History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 107

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140

USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 107
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 107

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425

SANDYSTON.

tlements along the Delaware, wrote to Governor Belcher advising him of the atrocities committed by the Indians along the river. His excellency for- warded the following instructions to Col. Van Campen :

"Sin,-I Just now received your Good letter of the 7th iustaut, as I hope you have before now my order of the 6th of the same nio. I will approve of what you porpose, of marching with your Regimeot into the next Province In order to meet and repel the enemy before they enter Into the Jerseys. In this matter I destre you to be very vigilant und diligent In giving mo notice of all your proceedings, and pr express if necessary. " I am, SIr, your assured F'rd.,

" J. BELCHER.

" ELIZA-TOWN, Novr 11th, 1755.

" COL.L. VAN CAMIIEN."

On the following day the Governor again wrote to Col. Van Campen :

"Sin, -Since I went you my order for a speedy master of your Htegi- ment, I have received repented necounts of the appronch of the Savage French and Indians to the Borders of Pennsylvania, and to those of this Province, commiltting the most barberous outroges on His Majesties good Subjects in Slaughter, Blond, and Fire wherever they come.

" These are therefore to command you, in His Majesties name, to have your Itegiment in the best readiness to march to the Borders of this Province or that of Pennsylvania upon the most sudden notico of dis- fresa by the enemy, for the nid und relief of Ilis Majesties subjects. I shall not doubt the good courage and spirit of yourself. the officers and men of your Regiment to proceed when it shall ho necessary, and would have you publish this my order at the hend of your regimeut at their nınstor.

"Given under my Hand and Scal of Arnis at the Borough of Eliza- beth, this 12th duy of November, in the twenty-ninth year of His Majes- tice relgu, Anno Domini 1755.

" J. BELCHER.

"Col .. VAN CAMPIN."

In reply to Col. Van Campen's report of the same month the Governor wrote as follows :

Sin, -I have duly received yours of the 17th of this month, and well pleased with your diligence in giving me Information how things are circumstanced In the Coouty of Sussex with Respect to the enemy, etc. I have given notice to the several Coll's to muster their Regiments end Repell the Enemy over in Pennsylvanie Province, and so prevent their passing the River Delaware, and which I think would be better than to let them enter on the Frontiers of this Province.

" I pray Almighty God to have you and your people in his good protec- tlon, and am, Sir, Your Assured Friend,

" ELIZABETHTOWN, Novr 24th, 1775.

"COL. VAN C'AMPEN."

" J. BELCHER. -

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

BENJAMIN TUTTLE.

His father, William Tuttle, was of New England origin, and settled in Orange Co., N. Y., prior to the Revolutionary war, where he carried on farming, and where he died.

His wife was Anna Terry, who bore him the follow- ing children : Benjamin; Vincent; Elizabeth, who became the wife of Samuel Kays, of Lafayette town- ship, Sussex Co., N. J .; Anna, who became the wife of Jumes Warbasse, of Lafayette; and William.

Benjamin, eldest son of William Tuttle, and sub- jert of our sketch, was born on the homestead, near

Goshen, Orange Co., Aug. 20, 1795, and there spent his minority.

lle married, July 3, 1819, Lucy, daughter of solo- mon and Anna . Brown) Smith, of Wantage, Sussex

Co., and soon afterwards removed to Culver's tap in the Blue Mountains, in the township of Sandyston, Sussex Co., N. J., where he remained only about one year, during which time he purchased one hundred and fifteen avres of land, then a wilderness tract, at what is now Tuttle's Corners, which for a few years was called Benville. I'pon this property, which was lo- cated on the old stage-line from Newton, N. J., to Milford, Pa., he was really the pioneer settler, and thereon erected a public-house or hotel, which he conducted with great hospitality and popularity for nearly a half-century.

Mr. Tuttle was the acknowledged popular and hospitable landlord on this stage-line, and kept his house there for nearly a quarter of n century before railroads were built, and at a time when large quanti- ties of lumber were hauled over this route, through the Gap in the mountains, from Pennsylvania to New Jersey for building purposes.

He was of a very social disposition, had a retentive memory and a fondness for the stories of "olden time." His ready wit and humor, with his welcome to all, gave him a large trade, and he became widely known throughout Sussex and aljuining counties. U'pon the creation of the post-office at the Corners, he became the first incumbent of the office of postmaster, which place he held continuously through Republican

426

SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

and Democratic administrations alike for nearly fifty years, serving the public with the greatest satisfaction.

He held most of the various township offices, and, while serving as freeholder of Sandyston, he was one of the board who strenuously opposed the location of the court-house at Augusta after its destruction by fire at Newton.

