USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume II > Part 3
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44
Old as Perth Amboy is, and prominent as it was in the early history of the province of East Jersey, there is little to-day to remind us of the early days of the infant city. Writing nearly three-quarters of a century ago, William A. Whitehead, preeminently the historian of Perth Amboy, said that Perth Amboy had then no crumbling castles, no time-worn bat- tlemented walls, nor monuments of fallen greatness, such as excite the veneration and sympathies of the traveler among the dilapidated cities of the Eastern hemisphere. Since Whitehead's day, the old British barracks, erected midway in the eighteenth century to shelter the royal troops returning from Cuba, have been removed. The ground they occupied is now the site of the grammar school, a magnificent monument to the efforts of Perth Amboy to educate the children who came to bless the homes of her citizens, to many of whom the public school is a wonderful agency for the Americanization of those of foreign birth or parentage.
366
MIDDLESEX
At the same time there is a growing number who regret that the bar- racks were not preserved and the grammar school erected elsewhere. Until the destruction of the old buildings, the walls of which were con- structed of brick brought from England, the old rifle-pit remained almost as it was when first dug-in summer a pond in which tiny ships were sailed and miniature navies fought their battles; and in winter a safe place for those who sought the pleasures of ice skating.
The old mansion, built as the home of the colonial governor of the Jerseys when one capital was maintained in Amboy and the other in Burlington, stands on Kearny avenue. William Franklin, son of the great philosopher and statesman, was the last royal governor of the colony to occupy the mansion. Shortly after the Revolution, the prop- erty, comprising a magnificent estate, passed into private hands. Later a destructive fire visited it, but the building was restored and until the Civil War wrecked southern fortunes, it was a favorite summer resort for prominent families from south of the Mason and Dixon line. It was then known as the Brighton House, with checkered career as a public house of entertainment. After the war was ended, Matthias Bruen pre- sented the entire property to the Presbyterian church to be maintained as a home for infirm clergy, their wives, widows and orphans. Thus it continued for more than a score of years, when the church decided that it could not afford to longer keep it, and returned it to the Bruen family, and it is now in use as an apartment house, occupied by schoolteachers, lawyers, and other professional people. Many people who otherwise know nothing of Perth Amboy's history are familiar with the Parker Castle, so-called because of the older part of it, built with heavy stone walls in the time when Indians were numerous in these parts and the peaceful citizen sought to protect his sleep at night and his family by day. The frame part of the old castle, which sheltered generation after genera- tion of the Parker family for nearly two centuries, was old when the colonies fought the mother country, although erected long after the stone portion had been in use. The building extends from Water street to Front, and years ago the half block bounded by Water street and Wil- locks lane was Mrs. Parker's garden.
On the corner of Smith and Water streets is the old Parker law office, originally a one-story frame structure which now is two stories high because the Smith street grade was lowered at that point about ten feet. There before the Revolution the Parkers gave legal advice to their towns- men, and were consulted by men of prominence through New Jersey and New York who were glad to have the benefit of their knowledge and advice. There, at the outbreak of the Revolution, Cortlandt Skinner, the royal attorney general, had his office. Two of his students at the time were Andrew Bell and Joseph Bloomfield. Skinner and Bell remained
THE ! PUBLIC LIL
ASTRE I 2018 FILED FLORES
-
POST OFFICE, PERTH AMBOY
E
-
HIGH SCHOOL, PERTH AMBOY.
GREEN BROOK, NEAR DUNELLEN.
367
PERTH AMBOY
loyal to the British Crown, the former becoming a major-general in his Majesty's forces, and Bell served throughout the conflict as private sec- retary to Sir Henry Clinton. Bloomfield led American troops as a major- general, and later was twice governor of New Jersey, besides serving the State well as attorney-general. Bell's old mansion still stands on Kearny avenue, occupied by Miss Emily Paterson, a great granddaughter of Wil- liam Paterson, one of the infant State's first two United States Senators, and who graced the Federal Supreme Court, after serving as Governor.
There is not much left of the original building in which the Provincial Assembly met immediately after the settlement of Ambo Point. It was the capital of East Jersey, and then passed through various degrees of usefulness of a public or semi-public nature for several decades. It was built and rebuilt and enlarged in various directions until for some years it has served as city hall and police headquarters. For many years the upper floor was a lodge room, and the only approach to a place of theatrical entertainment of which the city could boast for many years was the room on the second floor now used for the sessions of the city council and the district court.
