History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 23

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 23
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 23

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).

5 Ibid., Nos. 571-75. Gaines' Mercury, No. 1587.

G N. J. Journal, No. 161.

7 Ibid., No. 175.

& N. J. Gazette, Nu. 214.

9 Gaines' Mercury, No. 1591. Rivington's Gazette, No. 57>.

10 N. J. Journal, No. 176.

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

six hundred pounds " for letting John Smith Hetfield escape," of which the following is an account :

" Smith Hetfield. au infamons refugee, who has been committing dep- redations on the innocent inhaltants along the lines ever since the commencement of the war, and was taken prisoner several months ago, made his escape from the guard who had him in charge ou Satorday uight last [September 21st]." 1

One act more of aggressive hostility on the part of citizens of this town, March, 1783, remains to be narrated. It will be told in the words of Maj. Wil- liam Crane, the leader of the enterprise, as written the next day :

"T have the pleasure to inform you of the capture of the sloop Katy, of twelve double-fortified four-pounders, containing one hundred and seventeen puncheons of Jamaica spir ts, lying, at the time of capture, within pistol-shot of the grand battery at New York, and alongside of the ship Engle, of twenty-four guns, which we also took, bit were obliged to leave there, as she lay agronnd. The Captain- and crews of both the vessels were brought up by us in the sloop to this place, where we have them secure. This was performed on the night of the third of March [Monday], by six town-men, under the command of Captain Quigley and myself, without the firing of a musket by any of our party." 2

The vessel and cargo were sold at auction at Eliza- beth Town on Monday, the 17th of March.3

The welcome news at length arrived at Philadel- phia, March 23d, that preliminary treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain had been signed at Paris on the 20th of January, thus rendering effect- ual the provisional treaty of the 30th of November, 1782, between Great Britain and the United States. On the reception of the news, and of his instructions, Sir Guy Carleton hastened to proclaim a complete ces- sation of hostilities by sea and land ; and a similar proclamation was ordered by Congress on the 11th of April. The order was received at headquarters in Newburgh, N. Y., on the 17th, and proclamation was made accordingly to every regiment and corps of the army at noon of Saturday, the 19th of April, pre- cisely eight years from the actual commencement of hostilities at Lexington, Mass.

GEN. ELIAS DAYTON, son of Jonathan Dayton, was born at Elizabeth Town, N. J., in 1737. He entered the military service of the province as a lieutenant March 19, 1756, and was made captain March 29, 1760, serving with the British troops in the French war on the frontiers. In 1764 he conducted a suc- cessful expedition against the Indians near Detroit, who were engaged in the uprising under Pontiac, the famous Ottawa chief. Of this Mr. Dayton left a jour- nal, commencing with April 30, and ending with Sept. 15, 1764. He took an active and patriotic part in the measures which led to the Declaration of Independ- ence. As colonel of militia he had command of the Elizabeth Town Volunteers, who captured (Jan. 23, 1776) the "Blue Mountain Valley." He was commis- sioned colonel of the Third New Jersey Regiment of regulars Feb. 9, 1776, and took part with his regi- ment in the defense of Ticonderoga. His gallant con- duct through the war has been already related. On

the resignation of Gen. Maxwell, July 20, 1780, he was put in command of the New Jersey Brigade. He took part in the affairs of Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Yorktown, and accompanied Gen. Sullivan in 1779 on his Western expedition. He was commissioned as a brigadier-general Jan. 8, 1783, and June 5, 1793, as a major-general of the Second Division of New Jersey militia.

In 1779 he was chosen a member of Congress, and declined, but was a delegate in 1787-88. He was for several years a member of the New Jersey Legisla- ture. He would have been appointed to the United States Constitutional Convention in 1787, but declined in favor of his son Jonathan. He was frequently ap- pointed to office in his native town, as a member and president of the board of trustees for many years of the Presbyterian Church, as a member of the corpo- ration, and from 1796 to 1805, with the exception of a single year, as mayor of the borough. He was the first President of the Cincinnati of New Jersey. In person and bearing he strongly resembled Gen. Wash- ington.

Both before and after the Revolutionary war he was successfully engaged in mercantile pursuits, part of the time alone, and afterwards as Elias Dayton & Son.

