History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 108

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224

USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 108
USA > New Jersey > Union County > History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men > Part 108

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).

98 A Red Oak in a small plain ab't 16 Inches diameter, 60 L. East of the line. At 67 a branch of Pequest, runs ab't W. and ab't 30 L. wide.

99 A White Oak stake in a plain on the N. side of a large Branch of Pequest. At 16 ch. the N. edge of a plain, the Mountain begins.

100 An Ash Saplin ab't 4 In. diameter, on the N. side of some low swampy ground. Left off and went to a house belonging to Richd Green.

Ост. 10th, 1743. At 60 ch. a bog meadow ab't 10 ch. wide and 80 ch. long ; bore about W. A neck of Jaed about 10 ch. wide; the point seemed to be about 10 ch. West.

101 A Maple standing in a large swamp ou the South side about 10 Inches diameter, At 10 a brook about 25 L. wide ; at 23, the N. sid of the meadow, a White Oak under the edge of the hill.

102 A White Oak ab't 12 luches diameter. The ground desceude N. Easterif.

103 A Black Oak ab't 14 inches diameter, and 20 ch S. Easterly on the edge of & hill, ou the N. side et a swamp. At 68 chi. a round about 5 ch. East. At 74 ch. a notch in the mountain. Bore N. 88 W. the last half mile. Good Land.

104 A Spanish Oak ab't 18 inches diameter near the foot of a very steep hill ; the ground descends Nuitherly. At 58 ch. & branch of Tock- hockconetconk (Paulinskill) about 6 foot wide; bears all't West; crossed it about 1/2 ch. E. of a large spruce pine. At €7 Tockhock- conetconk about 70 L. wide. Bore S. W.

105 A White Osk ab't 116 loot diameter. The ground descends East- erly-steep.

106 A White Oak Saplin about 5 In. diameter, 4 ch. S. of a large pond of water, by estimation 100 Acres.2

1 The numbers in the margin represent miles from the southern point at Little Egg Harbor. The chaine mentioned in the lines are so many chains, or eightieth parte of a mile, over the last mile figure represented in the margin, or so many chains of the next mile rua.

2 Swartwood Pond.

442

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

Traverse Course Round the Pond.

1 N. 69 E. 33. 2 N. 5, 45 E. 14.

3 N. 55, E. 18.

4 N. 23 E. 8, 25. 5 N. 612 E. 9. 6 N. 16, W. 22. 7 S. 78 W. 4. 8 N. 66 W. 36. 9 S. 86, W. 53 to the line continued. At 3812 a small brook.

107 In the Aforesaid Pond.

108 A Black Oak ab't 116 foot dismeter, 1 ch. S., the ground sontherly ; at 45 a Red Oak sapliu marked E. & W. with a binze Rud 3 notches, done this summer. At 61 a small brook, runs S. Easterly. Pretty good swanıp.

109 A White Oak ab't 10 Inches diameter; the ground descends S. East- erly. At 15h brouk abont 6 feet wide. Bore about S.S.E.

110 A Red Oak ab't 2 feet diameter. At 41 a small bog on the N. side 9 ch. wide. Now we begun to ascend the Pahaqualin Mountain; it bore S. 28 W. At 70 a very steep escent-a mere body of rocks.

111 A crooked Spanish Oak among the steep rocks the sontherly side of the mountain

112 A Spanish Oak on the Northerly side of the mountain, about 3 in- ches diameter, 18 foot westward of the mile end.

113 A pine tree 1 foot dinmieter 114 ch. south ward. At 20 linke Eastward the ground descends N. Easterly. At 1212 8 brook 40 links widle, ab't S. 80 W. Good low Lands, 10 01 12 ch. wide on the N. side of brook

114 An A-b Rb't 6 In. diameter standing in a small gully. At 58 ch. Delaware River. Bore about S. 85 W., 5 chi. wide. At the bank oo Delaware & Bluck Oak ab't 15 Inches diameter, leautng over the river, marked 114 and 58 ch. ; stands 10 L. W. of the river. In Pa Hendrick Van Gorder's house about 14 of a mule, and Abram l'ara- man's above the place where the line comes to the river on the south side; at 114, 75 ch. Bower Decker's house. Bore E. 30 L. Continued 1501 miles to Station Point, near Cochecton ou Delaware."

