^" '>! i^:^^''i J', ^::^'j^^m^%,.,£^. ^.4%?' ij?i^ 3 I »n W • \ \/\/r,o-ci' n'.i ' ^'^^^ CRAVE OK ANTHONY Ol.EF ; 1723. HISTORY OF THE ORANGES IN ESSEX COUNTY, N. J. From 1666 to iSg6, BY STEPHEN JVICKES, M.D. icwavh, g. if. : PRINTED BY WARD & T 1 C H E N O I^ For the New England Society of Orange. I 892. h^ PREFACE. DURING the last fifteen years of his life, the author of this work devoted most of his leisure time to collecting the materials necessary to its preparation. His labors in this direction resulted in gathering, and perhax)s rescuing from oblivion, reminiscences that had never been placed in writing ; as well as many docu- ments that were so hidden away as to be almost wholly inaccessible, and apparently destined to be ultimately lost. To the general reader, they cannot fail to be in- teresting ; and their value cannot fail to be appreci- ated by the indwellsrs of the region whose history he purposed to preserve. The materials thus gathered consist largely of locgil incidents ; of facts that tend to fix places, boundaries and historic paths almost lost to memory ; of descriptions of the homelife and char- acter of the earliest settlers of New Jersey ; of mat- ters appertaining to their first efforts in commerce and manufactures ; of their religion, and meeting houses ; with sketches of prominent individuals among them. All these materials, obtained from the most reliable sources, and carefully arranged by the author, were, with a few exceptions, made ready by him for the IV Preface. printer's hand, when death jpiit an end to his earthly labors. Under the direction of a Committee of the New England Society of Orange, assisted by Mr. Frederick W. Ricord, the work thus done by him has been passed through the press ; the praise for its con- ception and preparation being wholly due to its ven- erable author. The illustrations in the book were printed by the DeVinne Press, of New York, from plates made by the Gill Engraving Company, after photographs taken b}'' Mr. Frank P, Jewett. The other printing is by Messrs. Ward & Tichenor. Orange, N. J., May, 1S92. PLATES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Grave of Anthony Olef, (1723) Frontispiece Dodd Saw Mill To face 40 Early Roads, (map of) To face 46 Joseph Riggs' House To face 48 Samuel Harrison's Saw Mill To face 68 Graves of Matthew Williams, (1732,) and his wife, Ruth, (1724) To face «4 Extract from Samuel Harrison's Account Book .To face 96 Tomb of Rev. Daniel Tayler, (1748-8) To face no Page from Sermon by Rev. Daniel Tayler (1743-4) . . .To face 114 The Old Parsonage, (1748) To face 134 The Second Meeting House, (1754) To face 138 Tomb of Rev. Caleb Smith, (1762,) and Grave of his wife, Martha, (1757) To face 146 Tomb of Rev. Caleb Smith, (1762) To face 148 Page from Sermon by Rev. Caleb Smith, (1760) To face 152 Matthias Pierson's House To face 170 Aaron Harrison's House To face 178 Page from Jemima Cundict's Diary, (1774) To face 182 Notes for a Sermon by Rev. Jedidiah Chapman, (1791) To face 204 Subscriptions for building Parish Sloop, (1784) .... To face 232 Grave of Elizabeth Joens, (1729) To face 234 Graves cf Nathaniel Wheeler, (1726,) and his widow, Esther, (1732) To face 236 Grave of Hannah Jones, (1732) .To face 238 Survey of the Parish Lots and the Common, opposite the Old Parsonage House To face 248 The Third Meeting House, (1813) To face 268 Thomas Williams' Grist Mill, as re-built by Jesse Williams To face 272 Graves of Dr. John Condit, (1S34) ; his first wife, Abi- gail, (1784) ; his second wife, Rhoda, (1834,) and two of his children To face 298 TABLE OF CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION. The Purchase of Lands ; — The Puritans from New England ;- The " Half-way Covenant ; " — The " Fundamental Agreement ; "- Rev. Abraham Pierson CHAPTER I. Topography of the Mountain ; — Water Sheds ; — Swamps ;— Flora and Fauna ; — Indians and their Religion ; — Indian Paths g CHAPTER II. The Early Settlers; — The Division of their Lands ; — Their Ves- sels and Shipping;— The Settlement at Newark ;— Essex County Established; — The Town at the River; — The Third Division of Home Lots; — The Newark Mountains ; — Trade with New York ; — Small Pox; — Their Plantations and Farm Implements; — Their Horses; — Their Apple Orchards; — Their Saw Mills ;— Building Materials ; — Home Life ; —Construction of Houses ; — Furniture ; — Wearing Apparel ; — Tools; — Food; — Domestic Animals 31 CHAPTER III. Early Roads ; — Main Street ; --South Orange Avenue ; — Valley Road ; — Road to Cranetown ;— Eagle Rock Road ; — Swinefield Road ;— Washington Street; — Park Street; — Prospect Street; — Scotland Street ;— Centre Street ; — Harrison Street ; — Early Method of Constructing Roads 45 CHAPTER IV. Early Local Industries ; — The First Steam Engine ;— Mining Epidemic ; Copper Mines in Orange and Bloomfield ; — Manufacture of Hats ; — Distilleries ; — Products ;— Currency ; — Traffic 54 CHAPTER V. Legislation and the Laws, public and private ;— Schools and School Houses; — The First School House; — Land Tenures; — The Lords Proprietors ;— The First Settlers at Orange— Contro- versy with the Lords Proprietors; — The Purchase from the Na- tives; — The Elizabethtown Associates; — The Surrender of the Proprietary Government to the Crown ; — Anti-Renters; — Contest between Grantees of Berkely and Claimants under Indian Titles ; — A Brief Vindication of the Purchasers against the Proprietors.. . 72 Table of Contents. vii CHAPTER VI. "The Mountain Society," its first years; — Ministry of Rev. Joseph Webb;— Rev. Nathaniel Bowers; — Rev. Alexander Mac- Whorter; — Rev. Jedidiah Buckingham; — Rev. John Prudden ; — The Organization of the Society; — Rev. Daniel Taylor; — The First Meeting House ; — The Church Service ; — Death of Mr. Taylor ; — " De yigilantia," a Sermon by Mr. Taylor 97 CHAPTER Vn. Rev. Caleb Smith ; — His Sermon on the Death of Rev. Aaron Burr; — Eiizabethtown Lottery ; — The Rating of the Parish ; — The Glebe; — Mr. Smith's Grammar School; — The Parsonage, its erection and cost ; — The Second Meeting House, its erection and cost; — The Parson in the Parsonage; — Death of Mr. Smith, and his estate; — Members in Communion prior to 1756; — Mem- bers after 1756; — Baptisms by Mr. Smith, 1756 to 1762; — A Ser- mon by Mr. Smith 118 CHAPTER Vni. Essex County in the War of the Revolution ;— Meeting of Citizens June 11, 1774; — The Convention at New Brunswick July 21,1774 ; — Meetings of Citizens December 7, 1774, and May 4, 1775; — Raising Funds for the Expenses of the War; — Washington at the Newark Mountains ; — The Price of Food ; — The Raids by the Hessians; — Revolutionary Incidents; — Houses used as Head- quarters ; — Capt. Thomas Williams' Pewter Mug;— Dinner at Ned Tomkins' Inn ; — An Act of Courtesy has its Reward ; — Avenging the Insults of a British Officer ;— Brave Men from Belleville;-- Self- Detection of a Thief ;— Lafayette Angry in Cranetown ;— Parson Chapman's Game Cock ;— Parson Chapman Cheers for Freedom ;— Pluck of Samuel Harrison ; — John Durand Repairs Washington's Field Glasses;- Whiskey Lane;— Jemima Cundict; Extracts from her book ; her Death ;— Samuel Harrison, his Mills and Occupation ic8 CHAPTER IX. Rev. Jedidiah Chapman ; — The Condition of the Society before the War ; — Mr. Chapman's Education, Characteristics, Marriage and Resignation ;— Notes for a Sermon by Mr. Chapman ; — Mem- bers Received into Communion by Mr. Chapman, 1766-1783; — Baptisms by Mr. Chapman ,00 viii Table of Contents. CHAPTER X. After the War, Peace ; — The Refugees at Bergen Neck ; — The Condition of the Mountain Society ; — The Church at Caldwell ; — The Church at Bloomfield ; — The Baptist Church at Northfield ; The Rev. Asa Hillyer ;— Bottle Hill ;— The Society under Rev. Edward Dorr Griffin ; — Dr. Hillyer a Trustee of the College of New Jersey; — The Resignation of Dr. Hillyer, and his Death 211 CHAPTER XI. The Orange Academy, its organization and growth ;— The Par- ish Sloop, the subscription for its building, and sale of the same ; — The Orange Dock ; — The Parish Nailery ; — The Old Grave Yard ; Saint Mark's Grave Yard ;— The First Church Bell, and the Bell-ringer; — Building Lots in 1795, and the advertisement for sale of same; — Century Day, 1801 ; — The Parish Lands, and deeds for same ; — The Glebe ; — The Common ; — The Parsonage Lands ; — Working the Land; — The Sale of Lots from the Glebe; — The Meeting-House Lot;— The John Cundict Lot; — The Parsonage House Lot ; — Surveys ; — The Lower Parsonage ; — Disputes con- cerning the same; — The Lease and its Revocation; — The Final Adjustment of Differences and the Conveyance of the Land ; — The Name of Orange ; the first use of the Name ;— Orange Dale. 229 CHAPTER XH. The Township of Orange, its Incorporation and Boundaries; — Newark and Mount Pleasant Turnpike; — The Third Meeting House, its erection and cost ; — Modern Local Industries ;— Grist Mills, Leather and Tanneries, Saw Mills, Timber, Wool, Boots and Shoes, Hats 265 CHAPTER XIII. Disease and Pestilence; — Small Pox, Inoculation, Diphtheria, Dysentery; — The First Physicians at Newark Mountain, Drs. Deancey, Turner, Pigot, Burnet, and Dickinson ; Dr. Matthias Pierson ;— Midwifery ; — Dr. John Condit ; — Dr. Isaac Pierson ;— Dr. William Pierson, Sen 282 CHAPTER XIV. A Few Notable Men : — l^ethuel Pierson ;— Thomas Williams ; — Benjamin Williams ;— John Peck ;— Stephen D. Day 305 INTRODUCTION. NEWARK TOWNSHIP was founcled in 1666, arrangements having been perfected the year before with Governor Carteret, by a committee of prominent men of the New Haven Colony, for the possession of lands in New Jersey. Tliese arrange- ments were based nj)on the terms of the "Conces- sions," and contained the stipulations and guarantees of the proprietors, Berkley and Carteret. Further- more, to provide against any future difficulties with Indian claimants, a i)urchase of all Indian rights was made, by authority of Governor Carteret, and all Indian claims were extinguished. ^ The lands thus purchased were bounded on the east by the Passaic River, on the west by the base of the first mountain, on the north by the Yountakah, or Third river, and on the south by Bound Brook, which marked the line between the Newark and Elizabethtown purchases. In 1678-9, a second purchase Avas made, I. The price paid was "fifty double hands of powder, one hundred barrs of lead, twenty Axes, twenty Coates, ten Guns, twenty pistolls, ten kettles, ten Swords, four blankets, four barrells of beere, ten paire of breeches, fifty knives, twenty howes, eijjht hundred and fifty fathem of wampem, two Ankors of licquers or something equivolent, and three troopers Coates." 2 History of the Oranges. and the western line of the township thereby extend- ed to the top of the "Great Monntain Watchnng." ^ Thus the regions now occnpied l)y the towns of Belle- ville, Bloomfield, Montclair and all the Oranges, was added to the original territory of Newark. The last- named place, originally called "The Towne at the River," was laid ont in six-acre lots, and these were equitably distributed to the associated settlers. ^ Sixty- six heads of families were rated ' ' for the payment of every man's share of the purchase," to be judged of by seven chosen men, ' ' that should have full Power to hear, examine and judge of every Man's Estate and Persons, as their Rule, by which they will proceed in Time Convenient to pay for their Lands bought of the Natives, with the necessary Charges of setling the Place, and Mr. Pierson's Transport, and the Divisions and Subdivisions of all their Lands and Meadows be- longing to the same." ^ From a careful study of the genealogies, it is esti- mated that this new colony embraced about 500 souls. They were not adventurers seeking to make or mend their fortunes in an untried and, except by Indians, an untrodden wilderness. They were men of worldly means, and of rank and standing in their former New England homes. At that day, when money bore a high value, they were a wealthy community. Their 1. The price of this purchase was " two Guns, three Coates, and thirteen kans of Rum." 2. It had been the early custom in New England to settle and plant near together, in order to secure mutual aid and protection against the Indians. The territory purchased was commonly divided into three parts, the first part being small ; the second, twice the first in dimensions ; and the third, three times the first. The Newark planters adopted substantially the same method, making, however, the second and third divisions more in accord- ance with their needs and the extent of territory granted. 3. See Records of the Town of Newark, p. 7. Introduction. 3 total rating amounted to £17,344, or about $64,000 present currency. The names of Robert Treat, Jasi^er Crane, and many ik^^tr^ '^Xf^cjJ^^ others, adom the pages of early New England his- tory. They came from the towns of Milford, New Haven, Branford, Guilford, all being of the New Haven Colony. These towns were settled by these men. They had su])dued the lands, built them- selves houses and barns, erected their churches, added to their wealth, and made them, in the course of twenty-five years, prosperous and thriving places. ^ These men had not fled from j)ersecution, as had their fathers, forty-six years before. On the contrary, hither had they come, having abandoned their once- cherished homes, and the house of God, so dear in their memories of the past, to lay again, on a new soil, the foundations of a community, which, as they viewed it, should be in accordance with the law of God, which was to them supreme. The people of the New Haven Colony were uncom- promising Puritans, detennined to maintain their in- dependence, and, above all things, to preseiye their doctrine in perfect purity. They first settled, about 1635, in Hartford, Weathersfield and Windsor. From the first they distrusted the more lax and liberal methods of the Connecticut Colony. Their motto was Ecclesia liegnans. None but church members should have a voice in elections of governor, deputies I. The lands in the plantation of New Haven were purchased by the principal men, in trust, for all the inhabitants of the respective towns; every planter, after paying his proportional part of the expenses arising from the laying out and settling the plantation, drew a lot, or lots of land, in propor- tion to the money or estate which he had expended in the general purchase, and to the number of the heads of his family. TrumhuH's Connecticut, /, /07. Edition j8i8. 4 History of the Oranges. or assistants ; none should be magistrates, officers or jury men but those admitted to the church. They came to America to find an opportunity to develop their religious and civil convictions on these lines of thought and belief. Such strictness of policy was not satisfactory to the churches of the Connecticut Col- ony. Great and wearisome dissensions were the result, and finally these people, in about 1638, left the above-named towns and settled, some on Long Island, and some on the northern shores of Long Island Sound, constituting the New Haven Plantations. In five years thereafter, 1643, they assumed an organized existence as the New Haven Colony, and enjoyed un- interrupted peace in the churches, as well as worldly prosperity, for twenty years. In 1662, through the agency of Gov. Winthrop, the people of Connecticut obtained from Charles II. a char- ter ^ with the amplest privileges. It was designed to embrace that Colony and New Haven under one juris- diction. In the negotiations which followed, between these colonies. Rev. John Davenj)ort took a leading part. He was strongly and conscientiously opposed to the union with Connecticut, believing that the con- stitution of the civil state in the New Haven Colony was more in accordance with the mind of God, and better adaj)ted to the great ends of government than any other in the world. He thought that the Consti- tution provided by the Connecticut Charter, contained no sufficient safeguard for the liberty and safety of the churches. 2 The controversy between these Colonies was sharply continued from the date of the charter to January, 1. Trumbull's History of Connecticut, Vol. I., 518. 2. Ibid., Chap. xiii. Introduction. 5 IG60, when it ceased, New Haven having submitted to the claim of Connecticut. The main cause of the dif- ference was the adoi)ted tenet "that all baptised per- sons, not convicted of scandalous actions, are so far church members that, upon acknowledging their baptis- mal covenant and promising an outward conformity to it, though without any pretension to inward and spiritual religion, they may present their children for bai)tism." Against this Pastor Davenport, and many of the i)eo- ple of the New Haven Colony, stood in determined opposition. The question was, indirectly, one of pol- itics, no less than of ecclesiastical polity, for the question, who should be church members, involved the question, who should jDai-take of the right of suffrage. Thenceforward the "Half-w^ay Covenant," as it was called, began to be practiced in the churches, and continued to be for more than a century. It is only since the last years of the last century that the views, of which Davenport w^as champion, have triumphed. Such was the condition of public affairs under which Richard Denton and his church at Stamford migrated to Long Island, while Abraham Piersou, with his church at Branf ord, and with men of kindred spirit from Milford, New Haven and Guilford, became the Newark Church, and the fathers of this Newark region. It is not the author's purpose to write the history of the early settlement of Newark. This is already written. He has simply aimed to illustrate the char- acter of the early settlers, and to answer the inquiry which arises in every mind, why the Newark associ- ates left their well-appointed homes and well-tilled lands in Connecticut, for new homes in the primitive 6 History of the Oranges. wilderness of New Jersey. ^ They were sturdy Puri- tans, robust in thought as in purpose. They made a solemn covenant in New Haven that in all their town affairs they would be governed, not merely by relig- ious motives, but by such "rules" as they derived from the Bible, which was their religion. How far they understood, and in what respect they misunder- stood, the Bible as a rule of duty, we need not here consider ; but when they covenanted to govern them- selves, in all their work of founding a Christian Church, and a Christian State, by the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, they only professed dis- tinctly and exj)licitly what all Christian men believe implicitly. It was the last effort made in America to build a civil state upon the narrow basis of the old Puritan ideas. '.' What was good in our Puritan an- cestors sprang from the Gospel ; what w^as eccentric was no part of the Gospel. " They came to Newark, having adopted the following " Fundamental Agree- ment. ' ' 1st. That none shall be admitted freemen or free Burgesses within our Town upon Passaick River, in the Province Deut, 1-13. Qf Ne^ Jersey, but such Planters as are members of Exod., 18-21. Deut., 17-15. some or other of the Congregational Churches, nor shall any but such be chosen to Magistracy or to carry on any part of Civil Judicature, or as deputies or assistants, to have power to Vote In establishing Laws, and making Jerem., 36-21. or Repealing them, or to any Chief Military Trust or Office. Nor shall any But such Church Members have any Vote in any Such Elections; Tho' all others admitted to Be planters, have Right to their proper Inheritance, and do and shall enjoy all other Civil Liberties and Privileges, According to I. The towns of Branford and Milford were deserted by all the inhabi- tants, and remained so for twenty years, after which time they began again to be occupied. Introduction. 7 all Laws, Orders, Grants which are, or hereafter shall be made for this Town. 2nd. We shall with Care and Diligence provide for the mainte- nance of the purity of Religion professed in the Congregational Churches.' To the Rev. Abraham Pierson, more than to any otlier man in the Newark Colony, is due the unity and harmonious action attendant upon its estab- lishment, Pierson came with his Branford Church. The Milford Church soon followed, accej)ting him as their pastor ; and those of Guilford and JSTew^ Haven, who were in sympathy with the f oiTner towns, cordially united in the new migration. They all had tlie utmost conlidence in his piety, his learning, and his steadfast purpose in the conservation of the interests of the Church as they understood them. He was a native of Yorkshire, England, graduated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1632, and was ordained a minister in the Church of England at New^ark, near Nottingham. Becoming an intense Puritan, he led to New England, in 1640, a comj^any of devoted followers, with whom he settled, first at Lynn, in the Massachusetts Colony. After a short stay there he migrated, with his com- pany, to Southampton, Long Island. The eastern end of Long Island w^as a part of the Connecticut jurisdic- tion, and when his people there, against his convic- tions and earnest protest, sided with the Hartford churches under the "Half-way Covenant," he, with his followers, withdrew from Long Island and settled in Branford, 1647, estal)lishing a civil government I. See Records of the Town of Newark, N. J., p. 2. 8 History of the Oranges. among themselves. During the twenty-three years of his ministry at Branford, he gave himself to active missionary work among the Indians, with whose lan- guage he made himself familiar to such a degree that he prepared a Catechism for instructing them in Gos- pel truths. His success in his missionary work is said to have been almost as great as that of Eliot and May- hew in Massachusetts. , The title of his book is as follows: "Some Help for the Indians, showing them how to Improve their Natural Reason, to know the True God and the Christian Religion, by Abraham Pierson, Pastor of the Church at Branford. — Cam- bridge. Printed for Samuel Green, 1658." Only two copies of this book are known to exist — one in the Lenox Library, New York ; the other in the British Museum. Cotton Mather, in his Magnalia Book, III., 95, notices his learning, his ability and ' ' his illuminating tongue," closing his record with this "Epitaphium." " Terris discessit, suspirans Gaudia caeli, PiERSONUS Patriam scandit ad astra suam." He died in Newark, N. J., August 9, 1678. His son, A]:>raham, was graduated from Harvard College in 1669. He was for a time an assistant to his father, and finally his successor in the Newark church. He became, subsequently, the first rector and president of Yale College, in which office he continued till his death, in 1707. None of the lineal descendants of Pastor Pierson, senior, are in these parts. The family of Pierson in Essex, and counties contiguous, is from Thomas, a kinsman of the old pastor. CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY OF THE MOUNTAIN. THE red sandstone, stretching its broad belt from Nyack, on the Hudson, down to Jersey City, and thence across the State of New Jersey to the Del- aware, is the geological substrate of the Newark Mountain. The trap overlying it commences at Pluck- emin, Somerset County, continuing through Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Springfield and Milburn to the west bank of the Railway River, twenty- three miles. From the latter point, it continues in the east and west sides of the Rahway jST. N. East, about thirteen miles, to Little Falls and Paterson. ^ The trap forms the crest of the two ranges, known as the First and Second Mountains. The sandstone underlies the trap from one hundred to one hundred and fifty feet from the crest. The breadth of the First Mountain is from one to two miles, and its height is from three hundred to six hundred and fifty feet above tide water. At Mount Pleasant Avenue, Orange, it is six hundred and fifty feet. ^ 1. The measurement of distance is taken in straight lines from the map, allowing for curves in the trap line. The whole length is about forty miles of its eastern face. 2. See Geology of New Jersey, by Geo. H. Cook, p. 20. lo History of the Oranges. The First Mountain bounds on the west the plain lands described in the original "Patent or Charter of ye Township of Newarke," 1713. (The purchase was made in 1666, but the patent was not executed till later.) It includes South Orange, Orange, Bloomfield, Montclair, to the bounds of Acquackanonck and to the Passaic River. The surface of the region is of drift worn from the trap and sandstone, and bearing evidence in numerous places of having been brought from the region of primitive rocks. The soil is a -sandy loam, light, friable and absorbent, easily cultivated, and well adapted to farming, gardening and fruit-growing purposes. A casual survey of this mountain district at the present day conveys a very imperfect idea of its prim- itive topography. The upland and the swamps were quite equally distributed. The former was easily sub- dued. The heavy groAvth of timber ui)on it was sparsely set, and being void of undergrowth, it was fit for immediate use as pasture land. "Two or three men, in one year, will clear fifty acres, in some places sixty, and in some more. They sow corn the first year, and afterwards maintain themselves. The trees are not many to the acre, except in the hill country, and there is very much meadow." ^ The swamps were impassable and impenetrably wooded. The planters first settled upon the ridges and on the mountain side. With their first efforts to subdue the land, began the disturbing influences which, in two hundred years, have diminished the springs, drained the swamps and raised their surface. The saturated soil of the forest lost its native humidity when laid open to the air and I. Smith's History of New Jersey, i8o. Water Sheds. 1 1 sun ; its cultivation around the low lands, the open- ing and working of highways beside and over them, the decay and falling of trees within them, arresting the How of the water and ijromoting the annual de- Ijosit of vegetable glebe ; and all these causes in con- tinuous and increasing action, together with the exposure of soil by freezing and thawing subjected to the erosion of water, and washed from the cultivated ridges, all contributed to bring the surface into the condition in which we now behold it. The construction of dams, also, which flooded the marshes, and killed the trees, opened their surface to the sun and air. In the progress of years the superficial drainage from the cleared lands, which is more regu- lar than from forest ground, promoted an unobstructed natural drainage of the streams north and south, through a "constant degradation of the uplands and consequent elevation of the beds of water courses, which is a result of clearing of lands." WATER SHEDS. We have just now spoken of the streams running north and south. The subject is worthy of our special notice. The main street from Newark to Orange is mostly on the ridge of the water-shed of this region. The Elizabeth and the Rahway rivers, running south, and the First and Second rivers, flowing north, have their fountain heads within less than half a mile, and in some places not more than two hundred feet from the main road. First River, or Mill Brook, within Newark limits, rises within the low grounds east and north of the canal bridge, in Orange Street, running by a nearly direct course for three-quarters of a nule, to the Passaic. 12 History of the Oranges. The Meadow Brook is the first easterly trilmtary to the Second River. Its head-springs are on the south side of Central Avenue, between the first and second ridges west of Newark. Running north-easterly through the low bottom, and receiving the drainage from the contiguous uplands on each side, it dis- charges into the Second River, a mile and a quarter from its mouth at Belleville. ^ The Elizabeth River, which empties into Staten Island Sound, at Elizabethport, derives its primitive northerly rivulet from the low grounds south-west of the East Orange railroad station. The little stream crossing Central Avenue, runs west of the Poor Farm to South Orange Avenue, where it receives the drain- age from the adjacent ridges, till it reaches Irvington, swelling to a size suflScient for milling purposes, and thence flows onward to Elizabeth. The natural drainage east and north-east of the East Orange rail- road station, is north-east to the Passaic River. South-west of the station, it is south-west to Staten Island Sound. The east branch of the Railway River has its pri- mary northerly fountain-head in a spring on the south side of the Mt. Pleasant Turnpike, a short distance below the summit of the mountain. The overflow finds its way down the south gully of the highway ; soon leaving the highway it runs south to the North- field road, and thence to the valley. Augmented l^y rivulets from the mountain side, and by the I. This, and what follows, upon the water-shed, is taken from notes made twenty or more years ago, when this writer's observations were made. The clearing of the woods in which the head springs were, and on the high land east of them, and the consequent grading and street improvements, together with the construction of houses on the same, have dried up the springs. Nothing at the present time but the rainfall supplies the diminished bed of this tributary. Water Sheds. 1 3 drainage from the Avest slope of Scotland Street ridge, it passes tliroiigli South Orange, and thence to Mil- burn, when it unites with the west branch, which arises between the First and Second mountains, a lit- tle north of the Swinefield road, ^ Opposite, and a few feet above the mountain-head spring of the east branch of the Railway River, which Ave have just noted, is a spring, less constant in its flow, which trickles down the gully on the north side of the highway. It soon leaves the gully and descends the mountain through the southern limits of Llewellyn Park, crossing the Valley Road near the school house, and discharges into WigAvam Brook, which is the western tributary to the Second River, These two springs thus noticed, one hundred feet apart, mark the summit of the watershed at that point. The mountain at these springs is 623 feet above tide water. There are other places in Orange equally illustrative. The south-west roof of St, Mark's Church sheds its rainfall into the Staten Island Sound-; its north-east roof sheds into the Passaic River and Newark Bay. Ridge Street (hence its name) dis- charges its drainage on the west side into the Rah way, and on its east side into the Passaic. The Scotland Street ridge sheds the rainfall under the same condi- tions. SWAMPS. Two great swamps were a distinguishing feature in the primitive topography of the mountain. Their condition, and the space they occupied two hundred I. This west branch of the Rahway River is now the source of the water supply for the city of Orange, the reservoir being located west of the top of the first mountain, and between the Northfield Road and South Orange Avenue. 14 History of the Oranges. years ago, compared with those of the present, afford a typical illustration of the changes of superficial I)hysical geography wrought out by human action. The lesser of the two, at its southern part, began in the low ground north and in the rear of St. Mark' s Church, occuj)ying the low ground between the base of the First Mountain and the upland on its eastern side, and extending to the Swinefield Road, now Washington Street, where it is bounded by the farm ^^ . of Ira Harrison. CP^a> ■ ^^,,c^yU-<^ ^^ ^* extended for a short space on the south-west side of his farm, and on the east side north-easterly to the rear of Rosedale Cemetery. It passed around its northern side and its eastern bounds till it became a ]Dart of the low lands west of Park Street, near the ice ponds. The wider portion of the swami), north of Park Avenue, was bounded by the upland on the south, and on the north by the upland, the greater part of which is held as cemetery prop- erty. This high land being thus surrounded, was known as the "Island." The three streams which had their channels through the swamp, and derived the most of their waters there- from, are the southern head-w\aters of the Second River. The Wigwam Brook rose within the "Crystal Springs," in Montclair, a few hundred feet north of the township line. They were once lively springs, but at the present time are dry, or nearly so. ^ Tlie brook ran south, as it does now, to its union with a brook be- ginning at the springs on the southern boundary of the low grounds, and which, augmented by the mountain I. It is traditional that near the springs was the habitat of a few Indians with their wigwams. The brook is thus named as a boundary in a survey to Matthew Williams, 1686. Swatnps. 1 5 rivulets, so increased tlie size of WigAvani Brook as to make it sufficient for milling purposes. It was fur- ther increased in its capacity by its union with the Nishuyne River, which rises in the low ground oppo- site (east of) the upper entrance of Eosedale Cemetery on the Montclair Road, and ]3asses through the low swamp behind and north of the Cemetery, flowing into the main stream west of Park Street, which, from this point, takes the name of Second River. This creek runs about half way between the eastern bounds of the Cemetery and Park Street. It is a small affair now. We cannot measure its depth and breadth as it was when the otter burrowed its banks, and the beaver built their dams. It was so called from the fact that an Indian bearing that name, with his squaw, both being drunk, were swamped in the water and quick- sand. Unable to extricate themselves, they were drowned. Its crossing-place, which has not been changed up to this day, was called the "ferry," as those passing it were forced to ferry themselves over on logs, or to resort to a rude corduroy crossing. "To the road by the Nishivine ferry" is a boundary noted in the will of Lewis Crane, 1776. Tlie road is at present, known as Dodd Street. ^ A swamp of much greater extent than that just described occujiied a district south of the "highway to the mountain," now Main Street. Its western ex- tremity was north of Highland Avenue, between the Scotland Street ridge and tlie high land of Centre Street. It stretched north toward the highway and near the railroad station, and thence east, parallel I. This minute notice of this swamp will be dull to many readers. The author thinks that they will justify him in giving it, when they discover the relation it bears to the progressive history of this corner of the mountain settlement. 1 6 History of the Oranges. with the highway, to the nplaiid at the East Orange junction, including all the land east of Centre Street, to that in the rear of the Oii)han Asylum, and to the west- ern base of Munn Avenue ridge, extending thence in a still wider stretch through the wide intervening bottom across South Orange Avenue to Irvington. Being dense- ly wooded, it was the abode of wild beasts. The higher portions of this district were occuxDied by the early I^lanters, and have been reclaimed by cultivation and the removal of the forest. A large i^art of the region is now occupied by streets and dwelling houses. Within this swamp were the head springs of the Eliz- abeth River, as heretofore noticed. Parrow^ Brook, a tributary to the Second River, had its primal springs a short distance north of the junction of Harrison and Centre streets. Flowing through the swamp north, it makes a junction back of Willow Hall, with a stream from the low land between Centre and Scotland ridges, and thence it runs north until it is merged in Wigwam Brook, at the corner of Day and Washington streets. The distance from Main Street, between the head of the Elizabeth River, running south, and the head of Parrow Brook, running north, marks the width of the watershed at this place. FLOEA AND FAUNA. The genera and species of the i)rimitive forest growth were in large variety. They are named in the order of their relative distribution. The oak — red, black, and white (also called rock oak), with pin^ 1. This name is also spelled " Perro" and " Parow," and is the same as that of the chief negotiator on the part of the Indians at the time of the purchase of the land, as above narrated. 2. So called because used for pins in jointing timbers in house frames, and other like purposes. Flora and Fauna. 17 oak on the borders of the swamps. The chestnut and hickory, of their various species ; the ehn, in its Amer- ican varieties ; tlie beech and birch, black and white ; ash, black and white ; and, on the First Mountain-side, the tulip. The ash and tulip have increased in later years. The maple, in some of its species, was of the early growth, including the sugar mai)le, from which molasses was occasionally made. This variety has dis- apx)eared. The sycamore was quite generally diffused, growing to a very large size. The gum (pepperidge) known as bitter gum, and the sweet gum (liquid amber styraciflua) were indigenous. The former was most common. iN'either is now frequently met with. The bitter gum was utilized for floors of barns, two and a half inches thick, and when sawed into boards was used for other inside work. It was also much employed for cofRus. When old, this tree begins to decay in the centre. It was not uncommon to fell a tree, and cut it into suitable lengths, and use them for well curbs. Attaching an artificial bottom, they were made receptacles for grain' and other farm products. Scattered over the region, and among the trees of larger growth, the dogwood, wild cherry, the native apple and persimmon flourished. No variety of the pine was indigenous. The few small groves on the mountain-side, of the yellow jDine, have come iip on laud early cultivated, worn out and abandoned. Red cedars are a second growth, and have come up under the same conditions. In the clearing of lands of their native growth, the second growth is chestnut. This is a uniform result over this mountain region. The grasses were the blue grass in some places, and an inferior native grass in others. After the clearing of land, white clover not infrequently sprang w.^. Red clover and timothy, for hay and pasturage, were 1 8 History of the Oranges. not introduced by the planters until the beginning of the i)resent century. Tradition says that they were introduced by Ebenezer Canheld, who had the best farm at the mountain. It lay on the north side of the Main Street, beginning a little east of the old road to Wardsesson, now Prospect Street, and was next on the east to Moses Jones' land, where the Calvary (Meth- odist) Church now stands. The site of his large stone- house is opi:)Osite Halstead Street. Of the native fruits of the Newark Mountain we have neither record nor tradition. From Denton's descrip- tion of New York, written 1690, and Miller's descrip- tion of tlie same, 1695, both of whom as well as other writers give information upon this part of New Jersey, Ave may reasonably infer that the smaller fruits were native to its soil, such as raspberries, currants, strawberries, grapes, x>lums, mulberries, persimmons, peaches, apples, quinces, "which are- in England planted in orchards and gardens, and many more fruits, which cannot come to perfection in England, are the more natural product of this country." i The wild beasts of the mountain were the bear, wolf, panther, elk, deer, together with the fox, coon, opos- sum, and the lesser land animals. The rattlesnake and copperhead abounded. Beaver and otter had their habitats in the swamps. The wolves were the most nu- merous and the most troublesome to the settlers. In their first agreement is this item: "the Town agreed that any Man that would take Pains to kill Wolves, he or they, for their Encouragement, should have 16s. for every grown Wolf that they kill, and this to be paid by the Town Treasury." ^ 1. "A brief account of the Province of East New Jersey, in America, Printed in Edinburg, 1683." 2. The bounty was subsequently reduced to 12s. per head. Records of the Town of Newark, page 6. Flora and Fauna. 19 They were sources of annoyance and alarm to the people. Their noses were not infrequently seen in the open cracks of the outside doors of the houses. A single howl at night was resjoonded to from one por- tion of the region to another, till it encircled a wide neighborhood. Bears were not so numerous nor as troublesome, but sufficiently so to require the notice of town meeting, which, in 1680, offered a bounty of ten shillings per head. They were seen all through the last century, and down to the early years of the present. About 1780, Deacon Amos Harrison, on a certain occasion in the autumn, discovered a bear in an apple tree, near the stone bridge on Oak Bend in Llewellyn Park, eating of the fruit. He went home for his gun, and returning, shot the beast. Finding that he had killed him, he again went to his home (now known as Walnut Cottage, on the Yalley Road), harnessed his team to a stone drag, and, bringing the beast to his house, dressed and divided the carcass among his neighbors. The apples of that tree were natural fruit, and, being of good quality, Mr. Harrison took cut- tings and grafted a considerable number of trees with them. The fruit thus became common, and was known as the Bear Apple. There is a tradition that subsequent to this a bear was killed on tlie knoll where stands the house of the superintendent of Rose- dale Cemetery. The last one seen was about, or a lit- tle before, 1810, in a field on the corner of Commerce Street and Railroad Avenue. "Wlien surprised he dis- appeared in the swamp. The d«er were numerous, and continued, though in diminishing numbers, in the region beyond the moun- tain, till near the close of the last century. It was no unusual thing, at that i^eriod, for the settlers over the 20 History of the Oranges. mountain to see, from the doors of their houses, the deer going to the springs and streams to drink. A large buck was known to traverse the First Mountain about 1780, He was an object of earnest search for the hunters, by whom he was frequently seen and sometimes shot at, but he was very sagacious and always eluded his pursuers. On one occasion his foot was caught in a trap which had been set for him ; from this he succeeded in releasing himself, but his foot was so injured that ever afterward his tracks were recognized. Thus he became known as Old Trap- foot, and long lived to worry the ambition of the hunters. There was living in the town one of that class of shiftless boasters, who are always busy in doing next to nothing for themselves or others. His professed employment was hewing timber for build- ing. On a certain clear, crisp morning, in the fall of the year, he was going by the highway toward the mountain. As he passed Capt. Thomas Williams'' house, with broad-axe in hand and gun on his shoul- der, the Captain hailed him with : ' ' Shaw, where are you going now?" "I'm going up the mountain to work at my trade, and shoot Trapfoot." Onward he went by the highway to the mountain, ascended its gradual slope till, having passed the present site of the upper gate to the Park, he came to the corner at the base of the trap-rock, turning which he began his ascent through the notch to the summit. Just here in the centre of the narrow cart path, in full sight, stood a noble buck. Our hero levelled his musket and shot him dead. It was Trapfoot, He was a noble specimen of his kind, and one of the last wliich trav- ersed these mountain heights. The hewer of wood and the slayer of Trapfoot achieved renown. The rattlesnake and copi:)erhead were found through- Flora and Fauna. 2 1 out the mountain region. They seemed, however, to collect in localities. The level land on the north side of the Second River, from the site of the Bethel Church at Doddtown to the bend of the river, was called " Rattlesnake plain." It is so noted in some of the deeds Ave have seen. The wild, rough spaces on each side of the highway where Trapfoot was shot on the mountain, were known as "Rattlesnake bed." They abounded on the bottom lands of the Passaic River at Swinefield. This was so called from the cus- tom of the planters, in the sx3ring of the year, to drive their s\vine to the meadows to find food during the summer. The beech nuts, the rank growth of grass, and the rattlesnakes furnished an abundant supply for their growth in fat. To kill these snakes, they placed both their fore feet upon the reptiles, and tore them to pieces with great rapidity. In a few years the snakes were exterminated in that locality. Beavers inhabited these primitive low lands. As late as 1780, they occupied the dense swamp at the Junc- tion of Nishuine River and Wigwam Brook, building their dam at the confluence of the two streams. At the union of the stream from tlie springs, north of St. Mark's Church, with Wigwam Brook, the remains of a beaver dam were apparent to the early settlers. The stumps of trees which had been felled by these an- imals for damming purposes bore the marks of their teeth. The otter was seen till a late day, and is now found occasionally in the low grounds of Morris County. Vs\} to the close of the last century, the hunter and trapper found both diversion and profit, when oppor- tunity offered relief from the less exciting duties of farming. Hunting parties from the town at the river and other neighboring places frequently visited this 22 History of the Oranges. region, camping out and sj^ending several days in search of bears, wolves and smaller game. ii^DiAisrs. The number of Indians belonging to the Hackensack tribe and who laid claim to the Passaic lands sold to the Newark settlers, is believed to have been small. The whole number in the Province, at the time of its coming under the dominion of the Crown, was, prob- ably, not more than two thousand. They were under the rule of about twenty kings, and some of the tribes numbered less than fifty souls. Oraton was king of the Hackensacks, and Perro claimed proprietorship of the Passaic lands. ^ In the years of the early settlement of the moun- tain, the few remaining natives of the soil were of vagabond habits, getting a precarious subsistence upon game, occasional i)atches of corn, and the good offices of the settlers. A few wigwams in Tory Corner seem to ha^'e given name to the creek passing through that neighborhood. There was a camp of Indian families upon the Dodd lands, on the high ground east of Mid- land Avenue. On the Crane lands, south of Northtield Avenue, and on that part of them where now stands the house of O. S. Carter, was, traditionally, another camp. When that house was being built, Indian relics were brought to the surface in digging for its foundation. This incident corroborated the tradition that on that farm had been an Indian habitat. At or near Samuel Harrison's saw-mill on Wig- wam Brook, about two hundred yards west of Day Street, stood a very large tulip tree, which tradition says was cut down by a company of Indians for the I. See Mr. Whitehead's Memoir in Supplement to Vol. VI. of the New Jersey Archives, p. 33. Indians. 23 purpose of making a canoe. In felling the tree a cir- cle was formed around it, and, singing a rude song, they passed around it, each in his turn striking it with his tomahawk until it was felled. Then taking so much of its trunk as would serve their i3urj)ose they commenced, with much adroitness, to burn it out. They were industriously employed in the x^trocess for many days till it was nearly completed, when the com- pany left, placing it in charge of one of their number, who, neglecting his work, allowed a hole to be burned through it. It was abandoned in consequence. The charred trunk lay for a great many years where it had fallen, perpetuating the recollection of their disap- pointment. Canoe building, which was a necessity, became a source of profit in this mountain region. The natives carried clams and oysters to Albany, where they were delivered to the Mohawks as tribute. In the valley west of the Second Mountain runs a considerable stream, which in early days was much larger. It takes its rise on the south line of Caldwell township, and running south-west through Livingston and North- field to Chatham, discharges itself into the Passaic. It is known to this day as Canoe Brooh., deriving its name from the canoes made on its shores by the na- tives of early times. They were made of the ash tree, cut from the gullies through which the stream flows. The trees, deprived by their place of growth of the sunlight, except on their toi3s, grew straight and with- out lateral branches. The wood of the tree is tough and light, and well adapted to the purposes of canoe material. They grew moreover in great abundance. When the canoes were comi)leted, the builders awaited a freshet sufficient to float them down the stream to the Passaic and finally to the salt water bays. The 24 History of the Oranges. only interri?ption to tliis journey by water was from above Little Falls to below the Passaic Falls at Pater- son, a distance of five miles, over which it was neces- sary to carry the canoes. Opposite Willow Hall, west, but close to the brook, in the early days was a knoll, which abounded in small arrowheads. They appeared to have been made of the sharp, dense part of the clam-shell found at its articulation. These arrowheads were gathered by the boys of the present century, now among our old men. The knoll was regarded as the site of an Indian dwell- ing place ; possibly that of Perro, of whose home in this neighborhood a dim tradition exists. Rev. James Hoyt, in his "History of the First Presbyterian Church of Orange," very reasonably infers that Perro' s name is perpetuated in the brook (Parrow's), which washed the base of the knoll. Arrowheads and divers relics of Indian make are occasionally found at this day. Basket making was a common source of profit among these peoj)le here, as it has been everywhere else where they lived, among their more industrious and civilized successors. 1 It is related that one of the planters I. Their more important traffic with the white settlers was in pelts of the beaver, otter and the lesser water animals, as well as of the wild beasts of the forests. Wampum was their article of exchange. It was of two species, the black and the white, and was made in large quantities on Long Island, which abounded in shells. Its fabrication was free to everybody, and in nowise limited. The black wampum was the most valuable, and was made, as Van- derdonck says in his History of New Netherlands, from the conch shells taken from or cast up by the sea. The thin parts of the shells were struck off, the pillars and standards preserved, the material ground smooth and even, and reduced according to its thickness, and by a hole drilled through them, strung on cord often made of sinews of beasts. This was the only money and medium among the natives. These strings, varying in number and in value, were formed in belts, some as wide as a man's hand. They are frequently named, and have an important place in the recorded negotiations and treaties between the Indians and the white settlers. Smith, in his History of New Jersey, page 76, says that the white wampum was made from the inside of Indians. 25 here being asked by an Indian for rum, replied tliat if he would make a basket which would hold rum, he would fill it for him. It was not long afterwards that a basket of liberal capacity was brought to be filled. The interstices of it were treated with the native gums of the woods, so as to fulfill the conditions of the con- tract. On the high ground south-west of the Rosedale Cem- etery gate, the remains of an Indian place of defence were observed in the first year of this century, with a trench and a steep embankment, and within a circular space. In the earlier days of our informant it was thicldy wooded. The sides of the embankment were so steep that the breaking up of the winter caused slides, of which he had "seen three or four." The site is now removed by the grading of later times. On the land west of this locality and on the south siile of Washington Street, was a space within a diam- eter of about one hundred and thirty feet, on which were fifty or more small excavations about four feet across. They were known by the i^eople as the ^' In- dian Barns," so called from the tradition that the na- tives preserved their corn during the winter by bury- ing it in the earth. Ira Harrison (living now at 92,) remembers that his Uncle Abijah ploughed up this section of his fann, expecting to find hatchets, mor- tars, etc., such as the Harrisons found on their lands at Swinefield, but nothing in the way of relics was found. the great sea conchs, and the black or purple from the inside of the clam or muscle. Its value, at first, in trade with the whites was four and then six beads for one stiver, one penny sterling. In 1659, the purple was fixed at eight, the white at sixteen, which had previously been at twelve. In 1663, eight white or four black were equal to a stiver. This continued to be their value after the surrender of the Dutch to the English. {Documents relating to History of Netv York, II., pp. 344, 425.) 26 History of the Oranges. The Indians were the most numerous in "West Jersey. In this part of the province the tribes were small, IDeaceable and not disposed to w^ar. Those west of the Delaware River, and in the mountains of Pennsylva- nia, were more warlike, and were frequently engaged in contests among themselves. In their intercourse with the English settlers, the Indians of New Jersey were generous, kind and affable ; naturally reserved, apt to resent and conceal their resentments, retaining them long. They were very loving to one another. If several of them came to a Christian s house, and the master of it gave one of them victuals and omitted the rest, the portion was equally divided among the whole company. If the Christians visited them, they gave them the first cut victuals. They refrained from eating the hollow of the thigh of anything they killed. Their chief employment was hunting, fishing and fowling ; making canoes, bowls and other wooden and ejirthen Avare. The women were employed chiefiy in raising- corn and preparing it, by roasting and pounding it in a mortar, or grinding it between stones, for making of bread. When travelling in companies they walked single file, in silence. Two were very seldom seen walking side by side, thus making their trail very narrow. The man went before with his bow and arrows, the women after, not infrequently with a child upon her back, and other burdens. If they were too heavy, the man assisted her. RELIGION OF THE INDIANS. Of their religious belief, David Brainard in his diary says of them that their notion is that "it was not the same God made them who made the white peo2)le,"' but another, who commanded them to live by hunting Reli^rion of the Tndia7ts. 27 and not to oonfomi to tlie customs of tlie white peo- ple. Hence, when they are desired to become Chris- tians they frequently reply that they "will live as their fathers did," and go to their fathers when they die. Notwithstanding their traditional l)elief, Brain- ard was successful in a remarkable degree in his missionary work among them. Many to whom he preached embraced the Gospel of Christ, and united themselves with a Christian church. The missions which he established at Cranbury and at Crosswicks, were, doubtless, visited by some of those who trav- ersed these Passaic lands and, perhaps, some brought to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. In his diary, November, 1745, he writes thus of his work : ' ' Twenty- three of the Indians have now professed their faith in Christ. Most of them belonged to this region ; a few from tlie forks of the Delaware, ''^ * "^ none of them, as yet, have been left to disgrace their profes- sion by any scandalous or unbecoming behavior." The Creator endowed the Indian race with a high order of thought. In the numerous councils during the early history of the colonies, and in our subse- quent history as a nation, many of them were the peers of their English associates. Their native reti- cence prompted to contemplation. They studied them- selves, and in the analysis of their own minds, tliey learned to know something of their own moral nature, and thus got a dim insight into the attributes of the Great Si)irit and their moral relations to Him. Brain- erd notices some cases in his experiences with them which illustrate this. His teaching was readily re- ceived by those who had felt their need of Christian truth. One said to him while discoursing: "Now, that I like; so God has taught me." Thompson, in his history of Long Island, relates the following inci- 28 History of the O^'anges. cident: An Indian Sachem on the east end of the Island visited a man committed to prison by Lord Cornbury for his religions belief. The Sachem asked him if he was a Christian. Being told "yea," he con- tinned : ' ' And are they not Ghristians who Iceej^ yon here ?' ' Being told, they called themselves so, he said "Mang manitou (God) looked at the heart." Taking a piece of coal and drawing a circle he said, ^Hliey believed the Great Spirit to be all eye, that he saw everything ; all ear, that he heard everything ; and all mind, that he knew everything." Teedyescnng was a distinguished king of one of the Delaware tribes. On a certain occasion, while a guest at the hospitable home of an excellent member of the Society of Friends in Burlington, he was seated with his host, each silently indulging in his own reflections before the blazing fire on the hearth. The silence was at length broken by the Friend who said: "I will tell thee what I have been thinking of ; I have been thinking of a rule given by the Author of the Christian religion, which from its excellence we call the Oolden Rule.'''' "Stop," said the Indian, "don't praise it to me, tell me what it is." " It is for one man to do to another, as he would have the other do to him." ' ' That' s impossible. It cannot be done. ' ' Silence then ensued. Teedyescnng looked into the fire for a time ; then rising from his seat he took his pipe, lighted it and walked to and fro in the room. In about a quar- ter of an hour he stood before the Friend with a smil- ing countenance, and taking the pipe from his mouth said : ' ' Brother, I have been thoughtful of what you told me. If the Great Spirit that made man would give him a neio heart, he could do as you say, but not else." He had studied his own moral nature till he had wrought out the divine philosophy of the Golden Eule. Indian Paths. 