USA > New Jersey > Monmouth County > Old times in old Monmouth > Part 7
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After perpetrating many enormities, Fenton was shot, about two miles below Blue Ball, under the following circum- stances :
Fenton and Burke beat and robbed a young man named Van Mater of his meal. as he was going to mill. He escaped and conveyed the information to Lee's Legion, then at the Court House. A party started offin a wagon in pursuit, consisting of the Sergeant. VanMater and iwo soldiers. The soldiers lay on the bottom of the wagon concealed under the straw, while the sergeant, disguised as a countryman. sat with VanMater on the seat. To in- crease the deception. two or three empty barrels were put in the wagon. On pass- ing a low groggery in the pines, Fenton came out with » pistol in band and com- manded them to stop. Addressing Van- Mater he said :
" You d -'d rascal ! I gave you such a whipping I thought you would not dare to show your head ;" then changing the subject inquired, . where are you going ?" " l'o the salt works," was the reply.
" Have you any brandy ?" rejoined the robber
" Yes ! will you have some ?"
A bottle was given him; he put his foot on the hub of the wagon, and was in the act of drinking, when the sergeant touched the foot of one of the soldiers, who arose and shot him through the head. His brains were scattered over the side of the wagon. Burke, then in the woods, hear. ing the report and supposing it a signal from his companion, discharged his rifle in answer. The party went in pursuit, but he escaped.
Carelessly throwing the body into the wagon, they drove back furiously to the Court House, where, on their arrival, they jerked out the corpse by the beels, as though it had been that of some wild ani- mal, with the ferocious exclamation : ". Here is a cordial for your tories and wood robbers !"
In the above version it is stated that Fenton's companion was Burke, but an-
" July 31st, 1779 .- Thomas Farr and wife were murdered in the night near Crosswicks Baptist meeting house, and daughter badly wounded by a gang sup- posed to be under the lead of Lewis Fen- ton. About the same time Fenton broke into and robbed the house of one An- drews, in Monmouth County. Governor Livingston offered £500, reward for Fen- ton and £300, and £250 for persons assist- ing him."
The Pennsylvania Packet (1779) gives a notice of the attack on Van Mater by Fen- on, which corresponds with the following from another ancient paper. Sept. 29, 1779, probably written by a Freehold cor- respondent :
" On Thursday last (September 23d, 1779), a Mr. Van Mater was knocked off his horse on the road near Longstreet's Mills, in Monmouth County, by Lewis Fenton and one De Bow, by whom he was stabbed in the arm and otherwise much abused, besides being robbed of his saddle. In the meantime another person coming up, which drew the attention of the rob- bers, gave VanMater an opportunity to escape. He went directly and informed a serjeant's gaurd of Major Lee's light dra- goons, who were in the neighborhood, of what had happened. The serjeant im- mediately impresed a wagon and horses and ordered three of his men to secrete themselves in it under some hay. Hav- ing changed his clothes and procured a guide, he made haste, thus equipped, to the place where Fenton lay. On the ap- proach of the wagon, Fenton (his compan- ion being gone) rushed out to plunder it. Upon demanding what they had in it. he was answered a little wine and spirit. These articles he said he wanted, and while advancing toward the wagon to take possession of them, one of the sol- diers, being previously informed who he was, shot him through the head, which killed him instantly on the spot. Thus did this villain end his days. which it is to be hoped will at least be a warning to others, if not to induce them to throw
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
themselves on the mercy of their injured country."
In the early part of September, 1779, shortly before the VanMater affair, four of Fenton's gang were captured by the mili- tia and lodged in Freehold jail.
JACOB FAGAN.
Fagan, also a monster in wickedness, was killed in Shrewsbury by a party of mihtia under Major Benjamin Dennis. The account here given is from Mrs. Amelia Coryel, a daughter of Mr. Dennis, living in January, 1843, in Philadelphia, and who, as will be seen in the narration, narrowly escaped death from the ruffians : " On Monday in the autumn of 1778, Fagan, Burke and Smith came to the dwelling of Major Dennis, on the south side of Manasquan river, four miles below Howell Mills, to rob it of some plunder captured from a British vessel. Fragan had formerly been a near neighbor. Smith, an honest citizen. who had joined the other two, the most notorious robbers of their time, for the purpose of betraying them, prevailed upon them to remain in their lurking place while he entered the house to ascertain if the way was clear. On entering he apprzed Mrs. Dennis of her danger. Her daughter Amelia (after- wards Mrs. Coryel), a girl of fourteen, hid a pocket book containing $80, in a bed- tick, and with her little brother hastily retreated to a swamp near. She had scarcely left when they entered, searched the house and the bed. but without suc- cess.
