USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 13
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of Louis and Susanna (Stockton) Pintard, niece of Richard Stockton, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
FORD, Colonel Jacob,
Distinguished Revolutionary Officer.
Andrew Ford, of Weymouth and Hing- ham, married, some time before 1650, Eleanor, daugther of Robert Lovell, of Weymouth.
Ebenezer, son of Andrew Ford, is the Ebenezer Ford who died intestate in Wood- bridge, before. February 17, 1695-6. This is shown by the fact that the sixteen acres of land purchased from John Conger by Eben- ezer Ford, March 26, 1692 (see East Jersey deeds, lib. C, p. 172), was sold in 1702 by Andrew Ford, of Plymouth, Mas- sachusetts, son of Andrew Ford, of Wey- mouth and Hingham, and in the deed of sale Andrew describes himself as the "heir in law of my brother" Ebenezer.
John Ford, of Woodbridge, in his will, dated October 20, 1721, proved February 17, 1721-2, divides between his two sons, Jacob and Samuel, land in Duxbury, Massa- chusetts, and in Quinebog, Connecticut, "which falls to me by my father." Andrew Ford, of Weymouth, also in his will dispos- es of land at Duxbury and at Quinebog, Connecticut, giving two hundred acres in the latter locality to each of his three sons, Nathaniel, James and Samuel. Of James there is little record save the mention of him in his father's will, which states that he had already been provided for. Of Nathaniel, there seems to be no record of his having a son John. As to Samuel, he lived in Wey- mouth and Bridgewater, dying in the former place in 1711, and there is no record of his marrying or having had any children that has yet come to light, and although lie dis- poses of several pieces of land at various times, the deeds contain no reference to a wife.
On the other hand, John Ford, of Wood- bridge, names his younger son Samuel, pos-
sibly after his father. The late Corydon L. Ford, who spent over fifty years studying the Ford records and left his mss. at his death to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, writes in 1894: "I am firmly convinced after weighing all the evidence, that the New Jersey Fords are the descendants of Andrew. of Weymouth, and that John Ford, of Morristown, is the son of Samuel."
John, son of James, Nathaniel or Samuel, and grandson of Andrew Ford, of Wey- mouth and Hingham, died at Hanover, Morris county, New Jersey in 1721. He settled in Woodbridge before 1700, and was deacon there in 1709, and elder in 1710. He married, at Woodbridge, December 15, 1701, Elizabeth Freeman, born at Axford, England, and died in Morristown, New Jersey, April 21, 1772. "She came to Phil- adelphia when one year old, when there was but one house there, and removed to New Jersey at the age of eighteen months." Her father, it is said, while "landing his goods at Philadelphia" (or rather the place where Philadelphia was at a later date ) fell from the gangplank into the Delaware, and was drowned between the ship and the shore, leaving a family of young orphan children. After her husband's death she went to live with her son, Colonel Jacob Ford Sr., by whom she was treated, says the diary of her great-grandson, Hon. Gabriel H. Ford, "with great filial tenderness the remaining years of her life, which were many." He al- so says in another place, "her short stature and slender bent person I clearly recall, having lived in the same house with her."
Jacob, son of John and Elizabeth ( Free- man) Ford, was born in Woodbridge, New Jersey, according to the town record, April 12, 1705, while almost every other account has it April 13, 1704. He died in Morris- town, New Jersey. January 19, 1777. Pre- vious to his marriage there seems to be al- most no record of his life, but after this lie becomes prominent as one of the pioneers in New Jersey, as a landowner, merchant
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and iron manufacturer. In 1738 he applied for a license to keep an inn in New Han- over, and in this tavern the first sessions Colonel Jacob Ford, son of Jacob and Hannah (Baldwin) Ford, was born in Morris county, New Jersey, February 19. 1737-8, and died in Morristown, January IO, 1777. If anything, he was a man even more prominent than his honored father. Previous to the outbreak of the Revolution he was more than once entrusted with dif- of the Morris county court were held. From this time on his name is of frequent occur- ence in the public records, his influence was widely felt, and he was without doubt the leading man in Morristown. He kept a store from which not only the community about him but the many employees in his different forges drew their supplies. He . ficult missions on behalf of the State, was President Judge of the county court from the formation of the county in 1740 until his death, and as such presided over the stirring meeting in the Morris county courthouse, which appointed the first Com- mittee of Correspondence. March 24, 1762, he conveyed to his son, Jacob Ford Jr., a tract of two hundred acres of land sur- rounding his house, and in 1768 he deeded to him the Mount Hope mines and meadows where his son built the stone mansion which still stands. Colonel Jacob Ford was now becoming an old man; for some time had been gradually transferring the responsibil- ity of his private business to his son and namesake, who was beginning to occupy his father's place in the confidence and affection of the people of Morris county, but he was too keenly alive to the exigencies of the hour to permit even the growing infirmities of old age to deter him from participating to the full measure of his ability in the revolt against the long series of tyrannous aggres- sion of the mother country upon the liberties of the American colonies, and he not only accepted his election, but became one of the prominent members of the Provincial Con- gress which declared for liberty. He died of fever, at the age of seventy-three years, and a simple inscription upon his monu- ment preserves a memory which will be cherished so long as the freedom for which he toiled is appreciated. His signature to many papers and instruments was "Jacob fford." He married, in 1724, Hannah, born November 17, 1701, died July 31, 1777,
daughter of Jonathan and Susanna ( Mitchel ) Baldwin.
