USA > New Jersey > Morris County > History of Morris County, New Jersey > Part 57
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In 1818 $600 was raised for the support of the poor and other contingent expenses; and it was "voted that
the paupers be sold at A. Chamberlain's on the 10th inst.," the only notice of this custom that caught our eye on the town records. In 1827 it was "resolved that John H. Stanburrough, Joseph. Dickerson jr. and David B. Hurd be appointed and are hereby constituted a com- mittee on behalf of this township to purchase a lot of land called the Ogden farm, or any other convenient lot as to them shall be deemed proper, for any sum not ex- ceeding $700; which said lot of land so purchased shall be kept for the use and support of the poor of this town- ship." So far as can be learned no action was ever taken under this resolution. In 1831 a resolution was passed to the effect that "any sum not exceeding $50 be paid by the chairman or clerk of the committee to Clar- issa Vansyckle for the purpose of attending the eye infirm- ary in the city of New York, and for other medical relief."
In 1832 it was resolved that the bounty of $25 for an old wolf and $to for a young one " be given to an in- habitant of any other township, providing such township will [pay ?] an inhabitant of this township the same bounty for the purpose above mentioned."
In 1837 it was resolved "that the chosen freeholders of this township are instructed to use their influence with the board of chosen freeholders of this county at their annual meeting, and to vote for a committee to be appointed who shall be required to purchase a county poor-house and farm, erect buildings, purchase stock, employ a keeper, and do all other acts that may be neces- sary for the reception of the paupers of the county; and that they be authorized to use from the second and third installments of the surplus revenue due the county any sum not to exceed $15,000 to carry the above reso- lutions."
It was " resolved by the inhabitants of Jefferson town- ship," at a special meeting held August 14th 1864, " that the sum of $400 be raised by tax for each man who may volunteer, or be drafted in the next draft to be made, and which has been ordered by the President of the United States, to fill the quota of said township; to be offered as a bounty to volunteers, or given to each man who may be drafted and shall procure a sub- stitute, or as a bounty for his personal service in the army of the United States; said tax to be raised one- half in 1865 and one-half in 1866, in part by a poll tax of $to on each single and $5 on each married man annually in each year, and the balance to be levied on the taxable property of said township in the same manner as the other county and township taxes are raised." It was also resolved " that John P. Brown, Benjamin Hop- per, and Tusten Van Duser be and they are hereby elected and appointed commissioners, with power to raise the necessary moneys to pay such sums as aforesaid or to issue the script of the township therefor, to be deliv- ered to such drafted man or volunteer," and "that con- scripts under the last draft who have furnished substi- tutes be exempted from the above tax."
Out of a total poll of 159 one vote was cast for a tax of $350 per volunteer, 50 for no tax, and ro8 for a tax of $400 per man.
239
OFFICERS OF JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP.
The officers of the township have been as follows:
Collectors .- Stephen Dickerson, 1804, 1808-27; John De Camp, 1806; William Headley, 1807; James L. Dick- erson, 1828; George Allison, 1829; Squier Lum, 1830, 1831, 1837, 1838; Nathaniel Hopping, 1832, 1833, 1835; Freeman Wood, 1834; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1836; Ansolem H. Bounting, 1839, 1840; Stephen Cooper, 1841, 1842; John G. Mase, 1843; Jesse Babbitt, 1844; Frederick W. Fichter, 1845; Mahlon Mase, 1846; Elias C. Kemble, 1848; David S. Headley, 1849; David Allen, 1850; William C. Bounting, 1851; William W. Congleton. 1852; Andrew J. Allison, 1853; Peter. Doland, 1854; Joseph W. Headley, 1855, 1860, 1861, 1876-80; Daniel Chamberlain, 1856, 1857 (none found in records of 1858), 1862; Mahlon Jennings, 1859, 1867; David C. Allison, 1863, 1864; Ira Chamberlain, 1865; Amzi Weaver, 1866; Henry Hopper, 1868-73; George W. Allison, 1874, 1875; William D. Norman, 1881.
