History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 150

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 150
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 150

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His wife was Margaret, daughter of Abraham and Ann (Noyes) Carpenter, formerly of Carpentersville, N. J. The children have been Andrew, born June 22, 1822; George, born Dec. 8, 1824; Abraham Car- penter, born May 5, 1826; Philip Fine, born Feb, 11, 1828; Theodore, born Sept. 27, 1830; Henry Furman, born Jan. 15, 1833 ; Ann Elizabeth and Zeruiah, born

Jan. 18, 1844. Of these all are living, save George, who died March 11, 1825. Ann Elizabeth is the wife of Abraham Baker, and resides at Mount Bethel, Pa .; Zeruiah is the wife of Nicodemus Warne, of Broad- way, N. J .; Andrew is a retired farmer, and resides in New Village, N. J. ; Philip F. is a prominent phy- sician at Stewartsville ; Theodore resides at Stewarts- ville, and is cultivating the home farm; Henry F. resides with his parents at Stewartsville.

HON. ROBERT S. KENNEDY.

Hon. Robert S. Kennedy was one of the six chil- dren of Thomas and Margaret (Stewart) Kennedy who attained mature years. The family was origi- nally from Bucks Co., Pa. Thomas Kennedy, with his father, located in Greenwich township over one hundred years ago. The latter was a large land- holder in that section of Warren County, and some of the property that he owned is still in the posses- sion of his descendants. Thomas Kennedy died Oct. 15, 1846.

Judge Robert S. Kennedy was born in Greenwich township, Oct. 10, 1802. His earlier years were passed upon the paternal farm. He attended the common schools of his locality during the winter season, and completed his education at a select school in Easton, Pa. He returned to the cultivation of his father's estate, and at the death of the latter came into the possession of two farms, These he continued to cul- tivate throughout his life, and they are now owned by his descendants.

While Judge Kennedy confined his life-work to agricultural operations, it was in connection with his public life that he became most widely known through- out the county and State. He was a large, robust man, and possessed of that genial nature and peculiar mag- netism that gives a man prominence among his fel- lows. Politically, he was first a Whig, then a Re- publican, and finally a Democrat. Besides filling the minor offices of his township, he was called by the people to places of greater trust and responsibility. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1846, one of the lay judges of Warren County for a number of years, and for two terms one of the lay judges of the Court of Errors and Appeals of New Jersey. He was United States marshal of the State in 1850, and took the census of New Jersey for that year. In all his public positions he enjoyed the rep- utation of an able and upright man and a safe and valuable citizen. He was widely known throughout the State, and enjoyed a commanding influence in its counsels. He was active in all movements tending to improve and develop society, and was a liberal contributor to the various benevolent and Christian enterprises of the day. He was for many years a member of the Greenwich Presbyterian Church, and was chosen an elder in 1848. He was subsequently one of the founders of the Stewartsville Presbyterian

Robert Stenrudy

JESSE STEWART.

Jesse Stewart's grandfather, Robert, resided in Green- wich township and died about 1800, leaving two sons, Thomas and Robert, and daughters, Margaret, wife of Thomas Kennedy, and Mary, wife of William Kennedy.

Thomas was the father of our subject, and married Rachel Deweese. For some time he resided in Pennsyl- vania, but in the spring of 1793 he removed to Green- wich township, Warren Co., N. J., where he purchased some three hundred and sixty acres of land, upon which he resided during the remainder of his life. He was a man favorably known and esteemed by his fellow-towns- men. He held the office of justice of the peace for several years, and was for a term of five years judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Sussex County prior to the organization of Warren County. He died at the advanced age of eighty-six, and left his estate to his surviving offspring. His children were Robert, lived to be about seventy years of age, and died in Wisconsin ; Rachel, hecame the wife of Morgan Long, of Durham, Pa .; Samuel, lived to be seventy years of age, and resided in Greenwich; William, reached the age of eighty-five, and died in Greenwich ; Thomas, has reached an advanced age, and resides in Lockport, N. Y. ; Sally, became the wife of Joseph Carpenter, of Greenwich ; Jesse ; John, resides in Easton, and is nearly eighty-live years of age; and James, died at the age of eighty.