29 Teedyesciing became a Christian in 1749, and was baptised l)y the name of Gideon. Among the causes which contributed to tlie pacification of the Indians with the whites in 1758, as well as the conclusion of a treaty of friendship, ending all difficulties ^A\\\ the Indians in New Jersey, was the influence of this Chris- tian Indian king. ^ INDIAN PATHS. The only Indian Path which has any record on early maps is the MinisinTc. It extended from the Shrews- bury River north-west, crossing the Raritan a little west of Amboy, and thence northerly to Minisink Island in the Delaware. ^ Tliis was the great path from the sea to Minisink, the Indian council seat. The path after leading through Amboy continued due north through the Short Hills to the Passaic, over which it crossed, where Day's bridge was built in 1747, then for about 12 miles to Little Falls, near which it again crossed the same river ; thence it led along tlie eastern side of the valley to Pomi^ton ; and thence it followed the Pequannoc toward the Delaware. Its route was crooked, as all Indian paths are. The bogs and swamps of the region traversed were avoided, and the most favorable places for crossing the streams and rivers were carefully selected, ^ Tlie various tribes had parts of the seashore to which they resorted as their own. The Minisinks held the 1. See Rev. Dr. Alott, First Century of Hunterdon County. . 2. See Map in Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery. 3. The existence of the great path at Day's Bridge is established by a survey noticed in the Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery, 1747. Its proximity to the Short Hills and the mountain region, both north and south of those passes, forbid the belief that the river was reached by any other route. The other points named are fixed by the not infrequent references to the " Indian path " in deeds and surveys still preserved. 30 History of the Oranges. shore at Navesink, the Raritans at Barnegat. These latter had their path (traditionally) from the Raritan to the shore by way of Spotswood and Freehold. The Burlington path led across the county of Monmouth from Long Branch and Shrewsbury, by way of Tinton Falls, through Freehold and Crosswicks to Burlington. A branch path from the Minisink crossed the Rari- tan at New Brunswick, and continued to the Delaware at Trenton. This was used between these two towns for a considerable time after their settlement by the English XDeople began. The Newark mountain region was crossed by the natives dwelling on the Hudson River by paths, all of which intersected the Minisink. Their nearest and most direct route from the Hudson to Minisink Island, was through the great notch on the first mountain, four miles north of Montclair, meeting the main path near Little Falls, The other intersecting paths were at Montclair, where the highway crosses the moun- tain, the notch at Eagle Rock, the notches of the Mt. Pleasant and ISTorthfield highways and the mountain crossing at South Orange. All these routes led to \h% Minisink, which was not more than six or seven miles west of the first mountain. They all crossed the great path and were the highways of Indian travel from the Hudson west, through the Musconetcong Valley to the Delaware. M ^^^^M ^0^ ^s CHAPTER II. TIIK EATJLY SETTLERS. THE experiences of the Newark settlers, in their earlier migrations in America, had taught them the methods of overcoming the difficulties attendant upon the formation of a new settlement. They had now possessed themselves, by an unquestionable title, of a large extent of territory in a state of nature. The Passaic River was navigable and open to the sea ; and, through the East River to Long Island Sound, with the shores of which they were familiar. The lands west of the river lying in meadow, and much upland sparsely wooded ready for cultivation, presented an inviting- site for immediate occupation as a town settlement. Their first measure to this end in 1666, was to divide the land in this part of their j^urchase into six-acre lots to accommodate the heads of families. The allot- ments were made according to their former neighbor- hood ties as towns in the New Haven Colony. They were designated as the Gruilford Quarter, the Milford Quarter, etc. Provisions were made for highways and for fencing of lots, and, by a division of the meadow, provision was made for the good condition of their stock, horses, cattle and swine, of which they had brought an abundance. 32 History of the Oranges. The question sometimes arises : Did they drive their stock to New Jersey from their former homes as Hoolier did in 1636, when, with his company, he mi- grated from Cambridge in the Massachusetts Colony to Hartford ? The Newark immigrants came in ves- sels. They, built vessels in the New Haven Colony, and were familiar with navigation. Milford gave much attention to trade. Brigs voyaged thence to the West Indies, carrying staves, horses and cattle, as well as farm products, bringing, in return, rum, molasses and European goods. Their sloops were built for the coasting trade. In ten years the Newark settlers had provided a meet- ing house for the worship of God, brought their acres into subjection, made for themselves comfortable homes, established an ordinary for the entertainment of strangers visiting their town, built a gristmill, pro- vided a vessel for traffic by water, established their courts and their system of magistracy, made provision for a schoolmaster, laid their highways, appointed surveyors for the same, and taken steps for the forma- tion of a county, which in 1675 was established as the County of Essex. ^ Newark was then the most compact town in the province. About ten thousand acres were taken up for its accommodation, and its outlying plantations covered forty thousand more. In 1682 Newark contained a hundred families. ^ The young men and maidens, some of whom had reached and many more were approaching adult life when they came to Newark, had formed marriage alli- ances and were now seeking homes for themselves on the inviting- mountain lands. The settlers had trav- 1. Essex and Monmouth counties were formed in the same year. They were the first erected in the State. 2. See Whitehead's East Jersey under the Proprietors, pp. 123-124. The Early Settlers. 33 ersed them, and had learned the vahie of their New Jersey pnrchase. They were ambitions to occnpy them. An order was accordingly made in Town Meet- ing, May 28, 1675, to lay out the third division. The Home lots of six acres extended a little beyond the line of High Street in Newark, as it is now laid ont. All east of this was known and continued to be known till 1807, as the Toion at the River. The region west to the top of the First Mountain was called the New- ark Mou]^TAT]sr. During the ten years of their res- idence at the river the settlers had greatly increased in horses and cattle and other stock, which were pas- tured on the mountain lying in common, the animals being marked or branded, and recorded in a book provided for the purpose. In laying out this new division it was ordered that the highest estate should not exceed forty-one acres, and the lowest not less than twenty ; and "that this land should all lie common for pasture, timber and stone, till it be enclosed by fence." The estimate by the set- tlers of the value of the mountain lands is made ev- ident by the readiness with which they were taken up. It is manifest that this division was a very popular measure, and the lots were rai^idly occupied, many by the original associates and some by their children. It does not appear that in laying out land the surveyors were careful to conform with any accuracy to the num- ber of acres ordered to be laid to each share. They varied in amount from forty to sixty acres. The subscription to the "Agreement," so fundamen- tal in the estimation of the associates in the organiza- ation of their town, to which reference is made in a former part of this chapter, was not long insisted upon in the admission of planters to town privileges. In 1680, "fourteen years after the town was founded, 3 34 History of the Oranges. eleven were received upon the payment of purcliase money. No mention is made of the agreement. In 1685, a committee was appointed to go from house to house of those who had not subscribed to the Funda- mental Covenant, and to return their answer to the town. This committee never reported. In the next year one is recorded as admitted a i)lanter, "he sub- mitting to all wholesome orders." From this time onward settlers were admitted without any reference to the covenant. Pastor Pierson was an old man when he came to Newark. Twelve years thereafter, during nine of which his son was appointed his assistant in his pas- toral work, the godly old Puritan was called to the heavenly rest. The colony was prosperous within itself. It held a territory which invited strangers of the best class to come among them. An increase of planters of good character, and the purchase money which they brought in their hands, secured to them lands upon equal terms with the associates. The lat- ter were also brought into close relations with New York, which had about four thousand inhabitants, with a large trade. The intercourse of the Newark people with New York, and, probably, with the Dutch settlers on the west end of Long Island, was frequent. We find the following "item" illustrative of this in the Town Records, February 12, 1698 : "Upon a report that many are sick of the small pox at New York, it is thought fit to prohibit persons from frequent going thither upon every small occasion as formerly." A committee was thereupon ajDpointed to "consider whether persons' occasions are of urgent necessity, and, as they find, to give liberty or prohibit." A recent writer says : "The founders of Plymouth set up a religious community with commercial pur- Their Plantations. 35 poses. The founders of New Amsterdam set up a com- mercial community npon religious principles," The Newark fathers, by leaving New England, had separa- ted themselves from their traditional disputes and dis- sensions which for thirty years had been a source of perplexing concern, a fact of itself calculated, in the quiet relations^of their new home, to mollify prejudices and open their minds to the acceptance of more lib- eral views of civil rights. It is reasonable to believe that their friendly and intimate relations, so early es- tablished with their prosperous Dutch neighbors, in connection with the satisfactory condition of their town in its religious, moral and worldly progress, shaped anew their methods of conducting its affairs ^'- According to God and a Godly Governments It is not to be understood that those admitted as planters without signing the Fundamental Covenant were not the equals of the original associates in relig- ious principle and high purpose as exemplary citizens. They, too, became the honored fathers of this moun- tain region. It is honored stiU by their numerous pos- terity. This fact is illustrated when we name the fam- ilies of Williams, Condit, Peck, Pierson, Munn, Free- man, Wheeler, Ogden, Hedden, with as many more equally worthy. Newark was constantly drawing in- creasing numbers from New England and Long Island. THEIR PLANTATIONS. Having now in some degree illustrated the natural surroundings and resources of the mountain planters, we may look into their methods and their progressive growth as a community. They were a robust, God- fearing yeomanry; men of good estate, trained by their traditions to freedom of thought, self-reliant in the management of [^affairs, and fortified in this by 36 History of the Oranges. high moral and religions purpose. Macanlay, in his History of England, refers to the fact that at the time of the accession to the throne of James I., (1685), many thousands of sqnare miles in England, now rich in corn land and meadow, dotted with villages and coun- try seats, were moors overgrown with furze, and fens abandoned to wild ducks. Straggling huts, built of wood and covered with thatch, where are now manu- facturing towns and seaports. A large part of the country beyond Trent was, down to the eighteenth century, in a state of barbarism. Agriculture was in a very rude and imperfect state. The arable land and pasture were not supposed to amount to much more than half the area of the kingdom. The remainder consisted of moor, forest and fen. Deer in many parts by thousands wandered as free as in our own primitive American forests. Wild beasts of large size were nu- merous. On one occasion. Queen Anne, on her way to Portsmouth, saw a herd of no less than 500 deer. The horse, sheep and ox were diminutive, and at the beginning of cold weather, when the grass became scanty, sheep and oxen were killed and salted in great numbers. During several months of the year even the gentry scarcely tasted any fresh animal food, excei)t game and river fish. The yeomanry did not eat meat except on sj^ecial occasions. King, in his natural and political conclusions, roughly estimated the common peojDle of England at 880,000 families. Of these fam- ilies, 440,000, according to him, ate animal food twice a week. The remaining 440,000 ate it not at all, or at most, not oftener than once a week. The abode of the lord of the manor of the seventeenth century was with- out decoration. "The litter of the farmyard gathered under the windows of his bed chamber, and the cab- bages and gooseberry bushes grew close to his hall Their Plantations. 37 door. His table was loaded with coarse plenty, and strong beer was the ordinary beverage." ^ In striking contrast with the condition of the yeo- manry of the mother country, in the last years of the seventeenth century, we contemplate that of the free- liolders of the Newark Mountain plantations in i\i.id early years of the eighteenth. Their acres, and enough of them for all their needs, were subdued. Their horses^ and cattle and sheep abounded, finding pas- tures not only within the enclosures of their planta- tions, but on the common lands. The temporary homes first erected, had given place to commodious houses of timber, and not a few of stone. Their apple orchards were everywhere adorning their lands. Their cereals furnished them bread, their lesser plant- ings vegetables, and the spontaneous growth of the smaller fruits added healthful luxuries to their diet. Their herds and jDoultry furnished animal food, and the wool of the flock, and the flax of the field met all the necessary demands for their clothing. The facilities of land culture in the days of the Newark fathers were in contrast with those of our day. The draught work was done by carts drawn by oxen. They had no wagons. Sleds and drags, drawn gener- ally by horses, were- used for light work. The soil was broken up by the old English plow, with an iron share and wooden mould board. The highways were 1. We discover in these facts the reason why the early letters sent by the first New Jersey emigrants to their friends in the old country so particularly notice the abundant supply of beef, poultry, mutton and pork, as also shell and other fish in the salt water bays and rivers. The good houses to dwell in are also frequently noticed. 2. Horses were first imported by the Dutch in 1625, to New Amsterdam, also cattle and other domestic animals. Cattle were imported in the Mass- achusetts Colony in 1635. 38 History of the Oranges. passages for ox carts. No carriage of any other sojt was in use till many years afterwards. ^ Horses were in universal use for riding by both sexes. They carried often two persons and sometimes three. Deacon Amos Harrison went thus to church with his wife and twin children, Jt^yi^"^^ ^^/o7fAxvn >^cC (j^iy attested, is in the possession of Calvin Dodd, Esq., now in his 85th year, a great- grandson of John Dod. They are dated February 24th, 1720, and were made between John Dod, of Newark and Gideon Van Winkle and Johannes Cow- man, of the same place. The first party grants free liberty for the term of twenty-five years, "to search for and dig in any of the lands or any part of the lands belonging" to John Dod, "within the limits of his patent, or other patent, by which he holds his land in the bounds of Newark, not undermining any building or buildings, to seek for any mines, minerals, Copper Mine in Ora^tge. 59 copper or any other metals or ore whatsoever." Each party agreed to meet one-half of the expenses and re- ceive one-half of the prolits. A stamping mill was erected on the stream where the saw-mill now stands, and the whole venture was put in successful operation. Tradition says that it yielded a profitable return by shipment of the ore to England. Documents in pos- session of Mr. Calvin Bodd show that it was worked through the twenty-live years' lease. In 1745 the lease was in possession of Frind Lucas, an Englishman, -/^ /^ ' tr:^ J- ^^^' ^^ ^^^ said, came to this '^^^'^^'"'^ country to purchase it. He operated it as late as 1755, and, probably, till 1760, or later. It was abandoned on account of the water, the floor of the mine becoming lower than the creek, thereby arresting drainage. In the Library of the His- torical Society at Newark, is an original release of John Dod for one-half of his interest in the agreement with Van Winkle and Cowman. It is made to Cor- nelius Clopper, and dated November 13, 1720. In this document, Dod describes the mines, minerals and ore, as upon "my land at Rattlesnake Flain.^'' The entrance to the mine was large enough for the passage of a horse and cart, and the excavation was carried from 700 to 800 feet N. E. from the entrance. Mr. Dodd, on the occasion of digging a well about twenty-five years since over the mine, went down and found a chamber, which he estimated at half an acre, covered with water and full of large rocks. About 1853, the people of that part of the town w^ere alarmed at the sudden sinking of a considerable surface of the earth, and a Newark pax^er noticed it with the sensa- tional heading, "A part of Orange sunk." It was, doubtless, caused by the decay of the timber supports of the mine beneath. The rock is of the same nature 6o History of the Oranges. as that of the Schiij-ler mine, as the writer examined it twenty years since, and before the entrance was filled U13 by earth. The debris at the site of the old stamping mill, a little of which is still noticeable, cor- responds in aj)pearance with that of the bank at Belleville. The ore is in the sandstone formation, but of a lighter color than our quarries. It is reasonable to infer that the discovery of the Orange mine was nearly contem^Doraneous with that of the Schuyler ore. The latter was discovered in 1719, and early in the next year, February, 1720, the articles of agreement were executed for working the mine at Orange. Traces of copper are to be met with in the red sand- stone of our fields and quarries, but the writer has nowhere seen the rock peculiar to the mines noticed, in any other locality. The original owners of the Dodd estate, in all their releases of whatever kind, reserved the right to all mines and minerals. We have seen a receipt dated January 28, 1796, "in full for all demands against the estate of John Dod, late of Newark, deceased, only excepting and reserving all mines and minerals." The working this Orange mine gave an impulse to traffic and increased the poiDulation, especially in the neigh- borhood of the mine. It may be stated that in the years 1748, '9 and '50, lumps of virgin copper were found near New Bruns- wick. Elias Boudinot leased the land for 99 years, with a view to mining. A company was organized and many tons of ore were obtained and exported to Eng- land, but the accumulation of water caused its aban- donment. Copper ore is also found to a limited extent in many places in New Jersey, and many attempts at working Copper Mine in Orange. 6i tiiem have been made. Witli few exceptions "they have been enterprises of a speculative character, com- panies being organized and large amounts of stock sold and but little mining done." {Prof. CooJi s Geology of New Jersey, p. 675.) The grant of Charles II. to the Duke of York, 1674, includes mines, minerals and quarries. The opening and successful operation of the Schuyler mine, in the ore of which some traces of silver may have been found, excited the expectation in the inhabitants of tlie Province that its virgin soil was rich in precious ores, and a desire to know their rights to them. On May 24, 1722, a memorial was sent to the Lords of Trade relative to leasing the mines in America, repre- senting that there are found in New Jersey several rich mines, consisting of silver and gold, unmixed or mixed, with other metals, and asking whether, by royal instructions to his Majesty's Governors in America, licenses might be granted for digging and working the mines. ^ On February 12, 1722-3, Gov. Burnet communicated to Lord Carteret that silver and gold are to be found in New Jersey, saying : "There must be great allow- ances made for the humour that now prevails to run a mine hunting ;" and, not pretending to give an opinion as to the truth of the reports, asks for information as to the right and title remaining to his Majesty in such mines, and how far the present proprietors have a right in them, according to the grants on record in Great Britain, or if the royal mines are invested in the Crown. 2 In 1723, November 30, the Attorney- General and the Solicitor-General gave, as their opinion, that the char- 1. See New Jersey Archives, V. p. 37. 2. Ibid. p. 64. 62 History of the Oranges. ter granted only the base metals, and that the royal mines did not pass to the grantees of New Jersey. ^ A branch of the royal revenue, the right to mines, has its original from the King's prerogative of coinage, in order to supply him witli material, and, therefore, those mines which are property royal, and to which the King is entitled when found, are only those of silver and gold. {Blacli. stone, Book I., Chap. XIII.) The restrictive policy of England towards the Amer- ican colonies is illustrated in her action concerning the manufacture of iron. Representation of the General Assembly of the Province of New Jersey was made in 1741 to his Majesty, "relative to encouragement for the manufacture of iron," in which the province abounded. 2 No notice w^as taken of the application till 1750, when an act of Parliament was passed, the title of which is sufficient to show its jealousy of the American colonies, and its shortsightedness in dealing with them— "An act to incourage the Importation of Pig and Bar Iron from His Majesty's Colonies in America, and to prevent the Erection of any Mill or other Engine fqr Slitting or rolling Iron, or any plating Forge to work with a Tilt hammer or any furnace for making Steel in Any of the said colonies." ^ THE MANUFACTURE OF HATS. In the early years of the settlements of the colonies, special efforts w^ere made to encourage the emigration of all classes of tradesmen and artisans. These efforts were not without success. During the period of which we now write they had become sufficiently numerous, not only to meet the wants of the people, but to man- 1. See New Jersey Archives, p. 74. 2. Ibid. VI. p. 140. 3. Ibid. VII. p. 554. The MamifactMre of Hats. 63 ufacture and ship to England the products of their skill. Early in the last century hats became an im- portant article of trade. The makers offered large in- ducements to skilled workmen to emigrate, and set up their manufacture, and by taking apprentices to in- crease production.! The felt makers of London be- came alarmed, and, in 1731, j)resented a memorial to the Lords Commissioners of Trade and Plantations, rep- resenting that the inhabitants of the plantations had set up the manufacture of beaver hats, which they could make and send over to England, and undersell the home manufacturers. The memorial reiDresented, also, that the production of "great quantities of woolen manufactures made in most of the northern Planta- tions," would in time, if not prevented, "grow ex- tremely prejudicial to the manufacturers of G' Brit- ain." 2 Great Britain was very careful to promote its woolen manufactures. In the 18th Of Charles II., an act was passed by Parliament "for burying in woolen only." It was provided that no corpse should be buried but in woolen only ; penalty £5. The act was intended to lessen the importation of linen from "be- yond the sea," which was the customary fabric for swathing the dead by those who were able to pur- chase. 3 That "the consumption of Linnen of all sorts is amazingly great^" thus lessening the revenue and allowing the inhabitants of the plantations to have "the goods much cheaper than the inhabitants of the kingdom, who even bear the burthen and charge of protecting the plantations."* Gov. Cosby, in 1782, wrote to the Lords of Trade 1. New Jersey Archives, V. 307. 2. Ibid. V. 309. 3. Sepulture : Its History and Methods, by the author of this work, p. 140. 4. New Jersey Archives, V. 309. 64 History of the Oranges. from ISTew York : " The hatt making trade here seemed to make the greatest advances to the prejndices of Great Britain." ^ W. A, Whitehead, the editor of the Archives, in a note, remarks that about this time a hat manufactory was established in New Jersey. Its lo- cality is not noted. That there were at the Mountain those who were engaged in the trade may be inferred from a charge made by Eev. Caleb Smith to Mr. Woodhull, 1758, for a sum paid to Nehemiah Baldwin for "dressing an old hat of mine," for Billey, who was a papil in the gram- mar school. We have no evidence that the manufac- ture of hats, to any extent, began in Newark town- ship before the last decade of the century. ^ DISTILLERIES. We cannot fix the date of the working of the first distillery in the Newark township. The abundance of the apple crop, and the universal use of cider, doubt- less, became very early a temptation to convert it into a beverage more concentrated. The distillation of West India molasses into New England rum was be- gun in 1731 or '32. Hildreth, in his History of the United States, says that the agents of the Colony of Massachusetts, in 1751, undertook to show to the 1. New Jersey Archives, 306. 2. The style of hat worn before 1700 was that of the days of Cromwell and Charles II., high and conical with a narrow, straight brim, and often embellished with a feather. Towards the beginning of 1700 the crowns of hats were mostly round, much lower than before, with very large brims. The brim became such an incumbrance that for convenience they were soon turned up in front. Fashion dictated the unbending of another side or flap and at last a third, so that in 1704 the regular three cocked hat, without feather, became the fashion of the time. {FairhoU on English Costutne.) Cowper commissioned his town friend to send him among other things a hat, "not a round slouch," but a smart well cocked fashionable affair. This request expresses the laudable ambition of a well-dressed man at nearly the close of the i8th century. Products — Currency. 6 5 British government that New England rnm was the mainstay of the trade of New England. From the period of the French war, to 1776, the use of spirituous liquors had its greatest development in the colonies. When the war of the Kevolution cut off foreign supplies, distilleries so multiplied that, accord- ing to the testimony of eye witnesses, it was difficult for travellers to get out of their smoke. In the early part of the present century, there were more than twelve distilleries in the Oranges. PRODUCTS. The resources of New Jersey in 1721 in its produc- tions were most abundant. It is spoken of by a writer to England in 1724, as the most prolific of any prov- ince in America. During the twenty years following this, in these mountain plantations, beef, pork, horses, cattle, swine, copper ore, timber and staves for ship- ment to the West Indies, were the standing articles of production and trade. In Samuel Harrison's account book we find, under the date of June 9, 1743, the fol- lowing memorandum of his agreement to supply array stores in evident anticipation of the war between Eng- land and France, which was declared a year later : " With all the expedison emagnable agree for and purchas for the five hundred men, or in purporson for so maney as shall inlist not exseding five hundred, viz 191 Barels of pork one no Barels of Beef 6000 pound waight of Bisket 2000 galans of Rhum, four Hundred and Sixty bushel of Pees, four Hundred and Sixty two Bushel of inden Corn, 650 pounds of Baken, forty Hundred Waight of Rice, 3000 pound Waight of Cheese, 3000 pound Waight of tobacco." CUREENCY. The coin which the emigi'ants to New England brought with them soon found its way back to the 5 66 History of the Oranges. motlier country in exchange for goods imported. Their trade soon thereafter established with the West Indies brought to them coin, and this, too, was shipped to England. To stop this drain of specie, Massachusetts resorted to the experiment of coining shillings, six- pences and three-x)ences, alloyed one-quarter below the British standard. These pieces are now known as the "Pine tree Shillings," etc., from having a pine tree on one side and "New England" on the obverse. The same measure was adopted elsewhere, with the fal- lacious idea that the coin thus debased would not be exported. It thus happened that the pound currency of the colonies came to be one-fourth less valuable than the pound sterling of England. This standard was afterwards adopted by the British Parliament for all the American colonies. In East Jersey, for some time after its settlement, the coins of Holland and England and their respective moneys of account were current. The differences of value of coin in the colonies, especially between New Jersey and her contiguous colonies. New York and Pennsylvania, caused much annoyance in trade, and in 1704 Queen Ann issued a proclamation to correct the "inconveniences caused by the different rates at which the same species of foreign coin i3ass in drawing money from one plantation to another, to the great prejudice of her Majesty' s subjects." The only remedy being the reduction of all foreign coins to the same cuiTent rate within her dominions in America. The proclamation declared that no Sevill, pillar or Mexico pieces of eight, though of the full weight of seventeen penny weight and a half, and other enumerated coins at a value stated, should be accounted, received, taken or paid at above the rate of six shillings, seventy-two pennies, per piece current money for the discharge of Currency. 67 any contracts or bargains to be made after the first of January next ensuing. The lesser pieces of the same coins to be acconnted in the same proportion. ^ There is reason to believe that in 1700, or thereabout, the ordinary rate of the piece of eight weighing not less than seventeen penny weight, was in Boston six shillings, in New York eight, in New Jersey and Penn- sylvania seven and sixpence, and in Maryland four and sixpence. This was complained of by the English merchants, and the proclamation followed, which, a few years later, was confirmed by act of Parliament. ^ Bills of credit were afterwards issued by this stand- ard. ' American traders were as much dissatisfied, espe- cially in the Middle States, with the proclamation as were the traders, in England with the old rates. Gov. Cornbury suspended its operation in New York, and the other colonies practically disregarded it. In 1708 the Legislature of New; York passed a law fixing the value of silver coins at eight shillings per ounce troy. This was called York money, and, in making contracts in New Jersey, payment was provided for in York, or proclamation money. From Samuel Harrison's Account Book. Arthur Perry, Cr. September 23, 1747. Received of your wife, ) 00. 07. o two bils of three shilings and sixpence, One eight shiling pees of silver, .... 00. 08. 8 1. See Smith's History of New Jersey, p. 281. 2. Elmer's History of Cumberland County, N. J., p. 120. 3. When and how pieces of eight came to be called dollar does not ap- pear. The name was derived from Germany called there thaler, in Den- mark dalor, and translated in English dollar. 68 History of the Oranges. Such was the scarcity of coin that there was an earnest call in the colonies for paper money. It was resisted by the British Board of Trade, to which all questions relating to currency were referred. Only on special emergencies would the Governor sanction its issue. 1 The first act passed in K"ew Jersey was in 1709. It authorized the issue of bills to the amount of three thousand pounds for his Majesty's service, some of which remained in circulation six or eight years, but were sunk by being paid in taxes. In 1716 an act was passed for the currencj^ of bills of credit to the amount of eleven thousand six hundred and seventy-five ounces of plate, or about four thousand pounds of proclama- tion money, which were soon jiaid in and redeemed.^ After much controversy between the Assembly and the Governor (Burnet), the former refusing to provide for the support of the government, unless bills of credit were allowed, an agreement was reached in 1723 by which the Assembly "provided for ten years to come for supplying the government in order to obtidn money which their necessities made inevitable."^ This act authorized the issue of forty thousand pounds in bills of from three pounds down to one sliil- ling. The preamble to the act recites the hardshii)s of his Majesty's subjects within this colony, and says that, though they had enough of the bills of credit of the neighboring provinces yet to pay the small taxes for the support of government, they have been obliged to cut down and pay in their jilate, including, it is be- lieved, silver coin, ear-rings and other jewels. Four thousand pounds of these bills were directed to be paid to the treasurers of East and West Jersey for the 1. Elmer's History of Cumberland County, p. 122. 2. Ibid, p, 123. 3. Ibid. p. 123. Currency. 69 redemption of old bills of credit and for other purposes. The rest were put in the hands of loan commissioners of the several counties, who lent the money on mort- gage of real estate at five per cent., for periods not ex- ceeding twelve years. The bills were made legal ten- der, and a stay of execution was provided for until the bills had been six weeks in the hands of the com- missioners. Subsequent laws provided for other issues, amounting in all, previous to the revolution, to about six hundred thousand pounds. The last act, which was passed in 1774, was not assented to by Governor Franklin until an interval of ten years had withdrawn most of the previous issues from circulation. ' ' The bills under this act bore date March 26, 1776, and consti- tuted the principal part of the currency of the province at the commencement of the war. ' ' ^ The penalty for counterfeiting the bills of credit was death. The gravity of the crime in the eye of the law did not prevent its violation. The paper on which the bills were printed was coarse, somewhat heavier than that in ordinary use, and the print- ing was done on a common printing press. The temptation was therefore such that counterfeiting was not uncommon, and in some instances was committed by those in high social position. Four convicts of this class in Morris county, and one of less considera- tion in Sussex county, were convicted at the same time and sen- tenced to be hung. The four from Morris county, by the efforts of influential friends, were reprieved on the morning of the day appointed for their execution. The poor convict, without friends, was executed. One of the four was a physician highly esteemed for his skill and having a large medical practice. His repute was such that he retained his former relations to his clients. On one occasion after his pardon he was in attendance upon a lady in child-bearing. After one of the throes incident to the occasion, she suddenly turned to him saying, " Doctor, how did you feel that morning when you thought you were going to be hung } " I. Elmer's History of Cumberland County, N. J., p. 123. 70 History of the Oranges. TRAFFIC. In the earlier years of East Jersey, as is tlie case in all new settlements, traffic was chiefly by barter. Coin was scarce and the methods of living were conformed to the productions of the plantations and the resources of the planters. It was provided that taxes, quit-rents and the settlement of accounts might be paid in pro- duce at prices fixed by authority. The table below illustrates the varied productions of the time and their recognized prices for the first twenty-five years of the Newark township : 166^. 1678. 1692 Winter wheat, per bushi- 5s. 4$. 6d. 4S. Summer do. 4s. 6d. 4S. Peas, " 3s. 6d. Indian Corn, " 3S. 2s. 6d. 2S. 6 Rye. 4S. 3s. 6d. Barley, " 4s. 3s. 6d. Beef, per lb. 2id. 2d. Pork, per lb. . . . 1675. 3d. Beef, per bbl. 50s. 40s. 30s. Pork 70s. 60s. 50s. Tobacco, 4d, 3d. 3 3d. In 1675 tried tallow at 6d. per lb, ; green hides at 3d, per lb, ; dry hides at 6d, per lb. were made receiv- able in payment of taxes ; but after 1675, peas in- cluded, were not retained as "currency," In 1676 only wheat, peas and tobacco were received for public charges. In 1677, wheat, rye, Indian corn and to- bacco were the medium prescribed ; and in 1679 and 1692 butter at 6d, was added to the articles given in the table of that year. In 1692 the payment of taxes in silver was provided for, but left optional with the tax payers, ^ I. See Whitehead's East Jersey under the Proprietors, p. 248-9. Traffic. 7 1 It was in the latter part of the twenty-five years we have noticed that so many letters were sent by the first adventurers to East Jersey to their friends in England and Scotland, commending America to their favorable regard. Many of them are preserved. Their testimony is uniform upon the question of emigration. Extracts from one will illustrate the general tenor of all. It was written from Elizabethtown, January, 1685. The writer says : "The woods consist of several kinds of Oaks, Chesnut, Hickory, Walnut, Poplar and Beech ; Cedars grow in swamps and barrens, firrs and pines onl^ on barrens. The ground generally 2 or 3 inches deep of black dung as it were ; below that is reddish mould. What you heard of the product of the Indian Corn, viz. 100 or 200 fold, of 20 or 30 fold English Wheal, of the abundance of deer and wild horses and several turkeys and of the great plenty of fishes, are all true. There is very much Cider here ; In 13 or 14 years you may make 100 barrells from your own planting; the best fleshes of all kinds ever I did see are here, tho' in this respect of what you have heard be generally tautologie ; yet I found myself oblidged to write it because I am witness to the truth thereof, without Hyperbole." CHAPTER V. LEGISLATION AND THE LAWS. THE first General Assembly was convened May 26, 1668. It was composed of Philip Carteret, Gover- nor, and seven members of his Council ; also of Burges- ses, ten in number ; two from each of the following places, viz., Bergen, Elizabethtown, Newark upon Pish- awack River, Woodbridge, Middletown. The Burges- ses for Middletown represented Shrewsbury also. The representatives from Newark were Robert Treat and Samuel Swaine. ^ The laws enacted ^ under the Proprietors were in force till the surrender of their government in 1702 ; and afterwards, to a considerable degree, changes in the code were made as the new order of government and the new circumstances, and changes of popular opinion rendered them necessary. The New England puritan spirit, so distinctly seen in the "Fundamental Agree- ment" of the Newark Associates, imparted to no incon- siderable degree its influence in the penal statutes of East Jersey. The offences noted as capital were arson ; 1. See Orants, Concessions, etc., p. 77. 2. For tlie terse digest here given of the early laws, see Whitehead's East Jersey under the Proprietors, pp. 239-40. Legislation and the Laws. jT) murder, perjury to the prejudice of life ; stealing any of mankind ; burglary and robbery, for the third of- fence as incorrigible ; theft if incorrigible ; smiting or cursing parents by children on complaint of parents only ; rape subject to discretion of court ; gross and un- natural licentiousness ; but life not to be taken save on proof of two or three witnesses. Inhdelity in the mar- ried life was made punishable by divorce, corporal punishment or banishment, as the court may award ; but in 1682, the parties were made subject to a line, and were bound to behave themselves for one year. Un- chastity was at first punishable by tine, marriage or corporal punishment ; in 1682, three months imprison- ment, or a tine of five pounds, was incurred, and in 1686, ten stripes at a public whipping post were sub- stituted in place of imprisonment, upon non-payment of the tine. Night-walkers or revellers after 9 o'clock at night, (the time was afterwards extended one hour,) were to be detained byihe constable till morning, and, unless excused, to be bound over to appear at court. Marriages were to be published three times in some public "meeting or kirk,"' or publicly advertised two weeks ; and to render them legal, the consent of XDarents, masters, or guardians to be obtained. Horses and cattle roamed at large, and were required to bear the brands of the town to which they belonged, as well as the private marks of their owners. These marks were varied in their devices, and were regularly recorded. The provisions respecting assaults by cattle upon man or beast, trespasses by cattle and injuries done by them, were almost identical with those of Scripture, (Ex- odus : xxi.) These were enacted in 1682, at which time the laws relating to the punishment of theft, se- duction, injustice to the widow or fatherless, and for damage sustained by fire from carelessness of others. 74 History of the Oranges. were all made conformable to the Levitlcal law, (Ex- odus: xxii.) The resistance of lawful authority by word or action, or the expression of disrespectful language, with refer- ence to those in office, were made punishable either by fine, corporal punishment, or, as from 1675 to 1682, by banishment. Circulators of false news concerning-pub- lic affairs were fined ten shillings for the first offence, and for the second were "whipped or stocked," and in 1675, all liars were included, incurring for the second offence a fine of twenty shillings. If the fines were not paid the offenders were put in the stocks or pub- licly whipped. "Concerning the beastly vice of Drunkeness," the first laws inflicted fines of Is., 2s., and 2s. 6d. for the first three offences, with corporal punishment, and if the culprit should be unable to pay, or if unruly, he was to be put in the stocks until sober. After 1682, each offence incurred a fine of five shillings, and, if not paid, the stocks for six hours. Constables not doing their duty in this were fined ten shillings for each case of neglect. In 1688, each town was obliged to keep an "ordi- nary" for the comfort and entertainment of strangers, under a penalty of forty shillings for each month's neglect. None but the keeper of the "ordinary" was permitted to retail liquors in less quantities than two gallons. In 1677 the quantity was reduced to one gal- lon. In 1683 ordinary keepers were debarred the re- covery of debts for liquors sold amounting to five shillings. As to rights of persons, the laws were framed in a liberal spirit. In 1675 imprisonment for debt, save when fraud was intended, was prohibited. In 1698 the common law of England was assured to every one. Schools and School-Houses. 75 In 1682 it was provided that no one should be impris- oned except by the judgment of his peers, or the laws of the Province. All courts were open to persons of any religious persuasion ; they were allowed to plead in their own way and manner, either in person, or by their friends or attorneys. Trial by jury was confirmed, with reasonable challenges allowed ; all persons were bailable except for capital offences. No court by ex- ecution or other writ could authorize the sale of any man's land without his consent, but the rents and profits might be stopped for the payment of just debts. All prizes, stage plays, games, masques, revels, bull baitings and cock fightings which excite the people to rudeness, were to be discouraged and punished by courts of justice, according to the nature of the offence. Swearing or "taking Gfod's name in vain" was pun- ishable by one shilling fine for each offence, as early as 1668, and this continued to be the fine until 1682, when a special act provided that the fine should be two shillings and sixpence, and if not paid, the offender to be placed in the stocks or whipped, according to his age, whether under or over twelve years. The observance of the Lord's day was re- quired ; servile work, unlawful recreations, unneces- sary traveling and any disorderly conduct on that day being punishable by confinement in the stocks or com- mon gaol, or by whipping. SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-HOUSES. Ten years after the Associates came to Newark, Jan- uary, 1676, the town made a canvass to discover if they could "find a competent number of scholars and accommodations for a schoolmaster." It is to be in- ferred from this action that young children were few at the first, and that earlier steps to secure a teacher 76 History of the Oranges. were not called for. In the succeeding month a bar- gain was made with the school-master for a year, "to do his faithful, honest and true endeavor to teach the children and servants" of those who had subscribed for his support, the reading and writing of English, and also arithmetic (if they desire it), as much as they are capable to learn, and he capable to teach them, * * * " nowise hindering, but that he may make what bargain he pleased with those who have not sub- scribed," The school, doubtless, now became an estab- lished institution, judging from the fact that at a town meeting in 1714, it was voted that the old floor in the meeting-house should be used for the making a floor in the school-house. ^ The only action taken by the General Assembly of the Province for the cause of education, was a law passed in 1693, providing that the inhabitants of any town in the Province may, by warrant from a justice of the i)eace of the county, meet together and choose three men of the town to make a rate for the salary and maintaining of a school-master as long a time as they think fit, the consent of a majority of the inhab- itants binding and obliging the remaining part of the inhabitants to satisfy and pay their shares and propor- tion of the rate. In case of refusal or non-j)ayment, distress to be made on their goods and chattels. This act was modified in 1695, as it was found to be incon- venient, by reason of "distance of neighborhood." It was provided that three men be chosen yearly, and every year, in each town to appoint and agree with the school master, and also to nominate the most conven- ient place or places where schools should be kept from time to time. ' 1. See Newark Town Records, p. 124. 2. See Grants, Concessions, &c., p. 358. Schools and School-Houses. 'j'j We find an item in the account book of Samuel Harrison, wiiich seems to fix the time when a school- house was built at the Mountain: "1729, June 16. To sawing for scool house, 00, 05. 6." It was a framed building, about 20x30 feet, with 8-feet posts, roofed with shingles and sided with boards, also ceiled with boards within. The chimney in the corner, built upon the timbers above, received the pipe from a cast-iron box stove. The house occupied the triangle of ground formed by the intersection of the Swinefield Road with the Valley Road, at the turn of the former toward the notch. ^ The door was in the southern gable, the building standing north-east and south-west, (recollections of the old people.) The three other sides were provided with windows affording a free opportunity to the scholars to relieve the wear and tear of mental effort by watching all that was pass- ing on the highways from all directions. This struc- ture occupied its original site till near the middle of the present century, when it was a few feet to the south-west and within the east line of the Valley Road. Here it stood and was used as a public school-house until the new stone building was erected on the same street, and south of Llewellyn Park gate. The timber of the old house is still in use, being an essential part of a barn in the same vicinity. Schools were established and buildings erected in the first half of the last century in other parts of the township ; in South Orange over the mountain ; in the second valley at Wardsesson (Bloomfield), Second River, and at other places. The grammar school, sus- tained by the second i)astor of the parish, will receive our notice hereafter. I. At that early day, the Valley road was not opened. 78 History of the Oranges. LAISTD TENURES. The territory of North America became a part of the dominion of England by right of discovery in the reign of Henry VII. Succeeding kings had encouraged emigration to the new country by grants to ]olanters under small quit-rents, payable to the Crown or its grantees. They also permitted and encouraged the planters to purchase the soil of the native Indians, not because of necessity or defect of valid title in the Crown, or its grantees, but to avoid war with the sav- ages, and to encourage a friendship and correspond- ence in the hope of converting them to the Christian faith. March 12, 1663-4, Charles II. granted all the terri- tories called by the Dutch New Netlierland^ including part of the State of New York and all New Jersey, to his brother the Duke of York, afterwards James II. Three months thereafter, June 24, 1664, the duke re- leased to John Lord Berkely and Sir George Carteret so much of his grant as formed the provinces of East andjWest Jersey. These grantees who, with those who became associated with them, were termed the Lords Proprietors of Nova Cesarea, or New Jersey, published their " Concessions " ^ to attract immigration to their domains. They offered lands on liberal terms, guar- anteed liberty of conscience in religious belief, and liberty of action in all religious concernments, provided it was not used to licentiousness, or to the civil injury of others. They offered a form of government secur- ing representation by the people in General Assembly, to which was committed the work of legislation and taxation ; the doctrine for which, a century later, ^they I. See New Jersey Archives, I., 28. Land Tenures. 79 so strenuously and successfully contended, that repre- sentation is not to be separated from taxation. ^ The associates of Newark found in these concessions of the Lords Proprietors the liberty they sought for when, in 1666, they migrated to East Jersey and founded their homes on the banks of the Passaic. ^ It was ordered that all lands should be divided by general lots, none less than two thousand one hundred acres, nor more than twenty-one thousand acres in each lot, except cities and towns. The same to be "divided into seven parts ; one-seventh to the proprietors, their heirs and assigns ; the remainder to persons as they come 'to plant the same, in such proportions as are allowed." 3 The Governor or his deputy gave to every person to whom land was due a warrant, signed and sealed and directed to the Surveyor General, commanding him to lay out, limit and bound the acres in their due propor- tion, the Register recording the same and attesting the record upon the warrant. The annual rent of lands thus granted was one half penny per acre, lawful money of England, or in merchantable pay. * In 1672 the Proprietors issued a "Declaration," con- firmed by King Charles II., of the "true intent and 1. See Grants, Concessions, etc., in Carteret's Time, p. 15. 2. Geo. Scot, of Pitlochie, in his " Model of the Government of East Jersey," says: "To be a planter nothing is required but to acknowledging of one Almighty God and, to have a share in the Government, a simple pro- fession'of faith in Jesus Christ, without descending into any other of the differences among christians, only that religion may not be a cloak for dis- turbance. Whoever comes into the magistrature must declare they hold not themselves in conscience obliged for Religions sake, to make an altera- tion, or endeavor to turn out their partners in the government because they differ in opinion from them. And this is no more than to follow that great rule to do as they would be done by." {E. J. under the Proprietors, p. jgg.) 3. See Grants, Concessions, etc., p. 23. 4. Ibid. p. 3. 8o History of the Oranges. meaning" and "explanation" of their concessions to the planters, so restricting the rights of the latter as to bring the grantees of both East and West Jersey into collision with themselves. ^ Whether from this condition of affairs, or from dis- satisfaction with the pecuniary success of their adven- ture in colonization, does not appear, but the fact re- mains that the two Lords Proprietors agreed upon a partition of their domain. They executed mutual releases to each other, the line of division being sub- stantially the same as that marking what is now con- ventionally called East and West Jersey. Berkely sold his moiety to Penwick and Byllinge for £1000. Carteret, proprietary of East Jersey, died in 1679, having derived so little benefit from his venture that he bequeathed his propriety to trustees, to be sold for the benefit of his creditors. ^ The trustees, conse- quently, sold East Jersey in 1682, to twelve persons. They were called the twelve Proprietors of East Jersey. These twelve conveyed a half part of their interest to other twelve in the same year. This conveyance was confirmed by a release from the Duke of York to all the grantees as the twenty-four Proprietors of the Province of East Jersey, with all the royalties and the rights of government. The release was dated March 14. 