USA > New Jersey > Gloucester County > Notes on old Gloucester County, New Jersey, Volume I > Part 9
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In 1781 General Washington removed General Gates from the command of the Southern army, and appointed General Nathaniel Greene in his place. "Light Horse Harry" with his legion were transferred from the North- ern army and sent south to aid Greene in his arduous task and for the rest of the war the Legion was engaged in the wresting of the Southern States from the British army. Private Cooper took part in the battles of Guil- ford Court House and Eutaw Springs.
In the battle of Eutaw Springs, which was fought on September 8, 1781, Lee's Legion was assigned to the duty
136
NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
of covering the right flank, and Armstrong's troops, in which Cooper served, led the advance.
As the English retreated next day after destroying many of their stores the victory was considered to be ours. The American loss was very heavy in this pro- longed battle and this may have been the place to which Captain Cooper referred when he told his friend John Redfield, of Gloucester, that he stood in the battle when every third man was killed.
During the entire Revolutionary War, Congress only voted six gold medals for bravery in action, and three of those were to General Wayne, for his storming of Stony Point ; to Light Horse Harry for his surprise of Paulus Hook, and to General Greene for his victory at Eutaw Springs, and in each of these three engagements Private Cooper was one of the men who helped to win. Which only proves the statement that when a Quaker does fight, he fights well. What other private or officer had a better record in the entire war?
Prowell's History of Camden County says Cooper assisted in the storming of Forts Mott, Granby and Wat- son, all of which surrendered to Light Horse Harry. Private Cooper was once sent with dispatches to General Washington, and on another occasion with a flag of truce to the British commander, showing the esteem in which he was held by his leader.
After the Revolutionary War was over James B. Cooper adopted a seafaring life, and rose to the command of some fine ships sailing from Philadelphia.
In 1805 he organized a company of cavalry from the young men of Haddonfield and Woodbury, and was elected its captain. It was from this circumstance that Cooper got his title of Captain.
In the War of 1812 Cooper accepted the position of sailing master in the navy, and was in charge of the gun boats on the New Jersey coast, to guard against the depredations of the British cruisers. This was a danger-
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
ous task, for his vessel was inferior in guns, and it was his duty when he discovered the foe, by his superiority in sailing, to notify the American frigates so they could meet the enemy.
Through the Bureau of Navigation at Washington, I have been enabled to secure the following data as to Commander Cooper's services in the United States Navy : 1812, July 9. Warranted a sailing master in the Navy this date. Appointed from New Jer- sey.
1815, May 26. Promoted to Acting Lieutenant.
1816, Aug. 9. Ordered to report to Commodore Mur- ray for duty.
1822, Jan. 10. Ordered to Philadelphia on duty.
1822, April 22. Promoted to Lieutenant from this date, and ordered to report for duty at Bal- timore.
1832, July 5. Ordered to the Navy Yard, at New York.
1832, Nov. 5. Detached from the Navy Yard, New York, and granted two months' leave of absence.
1834, May 23. Appointed to the Naval Asylum, Phila- delphia.
1838, Aug. 13. Granted three-months' leave, which was renewed Nov. 16, 1838; Feb. 22, 1839; May, 1839.
1839-1840-1841. He was granted six months' leave of ab- sence continuously till September 8, 1841, when he was promoted to Com- mander from this date.
1854, Feb. 5. Died this day at Haddonfield, New Jer- sey.
On July 5, 1828, nearly fifty years after his enlist- ment in the Continental army, a pension was allowed him. After his retirement from the command of the Naval 9
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
Asylum at Philadelphia, he returned to his home in Had- donfield, where he spent the remainder of his days.
Captain James B. Cooper was the last survivor of Lee's Legion, dying seventy-five years and four days after he was mustered into the service of his country-in his ninety-third year.
In his death, as in his life, he was unfortunately the cause of the animadversion of Friends. Having a son who was an Admiral in the Navy, and on account of his military and naval service in two wars, he was buried with military honors. Soldiers and sailors took part, the Naval Reserves coming from Philadelphia for this pur- pose. Here, again, there was a conflict between Church and State, or between principles and affection. The sol- diers and sailors followed his remains on foot to the Friends' Meeting House Burying Ground, in Haddon- field, and fired a salute over his grave, to the horror of many Friends. What with flags flying and guns firing, it was a sorry day for many rigid orthodox Quakers. Even in his family there was a divided feeling. The widow, proud of her departed hero, acquiesced in the de- sire of his military and naval friends, and followed his re- mains to the grave in this military parade, while the widow's sister was so horrified at this vain pomp that she stayed at home, and would not even look upon this wicked show. Many young Friends and the world's peo- ple enjoyed this unusual spectacle as a mark of respect to this grand old man, and a grand-daughter, who was then only a little child, said she liked to see the soldiers and the flags, and thought it was just the thing. No stone marks the grave of this grand old man.
