History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 160

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1170

USA > New Jersey > Somerset County > History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 160
USA > New Jersey > Hunterdon County > History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 160

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).

March 2, 1807, John Davenport purchased 109 acres of the north tract. This became the " Lottery Field," and in 1809 the land was divided into lots. It was also on this tract that the Somerset House Company purchased their land.

Peter Van Nest, who purchased of Hendrick Cor- sen, Oct. 10, 1687, was a son of Peter Van Nest, of Brooklyn, who came from the Netherlands in 1647. Peter, Jr., also lived in Brooklyn before he purchased this land. He married Margaretje Chrocheron, of Staten Island, April 13, 1684. His brother Jeroni- mus came soon after his settlement on the Raritan. Peter was a deputy for Somerset in the Assembly of East New Jersey in 1698, and was elected a deacon of the church of Raritan March 9, 1699, upon the or- ganization of that church. The house of Peter Van Nest is said to have occupied the spot where now stands the residence of Mr. Dumont Frelinghuysen. Jerome is said to have lived where the old house now stands, formerly owned by Joseph Doty.

Van Nest's mill was well known among the early settlers. It is said to have been located near where the railroad bridge now crosses the river. The dam was about 150 yards above. A race from the mill led down the flat to near where the covered bridge now is. The bed of the river was different somewhat from its present coursc.

Peter's Brook was named after Peter Van Nest, who was living in 1720. His son Jerome, or Jeroni- mus, was in 1771 possessed of lands west of the " mill- lot," which he sold to Mr. Hardenburgh. Some of the family are still living in Somerville.

Abraham Van Nest, of New York, George Van Nest (known as "Prince George"), Rynear, and the Rev. Dr. Abraham R. Van Nest were descendants of the Peter Van Nest who lived at Somerville. The Van Nests who lived in what is now Branchburg were descendants also. Peter Van Nest purchased large tracts of land west of the North and South Branches, in Readington, and also in Piscataway township ; the land was divided among his children. He had five sons-Peter, Jeronimus, John, George, and Bernardus-and four daughters,-Judith, Catha- rine, Gacamiacia or Jacquemin, and Hannah.

It will be remembered that on June 6, 1687, Peter Van Nostrand purchased the east half of Cornelius Corsen's land. How long he owned this tract is not known. His descendants lived in this township for many years, but not upon that place. In 1764, Jacob Van Ostrand, blacksmith, lived west of S. Staats Coejeman. His land and shop are both mentioned as stations in the relaying of the Great Road in that year. He was town clerk from 1758 to 1788.

Cornelius Tunison (of whom and his progeny we have most to write) was a descendant of Teunis Nys- sen, or Denyse, who emigrated to this country from a village near Arnheim, in the province of Gilder- land, in the Netherlands, as early as 1638, and died prior to 1663. He married Phebe, or Femmetje, the daughter of John Seals,* an Englishman, who came to New Amsterdam in 1658. He had eight chil- dren, of whom Jan Teunissen and Cornelius Teunis- sen were the two youngest. Jan Teunissen was bap- tized April 12, 1654. He married Catolina Tunis, daughter of Tunis Gysbertse Bogaert. His name ap- pears at the organization of the First Church of Rar- itan, March 9, 1699, but does not occur in any deeds or grants. He undoubtedly came to the valley of the Raritan as early as his brother. In 1704 he was elected a member of the House of Representa- tives of New Jersey. His children were all baptized on Long Island, except Abraham, who was baptized at this First Church of Raritan, Sept. 19, 1699.

The surname Denyse seems to have been dropped by the younger sons. In other parts of New Jersey it was retained by the oldest son of Tunis Nyssen, Cornelius Teunissen, whose name appears for the first time, as far as can be ascertained, in a deed dated Oct. 14, 1689, from John White and Elizabeth, his wife, conveying the second quarter of the tract of James Graham & Co. The property is now in the centre of the village of Somerville; it embraced from the river north, including the Doughty farm, "Lot- tery Field," and about the south half of the fair-

Written Jan Celes in the colonial records.

