USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume I > Part 6
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PROPRIETARY AND COLONIAL GOVERNORS
The son, however, followed his father's advice in avoiding duplicity, for he did not hesitate to give manifest tokens of his determination to rise or fall with the royal cause.
The contentions between the royal governor and provincial con- vention or congress continued with exasperating bitterness until finally that body decreed that no further payments should be made on account of salary to the governor, and an order was issued for his arrest. A detachment of militia under the command of Colonel (afterwards Gen- eral) Heard made the arrest at Perth Amboy, June 17, 1776, Governor Franklin being presented with a parole which he indignantly refused to sign ; a guard of sixty men was placed around the executive's residence until communication could be had with the convention. That body informed the Continental Congress of the arrest, asking what disposition to make of the offender. Under date of June 24, 1776, the Continental Congress placed William Franklin under charge of Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, to be treated agreeable to the resolutions of Congress respecting prisoners. Governor Trumbull accepted the charge, and Franklin was quartered in the house of Captain Ebenezer Grant, at East Windsor. Here he remained a prisoner two years and four months, an exchange being at that time effected, and he arrived in New York, November 1, 1778. He was a resident of New York until in August, 1782, he sailed for England. In consideration of the losses he had been subjected to, £1,800 was granted to him by the British government, and he was allowed in addition a yearly pension of £800. His death occurred November 17, 1813.
Thus ends a mortal career whose birth placed a bar sinister on the Franklin coat-of-arms. He must have inherited from his maternal ancestor his opposition to the rights of the people, for self-government and independence were advocated by his sire. That he was of American birth and descent makes his professed loyalty to the King more offen- sive to the average American reader. Benjamin West, in his picture representing the "Reception of the American Royalists by Great Britain in the year 1783," makes Franklin one of the prominent personages at the head of a group of figures, and in a description of the picture he is mentioned as having "preserved his fidelity and loyalty to his sovereign from the commencement to the conclusion of the contest, notwithstand- ing powerful incitements to the contrary." Thus his disloyalty to American independence is flouted to the world. How different in con- trast to that other arch traitor, Benedict Arnold, who a few days before his death, clothing himself in his old Continental uniform, on his bended knees asked God's forgiveness for ever wearing any other. Thus has been imperfectly sketched the career of the proprietaries and colonial governors, from the little that is now known respecting the characters, habits, attainments or adventures of the incumbents of the executive office of the province of New Jersey.
RARITAN BAY
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RAILROAD BRIDGE
CHAPTER VII. THE ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY.
The Dutch at New Netherland took the first steps for civil organiza- tion of East Jersey. They established in 1661 the jurisdiction of the incorporated town of Bergen over the outlying and contiguous planta- tions on the west side of the Hudson river. The courts of Bergen under the supreme authority of the director-general and council of Manhattan were sufficient to meet all requirements of local administration over so limited a district of country, and were continued for more than a decade after the English came into possession of the country.
In the meantime a sufficient population had settled about Newark bay, along the Passaic, the Raritan, and southward to the Highlands of the Navesink, to foreshadow in outline at least the necessity for erecting four original counties in East Jersey. The Legislature of 1675 enacted that Elizabethtown and Newark make a county ; Bergen and adjacent plantations be a county ; Woodbridge and Piscataqua be a county ; and that the two towns, Middletown and Shrewsbury at Nave- sink, make a county. By this act the incipient counties were neither named nor their limits defined. Seven years later a more definite divi- sion was made. The General Assembly of East Jersey convened at Elizabethtown in 1682 passed an act erecting the counties of Bergen, Essex, Middlesex and Monmouth. The preamble for the erection of these counties states the following: "Having taken into consideration the necessity of dividing the province into respective counties for the better governing and settling of courts in the same," etc.
Middlesex county by the legislative act of 1682 was to begin from the parting line between Essex county and Woodbridge, containing Woodbridge and Piscataway and all the plantations on both sides of the Raritan river as far as the Delaware river eastward, extending south- west to the division line of the province, and northwest to the utmost bounds of the county.
