History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 77

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 77
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 77

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Philetus Wilson was born near Deckertown, March 11, 1809, and passed the whole of a long and useful life, following the calling of the soil, in Wantage township, residing over forty years on the same farm. Springing from old colonial stock, he was possessed of the sterling integrity and sound practical sense which formed so distinguishing a feature of the pio- neer settlers of Sussex County. He was for many years prominently identified with the agricultural interests of Wantage, and took a prominent part in the organization and control of the successful county fairs of Sussex County. An ardent lover of nature, he took just pride in all that pertained to agriculture, and always welcomed the aid of inventive genius to forward and lighten the toils of the husbandman. For a score of years he had a valuable nursery on his farm; did much to advance the standard of horticul- ture in his locality. Ile was a liberal contributor to church and kindred interests, and a member, first, of the Baptist, and subsequently of the Methodist, de- nomination of Christians. A Democrat in politics, he held aloof from the strife and turmoil of public life, and filled only the minor offices of his township. Possessed of a genial and kindly nature, a warm and generous heart, and endowed with that rare Christian spirit that carries religion into the daily walks of life, he was deservedly popular in the community in which

he dwelt, and held in high esteem by his friends and neighbors. ITis last illness was comparatively brief, and he passed away on Feb. 10, 1876, in the bosom of his family and surrounded with every comfort that a life of industry, integrity, and fair dealing had ena- bled him to enjoy.

His wife, who survives him, was Clarissa, daughter of Andrew and Miriam (De Witt) Wilson, a descend- ant, on the paternal side, of the original ancestor of the family in the line of Joseph Wilson. Her father was for many years a justice of the peace, and one of the lay judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Sus- sex County. The marriage occurred Dec. 25, 1835, and of the union was born an only child, Charles A. Wilson, on Oct. 20, 1840. The earlier years of the latter were passed upon his father's farm, and he re- ceived a thorough preliminary and academic educa- tion at the celebrated institution of William Rankin, at Deckertown. In early life he entered the mercan- tile business in the store of E. C. and Ira C. Moore, of Newton, N. J. Finding that occupation too confin- ing, he returned to the paternal farm and engaged in the creamery business for some time, and later went to the State of Iowa, where he engaged with success in the lumber and grain traffic, and where a large part of his business interests still lie, being attended to by responsible agents. Returning home at the urgent solicitation of his parents, he resumed the creamery business for a period, and devoted much time and energy in bringing the Midland Railroad of New Jersey to his native place. That desirable ob- ject accomplished, he embarked in the lumber and coal business at Deckertown, in which he is at present engaged.

Mr. Wilson represents that class of young, active, and energetic business men for which Deckertown is noted, and who bear a very important relation to the business growth and prosperity of the place. He takes an active interest in all movements tending to improve and develop the village, and has added to its architectural attractions by the erection of a hand- some residence for himself. He bears in the com- munity the reputation of an honorable and upright man, is one of the directors of the Farmers' National Bank of Deckertown, and is otherwise identified with the various institutions of his section. He was one of the builders of the Middletown and Crawford Rail- road, running from Middletown to Pine Bush, Orange Co., N. Y .; is a member and trustee of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Deckertown, and acts politically with the Republican party, though he is decidedly averse to the holding of public office. He is also in- terested in the agricultural prosperity of Wantage township, and owns one of the finest farms in Sussex County, it being a part of the old homestead of his great-grandfather, Andrew Wilson, and the same oc- cupied by his father during his lifetime. He is prominently identified with the institution of Ma- sonry, was formerly a member of Harmony Lodge,

pacote B. Report

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WANTAGE.

A. F. and A. M., of Newton, and was one of the founders of Samaritan Lodge, No. 98, of Decker- town, to which he belongs, and of Masons' Home Lodge, Iowa Falls, Iowa. Ile is also a member of Baldwin Chapter, No. 17, R. A. M., of Newton. He

was married on July 10, 1872, to Emma A., daughter of Solomon G. Gibbs, of Oswego, N. Y. She died Aug. 19, 1880, leaving two children, Clara A. Wilson, born May 13, 1873, and Charles G. Wilson, born May 7, 1877.

HUMPHREY MARTIN.

Humphrey Martin was a son of Nathaniel Martin, born on Aug. 31, 1762, and who was one of the pioneer settlers of Wantage township, in Sussex County. Na- thaniel Martin's wife was Phila Potter, who was born April 29, 1763, and the issue of the marriage, Mary, born Oct. 9, 1782, who married Jeptha Martin, and died May 31, 1816; Sarah, born March 19, 1786; Humphrey, born Aug. 15, 1789; and Lebeus, born April 11, 1794. Nathaniel Martin died in 1854, and hus wife, Phila, on July 8, 1833. The father of Na- thaniel Martin was Humphrey, who died April 17, 1805. Ichabod and James were brothers of Nathaniel, and the family originated in Middlesex Co., N. J.

