USA > New Jersey > The early Germans of New Jersey : their history, churches, and genealogies. > Part 13
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on Schooley's Mountain, but afterwards moved away.
An account of the other families of this name, who lived near Lebanon and in Greenwich township, Warren Co., will be found in the genealogies in Part IJ of this work. It is quite probable that the Sharps, as the name is now spelled, came from the vicinity of Rhinebeck. If that should be found to be the case, then their origin in the old country was in the town of Sassenberg, County New Witt, or Neuwied, and their arrival was as early as 1710. They are found in New Jersey as early as 1734.
PHILIP WEISE purchased the next farm of 262 acres for £125 ($335), and was in actual possession, when he received his deed December 8th, 1749. He settled here probably as early as 1743, if not in 1738 At this date he arrived in Philadelphia on September 11th in the ship Robert and Olliver along with Leonard Neighbor, Stephen and John Michael Terriberry, Philip Dufford, Sr., and Philip Dufford, Jr., and Heinrich Shenckle. Philip Weise had two sons, Philip and Jacob and two daughters, Elisabeth, the wife of John Hager, and Mar- garet, the wife of William Nitzer. His descendants are living on the original property. He or Philip, Jr., built the "Old Fort," now Richard Shoenheit's stone house, in 1784.
TUNIS TRIMMER bought the farm next to Philip Weise of 315 acres for £150 ($400), 30th May, 1750. This farm included the farms now occupied by Mrs. Addie Hager and Matthias T. Welsh. Tunis was the son of John, of Hunterdon Co., and the brother of Matthias, of German Valley. He died 1754. His will [Trenton, Lib. 8, fol. 77], dated 7th November, probated 2Ist December, 1754, names wife, Elisabeth, and children : Paul, the oldest ; Mary, who perhaps married 2d December, 1768, Caleb Swayze ; and Anthony. Thomas Faircloe, who was appointed, Nov. Ist, 1770, the guardian of the son Anthony, may have married the widow Elisabeth and not, as we have stated in the genealogy, the daughter of Tunis. The property was bought by John Hager, one of the executors of the will, before 1759.
JOHANNES HEGER (Hager) had first settled in Hunterdon Co., Tewksbury township, and from there came to the valley
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and occupied a part of the "leased lands." He was one of three brothers, Hans George Hegi, Johan Hagea and Jacob Hagea, who landed at Philadelphia from the ship Dragon 30th of September, 1732. One brother, probably George, went to New York State, and Jacob Hauge, or Hager, another brother died in Oxford township, Warren Co., in 1757. The descend- ants of the latter probably removed from the State. The Hagers, of Holland township, Hunterdon Co., are of another family and came from Pennsylvania to this State. John, of German Valley, had a son Lawrence, who remained in the val- ley; and John, who bought a property at Drakestown, 1763, and kept a tavern at the cross roads. Jacob, a third son, lived near Newberg, on the Musconetcong ; George bought 330 acres of land above Springtown on Schooley's Mountain, first about 1776, then repurchased it in 1796. This property is in the pos- session of one of his descendants, Mrs. J. V. Stryker. David, the youngest, lived for a time on the mountain and then moved away. The late Hon. John Sharp Hager, Senator of the U. S. from California, was a great-grandson of John's oldest son, Lawrence. His father, Lawrence 2d, kept a store for many years in German Valley in the old stone store recently torn down.
WILLIAM WELSH, or Johannes Wilhelm Welsch, as it is in the original German, bought the farm next to Tunis Trimmer in the year 1743, as is stated in an old field book of Caleb Valentine. But he did not get a deed until probably the last payment was made on May 30th, 1750. He paid £122 ($325) for 258 acres. On the 8th of April, 1779, he sold to his son David 175 acres, part of which he had purchased from John Hager in 1759, November 5th.
William and Michael Welsh arrived from Germany at Phil- adelphia, 27th September, 1741.
JOHANNES MICHAEL WELSCH had a fulling mill on the Mus- conetcong, near Newberg, in 1768, but nothing further is known of him or his family. William married Elisabeth, a daughter of Leonard Neighbor, and had a son William, who became very wealthy owning land in Hunterdon and Morris counties. The first William was one of the first elders of the Reformed church.
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Judge David, the first, was another son. He lived where Jacob Welsh now lives, and was a very prominent man in church and state. He had no children. Philip, a third son, lived for a time on the Isaac Roelofson farm at Naughright and then occupied the old homestead, now belonging to his grandson of the same name. The late John C. Welsh, Esq., was his grand- son. The latter was President, when he died, of the Hacketts- town National Bank, which owed its success very largely to his unusual shrewdness and practical sagacity. He was also in other respects a leading man in the community, whose counsel was sought by men from far and near, and he occupied most efficiently for many years the position of an elder and leader in the Presbyterian Church of his native place.
