USA > New Jersey > The New Jersey coast in three centuries; history of the New Jersey coast with genealogical and historic-biographical appendix, Vol. II > Part 2
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The Methodist Episcopal church dates its organization prior to 1820. For some years the congregation worshipped in the meeting house pur- chased from the Quakers. In 1870 the present commodious edifice was erected, at a cost of $23,000.
Churches of later date are St. James the Minor Roman Catholic church, which erected a building in 1867, and the First Congregational church, which was organized in 1874 and which built a house of worship the following year.
The oder history of Woodbridge presents many points of deep interest to the antiquarian and student of history. Here, in 1751, James Parker set up the first permanent printing press in the province of Jersey, as nar- rated at greater length in the "Chapter of Literary History" in this work. This same James Parker, as comptroller, acting under the direction of
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST ..
Benjamin Franklin, in January, 1764, established a mail between New York and Philadelphia to be carried by a post-rider on alternate days. This was before the introduction of postage stamps, and the charges were collected by the post-rider, and were graduated on a basis of the distance of carriage. Copper was mined in the vicinity about 1786, and at inter- vals in succeeding years. George Washington tarried in the village, at the Cross and Key tavern, April 22, 1789, while traveling to New York to liis inauguration as President of the United States, and Lafayette was entertained by the citizens. September 24, 1824, when visiting the United States as the guest of the nation.
The Woodbridge of the present day is a beautiful residential village, having in 1900, a population of two thousand, and is governed as a bor- ough of the second class. Four firms, employing nearly three hundred people, are engaged in the manufacture of fire brick. Schools and churches are liberally maintained. The Barron Library is a monument to the gener- osity and intelligent public spirit of Thomas Barron, who at his death left a bequest of $50,000 for its establishment. It stands upon ground which was a part of the old Barron homestead, and the cost of building was nearly $18,000. It was completed in 1877 and was formally opened to the public on September II of the same year. The library originally contained some three thousand selected volumes, and this number has been materially in- creased from year to year. The reading rooms are supplied with the leading current magazines and newspapers.
Mr. Barron was a native of Woodbridge, born June 10, 1790, and he died August 31, 1875. He amassed a competence in business life as a merchant in New York, his trade relations extending to Liverpool, London and the West Indies. He was of scholarly tastes, and was a member of tlie New Jersey Historical Society and for several years its corresponding secretary. He was also a member of the New York Historical Society, a fellow of the American Geographical Society and a fellow of the American Museum of Natural History. He contributed liberally to the Sanitary Commission during the Civil war period, and in his will he made munifi- cent bequests to various benevolent and scientific societies.
NEW BRUNSWICK.
While not a coast city, New Brunswick, by reason of its location 011 tidewater, at the head of navigation on the Raritan river, is properly to be considered in its relation to commercial affairs in that region. With a pop- ulation of upward of twenty thousand (20,006) in 1900, it is of considera- ble importance in various lines of manufacture. its industries including
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
large factories making India rubber goods, paper hangings, boots and shoes. packing boxes, buckram and mosquito netting, carriages, harness, pumps, sails, hosiery, confectionery and soap, together with ship building yards, sash, door and blind factories, foundries and machine shops, brick yards, cement works, fruit and vegetable canneries, and various minor establish- ments covering a wide range of manufacture. Numerous substantial banks transact the large financial affairs of the community, and various build- ing and loan associations afford wage earners a secure avenue for the investment of their savings.
The educational institutions of the city are of paramount importance. Among them are the famous Rutgers College, with its record of vast use- fulness, covering a period of nearly one and a third centuries, and the Theological Seminary of the Reformed church in the United States, which has survived for more than a century. A splendid public school system and numerous seminaries for young ladies and other private schools, a com- mercial school and a conservatory of music, all fulfill useful missions. In addition to the extensive book collections of the college, a library is main- tained by the Young Men's Christian Association and a circulating library is accessible to the general public. Social societies, musical, literary and athletic, with large membership rolls, are many, and in their breadth of scope offer opportunity for all proper recreation.
