USA > New Jersey > New Jersey biographical and genealogical notes from the volumes of the New Jersey archives : with additions and supplements > Part 16
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FRANCIS FURGLER (or PHYLE).
The Pennsylvania Evening Post, of January 31, 1778, announces the death. on the 19th of that month, of this singular character, "Francis Furgler, the hermit," in his 66th year, who had existed alone twenty- five years in a thick wood, about four miles from Burlington, "in a cell made by the side of an old log in the form of a small oven, not high or long enough to stand upright in or lie extended." It was thought he meant by living his secluded life "to do penance for crimes committed in his own country, for he was a man subject to violent pas- sions." From whence he came or who he was nobody could find out. but he appeared to be by his dialect a German, yet he spoke that lan- guage imperfectly, either through design or from a defect in his intel-
lects. . He was found dead in his cell, with a crucifix and a brass fish by his side: and on the 20th he was decently interred in Friends burying place at Mountholly." In 1811 there was published a small volume, 12mo in form, the type-page only 21/4x33/8 inches size, and bound in boards, with this title-page: THE HERMIT, | or an account of Francis Adam Joseph Phyle, | a native of Switzerland, | Who lived without the use of fire for upwards | of twenty-two years, in a small cave, in the | midst of a wood, near Mount-Holly, in | Burlington county, New Jersey; and was found | dead therein, in the year 1780. | In a series of letters, | from | Batlus Hiltzhimer to Melchoir Miller. |
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FURGLER (or PHYLE) : FURMAN
Interspersed with some | Observations of the Author, and Senti- | ments of celebrated men. | NEW JERSEY: | Published by John Atkinson | Print- ed by John Bioren, No. SS, Chestnut- | Street, Philadelphia. | 1811. | Pp. 102. A second edition appeared in the same year, with precisely the same title-page, except that the name "Batlus" was corrected to "Baltus," and the imprint was divided thus: "Printed by John Bioren, No. 88, Chestnut-Street, | Philadelphia," and the line "Second Edition." was inserted above "New Jersey" in the imprint. The two editions are identical down to page 60; beginning with that page the second edition has twenty-one lines to the page, instead of twenty, as in the first edi- tion, but the lines are identical, the same type having been used. The first edition ends with Letter VIII, November, 1780, on p. 102. In the second edition this letter ends on p. 99, and there is added a Letter IX, December 25th, 1780, pp. 100-108. The writer states that in the spring of 1756 Francis appeared in the neighborhood of Mt. Holly, wearing the uniform of a French soldier, and totally ignorant of the English language. He had dug out a hole under a large white oak, prostrated by the storm, in a wood belonging to Joseph Burr, on the road to Bur- lington, about four miles from the latter place, and two miles from Mt. Holly. This hole or cave was barely large enough for him to stretch himself in it. Six or eight weeks after he settled here he told Col. Charles Read, through an interpreter, that his name was Francis Adam Joseph Phyle; that he was a native of the Canton of Lucern in Switz- erland, which he had left on account of some disagreeable circum- stances, and went to France; that he came with the French troops to Canada, and soon after, becoming disgusted with the life of a soldier, left them and came to New Jersey. He seemed to be under great dis- tress of mind, occasioned, he said, by a sense of his sins, which ap- peared to overwhelm him, and there was some hint of his having killed an adversary in a duel. He never used fire. and lived entirely on the charity of the neighbors, until his death, in 1778, and nothing more was ever learned of his history than above related.
MOORE FURMAN.
