The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 120

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220

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Winslow Junction and Rosedale are on the same line of railway, southeast from Blue Anchor, but have no interests of importance. A few miles from the former place, on the Camden and Atlantic Railroad, is the station of

ANCORA .- The settlement is new, and hardly assumes the appearance of a village. Fruit-cul- ture is the principal occupation.

In the southwestern part of the township, on the Great Egg Harbor River, is an old landmark, widely known as Inskeep's Mill. It was erected prior to 1762, when John Inskeep made a survey at this point, wherein which the location of the mill is noted. Inskeep lived at Marlton, Bur- lington County, but owned a large tract of land on Great Egg Harbor River, and on account of the fine timber growing in that locality, made the cut- ting of the same at his saw-mill profitable. On the adjoining hill he had a deer park, fenced with rails, and so high that the animals inclosed seldom es- caped. The park contained about fifty acres, and it was not intended to confine the animals for a hunt, but simply to have in readiness a fat buck should the owner want one when the teams were returning home with lumber. They were generally secured by stealth at night, a torch-light being used to lure them. As Inskeep's mill was the only place where the river could be forded, hence a trail from the Atlantic to Burlington County passed that way and was much used by both whites and Indians. The mill has been abandoned and the property owned by the Hay estate. Northwest from this place E. A. Russell erected a steam grist-mill in 1882, which was destroyed by fire the same year. It was immediately rebuilt by him and has since been in operation.

In the northern part of the township is the old Spring Garden tavern-stand, so long kept by David Albertson family, and after his death by his wife, Rebecca. In the days of travel by wagon the place had considerable prominence, but has long since been abandoned as a hotel.

On the Atlantic County line, about two miles from Winslow Junction, is the hamlet of

ELM .- It is a station on the New Jersey South-

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

ern Railroad, and contains a post-office, a store, school-house, Methodist Church and the homes of about forty families. Most of these find occupa- tion in fruit culture. The hamlet is new, but has had an active growth since its existence.

WINSLOW JUNCTION is eligibly located, at the crossing of the New Jersey Southeru Railroad and the Camden and Atlantic and the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railways, whose tracks, at this point, run parallel to each other. No improvements be- yond the erection of the station building have been made, as the real estate has not been avail- able for settlement until within the past year. The Hay estate has recently surveyed some of the adjoining lands into lots, which makes it possi- ble to utilize the advantages which this location offers for residence and manufacturing purposes.

WINSLOW .- This is the largest village in the township, having a population of about five hun- dred. It has a station on the Camden and Atlantic Railroal and on the New Jersey Southern Rail- road, a mile from the junction of the two. The location is pleasant, but as the place was founded for a manufacturing village, and is wholly devoted to the glass-works there carried on, it has never become important as a trading point. The entire village, and hundreds of acres surrounding it, con- sisting of a highly cultivated farm; and forests in their primeval condition, are the property of the children of Andrew K. Hay deceased, successor to William Coffin, Sr., who originated these enter- prises. He was the proprietor of the Hammonton Glass-Works, but, in 1831, began the improvements from which have sprung the extensive Winslow Glass-Works. At that time the site was a dense forest, and his son William Coffin, Jr., afterward proprietor of the works and the first man to fell a tree to make a clearing on which to build the works and the village connected with it. He named the place Winslow, in compliment to his youngest son, Edward Winslow Coffin. and when the township was formed, fourteen years later, this name was also adopted. The elder Coffin associ- ated his eldest son, William, with him, and busi- ness was transacted as William Coffin, Jr., & Co. In 1833 the senior William Coffin retired, and a brother-in-law of William Coffin, Jr., Thomas J. Perce became a member of the firm, which now was Coffin & Perce. This relation continued until the death of the latter, in 1835, when William Coffin, Jr., became the sole owner of the Winslow works. He operated them himself until 1838, when he sold a half interest to another brother-in- law, Andrew K. Hay, the firm becoming Coffin, & Hay. Mr. Hay was a practical glass-maker,