1682. The assigns of Berkely and Carteret in the two provinces, after their ineffectual efforts of twenty years to maintain good order under the grant of the Duke of York, surrendered all their i^owers of government to the Crown. It was accepted at the Court of St. James on the 17th of April, 1702. Immediately there- after Lord Cornbury was appointed Governor of the 1. See Grants, Concessions, etc., p. 32. 2. See Gordon's History of New Jersey, p. 40. Land Tenures. 8i Province of New Jersey, and coming duly accredited to America, convened the first General Assembly under the Crown in August, 1703. After the surrender of the government to the Crown, the Proprietors of East Jersey met from time to time to consider tlie rights of claimants to their unai^pro- priated lands, and to grant, or order, Avarrants and surveys to such as they judged had a right to the same. The return of such surveys, signed by the Sur- veyor General, and duly recorded, gave a title to hold lands in severalty. In doing this they followed, as they believed, the Constitution of New Jersey, so far as the change of the government from a proprietors' to a king's government vrould admit of without regard to any mode or practice of the Proprietors of West Jersey. "^ The dissensions between the planters and the land proprietors growing out of charges, on both sides, of breach of covenants, and the more bitter controversies over Indian titles, do not require a notice here. For nearly fifty years they were a disturbing element in the history of the Province ; perhaps nowhere more so than just here in these Newark Mountains. The pro- gress of this history will require some references to them. The more they are studied the more perplex- ing become the questions of right. Certain it is that the best of men and those of the highest moral purpose were on each side. The title to Newark lands given and accepted by the associates was as valid as was the grant from the English Crown to the Duke of Yorlv. The covenants I. The Board of Proprietors of East Jersey still exists. All waste and unappropriated lands belong to the Proprietors, who hold a meeting an nually at Perth Amboy. The Board celebrated its Bi-Centennial Anniver- sary in that city November 25th, 1884. 6 82 History of the Oranges. assumed by the grantees in its acceptance were equally valid. With the third division of lands began their occu- pation by permanent settlers. A general desire pre- vailed to hold them. The facility with which they were brought into subjection made the holders am- bitious to increase their holdings as they had opportu- nity. In 1692 the Council of Proprietors was appealed to by the people of Newark, representing that they ought to have some recompense out of their "unap- propriated lands for the expense at which they had been in the purchase thereof from the Indians." This representation being thought reasonable, the Proprie- tors agreed "to allow to old settlers in Newark who had obtained patents, one hundred acres apiece more than they were entitled to by the concessions, and that they should have that hundred acres for six pence sterling yearly qnit-rent, instead of four shillings and two pence per annum, which at one half penny per acre, they were liable to by the concessions." ^ Warrants were accordingly granted for upwards of six thousand acres, the most of which was at six pence per one hundred acres. There were three general warrants dated April 27, 1694 : two thousand and twenty acres to nine grantees ; one thousand nine hundred acres to fifteen grantees ; and on April 10, 1696, two thousand four hundred and nine acres to twenty-six grantees ; in all six thousand three hundred and twenty-nine acres to fifty-five grantees, in amounts varying from twenty-three to two hundred and eighty acres each. Their names at this day are familiar in their posterity to all the dwellers of the Newark Mountains, to wit : Day, Harrison, Crane, Bond, Pierson, Tichenor, Davis, I. See Elizabethtown Bill in Chancery, (Representation of the Proprietors of Eastern Division of New Jersey,) p. 36. Land Tenures. 83 Morris, Ward, Camp, Baldwin, Canfield, Freeman, Ball, Brown, Lindsley, Lyons, Wheeler, Kitcliell, Dod, Richards, Bruen, Tomx3kins. The names of others: Ogxlen, Sargeant, Treat, R-iggs, Lamson and Swaine, have disappeared from the annals of onr day. The eastern slope of the First Monntain and the lands at and near its base were the first to invite settlers. There is a tradition that a house was bnilt by one Smith on the Mountain and on the farm of Deacon Amos Harrison, the homestead of which was Walnut Cottage on the Yalley Road. The deacon's son, Ahi- ather, who inherited the property, said to a neighbor 1 about fifty years since : "I have to-day ploughed up the comer stones of the first house that was built on the mountain." There is no known record of its inhab- itant. These relics of a building were near the house of Anthony Oliff, who located sixty acres in 1678. His house was a few feet north of the stone bridge in Llewellyn Park, where Tulip Avenue intersects Oak Bend. The old cherry trees near his house, and mark- ing the spot, were standing in 1852, when the park was laid out. Tulij^ Avenue is laid on the path used by Oliff in his approach to the highway from the town at the river to the mountain. It was called Tony's Path, and was known to the old residents as such till it re- ceived its present name. Oliff died without issue March 16, 1723, aet. 87. His gravestone is the oldest in the old burial ground. Matthew Williams came to Newark and was admit- ted a planter in 1680. A home lot assigned to him was a part of a second division on the hill near the town. He was a son of Matthew, of Weathersfield, Connecti- cut Colony, 1636. He was at Branford with those who I. Jesse "Williams. 84 History of the Oranges. came to Newark. He, however, migrated, with his neighbors, to Long Island instead of to Newark, nnd re- mained there until his departure for the West Indies. TTtam^iy wif/^a^ In Hotton's Record of Emigration is the following record: "In Jan. 14, 1678, Matthew Williams was granted a ticket of emigration from Barbadoes to the Colonies with his servant,^ and James Maynard." Soon after Xh^ third division he took up lands near the Mountain at "the North Corner," in 1686. In 1688, he increased his acres there by giving his home lot, with many imj^rovements, to George Day, in exchange for two tracts at the Mountain, one of which was contig- uous to the land he had located, and the other was, probably, on the north side of Main Street, near Hillyer Street. It is supposed that the earlier locators occu- pied their lands before warrants were granted and sur- veys made. The earliest surveys were made in 1684. The appointment of "surveyors to layout highways as far as the Mountain and passages to all lands," in 1681, 2 proves occupation at that date. Matthew Williams was born in 1651, and died No- vember 12, 1732, aged 81. His descendants were nu- merous. Some of them are found to this day at .the " North Corner," living upon the lands of their fathers. On migrating from Connecticut he left there a brother, Amos. The latter never settled here, though he visited his brother, and it is said became owner of some lands. He had a son, Samuel, who came as a settler, and took up land on the top of the First Mountain. Samuel 1. Slavery was recognized by tlie Mother country. Carteret brought with him eighteen, whose names are given, and he imported others afterwards. 2. See Newark Town Records, p. 86. Land Tenures. 85 died ill 1812, aged 99, leaving a numerous iDOsterity who settled around him. St. Cloud now covers the old AVilliams farms and homesteads. The homestead of Samuel, now modified, stands diagonally opposite the St. Cloud Presbyterian Church. Samuel Harrison (2) was an early settler at the Moun- tain. He was the grand-son of Sergeant Richard, a ///f ^ Branford Associate. 0^>yf}nr /Y^'^^'^^i^'T} ^^^^^ remained on € his home lot in the town. Samuel (2) first settled about 1720, on land west of Wigwam Brook. His house was at the turn of the Swinefield Road, where it intersects the Valley Road. About the year 1769 he built a house which stood upon what is now the corner of Valley Street and Lakeside Avenue. This was his home till his death in 1776. His son, Samuel, wlio never married, and who died at the age of 91, lived witli him in this house. It was occupied also by his grand-son. Major Aaron Harrison, till his death. The house was re- cently removed to the immediate neighborhood of the triangle where the first school-house was built, at the . intersection of Val- C^i^y>*^n^ ^i^o^^f^-^C.^^'^^^ ley Road with the ^ Eagle Rock Road. It is now used as a wheelwright and blacksmith shop. His descendants, through his sons, Amos and Matthew, occupied the east slope of the Mountain; nearly all the acres now constituting Llewellyn Park from the Mt. Pleasant Turnpike north, to the Williams land on the corner. The tribes of Joseph, George and Daniel, also sons of Sergeant Richard Harrison, were numerous. They settled through Joseph (2) on the east side of the Mountain, and beyond it at Caldwell ; and through 86 History of the Oranges. Stephen, brother of Joseph (2), on the ridge through which Harrison Street is now laid, and east of it ; Stephen's sons, Stephen (2), Jotham and Daniel hav- ing large holdings contiguous. Joseph (1) had one hundred acres fronting on the north side of the high- way, now Main Street, from a point two hundred and fifty feet west of Ridge Street to Parrow Creek, and bounded north by the lands of the Williams. The tribes of George and Daniel Harrison, located themselves in Bloomfield. Azariah and Nathaniel Crane, sons of Jasper, were large land owners. Their lands were bounded south by the Swinefield Road, east by the Cranetown Road, now Park Street, west by Wigwam Brook, which was the division line between the Crane lands and those of the Harrisons and Williams, and on the north by Antony's Brook at Montclair, the northern tributary of Second River. The family of Crane held also land on the south side of the Northfield Road to the summit of the Mountain. It afterwards came into the posses- sion of Simeon Harrison (1), being conveyed ^o him by the executors of Caleb Crane. There is a tradi- tion that when the Lords Proprietors claimed the pay- ments of the qait-rents for lands taken by Azariah and Nathaniel Crane, they brought in a bill for their services as surveyors in the employ, of the Proprietors as an offset. Their bill was not accepted, and the con- troversy was finally settled in the Supreme Court in favor of the surveyors. John Condit (Conduit, Cundit), in 1690 was in New- ark, where he purchased nineteen acres on Mill Brook Controversy with Lords Proprietors. %"! plain. His will was probated 1714. He left a son, Peter, who married Mary, daughter of Samuel Har- rison (2). Peter was the progenitor of the tribes of Condit in Essex County, and, through his sons, Peter and Philip, in Morris County. Samuel, his eldest son, had lands in the Second Valley, where he located, about 1720. John, Nathaniel and Isaac remained east of the Mountain. John was the only one who had lands on the south side of the Main Street from Scot- land Street, or near it, to the vicinity of Parrow Brook. The family and tribes of Dod were chiefly in Bloom- field, as were also those of Ward, Davis, Baldwin. Those of Peck, Canfield, Jones, Munn, Hedden, were in the eastern parts of East Orange. Those of Linds- ley, Pierson, Ball, Freeman, Riggs, Bruen, Brown, Tichenor, Young, were the primitive settlers of South Orange. The Camps were in Camptown, now Irving- ton. CONTROVERSY WITH THE LORDS PROPRIETORS. Tlie Duke of York having received from his brother, Charles II., in 1664, a grant for all the lands lying between the Connecticut River and the Delaware Bay, fitted out a fleet consisting of four armed vessels in April of that year, to take possession of New Amster- dam. ^ The expedition was under the command of Col. Richard Nichols, to whom the duke granted a commission to serve as his Deputy Governor within his grant. The surrender of New Amsterdam occurred in the August following. ^ To the English on the west end of Long Island the change of government was very acceptable, and an association was immediately formed to go to New 1. See Whitehead's East Jersey under the Proprietors, p. 25. 2. Ibid. p. 26. 88 History of the Oranges. York and secure from the Governor the liberty to pur- chase and settle a plantation. In September of the same year liberty was granted to purchase of the In- dians, and settle a parcel of land upon After Cull Baye. ^ The purchase was made of the Sagamores in Octo- ber, and a deed obtained of what became known as the Elizabethtown purchase. The associate purchasers submitted the transaction to Gfovernor JS'ichols, who gave official confirmation of their title by grant in due form. In the next year, August, 1665, a ship bringing Philip Carteret, with a company of about thirty per- sons, appeared at Elizabethtown Point. The com- mander presented his papers to Governor Nichols, and his commission as Governor from Lord Berkely and Sir George Carteret, to whom the Duke of York had granted the territory of East Jersey, after Nichols had received his commission to dispossess the Dutch at New Amsterdam. The Associates of Elizabethtown had acted in good faith in making their purchase, and had received the confirmation of Governor Nichols, while yet unac- quainted with the fact that the country was no longer a i)art of his government, or subject to his control. They were not disposed to waive the rights which they believed had been acquired by them. Notwithstand- ing their claim to the soil, it does not appear to have prevented a harmonious co-operation with Governor Carteret in forwarding the prosperity of the new set- tlement. 2 The purchase from the natives of the Elizabethtown territory, with the concessions of the Lords Proprie- 1. See Whitehead's East Jersey under the Proprietors, p. 42. 2. Ibid. p. 64, Controversy with Lords Proprietors. 89 tors, became a source of controversy, from the year 1670, when these patents were given, and the quit- rents for the lands ceded by the latter became due. The planters claimed to have a clear title to tlieir lands in fee, while the Proprietors held that their title to the same was from the Crown, and that quit-rents were due to them as owners of the soil. They claimed that the deed from the natives extinguished their right of occupancy and no more. The question at issue was a disturbing element for a long series of years, and, finally, gave origin to the historically famous Bill in Chancery, in 1745, when the grievances were fully set forth as the complainants understood them. The settlers of Elizabethtown and of Newark were of like traditionary sympathies in religious oi^inions and in their methods of action in civil affairs. While some controversies arose between them upon boundary lines, they were cordial in their neighborhood rela- tions, and their interests as a community of planters were identical. The liberal acts of concession made by Berkely and Carteret in 16G6, were satisfactory to the people. Their rights in matters of religion and of civil government were as well protected and as liberal as they are to us of this day. Upon the death of Charles II. the Duke of York succeeded to the throne as James II., 1685. Twenty years had now elapsed since he conveyed East Jersey to his friends, Berkely and Carteret, and they, in their turn, had bestowed their grants and conces- sions. James II., as King, now aimed to make the territory, which, by different patents and other doc- uments he had made and confirmed to others, "more dependent" upon his sovereign will and pleasure. For a series of years the Proprietors made earnest, but fruitless, efforts to secure the rights originally 90 History of the Oranges. granted to tliem. They represented to the king that they had not received the province as a benevolence, but had expended for it twelve thousand pounds, and that, too, under his own confirmation of their title and his assurance of protection. They had reaped but few of the advantages expected from the settlement and imi)rovemeut of the province. The future seemed to them to afford little promise. Prompted by these con- siderations they resolved to make a formal surrender of their patent, and to abandon a hopeless contest for their previously conceded privileges, obtaining only the king' s guarantee to respect the rights in the soil. ^ After the surrender of the proprietary government to the Crown in 1702, Lord Cornbury, the first Gover- nor under Queen Anne, made himself obnoxious to the people by his acts of tyranny and oppression. ' ' Their indignation was kindled by his despotic rale, savage bigotry, insatiable avarice and injustice, not only to the public but even to his private creditors." ^ His administration of six years was a disgrace to himself, and a source of evil in the province by foster- ing among the planters their hatred to the Crown and their hostility towards the Proprietors. These facts, from a mass of others of the same effect, illustrate the lack of success exjDerienced by the Pro- prietors themselves, in their venture in settling their lands in the New World. They came to East Jersey with little means and little principle. Bancroft (His- tory of United States, Vol. II., p. 130,) says of them : "Avarice is the vice of declining years ; most of the Proprietors were past middle life. They l^egged the country under a pretence of a ' pious zeal for the pro- 1. Whitehead, East Jersey under the Proprietors, p. I5g. 2. Smith's History of New Jersey, p. 352. Anti-Renters. 91 pagation of the Gospel,' and their sole object was the increase of their own wealth and dignity." After the surrender of the proprietary government, the Constitution of the General Assembly, though good in itself, became a source of great dissatisfaction to the people. The lower house was made up of rep- resentatives elected by the people, and the upi^er house by the Governor and his Council. The latter house too often favored the purposes of the Proprie- tors, and thwarted, or set at naught, the po^Dular will. In 1738, Lewis Morris, a native of New Jersey, re- ceived the commission of Governor. He had previ- ously been a man of the people, when in opposition to the royal governors who had preceded him. When he became a royal governor himself, he was overbear- ing, exacting and selfish to such a degree that his career was one of discord in the legislature, and of in- justice to the inhabitants of the Province. His ser- vices of eight years were terminated by his death in 1746. 1 ANTI-EENTERS. During the eighty years in which the events con- concisely given above were transiDiring, the planters of Newark township increased in numbers and in wealth. With them there was an under-current of joeaceful life promotive of industry and of self-reliance. Their rulers failed to secure their respect and confidence. The proprietors of their lands had failed in any good degree to obtain their quit-rents. The sons and grand- sons of the original settlers located on unoccuiDied lands, or took deeds from the Indians. To the second and third generations, the i)aying of quit-rents was only a tradition of the past. Many more settlers had I. See Field's Provincial Courts of New Jersey, pp. 70-83. 92 History of the Oranges. come in to add to the natural increase of the first associates. In 1701, a large Indian purchase was made, the deed for which was lost by fire, and a new deed was obtained about 1744, from certain descendants of the old Sagamores. In 1745, another large Indian j)ur- chase was made by an association formed for the pur- pose, No proprietary claims were recognized. It was fifteen miles square and was known as the Horseneck purchase. The time for a contest with the Proprietors was now fully ripe. Lewis Morris was the royal Governor ; his son was chief justice of the colony. Both were claim- ants, as holders of proprietary rights. The best legal counsel in New York and in the Province of ISTew Jersey, was retained — other counsel and attorneys, though api^lied to, refused to undertake the cause of the planters, being awed by the power of the opulent claimants. These instituted suits at law for the re- covery of their quit-rents ; instituted actions of eject- ment ; arrested and committed to jail those who cut timber, or who ran a surveyor' s chain upon plantations which had been held in peaceable possession for more than sixty years. The contest between the grantees of Berkely and Carteret, and the claimants under Indian titles, had slept for many years. The measures now adopted by the Proi)rietors led these claimants to associate them- selves for their defence. They set at defiance the laws, broke open the jail in 1745, and set at liberty a person imprisoned at the suit of the Proprietors. "For sev- eral years thereafter all persons confined for like cause, or on charge of high treason and rebellion for resist- ing the laws, were released at the will of the insur- gents ; so that, in this respect, the arm of government was wholly paralyzed. " Persons who had long held Anti-Renters. 93 under the Proprietors were forcibly ejected, others were compelled to take leases from landlords whom they were not disi)osed to acknowledge, while those who had the conrage to stand out, were threatened with, and in many cases received, personal violence. ^ In 1750 the inhabitants of Newark Township, to the number of four hundred and four, petitioned the Crown upon their grievances. They represented that from 1677 to 1744-5, they had purchased lands from the Indians then in possession, the acknowledged owners of the soil having refused to allow or permit a sur- veyor, or settlement, without a i)recedent purchase, thus obliging them to compound with the native occu- pants ; that the town of Newark and out settlements contained from "ten to twelve hundred houses and families dependent, with a few excej^tions only, on titles derived as in the manner above set forth ;" that the present owners had been in possession "some twenty, some forty and some four-score years ;" that it appears to them (the Proi)rietors,) "that the grant of the Duke of York must be understood to intend no more than a grant of a x^ower of government over, and a right to purchase those lands which the Indians had the occupancy of, and by the law of nature and na- tions had a right to, and could not justly be deprived of without a voluntary agreement to part with them. That such purchases must necessarily be made to vest the fee and soil in the Crown ;" that the improvements of the same, paying taxes and rates are a just founda- tion of title, and that thereby the present possessors are entitled to their quiet and peaceable enjoyment. The petitioners then say: "We have the witness of our own conscience and the testimony of our own I. See New Jersey Archives, Vol. VII., pp. 210-226 ; also 402-458. 94 History of the Oranges. coiintrymen universally (the Proprietors and their de- scendants only excepted) that we have demeaned our- selves with entire submission to the laws, paying all dues, duties, taxes and rates whatsoever, for the sup- port of government at all times, as readily as any of your Majesty's good and faithful subjects have done, and behaved ourselves in all other respects as quiet and faithful subjects," except as they were "led on to oppose force to the injurious oppressive proceedings of their adversaries." 1 The distracting events of this period of our colonial history, signalized the latter j^-ears of the long pastor- ate of Rev. Da^niel Taylor. Many of the leading men in the parish — his most worthy men — were anti-renters. He was a holder himself of lands, and an associate in the fifteen-mile purchase. As the guide of his people in morals and religion, and recognized as knowing something of law, he was, doubtless, as the clergy at that day were apt to be, a leader in civil affairs. He had the courage of his convictions, and, from what has come down to us in the history of his day, he did not hesitate to give expression to them. Nothing is on record to discredit him as a Christian teacher and conscientious citizen. In 1746 — ' ' A BRIEF VINDICATION OF THE PUECHASEKS AGAINST THE PROPEIETOES IN A CHEISTIAN MANNEE," was printed in IS'ew York and issued in pamphlet, ^ It had a large circulation in the Province. Its writer's name does not appear, but it was generally accepted that Mr. Taylor was its author. It was so much to the 1. See Manuscript Copy of "Petition of 404 Inhabitants of Newark, to the King in Council." In the Library of the New Jersey Historical Society. 2. See New Jersey Archives, VI. 266, where it is re-printed. A Brief Vindication of Purchasers. 95 point and so damaging to the Proprietors that they noticed it in the New York Post Boy. Its arguments and trenchant appeals to their sense of right were met, in their review of it, only by de- faming the writer and holding up him and those for whom he pleaded for abuse and contempt ; thus inten- sifying the hostility of the planters towards themselves, and confirming them in their jpurposes of opposition to what they considered unjust claims. An extract from an account book of Samuel Harrison, which was opened as early as 1727, ^ illustrates the activity of its owner in his defence of the Indian titles held by him and by his associates at the Mountain. The entries are made in 1744. An a count of what each one hath paid in order to the estab- lishing their Right of Land in Defraing the Charge : Nathanel Crane in cash Samuel Harrison in cash to Capt. Wheler, . Nathanel Camp, Samii Baldwin, Samii Harrison paid to Mr. tayler, . . , John Cundict paid to Mr. tayler Aug. 2 of Garshom Willams, .... Oct. 7 I received of Amos Williams on acompt of the charge of the purch Right, . . . . oo 07 o The following are Mr. Harrison's charges for his services and disbursements in the same matter : Paid to Stephen Morris the sum of ... ^03 Paid to Eliphelet Johnson the sum of ... 03 To two days going to Hanover, .... 00 Thomas Willams, 00 Samii Wheler, 17 and six pens, 00 Oct., 1744. to going to New England 4 days, . . i ^01 10 00 07 GO o-] 00 07 00 03 6 00 07 00 07 4 4 10 03 17 6 04 I. This book is still preserved, and in the possession of one of his de- scendants. 96 History of the Oranges. December, to going to New England 9 days, . . 2140 to going to horsneck with Mr. Tayler, . . . . o 07 o to going to horsneck with Dan Lamson, . . . o 05 o cash paid to Mr. taylor o 03 o August ye ist, 1744, Cash paid to Mr. Tayler, . 00 3 6 paid to John Cundict fourteen shillings, . . .0140 paid to John Cundict, o 02 o paid again to John Tomkins, o 17 10 to going to New York, 0100 to going to Paramus two days 00 12 o paid Thomas Williams, 00 17 5 paid to John Vincent, 00 1 5 8 paid to Steven Young, York money, . . . 00 6 8 paid to Robet Young, upon Acquackuk Right— cash, 00 17 4 We annex a reduced fac simile copy of a part of page 199 of the account bopk, as illustrating Mr, Harrison's methods. Major Johnson, to whom two guineas were paid, seems to have been one of the lawyers who were employed in the litigation. The questions at issue were never settled. The Bill in Chancery did not come to a legal termination. Suits and counter suits, ejectments, legal and illegal, marked the whole of the colonial era. Tlie stamp act soon followed and not many years afterwards the Rev- olution, brought to a close, forever, the numerous con- troversies with the Proprietors, tlie Crown and the British Parliament. CHAPTER yi. *'THE MOFlSTTAIlSr SOCIETY. ITS FIRST YEARS. IT is uncertain when the "Town at the River" began to furnish settlers to the outlying lands which were a part of the original purchase of 1666. In fifteen years there was a population at the Mountain which required highways for its use and an increased acreage for cul- tivation. The town at this time, 1681, voted surveyors to be chosen to lay out the former, and provision for the latter was made by another division of lands. ^ In about thirty-five years after the action of the town, the mountain region west of the river, from two miles north of Bloomfield to the Elizabethtown line, was occupied by a thriving people. Successful in their worldly schemes, they did not forget the house of God — the meetiug-house at the river. The Mountain planters gave it their Christian sympathy and their cordial ma- terial aid ; and this, too, notAvithstanding the remote- ^ , - nessof their homes, the JUh/B'/i^^^rt^^'^^m imperfect roads, the ex- ^ ' posures to the weather, and the inconvenient modes of travel. The purpose, doubtless, long entertained, to form a religious society more "adapted to their needs, finally took shape. The I. See Newark Town Records, p. 86. 7 98 History of the Oranges. year 1719 was memorable in the history of the Church at the river by the settlement there of Rev. Joseph Webb, as pastor, by the Presbytery of Philadelphia. The four years succeeding the death of Mr. Bowers, pastor of the Newark Church, were distinguished by differences of opinion upon Church order. The people at the river favored Presbytery. "The way had been preparing for such a step from the very first introduction of the Presbyterian polity in this region. Scotch families, and probably, with decided Scotch predilections, formed a part of the population of Newark before the close of the 17th century, and were intermingled extensively by marriage with the families of the first settlers. * * * Francis Makemie, the father of the Presbyterian Church in America, had friends and partizans in Newark, when he first visited this part of the country in 1708."! The planters of the townshii^, being in a great meas- ure removed from the influences, of which Dr. Stearns writes, were decided, and, as it will appear, were a unit in their adherence to the Congregational order. The death of Rev. Mr. Bowers, which occurred about the time of the formation of the first Synod, (of Phil- adelphia) August, 1716, became the occasion of bring- ing to the surface the questions of difference in the parish. Its first measure, in the way of provision for ^ another pastor, was an invitation to Rev. Jedidiah Buckingham to occupy the pulpit, as a candidate for settlement. He ministered to the church during the last months of 1716 and the early months of 1717. Mr. McWhorter, in his century sermon, says of him : "Warm disputes arose in the congregation concerning I. See Dr. Steams' First Church in Newark, N. J., p. 127. '''' The Mountain Society." 99 him ; some being his zealous friends and others his more zealous opponents." Dr. Steams, in trying to fix the date when the Newark Church united with Presbytery, remarks: "The incipient steps towards it may have been taken during the contentions about Mr. Bucking- ham." It would thus appear that during the few months of the ministration of the latter, the two op- posing elements were crystalizing, each into its chosen form of ecclesiastical polity. The withdraAval of ]\Ir. Buckingham from the Newark pulpit was nearly co- incident with the fact that "in 1718 many of the in- habitants of the Mountain broke off and formed a new society. ' ' ^ Mr. Mc Whorter says of Mr. Webb that ' ' he was settled here with great unanimity ; and for some years there was much tranquility and comfort in the town." Unanimity in settling Mr. Webb by Presby- tery in 1719, seems to verify the statement of Stearns, that the people of the townshi]p had withdrawn before that time to form a society at the Mountain. We sum up the events now recorded : 1. The four years succeeding the death of Mr. Bow- ers, the fifth pastor of the Newark Church, were years of contest upon the question of Church order. 2. The people of Newark were substantially a unit in favor of Presbytery, and those of the Mountain were united in favor of the old Congregational basis. 3. Mr. Buckingham was engaged as supply for a time, as a candidate for settlement in the old church. He served it during the last of 1716, and the early months of 1717, having "zealous friends and more zealous opponents." I. " That part of the town, (the Mountain) having become somewhat nu- merous, formed a distinct religious organization, which was known at first, and for many years, as the ' Mountain Society,' and afterwards as the Second Church in Newark. It is now the First Presbyterian Church in Orange." Dr. Stearns History of the First Church, Neivark, p, 121. loo History of the Oranges. 4. Mr. Buckingham withdrew from the church dur- ing the year 1717, and in 1718 a new society was organ- ized at the Mountain. 6. Mr. Webb, in December, 1718, was selected and engaged for three-quarters of a year on trial, and in October, 1719, was chosen pastor with great unanimity. Our conclusions are, that Dr. Stearns' History of the Newark Churcli is correct, when he says that a new society was formed at the Mountain in 1718, and that the "unanimity" with which Mr. McWhorter, in his Century Sermon, says Mr. Webb was settled, grew out of the previous withdrawal of the dissentients. During this period, 1716 to 1719, Rev. John Prud- den, who was settled as the third pastor of tlie Newark Church in 1692, and who served the parish for seven years, was a resident of Newark, quondam minister, as he is styled in a deed given to him. His pastorate was not a smooth one, because of a diversity of ecclesias- tical views between his people and himself. He con- tinued to live in Newark till his death in 1725, aged 80. He was much esteemed by the people, and preached for and served them as occasion might call. He had two grand-daughters living at the Mountain, children of James Nutman. Their names were Abigail, who married Matthew Williams, and Mary, who married his brother Amos. Their grand-father was a frequent visitor at their homes and spent much of his time at the Mountain. He was possessed of a considerable estate, and lived at his ease and on the most cordial terms with his former parishioners. A tradition, quite reliable, in the family of Williams, ^ to which Mr. Prudden was allied, that he was the first minister of the Mountain <^/^ -ptSfdtr^ I. Related by Hon. Jesse Williams, who was great-grand-son of Abigail Nutman. ''The Mountain Society." loi Society, may have arisen from his frequent services * there, and from the interest he may have taken in the formation of a new religions society. Though he was the son of Rev. Peter Prudden, a rigid Puritan Pres- byterian, and, before he was settled at Newark, in 1692, was pastor of a Presbyterian Church on Long Island, so strongly Congregational was he in his views that he endeavored to convert the people of that church to his system of church order. Having, by his efforts to this end, obtained a following among the people, he addressed a petition to Gov. Dongan in 1688, requesting that if a considerable number of "the Congregational profession and persuasion should be desirous that he would continue to be their minister and maintain him at their own cost & charge by a voluntary contribution, your Excellency and the Hon- ored Council would pleas to give approbation." ^ The zeal of Mr. Prudden for the Congregational I)olity and the great res^Dect in which his counsels were held, could not fail, as we can readily understand, to lead his followers to the adoption of measures for the formation of another religious society. Such action had been taken. Mr. Buckingham came to the Mountain and minis- tered to the wants of the infant society in 1718. He had proved himself acceptable to them as a preacher, and was in sympathy with them in their views of church order. He remained with the society proba- bly till his death, certainly till five months before his death. A monumental inscription in a graveyard in Norwalk, Conn., thus speaks: "Here lyetli the body of Mr. Jedidiah Buckingham late preacher of the Gospel at the west part of Newark in East Jersey who departed this life March 28, 1720, ?etatis (suae) 24." r. Doc. Hist, of New York, III., p. 122. I02 History of the Oranges. Mr. Buckingham was born at Saybrook, Ct., Octo- ber 2, 1696, the third son of Thomas Buckingham, Jr., of Saybrook. He was graduated from Yale College, 1714 ; studied theology, and in 1716 began to preach, as we have before stated, in Newark as a candidate. Before 1718 he withdrew from the puli)it there. He continued to reside in Newark, where his only son was born October 14, 1719. Five months after the birth of his son, while visiting at the house of his uncle. Rev. Stephen Buckingham, ^ the minister of the town of Norwalk, Conn., he rested from his earthly labors. ' The Mountain Society having taken organic form in 1718, its subsequent acts were in logical sequence. On January 13, 1719, a purchase of twenty acres of land was made for a glebe. The grant was made to Samuel Freeman, Samuel Pierson, Matthew Williams and Sam- uel Wheeler, and the Society at the Mountain associated with them. They received the trust for a society al- ready formed. In the same year, tradition says, a 1. Rev. Stephen Buckingham and Thomas B. Jr., were sons of Rev. Thomas Buckingham, who was minister of Saybrook, and died there April I, 1709. He was a trustee of the College, and under his inspection and direction it seemed to be placed. He was a delegate from the New London Council, and one of the moderators of the Convention which adopted the Saybrook Platform in 1708. His son, Thomas, was born September 29, 1670, and married, December 16, 1691, Margaret Griswold, by whom he had Jedidiah and others. His son, Stephen, was born September 4, 1675, and died at Norwalk, Ct., February 3, 1746, aged 70. He married Sarah, daughter of Rev. Samuel Hooker, son of Rev. Thomas H. and Mary, eldest daughter of Capt. Thomas Willett, the first English mayor of New York, After the death of Samuel Hooker, November 16, 1697, his widow, Mary (Willett) Hooker, married, August 10, 1703, Rev. Stephen Buckingham, of Saybrook, when 67 years of age, and upon his death, in 1709, she removed to Norwalk, and made her home with Rev. Mr. Buckingham, the son of her second husband, and the husband of her daughter by her first marriage. She resided with them three years, and until her death. Her grave is in Norwalk. " Here lies the body of Mrs. Mary Buckingham, aged 77 years. Died June 24, 1712." See Savage's Genealogical Dictionary ; also New York Genealogical and Biographical Record. April, 1887, p. 73. 2. See Dexter's Biographies and Annals of Yale College, p. 120. '''' The Mountain Society." 103 plot of ground was given to the parisli, as a burial place. In the next year, when the success of the new enterprise was established, a lot was •selected for a house of worship, and in that same year, 1720, it was probably erected. Its style of construction, of which we shall speak hereafter, was such that it could be built in ninety days or less. It was ready for a pas- tor's use at the close of that year, and was then, or very soon after, occupied by the first installed pastor of the church. The inhabitants of the whole township down to 1718, when Mr. Buckingham ceased to minister to the church at the river, constituted one parish. The time had come when the outlying population in Caldwell, Montclair, Bloomfield, and the region now covered by the Oranges, was large enough to sustain a church organization in a location sufficiently central for their accommodation. Under the ministry of Mr. Bucking- ham, they had become consolidated as a religious body, and were in a condition to settle a pastor. It does not appear from the sketch we have given of Mr. Buckingham, that he had withdrawn from his ministry at the Mountain. He ceased his life-work while visit- ing a relative at a town which was of easy access and to which he might readily go for recreation. Mr, Hoyt, in his History of the First Presbyterian Church, Orange, N. J., p. 58, says : "There is a tradition in the parish that before the settlement of Mr. Taylor, the society had a minister who was drowned, with his son, at Say- brook, on a visit to his friends." He then states, by way of explanation, that the tradition relates to the sudden death, by drowning, at Saybrook, of Mr. Webb of the Church at Newark in 1741, which is a well au- thenticated fact. The sudden death of Mr. Bucking- ham, while on a visit to his father at Saybrook, and his I04 History of the Oranges. dying at Norwalk, where he probably stopped on his way, confirms the tradition that a minister served the Society before Mr. Taylor, and that he died unex- pectedly while on a visit to his friends. The fatal accident to Mr. Webb at the same place may have confounded the tradition with the sudden death of their first minister, which could not have failed to make a lasting impression, with the equally startling- death of Mr. Webb. We do not know whether his early death thwarted the expectations of the people to have him as their pastor. We do know that very soon after his death the pulpit was filled by the Kev. Daniel Taylor, as the settled incumbent. EEV. DANIEL TAYLOR. According to the records, the Rev. Daniel Taylor was the first pastor of the Society. He was a native of Saybrook, Ct. The date of his birth does not ap- pear in the town records. He was the son of Daniel / ^ X Taylor, Justice, and of the (^Cty^ceC ^CLy^i^r^ Quorum, of that town. It ^ s^ is suj)posed that his moth- er was a daughter of Humphrey Davie, of Boston, later of Hartford, who was a gentleman of high re- spectability, and possessed of a large estate. He was a personal friend of Gov. Winthrop, who named him, with two others, as a fit counsellor to settle any diffi- culties in the winding up of his estate. Mr. Taylor received his degree of A.B. from Yale College, in 1707, when he was sixteen years of age. He was fitted for the ministry of the Gospel six years thereafter. Those years of study were also spent in ''The Mountain Society/' 105 teaching in Ms native town. Its records of April 23, 1713, note his engagement as school-master, ^ He migrated in that year to Smithtown, L. I., where he had been invited to preach the Gospel, by the four sons who inherited the large property of Richard Smith, of which he was the grantee in 1677. They gave him fifty acres of land on the Nissaquag River, in consideration of his services in the work of the ministry for four years, "which services," the town records say: "we acknowledge to have been faith- ful performed." While there he married Jemima, a grand-daughter of Richard Smith, the patentee. Her monumental inscription, now in the Smith burial place, gives the date of her death as April 16, I7I6. There is no attainable evidence that he remained in Smith- town after his engagement with the Proprietors there was fulfilled. His native town was less than a day's sail across the Long Island Sound, to which it is not improbable he resorted in 1717. He was now twenty- six years of age. It is worthy of our notice here that Saybrook was the birth-place of Mr. Buckingham. He and Mr. Taylor were boys together, the latter being five years the elder. They w^ere educated in the same seminary of learning ; and, iDursuing the same calling in life, their relations to each other were more or less intimate. It is reasonable to infer that they were informed of each other's current history, and that they were in cordial sympathy in their ecclesiasti- cal opinions, being brought up in a town where high Congregationalism ruled, and was equally opposed to Presbytery and Prelacy. Whether the death of Mr. Buckingham became the occasion of bringing Mr. Taylor to the knowledge of the Society, we do not know. That he was settled at the Mountain "in 1721, I. See Baxter's Biographies and Annals of Yale College, p. 67. io6 History of the Oranges. er earlier," aj^pears from tlie sketch of liis life in Dexter' s Biographies and Annals of Yale. ^ The meeting-house in which Mr. Taylor was in- stalled i)astor, as we suppose, in the latter part of the year 1720, would not be esteemed very inviting or at- tractive in this day to either pastor or people. Its location was in the centre of the highway to the moun- tain, its west end being about ten feet east of what is now Day Street, opposite Music Hall ; the entrance door on the south side. The road was open on both its north and south sides. Kev. James Hoyt, in his History, says that it was a frame structure, and a heavy beam of white oak taken from it forms to this day a part of a barn on the Valley Road. Its architecture and appointments have not come down to us. We may form a correct idea of what they were, when we remember that the second meeting-house in New- ark, where the people of the Mountain had formerly worshiped, was built twelve years before, and at a time when the popular taste had undergone no process of refinement. It was, doubtless, a plain wooden struc- ture, roofed with cedar shingles, sided with boards from the saw-mill, floored ' ' with good chestnut or oak two and a-half inch plank, edged and laid on good sleep- i. The author has a copy, made by himself, of an old manuscript, with- out date, or name of its writer. It was evidently penned in the latter part of the last century. It was found among the MSS. of Dr. Hiliyer, a few years ago. Its title is : ''Churches in Newark and {Mountain Society,) to 17SJ." It contains a succinct history of the churches in Newark from 1666. In noticing the Mountain Society, it says that it was formed in or about the year 1718, and that its formation was according to the tenets of inde- pendency, or Congregationalism, " which the Presbyterian Minister of New- ark and others joining him, looked upon so different from their principles and form of church government that they absolutely refused to ordain a minister for them, and they were obliged to go to N. England for the purpose, and not having a sufficient number, they were at last under the necessity of making use of a layman." "The Mountain Society." 107 ers" — "lathed and filled in with thin stone and mortar below the girts." These were the provisions ordered by the town for the Newark meeting-house in 1708. There is no mention made of paint or the erection of a chimney. Both these were supei-fluities in those days. The seats were of the mountain timber, whether sawed, or heA\Ti with the broad-axe, we do not know. "A hovel built to shelter horses" was probably conven- iently near, as it was at the house by the river. When the house was completed and ready for use, it was the custom to appoint a committee of three to assign seats where persons shall sit according to ' ' office, age, estate, infirmity, descent or parentage — all which are left to the discretion of the committee to act according to the best of their judgment." 1 That the rights and dig- nity of the three committee men should not suffer, two men were, at town meeting, ' ' chosen to seat the three men that were chosen to seat the meeting- house." ^ This action was taken in Newark four years before the house at the Mountain was made ready for the rendering of the same important service. By the method above detailed, families were divided. The sexes were seated apart on their respective sides of the house. Boys had a place separate from both, and a tithingman appointed to keep them in order. Two services were held on the Sabbath day, always by day- light. They consisted of extemporaneous prayers, singing of psalms in a metrical version, without instru- mental accompaniment. A sermon was delivered, of which one hour was the approved length by an hour- glass on the pulpit. The reading of Scripture with- out exposition was not approved, nor were notes and reading of sermons popular. ^ 1. See Newark Town Records, p. 94. 2. Ibid. p. 127. 3. Palfrey's History of New England. io8 History of the Oranges. The Bay Psalm Book, which was in general use in lS"ew England, and in the New Haven Colony from 1640, when the churches of Branford and Milford mi- grated to Newark, probably, continued in use in the service of song at Newark and in the Mountain So- ciety. ^ It was the first book printed in America, and was in such demand in the churches that it passed through seventy editions. ^ The service of song in the early churches would seem to us of the present day a very imperfect service and the music rudely rendered. Three or four tunes were about all the congregations were able to sing through- out New England in the latter part of the seventeenth 1. Of this we have no certain knowledge. No old Psalm book has been found in Newark, or at the Mountain, which would give hght on the subject. A letter from Dr. Hatfield to this writer in 1882, says the version of Stern- hold and Hopkins was uniformly printed at the end of all the Bibles in use from the seventeeth century, into the first years of the eighteenth. He was " inclined to think that our forefathers in New Jersey praised God after that fashion." 2. The book was first printed &t Cambridge by Stephen Daye. He began business in America in the first month, 1639. The following passage con- cerning him is from an old manuscript copy of the records : " Att a Gen- eral Court held at Boston on the eighth day of the eighth month (October), 1641, Steeven Daye being the first that sett upon printing, is granted thre hundred acres of land where it may be convenient without prejudice to any town." Though so numerous in former days, copies of this Psalm Book are now extremely rare. There is one in the British Museum, one in the Lenox Library, and another was bought a few years since, at the Bentley library sale in New York, byW. H. Vanderbilt, for $1,200. He stored it in New York with many other of his valuables, all of which were consumed by fire the year after his purchase. Two stanzas of the 19th Psalm, rendered by Addison in his beautiful lyric, " The Spacious Firmament on High," were sung : " The heavens do declare The majesty of God ; Also the firmament shows forth His handiwork abroad. Day speaks to day, knowledge Night hath to night declared ; There neither speech nor language is, Where their voice is not heard." ''The Mountain Society." 109 and in the early years of the eighteenth century. They had no note books. No mention of choirs is made before 1720. All the singing was congregational and led by a jirecentor, who, in most cases, lined the psalm before singing. ^ Rev. Mr. Taylor came to East Jersey with some Avorldly means. His name very soon appears in deeds for lands which he had purchased. One of his first purchases was on the south-east corner of Main Street and Oakwood Avenue, in Orange, where he built a house which he occupied until his death. He became early identified with his parish as a man of affairs. The official relations of his father j)robably led him, after completing his college course, to acquaint him- self with the more common j^rinciples and forms of law. Testimony to this is afforded by the numerous legal manuscripts in his own hand, as wills, deeds and other documents, many of which are now in the libra- ry of the New Jersey Historical Society. One quit- claim deed drawn and signed by him as witness, May 1, 1722, shows that at that date he had acquired the confidence of the people, and had become identified with their interests. ^ The records which have come down to us concerning the Rev. Mr. Taylor throw very little light upon liis pastoral work. His connection with the civil affairs of the parish in an active form does not appear till 1. The first account of the use of an organ was of one imported for King's Chapel in Boston, 1713. It lay seven months in the porch before it was set up, because of the cfamor of the people. In 1743, one was placed in St, Peter's Church, Salem, Mass. (His. Mag., 1868.) 2. The document was a quit-claim of John Ward to Joseph Harrison. It is now in the possession of one of the descendants of the latter. It was common at that day for the clergy to give some attention to the study of the law and the art of pleading, that they might meet the exigencies of the people whom they were called to serve in the Gospel. no History of the Oranges. near the close of a long pastorate of twenty-eight years. A manuscript sermon now lies before this writer written by him and delivered January 22, 1743-4. He entitles it: DeVigilantia ; text, Matthew xxvi : 41. It shows a careful study and a clear appreciation of the Scrip- ture truth. His logical and practical method of en- forcing it manifests more than ordinary ability. Few texts of Scripture are better calculated than the one he employed to make manifest the inner life of the preacher. That he was a devout man himself, and that he set forth with much power the value and im- portance of a life of godliness, cannot be doubted. The most of the years of his pastorate were years of tranquility. His parish was not harassed by civil cares. His work, as a pastor, was contemporaneous with the successful labors of Whitfield, Tennent, Cross and others in Newark, Elizabethtown and other neighbor- ing places, and, doubtless, received inspiration and success from their influences. Discourses like the one which has come down to us, preached to a people for a series of years, could not fail to leave upon them an enduring impression for their spiritual good. Evi- dently, the discourse given below is not as fully writ- ten out as it was delivered. In 1747, December 21, Mr. Taylor "being aged and infirm of body, but of sound and perfect mind and memory," made his last will and testament. In eight- een days thereafter, January 8, 1747-8, he was called to the heavenly rest ; suddenly, as we infer from the record on his gravestone. His mortal remains lie in the old parish burial i)lace. The following memorial, at this writing one hundred and forty years old, is in The Vertu€^ of ouf Paftor And Cop5^ afeef Fil^ li'ke ae' Hg did his- Lord and hnafeer lo US' mofb aufull Visas' iUe ^Stfoie Py ^f'hlch he wa^^ Remove 'c Uneo ehe faO FKuitrlon of The God. he /S'erved and lovey Of efiellev^ m!^ Daniel Tayfer Who ^oyas■ fnin'r teP or eh)^' rarnl h Jn--Ac ^7*^' year of fir^- A^e TOMB OF REV. DANIEL TAYLER ; 1747-8. "The Mountain Society." iii good preservation on a horizontal slab of freestone, raised on piers above his grave : " Survivers lets all Imitate The vertues of our Pastor, And Copy after him like as He did his Lord and master. To us most aufull was the Stroke By which he was Remove'd Unto the full fruition of The God he Served and love'd." " Here Lyes the pious Remains of the Revd Mr Daniel Tayler Who was minister of this parrish— Years, Dec^ Janry 8th a.D. 1747-8 In the 57th year of his Age." Mr. Hoyt, in his history, gives a short notice of the posterity of Mr. Taylor, substantially as follows : He had children, Daniel and Mary, sup]3osed to have been the issue of a second marriage union. Daniel lived on a farm beyond the Mountain. He died October 17, 1794, aged 74. His grave is near that of his father. Mary became the wife of Deacon Amos Baldwin. She died September 30, 1795, aged 74. Daniel had a son, Oliver, who died, aged 31, August 11, 1785 ; also a son, Daniel, who had children, one of whom, Charlotte, married John Morris Lindsley. She Avas born 1788, and died in 1859. The descendants of the old pastor are found among the families of Lindsley, Baldwin and Crane. None of the Taylor name, now resident in this region, have been traced to him. " DeVigilantia : " a Sermon by Rev. Daniel Taylor; "p: philad: Jan. 22,174|; pii.174|." Text : Mat. 26 : 44. " In discoursing upon this text I would — 1 : open the nature & kinds of watchfullness. 