Moore Furman was, in 1757. Postmaster at Trenton, where he was a highly csteemed merchant, carrying on business in the firm of Read and Furman, with stores kept at Princeton, by Joseph Yard, junior, and at Hopewell, by Josiah Furman, junior. This partnership was dissolved in 1762. In October, of that year, he advertised that the "Shop lately kept by Moore Furman in Trenton,at his House at the Corner, below the Market," was kept by Furman and Hunt, and that he was intending to remove to Philadelphia. Soon after this he removed to Philadelphia. where he was in mercantile business with Andrew Reed, the firm name being Reed & Furman. In 1765 he lived "next Door to the Mayor's, in Water-street." He seems to have retired from his late partnership at this time, as the firm name was Reed & Pettit, in 1765. He appears to have removed thence to Pittstown. N. J., where he was in 1778, but in the spring of 1780 he was at Trenton. He was Deputy Quartermaster General of New Jersey during the war, and General Stryker says "he was a faithful patriot, and greatly entrusted by the government and by Washington during the Revolution." He married Sarah White, eldest daughter of Townsend White. of Philadelphia. March 17. 1767. Mr. Furman was a Trustee of the Presbyterian Church of Trenton, 1760-62. and 1783-1808, and occupied what is now (1897) the hotel known as the State Street House, on State street, having his office in a one-story brick building adjoining. He was the first Mayor of Trenton, under the charter of 1792. He died in that city, March 16, 1808, in his eightieth year.
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GERNEAUX
FRANCIS GERNEAUX.
Francis Gerneaux was a Huguenot on the Isle of Guernsey, in the British Channel, according to family tradition, and was marked out for assassination, getting word of which the night before the day set for his death, he secured a vessel and got out of the harbor with his family before morning. (As Guernsey had long been a stronghold of Protest- antism, it is probable that Gerneaux fled to that island, from the French mainland.) He came thence to America, and settled at New Rochelle, New York, where he survived to the great age of 103 years. The family name was transformed in time to its present form. He brought to this country his son Stephen, then a child, who. m. Ann Walton, it is believed, and had nine children who grew up and mar- ried. The first was Daniel, who m. Sarah, dau. of Nathaniel Britton, of Staten Island. They had two children b. there, and then removed to Hopewell, N. J., where six more children were born to them, among them John Gano, b. July 22, 1727. He was ordained to the ministry May 29, 1754, at Hopewell, entering immediately upon the charge of the infant Baptist church at Morristown, which he served for two years, with considerable intervals of missionary tours in the South. In 1756 he accepted an urgent call to Yadkin, N. C., where he remained two years and a half, when he returnedto New Jersey, taking up his residence at Elizabethtown. He preached alternately at Philadelphia and New York, but in 1761 accepted a call to the latter place, where he continued until 1776. He now acted as chalpain of a Connecticut regiment, through the battles in and about New York, the retreat across New Jersey, and the battles of Trenton and Prince- ton. He was subsequently chaplain of Gen. Clinton's brigade, con- posed of New York, New England and New Jersey regiments. He accompanied Gen. Sullivan's expedition against the Indians, in 1779, and continued in the service until the close of the war. He then gath- ered his scattered congregation together again, and the church flour- ished greatly. In 1787 he accepted a call to Kentucky, where he ar- rived with his family in June. He remained a year at Lexington, and then removed to Frankfort. He preached continually, frequently go- ing on extensive missionary tours, until afflicted with a paralytic stroke, in the latter part of 1798. He d. Aug. 10, 1804, at Frankfort. Mr. Gano m. 1st, Sarah, dau. of John Stites, Mayor of the Borough of Elizabethtown, in 1756; she d. at Frankfort, Ky., about 1788; he m. 2d., about a year later, in North Carolina, a dau. of Jonathan Hunt, and wid. of Capt. Thomas Bryant. Issue: 1. John Stites, b. cir. 1757; d. 1765; 2. Daniel, b. Nov. 11, 1758, at Yadkin, N. C .; 3. Peggy, b. Dec. 23, 1760, at Philadelphia; 4. Stephen, b. Dec. 25, 1762, in New York, afterwards a distinguished Baptist clergyman in Rhode Island; 5. Sarah, b. Feb. 24, 1764, in New York; 6. John Stites, b. July 14, 1766, in New York; 7. A dau., b. Aug. 15, 1768; d. in her 3d yr .; S. Isaac Eaton, b. 1770: 9. Richard Montgomery, b. 1776, in New York; 10. Susannah, b. Nov. S, 1777, at New Fairfield, Conn .; 11. William, b. 1781 or 1782; d. cir. 1799 .- Biographical Memoirs of the late Rer. John Gano, N. Y., 1806; Edwards's Hist. of the Baptists of N. J., 74.
