History of Morris County, New Jersey, Part 79

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 79

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The commissioners to set off and locate the lines of

the township were John Grey, Benjamin Crane and Freeman Wood. Mr. Wood, then a prominent citizen of the village of Rockaway, but at the time of this writ- ing a resident of Dover and one of the judges of the county, is the only survivor of this commission. The township embraces, according to the United States cen- sus of 1850, 31,204 acres of land, of which 9,822 are im- proved, and 21,382 unimproved. The unimproved por- tions consist of hilly, broken and wooded lands, con- taining in many places rich and extensive veins of iron ore,.which traverse the township northeasterly and south- westerly. An account of these mineral deposits, and their development for over one hundred years, is given in full detail in the general history of the county; and any mention of the same made in this branch of the work will be merely incidental, and for the purpose of preserving the connection with persons, places and events, as they may be from time to time referred to.

POPULATION AND PROPERTY.

We have no means of ascertaining the population of the township at the time of its erection, but from the census before mentioned we learn that it contained on the Ist of June 1850 3, 139 inhabitants, which made it the tourth in rank of the eleven townships. The taxable value of the real and personal property in the township was then $695,999. In 1855 the State ordered a census to be taken that year, and every tenth year thereafter, so that from the United States census and that of the State we have gathered information showing the growth and increase of the township to the present time. The State census of 1855 shows a population of 2,931, which is a decrease of 208 in five years.

At the next census, which was that of 1860, taken by the United States, the population is given at 3,55 1, show- ing an increase of 620 in a period of five years, and mak- Jackson, of Rockaway, assistant United States marshal for the census of 1860, gives the number of dwellings in Rockaway township at 645; families, 660; inhabitants, 3,552; deaths, 31; births, 120; inhabitants in Rockaway village, 802; houses in village, 392; iron mines in oper- ation, 12.

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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.

The ninth United States census made the population 6,445 in 1870, showing that the township had very nearly doubled in that respect in ten years and contained the largest population of all the townships in the county, and we find the total taxable property assessed at $1,469,350. When we come to the census of 1875, taken by the State, the population is given at 6,826, showing an increase of nearly 400 since 1870; but, owing to a greater increase in Morris and Randolph townships in that period, Rock- away falls back to the third place in population; its tax- able valuation of real and personal property at this time was $1,606,150. The township valuation by the town as- sessor is given at $1,376,725, a falling off of over $225,- ooo in one year.

This brings us to the last census, that of 1880, giving the township a population of 7,366 (an increase of 540 in the last five years, which makes Rockaway the second township in population in the county) and an assessed valuation of $1,017,950. Village populations are given as follows: Beach Glen, 195; Denmark, 134; Denville, 384; Greenville, 429; Lower Greenville, 20; Lower Hi- bernia, 943; Lyonsville, 141; Meriden, 99; Middletown, 144; Mount Hope, 537; Powerville, 35; Rockaway, 1,052; Upper Hibernia, 750.

The valuation of 1880 is that which was made by the township assessor, and shows a falling off of over $500,- ooo since that of 1875. This is accounted for by the general shrinkage of valuations in real estate, owing to the long depression in the business interests of the country, which commenced in 1873 and continued to the close of the year 1879. This is demonstrated by ref- erence to the local assessments made by the townships in the years 1874, 1876 and 1879; these three years being taken simply for the reason that we happen to have them.

In 1874, when the stagnation of trade and the dull iron market began, the total taxable valuation of the Rockaway property is given at $1,592,050; and in 1879, when the discouraging experience of five years had added its weight of depression to the business outlook, the total valuation went down to $1, 112,700. The same condition of things existed when the assessments of the year 1880 were made; and hence the still further de- crease in valuation reported for that year, as before given. But in 1881 all branches of trade, business and industries took a new lease of prosperity, which, following the signs of the times, will in the next decade show a larger increase in population and wealth than in any ten years preceding it.

SURVEYS AND TITLES.

In this branch of the work the writer was greatly assisted by William Roome, a resident of Pequannock, who has re- cently devoted much time and labor to gathering statistics, ancient and modern maps, surveys and records. Mr. Roome is a practical land surveyor, and with his own information and the aid of his father, Benjamin Roome, a surveyor of over fifty years' actual field work, has compiled a very valuable record of the early days

and early surveys of New Jersey, which includes a chap- ter devoted to the "Indian Titles."

