USA > New Jersey > New Jersey biographical and genealogical notes from the volumes of the New Jersey archives : with additions and supplements > Part 23
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Mr. Mckean m. Isabel Graham Antill, Feb. 19, 1766, at Christ church, Shrewsbury. She was a dau. of Edward Antill, 2d, of New Brunswick, and Anne Morris, his wife, dau. of Gov. Lewis Morris. She is said to have been "a young lady of very gay and independent spirit, not calculated to enhance the domestic happiness of the mis- sionary." In his will, dated Sept. 13, 1767, he describes himself as "Clerk, Missionary from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, at Perth Amboy." He mentions his wife, but no children. He died at Raritan Landing, near New Brunswick, at the residence of his father-in-law, Edward Antill, 2d, October 17, 1767, after a long and wasting illness. Writing to the Society, October 12, 1767, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Bradbury Chandler, of Elizabethtown, says: "Wasted away with a tedious disorder, the worthy, the eminently useful and amiable Mr. Mckean is judged by his physicians to be at present at the point of death." He adds: "A better man was never in the Society's service." The lamented young clergyman was buried in St. Peter's churchyard, Perth Amboy, where a monument erected by his brother, Thomas Mckean-a Signer of the Declaration of Inde- pendence, Chief Justice and afterwards Governor of Pennsylvania- bears this inscription: "In Memory of The Rev. Robert Mckean, M. A., Practitioner in Physic, &c., and Missionary from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, to the City of Perth Amboy :- who was born July 13th, 1732, N. S., and died Oct. 17th, 1767, An unshaken Friend, an agreeable Companion, a rational Divine, a skillful Physician, and in every relation in life a truly ben- evolent and honest man, Fraternal love hath erected this monument." -Genealogy of the MeKean Family, by Roberdeau Buchanan, Lancaster, Pa., 1890, 8-9, 13; A Record of Christ Church, New Brunswick, by the Rev. Alfred Stubbs, New York, 1850, 9: Historical Collections relating to the American Colonial Church, edited by William Stevens Perry, D. D., Volume II., Pennsylvania, 1871, 270-273, 295-305, 380, 381, 410; History of St. John's Church, Elizabeth Town, by Samuel A. Clark, Philadelphia, 1857, 85, 96, 110, 118-119; Contributions to the Early History of Perth Amboy, by William A. Whitehead, New York, 1856, 225, 228-9, 291, 391, 392, 409; N. J. Archives, 1st Series, IX., 338, 340; XX., 262, 434, 468, 636; XXIV .. 457; XXV., 472-3; N. Y. Colonial Documents, VI., 610; VII., 497; Woodbridge and Vicinity, by Rev. Joseph W. Dally, New Bruns- wick, 1873, 130-132; A Collection of American Epitaphs, by Rev. Timothy Alden. A. M., New York, 1814. No. 1045; Historical Collections of the State of New Jersey, by John W. Barber and Henry Howe, Newark [1844], 309; Edward Antill and His Descendants, by William Nelson, 1899. 24-25; History of Medicine in New Jersey, and of Its Medical Men, by Stephen Wickes, A. M., M. D., Newark, 1879, 329-330; Transactions of the New Jersey Medical Society, 1766-1800, Newark, 1866. passim.
PETER MERSELLIS.
Peter Mersellis-so the name appears on his tombstone-died at Trenton, June 25, 1764, aged 43 years. He was a carpenter at that time. His brother, Henry Marselis, was a brewer in Trenton until his death, in 1753. Peter and Henry had a brother John and a sister Catharine.
EBENEZER MILLER.
For a sketch of Ebenezer Miller, see N. J. Archives, XIX., 392, note. Some account of his descendants is given in Shourds's "History and Genealogy of Fenwick's Colony," 153-160. He is frequently mentioned
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In Elmer's "Cumberland County." An interesting memorial of his old- est son, Ebenezer Miller, jun., born in 1728, died 11th of 7th mo. 1800, will be found in "Memorials of Deceased Friends," Philadelphia, 1821, 106-109. He had been a minister among Friends about thirty-five years before his decease.
