USA > New Jersey > New Jersey biographical and genealogical notes from the volumes of the New Jersey archives : with additions and supplements > Part 11
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COWELL FAMILY
COWELL FAMILY.
The Cowell family of Trenton came from Dorchester, Mass., where was born (1704) David Cowell. He graduated at Harvard in 1732, and was installed, November 3, 1736, as the first pastor of the Presbyterian church of Trenton, where he continued until his death, at Trenton, December 1, 1760. He was prominent in the community and in the councils of his church, and appears to have been successful as a pastor. He left no issue. In his will, dated November 29, 1760, proved Jan- uary 24, 1761, the Rev. David Cowell makes his brother, Ebenezer Cow- ell, of New England, his residuary legatee. He also mentions nephew, David Cowell, student at Nassau Hall; sisters Anna Fisher and Martha Blake; Margaret, widow of brother Joseph, and now wife of Richard Fisher; Samuel Cowell and Olive Haws, children of said brother.
Ebenezer Cowell, his residuary legatee, probably removed from New England to Trenton soon after this. Between 1765 and 1775 he acquired extensive tracts of land in West Jersey, including a share in a Pro- priety of that Division, most of which lands he disposed of in the same period. In 1765 he appears to have been living at Changewater, Hunt- erdon county. He was a Deputy Surveyor of West Jersey in 1774, and in 1782-1784 was of the Committee (Council?) of the West Jersey Pro- prietors. He is designated in the conveyances as a "yeoman," or "sur- veyor." From other circumstances he appears to have been a smith, working principally on guns, swords, locks and perhaps surveyors' in- struments. In 1776 he advertised for gunsmiths, and offered to instruct others in the art of repairing guns for the American army. He was engaged in this work during the American occupancy of Tren- ton and vicinity, and employed many helpers, whom he paid out of his own pocket, often waiting many months before being reimbursed for his outlays. but did it gladly, for his love for the American cause. The British showed their resentment by ransacking his house when they entered Trenton after the famous battle at that place, December 26, 1776. In 1791 he was living in Philadelphia. He returned to Trenton, where he died May 4, 1799, his will, dated February 27, 1799, being proved May 11, 1799. In this will he devises house lot in Trenton, ad- joining Doan's lot, a house and lot next to the preceding, lot on the south side of Market street, Trenton, an orchard lot of four acres in Trenton, house and lot in Springet lane. Fhiladelphia. Witnesses- Peter Gordon. A. Chambers, I. E. Spencer. His children were:
i. David, graduated from Princeton in 1763; studied medi- cine in Philadelphia, and settled in Northampton, Bucks county, Penna. By deed, October 1, 1767, Eb- enezer Cowell, yeoman, of Trenton, conveyed to him 503 acres in Knowlton township, Sussex county, West Jersey; on March 3, 1768, his father conveyed to him two houses and a lot in Trenton on the north side of Second street; also two other lots in or near Trenton, and a tract of 400 acres in Sussex county, on Paulin's Kiln. It is probable that soon after the last named conveyances Dr. David Cowell removed to Trenton, where he practiced until his death, of quinsy, Dec. 18, 1783. For two years he was senior physician and surgeon in military hospitals in the American army. In his will, dated Dec. 17, 1783, proved Dec. 30, 1783, he mentions children of his brother Joseph, and his sister Sally. He gives £100 to Congress, if they will settle at Lamberton (a suburb of Trenton), £100 to
79
COWELL FAMILY
the College of New Jersey, and £100 to the Grammar School in Trenton. He was evidently unmarried. Ebenezer, of whom hereafter.
11.
iii. John. studied medicine, and served as a Surgeon of Militia in 1779. On the death of his brother David he advertised in the Noc Jersey Gazette "that he had been prevailed upon by the friends of his deceased brother to establish himself as a physician in Trenton." He died January 30, 1789, in his 30th year, according to his tombstone, as cited by Dr. Hall, but his will, not dated, was proved January 28, 1789, or two days be- fore his death. The date on the tombstone is evi- dently incorrect. In the will he names wife Mary, and children John and Mary, both under age. These children are also mentioned in the will of their grand- father, Ebenezer Cowell. in 1799.
iv. Joseph, married Catherine Case, marriage license dated January 19, 1769; died at Trenton, Sept. 30, 1808. aged 63 years.
