USA > New Jersey > Bergen County > History of Bergen county, New Jersey > Part 4
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Cornmeal supplied material for cornbread and mush, the latter usually eaten with milk. A bushel of choice corn was occasionally sent to the miller who, soaking it for a few hours in cold water then passed it coarsely through his burr stones, removing the shell and breaking it into coarse grains. This called "samp" cooked as it was by the farm- ers' wives was equal if not superior to the best modern hominy. Corn and oats were relied upon for the farm stock. Potatoes, vegetables and fruits were of course at hand in their season and preserved with care and judgment for winter use. No canning of fruit was known but the farmer's wife always provided a good stock of sweetmeats in the form of preserved peaches, quinces, plums, pears and other small fruits. One of these was upon the table at almost every meal. Concerning their use there was however an unwritten law emphasized by an occasional pa- rental hint that they were to be spread thinly over the buttered bread and not eaten by the saucerful with a spoon as the occasional city vis- itor did, much to the amazement and consternation of the family.
The apple crop was one of the most important of the farmer's pro- ducts. Three or four score dollars found their way into his exchequer from the sale of his choice fruit. The dropped apples were gathered for the pigs, the sweet ones usually given to the colt. Upon almost every farm there was a frostproof apple cellar built of stone, partially under ground and thatched with straw. Into these the winter apples
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
were placed and the door barred not to be opened till early spring when the market price suited the owner. and the apples were then quickly shipped to the New York market. From one to four barrels of good cider were annually made by the average farmer. In large families nearly an entire barrel was utilized in the making of apple butter which. wholesome and satisfactory to the palate was rarely absent from the farmer's table for months following. The vinegar barrel was always kept well filled. So fast as used it was replenished from the stock of hard cider. A good share of at least one barrel of the best cider was kept for table use and for evening gatherings. In these olden times a load or two of apples from the larger growers found their way to the distillery at so much per bushel. Candor compels the admission that occasionally in preference to hard cash the farmer received in return for his apples a certain number of gallons of apple whiskey mutually agreed upon. This was always convenient for external use and considered by some of the old timers conducive to the comfort of the inner man. Temperance and total abstinence. to the mind of the latter were not synonymous terms.
Every large farmer under the good olden calendar from which these chips are whittled produced and packed his own pork and beef. The surplus buttermilk and the odds and ends from the kitchen were utilized in the pork production. and a horned animal bought at a low price in the summer or raised perhaps on the farm was turned to pasture and cornfed for a month or two in the autumn. About the last week in No- vember usually on Tuesday. from one to four fat dressed porkers were seen hanging in a row in the farmer's back yard. A week or two later the dressed carcass of beef would be hanging in the farmer's barn.
The clothing of the farmer's family presented questions which necessarily found their solution along the same practical lines as those growing out of the subsistence department. There are in the older ranks of the farmers to-day those who to the period of early manhood were clothed almost entirely in home-made fabrics from domestic ma- terial. Their fathers and grandfathers were flax and wool growers and passed their raw material through the various stages and processes till it came from the local looms and shops in substantial fabrics adapted to the farmers' wants, and were made into needed garments chiefly by the wives and daughters.
In the Dutch homesteads of to-day through the valley there are still treasures in the shape of home made linen sheetings, woolen blankets. &c., which are highly prized by the owners as the work of their worthy and industrious grandfathers and grandmothers.
The farmer's wardrobe was not elaborate. All ordinary garments were made at home in the family. the tailor being only employed by the day occasionally to lay out the work. The best suit of the farmer as well as that of the wife and daughter was expected to last for several years and the expectation was rarely disappointed.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
A woolen cloak of good quality of those days was placed away each spring and brought out in the fall and worn for a dozen years affording to the wearer the most genuine satisfaction during the entire period.
Woolen undergarments were not considered necessary as a rule.
Stockings were knit during the long winter evenings, linen ones for warm and woolen ones for cold weather.
