History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 71

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 71
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 71

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

For the names of those who volunteered and served in the other organizations raised in this town, see the rosters given in connection with the military history in the general chapters of this work.

It may be said in conchision, however, that no part of the county or State manifested a greater degree of patriotism. It contributed freely and largely of men and money to sustain the government during the late Rebellion.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

WILLIAM PETTIT.

The l'ettits were originally French Huguenots, who, to escape from religious persecution, came to America in 1660 and settled at New Rochelle and Newtown, L. I. Some members of the family re- moved thence to Northern New Jersey, and about 1742 are found in Hardwick, Warren Co., at New- ton, and at the Log Jail, now Johnsonsburg.

There were six brothers who came to Sussex County. Jonathan Pettit lived in Hardwick, and died in 1753 (he was one of the four judges for the county who were first appointed by George III.); Amos, who lived in Brighton, was born in 1724; John, who lived in Newton, was born in 1726, and died in 1796; Nathaniel was the first representative of Sussex County, elected Aug. 17, 1772, to the Legis- lature of New Jersey; Isaac and Charles were Tories, and removed to Canada during the Revolutionary war.

The descendants of John Pettit are the only ones residing in the county at present, the others having all removed. Governor John Jay, of New York, owned a large tract of land northeast of Newton, and, probably because they were the same national descent and co-religionists, he appointed John Pettit his col- lector of rents and general agent for his property. He erected the stone house on the farm now owned by G. M. Ryerson, in which is a room still called the "Governor's room," which His Excellency occupied in his annual visit to his estates. John Pettit also erected a stone building, known for a hundred years as "The Parsonage." It has been remodeled, and at present belongs to the estate of the late Levi Shep- herd. It is the oldest house in Newton. He was one of the first wardens of Christ Church, and served many years in that capacity. His patriotism and integrity may be inferred from the fact that during the Revo- lution his two Tory brothers were put in his charge by the Committee of Safety, and the custody was faith- fully observed till they were permitted to depart for Canada. His wife was a daughter of Richard Fisher, of Hackettstown, who belonged to the light-horse infantry of the American army, and who is said to have erected at Hackettstown and carried on the first iron rolling- and slitting-mills in this country. His children were Samuel, Nathaniel, John, Sally (who became the wife of James English, of Newton), Mary (who became the wife of Alexander Huston), Betsy (who became the wife of James Huston, once a sherit] of Sussex County ), Amos, and William.

In the first generation his descendants numbered eight, in the second generation thirty-nine, and in the third ninety-four. Among these are the well-known citizens Winfield HI. Coursen, attorney - at - law in Newton ; Capt. Robert Pettit, of Montagne, who served with honor during the Rebellion ; Mrs. James

. lle was a soldier in the Mexican war.

286

SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Henry Hoyt and Mrs. George H. Coursen, of Newton; Rev. N. Pettit, rector of Christ Church, Bordentown, N. J .; James H. Simpson, a successful merchant at Dover; James C. Pettit, of the Park Bank, New York City ; and Judge James B. Huston, of Lafayette.

William Pettit, youngest child of John, was born March 16, 1788, and married, Feb. 17, 1816, Nancy, daughter of Robert and Mary (Jacques) Morrow, of Sparta, Sussex Co., N. J. She was born Oct. 21, 1794, and resides (in 1881) with her daughter, Mrs. Hoyt, in Newton. Many of the facts contained in this sketch were dictated by her, and she retains the faculties of both body and mind to a remarkable degree for a person who has reached her eighty-seventh year.

The other children of Robert Morrow were Re- becca, a twin-sister of Mrs. Pettit, who became the wife of Nathan Drake, and, having survived her hus- band many years, resides in Newton ; Margaret, who became the wife of Samuel Rorbach ; Sally, who be- came the wife of Henry Hart; Eliza, unmarried ; Henrietta, who was the wife of the late Dr. John R. Stnart, a prominent physician of Newton ; and George. Of these children, only Mrs. Pettit and Mrs. Drake survive.

Prior to and after his marriage William Pettit was a clerk in the general store of his brother Nathaniel, who for many years before his death did a successful business in Newton.

