USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Nutley > The history of Nutley, Essex County, New Jersey > Part 2
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The derivation of the name Nutley is uncertain.4 When "Old Franklin" wished to assume a more distinctive title, "Nutley" was the choice of the townspeople.
Old Roads .- In the Fundamental Agreements5 of the Newark settlers in 1666, one of the "Highways" decided upon was "by the Great River Side and along by the Meadow." This extended northward, became our River Road, opened in 1707.
In the old Road-Book of Essex County our first roads are found described.6 The River Road, believed to have been an Indian Trail, once ran close to the river bank in the northern part of the town.7 It was
1 Mr. J. Fisher Satterthwaite furnishes this account of Old Nutley Manor.
2 This road was originally a horse-car line.
3 See Shaw's Hist. of E. and H. Counties, Vol. II.
4 Mrs. W. R. Nairn.
5 See Newark Town Records.
6 Nelson's Passaic County Roads.
7 Judge Theodore Sandford.
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straightened about 1860. The Road-Book refers to it: 1707-Mar. 26 .- Highways laid out: "beginning at the North end of Newark and running to Hock- quackonong, as the path now runs."1 Another road is thus described : 1713-Nov. 25. Essex Roads. A. 20 .- A road laid out, "beginning at a white oak tree in the Queen's Road near the corner Abraham Vreeland's field of two Rods Wide, running to the brow of the Hill by Jacob Juorall's (Jeroloman's) fence, thence along the south side of said fence, till it comes to the walnut saplin that is marked; from thence by the line of mark trees to the third River where we have ordered a Bridge to be made, and from thence by a line of marked trees, till it meets the Old Road. and along said Old Road, till it goes to the Division Line between Derick Tolson and Simon Vanwincle, and along the South side of the sd line to the west corner of Derick Tolson's (Roelofsen's?) and from thence by a Line of marked trees to John Morris's East corner of his land, and from thence along the north side of his line down to the Third River." (This was doubtless where the road turns in at Kingsland's paper mill .- Nelson.) The description of an old road illustrates the method of laying out, so as to cut up fields as little as possible. Other references to roads across this area before 1800, in the Road-Book, are: 1739, Nov. 13; 1755, Nov. 17; 1760, July 8; 1760, Nov. 28; 1787, July 24. In the description of a road of 1796, there is mention of "Kingsland's saw mill," thus establishing one date at least for that early mill.
1 "As the path now runs" in old descriptions, refers to an Indian trail.
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The old road to Bloomfield through this area was opened soon after the River Road. And a little later was laid out the road now Passaic Avenue. South of the Quarry or Avondale Road it was known as "Spring Garden Road" and so appears in old deeds. There was another old road called the "Back Road" which crossed the southwestern part of the Nutley area running from Belleville to Bloomfield.
Opening of the Revolution .- As the era of the Revolution drew on, these scattered farmers must have felt the coming storm. The Stamp Act and the Port Bill were subjects for meetings and remonstran- ces in Newark, only five miles away.
Tory or Patriot .- As a whole the Dutch were sturdy patriots, coming from a land of ideals of freedom. Tories were many around Passaic, but the name of only one comes down to us from this settlement. Abraham Van Giesen, a substantial land-owner, "went over to the enemy," as the phrase was in the records of the "Council of Safety."1 His estate was confiscated and he was never heard of again.2
The Retreat Across the Jerseys .- It was the second year of the Revolution, and the Declaration of Inde- pendence3 was but a few months old. Washington's reverses in New York were disheartening. The battle of Long Island was lost on August 27th, 1776. Fort Washington fell November 16th, and Washington
1 See Stryker's Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Revolution.
2 See reference to Vreeland and Speer estate, p. 31.
3 Read for this region at the old school house on the site of the present Watsessing School, Bloomfield.
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crossed to Fort Lee. Cornwallis followed over the Hudson, and the Continental army was ordered to abandon Fort Lee and to retreat to the Delaware, "over the Essex Hills." Thus began the memorable "Retreat across the Jerseys" when the patriot army under General Washington and the pursuing British under General Lord Cornwallis marched through the region which we now call Nutley.
