USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 27
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In the political agitations that followed the change of gov- ernment, this question of titles exerted a powerful influence, especially in and about this town. The people were divided into parties or factions, the lines of which were mostly deter- mined by this issue, - to them of all-absorbing interest. The character of the party-strife that ensued may, to some extent, be gathered from a communication written by Col. Lewis Morris, Feb. 9, 1703, to the Secretary of State. Re-
303
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
ferring to the period of Lord Cornbury's accession to the gov- ernment of New Jersey, he observes, of the Province, that
He found it divided into two parties, the one called Hamiltons and the other Basses partie; Hamilton's partie in East New-Jersey, consisted of the gentlemen of the best figure and fortune and majority of the people. Basse being formerly an Anabaptist Minister, those of that religion, some Quakers, and a miselanious mob, where of his partie .*
Col. Richard Townley, of the Hamilton party, and a noted enemy to democracy, was chosen to the Assembly of 1703; and, when there, became so warm a partisan of Lord Corn- bury, as, Nov. 29, 1705, to be appointed one of his Council,- a position' which he retained until his death in 1711.+
In the Assembly, that met in November, 1704, this town had no representative, the county members being from New- ark. By questioning the qualifications of three of the mem- bers, Cornbury obtained a majority, and carried his measures. A militia law was passed, that proved a terrible grievance to the Quakers who constituted so large a portion of the popu- lation. The laying out of the highways was entrusted to the most inveterate party men, of whose proceedings Col. Morris gives the following damaging account :
They pull'd down their enemies inclosures, laid waies through their orchards, gardens & improvemts ; there was one gentleman at whom they had an extraordinary pique, and they laid a way over a mill pond, to ne- cessitate him to pull down dam & mills that could not be erected for 1000 pounds, or to pull it down themselves, though the gentleman offered to build a bridge over the streame, at his own charge, ¿ of a mile distant tych would have been ? nearer and better way. To be short they never omitted an ill turn they could do, and alwaies went out of their way to do it.
The country was impoverished by excessive taxation to support the government :--
The whole Province was filled with murmurs and complaints; but neither that nor ye hearty curses they liberaly bestow'd upon the vilains that were ye authors of their sufferings, avail'd any thing; they were forced to get money, some by takeing it up at 10, 20, 30, & more pr Cent interest, those whose credit would not go, even on yo most desperate
* N. Y. Col. Docmts., V. 34.
+ Smith's N. J., p. 276. Analytical Index of N. J. Docmts., pp. 49, 55, 4, 7, 04.
304
THE HISTORY OF
terms, were forc't to sell wt they had was vendible, to raise the money, and very many there was yt sold good milch cowes to raise six shillings .*
This is the language of a partisan, Col. Morris, belonging to the Proprietary party ; yet, taken even with the needful abatement, it serves to show the state of parties, the corrup- tion of officials, and the distress of the people at that period ; in all of which this town bore its full share, and more.
The Act of Indemnity, sought the previous year, was passed by the Assembly of 1704, and received the Governor's sanc- tion.
The ignorance of Cornbury, in respect to the issues before the people, is well exemplified in a letter, June 14, 1704, to the Lords of Trade, in which he says :
Col. Nichols coming into these parts found ye people of New York re- fractory and not inclinable to submit to him, but found ye people of Eliz- abethtown ready to obey his orders in all things, by which means ye people of New York became tractable and did submit. Col. Nichols thought himself obliged to doe something for ye people of Elizabethtown yt might be as a reward for their fidelity upon yt consideration granted them ye lands they now hold.t
This, in a State Paper, from the Head of a Colonial Gov- ernment ! Contemptible ! No such town existed before his coming.
