USA > New Jersey > Cape May County > Sketch of the early history of Cape May county, to accompany the geological report of the State of New Jersey for said county > Part 4
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Of those who served in a civil capacity, no one perhaps deserved better of his country than Jesse Hand. He was a member of the Provincial Congress of 1775 and 1776, which, on the 21st of June, in the latter year, at Burlington, resolved a new State govern- ment should be formed. He was likewise a member of Council in '79, '80, '82 and '83. He was selected by the county in con- junction with Jacob Eldridge and Matthew Whillden, to meet the convention at Trenton, on the second Tuesday of December, 1787,
* Collins' Gazette, State Library.
197
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
to ratify the Constitution of the United States, which was unani- mously adopted on the 19th, when the members went in solemn procession to the Court House, where the ratification was publicly read to the people, New Jersey being the third State to ratify. He was entrusted by the Legislature with another important trust, viz : that of a member of the Committee of Public Safety from '77 to '81. The duties of this committee were arduous and responsible .*
He created great astonishment with the people, when he pre- sented to their wondering eyes the first top-carriage (an old-fash- ioned chair) that was ever brought into the county. The horse- cart was the favorite vehicle in those times, whether for family visiting, or going-to-meeting purposes; and any innovation upon these usages, or those of their ancestors, was looked upon with jealousy and distrust.
Elijah Hughes was a member of the Provincial Congress in 1776, and was one of the committee of ten, appointed on the 24th of June, to prepare a Constitution, which was adopted and confirmed on the 2d day of July, two days before the Declaration of Independence. t
Those who first located lands in the county, were particular to select such portions as were contiguous to the waters of the bay or ocean; hence the sea-shore and bay-shore were first settled upon, evidently for the purpose of being within reach of the oysters, fish, and clams, abounding in our waters. Thus we find the whole sea- shore from Beesley's Point to Cape Island, a continuous line of farms and settlements, regardless of the quality of the soil; whilst the interior portion, and considered by some much the better part, remains to this day unimproved and uncultivated.
Between the years of 1740 and '50, the cedar-swamps of the county were mostly located ; and the amount of lumber since taken from them is incalculable, not only as an article of trade, but to supply the home demand for fencing and building materials in the county. Large portions of these swamps have been worked a second, and
* Minutes of Committee. t Gordon.
198
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
some a third time, since located. At the present time, there is not an acre of original growth of swamp standing, having all passed away before the resistless sway of the speculator or the consumer. The annual growth is sufficient to fill our wharves yearly with many thousands of rails and sawed lumber.
It was not until recently, within the present century, that cord- wood became a staple article of trade. Many thousand cords are annually shipped from the county, in return for goods and produce of various descriptions, of which flour and corn were formerly the most heavy articles.
The failure in some measure of wood and lumber, and the im- provements progressing in all parts of our State in agricultural pursuits, have prompted our farmers to keep pace with the era of progression, so much so that the corn and wheat now raised in the county, fall but little short of a supply; and when the grand desi- deratum shall have been achieved, of supplying our own wants in the great staple of corn and flour, it will be a proud day for Cape May, and her people will be stimulated to greater exertions, from which corresponding rewards and benefits may arise.
Being partially surrounded by water, inducements were extended to her sons at an early day to engage in maritime pursuits. As early as 1698, Richard Harvo owned a sloop; and in 1705, Gov. Cornbury granted a license to Capt. Jacob Spicer, of the sloop Adventure, owned by John and Richard Townsend, burden sixteen
tons. The license privileged her to run between Cape May, Phila- delphia, and Burlington ; and in 1706, Dennis Lynch built and owned the sloop Necessity. About the year 1760, there were nu- merous boats trading from the county to Oyster Bay, L. I., and Rhode Island and Connecticut, carrying cedar lumber mostly ; and others to Philadelphia, with oysters and produce of various kinds. Spicer shipped considerable quantities of corn, which he purchased of the people in the way of trade and cash, and forwarded to a
199
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
market. He owned a vessel which he occasionally sent to the West Indies .*
It is supposed at the present time, that about one-fifth of the entire male population are engaged in this pursuit ; and a more hardy and adventurous band never sailed from any port; no sea or ocean where commerce floats a sail, they do not visit if duty calls.
The Pilots of Cape Island are likewise renowned for their skill and enterprise in the way of their profession. They brave the tempest and the storm to relieve the mariner in distress, or to conduct the steamer, the ship, or the barque to the haven of her destination. There were fourteen pilots at the Cape in 1758: at the present time their numbers are about trebled, being thirty-five in 1850.
