USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > Perth Amboy > Contributions to the early history of Perth Amboy and adjoining country : with sketches of men and events in New Jersey during the provincial era > Part 15
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Although Mr. Parker's neutrality was undoubted, yet, as all his connections were on the royal side, it was considered proper by the provincial authorities to place him under re- straint, in retaliation for a similar course pursued by the enemy towards some suspected individuals, and he was consequently for some time, in 1777, in confinement at Morristown. As he took no part in the war, his property escaped confiscation. In 1789 he was solicited to become a candidate for Congress, but did not give his consent until it was too late to succeed. In a letter written to his brother-in-law in England at this time he says :
"We are all very anxious in this quarter of the world, and looking forward to our new Constitution. Many are doubtful whether it will take place as it is, or be subjected to be amended by another convention ; if
110 The "Convention troops," in their march through New Jersey, in 1778, were quartered upon him. From the 5t tho 13th Dec. different divisions were provided for on his premises, and in 1779 (Nov. 24), General Philips,
General Reidesel, with several officers of their suites, breakfasted at his house (under the inspection of Colonel Hooper of the American Army), on their way to New York, after being exchanged.
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the latter, we shall have no Constitution without bloody noses. Eleven States have agreed, some of them conditionally, and the dominion (Vir- ginia) is ready to join those who have made the conditions. There are many anti-federalists amongst those who are to go to Congress, who have many behind them of the same political sentiments. General Washington will undoubtedly be President, by a great majority, if not unanimously. John Adams, Vice-President. The fourth instant was appointed for the day of meeting, but they will not get together until atleast a month after, if so soon.
" Our election for Representatives began the 11th Feb'y (which day, 63 years ago, I was born), and it is not yet ended. The five western counties below Asanpink, determined to put in their men, it is said don't intend to close the poll till Wednesday next. All the other counties, except Essex, closed ten days ago; this will keep up that jealousy that has ever been between the two divisions.
" The great struggle is whether the temporary seat of Congress shall be New York, or Philadelphia. The Governor and Privy Council, who are to declare the elected, say they will not receive the returns from the dif- ferent counties after the time mentioned in the law ; if so, West Jersey will be disappointed, and the State in an uproar, however consistent this resolution may be.
' " I was ong solicited, land as long refused my consent to a nomination ; but at length declared, but so late that it answered no other purpose than to show what I might have done, had I declared in time. I lost every chance in West Jersey, where the suffrages would have been much in my favor, and plans early formed shut me out where my interest was very con- siderable."
And in another letter he says :
"Should they appoint another convention to amend the exceptionable parts [of the Constitution] it is thought dissension and bloodshed will ensue. Should it be carried into execution with all its energy, the citizens at large will feel what they have ever been strangers to, and it is more than proba- ble that the Horse hitherto rode with a slack rein, when he comes to be held up and spurred, will kick. In short, our situation is such that we require an energetic government at the same time that we cannot submit to it; and 1 fear there are too many amongst us that have other views than the good of the public at heart." Alluding to the question of the removal of Congress from New York to Philadelphia, he says :- " this has already had such an effect upon the citizens of the two places that they seem to bear the greatest enmity to each other, and it has raised such an opposition in the election of representatives for this State, that East and West Jersey were never more opposed than at the present moment. * * * It is amazing to think what numbers go back to the western world, and now to Genesee and Niagara, and still we are overstocked with people for our mode of farming. I think the year 1789 the most alarming, both to America and Great Britain." 111
Mr. Parker was a man of tall stature, and large frame, possessing a mind of more than ordinary strength and vigor ;
111 James Madison, under date of 19th March, 1789, wrote to Gen. Washing- ton :
"In New Jersey the election has been conducted in a very singular
manner. The law having fixed no time expressly for closing the polls, they have been kept open three or four weeks in some of the counties, by a rival jealousy between the eastern
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and his lady was remarkable for her piety and excellence of character ; her many virtues remaining vividly impressed on the memories of her contemporaries, and shining out in a few literary memorials of her, which are preserved. If the " blood of the martyrs was the seed of the church," a praying mother is, in all ages, the well-spring of spiritual life in the family. Mr. Parker died October 4th, 1797, aged 72, and she followed him to the grave, on 10th Feb'y, 1811, aged 71. They rest side by side in the cemetery of St. Peter's Church.