Town Committee .- John De Camp, 1804, 1807.09, 1812-16; Daniel Hurd, 1804; John O. Ford, 1804; Joseph Hurd, 1804, 1813; John P. Losey, 1804, 1807-12, 1814, 1816; John Headley, 1806; John Dow, 1806; Timothy Jayne, 1806; William A. Hulmes, 1806, 1807; William Wallace, 1806; Stephen Dickerson, 1807; William Head. ley, 1807-11; Cornelius Davenport, 1808-12; John Dun- ham, 1808; John Kelso, 1809-13; John H. Stanburrough, 1810-13, 1815-17, 1821-28, 1835-38; George Turner, 1813-15, 1836, 1838-40, 1853; Samuel G. I. De Camp, 1814, 1816; Sylvanus Cooper, 1814, 1839-33; Joseph Dickerson, 1815, 1817, 1819-29, 1831-35, 1838; John Seward jr., 1815, 1820, 1821; John C. Doughty, 1816, 1817, 1819, 1821; Squier Lum, 1817, 1835; Samuel Chamberlain, 1817; Ephraim Adams, 1818, 1820, 1823-26; Samuel Tharp, 1818, 1819, 1822, 1829, 1832, 1840, 1850; Abraham Chamberlain, 1818, 1833, 1834; Stephen Freeman, 1818; John Jayne, 1818; Wil- liam Wood, 1819; James L. Dickerson, 1819, 1827; George Allison, 1820-28, 1835, 1838, 1840-44, 1853, 1857, 1858, 1861; Elias Chamberlain, 1820, 1822-26, 1828, 1829; David B. Hurd, 1821-27, 1830-34, 1837; Lemuel Minton, 1828, 1830, 1831; James L. Hurd, 1829; Benja- min Chamberlain, 1829; Enos Davenport, 1831; Jacob D. Roe, 1830; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1831, 1833-36, 1840-42; Aaron Starr, 1832; Freeman Wood, 1833, 1834; Calvin A. Kanouse, 1836; Morris Chamberlain, 1836; William Allen, 1837, 1848, 1850, 1851; Mahlon L. Dickerson, 1837-40; Ephraim Lindsley, 1837; Horace Chamberlain, 1838, 1839; Gabriel Van Duser, 1839; Elias C. Talmadge, 1839; William Fichter, 1841, 1842; William W. Plumstead, 1841, 1842, 1844; Jesse Babbit, 1841, 1842, 1845, 1846, 1848, 1849; David Allen, 1843, 1844; Stephen Cooper, 1843, 1844, 1846, 1854; William A. Wood, 1843; David S. Headley, 1843; John Hardy, 1843, 1844, 1846 ; Paul Mandeville, 1845 ; Charles Munson, 1845, 1846; Charles McFarlan, 1845; John D. Stanburrough, 1846; William D. McCornac, 1848- 51, 1863-65, 1874; Samuel 1). Wolfe, 1849; William B. Lefevre, 1849 51; Peter Decker jr., 1850, 1851; Dennis Duffee, 1849 ; Richard R. Davenport, 1850, 1851, 1855, 1856, 1858; Simon A. Demarest, 1853-55; William H. Spencer, 1853; Frederick Matthews, 1853; John A. Hopper, 1854, 1855, 1857, 1858; William P. Norman, 1854; Joseph W Headly, 1854, 1859, 1862, 1866-68, 1871-73; Joseph McPeak, 1855; Charles Coile, 1855, 1856; Henry Furgeson, 1856.58; William C. Boun- ting, 1856, 1857, 1868 70; Lewis Chamberlain, 1856, 1860; Jacob Timbrel, 1857; William P. Winterbottom, 1858, 1862; Frederick W. Fichter, 1859, 1860; Marshal Mase, 1859, 1867; Jacob Talman, 1859-61; Levi Daven- port, 1860; James Devore, 1861, 1862, 1872, 1873; Jo-
seph Leighton, 1861; Jacob Talman, 1862, 1867, 1869- 71, 1875, 1876; Jacob L. Coile, 1862, 1863; Albert S. Chamberlain, 1863, 1864, 1874; Zophar O. Talmadge, 1863-65; John D. King, 1863; Levi Talman, 1864, 1865; John A. Fichter, 1864, 1865; Levi McCornac, 1865; Al- bert R. Spriggs, 1866, 1868-71; Charles Davenport, 1866, 1872; Stephen A. Lindsley, 1866; Henry Lumadue jr., 1866; Charles S. Davenport, 1867, 1871; Theodore Brown, 1867; Maurice Duffee, 1868-70; Alexander Goarke, 1868- 70; William H. Fichter, 1871; William S. Fenton, 1871; Augustus Hartzough, 1872, 1873, 1875-77; John L. Temple, 1872, 1873; William R. Gordon, 1873, 1880, 1881; Moses B. Fichter, 1874: Simon Misel, 1874; John D. Stanburrough, 1874; Dennis M. Duffie, 1875-78; Je- tur R. Riggs, 1875; Silas D. Rowland, 1875, 1876, 1880; James Gordon Case, 1876; M. L. P. Thompson, 1877, 1878; William G. Fichter, 1877, 1878; Albert Richards, 1877; Abraham Shawger, 1878; William D. Norman, 1878.80; Edward Hall. 1879; Maurice McCornac, 1879; Jacob Hopper, 1881; William Sedgeman, 1881.
