History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 84

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466

USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey > Part 84

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).

I. Harmanis, bap. Feb. 7, 1725. Harmanus De Grouw, y. m., b. at Hackensack, living at Per-Emmes, m. Jenneke V. Ydersteyn, y. d., b. at New Barbadoes Neck, and living there, April 8, 1747. She was prob. a dau. of Casparus Van Iderstine.

II. Abel, bap. March 12, 1727; m. Maayke Van Eider- styn; she d. May 23, 1774.

III. Cornelis, bap. Dec. 12, 1731; m. Lea Demarest, and lived at Schraalenburgh. Issue: I. Benjamin, bap. Sept. 20, 1767; 2. Annaatie, bap. Sept. 24, 1769; 3. Magda- lene Maayke, b. July 7, 1781; 4. Samuel, b. May 28, 1782.

IV. Elisabeth, bap. Feb. 24, 1734; m. Jacobus Brou- wer. Issue: I. David, b. April 2, 1759; 2. Catrina, b. Nov. 20, 1761.

V. Petrus, bap. May 23, 1736. VI. Lucas, bap. April 15, 1739. VII. Klaes, m. -. Ch., Harmanis, bap. March 23, 1760, at Paramus.

Sixth Generation.

Jan-Jan-Leendert-Arent-Leendert Arentse and Marytje Berry had children:

I Bergen County Wills, D, 452.

2 Bergen County Deeds, D, 267, 269; H, 242; L, 82, 86.

3 Ib., L, 247.

4 The church record gives the mother's name as Sara Ryerson, and Richard's tombstone says his mother was Sarah, But Jan De Gray's wife, Helena Ryerson, did not die until 1810.

329

THE DE GRAYS.

I. Maria, b. Feb. 25, 1774; m. John J. Berdan, June 23, 1792. He lived on the Paramus road to Slooterdam. Issue: I. Richard; 2. John; 3. Stephen; 4. Mary.

II. Lena, b. Dec. 10, 1780; m. Gerrit Marselusse, of Preakness, May 3, 1800; d. April 20, 1848 ; he d. April 2, 1843. Issue: I. Marea, b. March 17, 1801; 2. Ann, b. Dec. 13, 1812; m. Jacob I. Hopper, of Lodi; d. June, 1868.

Dirrick-Jan-Leendert-Arent-Leendert Arentse and An- naatje Schuyler had two children:

I. Jan, b. Feb. 10, 1787; m. Marretje Gerritse (Mary Garrison), Aug. 5, 1810; d. June 2, 1861; she was b. Sept. 27, 1791; d. May 7, 1857. In the church records and in some deeds he is called John D., or John R. Degrauw, or Degray. He lived on his father's place at Wagaraw. His father, Dirrick, on removing from the Goffle to Wagaraw, occupied the Michael Ortley house, but soon after built and occupied the stone house on the Hawthorne road, where William Degray now lives. Dirrick also built and for many years managed a store where the Sunday school building now stands.

II. Rebecke, b. July 26, 1790; m. Joseph Baldwin, from Godwinville, Dec. 12, 1807; d. Jan. 26, 1882. Issue: I. Richard Degray, b. Sept. 7, 1809; m. Catharine Ann, dau. of John Van Emburgh, of Saddle River (child-Jo- seph Richard, a lawyer in Paterson for some years, and member of the Legislature in 1866; d. in Florida in 1887); 2. David, m. Ann (?) Diggins; resides at Mid- land Park; 3. Ann, m. Daniel McGrogan, of Paterson.

Harmanis-Cornelis-Harme-Arent-Leendert Arentse and Jenneke Van· Ydersteyn had children (bap. at Paramus):

I. Cornelis, b. Nov. 8, 1747; m. Catharine Vreeland. In 1784 he appears to have lived in the neighborhood of the present Athenia.

II. Jannetje, b. Nov. 29, 1750; m. Ist, Hendrick Wes- selse, Nov. 15, 1778; 2d, John F. Post, widr., July 8, 1798. Issue: I. Lea, b. Feb. 25, 1779; 2. Casparus, b. Jan. 9, 1781.