Upon his brother's decease Mr. Pettit purchased a farın near Newton, where he resided several years, but about 1827 he returned, established himself in trade at the old stand where he served a clerkship, and continued in business until he retired from the active duties of life. His place of business was on the north side of the public square in Newton, where he erected his store and dwelling. Mr. Pettit received a good practical business education in early life, mostly while a clerk, from his brother, who was a man of fair education, and had been for some time a teacher before engaging in mercantile pursuits. He belonged to the class of substantial business men of "long ago," who started very many of the interests that added to the growth and prosperity of Newton as developed in its later history. Unostentatious in his ways, he followed his chosen business quietly, seeking neither official position nor its emoluments. He was identified with the party of reform in his locality, and was a member of the Whig and Repub- lican parties. Mr. Pettit was known as a man of sterling integrity in all his business relations, tem- perate in his habits, and a man of good moral and Christian influence. Both he and his wife were mem- bers of the Episcopal Church of Newton, and did their part well in contributions to church and charitable objects. He died Jan. 1, 1867. Their children are Sarah and Mary, died young; Sarah Elizabeth, born March 6, 1823, married, Sept. 16, 1847, James Henry, son of James Moody Hoyt, of New York City, and has one surviving child, Miss Mary Nesbitt Hoyt. James

Moody Hoyt married Mary, a daughter of Dr. Nesbitt, a noted physician, and for many years was a promi- nent flour-merchant in New York. Upon his death his sons, who had been associated with him, sncceeded hint in the business, in which James Henry continned until his decease. He was born Jnly 4, 1823, and died Nov. 29, 1869. The only son of William Pettit is Robert Morrow Pettit, who was born Oct. 17, 1824, and resides in Newton.

GEORGE A. HILES.

His great-grandfather came from Germany with his family prior to the Revolutionary war, and settled in. the southern part of New Jersey. His grandfather, William Hiles, was born in Southern New Jersey,

Geo Attilas

April 30, 1775, and married Margaret, a daughter of Jacob Titman, of Warren Co., N. J. She was born in April, 1775, and died Jan. 26, 1850. He died Jan. 26, 1848.

Soon after his marriage he came to Lafayette, then called Frankford, and settled on one hundred and sixty acres of land, upon which he resided the remain- der of his life. The farm is now owned and occupied by his son Thomas J. Hc owned considerable other real estate, which was left to his children upon his decease. Ilis children were Anna, who became the wife of Samuel F. McCoy, John, George, William, Jacob, Matilda, who became the wife of James Shel- ley, Jeremiah M., Eliza, wife of Ford Shelley, and Thomas J.

MC.

Et Sheppard

ROBERT ALEXANDER SHEPPARD'S grandfather, Henry Shep- pard, was a resident of Ilunterdon Co., N. J., whose ancestors were among the early settlers of that part of the State. This fact is established by the family having in its possession a deed for land given during the reign of George III., and the prop- erty has remained as a homestead in the family since.

His father, Jaenh, born near Ringos, IIunterdon Co., about 1794, married, Feb. 22, 1811, Elizabeth Henderson, who was born Nov. 30, 1796, and survives in 1880, residing on the old homestead near Flemington. She was a daughter of Joseph Henderson, IL ship carpenter, who came from Ireland, and lived and died in Philadelphia. Her mother was HIopy Henry. Jacob Sheppard died on the homestend, Dec. 3, 1856. He lived a quiet life as a farmer, und was esteemed for his honesty and fair dealing. He was unostentatious in his ways, frank in his manners, and sociable and manly.

Tho children of Jacob and Elizabeth (Henderson) Sheppard are John, William, Emma (wife of Peter Wilson), Catherine, Josoph F. (a physician nt Phillipsburg), Ann (wife of George L. Boss), Samuel S., Robert Alexander, and Margaret.

Robert Alexander Sheppard, son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Henderson) Sheppard, was born in the township of Raritan, Ifunterdon Co., N. J .. April 2, 1827. ITis education was ob- tained in the common school of his nativo place and at the Flemington Academy. Upon reaching his majority he com- menced the study of dental surgery with Dr. J. P. Trux, of Baltimore, Md., with whom he remained for two years, during which time he attended two courses of lectures nt the Baltimore Dental College, from which he was graduated in 1850. Im- mediately after his graduation he bogan the practice of den- tistry in Mauch Chunk, Pa., where bo remained only six months, und practiced for a few months also in Schuylkill Ilaven and Hackettstown.