Commissioners of Appeal .- Moses Hopping, 1804; Daniel Hurd, 1804; John O. Ford, 1804; Cornelius Da- venport, 1806, 1808-12; Samuel Headley, 1806; Stephen Freeman, 1806; Stephen Dickerson, 1807; William A. Hulmes, 1807-12; John Seward jr., 1812, 1821; George Turner, 1813.15, 1817, 1838; Samuel G. I. De Camp, 1813-16; William Headley, 1816, 1823, 1824, 1828, 1830- 32, 1835, 1837; Jeremiah Fairchild, 1816, 1818, 1819; Samuel Tharp, 1817-22, 1840, 1850; William Wood, 1817- 20; James L. Dickerson, 1822; George Allison, 1821, 1822, 1825, 1826, 1838, 1840-45, 1849; Joseph Dickerson, 1820; John C. Doughty, 1823 27; Elias Chamberlain, 1823, 1824, 1827: David Allen, 1825-27, 1829, 1833; John Keeler, 1828; Levi Harvey, 1828; John O. Daven- port, 1829; John Henderson, 1829; Sylvanus Cooper, 1830-32; Moses Bounting, 1830, 1831; David B. Hurd, 1833, 1837; John Ruter, 1833; Elias C. Talmadge, 1833, 1836; William Fichter, 1834, 1835; Calvin A. Kanouse, 1834; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1834; Morris Chamberlain, 1835, 1836; John Hardy, 1837; Gabriel Van Duser, 1838; Thomas Stephens, 1839; Timothy Southard, 1839, 1840; Ansolem H. Bounting, 1839, 1848; Jesse Babbit, 1841, 1842, 1845; Samuel D. Wolfe, 1841- 44, 1846; Abraham Jennings, 1843, 1844; Mahlon Jen- nings, 1845, 1862, 1873, 1875-81; John G. Mase, 1846, 1850; Cornelius Talmadge, 1846; John W. Jackson, 1848; Joseph R. Dickerson, 1848; William B. Lefevre, 1849; William C. Bounting, 1850, 1867, 1873, 1880; David Hines, 1851; Benjamin .Hopper, 1851; William A. Spencer, 1851; Cornelius D. Talmadge, 1853, 1854; John A. Hopper, 1853, 1866; Elias Green, 1853-56; David C. Allison, 1854, 1855; Richard K. Davenport, 1855, 1856; Garret Talmadge, 1856; Ephraim H. Long, 1857; Charles Davenport, 1857; David C. Ackerson, 1857, 1858; Henry B. Furgeson, 1858; David Estill, 1858; Abraham L. Estill, 1859-61; John D. Stanbur- rough, 1859, 1862, 1865; George Allison, 1859, 1861; Levi Davenport, 1860; Jacob Talman, 1860; Thomas C. Elston, 1861; Mahlon L. Dickerson, 1862; Josiah Mc- Peak, 1863, 1864; Elias C. Talmadge, 1863, 1864; John- son Chamberlain, 1863, 1864; Maurice Chamberlain, 1865; Zophar O. Talmadge, 1865; Jacob Talman, 1866, 1868; Marshal Mase, 1866; William Allison, 1867; Henry Hopper, 1867; William Fenton, 1868, 1869, 1872, 1876; David Jayne, 1868-75; Thomas Bright, 1869, 1870; Asa Berry, 1870, 1871; Garret Talman, 1871; William Search, 1872; Albert R. Spriggs, 1872; William P. Winterbottom, 1873; Horace Chamberlain, 1874; William H. Talmadge, 1874; Levi Talman, 1874; John Kevelin, 1875; James Devore, 1875, 1876, 1878; Charles Davenport, 1877, 1879; William D. Norman, 1877;
240
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
Stephen A. Lindsley, 1878, 1880, 1881; Jacob Talman, 1879; Henry Lindeman, 1881.
