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 5
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The vault, in which about a hundred men and women were pent up all summer, was under ground, ankle deep in mire, with but one window overlooking the sea. They were without any conveniences for sitting, leaning, or lying, and, indeed, so full was the place, that little more than sitting room was afforded. Stifled for want of air, stinted for both food and water, and subjected to the direful influences of the impurities which necessarily collected, it was miraculous that they did not all die. Many did, and others became afflicted with dis- eases. An attempt was made by several of them, including Niven, to escape by the window which has been mentioned. They succeeded, to the number of twenty-five, in creeping along the face of a precipice at the hazard of their lives, to some distance from the fort, before the alarm was given, but fifteen of them were retaken and barbarously used. Beaten, bruised, and bound, they were laid upon their backs and obliged to undergo various processes of torture. Niven, who was among those retaken, as well as Peter Russel, another of
57 Wodrow II. pp. 475, 476.
58 Ibid. IV. p. 151.
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the emigrants, and others, were laid upon a form, their hands bound, and matches placed between their fingers ; these were kept burning " equal with their fingers" for three hours with- out intermission. Some died under this torture-some were so badly burnt that the bones were charred, and Niven him- self lost one of the fingers of his left hand.59 Such, faintly sketched, were some of the trials which those in Dunnottar Castle were obliged to undergo, and it can cause no surprise that, to escape them, a voluntary expatriation was gladly ac- ceded to, Scot's proposition to the Council-was profited by, and Niven and others should have entered into an engagement whereby they were to be transported to New Jersey : upon what precise terms, as I have already stated, is not known.
I am ignorant of Niven's career after his arrival in the pro- vince, and his appearance before the Court of Common Right at Elizabethtown, in February, 1686, at the suit of Captain Hutton, which has been noticed. He subsequently returned to Scotland.
CHRISTOPHER STRANG is believed to have been the son of that Christopher who was executed on 7th December, 1666, for treason-his head being exposed at Hamilton, and his right arm affixed to the public posts of Lanark, "being the place where he took the covenant."6º What became of the son after being brought by Capt. Hutton before the Court of Common Right, I have not ascertained.
REV. DAVID SIMSON, although not mentioned in immediate connection therewith, is presumed to have come to the pro- vince in Scot's vessel. The Council, on 14th August, 1685, ordering his bonds to be given up which had been required of him some months before on being liberated from prison, pro- viding for his removal from the kingdom, and the cessation of his ministerial services, as he was going to New Jersey. His name will be found among those for whom headlands were claimed by Lord Neil Campbell. He is thought to have died here. A son, David, it is said conformed, but afterwards re- canted, and died minister at Isla.
59 Wodrow IV. pp. 322, 323.
00 Sentence in Wodrow, II. p. 48.
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It is not surprising, that, in such times as those which prompted this emigration to New Jersey, there should have arisen parties who met persecution with defiance, restraint with open opposition, opprobrium with kindred violence and abuse ; and whose ravings and blasphemies were of a character to bring undeserved obloquy upon the Presbyterians as a body. Among these, John Gibb, once a shipmaster, Walter Ker, David Jamison, and John Young, were especially noted as the leaders of a Society claiming, or known by, the title of " Sweet Singers," who carried their madness to an extraordinary extent for a brief period. They published a manifesto or declaration of their sentiments, under date of April 27th, 1681, after they had been a few days in the Canongate, which is the most remarkable production of the kind, probably, ever penned ; affording a sad illustration of how far astray men may go when they " take counsel, but not of the Lord."
It commences with a statement we, at least, cannot won- der at, that they had been called "madmen and devils,". and subsequently, they say one of them had even been called a " blockhead," by the so-styled rulers. It had seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them-so runs the blasphemous paper -to take from their Bibles the Psalms in metre-as being an unwarranted addition-to renounce the division of the Scriptures into chapters and verses, because done by human wisdom ; and the received translations-the larger and shorter catechisms-the Confession of Faith-the Acts of the General Assembly, their covenants, manner of worship, preaching, &c. &c. " for all following that way go to hell together :"-and all their preachers, were alike renounced and abandoned for va- rious reasons stated. They desired all to know and understand that they overturned and formally burnt all the former works of the clergy of Scotland, and throughout the whole world, which they conceived to be opposed to holiness.