There was also a Gano family in Dutchess county, N. Y., about or prior to the time of the Revolution.
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GIBBON FAMILY
GIBBON FAMILY.
Edmund Gibbon was a merchant in New York, 1673-1682 .- Calendar of N. Y. Hist. MSS., II., 34, 100. In 1677, inorder to secure a debt due to him by Edward Duke and Thomas Duke, he took from them a deed for 6,000 acres of land in West Jersey, which had been conveyed to them by John Fenwick, in England. Gibbon, by virtue of this deed, had a tract of 5,500 acres surveyed for him by Richard Hancock, in 1682. It was resurveyed in 1703 by Benjamin Acton, and lay in Cohansey Precinct, now in Greenwich and Hopewell Townships, Cumberland County, in- cluding Roadstown, extending southward to Pine Mount Branch, and westward to the Delaware. He devised this tract to his grandson, Edmund, who devised it to Francis Gibbon, of Bennensdere, England. In 1700 Francis devised it to his two kinsmen, Leonard and Nicholas Gibbon, of Gravesend, in Kent, England, describing it as "all that tract of lands called Mount Gibbon, upon the branches of unknown creek, near Cohansey in West Jersey," provided they settled upon it.
Nicholas Gibbon, born in 1702, was a son of Arthur and Jane Gibbon, of Gravesend, Kent, England. Nicholas and his younger brother, Leonard, came to New Jersey and erected one of the first grist-mills near Cohansey. They later built a fulling mill on Mount Gibbon (now Pine Mount) Run. They soon became influential in that neighborhood. In 1730 they divided their tract, Nicholas taking the southern part, in- cluding the mill and 2,000 acres of land. Leonard erected a stone house about two miles north of Greenwich. Nicholas built a substantial brick house in Greenwich, which he occupied until about 1740, when he removed to Salem. Both houses were still standing in 1868. The two brothers gave six acres of land in Greenwich for a Presbyterian Church, to be erected by 1729. They were Episcopalians themselves, and erected at their own expense St. Stephen's Church in Greenwich, in 1729, and provided for regular services there. Nicholas was in mer- cantile business, in partnership with Samuel Fenwick Hedge and Capt. James Gould, the last-named being located in New York, while Gib- bon kept store at Greenwich and afterwards at Salem. He was Sher- iff of Salem County, 1741-1748, and in the latter year was appointed County Clerk. He was also one of the Commissioners of the Loan Office for Salem County. Hedge dying in 1731, Gibbon married the widow, Anna Grant Hedge. He died 2d of 2d mo. 1758, aged 55 years, 8 months. His widow died 24th of 3d mo. 1760, aged 57 years. They had five children:
i. Nicholas, born 5th of 11th mo. 1732; died 7th of 1st mo. 1748. .
ii. Grant, born 28th of 11th mo. 1734. He was a merchant at Salem, and appears to have been a man of superior education and culture. He was one of the Surrogates of West Jersey, was appointed a Jus- tice of the Peace in 1759, a Judge in 1752 and again in 1767, and was Clerk of the County of Salem after his father's death. He was an ardent sympathizer with the American cause, which he evinced in a sub- stantial manner, when, at the solicitation of his fellow citizens, he was appointed, 13th of 10th mo. 1774, to solicit funds for the relief of the people of Boston, when that port was closed to commerce by the British. He collected £157 3s. 2d. for the purpose. He was elected to the Assembly in 1772. He died 27th of 6th mo. 1776.
3. Jane, born 15th of 5th mo. 1736, married Robert Johnson, jun., 3d of 11th mo. 1767, and was the mother of Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson, the historian of Salem: she died 16th of 8th mo. 1815; her husband died 28th of 12th mo. 1796, aged 69 years.
iv. Ann, born 29th of 4th mo. 1741; married Judge Edward Weath- erby.
v. Francis, born 14th of 5th mo. 1744; died 11th of 1st mo. 1788 .- History
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GIBBON FAMILY: GOELET
of the Early Settlements of Cumberland County, by Lucius Q. C. Elmer, Bridgeton, 1869, 18; Historical Account of the First Settlement of Salem, by Robert G. Johnson, Philadelphia, 1839, 79, 118, 122; Hist. and Genealogy or Femtrick Colony, by Thomas Shourds, Bridgeton, 1876, 105-108; N. J. Ar- chives, XII., 324; XVII., 205, 342, 455, 517; XVIII., 438; N. J. Ilist. Proc., IV., 433-44.