2 : the nature kinds & manner of prayer. 3 : Shew the nature & kinds of temptation & how persons may be Sayd to enter into, or be led into temptation by God, & 4 : Shew the necessity of watchfullness & prayer to prevent either 112 History of the Oranges. our entring into temptation or our being overcome by it ; & So proceed to Some improvemt : & " I : I am to open the nature & kinds of watchfullness. Now watchfullness is nothing else but a cautious attention by wc any thing is diligently taken care of & it is occupyd— i : about our Selves & the temper of our hearts when we attempt the perform- ance of Duty ; & 2 : about the Duty wc we undertake ; & 3 : about future things either good or evil wc respect our Duty. " hence it appears that watchfullness is three fold ; i : over our own hearts by wc we as it were Set a watch upon them observing carefully what comes into you by the windows of senses examin- ing whence they come what they are & whither they tend — if good giving them entertainment if evil excluding them.— in like maner all that comes from our heart into our thots speech & practise Should be carefully examined. — we are commanded to watch the heart diligently, Seeing that from it are the ishues of death & life. " 2 : another kind of watchfullness respects the Duty that we are to perform either to God or man. & here are Several things to be watched respecting our Duty, vizt: i : the Season of it. — every thing is beautifull in its Season Says Solomon. — a word Spoken in Season is like aples of gold in pictures of Silver. — carefully to ob- serve the Seasons of doing & receiving good is our great Duty & the contrary is our great misery. — 2 Cor. 6 : i, 2. — Eccles. 8 : 5, 6, — a wise man's heart discerneth both tyme & judgment — because to every purpose there is tyme & judgment. — therefore the misery of man is great upon him. — 2 : ye matter of Duty. — 3 : ye maner that it be done spirtually. — 4: the preparation of Duty wc consists either in removing hindrances, or in stirring up our Selves by prayer meditations to lay hold on God, & the con- sequences of Duty. — here we should watch against two things whereby Duty is corrupted and its design mared, viz'^ Spiritual pride & inconsitancy. — but the " 3 : Kind of watchfullness respects future things good or evil, the first to be embraced the latter to be Declined. — here observe that as we should be watchfull against Seasons of Danger. — now there is a two fold danger to be guarded against, viz : corruption in Doctrine and practise both very prejudicial to our Soul's interest ''The Mountain Society." 113 and the former introductory to the latter. — there are particular Seasons of temptation suited to both, wc it is our wisdom our duty and our interest to labour to discern and watch against. Sometimes we are tempted to evils in practise, and sometimes to errors in principle, and it seem to be as difficult if not more so to withstand the Latter as the former because more plausible pretexts may be offered for it. — hence those that know themselves will be jealous of themselves in both cases. — Somtimes the righteous God in a way of just judgment lets loose a lying Spirit, a Spirit of error to deceive the world and many are bewitched hereby. — then it is a dangerous season and hard to stand when many fall round about us of whom we expected better things. — because some receive not the truth in the Love of — God gives them up. — its Easy to Stand til we are tryd and then o then its difficult when those we had a great opinion of are fallen. "But I proceed to speak to the 2: proposed. — the nature of prayer is well describd by the venerable Westminister assembly, thus vidt: that it is an ofifering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to his will in the name of Christ with confession of our Sins and thankfull acknowledgmt of his mercys. "Here observe i: the parts of prayer viz': first confess and thanksgiving — 2 : the nature of prayer — 3 : the object of it God, he is the only proper object of religious worship. Mat. 4:10. thou Shalt worship the Lord, he only knows all our wants & can only Suply them. — 4: the maner of prayer, more generaly it must be in the name of Christ, by an intire dependence on his righteous- ness for being SinfuU creatures we cannot have access to God wt out a mediator, but particularly our prayers ought to be at- tended with knowledge faith fervor humility importunity and fol- lowed wh [ ]. — prayers either vocal or mental secret private publick. " But I proceed to Speak of the 3 : proposd : wc was to discourse upon temptations & i : the word temptation Signifys a tryal or probation whereby the inward Knowledge of a thing is sought after either by our Selvs or others. — now temptation is of the fol- lowing kinds. I : of God whereby he tempts or trys men to this end that the good or evil yt is latent in them may be made man- 1 1 4 History of the Oranges. ifest to themselvs or others as appears in the temptations of Abra- ham Hezekia & others, this kind of temptation is holy & tends to the good of mankind.— 2 : of man wc is three fold whereby i: he tempts God by Seeking an experiment of some divine perfection after an unlawful maner, or by unlawfull means wc chiefly Springs from unbelief. 2 : his neighbour whereby he entises him to error or {"mpiety by fair appearances and plausible pretexts as Eve did Adam. & 3 : whereby a man tempts himself by rashly casting himself into the way of temptation to know the Strength of his own Shoulders & see what they can bear, as peter did when he went into the high priest's hall, the most that take this method come of with Shame as he did. 3 : another kind of temptation is of Satan whereby he allows men to error & Sin by Suiting his bait to their temper & disposition. " Now persons may be Sayd to Enter into temptation or to be led thereinto by God. i : when by the course of his wise and Sov- ereign providence he brings before us tempting objects Suited to draw forth our corruptions, thus the wedge was presented before Achan. — 2 : when he permits Satan & men influenced by him to tempt us to corruption in Doctrine or practice, thus an evil Spirit was sent to Seduce ahab^ hence it is Sayd that heresys must come, the false apostls were Sent or permitted to go & corrupt the galations & God is Sayd to give persons up to delusion, when God in judgment Sends false teachers a dreadful bewitching power goes wt them, when God in the aforesaid circumstances withdraws the influences of his Spirit, thus it is sayd that God left Hezekia to try him. 2 Chron. 32: 31. & who then is able to stand, & sometimes God Suffers his own children to be tempted & to fall as a just judgment for their own confidence in themselvs or others too high opinion of them, that so no man should glory in men or make flesh their arm. that we may henceforth know no man after the flesh. & likewise the righteous God suffers these things to be for the judicial hardening of the wicked. " I pass on to the 4: propsed ; wc was to shew the necessity of watchfullness. — & i : we should watch because of the comand of our Saviour. — 2: because ot our weakness & the Strength of our enemys. we are ignorant & corrupt creatures inclined by nature <^^^^4^y^^.^ •K-^"*-^ ^o . • /-^ FROM A SERMON BY REV. DANIEL TAYLER ; 1743-4- ^'The MoiAntain Society." 115 both to error and Sin apt to be easily imposed upon wt the appear- ance of truth and good. & our enemys are many subtle power- full & unwearied. — 3 : if we do not watch we are liek to be taken by surprise. — 4: God will leave us under the power of temptation in iust judgment, if we neglect the use of means appointed by him. — 5 : when error is triumphant & glorys in the number of 'ts conquests then it is a Harm and indeed it is a Shame to sleep then with Jonah, the tyme the enemy sows tears is when men Sleep. Mat. 13: 25. And we must cry to God to be delivered from temptation & the evil, if othenvise we cannot expect these mercys. for all these things will God be enquird of the house of Israel. & has not our Lord instructed us in the patern of prayer he has given us, that we Suplicate him not to lead us into tempta- tion. " Now my Dear Brethren this Subject easily aplys itself, it is evident to every discerning eye that the present tymes are danger- ous on many acco's & especialy in respect of the Spread of mora- vian errors wc are dangerous and destructive to the souls of men. I have in former discourses made particular mention of them, the tyme will not now Suffer me to enlarge. I shall only now observ'e to you that with the papists they hold implicite faith & that ignor- ance is the mother of devotion, with ye antinomians justification from the tyme of Christ's death, they reject the holy law of God & Say yt faith consists in Assurance, w' the arminians they hold Redemption & free will, with the quackers & other enthusiasts they decry human learning & human reason, oppose the stated per- formance of religious duty & assert the doctrine of perfection, with the origenists they hold a redemption out of hell. & there is reason to suspect them of Sabelianism. they medle not w' the ungodly among professors, but only as wolvs tear the fiesh of Christ in pieces & that with much Subtlety & artifice. & shouldnt we then mourn & lament while foxes little foxes are Spoling the tender grapes, let us then say w' the prophet for Jerusalems Sake I — O its enough to make a heart of iron bleed to see the instability of poor creatures, how soon alass alass do Some aban- done the Sweet truths of Christ for the fair Shews of Strangers, let us then not only contend for the— &: in meekness instruct 1 1 6 History of the Oranges. those that oppose themselvs— but let us watch & pray that we our Selves be not led into temptation. " Dear Brethren are there not damnable heresies as well as damnable practises. & dosent the one lay a foundation for the other ct do not men discover the naughtiness of their hearts by principle as well as practise. I'm sure this was the apostls judg- ment. Some went out from us because they were not of us there- fore heresys must come. " Such as pray that they maynt be led into temptation & yet run into it contradict theyr prayer by y practise. O Brethren be not as children. — let the honour of God the interest of his kingdom & of your own Souls direct you to watch. Stand fast in ye Faith. I conclude wt the words of ye text — " is it not awfully evident that iniquity abounds, & that the Love of many waxes cold, is not the goodness of Some like the morning cloud & early Dew — do they not return like the dog to the vomit & like the Swine that was washd to the wallowing in the myre. — is not the word preached like a miscarying womb and drie brests comparatively.— is there not a great decay of living Christianity is not our case generally like that of the churches of Ephesus & Sardis — are there not various contentions & debates among pro- fessors, alienation of affection, too great appearances of pride & covetousness & prejudice, — are not truth, justice, candor & broth- erly kindness too much disregarded & neglected, & on the con- trary do not falsehood & slander preval, & is there no Spread of error in principle. " well if the case be so is it not a dangerous tyme at present — Does not Christ mistical suffer & yet it is to be feard many wise virgins Slumber & Sleep. — can you not watch with a Suffering Saviour one hour. — what meanst thou O Sleeper, watch & pray lest ye enter. " it is a mercy that any are kept standing in these evil tymes. but shoudnt those that Stand take heed lest yy fall, is it not likely they will fall if they do not, for is their standing of themselvs, Surely no,— & is it likely that God will give them Strength to Stand when they willfully neglect the means he has appointed ;— & are not the consequences of their fall very dishonourable to the The Mountain Society.'''* 117 name of God, prejudicial to their own Souls & the interests of religion among mankind.— are not the pious few hereby grivd, brot into contempt and their influence weakened ; are not the natural prejudices of the wicked against Christianity hereby strengthened, to the eternal undoing of many ! on wc accot : -|- pronounced a wo upon the world because of offences, & informs us that they must come — When offenses come then says Christ blessed is the man that is not offended in me, offended at my Doctrine, ways [ ,] it is the neglect of watchfullness that is the great cause of the blunders of professors, O let us therefore, Let us watch — Let us Let our light shine before men that they may See our good works." CHAPTER VII. KEY. CALEB SMITH. DURINGr the long pastorate of Rev. Daniel Taylor, covering more than a quarter of a century, the Mountain Society became a well established Christian church. Founded, as we have shown, with great unanimity u^Don a Congregational basis, and with set- tled convictions in favor of that form of church order, it was cherished as such throughout the lifetime of its first pastor. When he came to the pastorate, and dur- ing the lirst years of his ministry, the churches in the neighboring towns and throughout the province were Congregational, excepting that at Newark. He was thus in affiliation and sympathy with them ; and lived to see them all brought into union with Presbytery. The historian of 1729 records that all the churches of the Congregational order became Presbyterian, except " the one in the mountains back of Newark." There are reasons to believe that the events of the period, ecclesiastical and civil, had gradually wrought a change in the minds of both pastor and people at the Moun- tain upon the expediency of a transfer of their eccle- siastical relations. The Rev. Mr, Dickinson, of Eliz- abethtown, (of whom Erskine, of Edinburgh, said that the British Isles have produced no such writers on di- vinity in the eighteenth century as Dickinson and Ed- Rev. Caleb Smith. HQ wards,) was a fellow-student with Mr. Taylor in college. They were nearly of the same age. They were in cor- dial sympathy in the revival labors of Tennent, White- field and Cross, in 1739-40. Both contested the claims of the East Jersey Proprietors, and were leaders and counsellors of their people in the defence of their home- steads and of popular rights. Harmony of thought engenders friendship, and concert of action fosters mutual confidence and esteem. Their parishes were contiguous. There was a common bond of sympathy, and a very strong one, too, in their worldly relations, naturally prompting to more perfect unity in their Christian work. Each parish was called to bury its pastor within the space of three months— Dickinson in October,' 1747 -Taylor in January following. That the progress of events had wrought a change of opinion in the Mountain Society is made apparent in its action upon the death of its pastor. It was only six days after Mr. Taylor' s decease, January 14, 1747-8, that "The West Society of Newark at the Mountains" had a public meeting, "in order to settle a minister," and the Society ordered Eleazer Lamson to have the care of the Book of Records. The above minute is on •the second page of a book in the archives of the church. On the opposite page to this minute is found "The Book of Records for T Presbyterians." Though the book is a large one, there is no further record of the progress of church affairs on its pages. It did not become a book of record. Portions of it were subse- quently used for miscellaneous memoranda. I20 History of the Oranges. The record of its opening pages is significant, when we consider it as one of the first links in the chain of facts, which in eight months thereafter resulted in the ordination and installation of a new pastor by the Presbytery of New York. The quaint volume, nearly a century and a half old, with the more quaint, con- cise writings on its first page, furnishes testimony well nigh conclusive that the expediency of a change of ecclesiastical relations had received favorable consid- eration by both pastor and people before the death of Mr. Taylor. The historical value of the record has never arrested the attention of the historian ; nor has it ever been noticed as suggesting an answer to the in- quiry so often made in the long years which have fol- lowed, how it came about that the Mountain Society, organized as Congregational, became in after years Presbyterian. The change was resolved upon as its first act when the society was called to face the neces- sity of calling a new pastor. The history of the New- ark Church repeated itself twenty-nine years after- wards at the Mountain. The change to the Presby- terian order came by the logic of events, and as Dr. Stearns, of the Newark Church, says, "was natural, easy and excited little discussion." ^ The Rev. Caleb Smith was a grand-son of Col. Wil- liam Smith, a native of England. He was in great favor with Charles II., who appointed him in 1675 Governor of Tangiers, and, probably, made him com- mander of his Majesty's troops sent there for the pro- tection of an establishment on that barbarous coast, giving him at the same time the commission of Colonel. He came to New York in 1686, and made purchases of lands at Brookhaven, Long Island, acquiring a large See Stearns' History of First Church, Newark, p. 128. Rev. Caleb Smith. 121 tract of country, extending from the South Bay and Fire Place to the Mastic River on the north side. For this domain, which he named St. George's Manor, he obtained a patent from Gov. Fletcher in 1693. ^ He held high official stations, being a member of the Council, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and com- mander of the militia of Suffolk County. He died In 1705, aged 50, leaving sons and daughters. His eldest son, Henry, was a man of distinction, and also hon- ored with high official station. His son, William, also distinguished by positions of honor, was the father of the subject of our notice. Rev. Caleb Smith was born at St. George's Manor, Mastic, Township of Brookha^en, L. I., December 29, 1723. His mother's maiden name was Sears. ^ He was graduated from Yale College in 1743, being then twenty years of age. It would appear from his diary that he was con- .--//^ verted to Christ dur- ^^T^^^rl^ ing his course of col- lege study. It was at this time that the Rev. Jonathan Dickinson had a classical school in opera- tion in Elizabethtown. He also received into his house young men seeking instruction in theology.^ Soon after Mr. Smith had received his college honors, he was invited by Mr. Dickinson to become an assistant 1. See Thompson's History of Long Island, Vol. I., p. 4i7- Earl Bell- omont, in addressing the Lords of Trade, complains of Fletcher that he gave extravagant grants of land to those whom he favored— to Beekman, Living- ston, Schuyler, Rennselaer, on the Hudson River; to Bayard, Pinhorn and others on the Mohawk ; the King's farm at New York to the church ; the King's garden to Heathcote ; and to Col. William Smith, a grant fifty miles long, and the whole breadth of the Island of Nassau, "worth more than any of them all," valued, by Bellomont, at £25,000. {Broadhead's New York Col. Doc.) 2. See Dexter's Annals of Yale, p. 747. 3. Hatfield's History of Elizabethtown, p. 349. 122 History of the Oranges. teacher in his school. While there he studied divinity, and was licensed to preach the Gospel by the Presby- tery of New York, in April, 1747. The school of Mr. Dickinson was the germ of the College of New Jersey. Through the active agency of Mr. Dickinson a charter was obtained October 22, 1746, ' ' to incorporate sundry persons to found a college ;" and in the following May, the first term was opened in Elizabethtown, with Mr. Dickinson as its first president. Mr. Caleb Smith, then in his 24th year, and within a month after his licensure, was employed as its first tutor. ^ Mr, Dickinson dex)arted this life five months after the college was opened, an event which arrested the progress of the new enterprise in Elizabethtown. The pupils, eight in number, were transferred to Newark and placed under the instruction of the Rev. Aaron Burr, who, as early as 1746, had there a Latin school. After receiving the students from Elizabethtown he continued the charge of his own school, employing one or two assistants. Whether Mr. Smith' s tutorship ceased or not, upon the removal of his pupils to the school of Mr. Burr, does not app)ear. No mention is made of him in that connection. He was at this time a licensed preacher, and was popular in the churches as a young minister. On September 7, 1748, eight months after the death of her honored father, he married Mar- tha, the youngest daughter of Mr. Dickinson, and on November 30th, of the same year, was ordained and installed by his Presbytery as pastor of the Mountain Society. He accepted the pastor's office here after much consideration, having, as his memoir says, "at one and the same time several unanimous calls to settle in the Gospel ministry." Being unwilling to decide I. Dexter's Annals of Yale, etc., p. 747. % Rev. Caleb Smith. 123 for himself, he asked the Presbytery to assign his work for him, which they declined to do. The Mountain Society was, probably, organized by Presbytery as a Presbyterian Church when the installation, as pastor, of one of the licensed members took place. Three persons were constituted elders, viz : Joseph Peck, Joseph Riggs and John Smith. The new pastor had lived in the Province long- enough to know something of the religious and civil condition of the people. A low state of religion char- acterized the time. The controversies between the planters and the Proprietors absorbed their thoughts, fostering disorder and evil passions. If we have rightly estimated the popular mind, the intensity of feeling was somewhat diminished at the time of Mr. Taylor's death. The apparent unwillingness of the Proprietors to bring their case to an issue in court, and the delays in bringing actions of trespass and ejectment to trial, strengthened the people in the assurance of the righteousness of their cause, and of their own acts, as well as of theii- final success in maintaining what they believed to be their rights. It is true that many of the best men in our new minister's parish were arrested and convicted as rioters, but their reputation, as good and worthy men, was not discredited thereby. The times were troublous and were ominous of a more troublous future. The questions of right between the planters and the Proprietors were giving place to broader questions of right between the colonies and the King and his parliament. The young pastor w^as not trained, nor was he constituted by his nature to take a leading part in public concerns. Through all 124 History of the Oranges. the years of his pastorate there was a general disregard of religious things. It was a period of backsliding and defection throughout the Provinces. The Moun- tain Society jpartook of the general degeneracy. Mr. Smith was recognized as a man of great prudence, of careful judgment and of great method in the manage- ment of matters which came within his sphere of duty. He was not a stranger to the homes and families of his parish, teaching from house to house, knowing the children by name, and, as they grew in years, imparting to them religious instruction. Having a quick per- ception and a tenacious memory, he brought himself into fellowship with all classes, assured, as they came to be, of a cordial and sympathizing greeting when- ever they met him. With such characteristics, we can readily accept the encomium of his biographer, that "there was a remarkable harmony, concord and satis- faction in his congregation during the whole course of his ministry." He was a severe student, and was distinguished as a scholar — careful to write out his sermons in full, though an easy extempore speaker. He had a clear, audible voice, somewhat monotonous, but pleasant withal and agreeable to the listener. His want of ac- tion in speaking diminished, however, his power over an audience. In the later years of his ministry lie became subject to attacks of vertigo, being comjDelled at times to support himself by the desk. Some of his sermons and briefs are preserved among the archives of the church. Two only were printed; one, "An Exhortation to the People," at Connecticut Farms, 1750, at the ordination and settlement of Rev. Daniel Rev. Caleb Smith. 125 Thane. ^ The other sermon, of which more is known, was written on the death of President Bun\ It was composed at a time when he was much affected by his infirmitj''. In his diarj^ he records liis effort to over- come "the unconquerable dullness and inaptitude for study" which he experienced, and says: "I drag on very heavily with my sermon : my faculties are at present exceeding dull ; this has been a humbling busi- ness to me: 'tis inconceivable what difRculties I have met in the composition of this discourse, * * * time has been when I could have wrote out, I suppose, ten discourses at large while I have had this in hand." This sermon on the death of Burr was delivered in Nassau Hall, at a meeting of the trustees of the col- lege, December 15, 1757, and was published at their desire. 2 Its title was: "Diligence in the work of God and Activity during Life. Eccls. ix : 10 ; Matt. 1. Mr. Thane was one of the pupils of the class in the college at Eliz- abethtown under the tutorship of Mr. Smith. We do not know of the ex- istence of any copy of this sermon. Hatfield, in his History of Elizabeth- town, says that it was a charge to the people, and, together with the sermon of the occasion by Rev. Thomas Arthur, of New Brunswick, was "issued from the press." 2. In the account-book of Mr. Smith, p. 104, is the statement of this ac- count which he kept with the College of New Jersey : 1759, Sept. 13. Debt'r To Cash I paid Gaine the Printer, To a farther Payment to him of Money sent with some for Lieut. Williams, ...... 1759, June 27. Cont. Credit. Upon looking over the amount of Tickets in the Connecti- cut Lottery, I find I am in Debt in York currency, 3 10 o To Cash Received for Sermons sold while I was in Prince- ton in Proc, . . . . . . . .380 To Cash received for Sermons sold at home in York currency, 2 10 o To an Allowance made by Tho's Brown for Sermons he had yk money, II20 To what Mr. Green is to pay for Eleven Sermons. To what Captn Lemul Bowers is to pay for Six Sermons. £ s. d. 6 10 yk 4 yk 126 History of the Oranges. XXV : 21. I^ew York, printed by Hngh Gaine, at the Bible & Crown, mdcclviii." Mr. Smith was at this time a trustee of the college, having been elected seven years before. The manu- script was committed to his hands for publication. Watson's Annals notices a lottery in Philadelphia in 1720. They were soon introduced into New Jersey, and in 1748, "there was hardly a town that had not some scheme on foot." (Whitehead's Contributions.) Citizens of the most respectable standing gave them sanction by becoming managers. The causes to be pro- moted were laudable, and the mode of raising money was recognized as right and proper. Elizabethtown had a lottery for building a parson- age, £1,050. New Providence wanted a parsonage also ; sum required £152, 53s. Amwell, likewise, requiring £650, for finishing the Presbyterian meeting-house, tried a scheme. One was also tried at Newark for complet- ing the church there, and others, not named, were all advertised in the New York papers within one year. Toward \hQ close of 1748, an act was passed prohibit- ing any lottery within the Province under heavy pen- alties. The act was evaded by having the lotteries drawn out of the Province. The first infringement appears to have been in the next year for the benefit of Princeton College ; one for £1,500, having been set up in Philadelphia, and another for the college in Con- necticut. Still another for finishing a church in Tren- ton was drawn in the same year, on the other side of the river. St. John's Church, Elizabethtown, (tickets to be had of the rector) ; Trinity Church, Newark ; The Church of England, in New Brunswick, and many more at various places and for various purposes, which were commendable, 'per se, received means to promote Rev. Caleb Smith. 127 them. They continued to exist, more or less, till the Revolution. A scholar himself, Mr. Smith was prompted to give much of his time and his personal efforts to the promo- tion of learning. In the board of trustees of the college, he was one to whom were committed important respon- sibilities. Upon the death of President Burr, he visited in behalf of the trustees the Rev. Jonathan Edwards, then at Stockbridge, Mass., to persuade him to assume the x^residency of the institution. His efforts were suc- cessful, and Mr. Edwards was inducted into office. His decease within a few weeks after his accession, being stricken down by small pox, caused again a vacancy which was filled by Mr, Smith, as president ad interim., until the election and accession of Presir dent Davies, in 1759. In the case of Mr. Davies also, our Mountain pastor was deputed to visit Virginia, and to use his personal influence in behalf of the col- lege. Though his Presbytery opposed his removal, and advised him to decline the appointment, Ww Davies Anally "felt himself constrained to yield to the representations" of Mr. Smith. In his own Pres- bytery and in the Synod, he was a valuable associate, and was much relied on in draughting difficult papers, acting as stated clerk and register, and for some years correspondent over the seas and to distant parts. The members of his parish were rated according to a fixed schedule — by the head above sixteen yeai's ; their acres, upland and meadow, proportionately ; their horses, oxen, cattle and other stock, according to age. The people agreed upon a certain sum to be paid to the minister annually. The number of those rated in the parish, about 1759, was one hundred and nine. The highest rate, that of Samuel Harrison, was £2, 16s. ; one other, £2, 0, ; twenty-one others, one pound and 128 History of the Oranges. some shillings ; all others by shillings and pence, from two shillings and upwards to a pound. The aggregate amount was ^^'6^ 2s. 8d. ; equal to about $220 procla- mation money, and $175 York. The collection of the rates was committed to the minister himself. Three of the accounts, taken from his book, are sufficient to illustrate his methods of obtaining his revenues : Debf Jedidiah Crane, Rate, 1755, Rate, 1756 Rate, 1757, Rate, 1758, June II, 1759. We Reckoned and ballanced, 1757. Cont. Credit. To 2 I 2 you paid for Tobacco, . Oct. 9, 1757. To cash paid me at Grays, To cash at 3 I 8, . Aug. 2, 1758. To cash paid me in the Street, Jan. 5, 1762. To one Dollar, . . . . Debf Samuel Harrison, Senr 1758, May 19. Then Reckoned and remains due to me. To your Rate, 1758, . . . . To your Rate, 1759, .... To your Rate, 1760, . . . . To your Rate, 1761, .... Cont. Cred' 1758, June 12. To Gammons for Mr, Maltby, 29 lbs. at 6d,, Oct. I, 1759. To cash paid me at your house, . Aug. 5, 1761. To cash paid me at your house. To 3 lb. Hog's Fat at 6d per lb., . Jan. 16, 1762. To 135 lb. of Pork at 4^1 per lb.. L s. d. 3 6 3 6 5 5 L s. d. 2 2 I 4 3 8 5 3 8 8 £ s. d. 9 7 2 12 2 15 I 2 8 7 2 9 6 £ s. d. 14 6 I 15 3 10 I 6 2 5 The Glebe. 129 1756. Debf Samuel Cundict, Junr Feb. 6. To your Rate, 1753, .... To your Rate, 1754, .... To your Rate, 1755, .... May 6. Then ballanced, .... Sept. 13, 1758. To your Rate, 1758, not crossed, whether by Mistake or not I cannot tell, To your Rate, 1760, To your Rate, 1761, .... 1756. Cont. Credt Feb. 5. To one Bushel of Wheat, May 6. To plowing a day, .... To cash, 2 sg., .... Feb. 16,1759. Then Reckoned and settled our accounts, Jan. II, 1760. To 1 Bushel & half of Wheat we forgot in our last Reckoning, Dec. 29, 1761. To I Bushel of Indian Corn, To 40 Posts at 5^ per Post, Jan. 28, 1762. Then Reckoned and is due to you, .013 Other accounts sliow that payments to the minister were made in hay, carting, cider, weaving, shoes, pro- visions from the farm, carpenter and blacksmith work, store supplies, etc., etc. THE GLEBE. The deed for the glebe is the earliest among the parish archives, and was never recorded in the jDublic records of the county. It describes Thomas Gardner, the grantor, as a "yeoman," and was made for ^---<^ — ' ' divers good causes (J Acrm^CL^ C^^^^cJyf'J^ ^^^ considerations v->' dy him thereunto mov- ing, but more esptecially for and in consideration of the sum of twenty-five pounds, currant money of New- York ;" and it conveyed unto Samuel Freeman, Sam- 9 L s. d. 3 9 4 7 12 5 12 10 15 17 £ s. d. 5 6 6 6 2 9 £ s. d. 9 4 16 8 130 History of the Oranges. uel Pierson, Mattliew Williams and Samuel Wheeler, ' ' yeomen, ' ' a certain tract of land ' ' Scittuate, Lying and Being In the Bounds and Limmits of Newark aforesd, on tire East Side of a Brook Commonly Called and Known by the Name of Parows Brook Begining at said Brook Near a bridge by Road that Leads to the Mountain, thence runing Easterly as the Road Runs so far as that a South Westerly Line Cross the said Lott (it being Twelve Chaines In breadth) Shall In- clude Twenty Acres of land English Measure, Bound- ed Southerly with Joseph Harrison Westerly with said Parows Brook Northerly with said Mountain Road and Easterly with my own land." This grant is to per- sons above named, and "the Society at the Mountain Associates with them, and to their heirs & assignes for Ever to the proper use, Benifitt and behooffe of them and their Associates for Ever to be and remain for the use and Benifitt of a Disenting Ministry such as shall be called to that work by the Grantees before named and their Associates from time to time and at all times for Ever hereafter." The deed was witnessed by Samuel Harrison, and was acknowledged before Joseph Harrison, one of the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas, on the 3d day of April, 1729. This conveyance j)rovided the minister with a farm of twenty acres ;^ the necessary labor on which was chiefly secured by payments of rates. A day's work was credited at 2s. 3d., and 3s. ; carting, with team, all day, 8s. ; carting a load to Newark, 2s. 6d. The supply of wood was at the expense of the parish. These arrangements for the comfort of the pastor, — twenty acres of land for cultivation, with ample pro- vision of fuel and ready money,— were, in that era of I. See page 102. The Grafumar School. 131 frugal habits and a moderate standard of living, quite equal to, and perhaps more than, the average revenues of ministers of the Gospel in the country parishes of the present day. That the Mountain pastor carefully husbanded his resources appears from a memorandum in his account- book, on the last page or cover, as follows : Memorandum, Newark Moitntaz'ns, March, 1759. "Then I put out, to Josiah Baldwin, of Persippenny, Six grown Slieep and three Lambs, which he has taken for two years, and then, if he chuses it, or if I demand them, he is to return the like Number of grown Sheep and Lambs, or keep them longer, as we shall agree, and during the Time he has the Sheep he is to pay me Six Pounds of Wool per Year, which he is to take care to send me yearly, soon after the Time of Shearing. When the Sheep are returned it is to be about the same Time of the Year he took them away. Memodm The Wool sent for the year 1759. Memodm The Wool was sent for the year 1760. Memodni The Wool was sent for the year 1761." ME. smith's GKAMMAR SCHOOL. In the year when Mr. Smith came to the Newark Mountains, the College at Princeton bestowed its honors upon its first class of graduates. Yale College had been established forty-seven years, and Harvard one hundred and six years. The early clergy of New England were scholarly men, educated at the English Universities. As occasion required, they gave private instruction in the classics, in divinity, and in medicine. The youth who aspired to college honors were pre- pared by private tutors. A call for a course of sys- tematic preliminary study gave rise to Latin schools, or "grammar schools." These institutions became quite general, many of them being of a high order. After the Revolution they gave place to incor- 132 History of the Oranges. porated academies, many of which became distin- guished seats of learning. These, in their turn, have, in our day, been superseded by the high schools under the present system of public instruction. Mr. Smith having been trained, by education and practice, to tutorship, establisiied a grammar school which he con- ducted during the last four years of his pastorate. It does not appear from his account-book that he had many pupils. Those who came to him for instruction were almost wholly from abroad. Some entries in his book admit the inference that they did not become in- mates of his household, as he refers to his "steward" in matters relating to the accommodations of the boys. These school accounts have their historical value. The first one which we shall quote is against a young man who afterwards became prominent in the affairs of the neighborhood. 1759. Debf Matthias Pierson. ' Jan. 29. You came to School. May 9. To a Lattin Dictionary To I Quire of Paper, .... Jan. I, To the use of Justin, 1760. To I Greek Lexicon, .... To I Greek Testament, .... To I Greek Grammar, Feb. 4. To what is due towards your Schooling last 1760. year, viz., unto Jan. 29, 1760, To I Virgil in Usum Delphine, Jan. 28. To Lucian's Dialogues, .... 1761. To your Schooling untill Jan. 29, 1761, . L s. d. 17 ID I -^ 6 15 2 5 5 2 8i 4 15 10 lO 4 L s. d. o S 9 O II 7 2 12 6 2 5 6 I 8 2 4 2 3 The Gratmnar School. 133 1759. Cont. Cred' June 12. To Cash 8 | 9, Oct. 30. To Cash had of you in our voyage, . Feb. 4. To Cash toward your Schooling, July II, 1760. To Cash paid, _£2, 5, 6, Dec. 30, 1760. To Cash paid, ^i, 8, 2, To Cash, ^4, 2, 3 Apl. 26, 1 761. Then Reckoned and ballanced until Jan. 29, 1761, 000 Oct. 26, 1761. Then Received of you £2, o, o. It being in full for your Schooling until you entered the college. The grammar school was commenced in 1757. Two of its earliest pupils were John and William, sons of John Woodhull, of St. George' s Manor, L. I. , who was of good estate. He married Elizabeth, a sister of Rev. Caleb Smith. The account against him reads as follows : Debf John Woodhull, York Money. To I Quire of Writing Paper for your son, To the Newark Grammar,! To Clark's Introduction for making Lattin, To Scaling one Pair of Shoes by Jacob, To I Corderius & i Erasmus, To half Quire of Paper for 5'-our Son, To Cash to your Son when going home, To Cash paid to defray your Son's expences, To an old Hat of mine, .... To Dressing the Hat by Nehemiah Baldwin, Sept. 28. Paid the Steward for Billey's Board, Paid Sayre for mending his Shoes, To a Taylor for making a Banyan, . To Jos. Yard for cloath trimmings for Ban- yan, o 17 1757. Oct. D 26. Jan. Feb. 15- April 17- May 6. 1758. £ s. d. I 6 2 6 3 I 9 4 3 10 10 6 4 5 2 2 5 8 3 5 3 I. A Latin Grammar prepared, it is supposed, by Mr. Aaron Burr, and was used in the College at Princeton. Maclean's History of Princeton College, I., p. 165. ^134 History of the Oranges. £ s. d. To Mrs. Field for Washing for Billey, . 0130 To the Odds of the Money betwixt proc. & Y. m., in the five last Articles, . . o 19 5 To I Quire of Paper of Gray, . . .019 May, 1759. To a Lattin Dictionary, . . . o 17 o To a Eutropius, o 5 5 Sept. 13. To a Sallust, 090 Dec. 8. To I Quire of Paper, o i i Jan. I. To I Greek Lexicon, . . . . o 14 o 1760. To I Greek Testament, . . . .050 To I Greek Grammar, . . . . 026 To Ovid's Metamorphoses, with English, . o 12 o^ To Soaling i Pair of Shoes, . . . 019 To Wood & Candles in the Winter, . . o 10 o To your Expences in going Home, . . 073 To Billey's Schooling 100 June 12. To I Virgil at 14 | for Billey, . . . o 14 o 1760. To I Tully's Orations for Billey, . . .0130 Nov. 26. Then your Son John came to School at the 1760. Rate of £1$, o, o, York money. To I Grammar for John, 2 | 6, . . . 026 To I Pair of Shoes for Billey, . . .080 Jan. 28. To Lucian's Dialogues for Billey, . . o 10 o 1761. To an old Cordery for John, . . .009 To one Quire of Paper, . . . . 012 Feb. 18. To one Erasmus, i | 8, 018 To Billey's Wood & Candles for 1761, . 0160 To Lindley's Horse to Billey, 14s. p dy, . o 12 11 May 3. To i Latin Dictionary, 14 | . . . o 14 o 1761. To I Eutropius, o 4 o]J To what Mr. WoodhuU allows to be charged, 25 8 9 The three pupils, whose schooling is noticed in the above accounts, lived to old age, and acliieved success in their lives. William Woodhull, after his collegiate course, finished 1764, became a Presbyterian clergy- THE OLD PARSONAGE; 1748. The Parsonage. 135 man and settled in Morris County, where he died 1824. John became the Rev. Dr. Woodhull, of Freehold, Monmouth County, N". J., and died in the same year with his brother William. Matthias Pierson, who was a native of the Newark Mountains, studied medicine, and was a useful and public spirited citizen during a life of seventy-live years. THE PAESONAGE. Upon the death of Mr. Taylor, it became necessary to provide a home for his successor. The first pastor purchased land and built a house for himself. It occupied the site now knovvn as the south-east corner of Main Street and Oakwood Avenue. Two months before the installation of his successor, and, doubtless, in the prospect of that event, a purchase was made (September 14, 1748,) by the parish of four acres of land for the erection of a parsonage house. These acres were the property of Matthew Williams (2), on the north side of the highway to the Mountain, and opposite to the glebe of twenty acres purchased in 1719. They are described in the deed as "scittuate. Lying and Being in the Bounds and Limmitts of New- ark, on the north side of the highway that leads to the Mountain, near the House once the Rev'nd Mr. Daniel Taylor' s Late of Newark, deceas*^ begining at a corner where another Highway sets out, Runing northerdly from the Highway affores'^ and thence along the said new Highjray four chains, thence south-east along my own Land to the Land of John Walls, and thence along the said John Wall's Land southardly and Bound upon s'^ John Wall four chains Esterly Runing Surtherly to the Highway and Bound Northerdly upon said High- way Runing to where it Begun Containg four acres Be o 6 History of the Oranges. it more or Less : To Have and to Hold , . . unto them the said Samuel Harrison Amos Williams Joseph Pierson Daniel Dod Samuel Cundict Nathaniel Harrison Ebenezar Farrand & Timothy Freeman and the Society at the mountain Assotiates with them, and to their Heirs and Assigns .... to Be and Remain for the use and Benifit of a Dissenting ministry such as shall Be called to that work by the Grantees Before named and their Associates from time to time and at all times forever Hereafter." The deed contains the usual full covenants and warranty against all incum- brances, "Lords' Rents for the future only Excepted." The consideration was "four Founds per acre currant money of New Jersey at eight shillings p"" ounce." It will be noticed that the habendum and tenendum clause is the same as in the deed for the glebe. This purchase on "the highways" extended from the north-east corner of Park Street, towards and near to Hillyer Street. The corporation of Grace (Episcopal) Church now owns part of this frontage. Its church y^ building is only a /Piy7^o^^^n j^/i^-^^e/rjr^Zyt^/Z-^^"^ feet east from C/ _^ O -(-jjg gji^g Qjj which the Parsonage was built. For its day, it was an elegant structure. In its architecture and appointments, it was in advance of its time ; two stories front and«*:ear, four rooms on the lirst floor, with a hall in the centre, and open stairway to the second story, built of sand- stone, hammer-dressed and laid in regular courses. It was taken down in 1854, having stood for one hun- dred and six years. In the decay of even its last The Parsonage. 137 years, it gave testimony to the estimate set by its builders upon the worth and dignity of a Christian minister. ' The house was occupied by the new pastor in about a year after his installation, and continued to be his home for thirteen years, and until he was called to his home on high. It was the dwelling-place after- wards of Mr. Chapman during the thirty-four years of his ministry, and then the home of his successor, Dr. Hillyer, from his settlement (in 1801) to 1817. From this latter date to the time when it was demolished, it was rented to tenants, — sometimes to those of a very inferior class. Samuel Harrison acted as the treasurer of the build- ing fund. The money was raised by subscription from the members of the congregation and apx^arently was not based upon any fixed rate ; the contributions be- ing dependent on the interest taken in the work more than upon the means of the subscriber. In the old account-book already referred to, we find a page devoted to the building fund, and as the items may be interesting we give the same in full. "An a Compt of what money I have Received on account of the pasanage house and how 1 have Desposed of it." Received of David Ward, 3 6 Johnathan Ward of Jonathan Shors, I 9 Decn Sam" Freeman, 17 4 David Williams, 3 6 Received o^Jonathan Thomas Williams, 3 6 Sargant the sum of 3 10 David Baldwin, 7 o of John Dod, 19 '7 7 Nathaniel Crane, 14 o May 2, 1749, Noah Crane, lO 6 of Sam" Cundict, i 8 Azariah Crane, 8 8 to Jonathen Sargent, i 8 Stephen Dod, 5 3 of Joseph Peck, 8 8 John Dod, 7 o of John Dod by Dec'n Elezer Lanison, 7 o Freeman, 2 19 138 History of the Oranges. Garshom Williams, 4 4 Decon Sami' Freman, 4 12 o Received of of Bethuel Pierson, 17 4 Ebenezer Farand, 140 of John Dod, 790 Azariah Grain, 26 of Thomes Lamson, 17 4 Ebenezer Farand, 36 of Sami' Wheler, 088 Peter Bostedo, 9 o of Robert Baldwen, 246 William Crane, 08 of Joseph Jones, i 12 o On the opposite side of the account we can decipher the following items : paid out to Caleb Baldwin for shingles, . . . 03 19 6 for nails to George Harrison, 00 07 o to Decon Sami' freeman, 01 04 o to Pine Bord and frate, 03 10 o to George Harrison for nails, 01 00 10 to Hinges 00 16 6 Hinges, 00 06 o to a Lock, . . . 00 02 6 to nals, 00 08 4 paid to John Cokrem, . 23 07 7 paid to Stephen Cortland, 00 03 6 paid to John Daves for Shels, 01 00 6 May. paid to John Cokrem, 02 03 4 for Glace Oyle Leed and Gug, 09 16 o Paid to George Harrison for nals six pounds, . . 00 07 6 to one pound of nals, . . . . . . 00 00 10 Pad to frind Lukes for one bord, . . . . 00 02 o paid John Cokrem by Nathenel Harrison, . . 07 09 i Paid to Jeremiah Baldwin 00 17 o to Baldwin, 00 14 10 to Baldwin . . . 01 12 6 to Jeremiah Baldwin, 00 11 3 to Baldwin 00 8 3 to John Cokrem, 01 15 o The Second Meeting- House. 139 THE SECOND MEETING-HOUSE. Four years after the completion of the parsonage, the meeting-house, which had been in use for more than thirty years, gave place to a new structure of enlarged dimensions, and of a more convenient and attractive construction. It occupied the site of the first building, in the centre of the highway, the west end being extended to about the easterly line of Day Street. From a book of accounts, kept mostly by Mr. Smith, it appears that it was built by subscription. The total number of subscribers to the fund was one hundred and seventy-one. Isaac Harrison was cred- ited with £7, 12s. lOd., "collected among the Dutch people." These were, probably, the Dutch in the north part of the township, settled at Stone House Plains. The aggregate amount of the subscriptions was £679, 19s. lOd., equal to about !^2,275, proclama- tion money. The book of accounts, of which we have spoken, was opened in the spring of 1753. The subscriptions were charged, and the credits for the sums pledged were given for cash and materials furnished, or labor be- stowed, from April to the close of that year. There were few credits given in 1754. Material, labor and supplies are exxDressed as days' work, split stone, rough stone, hair, wood, sleepers, dressing shingles, tending kiln, cartage of shells and lime, sugar, rum and other store stujffs. ^ Some of the credits are curious reading in these later days. We cite a few of them : Caleb Smith, "given by himself, 3 Days' whitewashing, 10s. 6d ;" John Dod, ' ' a gallon of Rum, 4s ;" William Grray, "one pound of Sugar, 7d ;" Eleazer Lamson, I. Merchandise was kept by William Crane, William Gray, Ezekiel Ward and Joseph Riggs. 140 History of the Oranges. "6 quarts of Rum, 6s;" Stephen Morris, "Flower, 10s. Id; for Beaf, 2£, 19s. 3d;" aud Betliuel Pierson, "42 foot 2-incli Plauk, very poor, 7s." The subscribers had their homes in all the Oranges, at Bloomfield, at Cranetown (now Montclair,) and a few at Caldwell. A list of their names and the sums pledged is not without interest and historical im- portance, as perpetuating the memory of the then members of the parish, the relative numbers constitu- ting the tribes, and their comparative ability to meet an important draft upon their worldly resources. Subscriptions — T15S. Allen, Samuel, s. 12 d. II Crane, Nathi Senr., II s. d. Baldwin, Amos, 5 Crane, Nathi Jr., 3 6 Baldwin, Aaron, 3 Crane, Caleb, 10 Baldwin, Robert, 8 Crane, William, 1 1 Baldwin, Joshua, 6 Crane, Job, 4 Baldwin, Cap' Isra^ I Crane, Garniel, I Baldwin, David, 3 Crane, Noah, 8 Baldwin, Jeremiah, I I Crane, Steph" 2 Baldwin, Daniel, 9 Crane, Lewis, 8 Baldwin, Israel, I I Crane, Jedidiah, 10 Baldwin, Benjamin, 3 Crane, Elihu, I Baldwin, Moses, 3 Crane, Ezekiel, The tribes of Crane, Crowel, Joseph, 3 The tribes of Baldwii contributed 1 ^43 I I ^56 2 16 6 Brown, Job, 10 Crowel, Saml' 8 Bowers, Timothy, I 10 Canfield, Ebenezer, 10 Bowen, Lemuel, I 5 Bostedo, Peter, 2 2 Cundit, Samuel, Jr., 12 Beach, David, lO Cundit, John, I 19 Cundit, Isaac, 3 Cundit, Daniel, 7 Cundit, Peter, 4 6 6 The tribes of Condit, ^28 5 6 The Second Meeting- Hotise. L s, d. Clark, Moses, 2 2 Clark, Samuel, O lO Camp, Joseph, .1 o Campbell, John, 5 I 4 Campbell, Ja^ Jr., 3 i8 Dod, Dan Sr., 5 o Dod, Dan' Jr., 4 lO Dod, Isaac, 3 o Dod, John, 7 o Dod, John, 4 o Dod, Sarai lO o Dod, Stephen, II o Dod, Nathi I o Dod, Silas, I o Dod, John, ol 13 9 Dod,John, the carpnt' r. 3 The tribes of Dod, ^1^50 3 9 Davis, Caleb, I Davis, Jonath" I I 8 Devoe, Richd I 6 Devoe, John, 10 Drure, John, I 10 Dickenson.widow Mary,o 8 Day, Joseph, I 10 Freeman, Sam' 10 Freeman, Sami Jr.^ 6 Freeman, Abel, 2 Freeman, Benj" 6 Freeman, Jedidiah, 7 Freeman, Tho^ 3 Q Freeman, Timothy, 4 Tribes of Freeman, ^38 o o Farran, Joseph, Farran, Samuel, Gray, William, Goden, John, Gould, Thomas, Gould, John, Gardner, John, Garner, David, Gildersleeve, Jno., Harrison, Jno. Sr., Harrison, Sam' Sr., Harrison, Joseph, Harrison, Richard, Harrison, Nath' Harrison, Amos, Harrison, Sam' Harrison, Matth^ Harrison, John, Jr., Harrison, Stephen, 141 L s.d. I 10 o 200 3 o I o I 15 3 o 1 8 o 5 2 o 5 S 12 II 7 8 II 4 3 10 3 10 4 3 Tribes of Harrison, £6() 9 3 Hays, Thomas, 070 Hand, William, 200 Johnson, Joseph, 200 Johnson, Elipht i 2 8 Johnson, Esq., 10 o o Jeams, Thomas, i 17 11 Jones, Samuel, 234 Kilbourne, Gershom, 200 Lamson, Dan' 230 Lamson, Thomas, 70 o Lamson, Eleazar, 5 16 4 142 History of the Oranges. £ s. d. Lindsley, Ebenezer, 10 o o Lindsley, Benjamin, 600 Lindsley, Amos, i o o Lindsley, Josiah, 2 11 11 Tribes of Lindsley, ^19 11 11 Martin, Jeremiah, on o Mun, John, 7 5° Mun, Joseph, 10 o o £ s. Smith, James, 7 o Smith, John, 2 o Smith, Joseph, 7 10 Smith, David, 7 o Smith, Ebenezer, 6 o Smith, William, 5 o Smith, Isaac, 2 o Tribes of Smith, _;i^35 10 o Morris, Steph" 5 5 5 Sargeant, Jonathan, 17 6 Shingleton, , 10 Nutman, Ja^ 10 Stockman, Jno., 2 2 8 Smith, Revd Caleb, 5 10 6 Ogden, Abraham, 4 10 Squier, Henry, I 9 Ogden, Nathi I 2 6 Shores, Jonathan, 3 6 Ogden, Thomas, 9 3 Osborn, Moses, I 10 Tichenor, David, 4 10 Osborn, Timothy, I Taylor, Gilbert, 2 Taylor, Jacob, 2 II Pierson, Sam. Sr., 9 Tomkins, Jonath" 5 7 Pierson, Joseph, 10 Pierson, Bethuel, 10 Vincent, Levi, I I Pierson, Sami Jr., 3 Vincent, John, I 14 5 Pierson, John, 3 Vincent, Cornel* 4 6 Pierson, Tho^ 10 — — Ward, Daniel, 4 10 Tribes of Pierson, £3S 10 Ward, Isaac, 5 10 Ward, Nathan, 3 Peck, Joseph, 10 Ward, Elihu, 8 Peck, David, 5 Ward, Abel, 7 Peck, Jesse, 3 Ward, Ezekiel, 5 5 5 Perry, Arthur, 3 — Personett, Geo., 2 Tribes of Ward, £?>2, 5 5 Parson, 6 Riggs, Joseph, 7 Riggs, Daniel, 9 Riggs. Simeon, 2 10 The Second Meeting-House. h: £ s. d. Summary. Wheeler, Sam' 6 o o £ '• d. Wilcox, , o 7 o Tribes of Baldwin, 43 I I " ' Crane, 56 16 6 Williams, Isaac, 5 9 9 " ' Cundit, 28 Williams, David, 12 5 o « ' Dod, 50 3 9 Williams, Matthew, 9 o 6 " ' Freeman, 38 Williams, Joseph, 3 o o ■' ' Harrison, 69 9 3 Williams, Daniel, 5 4 2 " ' Lindsley, 19 II II Williams, Sami 4 5 O " ' Pierson, 35 10 Williams, Amos, Jr., I 17 o " ' Smith, 35 10 Williams, Gershom, o 8 o " ' Ward, 33 5 5 Williams, David, 6 9 5 " ' Williams, 58 6 8 Williams, Amos, Sr., 9 o 12 ID Williams, Thomas, 12 6 l^^7 14 7 Williams, Timothy, o 2 6 All others. The Dutch people, 204 12 7 12 5 Tribes of Williams. rcs 6 8 10 Williamson, Wn^ 300 Wood, James, 200 Total, ';^679 19 10 Young, Jonathan, Young, Robert, The new house of worship, completed and dedicated to its sacred uses in the last days of the year 175|, was /^ /^ /y ^ stone structure, K^^^ ^ J^S'^hft an of the same mate- r rial as that of the parsonage house, and laid in the same style of ma- sonry. Those of the parish, "regularly chosen to x>0 ^y^ CZy^ O manage the affair ^Ttj/^yZ>^^:^ o^W^ of the building," ^-*^ -^ -^ were Samuel Har- rison, Samuel Freeman, Joseph Harrison, Stephen Dod, David Williams, Samuel Condit, William Crane, Joseph Riggs. Matthew Williams, who was a mason, had the superintendence of the mason work. Moses 144 History of the Oranges. Baldwin liad the charge of the carpenter work. A writ- ten contract between the latter and the committee is pre- served among the manuscripts of the New Jersey His- torical Society. The "agreement" provides that he shall perfectly finish the house, excex^ting the masonry, ^ ^ ^ after the model ^I'Ctl CC 7?t "P^^^^^^ K^ ^^ *^^® meeting- \j!!^ house in New- ark, finding all the materials, "such as timbers, boards, sleepers, glass, oils and paint, nails, hinges, locks, latches, bolts, with all other kinds of materials neces- sary for finishing" the same. The details of this contract, supplemented by the recollections of many who have worshiped within its walls, furnish a good idea of the building and its appointments. Standing as it did lengthwise with the street, its south broadside was its front, with the broad entrance door in the centre. Opposite to this door was the pulj)it, approached by a broad aisle with a double row of pews on each side, and narrow aisles on the ends of the room. One pew on each side of the pulpit, two on the right, and two on the left fronting the pul- pit, all with doors and hinges, and somewhat ele- vated above the seats, but upon ^t>r^- V ^^ floor, were ''^^^ provided for of- ficials in the congregation. In the pulpit was the desk taken from the old building, remodeled and adapted for its new relations. A seat, made of wood, was built against the wall for the minister and his associates. Four wooden pegs on the wall above gave their support to the clerical hats. After the Revolu- tion this space back of the i)ulpit was occupied by a large gilt eagle. The arched wall of the room, and the The Parson in the Parsonage. 