III. (prob.) Gerret, m. Sarah Van Eydestyn.

IV. (prob.) Walter, m. Metje Sip. Sometime prior to July 8, 1794, he bought from Cornelius Enoch Vreeland, a tract of land at "Gothum," on the present Main avenue, Passaic, near Washington Place, or south of that street.

V. Geertruy, bap. April 14, 1754; prob. m. James D. Christie. Issue (bap. at Acquackanonk): I. Jenneke, b. Oct. 21, 1785; 2. Lena, b. May I, 1788; 3. Daniel, b. June I, 1791; 4. Jacob, b. Oct. II, 1795.

VI. Caspares, bap. July II, 1755. In 1807 he was liv- ing between Wagaraw and Haledon.

VII. Catharina, b. April 16, 1763; m. John Schidmoor, July 12, 1783. Issue: I. Annaatje, b. Aug. 20, 1783; d. in inf .; 2. Annaatje, b. Oct. 25, 1785; 3. Hermanus, b. Feb. 4, 1788; 5. Samuel, b. Jan. 6, 1791; 6. Jenneke, b. Oct. 19, 1793; 7. Sarah, b. Aug. Io, 1796; 8. John, b. Feb. 18, 1800; 9. Jenneke, b. Sept. 14, 1803.

VIII. (prob.) Geertje, m. Jacob Van Noorstrand, March 2, 1783. Issue: I. Cristophel, b. Aug. 15, 1783; 2. Sara, b. Dec. 10, 1787; 3. Hermanus, b. Oct. 9, 1788.

IX. Franscois, b. April 19, 1767; m. Antje De Grauw, March 2, 1788.

Abel -- Cornelis -- Harme -- Arent -- Leendert Arentse and Maayke Van Eiderstyn had children (bap. at Bergen):

I. Casparus, b. Oct. 15, 1758; m. Lena Jurrianse, March 3, 1783. He lived in New Barbadoes, on the Pas- saic river, below Rutherford, where he bought lands from William Ennis, April 23, 1787, and from Richard Bergen, Feb. 29, 1796.1

II, Johannis, b. April 30, 1762.

III. Cornelis, b. June 9, 1770.

Seventh Generation.

Jan-Dirrick-Jan-Leendert-Arent-Arentse and Marretje Gerritse had but one child:

I. Richard, b. Oct. 31, 18II; m. Maria Jacobus (b. Sept. 6, 1818, dau. of William Miles and Sara Van Blar- com2 ), July 25, 1834; d. April 6, 1891; she d. Feb. 16, 1881. He was called Richard I. Degray. He was a farmer and miller, at Wagaraw.

Franscois -- Harmanis -- Cornelis -- Harme -- Arent -- Leendert Arentse and Antje De Grauw had children:

I. Hermanus, b. Oct. 9, 1788.

II. Jenneke, b. April 29, 1792; m. James Celsey. Ch., Harman, b. April 4, 1810.

Cornelis -- Harmanis -- Cornelis -- Harme -- Arent -- Leendert Arentse and Catharina Vreeland had children:

I. Hartman, b. Dec. 14, 1771; m. Jannetje Vreeland, Dec. 23, 1792. He lived near Athenia.

II. (prob.) Jenneke, m. George Van Eydestyn. Issue: I. Johannis; b. April 5, 1795; 2. Lea, b. Nov. 26, 1796; 3. Lena, b. Nov. 27, 1798; 4. Cornelis, b. March 10, 1801; 5. Jannetje, b. Dec. 10, 1803; 6; Geertje, b. July 30, 1806.

III. Lea, b. Oct. 19, 1778; prob. m. Abraham Vree- land. Issue: I. Cornelius, b. July 17, 1800; 2. Lea, b. Feb. 21, 1802; 3. Hartman, b. Jan. 9, 1804; 4. Catharina, b. March 13, 1806.

