USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > The history of Newark, New Jersey : being a narrative of its rise and progress, from the settlement in May, 1666, by emigrants from Connecticut to the present time, including a sketch of the press of Newark, from 1791 to 1878 > Part 13
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There were other bold and daring spirits besides Littell and his men belonging to this neighborhood. Matthias Wade, Barnabas Carter and Mr. Moorehouse-names still familiar in the immediate vicinity of Newark-were the heroes of a gallant exploit at Lyons Farms. A house there had been taken possession of by a party of twenty-five Hessians. In it they rendezvoused. Wade, Carter and Moorehouse resolved to surprise and rout them. They agreed upon a night and a plan. Wade was to shoot down the sentinel, while the others raised a tremendous shout and discharged their muskets through the windows, in among the Hessians. The plan was completely successful. The terrified soldiers, supposing that a large force surrounded the house, instantly took to flight, not stopping to pick up their arms or accoutrements.
One cold, dark, wintry night towards the close of the war, another small party of dauntless fellows figured in an incident which further illustrates the mettle and dash of the Jerseymen of'76. The ground was covered with a deep snow. Captain John Kidney, Captain Henry Joralemon, Jacob Garland and Halmach Joralemon started from their homes in Bloomfield, (then within the town limits of Newark), in search of adventure. A pair of swift steeds and an ordinary wood sled soon brought them into the neighborhood of Bergen Heights. Here, at the time, was stationed a British garrison. On the night in question, it happened that the officers and men of the garrison were enjoying themselves in a dancing and drinking frolic. Having dismounted from their sled, and tied the horses to a fence, the adven- turous Bloomfield spirits proceeded to reconnoitre, and discovered the state of affairs with the garrison. Each of the four was fully armed. A plan was quickly arranged for capturing a portion, at least, of the British soldiery. Stealthily Capt. Kidney and his men
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120 BLOOMFIELD'S BRAVE SPIRITS-WILLIAM S. PENNINGTON.
approached the school house, where were gathered the Royalist roysterers. After the manner of the men at Lyons Farms, who surprised the Hessians, Kidney and his companions suddenly made all the noise possible. Orders were given by the Captain in a loud voice, as though he was manœuvring a large force. He then sprang to the door, forced it open, and cried out to the surprised and terror-stricken soldiers within : " Every one of you are my prisoners; surrender or you die!" Kidney's associates were behind him, so arranged with bristling bayonets that those inside could not tell but that a whole regiment was outside Kidney ordered the red-coats to fall in line and pass out one by one. He picked out an officer first, then a refugee, and had them muffled and hurried to the sled, warning all that "the first one who attempted to escape was a dead man." The Captain and his daring companions next made a dash for the sled, started off at the swiftest pace, and baffled the pursuit which promptly followed. The prisoners were secured in the Morristown jail. The chagrin of the captives and the garrison on discovering how they had been so cleverly outwitted may readily be imagined.
The well known Newark names of Pennington and Ogden are likewise written in illuminated characters across the pages of American Revolutionary history.
The Pennington family was represented in the war by WILLIAM SANDFORD PENNINGTON, a great grandson of Ephraim Pennington, one of the Milford company of original settlers. William Sandford was born in Newark, 1757. He was domiciled with his uncle, Mr. Sandford, a farmer, and was to have inherited his uncle's property. On the breaking out of hostilities, despite the fact of his uncle being a pronounced Loyalist, and of a threat of disinheritance if he joined the Rebels, young William warmly espoused the Revolutionary cause. The gallant stripling-he was still in his teens-flung away his tempting heirship, and entered the patriot army. According to the family tradition, his first service was as a non-commissioned officer in an artillery company. It is stated that in one of the engagements young Pennington was found by General Knox loading and firing a piece of artillery almost alone, and with such gallantry and signal bravery that Knox procured his promotion on the field of battle as First Lieutenant of Artillery. He was commissioned Lieutenant of the Second Regiment of Artillery,
PENNINGTON'S ARMY LIFE-MAJOR ANDRÉ-WASHINGTON. 121
April 21, 1780, taking rank from September 12, 1778. A private journal kept by him from May, 1780, to March, 1781, affords us at once an insight into the character of the young lieutenant, and some interesting incidents of the Revolutionary period. During the greater portion of the seven years' war the Lieutenant was stationed with a park of artillery in the neighborhood of West Point. Once, while visiting his home here, he had to conceal himself in a hay-rick, for fear of being surprised and captured by refugees. He appears to have been an eye witness, or was in the neighborhood, of the execution at Tappan of the unfortunate Major André, the victim of Benedict Arnold's treachery and the inexorable demands of martial law. In his journal Lieutenant Pennington made this feeling entry :
" MONDAY, 2ND OCTOBER, 1780-This day, at twelve o'clock, Major Andre, Adjutant-general of the British army, was executed as a spy. He behaved with great fortitude. Although self-preservation and the laws and usages of nations justify, and policy dictates the procedure, yet I must conceive most of the officers of the army felt for the unfortunate gentleman."
