History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 6

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 6
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 6

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The precise period at which the Duteli and Hugue- not settlers entered the Minisink valley is uncertain. We find the following in Mr. Edsall's " Centennial Ad- dress." Speaking of the " Old Mine Road," which he thinks was constructed and used by a company of miners from Holland as early as 1650, and abandoned as a mining-road upon the accession of the English rule, in 1664, he says,-

"The main body of these men are believed to have returned to their native land, yet a few undoubtedly remained and settled in the vicinity of their aban- doned mines. In this county we class the Depues, Ryersons, and probably the Westbrooks and Schoon- makers, as among the descendants of those ancient immigrants. . . . Here, then, we have the point at which the first settlement in Sussex County was made clearly established. Here log cabins were built and orchards planted when the site of Philadelphia was a wilder- ness. The Swedes in West Jersey and the Dutch and Norwegian settlers in Bergen antedate the pio- neers of Pahaquarry but a very few years. The light of civilization had shone but for a brief period upon the eastern and southwestern borders of New Jersey ere it penetrated our northern wilds. Feeble at first, it grew brighter as time advanced. News of the fer- tility of the Delaware flats was doubtless carried to Esopus, whence it was taken to Communipaw, to the island of Manhattan, and even into Bushwick and the vales of Mespat. Esopus was a favorite place of

FIRST SETTLEMENT IN SUSSEX AND WARREN.

resort from 1660 to 1685, because of the great strength and richness of its soil ; but immigrants who came in there from around the bays and inlets of New York, Bergen, and Long Island, and who found the best locations occupied, turned their thoughts to these bottom-lands on the Delaware, whereof many-tongued rumor had frequently spoken, and, led by necessity and curiosity, they followed the Mamakating uutil at last the blue outlines of the Pahaqualin Mountains greeted their vision, and the cabins of three or four hiermit-like settlers were found reposing beneath their shadow. Here they met a hospitable welcome and here they made their locations, enlarging by their in- gress the social circle and affording strength to the infant colony."

This fine and beautifully rhetorical passage, we are constrained to believe, is slightly in error as to its historical accuracy. The date assigned for the " three or four hermit-like settlers" and the " infant colony" is undoubtedly too early by a considerable period. Certainly, none of the Huguenot names could have been among those mentioned as having been in the valley prior to 1664, or for more than twenty years subsequent to that date ; for the decree revoking the Edict of Nantes, which sent them to this country, was not passed till 1685.

We notice that some other writers, probably relying for authority on the traditions of Scull and Lukens, who passed through the Minisink on a surveying tour in 1730, have taken a similar view as the writer above quoted, and have even given to the early Mini- sink settlement a greater antiquity. Thus M. R. llulee, in a letter to L. W. Brodhead, Esq., says, " This valley was settled by the Dutch about one hundred years before l'enn founded Philadelphia." This is quite too great a stretch of the imagination to entitle the author to any credit as a historian ; yet it is published in a work claiming to give information to the public .* Brodhead, in his " History of the Minisink," says, " It is difficult to determine the ex- act date of the first European settlement in the upper valley of the Delaware. That there were white people here at an early period, and even before the arrival of William Penn at l'hiladelphia, seems now to be generally admitted ; but it must be confessed that concerning those who inhabited the Minisink pre- vious to 1725 we have little knowledge. It is quite certain that the first tide of immigration into this valley flowed from the direction of the Hudson, and so down the valleys of the Mamakating and Never- sink, and, entering the Minisink at the Delaware, flowed throughout its borders."

The best authorities in Ulster and Orange Counties make the prior settlements in and about Port Jervis to have begun about 1690. Jacob Caudebec and Peter Guimart were the first settlers. The location of their

settlement was known as the " Upper Neighborhood," being in the valley of the Neversink, at Peenpack, now known as Port Clinton, on the Delaware and Hudson Canal. Dr. Mills, in his " Ilistorical Ad- dress," says, " A few years after the settlement at Gumaer's -- probably about 1715-a number of fami- lies came into what was subsequently called the ' Lower Neighborhood,' and located on either side of the Neversink, from what is now named Huguenot south to Port Jervis. These families came from [']- ster County, and were all Hollanders or of Holland descent, as indicated by their names,-Cortright, Van Auken, Westbrook, Decker, Kuykendal, Westfall, Cole, and Davis."