and also interested in the Hammonton works, where he was the partner of another brother- in-law, Bodine Coffin. At Winslow the works were carried on by the two partners some time, when a third partner was admitted to the firm in the person of Tristram Bowdle. The old co- partnership of Coffin, Hay & Bowdle continued until 1847, when William Coffin, Jr., sold his interest to Edward Winslow Coffin and John B. Hay, and the firm became Hay, Bowdle & Co. In 1850 Tristram Bowdle retired from the business, and, a year later, E. W. Coffin sold his interest to Andrew K. Hay, who, with his nephew, John B. Hay, now became the sole owners of the property. They at once began extending their business, mak- ing extensive improvements in the works and build- ing up the village. In 1852 an artesian well was driven to the depth of three hundred and fifteen feet to obtain a supply of water for the steam grist- mill, which established the geological fact that the green sand marl formation which crops out at Kirkwood is here found one hundred and fifty feet below the surface. Andrew K. Hay continued at the head of the business until his death, February 17, 1881, at the age of seventy-two years. He was a native of Massachusetts, of Scotch parentage, and was distinguished for his enterprise and correct business habits. John B. Hay and the heirs of Andrew K. Hay carried on the works until 1884, when John B. Hay withdrew, since which time they have been operated under a lease by Tillyer Bros., Philadelphia. The manufacturing interests consist of a large steam grist and saw-mill, two large window-glass factories, a hollow-ware fac- tory, a large store and about one hundred tene- ments. Several hundred men and boys are em- ployed, many of the operatives having been con- nected with the works for a long term of years. The works have good shipping facilities, and the quality of glass here produced is superior. A post- office is maintained in the store of the company, and the village has a public hall, a Roman Catho- lic Chapel and a Methodist Episcopal Church.

WILLIAM COFFIN, JR., was born in Philadelphia, Pa., February 29, 1801. His ancestry is notable in both the paternal and maternal lines. His father, William Coffin, was a direct descendant from Tristram Coffin, who settled in Massachusetts as early as 1642, and the family has been conspic- uous in the New England States to the present time. The oldest traceable ancestor came from Normandy with William the Conqueror into Eng- land, and was the recipient of a landed estate from his commander for valuable services rendered.

His mother, Ann Bodine (a daughter of Joel

ymp ofin

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THE TOWNSHIP OF WINSLOW.

Bodine), was a descendant of one of the French Huguenot families-banished for their religious views, and who came to America and infused the best blood of their native land into the veins of many prominent citizens.

William Coffin, the grandfather, came into New Jersey in 1768, settling in Burlington County, and died about the beginning of the Revolutionary War. When William, Jr. (and the fifth of the name in direct succession), was about one year old his parents removed from Philadelphia into Gloucester County, New Jersey, and settled at New Freedom, about three miles south of Long- a-Coming (Berlin). This was a settlement of Friends, where a meeting-house then stood, and where a burial-place is still maintained. Remain- ing here but a short time, they removed to the "Sailor Boy" tavern, which was at that time, and remained for many years after, one of the principal stopping-places for travelers in going from the "Shore" to Philadelphia.

This hostelry stood by the main stage road, nearly midway between the Delaware River and the ocean, in the midst of the pine forests, and where the several highways going "up shore" and " down shore" left the main road to Absecom; hence travelers were frequent and business plenty. In 1803 John R. Coates became the owner of several tracts of land iu the middle part of what was then Gloucester County, and erected a saw- mill on one of the branches of Mullicas River that passed through it. William Coffin attended to the building of the dam and mill and a few dwellings, one of which he occupied. He named the place Hammonton in remembrance of his son, John Hammond. In 1814 he purchased the land, and in 1819 conveyed one-half to Jonathan Haines, and they at once began the erection of a glass factory.

Here began the business education of William Coffin, Jr. By means of the country schoolmaster, and through the aid of his father, he had acquired some knowledge of figures and writing, which were rapidly improved by his varied employments about the factory. As clerk in the store, the buyer of goods in Philadelphia and general accountant among the workmen, he improved his business methods and became the more useful to his father. In 1823 he was made partner and so continued for five years, when he, with three other persons, under the name of Coffin, Pearsall & Co., estab- lished a glass-works at Millville, in Cumberland County, N. J. There he remained for two years, when he returned to Hammonton and again became a partner there.

In 1829 William Coffin, Sr., purchased several

adjoining tracts of timber land lying about six miles northwest from Hammonton, in Camden County, and, with William, Jr., and his son-in-law, T. Jefferson Perce, erected a glass factory within the land of the same. This was called Winslow, for his youngest son, who bears the honored name of one of the foremost men of New England in colonial times. In 1834 the title to the land was conveyed to the two last-named persons, who con- tinued the business until 1837, when T. J. Perce died, and William Coffin, Jr , became sole owner. The next year Andrew K. Hay, another son-in- law, became part owner of Winslow, and in 1847 William Coffin, Jr., retired from the business by conveying his remaining interest to Tristram Bowdell, Edward W. Coffin and John B. Hay. For twenty-eight years, it will be seen, he was ac- tively engaged in the manufacture of glass, in the beginning but little understood, and dependent on foreign operatives. With characteristic energy he kept pace with every improvement, and was a firm adherent to the favorite policy of Henry Clay in the protection of home manufactures. He cer- tainly exemplified it in the development of that particular industry, the benefits of which, in that section of country, can be traced to his foresight and liberality.