Humphrey Martin was one of the leading and con- trolling men of his day, and was born in Wantage township on the date indicated above. Throughout a long life he exerted a wide influence as a successful and progressive farmer, and enjoyed the confidence and respect of a wide circle of acquaintances and friends. He was a Democrat in politics, and held the ordinary township offices. He was for many years a member and officer of the First Baptist Church of Wantage, and a strong pillar in its coun- sels. Ile was actively identified with the progressive movements of his day, and gave the right of way through his farm to the Midland Railroad of New

Jersey. He died Oct. 30, 1878. His wife was Isa- bella Teasdale, and the children, Lebeus, Thomas T., Nathaniel, James J., Eliza, who married Stephen Cole; Prudence, who became the wife of Ellis A. Post; Phila, who married Harry Post; Mary, who married Hopkins Chandler; Lydia; Ann T., wife of Moses B. Northrup; and Sarah, who became the wife of Jackson D. Jay. Lebeus Martin occupies the resi- dence of his father, near Deckertown, is a leading and influential farmer, and represented Sussex County in the Legislature for two years, 1871 and 1872. His son, James F., is one of the growing young agricul- turists of Wantage.

JACOB B. LEPORT.

This family is of French descent. The grandfather of our subject resided at an early day at Quebec, Can- ada, and served in the French army at the time of its taking by Gen. Wolfe. Removing to New Jersey, he settled at Sucasunna Plains, where he ended his days. His children were Cornelius, who settled near Blairs- town, N. J .; Abraham, who located in Virginin ; James, who settled in New York State; Mary, who died young; and John, father of Jacob B. Leport.

John Leport was born in the year 1779, and was

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SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

raised to the trade of a blacksmith, in Morris Co., The first two remained in Ulster County until death. N. J. About the opening of the present century he Zachariah, who was the grandfather of the subject married Abby Burt, and removed to Sussex County, of this sketch, removed to Sussex Co., N. J., soon after the close of the Revolutionary war, and located near Van Sickle Town, where he passed his life as a farmer. His wife was Sarah De Witt, who bore him three sons and one daughter,-namely, James, Zacha- riah, Cornelius, and Mary, who married and went West. Cornelius removed to the neighborhood of Oswego, N. Y., where he lived and died. James passed his life in Wantage township, where some of his descendants are still to be found. purchasing a farm near Columbia, in Byram town- ship, of one hundred and thirty acres. He farmed this tract about thirty-five years, and then purchased a farm in the same township, near the Sparta line, where he remained until his demise, on April 22, 1857. His wife died in 1838, aged fifty-eight years. Their children were Mary, Nathaniel, Cornelins, Cyrus (for many years a successful lawyer at Stanhope, N. J.), John, Jacob B., Lydia (who married Michael L. Law- rence), William, Andrew, and Madeline, who married Morris Hoppaugh.

Jacob B. Leport was born in Byram township, Sussex Co., N. J., on March 23, 1815, and passed his boyhood days on the paternal farm, enjoying, mean- while, the benefits of such educational training as the common schools of his locality afforded. On March 1, 1838, he married Ann, daughter of Samuel C. and Hannah (Blaine) Beardsley, of Hardyston township, who was born April 6, 1818. Her grandfather, Thomas Blaine, served in the Revolutionary war, and lived to be nearly one hundred years of age. Soon after the marriage Mr. Leport commenced to work the home farm on shares, and subsequently took a long lease on it, and operated it for nineteen years. In 1859 he removed to Wantage township, Sussex Co., and pur- chased of Evi De Witt the John De Witt farm of one hundred and eighty acres, where he has since resided. He is recognized as one of the successful representa- tive farmers of the county, and the outbuildings and appointments of his farm indicate careful and thrifty management. He devotes himself principally to the dairy business, and makes large quantities of butter. He is a Republican in politics, and in 1879 was the reform freeholder of Wantage township, being chosen to that position in a township largely Democratic. He was for several years a commissioner of deeds, and sustains, in the community in which he resides, the reputation of a successful and prudent farmer, of correct principles and habits, and one who is entitled to the confidence of his fellows. He is a regular at- tendant of the Presbyterian Church of Deckertown, and was for fourteen years a trustee of Wantage Meth- odist Episcopal Church.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Leport are William H. Leport, born Nov. 11, 1838, a resident of Newark, N. J., and Amzi B., born Aug. 13, 1846, residing in Wantage township.