New Jersey was divided into East and West Jersey, and each part was owned by certain proprietors, who had a right to locate lands and sell them, or to sell a right to locate. In many instances a settler would make his own location of unsurveyed or unlocated lands and then ap- ply to a proprietor for a deed; and whenever several sur- veys were required, either by the settler or by a proprie- tor, the surveyor general would visit the places and make the surveys. William Roome has procured extracts from the journal of a Mr. Reading, kept in 1715 and now in manuscript form in the library of the New Jersey His- torical Society. Reading appears to have been a sur- veyor, and made several surveys in "Old Pequannock," and in Rockaway township. His first name is not given ; but in the diary reference is made in several places to his "father." The "father " was, in all probability, John Reading, who located several tracts of land in his own right, not only from the Indians but also from the pro- prietors. In this journal several references are made to Rockaway. One of Mr. Roome's many extracts reads as follows :

" 17th April 1715 John Budd, James Bollen, John Chapman, Jonathan Lad and I went out from father's about three in the afternoon for Sol Davis, upon the south branch of the Rarington River, where we arrived just at 9 of the clock the 18th." We must keep in mind that these surveying parties always traveled on horse- back ; the only roads in many instances were mere bridle paths, and very often they had not even that accommo- dation to their journeys. Leaving out the journal record of events of the 18th, 19th and 20th, we find the party at one Jeremiah Osbourn's on the night of the 20th. On the 21st " John Budd, Bollen, Chapman and a guide and I went to look out for land. We crossed Wippening [the Whippany River] and went by a great meadow [Troy Meadow] lying upon said river, and crossing we went to Rockaway River, where we met Joseph Kirkbride, George Ryason and others. We all sought the forks of the Rock. and Wyr. [abbreviations for the Rockaway and Whippany rivers], and so went back through the woods to Osbourn's, where we slept that night. 22nd, surveyed, and on the 23d went to survey William Penn's lot; but the water being out and otherwise being very difficult, we could not survey the same; returned and lodged at Mawris Mawrison's." On the 24th of April the party visited Passaic Falls; on the 25th Reading finished Governor Penn's survey, and on the 26th a lot was sur- veyed for William Penn; "and returned to Osbourn's, where met father and Samuel Groom, who came from upper parts of Delaware; this night likewise came the Indians on the way to our house." It appears from another part of the journal that these Indians came to get their pay from Reading's father for the last Indian purchase, and it is also a fact that the proprietors often made purchases of large tracts of land from the Indians. Joseph Kirkbride located several tracts of land in Randoloh township, Succasunna and other places, and

333

EARLY SURVEYS IN ROCKAWAY-THE INDIAN TITLE.

a part of the Dickerson mining property. This accounts for a recital in one of the Indian titles hereinafter referred to. April 30th, Reading's journal says, "Thomas Stephens having gone towards Pequannock, and Mahlon Stacy being but newly come, * * * their lots not being fixed, we surveyed none this day. Cox, Buell, Haywood and I went for Ryerson's; we met with Steven- son and George Ryerson at H. Davis's, upon the Rock- away River, where Stephenson seemed to fix upon a lot, but by reason of his unreasonable demands we did not proceed. We then went along with Ryerson that night to his house and there lodged." Each day's proceedings and surveyings are given in the journal. We will make but one more reference thereto, and then dismiss it: "May 12th .- Went into the woods upon the Rockaway * * *. lodged by the Rockaway River." The surveying party now leave the Rockaway River, and continue their sur- veys in the neighborhood of Budd's Lake.

We have said that in many instances locations of land were made by a purchaser's own selection; and in such a case the natural result was that the best part of the land would be taken up, and the lean. or barren part around it left, to the loss and disadvantage of the proprietors. The proprietors trusted the surveys to local deputy surveyors, and of course they would be influenced by the person who desired to settle on and improve the land, and would include the most valuable and accessible portions. The proprietors in course of time became aware of the con- dition of their lands and the method of location, and to remedy the evil for the future appointed a committee in 1772 to visit certain portions of Morris county and re- port to the proprietors the result of their investigations. Mr. Roome has made several extracts from the journal of the proprietors. We will give one illustrating the sub- ject now before us, from the "journal and report of Courtland Skinner and John Johnson of the view of the land in Morris county, pursuant to the orders of the pro- prietors:"

