History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 19

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

USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > History of Monmouth county, New Jersey > Part 19

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"' August yº 27th, 1700 : Wee jurors present, Richard Salter, John Bray, James Stout, David Stout, Benjamine Stout, Cornelius Compton, William Boune, Thomas Taylor, Thomas Hankison, Jacob Vandorne, Arian Bennett, Thomas Sharp, Benjamine Cook, Robert Innes, Thomas Estal and Samuel, a servant to said Salter, ffor Riotously assembling on the 17th day of July and assaulting John Stewart, high Sheriff, and Henry Leonard on the path neer to the house of Alexander Adam, Beat and grievously wound the said persons, tok their swords from them, cary'd them away and keept them to the value of ffive pounds money of this province. In breach of the peace and terrour of the King's leidge people. Signe in behalf of the rest by John Reid, forman.'"

On the 12th of September, 1700, the Court of the County of Essex, then sitting at Newark, was interrupted by a mob of rioters, who chal- lenged the authority of the court. " The Presi- dent, William Sandford, was pulled off the Bench by Abram Hettfield & Daniel Craine, and his hat & wigg pulled off his head by the Sa Hettfield." The clerk of the court was also abused, struck and had his wig torn from his head, " the President allso having had his Sword Taken from him by Daniel Craine, & broak in pieces." The other justices were grossly abused, their clothes torn off, " with many other abuse- ful words & Actions, Received from the Rabell of Elizabeth Towne." The " Rabell " consisted of sixty horsemen. Before the grand inquest the following testimony 1 with regard to the above- mentioned affair was given, viz. ;

" John Johnson, of Newark, Sein", saith that Jos. Lyon Toukł him that he knew who took

from Elizabeth Towne in a Riottous manner Sept yº 12th, 1700, with clubs in their hands, to the house of Mr. Theophilus Pearson, and De- manded of him ye prissoner & asking where these pittiful Rasskalls were that putt this man in prisson, & demanded him out of prisson, & they was ask't by what power they demanded him out of prisson, and they held up their Clubs and said that was their power. Then they de- manded where the Sheriffe was and said they would have him if he was above ground."

At a Court of Sessions hekl at Middletown, March 6, 1701,2 Eleazer Cottrell was fived £5, Richard Salter £15 and John Ruckman, Sr., John Bray, John Wilson, Jr., Daniel Hendrick- son, John Cox, Richard Davis, Mordecai Gib- bons, Nicholas Stephens and Moses Lippett each forty shillings " for contempt and misbehaviour before the Court." And in the minutes of the same session, under date of March 25th,3 there is found the following entry, viz .:

" Session at Middletown, March, 1701, being present Colº. Andrew Hamilton, Governour ; Lewis Morris, Samuel Leonard, of the Gover- nour's Council; Jedediah Allen, Samuel Dennis, Justices. The Court being opened, one Moses Butterworth, who was accused of piracy (& had confessed yt he did sail with Capt William Kidd in his last voyage when he came from y-e East Indies & went into Boston with him), &. was bound to make his appearance at this Court, yt he might be Examined & disposed of according to his Maj'ties orders, the sª Butter- worth was Called & made his appearance & when ye Court was Examining him, one Sam1 Willet, In holder, said yt ve Gover" & Justices had no authority to Hold Court and yt he would break it up, & accordingly went down stairs to a Company of men then in arms & sent up a Drummer, one Thomas Johnson, into ye Court, who heat upon his drum & severall of yo Com- pany came up with their arms & Clubs, wch to- gether with ye Drum beating Continually, made

2 A.D. 1700, 0. S.

$ N. J. Col. Doc., Series 1, vol. iii. p. 362.

I N. J. Col. Doc., 1, ii. p. 336.

