USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. I > Part 7
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"We departed again from Raritan River, accompanied by two In- dians who were acquainted with the lands of the Navesink. We went down the bay and arrived at the creek which enters between Rensselear's Pier (the Highlands) and the said point; met here again Christopher Elsworth in his little sloop, and the English sitting on shore near the creek. We went with our boat on shore, and went toward them along the strand. When we approached them we saw everyone standing with their weapons. When the Sheriff, Charles Morgan, (Constable of Grave- send) and John Bowne advanced toward us, I asked them 'What their business was?' They answered, 'They were trading.' We replied, 'If they went to trade, why then had they such a strong force with them?' They said 'Indians were villains and could not be trusted, and therefore they went in such numbers.' We told them that 'we were informed they
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came to purchase lands from the Indians.' They answered, 'We went only there to see the lands.' We again told them 'that they ought not to un- dertake to purchase any land of the Indians, as the largest part was al- ready purchased by the Dutch.' John Bowne then asked me under what government I presumed that they resided.' I answered 'that they lived under that of the States General and under that of the Director General and Council here.' To which he replied, 'Why then are we not permitted to trade and explore lands as well as you?' I answered them 'that they ought not to undertake to purchase any lands from the Indians except they had previously obtained the consent of Governor Stuyvesant and Council,' to which Jolin Bowne replied, 'It shall be well.' Then said Christopher Elsworth, 'I told them the same before, that they should not do it.' Go- vert Loockermans told them then, 'Ye are a party of traitors, and you act against the Government of the State.' They said 'the King's patent was quite of another cast.' Loockermans asked, 'from whom have you your pass?' They answered 'from the Manhattans.' Lookermans retorted, 'Why do you act then against the State?' To which Charles Morgan answered, 'Sek noty bey affet'-(probably Indian). Both parties entered the Nave- sink River before their return home. (From "Albany Record," quoted in "Old Times in Old Monmouth").
Truly neither the English nor the Dutch knew which had the best right to these lands. The priority of their claims had never been de- scribed. Only the half-naked savage was justly owner of those grand hills, and forests, those rivers and bays, and of him did the white man purchase before the question of sovereignty had been determined.
In 1663-4, Charles II, "King of England, Scotland, France and Ire- land, Defender of the Faith," sent out a squadron of three vessels carry- ing one hundred and fifty guns, with a force of six hundred soldiers. The command was vested in Colonel Richard Nicolls, who (September 3d, 1634) received the surrender of Stuyvesant, the Dutch Governor at New Amsterdam, who was unable to resist the force brought against him, and this virtually established the English supremacy, the subsequent temporary Dutch re-establishment being too inconsequential to consider in this con- nection.
Colonel Nicolls also bore a commission as Deputy Governor under the Duke of York, a brother of the King, and who afterwards became King James II. The grant to the Duke of York is important as the first offi- cial proclamation of English authority upon which was founded an actual governmental establishment in the territory known as New York and New Jersey. The lands conveyed comprised "all that part of the main land of New England beginning at a certain place called or known by the name of St. Croix, next adjoining to New Scotland (Nova Scotia) in
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America," and extending to the east side of Delaware Bay. The western boundaries were not prescribed.