V. Robert, died at Trenton, July 5, 1808.
vi. Eunice. died at Broadway, Warren county, N. J., July 30, 1829, unmarried. In her father's will she was named as sole executrix. Over her grave, in the Mansfield cemetery, near Washington, N. J., is a large horizontal marble slab, inscribed with the date of her death, and her age, 80 years.
vii. Lois, twin sister of Eunice. The tombstone over the grave of Eunice states that it is in memory "also of Lois, twin sister of Eunice Cowell, who departed this life Septr. 9, 1793. whose remains were deposited in the grounds of the 2d Presbyterian church in Arch street, Philadelphia.'
viii. Sarah, married Thomas Bowlby, doubtless a relative of John Bowlby, of Sussex county, who by deed dated July 12, 1765, conveyed to Ebenezer Cowell the right to 500 acres of unappropriated land in West Jersey. She d. April 16, 1826, in her 83d year. She is buried beside her sister Eunice, in the Mansfield cemetery, near Washington, Warren county. Her husband d. Jan. 8, 1827, aged 82 yrs. 9 mos. 6 days; he was a son of John2 Thomas1 Bowlby, and lived in Bethlehem township, Hunterdon county.
Ebenezer Cowell, 2d, having graduated from Princeton College in 1766, studied law, probably with Abraham Cottnam, of Trenton, and was licensed as an attorney November 30, 1769. The notices of him in the records are scanty. On July 18, 1776, he presented a petition to the Provincial Congress, complaining that John Barnes, Sheriff of Hunter- don county, had refused to receive and execute two writs issued under the authority of the people of the State of New Jersey. Barnes admit- ted that he was unwilling to recognize the validity of the new gov- ernment and I was superseded. In joint meeting the Legislature on
Septemeb 7, 1773, appointed young Cowell clerk of Hunterdon county. He died in Trenton, on the night of February 14-15, 1817. The fol- lowing notice of his death. in the Trenton Federalist, of Feb. 17, 1817, suggests a sad ending of a once promising career:
"Died. In this city on the night of the 14th inst. Ebenezer Cowell Esq. formerly clerk of the pleas of Hunterdon Co. On the morning of
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COWELL FAMILY : DANIEL COXE-First and Second
the 15th he was found dead in the house, where he resided, and prob- ably perished in consequence of the severity of the weather."
He was probably about seventy years of age. As he died intestate, Samuel Bowlby and Abner Parke were appointed administrators of his estate. Their inventory and appraisement, taken March 5, 1817, indi- cates that Cowell had not prospered greatly in this world's goods. The following is the list and valuation of his personal property:
one Chest with Sundry Books and papers,
20 00
Six Iron pots and Cittles,
3 00
Three Jugs,
20
Two Pails and 1 Saddle,
50
'Three Chairs,
1 00
Two Tables and 2 Boxes,
50
one Survayers Chair,
2 00
a Lot of oald Tin and Iron,
50
Half Barrel and Kug,
50
Two pairs of Saddle Bags and 1 Bed Stid, 1 00
Eight Volumes of the Statu of great Britain, 50 00
77 10
