History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 64

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 64
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 64

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THE TEMPERANCE ALLIANCE.

The Hunterdon County Temperance Alliance was instituted March 13, 1879, and is auxiliary to the New Jersey State Temperance Alliance. The first officers were: President, E. R. Bullock ; Vice-Presidents, Rev. J. G. Williamson, MI. B. Lanning, Martin Herr, C. H. Traver, and William Bailey; Corresponding Seere- tary, Rev. J. P. W. Blattenberger ; Recording Seere- tary, Rev. A. M. Harris; Treasurer, C. C. Dunham.

Article II. of the Constitution recites that the ob- jects of the Alliance "shall be to provide for a thor- ough canvass of the county, by sermons and lectures, in behalf of temperance; to organize and strengthen temperance societies ; to combine religious bodies and all friends of temperance in efforts to suppress the evils of intemperance; and to secure by law the prohibition of the traffic in alcoholic drinks."

Meetings are held annually and semi-annually, on the last Tuesday in May and November. The first semi-annual meeting was held at Frenchtown, Nov. 24, 1879. The annual meeting was hekl at Fleming- ton, May 25, 1880. The officers of the preceding year were re-elected, except that the Rev. William Bailey was chosen corresponding secretary in place of Rev. J. P. W. Blattenberger. The semi-annual meeting of this year (1880) was held at Clinton, November 30th.

Besides the officers named above, there is a board of managers, composed of one person in each town- ship, whose duty (among other things) it is to form an alliance in each township, to be auxiliary to the County Alliance. Some of the townships have effected the organization of such auxiliary societies. There is also an executive committee of nine, the president, corresponding secretary, and treasurer being ex-officio members, the other six being selected by the board of managers from their number.

A healthy state of public sentiment exists in Hun- terdon County upon this subject, and this society, with kindred organizations, will most likely receive a cor- dial support.

HUNTERDON COUNTY TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION AND INSTITUTES.ª

The teachers of the county have frequently met for the purpose of mutual improvement and interchange of ideas. The first regularly organized association was held about 1860 or 1861. George Fleming, now principal of the Clinton Institute, says he was present at a meeting held at Centreville, although that was not the first. R. S. Hoppoek, now a merchant of Mount Pleasant, was president. This association was short-lived, as its meetings ceased after a year or two.

Another organization was effected about 1870. There was more enthusiasm displayed at this time, and most of the prominent teachers of the county enrolled themselves as members. Among them were J. C. Butler, R. S. Hoppock, W. D. L. Robbins, John

* Contributed by Prof. George Fleming, of Clinton.

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HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

C. Holder, A. B. Hall, A. G. Creveling, Charles E. Green, L. K. Shouse, P. E. Tharp, A. H. Skinner, David Butler, S. R. Opdyke, P. G. Wyckoff, T. O. Allen, C. M. Sitgroves, E. J. Bell, S. R. Opdyke, W. B. Sarson, and I. N. Leigh. Several ladies were also members of the society. The association meetings were held three or four times a year until about 1875, when the "hard times" that followed the financial crash of 1873 caused the suspension of active opera- tions for a time. During the present year (1880) the meetings of the association have been resumed, and several have been held at Flemington Academy. There are at present about twenty or twenty-five names on the roll of members. R. F. Pierce, prinei- pal of Flemington Academy, is president, C. R. Nightingale is secretary, and George Fleming, of Clinton, is acting treasurer.

The Teachers' Association is under the direction and control of the teachers. An institute is held an- nually, under the direction of the State superin- tendent, towards the support of which the sum of one hundred dollars is annually appropriated by the Leg- islature. The object sought to be attained is the in- struction of the teachers by competent persons from outside of the county. The first institute under the present school-law was held at Flemington in 1870 or 1871.

COUNTY SUNDAY-SCHOOL ASSOCIATION.