IV. Geertruy, bap. March 19, 1780.

V. Hermanus, bap. Nov. 16, 1783.

VI. Tryntje, b. Dec. 27, 1788.

Gerret-Harmanis-Cornelis-Harme -- Arent --- Leendert Arentse and Sarah Van Eydestyn had children:

I. Geertje, b. Jan. 23, 1769; d. in inf.

II. Cornelius, b. June 13, 1772.

III. Geertje, b. March 24, 1775; prob. m. 2d, Johannes- Helmigh Post, Oct. 25, 1800. IV. Caspares, bap. July 26, 1778.

Walter -- Harmanis -- Cornelis -- Harme --- Arent --- Leendert Arentse and Metje Sip had children:

I. Gerret, b. Dec. 5, 1772.

II. Dirck, b. May 18, 1779.

III. Johannes, b. Feb. 18, 1781.

IV. Jannetje, b. Nov. 3, 1782.

Casparus-Abel-Cornelis-Harme-Arent-Leendert Arentse and Lena Jurrianse had children:

1 Bergen County Deeds, F, 70; H, 237. 2 See p. 219.

330

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

I. Jenneke, b. Sept. 25, 179I.

II. Gerret, b. Jan. 5, 1794.

III. Geertje, b. Feb. I, 1796.

IV. Lena, b. Aug. 23, 1798.

V. Cornelius, b. March 5, 1801.

VI. Johannis, b. April 7, 1804.

VII. Henricus, b. Nov. 12, 1806.

VIII. Elizabeth, b. Sept. 25, 1810.

Eighth Generation.

Richard-Jan -- Dirrick -- Jan -- Leendert -- Arent-Leendert Arentse and Maria Jacobus Miles had children:

I. Mary Hellen, b. May 31, 1836; m. Henry Dater (b. at Ramapo, but living at Branchville, Somerset county), May IO, 1853; she d. March 26, 1856. Ch., Emma, b. Aug. 19, 1855; d. Jan. 9, 1876.

II. William Miles, b. March 30, 1838; m. Mary E. Demarest, dau. of David Demarest, of New Bridge. Issue: I. Anna, d. Dec. 22, 1870, aged 6 yrs, and 3 mos. ; 2. Harry, m. Elizabeth McFarland; 3. William; 4. Minnie; 5. John.

III. Richard, b. Aug. 30, 1840; m. Martha Godwin, 1 in 1862. He graduated at Rutgers College in 1861; studied law with Cortlandt Parker, in Newark, and was admitted to the bar in 1863. Two years later he removed to New Or- leans, where he has practiced since. Issue: I. Godwin, b. Oct. - , 1863; 2. Richard Sidney, b. 1867; d. 1870; 3. Fred- erick W., b. 1871; is a lawyer iu New York; 4. Edith, b. 1873.

IV. John Winfield Scott, b. Aug. 16, 1847; d. May II, 1873, unm.

Hartman -- Cornelis -- Harmanus -- Cornelis -- Harme -- Arent- Leendert Arentse and Jannetje Vreeland had children:

I. Cornelius, b. July 12, 1795. II. Marynus, b. March 4, 1798. III. Joliu, b. June 29, 1800. IV. Hart- man, b. July 15, 1802.

CHAPTER IX.

THE GARRET MOUNTAIN PURCHASE.

Thou who wouldst see the lovely and the wild Mingled in harmony on Nature's face, Ascend our rocky mountains. Let thy foot Fail not with weariness, for on their tops The beauty and the majesty of earth, Spread wide beneath, shall make thee to forget The steep and toilsome way.

-Bryant.

