History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 172

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 172
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 172

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In 1787 the Kings owned property in this section on the river :; Thomas owned 243 acres ; George, 60; Na- than, 90. April 18, 1775, Nathaniel Marston, of New York, sold to David Henry 286} acres, beginning at the month of Muddy Brook, on the north side of the Lamington River. The Vandervoorts came into the township about 1800.

At the junction of the Lamington River and North Branch is a locality that for many years has been known as "Burnt Mills," and earlier as "Bromley's." The locality to-day known as Stillwell's Mills was in the early settlement called Bromley, and on the estab- lishment of mills at this point the place was called New Bromley. The mills were on the south side be- fore 1755, and were owned by Andrew Leake. At what time they were burnt not even an approximate date can be given, as it is beyond the memory of liv- ing residents. In 1760 a store was kept there, and the bridge, in the early records, is shown to have been re- built in 1774. The following inscription was placed upon a stone in one of the abutments :

" Bromley Bridge, Built at ye expense of ye County of Somerset, 1774. R. Chambers and J. Gaston, Managers. J. Compton, Builder."

Long after the mills were burnt a woolen-mill was erected, and a Mr. Whitehead, with his family, came there from England and manufactured cloth for sev- eral years.

The tracts north of the Lesser and Larger Cross- Roads were Johnston and Willocks, George Leslie, Peapack patent,-a part of which was purchased by James Parker, of Perth Amboy,-John Bryant, Rob- ert Blair, Andrew Hamilton, and Alexander and Dunstar. John Bryant owned a portion on the west side of the township, and also at Peapack. Following are mentioned some of the leading early families who settled in this portion.

Johannes or John Melick emigrated, with his wife and four children, to this country, from the village of Bendorff, Germany, about 1735, and settled first on Leslie's Ridge (now Readington), where he was inter- ested in a tannery with the Klines. Nov. 1, 1751, he purchased of George Leslie 367 aeres of land on the east end of the tract of which the Indian title was

* See the McDowell personal sketches, at the close of this township history.

t The following advertisement appeared in The Guardian and New Brunswick Advertiser of Dec. 12, 1792:

"The Subscriber respectfully informs his Friends, and the public in general, that he has erected a Fulling Mill on the place Nathan King formerly lived, on Lamington River. The person who attends the said mill lived with John Hardenburgh, Esqr., last season, and is sobor, atten- tive, and master of his business. Any person who will favor him with their custom may rely upon having their cloth done in the best manner and with dispatch. Any cloth left ut Capt. Daniel Scamp's in Readington, and at Mr. Cuspar Bergen's at Readington Meeting House, and Joseph Atkinson and Co., Flemington, or at Benjamin Dunham's Mine Brook Mills, directed to the subscriber, shall be taken, dressed and returned au quick as possible.

" JAMES ALEXANDER."

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BEDMINSTER.

purchased by Dr. John Johnston and George Wil- locks. This tract extended cast to Peapack or Law- rence Brook and the North Branch; south to the north line of the Maj. Daniel Axtell tract, the pres- ent cast-and-west road being then on the line, having been laid out in 1745; north to the north line of the Indian tract. Mr. Melick immediately built a log house on the opposite side of the present Melick House, and during the next year erected the stone house, which is still standing, occupied by William P. Sutphin. At the same time, a short distance cast of the stone house, a tannery was built on Peapack Brook, the ruins of which and of the race are still visible. Eighteen vats were made below the tannery- building. The lower part of the dwelling was used for a drying- and finishing-room. The children of Mr. Melick who were born at Bendorfl' were Aaron, Fanny, Andrew, and Maria ; Philip and Peter in this county, on Leslie's Ridge. Aaron married Charlotte Miller, lived an active life, and died in 1809, aged eighty-three. Their children were John, who married Jane Cornell; Catharine, who married Peter Perrine; Daniel, who married Margaret Gaston and Catharine La Rue; Elizabeth; Margaret, who married Joseph Gaston ; Maria, who married Solomon Patterson.

