History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 2, Part 60

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 994

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than, of this number, was born in 1792, on the homestead, and spent his early youth at Brown's Point, returning, however, to the homestead, where the remainder of his life was spent. He filled the office of chosen freeholder and was identified with business, as also with publie interests in the township. He married Eleanor, daughter of Chrineyonce Schenek, of Holndel, whose children were Joseph, who died in infancy ; Margaret (deceased), wife of Thomas W. Thorne ; Mary ; Ann Eliza (deceased), wife of Daniel S. Conover ; Rhoda ; Chrineyonce S .; Ellen, (deceased) ; Kate, wife of William L. Jones ; and Huldah. The death of Mr. Holmes occurred in 1866, in his seventy-fourth year. Chrineyonce S. Holmes was born on the 22d of May, 1832, on the ancestral home, where he has remained until the present time, his earliest in- struetion having been received at the neighbor- ing publie school, after which he became a pupil of the Freehold Institute. The pursuits of the farmer Mr. Holmes found congenial to his tastes, and on completing his studies lie became inter- ested in the cultivation of the homestead lands, which, on the death of his father, in 1866, were inherited, and are now a portion of his property in Holmdel township. He was, on the 12th of January, 1870, married to Lydia A., daughter of Hendrick and Emeline Smock, of Holmdel. Mrs. Holmes died in April, 1872, leaving two children, -Jonathan I. and Henry L.,-after which event he was, on the 22d of November, 1876, married to Mary Schenek, widow of John W. Conover. Their children are Nellie S. and Chrineyonce. Mr. Holmes enjoys a reputation as one of the most discriminating and successful farmers of the township. He is identified by membership with the Monmouth County Agri- cultural Society, and is a director of the First National Bank of Keyport and of the Keyport and Holmdel Turnpike Company. He is also a director of the Holmdel Mutual Fire Insurance Company. A Democrat in his political prefer- ences, Mr. Holmes never permits his enthusiasm to lure him to the acceptance of office, though a cordial supporter of the party and its candidates. His religious sentiments are in accord with the belief of his earliest ancestor, who founded the Baptist Church in the county.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

DANIEL. P. SCHENCK. - The Scheneks of Monmouth County are all descended from Roelof Schenck Van Nydeck, who emigrated from Holland in 1650. A more lengthy sketeli of the early members of the family appears else- where in this volume, rendering repetition liere unnecessary. In the direct line was John, the great-grandfather of Daniel P., whose son Chrineyonce resided in Matawan, where he was a merchant. In 1809 he purchased the farm in Holmdel now owned by his grandson, and resided upon it until his death. He married Margaret Polhemus, whose children were John C., Daniel P., Eleanor (wife of Jonathan I. Holmes) and several who died in early youth.

John C. Schenek was born June 6, 1803, at Matawan, and died August 13, 1858. He accompanied his parents, when a lad, on their removal to the farm, and having inherited a portion of the property, made it his home. He married Margaret, daughter of Daniel Polhe- mus, and had children, - Daniel P., born October 19, 1827; Margaret, born in 1829, deceased; Sarah, in 1832, also deceased ; Mary, in 1834 (Mrs. Chrineyonce S. Holmes); Lavinia, in 1836 (Mrs. George S. Jones); Cathe- rine, in 1839, deceased; Eleanor, in 1841 (Mrs. Daniel R. Conover) ; Chrineyonee, in 1844, de- ceased ; Sarah, in 1849 (Mrs. Wm. W. Taylor). The birth of Daniel P. Selienek oeenrred in Atlantic township, from which, at the age of seven, he removed to Manalapan township, and on his thirteenth year became a resident of the homestead farm at Holmdel. He improved such educational advantages as were possible with a few months of instruction in winter, and during the long spring and summer interval assisted in the cultivation of his father's land. On the 6th of January, 1851, he married Lavinia, daughter of Daniel D. Conover, of Atlantie township, and has children,-Sarah E., born November 3, 1851, and married to William C. Ely; Margaret S., born September 1, 1854, wife of Jolm M. Ely; and Charles, born Sep- tember 1, 1856, who died on the 30th of Deeember of the same year. In 1852, Mr. Sehenek purchased and remained for ten years the occupant of a farm in Holundel township, and in 1862 returned to the homestead farm,

a portion of which he had meanwhile inherited. and purchased the remainder. Here he has since been devoted to agricultural pursuits, and is numbered among the prosperons farmers of his township. Mr. Schenck is director and treasurer of the Holmdel and Keyport Turn- pike Company and the present superintendent of the road. He is also director of the Holmdd Fire Insurance Company, and director and treasurer of the Holmdel Cemetery Company. A Democrat in his political opinions, he is not active in the field of polities nor an aspirant for office. He is a liberal suporter of the Re- formed (Dnteh) Church at Holmdel, represent- ing in this regard the traditional faith of the family.

