USA > New Jersey > Salem County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 2 > Part 33
USA > New Jersey > Gloucester County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 2 > Part 33
USA > New Jersey > Cumberland County > History of the counties of Gloucester, Salem, and Cumberland New Jersey, with biographical sketches of their prominent citizens, vol. 2 > Part 33
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Richard Hancock took up a portion of this traet on Mill Creek, the branch of the Cohansey emptying into the river near the Cohan-ey Glass Company's property, now called Indian Fiekls Run, and put up a dam and built a saw-mill on the stream before 108G.
Governor Daniel Coxe released to the West New Jersey Society, March 4, 1092. all the rights of gor- ernment which he claimed, and the most of his rights in the soil, but he retained a strong interest in the prosperity of the province, of which he had just ceased to be Governor.
The early settlers of New Jersey were mostly re- ligious persons, desiring to have the preaching of the word, but in many cases unable to obtain a minister. Governor Coxe and Rev. Thomas Bridge were ac- quaintances, keeping up a correspondence between them, in which Bridge had expressed an inclination to remove from his then residence in the Bermuda Islands to West Jersey. Coxe informed the members of the West Jersey Society of this. They wrote him the following letter, inviting him to West Jersey, and agreeing to provide for him as follows: 1
" A La from ye West Jersey Society in England to M' Birfizes. " LONDON ye 201 July 1602.
" Sr Wea are informed by IHr Coxe that you ileclare yo self- inely ned together with divers other Inhabitants of the Berinadas to remove unto A reside in West Jersey. Wee are very glad a Person of you Principles & ffession should entertaine auch thoughts for having received an Hangi Character of you from diverse we expect not onely benefit thonbl accrue unto the Inhabitants Io yor Pions Instructions accom- lanie4 with an Exemplary life But also by yor Prudential Council in re ference to Civil & Secular affaire wherein you have been Providen- tinlly necessitried to Exercise yorselle And as wen have been assured very successfully : S. if you are confirmed In yor resolution wee shall give you all ) . Karomagem' Countenance & Authority wee are capable of, Many Persons In divers : Parts of y . Country have frequently exprest their desires of a Minister & unsure us they will Contribute towards his Comfortable subsistence & jay him all that duty respect & deference his worko deserves And for that It Coxe bath Conveyed unto to ye Gor- erninent of the Country with great part of his Lands for your Encour- agend upon your Arriva! wer will give order that you tuay In what Situation you please take up Two Thousand Acres one Thousand to be For usno in fee forever The other to be annexed unto ye ofice & descend anto ldltu who shall succeed you Whenever it shall please God ly your death or otherwise to cause a vacancy. Wee are breides confriseur "In" other Methods whereby to ren ler your station more comfortable llonourable & Profittable au I doubt nut but wee shall Conclude to your
fall satisfaction and all those who accompany you shall find fair dealing Kucouragenr Proti Som and assistance from
" Sr Your abertionate ffriends and Servant-
E.dm: Harrison
" }: Richer W'n Wightman
" James Pullingten:
" Johu Jurin.
Kole Michell James S' John."
Coxe also wrote him a letter Aug. 5, 1692, promising to give him, in addition to the offer of the society, a considerable annual allowance, to be paid in money during Coxe's life. if Bridge so long continued in the province. As a result of these offers Mr. Bridge came to West Jersey, and became the first pastor of the Fairfield Presbyterian Church in this county. He arrived some time previous to June 24, 1695, on which date he and John Green, of Cohansey, blacksmith, obtained from George Hutchinson, of Burlington, a deed for nine hundred and twelve acres adjoining Bellers' survey and the south side of the Cohansey, -- six hundred and eight for Bridge and three hundred and four for Green.
But it was not until May 17. 1697, that Thomas Revell made a deed to Bridge for the one thousand acres in fee, reciting that it was done in pursuance of the letter above quoted. Revell hell four thousand acres, which had been deeded to him by Jeremiah Basse, the agent of the Proprietors, in trust for them. A survey was made on the same date of the one thou- sand aeres by Joshua Barkstead, on the east side of Cohansey River, " Beginning at a Pine tree standing on the North side of the Saw Mill creek, about half way between the Saw Mill and the going over Y the Run into the Indian Fields," then running north ' il;ree hundred and thirty-six perches, then cast five hundred and twenty-five perches. then south three hundred and thirty-six perches, and then west five hundred and twenty-five perches to beginning, con- taining one thousand and fifty acres. This beginning corner was back of the Commerce Street Methodist Episcopal Church, along the run ; and the fence be- tween the graveyard and the parsonage of this church as it stood several years ago, before it was moved about eight or ten feet westward for the purpose of making a drive-way into the graveyard, was in the west line of the survey.