145 ends of the building above the plate and under the galleries, were ceiled with white wood boards, and "painted a light sky color." THE PARSOTT IN THE PARSONAGE. With a dwelling built for the comfort of his house- hold, and with a new house of worship convenient for the needs of his parish, as well as in accord with the improving methods of living, Mr. Smith was equipped anew for his pastoral work. There was very much at this period to invite his attention and his active agency in public affairs ; but there is not an atom of evidence that, he allowed himself to be drawn aside from bis labors in promoting the cause of education, the good of the church at large, and the spiritual welfare of his own people. There is not an allusion in his diary to a single public event ; nor does his biography, published after his death, make note of any. In August, 1757, he was called to mourn the loss of his wife by death, after a marriage union of nine years. "She is described," says Hatfield in his His- tory of Elizabeth town, "as superior to most of her sex in strength of genius ; her intellectual qualities were quick and penetrating. She had a thirst for knowledge, and was greatly delighted in reading." An agreeable companion, she was admired and loved by all. She died after a year of suffering, leaving three daughters. The pastor, thus bereaved, employed a house-keeper who served his household for two years, ^ when, in I. On page 65 of the frequently-quoted account-book is entered: — " Phebf. Richards, IVidoiu ; Nov. i, 1757 ; Then you came to keep my house, and kept it to April i, 1758, after the rate of 3s. pr Weeke." She remained with him until the spring of 1759 ; assisted by a maid servant. The wages of the latter woman were 4s. 6d. per week ; and she was charged, on one occasion, with " Callico for a Gown, 5 Yards at 5s." Some of our lady readers may think that the smallness of the " pattern " was in propor- tion to the bigness of the price. 10 146 History of the Oranges. October, 1759, lie married Rebecca, daughter of Major Isaac Foote, of Branford, Conn. On the 8th of that month, he credits Isaac Cundict with "Carting my Things to Newark when going to New England, 2s, 6d ;" and, on November 5th, with "Carting up my Wife's Things from Newark, out of Griffin's Vessel, 5s, 6d." That she had a liberal allowance of this world' s goods is apparent from the fact that, after his death, they were appraised at £89, Is, lOd, In the account with Matthias Pierson, who was twenty -five years old, although then attending Mr. Smith's school, (page 132,) is the following curious entry: "1759, Oct. 30; cash had of you in our voyage, lis, 7d." This suggests that Mr. Pierson accompanied him on this wedding-excursion ; and perhaps that he served as "best man" at the ceremony. Some of the house-keeping items, in the account- book, are interesting, and of them we select a few : "A Hooke to roast meat. Is, 6d ;" — "Cutting wood 1 Day at the Door, 2s, 6d ;" — "helping your Bro'' Isaac Kill my Hogs, 2s, 6d ;"— " 1 Bushel of Wheat Flower, 6s ;"— "Cyder Spirits, 3 Gallons, 10s, 6d ;"— "1 Bar- rel of Cyder, 9s;"— "Tobacco, 2s, 6d ;"—" Pulling Flax, 2s, 8d ;"— "Whitening 84 Yards Cloth, 8s, 6d;" "Weaving two Coverlits, £1." In 1761, Mr. Smith made an investment in human chattels, and the record of the transaction shows that he ' ' discounted ' ' the day of payment : 1 761. Credt- Hannah Bayne, Wid'^- March 31. This Day Hagar & Lattice her child came to our House for whom I am to pay £70, o, o, Money at Eight Shillings pr ounce, at the £ s. d. End of one year from s^ day. 70 o o 1 761. Debtr. August 14. Then paid Mrs. Dickingson on the Account of Hagar one Dollar. Sep. 15. Then I paid Mrs. Dickinson the Sum of 1761. £68, 13, 7, for Hagar and her child, for which I have her Receipt in full as the Pay- ment was made before the year was up, 68 13 7 lusrMu.i h ■Cs The Parson in the Parsonage. i 47 In October, 1762, — it being three years after this second marriage, Mr.' Smith was taken sick with dys- entery, 1 and on the 22d of the same month he ceased from his earthly labors, at the age of thirty-eight years and ten months, and after a pastorate of fourteen years. His remains lie in the old parish burial place. His tomb is built of freestone covered by a large hor- izontal slab, bearing the following memorial : " 1764. " This Stone we erect as a monumental token of love & grati- tude to our late Pastor, the Rev^ Caleb Smith, who died Ocf 22^, 1762, in ye 39 yr of his age. " Beneath this tomb the precious reliques lie of one too great to live but not to die''' indu'd by nature with superior parts to swim in science & to scan the arts to soar aloft inflam'd with sacred love to know admire & serve the God above. Gifted to sound the thundring law's alarm the smiles of virtue & the gospels charms a faithful Watchman studious to discharge th' important duties of his weighty charge. To say the whole & sound the highest fame He liv'd a Christian & he di'd the same A man so useful, from his People rent his babes the Colleg & the Church lament." He left him surviving, his widow and four children ; three by the first marriage, and one by the second. The settlement of his estate was made chiefly by Joseph Riggs, one of the executors of the will. He charged the widow with £1 for "one grate Bibel ;" and 3s. for "1 candel- stick ;" and £4 for a "Larg Looking glas ;" and 8s. 9d. for "7 wine glases ;" and I. Dysentery in a malignant form was epidemic in New Jersey and in the Provinces, at times, in the middle and latter parts of the last century. We have no evidence that it was prevalent at the time of Mr. Smith's death. In that year, 1763, "in America, the heat and drought exceeded what was ever before known. From June to September 22d, there was scarcely a drop of rain. Almost all the springs were exhausted, and the distress occasioned by the want of water was extreme. The forest trees appeared as if scorched. ( Webster on Pestilence.') 148 History of the Oranges. £1, 15s. 6cl. for "By Mr. Roe [her^ second husband,] bought at the V^andue in Books." The goods and money given to her by the will amounted to £102, 8s. 3d ; and she was allowed £37, 2s. 7d. for "her third of the Land sold by Vandue." Mr. Riggs charged, in his own favor — "two Days to Reckon with peopel o 14 o " to my Self tending the Vandue 070 "to Seling and Colecting at the Vandue to the value of 22, II, II — my feas 126 " Paid John Dod foi Righting at Vandue, ... 98 "to4galonsof Rum for Vandue, . . . . 100 " to 2 lb of Sugar @ lod per lb., 14 ''to half pound of Candels, 7 " to Sundry Servises & Entertaining the Exectre . . 3 10 o '■ Cash to Ezekiel Johnson for Coffin furniture, . i 9 " Cash to Mrs Dugdal for Betsey's morning suite, .1 64" In about a year after the decease of Mr. Smith, the widow married the Rev. Azel Roe, a clergyman who had studied theology with Mr. Smith. He settled in Woodbridge, New Jersey, where he preached till his death in 1815. 1 I. Azel Roe was twenty-one years of age when he became a member of the Mountain Society. After graduating at Princeton in 1756, he came to the Mountain to study theology with Mr. Smith. He was a native of St. George's Manor, Long Island, born February 20, 1738, and of the same township in which his theological teacher was born. He was licensed to preach by the New York Presbytery in 1759, the same year in which he united with the church, and was ordained by the same body, sine titulo, in 1762. In September, 1763, he married the widow of Mr. Smith, and in the same autumn was settled in Woodbridge, N. J., where he died in 1815, aged 77, after an uninterrupted pastorate of 52 years. Mrs. Roe died in 1794. He became one of the most useful and honored ministers of his day, living This Store we ereaas a rnomtinental token of love ^ graatude to our late Paftor^ llhl W*' Caleb Smith who died 1 0^.^22^762 m §39 Y^ofliisa§e Benea-ch this tomb t}jepreciou5 relqaes"' of om too great to 1 1 ve« buc not to d ie mdu ti " September, 1776. We hear News from ourarmyattrentingue [?] and Several of them we hear is Dead Since there Departure. Benjamin Canfield & Stevan Morriss. David Lins Died with the Camp Disorder, & William acorn we hear was Killed by the ingins : Jabez Freeman the Son of the Late Diseast John Freeman is Dead also. Sias Heady Died up there with Sickness. "When we are at home we think our Selves Secure But at home or abroad we are never Shure "When or What our end is to Be — This in vewing others we Dayly may See." About this time she gives the names of many others who had died ; some in the service, and more by the dysentery and small pox, which were epidemic in the township. The time of this part of her record was co- incident with the battles of Long Island, Harlem and White Plains. * * * "September ye 12, 1777. on friday there Was an alarm, our Militia was Called. The Regulars Come over into elesabeth town. Where they had a Brush With a Small Party of our People ; then Jemima Cundicfs Book. i 85 marched Quietly up to Newark ; & took all the Cattle they Could, there was five of the milita [of] Newark they killd Samuel Crane, & took Zadock & Allen heady & Samuel freeman Prisnors. one out of five run & escapt. They went Directly up to Second River, & on Saterday morning march uptowords wadsesson. our People atackted there, Where They had a Smart Scurmage. Some of our people got wounded there ; but I Do Not Learn that any was killed. there was Several Killed of the regulars, but the Number is yet unascertained. >K * * " Desember the i8th. Set a part for a Day of thankgiving & Praise to almity God ; it was a misty Day, & I Suppose you may Say I was Glad of any excuse, for I Did Not go to meet- ing. But our people went, & this Was the text, Jeremiah the 9 Chapter & 23d & 24 Verses. * * ♦ " Desember y« 26. Our People took three green Coats, l & they Swore they See Benjamin Williams over upon Statenisland, &c. So up on that they Sent a file of men and fecth him Amediately Down to Newark, Where he is to be kept In Close Confinement untill further examination." Jemima Cundict was tlie third child of Daniel Cun- dict and Rnth, his wife, the daughter of Samuel Harri- son (2). Her father, a leading citizen, and a Lieuten- ant-Colonel in the Revolutionary Army, was the eldest son of Samuel Cundict, who lirst located lands in the Second Valley, between the First and Second Moun- tains. The latter built his home on the highway be- tween Orange and Swinefield. It stands to this day in the same place, upon the corner where the Sec- ond Valley Road crosses the highway. The German Church is on the corner opposite. The front part of the old house is now used as a small store ; back of I. Loyalist troops. To distinguish them from the British regulars, they wore a uniform of green coats faced with white, with cocked hats, with broad white binding around them. 1 86 History of the Oranges. wMcli is the kitchen of an annex building of more recent construction. Here Jemima was born on Au- gust 24, 1754. Her diary, kept from 1772 to 1778, is of considerable value, illustrating as it does the inci- dents of the time, the methods of household life, the sports and enjoyments of the young people, the epi- demics of disease and their fatality, the religious priv- ileges of the neighborhood, and the state of the public mind. She had an intelligent api:)reciation of events, a keen sense of the ridiculous, and a fine vein of hu- mor, chastened by a devout Christian habit of thought. Her chirography is good ; her book learning was too limited for elegance of style, and the first English dictionary, published in England one year after her birth, had not yet reached the schools in the l^ewark Mountains. She wrote better than she knew. Her record is a valuable legacy to those who have come after. From the number of her suitors, and from various incidents recorded by her with reflections in- tended for no other eye than her own, we infer that she was possessed of unusual personal attractions. The diary closes in 1778. In that year she married Major Aaron Harrison. He was of good estate and lived to old age, respected and honored. Both of them were grandchildren of Samuel Harrison (2) ; one in the paternal and the other in the maternal line. The young wife died within a year after her marriage, leaving a son, a few days old. He was named Ira, and lived about ten years. By a second marriage, Aaron Harrison had three sons and one daughter. They are all deceased but one. Ira Barrison was named after the child of his father's first love. He now, at 93, in the golden years of old age, receives the rever- ent respect and love due to those who in their day have served well their God and their generation. Samuel Harrison. 187 A time-worn monumental inscription in tlie old graveyard reads : . " In memory of Jemima, wife of Aaron Harrison, who died Nov. 14, 1779, in the 24i^ year of her age." We draw one more entry from the diary : " 1776 Sunday Sept. 17. Then Departed this life Grand father Harrison aged Ninety three years." 1 SAMUEL HAERISON. References to Samuel Harrison (2) and his settle- ment at the Mountain have appeared in the progress of this history. He became during his long life at the Mountain perha^Ds the most useful, enterprising and influential man of the region. His account-book gives evidence of his ability as a man of business, and of the confidence reposed in him by the people as their agent in the execution of their affairs. He was a large landholder, continually adding to his acres as opportunity offered. It used to be said of him that "if Samuel Harrison should get all the land on the earth he would still seek for a bit of the moon for a potato patch." He built the first saw-mill at the Mountain, we know not how early. His account-book shows charges for sawing in 1727, which was less than ten years after he became a settler there. A fulling mill built and owned by him was in operation in 1734. The former mill was located on Wigwam brook, where Cleveland Street crosses it ; the latter mill was on the I. His tombstone gives September 20th, as the day of his death. 1 88 History of the Oranges. same stream, where it is now bridged to Park Street. He had a cider-mill in 1744 ; and charged for cider of his own production, also for the use of the press in making it for others. He also had a shop for repairing carts, ploughs and other farm tools ; charges for such work being frequent. One charge reads : ' ' Amos Williams Jr to a cofen for your child £00, 03, 00." In 1743 he was commissioned a magistrate. It ap- pears, by several entries in his account-book, that he was acting as a justice of the peace, at the same time that he was running the saw- mill. On a blank page is given the form of a bond for the payment of "cur- ant money of this provence " ; in which the obligor is described as a "yeoman," and the obligee as "Samuel Harrison, Esquier." The account against Azariah Crane shows charges not only for fulling cloth and dyeing a coat, but also for a " sumons, 7d," and for a "judgment, lOd," and for " administring an oath, 4d." And Thomas Day, who evidently was a believer in the advantage of " many witnesses," was charged with "four Supeneys, 2s. 4d." A lawyer will laugh to see the tables turned upon poor Samuel John, the "plaintive" in one suit, who "confest judgment for thirty-six shillings, with coste. ' ' Philip Commens was, in another case, punished by a judgment for the large sum of one shilling and eleven pence. And in several instances judgment was rendered generally for the "plaintive," without mention of any amount. He branded horses and cattle in the manner prescribed by law, sailed a periauger, named John Harrison, to New York and neighboring places. Charges for doctoring horses were not infrequent in his book. Loans of money to sundry persons are, at divers times, record- ed. The contract heretofore noticed for war sup- plies, ^ his visits to New England, New York and else- I. See page 65. Samuel Harrison. 189 where, for the common good, and his agency in pro- moting the building of the second meeting-honse and parsonage, exhibit an energy and versatility of char- acter very remarkable. His account-book, which was kept up until 1766, was also used for recording the te.xts of the preacher on Sabbath days, giving evi- dence of a devout habit of thought. He made a pro- fession of his faith in Christ, on April 11, 1762, being then in his eightieth year. He left a numerous posterity ; a very large propor- tion of whom have inherited his personal virtues, his worldly success, and his zeal for the best welfare of his town and the Church of Christ. CHAPTER IX. REV. JEDIDIAH CHAPMAN". BEFORE THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION. THE second pastor of the Mountain Society died in 1762; the year in which the French War was ended. For four years thereafter the church remained without a pastor, but at last the people became restless and impatient. The importance of the "society in the Synod made the selection of a successor a serious ques- tion, not only for the congregation itself, but also for the neighboring clergy. All were agreed upon one point, however, and that was that he should be a young man, of full strength and vigor of body and intellect. There was more difference of opinion as to his theolog- ical views, because then, as now, the learned doctors were not at harmony among themselves, and then, as now, it was not easy to decide who were sound, and who unsound, in their interpretations of Scripture. In the Bellamy Correspondence, preserved among the collections of the Presbyterian Historical Society of Philadelphia, is a letter from Mr. McWhorter to Dr. Bellamy, dated December 23, 1763, and written at the request of the Presbytery, in behalf of our church at the Newark Mountains. In it Mr. McWhorter says : *'Ihope, sir, you'll recommend them to some young Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 191 man whom you esteem for his knowledge of the truth ; and don't send us any of your Antinomians^ or Armin- ians, or Sandemanians . AVe hear you have several such in New England." Soon after, and indeed in the same month, Mr. Joseph M. White wrote from Dan- bury, Conn. , to the same divine, notifying him of the vacancy in the Mountain Church. He says : "In that country, they insist very much on a man's being a good speaker, and they hate the New England tone, as they call it. They insist likewise upon one who is apt to be familiar. But most of all, 'tis necessary that a man be a man of religious and good jDrinciples, in order to be useful among them. They seem to be a kind and courteous people, and willing to support the minis- try."! It was not until 1766, that the society was successful in securing a pastor. He was the Rev. Jedidiah Chajj- man. From'a letter of Rev. James Caldwell, of Eliz- abethtown, it ^^^ ^ appears that n( '-;^C:i€<^i^-l^^ Mr. Chapman (y ^ was examined by the Presbytery for ordination, and received parts of trial ; and that his examination was satisfac- tory and well pleasing to the body. 2 The date of his ordination and installation is written by himself, in a manuscript record in the iDOSsession of this author, as follows : 1. Rev. Joseph Bellamy was, at this time, in the prime of his life, and one of the ablest divines in America ; conspicuous as a teacher of theology, and for his method of preparing young men for the work of the ministry. He was also eminent for his eloquence, for his success as a preacher, and the soundness of his teachings in his published writings. He died in 1790. 2. Hoyt's History of First Presbyterian Church, Orange, N. J., p. 114. 1 92 History of the Oranges. "July ye 22. 1766. I, Jedidiah Chapman, by ye will of God took on me the Solemn Pastoral Charge of ye Church and Con- gregation of ye people of Newark Mountains." When the new pastor began his work at the Moun- tain, he found a compactly organized church. He was welcomed by a board of six Elders. Three of these were, probably, the same Joseph Peck, Joseph Riggs and John Smith, who had been chosen at the organ- ization of the society. The others, namely : Josiah Crane, Bethuel Pierson and Amos Baldwin, had been ^-^ ^ elected on February year of Mr. Smith's ministry. On the same occasion, Elder John Smith was elected to the Diaconate, to serve as an associate with Samuel Freeman. The record, in the handwrit- ing of the pastor, is still preserved. It reads : "Tuesday, Feb. 9, 1762, Upon a Lecture, the members of this Church being generally convened by previous notice given for that Purpose, they proceed to choose Elder John Smith a Deacon, and Josiah Crane, Bethuel Pierson and Amos Baldwin to serve as Elders in this Church, who, after they had first consented to comply with the Desire and Choice of the church were Solemnly recom- mended to the Grace of God by a Prayer for the Services to which they had been respectively Elected." It is interesting to notice that the expression of "Pastors and Elders," in the same manuscript of Mr. Smith' s, first occurs under the date of May, 1758. Mr. Chapman came to the parish about eighty years after the first settlement. The deer yet roamed the mountain heights, the frequent howl of the wolf was still heard, the catamount remained to seek its prey in the thickets of the forest, the bear was seen occasion- ally in the open fields, and the rattlesnake was always on the alert for the unwary intruder. The farm lands Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 193 were well cultivated, and were remunerative. The temporary liouses of logs had long before been ex- changed for homes of taste and household comfort. Mr. Chapman was installed pastor, about four months after the repeal of the Stamp Act. The intense pop- ular excitement and discontent, caused by the attempts of the British Ministry to enforce it, were somewhat allayed. We can readily believe that the prospect of once more receiving the ministrations of a faithful pastor, was a source of hapi)iness to the people. The season of the year was propitious for the attendance of the widely-scattered members of the parish upon his installation services. One may easily imagine their march to the meeting- house, beginning in the early hours of that July morn- ing. The Harrisons and Williamses, from the north corner ; the Cranes from Cranetown ; the Dods from Rattlesnake Plain ; the Wards, and Baldwins, and Harrisons, from AVardsesson ; the Canfields, Pecks, Muns and Heddens, from the line of the highway to the river ; the Camps, Balls, Riggses, Freemans, Browns, Lindsleys and Piersons, from Camptown, Stony Brook and Chestnut Hill ; the latter, as they passed through Scotland Road, being joined by the Smiths and Og- dens. To these add the tribes of Pierson, Williams and Condit, all from over the Mountain, coming down by the highway and the Christian's Path; with the tribes of Ward and Harrison from Horseneck, by the Swinefield Road ; either on horseback or in carts, (they had no wagons at that time,) but the greater number on foot ; all moving with one purpose towards the house of Grod, with its silent belfry, in the highway. We do not know who officiated at the installation services. Messrs. McWhorter, of Newark, and Cald- 13 194 History of the Oranges. well, of Elizabethtown, were active agents in obtain- ing the new minister, and they, with Jacob G-reen, of Hanover, were ever afterwards among his warmest friends. We doubt not that the cocked hat of each of them found its place upon the wooden pegs on the wall above the pulpit. It is reasonable to infer that, in the service of song on that eventful day. Watts' Psalmody took the place of the old metrical versions which were in use at the formation of the church. We know that Watts' Psalms and Hymns had been steadily growing in favor with all religious bodies since 1741, when the book was first published in Philadelphia by Franklin. It was advertised for sale in the New York Weekly Post Boy, July 25, 1743, and had become popular in 1749, as appears by an advertisement in the same paper, on July 25th of that year, which reads thus : " The Sunday Evening Lectures being begun in the Presbyterian meeting in the city, as was usual before its reparation, where Dr. Watts' hymns are used, this may serve to notify that the said hymns are to be sold by the Printer hereof, price 2s. 6d. single, or 24s. a dozen. The Psalms of David imitated in the language of the new [old] Testament are also sold by the Printer hereof at the same rate." The Rev. Caleb Smith had taken great delight in their lyrical beauty. On the morning before his death he called his family around him, and after having his little son placed in his arms, and with his enfeeble hand resting upon the child' s head, he invoked for him the divine protection and blessing. Then, at his re- quest, his wife sang the last four verses of the 17th of Watts' psalms, beginning with the third stanza : "What sinners value, I resign ;" and ending with the stanza beginning : " My flesh shall slumber in the ground." Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 195 In 1763, the Synod of New York and Philadelphia gave permission to the churches to use the collection, if they so desired. Jemima Cundict's diary, in 1772, has many quotations from Watts, thereby testifying that his lyrics were, at that time, familiar to the peo- ple of this parish. The salary of Mr. Chapman was fixed at £130, proc- lamation money, or about $330. It was raised, as in the case of Mr. Smith, by levying a rate upon the property holders ; the same to be collected by the pastor himself. Tlie minister of religion, in the early history of the New England parishes, was a leader in all matters per- taining to the public weal. He was cheerfully re- cognized as "such by the people. AVith attainments above those of the masses, he was relied on to look after the education of the young, to settle all minor questions and disputes among the adults of the neigh- borhood, and to act as a lawyer in the drawing of deeds, wills, agreements, etc. A book of legal forms, together with copies of Blackstone on Principles of Law, and Boerhaave on Medicine, were not uncommon volumes in the libraries of the early clergy. When Mr. Chapman was settled, this condition of things was somewhat modified; but, in his public relations, he held much the same place. It was the acknowledged function of the minister, by his influence and teach- ing, to mould public sentiment in civil as well as in spiritual concerns. Our young pastor was endowed with a native energy of character, strong convictions, and a steadfastness of purpose, which fitted him at once to assume the responsibilities of his position. The parish, when he came to it, had been four years without a spiritual guide. During these years, the minds of the people had been distracted by the op- 196 History of the Oranges. pressive acts of the British Parliament, He found the spiritual condition of his church in a low state ; and the events which were coincident with, and which im- mediately followed, his installation, gave no promise of an auspicious adjustment of affairs. The clouds that had been gathering on the political horizon, were beginning to overcast the heavens. They broke, ten years thereafter, in open war and revolution. During this time, he was not unmindful of his mission as a minister of Christ. His interest in his calling is illustrated, when, in 1770, he wrote to Dr. Bellamy: "It is a time of carelessness among us, about the great things of religion." He would not have written thus to his friend and instructor, if he had not a fixed purpose to preach the Gospel, how- ever discouraging its reception might be to him who proclaimed it. His Christian zeal is further manifest- ed in the same letter, when he says:- "There is a general awakening in our college;" and when he re- marks that he had spent a week there by invitation, during which time he was wholly occupied in preach- ing, talking privately with the students, and meeting them in "their praying societies." In another letter, written in 1772, to the same gentleman, he again speaks of a revival of religion at Elizabethtown and at "our college," which "has been general ;" and alludes to a very pressing invitation to visit Princeton, which he says he intends "to comply with." He had been four years in the parish when he first visited the college. That he was invited there shows the reputation he had acquired as a preacher, and also how cordially he felt towards the institution itself. He was an alumnus of Yale; yet, he wrote of "our college" as that to which he had given his heart. During all the years of Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 197 his residence in New Jersey, he was its zealous patron, and, in 1795, was elected one of its trustees. ^ Mr. Chapman was a lineal descendant, in the fifth generation, of Robert Chapman, who emigrated to America in 1635, and settled at Saybrook, Ct., where he purchased lands of the Indians. These lands have been held by his posterity through the succeeding gen- erations. The head of each tribe bore the name of Eobert. Thus, Robert Chapman (4) was the father of Jedidiah (5), who was born September 27, 1741, at East Haddam, Ct. ; where his father, a son of Robert (3), had been born, and had been one of the first proprietors of the town. The mother of Jedidiah was Hester, daughter of John Kirtland, Junior. She married, first. Major Jedidiah Chapman, of West Brook ; and, sec- ondly, Robert Chapman (4). Jedidiah, the subject of this notice, was educated at Yale College, whence he received his degree in 1762. After two years of theo- logical study, he was licensed to preach the Gospel, and, in his twenty-fifth year, was ordained by Presby- tery, Saybrook had already sent two of its sons to the Mountain Society; both having been trained as Congregationalists. In 1766, Mr. Chapman, with his Saybrook traditions, and of the like ecclesiastical tendencies, came to occupy the same field of pas- toral work. His subsequent history, from his ordina- tion by Presbytery to the close of his life, in 1813, was distinguished by his devotion to the extension and prosperity of the Presbyterian system. About two years after Mr. Chapman was settled over the Mountain Society, he married Blanche Smith, the daughter of a respectable family in New England. By r. Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society, Vol. VI., p. 174. 198 History of the Oranges. her he had three children, namely : William Smith, ^ Robert Hett, ^ and John Hobart. The last named died in infancy. Mrs. Chapman died, November 21, 1773, and her earthly remains are buried in the old grave- yard. He married again, (probably in 1777) the second wife being Margaretta, the daughter of Dr. Peter LeConte, ^ of Middletown, in Freehold township, Mon- mouth county, N. J. Her first born son was called Peter LeConte. * From the very beginning of Mr. Chapman' s pastor- ate, he was an uncompromising defender of Colonial rights. When war came, he espoused the patriot cause with his whole soul. He preached Rebellion in the pulpit, and taught it from house to house. No portion of his large parish was forgotten. Every fire- 1. William Smith Chapman was born in 1769. He married twice : first, Abby, a daughter of Nathaniel Beach, of Newark, N. J. ; and, second, her sister Sarah. The first wife, together with her two daughters, were killed at Amsterdam, N. Y., in 1832, in a run-away accident, by being thrown from a bridge. He had issue also by the second marriage. 2. Robert Hett Chapman was born in 1771 ; was graduated at Princeton College in 1789 ; was licensed by the Presbytery of New York and Philadel- phia in 1793 : and was settled at Rahway, N. J. He married Hannah, a daughter of Isaac Amett, of Elizabethtown, and by her had twelve children. He died in 1833. One of his sons, also called Robert Hett, was a prom- inent clergyman of the Presbyterian Church in the South ; and died at Asheville, N. C, on October 30, 1884. 3. Peter LeConte was a Huguenot, who settled in New Jersey as early as 1734. He married Valeria Eaton, a daughter of John Eaton, one of the first settlers of Eatontown, in the same State. The Doctor died January 29, 1768. His wife survived him for twenty years, and, during the principal part of that time, resided with her daughter, Mrs. Chapman, at Orange When she died, in 1788, she was interred in the parish graveyard. 4. This son dropped the name of Chapman, when he was a young man, and was afterwards known by his baptismal name only. Family tradition says that he did this in order to oblige a young woman whom he wished to marry, and who did not find favor with the Chapmans. He was graduated at Princeton in 1797 ; became eminent as a lawyer ; and for many years was an elder in the Presbyterian Church at Ovid, N. Y. He had several chil- dren ; one of whom became a clergyman, and died in 1847. Some of the daughters, if not all of thorn, removed to and settled in Illinois. Rev. Jedidiah Chapjnan. 199 side was quickened by his stirring words of " Resist- ance to Oppression." He took frequent counsel with McWhorter of Newark, Caldwell of Elizabeth, and Green of Hanover, as to the best methods of meeting the crisis. His parish abounded with tories ; the more numerous because it was practically neutral ground, contiguous to the enemy' s lines, and open to the ma- rauding bands of hostile troops. The whigs were at all times in danger of robbery and death. Chapman, himself, was a marked man. He was oftentimes com- pelled to flee from his home for safety. More than once he served as a volunteer chaplain in the army. In our extracts from Jemima Cundict's diary will be found a record of a farewell sermon to his people, on the occasion of one departure for military service. He was not regularly commissioned, as were two of his coadjutors, McWhorter and Caldwell. His ringing voice and his eloquent appeals were none the less effi- cient, however, in encouraging the soldiers to heroic deeds. McWhorter left his home in Newark, to go with Washington and his army, when they were pur- sued by Cornwallis ; and together with one of his breth- ren, Rev. Mr. Vanarsdale, of Sj)ringfield, followed the retreat of the army to the other side of the Delaware. By invitation of the commander-in-chief, he was pres- ent and assisted in the council of war which decided the memorable re-crossing of the Delaware. In 1779, by a vote of the Town, Messrs. McWhorter, Chapman and others, were appointed "a Committee to give such instructions to our Legislatures in this Country from time to time as Occasions may require." ^ It is a tradition, and quite authentic, that the Moun- tain pastor was a leading agent in locating on the top I. Newark Town Records, p. 159. 20o History of the Oranges. of the first Mountain, and within his parish, the three signal stations which were to give notice to the inhab- itants of Morris County and to the military post at Mor- ristown, of the approach of danger from the enemy. One was near to, and a little north of, the South Or- ange and Morristown highway; another, at Orange, on the top of the Mountain, in a direct line with Main Street. Until within a few years, a tall tree marked the spot. It has been cut down in the process of im- provements. The third was a little north of the Bloom- field and Caldwell highway, opposite Squiretown, now North Montclair. Mr. Chapman, with his wife, came to the Newark Mountains in his early manhood. At last, the war was ended. He had served the parish faithfully for thirty-four years. He had buried the fathers of the settlement, who welcomed him at his coming, and had given him the sympathy and counsel of their matured Christian life. He had suffered, in common with his people, all the perils and privations of the war ; and had united with them in thanksgivings to God for its successful termination. Now there stood around him the young men and women, upon whom he had placed the seal of the covenant in their infancy, and for whom he cherished the affection of a spiritual father. The changed social relations in this parish at the close of the war, were not pleasant for the veteran min- ister to contemplate, and hindered his success as a teacher and guide. The animosities of the conflict, had alienated him from some of his people. The new political issues which had arisen, created new lines of division. Mr. Chapman was a Federalist. His love of country prompted him to be as ardent in his new political belief, as he had been in the patriotism of his Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 201 earlier years. In the bitterness of party spirit, which has had no parallel in our subsequent history as a nation, estrangements between families, neighbors and friends were of every day occurrence. That Mr. Chap- man was earnest and unyielding in his politics, cannot be doubted. His whole life in the past had shown that he would follow the Hight as he understood it, in the fear of Grod, and that he would not turn aside through any fear of man. On a certain parade day of the Orange Battalion, ^ under the command of Major Amos Harrison, the son of Mr. Chapman was standing in front of Munn's Tavern, (now the Park House,) wearing the Federal cockade. A certain Republican, named Condit, who happened to be somewhat excited by liquor, knocked off young Chapman s hat. An altercation ensued, and a few blows were exchanged between the two men. The affair started a great discussion throughout the parish, and, when Sunday came, the minister preached about it. Major Harrison was a deacon in the church, one of the minister's tried friends, and withal a strong Republican. He sought an interview with his pastor, and told him in plain English that he must " Stop, or leave the parish." How the old dominie received it, we know not ; but the threat seems to indicate that his removal was an event which had even then begun to be considered. That a majority of the parish was I. After the peace, the martial spirit was still fostered among the younger men, by the voluntary organization of a battalion of light horse, of seven companies, consisting of thirty or forty men each. It was made up of the sons of the farmers in Essex County, who furnished their own uniforms and equipments at a cost of over one hundred dollars each ; a large sum in those days. It was maintained with much spirit till after the War of 1 812. At that time it was ready for service. Aaron Harrison was then Major. Jesse Williams was the last who held that office. Edward Truman Hillyer, a son of Rev. Dr. Asa Hillyer, was the last Captain of the Orange Company before it was disbanded. 202 History of the Oranges. in sympathy with him, appears from the fact that, in 1799, his salary was increased, and efficient measures adopted to secure its collection. This occurred not- withstanding the formation, in the year before, of the church in Bloomlield, with fifty-nine of its members drawn from the old parish. The sermons which he left in manuscript, display a clear knowledge of Gospel truth and a logical mind. They are pervaded with an ardent zeal for the increase of practical Godliness among men. The formation of two new societies out of his own during his ministry, and the active part he took in their formation, illus- trate his desire to extend the bounds of Zion, even although it should diminish the strength of his own parish. The times in which he served the church in New Jersey, were not favorable to religious progress. It was emphatically a period of seed-sowing — not of in- gathering. We cannot doubt that the great spiritual harvests, which were reaped here in the early part of the present century, were the matured fruit of the seed sown by Chapman, watered by his tears, and vitalized by his prayers. That fruit remains down to our own day. In 1800, Mr. Chapman received a call from the Gen- eral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, to assume the superintendence of its mission work in Western New York. He was present in Philadelphia in 1788, when the Assembly was first organized, and he preach- ed the sermon at its oiDening, as the Moderator of the last Synod, which at that time represented the whole body of Presbyterians in the United States. He had then a reputation for zeal and ability in the execu- tion of the work of the Assembly, which, probably, led to the call above mentioned, and which he ac- Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 203 cepted. He resigned his cliarge in Orange in the month of August, 1800, and left to enter, at the age of threescore years, upon untried mission work in the western wilds. It is not surprising that he said to a friend, 1 who accompanied him as far as New York, where he was to begin' his western journey : "I can- not bear to leave my old church ;' ' nor are we sur- prised at the reply: "Well, Mr. Chapman, go back with me ; we shall be glad to have you stay with us." His wavering answer to this hearty and affectionate aj)peal was, no doubt, in accord with the designs of a wise Providence : ' ' No — no — it has gone too far, now. ' ' Our plan does not admit of an extended notice of the last twelve years of our old minister's life. When he left Orange, he was commissioned to supervise the missionary work of the General Assembly, in a part of the Military Tract in the then wilderness of Western New York. This tract embraced 1,680,000 acres, now constituting seven counties, viz : Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Cortland, the most of Tompkins, Oswego and Wayne. ^ Rev. Mr. Chapman, of the Presbytery of New York, and the Rev. John Lindsley, of the Presbytery of Albany, were the first ministers of the Presbyterian Church who came into Western New York as perman- ent residents, and for several years they were the only ministers there of that denomination. Mr. Chapman was directed to take up his residence 1. James Crane. 2. On July 25, 1782, the State of New York passed an act setting apart a certain portion of its lands for the payment of military bounties to the soldiers of the State who had served in the War of the Revolution. The section so set apart was called the " Military Tract." It was surveyed into twenty-eight townships, each containing one hundred lots of si.x hundred acres each. Every private soldier and non-commissioned officer of the State troops had one lot. The officers more, according to rank. 204 History of the Oranges. in some place convenient for accomplishing the As- sembly's plans; to make himself acquainted with the whole field, and report to the Assembly ; as a mis- sionary bishop, to perform annually six months' labor on a tour through the destitute settlements, organiz- ing churches and preaching the Gospel. During the remaining six months of the year, he was expected to minister to some congregation where he might obtain compensation for his services. Thus he continued in, and ministered to, the church at Greneva, N. Y., (which he is believed to have organized in 1800,) until 1812, when, in connection with the Rev. Henry Axtel, he was installed its collegiate pastor. This relation was dissolved by his decease, ten months thereafter. He died. May 22d, 1813. On the Sabbath previous to his departure, he preached to his people from II. Tim. iv : 7-8: "I have fought a good light," etc. He was seized in his pulpit with the sickness which terminated in his death, in the 52d year of his minis- try, and at the age of 72 years. Hotchkin, in his memorial sketch of Jedidiah Chapman, says of him : " He was an active, laborious minister, whether engaged in the duties of the pastor, or the more laborious work of a mission- ary in the wilderness. * * * He was permitted to see the fruit of his labor in the conversion of souls and their ingathering into the visible folds of Christ. * * * j^g ^as a man of ardent piety, of pure morals, urbane in his manners, sound in the faith, instructive in his preaching, possessing a highly cultivated mind and an acceptable mode of address. * * * j^ his the- ological views he embraced what, at that day, was denominated the system of the New School. * * * He possessed a sound judgment, and stood high in the estimation of his brethren. * * * His appointment as a permanent missionary, with a general supervision of missionary concerns, is highly indicative of the confidence placed in his judgment, integrity and diligence." 73 O Z 00 ■< ?3 D m D > n X > > z: .•."^,. t:*-- > ^^l^^v s •X ^ >N. -^ , ^>?; ^t ^ ? r > ^ Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 205 Notes of a Sermon by Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. Lords Day 21 Nov. 1791. Orange Dale P. M. No. 9. 1 801. Geneva 14 Augst 1803. Text, Isai. 32 : 8. I. Describe ye liberal man. II. Shew how by liberal things he shall stand. I impt. I. Some have no other Idea of a lib' man but one wo is free in giving away his mony but we under ye Gospel ought to know better. 1. The lib' considers ye universe one Family. 2. God ye great parent & Head. 3. himself & fellow Creatures members. 4. The Greatest gen' good of the whole the common Interest. 5. with these liberal views he feels his soul enlarged, & gives up himself & all to promote ye gen' cause &c and serve ye common interest. thus his feelings and act"s are govern^ by supreme love to god & universal good will to mankind, so he deviseth liberal things. thus with him it is more Blessed to give than to receive. II. Shew how by liberal things he shall stand. 1. our Text affirms it. 2. The Apostles reasoning confirms it. i Cor. 13 c i. 3. All the promises support it. 4. It is impossible y*^ ye liberal man should finally fail. for ye cause in w^ he is engaged and where his Interest lies shall forever stand. but he stands not of debt, merit or desert, but it is of the bound- less mercy & Grace of God thro' J. X. We learn impt. 1. That true relig" has a direct Tendency to make men liberal. 2. That a person has no more of True relig" than he has of liberallity. 3. how different this liberallity f™ that wc is carnal and selfish. 4. the liberal man has the greatest incourgement in ye or ys life & another. 206 History of the Oranges. 1768. Nov. 23- 16. June 28. Aug. 31- Nov. I. Ap. 17- 5. We see w' an errant fool, w' an odious wretch y^ selfish man is. 6. here is something that ye natur has nothing of however generous. 7. here wt matter of shame yt professors no more liberallity. Record of the Mountain Society during the Pastorate OF Rev. Jedidiah Chapman, from 1766 to 1783, inclusive. entered into covenant. 1766. Sep. 8. Abigail, wife of Job Crane. Crane, Rhoda, w. of Stephen Crane. Tompkins, Sarah, dau. of Obadiah. Cesar, the negro servant of Elder Pierson. 1767. June 28. Baldwin, Aaron, and wife. Freeman, Joseph, and w. Baldwin, Aaron, Elizth dau. of. Crane, Eleakim, w. of. " Smith, Joseph, Jr. Phebe, w. of. " Harrison, Jared, and w. Hannah. " Bostedo, Sarah. " Baldwin, Josiah. Dec. Soverill, widow Jane. Pierson, Phebe, w. of Dr. Matthias. Camfield, Mary. Williams, Hannah. 1774. July 10. Quimby, Josiah, w. of. Jones, James, Hannah, w. of. Mun, Phebe. Dod, Moses. Baldwin, Jonathan. Baldwin, Eunice. Oct. 16. Williams, Sam' w. of. Jones, Cornelius, Joanna w. of.' Harrison, Simeon, Hannah w. of. Harrison Isaac, w. of. Quimby, Moses, Mary w. of. Vincent, Levi, Mary w. of. Crane, Timothy, and Sarah his w. Canfield, Jos., Phebe w. of. Smith, Hiram. Baldwin, Simeon. Akin, William. Rev. Jedidiah Chapman. 207 Crane, Eliz'h Harrison, Phebe. Jones, Phebe. Mun, Abigail. Mun, Sarah. Headden, Mary. Gray, Elizt^h- Coalman, Mary. Crane, Jonathan. Crane, Rachael. Crane, Matthias, and w. Elizabeth. 1776. Feb. 23. Lindsley, Ebenezer, w. of. Crane, Samuel. Bostedo, Agnes. Ward, Bethuel, Hannah w. of. 1783. June I. Jacob Callahan, and Rachel wife, joined from Horse-neck. Sept. Tomkins, Job. Nov. Bruen, Timothy, w. of. ) Bruen, Charlotte, their daugh. \ Crane, Hannah, w. of Joseph. Dec. 21. Crane, Joseph. David Gardner, 1767, John Gilderslceve, 1767, Ebenezer Hedden, 1767, were chh. mem- bers, and also John Jones, in 1774. RECORD OF BAPTISMS BY MR. CHAPMAN. 1765. Oct. 12. Jared, son of John Peck. Rhoda, dau. Daniel Riggs. Jane, dau. Timothy Davis. Gershom, son widow Martha Williams, 1767. Jan. 18. Sibel, dau. Djvid Gardiner. Jane, dau. Arthur Perry. Mary, dau. Elder Crane. Nehemiah, son Timothy Ward. Mary, dau. Silas Baldwin. Jeptha, son Isaac Dod. Rachael, ) Phebe, > children of Joseph Freeman. Samuel, ) " " Lois, dau. Stephen Crane. Nov. 15. Lydia, dau. George Parsonette. William, son John Gray. Dec. 27. Desire, dau. John Freeman. Nov. 16. Jan. 18. Feb. 1. Mar. 29. May 31- June 7- " 28. Aug. 31- Mar. 6. Ap. 17. July 24. Oct. 2. " 13- Dec. 25. 208 History of the Oranges. 1768. Jan. 18. EUzabeth, j ^^^^^ ^f g^^j j^^^ Amos, son William Crane. iar"ah^' [ ^aughrs Joseph Smith, Jr. Mary, dau. David Harrison. 1768. Oct. 2. Zenas, son of Richard and Elizabth Harrison, Joanna, dau. Joseph and Phebe Smith. Elizabeth, dau. Samuel Dod. '• '' SaravT' [ ^^"' ^^ Phebe and D>- Pierson. 1769. Jan. I. Caleb, son Samuel Condit, Jr. Phebe, dau. Nathaniel and Eunice Ogden. Esther, dau. Jared and Hannah Harrison. Elizabeth, dau. John Peck. David, son Elihu Pierson, and Elizabeth d. of Jeremiah Martin. Josiah, son Eliakim Crane. Phebe, dau. Arthur Perry. Rachael, dau, John Headden. Job, son Silas Baldwin. Silvanus, son Timothy Davis. EHzabeth [ child" Benjamin Baldwin. Electa, dau. Aaron Baldwin. 1770. Feb. 18. Lidia, dau. Benj" Mun. Jairus, son Isaac Dod. Wm. Smith, son of Jedidiah Chapman, Pastor. Naomi, dau. Eunice Cundit, widow. Jeremiah, son Stephen Crane. Jane, ) children of Caesar, Deac. Pierson's Lois, \ negro. Abigail, d. Timothy Ward, Junr. Elijah, son John Freeman. 1771. Aug. 19. Nehemiah, son Elder Crane, (Noah). Isaac, son Phebe, wife of Matthias Pierson. Samuel, son of Samuel and Thankful Crowel. 1774. Feb. 27. Sarah, dau. of Caleb and Rebecca Baldw-in. Uzal, son Jonathan and Mary Crane. Mary. dau. Joseph and Esther Baldwin. Zenas, son Samuel and Mary Crane. Rachael, dau. John and Hannah Jones. Eunice, dau. Benjamin Baldwin. Jos^eph, [^°"'-^°''^^^"'"^^y' ■' 29. Feb. 26. A p. 9- 16. 30- May 14- June 4- July 2. 9- Sep. 3- Dec. 6. Feb. 18. Mar. 4- 25. May 6. J3- 27. July 8. 22. Aug. 19. Sep. 9- Dec. 6. Feb. 27. Mar. i3- 26. Ap. I. July 10. Aug. 12. Rev. Jedidiah Chap^nan. 209 28. Janne, dau. John and Elizabeth Wright. Oct. 16. Smith, Hiram. Headden, Mary. " Children, ) of Hannah, w. of Simeon names not given, \ Harrison. Caleb V children of Mary, w. of Moses Iotham,i Q^i'nby. Child ot Mary, w. of Levi Vincent. 23. Abigail, dau. of Matthias and Elizti> Crane. 30. Phebe and ) ch^n of Phebe, w. of Isaac others. \ Harrison. Nov. Naomi, Samuel, Matthias, Nancy and Mary, the children of Cornelius Jones. 1775. Oct. Mary, dau. of Richard Harrison. Nov. Joanna, dau. of Joseph Baldwin. 19. Joanna, ? i „ / t h,t lose h f chn of Isaac Mun. 12. Linus, ) t ^ u T\ ^ Joseph, [^°"^°^J°hnDod. 26. Katharine, \ children of and Matthew, \ Thomas Williams, Jr. 30. Amos, son of Isaac Harrison. Dec. 18. Jane. dau. of John Freeman. 1776. April 7, Isaac, ) j^^^ g j^ J ^^j.^ ^j^j p^^^j^^j^ ane, > u- -t John.i h'^^'^^- 14. Mary, dau. of Ward. 21. Martha, dau. of Cornelius Jones. May 19. Prudence, dau. of Daniel Crowel. July 21. Phebe, dau. David Dod. Esther, dau. of Levi Vincent. 28. Samuel, son of Samuel Tomkins. Aug. 4. Sarah, dau. Stephen Crane. Sarah, dau. of John and Elizabeth Wright. Sep. Nathaniel, son of Thomas Grant of New York. Lydia, dau. Jonas Crane. 1779. Jan. 17. Stephen Bradford, son of Stephen Crane. " Abner, son of Samuel Dod. 1781. Sep. 2. Robert, son of Aaron Dod, 23. Hannah, dau. of Hannah and Simeon Harrison. Bethuel, son of Abigail and Zadoc Baldwin. Oct. Jesse, son of Dorcas and Thomas Williams, Jr. Nov. 17. Mary, dau. of Phebe and Matthias Pierson. Unis, dau. Richard Harrison. 3°- Ap. 6. 13- May i6. 2IO History of the Oranges. 1782. Jan. 20. Rhoda, dau. Erastus Pierson. Hannah, dau. Bethuel Ward. Stephen, son of Ruth and John Mun. Nov. Elizabeth, dau. of Samuel and Mary Crane, of Horseneck. 1783. Mar. 23. Mary Valeria, dau. of Jedidiah and Margt Chapman. {f '"^^' . \ sons of Mr. Conolly. Benjamin, \ ■' Mary, dau. Zadoc Hedden. Henry Earl, son Sam^ Crowel. Elias, son of Permenas Riggs. 23. Hannah Allen, dau. Joseph Tomkins, of Horseneck. June I. Nancy, ^ Thomas, I children of Jacob and Rachael Phebe, [ Gallahan. Cyrus, J 22. Esther Williams, on ac. of John and Mary Tichenor. Martha Williams, on ac. of Jedidiah Freeman and his wife. '• Anna, ) the children of the widow Williams on Silas, \ her account. July 6. Timothy, son of Timothy and Sarah Ward. Sept. {)°"„fei ^"' I sons of Job Tomkins. Dec. 14. Hannah, dau. of Jonathan Baldwin. ^'" Nathaniel, H°"'°^J°^^P^^'^"^- " Nancy, "| Thomas, {^ j^jjj„ ^ ^^^^^ Qxzx^&. Jeptha, j Hannah, J 1784. Mar. 14. Isaac, son of John and Ruth Mun. " 21. Caleb, son of Joseph and Mary Baldwin. CHAPTER X. AFTEE THE WAR — PEACE. TO the inhabitants of Great Britain, the cessation of hostilities and the treaty of peace were welcome events. Not so were they viewed by the tories in America, who had indulged their hatred toward the land of their birth, and had given aid and comfort to its enemy. They had fattened on their illegal traffic outside the reiDublican lines, had served in the royal army, had been flattered by promotion to posts of honor, and had fostered their ambition for higher and more permanent rewards, as they waited with assur- ance for the approaching day of British success.. In September, 1781, Prince William Henry, .the third son of George III., a midshipman under Ad- miral Digby, arrived in the Bay of New York. Being heir to the throne, he was an object of intense in- terest to the refugees, ^ who were gathered at Fort De- lancy, on Bergen Neck. On October 1st, 1781, (it being I. These refugees were mostly from the Newark Mountain region and that adjoining. The following advertisement appeared on December 23d, 1780, in Rivington's Gazette : " All Loyal Refugees that are in want of employ- ment and can bring proper certificates of their loyalty, and are willing to enter themselves under Capt. Thomas Ward, now commanding the im- portant post of Bergen Point, will meet with the greatest encouragement by applying to Capt. Homfrey, at the sign of the Ship, corner of Fair [Fulton] Street and Broadway." This Captain (or Major) Thomas Ward, was a noted, blood-thirsty tory, from the Hackensack district. 2T2 History of the Oranges. twenty days before the capture of Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown,) in behalf of the motley crew gar- risoned at Fort Delancy, Major Thomas Ward and his officers presented the following address : "To His Royal Highness, Prince William Henry. " We, his Majesty's dutiful and most loyal subjects, the refugees stationed on Bergen Neck, beg leave to address your Royal High- ness (through the channel of our commanding officer,) on the satisfaction that is visible in the face of every individual belong- ing to our small party, at so distinguished an honor paid to the loyal inhabitants of this continent by the arrival of so amiable and distinguished a character as the son of our Royal Sovereign. "The measures pursued by a designing, base set of men early in this unnatural contest, obliged us to leave our habitations and fly for safety to his Majesty's troops ; since which we have let our persecutors (who meant our destruction,) feel the effects of our resentment, and convince them that we contended for that which every man at the risk of his life ought to defend. " Therefore, we flatter ourselves that your Royal Highness is convinced of our sincerity, of our attachment to their Majesties, and the Royal progeny, (which we are always ready to give fresh proof of,) praying for that day when rebellion may be crushed and peace may be established throughout this continent, and his Majesty's standard displayed triumphant by land and sea. May heaven protect your Royal Highness in time of danger, and per- mit you to return crowned with the laurels of victory to your Royal Parents!"! About one year after this brilliant effusion, Fort Delancy was evacuated. The loss of population, by banishment and the vol- untary exile of the tory element to the British domin- ions, was less a cause of regret to the people of East Jersey, than were the disturbing effects of the war upon the harmony of their social and domestic rela- T. Winfield's History of Hudson County, N. J., p. 196, The Mountain Society. 