"Friday October 22nd 1772 we set out from Morris- town to view the land in the valley, and passed through the land sold to Mr. Faisby, which we viewed on both sides of the road to Mount Hope. From thence we pro- ceeded to Middle forge, and passed the mountain about one and one-half miles to the westward of the forge. In passing the hill we found it accessible from the valley, and that the road had been made part of the way up, and a great deal of wood had been cut and carried away. * * * We then proceeded to Kenney's forge, passing * * and went on foot and John Young's house, *

viewed Young's 91-acre tract, *

* along the South or Green Mountains. This last tract takes in much val- uable timber, by which the mountain is rendered almost useless to anybody else. Had these locations been car- ried up the mountain, as they ought to have been, the general interest would not suffer, as it must and has by these irregular surveys. * * *

" We then proceeded up the valley on the north side, and there we found the same practices-the surveys ap- proaching to or running at a greater distance from the mountain as the land was more or less timbered and good. By this means the sides of the mountains that are accessible are of little or no value, and will never be worth any man's while to lay rights on. We then re-

turned and got a man to conduct us over the South Mountain, which we found very high and rugged.

"We then returned to Hibernia furnace, and next morning proceeded to view the land to be taken by Lord Stirling. * *

* We then went northeasterly, follow- ing the Charlottenburg road, and found the same very mountainous; and, that we might have a view of the whole, went with Millage (deputy surveyor) up to the top of a high mountain which overlooked the whole tract. * * * We then turned westerly and met with an ini- provement and a field of wheat, but no house. This land looked well and the timber around it good; but whose the improvement we could not tell. We then pro- ceeded toward the hill to the southward, and here was another improvement on a small location."

The Indian title to all the soil of New Jersey was ac- quired by purchase. In all grants and concessions to the early proprietors a provision was embodied that land was to be purchased from time to time, "as there shall be occasion, by the governor and council, from the In- dians, in the name of the lords proprietors, and then every individual person is to reimburse the lords pro- prietors at the same rate it was purchased, together with the charges." The Indians conveyed the northern part of the State in the year 1758, the southern portion having been disposed of prior to that time. This conveyance appears to be a ratification of all prior sales made by the Indians-as well to individuals as to the lords proprietors -and was executed by some of the chiefs. This deed of 1758 is dated at Eastern Pennsylvania, on the 23d day of October, and is between Egohopoun, chief of the Minsis, Lapink, Nepkas, Mackakamee, Cockkala, Laman Lanykaman, and others, of the one part, and his excel- lency Captain Benard, Esq., captain-general and com- mander-in-chief of New Jersey, Hon. Andrew Johnson and others, commissioners, etc .; the preamble is as follows:

"Whereas, the proprietors of division of the province of New Jersey, and the purchasers under them, have heretofore bought divers large tracts of land from the Minisink or Minsi Indians, and the Oping or Pompton Indians, and other native and original possessors of the north part of this province, but as the bounds of said tracts have not been sufficiently ascertained, and divers disputes between the native Indians and the English in- habitants *

* * have arisen, to put an end to which the Mingoes and United Nations have permitted their nephews the Minisinks or Minsis and Oping or Pompton Indians to settle on their lands on the branches of the Susquehanna and elsewhere, to which they have for bet- ter conveniences removed. * *

* Now all Indians

* bearing claims release to said commissioners * *

beginning at the station point * between the province of New Jersey and New York, at the most northerly end of an Indian settlement on the Delaware known by the name of Cash- eitong, being about 32 miles in a straight line from the mouth of Machhackomack Creek, near Cold's Fort, thence on a line nearly southeast *

* * * then crossing * through Pinback to the drowned lands, *. the northeast end of Mount Eve, north of Warwick in the State of New York, to the mouth of Tappan Creek, where the same enters the North or Hudson's River; thence down said river through the Narrows to Sandy Hook; from thence to the mouth of the river Raritan; thence up the same to the forks thereof; thence up the

334

HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.

north branch to the falls of Alamattunk [Pottersville, Hun- terdon county]; thence on a straight line to the Pas- qualin Mountain [supposed to be the Delaware Water Gap], where it joins on the Delaware; thence up said river to Casheitong where it began; which said lines from Sandy Hook to Pasqualin Mountain aforesaid are the northeastern boundaries of the land lately granted and released by the Delaware Indians to the said gov- ernor and commissioners the 12th of September last, and by the first above mentioned Indians is hereby ratified and confirmed."