PAUL MILLER.
Paul Miller was one of the petitioners for the charter of New Bruns- wick, granted Dec. 7, 1730. He is mentioned in various records as being of New Brunswick, in 1743 to 1749. In the latter year he lived in French street, opposite Burnet street. He was appointed one of the Common Pleas Judges of Somerset County, March 19, 1759.
CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERT HUNTER MORRIS.
Robert Hunter Morris, born at Morrisania, N. Y., about 1700, was the second son of Governor Lewis Morris, who appointed him Chief Justice of New Jersey on the unanimous recommendation of the Council, to succeed Col. Robert Lettice Hooper, deceased. His commission, dated March 17, 1738 (1739 N. S.), was during good behaviour. It is published in N. J. Archives, IX., 207-9. (For a note on the significance of this provision in the commission of Judges, see N. J. Archives, IX., 323-6.) Chief Justice Morris was also named as a member of his father's Coun- cil, in the commission (1738) appointing the Governor, and sturdily de - fended the doughty Chief Magistrate on all occasions. In 1748 he was one of the three commissioners to run the northern boundary line of New Jersey. He had accompanied his father to England in 1735, and revisited that country in 1749, when he lodged with a Mrs. Stuart, a widow, in St. James's Place, the result being a child. When he re- turned to assume the government of Pennsylvania he left the child with Will Shirley, who paid out £70 or £80 subsequently for its sup- port. Writing in 1763, Morris asked his friend, John Penn, to make some inquiries about the child, of whom he had lost all trace, and whom he was anxious to have in America. He spent several years in England on his second visit, and was treated with respect and consideration. He sought an appointment as Lieutenant Governor of New York. In- stead, John and Thomas Penn made him Governor of Pennsylvania, and he returned in 1754 to assume that office. For two years he enjoyed a continual disagreement with the Assembly of that Province, and then resigned. He had tendered his resignation of Chief Justice of New Jersey in 1754, but as it was not accepted he resumed the duties of the office in 1756. In 1757 he revisited England once more, and during his absence William Aynsley was appointed to succeed him, taking his seat on the bench at the March Term, 1758, but died July 6 of the same year. Nathaniel Jones was commissioned to fill the assumed vacancy, and presented himself at the March Term, 1760. But Chief Justice Morris was on the bench. His commission was during good behaviour. True, he had resigned, but his resignation had not been accepted, and he had concluded to resume the position. His right to do this was sustained by his associate, Justice Samuel Nevill, in an opinion from the bench. Morris died suddenly on the night of January 27, 1764, at a party at Shrewsbury. He led out the parson's wife in a dance, opened the ball, danced down six couples, and then fell dead on the floor, in an apoplectic fit. He was buried at Morrisania, Westchester county, N. Y. Chief Justice Morris was a very remarkable man, and filled a large place in the public affairs of New Jersey, New York and Pennsyl- vania. Samuel Smith, the historian, speaks very highly of his abilities as a judge and as a speaker. He never married .- N. J. Archires, XI., 562-3; XXIV., 305. (See, also, under 'Nathaniel Jones," supra).
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REV. ANDREW MORTON.
The Rev. Andrew Morton was an itinerant missionary in New Jersey as early as 1760, having been sent out by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He was commended for his shrewdness in persuading "the people to obligate themselves to do such and such things for him so that he has a legal demand on them for ye same when he discharges his duty." In 1764 he had some difficulty with a Mr. Garrison, who claimed that Mr. Morton had wronged his daughter; but having been confronted by Mr. Morton and a Mr. Steuart at Trenton, Mr. Garrison withdrew his charge. However, the affair apparently impaired Mr. Morton's usefulness. His field of service seems to have been in the western part of New Jersey.
WILLIAM MOTT.
