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 16
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At what time he removed to Amboy has not been ascer- tained. His widow, Mrs. Ellenor Bryant, from some manu- scripts in my possession, appears to have survived him a few years, but she too died at Amboy, and probably her remains repose beside those of her husband, although no memorial exists to mark the spot. 121 It is presumed that they left two
120 His obituary notice in the New York papers of July 17th, 1772, con- firms the monumental record, he " being in an eminent degree possessed of the virtues of sincerity, temperance, integrity and benevolence, and a true and unaffected piety"-and the follow- ing epitaph is thought by a friend to be appropriate -
" Tho' Neptune's waves and Boreas' blasts Have tossed me to and fro ;
In spite of these, by God's decree, I harbor here below,
Where safely I at anchor lie With many of our fleet,
One day we shall again set sail Our Admiral Christ to meet."
121 She died in February, 1776. I have the original of the following bill of expenses attendant upon her fune- ral :-
"Cash paid for 7 pr. Gloves. £1 6 3
do 1 Nutmeg .
0 0 5
do 1 Gall. Wine . .
0 14 0
do 1 .Gall. Rum .
0 7 6
do 4 pr. Gloves . 0 12 0
do 1 Load of Wood . 0
9
6
do 2 lbs. Loaf Sugar . 0
4
0
do to the Sexton 0
7
6
do for the Coffin .
1 15 0
Jersey Money at 8s. pr. oz. £6 6 2
is equal to Proc. £5 6 11
10
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THE CITIZENS.
children-one son, Dr. William Bryant, who was living at Trenton in 1776, and thence supplied his mother's wants ; and one daughter, Mary, who crossed the Atlantic with her father in early life, and resided some time in London, where she became acquainted with the Rev. Dr. Watts, under whose instructions she received those religious impressions which in after life " brought forth fruit abundantly," being eminent for her piety and benevolence. She became the wife of the Hon. Wm. Peartree Smith, of New York and, subsequently, of New Jersey,-a scholar and a Christian. He was one of the projectors, and for many years a trustee, of the College of New Jersey ; was an educated lawyer, and, with Wm. Livingston and others, one of the writers for the Independent Reflector, published in New York in 1752-3-4. He resided at Eliza- bethtown, in the house previously the seat of Governor Belcher; was Mayor of that borough for several years ; a member of the Committee of Safety, and, after the revolution, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Essex. He also resided for some years in Newark.
Mr. Smith died, Nov. 20th, 1801, aged 78, and his widow, August 16th, 1811, aged 92.122 They were both interred at Newark. Of twelve children, two only lived to become heads of families-one of whom, Catherine, was the first wife of Elisha Boudinot, of Newark, and the other, William Pitt Smith, was a distinguished physician of New York, who left one son and two daughters.
The information obtained relative to other families or indi- viduals is of a character too fragmentary and traditional to be inserted, and this portion of the volume is, therefore, left to be added to and filled up by others, who may have it in their power to contribute further to the illustration of the lives of the early citizens of the central portion of the State.
122 Notices of both are in Alden's Collection of Epitaphs, Vol. I., pp. 81 and 204
Chapter IV .- Resident Bobernors.
LITTLE is known respecting the actual residence in Perth Amboy of Thomas Rudyard, Gawen Lawrie, Andrew Hamil- ton, Lord Neil Campbell, and Jeremiah Basse, while they filled, respectively, the chief office in the province. Hamilton and Campbell may have been permanently established, the latter during his entire but brief term, and the former, prior to 1689, and again from 1692 to 1698. .
After the surrender of the government of the province to the Crown, in 1701, and subsequently for several years, while New York participated in the honor flowing from the joint possession of a Governor, that province was conceived to be most worthy of the personal presence and attention of the several incumbents of the office ; and New Jersey, in conse- quence, was only visited during the sittings of the Assembly, and at such other times as convenience or pleasure prompted : its most urgent affairs being attended to by a Lieutenant- Governor, or the President of the Council acting as such.
Richard Ingoldsby was Lieutenant-Governor under Lords Cornbury and Lovelace, but no trace of a residence in Amboy has been discovered, either by him or by any of the Presidents of the Council who succeeded him, down to 1736.
GOVERNOR HUNTER.
