History of Morris County, New Jersey, Part 55

Author: Halsey, Edmund Drake, 1840-1896; Aikman, Robert; Axtell, Samuel Beach, 1809-1891; Brewster, James F; Green, R. S. (Rufus Smith), 1848-1925; Howell, Monroe; Kanouse, John L; Megie, Burtis C; Neighbour, James H; Stoddard, E. W. (Elijah Woodward), 1820-1913
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: New York : W.W. Munsell & co.
Number of Pages: 540

USA > New Jersey > Morris County > History of Morris County, New Jersey > Part 55

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The children of Freeman Wood were: William F. Wood, who married Miss Frances P. Howe, was a pay- master in the army with the rank and pay of major, and resides in Hartford, Conn .; Susan, who married N. P. Neff, of Cincinnati, O., where they now reside; John F. Wood, who married Irene Bright and resides in Dover; Florence, who married A. C. Smith and resides in Dover, and Clement Wood, M. D., who resides at Haverstraw, New York.

The children of Maria and J. M. Losey were Edward, deceased; Susan, and Ella, who married R. B. Livermore and resides in New York.

Colonel John H. Stanburrough came to the township about 1806. He married Miss Lum, a sister of Squier Lum. Their children were: Albert H. Stanburrough, county clerk during two terms, and long prominent in the county in political and business affairs, who now re- sides at Milton, and furnished much valuable information regarding the township; John D. Stanburrough, who also resides at Milton; Nancy Stanburrough, who married Albert R. Riggs, of Succasunna Plains, where they now reside; and Elizabeth, who married Mr. Dalrymple and now lives in Sussex county. None of the other children

A SPORTSMAN'S REMINISCENCES.

The following anecdotes of old times in Jefferson were furnished to the Iron Era by the late Guy M. Hinch- man, of Dover:

" About the years 1818-20 Mr. James L. Hurd, de- ceased, was the proprietor and genial host of a most ex-

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C. HURD. Hurdtown, N. J.

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HUNTING SCENES IN JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.

cellent public house at Hurdtown, or New Partners, as cealment. At the proper moment the sharp crack of my rifle reverberated from mountain to mountain, and the noble animal lay lifeless on the water. No boat or other appliance being at hand, having verified my promise, and wishing to perform my part with alacrity, perceiving a gentle wind was wafting the deer farther from shore, with more zeal than discretion I resolved to take to the water. Having divested myself of part of my clothing I heed- lessly plunged in, notwithstanding it was a November morning and the ground was white with frost. I suc- ceeded in swimming to the deer, but was so cold and be- numbed that I was in doubt whether my limbs moved with the effort I made in swimming. Fortunately the deer was in his winter coat, and very buoyant. I imme- diately placed my breast upon his body, which, imparting a genial warmth, alone enabled me to make my way safely back to land. My driver, aware that the reputa- tion of himself and dogs was at stake, was in at the death, the place was then sometimes called. At that time a forge, manufacturing bar iron by the blooming process, was in operation.' Water power was supplied from a pond of. large dimensions, lying north and east of the turnpike leading to Sparta. This place was the resort of many sportsmen during the hunting season, and many deer were captured in and about said pond. The moun- tainous region lying south and east between Upper and Lower Longwood and Berkshire Valley abounded in game. The method of hunting was to hound the deer with dogs, forcing them to take water in said pond. Their routes or runways were so well known that a greater number were captured on land than of those reaching the pond. A party of eight gentlemen from Newark and Belleville arrived there, intending to have a week's sport. Of the company was a brother of Commodore Stephen Decatur. The writer then resided at Mt. Pleas- ant, and, learning that after several days' hunting the highly elated with the success, exclaiming 'Them am the party were unsuccessful, and having the acquaintance of pups that can do it !' Some one remarked, 'My man, can you do it again ?' 'Sure I can; I seed three deer get up where I started that one, and them are pups will take the trail sartin.' And, true to his promise, at II o'clock A. M. he sent another, a noble doe, nearly over the same route; but it was not as fortunate, and was se- cured by one of the party before reaching the water. The beagle hounds continued their baying in the moun- tains all the morning without any result, which was very annoying to some of the party. two of the gentlemen, resolved to pay them a visit. Af- ter listening to the whys and wherefores for their ill luck (they asserting that although deer were started every day, none had taken water) the writer ventured to suggest that probably the fault was attributable to their dogs, at which one gentleman became indignant, remarking, 'Sir, are you aware that our hounds are the pick of the Newark pack? No truer or more staunch dogs exist.' 'Granted, sir; but your hounds are of the beagle breed, short in the legs, just the kind for " Permit me to describe a curious relic then on exhibi- tion at Mr. Hurd's. A person chopping cordwood felled a tree of about 15 inches diameter, and having severed the first cut of four feet attempted to split it, but found it difficult to accomplish. After repeated blows, it hav- ing yielded for half its length, one more well directed blow of his axe severed the obstruction, and on exposure it proved to be the antler of a deer. How deposited was a mystery, but there it was, surrounded by wood per- fectly sound though a little gnarled and showing a trifling enlargement of the log at that point. The antler, like the wood, was in perfect preservation, as shown by skillfully dissecting the wood at several points. It was certainly very curious and worthy of being preserved. Should time have dealt as kindly with others of that party as with the writer, and this shall meet their gaze, it will be to them a pleasant reminiscence. chasing the fox on the marshes and meadows in the vicin- ity of Newark; but permit me to tell you, sir, here in our mountains deer will. play before your dogs, browse on the way, sir, and get fat. To induce them to take water they must be pursued by fleeter dogs, that push them, which your beagles cannot do. Why, sir, I have a brace of dogs, a cross between the fox hound and stag hound, now only 15 months old, that can put a deer into the pond in 30 minutes from the time he leaves his lair.' Suffice it to say that, after mutual explanations, the writer received an invitation to join the party on the following day, and prove his assertion in regard to his dogs, On parting, I remarked, 'Gentlemen, to-morrow at 6 o'clock A. M. I will cause my dogs to be unleashed in the "Dark Hollow," and it will not be long before you will hear from them; therefore guard well the runways through Gravel Hill field and Laurel Point, for that will probably be the course of the game to the pond.'