We find the same names in the records, and many others of llollandish extraction, extending from the settlements named above all along the New Jersey side of the Delaware to the Water Gap. The settle- ments from l'ort Jervis southward were undoubtedly made about the same time as those above, or very soon after, as the rich Minisink Hats opened a most inviting prospect to immigrants, especially to Hol- landers, which could not, in the nature of things, have remained long unoccupied. In 1730 the sur- veyor-general, Scull, and his deputy, John Luken-, speak of the valley as being quite thickly settled on both sides of the river from the Water Gap north for a distance of thirty or forty miles, and of their ad- miration being excited by a " grove of apple-trees far exceeding in size any near Philadelphia." This would indicate that the settlement must have been made at an carlier date than 1725, as given by one author, or than 1715, as given by others. Fifteen years would hardly be sufficient to grow such apple-trees as the witnesses describe, even in the rich soil of the Mini- sink. Smith, in his " History of New Jersey," tells us that in 1756 the settlements were more numerous on the .Jersey than on the Pennsylvania side of the river, and they were probably so from the beginning, and made at an earlier date.

We are of the opinion that both classes of writers have erred,-the one in giving too great an antiquity to the Minisink settlement, and the other in making it of too recent origin. We shall probably tind that the truth lies between the two extremes. We have positive documentary evidence that there was a con- siderable colony of settlers at the Never-ink and in the Minisink valley, including both of the Minisink Islands, prior to the beginning of the eighteenth cen- tury. A roting precinct, with a municipal organiza- tion, was laid off' there before this date, which implies a considerable number of voters; and by an act of the Provincial Assembly of New York, passed Oct. 18, 1701, " for the more Regular proceedings in the Election of Representatives," the "inhabitants of Wagachemick (Neversink) and Great and Little Minisink (I-lands)" were "empowered to give their votes in the County of Ulster." Thus the people of Sussex voted in Ulster Co., N. Y., not only at that

· Delaware Wator-Gap, p. 274.

t The names are now spelled Cuddeback and Gummer.

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

time, but continued to vote there for eight years sub- sequently, until, by the passage of an act by the same provincial authority, Nov. 12, 1709, their votes were' restored to Orange County .*

This evidence clearly substantiates the fact that there were many settlers in the Jersey Minisink pre- vious to 1700. And with this agree the researches of B. A. Westbrook, Esq., of Montague. We quote from an article entitled "Old Minisink," published in the New Jersey Herald of June 25, 1879, wherein Mr. Westbrook says,-

"Just prior to the year 1700 many of the Low Dutch farmers from Ulster Co., N. Y., together with fugitives from the states of Europe, principally from France, commenced the establishment of a chain of kindred settlements along the Machockemack (Never- sink) and Delaware Rivers, extending from Ulster County on the north to the Delaware Water Gap at the south, and covering a stretch of territory about fifty miles in length, and of variable width.

"The old 'mine road,' extending from Esopus (Kingston) on the Hudson to the Water Gap on the Delaware, constructed previously to facilitate mining operations at the latter point, had been abandoned as part of an unprofitable venture. This road, though a failure as to its original purpose, yet proved to be

of great advantage to the pioneers in settling our valley, by furnishing them with convenient access to their future homes in the wilderness, and for the first hundred years of the history of the settlements referred to, as a common thoroughfare, it was instrumental in continuing a close relationship with and attachment for the parent settlements upon the Hudson River."

II .- THE OLD DUTCHI RECORDS.