The population" of Cape May, at different periods since the year 1726, was as follows, viz. :
Years.
Population.
Slaves.
Free Colored.
Quakers.
1726
668
1738
1004
42
1745
1188
54
1790
2571
141
1800
3066
98
1810
3632
81
1820
4265
28
205
1830
4936
3
225
18440
5324
218
1850
6433
247
1855
6935
297
The population meets with an unceasing annual drain in the way of emigration. Numerous families, every spring and fall, sell off their lands and effects to seek a home in the far West. Illinois has heretofore been the State that has held out most inducements to the emigrant, and there are at present located in the favored county of Sangamon, in that State, some sixty or seventy families, which have removed from this county within a few years past, most of
* Spicer's Diary.
+ Manuscript proceedings of Assembly, State Library, and Census Reports.
200
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
whom, be it said, are blessed with prosperity and happiness. Many of her people are to be found in the other free States of the West.
Peter Fretwell, the first member from the county after the sur- render, and the first on record that ever represented her, belonged to Burlington. He was a Friend and a cotemporary of Samuel Jennings, as the record of the monthly meeting there attests, and came over in the ship Shield, in 1678,* with Mahlon Stacy, Thomas Revel, and others. It is curious that he, a non-resident, should have been selected to represent the county in the Assembly for a period of twelve years ; yet such is the fact, and I cannot find that Jacob Huling, who was a member in 1716, or Jeremiah Bass, from 1717 to 1723, ever resided permanently here. The balance of the list of representatives were all legitimately Cape May men, and taken in a body were the bone and sinew of the county. Of some of those ancient worthies in the list we know but little, except that they held important offices of trust and responsibility. Others among them seemed to live more for posterity than themselves, by inditing almost daily the passing events of the times, and they are consequently better known and appreciated. Their writings at that day might have seemed to possess but little attraction, yet they have become interesting through age, and valuable as links in the chain which connects our early history with the reminiscences and associations of times more recent; and to carry out this con- nection, it will be the duty of some faithful chronicler to unite the history of those times and the present, which is so rapidly giving place to the succeeding generation, by a descriptive and truthful account, more full and complete, as the data and material incident to later times are more abundant and illustrative. The troubles, perplexities, and trials the members of Assembly endured previous to the Revolution, in visiting the seat of government at Amboy and Burlington, to attend the public service, cannot in this age of rail- roads and steam be appreciated or realized. A single illustration
* Smith's New Jersey.
201
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
will suffice for all. Aaron Leaming gives an account of his journey to Amboy in 1759, on horseback, as follows :*
"March 3d. Set out from home; lodged at Tarkil; arrived at Philadelphia on the 5th. On the 6th, rid to Burlington. 7th. Extreme cold; rid to Crosswicks, and joined company with Mr. Miller ; rid to Cranberry, where we overtook Messrs. Hancock, Smith, and Clement, (of Salem) who had laid up all day by reason of the cold. 8th. Got to Amboy. 17th. Had the honor to dine with his excellency governor Bernard, with more of the members of the house. It was a plentiful table, but nothing very extraor- dinary. The cheese he said was a Gloucestershire cheese ; was a present to him, and said that it weighed 105 pounds when he first had it. He says its the collected milk of a whole village that makes these cheeses, each one measuring in their milk, and taking its value in cheese.
" 19th. Left Amboy for home. 20th. Rid to Cranberry, and lodged at Dr. Stites'. 25th. Arrived home."
In July, 1761, he attended the Assembly at Burlington on the 6th, and broke up on the 8th, and says : "July 9th. I set out home- ward. 11th. Got home, having been extremely unwell, occasioned by the excessive heat. Almost ever since I went away, the 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th, were the hottest days by abundance that ever I was acquainted with."
" Sept. 3d. A rain fell five inches on a level. The lower end of Cape May has been so dry that there will not be but one-third of a crop of corn-here it is wet enough the whole season."
" 14th. Went a fishing, and caught thirty-nine sheepshead."
It has not been necessary to enter into any disquisition of the soil, productions, geological aspect of the county, or the general statistics thereof, which are so ably set forth in the report, to which this is but an accompaniment.
In justice to this sketch of Cape May, in which an attempt has
* A. Leaming's Memoirs.