He was a member of the old Whig party, voted with the Democratic party from 1840 until the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, and afterwards was a Republican.

Mr. Tuttle was a leading and influential citizen in Sussex County for many years, was a mau of good judgment and sterling honesty ; his counsel was often sought in matters of a local nature, and as often found safe and judicious.

He was especially fond of his friends, had a faculty for making many, and was always happy in retaining them. Few men have lived in Northern New Jersey whose names were more familiar, or who were more highly esteemed for their many manly characteristics, than was Benjamin Tuttle. He died on his homestead, Dec. 17, 1875. His wife was born Sept. 9, 1801, and died Nov. 15, 1877. She did her part well in the battle of life, was a devoted wife and mother, and reared her children under the influences of sound

parental training and culture. Their children are William, died in 1853, aged thirty-four; John, died in Elizabeth City, N. C., in 1854, aged thirty-four; Anna, wife of Joshua Reeves, of Unionville, N. Y., died at Waverly, N. Y., about 1855, aged thirty ; Adelia, became the wife of John Jackson, of Oswego, N. Y .; Elmira, became the wife of Jacob Snook, of Lafayette; Charlotte, wife of Allen Rosenkraus, of Walpack, died in 1870, aged thirty-seven ; Rutherford, was born Nov. 2, 1835; Jason H., of New York; Elizabeth, wife of Joseph E. Layton, of Sandyston; and Benjamin Franklin.

Rutherford Tuttle was for several years a clerk in a dry-goods store, and came to Newton in the spring of 1856. He established himself in the merchant tailoring and ready-made clothing business in Newton in March, 1860, which he successfully carried on until 1870, when he associated with him Mr. Tully, since which time the firm of Tuttle & Tully have ranked among the substantial clothiers and business men of Newton.

Mr. Tuttle married, in November, 1860, Miss Amelia D., daughter of John and Sarah J. (Coursen) Smith, of Newton. Their children are Frederick Allen, Anna E., Florence (deceased), Lucy, Sally, Amelia, Rutherford (deceased), and Theresa T.

GREEN.

I .- VALUATION, BOUNDARIES, ETC.

IN respect to size Green is one of the smallest town- ships in the county. It covers an area of 19.65 square miles, and contains 12,576 acres. Its assessed valua- tion is $957,295, and total taxation $4742.39.

The boundaries are Andover and Hampton on the north, Warren County on the south, Byram and An- dover on the east, and Stillwater on the west. In the east lies a mountainous district, but, generally con- sidered, the township is by no means as hilly as a ma- jority of the towns of Sussex County.

The Pequest River crosses Green from north to south, and furnishes mill-power at Huntsville and Tranquillity, two small mill-villages. Besides the Pe- quest, there are numerous streams. Que of them (Bear Creek) passes through Hunt's Mills (or Wash- ington) and drives two mills there. Besides the vil- lages named, there is a fourth called Greensville.

In population, Green has not gained mnuch since 1840 ; then the inhabitants numbered 777. Huntsville was taken from Newton in 1852, abstracting 150 of

the people. In 1870 the population was 868, and in 1880 it was 723.

There was some little iron-mining industry in the town, at the Glendon Iron-Mine, some years ago, but latterly there has been nothing of consequence done. Grazing engages the attention of the husbandman, and yields profitable results in rich dairy returns.

Limestone deposits cross the township in a north- easterly and southwesterly direction, with a slate belt on the northwesterly side. Slate outcrops back and also northeast of Greensville, where the East and West Jersey line crosses the township. On the southwest side of the township, along the mountain, is the gneiss rock, with white or crystalline limestone near. The blue limestone is about ,33 magnesian; some of the fine or close-grained is nearly pure lime.

II .- EARLY SETTLERS.

Green's earliest settlement appears to have been effected not far from 1750, at the place now known as Huntsville. Reference to the settlement of that place will be found in the history of villages in this town- ship.

* By David Schwartz.

427

GREEN.

Thomas Woolverton, who is mentioned as having located at Huntsville in 1750, had neighbors then, or about then, in the families of the Youngs and Buch- ners, who were probably, with Woolverton, the carli- est comers into Green.

Darius Young, coming from England, found a home upon the land now owned by Theodore Young, of Green. That property, since the possession thereof by Darius Young, in say 1750, has been occupied and owned by the Youngs, Theodore, the present owner, being the great-grandson to Darius Young, the first occupant. Unfortunately, but little can be learned touching Darius Young, save as already narrated.

