The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 5

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

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came to be turned to God in a little time, for the heavenly day of the Lord sprang from on high and broke forth apace."

For refusing to pay tithes in England, the goods of Friends were taken to many times the value; for absence from the national worship twenty pounds per month was im- posed, and when brought before the courts, the oath of allegiance was tendered to them as a pretext, upon their refusal to disobey the injunction " swear not at all," for the impo- sition of further penalties. Meetings of the Friends were broken up, and in many cases they were shamefully abused. The sober; upright lives of Friends were a constant re- proach, and aroused the hatred of many around theni. It is probable that fully one- half of their sufferings were due to this cause, as their persecutors certainly cared lit- tle for religion.

In 1659 a petition was presented to Parlia- ment, signed by one hundred and sixty-four Friends, offering their own bodies, person for person, to lie in prison instead of such of their brethren as were under confinement and in danger as of their lives therefrom. More than two hundred and fifty died in prison, and while some in England were sentenced to banishment, it was only in New England that a few were hung and others had their ears cut off.

THEIR EMIGRATION TO AMERICA .- Per- secutions were continued with more or less severity until the accession of William and Mary to the throne of England, when an act of toleration was passed in 1689. Prior to this, however, many Friends had sought a home for religious liberty in Massachusetts, Long Island and New Jersey, and when William Penn established his colony, in 1682, it was but natural that a large number should have been attracted thither. The first settlement of Friends in New Jersey was at Salem in 1676, and at Burlington in 1678.

A few of the early settlers within the present limits of Camden County came here

THE FRIENDS IN WEST JERSEY.

from Burlington settlement, and from that source obtained authority for the organization of their religious meetings.1

The little notice taken of the interests of William Penn in New Jersey and of his con- nection with the initiatory steps for colonizing the territory and establishing a form of gov- ernment, is a noticeable feature in the writ- ings of his biographers. This may be ac- counted for by the willingness of his admir- ers to subordinate everything to his success- ful efforts in founding a colony of his own, which soon overshadowed the sparse settle- ments on the east side of the Delaware River, which had been planted by and were under the patronage of John Fenwick. It was more than seven years before he received the grant for Pennsylvania that Penn became interested in the effort to establish in America a colony where Friends could enjoy with freedom the dictates of their conscience.

1 PLANS OF ORGANIZATION .- The organization and subordination of the Meetings of Friends are as follows : One or more Meetings for worship constitute one Pre- parative Meeting; one or more Preparative Meetings constitute one Monthly Meeting ; several Monthly Meet- ings constitute one Quarterly Meeting ; several Quarterly meetings constitute one Yearly Meeting, which is an in- dependent body ; yet the different Yearly Meetings maintain more or less of correspondence with each other.

The Preparative Meetings are held monthly, and generally in the month prior to the regular Monthly Meetings, for the preparation of reports and other busi- ness to be presented thereat. The Monthly Meetings are the principal executive branch of the Society for the exercise of the discipline over members. Regular and voluminous reports of the proceedings are recorded, as well as records of births, deaths and marriages. " In- dulged " Meetings for stated periods are held by sanc- tion of Monthly Meetings ; but all Meetings suhordinate to are established permanently by authority of the Quarterly Meetings, and these in turn by the Yearly meeting.

The first Meeting established in what is now Camden County was the old Newton Meeting. There are at present four meetings in the county,-Haddonfield Meeting, Newton Meeting and Hicksite Friends' Meet- ings in Haddonfield and in Camden. Sketches of each of them are given in the history of the places in which they are situated.

When Lord Berkeley (on March 18, 1673), as mentioned in the preceding chapter, con- veyed to John Fenwick his individual moi- ety of New Jersey, for reasons which do not appear, the right was questioned by the cred- itors of Edward Byllynge, a brewer of West- minster, London, at that time insolvent, they suspecting that Edward Byllynge had paid for the grant with money justly due to them. After much controversy between John Fen- wick, Edward Byllynge and Edward Byl- lyuge's creditors, William Penn was called upon to act as arbitrator ; who, after careful examination and inquiry, decided that John Fenwick was entitled to but ten parts, and that he (Fenwick) should convey the ninety parts of said territory to such persons as should be chosen as trustees for the benefit of Edward Byllynge's creditors. The creditors, who were mostly Friends, pressed Penn into their service as one of the trustees in the sale of these lands and in the payment of Byl- lynge's debts, the others being Gawen Lau- rie and Nicholas Lucas. On February 9, 1674, John Fenwick made conveyance of the ninety parts to said trustees, reserving ten parts whereon was planted his colony. In the discharge of the intricate duties which his position as trustee imposed upon him, Penn's sense of justice and fair dealing was often displayed, as were also his foresight and business penetration. The records of the times prove that while thus engaged he ren- dered many valuable services not incident to his stewardship, and also helped to frame a form of government acceptable to adventur- ers, that met the wishes of the owners as well.