June 28, 1860, a convention of the friends of Sun- day-schools was held in Flemington, by whom a county convention was formed and officers appointed, includ- ing a secretary for each township in the county, and on the 19th of September following the association held a convention, when reports from sixty-three schools were presented. Rev. P. A. Strobel was ap- pointed corresponding secretary.

The second annual convention was held in the vil- lage of Clinton, Oct. 8, 1862. Rev. Thomas Swaim, D.D., was appointed president for the ensuing year, and Rev. P. A. Strobel corresponding secretary. Feb. 25 and 26, 1862, voluntary conventions were held in Clinton and Flemington, for the purpose of adopting such measures as might be deemed best calculated to enlist the interest of Christians generally in the Sab- bath-school work, and measures were taken to estab- lish an association in each township in the county.

The third annual convention was held in the vil- lage of Frenchtown, Sept. 16, 1863, Rev. Thomas Swaim, D.D., presiding. This was the first conven- tion the proceedings of which were published. The corresponding secretaries reported to the county asso- ciation the death of some of their most active and useful members : Rev. Joseph Rodgers, of French- town ; Col. A. W. Dunham, of Clinton; Hon. Peter I. Clark, of Flemington ; and John C. Reed, Esq.

The fourth annual convention was held in the Re- formed church at Readington, Sept. 21, 1864, Rev. J. L. Janeway president.

The corresponding secretary reported eighty-five (a gain of eleven) schools, six thousand four hundred and thirty-one scholars, eighty-nine conversions, and twenty-three thousand eight hundred and seventy-five volumes in libraries.

The following officers were chosen for the ensuing year: President, Rev. J. Kirkpatrick, D.D .; Vice- Presidents, Hon. H. Hagerman, Hon. J. Pickel, and M. S. Stiger, Esq .; Recording Secretary and Treas- urer, J. S. Higgins.

At the fifth annual convention, held in Lambert- ville in September, 1865, one hundred and twenty-five conversions were reported among the Sunday-school children. Rev. C. S. Conkling corresponding seere- tary.

Subsequent conventions were held as follows : Sixth, 1866, Presbyterian church, Flemington ; seventh, 1867, Methodist Episcopal church, Clinton; eighth, 1868, Kingwood Baptist church, Baptisttown; ninth, 1869, at New Germantown ; tenth, 1870, Presbyterian church, Ringos ; eleventh, 1871, Baptist church, Cro- ton ; twelfth, 1872, Reformed church, High Bridge; thirteenth, 1873, Presbyterian church, Bloomsbury ; fourteenth, 1874, Methodist Episcopal church, Me- chaniesville; fifteenth, 1875, Presbyterian church, Stockton ; sixteenth, 1876, Baptist chureli, Fleming- ton; seventeenth, 1877, Baptist church, Wertsville; eighteenth, 1878, Reformed church, Stanton; nine- teenth, 1879, Methodist Episcopal church, Quaker- town; twentieth, 1880, Presbyterian church, Flem- ington.

Sinee 1865 the presidents have been Rev. H. Doolittle, 1866; Rev. J. P. Dailey, 1867; Rev. A. Armstrong, 1868; Rev. J. Burroughs, 1869; Rev. William Bailey, 1870; Rev. H. Doolittle, 1871; Rev. S. Sproul, 1872; Rev. Jacob Fehrman, 1873 ; Rev. C. S. Conkling, 1874-75; Rev. Wm. Swan, 1876; Rev. R. A. Chalker, 1877 ; Rev. T. E. Vassar, 1878; Rev. J. G. Williamson, 1879; Rev. C. H. Traver, 1880.

The corresponding secretaries for the same time were Rev. C. S. Conkling, 1866-72; Hugh E. War- ford, 1873-77; E. Vosseller, 1878-80.

John W. Lequear has been recording secretary since 1872. (To him we are under obligations for the facts from which this sketch is compiled.)