Town Clerks .- John Kelso, 1806-08, 18ro-13; William M. O'Harrel, 1809; Peter Freeman, 1814; John C. Doughty, 1815-21; David B. Hurd, 1823-25, 1830, 1831, 1833, 1834, 1837, 1838; Aaron Starr, 1826, 1827, 1832; Albert Stanburrough, 1828, 1829; Mahlon L. Dickerson, 1835, 1836; Gabriel Van Duser, 1839; Garret S. Dema- rest, 1840, 1842; John Hardy. 1843-45; Leo B. Ilurd, 1846; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1848; David Hinds, 1849, 1850; John P. Brown, 1851, 1852, 1857; Amos Chamberlain, 1853-56; Jacob Timbrel, 1858-60; Lewis M. Chamberlain, 1861-65; Charles Allen, 1866-69; Theo- dore Brown, 1870; Jetur R. Riggs, 1871-73; George Chamberlain, 1874; William L. Allen, 1875: William R. Gordon, 1876; Walter B. De Camp, 1877-80; Silas D. Rowland, 1881.
Assessors .- John P. Losey, 1804, 1807-9; William Wal- lace, 1806; James L. Hurd, 1808-14, 1821, 1823, 1825, 1827, 1830, 1831, 1837-40; Sylvanus Cooper, 1815-20, . 1822, 1824, 1826, 1828; Timothy Southard, 1829; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1832, 1833; D. B. Hurd, 1834; William Mase, 1825; Gabriel Van Duser, 1836; John D. Stan- burrough, 1841, 1842; Gilman D. Corning, 1843; Garret S. Demarest, 1844, 1846, 1849, 1850; John P. Brown, 1845; Leo B. Hurd, 1848; Horace Chamberlain, 1851- 55, 1858-61; Edward C. Hurd, 1856; John D. King, 1857; Abraham L. Estill, 1862, 1866-68; Maurice Mc- Cornac, 1863, 1864, 1874; Peter Decker, 1865; Joseph W. Headley, 1869; Charles Davenport, 1870; Amzi F. Weaver, 1871-73, 1875, 1877-81; W. R. Gordon, 1876.
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Chosen Freeholders .- John De Camp, 1804, 1806, 1807- .09, 1813-16; Daniel Hurd, 1804; William Headley, 1806-10, 1812; John P. Losey, 1807-12, 1814-16; Joseph Hurd, 1813; Sylvanus Cooper, 1817; William Wood, 1817-19; Stephen Dickerson, 1818-21; Joseph Dicker- son, 1820-29, 1831-35; James L. Dickerson, 1822-26; James L. Hurd, 1827, 1840; Abram Chamberlain, 1828; Hiram Headley, 1829; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1830, 1831; Elias Chamberlain, 1830; Abraham Chamberlain, 1832, 1834; (none recorded in 1833); George Allison, 1835, 1848; David B. Hurd, 1836, 1837, 1845; John H. Stanburrough, 1836, 1839-44; Squier Lum, 1837; John Hardy, 1838, 1839, 1848; Abraham Chamberlain, 1838; Mahlon L. Dickerson, 1841-46; David Allen, 1846; An- solem H. Bounting, 1849; John D. Stanburrough, 1849, 1850; William H. Spencer, 1850; John G. Mase, 1851;
Clark I. Martin, 1851; John D. King, 1853-56, 1858.61; Elias C. Talmadge, 1853; Christopher Helmes, 1854; John D. Stanburrough, 1855, 1856; Benjamin Hopper, 1857-60, 1862, 1866-70; Peter Doland, 1857-61; William A. Wood, 1859, 1862-64; John J. Norman, 1863-65; Moses B. Fichter, 1865; James Devore, 1866 70; Jacob Talman, 1871, 1872; W. C. Bounting, 1871, 1872; John F. Wood, 1873; Edward N. Norman, 1873-75, 1878; Johnson Chamberlain, 1874, 1875; Theodore Brown, 1876, 1877; Clark D. Simpson, 1876; B. W. Gordon, 1877; Silas D. Rowland, 1878; Theodore Brown, 1879; Benjamin Hopper, 1880, 1881.