He died of gout in the stomach, and on Saturday, 24th, the corpse was removed to the Presbyterian Church, where a funeral sermon was preached by the Rev. John McDowell from Joshua xxiii. 14: " And behold this day I am going the way of all the earth." The assemblage of citizens was more numerous than we ever knew on the like occasion in this town. Military honors were performed. The whole pro- ceedings were marked with uncommon solemnity, and evinced the unfeigned affliction felt by all classes of citizens. In this solemn dispensation of Providence we behold the uncertainty of sublunary things, a fel- low-mortal in health in the evening and a corpse before the next rising sun.

HON. JONATHAN DAYTON, LL. D .-- He was the son of Gen. Elias Dayton, and was born in Elizabeth Town Oct. 16, 1760. He graduated at the College of New Jersey in 1776; entered the army in 1778 as a pay- master ; accompanied, in 1779, Gen. Sullivan on his Western expedition ; and in 1780 was a captain in his father's regiment. After the peace he was chosen to the Legislature of New Jersey, of which he was Speaker in 1790. He represented his native State in the con- vention (1787) for the formation of the Federal Con- stitution, and in 1791 was elected to Congress. Thrice he was re-elected, serving four terms in the House, of which he was Speaker from 1795 to 1799. He was chosen senator of the United States, and served from 1799 to 1805. He was appointed by President Adams a brigadier-general, with the privilege of retaining his seat in the Senate.

He became largely interested with Symmes and others in the purchase and settlement of western military lands, the town of Dayton, in Ohio, being

1 N. J. Gazette, No. 248. 2 Ibid., No. 273.

3 Ibid., No. 272.

GEN. ELIAS DAYTON.

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.

named in compliment to him. His early intimacy in boyhood with Aaron Burr, and his later associa- tion with him in the Senate of the United States, led him to look with more favor than prudence would have dictated upon the schemes of that aspiring and crafty politician, so that by advancing money to aid Burr in his adventures he became compromised with him in the charge of treason. This indictment, how- ever, was not tried, and Mr. Dayton's bail was re- leased. This unhappy affair, and the breaking up of the Federal party, of which he was a leader, put an end to Mr. Dayton's political aspirations. He was subsequently elected repeatedly to the Council of the New Jersey Legislature, and held several important offices in his native town. He received, in 1798. from his alma mater the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws. His later days were passed at home, in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence, respected and venerated by his townsmen, and honored by all who knew him.

GEN. WILLIAM CRANE, son of the Hon. Stephen Crane, was a sterling patriot of the Revolution. He was born at Elizabeth Town, N. J., in 1748, and being in the full vigor of his early manhood at the begin- ning of the Revolutionary war, at once espoused his country's cause, and in common with several of his townsmen attached himself as lieutenant of an artil- lery company to the Canada expedition under Mont- gomery. At the time that his commander fell before Quebec. Dec. 31, 1775, Crane received a bomb-shell wound in one of his ankles, from which he suffered until his death, nearly forty years afterwards. As major of militia, the story of his capture, March 3, 1783, of the armed ship "Eagle" and the sloop " Katy," within pistol-shot of the battery of New York, has been told in the history of the Revolution in this work. For these acts of bravery he was pro- i moted after the war to a brigadier-generalship of militia. He lived till nearly the close of the second war with England, discharging responsible trusts both in the borough and in the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a trustee, until the time of his death. The following obituary notice appeared in the New Jersey Journal of July 12, 1814 :

" Died on Saturday last (9th) Gen. Williem Crane, io the 67th year of bis age. In the year 1775, Gen. Crane entered the Continental ser- vice, and at the reduction of St. John's, or Montreal, received a wound in his leg which uever was cured, and for some years past he suffered much from it. About seventeen months since bis leg was amputated with flattering prospects, but that last resort has been too long deterred, and he fell a victim to the incurable wound. Gen. Crane's character as a soldier and citizen stood pre-eminent, and he lived beloved and died leulented. His funeral was attended oo Sunday by a vast conrouree of people from this and the neighboring parishes, who testified his worth as & MAN "

joined the Presbyterian Church, becoming a member of its board of trustees in 1807, of which he was made president in 1813. He was the vice-president of the Cincinnati of New Jersey, and a leading member of various other institutions in the town. At the time of his decease he was also mayor of the borough of Eliza- beth. He died Sept. 4, 1823, aged seventy-five years. At a meeting of the corporation the day following his funeral the following testimonial to his eminent worth was recorded :

" While the Members of this Corporation, in common with their fel- low-Citizens of this Borough, deeply lament the death of their late wortby chief Magistrate, Jeremiah Ballard, Esqr, they think it due to his memory to express their sentiments of bis public character and private worth.