The records of the old Reformed Dutch Churches of the Minisink valley furnish us with the names of inany of the pioneers who settled this region. They are the oldest and most valuable records of the valley extant; and the descendants of those who first settled that portion of Old Sussex, as well as every earnest searcher after historic data, have cause to be thankful for the learning and piety which made these old rec- ords and caused them to be preserved in the heart of a wilderness country. Let it be observed that these records, although beginning with the baptisms of children in 1716, do not reach back to the beginning of the settlements, but only to the period when they had acquired sufficient numbers and strength to begin to look after the religious interests of the community, and to employ ministers to visit them occasionally from the older settlements. Rev. Petrus Vas and Rev. Georg Wilhelm Mancins, of Kingston, first vis- ited and administered the ordinances to them, from 1716 for about twenty-five years. A brief outline of these churches, preparatory to some extracts which we propose to make from the records, will here be given.

In 1737 four churches of the Dutch Reformed faith were formed in the Minisink valley, two of which were in what is now Sussex County, in ancient Walpack, the third at Port Jervis, and the fourth at Lower Smith- field, on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware. The congregations connected with these churches ex- tended from the Neversink, some eight miles above Port Jervis, to the Delaware Water Gap,-a distance of about fifty miles, including portions of New Jer- sey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

From 1741 to 1756 all these churches were under the pastorate of the Rev. Johannes Casparus Fryen- moet, a young man who was sent to Holland at the age of sixteen to finish his education, receive ordina- tion by the Classis of Amsterdam, and return as their pastor. He was a native of Switzerland, and had been partially educated before coming to this coun- try. By an agreement with the people of the several congregations, he was furnished with the means to return to Holland and prepare himself for the minis- try, which he did; and, being ordained, he returned and on June 1, 1741, became the first regular pastor of the four churches, each congregation agreeing upon his services for one-fourth of the time. The parson- age, subsequently built, was at Nomanock, near the old fort, in what is now Sandyston, Sussex Co., where the ruins of the old cellar still remain. It appears from the records that this young man was married soon after his return from Holland by Abraham Van Campen, Esq., and that he steadily continued in the relation of pastor till 1756, and irregularly after that till the fall of 1759. During most of this period he kept the records of the churches, the Consistories, the baptisms, and the marriages in a peculiarly neat and finished handwriting. A few years ago they were translated from the original Dutch by the Rev. J. B. Ten Eyck, late pastor of the Reformed Church of Berea, and in 1877 were published in a neat and con- veniently-arranged pamphlet by Wm. H. Nearpass, Esq., of Port Jervis. We give from these records the names of many of the primitive settlers of the Mini- sink valley, a considerable part of whose descendants are among the worthy and influential citizens of Sus- sex and Warren Counties at the present day. They were mostly justices of the peace, holding the king's commissions, and members of the Consistories of the several churches, and of the Joint Consistory which usually held its meetings in the old parsonage at No- manock. The names are given as they appear in the original Dutch, but most of them have since under- gone changes conforming them to the English method of orthography.

NAMES OF EARLY SETTLERS OF SUSSEX COUNTY.

1741 .- Jan Kortrecht, Jan van Vliedt, Abraham van Campen, William Cool, Johannel Westbroeck, Hendrick Kortrecht, Peter Kuikendal, Derrick West- broeck, Jacobus Swartwood, William Kortrecht, Sol- omon Davids.

# See Predmet of Minisink, in another part of this work.

FIRST SETTLEMENT IN SUSSEX AND WARREN.

1745 .- Jacob Westfal, Jan van Campen, Johannes Brinck, Johannes Decker, Cornelius Westbroeck, Jan van Etten, Abram Bevier, Dirk Teu Broeck, Samuel Bevier, Cornelius Louw.

1746-48 .- Nicholas Dupui, Lambert Brinck, Sam- uel Schammers, Abram Kermers, Moses Dupui, An- drius Dingenman, Ja. Swartwoudt.

1750 .- Benjamin Shoemaker, William Ennes, Ger- rit Brinck.

1761 .- Arie Verdenburg, Hendrick Hover, Nich- olas Brinck.

1764 .- Abram Middag, Thomas Schoonhoven, Dan- iel Rosenkrans.

1765 .- Abram Kittle, Isaac van Campen, Adam Dingman, Jacob Dewitt, Philip Wintermoet, lo- hannes Dewitt, Harmanus Nimwegen, Abran C. Anken, David Cool.