General Franklin Davenport *
Franklin Davenport was born in Philadelphia, but spent his boyhood in Gloucester County, New Jersey, and during the Revolutionary War enlisted in Captain Sam- uel Hugg's company of artillery, which was attached to Colonel Newcomb's brigade.
His company took part in the defence of Fort Mifflin when it was besieged by the British Army and Navy.
We cannot say he was "one of the men behind the guns" because in those days cannon were not breech load- ing, and the gunner had to stand in front to load his gun, and expose himself to the fire of sharpshooters. All through that bloody siege he passed unharmed, and before the close of the war he rose to be captain of a company of artillery.
After the war he settled in Woodbury, and is said to be the first lawyer who lived and practiced there. When the office of Surrogate was created, Governor William Livingston appointed him Surrogate for Gloucester County and he took the oath of office before Judge John Wilkins, February 15, 1785, practicing law all the time he was Surrogate. He was among the original trustees of Woodbury Academy, which was erected in 1791, and also among the original members of the Woodbury Library Company, instituted in 1794.
Franklin Davenport maintained his connection with the State militia, and on Tuesday, October 21, 1794, under orders from Governor Richard Howell, he marched as Lieutenant Colonel and acting Colonel with his regiment from Trenton to Pittsburg, Pa., and assisted in putting down the whiskey rebellion. This was the first armed re- sistance to the Federal authorities and President George Washington called out fifteen thousand militia from Penn-
* By WALLACE McGEORGE, M. D.
140 NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
sylvania, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia to suppress this armed opposition to the collection of a revenue tax on whiskey. History tells us that Governor Howell went with the New Jersey troops and was the first Governor who served as Commander-in-Chief of the State militia, while in actual service. He was appointed by General Lee to command the right wing of the army, and Colonel Franklin Davenport was commandant of the First New Jersey Regiment.
While he was away with his regiment the December term of court was held and the following unique notice appears in the records of the Surrogate's Office.
December Term, 1794. Present. No Business.
The Surrogate of the County of Gloucester (Frank- lin Davenport) having marched from Trenton, New Jer- sey, through Pennsylvania, to Pittsburg, as Colonel Com- mandant of a detachment of New Jersey militia, consist- ing of seven hundred and twenty-four, rank and file, with a double proportion of field and staff officers, by order of the President of the United States, George Washing- ton, to assist in quelling an insurrection raised by the Patriots of the day.
FKN. DAVENPORT, January, 1795.
NOTE .- I left Woodbury the 18th September, 1794, and returned home the last of December following.
F. DAVENPORT.
A vacancy occurring in the United States Senate on December 5, 1798, he was appointed United States Sena- tor from New Jersey by Governor Richard Howell the same day, and served until February 14, 1799, when the Legislature elected James Schureman to fill the unexpired term.
·
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
In the regular election held in November, 1798, he was elected to the Sixth Congress for this Congressional district, serving from March 4, 1799, to March 4, 1801.
At the organization of the Gloucester County Bible Society in the Academy, at Woodbury, in April, 1816, he was elected Vice-President and one of its Board of Mana- gers and continued in these positions until 1827, when he was elected President, and he was re-elected every year thereafter till his death.
He was prominent in public affairs in his home vil- lage of Woodbury, was one of the Trustees of the Acad- emy in Woodbury in 1820 and the minutes of the Woodbury Presbyterian Church state :
"At a meeting of the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church at Woodbury, at the Academy, on the nineteenth day of February, 1820, a deed was presented to them from the Board of Trustees of the Woodbury Academy, signed by Franklin Davenport, their President, by which they convey and assure to the Trustees of the Presbyterian Church, and their successors in office, the free use and en- joyment for the celebration of Divine Worship, of the lower room of the lower story of the Woodbury Academy, so long as the present building shall stand, and also the use of the bell of the said Academy."
Woodbury Academy was erected on Broad Street opposite where the Presbyterian Church stands and at that time was the only edifice at all suitable for religious wor- ship.