Acquackanonck Bridge .- Washington had hastened from Fort Lee to Hackensack. To reach Newark the Passaic River must be crossed. The only avail- able bridge was at Acquackanonck (Passaic) and the village was rumored to be a "Tory hot-bed." A de- tachment was sent ahead to hold the bridge and to send on stores and ammunition to Morristown by way of Great Notch. Orders were given to destroy the bridge as soon as the army had crossed. The patriots approached with the British often so near that "the sound of their bugles was heard."1 Over the rude wooden bridge they tramped and that evening or the next day a force from the neighborhood destroyed the bridge with axes and saws and burned the approaches.ยช
Washington's March through the Nutley Area .- Washington spent one anxious night at Acquack- anonck, November 21st, 1776.3 The next day, the 22nd, with 3,500 men he started for Newark along the River Road. Near the northern limits of our area, his forces
1 Baker's Itinerary of Washington.
2 Entrance to Revolutionary Bridge now occupied by unused drive- way opening into Lower Main Avenue, Passaic, 30 feet south of office of S. M. Birch Lumber Co. Bridge rebuilt in 1777. Present trolley bridge is short distance above old site .- Pape and Scott, News' History of Passaic.
3 See Washington's Writings, Letter from Acquackanonck. Head- quarters were the old Tap House on Main Avenue, near the "Old First Church," burned in 1870 .- Pape and Scott.
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divided, one column to continue by the River Road, the other to go "over the hills" to Bloomfield.1 There one brigade remained for several days while another went on to Orange and thence to Newark.2 Washington spent six days in Newark and on November 28th, pro- ceeded to "Brunswic" (New Brunswick).3 His head- quarters in Newark are uncertain.4
Pursuit of the British .- Cornwallis pursued in two divisions. One came from Hackensack to Rutherford, and crossed the Passaic at the ford where Delawanna now is, camping there for several days.5 The rest of the British army followed Washington through Lodi and Wallington to the bridge to find it destroyed and 3,000 men on guard. They turned and crossed above Passaic Falls.6 Cornwallis spent a week between Pas- saic and Newark, a week filled with carousals and rev- els and forages extending widely inland.7 He took the River Road to Newark. "Their advance guards were entering the town by the time our rear got out," wrote Washington from "Brunswic."8
Flight of British in 1778 .- There was another flight of soldiery through this region in 1778, after the battle of Monmouth, when the British were running before
1 See Glover's Retreat of '76 across Bergen County. 1905.
2 It has been claimed that Washington did not cross the Acquack- anonck Bridge, but approached Newark by a route on the east side of the river. For a discussion of this heresy and a long list of references to refute it, see Pape and Scott, News' Hist. of Passaic.
3 See Washington's Writings, Letters from Newark and Brunswic.
4 The old Eagle Tavern, Broad Street, just north of City Hall site, is considered the most likely place .- Atkinson's Hist. of Newark. A tradition exists that he stayed in camp with his men on the hill to the west of Broad Street .- Glover. 5 A cannon ball recently picked up upon the grounds of the Yaun- takah Country Club, evidently dates from the encampment there. 6 Pape and Scott, News' Hist. of Passaic.
7 For Cornwallis's policy in pursuit, see Glover's Retreat of '76, etc.
8 Washington's Writings, Vol. IV.
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the Americans to reach the Hudson. Skirmishes took place at Belleville and at the restored Acquackanonck Bridge, the red coats escaping across it in the dark- ness.1
The Raiders and Refugees .- While the British were in possession of New York and Staten Island, no part of Jersey suffered more from raids than the banks of the Passaic. Farms were stripped of crops, cattle and sheep were driven off, and the defenceless inhabitants on their scattered farms were wantonly murdered in defending their property. So great were the terror and sufferings of the people of this region that a guard of State Militia was raised for the "Defense of the Frontiers." There was a guard house at Belleville and Captain Speer's company was stationed there. John Vreeland, grandfather of Mr. Warren Vreeland of Nutley, was a River Guard who rode up and down the river bank on the lookout for raiders, or "refugees"2 as they were also called, British, Hessian, or Tory. He carried two huge brass-mounted pistols, one of which is now in Mr. Vreeland's possession, marked "J. V. 1776." Though he often shot to frighten "raiders," only once did the young soldier actually kill an invader across the river.
Captain Abraham Speer .- The most striking figure that we can summon from dim colonial times in this farm and woodland region is the young Dutchman, Abram Speer. He was the eldest of five sons of John Speer of Second River, who owned a large estate in the
1 Lee's Hist. of N. J. as a Colony and as a State.
2 The term refugee was properly applied only to the Tories who had fled from their homes and who returned to ravage familiar ground. It was loosely applied to all raiders.