Their children were :-
JOHN, who married Ann, daughter of John Lawrence, and left two daughters: Maria, married to Edward W. Dunham, who died in 1834, leaving several children, and Gertrude Aleph, yet living, unmarried.
ELIZABETH, who died unmarried, October 27th, 1821.
JANET, who married Edward Brinley, of Newport, R. I., and left four children-Gertrude Aleph, who became the wife of the Rev. Edwin Gilpin of Nova Scotia, and left children; Elizabeth Parker, who married the Rev. Job F. Halsey of New Jersey, and has one daughter; Catharine Sophia, who died unmarried; and Francis William, who has several children.
GERTRUDE, who is yet living.
SUSAN, who died unmarried, April 23d, 1849.
MARIA, who married Andrew Smyth, and died without issue.
WILLIAM, who died young.
JAMES, who was born March 3d, 1776, and is yet living, having filled many important public offices and trusts, been a member of the State Legislature and of Congress, a Commissioner to settle the Boundary Line between New York, New Jersey, &c. His first wife was Penelope, daughter of Anthony Butler; his second Catherine Morris, daughter of Samuel Og- den, of Newark. By his first wife he had (besides two children who died in infancy) :-
James, married to Anna, daughter of Cleaveland A. Forbes, and re- siding in Cincinnati, Ohio (being one of the Judges of that State), and has several children.
William, married to Lucy C. Whitwell, of Boston, and now a resident of that city, having several children.
Margaret Elizabeth, married to William A. Whitehead, of Newark, and having issue.
Gertrude, and Sarah Coates Levy, died unmarried.
Cortlandt, who married Elizabeth Wayne, daughter of Richard W. Stites, of Morristown, and resides in Newark, having children ; and Penelope, who married Edward Dunham, of Brooklyn, L I.
and western divisions of the State; favor of Schureman, Boudinot, Cad- and it seems uncertain when they would have been closed, if the Gov- ernor had not interposed, by fixing on a day for receiving the returns, and proclaiming the successful candidates. The day is past, but I have not heard the result. The western ticket, in
walader, Sennickson (if this is the name), is supposed to have prevailed ; but an impeachment of the election by the unsuccessful competitors has been talked of."-Sparks' Correspond- ence of Revolution, Vol. 4, p, 253.
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CATHERINE MONTGOMERY, who married James Hude Kearny, and is yet living, a widow, having two daughters married.112
CORTLANDT LEWIS, who married Elizabeth Gouverneur, was bred a merchant, and died in the island of Curacoa, in 1826, while holding the office of American Consul; leaving several children, of whom two sons, James Cortlandt and John, and three daughters, are living in New York or its vicinity.
THE CASTLE-REAR VIEW.
The old mansion of the family was enlarged before the revo- lution, by the addition of the front or wooden building which is seen in the accompanying sketch, towering over the earlier and more primitive portion of the structure, which, at the same time, was reduced in height one story.113
It is a disadvantage under which family associations labor in this land of ours, that the same house should continue so sel- dom to be occupied by different generations of the same family. The inclination for change which is so prevalent, and the diversified fields for industry and enterprise which are here opened, would naturally sever the ties which bind the children to
112 Vide page 91. side of the street which runs in front
119 The Gardens are on the other of the building.
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the paternal mansion, did not the abolition of all laws of entail effectually operate to disperse the different members of the family. Seldom does the man close his pilgrimage beneath the roof which sheltered him when a boy, and rare are the in- stances where the child sports upon the grounds which his father's father secured for his inheritance-occupies the dwell- ing which a still more distant and honored ancestor may have erected-walks the same streets-fills the same responsible stations in the same precincts, and at last finds his grave among the crumbling memorials of many progenitors in the same consecrated ground.
But such a mansion is the one here represented. Six or seven generations have issued from its portals to mix in the active business of life. The soldier, the lawyer, the merchant, the legislator, have been trained to usefulness within its walls, and many have been the daughters, wives, and mothers who have there imbibed those principles of virtue which, carried thence, have diffused their healthful influences far and wide, like ever-spreading circles on the surface of the tranquil lake. Who does not cherish veneration for such ancient halls, where true hospitality and charity ever abounded, where cheer- fulness at all times lent its charms to attract both young and old, and where religion ever sanctified the active duties of the world ?