The following officers were chosen at its last session for the ensuing year, 1881: President, Rev. G. F. Love; Vice-Presidents, Revs. J. D. Randolph, J. M. Helsley, and C. E. Walton; Corresponding Secretary and Treasurer, E. Vosseller; Recording Secretary, J. W. Lequear.

Since 1866, when the association was called to mourn the death of two pioneer pastors and Sunday- school coadjutors, Revs. Kirkpatrick and Studdiford, many of their efficient workers and zealous advocates have rested from their labors.

At the twentieth annual convention, held Nov. 4, 1880, the corresponding secretary reported about 100 Sunday-schools in the county, with reports from 71.

251

SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN OF HUNTERDON COUNTY.

CHAPTER X.

SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN OF HUN- TERDON COUNTY.

Gen. Daniel Morgan-Gen. Philemon Dickinson-Gen. WillInm Maxwell -Col. Charles Stewart-Col. Philip Johnson-Col. Joab Houghton- Col. Mark Thompson-Col. Isaac Smith-John Mchelm-John Hart- John Stevens-Robert Livingston Stevens-Edwin A. Stevens-Rev. Peter Studdiford-Rov. Casper Wack-Rov. John Vanderveer-Rov. George S. Mott, D.D .- Henry D. Maxwell-Ell Bosonbury-Peter Cramer-Charles W. Godown-James M. Ramsey.

IT is attempted in this connection to present only sketches of some of the patriots and soldiers of the Revolutionary period, together with a few of the legislators, divines, etc., of the present time who have not been specially treated elsewhere.

GEN. DANIEL MORGAN, who in the Revolutionary struggle proved one of our bravest and most efficient generals, was a native of Hunterdon County, although his nativity has been accorded to other localities. Rogers, in his " Heroes and Statesmen of America," says he was born in Durham township, Bucks Co., P'a .* This is a mistake growing out of the fact that the family for a short time lived there, being in some way connected with the iron-works, but afterwards removed to Lebanon township, this county. Dr. John Blane says, "My informants stated he was born here,-a fact they had from their mother and aunts, who lived less than a mile from the Morgan family residence, which was on land afterwards owned by Maj. Dusenberry, of New Hampton. Some of them even pointed out the spot where some moulder- ing logs and the stones of the back of the fireplace were to be seen" marking the site of the dwelling. They further stated that when Daniel was old enough to drive a team he went to Pittstown, where he drove a pair of oxen for the business proprietors of the place, and that about 1750 he went from there to Vir- ginia. His connection with the war of independence is too well known to need mention here. His corps of riflemen was the terror of the enemy and the pride of the Continental army. He also served in Brad- dock's expedition of 1755. Among all of Hunterdon's sons, none have done her more honor or left a more illustrious name than has Gen. Daniel Morgan.

The patriotic citizens of South Carolina on the 17th of January, 1881, celebrated the one hundredth anni- versary of the battle of Cowpens with appropriate ceremonies, and the executives and the people of the Old Thirteen States have been invited to unite with them in the erection of a massive memorial column of granite, with suitable inscriptions, to commemorate the event. It is expected that when the monument is completed Congress will provide the means for a bronze statue of Gen. Morgan, to complete the monu- mental design. The financial officer of the New Jer- sey Historical Society has issued an address appealing

to the people of New Jersey for contributions to aid in this patriotic object.

GEN. PHILEMON DICKINSON, a gallant officer of the Revolution, was a Whig of the truest dye, and entered the army at the commencement of the con- test .. Possessed of an ample fortune, he hazarded it for the good of his country, preferring poverty with liberty to wealth with slavery. He was at the head of the New Jersey militia at the battle of Monmouthi, where he displayed the greatest bravery. After the establishment of the Federal government he was elected to Congress from this State, and in all the civil and military stations in which he figured he served honestly and well. The last twelve years of his life were passed in retirement at his residence, near Trenton, where he died Feb. 4, 1809, aged sixty- eight.t