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grounds. This property Cornelius Tunison retained until March 1, 1709, when he conveyed it to Peter Van Nest. It is probable that upon the sale he pur- chased the property of Peter Van Nostrand, because, as far back as the knowledge of the oldest citizens extends, this property has been in the hands of the Tunisons from father to son. Cornelius Tunison married, Aug. 28, 1687, Neeltje, the daughter of Tu- nis Gysbert Bogaert, sister of his brother Jan's wife. Their children were Tunis, Abraham (bap- tized Sept. 19, 1699, died young), Abraham (baptized Sept. 26, 1700), Jan (baptized April 20, 1704), Sara (baptized April 3, 1706), and Denyse (baptized April 28, 1706). These baptisms were all at Raritan, ex- cept that of Tunis, the first child. In 1703 he was elected a member of the House of Representatives from the Eastern District. His name appears as a member of Raritan Church as late as 1723. From the children of Cornelius Tunison have doubtless de- scended all of that family in this section. Denice Tunison's appears on the county records as overseer of highway, in 1750, and, in 1798, Garret Tunison was a member of the first town committee,-a position he held till 1803. These two (Denice and Garret) are tho only ones of the name that appear to have been in office before 1800. Evidently the family were not seekers after place. In the relaying of the "Great Road," in 1764, the line is described as running to " Philip Tunison's line, and on to Peter's Brook."

Upon the organization of the town, in 1749, town- meetings were held at the house of George Middagh till 1756, at Cornelius Bogert's till 1765, at John Ar- rison's (same place) till 1769, and in 1770 they were ordered to be "held at the house of Cornelius Tuni- son, innkeeper," on the "Great Road." This tavern was undoubtedly first opened at this time, as in 1764 no mention is made of it. From this time a tavern was kept by a Cornelius Tunison till 1798. A Corne- lius Tunison donated the property on which the First church now stands, and also owned land north to the line of "lotts." The old homestead of the family is on the farm owned by Judge J. C. Garretson, but after the tavern was established on the "Great Road" it became the centre not only for the family, but for almost everything else. Many are the anecdotes told of the Tunisons while in possession. In 1797 the homestead was owned by Abraham Tunison, who sold to John Whitenach in that year. The old house was then standing, and was said by okl people to be nearly a hundred years okl. It was built entirely of oak, and stood on the second bank of the river, about 100 yards directly south of the house of John C. Gar- retson. The old well still remains; the house was taken down and the timber used in the residence now occupied by Mr. Garretson. An old family burying- ground is on the place, on the bank of Peter's Brook, where many others beside the family were also buried. The road from the old house ran northeasterly to Peter's Brook, and along the brook south of the old

burial-place to the "Great Road" by the ancient log jail.

The Cornelius Tunison who kept the old tavern owned a large tract of land both north and south of the Great Road. He married Jane Brower, who was a descendant of Adam Brower, the emigrant, who set- tled on a farm near the Trinity Church property in New York, and whose son married Annetje, the daughter of William Brower, who was a son of the Rev. Everardus Bogardus and Annetje Jans, the an- cestors of the many claimants of the Trinity Church property. Cornelius and Jane Tunison had two sons -Garret and Cornelius-and one daughter,-Arietta or Arretje. They were both buried in the family burial-place.

Dr. Garrett Tunison was born in what is now Som- erville in 1751, studied medicine, and was surgeon in Col. Lamb's regiment in the Continental army until the close of the war. There was granted to him for his services 6000 acres of land in Virginia and 2600 in New York. He married Sarah Ten Eyck. Dr. Tu- nison died in 1837, aged eighty-six, and was buried in the Somerville cemetery. His brother Cornelius married Eliza White. They had one son-Garret- and a daughter,-Agnes. Arietta, the sister of Dr. Tunison, married John Beekman, and had three sons, -Abraham, John, and Garret,-who all removed to New York and became wealthy. After the death of John Beekman his widow married Richard Compton ; she was known later in life as " Aunt Yauney." She was buried by the side of her first husband.

There was a Cornelius Tunison who died in 1775 and left four sons,-Philip, Abraham, Cornelius, and Folkert. The Abraham who sold to Mr. Whitenach moved up to Burnt Mills. His son, Philip A., was the father of George V. Tunison, of Somerville. Abraham, his father, died the year the property was soll, and was buried in the old family burial-place. Folkert died in 1789, and left a son,-Derrick. The Abraham who died in 1797 had a son, -Philip T. E. Tunison, -- whose son, Philip, was a cabinet-miker, having learned his trade at Bound Brook. He lived at Somerville, where he opened a cabinet-shop on the Great Road, where Mechanic Street now is. He died in 1813, and is buried in the old family burying- ground. A son James is living in the house his father built for a cabinet-shop. Several of the family moved to Seneca Co., N. Y., where they and their descendants still reside. Dennis moved up to the northern part of the tract before 1770.