The bend in the east side of Laurel Street, south of North Street, is also in this west line, and the north- west corner was in the vicinity of the glass-works of J. A. Clark & Co. ; the east line separates the farms of Robert C. Nichols and Dr. J. Barron Potter. on the north side of the Indian Fields road, cast of Burling- ton Avenue. It was a part of the society's Pamphilia survey, and has since been known as the Indian Fields tract, the Indians having had a settlement on the land covered by the survey, a portion of which they had cleared. Bridge divided the tract by an east-and we-t line through the middle of the tract, and by north-and-south lines twenty-five porches apart, thus dividing the whole tract inio twenty-five aere lots, and soon sold them out to settlers. Brilge
1 X. J. Archives, vol. il. p. 94.
500
HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
had another survey made for him on the same date. containing two hundred and twenty acres, which bounded on the Cohan-ey, Fuller's Creek, and the "line of the township of Pamphilia." No such township was ever formed, but it is probable that the Proprietors, in having the Pamphilia survey laid off, contemplated creating it into a township, their gov- ernmental powers allowing them so to do if they chose.
The West Jersey Society did not sell any portion of the Pamphilia survey, except the one thousand acres conveyed to Bridge, until after the county was creeted , after Moore's death, and was torn down to make way and the people had selected Cohansey Bridge as the . for the brick stores now standing.
county-seat. Why that portion of the tract lying ad-
Moore, in 1754, had a plan of a town on the en -! joining the bridge over the Cohansey, on the opposite side of the Cohansey, to be called Cumberland, last side of which was the setthe ment of Cohansey Bridge, ! off and surveyed for him by Daniel Elmer, Jr., son should have remained unsold so long it is difficult at ; of Rev. Daniel Elmer, the pastor of the Fairfield Presbyterian Church. The streets were laid off at
this day to understand. It may have been owing to a doubt concerning the title, as Jeremiah Basse, who . right angles with each other, and were all two rods owned large quantities of land in all parts of Southern , wide excepting Market Street, which ran where Co ... New Jersey, and who at one time resided at Cohansey, i merce Street now is, and which was three rods walr: seems to have had some claim upon two hundred ; the squares were eighteen and a half perches exch acres of the tract, comprising its most valuable por- tion, extending from the Saw-Mill Creek ( Indian i feet wide, is the only one of the streets ibar exists as Field- Rand to the north line of the Indian Fields survey, and from that survey westward as far as the river.
This claim probably originated through the four ; widler and the second is narrower and shorter than by thousand acre tract at Cohansey, which Basse had taken up for Governor Daniel Coxe, and which, upon Coxe's sale to the society, Basse held for then, Bridge's one thousand acres being a part of this tract. | Street. He sold a few lots by this plan, but it was soon abandoned, and the town of Cumberland disap-
At his death, in 1725, Basse left all his property to his two daughters and son, Burchfield Dasse, and the , pcared. latter dying without issue, it descended to his two ! Moore, however, sold off' lots mostly south of Con- daughters, Catherine Pierce and Ann Pidgeon, both ; meree Street, and before his death, Sept. 5, 1756. br of whom joined in. conveying to William Pidgeon, the son of Ann, March 10, 1702, and he released to Alexander Moore, Oct. 10. 1765, all his interest in the two hundred acres.
The fixing of the county-scat at Cohansey Bridge brought this land into demand, despite any doubt . his one-third interest was sold by Sheriff Joseph Back in July, 1790, and conveyed to his brother, Jol.n Moore White, by deed dated Feb. 20, 1791, who ale obtained the one-third interest of his brother Wii- liam by deed of March 5, 1791. Both of these brothers died in 1704, without issue.
concerning the title, and Oct. 7, 1752, the West Jer- sey Society, in consideration of @217, conveyed to Alexander Moore nine hundred and ninety acres of land adjoining the bridge. The beginning corner was on the Cohansey, about half a mile above Fuller's Creek for Rocap's Run), and the line ran north of east about two hundred and twenty-five perches, then general northerly courses to the line of the Indian Fields tract, then bounded thereon to its upper line, then several courses northerly to the upper line of the Pamphilia survey, and along that line to the Co- harney. It covers all the built-up portions of the First and Second Wards of the city of Bridgeton, west of the Indian Field- line. The price paid, $247 in New Jersey proclamation money, wouldbe $656.00 ;; the value of a dollar being fixed at 7. Cd., a pound would be worth $2.06 ;.