Several buildings used privately, survived from early colonial days. The home of the East Jersey Club on High street was one of the first built in the city. It was saved from demolition by Dr. Francis W. Kitchel, and occupied by him for more than a quarter of a century. On some old maps of the city it is shown as the residence of Neil Campbell, one of the most prominent immigrants from Scotland to the infant metropolis. John Watson, the first portrait painter in the American colonies, came from Scotland in 1715 and lived here until his death.
The point at the mouth of the Raritan river is first mentioned in an Indian deed given to Augustine Hermann, a resident of New Amsterdam, Decem- ber 8, 1651. In this deed the point was called Ompoge, but in a subsequent one recorded in 1665 by which John Bailes or Baily, one of the patentees of the Elizabethtown tract, deeded to Governor Carteret, the country is called Arthur Cull, or Emboyle, which a year later was written Amboyle. From these names Ambo was conferred upon the point for some time after its settlement. In granting the charter to the town of Woodbridge, June 10, 1669, Ambo Point was reserved by the lord proprietors in lieu of the seventh part mentioned in the concessions. This reservation con- sisted of nine hundred acres of upland and a hundred acres of meadow. Little was accomplished for the next decade towards the settlement of the point. Samuel Groom, who accompanied Governor Rudyard, who succeeded Carteret, to the province in his official capacity of surveyor- general, surveyed the harbor and sounded the channel from Amboy, as it now began to be called, to Sandy Hook. In his report made August II,
368
MIDDLESEX
1683, the surveyor-general says that there were three houses at the Point, and three others were ready to be set up. They were thirty feet long, sixteen or eighteen feet wide, ten feet between joints, with a double chimney made of lumber and clay. Groom laid out the town into one hundred and fifty lots, and under instructions of the proprietors allowed for wide streets, also each house lot to have yard and garden.
The arrival of Gawen Lawrie to supersede Rudyard as deputy- governor gave a new impetus to affairs at Amboy. He, following the instructions of the proprietors, gave the name of Perth to their new town in honor of James, Earl of Perth, one of their associates, and the title of Amboy was dropped for some time except when applied to the Point. In the governor's report, he states that he has finally settled on a place where a ship of three hundred tons can ride safely at anchor and be connected at low tide by plank with the shore ; that he had laid out sixty lots of an acre each on the river and forty backward between these and the river, the backward lots being on a highway one hundred feet broad, including a place for a market, with cross streets from the river to the market. The governor also laid out four hundred acres divided into forty-eight parts ; sixteen of these were taken up by the Scottish proprie- tors, eight by proprietors residing in the province, twenty were taken by other people, while four acres were to lie until the proprietors agreed to divide it, as people came over; the highways and wharfs were one hundred feet broad, and a row of trees along the river was left for shade. The purchasers of the town lots were to pay £20, and agreed to build a house therein thirty feet long, eighteen feet broad, and eighteen feet high, to be finished within a year. Between forty and fifty acres were reserved for the governor's house, as the proprietors had determined to make Perth the capital of the province.
The quantity of land laid out, including the governor's house and pub- lic highways, was estimated at two hundred acres; about the same number of acres three miles up the Raritan river was retained in common to furnish grass for the settlers. It is to be regretted that these plans were not fully carried out ; they had to yield to the sordid consideration of the value of the land, and were ignored to facilitate the commercial operations of the new provincial capital. Under strong pressure of the proprietors, the deputy-governor in 1684 carried their wishes into effect and the seat of government was moved from Elizabethtown. Necessary steps were taken to procure the rights and privileges of a port of entry to advance the prosperity of the new town of Perth, and facilitate its commercial intercourse with the other provinces and the mother country.
