USA > New Jersey > Historical collections of the state of New Jersey : containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical desciptions of every township in the state. > Part 12
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" Col. Burr set some of the militia to repair the fences they had destroyed, and arranged them as well as time would permit; and having taken measures to secure the troops from surprise, and also . for the protection of the cornfields, he marched immediately, with about 30 of the most active of the regiment, and a few of the mi- litia, to ascertain the position and numbers of the enemy. About 10 o'clock at night, being 3 miles from Hackensack, we got certain intelligence that we were within a mile of the picket guard of the enemy. Col. Burr then led the men into a wood, and ordered them to sleep till he should awake them, of which we had great need, having marched more than 30 miles since noon. Col. Burr then went alone to discover the position of the enemy. He returned about half an hour before day and waked us, and told us that he was going to attack the picket of the enemy ; that we had only to follow him, and then forbid any man to speak or to fire, on pain of death. He then led us between the sentinels in such a way, that
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BERGEN COUNTY.
we were within a few yards of the picket guard before they sus- pected our approach. He then gave the word, and we rushed up- on them before they had time to take their arms, and the greater part were killed. A few prisoners and some accoutrements were brought off without the loss of one man. Col. Burr immediately sent off an express to Paramus, to order all the troops to move, and to rally the country. Our little success had so encouraged the in- habitants, that they turned out with great alacrity and put them- selves under the command of Col. Burr. But the enemy, probably alarmed by these threatening appearances, retreated the next day, leaving behind them the greater part of the plunder which they had taken."
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the graveyard annexed to the church. The first is on a tall granite monument in the rear of the building, and the last on a flat stone lying horizontally upon the ground, under the willow seen in the preceding engraving.
" In memory of Col. Richard Varick, formerly mayor of the city of New York, and at the time of his decease, president of the American Bible Society. Born 25th March, 1753. Died 30th of July, 1831,,aged 78 years, 4 months, and 5 days."
" In memory of Peter Wilson, LL.D., who was born in the parish of Ordignhill in the shire of Bamff, Scotland, Nov. 23d, 1746, and emigrated to this county in 1763. For many years he was the efficient and successful principal of the academy in this place, and afterward of that at Flatbush, L. I., and for 26 years officiated as professor of languages in Columbia College. A zealous and successful patriot and Christian, and exemplary in all the public, social, and domestic relations which he sustained, he closed a life of indefatigable activity and constant usefulness, on the 1st of August, 1825, in the 79th year of his age. 'Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. They rest from their labors and their works do follow ther 1.'"
" In memory of the Hon. Brigadier-general Enoch Poor, of the state of New Hamp- shire, who departed this life on the 8th day of September, 1780, aged 44 years."
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At the time of the death of General Poor, the American army was at Kinerhamach, near the line of New York and New Jersey. The funeral was attended by Washington and Lafayette, and the procession, composed of a long line of soldiers, both foot and horse, extended from the church to the upper end of the town. They had 2 field-pieces, which were not discharged, probably on account of the vicinity to the enemy. Lafayette, on his last visit to this country, was shown the grave. He was much affected, and on turning away, exclaimed, " Ah ! that was one of my generals !"
SADDLE RIVER.
SADDLE RIVER, previous to the formation of Passaic co., com- prised within its limits what is now Manchester of that co. It was then shaped like a saddle, from which it derived its name. It is now 7 miles long and 2 wide, and is bounded N. by Franklin, E. by New Barbadoes, SE. by Lodi, and W. by Acquackanonck and Manchester. The Passaic courses its western and the Saddle
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
river its E. line. The latter merges into the former at the S. point of the township. The surface is level, and the soil well-cultivated, and very productive in garden vegetables. The township contains 4 grist-m., 1 saw-m .; 3 schools, 86 scholars. Pop. 828.
WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON was formed from the western part of Harrington in 1840. It is about 7 miles long, 5 wide, and is bounded N. by Rock- land co., N. Y., E. by Harrington, S. by New Barbadoes, and W. by Franklin. The Saddle river courses on its W., and the Hacken- sack on its E. boundary. The surface is level and well watered. The dairy business is extensively carried on. Paskack, is the name of the post-office in this township, 10 miles N. of Hackensack, and 73 from Trenton. The township contains 6 stores, cap. $7,300; 6 grist-m., 14 saw-m .; cap. in manufac. $5,200 ; 4 schools, 135 schol- ars. Pop. 1,833.
