USA > New Jersey > Union County > Elizabeth > History of Elizabeth, New Jersey : including the early history of Union County > Part 45
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
The N. Jersey Journal of the 27th of June, says that this visit occurred "yesterday morning," and that "our people . . . killed two of the enemy which they left on the field, but it is supposed they had several more killed and wounded
* Rivington's Gazette, No. 406.
506
THE HISTORY OF
which they carried off. Two of their party deserted and came over to our troops." *
The northern part of the town received attention soon after. The Mercury of the 23d of July, says,-
Yesterday evening Lieutenant Obadiah Meeker, and fourteen Privates, of the New Jersey Rebel Militia, were sent to Town [New York] from Staten Island, they were taken the Night before by a Party of Refugees between Newark and Elizabeth Town under the command of Captain Hetfield.t
Lord Cornwallis surrendered, Oct. 17th, his whole army and munitions of war at Yorktown, Va., to Gen. Washington. That grand event, as soon as known, was everywhere cele- brated with demonstrations of delight and exultation. To the extent that it raised the hopes and expectations of the patriots, it depressed and discouraged the refugees and their British supporters. Preparations, therefore, soon after began . to be made for emigration to the British provinces, great apprehensions being felt, among them, for their personal safety, at the close of the war now so obviously drawing to an end. The refugees on Staten Island began to find out, that the border warfare, in which they had so long been en- gaged, was the worst kind of policy for their personal in- terests-that it was the surest possible way of preventing their own restoration to the favor of their countrymen, and the recovery of their confiscated estates.
From this time the war with Staten Island, which had been carried forward so persistently for more than five years, lost much of its asperity, and sensibly declined in spirit. Not that it was wholly intermitted, nor that vigilance was no longer demanded on the outposts. Desperate characters enough there were on the Island, who knew that they had too deeply injured their townsmen to expect forgiveness ; and these might, at any time, make a sudden foray upon the stock, and plunder the people.
An entire exchange of prisoners had taken place early in September, so that the citizens, as well as the soldiers, who
* N. J. Journal, No. 123
t Gaines' Mercury, No. 1553.
·
507
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
had been captured by these marauding parties, and had not died in prison, had been restored to their homes, and were permitted to unite with their townsmen in their demonstra- tions of joy over the surrender of their old enemy, Lord Cornwallis.
So long a war, degenerating, as it had done in this locality, into a series of predatory forays and midnight surprises, had trained and let loose on society a class of desperadoes,- thieves and cut-throats, -- ready to prey on any unfortunates who fell into their hands. An instance of the kind is related in the New York papers of the 10th of November :-
Last Saturday [8th] William Hetfield, an inhabitant of Elizabeth Town, Rahway, came to Staten Island with a small quantity of flour to dispose of, &c. . . . On his return in the evening, he was met in the Sound by one Peter Terrat, a noted thief, who supports himself and a gang of such mis- creants, by robbing and plundering ; to him and his party Hetfield sur- rendered himself; but after he was a prisoner, Terrat thought Hetfield threw something overboard, on which the infernal fiend took a pistol out of his pocket and shot him dead, laid the body on the bank of the Sound and went off exulting with the other prisoners he had taken. Hetfield has left a wife and several children to lament their loss .*
The victim was the son of David Hatfield, (an Elder of the Rahway church, who had been captured in June, and had now been restored to his home), and a cousin of J. Smith Hatfield, the desperado of Staten Island. The latter, having ventured to return openly to town in a flag-boat, was, to- gether with one of his comrades, Lewis Blanchard, (son of John Blanchard and nephew of Capt. Cornelius Hatfield), seized by some of the Westfield people, loaded with irons, and hurried off to Burlington, where he was kept in close confinement. This gave occasion to the foray, of which the New York papers of the 6th of February, 1782, made men- tion as follows :-
Last Friday night [1st] a party consisting of thirty Refugees, com- manded by Captain Cornelius Hetfield, proceeded from Staten Island to Elizabeth Town, where they took nine prisoners; amongst them Mr. Reed, a rebel contractor; all were brought to Staten Island, where they are treated in the same manner as is Mr. Smith Hetfield, lately seized by
Gaines' Mercury, No. 1569. Rivington's Gazette, No. 534.