Within a couple of weeks after making this entry, Pennington made a visit to Newark and took occasion then to pay the fair daughters of his native town a neatly turned compliment : " Wed- nesday, October 16, I spent a principal part of the day in Newark, visiting my female acquaintances in this place. The ladies in town, to do them justice, are a very sociable, agreeable set of beings, whose company serves to educate the mind, and in a manner to compensate the toils of military life." A dinner party at General Washington's table, at which were present Generals Knox and Howe, is thus referred to in the journal : " Tuesday, December 26- This day I had the honor to dine at his excellency General Washing- ton's table, and the pleasure of seeing, for the first time, the celebrated Mrs. Washington. Instead of the usual subjects of great men's tables, such as conquering of worlds and bringing the whole human race into subjection to their will, or of the elegance of assemblies and balls, and the sublimity of tastes in dress, &c., the simple but very laudable topic of agriculture was introduced by his excellency, who, I think, discussed the subject with a great degree of judgment and knowledge. The wine circulated with liberality, but the greatest degree of decorum was observed through the whole
122
MUTINEERS NEAR POMPTON-FROM GRAVE TO GAY.
of the afternoon." The mutinying of the Pennsylvania troops at Morristown, and the similar conduct of the Jersey line, are thus referred to :
" Monday, 22d, we received information that the Jersey line had followed the example of Pennsylvania in mutinying, in consequence of which a detachment of artillery consisting of three 3-pounders to be commanded by Captain Stewart, was ordered to parade immediately. I was ordered to join the above detachment, vice Alling.
25th-This day the detachment marched to Smith's Cove, and halted for the night.
26th-This day we marched to Ringwood and joined a detachment of Major-General Howe.
Saturday 27th-This day the above detachment marched at one o'clock, and at daylight sur- rounded the Jersey encampment near Pompton, where the mutineers were quartered. No other terms were offered to them but to immediately parade without their arms. General Howe likewise sent them word by Lieutenant Colonel Barber, that if they did not comply in five minutes, he would put them all to the sword; rather than run the risk of which they surrendered. Upon this the General ordered a Court Martial in the field to try some of their leaders; three of whom, Grant, .Tuttell and Gilmorc, were sentenced to suffer death. Grant, from some circumstance in his behavior, was pardoned. ' Tuttle and Gilmore were immediately executed. The mutineers returned to their duty and received a general pardon."
Again the Lieutenant turns his thoughts from scenes grave and gloomy to scenes gay and festive-from the fierce and tragic realities of military life, to the charming and delightful associations of a garrison entertainment. He records :
" February 8th-This afternoon an entertainment was given by Lieutenant-Colonel Stevens, of the Second regiment, his excellency General Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette and families, and the officers of the park of artillery. His Excellency and the Marquis left us at dark, upon which we immediately opened a ball, and spent the evening very agreeably, but lamented the absence of the ladies of our acquaintance who would have graced the ball had they been there, and rendered the entertainment perfectly consummate. Mrs. Stevens was the only lady that graced the assembly."
The Lieutenant was present, it is thought, at the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and left the service with the brevet rank of Captain. Upon the declaration of peace he carried on hatting and afterwards commercial business in Newark. He was of a very active turn of mind and took a deep interest in public affairs, warmly espousing the political principles of Thomas Jefferson, as did also his brother Samuel. In 1797 he was chosen to the Assembly, and soon became in that body the leader of the Republicans, as Jefferson's party followers were styled in those days In 1802 he was licensed as an attorney, having studied law with Judge Boudinot.
123
PENNINGTON'S PUBLIC LIFE-NEWARK " LOYALISTS."