IRA D. HOFFMAN.

Ira D. Hoffman is a descendant, in the fourth gen- cration, of John Hoffinan, who came to this country from Holland before the Revolutionary war and set- tled at Esopus, Ulster Co., N. Y. There he lived until his death, engaging in agricultural pursuits. HIe bad three sons,-John, James, and Zachariah.

Zachariah Hoffman, father of Ira D., was born in 1778. In the year 1800 he took up his residence where Ira D. Hoffman now lives, where he pursued the avo- cation of a farmer throughout his life, and died July 21, 1861. His wife was Hannah Dennis, of whom were born eight children,-viz., Sarah, who married Lewis Van Sickle, of Wantage; Levi (deceased) ; Rosanna (deceased), who married James Brink ; Cath- arine (deceased), who married Jacob Brink; Richard W., a farmer residing near Milford, Pa .; Anna, wife of 'Squire Northrup, of Athens, Pa .; Alida, wife of Jerome B. Gilson, of Wantage; and Ira D. Hoffman. Mrs. Hoffman died April 24, 1859, aged seventy-nine years.

Ira D. Hoffman was born Dec. 3, 1821, on the fam- ily homestead, where he still resides. He grew up on the paternal farm, and enjoyed the advantages of a common-school education only. On March 13, 1841, he married Margaret J., daughter of Joseph and Hannah (Smith) Davenport, a representative of one of the pioneer families of Wantage township. Soon after that event Mr. Hoffman commenced work- ing the home farm on shares, and after a few years he purchased an adjoining farm, and, leasing the homestead tract, worked the two together until the demise of his father, in 1861. He then purchased the interest of the heirs in the home farm and became its possessor. Besides this tract, of about ninety aeres, he owns two other farms in the neighborhood, besides the Hoffinan House hotel property at Coleville. He has met with success as a tiller of the soil, but has paid principal attention to dairying.

As a public man Squire Hoffman is widely and favorably known throughout his section. In politics he is a Democrat, and has held the minor offices of his township. For a score of years he was a justice of the peace, and a large share of the litigation in his locality was disposed of by him for years. To this position he added the profession of a convey- ancer, was a commissioner of deeds for fifteen years, and has drawn large numbers of legal papers for his friends and neighbors. He also engaged with success in the pension business for many years. Owing to these several avocations, he has been brought into business contact with large numbers of people, his counsel and advice have been sought by many who were in need of assistance, and his services have been

Ora D.Hoffman

George Shophave

GEORGE SHEPHERD is a great-grandson of Abra- ham Shepherd, an early resident of the Minisink, who lost his life during the prevalence of Indian atrocities at that point. James, his grandfather, eame early to Deckertown, where he followed the avocation of a blacksmith for some time. He subsequently pur- chased the tract of land upon which the family have since resided, about two and a half miles southeast of Deckertown, where he followed his trade, and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He erected, in 1806, the present residence of George Shepherd. His wife was Mary Randall, and the children of the union were Temperance, who became the wife of Nathaniel Fountain ; Henry ; Susan, who married Richard Elston ; and Melinda, who married Elijah Coykendall.

Henry Shepherd was born on April 20, 1788, and subsequently came into possession of the family estate. He married Sarah, daughter of Constant and Lydia Fuller, born April 20, 1795, and had children,-Har- vey, born Dee. 26, 1811, residing in Jersey City ; Fanny, born March 24, 1814, widow of Silas Lewis, andl present wife of Jacob W. De Witt, of Wantage ; Lydia Ann, widow of David Wilson, and present wife of Jeremiah Bennett, of Unionville, N. Y .; Mary, who married Archibald Fountain and resides at Hamburg ; Lavinia, wife of Lewis Adams, of Wantage; JJesse, a farmer in Wantage ; and George, the subject of this | Deckertown he contributed five hundred dollars.

sketeh. Mr. Shepherd was a man of a retiring dispo- sition, and passed his life within the inner circles of existence. lle was an intelligent and industrious farmer, of strict integrity, and gave liberally of his means to the support of the progressive institutions of his day. He died in 1875, and his wife in July, 1878.