GEN. WILLIAM MAXWELL as a soldier and patriot had few superiors, and was honored and loved for his integrity and kindness of heart. No man's record shines out more brilliantly in the history of the strug- gle upon the soil of New Jersey than does his, and it is strange that historians, beyond the mere mention of the position he took on the field, have left his name in comparative obscurity. He was born near the north boundary line of Hunterdon County, and joined the army at the beginning of the war .; In 1776 he was appointed colonel, and raised a battalion of infantry in Hunterdon and adjoining counties. He was with Gen. Schuyler on Lake Champlain, and in October following was appointed a brigadier in the Continen- tal service. He was conspicuous at Trenton, and after that battle was engaged in harassing the enemy dur- ing the winter and spring of 1777, being stationed near the British lines at Elizabethtown. In the autumn he participated in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and the next winter (1777-78) shared the sufferings at Valley Forge. He was active in the pursuit of Clinton across New Jersey the fol- lowing summer, and sustained an important part in the battle of Monmouth. He subsequently annoyed the enemy in their retreat towards Sandy Hook, and in June, 1780, was engaged in the action at Spring- field. In August he resigned his commission and quitted the service. He was highly esteemed by Washington, who, on transmitting his resignation to Congress, said, after speaking of his merits as an otli- cer, "I believe him to be an honest man, a warm friend to his country, and firmly attached to its inter- ests."¿ He was a frequent guest after the war at the mansion of Col. Stewart, at Landsdown, where he died, quite suddenly, while on a visit, in 1796. He was buried in the Greenwich Presbyterian churchyard, in

* In " Appleton's Encyclopedia" (1861) it is stated he was born in Now Jersey In 1736.

+ " Losing's Field-Book of the Revolution," rol. if., p. 220.

¿ Ile also served with the colonial forces in 1785, and on the field of Monongahela first met Gen. Morgan, There three men met who twenty yours later were to win laurels na the heroes of Quebec,-Daniel Morgan, Philip Johnston, and William Maxwell.

? " Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution." Ii., P. 375.

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HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Warren County. John Maxwell, of Flemington, was his brother, and the eminent lawyers, George C. and William, of the same place, were his nephews. Gen. Maxwell resided near Clinton, but after the Revolu- tion removed to Greenwich, Warren Co.

COL. CHARLES STEWART was born at Gortlea, County Donegal, Ireland, in 1729. His grandfather, Charles, was a Scotchman and an officer in the army of William of Orange. For his services at Boyne he received the estate in Ireland called Gortlea. The grandson emigrated to America in 1750. He became a favorite at the house of Judge Johnston, whose daughter, Mary, he married. Many of his friends were loyalists, and vainly tried to retain him on the king's side, but he was firm; the puritan ideas and love of liberty inherited from his ancestors, and which impelled him to leave the mother-country, made him a staunch patriot. Union farm, rented from Allen & Turner, of Philadelphia, was the residence of Col. Stewart and family during the war, after which he returned to his own mansion, at Landsdown, later re- moving to Flemington.

Col. Stewart died Juue 24, 1800, and was buried in the cemetery of the old stone church at Bethlehem, where a tablet is erected to his memory, containing an epitaph composed by his lifelong friend, Chief Justice Smith, of Trenton. He was a leading spirit in Hunterdon County during the Revolution, and rendered important services from the commencement to the close of the struggle. He was colonel of the First Regiment of minute-men, then colonel of the regiment of the line. In 1776 he became one of Washington's staff as commissary-general, and so re- mained to the end of the war. He was a member of the Congress of 1784-85, and also surveyor-general of the province of Pennsylvania. His daughter, Martha, was the wife of Capt. Robert Wilson, of the Conti- mental army, who was wounded at Germantown, and who died in Hackettstown in 1779. A grandson, Charles (son of Samuel), was a classmate in Prince- ton of Judge Alexander Wurts, was a missionary to the Sandwich Islands, a chaplain in the navy, and died at Cooperstown, N. Y., in 1870 .* A grand- daughter, Mrs. Hoyt, widow of the late Capt. Hoyt, lives at Landsdown.