This was signed by George Croghan, deputy agent; Henery Montour, king's interpreter; Conrad Weiser, provincial interpreter, and eighteen Indians.

The earliest locations of lands in the territory embraced in the present bounds of Rockaway township which we can identify with any degree of certainty were made by William Penn. The first of them was located on the 23d of August 1715. There are two surveys returned to him under that date; one containing 2,500 acres, and the other 1,250 acres. These two tracts adjoin on the south the Mount Hope tract (of which mention is here- after made), and lie west and south of the village of Rockaway, embracing part of Randolph township and part of Rockaway township. We have every reason to believe that these two surveys were made by William Reading and his party, who, as appears from his journal, were in the months of April and May 1715 surveying in other parts of the township, and in parts of what is now Pe- quannock and Hanover. That part of Rockaway in- cluded in these surveys may be designated as Franklin, John O. Hill's farm, Pigeon Hill, the property known as the General Winds farm (now owned by Thomas and Robert F. Oram), the John Dickerson farm, and the farms of Charles C. De Hart, C. A. McCarty and others.

About this time smaller surveys had commenced to be made in different parts of the township, ranging from two acres to 300 acres; these have continued down to the present time, so that very little if any unlocated lands can now be found in the township. The first of these smaller locations were, as we have before shown, choice spots: lands on a stream of water for meadow or water power, mineral lands, good locations for forges, or valu- able for wood and timber. These surveys very often had no reference to each other, and sometimes lapped on former surveys, or caused large strips of unsurveyed lands to intervene; so that about the year 1740 the pro- prietors commenced to make and superintend for them- selves sweeping surveys, as they were called, embracing all these earlier and smaller ones, and then excepting these from the larger survey. Nearly all the territory of Rockaway township is included in such large surveys, which we have grouped and designated by name and locality so as to cover nearly the whole of the township.

Lying next and directly north of Rockaway village is a tract known as the "White Meadow " tract, contain- ing 1,532.28 acres, which was located on the 2 1st of June 1774 and returned to Courtlandt Skinner and John Johnson. This tract begins at a stone heap on the north side of the road leading from Hanover to Mount Hope

furnaces and about thirty rods northwest of Rockaway meeting-house, and includes the White Meadow mines, and the Colonel Muir and other farms. The Colonel Muir property is about two miles northeast of Rockaway, and is now the homestead of Mahlon Hoagland.

West of the White Meadow tract, and still north and west of the village of Rockaway, lies the Mount Hope tract. This tract was surveyed and returned to William Burnet and John Johnson, on the 9th of September 1772, and contains 6,271.66 acres. The westerly line of this tract has been the source of considerable controversy in the courts of Morris county, owing to its crossing two or three rich veins of iron ore; the most recent of which is the suit brought by the Thomas Iron Mining Company against the Allentown Iron Company for taking out a large quantity of ore in one of the veins claimed by the Thomas Iron Company. The whole tract was surveyed and resurveyed by expert engineers for each party, and the dispute was finally compromised. The line was also definitely settled by this suit. The Mount Hope tract includes several valuable iron mines, the most extensive and celebrated of which are the Mount Hope mine prop- erty, the Hickory Hill mine, the Teabo mine, the Allen mine, and the Richards mine; and extends west so as to include the farm lately owned by James King, in Rocka- way township, on Mount Hope avenue, and east of the corporate limits of Dover.

On the northeast of the Mt. Hope and White Meadow tracts, and adjoining them, lies the Hibernia tract, which was surveyed between the years 1772 and 1774, but not returned until the 31st day of August 1791; and on that day recorded in the Perth Amboy records in Book S ro, page 60. This tract was returned to John Stephens; it contains 5,222.44 acres, and includes all the mines of iron ore at Hibernia. These mines are now owned principally by the New Jersey Iron Mining Company, and are worked by the Glendon Fron Company, the Andover Iron Com- pany and others as lessees. It extends from the Egbert corner, near the late residence of Peter D. Henderson, on the northeast of the village of Hibernia, to the Mt. Hope tract on the west, and adjoins the copperas mine property, on which the Green Pond Iron Mining Com- pany has been operating.

