USA > New Jersey > Memorial cyclopedia of New Jersey, Volume I > Part 22
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In May. 1778, commissioners from Eng- land arrived in America, in the hope of se- curing the influence of prominent colonial statesmen toward restoring harmony be-
tween the colonies and the mother country. One of those commissioners was Governor Johnstone, who, with Lord Carlisle, was sent over by the British government espe- cially to treat with Congress, he having formerly been governor of West Florida, and thus well acquainted with the colonials. He addressed private letters to Francis Dana, Gouverneur Morris and Mr. Reed, the Committee of Congress to which Lord North's conciliatory bills were referred, and on whose report these overtures were unan- imously rejected and the intended effect of the peace commission frustrated. The let- ters written by Governor Johnstone were transmitted to Congress, July 18, 1778. It is stated by some of the authorities that these letters, which were written with the hope of obtaining the co-operation of the gentlemen addressed in bringing about peace, also contained intimations of certain honors and emoluments which should be be- stowed upon them in case these efforts were successful. This, however, is not at all probable, as Governor Johnstone was too shrewd a diplomatist to make such a blund- er. Besides, he well knew that the patriots to whom he addressed himself were not in the least likely to respond favorably to propo- sitions of this nature. It is stated, however, that direct assertions were made to Mr. Reed, through the agency of a Mrs. Ferguson, whose husband was a Tory, that if he could effect a reunion of the two countries, fio,- 000 sterling and the best office in America in the gift of the Crown should be at his disposal. This offer, she is said to have as- sured Mr. Reed, came from Governor John- stone. The answer attributed to him, which is also said to have been written by some- body else, in a somewhat similar instance, was, that he was not worth purchas- ing, but, such as he was, the king of Great Britain was not rich enough to do it.
In June, 1778, he was again in camp and was present at the battle of Monmouth, tial, and so greatly did the commander where he had a horse shot under him. He
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resumed his seat in Congress in the middle of July, and on December Ist was chosen president of the Pennsylvania Executive Council, in which position he was able to expose the corruption of Benedict Arnold, who had been appointed to the command of Philadelphia on the recapture of that city. During the next three years Reed threw in- to the discharge of his new duties all his energies, and is said to have labored in the public cause with an intensity of devotion which led to the utter prostration of his health, and eventually to the premature ter- mination of his life. Much of Reed's time and labor while president of Pennsylvania were employed in breaking up the disas- trous financial system which then existed; in 1781 he finally succeeded in forcing the Assembly into a repeal of the legal-tender laws, and thus gave the deatlı-blow to a cur- rency whose existence had been of the great- est injury to the State. He continued to hold his office until December, 1781, the constitutional limit of service. In his ad- ministration he enjoyed the respect and es- teem of the best and wisest men of the country, carrying with him to the grave the confidence and affection of Washington, Greene, and Anthony Wayne: but, on ac- count of a certain harshness in his disposi- tion, and because lie was a man of strong prejudices, he aroused serious enmities on the part of such men as Arnold, Conway, Lee and Mifflin. In 1784 he visited Eng- land, a sea voyage having been recommend- ed for his health, but he only remained abroad three months. Returning, he died at his home in Philadelphia, Marchi 5. 1785.
FORCE, Peter,
Historian, Journalist.
Peter Force, late of Washington, D. C., was born at Passaic Falls, New Jersey, No- vember 26, 1790, son of William Force, a Revolutionary soldier. Peter Force moved to New York City in 1793. In that place he learned the printer's trade, and in 1812
was chosen to fill the presidential chair of the Typographers' Society. In November, 1815, he removedi to Washington, D. C., where he began the publication of "The Na- tional Calendar," in 1820, and continued it with varying success till 1836. From No- vember 12, 1823, to February 2, 1830, he published also "The National Journal," a political newspaper, which was the official organ during the administration of John Quincy Adams. He served for several years as city councilman and alderman ; from 1836 to 1840 presided as mayor of the city of Washington; rose by successive steps to the rank of major-general of militia in 1860, and was vice-president, then president, of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science, at the capital. In 1833 he made a contract with the United States govern- ment for the preparation and publication of a documentary history of the American Col- onies, of which nine folio volumes have since appeared, covering the period from March, 1774, to the end of 1776, and embodying original documents illustrating the history of the Revolution, and also prepared a tenth volume which he did not live to see published. This important work occupied him for over thirty-five years, and in its prosecution he gathered a collection of books, manuscripts, maps, and papers re- lating to American history, which in com- pleteness and value is not equalled by any other collection in the world on the same subject. He published also four volumes of historical tracts, relating chiefly to the origin and settlement of the American colonies ; "Grinnell Land," 1852; and "Record of Auroral Phenomena," 1856. His collection of manuscripts. books, etc., now forms a part of the Congressional Library.
