USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > Old times in old Monmouth > Part 28
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Some of the family at a very early day settled in old Monmouth, and during the Revolution many of them were in the ser- vice of their country in various capacities, meeting with the usual vicissitudes of war. This family appear to be great sticklers for handing down old family names .- Among the first comers over two hundred years ago and from that time on down through the Revolution to the present wherever Hendricksons have been or may be, there are found the Cornelius's, Ger- rits, Alberts and Hendricks or Henrys.
THE RANDOLPH FAMILY.
The ancient name of this family, so nu- merous in New Jersey and elsewhere, was Fitz Randolph, for which reason members retain at the present day the letter F as the initial of a middle name. They are said to be descended from Edward Fitz Randolph who came when a lad with his parents to Barnstable, Massachusetts, in the year 1630. The following items relat- ing to him are from New England author ities.
In a manuscript of the Rev. John Lo- throp, the first pastor of the churches at Barnstable and Scituate, the names of own- ers of dwellings which were built when he arrived, and also those built shortly after are given. From his manuscript, copied in a modern New England work, the fol- lowing items are extracted :
" The Houses in ye planta-(manuscript obliterated.)
Scituate.
Att my comeing hither, onely these wch was aboute the end of Sept. 1634."- After naming those which were already built on his arrival, he says the 36th one, built in 1636, was occupied by " the young Master Edward Fittsrandolfe."
From the church records of Barnstable and Scituate are derived the following items relating to the founder of this fami- ly in America.
" Married. Edward Fittsrandolfe to Eliz- V abeth Blossome, May 10th, 1637."
Miss Blossome was a daughter of " Wid- ow Blossome " whose name is frequently mentioned in Old Plymouth colony rec- ords as far back as 1632.
" Edward Fitts surrandolfe joyned (church) May 14th, 1637. Our Brother Fittsrandolfe's wife joyned August 27th, 1643.
Baptized : Nathaniell son of Edward Fittsrandolfe, Aug. 9th, 1640. Died Na- thanniell son of Edward Fitts Randolfe, December 10th, 1640. Baptized Nathan- iell son of Edward Fittsrandolfe, May 15th, 1642. Baptized Mary daughter of Edward Fittsrandolfe, October 6th, 1644. Baptized Hannah daughter of above, April 23d, 1648. Baptized Margaret, daughter of above, June 2nd, 1650. Baptized John, son of above, Jan. 2nd, 1652.
"Mary Fitzrandle, daughter above named married Samuel Hincley, 1668."
The last named Nathanniell became quite a conspicuous man in after years .- It is said that descendants of Edward Fitz Randolph went to Piscataqua, New Hamp- shire, and from thence removed to Piscat- aqua, New Jersey, and from thence de- scendants went to Monmouth and else- where. Bennington F. Randolph, Esq , formerly of Freehold, the late Judge Jo- seph F. Randolph, formerly M. C., and Senator Theodore F. Randolph, are. we be lieve, descendants of Edward Fitz Ran- dolph.
By the extracts quoted above, it will be seen that the old Puritan pastor was sore- ly puzzled as to the proper mode of spell- ing the name Fitz Randolph, but we cer tainly must give him credit for noting down minute particulars.
We have been informed that quite a complete history of the Fitz Randolph family has been preserved by some de- scendants in Philadelphia, especially by Hon. Ross Snowden, a prominent mem- of the Pennsylvania Historical Society.
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
LONG BRANCH.
WHO FIRST BROUGHT IT INTO NOTICE.
The earliest mention of Long Branch as a watering place in any historical work that the writer of this has found, is in Watson's Annals of Philadelphia, publish- ed in 1830, as follows :
" This place, before the Revolution, was owned by Colonel White, a British officer, and an inhabitant of New York. The small house which he occupied as a sum- mer residence was existing among a clump of houses owned by Renshaw, in 1830 .- In consequence of the war the place was confiscated. The house was first used as a boarding house by Elliston Perot of Phil- adelphia in 1788. At that time the whole premises were in charge of one old woman left to keep the place from injury. Of her · Mr. Perot begged an asylum for himself and family, which was granted, provided he could get beds and bedding from oth- ers. Being pleased with the place he re- peated his visit there three successive years, taking some friends with him. In 1790-1, Mr. McKnight, of Monmouth, no ticing the liking shown for the place deemed it a good speculation to buy it,- He bought the whole premises containing one hundred acres for £700 and then got Mr. Perot and others to loan him two thousand dollars to improve it. He then opened it for a watering place and before his death it was supposed he had made forty thousand dollars by the investment. The estate was sold to Rehshaw tor $13,- 000."
