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 29
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3 Mickle's Reminiscences of Old Gloucester, 42.
4 Lib. G, 14. Lib. G2, 114.
5 Lib. G3, 5.
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FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
In the year 1718, John Champion divided his landed estate between his sons Robert and Nathaniel, by a line running from the creek "into the woods," and made each a deed bearing the same date (April 24).6 His other children were Thomas and Phobe. He died in 1727, leaving a will, and, by that, disposing of the remainder of his estate. The son Robert was made executor. He had removed to the city of Philadelphia, where he deceased soon after his father, and before the will was offered for probate." The second son Nathaniel proved the writing, and as administrator settled the estate.8
On September 13th, 1720, Robert Champion sold his part of the real estate given to him by his father, to Tobias Halloway, but the latter re-conveyed the same to him on the 24th day of July, 1723.9 At the date of the deed (1720), Robert lived on the property at Cooper's creek, and, as no female joined with him in the conveyance, he was probably unmarried at that time. Like a large majority of the settlers hereabout, he could not write his name; which inability was also the case with his father. He afterwards married, and had one child,-a son, Peter, who, in the year 1740, married Hannah Thackara, a daughter of Benjamin. She deceased, and, in 1746, he married Ann, a daughter of Simeon Ellis (the son of Simeon). By the last marriage there was one child, Joseph. Peter Champion deceased in 1748, and his widow, Ann, became the administratrix to the estate, he leaving no will.10
A short time before his death, he conveyed a piece of meadow *land to John Shivers, being part of the homestead. He was therefore the owner thereof after his father's demise. In 1751, Ann, the widow, married John Stokes, and, after his demise, she married Samuel Murrell, 1761.11 By each marriage she had children, thus rendering it difficult to trace the descend- ants of Ann Ellis, and to know the paternal line. Joseph Champion, the issue of the second marriage of Peter, married Rachel Collins, a daughter of Samuel and Rosanna (Stokes). Samuel was a blacksmith and plied his calling at Colestown, then in Waterford township. This Samuel Collins was a son
6 Lib. A, 165-166.
7 Lib. No. 2, 437.
8 Lib, No. 2, 441.
9 Lib. A, 236. 10 Lib. No. 6, 76. II Lib. AH, 385.
1
JOHN CHAMPION. 369
of Samuel and Abigail (Ward), who was the youngest son of Francis and Mary, the last wife of Francis, the widow of John Goslin, M. D. and daughter of Thomas Budd. Ann Ellis inherited, through the blood of her ancestors, a tract of land in Delaware township, lying on both sides of the Haddonfield and Moorestown road, now mostly owned by William M. Cooper and the heirs of Batheuel Heulings, deceased.
In 1723, Nathaniel Champion sold his lands on Cooper's creek to James Parrock, who, soon after the death of Nathaniel, conveyed the same to Mary, his widow, she remaining the owner thereof during her life and devising it to John Barton by her will. 12-13 Nathaniel died in 1748, leaving the following children : Nathaniel, who married -; Benjamin, who married Ann Hewitt; Thomas, who married Deborah Clark, daughter of William; Elizabeth, who married John Barton ; and Sarah.14
The widow of Nathaniel remained on the estate for many years after her husband's decease. Her will bears date - 1772. In this paper she names her children and several of her grandchildren. She gave the farm on Cooper's creek, "where she then dwelt," to her son-in-law before named.
Thomas, the son of Nathaniel, was a tailor, and resided in Haddonfield, where some of his descendants were known to the older inhabitants now living. He probably owned the lot whereon stood the mansion built by Matthias Aspden, now the property of the heirs of Benjamin W. Blackwood, M. D., deceased. This house was one of the largest in the village, and, when erected, was more commodious and expen- sive than most of those around it. Upon the death of Samuel, the son of Thomas, it passed out of the name; and that branch of the family removed from the village.