The wave of population that overflowed from Acquack- anonk and spread through Wesel and the Bogt, that rose even to the heights of Totowa, and then settled satisfiedly for a time on the lower levels of Wagaraw and the Goffle, had ever and anon beat vaiuly against the base of Watch-

ung's precipitous wall that lifted its sheer cliff like an es- carpment to the eastern approach. In time the more ven- turesome whites acquired the Indian practice of hunting the deer on the mountain by driving them into a corner and forcing them to leap to their deatlı over the precipices. From hunting on the mountain they came to know its value for wood, for pasture, for tillage, and for water power. Then, the whole mountain, from the loftiest summit on the east to the Passaic river on the west, and from the steep rocks at Spruce street to the headwaters of the Peckamin river, was covered with a dense growth of primeval forest, with here and there an open glade inviting settlement. Brawling streams and foaming cascades relieved the silence of the sombre woods, and gave added promise of the fertil- ity of the soil when it should be subject to the farmer's plow. So it came to pass that eight of the owners of Ac- quackanonk-owners either by descent or purchase from the original patentees-formed a partnership for acquiring the title to Garret Mountain and the headwaters of the Pecka- min river. Peter Sonmans, of Elizabethtown, the son of Arent Sonmans, of Holland, one of the East Jersey Propri- etors, had taken out a warrant for the tract himself, and it was from him that the purchase was made, by deed dated November 27, 17II. The grantees were Frans Post, Jan Sip, Harmanus Gerritse, Thomas Jurianse, Christopher Steenmets, Cornelis Doremus, Peter Poulusse and Hessel Pieterse, all yeomen. Speaking generally, the purchase in- cluded all of Garret Mountain from the foot of the steep rocks on the east and northeast, from the cliffs to the river, extending southwesterly to the Peckamin river, and up that river to and beyond Cedar Grove, and thence over to the edge of the precipice, embracing three or four thousand acres. The consideration was £660 New York money, be- sides which the grantees obligated themselves to pay to the East Jersey Proprietors a yearly or quit-rent of "one pepper- corn if lawfully demanded." There is no record that this rent has ever been paid! The following is the precise de- scription of the tract:

Beginning, at ye top of a High Clift at a Ceder Bush Marked:H:S: and Runs north thirty degrees East Tenn Chains as ye Hill Runs Thence North Twenty five degrees East Thir Chaines Thence North Six degrees East twenty Chains & thence a Brest of ye Great falls thence North twenty degrees West fourteen Chains Thence North Sev- enty Degrees West Tenn Chains Thence North, Eighty five Degrs West Tenn Chains thence North Twenty Nine Degrees West Twenty two Chains to the side of Pesaick River Just Below a small Isle about a mile ahove ye Great Falls of Pesaik River Thence up against the streame of ye sd River as it Runns North seaventy six degrees West fourteen Chaines Thence South Eighty five degrees West ten Chains Thence South Seventy five Degrees West tenn chaines Thence South forty four degrees West Seven Chaines thence South eleven Degrees West Ten Chains to another Isle Then South three degrees West three Chaines thence South forty degrees West fourteen Chaines then South Sixty five degrees West fourteen Chaines thence South fourteen Degrees West Ten Chaines then South five Degrees West thirty five Chaines thence South twenty Three degrees west tenn Chaines thence South fivety de- grees west five Chaine then West Eight thence North fivety Nine Degrees West thirty Chaines thence North Seventy two degrees West Nine Chaines to ye mouth of peckamen River thence up Againe ye stream of ye sd Peckamen River South fourteen degrees West faiv Chaines thence South Thirty two degrees East Twenty three Chaines thence South four degrees East five Chaines thence South forty Eight

1 See p. 283.

331

THE GARRET MOUNTAIN PURCHASE.