508
THE HISTORY OF
the Westfield people, though he was then under the sanction of a flag of truce, carried into Burlington, and there loaded with irons; these rebels are by the Refugees kept in close durance as hostages for the safe return of Smith Hetfield, a valuable individual of their body. His companion, Lewis Blanchard, fortunately escaping from the rebels at Princetown, travelled two miles into a wood, where he was concealed till he could dis- engage himself from the chains with which he was loaded, and after being flead by the intense frosts is arrived, an object of commiseration amongst his overjoyed friends at Staten Island .*
The Sound, at this time, was frozen over, of which advan- tage was taken. A very different account of this affair is given by the Journal of the 6th :-
On Friday night a party of Refugees, consisting of blacks and whites, having formed a plan to intercept the people of this side as they passed into the meadows for salt hay, came over and concealed themselves in a swamp, and had made upwards of a dozen people, with their horses and sleds, prisoners, when the alarm being given, they were pursued so close that two of their party fell into our hands together with all they had previously captured.t
It would scarcely seem that these two accounts relate to the same event, and yet it is not at all probable that two such forays occurred the same night.
Soon after the murder of the London trader related above, the tragedy of the Rev. Mr. Caldwell's death occurred, Nov. 24th, filling the whole community with sadness and grief. The particulars of this lamentable event will appear on a subsequent page.
The following notice of Capt. Hendricks' exploits is found in the Journal of the 12th of December :-
Last Thursday sennight, Captain Baker Hendricks, with a party of men in whale boats, went down Newark Bay, near the Kills, when he boarded and stripped two wood-boats, and took one prisoner-and on Thursday night last he landed a small party of men on Bergen Neck, near the Refugee post, when he took two prisoners; and on his return took three noted villains, with provisions of all kinds.#
A visit from some of the " Cowboys " of Staten Island is thus described in the Journal of the 5th of December :-
* Gaines' Mercury, No. 1582. Rivington's Gazette, No. 559.
t N. J. Journal, No. 155.
# N. J. Journal, No. 147.
-
509
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
Last Saturday night [1st] seven Refugees from Staten Island landed at Halstead's Point, with the expectation (as their leader told them) of meeting some of their quondam friends with fat cattle; but Captain [Jonathan] Dayton having notice of their intention collected a party of men, and knowing the route they were to take, laid in ambush for them, though unfortunately a muddy place in the road had turned them a little out, and obliged his party to fire through two fences, otherwise, in all probability, they would have killed every one the first fire ; however they killed one, mortally wounded another, and took three prisoners; the other two, favoured by the shade of the night, and a good pair of heels, made their escape. Three of the party were left in the gunboat, but hearing a boat of ours coming out of the creek, pushed over to Staten Island shore, nevertheless she fell into the hands of Lieutenant Randall. -It seems their leader, Swain Parsel, was a deserter from our army. On his information David Oliver, a villain who has long been the supporter of the illicit trade, and a dread to the inhabitants on the lines, was taken the same night concealed in a house at Rahway .*
Two days afterwards,-
Sunday night [23d] Captain Baker Hendricks went over to Bergen and inade eight of the enemy prisoners.t
At the opening of navigation in the spring, the winter having been unusually severe,-
Lieutenant Blanchard sailed with a party of men in a whale-boat last Sunday, [March 10th], and took, off Elizabeth Town Point, a whale-boat, in which was a Mr. Woodroffe and four other active rebels belonging to New Jersey.#
On the night of the following Thursday [14th],-
A party of royal horse thieves under the command of the celebrated Lewis Robbins, . . made an incursion into Rahway. They set out for West- field, to seize Sheriff Marsh, but as the roads were bad, and learning, probably, that the Sheriff was not at home, they turned back, and made their way to old David Miller's, capturing him, some of his sons, and his horses. Having paroled the old man, because of his infirmities, they proceeded to Peter Trembly's, whom they seized and robbed of all his money and papers. They took, also, a Peter Horn. But, at the sudden discharge of a gun, they paroled their prisoners and fled.
The next night, Capt. Baker Hendricks, and Mr. Luther Baldwin, with a small party of' men, went over in a whale- boat to Staten Island, where they "surprized and took a
* N. J. Journal, No. 146. t Ibid., No. 149. : Rivington's Gazette, No. 570.
510
THE HISTORY OF
sloop armed with two three-pounders, two blunderbusses, and manned with five hands;" as the sloop was aground, they " stripped her of arms, sails, rigging, cable, anchor and long boat." Two other sloops they served in like manner. .
