USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Passaic > The Passaic valley, New Jersey, in three centuries.. Vol. 1 > Part 6
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The earliest date which can be established by any record is ahont 1738, and the first settler known by name was James Wills, who bonghi land at Ralstonville from the Pro- prietors. He was succeeded by some Scotch and Irish Protestants, who erected a log church near Indian Brook, which flows into the Raritan, west of the village. In 1740
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
the population had largely increased, among whom were found families named Cook, Beach, Baldwin, Thompson, Condiet, Cooper, Wick, Loree, Cary, Smith, Dod, Clark, and Howell.
James Pitney's name appears there in 1740. He was a son of the James Pitney who is spoken of as being in pos- session of some land in Somerset County on the east side of the north branch of Dead River. He became a large landowner in and near Mendham. A farm once owned by him, between Mendham and Brookside, is still in the family, being now the property of the Hon. Henry C. Pitney, one of the vice-chancellors of New Jersey and now re- siding at Morristown. James Pitney's brother, Jonathan, also settled at Mendham. From these two brothers are de- scended the large and re- AN INDIAN CHIEFTAIN. spectable Pitney families in Morris. The vice-chancellor has three sons, lawyers, one of whom has recently been appointed an associate justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey; another is a civil engineer.
The names of Axtell and Losee appear among the early settlers or soon after they came. If the names of the first recorded inhabitants are any indication of the locality from
75
MENDHAM FAMILIES
whence they came, those who are familiar with the nomen- clature of the families in Essex County would conclude that they undoubtedly migrated from that county. They were, however, all of English origin. At the present time the names prominent in Mendham are Losee, Phoenix, Gara- brant, Quimby, Sutton, Bockoven, Oliver, Drake, Menagh, Thompson, Stiger, Nesbitt, and Cooper. The names of Ax- tell, Mellraith, Dod, Sanders, Pitney, Stevens, Riggs, and Marsh, once prominent here, have now few, if any, repre- sentatives. The Axtell family were once quite immerons, but they have disappeared from this locality. A member of it, the Hon. Charles F. Axtell, a lawyer and formerly a member of the State Legislature from Morris County, re- sides at Morristown, and others are found scattered over the country.
Stephen Dod, a remarkable mechanic and mathematician, was the ancestor of several distinguished clergymen, one of whom was a professor in Princeton College. He himself was a descendant of Daniel Dod, one of the first immigrants from Connecticut to Newark.
After leaving Mendham, and before reaching Union Coun- ty, several small villages in Morris County are included within the range of the Passaic Valley: Brookside, once called Water Street, and Washington Corners in Mendham Township; Logansville, Green Village, White Bridge, Pleas- ant Plains, Pleasantville, Green Village, Long Hill, Meyers- ville, Stirling, and Gillette in Passaie Township. Stirling and Gillette are new localities; the others are of some an- tiquity. The Passaic and Delaware Railroad passes through or very near Gillette and Stirling. This fact and the beauty of the surrounding country have induced specu- lators to purchase many tracts of land on the line of this railroad in the hope of securing immigration of summer
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
residents and permanent settlers. At Stirling the land has been mapped and laid out into city building lots. Silk mills have been established and a population of about 900 have been gathered here. A large proportion of these are foreigners of different nationalities: many Italians, some Armenians, and a few Swedes. The other localities are small villages, hamlets, insignificant centers of agricul- tural interests, with no manufactures.
With some very few exceptions there are no representatives of old families in this region. A very distinguished Morris County family was found at New Vernon before and during the Revolu- tion, one of whom, perhaps more, served in the patriot army. This family was of the Lindsley race, descended from Fran- cis Linle, one of the first settlers of New- ark in 1666, and whose descendants are scattered in different parts of the coun- try. Eleazar Lindsley, one of this fam- ily, became a colonel in the Revolution- ary Army. He is represented to-day by many descendants in Morris County and elsewhere. Philip Lindsley is another A CONTINENTAL SOLDIER. of the same blood, who made himself distinguished, early in the nineteenth century, as a theologian and college and seminary professor. He was born at New Vernon in 1780, was graduated from Princeton in 1804, was licensed to preach in 1810, became a tutor and professor in his alma mater, was its vice-presi- dent, refused the position of president, and finally ac- cepted the chancellorship of the University of Nashville, Tenn., after three times refusing the proffered honor. ITis
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LONG HILL AND VICINITY
son, John Berrien Lindsley, has secured distinction as a physician, and became the successor of his father as chan- cellor. lle held the position from 1855 to 1870, with great credit for his admirable performance of its duties. He and his father were both voluminous authors, he writing upon medical and germane subjects and his father on theological themes. A grandson of Philip Lindsley bearing the same name is now a distinguished lawyer at Dallas, Tex. Oscar Lindsley, who recently died at Pleasantville, was a mem- ber of the same family, as is also J. Frank Lindsley, editor and proprietor of the Morris County Chronicle, an able and snecessful newspaper published at Morristown.