202
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
been made to elucidate her early history, by collecting a few relics and incidents of men and things, from the scattered fragments that have survived oblivion since her first settlement, it will be proper to state, the space allotted for the purpose is insufficient to enter into a more extended detail, or to embody but a small portion of the material that years of inquiry and research have accumulated. A history of the rise and progress of the different religious deno- minations, and the numerous new and beautiful churches they have erected in later years, would of itself form an interesting sketch, yet it is necessarily postponed. The author has, therefore, sought to give such portions of it, for the most part, as relate to the ear- lier times, believing they would be of more particular interest, and more gratifying to the generality of readers than those of a more recent date.
As no system, as said before, could be observed in the arrange- ment, except in the way of chronology, it is submitted in a form imperfect and diversified, which will be better described in the lan- guage of the poet :
"Various ; that the mind Of desultory man, studious of change, And pleased with novelty, may be indulged."
Cowper.
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
203
MEMBERS OF THE LEGISLATURE.
A List of the Members of the Legislature, from the first record of them after the surrender of the Government in Queen Anne's reign in 1702 to the present time.
COUNCIL.
DATE.
ASSEMBLY.
1702 to 1707
Peter Fretwell.
1707 to 1708
Peter Corson.
1708 to 1709
Ezekiel Eldredge.
1709 to 1716
Jacob Spicer, Peter Fretwell.
1716 to 1717
Jacob Spicer, Jacob Huling.
1717 to 1723
Jacob Spicer, Jeremiah Bass.
1723 to 1733
Humphrey Hughes, Nathaniel Jenkins,
1733 to 1740
Aaron Leaming Ist, Henry Young.
1740 to 1743
Aaron Leaming, Aaron Leaming, Jun.
1743 to 1744
Aaron Leaming, John Willets.
1744 to 1745
Henry Young, Jacob Spicer 2d.
1745 to 1769
Aaron Leaming 2d, Jacob Spicer 2d.
1769 to 1771
Aaron Leaming 2d, Nicholas Stillwell.
1771 to 1773
Aaron Leaming 2d, Jonathan Hand.
1773 to 1776
Eli Eldredge, Jonathan Hand.
Jonathan Hand,
1776 to 1778
Eli Eldredge, Joseph Savage, Hugh Ilay- thorn.
Jonathan Jenkins, Jesse Hand,
1779 to 1780
Henry Y. Townsend, James Whillden, Jonathan Leaming.
Jesse Hand,
1780 to 1781
Joseph Hildreth, Jeremiah Eldredge, Mat- thew Whillden.
Elijah Hughes, Jesse Hand,
1781 to 1782 1782 to 1783
Matthew Whillden, John Baker, Elijah Townsend.
Jesse Hand,
John Baker, Joseph Hildreth.
Jeremiah Eldredge, Elijah Hughes,
Elijah Townsend, Levi Eldredge.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1786 to 1787
Elijah Townsend, John Baker, Nezer Swain. Matthew Whillden, John Baker, Elijah Townsend.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1787 to 1788
Matthew Whillden, Richard Townsend, Elijah Townsend.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1788 to 1789
Matthew Whillden, Richard Townsend, Elijah Townsend. Eli Townsend, Nezer Swain, Elijah Town- send.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1790 to 1791 1791 to 1792
Richard Townsend, Nezer Swain, Elijah Townsend.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
Richard Townsend, Matthew Whillden, Elijah Townsend.
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1792 to 1793
Richard Townsend, Matthew Whillden, Elijah Townsend.
Jeremialı Eldredge,
1793 to 1794
Richard Townsend, Matthew Whillden, Ebenezer Newton. 1794 to 1795 David Johnson, Richard Townsend.
Matthew Whillden,
1778 to 1779
Eli Eldredge, Richard Townsend.
/
Richard Townsend.
1783 to 1784 1784 to 1785 1785 to 1786
Jeremiah Eldredge,
1789 to 1790
204
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
COUNCIL.
DATE.
ASSEMBLY.
Matthew Whillden,
1795 to 1796
Richard Townsend, Reuben Townsend, Eleazer Hand.
Parmenas Corson,
1796 to 1797
Abijah Smith, Elijah and Richard Town. send,
Parmenas Corson,
1797 to 1798
Persons Leaming, (3 members till this year.) Elijah Townsend.
Parmenas Corson, John Townsend,
1799 to 1801
Abijah Smith.
1801 to 1803
Persons Leaming.
1803 to 1804
Joseph Falkenburge
1804 to 1805
Matthew Whilldin.
1805 to 1806
Thomas Hughes.
1806 to 1807
Nicholas Willets.
1807 to 1808
Thomas H. Hughes.