At the public auction of pews on March 13th, 1820, Franklin Davenport bid $40 for Pew No. 10, the highest price bid at this sale, and at a meeting of the Presbyterian congregation, held August 31, 1822, for the purpose of calling a minister, Franklin Davenport was present and assisted in the call. But this old soldier, when he found that his sister Deborah had left the family silver service to the Presbyterian Church for a communion set without getting his consent, obstinately refused to concur and
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
though the session appointed two of his old friends, Dr. B. P. Howell and Dr. Joseph Fithian, to visit him and reason with him, they were unsuccessful, Dr. Howell subsequently reporting that he would not give up the silver, and he probably never did.
His home and office were in a frame building that stood just south of Paul's Hotel, and were torn down by Jos. Paul, when he built the brick building south of that hostelry. Franklin Davenport and wife and his sister Deborah lived there until their decease.
He was one of the Judges of the Court of Common pleas in the county for many years, and his name, will be found among those present at each term, in the court records. The last entry of his name in the proceedings of the Court of Common Pleas, also in the Orphans' Court, is in the June term, 1832.
He died July 27, 1832, and is probably buried in the Presbyterian Burying Grounds in North Woodbury, but his grave is unmarked and cannot certainly be found.
General Franklin Davenport, as he was always called after 1794, served his state and country in his day and generation, dying in the harness and yet no one can tell where his remains were placed at rest. An armchair that he used to sit in is now owned by Rev. Edward Dillon, of Woodbury, and this is all that I can find that once belonged to this gallant soldier and statesman.
Colonel Thomas Heston *
Colonel Thomas Heston, an officer of the War of the Revolution, whose remains are interred in the burial grounds of Trinity Church, Swedesboro, N. J., was born in Hestonville, Penna., in 1753. He entered the army in 1776 as First Lieut. 8th Co., 3rd Battalion, Philadelphia troops (Col. Jacob Morgan's regiment).
He was with Washington when he crossed the Dela- ware the following December and took part in the battle of Trenton and eventually reached the rank of Colonel.
His brother Edward also served during the War of Independence and attained the same rank.
At the close of the war, Edward returned to Phila- delphia and was a member of the State Senate for eight years and Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the City of Philadelphia for four years. He died in 1824.
The Heston family came from the village of Heston, Middlesex County, England, in 1684. The immigrant ancestor was Zebulon Heston. He settled in what is now a part of Philadelphia known as Hestonville.
Col. Thomas Heston married Hannah Clayton in 1775, and at the close of the War of Independence, he and Thomas Carpenter, of Philadelphia, a relative who had also served during the war, purchased the glass works at Glassboro, N. J., which had not been operated for some years because of the war, and began the manufacture of glassware.
This partnership was continued until Colonel Hes- ton's death, which occurred in 1802. The Colonel was in charge of the works and Thomas Carpenter, who resided at Carpenter's Landing (now Mantua), attended to the shipping of the manufactured wares to Philadelphia by
* By THOS. W. SYNNOTT.
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
vessel and received supplies for the factory which were forwarded to Glassboro by teams.
Brig. Gen'l Louis Henry Carpenter, U. S. A., who died in Philadelphia in 1916, was born in Glassboro in 1839, and was a grandson of Thomas Carpenter.
The works at Glassboro were long known as "Hes- ton's Glass Works." After Colonel Heston's death, in 1802, the property changed hands a number of times, and in 1835 Thomas H. Whitney, a grandson of Colonel Thomas Heston, acquired an interest in the plant and later it was operated by John P. Whitney and Thomas W. Synnott, great-grandsons of Colonel Heston under the firm name of Whitney Brothers.
Colonel Heston was a member of the First City Troop of Philadelphia and the Gloucester County Fox Hunting Club, organizations that furnished many officers during the war for independence.
The following account of Colonel Heston's funeral appeared in a Philadelphia paper published at the time.
"New Jersey, Gloucester Co.,
"Died on Wednesday, October 13, 1802, Colonel Thomas Heston, at his country seat in Glassborough, N. J., after a short illness, which he bore with Christian forti- tude and resignation.
"In the death of this excellent man the army has lost a brave soldier, society a valuable monument, religion and liberty deprived a sincere and strong support, the widow of an affectionate companion, his children a pious and ten- der father.
"Captain Brown's Infantry and Captain Pissant's Cavalry, with officers, accompanied the friends and re- mains to Trinity Church, Swedesborough, N. J., in pro- cession, Captain Pissant's troop of horse, order and arms reversed.