In less than two years he was chosen an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and in 1813 he became Governor and Chancellor of the State. Two years later President Madison appointed him Judge of the United States District Court for New Jersey, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Judge Robert Morris. This position Governor Pennington held up to the time of his death. He sometimes sat with Judge Bushrod Washington, a favorite nephew of the illustrious soldier-statesman. Judge Pennington died September 17th, 1826. On his tombstone was inscribed a Latin inscription, which, translated, runs as follows :
This marble is erected to the memory of a man imbued with sacred lore and no less experi- enced in all human knowledge. From his earliest youth he was dedicated to holiness-a strenuous advocate of the Christian faith, and second to none in devotion. Of easy manners- humane in his conduct-an exemplar of every charity-adorned with a thousand virtues his modesty concealed.
In the opening pages of this chapter, mention is made of the fact that neighbors were arrayed against neighbors, sons against parents, and brothers against brothers, upon the great questions then rocking the cradle of American Independence. The attitude of one Newark family in particular commanded attention then, as it does now at our hands. This was the rich, powerful, influential and cultured Ogden family. Upon the question as to whether America. should be for the Americans or for the Anglo-Guelphs, this distinguished New Jersey house was divided against itself. The head of the family was Judge David Ogden, son of Colonel Josiah Ogden, the chief founder of Trinity Episcopal Church. Judge Ogden was educated at Yale College, whence he graduated with high honors in 1728. He was a man of decided talent, and apart from his wealth, which, for those days, was quite large, commanded widespread influence in the Province. He had long been a member of his Majesty's Council and was also for many years a Justice of the Supreme Court. Just before the opening of the war with the Mother Country he was chosen to succeed Chief Justice Smyth, as the chief magistrate of the highest Provincial bench. Like his judicial predecessor, but unlike Richard Stockton, his fellow-student, David Ogden espoused the cause of King George. What happened after the outbreak of hostilities is described by the Judge himself in a document of rare
124
JUDGE OGDEN'S LOYALTY TO KING GEORGE.
interest, which has been placed at the author's disposal by the Judge's sole surviving grand-daughter, a venerable and most estimable Newark lady, who to this day proclaims herself a British subject. This document explains itself and preserves to posterity some interesting data. It was printed in London from the Judge's manuscript, in 1784, and is entitled "The Claim of David Ogden Esq, 1784." It opens as follows :
To the Honorable the Commissioners, appointed by Act of Parliament, for enquiring into the Losses and Services of the American Loyalists :
THE MEMORIAL OF DAVID OGDEN, ESQ., LATE OF NEW-ARK, IN THE COLONY OF JERSEY, IN AMERICA :
SHOWETH,
That your memorialist has, for about twenty-five years past, been one of his Majesty's Council, and for several ycars one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of Judicature for said Colony, and continued in the exercise of his said respective Offices, until the commencement of the late Rebellion in America.
That your memorialist, by reason of his loyalty to his Majesty, and his attachment to the British government, became obnoxious to the Rebels and was obliged for his personal safety to abandon his property in New Jersey, and go, in the beginning of the year 1777, into the City of New York, to be under the protection of his Majesty's Army.
That your memorialist had his salary, as one of the Justices of the Supreme Court, taken from him in the year 1776, and on the 6th day of January 1777 the day after he went to New York, a regiment of Continental troops came to his dwelling house, who, after enquiring for your memorialist, and not finding him at home, plundered and destroyed a great part of his most valuable effects ; and some time afterwards, all his real and the remainder of his personal property was seized, confiscated and sold by the Commissioners appointed for that purpose, in virtue of laws, made and enacted in New Jersey, excepting such parts thereof as are mentioned in the estimate and schedule hereunto annexed, in which, your memorialist has, as far as lays in his power, particularly and accurately described and valued, the property he has lost and the services he has been deprived of.
Your Memorialist therefore prays, that his case may be taken into your consideration, in order that your memorialist may be enabled, under your report, to receive such aid and relief as his losses and services may be found to require.
Rathbone-Place No. 5, March 18, 1784.
DAVID OGDEN.
The ACCOUNT and ESTIMATE of the real estate of the Hon. David Ogden, Esq. ; late one of his Majesty's council for the Province of New Jersey, and one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of said Province: who abandoned his estate in said province, in consequence of his loyalty to his Majesty, and attachment to the British Government, and his obedience to various Proclamations issued by his Majesty's Commissioners, Generals, &c. And joined his Majesty's Army, in the city of New York, on the 5th day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven. The whole of which estate has been confiscated by virtue of a law of the Legislature of the State of New Jersey ; some parts thereof since the said confis- cation have been sold, and some part yet remains unsold as is particularly hereinafter mentioned, viz :
125
THE JUDGE'S CONFISCATED PROPERTY IN NEWARK.