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center of that village and who was a descendant of John Hendrick Speer, an original grantee near Hack- , ensack and also one of the Acquackanonck patentees. Abram (or Abraham) came over Third River seeking a wife. He found her in the daughter of one Wou- terse or Wouters who had a blacksmith shop at Pover- shon. It was by the Water Cress Springs, as they are called to-day. In 1760 Wouters built a stone house near by for his daughter, and this was the home of Captain Speer until his death. This house, now re- modelled, is still occupied by a descendant.1 In Cap- tain Speer's day five stone houses stood around this corner (Bloomfield Avenue and Center Street) of which but two remain. The springs of delicious water were said to have been drinking-places of the Indians long ago, and to have quenched the thirst of Revolu- tionary soldiers on the memorable retreat.2 After the Revolution broke out we find no record of young Speer until he is commissioned captain3 in the Second Essex Regiment on May 28, 1777, and is stationed at Belleville with his company to "guard the river." It was his father who from the church steeple shot the "refugee"+ across the Passaic. After the war was over and Captain Speer had bought the confiscated estate of Van Giesen, the Tory, a part of which he immediately sold to the Vreeland family, he became one of the largest land-owners of the region. In time he was
1 Mr. Simon Tuers.
2 The ancient hospitality of the springs is still maintained by the dipper and the little sign by the wayside, "Drinking Water."
3 See Stryker's Officers and Men of N. J. in the Revolution.
4 The refugee was an English officer going from Paulus Hook to Morristown. His watch, an English bull's eye, was presented to Speer for his marksmanship, and is now in the possession of a descendant, Mrs. Tucker, of Belleville.
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elected Justice of the Peace, and his name is found on old deeds. He built a grist mill on the Yantacaw and also a blacksmith shop by the river at Chestnut street. From that time a blacksmith shop has stood in turn on all four corners here. The first one was on the southwest corner where some years ago a boy digging in the earth turned up hand-wrought nails and horse- shoes.1
From beyond the western hills came a young man, John Stager by name, to run the grist mill. He ground corn so successfully that he won the heart of his employer's eldest daughter. Young Vrouw Stager died early, leaving five little sons who remained with Captain Speer. They were brought up in his house- hold and eventually inherited the greater part of his property. Captain Speer had no sons, but four daugh- ters, the younger ones marrying a Pake and a Jora- lemon.
One2 of the descendants of the old Dutchman re- members him as a very tall old man in a long snuff- colored coat, always followed by "old Judge," a huge dog just the color of his master's clothes. Captain Speer was said to be "very Dutch" in physiognomy, and Dutch was probably his common speech. "Fad- dy" and "Oty" were the names by which Captain Speer and his wife were called by children, grand- children, and neighbors.
Another great-granddaughter3 speaks of his gener- ous kindly nature and of his "faculty" for "getting property." He owned woodlands even in Caldwell.
1 Mr. Warren Vreeland.
2 Mrs. Mary M. Booth.
3 Mrs. Barbara A. Hough.
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In his household he held to the patriarchal customs of the old Dutch settlers, where several generations lived under one roof, or were established in small de- tached buildings in the door-yard. Even his grand- sons brought their wives home to the old stone house. "Nancy," the old slave, had her separate kitchen, a tiny one-room stone building with a loft. Here ate and slept all the single men of the household and enter- tained their friends with unbounded hospitality. The cellar was hung with sides of beef and hams and pork, and each household took what they wanted. A great- granddaughter of Captain Speer tells of the molasses cookies of old Nancy which she delighted to make for the children unto the third and fourth generation.1 An- other recollection is of the winter visits across the snow between' the widely-separated farmers, how they took the wood sled and all the children went, even to the baby. They had a "grand supper," which the elders ate first, while the children sat in the corners. After their turn came and they were surfeited, they were put to sleep till it was time to go home. Meanwhile till twelve o'clock, the grown people sat around, drank their grog, and played cards. At midnight the wood sled was reloaded and the horses turned towards home.
Captain Speer was a member of the Dutch Reformed Church at Belleville. It was a regular thing for the family to walk the two miles or more to the church. The story comes down of how the three girls of this frugal race used to carry their shoes in their hands till they came to the edge of the clearing near the church.
Captain Speer lived to be nearly ninety and died in
1 Mrs. Mary M. Booth.
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1834. In 1833 he signed a deed in the shaking hand of an old man. In 1835 another deed describes a piece of land as bordering on the "estate of Abm Speer, de- ceased." His grave, with others of his family, lies under the western extension of the Reformed Church at Belleville. An eyewitness of the rebuilding of the church in 1850 tells also of the headstones laid flat upon the graves.
Captain Speer's signature and that of his wife, Em- metche, are in existence on deeds in the possession of a number of his descendants in the town. While the house that he lived in, the pewter plates that he ate from and the chair that he sat on are cherished posses- sions of his descendants in Nutley.