degrees West tenn Chaines thence West Seven Chaines Thence South forty Six degrees West tenn Chaines thence South Sixty seven degrees West tenn Chaines thence South fourty degrees West tenn Chaines thence South thirty Eight degrees, West tenn Chaines then South four degrees West tenn Chaines then South Tenn degrees West Nine chaines then South Twenty seven degrees West fourteen Chaines then South Twenty three degrees West fifty Chaine thence South twenty three de- grees West tenn Chaines then South thirty six degrees West tenn Chaines to a Chestnutt tree marked:A:G: About two Chaines from ye Edge of ye sd River Near ye falls thereof Just at ye foot of ye moun- taine thence over ye sd mountaines & marked Trees South Sixty de- grees East Seventy Eight Chaines to ye Edge of ye Clift on ye East of ye sd Mounte And on ye sd Course South Sixty degrees East two Chaines to ye foot of the said Mountaine, to a Black oake tree marked of four sides: A:C: thence North forty three degrees East one Hundred & fourteen Chaines with ye Rainge of ye sd Mountaine And thence North twenty six degrees East twenty Chaines thence North forty three degrees East thirty Chaines Thence North twenty two degrees, East thirty Chaines to ye place where it first Begann Being bounded on ye south East with The Line of Agguegenonk on ye North West & North East with Peckamen and Pesaik Rivers & on ye South West with Lands unsurveyed Cootaining: Within ye Bounds & Lines aforesd Two Thousand Eight Hundred Acres of Land English measeour as hy ye Survey thereof he ye sd Laod more or Less Remaining on ye Records in ye Secretarys office of ye province of New Jersey aforsd Relation there- unto heing had may more fully and at Large appear. Together with all mines minerals privileges Prehemminences,1 etc.

The following agreement relating to this transaction has been preserved in the original, frayed and yellow:

Whereas Frans Post Jan Sip Harmanus Gerritse Thomas Jurianse Christopher Stymetz Cornelis D'Oremus Pieter Poulusse and Hessel Pieterse all of Achquequenock have hought a parcel of land of me un- derwritten and this day given their respective bonds for the payment of each of their purchase money payahle the first day of May next ensuing. And whereas it is agreed by and between the sd Frans Post Jan Sip Har- manus Gerritse Thomas Juriaanse Christopher Stymetz Cornelius D'Oremus Pieter Poulusse and Hessel Pieterse and me underwritten that if they or any of them sell any part of their shares of the said land to any of their neighbors and the said neighhors should not he ready to pay the purchase money for the share they so should huy the said neigh- bors hond should he given in discharge and payment of so much as the share they have so hought amounts to. These are therefore in pursu- ance of said agreement to declair that I or my heirs shall he obliged to take the hond of such new purchaser in part of discharge; such bond shall he payable in six months and interest for the money remaining un- paid shall he paid by such defaulter.

Witness my hand in New York, the 28 day of November 1711. Peter Sonmans.

The new purchase was laid out in tracts extending from the river to the mountain, and ten chains in width. It thus happened that in some cases the owners of lands at Wesel, or in Old Acquackanonk, also came into possession of one of these mountain farms which joined their other lands, so that it was their proud boast that they owned "from river to river." The Van Wagoners had one of these great stretches of land. The Van Ripers, at Wesel, also owned "from river to river." Along the Peckamin river the land was in all probability laid out in a different manner, and with more regard to its peculiar character and situation, and the value of the water-power. Henry Garri- son owned the farin next to the Falls; then came what was recently known as the Merselis farm; then the "Deep Hole," where Vreeland owned, and so on. For fully a cen- tury after the purchase the land seems to have been regard- ed as valuable chiefly for the wood.

A word as to the name "Garret Mountain." In the early records the references are to the "steep rocks," meaning the bold escarpment facing the east. Occasionally we find the phrase te Gebergte or Gebarrack, "at the Mountain." After the settlement of Wesel, it was frequently called "Wesel Mountain," and this was the more common appellation un- til the early part of the nineteenth century. The name "Garret Mountain" has not been found in use earlier than the year 1820 or 1830. There is a curious story about the origin of this name. In 1810 or 1812 a number of jovial Newarkers organized a secret society, which held weekly conclaves, with a prodigious pretension of mystery, in the garret of an old building, whence the society came to be known as "The Garret." It was suspected that the whole affair was a hoax, concocted by some jocular spirits, partly to mystify their neighbors, and mainly to indulge their own conviviality behind closed doors. John Crawford, of New- ark, a master carpenter, was a member of the alleged soci- ety, and when he came to Paterson in 1812 to complete the wood-work of the Peter Colt mansion (which was occupied, 1871-1896, as the city hall), he soon found some congenial associates whom he straightway organized into a branch "Garret" Society. Free, jovial and convivial, fond of com- pany, and of discussion, he was nevertheless temperate himself. On one occasion he decreed that the "society" should meet on Wesel mountain and salute the rising sun on the Fourth of July morning, with a salute from a four- pounder or six-pounder cannon. Crawford himself, a man six feet high, of powerful physique, tugged hard with the piece of ordnance up the mountain, and had the pleasure of touching it off in the early dawn, and of seeing the amaze- ment and consternation with which the inhabitants of the little village at his feet rushed out of their houses to in- quire the meaning of the explosion. When the story got abroad, the association of "The Garret" with the Moun- tain was inevitable, and the name soon came into general use. It may be added that Crawford injured himself so badly by his prodigious exertion in hauling the cannon up the rocky heights that it was months before he recovered his health.1 The motto of the society was "Keep dark," and it was jocularly remarked that he was "going up to the Garret to 'keep dark.'" He was so reticent about the cause of his illness that he was dubbed "Keep Dark." He remained in Paterson but a short time, returning to New- ark, where his wife belonged.2