1785 .- Jacob R. Dewitt, HIelmas Cole, Jacob De- witt Gumaer, Elias V. Bunschooten, Thomas Kyte, Geysbert Sutfin, Benjamin Fisher, Abraham Dutcher.

MARRIAGES.

We give below a few of the marriages taken from the record, covering the years from 1738 to 1797. The dates are given from the first publication of banns :

# 1738, March 5 .- Johannes Westbrueck, Jr., young man, born nt Nytafield, to Magdalena Westbrueck, young woman, born at Horly, and both dwelling ut Menisduck ; married by Anthony Westlaveck. justice of the peace, the last day of March.

" 1738,, March 26,-Jan van Nitten, young man, born at Nyt-ficht, to Miritjo Westfact, young woman, born at Menis-inek, and both living there; married by Anthony Westbroeck, justice of the peace, April IR.

" 1742 .- Job. Cnsparun Fryenmuth, young man, born in Switzerland, to Lenn van Etten, young woman, boru at Nutsfield; married with a license from Governor Morris, in New Jersey, by Justice Abrum van Campen, the 231 July, 1742.

". 1742, July 25 .- Jacobuts Quick, young man, born at R chester, dwell- ing in Smithfield, in Bucks County, to Maria Westbroeck, young woman, born at Rochester, dwelling at Menissinck ; married the 224 of Angust by no.

" 1741, July 19 .- Abram Mohlagh, young man, born nt Menissinck, to Lean van Anken, young woman, born at Rochester, both dwelling here ; married August 18, by me. J. t. Frsenmuth.

+ 1743, March 13 .- Slinon Westfuel, young mun, born in Dutchess County, dwelling in Smithfield, Bucks County, to Janurtje Westbroek, born at Normal, Ilwelling at Mrnissinck ; married the Iith of April by Peter Kuyckendal, justice of the prace.

" 1743, August 21. Jubantes Bogaert, born In Dutchess Cutthty, to Sarah Hoogteeling, young woman, born at Rochester, loth dwelling at Mentsstuck ; married the 9th of November, ditto, by Abraham van Au- ken. justice ot the peace.

" 17445, May 1 .- S.domon Decker, young man, born on the Cuotabara [ Katsbanh], to Lena Quick, young woman, born at Metschepekonck, and both dwelling at Metschepeknuck ; maanled by J. C. Fryenmuth, Johe 8th.

" 171), July 21. - Johnuns Kortrecht, young man, to Catharina Kort- recht, young woman, both born at Rochester, and both living in Inchs County, Pennsylvania; married August 55, by J. C. Fryenmuth.

" 1740, February 19. Benjamin Thomsen, young tonn, born in Mouw Englandlt, to Lizabeth Westhel, young woman, born at Machinekrmech, mil both dwelling there; mmrsied Felanary 9th by me, J. C. Fryeu- math.

" 1747, September 13 .- Jacob van Compen, young man, born at Sepen- ark, to Hachel Decker, young woman, born nt Niskotack, Inth Hving in Bucks County; married the 9th of October by no, I. t. Fremmed, Much.

* At this date the spelling of the mone changes, and so remains ever alter.

" 1748, March 20 .- Daniel Westfuel, young man, born nt Machask ... mech, to Maria Westbroeck, young woman, born ut Gilsford, and both dwelling nt Menissinck; married the 8th of Aptil, ditto, by me, J. C. Fryenmoet, Mach.

" 1748, December 11,-Benjamin Westbroeck Verony, yonog man, born at Wawarsinck, and dwelling at Nomennek, to, bydi, Westfach, young woman, born at Machackrmich, and dwelling there ; murried the sth of January, 17419, by me, J. C. Fryehuvet.

" 1749, January 6 .- Joseph Westbroek, young man, boru nt Wannrs- sinck, nud dwelling nt Namennek, to Lizabeth Kuykondal, young woman, Wwin at Machackemeck, nud dwelling there ; married the 27th of Jatu- ury by me, J. C. Fryenmoet.