In the foregoing extract Watson says the property originally belonged to a Brit- ish officer named White, whose property was confiscated during the Revolution .- We cannot now recall the name of but four loyalists of the name who belonged to or held property in old Monmouth, viz : Philip, who was killed by his guards in at tempting to escape on the way to Free- hold ; Aaron, (brother of Philip) and John, both of whom went to the British Provin- ces at the close of the war, and Josiah White, of old Shrewsbury township, whose property was confiscated and advertised to be sold at Tinton Falls, March 29th, 1779. The last named may be the one referred to as we have found no mention of the con- fiscation of property of others.
According to Watson it would seem
ELLISTON PEROT WAS THE FOUNDER
of Long Branch as a watering place. The Perot family has been a prominent one in Philadelphia annals. During the Revolu tion the Perot mansion at Germantown was used by Lord Howe as a residence, and after the war. while General Wash- ington was president, he also occupied it for a time during the prevalence of the yellow fever in the city in 1793. Members of this family have always been patrons of some of our New Jersey watering places.
THE LAST INDIAN CLAIMANTS.
At a conference between the whites and Indians held at Crosswicks, N. J., in Feb- ruary, 1758, two Indians known by the whites as Tom Store and Andrew Woolley claimed the land " from the month of Squan river to the mouth of Shrewsbury, by the streams of each to their heads and across from one head to another." This claim was satisfactorily settled at a subse- quent conference held at Easton, Pa., in October of the same year. These Indians belonged to a band of the Delawares then known as the Cranbury Indians; their principal settlement was about two miles northeast of the present village of Cranbu- ry and was established through the instru- mentality of the celebrated Rev. David Brainerd, and by him called Bethel. The Indians came here in 1746 from Crosswicks "to be away from bad whites." At the above mentioned Crosswicks conference, several delegates, beside Tom Store and Andrew Woolley, attended from the Cran- bury Indians with papers, claims, powers of attorney, &c., for themselves and the rest of the band, all of which were settled to the satisfaction of the Indians.
HISTORY AND TRADITIONS OF LONG BRANCH.
The following extracts are from the New York Gazette, Morris' Guide, and other au- thorities, to which some comments are added :
" The nomenclature of popular resorts has become a matter of acknowledged in- terest. Various surmises-some of them absurd, all incorrect-have gone the rounds as to the origin of Long Branch, among them an hypothesis in a traveler's direc- tory, that it was termed longest branch or route from that point on the seashore to Amboy."
From the best sources we find a tradition generally credited among the best informed descendants of old settlers, that a party of Indians whose grounds lay back of this
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
portion of the coast, visited the shore in the fall of 1734. So well pleased were the red men with this inaugural visit to the seaside, that like many of their modern white brethren, they became habitues of the place, still adhering to the original camping ground, a location near the pres- ent Clarendon' Hotel-the nearest to the depot. Here they made their annual pil- grimage for fishing, &c., and welcoming. after a long march, the termination of the land, called the place " Land's End ;" this became a general term for the extent of waste which they gradually explored, and on which they established other camping grounds, such as Squan beach, &e., and the original spot was designated as "Land's End at the Long Branch," a small stream branching from the South Shrousbury (Shrewsbury) River and extending for a considerable distance nearly parallel with the coast. This stream still meanders through the vicinity of the depots and supplies an abundance of ice during the winter. The locality was thus designated by the abbreviated term Long Branch.
A few years thereafter settlers bought crown lands for twenty shillings per acre, and to protect their dwellings from the winter winds upon the coast, located them a short distance from the shore, pursuing the double calling of farmers and fisher- men. They opened the Burlington path- way to Monmouth Court House and at- tracted other settlers, thus establishing old Long Branch village, one and a half miles from the beach, and within a radius of this distance embracing a population of over three thousand. A portion of this village just beyond the toll gate, is still quaintly termed "the pole"-from a liberty pole having been constantly renewed at this point with patriotic devotion since 1812. That portion which the wealthier citizens have erected for summer resorts is natu- rally termed " the shore," the nearest spot Branchville, the South Shrewsbury river landing Branchport, three quarters of a mile from the village, beside Rockville on the south and Loyalton on the west .- Guests at the beach still go over to " the Pole" for purchases, in which a greater va- riety is desirable than can be found at the shore. Here is the red post office, though for greater convenience a branch shore post office has been established.