George Shepherd was born May 1, 1831, on the homestead of his grandfather, which he now owns. He obtained his elementary education at the district school of his neighborhood, and completed his studies at Rankin's Academy, Deckertown. He married, on Jan. 1, 1862, Sarah E., daughter of Daniel and Ann C. Hall, of Wantage, and has one child, Sarah Georgi- ana, born Feb. 23, 1870. After his marriage he cul- tivated the home-farm on shares, and subsequently purchased it of his father. Besides this tract of one hundred and forty-five aeres, he owns an adjoining farmu of one hundred and thirty-five acres. lle is one of the successful, thrifty farmers of Wantage town- ship, a man of strict integrity and unblemished char- acter, and one who enjoys the respect and esteem of the community in which he lives. He is a Repub- lican in politics, but no office-seeker. is a member and trustee of the First Baptist Church of Wantage, and is a warm supporter of the benevolent institutions of his day. Towards bringing the Midland Railroad to

Oscar Dunn

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WALPACK.

frequently called into demand in the settlement and adjustment of estates in the capacity of executor or administrator. He has performed the duties of his several positions with singular exactness and fidelity, and is held in general respect for his integrity and honorable dealings. He is a member of the Mount Salem Baptist Church, of which he is a trustee, and was its clerk and treasurer for many years. He is still in active business life.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Hoffman are Mary E., wife of John Flynn, of Port Jervis, N. Y .; Horace D., residing in Wantage township; Rebecca M., wife of Abraham S. Magill, of Middletown, N. Y .; and Maggie A., wife of Thomas N. Roloson, of Wantage.

OSCAR DUNN.

llis grandfather was Daniel Dunn, who came from Piscataway, N. J., before the Revolutionary war and located on the old homestead, now owned by our sub- iect, adjoining that where the latter now resides. Daniel Dunn passed his life engaged in agricultural operations, which in those early days implied inces- sant labor and toil, amid the privations and hardships of pioneer life. He had four children,-namely, Drake, Daniel, Ruth, and Charity ; the latter married a man by the name of Gould. Drake settled in Wan- tage township and farmed throughout his life.

Daniel Dunn, father of Oscar, was born on the home farm in the year 1792, and on that one place passed his entire life in the tilling of the soil. Hle died in 1858. His wife was Mary Springstard, who bore him six children, -- namely, Alanson, now a farmer and merchant at Unionville, N. Y. ; Oscar; Sarah (deceased), who married William Elston ; Moses (deceased) ; Mary (deceased), who married Samuel C. Potter; and Charlotte, wife of Nicholas Cox, of Wantage township. Mrs. Dunn died in 1853.

Osenr Dunn was born on the Dunn homestead, in Wantage, on April 25, 1818. He grew up on the pa- ternal farm, and attended the district school of his neighborhood. Until the death of his father, in

1858, he worked the home place on shares, but after this time he came into possession, partly by descent and partly by purchase, of the tract, now comprising one hundred and seventy aeres, which he still owns. By careful, systematic, and industrious habits of life, together with intelligent management, Mr. Dunn has achieved great success in agricultural operations, and is one of the wealthiest and most successful farmers of his section. He has always made a specialty of the dairy business, and from keeping twelve cows he has run up to one hundred and fifty at the present writing (1881). The advent of the Midland Railroad to his native township has afforded ample facilities for the transportation of milk to the city markets, and his daily shipment of that product of farming industry averages twenty-five cans the year round. In addition to the homestead, Mr. Dunn owns several other farms, including sixty-six acres upon which he now resides, the Henry De Witt farm, in Wantage, of over one hundred and ninety-three acres, a farm in Orange Co., N. Y., of one hundred and twenty-eight acres, eighty acres near the Dunn Vale school-house, and thirty-four acres in Vernon township. He moved to his present residence in 1866, and erected his attrac- tive and admirably designed dwelling in 1870. It is one of the handsomest architectural structures, for a farm-residence, in Sussex County, and furnished throughout in a tasteful and elegant style.

In 1879, Mr. Dunn's barn was destroyed by fire, in which were burned thirty eows, eighty tons of hay, three horses, wagons, and other farming conveniences to a large amount. With an insurance of only one thousand dollars, however, he replaced the structure with his present commodious barn and outbuildings in 1880. He was married on Jan. 1, 1842, to Sarah Louisa, daughter of John and Phebe Elston, of Wan- tage, and has one son, Thomas Jefferson Dunn, born Nov. 11, 1842, and who married, on Oct. 22, 1872, Ellen, daughter of Barret D. Havens, of Wantage township. Mr. Dunn is a Democrat in politics, though no office-secker, and, with his wife and family, is a member of the Orange Baptist Church of Union- ville, N. Y.

WALPACK.

I .- PHYSICAL FEATURES.