"To detail the particulars of a long and useful life they do not feel themselves called upon, but they believe they give a faithful though brief summary of it when they say,-

" As a Soldier, he was brave, humans, and generous ;

" As a Magistrate, he was npright, intelligent, and faithful ;

" As a C'it zeu, he was public-spirited and highly useful ;

" As Presiding officer of this Corporativo, be was courteons, dignified, & impartial ;

" As a Christian, he was Charitable & zealous, but unostentatious.

" He displayed the graces of the religion he professed in life, & he felt its support and consulation in death.

" Thus lived aod died the worthy Chief Magistrate of our Borough, who ranked if out among the greatest yet among the best of men.

" Therefore, Resolved, that the members of this corporation feel & sincerely deplore his loss, and as a mark of respect to bis memory they will wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days."

HON. ABRAHAM CLARK .- Abraham Clark, known as one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence, was born at the home of his ancestors, on the upper or western road, about midway between Eliza- beth Town and the village of Rahway, where his father, Thomas Clark, his grandfather, Thomas, and probably his great-grandfather, Richard, had lived before him. The latter became a resident of the town in 1678. The Clark mansion was about half a mile north by west of the Wheat-Sheaf tavern.

Thomas Clark had at least three sons and one daughter,-Thomas, born 1701; Abraham, born 1703; James, of Connecticut Farms; and Mrs. Day. Capt. Abraham Clark, commander of the troops, resided directly west of his eldest brother, Thomas, and out- lived him but fitteen days. The youngest brother and the sister lived to a great age. Thomas, the eldest, was one of the charter aldermen of the hor- ough of Elizabeth. His grandson, Dr. Abraham Clark, says he was "Judge and, I believe, keeper of the Kings arms, as many muskets and cartouche boxes with the letters 'G. R.' on their covers re- mained in the house until used by our patriots." He died Sept. 11, 1765, and was the Judge Clark referred to elsewhere, who was buried without pomp or profuseness of expense, as had until then been so common.

JEREMIAH BALLARD, EsQ .- He was born in 1748, and became at an early period of his life a resident of Abraham, the signer, was his only son, and was born at the homestead on Feb. 15, 1726. " His nearest neighbors were his uncle Abraham on the west; Lewis Mulford, a strict Puritan, on the north ; Elizabeth Town. In the later years of the Revolu- tionary war he was a captain in the Third New Jer- sey Regiment. In 1796 he was chosen recorder of the borough, and in 1801 deputy mayor. In 1788 he | Capt. Jonathan Hampton, 'an Episcopalian, a mem-

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

ber of the Colonial Assembly, who lived in the hand- some style of a gentleman of the old school,' on the east; and a ' noble farmer, Ephraim Terrill, another captain of troopers, an Episcopalian, a man of strong mind and social qualities,' on the south."

Mr. Clark received a good business education for the times, and entered into business as a surveyor and conveyancer. He made himself familiar with the common points of law, and was ever ready to aid his neighbor with legal advice gratuitously, and so ob- tained the sobriquet of " The Poor Man's Counselor." In 1764 he was appointed by the Legislature one of the commissioners to survey and divide the common lands of the old township of Bergen.1 He held the office of high sheriff of Essex County in 1767 and of clerk to the Colonial Assembly ; he was a member of the Committee of Safety in December, 1774, and sub- sequently their secretary ; he was chosen to the Pro- vincial Congress in September, 1775, and was elected by them, June 22, 1776, one of the delegates from New Jersey to the Continental Congress, in which capacity he had the honor of affixing his name to the Decla- ration of Independence.

He was rechosen to Congress in 1776 and in 1777, serving until April 3, 1778; again in 1780, 1781, 1782, 1786, 1787, and 1788. He was appointed to the first Constitutional Convention at Annapolis in 1786, and again in 1787, but did not attend the latter on ac- count of ill health. He was chosen by the people under the new Constitution to the second and third Congresses, and died before the completion of his last term. During his long public career he proved himself the incorruptible patriot, an active and judi- cious legislator, a prudent counselor, and a true friend of the people.

His death was occasioned by a coup-de-soleil, a stroke of the sun, which he survived but two hours. Great respect was shown for his memory on the occasion of his funeral. His remains were deposited in the bury- ing-ground of the Presbyterian Church of Rahway. A stone with the following inscription marked the spot :

" In memory of ABRAHAM CLARK, Esq., who died Sept. 15th, 1794, in the 69th year of his age. [ Firm and decided as a patriut, | Zealons and faithful as a friend to the public, | He loved his country, | And adhered to her cause | In the darkest hours of her struggles | Against oppres- sion."