Fanny, daughter of John, married Jacob Kline, of New Germantown, where their descendants are nu- merous. Jacob Kline, of Kline's Mills, is of the family. Andrew, son of John, married and removed to New York City. Maria, daughter of John, mar- ried Simeon Himrod ; they removed to Trumansburg, Tompkins Co., N. Y., where their descendants are well known. Philip, son of John, married Maria King; their children were Catharine (married James Todd), David, John (married Mary Todd), Elizabeth (mar- ried Jacob Van Dyke), Fanny (married Adam Her- riot), Charlotte, Margaret, Magdalen (married - Vosseller).

Peter, youngest son of John, married Mary Mag- dalen King ; their children were David (married Mary Houston), John (married Jeannette Oliphant), and Catharine (married Enos Mundy). John had a son Daniel, who had ten children. John married Ann, a daughter of Capt. Joseph Nevius; Rosannah married William J. Todd, who lived west of the homestead (David M1. Todd is a son) ; Mary married Peter Sut- phin, and had three children,-Peter T., William P., and Catharine. William P. now lives on the old John Melick homestead.

The family of Sutphin in this country descended from one Zutfin who owned a large estate in Holland, on the site of the present city of Zutphin. The an- restor who emigrated to this country settled on Long Island in the seventeenth century. Guisbert Sutphin, Sr., was born on Long Island in 1693, and removed to Monmouth Co., N. J. His son, Guisbert, Jr., was born in that county, married Ariontje Van Pelt, and came to Bedminster township abont 1743, traveling with a yoke of oxen and a cart, on which were his

family, household goods, and a chest of carpenter's tools. He first purchased a tract of land containing about 300 acres on the Johnson and Willock tract, including the farms now owned by Matthew Lane and Isaac Voorhees, and a part of the farm of Mat- thew P. Lanc. This land he sold to his brother-in- ław, Matthias Lane, Sr., about 1745. He then pur- chased about 300 acres of George Leslie, north of the Johnston and Willock tract, which he afterwards sold to John Voorhees, a brother-in-law, who oceu- pied the farm with his descendants till about 1800, when they removed to the West. A part of this farm was recently owned by Jacob B. Sanders. Dec. 29, 1749, he purchased 100} acres of George, which from some cause was again conveyed to him, Aug. 30, 1753, by Stephen Crane, Thomas Clark, and John Crane, of Elizabeth borough, and two other tracts, con- taining 79 acres, which by virtue of an Indian pur- chase and grant to Richard Nichols, Aug. 11, 1749, had come into the possession of the borough. This land is now owned by Amos C. Sutphin and Sering Dunham. May 10, 1754, he also purchased 68 acres north of Derrick Longstreet, which had been pur- chased by him of Andrew and Dr. Lewis Johnston in June, 1749. May 30, 1751, he bought 221| acres of Dr. Lewis Johnston and Andrew Johnston, north of his other purchase; this traet became divided among his sons and daughters. Here he lived during the stormy scenes of the Revolution, in which he bore an active part. His death occurred in 1796; he was buried in Bedminster churchyard. After the death of his wife, in 1788, he married Petrenelly Voorhees. In 1787 he was in possession of 338 acres, and Guis- bert Sutphin (2d) who married his daughter, 105 acres. The children by his first wife were Gertie, who married Guisbert Sutphin, and who on the 11th of Au- gust, 1799, purchased of Dr. Lewis Johnston and Andrew Johnston two tracts of land, one, beginning at Middlebrook on the easterly side, containing 76 acres, the other a tract "by the southerly line of Geo. Leslie and north of land lately sokl by Andrew and Dr. Lewis Johnston to Derrick Longstreet," containing 79 acres. This land is now occupied by William Ileath. Catharine married Cornelius Powelson and lived in the northern part of the town. John mar- ried Sarah, a daughter of Ralph Phenix, and removed to Cherry Valley. Nellie married Robert Blair, Esq .. who settled west of the Sutphin homestead, and in 1787 owned 202 acres. They had two children, Peter and John; the last was the father of the Rev. Robert J. Blair. Peter Blair, of Bernard, is also a son. The land was afterwards sold to the Barclays, and is now in the possession of Peter S. Tiger. Capt. Peter Sut- phin married Caty, a daughter of Stephen Hunt. Their children were Stevens, Arthur, Peter, Gilbert, William, and Catharine. Arthur married Rachel Suydam, a sister of Dr. Cornelius Suydam. He rep- resented the district two terms in the Legislature, was justice of the peace ten years and surrogate of the

