History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 137

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148

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drickson), Hattie H. and Garret. Mr. Long- street, on his marriage, became by purchase the owner of a portion of the homestead, on which his family still resides. Here he was, during his lifetime, interested in the varied pursuits of an agriculturist, through precluded by feeble health from an active career. His political sen- timents were strongly in favor of Democratic government, though not in any sense a politician nor an office-seeker. In matters of business his opinion was deferred to and his services often sought as guardian, executor and counselor. He was identified with the Holmdel and Keyport Turnpike Company as its president. Mr. Long- street was a man of kindly nature, affectionate and tender in his home relations, charitable to the needy, and liberal in his support of the church and all projects tending to advance the cause of morality. His death occurred December 1, 1884, and his burial on his sixty-ninth birthday. His son Garret now cultivates the farm.

JOSEPH H. HOLMES, the grandson of John S. Holmes and Sarah Hendrickson, and the son From one of these sons is descended the grand- of Daniel Holmes (an extended sketch of whom appears elsewhere) and his wife, Rhoda Van Mater, was born on the 28th of July, 1824, on the homestead which is his present residence. Here the earlier years of his life were spent, his studies, which were begun at the public school of the neighborhood, having been con- tinued at Lawrenceville, N. J., under Rev. Samuel Hammill, D.D., and concluded at Len- ox, Mass. On his return, at the age of seven- teen, he assumed charge of the farm, and was thus engaged for a period of eight years. He was married, on the 19th of September, 1848, to Ann, daughter of James G. Crawford, of Raritan township. Their children are Carrie C., wife once entered upon the various responsibilities , of Asher S. Ely ; John S., married to Annie, daughter of James Lake ; Daniel, of Colorado, and Lizzie, deceased. Mr. Holmes, on his marriage, made Barrentown, Atlantic township, his residence, but on the expiration of the second year returned to the homestead farm. This valuable property, which has been for four generations in the family, became his own by inheritance and purchase. By his judicious management its fertile fields have been rendered

John i Langstreit

10 96. 8 1 mes

Chinyonce . Hochnes

825

HOLMDEL TOWNSHIP.

still more productive, until it ranks in its an- nual yield second to none in the county. Mr. Holmes has devoted much attention to the breeding of fine horses, his experience and su- perior facilities having rendered his farm a favorite rendezvous for turfmen who desire stabling and thecareful handling of their blooded stock. He is also largely engaged in the fur- nishing of supplies to turfmen and horsemen. A Democrat in politics, Mr. Holmes is not an active partisan nor a worker in the party ranks. He is identified with the business interests of the county as director of the Middletown Point Bank of Matawan, as also director and former treasurer of the Holmdel Fire Insurance Com- pany and a former director of the Monmouth ; County Agricultural Society, of which he is still a member and a zealous promoter of its aims and interests.

CHRINEYONCE S. HOLMES .- The progenitor of the Holmes family in Monmouth County was Rev. Obadiah Holmes, born in 1606, and mar- ; ested in the cultivation of the homestead lands, ried in 1636, who, on his emigration, in 1638, settled in Boston, and later in Rhode Island, where he was one of the pioneers in the Baptist faith. His death occurred in 1682. Though not for any length of time a resident of Mon- month County, he made frequent visits, aided in the organization of the first Baptist Church in the county and was a considerable purchaser of land within its boundaries. His two sons- Obadiah and Jonathan-came to America with their father, the latter of whom remained, settled in Monmouth County and was elected to official position in 1667. In the direct line of descent was Samuel, born about 1720, the great-grand- father of the subject of this biographieal sketch and a resident of Holmdel township, who mar- ried, in 1745, Mary, grand daughter of Penelope Stont. Among his sons was Joseph, who resided on the farm now owned by Chrineyonce S. Holmes, where he, in 1805, erected thedwelling at present occupied by the latter. Joseph Holmes married Nellie, daughter of John Schenck, of Holmdel (then Middletown) township, whose children were Jonathan, Elisha, John, Nellie and Mary (Mrs. Hendrick Longstreet). Jona-1

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 public interests in the township. He married Eleanor, daughter of Chrineyonce Schenck, of Holmdel, 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 Huldlah. 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- struction having been received at the neighbor- ing public 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 he became inter- 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 Schenck, 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 Holuidel 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.

826

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

DANIEL P. SCHENCK. - The Scheneks of Monmouth County are all descended from Roelof Schenck Van Nydeek, who emigrated from Holland in 1650. A more lengthy sketeh of the early members of the family appears else- where in this volume, rendering repetition here 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.

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 prosperous farmers of his township. Mr. Sehenck 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 Holmdel Fire Insurance Company, and dircetor and treasurer of the Holmdel Cemetery Company. A Democrat in his political opinions, he is not active in the field of politics nor an aspirant for office. He is a liberal suporter of the Re- formed (Duteh) Church at Holmdel, represent- ing in this regard the traditional faith of the family.