Jesse Stewart, son of Thomas, was born on the home- stead, in Greenwich, Sept. 9, 1793. He resided at home until he was twenty-four years of age, and Oct. 30, 1817, married Mary, daughter of Michael Roseberry, of Greenwich, on the Delawure. She was born July 18, 1800, and died Oct. 15, 1837. The children born of this union are Thomas, Michael, Jesse Deweese, Margaret, wife of Richard Wilson ; Rachel Deweese, wife of Peter Pursel, of Lancaster, Ohio; Ann, widow of the late

William Carter ; Elizabeth, widow of the late Andrew Lommason ; and John. For his second wife Mr. Stewart married, Feb. 14, 1839, Rebecca, daughter of Samuel Drake, but at the time of the marriage Mrs. Osmun. She was born Feb. 1, 1797, and died Dec. 2, 1865, leav- ing one daughter, Mary, who was married to George Lance, and resides on the homestead in Greenwich.

After his first marriage Mr. Stewart settled on a part of his father's farm, and at his father's death received about one-third of his real estate. This farm he im- proved and brought to a high state of cultivation, and he also erected thereon a stone dwelling-house and a stone barn which are in good repair in 1880. He was a representative farmer in every sense of the term, and his farm and surroundings during his active days of business always showed thrift and prosperity.

Following the line of his father, Mr. Stewart was formerly identified with the old Whig party, and is now a Republican. He has given little attention to politics, preferring the quiet of the farm and the pleasure of seeing its products as the result of his own industry. For a period of sixty-six years he has heen a voter, and cast his first ballot about the time of the election of James Monroe for President of the United States. For fifty-five years he has been a member of the Presbyterian Church at Greenwich, a part of which time he has offi- ciated as deacon. In all his relations in life, whether in business or otherwise, he has sought to he honest, upright, and manly, and his integrity is acknowledged hy all who have known him.

At the age of sixty-six he retired from the active duties of life, and a few years since disposed of his farm to his son-in-law, Mr. Lance, and for the past eleven years has resided with his daughter, Mrs. Lommason, at Belvidere, N. J.

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GREENWICH.

Church, and one of its first elders. On several occa- sions he was a delegate to the General Assembly of his denomination, and was greatly interested in the Sabbath-school work of his church, serving as super- intendent for forty years. He passed away on March 20, 1879.

Judge Kennedy was married, on Jan. 5, 1826, to Catharine S., daughter of John and Frances Strader, of Mansfield township, and had children,-Thomas, Mary, Frances (who married Rev. James McWil- liams), Margaret Stewart (who married Rev. Charles T. Kellogg), John S., Henry Martyn, Sarah Louisa (who married Samnel D. Carpenter), James M., and Robert S. Kennedy. Of these, Mrs. Kellogg alone survives, and contributes her father's portrait to the history of the county in which he was born and with whose interests his life was so closely identified. Her mother died Jan. 21, 1868. Judge Kennedy married for a second wife, Ang. 19, 1869, Emma Melick, who survives him.

JOHN R. DICKSON.

His grandfather was Thomas Dickson, who resided at an early day at Durham, Pa., and had children,- Thomas, Mark, John, Henry, Margaret, and Han- nah.

Henry Dickson, his father, was born at Durham, Pa .. March 16, 1799. Ilis parents were poor, and he himself was bound out to a farmer during his minor- ity. He married Eve Ann Hawk, daughter of David and Elizabeth Hawk, and soon after that event set- tled at Riegelsville, N. J., where he ran a mill for Benjamin Riegel. Subsequently he engaged in the milling business at different points in Greenwich township and vicinity. About 1844 he purchased of Luther Calvin the farm now occupied by his chil- dren in Greenwich township. Here he passed a busy and industrious life engaged in agricultural pursuits, and died Nov. 30, 1875; his wife died on June 20th of the same year.

Mr. Dickson was a man of plain habits, modest and unassuming, and passed his life within the inner circles of society, enjoying the respect and esteem of

many friends for his integrity and uprightness as a citizen. He was identified with the Democratic party in politics, and filled the office of overseer of the poor and other minor offices. He was a member of the

Lutheran Church of Riegelsville. He had but two children,-Elizabeth, born Dec. 20, 1821, and John R., born Dec. 30, 1832,-both of whom reside on the home farm. After the death of his father, John R. Dickson succeeded to the management of the farm, which constitutes his present employment. He lives a quiet and unostentatious life, though possessed of much enterprise and public spirit. Himself and sister are members of the Lutheran Church at Rie- gelsville.

OXFORD.

I .- GEOGRAPHICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE.