Although William Coffin, Jr., retired with an ample fortune, yet he soon entered into a new enterprise. He associated himself with Professor J. C. Booth, of Philadelphia, in the experiment of refining nickel and cobalt, it being the first attempt in that direction made in this country. It proved successful, and in 1852 the business was removed to Camden, N. J., on Coopers Creek, and much enlarged. These works are now owned by Joseph Wharton, Esq., who continued the business. In 1850, with a few others, he founded the gas works in Brooklyn, N. Y., and soon after established the gas works in the city of Buffalo, N. Y.

About this time he removed to Haddonfield and erected a handsome private residence, where he resided for several years, dispensing a liberal hos- pitality to the many friends who surrounded him.

In the inception and completion of the Camden and Atlantic Railroad he took an active part and lived to see it in successful operation. Passing as it did through lands formerly owned by himself and a section of the country with which he was familiar, he could appreciate its advantages and understand its benefits.

Disposing of his residence in Haddonfield, he removed to Philadelphia, where he died February 29, 1872, leaving a widow, Ruth Ann (a daughter of John Dean, and whom he married in 1829), and

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

one daughter. His life was an active one, and proves what industry, enterprise and business in- tegrity will do.

WINSLOW LODGE, No. 40, I. O. O. F., was in- stituted May 18, 1846, with the following as the first officers : E. W. Coffin, Noble Grand; Uziel Bareford, Vice-Grand; Wm. S. Fort, Sec. ; John H. Coffin, Treas. The first meetings were held in one of the factory buildings, but in 1848 a regular lodge-room was secured in the public building erected by the Winslow Hall Association. This body was composed of members of the lodge, citi- zens and A. K. Hay, the latter holding three-fifths of the stock. As originally built, the hall was a two-story frame edifice, costing two thousand dol- lars, but it was enlarged and improved in 1880, at a cost of six hundred dollars more. The lower story forms a roomy hall, which is supplied with a good stage. The lodge-room is neatly furnished, and has been continuonsly occupied since 1848. In 1886 the number of members belonging was eighty-five, and the lodge had a working capital of three thousand dollars. Its principal officers are,-Noble Grand, William Baird; Vice-Grand, Thomas Moore; Treasurer, William F. Swissler; Secretary, C. B. Westcott.

WINSLOW ENCAMPMENT, No. 16, I. O. O. F., was instituted March 25, 1847, with the following officers : A. K. Hay, C. P .; E. W. Coffin, H. P. ; Jas. A. Hay, S. W .; Sylvester Chase, J. W .; Jas. Risley, Scribe. By the organization of other en- campments the membership of No. 16 has been much diminished, reducing the number belonging in 1886 to thirteen. At the same time the officers were,-C. P., H. M. Jewett ; H. P., Wm. F. Sem- ple; Treasurer, Wm. Brayman; Scribe, C. P. Westcott.

The hall has also been occupied by a division of Sons of Temperance and a lodge of Good Tem- plars, both of which have discontinued their meet- ings. An assembly of the Knights of Labor, or- ganized a few years ago, now meets statedly, and is reported in a flourishing condition.

NEW HOPEWELL (FRIENDS') MEETING-HOUSE. -About the middle of the last century a number of Friends settled in what is now the upper part of Winslow township, where they soon after estab- lished a meeting. For this purpose several acres of land were secured from William Norcross, on the old Egg Harbor road, abont two miles from Wilton Station, and below the main line of the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railroad. Upon this was built a small, plain, one-story frame meet- ing-honse, and a graveyard was opened on the same ground, which was occupied about fifty years. The

principal founders and members of the meeting were William Norcross and his sons, Uriah and Job, Thomas Penn, George Sloan, Jonathan Jones, John Brown, Abraham Watson, Abraham Brown, John Shinn, James Thornton, William Peacock, David Tice, William Bonlton, Isaiah Clutch, John Duble and Joseph Peacock. Of these, John Shinn was a speaker of power and acceptance, who took up his residence in this isolated locality to escape the praise of those who admired his preaching in the older meetings. In his own words this purpose was expressed : "I came to these wilds to avoid the praise of man, lest I be- come vain and forget the fear of the Lord." The natural sterility of the soil and the location of the meeting-honse on a road which was seldom trav- eled, after more direct thoroughfares were opened, was unfavorable to the prosperity of the meeting, which was now only irregularly held, under the direction of the Evesham Monthly Meeting. This relation is shown from a minute of the latter meet- ing, Second Month 8, 1794 :