School Committee .- D. B. Headley, 1831; Joseph Dickerson, 1831-35; Sylvanus Cooper, 1831-33; John H. Stanburrough, 1831-33, 1835; Samuel Tharp, 1831-34; David B. Hurd, 1832-34; John O. Davenport, 1834; Timothy Southard, 1834; Elias C. Talmadge, 1835. 1836, 1838, 1839; John Hardy, 1836 38; Gabriel Van Duser, 1836-39; Ichabod Dean, 1837; Lewis M. De Camp, 1839; David Congleton, 1840, 1841, 1844, 1845; Timothy Southard, 1840, 1841; Peter Decker, 1840; William W. Plumstead, 1841; Albert H. Stanburrough, 1842, 1843; David Allen, 1842.44; Mahlon L. Dickerson, 1842-44; William Fichter, 1845; Richard R. Davenport, 1845; John G. Mase, 1846; Edward C. Rodjers, 1846; Gabriel Van D)user, 1846.
Superintendents of Schools .- John W. Jackson, 1848, 1849; Charles McFarlan, 1850 (none recorded in 1851), 1853, 1854, 1856 62; Peter Dorland, 1855; Daniel F. Lyon, 1863-65; John P. Brown, 1866.
Overseers of Poor .- Moses Hopping, 1804; John Jen- nings, 1804; William A. Hulmes, 1806, 1808, 1809; John Dow, 1806; William Wallace, 1807; Moses Ogden, 1807; Stephen Dickerson, 1808-10; Abraham L. Davenport, 1810; John Dunham, 1811, 1814-17; Cornelius Daven- port, 1811, 1812; Jeremiah Fairchild, 1812; Joseph Hurd, 1813; George Allison, 1818, 1819, 1821, 1822, 1832, 1838; Enos Davenport, 1820-28; Samuel Tharp, 1823-26, 1835, 1836; Chileon F. De Camp, 1827; William Hinds, 1829; Elias Chamberlain, 1830, 1831 (none re- corded in 1833); Abraham L. Davenport, 1834, 1837; John O. Davenport, 1839-46, 1848, 1849, 1851, 1853- 56; William C. Bounting, 1850; Paul Mandeville, 1857, 1858; William D. Norman, 1859-62, 1866-69; William Wright, 1863, 1864; Jacob S. Coe, 1865; William D. Norman, 1870, 1871; Benjamin Hopper, 1872, 1873, 1875-81; Jacob L. Coile, 1874.
JOHN P. BROWN.
The Brown family were among the earliest settlers in | P., August 24th 1817; Hannah, August 11th 1819; Susan, Morris county. It is not positively known where they May 13th 1821; Julia, November 12th 1823; Lydia, June 19th 1826; Ira, September 7th 1828, and Chilian, September 14th 1830; all of whom are living except Eliza Ann, Harriet, Julia and Chilian. came from. Martin Brown was born in Pequannock, Morris county, October 10th 1764. His wife's maiden name was Hannah Post. Their children were John, Peter, Henry, Abraham, William, Eliphalet, Elizabeth H., Mr. Brown died February 14th 1864. His widow, at the advanced age of 88, resides at Newfoundland with her son John P. Catharine, Jennie, Margaret, Hannah and Sarah Ann. He died August 23d 1850, at Newfoundland, Morris county.
: Peter, the son of Martin, was born in West Milford, ·Passaic county, N. J., October 11th 1790. He was a farmer, a merchant and a hotel keeper at Newfoundland. He was married . December 15th 1813 to Elizabeth, :daughter of Elizabeth and Jacob Kanouse, of Bergen (now Passaic) county. Their children were: Eliza Ann, born August 14th 1814; Harriet, March 9th 1816; John
In 1816 he commenced the business of hotel keeping at Newfoundland, in a small house which he erected. This was burned in 1840, but he soon built in its place a two and one-half story hotel. In 1844 he was suc- ceeded in the business by his son John P., who has from time to time enlarged and improved the hotel, and it is now a popular and well patronized summer resort.
RAIL ROAD STATION FROM HOTEL.
LOOKING SOUTH,
VIEW FROM THE REAR.
J.P. BROWN, HOTEL, NEWFOUNDLAND, MORRIS CO.,N.J.
MENDHAM TOWNSHIP.
BY HON. S. B. AXTELL.