" At the appointed time next morning I parted com- pany with my driver and dogs at the foot of Seward Mountain, with instructions to the driver to keep the dogs in the leash until he should have fairly penetrated the hollow, fearing they might cross the trail of fox or rabbit and thereby delay the sport. Being mounted on a fleet horse, rifle in hand, I had just reached the summit of the mountain when I heard the sharp, continuous cry of the hounds, leading off in the direction of Lower Longwood. Knowing full well from the eagerness of the dogs that the game would soon be compelled to double and make for water, I gave rein, and made full speed for the north side of the pond, knowing it to be my only chance should the deer escape in running the gauntlet in his course to water.

" Having reached my position, I had barely time to dismount and tie my horse when the exhilarating cry of the hounds became audible. But a few moments elapsed before a fusilade commenced from those guarding the runways. Half a dozen shots or more in quick succes- sion were hurled at the deer, but he came safely through, dashing fearlessly into the water, dashing the spray ten feet high and making a bee line for the place of my con-

"The writer is in possession of a fowling piece in a good state of preservation, that did excellent service in those days, although it lay in the bottom of Mt. Pleasant mine, in eighty feet of water, from 1817 to 1828, having been stolen and to avoid detection thrown into the mine. Subsequently, in draining that portion of the mine, it was recovered.

" At the time of which I write many interesting scenes transpired on Lake Hopatcong. Many deer were driven into the lake by hounds and captured. None but those who have witnessed it can conceive the power of those little animals in the water. I have seen them almost walk upon it. In being approached by a boat the method of capture was to row up to them, seize them by the hind leg-no other hold could be retained for an instant-and dispatch them; they were never shot unless they were about to escape. Although by their capture was gained the huntsman's ardent wish, yet I was always moved to pity, and half inclined to doubt man's right to slay so innocent a creature of God's creation. The severe winter of 1835 and 1836 exterminated them in this region. Many starved, not being able to obtain food in conse- quence of the great depth of snow; more were wantonly slaughtered that were emaciated and worthless. One man near Sparta killed fourteen that came to his premises

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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.

seeking food. I cannot learn that they have ever located this side of the Delaware since.

"I have in my possession a magnificent pair of antlers, once worn by a buck that in the hard winter of 1836, when the deer of this region were forced to go to the doors of people for food, strayed into the barnyard of a Warren county farmer, who branded his ears with the mark he applied to his cattle, fed him, and let him go. Twenty years later I was at Milford, Pa., and at the hotel where I was stopping came a boy, from a Delaware river raft, bearing with him the head of a deer that had just been killed. Attracted by the size of the horns, I pur- chased the head, and found it to be that of the deer that had been branded by the Warren county farmer."