L OF C.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

such a noise (notwithstanding open proclama- tions made to be silent & keep ye King's peace) yt ye Court Could not Examine ye Prisoner at the Barr, & when there was, as ye Court Judged, betwixed 30 & 40 men Come up into ye Court, some with their arms & some with Clubs, two persons, viz.,-Benjamin Borden & Richard Borden,-attempted to Resene ye prisoner at ye Barr, & did take hold on him by ye arms & about ye midle & fore't him from ye Barr, ye Constable & under Sheriff by ye Command of ye Court, apprehended yo sª Borden, upon wch sev- erall of ye persons in ye Court assaulted ye Con- stable & under sheriff (the Drum still beating & ye people thronging up Stairs with their arms),1 & Rescued ye two Bordens, upon weh ye Justices & King's Attorney-Generall of the province after Commanding ye King's peace to be kept, & no heed being given thereto, drew their swords and Endeavoured to Retake ye prisoner & appre- hend some of ye persons Concerned in ye Res- cous, but was Resisted & assaulted themselves, & ye Examination of ye prisoner torn in pieces & in ye scufle both Richard Borden & Benj. Borden were wounded, but ye Endeavours of ye Court were not Effectuall in retaking ye pris- oner, for he was Rescued & Carried off & made his Escape, and the people,-viz., Cap' Safetie Grover, Richard Borden, Benj. Borden, Oba- diah Holmes, Obadiah Browne [Bowne ?], Nich- olas Stephens, George Cooke, Benj. Cooke, Rich- ard Osborne, Sam" Willett, Joseph West, Garret Bowler, Garret Wall, James Bollen, Sam" Fore- man, Willm Winter, Jonathan Stout, James Stout, Willm Hendricks, John Bray, Will Smith, Ger_ son Mott, Abner Hewght, George Allen, John Cox, John Vaughan, Elisha Lawrence, Zebulon Clayton, James Grover, Jun., Richard Davis, Jeremiah Evrington, Joseph Ashton, with others toye number of about one hundred persons,-did

1 In a petition by Governor Hamilton and some of the justices to the King, praying to have their authority sus- tained, they narrate the circumstances of this affair, and say they " were Surrounded by the Riotters in great Num- bers in Arms, having (appearingly) on purpose appointed the same day to be a Training day on which the Court was to sitt, and their destruction by them most insolently threatened (which had been most certainly executed had the Wounded died upon the Spott). and were confined by them ffour days, till they thought him past hazard."

traytorously seize ye Governour & ye Justices, the King's Attorney-Generall & ye under sheriff & ye Clerke of ye Court, & keept them close pris- oners under a guard from Tuesday, ye 25th March, till ye Saturday following, being ye 29th of ye same month, & then Released them.

" Vera Copia.

" P. me, Gav. Drummond, Clark."

The proprietors of New Jersey, being finally driven to a relinquishment of their right of gov- ernment, surrendered it to Queen Anne in April, 1702. In September of the same year the condi- tion of the province was set forth by Lewis Mor- ris in a letter to the Lords of Trade,2 as follows : " New Jersie is still without Government, and the receptacle of abundance of rogues that Cannot be safe anywhere Elce : who dayly re- pair to this Province as to any Asyle ; and so many of the Soldiers from New Yorke are here Protected, y' in a little time who shall be able to Suply that Garrison. I cannot say we suffer all ye miseries of Confusion, but realy a great part of them we do ; Our Province being with- out Law and gospell, having neither Judge or Priest. I dare not determine that the present ill circumstances of New Yorke, Jersies, Pennsilvania, ya Carolinas and Lucay Islands are derived from New England ; but ye tran- seripts were so Exact in most or all the circum- stances, y' I feare they were too much Influ- enced by that worst of examples. . Ye conservation of the Peace, Putting in Execution the Laws and Administering Justice was both a benefit to the People and a service to the King ; on the contrary, the beating and wounding Sheriffs, Affronting the Courts, driving the Justices of the bench, laying violent hands on y® Governour and Part of his Councill and Im- prisoning them, And all this (excepting three or foure) done by the Verry dreggs and rascal- lity of the People, was an allmost Ireparable Losse to ye Province an' Affront to ya Crowne. I am sorry for the Occasion, but to see men of the best figure and Estates in ye Prov- ince daily insulted by crowds of the most neces- sitous Scoundrells, the scum and dregs of man- kind, is no small temptation to resentment."

2 N. J. Col. Doe., Series I, vol. ii. page 504.

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ORGANIZATION AND SUBDIVISION OF THE COUNTY.

After the surrender the spirit of lawlessness and disorder subsided almost entirely in Mon- CHAPTER VILL month County, but in some other parts of the province it was kept alive, and for half a cen- ORGANIZATION AND SUBDIVISION OF THE COUNTY-MONMOUTHI CIVIL LIST. tury afterwards it continued at times to break ont in acts of violence. These outbreaks or- eurred in the counties of Morris, Middlesex, Somerset and Hunterdon, but more than all in the county of Essex. They were described, in a memorial addressed to the Lords of Trade, as " the gathering together of great Numbers of people Armed, Assaulting and wounding Sheriff's & other Officers, Breaking open the County Gaols & Rescuing and Releasing prisoners Legally Committed." The most notable of these riots occurred at Newark in the fall of County was then so temporarily erected by the 1745, and at Perth Amboy in July, 1747, and there were other and scarcely less formidable demonstrations at various places in the counties mentioned from 1745 to 1750. In a memorial addressed to the King by the proprietors of New Jersey, December 23, 1748, giving an account of the excesses committed in the proy- ' which they were formed into was then called inee by the insurgents, they say :

