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 25
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To Isaac Mickle is due the merit of giving this matter a most thorough investigation, and of collecting the reliable authorities in his valuable book, so that the reader may see at a glance the trouble that has always surrounded it, and the doubts that may always attend it. It is, however, one of the incidents of the history of New Jersey, and of this particular neighborhood, that is worth remembering ; the truth of which, at some future day, may be brought to light, and may make the first settlement of Griffith Morgan a point of particular attraction to such as care to preserve those myths of historical romance so pleasantly blended through the early settlement of our country.
A gold mine was also said to exist near Fort Eriwonack; and its value was held out as an inducement for persons to come here and settle, unbounded wealth being promised to such as would make the venture. This belief, like the old fort, has passed away with those that occupied the land long before our ancestors came ; it being one of the fancies of the brain that promised so much in the New El-dorado, and yet, for those who accepted all as truth, realized so little. This spot is therefore
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surrounded with much of antiquarian interest ; and whether the story of the Palatine of New Albion be true or false, it will always be a fertile subject of inquiry for those that labor with- out reward and enjoy the search, though nothing be found. To such as have patiently turned from page to page among the dusty tomes that are crowded into the dark corners and out-of-the-way shelves of the various libraries and offices of record in our country, the last lines will be fully understood and appreciated.
THE BURROUGHS.
E DWARD BURROUGH was a distinguished Quaker in England from 1652 to 1661, during the bitterest perse- cutions that raged against that religious sect. He resided at Underbarro, in Westmoreland. He was convinced through the preaching of George Fox when a young man, and soon became a prominent defender and expounder of his belief. He and a companion, who held the same faith, were the first Friends that visited the city of London, and preached their doctrines to the people. He addressed several letters to Oliver Cromwell, asking his protection for those of his belief, and after his death appealed to his son Richard, but without success.
In 1654, he was mobbed in the city of Bristol for preaching to the people in the streets, and cast into prison in Ireland for a like offence, and finally banished from the island.1 After Charles the Second came to the throne, he obtained a personal interview with the king, and procured an order from him to prevent the persecution of Friends in New England ; which order the Friends in London forwarded by a ship that they had chartered specially for that duty, at an expense of three hundred pounds. He was an eminent preacher and an influ- ential man. It does not appear that he was ever in this country.
1 Besse's Sufferings, Vol. I., 39.
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John Burrough was imprisoned in Buckinghamshire in 1660, and Joseph Burrough suffered the same injustice the same year in Essex. The son and daughter of William Burrough were maltreated in Warwickshire on their way to Banbury meeting. These facts prove that the family was numerous in England and mostly Quakers. The names are here given to show the probability of their emigrating to America, for the same are found among the inhabitants of Long Island in a few years after the dates above given.
In September, 1675, the assessor's list of the town of New- town, in Long Island, showed that John Burrough was the owner of forty acres of land, one horse, four oxen, four cows, and twenty-four sheep; and that Jeremiah Burrough was the owner of six acres of land, two horses, two oxen, three cows, and one pig. In 1683, in the same town, Joseph Burrough was assessed with eighteen acres of land, one horse, one ox, and three cows ; and John Burrough with ten acres of land, two horses, and one cow. In this year, Jeremiah had increased his territory to twenty acres of land, two oxen, four cows, and two pigs. In the last named year, Edward Burrough was assessed in the town of Jamaica, in Long Island, with five acres of land, and one cow. In 1689, Jeremiah Burrough was lieutenant in one of the "train bands" of Newtown. This is rather strong evidence against his being much of a Quaker ; yet he doubtless is the same person hereafter named in this connection.
The inference is but a fair one that the persons named as having suffered in England for their religious opinions, and those named as being residents of Long Island, are the same ; and it is only to be regretted that some better account of them has not been left on record, so as to make it conclusive. The first of the name that came in Gloucester county was John Burrough, who settled at Gloucester, and followed the occupa- tion of a weaver .? He was here in 1688, as, in the first month of that year, he purchased rights of Robert Turner, and, in the tenth month of the same year, he purchased more of such real estate from Joseph Wood.3 These rights John Burrough put into one survey on the north side of Gloucester river or Great
2 Lib. G2, 57.
3 Lib. G1, 129.
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THE BURROUGHS.