The following incident is from Mr. Hinchman's auto- biography, elsewhere quoted:

"At the time when I resided with my uncle on the Plains and while living at Mount Pleasant deer and small game were very abundant in this region, particu- larly on the Sussex county side of Lake Hopatcong, that part of Succasunna Plains called the Shrub Oaks, about the duck pond on the 'Big Meadows,' in Mount Hope woods, and at Hurdtown. The method of hunting deer was to drive them with hounds into the lake and at Hurdtown into the forge pond, on the Plains and on the Big Meadow over runways. It did not involve the loss of much time from business in those days-a day in the chase, and for small game a couple of hours sufficed to bag a half dozen partridges. While residing at Mount Pleasant I kept two splendid hounds, and a couple of hours were sufficient to have a chase on the meadows. A young man living at Berkshire Valley came desiring me to accompany him to the meadows, as he had seen deer that day. Accordingly I went with him and placed him on a stand where it was almost certain the deer would run. I proceeded to put the hounds on the scent; they at once put up the deer, and away they went for the stand occupied by the young man. In due time I heard the report of his gun. I was making my way through the thick cover, bordering a main ditch through the meadow, which carried the Denmark and Middle forge stream through it-being twelve to fifteen feet in width, and where the water was in places three or four feet deep -when I discovered that the hounds were approaching me and the young man in close pursuit, and I spied the deer coming up the stream swimming, occasionally touch- ing bottom and bounding in tremendous leaps. The cry of the dogs in his rear and I confronting him so frightened the timid creature that he came to a stand and endeav- ored to hide in a bush of alders, that overhung the ditch. To make sure of the game I raised my rifle, when the young man exclaimed, 'Do not shoot! he is mortally wounded already by my shot.' Of course I desisted, and together we reached him, and pulled the timid, frightened creature out; when it was found he was un- touched-he had yielded from fright alone."

MISCELLANEOUS.

William H. Seward, President Lincoln's Secretary of State, was born at Newfoundland, although not on the Jefferson township side of the line, and lived in the neighborhood until he was a young man, when he re- moved to Orange county, New York. He was a school- mate of Rev. Gabriel Van Duser.

There is an old graveyard in Berkshire Valley, not far from Charles Davenport's store. But few graves are found here, however, and these are marked by common field stones without inscription.

Among the names of Revolutionary soldiers living in this township are Joshua Phillips and Swaim Parcels. Captain Cornelius Davenport was also a soldier in the war for independence, and his son Enos was a captain in the war of 1812. The sword of the former, after peace was declared and most swords had been beaten into plowshares, was not treated in that way exactly, but it actually was used as a hay-cutter.

There was formerly an Indian encampment about a mile northeast of Milton. A great many arrow heads, axes and other relics have been found there.

About the year 1800 there was a tremendous freshet in the Longwood Valley, which did much damage to prop- erty and among other things carried away the Upper Longwood forge. Mrs. Rose was at that time living with her family at the house of John De Camp, near where Frederick Fichter now lives, and she was the first in that neighborhood to see the coming flood. She endeavored to cross the bridge over the Rockaway, to warn others of the impending disaster, just at the time the water reached it. She barely succeeded in crossing, and as she placed her foot on the opposite shore the bridge parted from its piers and went whirling down the valley.

ABOUT LAKE HOPATCONG.

The following regarding Lake Hopatcong is taken from a manuscript history of the lake by S. C. Shafer, who re- serves the right to reprint and copyright the same:

" Lake Hopatcong is situated in the Hopatcong Moun- tain range between Sussex and Morris counties. The surface of the lake is 920 feet above Newark Bay, and 720 feet above the Delaware at Easton. Various inter- pretations are given to the name of the lake. Some say it means a place of very deep water, others that it means stone water, but I am inclined to believe its true meaning to be pipe water. The Indians frequently used the word in a symbolic sense to express crookedness, in reference to the form of a lake or river shore. The word was probably so used here and at Hoboken, opposite New York, prior to its settlement by the Europeans. Hopocong was the name of an Indian chief belonging to the Lenni Lenape confederacy at the time of the Amer- ican Revolution. His name translated into English sig- nified pipe, and he was known to the Americans as Cap- tain Pipe. He did all in his power to induce his country- men to decide for the American cause. He failed in his efforts, however, for White Eyes, the rival chieftain, pre- vailed in council and they joined the English.