John Wright, husband of the daughter Elizabeth, made his home on part of the Howell estate before John Champion purchased his land. In the grant to him by Mordecai Howell in 1693, Howell reserved the right to overflow the meadow and use the water in the stream for his corn-mill, which he built about that time. In 1702, he purchased two hundred and eight
12 Lib. A, 166. 13 Lib. GG, 356.
14 Lib. No. 5, 524.
24
E
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FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
acres of Martin Jarvis, in Newton township.13 This tract lay near the mouth of Newton creek, and extended up that stream to Fork branch, and also up that on the north side for a consid- erable distance. It now includes several valuable farms in that part of the old township of Newton.16 The estate on Cooper's creek passed out of the name and blood many years since, even beyond the memory of the oldest inhabitant in that section. Only such as have occasion to examine the ancient deeds or records relating to the land here spoken of, will know that such owners ever there resided ; and, unless some defect in the title should appear in passing through the heirs of Richard Wright and of his son John, no inquiry may ever be started in regard to their genealogy.
Richard Wright died in a few years after his coming hither, leaving a widow named Constance, and three children, John, Sarah and Hannah.17 It is remarkable that so few of the name of Champion are now living in the neighborhood of the old estate ; and a few more decades may remove it entirely.
The mutation of families is an interesting and instructive study, deserving labor and attention. Some go on increas- ing for generations, while others fall away and altogether disappear. While one family may be found for a century where the first settlers placed it, another has been scattered, and the old homestead forgotten. Where one family adheres to the land of its forefathers with an admirable tenacity, another has no regard for ancient things, and parts with them without a regret. The laws regulating the descent of lands in New Jersey makes it of importance that a correct knowledge in this regard should be had; but, in the absence of legislative action, it must always be surrounded with trouble and doubt.
15 Basse's Book, 38.
16 Lib. A, III.
17 Lib. G2, 177.
JOHN EASTLACK.
A MONG the Friends who settled in the island of Bermuda, some of whom were banished by the British authorities, while others followed to be near their families, was one Francis Eastlack, or Eastlake, as sometimes spelled, who appears to have been a prominent man in that place. He was persecuted in like manner by the rulers of the island for the course which he pur- sued in religious matters, and was frequently imprisoned and sometimes beaten and put in the stocks. In 1660, he was taken from a religious meeting and tied, hand and foot, so that he could not move; in 1666, he was beaten and fined, and, in other ways, maltreated in person, and despoiled of his goods. He was a public Friend, and proclaimed his views and doctrines among the people. This made him obnoxious to those in power, and the object of dislike to such as differed with him in opinion. During his stay at that island he fell into a religious controversy with one Sampson Bond, a leading man in some other persua- sion. This ended in the printing of a book on each side, some few copies of which have been preserved by the curiosity-hun- ters in the literary line, and may be found hidden away in the libraries of such, being shown as typographical wonders though but seldom read. These books made their appearance in the year 1683, and, like all such, were only of interest to those who knew the parties and resided in that particular locality.
The early Quakers were prolific in the production of pamph- lets and books in defence of their doctrines and mode of worship; these led to replies from their opponents, and, conse-
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FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
quently, added much to the printed matter of those times, and now give a very fair reflex of the controverted points, as well as of the manner of maintaining and rebutting them. The book of which Francis Eastlack was the author bears the title of "The truth in Christ Jesus with the Professors thereof in the Island of Bermuda, (Commonly called Quakers,) cleared from the three ungodly false charges. Charged upon them by Samp- son Bond (teacher in said Island); in a Book entitled 'The Quakers in Bermudas tryed,' &c., by a Friend and Lover of the Truth in the same Island, called Francis Eastlacke."
This was printed in London in 1683 and no doubt had con- siderable circulation in the island, as well as among Friends in London and thereabout. Much pains has been taken of late years to collect and preserve all such publications; which has brought to light many that had been lost sight of and, in the lapse of years, entirely forgotten. About the date last named, Francis Eastlack came to West Jersey and settled in Newton township; but the exact locality of his habitation cannot be discovered, as he does not appear to have been the owner of any real estate. He was probably advanced in years, and did not participate much in the religious or political matters of the colony. Those of his own religious persuasion doubtless sympathized with him in the trials and persecutions through which he had passed, to show the world his attachments to the doctrines which he had espoused. So far as can be discovered, he had four children, namely: John, who married Sarah Thackara, daughter of Thomas; Hepsibah, who married Thomas Thackara; Jemima, who married William Sharp ; and Elizabeth, who married Joseph Mickle. Taking this as the starting point, and assuming it to be correct, the surname was confined to one person even in the second generation, and the family, as a whole, limited to but few persons.
The first settlement of John Eastlack was, in all probability, upon fifty acres of land conveyed to him by his brother-in-law, Benjamin Thackara, in 1706, who thus carried out the inten- tions of the father of his wife, not consummated during his life.1 This adjoined another tract given to the daughter Han-
I Lib. A, 107.