In the Assembly that met at Burlington, Ap. 5, 1707, this town was represented by Capt. Daniel Price. The Burgesses openly rebuked Cornbury for his ontrages on the rights of the people, and stood up manfully for their own prerogatives. Nine members of the Council, of whom Col. Richard Town- ley was one, drew up and transmitted to the Queen an un- qualified defence of Cornbury, in which they expressed their " dislike and abhorrence " of the proceedings of the repre- sentative body. Counter statements were forwarded by the Assembly, which, in connection with the complaints from every quarter of the two Provinces, N. York and N. Jersey, resulted in Cornbury's displacement, and the appointment, April 22, 1708, of John, Lord Lovelace, to succeed him.}
* N. Y. Col. Docmts., V. 36, 7.
t Analytical Index of N. J. Docmts., p. 47. # Smith's N. J., pp. 288-95, 845-8, 55.
305
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
The town made choice, in 1708, and in 1709, of Benjamin Lyon to represent them in the Assembly. Lovelace was re- moved by death, May 6, 1709, less than six months after his arrival, and the government devolved on Lt. Gov. Richard Ingoldsby, until the arrival of Gov. Robert Hunter at New York, June 14, 1710. Col. Townley was retained in the Council, and Joseph Marsh, of this town, was a representa- tive in the Assembly, that met in December of the same year. In a representation, made by the Representative body to the Governor, of the affairs of the Province, it was insisted upon, that, in order to reconcile the people to the govern- ment, it was indispensable that eight of the members of the Council, who had rendered themselves obnoxious, should be removed. Col. Townley was of this number. Similar repre- sentations were made by 18 of the Proprietors. Counter statements, in justification of their course, were made by the obnoxious gentlemen of the Council, in which they declared themselves "in conscience bound " to preserve the royal pre- rogative from licentious encroachments. Gov. Hunter, writ- ing to the Board of Trade, May 7, 1711, says,-
Unless Her Majesty be pleased to remove from Her Councill in the Jersey's William Pinhorne, Daniel Cox, Peter Sonmans, and William Hall there are no hopes of peace and quiet in that Province, Collonel Townley is since dead.
These representations prevailed ; the removals were ef- fected, and peace was restored. Gov. Hunter proved an acceptable ruler, his administration contrasting with Corn- bury's to great advantage.
In the absence of other material, something of the history of the town during the first ten years of the eighteenth cen- tury may be learned from these general statements respect- ing the Province. In all the agitations of the times, conse- quent on these provincial events, the people of this town, ever foremost in the warfare for popular rights, could not but have taken an active and decided part-the more so because of the persecution, by Cornbury, of the Rev. Mr. Brooke, their worthy townsman, and his untimely death.
20
306
THE HISTORY OF
In 1710, Col. Richard Townley, Benjamin Price, Jr., Daniel Price, and Jonas Wood, were Justices of the Peace; John Hainds, Constable ; and Samuel Melyen, and Thomas Price, were Overseers of the highways, for this town. Andrew Hampton and Richard Baker were on the Committee for regulating the highways of the County. In 1711, Isaac Whitehead, Benjamin Price, Benjamin Lyon, John Wood- ruff, and John Blanchard were Justices; John Hainds and Benjamin Meeker were Constables; and Benjamin Ogden, Jr., and Samuel Ogden were Overseers of the highways. In 1712, the Justices were the same ; James Seeres and Samuel Ogden were Constables; and Samuel Winans and John Scudder were Overseers of the highways. In 1713; Con- stables-Ebenezer Lyon and Wm. Clarke; Overseers of the highways-John Craine and Joseph Kellsey. In 1714 ; Con- stables-John Thomson and Benjamin Spinning; Overseers -- Daniel Gale and Robert Little; Assessors-Capt. Price and John Harriman. In 1715 and '16 ; Constables-Richard Harriman and Elijah Davis ; Overseers-James Hinds, Jr. and Jacob Mitchell. In 1717 ; Constables-Benjamin Bond, Nathaniel Whitehead, and Wm. Strayhearn ; Overseers- Joseph Bond, John Lambert, Jeremiah Peck, and Benjamin Parkhurst; on the County Committee of highways-Ben- jamin Lyon and Samuel Potter. In 1718 ; Constables-John Gould, Nathaniel Whitehead, and Wm. Strayhearn ; Over- seers of the highways-Edward Frazey, Benjamin Spinning, Robert Wade, and Daniel Woodruff; Surveyors of the high- ways-Capt. Daniel Price, and James Sayre. In 1719 ; Con- stables-Wm. Strayhearn, Samuel Oliver, Jr., and Thomas Currey ; Overseers-David Morehouse, Samuel Oliver, Jr., and Joseph Marsh, Jr. In 1716 and 1721, Joseph Bonnel was chosen to the Legislature."