ENDHAM is the smallest township in Morris county. It contains 14,746 acres and has no marsh land. It lies at an altitude of about 600 feet above mean tide. It is bounded north by Randolph, east by Morris, south by Somerset county, and west by Chester. It is well wooded, and watered by numerous springs and small brooks. The waters of the western part flow into the Raritan River, those in the eastern part into the Passaic. The township is re- markably well drained and very fertile. All fruits, grains, berries and grapes natural to this latitude grow to great perfection and are exceedingly well flavored. Men and animals are healthy and longevity is the rule.
Of the aboriginal inhabitants, the Indians, we know but little; but we believe they were more intelligent and more friendly to the whites than many of the more west- ern and northern tribes. The Mendham settlers came with their families; the family is always in the interest of peace and has always found a more friendly Indian thau the one discovered by the soldier, the hunter and trapper, or the mere adventurer or prospector. Mend- ham never suffered from Indian war or massacre. Its history indeed is exceptionally free from painful inci- dents. This has not been the theater of great or start- ling crimes. Fifty years ago there was established and maintained in Mendham village a circulating library. There have from the first been the saving influence of good books and the restraints of religious teaching. The exceeding healthfulness of the climate has also probably contributed greatly to moderate and purify the tempera- ment of the inhabitants. The children born of healthful industrious and virtuous parents have naturally and cheer- fully walked in the ways of virtue and the paths of peace.
$20,950; polls, 354; State school tax, $2,291; county tax, $2, 138.74; road tax, $1,600; poor tax, $125.
MENDHAM'S PIONEERS AND OLD FAMILIES.
There are no authentic records of the township earlier than 1713; nor much of tradition. The first white men probably came up the Raritan. The trapper, following the streams, first penetrates to a new country. James Wills, said to have been an Englishman married to a French woman, bought land of the original proprietors about Ralstonville. Roxiticus has an Indian name and is on a branch of the Raritan. The brook above the vil- lage is called Indian Brook. At this place the first set- tlement of white men was made. They are said to have been Scotch and Irish Protestants.
Here they built the first meeting-house, and here, ad- joining the little church, established the first graveyard. This was before 1738. This graveyard was not more than 25 yards square. It is said to have been crowded with graves. The headstones were unhewn and unlet- tered. We have have no tradition even of any one buried there. This church society at its own request was trans- ferred from the presbytery of New Brunswick to that of New York in 1739. There was no settled pastor. From the fact that it once belonged to New Brunswick it is fair to infer that the members came from Burlington or New Bruuswick, and not from Long Island or the east as many subsequently did.
About the year 1740 the prominent names in Mend- ham must have been Jacob Cook, Joseph Beach, James Pitney, Caleb Baldwin, Joseph Thompson, Ebenezer Condict, Nathan Cooper, Henry Wick, Robert Cummins, Henry Axtell, Stephen Dod, Jacob Drake, Ephraim Sanders, James McVickers, Henry Clark, Elias Howell, Zebulon Riggs and Benjamin Hurlburt. In the eastern portion of the township men named Beach, Loree, Tingley, Condict, Turner, Cary and Smith were settled with their families. Job Loree lived on land next west of Major Lewis Loree's before 1749, and Major Henry Axtell, son of Henry Axtell who came from Massachu- setts in 1739, lived in the same neighborhood as early as 1760. Near Washington Corners lived in early days
The population of Mendham township has remained quite uniform most of the time since the census began to be taken. The returns have been as follows: 1810, 1,277; 1820, 1,326; 1830, 1,315; 1840, 1,378; 1850, 1,726; 1860, 1,660 (33 colored); 1870, 1,581 (27 colored); 1875, 1,620 (21 colored); 1880, 1,526 (Mendham village 294, Brookside 187). The township statistics for 1881 were given as follows by the assessors: Assessed valua- tion of real estate, $834,165; personal, $275,335; debt, Riggs, Vance and Bedell. Day is also a very early
242
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
name, one of the daughters of Henry Axtell having married a Day. Brookside was called in early days Watersheet. The Connet who built the grist-mill came from Chatham about 1800, but there was an old mill there at that time, called Smith's mill. On the mountain the Clarks, from Long Island, Pools, Styleses, Cozads, McIlraths and Bonnels were early settlers.