" After threatening Mrs. Dennis, and ascertaining if she was unwilling to give in formation where the treasure was conceal- ed, one of them proposed to murder her. " No," replied his comrade; "let the d-n rebel b-h live. The counsel of the first prevailed. They took her to a young eedar tree, and suspended her to it. by the neck with a hed cord. In her struggles she got free and escaped. Amelia, observing them from her hiding place, just then descried John Holmes ap- proaching m her father's wagon over a rise of ground two hundred yards di-tant, and ran towards him. The robbers fired at her; the ball whistled over her head and buried itself in an oak. Holmes abandon- ed the wagon and escaped to the woods. They then plundered the wagon and went off.
" The next day Major Dennis remove I his family to Shrewsbury, under protec.
tion of the guard. Smith stole from his compan ons, and informed Dennis they were coming the next evening to more thoroughly search his dwelling, and pro- posed that he and his comrades should be waylaid at a place agreed upon. On Wednesday evening the Major, with a par- ty of militia, lay in ambush at the appoint- ed spot. After a while Smith drove by in a wagon intended for the plunder, and Fagan and Burke came behind on foot. At a given signal fro o Smith, which was something said to the horses, the militia fired and the robbers disappeared. On Saturday. some hunters in a groggery. made a bet that 'Fagan was killed. Search was made and his body was found and buried. On Sunday, the event becom- ing known, the people assembled, disi- tørred the remains, and after heaping in- dignities upon it, enveloped it in a tarred cloth and suspended it in chains, with iron bands around it, from a large chestnut tree about a mile from the Court House, on the road to Colts Neck. There hung the corpse in mid air, rocked to and fro by the winds, a horrible warning to his comrades. and a terror to travellers, until the birds of prey picked the flesh from its bones and the skeleton fell piecemeal to the ground. Tradition affirms that the skuil was afterwards placed against the tree, with a pipe in its mouth in derision.
" Mrs Dennis, wife of Mejor Dennis. on another occasion came near being koled by a party of Hessians, who entered her dwelling, and after rudely accosting her. knocked her down with their muskets and left her for dead. In the July succeeding the death of Fagan, her busband was shot by the robbers Fenton and Emmons, as he was travelling from Coryel's Ferry to Shrewsbury. After the murder of her husband, she married John Lambert, aet- ing Governor of New Jersey in 1802. She died in 1835."
Fagan's death above referred to oc- curred in September. 1778. An ancient paper has a communication dated October Ist. 1778, which says :
" About ten daysago JJacob Fagan, who having previously headed a number of villains in Monmonth county that have committed divers robberies and were the terror of travellers, was shot. Since which his body has been gibbeted on the public highwav in that county. to deter others from perpetrating the like detest- able crimes.
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
THE OUTLAWS OF THE FINES.
STEPHEN BURKE alias EMMONS, STEPHEN WEST AND EZEKIEL WILLIAMS.
The following is an extract from a let- ter dated at Monmouth Court House, Jan- uary 29th, 1778 :
" The Tory pine robbers, who have their haunts and caves in the pines and have been for some time past a terror to the inhabitants of this county, have dur- ing the course of the present week, met with a very eminent disaster.
"On Tuesday evening last (January 26th) Captain Benjamin Dennis, who lately killed the infamous robber Fagan, with a party of his militia, went in pursuit of three of the most noted of the Pine Rob bers and was so fortunate as to fall in with them and kill them on the spot. Their names are Stephen Burke alias Emmons, Stephen West and Ezekiel Williams. Yesterday they were brought up to this place and two of them it is said will be hanged in chains. This signal piece of service was effected through the instrumentality of one John VanKirk who was prevailed upon to associate with them on purpose to discover their practi- ces and to lead them into our hands. He conducted himself with so much address that the robbers and especially the three above named, who were the leading vil- lains, looked upon him as one of their body, kept him constantly with them and entrusted him with all their designs.