The inventory actually foots up $79.20. No record has been found of the marriage of Mr. Cowell. On September 11, 1820, commissioners were appointed by the Supreme Court to divide the lands of Ebenezer Cowell, deceased, to wit: a tract conveyed Feb. 11, 1782, by Ebenezer Cowell the elder to Ebenezer Cowell junior: also a tract of land for- merly known by the name of Doud's Dale, beginning at a corner by the road leading from Trenton to Hopewell, etc., containing ten acres; and a lot adjoining the last described, containing three and a quarter acres, conveyed by Elizabeth Ann Cottnam, executrix, and Robert Hoops Esquire and George Cottnam, executors of Abraham Cottnam, Esq., deceased, June 25, 1775. unto Ebenezer Cowell, junior, in fee sim- ple. The lands were divided amongst John V. Cowell, Thomas Mitchell and Mary his wife, Sarah Bowlby, Eunice Cowell, the children of Dr. John Cowell, and the children and heirs of Joseph Cowell. John V. Cow- ell and Mary Mitchell were probably the children of Dr. John Cowell. Further genealogical details are supplied by a deed dated June 22, 1818, recorded in the Hunterdon County Clerk's office, Book 31, p. 100, from Thomas Bowlby and Sarah his wife; Eunice Cowell; John Cowell and Margaret his wife; Thomas Mitchell and Mariah his wife; Joshua Emlen and Catharine his wife; Robert Goodwin and Mary his wife, Samuel Cowell and Margaret his wife, John Cowell and Margare this wife, and Sarah Jones, heirs-at-law of Ebenezer Cowell, senior, de- ceased-to Joseph Cowell (wife's name Deborah), one of the heirs. -West Jersey Wills, Liber 10, p. 589; Ibid., No. 27, p. 490; Ibid., No. 32, p. 8; Ibid., No. 33, p. 455; Conveyances in Secretary of State's Office, Trenton; Hall's Hist. Pres. Church in Trenton, passim; Wickes's Hist. of Medical Men of N. J., 219, 220; 2 N. J. Archives, I., 543; Cowell MSS., unpublished, in the collection of William Nelson; Minutes Provincial Congress, 513; Minutes Supreme Court.
DANIEL COXE, First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth.
The first Daniel Coxe of whom we have record was of Stoke Newing- . ton, England, and died in 1686 .- Penn. Hist. Mag., VII., 317.
He left a son, the second Daniel Coxe, born 1640 or 1641, died January 19, 1730, in his ninetieth year. The latter was one of the most eminent physicians of his day, a prolific writer on chemistry and medicine, and
vi
81
DANIEL COXE-Second and Third
was physician to Charles II., and afterwards to Queen Anne. Although he never came to America, he acquired large possessions in New Jer- sey, and was at least nominally Governor of the Province, 1687-1691. By sundry deeds, 1686-1691, Dr. Coxe acquired from the heirs of Ed- ward Byllinge all their interest in West Jersey, together with the right of government, and thus became the largest proprietor in that division, owning twenty-two shares of Propriety, estimated at more than 600,000 acres. He appointed Edward Hunloke to be Deputy Governor for him. Owing to various complications he conveyed, March 4, 1691, most of his West Jersey rights to a large number of citizens of London, who associated themselves together as "The West Jersey Society," which still exists, although its property has been long ago disposed of .- Smith's Hist. N. J., 190; Proceedings West Jersey Surveyors' Association, 118-127; N. J. Archives, II., 10, 41-72; Proceedings New Jersey Historical Society, Third Series, VI., 129-135. Some of his published letters indi- cate that he was actuated by the highest motives in his conduct re- garding the people of West Jersey .- Smith's Hist. N. J., 190, note; N. J. Archives, HI., 96. He also acquired title to a tract, imperial in its dimen- sions, lying between latitude 31 degrees and latitude 36 degrees, and extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, which he spent a fortune in exploring, his vessels being the first to ascend the Mississippi from its mouth. This was called Carolana. He was a staunch Church of England man, interesting himself in establishing that church in West Jersey, near Cape May .- P'enn. Mag .. V., 114; VII., 317-26.