Of the Byrams we have a very full and satisfactory record. Aaron G. Byram, of Brookside, has taken filial pains to preserve the record of his fathers. Ebenezer Byram was a grandson of Nicholas Byram, an English gentleman who settled at Bridgewater, Mass., about 1660, and died there in 1688, leaving a son, Captain Nicholas Byram, of whom honorable mention is made in the his- tory of Bridgewater. His son Ebenezer, born in 1692, came with five sons and three daughters to Mendham in 1743. He is the ancestor of all the Byrams in Morris and Sussex counties. In his 22nd year he married Han- nah, daughter of Joseph Hayward. In 1738 his son Ebenezer married Abigail, a daughter of Captain Eben- ezer Alden, a grandson of Captain John Alden and his wife Priscilla, of " Mayflower " memory. On the same day her two sisters were married, one to Eleazer Wash- burn, the other to Ephraim Cary. Ebenezer Byram built the Black Horse tavern and changed the site of the church from Roxiticus to its present beautiful location. The name of the village was also changed, and tradition attributes this change to Ebenezer Byram's saying, " I'll mend 'em." The best informed people, however, among them his own descendant Aaron G. Byram, and Rev. T. S. Hastings, do not give credence to this. "Ham " has long been a termination of names of English towns, and Mendham is an English name. It is written in the first session book Mendom. In deeds it is found Mendum. It is a beautiful name and may easily mean " my home." When it was determined to build a substantial house for meetings upon the present site, Mr. Byram returned to Bridgewater and engaged John Cary to do all the car- penter work.
There is not a particle of doubt that the Axtells, Leonards, Byrams and Carys are of New England origin; so also are those who came from Newark and Long Island, as the Dods, Riggses, Connets and Clarks. An old historian says three brothers by the name of Riggs lived in Massachusetts, and removed thence to Connecti- cnt. Edward, one of the three, removed to Newark, N. J., and had a son Joseph, who lived and died in Orange. The last named was the father of Zebulon Riggs, the father of Preserve Riggs, of Mendham, who married Puah Hudson and had a son Elias, born in 1770. This Elias was the father of Rev. Elias Riggs, who went as a missionary to Greece in 1832. It is well to bear in mind that Newark was settled by a colony from New England in 1666, and that many of the sons of these early settlers passed westward over the First mountain into the valley of the Passaic, settling Chatham, Madison, Morristown, Brookside and Mendham. We have au- thentic history that the Dods so came. Other families came from New Brunswick by way of Basking Ridge.
The Pitneys came in this way directly from England. A brother of James Pitney is said to have bought land of the original proprietors in Mendham as early as 1722.
Henry Axtell, who was born in Massachusetts in 1715, married Jemina Leonard in 1737 and removed with his wife's father to Mendham about 1741-three years before the Byrams came-is perhaps among the first of the New England settlers. This Henry Axtell was a blacksmith and had a shop and owned land near the Drakes. In a mortgage in possession of John Drake, signed by David Oliphant, Henry Axtell is mentioned as owning land on the road leading from Mendham to Morristown. This mortgage is dated September rith 1751. The Axtells are of English descent. Their ancestor Daniel was a "Round-head " colonel, and suffered death for the active part he took under Cromwell. His sons came to the New World, and Henry, as we have seen, was an early settler in Mendham. He died young, leaving three sons, Henry, Calvin and Luther, and three daughters. His widow married a Mr. Lum, and lived to a great age. His son Henry lived and died in Mendham, as did also Cal- vin. Luther went to Washington county, Pa. Henry was a major of militia, and is known as Major Axtell. He was twice married; his second wife was a Condit This family also spell their name' in different ways, as Condit and Condict. The elder Axtells were men of great good nature and some humor. It is said of Major Henry that when he proposed to his second " venture" she expressed no repugnance to him personally, but said, "I cannot think of taking the responsibility of being a stepmother." "Well," said the major, rising to go, " if that is all your objection I will go right home and kill the young ones." But rather then permit so barbarous a deed she married him, and, tradition says, made a most exemplary and excellent wife, stepmother and mother. Their union was blessed with two sons and three daugh- ters. The sons were Henry and Silas. Henry graduated at Princeton, studied theology and was settled in Geneva, N. Y. He left three sons, all in the Presbyterian min- istry-Daniel, Henry and Charles. Silas was a carpenter and colonel of militia in the war of 1812. He lived on the homestead. He had six sons. The eldest, Samuel, married Nancy Sanders, and is the father of Samuel Beach Axtell, who has been twice a member of Congress, and governor of both Utah and New Mexico. Another son, Jacob, is the father of Charles F. Axtell, a lawyer in Morristown, who although yet young has been twice elected a member of the Legislature of New Jersey. There are no Axtells now living in Mendham.
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