Working clothes were made in the most simple manner, comfort and durability being the governing considerations.
The furniture in the old homesteads of the valley was simple and inexpensive. A good proportion of it was home made including the tables, stands, chairs and cupboards. The last named were for various uses and very capacious. The bureaus in which were kept the linen, were usually more pretentious. In every family there were one or two large chests in which to pack winter clothing. These were made if pos- sible from cedar wood supposed to afford protection against moth and insects generally.
The long clock found in many homesteads was the one article of extravagance and luxury in which the olden time fathers indulged.
At the period from which these chips are whittled stoves were unknown, and broad fire places and brick ovens furnished the ways and means for warming and cooking.
The capacious chimney, the wide fire places, and the and-irons the " back log," the "fore stick," and the intervening wood, the last three all ignited, the blazing fire leaping upward changing each moment in shape and form, throwing darker and lighter shadows upon the walls, all made up a picture which the eye tired not in watching, and which possessed an attractive force and mellowing influence which have been sadly missed since modern ideas and requirements made the scene described only a memory of happy hours long gone never to return.
Fifty years ago matches had not been invented and the flint and steel with the accompanying " tinder box " were upon the mantel of every kitchen. The light for this room was furnished for the most part by the blazing wood, and that of the sitting room by the tallow candle made by the dipping process in the outer kitchen.
The servant girl question in these happy times was almost wholly eliminated from the problem of domestic life. The wife and daughter were equal to all emergencies and the idea of delegating any part of their home duties to a menial was as unnatural to them as it was preju- dicial to the family finances.
At certain seasons the farmer's life was indeed a busy one, bringing him at five o'clock in the morning to the work of feeding his stock and preparing for the work of the day. At six or before, breakfast was in readiness, and before seven he was at the axe, sesthe, or plow, and after ten or twelve hours in the field there still remained the chores and even- ing work in the barn.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
The farmer's wifes and daughters did their household work thoroughly. Cleanliness was the almost invariable rule and the tables and floors even in the kitchen must on at least one day of each week be made spotless by soap and brush. In addition to regular indoor work including all the work of the dairy, they were ready to help in any out- door emergency. But for their cheerful presence and help many a load of waiting hay safely housed would have been injured by the approaching afternoon shower or ruined by the coming storm.
The man doing faithful and valuable work for his employer expected to sit down with the latter to his usual meals, and it was not expected that either would lose his'self-respect or forfeit the respect of the other.
At these meals if an outer garment was uncomfortable or cumber- some. it was simply discarded on common sense principles
At the table the knife or fork was brought into requisition according as either seemed best adapted to the work to be done. If the morsel of pumpkin pie was considered to be in less danger on the knife while being conveyed to its intended destination, the pie was given the benefit of the theory and the onlookers were never known to have received a hopeless or dangerous shock.
The country district schoolhouse was usually about eighteen feet square, and painted red if painted at all. It was usually built at the intersection of two roads, as near the corner as possible, or in the edge of a woods and as near as possible in many cases to a pond of stagnant water. This latter plan has not been altogether given up at the present time judging from recent occurrences. The school furniture was not luxurious. The desks were arranged on three sides of the room with their backs permanently fastened to the wall and the long seats over which both girls and boys had to climb were made of slabs.
The curriculum of study was not especially comprehensive. It usu- ally comprised spelling, reading, writing and "ciphering." Occasion- ally a little grammar was thrown in by way of ornamentation.
The teacher's salary varied from fifteen to twenty-five dollars a month. Under the salary first name he was expected to " broad around ". through the district in the more substantial or liberal families, changing his boarding place about every two weeks. If the pedagogue was old, conservative. and stern, this arrangement was very unpopular with the children. If young, sympathetic and socially inclined, these changes of boarding places were anticipated with the keenest pleasure.
Of the moral and religious condition of the valley community a half century ago it may be said that it was fully up to the average standard.