1 This incident was related to the writer in 1875 hy the late John Colt, who was familiar with the facts, and knew Crawford well.

2 Some wag issued a volume in two parts, the first entitled: "The Poetical Vagaries of a Knight of the Folding-Stick, of Paste-Castle. To which is annexed, the History of the Garret, &c., &c. Translated from the Hieroglyphics of the Society. By a Member of the order of the Blue-String. I neither write for fame or Pelf, But merely do't to please myself. Gotham, Printed for the author. 1815." 16° Pp. 62. This consists mostly of verses relating to the book-hinder's art, inter- spersed with some patriotic exultation over the recent naval victories of the Americans. Prefixed is a plate representing a "Knight of the Fold- ing Stick," ingeniously framed of hinders' tools, with the motto ahove, "Keep dark. Can't tell." The second part has the title: "The History of the Garret, &c., &c. Translated from the Hieroglyphics of the Soci-

1 E. J. Deeds, K small, f. 25.

332

HISTORY OF PATERSON.

THE SETTLEMENT AND THE SETTLERS.

There is little or no evidence that any of the purchasers of the Garret Mountain tract ever settled on it. Doubtless it was regarded as chiefly valuable for the wood, and for let- ting hogs and cattle run wild. Some of them found it con- venient for portioning off their younger sons or daughters, but most of them sold their interest as opportunity offered. There was one exception. Cornelius Doremus appears to have given his share to his son, Thomas. The latter set- tled in the vicinity of Cedar Grove, on the Peckamin river, and became the progenitor of a numerous family.

THE DOREMUS FAMILY.

Family tradition asserts that the Doremuses were origin- ally from France, in which case the name may be a corrup- tion of de Rheims, signifying that they came from that an- cient town. Whatever may be the remote origin of the family, certain it is that the first settler hereabouts and his children were all called Doremus, with very little variation in the spelling. This is evidently a Latinized form of the original name, which is said to have been Doré. Goet- schius and Marinus are familiar instances of the kind. The earliest mention that has been found of the name Doremus is under date of April II, 1687, in the church records at Ber- gen, when Thomas was baptized, son of Cornelis Doremus, of Middelburg, and Jannetje Joris, of Elsland. That is ab- solutely all we know about the origin of the father and mother of the numerous Doremus family of this region. Doubtless they had come to this country very soon before the date mentioned, and brought with them two children- Cornelis and Johannes-both born in Middelburg.1 This famous town, the chief city of the Province of Zeeland, sit- uated on the island of Walcheren, in the southwestern part of Holland, has a history dating back at least nine hundred years, and in its long annals there figure sieges in 1217, I288, 1574 (by the Spanish), in 1809 (by the English), and in 1814 (by the French). Fire, as well as the sword, has been its portion. In the year that Columbus sailed across the Atlantic ocean to the new world, Middelburg was for the most part laid in ashes. The rivals of Columbus, the East India Company, had here great ship-yards, and the commerce of the town exceeded even its extensive manu- factures. Although the population-15,000-is only half what it was in 1795, the town presents an imposing aspect,