The King's Patent conferred upon the Duke of York all necessary governmental powers, as witness the following extracts :
And we do further of our special Grace, certain knowledge and meer Motion, for us, our Heirs and Successors, give and grant unto our said dearest Brother James, Duke of York, his Heirs, Deputies, Agents, Com- missioners and Assigns, by these Presents, full and absolute Power and Authority to correct, punish, pardon, govern and rule all such the sub- jects of us, our Heirs and Successors, as shall from time to time adventure themselves into any the Parts or Places aforesaid; or that shall or do at any time hereafter inhabit within the same, according to such Laws, Or- ders, Ordinances, Directors and Instruments as by our said dearest Brother, or his Assigns, shall be established; and in defect thereof, in Case of Necessity, according to the good Directions of his Deputy's, Commission- ers, Officers and Assigns respectively ; as well as in all Causes and Matters Capital and Criminal, as Civil both Marine and others; so always as the said Statutes, Ordinances and Proceedings be not contrary to, but as near as conveniently may be, agreeable to the Laws, Statutes and Government of this our Realm of England; and saving and reserving to us, our Heirs and Successors, the Receiving, Hearing and determining of the Appeal and Appeals of all or any Person or Persons of, in or belonging to the Territories or Islands aforcsaid, in or touching any Judgment or Sen- tence to be there made or given. AND.further, that it shall and may be lawful to and for our said dearest Brother, his Heirs and Assigns, by these presents from time to time, to nominate, make, constitute, ordain and confirin, by such Name or Names, Stile or Stiles, as to him or them shall seem good, and likewise to revoke, discharge, change and alter as all and singular Governor's Officers and Ministers which hereafter shall be by 'him or them thought fit and needful to be made or used within the aforesaid Parts and Islands; And also to make, ordain and establish all manner of Orders, Laws, Directions, Instructions, Forms and Ceremonies. of Government and Magistracy fit and necessary for and concerning the Government of the Territories and Islands aforesaid; so always that the same be not contrary to the Laws and Statutes of this our Realm of Eng- land, but as near as may be agreeable thereunto."
By the terms of his commission as Deputy Governor, issued by the Duke of York, Colonel Nicolls was empowered to "perform and execute all and every the powers which are by the said Letters Patent ( from the King) granted unto me."
Shortly afterward (September 30th, 1664) Governor Nicolls issued a printed proclamation promulgating regulations to govern the creation of settlements in the territory which had been committed to his charge. These were in terms exceedingly fair and liberal, particularly with respect to the
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manner in which Indian title should be acquired, and in the provisions authorizing the settlers to make their own laws, plant their own towns, call their own ministers, and elect their own civil and military officers. This important document was as follows :
"The Conditions for new Planters in the Territories of his Royal Highness, the Duke of York.
"The Purchases are to be made from the Indian Sachems, and to be recorded before the Governour.
"The Purchasers are not to pay for their Liberty of Purchasing to the Governour.
"The Purchasers are to set out a Town and inhabit together.
"No Purchaser shall at any Time contract for himself with any Sachem without consent of his Associates, or special Warrant from the Governor.
"The Purchasers are free from all manner of Assessments or Rates for five Years after their Town Platt is set out, and when the five years are expired they shall only be liable to the publick Rates and Payments, according to the custom of other Inhabitants, both English and Dutch.
"All Lands thus purchased and possessed shall remain to the Pur- chasers and their Heirs as free Lands, to dispose of as they Please.
"In all Territories of his Royal Highness Liberty of Conscience is allowed, provided such Liberty is not converted to Licentiousness, or the Disturbance of others in the Exercise of the Protestant Religion.
"The several Townships have Liberty to make their particular Laws, and deciding all small Causes within themselves.
"The Lands which I intend shall be first Planted are those upon the West Side of Hudson's River, at or adjoining to the Slopes; but if any number of Men sufficient for two or three or more Towns shall desire to Plant upon any other Lands, they shall have all due Encouragement, pro- portionable to their quality and undertakings.
Every Township is obliged to pay their Minister according to such Agreement as they shall make with them, and no man to refuse his Pro- portion, the Minister being elected by the Major part of the Householders, Inhabitants of the Town.
"Every Township hath the free choice of all their Officers, both Civil and Military, and all men who shall take the Oath of .Allegiance, and are not Servants or Day Labourers, but are admitted to enjoy a Town Lot, are esteemed free Men of the Jurisdiction, and cannot forfeit the same without due Process in Law.
"R. NICOLLS."
Evidence of purchase from the Indians having been laid before Gov- ernor Nicolls, he proceeded to issue patents to various persons.
The settlement at Elizabethtown was made under a grant dated De- ceinber 1. 1664, but the precise time of occupation there is not ascertain-
.
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able It is presumable that a few families were already upon the ground. The original petitioners are to be briefly named.
John Strickland was an Englishman, who came to the Bay Colony with Winthrop. He was a patentee of Huntington, Long Island, and he was afterward a resident of Hempstead. He appeared at Elizabeth Town1 as agent for "A company of the inglish nasion."
John Bailies (also appearing as Baylie and Baily), who was probably him of the same name who resided in Guilford, Connecticut, in 1642, does not appear to have become a resident, as he sold his interest to Governor Carteret.