Moure was of Irish descent. and his grand-a. Judge John Moore White, thought he settled att - han-ey Bridge abont 1730. where he kept a store : did a thriving business, accumulating a large amber of property. He carried on his business in a buil lia: built of cedar logs, which stood on the north side ... Commerce Street, between the Davis House hotelas : Cohansey Street. It was removed about 1791 or 1792. after John Moore White came of age. Moore a .... built a large frame dwelling-house just west of Or hansey Street. It was used for many years as a tavern
way. Jefferson Street as it now exists, thirty-three Moore planned them, and that only for part of !:- length; Commerce and Warren Streets also occupy the positions he designed for streets, but the first i- his plan. The whole plan of the town only covered from about Orange Street to the river, and from Jef- ferson Street to a short distance above Washington
had disposed of all that part of his survey lying south of that street. In his will he devised the unsold part of the Bridgetou property to his three grandsors. Alexander, William, and John Moore White. Alex- ander White became quite dissipated and in debt, and .
John Moore White, having come into possession of the whole of the Bridgeton property, soon com- menced selling lots. He bad the road to Deerfield altered, and laid on what is now North Laurel Stres !. from Commerce to the bend just south of North Street, and in Augu-t, 1792, Pearl Street, freia Com- merce to Irving, and Irving from Istrel =: re: : . Keen's Ran, as the stream since known as the Shor was then called. He also had a plain made about 1793 by James Trueland, who taught school in the !! academy on Bank Street, for laying out streets aer ~ . the whole of his tract, but only a part of them sen
507
GENERAL HISTORY.
ever opened. The part of the town north of the Budd, which extended from the Cohansey to Maurice main street now grew rapidly, and Moore soll nearly River, and contained about twelve thousand acres, covering nearl; all of Deerfield township above the Pamphilia line, and part of Pittsgrove township, Salem Co. This was called the society's middle tract. They conveyed one thousand acres of this, May 20, 1740, at the southwest corner of the tract, joining on the Cohansey River and the Pamphilia tract, and extending northward to Cedar Run, after- wards Russell's Branch, and now Loper's Run, 10 John Jones, who was an attorney-at-law, and resided at Salem. After his death a judgment for debt was recovered against his administrator, and the tract was sold by Nicholas Gibbon, sheriff of Salem County. March 29, 1748, for the sum of seventy-eight pounds proclamation money, and was bought by Alexander Moore. Other portions of the middle traet were sold off in smaller traets to persons who cleared the laud and settled upon it. all the lots on Main (now Commerce), Front (now Laurel), and the west side of Middle (now Pearl) Streets. About 1791 or 1792 be built a large dwell- ing, now a part of the hotel on the northwest corner of Commerce and Laurel Streets, and had a large gar- den, which is now the hotel yards. His stables occu- pied the present location of the livery-stables on Cohan-ey Street. He resided here until about 1808, when he removed to Woodbury, where he died in 1862, at the age of nearly ninety-two years. May 1, 1810, he conveyed all the unsold portions of his tract, including his late re-idence and the grounds adjoining, to Jeremiah Buek and William Potter, for seven thousand dollars, and in November of the same year they made a division, Potter taking the dwelling, which had been changed into a hotel, and the adjoining lot, and Buck obtaining all the residue.
-
Other portions of the Pamphilia eleven thousand acre survey were conveyed by the West Jersey So- ciety to different persons in smaller lots. Robert Hood, one of the early Connecticut settlers, bought a six hundred and fifty aere tract at the east end of Bridge's Indian Fields traet. John Dare was deeded two hundred and five acres north of Hood, March ], 1754. William Dare obtained three hundred and eighty-nine acres, cast of Hood, on the same date, and about the same time a tract of several hundred acres south of the Indian Fiells tract, adjoining a large tract granted to Col. Ephraim Seeley. Abner Smith's one hundred and fifty aeres, James White's one hul- dred and ninety-two acres, Nathan Bateman's one hundred and forty-one and one-half aeres, John Smith's one hundred acres, Daniel Loder's one hun- dred aeres, Thomas Joslin's one hundred and thirty- seven and one-half acre-, Peter Bateman, Jr.'s two hundred acres, John Robertson's two hundred and forty-nine avres were all situated to the eastward of the Indian Fields tract. Edward Lummis' sixty acres, John Coney's two hundred acres, Matthew Parvin's one hundred and seventy-nine acres, and also a second tract of about the same size all lay south of that tract and of Alexander Moore's nine hundred and ninety acre traet. John Dare's two hundred and eighty-eight acre tract of cedar >wamp and land adjoining was located on Lebanon Branch, bounding on the cast line of the Pamphilia survey. All of these tracts were sold by the society between 1752 and 1755. May 14, 1755, all the unsold residue of the Pamphilia survey was conveyed by the society to, Alexander Moore and Daniel Elmer, Jr. The latter, by his will, dated April 9, 1761, loft his undi- vided one-half to his son Timothy, and he conveyed it to his brother, Dr. Jonathan Eliner, Nov. 1, 1770. By these persons and their representatives the remain- ing portions of the Pamphilia tract were sold.