THE present township of Walpack is one of the smallest civil divisions of Sussex County. It con- tains 21.3 square miles of territory, and comprises an aren of 13,632 acres. It is 9 miles in length from ex-

treme points, and 3 miles in width in its widest part. The Delaware River, flowing along the western bor- der, forms the boundary line between Walpack and Pennsylvania. At the southwest corner of the town- ship the stream describes a sweeping bend, and, re- turning for nearly a mile, again makes a sharp curve to the southward.

· By Prof. W. W. Clayton.

314

SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

Walpack is bounded north by Sandyston and the Delaware River; east by Stillwater; south by Warren County ; west by the Delaware River. Aside from the rich valley through which the Flatbrook flows and the strip of lowland along the river border, the township is wholly mountainous, the Blue Mountain range conspicuously separating it from Stillwater on the east.

The Delaware and Flatbrook valleys comprise the best farming lands of the township. These valleys are separated by a chain of hills known in the upper part of the township for two-thirds of its length as Pompey Ridge, and for the remaining one-third, at the lower end, as Walpack Hill, terminating near Walpack church. Flatbrook is formed by the junc- tion of two streams called Little and Big Flatbrook, which unite in Sandyston, near Peters' Valley, the former rising near Hainesville, in Sandyston township, and the latter in the mountains of Montague. This brook is a considerable stream, and flows nearly par- allel with the Delaware from its source to its conflu- ence with the latter river, at Flatbrookville. At the mouth of this stream, in the Delaware River, is the remarkable whirlpool which in the Indian language, according to Heckewelder, gave name to the ancient territory of Walpack. This authority says, "' Wal- pack' is a corruption of 'Wahlpeck,' which in the Indian language signifies a 'turn-hole,' or whirlpool in the water. It is compounded of the two Indian words woa-lac, 'a hole,' and tuppeck, 'a pool.'" The name "turn-hole"-a provincialism now obsolete- was used to designate a sudden bend of a stream by which the water, when deep, is turned back upon it- self in an eddy or whirlpool. The eddy from which Walpack takes its name is visible at low water, but during great floods it becomes a powerful whirlpool, sucking in large pieces of timber and carrying them out of sight.

The population of Walpack in 1880 was 571,-a de- crease of 76 in the last decade. Its entire assessed valuation was $280,557, and its total taxes $3013.10.

THE OLD MINE ROAD.

The original township of Walpack, which extended from the New York State line to the Delaware Water Gap, was the only portion of Sussex County traversed by the " Old Mine Road." This road was one of the earliest-and perhaps the earliest of like extent-on the continent of North America, having been built by a company of miners from Holland, as some sup- pose, before the conquest of the New Netherlands by the English, in 1664. At all events, it was the avenue of communication between the Hudson and the Del- aware before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the means of ingress of the Dutch and Huguenot settlers of the rich valley of the Minisink, and their only channel to market on the Hudson for many years before they knew that the Delaware, upon whose banks they had settled, might float them to Philadelphia.

The Old Mine Road was about 100 miles in length, extending from Kingston, on the Hudson River, to the Delaware Water Gap. It was located up the Mamakating valley, thence across the dividing ridge to the Neversink, or Mackhackemack branch of the Delaware, along which it ran to the latter river, and down the same to its terminus at the old copper-mine in Pahaquarry, now Warren County. "This mine was opened about three miles north west from Nicholas Depue's house, in Walpack township, Sussex Co. (now Warren), N. J."* Nicholas Depue lived on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware, about three miles above the Water Gap.

Count Zinzendorf, accompanied by his eldest daugh- ter, Benigna Henrietta Justina von Zinzendorf, and Anton Seyfert, in August, 1742, made a trip over the Old Mine Road from Nazareth, Pa., to Kingston, en route for Shecomeco, a Mohican mission near what is now Pine Plains, in Dutchess Co., N. Y. The portion of their ronte for the first thirty miles to the Delaware at Depue's Ford is described in the journal as being rough and difficult. It led by an Indian trail into the Minisink through Tat's Gap. This, says the writer, was "the most fatiguing part of the journey as far as Rhinebeck ; for after crossing that river (the Delaware) into the Jersey Minisink they struck one of the oldest roads in the country so far inland, and no natural avenue of trade and intercourse. This was the 'Old Mine Road,' constructed, it is said, at a very early day hy Dutch adventurers. ... It was by means of communication thus opened that the Dutch now seated themselves along the whole extent of this beautiful valley even to its utmost southerly limits,- most numerously, however, on the Jersey shore of the Delaware." The count and his companions reached Depue's, on the bank of the Delaware, on Saturday evening, August 12th, and on Sunday were escorted to the Walpack church, riding their horses across the ford, it being Dominie Fryenmoet's Sunday at that place. "We were compelled," says the count, "to listen to two sermons, which wearied us."

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 77

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