OXFORD is one of the western border townships of the county. It is bounded on the northeast by Hope, on the southeast by Mansfield and Washing- ton, on the southwest by Harmony township, and on the northwest by Knowlton township and the Dela- ware River. It was formed from Greenwich town- ship about 1753 or 1755, and was named Oxford in commemoration of Oxford University, in England, at which place Andrew Robeson, father of the pioneer Robeson, was educated. The township contains 20,- 589 acres of land, or 32.17 square miles.

The soil of the township is a mixture of clay and gravelly loam, underlaid with limestone and slate. In the valleys it is susceptible of a high state of cul- tivation, while upon the hillsides large crops also can be raised.

II .NATURAL FEATURES.

The surface of this township is one of the most un- even and mountainous in the county ; nevertheless, Oxford has a considerable river front, which, with the Pequest valley, presents much flat or intervale land.

The mountains are Scott's, along the southeast bor- der of the township, northwest of and parallel with which is Ragged Ridge, an extension of Marble Mountain running into this township from Harmony ; Manunka Chunk, in the northwest, along the Dela- ware River; Scotch, between Scott's and Ragged Ridge; and Mount Nomore, which rears its lofty head west of Oxford Furnace. There are several other elevations deserving the name of mountain in this township, varying from 200 to 600 feet above tide- water, which appear to have thus far existed without the honor of a name.

The principal streams are the Peqnest Creek, which empties into the Delaware River at Belvidere; Beaver Brook, which flows southwesterly into the Pequest ; Furnace Creek, passing northeasterly through Oxford Furnace and joining the Pequest at the Pequest Fur- nace; Oxford Creek, whose north and south branches unite a short distance above Oxford church, thence flow westerly into the Delaware at the south bound- ary line of Belvidere borouglı; Buck Horn Brook, which rises in the township, and flows first northerly and then southwesterly, passing into Harmony town- ship ; and last, but not least, the Delaware River,

which washes the northwest side of the township for a distance of about twelve miles. The portion below the mouth of Paphandusing Creek is quite rapid for nearly two miles, affording several excellent mill- sites. Half a mile below the mouth of the Pap- handusing is the Foul Rift, which is to-day as much of an obstacle to the navigation of the upper Delaware as in early times.t

III .- EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND PIONEER INCIDENTS.

The task of the sturdy pioneer was not an inviting one, although the road to future honors lay before him. Imagine for a moment Axford and Green, as they came from " down country" or from the sandy plains of Long Island, marching into the then wilderness of old Hunterdon County (for this was Hunterdon then), looking here and there for a place to locate, going a little farther along to see if they could not find a better spot. When far beyond civilization they came upon the hills overlooking the Pequest. Not entirely satisfied with a view of the country from the gronnd, where the dense woods obstructed their vision, they mounted a lofty tree, and from its topmost branches selected their future earthly homes. Green selected what is now the southwest corner of Hope township, and Axford what is now the southeast part of Oxford township, near where the Pequest Iron- Works are located. Here the old pioneers were far out in the wilderness away from home and friends ; night coming on, they built a circle of fires, within which they made a bed of a few boughs, and, after partaking of a most frugal repast, they committed themselves to the sweet embrace of Morpheus, with their knapsacks for a pillow and the starlit canopy of

# The following letter of Major Hoops, to (it is supposed) Robert Mor- ris, in 1791, bears witness that the navigation of the upper Delaware was a subject which engrossed the attention of the early residents of this sec- tion :

" BELVIDERE, July 16, 1791. "Sia,-I have been informed that you and Col. Whalen had contracted to clear the several Falls in the Delaware so as to render the navigation safe and easy, I am willing to engage to clear the Foul Rift, and one or two other Falls in the neighborhood, provided we can agree on the price which will depend on the answer you wish it executed, would therefore wish to have the pleasure of seeing you here and agreeing on the spot it is now time that work of that nature was begun, if it be completed this fall.

" I would just observe that the Foul Rift is the most shallow, rapid, and dangerous Falls in the River. Should you and Cel. Wulon wish to view the river higher np, I will endeaver to accompany you.

" I am, sir, your most obedient Humble Servant.

" ROBT. Hoors."

* By W. Il. Shaw.

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OXFORD.

heaven for a covering. With morning's dawn the pioneers arose from their slumbers, partook of their seanty meal, and began looking around for the best place to erect a cabin. A level spot, a short dis- tance up the Pequest, on its south side, was the one decided upon. This was to be Axford's mansion. There he built his pioncer cabin or log house, and Green's was erected not far away.