The churches are more than a score in number, representing all lead- ing denominations. The oldest are rich in their annals of Colonial and Revolutionary times, which are a constant source of research by the student of American history. The First Reformed Dutch church was founded in 1717 (although its beginning was in the Three-mile Run church in 1703), and its first dominie was the sainted Theodore Jacobus Frelinghuy- sen. The First Presbyterian church is first definitely mentioned in 1726 un- der the pastorate of the Rev. Gilbert Tennent, but it probably had a quasi ex- istence somewhat earlier. The founding of Christ church is ascribed to the year 1745, and it is of record that the Rev. Mr. Wool was a missioner to it in 1750. From this church sprang that of St. John the Evangelist, organized in 1860. Shiloh Methodist Episcopal church was granted a charter June 13, 1799, the Rev. J. Totten then serving as minister. A church building was erected in 1811. A Baptist congregation was founded about 1807, and in 1812 a house of worship was completed under the pastorate of the Rev. James McLaughlin. Other churches are of more recent founding. Various charitable and benevolent organizations con- tribute to the necessities of the unfortunate, and among them are the Aux- iliary Orphan Asylum, the Dorcas Society, the Charitable Society, the Humane Society and the Ladies' Depository.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
The newspapers of New Brunswick are capable exponents of the inter- ests of the city. "The Fredonian" was founded in 18HI by the Randolph brothers, and a daily issue was begun in 1855. "The Times" was first is- sued as a weekly in 1815, and in 1869 a daily issue was added. "The Home News" was founded in 1879.
The history of New Brunswick is of peculiar interest. The permanent settlement of the place was made about 1730 by several Dutch families. and tradition has it that they brought with them material for building their dwellings. The town suffered severely during the Revolutionary war. In 1776-7 it was occupied by the British, who threw up fortifications on the hill near the theological seminary. Lord Howe made his head- quarters in the village, and the post was afterward commanded by Lord
OLD FARM HOUSE.
Cornwallis. Vessels came up the river to provision the troops, early in 1777, but were driven back by an American battery planted just below the town.
In 1784 the town was incorporated. In 1811, according to the "Ga- zette" newspaper, "the little hamlet hugged the river, and even Albany street above Neilson was sparsely settled." In 1825 the town had grown wonderfully, and the population was estimated at five thousand. Traffic was carried on with the surrounding country by means of great wagons drawn by four and six horses, and a dozen sloops were constantly con- veying farm products to New York and returning with merchandise. In 1807 the first bank, the Bank of New Brunswick, was founded by Jacob R.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Hardenbergh and others, and conducted business until 1834, when it sus- pended. In 1833 the Delaware & Raritan Canal was opened, and in 1836 the first train reached the city over the New Jersey Railroad. The first manufactory, one for making wall paper, was established in 1837. In 1850 gas works were established, and waterworks were constructed in 1814.
MONMOUTH COUNTY.
Keyport, the principal village of Raritan township, Monmouth county, was laid out on a portion of the large tract of land owned by John Bowne, one of the Monmouth patentees. The land passed into the possession of Thomas Kearney and Michael Kearney, New York merchants, and the first named afterward purchased contiguous tracts from Abraham Watson, Elisha Lawrence and Richard Salter.
Among the earliest industries was shipbuilding, which was prosecuted upon a large scale for that day. In 1830 a dock was built and a large store- house was erected. In 1832 a tavern was established by Primrose Hopping. who conducted it until about 1834. In that year, according to "Gordon's Gazetteer," there were two taverns. three stores and twelve or fifteen dwell- ings. In 1837 the "Monmouth Democrat" described the place as one with less than twenty houses and of about one hundred inhabitants. A line of stages was then running to Long Branch. In 1839 the steamboat "Wave," commanded by Captain Joseph Stoney, was running to New York. In 1846 the town comprised a public house, two stores, ten or twelve work shops, two wharfs, and about seventy dwellings.
The town received its name in 1831, and in 1833 a postoffice was established, with Leonard Walling as the first postmaster.
The Keyport of the present day is a prosperous village of 3,413 in- habitants according to the last census. It has a borough government of the first class, and maintains an efficient fire department. An excellent system of graded public schools is liberally supported. The principal fraternal and benevolent orders are represented by large local lodges, and there are numerous industrial organizations, among them the Monmouth County Fruit Growers' Association. A military company, the Raritan Guards, organized in 1861, whose members of that day for the greater number served in the Civil war as Company B of the Twenty-ninth Regi- ment, New Jersey Volunteers, maintains its organization, and has per- formed useful duty on various urgent occasions, as during the railroad riots of 1877. The Guards occupy an armory which cost about $7,000, contributed in large part by its members.