William Mott was a descendant of Adam Mott, of Essex, England, who married, at New Amsterdam, July 28, 1647, Jane Hulet, of Buck- ingham, England. He was in New Amsterdam as early as 1644, and received a grant of twenty-five acres of land on Mespath Kill (New- town Creek, Long Island), April 23, 1646, from the Dutch Government of New Netherland. O: March 17, 1657, he was chosen one of the townsmen of Hempstead, L. I. His wife, Jane Hulet, died, after bear- ing eight sons, the youngest of whom was Gershom. Adam married, 2d, Elizabeth Richbell, daughter of John Richbell, of Mamaroneck. She bore him five children, one of whom was baptized Adam, although his father's eldest son, Adam, was still living. In his will, proved in 1689, Adam Mott speaks of his eldest son Adam, and his youngest son Adam.
Gershom Mott, the youngest son of Adam Mott and Jane Hulet, was born about 1663. In early manhood he removed to Monmouth County, N. J., where he is mentioned in the records in 1685. He was Sheriff of the county, 1697-8, and a member of the Assembly, 1708-16. He married, in 1695, Catherine Bowne, daughter of Captain John Bowne. His will, dated Feb. 15, 1730, was proved March 30, 1733. In it he describes himself as "Gershom Mott, Gentleman, of Middletown, Monmouth County." His second child was William, born November 9, 1699. He was elected to the Assembly in 1743, and when the Governor repeatedly dissolved that body, in hopes of securing one more favorable to himself, William Mott was re-elected each time-in 1744, 1745, 1746, 1749 and 1751-sitting in that body until its dissolution in June, 1754. He is mentioned in the newspapers of the day as one of those who would receive subscriptions for Nevill's Laws, Vol. I., and for Leaming and Spicer's compilation of the Grants and Concessions, etc. He married Margaret Harts- horne, daughter of William Hartshorne (born January 22, 1679). His will is dated Middletown, May 14, 1742. His oldest son was John, born January 18, 1734; married Eleanor Johnston, June 17, 1784. He served in the French and Indian War, and in the Revolution, attaining the rank of Captain. He was the grandfather of General Gershom Mott, of New Jersey, who commanded a Brigade of Jerseymen in the War of the Rebellion .- For the genealogical data above, the writer is in- debted to a well written article by Miss Kate A. Mott, in the V. Y. Gencalogical and Biographical Record, XXV., 49-56. See also N. J. Hist. Soc. Proc., V., 25-26; N. J. Archives, II., 363; III., 212; IV., 125; VI., 202; VIII., Part II .. 151; XII .. 690; XVI., passim; XXV., 18.
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MOUNTERE : NEILSON : NEWELL: OGDEN
IVILLIAM MOUNTERE.
William Mountere or Mountier was living in Princeton in the summer of 1748, in a house which he rented from Judge Thomas Leonard, at £20 per annum, and was building a house in Middlesex county, on a lot of his own, on the other side of the street, which he was occupying in Feb- ruary, 1750-51. He advertised the place for sale in September, 1753, de- scribing the lot as "containing three acres, subject to Five Pounds a year, ground rent, the house is new and well finished, and very con- venient for a tavern (one being kept in it now), or any other public busi- ness, being well situated, and near where the college is to be built." He was then living in Trenton. He was probably a tavern keeper. He seems to have been again occupying the premises in 1761, and as late as 1767. -V. J. Archives, XIII., 465; XIX., 218, 219, 290; XXV., 432.
JAMES NEILSON.
James Neilson and his brother, John Neilson, M. D., came from Bel- fast, Ireland, in 1730 or earlier, and settled at New Brunswick, where the former became a shipping merchant and ship owner, his vessels trading with Belfast, Lisbon, Madeira and the West India Islands. He was ap- pointed one of the Judges of the Middlesex county courts, in 1749, and again in 1768. In 1749 he was talked of as a candidate for the Assembly, but was never elected to that body. He was prominent in the early days of the Revolution. His partner in the shipping business was Rich- ard Gibbs. James Neilson was manifestly one of the leading men of his day in Middlesex county, occupying numerous positions of trust, and his store was the centre of a large trade and was a public resort for a wide region. He was the uncle of Col. John Neilson, who was dis- tinguished in the Revolution, and who had the honor to be counted a friend and acquaintance of Washington.