During these days the leading and more thoughtful members of the Society of Friends were casting about them for some "new country " where the adherents to their relig- ious belief could be at peace, and where their persons and estates would be secure from the hands of those who, under the color of law, excused their shameless persecutions. "The

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

plantations in America," as heretofore stated, were attracting some attention, and the re- ports from there as to climate and soil were good. William Penn was at that time a prominent and influential member of the So- ciety, and being one of the trustees of Byl- lynge, New Jersey was naturally looked to as the spot where their wishes could be real- ized, and in its settlement they became inter- ested.

The primary object was to sell the land to colonists, or the debts of Edward Byllynge could never be discharged, and to prompt Friends to avail themselves of the opportun- ity which now offered, a form of government had to be established and promulgated em- bodying the fundamentals sought for, but not so much at variance with the home policy as to be rejected by those in authority. This was a delicate task, and yet a necessary one, for this wilderness country had few induce- ments to cause people to break up their homes and settle here. Passing over the Concessions and Agreements published by Berkeley and Carteret, in 1664, as applied to the whole territory of New Jersey, "The Concessions and Agreements of the proprietors, freehold- ers and inhabitants of the province of West New Jersey in America," as made in 1676, show the success of William Penn and his associates in their first efforts to establish the true basis of a representative government by placing the fountain of power in the people.

These " concessions," contained in forty- four chapters, are the best evidence of the broad views and liberal sentiments of the framers whose object was to secure those who . came within their operation and control against the encroachments and abuses from which they were then suffering. No one can read them without being convinced that men of strong minds and decided purpose only, could so well put their intentions into words.

Touching the vital question of taxation, the subject was met in this plain and direct manner :

" They are not to impose, or suffer to be imposed, any tax, custom or subsidy, tollage, assessment, or any other duty whatsoever, upon any color or pretence, how specious soever, upon the said province and inhabit- ants thereof, without their own consent first had, or other than what shall be imposed by the authority and consent of the General As- sembly, and that only in manner and for the good ends and nses as aforesaid."

And again, that of "the exercise of their consciences in matters of religious worship," is neither vague nor ambiguous.

" That no man, nor number of men upon earth, hath power or authority to rule over men's consciences in religious matters; there- fore it is consented, agreed and ordained that no person or persons whatsoever within said province at any time or times hereafter, shall be any ways, upon any pretence whatever called in question, or in the least punished or hurt, either in person, estate or privilege, for the sake of his opinion, judgment, faith or worship towards God in matters of relig- ion, but that all and every such person and persons may from time to time and at all times freely and fully have and enjoy his and their judgments, and the exercise of their consciences in matters of religious worship throughont all the said province."

In these "concessions and agreements " al- most every detail necessary to the proper working of a new system was anticipated and provided for, and, as was demonstrated, it only needed a sufficient number of settlers in the colony to warrant its success.

To say that William Penn had neither part nor lot in the production of this docu- ment would be to ignore all knowledge of, the man, and his subsequent life of useful- ness devoted always to the advancement and benefit of his fellow-creatures.1

1 William Penn afterwards became proprietor of the Province of Pennsylvania, and with his further history every intelligent reader is familiar. After a life of great usefulness, he died on the 30th day of the Fifth 1 Month, 1718, in the 74th year of his age. His remains.,

THE FRIENDS IN WEST JERSEY.