The third Daniel Coxe was the Doctor's eldest son, and was baptized in London, August 31, 1673 .- 1b., VII., 326. Although he joined with other proprietors in recommending Andrew Hamilton for Governor (N. J. Archives, II., 376, 410), he seems to have been a favorite of Lord Cornbury, whom he probably accompanied to America in 1702, and by whom he was appointed Commander of the forces in West Jersey .- N. J. Archives, III., 35, 42, 44. He was thereafter known as "Colonel" Coxe. He doubtless returned to England after a very short stay here, for in 1704 he was in London, waging a vigorous defense against the attacks of some of the New Jersey Proprietaries .- 1b., 35. His answer is far more dignified and admirable in tone than their criticisms He regrets that ne had been proposed (entirely without his knowl- edge, he says) for the Council, and is entirely willing that some- one else shall be appointed. He declares that his father asserts that he had not conveyed all his lands to the West Jersey Soci- ety, but had reserved large tracts .- 1b., 39. He had been recom- mended in 1702 by the Earl of Nottingham and by the Earl of Clarendon for a seat in the new Governor's Council of New Jersey. -V. J. Archires, II., 486, 502. In1705 he was again recommended by Lord Cornbury, and notwithstanding the hostility of the Quakers he was appointed in 1706, and soon after sailed for America, when Lord Corn- bury appointed him one of the associate Judges of the Supreme Court of the Province .- N. J. Archives, III., 35, 78, 84, 125, 132; Troom's Supreme Court Rules, 47. In the year following (1707), notwithstanding his hos- tility to Quakers in general, he made an exception in favor of Sarah, the presumably pretty daughter of John Eckley, a Quaker, of Philadel- phla, with whom he eloped, being married to her by Lord Cornbury's chaplain, who most opportunely happened to be on hand, "between two and three o'clock in the morning, on the Jersey side, under a tree by Are light." The gallant bridegroom was then a "fine flaunting gentle- man."-Watson's Annals, I., 50. Two days later (May 10, 1707) the young bride (she was but 17) was christened by the Rev. John Sharpe, the chaplain aforesaid .-- Penna. Magazine, XXIII., 105. On the arrival of
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DANIEL COXE-Third and Fourth
Lord Lovelace, in 1708, as Governor of New Jersey, Colonel Coxe was again named as one of the Council .- N. J. Archives, III., 316. He did not get along so well with Governor Hunter, at whose request he was removed from the Council in 1713 .- Ib., IV., 149, 182. He was elected to the Assembly in 1714, by the "Swedish vote" (N. Y. Col. Docs., V., 399, 404), and again in February, 1716, from the county of Gloucester and from the town of Salem, both, although Sheriff William Harrison, of Gloucester, was accused of having resorted to sharp practice to secure his defeat, by removing the polls several miles from the usual place. Colonel Coxe declared to serve for Gloucester, instead of Salem, and being chosen Speaker, April 4, complained of Sheriff Harrison on the 26th, and had the satisfaction of publicly reprimanding him, by order of the House. His triumph was short-lived, for Governor Hunter immedi- ately prorogued the Assembly until May 7. The Governor's opponents in the House appear to have purposely staid away, in the hope of pre- venting a quorum, but by May 21 the Governor's friends got thirteen members together, and having a quorum they elected John Kinsey Speaker, in the absence of Colonel Coxe, and then coolly proceeded to expel the Colonel and the other anti-administration members for non- attendance, declaring them, moreover, ineligible to re-election, and when some of them were notwithstanding again returned, they were again expelled .- JIS. Minutes of Assembly in State Library, Trenton. Colonel Coxe sailed the ensuing July for England, where he agitated vigorously during 1717 and 1718 for the removal of Governor Hunter, and appears to have had some idea of securing the succession for himself .- N. Y. Col. Docs., V., 482; N. J. Archives, IV., 267, 299. While thus retired from offi- cial life. the Colonel directed his attention to literature, publishing in 1722 a description of "Carolana," which was republished in 1727 and 1741 .- Stevens's Historical Nuggets, I., 199, 200. In this work he proposes a remarkably comprehensive plan for a Union of the British Colonies in America, much similar to that adopted 145 years later for the Dominion of Canada. Franklin commended it to the Albany convention of 1754. In 1725 he ran for the Assembly in Burlington, where the Sheriff adopted in his behalf the device of Sheriff Harrison some years before in Glou- cester .- N. Y. Col. Does., V., 767. In 1730 he received a commission as Provincial Grand Master for New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he being the first on the Continent to be thus honored .- Hough's Histor- teal Sketch of Free Masonry in New Jersey, prefixed to Grand Lodge Pro- ceedings, 1787-1857, VII. In 1734 he was again appointed, by Governor Cosby, to be third Judge of the Supreme Court, which office he held thereafter until his death .- Vroom's Sup. Ct. Rules, 47; Lewis Morris Papers, 48. He was a man of great business energy and enterprise. For several years prior to 1725 he was interested in the iron works on Black's creek, Burlington County .- Swank's Iron in All Ages, 2d ed., 1892, 157. The lands conveyed to him by his father occasioned him no little trouble, and when he asserted his ownership to the 30,000 acres and the 15,000 acres in Hopewell and Maidenhead, he was threatened with assassination .- N. J. Archives, XI., 400, 431. Most of his life in Amer- ica had been spent at Burlington, but during his later years he lived at Trenton, where he died April 25. 1739, and was buried at St. Mary's Church, Burlington .- Hills's Hist. of the Church in Burlington, 255; Dr. Hall's Hist. Pres. Church in Trenton, 236. His wife died June 25, 1725, aged 35 years.