FRIDAY, Oct. 21st, 1743.

FIELD BOOK

TRUE LINE.

Began where the random line crossed Delaware River at the end of 114 m. 58 ch., thence run a perpendicular N. 8014 E. 69, 10 L. to the true line. Course N. 9 19 W. 22 ch. The ll5th mile en Eloi about 1 foot diameter in a small bushy gully. Running S. 9, 19 E. 66 ch. from the 115th mile. Flatbrook about 50 Ls. wide, a pleasant stream ; course S. 9, 19 E.

114 A forked White Oak about 3 feet diameter, 14 ch, southetly of Flat- bruk in the low lands ou the Northerly side of the Pahaqualia Mountain.

113 A pine ab't 1 foot diameter, 45 Ls. west of the line on Northerly side of the mountain.

112 A Spanish Oak ab'r 1 foot diameter, on the Northerly side of the mountain.

111 In the edgeof a pond on the S. side of the mountain.

110 A hickory about 9 la. diameter, 20 Ls. W. of the line. At 67 a large Spanish Oak marked with a blaze and 3 notches ; supposed to be a corner tree of a survey mule ab't 2 years ago-ab't 3 feet diameter.

109 A hickory about 9 inches diameter ; abont 15 Ls. West a heap uf stones at the mile end. At 7412 two Beach trees marked in line, the E. side of a run of water.

108 A White Oak ab't I foot diameter. Ground descends N. W.

107 In a large Pond. (Saturday laid by-very rainy, some show.)

OCTOBER 23d, 1743.

106 Offset from White Oak saplin in the random line aforesaid 63,34 to a Black Onk ab't 11/2 foot diameter, 25 lin. Southwardly of the end, with a stone at the foot of it. At 63 good land abont 8 chs. wide upni Tocklockanrtconk (Paul. uskill). At 6512 the brouk-two dogwwwils 5 In. diameter, growing from one foot marked for side lines; on the N. sine brook crooks.

105 A White Oak goout 2 fret diameter, on the hill on & side of Tock- hockanetcunk ob't 14ch. Valley about 4 chains wide. Good land on

1 This refers to the distance from Little Egg Harbor. Hence Cochec- ton, or the north station point, 18 36 miles above where the Lawrence line strikes the Delaware River.

a branch. Ar 40 another valley-tolerable good land Eastward of the line.

104 A Spanish Onk ab't 112 feet diameter. Ground descends steep Northerly 75 Ls. S. S. E. of Mile end. At 14 ch. a small run of water; Rt 50 a red oak marked, on top of the hill in the line. Last half mile good land.

103 A hickory abont 8 In. diameter. Ground descends Southerly.

102 A heap of stoues on n cinster of rocks on the Westerly side of & hill. A White Oak ab't 8 In. diameter about 18 Ls. Westerly of the stones. At 50 a brook about 13 ch. wide issuing from Pequest spring through the meadow-said spring abont 20ch. W. and said brook about 5 ch. above the meeting of another brook dear as big-very difficult to get over.

101 A White Oak ab't 12 In. diameter on the edge of n hill of limestone. 100 A White Oak all't I foot diameter, 6 feet S S. W. of a heap of stones at the mile end. At 58 Pequest, 50 Ls. wide. N. B .- the last half run through Robert Chapman's land.

99 A hickory ah't 16 Io. diameter on the S. by E. side of a large rock 2 ch. Westward of the mile end.

98 A hickory ab't 16 In. rliameter, 2 ch. Northerly of a heap of stones. At 20 ch the brook Alamuchee.

It will not be necessary to follow these field-notes further, as nothing of greater interest than the mile- marks occur in the remaining few miles of the line through Sussex County. The surveyor records the fact that " every mile the true line inclines towards the random line 60,23, links." The line-trees in the random line were marked with three notches on two sides. The side trees were marked with one blaze looking towards the lines. The mile-trees were marked respectively with the number of each mile and with three notches on fonr sides. The course of the line is 9º 45' west, according to the magnetic position.

