USA > New Jersey > Salem County > Salem > History and genealogy of Fenwick's colony > Part 6
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CHAMBLESS FAMILY.
Nathaniel Chambless, and his son Nathaniel, embarked for this country in the year 1675. They were servants of Edward Wade. About 1680 he purchased 250 acres of land of his former employer, being a part of the allotment Edward Wade bought of John Fenwick before he embarked for this country. In 1681, his wife Elizabeth and daughter Mary embarked from London in the ship Henry, and landed at Elsinborough in the 7th month of the same year. Soon after his wife came they settled on his property in Alloways Creek. He about that time bought 250 acres more, adjoining his first purchase, of Joseph Wade. Both comprised the greater part of what is now called Alloways Creek Neck. In 1688 their daughter Mary married John Hancock, who emigrated to this country in 1679. Hc was a native of England. John and his wife had nine children. Their eldest son, John Hancock, was born 10th of 1st month, 1690, in Alloways Creek Neck. The names of their other children were William, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, Nathaniel, Edward, Joseph and Grace. Some persons suppose that they were of the same family of Hancock's as those by that name who resided in Elsinborough and Hancock's Bridge. There is no evidence that any relationship existed. Notwithstanding Nathaniel Chambless and his son Nathaniel were servants when they first came to this country, by industry and by maintaining high moral character, both became eminent men in religious and civil society in the early settlement of Fenwick Colony.
Nathaniel Chambless, Sr., was left executor of the great estate of his intimate friend, Rudoc Morris, of Elsinborough, who died in 1701, and also guardian of his minor children. Several other of like trusts he was chosen to do, showing conclusively that the men who lived in that generation had implicit confidence in his ability and integrity. There is no record that he and his wife ever had but two children-Nathaniel, and Mary, who married John Hancock. I think he died about 1710. They formerly spelled their name Chamness, but the family a generation or two afterwards changed it to Chambless.
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He deeded, before his death, 100 acres of land to his daughter, Mary Hancock; the residue of his real estate to his son, Nathaniel Chambless.
James Chambless, son of Nathaniel and Eleanor Chambless, was born 22d of the 1st month, 1689. Mary was born in 1692. Elizabeth was born in 1700. Hannah was born in 1702. Nathaniel Chambless, 3d, was born in 1705. Rebecca Chambless, the daughter of James Chambless, was born 3d of 11th month, 1716. She afterwards married Jedediah Allen, son of Ephraim Allen. Soon afterwards Jedediah purchased, I believe, Jolin Rolph's estate in Mamington. It contained 500 acres, and was located on the south side of Mannington creek, adjoining Job Ridgway's land. Jedediah and his wife, Rebecca, had three sons-Jedediah, David and Chambless. The latter's occupation was that of a tailor, and he lived the greater part of his life in the city of Philadelphia. The land in Mannington was divided equally between the two oldest sons, Jedediah and David.
James Chambless, Jr., son of James and Mary Chambless, was born 29th of 1st month, 1721. About the year 1742 he married Mary Fetters. They had three daughters named Sarah, Mary and Rebecca. Sarah's husband was William Smith, the oldest son of Thomas Smith, of Mannington. Mary Chambless' husband was David Smith, the brother of William, They lived in the town of Salem, where he followed his trade, being a hatter, and continued in that business until his death. Nathaniel Chambless, 3d, married Susan Oakford, the daughter of Wade Oakford, in 1725. They had one daughter named Sarah Chambless. When about eighteen years old, she married William Hancock, the son of John Hancock, the man who was instru- mental in having a bridge built across Alloways ereek as early as 1720-hence the name of the Bridge. The village derives its name from him. He was a large landholder at the time of his death. He had 500 acres that he inherited from his mother, Isabella Hancock, being one-half of William Hancock's allotment that he purchased of John Fenwick in the spring of 1675, before he came to this country. John Hancock purchased in 1720 of James Thompson, of Elsinborough, 250 acres. On said property was the family burying ground of the Thompson family, and by tradition John Hancock himself was buried there, and his son William, and his wife, Sarah Chambless Hancock, were likewise interred there. It afterwards went under the name of the Hancock burying ground. The Thompson family, after the second generation, buried at Salem. A good fence made of boards enclosed the graveyard within the memory of many per-
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sons living at the present time. I believe within a few years past the fence has been removed, and the plough has passed over the remains of some of the foremost emigrants in point of intelligence and moral worth that settled in West Jersey. But that graveyard is not an exception; all ancient family grave- yards that I know of in this county have shared the same fate. The Sharp's, Bradway's, Stretch's, Oakford's, and Abbott's-all of those families had family graveyards towards the close of the 17th century, not a vestige of which remains at the present day. John Hancock also purchased a large tract of land in Penn's Neck. All his real estate his son William inherited at his
