two terms under the old and one under the new con-
stitution, discharging in connection with the oilier,
and that of justice of the peace, n large amount of
careful and well-executed work. 1 li- was also efficient
in many other ways : in settling estates, Serving on
arbitrations, grand juries, delegations, guardian-hip-,
etc.; was township clerk man] years; was elected to
a seat in the first board of directors of the Clinton
Bank (now National Bank), organized in the year 1 356,
which place he -till retain-, lie has ever been active
in behalf of the interests of education, discb
the duties of trustee of common schools, and Sabbath -
school work, as town secretary ; and in the writing of
wills, deeds, agreements, and other documents, \va-
widcly useful to his neighbors and fellow-citizens.
He has ever been a li active and Cheerful helper, and
a wise and reliable counselor.
Judge 1,1 leeeeded his father in the tanning
and currying and fanning business, carrying on all
thesi branches till the year I -71,, when he abandoned
the two former, and has since continued farming on
the old homestead occupied b\ his lather, near I'at-
tcnburg, formerly "Calvin's Mills." Union town-
ship, Hunterdon Co., N..I. He ha- resided on the
same pre!::i: : s all his hf: ::jvent\ i.Jit \ ar- . v.ilh
1 lie exception of eight years' residence at Little fork,
N. J., where he added to his other occupations those
of store- and hotel-keeping.
He was brought up in the Democratic faith, and
has seen no good rea-ou to change his political
opinions.
1 1, has been tw ice married 1 first, in the year 1829,
to Kli/a Iiaily Kitchen, daughter ol 'Thomas and Jane
Baily Kitchen. She died In 1884, leaving two chil-
dren, — Thomas K. and Isabella. The latter died in
isi;, aged fifteen years. Thomas K. Egbert -till
survives, i- a merchant in the citj of New York, and
resides in Jersey City. He married, Max 22, 1866,
Sarah .1 . Shinier, but has had no children. The
second wife of .lodge Hgbert was Kli/ahelh Calvin
Van Syckel, daughter of John and Mary (Calvin)
Van Byckel, whom he married June -'. 1886. This
onion has been blessed with the following-named
children: Samuel V., who died in I'lemington in
Si
L868; Lizzie S., wife of Wilson Thomas, merchant,
in i Her, and lumber- and coal -dealer at Mil ford. N. .1..
married Oct. 11. I860, and have one son; Mary V.,
wife of John B. Emery, residing at Metuchen, N.J..
and doing business in New York, married Ma-. 80,
L866, and have three children; Julia I"., wife of
Siglcr Hoffman, merchant at Bayonne, N. J., married
Oct 15, l s 'is. and have one child, a -on; Emily M.,
wife of Bienzi Cadugan, merchant at Bayonne, mar-
ried June 1". 1869; Alice v. and Laura I'.., single,
and residing at home.
The parent- united with the 1'iv-hyterian Church
about the 3 ear 1 3 12.
EDWARD A. ROCKHILL.
Edward A. Etockhill, son of John < '. and Gaynor
(PottB Etockhill, was horn June 4, 1804, in l'itt-town,
N. J., on the place now owned by Hon. Frederic A.
Potts. Robert Etockhill, to whom he was abb- to trace
bis ancestry, lived in Lincolnshire, England, in the
vcar l(i(Ml. In lb In, during the civil war, Edward
Roi I. bill, probably a -on of Robert, was imprisoned
for his religious sentiments, being a Friend or Quaker,
EDWARD \. ROI Mill. I..
of which persuasion were all the descendants in this
country. Edward Etockhill, a son of the first-men-
tioned Edward, came from England and settled in
Burlington, N. J., in the year 1680, or near that date.
Hi- -on Edward removed from there and bought die
estate at Pittstown above referred to, including the
adjoining farm on whi h 1 ipi. Willmm F 1 -klidl
now lives, in the year 1740, It was then in a wilder*
neSB, with few settlers in the immediate vicinity.
522
HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
John Rockhill, the grandfather of the subject of
our sketch, was a son of the last-mentioned Edward,
and married Mary Cook. He was a deputy-surveyor
for the Western division of New Jersey, was also a
prominent physician, and had an extensive practice,
having studied medicine under Dr. Cadwalader, after
whom he named his son, John O, the father of Ed-
ward A. Rockhill. The children of John C. Rockhill
and Gaynor Potts were Thomas C. Rockhill, a mer-
chant in Philadelphia ; Robeson Rockhill, a farmer
and justice of the peace, who resided on that part of
the Rockhill estate now the home of Hon. F. A.