The fourth Daniel Coxe was the Colonel's eldest son. He appears to have led an uneventful life, but few notices of him appearing among contemporary records. In 1746 he was named as one of the Burgesses In the first charter of the borough and town of Trenton .- Book AAA of
83
DANIEL COXE-Fourth and Fifth
Commissions, in Secretary of State's Office, Trenton, fol. 266. During the rioting in 1747 he was naturally identified with the Proprietary party .- N. Y. Col. Docs., VI., 345. His will, dated January 25, 1750, names his wife, Abigail, daughter, Grace Coxe, and son, Daniel Coxe, the latter being evidently a minor at this time. The will was proven January 21, 1758 .- Liber No. 8 of Wills, in Secretary of State's Office, Trenton, fol. 536. His "acting Executors," Abigail Coxe, Grace Coxe and William Pid- geon, advertised in the Pennsylvania Gazette, of Feb. 2, 1760, for sale, his plantation, Bellemont, where he had lived, comprising 1,320 acres, on the Delaware River, about twelve miles from Trenton, with a fine mansion, with four rooms on a floor, and fire places. Also "two Negroes, a Man and Woman." He controlled a ferry and a fishery at the same place .- V. J. Archives, XX., 175. He had a great deal of trouble with the settlers of Hopewell, about their title, which they claimed under a deed from his grandfather, but which he disputed. There was much litigation, and he said his life was threatened by the tenants whom he ejected.
His son, the fifth Daniel Coxe, was probably born April 1, 1741. He studied law, and was licensed as an Attorney and Counsellor March 20, 1761, and as a Sergeant Nov. 15, 1772 .- Vroom's Sup. Ct. Rules, 59, 54. In the fall of 1767 he sailed with his wife and his brother-in-law, John Tabor Kempe, Attorney-General of New York (who had married Grace Coxe), for England, where they managed to get their Carolana claims adjusted by accepting instead extensive grants of land in Western New York .- Duer's Life of Lord Stirling, 89; Cal. N. Y. Land Papers, 467 et seqq. In a letter dated Burlington, January 14, 1771, to the Earl of Hillsborough, Gov. William Franklin recommends for two vacant seats in the Council "two Gentlemen, who are In every respect the best qualified to serve His Majesty in that Capacity of any I am at Liberty to mention. One is Daniel Coxe Esqr. of Trenton. . . . Не was lately in England, and had I hear the Honour of being personally known to your Lordship. . . . He is a member of the Church of England." He was appointed by order of the King in Council, May 1. 1771 .- N. J. Archives, X., 225, 273, 275. He took his seat in the Council at Burlington, Nov. 21, 1771 .- Ib., XVIII., 259-260. The minutes of the Council show that after his appointment in 1771 he was regular and faithful in his attendance until the close of that body's existence in 1775 .- Ib., XVIII., passim. He was a zealous Tory, and in a letter dated July 4, 1775, vlewed with prophetic foresight the cruel plight to which such as he would be reduced. "What then have men of Property not to fear and apprehend, and particularly those who happen and are known to differ in sentiment from the generality? They become a mark at once for popular Fury, and those who are esteemed Friends to Government devoted for Destruction .- They are not even allowed to preserve a neutrality, and passiveness becomes a Crime."-Ib., X., 654. Even the burning of his handsome residence at Trenton by the British, during their pursuit of Washington in December, 1776 (5 American Ar- chives, II., 1376), did not impair his attachment to the Royal cause, for in 1778 he went to New York, where he remained till the close of the war, serving as Chairman of an Association of Refugees. Christopher Sower mailciously says he "was appointed to the chair to deprive him of the opportunity of speaking, as he has the gift of saying little with many words."-Sabine's Loyalists, I., 339. In June, 1779, he wrote to Jos- eph Galloway that he was confident the end of the Rebellion would come that Summer .- Hist. Mag., June, 1862, 181. He married, June 5, 1771, Sarah, daughter of Dr. John Redman, of Philadelphia .- Records Christ Church, 2 Penn. Archives, II., 68. Dr. Redman was a surgeon in