In the mean time the hardy old pioneer moved his family into the forest. Here they were isolated from the world. Marked trees were the only means by which they could find their way out of the forest or back to their cabin home. A year passed by ; a little clearing in the forest was made, the virgin soil pro- duced n erop, and the pioneer had a yoke of oxen, a cow, a pig, and a faithful dog. The trusty old rifle, with the unerring aim of the pioneer, brought down the bear and antlered roe, which furnished mcat for the family. A year or two more, and the clearing was enlarged, a rude barn built, the old cabin somewhat improved, and an air of prosperity seemed to mani- fest itself on all sides. In a few years broad acres were spread out to the sun and rain, and the virgin soil brought forth abundantly. Twenty-five years, and we see a grown-up family, a modern frame or stone house and numerous outbuildings, a well- stocked farm, and the work done by improved ma- chinery. Such were the humble beginnings of the Axfords and other early settlers of what is now Ox- ford township, and such the natural result of honest industry.

Among those who soon followed Green and Axford into what is now Oxford township were the families of McMurtrie, Lommason, Hoff, Loder, Linn, Shan- non, Mackey, Robeson, Young, Bower, Dalrymple, Burd, Swisher, Snyder, Cox, Beers, Woolfingle, and others in the southern part of the township.

In the northern part of the township, among the early settlers we find the names of Titman, Banghart, Mackey, Butts, Anderson, Baily, Widner, Derenber- ger, Craig, Kirkoff, Dean, Flummerfelt, Hopler, Shoe- maker, and others. Most of these families came be- tween 1735 and 1739. They were all Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, with the exception of the Robesons, the Greens, and perhaps two or three others. Here, also, David Brainerd, the celebrated Indian mission- ary, occasionally officiated. In 1746, Oxford Furnace asked for supplies from the New Brunswick Presby- tery, in consequence of the increasing population drawn there by the establishment of the iron-works. Three years later (1749, the second congregation in the county was formed at old Oxford.

"The population steadily but slowly increased. Churches were few and widely separated. School-honses were small, and the books used were few. Mills wero rude and far apart. The iron works, at Oxford, seemed to havo given more Hfe to the whole scene, according to tradition, than nny other enuse then existing. The carting of pig-iron from Oxford to the forges or to the shipping point on the Delaware River, or the eart- age of bar-iron to exchange for cattle, flour, grain, and the necessaries of life, gure animation to the quiet scene, The household furniture of

that day was primitive Indeed. The farming utensils and artisans' tools crudo and inexpressive, unwieldy, and hard to be wrought with. The houses built of logs, with rived shingles ur alabs for roofs, and the hugo old clay oven outside the house. The barns small, with their straw-

- thatched roofs, with the wooden plow and its wrought-iron share; the harrow with its wouden teeth, The Doll to thrash ont the crops. The flax and woul spinning-wheels, with their hand-cards and flex-dressers.

" No post-coach, or mall, or daily newspaper, no flery locomotive with its truin of cars, bringing news or visitors. No telegraphic dispatcher. bringing good or bad tidings; no mowing- and reaping-machines; no liny-rakes or forks; no sowing-machines, spring-carriages, easy-choirs, and the thousand other inventions, comforts, and improvements of this age, wore even dreamed of by theso early settlers.

" We Introduce just hero a reminiscence of the times. In the year 1756 a workman nt Oxford in want of clothing of the kind worn in those duys had to go twenty-eight miles to n settlement of the Moravians at Bethlehem to get his leather breeches mude, his course of travel being through forests and by Indian pathis, unless perchance he went cine Easton, where n few years later Dr. Franklin and his associates, on the part of Pennsylvania, concluded the final treaty with the Six Natlon of Indians. The order and receipt has been very carefully preserved for 125 years. It is as follows :

"OXFORD FURNACE, Oct. 14, 1750. "i Mr. Shackelton desires you'd let the bearer John Jarrat have tho two pair Lenther Breaches he left to be made, und charge the same to the Company's acet. Yours, &c.

"' THOS. CHAINE. "' To Mr. Bamper or Wm. Edmunds, at Bethlehem.'

" Endorsed on the back of the order is the following :

"' Received the Ist of March, 1737, The Sum of Seven Shillings, Two Pence, by making Two pair of New Breeches, on nect of Mr. Robinson & Comp'y Iron Works, ut Oxford. Being the contents of the within order. I say received by me.

" THOS. X JARNAT." mark.