LEONARD NEIGHBOR or Leonhard Nachbar, as the name was originally, bought the fifth farm of 310 acres, on the Logan tract for £147 ($352). This land was left to his only son Leonard 2d, by whom it was ordered to be sold to one of his family. Leonard 3d then bought the farm and left it at his death to his two sons, Leonard and Jacob, one taking the Arthur Neighbor place and the other the Silas Neighbor farm.
Leonhard, the emigrant, might be called the "Father of the Valley," inasmuch as every Shenckel and every Welsh and nearly every Trimmer must trace their descent up to him. For his three daughters married respectively the heads of these families: Mary Elisabeth married John William Welsh, Anna Martha married Matthias Trimmer and Anna Margaret married Heinrich Schenckle. Of the children of Leonard Neighbor, 2d, Nicholas and David went West and founded the town of Newcomerstown, Ohio, about 1815. Their descendants are found also in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and California. Mr. Byron Roberts, of Topeka, Kansas, and Mr. L. B. Neighbor, of Dixon, Illinois, belonging to this family, are men of prominence in the community. " Uncle" David Neighbor, of Lower Val- ley, who was born 1797 and died 1892, at the age of 95 years, and whose birthdays were annually celebrated by large gath- erings in his home to do him honor, was remarkable for an equable temperament, a judicious mind, unimpeached integrity and a genial disposition, all of which were sanctified by a fer-
REV. ROBERT VAN AMBURGH.
REV. WILLIAM E. DAVIS.
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vent christian faith. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church for many years ; a member of the Assembly and of the Constitutional Convention. His son James Leonard is a prom- inent lawyer of Dover, N. J.
MATTHIAS TRIMMER bought the farm next to Leonard Neighbor, the last one of the Logan tract. He paid £160 ($427) for 3381/2 acres, of which he was in actual possession, 30 May, 1750. This property now includes the farms of William Dufford and James Anthony. It was divided by Matthias in 1793 between his sons John, who received 220 acres, and David, who received 110 acres. He also owned 30 acres on Schooley's Mountain, 265 acres in Lower Valley, which were left to his son Jacob, and on Fox Hill, 70, which went to David, and 150, which were given to Leonard. He owned altogether 845 acres.
Matthias was the oldest son of John Trimmer, who came with his brother from Germany or Holland to America. The brother and his family cannot be traced. All of this name in Morris and Hunterdon counties are descendants of John. He probably arrived in ship Davy at Philadelphia on the 25th of October, 1738. He and his son Matthias were naturalized by act of Assembly in 1744. He had twelve children by two wives, nine sons and three daughters. Four of his sons settled in the valley. Besides Matthias, William settled east of Middle Val- ley and had one son Conrad ; Tunis on the Hager property, and Nicholas near Parker. George, Harbert and John settled in Amwell township, Hunterdon Co., where their descendants are still to be found.
THE LEASED LANDS
included all the Budd and Scott tract. This tract was divided into farms, which were leased in 1747, for a term of one hun- dred years. The farms, however, were passed from owner to owner, and as the rent was sinall, it was not regularly paid and the settlers looked upon the land as theirs in fee simple.
Disputes arose and the heirs of the original lessors scattered throughout the country refused to resign their title. In the meanwhile the land had arisen in value and was worth contend- ing for. For fifty years or more up to the year 1844 the title to these farms was in dispute. No one cared to spend any
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money in improvements, of which some one else might reap the benefit. Fences and buildings and the proper care of the land were largely neglected. Finally at the above date a com- promise was effected ; commissioners were appointed to sur- vey the whole tract and allot the different sums which each farm was to pay towards the whole amount, which had been agreed upon between the parties. The long contest was thus at length decided and new deeds were given, which were made valid by a special act of the legislature, passed the 8th of March, 1844.
Beginning at the northern end of the Budd tract, the first farm of 200 acres wes leased in 1747 to JACOB DUFFORD. A copy of this lease, now in the possession of James Anthony, will serve as a sample of the rest. It is dated the 20th of May, 1747.