84
·
DANIEL COXE-Fifth
the American Army during the Revolution, and appears to have kept his daughter and her children with him much if not most of the time during the war. She was evidently in Philadelphia when Coxe wrote to Galloway in 1779. In 1780 she was again with her father .- Penn. Col. Records, XII., 390. In December of that year Coxe was Secretary to the British Commissioners appointed to receive and pardon repentant rebels, an office which proved a sinecure .- Moore's Diary of the Revolution, II., 378. In his petition to the British government, dated March 13, 17S4, for reimbursement for his losses sustained in the war, he says that "owing to his loyalty," on the advance of the British army into the Jerseys, in December. 1776, "he was obliged hastily to withdraw himself and family into Pennsylvania to avoid an intended appre- hension and imprisonment of his person. He left his dwelling house and estates in Trenton, completely furnished, as was his wont when he removed his family to Philadelphia in the winter season.
His houses, offices and estate were seized upon as quarters for the Hessian troops, who broke open his rooms, closets, stores and cellars, and every species of furniture, china, glass, liquors, etc., plundered and destroyed, or taken away, and the most wanton desolation com- mitted on his property and estate in and about the town, a great part of which was totally burned and destroyed." He remained in Philadelphia until the British took possession of the city, when he offered his services to Sir William Howe, under whose commission he soon afterwards acted as a magistrate of police, for which service he was allowed at the rate of £300 per annum, sterling. He also zealous- ly aided in raising a corps of officers and men called "The West Jersey Volunteers," from the refugees. He remained in Philadelphia until the evacuation by the British in 1778, and accompanied the army to New York, where he remained thereafter until the close of the war. "His wife and four children remained in Philadelphia, supported by the bounty of their friends and what little he could spare from his own allowance," until the summer of 1780, when they were banished thence, and joined him in New York, "at great hazard and peril." He acted on the Board of Associated Loyalists, "and at his own ex- pense procured and furnished to the commanders-in-chief a variety of useful intelligence." In June, 1781, he was appointed Assistant Secre- tary to the British commissioners for restoring peace to the Colonies, and in December following became a member, and as such remained on duty until the evacuation of New York, receiving a salary of 20s. sterling a day. "In April, 1783, at the desire of Sir Guy Carleton, he also acted as a member of the Board constituted by him for settling and adjusting matters of debt, &c., and in several other confidential trusts connected with the same Board, which existed to nearly the time he left New York." Scheduled in his losses were the mansion house, offices and lands in Trenton, about two acres,. on Second (now State) street, £900 sterling: brick tenement, office and gardens in Lower or Water street. £300; another tenement, office and garden in Second street, £300; about four acres adjoining the town lots, £150; Busy Cottage, adjoining the above, 56 acres, £900; 2634 acres on College road, about two miles from Trenton, £210; 20 acres wood and timber lot, on Maidenhead road, two miles from Trenton, £180; Bel- mont Farm, 507 acres, on the Delaware river, ten miles from Trenton, above the Falls, including ferry patent. £1800; 230 acres adjoining same, on Smith's Ford, £300; 495 acres, being his Trenton ferry estate and patent, Douglas farm and Lamberton, just below Trenton Falls, £4,800; also extensive tracts in Sussex and Burlington counties, and
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