" Having associated to themselves great Num- bers of the poor and Ignorant Part of the People of the Province, they, in the Month of September, 1745, began to carry into Execution their wicked schemes, when in a Riotous man- ner they broke open the Goal of the County of Essex and took from thence 'a Prisoner there Confined by due process of Law, and have since that time gon on like a Torrent, bearing down all before them, Dispossessing some People of their Estates and giving them to their Ac- complices, Plundering the Estates of others who do not join with them and dividing the Spoil amongst them, breaking open your Majesty's Prisons as often as any of them are committed and resening their accomplices from thence, and keeping daily in Armed Numbers, and travel- ling often in Armed Multitudes to different Parts in this Province for those Purposes, to the great damage and Terror of the People."

From 1750 to the end of the royal anthority in New Jersey there were no outbreaks of especial note, except the "anti-lawyer riots" of 1796, and 1770, which are mentioned in another chapter.

Ox the 13th of November, 1675, the Provin- cial Assembly of New Jersey, then in session at Elizabethtown, passed an act establishing County Courts of Sessions. At that time the province had not been divided into counties, but the courts were established to have jurisdiction over certain towns and settled districts, which were thus temporarily made counties for judicial purposes. The only settled portion of the ter- ritory which afterwards became Monmouth art referred to, in these words: "The two Towns of Nevysink to make a county; their Sessions to be the last Tuesday in March and first Tuesday in September."1 The "two towns of Nevysink," so mentioned, were Shrewsbury and Middletown, and the judicial organization "the County of Nevysink " or (as it was in a few instances designated) " the County of Middleton." On the 6th of April, 1676, the General Assem- bly enacted : " Whereas a near Injunetion is laid upon the Deputies for their timely Appearance at the General Assemblys, and the Nevysinks lying so remote, and the Difficulty of Passages by Water sometimes so much, and upon the Request and Desire of the aforesaid Deputies of Middletown and Shrewsbury . that for the more sure and speedy Passage of the afore- said Deputies for the future, that Care be taken by the Inhabitants of the Town of Middletown to make choice of two or more Men out of the said Town, them to join with two or more chosen out of Piscataqua, to make ont the i nearest and most convenient Way that may be found between the said Towns npon the Country Charge; and this to be done between this and the Tenth of May next, upon the Penalty of what Damages may ensue for the want thereof." 2

The county of Monmouth3 was erected as

1 Leaming and Spicer, pp. 96-97.

2 Leaming and Spicer, page 118.

3 The name " Monmouth" was given to the county at the I request of the most prominent and influential citizen then

102

HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

one of the four original counties of New Jersey by an act of the Proprietary Assembly passed in March, 1683,1 which provided and de- clared : "That this Province be divided into four counties, as followeth: Bergen County, to contain all the settlements between Hudson's River and Hackensack River, beginning at Constable's Hook and so extend to the upper- most bound of the Province northward between the said rivers.

" Essex and the county thereof, to contain all the settlements between the west side of Hack- sack River and the parting line between Wood- bridge and Elizabeth Town, and so to extend Westward and Northward to the utmost bounds of the Province.

" Middlesex County to begin from the part- ing line between Essex County and Woodbridge Line, containing Woodbridge and Piscataway, and all the Plantations on both sides the Raritan River as far as Cheesequake Harbour East- ward, and extending South West to the Divi- sion Line of the Province.

" Monmouth County to begin at the West- ward Bounds of Middlesex County, containing Middletown and Shrewsbury, and to extend Westward, Southward and Northward to the ex- tream Bounds of the Province. Provided this distinction of the Province into Counties do not extend to the infringement of any Liberty in any Charter already granted." ?

The boundaries of the several counties, as es- tablished by the act of 1683, were so vaguely described that some confusion resulted, the officers of some of the counties being unable to determine the limits of their jurisdiction. To remedy this, the Provincial Assembly, on the

residing within her boundaries, viz., Colonel Lewis Morris the surveyor-general of the province, who suggested it in honor of his native county, Monmouthshire, in Great Britain. Ilis residence in Monmouth County, New Jersey, was on a tract of land which he called Tinton Manor, contiguous to Tinton Falls, where he had quite extersive iron-works. His estate in Monmouth County was inherited from him by his nephew, Lewis Morris, who became Governor of New Jersey.

