USA > New Jersey > Gloucester County > Newton in Gloucester County > Sketches of the first emigrant settlers in Newton Township, old Gloucester County, West New Jersey > Part 24
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Thomas Hooten and John Stokes were relatives; perhaps their wives were sisters; both were members of the religious denomination of Friends, and were seeking some new place of abode, where their notions of right might be more freely indulged in, with some hope of promulgating their doctrines in peace. Thomas Hooten came immediately to New Jersey to look after their interests, leaving his family in London until he should be heard from, and some conclusion be reached in regard to a permanent removal to the new place. On the 29th day of the 8th month, 1677, he wrote to his wife as follows :
I Lib. BBB, 191.
302
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
"I am this present at the town of Burlington where our land is ; it is ordered to be a town for the ten Yorkshire and ten London Proprietors. I like the place well ; our lot is the second next the water side.
It's like to be a healthful place and very pleasant to live in. I came hither yesterday, being the 28th of October, with some friends that were going to New York. I am to be at Thomas Olive's house until I can provide better for myself. I intend to build a house and get some corn into the ground. And I know not how to write concerning thy coming or not hither ; the place I like very well, and believe that we may live here very well. But if it be not made free, I mean as to the customs and government, then it will not be so well, and may hinder many that have desires to come. But if these two things be cleared, thou may take thy opportunity of coming this summer.
THOMAS HOOTEN."?
The reference here made about the customs relates to those exacted at New Castle by direction of Governor Andros, they being a percentage upon all the goods brought by emigrants,- an impost which was so much complained of that it was in a sh ort time abandoned. Thomas Hooten's wife soon closed up the affairs of her husband in London, and followed him to America. Thomas Hooten, the son, married Elizabeth Stanley of Philadelphia, in 1686, at which place he then resided, and continued to reside for many years after.3
John Stokes, however, remained in London, supplying the people with bread, and husbanding his means to develop his interests here through his brother Thomas. Of this there is undoubted evidence, for, as late as in 1719, in a conveyance of land in this State, he is called John Stokes of Wentworth street, London, biscuit baker, etc.4
Thomas married Mary Bernard of Stepney, in 1668, where he remained until the project of removing to America induced him to abandon his home and calling. He and his family came among the first, as they arrived at New Castle about
2 Smith's History of New Jersey, 105.
3 Friends' Records, Philadelphia.
+ Lib. BBB, 191.
303
THOMAS STOKES.
the middle of the 6th month, 1677, in the ship Kent,- the same that brought the commissioners appointed by Wil- liam Penn and others-and went immediately to Burlington. He perhaps remained here until the next year, with the others, for mutual defence, and to view the country before he made selection of a place for settlement. This was, however, done in due time, and was chosen from among many on North- ampton river, or, as it is now generally known, Rancocas creek. It is probable that three of his children were born in London, and three in New Jersey. They were as follows : Sarah, who married Benjamin Moore ; Mary, who married John Hudson ; John, who married Elizabeth Green ; Thomas, who married Deliverance Horner and Rachel Wright ; Joseph, who married Judith Lippincott and Ann Haines (widow) ; and one other son, who removed to North Carolina, but whose name and family have been lost sight of. Mary, the mother of these children, died in 1699, and Thomas, the father, in 1718, aged 78 years.3 The obligations of the family are due to Charles Stokes of Rancocas, a descendant, for collecting and arranging much of the history of the same ; who also has taken pains to save from loss many incidents that relate to the early history of West New Jersey. How much might yet be preserved, if more of our citizens would emulate his example. In this region, nothing is known of John Stokes, save what may be gathered from the records in the office of the secretary of state at Trenton. In 1716, an inventory of his estate was made, upon which is the following endorsement : "Came to his end by an unnatural death, in ye lower end of Gloucester county." Too many years have intervened to bring the story of his death to the present generation, however interesting it might now be to his descendants.
In the year 1709, the second Thomas herein referred to, purchased of John Kay of Springwell, three hundred acres of land in Waterford township, (now Delaware, ) Camden county, the larger part of which tract is now owned Mark Ballinger, and by the heirs of Jacob Anderson, Nathan M. Lippincott, and Daniel Hillman, deceased. This land is bounded on the
s Lib. No. 2, 138.