" 1750, January 7 .- Isaac Mohlagh, young man, boru at Menisinck. and dwelling at Teeshacht, to Frmuntje Decker, young woman, also born at Meniasinck, and dwelling ut shippee mnk ; married the lith of Febry- ury by me, J. C. Fryennuet.

" 1750, July 8 .- Anthony van Etten, young man, born at Nepenick, and dwelling at Namenack, to Annatjo Decker, young woman, born at Machackrmech, aul dwelling there; married the 3d ut August by me, J. C. Fryenmoet, at. 29.

"1751, April 11 .- Jan Kermer, young man, born at Kingston. and dwelling among fonder ] Walbeck, to Lizabeth san Campen, young w. . man, born in Upper Smithfield, nud dwelling there; married the loth of Muy by me, J. (. Fryenmuct, art. 30.

"1752, February 9 .- Abraham Westbrueck, young man, Jorn at Wal- warssinck, and dwelling nt Namenack, to Blandinn Rosenkranz, young woman, born ut Shippekonk, aml dwelling Muchackemech ; married the 6th of March by me, J. C. Fryenmoet, at al.

" 1752, December 17 .- Petre- Kny kendal, young man, born at Muchack- emech, and dwelling there, to Catharin Kittel, young woman, born at Wawareluk, and dwelling at Meni sinck ; marused the 12th of January, 1753, by me, d. C. Fryeumoet, art. 32.

" 1752, December 31 .- Jacobus Gunsales, young man, born nt Manne- knting, and dwelling there, to Satalı Westbroeck, young woman, born nt Somenack, and dwelling there; married the 28th of January, 175J, by me. I. (. Fryenmort, 51. 32.

" 1753, July 22 .- James Risin, young man, born In X. Jerry, to Cathin- riun Hooghtreling, born at Rochester, undl both dwelling at Menissinek ; married the Bith of August by me, J. C. Fryenimoet, nt. 52.

" 1753, November 11 .- Paniel van Aken, young man, born at Machark. emech, and dwelling there, to Lea Kittel, young woman, born at Wa- warsink, and dwelling at Menissindle, married the 13th of December by nie, J. C. Fryrumort, art. 33.

"1753, December 2 .- Jeremias Kittel, young man, born at Horlì, to La'n Davis, young woman, born at Menissiuck, and both dwelling there ; married the 4th of January, 1754, by me, J. C. Fryenmet, w.t. 3.3.

" 1754. February 17 .- Thomas Wells, young man, born in Philadelphia, nul dwelling at Mentssinck, to Elizaluth Dewitt, young woman, born at Rochester, and dwelling in Upper Smithfield; married the 14th of March by me, J. C. Fryenmoet, it. 37.

" 1751. August 4 .- Abram Kittel, young man, born Wawansink, to Christina Wistfuel, young woman, born at Meni-wock, undt both dwelling there ; martird the 30th of ditto by me, J C. Fryeumvet, a.t. 34.

" 175. January 26,-Alexander Ivory. whlower of Myryn Cole, to Jen- orke Derker, born at Menivink, aml both dwelling at Walpeck ; married the 21st of February, by me, J. E. Fryenmoet, at. 34."t

t To ald the reader io understanding some of the places referred to in the almse recorda, the following is appended:

Menivinck (now spellen) Minisink), the town or village of that name where Montagne is now situated ; the church was also called Menisslurk claunch. A number of the parties married were born here, and a larger number wore residents of the place.

Sinnennek (now spelled Sommanock), an island In the Delaware ; also the ohl fort built on the main land, opposite the island, during the Firnch war, whore sband the old propage of Pominie Fryonm a t andl & mur of his successis, Some of the partie married lived here or in the island.

Muchnekemech, the Indian name of the Neseraink branch of the Delaware, where one of the oldl churches was antiated ; how Purt Jervi-

SUSSEX AND WARREN COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

CHAPTER V.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS (Continued).

I .- THE MINISINK COUNTRY.