"VanKirk at proper seasons gave intelli- gence of their movements to Captain Den- nis who conducted himself accordingly. They were on the eve of setting off for New York to make sale of their plunder, when VanKirk informed Captain Dennis of the time of their intended departure (which was to have been on Tuesday night last) and of course they would take to their boats. In consequence of which and agreeable to the directions of Van- Kirk. the captain and a small party of his militia planted themselves at Rock Pond, near the sea shore, and shot Burke, West and Williams in the manner above related.
his fate if he does not leave Monmouth County. The Whigs are soliciting contri- butions in his favor, and from what I have already seen, have no doubt that they will present him with a very handsome sum. I question whether the destruction of the British fleet could diffuse more universal joy through the inhabitants of Monmouth than has the death of the above three most egregious villains."
REFUGEE VERSION OF THE DEATH OF BURKE alias EMMONS, WEST AND WILLIAMS.
William Courlies, of Shrewsbury, who joined the British about the last of 1778, testified before a British Court Martial in answer to the question as to what he knew respecting the deaths of Stephen West, Stephen Emmons alias Burke, and Ezekiel Williams, as follows :
" He (thedeponent) was carried prison- er to Monmouth in January, 1779, on the night of the 24th of that month. He saw Captain Dennis of the rebel service bring to Freehold Court House three dead bod- ies ; that Captain Dennis being a neighbor of his (the deponent's) he asked where those men were killed. He replied, they were killed on the shore, where they were coming to join their regiments. Two of them, he said, belonged to Colonel Morris' corps, in General Skinner's brigade ; the other had been enlisted in their service by those two belonging to Colonel Morris' corps. He said, also, he (Capt. Dennis) had employed a man to assist them in making their escape at a place where he (Dennis) was to meet with them on the shore, at which place he did meet them ; that on coming to the spot he (Dennis) surrounded them with his party; that the men attempted to fire, and not being able to discharge their pieces, begged for quarters and claimed the benefit of be- ing prisoners of war. He ordered them to be fired on, and one of them by the name of Williams fell ; that they were all bayonetted by the party and brought to Monmouth ; and that he (Dennis) receiv- ed a sum of money for that action, either from the Governor or General Washing- ton ; which of the two he does not recol- lect."
It is only necessary to say in connection with the above by Courlies's own statement, that at least two, if not all three, deserved death by the usual rule of warfare. They had evidently been noted for. their ma. rauding expeditions, as a reward was
"We were at first in hopes of keeping VanKirk under the rose, but the secret is out and of course he must fly the county, for the Tories are so highly exasperated against him that death will certainly be offered for them. They may have belong-
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
ed to Skinner's " Greens " (the Loyalist organization of Jerseymen, so termed from their uniforms), but they had been noted for their frequent visits within the Amer. ican lines, plundering, acting of course as spies, and endeavoring to enlist men for the British service within the patriot lines. The third man we infer remained in hid- ing places in the county, and when the others came over from the British lines would join them in their marauding expe- ditions, and he was shot while trying to join the enemy.
JONATHAN WEST.
" Jonathan West, another of this lawless crew, in an affray with some of the inhab- itants of Monmouth, was taken prisoner to the Court House. His arm, being horribly mangled, was amputated. He soon after escaped to the pines and became more desperate than before. He used the stump of his arm to hold his gun. Some- time later he was again pursued, and on refusing to surrender, was shot."
FIVE MEN CONDEMNED.
The following item was published De. cember, 1782:
" Five men were convicted at Mon- mouth Court House of burglary, felony, &c., and sentenced to be hanged -- three on one Friday, the other two the next Fri- day."
Three refugees named Farnham, Burge and Patterson were executed at one time at Freehold. Our impression is that they are the three men referred to in the above paragraph, and that the other two werere prieved. We presume that Farnham is the same man who tried to shoot young Russell (as mentioned in speaking of the Russell outrage) while he was lying on the floor supposed to be mortally wounded but was prevented by Lippencott, who knocked up his musket.
EXECUTION OF THOMAS BURKE AND JOHN WOOD.
The following is from an ancient paper :
" July 22nd 1778. We learn that the Court of Oyer and Terminer and General Jail delivery held in Monmonth in June last, the following persons were tried and found guilty of burglary viz : Thomas Em. mons alias Bourke, John Wood, Michael Millery, William Dillon and Robert Mc- Mullen. The two former were executed on Friday last and the other three re- prieved. At the same time Ezekiel For-
man, John Polhemus and William Grover were tried and convicted of high treason and are to be executed on the 18th of August next."