Similarly, the present recollections or traditions concerning the history of the Buchner family in Green are exceedingly meagre. John Buchner lived upon the place now owned by Joseph Ayers, having come to America from Germany about the time Da- rius Young landed here from England. A Frederick Buchner, who was probably John Buchner's son, en- listed from Green in the war of 1812, and rose to the rank of colonel. His period of service extended through the war, and is said to have been distin- guished by many brilliant and heroic experiences. Like Darius Young, John Buchner was great-grand- father to Theodore Young, now of Green. Several of the descendants of Darius Young fought in the war of the Revolution, but who they were cannot be ascertained.

Before the outbreak of the war of 1776, Nathaniel Hart lived in Green township, near the locality now called Tranquillity, and in that neighborhood owned upwards of 1000 acres of land. Henry Hart, of An- dover, grandson to Nathanich, above mentioned, says that he has heard his father, William Hart, tell the story of how, at the close of the Revolutionary war, Washington's army (Mr. Hart gives it as his recollec- tion that he was told Washington was with the troops) passed through Green en route from Easton through New Jersey, and halted for a few days' rest upon a tract of lowland, including about 100 acres, that formed a portion of Nathaniel Hart's 1000-acre farm. Hart had previously learned of the advance of the the army, and viewed its progress with apprehensive fears, since he had been told that wherever they had camped the troops had fallen upon all rail-fenees with vigorons vengeance and burned them in their camp- fires. Hart felt, indeed, little like losing his rail- fences, for he had a long line of them ; and so, when the troops came along and halted upon his land, he at once laid before the commanding general the proposition that if the promise were given to spare his fences, he would haul to the camp all the wood likely to be required. This was accepted. The order was issued that Hart's fenees should not be molested, and for the next four days and nights Hart and his sons did nothing but supply wood for the camp-fires. Hart saved his fences, however, and when he saw the soldiers leave he was probably devoutly thankful as

well for their departure as for the salvation of his rails and the termination of his brief but active wood-haul- ing campaign. IIe did not much mind, therefore, the fact that several sick soldiers were left behind by the main body, but, with others of his family, set about nursing the unfortunates. Some of them got well and went forward, while others died and were given de- cent burial upon the Hart farm, where it is likely their bones rest to this day .*

Nathaniel Hart's sons were Amos, William, and Nathaniel, Jr. They became farmers, and, each locating in Green upon a farm of his own, lived in the township all their lives. A son of William re- sides now in Andover township, and has already been spoken of as Henry Hart. Stephen Hart, his brother, died in 1852, on the place now occupied by his widow. William Hart, a descendant of the Nathaniel Hart first named, also lives on a farm formerly owned by - Reed, and probably settled by him, on the Pe- quest, near Huntsville. Mr. Hart settled on that place in 1852, having come from Warren County.

The Reeds were among some of the earliest occu- pants of the property, but some time before them one George MeCune owned and lived upon it.

Reference to the place upon which the widow of Stephen Hart now lives recalls the story that not far from the year 1780 a man, by name Depue, lived there and carried on a grist-mill that occupied the very spot upon which the Stephen Hart house stands. On the same farm, and but a few steps removed from MIrs. Hart's residence, may yet be seen, in a state of ex- cellent preservation, the house in which Depue lived,- now the home of Stephen Foster. Mrs. Hart's mno- ther,-Mrs. Edward Lanning,-who died in Freling- huysen township in 1864, aged ninety-five, used to tell how, when she was married, in 1786, she went to the Depue house to have her wedding-dress cut. It would seem from this that the house must be nearly, if not quite, one hundred years old.

There were at an early day on the Pequest, in the Hart neighborhood, two or more families named Ilib- ler, of Holland or German descent, who are supposed to have come hither from South Jersey and purchased a large tract of land. Among these Hiblers was Cor- nelius, who in his boyhood moved with his father to the Pequest, in Green. When Cornelius grew to man's estate and married he bought and settled upon the farm now owned by his grandson, M. S. Hibler. The latter's father, Adam, was born on that farm in 1801, and died on it in 1864. It would appear, there- fore, that the father of Cornelius Hibler must have come to the Pequest some time during the Revolution. Besides Adam 1Tibler, Cornelius had three sons named Samuel, John, and Philip, of whom the former set- tled in Green and the latter two in Michigan, where they died.

* The probability la that the soldiers here referred to were some of Morgan's Riflemen, who were sent through to ald Geu. Gates nt Saratoga. Mir. John Hunt had a distinct recollection of these troops passing Through.