JOSEPH I. VAN MATER .- The Van Mater family is one of the oldest in Monmouth County. Joseph Van Mater, the great-grand- father of Joseph I., was born February 5, 1710, and died October 15, 1792. He married Saralı Schenek, whose birth ocenrred December 3, 1734, and her death September 1, 1748. Their children were Nelly, born in 1735 ; Rudolph, in 1738; Cyrenus, in 1740; Katherine, in 1743; Chirineyonce, on the 23d of February, 1747. The last named married Huldalı Holmes, of Holmdel, whose children were Jo- seph H., Holmes, Schenck, Rhoda (Mrs. Daniel Holmes), Catherine (Mrs. Joseph Van Mater), Mary (Mrs. William Lloyd). Joseph H. Van Mater was born in 1775 on the homestead in Holmdel, and received a thorough classical ed- neation at Princeton College, after which he adopted the law as a profession. The sudden death of his father, however, rendered his presence necessary in the settlement of a large estate, and abandoning the profession he had chosen, he engaged in the more healthful pur- smits of an agrieulturist. He married Miss Ann, daughter of Aaron and Mary Van Mater, whose birth ocenrred July 9, 1785. The chil- dren of this marriage are Huldah H., Aaron S., Mary P., Eliza Aun and Joseph I. Mr. Van Mater, while manifesting a landable inter- est in public matters, and well informed ou topics of contemporaneons interest, declined all proffers of office, content to win approval in his

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Daniel Po Schenck

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chosen and congenial field,-that of the success- ful farmer. His death occurred October 10, 1860. His son, Joseph I., was born on the 25th of July, 1825, on the ancestral land in Holmdel township, and educated at Lawrence- ville, N. J., Lenox, Mass., and at Princeton, N. J. Choosing the country as a home, he sne- ceeded to the paternal acres, and has from that date to the present been engaged in the labors of the husbandman. He was, on the 18th of November, 1863, married to Eliza Morgan,

of the county. A Democrat in his political sentiments, his enthusiasm is confined to the casting of his ballot and an intelligent under- standing of the great questions under discussion. His activity and zeal are more decidedly mani- fested in all Christian canses, the Holmdel Re- fornied (Dutch) Church having long included him on its membership roll and as one of its elders.

WILLIAM S. CRAWFORD .- Mr. Crawford,

William f. Crawford

daughter of Daniel Ayres, of Brooklyn Heights. , who resides upon land which has been for many Their children are Daniel Ayres, born August | generations in the family, is descended from 11, 1865 ; Joseph Holmes, born February 20, John Crawford, who emigrated from Scotland 1867 ; Anne Morgan, born April 2, 1871 ; Jes- to America in 1672. His grandfather John, married Caroline Field, of Middletown, whose children were William, John, James G., Andrew and Elnathan. James G., of this number, was boru on the 29th of December, 1794, on the homestead, the lands of which he cultivated during his lifetime. He married Elizabeth, daughter of William Smith, of the same town- sie Ayres, born February 8, 1878 ; and Frederick Ayres, whose birth occurred February 8, 1878. Mr. Van Mater's interest in agriculture has led him to become a member of the Agricultural Society of the county ; but aside from this he has declined all appointments, and interested himself but little in the various organizations 1

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

ship, whose children are Caroline (Mrs. Holmes Conover), born in 1819; Ann (Mrs. Joseph H. Holmes), born in 1821; Mary, in 1824; Wil- liam S. ; John J., in 1829, married to Mary Frost ; James G., in 1833 ; and Elizabeth, in 1837. William S. Crawford, the subject of this biographical sketch, was born November 15, 1826, on the homestead, and received his earli- est instruction at the public school of the neigli- borhood, after which additional advantages were enjoyed at Matawan. His grandfather's death, in 1834, made him heir to a portion of the farm, the remainder being inherited on the death of his father, in 1883. He had, on the completion of his studies, become inter- ested in its management, and subsequently as- sumed entire charge of the property. Mr. Crawford was, in 1867, married to Emeline L., daughter of John S. Stillwell, of Holmdel. His routine of duties has left little opportunity for active participation in affairs connected with the county and township, and, as a consequence, lie has simply cast his ballot, -- that of the Demo- craey,-and left the appointments to office to more ambitions citizens. In his religious pref- erences Mr. Crawford is a Baptist, and wor- ships with the Baptist Church of Keyport.