Daniel and Nathaniel Denton were sons of the Rev. Richard Denton, who came from England to Massachusetts, and thence in turn to Con- necticut and to Hempstead, Long Island.
Daniel Denton was a man of great usefulness. He was first clerk of the town of Jamaica, Long Island, and also a Justice of the Peace; he was at different times a school teacher and a physician. He soon sold his inter- est in the Elizabeth Town grant to John Baker, of New York, and John Ogden, of Long Island, and is believed to have returned to England. In 1670 he published in London a volume which is notable as being the first description of the region, now known as New York and New Jersey, ever printed in the English language. The title of this rarely interesting work was "A Brief Description of New York, formerly called New Nether- lands, with the Places thereunto Adjoining; Likewise a Brief Relation of the Customs of the Indians there, by Daniel Denton." The preface is a curiosity of literature :
"Reader .- I have here through the Instigation of divers Persons in England, and Elsewhere, presented you with a Brief but true Relation of a known and unknown part of America. The known part which is either inhabited or lieth near the sea I have described to you, and I have writ nothing but what I have been an eye witness to all or the greater part of it. Neither can I safely say was I willing to exceed my Commendation, which I question will not be owned by those that shall travel thither. For the unknown part, which is either some places lying to the Northward yet undiscovered by any English, or the Bowels of the earth not yet opened, though the natives tell us of Glittering Stones, Diamonds, or Pearls in the cne, and the Dutch hath boasted of Gold and Silver in the other; yet I shall not feed your expectation with any thing of that nature ; but leave it till a better discovery shall make way for such a Relation. In the mean time accept of this from him who desireth to deal impartially with every one."
Denton's book was largely instrumental in quickening immigration, and the instructions it contained are worthy of reproduction as showing
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the inducements held out, and as being inviting to only the most desirable class of settlers :
"To give some satisfaction to people that shall be desirous to trans- port themselves thither (the country being capable of entertaining many thousands), how and after what manner people live, and how land may be procured, etc., I shall answer that the usual way is for a company of people to join together, either enough to make a town, or a lesser number ; these to go with the consent of the Governor and view a tract of land, there being choice enough, and finding a place convenient for a town, they re- turn to the Governor, who upon their desire admits them to a colony, and gives them a grant or patent for the said land, for themselves and asso- ciates. These persons being thus qualified, settle the place, and take in what inhabitants to themselves they shall see cause to admit of, till their town be full; these associates thus taken in have equal privileges with themselves, and they make a division of the land suitable to every man's occasions, no man being debarred of such quantities as he hath occasion for, the rest they let lie in common to the whole town."
The other pioneers were Thomas Benedict (or Benydick), who had represented Jamaica in the Hempstead convention in 1665; John Fos- ter, also from Jamaica, and Luke Watson. The last named was the only one of the petitioners who retained his interest in the enterprise, and be- came one of the founders of the town. He had been a magistrate at Ja- maica.
These named, with John Baker and John Ogden, were the original patentees. Baker had been the principal military officer at Albany. He became one of the leading men of Elizabeth Town, and was foremost in resisting proprietary aggression. Ogden came from Connecticut to Long Island, and was one of the Hempstead patentees. He became one of the most influential men of Elizabeth Town.
The patentees gathered about (them associates to the number of eighty, most of them vigorous men between the ages of twenty-five and forty years. A majority of them were married. The town which they foundedi will ever be remembered in American history as the seat of tlie first English government in what is now New Jersey.
The land covered by the grant made by Governor Nicolls to the Eliz- abeth Town Associates, and known as the Elizabeth Town grant, extended from the mouth of the Raritan river on the south to the mouth of the Pas- saic river on the north, a distance of not less than seventeen miles in a straight line, and extending inwardly into the country for about thirty-four miles. It embraced the present towns of Woodbridge and Piscataway, the whole of the present Union county, parts of the towns of Newark
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and Clinton, a small part of Morris county, and a considerable portion of Somerset county-aggregating about five thousand acres.