North of the Pamphilia tract, and bounding thereon, the society had a large survey made by Worledge and
Fairfield township, west of Back Creek, comprising Back Neck and Shrewsbury, or Upper Back Neck, was mostly taken up by grantees under Fenwick's title, and the surveys were made by his surveyors, and recorded in the Salem records. All of these ancient record» have since been removed to Trenton, and are to be found in the office of the Secretary of State. The surveys here were made mostly for actual set- tlers, and in small tracts compared with those made for the general proprietors. Among them were Thomas Smith's three hundred acres of marsh, known as the Smith's Island tract; Richard Lippin- cott's one thousand acres, east of Smith's Island ; Joseph Helmesley's one thousand acres in Lower Back Neck, John Ircson's five hundred acres, Wil- liam Worth's five hundred acres, now the Laning's wharf property, and William Johnson's two hundred and fifty aeres.
John Bellers, a London merchant, had two surveys made for him in ICSC. The largest one, containing three thousand seven hundred acres, extended from Mill Creek, in the vicinity of Fairton, to Hack Creek, the Cohansey being the northern boundary, and took in all the land in the neighborhood of New England Town eross-roads. The other, containing fifteen hun- dred acres, lay on both sides of Cedar Creek, above Cedarville. These traets were taken up for him by Thomas Budd, by virtue of a power of attorney, which also authorized him to survey nine hun- dred acres of the land, and he conveyed, May 2. 1697, four hundred acres to four of the settlers from Connectieut, to be located by thetu in any part of the survey they chose. These settlers, who came from Fairfield, Conn., a short time previous to this, located on the Bellers survey, about New Eng- land Town, under leases from Budd for nine hundred and ninety-nine years, subject to the payment of yearly quit-rents of one half-penny per acre, if the same should be demanded. Budd also entered into bonds to make them a complete title, or to pay them
50S
HISTORY OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
for their improvement. Bellers died about 172!, without having completed the title to the settlers, but by his will he devised it to trustees in trust for his son, and if he should die without heirs, then to his two daughters. In the mean time the land. being very favorably situated, had been mostly taken up and improvements made thereon, and the inability to secure a perfect title was a great detriment to the settlers.
In 1746, Rev. Daniel Elmer, the pastor of the Fairfield Presbyterian Church, obtained a convey- ance for four hundred acres from Ephraim Seeley, the grandson and heir-at-law of Joseph Seeley, who was the last survivor of the four persons to whom Budd had conveyed four hundred acres in 1627, but which they had not located. Hle located it so as to cover their meeting-house, which then stood near the Cohansey, where the old graveyard still remains, and also the adjoining farmi occupied by himself. At- tempts were made by the settlers to obtain the title, but without success.
The nominal quit-rents were never paid, and the lands having been conveyed from time to time, osten- sibly in fee-simple, to persons, many of whom bad no knowledge of the original title. the occupants claimed to hold them free from any claim under the Bellers title. Benjamin Chew, an eminent lawyer of Phila- delphia, and his son, Benjamin, Jr., were appointed agents of the heirs in 1795, and were authorized to settle with the occupants and convey to them; but claiming as their own, they refused to purchase, and resisted all attempts to survey or take possession of their lands. The Chews commenced suits in the Su- preme Court of this State, and obtained a verdict in oue of the cases which was tried. Most of the occu- pants then agreed to submit the matters in dispute to arbitrators, which was done, and in September, 1506. they awarded to the Bellers heirs two dollars and fifty cents per acre, and seventy five cents per acre for costs, upon the payment of which deeds were made to the occupants, finally extinguishing the Bel- Jers claim against such as paid after one hundred and twenty years had passed from the vesting of Bel- lers' title. The title to those portions unsold or not settled for was conveyed by the heirs of Bellers, and of the trastees appointed by him to the Chews, and in 1810, Benjamin Chew, Jr. this father having died a few months before! deeded the same to James D. Westcott, of Fairfield.
South of the Bellers survey, Joseph Helby, a brewer in London, obtained a survey for seven thousand five hundred avres, which extended from Delaware Bay in the lower part of Back Neck, across Back Creek, and took in Sayre's Neck and Cedarville, one of the corners of the survey being a tree on the south side of Cedar Creek, where now is the mill-pond at Cedar- ville. He conveyed it to Samuel Barns, Aug. 7, 1739, who sold off' parts of it to settlers, and after his death the remainder of it was disposed of by his heirs.