CAPTAIN HENRY E. ACKERSON .- Captain Aekerson, is of Dutch extraction, his great- grandfather having emigrated from Holland. A son of the latter, Garret by name, born in Rockland County, N. Y., married Dorcas Springsteen, and later removed to Warwick, Orange County, N. Y., having during this period been prominent as a captain in the Revo- lutionary struggle for independence. His chil- dren were John, Garret, James, Cornelius, Jane, Betsey and Mary. Cornelius, born in Warwick, in 1832 removed with his family to the farm in Holmdel township, Monmouth County, which is now the residence of his son, the subject of this biographical sketch. He married Sarah, daughter of Elijah Townsend, of Dutchess County, N. Y., and had children,-John T., William W., Maria A. (Mrs. Joseph Hoff), Henry E. and Ann Eliza (Mrs. Joseph H. Gibson). Henry E. Akerson was born on the 24th of July, 1821, in Orange County, N. Y.,

and removed at an early age with his parents to Monmouth County. He received but limited educational advantages at the common schools, and was early instructed in the use of the plough, the harrow and other implements of the farm. At the age of twenty-one he culti- vated the land on shares, continuing so to do while his father lived. On the death of the latter, and a consequent division of the estate, he received his patrimony and purchased the remaining shares. Since that date the chief business interest of his life has centred in the farm. Captain Ackerson, in 1865, became in- terested in a stock company owning the pro- peller "Holmdel," which for two years he commanded on her trips between Keyport and New York, but eventually gave his attention exclusively to the farm he still cultivates. He was, in 1840, married to Mary, daughter of Wil- liam Hyer, of Matawan, their children being Sarah, wife of Daniel I. Stillwell; Cornelius, married to Anna B. Stillwell and Margaret (Mrs. George H. Melville). He was a second time married, to Ida V. M., daughter of Henry D. Hendrickson, of Holmdel, whose only child is a daughter, Elizabeth S. Captain Acker- son is a Democrat in his political belief, but not active in the field of politics, his attention being wholly given to his farming enterprises. The family adhere to the faith of the Reformed (Dutch) Church, which was the belief of their ancestors.

WILLIAM BROWN is the son of John Brown, of Toronto, Canada, where he was born on the 2d of February, 1825. Removing to the United States, he began his career as a professional trainer of thoroughbred horses, and acquired considerable reputation in developing the racing qualities of many noted horses. He was early employed by Mr. Richard Ten Broeck, and had charge of and crossed the ocean with that gen- tleman's stock which were sent to England in 1856, viz., -"Lecompte," "Prior," "Prioress," "Starke" and "Optimist." He subsequently took over "Umpire," "Satellite," "Maggiore" and " Woodburn," the majority of whom dis- tinguished themselves more or less on the Eng- lish turf. On his return to America, Mr. Brown

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MATAWAN TOWNSHIP.

trained for Mr. Francis Morris, and brought out "Throgsneek," "Ruthless," "Remorseless," "Relentless," "Battle-Axe," "Boaster," "Mon- day" and others of good repute. Upon the formal opening of the Rancoeas stable he was engaged by Mr. P. Lorillard, under whose auspices he attained the zenith of his reputa- tion as a trainer, having successfully brought out "Parole," "Shirley," " Zoo-Zoo," "Pera," "Spartan," "Perfection," "Bombast," "Bazil," "Faithless" and others. In 1879, Mr. Brown

farm in Monmouth County, N. J., which he had purchased in 1878, and where his death occurred on the 5th of July, 1881. On the oeeasion of his visit to England, Mr. Brown met and subsequently married, on the 9th of December, 1864, Miss Harriet Skilton, whose birth oceurred September 8, 1838, the ceremony being performed in Reddington Church. Their children are William Richard, born January 13, 1866, and Minor, whose birth oceurred Mareh 17,1874.

William. Brown

was sent to England, and assumed the charge of Mr. Lorillard's Newmarket stable, winning with "Parole" the Newmarket Handicap, beating, among others, the great "Isonomy," and seeur- ing the City and Suburban Handicap, in which he cut down a field of eighteen, the Great Metro- politan Stakes, the Great Cheshire Handicap and the Epsom Gold Cup. After his sceond return to America, in 1880, Mr. Brown, finding his health somewhat impaired, retired to his

CHAPTER XXIX.