THOMAS BARTOW.
In the house standing on the south-west corner of Market street and the Square, of late years occupied by Mrs. C. M. Kearny, resided, prior to the Revolution, an old and solitary man, who, by feebleness and rheumatic affections, was pre- vented from any active participation in the proceedings of the colonists, although their cause had been by him warmly espoused. Consequently, when collision with the mother country could no longer be avoided-when the storm of war burst upon the country, and the fair fields of New Jersey were about to become the possession of British troops-he left his home, and sought, with a son in Philadelphia, that shelter and
-
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protection of which his declining years stood so much in need. 114
This lone individual was THOMAS BARTOW, and, as he was unconnected with any of the political events of the day, whether general or local in their nature-the only individual of the name, with one exception, whose residence in the ancient Capital has come to my knowledge, and one with the events of whose life I have but a slight acquaintance-the introduc- tion of his name with any particular notice in these pages would hardly be looked far. But the recollection of youthful exploits, and of the scenes which were their theatre,-remem- bering with a gratification which time will not lessen, the de- light which in my boyhood I ever found in the house I have referred to,-I was induced first to inquire after, and inquiry has led me to esteem, the amiable, quiet old gentleman, who, seventy years ago, was the proprietor and occupier of the premises.115 He was the grandson of General Bertaut, a French Protestant, who fled from France to England in 1685; his father being the Rev. John Bartow, the first Rector of St. Peter's Church, Westchester, New York, and his mother, a Miss Read, or Reid, a Scotch lady, who had a brother residing in New Jersey. 116 He was their eldest son.
Mr. Bartow had no other inmates of his mansion than his housekeeper and a male assistant. The only companion for whose society he appeared to look was the late William Dun- lap, to whom reference has several times been made-then a child from six to ten years of age-and to him the old man laid open the stores of his own mind, while he kindly directed the opening faculties of the boy in his first essays for the acquirement of knowledge. "Thus," says Mr. Dunlap, in a letter to the author, "commenced my acquaintance with
114 Such was the emigration into New Jersey from New York on ac. count of the expected invasion of the British in 1776, that the Provincial Congress, doubting the cause, passed an ordinance to repress it, obliging those capable of bearing arms to re- turn to the defence of places threaten- ed with an attack, unless authorized to remove by the Committees.
115 Mr. Bartow built the house.
116 They were married in 1705. Bolton, in the genealogical table con- tained in his History of Westchester (p. 209), says that Mrs. Bartow was the sister of Colonel Read, Governor of New Jersey. New Jersey never had a governor of that name. He was, probably, John Reid, the Proprietors' Surveyor. See page 45.
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Homer in his English dress, with Pope, with Milton, with Troy, Greece, and Rome. I learned to love books and pictures, and my love for them has continued." With a just estimation of the benefits he in this way derived from his communion with . the recluse, the author of the "History of the American Theatre," and of the "Arts of Design," has introduced Mr. Bartow's name into those works, with an acknowledgment of his indebtedness, creditable alike to pupil and preceptor.
Thomas Bartow was a small, thin man, whose pale and time-worn countenance was rendered highly impressive by long, gray locks, which, divided from his forehead to the crown of his head, hung down on either side "in comely guise." Rheu- matism had affected his walk, age had enfeebled his frame, and these, with mildness of expression and demeanor, his hoary head, and neatness of person, for which he was remarkable, made him strikingly venerable in appearance. His books were the principal source of his amusement, and, apparently, his only company, excepting the youthful visitor who has been named. With him the neighboring villages were occasionally visited in a one-horse chaise in summer,117 and a sleigh in win- ter, and these excursions were the extent of the old man's travelling. His property had been accumulated through a long series of years by speculation in land, and by the employ- ment of his pen in different clerkships : having been, in 1735, Clerk of the Supreme and Chancery Courts ; in 1741, of the Assembly ; in 1762, of the Surveyor-General's office, and, dur- ing the absence in England of Wm. Alexander, Surveyor- General for some years subsequent to 1756, he acted as Surveyor-General of the Eastern Division. In 1740 he also held the appointment of Commissioner of Probate with John Bartow-presumed to have been a brother.