death. William Hancock and his wife, Sarah Chambless Hancock, had bnt one child, named Sarah. She afterwards became the wife of Thomas Sinnickson, of Penn's Neck. Soon after their marriage they became residents of the town of Salem. Thomas' occupation was that of a merchant. They left no children. I have frequently been asked: "Where is the Cham- bless family at the present time?" The answer is: "The name is lost on account of the last two of the male line. James Chambless, Jr., and Nathaniel Chambless, 3d, having no sons; their children were daughters. Their descendants are the Smiths, Allens, Bassetts, Foggs, and many other families that I could name." William Hancock, in 1755, deeded a half-acre of ground in the village of Hancock's Bridge to the Society of Friends to build a meeting house upon, it being a more convenient location than where the old house stood. The house was accordingly built the year following; it was of brick, and is still standing in a good state of preservation. All accounts of him justify the opinion that he was a man of more than ordinary mental abilities. His father gave him more school education than was common at that time. His wealth and learning enabled him to have a great influence in the county. He was a member of the Colonial Legislature for twenty years in succession. His first wife dying before she arrived at middle age, he in his old age married Sarah Thompson, daughter of Joshua Thompson, of Elsinborough. She was many years younger than himself. During the Revolutionary war part of the American militia quartered in his house at Hancock's Bridge. In the 3d month, 1778, one of the most cruel and murderous massacres of the war occurred at that honse; William Hancock himself received a mortal wound. His brother- in-law, Joshua Thompson, the same day took him to his house, about half a mile from the scene of carnage, and there he died of his wounds in a short time, leaving a young widow, and one son by his last wife. The son's name was John Hancock, who,
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at the death of his father, was about five years of age. John, when he arrived to manhood, married Eleanor Yorke, an amiable and interesting young woman, daughter of Andrew Yorke, of Salem. John and his wife had four children. Sarah Hancock was the oldest; she married Morris Hancock, of Elsinborough. Henrietta married Lewis P. Smith, formerly of Bucks county, Pennsylvania. Thomas Yorke Hancock married Rachel Nichol- son, daughter of William Nicholson, a native of Mannington. Maria Hancock married Richard Parrot Thompson, of Salem, son of Hedge Thompson.
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CATTELL FAMILY.
William Cattell, it is generally thought, came from Shrews- bury, East Jersey, and settled at Salem about the year 1747. His occupation was that of a merchant. He and his wife had two children, as recorded in the monthly meeting books of Salem. Elijah, the son of William and Ann Cattell, was born 27th of 7th month, 1751. Mary Cattell, daughter of the same parents, was born 24th of 9th month, 1757. Elijah, it appears, was a clerk for his father until the latter's death; their place of business was at the corner of Market and Broadway street. After the death of Elijah's father (William Cattell), Elijah Cattell and William Parrott entered into partnership. During the war of the American Revolution, Elijah left the Society of Friends, of which he was born a member, and took an active part against the mother country; he was considered as ardent a patriot as there was in the town of Salem. He married Hannah Ware, she being a descendant of one of the oldest families of the Colony. There were four children-Ann, Margaret, Thomas W., and Maria Cattell. Ann Cattell, the eldest, married William Mulford, a native of Greenwich, at that time a resident of Salem ; they had several children. [See Mulford family.] Margaret, danghter of Elijah and Hannah W. Cattell, married David Williams, of Salem; they had issue-Robert, Anna, and Sarah Williams. Maria, the youngest daughter of Elijah and Hannah W. Cattell, never married, and the only one of their children living.
Thomas Ware Cattell, son of Elijah and Hannah W. Cattell, was born in 1790. He possessed an amiable disposition, and an uncommon active mind; was above ordinary men in mathe- matics. His fellow citizens of Salem had full confidence in his integrity and ability as a calculator, therefore he was elected Assessor of Taxes, which office he held for upwards of twenty years. He was engaged in the mercantile business, nearly all of his long and useful life; was a partner at one time with his brother-in-law, William Mulford, a good business man, on Market street. Afterward, he and the late Clement Acton kept
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CATTELL FAMILY.
a hardware store and lumber yard for many years. Thomas, after the firm dissolved, confined himself exclusively to the hardware store, and so continued until near the close of his life. His death occurred in 1867, being seventy-seven years old. He was a great loss to the public, as well as to his immediate family; also to the Presbyterian church, of which he had been, the latter part of his life, an active and consistent member. Thomas, when a young man, married Kesiah, the daughter of Alexander and Esther Gilmore, of Lower Penn's Neck. She died several years before her husband. They had seven children-Alexander G., Elijah, Esther, Thomas, Sarah, William and Samuel Cattell.