MATAWAN TOWNSHIP.

MATAWAN is the extreme northwestern town- ship of Monmouth, its western and northwestern boundary being the county line of Monmouth and Middlesex. On the northeast it is bounded by Raritan Bay, on the east by the townships of Raritan and Holmdel and on the south and

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

southwest by the township of Marlborough. The only stream of any importance is Matawan Creek, which flows through the township from its south- west to its northeast extremity, where it enters Raritan Bay. On a line nearly parallel with the general course of Matawan Creek, the Freehold and Keyport Railroad (now known as the Free- hold and New York Railway) traverses the town- ship, eonneeting at Matawan village with the New York and Long Branch Railroad, which crosses . Matawan in a southeasterly direction from the Middlesex line to that of Raritan township. By the United States census of 1880 the population of Matawan township was two thousand six hundred and ninety-nine.

Matawan township was ereeted by an act passed in 1857, which also erected the township of Holm- del, both these being formed of territory taken from the township of Raritan. The part of the act having reference to Matawan is as follows :

" Also, all that part of the township of Raritan contained within the following boundaries and lines : that is to say, beginning in the division line between the townships of Marlborough and Raritan, at the northeast corner of said township of Marlborough, near the house of Samuel Beers ; from thence running in a northerly direction in a straight line to the inter- section of the road leading from Beers' corner to Mount Pleasant with the road leading from Brown's Point to Holmdel; thence northerly along the centre of the last-named road to the intersection of said road with the road leading from Mechaniesville to the Middletown Point and Keyport Plank-Road; thence in a northwesterly direction in a straight line to the mouth of Moliingson Creek, where it empties into Matawan Creek; thence down the middle of said Matawan Creek to the mouth of said Matawan Creek, where it empties into the Raritan Bay ; thence along the shore of said Raritan Bay to the division line be- tween the counties of Monmouth and Middlesex (be- ing the division line between the township of Raritan and the said county of Middlesex) to the line of the township of Marlboro'; thence easterly along the division line between the townships of Marlboro' and Raritan to the place of beginning is set off from the township of Raritan and made a separate township, to be called Matawan."

Following is a list of the chosen freeholders of Matawan township from its ercetion to the present time, viz. :

1857-58. Aaron Longstreet. 1859-70. William S. Horner.

1871-72. Joseph Rose. 1873. Edward Black.

1874-81. John H. Farry.

1882. John H. Harvey. 1883-84. William A. Dunlap.

The early settlers at Middletown Point (now Matawan) were Scotch, and the name of " New Aberdeen " was given to the place before 1690. The names, " Middletown Point " and " Middletown Point Landing" had obtained before 1768, as in March of that year mention is made of a road be- ing laid by way of Mount Pleasant to Middletown Point Landing, "near the school-house on said point." The settlement seems first to have been at Mount Pleasant, where a church, a school-house and burial-place were loeated, not far from 1740. A headstone bearing that date was found a few years since. It is evident that the point was a landing for vessels at the time the road was laid out in 1768.

. The following account, published in the Mon- mouth Democrat in 1874, shows that during the Revolution John Burrowes was carrying on an ex- tensive business, and owned mills and store-houses at the Point. The narrative (which has reference to an ineursion by Tory Refugees from Staten Island) is as follows:

"The object of this raid on that early June moru- ing (it was just after midnight) in 1778, upon the house of John Burrowes (now the residence of Dr. Pitman, Matawan), was the capture of his only son, John, Jr., an officer in the patriot army, whose ex- peeted presence at home that night was discovered by spies, and information given. But friends, too. were on the alert, and a sufficient warning was given to allow Major Burrowes to escape through the back door in his night-clothes, swim the creek and elude his pursuers. The Refugees, secure of their victim, were desperate at finding he had escaped. The shout went up 'Seize the old corn merchant,' and in the language of the ancient papers referred to, they made him prisoner, burnt his mills and both his store- houses,-all valuable buildings,-besides a great deal of furniture. The existence of the house proves that something escaped the conflagration ; but how, tradi- tion does not inform us. By early dawn a messenger reached Freehold to inform Dr. Henderson (a son-in- law of Mr. Burrowes) of the capture. The message was no sooner received than the doctor, a man prompt to aet and firm in resolve, determined to take a few tried men of his command (he was lieutenant-colonel ), proceed to Middletown, secure the person of William Taylor, a prominent citizen who was suspected of fa-

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MATAWAN TOWNSHIP.

voring the Loyalists, and lodge him in the county jail. The expedition, favored and aided by Colonel Wiko !! , of Manalapan, was successful, and a dispatch informed Sir Henry Clinton that William Taylor was held as a hostage for Jolin Burrowes. An exchange was ef- fected, and the howl of indignation at so high-handed a measure was unheeded by those who saw no other means of rescue from the sorrows of death in a prison- ship."