213 tions. Discord had rent asunder and destroyed the happiness of families, and the old-fashioned inter- course between neighbors had been greatly impaired. For many long years, the terms Wliig and Tory were cherished and freely used. The bitterness descended to the children who were bom after the war. In their sports and games, — at ball, at marbles, at snow- balling, and in the construction of snow forts in winter, they grouped themselves according to the tra- ditions of their fathers. It was not until the War of 1812, that the old animosities gave place to a cordial unity of popular sentiment. The demoralizing effects of the seven years' conflict had disturbed the economies of our community of thriving farmers. Moral influences had lost much of their jDower, over the better impulses of every rank and condition of men. Removal from religious and social restraints, neglect of the Sabbath, drunkenness, vice and immorality — the bitter dregs of all war — pre- vailed in every neighborhood. ' ' All sorts of worldly amusements absorbed the thoughts of the young, even in the most respectable and religious families." But evidences of a return to better things soon began to show themselves. Farming, manufacturing, and aU religious and educational interests were quickened into activity, and it was not long before the people of the Newark Mountains returned with vigor and enthusiasm to the cultivation of the arts of peace. THE MOUISTTAIN SOCIETY. Inthe first year of peace the Mountain Society, which for sixty-five years had been a religious body, applied to the Assembly of the State of New Jersey for an act of incorporation. It was granted on June 11, 1783. Joseph Riggs, Esq.,. John Range, Dr. Matthias Pier- 214 History of the Oranges. son, Stephen Harrison, Jr., Samuel Dod and John Dod, were thereby appointed ' ' Trustees of the Second Presbyterian Church of Newark." In case of death, removal or other incapacity of any of said trustees, the act provided that the vacancy, thus made, should be filled by such person or persons from the congre- ^/- ^ gation of the church iL^tT^-Tl^lyZ-^J^L-jQ.^ as the minister, eld- // ers and deacons, con- vened for that purpose, should choose. It also pro- vided that the minister, elders and deacons should have power, if they deemed it proper and for the benefit of the congregation, to remove and displace any trustee or trustees, and to elect and choose any person or persons, to supply the place or places of the trustee or trustees so removed. The act also provided that the trustees to be apx^ointed under it, and their suc- cessors, previous to entering upon their office, should take and subscribe to the oath of allegiance to the State, prescribed in the act entitled "An act for the security of the Government of New Jersey," passed /I ^~^ i' the nineteenth of ^(Z^^^^'^^^ ^^^ September, 1776, together with the oath of ofiice, to execute the trust reposed in them, with fidelity, etc. ^ The power vested in the minister, elders and dea- cons to appoint the trustees of the parish, gave great dissatisfaction to the people, whose democratic senti- I. The parish records show the "Oaths of Obligation and Allegiance," which were taken by the Trustees, at their first meeting in 1783, after the passage of the act. They read thus : " I do solemnly sware that I do not hold my self Bound to bear allegiance to the King of Great Britain ; I do Solemly Profess and Sware that I do and will bear True faith and allegiance to the Government Established in this State under the Authority of the People." The Church at Caldwell. 215 ments were becoming strengthened as the new order of things in a popular government was working out its logical result. Upon a petition to the Legislature, the charter was amended in June, 1790, making "all regular supporters of the Gospel in said congrega- tion," to be electors in the choice of trustees; the election to be made annually on the second Thursday in April, by a plurality of votes. We may add, \vith propriety, that the time for holding the election of trustees was changed, in 1829, to the first day of Jan- uary, and again, in 1856, to the second Monday in April, of each year. THE CHUECH AT CALDWELL. Horse Neck was a part of the great Indian Pur- chase., made about 1700; amounting in all to 13,500 acres, ^ and lying west of the territory granted by the Lords Proprietors in the Newark xDatent. It contained, in 1716, about thirty-five families. The majority of the people there "paid little, if any, regard to law, human or divine. They regarded the Sabbath but as a day of sports. * * * ^ Horse-racing and cock- fighting were prevalent pastimes." In their inter- course with the Indians, they are described ' ' as cor- rupting and being corrupted." ^ It was not uncommon to find men unable to write their names. They lived isolated, in rude log huts, on mountain paths, by springs, or wherever they could get a foothold ; and with them it was a struggle to provide the simplest means of subsistence. There were some among these rude people who were God-fearing ; many of them were descendants from a pious ancestry ; and the neighboring ministers who occasionally visited X. Elizabethtown Bill in Chancer)'. 2. Historical Sketch, by Rev. C. T. Berry. 2i6 History of the Oranges. and preached the Gospel to them in their homes, in the open air, and in barns, found some hearts open to the truth. Darby, of Parsippany ; Green, of Hanover ; Caldwell, of Elizabethtown ; and Chapman, of the Mountain Society ; regarded the whole region as mis- sionary ground. 1 About 1770, the fruits of these efforts gradually appeared. Meetings began to be held on the Sabbath ; and if a minister could not be had, printed sermons were read, or an hour was occu- pied with religious conference and prayer. Preaching and other regular services being seldom enjoyed, those who could do so attended the exercises at the meeting- house of the Mountain Society. In a few years, an effort was made to build a house of worship in their own neighborhood, and the enterprise was begun by bringing together the materials for the purpose ; but the War of 1776 arrested the work, and the timber was spoiled. In 1779, the movement was renewed, as appears by the first entry (made Febru- ary 20th,) in the parish records of the "Presbyterian Congregation of Horse Neck." But the new church did not flourish, although watched over by Mr. Chap- man, whose labors were attended with a revival of re- ligion ; and many of the people, professing their faith in Christ, became members of the Mountain Society. On December 3, 1784, (after the war,) the Caldwell Church began its ecclesiastical existence. After a sermon by Mr. Chapman, forty persons subscribed to a declaration of belief, as holding the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, and entered into covenant as a Christian Church. ^ 1. Historical Sketch, by Rev. C. T. Berry. 2. The declaration and covenant were, doubtless, copied by Mr. Chap- man from the form then in use in his own church, as they are almost wholly in the same words as those which were in use in the Orange First Church down to 1859 ; when, during the pastorate of Rev. James Hoyt, a new form was adopted, but without change of sentiment and belief. The Church at Caldwell. 217 The church was constituted Presbyterian, and elders and deacons were elected. Like many other churches in New Jersey, the Cald- well Church did not apply for a charter at the time of its formation, but the Legislature, upon petition, passed, on March 16, 178G, an enabling act, which authorized and empowered every society or congregation of Chris- tians, of whatever creed, entitled to protection by the laws of the State, to meet and assemble for worship, and to preserve its organization by the election of trustees ; and, being thus constituted as a body politic and corporate, by whatever name it might have chosen, to have perpetual succession, with all the privileges and powers of corporations ; provided, however, that the body should consist of at least thirty families, statedly assembling at one place of worship. By accepting the terms of this act, the long-strug- gling church began its corporate existence in 1787, as the ''First Presbyterian Church of Caldwell." 1 Three years elapsed before the church was provided with a settled pastor. During this interval it was fostered by the oversight and care of Pastors Green, Chapman, Jones and McWhorter, of the parishes contiguous thereto. The Rev. Stephen Grover was installed pastor, June 22d, 1788, and served till October, 1833. He died in 1836, aged 77. Among his successors was the Rev. Richard F. Cleveland, (1834-1840,) who was the father of Grover Cleveland, one of the Presidents of the United States. I. Caldwell became a township, in 1798 ; it being formed from Newark and Acquackanonk, about seven miles long and four miles wide. The name of the township was selected in honor of the Rev. James Caldwell, of Eliz- abethtown. 2i8 History of the Oranges. THE CHURCH AT BLOOMFIELD. The secoud enterprise to which the Mountain Soci- ety contributed from its membership, was at Bloom- field. For more than a century the settlers there had no organized church of their own, and had worshiped at Newark and Orange. Measures for a new organiza- tion were begun about 1794, when a petition was pre- sented to the Presbytery, asking that the people re- siding in that part of the town should be formed into a distinct congregation, as the "Third Presbyterian Church in the township of Newark." ^ The Presbytery advised the measure, but being doubtful as to the ability of the petitioners to sustain a stated minister, the constitution of a church in due form did not take place till June, 1798. Mr. Chapman being commissioned by Presbytery to perfect the same, it was then constituted by eighty-two members ; fifty- nine from his own congregation, and twenty- three from that of Newark. Its first settled pastor was Rev. Abel Jackson, who served for eleven years. THE BAPTIST CHURCH AT NOETHFIELD. In Jemima Cundict's diary (1772-1778,) a part of which is transcribed in our pages, is a memorandum to the effect that " Mr. Runnels preached at the Moun- tain, and that two persons," whom she names, "were dipt." It is significant as giving, probably, the record I. Rev. Stephen Dodd says that the congregation never seems to have adopted the name. It bore for a short time the name of the " Church at Wardsesson," a corruption of the old Indian name Watsessing. At a meet- ing in 1796, the name Wardsesson was dropped, and that of Bloomfield was adopted, in consideration of the generous aid rendered it by Gen. Joseph Bloomfield, of Burlington, who was a man of wealth, and who, amid their perplexities, had interested himself in helping them in the construction of a suitable building for the worship of God. Baptist Church at Northfield. 2 1 9 of the first missionary effort of the Baptists in the Newark Mountains. This missionary was the Rev. Reune Runyon, (Je- mima's spelling was phonetic,) who was ordained in Morristown in 1772, and had oversight of the church there till 1780. ^ He was a zealous man, and success- ful in promoting the Bai>tist cause. Edwards says of him, "He is remarkable for dexterity in adminster- ing baptism. On June 30, 1786, a gentleman held his watch in his hand till he had baptised thirty in tifty- eight minutes." He was pastor of the church in Piscataway from 1783, for nearly thirty years. =» In the year 1768, a Baptist meeting-house was built at Lyons Farms. Obed Dunham, who lived at Canoe Brook, now Northlield, beyond the Second Mountain, invited Mr. Runyon and others to preach at his house. They interested the people to such a degree that nine persons were baptised, all of whom joined the Lyons Farms congregation. They soon found it inconven- ient to attend religious services in a church so far from their homes, and for this reason took theii- dismissions from that church, and resolved to organize a new so- ciety. On April 9, 1786, eleven persons, including Dunham and his wife, were constituted as a church. In three years, though the population was sparse, the membership had increased to thirty-tive. Morgan Ed- wards says that Moses Edwards, who was one of the eleven that were first baptised and who was made a deacon, was "remarkable for what is called in Scot- land 'second sight.' He foresaw who should fall at Springfield the day before the skirmish, and went to the persons and bid them prepare for death. He f ore- 1. Morgan Edwards' Notes on the History of the Baptists in New Jersey. 2. Ibid. 220 History of the Oranges. saw the soldier who stole his knapsack and the place where he hid it, and went to the officer of the guard to complain. The officer drew out his soldiers. Ed- wards challenged the thief. The thief confessed the act, and the knapsack was found in the place where Edwards said it would be. There are many instances and credible, from the character of the visionary and attestations of others."* In the early days of the church at Canoe Brook, the meetings were held in the old stone school-house, which occupied the site of the present school building. A few years later, the society bought a house with a lot of four and a half acres, and fitted up the old building as a place of worship, by removing the upper floor, and erecting a gallery. For the first year, it was served by temporary preachers. Though the congre- gation had increased in numbers, it was not yet able to sux3port a settled minister. After 1791, it was report- ed to the New York Association as a destitute church, and was occasionally supplied through its aid. Its first deacon, one of its original members, was licensed to preach in 1798. He had no learning and few books, but possessed "eminent natural gifts." From Mon- day morning until Saturday night he worked upon his farm, or wrought at his trade as a blacksmith ; but on Sunday he entered the pulpit, without written notes, and often without previous study. The opened Bible suggested, at the moment, the text and the theme of his discourse. He received no stated salary. The voluntary contributions made by his people helped him to eke out a living. In these relations with the I. We record this extract less to accept the honest convictions of the good narrator upon the supernatural, than to show that the little handful of Bap- tists at Canoe Brook, like the great numbers of their sect throughout East Jersey, were among the fighting patriots of the Revolution. Baptist Church at Northfield. 221 church he remained until 1815, when he determined to migrate to Clermont, in Ohio. A contribution was made to provide an outfit for the departing pastor. He left his Jersey home, with two covered wagons, capacious enough for his family and household effects ; driving his own horses, by easy stages, through the mountain wilds of Pennsylvania and Ohio, which had been scathed by war and Indian ravages. He contin- ued to preach in Ohio until his death, in Bethel, May 4th, 1827, at the age of seventy one years. During Mr. Edwards' ministry, a new meeting-house was built. It was dedicated on December 22d, 1801. The pastors succeeding him were : Rev. John Watson ; who was followed by Augustine Elliott, in 1821 ; Stille T. Randolph, in 1840 ; Isaac M. Church, in 1841 ; John H. Waterbury, in 1846 ; and again by Mr. Church. The main highway from Newark to Hanover, in Morris County, passed through Northfield. But the hamlet did not grow rapidly. The iiighway was not much traveled. The church did not flourish. The Newark and Mt. Pleasant Turnpike, which was char- tered in 1806, offered a more direct communication with Morris County. It passed through the business centre of the township (Livingston,) and the centre was prospered while Northfield stagnated. Canoe Brook is nevertheless historic, and invites this memo- rial record of the first Baptist Church society in the Newark Mountains. Its centennial anniversary was celebrated two years ago. The historical sketch of th^ church, written by John R. Burnet in 1868, was read on that occasion. To it, and to Morgan Edwards' notes, is this writer indebted for the materials of this imperfect record. The original name of the church at Canoe Brook was changed to Northfield Baptist Church, in 1801, 222 History of the Oranges. when the society received its charter. In Jnne, 1851, fourteen members of the society withdrew to consti- tute the Livingston Baptist Church. A house of wor- ship was erected near the centre of the township, and is still in use. REV. ASA HILLYEE, D.D. After Mr. Chapman had closed his long and dis- tinguished pastorate, in August, 1800, the parish was without a settled minister for about fifteen months ; enjoying, for a season, the very acceptable services of Rev. Edward Dorr Griffin. It was the earnest wish of the people to have him for their permanent pastor. He was, however, called to the Newark Church, as col- league to Dr. Macwhorter, and he accepted the more desirable appointment. The Rev. Asa Hillyer was then settled over the Presbyterian Church at Bottle Hill, (now Madison,) N. J. He had achieved success there ; both as a pas- tor, and as a preacher. He had also done good work as an evangelist. In 1798, he had, at the request of the General Assembly, gone \ as a missionary into the wilderness of Western New York and Northern Pennsylvania. He was absent for nine weeks, and traveled more than nine hundred miles ; preaching nearly every day, and often twice a day, during the whole time. It is stated, that he preached the first Gospel sermon that was ever deliv- ered upon the site of the present city of Auburn, N. Y. Because of the proximity of Orange to Bottle Hill, as well as because of Mr. Griffin's intimacy with Mr. Hillyer, the Orange people knew the latter well. He had frequently ministered in their pulpit. Many of them were personally acquainted with him. And, so, ''pMfi- Rev. Asa Hilly er, D.D. 223 they turned their attention to him, as a good substi- tute for the man whom they at first had desired. The call was made on October 20, 1801 ; arid was signed / JJ ^^ Aaron Mun, tToseph yiA^/fyi -^/^^%>t.^Pierson, Jun^ .^^^^^^n ^//^ "^ AYilliams, Daniel Wil- liams, Samuel Condit and Isaac Pierson, as trustees ; and by Joseph Pierson, Junior, Amos Harrison, John Perry, Aaron Mun, Linus Dodd and Henry Osborne, as elders. ^ Mr. Hillyer promptly accepted the call, and he was installed on December 16th, of the same year. 2 The then existing condition of affairs in the parish was in sharply-drawn contrast with that of the last years of the pastorate of Mr. Chapman. The adop- tion of the Constitution of the United States in 1787, had brought the States into harmonious relations with each other. The rancor of political strife was soft- ened ; and the blight of French infidelity, which had spread over the whole land, was giving place every- yj where to purer moral /Zy/ . y^f^^^^y^l impulses, and to a /(/hAV (/ T ^^''® elevated relig- C>/ ^ ious sentiment. The years of peace, too, were bringing with them stability of purpose and increase of wealth. The varied arts of industry were prospered exceedingly. The general tone of the parish had undergone a marked change for the better, under the six months' ministerial services of Mr. Griffin. Concerning these services Mr. Hillyer 1. Orange Church Records. 2. The Church Records from 1800 to 1803 are lost. After the latter year they are complete, and show that the seed sown by Mr. Griffin yielded its fruit, in an abundant harvest, during the earlier years of Mr. Hillyer's ministry. 2 24 History of the Oranges. wrote, loug afterwards, to the author of the "Annals of the American PuliDit," as follows : " In no situation perhaps was Dr. Griffin more entirely at home than in a revival of religion. It was my privilege often to be with him in such circumstances ; and I knew not which to admire most, the skill with which he wielded the sword of the spirit, or the child- like dependence which was evinced by his tender and fervent sup- plications. Though he was certainly one of the most accom- plished pulpit orators of his time — on these occasions especially the power of his eloquence was lost sight of in the mighty effects which were produced. * * * * j^g wrought so mightily on the religious principles and affections of his audience, that they had not the time, or scarcely the ability, to marvel at the exalted gifts with which these effects were associated." 1 Like the scholarly and excellent Caleb Smith, the purpose of the new minister seemed to be, by his teachings and his example, so to enforce the great princijjles of the Christian faith upon his hearers, that they should illustrate them in all the relations and conditions of life — civil, social and religious. Nor was he narrow minded ; nor did he restrict his energy to the limits of his own parish or district. Every suggestion for the benefit of the community at large appealed to his sympathy, and called forth his personal efforts for its success. He assisted in the formation of the United Foreign Missionary Society ; afterwards merged in the American Board of Mis- sions, and of which he became a director. The great national societies for extending the knowledge of the Gospel, which Avere established in the early years of this century, received his encouragement. He cher- ished a lively interest in their operations, and contrib- uted his time and means generously to their support. 1. Annals of the American Pulpit, Vol. IV., p. 39. Rev. Asa Hilly er, D.D. 225 In 1811, lie was made a trustee of the College of New Jersey, and held the oflEice to the close of his life. In 1812, he was chosen one of the first managers of the Princeton Theological Seminary, and retained the po- sition until the division of the Presbyterian Church. In 1818, he was made a Doctor of Di\initY by Alle- ghany College. ^Vlien the church was divided into Old and New School, in 1837, Dr. Hillyer, with the Newark Presbytery, of which he was a member, became identified with the New School branch. Although he regarded the division as unwise, it did not alter his old- time relations with those from whom he was thereby separated. In the winter of 1839-40, he was enfeebled by a dis- ease, under which his physical force rapidly declined. His last public address was at the communion of his church, less than four weeks before he was taken from them. The occasion was one of deep interest to the congregation, as to himself— the aged pastor, rapidly approaching the gates of death. It was in the nature of reward for conscientious and well-directed effort, that he witnessed the accession of an unusually large number to the roll of membership. He had resigned the active duties of his charge in 1833. From tha time until his decease, he employed himself, on secu- lar days, in visiting his people at their homes, and in occasional religious services in public ; but, on the Sabbath, his voice was frequently heard in one or another of the three Presbyterian pulpits of the town. Wherever he went, he was welcome ; whatever he said or did, he was loved, honored and revered. Dr. Hillyer was a little above the ordinary stature, and of a fine commanding presence; with regular features, and a benign, attractive ex])ression of coun- tenance. He was remarkable for his prudence of 15 226 History of the Oranges. speecli and blandness of manner in conversation. He was cheerful without levity, and dignified without pride ; an agreeable companion, and a faithful friend ; as a preacher, he was highly respected ; as a working pastor, he had but few superiors or even equals. With his people, in both their joys and their sorrows, he deeply sympathized. In the hour of affliction he was eminently a son of consolation. He was a grand spec- imen of the Christian gentleman, and under all cir- cumstances sustained the dignity of his sacred office. "^ He was born in Sheffield, Mass., April 6, 1763. His father, a native of Granby, Ct., removed to Sheffield to practice the art of medicine. There he married, and, when his son, Asa, was ten years of age, he re- turned to Granby ; and, with the exception of a two years' sojourn in Bridgehampton, L. I., lived there till his death. In the War of the Revolution, he was enrolled in the service as a surgeon ; and during a part of the time was attended by his son, then about six- teen or eighteen years of age. In 1782, the latter en- tered Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1786, at the age of twenty-three. He was converted to Christ while at the college. ^ 1. Sprague's Annals, III. 533. The author of this history came to Orange, as a resident, twelve years after Dr. Hillyer's death. His calling in life brought him into familiar re- lation with the people in all parts of the parish. He can bear witness to the abiding impression made by the old pastor upon the people of the town, not only among those of his own parish, but upon those of every Christian name. The great majority of the residents at that time were native-born. The memory of Dr. Hillyer was fragrant with them all. Even now, those who are living at an advanced age declare that the most cherished associa- tions and best impulses of their childhood and their youthful years, are in- wrought with the pleasant recollection of " Good old Dr. Hillyer." 2. Dr. Hillyer's father was living at this time in Bridgehampton, L. I. As the son was on his passage homewards from New Haven, the vessel in which he sailed was driven ashore on a stormy night, near the east end of Long Island. On board the vessel there were a mother and several small Rev. Asa Hillyer, D.D. 227 After completing his academical course, he began the study of theology under the instruction of Rev. Dr. Buell, of East Hampton, L. I., and finished the the same under the Rev. Dr. John H. Livingston, of the Reformed Dutch Church, in New York city. He was licensed as an evangelist by the old Suffolk Pres- bytery of Long Island, in 1788. Tlien he was invited to preach at Connecticut Farms and at Bottle Hill, N. J., giving to each two Sabbaths in succession. The latter congregation invited him to become their pastor, and he was duly ordained and installed as such on September 29, 1789. On June 8, 1791, he married Jane, the only child of Capt. Abfaham Riker, ^ of New Town, L. I. She died at Orange, April 4, 1828. The fruit of the union was seven children, four sons and three daughters, namely : Asa, bom August, 1792 ; Tace Bradford, born March 9, 1794 ; Margaret Riker, born February 7, 1797 ; Jane Elizabeth, born August 3, 1801 ; Abraham Riker, born August 20, 1803 ; Edward Dickson, born — , 1805 ; and Edward Trueman, bom August 1, 1811. His success as a preacher and pastor is illustrated in the records of the Orange church, by the remarkable increase of its membership in certain years. The sub- urban element in the population did not manifest itself until many years after his resignation ; and, conse- children, to whose preservation and comfort he gave his efforts ; and, as the morning dawned, placed them in a boat, and, plunging in the water, pushed the boat ashore. Until that time he had been a stranger to the hopes of the Gospel. He was then impressed with a sense of the dangers through which he had passed, and with gratitude to God for his life so mercifully spared, and on that solitary beach, he consecrated himself to the service of God. I. Abraham Riker, born 1740, was a Captain in the American army. He was present at the fall of Montgomery at Quebec, and served also in the battle of Saratoga. In the next year (1778,) he died of spotted fever at Valley Forge, aged 37. His widow died at Orange, N. J-i November ig, 1835, aged f)5. Annals of Newtown, L. I. 228 History of the Oranges. qiiently, tlie growth of the society, in any previous period, is a true indication of the power and fidelity of its chief oflBcer. We observe that, in 1803, there were added twenty-eight new members ; in 1808, one hundred and forty- six ; in 1814, thirty-five ; in 1817, (when he had the assistance of Rev. Dr. Hatfield,) one hundred and thirteen ; in 1825, fifty-five ; and, in 1832, sixty-three : in all, four hundred and forty. CHAPTER XI. THE OEANGE ACADEMY. WE have already said of Rev. Mr. Chapman, that he manifested a deep interest in the welfare and success of the College of New Jersey. His love of learning and his desire for its promotion are further Illustrated by his efforts, soon after the War, in found- ing in his own parish an academy of such an order as to attract students from abroad. Through his influ- ence, at a public meeting of the parish, on April 21, 1785, it was unanimously agreed to build a house in the heart of the village "for the purpose of a public school" A committee, of which he was one, was then appointed to take measures to perfect the scheme. It was also voted that five trustees should be annually elected to have the care and control of the same. The first trustees so elected were Rev. Mr. Chapman, l)r. John Condit, Dr. Matthias Pierson, Josiah Horn- blower and Bethuel Pierson. Generous subscriptions were obtained, and great diligence was shown in pro- viding for the erection of the necessary building. Its site — one-tenth of an acre — was purchased from Mat- thew Condit, son of John Condit, who built and kept the tavern south of, and opposite to, the meet- ing-house. The deed, dated December 13, 1785, was 230 History of the Oranges. made to Jedidiah Chapman, Col. John Condit and Henry Squier ; and it declared that the school, to be erected, should be forever free for all the inhabitants of the neighborhood. The same three persons who received the deed, together with Josiah Hornblower and Bethuel Pierson, were afterwards made the sec- ond board of trustees. A substantial two-story brick building was put up, and, in the spring of 1787, the new school began its work. The New Jersey Journal, of October — , 1787, con- tains the following advertisement : ' ' The winter ses- sion of the Academy at Orange Dale will begin on the 22d, under the immediate instruction of Mr. Har- ris and Mr. Crow, both graduates of Nassau Hall." They were graduated in the early part of that year ; the summer session of the school having been con- ducted by a temporary teacher. That the institution soon obtained a^good name, is certified to by Winter- bottom, an English traveler, who wrote, a few years later : "There are a good many academies in this State : one at Free- hold ; another at Trenton, in which are about eighty students ; another in Hackensack, with upwards of one hundred scholars ; another flourishing academy at Orange Dale, in the county of Essex, with as many scholars as any of the others, furnished with able instructors and good accomodations; also at Burlington, Newark and Elizabethtown." After the decease of Mr. Chapman and Mr. Squier, Col. John Condit, the survivor, by his deed, dated November 14, 1823, made a conveyance of the lot, not however as the surviving trustee, but in his own right, to Stephen D. Day, Rev. Asa Hillyer, Daniel Babbit, John M. Lindsley, Daniel D. Condit, Abraham Winans and Samuel W. Tichenor, as trustees of the Orange Academy District, for the same use which had been The Orange Academy. 231 specified ia the original grant from Matthew Condit. ^ The deed from Col. Condit being given in his own right, it became necessary for the trustees, in 1845, to apply to the Legislature to remedy the defect. This was done by an act of that year. Col. Condit, in re- citing the terms of the original conveyance by Matthew Condit, declared in his deed of 1823 : " It is the true intention and meaning of these presents, that no particular sect or profession of people in said place shall have any right to said premises, on account of the profits which may arise from it, more than another ; but it shall be and remain for a good, public and moral school of learning, for the use of all the inhab- itants that now are or ever shall be in said Orange, to the end of time." In 1845, the trustees of the Academy District, hav- ing secured the necessary legislative aid, sold and con- veyed the academy and lot to John M. Lindsley. The property is still, (1888), in the possession of his heirs, and has been converted to other uses. The old struc- ture was taken down in the early days of August, 1888, to give place to a large brick building, erected in that year, and into the foundations of which the old mate- rial was worked. ^ 1. Hoyt's History of First Presbyterian Church, Orange, p. 189. 2. There was a school of some note, in the first years of the present cen- tury at, or near, the Brick Church. It was known, in 181 1, as the Lower Academy. In that year a house and lot were advertised for sale, and de- scribed as being located " at the junction of the Newark and Mount Pleas- ant Turnpike and the Caldwell and Cranetown Road, in the town of Orange, one door from the Lower Academy." Alexander H. Freeman, in his sketch of schools in Orange, says " that it was a stone building, and taken down about that time. The period of its erection is not known, but presumably about the middle of the last century." We have found no allusion to it in any other record before 181 1. After the War there was also a school on the Ridgewood Road, known as the Washington Academy ; it was situated near the Silver Spring, between Orange and South Orange. We have no knowledge of its history, except through some dim recollections of a few of the old people who were born in its vicinity. 232 History of the Oranges. THE PARISH SLOOP. The support of the Gospel in the Mountain [settle- ment was not without its burdens. To increase the revenues of the parish, it was resolved in December, 1784, to build a sloop, to ply from Newark to New York, as well as to various points on the Hudson and Long Island Sound. The first settlers of the town recognized, at the outset, the importance of water com- munication with other ports on the coast. In the di- vision of their lands, a "boatman's lot," and provis- ion for its immediate use and occupancy, were among their earliest measures. In 1784, the Newark dock had been in use for more than a century, and, doubt- less, had been neglected during the years of the War. The Mountain parish therefore undertook its repair, and agreed to furnislif,a certain "Bill of timber" for the purpose. The method adopted by the parish for raising the means for the building of the boat appears from an agreement, entered into at a parish meeting, as foUows : " Whereas, it is our indispensible duty to support the Gospel for the best interests of the parish : We, the subscribers, think that a parish boat would, at present, be of great advantage to this society ; not only her profits would be saved, but if properly applied might go a great way towards the support of the Gospel among us ; and we also think the best and most equal way of raising money for this purpose is that of a general rate raised on the same plan as Mr. Chapman's salary. We, the subscribers, do therefore agree, should this plan become general throughout the society, that our persons and estates should be assessed on the plan aforesaid, in order to raise money to build a parish boat for the purpose before mentioned ; and hereby promise to pay into the hands of the man- agers, who shall be chosen by the society at large to build said parish boat, the several sums levied by rate as aforesaid, or work ^^:^j^' v ^■^.iz^l .A<^/^'^^ '^r^r^'^ ,v..a£iX^^^.^.,.^C-- ^— ^ ;J1^ ^yiJ /^ r/i^ i^.T.iQ u^i^'iam S-£^^L, fo^^ 7**' t rn 1 !/■- H I m 73 '», /•/• '>:^] u (? ;»▼•' r .•»/; The Old Graveyard. 237 The settlements at the Mountain began about forty years before his death. In 1718, the population had increased sufficiently to sustain a religious society. That there had been many burials before that date, cannot be questioned. Some were made in the old graveyard at Newark, and others, perhaps, on the lands left by the deceased, or on the lands of their friends. It is not unreasonable to believe, in the ab- sence of any testimony on the subject, that the good old Nathaniel Wheeler suffered burials to be made on his comer lot, and at the northeasterly section of the same, convenient to the highways running east, west and south. Tradition claims that there were inter- ments made there several years before the earliest in- scription which has been preserved. The field had thus acquired sacredness as a place of burial. The body of Mr. Wheeler's old neighbor, Anthony 01 ef, was laid there; and when his own remains required sepulture, it was fitting and most natural that his sons and daughters, all living at the Mountain, should let them rest among those whom he had known and loved in life. It is worthy of note that he was the only one of the original signers of the Fundamental Agreement of 1667 who was buried at the Mountain. This interment in his own field "at the parting of the two paths," has become a memorial of him more enduring than his gravestone, now over a century and a half old, and more lasting than that of any of his old Puritan associates of 1667. On November 8, 1792, ^^ ]:)arish resolved to enlarge the burial ground by the purchase of about two acres, adjoining the same. The original plot had a front on the main highway of one hundred and thirty-two feet, by four hundred and twenty-one feet on Scotland Street, and it contained about one and a third acres. 238 History of the Oranges. From the executors of the estate of Simeon Ogden a purchase was made of that part of his ground lying west of the old plot, and in the rear of the same, in the form of an L? thereby making the whole frmit as it now is, two hundred and eighty-nine feet, with a depth of six hundred and twenty-nine feet. Tlie con- sideration paid for the addition, was £38, 2s. ST. maek's geaveyaed. On November 28, 1842, the corporation of St. Mark's Church bought of Edward Condit a lot, eighty-six feet wide on the main street, lying west of the old ground, with the same depth as the latter. The price paid for the plot was S313.70 ; which was raised by subscription, and of which Samuel Williams gave $200. The whole frontage of the graveyard is now three hundred and seventy-five feet. The corporation of St. Mark's, being desirous of retaining the whole Avidth of its lot for purposes of interment, arranged with the old parish for a driveway on its west line, to be used by both corporations. The consideration for its use, on the part of St. Mark's, was that it should erect the gates, and pay the expense of keeping them in repair. THE FIEST CHFKCH BELL. Almost coincident with the enlargement of the burial ground, in 1792, was the placing of a bell upon the meeting-house. Its belfry had been an unused and not very comely feature of the building, from the time of its construction, thirty-eight years before. The bell cost the parish £114, 6s. 3d., or 8380. From several entries in the parish books, it appears that the bell was thereafter actively employed, and that the position of bell-ringer must have been a laborious one. The people were to be summoned to GRAVE OF HANNAH JONES; 1732. Building Lots in lygs- -39 public service in the chnrcli on every Sabbath and Lecture Day ; and, at nine o'clock in the evening, they were to be warned that the honr had come for family worship, and for retiring to bed. In 1794, the office of sexton (which included the whole work in and about the meeting-house,) was sold by public auction to the lowest bidder. We have found the following curious document, among the parish archives : "Articles of Vendue Held this first Daj/ of January, 1794; are as follows : the Ringing of the Bell & Sweeping the Meeting House at Orange, & the Care of Opening & Shutting the same. The Bell shall be rung Every Sabbath morning one hour & a quarter before the time of Divine Service, & a quarter of an hour before the same in the morning & afternoon, to ring a quarter of an hour each time, & also on Lecture Days & at nine o'clock every night ; — to be Struck off to the Lowest bidder; the Money to be paid quarterly. " Bid off to Bethuel Pierson at twelve Pound, ten shillings. — £\2, 10, o." Whether the practice of selling the office was con- tinued or abandoned, we cannot say ; but in the parish records it appears that, in 1795 — a year later — the Trustees "Agreed with Bethuel Pierson to Ring the Bell at Mne o'clock every Evening through the year 1795 for £4." In 1805, Josiali Frost was engaged to sweep the meeting-house, ring the bell, etc., for one year, at $33.87. His work included the "lighting the candles ; the candles to be found at the expense of the Parish, and the ends to go to the person who lights the candles," BUILDHSrCx LOTS IN 1795. The later years of the century began to show a more quiet and promising condition of aifairs. The inten- sity of political strife was lessened to a considerable 240 History of the Oranges. degree after the election of John Adams, the second President of the Republic, when the people turned their attention from politics to economics. Such con- tinued to be the case after the close of a canvass for President, except in the opening events of the Rebel- lion of 1861. June 10, 1795. The Newark Gazette advertised to be sold, " By way of public vendue, twenty-three building lots pleasantly situated in Orangedale, opposite the Meetinghouse, and adjoining the Academy. Four of the said lots have a never failing stream of water running through them, which renders them convenient for the tanning business. * * * * Situated in a very flourishing part of the Country, and would be very Convenient for any person or persons who may wish to take boarders." N. B. " Scythe makers, nailors and silversmiths will find it tend greatly to their business, to settle themselves in this place, as they are much wanted." Matthew Condit,i Joseph Cone, 2 1. Matthew Condit inherited the land of his father, John, who owned from Centre Street on the south side of Main Street, to a point west of Lumber Street. He owned the Academy lot and sold it to the trustees, as we have already stated. 2. Joseph Cone had his house on the corner of Reock Street, and owned the land in that vicinity. In 1798, together with Matthew Condit, he opened a street running from his land northerly to the main street ; which street bears his name at the present day. In 1803, he advertised lands in Ohio, to which State he soon after migrated. Cone Street was originally carried, in the form of an " elbow," to Centre Street ; but, in 1853 or 1854, it was extended southwardly to Henry Street, and the " elbow "received the name of Reock Street, in compliment to James Reock, whose dwelling-house was located upon the same. Q$;o<^c>fy^po-^ Century Day — 1801. 241 OENTUEY DAY — 1801. Thirty years ago, the recollections of many with whom this writer then conversed, were still fresh con- cerning the initial day of the present century. It was, as they told him, a very cold day. There was some- thing in the nature of a public celebration of the event. Capt. Moses Condit mustered his militia-men upon the common, east of the meeting-house, and under the flag-staff, and then they fired a volley ; Rev. Mr. Griffin addressed a great crowd of peojDle in the church. Mr. Chaj)man's pastorate had closed, and Mr. Griffin, greatly distinguished in after years, was engaged as a "supply" for six months. The people desii'ed to call him to the vacant pulpit, but having received an invi- tation to become the co-pastor of the Newark Church, with Dr. MacWhorter, he accepted the call, and was installed as such. He remained in Newark till 1809. For two years he was the sole pastor there ; his aged colleague having died in July, 1807. While in Orange, Mr. Griffin boarded in the family of Jotham Harrison, who lived on the present site of the Matthias O. Halstead house, on Main Street, next east of the Reformed Church. His eldest daughter, Frances Louisa, was born there, A^^ril 4, 1801. Twenty- three years afterwards, when her father resided at Williamstown, Mass., being the President of the Col- lege there, she became the wife of Dr. Lyndon A. Smith, a young physician practising in that town. They afterwards removed to Newark, N. J., where, for nearly forty years. Doctor Smith was one of the best known physicians and most influential citizens. i6 242 History of the ^Oranges. THE PAEISH LANDS. After the incorporation of the Mountain Society, under the name of ' ' The Trustees of the Second Pres- byterian Church in Newark," ^ in the year 1783, the newly-appointed Trustees held a meeting on October 7th ; at which they "found four Deeds Delivered by DoC Pierson : — " 1st. Deed for the Land where the Meeting House Stands on, from Samuel Wheeler, 1720. " 2d. Deed for the Lands of the Parsonage, from Thomas Gardner, 17 19. " 3d. Deed for Land near the Meeting-house, from John Cun- dict, 1742. " 4th. Deed for Land where the Parsonage house stand on, from Matthew Williams, 1748." It is obvious, from the neglect to mention any con- veyajice or lease for the "Lower Parsonage," which was derived from the Trustees of the Newark Church, that, at this time (1783), the Orange Society had no "paper title " for the same. This matter will be fully explained in a subsequent part of this chapter. We propose to speak of the five tracts, namely: the Glebe, the Meeting House lot, the lot near the Meet- ing House, the Parsonage House lot, and the Lower Parsonage, in the order now stated, — that being the order in which the several properties were acquired by the Society. THE GLEBE. It is unnecessary to repeat what we have already said, {ante^ pages 102, 129-130,) in reference to this tract, wliich was located on the south side of the main street, in the present city of Orange, and included the narrow strip of land now known as "the Common." It I . A copy of the act is to be found in the parish books ; and it is described as " The Charter for Orange Corporation, formerly Called and Known by the Name of the Newark Mountain Meeting-House." The Glebe. 243 had a frontage of twelve chains, — or 792 feet, — and extended from Parrow' s Brook, on the west, to a point within the lines of the existing Prince Street, on the east. The contents were twenty acres, including the Common. So far as we have been able to ascertain, the Com- mon was originally thrown out for the purposes of a training-ground; and this use of it goes back to the first year of the War of the Revolution. When the military spirit of the neighborhood was quickened by the near approach of hostilities, some of the other Griebe lands were ap2:)ropriated in like manner, and con- tinued to be used therefor after the War. For many years subsequently, all able-bodied citizens were en- rolled in the State militia, and were compelled to pa- rade at regular intervals. The parson may have com- plained because of the injury occasioned thereby to his growing crops, and this will, probably, explain the entry on the Trustees' records, under the date of June 1, 1797: "Agreed to give Mr. Chapman at the rate of three pounds per acre for the land thrown of for training-ground. ' ' The remaining part of the Glebe — generally known under and by the name of "The Parsonage," — was cultivated either by the pastor himseK or under his direction, or else "upon shares." In Caleb Smith's account-book, we find credits for "carting Dung, a Day;" — "1 Day's Plowing ;" — " 100 Rails and 20 Posts ;" — " 30 young Apple Trees ;" — "Cradling and taking up Oats;" — "Seed Wheat ;" — " Thatching Barrack ; " — " Hoeing Corn ; " — " Thrashing , 5J >3 ) "Reaping;"— and the like. Mr. Chapman, a strong, healthy man, full of energy and activity, loved farm- ing. Not content with the Glebe lands, he hired another tract, which adjoins the Montclair gate- of the 244 History of the Oranges. Rosedale Cemetery, and there lie toiled with ten times the zeal of a common day-laborer. He kept a working- suit there — ready for his coming, whenever he should wish to lay aside the black coat and cocked hat. On August 23, 1786, at a public meeting of the con- gregation, it was — ■ " Voted, unanimously, that John Dod, Jr., shall divide the parish into Eight Classes, for the purpos of a more Speeddy and better plan to fence and manure the parsnage ; which now lies in Eight Lots. " Each respective Class are to appoint one or two men for over- seers, and these persons, when chosen, shall at some convenient Seson meet together, and then fix upon the particular Lot which Each Class are for the future to repair. But, in Case one Lot is preferable to another, and they do not agree in the Choice, it shall be determined by ballot. "It was further moved and agreed too, that the above mentioned overseers, for the incouragement of the Gospel, should influence the people to punctually pay the minister's Sallary." Whether this ingenious plan succeeded or not, we cannot say. It shows, however, that Parson Chapman was not so active as he had been in former years. But the Glebe was in the very centre of the village, where the increase in the population was most rapid. More dwellings were needed. Building lots were in de- mand. And thus there came an opportunity for re- plenishing the parish treasury, which was availed of, after the installation of Mr. Hillyer. Under the date of April 1, 1802, the Trustees enter in their minutes : " It having been thought advisable to sell a part of the Parson- age land, the interest to be appropriated for the support of the Gospel," a parish meeting was held, and it was then decided " to divide off and & sell five building Lotts on the North side, & Eight building lots on the South side of the Parsonage; reserving the and which now lies a common, for that purpose forever." The Glebe. 245 The five lots "on the north side" were on the north side of Main Street, being a part of the Parsonage House tract, which had been bought in two parcels, from Matthew Williams, in 1748, and Isaac Williams, ^y in 1787. But the house /^.. u u " John Dean, o, 1817, Asa Hillyer. •' Isaac Pierson. 246 History of the Oranges. The lot conveyed to Mr. Hillyer, in 1817, adjoined the Brook on the west, and had a frontage of 4 chains and 20 links on Main Street ; and it extended in the rear of some of the Main Street lots. The purchase by Isaac Pierson, in 1817, was of land lying entirely in the rear of the Main Street lots. The original purpose of the Trustees in laying out the Common, was more generous to the public than the existing street lines would indicate. When some of the lot-owners had built their houses, they delib- erately set their fences in such manner as to encroach from six to eight feet upon the reserved land. The Trustees protested, and threatened legal proceedings. But the difficulty was not overcome until 1825, when a new front-line was established, and new conveyances were made in accordance therewith. There was then a private carriage-way in front of the lots ; but, finally, the same was laid out as South Main Street, — thereby reducing the width of the Common still further. THE MEETING-HOUSE LOT. According to the entry in the Trustees' minutes, the deed for this lot was made by Samuel Wheeler, in 1720. We have stated on page 106, that the first meet- ing-house stood in the middle of the "highway," op- posite the present Music Hall. Mr. Hoyt says, that the building was "on a little knoll in the midst of the traveled road, which on either side retired like the parting Jordan — making way for the Ark." No one remembers the width of space, so left on the north and south sides of the church. But, the deed given by Stephen D. Day and wife to the Society, in 1811, for the land on which the present house was erected, de- scribes the lot as being north of "the Commons whereon the [second] meeting-house now stands." In another The Parsonage House Lot. 247 deed from Mr, Day and wife to the Society, in 1817, for a small lot adjoining the other on the west, the southern boundary of the lot is "the Commons in front of the Church.'- This shows that our statement, on page 106, was not technically correct ; and that the building was not in the "public road." We suggest that the Wheeler lot, upon which the first and second meeting-houses were built, must have been on the north side of the road that was laid out in 1705 ; and that so much of the lot (on the north,) as was not required for the meeting-houses, was thrown open to the public as "Commons." When the pres- ent building was erected, in 1812, the Trustees aban- doned all claim to the land, and it became a part of the highway. The citizens of Orange are, therefore, indebted to the liberality of the Trustees, for the gen- erous width of Main Street at that point. THE JOHN CUNDICT LOT. We have been unable to obtain any further account of this lot than is given by the Trustees' minutes, viz : "land near the meeting-house, from John Cundict, 1742." No such deed is to be found in the parish chest ; nor does it appear upon the county records. THE PAESOISTAGE HOUSE LOT. The front part of this lot, — extending from Park Street, on the west, to a point distant 85 links west- wardly from the middle of Hilly er Street, — was pur- chased from Matthew Williams, in 1748. (See ante^ pages 135-8, 145-7.) A single acre was added to it, on the north, by purchase from Isaac Williams, in 1787. We append a list of the several parcels into which the property was divided, and the dates of the several conveyances therefor, so far as we have been able . to « 248 History of the Oranges. obtain the same from the county records. As in the case of the Glebe lands, we have been obliged to supj^ly the names of some of the purchasers from early mort- gages — they having neglected to record their own deeds from the Trustees : 1802, April 1, Daniel Matthews. " " " Samuel Munn. Joseph Munn. Peter Dean. Eleazer Dodd. 1808, Ichabod Locey. 1817, April 25, Allen Dodd. Jan'y 1, " " Ephraim B. PeiTy. 1825, Feb'y 4, Moses S. Harrison. 1825, Mch. 28, Thomas A. Ram age. 1825, April 2, Charles T. Shipman. 1829, " 30, Allen Dodd. and Moses S. Harrison. THE LOWEE PAESOlirAGE. In the earliest days of the Town by the River, ample provision was made for the support of the Gospel, as well as for the material comfort of the minister. On January 1, 1669, four acres of meadow were set apart for the use of the Rev. Mr. Pierson;i and a second grant of meadow to him was recorded on February 21, 1760. 2 It is believed, — perhaps, without sufficient rea- son, — that these two tracts formed a part of what was afterwards known as "the Parsonage Meadow." The original Proprietors, in their Concessions, au- thorized the General Assembly of the Province to ap- 1. Newark Town Records, p. 25. 2. lb., p. 36. /St? 2. C^Si'^ Survey of the Parish Lots and the Common OPPOSITE the Old Parsonage House. The Lower Parsonage. 249 point as many ministers as they should think fit, and to provide for their maintenance. In 1672, the Pro- prietors, in the so-called "Explanation of their Con- cessions," agreed to give two hundred acres of land "to each parish for the use of their ministers ;" the same to be free of rent and other charges. On October 31, 1676, there was entered in "the Pro- prietors' Record of Warrants and Surveys," (lib. 2, f ol. 36, ) a " Warrant to lay out for Benefit & Use of the Towne of ISTewarke So much Land as shall be Con- venient for Landing places within the said Towne, Land for a School House, for a Towne house, a Meet- ing house, a Market Place or Market places, and two hundred Acres of Upland and Meadow in proportion for a parsonage." Reference to this is made in the Town Books by an entry, on February 7, 1676-7, of the api3ointment of two men "to go to Woodbridge, and inquire whether Mr. Deleplary hath caused what he hath done in Respect to what he surveyed for our Towne Bounds, to be recorded in the Secretary's Office ; and, if not, to go to him, and use Means to have it recorded in the Secretary's Office Speedily." Rev. Dr. Stearns says, of the Newark survey: "I find no evidence that any use was made of these lands for religious purposes, except the erection of a house of worship and the burial of the dead, on one of the smaller tracts, until after December 10, 1696 ; when a deed was executed by the Proprietors, conveying all the above named reservations, with their appurten- ances, to John Curtis, John Treat, Theophilus Pier- son and Robert Young, their heirs and assigns for- ever, ' to the only proper use, benefit and behoof of the Old Settlers of the towne of Newark aforesaid, their heirs and Assigns forever, In Com'n ; granted to bee and Remaine to and for the several uses herein 250 History of the Oranges. particularly expressed, and to be appropriated for no other use or uses whatsoever.' "^ The grantees were required to pay a yearly rent of "six pence sterling monie of England, for the aforesaid several tracts of Land on every five and twentieth day of March for- ever hereafter, in Leiu and instead of all other services and demands whatsoever." 