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SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

county five years. Stephen married Mary Dunham and lived on part of the old homestead. Peter married Mary Melick. After the death of his wife Mary he married Sarah, the daughter of Capt. William Smith, who settled north of Capt. Peter, who lived on the old homestead. William married Elizabeth, daughter of Jacob Locey, of Pluckamin. Gilbert married Jane Crater. Amos C. Sutphin now lives on his father's farm, which is the old homestead of Guishert Sut- phin. Peter G. lives on the farm west. Rev. Morris C. was a Presbyterian clergyman. Catharine married Minnah Powelson, of New York City. The sons of Peter Sutphin by his first wife were Dr. Peter T., a physician in practice at the Lesser Cross-Roads, and William P., living on the old Melick homestead; the latter was in the Assembly of the State in 1873-74. Arthur P. and David M. are sons by Sarah Smith, and are both living at Somerville.

John Van Doren, of Monmouth Co., N. J., in 1756 married his cousin, Agnita Schenck, daughter of Ru- loff, and purchased a large tract of land on the west side of Peapack Brook, about 1760, of Dr. John John- ston. His sons were Jacob, William, and Ruloff. William married Rachel, daughter of Guisbert Long- street, of Squam. After her death he removed to Peapack, and there married Mary Hunt. His sons, Jacob and Gilbert, lived there until recently. Aaron, a brother of John, married a daughter of John Schenck, and on Dec. 23, 1766, purchased on an agree- ment 175 acres of land of his brother John. Later (in 1769), Aaron purchased 178 acres of John, on the upper end of the town, and built a house west of Lewis Van Doren's present residence. William A. Van Doren inherited a part of his father's property, and purchased additional land. His son Lewis now lives in the house his father erected in 1814. Jacob Van Doren owned 240 acres in 1787.

The Barclay family were in the township at a very early time; they were descendants of the Barclay who was one of the proprietors of East Jersey. In 1787 they were in possession of large tracts of land : Rob- ert, 200 acres ; Hngh, 252; John, 110. This land was north of the Larger Cross-Roads. James Parker, of Perth Amboy, purchased a large tract in the north part of the township; it was sold to different parties, and has passed through many hands. The land on the east side of Peapack or Lawrence Brook, in the north part of the township, was largely purchased by Hugh Gaston, Sr .; it consisted of 300 or 400 acres, and extended from the Peapack road over to the Branch. He had one son, Hugh, Jr. In 1787, Hugh Gaston owned 300 acres, and Robert Gaston, 20.

Hugh Gaston, Sr., probably purchased between 1750 and 1760; the name first appears in 1764, in the record of a road laid from the ford on North Branch to the Black River road. Gaston died in 1772, aged eighty-five. Ilis son Hugh married Mary, daughter of David Kirkpatrick, of Bernardstown; he died in 1808, aged seventy-five. In 1812 the large property

was sold by the heirs of Dickinson Miller, attorney, to Nicholas Joroleman, whose heirs sold to Moses Craig. A part of it is in possession of Dr. Ed- ward Perry, whose wife is a daughter of Moses Craig. John Bryant owned a large tract on the west side of the Peapack road, opposite the lower portion of Pea- pack village and south of Van Doren's-now known as Joroleman's Mills-a mill was erected at some re- mote time. Of this property, 260 acres were pur- chased in 1808 by Nicholas Joroleman, who removed from Hillsborough. His son Daniel came with him when fourteen, and is still living in Peapack.