304
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
south side by the north branch of Cooper's creek; it extends along both sides of a tributary of the same, and includes what is now some of the best soil in the neighborhood.6 He settled on this tract, his house standing near the present residence of Mark Ballinger. By his first wife, Delieverance Horner, were the following children : Thomas, who married Abigail Mat- lack ; Deliverance, who married Darling Conrow ; Lydia, who married Samuel Haines; and Rachel, who married John Cowperthwaite. By the second wife, Rachel Wright, who was of Oyster Bay, Long Island, N. Y., to whom he was married 7th month, Ist, 1715,7 were Joshua, who married Amy Hinchman ; Hannah, who married Thomas Cole ; Jacob, who married Priscilla Ellis; John, who married Ann Champion, (widow) in 1751 ; Rosanna, who married Samuel Collins and Joseph Browning ; and Kesiah. Thomas deceased in 1736, and Rachel in 1747.8
This settlement, as made by Thomas Stokes in 1709, was in the midst of an Indian neighborhood, which extended from the north branch southerly to a tributary of the south branch of Cooper's creek, that formed what is generally known as Peter- son's mill-pond. On a map left by Thomas Sharp, showing a large survey made to John Willis in 1686, he wrote beside the water course last named, " the stream the Indian King liveth on."9 This was a survey of some thirteen hundred acres, and lay on both sides of the branch, the original boundaries of which have long since been obliterated.
Judging from the first settlement by the emigrants, the residence of the king referred to by Friend Sharp may be believed to have been on the farm owned by Joseph H. Ellis. Around his palace were collected a few other wigwams, in which lived the retainers of the royal household. This community of aborigines was within the bounds before men- tioned, consisting of some families with a few acres of cleared land near the streams ; but all were subordinate to the authority named by Friend Sharp. This authority was absolute, dispens- ing law and equity to the people, regardless of the precedent and without appeal. The wigwam of the king doubtless had
6 Lib. BBB, 75.
8 Lib. No. 4, 98.
7 Friends' Records, Long Island.
9 Sharp's Bock, 11, O. S. G.
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THOMAS STOKES.
more pretension than others that surrounded it, and was distin- guishable by its size and the more outlandish hieroglyphics seen upon the skins that made its covering.
It is unfortunate that our Quaker surveyor, in the multiplicity of his records, did not leave some account of this people who have so entirely passed away from the land ; some history of their principal settlements, their form of government, their religion, habits, language and traditions. His intercourse with them in the purchase of land, and his frequent entertainment by them in their own manner of hospitality, while traveling through the country as deputy surveyor, gave him abundant opportunity to study all these peculiarities ; and in his own quaint manner he might have saved to future generations that which has been entirely lost. There is evidence that this settlement extended northwesterly, and along Tindall's run, nearly to the main south branch, as the remains of one of their burial places may be seen near Tindall's run, east of the Haddonfield and Berlin road. Within the memory of some now living, a few of these people eked out a miserable existence on part of the land formerly owned by Thomas Stokes, near the residence of Aquilla Hillman and brothers ; drunken, lazy, worthless beings, they were a hinderance to a progressive community, and the last of an unfortunate race.
Joshua Stokes occupied the homestead after the death of his father, and there he remained during his life ; his brothers and sisters settling in other parts of Burlington and Gloucester counties, whose various descendants have multiplied so rapidly that no attempt to trace them would prove successful. Of the landed estate, as purchased by the second Thomas in 1709, only a small portion is held by his descendants in' the direct line. One hundred and sixty years have wrought many changes in the ownership of this property, the beginning and end of several generations, and the gradual extinction of the many land marks by which it was identified. But a single branch of the family is left, that feels any attachment to, or has any knowledge of the localities familiar to the first settlers ; that is able to tell where the natives had their wigwams, and where they buried their dead; where the medicine-man dispensed his nostrums,
20
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306
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
and where the fortune-teller mumbled over her divinations, to the terror of children, the amusement of youth, and the won- derment of all. The descendants of those who were born upon the soil, have passed away ; their places have been left to other occupants who, after a like lapse of time, will also be forgotten. A part of this family owned a tract of land in Newton township, lying on the north side of the middle branch of Newton creek, and resided there many years. These were the descendants of Jacob Stokes, who married Priscilla Ellis, a daughter of Joseph, and granddaughter of Simeon and Sarah Ellis of Springwell, the first of the name hereabout. The original estate was con- veyed by Isaac Hollingsham to Sarah Ellis, aforesaid, then a widow, in 1717, which afterward became the property of her son Joseph, who deceased in 1757, leaving four daughters, one the wife of Jacob Stokes.10 He died intestate; and, there being no male issue, the land descended to his children in equal parts, of which Jacob Stokes became the owner about the year 1760, by purchase, and there he deceased. The other daughters of Joseph Ellis were Abigail, who married Caleb Hughes ; Sarah, who married John Bubzy and Isaac Mickle; and Kesiah, who married Benjamin Vanlear, M. D.11
Portions of the estate remained in the name until 1828, when George Lee, now deceased, became the owner of the homestead ; and by his name it is more familiarly known among the people. Of the direct and collateral line of this family much the larger part remained in Burlington county, where they still represent a fair portion of the wealthy and influential inhabitants. The name, however, may be found in many of the states of the Union, and may be traced to John Stokes, biscuit baker, of Wentworth street, in the parish of Stepney, Middlesex, which, at this day, is within the limits of the city of London.