His son-with whom Mr. Bartow took refuge from the tur-
117 Among the Stirling Papers in me ye Doctrs tells him he must wride, the N. Y. Historical Library are two so hes going to keep a Horse, and he also signified to me his Wanting his Stable and Pasture. I made bould with yr Lordships submition to offer him one of yr little Bay's till he can suite himself, &c." amusing letters from John Harris, at Perth Amboy, dated January and April, 1762. He appears to have had charge of horses belonging to Lord Stirling, and in April 11th he says : " Mr. Bartow yesterday was saying to
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bulence of the times-married a daughter of Anthony Benezet. He was a Moravian by religious profession, and it is probable that Mr. Bartow was himself a dissenter from the established church ; for, although his Bible was read at home, he attended not the ministrations of "Parson Preston" in public. He owned no slaves, which in those days, when all the menial offices were filled by negroes, was a singular circumstance, and his was the only dwelling in Amboy where a black face was not to be seen.
Here leave we this worthy old man, in doubt as to his sub- sequent career, save that he died at Bethlehem, Pa., about 1780, never having revisited his peaceful residence in Amboy.
After Mr. Bartow's departure, the house was occupied for a short time by Andrew Elliott, of New York, a gentleman holding several offices under the Royal Government, who had left that city to avoid the Americans, a cause, the converse of that which had driven from it the previous occupant-but he returned to New York as soon as he could with safety. The house then became the residence of Mr. Ravaud Kearny, afterward of his son James Hude Kearny, whose widow now inhabits it.
THE SARGANT FAMILY.
Of the same opinion in politics as the venerable old man who has just been noticed, but one who was permitted by his age and constitution to take a more active part in the views and measures of the colonists, was SAMUEL SARGANT, the head of the family whose name is at the head of this article.
His energy of character once aroused, he embarked his own fortunes with those of the multitude upon the broad ocean of revolutionary excitement, either to attain the haven of just and equal privileges or perish in the attempt. He had been com- mander of a merchant vessel in the European trade, and had acquired sufficient property to retire from the sea some years previous to the revolution, and enjoy the fruits of his industry on land ; the receipts of a small country store to which he attended when called upon (which was not often) contributing to the support of his family.
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His residence was near the west termination of Smith street, in the house for many years, until recently, occupied by Mr. Charles Ford. His wife was a Miss Leonard, of New York (a sister of Mrs. Thomas Farmar, elsewhere mentioned), but she had died before the period of his life of which some knowledge has been gained. She was buried in the Episcopal churchyard, where her headstone is yet to be seen, recording her death on the 20th December, 1761. They had one son, who died young, and three daughters, who lived with their father at the time of which we are treating.
Mr. Sargant was of reserved habits, and, until roused into action and induced to identify himself with the cause of the colonists, lived, apparently, an isolated being ; like old Mr. Bartow, engaged, when at home, with his maps and books, but, unlike him, sharing with no one their treasures. A pri- vate room was connected with his store, within which he was ever shut up, excepting when absent enjoying his solitary rides on horseback, or when his customers required his attend- ance. The commencement of the war, however, seems to have infused into him a new spirit, or to have acted as an electric spark, giving life and efficiency to the faculties which had pre- viously lain dormant. Notwithstanding the strong tory bias of almost every rich, influential, or respectable family in Perth Amboy -- notwithstanding that all the relatives of his deceased wife, with one exception, were connected with the royal cause -- notwithstanding the marriage of his eldest daughter to an English officer, 118 which must have operated strongly to em- barrass and distress him-his patriotism triumphed, and with philosophic firmness he entered at once upon the arena of colo- nial opposition, and became chairman of one of those " Com- mittees " which tended so materially to advance the American interests in the early stage of the struggle.
Mr. Sargant lived not to enjoy the fruits of his exertions in the cause of liberty, or even to get a glimpse of the happiness which was to be secured to the country. When the English
118 Lieutenant (afterward Captain) Poole England, of the 47th Regiment. He returned to Amboy after the revo-
lution, and resided there until 1789- when he removed his family to Nova Scotia.
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took possession of New Jersey, he retired with his two remain- ing daughters into Pennsylvania and served for a time as a Commissary, but his health declined, and he died about the summer of 1778.