The oldest church in the village is Calvary Methodist Episcopal
HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
church, which grew out of the labors of Nimrod Bedle, through whose efforts a Sunday-school was organized in 1835. A class was formed the same year, and in 1841 a house of worship was completed and was dedi- cated by Bishop Janes. A more substantial and commodious building was erected in 1856. In 1840 was organized the First Baptist church, of which the Rev. William V. Wilson was the first settled pastor. In 1841 a church building was erected, and this was succeeded by a larger edifice about 1862. The Dutch Reformed church was organized April 27, 1847. with the Rev. Nathan F. Chapman as minister. Its house of worship was erected in 1851. St. Mary's church ( Protestant Episcopal) was formed prior to 1864. The first house of worship, purchased from the Baptists. was burned in 1877, and the corner-stone of the present edifice was laid by Bishop Scarborough, September 21 of the same year. Other churches are the Presbyterian church, organized October 10, 1878; St. Joseph's Ro- man Catholic church, organized about 1854, which in 1880 erected a house of worship costing $22,000; St. John's Methodist Episcopal church, and the Second Baptist church.
Two excellent weekly newspapers are published, the "Weekly" and the "Enterprise." The "Weekly," conducted by E. D. Petteys, is the legit- imate successor of the first successful newspaper here published, "The Keyport Press," founded in 1863 by B. F. Underwood and others. The "Enterprise" first appeared in 1879, published by Armstrong Brothers, one of whom, F. F. Armstrong, purchased the plant in 1884 and has con- ducted the business to the present time.
The town contains various carriage, coach and wagon shops, saw and planing mills, sail making rooms and minor manufacturing estab- lishments. Other important industries are oyster and fish packing and boat building.
The financial institutions of Keyport are the People's National Bank and the Keyport Banking Company, each having a capital of $50,000. The People's National Bank was chartered in October, 1889, and began business April 21, 1890, witli the following named gentlemen as directors : Thomas Burrowes, George T. Welch, Adam Salz, O. C. Bogardus, John S. Sproul, Cornelius Ackerson, Robert West, Fred Shock, Jr., and B. B. Ogden. The officers were Thomas Burrowes, president ; George T. Welch, vice-president ; B. B. Ogden, secretary ; and William H. Tuthill, cashier. July 1, 1900, Mr. Ackerson succeeded Mr. Tuthill as cashier. January I. 1901, Mr. Warne, who had been serving as secretary, became president. and Mr. Ogden returned to his former place as secretary. Mr. Salz suc- ceeded Dr. Welch in the vice-presidency, and was succeeded (Jannary
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
I, 1901) by William Morrell. The bank has always done a safe, con- servative and very prosperous business.
The new village of Lorillard, in Raritan township, Monmouth county, on the Freehold and Atlantic Heights Division of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, is the seat of one of the most extensive of the numerous manufacturing plants operated by the National Fire Proofing Company of New Jersey.
The village owes its founding to Jacob Lorillard, of New York, who in 1887 erected large brick yards here. Four hundred men were employed. and the daily output was about a quarter million brick. In 1893 the management of the works was vested in the New York and New Jersey Fire Proofing Company, and June 5, 1901, the property was purchased by the National Fire Proofing Company of New Jersey. In 1890 the making of fire proofing was begun, and in 1899 this became the sole product of the works, brick making being discontinued. In July, 1901, the works were destroyed by fire, and were at once rebuilt and equipped with the most modern machinery.
Port Monmouth, formerly known as Shoal Harbor, on Sandy Hook Bay, and the northern terminus of the New Jersey Southern Railroad. was at one time a place of considerable importance. In 1854 it was so much of a shipping point that a plank road was built to it from Middle- town. In the following year the Port Monmouth Transportation Com- pany built an extensive pier from which it sailed the "Eagle," a steam- boat of its own building, to New York. A large hotel was also built, which became the resort of throngs of New York residents and summer visitors. After the opening of the New York & Long Branch Railroad the place declined, and it is now a hamlet of but three hundred inhabitants.
Leonardsville, also on Sandy Hook Bay, to the eastward of Port Monmouth, was named for the Leonard brothers, James and Henry, who came about 1667 and were identified with the early interests of Mon- mouth county. It is now but a small cluster of houses, with a population of less than two hundred people.
Eatontown, the principal village of the township of the same name, is situated four miles west of Long Branch, and numbers one thousand inhabitants. Its churches are of the Methodist Episcopal, Baptist. Pres- byterian and Protestant Episcopal denominations. Its Masonic lodge (Washington Lodge, No. 9) dates its existence from the year 1815, when it was the only body of craftsmen in Monmouth county. Lodges had been warranted at Middletown in 1769; at Freehold in 1787, and at Middletown Point soon after the latter date, but these had been disbanded. The his- tory of the body is complicated with that of others in the vicinity, but the
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
antiquity claimed for it is indisputable. . The "Advertiser" newspaper, now in existence, was founded in 1877 by James Steen. Mr. Steen, its senior editor for many years, is known as one of the most accomplished literateurs. in the State, and one particularly well versed in local history.