Transfer of Estates from East to West Jersey. -The effect of the establishment of the partition line between the eastern and western divisions of New Jersey was to unsettle many titles to lands which had previously been given by the respective proprietors. Many grants made by the West Jersey proprietors were found to be in East Jersey, and vice versa. It was, however, mutually agreed that in such instances equivalents should be given to the owners out of any of the unsurveyed lands on the other side of the partition line, and this began to be carried into effect soon after the Lawrence line was surveyed. The minutes of the proceedings of the proprietors abound with instances of such transfers, a few exam- ples of which we give from the West Jersey records, relating chicfly to Sussex County :

" FEBRUARY 17, 1745.

" Wherens, information was given to this board by John Reading, deputy surveyor, that two surveys formerly matle by hint, the one for Samuel Nevill, of 1700 acres; the other for Joseph Sacket, of 500 acres, happen to fall on the East side of the line run by John Lawrence for the division-line of this province; therefore craves leave to relocate the like quantity of land in some other place of the said Western division. " Grunted accordingly."

" AUGUST 3, 1749.

"Information being given to this board by John Reeding, Esq., that the line run by John Lawrence cuts of a truct of land formerly sur- veyed to Thomas Inmbert, deceased, from the Western division; for which reason the dlevises crave leave to relocate in some other part of the said division the quantity of - acres in lleu thereof.

" Leave granted accordingly."

.443

THE PARTITION LINE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST JERSEY.

" AUGUST 7, 1752.

"Thomas Wetherill applied to this board for a warrant to take up 25 acres of land, in lieu of 25 acres, being the one-fourth of 100 acree sur- veyed to Thonias Wetherill, Isaac De Cow, John Lyou, and Gershom Mott, which by the running of the line between East and West Jersey by John Lawrence, lies oo the East side. John Reading, Esq., assured thia board that the above 25 acres did fall to the East side of said line ; therefore a warrant was ordered, which was granted accordingly."

" FEBRUARY 1, 1757.

" Joshna Opdike laid before this board one survey of 140 acree, made hy Samuel Green for exid .loshue Opdike, situate in the county of Sussex, and ia recorded in B. B. 212, 213, which appears on the East side of the true Quintipartite line run by John Lawrence ; 73 acres of which be line since purchased an Exat Jersey proprietary night [to] and laid ; therefore craves a warrant to locate the same 140 acres elsewhere; and a warrant was granted accordingly."

" FEBRUARY 4, 1762.

"The agent of the London Company, by John Beaumont, applied to this board for a warrant to relocate the quantity of 159 acree, in part of I68 acrea that were formerly surveyed to the said Company in the Coun- ties of Sussex and Morris; which said land wae laid out to said Company eume time in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty, and re- corded in the Surveyor-general's office, io Lib. Ma. fol. 284, and upon the report of Johu Rockhill, deputy-surveyor, it appears that 159 acres, part thereof lieth to the Enetward of the Quintipartite line; therefore it is ordered that a warrant iesne Irom this board to the said Company by the directions of their agents, for to relocate the said quantity of 159 acrea. A warrant was ordered, which was granted accordingly."

We also take the following extracts from the war- rants and surveys of the West Jersey proprietors :

" Extract from 158 acres surveyed for John Hacket, the return where- of is dated loth of March, 1759, beginning at a stone corner, it being the South East Corner of a tract of land containing 400 acres, and is sur- veyed for the said lubn Hackett and stands near or in the division-line late run by John Lawrence from thence, etc. Witness my hand the 12th day of September, 1799.

" DANIEL SMITH, JUN., Surveyor-General.

" May the 9th, 1760, inspected and approved by the Council, etc.

". JOSEPH HOLLINOSHEAD, Clerk."

"Extract from Joshua Opdyke's 53 acres and one-tenth, being at a beap of etones in the division line between East and West Jersey ; being a corner of land formerly surveyed to Richard Green, and runs, &c., to a heap of etones in the said division-line, thence along the sunie South 10 degrees East 12 ch. Witness my hand the 7th day of November, 1759.