His son, Manning Ferguson Force, who graduated at Harvard University in 1845, was a brigadier-general in the War for the Union, and March 13, 1865, for distinguisli- ed services, received a commission as brevet major-general. Peter Force died at Wash- ington, D. C., January 23, 1868.
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KITCHELL, Aaron,
Revolutionary Patriot, Legislator.
Aaron Kitchell was born in Hanover, Morris county, New Jersey, July 10, 1744, son of Joseph Kitchell, and grandson of Abraham Kitchell, who moved from New- ark in the early part of 1700, and located at Hanover Neck, Morris county, where he purchased upwards of a thousand acres of land. The family was descended from Robert Kitchell, born in 1604, who married Margaret, daughter of Rev. Edward Sheaf- fer, of Cranbrook, Kent county, England. On April 29, 1639, Kitchell and his wife, with a company of Puritan refugees, sailed for America in the first vessel that anchored in the harbor of Quinnepiac, now New Ha- ven, Connecticut. They soon afterward set- tled at Guilford, on the border of Long Island Sound, Robert Kitchell became a man of prominence in the Connecticut colony, whence his descendants dispersed to New Jersey and Long Island.
Aaron Kitchell attended the common schools, and was brought up to the black- smith's trade. An unflinching patriot when the Revolution broke out, his occupation stood him in good stead, and he turned out quantities of arms and equipments for the New Jersey forces. His name has been transmitted to history as "one of those stur- dy artisans whose unswerving devotion to the ideals of human rights was so large a factor in the success of the Revolution." It was not long after the restoration of peace that his many friends determined to honor him for his patriotism and devotion to the cause of liberty, at the same time realizing that his abilities would be conscientiously devoted to the common good. He was elected to Congress (House of Represen- tatives) in 1791, as an Anti-Federalist, and was twice re-elected, serving until 1797, and was again recalled to the same service in 1799. He does not appear in public life afterward until 1805, when he was elected to succeed so distinguished a man as Jona- than Dayton as United States Senator, and
from which position he resigned in 1809, but for what reason does not appear. He was subsequently a member of the New Jersey Legislature, and he was a presidential elector on the Monroe and Tompkins ticket in 1817. He died in Hanover, New Jer- sey, June 25, 1820.
It need not be reason for wonderment that men of the type of Aaron Kitchell were ranged on the Democratic side in politics. The possession of power by such men as they, was mistrusted by Hamilton and his followers, and Jefferson's effective cham- pionship of their principles appealed to them so strongly as to make them his ready and close adherents. Kitchell was such a Dem- ocrat as was Jefferson, and a recognized representative of the great mass of people who hailed that great statesman as their proper leader. It is noteworthy that the displacement of the Federalists by the Dem- ocrats in New Jersey's representation in the Senate, occurred at the election of Kitchell to that body, to take the seat of Dayton, and the contrast between the two men was strikingly typical of the great change that was taking place. Dayton was essentially the aristocrat-by birth, training and incli- nation ; formal in manner, very precise, and of great dignity of carriage and bearing, he was known popularly, at the time of his de- feat by Kitchell, as "the last of the cocked hats." Kitchell, on the contrary, was a man of the people, dealing in the plainest speech. without ostentation or display of any personal importance.
ELMER, Jonathan,
Physician, Public Official.
Jonathan, Elmer, Senator, was born at Fairfield, Cumberland county, New Jersey, November 29. 1745. He was graduated from the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania in 1771, and be- gan the practice of medicine, but later be- came active in public affairs. A military company was organized by him, and he was an energetic member of the vigilance com-
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mittee. He was a delegate from New Jer- sey to the Continental Congress in 1776, serving two years; and again a delegate in 1780, serving four years, and was a third time a delegate in 1784, serv- ing until the establishment of the Fed- eral government. He then became a Senator in Congress under the constitution (1789-91), and was among those who voted to locate the national capital on the Poto- mac. During the Revolution he also served as medical inspector of the army. He was later a high sheriff. and acted as surrogate of Cumberland county from 1784 to 1802. Still later he was elevated to the presid- ing judgeship of the County Common Pleas Court, which office he resigned in 1814. He devoted much time to literary pursuits, be- coming a member of the American Philo- sophical Society (1771), and president of the State Medical Society ( 1787). He died at Burlington, New Jersey, September 3. 1817.