DR. JAMES NEWELL.
James Newell, son of Robert Newell, of Upper Freehold, was born in 1725, and was sent to Edinburgh to receive his medical education, receiving his diploma at London in 1746. Returning to America, he practiced his profession through a wide region in and about Monmouth county. In 1764 he was living at Allen Town, Monmouth county. He was elected President of the New Jersey Medical Society in 1772. Dur- ing the Revolution he acted as Surgeon of the Second Regiment of the Monmouth County Militia. He married, Dec. 14, 1749. Flizabeth, daugh- ter of Elizha Lawrence. He died Feb. 20 and his wife died Feb. 21, 1791, of malignant fever. Both were buried on the same day.
REV. JOHN COSINS OGDEN.
John Cosins Ogden, a native of New Jersey, resided in New Haven for fifteen years after graduating at Princeton College in 1770. Having been ordained by Bishop Seabury, in 1786, he became Rector of an Episcopal church in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he remained until 1793. He died in Chestertown, Maryland, in 1800 .-- N. J. Archives. XXVII., 267.
JONATHAN OGDEN.
Jonathan Ogden was from Elizabethtown, probably a cousin of Robert Ogden, 3d. He returned to that place after graduating. He never entered a profession.
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ROBERT OGDEN, Third.
Robert Ogden, 3d, son of Robert and Phebe (Hatfield) Ogden, was born at Elizabeth Town, March 23, 1746, in the house afterwards occu- pied by General Matthias Ogden, and subsequently by Joel Davis. After graduating from Princeton College, in 1765, he studied law with Richard Stockton. He was admitted to the New Jersey bar, June 21, 1770, and began the practice of law at Elizabethtown. To him, in con- nection with William Paterson, Luther Martin, Oliver Ellsworth and Tapping Reeve, is ascribed the founding of the American Cliosophic Society, which dates its origin back to 1765. He was a fine scholar, and kept up his classical reading after entering upon his profession. Being a warm and earnest patriot, he was obliged to move with his family to Morristown in 1776 for safety from British raids. In this year he was commissioned surrogate by Gov. Livingston. In 1777 he removed again to Turkey, now New Providence, in what is now Union County. In 1780 (May term) he was called up as one of the twelve sergeants-at-law of New Jersey. After the war he was compelled to leave the seaboard on account of the asthma, and in the spring of 1786 he removed to Sussex county, where he resided during the re- mainder of his life, his homestead being about two miles north of the village of Sparta. The house was built by Cornelius Hoagland near the close of the Revolutionary War, and was conveyed with ten acres of land to Robert Ogden, Jun. (3d), by his father, Robert Ogden (2d), in 1786. Here his children were brought up and his youngest were born. This house witnessed great hospitality and many distinguished visitors were entertained there. It now forms a part of the Fowler estate. In 1787 he was one of the members of the convention called to approve the Constitution of the United States. He was married by Rev. John Close, May 19, 1772, to Sarah Platt, daughter of Dr. Zopher Platt and Rebecca Wood; she was born at Huntington, L. I., Sept. 27, 1750; she d. Jan. 21, 1782; she had five children. He was married, (2), by Rev. Nathan Woodhull to Hannah Platt, sister of his first wife, Mar. 12, 1786. She was b. Dec. 17, 1756, and d. on Thursday, May 7, 1812,
of a cancer in the breast. She had three children. "She endured much pain with great fortitude and Christian resignation." He d. Feb. 14, 1826, in his 80th year, at the residence of his grandson, the Hon. Daniel Haines, at Hamburgh, Sussex county, and was buried at Sparta, be- side his 2d wife, Hannah Platt. His first wife (Sarah Platt) is buried at Elizabeth .- See sketch of Robert Ogden, written for the History of the Cliosophic Society, by Gov. Daniel Haines; the Rev. A. A. Haines's Hardyston Memorial; "Descendants of Robert Ogden, 2d, 1716- 1787," by Edmund Drake Halsey, 1896.