BURLINGTON COUNTY.
THE bounds of Burlington co. were first established (though not with much particularity) in 1694. They were definitely settled by the act of 1710. The limits were reduced in 1710 by the forma- tion of Hunterdon co., by which the Assanpink creek was made the northern boundary, and still further in 1838 by the erection of Mer- cer co., when the township of Nottingham was annexed to the new county. This county derives its name from the town of Burlington, which was early settled by English Friends. It is a long tract, ex- tending from the Delaware river to the Atlantic ocean ; being the only county that reaches across the width of the state. Its extreme length is about 50 miles ; breadth on the NW. about 22, and near the SE. end about 13 miles. It is bounded NNW. by the Delaware river, N. by Mercer co., ENE. by Monmouth co., SE. by the Atlan- tic ocean, and SW. by Atlantic and Giucester counties. The county is of an alluvial formation, composed of sand, gravel, loam, and clay, and its surface is generally level or undulating. In the interior, a few miles from the Delaware, is a strip of exceedingly fertile land several miles wide, on which are some of the finest farms in the state, highly cultivated, and much improved by the marl which abounds there. The prominent agricultural products of the county are wheat, corn, rye, oats, grass, beans, and potatoes. Beyond the above tract, for about forty miles, nearly to the sea-shore, the whole country is generally a light sandy soil covered princi- pally with pines, in which are but few inhabitants, who are occu- pied in cutting timber for transportation, or are employed in the glass works and iron foundries scattered here and there over its surface. Along the sea-shore is a narrow strip of fertile land ..
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
The SE. part of the county is watered by the Little Egg Harbor river and its branches, which flow to the ocean ; the NW. by the Rancocus, Crosswick's creek, and other streams emptying into the Delaware.
Burlington co. is divided into the following 11 townships, all of which, excepting Washington, were incorporated in 1798.
Burlington Evesham Mansfield Washington
Chester Hanover Northampton Willingboro
Chesterfield Little Egg Harbor Springfield
The population of the townships now composing the county, in 1810, was 23,745 ; in 1820, 25,189 ; in 1830, 27,209 ; in 1840, 32,836
BURLINGTON.
The extreme length of Burlington is 7 miles. It is bounded NE. by Mansfield, SE. by Northampton, SW. by Willingboro, and NW. by the Delaware river. Pop. 3,434. Its surface is level, or gently undulating, and its soil fertile.
BURLINGTON CITY, of Burlington township, Burlington county, 20 miles NE. from Philadelphia, 158 from Washington city, and 12 SW. from Trenton, is pleasantly situated upon the river Delaware, opposite Bristol in Pennsylvania. Among the original purchasers of West Jersey lands, were two companies, one composed of some "Friends" in Yorkshire, and the other of some "Friends" in Lon- don, who each contracted and had patents for considerable shares. In 1667, commissioners were sent by them empowered to buy lands of the natives, &c. (For the names of the commissioners, see Smith's History of New Jersey.) They embarked in the Kent, (being the second ship from London to the western parts.) Charles II, pleasuring in his barge on the Thames, came alongside and gave them his blessing. In June of that year, said commissioners ar- rived at an island in the Delaware on the Jersey shore, (now at- tached to the main land by causeways and bridges,) called from an old Indian chief, Chygoe's Island. Here the two parties above re- ferred to agreed to unite in settling a town. Noble, a surveyor who came in the first ship, was employed to divide the spot. The main street (now High-street) being ascertained, he divided the land on each side into lots, the eastern among the Yorkshire pro- prietors, the other among the Londoners. To the town, thus by mutual consent laid out, the commissioners gave the name first of New Beverly, then of Bridlington, and finally Burlington. Corpo- ration privileges were first granted to it by the General Assembly of New Jersey, in May, 1693, and May, 1695-the bounds extending only to the island. It was incorporated by letters patent of George II, A. D. 1734, extending the limits to the township. The present charter bears date Dec. 21st, 1784, and declares it to extend the length of 3 miles on the river Delaware, and one mile into the county from the river at right angles. Prior to 1676, the site of
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
St. Mary's Hall, and Bishop Doane's Residence.
