USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 32
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* Clark's St. John's Chb., pp. 44, 5.
t Ib., pp. 45, 6.
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adorned his character with an exemplary life and conversation; and so behaved himself with all due prudence and fidelity ; showing uncorrupt- ness, gravity, sincerity, and sound speech ; that they who are of the con- trary part have no evil thing to say of him .*
In 1721, his audience had increased to 200 souls, and the communicants were more than 40 in number. For ten years no memorial of him is found. But, Oct. 6, 1731, he writes :
My congregation encreaseth not only in this Town, but in the neigh- bouring Towns of Newark, Whippany and the Mountains [Orange] where I visit and preach to a numerous assembly occasionally and in the wilder- ness and dispense the Sacrament to them. I have Baptized here and elsewhere within the compass of two years last past 556 children besides 64 adults, and find in the people a general disposition to receive the Gos- pel according to the way and manner taught and established in the Church of England.t
At the close of 1733, he reports the baptism, for the year, of 88 children and five adults ; and for 1734, "13 Adults 6 of which were negroes, and 162 children." The communi- cants were seventy. In the year, ending, May 29, 1739, he baptized 129 Infants and 3 adults, and the number of communicants was 84. A glebe " of nine acres of good land, with a fine orchard thereon," had been acquired "by the Piety and favor of a very worthy widow Mrs. Anne Arskins [Erskine] of Elizabeth Town .;
" Mrs. Arskins " was the widow of John Erskine, who came over in the Scotch immigration of 1684-5, who was, in all probability, originally a Presbyterian.
When Mr. Whitefield visited the town in 1739 and 1740, Mr. Vaughan stood aloof from him, and wrote to the Secre- tary of the Society giving an account of his preaching with strictures on his doctrine.§
Mr. Vaughan continued in the work of the ministry, as the Rector of St. John's Church, until his decease about the 12th of October, 1747, "far advanced in years." It has been said, on high authority, that Mr. Vaughan and Mr. Dickin- son " both lay corpses on the same day, the latter having
* Humphrey's Hist. of the S. P. G. F., p. 77.
# Ibid., pp. 50, 1, 5.
t Clark's St. John's Chh., pp. 48, 9.
§ Clark's St. John's Chh., p. 55.
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died a few hours the first." But in a letter, written less than three months after the event, in the name of the Church Wardens and Vestry of St. John's Church, it is said, " A few days before the death of Mr. Vaughan, Mr. Dickinson late Dissenting Teacher in this place departed this life." As the latter died on the 7th, it is probable that Mr. Vaughan died on or about the 12th .*
It is, also, reported, that when tidings reached Mr. Vaug- han, then old and feeble, and nigh unto death, that Mr. Dick- inson was dead, he exclaimed, "Oh that I had hold of the skirts of Brother Jonathan !" As their " personal relations were always of the most pleasant character," the report is not improbable. It must have been a season of great desola- tion, when the town was thus deprived, at the same time, of both of its pastors-settled at the same period, continuing with them nearly forty years, and then stricken down the same week.t
Mr. Vaughan's Will was dated, July 30, 1747: in which he speaks of his brother-in-law, Charles Townley, his niece, Mrs. Sarah Townley, and her sister, Mary Townley (subse- quently married to Stephen Burrows) ; also, his sister-in-law, · Mrs. Shackmaple. To Sarah Townley (afterwards the wife of John Harriman, 3d) he left his negro-man Jack, his plate, his carriage, and the use of his dwelling house. His books he gave to Walter Dongan, one of his Executors. To the Propagation Society for the use of a Church of England minister in Elizabeth Town, he gave his nine-acre lot. His wife was the half-sister of Charles Townley, but about 20 years older.
The memory of Mr. Vaughan, as in the case of Mr. Dick- inson was very precious to the people of his charge. From the information received by the Rev. Dr. Rudd, from Gen. Matthias Williamson, who died Nov. S, 1807, at the age of 91 years, and whose recollections of Mr. Vaughan were very distinct and grateful,
* Clark's St. John's Chh., p. 55. Rev. Dr. Rudd's Hist. Notices of St. John's Chh., p. 10. Dr. Chandler says, that they " died in the same month of the year-47."
t Rev. Dr. Murray's Notes, p. 129.
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It would appear that he was happily constituted for the times in which he lived, and the sphere of his labours. He was sprightly and engaging as a companion, as a friend and neighbour kind and liberal, and his public ministrations were marked by great solemnity and tenderness, especially the administration of the holy Supper.