" DANIEL SMITH, JUN., Surveyor-General.

" Feb. 7th, 1760. Inapected and approved by the Council.

" WILLIAM HEULINOS, Clerk.

" Extract from 167 acres and sixty-two-hundredths, surveyed for Juhu Spratt, lying upon the East side of Delaware river, beginning where a tract of low land ende upon the river, and where the upland comes to the river; being about 285 chaina on a straight line from the North partition of New Jersey, and from thence, &c. Witness my hand the 31st day of August. 1747.

" JAMES ALEXANDER, Surveyor-General.

" February the 5th, 1747. Inspected and approved of, and ordered to Le recorded.

" JOSEPH DE Cow, Clerk.

" West Jersey, 88.

" (Seal.) To the surveyor-general of lands for the divisione aforesaid, or his lawful deputy, greeting: You, or either of you, are required to survey to and for Juhn Jobs the quantity of 313 acres of land, anywhere in the Western division of New Jersey, being lawfully purchased of the Indians, and not before lawfully surveyed ; which is in lieu of a former aurvey made and recorded, and now appears to be in the Eastern division. Dated the 5th of February, 1747.

" Surveyed to John Spratt 259 acres and twenty-hundredths, beginning at the upper end of a piece of low land npon the river Delaware where a high hill comes to the river, at shont 440 chains distance on a straight line from the North partition point of New Jersey ; and from which be- ginning the river Iwars upwards upon a North course for 30 chains, with high cliffs on the West side of the river, and from the said place of be- ginting running &c .; the corners of thuis tract are thoe" which the Mag- netical Compas pointed in the year 1719, the variation being theu observed

at the North partition point to be eight degrees Westerly. Witness my hand the 3d day of August, 1747.

" JAMES ALEXANDER, Surveyor-General.

"Inspected and approved of, aud ordered to be recorded.

" JOSEPH DE COW, Clerk.

" West Jersey, 88.

" (Seal.) To the surveyor-general of lands for the proprietors of the di- vision aforesaid, or his lawful deputy, greeting : You, or either of you, are hereby required to survey for William Coxe 1100 acres of land in any part of the Western division of New Jersey, where lawfully purchased of the Indians and not before legally surveyed, it being in lieu and instead of 1100 acres of land which he claims in virtue of the will of his father, Cul. Daniel Coxe, and his brother John Cuxe; the exid 1100 acres being part of 1600 acres formerly surveyed to the said Col. Daniel Coxe, and which is found to be in east Jersey, within a former survey called the Pepack patent. Dated the 17th August, 1754.

" A warrant to John Scott, and his wife Sarah (who was legatee of John Budd) the quantity of 860 acres, in lieu of the like quantity laid out for John Simpkins in five eurveye to the Eastward of the division line. Dated the 5th day of August, 1756.

" A warrant to John Opdyke, the quantity of 140 acres of laod, any- where in West Jersey, in lieu of the like quantity surveyed in East Jer- sey. Dated the 3d day of February, 1757."

" West Jersey, 88.

** (Seal.) To the eurveyor-general of lande for the division aforesaid, or his lawful deputy, greeting : You, or either of you, are hereby required to lay forth aud eurvey to and fur William Coxe, Daniel Cuxe, Rebecca Coxe, and Grace Coxe the quantity of 670 acres of land, auywhere in the Western division aforesaid, in lieu of so ninch cut off by the East and Weat Jersey line, on a tract formerly surveyed to Col. Cuxe for 1000 acres oo the Pauline Kill, in Sussex County. Dated the 5th of Novem- ber, 1762.

" Extract from 254 acres surveyed for John Emane, beginning at a black Oak standing by Delaware river ; being a corner of a tract of land for- merly surveyed to Joseph Kirkbride, thence down the said river, &c. Witness my haud thie 26th day of April, 1731.

" JAMES ALEXANDER, Surveyor-Generol.