ROBERT HUNTER was the first of the royal governors of New Jersey who regarded the province with sufficient favor to secure upon its soil any thing like a permanent home. He was born in Scotland, but of his parentage, or of the incidents
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
of his early life, nothing is known, save that he was appren- ticed to an apothecary, and subsequently entered the army.1 In what capacity he first served is not stated, but it is evident that he possessed sufficient interest to procure advancement, which a prepossessing appearance and ready wit without doubt facilitated.
We find him, in 1707, bearing the title of "Colonel," the personal friend and associate of Swift, Addison, Steele, and other literary and distinguished men of that day, among whom his attainments seem to have secured for him a prominent position. For although no intimation is given of his having enjoyed any peculiar advantages, it is evident from the style of his despatches, and the frequent quotations in his letters from the Latin and other languages, that he had received more than an ordinary education, or had improved himself by self- culture beyond most of those connected with the colonies in that era.
Having been appointed, in 1707,2 Lieutenant-Governor of Virginia-Addison being then Under-Secretary of State-he embarked for that colony; but was captured by the French, and for some months detained a prisoner in Paris. While there, Swift corresponded with him ; and from his letters we learn that the witty Dean had been expecting the influence of Hunter to obtain for him a bishopric in Virginia. Under date of 12th January, 1708-9, Swift wrote :-
"I am considering whether there be no way of disturbing your quiet by writing some dark matter, that may give the French Court a jealousy of you. I suppose Monsieur Chamillard, or some of his commissaries, must have this letter interpreted to them, before it comes to your hands; and therefore I here think good to warn them, that if they exchange you under six of their lieutenant-generals they will be losers by the bargain. But, that they may not mistake me, I do not mean as Viceroy de Vir- ginie, mais comme le Colonel Hunter. * *
* * Have you yet met any French Colonel whom you remember to have formerly knocked from his horse, or shivered, at least, a lance against his breastplate? Do you know the wounds you have given, when you see the scars? Do you salute your old enemies with
' Stetimus tela aspera contra, Contulimusque manus ? ' "
1 Smith's New York, I., p. 177. in the absence of the precise date, 1707
3 Smith's New Jersey says 1705, but is thought the most probable.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
And under date of March 22d, he wrote :-
"I find you a little lament your bondage, and indeed, in your case, it requires a good share of philosophy ; but if you will not be angry, I believe I may have been the cause you are still a prisoner; for I imagine my former letter was intercepted by the French, and the most Christian king read one passage in it (and duly considering the weight of the person who wrote it), where I said, if the French understood your value as well as we do, he would not exchange you for Count Tallard and all the debris of Blenheim together." 3
The date of Colonel Hunter's release and return from France I have not ascertained, but in September, 1709,- Addison still continuing one of the Secretaries of State-he was appointed Governor of New York and New Jersey.4 He arrived at New York 14th June following, and commenced an administration more successful than any which had preceded it, and which, in substantial benefit to the province, no subse- quent one exceeded.
Dr. Colden, eminent for his sound discrimination and dis- cernment, thus alludes to Hunter's course in comparison with his predecessors', in a letter to James Alexander :-
" Slaughter, ye first governor, fell in with the landed men, and his administration was as inglorious as it was short. Col. Fletcher fell in with the merchants. He had a perpetual struggle all his time, and was at last recalled in disgrace. The Earl of Bellamont employed the third sort, or the most numerous, and succeeded in all his devices. The Lord Cornbury turned to the landed men and the merchants, who led him into such measures that the Queen, his own cousin, was obliged to turn him out. After such examples, Brigadier Hunter followed ye Earl of B. in joining with the more general interests of the country, and he went through a long administration with more honour and advantage to himself than all his predecessors put together "-the only course he conceived likely to ensure success. 5
This is not the place for discussing the political events transpiring during Governor Hunter's stay in New Jersey. He arrived at a most inauspicious period for his own ease, im- mediately succeeding the unpopular and disorganizing admin- istration of Cornbury-Lovelace, his predecessor, not living long enough to perfect any changes-but he addressed himself at once to the task of harmonizing, so far as was in his power,
3 Swift's works. V., p. 92, and for his Instructions, see 4 For his Commission at length, see same volume, p. 124.
New York Colonial Documents, Vol.