which he faithfully executed. In 1774, he built the famous "Ford Mansion" at Mor- ristown, New Jersey, which is still standing and kept in an excellent state of preserva- tion by its present owner, the Washington Association of New Jersey, who purchased the property from the heirs of Henry A. Ford Esq., deceased. It contains a great quantity of valuable Washingtoniana. It was here that Washington spent the winter of 1779-80, Colonel Jacob Ford's widow having offered him her hospitality. He oc- cupied it from about December 1, 1779, to June, 1780, and soon after his arrival a log kitchen was built at the east end of the house for the use of the General's family, while another log cabin was built at the west end for a general office. The cluster of buildings was guarded night and day by sentinels, and it is related that Washing- ton was accustomed to knock every morn- ing at the door of Timothy Ford, the eldest son of his hostess, who was at that time suf- fering from the effects of a wound, and in- quire how the young man had spent the night. In the field southeast of the house, huts were built for Washington's life guard, and at every alarm three soldiers would rush into the house, barricade the door, and about five men would station themselves at each window, their muskets brought to a charge, loaded and cocked, ready for de- fense.
The name of Jacob Ford is brought into special prominence for having built an im- portant powder mill on the Whippany
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river, near Morristown, in 1776. The Pro- vincial Congress had agreed to lend him £2000 in money, without interest, for one year, on his giving satisfactory security for tlie same, he to deliver one ton a month of "good merchantable powder" until the £2000 had been repaid. This "good mer- chantable powder" did excellent service in many a battle thereafter, and was one of the main reasons for the repeated but fruit- less attempts of the enemy to reach Mor- ristown. At first these attempts were made by small detachments, but in December, 1776, General Leslie, with a considerable force, was sent on this important errand. Intelligence of the enemy's movements hav- ing in some way reached Colonel Ford, he marched with his battalion of militia to Springfield, where on December 14 a sharp engagement took place with the British forces, and the royalist commander receiv- ed so convincing a demonstration of the high quality of Morristown gunpowder and the great efficiency of Morristown militia that he unceremoniously retreated to- wards Spankton, now Rahway. It is said it was the conduct of American militia at this battle which was one of the deciding arguments that led to the French giving their assistance to the struggling colonists.