These appointments, embracing a period of about ten years, may serve to show who they were of the second generation that were chosen to office, and were looked upon as men of activity and influence, by their townsmen. In almost every instance they were the sons or grandsons of
* Records of Court, at Newark.
307
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
the old planters, whose names are still represented in the town.
A single incident will illustrate the manners of the day. At the Quarter Sessions, in this town, August 19, 1712, Richard Baker, Joshua Henlock, and George Jewell, were indicted " for suffering the Game of Cards to be played in their houses." At the next term, in November, the indict- ment was quashed on their payment of the fees.
The old difficulty about the northern boundary line re- mained unadjusted, as appears from a Town-Meeting at Newark, Feb. 21, 1712.
The Inhabitants of Newark were asked, whether they were willing to come to an Agreement with the Inhabitants of Elizabeth Town about settling the Bounds between them and us, which was unanimously con- sented unto: And in Order thereunto by vote chose a Committee to en- deavor for an agreement, (viz. : ) Mr. John Treat, Mr. Jasper Crane, Capt. Johnson, Mr. Theophilus Pierson, Mr. Joseph Harrison, Sarjt. John Morris, and John Cooper -- did likewise put into their Hands the full Power of agreement, and did verbally by Words engage to rest satisfied with what the said Committee should do in that Affair .*
Similar, doubtless, was the course pursued here. Confer ences must have been held, and probably some thing agreed upon ; and yet more than 42 years afterwards the line be- tween the two towns had not been finally adjusted.
A series of prosecutions was commenced, the first year of George I., in the interest of the Proprietors, to test once more the validity of the Nicolls' Grant, subjecting, for a long term of years, the Associate settlers to vexations annoyances, great disquietude, and no small expense.
James Emott had obtained, April 6, 1686, of the Propri- etors, a Patent for 300 acres of land on the West side of Rahway river, within the town bounds, and claimed by the Associates as part of their lands in common. In the division of 1699-1700, Lot No. 148, containing 100 acres, surveyed by John Harriman, Jr., and the Town Committee, was as- signed to Joseph Woodruff. It covered a part of the land that had been surveyed, March 20, 1685, by John Reid,
* Newark Town Records, pp. 123, 141.
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THE HISTORY OF
. (Surveyor for the Proprietors), for James Emott. At the de- cease of Emott, this claim came into the possession of his widow, Mary Lawrence, the step-daughter, first of Gov. Car- teret, and then of Col. Townley ; and so, into the hands of the Rev. Edward Vaughan, the Episcopal Minister of this Town, by her marriage to him in 1714 .*
Whereupon, in the November Term of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1714, Mr. Vaughan brought an Action of Ejectment against Joseph Woodruff. The Cause came to trial, in May, 1716, the judges being, as was alleged, in the Proprietary interest. A special verdict was found ; and, for several Terms, the case was argued at length on both sides, resulting, May, 1718, in a judgment by the Court in favor of Vaughan. Thereupon, by Writ of Error, Woodruff carried the Cause before the Governor and Council, intending, if judgment were given against him there, to appeal it to the King in Council ; but "the Governor and Council would never be prevailed upon to give a Judgment in the said Cause ; but after about Ten or Twelve Years Delay, and a vast Expense in the Cause, the said Case dropt without being decided."+
About the time of this Judgment and Appeal, the old Town Books, in which the proceedings of the various Town- Meetings from the beginning of the settlement for more than fifty years, and the various surveys ordered by vote of the town, had been regularly recorded,-to the irreparable loss of the town-history, disappeared, and have never since been recovered. The earliest statement of the loss is found in the initial entry of Town-Book B. (which, happily, has been preserved), under date of Aug. 2, 1720, and which is as follows :
Whereas, The Books of Record, Belonging To The said Elizabeth Town, wherein The Important affairs of The same Towne were Recorded from The Begining Thereof; have Been privately Taken Away from him unto whose Care and Custody They were Committed; And Are not Likely To be Again Obtained: It is now Therefore, By A free And unanimous Agreement of the freehold's aforesd Concluded and Resolved ;
* E. Town Book, B. 33: E. J. Records, L. 64, 70 ; A. 334.