The actual residence in Amboy of the chief officers of the province is uncertain; Rudyard and Lawrie, while they held lands in the town,
369
PERTH AMBOY
never gained a permanent residence. Hamilton and Campbell may have been permanently established, the former prior to 1689 and again from 1692 to 1698; the latter probably during his brief term. After the sur- render of the government of the province to the Crown in 1701, while New York participated in the honor flowing from the joint possession of a governor, Richard Ingoldsby was lieutenant-governor under Lords Cornbury and Lovelace, there is no trace of a residence in Amboy of him or any of the presidents of the council who succeeded him down to 1736. Governor Hunter was the first of the royal governors who regarded the province with sufficient favor to secure upon its soil anything like a per- manent home. His house was located on a knoll south of St. Peter's Church, commanding a fine view of the harbor, the bay and ocean beyond. This was his official residence while on his tours of duty in New Jersey, here he retired for recreation from the weighty cares of the administration of affairs of the province of New York. His successor, Governor Burnet, purchased the Hunter residence, which he occupied during his term of eight years. There is no evidence that Governors Montgomerie and Cosby ever had a fixed residence in Amboy. The next governor, John Hamilton, built what afterwards became known as the "Lewis Place," overlooking the broad bay formed by the junction of the Raritan and the Sound with Sandy Hook inlet. His successor, Lewis Morris, resided most of his time near Trenton; his successor, Jonathan Belcher, was more pleased with the attractions of Elizabethtown as a home during the ten years of his holding the office of governor. Gov- ernor Bernard resided in what was known as the Johnstone Mansion, which stood halfway between the "Long Ferry" and "Sandy Point." During the short period of the administration of affairs by Governors Boone and Hardy, there is no evidence to the contrary of their being permanent residents of Perth Amboy. The last of the royal governors, William Franklin, became the occupant of the Proprietors' House in October, 1774; it was afterwards enlarged and improved and became the residence of Matthias Bruen. It was in this mansion that Governor Franklin was arrested June 17, 1776, by a detachment of militia under Colonel (afterwards, General) Heard, by order of the Provincial Con- vention or Congress. A fuller detailed account of the royal governors will be found in another chapter of this work.
Among the early settlers of the new town of Perth was Samuel Groom, one of the twenty-four proprietaries, sometimes styled Mariner of Stepney ; he was dispossessed as surveyor-general and receiver-gen- eral by Governor Rudyard, though afterwards reinstated by the proprie- tors; he died in 1683, leaving on the stocks unfinished the first vessel built in East Jersey. His successor, William Haige, a son-in-law of
Mid-24
370
MIDDLESEX
Governor Lawrie, was a man much respected by the earliest settlers. He continued to perform the duties of the two offices until 1686, when he was succeeded by George Keith as surveyor-general. The latter has received several mentions in this work, as also has his deputy and suc- cessor, John Reid. The prosperity of the town was materially advanced by what was known as "William Dockwra's people." While this gentle- man owned several town lots and the valley of the Millstone river was his property, he was never a resident of the province. On the death of William Haige he was appointed receiver-general and treasurer; in consideration of his services as their agent in London the proprietors gave him a grant of one thousand acres of land. "The people" men- tioned were laborers sent over to America, so as to obtain grants for headlands in accordance with "the Concessions"-Dockwra receiving a portion of their earnings. The Scottish proprietors as well as Dockwra sent over servants and poor families, to whom they gave stock, and for a number of years they received half of the increase excepting milk, which the tenant had to himself. These arrivals of laborers amounted to over fifty at different times. The arrival of Benjamin Clarke and his son Benjamin in 1683 supplied the young town of Perth with a good sta- tioner's shop, which included a library of books. Clarke received grants for eight headlands for eight others besides himself and son. It is the presumption that his house stood on the south side of Market street, near its junction with Water street.
The unfortunate termination in Scotland of the Earl of Argyle's expe- dition caused a large number of the natives of that country to seek refuge in the New World. Prominent among these were the Campbells, rela- tions of the Earl of Argyle, a family obnoxious to the government for their political sentiments and affinities. There were a number of indi- viduals of the name of Campbell more or less intimately related to the deputy-governor who arrived in the province during the years 1684-85, but John and Archibald, sons of Lord Neil, were both identified with the settlement of Perth. John arrived in 1684, bringing his wife, three chil- dren and eleven servants, to swell the population of the province. He died in December, 1689, leaving two daughters and a son John. Archi- bald arrived at the settlement with his father, but there is no record of any wife or children. These brothers held lots in a ravine north of the town, which was known at one time as "Campbell Gulley." There is no authentic list of the Scotch settlers who arrived with Lord Campbell.