Even the flag-boats suffered from the depredators on the Sound ; Rivington says,-
Last Friday [March 15th] a vessel with a Flag of truce sailed from this garrison [N. York] for Elizabeth Town Point, in which went a Hessian Paymaster with a large sum of money for the use of the Hessian prison- ers in Pennsylvania. Same night about 12 o'clock, a rebel whale-boat boarded the flag vessel at said Point, the crew of which seized the cash which the Hessian gentleman had in charge for the before mentioned purpose. Several other gentlemen on board the flag were also robbed of what cash they had with them .*
The American account presents quite a different aspect of this affair :-
Thursday night a flag of truce, on her way to this shore, was boarded, near Shuter's Island, by some men in disguise, and robbed of upwards of two thousand guineas, being a part of a sum of money for the use of Cornwallis' army. They also plundered several individuals that were on board. The party that committed the above robbery, were supposed to be refugees from New York or Staten Island.t
The amount, as afterwards appeared, was 900 guineas, the losers having, as usual, magnified their loss.
The spring passed away in considerable quiet. Early in June, Hendricks repeated his visits to Bergen :--
Friday, passed through this place [Chatham] under guard, seven tatter- demalions, taken the preceeding day [June 6th] by a party under the com- mand of Captain Hendricks.
Last Thursday morning [13th] Captain Baker Hendricks captured, after some resistance, on Bergen Point, five refugees, which he brought off.į
Yet at this very time Hendricks was under accusation of illicit intercourse with the enemy, and Gov. Livingston withdrew his commission as a partisan commander. §
The foray of the first of February, 1782, was the last to which the town was subjected. It does not appear, that the
* Rivington's Gazette, Nos. 571, 5. Gaines' Mercury, No. 1587.
+ N. J. Journal, No. 161. # N. J. Journal, No. 175. § N. J. Gazette, No. 234.
511
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
.
enemy ventured again to cross the Sound, after this date, on a marauding excursion within the limits of the borough. The war, practically, came to an end, at that date, in this section. Some depredations were committed, and some captures made, on the waters in the vicinity, but none on land. Capt. Cornelius Hatfield, disgusted with the results of his visits to his native place, is found, April 10th, together with Captain Blauvelt, at the head of an expedition of tories, on the armed brig Arrogant, and capturing, a short distance up the North River, a " pettiauger," and some small boats, with about ten prisoners .*
In June, an expedition was fitted out from this town, of which an account is given, as follows :-
Intelligence being received at Elizabeth Town of two whale boats, fitted for a two months' cruise in the Delaware bay, lying at a wharf the north side of Staten Island, a plan was concerted to surprize and bring them off, which was put in practice last Thursday night [20th], and the boats, with all their appurtenances, were safely moored at Elizabeth Town bridge next morning together with eighteen prisoners that were on board, six of whom valuable Negroes. The party, continentals and volunteers, consisted of upwards of thirty, commanded by Major [Wm.] Crane. There was a sentinel in each boat, who hailed and attempted to fire on the party, but their pieces providentially flashing in the pan, the party, regardless of danger, rushed on them with such impetuosity, that they had not time to prime again, and a few moments put them in com- plete possession of their object, without any further alarm.t
At the October term of the Court of Oyer and Terminer for Essex Co., George Hair was fined £600, "for letting John Smith Hetfield escape," of which the following is an account :-
Smith Hetfield, an infamous refugee, who has been committing dep- redations on the innocent inhabitants along the lines ever since the commencement of the war, and was taken prisoner several months ago, made his escape from the guard who had him in charge, on Saturday night last [Sept. 21st].#
One act more of aggressive hostility, on the part of citizens of this town, March, 1783, remains to be narrated.
* Gaines' Mercury, No. 1591. Rivington's Gazette, No. 578.
+ N. J. Journal, No. 176.
* N. J. Gazette, No. 24S.
512
THE HISTORY OF
It will be told, in the words of Major Wm. Crane, the leader of the enterprise, as written the next day :-
I have the pleasure to inform you of the capture of the sloop Katy, of twelve double-fortified four-pounders, containing one hundred and seventeen puncheons of Jamaica spirits, lying, at the time of capture, within pistol-shot of the grand battery at New York, and along side of the ship Eagle, of twenty four guns, which we also took, but were obliged to leave there, as she lay aground .- The Captains and crews of both the vessels were brought up by us in the sloop to this place, where we have them secure. This was performed on the night of the third of March [Monday], by six townsmen, under the command of Captain Quigley and myself without the firing of a musket by any of our party .*
The vessel and cargo were sold at auction, at Elizabeth Town, on Monday the 17th of March. +
The welcome news at length arrived at Philadelphia, March 23d, that preliminary treaties between Great Britain, France and Spain had been signed, at Paris, on the 20th of January, thus rendering effectual the provisional treaty of the 30th of November, 1782, between Great Britain and the United States. On the reception of the news, and of his instructions, Sir Guy Carleton hasted to proclaim a com- plete cessation of hostilities by sea and land ; and a similar proclamation was ordered by Congress on the 11th of April. The order was received at headquarters in Newburgh, N. Y., on the 17th, and proclamation was made accordingly to every regiment and corps of the army, at noon of Saturday, the 19th of April, precisely eight years from the actual commencement of hostilities at Lexington, Mass.