When the old settlers at the "Pole" had opened the Burlington pathway to Monmouth Court House, intersecting a road to Burlington, communication was
then opened with this point of the Atlan- tic coast, possessing advantages as a salu- brious seaside resort far superior to any other. We are credibly informed that no other portion of this coast commands a bluff of more than from half a mile to a mile extent, while Long Branch has a con- tinuous range of five miles of bluff, which extends over a rolling country of increas- ing elevations back to Monmouth Court House at Freehold. a distance of seven- teen miles. At the early period indicated, Philadelphians availed themselves of the opportunity thus presented to drive over the new road and enjoy the luxuries of a sea bath. but there being no inns for many miles they were compelled to return a long distance on their way homeward for a nights entertainment. A Mr. BENNETT proved himself the man for the times by erecting a small building for the accom- dations of these summer visitors, and up- on a site a. little east of the present Metro- politan Hotel; the exact ground has long since been confiscated by old Neptune and is now available only for bathing purposes. This, by the way, is in the vicinity of the Indians' first camping ground in 1734. The next man of enterprise of whom. we have an account was named Mcknight; he built a hotel about a mile down the beach beyond Pitman's. It was called Bath, or Green's hotel. This was destroyed by fire a few years ago.
To the above readable article, which we find credited to the New York Gazette a few years ago, and which was copied into many papers in our State, we take excep- tions on one or two points. The writer evi- dently had not read the account of Watson, who had been familiar with the habitues of Long Branch forty or fifty years before. And we believe the Indians had visited the place long before 1734 ; in fact before the time the whites had any knowledge of the locality. Long before this the fierce, warlike Mohawks of New York, the terror of New Jersey Indians, occasionally made inroads into our State, conquering and plundering the red men within our bor- ders, who were no match for them When anticipating their raids, our West Jersey Indians would send their squaws and chil- dren to the sea shore for safety ; and it is probable that Squan received its name from this fact, being probably derived from the Indian, words Squaw, or Squaw's place. The indians who visited Long Branch in 1734 were probably from Crosswicks, and after 1746 the Cranbury Indians frequented this
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTII.
section and laid claim to it as elsewhere stated.
ORIGIN OF NAME-THE GREAT WRESTLING MATCH.
" Long Branch takes its name from a brook, a branch of the South Shrewsbury river, which runs in a direct line north- werd with the coast. It is of little use ex- cept for gathering ice for the hotels and cottages
Tradition points to an Indian fishery, es- tablished in 1734, as the first occupation of this place, which was styled at that time ' Land's End.' A legend tells us that in those early times four men. named Slocum, Parker, Wardell and Hulett came from Rhode Island in quest of land. They found the Indians friendly but not disposed to sell. It was proposed by the Yankees that a wrestling match should be made up be- tween one Indian and one of the whites, to be decided by the best in three rounds. If the champion of the white inan won, they were to have as much land as a man could walk around in a day ; if otherwise they were to leave peaceably John Slocum was selected for the struggle-& man of great proportions, athletic and of great strength, courage and inflexibility of pur- pose. Great preparations were made to wit- ness the encounter. The chosen Indian wrestler practiced continually for the event. The day long expected proved cloud- less and auspicious. The spot chosen was the present Fish Landing. A circle was formed and the Indian champion, elated, confident and greased from head to foot, appeared. Slocum advanced cooly and the struggle began ; it was long and doubtful ; finally Slocum threw his antagonist but in an instant the Indian was again on his feet. A murmur ran through the circle. - Again the Indian made a violent effort and both fell. Another murmur was heard .- Silence prevailed as they came together again, broken only by the roaring of the surf. A long struggle. Slocum inured to toil, hardy and rugged, proved too much for the Indian and threw him, to the in- tense disappointment of the Indians and undisguised joy of the whites. The terms were then all arranged. John Slocum had two brothers and they located that part of Long Branch reaching from the shore to 'Turtle Mill brook, embracing all lands ly ing north of the main road, from the sea to Eatontown, between these two points, to the south of Shrewsbury, except Fresh Pond and Snag Swamp, which was located
by one of the Wardell family. A consider- able portion of these lands continued in the possession of the Slocums until thirty or forty years ago. All are now gone into other hands. The Parkers placed them- selves on Rumson's Neck. Hulett lived for a time at Horse Neck but afterwards left this region. Indian warrants, it is said, still exist in the county conveying these lands 10 the white owners.