1 The Assembly by which this aet was passed was in session at Elizabethtown from March 1 to March 28, 1683, or, as written in the Old Style method, 1682-83.

2 Leaming and Spicer, page 229.

21st of January, 1709-10, passed " An Act for dividing and ascertaining the boundaries of all the Counties in this Province," containing the following in reference to the bounds of Mon- mouth and Middlesex :

"The county of Middlesex begins at the mouthi of the creek that parts the lands of George Wilcocks and the land that was for- merly Captain Andrew Bownes, deceased ; thence along the said Captain Andrew's line to the rear of the said land ; thence upon a direct course to Warn's Bridge, on the brook where Thomas Smith did formerly live ; thence upon a direct course to the south-east corner of Bar- clay's tract of land that lies near Matchiponix ; thence to the most southernmost part of said tract of land, including the whole tract of land in. Middlesex County ; thence upon the direct line to Sanpinck Bridge on the high road, in- cluding William Jones, William Story, Thomas Richman [Ruckman] and John Guyberson in Monmouth County ; thence along the said road to Aaron Robins' land ; thence westerly along the said Aaron Robins' line and James Law- rence's line to the line of the eastern and western division aforesaid,3 including the Robins and Lawrence in Monmouth County; thence northerly along the said line to Sanpinck brook, being part of the bounds of Somerset County ; thence following the lines of Somerset and Essex Counties, and so to the sound and thence down the sound to Amboy Point, and from thence to the creek where it first began." " The county of Monmouth begins at the creek aforesaid, that parts the lands of Captain Andrew Bowne, deceased, and. George Wil- cocks ; thence following the line of Middlesex County to the line of the eastern and western division aforesaid ; thence southerly along the said division line to the sea; thence along the sea to the point of Sandy Hook ; thence up the bay to the aforesaid creek where it first began."

Again, March 15, 1713-14, the Assembly passed " an Act for settling the bounds between the counties of Somerset, Middlesex and Mon- mouth ;" but it does not appear that the bound- aries of Monmouth were at all affected by it, as

3 The division line between East and West Jersey.

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ORGANIZATION AND SUBDIVISION OF THE COUNTY.

the description of the bounds established by this act, as between Monmouth and Middlesex, is precisely the same as that given in Section 4 of the act of January 21, 1709-10.

A supplemental act, passed November 28, 1822, declares " the middle or midway of the waters of Raritan Bay, from the line of Middle- sex County to the main channel which passes by Sandy Hook and along the said channel to the sea," to be Monmouth County's northern boundary. It was, however, again defined by an act passed April 9, 1866, which declares " that the northerly bounds of Monmouth County, from the line of Middlesex County,

are extended along the midway of the waters of ; and Saw-Mill Brook, as far west as the Burling- Raritan Bay to the main sea."

By the provisions of an act passed February 28, 1844, the line between Monmouth and Middlesex Counties was changed by the taking of a part of the township of Monroe from the last-named county and annexing it to Mon- mouth, as a part of the then erected township of Millstone. But this change gave dissatisfaction to people interested, and in the following year an act was passed restoring to Middlesex the territory taken from it by the act of 1844, and leaving the boundary the same as before the passage of that act. In 1847 an act was passed taking from Middlesex and annexing to Mill- stone township, in Monmouth County, a small triangular piece of the territory of Monroe township lying south of a certain line, of which the full description will hereafter be given in the account of the erection of the township of Millstone, and which, as the act declares, " shall hereafter be the boundary line between Mon- month and Middlesex Counties." )

The northern line of Monmouth and its boundary against Middlesex County being thus fixed, its other limits required no re-definition by legislative enactment, as its entire eastern line was (and is) formed by the ocean, and its sonthwestern boundary from the ocean to where Monmouth joined Middlesex was the " prov- ince line" established by Surveyor-General George Keith in 1687, which, being straight and clearly defined, needed no adjustment,

and remained the boundary of Monmouth until the southern part of its territory (more than one- half of its total area) was taken to form the county of Ocean, which was erected in 1850, as will hereafter be more fully mentioned.

The first subdivision of Monmouth County into townships was made by the provisions of an act passed in October, 1693, and approved by Governor Hamilton on the 31st of that month, erecting the three original townships of Monmouth, viz .: Middletown, Shrewsbury and Freehold. The line between the first two named was Navesink River, Swimming River ton P'ath. North of this line was Middletown, extending north to Raritan Bay, and including the territory of the present townships of Rari- tan, Holmdel and Matawan and a part of that of Atlantic township. South of the boundary mentioned was the township of Shrewsbury, ex- tending to the southern and southwestern bounds of Monmouth County, including the present townships of Howell, Wall, Eatontown, Nep- tune, nearly all of Ocean, a part of Atlantic and all of Ocean County. The township of Free- hold extended to the Middlesex County line, embracing the territory of the present townships of Marlborough, Manalapan, Millstone and Upper Freehold, as also a considerable area in what is now the county of Ocean.