UZAL OGDEN.
Uzal Ogden was a son of Capt. David Ogden, who died July 1, 1734, aged 56 years; the latter was the eldest son of David Ogden, who re- moved from Elizabethtown to Newark about 1676, he having been one of the first settlers of the former town, in 1664. Uzal Ogden was a leading merchant in Newark many years. In 1748 he was one of the managers of the lottery to raise money to complete Trinity Church, Newark. He was appointed one of the Common Pleas Judges for Essex County in 1749, and again in 1768: one of the Surrogates of the Prerogative Court in the Eastern Division of New Jersey, in March, 1759 (Lewis Ogden being appointed to the like office at the same time), and again, March 22, 1762, and was High Sheriff of Essex County, 1763-5. He and his brother John invested heavily in mining properties in Mor- ris County and the upper part of the present Passaic County-at Bloom-
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OGDEN: OUKE
ingdale. Ringwood. I.ong Pond, Charlottenburg, and that region, they Leing known as the "American Company." There they had mines, forges, etc. At Newark they conducted the "Vesuvius Furnace," for the manufacture of hollow iron ware, etc. Their general mercantile business in Newark was also extensive. they carrying on a general country store. All this required a large outlay of capital, with slow and uncertain returns. They were obliged to mortgage their mining property to Messrs. Thomas and Ferdinand Pennington, of Bristol. England. Other debts accumulated, and in 1769 they became insolvent. with imprisonment for debt facing them. With a bitter heart Uzal Ogden gives notice to his creditors. Feb. 24. 1770. of his intention to apply to the Legislature at its next sitting, in the ensuing March. for an act to save him from imprisonment for debt. There is a deep touch of pathos in his declaration, "having spent near sixty years of life, in the most unwearied industry, (the latter part of which has been sin- gularly unfortunate) and being willing and desirous, so far as in my power to do justice to all men, and to deliver up all my effects to the use and benefit of my creditors." The firm made an assignment of all their property to Joseph Riggs, jun., and Thomas Longworth, who advertised the mining properties to be sold on March 2, 1771, at the dwelling-house of Mr. James Banks, Innholder in Newark. The prop- erty passed into the hands of London capitalists, known as the "Lon- don Company," who operated the mines until the beginning of the Revolution. Uzal Ogden died July 25. 1780. He is spoken of as "a gentleman of undissembled goodness and universal esteem." He was the father of the Rev. Uzal Ogden, a prominent clergyman of New Jersey, who was born in Newark about 1744, and died in that town. Nov. 4. 1822.
WILLIAM OUKE.
William Ouke was a prominent merchant at New Brunswick, where he had been engaged in trade prior to 1740. He was active in the Re- formed Dutch Church of that place. He was baptized Aug. 4, 1708, be- ing the son of Aucke Janse, who removed from Flatlands, L. I., to the Raritan. The latter was the son of Jan Auckersz, sometimes called Jan Auckers Van Nuyse. Ouke was a Justice of the Peace in 1740, and in 1744 was elected to the Assembly from Middlesex, serving one year. He was one of the managers of a lottery in 1748 to raise money to pay the debts of Peter Cochran, of New Brunswick .- N. J. Archives, XII., 455. He had tickets for sale in the Connecticut lottery for the College of New Jersey (Princeton). in 1754 .- Il., XIX., 376. In 1762 he was one of the managers of the Bound-Brook bridge lottery .- Ib .. XXIV .. 36. He was a Judge of the Mayor's court of common pleas of the city of New Brunswick, in 1763-1766 .- 70 .. 609: XXV., 38. At the beginning of the Revolution he was one of the prominent patriots of Middlesex County .- N. J. Archires, X., 471, 588. In his will, dated Nov. 6. 1778, proved Jan. 23, 1779, he names a son, Abraham Oake, "grandson Abraham Oake, son of my brother Abraham Oake, deceased;" Mary Vorhize, "daughter of my beloved brother, Jacob Oake." His signature to the will is undecipherable, but with a fine and tender regard for his educa- tional reputation the note is made in the margin: "The reason that Mr. Oaks name is not signed fully is that his hand is crampd with the palsy."-W. J. Wills, Liber No. 21, f. 81. He seems to have written his name Oakc. The confidence with which Mr. Ouke was regarded by his neighbors is attested by his selection as executor for numerous estates. There are many references to him in Vols. XII and XIX., N. J. Ar- chives.