After some years a few hardy settlers from neighboring provinces purchased lands from the agents of the Crown at the rate of twenty shillings per acre, deeds for which, it is stated, are in existence over the signature of King George III or his agents.'
A notice of Long Branch in 1819, from a paper published at the time, has been giv- en in a previous article. Probably the most noted Indian in this section of Old Mon- mouth was the celebrated Indian Will, of whom a number of traditions were pub- lished in the DEMOCRAT, June 5th, 1873. He was well known at Eatontown, Long Branch and vicinity, at Squan and along the coast down as far as Barnegat. A tradition in Howe's Collections says the Indians in this section sold out their lands to Lewis Mor- ris in 1670, but Indian Will refused to leave. The probability is that this tradition has confounded two transactions. Indian Will, according to the best traditionary ad- thority, lived near a century later and the Indian sale of land with which his name has been connected was probably the one originating at a conference held at Cross- wicks in February, 1758, and concluded at Eastern Pennsylvania in the same year, particulars of which were given in the ar- ticle headed " Indian Claims in Old Mon mouth," in the DEMOCRAT of July 24, 1873.
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NEW JERSEY WATERING PLACES- THEIR ORIGIN.
The first seaside resorts in New Jersey in all probability were Long Beach in Monmouth, and Tuckers' Beach in Little Egg Harbor. The first named place, now in Ocean county, is opposite to the vil- lages of Barnegat and Mannahawkin and the latter opposite Tuckerton. Of these places Watson's Annals of Philadelphia says :
" We think Long Beach and Tucker's Beach in point of earliest attraction as a seaside resort for Philadelphians must
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
claim the precedence. They had their visitors and distant admirers long before Squan and Deal and even Long Branch itself had got their several fame. To those who chiefly desire to restore languid frames and to find their nerves braced and firmer strung, nothing can equal the in- vigorating surf and general air. * * * Long Branch-last but greatest in fame --- because the fashionables who rule all things have made it so, is still inferior as a surf to those above named."
Before the Revolution, Philadelphians and others from a distance, who visited Long and Tucker beaches. went in old fashioned shore wagons on their return trips from the city and took with them their stoves, blankets, &c. Some people on the beaches began to make provisions to receive these transient boarders and so originated this business in New Jersey in which now annually is spent such an im- mense amount of money. The shore wag- ons carted fish and oysters to Philadelphia, Trenton and other places over a hundred years ago, and these primitive convey- ances on their return trips were first used to convey health or pleasure seekers to our earliest seaside resorts. What a con- trast between then and now-between an oyster wagon and a palace car !
Long Branch comes next in order being first known as a watering place about 1788.
Cape May began to be known as a wat- ering place about 1813. Atlantic City was founded some forty years later, about the time of the completion of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad.
The foregoing watering places from Long Branch to Cape May, it is said, were all brought into notice by Philadelphians. A Sea Shore correspondent says :
"The first seaside health or pleasure seekers from Philadelphia would present quite a contrast with the great majority of visitors at our watering places at the pres- ent day in their methods of enjoying themselves. At home, being citizens of property and standing they would of course conform to the customs of city life in dress and other matters, but at the sea- shore they often adopted the common fisherman clothes and enjoyed themselves by fishing, oystering, bathing, &c., unre- strained by fashionable conventionalities. From the shore villages, the inhabitants young and old would often get up " beach parties" to have a good time bathing in the surf during the day, and enjoying | the action, attracted the attention of all
themselves by plays and dances in the evening, and it was no uncommon thing to see the visitors from the city mixing in with their sports. evidently enjoying and being benefitted by them. Some twenty years ago I frequently met, at one of our seaside resorts a prominent young Phila- delphia merchant whom I especially no- ticed because an ancestor of his first brought Long Branch into notice and his method of enjoying himself was similar to our first shore visitors. He had his own fishing boat and pleasure yacht ; at times in red flannel shirt and fisherman clothes he would engage in fishing, oystering, &c., and he was an expert in handling his yacht whether by himself, racing with other boats, or taking rural parties on pleasure excursions. He evidently en- joyed himself in these healthful methods of passing away his time, reminding me of the celebrated Prince MURAT's manner of spending his time in the same locality some forty or fifty years before."