Gillette is a small hamlet where are several summer resi- dences. The name of Long Hill can hardly be given to any certain locality, although there is a postoffice called by that name, near Meyersville, affording postal facilities for the region adjacent. But what is known as Long Hill is an ele- vation, in some points nearly 500 feet above the tide, ex- tending from Chatham for ten miles and ending in Somer- set County. Although no village nor hamlet exists which van be called Long Hill, yet there has been quite a numer- ons population, mostly agricultural in its character, living for the last century and more on farms in and about this elevation. Among this population were several families of historical fame. A reference to only one or two of these can be made. Rev. James Caldwell, the well known chap- lain and quartermaster in the Revolutionary Army, be- longed to one of these. He took a very prominent part in the Revolution and was a participant in many battles, not only as chaplain, but as an actual combatant. His courage gave him the name of the " Fighting Parson." At Springfield he showed the greatest intrepidity, mingling in the thickest of the contest, and encouraging the soldiers by voice and
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example. At a critical moment when the cartridges were exhausted he rushed into the church, near at hand, gathered up the hymn books, and gave them to the men with the ex- clamation " Give them Watts, boys!" Many amusing anec- dotes are related of him and of his ready answers. It was
MONUMENT ERECTED BY TIIE SONS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION AND DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE PATRIOTS WHO FELL AT SPRINGFIELD, JUNE 23, 1780.
at the time of the battle of Springfield that his wife, while standing in a house at Connecticut Farms, with a babe in her arms watching the British Army as it passed by, was shot and killed by a soldier in the invading ranks. He himself was murdered, in 1781, by a drunken soldier near Elizabethtown. He was greatly respected by the officers in
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REV. JAMES CALDWELL AND THE LUDLOWS
the patriot army and beloved by the men. His murderer was promptly tried and as promptly exeented. His virtues and patriotism have been the theme of many poets and ora- tors since his time, and his name will ever be spoken with reverence by all Jerseymen. His own immediate descend- ants were numerous, nine sons and daughters having been born to him before his brutal murder. These children were all provided for immediately after his death. Afterward they became leaders in society in one direction or another. The daughters were well married, one son was carried to France by Lafayette, two became employes in governmental departments, and one was a judge of the county courts in Gloucester County. A lineal descendant, a great-grandson, Noel Robertson Park, is now a member of the New Jersey Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, claiming eligibility for membership by his descent from this distin- guished ancestor. In the graveyard of the First Presby- terian Church at Elizabeth is a momument with this in- scription :
This monument is erected to the memory of the Rev. JJames Caldwell, the pions and fervent Christian, the zealous and faithful minister, the eloquent preacher, and a prominent leader amongst the worthies who secured the independ- enee of his country. His name will be cherished in the Church and in the State as long as virtue is esteemed and patriotism is honored.
The Ludlow family was once prominent in this section of Morris County. Cornelius and Benjamin were conspicu- ons during the Revolutionary times, and foremost in the polities of their day. Benjamin became a major-general in the patriot army. One of their descendants. George II. Ludlow, was at one time clerk of the County of Morris, and then became its sheriff. Another, George C. Ludlow, was governor of the State for one term and afterward an asso- ciate justice of the Supreme Court.
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Other families of note were settled along Long Hill, bearing the names of Runyon, Carle, Little (Littell), Con- net, Moore, Badgley, Baker, Elmer, and others. Very few of these are to-day represented by actual residents.