By an act of the Assembly in March, 1688, Somerset county was incorporated. The territory thus taken from Middlesex county was its western border lands, the Raritan river forming part of the boundary lines. The reason given for this division was that those engaged in husbandry and manuring of lands in the valley of the uppermost part of the Raritan river were forced by different ways and methods from the other farmers and inhabitants of the county of Middlesex, because of the frequent floods that carry away their fences on their meadows, the only available land they have, and so by consequence their interest is divided from the other inhabitants of the county. This division,
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however, was merely nominal, and in 1709-10, by an act of the Assembly, Somerset was continued subjected to the jurisdiction of the courts and officers of Middlesex county for the want of a competent number of inhabitants to hold court and for juries. Courts continued to be held in Middlesex for the two counties as late as 1720, when Somerset county courts were duly organized.
There have been a number of acts passed by the Legislature in ref- erence to regulating the boundary lines of Middlesex county. On January 31, 1709-10, an act was passed determining the boundaries of the sev- eral counties. This act was supplemented March 15, 1713, setting the boundaries between Somerset, Middlesex and Monmouth counties, in which the line between Somerset and Middlesex should begin with the road crossing the Raritan at Inian's Ferry, thence to run along a road leading to the falls of the Delaware as far as the partition line between East and West Jersey.
In accordance with this act, Somerset county extended down one side of the present Albany street, New Brunswick. This, however, by an act passed November 24, 1790, was altered, the boundary line between the two counties being established by the lands and tenements north- ward of the Raritan river to be annexed to Somerset county, while those south of the river were to become a part of Middlesex county. This act made the middle of the main road from New Brunswick to Trenton the boundary line between Middlesex and Somerset counties.
The easterly bounds of Middlesex county, by an act passed November 28, 1822, were declared to be the middle or midway of the waters of the Staten Island Sound, adjoining same, to the middle of the channel of the waters of the Sound, with the waters of Raritan river, thence to the eastward of the flat or shoal which extends from South Amboy to the mouth of Whale creek, the beginning of the bounds of the counties of Middlesex and Monmouth.
A part of Middlesex with a portion of the counties of Hunterdon and Burlington was taken by an act dated February 22, 1838, to form the county of Mercer.
By acts of the Legislature, the western boundary of Middlesex county in the towns of North Brunswick and South Brunswick were made to conform in 1855 and 1858 with a turnpike road extending from Little Rocky Hill to New Brunswick. A part of the township of Wood- bridge, by an act of February 16, 1860, within the limits of the city of Rahway, was annexed to Union county, and April 5, 1871, by another act a portion of Plainfield in Union county was annexed to the township of Piscataway in Middlesex county.
The first act dividing the newly organized counties into townships was passed in 1693. The division in Middlesex county was into the corporated town of Woodbridge, the townships of Perth Amboy, then
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known as Perth, and Piscataway. These townships were not definitely defined in relation to their boundaries, and were merely settlements in a wide area of territory. Soon after this, nearly contemporary with the organization of its sister townships, North Brunswick, South Amboy and South Brunswick were invested with township honors. These three townships embraced all of the present area of Middlesex county south of the Raritan river, the township of South Amboy consisting of the eastern portion of that territory which was bounded by the seacoast and Monmouth county ; west of the South river, near the geographical center of the present county, was the northeast boundary line of the town of North Brunswick, which extended westward to the division line of Somerset county. Its southerly line, which divided it from the newly erected town of South Brunswick, located in the southwest corner of the present county limits, was very irregular in shape.
The civil divisions of the county, consisting of these five townships and the cities of New Brunswick and Perth Amboy, remained undis- turbed until February 23, 1838, when the southermost portion of the town of South Amboy, about eight miles long and six wide, was erected by the Legislature into the township of Monroe. At this period the county had obtained a population of 21,894 outside of New Brunswick, divided as follows : At Perth Amboy, 1303; in the township of South Amboy, the population was 1,825; the village of the same name, situated on a safe and deep harbor on Raritan bay at the mouth of the Raritan river, twelve miles below New Brunswick, was one of the terminals of the Camden & Amboy railroad. The village contained an academy and about twenty-five dwellings. Seven miles southwest of South Amboy, on the line of the railroad, was Old Bridge, on the South river, a hamlet of about thirty-five dwellings. From this point large quantities of pine and oak wood were shipped to New York City. In the same township was Jacksonville, at the head of Cheesequake creek, where were a Baptist and Methodist church, and about fifteen dwellings.