1808 to 1809
Nicholas Willets.
1809 to 1810
Thomas H. Hughes.
1810 to 1811
Joseph Falkenburge.
1811 to 1812
Nicholas Willets.
1812 to 1813
Thomas H. Hughes.
1813 to 1814
Joshua Swain.
1814 to 1815
Robert H. Holmes.
1815 to 1819
Nicholas Willets.
Thomas H. Hughes, Joshua Swain,
Thomas H. Hughes, Joshua Swain,
1824 to 1825
Israel Townsend.
1825 to 1827
Israel Townsend.
Israel Townsend,
1827 to 1830
Joshua Townsend.
1830 to 1831 Jeremiah Leaming.
1831 to 1834
Jeremiah Leaming.
Joshua Townsend, Jeremiah Leming, Richard Thompson, Amos Corson,
1834 to 1836 Richard Thompson. 1836 to 1838 Amos Corson.
1838 to 1840
Thomas P. Hughes.
1840 to 1842
Maurice Beesley :
1842 to 1844 Reuben Willets.
James L. Smith,
1846 to-1847 Richard S. Ludlam.
James L. Smith,
1847-to 1849 Nathaniel-Holmes.
Enoch Edmunds,
1849 to 1851
Mackey Williams.
SENATE.
Reuben Willets,
1844 to 1845 John Stites.
Reuben Willets,
1845 to 1846 Samuel Townsend.
1846 to 1847 Richard S. Ludlam.
1847 to 1849 Nathaniel Holmes, Jr.
1849 to 1850 Mackey Williams.
1850 to 1852 Joshua Swain, Jr.
1852 to 1853 Waters B. Miller.
1853 to 1854 Jesse H. Diverty.
1854 to 1855 Jesse H. Diverty.
1855 to 1857 Downs Edmunds, Jr.
Joseph Falkenburge, Matthew Whillden, Matthew Whillden, Nathaniel Holmes,
Joseph Falkenburge, Joseph Falkenburge, Furman Leaming, Joshua Swain,
Thomas H. Hughes,
1819 to 1821
Joshua Townsend.
1821 to 1822
Nicholas Willets.
1822 to 1823
Joshua Townsend.
1823 to 1824
Israel Townsend.
Thomas H. Hughes,
Israel Townsend,
Thomas P. Hughes, Maurice Beesley,
James L. Smith, James L. Smith,
Enoch Edmunds, Enoch Edmunds,
Joshua Swain, Jr., Joshua Swain, Jr., Joshua Swain, Jr., Jesse H. Diverty,
1798 to 1799
Parmenas Corson, Ebenezer Newton, Parmenas Corson, William Eldredge, Matthew Whillden, Ebenezer Newton,
205
EARLY HISTORY OF CAPE MAY COUNTY.
SHERIFFS.
A List of the Sheriff's from 1693 to the present time.
Timothy Brandreth 1693 to 1695
Jonathan Hildreth 1783 to 1784
John Townsend
1695 to 1697
Benjamin Taylor .1784 tc 1787
Ezekiel Eldredge 1697 to 1700
Philip Hand .. 1787 to 1788
Edward Howell.
1700 to 1701
Henry Stites. 1788 to 1791
Cæsar Hoskins 1701 to 1704
Eleazer Hand 1791 to 1796
John Taylor
1704 to 1705
Jacob Godfrey 1796 to 1798
Joseph Whilldin
1705 to 1708
Jeremiah Hand. 1798 to 1801
Humphrey Hughes
1708 to 1711 1711 to 1713
Joseph Hildreth 1804 to 1807
Richard Downs. 1713 to 1715
Cresse Townsend. .1807 to 1808
Robert Townsend 1715 to 1721
Jacob Hughes . 1808 to 1809
Richard Townsend . .1721 to 1722
Joshua Swain.
.1809 to 1812
Henry Young . 1722 to 1723
Aaron Leaming .. (3rd). . 1812 to 1815 Spicer Hughes. .1815 to 1818
Constant Hughes
1740 to 1744
- David Townsend
1818 to 1821
Jacob Hughes. 1744 to 1745
Spicer IIughes. 1821 to 1824 Swain Townsend. .1824 to 1827
John Shaw 1751 to 1754
Thomas P. Hughes 1827 to 1830
Thomas Smith 1754 to 1757
Jeremiah Hand.
1757 to 1760
Ebenezer Johnson
1760 to 1763
Joshua Swain, Jr. 1834 to 1835
Henry Hand .