1 E. T. Bill, pp. 46, 122. Ans. to Do., p. 32.
309
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
That This present Book Now Is And Shall Be Improved To be, A book of Records, for the use and behoof of the freeholders of Elizabeth Town Aforesa, And for no Other use whatsoever .*
At a later date, July 30, 1734,
Samuel Whitehead Being Duly Sworn and of full age Saith that accord- ing to ye Beest of his memory (he Being for more than Thirty years Clark of Elizth Town) and having the Charge and Care of ye Town Books of Records that the Said Books of Record were priviately Stollin and taken away, Wherein was Contained a certain Grant and License to purchase, &c.
In a document, prepared with much care, and signed, No- vember 18, 1729, by one hundred and eleven Associates, with their seals affixed, the story of the lost books is thus recited :
But it so happened, that the sd Books wherein the sd Surveys or the greater Number of them were Entred by Some One or more Design- ing Person or persons were Craftily and Maliciously Stole and (as there is no Small reason to believe) were Burnt or otherwise destroy'd, So that the benefit thereby intended to the parties afforesd and their As-igns became Wholly ffrustrate and Void; Yet not so but the like Good Effect may be hoped for, from something of a Like Nature since the Original Surveys afforesd are as Yet Existing as appears Not Only by the Oath of the Officer who was Surveyor, but by divers Other concurring Cir- cumstances to the Satisfaction of the Parties afforesd.t
In the Chancery Bill, Thomas Clarke, &c., vs. James Alex- ander, &c., 1754, it is affirmed that the books were taken out of the house of Samuel Whitehead, by Henry Norris and Thomas Gould, in 1718 or 1719, at the instance of those in the Proprietaries' interest.
On the other hand, the Proprietors affirmed, that the " Book pretended to be lost or, destroyed," had been con- cealed, or destroyed by the Associates themselves. Against which, however, in reply, a strong argument is presented by the Associates, to show, for several specified reasons, that it is the height of absurdity to suppose that they would destroy a Book so essential to the proof of their several properties. They say : that they "hope to prove, that this Book was taken away from the Custody of Samuel Whitehead, to whom
* E. Town Book, B. 1, 2, o. end. + E. T. Book, B. 6, o. end ; 3. * p. 16.
310
THE HISTORY OF
it was committed by the People of Elizabeth Town, to be safely kept, by the Means of one or more Persons, who claimed Shares of Propriety Rights." They say, "That, to their great Disappointment, the Town-Book is lost ; " but, that it was destroyed by " those who claimed under the first Purchasers and Associates, and by or with their consent and Approbation " they " believe to be utterly false." Reference is frequently made subsequently to these early books, in which the language almost uniformly used is,-" being, as is supposed, destroyed or conveyed away ;" showing a lurking suspicion that the books were in a place of concealment, and intimating that possibly they might yet be recovered-a hope never fulfilled. There is no intimation anywhere to be found, that they have ever been seen since their disappear- ance in 1718 or 19, and not the least prospect now of their ever being recovered .*
As it was quite likely that others, holding by Proprietary rights, would follow the example of Mr. Vanghan, the Epis- copal Missionary, and prosecute their claims before the Courts, the Associates determined to make common cause with the sufferers, in defending them against all claimants, and legal procedures. Accordingly, at a town-meeting, purporting to be "a Meeting of the Inhabitants and freehold- ers of Elizabeth Town, August 2, 1720," the following record was made :
Item. By a Unanimous Vote of The freeholders aforesd It Is Agreed and Concluded, That a Committee of seven men Be Chosen from Among Them, To Represent Them and Every of Them the sd freeholders, In all affairs, Touching the Settlement of Their, and Every of Their Just Rights & Properties.