2 One parcel of the Parsonage lands conveyed by said deed is described as follows : "A Tract Lyeing Above Daniell Dods Home lott Beginning at Daniel Dod's South West corner, thence running North at the East End twenty Eight chaines to the highway, thence as the highway runes twentie six chaines to the branch of the Mill Brooke, thence Along the Brooke seaven chaines at the West End to Sam- uell Huntington's line ; bounded west by the sayd branch, North by the highway, East by Hance Alberts, Samuel and Daniel Dod, and by the other Lotts South." There are five other tracts, also intended for the benefit of the church and parson, and at the close of the description of the sixth, is written: "Contain- ing in all the above said tracts of upland and meadow (after allowances for barrens, highways, &c.,) two hundred acres, being alloted for the parsonage." ^ In 1707, the Town voted to give John Cooper the use of "a piece of the Parsonage Land for his Im- provement, for the Space of Seven Years;"* and, in 1709, when Rev. Mr. Bowers was called to the pasto- rate, he was promised "the Use of the Parsonage House and Land. ' ' ^ In 1716-7, the Parsonage Land was ordered to be "run out according to the Pattent;"^ 1. History of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark, p. 105. 2. Newark Town Records, p. 283. 3. lb., pp. 281 and 282. 4. lb., p. 120. 5. lb., p. 121. 6. lb., p. 128. The Loiver Parsonage. 251 and, in 1742-3, a fine of 20 shillings was imposed upon any one ''that cuts any Tree or Trees, Spires or Hoop- Poles upon any part of the Parsonage, except so much as is necessary for diging or carying of any Stones any Person may want for building or other Uses."^ Such trespassing seems to liave been persistent, how- ever ; for there is frequent mention of it in subsequent Town Meetings. In 1756, we find the first recognition of the" claims of the Orange Society, and the Episcopal Church in Newark, to two-thirds of the Parsonage property. On March 9th, "the Parsonage Meadow was sold for the Year ensuing to Nathaniel Camp, for £2, 7s, to be divided between the 3 ministers, viz : 2 in the Town, and one at the Mountain." ^ It is a well-known fact, that the two new churches had rigorously pressed their claims for an equal division of the Parsonage lands, upon the ground of their descent from a common an- cestry. They were joint heirs with the Newark Pres- byterians, and so entitled to participate in the joint inheritance. And, as was said by Dr. MacWhorter, concerning the introduction of Episcopacy into this Puritan town, and the fierce quarrels which ensued : "This pious bustle was not altogether about religious principles." 3 The people of the First Church con- tended, on their side, that they — and they only — were the legitimate successors of the single parish, to which 1. Newark Town Records, p. 135. 2. lb., p. 142. 3. Rev. Dr. Stearns says : " The claim seems first to have been set up by the Church of England, who took possession of and enclosed a portion of the wood land. But the people at the Mountain, who had been accus- tomed to cut wood from the Parsonage lands for their minister, and had received for him some of the rents of the Parsonage Meadow, soon and vigorously joined in the pursuit." History of First Presbyterian Church, Newark, p. 226. 252 History of the Oranges. the property had been originally given. At the same time, they thonght it a wise and prndent step to fortify their legal title. All of the patentees were then dead, and the heir of the last survivor was a resident of Morris County, and not interested in the dispute. It would complicate the situation, if he were to make a conveyance to either or both of the rival claimants. Therefore, in 1760, it was unanimously voted at the Town Meeting, that a deed should be procured by the Trustees of the Newark Church from David Young, the heir-at-law of Robert Young, the last surviving patentee, "for the said Parsonage Lands, in Trust, in Order that they may be the better enabled to take Care of the same for the said Church." 1 The conveyance was obtained on the very next day after the passage of the resolution. But this did not please those who were outside the congregation ; on the contrary, it increased the public clamor for a partition. On March 10, 1761, it was duly entered upon the minutes of the proceedings of a Town Meeting, that the deed from David Young to the Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark had been ob- tained ; but that, because of its being "for the T"'^se of One Society only," it had "given great dissatisfaction to the Inhabitants of said Town in general." It was further stated, that "The Heirs and Descendants of the first Settlers of s^ Town of Newark have divided into three several Societies within s^ Town for public worship of God, distinguished by the Names of The Church of England, The first Presbiterian Society, and the Moun- tain Society." Whereupon, it was agreed : — "2ndly, That as the Heirs and Descendants of the first Settlers of Newark have three Societys or Congregations for the publick Worship of God— Each having a distinct or separate Minister to I. Newark Town Records, p. 143. The Lower Parsonage. 253 support, — It is voted and agreed, that the said Lands granted by said Letters Patent to lye for a Parsonage be equally divided in Quantity and Quality, exclusive of the Improvements made therein, among said three Societies or Congregations." i John Cundit, Betliuel Pierson, Daniel Pierson, Esq'r, James Nutman, John Crane and Elijah Baldwin were appointed to be the agents of the Town, in making- such division, and in applying to the Governor, Coun- cil and Assembly for its legal ratification. ^ The record is also interesting, because of its statement that the meeting, in 1760, was held "during the Time of the Small Pox being in Town, and when but very few of the Inhabitants were present." A suggestion of mod- ern political trickery is found in the further charge that the former meeting had been held ' ' without any previous Notice being given to the Inhabitants of said Town of any Intent of their passing a Vote relating to said Lands called the Parsonage Lands." A year later, (1762,) four of the agents reported to the Town, duly assembled, that John Crane and Elijah Baldwin, who belonged to the Newark Presbyterian Society, had refused to act with them ; and that they had prepared a plan for the division of the property. But, "a Number of the Principal Members of the first Presbiterian Church in New Ark Objected Against it;" and a majority of the people present decided "that the Division should not be confirmed." ^ The matter seems to have slept quietly until March 8, 1768, when, at the Annual Meeting of the Town, it was "Voted by a great majority that the Parsonage Lands belonging to the Town of Newark be divided between the Three Congregations of the first Settlers 1. Newark Town Records, p. 144. 2. Newark Town Records, p. 145. 3. Newark Town Records, p. 146. 254 History of the Oranges. of Newark, to wit : The first Presbyterian Church in Newark, the Church of England, and the Mountain Society." Again, the Newark Trustees "advised the People, then met, to let the Parsonage alone, declar- ing the title to be invested in them alone, and forbid them passing the former or any other Vote relating to the Parsonage." Six men — being two from each of the three congregations who were concerned — were appointed to make such a division ; but the Newark Presbyterians again "declared they would not act."^ Precisely how or when the partition was effected, we know not. It is certain, that the same was not made in 1768. The probability is, that it was delayed until the public excitement had somewhat abated. When it was made, however, we are told that a tract of 86y^o^ acres was allotted to the Orange Society. But no deed was given, nor any lease ; nor, so far as can be ascertained, any written agreement or memorandum. The Orange men were allowed to enter into possession of their property, and they erected a fence upon the exterior boundary. They had the satisfaction of ob- taining some of the best land between Orange and Newark, lying ui3on the hill, west of High Street, within the limits of the latter city, and now covered with valuable improvements. They gave to it the name of "the Lowei' Parsonage," and by that name it was known in their records and accounts. Without any written evidence of title, the position of the Orange planters was not an enviable one. Year succeeded year, and the situation remained unchanged. On November 4, 1783, after the incorporation of their Society, they "Voted and Agree'^ that at some future Day we will Examine in To the affairs of the Lands I. Newark Town Records, p. 150. The Lower Parsonage. 255 Belonging to this Parisli, and Settle the Dispute that might arise thereon," It may have been a fortunate circumstance for them, that a great revival occurred in the Newark Church, in the following year. At any rate, the Newark people then gave them a formal lease for the ^'ofi^ acres, — the instrument bearing date on May 8, 1784. But, it was only a lease at will, — de- terminable at the pleasure of the lessors. Are we surprised to hear that, on November 30th, of the same year, the Orange Trustees sent a commit- tee to Newark, "to treat with [the Newark Church,] lespecting.the mode of receiving the parsonage lands allotted to this Congregation?" Or, that a second committee went upon the same matter, four years later ; and still another, in 1795 ? It is apparent from our parish records, that, in the last-mentioned year, there was a controversy between the two churches with reference to " a part of our wood parsonage, nearest to the Town." Tradition declares that the Newark people wished to recover some of the more valuable woodland, which had been set off to Orange ; and that they made frequent incursions upon the same, — tearing down the fence, and cutting and removing the wood. Rev. Dr. Stearns writes as follows : "There is a tradition, for which I am indebted to the Rev. Mr. White, now minister of the First Church in Orange, that a report being spread, on one occasion, that the people of Newark were coming to cut wood on a certain day, from a piece of ground claimed and appropriated by that congregation, the sturdy moun- taineers turned out early, with axes and teams, and arranged them- selves in great numbers on the fence, awaiting the arrival of the force. When the Newarkers arrived, hard words began, and still more solid arguments ensued ; and the Orangemen, being either 256 History of the Oranges. more numerous or more valiant, fairly beat their opponents off the ground, and sent them home with their teams empty."i The persistent complaints of the Orange farmers had an unexpected result : they made the Newark people angry, and the tenancy at will was canceled. We hnd, among our parish archives, a paper — verified by the seal of the Newark Church — of which the follow- ing is a copy : "At a meeting of the board *of the Trustees of the first Presby- terian Church in Newark, 20th May, 1797. " The votes of the Congregation relative to the part of the Par- sonage occupied by the Orange Society. " It is resolved that the said votes are obligatory on this board, and that they are in duty bound to carry the same into execution. " Therefore resolved, that the lease given by this board to the Trustees of the second Presbyterian Church in New Ark, for eighty six acres & sixty hundredths of an acre of land, belonging to the parsonage of this Church, — which lease bears date on or about the eighth day of May, Anno Domini, 1784, — whereby the said Trustees last mentioned became tenants at will to this board, do cease, and the same is hereby revoked, and made null and void." We may easily imagine the feelings of the moun- taineers, under such exasperating circumstances. His- tory is silent as to what was said or done by either side, during the next five years. It would be unreas- onable to suppose that the Orange j)arty abandoned the contest. They were not men of that stamp. They may have loved peace, but they were not afraid of war. Their stubbornness had been shown in the long struggle with the Proprietors. Nor do we believe that they surrendered the possession of the lands which had been set off to them. Nor that the fighting parson (Mr. Chapman,) ever wanted a substantial back-log, I. History of the First Presbyterian Church, Newark, p. 22C. The Lower Parsonage. 257 for Ms kitchen fire-place. He was the right kind of a man to encourage his people, in such an emergency. ^ In the spring of 1802, the Newark Trustees made an offer of compromise ; and the action which was had thereupon is thus recorded in the minutes of the Orange Church : "Monday, June 7th, 1802. It having been represented some time since from the Trustees of Newark, that it was their wish to accomidate the difference existing between Newark Church & the Church of Orange respecting the lower Parsonage ; the Trustees of this Congregation appointed, from their Board, John Lindsley, 'd^^la^^^^ Esqr. Aaron Mun, Esq"". & Isaac Pierson, a committee to meet the Trustees of Newark, at Seabury's tavern, to confer with them on the subject, to hear their proposals, & to agree as they, viz : the committee from this board should think advisable. "The committee met the Newark Trustees, at the time & place appointed ; and the Trustees of Newark made the following prop- osition, — that we should relinquish our claim to that part of the Parsonage called the Gore, or triangular piece at the East End of the lot, containing about ten acres ; & that, in consideration of our doing this, they would give us as good a title for the residue which we had in possession, as they could give us by law. "The committee from this Board thought it advisable to accept of the same; and appointed John Lindsley & Aaron Mun, on our part, to meet, on the ground, a committee from their Board, & ascertain the line of division agreeable to their present proposals. I. In January, 1790, the Trustees " Voted that Mr. Chapman shall have all the profits of the Parsonage, only excepting the Stone." 17 258 History of the Oranges. "John Lindsley & Aaron Mun report that they met, & did ascer- tain the future line of division, & marked out the same ; & the Trustees of Newark agreed that we should take up & use the fence which was standing round the part of the Parsonage lot which we had relinquished." It is said that, as the outcome of this friendly negotia- tion, a regular lease, under seal, was given in the same year, (1802,) to the Orange Society, for the portion of the property which they had agreed to accept in set- tlement. It was a lease for twenty- one years, with a covenant of renewal ; and at a yearly rent of six pence, if required to be paid. But, there is one singular thing about it. The Orange people had consented to yield their claim to ' ' that part of the Parsonage called the Grore, a triangular Piece at the East End of the lot, con- taining about Ten acres ;' ' and their committee ' ' did ascertain the future line of division, & marked out the same." And, yet, when the lease was delivered, it covered only hf ty-six acres, — being more than thirty acres less than their original holding. In justice to the Newark Church it should be said, that, at this time, there was a doubt in the minds of the lawyers who were consulted upon the subject, whether a permanent conveyance of the property could be made, in fee simple. Hence, the use of a perpetual lease, — renewable at stated periods, — instead of the ordinary deed of bargain and sale. The first term of twenty- one years expired in 1823, and, on September Ist, of that year, the Newark Church made a nev^ lease (which is now in existence,) to the Orange So- ciety, for the same fifty- six acres of land — " On the hill above the Town of Newark, ... In trust and to and for the Use of the Minister for the time being of the said [Orange] Church, from the day before the date hereof for and The Lower Parsonage. 259 during and until the full end and term of twenty-one years, . . yielding and paying therefore yearly and every year during the said term . . the rent or sum of six pence, if demanded." There was also a covenant on the part of the lessors, for the perpetual renewal of the lease, upon the same rent and conditions, for successive terms of twenty- one years each. And the lessees covenanted — " That they will join with the [lessors,] to defend the remainder of the lands commonly called and known by the name of the Par- sonage lands in Newark as contained in the original patents and which are retained by the said [lessors,] against the legal claim of every person whatever ; and in case any person or persons shall set up any claim to the remainder of the said lands, under a de- mand of or claim to said Parsonage lands as such, or any part thereof, and contest the same, so that the said [lessors,] or their successors, shall be put to any cost or expence in defending the same, that then the said [lessees,] and their successors, shall and will pay their part of the said expence, in proportion to the num- ber of acres hereby leased to them, when compared to the whole tract of the said Parsonage lands." There is a further provision, that the lease shall be avoided in case of a neglect by the lessees, for forty days, to pay their due proportion of such cost of litigation. In 1825, the Legislature passed "An act for the re- lief of the Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church in Newark ;' ' whereby the said Trustees were author- ized to convey, in fee, unto the Episcopal Church in Newark, the two Presbyterian Societies in JN'ewark, and the Orange Society, " in as full and ample a man- ner as they have a title thereto, such parts and por- tions of the lands held by the said [Trustees,] under grant from the Proprietors of East New Jersey for a parsonage and burying place, (and which were granted to the said [Trustees,] on or about the tenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand six hundred and ninety-six,) as had been or might be set apart or designed for the use" of the said four 26o History of the Oranges. societies. It was also declared in tiie same statute that the lands, so to be conveyed, should be held ' ' solely and forever for the support of the Gospel in the said congregations, or religious societies, respect- ively, and for no other use or purpose." In pursuance of the authority, so given, the Trustees of the Newark Church, in and by their certain deed, dated August 29, 1826, and duly recorded in the pub- lic records of the county, granted and conveyed unto the Trustees of the Orange Society, the same fifty-six acres of land ; referring to a map, made by Isaac Ward, and attached to said deed, but wMch has been torn therefrom by some surveyor or land speculator. The conveyance is in fee simple ; but "in trust, never- theless, to be lield solely and forever for the support of the Gospel in the said First Presbyterian Church, or Congregation, in Orange, and for no other use or purpose." It was acknowledged by the president of the board of the Newark Trustees, on August 30, 1826 ; and was recorded on the second day thereafter. Tlie Orange Trustees sold "fifteen acres, more or less," thereof to WiUiam Peck, on April 23, 1833, for ^460.00, or at the rate of $30 per acre ; and the remain- ing forty-four acres to Ashbel W. Corey, on Novem- ber 3, 1835, for $8,360.00, or at the rate of $190 per acre. A mortgage for purchase money was given upon the forty-four acres ; and, under a foreclosure, the property was recovered by the Trustees, in 1839. They held the same until August 31, 1841, when they sold it to Philip Kingsley, Esquire, ^ for $2,200.00, or 1. Mr. Kingsley was a native of Vermont. He studied law in the office of Theodore Frelinghuysen, Esq., of Newark, and came to Orange in 1S28. He was our earliest resident lawyer, and had a large and proiitable practice. He married Romana A., one of the daughters of John Morris Lindsley, and by her had three children ; of whom two, namely : George P. and Philip, are now living. He died, suddenly, on May 24, 1852. The Name of Orange. 261 at the rate of $50 per acre. He re-sold it, in parcels, between 1844 and 1850, at the average price of $88.30 per acre. It would be difRcnlt to estimate the ralue of the forty-four acres, at the preseut time. THE NAME OF OEANGE. The Rev. Mr, Hoyt says: "The settlement near the Mountain had begun, [in 1784,] to assume the character of a village, and to be known by the name it now bears. By whom, or from what circumstance the name was first bestowed, we have no means of ascertaining." 1 Until that time the parish had been known as "the West Society of Newark at the Mountains," {ante., page 191;) or "the Society at the Newark Moun- tain," {It. pages 130 and 136;) or "y^ Church and Congregation of y^ people of Newark Mountains," (75. page 192.) In 1783, it was incorporated by the Legislature as "the Second Presbyterian Church in Newark." It is said that the earliest known use of the word : "OraTip'e," in connection with the Mountain Society, was on May 7, 1782 ; when the New York Presbytery "adjourned, to meet at Orange Dale, alias Newark Mountain." The first mention of it, in any local record, is in a subscription-paper, dated at "Orange, Nov. 17, 1784 ;" the object being the raising of moneys for the building of a parish boat. In connection with the same matter we read that, on December 22, 1784, there was "a iiublick meeting of the Parish of Or- ange." Twelve days later there was another parish meeting, and it was then "voted" that "the man- agers of the Sloop Orange are authorized to ajDpoint I. Hoyt's History of First Presbyterian Church, Orange, N. J., p. 138. 262 History of the Oranges. Boatmen." In 1787, the Society purchased, from Isaac Williams, "a Lott of land, adjoining the Par- sonage house whereon the dwelling house now stand- eth by the highway, . . in the bounds of Newark, at a place called Orange." Tradition declares that it was the "fighting parson" Chapman, who was the most determined champion of the name: "Orange Dale." He was present at the meeting of the Presbytery, in 1782 ; and it was prob- ably he who procured the selection of Orange Dale as the place of its next meeting. The sermon, which is to be found on page 205 of this volume, was delivered by him on "Lord's Day, 21 Nov., 1791 ; Orange Dale, P.M." In 1796, and as the president of the trustees of "the Academy at Orange Dale," he advertised its opening session, in the Newark Gazette. And there is an oft- told tale that, when the people came together, on one occasion, in order to discuss whether the village should be called "Orange" or "Orange Dale," he was the most excited of the whole party ; and that, as the meeting broke up in confusion, and without having come to any decision, he shouted out, in "his trumpet tones : "Well ! we'll call it Orange Dale, any way !" So it was under the spell of his influence, that, in 1801, and after he had gone to Western New York, "the Congregation of Orange Dale" extended its call to the Rev. Mr. Hillyer. Even in April, 1805, he re- corded in his diary : "I attended the Lord's Supper at Orange Dale, with the dear people of my former charge." The Legislature finally decided the matter in 1806, by passing an act to incorporate "the town- ship of Orange." In the Town Records of Newark we find that, in 1790, "John Ogden, (O. Mountain,)" had been ap- The Name of Orange. 263 pointed to the office of road overseer. ^ In 1798, the Town Meeting voted "That the next Annual Election for the State Legislature be opened at the House of Samuel Mann, at Orange, and held there during the first day of the same." At the same meeting permis- sion was "granted for the erection of two more public Pounds, Viz: One on the Common between Samuel Munn's and Moses Williams's, at Orange." ^ From this time onward the name of Orange occurs fre- quently in the Town books. But, whence came the name ? We may say, in re- ply, that it was familiar to the earliest "freemen or free Burgesses within our Town upon Passaic River." They traded with the Dutch at "Fort Orange," now Albany, N. Y.,— and at "Orange" or "New Orange," now the City of New York. In 1673-4, they sent sev- eral ambassadors to "the Generals," at the latter place, in order to buy some "land upon the Neck," which they coveted. ^ At a subsequent period, and in common with all Protestants, they worshiped William, the Prince of Orange, who was first the ally, and then the King of England. He was looked upon as the head of the Re- formed Church. His name and titles became "house- hold words " in N ew Jersey. The first building which was erected (1757,) for the College at Princeton, was called Nassau Hall, to express "the honor we retain in this remote part of the Globe, to the immortal memory of the glorious King William the Third, who was a branch of the illustrious house of Nassau, and who, under God, was the great deliverer of the British 1. Newark Town Records, p. i68. 2. lb., p. 177- 3. lb., pp. 50, 51. 55- 264 History of the Oraitges. Nation from those two monstrous furies, Popery and Slavery," It happened that our first pastor, Caleb Smith, was not only a trustee of the College, but also a son-in-law of its president. Perhaps it was Mr. Smith who first proposed the name of "Orange," for the beautiful neighborhood which he had deliberately chosen as his home, and in which he ended his life work ; and it may be that the suggestion was availed of by his successor, Mr. Chairman, who vainly sought to improve upon it by the change to "Orange Dale." It is a pleasing reflection, that, in all our local jeal- ousies and controversies, we have retained a loyal attachment to the old name. Three townships have been carved out of the original territory ; but, as East, West and South Orange, they still claim kinship with the central city, and assert their right to be treated as members of the same family. It is indeed true, that there are now four municipalities ; but, after all, there is and can be only one Orange. CHAPTER XII. THE TOWNSHIP OF OEANGE. ON November 27, 1806, the old Township of Newark was divided by an act of the Legislature, and a new township was created, to be known under and by the name of Orange. Section i. Defines the boundaries as follows : "Be- ginning at a spring called the Boiling Spring, i on the land of Stephen D. Day ; running thence in a straight line southardly to the bridge on the highway near Da- vid Peck's ;2 thence running southardly in a straight line to a bridge in the highway, near Sayers Roberts' , in Camptown ; thence southardly in a straight line to Elizabeth township line, where it crosses Elizabeth river ; thence along the line of Elizabeth township to the line of Springfield township ; thence along the line of Caldwell township to a point on the First Mountain, called Stephen Crane's notch ; thence southardly to Turkey Eagle Rock ; thence eastwardly to a bridge in the highway near Phineas Crane' s ; ^ thence eastwardly to a bridge on the highway between the houses of Silas Dod and Nathaniel Dod ; thence to the Boiling Spring, the place of beginning," 1. This spring is situated about one thousand feet southeast of the works of the " Orange Water Company," in East Orange. 2. Great Meadow Brook bridge. 3. This bridge crosses the northeast corner of the recent addition to Rose- dale Cemetery, on the Orange and Montclair road. 266 History of the Oranges. Section ii. Describes the powers and privileges of the new corporation, and refers to an act entitled ' ' An act incorporating the inhabitants of townships," etc., passed in February, 1789. Section iii. Appoints the first town meeting to be held on the "second Monday of April next, at the house of Samuel Munn, in Orange." Section iv. Provides for the division of the poor, between the two townships, and for the support of such as should be set off to Orange. It had long been the custom, in the Township of Newark, to hold the annual elections for members of the Legislature, etc., during three days, at the Court House in Newark. The increase in the population was such, however, that in 1798, the town had ordered that on one of the three days the election should be held in Orange, and in Newark on the other two. This arrangement was continued until the township was divided. In Orange the polls were held at the house of Samuel Munn, now the Park House, or the house of Bethuel Pierson, now the Central Hotel. ISTEWAEK AND MT. PLEASANT TUENPIKE. In the same year when the Township of Orange was set off, a charter was granted for the construction of a turnpike road from Newark to Morristown. In the early years of this century, there was a gen- eral desire to facilitate the communication between the cities of New York and Philadelphia, and to open the interior of New Jersey by easier methods for the trans- portation of its agricultural and mining products to tide-water. The city of New York was liberal in the employment of its capital for all such purposes. From 1801 to 1828, fffty-four charters for turnpikes were granted by the Assembly ; thirty-five of which were Newark and Mt. Pleasant Turnpike. 267 passed during the first thirteen years of the century. The demand for turnpikes at that time was not unlike that for railroads in these latter days. And of the whole number of turnpikes so authorized, more than half were actually constructed. The Newark and Mt. Pleasant road passed through Orange, and was laid, for the most part, on the old highway which had been surveyed in 1705. Orange Street in Newark, from a point about four hundred feet above High Street, was then opened, as it now runs, ^ and was " worked" as far as its intersection with the old Crane Road, heretofore described. {Ante, page 47. ) From the latter point, the turnpike was laid out anew for a distance of about six hundred feet, leaving the old road to the north. This part still remains open to public use, and is honored with the name of Hed- den Place. No other change was made until the turnpike reached the open space in front of St. Mark's Church, in West Orange, where it left the old route toward "Wheeler's," and, turning to the north, took a direct course to the base of the Mountain. In this way was formed the triangular plot of land, bounded by the Valley Road on the east, Condit Place on the northeast, and the turnpike on the west. The turnpike was continued to Morristown, and thence, by the Washington Turnpike, to the Delaware River. This was for many years the principal means of travel from Easton, Pa., and from Warren, Sussex and Morris Counties, to the Passaic River, and the waters of New York Bay. Another great thoroughfare from the interior was down the Pequanac River, over the Paterson and Ham- I. The crown of the hill has been much reduced, and the whole street graded, since about 1855 ; but the lines are unchanged. 268 History of the Oranges. bnrg Turnpike, to the head of Poin]3ton Valley ; and thence by the Pompton and Newark Turnpike through Bloomfield and Newark to New York. In the fall and winter seasons these roads, for the first three days of each week, were alive with teams and heavy Jersey wagons, carrying butter, grain, flour, pork and other farm produce to market. The last three days of the week witnessed their return, freighted with sugar, molasses, Jamaica rum and merchandise, of all kinds, for the shop-keepers in the interior. The traffic was economically managed. The feed for the teams was carried upon the wagons, and often the food for the men who drove them. One shilling was the uniform rate, at the way- side inns, for each stabling and lodging per night, as well as for a single meal at table. The evenings at these inns were festive occasions. The bar-room was primitive in construc- tion and furniture ; but it was well warmed by stove or open fire-place, and often crowded with guests. Frequent tumblers of hot toddy, — made from apple jack or whiskey, — opened the hearts and loosened the tongues of the assemblage ; and song and story fol- lowed each other in quick succession, until the neces- sity for sleep, as a preparation for the next day's work upon the road, drove the merry-makers to their unwelcome beds. Previous to the extension of the Morris and Essex Railroad to Phillipsburg, these caravans of Warren and Sussex wagons were a bi-weekly spectacle on the main street of the Oranges. We have been told by old residents who remember them, that they have sometimes seen as many as thirty teams in line. But the turnpikes were beaten by the railroad. The char- ters were surrendered ; the gates taken down ;''and the roads abandoned to the public. And the country tav- THE THIRD MEETING-HOUSE ; 1813. The Third Meeting- House. 269 eins, thus deprived of their principal source of in- come, have either gone out of business entirely, or have lost their old-time gayety and prosperity. THE THIRD MEETING-HOUSE. In 1811, the corporate title of the Orange Congre- gation was changed from the "Second Presbyterian Church of Newark," to the "Fii'st Presbyterian Church of Orange." In that year, the pastor felt it to be a duty to pro- vide another and more appropriate edifice for the wor- ship of Gfod. The needs of the town, by reason of its increasing population, seemed to him to demand it. The second meeting-house had now stood for fifty- eight years. The congregation had outgrown it ; and it was homely in style, and compared unfavorably with the churches of Newark and other neighboring- places. Dr. Hilly er, thereupon, proposed the erection of a new building. Mr. Hoyt says : "Some approved, and some objected. Some thought it feasible, and some impossible. He asked certain persons of the latter class if they would favor the undertaking, pro- vided he w^ould secure the subscription of a certain sum of money, which he named." 1 He began his effort on a Monday morning, and, before the close of the week, he had secured more than twice the sum he required. Jared Harrison subscribed S500 ; Aaron Harrison and Stephen D. Day, $300 each ; and six others gave $200 each. This prompt response I. The old church building was in the middle of the street. Its west end was nearly on a line with the east line of Day street. The broadside of the building, (called the " backside," in the resolution of the parish meeting,) having two ranges of windows, one above the other, was directly opposite our present Music Hall. The entrance door was in the centre of the south side, thus fronting the site of the building now occupied by the Orange Savings Bank. 270 History of the Oranges. led to a speedy and cordial determination to build a new churcli ; one which should be worthy of the growing town and of a prosperous congregation. The parish, at a meeting held on May 29, 1811, em- powered the trustees to expend of the parish funds the sum of $250 for the purchase of a site on the "back- side" of the old meeting-house. The lot, (one acre and a quarter,) was purchased of Stephen D. Day, in the same year. The price paid was $400. It is de- scribed as bounded on the east, north and west by lands of Stephen D. Day, and south by "the Com- mons the meeting-house stands on." Little more seems to have been done that required the action of the parish before its annual meeting, on April 9, 1812. Then the Trustees reported that the Society was free from debt, and that its assets were as follows : Bonds and mortgages, . . $5,684 49 Notes against different persons, 151 56 Judgments obtained, . . . 80 00 Arrears in tax lists, subscriptions not called in, 59 10 Money on hand, . . . . 10 96 $5,986 11 On June 4, 1812, it was resolved "to proceed to build a church, agreeable to our subscription for that purpose." Moses Dodd was appointed superintending architect ; he was to receive for his services three dol- lars a day. The corner stone was laid on September The Third Meeting- House. 271 15th of the same year. The work of construction was prosecuted during the summer and autumn of 1813. ^ On January 7, 1814, it was dedicated to God for its sacred uses. ^ The steeple remained in an unfinished state till the next year, when it was completed yf at an additional expense // of $2,750. The parish voted, April 14, 1814, that "the overplus money raised by the sale of the pews remain in the hands of the Trustees to defray the expense of finishing the house, purchasing a belP and chandeliers, and fencing the lot." ^d 7. ■X. o If, H -r, ^ 70 O o ■n ^ Tl X m L/o > n CO u: n r- > O 1— •^ z ^ Dr. Isaac Pier son. 299 Dr. Isaac Pierson, succeeded to the arduous duties of his profession, being thirty-nine years of age at the time of his father's death. He had been in practice about seventeen years, and was the only physician at the Orange Mountain. He was born August 15, 1770, pursued his preliminary studies at the Orange Acad- emy, and was graduated from the College of New Jer- sey, at Princeton, in 1789. Among his classmates was the celebrated Doctor David Hosack, with whom he maintained a personal friendship during the remainder of his life. Gov. Mahlon Dickerson, of New Jersey, Ephraim King Wilson and Silas Wood, members of Congress, were also among his classmates. He re- ceived his degree of Doctor of Medicine from the Col- lege of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. Wood^ s Newark Gazette, January 6, 1796, has the following notice of the young Doctor: "Married 29 Dec. 1795, by ReV Mr. Chapman, Doctor Isaac Pierson to Miss Nancy Crane, daughter of Mr. Aaron Crane of Cranetown." By this marriage union he had ten children; Dr. William, Rev. Albert, Phebe (Condit), Fanny (Jessup), Rev. Gfeorge, Edward, Aaron, Isaac, Harriett (Collins), Sarah (Terry.) Like his father before him. Dr. Isaac was identified with public affairs, holding positions of honor and influence. He served as Sheriff of Essex County, and afterwards represented his district in the 20th and 21 st %^c y^yof? Congresses of the United States. He was active in advancing the moral interests of the people, and in l^romoting the religious interests of the community, 300 History of the Oranges. having made a profession of his faith in Christ in the year 1810. As a medical man he was highly esteemed, and on all occasions he manifested a strong desire to advance the honor of his profession. He was a Fellow of the Medical Society of New Jersey, and its President in 1827, Being known as a man of good judgment, and as a safe adviser, matters of difference were frequently referred to him, and his decision was generally ac- cepted^as final. He died September 22, 1833, at the age of sixty- three. His eldest son, William Pierson, M.D., also a Fellow of the Medical Society of New Jersey, and who had been associated with him for thirteen years, succeeded to his practice. DR. WILLIAM PIERSOlSr, SENIOR. The memorial notice which follows, was written by the author of this volume for the Medical Society of New Jersey, in the year 1883 : Doctor William Pierson, son of Dr. Isaac Pierson, was born in Orange, N. J., December 4, 1796. ^ He pursued his early studies in Orange Academy, and in 1816 was graduated from the College of New Jersey with thirty-three others, of whom were John Maclean, (afterwards President of the College,) Charles (after- wards Bishop,) Mcllvaine, Judges Nevius and White- head, and his brother. Rev. Albert Pierson, who died nineteen years before him. I. Dr. Pierson was descended from Thomas Pierson, one of the Asso- ciates from Branford, of the New Haven Colony, who settled Newark in i666. He was a kinsman, probably a brother, of Rev. Abraham Pierson, who came with the Colony as its minister. Thomas had a son, Samuel, and he a son, Samuel (2d,) whose gth son was D"" Matthias, who had Dr Isaac, the father of the subject of this sketch. Dr. William Pier son j Senior. 301 That he assidnoiisly availed himself of the privileges of the institution, is illustrated by the fact that, upon graduating, he divided the first honors of the college with his brother, their standing being equal and in their class facile 'princi'pes. He entered uj)on the study of medicine with his father, then practising in Orange ; attended his first course of lectures in the University of Pennsylvania, and his second in the College of Physicians and Sur- geons in New York. While there he was in the offices .^-z^^'^ of Dr. David Hosack, an old fellow-student and friend of his father, and of Valentine Mott. With the latter he afterwards maintained a personal intimacy to the time of his old preceptor's death. He was present by invitation at his celebrated operation of ligature of the innominata. ' After completing his course of study, he was licensed to practice by the Medical Society of New Jersey, in 1820. He subsequently received from the same So- ciety the honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine. He became a practitioner in his native town in association with his father, and continued his professional work till advancing years and the infirmities of age led to his withdrawal. Dr. Pierson married Margaret Riker, daughter of Rev. Dr. Hillyer, fourth pastor of the First Presby- terian Church of Orange. She died in 1853. By this union he had six children. Two died in infancy. Ed- ward Dixon died a few months before him, in a mature and honorable manhood ; Dr. William, Jr. , and two daughters survive. 302 History of the Oranges. The Doctor was devoted to Ms profession. His prac- tice was large and over a wide district. In his earlier years there was no case in surgery which he hesitated to undertake, and in medical and obstetrical practice he was self-reliant and successful. He kept a record of over two thousand cases of labor, his observations on which he read some years since before the Medical Society of New Jersey. He was loyal to the welfare and honor of his profession. Licensed to practice in 1820, he appears as a delegate to the State Society in 1821. From that date, for nearly sixty years, its rec- cords bear testimony to his fidelity, and to the appre- ciation and respect of his medical associates. He began earlier in life than he was aware of, to be an instrument for good in medicine. Being born in the same year in which Jenner i)ublished his discovery of vaccination, his father, who took great interest in the subject and who was desirous of testing its worth, as well as the comparative value of inoculation, vac- cinated the little boy and his brother, arid at the same time inoculated two other children of about the same age, and placed the four in the same room. The dis- ease in each ran its specific course to a successful issue, and convinced the father that a perfect protection against small pox had been found in vaccination. He never inoculated afterwards. It may be stated here that the subject of our sketch, when he became a phy- sician, never vaccinated more than once, and always in the arm. He did not believe re- vaccination neces- sary. About ten years before his death he yielded to to the persuasions of his son, and was re-vaccinated, after he had ceased to practice medicine. As a citizen and a public man, he was judicious in counsel and jealous for the welfare of the people. In 1837-8, he was a member of the Legislature of New Dr. William Pierson, Senior- 303 Jersey. Subsequently lie was director of tlie Board of Freeholders, and from 1846 to 1850, Sheriff of Essex County. He was active in promoting the building of the Morris and Essex Railroad. He was a corporator of the Newark Savings Institution and for many years, Vice-President of the same. He originated and be- came a corporator of the Rosedale Cemetery of Orange in 1840, and nearly to the close of his life was an active trustee. When the Town of Orange was incorporated, he was elected its first Mayor, serving continuously for three years, and for three years thereafter was a mem- ber of the Common Council. These varied responsi- bilities were distinguished in their execution by intel- ligence and a sacred devotion to the public good. His active professional and public duties left him little time to note his observations as a writer. He read a few papers before the State Medical Society of New Jersey, which are published in its Transactions, notably its Centennial History, and two reports ; one of Obstetrical Practice, the other of cases of Hydro- phobia. His terse, doric style reflects the classic im- press of his early scholarship, and gives evidence that, if he had given himself to the pursuits of literature, he would have acquired distinction. Dr. Pierson descended from a godly ancestry, and his early training was under religious influences. While he was in college he became a subject of a re- vival of religion which occurred in the institution during his last year. His subsequent life was exem- plary, and his interest in the progress and welfare of the church was uniform and earnest. He did not, however, make a public profession of his faith in Christ till his later years, uniting with the church in 1876, six years before his decease. He then, and ever after, expressed his regret that he had so long deprived 304 History of the Oranges. himself of his privilege by resisting the claims of duty which had pressed themselves upon him ever since his conversion in college. This writer can bear testi- mony to his expressions of trust in the merits of his Saviour, and, as the weight of years bore heavily upon him, a longing to depart and be with Him. In the early Sabbath dawn of October 1, 1882, with little premonition, and without a struggle, he peace- fully passed into the noon-day light of the Heavenly Rest. His remains were borne to their resting place by the young physicians of Orange, and laid by them in the sepulchre prepared by himself, amid the surround- ings, largely formed by his own taste, in the Rosedale Cemetery, which it had been for so many years his pleasure to adorn and beautify. CHAPTER Xiy. A FEW NOTABLE MEN, BETHUEL PIEESOlSr. THOMAS PIERSON — supposed to have been a brother of the Rev. Abraham, who came to New- ark in 1666— was the ancestor of the family in the Oranges. He was an original Associate, and was pos- sessed of a good estate. He had a son, Samnel, who was three years old in 1666. About the year 1685, he came to the Mountain, and settled at South Orange. He and his sons were carpenters. It is traditional that they were the chief builders of the first meeting- house of the Mountain Society. He died in 1730, leav- ing three sons, namely, Joseph, Samuel and James. Joseph and Samuel remained at the Mountain. James abandoned New Jersey, and settled on Lake Cham- plain. Bethuel Pierson, the subject of our sketch, was the fourth child of Joseph. He was born in 1721, and died at the age of seventy years. Hi^ life was one of i^'-^^ great activity. The responsibilities to which he was called, in matters both civil and ecclesiastical, illus- 20 3o6 History of the Oranges. trate the confidence reposed in him by the people. In 1761, he was one of the agents appointed by the Town of Newark to allot and divide the parsonage lands be- tween the three societies, or congregations, known as the First Presbyterian Society, the Church of Eng- land, and the Mountain Society. ^ In 1772, the poor of the town were farmed out to him, as the lowest bidder, at £148, 10s ; and, in the next year, at £157. ^ That he was possessed of a good estate may be inferred from his liberal contributions for the building of our second meeting-house and the Parsonage. In 1762, he was elected an Elder in the Mountain Society, and all his subsequent life bore testimony to his fidelity to his ordination vows. He was distinguished for his patriotism during the Revolution, and was among the tried men of the Town- ship in sustaining the cause of his country. In 1774, he was made one of the Committee of Observation. In May, 1775, he was elected by the freeholders to rep- resent the county in the Provincial Congress, being associated with men of such prominence as Isaac Og- den, Philip Van Cortland and Isaac Camp. When the discord of war gave place to the hum of peaceful industry, we find the name of Bethuel Pierson connected mth all the best enterprises of the Town, civil, moral and religious. He was a model citizen, and his works do follow him. He first married Elizabeth Riggs, after whose de- cease, he married Widow Taylor.. He had one son. Dr. Cyrus, born in 1756, and two daughters, Rhoda and Mary. He died in 1791. 1. Newark Town Records, p. 145. 2. lb., pp. 153, 154- Thomas Williams. 307 THOMAS WILLIA^rS Was a son of Matthew (2), who was the second son of the primitive Matthew Williams. Captain Thomas was born in 1740. When the War began, he was thirty-six years old. His homestead was on Washing- ton Street, the same which was occnpied by, and still belongs to the estate of, his grandson, Judge Jesse Williams, who died in 1885. Thomas was an earnest patriot, and was commission- ed as captain of a company of local militia in Colonel Van Cortland's regiment. He was known throughout the War, and ever after, as Captain Tom."^ Wash- ington confided in his loy- alty, and on more than one occasion, when passing through this region, visited him at his house. The Captain was a leading man in his own neighborhood, but we infer that he confined himself to it ; his name does not appear anywhere in the municipal affairs of the township at large. He was well known to the Tories, but escaped seri- ous injury to himself or his property. One day, a party of about forty Hessian soldiers came to his house. The Captain was in the yard. His visitors threatened to shave one-half of his head. When about to proceed to the operation, they were attracted by some barrels of cider standing near at hand. Having drank all they wanted, (which was not a little,) they took their leave, going across the fields towards the highway, now Main Street. At a convenient spot, in the rear of the meeting-house, and on the site of our I. The note, on page 173, which refers the title of Captain Williams to his having had command of the Parish Sloop, was an error. It may be seen, on page 233, that he held the title in December, 1784, at the parish meeting when it was determined to build a boat. 3o8 History of the Oranges. present Music Hall, they lay down among the trees and slept off the effects of their potations. Among the manuscripts in the library of the New- Jersey Historical Societj^ is an original record of a "court martial held at Newark Mountain, July 7, 1780, at the house of Samuel Munn, [now the Park House,] for the trial of several soldiers in Col. Philip Van Cortland's Regiment, Essex County Militia, belonging to Capt. Thomas Williams' Company, for disobeying orders and not turning out on their proper tour of duty, on the 20th of June last, and on the alarm of the 23d of June, and for desertion." The court was composed of Qaptains Josiah Pier- son, President, Thomas Williams, Isaac Gillam and Henry Joralemon ; Lieutenants Henry Squire and John Edwards ; and Ensigns Remington Parcel, Thomas Baldwin and Ralf Post. The court found the ac- cused guilty of all the charges against them, and unan- imously agreed to fine them in the several sums affixed to their names : Jonathan Williams, £500 ; Charles Crane, £200 ; and Joseph Tomkins, £3, 15, 0. Exemplary punishment, it would seem, until we re- member that the fines were to be paid in continental money, of which, in that year, eight thousand nine hundred dollars were equivalent to one hundred dol- lars in silver. BENJAMIN WILLIAMS Was a cousin of Captain Thomas ; being the eldest son of Amos, the brother of Thomas' father. Benjamin and Thomas were of nearly the same age. Both were of good wordly estate. The former was a loyalist, and became a refugee within the enemy's lines. The Tory element was not made up of any single class or condition of men. Some of them were arrant Benjamin Williatns. 309 cowards, in abject fear of the 35,000 soldiers of the well-appointed army of Great Britain. Others, and perhaps the largest class, were made up of those who, in every community and in every period, have not achieved worldly success, who are envious of their more prosperous neighbors, or who believe that the world owes them a living, whether it come by fraud or by fidelity to the right. It was this class which caused such apprehension, and such havoc in New Jersey, in the last month of 1776. But, the third and the best class was composed of those who were honestly un- settled in their minds, as to the measures required to secure a redress of political grievances, and the future peace and prosperity of the American Colonies. They were unwilling to meet the momentous issue by a declaration of Independence of the mother country. When hostilities were actually begun, and a large British army had been landed on Long Island and Staten Island, there were many of these over-cautious people in New York, and not a few in New Jersey, who left their homes and Joined that army, or placed themselves under its protection. The subject of our notice belonged to this last men- tioned class. He was a man of standing and influence in his neighborhood. It would appear that he was something of a leader there, as he acquired the sobri- quet of "Governor Ben," and retained it to the end of his long life. In December, 1776, he received protection from His Majesty's Commissioner in Newark, and, on February 27, 1777, two months thereafter, he took the oath of 3IO History of the Oranges. allegiance to the King, at New York, and became a member of tlie Royal Militia. ^ The Legislature of New Jersey, recognizing that many who had thus exiled themselves from their homes might desire to return, passed an act on June 6, 1777, granting a "free and general pardon for all offenders who desired to return to their allegiance and adhere to their country's cause, by taking the oath pre- scribed, before the fifth of August next ensuing, before a Judge of the Supreme Court, or Court of Common Pleas, or justice of the peace." By the earnest solic- itation of Capt. Thomas Williams, whose regard and friendship for his cousin had not been lessened by this diversity of political sentiment, "Governor Ben" was persuaded to save his property from confiscation. He then owned considerable land, and had gone to much expense in improving it. Attended by Captain Thomas Williams and Stephen Harrison, Esq. , he went before Judge John Peck, of the Essex Court of Common Pleas, and, as the last hours of the last day limited by the statute were closing, he took the oath of abjuration of kingly authoritj^, as well as the oath of allegiance to the new government. ^ This latter oath he kept according to the letter thereof, but his sympathy with the cause of Independence was not cordial. To the end of his life, he cherished a love for the mother country and its institutions. When he was in New York he was treated well and with respect, and he had access to the books in the officers' quarters. Among them was a work on Episcopacy, written by one of the 1. From old documents preserved by the family. 2. The oath was as follows : " I, A. B., do sincerely profess and swear (or affirm) that I do, and will, bear faith and allegiance to the government established in this State under the authority of the people. So help me God." Benjamin Williams. 