They proceeded to renounce all authority throughout the world, all that were in authority, with all their acts and edicts, the names of the months, saint's-days, and holy days, and va- rious other things, including " feastings," "sportings," "dan- cings," "laughings," "monk-lands," "friar-lands," "kirks
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and kirk yards," "market crosses," "registers of lands and houses," "bonds," "ships' passes," "story-books," "ballads," "romances," and "pamphlets ;"-they disowned and burnt them all. So did they all the customs and fashions of that generation, their way and custom of eating and drinking, sleeping, and wearing, and all their former ways, as well reli- gious as moral, in so far as they had been cast in that genera- tion's mould : and they even denounced "all that were then in prison houses or correction houses, men and women," for say they, "when we sent them a copy of this, our renunciation, they called us devils."
With similar senseless outpourings and still more objection- able references to the Holy Spirit of God, by whom they say they "were pressed " to make the declaration, they continue at great length, pouring out their curses and denunciations upon almost every thing animate or inanimate, civil or religious, holy or common, with the spirit of demoniacs, and yet, with the greatest complacency, they say, "our joy no man can take from us, and our prison is so pleasant through the Lord, that we care for no company, for we know no company, but all are cursed, and we know not what it is to weary ; but accord- ing to that scripture, 'Eat and drink my beloved, yea, eat and drink abundantly,' we are rather in paradise."6 1
This synopsis would not have been here introduced, but two, if not three, of the signers of the document came to New Jersey. One of them, Gibb, was among those granted by the Council to Governor Barclay, in August, 1685, and is pre- sumed to have been a passenger on board "the Henry and Francis." An order was issued by the Council in August, 1681, for the liberation of himself and companions on their abjuring their disloyal principles, but they seem not to have complied with the requisition. Gibb was in confinement in the Canongate Tolbooth, when assigned to the governor.
Walter Ker is thought to have come to the province also, but at what time or under what circumstances is not definitely known. He must not be confounded, however, with Walter
61 The document, at length, is in Wodrow III. pp. 348-353.
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Ker, who was banished September 3d, 1685, and who may have been a passenger with Scot. He settled at Freehold, in Monmouth County, and was one of the founders and principal supporters of the Presbyterian congregation at that place.62
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Jamison was also banished, and on his arrival became bound to Lockhart of Woodbridge, and by him was transferred to a Mr. Clarke of New York, who allowed him to teach school to redeem himself. He was employed in the office of the secre- tary of the province as a clerk, and acquiring a knowledge of law, was admitted to practice. He also held the office of clerk to the Council. On the arrival of Governor Hunter, in 1710, so well regarded was he, and so esteemed for his legal abilities, that he was selected to be Chief Justice of New Jersey.63 Three years previously he had signalized himself by defending Francis Makemie, the Presbyterian clergyman, arrested by Lord Cornbury, for preaching without a license, whose case excited so much interest at the time, and appears to have justified Hunter's preference by a judicial career creditable to himself and satisfactory to the best portion of the commu- nity.64 He had the reputation in both New York and New Jersey, of being zealous for religion and possessing "art and management," although it is not known that these last quali- ties are enumerated with the view of detracting from his char- acter. Mr. Field65 mentions one of his charges to a Grand Jury in 1716, exhibiting his acquaintance with the Bible, his au- thorities being drawn therefrom, and a considerable portion of the document being made up of passages from the Old and New Testament. He was one of the few who originated the first Presbyterian congregation in New York.
Although he continued to reside in New York, he was allowed to hold the office of Chief Justice in New Jersey, until 1723, when, on the ground of the inconvenience attendant upon his non residence, he was superseded by Governor Bur-
62 MS. letter of Rev. R. Webster. The Rev. Nathan Ker, of Goshen, N. Y., and the Rev. Jacob Ker, of Somer- set Co., Md., were his grandsons. The son of the latter, Samuel Ker, M.D., was recently living at a great age, at Princess Anne, Md.
63 Lord Bellamont, however, in 1700, pronounces him like all the lawyers in New York, " wholly unworthy." Rev. Mr. Webster, from Brodhead Papers. See Field's Provincial Courts, pp. 72, 91, 94. 65 p. 103.
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net, and William Trent appointed in his place. Of his sub- sequent career I know nothing. The name is not an unusual one in New York and New Jersey, but whether or not the "Sweet Singer" has any descendants among us is not known.66
JOHN FORBES.