John Budd of the County of Morris, gentleman, and Sarah his wife, to Jacob Tefort, weaver of said county, gives a lease * * of a certain tract of land in that place called Long Valley, whereon he now dwells, lying on both sides of the Rarington River, bounded as follows * * by lands of James Logan and Stofe Terberger, * * the said Jacob Tefort from the 26th of March last past [1746], for and during the term of 96 years * * and the said Jacob Teford doth agree * * to pay 3 Spanish Pistolls [ ] of full weight on or before Nov. Ist next ensuing. On failure of payment of said rent, twenty days after the respective days of payment of said rent yearly * * the said John Budd may enter upon the leased lands themselves and seize &c. any goods or chattels &c. which shall be found thereon and keep them 20 days and if no payment be made to redeem them then the said John Budd may sell them at auction to the highest bidder and the overplus * * be returned to the lessee. The witnesses are Nathan Cooper; Andreas Kilian ? and Johannes Heger are in german. This lease is endorsed on the back with the No. 5, and the words, John Trimmer and Adam Winegarden were present when I took possession of this plantation, with consent of Stephen and Jacob Tefort, Aug. 8, 1781.
Jacob Dufford, to whom the lease was given, was the son of PHILIP TOFORT or Dufford, who was the first of the name to come to the valley. He arrived at Philadelphia 11th Septem- ber, 1738, in the ship Robert and Olliver. He was probably of Huguenot origin, the name being Devoor or Dufoor. (See Genealogies p. 342). He died 1767, his son Jacob having probably died before him. His son Adam probably removed to Greenwich township, Warren Co., as his name is found on the "Old Straw Church" book. His son George has left no descendants in this vicinity. Philip, Jr., also disappeared very
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SETTLERS OF GERMAN VALLEY
early. Jacob is therefore the ancestor of all of his name in this section. Of his sons, Matthias settled on Schooley's Mountain, where he bought 185 acres of the Stevenson tract in 1775; George Stephen (" Yerestuffy") remained on the old place, now owned and occupied by Nathan Anthony and Abner Dilts.
STEPHEN TERRYBERRY (" Stofe Terberger") leased, in 1747, the farm of 150 acres, next to Dufford. This is the farm now owned by Isaac Sharp Vescelius. About 1796, when Jacob Trimmer bought his 600 acres below the county line, John Swackhamer moved from that place, where he was living, to the Terryberry place, which his son Frederick occupied for many years. Mr. Vescelius is a descendant, on his mother's side, from both these families. Stephen died 1776 and left two daughters, Margaret, who probably married John Swackhamer and Elisabeth, who married Adam Sager. His son George Frederick removed to Oxford township, Warren Co., and his son Philip settled upon Schooley's Mountain, where he owned considerable property which was left to his son Philip 2d, who died in 1852.
JOHANNES HEGER leased the next farm, which was after- wards owned in succession by William Welsh 2d, Aaron Howell and Anthony Trimmer, by whom it has been sold to his son the Hon. Hager Trimmer.
THOMAS NIEL leased, in 1752, 166 acres east of the three farms mentioned above. Of this family nothing is known. In 1744 John Dufford and Adam Hoffman divided this tract between them.
LORENTZ SCHLEICHER ("Sliger") leased the next 200 acres in 1750. In 1844 this plantation included the land of I. Ves- selius (1374 acres), Dr. Sherwood (75.90), part of S. G. Hoffman and David Swackhamer.
Lorentz was the father of all of his name. He was one of the signers in 1749, of Rev. J. A. Weygand's call. He had at least three sons : John Leonard, of whom nothing is known; Lorentz, who went to Wyoming, but whose son came back here and settled at Pleasant Grove ; John George, settled at Beattys- town.
PETER MAINS leased in 1747 the next farm of 133 acres.
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The Mains family, of which Peter was probably the first, re- moved to Stillwater and to Sparta, where they are still to be found. This farm was owned by David Miller in 1844.
JOHN STINE, leased in the same year, the next farm of 217 acres. This farm was afterwards owned by Jacob Kern and George Wack. The Stine family have removed from this vicinity.
JOHN HENDERSHOT leased 13th April, 1747, 333 acres for eight years rent free, " to make improvements.' This planta- tion was afterwards, 1760, leased by Scott to THOMAS NEIL for 84 years. The Neil family have disappeared.
The first of the name of Hendershot was probably MICHAEL, who came to New York in the second emigration in 1710. He had probably six children, Casper, Maria Sophia, John Peter, Michael, Elisabeth, Eva and John. These children settled at Hackensack, in Monmouth and Sussex counties. Some of their descendants probably went to New York State. The John who settled on the leased lands is said to have come from Connec- ticut and to have afterwards removed from German Valley to Greenwich township, Warren county. The name would indi- cate that they came from Holland.
CORNELIUS HOBROCK took the next 150 acres in 1747. This included the farms of Silvester Neighbor and George Trimmer. The former of which has recently been purchased by Mr. Hoffman.