The land on the south side of Autoxit Creek, where Newport is situated, was enaveyed by Col. Thour- I'veriy to Pickason Sheppard. Oct. 20, 1722. Th. tract was sold for fourteen hundred acres, but by a re- survey made for Sheppard it contained fifteen hin- dred and ninety acres. Ile soll off portions of it, and in 1541 deeded to his son, Dickason, Jr., three he ... dred and twenty acres, and to his son Jonadab threr hundred and forty-eight acres of it, upon which they settled, and at their deaths they cach devised their parts to their children. Diekason Sheppard. Fr., al ... had a tract of sixteen hundred and fifty aeres of land and salt marsh, lying on the shore of Delaware Bay, below Antuxit Creek, which he bought of Thoma- Bolton and John Budd in 1723, and which he divide !! among his children.
In the months of April, May, and June, 1621. Thomas Budd and John Worledge came down the bar . in a vessel, and ran out a number of survey, in the lower part of this county and in Cape May.' In the lower part of Downe and Commercial townships they set off' ten thousand acres for Dr. James Wass, of Lon- don, which covered the land between Maurice River and Dividing Creek, the west line of the tract running across the latter stream from north to south. It was called the Yoekwack tract, a small run which crosses the road from Dividing Creek to Port Norris having the same name.
On the east side of Manrice River they laid out : twenty thousand acre survey for Robert Squibbs, Er .. and Robert Squibbs, Jr., of Westminster, Middlesex Co., England. Penn, Laarie, and Lucas, trustees for Byllinge, who also joined in the deed. had conveyed to Robert Squibbs, Sr. and Jr., March 2, 1076, in consideration of three hundred and fifty pounds. which Byllinge owed them, one proprietary share of West Jersey, and Robert Squibbs, Sr., quit-claimel all his interest to Robert, Jr., in 1635, who had al- become possessed of another proprietary share in December, 1681, by deed from Laurie, Lucas, and : Byllinge, to whom Peun had conveyed his interest in April of that year. By virtue of these two share- Squibbs had this survey run out. It began on the east side of Maurice River, nearly opposite Port Norris, and ran eastward into Cape May County. cearly one-third of the survey being in that county : the lower corner was on the bay shore, below Go-tien Creek. All of the Heislerville and Ewing's Neck neighborhoods were covered by it. Squibbs died in i 1604, and by his will directed his executors to sell hi- : estate for the payment of his debts, and they coa- veyer it to Thomas Byerly, of Lowion, Jan. 26, 1705. In 1717 he released to the society a tract of four thousand seven hundred and twenty-six acres of the lower end in Cape May County, he having had the quantity allowed wo his share by the four dividend- which had been declared by the society without it
1 Beesley's Early History of Cape Muy.
509
GENERAL HISTORY.
In 1723, Byerly, who then resided in New York, sold to Andrew Errickson, mariner, eleven hundred and fifty-tive aeres in Maurice River Neck, which he had previously rented for several years. No other portion of the traet except Stipson's Island. in Cape May County, were sold by him. He died in 1725, and his executors, by direction of his will, disposed of the most of his estate, but did not sell this tract. In 1700 his niece, Elizabeth Byerly, the surviving de- visce under his will, conveyed it to Israel Pemberton, of Philadelphia, and his heirs in 1804 Jeeded it to William Griffith, who sold several parts of it, and in 1505 conveyed to Thomas HI. Hughes, who the next year conveyed to John R. Coates and Benjamin B. Cooper all that portion in Cumberland County ex- cepting the previous grants.
Worledge and Budd also ran out at the same time a town plot of Dorchester, containing two thousand five hundred acres, which extended from the north ent village of Dorchester, and extended back from the river so as to include all of the present belt of improved land. No town was built on this tract until during the present century.
Farther up the river the same surveyors laid off a survey of ten thousand acres for John Bartlett, which covered the present site of Port Elizabeth and the land along Mannnuskin Creek. Bartlett conveyed it to John Scott, by whom it was sold out in smaller trarts. About 1720 he sold to Jolin Purple that por- tion of it where Port Elizabeth now stands. Purple was one of the early settlers and leading citizens of that part of the county, and was one of the chosen freeholders from that township when the county was formed in 1745. Hle conveyed to John Bell, and he to Mrs. Elizabeth Clark (afterwards Bodely) in 1771. She laid out a town jdot about 1785, which was named Port Elizabeth in honor of her.
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