April 8, 1665, Governor Nicolls issued to twelve patentees named therein, that grant or charter which has long been famous as the "Mou- mouth Patent," covering a part of the county of Middlesex, the present county of Monmouth, except Freehold township and the Western portion of Millstone, and a part of Ocean county. The coast line extended from Sandy Hook to Little Egg. Harbor, being more than one-half of the sea- coast of New Jersey.
In its terms it was scarcely as liberal as was the prior proclamation of Governor Nicolls containing the pledges to the new settlers whom he invited to the territory. The proclamation promised a greater liberty than did the patent, in the matter of choice of ministers and of civil and military officers. But it does not appear that any discontent was mani- fested on this account. The following is the full text of the historic Mon- mouth Patent :
"To all to whom these presents shall come, I, Richard Nicolls, Esq., Governor, under His Royal Highness, the Duke of York, of all his Terri- tories in America, send greeting: Whereas, there is a certain Tract or Parcel of Land within this Government lying and being near Sandy Point upon the Main; which said parcel of Land hath been with my Consent and Approbation bought by some of the Inhabitants of Gravesend, upon Long Island, of the Sachems (chief proprietors thereof), who before me have acknowledged to have received Satisfaction for the same; to the end the said Land may be planted, manured and inhabited, and for divers other Causes and Considerations, I have thought fit to give, confirm and grant, and by these Presents do give, confirm and grant unto William Goulding, Samuel Spicer, Richard Gibbons, Richard Stout, James Grover, John Bown, John Tilton, Nathaniel Sylvester, William Reape, Walter Clark, Nicholas Davies, Obadiah Holmes, Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, all that Tract and Part of the main Land, beginning at a certain Place commonly called or known by the Name of Sandy Point, and so running along the Bay, West 'North West till it comes. to the Mouth of the Raritan River ; from thence going along the said River to the Westermost Part of the certain Marsh Land which divides the River into two Parts, and from that Part to run in a direct South West Line into the Woods Twelve Miles, and then to turn away South East and by South until it falls into the main Ocean; together with all Lands, Soils, Rivers, Creeks, Harbors, Mines, Minerals (Royal mines excepted), Quarries, Woods, Meadows, Pastures, Marshes, Waters, Lakes, Fishings, Hawkings, Huntings and Fowlings and all other Profits, Commodities and Heredita- ments to the said Lands and Premises belonging and appertaining, with their and every of their appurtenances, and of every Part and Parcel thereof. To Have and to Hold, all and singular, the said Lands, Hereditaments
5
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and Premises, with their and every of their Appurtenances hereby given and granted, or hereinbefore mentioned to be given and granted, to the only proper Use and Behoof of the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns forever, upon such Terms and con- ditions as hereafter are expressed, that is to say: that the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs or assigns, shall within the space of three years, beginning from the Day of the Date hereof, manure and plant the aforesaid Land and Premises, and settle there one Hundred Families at the least; in consideration whereof I do promise and grant that the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns shall enjoy the said Land and Premises with their Appurtenances, for the Term of seven years next to come after the Date of these Presents free from Payment of any Rents, Customs, Excise, Tax or Levy Whatsoever ; But after the expiration of the said Term of Seven years the Persons who shall be in the Possession thereof shall pay after the same Rate which others within this, his Royal Highnesses Territories, shall be obliged unto. And the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, shall have free leave and liberty to erect and build their Towns and Villages in such Places as they in their Discretion shall think most convenient, provided that they associate themselves, and that the Houses of their Towns and Villages be not too far distant and scattering one from another; and also they make such Fortifications for their Defence against an Enemy as may seem needful. And I do likewise grant unto the said Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, and unto any and all other Persons who shall Plant and Inhabit in any of the Land aforesaid, that they shall have free Liberty of Conscience without any Molestation or Disturbance whatsoever in their way of Worship. And I do further grant unto the aforesaid Patentees, their Heirs, Suc- cessors and Assigns, that they shall have Liberty to elect by the Vote of the Major Part of the Inhabitants five or seven other Persons of the ablest and discreetest of the said Inhabitants, or a greater Number of them (if the Patentees, their Heirs, Successors or Assigns shall see cause) to join with them, and they together, or the Major Part of them, shall have full Power and Authority to make such peculiar or prudential Laws and Constitutions amongst the Inhabitants for the better and more orderly government of them as to them shall seem meet; pro- vided they be not repugnant to the publick Laws of the Govern- ment ; and they shall also have Liberty to try all Causes and Actions of Debt and Trespass arising amongst themselves, to the Value of Ten Pounds, without Appeal. but that they remit the hearing of all Criminal Matters to the Assizes of New York. And furthermore I do promise and grant unto the Patentees and their Asso- ciates aforementioned, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns, that they shall in all Things have equal privileges, Freedom and Immunities with any of his Majesty's subjects within this Government, these Patentees and their Associates, their Heirs, Successors and Assigns rendering and pay- ing such Duties and Acknowledgments as now are or hereafter shall be
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constituted and established by the laws of this Government, under the Obedience of his Royal Highness, his Heirs and Successors, provided they do no way infringe the Privileges above specified. Given under my Hand and Seal at Fort James, in New York, on Manhattans-Island, the 8th Day of April in the 17th year of the Reign of our Sovereign Lord, Charles the Second, by the Grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland. King, Defender of the Faith, &c., and in the year of our Lord God, 1665. "RICHARD NICOLLS.