Not one of the New England States, nor New York nor Virginia was quite equal to West New Jersey in its love and practice of perfect religious toleration. Under the dom- inant ideas of the Friends governing here, no man was asked for or about his creed when offering himself as a candidate for public office. Never before, anywhere else that we know of, was there set to the world such an example of absolute and harmless toleration. The Puritans did noble things for liberty ; the Hollanders did nobler; but the Friends, as far as their influ- ence extended, did noblest.

The authors of this remarkable Constitution addressed the Society of Friends of England, recom- mending the province, and invited them to emigrate to it. The in- vitation was not in vain, and before the end of the year 1677 a colony of more than four hundred Friends found homes in West Jersey, and many more during the years im- mediately succeeding. When the ships bearing the Burlington im- migrants in the year 1678, arrived in the Delaware the agent of An- dros, at New Castle, required them to pay duties at that point, but Sir William Jones decided this to be illegal, and the claims of the Duke of York on West Jersey were then withdrawn and the Friends were left in the full enjoyment of independence. In November, 1689, Samuel Jennings, the Deputy-Governor of West Jer- sey, convened the first General Assembly, and the Friends met together to make their own laws. They reaffirmed the Concessions, declared all races and religions equal, forbade imprisonment for debt and the sale of ardent spirits to the red men, demanded that lands be acquired from the Indians by purchase,

were interred in the burying-ground surrounding Jor- dans Friends' Meeting-House in Buckinghamshire, Eng- land.

and permitted that a criminal might be par- doned by the person against whom the offense was committed.

William Penn and eleven other Friends pur- chased the province of East Jersey in 1682. Robert Barclay, of Scotland, author of a book entitled "Barclay's Apology," was appointed Governor for life, and the whole of New Jersey was then controlled by the Friends. During Barclay's administration there was a largeimmigration of Scotch and Irish Friends, who came to this province to find freedom.

WILLIAM PENN'S BURIAL PLACE.

The first settlers of these people who pur- chased lands in what is now Camden Coun- ty, obtained shares in the proprietary right of Edward Byllynge's trustees about 1677, and a few years later they came to this coun- ty and located. The line fixed between East and West Jersey, July 1, 1676, pro- vided that the territory of the province be laid off into ten precincts, which, however, were not so laid off until January 14, 1681, old style. At that time Daniel Leeds was surveyor-general of the Province and was or- dered by the commissioners to divide the river-front of the Delaware from Assanpink to Cape May into ten equal parts, running

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

each tenth "so far back into the woods" as to give it an area of sixty-four thousand acres. This was accomplished, and the third and fourth tentlis extended from the river Crapwell, or Pensaukin Creek, on the north to the river Berkeley, or Oldmans Creek, on the south ; each of the tenths laid out as above mentioned were also divided into tenths, and were each called a share of propriety. Many of the Society of Friends had fled from the persecutions to which they were subjected in England to Dublin, Ireland, and their at- tention was attracted to the new country by the exciting troubles between Edward Byl- lynge and John Fenwick, and on the 12th of April, 1677, Robert Turner, Robert Zane, Thomas Thackara, William Bates and Joseph Sleight, all of Dublin, with the exception of William Bates, who was of the county of Wickloe, Ireland, purchased one whole share of propriety of the trustees of Byllynge, which included the right to locate within the limits of West Jersey. The proprietors of West Jersey then set aside for this colouy of Friends the third tenth, which was from that time called the third or Irish tenth.1 In the years 1681-82 it was provided that each tenth on which there were settlements should send to the Assembly ten delegates. The third or Irish tenth having at this time passed to the occupancy of the Dublin col- ony, seven of them were chosen to represent the district, viz. : William Cooper, Mark Newbie, Henry Stacy, Francis Collins, Sam- nel Cole, Thomas Howell and William Bates. The fourth tenth was not represented, as few, if any, English people were at that time within its limits. This Assembly met yearly until 1685, when, by reason of con- fusion arising from the attempt of Byllynge to assume the government, the Assembly did not meet again until November 3, 1692.

From the first landing of the Dutch, in

1623, to 1682 no permanent settlement of the English had been effected within the lim- its of what is now Camden County. The foregoing has brought us down to the time when the inhabitants of the third tenth and fourth tenth in the Province of West Jersey was represented in the Legislative Council of the State, from which time begius the early history of old Gloucester County, as given in the succeeding pages.

CHAPTER V.