On June 8, 1852, he came to Newton, N. J., whore ho found Dr. Swayze practicing dentistry, but a good field for a skillful und thoroughgoing dentist. Here Dr. Sheppard set bimsolf about to lay the foundation for what has proved to bo a very successful business. llis means were limited to a few dollars, aod the support of himself and small family depended upon his immediate success. At this time plates were made upon gold and silver, and not until about 1860 was rubber used as a base upon which to set tectlı.

He soon gained the confidence of n few whom he did work for by his careful attention to every department of his profes- sion ; bis trade increased, and, after a yeur'or more, Dr. Swayze withdrew from Newton entirely, leaving Dr. Sheppard full con- trol of the business here. His energy in business, his careful attention to the interests of his numerous and increasing pa- trons, and his substantial and skillful work in a few years gave him control of a large patronage in Sussex County, which he has held for nearly thirty years, and has done more to elevate the standard of dentistry than any other one in Sussex County.

Dr. Sheppard is, in 1880, one of the substantial business men of Newton, and since his first settlement here he has been in- terested in all that pertains to the growth and prosperity of the village.

Upon the organization of the Merchants' National Bank at Newton he was one of the first subscribers to stock and for many years a director, and for several years he has been a stockholder in the Sussex National Bank nt Newton.

In 1873 he erected a substantial brick residence on Main Street, in Newton, a part of which he occupies for an office. In August, 1879, he purchased the Cochran House, the lending hotel of the place, to which he is making (in the winter of 1880) a fine brick addition of four stories, and the whole when com- ploted according to present designs will be one of the most desirable parcels of real estate in Newton.

Thus in a few years, by industry and careful management, Dr. Sheppard has, comparatively speaking, from nothing accu- mulated a valuable property.

Hle has been somowhut active in local politics, and in 1873 was elected collector of Sussex County. Ile resigned this office after three years, but by re-olection sorvod in the same capacity in 1878 nnd 1879.

Dr. Sheppard has been married three times. On Oct. 8, 185], bo married Elizaboth A., a daughter of John R. und Lucretin Holcombo, of Flemington, N. J. She diod at Newton, Aug. 12, 1855, leaving two children,-Richard II. and Lizzie A. Ilis second wife was Sarah C., daughter of Dennis Cochran, whom he married Oct. 20, 1858, and who died April 22, 1868, leaving one daughter,-Minnie L. He married for his present wife, July 10, 1872, Mary Cochran, n sister of his second wife. The children born of this union are Robert Alexander, Jr., and Frank II.

Pemberton Brittin

THE progenitor of the Brittin family in Sussex Co., N. J., was William Brittin, who was of English birth, and emigrated to America in the year 1700, settling in Pennsylvanin. Hle died April 16, 1765. His wife, Rachel, died Ang. 28, 1766.

llis son, William Brittin, Jr., born in Pennsylvania, married Mary Thomas, a native of Wales, and lived to an advanced age. llis wife, born in 1714, died Oct. 14, 1780. Their son John, grandfather of our subject, born about 1730, married, June 15, 1772, Phoebe l'ettit, who was born in February, 1756, and died in 1776, leaving three children,-Elizabeth, Pettit, and Isaac.

For his second wife he married Martha Gray, who died July, 1841, aged ninety years. The children of this marriage were Thomas, Sarah, Rachel, John, Hannah, and Jucob.

lle lived at the Fox-Chase, near Philadelphin, und kept a public-house lle enme to New Jersey just before the Revolutionary war, and during the struggle for the independence of the colonies he served as ensign and sergeant in Spencer's regiment. His youngest brother, Joseph, served as one of Washington's body-guard, and two other brothers, Jacob and William, were also in the service, the latter in command of a company as enptain. After the close of the war he returned to his native State, where he died in 1811. Benjamin Pettit, a brother of his wife, was also a captain in the Revolu- tionury war.

l'ettit Brittin, son of John Brittin, was born .June 12, 1774, at New Providence, N. J., and married for his first wife Elizabeth, a daughter of Judge Levi Adams, of Wantage, who bore him two children,-John. and one who died in infancy.

Ilis second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of George Rorback, of Newton. She was born May 30, 1781, and died June 5, 1868.

The Rorback family was among the earliest settlers of Newton, and by marriage were connected with the most prominent families of Sussex County.

He served under Capt. Kent, in a Philadelphia rifle company, in suppressing the Whisky Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania when a young man.