The village was named for Thomas Eaton, a native of England, who. came about 1670. A postoffice was established in 1830. In 1834, according to "Gordon's Gazetteer," the village contained five or six stores, two tav- erns, a grist-mill, an academy and about thirty dwellings.
Matawan, in the extreme northwestern portion of Monmouth county, was first settled by Scotch immigrants, who gave it the name of New Aberdeen, prior to 1690, and for many years afterward it was known as. Middletown Point. Its history is intimately associated with that of Mount Pleasant, which adjoins it almost immediately on the south.
According to "Gordon's Gazetteer," in 1834 Matawan contained a Presbyterian church, a grist-mill, four taverns, eight or ten stores, and under a hundred dwellings. Sailing vessels had for years plied 'between the landing and New York, engaged in the transportation of crop products. ยท and wood, and in 1837 the trade had so increased as to justify the estab- lishment of a line of steamboats. In the same year a company was formed to improve navigation and harbor facilities, but Keyport was already rival- ling the place as shipping point, and finally diverted to itself practically all the commerce and traffic. A postoffice was established at Matawan in 1815, with Cornelius P. Vanderhoof as the first postmaster.
Matawan is particularly rich in history concerning early churches and the social conditions which obtained under their influence. The ancient Presbyterian church building at Point Pleasant was a gathering place for the people in the turbulent times preceding the Revolution and during the continuance of that struggle, where they communicated intelligence front the outside world and discussed the burning questions of the day. In 1778 the edifice was destroyed by fire, and it was not rebuilt until twenty years. later, and then in part out of the proceeds of a lottery. The present build- ing was erected in 1841, and was subsequently enlarged and remodeled.
From a period shortly after the close of the Revolutionary war, serv- ices were held by traveling Methodist ministers, but a class was not organ- ized until 1826. Meetings were held in dwellings and in shops until 1836. when a house of worship was erected at a cost of about $1,800. The mem- bership was then but twenty-five, and among these were five colored people. A Sunday-school was organized in 1837 with Joel Carhart as superintend- ent. In 1855 a new church edifice was completed at an outlay of $11,000, and the dedicatory services were conducted by Bishop Janes. The building- was materially enlarged in subsequent years.
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
Meetings were held by Baptist ministers prior to 1830, but no pastor was settled until about 1848, when the Rev. William V. Wilson was called. In 1850 a church building was erected. February 14, 1858, the property was destroyed by fire, and the loss was total, the insurance having lapsed. In 1861 a new building was erected which cost about $3,300.
Trinity church (Protestant Episcopal) was founded in 1850, and was provided with a house of worship through the generosity of Colonel John Travers.
An excellent public school system is maintained, and academical in- struction is afforded by the Glenwood Collegiate Institute. The "Matawan Journal," a weekly Republican newspaper, was founded in 1869 by David A. Bell, and is now conducted by Benjamin F. S. Brown. The Farmers' and Merchants' Bank has had a phenomenal existence, having been founded in 1830. Among the industrial establishments are the works of the Ameri- can Rice Food and Manufacturing Company, an automobile manufactory, a foundry, and large brick yards, and granite and marble works. In 1900 the population of the village was 1,51I.
Middletown, in the western part of the township of the same name, with its population of less than three hundrd, is a point about which cluster many interesting reminiscences of the olden times. It was one of the "Two l'owns of Navesink," where were made the first settlements in Monmouth county under the Nicolls grant in 1665. The old village was the point about which were made some of the first settlements under the Monmouth patents. Here located Captain John Bowne, one of the twelve patentees, and he was one of the foremost men of his day, a deputy to the first assem- bly in the time of Carteret, in 1668, and to a later body in 1675 ; a member of the first proprietary assembly in 1683, when he was also speaker; and president of the court in Middletown in 1677. In 1693 Robert Hamilton kept an ordinary, or inn, under license, and the fact would lead to the in- ference that the settlement was much frequented by travelers. In that period of alarm which attended the King Philip's war, a block-house was built by the white settlers on the site of the present Protestant Episcopal church. This building was afterward used as a jail, and from another jail building afterward erected upon the same ground four negroes were exe- cuted at different times in expiation of the crime of murder.