Lying west of the Mt. Hope and Hibernia tracts, and east of the Green Pond Mountain, is that known as the Den- mark tract, containing 6,231.28 acres, returned to Court- landt Skinner and John Johnson on the 21st day of June 1774 and recorded in the surveyor general's office at Perth Amboy in Book S 7, page 130. The northeasterly line of this survey runs through the lower end of Green Pond, including in this tract about one quarter of the pond. The southwesterly lines of the tract extend to Washington forge and the Randolph township lines, and it includes Washington forge, Luxemburg, Mount Pleas- ant, the Huff, Barker, Moses Tuttle, Moses Phillips, and Spicer properties, and the Middle forge and Denmark lands. The Huff and Mt. Pleasant mines are located on this tract, and other mineral attractions indicate iron ore at various places on the property.

335

LAND PURCHASES IN ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP.

Green Pond-or the part of it to the east of the Den- mark tract-was located by Judge Andrew B. Cobb, and now belongs to his estate. The entire area of the pond is 600 acres.

The land which lies to the northeast of the Hibernia and Middle forge tracts and Green Pond is made up of a large number of original surveys, made by Lemuel Cobb, John Rattoon, James Dunham, Abraham Ogden, Azariah Dunham, Andrew B. Cobb, Tunis Ryerson, Ed- ward Condit, Elias Boudinot and others, who were either proprietors or owned shares of proprietors' rights. None of these parties lived upon their lands in this part of the township; and some of them, we may safely infer, never saw them.

This last tract of surveys extends to the tract herein- after designated as the Charlottenburg tract on the north- east, and to Newfoundland, which is the extreme north- To the west of Meriden lie two large surveys of 2,745 .- 54 acres, returned to Skinner and Johnson, at request of erly limit of the township; and embrace the Split Rock forge and. the Durham forge properties, the village of Benjamin Beach and John Munson, on the 21st of June Greenville, Timber Brook, Copperas mine and the south- 1774. erly slope of Green Pond Mountain.

The Split Rock and Durham forge properties and also the larger part of the surveys in this location are now owned by the estate of Andrew B. Cobb. The Split Rock tract proper was located by James Parker and Andrew Bell. Mr. Parker was the grandfather of the Hon. Courtland Parker, of the city of Newark.

The earliest survey in this part of the township ap- pears to have been made on the roth of May 1751, when a return was made to Thomas Young of a tract of 2.13 acres, recorded in Book S 3, page 179, at Perth Amboy; this land is now a part of the pond at Split Rock.

The name Split Rock is supposed to have originated from the character of the rock or bed of the stream called Beaver Brook at this place, where it passes be- tween two rocks apparently cut or split for the passage of the brook; but by reference to a survey made on the 30th of November 1774, for two tracts of land to Abra- ham Ogden, at request of Ebenezer Farrand, and re- corded in Book S 7, page 218, we are led to the opinion that it takes its name from a rock described in the return of this survey as the beginning corner thereof. The re- turn reads: "For two tracts of land in the mountain about four miles to the southward of Charlottenburg furnace, at the upper end of Beaver Brook Swamp [the first lot being the place John McCloud now lives on]; beginning at a split rock lying at the head of a spring at the edge of said swamp, which rock is S 48° E 162 from the northeast corner of an old log house belonging to said McCloud; the said rock is on the side of a footpath that leads from Charlottenburg to the widow Demouth's." This information was furnished by Benjamin Roome, who has seen this split rock and McCloud and his log house many a time; and he says the rock is now under the water of the pond, and that the pond takes its name from this split rock, and not from the rock through which the brook passes.

The tract of land which lies to the northeast and southeast of the above named surveys is a part of the

old Charlottenburg forge tract, which lies partly in Rockaway township and partly in the county of Passaic, and was returned to Oliver De Lancy, Henry Cuyler jr. and Walter Rutherford on the 25th day of October 1765. It contains 6,475.08 acres, and is recorded in Book S 5, page 265. About one thousand acres of this tract is in Rockaway township. This one thousand acres extends from the village of Charlotteburgh, in Passaic county, up and down the Pequannock River, which is the dividing line between these two counties.

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