EARLY HISTORY OF OLD GLOUCESTER.

THE preceding chapter described the royal grants and the occupation under them, of the Dutch, the Swedes and the English, from the grant of 1621 to the settlement of the Dublin colony on the third or Irish tenth, which comprised the territory now embraced .in Camden County. Soon after the meeting of the Assembly in November, 1685, the proprietors, freeholders and inhabitants of the third and fourth tenths, who had been subjected to many inconveniences for the transaction of public business by reason of the distance from the county-seat of Burling- ton and Salem, met at Arwames (Gloucester Point), pursuant to public notice, on the 26th of May, 1686, during the administration of Governor Samuel Jennings, and, after much discussion and mature deliberation, adopted a Constitution for the government of the ter- ritory lying between Pensauken Creek and Oldmans Creek, it being the third and fourth tenths, to which they gave the name Gloucester County ; it thus became the only county in West Jersey organized directly through the action of its own people. This Constitution provided for the holding of courts at Gloucester and Red Bank, and for the elec- tion of county officers. It also prescribed the details of legal practice and provided for the recording of the marks of hogs and cattle. The

1 A further account of the settlement of this colony will be found in the history of Haddon township, in this volume.

EARLY HISTORY OF OLD GLOUCESTER.

erection of Gloucester County by the authority of the inhabitants within its bounds was con- firmed by the General Assembly of the prov- ince in 1694. Its boundaries were not defi- nitely defined and it is evident from an act of Assembly, passed the same year the erec- tion of the county was confirmed, that it did not extend to the sea-coast, as the act referred to provides that the few settlers residing at Egg Harbor shall be under jurisdiction of Gloucester County until there shall be a suf- ficient number to constitute a county. In January, 1709, an act was passed more clearly defining the county boundaries, and in that act Egg Harbor and its vicinity were embraced in Gloucester County. Its bounds were given as follows : "Gloncester County begins at the month of Pensaukin Creek; thence up the same to the fork thereof; thence along the bounds of Burlington County to the sea ; thence along the sea-coast to Great Egg Harbor River ; thence up said river to the fork thereof; thence up the southernmost and greatest branch of the same to the head thereof ; thence in a direct line to the head of Oldmans Creek ; thence down the same to the Delaware River to the place of begin- ning." In 1837 Atlantic County was erected, as contemplated in the act of 1694, out of the sea-coast townships, and in 1844 the townships of Camden, Waterford, Newton, Union, Delaware, Gloucester and Washing ton, then constituting a part of Gloucester County, were erected into the new county of Camden, which was named after the city de- signed to be its county-seat.

EXTRACTS FROM GLOUCESTER COUNTY RECORDS .- The first court for the original county of Gloucester was held at Gloucester in September, 1686, with Justices Francis Collins, Thomas Thackara and John Wood on the bench. The sheriff's jury list included the names of William Hunt, William Bates, William Alvertson, William Lovejoy, Henry Wood, Jonathan Wood, John Hugg, James Atkinson, Thomas Sharp, Thomas Chaun-

ders, George Goldsmith, John Ladde, Daniel Reading, John Ithel, John Bethell, Thomas Matthews, William Dalboe, Anthony Neil- son, John Matson, Thomas Bull, John Tay- lor, William Salisbury, Matthew Medcalfe and William Cooper. The findings of this court are evidence that after the adoption of the Arwames Constitution the people of Gloucester County considered themselves an independent government, with the power to levy taxes, fix boundaries, etc. The Decem- ber court at Gloucester in 1687 presented two Burlington officers for conveying accused persons out of its jurisdiction for trial at Burlington, and compelled one of them to make apology. This difficulty was caused by a dispute concerning county boundaries. The grand jury, at the Febrnary Session of the court for the same year, ordered the first tax to be laid, levying a shilling for every hun- dred acres of land, two pence for each head of cattle, a tax of two pence on each freeman having neither land nor cattle and an addi- tional head tax of one shilling on all men not possessed of such property. Taxes were made payable in money or produce, and an increase in double the amount could be dis- trained for in case of delinquency. Taxes continued to be laid by the grand jury till 1694, when the power was vested by Pro- vincial Assembly in a quorum of the county justices, " with the advice, concurrence and assistance" of the grand jury. In 1713 this power was vested in the justices and chosen freeholders, where it remained until the organization of the Board of Freeholders of the members from each township, on Feb- ruary 13, 1798. From a taxing act passed in 1750 it appears that there were then in the county fourteen stores and shops, twenty- seven mills, five ferries and more than twenty-five taverns.