Col. Stewart was of medium height, spare in flesh, with keen blue eyes, expressing intelligence, kind- ness, and firmness. His portrait, executed by Peale, is still preserved. His homestead estate remains in the possession of his descendants.

COL. PHILIP JOHNSTON, a brother-in-law of Col. Charles Stewart, was the eldest of seven children, and was born in 1741. His father, Judge Samuel John- ston, was a colonial magistrate thirty years before the Revolution. The family were from Scotland, and be- longed to an ancient barony in Anandale. They were a warlike clan and a great terror to the border

thieves. Philip left his class in Princeton College to serve in the French war in Canada, from which he returned with military honor and reputation. This fact drew many to his standard when he called for volunteers in 1776. He was appointed by the Pro- vincial Congress of New Jersey to the command of the First Regiment. At the head of this regiment he went into the battle of Long Island. He was one of the bravest in that hotly-contested fight. Force's "Revolutionary Archives" gives the following extract from a Philadelphia journal of the day : " We hear that in the late action on Long Island, Col. Philip Johnston, of New Jersey, behaved with remarkable intrepidity and fortitude. By the well-directed fire of his battalion the enemy were several times repulsed and lanes were made through them, until he received a ball in his breast, which put an end to as brave an officer as ever commanded. Gen. Sullivan, who was close to him when he fell, says that no man could be- have with more firmness during the whole action." Just as he was leaving home for the seat of war he went into the room where his little children were in bed, and, kissing them, he kneeled down and com- mended his family to God in prayer. One of those three daughters, Mary, became the wife of Joseph Scudder, and was the mother of Dr. John Scudder, the world-renowned missionary to India.t

COL. JOAB HOUGHTON, a native of Hopewell, then in Hunterdon County, was born in the northeast part of the township, near the present boundary line of Hunterdon. He was an active partisan officer of the Revolution, served all through the war, and did good service in repelling and harassing the marauding-par- ties of British while their army overran this section of country. On one occasion, at Pennington, he cap- tured a Hessian sergeant and twelve men. After the war he served as a member of the Legislature from Hunterdon County. He was a member of the Bap- tist Church, and died about 1795, at an advanced age.

COL. MARK THOMPSON, one of the most prominent men of his day, lived about two miles from Clarks- ville, at the site of the Change-water forge, of which valuable property he was an early owner. He was a colonel in the militia in the first levy of troops for the defense of the State during the Revolution. His son, Robert C., inherited the property. Of the six sons of the latter all were long since deceased except Theo- dore, who removed to Princeton, where he was living at last accounts.

COL. ISAAC SMITH, born 1740, graduated at Prince- ton, 1755, was a tutor in 1757, a member of the State Medical Society in 1767. Upon the breaking out of the war he was commissioned colonel of the First Regiment, Hunterdon. From 1777 to 1795 he was a

* A son of his was graduated at West Point with Gen. Mcclellan, and served faithfully and efficiently during the late war ef the Rebellion.

+ These facts are taken from an article in the Christian Intelligencer by Rev. William Hall, Jan. 25, 1877. The correctness of them is asserted by Mrs. Hoyt, granddaughter of Col. Stewart .- Dr. Mott's Ilist. Hunter- don Co.