The Potter family were residents along the Lam- ington River as early as 1740, owning land on both sides. Some of their descendants are still living. Robert, Nicholas, and Col. Jonathan Potter are men- tioned; Samuel and Sebring are sons of Col. Jona- than. The latter remained at Pottersville; Samuel removed to the Larger Cross-Roads. In 1787, Na- thaniel Potter was in possession of 81 acres ; Samuel, 75; Isaac, 75.

The Castner family were also settlers in the north part of the township. In 1756 the names of John Castner and John, Jr., Peter, James, and Mary, widow, appear on records, but in 1787 the name does not appear on the assessment-roll as owning any real estate. Widow Castner is taxed on personal prop- erty. In 1768, Valentine Rynehart was in possession of 122 acres, which he had purchased some years pre- vious. His land adjoined Robert Barclay's, cornered on that of Thomas Berry, and touched the line of the Axtell tract. His son John, whose son Martin lives east of Pottersville, inherited the property. He may have owned other land south of the residence of Martin Rynehart. Thomas Berry was for many years a justice of the peace, and was active in the Revolution. In 1787 he owned 225 acres. None of the family name are now in the township.

The name of Craig was a familiar one among the old settlers on the west side of the township from about 1740, John Craig being the first mentioned. May 20, 1775, Moses Craig, Sr., sold 201 acres to Simon Hagaman, north from where "Craig's Brook empties into the Allemantunk," adjoining land of Andrew Johnston. A tract containing 875 acres was pur- chased in January, 1741, by Andrew Hamilton, south of this land of Johnston's. The tract purchased the same year by Alexander and Dunstar comprises the site of Lamington. In 1745 one Roseburg owned the land that afterwards descended to one of the Henrys, who married a daughter. The family of Henry, among whom were Daniel and Michael, as early as 1751, were possessors of large tracts in this section. [John Adams, John and James O'Hara and others were adjoining their lands at the time. Jeremiah Halsey owned 105 acres on the cast bank of the Allematunk, which he sold Feb. 24, 1772, to John Demund, after- wards owned by Rev. William Boyd, and known as the "parsonage lot."] In 1787 this family were in pos-

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BEDMINSTER.

session of an immense tract, as follows : Daniel Henry, 213 acres ; James, 440; Robert, 200. Michael Henry was a lawyer in New York City. Dr. Robert R. was also one of this family ; he was a physician of much celebrity .*

Alexander Linn was a prominent citizen in the township and county. James Linn represented the district in Congress when Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson were rival candidates for the Presidency, and his vote elected the latter.t The name occurs in records in 1756. Alexander died in 1776, and James in 1821. John and Joseph Linn each own 150 acres near the centre of the township. It is probable that the Linn property adjoining the township line at Mine Brook was the homestead of Alexander.

Near the Lamington River, about two miles south of Pottersville and half a mile from Vliettown, on the farm now owned by Mrs. William H. Vliet, lived, during the later years of his life, John Honeyman,# the head of the family of that name in this vicinity and in the State. Born in Armagh, Ireland, in 1729, the son of a Scotchman who had emigrated thither,¿ and whose ancestors had a coat-of-arms|| for valor in the days of chivalry, he emigrated to America in 1758, in the English frigate "Boyne," as a soldier in the English army in the French and Indian war. Gens. Abercrombie and Wolfe were with him, and during the voyage he saved Gen. Wolfe's life by his great muscular power,' for which he was rewarded by being made one of Wolfe's body-guard. When the latter fell at Quebec, his faithful friend, whose clothes were stained with Wolfe's blood, bore him from the field. After the war he went to Philadelphia, mar- ried Mary Henry, an Irish girl from Coleraine, Ire- land, and there met Washington, whose spy he be- came, with the results stated in the chapter on Frank- lin township. During the Revolution he resided at Griggstown, and was a weaver. Having a wife and seven children to support, he was necessarily kept in moderate circumstances ; but, as a result of his valu- able services to Washington, he received, it is be- lieved, compensation sufficient to purchase the two farms he owned in Bedminster township .** One of

* Sco page 599 of this work.