" Friends appointed in the 11 Mo. last, to have the oversight of the meeting held at a place called New Hopewell, reported their attention thereto, and that Friends there were careful in the attend- ance thereof. And the Friends who constitute that meeting request liberty to hold meetings as heretofore for three months, which the meeting taking into consideration unites in the continu- ance thereof, for two months, and Enoch Evans, Isaac Boulton, Joshua Stokes and Ephraim Stratton are appointed to have the oversight thereof and to report to this meeting in 4th Mo. next." This arrangement was continued some years, when the death of some of the older Friends and the re- moval of others had so much diminished the membership that the meeting was finally " laid down " in 1819, and the later business records re- moved to Evesham, Burlington County, where they now remain, in charge of the clerk of that meeting. From them may be obtained informa- tion in regard to families, now wholly extinct, which would assist in unraveling many genealog- ical difficulties connected with the first settlers of this part of the county.

After 1820 the old meeting-house was removed by Job Norcross, and rebuilt as a two-story dwell- ing, on the Blue Anchor road, not quite a mile from its old site, where it is now occupied as the home of William Norcross. The grave-yard was preserved by the Friends, and burials of their de- scendants have since been made there. It is the only reminder of the once familiar landmark, which was the centre of a populous settlement of

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THE TOWNSHIP OF WINSLOW.

professing Christians, who have long since passed away. Although the names of many are no longer remembered, the impress of their consistent lives may yet be seen in the best traditions of the neigh- borhood Their influence for truth and justice continues to this day.

In 1883 the Friends relinquished their interest in the grave-yard in favor of the people of Wins- low, who selected a board of trustees to control the same. The members were Samuel T. Peacock, Job Eldridge, Matthias Simmerman, George Norcross and George Peacock. Under their di- rection the cemetery was substantially inclosed, and though in a spot isolated from any other kind of improvement, it shows the care which is be- stowed on it. In the ground are the following marked graves :

Job Norcross, died in 1854, aged seventy-five years. Rev. Benj. Y. Thackara, died 1864, aged seventy-four years.

Ann Thackara, died 1857, aged seventy-three years.

Elizabeth Thackara, died 1847, aged forty-four years. Thomas Penn, died 1831, aged eighty years. Ruth Penn, died 1837, aged eighty-one years. George Penn, died 1863, aged seventy-three yeare. Sarah Penn, died 1795, aged three years. Joseph Peacock, died 1855, aged seventy-one years. Tamar Peacock, died 1869, aged eighty-one yeare. James Ware, died 1865, aged sixty-five years. Ruth Ware, died 1855, aged fifty-seven years. Joshua Eldridge, died 1851, aged eighty-seven years. Amy Eldridge, died 1846, aged seventy-two years. James Githens, died 1864, aged fifty-two years.

BAPTIST CHURCH AT TANSBORO' .- Some of the early settlers of this locality entertained the Baptist faith and had occasional meetings in the New Free- dom Church, the minister coming from Evesham, in Burlington County. An increase of interest caused an organization to be formed and measures were taken to erect a church. January 10, 1841, James Cain donated an acre of land at Tansboro', on which such a building might be erected, con- veying the same to Elijah Briant, Charles Kain, Joseph Porter, James Cain and John Cain, " Trus- tees appointed by and with the consent of the Baptist Church, at Evesham, in trust for the Bap- tist denomination of Tansboro' and its vicinity, of the same faith and order as the Baptist Church at Evesham, for the purpose of erecting a Baptist Church in said place." The meeting-house-a frame structure-was soon after built, and, on the 3d of May, 1845, the church became a corporate body, with John Johnson, Joseph Heritage and Charles H. French as trustees. In the course of years, after meetings had been regularly held for some time, the membership was so much dimin- ished that services were discontinued. Since 1865 no meetings were held and the house was allowed to go to ruin. On the 15th of September, 1874,

William B. French and Chalkley Haines, the sur- viving trustees, conveyed the property to the West New Jersey Baptist Association, in which body the title now rests, but no effort has been made to im- prove it. The walls of the old church remain- grim reminders of the devastating influence of time, and those who once worshipped there are scarcely remembered by the present generation.