The township of North Brunswick was about eight miles long and seven miles broad, with a population of 5,860. The city of New Bruns- wick, which was incorporated in 1784, lay partly in the town of North Brunswick and partly in the township of Franklin in Somerset county. The shores of the Raritan river at this point were connected by a toll- bridge which was built in 1811 at the expense of $86,687, which had become dilapidated, therefore of little use ; and by the railroad bridge of the New Jersey railroad, which passed through the city, forming a part of the chain of railroads from New York to Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. New Brunswick had a population of 8,693, and was the seat of Rutgers College ; it contained eight churches, two female semi- naries, one bank, about one hundred and twenty stores, and eight hun- dred dwellings. Four miles southeast of New Brunswick was the village
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of Washington, at the confluence of the South river with the Raritan. It contained about fifty dwellings, and in summer steamers plied between there and New York with produce of the county.
The township of South Brunswick, about eight miles long and seven miles broad, had a population of 2,797. In the northeast corner of the township, at the intersection of the Delaware and Raritan canal with the New York and Philadelphia turnpike, was the village of Kingston. In the stagecoach days, Kingston, being on the great thoroughfare between New York and the South, was a favorite stopping place. In olden times in front of Withington's Inn and the Vantilburgh Tavern, there were seen halted at the same time nearly fifty stages loaded with about four hundred passengers. Vantilburgh's Tavern was long known as a favorite stopping place for Washington and the governors of New Jersey in passing from the eastern towns to the State capital. It was at this village that Washington and his army, the day of the battle of Princeton, eluded the enemy in pursuit by filing off the main road to the left of the church, while the British continued on the New Brunswick road, thinking the American army had gone to that place to destroy their winter stores. Cranbury, partly in Monroe township, was a village built on a single street, containing two Presbyterian churches, two academies, seventy-three dwellings, and about six hundred inhabitants. Crossroads and Plainsborough were hamlets, the former containing two taverns, two stores, and about fifteen dwellings; the latter, a store, a tavern, gristmill and a few dwellings.
Monroe, the newly organized township, was about eight miles long and six miles wide, with a population of 2,453. Spotswood, on the rail- road, ten miles from South Amboy, was a village containing three stores, a grist and saw mill, two churches and fifty-two dwellings.
The population of Piscataway was 2,828, and its incorporated limits were about eight miles long and six miles wide. The village of New Market, formerly Quibblestown, situated towards the northwest corner of the township, was a post-town of some fifteen or twenty houses. Piscataway, about three miles east of New Brunswick, was originally an old Indian village ; in early days it was a seat of justice for Middlesex and Somerset counties ; it contained a church and about a dozen dwell- ings. The small village of Raritan Landing, two miles above New Brunswick, where there was a bridge across the Raritan river, contained several stores and from twenty-five to thirty dwellings.
The ancient township of Woodbridge had an area of ten miles in breadth east and west and nine miles north and south, having a popula- tion of 4,821. Metuchen and Uniontown, on the line of the New Jersey railroad, contained a few dwellings. Rahway, on the border line of Essex county, was a flourishing village. Woodbridge, nine miles north- east from New Brunswick, contained three churches, an academy, a
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grist and saw mill, an extensive pottery, and fifty dwellings. Bonham- town was a small gathering of dwellings.
Thus we review in retrospect a small portion of a vast republic. Four score of years have rolled away. The manners and customs of the descendants of those worthy pioneers who made the forests bloom into cultivated fields, have gone to their last resting place. Their sons and daughters in most cases have strayed away from the old homesteads to the more diverting and alluring life in the busy marts of the country, their places taken by the aliens of other lands who left the vexatious tribulations of their native homes in the Old World for betterment and success in the New World.