Confiscated, sold, and now held under the State of New Jersey.
Number of Acres of Land, and Improvements thereon.
Where situate.
Value New York Currency.
Sterling.
f. s. d. £. s. d.
No. I One mansion house, out houses, garden, coach house, barnes, granaries, stables, and about three acres of land.
At New Ark, in Essex County, and Province of New Jersey, in the main street, between the church and Presbyterian meet- ing-house.
2000
II25 0 0
No. 2 One other smaller stone house, forty feet by twenty feet, and one-quarter of an acre of land.
Adjoining to the above men- tioned lot.
350
196 17 6
No. 3 One lot of land of eight acres in high cultivation, with some orchards there- on, and a large barn.
At New Ark aforesaid, in the same street, nearly opposite to the County Court House. 850
478 2 6
At New Ark aforesaid, in a back street about one-quarter of a mile from the said County Court House.
340
191 5 0
At New Ark aforesaid in a back street about one-quarter of a mile from the church and as far from the said Court House. 1050
590 12 6
buildings thereon.
At New Ark aforesaid to the Eastward of the Court House, and within about half a mile of the same. 480
[Then follow descriptions of twelve other lots of land, improved and unimproved, in and around Newark, some " at a place called Over the Swamp, " some " on the road leading from New-ark to Boonton," some "at Horsencck, thirteen miles from Newark," some "on the road leading to New York," some "on Passaick River, New Ark Bay and in the great mcadows," also two lots "confiscated but not sold " making eighteen lots in all, the whole valued at]
270 0 0
£27,078 0 0 15,231 7 6
In the schedule of proofs, No. I is referred to as follows :
THE MANSION HOUSE, OUT HOUSES, &c, and about three acres of Land. Part of the Lot David Ogden purchased of his father Col. Josiah Ogden, deceased, about forty years past- obtained a deed for the same which is taken from his papers or mislaid-built his late Dwelling
.
. No. 4 One other lot of land called Crane's Lot, in high cultivation, contain- ing nine acres, besides the usual allowance, no buildings thereon.
No. 5 One other lot of land called Hedden's Lot, in high cultivation, with somne orchard thereon, containing seventeen acres besides the usual allowance. No buildings thereon.
No. 6 One other lot of land, called Camp's Lot, of im- . proved upland and mead- ow in grass, containing nine acres and eighty- nine hundredths of an acre of land, besides the usual allowance. No
126 OGDEN'S ESTATE, EXILE AND UNFULFILLED PROPHECY.
House on part thereof and had the same in his actual Possession until the 5th of January 1777. The other part of the same lot he purchased from John Curry 21st October 1737 as by Deed No. I, A. ready to be produced will appear. The remaining part he purchased from the heirs and devisees of Thomas Curry, deceased, as by Deed No. I, B. will appear.
An estimate of the total value of Judge Ogden's losses, made by Mr. Richard Kemble and Major Philip Van Courtland, and embodied in the claim, foots up a total of £32,939 15 8 (New York currency,) or £18,528 12 63 (sterling.) His loss of salary as Justice of the Supreme Court, for seven and a half years, from June Ist, 1776, to December Ist, 1783, at £150 per annum, the Judge puts down at £1200 (New York currency,) £675 (sterling.) His fees and per- quisites for the same period he estimates at £540 sterling, and the grand total of his real and personal losses because of his loyalty to his King, at £20,265 8 44. His "rents, profits and issues " from his property in Newark and elsewhere, he places at £500 per annum. When, in January, 1777, he fled to New York, he was accompanied by one of his sons; also, by Rev. Mr. Isaac Browne, the pastor of Trinity Church, and the father of Mary, who married Isaac Ogden, a son of David. Subsequently, after running in debt about £700 in New York for his support, before he " had an allowance from the government," the Judge sailed for England. He mocked at the idea of America's successfully holding out against England, and, during his exile, had so little belief in the permanence of American Independence, that he devised what he conceived to be the probable constitution of America after her submission to Great Britain, " which he deemed certain to happen if proper measures were not neglected ;" a scheme which established "a Lord Lieutenant, and Lords and Commons of the British Colonies in North America," as is now realized in the Dominion of Canada. After peace was proclaimed between Great Britain and the new born Republic, Judge Ogden returned to this country with his son Peter. For obvious reasons he avoided his birth-place, and, with the money he received from the British government-very considerably less than his claim-he acquired property at Whitestone, Long Island. There, in 1802, at the full age of 92 years, he died. David Ogden had five sons and one daughter-Isaac, Nicholas, Abraham, Samuel, Peter and Sarah. Isaac, Nicholas and Peter clung to royalty with their father, while Abraham and Samuel joined cause with America. Isaac went to Canada and there achieved merited distinction at the bar and on the bench. His home was in Montreal. During a visit
4
127
OGDEN'S "LOYAL" SONS-PARSON BROWNE'S FLIGHT.