Previous to the engagement at Spring- field, as commander of the Eastern Battal- ion of New Jersey militia, Colonel Jacob Ford demonstrated his efficiency in cover- ing Washington's retreat through New Jer- sey in the "Mud Rounds" of 1776, a service which he accomplished with honor and suc- cess. December 22, Colonel Ford arrived in Morristown with his battalion from Chat- ham, where he had been vainly watching for another opportunity to try conclusions with the British. December 31st, it was on parade, presumably on the grounds to the south of the Morristown village green, be- tween the present site of the First National Bank and Bank street, and this event, which was proudly witnessed by the assembled pa- triots, became memorable as the scene of
Colonel Ford's last seizure. During the Rev- olution he was seized with delirium, and had to be borne off the field by a couple of soldiers. After this he never rose from his bed. His illness would to-day be called pneu- monia, and it was without doubt caused by the exposure and hardships of his recent services in the field. By order of General Washington his body was interred with all the honors of war, Captain Rodney's light infantry acting as escort to the remains. Mrs. Colles says, in her "Authors and Writ- ers :" "Col. Jacob Ford Jr., the brave and noble, was Washington's right-handed man upon whom he depended, was buried by Washington's orders, and with the honors of war, and the description of the funeral cortege is one of the most picturesque pages out of history." Thus, in the midst of ex- ceptional usefulness, and in the full vigor of young manhood (he was but thirty-nine years of age when he died), passed away one of the most promising men ever produc- ed in Morris county, and in view of the brilliancy exhibited by this early martyr to freedom during his brief public career, it would have been safe to predict for him an almost unlimited achievement as a military officer. A week later his father was laid by his side, and the two tombstones now stand as the monument to two of New Jersey's greatest sons. The inscription on the elder Ford's stone is a simple record of birth and death; that of the younger Ford, reads as follows: "Sacred to the memory of Colo. Jacob Ford, Jun'r., son of Colo. Jacob Ford, Sen'r. He was born February the 19th, A. D. 1738, and departed this life January the Ioth, A. D. 1777, And Being Then In the Service of his Country Was Interred in this place with Military Honors"
"In vain we strive with human skill to avoid the Shaft of Death;
Heav'n's high Decree it must fulfill and we resign our Breath.
The friends who read our Tomb and mourn and weep our Early Fall
Must be lamented in their day and share the fate of all."
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Colonel Jacob Ford married, January 27, 1762, Theodosia, daughter of Rev. Timothy and Elizabeth (Sayre) Johnes, who was born September 13, 1741. Her father was pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of Morristown for fifty years, and is said to have administered the Holy Communion to General Washington during the time he had his headquarters in that town. He married (first) Elizabeth Sayre; (second) Keziah Ludlum, and died September 15, 1794.
Gabriel H., son of Colonel Jacob Jr. and Theodosia (Johnes) Ford, was born Janu- ary 3, 1765, presumably at Mt. Hope, New Jersey, where his father and grandfather owned large mines and extensive proper- ty, and died August 27, 1849. He was seveni years of age when his great-grandmother died in his grandfather's house, where he and his father were also living at the time, and it is from his pen that we have the pic- ture of her life and appearance. He gradu- ated from Princeton College in 1784, and then studied law with Hon. Abraham Og- den, one of the leading lawyers of Newark. While thus engaged he and a fellow law student found themselves without middle names, and it was proposed that each should name the other, and he thus received the name of Hogarth, and ever after wrote his name Gabriel H. Ford. He was licensed as an attorney in 1789, and as a counsellor in 1793. When the State of New Jersey was divided into judicial districts, a large one composed of the counties of Bergen, Essex, Morris and Sussex, was committed to his care as Presiding Judge of its several county courts. The law which made this arrangement was repealed, and Judge Ford was thus legislated out of office. He was then elected Associate Justice, in the face of a strong opposition, his opponent, Mr. Mc- Ilvaine, receiving only one vote less. Judge Ford now became one of the most influen- tial justices in the State, and his decisions were generally considered to be among the most reliable opinions obtainable. He was extremely conscientious and industrious, a
patient listener to arguments, and as me- thodical as ever sat on any bench. He was a gentleman of the old school, courteous and affable to the last degree, precise in manner and speech, and in all his public ser- vices and charges to the juries he was un- rivalled, and in the opinion of many to-day has never been excelled. He filled the oi- nce of Associate Justice for three terms and retired in 1842 on account of his increasing years and growing deafness. He was one of the few men whose reputation has never been sullied by even a shadow. Just and impartial as a judge, patient in investi- gation and sincerely desirous of performing his whole duty, he stands at the head of New Jersey's legal fraternity. After his res- ignation from the bench the New Jersey bar passed a series of resolutions assuring him of their high esteem, and extolling his puri- ty and the independence which had led him to adopt as his maxim "Be just and fear not." The resolutions conclude by declaring him the most efficient and eloquent lawyer that. New Jersey had ever had.
Judge Ford purchased the interest of his brother and sisters in the "Washington's Headquarters" home of his father, and made his own home there until his death, when he left it to his son, Henry. Augustus. who also lived there for his life. After the death of Henry Augustus Ford his heirs turned the title over to four gentlemen who organized the Washington Headquarters Association. Another monument to Judge Ford is in the Morris Academy.