"Entered in the office of Record in New York, the Day and Year above written.
"MATHIAS NICOLLS, Secretary."
The patentees were men of strong character and great enterprise, and the most of them were deeply religious. Mention of their antecedents and traits is necessary to a proper appreciation of their worth as founders of communities and of their influence in their own day and upon their de- scendants.
William Goulding was one of the Massachusetts Bay Baptists who were banished from that colony on account of their religion. He became a permanent settler, and was one of the founders of the old Baptist Church at Middletown.
Samuel Spicer had previously resided at Gravesend, Long Island. He was a member of the Society of Friends, and had been severely dealt with by Governor Stuyvesant for non-conformity to the established re- ligion.
Richard Gibbons, who is also mentioned as "Sergeant Gybbings," does not appear as prominently as his fellows, but was among the early settlers.
Richard Stout was head of one of the first five families who settled on the Indian purchase in 1664. He had previously lived a number of years on Long Island.
James Grover became a permanent settler, and built the first iron works in New Jersey, as will appear in another chapter.
Captain John Bowne, a leader in the project of purchasing from the Indian sachems the three Necks of Newasink, Navarumsunk and Poota- peck, was one of the company who sailed from Gravesend, Long Island, in December, 1663. He was one of the patentees under the Monmouth grant, and his was one of the first five families who made a permanent set- tlement on the tract. The place where he located is in the present town- ship of Holmdel, though in the old records he is mentioned as one of the settlers of Middletown-a name which was applied to a large and some- what vaguely defined region. Until Captain Bowne's death, in the early part of 1684, he seems to have been the most prominent citizen of the
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county, esteemed for his integrity and ability. He was a deputy to the first Assembly in Governor Carteret's time, which met May 26, 1668, the members of the Lower House being then called "burgesses." He was deputy again in 1675; in the first Legislature under the twenty-four pro- prietors, in 1683, he was a member and the Speaker, and he acted until the December following. He held other positions of trust. March 12, 1677, a commission was issued to him as president of the court to hold a term at Middletown. In December, 1683, shortly after his last illness, he was appointed major of the militia of Monmouth county. He died in January, 1683-84, leaving two sons, Obadiah and John, the latter of whom was also a prominent man in the province, and a candidate for the office of Speaker of Assembly under Lord Cornbury's administration.
John Tilton, when he first came from England, located at Lynn, Massachusetts. His wife was a Baptist, and in December, 1642, she was indicted for "holdinge that the baptism of infants is no ordinance of God." They left Massachusetts with Lady Deborah Moody and other Baptists and settled at Gravesend, Long Island, where again they were made to suffer. In 1658 Tilton was fined by the Dutch authorities for allowing a Quaker woman to stop at his house. In September, 1662, he was fined for "permitting Quakers to quake at his house." In October of the same year himself and wife were summoned before Governor Stuyvesant and Council, charged with having entertained Quakers and frequently attend- ing their conventions, and they were ordered to leave the province under pain of corporal punishment. They came to Monmouth among the settlers of 1665.
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