428

SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Over near the Andover line, towards Newton, lived, in 1798, a Quaker known as Mahlon Wilson ; he had in that year removed from the Quaker settlement near Johnsonsburg to Green and located close to the big spring, upon land formerly owned by the Savercools. Mahlon Wilson's children were Obed, Elizabeth, Deborah, Mary, Mahlon, Jr., Margaret, Rachel, Jane, Samuel, Catherine, and Euphemia. Samuel moved to Ohio in 1836. Obed, who was ten years old when he came with his father to Green township, in 1798, married one of the daughters of Abram Kirkhuff, whose farm adjoined that of Mahlon Wilson. After his marriage he took charge of his father's farm and lived on it until his death, in 1852, in which year also his father died, at the age of eighty- four. Obed's children numbered seven, and were named Lewis, Ann Maria, Jane, Obed O., Abram H., Margaret, and John. All but Jane are living. Those in Green township are Obed O., John, and Lewis. Abram lives in Andover, Ann (Mrs. Roy) in Still- water, and Margaret in Iowa.

An old deed now in the possession of Isaac Snook, of Green (whose grandfather, Casper Snook, was one of the early settlers in Lafayette), bears date Aug. 23, 1798, and sets forth that by its provisions Andrew Linn and George Armstrong, of Sussex County, trans- ferred to Jacob Cummings (grandfather of Isaac Snook), for the sum of £350, the farm now owned by Isaac Snook, the original tract being, however, some- what less in extent than Mr. Snook's farm, which now includes 190 acres, the addition to the first pur- chase having been made by William C. Snook, father of Isaac Snook. It is supposed that either Linn or Armstrong* occupied the place previous to the sale to Cummings, to whom they must have leased it in 1794, for it is known that Cummings was living on it as soon as that, and, as has been recorded, he did not buy it until four years later. In 1794, William C. Snook, son of Caspar Snook, of Lafayette, took ser- vice with Jacob Cummings as a farm-hand, and in a short time married one of Cummings' daughters. William C. Snook eventually came into possession of the property by heirship, and, in 1840, Isaac Snook, now the owner, bonght it. Linn was probably the person who made the first improvement upon the Snook farm, although it is by no means certain. George Armstrong was son to Nathau Armstrong, who lived west of Snook's. Caspar Snook, of Lafay- ette, brought up Joshua, and John Hardin was brought up by Struble, of whom the former married Susan, sister to William C. Snook. Among Jacob Cummings' neighbors in 1794 were Abraham Kirkhuff, on the P. R. Hardin farm, where John Roy had lived at an earlier date, Ralph Hunt, Samuel Dildine, Mahlon Wilson, and Andrew Hull.

Sept. 16, 1756, Joshua Opdyke, of Hunterdon County, bought of Richard Green 320 acres of land,

now the farm owned by Samuel H. Hunt, grandson of Samuel Hill, one of Joshua Opdyke's descendants. May 1, 1772, Joshua Opdyke executed a deed, in which, for the consideration of $1 and "in testimony of the love and affection he bore his daughter Elizabeth,"+ he transferred 160 acres of the property to Samuel Hill, husband to Elizabeth aforesaid. Samuel Hill and his wife had been living on the farm for some years previous to the execution of the deed. The 100-mile tree was marked by Lawrence, the surveyor, as standing on that farm, which Law- rence in his notes says was occupied at the time of the survey by "one Mr. Green."

About 1800, Joseph Drake became a settler in Green, near Hunt's Mills. His son, G. B. Drake, lives now in Green. His only other living child is Mrs. William Young, of Canada.

North of Hunt's Mills, on the farm now occupied by George Roe, lived Samuel Dildine, whose brother Abram was a shoemaker at Greensville during the Revolution, under Ephraim Green.

Jacob Dunn, one of Green's old settlers, fought in the war of 1812.

Another early resident was Lum Foster, who was a hand at Zophar Hull's grist-mill. Foster was also famous in a small way as a singing-master, and made a good many journeys in response to demands for his services as a teacher of the youthful but ambitions warblers of that period.

In this township, about half a mile from the Dark Moon Tavern, is an old burying-ground. The public road passes through it. Here once stood (in this burying-ground, from which the original forest-trees had not been removed, and surrounded by woods on all sides) a log meeting-house belonging to the Hard- wick Presbyterian Church. They built a new church in what was then known as Shaw's Lane. This church has been since known as the Yellow Frame church, and the northeast corner of it is a corner of Sussex and Warren Counties, in the division of 1824.