CONDIT, John,
Surgeon in Revolution, Statesman.
John Condit was born in Orange, New Jersey, July 8, 1755, and died there, May 4, 1834. He received his education in the pub- lic schools, and studied medicine. In 1776 (June 29), and a short time before he had attained his majority, he was commissioned surgeon in Colonel Van Cortlandt's bat- talion, Heard's brigade. After the war he engaged in a private practice, and it is said of him that as a physician he enjoyed the deepest confidence, and his practice extend- ed in all directions throughout the county of Essex, which at that time embraced a much larger territory than at present. He was not prominently connected with the noted Medical Society of New Jersey, his connection with it only dating from 1830, four years before his death, when he was elected to honorary membership.
Of far more than ordinary mental attain- ments and physical powers, the duties of his profession, which were arduous to a de- gree unknown in these days, were not suf-
ficient to engross his entire attention, and he was conspicuously active in general com- munity affairs. The cause of education par- ticularly appealed to him, and it was largely due to his instrumentality that the Orange Academy was established in 1785, an insti- tution which acquired a very high reputa- tion throughout the entire State. He was for many years in official station under the State and general government, and was re- puted to be faithful and useful in every po- sition to which he was called. For nearly twenty years in succession he was a member of the State Legislature. He was elected as a Democrat to the Sixth and Seventh Congresses (1799-1803). In 1803, the Legislature having failed to elect a United States Senator, he was appointed to fill the vacancy, and served until 1809, when he was again appointed to the same body to fill vacancy created by the resignation of Aaron Kitchell, and he was subsequently elected to fill out the unexpired term, extending his senatorial service to March 3, 1817. He subsequently served as Collector of the Port of New York.
VAN CAMPEN, Col. Abraham,
Revolutionary Patriot and Soldier.
Colonel Abraham Van Campen was born at Esopus, New York, in 1698, son of John Van Campen and Lietze Decker, daughter of Jan Decker, who came to this country in 1658.
Abraham Van Campen settled in Wal- pack, Sussex county, New Jersey, before 1727. He held a commission as colonel in the First New Jersey Regiment during the French and Indian War of 1755. He was one of the first judges of the Court of Common Pleas in Sussex county, appoint- ed in 1753. and served until 1766. He was reappointed by Governor Livingston in 1778 and 1796. He also served on the Commit- tee of Public Safety. He married Susan- nalı Depue, of Esopus, New York. Colonel Van Campen died in 1796, leaving a large estate and many slaves.
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COVENHOVEN, John,
Patriot Soldier in Revolution.
Colonel John Covenhoven, says an an- nalist of a bygone day, ranks in tradition among the genuine heroes of America. He was born in Monmouth county, New Jer- sey, December 15, 1755. There is little in- formation extant as to his youth. In 1776, the year in which he came of age, he joined the Continental forces under Washington,
and took part in the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The military records of the day associate with his name one of the great tragedies of the revolutionary period, his being the first appended to an extremely long and minute account, addressed to Washing- ton, narrating the circumstances of Captain Joshua Huddy's gallant defense of the mili- tary post at Tom's River, its capture by a party of British sympathizers (known as refugees), and the hanging of the gallant defender, under circumstances of hideous barbarity, this occurring in March. 1782. Covenhoven's name is borne with the rank of colonel, his command apparently being a battalion. However, his service appears to have been rather that of a par- tisan ranger, than that of an officer with large bodies of troops, as he is credited with participating "as watcher. guide and soldier in opposing the forays of the barbarians." As this statement is linked with that of his participation in the "des- perate engagement of Wyalusing," it would appear as if a great part of his service was in Pennsylvania, in regions infested by In- dians confederating with the British forces. A romantic exploit of Colonel Covenhoven is narrated as having occurred in New Jer- sey, in February, 1778. He and Mercy Kel- sey were being married. when the minister was interrupted by a party of Hessian sol- diers. The company instantly dispersed, Covenlioven making his exit by means of a window. After nightfall. and the soldiers having departed, he returned and conveyed his bride to his home, which was then in
Pennsylvania. After the war ( from 1796 to 1797) Colonel Covenhoven superintended the building of a wagon road through the unbroken wilderness lying between Lycom- ing Creek to Painted Post, in Steuben coun- ty, New York. He died October 29, 1846, in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.