" Burlington May 5th, 1731. Inspected and approved the above survey

by the Council of proprietors, and ordered to be entered ou record. " Testis JOHN BUAR, Clerk.

" Extracted from the record in Lib. M. folio 107.

" West Jersey, 88.

(Seal.) " To the Surveyor-general of lands for the division afuresaid, or bis lawful deputy, greeting : You, or either of you. are hereby required to lay forth and survey for John Emans 254 acres anywhere unappropri- ated in said province, in hen of the like quantity surveyed to the said Emans, and recorded in Lib. M, folio 107, and is in East Jersey ; wherein you are to observe the rules and orders prescribed by the Council of pro- prietors for the surveying of lands, and make return for such parts thereof, that shall be surveyed to the next Council after the survey of the same ; and for you, or either of you, eo doing, this shall be your suf- ficient warrant. In testiniony wherrof we hava cause the seal of the Council of proprietors to be herenuto affixed. Witness John Ladd, Esq., president of the Council, this 3d day of November, Anno Dom. 1763. By order of the Council.

" WILLIAM HEWLING, Clerk.

" A warrant to Grace Cox, devisee of Col. Coxe, the quantity of 360 acres, anywhere in the Western division of the province aforesaid, in lien of the like quantity that has been located in East Jersey. Dated the 25th of October, 1765.

" The foregoing are true copies and extracts from the wurrante and booke lodge at Burlington, iu the surveyor-general's office for West Jersey.

" ROBERT SMITH, Surveyor-General for West Jersey."

Movement for a New Partition Line .- Up to the time of the settlement of the boundary line be- tween New Jersey and New York, in 1772, the quin- tipartite division of New Jersey was accepted and ac- quiesced in by the proprietors of both the eastern and the western sections. In a petition presented to Gov- ernor Burnet, in August, 1725, the proprietors of West

444

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

Jersey say, "That it is only by force of this agree- ment and partition, executed as aforesaid, that the proprietors of the Western division are limited to the Western part of the said province, on the side of the Delaware; and that the proprietors of the Eastern di- vision are limited to the eastern part of the said pro- vince towards Hudson's River and the sea; for had no such division been agreed on, as is recited in all the respective deeds of conveyance to the proprietors, those of the Western division might with an equal right have claimed the lands towards Amboy, etc., and those of the Eastern might have claimed the lands towards Burlington. But the said Quintipar- tite indenture being executed as aforesaid, before the sales to the proprietors were made and recited in all the deeds of conveyance, became an absolute limita- tion, so that neither on the one part nor the other any purchaser could claim otherwise than according to that limitation, by which their lands were actually conveyed.

" That notwithstanding this legal, clear, and abso- lute partition, which is binding on every proprietor of the Eastern division, and at least on all the nine- teen parts of the Western division, sold by Edward Byllynge, or his trustees, and from which those who are skilled in law well know it is impossible legally to recede without the joint concurrence of every individ- ual interested in the purchases made under Edward Byllynge and trustees, and under Sir George Carteret ; for it is well known that no majority without the whole will in those cases determine the point; yet there have been some persons found from time to time who, on partial views to themselves, have labored to intro- duce some other sort of division, and considerable numbers have been so far unhappily imposed upon as to imagine a change thereof might be practicable ; from which unfortunate deception attempts have been made to alter it, and some lines for that purpose have been run and settlements thereupon made without due regard to the bounds of the respective divisions, which introduced such confusion that the value of lands near the boundaries have been much lessened and the people discouraged from making improve- ments, where the right to the soil itself was liable to be questioned as not lying within the division under which it was purchased."

The petition from which the above extracts are taken is signed by " John Ladd, for himself and Col. John Allford ; John Budd, for himself and Boulton ; John Kay, William Cooper, Francis Rawle, Jr., Charles Brogden, Samuel Lippincott, John Snowden, Jr., Isaac De Cow, for himself and Samuel Barker ; Mat- thew Gardiner, Isaac Pearson, William Pancoast, Wil- liam Biles, Isaac Watson, William Rawle, Thomas Sharp, for himself and John Dennis ; John Estaugh, for the London Company ; John and William Dims- dale, Peter Rich, Benjamin Hopkins and self; Wil- liam Biddle, Hugh Sharp, Henry Hodge, Robert Rawle, George Budd ; James Logan, for proprietors,

-William Penn's family, 12; John Bellers, 1 ; Amos Stuttle, 1; myself, one-third; Richard, for Nath. Stanbury ; Mary Willson."

