USA > New Jersey > Mercer County > Trenton > History of the city of Trenton, New Jersey : embracing a period of nearly two hundred years, commencing in 1676, the first settlement of the town, and extending up to the present time, with official records of the population, extent of the town at different periods, its manufactories, church history, and fire department > Part 27
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April 16th, 1783, the following appears :
"One of the dancing masters of the French Academy of Philadelphia has arrived at this place, and will have the pleasure to open the dancing school on Monday next, at three o'clock in the afternoon, agreeable to the late advertisement of the direc- tor.
" Those gentlemen and ladies that please to favor him with their custom will please to call at the Arms of France, where they may expect good attendance at one guinea entrance, and one half-joe per quarter."
On the 24th of December, 1777, appears the following adver- vertisement :
" Just published and now selling, by John Dunlap, at his printing office, in Queen street, Lancaster,
" FATHER ABRAHAM'S ALMANACK,
" For the year of our Lord 1778.
" The astronomical calculations, we are informed by the inge- nious David Rittenhouse, A. M., of this state, can be implicitly relied on."
This we believe was the first almanac published in the United States.
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
In the same year the Burlington Almanac was published.
On the 3Ist of January, 1778, we find the Court of Admiralty was held in Trenton, at the house of Ranssalear Williams.
September 23d, 1778, the following advertisement appears :
" To be sold, the very valuable plantation whereon the Conti- nental Ferry is kept, about one mile below Trenton ; it contains between six and seven hundred acres, has a very great proportion of meadow and a sufficiency of woodland. It has every requi- site to recommend it to the gentleman or farmer ; amongst which are its pleasant situation, rich meadows, ferry, orchards, fishery, large fish-pond, wherein one thousand sturgeon may be kept, and great front on the river Delaware, a part of which is very suitable for a town, as it has beautiful high banks and lays below the falls. If the plantation is disposed of, all the stock and farming utensils, with part of the household furniture, all new and very elegant, will be sold. For terms, apply to the subscriber, on the premises.
" WILLIAM TRENT."
This plantation of Judge Trent's covered the entire fourth ward, and part of the third ward, and extended north of the Assanpink to Front street.
" December 2d, 1778, Joseph Borden begs leave to inform , the public that his stage-boat will sail from the Crooked Billet wharf, at Philadelphia, every Saturday evening or Sunday morn- ing, (as the tide may serve), for Borden-Town ; and that a wagon will proceed from thence to Brunswick, on Monday morning, and return to Borden-Town the day following, from whence the stage-boat will proceed on Wednesday to the Crooked Billet wharf.
" Goods and passengers will be conveyed with care and con- venience as heretofore.
"JOSEPH BORDEN."
February 25th, 1778, the printing office was removed to Tren- ton.
On the 25th of October, 1780, Isaac Collins advertises as just published, and to be sold wholesale and retail, at the print- ing office, a neat edition of the New Testament, printed from good type, and on good paper.
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HISTORY OF TRENTON. 1
In 1780, the following was published :
"A DIALOGUE BETWEEN SATAN AND ARNOLD.
" Quoth Catan to Arnold, my worthy good fellow, I love you much better than ever I did :
You live like a prince, with Hal may yet mellow ; But mind that you both do just what I bid.
" Quoth Arnold to Satan, my friend, do not doubt me ! I will strictly adhere to all your great views ;
To you I'm devoted, with all things about me- You'll permit me, I hope, to die in my shoes."
The following advertisement appeared November Ist, 1780 :
" The public are hereby informed that the Continental Ferry across the Delaware, at Trenton, is removed from the upper to the lower ferry ; of which all persons in public employ having occasion to pass the said ferry are to take notice-where good boats and careful attendance is continued for the convenience of private travelers also.
"Trenton, October 25th, 1780."
This upper ferry was situated at the foot of Calhoun's lane, above where the new Delaware bridge now stands ; and the lower ferry was below the present old Delaware bridge, at what is now the steamboat landing.
"TRENTON AND ELIZABETH-TOWN STAGE.
" The subscribers take this method to inform the publick, that they have erected a compleat stage-waggon to go from this city to Trenton and Elizabeth-Town, passing through Bristol ; they flatter themselves that the mode they have taken to com- pleat the journey, with ease and despatch, cannot fail giving satisfaction to those who please to favor them with their custom. The stage to set off from the Conestogoe-Waggon, in Market street, betwixt Fourth and Fifth streets, Philadelphia, every Monday and Thursday mornings, precisely at six o'clock, and to reach Princeton the same day, there to meet another stage, change passengers, and reach Elizabeth-Town the next day, and so compleat the journey in two days.