At the time of the settlement of these two patriarchs, their two congregations were the only ones in the town, and the Episcopal congregation had just been gathered, including but a very few families. At the time of their decease, Presbyterian congregations had been gathered and ministers settled over them, at Westfield, at Connecticut Farms, at Turkey or New Providence, at Rahway, at Basking Ridge, at Rocsiticus [Mendham], at West Hanover [Morristown], and at Springfield,-all of which were included within the original township of Elizabeth.
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ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
CHAPTER XVII.
A. D. 1740-1764.
Negro Plot - Land Conflicts - Appeal to the Crown -Tumults - Secret Meet- ings -E. T. Bill in Chancery - Answer - Death of Gov. Morris -Jonathan Beleber, Gov. - Issue of the long Conflict with the Proprietors- Death of Mayor Bonnel - Lottery Mania -Two Lottery Schemes -- Prof. Kalm's Notices of the Town -Col. Rickett's Affair in N. Y. Harbor - Notices of Gov. Belcher - Removes to E. T. - His Hospitality and Piety - Befriends the Col- lege - Gives it a new Charter - Incorporates the Presbyterian Chb. - Makes E. T. the Seat of Government -His Death and Character - Judge Ross - Addresses of the Corporation -Town Officers-Newspaper Notices - The Barracks -First Centenary Celebration.
THE Incorporation of the Borough, Feb. 8, 1728, was fol- lowed, the same year, by the scenes and excitements of "the Great Revival," absorbing the attention and interest of nearly the whole community. The year following, 1741, witnessed one of those remarkable panics to which a slaveholding com- munity are ever liable. The city of New York, in the spring and summer of that year, was terribly agitated by the report of a Negro Conspiracy to burn the city and murder the white population, the particulars of which, by Recorder Horsmanden, have been so minutely and faithfully described in his "History of the Negro Plot." To the disgrace of humanity,
During the progress of this affair, one hundred and fifty four negroes were committed to prison ; of whom fourteen were burnt at the stake ; eighteen hanged; seventy one transported, and the rest pardoned or dis- charged for want of proof. Twenty white persons were committed, of whom four were executed .*
Two were burned on the 3d of May, and the remaining
* Valentine's N. York, p. 275.
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twelve in June following. Horrible as these transactions were, they were not confined to New York. The panic ex- tended to this neighborhood, whither some of the suspected blacks had fled for safety. Two at least of the poor creatures were arrested, within the County of Essex, tried, found guilty, and condemned to the same inhuman fate. The Account Book of the Justices and Freeholders of the county contains the following records :
June 4, 1741. Daniel Harrison Sent in his account of wood Carted for Burning two Negros allowd Cury. 0. 11. 0.
February 25, 1742. Joseph Heden acct for Wood to Burn the Negros Mr Farrand paid allowed. . 0. 7. 0. Allowed to Isaac Lyon 4/ Curry for a load of Wood to burn the first Negro . . 0. 4. 0.
At the latter meeting were present, "Matthias Hatfield Justice for Elizth town, John Halsted freeholder for Elizth town." At the former, "John Ogden, Justice, John Halsted and John Stiles freeholders for Elizebethtown." Zophar Beech was allowed 7s. for "Irons for ye Negro that was Burnt." The latter seems to have been allowed, Feb. 27, 1738, and probably refers to a prior event. Possibly, there were three burned at the stake. The Sheriff on whom it de- volved to to execute the judgments of the Court, at this pe- riod, was William Chetwood of this town.
Whether these executions had any connection with the so-called "Negro Conspiracy " at New York, or not, they show a feature of the times not to be overlooked by the faith- ful historian.
The troubles with the "Proprietors" were perpetuated, and soon after the occurrences just mentioned greatly in- creased. In 1740, the Town Committee consisted of John Crane, Jonathan Dayton, John Megie, Thomas Clarke, An- drew Joline, Joseph Man, and Andrew Craige. Robert Ogden, (the second of the name) a young lawyer, 24 years old, was chosen, Oct. 2, 1740, "Town Clark." He became, subsequently, one of the most influential men in the town .*
The two Actions of Ejectment, brought by the Penn
* E. Town Book, B. 21, 2.