1763 to 1765
Sylvanus Townsend
1765 to 1768
Samuel Springer 1838 to 1841
Danield Hand.
1768 to 1771
Thomas Vangilder 1841 to 1844
Eli Eldredge.
1771 to 1774
Enoch Edmunds 1844 to 1847
Henry Y. Townsend 1774 to 1777
Peter Souder 1847 to 1850
Isaiah Stites .. 1777 to 1780
Thomas Hewitt. 1850 to 1853
Richard Townsend .1780 to 1781
Nathaniel Hand. 1781 to 1782
Daniel Garretson.
1782 to 1783
CLERKS.
A List of the Clerks from 1693 to the present time.
George Taylor. .1693 to-1697
Jeremiah Hand. 1802 to 1804
Timothy Brandreth .. . 1697 to 1705
Abijah Smith .. 1804 to 1824
John Taylor. . 1705 to 1730
Richard Thompson 1824 to 1829
Aaron Leaming, 1st. . 1730 to 1740
Levy Foster. 1829 to 1831
Elijah Hughes, Senr. .1740 to 1762
Jonathan Hand, Senr. .. 1831 to 1834
Elijah Hughes, Jr .. 1762 to 1768
Jacob G. Smith .. 1834 to 1835
Jeremiah Eldredge 1768 to 1777
Swain Townsend. .1835 to 1840
Jonathan Jenkins. 1777 to 1779
Jonathan Hand, Jr. .. 1840 to 1860 Eli Eldredge 1779 to 1802
SURROGATES.
A List of the Surrogates from the first appointment, in 1723, to the present time. Previous to this, all business in the Prerogative Court was transacted at Burlington.
Jacob Spicer, Ist. 1723 to 1741
Ebenezer Newton 1796 to 1802
Henry Young. 1741 to 1768
Aaron Eldredge .1802 to 1803
Elijah Hughes, Jr. 1768 to 1787
Jehu Townsend .. 1803 to 1831
Jesse Hand .. 1787 to 1793
Humphrey Leaming .. .. 1831 to 1852
Jeremiah Eldredge 1693 to 1796
Elijah Townsend, Jr .. . . 1852 to 1857
John Townsend
Thomas H. Hughes. 1801 to 1804
Richard Downs 1723 to 1740
Jeremiah Hand 1745 to 1751
Richard Thompson 1830 to 1833 Ludlam Pierson 1833 to 1834
Samuel Matthews 1835 to 1838
Elva Corson 1853 to 1856
William S. Hooper 1856 to 1859
Bortplate past.
LETTER OF STATE TOPOGRAPHICAL ENGINEER.
Topographical Department of the State Survey,
May 1st, 1856.
DR. WM. KITCHELL,
Supt. of N. J. State Geol. Survey.
Dear Sir :
I transmit herewith, for the purpose of the geological in- vestigations, the Topographical Map of the County of Cape May, constructed upon a scale of 30000, or about two inches to the mile, which is the scale upon which the field-work is executed. The engraved Map will be drawn upon a scale of 80000, or about one inch to the mile. The principles upon which the survey is con- ducted, and the details of the field-work, are fully set forth in the last annual report of progress. It is proper, however, to state, with reference to this Map, that while endeavoring to keep pace with the geological investigations, I have failed to complete the triangu- lation of the southern portion of the State, for the reason that the face of the country is so remarkably uniform, that it would have exhausted the greater portion of the funds at my disposal to erect the necessary stations for taking observations. The alternative therefore presented itself of relying upon such assistance as could be derived from the secondary triangulation and plain-table work of the Coast Survey, or of deferring for the present the topography of that section of the State. The former course has been adopted for the obvious reason that, without the topography, the geology could not be satisfactorily described. Moreover, the peculiar shape
208
LETTER TO DR. KETCHELL.
and geographical position of the county were favorable to such a course ; as being long and narrow, and surrounded on three sides by water, there was little chance for error in laying down its topo- graphy entirely with the plane-table. That portion already sur- veyed by the general government, has simply been revised without going over all its details.
It is presumed that the characters used in delineating the topo- graphy will be comprehended without explanation. The salt meadow can be readily distinguished from the upland ; the culti- vated land from the wooded ; and the cedar swamps from the dry forest.
In submitting this Map to the citizens of the county, I beg to express the hope that it will meet their expectations ; and I will add the conviction that, coupled with Professor Cook's Geological Report, it will be of great value not only to them but to every ·
citizen of the State.
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
EGBERT L. VIELE.
win
JÅN 19 1945
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