Meyersville was originally settled by Germans, who es- tablished here a Lutheran Church. These sturdy men have become entirely Americanized, although retaining many customs of their forefathers and clinging to their beloved church. The Campfield family origin- ated, so far as Morris County is con- cerned, at New Vernon, once called South Hanover. The first of the name was Abraham, who settled here in the eighteenth century. He was an active, intelligent citizen, conducting an iron manufactory in connection with a coun- try store, sending pack-horses to the mines near Dover, and thus bringing the needed material to his blacksmith shop. Ilis descendants removed to Morristown and added their influence to the progress and prosperity of that locality.
The people of Passaic Township early A GLENADIER OFFICER. provided religious appliances for their own benefit and for their families and neighbors. Besides those at Millington, Stirling, and Meyersville, Methodist Churches have been established at Pleasant Plains and Green Village and a Presbyterian at New Vernon.
Passaic Township has some Revolutionary reminiscences. In 1780-81 the patriot army was encamped in Morris Coun- ty, a large part of it being located in the northern and north- western parts of the township, where the soldiers built huts
TEARING DOWN THE KING'S STATUE IN NEW YORK.
-
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for their accommodation. An abundance of chestnut trees grew in the locality and these were used for the erection of these huts, which were made as comfortable as possible. The winter, however, was one of the severest ever known in the county and the men suffered severely. In addition to the cold there was a lack of clothing and food, and the pa- triotism of the sufferers was severely tried. They were true, however, to themselves and to their country, and did not murmur.
The Wick house, celebrated in Revolutionary history, is situated in this township. It is still standing, in good preservation, on the road from Mendham to what was known a few years ago as Hoyt's Corners. Its architecture is of a style well known at the time of its erection-long, low, one story and a half in height, with a narrow hall pass- ing through the center of the dwelling and two rooms on each side. It was in one of these rooms that Tempe Wick secreted her pet horse to save it from being taken for the use of the army.
COLONIAL JACK.
CHAPTER VI
THE GREAT SWAMP-PASSAIC LAKE
N THE southeastern part of Passaic Township is a large extent of country called the Great Swamp, comprising many thousands of acres, It borders directly upon the river and extends quite a distance into the country. A very large part of it is as level as a parlor floor and not a stone of any considerable size can be found anywhere on its surface. Undoubtedly an extensive swamp once existed at this spot, having all the characteris- ties of a marsh. But the ground has now become hardened, honses are built upon it, roads run across it, every acre of it can be cultivated, and all the products of the temperate zone can be grown in its fruitful soil. This Great Swamp was probably at one time part of the bed of the immense lake to which some reference has already been made. This imaginary body of water has received from New Jersey geologists the name of the " Passaic Lake." Several theories have been advanced by scientific men as to its origin, nature, and final obliteration. Whether such a body of water did ever actually exist has not been definitely settled. Pro- fessor George H. Cook, for many years State geologist of New Jersey, first noticed, in 1880, the apparent former ex- istence of a large body of fresh water. Hle fixed its date during the latter ice age, when, as was supposed, the whole or nearly the whole of the State was covered with ice. He
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MAP OF NEW JERSEY IN 1680.
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PASSAIC LAKE
did not seem willing to place himself on record as certain- ly assuming that a lake was once located where he he- lieved that it might have existed. Since his time there has been much speculation about " Lake Passaic," as it was named by him, and several State geologists have referred to it in their annual reports. But no one has been bold enough to assert definitely that the lake was over an established fact. A careful examination, however, of the evidences which have been given from time to time by geologists will demonstrate almost to a certainty that such a lake, or sub- stantially one like it, did once actually exist. Its possible boundaries, its wave-beaten banks, other shore features, and some present visible and recognized facts have been col- lected which have induced geologists to pronounce favor- ably for Professor Cook's theory. The evidences given by him of that theory can be best explained in his own words. After stating the probable extent of this glacial lake he SANS :
The upper portion of the terminal moraine from Morris Plains to Summit bas been moditied by the action of water and has assumed the form of a long and broad level-topped bank, dividing the valley on a northwest and southeast line. The upper level, corresponding to that of the moraine in the Morris Plains, and the level from Morristown to Madison, have a mean elevation above tide of three hundred and eighty-five feet. It is recognized in the flat-topped hills northeast of Boonton and south of Montville, in the beautiful terrace out by the Boontou branch railroad, north of Montville, and on the eastern side of the highlands at the west border of Pompton Plains. It has been traced around the mountain to Bloomingdale; the sand hills near the rubber works are near the same height, and they are, probably, part of the same formation. The high terrace near the Pond Reformed Church and Oakland, in Bergen County, is also nearly as high and may belong to it. On the Second Mountain, two miles southeast of Pompton Furnace, and at Upper Preakness it has a mean elevation of 310 to 360 feet . There are indistinctly detined levels at the same elevation at Cedar Grove, at Caldwell, and at Centreville, in Essex County. These latter are also on the western slope of the Second Mountain. Terraces have been observed at the
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
same height on the Hook Mountain from ten to fifty feet below the erest line. No attempt has been made to trace out fully this high terrace.