In the place of the worthy pioneer traveling the dirt highway with his horse and wagon, is heard the buzz and whiz of the ever-destructive automobile propelled by the refined product of nature's oil, speeding over the macadamized way with lightning rapidity. The humming of a motor is brought to our ears, and as we raise our eyes skyward, instead of viewing and hearing the song and notes of a feathered visitor, we are greeted with the fast-disappearing aeroplane.
There were no further sub-divisions of Middlesex county until Feb- ruary 28, 1860, when East Brunswick was incorporated from parts of the townships North Brunswick and Monroe. On the same day, by an act of the Assembly, New Brunswick was separated from North Brunswick, which had been known since 1803 as the North Ward of New Bruns- wick. The next township to be organized was Madison, from South Amboy, March 3, 1869. The following year, on March 17, Raritan became a township, its territory being taken from Woodbridge and Piscataway. The township of Cranbury was formed from a part of South Brunswick and Monroe, March 7, 1872, and twelve hundred and fifty acres of the township of South Amboy was incorporated April 6, 1876, as the township of Sayreville.
The first courthouse and jail in Middlesex county was erected at Perth Amboy. In the proprietary minutes under date of May 14, 1685, it was ordered that a town house be built, stipulating it should be erected on a lot owned by one Thomas Warne. The location of this lot is uncertain, but it was probably one running through from High street to Water street, in the new town of Perth. In April, 1696, £20 was voted to Mr. Warne to release this lot again. However, previous to this, Thomas Gordon was directed to fit up one of the old houses of the proprietaries for a courthouse. Whether this was occupied under the royal provincial government is not known.
An act was passed in 1713 for building and repairing jails and court- houses in the province, and Amboy was designated as the site for the jail and courthouse of Middlesex county. The building erected in con- formity with this act stood on the northeast corner of High street and
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the public square, and served for both tries and tried, the prison being under the same roof with the courthouse. It was also used for legis- lative purposes from Governor Hunter's to Governor Franklin's admin- istrations inclusive. It was destroyed by fire in 1765-66, accidentally, it is said, in the act providing for the erection of another. The second courthouse was erected June 28, 1766, on land donated by the inhabitants of Perth Amboy. It was a two-story building adorned with a cupola or belfry. This structure was used until the transfer of the county seat to New Brunswick, afterwards became a school house, but eventu- ally passed into private hands. The jail authorized by the same act was finished at an expense of £200 in 1767. It was also a two-story building containing rooms for the keeper's family, in addition to those for pris- oners. The city authorities of Perth Amboy ordered its destruction in 1826.
In the early part of January, 1793, a matter of local interest was the question "where shall our new courthouse be situated?" The change of the county seat of Middlesex county had been sanctioned by the Legislature, and the two rivals for the honor and profit were Perth Amboy and New Brunswick. The former claimed for a matter of economy the courthouse should be erected in that city, which already had a suitable building, that it was a free port of entry, and that they were willing to transport officials, witnesses, and those interested in matters brought before the court, free of charge across the ferry, from Perth Amboy to South Amboy. New Brunswick was not behind hand in its offer, claiming to be the largest town, on the line of a stage route, the center of a prosperous agricultural country ; that the business done far exceeded Perth Amboy, and on the question of finance they were willing to contribute £300 for the building of a new courthouse in that city. The election was held March 10, 1793, and though there were 2,540 ballots cast, as late as nine days afterwards only 1,900 of these had been counted, of which New Brunswick had 980 and Perth Amboy 900; this seems, however, to have settled the contest, as New Brunswick became the county seat.