+ See chapter " Prominent Men ul Somerset County," pp. 637-38.

# This sketch of the Honeyman family is contributed by A. V. D. Honeyman.

¿ An examination of the parish records at Armagh, mundo in 1874 by tho writer, failed to show nny baptisms or other mention of the nome; the inference, therefore, Is that the son was born In Scotland before the fnthor'n omigration to Ireinnd.

1 Described as follows : " Ar., a bond., engr. nud voided gu. Crest, an arrow in palo, point downwards." There was another : "Ar., threo bendlets, each cotised, ongr. on the outer side, gu." In Scotland tho nume was sometimes spelled Honyman. So Justico George flonyman, of the English Court of Common Pleas, London, who deceased two years sinco, spelled it.

" The gonorai tripped on the stairway, and Honeyman's strong arm saved fim.

** Says Judge Van Dyko, In his letter concerning John Honeyman, published in the " In Memoriam of Dr. Honey man," 1574, which is our authority for the latter statomont : "Ho had them" [the farms] " both

these, the homestead farm,-known as the "Peapack patent, lot No. 19,"-contained 2124 acres, and was purchased of John Bryant and Robert Blair, Jan. 4, 1793; the other contained 166f, acres, and was pur- chased March 20, 1794, of James Parker, of Amboy. The first cost £500; the latter, £742 4d .; in the whole, about $4000. Ile had never made this money weaving, his real life-occupation.

John Honeyman resided on the farm of 212} aeres from the date of its purchase, early in 1793, until his death, Aug. 18, 1822, at the age of ninety-three. IIis wife Mary preceded him to the grave twenty years before, dying June 24, 1801, aged sixty-three. Their children were Jane, who was never married ; Eleanor, who married Abraham Porter and early removed to Western New York; Margaret, wife of William Henry, and subsequently of George Armstrong;tt John, who married Catharine Covert; Mary, wife of Matthias Lane; James, who married Mary Miller, of Warren County ; Sarah, wife of Abraham Van Dyke, mother of Judge John Van Dyke, well known in Somerset County.

By this it will appear that his two male children, John and James, were those through whom the fam- ilies of that name in Bedminster, Bridgewater, and Tewksbury townships have issued.

Jolın had seven children,-William E., John, James, Peter, Abram V. D., Jane, and Mary. The descendants of the five sons are mostly in Bedminster and Bridgewater townships. The Honeymans at Plainfield and Newark also belong to this branch.

James had four children,-John (Dr. John Honey- man, of New Germantown, for sketch of whom see p. 221, this volume); Robert M., who also settled at New Germantown, a merchant ; Mary Ann, wife of Peter Fisher; and Margaret, who married Simon Van Vliet, the mother of Mrs. William Duyckinek, near Lamington.

The name is not a common one in this country, and its origin is unknown. In Scotland the family is more numerous, there being many of them in the Glasgow and Edinburgh directories, and half a dozen in London. Michael Honeyman, Esq., of Glasgow, with whom the writer of this article has corresponded, uses the same family crest, and has been interested in the family history, but has as yet been unable to find the name of the emigrant to Armagh.

OTHER EARLY SETTLERS.

About 1745, Matthias Lane, Sr., of Monmouth County, persuaded by his brother-in-law, Guisbert Sutphin, removed to Bedminster and purchased 300 acres, now owned by Matthew Lane, Isaac P. Voor- hees, and part of the farm of Matthew P. Lane. Land adjoining was later purchased, and, in 1787,

paid for. ile owed nobody ; and I remember . . . hearing my father and mother conversing about his property, which they valued at $11,000." The judge was his grandson.

tt They lived at the head of Honeyman's Lano.