In 1795, Mr. Pettit Brittin settled in Newton, nnd from 1815 to the time of his decease, March 13, 1858, carried on a general merchandise business.

lle wns a man of quiet bnbits und unostentatious ways, and known by the citizens of Newton as a man of good business nbility, discretion, and integrity in all his business relations.

For many years he was a director of the Sussex Bank, and he was always interested in the various locul enter- prises of Newton and in the welfare of its people.

He was a member of the old Whig party, but no seeker after pluee or the emoluments of office.

The ehildren of his second marriage are Sarah P., who became the wife of John A. Horton, and Pemberton.

Pemberton Brittin was born at Newton, July 31, 1812, and spent his minority at home. For several years of his early life he was engaged as a clerk for his father ; was with John A. Horton as clerk at Newark, N. J., and in 1835 he was a clerk in New York City.

After spending some time South, he returned to New- ton, his native place, where he has since resided in the old homestead built by his father in 1811, located on the south side of the public park.

Mr. Brittin was never married. He has spent his later years in the quiet management of his own business, avoiding all strife of a political nature or otherwise, neither soliciting nor desiring otlicial position. Follow- ing in the political line of his ancestors, he was formerly a member of the Whig party, and joined the Repub- lican party upon its organization.

287

WANTAGE.

Of these children, John, father of our subject, was born on the homestead in Lafayette, Oct. 18, 1799, and married Miss ITila Maria, daughter of John Se- ward, of Morris Co., N. J., Oct. 21. 1826. She was born Nov. 27, 1807, and died April 16, 1869. He died Nov. 23, 1847.

Mrs. Hiles was a second cousin of Hon. William H. Seward, and a granddaughter of Col. John Seward, a brave officer during the Revolutionary war, who shot the English spy at Snufftown during that trying struggle.

John Hiles resided on a farm adjoining the home- stead, which he purchased of his father. He was a careful, judicious farmer, and during his active busi- ness career accumulated a fair competency. Both he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

He was naturally of a retiring disposition ; did not seck any political place among his fellow-men, although, as a member of the Democratie party, he always had a pride in the right of suffrage accorded to every loyal American citizen. ITis children who reached manhood are two sons,-Thomas S., born May

16, 1837, married Mary B., daughter of Peter and Elizabeth (Couse) Dennis, Jan. 5, 1859, and has three children : Florence 1., Maria S., and John Jay. Hc owns and resides upon the farm formerly owned by Mr. Hill in the township of Andover, which he pur- chased in November, 1876.

George A. Hiles was born July 14, 1834, and re- mained at home until he was twenty-four years of age. His early education was obtained at Mount Re- tirement Seminary and at Seward Institute, Florida, Orange Co., N. Y. For some four years after leaving home he was a clerk in a produce commission job- bing house at Newton, and for some twelve years fol- lowing he carried on a jobbing business in the same articles in New York City. In 1873 he returned to Newton, where he has since resided.

Mr. Hiles has been successful as a business man, and by his judicious management has secured a fair competency. Since his return from New York he has been engaged in the care and management of his own private affairs, seeking neither the prefer- ment nor emoluments of otlice. He has never been married.

WANTAGE."

I .- DESCRIPTIVE.

WANTAGE is the largest of the townships of Sussex County, having an area of 41,353 acres, and a total population of 3361. It is 11 miles long and 7 miles broad, much of this land being highly cultivated and productive. The total valuation of real estate in the township is $1,829,396, and of the personal property $817,707, its personal indebtedness being $673,671. It is one of the townships lying adjacent to the New York State line, and is bounded on the north by Or- ange Co., N. Y .; south by Lafayette, Frankford, and Hardyston; east by Vernon and Hardyston; west by Montague, the townships on the eastern boundary being separated from it by the Wallkill River.

11 .- NATURAL FEATURES.

In connection with this history it will be interest- ing to afford the reader a concise account of the geog- raphy and natural advantages of the region of which Wantage is a part. The whole valley, more than 100 miles in length and varying in breadth from 10 to 20 miles, was called the Kit-a-ting valley by the Indians who first inhabited it. It extends from the Delaware River on the southwest to the Hudson on the north- east, and is bounded on the west by the Blue Moun-

tain, or rather a spur of the great chain of that name, and which was originally called the "Kittatinny Mountain." On the east is the Hamburg or Sehoo- ley's Mountain, the Indian name of which is Wawa- yanda. This valley contains nearly four counties,- Warren, Sussex, Orange, and Ulster on this side the Hudson. This is indeed but a section of one of the finest valleys in the Union, extending into Pennsyl- vania on the one side and into the New England States on the other.