The Hobbock, or Hoppock, family was probably of Holland descent. Cornelius was probably a brother of Hendrick, Teunis and Jost. The family is now scattered from Lambertville to Sparta.
JACOB BODINE held the lease for 133 acres, which now be- long to William N, Swackhammer. The Bodines descended from the Huguenot Jean Boudin, who came from the town of Medit, France, to London before 1681, with his wife Esther Bridon. He died on Staten Island in 1695. He had a son Francis, whose son Isaac settled at the North Branch. Jacob was probably the son of Isaac. Another son of Isaac, viz. Frederick, was probably the father of Gilbert, who lived in
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LOWER VALLEY.
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SETTLERS OF GERMAN VALLEY
Chester township, and whose daughter Elsie married Matthias Trimmer.
On the east of the original Budd tract land had been bought by Scott from Daniel Smith. This was included in the leased lands.
MICHAEL PACE, a son-in-law of the first Welsh. leased 1775, 58 acres of this tract. This farm belonged to Philip Philhower in 1844. Michael kept a tavern here in 177 ?. He afterwards removed with his family to Wyoming, Pa. One son, John, remained here and was brought up by his uncle, Judge David Welsh. Two daughters, Elisabeth and Susan, married respec- tively, Conrad and William Rarick. Michael had a brother Daniel, whose son Frederick left many descendants settled for the most part in Mud street.
WILLIAM TRIMMER, probably a son of the first John, in 1775 leased 84 acres and Thomas Neil 3072 next to him. William appears to have had only one son, Conrad, who was the grand- father of Asa and Nathan Trimmer and of Uncle Jesse Hoffman.
MIDDLE VALLEY,
about three miles from German Valley, is situated on the Budd tract or " the leased lands."
DR. EBENEZER K. SHERWOOD, a physician, was settled here more than half a century ago, practiced medicine in this region for 45 years, and at one time maintained a private asylum for the insane. He had come from Somerset county, having orig- inally belonged to Connecticut. His son, the Rev. Jonathan H. Sherwood, married Dr. Hutton's sister, and was for many years the beloved pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Milford, New Jersey.
DAVID W. MILLER kept the store more than fifty years ago. His character is well described in the following obituary notice which appeared at the time of his death :
In Brooklyn, N. Y., February 12th, David W. Miller, died in the 68th year of his age. There is a special significance and value in this notice, in that it is the record of the death of the last one of a family of nine brothers and sisters, in the lives and death of all of whom is strikingly illustrated the covenant faith- fulness of God.
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The father of this family was one most fitly characterized by the phrase "An Israelite in whom is no guile." The mother was a woman remarkable for earnest, enthusiastic, active piety. These parents, as will be readily inferred, trained their house- hold in the fear and admonition of the Lord. And they were privileged before they died to see all their children in visible connection with the church of Christ, and leading lives of con- sistent piety ; they witnessed the joyful, triumphant departure of more than one of them, heard from over the sea, words of calm Christian faith of one who died in a far land ; and after they had ascended each of the surviving sons and daughters, as they successively departed, left behind them good evidence that they had gone to join the covenant host.
One of these was Jacob W. Miller, who served New Jersey in the United States Senate twelve years ; another was William Miller, well known in Newark and vicinity as an orator of rare promise, but who died at an early age in the city of Paris, where he had gone in the vain hope of arresting the progress of a fatal malady.
David W. Miller was born in German Valley, New Jersey, in the year 1799. He was a man of ardent, enthusiastic spirit, gifted with good intellectual powers, and especially a vivid imagination, and on several occasions addressed public assem- blies with marked effect.
His leading characteristic was ardent devotion to the cause of Christ. In every agency that seemed fitted to advance that cause, he took an earnest, active and untiring interest. He was one of the earliest movers in the cause of Sunday schools in his county and State ; and one of the first addresses on that subject published in the State was from his pen.
In the country neighborhood where he lived many years, some miles from any church, he sustained, much of the time almost unaided. the ordinances of religion, laboring untiringly in the Sunday school, the evening meeting, by prayer and ex- hortation and the reading of good books to quicken believers and save the impenitent. He delivered an able address at Morristown, N. J., 10th April, 1827, at an anniversary of the Morris County Sunday School Union.
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He removed from German Valley to Brooklyn about the year 1848, and was there employed for a series of years alter- nately in private business and government employ. During the war he was for some time in the work of the Christian Commission, being actively engaged with earnest devotion and hearty satisfaction, as in his true work amongst the sick and wounded at City Point.
During the last ten years of his life, with impaired health, and no regular business, he gave what strength he had to every good work that presented itself, being deeply interested in and a constant attendant upon the noon-day prayer meetings.