CARNAHAN, James,
Early Educator and Clergyman.
Major Carnahan, the first member of the family of whom we have definite informa- tion, died May 31, 1788. His grandparents on both sides came from the North of Ire- land and settled in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, about 1720. Major Carna- han owned a valuable farm and was a man of influence in the county. In the Revolu- tionary War he held the rank of major in the Pennsylvania militia, and took part in several important engagments. Becoming dissatisfied with the conduct of his men, he resigned his office and early in 1780 remov- ed his family to Sewickley settlement, West- moreland county, about twenty miles from Pittsburgh. Here he purchased a farm on which he resided until his death, which oc- curred in an attempt to cross the Allegheny river a few miles above Pittsburgh. He mar- ried, and had four children: James, re- ferred to below ; Hannah ; Archibald, and John.
Dr. James Carnahan, son of Major Carn- ahan, was born in Cumberland county, Pennsylvania, November 15, 1775, and died in Newark, New Jersey, March 3, 1859. He obtained his early education at the Sewick- ley settlement school and in 1793, when eighteen years of age, went to Cannonsburg. Pennsylvania, to study at the academy. which afterward became Jefferson College. Here he acquired a thirst for knowledge, and prepared the way for all his classical attainments and for all the good accom- plished in a long and useful life. In the summer of 1797, Dr. Carnahan, with a fel- low student, Joseph Stockton, had charge
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of the classical department in the academy. Dr. Carnahan was one of the founders of the Franklin Literary Society. His classi- cal studies were directed by Rev. John Watson and Mr. James Mountain, under whose instruction he ultimately became an excellent Greek and Latin scholar. For some time Dr. Carnahan suffered financial embarrassment from the fact that Major Carnahan had become surety for the treas- urer of the county in which he resided, who was also deputy treasurer for the state. This officer having defaulted, his sureties became responsible. Dr. Carnahan at one time felt that he would have to give up col- lege and his preparation for the ministry and take up the study of medicine. Funds were obtained, however, through Dr. S. S. Smith, president of the College of New Jer- sey, to meet his college expenses, and pro- vision was also made for his needs through his pastor, Rev. Dr. John McMillan, with whose church at Chartiers, Dr. Carnahan had united in 1795.
With a fellow student, Rev. Jacob Lind- ly, afterwards first president of the Uni- versity of Ohio, Dr. Carnahan crossed the Allegheny river and made his way to Princeton. Mr. Lindly, who owned a horse, shared it with his comrade, and the two progressed about thirty-five or forty miles each day. Dr. Carnahan entered the junior class at Princeton in 1798, and was admitted to first degree in arts, September, 1800, with the highest honors of the institu- tion, and spoke the English salutatory. On completing his course, Dr. Carnahan de- clined the office of tutor in the college for the reason that he was so recently gradu- ated. He returned to Cannonsburg and spent one year in the study of theology un- der Rev. Dr. McMillan. In the autumn of 1801 he returned to Princeton as tutor, dis- charging the duties of this office for two years and continuing his theological studies meanwhile. In September, 1803, he re- signed his position, though requested to re- main as teacher of mathematics, with a tant professors and four tutors in 1854;
better salary and the prospect of becoming professor. In April, 1804, he was licensed by the presbytery of New Brunswick to preach the gospel. After visiting several churches in Warren county, New Jersey and in Pennsylvania, he preached in the Reformed Dutch Church at Albany, and went from thence to Utica and its vicinity. On his return to New Jersey, Dr. Carna- han received two calls-one from the Dutch Collegiate Church at Albany, and the other from the United Societies of Whitesboro and Utica. He accepted the latter call, as he preferred the Presbyterian church. For the six ensuing years Dr. Carnahan labored faithfully and with good results in his new charge. In 1811 he was compelled to seek a milder climate on account of an affection of the throat from which he never entire- ly recovered, it being the chief cause of his resigning the presidency. After spending a year in Mapleton, New Jersey, Dr. Caril- ahan and his family removed to Princeton, where he took charge of a classical school for nine months. He then went to George- town, D. C., and opened a classical school. This proving a success, he remained eleven years at Georgetown, at