THE NEW FREEDOM CHURCH .- Some time after 1810 the citizens of this locality united in building a house for public meetings, in which various denom- inations held services, those of the Methodists pre- dominating. After the organization of societies at Sicklerville and Tansboro' by the Methodist Epis- copal branch, the Methodist Protestants estab- lished regular services at this place. Their first meetings were held in the old church, but in 1867 a new church was built in the same locality, which has since been occupied. The lot on which the house stands was donated by Daniel Thackara, and the building committee was composed of Isaac S. Peacock, Joseph Buzby, Samuel Bittle, Rev. J. K. Freed and Ezra Lake. It is a plain frame structure, thirty by forty-eight feet, and cost twenty-three hundred dollars. On the 14th of May, 1868, the church became an incorporated body, with the following trustees : Jacob K. Freed, . Samuel B. Bittle, Isaiah E. Gibson, Joseph Wat- son and James H. Howard. The membership of the church is small, not exceeding twenty in May, 1886. The congregation had occasional services in connection with the church at Cedar Brook. The latter building was put up in 1885, chiefly by John R. Duble, Samuel Peacock, Ed. Mccullough and Wesley Bates, for the use of religious so- cieties in that locality. The Methodists worshipping here are few in numbers, almost all the members being females. The many changes of residence of the members of the foregoing churches have made it impossible or difficult to maintain the organiza- tion, and, in consequence, the records kept by them are very fragmentary and their history not connected. It is a matter worthy of note, though, that after the decease or removal of the elder Friends most of the younger element connected itself with other Protestant Churches instead of adhering to the faith of their fathers, and as they exercised the greatest freedom of choice, this may account for the number of denominational efforts in this part of the county, more societies being or- ganized than it was possible to maintain in a country just passing through its transition stages. In the grave-yard connected with the New Freedom Church are interred, among others, the following :

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HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

William Curtis, died 1863, aged sixty-three years. Hannah Curtis, died 1862, aged fifty-nine years. Cornelius Curtis, died 1880, aged forty-eight years. Gilbert Kellum, died 1844, aged sixty-four years. William Kellum, died 1820, aged ---. Martha Crowley, died 1881, aged ninety-one years. Josiah Tice, died 1847, aged thirty-four years. Emanuel Bodine, died 1880, aged fifty-three years. Edward G. Brown, died 1862, aged forty-six years. Samuel G. Bettle, died 1874, aged thirty six years.

The yard shows signs of neglect and is not so much used as in former periods.

TANSBORO' METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH .- After holding their meetings in the old New Freedom Church a number of years, the Method- ist congregation erected a new church at Tans- boro' in 1857. The honse is a plain frame, having a seating capacity for a few hundred worshippers, and was built on a lot donated by John Carroll. Those active in it were Samnel Butler, Henry Brown, .Matthias Simmerman, James Dill and Michael Earling, serving as a committee for the congregation. The church has sustained various circuit relations, being associated with Sicklerville and at present with Atco, having no regular min- ister. When connected with the former, among the preachers were the Revs. Johnson, Moore, Stock- ton, Morgan, Shimp, Tunneycliff, Reeves, Engard and Murrell. The membership has been fluctuat- ing, owing to the changes at the glass-works, but, in May, 1886, the number belonging was sixty, and the trustees were W. T. Sickler, Henry Besser, Jacob Besser, Michael Burdsall, Abraham Burdsall and George Robinson. The latter is also superintendent of a flourishing Sunday-school.

THE SICKLERVILLE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH .- The first Methodist meetings in this lo- cality were held at private houses and in the school- house, most of the preaching being done by John Sickler, a local preacher; and the members were his sons, Christopher, John and William, with their families, and Joseph Jones. About 1837 William Sickler set aside an acre of land for church purposes, and soon after the neighbors united in building a small frame house thereon. Here schools were kept during the week and religious meetings on the Sabbath, the attendants coming many miles. Some time after, Sickler donated an additional acre of land on which to establish a cemetery, deeding the whole, in trust, to John Sickler, John Barton, Christopher Sickler and Thomas Lashley. The old building was used until 1859. when the present church was erected in its stead. Itis a neat frame structure, thirty-five by forty-five feet, which has been made attractive by recent improvements. In 1886 the property was in charge of trustees William Andrew, William Shreve, S. W. Sickler,

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 120

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards Number of Pages: 1220

Author: Prowell, George Reeser, 1849-1928
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : Richards
Number of Pages: 1220