"Trumpeter and trumpet in mourning.
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
"Captain Robert Brown's company of Light Infan- try, order and arms reversed.
"Drums and Fifes in mourning.
"Major of Brigade.
"Clergymen and physicians.
"Bier, supported by officers and mourning citizens.
"When procession arrived at Church ranks opened and faced inward, through which the bier and procession passed.
"After service was read, a very touching discourse was delivered by Reverend (Henry) John Croes, from Psalm 23-4. 'Though I walk through the valley and shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.'
"When the troops formed again and moved to the grave, where they deposited the remains of their much esteemed officer and friend, after which three rounds of musketry were discharged by Captain Brown's company.
"The elegant and effective appearance of the troops with the most affectionate and respectful conduct of the officers on this solemn occasion demands our praise."
RD
PPF
SKETCH BY FRANK H. TAYLOR
INDIAN KING TAVERN, AT HADDONFIELD.
The Indian King *
The Indian King is situated on the old King's Highway, in the center of the historic town of Haddon- field, N. J. It was built in 1750, by Matthias Aspden, a native of England, who became a merchant and ship- owner in Philadelphia, and lived for many years in that city and in Haddonfield.
On the site of the building was born, in 1730, Colonel Timothy Matlack, of the Revolutionary Army, Free Quaker, at one period Commissary General of the Army, and after the war, Master of the Rolls of Penn- sylvania.
The Indian King was a famous village inn from 1750 until Haddonfield had become a prohibition town about 1880, and was the very centre of the village life. Here in the early days the militia were mustered, the local elections were held, and the leading men of the village gathered to discuss national or local affairs. Here the stage-coaches for Egg Harbor and other distant points stopped for refreshments.
In the Revolutionary War period the First As- sembly of the State of New Jersey, driven from Trenton and Princeton by the movements of the armies, held ses- sions in the Indian King from January 29th, 1777, to March 18th, 1777; from May 7th, 1777, to June 7th, 1777, and from September 3rd, 1777, to October 11th, 1777.
In this building, in May, 1777, the Committee which had been appointed by the Assembly to prepare a State Seal, made its report and the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey was formally adopted.
Therein, by an Act of Assembly dated March 15th, 1777, the Council of Safety of New Jersey was created.
* By JAMES L. PENNYPACKER.
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
This body began its meetings in this building March 18th, 1777. It met therein again from May roth to June 9th, and again on September 12th, and on September 22nd.
Therein, on September 20th. 1777, was passed an Act to the effect that "From and after the Publication of this Act all Commissions and Writs which by the Con- stitution are required to run in the name of the COLONY shall run in the name of the STATE of New Jersey." This was the official recognition by the Assembly of the colony's independence and the formal christening of the State of New Jersey.
During the Revolutionary War period the Inn was owned by Hugh Creighton. He was the uncle of Dorothy Todd (nee Payne) who at that time, having broken away from her maiden life, was a gay young widow in Phila- delphia. She often visited her uncle in Haddonfield, and John Clement, then a young man, used, in his old age, to tell his son, the late John Clement, President of the Historical Society of New Jersey, tales of the merry dances at which Dolly Todd was hostess, and of the sleighing parties with the village beaux in which she par- ticipated. Soon she married and became "Dolly" Madi- son, and has come down to us through many a legend as the most charming mistress that ever graced the official social life in Washington.
There are interesting military letters dated at Haddonfield written by Wayne, Greene, Lafayette, Pulaski, Weddon, Varnum, Ogden, Joseph Ellis and other officers of the American Army, and there are orders, letters and journals of Sir Henry Clinton, Corn- wallis, Major Andre and others of the British Army. No doubt some of these were written in the Indian King, and no doubt all of these men trod its oaken floors.
During its long time of hospitality the old Inn stood under a number of signs and names. The earliest known and probably the original name, "The Indian King," ap- pears in a newspaper advertisement in 1764.
149
NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
Recognizing the interest and importance of the events which had happened within its walls, the State Legislature, in 1902, created a Commission to purchase and care for the building, and later made appropriations for this purpose and for its restoration. From year to year there is a growing interest in its history and a con- stant increase in the number of its visitors.
WOODBURY FIRE ENGINE, BUILT 1799.