The churches were simply furnished, poorly ventilated, and imper- fectly heated. Notwithstanding, on Sabbath mornings the roads leading to the churches were dotted with vehicles and predestrians from miles around. Stormy weather was not considered a valid excuse for absence from church.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
The vehicles were of every description. Not a few were the farm wagons which conveyed the surplus products to market. Some of the worshipers came on horseback.
It was an old time habit to reach church early. The horses having been hitched the worshipers collected in groups under the trees or about the church doors where greetings all around were in order and inquiries made about absent relatives and acquaintances.
It cannot be denied that the state of crops, the condition of the mar- kets, and the aspect of politics were occasional features of these peculiar gatherings.
A voluntary or paid choir was an institution unknown in these churches fifty years ago. The chorister a professing member receiving and holding his position by the formal action of the officers, read all the verses of the first hymn usually one of his own selection, then led the singing in a slow and sometimes nasal tone. Before the first line was finished the discovery was not unfrequently made the line was pitched several notes too high or low, when of course a fresh start became necessary. This naturally diverted attention somewhat from the sentiment of the sacred poem usually by Watts, Dodridge or Toplady, but the system had its compensating advantage by rendering impossible the complications incident to the modern methods.
Of instumental music it may be said that any attempt to introduce it fifty years ago would have been regarded as an innovation incompat- ible with religious orthodoxy or church harmony.
The duty of reading the Scripture selections devolved upon the chorister called also the "voorleeser" or head reader. This exercise was grave, measured and slow, with inflections not always thoughtless.
The prayers were earnest, fervent and loud. The sermons long. doctrinal and of numerous headings. They were rarely delivered from notes. Written sermons being regarded with disfavor and not considered edifying.
CHAPTER VIII. CIVIL ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY OF BERGEN (From the History of Bergen and Passaic Counties).
In December, 1682, the Assembly of East Jersey passed an act divid- ing the province into four counties, viz. : Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth. * Bergen included all the settlements between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers, and extended to the northern boundary of the province. Bergen and its outlying plantations comprised about sixty thousand acres of land. In the act of January 21, 1709, "for determin- ing the bounds of the several counties," those of Bergen were extended as follows : " Beginning at Constable's Hook, so along the bay and Hnd- son's River to the partition point between New Jersey and the province of New York; along this line and the line between East and West Jerseyt to the Pequaneck River ; down the Pequaneck and Passaic Rivers to the sound ; and so following the sound to Constable's Hook, the place of beginning."
In 1693 the counties were divided into townships. But those of Bergen County-viz : the townships of Bergen and Hackensack-had existed for many years and been organized municipalities, the former under the Dutch government of the New Netherlands, # and the latter under the proprietary government of East Jersey, No court existed at Hackensack in 1682. Smith says, in his " History of New Jersey, " under date of this year : "The plantations on both sides of the Neck. as also those at Hackensack, were under the jurisdiction of Bergen Town, sitt- ated about the middle of the Neck." The act of organization established the county courts at Bergen. where they remained until. the enlargement of the county in 1709.
Bergen, in 1680, is thuis described by George Scott, of Edinburg, who published a book entitled " The Model of the Government of the Prov- ince of East Jersey in America :"
"Here is a Town Court held by Select Men or Overseers, who used to be four or more as they please to choose anunally to try small causes, as in all the rest of the Towns; and two Courts of Sessions in the year, from which. if the cause exceed twenty pounds, they may appeal to the Governor and Council and Court of Deputies in their Assembly, who meet once a year. The town is compact. and hath been fortified against the Indians. There are not above seventy families in it. The acres taken up by the town may be about 10,000, and for the Out Plantations. 50,000. and the number of Inhabitants are computed to be 350, but many more abroad. The
" In order to raise fifty pounds, the legislature convened in 163 laid assessments 10 be raised in the four counties as follows : Bergen, 611: Middlesex. 610: Essex, 614: Monmouth, 615.