to England he died there. At the time the British evacuated New York, Nicholas, who had been staying there, went to Nova Scotia, and obtained a lucrative position under the British government. After his father's death he came back and took possession of the property at Whitestone left him by the Judge. He appears to have indulged the vain hope that he would also be able to recover his father's confiscated property in Newark. His wife is said to have frequently remarked that "had they known they would not get back their own, they would never have left Nova Scotia, and, particularly, would never have returned to Newark " -- which' they did. Nicholas died here in 1812, and was buried in Trinity church- yard. Sarah, the Judge's only daughter, became the wife of Judge Hoffman, of New York, and is represented to this day by many cultured, talented and influential descendants. Upon their flight from Newark to New York, in January, 1777, the loyal Ogdens were accompanied, as already stated, by Rev. Isaac Browne, rector of Trinity Church, and father-in-law of Isaac Ogden. Like his warmly * attached friend the Judge, and like many of the Episcopal clergy of the period, Rector Browne was a staunch Royalist. His infirm wife went with him. Such was the precipitancy of their flight from Newark, that they left all their furniture and effects behind. New York, the Royalist stronghold, was their city of refuge. This was in the latter part of 1776. After peace was proclaimed, Mr. Browne moved to Annapolis, reaching there after "a very tempestuous voyage." The unfortunate clergyman died there in 1787, sur- rounded with poverty and affliction.
Time softens, mellows and subdues all things. Surely, it is due to the memory of these distinguished "American Loyalists," of whom we have been treating, to recollect that the motives which prompted their course were beyond a doubt anything but low, were the very opposite of mean. As they appear to us through the true historic microscope of a century, they represent an honorable, high-toned and exalted sentiment. It is due the Ogdens and the Brownes to say that their training, education and positions should at least be intelligently considered and judicially weighed before they are forever embalmed in history as traitors to liberty and to America. Judge Ogden was a born Royalist. So was Mr. Browne. As a member of the King's Council, and a member of the Supreme Court, Ogden's associations would naturally incline him to the
128 SUFFERINGS AND TRUE CHARACTER OF THE LOYALISTS.
established order of things. As a minister of the Church of England, bound to the Crown by a most solemn declaration, Mr. Browne did not see the American cause as it was seen by others of his Episcopalian brethren, notably the illustrious Bishop White, who was one of the first chaplains to the Continental Congress, and has been styled "the father of his church." Whatever may be thought of the political views of Judge Ogden and Parson Browne, and of the class they represented, there can be no question as to the purity of their motives and character. They risked all they possessed, even their lives, for what they considered to be right. For conscience and opinion's sake they suffered much, sacrificed much. Who, indeed, did any more? The Macwhorters and the Caldwells on the American side had their counterparts in sacrifice and suffering on the other side. "I have been obliged," wrote an Episcopalian clergyman of the period, "to shut up my church to avoid the fury of the populace, who would not suffer the liturgy to be used unless the prayers for the King and royal family were omitted, which neither my conscience nor the declaration I made . and subscribed when I was ordained would allow me to comply with ; and although I used every step to give no offence, my life and property have been threatened, upon mere suspicion of being unfriendly to what is called the American cause." The same writer speaks of the experience of some of his brethren, and says they were " dragged from their houses, assaulted with stones and dirt, ducked in water, obliged to flee for their lives; driven from their habitations and families, and laid under arrest and imprisonment." Rev. Mr. Browne, who was essentially a lover of peace and concord, left behind him a manuscript in which he speaks of himself as follows : " He is happy, however," -- referring to the difficulties of his situation,-"in the consciousness of having never done anything to occasion the cruel treatment he met with. He never preached a single sermon which had the least tendency to influence the minds of the people. His only crime was that he was a clergyman of the Church of England and of course attached to the government and the constitution of Church and State." With the characters and experiences of these " American Loyalists " laid bare before us, may we not, in the paraphrased couplet of the venerable Prior :
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