"The account in the New Jersey Historical Col- lections (edition of 1852, p. 401) of an Indian wharf or causeway between Bertrand's Island and the Sussex shore is probably a mistake. I have examined the locality carefully when the water has been at the lowest point, and have not found the slightest trace of any such work or the least appearance of there ever having been any. But on the opposite shore there was an Indian set- tlement of some pretensions, judging from the great number of arrow heads, broken jars and bowls of beauti- ful shapes that have been collected here by the curious in such matters.

"The Indians who lived about the lake were the Nariticongs, a branch of the Wabingas, a tribe of the Lenni Lenapes. Their principal village was lo- cated near and around Halsey Island, and on

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land (now covered with water) between that island and Hurdtown. In the latter district they had their cornfields. This village contained probably more than fifty lodges, and thirty years ago the location of every one of them was distinctly fixed by a circle of stones several feet in diameter, strongly marked by fire. In the searches made for relics these stones have been displaced, and would no longer fix the site of the lodges. I have in my posses- sion a number of stone implements, such as axes, arrow- heads, pestles, hoes, tomahawks, needles and other articles, of some of which it is impossible to tell to what use they were applied. Many of these articles are in a very perfect condition, and betray evidence of much skill in the workmanship which gave them their perfec- tion of form and polish. Besides these, I have at various times picked up pieces of pottery (of undoubted Indian workmanship) whose outline is so true that they were in all probability formed on a wheel.

"There were a few other lodges on the beach in front of Mr. Hedenberg's cottage and on Tempe's Point. The Nariticongs dwelling in the vicinity of the lake num- bered in the time of the nation's prosperity between two and three hundred persons.

"The following is a list of settlers living on the lake prior to and about the year 1800: Turner and Bellerford, on Nolan's Point, 100 years ago; Peter Marcelle, on Hal- sey Island; Mott Van Dyne, on the farm known as the Williams property; one Bishop, on or near Bishop's Rock; George Shongon, on Elba Point; Jones, on what is now known as Bertrand's Island; Israel Youngs, on the Jayne place; Obadiah Seward, the proprietor of the once fa- ous Seward tavern; Abraham Seward, near the lake on a spot now known as the Morse place-the house is en- tirely removed; one Trainor, one hundred yards south; Raymond, east of Callahan's, near the line of the Ogden Railroad; William Carnes, on the place now known as the Luke property; Joshua Thompson, near the residence of Ephraim Long; Samuel Burrill, half a mile southeast of the Lake View House; one Jameson, near Woodport, 100 years ago; Laffles, on Laffles's Island-there was a bridge across the stream at this place; Joseph Hurd, of Hurdtown, the owner of a tract of land on which is the Hurd mine.

"The building of the Morris Canal rendered a lock at the lower end of the lake necessary. In removing the earth the workmen discovered the skeleton of an Indian, the arm bone of which from the wrist to the elbow was eighteen inches, and from the elbow to the shoulder the same. The remaining parts of the skeleton were of the same proportions. These bones would imply a height of nearly eight feet to this man of the forest.

"Between 40 and 50 years ago an Indian with his squaw came from Phillipsburg to visit the former home of his ancestors at the lake, and was so delighted with the situation that he determined to remain. He built a wigwam near the residence of Mr. Van Every, and spent the summer in fishing and making baskets. It is said that he was not treated very well by the old settlers, and finally went away with his houshold gods to find a more congenial dwelling place.

"There is a tradition that when the whites first settled on or near the lake shore there lived in the lake a singu- lar animal, which was occasionally seen on land. But the settlers could never get near enough to it to form a very satisfactory idea of its appearance. It was said to have a head somewhat like a horse's. It was was prob- ably a deer that swam the lake to escape from the wolves; although it might have been some large animal that had strayed from its native place and lived about the lake, or perhaps the last of its race. Horace Cook found at low water some very singular teeth, which are in his pos-

session at the present time. They are three inches long, curved and fluted, and rather flat than otherwise. I have one, found in the same locality, which would have been when entire four inches long.

"Mr. Van Guilder informed me that when he and his sons were drawing out muck upon the upland from a small hollow or depression, not over 50 feet in diameter, they threw out, as they supposed at the time, a large crooked root. Their dog, which was with them, seized it and ran away with it in the bushes. One of the sons, wondering what peculiarity in the root attracted the dog's interest, went in pursuit, and he found it to be the rib bone of some huge animal. They worked with care and succeeded in exhuming five entire skeletons of the mam- moth, except the toe bones. Three of the skeletons were those of full grown animals, and two those of calves, in a good state of preservation. They were ex- hibited at Morristown and Newark, and afterward sold to a museum.