The second quarter in the Graham & Co. division was made to John White soon after the purchase, in 1683. Oct. 14, 1689, John White and Elizabeth, his wife, conveyed by deed this quarter to Cornelius Tu- nison, who retained it until March 1, 1709, when he and his wife, Neeltje, conveyed the same land to Peter Van Nest. The precise time the plot was conveyed is not known, but Cornelius Bogert was in possession of part of it at least in 1752, for on January 25th of that

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year he conveyed, by deed, the parsonage lot to the Consistory of the Dutch Church, and on May 16, 1768, conveyed 114 acres of land adjoining it on the north and south to the Rev. Jacob R. Hardenburgh. This plot extended from the east line of the parsonage lot west to the Wallace or Miller farm, and from the river back to a line with the Raritan lots. Cornelius Bogert was a son of Gysbert Bogert. He owned a tract of land in Brooklyn before he settled on the Raritan. He lived here as late as 1764.

The surveys of the Coejeman property in 1736 and later, in 1809, show that the north line of the river lots on the west side commenced at the point where the street in Raritan village that runs north to the North Branch road joins that road, and from thence the line runs east nearly parallel with the river, bear- ing northerly after it passes Middle Brook, and touch- ing Green Brook at the junction of Green and Bound Brooks.

The third quarter in the division of the large tract that was assigned to James Graham was conveyed to Peter Van Nest, Oct. 26, 1693, who sold the property to Derrick Middagh,* May 1, 1709. At his death it came into possession of his son Cornelius, who sold a part of it to George Middagh, Jan. 4, 1734. On this place George Middagh kept a tavern, where Mrs. F. F. Cornell now lives, and from 1750 to 1756 the town-meetings were held at his house, and from 1756 -64 at Cornelius Bogert's. He sold the tavern-prop- erty to John Arrison in 1765, and meetings were held there until 1769, when they were moved to Cornelius Tunison's, now Fritts' Hotel. His place is one of those mentioned in the relaying of the old Great Road, in 1764, and Cornelius lived north of him in the house afterwards owned by John Frelinghuysen and known as the Frelinghuysen homestead. Mr. Frelinghuysen purchased of Henry Traphagen.

May 17, 1765, George Middagh sold a part of it to Rev. Jacob R. Hardenburgh. He retained the prop- erty for twenty years, and on Dec. 7, 1775, sold to John Wallace, a merchant of Philadelphia. At his death, soon after, it fell to William Wallace, his son, who in 1778 built what is known as the " Washington House." Nov. 4, 1801, Dickenson Miller purchased the farm of Joshua M. Wallace, one of the executors of the estate of William Wallace. The property de- scended to Caleb, David, and Andrew Miller. David sold 64 acres to John M. Mann, March 28, 1833, where Mr. Parmelee now resides. The farm included the north part of the village within the limits of the tract east and west. An, oak-tree still standing on the origi- nal quarter of this large tract, near the house now oc- cupied by W. S. Parmelee, which is known as the John M. Mann house, was one of the stations marked in the

laying out of what is known as the Lawrence, or quin- tipartate, line. It was then (1743) a tree of consider- able size. By the relentless hand of time it has been shorn of all its large branches but one. It is a monu- ment that ought to be guarded with care.

A part of this tract was conveyed to the family of Van Arsdalen. Cornelius and Abraham were both living here as early as 1749. Later, Henry Van Ars- dalen, a descendant, owned it, and conveyed it to Richard Duyckinck, who sold to the Rev. F. F. Cor- nell, by whose widow it is now owned. The Freling- huysen homestead was a part of the Van Arsdalen property.

The fourth and last quarter of this large tract was assigned to Samuel Winder. The time this land was conveyed is not known, nor to whom, with any cer- tainty. In 1703, Andrew Coejeman purchased a large tract known as Roycefield, south of the river. In 1736 the property owned by Samuel Winder was in his possession, as by survey of 1736, spoken of as a tract of 442} acres. In the relaying of the old Great Road, in 1764, the property is mentioned as belong- ing to "S. Staats Coejeman." It had passed before 1800 to a grandson, Andrew, who died very shortly after. George Farmer, Col. John Neilson, and Jane Coejeman were trustees of the estate, and it was sold in 1804 to John S. Vredenburgh and Gen. John Freling- huysen, the former being assigned the old house and the west part of the tract in the division. The west line is known as First Avenue, and along the road up to the North Branch road, the junction of which was the northern limit. Mr. Frelinghuysen purchased, April 14, 1800, of Andrew and Jane, his wife, 104 acres on the east part. Other portions of the remainder were taken by him when it was sold by the trustees. The old house and the portion of the farm that belonged to the Rev. J. S. Vredenburgh were sold by him to John I. Gaston, who conveyed it by decd to Albert Cam- man, May 16, 1837, and soon after the organization of the Somerville Water-Power Company it passed to them, later to the Raritan Water-Power Company. It is now owned by Mrs. John T. Bartlett. The Fre- linghuysen house is still standing, but is on land of the James Graham quarter that came from Cornelius Middagh to Henry Traphagen and to Mr. Freling- huysen. The east portion of the village of Raritan is on the old Coejeman farm.