He married, January 26, 1790, at Benja- min Randolph's home in Burlington, Fran- ces, daughter of Giovanni Gualdo. She was born May 8, 1767, at Norfolk, Virginia, im- mediately after the arrival of her parents from London, England, and died in 1853- her father was a nobleman of Vincenza, Italy, who married Frances Compton, wid- ow, of London, England, whose maiden name was Allen, and whose only child by her first marriage was William Compton. godson of Gilbert Lloyd Esq., of London.
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Mr. Gualdo removed from Norfolk to Phil- adelphia, where his wife died November 2, 1771, and he December 20, 1772, having confided the two children ( William Comp- ton and Frances Gualdo) to Benjamin Ran- dolph, of Philadelphia, who in 1773, at the request of Gilbert Lloyd, Esq., sent William Compton, then about ten years old, to Lon- don, but retained Frances for another time, deeming her too young. The American Rev- olution soon prevented the intercourse be- tween the colonies and the mother country, and Mr Randolph educated Frances with his own daughter.
MERCER, Archibald,
Jurist, Ideal Citizen.
The Mercers are of Scotch origin, and for centuries before the coming of persons of their blood to this country the name was a distinguished one both in church and state, but particularly in the kirk, where we find them among the foremost in a land and time noted for their eminent divines and reformers.
The great-grandfather of the founder of the Mercer family in New Jersey was John Mercer, who was the minister of the kirk in Kinnellan, Aberdeenshire, from 1650 to 1676, in which latter year he resigned his incumbency, probably on account of feeble- ness or age, as his deatlı occurred about a year later. This worthy divine married Lillian Row, a great-granddaughter of the reformer, John Row, and from their union sprang three children, one of whom was Thomas Mercer, baptized January 20, 1658, and mentioned in the poll lists of 1696. This Thomas married (first) Anna Raite, and (second) a woman whose last name is un- known but who was christened Isabel. Seven children were the result of one or both of these marriages, but the records at present available are insufficient to enable us to determine which wife was the mother of any one or more of them. One of these children was baptized
WVil"-m on the 25th of March, 1696, and he is an important personage, not only on his own account, but also because he was the father of two great families of his name in this country, both of them worthily held in high honor by New Jersey, although only one has made this colony and state its home. William Mercer followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, the Rev. John, and being educated for the ministry, made a name for himself and won a prominent position in the established kirk of Scotland, from 1720 to 1748 being in charge of the manse at Pittsligo, Aberdeenshire. He mar- ried Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Munro, of Foulis, who was killed in 1746, while commanding the British troops at Falkirk. By this marriage the Rev. William Mercer had three children, one a daughter named Eleanor or Helen; another Hugh, who em- igrated to America in 1747, settling first in Pennsylvania and later in Virginia, and won for himself undying glory and nation- al gratitude, first as captain of militia in Braddock's unfortunate expedition, and afterwards as brigadier-general of the Con- tinental army in the campaign culminating in the battles of Trenton and Princeton where he met his doom ; and lastly William, the founder of the Mercer family of New Jersey.
William Mercer, the colonist, above men- tioned as the son of the Rev. William Mer- cer, of Pittsligo, was born about 1715, in Aldie, Scotland, shortly after his father's ordination to the ministry, and died in New Brunswick, New Jersey, March 10, 1770, in the fifty-six year of his age. From all accounts William Mercer, the colonist, was a inan of retiring and quiet disposition, in- clining more to the study and the workshop rather than to the field and forum of public life. He was a scholarly gentleman and physician, whose mills were an easily rec- ognized and well known landmark not only throughout New Jersey but in New York as well. From May, 1747. about six or seven years after his emigration to this
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country, until February, 1768, about two years before his death, the "New York Gazette" and "Weekly Post Boy" and the "New York Gazette" and "Weekly Mer- cury" contain many advertisements of lands for sale and houses to sell or rent which were either owned by Dr. Mercer himself or which though owned by others, were to be recognized by their proximity or relation to "Dr. Mercer's Mills," which were situ- ated in the "blue hill country of Somerset county, on the road through Johnstone's Gap to the Valley between the first and sec- ond mountains." Dr. Mercer's own home was in New Brunswick, where he held the title to considerable properties, one of them being "a house and large garden situated upon the bank of the river," the house hav- ing "three good fine rooms upon the first floor, and four rooms on the second, with a good kitchen, cellar, pantry, &c., be- low," and the outbuildings consisted of "a large barn with very convenient stabling in it, and other outhouses, also two large convenient storehouses adjoining it." This property Dr. Mercer had bought from William Donaldson, who had afterward rented it from him for a number of years, and then having determined to go back to England, had given up his lease, whereupon Dr. Mercer advertised it as for rent in the New York papers. From another advertise- ment in the "New York Gazette" and week- ly "Mercury" of January 15. 