Io Lib. A, 56.
II Lib. C, 241, Woodbury.
GRIFFITH MORGAN.
A FTER Samuel Cole had fixed his abode at New Orchard, across the creek from the little village of Penisaukin, and was laboring diligently to increase the extent of his cultivated acres, so that his farm might yield a comfortable support to his family, he was summoned to his old home in Hertfordshire, England, to arrange some unsettled business at that place. But for the care and attention extended to his wife and children by the few families then living at the town before named, their condition would have been lonely enough in their wild forest home; yet his absence was relieved by this friendly intercourse and protection, as well as by the confidence that had grown up between the emigrants and natives, from whom they had nothing to fear. The deference and respect observed toward the wives and daughters of the emigrants by these untutored children of the forest must always be a redeeming trait in their character, and commend their memories to us for all time to come. Though the emigrants were at their mercy for many years, yet no accusation of tyranny or brutality is recorded against them ; although the settlers were without the means of protection or defence, yet no advantage was taken by the natives of their superiority to satisfy a feeling of envy or revenge.
The imperfect knowledge of navigation, and the primitive construction of vessels at that day, rendered a voyage across the ocean dangerous and tedious, and the time occupied was usually more than double that now taken by sailing-vessels. The time of return of Samuel Cole was doubtless fixed upon
308
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
between himself and wife, always excepting the dangers and delays of the sea, and, as the period of his coming approached, the anxiety of his family to see him again very naturally increased. On the return voyage of the ship in which he came, the island of Barbadoes was taken as a point of stop- ping ; this lengthened the trip, and in a degree added to the uncertainty of arrival. At that place, however, Samuel Cole was attacked by one of the diseases incident to those latitudes, and, before the departure of the ship, had died, and was buried. The extended distance of the voyage, and con- sequent delay therefrom not being known to the wife, she made frequent visits to Philadelphia to meet her husband and welcome
him to his family again. Tradition says that she would stand for hours by the water's edge, looking anxiously down the river for the sail that would bring the father of her children. These visits and watchings at last attracted the attention of a young mariner who frequented the port, and who was not long in discovering the cause of her anxiety. Sympathizing with her, he extended his inquiries in her behalf, and at last discovered that her husband had died on his return, as before named. Her grief for this sad bereavement enlisted his feelings, . and, finding that she was about to return home alone in her boat, he offered to accompany her and manage the same. This offer she accepted, and he sailed the craft up the river to Peni- sauken creek, and thence nearly to her residence, thus bearing the sad news to her children and neighbors.
This man was Griffith Morgan, who, after a proper interval of time, sailed his own skiff up the creek aforesaid to offer his consolations to the widow, and to interest himself about her children and estate. This solicitude soon assumed another shape, and culminated in the marriage of Griffith Morgan and Elizabeth Cole. Many interesting incidents are still remembered in the family touching this courtship and mar- riage, and will pass from generation to generation by reason of the commendable desire to preserve everything relating thereto. The log house was but lately standing on the farm owned by the heirs of Joseph H. Coles, now deceased, just as left by Samuel Cole on his departure to his native place
309
GRIFFITH MORGAN.
in England ; its limited dimensions and primitive appearance leave no doubt as to its many years of existence.