Samuel Winder, to whom was assigned this other quarter of the tract, was one of the council chosen by Lord Neill Campbell in 1686 on assuming the gov- ernment of East Jersey. He married Margaret, the daughter of Thomas Rudyard, one of the twenty- four proprietors. It does not appear that they ever lived in the township.

Andrew Coejeman, son of Barent Pieterse Coeje- man, emigrated from Utrecht, Holland, in 1636, and settled at Rensselaerswyck. Andreas had five chil- dren, of whom Andrew was the eldest. The date of the purchase of this tract is not known, but, as he

* Derrick Middagh was here in 1699. IIe married Katalyutje Van Nest. They had children,-Pieter, Derrick, Theunis, Joris, Garret, and Cornelius. The name of Joris occurs quite frequently in the records of surveyors of highways from 1733, and the name of Derrick occurs for the last time in 1798.

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purchased a large traet across the river, known as Royeefield, in 1703, it is probable he purchased the Winder traet soon after. A large brick house standing on the banks of the Raritan bears in a stone in its foundation the figures "1736." The house is one and a half stories high, and contains four large rooms and a hall. A survey of the Coejeman farm in this year shows the position of the house.

Andrew Coejeman married a daughter of Dr. Samuel Staats, of Albany, and had four daughters and a son, Samuel Staats Cocjeman, who died before 1752, as in a deed of property adjoining mention is made of " lands of Andrew Coejman, deceased." The daugh- ter Catharine married Col. John Neilson, and resided in New Brunswick. Gertrude married Abraham Lott, May 9, 1750. He was a dry-goods merchant in the city of New York, and was appointed State treasurer in 1767. Joanna married Col. White, and had three children,-Gen. Anthony W. White, Mrs. Governor Paterson, and Mrs. Bayard. Moyaea, the youngest danghter, remained unmarried.

S. Staats Coejeman married Annetje Schuyler, and had two children,-Gertrude and Andrew. The former married George Farmer, the latter married Jane Van Doren. The property on the Raritan fell to S. Staats Cocjeman. His son Andrew inherited it, and in 1800 he sold a part of it to John Freling- huysen ; in 1804 the west part was sold to the Rev. John S. Vredenburgh by John Neilson, George Farmer, and Jane Coejeman. With this transfer the name became extinct in the township after nearly a hundred years of occupancy.

Gen. John Frelinghuysen, a son of Gen. Frederick, married, for his first wife, Louisa, a daughter of Archibald Mercer; for his second, Elizabeth, daughter of Michael Van Veghten. Frederick J. and Theo- dore, their sons, live on the North Branch road, north of Raritan.

Lands North of the " Raritan Lotts."-The land titles and early settlements that have been given thus far in the second Indian title pertain entirely to the " Raritan River Lotts." The lots in the rear were purchased at about the dates given. The remainder of this land was triangular in form, having the river lots for a base and running to a point following the line of the mountains. The lot on the east " at First Mountain" contained 100 acres. It was surveyed to the heirs of R. L. Hooper, Oct. 17, 1741, having been purchased by Mr. Hooper some time previous. The second lot contained 125 acres, and lay west of the one mentioned. It was purchased by R. L. Hooper, May 16, 1726. A tier of three lots adjoined the river lots. The east one was directly north of the John White tract, and contained 1423 acres; it was sur- veyed to Alexander McDowell, Sept. 16, 1728. The next one west was surveyed to James Hooper, Oct. 18, 1740; it contained 200 acres. The third in this tier wns situated north of the James Graham & Co. tract, and contained 500 acres; it was surveyed to Samuel

Winder. Some in the north part remained unappro- priated in the early division. Later (about 1730), Michael Van Veghten purchased a back lot, which ran to the mountain, in the rear of his river lot.

The place afterwards known as "Washington Valley" was most sought for by settlers awny from the river lots. Among the first was John Sebring, who settled where Martinsville now is; his house was the only one at that place until after the Revolution. Johannes Sebring was the eldest son of Cornelis Suebering, who was a member of the colonial Legis- lature from Kings Co., N. Y., from 1698 to 1723. Jo- hannes was born about 1686, and lived in Kings County until 1717. On April 16th in that year he sold his interest in an undivided half of a lot of land in Brookland [ Brooklyn], described as "lying to ye southwest of ye ferry house." It may now be known as the foot of Fulton Street on the East River, Brook- lyn. The precise time of his purchase in this town- ship is not known. In 1750 two sons-John, Jr., and Folkert-were elected overseers of highways. Abram and Roelef Sebring were overseers of poor in 1769; Robert was justice in 1779; John was judge in 1784. Descendants of the family are still living in the neighborhood.