The first murder trial was a case of infan . ticide which occurred in 1701, but the court record does not show what penalty was inflicted on the defendant.

HISTORY OF CAMDEN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

The case was tried by the Governor, Lord Cornbury, in person, and on December 19th the following record was made :

" We, the Grand Jury of the County of Glouces- ter, doe order eighteen pence to by twelve bushels of charcoal for the prisoner, and two pounds two shillings to by three match coats for the prisoner's use so long as she hath occasion for it, and then to be reserved for the County's use. We allow seven shillings and sixpence to the clerk for five warrants to the collector to gather the above tax. We further allow Matthew Metcalfe twelve shil- lings and six pence for defraying the Lord Corn- bury's retinue's expenses when he was lately at Gloucester, and six shillings to John Siddons for a Coffin for the murthered child, and six shillings more we allow him by discount of his old tax in 1694 for bringing the Justices and Coroner to Gloster. We allow eight pounds four shillings and four pence for defraying the Lord Cornbury's and his attendance's cxpences when he was lately at Gloucester."

Among the earliest marriages recorded in the county was that of Samuel Taylor and Elizabeth Ward, on January 13, 1687, and George Ward and Hannah Waynwright, on November 17, 1697. The first birth re- corded was that of the child of John and Jane Burroughs, of Gloucester River, March 14, 1687.

The earliest recorded meeting of justices and freeholders was held on the 5th day of the Second Month, 1715. The justices pres- ent were Richard Bull, John Inskeep, George Lawrence and John Rambo ; the freeholders, John Kaighn, Peter Long, John Ladd, Jacob Clement, Joseph Cooper, Jaco- bus Collin and John Shivers. They pro- vided for the building of a new prison and court-house by a tax of eighty pounds, and made another levy of fifteen pounds to pay bounties for the destruction of wolves, pan- thers and red foxes. The sum of thirty pounds was ordered raised in 1716 for the same purposes, and in 1717 the board levied a tax of ten pounds for completing the prison, twenty pounds for wolves, panthers and red foxes, and seventy pounds for Tim-

ber Creek bridge. Assessors, collectors and commissioners were appointed to carry the action of the board into effect. At the meeting of November 1, 1721, the sheriff, Josiah Kay, was allowed James More's horse, saddle and brass pistol for executing the man, who seems to have been convicted of highway robbery, and £9 8s. for executing Christiana Boff, the murderer of her child. In the minutes of the board on May 3, 1750, Samuel Harrison, the sheriff, brought in a bill of £17 12s. for whipping James McBride and for executing John Johnson, John Steward and Ebenezer Caral. On this claim the following entry was made :

" The Board, taking sd bill into Consideration, al- low for ye Ropes and diging ye Graves, 148. 8; & for ye rest are of Opinion yt its ye Sheriff's Office to see ye Law Executed upon Convicts ; and as they know no Law yt Intitles him to any Pay for ye Execution of his Office in Such Case, think, therefore, it would be a ill Presedent and not warrentable in them to allow said Bill or any of ye like kind."

The court and jury seem always to have had a lively sense of their dignity and to have been jealous of maintaining it. On June 1, 1702, Nathaniel Zane was fined ten shillings for his " affront, Abuse and under- vallueing of ye forman of ye Grand Jury ;" and on December 1st, Jeremiah Bate was fined thirty shillings " for several Contemptuose and Reflecting, Abusive Expressions used to- wards ye Bench ;" but " upon his humble sub- mission to ye Bench and desire of fforgetful- ness, ye same is remitted and forgotten." An instance of the anxiety of the Friends, who were the principal settlers of Glouces- ter, to purge the community of all question- able characters, was the case of Amos Nich- olson, who, having come into the town of Greenwich, was presented by the grand jury, June 2, 1701, as " being a man of ill- fame," and required to leave the township or give security to indemnify the township against his becoming a dangerous or trouble-

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The history of Camden county, New Jersey, Part 5

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