" The price for each passenger is thirty shillings specie, or the
2 c*
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
value in other money, and the same for any baggage weighing one hundred and fifty pounds.
" EDWARD YOUNG and
" ICHABOD GRUMMOND.
"N. B. No run goods to be admitted in this stage, nor sealed letters, unless directed to gentlemen of the army of the United States."
Here is another stage running to the same place.
"ELIZABETH-TOWN STAGE-WAGGON.
" The subscribers inform the PUBLICK, that they have pro- vided a convenient FLYING STAGE-WAGGON, with four horses at the end of every twenty miles, suitable for carrying passengers and their baggage ; and to engage to go two trips in every week from Philadelphia to Elizabeth-Town, with this flying stage, after the 20th of May, 1781, and so continue till timely notice is given to the publick-will set out from the Bunch of Grapes, in Third street, between Market and Arch streets, in the rising of the sun, breakfast at the Four-Lanes-End, shift horses, cross the new ferry just above Trenton falls, dine at Jacob Bergen's, at Princeton, shift horses, lodge at Brunswick ; the next day at Elizabeth-Town at ten o'clock in the forenoon.
" The same, every Tuesday and Friday, will set out from Doc- tor Winan's tavern, in Elizabeth-Town, precisely at three o'clock in the afternoon, for Brunswick ; the next days, every Wednes- day and Saturday, will breakfast at Princeton, dine at the Four- Lanes-End, from thence to Philadelphia.
" The price for each passenger, from Philadelphia to Eliza- beth-Town, to be forty shillings in GOLD or SILVER, or the value thereof in other money ; and the like sum for one hundred and fifty weight of baggage ; and the same sum from Elizabeth-Town to Philadelphia, and so in proportion according to the length of the way and weight.
" The subscribers beg leave to return their thanks to all gen- tlemen and ladies who have been pleased to favor them with their custom, and hope for a continuance of the same, and they
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
may depend on the punctual attendance of their humble ser- vants.
" GERSHOM JOHNSON and
" JAMES DRAKE.
" April 30th, 1781."
Thus, under the then existing mode of travel, two entire days were consumed between Trenton and Elizabethtown. The owners of this flying stage-wagon, however, returned their thanks to those who patronized them.
June 19th, 1781, Philemon Dickinson and Lambert Cadwala- der advertised to receive subscriptions to the National Bank for the United States of America.
" The owner of the ferry known by the name of the Trenton Old Ferry, on the post-road leading to Philadelphia, and where the public cross, provided the said ferry with the best boats that have been constructed for safety in the transportation of passen- gers and horses and carriages in time of freshets, wind, or ice, and employs a number of careful hands who work the boats, and who are always punctual on the spot. The rates of ferriage are as follows, viz., Wagon and four horses, five shillings ; wagon and two horses, three shillings nine-pence ; a chair, three shillings six-pence ; man and horse, six-pence ; foot passengers, three-pence ; and all 'other ferriages in proportion."
July 11th, 1781, appeared the following :
" The subscribers having furnished themselves with good boats at the new ferry, a little above the falls and almost opposite Tren- ton, and the distance being nearly the same from Bristol to Trenton to go by this or Colvin's, all persons who will please to favor them with their custom, may depend on an easy and safe passage, at the following rates, which are as low as they were twenty years ago, viz., Wagon and four horses, four shillings six-pence; wagon with two horses, three shillings six-pence ; horse and chair, one shilling six-pence ; man and horse, six- pence ; a footman, three-pence ; and all other ferriages in like proportion.
" Travelers who come from Bristol the new road are requested to turn to the left at the twenty-nine-mile-stone, which is about three-quarters of a mile from the ferry; and those from the
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
eastward are to turn to the right at the market-house in Trenton, which is about a quarter of a mile."
In the year 1791, Mr. Isaac Collins issued from his printing office, corner of Second (now State) and Queen (now Greene) streets, a large quarto Bible, of nine hundred and eighty-four pages, uniform with the Oxford edition of the Holy Scriptures, to which was added an index, also scripture measures, weights, and coins. The price of the book was four Spanish dollars ; one dollar to be paid at the time of subscribing, and the remain- der on delivery of the book.
Three thousand copies were published.