Alexander Gilmore Cattell, the eldest son of Thomas and Keziah Cattell, was born in 2d month, 1816. He has been a merchant from early life, first in his native town of Salem, afterwards he and his brother Elijah Cattell went into the grain business on Delaware avenue, in the city of Philadelphia. They at once took a leading part in that especial trade in that city. Alexander in early life, took an active part in the public affairs in his native county and State, being affable, and pleasing in his address, which he inherited from his father, also a ready debator in public assemblies. These qualifications soon made him conspienons. When the inhabitants of the State of New Jersey believed the time had come to have a new Constitution, Alexander G. Cattell, though a young man, was chosen one of the members of the Convention to frame a new one, so as to submit it to the voters of the State for their adoption, or rejection. He at once became an active member from the sonthern section of the State. He brought forward a section in which he was anxions to be incorporated in the new Consti- tution, and abvocated it with much ability. That was the biennial session of the State Legislature, but it was rejected by the Convention. If it had become a part of the Constitution, it would have been a great saving to the State in a pecuniary way, besides a great deal of useless legislating. He was subse- quently elected a member of the State Legislature, and after- wards chosen a member of the United States Senate, in which he served one term. During the latter part of it his health gave way, but upon becoming convalescent, he was sent by the United States Government on an important mission to England, respecting the finances of the country. After he removed to Philadelphia, he took an active part in the commercial affairs of that city; was one of the first that originated the Corn Exchange Bank, and was elected President of that institution. He married when young, Eliza Gilmore, a lady of refinement,
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daughter of Samuel Gilmore, of Lower Penn's Neck; she being his cousin; she has been deceased three or four years, leaving no issue. Alexander and Elijah Cattell have each built handsome residences in Merchantville, Camden County, where they reside.
Elijah Cattell, second son of Thomas W. and Kesiah Cattell, married Catharine Hardy of Philadelphia; they have three children-Margaretta, Alexander and Edward Cattell ; his occupation I have already mentioned in his brother Alexander's history. Esther, the oldest daughter of Thomas and Kesiah Cattell, married Joseph Fithian, M. D., a resident of Wood- bury, Gloucester county. He is a native of Cumberland county ; they have two daughters-Josephine and Sallie Fithian.
Thomas, the third son of Thomas W. and Kesiah Cattell, married Anna Ashburner; they have seven children-Jane, Hetty, Mary, Lillie, Sallie, Willie and Fannie Cattell. Thomas Cattell, Jr. as likewise all of Thomas W. Cattell's children, had the talent they inherited from the Cattell and Gilmore families, that of acquiring school learning readily ; far superior to the majority of students. He is one of the Professors of Lincoln University, located in Chester county, Pa.
Sarah, the second daughter of Thomas and Kesiah Cattell, married Henry B. Ware, of Salem, son of Bacon and Anna J. Rumsey Ware. Henry was educated at West Point. After he was through with his studies was elected Clerk of Salem Bank ; continued in that office until his unele George Rumsey's death ; he was then elected Cashier, in the place of his uncle, which office he filled with credit until his physical health became very much impaired and he resigned, but was continued one of the Directors until his death. Henry and his wife, Sallie Cat- tell Ware, had three children-Anna, Thomas and Alexander Ware. Sallie, his widow, is still living and holds the office of Postmistress at Salem at the present time.
William, the fourth son of Thomas W. and Kesiah Cattell, married Lizzie McKeen; they have two children-James and Harry Cattell. William holds the important office of President of Lafayette College, at Easton, Pa. Samuel, the youngest son of Thomas and Kesiah Cattell, married Henrietta Malliard ; they have ten children-William, Thomas, Samuel, Kesiah, Elijah, Henrietta, Barron, Josephine, Joseph and Frank Cat- tell.
COLES FAMILY.
The family of Coles, it appears was an ancient family of England ; one of them became a member of the Society of Friends ; to avoid religious prosecution, he emigrated to West New Jersey and purchased a large tract of land in Evesham township, Burlington county. Samuel Cole, the eldest son married, had two or three daughters. Martha, the eldest, mar- ried David, the son of Judge David Davis, of Pilesgrove, Salem county. Samnel's daughter Mary, married a Newbold. David and Martha C. Davis had three children-Jacob, Joseph and Martha Davis. Samuel Cole made his will in the year 1772, leaving a large real and personal estate, after providing liberally for his widow, Mary Cole, he devises the greater part of his estate to his grand-children, Jacob, Joseph and Martha Davis, also to his daughter Mary Newbold's children, and likewise a legacy or two to his nephew Thomas Coles, eldest daughter Mary Coles fifty pounds, and he also directs his executors, his son-in-law David Davis and his friend Abraham Allen, to pay fifty pounds to Haddonfield Preparative Meeting of Friends.