Passing over a few years, down to the Revolutionary epoch, we find that Capt. John McMurtrie and Lient. William White, of Oxford township, being desirous to go to Boston, where the Americans were rallying under the standard of Washington, then just appointed commander-in-chief of the Continental forees, re- quested the committee to certify as to their " place of abode, character, and reputation," which was at once complied with. All honor to the memory of the two first volunteers from old Oxford !

Again, in the war of 1812, old Oxford was not be- hind in meeting the same old foe she had assisted in defeating in a previous seven years' war. In the Third Regiment, commanded by Col. John Frelinghuysen, was a company from Belvidere, commanded by Capt. Franeis Dunlevy, with 3 officers and 31 enlisted men.

Among the carly and most prominently-known pio- neers of this township was John Linn, who deserves more than a passing notice. He was a Virginian by birth, and came to Belvidere when it was known as " Mercer," and located where Maggie Cummins now lives. The " city" not being congenial to John's na- ture, he soon removed to the mountain forests, where he purchased 600 acres of land, on the hills back of Oxford. Here he cleared up a farm, lived, died at the good old age of one hundred and two years, and wns buried in the ohl Oxford church graveyard. lle was known throughout the State as the most powerful man, physically, in it. He was sent for at one time by a Philadelphia tavernkreper to come down and " thrash" a saucy bully from Canada. John performed

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WARREN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

the little job with the utmost ease, and then walked back to Oxford as unconcerned as though he had been on a visit. He was by no means a "fighting man," and upon this occasion did not know what was wanted of him till he arrived in the Quaker City, and then would not have " dressed out" his Canadian cousin had not the foreigner forced him to the attempt by the foulest abuse. He caught his antagonist by the back of the neck, boxed his ears severely, and with one hand threw the Canadian over the heads of the crowd, outside the ring, which was the finishing touch of the undesirable job. He was as quick as he was strong, was tall and muscular, and weighed about 225 pounds.

Reuben Searles, though not exactly a pioneer of the township, settled on Rattlesnake Hill, above Oxford Furnace, in 1797, where he raised a large family, some of whom have since been more or less prominent in the development of the resources of the township. Many of the descendants still live in the township.

" Jacob Banghart and wife came to this country from Germany, landing at Philadelphia about the year 1740, with five children, named Barney, Andrew, Michael, George, and Mary. They moved into the neighborhood of High Bridge, and labored eighteen years at the iron business, when the government was under English rule. The youngest son, George, married a Miss Buskirk and settled where the vener- able Abram Banghart now resides, and which place has been the homestead of the Banghart family for about one hundred aud twenty-five years. Barney, another son, was not married; enlisted in the Revo- lutionary war, was wounded by a cannon-ball and disabled for life. Michael married and settled in Bridgeville, in Warren County, and raised a family of fourteen children, one of whom was George Banghart, the renowned pioneer Methodist preacher. George Banghart, the youngest of the original family, settled, as before said, where his youngest son now resides, and raised a large family whose names are as follows : Barney, Peter, George, Mary, John, Thomas, Andrew, Michael, Abraham, and William. Four of these had farms adjoining to the old homestead, and lived on them all their days. Michael moved to Ohio, near Cincinnati. Peter and Barney moved to Sunsboro', Pa. George lived near Springtown, Warren Co. From these families came the now numerous families of Bangharts that have scattered over several States."

PIONEER TAVERNS, OLD-TIME AMUSEMENTS, ETC.

The old taverns-and there were plenty of them- were the places at which the old pioneers congregated to compare notes upon the few general topics then presented to the people, trying the speed of their horses and their own skill in the use of cards. One of these old hostelries, and the one most prominent from 1785 to 1815, was the old Lommason tavern, located on the farm now owned by ex-Surrogate George Lommason, about two miles down the river from Belvidere. This and the old Hoffman tavern,

where Joseph M. Roseberry now lives, between that and Belvidere, were the popular places of resort. The Hoff, or Hoffman, tavern was subsequently kept by John Summers. Both were on the road from Hope to Easton, and were only two of the ten taverns in a distance of twenty miles. Thomas Lommason kept the one and John Summers the other, and they were less than a mile apart., The Lommason tavern was then called the " Concord." Between and past these old taverns was the race-course, where the old settlers tried the speed of their horses. Trotting horses in those days was literally unknown, and running was the only gait practiced. One of the old mile-stones is still standing in the corner of McMurtrie's field, above the Roseberry place. Before the pioneer roads were closed and new ones opened this post or stone stood in the roadside and marked the starting point in the races. Another stone stood just below, or be- tween the Roseberry and Lommason taverns, and another one beyond, down the road.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 150

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