With reference to the condition, during the time of the Revolution, of the place which is uow Matawan, Hon. William Spader, in au address delivered July 4, 1876, says,-

"As far as I have been able to learn, there were very few houses in our village one hundred years ago. The. house now occupied by Dr. Pitman, and built before the Revolution by a Mr. Burrowes, has a history of itself. The old building known as the hos- pital and the house occupied by Dr. Ness are the only relics we have of Revolutionary architecture. The latter (Mr. Ness') was built by Peter Schenck, who fled for his life when a party of British maraud- ers were plundering and committing other acts of violence, besides burning the mill which stood near what is now called the red store-house of Fountain Horner & Company. The west side of the Main Street belonged to one Richard Francis, and I have a map of the same, in which it is proposed by Richard Thockmorton to sell in lots or sections all the land between the Gully Bridge on the south, to Forman Street, or street leading to a wharf below J. N. Dis- brow's. There is no date to the map. It contains fifty-seven acres of land. The Francis homestead stood on this tract, near the present bank. I also find the names of Carhart, Vanderhoof, Conover, Forman, Burrowes, Walker, Quay, Ellis, etc., among the busi- ness men. How many of the present inhabitants are descendants of the above I am unable to say, but some of the Vanderhoof descendants are living among us.

Previous to 1800 there was a potash-factory near the present pottery, and a brickyard was in operation here before 1825 upon the property of the late G. P. Conover. There was a grist-mill at the lower end of the town, upon or near the site of the store-house of Fountain Horner & Company, which was burned during the war. Another building was erected in 1809 and used as a mill, afterwards converted into a store-house. The store, which was occupied by Mr. Ness, and which was burned in 1852, was built iu 1800 by Colouel James Conover, who occupied it a short time, then by John Quay. Quay, in addition to store business, built a packing-house and bought and packed pork ; also a smoke-house for smoking the same. Quay, besides keeping store, sailed a packet to New York called the "Republican." This property and business afterwards was conducted by Lewis

Conover and his brothers, Joseph and John; again, in 1812, it became the business of Messrs. Little.

"The early mercantile history of the place prior to 1812 I could learn but little about. A store was kept previous to that time by a Mr. Quay on the corner of Forman Street, or the street leading to the wharf. And since that time Messrs. Robert and William Little, Van Mater and Hartshorne, and, later, Messrs. Fountain and others, who successfully added to the interests and prosperity of the town, and also, by strict attention to business, added to their pecuniary affairs.

"From 1812 the slooping or freighting interests were carried on very successfully, and continued to be until steamboating superseded sloops. The sloops were the only mode of conveying people to New York City, and many amusing stories are told of the trials, fatigues and deteutions the people underwent during the three or four days' journey to New York. This sloopiug business deserves more than a passing notice. In the early part of the century a regular weckly line of sloops or packets carried all the prodnee raised in Monmouth County that found a market in New York, and, in fact, during that time it was the only shipping-point on our shore,-the point of export and entry of Monmouth County. Corn, which was at that time the principal county staple, together with flour, during the War of 1812 were carried across the State from Bordentown, and found a point of shipment at Middletown Point."

" I have been told," says Mr. Spader, " there was a school-house standing on the spot where Mrs. Holt now lives " It is possible the school-house mentioned in the road record of Mareh, 1768, was the one remembered by some of the old residents. In 1807, at the time when war was expected to result from the "Chesapeake" outrage, Captain Philip Holmes and Captain Mathias Van Vraekle, of Middletowu Point, each offered the services of their company to the government. Willianı Little, in 1815, was carrying on business alone. In that year Garret P. Conover went into the store as elerk, and in 1822 became a partner with hin. Two years later Mr. Conover built a new store and carried it ou many years. Mr. Little eon- tinued business for a short time at the store which stood on the corner opposite the Methodist Church. William Ness sueceeded him, and in 1837, James Little opened a store at the old stand. Mr. Wil- liam Little retired from the mercantile business and became cashier of the bank in 1821, besides being interested iu the Navigation Company. Asher Fountain began business in 1822 with

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History of Monmouth County, New Jersey. Pt. 2, Part 60

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885 Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 994

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 994