the end of which time he was chosen by a unanimous vote of the board, May 12, 1823, president of the College of New Jersey. Dr. Carnahan im- mediately accepted. He afterwards declar- ed that he would not have done this so read- ily if he had fully understood the condition of affairs at the college. As was the cus- tom of the time, Dr. Carnahan was met and escorted on his entrance into Princeton by a large number of students on horseback. He was inaugurated August 6, 1823. Pres- ident Carnahan's term of office was one of marked increase in the growth and devel opment of the college. During his admin- istration of thirty-one years, sixteen hun- dred and thirty-four students were gradu- ated from the institution ; the teaching corps was increased from two professors and two tutors in 1823 to six professors, two assis-
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and not less than $75,000 was spent in erec- tion of new buildings, purchase of appara- tus and books, and on the improvement of the college grounds. During his whole presidency, Dr. Carnahan gave himself with exemplary diligence to the duties of office, taking a full share both in instruction and government. He was a wise and prudent counsellor, kind and courteous to colleagues and pupils, always self-possessed, firm, yet liberal. Ready to make all allowance for youthful aberrations, he was inflexible in the discharge of duty. In his manner he was unassuming and modest, entirely free from selfishness and petty jealousy. If good was done, he rejoiced, no matter who suggested or did it. His financial ability has frequently been set forth, but his use- fulness to the college was of a higher order. Maclean says: "I question whether in the circumstances under which he conducted the affairs of the college, any man could have been found who would have managed them with so much wisdom and ultimately with so much success." In 1824, when General Lafayette was making a tour of the country, he was received with great hospitality at Princeton, and was presented by President Carnahan with a diploma of Doctor of Laws. which had been conferred upon the general in 1790. In June, 1853, President Carnahan resigned his office, but consented to retain his position till 1854. Dr. Carnahan was then unanimously chosen a trustee of the college, and continued to attend meet- ings of the board and to aid them by his counsel. He was also president of the board of trustees of the Theological Sem- inary, and a most useful member. After his wife's death in 1854 he went to spend the winter in Newark, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. William K. McDonald, where he died March 3, 1859. His remains were brought to Princeton, where the fun- eral was held at the First Presbyterian Church, and was very largely attended.
A letter of his son-in-law's, Mr. McDon- ald , gives illustration of Dr. Carnahan's
singular modesty: "The only meritorious act of his long life which he thought prop- er to record, has reference to his fondness for shade trees, when he expresses hope that the people of Princeton will remember that he planted the trees in the college cam- pus, and transplanted from his own nursery those noble ones that adorn the entrance to the vestibule of their church."
Dr. Carnahan had two children: I. Ly- dia. married Luther Halsey Van Doren, pastor of the Reformed Dutch Church at Middleton, New Jersey. 2. Hannah Mahon, born July 7, 1809; died May 21, 1878; married William King McDonald.
BOYDEN, Seth,
Accomplished Mechanic and Inventor.
This man, one of the most useful of his day, was a native of Massachusetts, but New Jersey was the scene of his most im- portant labors and greatest successes. He was born November 17, 1788, son of Seth Boyden. His paternal grandfather, of the same name, was a minute-man in the Rev- olution, and a sufferer on the prison ship "Jersey." His maternal grandfather, Uriah Atherton Jr., made cannon and ammuni- tion for the Revolutionary army, at Stough- ton (now Sharon), Massachusetts.
Seth Boyden was reared on a farm, and had little educational advantages. He learn- ed no trade as such, but he worked in his „father's shop at intervals. He early gave indication of fine mechanical ability, and was a skillful watch repairer when only fifteen years old. In 1815 he located in Newark, New Jersey, and engaged in the manufacture of silver-plated articles for harness and carriages. He soon after evolv- ed a greatly improved method of producing glazed leather. Soon afterward his shop burned down, and he engaged in the manu- facture of "patent leather," the first in America, beginning by drying the varnish in the air, but later using an oven. In 1831 he sold his business to a Brooklyn firm. He
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