THE Minisink country, originally so called, com- prised a portion of what are now the three States of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and in- cluded the soil on both sides of the Delaware River from the Water Gap to the Lackawaxen. According to Heckewelder, who is regarded as excellent author- ity on Delaware Indian names, the term "Minisink" signifies "the place or home of the Minsies." It is probable, however, that the name was first given to the valley or locality where these Indians settled, and that they were subsequently called Minsies be- cause they lived there. We find the following in Eager's "History of Orange County," pages 407 and 408 :

"The tradition of the Indians in this vicinity at the early settlement of the country was that their nation lived at Kittatinny (now Blue Mountains), in Warren Co., N. J., which means 'chief town ;' that at an early period there was a difficulty or disagree- ment of some kind in the nation, and the discontented portion removed to the other or north side of the mountain, upon the lowlands along the Delaware. The tradition also was that long ago, and before the Delaware River broke through the mountain at the Water Gap, these lands, for thirty or forty miles along it, were covered by a lake, but became drained by the breaking down of that part of the dam which con- fined it. When the discontented retired from the nation they settled upon the lands from which the water had retired, and by the others were called 'Minsies' because they lived upon the land from which the water had gone. The name in the first instance was descriptive of the land from which 'the water is gone,' and afterwards was applied to the In- dians who lived upon it."

If this be true,-and there can be little doubt of its correctness,-Heckewelder gave only the secondary meaning of the word,-that is, the meaning given to it by the Indians of his time,-without going back to search for its derivative signification in the events and circumstances which first led to its use. Scull and Lukens, the early surveyors, were both conversant with the language of the Lenni Lenape, and they give the meaning of "Minisink" as "the water is gone." The editor of Heckewelder's manuscripts says, "The upper valley of the Delaware was pre- eminently the home of the Minsies (the historic Minisink), where they built their towns, planted their corn, and kindled their council-fires, and whence they set out on the hunt or the war-path. The Minsies, Miniseys, or Muncys were the most warlike of their people, and proverbially impatient of the white man's presence in the Indian country," yet the early settlers of the valley managed to live on peaceable terms

with them till the war broke out, in 1755. The only exception we know of was the murder of Wright, at Snaketown, Pa., in September, 1727. This was done, we are told, by the Minsies, who were the subjects of Kindassowa, the chief who "resided at the Forks of the Susquehanna."

The settlers appear to have purchased their lands of the Indians and to have insured the safety and quiet of the settlements by fair and equitable dealing and by according to their red neighbors the privileges ot hunting and fishing, which were so essential to their existence. The titles, however, obtained of the Indians were never recognized as valid by any of the colonial governments unless afterwards confirmed by grants from the proprietors or from the provinces or States in which they were located, the principle everywhere involved being the right of the State or province, not of individuals or private corporations, to the treaty- making or land-purchasing power as respects the aborigines, who were held by all the European na- tions having claims in America as having only a pos- sessory right, and no real title in fee simple, to the soil. Hence they could make no valid conveyance of the soil, no matter if their ancestors had fished and hunted and buried the generations of the past upon it from time immemorial. Neither their long posses- sion, their dearest associations, nor the sacred ashes of their fathers were any guarantee against the arbitrary and assumed right of civilized nations to deal with them as troublesome occupants only, to be got rid of on the easiest terms practicable. Hence the whole matter of the extinguishment of Indian claims, so called, has proceeded upon the assumption that dis- covery or conquest gave right to the soil, and that the native inhabitants were to be treated as wards or subjects, having no rights which the white man was bound to respect further than his interest or his cu- pidity might dictate. The instances in which justice and humanity have ruled in these negotiations have been the exceptions, not the rule. It has never been sufficiently considered, in dealing with the aborigines of this country, how strongly they were attached to their old hunting-grounds, burial-places, and the scenes of their altars and council-fires. Reverence for the graves of their fathers and worship of ancestry were parts of their religion. Hence it was peculiarly hard for them to be driven away from their posses- sions, and it is not to be wondered at that they fre- quently shed the blood of those whom they regarded as intruders upon their soil.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 6

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