The New Jersey Journal of the following week says "he was nniform and consistent, adorning that re- ligion that he had early made a profession of by acts of charity and benevolence."

. It was also said of him that " in private life he was reserved and contemplative. Limited in his circum- stances, moderate in his desires, and unambitious of wealth, he was far from being parsimonious in his private concerns, although a rigid economist in pub- lic affairs."

1 Hudson County Land Titles, by Charles Winfield, Esq.

He had long been a member of the First Presby- terian Church of Elizabeth Town, and was one of its trustees from 1786 to 1790. " His person was of the common height, his form slender, his eyebrows heavy." He is characterized as having been "very temperate."

Mr. Clark married, about the year 1749, Sarah, the eldest daughter of Isaac Hatfield, sister of Elder Isaac Hatfield, and first cousin of Mrs. Robert Ogden, the mother of Gen. Matthias and Governor Aaron Ogden. She was born in 1728, survived her husband nearly ten years, and died June 2, 1804. They had ten children.

Roster of Officers and Men from what is now Union County in the War of the Revolution.

Aaron Ogden, pay master, First Battalion, First Establishment, Dec. 8, 1775 ; capt., lientenant, First Regiment, Feb. 2, 1779 ; brigade-major, and inspector and aide-de-camp to Brig .- Gen. William Maxwell, April 1, 1778; disch. at the close of the war.

Elias Dayton, Third Battalion, as colonel,

Jonathan Dayton, paymaster; and Rev. James Caldwell, chaplain. Samuel Potter, captain, Ist Co.

Josiah Quimby, 2d lieutenant, Ist Co.

Col. Moses Jaques.

Col. Matthias Ogden.

Philemon Dickinson, brigadier-general militia, Oct. 19, 1775.

Elias Dayton, colonel and brig dier-general Continental army.

Moses Jaques, lieutenant-colon-1, Sept. 24, 1777.

Samuel Potter, lieutenant-colonel, Feb. 3, 1777.

Oliver Spencer, major. John Crane, lieutenant and cap-

David Condiet, tuin.

Jacob Crane,

Abrahamı Ogden, " Feb. 3, 1776.

James Hedden, lieut. State troops.

Joseph Dayton, lieutenant.

Adam Terrill, =

James Wall, =

John Ball, ensign.

Israel Brundage, captain.

Uriah Adums, ensign.

Lewis Brant,

Charles Clark, and captain.

Nathaniel Camp,

John Miller,

Stephen Pierson, "

Stephen Chandler, lieutenant, also captain.

Andrew Ross, sargeant-major.

Robert Clark, captain.

Sanutel Cole, sergeant.

Thomas Clark,

Jonathan Comlict, captain.

Daniel Hetfield,

John Craig, =

William DeHart,

Linus Baldwin, corporal.

- Hendricks,

James Jarolonian,

Samuel Foster, =

Eliakim Little, =

Jediah Miller,

Abrabanı Lyon, =

Jonathan Squire, “

Matthias Lyon,

Nathaniel Russ, bombardier.

-- Moss,

Ichabod Cleveland, drumnuer.

Matthew Potter,

John Aken, private.

Isaac Smith, =

Daniel Allen,

Elijah Squire,

Joseph Allen,

Henry Squire,

Samuel Amet, =

Daniel S. Wood,

Joseph Badgley,

Jesse Baldwin, lieutenant.

Willianı Baker,

Caleb Baldwin,

Ichabod Baldwin,

Johan Ball, =

Isaac Mulford, lieutenant.

Anthony Price,

Jolin Bayley,

David Tichenor,

James Beach,

Eder Vermulo,

Nathan Beach,

Elias Winane,

Abram Beedle,

David Pierson,

and af-

William Bond,

William Brant,

terwards captain.

Daniel Reed, lieutenant.

Isaac Brookfield,

Joseph Crane, lientenant and cap-

tain.

Nathan Hand, quartermaster.

David Pierson, surgeon.

Nehehiah Wade, conunissary.

William Clark,

Obilialı Crane,

David Pierson, =

Sammel Meeker, captain in Blan- chard troop light-horse ; cor- net, lieutenant, and in State troop.

Timothy Ball, David B ,Il,

WAR OF THE REVOLUTION.

Job Brown,

private.

Moses Hetfield,

private.

David Morris,

private.

Gideon Smith, Obedialı Smith,

private.