On Thursday, March 4th, 1761, the Presbyterian congregation of Hopewell, in the county of Hunterdon, represented to the legislature that their meeting-house in Pennington was in a ruinous state, and utterly unfit for public worship, and that their congregation was unable to raise money to repair the same, and therefore prayed that the house would grant them leave to bring in a bill to empower them to institute a lottery in order to raise sufficient funds to repair the said meeting-house.
At this time this was a customary way of raising money for church and other purposes, for at the same session several acts were passed for raising money by lottery for building and re- pairing churches for other denominations as well as Presbyterian, and also for the College of New Jersey.
In 1766, the stone bridge across the Assanpink, adjoining the mills of Robert Lettis Hooper, was built by the inhabitants of the county of Hunterdon and the township of Nottingham.
Tuesday, October 31st, 1769, a petition was presented to the house of assembly, from the minister, church wardens, and ves- trymen of the Episcopal Church of St. Michael, in Trenton, and from the elders, deacons, and congregation of the Presby- terian Church of the same place, setting forth that the said churches had been built and supported for many years by the voluntary contribution of the members of each ; that they were wholly unable to support the ministers, purchase a house and glebe for each, and make the necessary repairs to said churches ; and praying an act to enable the petitioners to raise, by way of lottery, the sum of one thousand six hundred pounds, for the
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
purpose aforesaid, and that certain persons in the petition named might be appointed managers.
On Friday, November 18th, 1791, a bill was introduced into the house, empowering the trustees of the Presbyterian Church, and the minister, wardens, and vestry of the Episcopal Church of this place, to raise money by lottery, but it was rejected on Wednesday, November 23d.
January 25th, 1813, a petition from the trustees of the Pres- byterian Church was presented „ to the house, praying to be authorized to raise a certain sum of money by way of lottery, which was referred to the committee on the subject of lotteries, and on the 28th they reported that it was inexpedient to grant their request.
In the early part of the session of 1811, sundry inhabitants of Hunterdon and Burlington counties presented a petition rela- tive to the removal of the sand-bar on Perriwig Island below Lamberton, which was referred to a committee of the house, who, on the 7th of February, reported that " from the informa- tion the committee had received, it was evident that the said sand-bar was a considerable obstruction and injury to the navi- gation of the said river, and that its removal would be of great public advantage; that towards the accomplishment of this object, legislative interference is solicited, first, in furnishing pecuniary aid to the undertaking ; secondly, in affording liberty to enter upon and remove the obstructions, the river being con- sidered a public highway under legislative control; that with respect to the first, the sum necessary to remove the obstructions is estimated at from ten to fifteen thousand dollars; that the legislature can only furnish this in one of two ways, either by a grant from the treasury, which, as the funds therein are raised by taxes equally from every part of the state, they do not believe the legislature would be willing to make to a purpose in which much the greatest part of the state can have no immediate inter- est ; or by a lottery, which, from the opposition already mani- fested to this mode of raising money for local objects, the com- mittee presume the house is not prepared to allow; that with respect to the second point on which legislative interference is requested, the committee conceive it reasonable and right that
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
the desire of the applicants should be granted, and therefore recommend that they have leave to present a bill, giving the liberty of entering upon the said public highway and removing the said obstruction." And on the 11th a bill was introduced entitled " An act for improving the navigation of the river Del- aware," which passed the house unanimously on the 14th The bill was then amended and passed by council on the 16th, and on the 18th it passed the house unanimously.
CHAPTER XVIII.
State House-State Library- State Librarians - Government House-Encroachment upon State Property by Citizens of Trenton-Water Works-John Fitch, the Inventor of the Steamboat " City of Trenton-Wards - Borough of South Trenton-Congress-Elections-Model Message of the Gov- ernor-Resolution Fire Company-Trenton and New Bruns- wick Turnpike Company-Lottery to remove Obstructions in the Delaware.
T [N his message to the house September 11th, 1776, Governor
Livingston recommended the fixing of the seat of govern- ment in some convenient and plentiful part of the state, and on Wednesday, November 16th, 1791, a bill was introduced in the house of assembly entitled " An act to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of the legislature and public offices of the state."
On the 18th of the same month the bill was taken up, and an effort made to amend it by striking out Trenton and inserting New Brunswick and Woodbury, which was not agreed to, and on Saturday, November 19th, it passed the house, and on Tues- day, the 22d, it passed the council.
November 25th, 1790, the seat of government was fixed at Trenton.