å
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brothers, against Chambers and Alcorn, in 1735, (as already noticed), came on for trial, at Amboy, Aug. 14, 1741; result- ing, on the 16th, in a general verdict for the plaintiffs, on the ground that the lands in question were not included in the E. Town Purchase. To meet the expenses of this suit, it was resolved at a town meeting, Dec. 15, 1741,
That the Committee of said Town should have full Power and Athor- ity Given To them By Us To Sell and Dispose of all that three Hundred Acres of Upland Lying near Ash Swamp which was Layed Out in the Year One thousand Six Hundred and Ninety Nine (Alias) Seven IIun- dred for the Town Aforesaid : in Order to Defray the Cost and Charge of the Sute Between William Pen Thomas Pen and Others: and the Said Town .*
An Action of Ejectment had, also, been brought, August, 1737, in the name of James Jackson, on the right of Joseph Halsey, one of the Associates, against John Vail, holding by a Proprietary right, which came to trial, March 17, 1743, resulting, on the 19th, in a general verdict for the plaintiff ; which was carried, by appeal, before the Governor and Council.t
The case of Cooper vs. Moss and others, also, came to trial in August 1742, resulting in a verdict, by a Morris County Jury, for the plaintiff. Other Actions were brought, of a similar character, some of which were, by compromise, with- drawn ; and others went to trial with like results. "To enume- rate all the Actions of Trespass, and Trespass and Ejectment, which have been occasioned by the different claims of the Peo- ple of Elizabeth-Town and the Proprietors," would occupy too much space in this Memoir. It was alleged, that the County of Morris had been so formed, March 15, 173g, and the County of Somerset had been so altered, Nov. 4, 1741, as to bring much of the land in question into those counties, so that these cases might be tried before Somerset or Morris Co. jurors, known to be inimical to the claims of the E. T. Associates. So, also, it was alleged, that the Judges were mostly in the in- terest of their persecutors.#
* E. T. Bill, p. 43. Ans. to Do., p. 34. E. T. Book, B. 23.
+ E. T. Bill, pp. 43, 9. Ans. to Do., p. 34. Ans. to E. T. Bill, pp. 85, 6.
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In these circumstances, it was determined to carry the matter directly to the King's Most Excellent Majesty. Solo- mon Boyle, of Morris Co., writes, Nov. 16, 1743, to James Alexander, (both of them in the interest of the Proprietary party), that he
Had been to Elizabethtown the week before, and been informed that the people of that place and the people of Newark had come to a written agreement relative to their boundary-the Newarkers to join in sending home against the Proprietors, but Col. Ogden said it was not finished, and that none of the Ogdens would agree to it.
David Ogden, also, of Newark, one of the counsel of the Proprietors, writes, Dec. 12, 1743, to James Alexander, his fellow counselor, confirming what Boyle had written, with additional information about the proposed agreement between the two towns, and stating further, that
Mr. Fitch, from Norwalk, had met the Elizabeth Town Committee, and left with them a petition to the King for relief against the Proprietors, with which they were much pleased ; that Matthias Hetfield and Stephen Crane had been chosen by them to go to England during the winter, and lay it before the King .*
It is somewhat strange that the Associates should have em- ployed a lawyer of Norwalk, (afterwards Governor of Ct.) to draw their petition, as it is not known, that he had any in- terests or connections here. They had no reason, however, to regret it, as the work was well done. It recites very clearly and fully the matters in controversy ; narrates suc- cinctly the history of the Indian Purchase and of the opposing claims ; refers to the litigations determined, and others not yet issued ; shows the difficulty of obtaining an impartial hearing, as the courts and the country are constituted ; and appeals to his Majesty for relief and redress. +
This Appeal was signed by 304 persons, purporting to be "the Proprietors, Freeholders and Inhabitants of a Tract of Land now called Elizabeth-Town, whose Names are hereunto subscribed, in Behalf of themselves and others their Asso- ciates, Proprietors, Freeholders, and Inhabitants of said
* Analytical Index, pp. 188, 9.
+ E. T. Bill, pp. 121, 2.
.
·
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ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
Tract." A large portion of the actual inhabitants, known to be of the same party, are not included in the list. No one of the ministers of the seven congregations signed the paper, except John Cleverly, at Morristown, and he had retired from active service.
The Petition was forwarded to his Majesty, George II., probably by the hands of the persons appointed, Messrs. Hatfield and Crane, and read in Council, July 19, 1744 ; when it was referred to the Lords of the Committee of Coun- cil for Plantation Affairs; by whom, Aug. 21st, it was re- ferred to the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations. Its subsequent fate is not known .*
The people of Newark, especially those who lived at Newark Mountains [Orange], in 1744, began to have trouble with the Proprietary party, similar to that which the people of this town had experienced for three fourths of a century. Acts of violence were committed, arrests made, and offenders imprisoned. In 1745-6, the jails were broken open, and the prisoners released. Indictments were found against the rioters, and society was convulsed. The Government, under Hamilton, was " too weak to put a stop to" the riotous as- semblages of the opposition ; and, as Jas. Alexander and R. HI. Morris wrote, Dec. 4, 1746, " the infection of insubordina- tion was daily spreading ; "-all " on account of the disputed title to the lands " purchased of the Indian owners of the soil. Party spirit ran high. The excitement spread far and wide. Deep sympathy was felt, of course, for the aggrieved settlers, by the popular party in this town, though they were only indirectly concerned in the issue. Gradually, however, the field of contention widened. Collisions ensued between the people of Turkey, who had drawn lots in 1736-7, near the Passaic river, and others occupying portions of the same ground by leases or purchase from the Proprietary party.