William Dillon and Robert McMullen, mentioned above, were pardoned, but they showed no appreciation for the favor, for we find that shortly after, in September, Dillon piloted a British expedition into old Cranberry Inlet, opposite Toms River, to endeavor to recapture the ship " Love and Unity," which a short time before had been made a prize of by the Ameri- cans, the particulars of which will be giv- en in speaking of privateering at Toms River and other places in old Monmouth during the war. When this expedition arrived at the Inlet, Robert McMullen, who seems to have been on shore waiting for them, siezed a small boat, hurrahed for the British, and rowed off to join their ships.
EXECUTIONS AT FREEHOLD.
The late Dr. Samuel Forman stated that no less than thirteen pine robbers, refu- gees and murderers were executed at dif ferent times on one gallows, which stood near the tree where Fagan was hung in the vicinity of the Court House, and that he assisted in the erection of the gallows.
We are not certain who the thirteen were, but most of them are probably nien- tioned in the foregoing and other chap- ters, if those hung in chains after being shot are included.
Stephen Edwards was executed at Free- hold for being a spy. Thomas Emmons alias Burke, John Wood, Farnham, Burge and Patterson were hung for burglary, felony, &c. Ezekiel Forman, John Polhe- mus and William Grover wore sentenced to be executed, but we have found no men- tion of the sentence being carried into ef- fect-but from circunistantial evidence it is probable that they were reprieved. Fagan was hung in chains after being shot, though not on the gallows. After Stephen Burke, West and Williams were shot and brought to Freehold, the Ameri- can account says the bodies of two of the three were to be hung in chains.
In addition to executions, &e., above mentioned, a refugee named James Pow, formerly of Middletown township, joined the British and was taken prisoner by the Americans November 10th, 1779, and con- fined in Freehold jail, and five days after was shot by James Tilley, who was acting as sentry over him. It is probable that Pew was shot in attempting to escape. It
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
is said that a coroner's jury condemned | Forked River into the open bay when he Tilley, but after two or three days confine ment he was discharged.
DAVENPORT, THE REFUGEE LEADER OF DOVER.
The refugee leader Davenport appears to have confined most of his operations within the limits of the old township of Dover, then in Monmouth, now in Ocean. The militia stationed at Toms River were so active that Davenport and his band of desperadoes had but little chance to do serious mischief except by plundering dwellings at a distance from the principal settlements.
The most noted affair in which Daven. port was concerned was in aiding the British expedition which captured the Block House at Toms River, and burned the village March 24th, 1782. One account of this affair says that Davenport was wounded when attacking the Block House, if so it must have been slightly ; as on the first of June following helanded at Forked River, ten miles below Toms River, with eighty men, half white and half black, in two barges. They first landed on the north side of Forked River and plundered, among others, the houses of Samuel Woodmansee and his brother who resided on what are now known as the Jones' and Holmes' places. They then proceeded across the south branch to the place in late years best known as " the Wright place " (formerly belonging to the father of Caleb Wright, the popular railroad conductor) in which at this time lived Samuel Brown, an active member of the old Monmouth militia.
They plundered Mr. Brown's dwelling, insulted his family, and burnt his salt works and came near capturing Mr. Brown himself, who had barely time to escape in- to the woods. They were particularly in- censed against him for his activity in the patrioteause, he having, among other du- ties, served a year at the military post at Toms River.
After completing their work of destruc- tion at Forked River, they proceeded down Forked River to the mouth, when one barge went up Barnegat bay, while the other, with Davenport himself, pro- ceeded south to endeavor to destroy the important salt works of Newlin's at Ware- town, and other salt works along the bay. Davenport expected to meet with no op- position. as he supposed there were no militia near enough to check him. But he had hardly got out of the mouth of .!
perceived a boat heading for him. His crew advised him to return as they told him the other boat must have some ad- vantage or they would not venture to ap- proach. Davenport told them that they could see the other boat was smaller and had fewer men and he ridiculed their fear. He soon found, however, why it was that the American boat ventured to attack them. Davenport's men had only muskets with which to defend themselves; the Americans had a cannon or swivel, and when within proper distance, they fired it with so effective an aim that Davenport himself was killed at the first discharge, and his boat damaged and upset by the frightened crew. It happened that the water where they were was only about four feet deep and his crew waded ashore, landing near the mouth of Oyster Creek. between Forked Riverand Waretown, and thus escaped, scattering themselves in va- rious directions in the woods and swamps.
At Barnegat, some five miles south of where Davenport was killed, lived many Quakers who took no part in the war.