5 Rutherfurd MSS.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
the discordant elements around him; success being rendered more difficult by the fact that the majority of his council were opposed to the measures which the people generally called for, and which he was disposed to favor ; so that between the " humors of the Assembly" in New York, on the one hand, and the determined opposition of his Council in New Jersey, on the other, his post was by no means one of ease.
"If honesty is the best policy," said he, in his first mes- sage to the Assembly, "plainness must be the best oratory ; so to deal plainly with you, so long as these unchristian divi- sions, which her majesty has thought to deserve her repeated notice, reign amongst you, I shall have small hopes of a happy issue to our meeting. Let every man begin at home, and weed the rancor out of his own mind, and the work is done at once. Leave disputes of property to the laws, and injuries to the avenger of them, and like good subjects and good Christians, join hearts and hands for the common good."
Such and similar pregnant sentences had their effect in inducing more cordial feelings between the executive and the representatives of the people than had prevailed in the prov- ince, and prepared the way for such a co-operation as naturally tended to overcome opposition ; but it was a work of time.
The Governor adopted the views of Lewis Morris, Dr. John Johnstone, and others associated with them, including the Quaker interest, known as the "Country party," and ne- cessarily brought upon himself the opposition of those who had, from the time of the surrender of the government to the crown, been earnestly striving to obtain the control of affairs, and who had been countenanced and sustained by the dissolute Corn- bury ; and he soon found himself obliged (May 7th, 1711), to ask for the dismissal of Pinborne, Coxe, Sonmans, and Hall, who represented that faction in the Council ;6 the Assembly in a memorial addressed to him, in 1710, not hesitating to say that so long as they, and two or three others, remained in places of trust in the province, justice could not be duly ad- ministered, nor could they consider their liberties and property
6 New York Colonial Documents, Vol. V., pp. 190, &c.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
safe ; a sentiment which he fully endorsed while asserting that having " noe personall dislike of any man," and having " noe ends to pursue but Her Majesty's service," he had avoided party prejudices and had acted by noe passions in any part of his administration.
In this connection I am tempted to introduce an extract from one of his despatches, conveying to the Lords of Trade his views of the scope and tendency of the colonial govern- ments, which contains a nascent prophecy, subsequently by others more definitely uttered, of the fulfilment of which we are witnesses :-
"The Proprietary Governments, which were modell'd according to ye humours of their respective Proprietors, consist of ye Governour and ye Representatives, the Councill in most being a mere cypher, haveing no share of ye legislature; by which means ye Governours depending upon ye good will of ye people for their dayley bread have beene obliged to make such concessions and past them into laws, that if these governments be purchased and continued upon the foot they now stand, her Majy pays deare for much trouble and noe dominion. This is ye plan of the govern- ment, however, they all aime at, and make noe scruple to own itt.
" The Legislature of the governments immediately under her Majty is in ye Governour, councill and assembly by her Majties gracious concession ; for ye time was when in this very Province [alluding to New York] the Governor and Councill were ye sole legislature; but ye assemblye's claim- ing all ye priviledges of a House of Commons and stretching them even beyond what they were ever imagined to be there, should ye Councill by ye same rule lay claime to ye rights and priviledges of a House of Peers ; here is a body politick co-ordinate with (claiming equall powers) and con- sequently independant of ye Councill of ye realm.