3 1 1 non-juring bishops. The reading of this book drew his attention to the ecclesiastical polity and religious faith of the Church of England, which he quickly adopted and to which he ever after gave his adherence. How faithful and efficient it was, will appear later in the progress of this history. His brother, Nathaniel, together with his two sons, Amos and James, were uncompromising in their loy- alty to the King. He went to New York, and died there of small pox. His house and the land adjoining it, now known as "the Bramhall property," in Tory Corner, were confiscated and sold for the benefit of the State. His wife, who was a sister of Dr. Matthias Pierson, was so much esteemed at the Mountain that no one would bid against her at the sale, and thus de- prive her and her family of their home. She bought it in for £5. Amos, one of the sons of Nathaniel, exiled himself to Nova Scotia, and died there. James, the other son, was about twenty years old when he went to New York, and entered the British service. He was there in the severe winter of 1779-80, when the Bay of New York was frozen so hard that sleighs, heavily laden with provisions, crossed from New York to Staten Island. He also emigrated to Nova Scotia, and after remaining there for thirty years, returned to the old neighborhood, where he married and died, without issue, in 1825. These royalists all lived in ' ' Tory Corner. ' ' At times, it has been called " Williamsville ;" but the old War- name can never be displaced. It is a pleasing reflec- tion that, if a few of the earlier inhabitants were dis- ^ ^^^i i/ecA 312 History of the Oranges. loyal to the American cause, they were honestly so, and that their neighbors always held them in high regard JOHN PECK. This son of Deacon Joseph Peck, and grandson of Joseph, one of the first Newark settlers, was born in 1732, and died in 1811. Though a man of no letters, he possessed large influence and was fearless and positive in his opinions. He became a Judge of the the Court of Common Pleas. His respect, however, for the opinions of lawyers was very small. On one occasion, while a case was being argued before him, he interrupted the attorney's speech by calling out: "Be brief, Mr. Ogden, I have given judgment." One of his decisions was : "A man who has a deed for his land, owns from the centre of the earth to the top of the heavens." He was an Elder of the Orange church in 1784. To the British, during the War, he was very obnox- ious on account of his active patriotism, and he was in frequent danger of capture, being sometimes com- pelled to make a hasty flight on his horse for refuge over the Mountain. His house, built of stone, was on the southeast corner of Main Street and Maple Ave- nue, in East Orange. The latter highway now runs through his acres. The locality was called "Peck's Hill ' ' for a century or more, and is still so called by the old people. The old homestead was taken down in 1813, and much of the stone composing it was worked into the walls of the First Presbyterian Church, which was then in process of construction. His son, Joseph, who inherited the property, built a framed dwelling- house, to which he removed, and in which his family continued to reside for many years. Stephen D. Day. 313 STEPHEN D. DAY. Stephen D. Day, a descendant of George Day, one of the Newark settlers, came to Orange in or about 1798. On March 30th, of that year, he purchased land on the southwesterly corner of Main and Cone streets ; the latter of which was described in the deed as ' ' the new road lately laid out." The lot reached from the Academy, eastwardly, to the street corner. He soon afterwards bought the land on the easterly side of Cone Street, extending from the line of the same eastwardly, to the well on the line of the " Central Hotel " prop- erty, then owned by Bethuel Pierson. Mr. Day built a two -story house on the corner of the lot first pur- chased by him. Here he opened a store, and con- ducted a general business, such as was usual in country towns of that period. At an early date he formed a co-partnership with John Morris Lindsley, whose sister he married in 1819. The partnership continued till 1806, when, in September of that year, it was dissolved. While this business connection existed, Mr. Day built a new store for the firm on the easterly corner of Cone Street, the site of which is now occupied by the Orange Savings Bank. It was a frame building, and in order to give place to one of brick, was, some years since, moved to the southerly end of Cone Street, where it now stands, and is used as a dwelling. In 1811, Mr. Day bought out his partner, Lindsley, and continued the business in the old premises. In 1813, he sold all his property on the south side of Main Street to Mr. 314 History of the Oranges. lindsley, taking in part payment the lot on which Music Hall now stands, and whereupon Mr. Day soon after built the house and store which he occupied till his death. Day Street was not opened when this last purchase was made. That the improvement was then contem- plated, would appear from the terms of the deed made by him to the Church Trustees about that time for the lot on which the present meeting-house was erected. The southeastern corner of this lot is described as being seventy-five links from the southwestern corner of John M. Lindsley' s lot. These fifty feet were, in 1813, thrown out as a road through Mr. Day's land, which road ran northwardly to the present Washington Street. In 1814, Mr. Day built his house on the Linds- ley lot, opposite to the new church. It was a large, double, two-story building ; the most conspicuous as well as the best-appointed dwelling in the district west of Newark. The southwesterly corner of the ground floor was used as a country store. The building was burned to the ground on Tuesday night, March 3, 1866. Day Street was laid out and opened in 1813. Mr, Day then owned the lands on both sides of the street, from the main highway to a point about two hundred feet north of Park Avenue ; and the Williamses held beyond him. The road is distinguished as being the first highway running northwardly, which was opened between Park Street, or the Cranetown Road, and the Stephen D. Day. 315 Valley Road, There had previously been a rude cart- path, beginning on the main road at a point near the present Cleveland Street, and running northeastwardly to the present line of Day Street, at or near the north- ern boundary of Mr. Day's land. This cart-path was at times wet and impassible by teams, and an improved highway was needed. Judge Day was born July 1, 1772. His descent from the primitive settler of Newark Township was as follows : 1. George Day, settler, 1669. Rated, ^120. 2. Joseph, born 1695. 3. Jonathan, born 1720. 4. David, born 1745. 5. Stephen D., born 1772. His birth-place was Camptown, now Irvington, and his mother was Elizabeth Lyon, of Lyons Farms. He had three brothers and five sisters. David, one of his brothers, died and was buried in Orange. A sister named Comfort, married Stephen C. Ayres. Three of her sons became successful and highly esteemed phy- sicians in the Western States. Stephen D. Day married (1) Sarah, daughter of Judge John Lindsley, whose former home, on South Orange Avenue, is now owned and occupied by the Roman Catholics as an Orphan Asylum. Six children were born of this union, of whom three died in in- fancy ; the remaining three were Robert Patten, born December 16, 1799 ; Eliza, bom October 8, 1805, mar- ried Rev. George Pierson ; and Charles Rodney, born November 6, 1808, died August 19, 1870. The last- named was graduated from the College of New Jersey at Princeton, 1880. Mr. Day married (2) Mary, a sister of his lirst wife. By her he had no issue. 3i6 History of the Oranges. In early life he manifested great aptness for busi- ness and a strong desire for active employment. No undertaking seemed too arduous for him to engage in, and, while yet young, he appeared to be a man of ripe experience and judgment. With a conscience awake to his obligations to his fellow men and to his Maker, no selfish considerations deterred him from yielding to its dictates. Before the days of total abstinence, the sale of ardent spirits had formed a profitable part of his large and flourishing trade. As was then com- mon, his sideboard was always made inviting by his well-filled decanters, which were hospitably open to every guest. The arguments against the use of strong drink had made no impression upon him. It hap- pened, however, upon a certain occasion, that a sea captain, who was his guest, sickened and died at his house. From his house also the deceased was con- veyed to the grave ; and, as was then customary, the well-furnished decanters on the sideboard were re- sorted to during the preliminary services, and to such a degree that the bearers were unable to perform their duty with proper decorum. When Mr. Day returned from the grave, he promptly ordered the decanters to be emptied and removed from their accustomed place. From that time onward he was a pronounced and con- sistent advocate of temperance reform. The apple orch- ards which adorned his well-tilled acres were cut down by his command, notwithstanding the loss to him of their rich revenues. His old friends sometimes up- braided him upon the use of tobacco, to which he was largely addicted ; and they freely charged him with inconsistency. He decided the question in his own way and in his own time. One day when riding alone he was led to reflect upon the tobacco habit — its waste of money and time. Taking his pipe from his mouth Stephen D. Day, 3 1 7 he broke it in pieces, resolving never to use it again. A small portion of the stem he put in his pocket, and kex>t it there for many a long year, as a continual re- minder of his laudable resolution. He owned much real estate in different parts of the township ; but such was his desii-e to facilitate im- provements and to hasten the growth of the neighbor- hood, that he sold building lots whenever they were called for, at such low prices as to excite ridicule of the land-grabbers and speculators of the period. He introduced the first piano into Orange, for the use of his daughter. It is to be supposed that he derived more pleasure and profit from this paternal act, than from another venture which he related to this writer. About 1828, he made a journey to Easton, Pa., in a one- horse wagon. Having reached there and disposed of his load, it occurred to him that he would carry home with him a small quantity of anthracite coal ; numerous heaps of which had attracted his attention in different parts of the town. He had never seen it before. Some persons whom he met, and of whom he inquired as to its use and value, told him that the stones might be worth something for fuel, but that they had never tested them. It was the day of small things with anthracite, even in Easton. Our wide- awake townsman determined that he would make a trial of it, and decide for himself. He therefore bought half a ton, and, with it in his wagon, journeyed home- ward. Upon his arrival, he experimented with his recent purchase in both sitting-room and kitchen, but the refractory coals could not be induced to burn. Kindling wood and bellows availed nothing. There was not even a pretence of combustion. Then he car- ried a generous supi)ly of the carbons to a blacksmith shop near at hand, where he and the knight of the forge 3i8 History of the Oranges. applied their united energies to the work. They suc- ceeded, as he told the writer, in making some of the stones "red hot," but that was all— the stones did not and would not "take fire." Completely dis- gusted, he abandoned the effort. He was perfectly satisfied with wood for domestic fuel; the old ways were the best. The coals lay for several years in his back yard, where they were exposed to the eye of every passer-by, and were always known as "the black stones which ' Squire Day had carted all the way from Easton."! In the War of 1812, Mr. Day raised a company of volunteer infantry, to be commanded by himself in the service of the United States during the months of August and September. The company was composed of young men, chiefly farmers from over the Moun- tain. He generously offered to accept the same pay as the privates, and divided the balance of his cap- tain's pay among them, 'pro rata. After the work on their farms during the day was completed, they came down the Mountain by the "Christian's Path," and spent the evening in drill. A pay-roll, still preserved, gives the names of the officers and men, with official notes, also, of the service of the company : 1. Stephen D. Day, Captain. 2. Timothy Ward, Lieut. 3. Caleb Quimby, S. Major. 4. Danl. Porter, Sergeant. 5. Ira Pierson, Sergt. 6. Elijah C. Pierson, do. 7. Aaron Pierson, do. 8. Elijah R. Hedden, Corporal. 9. Jos. S. Condit, do. I. Anthracite coal was first used for domestic purposes by Judge Jesse Fell, of Wilkesbarre, Pa., in 1808. It came into general use upon the dis- covery of the true method of its combustion by Rev. Eliphalet Nott, Presi- dent of Union College, in 1828. Stephen D. Day. 319 10. Silas D. Condit, Corporal. II. Stephen Woodruff, do. 12. Wm. W. Tonner, Musician, 13. Henry Pierson. 14. W. Sayres Condit. 15. Daniel Pierson. 16. Moses Ward Condit. 17- Benj. Ward. 18. John Mitchell. 19. John Mitchell. 20. John Sullivan. 21. Jotham Pierson. 22. Benj. Condit. 23- Joseph Canfield. 24. Asa Winchell. 25. Jotham Condit. 26. Lewis Williams. 27. Danl. Cochran. 28. Zebina Ward. 29. Wm. Crane. 30- Nehemiah Tunis. 31- Benj. Townly. 32. Hiram Q. Force. 33- Israel Coon. 34. John Gummerson. 35. Squire Yeoman. 36. Linus Williams. 37. Caleb Pierson. 38. Joseph Smith. 39- Lewis Pierson. 40. Wm. P. Baldwin, Pay per month : Capt., Lieut, and Ensign, not noted. S. Major, $12. Sergeant, $ii. Co irporal, $io. Ml isician, $9. Privates, $8, Roll is endorsed as follows : " Camp Heights of Navesink." Sept. 23, 1814. " Brigade Head Quarters : Capt. Day's Company, Orange Volunteers, agreeable to the within Muster Roll is furloughed for ten days, ending on the 320 History of the Oranges. fourth of October next, on which day they are ordered to rendez- vous at Newark, and repair with all possible despatch to this en- campment, unless ordered to the contrary. Wm. Colfax, B. Genl." Of tried integrity, and highly esteemed by his fellow- townsmen, he held numerous positions of responsi- bility. He was the first i^resident of the Orange Bank in 1828, and retained the office for twenty-four years. He was also a State Senator for two terms ; a director, and at one time the temporary president, of the Mor- ris and Essex Railroad Comj^any ; also for many years one of the Judges of the County Court of Common Pleas. In all the many important enterprises of his time he was a wise, prudent and efficient leader. He was always in the advance ; never in the rear. He was a believer in the great principles of the Christian faith, of which he made a public profession in 1828, thirty-one years before his decease. Judge Day was short of stature ; in his later years, stout in person; always of quiet mien and cheerful manners. He had strong convictions, but did not intrusively urge them upon others. Sagacious and successful in his worldly plans, he had an eagle eye to the promotion of the public good ; and in his death, on February 14, 1856, left behind him the savor of a good, useful and honorable life. His mortal remains were laid in the old parish graveyard. Together with those of his brother, David, and other members of his family, they were removed, some years afterwards, to the Rosedale Cemetery. FACSIMILES OF AUTOGRAPHS. Baldwin, Amos, 192. Chapman, Jedidiah, 191. Condit, John, 295. Cone, Joseph, 240. Crane, Jasper, 47. Crane, Nathanael, 86. Crane, William, 144. Cundict, Jemima, 182. Cundit, Matthew, 240. Cundict Samuel, 136. Day, Stephen D., 313. Dod, John, 58. Dod, Joseph, 170. Dod, Matthias, 170. Dod, Samuel, 214. Dod, Stephen, 143. Dodd, Calvin, 59. Dodd, Moses, 271. Freeman, Samli, 143. Freeman, Timothy, 136. Gardner, Thomas, 129. Harrison, Aaron, 85. Harrison, Abijah, 294. Harrison, Amos, 38. Harrison, Ira, 14. Harrison, Jared, 270. Harrison, Samll, 85. Harison, Samuel, 187. Hillyer, Asa, 222. Jones, Cyrus, 169. Lamson, Eleazar, 119. Lindsley. John, 257. Lindsley, John M., 314. Macwhorter, Alex., 98. Mun, Aaron, 223. Mun, Benjamin, 280. Olef, Anthony, 49. Peck, John, 312. Peck, Joseph, 124. Perry, John, 223. Pierson, Abraham, 7. Pierson, Bethuel, 305. Pierson, Isaac, 299. Pierson, Matthias, 290. Pierson, Thomas, 8. Pierson, William, 301. Prudden, John, 100. Range, John, 214. Riggs, Jos., 48. Riggs, Joseph, 123. Roe, Azel, 148. Smith, Caleb, 121. Taylor, Daniel, 104. Treatt, Robert, 3. Webb, Joseph, 97. Wheeler, Nathanil, 48. Williams, Amos, 51. Williams, Benjamin, 309. Williams, David, 144. Williams, Isaac, 245. Williams, James, 311. WMlliams, Matthew, 84. Williams, Nathaniel, 274. Williams, Thomas, 307. Index. 321 INDEX. A. Baldwin, Academy, the, 229, 262. Baldwin, Acorn, William, 184. Baldwin, Akin, William, 206. Baldwin, Alberts, Hance, 250. Baldwin, Allen, Joseph, 164. Baldwin, Allen, Samuel, 140, 290. Baldwin, Amett, Hannah, 19S. Amett, Isaac, 19S. Baldwin, Apple Orchards, 38. Baldwin, Anti-Renters, 91. Baldwin, Arthur, Rev. 'fhomas, 125. Baldwin, Ashfield, Euphemia, 277, 278. Baldwin, Ashfield, Isabella, 277. Baldwin, Ashfield, Lewis Morris, 277. Baldwin, Ashfield, Mary, 277. Baldwin, Ashfield, Richard, 277. Baldwin, Astor, John Jacob, 281. Baldwin, Axtel, Rev. Henry, 204. Baldwin, Ayres, Comfort, 315. Baldwin, Ayres, Stephen C, 315. Baldwin, Baldwin, B. Babbit, Daniel, 230, 271. Bacon, John, 291. Baldwin, Aaron, 140, 149, 15T, 153, 206, 208. Baldwin, Abigail, 209. Baldwin, Amos, iii, 140, 149, 151, 152, 192. Baldwin, Benjamin, 140, 149, 152, 203. Isaldwin, Bethuel, 209. Baldwin, Caleb, 138, 180, 181, 208, 210. Baldwin, Daniel, 140. Baldwin, David, 137, 140, 1 51. Baldwin, Eleazer, 153. Baldwin, Electa, 208. Baldwin, Elijah, 253. Baldwin, Elizabeth, 206, 208. Baldwin, Esther, 152, 208. Baldwin, Eunice, 206, 208. Baldwin, Hannah, 210. Baldwin, Hulda, 151. Baldwin, Israel, 140. Baldwin, Jeremiah, 138, 140, 292. Baldwin, Joanna, 209. Baldwin, Job, 208. 21 , Jonathan, 206, 210. , Joseph, 151, 208-210, 233. , Joseph T., 233^. , Joshua, 140. , josiah, 131, 206. , Einus, 153. , Mary, iii, 151. 207, 208, 210. , Moses, 140, 143- , Nehemiah, 64, 133. , Rebecca, 208. , Rhoda, 151. , Robert, 138, 140, 149, 153. , Samuel. 95. , Sarah, 151, 152, 208. , Silas, 207, 208. , Simeon, 206. , Susannah, 153. , Thomas, 308. , William P., 319. , Zadoc, 209, 275. , Zebulon, 208. Ball, Caleb, 47, 49, 50. Ball, Edward, 50. Ball, Ezekiel, 234. Banks, Joseph, 280. Baptisms, 151, 153, 207-210. Baptist Church, at Northfield, 21S ; at Lyons Farms, 219; Early Days of, 220 ; iS^'ames of its Pastors, 221. Bay Psalm Book, The, 108. Bayne, Hannah, 146. Beach, Abby, 198. Beach, David, 140. Beach, Nathaniel, 198. Belcher, Governor, 277. Bellamy, Rev. Joseph, 190, 191, 196. Belleville, 2 ; Raids of British troops into, 168 ; Brave men from, 175. Berkelv, Lord John, 78, 80, 89. Bills of Credit. See Paper Money. Bloomfield, Gen. Joseph, 218. Bloomfield, 2 ; Privilege to dig for ore in, 57 ; Church at, 218 ; Origin of the name, 218. Boots and Shoes, 43, 278. See also Shoeniaking. Bostedo, Agnes, 207. 122 History of the Oranges Bostedo, Peter, 138, 140. Bostedo, Sarah, 206. Boston Port Bill, 158 ; Action of the House of Burgesses of Virginia in regard to, 159 ; Meeting of the inhabitants of Essex Coun- ty, and their action relating to, 160 ; Action of a Conveniion of the Committees of the sev- eral counties in regard to, 161- 163. Boudinot, Elias, 60, 161. Boudinot, Elisha, 165. Bowen, Lemuel, 140. Bowers, Rev. Nathaniel, 98, 99, 250. Bowers, Timothy, 140. Boylston, Dr. Zabdial, 2S4. Brainard, David, 26, 27. Bramhall Property, 311. Branford, Church at, 5. Brown, Job, 140. Bruen, Charlotte, 207. Bruen, Timothy, 207. Buckingham, Rev. Jedidiah, 98, 99, 101-103, 105. Buckingham, Mrs. Mary, 102. Buckingham, Rev. Stephen, 102. Buckingham, Thomas, 102. Buel, Rev. Dr., 227. Building Lots, 239, 240. Burgesses, 72. Burnet, Edmund, 151. Burnet, Governor, 61. Burnet, Dr. Ichabod, 289 ; A copy of one of his bills, 290 ; The in- structor of Dr. Matthias Pier- son, 292. Burnet, Jemima, 151. Burnet, John R., 221. Burnet, Mary, 150, 151. Burnet, Silas, 149, 150-152. Burnett, Dr. William, 164, 165. Burr, Rev. Aaron, 122, 125, 127, 133. By Hinge, Edward, 80. C. Cadmus, Thomas, 57, 58, 164, 171. Caldwell, Rev. James, 19I, 193, 199, 216, 217. Caldwell, Church at, 215-217 ; When it became a Township, and De- rivation of its Name, 217. Callahan, Jacob, 207. Callahan, Rachel, 207. Camfield, Mary, 206. Camp, Caleb, 164, 165, 277. Camp, Isaac, 306. Camp, Joseph, 141. Camp, Nathaniel, 95, 251. Campbell, Aaron, 152. Campbell, Benjamin, 149, 152. Campbell, Charity, 153. Campbell, Henry B., 278. Campbell, James, 141. Campbell, John, 141, 149, 151, 153. Campbell, Katharine, 151. Campbell, Moses, 152. Campbell, Rebecca, 153. Camptown, 87, 193. Canfield, Benjamin, 184. Canfield, Ebenezer, 18, 140, 149, 151. Canfield, Joseph, 206, 319. Canfield, Phebe, 206. Canfield, Sarah, 151. Canoe Building, 23. Canoe Brook — Origin of its Name, 23 ; Now called Northfield, 219 ; Church at, 220, 221. Capital Offences, 72. Carey, John, 162. Carter 6. S., 22. Carteret, Sir George, 78, 80, 88, 89. Carteret, Philip, 72, 88. Cattle, when first imported, 37. Centre Street, 52. Century Day, iSoi, 241. Chapman, Blanche, 197. Chapman, Rev. Jedidiah, 137, 149 ; His game cock, 177 ; His cheers for freedom, 177 ; Re- ceives a visit from Lafayette, 178 ; Prepares a device for a seal for First Presbyterian Church of Orange, 180 ; Chap- lain in the army, 184 ; His au- tograph, igi; His ordination as pastor of the Mountain Society, 192 ; Salary of, 195 ; His inter- est in Princeton College, 196, 197; His lineage, 197; His mar- riage, 197 ; Death of his wife and his second marriage, 198 ; Names of his children, 198 ; Signal stations erected by him during the war, 199, 200 ; An assault upon his son and the result, 201 ; His call to mis- sion work in W^estern New York, 202 ; Resigns his charge in Orange, 203 ; His death, 204 ; Notes of a sermon preach- ed by him, 205 ; Referred to, 216, 218 ; His labors for the Orange Academy, 229, 230, 232; Referred to, 235, 241,243, 244, 256, 257, 262, 264, 299. Chapman, John Hobart, 198. Chapman, Margaretta, 198, 210. Index. 323 Chapman, Mary Valeria, 210. Chapman, Peter LeConte, 19S. Chapman, Robert, 197. Chapman, Robert Hett, 198. Chapman, William Smith, 198, 208. Chetwood, John, i6r. Christian Path, 193. Church, Rev. Isaac M., 221. Church at the Mountain. See Mew- ark Mountain. Church, (the first building), 106. Church, (the second building), 136. Church, (the third building), 269. Church Bell (the first), 238, 239. Cider-making in Newark, 39. Clark, Moses, 141. Clark, Samuel, 141. Cleveland, Grover, ex-President, 217. Cleveland, Rev. Richard F., 217. Cleveland Street, 315. Clisby, Joseph, 278. - Clopper, CorneHus, 59. Coalman, Mary, 207. Cochran, Daniel, 319. Coining Copper, Recommended by Gov. Hunter, 54. Coins, Drain of, 66 ; Pine tree shil- lings, 66 ; Value of various pieces, 66, 67. Cokren, John, 138. Colfax, William, 320. Coleman, David, 151. Collins, Harriet, 299. Commens, Philip, 188. Committee of Observation, 163, 164. Condit. See Cundit, Cundict. Condit, Abigail, 297. Condit, Benjamin, 319. Condit, Caleb, 208, 297. Condit, Charlotte, 297. Condit, Daniel, 140. Condit, Daniel D., 230. Condit, Edward, 238. Condit, Ichabod, 275. Condit, Isaac, 87, 140. Condit, Jacob, 297. Condit, John, 86, 87, 140, 229-231, 240, 242, 253, 273, 275, 295- 298. Condit, John S., 297. Condit, Capt. Jonathan, 233. Condit, Joseph, 273, 275, 296, 297. Condit, Joseph A., 275. Condit, Joseph S., 318. Condit, Jotham, 319. Condit, Mary, 295, 297. Condit, Matthew, 229, 231, 240. Condit, Moses, 153, 241. Condit, Moses Ward, 319. Condit, Nathaniel, 87. Condit, Peter, 87, 140. Condit, Phebe, 299. Condit, Philip, 87. Condit, Rhoda, 297. .Condit, Samuel, 87, 140, 143, 150, 153, 20S, 223, 295, 297. Condit, Silas, 245,297. Condit, Silas D., 319. Condit, Stephen, 275. Condit, W. Sayres, 319. Cone, Joseph, 240. Cone Street, 240, 313. Congress, Continental, measures adopted for instituting, 160. Delegates to, 163. Commit- tees of Observation recom- mended by, 163, 164. Dec- laration of Independence by, 167. Congress, Provincial Institution of, 166. Connecticut, Charter of, obtained, 4. Conolly, Benjamin, 210. Conolly, James, 210. Coon, Israel, 319. Cooper, John, 250. Copper Ore, Discovery of , 54. Mine Opened and Steam Engine Set Up, 55. Mining Epidem- ic, 56. Mine in Orange, 58- 62. Corey, Ashbel W. , 260. Cornbury, Governor, 67, 80, 90. Cortland, Stephen, 138. Counterfeiting, Penalty of, 69, Cowman, Johannes, 58, 59. Crane, Aaron, 210, 299. Crane, Abigail, 206, 209. Crane, Amos, 208. Crane, Azariah, 50, 86, 137, 138, 188,273. Crane, Caleb, 86, 140, 149, 151. Crane, Charles, 152, 308. Crane, Eleazer, 210. Crane, Eliakim, 152, 206, 208. Crane. Elihu, 140, 287. Crane, Ehzabeth, 207, 209, 210. Crane, Ezekiel, 140. Crane, Garniel, 140. Crane, Hannah, 207, 210. Crane, James, 203. Crane, Jasper, 3, 47, 86. Crane, Jedidiah, 128, 140. Crane, Jeptha, 210 Crane, Jeremiah, 208. Crane, Job, 140, 206, Crane, John, 151, 152, 253. Crane, Jonas, 209. 324 History of the Oranges. Crane, Jonathan, 207, 208. Crane, Joseph, 207, 210. Crane, Josiah, 192, 208. Crane, Lewis, 15, 140, 149, 152. Crane, Lois, 153, 207. Crane, Lydia, 209. < Crane, Martha, 151. Crane, Mary, 207, 208, 210, 287. Crane, Matthias, 207, 209. Crane, Nancy, 210, 299. Crane, Nathaniel, 86, 95, 137, 140, 151, 210. Crane, Nehemiah, 153, 208. Crane, Noah, 137, 140, 149, 151, 153, 208. Crane, Phineas, 265. Crane, Rachel, 207. Crane, Rhoda, 206. Crane, Samuel, 185, 207, 208, 210. Crane, Sarah, 206, 209. Crane, Stephen, 140, 149, 151, 153, 161, 163, 206, 209, 265. Crane, Stephen Bradford, 209. Crane, Thomas, 210. Crane, Timothy, 206. Crane, Uzal, 208. Crane, William, 138, 140, 143, 144, 149, 153, 208, 319. Crane, Zadoc, 153. Crane, Zenas, 208. Cranetown, 50, 51, 176, 193. Crow, Mr., 230. Crowel, Daniel, 209. Crowel, David. 151. Crowel, Henry Earl, 210. Crowel, Joseph, 140, 149, 151. Crowel, Katharine, 153. Crowel, Prudence, 209. Crowel, Samuel, 140, 20S, 210. Crowel, Thankful, 208. Crowell, Recompence, 149, 153. Cuming, John N., 234. Cundict, Amos, 152. Cuudict, Daniel, 150, 152, 164, 185. Cundict, David, 150, 152, 164. Cundict, Isaac, 146. , Cundict, Jemima, diary of, 38 ; Au- tograph of, 182 ; Extracts from her diary, 182-185, 285, 288 ; Biographical sketch of, 185, 186 ; Monument to, 187 ; Referred to, 195, 218, 219. Cundict, Joanna, 150, 152. Cundict, John, 86, 95, 96, 242, 247. Cundict, Lydia, 152. Cundict, Martha, 152. Cundict, Mary, 151. Cundict, Ruth, 185. Cundict, Samuel, 129, 136, 137, 185. Cundit, Eunice, 208. Cundit, Moses, 153. Cundit, Naomi, 208. Cundit, Samuel, 140, 150, 153. Currency, 65, 69. Curtis, John, 249. D. Darby, Rev., 216. Davenport, Rev. John, 4, 5. Daves, John, 138. Davie, Humphrey, 104. Davies, Cornelius, 152. Davies, Rev. Samuel, 127. Davies, Timothy, 150, 152, Davis, Caleb, 141. Davis, Jane, 207. Davis, Jonathan, 141. Davis, Silvanus, 208. Davis, Solomon, 164. Davis, Timothy, 207, 208. Day, Charles Rodney, 315. Day, Comfort, 315. Day, David, 50, 315, 320. Day, Eliza, 315. Day, Elizabeth, 315. Day, George, 84, 313, 315. Day, Jonathan, 315. Da), Joseph, 141, 315. Day, Mary, 315. Day, Robert Patten, 315. Day, Sarah, 315. Day, Stephen D., 230, 246, 247, 265, 269, 270, 313, 320. Day, Thomas, 188. Day Street, 314. Dean, Alexander, 245. Dean, John, 245, 278. Dean, Peter, 248. Deancey, Dr. John, 289. Debt, imprisonment for, 74. De Hart, John, 159, 161, 163. Deleplary, or De La Prairie, (the name by which Robert Vau- quellin, Surveyor-General of New Jersey, was sometimes designated,) 249. Dennis, John, 162. Denton, Richard, 5. Devoe, John, 141. Devoe, Richard, 141. Dickerson, Mahlon, 299. Dickinson, Hannah, 146. Dickinson, Rev. Jonathan, 118, 119, 121, 122, 286, 287, 289. Dickinson, Martha, 122. Dickinson, Mary, 141, 287. Disease and Pestilence, 282-289. Distilleries, 64, 65. Index. ;25 Dod. See Dodd. Dod, Aaron, 209. Dod, Abigail, 152. Dod, Abijah, 151. Dod, Abner, 209. Dod, Daniel, 136, 141, 250, 294. Dod, David, 209. Uod, Eleazer, T51. Dod, Elizabeth, 208. Dod, Enos, 151. Dod, Isaac, 141, 150-153, 207, 208. Dod, Jairus, 20S. Dod, Jeptha, 207. Dod, Joanna, 153. Dod, John, 58-60, 137, 139. I4i. 150, 152, 209, 214, 244. Dod, Joseph, 170, 209. Dod, Linus, 209.J Dod, Martha, 294. Dod, Matthias, 170. Dod, Moses, 206. Dod, Nathaniel, 141, 265. Dod. Phebe, 209. Dod, Robert, 209. Dod, Samuel, 56, 141, 20S, 209, 214, 250, 294. Dod, Sarah, 151, 290. Dod, Silas, 141, 265. Dod, Stephen, 137, 141. i43- Dod, Thomas, 150, 151. Dod, Uzal, 152. Dodd, Allen, 248, 281. Dodd, Calvin, 41, 58, 59, 60. Dodd, Eleazer, 248. Dodd, Linus, 223. Dodd, Matthias, 180, 181, 276. Dodd, Moses, 270, 271. Dodd, Rachael, 276. Dodd, Rev. Stephen, 218. Doe, John, 293. Dogs, tax on, 44. Dollar, derivation of the name, 67. Dongan, Governor, loi. Drunkenness, law concerning, 74. Drure. John, 141. Dugdale. 148. Dunham, Obed, 219. Durand, Asher B. , 180. Durand, John, 179, 180. Druse, John, 141. Dyes, used for domestic fabrics, 42. Dysentery in New Jersey, 147. Eagles, Alexander, 27S. Earle, John. 164. Eaton, John, 198. Eaton, Valeria, 198. Edwards, John, 308. Edwards, Rev. Jonathan, 118, 127, 291. Edwards, Morgan, 219. Edwards, Moses, 219-221. Elizabeth River, its sourse, 12, 16. EHzabethtown Purchase, 38. Elliott, Rev. Augustine, 221. Essex County, formation of, 32 ; In the War of the Revolution, 158, 167 ; Raids of British troops into various parts of, 168. F. Farran, Joseph, 141. Farran, Samuel, 141. Farrand, Ebenezer, 136, 138. Farrand, Moses, 164, 171, 172. Fenwick; John, 80. Finlay, Samuel, 291. First Meeting House, 106. First River, its source, 11. First School House, 77. First Settler, 83. Flora and Fauna of the Newark Mountain, 16. Foote, Major Isaac, 146. Foote, Rebecca, 146. Force, Hiram Q., 319. Franklin, Benjamin, 194. Freeman, Abel, 141. Freeman, Benjamin, 141, 150, 152. Freeman, Desire, 207. Freeman, Elijah, 208. Freeman, Hannah, 153. Freeman, Isaac, 233. Freeman, Jabez, 184, 278. Freeman, Jane, 209. Freeman, Jared, 184. Freeman, Jedidiah, 141, 152, 210, Freeman, John, 150, 152, 184, 207- 209. Freeman, Joseph, 206, 207. Freeman, Moses, 151. Freeman, Phebe, 207. Freeman, Rachel, 207. Freeman, Samuel, 102, 129, 137, 138, 141, 143, 152, 185, 192, 207. Freeman, Thomas, 141, 150, 152, 153- Freeman, Timothy, 136, 141, 150, 151. Freeman, Zenas, 152. Frelinghuysen, Theodore, 260. Frost, Josiah, 239. Fundamental AgreenTent adopted by first settlers of Newark, 6 ; Subscription to, not long in- sisted upon, 33-35. 326 History of the Oranges. G. Gage, General, 158. Gallahan, Cyrus, 210. Gallahan, Jacob, 210. Gallahan, Nancy, 210. Gallahan, Phebe, 210. Gallahan, Rachel, 210. Gallahan, Thomas, 210. Gardner, David, 207. Gardner, John, 141. Gardner, Sibel, 207. Gardner, Thomas, 129, 242. Garner, David, 141. Garrabrant, Garrabrant, 164. Garritoe, Henry, 161. General Assembly, the first, and how composed, 72 ; The first under the Crown, 81 ; Dissatisfaction of the people with, 91. General Congress. See Congress. Gibbon, Grant, 162. Gildersleeve, John, 141, 207. Gillam, Isaac, 308. Glebe, (The) 242-246. Goden, John, 141. Gould, John, 141, 150, 153. Gould, Sarah, 153. Gould, Thomas, 141. Grammar School, The, 131. Grant, Nathaniel, 209. Grant, Thomas, 209. Grants, Concessions, etc., of the Lords Proprietors, 78-80, Graveyard. See Old Grave Yard, also St. Mark's Grave Yard. Gray, Elizabeth, 207. Gray, John, 207. Gray, William, 128, 134, 139, 141, 150, 207, 245. Green, Rev. Jacob, 183, 194, 199, 216, 217. Griffin, Rev. Edward Dorr, 222, 224, 241. Griffin, Frances Louisa, 241. Grist Mills, 272, 273. Griswold, Margaret, 102. Grover, Rev. Stephen, 217. Guilford, 5, 31. Gummerson, John, 319, H. Half-way Covenant, 5. Hall, Mary, 150. Halsey, Abigail, 297. Halsey, Joseph, 297. Halsey, Rhoda, 297. Halsey, William, 234. Halstead, Matthias O., 241. Hand, William, 141, 150, 151. Hardenburg, John A., 296. Harris, Mr. 230. Harrison, Aaron, 38, 85, 151, 179, 186, 187, 201, 233, 269, 294. Harrison, Abialhar, 83. Harrison, Abijah, 25, 151, 294. Harrison, Abraham, 286. flarrison, Adonijah, 152, 288, 294. Harrison, Amos, 19, 38, 83, 85, 141, 150, 151, 153, 201, 209, 223, 233, 234, 294. Harrison, Comfort, 152. Harrison, Daniel, 85, 86. Harrison, David, 150, 153, 208. Harrison, Elizabeth, 208. Harrison, Esther, 208. Harrison, Eunice (Unis) 209. Harrison, George, 85, 86, 138. Harrison, Hannah, 206, 208, 209. Harrison, Ichabod, 164. Harrison, Ira, 14, 25, 38, 186. Harrison, Isaac, 139, 206, 209. Harrison, Jared, 206, 208, 269, 270. Harrison, Jemima, 151, 187. Harrison, Joanna, 150. Harrison, John, 141, 152, 188. Harrison, Joseph, 85, 86, 109, 130, 141. 143- Harrison, Jotham, 86, 170, 241. Harrison, Martha, 294. Harrison, Mary, 87, 151, 208, 209. Harrison, Matthew, 85, 141, 150- 152, 294. Harrison, Moses S., 248. Harrison, Nathaniel, 136, 138, 14T. Harrison, Phebe, 207, 209. Harrison, Reubin, 288. Harrison, Richard, 85, 141, 208, 209. Harrison, Ruth, 153. Harrison, Samuel, 22, 40, 56, 65, 67, 77. 85, 87, 95, 96, 127, 128, 130, 136, 137, 141, 143- 150, 179, 185-188, 289. Harrison, Simeon, 86, 206, 209. Harrison, Stephen, 86, 141, 150, 214, 310. Harrison Street, 52. Harrison, Susannah, 153. Harrison, Zenas, 208. Haskell, LlewellvnS., 52. Platfield, Rev. Dr., 228. Hats, the manufacture of, 62-64, 280. Hayes, Samuel, 277. Hays, Thomas, 141. Headden. See Hedden. Heady, Allen, 185. Heady, Sias, 184. Heady, Zadock, 185. Heckscher, Georgiana L., 47, 49. Index. 327 Hedden, Comfort, 152. Hedden, Ebenezer, 207. Hedden, Eieazer, 150, 151. Hedden, Elijah R., 318." Hedden, Elizabeth, 151. Hedden, Israel, 281. Hedden, (Headden) John, 150, 152, 208. Hedden, Joseph, 150, 151, 164, 272. Hedden, (Headden) Mary, 207, 209, 210. Hedden, Phebe, 151. Hedden (Headden) Rachel, 208. Hedden Sylvanus, 286. Hedden, Zadoc, 151, 210. Hessian Troops, ravages of, i6g, 308. Highways. See Roads. Hillyer, Abraham Riker, 227. Hiilyer, Rev. Asa, 106, 137, 178, 201 ; His settlement at Bot- tle Hill, 222 ; A manager of Princeton Theological Semi- nary, 225 ; Made a Doctor of Divinity, 225 ; An account of his father, 226 ; His early edu- cation, marriage and names of his children, 227 ; Referred to, 230, 244-246, 301 ; Called to Orange Dale, 262 ; Pro- poses the erection of a new church building, 269 ; The success of his effort, 270-272 ; In the new church edifice, 271. Hillyer, Edward Dickson, 227. Hillyer, Edward Truman, 201, 227. Hillyer, Jane Elizabeth, 227. Hillyer, Margaret Riker, 227, 301. Hillyer, Tace Bradford, 227. Hooker, Rev. Samuel, I02. Hornblower, James, 175. Hornblower, Josiah, 229, 230. Horseneck, 193 ; the people at, 215 ; Presbyterian Church of, 216. Horses, when first imported, 37. Hosack, Dr. David, 299, 301. Hoyt, Rev. James, 103, 106, iii, 216, 246, 269. Hunt, Abraham, 162. Huntington, Samuel, 250. I. Indians — Price paid to them for the lands covered by Newark town- ship, 1,2; Hackensacks, num- ber of in the Province, 22 ; Oraton, King of the Hacken- sacks, 22 ; Perro, proprietor of the Passaic lands, 22 ; Ca- noe building among, 23 ; Bas- ket making among, 24 ; Relics of, 24 ; Wampum, article of ex- change among, 24, 25 ; Barns of, 25 ; Character and man- ners of in West Jersey, 26 ; Religion of, 26-29 I Paths oi, 29, 30 ; Minisinks, 29 ; Pur- chase from, of the Elizabeth- town territory, 88 ; Purchase of land from, known as the Horseneck purchase, 92. J- Jackson, Rev. Abel, 218. James (jeams), Thomas, 141. Jails, broken open by the anti-renters 92. Jearas. See James. Jenner, Dr. (Edward), 302. Jessup, Fanny, 299. John, Samuel, 188. Johnson, Amos, 47, 50. Johnson, David, 277. Johnson, Eliphalet, 95, 96, 141. Johnson, Esq, 141. Johnson, Ezekiel, 148. Johnson, John, 47, 50, 277. Johnson, Joseph, 141. Johnson, Robert, 164. Jones, Cornelius, 206, 209. Jones, Cyrus, 169, 280, 281. Jones, Hannah, 206, 208, Jones, James, 206. Jones, Joanna, 206. Jones, John, 207, 208, 293. Jones, Joseph, 138. Jones, Martha, 209. Jones, Mary, 209. Jones, Matthias, 209. ones, Moses, 18. ones, Nancy, 2og. ones, Naomi, 209. Jones, Phebe, 207. Jones, Rachel, 208. Jones, Rev. Mr., 217, Jones, Samuel, 141, 209. Jones, Viner Van Zant, 281. Joralemon, Henry, 308. Joralemon, Nicholas, 175. Jury, trial by, 75. K. Kilbourne, Gershom, 141. Kingsland, Henry, 174. Kingsley, George P., 260. Kingsley, Philip, 260, Kinsey, James, 163. 328 History of the Oranges. Kirtland, Hester, igy. Kirtland, John, 197. L. Lafayette, Marquis de, 173 ; In Cranetown, 176 ; Spends a day with Rev. Mr. Chapman, 178. I.amson, Daniel, 96, 141. Lamson, Eleazer, 119,137, 139, 141. Lamson, Thomas, 138, 141. Lands, division ot, 79, 82, 97; Annual rents, 79. Land tenures, 78-87. Laws, under the Proprietors, 72 ; Various crimes and punish- ments, 73-75 ; Concerning marriages, 73 ; Concerning drunkenness, 74 ; Concerning ordinaries & retailing liquors, 74 ; Imprisonment for debt, 74 ; Trial by jury, 75 ; Defi- ance of by the anti-renters, 92. Leather and Tanneries, 273-275. LeConte, Margaretla, 198. LeConte, Dr. Peter, 198. Legislation and the laws, 72-75. Lindsley, Amos, 142. Lindsley, Benjamin, 142. Lindsley, Charlotte, iii. Lindsley, Ebenezer, 142, 207. Lindsley, Mrs. Jeptha B.^ 48. Lindsley, John, 233, 234, 257, 258, 271'- 315- Lindsley, Rev. John, 203. Lindsley, John Morris, iii, 230, 231, 260, 313, 314. Lindsley, Josiah, 142. Lindsley, Mary, 315. Lindsley, Romana A., 260. Lindsley Sarah 315. Lindsley, Shaler, 278. Lins (Lyon), David, 184. Liquors, law concerning the retailing of, 74. Livingston, Rev. Dr. John H., 227. Livingston, William 161, 163. Loan Commissioners, 69. Locey, Ichabod, 248. Longworth, Isaac, 165. Lords Proprietors, who they were, and their grants, concessions, etc. , 78-80 ; Surrender the (Government to the Crown, 81 ; Dissensions between, and the planters ,81; Controversy with , 87-91, 123; Surrender the proprietary Government to the Crown 90 ; Harsh proceed- ings of against the planters, 92; Vindication of the purchasers against, 94. Lotteries, 126. Lower Parsonage The, 248-260. Lucas, Frind, 59, 138. Lyon, Abraham, 164. Lyon, Elizabeth, 315. Lyon, Joseph, 164. Lyons (Lins), David, 184. Lyons Farms, Baptist Meeting-house at, 219. M. Maclean, John, 300. Macwhorter, Rev. Alexander, 98, ICO, 190, 193 199, 217, 222, 241, 25 t. _ Makemie, Francis, 98. McEndow, John, 153. McEndow, Robert, 153. Mcllvaine, Bishop Charles, 300. JNIcNichols, Captain, 175. Maltby, Mr., 128. Marriages, law concerning, 73, Martin, EHzabeth, 208. Martin, Jeremiah, 142, 150, 151, 153. 208. Martin, Lydia, 153. Martin, Thomas, 151. Mason, Rev. John M., 272. Mather, Cotton, 8, 282, 284. Matthews, Daniel, 248. Meadow Brook, its source, 12. Meeker, Obadiah, 278. Meeting-House Lot (the), 246. Meeting-House (the first), 106. Meeting-House (the second), 139. Meeting-House (the third), 269. Military Affairs ; Raising money for protection of American rights, 166 ; Enlisting and enrolling men for defence of the Col- onies, 166. Mill Brook. See First River. Mines, Copper, on the Passaic, 54 ; Common land let out to dig for, 56 ; In Orange and Bloom- field, 57^58. Mining Epidemic, 56-58. Minisink Indians, 29. Minisink Path, 29. Mitchell, John, 319. Money, various kinds of, 65-69. See also Paper Money. Monmouth County, when erected, 32. Morris, Isabella, 277, Morris, Lewis, Governor of New Jersey, 91, 92, 277. Index. 329 Morris, Robert, 277. Morris, Stephen, 95, 140, 142, 184. Mount Pleasant Turnpike, 266-268. Mountain Society. See A'eicark jMotintain. Mun, Aaron, 223, 234, 257, 258. Mun, Abigail, 152, 207. Mun, Benjamin, 150-152, 208, 2S0. Mun, Bethuel, 151. Mun, Elizabeth, 208. Mun, Isaac, 209, 210, 233. Mun, Joanna, cog. Mun, John, 142, 151, 210, 276. Mun, Joseph, 142, 150-152, 209, 24S. Mun, Lidia, 208. Mun, Phebe, 206. Mun, Rachel, 208. Mun, Ruth, 210. Mun (Munn), Samuel, 248, 263, 266, 308. Mun, Sarah, 152, 207. Mun, Stephen, 210, 276. N. Nailer's Brook : Origin of name, 40. Neil, Jr. Robert, 164, 277. Neilson, James, 162. Nevius, Judge, 300. Newark, called " The Towne at the River ;" How it was laid out, 2 ; Migrations to from .Milford, New Haven and Guilford, 5 ; Fundamental agreement adop- ted by first settlers of, 6 ; Al- lotments of lands to early set- tlers, 31 ; Live stock of early settlers, 31, 32 ; First meeting- house, 32 ; Number of families in 16S2, 32 ; Subscription to fundamental agreement, 33, 34 ; Intercourse with New York, 34 ; Growth of, 97 ; The second meeting-house at, 106, 107 ; Episcopal Church and two Presbyterian Societies in, 259- Newark Mountain : called Watchung Mountain, 2 ; Topography of, 9-1 1 ; Water sheds, 11-13 ; Swamps, 13-16 ; Flora and Fauna of, 16-22 ; What re- gion was comprised under the name of, 33 ; Names of some of the fathers of, 35 ; Plantations of, 35-38 ; Apple orchards of, 38 ; First farm wagon at, 38 ; Home life of the early settlers of, 41-44 ; Early roads, 45-53 ; Early local industries, 54-65 ; School-house built at, 77 ; Dis- sensions between the people of and the Lords Proprietors, Si ; Names of the early dwellers of, 82, 83 ; First house built on, 83 ; Rights of the Asso- ciates defended, 95 ; The church at, known as the " Mountain Society," 98-1 1 1 ; It becomes Presbyterian, 118- 120; Its book of records, 119, 120 ; Parish rates, 12S, 129 ; The glebe, 129. 130; The par- sonage, 135-13'^ ; The second meeting-house at, 139-143 ; Members in communion of the Mountain Society, 149, 150, 206, 207 ; Baptisms, 151-153, 207-210; Corporate seal of, 180 ; Ordination and installa- tion of Rev. Jedidiah Ciiap- man of the Mountain Society, 192 ; Elders and deacons cho- sen, 192 ; Names and liomes of the principal families be- longing to the Mountain So- ciety, 193 ; Record of the Mountain Society during the pastorate of Mr. Chapman, 206-210 ; Act of incorpora- tion asked for and granted, with names of trustees, 213, 214 ; The parish sloop, 232 ; The Orange dock, 234 ; The parish nailery, 234 ; The old graveyard, 235 ; Records of the Mountain Society, 235 ; The first church bell, 238 ; Parish lands, 242 ; Lower Par- sonage, 242, 248-261 ; The glebe, 242-246 ; The meeting house lot, 246, 247 ; The John Cundict lot, 247 ; The parson- age house lot, 247 ; Mountain Society incorpoiated as the Second Presbyterian Church in Newark, 261 ; Afterwards as First Presbyterian Church of Orange, 269 ; Third meet- ing-house, 269 ; Timber, 275, 276 ; First physicians at New- ark Mountains, 289, 290 ; Chief builders of the Moun- tain Society, 305. Newark Township : When founded, and bounds of the first pur- chase, I, 10; Price paid for the lands, i ; Second purchase, and price paid, 2 ; Number, 330 History of the Oranges. character and former homes of the first settlers of, 2, 3 ; Pat- ent or charter of, 10 ; Water sheds of, 11-13 ; Prices of produce in, for the first twenty years, 70 ; Traffic, taxes and quit-rents, 70 ; Schools and school-houses, 75-77 ; Petition of the inhabitants of, in re- gard to their grievances, 93 ; Appointment of a committee of observation, 163, 164 ; Meet- ing of the inhabitants of, in re- lation to the rights and liber- ties of America, 164, 165 ; Ravages of British troops in, 169. New Haven Colony : Character of the people of, 3 ; Dissensions between it and Connecticut Colony, 4-6 ; Migrations from, to Newark, 5. New York : Population of, about the year i6g8, 34; Small pox in, 34. Nichols, Col. Richard, Governor of New York, 87, 88. Nishuyne River : Its source, 15. Northfield : Baptist Church at, 218 ; Original name, 2iq ; Change of name, 221. Nutman, Abigail, 100. Nutman, Isaac, 292. Nutman, James, 47, 50, 100, 142, 253. Nutman, Mary, 100. Nutman, Phebe, 292. O. Ogden, Abraham, 142. Ogden, Eunice, 150, 2o3. Ogden, Isaac, 159, 161, 165, 306. Ogden, John, 262, 286. Ogden, Lewis, 165. Ogden, Mary, 286. Ogden, Nathaniel,' 142, 150, 208. Ogden, Phebe, 208. Ogden, Sarah, 286. Ogden, Simeon, 238. Ogden, Swain, 286. Ogden, Thomas, 142. Ogden, Mr., 312. Old Grave Yard (the), 235-238. Olef (Oliff, Oliv, Olieve), Anthony, 47, 49, 50, 83 ; Grave of, 236, 237- Orange Academy, its establishment and first trustees, 229. Orange, copper mine in, 58-62. Orange Dale, 261-264. Orange Dock, 234. Orange Mountain. See Newark Motintain. Orange, the name of, 261-264. Orange, township of, 265, 266. Oranges (the) 2 ; Enthusiasm of the people of in defence of the public Hberties, 164 ; East, west and south, 264. Oraton, King of the Hackensack In- dians, 22. Orchards (apple), 38. Ordinaries, 74. Osborne, Henry, 223. Osborn, Moses, 142. Osborn, Timothy, 142. P. Paper Money, first issue of New Jer- sey, 68 ; Counterfeiting of, 69. Parcel, Remington, 308. Parish Lands, 242. Parish Nailery, 234. Parish Sloop (the), 232, 234. Park Street, 51. Parkhurst, Caleb, 278. Parrow Brook, its source, and the origin of its name, 16. Parsons, , 142. Parsonage (the). See Newark Mountain. Parsonage (Lower). See Lower Par- sonage. Parsonage Lot (the), 247. Parsonate, George, 150, 153. Parsonate, John, 153. Parsonate, Nathaniel, 153. Parsonate. See Fersotiette. Parsonette, Lydia, 207. Path, Christian, 193. Paths, Indian, 29, 30. Peck, David, 142, 265. Peck, Elizabeth, 208. Peck, Jared, 207. Peck, Jemima, 152. Peck, Jesse, 142, 150, 152. Peck, John, 150, 152, 153, 164, ^07, 208, 3IC, 312. Peck, Joseph, 123, 124, 137, 142, 152. 192, 312. Peck, Moses, 152. Peck, Stephen, 153. Peck, William, 260. Pennmgton, Samuel, 164. Perro ; Indian proprietor of the Pas- saic lands, 16, 22 ; A brook named after, 24. Perry.^Arthur, 67, 142, 150-152, 207, '208. Index. 331 Perry, Benjamin, 286. Perry, Ephraim, 278. Perry, Ephraim B., 248. Perry, Jane, 152, 207. Perry, Jolin, 223. Perry, Phebe, 20S. Personette, George, 142, 207. Personette. See Parsoiiate. Physician (First), at Newark Moun- tains, 2S9, 2go. Pierson, Aaron, 299, 318. Pierson, Rev. Abraham, 2, 5, 7, 8, 34, 248, 290, 300, 305. Pierson, Rev. Albert, 275, 299-301. Pierson, Bsthuei, 38, 138, 140, 142, 150-152, 164, 165, 192, 229, 230, 239, 253, 266, 305, 306, 313- Pierson, Caleb, 319. Pier'?on, Cyrus, 151, 306. Pierson, Daniel, 253, 319. Pierson, David, 208. Pierson, Edward, 299. Pierson, Edward Dixon, 301. Pierson, Elihu, 150, 153, 208. Pierson, Elijah C, 318. Pierson, Eliza, 315. Pierson, Elizabeth, 306. Pierson, Enos, 153. Pierson, Erastus, 210. Pierson, Fanny, 299. Pierson, Rev. George, 299, 315. Pierson, Hannah, 153. Pierson, Harriett, 299. Pierson, Henry, 319. Pierson, Ira, 318. Pierson, Dr. Isaac, 208, 223, 245, 246, 257, 271, 298-300. Pierson, Jabez, 233 278. Pierson, James, 305. Pierson, John, 142. Pierson, Joseph, 136, 142, 152, 223, 305- Pierson, Josiah, 308. Pierson, Jotham, 319. Pierson, Lewis, 319. Piej-son, Margaret, 301. Pierson, Mary, 209, 306. Pierson, Matthias, 132,135, 146, 164, 169, 206, 20S, 209, 213, 229, 242, 281, 290-294, 298, 300, 311- Pierson, Nancy, 208, 299. Pierson, Phebe, 206. 208, 209, 292, 299. Pierson, Rhoda, 210, 306. Pierson, Samuel, 96, 102, 130, 142. 150, 152, 153, 290, 29T, 300, 305. Pierson, Sarah, 152, 208, 299. Pierson, Theophilus, 249. Pierson, Thomas, 8, 142, 290, 300, 305- Pierson, William, 149, 281, 294, 299- 304 • Pigot, Dr., 289. Pine Tree Shillings, 66. Plume, John I., 234. Porter, Daniel, 278, 318. Post, Ralph, 308. Proclamation Money ; What it was, 67. Produce ; Prices of fixed by author- ity, 70. Products of New Jersey, 65. Proprietors, 80-82, 86-96, 119,123. Sec also Lords Pj-oprietors. Provincial Congress. See Congress Provincial. Prudden, Rev. John, 100, loi. Prudden, Rev. Peter, loi. Quimby, Caleb, 209, 318. Quimby, John, 20S. Quimby, Joseph, 208. Quimby, Josiah, 206, 208, 233. Quimby, Jotham, 209. Quimby, Lois, 209. Quimby, Mary, 206, 209. Quimby, Moses, 206, 209. Quit-Rents; How paid, 70; Suits for the recovery of, 92. Rahway River; Its source, 12. Ramage, Thomas A., 248. Ramsay, David, 291. Randolph, Slille T., 221. Range, John, 164, 213, 214. Rattlesnake Plain, 21. Reed, Josiah H., 170. Refugees. See Tories. Reock, James, 240. Revolution, American; Its outbreak, 166, 167 ; Raids of British troops into various parts of Essex county, 16S ; Ravages of the Hessian soldiers and their wives, aided by the tories, 169, 170; Incidents of, 171 ; Demoralizing effects of the Seven Years' War of , 212, 213. Richards, Phebe, 145. Riggs, Daniel, 142, 207. Riggs, Elias, 210. Riggs, Elizabeth, 306. Riggs, Experience, 152. 332 History of the Oranges. Riggs, Joseph, 46, 48, 49, 123, 139, 142, 143, 147, 148, 150 152, 161, 192, 213, 290. Riggs, Permenas, 210. Riggs, Rhoda, 207. Riggs, Simeon, 142, Riker, Capt. Abraham, 227. Riker, Jane, 227. Roads, Early, 45-53 ; Surveyors, 45, 46 ; Working upon, 52. Roberts, Sayers, 265. Roe, Rev. Azel, 148, 150. Ropes, David N., 57. Runyon, Rev. Reune, 218, 219. Rush, Jacob, 291. Sacket, Joseph, 283. Saint Marks' graveyard, 238. Sargent (Sergeant), Jonathan, 137, 142. Saw-mills, 22, 39, 40. Sayer, Jonathan, 164, 181. Schools and School-houses, 75-77, 131-134- Scot, George, 79. Scotland lane ; When opened, 52. Schuyler, Arent, 54. Schuyler, John, 55. Seal of First Presbyterian Church, 180. Second meeting-house, 139. Sergeant, Jonathan D., 163, Sheep ; Preservation of, 44. Shingleton, 142. Shipman, Charles T., 24S. Shoe-making, 43, 278-280. Shores, Jonathan, 137, 142. Sinnick, Thomas, 162. Small Pox. See Disease and Pesti- lence. Smellis, Dr., 293. Smith, Abigail, 297. Smith, ApoUos, 149. Smith, Blanche, 197. Smith, Rev. Caleb, 64, ir8 ; Biogra- phical sketch of, 120-129 ; His sermons and briefs, 124, 125 ; His Grammar School, 131-134 ; His book of ac- counts, 139 ; In his parsonage, 145 ; Loses his wife, 145 ; Mar- ries Rebecca, daughter of Ma- jor Isaac Foot, 146; Flis death, 147 ; His will, 147, 148 ; Mar- riage of his widow, 148 ; His church record ; Sermon by, I53~i57 ; Referred to, 142, 194, 224, 235, 243, 264, 291, 292. Smith, David, 142. Smith, Ebenezer, 142. Smith, Elizabeth, 133. Smith, Eunice, 208, Smith, Henry, 121. Smith, Pliram, 206, 209. Smith, Isaac, 142, 162. Smith, James, 142. Smith, Jemima, 105. Smith, Joanna, 208. Smith, John, 123, 142, 150, 192. Smith, Joseph, 142, 206, 208, 319. Smith, Dr. Lynden A., 241. Smith, Mary. 122, 145. Smith, Martha, 295, 297. Smith, Phebe, 206, 208. Smith Rebecca, 146. Smith, Richard, 105, 163. Smith, Sarah, 208. Smith, William, 120, I2i, 142. Smith, William P., 161. Settlers, First, 83. South Orange, School at, 77. Soverill, Jane, 206. Spear, Captain, 174. Spear, John, 164. Specie. See Coins. Squier (Squire), Henry, 142, 230, 233, 308. Steam Engine ; The first introduced into the Colonies, 55. Stearns, Rev. Jonathan, 98, 99, 120, 249. 255- Stockman, Benjamin, 152. Stockman, Elizabeth, 152. Stockman, John, 142, 152. Stockman, William, 152. Sullivan, John, 319. Surveyors ot Highways, 45, 46. Swaine, Samuel, 72. Swamps, 13-16. Swinefield Road, 51. T. Tanneries. See Leather. Taverns. See Ordinaries. Taxes paid in produce, 70. Taylor, Charlotte, 11 1. Taylor, Rev. Daniel ; His vindica- tion of the purchases of lands, against the Proprietors, 94 ; Referred to, 96, 103 ; Bio- graphical sketch of, 104-111 ; A sermon -by, 111-117 ; Re- ferred to, 118-120, 123, 135. Taylor, Gilbert, 142. Taylor, Jacob, 142, 150, 151. Taylor, John, 151. Taylor, Mary, ill. Index. 333 Taylor, Oliver, iii. Taylor, Rachael, 150, 151. Teedyescung, a Delaware Indian, 28, 29. Terry, Sarah, 299. Thane, Rev. Daniel, 124, 125. Third meeting-house, 269. Tichenor, David, 142. Tichenor, John, 210. Tichenor, Mary, 210. Tichenor, Samuel W., 230, 281. Timber, 275, 276. Tomkins, Daniel, 210. Tomkins, Edward (Ned), 173. Tomkins, Hannah Allen, 210. Tomkins, John, 96, 151. Tomkins, Jonathan, 142, 210. Tomkins, Joseph, 210, 308. Tomkins, Samuel, 209. Tompkins, Job, 153, 207, 210. Tompkins, John, 96, 151. Tompkins, Jonathan, 150, 152, 153. Tompkins, Obadiah, 206. Tompkins, Phebe, 152. Tompkins, Sarah, 206. Towner, William W., 319. Tony's Path, 83. Topography of Newark Mountain, 9. Tories, at Caldwell, 169 ; At Fort Delancy, on Bergen Neck, 211 ; Their address to Prince William Henry, 212; Of whom made up, 309. Tory Corner, 22, 49, 51, 311. Town at the River. See A'ewark. Townly, Benjamin, 319. Traffic, 70, 71. Trapfoot, a noted buck, 20. Treat, John, 249. Treat, Robert, 3, 72. Tucker, Samuel, 162. Tunis, Nehemiah, 319. Turner, Dr. William, 289. Turnpike, 266-268. Tuttle, Rev. Dr. Joseph F., 176. Twelve Proprietors of New Jersey. See Lords Proprietors. Twenty-four Proprietors of New Jer- sey. See Lords Proprietors. V. Vanarsdale, Rev. Mr., 199. Van Cortland, Philip, 165, 306, 308. Van Winkle, Gideon, 58, 59. Vauquellin. See Delaprary. Vincent, Amos, 278. Vincent, Cornelius, 142. Vincent, Esther, 209. Vincent, John, 96, 142. Vincent, Levi, 142, 206, 209. Vincent, Mary, 206, 209. W. Walls (Wells), John, 135, 236. Wampum, the Indian money, 24, 25. Ward, Abel, 142, 150, 152. Ward, Abigail, 208. Ward, Abner, 277. Ward, Benjamin, 319. Ward, Bethuel, 207, 209, 210. Ward, Charlotte, 297. Ward, Daniel, 142. Ward, David, 137. Ward, Elihu, 142. Ward, Ezekiel, 139, 142, 150-152. Ward, Hannah, 207, 209, 210. Ward, Isaac, 142, 152, 209, 260. Ward, Jane, 209. Ward, John, 42, 109, 150, 209, 297. Ward, Jonathan, 137, 152. Ward, Joseph, 297, Ward, Mark A., 172. Ward, Mar)% 209. Ward, Moses, 151. Ward, Nathan, 142. Ward, Nehemiah, 207. Ward, Sarah, 210. Ward, Capt. Thomas, 211, 212. Ward, Timothy, 207, 208, 2IO, 235, 318. Ward, Zebina, 319. Ward, Zenas, 272. Ward, Col., 278. Wardsesson, 51, 193. Washington Academy, 231. Washington, George ; In the New- ark Mountains, 167, 172, 173 ; Breaks his field glass at Mor- ristown, 179. Washington Street, 51. Watchung ; Great Mountain, 2. See also Nezoark Mountain. Water Sheds, 11. Waterbury, John H., 221. Watson, Rev. John, 221. Watts' Psalmody, 194, 195. Webb, Rev. Joseph, 97 ; Settlement of as pastor of the Church at the Mountain, 98-100 ; Death of, 103, 104. Wells (Walls), John, 135, 236. Wheeler, James, 164. Wheeler, Nathaniel, 47-49, 235-237. Wheeler, Samuel, 95, 102, 130, 138, 143, 242, 246, 2S6. Whiskey Lane, 170; Origin of the name of, 180, 181. White, Joseph M., 191. 334 History of the Oranges. Whitehead, William A., 64. Wigwam Brook ; Its source and ori- gin of its name, 14. Wilcox, . 143. Willett, Thomas, 102. Williams, Aaron, 152. Williams, Amos, 47, 50, 51, 84, 95, 100, 136, 143, 170, 188, 274, 290, 308, 311. Williams, Anna, 210. Williams, Benjamin, 185, 274, 290, 30S-312. W^illiams, Caleb, 153. Williams, Daniel, 143, 223. Williams, David, 137, 143, 144, 150, 151. Williams, Dorcas, 209. Williams, Enos, 290. Williams, Esther, 210. Williams, Gershom, 95, 138, 143, 150-152, 207, 290. Williams, Hannah, 206. Williams, Isaac, 143, 150, 152, 153, 245, 247, 262, 272. Williams, James, 290, 311. Williams, Jairus, 151. Williams, Jesse, 57, 83, 100, 201, 209, 273, 307. Williams, Job, 281. Williams, Jonas, 152. Williams, Jonathan, 308. Williams, Joseph, 143, 274. Williams, Katharine, 209, Williams, Lewis, 2S1, 319. Williams, Linus, 319. Williams, Martha, 207, 210. Williams, Mary, 153. Williams, Matthew, 14, 51, 83, 84, 100, 102, 130, 135, 143, 150, 209, 242, 245, 247, 290, 307. Williams, Moses, 263. Williams, Nathaniel, 274, 290, 311. Williams, Peter, 152. Williams, Robert, 152. Williams, Ruth, 152. Williams, R. G. , 281. Williams, Samuel, 84. 85, 143, 206, 238, 274, 290. Williams, Sarah, 290. Williams, Silas, 210. Williams, Thomas, 20, 51, 95, 96, 137, 143, 173, 209, 223, 271- 273, 290, 307, 308, 310. Williams, Timothy, 143, 150, 152, 153. 207. Williams, William Brown, 273. Williamson, William, 143. Williamsville, 49. See Tory Corner. Wilson, Ephraim King, 299. Winans, Abraham, 230, 271, 275, 278. Winchell, Asa, 319. Winds, General, 176. Winthrop, Governor, 4, 104. Witherspoon, Dr. John, 43. Wood, James, 143. Wood, Silas, 299. "Woodhull, John, 64, I33-I35- Woodhull, William, 133-135- Woodruff, Stephen, 319. Wool, 276-278. Woolen Manufactures, 63. Wright, Elizabeth, 209. Wright, Jane, 209. Wright, John, 209. Wright, Sarah, 209. Y. Yard, Joseph, 133. York Money ; What it was, 67. Yeoman, Squire. 319. Young, David, 252. Young, Jonathan, 143, 150. Young, Kezia, 150. Young, Robert, 96, 143, 249, 252. Young, Steven, 96. -ii>> THE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara Si '-H^ THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE STAMPED BELOW. A%9 i i U Series 9482 I ^^11: ">: ■'>^-- 7^ ^^^%5 %^ '3 1 205 '00562 6633 ^;>»'^>-^ t^' ■ ^ i^S^ AA 000 877 ■■■A ^fiiiK'i Mi;a5i;--<^: 'C' -