The next township formed was that of Upper Freehold, taken from Frechold and Shrewsbury. The exact date of its erection cannot be found, but it is known to be prior to 1730, as an as- sessment roll of the township for that year is now in existence. It embraced, in addition to its present territory, a part of that of the town- ship of Millstone and a large area in what is now Ocean County.

In 1749 that part of Shrewsbury township lying south of Barnegat Inlet was taken off, and erected into the township of Stafford, it being entirely within the limits of the present county of Ocean ; and in 1767 another por- tion of the territory of Shrewsbury was cut off, and formed into the township of Dover, this also being in what is now Ocean County.

On the 16th of November, 1790, the New

1 Pamphlet Laws of 1847. p. 86.

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HISTORY OF MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Jersey Legislature enacted that "the jurisdiction of this State in and over a lot of land situate at the point of Sandy Hook, in the county of Monmouth, containing four acres, on which a light-house and other buildings are erected,1 shall be, and the same is hereby ceded to and vested in the United States of America for- ever." And on the 12th of March, 1846, the State ceded to the United States the jurisdic- tion over that part of Sandy Hook "lying north of an east and west line through the mouth of Young's Creek at low water, and ex- tending across the island or cape of Sandy Hook from shore to shore, and bounded on all sides by the sea and Sandy Hook Bay," the government to retain jurisdiction over these lands only as long as they are used for military or other publie purposes, and the civil and crim- nal laws of New Jersey to be operative within the ceded territory so far as not incompatible with its use by the United States for the purposes mentioned.

Howell township was erected by an act of the Legislature passed February 23, 1801. It was taken from Shrewsbury, and at the time of its erection, embraced, in addition to its present territory, that which was afterwards taken for the formation of Wall township and also some in the northern part of Ocean County.

An act of Legislature, passed February 28, 1844, set off parts of the townships of Freehold and Upper Freehold, and of Monroe township in Middlesex County, to form the township of Millstone, the boundaries of which will be given in full in the history of that township. The part taken from Monroe township was (as be- fore mentioned) annexed to the connty of Mon- mouth, but was restored to Middlesex by an aet passed in the following year. In 1847 another small piece of Monroe township was annexed to Monmonth County and to the township of Mill- stone.

In 1844 the township of Jackson was erected from parts of Freehold, Upper Freehold and Dover. This township is now wholly in the

county of Ocean, but when erected it embraced a small area of what is now Millstone township, Monmouth County, this part being annexed to Millstone in 1846.

Plumsted township was erected from a part of Jackson in 1845, and Union was set off and formed into a township from parts of Stafford and Dover in 1846. These townships are now in Ocean County.

In 1847 parts of the townships of Freehold, Shrewsbury and Middletown were taken to form the new township of Atlantic. In 1848 Marl- borough, Manalapan and Raritan townships were erected, the latter being taken from the old township of Middletown and the others from Freehold. Ocean township was formed from a part of Shrewsbury by an act passed in February, 1849. It included the present town- ship of Neptune, and the greater part of the township of Eatontown.

In 1850 the southern part of Monmouth County, embracing the larger part of its terri- tory, was cut off to form the county of Ocean, which was ereeted by an act approved February 15th in the year mentioned. The part of the act having reference to the line of division is as follows :

" All that part of the county of Monmouth contained within the following boundaries, viz. : beginning at Manasquan inlet and month of Manasquan river ; thence up the middle of said river to the first bridge over the same ; thence westerly to a corner on the south side of said river near the old bridge ; thenee southwesterly to the road leading to Jackson's mills; thence along said road till it strikes the line between Howell and Jackson townships ; thenee along said line to the northeast corner of Jackson township ; thenee along the line between Jack- son and Freehold townships till it strikes the road leading from Freehold to Mount Holly ; thence up the middle of said road to the Plum- sted line ; thence down said line to Moses Ivins' floodgate bridge over the Lahaway creek, being the beginning corner of Plumsted township; thence following the Phunsted line, the several courses thereof, to the line between Burlington and Monmouth counties ; thenee along said line to the sea-shore; thence along the sea to the

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History of Monmouth county, New Jersey, Part 19

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