A day or so after Davenport's death some of his crew in a starved condition called on Ebenezer Collins and other Quakers at Barnegat, begging for food, which was given them, after which they left for parts unknown.
Thus ended the career of Davenport whose most noted exploit was in aiding a foreign foe to murder men who were once his neighbors and friends, burn their houses, and turn their families adrift upon the world.
Some distance back of Toms River is a little stream called "Davenport's Branch," which some suppose derives its name from Davenport's having places of concealment in the woods and swamps along its banks. RICHARD BIRD, THE POTTERS CREEK OUTLAW.
This scoundrel, who was probably con- nected with Davenport's gang, was very ob- noxious to the Americans on account of the many outrages in which he was con- corned.
He was intimately acquainted with all the roads and bye paths in the woods and swamps'in Dover township, and for a long time he managed to elude the vigilence of the militia. One day, however, he with a companion was seen along the road, a little south of Toms River, by some one. who at once notified the militia, two or three of whom immediately started in pur-
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OLD TIMES IN OLD MONMOUTH.
suit. Bird's comrade escaped by hiding under a bridge over which the pursuers passed, and Bird himself managed to elude them till after dark. His pursuers had heard that he occasionally visited a young woman of low character who lived in a lone cabin in the woods, and late in the evening they approached the cabin, and looking through the window saw Bird seated in the lap of a young woman. One of the militia fired through the window and Bird dropped off the girl's lap on the floor dead. The girl was so little affected by his death, that when the pursuers burst open the door and entered the room they found her busily engaged in rifling his pockets. Bird appears to have made his headquarters in the vicinity of the village of Bayville, formerly Potters Creek, in Dover township.
Bird was a married man, but when he joined the refugees, his wife forsook him and went to Toms River, where she resi- ded many years after his death. While he was pursuing his wicked career, she bitterly denounced him, yet when she heard of his death, she greatly grieved, so much so that her neighbors expressed their surprise, knowing the disgrace he had been to her. The simple minded woman replied in substance, that it was not the man she so much cared but he often sent her a quarter of venison when he had more than he could use, and she should so miss such presents now !
A Bayville correspondent of the New Jersey Courier mentions the death of a relative of Dick Bird, a lady named Mrs. Mercy Worth, who lived to the remark- able age of 106 years, 6 months, and 24 days, who died March 5th. 1873. Her father was one of Washington's soldiers and served throughout the war. Her mother was a sister of the notorious Rich- ard Bird, and moved away from Cedar Creek, Lacy township, for fear that Bird would be killed at her house, near which he had a cave where he stayed at night, which can still be seen.
CAPTAIN WILLIAM TOM.
A West Jersey Pioneer-After whom was Toms River named ?- The coming of the English-Indian Justice-Discove- ry of Toms River.
lived in its vicinity ; the other attributes it to a certain Captain William Tom, who resided on the Delaware two hundred years ago, and who it is said penetrated through the wilderness to the seashore, on An exploring expedition. where he discov- ered the stream now known as Toms Riv- er ; upon his return he made such favor- able representations of the land in its vi- cinity, that settlers were induced to come here and locate, and these settlers named it Toms River, after Mr. Tom, because he first brought it to the notice of the whites. While the writer of this, after patient in- vestigation acknowledges that he can find nothing that conclusively settles the question, yet he is strong in the belief that the place derives its name from Mr. Tom, for the following reasons : First, Though there was a noted Indian residing at Toms Riv- er a century ago, known as "Indian Tom," yet the place is known to have borne the name of Toms River when he was quite a young man ; it is not reasonable to suu- pose the place was named after him when he was scarce out of his teens. Second, the position and business of Captain Wil- liam Tom, was such as to render it ex- tremely probably that the tradition relat- ing to him is correct. Much difficulty has been found in making researches in this matter, as Capt. Tom was an active man among our first settlers before our West Jersey records begin, and information re- garding him has to be sought for in the older records of New York and New Castle. Delaware. In his day 'outhern and West- ern Jersey were under control of officials. whose headquarters were at New Castle. Del. ; these officials were appointed by the authorities at New York. In his time Capt. John Carr appears to have been the highest official among the settlers on both sides of the Delaware, acting as Commis- sioner, &c. But at times it would seem that Capt. Tom was more relied upon in managing public affairs by both the Gover- nors at New York, and the early settlers than any other man among them. In the various positions which he held, heap- pears to have unselfishly and untiringly exerted himself for the best interests of the settlers and the government.
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