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SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Matthias Lane, Sr., was in possession of 200 acres ; Matthias, Jr., 306; Matthias Lane, 120; Garret, 127; Matthew, 100. The last mentioned was at this time a merchant at Pluckamin.

Martin Bunn was not a very early settler, having moved in after the Revolution. In 1787 he was the owner of 206 acres in the west part of the township, now owned by John Bunn, a grandson. He had three sons-Morris, Conrad, and William-and two daugh- ters,-Mary and Elizabeth. Morris lived a mile south of Lamington, where he died; he was buried in Lam- ington churchyard. One of his sons lives on the homestead of his father; Conrad inherited the home- stead of Martin Bunn, and had many children ; Mar- tin, the eldest son, lives at Lesser Cross-Roads; William owned property at Larger Cross-Roads, now belonging to C. C. Suydam.

Before 1763, Robert Allen purchased 112 acres on the east side of Lawrence or Peapack Brook, and in 1787 owned 212 acres; John, 50; Robert, Jr., 107. Joseph Doren lived in that section in 1764, and in 1787 owned 200 acres. The family were there many years. William Logan was also an early settler at Peapack ; in 1787 he owned 50 acres a little northeast of the village. He was a blacksmith. His son John was captain of a company in the Somerset brigade in 1814; the family are still living in the township. The land in the north part of the township was first purchased by Dr. John Johnston. The earliest pur- chase from that time of which any record is obtained was on March 18, 1757, when Andrew Johnston, William Skinner, and Dr. Lewis Johnston, executors of the last will and testament of Dr. John Johnston, and Mary Alexander, wife of James Alexander and daughter of Dr. John Johnston, sold a small tract of 12 acres to Garret Van Derveer, who afterwards sold to John Smalley.

Stephen Hunt was a colonel in the Revolutionary army from this township, and owned property near Peapack, and later down at the mouth of Peapack Brook, where he tunneled the hill from North Branclı to Peapack for a greater supply of water; this is known as "Hunt's Folly." It was afterwards sold to Nicholas Arrowsmith, who came on after the Revolu- tion, and in 1787 owned 76 acres; he married Ellen Sutphin. Among his children were Ann, who married David Magec, whose son is the Hon. William J. Magee, assistant judge of the Superior Court. Wil- liam Arrowsmith married Mary Jeroleman. Louise, the daughter of William, married Cornelius W. Schomp. They settled on the homestead; Mrs. Schomp is still living there. Her son, Cornelius W., is in possession of the homestead and the mill prop- erty. He was elected to the Assembly of the State from his district, Nov. 2, 1880. IIis father, Cornelius W. Schomp, was also member of the Legislature in 1855- 56. Robert Gaston afterwards purchased the Allen tract of 112.19 acres at the junction of Lawrence or Peapack Brook and North Branch. Robert Allen

owned this land in 1765, and built a mill on the site of Schomp's Mill. Robert Gaston sold to Stephen Hunt. On account of the scarcity of water to supply both the grist- and saw-mill and the bark-mill of Melick's, across the stream, Mr. Hunt conceived the idea of tunneling the ridge, and by a race from the North Branch to furnish sufficient water for all purposes. Accordingly, a tunnel was cut through the shale, about 100 yards in length, 4 feet broad, and about 6 feet high, A dam was also built across the North Branch. The scheme was successful in its results, but it ruined him financially.

Jacob and William Wolf were located in the north- west part of the township in 1773. Jacob owned 142 acres; William, 70. The family are still residents of the township. The Tigers are settlers of a later date.

The family of Nevius were early settlers in the township of Franklin, and in 1787 three of the name were landowners. Christian owned 208 acres; Peter, 160; Albert, 108. These seem to have been of a dif- ferent branch of the family from Capt. Joseph Nevius, who came into the township in 1815.

There are many other families whose ancestors came in at an early time, but of whom little has been obtained.

EARLY ROADS.

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History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 172

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