Professor Cook then refers to some other terraces of less height and continues :
In explanation of their origin we may consider these lower levels or terraces as marking the sneeessive heights at which the water stood in this great valley
Polished Flesher.
Semi-Lunar Knife.
INDIAN SPECIMENS.
after the retreat of the glacier had begun, during the Champlain epoch, and eon- tinued through the Terrace epoch. The meltings of the ice in the valley and
Hornblend Axe.
Ornamental Pottery.
INDIAN SPECIMENS.
on the highlands north and west produced an enormous volume of water which filled the great basin, forming a lake thirty miles long and eight miles wide.
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PASSAIC LAKE
The top of the terminal moraine was levelled off, and a part of its material was carried southward and silted on the bottom of the lake where are now the Great Swamp and the Dead River tlats. The gaps through the trap-rock range at Paterson and Little Falls were filled with drift by the glacier. The excava- tion of these drift-tilled gaps began as it disappeared, and the outlet again fol- lowed the line of the old channel into the red sandstone country on the east. The upper terrace is most plainly marked on the surrounding hill and mountain sides. It was on the broad, pebbly shore of a lake, into which poured torrents of water from the neighboring hills, carrying cobble stones and bowlders into it and depositing them so confusedly together as in places to resemble a glacial deposit. The accumulations of drift at Bernardsville and Basking Ridge may have come in that way. The lower level-topped hills mark the more quiet waters as they subsided and shrunk into narrower limits. Pompton Plains and the flats along the Passaie and Whippany Rivers mark their further contraction into irregular-shaped ponds within the bounds of the old lake basin. The erosion through the drift at Little Falls was probably the gradual wear of the Terraee
INDIAN TOTEMIC SIGNATURES.
epoch until the hard trap-roek reef was reached. At that level the drainage stopped. The stone work of excavation through this barrier and the recession of the falls have been in progress since that time, and a gorge three hundred feet. wide at the east, narrowing westward to the falls, and between thirty and forty feet deep, has been out back about six hundred feet in the roek.
According to Professor Cook's theory " Passaic Lake" included within its bounds a large part of Somerset County and extended northward to the boundary line of New York, involving portions of Essex, Union, Morris, and Passaic
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
Counties and some of Bergen. In 1892 the subject was again taken up by Mr. Rollin D. Salisbury, assistant geolo- gist, in the State geologist's annual report. It was, how- ever, more fully examined and explained by Mr. Henry B. Kuemmel (Kümel) in the report of 1893. His statements of the various evidences of the former existence of this glacial lake are exhaustive and very convincing. In connection with the last named report a map was published which rep- resented the area supposed to be covered by this body of water. This map exhibits the varions shore lines, with in- dentations, bays, deltas, and many islands which it is be- lieved were located within the bounds of the lake.
The presence of the lowlands along Dead River, the Great Swamp in Passaic Town- ship, the Black, Troy, and Lee Meadows, the Hatfield Swamp, the Great Piece, and the low-lying grounds contiguous to these lo- calities. and all of which are found within the banks of the supposed lake, is certainly compat- ible with and are, perhaps, A PALISADED VILLAGE. indirect if not direct proofs of the theory that such a body of water as the " Passaic Lake" once existed. The theory that an immense body of water did once occupy this supposed area can not be successfully controverted, nor has it been satisfactorily proved.