And Accordingly, by a Unanimous Vote of the freeholders aforesa the Day and Year Abovesd there was Chosen A Committee of Seven men, all being of the freeholders Aforesd whose Names are As followeth (vizt) Mr John Blanchard, Capt Joseph Bonnel, John Crane, Joseph Williams, Samuel Potter, Nathaniel Bonnel, And Daniel Sayre; To whom the freeholders aforesd have Given and Granted, And by these Presents Do Give and Grant, all their full Power And Authority, To Act and Do for them And in their name and behalf, whatsoever to them (or the Major part of them the
* E. T. Bill, p. 32. Ans. to Do., p. 22. Town Book, B., ubique.
311
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
said Committee, shall (by themselves or their Councill Learned) seem Mete and proper In all things Touching the settlement of all, & Every of the said freeholders, In their Just Rights And properties, As they and Every of them Claim by force of Grant and Purchase, under Governour Richard Nicholls .*
This seems to have been the first instance of the appoint- ment of Trustees, or "Committee Men," as they were more generally called, for the disposal of the common lands of the town, and for the systematic and organized defence of the people's title to their inheritance, of which they or their fa- thers had now been in possession more than fifty years. The measure was wise and salutary, as well as necessary. It served as an effectual barrier to all encroachments from ont- siders, and gave great annoyance to the wealthy and power- ful Board or Council of Proprietors, who found themselves continully checked and thwarted ever afterward, by this reso- lute and most efficient body of Committee Men, to whose energy and efficiency they could not but bear the most de- cided and positive testimony.+
The members of this Committee appear to have served at the pleasure of the town, the term of their holding office not being specified. Changes were made, as circumstances required.
More than nine years afterwards, at a numerous meeting of the Associates, full power was again given to the Town Com- mittee, to act in the premises, at which time, Nov. 18, 1729, Benjamin Bond, Joseph Woodruff, and John Harriman were appointed on the Committee in the place of John Crane, Joseph Williams, and Daniel Sayre, the first and the last having deceased.
The names of the Associates present are attached, with their seals, to a paper, previously recorded, of the same date, in which are recited briefly the Nature of their Title-Deeds, the Names of the Original Associates, and of those of 1699 additional, together with a statement of the Loss of the Town Books, and an Agreement to allow the new Book to be re- garded as a Lawful Record of Surveys and Conveyances.
* Town Book, B., o. end. I.