Timber creek, extending from Beaver branch on the south, to Little Timber creek on the north." In 1690, he lived on this survey, but the situation of his house is not known. This loca- tion is now divided into many farms, among which are the Crispin estate, the property of Isaac G. Eastlack, and others. In 1693, it became the property of Thomas Thackara, and subsequently was owned by the Huggs and the Harrisons. In 1759, this survey and the adjoining lands, extending north- westerly between the branches of Great and Little Timber creek to their junction, were resurveyed ; this re-survey discloses the title of the said lands, and is valuable in this respect.
The next that came was Edward Burrough, who purchased one hundred and seven acres of land of Thomas Atkinson in 1693, it being part of the tract that he had purchased of Francis Collins in 1691.3 In 1698, Edward bought an adjoining tract of John Martin, the same day that Martin sold another part of the said tract to Joseph Tindall, from whom the stream of water that passed through it takes its name.6 This land was about one mile south of Haddonfield, in Delaware township, and fronted on the north side of the south branch of Cooper's creek, part of which is now owned by William H. Mason. Edward Burrough built his house beside the old Salem road, a short distance from the stream, and there he resided several years. This old Salem road was not part of that laid out by order of the Colonial Legislature, but was an Indian trail going in the direction of that town, crossing the heads of most of the streams in its way. It has been lost sight of for many years, and no part of it in this neighborhood is now open. It is possible that he removed to Salem before his decease, as, in 1730, letters of administration were granted to Priscilla Bur- rough upon the estate of Edward Burrough (her husband), deceased. No other reference in regard to his death has been noticed ; and, if this suggestion be true, his descendants may be found in that region of country.
The tract of land before mentioned was held by those of the
4 Lib. G2, 172.
s Lib. GI, oI.
6 Lib. G3, 266.
1
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family name for many years, and until Elizabeth Burrough, a daughter of John, married Samuel Matlack, whose descendants still hold portions thereof. This John, however, was a son of Samuel, hereafter noticed ; but in what manner he became the proprietor of this estate is not apparent at this writing, for want of sufficient records and a proper care of family traditions. Of the immediate descendants of John and Edward Burrough, nothing is known at this time, the male branches of the family being but few, and not the owners of much land in this sec- tion,-a circumstance which adds to the difficulty of tracing their lineage. Samuel Burrough (frequently spelled Burrows) was the third person of the name that came within the bounds of Old Gloucester. He is first noticed at the little town of Penisaukin, with William Matlack, Timothy Hancock and John Roberts, where he married the daughter Hannah of the last named person. This marriage occurred in 1699, at the house of Sarah Roberts, widow of John. This female was a notice- able character in her day. When the inhabitants of Chester township, Burlington county, in the year 1696, thought proper to assume the responsibilities of a corporation, Sarah Roberts was the only female that signed the agreement as one of the residents and taxpayers therein.
In the year 1700, James Adams, a son of John Adams, con- veyed one acre of land to the Friends of Chester, for the purpose of a meeting house and burying place.7 The grantees consisted of thirteen persons, of whom, Sarah Roberts was one, she being the only instance of a female acting in the capacity of a trustee for real estate in that religious society. These things mark her as a woman understanding and participating in matters generally left for the sterner sex to manage and con- trol, and show that her opinion was regarded, and her influence sought in things of public importance.
The first purchase of Samuel Burrough was made on the 16th of November, 1698; it was one of three hundred acres of land from Joseph Heritage. This tract lay on the south side of the south branch of Penisaukin creek, in Waterford (now Delaware) township, Gloucester county.8 At that time Samuel was a
7 Lib. GH, 373.
8 Lib. G3, 285.
.
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THE BURROUGHS.
resident of Burlington county, and perhaps did not move to his plantation until his marriage in the next year. In 1699, he bought of the same person an adjoining piece of land, and, in 1703, purchased of Richard Bromley two hundred acres, also adjoining, which last was called a farm; and thereon the said Richard Bromley "did lately dwell." To this place Samuel Burrough soon after removed, and there he remained until his decease. The present residence of Edward Burrough, a lineal descendant of Samuel, in Delaware township, stands upon the site of the original dwelling erected by Richard Bromley. Samuel Burrough must have been a man of large means, as he continued to purchase real estate until the year 1730, when he found himself the owner of some two thousand five hundred acres of land, which, at this day, includes many of the best farms in Camden county. He was a careful man in regard to his titles, for they may be found regularly upon record as the purchases were by him made.