* N. J. Gazette, No. 273. t Ibid., No. 272.
513
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
CHAPTER XXIII.
A. D. 1760-1780.
ECCLESIASTICAL - Rev. Jas. Caldwell - Birth - Education - Ordination - Settlement here - Visit of Whitefield - Revival - Elders and Deacons - Rules for the Sexton - Chh. enlarged - Grammar School -Taught by Pem- berton, Reeve, Periam, Barber, and Baldwin - Am. Episcopate - Annual Conventions - Another Revival - Increase of Salary - Mr. C. arraigned be- fore the Presbytery and cleared - His Patriotism - Chaplain of the N. J. Brigade in the Northern Army - Return - Refuge from the British at Tur- key - Assistant Commissary General - Parsonage and Chh. burned - Retires to Ct. Farms- Mrs. C. murdered - His Papers carried off-Retires to Turkey - Chosen one of the State Council - Murdered -Epitaph of Mr. C. and his Wife - Their children.
AFTER the withdrawal of the Rev. Mr. Keteltas, in July, 1760, the pulpit of the First Presbyterian Church remained vacant, more than a year and a half. During this interval, the sanctuary was served by not less than twenty one differ- ent preachers. The Rev. Joseph Treat supplied the pulpit twenty five Sabbaths; Rev. James Caldwell, eleven Sab- baths; and Rev. Wm. Kirkpatrick, eight Sabbaths .*
At length, the congregation directed their attention to the
REV. JAMES CALDWELL.
Mr. Caldwell was a Virginian. His father, John Caldwell, of Scotch ancestry, came to this country with four sisters, his wife, and several children, from the county of Antrim, Ire- land. He settled first at Chestnut Level, Lancaster Co., Pa. Soon after he removed to the new settlements in the southern part of Virginia, and located on Cub Creek, a branch of the Staunton river, in what is now Charlotte Co. Here, in the
# Records of Trustees of Presb. Chb.
33
514
THE HISTORY OF
wilderness, James, the youngest of seven children, was born in April, 1734. The place was generally known as "the Caldwell settlement," or "Cub Creek." A daughter of one of his brothers, also born here, was the mother of the Hon. John Caldwell Calhoun, of S. C., the well-known senator, and leading statesman of the South .*
James was prepared for college under the instruction of the Rev. John Todd, one of the ministers, whom the Rev. Samuel Davies introduced in 1751, to aid him in supplying the seven congregations then under his charge. The classical school, founded by Mr. Todd, obtained considerable reputa- tion. He was regarded as a " New Light," as the friends of revivals were then called. Whitefield preached for him, in January, 1755, with wonderful results. It is probable that young Caldwell was one of the hearers on that occasion, and received a life-long impulse for good.t
As Davies was deeply interested in the College of New Jersey, and Todd had graduated there in 1749, Caldwell also entered there. He came hither when the college was at Newark, forming an acquaintance, while there, with the young maiden to whom he was afterwards married. The last two months of his senior year were spent under the instruc- tion of his friend Davies, who had succeeded Burr and Ed- wards in the Presidency.
He graduated, Sept., 1759, and pursued his theological course of study under the tuition of President Davies. He was licensed by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, July 29, 1760. He supplied the pulpit of the Elizabeth Town church, on the third Sabbath after Mr. Keteltas' departure, and on the following two Sabbaths; also on the second Sabbath of September. He was ordained, Sept. 17, 1760, by the Pres- bytery of New Brunswick, and appointed by the Synod " to supply the southern vacancies, particularly those in Caro- lina." ±
He received a call from the Presbyterian Church of this
* Sprague's Annals, III. 223. Webster's Presb. Chh., pp. 331, 2. Jenkins' Calhoun, pp. 20-1. t Webster's Pres. Chh., pp. 608-9. Foote's Virginia, 2d Series, pp. 45, 77, 78. # Sprague's Annals, III. 229. Records of the Presb. Chh., pp. 307, 311.
515
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
town, in November, 1761, which he accepted. On his return from the Carolinas, he was transferred from the Presbytery of New Brunswick to the Presbytery of New York, by whom he was duly installed, March, 1762, with an annual salary of £160. He was, at the time, in the twenty seventh year of his age, a young man of prepossessing appearance, and of more than ordinary promise as a preacher of the gospel.