Designation of Localities .- In early days various localities acquired special names. North Belleville was a stretch along the Passaic River. Spring Garden was the flat from Chestnut Street to the Belleville line, famous for its market gardens. Povershon was the region around Center Street and Bloomfield Avenue and the hill westward. This name has given rise to much speculation and many anecdotes to explain it. The probability is that it is an old Indian or Dutch name, and that it was the earliest designation of local- ity in this area. It appears as Powershon in deeds in the possession of Miss Annie L. Van Winkle, dated 1809, and of Mr. Warren Vreeland, dated 1795.
Franklin village, named in honor of the last Royal
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Governor of New Jersey, was the settlement in what is now the center of the town.1
The only Dutch name that has been discovered is Houtteyn, meaning Hightown, applied to the western hill region.
Early References to the Settlement .- In Gordon's Gazetteer of New Jersey, 1834, Spring Garden and Povershon are mentioned as follows: "Spring Garden or North Belleville, Bloomfield t-ship, Essex Co., upon the Third River, and about a mile W. of the Passaic river, contains from 50 to 70 dwellings, a cotton manu- factory, a school and a Methodist Church." And "Povershon a small village of Bloomfield t-ship, Essex Co., 5 miles north of Newark, contains a school house and several dwellings. The poorhouse of the t-ship is in the valley near it."
In Barber and Howe's Historical Collections, edition of 1852, under Belleville, we read, "Franklinville, formerly called Spring Garden, a flourishing little man- ufacturing village, contains about 25 dwellings and a Methodist Church."
In the records of the Methodist Church circuit which included Franklin or Spring Garden the community here is several times mentioned in 1824 and 1825 and in 1827 a camp meeting was held in Spring Garden on June 18th, and the days following.2
Nutley (Franklin) in the Civil War .- The call for volunteers in 1862 found Franklin a part of Belleville.
1 William, son of Benjamin Franklin, was governor from 1763 to 1776. He adhered firmly to the royal cause and was finally arrested for refusal to submit to the new government. He was held for two years and then exchanged. He returned to England in 1782, and died there in 1813.
2 Hist. of the Franklin M. E. Sunday School, loaned by Mr. Calvin Rutan.
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A small military company of about forty men had been drilling for some time under Cornelius McClees, in the old school house on Avondale Road.1 Twenty-six of this little company immediately volunteered and with fourteen others from Belleville marched with McClees to Newark to Camp Frelinghuysen. Here they were mustered into the State Service on September 3rd, 1862, and were enrolled in Company C of the 26th New Jersey Volunteers for nine months. The regi- ment was made up of men from adjoining towns, Orange, South Orange, Bloomfield and Caldwell, each furnishing one company, while Newark furnished the remaining six. Three weeks later, after they were officered and equipped, they proceeded to Washington. Samuel H. Pemberton, of Newark, was chosen captain of Company C and Cornelius McClees first lieutenant.
The "26th New Jersey" was in the three engage- ments before Fredericksburg, the great defeat of the Union troops, under General Burnside, on December 13th, 1862, and the two minor engagements of May 3rd and June 5th, 1863, under General Hooker. In the great battle of December 13th, as raw troops, they faced the terrific fire of the Confederate batteries, and for three nights lay down upon their arms. They also took part in the memorable "mud march" back to Camp. After the season in winter quarters near Belle Plain they again took the field, and eventually captured and held the Heights of Fredericksburg.2 The regi-
1 The facts of this account have been verified by Mr. McClees, now a resident of Passaic. After the war Military Hall was used for drills. 2 For a detailed history of the service of the New Jersey Volun- teers, see Essex County in the War of 1861-65, Shaw's Hist. of E. and H. Counties. Also Foster's New Jersey in the Rebellion, and Stryker's Officers and Men of New Jersey in the Civil War.
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ment returned to Newark when their term of enlist- ment expired and was mustered out September 19th, 1863.
Seven Franklin men were enrolled in the 39th New Jersey Volunteers. They enlisted at Newark from Camp Frelinghuysen and left for the South in detach- ments, in October, 1864. The 39th Regiment was in the long and terrible siege of Petersburg and as- sisted in the capture of Fort Mahone, April 2, 1865. A part of the regiment was transferred to the 33rd New Jersey Volunteers, and discharged with that regiment. The remainder were mustered out near Alexandria, Va., June 17, 1865.