Griffith Morgan was probably a native of Wales, whence he emigrated to America on account of the religious persecution of Friends in that part of the kingdom of Great Britain. In 1684, he was imprisoned in Haverford West for not attending church, with many others who refused to pay tithes for the support of the rector of the parish wherein they lived, or to attend at the place where he dispensed the gospel to the people. Some years previously to this time, he was arrested in the public road and beaten by the officers, for a similar disregard of the laws and customs of the land in which he lived ; but to these exactions he could not yield, nor could he act in opposition to his religious belief in such matters.1 Although he appears to have been in this country in 1677, yet he may have visited his old home, and have subjected himself to the outrages above named, as was the case with many of the emigrants. Without assuming that any proof of identity be made out, yet the probabilities are that these facts relate to one and the same person.
The marriage referred to took place in 1693, in Philadel- phia, the issue of which was one son, Alexander. Previously to this, however, Griffith Morgan had purchased several tracts of land in Gloucester county, New Jersey. This is evidence that he was a man of considerable estate. The probability is that he continued his sea-faring life, as he does not appear to have participated in the religious or the political affairs of the colony at that time. Upon his marriage, he made a settle- ment upon a tract of land which he had bought of David Lloyd and Isaac Norris, executors, in 1677, being part of the estate of Thomas Lloyd of Philadelphia, a contemporary and intimate friend of William Penn .? This tract was bounded by the river Delaware and partly by Penisauken creek. The old mansion is still standing, but so much enlarged and changed as scarcely to be recognized. This tract of land appears to have been located by Samuel Jennings, the first governor of New Jersey ; it was resurveyed in 1717 by Alexander, the son of
1 Besse's Sufferings, Vol. I., 748-759.
a Lib. B2, 590.
310
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
Griffith Morgan.' It contained five hundred acres of land, and extended more than a mile up the creek aforesaid, and about one-fourth that distance along the river." The house is just where a son of Neptune would have it,-near the mouth of the creek, with a clear and uninterrupted view of the river Delaware, where every kind of craft on both streams must pass in sight.
Elizabeth Morgan survived her last husband, and died in 1719. By her will, she bequeathed much personal property among her children.3 They were Samuel Cole and Rachel Wild, wife of James Wild (by her first husband), and Alexander Morgan {by her last). This paper indicates beyond question that she was twice married, and also the number of children by each. Her estate was large for the day in which she lived, and was fairly distributed to those nearest of kin.
According to the good order of Friends at the Newton Meeting, in the year 1717 Alexander Morgan was married to Hannah, a daughter of Joseph and Lydia Cooper, and grand- daughter of William Cooper, the first emigrant. This marriage connected the Morgan family with the Mickles, the Hopkins, the Ladds, the Coxes, the Coateses and the Clements, of West New Jersey, and with the Rawles, the Riggses, and other families in Pennsylvania,-forming a line of consanguinity which was strengthened by subsequent like connections and in some instances brought down to the present day.6 Alexander Morgan settled and remained on the homestead property during his life, making but little change therein, either by purchase or sale. He deceased in 1751, leaving his widow and several children, as follows :" 'Joseph, who married Agnes Jones ; Benjamin, who married Jane Roberts 1761 ; Isaac ; Mary, who married Edmund Hollingshead; Elizabeth, who married William Miller ; Lydia, who married Nathan Beeks ; Sarah, who married Josiah Burrough ; Hannah, Rachel, and Alexander, who died young. Joseph and Agnes Morgan had one child, Griffith, who married Rebecca Clement, daughter of Samuel, in 1766. The first wife of Joseph Morgan deceased, and he married Mary -
3 Lib. W, 386.
4 Sharp's Book, 39. O. S. G.
s Gloucester Files, 1718.
6 Lib. No. 4, 77. 7 Lib. No. 7, 165.
311
GRIFFITH MORGAN.