Secret meetings, or caucuses, were held by both parties to devise measures to carry into effect their purposes, and to gain advantages over their opponents. Secret communications
* E. T. Bill, p. 123.
t Hoyt's Orange, pp. 05-75. E. T. Bill, App., pp. 1-39. Anal. Index., pp. 198, 208.
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were passing back and forth, the intercepting of which at times created no little trouble. William Chetwood, of this town, and Sheriff of Essex County, finds an open letter on a table in one of his rooms, from one of the leaders of the pop- ular party, and forthwith transmits it, May 7, 1747, to C. Justice Morris, one of the lawyers of the aristocratic party, with a note, in which he gives a little personal history as follows :-
I intended to have waited on you myself, but have for some time past and am still so troubled with a swelled face, and cold I have got that I cant possibly do it .*
A copy of an affidavit by Solomon Boyle aforesaid, before C. Justice Morris, in relation to some of these meetings and plottings, is found, singularly enough among the Colonial Papers of N. York. It bears the date of May 13, 1747. He lived on a part of the land claimed by Daniel Cooper, of whose suit against John Crane and others mention has been made. He testifies, that-
About the end of October last being at the house of Samuel Woodruff Alderman in Elizabeth Town, he was there desired by several persons, particularly one they called Lawyer Daniel Clarke and one John Osborn both of Elizabeth Town, to acquaint Daniel Cooper that in a fortnights time the Mob intended to pay him a visit. He came to Dalrymple's place, [Boyle's tenant], just after the house was broke open and the said Dal- rymple with his wife and children turned out of doors on the 8th of April last by a number of persons with Clubs, that he saw several of the persons concerned in that Riot, carrying the Man's goods out of the House, some in particular he remembers to have been present and active therein to witt: Nath11 Davis (who was called their Capt") Abraham Hendricks, Daniel Little of Turkey, Nath11 Rogers, Wm Johnston, Wm Breasted, and James Hampton of Morris Town. He heard on the last training day being the sixth day of April on Monday, the day appointed by Act of Assembly, the Company at Turkey gave out, that they had liberty to chuse new officers, and that they either chose or were about to chose the said NathII Dayis for their Capt" and one Badgely Lieutenant.
Further, that
He with the said Joseph Dalrymple on the second day of this instant, had occasion to go to Turkey, where they saw at Abraham Hendricks
* N. Y. Col. Docmts., VIII. 345.
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house the said Abr : Hendricks Daniel Little and he thinks Isaac Hen- dricks and some men that were present a turning Dalrymple out of posses- sion and as this informant has been told by Daniel Cooper and Moses Ayres, that since their turning Dalrymple out of possession, they said they were misled and were sorry for it. (When questioned, they said), if the thing was to do again and if we had the same information, which we now have, we would do it yet.
The affidavit is drawn out to a great length, with much more to the same effect, showing that the people of Turkey, claiming by E. Town right, had taken the law into their own hands, and were determined to drive off all other claimants ; and that they " said the Land at Turkey and much further was theirs and they would have it as far as they claimed, and that there would be more such doings by the Mob than ever yet has been done in the Country. *
It was an unhappy state of affairs, without much prospect of improvement. The trouble had been prolonged for eighty years, and become more aggravated from generation to generation. The law was powerless with a people who knew the justice of their claims and how to defend them. It would have been far better for the Carteret party from the first had they acknowledged these claims, and been content with the vast domain beyond the town. The course actually pursued was sure to end in rupture and revolution.t
All this while, for at least three years, the so-called Pro- prietors had been preparing, with great pains and expense, a complete and labored argument in defence of their long litigated pretensions to the soil of this town, by the Duke of York's Grant to Carteret. It purports to have been filed, April 13th, 1745. It was written on about 1500 sheets. It bears the names of James Alexander and Joseph Murray, as " Of Counsel for the Complainants," eminent lawyers of N. York. Murray was one of the first lawyers of the land. Alexander, the father of " the Earl of Stirling," was at the head of his profession. The Bill was, undoubtedly, the product of his pen-" one of the very few literary remains of a man highly distinguished in his day, but who has left,"
* N. Y. Col. Docmts., VIII. 846-9.
t Mulford's N. Jersey, pp. 349-51. Gor- don's N. J., pp. 108-11.