FRANCIS GOELET.
Much interest and importance attached to an act entitled "An Act for the relief of Francis Goelet," passed by the New Jersey Legislature, and which received the Governor's assent April 10, 1761. The act recites: "Whereas Francis Goelct, of the City of Perth Amboy, hath, by his Petition, set forth, that he is under unhappy circumstances, and by misfortunes, rendered incapable of discharging his Creditors just Demands: that he is possessed of sundry Bonds, and other Effects, to a considerable Value, which he is ready and very desirous of assigning and delivering up into the Hands of Trustees justly and fairly, for the Use of his Creditors, or such of them as shall apply for that Purpose, praying the Aid of the Legislature therein." The act then provides that he is to advertise in the New York Gazette that he wants to compound with his creditors, vesting his estate for that purpose in certain trustees, namely, John Ogden, Andrew Smith, Samuel Kemble, William Bryant and James Neilson. For the benefit of his creditors beyond the sea, said trustees shall "use their utmost Endeavours to notify the foreign Cred- itors" of having Goelet's estate in their charge, and wait until May 1, 1762, before giving notice in the New York and Pennsylvania Gazette and Mercury when and where Goelet's property will be sold for the benefit of such creditors as have handed in their claims; after which time no creditor who has not done so shall be entitled to receive anything. The effects of Goelet are not to be taken out of this Province before sale, nor Goelet to be freed from arrest till surety be given. "Provided always, That in case it shall thereafter appear, that he the said Francis Goelet, on the Oath to be administered to him by the Trustees aforesaid, respect- ing his Estate delivered them, hath secreted any Part thereof, he shall not be intituled to any Relief by Virtue of this Act, and every Clause, Article and Thing therein contained, shall be void and of none Effect."
The Lords of Trade advised the King to disapprove this Act, on these grounds: 1. "As this Act is in the nature of a Bankruptcy Act, with re- spect to the Single Case of one particular person, it appears to Us to be of an Unusual and extraordinary .nature, and therefore should have contained a clause suspending its operation until His Majesty's pleasure should be known. 2. The provision for giving notice to foreign creditors is "altogether nugatory and ineffectual." 3. The punishment for his concealing any part of his estate and effects is "much too light and trivial."-N. J. Archives, IX., 333-4. The Act was repealed January 14, 1762. Letters of administration were granted, Sept. 4, 1767, to Elizabeth Goelet, widow of Francis Goelet, late of the city of Perth Amboy, de- ceased. The inventory, signed by the widow, with Jona: Deare and John Griggs as appraisers, amounts to £137, 12s., 7d., all personal property, and mentions: 2 volumes of the "Universal Traveller," 15s .; 2 volumes of Coettogon's Arts and Sciences, 15s .; Sir Phil. Sidney's Arcadia, 5s .; Doc- trine of Morality, 7s .; Netleton on Virtue and Comforts, poems, 2s .; Collineby's Memoirs, 4 vols., 4s .; 3 volumes of Shakespeare, 4s .; 2 vol- umes Telemachus, 1 volume Seneca's Morals and sermons, Geometrical History, 7s .- E. J. Wills, Liber I, f. 152.
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1
GORDON
ANDREW GORDON.