# "Our Home," 1873.

253

SOME OF THE PROMINENT MEN OF HUNTERDON COUNTY.

justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey. IIe was subsequently elected to Congress. He was a suc- cessful physician, although public duties withdrew him much from his practice. He died Aug. 29, 1807, aged sixty-eight, and was buried in Trenton. A sketch of his life and character may be found in the " Portfolio," vol. i., February, 1809 .*

JOHN MEHELM was another member of the Pro- vincial Congress of 1775 who represented this county and afterwards took an active part in the Revolution. He emigrated to this country from Ireland. In early life he was a schoolmaster in Berks Co., Pa. He was a handsome writer and a fine scholar. He purchased one hundred aeres of land and a mill on the Northi Branch, near Pluckamin, since known as Hall's Mills. : Ilere during the Revolutionary war he manufactured flour, which was used by the army while lying at Pluckamin and encamped at Morristown. He was colonel of the Fourth Regiment, Hunterdon, served on the staff of Maj .- Gen. Dickinson ; was also quarter- master-general, and continued a pure and able patriot. lle was often associated with John Hart, and was also the friend and companion of Washington. Col. Me- helm was a member of the Provincial Congress which met at Burlington, June 10, 1776, He was appointed surrogate for the counties of Hunterdon and Somer- set, which oflice he held until 1801, when he was re- moved.+

JOHN HART, one of the most prominent men of Revolutionary times, and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, was born in the town- ship of Hopewell, N. J. He was a deputy in the Pro- vincial Congress of 1775 from Hunterdon County, a member of the Committee of Safety in 1776, and a member of the Continental Congress. When the British troops took possession of this portion of the State, Mr. Hart's farm and stock were pillaged and destroyed by the Hessians, and his children escaped from insult only by removing from the vicinity. Mrs. Hart, at the time too sick for removal, died amid the soldiers, her end no doubt hastened by the exciting scenes then transpiring. Mr. Hart himself was driven from the bedside of his dying wife and hunted through the hills and woods of his native county. It is little wonder, then, that he was a patriot, and that he earn- estly espoused the cause of the colonists. He died in 1780, leaving a bright example of patriotism and devotion to his country.

JOHN STEVENS was an early settler in the Round Valley. He was the grandfather of Edward | Edwin], .John, and Robert Livingston Stevens, who became the pioneers in the railroad and steamboat enterprises of the State. Robert, when only twenty years old, took the " Phoenix"-a steamboat built by his father, and one of the first ever constructed-from New York to Philadelphia by sea, which is indisputably the first

instance of ocean steam-navigation. This was in 1808. Tradition says that Livingston, the associate of Robert Fulton, was a frequent visitor at Round Valley.+

COL. JOHN STEVENS (born 1749, died 1838) as early as 1789 presented a memorial to the Legislature of the State of New York stating that he had perfected his plans in regard to steam-navigation. In 1804 he launched a small vessel worked by steam with serews, and in 1807 he built the steamboat " Phoenix." Ful- ton, meanwhile, had constructed the " Clermont" and obtained the exclusive right of navigating the Hud- son ; Stevens, therefore, sent his vessel to the Dela- ware. He subsequently invented a revolving steam- battery, and was the pioneer in the matter of the use of steam for railways, suggesting the construction of one from Albany to Fort Erie. The Camden and Amboy Railroad was planned by him. But when he applied to the State for a franchise to build it, it was denied on the plea of being so visionary a scheme that they did not wish to encourage him in his at- tempts to bankrupt himself and impoverish his fam- ily. Ile had six sons and five daughters; the names of the former were John Cox, Robert Livingston, James Alexander, Richard, Francis Bowes, and Edwin Augustus.

RICHARD STEVENS graduated from Columbia Col- lege and became a surgeon in the navy (born 1788, died 1856).

ROBERT L. STEVENS was the assistant of his father in perfecting his inventions, and was himself an emi- nent inventor. In 1813 he devised and made for the government elongated percussion-shells for smooth- bore guns, and in 1822 used anthracite coal in a fur- nace, and soon after in his steamers; in 1836 intro- duced the T-rail on the Camden and Amboy Railroad, of which he was president, and in 1842 was com- missioned to build for the United States government an iron-plated floating battery, which remained un- completed at his death .¿

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History of Hunterdon and Somerset counties, New Jersey : with illustrations and biographical sketches of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 64

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