An arrival of more than ordinary interest to the new settlement was the vessel "Henry and Francis," freighted with Scots; they were men upon whom persecution had wrought its work of purification, whose souls had been tempered for patient endurance by sore trials and mis-
1
IN CITY . REPERTU TY
JOHN E.MOORE
JOHN E MOORE
L
GREGORY'S GRAVEYARD, PERTH AMBOY
37 I
PERTH AMBOY
fortunes. Among those who suffered for conscience sake in submitting to the authority of Cromwell, was Sir John Scot of Scotstarbet in Edin- burghshire, upon whom the lord-commissioner inflicted a fine of £6,000. His son, George Scot, of Pitlochie, with others, scorned to secure their liberty by taking the oath of supremacy. After suffering numerous arrests and fines for attending conventicles and for non-conformity, his petition for a release from prison was granted, on his agreeing to emi- grate to the new plantations and take with him Archibald Riddle, a cousin of his wife, one of the obnoxious preachers. The Laird of Pit- lochie's position in society and connection with many of the first families of the kingdom, the persecutions he had been subjected to, increased his notoriety and secured for him for the work he contemplated the consider- ation of his countrymen. His intention was to embark with his family and associate with him a number of the oppressed, for the purpose of finding an asylum in America. The Council on Februtry II, 1685, authorized Scot to transport to the plantations "a hundred of prisoners confined at Glasgow, Edinburgh and Sterling, if they were willing to go," excluding those who were "heritors above one hundred pounds of rent," and such persons as were under bonds to appear before them were to have those bonds returned to them if they should join him. Thus being authorized, the Laird of Pitlochie proceeded to assemble his company; he further requested the council to transfer to him a large number of persons who had been banished to Jamaica, but only twelve were granted to him. Between August 17 and 25, one hundred persons who had refused the oath of allegiance to the King or had been perviously banished, were delivered to Scot to be transported to East Jersey, he agreeing and giving security to land them there prior to September, 1686, or suffer a penalty of five hundred marks in case of failure in any instance. Other persons were afterwards assigned to him in like manner, and some were pro- hibited from embarking.
Scot early in May had chartered the "Henry and Francis," a ship of three hundred and fifty tonnage, equipped with twenty great guns, commanded by Richard Hutton. The vessel sailed from the harbor of Leith, September 5, 1685, the whole number on board being nearly two hundred. The charge for transportation was £5 sterling for each adult, and to each of those who were unable to pay for their passage was promised twenty-five acres of land and a new suit of clothes on the completion of four years of service, to those who advanced the requisite amount. Many of the passengers afterwards became known in Ameri- can history as "Redemptioners." The voyage was beset with difficul- ties; many deaths occurred during the voyage owing to a malignant fever on board and to the provisions laid in by the captain, the meat, owing probably to the length of time which had elapsed since the vessel
372
MIDDLESEX
was chartered, becoming offensive and uneatable. The deaths numbered over seventy, among them the Laird of Pitlochie, his wife, his sister- in-law Lady Arthernie, and her two children. It is impossible to give a complete list of all those that arrived at Perth on the "Henry and Francis," but from various records we submit the following :
Robert Adam. John Arbuckle, John Black, George Brown, Robert Campbell, David Campbell, William Campbell, John Campbell, Chris- tian Carie, John Crichton, John Corbet, Andrew Corbet, John Corsan (Casson), Barbara Cowan, Marjory Cowan, Patrick Cunningham, Wil- liam Douglass, Charles Douglass, Isabel Durie, John Frazer, Elspeth Ferguson, Janet Fergueson, Margaret Ferret (Forrest), John Foord, James Forsyth, John Forman, John Gray, Grisel Gemble, Fergus Grier, James Grier (Grierson), Robert Gilchrist, John Gilfillan, Bessie Gordon, Annabel Gordon, Katherine Govan, John Hanie, John Henderson, Adam Hood, Charles Homgall, William Jackson, Annabel Jackson, George Johnson, John Johnstone, James Junk, John King, John Kincaid, James Kirkwood, John Kellie, John Kennie, Margaret Leslie, Janet Lintron, Gawen Lockhart, Michael Marshall, John Marshall, John Martin, Margaret Miller, George Moor (Muir), Jean Moffat, John Muirhead, James Muirhead, William Mc- Calmont, John McEwen, Walter McEwen (McIgne), Robert McEwen, John McQueen (McEwen), Robert Mclellan, Margaret McLellan, Mclellan, John McGhie, William Niven, William Oliphant, Andrew Paterson, John Pollock, Rev. Archibald Riddle, Marion Rennie, James Reston, Peter Russel, Christopher Strang (McAgnes Stevens Tannis), William Spreul, Thomas Shelston, John Sinton (Seton), Janet Symington, John Targat, John Turpnie, William Turnbull, Patrick Urie, John Watt, Patrick Walker, Elizabeth Whitelaw, Grizel Wotherspoon, William Wilson, Robert Young.