At some time in the history of this part of the world the immense body of ice began to melt and poured its rushing waters into the valley, but the flow of the great body of
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PASSAIC LARE
water was closed upon every side and retained in the enor- mous basin until, spreading over the land, it formed the great lake. Finally it burst some part of the barrier barring its progress, the waters spread over the country and were dispersed, or perhaps some great revulsion of nature broke down the obstacles surrounding the great deposit of water. and so they left their resting place and the dry land ap- peared and the river flowed peacefully on from its source to its end. What effect, if any, this convulsion had upon the formation of the channel of the Passaic has not as yet been ascertained.
The result of this most interesting subject is disappoint- ing : nothing definite is settled, no certain facts ascertained. It can not he determined beyond doubt that the " Passaic Lake" ever existed; if it ever did exist the time when it gathered its waters, when it burst its bounds and scattered its waves over the land, can not be told. The most that can be said is that the preponderance of evidence favors the conclusion that the " Passaic Lake " once had a local habi- tation, and that if it did its bounds can be defined with some precision.
AN ANCIENT TANKARD.
CHAPTER VII
PASSAIC AND CHATHAM TOWNSHIPS
P ASSAIG TOWNSHIP was formed in 1866 from the southern part of Morris Township. It runs with a sharp point between Morris and Chatham, and is the most southeasterly township in Morris County. Its interests are mainly agricultural, at first entirely so. but of late years some mannfactures, especially at Stirling and Millington, have been introduced. The country is mostly level and suitable for farming purposes. Long Hill, however, presents elevated ridges, with beautiful scenery and extensive outlooks, inviting those seeking rest and freedom from the heat and discomforts of the city. His population is made up mostly, outside of Stirling, of a per- manent class. attached to the soil, living simple lives, of great integrity, patriotic in their sentiments, God-fearing in their habits, and free from most of the vices which too often disgrace modern life. The saloon does not flourish, but churches are sustained with much self-sacrifice, and the schoolhouse is considered by the people a necessity to be cheerfully supported, and by every sacrifice.
The Great Swamp, now thoroughly utilized for agricnl- tural purposes, covers nearly one-half of the surface of the township. The Delaware and Passaic Railroad crosses the sonth corner of the township, coming from Union County, north of Gillette, and entering Somerset County at Milling- ton. The township is named from the river, which nearly
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THE PASSAIC VALLEY
encompasses its southern and eastern boundaries. Passaic is an Indian name meaning "valley."
Passing northward from Passaic, Chatham Township is next reached by the river, which forms its entire southern boundaries, dividing it from Union and Essex Counties. Chatham is named for the Earl of Chatham, better known as William Pitt, the elder, whose eloquent voice was raised in Parliament in defence of the Colonies in their struggle with England. It was created in 1806, formed from Morris and Hanover, and contains three boroughs, Chat- ham, Madison, and Flor- ham Park. Its princi- pal villages are Chat- ham, Stanley, Atton (once called Columbia), Union Hill, and Green Village.
The surface of the land is quite diversified. A considerable portion WILLIAM PITT. of the Great Swamp, more than 2,500 acres, extends into the western part of the township from Passaic. Reference has already been made to this peculiar physical phenomena, forming, as is supposed, a part of the bed of " Passaic Lake." It was once covered by a heavy growth of timber, which has been gradually cut off, and the ground thus uncovered has been utilized for farming purposes. A small stream called Black Brook aids in draining that por-
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CHATHAM TOWNSHIP
tion of the swamp which lies in Chatham. The river just be- low Stanley runs for a short distance through a narrow pass- age between cliffs of considerable height; this continues only for a few miles, but by a very tortuous course, as low grounds are soon found around the entrance of Black and Spring Garden Brooks into the Passaic. In the northeastern part of this township are some other low grounds called the Black Meadows, which pass over into Hanover, and just be- low is a smaller extent of what undoubtedly was once a swamp, now called the Beach Meadows, also passing into Hanover. In the northern part the ground becomes ele- vated. Between Morristown and Madison there is a table- land, where no water is found, and where wells sunk over a Imundred feet deep can not find that precious fluid. The larger part of this tableland is found in Madison Borough.
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