Potts, and died in 1867 ; Edward A., born June 4,
1804, and died March .17, 1872 ; John and Lukens,
who died young; William, a merchant with his
brother in Philadelphia, married Miss Shivers, and
had one son, William ; died in 1864.
Edward A. Rockhill married, in 1829, Eliza,
daughter of Hugh Potts, of Carlisle, Pa., an officer
in the regular army in the war of 1812-14. They
had four children, — two sons and two daughters, — all
deceased except one son, William P. Rockhill. Ed-
ward A. Rockhill, as we have said, died March 17,
1872 ; his wife Eliza died in June, 1864. He was a
man of upright and exemplary character, modest and
retiring, yet of Arm and resolute convictions. He
never desired nor accepted places of public trust or
emolument, but was content to follow his favorite
occupation, that of husbandry, which he pursued
through life.
William P. Rockhill, his son and successor on the
estate, was born Aug. 31, 1886, married, Oct. 10, 1866,
Harriet Potts, of Philadelphia, and has two children,
— a son and a daughter, — Edward P. and Anna.
In February, 1858, he went as assistant in his uncle
William's wholesale store in Philadelphia, where he
remained till shortly before the breaking out of the
Rebellion. When the war began he enlisted as a pri-
vate in the Fifteenth Pennsylvania Cavalry, and was
in the service about two years. He went through
every grade of promotion from corporal to captain,
was shot through the thigh by a musket-ball at the
battle of Stone River, Dec. 29, 1863, resigned in con-
sequence of sickness in July, 1864, and returned
home, changing the sword for the implements of hus-
bandry. Since the war he has devoted himself ex-
clusively to agricultural pursuits.
CHARLES CARHART.
Charles Carhart was born in Bethlehem (now
Union) township, Hunterdon Co., N. J., April 22,
1813. He is a son of John and Mary (Beavers)
Carhart, both of Revolutionary stock.
Cornelius Carhart, grandfather of John, was a
captain in the Third Regiment Hunterdon militia,
â– and second major in the Second Regiment of the
same county, in the Revolutionary war. Joseph
Beavers, grandfather of Mary, was a colonel in the
Second Regiment of Hunterdon militia during the
same memorable struggle for independence.
The subject of this sketch, being a bright, intelli-
gent boy, and manifesting a business and trustworthy
disposition, was designed by his parents for the mer-
cantile business, to which end he had received as good
an education as the schools in the vicinity afforded,
and was preparing to enter as an assistant a firm in
which his brother was engaged when a sad affliction
befell him in the loss of his hearing, from the effects
of scarlet fever, — probably paralysis of the nerve of
hearing. This turned the course of all his parents'
expectations : he had to stay at home, and a younger
brother subsequently took his place.
The means of acquiring instruction and knowledge
were scarce at that time, and he appeared to be cut
off from their acquisition ; but his inquisitive mind
soon found books to suit his taste, and he soon be-
came a great reader, and was assisted by friends in
the selection of books suitable for his purpose and
situation, while at the same time he industriously
worked on his father's farm ; he became a good ob-
server of men and business, kept himself well posted
in most of the affairs of life, and was better calcu-
lated to transact his business profitably than most
young men of his age.
On the 4th of May, 1843, he married Miss Matilda
Stiger, daughter of Adam Stiger, Esq. She died July
22, 1864. They had several children, but one of whom
survived her, — viz., Mary E., wife of Randolph Ken-
yon, a practical machinist and manufacturer at Rari-
tan, Somerset Co., N. J. On the 22d of November,
1866, he married Emily Bunting Matison, granddaugh-
ter of Col. John Coursen, of the war of 1812, who
owned a fine estate in Sussex Co., - N. J. There are no
children by this marriage.
' Mr. Carhart's life, so far, has been that of a good
citizen and a practical farmer. He has eminently
sustained the character of a reading, reflecting, observ-
ing farmer, comparing effects with causes and acting
accordingly ; and has brought his farm from a condi-
tion of comparative poverty to a high state of culti-
vation, so that it is, in fact, the " model farm of the
township." His stock, of which he is a good judge,
is always early in market and brings the highest
price. An appreciative neighbor of his remarks,
" Men whose opportunities have been much greater
than his might be profited by examining and study-
ing his methods and practicing them. He is not only
the model farmer of our township, — and I might safely
say, I believe, of our county, — but is a substantial and
useful citizen, ever ready to contribute to all objects
of an elevating and Christianizing character, and
highly respected for his integrity and uprightness.