[The annexed engraving is a representation of St. Mary's Hall seen on the left, and of Bishop Doane's residence, a Gothic structure, seen on the right.]
this town was holden by 4 Dutch families, one of whom kept an inn for the accommodation of travellers passing to and from the settlements on the west shores of the Delaware, and New York. It contains about 500 dwellings, and about 3,200 inhabitants, of whom about 300 are colored. It has places for divine worship as follows: 1 Methodist Episcopal, 1 of the Society of Friends (ortho- dox,) 1 Baptist, 1 Protestant Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, and two meeting-houses of people of color. It has also a city hall and mar- "ket; an arsenal ; a lyceum belonging to an incorporated company which originated in 1835; a valuable and ancient public library ; a humane society for the recovery of drowned persons ; an hospital ; two large beneficial societies, one formed on the principle of total abstinence from all intoxicating drinks ; a large temperance society ; two Dorcas societies ; a vigorous and highly commendable society instituted in the year 1796, and since incorporated, called " The Friendly Institution," and composed chiefly of ladies, for the pri- vate relief of distress, and having for its motto the line,
" To spare the modest blush,-to give unscen."
The city is supplied with the purest of water by an aqueduct company (incorporated A. D. 1804) which obtains its supplies from some springs in high ground in the neighborhood. The city also owes much to an incorporated meadow company which has stopped out the tide, and converted the marshes into excellent meadows. It has a celebrated boarding-school conducted by Charles Atherton, successor to John Gummere and Samuel Aaron ; also, St. Mary's Hall, a large and magnificent boarding-school for girls, delightfully situated on the Green Bank, under the exclusive direction of the bishop of the Protestant Episcopal church in this state.
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BURLINGTON COUNTY. ?
There is in the city a free-school, chiefly maintained from the rents of Mattnicunk, or Burlington Island, given for that purpose by act of assembly, Sept. 28th, 1682. This island contains about 300 acres, and is divided into two farms. It is in the Delaware, (which is at this place over a mile in width,) opposite the city. There are also, a school endowed by the Society of Friends, a number of common schools for white, and one for colored children. There is a large and flourishing steam saw and grist mill. There are three fire com- panies. The Mechanics' Bank of this place does a good and safe business, and in public estimation ranks among the first in the state. There are four physicians, several practising attorneys, a consider- able number of well-conducted and well-supplied stores, devoted to general merchandise ; one large drug-store, and several mainly devoted to that business. Shoes are extensively manufactured. The number of mechanics is large, and these are nearly all pledged to total abstinence, together with many other inhabitants, which adds to the moral tone for which this city has ever been remarka- ble. Burlington was originally the capital of New Jersey, and also the seat of justice of the county, but was deprived of these advantages in consequence of its location not being sufficiently central. The regulation of the city is intrusted to a mayor, re- corder, and three aldermen, appointed by the legislature, and six common council-men annually elective. It is a place of summer resort, on account of its salubrity. The harbor is good. The Cam- den and Amboy railroad passes through one of the principal streets ; and by means of this and the numerous steamers plying on the Delaware, great facilities are afforded for communication with Philadelphia.
By reference to a fair original record now extant, we find that a monthly meeting of the Society of Friends was regularly organ- ized in Burlington " the 15th of ye 5th moth 1678." The first item of business of this body was to agree "that a collection be made once a month for ye use of ye poor." In September of the same year it is recorded, "Friends also stak't or mark't out ye burying ground, and gave order for ye fencing of itt." The corner-stone of . the Episcopal church was laid March 25th, 1703. This church, in the first charter, granted Oct. 4th, 1704, was called St. Anne's, after the name of the queen. But a more ample charter being granted in 1709, the church was named St. Mary's, on account of the cor- ner-stone having been laid on the day of the annunciation. This building has been within a few years enlarged and beautified. The river shore is occupied with handsome residences, and the prome- nade in front of these, called "Green Bank," is of surpassing beauty, and is justly the admiration of all visitors, and of passengers in the · steamers.
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
St. Mary's Church and Graveyard.