In 1691 the sum of .670 12s. od. was assessed for Bergen County ; Bergen. 67 9s. d., Hackensack. €3 13 -. 9d.
The line between East and West Jersey, here referred to, is not the line finally adopted and known as the Lawrence line, which was run by John Lawrence in Septemberand October, 1743. It was the compromise line agreed upon between Governors Coxe and Barclay in 1682, which ran a little north of Morristown to the Passaic River : thence up the Pequaneck to forty-one degrees of north latitude : and thence by a straight line dne cast to the New York State line. This line being afterward objected to by the East Jersey proprietors, the latter procured the running of the Lawrence line.
4 The Datch government formed no counties in New Netherlands.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
part of the Inhabitants which are in this jurisdiction are Dutch. of which some have settled here upwards of forty years ago.'
Hackensack Village, it is well known was in E-sex County till 1709. and only upon the enlargement of Bergen County in that year was made the county-seat of the same. This was done because it was a thriving village more centrally located than any other in the enlarged county.
County officials in the reign of George II had to subscribe to certain oaths which sound strange to their descendants of these days in Repub- lican America. We give a list found attached to an old parchment roll in the clerk's office, dated 1755, wherein the names are subscribed in the following oaths:
" ALLEGIANCE TO THE KING.
" I do heartily and sincerely acknowledge. profess, testify. and declare, in my conscience, before God and the world, that our sovereign lord, King George the Second, is lawful and rightful king of Great Britain and all other his Majesty's dominions and countries thereunto belonging . and I do solemnly and sincerely declare, and I do believe in my conscience, that the person pretending to be the Prince of Wales during the life of the late King James, or since his decease. pre- tending to assume to himself the title of King of England. by the name of James the Third, or James the Eighth, or the full title of the King of Great Britain. or by any right or title whatever to the crown of Great Britain, or any other dominions thereunto belonging : and I do renounce, refuse, and abjure any and all allegiance or obedience to him ; and I do swear that I bear faithful and true allegiance to his Majesty King George the Second, and him will defend to the utmost of my power against all traitorous conspiracies or attempts whatsoever to be made against his person, crown, or dignity, and I will do my utmost endeavors to disclose and make known to his Majesty and his successors all treasons and traitorous Con- spiracies which I shall know to be against him or them : and I do faithfully promise to the utmost of my power to uphold and defend the sacredness of the crown against him, the said James, under any title whatsoever ; which succession, by an act enti- tled 'An act for the succession of the crown and the better securing the rights and liberties of the subjects,' is limited to the Princess Sophia, electress and duchess dawager of Hanover. and the heirs of her body. being Protestants. And all these things I do plainly and sincerely acknowledge and swear according to the express words by me spoken, and according to the plain sense and understanding of the same, without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation whatsoever. And I do make this recognition, acknowledgment, abjuration, renunciation, and promise heartily, willingly, and truly, upon the true faith of a Christian.
" So help me God."
"ABJURATION OF THE PAPACY.
"I do swear that I do from my heart abhor, detest, and abjure as impious and heretical that damnable doctrine and position that princes excommunicate l by the Pope or any authority of the See of Rome may be deposed or murdered by their sub- jects or any other Catholics ; and I do promise that no foreign prince, person, pre- late, or potentate shall or ought to take any jurisdiction, superiority, pre-eminence. or authority, either ecclesiastical or civil, within the realm of Great Britain.
"' So help me God.