This personage arrived towards the close of 1684. He was brother to the Laird of Barula. He had his plantation near the Gordons and Fullertons on Cedar Brook, but whether he remained in the province or not, is not known. An interest- ing letter of his is given in Scot,67 in which he recounts the dangers experienced on the voyage, and describes the country, &c. From his letter it appears that he left Scotland, without the knowledge of his friends, on what may be termed "a voyage of discovery " to East Jersey.
ROBERT HARDIE, JOHN DOBY, and JOHN COCKBURN, ar- rived in 1684. Cockburn was a mason, and was employed by David Mudie to build his renowned stone house.68 He and Hardie have letters in Scot's Model.69
JAMES EMOTT.
It is not known when Mr. Emott came to the province, but it was probably before the purchase by the twenty-four pro- prietaries. The first public house in Amboy was kept by him, his name appearing in that connection as early as 1685. In 1686 he was appointed secretary of the province, although, as a scribe, little qualified for it, his handwriting so far as plainness is concerned, being almost undecipherable at the present day, even by the most expert. On the 10th Decem- ber of this year his name appears in the first notice of the Amboy Militia, being appointed lieutenant of a "company of train bands, consisting of the inhabitants of Amboy Perth, under the command of the Right Honorable Lord Neil
66 There was also an Archibald Ja- 68 See a subsequent page for a notice of Mudie.
mieson banished in 1685, and granted to Gov. Barclay. See p. 34.
67 See East Jersey, &c. p. 319.
69 See East Jersey, &c. pp. 305, 330.
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Campbell." The same day he was appointed clerk of the County Court and Court of Sessions (he had previously held the same offices in Essex County), and is the only officer mentioned on the records as being specially re-commissioned by Andross, when East Jersey came under his authority in 1688.70 He was also authorized by Andross to practise as an attorney at law, in August, 1688. Mr. Emott owned two lots in Am- boy, as will be seen on reference to the map, and built a house . on the one fronting the water.
No notice of his family has been discovered, but it is be- lieved that descendants or near relatives resided in the vicinity of New York in subsequent years.
JOHN BARCLAY.
This gentleman was a brother of Governor Barclay, and came over to the province about the time of the purchase by the twenty-four proprietaries ; and after examining into its condition, its advantages and capabilities, returned to England - in 1683.71
In 1684 or 1685 he again came to East Jersey, and ap- pears to have resided first at Elizabethtown ; subsequently at Plainfield ; and became a resident of Amboy about 1688. In January, 1688-9, he was appointed deputy surveyor under George Keith ; and succeeded him as Surveyor-general, re- ceiving the appointment, together with that of Receiver-gen- eral, April 6th, 1692, and was sworn into office the 1st November following.72 On the 25th November, 1695, on Thomas Gordon's leaving the province for England, Mr. Bar- clay was appointed deputy Secretary and Register ; on the 6th August, 1698, he was made Register of the Court of Chancery and one of the Commissioners of the Court of Small Causes ; in 1700 he received the clerkships of the County Court of Common Right, of the Supreme Court, and Court of Sessions ; and in 1704 he represented Amboy in the Assembly.
70 East Jersey, &c. pp. 113, 121. etaries. See Grants and Concess., p. 181.
71 He was the bearer of the letters of Rudyard and Groom to the Propri- 72 See East Jersey, &c., p. 133.
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His continuance in public situations is some evidence of the respectability and popularity of Mr. Barclay ; but it is doubtful if his offices were of much pecuniary benefit, for, losing most of them on the surrender of the government of the Province to the Crown, he was for some years before his death in humble circumstances, holding the clerkship of St. Peter's Church at the small salary of fifteen pounds per annum, and his principal creditor administered upon his estate.
He died in the spring of 1731, at an advanced age, with the character of a good neighbor and useful citizen,73 leaving one son (John), of whom nothing is known, excepting that he was alive in 1768, and poorly provided with this world's goods.
Mr. Barclay's residence in Amboy was probably the old brick building, still standing, in the rear of the house for many years occupied by the Golding family, on High street, near the Square. Six servants are recorded as having been imported by him in 1685, but whether or not headlands were allotted him on their account is uncertain.