One of these tracts was conveyed by Hugh Sharp, in 1715, to Samuel Burrough and Hannah, his wife, and to the heirs of their bodies,-not an ordinary expression in a deed, and one which carried the estate to the survivor of the two persons therein named.9 In his will, he devised this particular tract to his daughter Sarah, "if she please her mother," doubtless referring to her marriage. The evidence that she pleased her mother in her marriage with Samuel Nicholson is that she made a deed for the same land, in 1732, to Samuel Nicholson and Sarah, his wife, thus carrying out the intention of Hugh Sharp, who designed the estate to remain in the family.10 Sarah died soon after the last title was executed, but her husband, in good faith, conveyed the same to their son Joseph in 1747.11 This shows that Joseph Nicholson in the direct line descended from Samuel and Hannah Burrough,- a fact which may be of interest to the present descendants of the said Joseph.
Neither John, Edward nor Samuel Burrough appears to have taken part in the politics of West Jersey, although each lived
9 Lib. A, 220.
10 Lib. AD, 242.
11 Lib. AD, 245.
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in Gloucester county when there was much trouble among the people in this regard. Samuel Burrough's will bears date June 19th, 1720, but was not proved until 1732, in which year he died.12 The homestead property he gave to his son Samuel, thus continuing for another generation this part of his estate in his own name. He divided his land among his children, giving his daughters a fair proportion, in opposition to the notion entertained at that day regarding the rights of females, much to his credit, however, and far in advance of his generation. The children of Samuel and Hannah Burrough were Samuel, who married Ann Gray ; John, who married Phoebe Haines ; Isaac, who married Deborah Jennings and Abigail Hewlings ; Jacob, who married Sarah Thorne and Cassandra Ellis ; Esther, who married William Bidgood ; Kesiah, who married Samuel Parr ; and Sarah, who married Samuel Nicholson.
Asa Matlack, in a note made by him of this family, says that Samuel Burrough and his son Benjamin were drowned in the river Delaware ; but under what circumstances, or at what particular time, it does not appear. A son Benjamin is men-' tioned in the will of Samuel Burrough, but no part of the estate passed to him after the father's death, nor does his name occur in any place connected therewith. This would give the story some color of truth, and it may be accepted as reliable, for, Asa Matlack who resided near the old homestead, made himself familiar with all the traditions of the neighbor- hood. A son Joseph is also named, who probably died after the making of the will, and before his father. After the death of Samuel Burrough, his widow Hannah married Richard Bidgood. There does not appear to have been any issue by this marriage.
Ann Gray, the wife of the son Samuel, was a daughter of Richard and Esther (Gillott), who settled on a tract of land in Newton township.13 Richard purchased land of Francis Collins in 1701, now mostly owned by Joseph C. Stoy and John E. Hopkins, fronting on the south side of Cooper's creek, where Francis Collins had his landing. Richard Gray deceased in
12 Lib. No. 3, 193.
13 Lib. G2, 25.
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THE BURROUGHS.
1736, leaving but two children, John and Ann.14 The second Samuel was born, lived and died at the old homestead, and, in the course of his life, accumulated some other real estate. He adhered strictly to the religious faith of his father, and was a regular attendant at the Haddonfield Meeting. His children were numerous ; the following are their names : Hannah, who married Robert Stiles; Sarah, who married Isaac Mickle; Mary, who married Archibald Mickle; Ann, who married Joseph Tomlinson ; Joseph, who married Mary Pine, Kesiah Aronson and Lydia Tomlinson ; Abigail, who married Thomas Thorne; Bathsaba, who married Jacob Haines ; Samuel, who married Sarah Lamb; and Rachel, who married Benjamin Pine and David Davis. The intricacies of this genealogy are very apparent, and will hardly be ventured upon, except by some expert with much patience and little hope of reward. To his son John, Samuel Burrough gave, by his will, four hundred acres of land, lying on the south side of Penisaukin creek, which he increased by purchase from his eldest brother Samuel, in the year 1735. The most of this property passed out of the name and blood many years since.