CAPTAIN MOLLY PITCHER. Her bravery at Fort Clinton and Monmouth- Her Sad End.
From various articles relating to this noted woman the following are selected : " The story of a woman who rendered essential service to the Americans in the battle of Monmouth is founded on fact .- She was a female of masculine mould, and dressed in a mongrel suit, with the petti- coats of her own sex and an artilleryman's coat, cocked hat and feathers. The anec- dote usually related is as follows : Before the armies engaged in general action, two of the advanced batteries commenced a severe fire against each other. As the heat was excessive, Molly, who was the wife of a cannonier, constantly ran to bring her husband water from a neighboring spring. While passing to his post she saw him fall and on hastening to his assistance, found him dead. At the same moment she heard an officer order the cannon to be re- moved from its place, complaining he could not fill his post with as brave a man as had been killed. "No," said the in- trepid Molly, fixing her eyes upon the of- ficer, "the cannon shall not be removed for the want of someone to serve it ; since my brave husband is no more, I will use my utmost exertions to avenge his death." The activity and courage with which she performed the office of cannonier during
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who witnessed it, and finally of Washing- ton himself, who afterward gave her the rank of lieutenant and granted her half- pay during life. She wore an epaulette and was called ever after Captain Molly. ( Howe's Collections.)
LOSSING in his Field Book of the Revo- lution thus mentions MOLLY PITCHER :
"She was a sturdy young camp follower only twenty two years of age and in devo- tion to her husband, who was a cannonier, she illustrated the character of her coun- trywomen of the Emerald Isle. In the action (Battle of Monmouth) while her husband was managing one of the field pieces, she constantly brought him water from a spring near by. A shot from the enemy killed him at his post; and the officer in command, having no one compe- tent to fill his place, ordered the piece to be withdrawn. MOLLY saw her husband fall as she came from the spring and also heard the order. She dropped her bucket, seized the rammer and vowed that she would fill the place of her husband at the gun and avenge his death. She performed the duty with a skill and courage which attracted the attention of all who saw her. On the following morning, covered with dirt and blood, General GREENE presented her to General WASHINGTON, who admiring her bravery, conferred upon her the com- mission of Sergeant. By his recommenda- tion her name was placed upon the list of half pay officers for life. She left the ar- my soon after the Battle of Monmouth and died near Fort Montgomery among the Hudson Highlands. She usually went by the name of Captain MOLLY. The ven- erable widow of General HAMILTON, who died in 1854, told me she had often seen Captain MOLLY. She described her as a stout, red-haired, freckled-faced young Irish woman with a handsome, piercing eye. The French officers, charmed by the story of her bravery, made her many presents. She would sometimes pass along the French lines with her cocked hat and get it almost filled with crowns."
The same writer visited the locality of Forts Montgomery and Clinton on the Hudson, where MOLLY PITCHER ended her days and there found old residents who "remembered the famous Irish woman called Captain MOLLY, the wife of a canon. ier who worked a field piece at the battle of Monmouth on the death of her hus- band. She generally dressed in the petti- coats of her sex with an artilleryman's coat over. She was in Fort Clinton with
her husband when it was attacked in 1877. When the Americans retreated from the fort, as the enemy scaled the ramparts her husband dropped his match and fled. MOLLEY caught it up, touched off the piece and then scampered off. It was the last gun the Americans fired in the fort. Mrs. ROSE remembered her as Dirty Kate, living between Fort Montgomery and Butter- milk Falls, at the close of the war, where she died a horrible death from syphilitic disease. WASHINGTON had honored her with a lieutenant's commission for her bravery in the field of Monmouth nearly nine months after the battle, when review - ing its events."
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