Abont 1750 Thomas' nephew, Samuel Cole, left Evesham and located in Gloucester county, at a place since known as Coles Mills. He soon afterwards married Alice Collins; they had eight children, their names were : Mary, Hannah, Thomas, Samnel, Kimble, Joseph, Hope and Alice Coles, all of whom grew up, married and had issne. Mary, the eldest daughter of Thomas Coles, married Jonathan Collins, by whom she had seven children, whose names were: Alice, Benjamin, Samuel, Mercy, Elizabeth, Jonathan and Thomas. Hannah, the second child of Thomas and Alice Coles, married Peter Strang; they resided in the immediate neighborhood and raised ten children -Thomas, Sarah, Alice, Margaret, Peter, Charles, John, Deborah, Hannah and David. Thomas, the third child of Thomas and Alice Coles, married Martha Stiles; they raised twelve children-Thomas, William, Bartholomew, Elizabeth, Martha, Ann, Samnel, Joseph, Alice, Mary, Ephraim and Sarah.
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COLES FAMILY.
He came in possession of the mill property which consisted of about 2,000 acres of land on which he lived until 1808, when he bought a mill property on Oldman's creek at what is now known as Harrisonville. He then moved to that place with his large family of children, where he was engaged in the lumber business until his death, which occurred in the year 1826. Sam- uel, the fourth child of Thomas and Alice Coles, married Elizabeth, the daughter of Joseph Pimm; they had three children- Joshua, Sarah and Samuel. Kimble, the fifth child of Thomas and Alice Coles, married Kesiah, the daughter of John Lippin- cott, of Evesham, Burlington county; they had children- Maria, Eliza, Julianna, John, Benjamin, Charles and Harriet. Joseph, the sixth child married Margaret Scott, of Pilesgrove, and settled on a farm near what is known as Richman's Mills, where they raised five children, whose names are: Elizabeth, Joseph, Margaret, Sarah and Esther. Hope, the seventh child, married Abijah Collins, and raised five children-Joseph, Isaac, Abijah, William and Hannah. Alice, the eighth and youngest child, married Israel Locke, of Repaupo, Gloucester county, but afterward moved to Pilesgrove, Salem county, where they raised eight children-Thomas, Susan, Hannah, Elizabeth, Har- riet, Alice, Martha and Samuel.
Alice, the eldest child of Mary and Jonathan Collins, married John Peterson, of Pilesgrove. Benjamin and Sarah never married. Mercy, the fourth child, married Jesse Lenard, from near Blackwoodtown, Gloucester county, but left no issue. Elizabeth is living in Philadelphia, not married. Jonathan never married, is living in Philadelphia. Thomas, the seventh and youngest child of Mary and Jonathan Collins, died near Eldridge Hill, in Pilesgrove, and left two children-Mary and Alice; they live in Philadelphia.
Thomas, the eldest child of Hannah and Peter String, married Hannah Albertson, with whom he removed to Ohio in 1815. Sarah, the second child, never married. Alice married Alexander Scott; they lived near to Coles' mill, and raised six children- William, Esther, Hannah, John, Peter, and Thomas Scott. Margaret married Joseph Morgan, of Blackwoodtown, Gloucester county ; they had children, but lost them when young. Peter, the fifth child of Hannah and Peter String, first married Eliza- beth Pimm, and was the father of four children-Martha, Thomas, Joseph, and William. After her death he married Sarah, the widow of Ephraim Garwood, of Pilesgrove. He lived to an advanced age. The sixth child, Charles, married Rhoda Peterson. Ile was a farmer and lived at what is now known as Springtown,
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and raised three children, whose names are Amos, Charles, and Stacy String. John String, the seventh child of Hannah and Peter String, married Amelia Stiles; they had children- Hudson, Margaret, Peter, and Thomas String. Deborah, the eighth child, married a man by the name of Clark, and moved to Ohio soon after. Hannah married George Stiles. David, the tenth and youngest child, married Deborah, the daughter of Micajah Conover, and moved to Illinois.