Four Franklin men were enlisted in the Ist New York Mounted Rifles. The companies forming this regiment were organized in New York State and mustered into service in 1861 and 1862. The Ist New York Mounted Rifles took part in the operations against Petersburg and Richmond, and in a great number of minor engagements. In 1865, they were consolidated with the 3rd New York Cavalry Regi- ment, forming the 4th Provisional Cavalry.1
Veterans of Nutley .- The names of the men of Franklin who fought in the struggle for the Union are here given in a list that has been carefully revised. Before many years it is to be hoped that some imper- ishable memorial may honor these names and keep them constantly before the younger generations whose country they helped to preserve.
To the names of those who enlisted from Franklin are added a number of residents who enlisted else-
1 See New York in the Rebellion.
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where, and a few veterans who have become residents here since the war.
Men of Nutley (Franklin) in the Civil War.
26TH REGIMENT, NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS, COMPANY C.
First Lieutenant. . Cornelius McClees
First Sergeant. . George H. Stager*
Corporals. Joshua W. Dodd*
James R. Rutan, also in 2nd New York, Harris Light Cavalry.
Privates
Henry Ackerman*
James Blair*
Hiram M. Booth
Garrett Brown*
Henry Brown*
Stephen Brown*
Robert Day*
Frederick Jenkins*
James McGirr*
Horace Mesler
William E. Queman
Abraham Riker*
Jacob Riker
Calvin Rutan
Abraham H. Stager
William H. Stager*
George Surgent
George Kingsland*
James H. Cunningham* (killed at Fredericksburg)
* Deceased.
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Simon Tuers Robert Williams Jacob Labaugh Richard V. Cueman Thomas Hennen
39TH REGIMENT, NEW JERSEY VOLUNTEERS.
Privates John Corb, also in 25th, N. J. V.
David Jenkins
Enoch Booth*
John Hanily John Garrabrant
Michael Gaffney Garrett L. Stager
IST NEW YORK MOUNTED RIFLES. Samuel M. Brown George Pollock William H. Speer* Herman Brown
FRANKLIN MEN WHO ENLISTED IN OTHER REGIMENTS. Bryan Carroll*
David McGirr*
Hiram Brown, 10th Reg., New Jersey Volunteers
Stephen P. Vreeland, 2nd Reg. New York Volunteer Cavalry
John Donaldson' James Jenkins, 3rd Reg., New Jersey Cavalry
Charles A. Pierce* Byron Lawton*
William Sargent William Conover*
* Deceased. Died in service. *** Died in action.
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J. Fisher Satterthwaite, 7th Reg., New York Volun- teers and 22nd Reg., New Jersey Volunteers. Charles Jacobus*
William Fleming
OTHER RESIDENT VETERANS.
Robert P. Travis, 9th, 83rd and 94th New York Vol- unteers.
A. M. Hallidy, 2nd Regiment, District of Columbia. William Clark
George W. Symonds, 12th New York State Volunteers. Henry G. Prout, 57th Massachusetts Infantry.
For some years a Veterans' Association was main- tained in this town. Many of the resident veterans be- long to Garfield Post, Newark.
The Separation from Belleville .- The people of this little area successively withdrew from larger to smaller and closer municipal relations. The desire for entire independence was the natural end of their repeated "secessions." In this respect the history of Nutley presents a curious exception to the general tendency of the times, where smaller municipalities consolidate with larger ones, instead of separating from them. The intense public spirit of Nutley and the share taken in public affairs by the best class of the citizens goes far to justify its exceptional municipal position.
Thirty-three years ago, the taxpayers of this part of Belleville felt much dissatisfied with their assess- ments and their allotment for public works. A move- ment for separation arose. A large public meeting was held and a committee waited on the governor who ap- pointed a commission from Belleville and Franklin to
Deceased.
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consider the matter. A bill was soon introduced into the Legislature for a formal separation. Opposition was naturally offered by Belleville interests and the line of division was with difficulty agreed upon. But the bill as originally drafted was finally passed, March 12th, 1874, and the Township of Franklin came into existence, with a population of about 1500.1
Extracts from the First Annual Report of Franklin Township.2-"Valuation reported by County Board of Assessors, $762,000. Total amount asked for the running of the town, $9,000. Poll tax, $4. Total re- ceipts from all sources, $11,000. Road districts laid out, 5. The year's outlay on roads and sidewalks, $535.10."
Greenwood Lake Railroad Suit .- Among the mat- ters brought up for settlement between Belleville and Franklin was the question of Franklin's liability for a portion of the debt incurred by Belleville in the build- ing of the Greenwood Lake Railroad (now a branch of the Erie). Suit was brought by Belleville. A long litigation followed to be decided in the New Jersey Supreme Court against Franklin in 1885. The infant township was obliged to issue bonds to satisfy the claim of $7,000.
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