373
JOHN EASTLACK.
nah, the wife of John Whitall, who, with her husband, had also thereon erected a dwelling. The exact locality of this fifty acres would be difficult to trace at this time, but it lies in the estate late of John C. DaCosta, deceased, near the head of the Fork creek, in old Newton township. The building was doubt- less a substantial log cabin, and, with the exception of a few cleared acres for farming purposes, surrounded by the primitive forest. The creek, at that time open to the flow of the tide, provided a means of travel, and a source whence food also could be procured ; thus removing all anxiety from the minds of these adventurers in regard to a full supply for the inner man.
Among the many inducements held out by these pioneers to their friends still in the old country, none were made more prominent than the abundant supply of food always at hand in the rivers and forest ; and the fact that the danger of starvation could not by any possibility surround them. From Gabriel Thomas to the last correspondent on record, this assurance is faithfully held out and was always found good by such as chose to test it.
Thomas Sharp shows on his map of the lands in Newton town- ship, made in 1700, one hundred acres owned by John Easly, being part of Thomas Matthew's survey, afterwards owned by John Haddon,-at this writing held by the heirs of James Stoy, deceased. This title is so obscured by various conveyances and the tautology of English deeds, that no intelligent explanation can be arrived at ; and whether John Easly (Eastlack) had an indefeasible estate therein, and disposed of it by the regular channel, is yet to be discovered.
John Eastlack was a man of some estate, and dealt in land, even in those early times .? In 1716, he purchased a plantation of one hundred and seventy-five acres, of Benjamin Richards, situated on the north branch of Timber creek, and three years after sold the same to Thomas Smallwood. This probably lay west of Chew's Landing, and parts of it may yet be in the name of the last named grantee. In 1718, he purchased a lot of meadow land of John Wright, in Newton township on
2 Lib. A, 109, 118.
1
1
374
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
Fork creek, near to or adjoining the fifty acres before named. This much enlarged his boundaries thereabout.3
The old documents say that John was a weaver, a worker in wool ; which calling occupied his long winter evenings in a useful and commendable manner. Buckskin breeches, with coat and vest to match, supplied in a great measure the demand for cloth ; and our worthy ancestors could often have been seen in the gallery of the meeting house, or in the halls of legislation, clad in this array, making a very presentable appear- ance. Buttons for vests, and buckles for the knees of breeches, were, for several generations, considered an heir-loom; and the son who found himself the possessor thereof was always marked as the favorite of the paternal head of the family. John Whitall, the brother-in-law of John Eastlack, died in 1718, having, by his will, directed his land to be sold. John Eastlack was the executor, and with the widow made a deed for said lands to Isaac Willowby in 1724. Isaac Willowby re-conveyed the same to John Eastlack the same year. These were sixty acres given by Thomas Thackara to John Whitall in 1696 upon his marriage ; they adjoined John Eastlack's fifty acres. These two tracts passed to the second John by will, who re-surveyed said lands in 1760.+ As before hinted, these tracts lie in the estate late of John C. DaCosta, deceased.
In 1729, John Eastlack purchased another property in Newton township, fronting on Cooper's creek, of which James Whitall died the owner. He conveyed the same to John Estaugh in 1735.3 By the will of John Estaugh, all his landed estate passed to his wife, who deeded the said farm to her nephew, Ebenezer Hopkins, in 1747.6 John Eastlack bought and sold much other land in Gloucester county, showing himself to have been a business man with an eye to thrift and care taking. He died in 1736, leaving a will by which, after a few legacies, he gave the remainder of his estate to his sons, John and Samuel.7 He was a resident of Newton township, but of what part does not appear. An inventory of his personal effects discloses their value to be two hundred and sixty-three pounds. His children
3 Lib. A, 11.
6 Lib. $6, 124, O. S. G.
+ Lib. H, 434, O. S. G.
5 Lib. GG, o.
7 Lib. No. 5, 131.
JOHN EASTLACK. 375-376
were Sarah, who married James Mickle; Samuel, who married Ann Breach; John, who married Mary Bolton and Patience Hugg; Daniel, who married Mary Cheesman; Esther, Eliza- beth and Hannah. Samuel died intestate in 1744; Elizabeth remained a single woman and deceased in 1757, also without a will. 8-9
James Mickle, the husband of Sarah, deceased in 1736, about four years after his marriage, leaving a will. 10 His wife survived him with two children, Rachel and Jacob.