The common council of New Brunswick, April 29, 1793, assessed the inhabitants of the city for the £300 promised for the construction of a new courthouse. A number of the citizens who were residents of Somerset county refused to pay the taxes thus levied, and in the case of one delinquent his goods were attached. The case was carried to the Supreme Court, and at a session of this body at the November term, in 1796. Chief Justice Kinsey delivered the opinion of the court. The judgment of the court below was affirmed, that the corporation ordinance and tax were illegal, that its effect was to compel inhabitants of the Somerset side of the city, who had to build and maintain a courthouse of their own, to assist in defraying the expenses of a public building
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in another county. The Chief Justice reiterates, "for these reasons alone, without entering into the peculiar circumstances which in the case furnish strong suspicions of intentional and premeditated decep- tions in this double-faced transaction, we are of the opinion that the vote of the 2nd of February, 1793, imposing a tax of £300 upon the citizens of New Brunswick for purposes set forth, was illegal and void, and of consequence the assessment of it; the ordinance directing the time of payment, the duplicates and warrants of distress, having no valid foun- dation, are all likewise void."
The decision of the Supreme Court did not, however, interfere with New Brunswick becoming the county seat. A court of common pleas had been held in that city since 1778, and £ 100 was expended on the Barracks, situated on the west side of George street near Paterson street, where soldiers were quartered during the Revolution. The barracks were destroyed by fire in 1794, and in that year the "Union" or Old City Hall, corner of Neilson and Bayard streets, was built and used for a courthouse, while a jail was erected on the site of the Bayard street public school. This building was utilized till about 1840, when the present courthouse was built, the sum of $30,000 being obtained from the State, borrowed from the "Surplus Revenue Fund" to aid in its completion. The present building has been remodeled and renovated at different times, making a commodious and substantial building for the transaction of the official business of the county.
CHAPTER VIII. EAST AND WEST JERSEY.
Lord Berkeley disposed of his interests in the proprietorship of New Jersey to John Fenwick and Edward Byllinge, both members of the Society of Friends. Fenwick in 1675 established a Quaker settle- ment at Salem, near the Delaware river, and claimed authority as chief proprietor over all parts of New Jersey southwest of a line drawn from Little Egg Harbor to a point on the Delaware river in the forty-first degree of north latitude. For a number of years the province was divided into East Jersey, with its capital at Perth Amboy; and West Jersey, having as its capital Burlington.
The two Quaker proprietors of West Jersey quarreled about their respective rights; the tenets of their sect forbade them to go to law for an adjustment of their differences, and William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, was called into the matter as an arbitrator. This was the first introduction of that prominent member of the Society of Friends in the affairs of America. Byllinge, being burdened with debts, assigned his interests to his creditors, and the greater part of the right and title in West Jersey fell into the hands of William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, and Nicholas Lucas. The matter of ownership of the lands in the province of New Jersey became complicated. Lord Berkeley had sold his individual half of the colony, and negotiations were entered into between Sir George Carteret on the one side, and Penn, Lawrie, Fen- wick and Lucas, on the other side, to divide the province into two great portions Finally on July 1, 1676, (O. S.) a deed was executed. East Jersey was to include all that portion lying northeast of a straight drawn line from Little Egg Harbor to the northermost boundary of the prov- ince on the Delaware river, and West Jersey was to consist of all the rest of the province granted by the Duke of York. West Jersey was divided into one hundred parts, ten of which were set aside for Fenwick, the balance to be disposed of for the benefit of Byllinge's creditors.
Disputes having arisen between Governor Carteret and Governor Andros of New York, who claimed political jurisdiction over the prov- ince of New Jersey in the name of the Duke of York, Carteret declined to negotiate with Governor Andros, and the Assembly of New Jersey reluctantly accepted the Duke's laws. Complaints were laid before the Duke and the case was referred to the Duke's commissioners, who on legal advice being taken, decided that the original grant reserved no jur- isdiction and that none could be rightfully claimed. Therefore, the Duke signed documents relinquishing all rights over East and West Jersey.
The heirs of Sir George Carteret in 1682 sold their rights in East Jersey to a society of Quakers under the leadership of William Penn,
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who had been encouraged by their success in West Jersey. The prog- ress of the province had been rapid, a smelting furnace and forge were in operation making good iron ; horses, beef, pork, butter, cheese, pipe staves, breads, flour, wheat, barley, rye, and Indian corn, were exported to Barbados, Jamaica and other adjacent islands, also to Portugal, Spain, the Canaries, etc. ; whale oil, whale fins, beaver, mink, raccoon and martin furs were sent to England.
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