1776. about six years after Dr. Mercer's death, we learn- ed that he was one of the old Jersey slave owners, as on that date Colonel John Reid advertises forty shillings reward for a run- away negro man, named Sam, who had for- merly belonged to and lived in the family of Dr. Mercer. Dr. Mercer's will is record- ed in Liber K, page 208, of the East Jersey wills, and is on file in the vaults of the of- fice of the secretary of state in Trenton, New Jersey. By his wife, Lucy (Tyson) Mercer. Dr. William Mercer had nine chil- dren: William, John, Isaac, Gabriel, Peter, Martha, Archibald, Helen and Robert. Two
of these sons went to West Indies, one of them, William, settling about five years af- ter his father's death in Bermuda, and the other in Barbadoes. Another of his sons settled in New Orleans, and two more of his sons died leaving no record behind them. Of Martha, the oldest of his daugh- ters, nothing is known. Helen, his other daughter, married Samuel Highway, who settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, and after her husband's death, somewhat later than 1814. returned to New Jersey and made her home with her niece, Mrs. Theodore Frelinghuy- sen, at Newark, New Jersey, where she died in November, 1822. Robert, the young- est son of Dr. William Mercer, the colo- nist, settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, having married Eleanor Tittennary, Decem- ber 2, 1783, who bore him four children: Eleanor Tittennary Mercer, who became the wife of Samuel Moss and the mother of five children: Joseph, Lucy, Thomas Frelinghuysen, Charlotte Frelinghuysen and Maria Moss; Letitia Mercer, who died young ; Robert Mercer, who followed his uncle to New Orleans; and Mary Strycker Mercer, who married and left one child, Isaac Sidney Jones.
Archibald, sixth son of Dr. William Mer- cer, of New Brunswick, was born 1747, either shortly before or just after the father came to this country. He died in Newark, New Jersey, May 4, 1814, after a long and useful life, the early part of which was spent in New Brunswick and New York, the manhood and middle age in Millstone, Somerset county, New Jersey, and the de- clining years in Newark where he took his place as a prominent citizen of the growing town and the close and valued friend of such men as General John N. Cum- ming, James Kearney, Elias E. Bou- dinot, William Halsey, John and Step- hen Van Courtlandt, Jesse Gilbert, Ash- bel Upson, David Lyman, Abraham Wooley, Archippus Priest and William Hillhouse. The early years of Archibald Mercer's life were spent in his father's
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home in New Brunswick, and here, under thie scholarly doctor's tuition, he received his early education. When he was between fifteen and twenty years of age, young Ar- chibald went to New York where he re- mained until after the birth of his first child, but whether he went there to enroll himself among the students of King's Col- lege, now Columbia University, or whether he went to the city in order to start himself in a business career is uncertain. That he was there during this time, however, we learn from the fact that his eldest child was born in New York, and that during the per- iod above mentioned there occurs in tlie advertisement already mentioned which his father inserted in the newspa- pers the phrase "For further partic- ulars enquire of Dr. Mercer at New Bruns- wick, or Archibald Mercer at Walter and Samuel Franklin's store in New York." The times in which Archibald Mercer's youth and early manhood were passed were indeed stirring ones and just what part he took in them we have never been able to ascertain. The only military record left by the New Jersey Mer- cer is that of Captain John, who at the beginning of the war was an ensign in Captain Howell's company, first battal- ion of the first establishment of the Jersey line, who on November 14, 1775, became first lieutenant of the same company. On November 29, 1776, Lieutenant John Mer- cer was transferred to Captain Morris's company, first battalion of the second estab- lishment of the Jersey line, and on Feb- ruary 15, 1777, was promoted captain of the same company. He was taken prisoner of war and exchanged on November 6, 1780, and he was finally retired September 26, 1780. Unless this Captain John Mercer was Archibald Mercer's elder brother, of whom no other record now remains, it is probable that he was either not at all or at most only distantly related to the family we are now considering. However this may be, of one thing we can be reasonably sure, Ar-
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