The early history of the settlement is intimately connected with its churches. In 1668 there was formed the first Baptist church in the Prov- ince of New Jersey, which had for one of its founders the same Bowne who had been previously mentioned. It is stated in Edwards' "History of the Baptists" that the first preacher was "Mr. John Bown," who gave the lot upon which the meeting house was built. The church has been per-
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
petuated to the present day. A Presbyterian church was organized prior to 1706, under the ministerial care of the Rev. John Boyd, of the Scots church. In 1767 its pastor, the Rev. Charles McKnight, was holding a service with the church at Middletown Point ( which he also supplied ) when a party of British troops appeared. burned the building and bore away Mr. McKnight and others as prisoners. The unfortunate clergyman was subjected to such hardships that his release was soon followed by his death. The congregation had meantime dispersed, and the church was abandoned. The Reformed church was organized in 1836, with a mem- bership chiefly drawn from the church at Holmdel. Its first dominie was Jacob T. B. Beekman. Christ church ( Episcopal) was closely connected with the church of the same name at Shrewsbury until 1855, when it en- tered upon a separate existence under the rectorate of the Rev. Charles Woodward.
RED BANK.
Red Bank, the most important industrial town in Monmouth county, is located at the head of navigation on the Navesink river, otherwise known
OLD ALLEN'S DOCK, RED BANK.
as Shrewsbury river, which here expands to the proportions of a bay nearly a mile in width, a beautiful expanse of water. It is the home of a cultured and enterprising people, and among its residents are many men of large affairs whose offices and business interests are in the city of New York and
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
its vicinity. The business blocks are substantially built, and include modern bank and office buildings, and various halls suitable for public and society purposes. The residence portion of the town present pleasing contrasts, adorned with quaint dwellings of the Colonial days and with later edifices presenting the varying styles of modern home architecture.
The high character of the people is manifested in all that pertains to
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CHURCHES AT RED BANK.
education and religion, which forms the basis of a stable and elevating life. An excellent library is maintained for public use, and its rooms are the assembling place for the Monmouth County Historical Association, an organization which has been the means of preserving and affording to investigators much valuable local history pertaining to the Colonial and Revolutionary periods. The educational system comprises fully graded public schools under most capable management, a private academy and a parochial school maintained for the benefit of the Catholic youth. There are congregations of various sects and denominations-two Protestant Episcopal, two Methodist Episcopal, two Baptist, and one each of Presby- terians and Roman Catholics (exclusive of those composed of colored peo- ple) and various of these occupy commodious houses of worship of beauti- ful material and design. The principal secret and fraternal orders have large and influential memberships.
A complete city organization has the direction of public affairs of Red Bank, and under it are included efficient police and fire departments
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HISTORY OF THE NEW JERSEY COAST.
and a board of health. The water supply is from artesian wells, operated by a company which was chartered in 1884, and gas and electric light are used for illuminating purposes. Two newspapers are published-tlie "New Jersey Standard," the oldest journal in the city, founded in 1852 by Henry Morford; and the "Red Bank Register," founded in 1878 by John H. Cook and Henry Clay. The beginning of the paper was small, but the plant and the paper were enlarged as occasion demanded and as the town grew in size. Mr. Clay continued with the paper only a short time, and since his retirement, up to the present time, the paper has been owned and controlled by Mr. Cook. It is now a sixteen-page paper, printed in a build- ing built expressly for the needs of the paper, on the principal business street of the town. It is still continued on the same lines of political independence which characterized it in its early days. There are four excellent banking houses-the First National Bank, capital $100,000, surplus $75,000, which was organized in 1864, occupying a beautiful modern building erected for its purpose ; the Second National Bank, capital $75,000, with $200,000 in surplus and undivided profits, organized in 1875; the Mercantile Co-Oper- ative Bank, with a capital of $1,000,000; and the Navesink National Bank with a capital of $50,000, and a surplus of $18,000. The local industries comprise boat building yards, machine and metal working shops, a large patent tubular boiler factory, carriage and wagon factories, saw and plan- ing mills, granite and marble works, fruit and vegetable canneries, and minor shops employing men and machinery. Many people along the river shore are engaged in oyster planting and fishing, and others find profitable .employment in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables for the market and for canning and drying in local factories. In addition to its railway facili- ties, convenient transportation of home products is afforded by a line of steamboats plying to ocean waters. In 1900 the population was 5,428.
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