The principal rivers are the Paulinskill and the Wallkill, having their sources nearly at the same point in Sussex County, and pouring, the first into the Delaware and the second into the Hudson near King -- ton.

The face of this valley is uneven,-in some portions exceedingly so,-but the soil is generally strong, good for grain, and peculiarly fine for grazing. For its large dairies and excellent butter it is unrivaled. This valley may be said "to flow with milk and honey." It was not, however, so regarded by the first emigrants, who deemed much of the land scarcely worth possessing. As an illustration of this may be mentioned that of one of the tinest farms in the county a Mr. Winfield selected about 15 acres, then in a wild state, which he judged might answer for

* By E. O. Wagner.

288

SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

tilling, and a Mr. Cortwright found about ten acres in another place which he thought suitable for the plow. The first emigrants selected the flat lands along the creeks and rivers as the best adapted to farming purposes. This was natural, having been ac- customed to the lowlands of Holland, from whence they came to this country and place.

Connected with this valley is the Mamakating Hol- low, down which flows the beautiful Rosendall and its tributaries, emptying into the Wallkill. " Mamaka- ting" is said to mean "the valley of the dividing of waters." It is in this valley that the Neversink, emp- tying into the Delaware, and the Lackawanna, which discharges itself into the Rosendall, both rise in the same fountain. And so likewise the Sandkill and Ba- sha's Kill originate in the same spring in this valley. If it would serve to recover this significant Indian name and preserve a knowledge of its meaning, it might be mentioned, also, that a branch of Paulins- kill and the Papakating rise in the same fountain and part in different directions.

The Indian word " kating" meant " dividing of waters" or "the waters of strife," which is counten- anced by the above facts, the termination in each name being the same, and in each valley one foun- tain originates two streams, descending in opposite directions,-on the one side to the Delaware, and on the other to the Hudson.

These two valleys were the principal gorges along which the early emigrants were dispersed after leaving the mother-colony at Kingston. Kingston was a con- necting link between many of the original families that settled along the Wallkill and in the Mamaka- ting Hollow, where their descendants are still found. This fact holds the two colonies in such close affinity, at the first, as in a great measure to identify their early history. A range of the Kittatinny Mountain was the only barrier between the fertile valley along which proceeded the two collateral and enterprising colonies, making "the wilderness and solitary place to bud and blossom as the rose."

Scarcely in the Union, or in the world perhaps, is there to be seen a richer or more picturesque land- scape than presents itself to the eye as you ascend the Wawayanda or the noble Kittatinny, where the im- mense valley opens the distant perspective, bestudded with cottages, hamlets, and villages embossed in out- stretching lawns and fields waving with the rising harvest.

The township of Wantage embraces that portion of the Kittatinny valley which lies between the Pochuck Mountains on the east and the Blue Mountains on the west. This part of the valley is not a level sur- face, but interspersed by several low ranges of hills, with valleys of considerable extent between.

Two streams drain these sub-valleys and pour their waters into the Wallkill, having previously formed a union. These streams run in opposite directions, and together form nearly a straight line from north to

south through the township. The northern stream has its sonrce near the New York State line, and runs south through the exceedingly productive valley called the "Clove" to the village of Deckertown. Here it unites with the Papakating, a stream of nearly the same volume, but rising in the adjoining township of Frankford. This stream runs almost due north until it unites with the Clove Creek, just described, after which it turns east, and eventually empties into the Wallkill.

The soil of the township may be technically de- scribed as composed of argillaceous slate and dilu- vium deposit, and is, according to the theory of a former State geologist, an upheaval of the third series from the bottom of a former sea. It is a soil eminently adapted to the dairy business and to agricultural pur- poses.

III .- EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

As to the time when the township of Wantage be- gan to be inhabited by the whites, and who the first families were that removed within its borders, no ac- curate account can be given. It is extremely im- probable that there were civilized men here one hundred and fifty years ago, though this fact cannot be stated with positive certainty. Some few families came into the township as early as any settlement was effected at the Forks of the Delaware. Of these were the Cortwrights, Winfields, Deckers, Titsworths, Middanghs, and Cuddabachs,-perhaps, also, the Westbrooks, Wilsons, and Adams, though the pres- ence of the latter families at this early date is in- volved in some uncertainty.

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 71

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