On a part of this estate John Burrough lived; his children were as follows: John, who married Barbara Fussell; Samuel, who married => - Spencer and Mary Black; Josiah, who mar- ried Sarah Morgan; Gideon, who married Phoebe Burnett ; Benjamin, who married Phoebe Potter; Esther, who married Juda Clemenz ; Martha, who married Benjamin Clemenz ; Mary, who married Richard Gibbs; Enoch, who married Deborah Middleton; and Hannah, who married Joshua Gibbs. Among these may be recognized the ancestors of several families of Gloucester and Burlington counties, at this day unknown through the little care paid to the preservation of family bibles with their continued memoranda of births, deaths and marriages.
The John last named, who married Barbara Fussel, was a blacksmith; he owned and lived on part of the farm lately David D. Burrough's, deceased, in Delaware township, near Ellisburg, where yet may be seen the remains of his shop. His residence was a tavern, standing near where the Eves-
14 Lib. No. 4, 84.
2I
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ham road crossed the King's highway leading from Salem to Burlington. This position made it one of the most public places in the county. This was part of a survey made by William Cooper ; it came into the Burrough family about the year 1720, and became the property of John Burrough in 1735. Subse- quently, however, it passed out of the name by sale, but, like much other real estate, has again come to be owned by one of the name and family who held the fee nearly a century and a half since. The house stands on the west side of the old road ; it is built of brick and has every evidence of having been erected many years ago. How long, and from what time it was kept as an inn, there is no means of knowing at this late day, as those who received its hospitality and enjoyed the many sports that centered there, have gone to
" That undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveller returns."
Apart from its use to the traveling community and to the neighborhood as a resort for business and gossip, it was a place where many of the out-door manly pastimes were enjoyed, and where collected those who in them participated. In front of and to the north of the house, was a level, straight piece of road, kept smooth and used as a race-course, where the "quar- ter-nags" from far and near were brought to compare their mettle and speed, and where their owners and admirers would back their opinions with a bowl of punch or a bottle of meth- eglin. Horses, like politicians, unless successful, soon wear out in public estimation, and the animal that baulked, shied or bolted, lost his friends and had no place upon the turf. In those early days, small purses and short races were the fashion, and thimble-rig or faro-bank were unknown. This amusement with our ancestors was a genuine sport, clear of all the evil tendencies which now cling to it. The improvement of the stock of horses was not set up as an apology, neither was jockeying then reduced to a science; but they engaged in it for the "fun of the thing," and faced the censure accordingly.
Fox hunting was also an out-door recreation. There was no scarcity of game; the country was free from fences ; good dogs and practiced hunters abounded. Every farmer and farmer's son had his steed and saddle, ready (after the crops were safe)
WAN'T
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THE BURROUGHS.
to engage in the exciting sport. Being acquainted with the haunts and familiar with the habits of the animal, there was no uncertainty of a day's sport whenever they took the field, and frequently more than one "brush" was secured during the hunt. The assembling was generally by arrangement near the ground where game was plentiful ; but, by common consent, the day's sport ended at a country inn, where the incidents and mishaps could be talked over before the open wood-fire of the bar-room, and while surrounding a bowl of egg-nogg, "called in" by the man who carried the brush in his hat. This old way-side tavern was, in its palmy days, often the scene of the last of a hard day's hunt, where the boldest rider and the luckiest sportsman would receive the rude gratulations of his companions in the chase; while others, who were unhorsed or thrown out in some of the many ways incident to the sport, would arrive singly, only to be jeered and laughed at for their ill luck, and made to drown their chagrin by drinking deep from the bowl before them. But, like the old tavern, their sports have passed away ; the inroads of agriculture upon the forests, and the filling up of the country with a thrifty and industrious people, have left no shelter for reynard in this part of New Jersey.
John Burrough rented the tavern and his shop, and removed to Haddonfield, where he plied his calling for several years before his death.