24
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says Sedgwick, " but scanty testimonials of his character and ability behind him." This bill is any thing but "scanty."*
It bears the following imposing Title :
A Bill in the Chancery of New Jersey, at the Suit of John Earl of Stair, and others, Proprietors of the Eastern-Division of New-Jersey ; Against Benjamin Bond, and some other Persons of Elizabeth-Town, distinguished by the Name of the Clinker Lot Right Men. With Three large Maps, done from Copper-Plates. To which is added; The Publica- tions of the Council of Proprietors of East New-Jersey, and Mr. Nevill's . Speeches to the General Assembly, concerning The Riots committed in New-Jersey, and The Pretences of the Rioters, and their Seducers. These Papers will give a better Light into the History and Constitution of New-Jersey, than anything hitherto published, the Matters whereof have been chiefly collected from Records. Published by Subscription. Printed by James Parker, in New-York, 1747; and a few copies are to be sold by him and Benjamin Franklin, in Philadelphia; Price bound, and Maps coloured, Three Pounds ; plain and sticht only, Fifty Shillings, Proclamation Money.
The printing was finished, July 21, 1747. It is a folio, with double columns, and contains, besides the Maps, 124 pages, with an Appendix of 40 pages. So plausible is the plea, that nearly all the historians of the State have relied almost implicitly on its statements, and, in many cases, have thus been led into error. It is a special and one-sided plea, and, as in all such cases, is to be received with caution, and its statements of facts are to be subjected to a rigid scrutiny.+
The preparation of an Answer to this formidable Bill was entrusted, by the Town Committee, to William Livingston and William Smith, Jun., as their Counsel. Livingston was the pupil of Alexander, and, if employed, as is likely, in 1750, was only in the 27th year of his age; but he had al- ready acquired a high reputation at the bar in New York. The interest that he took in this case was, probably, one of the reasons that induced him, a few years later, to become a resident of this town. Smith was still younger, in his 23d year. Yet he was associated, that same year, Nov., 1750, with others, in preparing the first Digest of the Colonial
* Sedgwick's Life of Wm. Livingston, pp. 49, 51.
t Anal. Index, p. 205 .- " 1500 acres of rights had been sold to bear the expense of Eliza bethtown suit." Ib., p. 289.
.
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ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
Laws of New York. He wrote the History of the Province, and, after the Revolution, was made Chief Justice of Canada .*
The " Answer" was read in town meeting, Ang. 27, 1751, and filed a few days afterwards. It was put in print the following year, 1752, in similar form with the Bill itself (but contains only 48 pages), with the following Title :
An Answer to a Bill in the Chancery of New Jersey. At the Suit of John Earl of Stair, and others, commonly called Proprietors of the East- ern Division of New-Jersey, Against Benjamin Bond, and others' claim- ing under the original Proprietors and Associates of Elizabeth-Towp. To which is added; Nothing either of The Publications of the Council of Proprietors of East New-Jersey, or of The Pretences of the Rioters, and their Seducers ; Except so far As the Persons meant by Rioters, pretend Title Against The Parties to the above Answer ; But A great Deal of the Controversy, Though much less Of the History and Constitution of New-Jersey, than the said Bill. Audi alteram partem. Published by Subscription. New York : Printed and Sold by James Parker, at the New Printing-Office, in Beaver-Street. 1752.f
It professes to be " The joint and several Answer " of 449 Freeholders and Inhabitants of Elizabeth Town, recorded in alphabetical order.
The Town Committee, on whom was devolved the responsi- bility of conducting the Defense, were, for 1750, Messrs. John Crane, Andrew Craige, William Miller, John Halsted, Stephen Crane, Thomas Clarke, and John Chandler.
At the time of the preparation and the filing of the Bill in Chancery, Lewis Morris was Governor of the Province. He had long been conversant with the matters in litigation, and was deeply interested in the issue of this most important case-holding a large part of his property in N. Jersey by Proprietary rights. Gov. Morris had presumed, without, as was alleged, due authority, to erect a Court of Chancery, and to exercise the prerogatives of Chancellor. Could the Bill in question have been, with its Answer, submitted to his adjudication, the plaintiff's would, undoubtedly, have obtained just such a decision as they desired.
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