+ E. T. Bill, 47-52. Ans. to Do., 33
312
THE HISTORY OF
The several subscriptions are as follows :
Jonathan Ogden
Daniel Potter
John Clark
John Woodruff
William Strayhearn
John Osborne
Jonathan Dickinson
Joseph willis
Isaac orsbon
Samuel Whitehead
Sam11 miller
hope carpntr
John Lambert
Joseph Williams
David Dunham
John Harriman
George Ross Jun™
Andrew Craige
Richard Clarke
Samuel Potter
John Crane
John megie
Samuel x Serin
Caleb Jefferrys
benj inin Wade
Joseph Tooker
John Denman
Robert Wade
Benjamin Watkins
Thomas Price
Joseph x osbourn
Jonath : Allen
Miles Williams
Leonard milse
John Ross
Thomas x Akin
Ephraim Price
Ichabod Burnet
Richard Lambert
John Moriss
Henry Connet
Joseph Clark
John Blanchard Jun™
Thomas x Baker
John Atkinson
Jeremiah Crain
John Megie Jn
Elnathan Cory
Stephen Harriman
William Clarke
Jonathan Crane
Simon Searing
John x Robeson
Edward Gillman
Jhon royno
Nath11 Hubbel
David Lambert
Peter Blanchard
Matthias Hetfield
richerd hall
John x Bryant
Noadiah Potter
Richard Clark jnr
Benjamin x Clarke
Robert Wade 2d
Josiah Terrill
Joseph woodroff
Joseph Bonnel
John lambert 3ª
John Wade
Benja Bond
Joseph Cory
Stephen Crane
John Thompson
John Shotwell
Joseph Ludlam
Abraham Clark
Ephraim Terrill
Joseph woodruffe
John x Baker
John Terrill
Joseph x Morss
Joshua x Marsh
Samuel Woodruf
Daniell Meaker
Ben Woodruff
Daniel Williams
Joseph Halsy
Joseph Megie
David x Jennings
Henry Clarke
Jonathan Dayton
John Willis
John Peirson Timothy Woodruff
Jonathan Whitaker
Wm Brant
Thomas Woodruff
James Colie
John meeker
Caleb Woodruff
Ezekiel Sayre
Matthew Connet
Daniel Ross Jr
Benjamin x Acarlee
Wm Broadwell
Moses Thomson
Thomas Jefferrys
Nath : Bonnel
Robert Ogden
Thomas Chapman *
Richerd Miller .
It is rather creditable to the humble yeomanry whose names are here given, that all of them, save those that are marked with x, were able to write their own names ; though
* Town Book, B. 1-10.
313
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
it must be admitted that the chirography, in most cases, is capable of much improvement. The list is far from complete. Other lists, a few years later, show that very many, who were living in the town at this date, and in full sympathy with these subscribers, are not included in the list of signatures. It contains, probably, only those who were present at the town-meeting and voted. The subscribing witnesses were, Thomas Price and Thomas Hill.
Several new names appear. Among them, and third in order, is the name of the two Presbyterian ministers, Jonathan Dickinson, of the town, and Nathaniel Hubbell, of Westfield, among the leaders of the party of popular rights, as Mr. Vaughan, the Episcopal minister, whose law-suit was still pending, was of the opposing party. So numerous, too, was the former party, it will be observed, that their business was transacted in the name of the town,-at a "town-meeting," and not a meeting of the party.
An almost entire change was made in the membership of the Committee of Seven Select Men, at the town-meeting, April 4, 1732, Joseph Williams, Joseph Halsey, Jeremiah Crane, Samuel Miller, Caleb Jefferys, John Crane, and Joseph Bonnel, Esq", having been then appointed .*
Another litigation was commenced in 1731. Patrick Lith- gow had become a claimant, by a Proprietary right, to a tract of land west of the Rahway river, within the bounds of the town, that originally, Ap. 11, 1682, had been surveyed to Sir George and Philip Carteret, and conveyed subsequent- ly to Peter Schuyler. A portion of the same tract, by virtue of the Allotment of 1699-1700, and by right of the Indian purchase of 1664, had come into the possession of John Robison, Henry Clarke, Andrew Craige, Joshua Marsh and others of the E. T. Associates. Actions of Ejectment were brought, in the May Term of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1731, against these four occupants. These cases came to trial at the May Term of 1734, and a general verdict was found by a Middlesex jury, for the defendants :- thus, as understood by the latter and their friends, confirm-
* Town Book, D. 11.
314
THE HISTORY OF
ing the validity of the E. Town Purchase and the Nicolls Grant .*
In order more firmly to bind themselves and those who purchased of them, to the defence of their Titles, bonds were given to [Rev.] Nathaniel Hubbell, Johr Crane, and Joseph Shotwell, a Committee of Trustees chosen for this purpose, whereby they severally came under obligation, to pay (not exceeding the sum of £10, Proclamation Money,) such sums as should be duly assessed upon them by the said Trustees towards defraying the charges and expenses of maintaining and defending the E. Town Title, according to the judgment and discretion of the Committee of Seven.t
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