Isaac Burrough, upon his marriage with Deborah Jennings, settled in Waterford township, near the Delaware river, but, after his second marriage, removed into Newton township, where he deceased. His first wife was a daughter of Isaac Jennings, reputed to be a son of Henry, and claimed as the person who connects the large property in England with so many expectants in the United States.13 The collateral branches of the family are numerous in New Jersey. Their genealogy has been carefully digested and arranged in anticipation of the call for the heirs of Isaac Jennings to receive the property which has so long been without an owner. The children were Isaac, who married Rebecca Nicholson (widow of Abel and daughter of Aaron Aaronson); Priscilla, who married James Cooper ;
15 Lib No. y, 857.
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Jacob, who married Elizabeth Gill ; Hannah, who married Joseph Mickle ; and Reuben .and Jacob, who both died young.
Samuel and Hannah Parr settled on part of the "Burrough" estate, in Waterford township, where Samuel deceased in 1753, leaving the following children : 16 John, Mary, Samuel and James. Hannah, his widow, died in 1750. Samuel was a promi- nent person in the Society of Friends, and, perhaps, a preacher.17 None of the name reside in this region at the present time.
William and Esther Bidgood, in a few years after their mar- riage, removed to Pennsylvania, where they both deceased. 18 Nothing is known of the family.
Sarah, the wife of Jacob Burrough, died soon after her marriage in 1751, as, in 1753, Jacob married Cassandra, the widow of Jacob Ellis and daughter of Josiah and Ann Albert- son. The Burroughs are among the ancient Quaker families of the neighborhood of Haddonfield, and belong to those that originated and sustained the society hereabout for more than one hundred years. In the name has been held some of the most valuable real estate in the county of Gloucester; but, in the progress of time, this has passed to other owners, strangers to the blood. The collateral branches of the family are num- erous as well as those in the direct line; and much trouble and uncertainty attend the effort to collect and arrange them correctly.
16 Lib. No. 7, 312.
17 Lib. No 8, 345.
18 Lib. Z, 297, 481.
₹
0
THE WOODS.
T HERE were more persons of this name among the first English emigrants who came to New Jersey than of any other. They must have been pleased with the scheme of settle- ment as laid down by the commissioners and proprietors, and must have considered its success as certain from the beginning. They were men of some estate, for they purchased their proprie- ties before they left their native land ; and men of education, for they at once participated in the management and control of the new government, as novel in its operations as were the people and the scenery that surrounded them in their adopted country. Men of decided characteristics, they were well calculated to develop any new system ; and, acting from a proper motive, they would soon draw around them those who naturally sought such guides in this adventure. They were all Quakers, and a perusal of Besse's History of that sect will show the reason why the members of this family were so ready to break up their homes in England and seek others in the wilds of America, regardless of the privations and troubles that attend such an undertaking. From 1654 to 1683, persons of this name were imprisoned in the Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, or Cum- berland jails, for attending the meetings of Friends, no matter · how quietly or secretly the same were held. Frequently some of these were kept for two years in these loathsome places, without any means of redress or opportunity to attend to the wants of their families. The acts against conventicles, as passed by the parliament, and the little reliance to be placed in the
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promises of the king, left no hope for an end of the persecu- tions which this religious body suffered. As late as in 16SI, the House of Commons rejected the following resolution :
" That in the opinion of the House, the persecutions of the Protestant dissenters upon the penal laws, is at this time grevi- ous to the subject, a weakening of the Protestant interest, an encouragement to Popery and dangerous to the peace of the Kingdom."
Those who observed this reflex of public sentiment could not be mistaken in regard to the rigorous enforcement of the laws ; and such as suffered thereby were forced to look to some other place where this kind of intolerance could not reach them.
William Wood arrived at Burlington in the "Willing Mind," John Newcomb, commander, in November, 1677; and, in the records of the first court held at that place in 1680, William and Thomas Wood appear as grand jurymen, when that part of the government was put in motion.1 William was the first to change his place of settlement and take up his abode in New Jersey. In the year last named, he located thirty-six acres within the town bounds of Burlington, where he, no doubt, built himself a log cabin, perhaps emulating his neighbors in its style and finish. He married Mary Parnell in 1682.2
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