Mr. Barclay was one among the many who fell under the displeasure of Lord Cornbury when that nobleman ruled over the province ; one of the matters of difference between the Assembly and the governor being the transfer of the proprie- tary records from his hands and those of Thomas Gordon into the possession of Peter Sonmans. 74
Another brother of "the Apologist," DAVID BARCLAY, came to the province in 1684, and, in connection with Arthur Forbes, furnished the Scotch proprietaries with a description of the country, which has come down to us in Scot's " Model, &c."75 He died at sea, about the end of August, 1685, on his return to East Jersey from Aberdeen, on board the ship Exchange, of Stopton, James Peacock, master ; the cargo,
73 Smith's N. J., p. 424.
74 See a notice of Sonmans on a sub- sequent page. On one occasion Son- mans caused Barclay to be arrested on Sunday, as he came out of church, to the great surprise of the good peo-
ple. This was made one of the special charges against Sonmans.
75 See East Jersey, &c., p. 288. Smith erroneously makes John the au- thor of this letter.
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belonging to the proprietaries, being in his charge.76 His brother John administered on his estate in January, 1686, and received several grants in his right.
JOHN LOOFBORROW, " Miller," arrived in 1685 ; and BEN- JAMIN GRIFFITH in 1687 ; the latter got to be a Commis- sioner of the Minor Court in 1696.
JOHN WATSON, "Merchant ;" PETER WATSON, "Plant- er."-These names are found on the records as borne by two . residents of Amboy between 1684 and 1696. Scot gives an interesting letter from Peter, dated soon after his arrival, in August, 1684, in which his wife and one son (Richard) are mentioned ; but no further information has been obtained respecting them.
THOMAS KNOWLES, "Stationer," arrived in 1683 ; and ROBERT BRIDGMAN, "Merchant," arrived in 1684 ; but they are not subsequently mentioned.
STEPHEN WARNE .- THOMAS WARNE.
These were sons of Thomas Warne, one of the " twenty- four," who was a merchant of Dublin. They came to the province in 1683, and eleven persons are recorded as the number for whom they were entitled to headlands. They became owners of several lots at Amboy. Thomas, the younger brother, is styled " carpenter," and settled eventually in Monmouth County ; but of their families or descendants nothing is known ; the name is borne, however, by numbers in that quarter of the State.
THOMAS FULLERTON .- ROBERT FULLERTON.
The former of these, with his wife and ten servants, and the latter, with nine servants, arrived in October, 1684.
They were brothers to the Laird of Kennaber, and located themselves, with Thomas Gordon and others, on Cedar Brook, about eight miles west of Amboy. They seem, from their letters, a number of which are given in Scot's "Model," to
76 E. J. Records, A 397. Stirling's in 1668 for some connection with the Answer to Hunt in Chancery. MS. in "Pentland rising." Woodrow II. p.
N. Y. Hist. Lib. He was imprisoned 108.
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have been intelligent men, and, like most others, enchanted with the province : "the weather here," says Thomas, "is constantly clear ; the sun rises and sets free of clouds." What became of them has not been ascertained. Thomas was a brother-in-law of Dr. John Gordon, of Montrose.
JOHN REID.
This personage was sent over by the proprietaries in 1683, as a surveyor, and acted as deputy under George Keith (ap- pointed October 13th, 1685) and John Barclay (December 17th, 1692).
In Scot's " Model, &c." he is said to have been gardener to the Lord Advocate. A letter is there given from him to a friend in Edinburgh, dated September 1st, 1684, in which he speaks very favorably of the province, and concludes thus :- " There are a great store of garden herbs here ; I have not had time to inquire into them all, neither to send some of the many pleasant (tho' to me unknown) plants of this country to James Sutherland, Physick Gardener at Edinburgh, but tell him I will not forget him when opportunities offer. I had forgot to write of Ambo, or New Perth, therefore, I add, that it is one of the best places in America, by the report of all travellers, for a town of trade. For my part I never saw any so conveniently seated.77
Mr. Reid brought his wife with him, and resided at Amboy for some years after his arrival, becoming of some note among its inhabitants. After the surrender of the government to the crown, he was repeatedly a member of the Assembly, and on the 2d December, 1702, was appointed Surveyor-general.
In June, 1686, on account of his services in drawing maps of the province,78 a grant of two hundred acres of land in Monmouth County was made to him. The tract was called "Hortensia," and was on the east branch of Hope River.
77 See East Jersey, &c. p. 294.
78 A fac simile of one of these maps is in the possession of the New Jersey Hist. Soc. It is entitled "A mapp of Rariton River, Milstone River, South River, Raway River, Boundbrook,
Greenbrook, and Cedarbrook, with the plantations thereupon : also those of Chinquarora, Wiekatonk, the heads of Hop (Hope) River, Swimming River, and Manasquam River, likewise ap- pends some on Hackingsack River."