Andrew Gordon, of Cranberry (now written Cranbury), in the south- ern part of Middlesex County, was living there in 1748, when applica- tion could be made to him, it was advertised, in reference to the sale of lands in that vicinity .- N. J. Archires, XII., 468. He was perhaps the son of Capt. Andrew Gordon (son of Thomas Gordon, one of the most distinguished men in the early annals of New Jersey), who was a Captain in Col. John Parker's regiment on the frontier, in 1721; and who was probably the Andrew Gordon, of Perth Amboy, who had a map of lands for sale in 1733, and who in 1752 was charged with having instigated some contemptuous remarks about Lewis Morris Ashfield .- N. J. Archires, XI., 315. 328; VIII., Part I., 42; Whitehead's Perth Amboy, 67. The latter, however, in .his will, dated Feb. 21, 1777, proved March 26, 1777, in which he describes himself as "Andrew Gordon, of the south ward of Perth Amboy, yeoman," mentions no son, but only his father, Thomas Gordon, his own "grandson, John Von Kirk, jun., son of my daughter, Anne, deceased;" Mary Moore, "now in possession of my tract of land in Windsor, county aforesaid, to have the claim to same." "When the heirs lawfully begotten of the said John Von Kirk jun. shall be extinct, the property bequeathed to him shall become the property of Mary Moore the daughter of Henry Moore deceased and and her heirs." "To Mary Moore, daughter to my late wife Ann Gor- don, deceased, a mortgage given by Henry Moore, deceased, to Anthony Hunter, deceased, of New York, which I since paid to the executors of Anthony Hunter." Executors-John Von Kirk, jun., Rescarriah Moore and Mary Moore, daughter of my late wife, Anne Gordon, deceased .- E. J. Wills, Liber 18, p. 152.
LEWIS GORDON.
Lewis Gordon was admitted to the New Jersey Bar, May 20, 1755. He advertised, in April, 1756, that he had removed from Easton to Bor- dentown, "where he may be spoke with by Those who shall be pleased to favour him with their Business."-N. J. Archives, XX., 14.
PETER GORDON.
Feter Gordon, of Trenton, merchant, was appointed by Governor Richard Howell to be guardian of one William Voorheis, an infant of fourteen years and upwards, son of Daniel Voorheis, late of Middlesex county, deceased. Elijah H. Gordon, also a merchant of Trenton, went on his bond, which was filed at Burlington, February 9, 1795, and is recorded in Liber 36 of Wills, Secretary of State's Office, page 170.
Peter Gordon married Elizabeth Rhea. The will of this Peter Gor- don, who was of Crosswicks, is dated August 20, 1723, and was proved November 1. 1725. He leaves his entire estate to his wife Elizabeth as long as she remains his widow, with remainder to his five children. whose names are not mentioned. As he named no executor, his widow petitioned, Nov. - , 1725, to be made administratrix, and her petition was granted. She speaks of him as of Freehold. His estate was inventoried and appraised at £105. 9. 3 .- N. J. Archives, XXI., 190, 192. Who were his parents? Who were his children?
Peter Gordon was one of the witnesses to the will of Stephen Cor- nelious, of Penn's Neck, Salem county, dated April 4, 1726 .- Ib., XXI., 110.
Peter Gordon was one of the witnesses to the will of Samuel Reid- ford, of Frechold, dated Feb. 18, 1709-10 .- Ib .. XXI., 380.
Peter Gordon was a Captain in the First Regiment, Hunterdon;
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GORDON : GRAY : GREEN
Captain, Colonel Forman's Battalion. Heard's Brigade, June 14, 1776; Brigade-Major of same, July 25, 1776.
In the First Presbyterian Churchyard, at Trenton, is the tombstone of Mrs. Susanna Gordon, consort of Major Peter Gordon, died July 1S, 1823. No age is given. Adjacent is the tombstone of John Gordon, with no date recorded.
The Emporium and True American, published at Trenton, March 7, 1835, contains this cbituary notice: "At Geneva, New York, on the 8th ult., in the 88th year of his age, Deacon Peter Gordon, father of Mr. Elijah Gordon."
Peter Gordon, of Middlesex county, set up a lottery, in 1758, for the sale of a tract of 437 acres of land in that county .- N. J. Archives, XX., 309 et seqq. The Legislature, in September, 1762, passed an act to render void such lottery, and to relieve the managers from responsi- bility .- Ib., XVII., 247 et seqq. The act was deemed of sufficient im- portance to be brought before the Lords of Trade, who advised the King to disallow the act, as being a private matter, in which the Legislature had no concern. The act was accordingly disallowed .- N. J. Archives, IX., 443, 446, 458, 487.