"A greater assertor of liberty, one at least that understood it better than any of them, has said: That as Nationall or independant Empire is to be exercised by them that have ye propper ballance of dominion in the nation ; soe Provinciall or dependant Empire is not to be exercised by them that have ye ballance of dominion in the Province, because that would bring ye government from Provinciall and dependant, to Nationall and independant. Which is a reflexion that deserves some consideration for ye sake of another from ye same person, to witt: That ye colonies were infants sucking their mother's breasts, but such as, if he was not mistaken, would weane themselves when they came of age." 7
The difficulties attending the Governor's administration, in both his governments, were not a little enhanced by differ- ences with the clergy of the established church. His relations with some in the Province of New York, from causes not at- tributable to him, and contrary to his wishes, had not been
7 New York Colonial Documents, Vol. V., pp. 255-6.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
from the first of a friendly character, and Coxe and Sonmans being, nominally at least, members of the church, enlisted the influence of the missionaries in New Jersey on their side ; and it was soon announced to the authorities at home, that Hunter was the protector of dissenters and quakers, the enemy of the established church, and the upholder of men of low and de- praved character ; but his calumniators were unable to impair his standing with the ministry.8 On the contrary, when in 1715, he was induced to retaliate by reporting to the Board of Trade, that the Rev. Mr. Talbot had incorporated " Jaco- bites in the Jerseys under the name of a Church," the Board at once transmitted his letter to the Bishop of London, with an intimation that the missionaries sent to America ought to be of unspotted character ; 9 and in February, 1718, after the Rev. Mr. Vesey, as the Bishop of London's Commissary, had visited New Jersey, and inquired into the truth of the allega- tions against Mr. Talbot, the Board informed the Governor, that he need not apprehend any ill results from the endeavors of his opponents to injure him ; rather a remarkable instance of confidence, as the Lords of Trade were not wont to be very lavish of their commendations upon the functionaries in the colonies. Mr. Talbot and the Governor appear to have been on amicable terms subsequently, and even Mr. Vesey, who had been an active promoter of the ill feelings entertained by some against the Governor, either through policy or a con- viction of injustice done him, manifested less hostility. Hunt- er's course throughout the controversy appears to have been dignified and consistent, and there seems to have been no good grounds for any of the accusations urged against him. He says, in one of his despatches, and there is nothing known to create a doubt of his sincerity,-"I must begin with attesting
8 The Rev. Jacob Henderson, of Griffith, and Basse, "that vile and Dover (Delaware), communicated the intelligence, and was after censured by a convocation of Clergy in New York, for defaming the character of sundry church members .- New York Colonial Documents, Vol. V. pp. 335.
Stevens' Analyt : Index .- Coxe, whom he elsewhere styles a noisy fool,
impudent tool of Cornbury," are said to be Talbot's "main props," It is somewhat amusing, that the Board on transmitting his letter to the Bishop should have said in this connection, that " the Indians in America require Protestant missionaries."
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
the all-discerning Searcher of hearts, for the sincerity of mine in my good wishes and best endeavours for propagat" the true Interests of our Holy mother, in whose communion, ever since I was capable of sober thoughts, I have lived, and by the blessing of God am resolved to dye : and in the next place I appeal to the evidence of all sober men, clergy, or Laity, for a testimony of my conduct in my station with relation to that interest." 10
Governor Hunter's house in Amboy was on the knoll south of St. Peter's church, commanding a fine view of the harbor, and of the bay and ocean beyond. Whether built by him, or purchased, is undetermined ; but there was his official residence while on his tours of duty in New Jersey, and thither also did he retire when desirous of recreation or relief from the weighty cares which his administration of the affairs of New York frequently brought upon him,11 imbibing fresh vigor from the healthful breezes of the Atlantic, and securing the respect and esteem of those about him by his intelligence and engaging manners.
On one occasion, depressed by the weight of his cares and responsibility, in a letter to his friend Swift (March 1st, 1713), he compares his condition to that of Don Quixote's renowned squire, and quotes in the original Spanish, Sancho's complaint.
" I thought in coming to this government I should have hot meals, and cool drinks, and recreate my body in Holland sheets upon beds of down; whereas, I am doing penance as if I was a hermit; and as I cannot do that with a will, believe in the long run the devil will fly away with me,"-and adds : "This worthy was indeed but a type of me, of which I could fully convince you, by an exact parallel between our administra- tions and circumstances. * * * The truth of the matter is this: I am used like a dog, after having done all that is in the power of man to de- serve a better treatment, so that I am now quite jaded." Again on the 14th March, in a letter borne by Mr. Sharp, his chaplain, he said: "Here is the finest air to live upon, in the universe ; and if our trees and birds could speak, and our assemblymen be silent, the finest conversation too. Fert omnia tellus, but not for me. For you must understand, according to the custom of our country, the sachems are of the poorest of the people. In a word, and to be serious, I have spent three years of life in such tor- ment and vexation, that nothing in life can ever make amends for it."
No particulars are given in any of the books, or papers of
10 N. Y. Colonial Documents, Vol.
V. p. 313.
if He sought a retreat there also, in
Sept., 1714, from the smallpox, which then prevailed in New York.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
that period respecting the Governor's family. While in the army he married Lady Hay, the relict of Lord John Hay, and daughter of Sir Thomas Orby, Bart., and had several children. She came with him to America, and died in August, 1716.