John C. Schenek was born June 6, 1803, at Matawan, and died August 13, 1858. He accompanied his parents, when a lad, on their 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 Sarah Sehenek, whose birth occurred 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; Chrineyonce, on the 23d of February, 1747. The last named married Huldah 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- ueation at Princeton College, after which he adopted the law as a profession. The sudden death of his father, however, rendered his presenee necessary in the settlement of a large estate, and abandoning the profession he had chosen, he engaged in the more healthful pur- suits of an agriculturist. He married Miss Ann, daughter of Aaron and Mary Van Mater, whose birth occurred July 9, 1785. The chil- dren of this marriage are Huldah H., Aaron S., Mary P., Eliza Ann and Joseph I. Mr. Van Mater, while manifesting a laudable inter- est in public matters, and well informed on topics of contemporaneous interest, declined all removal to the farm, and having inherited a portion of the property, made it his home. He married Margaret, daughter of Daniel Połhe- 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) ; Chrineyonce. in 1844, de- ceased ; Sarah, in 1849 (Mrs. Wm. W. Taylor). The birth of Daniel P. Schenck occurred in Atlantie 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 Atlantic township, and has children,-Sarah E., born November 3, 1851, and married to William C. Ely; Margaret S., born September 1, 1854, wife of John M. Ely; and Charles, born Sep- tember 1, 1856, who died on the 30th of Deeember of the same year. In 1852, Mr. Schenck purchased and remained for ten years the occupant of a farm in Holmdel township, and in 1862 returned to the homestead farm, I proffers of office, content to win approval in his

Daniel J& Jcheney

Joseph I Van malo

827

HOLMDEL TOWNSHIP.

chosen and eongenial field,-that of the sneeess- 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 diseussion. His activity and zeal are more decidedly mani- fested in all Christian causes, the Holmdel Re- N. J. Choosing the country as a home, he sue- ; formed (Dutch) Church having long included him on its membership roll and as one of its ful farmer. His death occurred October 10, 1860. His son, Joseph 1., was born on the 25th of July, 1825, on the aneestral land in Holmdel township, and edneated at Lawrence- ville, N. J., Lenox, Mass., and at Princeton, eeeded to the paternal aeres, and has from that date to the present been engaged in the labors eklers. of the husbandman. He was, on the 18th of November, 1863, married to Eliza Morgan, / WILLIAM S. CRAWFORD .- Mr. Crawford,

William J. 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 born on the 29th of December, 1794, on the 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 ; homestead, the lands of which he cultivated has deelined all appointments, and interested during his lifetime. He married Elizabeth, himself but little in the various organizations , daughter of William Smith, of the same town-

828

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

ship, whose children are Caroline (Mrs. Holmes Conover), born in 1819 ; Ann (Mrs. Joseph H. Ilolmes), 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 publie school of the neigh- 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- cracy,-and left the appointments to office to more ambitious citizens. In his religious pref- erences Mr. Crawford is a Baptist, and wor- ships with the Baptist Church of Keyport.

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. Sinee 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. II 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 Aeker- son is a Demoerat in his political belief, but not active in the field of polities, his attention being wholly given to his farming enterprises.

CAPTAIN HENRY E. ACKERSON .- Captain Aekerson is of Dutch extraction, his great- | The family adhere to the faith of the Reformed grandfather having emigrated from Holland. A (Dutch) Church, which was the belief of their son of the latter, Garret by name, born in ancestors. Roekland County, N. Y., married Dorcas Springsteen, and later removed to Warwick,

WILLIAM BROWN is the son of John Brown, Orange County, N. Y., having during this of Toronto, Canada, where he was born on the period been prominent as a captain in the Revo-' 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 raeing qualities of many noted horses. He was early employed by Mr. Richard Ten Broeck, and had is now the residenee of his son, the subjeet of 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- lutionary struggle for independence. His ehil- 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 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., i lish turf. On his return to America, Mr. Brown

829

MATAWAN TOWNSHIP.

trained for Mr. Francis Morris, and brought out "Throgsneck," "Ruthless," "Remorseless," " Relentless," "Battle-Axe," "Boaster," " Mon- day" and others of good repute. Upon the formal opening of the Rancocas stable he was 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 occasion of his visit to England, Mr. Brown met and subsequently married, on the 9th of engaged by Mr. P. Lorillard, under whose | December, 1864, Miss Harriet Skilton, whose birth occurred September 8, 1838, the ceremony being performed in Reddington Church. Their children are William Richard, born January 13, 1866, and Minor, whose birth occurred Mareli 117,1874.

auspices che attained the zenith of his reputa- tion as a trainer, having successfully brought ont "Parole," "Shirley," " Zoo-Zoo," "Pera," "Spartan," "Perfection," "Bombast," "Bazil," " Faithless" and others. In 1879, Mr. Brown

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 secur- 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 second 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 north western 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

830

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, connecting 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 erected 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 Mechanicsville to the Middletown Point and Keyport Plank-Road ; thence in a northwesterly direction in a straight line to the mouth of Mohingson Creek, where it empties into Matawan Creek ; thence down the middle of said Matawan Creek to the month 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 Monmonth 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 erection 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 carly 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 located, 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 incursion by Tory Refugees from Staten Island) is as follows :

"The object of this raid on that early June morn- 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 shont 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 act 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-

831

MATAWAN TOWNSHIP.

voring the Loyalists, and lodge him in the county jail. The expedition, favored and aided by Colonel Wikot!, of Manalapan, was successful, and a dispatch informed Sir Henry Clinton that William Taylor was held as a hostage for John Burrowes. An exchange was et- 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 now Matawan, Hon. William Spader, in an 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 buikling known as the hos- pital and the house occupied by Dr. Ness are the only relies we have of Revolutionary architecture. The latter (Mr. Ness') was built by Peter Schenck, , raised in Monmouth County that found a market in who fled for his life when a party of British marand- ! New York, and, in fact, during that time it was the only ers were plundering and committing other acts of 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." 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 thie 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.

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 137

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co. Number of Pages: 1148

Author: Ellis, Franklin, 1828-1885; Swan, Norma Lippincott. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Philadelphia, R. T. Peck & co.
Number of Pages: 1148