John Brown,

Zepher Hetfield,

David Morris,

Abram Bunnell,

Robert Hall,

John Muchmore,

Joseph Bunnell,

Robert Hays.

Benjamin Mulford,

Isaac Cadmus,

Michael Hays,1

Lewis Mulford,

James Squier,

Job Camp, or de Camp,

יר

Carey Headly,

John Mulford,

Daniel Squier,

James Campbell,

Moses Headly,

Amos Munn,

Eleaser Squier,

Samuel Clark,

Muses Headley,

David Munn,

Juhn Squier,

Charles Clark,

Joseph Hinds, or Haines,

Samuel Munn,

Albert Stagg,

William Clark,

INHAC Hull,

Benjamin Myers,

John Stagg,

Ezra Clark,

William Hutchens,

Nathaniel Nesbit,

Jusialı Steel,

Daniel Condict,

Halmack Jaroleman,

Amos Noe,

Timothy Stiles,

Elnathan Cory,

Lawrence Jennings,

David Norris,

Abner Stiles,

Samuel Cory,

George Jewell,

Jantes Norris,

Henry Stiles,

Eber Covert,

Benjamin Johnson,

William Norris,

Abram Stiles,

Luke Covert,

Samuel Johnson,

David Ogden,

Jacob Swain,

Peter Couvert,

Peter Kemble,

Eleizer Ogden,

John Ogden,

Amus Terrell,

Aaron t'rane,

Isaac Lacey,

Jonathan Ogden,

Juseph Ogden,

Isaac Terrell,

David Crane,

James Lambert,

Matthias Ogden,

John Terrell,

Elijah Crane,

- Lambert,

Simeon Ogden,

Jonathan Terry,

Isaac Craue,

Cornelius Lane, or Lange,

Nehemiab Osborn,

Aaron Thompson,

Israel Crane, Jr.,

Joseph Lee,

Jesse Osborne,

Caleb Thompson,

James Crane,

Levi Lennier,

Abner Osburn,

Elijah Tichenor,

Jonas Crane,

William Lines,

Jvel Osburn,

Enus Tompkins,

Jonathan Crane,

Beujanıin Little,

William Pangborn,

Effingham Townley,

Mugrs Crane,

Ebenezer Little,

Peter Parcell,

Edward Townley,

Nathan Crane,

Henry Little,

William Parsel,

James S. Townley,

Phineas Crane,

Jonathan Little,

Stephen Parsons,

Steeds Townley,

Samuel Crane,

Joseph Little,

Michael Pearce,

Jonathan Trembler,

Timothy Crane,

Noah Little,

Adam Pearce,

Samuel Tubus,

Jobn Crilley,

William Little,

Elihu l'earson,

Abrabam Tucker,

Juhu Darby,

- Little,

William Pierson,

Ezekial Tucker,

Isaac Davis,

Eleizer Luker,

Daniel Pearson,

Benjamin Valentine,

Jubu Davis,

Jacob Ludlam, or Ludlow, “

Theophilna Pearson,

Jonas Valentine,

Peter Davis,

Abraham Ludlam, or Lud- Jow,

Joseplı Peck,

Simon Van Winkle,

Jacob Dean,

John Ludlam, or Ludlow, “

Moaes Peck,

John Vincent,

Andrew Deumen,

Benjamin Lyon, =

Ralph Post,

George Voorhees,

Isaac Deuman,

Ebenezer Lyon,

Zenas Putter,

Michael Vreeland,

Philip Denman,

Heury Lyon, =

Amos Potter,

Abner Wade,

Juseph Dodd,

Ezekiel Magee,

Richard Powelson,

Calvin Wade,

George Duty, ar Doughty,"

Juhn Magee,

Joseph Price,

Daniel Wade,

Francia Drake,

Benjamin Manning,

William Ramsden,

Henry Wade,

David Dunham,

- Marcelles,

Satuuel Quimby,

Matthias Wade,

John Duuham,

Charles March,

Nehemiah Randolph,

Obedialı Wade,

James Ford,

John Marsh,

Smith Riggs,

Timothy Wade,

Juna- Frazer,

- Martin,

Jacob Riker,

Hendrick Wessels,

Abner Whitehead, =

vate

Amos Meeker,

Ephraim Rino,

Damel Wilcox,

Matthias Frazee,

private.

Benjamin Meeker,

Julin Rogers,

Thomas Wilcox,

Samuel Gardner,

Cury Meeker.