.. William Kingsland, Arent Schuyler, Johannes Van Houten. Michael Vice- landt This (M. V.) mark], John Cardan, Isaac Kingsland, Jost Van Boskirk. Walingh Van Winkel, Johannes Bourgart. Philip Schuyler. Jan Van Orden, Jacobus Wyn- koop, Pieter Bogert, George Reyorse, Jr., Roeleff Van Der Linder, Theunis Day. Simon Vreeland, Albert Zabriskie. Jacobus Van Buskirk, Abraham Leydecker. Jacob Horne {his (X) mark]. Theodore Vallon, Robert Van Houten, Helmage Van Horne, Jacob Van Nostrand, Jr. [his (C) mark]. Luke Reverse, Albert Berdan. Jacob Sitson, Ardsen Kersoris, Garret Hollenbeck. John Schuyler, William J. King -- land, Jacob, his son, Isaac Kingsland. Jacob Van Buskirk, Helmage Van Houte. Abraham Gonvenier, Isaac Schuyler. Jacobus Van Winkel, Johannes Vreelandt [his (J. V.) mark], George Vreelandt, Jan Terhuyn, Hendrick Doremus, Johannes Rey- erse. Johannes Bourgart. Pieter Demarest, Sorens Jan Van Buskirk. David Van Bus- kirk. Henry Van Dalinda, Cornelius Wynkoop, Roelof Van Bouten, Derick Cuyper. George Reverse, Johannes Post, Rejof Lyndaker, Abraham Ackerman. Michael Noorland This (Mo) mark ]. David Demarest. Timothy Ward, Henry Van De Linda. Jacoben Wyckoff, Pictor Post. David Terhuyn, Samuel Bogert, James Board.
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HISTORY OF BERGEN COUNTY
Peter Schuyler, John Berdan. Jacob Magel, Johannes Van Houten, Johannes Wag- ner [his (V. W.) mark], Roelef Westervelt, Hendrick Yeshopp, Abraham Dirick [his (A. D.) mark], Dirick Guysen. Peter Marsetin. Jansen Post. Jacobtis Buck, Reynier V. Giere. Timothy Moore; Jr., Jacob Mead, Johannes Reverse, Dirick Cuyper, Samuel Moore, Jacob Dobson, Cornelius Bogert, Housens Van Bitskirk, Casparus Schuyler, Simon Juland. William Van Emburgh, Johannes Demarest, Ephanus Van Horne, Wabigh Van Buskirk, Peter Bogert, Rydsley Jecken, Jacobtis Jeter, Isaac Kingsland.
"Qualified as Vendue master this 22d May, 1755, before me. * JOHN SCHUYLER."
*This probably refers to the last person named, Isaac Kingsland. The following note from the records will throw some light upon the office of "vendue master :"
"It is ordered by the Board of Justices and Freeholders of the County of Bergen that Jacob Titshort shall be vendue master to sell arms and accoutrements. and to receive for his tronble 6 pence per pound. ** Oct. 4. 1763 .**
These were arms and accoutrements used in the French war. They were sold at the court-house in Hackensack on Monday, Oct. 17. 1763.
CHAPTER IX. CIVIL LIST OF BERGEN COUNTY.
At the head of this list we give the board of justices and freeholders from 1715-the date of the earliest records to be found-to 1794, when the justices ceased to act in the board with the freeholders, and the board from that time forward was composed only of the latter. The freeholders will be found named, so far as data could be obtained, in their respective town histories :
JUSTICES AND FREEHOLDERS.