Thomas, the oldest child of Thomas and Martha Coles. married Rachel Birch, and raised eight children-Richard. Samuel, Ephraim, Asa, Martha, Deborah, Alice, and Thomas Coles. He died in the year 1822, where his brother Bartholomew now lives. William, the second child of Thomas and Martha Coles, married Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Morgan, of Piles- grove. He lived on the farm now occupied by his son, Richman Coles, until his death, which occurred in 1862. They raised seven children, whose names are Samuel M., Thomas, Rebecca, William, Martha, Richman, and B. Franklin Coles. Bartholo- mew, the third child, married Anna Wister, and raised nine children-Harris, Thomas, Uz, William, Bartholomew, Chalkley, Joseph, Stacy, and Ira Coles. He is still living, and is over ninety years of age. I visited this aged man recently, and found him quite healthy. He told me he cut, during last winter, fifty loads of wood. Elizabeth, the fourth child, married Elijah Horner, by whom she had eight children, whose names were Susan, Martha, Eliza, Caroline, Alice, George, Mary Anna, and Elma. He was a farmer, and lived near Mullica Hill, Gloucester county. Martha, the fifth child, married Edward Pancoast, of Pilesgrove. She died in a few years, and left one son-Stacy, who died young. Ann, the sixth child, first married Joseph Lippincott, and by him had three children-Joshua, Thomas, and Lydia. She afterwards married John Howey, and had one child-Sarah Ann. Sanmel, the seventh child of Thomas and Martha Coles, married Marianna Morgan, of Blackwoodtown, Gloucester county, to which place they moved, and raised three children-Elizabeth Ann, Joseph, and Thomas Coles. Joseph, the eighth child, married Margaret, daughter of Samuel Morgan, of Pilesgrove, but died in a few years after, leaving one child -Martha Ann Coles. Alice, the ninth child, married William Garwood, of Mullica Hill, Gloucester county; had one child- John Garwood, and died soon after. Mary, the tenth child, married Israel Kirby, and raised six children-Eli, Ann, Richard, Thomas, Mary, and Charlotte Kirby. Ephraim, the eleventh child, first married Lydia, daughter of Isaac and Tracy Ridgway,
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who died without children. He then married Rebecca Lippin- cott, and raised eleven children, whose names were Lydia, Hannah, Eliza, Lippincott, Emily, Aaron, Charles, Ephraim, Joseph, Rebecca, and Francis. He is still living, near Woods- town. Sarah, the twelfth and youngest child of Thomas and Martha Coles, married Nathan Gaunt and raised four children, whose names are Joseph, Nathan, Sarah, and Alvin Gaunt.
Joshua, son of Samuel and Elizabeth Coles, married, but raised no children. Sarah, their second child, married Daniel Harker, she had three children-Elizabeth, Benjamin and Samuel. Samuel, their youngest child, married Anna Kirby ; he died young, leaving one child-Elmer K. Coles. Maria, danghter of Kindle and Kesiah Coles, married William Cassady, and raised six children, whose names are Lippincott, Mariah, Beulah, Elmina, William and Edward. Eliza, the second child of Kindle and Kesiah, married William Jones, by whom she had one son-Hiram Jones ; she afterwards married Daniel J. Packer, of Woodbury, and had three children-Daniel J., Edward and Benjamin. Elizabeth, the eldest child of Joseph and Margaret Coles, married Cornelius DuBois, and raised ten children-Benjamin, Mary, Joseph, William, John, Elizabeth, Cornelius, Elwood, Edward and Samuel. Joseph, the only son married Rachel Richman, and have six children-Martha Jane, Henry, Preston, Mary Ella, Resigna and Harriet. Margaret married Joseph Harker, and had two children-James and Amy. Sarah married Matthew Rippe; they moved to Indiana in 1853. Esther, the youngest child of Joseph and Margaret Coles, married Samuel Dickinson, and died, leaving one child- Joseph Dickinson.
Susan, daughter of Israel and Alice Locke, married Amon Peterson, by whom she had six children-Stacy, Joseph, Hannah, Thomas, Amon, and Martha. She lives in Woodstown. Elizabeth married Josiah Smith; she is deceased, leaving several children living in the vicinity of Salem. Alice married Joseph Morgan, (she is deceased,) and raised four children, three of whom are living-Samuel R., Joseph, and Israel Morgan. Samuel Locke married Abigail, daughter of Moses Richman; he died without issue. Martha married Zacchens Bassett; she lives near Dare- town, and has children.
Samuel Coles, son of Thomas and Rachel Coles, married Henrietta Dilks. He by profession is a miller, but lives retired at Mullica Hill, Gloucester county. No children. Ephraim married Phebe, daughter of John Davis; their children's names are Mary, Ann, Lydia, Charles, and Isabella. Hle is also a
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