Samuel Romine,

Abner Williams,

Juho Garral,ratita,

Daniel Meeker,

Daniel Ruas,

Benjamin Williams,

Peter Garsisul,

Isaac Meeker,

Ephraim Ross,

David Williams, Jr.,

Joseph Giles,

John Meeker,

Ezekiel Ross,

James Williams,

Charles Gillman,

William Meeker,

Juhu Ross,

Abraham Winans,

Isaac Gray,

Abuer Miller,

Aaron Rowlison,

Jobu Winans,

Benjamin Haines,

Benjamin Miller,

Anthony Sayres,

Kelsey Winans,

Heury Halsey,

Clark Miller,

Beujamin Sayres,

Moses Winaus,

Hezekiah Hand,

private.

Sanınel Miller,

Pierson Sayres,

Christopher Wood,

Wiuana larris,

William Maler,

Benjamin Scudder,

Aaron Woodruff,

Aaron Hetfield, or Hatfield, pri- vate.

Samuel Monney,

Matthias Scudder,

Caleb Woodruff,

Abner lletfield, or Hatfield, pri- vate.

James Muorehouse,

Jacob Sering,

David Woodruff, =

Elias lletfield,

private.

Samuel Morehouse,

John Sering,

= Jacob Woodruff,

David Shaw,

Juh Woodruff,

Aeron Shipman.

Uzal Woodruff,

James Smith,

Jacob Woolley,

Abrahanı Crane,

Anthony King,

Eliakam Ogden,

Cyrua Taylor,

Jasper Ten Brouk,

Anos Crane,

David King,

Enoch Terrell,

Daniel Crane,

David Lacey,

Isaac Pack,

Charles Towulry,

Matthias Crane,

Cornelius Little,

Matthias Pearson,

Thomas Vauce,

Joseph Day,

Benjamin Frazee, or Frazer, pri-

Isaac Maxwell,

Jolın Riker,

Isaac Russ, 3d,

Matthias Williams,

Joseph or Josiah Gold,

David Hand, private, also express- rider.

John Miller,

Ephraim Sayres,

Samuel Winans,

Summnel Mills, =

Ephraim Scudder,

Abram Woodruff,

William Money,

Richard Scudder,

Daniel Woodruff,

Matthias Win-n8,

Enuch Miller,

Daniel Sayres,

Nathaniel Wade,

Isaac Force,

Jablau Marsh,

Perminus Riggs,

Michael Meeker,

Il am not sure that he resided in now Union County, but on the line ot Morris County.

Joseph Myrick,

Albert Stagg,

Jacob Clark,

David Hutchens,

Stephen Smith, Ellis Squier,

100

HISTORY OF UNION AND MIDDLESEX COUNTIES, NEW JERSEY.

Jonas Young, private.

Abraham Clark, express-rider.

Azariah Clark,

John Clark,

Joseph Potter, wagon master.

Jonathan Stiles,

Rev. James Caldwell, quartermas- ter, assistant quartermaster- general, also chaplain Conti- Dental army.

Daniel Marsh, captain and assist- ant quartermister-general. Joseph Ball, quartermaster.

Spencer Carter, purchasing forage- master.

Joseph Stanberry, ..

John Craig, teamster.

Jonathan Stiles, assistant quarter- master.

Jacob Miller,

Ephriam Foster, artificer.

Gershom Norris, 44

Nathaniel Foster,

John Miller,

Joseph Marsh, wheelwright.

Jonathan Miller,

Moses Yromens, blacksmith at Flying. Camp.

Elisha Moore,

Zopher Bayles, hostler.

Gershom Muore, Nathaniel Moore,

James Pearson, commissary of mili- tary stores.

Abram Person, John Wood, =

Aaron Ogden, assistant commis-

Jacob Wooley,

This list represents State troops, militia, and Con- tinental army.

CHAPTER XVI.

EARLY LAWYERS, COURTS, AND JUDGES.

THE first lawyer of whom we find any reference in the county was a Capt. Hackett, a New England shipmaster. Being a Yankee, he possessed the usual genius of that versatile nation, and could not only sail a ship, but expound maritime law with such force as to overwhelm a jury with the weight of his arguments. It is recorded that " the jury went forth, and upon a second and third going forth declared to the court that the matter committed to them is of too great weight for them, and desired the court to make choice of other jurymen." This ponderous and insupportable load thrown upon the jury, we are informed, consisted of an argument of much ability made by Capt. Hackett, in which he presented “ no less than fourteen points as grounds of defence." But we must tell the whole story.

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History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey with Biographical Sketches of many of their Pioneers and Prominent Men, Part 23

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