CAPTAIN JAMES GRAY.
Captain James Gray located at the Little Falls on the Passaic river (about four miles above the present city of Paterson), where, at least as early as 1763. he carried on iron works, the ore being carted thither on horseback from Ringwood and Charlottenburg. He offered the prop- erty for sale, by an advertisement dated December 19, 1770, describing it as "A Plantation of two Hundred and Sixty Acres of Land, great part of which is Meadow with a Forge of three Fires and a Hammer. a grist Mill and saw Mill." He was then living on the premises. He had previously resided on a farm "lying on the banks of the river Pas- saick, about one mile from the church (Trinity) at Newark. There are on the farm two good dwelling houses, barn, stable and coach-house. It contains 20 acres of excellent land, which if well manag'd and im- prov'd, will afford bread corn (i. e., wheat) for a small family, besides grass and hay for three horses, and four or five cows, a good orchard and large garden. It commands a most extensive view of the river, and overlooks Capt. Kennedy's farm, garden, and deer park, at Peters- borough, to which it is opposite." This property was advertised for sale in 1769. It would seem to have been near the foot of the present Fourth avenue, Newark. For the better utilizing of the water power at Little Falls he raised the dam. extensively flooding the farms up the river. In consequence, the Legislature passed an act in 1772 providing for lowering the dam. Captain Gray (it is not known how or where he acquired the title) joined the British at the beginning of the Revolu- tion, and his property above Newark was confiscated and sold by the State. It is probable that he had previously disposed of the iron works at Little Falls.
REV. ENOCH GREEN.
Enoch Green was born in 1735 and graduated from Princeton Col- lege in 1760, being chosen to deliver the valedictory oration. He was probably the first undergraduate to be thus honored, the distinction being awarded with special regard to the qualifications of the student as a valedictorian, as well as on the ground of scholarship. He entered upon the study of theology, and lost no time in putting his knowledge to practical use, for in 1761 he was on a missionary tour on
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GREEN : GUEST FAMILY
horseback along the New Jersey sea coast for six weeks. He was ordained by New Brunswick Presbytery in 1762, and probably con- tinued in missionary service in West Jersey until 1766, when he was called to the Presbyterian church at Deerfield, being formally in- stalled June 9, 1767, and remaining there until his death. He was much esteemed as a preacher and scholar. For several years he taught a classical school. At the beginning of the Revolution he served as chaplain in the American Army, contracting camp fever, from which he died Dec. 2, 1776. He was buried under the brick-paved aisle of the Deerfield church .- Pres. May., 1852, p. 471; Hist. Pres. Ch. in West Jersey, by Rev. Allen H. Brown, 29, 69; Elmer's Cumberland County, 105; John- son's Salem, 92. He was the author of a sermon entitled: Slothfulness reproved, an example of the Saints proposed for imitation: A Sermon, occasioned by the Death of the Reverend Mr. William Ramsey, M. A., who departed this Life November 5, 1771. in the 39th year of his age. Delivered at Fairfield in Cohansie, December 9, 1771 . . .- Phila- delphia: Printed by D. Hall, and W. Sellers, in Market-Street. MDCCLXXII, pp. 32. 8vo.
GUEST FAMILY.
Family tradition says that the Guests of New Brunswick came from Birmingham, England. The earliest mention of the name in the New Jersey records is in a deed from Dirck Schuyler to John Guest, in October, 1741, for a plot of land in the city of New Brunswick. This was probably John Guest, 2a, and the same John Guest who made his will March 26, 1743, proved at Perth Amboy May 24, 1743. His resi- dence is not given. He devises to son John "my house and lot; but my sloop shall be sold and money put out so that the interest may maintain my wife and child." The inference is that he was a young man, with but one child, and that the will was hastily made, during what proved to be a fatal illness. His wife's name is not mentioned. He appointed his father executor, and John Guest, "father of the testator," says the record, qualified as executor. Witnesses-Peter Collas, Lewis Guest, Henry Dally, John Salnave. It is probable that the progenitor of the New Jersey family was John Guest, and that he had children:
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