The Trustees of the Congregation, at the time, were Samuel Woodruff, (President), Stephen Crane, Cornelius Hatfield, Jonathan Dayton, Benjamin Winans, Moses Ogden, and Wil- liam Peartree Smith ; all of them, excepting Woodruff and Smith, having served since 1753.
·
Immediately after the settlement of Mr. Caldwell, measures were taken by the Trustees, to put the Church-Edifice and grounds in order. It was voted, April 21, 1762,-
That the Burial Ground be inclosed with a close cedar Board Fence with red Cedar Posts and that a sufficient Number of Posts be set up before the sd Fence for the Convenience of fastening Horses &c.
Also Agreed that a Neat Pale Fence be built to inclose a Court Yard in the Front and South End of the Church with a double Rail on the out- side with convenient Turnpikes to defend the same from any injuries by Horses &c and the sd Fences with well painted
Also it is agreed that the Church be painted within with some light Color-and that any other necessay repairs be done .*
The work was entrusted to Mr. Samuel Woodruff, Presi- dent of the Board, one of the most influential men of the town, largely engaged in merchandize.
On the 14th of March, 1763, just one year after he entered upon his pastoral ministrations, Mr. Caldwell was united in marriage to Hannah, the daughter of John Ogden, Esq., and Hannah Sayre, of Newark, N. J. Her father was the son of Captain David Ogden, and the grandson of the first David Ogden, who came with his father John Ogden, the planter, from Long Island, and settled this town in 1664. Her mother was a descendant of Joseph Sayre, another of the founders of Elizabeth Town.
Mr. Caldwell and his people, in November, 1763, were
* Trustees' Book.
·
516
THE HISTORY OF
favored with a brief visit from the apostolic Whitefield, which seems to have been followed by a revived interest in religion. On his way from Philadelphia to New York, Mr. Whitefield reached here greatly fatigued on the 26th, and the next day being the Sabbath, preached twice in the Presbyte- rian Church, the Treasurer's account showing that the con- tributions, that day, were in consequence largely increased. He had applied for the use of St. John's church, but greatly to the disappointment and vexation of a large number of the parish, his application was denied by the Rector, the Rev. Mr. Chandler. Mr. Whitefield, in a note to a friend, from New York, Dec. 1, 1763, thus alludes to this visit :-
Some very good impressions have been made in Philadelphia, and we had four sweet seasons at New Jersey College, and two at Elizabeth Town on my way hither. Some said they resembled old times .*
The College had been favored with a revival of religion since the preceding winter, and something of the same kind occurred, as will be seen presently, in this town and vicinity. Mr. Chandler, in reporting, July 5, 1764, to the Society by which he was employed, the results of his missionary labors, gives, also, an account of Mr. Caldwell, and the effects of his preaching :--
The Dissenting Teacher of this place is a man of some parts and of a popular address and has ye appearance of great Zeal and Piety. He preaches frequently thrice on Sundays gives an Evening Lecture every Thursday in the Meeting-house besides praying and exhorting from house to house, many of my people of course fall in with his Evening lectures, and it is natural to suppose that some of them are captivated with ye appearance of so much Zeal and Piety. At ye same time ye Dis- senters almost to a man are watching every opportunity to promote ye cause and not so much as a negro can fall in their way but some of them will try to proselyte him and they are now provided with a very strong argument for that purpose taken from those sudden and instantaneous conversions which within 6 months have frequently happened in this and ye adjacent Towns amongst ye Dissenters whereas there have been none in ye Church.t
* Clark's St. John's Chh., pp. 101, 2. Whitefield's Letters, III. 300, 1. Mr. Whitefield visited the town again and preached in the Presbyterian Church, during the third week of June, 1770. Clark's St. John's Chh., pp. 147-8.
t Clark's St. John's Chh., p. 104.
517
ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.
These allusions clearly indicate, that the " zeal and piety," exhibited in the ministrations of Mr. Caldwell, had resulted in a considerable revival of religion. The neighboring congregation at Newark was favored about the same time with similar manifestations of the presence of the Divine Spirit .*
At the close of the year 1765, the Elders and Deacons of the church were as follows : Elders : Samuel Woodruff, Joseph Lyon, Cornelius Hatfield, John Potter, Benjamin Winans, and Samuel Williams. Elders and Deacons : Mat- thias Hatfield, David Whitehead, and Robert Ogden.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.