The Miller family of this vicinity were descended from JOHN HENRY MILLER or Mueller, who was born in the village of Niedermastahn in the Zweibrucken Palatinate, and came to Philadelphia 12th August, 1752. Henry had four children, Elisabeth, the wife of Christian Kline, Mary Catherine, the wife of Baltis Stiger, Henry, who settled at New Germantown, and David, who settled at Middle Valley. A daughter of the latter married Rev. John C. Vanderwoort. Of the other children of David, of Middle Valley, William W. and Jacob W. became prominent lawyers, the latter being first Senator of New Jersey and then of the United States, both being acknowledged to be men of pre-eminent gifts both as orators and lawyers. William W. however died young and left only the promise of a great career.
ANDREAS MILLER was the ancestor of another family of the same name, which settled in the vicinity of Hackettstown.
CHAPTER XVII.
SETTLERS OF THE LOWER VALLEY.
LOWER VALLEY, CALIFON AND HIGH BRIDGE. LOWER VALLEY.
EGINNING with the county line of Hun- terdon county we enter upon the West Jersey Society tract. This comprised speaking generally all of what is now Hunterdon county, at least that part of it which is west of a line drawn from Pickels Mountain to Pottersville and north of the boundary line, which runs between Hunterdon and Mercer counties.
It contained 91,800 acres, of which there was owned, before 1760, by Allen and Turner 10,800 acres ; by Coxe and Kirk- bride, 11,377 ; by Coxe and King, 1,527 ; by Hoff and Bonnell, 500; by Harmon Rosencrants, 568; by Alexander, Morris, White and Dunstar, 10,500 ; surveyed and laid out in farms 32,000.
As early as 1735 this tract was settled by a number of people and leases were given for four years to 98 families of farms in size from 50 to 300 acres. A list of these names will be found in the appendix. These were all the settlers on the whole tract with the exception of the ten thousand acres sold to Coxe
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and Kirkbridge, which extended from Clinton to Flemington.
JACOB TRIMMER, son of Matthias Ist, bought a tract of 603 acres from Livingston, being lots No. 68 and 69 of his allot- ment, for £1809 ($1809 ?) gold or silver, 4th July, 1797. The land is described as now in the possession of John Swackham- mer. There was excepted from this purchase a farm of 81 acres previously (4th July, 1794) sold to Rev. Caspar Wack. This well known Trimmer tract is now in possession of Jacob's descendants.
John Swackhammer, son of Samuel, the emigrant, was charged in the year 1766 with the rent of lot No. 69, of 448 acres, valued then at £896, and Jacob Cummins with the rent of lot No. 68 of 238 acres.
SAMUEL SWACKHAMMER settled on a part (162 acres), which he had bought, of a tract of 376 acres, which belonged to Anthony White, at least as early as 1762, and it may be that this was where he was settled in 1735. This tract extended from the road to Califon from the Lower Valley, southwesterly on both sides of the South Branch, two-thirds of the distance to Hoffman's crossing. The farm north of Swackhammer's, of 126 acres, had been bought in 1762 by Philip Sheeler, and an- other lot of 212 acres was in possession of Conrad Swackham- mer, and a fourth part of 667/2 acres was occupied by William Haugh (Hawk ?). The two latter parts were unsold.
SAMUEL was the first of the Swackhammers and came to this country in 1731. He died in 1782 at 82 years of age, leav- ing a family by three wives of 25 children, 73 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Such is the statement in the old German church book by Dominie Graaf, but his will only names 13 children, of whom we can trace the descendants of only Conrad and John. The former, Conrad, leaving descend- ants in Hunterdon county, and the latter, John, in Morris.
PHILIP SHEELER, now called Schuyler, was the first of his name in New Jersey. He was born 1718, married Ann Ander- son and died 1784. He had 14 children, of whom Philip and Jacob removed to Sussex county, while Peter, William and John left descendants in Hunterdon and Morris counties.
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CALIFON.
The village of Califon is of comparatively recent origin, but more than makes up by the rapidity of its growth for delay in starting. The name was originally California, which became ab- breviated to Califon. Jacob Neighbor, who formerly owned the mill there and also the store, gave the name to the place. Several years ago the Methodists rebuilt their church and now worship in one of the most beautiful and convenient churches in all this region. The Rev. Mr. Jones, the present pastor, is a man of fine elocutionary powers as well as a liberal minded and enter- prising pastor, and under his ministrations the church is grow- ing in size and efficiency. The business men are noted for their enterprise and push. G. W. Beaty and J. W. Beavers and Peter Philhower are the general merchants of the place, S. N. Weise and the Weise and Neighbor Company are extensive dealers in a superior quality of lime.
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