1715, Justices, Thomas Lawrence, George Ryerson, John Berdan, Martin Powlson. Freeholders, John Flagg, Ryer Ryerson, Rutt Van Horne, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Nicholas Lazier, John Bogart. 1716, Justices, David Provost, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Van Buskirk, George Ryerson, John Flagg, David Demarest. Freeholders, Hendrick Cooper, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Miholes Lasire, Jacob Blinkerhof, Ryer Ryerson, David Danjelse, Peter Garretson, Cornelius Van Vorst, John Van Houte, John De Mott, John Huyler, Isaac Van Der Beck, Jr., Arent Schuyler, Jacob Berdan, Abraham Haring, Abraham G. Haring. 1717, Justices, David Provost, Thos. Law- rence, Thos. Van Buskirk, Geo. Ryerson, Jno. Flagg. Freeholders, Andries Van Bus- kirk, Rutt Van Horne, Jacob Bantaw, Jacobus Blinkerhof, David Ackerman, Harp Gar- rabrantse, Peter Garretson, Thos. Garretson. 1720, Justices, David Provost, Thos. Lawrence, Thomas Van Buskirk, George Ryerson, John Berdan. Freeholders, David Ackerman, Lucas Kinstud, Lawrence Van Buskirk, Rutt Van Horne, Roelef Bogert, Roelef Westervelt. 1721, Justices, Thomas Lawrence. Thomas Van Buskirk, Geo. Ryerson, John Berdan, John Flagg. Freeholders, Hendrick Cooper, Rutt Van Horne, Charles Lazier, David Demarest, Michael Van Winkle, David Ackerman, William Flagg, Arent Turce. 1722, Justices, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Van Bus- kirk, George Ryerson, John Flagg. Freeholders, Hendrick Cooper, Garret Tury- ance, David Demarest, Andriese Van Orden, Thomas Fredrickson, Johannes Nefie, Johannes Walingson. 1723, Justices, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Van Buskirk, George Ryerson, John Berdan, John Flagg, Wander Deadrick. Freeholders, John Wright, Egbert Ackerson, Andriese Van Orden, William Dey, Cornelius Blinkerhof, David Danjelson, John. Hopper, Peter Tebou. 1724, Justices, Thomas Lawrence, Thomas Van Buskirk, John Berdan, Ryer Ryerson. Freeholders, Philip Schuyler, Garrett Garretson, Martin Powlson, John Loats, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Johannes Garretson, Johannes Ackerman. 1725, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, Isaac Van Geren, John Berdan. Freeholders, Philip Schuyler, Garret Garretson, Martin Powlson, John Loats, Cornelius Blinkerhot, Johannes Garretson, Johannes Acker- man. 1726, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, Thomas Lawrence, Isaac Van Gesen, John Berdan, Thomas Oldwater. Freeholders, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Johannes Van Wagen, John Bogert, Jacobus Blinkerhof, Michael Van Winkle, Egbert Ackerman, Johannes Garretson. 1727, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, John Berdan, George Ryerson. Freeholders, Henry Brockholst, Derrick Barentson, John Guest, Egbert Ackerman, Claes Lazier, John Bogert, Johannes Garretson, Cornelius Blinkerhof. 1728, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, George Ryerson, Isaac Van Geren, Ryer Ryer- son. Freeholders, Philip Schuyler, Derrick Barentson, Abraham Ackerman, Tury Westervelt, Johannes Van Wagene, Claes Lazier, John Zabriskie. 1729, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, Thomas Lawrence, Isaac Van Gesen. Freeholdsrs, Mathias De Mott, Hendrick Kuyper, Johannes Van Wagene, John Zabriskie, Arie Banta, Hendrick Van Der Linde. Egbert Ackerman. 1730, Justices, Thomas Van Buskirk, Isaac Van Gesen, Thomas Oldwater, George Ryerson, Roelef Van Houten. Free- holders, Hendrick K. Kuyfer, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Arie Banta, Derrick Van Honte, Derrick Blinkerhof, Hendrick Van Der Linde. 1731, Justices, William Pro- voost, George Ryerson, Isaac Van Gesen, Ryer Ryerson, John Flagg, Henry Van Der Linde, Derrick Kuyper, Mathias De Mott, Richard Edsall, Benjamin Demarest. Freeholders, Hery Van Der Linde, Hendrick Kuyper, Cornelius Blinkerhof, Arie Banta, Thomas Fredericks. 1732, Justices, William Provoost, Ryer Ryerson, Henry Van Der Linde, Benjamin Demarest, Derrick Kuyper. Freeholders, Egbert Acker- man, Hendrick Kuyper, Hendrick Van Winkle, Jacob Hendrickse Banta, John Chris- tian. 1733, Justices, William Provoost, George Ryerson, Ryer Ryerson, Henry Van Der Linde, Derrick Kuyper, Benjamin Demarest, Mathias De Mott. Freeholders,
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