The husband of Jemima was probably a grandson of Thomas Sharp, the surveyor, and one of the first emigrants to Newton. Of the descendants of this daughter nothing can be at this date discovered.
Daniel Eastlack settled in Greenwich township now Glou- cester county, and is the ancestor of the family in that region of country. John Eastlack settled in Newton township on the land by him re-surveyed ; part of which came to him in a direct line from his maternal ancestor, Sarah Thackara, and part from Hannah Whitall, the widow of John. He also purchased a tract of land in Newton township of Gabriel Newbie, in 1742. His two sons, John and Samuel, were also grantees with him in the title as joint tenants, and the son John, being the survivor, conveyed the whole to Joseph Mickle in 1752. He became the owner of much other real estate in Gloucester county, some by the will of his father, and some by purchase. None of these acres, now so valuable, have been in the name or family for many years, and, but for the time-stained deeds that carry the title from one purchaser to another, the name would long since have been forgotten. The little increase in the male line will account for the small number of the name now left, and the blood must in a few years be sought for among the female descendants.
8 Lib. No. 5, 86. 9 Lib. No. 8, 437.
Io Lib. No. 4, 65.
THE LIPPINCOTTS.
(CONTRIBUTED BY JAMES S. LIPPINCOTT OF HADDONFIELD, NEW JERSEY.)
Sons of the Quaker sires, And daughters of a noble race of old, List I while a love of olden time inspires The simple story in these pages told !
Here shall ye find the faith that must prevail, Mighty, through God, o'er every evil thing :
The faith that scorned the scaffold and the jail Could, e'en in dungeons, hallelujahs sing. A love of liberty their souls possessed ; Nor sought they freedom for themselves alone ;
The truth they brought, their hearts had truly blessed ; And broad and deep their charity had grown.
No servile sycophants to worthless kings, No semi-Jewish ritualists, were they :
But Christ's true light was their illumining, And led their spirits by a better way.
The native of the wilds, whose lands they bought, The swarthy Afric borne across the main-
To those the law of love and truth they taught ; From these they struck the weight of slavery's chain.
No fairer scene can history's page unfold, No more Arcadian age shall time display,
Than Jersey annals in our "age of gold," Ere pure Astræa took her heavenward way.
Sons of the Quaker sires,
And daughters of those worthy ones of old,
Re-kindle, then, the pure and heavenly fires That warmed your fathers in our " age of gold !"
T HE name of Lippincott is one of the oldest English sur- names of local origin. It has been traced to Lovecote of the "Domesday book" of William the Conqueror, compiled in 1080. Lovecote still bears its ancient name. It is an estate
1
EI THT -
378
FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
lying near Highampton, Devonshire, England. The earliest known name derived from Lovecote is found in the rolls of the king's court of the time of king John, 1195, in which that of Roger de Lovecote is recorded. In the time of Edward I, 1274, the names of Jordamus de Loginggetot and Robertus de Lyvenescot and Thomas de Lufkote appear in the Hundred Rolls. The manor of Luffincott, now the parish of that name, on the west border of Devonshire, twenty miles distant from Lovecote, comprising nearly I,ooo acres, was the property of Robert de Lughencot in 1243, and remained in the family until 1415. This property is also described as having pertained to Robert de Lyvenscot in 1346. The above mentioned names, and many more which we could recite in a modified spelling, are evidently the same upon which the early scribes tried their skill and tested the plasticity of the English language.
Another branch of the family resided at Webworthy, pro- nounced "Wibbery," in northwestern Devon, where they held extensive estates for three hundred and fifty years. Their name was spelled Luppingcott and Luppincott. The last of the line, Henry Luppincott, resided at Barcelona, Spain, and died in 1779. A branch of this family removed to Sidbury in East Devon, about the middle of the sixteenth century, from which descended Henry Lippincott, a distinguished merchant of Bristol, who was made a baronet in 1778 by George III; also his son Sir Henry Cann Lippincott, baronet, whose descendants, Robert Cann Lippincott and his sons, Robert C. Cann Lippin- cott and Henry Cann Lippincott, are probably the only living male representatives of this ancient branch of the family now residing in England. The residence of the last named is at Overcourt near Bristol. The Lippincotts of England held a good position in- the world, as is shown by the numerous coats- of-arms granted to them. No less than eight coats appear to have been bestowed upon gentlemen of the name; some of them probably as early as in 1420, when John Lippingcott of Wibbery is found bearing his, from which several others were derived by modification. One style, granted to one whose name was spelled Luffyngcotte, diverges widely from the others, and was probably granted at the time of the Crusades. "A black eagle,
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THE LIPPINCOTTS.
sprinkled with drops of blood, and displayed upon a field of silver," is the description of this remarkable shield.