ety. By a Member of the order of the Blue-String. Gotham: Printed hy order of the Society, in the land of musquetoes, Year of the Garret, Eleven Thousand Five Hundred." 16° Pp. [63]-143. This has a folded plate prefixed, "The Garret in full Session." The hook purports to give the history and rules of the society, and relates some amusing inci- dents that enlivened existence in Newark ahout 1812-15. The author is unknown; the volume was copyrighted in New York hy John Bradford, and from some enigmatical verses in the first part the writer is inclined to helieve that the poet and historian of "The Garret" was James Yard Bradford, probably a bright and mischievous young hinder and printer of Newark. The writer's first-acquired copy of this scarce little volume was formerly owned hy the late Peter Archdeacon, of Paterson, who was popularly supposed to be himself a member of the mythical " Garret."

1 There is a family tradition that a third son died on the voyage and was buried at sea.

with its graceful towers, its numerous lofty buildings, its handsome dwellings, well-kept streets and busy quays. The wife of Cornelis Doremus, Jannetje Joris, gave to a long line of her descendants her father's baptismal name, George. She was probably from some hamlet in the vicin- ity of Middelburg, so abounding in alder as to give its name to the locality-Elsland, Alderland. The immigrants seem to have been blessed with a larger share of worldly goods than was the lot of most of the new arrivals from the mother country, for even in 1708 Cornelis Doremus had ac- quired the extensive farm at Wesel, lying on the north side of Crooks avenue, and extending from the river to the mountain. Cornelis never mastered the intricacies of the English language, as will be seen by his will, though that may have been drafted by some friend who had more confi- dence in his literary ability. This instrument, dated Janu- ary 28, 1714-15 (1715, N. S.), was proved Feb. 8, 1714 (1715, N. S.), having been executed by the testator on his death bed. It is as follows:

In the Name of God Amen The 28th day of Jenuary in the year of our Lord:1714-15 I Cornelus Deremus of Weesel in the County of Essex and Provence of Easte New Jersey Human1 being wary Sick and weak in Body hut of parfect minde and memory tbanks he given unto God therefore Calling unto minde the Mortality of my hody and KnoWing that it is appointed for all men once to die do make and ordain this my Last will and Testament: that is to say Princapally and first of all I give and Recommend my Soul into the hands of allmyty god that gave it; and as for my hody I do Recommend it to the Earth to he Buried in a Cristion Like manner at the Discrestion of my Exsecutetors nothing doubting hut at ye Genneral Resurrection I Shall Receive the same againe By the myty Power of God and as Touching my Wourldly Es- tate wherewith it hath Pleased God to Bless me in this Life I give De- vise and dispse of the same in the folloing manner and form Imprimis I Leave my well beloved wife jannece Deremus and my heloved sun Cor- nelus Doremus Junior my holy Executors of all my Estate Real and parsinal Dureing my wife her natureal life hut I do not Impower Ither my Exsecetrex or Exsecetor to sell or dispese of any of my Lands that I shall die porsest on ; and as for my Children that is now liveing its my will that after the deceise of my foresaid wife that my children shall have an Equal part of my Estate to he Equally devided amoung them that is Cornelus Johanes Thomas jannece georg and hendrick to them and there heirs Executors administrators or assigns ond hy2 that I give to my sun Cornelus hesides his Equal proption one of the hosses or the sum of five Pound It is also my Desire that my sun hendrick should have the plantation which I now Live on that is the Eaight and twenteth part of aquecanund yelding and paying to his hrothers and sister two hundred pounds and my sun Tomas shall have the Land that he now Liveth on that is to say the tenth part of that tract yelding and paying as aforesaid the sum of fifteen pounds and my sun Jorge I do leave him that Par of the Land Which I hought of Peter Sunmons yelding and paying the sum of seventy pounds as aforesaid which sd money shall he devided amoung them

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the city of Paterson and the County of Passaic, New Jersey, Part 84

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914 Publication date: 1901 Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 466

Author: Nelson, William, 1847-1914
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: Paterson : Press Printing and Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 466