Besides those banished persons who were given in charge of Scot, the following were delivered to Robert Barclay, governor of the prov- ince, under date of August 7, 1685, on condition they should be trans- ported to East New Jersey: George Young, John Campbell, John Swan, James Oliver, James Stuart, John Jackson, John Gibb, Gilbert Ferguson, Colin Campbell, John Gilliland, Thomas Richard, William Drennan, William McIlroy, Archibald Jamieson, John McKello, Alex- ander Graham, Ducan McEwen, Malcolm Black, John McAulin, Donald Moor and John Nicol. There is little doubt that all of these were among the passengers on the "Henry and Francis." It is difficult to tell how many of those who came on the vessel became permanent settlers in the vicinity of Perth. A few settled in Woodbridge, others removed to New England, others returned to Scotland. John Frazer, a candidate for the ministry, did not long remain in New Jersey ; he removed to Connecticut, but on the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England, returned to Scotland. William Jackson, a cord- wainer, removed to New York; William Niven subsequently returned to Scotland. Of Christopher Strang and Rev. David Simson there is
373
PERTH AMBOY
little known. John Doby, Robert Hardie, John Forbes, and John Cock- burn became residents of the settlement in 1684. Cockburn was a ma- son; Forbes settled on a plantation on Cedar brook now in Raritan township. John Emott came to the province before the purchase by the twenty-four proprietaries. He was landlord of the Long Ferry Tavern, the first public house in Amboy, in 1685, secretary of the province in that year, a lieutenant in the Amboy militia, also clerk of the county court and court of sessions. John Gibb and David Jamison were especially noted for being leaders in Scotland of a society entitled "Sweet Singers." The fate of the former is not known ; the latter served as clerk to the council, and Governor Hunter selected him to be Chief Justice of New Jersey on account of his legal abilities. Although a resident of New York, he continued to fill the office of Chief Justice until 1723, when on the ground of inconvenience attendant on his non- residence, he was superseded in the office by William Trent.
John Barclay, a brother of the governor, became a resident of Amboy about 1688. He held many public offices, and was for many years clerk of St. Peter's Church. His residence was an old brick building, on what is now High street, near the square. David, another brother of the gov- ernor, died at sea in August, 1685, on his return to East Jersey from Aberdeen, Scotland. Among the other residents of Amboy at this time were: John Loofborrow, a miller; Benjamin Griffith, afterwards a com- missioner in the minor courts; John Watson, a merchant; Peter Wat- son, a planter; Thomas Knowles, a stationer ; and Robert Bridgeman, a merchant. Two brothers, Stephen and Thomas Warne, came in 1683; the latter was a carpenter and eventually settled in Monmouth county. Thomas and Robert Fullerton, brothers of the Laird of Kennaber, located on Cedar brook, eight miles west of Amboy. John Reid, who became surveyor of the province, came in 1683, residing at Amboy for some years but finally removed to Monmouth county. Miles Forster's name appears in the Provincial records in 1684; he owned several lots in Amboy, and resided there for many years before his death in 1710. He received from the Board of Proprietors in December, 1702, a town lot on consideration of his having built the first sloop launched at Amboy. Among the most valued residents of Amboy for some years was David Mudie, who arrived in East Jersey with four children and thirteen servants in November, 1684. This was, however, only a portion of his family, as he left a wife and several children in Scotland. He was styled "Merchant of Perth," and was judge of the Court of Common Right. He revisited his native land in 1686, but soon after returned to the province and continued a resident of Amboy until his death in March, 1696. John Johnstone, a druggist in Edinburgh, and one of the company of the ill-fated "Henry and Francis," arrived in East Jersey in December, 1685. The responsi-
374
MIDDLESEX
bility of the ship's company after the death of Scot fell upon his shoul- ders, as he was recognized as the son-in-law of the promoter of the enterprise. He was known as Doctor Johnstone; after a residence in New York he removed before 1707 to Amboy. He resided in a double two-story brick house with large barn and other outhouses, to which was attached a spacious garden and a fine orchard; later this house was refitted and became known as Edinborough Castle. In his profession Dr. Johnstone was considered skillful; he was well known for his charity and estimable character. George Willocks, inheriting property in East Jersey from his brother James Willocks, a doctor of medicine in Kenny, Scotland, arrived in the province in 1684; he returned to Scotland and in 1698 became a resident of Amboy, and was deputy surveyor of the province under John Reid. After a residence in various other localities, he returned in 1726 to Amboy, where he died in January or February, 1729. His house was on the present site of St. Peter's Church and cemetery, and after his death it was used for many years as a parsonage.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.