The above is a view of St. Mary's church, and some of the monu- ments in the adjoining graveyard. The monument of Elias Bou- dinot, LL.D., the first president of the American Bible Society, is seen on the right, having the following inscription :-
Here lies the remains of the Honorable Elias Boudinot, LL.D. Born on the 2d day of May, A. D. 1740. He died on the 24th day of Oct., A. D. 1821. His life was an exhibition of fervent piety, of useful talent, and of extensive benevolence. His death was the triumph of Christian faith, the consummation of hope, the dawn and the pledge of endless felicity.
To those who knew him not, no words can paint ; And those who knew him, know all words are faint.
Mark the perfect man and behold the upright, for the end of that man is peace.
The following is a copy of an inscription on another monument in this yard :-
Here lies the remains of WILLIAM BRADFORD, Attorney-general of the United States under the Presidency of WASHINGTON; and previously Attorney-general of Pennsylvania and a Judge of the Supreme Court of that state. In private life he had acquired the esteem of all his fellow-citizens. In professional attainments he was learned as a lawyer, and eloquent as an advocate. In the execution of his public offices, he was vigilant, dignified, and impartial. Yet in the bloom of life ; in the maturity of every faculty that could invigorate or embellish the human mind; in the prosecution of the most important services that a citizen could render to his country ; in the perfect enjoy- ment of the highest honors that public confidence could bestow upon an individual ; blessed in all the pleasures which a virtuous reflection could furnish from the past, and animated by all the incitements which an honorable ambition could depict in the future- he ccased to be mortal. A fever, produced by a fatal assiduity in performing his official trust at a crisis interesting to the nation, suddenly terminated his public career, extin- guished the splendor of his private prosperity, and on the 23d day of August, 1795, in the 40th year of his age, consigned him to the grave-LAMENTED, HONORED, and BE- LOVED. His widow erected this monument to his memory.
The following notice of the early settlement of Burlington by the English, communicated to the Hist. Soc. of Pennsylvania, by John F. Watson, was copied from the original autograph of Mrs. Mary Smith, a Friend, who arrived with the primitive colonists, when she was only four years of age :
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
" Robert Murfin and Ann his wife, living in Nottinghamshire, England, had one daughter born there in the year 1674, the 4th of the 2d month, named Mary, (the writer of this account, who married the first Daniel Smith of Burlington.) After that, they had a son called Robert.
" Some time after, it came in their minds to move themselves and family into West Jersey in America ; and in order thereto, they went to Hull and provided provisions suit- able for their necessary occasions,-such as fine flour, butter, cheese, with other suitable commodities in good store ; then took their passage in the good ship, the Shield of Stock- ton, with Mahlon Stacy, Thomas Lambert, and many more families of good repute and worth : and in the voyage there were two died and two born ; so that they landed as many as they took on board. And after about sixteen weeks sailing or on board, they arrived at Burlington in the year 1678; this being the first ship that ever was known to come so high up the Delaware river. Then they landed and made some such dwellings as they could for the present time ;- some in caves, and others in palisade-houses secured. With that, the Indians, very numerous, but very civil, for the most part, brought corn and venison, and sold the English for such things as they needed ; so that the said Eng- lish had some new supply to help their old stock, which may well be attributed to the good hand of Providence, so to preserve and provide in such a wilderness.
" I may not omit some English that came the year before, which landed lower down the river, and were gotten to Burlington, who came in some small vessels up to Burling. ton before us,-and was so consented to by the Indians.
" The first comers, with the others that came near that time, made an agreement with the Indians for their land,-being after this manner :- From the river to such and such creeks ; and was to be paid in goods, after this manner, say-so many match-coats, guns, hatchets, hoes, kettles; two full boxes, with other materials, all in number as agreed upon of both Indians and English. When these goods were gotten from England and the Indians paid, then the above-mentioned people surrendered some part of the land to settle themselves near the river-for they did not dare to go far from it at first.
" I must not forget, that these valiant subjects, both to God and their king, did buy their land in old England before they entered (upon this engagement,) and after all this, did submit themselves to mean living, taking it with thankfulness, mean and coarse; as pounding Indian corn one day for the next day ; for there was no mill, except some few steed-mills, and (we) thought so well of this kind of hard living, that I never heard them say, ' I would I had never come"' which is worth observing, considering how plentifully they lived in England. It seems no other than the hand of God, so to send them to prepare a place for the future generations. I wish they that come after may consider these things, and not be like the children of Israel after they were settled in the land of Canaan, forgetting the God of their fathers and following their own vanities; and so bring displeasure, instead of the blessings of God, upon themselves ; which fall and loss will be very great on all such.