Their children were Joseph, who married Mary Evans and Mary Butcher ; Hannah, who married - Saterthwaite ; Elizabeth, who married Joseph Reeves ; and Sarah, who married James Hinchman. Mary, the second wife of Joseph Morgan, having died, he married Mary, a daughter of Joseph Stokes. Their children were Isaac, who married Sarah Ridgway ; Alexander ; Mary, who married Joseph Bennett, and Benjamin, who married Mary Champion. Mary, the third wife, deceased, and Joseph Morgan married Elizabeth Atkinson. By the last marriage there was no issue. Benjamin and Jane Morgan's children were Hannah, Benjamin, who died young, and Benjamin R., who never married. He owned part of the paternal estate on Penisauken creek, which, at his death, he gave to his cousin Alexander, of Philadelphia. Edmund and Mary Hollingshead's children were Joseph, who married Alice -; Edmund, who married Hannah Foster ; Morgan, who married Rebecca Matlack ; John, Samuel, Hannah, Lydia and Sarah. Nathan and Lydia Beeks had one child, named Morgan. The direct line of connection with the Morgan family of such as are of the blood in the region of Gloucester county, may be
traced through Griffith and Rebecca. The issue of this marriage were three daughters : Agnes, who married Enos Eldridge ; Rebecca, who married James B. Cooper ; and Ann, who married William E. Hopkins. The family connection is very extensive throughout the United States, yet, in many cases, the blood is so much diluted as to be scarcely traceable.
Where the Penisaukin creek falls into the Delaware, and about where the old Morgan house is situated, some two hundred years ago stood Fort Eriwonack, it being one of the centres from which a colony was to radiate and fill the territory that now constitutes Pennsylvania and New Jersey with an industrious and happy people. In 1634, Charles I., king of England, made a title to Sir Edmund Ployden, knight, etc., for all the territory lying between New England and Maryland, with that vague and doubtful kind of description incident to the little knowledge of the estate being conveyed,-a kind of description which in so many instances led to disputes and, sometimes, to bloodshed among the owners and settlers.8 No
8 Smith's History of New Jersey, 24-60.
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regard was paid to the claims of the Dutch or Swedes within the limits of this grant, and, as a consequence, trouble very soon emanated from this source ; so, in the same manner, was Ployden's title ignored when the king made a deed to his brother, the Duke of York, for the same section of country." The government was also fully vested in Sir Edmund, and the territory was called "the Province of New Albion, to be and remain a free County Palatine, in no wise subject to any other."10 Sir Edmund was made Earl Palatine, which gave him regal power in all things save allegiance to the king ; and each of his family was also titled, in contemplation of a settlement to be effected in the wilds of America.11
Steps were immediately taken to know something of this land ; and Beauchamp Plantaganet, a friend of the earl, was despatched to America to make the necessary examinations and report accordingly. This trip was undertaken in 1636; and, after much traveling through the forests, and intercourse with the natives, this adventurer ascended the Delaware river to the mouth of the Penisauken creek, where some of his company had already erected a fort, and where they were waiting for the government of Sir Edmund Ployden to be established. About the same time, another settlement was made near where Salem now stands ; but the adventurers were driven away by the Dutch and Swedes, who were jealous of their success, and feared their influence among the natives. The fort at Penisauken creek was occupied for four years by those under the patronage of Earl Ployden, and considerable trade was carried on with the Indians. Subsequently, a small colony of Swedes occupied the place, and doubtless remained until the proprietors assumed the government of West New Jersey and established their title to the land. It is needless to follow the history of this matter, and only necessary to say that none of the brilliant imaginings of the founder of this "palatinate" were realized, and that the whole thing was ultimately abandoned.
A remarkable feature in this attempt at settlement in
9 Mickle's Reminiscences, 24.
10 Mulford's History of New Jersey, 72,
11 New Jersey Historical Society Proceedings, Vol. I., 38.
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GRIFFITH MORGAN.
America is that each of the historians of New Jersey, from first to last, has been unsuccessful in collecting and arranging the facts in relation thereto. Each in his turn has explored musty records and consulted new authorities upon the subject, and has extracted something overlooked by his predecessor ; yet each became satisfied that other and more reliable knowl- edge was in existence, but knew not where to find such desirable information.
As late as in 1784, a person named Charles Varlo came to Philadelphia, claiming to have an interest in the palatinate, and enlisted that able jurist, William Rawle, in his behalf, making some stir among the holders of the land in this region by reason thereof. One faithful and industrious antiquarian of that day, John Penington, of the city just named, made this matter a specialty, bringing his knowledge and experience to the purpose, to accomplish what so many others had failed in ; but at last, despairing of success, he pronounced the whole matter a fabrication, and Sir Edmund Ployden an imaginary being.
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