November 22d, 1791, Joseph Cooper, Thomas Lowery, James Ewing, Maskell Ewing, George Anderson, James Mott, and Moore Furman were appointed commissioners, with power to purchase or accept such quantity of land at the seat of govern- ment as they might deem proper for the use of the state, and pro- vide suitable buildings for the accommodation of the legislature of the state; and they were authorized to draw on the treasurer for
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
any sums not exceeding fifteen hundred pounds, and were authorized to accept grants of money for the purposes aforesaid.
November 16th, 1792, the house appointed Benjamin Van- cleve, of Hunterdon, John Burgin, of Cumberland, and Joseph Stillwell, of Monmouth, and on the 17th, council appointed John Condict, of Essex, a committee to settle the accounts of the commissioners, who, on the 27th of the same month, sub- mitted the following report :
" TRENTON, November 27th, 1791.
"We, the committee from the council and assembly for the purpose of examining the accounts and vouchers of the com- missioners appointed by a law of this state, passed the twenty- second day of November, one thousand seven hundred and ninety-one, to provide suitable buildings for the accommodation of the legislature, having carefully inspected the same, do report, that the said commissioners have received at sundry times, out of the treasury of this state, the sum of three thousand five hundred pounds ; and for several articles sold, belonging to the state, twelve pounds fifteen shillings and eleven-pence half-penny ; and also from the inhabitants of Trenton and the vicinity, by subscrip- tion, the sum of three hundred pounds eighteen shillings and six- pence in cash, together with land and materials for building, to the value of three hundred and forty pounds nine shillings and five- pence, exclusive of the said materials. And it appears to the com- mittee, by the accounts of the said commissioners, and the vouchers produced to us from No. I to 129, and from No. o to 34, that they have expended in erecting the said building the sum of three thou- sand eight hundred and twenty pounds nineteen shillings and five- pence half-penny; and that there is a balance due to the said commissioners of five shillings. And further, it appears to the committee that there are demands against the said commissioners from sundry persons, for materials for said building and work- manship, to the amount of one hundred and seventy pounds eighteen shillings and seven-pence, specie.
"JOHN CONDICT, "BENJAMIN VANCLEVE,
"JOSEPH STILLWELL, " JOHN BURGIN."
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
Which report was received and adopted by both houses.
November 2d, 1796, Messrs. Peter De Vroom, of Somerset county, Stephen Burrows, of Hunterdon, and Peter Smith, of Sussex, were appointed a committee on the part of the house, for the purpose of settling the accounts of Benjamin Smith, Esq., commissioner appointed by law to build suitable offices for the secretary and clerk of the Supreme Court, and also the accounts of the commissioners appointed by law to erect suitable accommodations for the legislature; and Thomas Sinnickson, of Salem, was appointed on the part of council, and on November 4th, they reported " that the commissioner had expended in finish- ing the said offices the sum of three hundred and ten pounds nine shillings and eleven-pence, and that the said commissioner hath received from the treasurer one hundred and twenty pounds ; that he hath sold sundry articles belonging to the state, to the amount of twenty pounds twelve shillings and nine-pence, and that there remains a balance due the said commissioner of one hundred and sixty-nine pounds seventeen shillings and two-pence.
" THOMAS SINNICKSON,
" PETER DE VROOM,
" STEPHEN BURROWS,
" PETER SMITH."
On the same day the committee made the following report :
" That they had examined the accounts of the commissioners appointed by an act to provide suitable buildings for the accom- modation of the legislature, passed the 22d day of November, 1791, and that the said commissioners have expended in finish- ing the State House, the sum of seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds and ten shillings ; that the said commissioners have re- ceived of the treasurer five hundred pounds ; that they have sold sundry articles belonging to the state to the amount of thirty- one pounds seven shillings and eight-pence, and that there re- mains a balance due to the said commissioners of one hundred and ninety-eight pounds two shillings and four-pence.
" THOMAS SINNICKSON,
" PETER DE VROOM,
" STEPHEN BURROWS,
" PETER SMITH."
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
November 4th, 1797, it was resolved by the house that a committee be appointed to inquire what repairs are necessary to be made to the State House, and whether it is expedient to en- close and level the lot belonging to the same, and what sum ought to be appropriated for the said purpose.