Richard Lippincott, the ancestor of the family in America, emigrated from Devonshire, England. He was probably nearly connected with the branch settled near Sidbury, which early inclined towards Puritanism. He associated with the settlers of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, and was made a freeman by the court of Boston, May 13th, 1640. In 1641, Richard and his wife Abigail resided in Dorchester, near Boston, when their eldest son Rememberance was born and baptized in the seventh month of that year. They removed to Boston, where a son John was born in 1644; also a daughter Abigail, who died in infancy, in 1646." In 1651, having become influenced by other Christian views, he withdrew from the Church and was excommunicated therefrom, fifth month 6th, 1651. Thus this conscientious man, having obtained a deeper insight into the nature of the gospel of Christ, was preparing to accept the views held by the Friends, though no books by the teachers of that sect had yet been issued. In 1652, he returned to England, and in the next year his son, Restored, or Restore, was born at Plymouth. This name was, no doubt, bestowed in commemoration of his restor- ation to his native land and to the communion of more congenial spirits. With these he early associated, was a partaker with them in suffering for his faith, and was imprisoned in the jail near the castle of Exeter in February, 1655. His offence appears to have been his assertion, "that Christ was the word of God and the Scriptures a declaration of the mind of God." His home was now at Plymouth, where he was not a quiet spectator of the wrongs inflicted upon the Friends, for, in May, 1655, as stated in Sewell's history of the Quakers, he, with others, testi- fied against the acts of the mayor and the falsehood of the charges brought against them. In the same year a son, Free- dom, was born, doubtless, so named in commemoration of his release from "durance vile." A daughter, Increase, was added to his family while residing at Stonehouse, near Plymouth, in the tenth month, 1657; and a son Jacob in the year 1660, at the same place, who died in 1689. In the latter year, he was again imprisoned by the mayor of Plymouth for his faithfulness
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FIRST EMIGRANT SETTLERS.
to his religious convictions, having been taken from a meeting in that city. His release was brought about by the solicitations of Margaret Fell and others, who influenced the newly restored king (Charles II.) to grant the liberation of many Friends. The colony of Rhode Island offering to the Friends freedom in the exercise of their mode of worship, Richard Lippincott again removed to New England, where he sojourned for a time. Having been preserved from persecution and the perils of the sea, he named his son Preserved, who was born here upon Christmas day, 1663, but who died in infancy. The names of the surviving children of Richard and Abigail form the words of a prayer, which needed only the addition of a son, Israel, to have been complete; thus: Remember John, Restore Freedom, Increase Jacob and Preserve (Israel) ! This arrangement was doubtless accidental, having never been premeditated by the parents, though inclined to ways in fashion among the Puritans at that day.
A new charter having been granted by the king (Charles), incorporating the Rhode Island and Providence plantations, in 1663, and the New Netherlands having come into possession of the English in 1664, and a patent having been granted to a company of Friends from Long Island in 1665, who first bought the land of the natives,-Richard Lippincott was induced, with others from Rhode Island, to become a patentee with the resi- dents on or near Shrewsbury river. He thus became a member of the first English colony in New Jersey, in which he was the largest shareholder. He was an active officer of the colony. In 1669, he was a deputy and overseer, and, in the next year, an overseer of Shrewsbury town. In 1670, the first meeting for worship was established by the Friends, which was visited by George Fox in 1672, who was entertained by Richard Lippin- cott. His residence was on Passequeneiqua creek, a branch of South Shrewsbury river, three-fourths of a mile northeast of the house of his son-in-law, Samuel Dennis, which stood three- fourths of a mile east of the town of Shrewsbury.
It is probable that Richard Lippincott made another voyage to England, and was there in 1675, when John Fenwick was preparing to remove to West New Jersey; and that he then
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