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He seems to have considered it his place of residence in 1686. His daughter, Anna, became the wife of Capt. John Anderson, of Monmouth.
MILES FORSTER.
The name of Mr. Forster first appears on the provincial records in the year 1684, as deputy to William Haige, the Receiver and Surveyor-general. In 1687, on the commis- sioners of the revenue opening the port of Amboy, he received the appointment of Collector and Receiver of the customs under Governor Dongan.79 In 1689, he is mentioned as hav- ing his residence in New York, and in 1695 was a merchant in that city. Colonel Lewis Morris, father of Governor Mor- ris, appointed him one of his executors in 1690-a proof of the consideration in which he was held. He owned several lots in Amboy, and resided here for many years before his death. In December, 1702, he received from the Board of Proprietors a grant for a town lot, in consideration of his hav- ing built the first sloop launched at Amboy.
Mr. Forster died in 1710, and William Bradford, the printer of New York, was one of his executors. His wife, Rebecca, was daughter of Gawen Lawrie, deputy-governor of the province, but the date of her death is unknown. They left one son (William), who lived in the island of Barbadoes in 1721, and was yet alive in 1729; and two daughters, Elizabeth and Mary : the latter was also alive in 1729, resid- ing in Amboy, unmarried. Elizabeth had died previously.
A rude miniature likeness of Mr. Forster is in my posses- sion, and one of his daughter Mary was lost recently, on its way to me, after enduring through the changes and chances of several generations, and outlasting herself and all her kindred.
" The lightest, frailest things we see Are not so light, so frail as we."
70 Appointed Nov. 26th, and sworn into office, Nov. 30th,
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DAVID MUDIE.
This gentleman was one of the most valued residents of Amboy for some years. He was from the town of Montrose, Scotland, and arrived in East Jersey with four children and thirteen servants, in November, 1684.80 This was only a por- tion of his family ; several children and his wife being left behind in Scotland. One of his letters in Scot's Model, ad- dressed to his wife, commences with the appellation "My Heart "-prepossessing us favorably at the outset. How could he be other than an affectionate husband ?
During the year following his arrival he is styled " Mer- chant of Perth," and the same year (1685) was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Right, and was one of the governor's council during the administration of Lord Neil Campbell and Andrew Hamilton.
In November, 1686, he revisited the place of his birth,81 but returned soon after to the province and continued a resi- dent of Amboy until his death, which occurred in March, 1696. We learn nothing more of his wife. It is probable that, on his second arrival he was accompanied by two more children, as the whole of his family did not emigrate to America. Two sons, David and James, came with their father in 1684, but the first died before him, and, by his will, James shared equally with Isabel, Christian, Elizabeth, and John, in all his estate "anywhere in Europe." His property in New Jersey he left to Thomas Gordon, for the benefit of his five daughters, Mar- garet, Ann, Janet, Katherine, and Mary. Another daughter, Jean Strachen, is said to have been already provided for on her marriage.82 Janet became the wife of Thomas Gordon, but nothing further is known of the descendants of Mr. Mudie.
From his letters we learn that, soon after his arrival, he commenced building at New Perth "a good handsome house,
80 The name of "David Mudie" ap- bound "by the permission of God, on pears among a list of fugitives for po- a voyage for the Towne of Montrose, in the Kingdom of Scotland." Îitical offences in May, 1684. (Wodrow IV. p, 19 :) but I cannot identify with it the subject of this notice.
81 He made his sons David and James his attorneys, during his absence, being
82 E. J. Records, E. 410. His will, dated February 18th, 1695-6 : letters of administration granted, March 12th.
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six rooms off a floor, with a Study, two stories high above the sellers, and the garret above." This was of stone, and at that time was an undertaking considered worthy of special mention by all the scribes among the settlers ; as was also his erection of a "horse-mill," which it was expected would be worth one hundred pounds per year. He says himself, "I am sure she will be better than fifty of clear money, for every Scotch boll of wheat or Indian corn pays here for grinding of it two shillings sterling." This mill he describes as thirty-two feet wide, forty feet long, and "the great wheel " thirty feet in diameter. It is a circumstance somewhat remarkable, that while the old and populous settlement at Newark did not se- cure a mill for the use of the inhabitants until four or five years after its settlement, and then by general action in the matter,83 Amboy so soon after it was founded should have had one erected by individual enterprise.
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