Near the Dark Moon burying-ground stood many years ago a wayside inn known as the "Dark Moon Tavern." It was a double log house, and was close to the line between Green and Frelinghuysen townships. There was a sign-post in front of the inn, upon which there was a swinging sign bearing the painted represen- tation of a dark moon. Nobody seems now to know or to have heard why the term " dark moon" was applied to burying-ground and tavern, or which first gained the name. Some people think that the designation was suggested by the fact that at the locality occupied by cemetery and tavern the highway passes through a rocky defile that casts dark shadows and makes the

¡ On like terms he devised to Thomas Allen and Sarah, his daughter, wife of Thomas Allen, 160 acres of land. On Allen's share the 100-mile tree in the Lawrence line stood, and was cut down by Thomas Allen, because he feared it might affect his title to part of his farm. The Allen farm is now owned by Joseph Ilill, grandson of Samuel Hill. Green lived on this land at the time of the Lawrence survey.

* The Linns and Armstrongs owned property adjoining or near by.

429

GREEN.

place more or less gloomy all the time. Be that as it may, the Dark Moon Tavern was a famous place for deviltry, and tradition vaguely asserts that more than one dark deed was committed within its sombre shadows. As a matter of record, a man by name Corwin was murdered there years ago, and, although several people were arrested and tried, the real mur- derer was never found. The last landlord of the Dark Moon was one Brown. The last vestige of the tavern building was effaced long since, and but few now living can tell the exact location of the old inn.

III .- TOWNSHIP ORGANIZATION.

The township of Green was erected by act passed Dec. 29, 1824. The act provider

" That all that part of the townships of Hardwick aod ludependence lying northeastorly of the live of division between the counties of Sussex and Warren, and included within the following boundaries,-that is to say, beginning in the middle of the Musconnetcong t'reek where the lion run by John Lawrence called East and West Jerery line crosses the same ; thence running np the said Hne northwesterly to a point in said line to be nscertained as hereinafter mentioned; theuce running southwesterly until it Intersects the line of division between the counties of Sussex and Warren aforesaid at a polut to be ascertained In like manner ; thence down the said division line southeasterly to the Musconnetcong Creek ; thence up the same the several courses thereof to the place of beginning, -bo, and the same is hereby, erected into a new township to be called the township of Green."

The name was bestowed in honor of Ephraim Green, one of the earliest settlers in the township, the founder of the village of Greensville, a man of large business enterprise for his time, and a most ex- emplary and much respected citizen.

The first town-meeting was held at the house of Amos Shiner, in the village of Greensville, on Mon- day, April 11, 1825. The officials chosen on that occasion are named as follows: Moderator, Elijah Everett ; Town Clerk, Isaac Shiner, Jr .; Judge of Election, Amos Shiner ; Assessor, Jonathan Hill; Collector, Frederick Buchner; Freeholders, William Green, Elijah Everett; Committee of Five, Thomas Egbert, Thomas P. Ilunt, William tireen, John Og- den, Samnel Ilill; Overseers of the Poor, James Cooke, Jr., William ITart ; Constable, Alexander Boyles; Committee of Appeal, John Drake, Samuel Ilill ; Surveyors of Highways, William Coats, John Ogden ; Overseers of Highways, Nathan Armstrong, William Coats, John Drake, Ebenezer Drake. Reso- Jutions were passed at the meeting as follows :

" 1. Resolved, That there be $jou malsed for the use of the highway.

" 2. Resolved, That there be $200 ralsed for the support of the poor.

"1. Resolved, That the roads he worked by tax ; that $1.50 be paid for team on the runds per day, 60 cents for a hand per day, ox-team and borstenin be equal.

"4. Resolved, That there be Slou raised for debts against the township.

"i. Resolved, That election to commence at Amos Shiner's, and termil- unto at Elijah Everett's.

" ti. Resolved, That the next town-meeting be held at Elljah Everett's."

Appended herewith will be found the names of persons serving annually from 1826 to 1880 as judges of election, town clerks, assessors, collectors, and chosen frecholders :

JUDGES OF ELECTION.

1826-27, William Sharp ; 1×28-41, Samuel Ililt; 1&1, A. II. Kennedy ; 1946-18, J. Slater; 181'1-54, T. H. Cook ; 1-35-54, J. Sloter; 1857, Samuel Ilill; 1858-69, George Greer ; 1×60-6], J. T. Vass; 1862-64, William Hunt; I-65-67, George D. Drake; 1~Cx-75, George Greer; 1876, William Hart ; 1877-78, 8. 11. Hunt; 1×79, T. C. Snook ; 18%), J. Il. Ayres.

CLERKS.

1826-33, I. Shiner, Jr .; 1834-56, L. Willson ; 1-67-58, G. C. Cook ; 1859- 60, D. L. Ilunt ; JAG]-62, Samuel Joner ; 1863-66, G. C. Cook ; 1867- +5, S. Van Syckle; 1876, R. MI. Hanlin ; I>;7, George W. Williguss; 1578, Samuel 11. Willson : 1879-80, George Rue.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 107

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140