractive.
While such is the change on the Eastern front of the ridge, the whole length of the present township, the central route and Western slope, exhibit a similar change. The elegant residences of George Gifford, Peter H. Bentley, Stephen D. Harrison, and Edwin Payton, Esqs., and Dr. Josiah Payton, are tasteful and valuable improvements in this part of the township. On this Western slope, thirty years ago, . there was only one house visible for several miles, ex- cepting those on the main road to Bergen Point. Over this territory, church edifices and school houses have been reared, and others will ere long, add to the convenience of a growing population, and to the beau- ty of the scenery.
Of the city of Hudson, we may say it is almost all new and fresh, with lively action, and vigorous push- ing forward of improvements under the city charter. Where thirty years ago, there were scarcely fifty dwellings on the whole of this now city territory, four thousand inhabitants occupy their comfortable homes. The city proper, with the County Court House, Jail, and Work House, a Methodist, a Protestant Episco- pal, a Dutch Reformed, and a Catholic Church, and Public School Houses, suited to the wants of the com-
RESIDENCE OF MATTHEW ARMSTRONG, BERGEN, N. J.
RESIDENCE OF MATTHEW ARMSTRONG, JUNIOR, BERGEN, N .J.
1000000) 10000000 1000000
RESIDENCE OF JOHN ARMSTRONG, BERGEN, N. J.
RESIDENCE OF H. D. VAN NOSTRAND, BERGEN, N. J.
RESIDENCE OF GEORGE GIFFORD, BERGEN, N. J.
--
-
RESIDENCE OF GARRET SIP. BERGEN, N. J.
97
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
munity, is constantly increasing. Within this terri- tory, and only a short distance from the great public thoroughfares, are the Oakum Works and Grist Mill of Thomas Aldridge, and the distributing reservoir of the Water Works of Jersey City, elegantly embank- ed, and from which Jersey City receives a liberal supply of the Passaic water. Arrangements are contemplated for supplying the city of Hoboken, and very soon the citizens of Hudson City will probably drink from the same abundant source.
Within a few paces, in an Easterly direction from this reservoir, is the ground where, for a brief period, tens of thousands exulted in the sports of the turf on "The Beacon Course." There, on the fifth day of November, 1845, Cyrus S. Browning, Esq., the prin- cipal proprietor, while exposing himself to the perils of the hurdle race, was thrown from his horse, and died on the next day. A melancholy closing of the scenes of pleasure and profit, anxiously anticipated, but never realized. "The end of that mirth was heaviness."
Now, those grounds are occupied by new and plea- sant dwellings on the Eastern summit of the ridge, and by the extensive oakum establishment of Wil- liam Davey, Esq. Every where along the Eastern front, are young villages appearing. Washington Village, West Hoboken, North Hoboken, Union Hill, and New Durham, in North Bergen township, all tell of rapid growth. And the noble mansions, lovely grounds, and highly cultivated fields of the late Hon. James G. King, James Brown, Esq., the Hon. Dudley S. Gregory, His Excellency Rodman M. Price, Ex-
5
98
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
Governor of the State, and others, show with what favor these choice localities have been honored. At West End, Anthony and James Dey, Thomas An- drews, John Ackerman, and S. H. Doughty, Esqrs., have erected elegant mansions, surrounded by very tasteful grounds.
Jersey City has undergone and is undergoing vast changes. Her water front, which is invaluable, is being well protected ; her commerce is increasing ; her business capital is large ; her manufactures are numerous. Here are the termini of the New Jersey and Erie Rail Roads. The work shops, depots, and offices of these companies, assure the beholder of vigorous enterprise well urged on. The great work of tunneling Bergen ridge, is in progress, and with fair prospect of early completion for the Erie Rail Road. The numerous public buildings, in Jersey City, are highly creditable to the citizens. Three banks are actively operating. The Hudson County, the Mechanics' and Trader's, and the Bank of Jersey City. The Hudson County Mutual, and Jersey City Insurance Companies, are prospering.
The Public Schools are models, and send forth their healthful streams continually ; while the private semi- nary for boys, of which Mr. William L. Dickinson is principal, and those of the Misses Gilchrist and of Miss Chadcayne, for girls, eminently deserve and command the confidence of the citizens.
With a population of twenty-four thousand, and a vigorous determination on the part of the en- lightened and ever energetic citizens, this young city must become densely populated, and will ere long be on the Western shore of the North River, what Brook-
HUDSON COUNTY BANK
HUDSON COUNTY MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY
HUDSON COUNTY BANK, JERSEY CITY.
AMERICAN HOTEL
JERSEY CITY INSURANCE COMPANY.
JERSEY CITY INSURANCE COMPANY.
JERSEY CITY INSURANCE COMPANY'S OFFICE, GREGORY'S BUILDING.
99
THE HISTORY OF BERGEN.
lyn is on the Eastern shore of the East River. Both are directly opposite to New York, and as suburbans of that great metropolis must ever be, in feeling and interest, largely identified with it.
Hoboken, also, is on the march to greatness. Al- ready her population is over seven thousand. She will provide for a good supply of water; churches and school houses are conveniently arranged ; her ship yards and work shops attest the active industry of the people, while the Hoboken Land and Improve- ment Company, originally composed of the sons of the late Colonel John Stevens, gentlemen well known in the scientific world, and in the large rail road and canal operations of our state, for their skill, manage- ment and success, have largely added to the growth, and liberally fostered the various public improvements of the city.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.