In addition to his property at Amboy, he purchased of the West Jersey Society, in 1710, Mattenecunk Island in the Delaware, near Burlington, and retained possession of it for some years after he left the province. In June, 1721, James Alexander wrote to him, that Governor Montgomerie was much delighted with the island-and added : "he got vistas cut from a point upon it to Burlington, the point house, Brick Creek, John Hummels, up the river, Bristol, and down the river, and to some other houses on the side of the river, which from that point gave a most agreeable prospect. I be- lieve it will be a considerable satisfaction if you'll make the title of it to him." 12
In 1719, the Governor's health not being good, and his interests seeming to require his presence in London, he left his governments, never to return. For on his arrival in England, he effected an exchange with William Burnet, taking an office held by him in the customs, and resigning in his favor the governments of New York and New Jersey. This post in the Customs he retained for several years, but in 1727 was ap- pointed Governor of Jamaica, and sailed for that island in No- vember. He took with him his two sons, but left his unmar- ried daughters (Henrietta and Charlotte), in charge of the mother of Mr. Wm. Sloper, who had married his eldest (Catharine) a few days before he sailed. He was attacked with rheumatism on the voyage, put in at Madeira the last week of December, and arrived at St. Jago on 29th January, 1728. One of his sons (Thomas Orby), he sent shortly after- ward to sea at his own request, the other (Charles), whom he mentions in his letters with high commendation, remaining with him.
Hunter's interest in New Jersey, was not lessened by this change of residence. Distance did not estrange him from the many friends he had here secured, and an active correspond-
12 Rutherfurd MSS.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
ence, kept him acquainted with the political and personal events as they transpired. On the departure of Governor Burnet for Massachusetts, he repurchased the house in Amboy, in which he had resided, and seems to have been disposed to make other investments in landed property. Thus in January, 1730-1, he expresses a desire to purchase five or six hundred acres at Inians Ferry (New Brunswick), if they could be ob- tained at a reasonable rate ; but I have not ascertained that the purchase was made. His correspondent, Mr. Alexander, thus describes the prospects of the settlement, in his answer dated in August of that year :
" As to New Brunswick at Inians Ferry, it grows very fast, and the reason is the country grows very fast back of that place; for when I came to this place in 1715, there were but four or five houses in the thirty miles be- tween Inians Ferry, and the Falls of Delaware; but now the whole way, it is almost a continued lane of fences, and good farmers' houses, and the whole country is there settled, or settling very thick; and as they go chiefly upon raising of wheat and making of flour, and as New Brunswick is the nearest landing, it necessarily makes that the storehouse for all the produce that they send to market; which has drawn a considerable num- ber of people to settle there, insomuch that a lot of ground at New Bruns- wick is grown to near as great a price, as so much ground in the heart of New York." 13
Age began to wear upon the Governor. He wrote in Sep- tember, 1731, that he was tired of public life, and added with feeling : " I have lived for others, and to some purpose hith- erto ; I would fain live a little for myself before I die." In the summer of 1732, he was subjected to a heavy trial in the death of his son Charles, and his bereavement appears to have made his years weigh more heavily upon him-while appre- hensive that the permission granted to him to visit England, he should not be able to profit by,-his thoughts revert with pleasure to his former associates, as he expresses his wish to revisit New York :- but subsequently his failing health ren- dered the voyage impracticable, and before the end of the year, he desired that his affairs might all be brought to a close.
His death did not occur, however, until 1734. He had
13 Rutherfurd MSS .- In a previous letter, dated in January, Mr. Alexan- der says that " plantations north of the Raritan had risen extravagantly high," even to 3, 4 and 5l. per acre, and that
for a tract of 500 acres, unimproved land, belonging to Hunter, south of the Raritan, he had refused 1,200 pounds.
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RESIDENT GOVERNORS.
amassed enough property, to leave his children comfortably provided for, 14 "having," as the provincial historian, Smith, quaintly remarks, "a ready art at procuring money, and,"-I give the conclusion as I find it,-"few loved it more." 15 Yet he manifested less anxiety than many of his contemporaries and successors, about his support while in the province. Whatever his failings may have been, there is abundant evi- dence of his possessing high integrity, and other qualities cha- racterizing the gentleman ; while the success which attended his administration, despite the unfavorable circumstances under which it was carried on, is ample proof that he was intelligent, able, and persevering.
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