The eldest daughter, whose marriage has been mentioned, accompanied her husband, Lieutenant England, to the British camp, and while at Boston, had the pain of receiving him and one of his brothers, severely wounded, from the sanguinary fight of Bunker's Hill-their wounds received from hands in whose deeds her father felt so deep an interest.
The second daughter married a gentleman of the name of Vanleer, and left children.
The third daughter became the wife of Captain (afterward General) John Heard, of "Sheldon's Dragoons," and had several children. Their only daughter, Margaretta D., died at Mount Carmel, Ill. (the wife of A. Slack, Esq.), on 4th March, 1839, leaving four children.
Mr. Sargant was an uncle of Mr. William Dunlap, who thus alludes to him :- " I remember him with that kind of reverence, approaching to awe, which is inspired by a being of whom every recollection is of something good or something mysterious. His image dwells in my imagination hallowed and enlarged by indistinctness. Every thing I know of him presents him to my mind as a superior being ; yet he had no connection with my father or his British military friends, or with any of the officers of the King's government " [not re- markablė, considering his political views], "in short, he is remembered by me as an isolated being, until the wrongs of his country brought him into action."
THE STEVENS FAMILY.
Among those who in other days lived and died in Perth Amboy, RICHARD STEVENS is one of the few of whom we have a memento in a monument covering his grave, recording his death on the 4th July, 1802, in the eightieth year of his age.
He was of small stature, had red hair, and all the vivacity of a Frenchman. Being largely interested in landed property,
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he was constantly travelling through the province, and died in consequence of injuries received by being thrown from his gig on his way to New Brunswick-living only one day thereafter.
His wife was Susan, daughter of Philip Kearny. She fol- lowed him to the grave the ensuing year (1803), lying an en- tire winter speechless from the effect of paralysis. They lived in the house of late years the residence of George Merritt, Esq. They were both violent whigs, differing in that respect from the greater number of their friends.
They left one daughter, who married John, son of the Rev. Mr. Roe, of Woodbridge. They had several children, who lived in New England.
JOHN STEVENS, brother of Richard, was a prominent citizen, represented Amboy in the Assembly at different periods, and in June, 1763, was appointed one of the Council. He is said to have been remarkable for his courteous and refined deportment. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of James Alexander, and sister of Lord Stirling. He died in Hunter- don County, in 1792 : leaving two daughters, one of whom (Mary) married Chancellor Livingston, of New York, and one son, John, renowned as the originator of many modern im- provements in travelling, and from whom the gentlemen have descended who, of late years, have been so extensively engaged in promoting the convenience and comfort of those traversing the distance between Philadelphia and New York.119
Mrs. Stevens, after her husband's death, resided with her daughter, at Clermont, Livingston Manor, until the year 1800, when she died.
There was a John Stevens in Amboy in 1722, then an innkeeper, and in 1735, Clerk of the Court of Chancery, who died in 1737 ; and another John, possibly his son, resided there in 1741, but'whether or not they were the ancestors of the gentleman first named has not been determined.
119 He died March 6th, 1838, aged 88, leaving four sons (Edwin A., John C., Robert L., and James H.), and four daughters (Elizabeth J., married
to Thomas A. Conover; Harriet, mar- ried to Joshua R. Sands; Esther B., and Sophia C. Van Cortlandt).
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THE BRYANT FAMILY.
In the rear of St. Peter's Church, Perth Amboy, stands a dilapidated headstone-the upper portion having been shot away by a cannon ball during the revolutionary war-erected to the memory of WILLIAM BRYANT. It bears the following inscription :-
" Sacred to the memory of William Bryant, who in 55 voyages in the merchant service between the ports of New York and London, approved himself a faithful and fortunate commander. Of integrity and benevo- lence to man, he lived a singular example. Of piety and resignation to God, he died an amiable pattern, 14th July, A. C. 1772, ætatis 88. Sax inornat pat sui dignum memoria sacrum fil anor posuit." 120
Being one of the very few regular commanders trading be- tween the old and new worlds, Captain Bryant for many years was quite a distinguished personage in New York. His ship, the "Joseph," is frequently mentioned as the bearer of impor- tant intelligence to or from the colonies, and about the time of his death a vessel was in the trade called the "Bryant," in his honor. Part of the time he united the business of a regu- lar merchant with his pursuits as a mariner.
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