"Brant, the Mohawk chief, occasionally paid this place a visit prior to the commencement of hostilities in the American Revolution. He succeeded in his design of seducing the Nariticongs to the British interest and led them in his battle with the inhabitants of Minisink, on the 20th of July 1779. His forces consisted of the In- dians and royalists disguised as Indians. Bonnel Moody was with him on two or three occasions, and remained hidden under a rock near Bonaparte's landing, in the neighborhood of Bishop's Rock, until sunset, when Brant crossed from the Indian village near Halsey Island and rejoined him. They were furnished with canoes, and they paddled to Byram's Cove, at the northwest side of the lake, to the cliff of rocks that have the appearance of rude steps and have since been known as the Devil's Stairs. They traveled westward, and near Andover, in Sussex county, they separated, Brant going to the Dela- ware Water Gap, and Moody to his den near Newton, called the Big Muckshaw, a'wild and dreary place, where he could see all that was going on for miles around and still be secure from all attacks. He and his band of desperadoes kept the country in a state of perpetual alarm by their bold and daring acts, until a few men de- termined to take Moody at all hazards. They hunted him and his band so keenly that he fled to Goshen, in the State of New York. They pursued him and recov- ered some silver plate that he had stolen from Mr. Ogden of Sparta. There is a tradition that he and his comrades were taken in attempting to cross the Hudson to reach the city of New York, and that they were brought to Morristown and tried as traitors and spies, condemned as such and hanged, to the joy of all the sons of liberty.

" Jayne's Cove, in the upper part of the lake, takes its name from the Jayne family, one of whom was the cele- brated Dr. David Jayne, of Philadelphia, concoctor of the patent medicines that go by his name, and who lived here when a boy.

" Van Dyne's landing is in this neighborhood. It is an ore dock, whence thousands of tons of iron and zinc ore have been shipped to Newark and other places.

"One of the tributaries of the lake rises at the north- east of Hurdtown. Two miles beyond Hurdtown, in a very retired place, are the remains of a beaver dam, which can still be seen, although the dam is probably a hundred and twenty-five years old. At the lower end of the lake, near Shippenport, there is a somewhat singular small island, called Floating Island. The water of the lake rises and falls considerably at different seasons of the year, but this island always remains just about a foot above the water. There are trees on it of considerable size. Among the plants which grow on it is the ‘side saddle.' It is evergreen, and flowers in June. The

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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.

flower is purple. In shape it is somewhat like a pitcher, and it has the capacity of a wine glass. The flowers are generally full of water, and a great number of drowned insects are often found in them. The stem is about fourteen inches in height.

" The common blue crane makes his home in different portions of the lake, and the blue heron also makes oc- casional visits, as well as the great egret heron. In the summer of 1873 four of these latter birds were shot in one day.

" The following is an Indian legend concerning the re- gion of the river Styx, as it is called, nearly opposite the Lake View House: Quaquahela, a great sachem who lived many years ago, was employed to carry a message to a distant ally. He expected to be absent thir- teen moons. He started on his mission at sundown. crossed in his canoe to Elba Point, and following the shore a considerable distance glided over to a point of land now known as Lemmedue Meadow; drew up his canoe and started for the lodge of his friend Comascoman, who resided on the banks of the Musconetcong, and was to accompany him in the mission. He had gone but a short distance before he was attacked by a bear. He en- deavored to escape to his canoe, but in vain. Brought to bay a terrible conflict ensued between the man and the bear, in which the former was victorious, but at a ruinous cost to the victor, as might be judged from the fact that the club, the totem, and all the hunting gear of the chief were found a few days afterward beside the dead body of a bear. The members of his tribe looked for him a long time, and called him by name, but received only their own words by way of answer. They returned home, and the next morning on the side of a neighbor- ing hill they saw a smoke ascending to the clouds, and wondered at the strange appearance. One of the young men was informed in a dream that Quaquahela had erected his spirit lodge there, and would remain as long as the hill stood, because he had killed the bear, that animal being his totem; but that he would accompany them in all of their expeditions, and when they retired to their wigwams he would go to his. The smoke ascend- ing to the tree tops, and the answer 'Quaquahela ' when they called his name, would be the tokens of his pres- ence; and to this day the smoke or thin vapor rises in curling wreaths over the spot, and if one calls the name of the ancient sachem he will answer to let you know that he is still there. The Indians called the hill Qua- quahela Lodge."

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