No formidable effort was made to change the Law- rence line for fifty years, or until after the boundary line between New Jersey and New York had been settled. This line, as will appear in another chapter, was established, not at the north station-point, as as- certained and defined in the tripartite indenture agreed upon by the commissioners both of New York and New Jersey, and in accordance with the express stipulation of the original grant of the Duke of York, but was brought down to the present termination of the State line on the Delaware at Carpenter's Point, taking off from New Jersey over two hundred thousand acres of land. When this line became fixed, the pro- prietors of the western division of New Jersey began to agitate the question of changing the quintipartite or partition line to correspond therewith, alleging that, at whatever point the boundary line terminated on the Delaware, the partition line should terminate there also. Hence originated the proposed line of 1775. In January of that year the proprietors of West Jersey presented a petition to His Excellency Governor Franklin and to the Council and Assembly of New Jersey, praying that the partition line so long established between the respective sections of the province might be changed. The petition set forth,-

"That in and by a certain deed of indenture Quintipartite, made the first day of July Anno Dom. 1676, between Sir George Carteret, of the firet part ; William Penn, Esq,, of the second part; Gawen Lawrie, of the third part; Nicholas Lucas, of the fourth part; and Edward Byllynge of the fifth part, then sole owners and proprietors of the whole province of New Jersey ; they the said George Carteret, William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, Nicholas Lucas, and Edward Byllynge did agree to make a per- tition between them of the said province.

" That in pursuance of the said agreement, an actual partition of the esid Province was made between the eaid proprietors, and mutually re- leased to each other, viz .: Ove ehare or portion thereof to Sir George Carteret, called East New Jersey ; and the other part thereof to the said William Penn, Gawen Lawrie, Nicholas Lucas, end Edward Byllynge, called West New Jersey ; the line of which said partition was by the said proprietora, parties to the said indenture Quintipartite, mutually under- stood, intended, agreed upon and fixed, to be a straight line, to run from the moet Northerly point or boundary of the province of New Jersey, on the Northernmost branch of the river Delaware, unto the most Southerly point of the East side of a certain inlet, herbor, or bay, on the sea coast of the province of New Jersey, commonly called and known by the name of Little Egg Harbour."

After reciting briefly the history we have gone over in a former part of this chapter, the petitioners say,-

"That your petitioners being the present owners and proprietors of the said Western division of New Jersey, under the aforesaid Byllynge and trustees; having long anxiously waited for an event whereby the true point of partition between the said divisions might be permanently fixed and determined, and which by the said last mentioned act, con- firmed by his Majesty and Council, is now huppily established, have fre- quently sud pressingly made overtures and proposals to the proprietors of the Eastern division to have the said Quintipartite Line exactly and truly run. . . . Your petitioners therefore. . . . do earnestly entreat the kind interposition of the legislature of this province, and submit to their wisdom to frame and pass euch a law for the final settlement of the said line. ... "

415

THE PARTITION LINE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST JERSEY.

This, on account of the Revolutionary war, was laid over, and was never acted upon by the Legisla- ture. A petition of similar import and intent was presented to the Legislature in October. 1782, signed by Joseph Reed, for the West Jersey Society and him- self; Jonathan D. Sergeant, Clement Biddle, Daniel Ellis, and Ebenezer Cowell, "a committee specially appointed to this service by the Western proprietors." The proprietors of East Jersey sent in a counter-me- morial in June, 1783, setting forth the history of the quintipartite agreement and defending it ax a final settlement of the partition line in the words follow- ing:

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 108

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed. Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts Number of Pages: 1224

Author: W. Woodford Clayton, Ed.
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Philadelphia: Everts
Number of Pages: 1224