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PARKER
JAMES PARKER.
James Parker, son of Elisha Parker, was born in 1725. He married Gertrude, daughter of the Rev. William Skinner. He was a member of Governor Franklin's Council, 1764-1755, and was one of the most influential men in the Province. He was a large landholder, was in mercantile business in New York and New Jersey, and was prominent in the control of the East Jersey Board of Proprietors for many years. His official associations and his pecuniary interests naturally inclined him to the Royal cause, at the beginning of the Revolution, but there were also strong ties binding him to those who were among the first to take up arms against the King. Under the circumstances, having repeatedly been called upon to swear allegiance to the King, and being unwilling to take an active part in the new struggle, he was neutral. and sought to avoid any part in the war by retiring to a country place în Hunterdon county. But the Council of Safety, on July 21st, 1777, ordered him and Walter Rutherfurd to appear before that body and take the oath of allegiance to the new independent State of New Jer- sey. They appeared two days later, but refused to take the oaths, and were thereupon held to bail to appear at the next Court of General Quarter Sessions of the Peace for Hunterdon county. When the Court met they again refused to take the oaths before the Court, and the Council of Safety ordered (August 15th, 177) them to be brought be- fore the Governor and Council as persons disaffected to the State. They came before the Council August 20th, pursuant to citation, and after being examined it was resolved that they be "confined as disaf- fected to the State, until an Equal number of our subjects captivated by the Enemy be released or other order taken therein." The next day they appeared before the Council and gave bond in £2,000, con- ditioned to "remain at the Court House in Morris county, or within a mile and a half, until further order be taken therein." The Council agreed, on October 16th, 1777, to release Parker and Rutherfurd from their confinement in exchange for John Fell, Esq., and Wynant Van Zandt, captured by the Tories in Bergen county, and confined in New York, and shortly after admitted the two gentlemen to their parole at Morristown, in order to induce the British to make the proposed ex- change; but this proving ineffective, it was ordered. November 17th, 1777, that Parker and Rutherfurd be "forthwith committed to the Common Gaol in Morristown until the Honorable John Fell, Esq. and Wynant Van Zandt are exchanged for them or released from their confinement in New York." Four days later the Council directed the Sheriff of Morris county to confine the two prisoners in "a private room nearest the Court House, for a space of three weeks from the date hereof; and then to execute the precept lately delivered to him for their imprisonment, unless he shall receive orders to the contrary." On December 13th, 1777, the Council agreed, that "In consideration of Mr. Rutherfurd's & Mr. Parker's indisposition, they be Enlarged from their present Confinement until the 1st day of February next, upon the terms of their obligation of having the District of one Mile from the Court House in Morristown, & that they be then committed to Jail unless the Council of Safety shall order to the contrary." This order was still further modified December 31st, 1777, when it was agreed that they be discharged from their confinement in Morristown and suffered to return to their respective places of abode, "there to con- tinue & within one mile of the same respectively until the first day of February next. & then to be confined in prison until the Hon. John Fell Esq. shall be released from his confinement in New York, on
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PARKER : PATERSON : PEMBERTON : PETTIT : PHILLIPS : PIDGEON
condition of liberating the said Walter Rutherfurd." The two men were finally released in the following February. upon the release of Mr. Fell. James Parker after this resided in peace on his country place until the close of the war, when he returned to Perth Amboy. He was honored in the community, and throughout the State, as a man of ability and distinguished probity, and died, full of years and honors, October 4th, 1797. His wife died February 10th, 1811, aged 71 years. A very full sketch of James Parker may be found in the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, XXX., 31-36.
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