Of Enos Munday nothing is known except that he had a tract of 300 acres and built a stone house which remained many years. Before the Revolution he ex- changed this tract with Daniel Waldron, who had lived several years on the south side of the Raritan. C. L. Waldron, a descendant, lives on the old home- stead.

An early settler was one Colthar, father of Alex- ander and John; he lived north of what is now Mar- tinsville. Denice Tunison was a son of some of tho Tunisons who settled on the river. As early as 1750 he was elected to a position in the town. What time he came to the rear lots is not determined. He lived north of Martinsville, where J. Long now lives. His son Dennis lived on the homestead for a time and moved West to the lands between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. Jacob Brown lived farther up the valley at a later date. The Comptons also were early settlers in the valley ; the old homestead was where R. McNab now lives. Philip Winans was also an old settler. His grandson Peter still lives on the homestead below Martinsville. Absalom Martin, from whom Martins- ville derives its name, owned property at this place and south of it before 1800. The old homestead was on the mountain, above Buttermilk Falls. He had three sons,-Absalom, James, and Samuel. Absalom and James moved to Martinsville. Absalom had one son, Samuel K., who became a physician and prac- ticed medicine in that locality. James owned the land where the old fortifications were, now owned by William Richardson. Samuel lived on the old home- stead. Albert Bolmer was directly west of Martins- ville as early as 1766,-probably much earlier. Isaac and Robert were sons. Mrs. Daniel Sanborn, of

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Somerville, is a daughter of Robert. His descend- ants still occupy the homestead.

The northern slope of First Mountain attracted the attention of Germans, and to-day many families of that sturdy race are busy at work and dotting the hillsides with their habitations. The Powelsons lived northwest from Martinsville, and the property de- scended from father to son for many years. It is now in the hands of strangers. In the northwestern part of this Indian title, on the west side of First Moun- tain, were settled some of the Van Arsdales, Van Derveers, and Powelsons. Dockwatch Hollow was about 12 miles below Martinsville. From what it derived its name is not known. There was an old mill, built by the Sebrings, about forty years ago. It was on a stream that flows into Middle Brook.

THIRD INDIAN TRACT AND ITS SETTLEMENT.

This Indian tract is in form a parallelogram, ex- tending the length of the second tract, previously described. It is about four miles in depth, and its line along the river reaches from the east line of the second tract (along the North Branch road, that runs through Raritan village), and runs westerly along the river to a point a little beyond what is now the west- erly end of the island in the river .* The following is extracted from the Elizabeth bill of chancery :

"Pawark and Manasamitt, Indians, by Deed bearing date the 19th day of November, 1681, for the consideration therein mentioned, did convey to Robert Vauquillen and his heirs a tract of land on the north side of Raritan River, and beginning at the upper bounds of the last deed aforesaid (Graham, Winder and Co.), and running up the river westerly to the upper end of an island called Mattanibe, and including the island, and running northerly to the mountains, as by the said Deed."

The proprietors received their title in February, 1682, but sales were not made as rapidly as of the river-lands, lower down. May 1, 1686, a tract of 660 acres was surveyed to John Robinson, he having pur- chased of Vauquillen. This tract was long and nar- row. It was located on the west side, and bordered on the river. A large tract was purchased east of this by James Graham & Co., west of that in the second title. Samuel Winder purchased a tract of 500 acres north of the last mentioned, the line be- tween the Indian patents running through the centre. Still north was a plot of 400 acres, reaching west to the river, surveyed to William Ackman. Adjoining on the north, Archibald Riddle possessed 300 acres. Campbell and Blackwood entered two tracts contain- ing 7600 acres. One of these was located north of the Samuel Winder lot; it ran north to the north line of the second title, and occupied in width a little more than half of the north part of the land covered by the Indian title, the other was in the north part of Branchburg. West of this were two lots; the southern, of 500 acres, adjoined Riddle's lot. It was surveyed Feb. 17, 1692, to Sir John Dalrymple; the northern, containing 912 acres, to Ann West, Aug.

14, 1693 .; The lands of Ackman, Riddle, Dalrym- ple, and West reached to the North Branch, and oc- cupied the entire north part of the fourth Indian title east of the North Branch. A portion of the land taken by Ann West is above Chambers' Brook, at its mouth, and in Bedminster. The village of North Branch is below, on the Campbell tract.

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History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 160

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1170

Author: Snell, James P; Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1170