January 19th, 1799, at the request of Moore Furman, who was appointed to enclose the State House lot, the following com- mittee was appointed to examine and settle his accounts : Messrs. Joseph Budd, of Burlington, Joseph Shinn, of Salem, and William Kunkle, of Sussex, on the part of the house, and Messrs. Peter De Vroom, of Somerset, and John Lambert, of Hunter- don, on the part of the council, and on the 29th they made the following report :
" That we have examined the vouchers of the said Moore. Furman, commissioner, from No. I to No. 63, inclusive, and the account accompanying the same, and find a balance due to the said Moore Furman, (including his commissions of five per cent., amounting to thirty-seven pounds nineteen shillings and nine-pence, and deducting three hundred and seventy-five pounds, which he acknowledges to have received from the treas- urer), of three hundred and eighty pounds fourteen shillings and eight-pence ; that the sum necessary to complete the intention of the legislature in his appointment, according to his estimate, will be seven hundred and thirty-five dollars and sixty-six cents, and that a further sum of four hundred and ten dollars will be necessary for paving around the State House with brick, and for sand and gravel to raise the ground and stone to secure the brick.
" PETER DE VROOM,
" JOHN LAMBERT,
" JOSEPH BUDD, " WILLIAM RUNKLE,
" JOSEPH SHINN."
On the 4th of February, the sum of two hundred and eighty- five dollars and sixty-six cents was appropriated for completing the parts of the work already begun.
November 4th, Abraham Kitchell and Joseph Stillwell re- ported " that they had examined the accounts and vouchers of
-
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
Moore Furman, appointed by the act of February 19th last, to complete the State House yard, and find that there appears to be a balance due the said Moore Furman of twenty-eight pounds two shillings and one penny, equal to seventy-four dollars and ninety-five cents."
November 20th, a resolution was passed by the house that David Wrighter should, in the recess of the legislature, have the grass on the State House lot as a compensation for taking care of said lot and watering the trees, and the council rejected it, and it was passed the second time, and again rejected by council.
November 3d, 1801, Messrs. Peter Gordon, of Hunterdon, Samuel W. Harrison, of Gloucester, and Gershom Dunn, of Middlesex, were appointed a committee to examine what repairs are necessary to be made to the State House, and on the 4th they reported " that the platform and banisters at each end of the house, the belfry, window frames, and sashes, all should be im- mediately painted over to preserve the wood from decaying, as they observe the paint chiefly washed off ; also, new steps on the north side, and some small repairs to the steps on the south side, together with a new cellar door frame, which repairs, it is sup- posed by the best information they can obtain, will amount to two hundred dollars."
November 3d, 1803, it was resolved by the general assembly " that a committee be appointed to inquire into the cause and con- duct of the mob assembled in Trenton in the month of Febru- ary last, and also by whose direction or approbation the State House was occupied as a ball room on the 4th of July, and of the riot. in Trenton in said month, and whether the magistrates of Trenton used all due diligence in suppressing said disorders ; and likewise whether any and how many of the principal inhab- itants of said town, as far as can be ascertained, appeared at the time to approve or discountenance such conduct, and that they report to this house their opinion thereon, and what measures, if any, would be proper in order to prevent such disorders in the future ; and that the committee have power to send for such evi- dences as they think necessary."
November roth, the following was passed by the house, and on the same day by the council :
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HISTORY OF TRENTON.
" Resolved, That on the adjournment of the legislature, the clerk of assembly and Moore Furman, Esq., or either of them, be requested to take charge of the State House, with directions not to permit it to be occupied for any other purpose than for the accommodation of the constituted authorities for which it was erected."
November 11th, a resolution was passed by both houses, placing the State House yard in the care of James J. Wilson, re- serving the use of the buildings in the said yard for the neces- sary occasions of the officers of government. James J. Wilson was clerk of the assembly.
March 3d, 1806, a law was passed appointing commissioners to make certain repairs to the State House, to provide and hang a suitable bell, &c.
November 3d, 1807, the commissioners reported " that the ceiling of the council room had been repaired in such manner as appears durable and safe ; that the outside covering of the wings of the house being found defective, new coverings of boards have been put on, in such a manner, the commissioners believe, as to completely exclude the water for a considerable length of time; had the appropriation been permitted, the commissioners would have thought it their duty to have had it covered with copper, and they would recommend that this should be done to make the coverings durable and water-proof ; that the platform of the cupola has been covered, first with boards, and afterwards with copper, and all the leaks that could be discovered in the roof have been stopped ; that a bell has been procured and hung, the workmanship of which appears to be well executed, and is as large as the limits prescribed by law would allow, weighing three hundred and eighty-one pounds ; that the various expenses incurred in effecting these objects having employed all the money appropriated, and, indeed, rather exceeded the appropriation, they have not thought it their duty to procure a carpet for the Supreme Court room, as mentioned in the law.
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