"Now to return to Robert Murfin and his wife: after they came into this land, they had one son called John ; and in the year 1681, they had another son called William ; and in the year 1684, they had a daughter called Johanah. Robert and John died young .*
" It may be observed how God's providence made room for us in a wonderful manner, in taking away the Indians. There came a distempert among them so mortal that they could not bury all the dead. Others went away, leaving their town. It was said that an old Indian king spoke prophetically before his death and said, 'the English should increase and the Indians decrease !' "
In a few years after the first settlement, it would seem as if this place had grown to be a place of the first importance, or at least comparatively so, as its meridian and latitude was assumed for the calculation of the first Almanac, the title-page whereof was as fol- lows, to wit :-
" An Almanac for the year of the Christian account, 1687, particularly respecting
* " Mary Smith was found drowned with her horse, in the year 1739, near the Long Bridge, in the Northern Liberties ; supposed to have occurred from her intending to give her horse water, where it was very deep :" that was then the direct and only "road to Burlington."
t This was the small-pox, (brought amongst them by the colonists) which, from the manner of treatment, by sweating and then plunging into cold water, was very fatal.
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BURLINGTON COUNTY.
the Meridian and Latitude of Burlington, but may indifferently serve all places adja. cent. By Daniel Leeds, Student in Agriculture. Printed and sold by William Brad. ford,* near Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, Pro Anno, 1687."
The early Quaker inhabitants of Burlington were distinguished as well for their intelligence as for their piety. Dr. Franklin found among them minds congenial to his own, whose society he much enjoyed. To go still further back, the following may interest our readers as one of the pleasant little traditions of the good old times. William Penn, when governor of Pennsylvania, used to sail up in his barge from Philadelphia to his manor house at Pennsbury. a few miles above Bristol. He would frequently stop on his way to visit Governor Jennings, of New Jersey, (who was also a distin- guished Quaker minister,) whose house in Burlington is still stand- ing. On one occasion, Jennings and some of his friends were en- joying their pipes,-a practice which the gentlemanly Penn disliked. On hearing that Penn's barge was in sight, they put away their pipes, that their friend might not be annoyed, and endeavored to conceal from him what they were about. He came in upon them, however, somewhat suddenly, and pleasantly remarked that he was glad they had sufficient sense of propriety to be ashamed of the practice. Jennings, rarely at a loss for an answer, rejoined that they were not ashamed, but desisted to avoid hurting a weak brother. Another anecdote we will give, illustrative of the sim- plicity and genuine hospitality of early days. Somewhere about the year 1753, the family of John Smith, (brother to Smith the his- torian,) then occupying the venerable, and, in those days, imposing mansion of the late excellent Mr. Coleman, were sitting at their tea-table under the trees at their door in the main street. A gen- tleman (a stranger) passing along, was invited to partake of their fare, and was induced, by the conversation that ensued, to settle in the place. He became one of the most efficient and valuable citi- zens of Burlington, and his family, in the second and third genera- tions, are among the most respectable inhabitants. This was the first Burlington printer-editor of an ably col.ducted paper, which was commenced Dec. 5th, 1777, and was employed successively by the colony and the states. Throughout the war it was the leading vehicle of information to the whigs, and Governor Livingston and others wrote many effective essays for it. He printed Livingston's Philosophic Solitude, a large edition of the Bible, the Burlington Almanac, and probably the first continental money.
We will now relate a tradition of a very different nature. There were two old trees of haunted memory. The first is The Witches' Tree, a large and noble buttonwood, still standing on that beautiful portion of Green Bank formerly occupied by William Franklin, when governor of New Jersey. It was planted, by his direction, by old Adam Shepherd, father to the well-known Ben. Shepherd.
* It is believed that W. Bradford set up his, the first printing.press, at Kensington, near the Treaty Tree. He landed in 1682 or '3, where Philadelphia soon afterward was laid out, and before a house was built. This almanac was his first publication.
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