The Woodbury Fire Company *
The citizens of Woodbury early in 1799 started a Fire Company, and collected funds for the purpose of a fire engine, which was delivered July 8th, 1799, at a cost of £135. This now venerable relic is in possession of Friendship Fire Company, successors to Woodbury Fire Company, and is highly prized by the firemen of Glouces- ter County. On gala occasions it is gorgeously deco- rated and the great grandchildren of the founders of the Woodbury Fire Company take prominent parts in the firemen's parades in the towns of Southern New Jersey.
Benjamin W. Cloud has been a member of the Friendship Company since March 25, 1854, and while he does not fight fires to-day, generally manages to be on the ground. Samuel H. Ladd, present Mayor of Wood- bury, joined the company October 25, 1877. His father and grandfather were both members of the company.
The early books of Woodbury Fire Company seem to be missing, but the rules and regulations of April 13, 1799, revised and amended to March 28, 1808, still hang in the present Fire House.
Each member was requested to provide himself at his own expense two leather buckets, one bag containing three yards of linen at least three-quarters of a yard wide. The buckets and bags had to be kept in their dwellings in view of the front door. Suitable fines were imposed for all kinds of delinquencies, and any members deemed unworthy of membership could be expelled by a two- thirds vote of the membership. There are forty-four names on the printed regulations. The last are added with pen and ink :
Franklin Davenport, Benj. Rulon, Ephraim Miller, Samuel Ladd, Anthony Allen, Mark Brown, John Jes-
* By FRANK H. STEWART.
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NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY.
sup, Duncan Campbell, John Reeve, Samuel Mickle, Amos Cooper, Henry Rulon, Jr., James Saunders, James Matlack, Samuel Chatham, Joshua Ladd Howell, Wil- liam Brick, Samuel Webster, John Moore White, Thomas Wilkins, Isaac Ballenger, David C. Wood, Richard Snow- den, James B. Caldwell, Dayton Lummis, Moreton Stille, Eli Ayres, Robert Roe, John Reeves, Isaac M. Cooper, Job Brown, Saml. C. Hopkins, John Shivers, Oliver Davis, Benj. Whitecar, Thos. Saunders, Amos Campbell, Apollo Woodward, Daniel J. Packer, Charles Ogden, Ephraim N. Daniels, William Lawrence, William Sailor, Joseph C. Smith.
An original subscription list showing the names and amounts of a few of those who contributed is given in full herewith.
"We, the subscribers not being able from the re- moteness of our situations from the town of Woodbury, to become and act as members of a fire company es- tablishing in that place, but willing to promote and aid so laudable an institution, do hereby engage each for himself and herself to pay unto Benjamin Rulon, Treasurer of the Woodbury Fire Company, the sums of money an- nexed to our respective names, for the useful and benevolent purposes of assisting in the purchase of a fire Engine, Ladders and Hooks for the said town and company, and we promise to pay the same in ten days after the said Engine shall have been brought to Wood- bury.
"Witness our hands, 27th April, 1799.
"Engine delivered, 8 July, 1799.
John Sparks $20
John Jessup 20
John Wilkins 30
James B. Caldwell 5
Michael C. Fisher 5
F. Davenport 8
NOTES ON OLD GLOUCESTER COUNTY. 153
John Blackwood
$5
John Pissant
3
Isaac Crim
2
Thos. Wilkins
2
Samuel Whitall
8
James Cooper
5
John Tatum, Jr.
4
Joseph Reeves
3
Joseph Whitall
5
Mary Cooper
3
IO
1
TATUM OAK, MT. ROYAL.
This is one of the oldest trees in Southern New Jersey. In 1917 measurements of the tree were as follows: Height, 92 feet: Girth, 6 feet above ground, 27 feet; Girth at 2 feet above ground, 32 feet; Spread of Branches, 110 feet.
Samuel Mickle's Diary *
Samuel Mickle, the son of Samuel and Letticia Mickle, was born 7 mo. 1 day, 1746, O. S., and died 3 mo. 31 day, 1830. His wife was the daughter of Robert Friend and Hannah Price. She was born 2 mo. 13 day, 1748, O. S., and died 10 mo. 13 day, 1809.
On the 28th of November, 1792, Samuel Mickle, of Woodbury, commenced to keep a diary, and between that date and July 19, 1829, he recorded an immense amount of important historical and genealogical data. Alto- gether there are five books written in a perfectly plain, neat, legible, almost microscopic hand, containing seven hundred and fifty pages. The books are now in the possession of Miss Anna Mickle, and to her I am in- debted for the privilege of making one hundred and fifty pages of hand-written manuscript from which these printed facts are taken.
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