He is a consistent Christian, a member and supporter
of the Presbyterian Church."
CHARLES CAKHART.
ONION.
523
JOSKl'II KING.
Joseph. Kin;;, of Union township, traces his ances-
try back to Harmanus King, who came, with a colon;
..i i in nWs, ill mi Holland to Burlington, West Jersey,
in or near the ,ycar 1676. The family name comes
from England, and has been represented in that
country by men of considerable prominence. Several
branches of (In' original English family have al dif-
ferent times emigrated to this country ami settled.
Harmanus Rang was undoubtedly a native of Eng-
land, ami wriii, with many others of his religious sect,
to Holland in escape from the tyrannical bigotry ami
persecutions which followed the period of the Ri sto-
raiinn. A.t what place in Burlington Count] belived
(In- family r< r< 1 does no! inform us. He had two
sons, — Joseph ami John.
Joseph K ing, sun of I [armanns ami Marcia his wife,
came to Hunterdon County. We learn from old deeds
that in l T li *. > hr bought nine hundred ami fifty-four
acres of land of Mary Tomkins, of Chester Co., Pa.,
lying in Franklin, at thai time a pari of Amwell, toti n-
ahip. This tract was situated mi the west aide of the
Bonth Branch of the fcaritan, between that stream and
< in 1 1 \ villr. ami included the present site of Sunny-
side. Mary Tomkins hail purchased this land of
Abraham Qodown, "of Spittsfield, in tin- Parish of
Stepney," and it was his share nt 'a dividend " of one
full, equal, ami undivided Propriety," -old by Edward
Billings ami trustees, in 1678, to a laml company of
-r\ i n | .its,, us, including Godown. Joseph King built
a grist-mill mi this property, at the same place the
present one oceupies at Sunnyside. In Burlington
County In- had been a farmer. In 1788, and for sev-
eral years thereafter, in- was â– â– > trustee of the Friends'
meeting-house at Quakertown. In thi-'
associated with Edward Rockhill, John Stevenson,
Samuel Wilson, ami Samuel Large. In 1738 we find
his name recorded in a inanuseript poll-list as a voter
for members of the Colonial Assembly. He and his
wile Marcia had two sons — Joseph, who was horn
March '.I, 1712, and William, horn April 1, 1714—
and one daughter, Hannah, born Nov. 7. 1717. Jo-
Beph married and lived for some time in Bucks Co.,
Pa., then returned to this state and aettled at Piscat-
away, in Middlesex • lounty.
William King, son of Joseph, married Abigail,
daughter of Jacob and \ nn Doughty, who was horn
Oct. '■'•, 1716. They had three daughters and one -on.
— Marcia, who was horn dune -I, 1 "•'!><; Amy, horn
Oct. L2, 1739; Anne, born Feb. 29, 1740; and Joseph,
born April Jo, 17 In, i ». S. These were all members
of the Society of Friends.
Joseph Kin,: son ol William and \1 i . ;il mam -d
three times. His first wife was a daughter of Dr.
.lame- Will-nn. a practicing physician and member
of the Society of Friends. He lived at the Willson
homestead, near Quakertown. His second wife was
Anne, daughter of Jacob Large, and, at the time of
her marriage to King, the widow of Isaac Lundy.
His third wife was Sarah Scott, widow of Doughty
Stockton. He had one -on, William 1... by his 8 1
wil'c He was a chosen freeholder from Kingwood
township from 17'.«i to 1 7 *. ' 7 .
William Large King, son of Joseph and Anne, wa-
bnrn Feb. 12,1789. His father purchased the present
King homestead and mill-property, one mile east of
Pittstown, of Thomas Twining in L811, and hi and
hi- -on removed there the same year. The following
year, 1812, William L. erected an oil-mill on this
property, ami commenced the manufacture of flax-
seed oil. He built another oil-mill in 1827, and con-
ducted both, doing a heavy ami profitable business in
that branch of industry. He retired from it in 1846.
He died in May. 1869. He was a man of very active
life, strict integrity, and excellent business qualifica-
tions, ami enjoyed the confidence and respect of a
large circle of friends ami acquaintances.
William L. King was married Dec. '-'. 1810, t"
Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel Large, who wa- born
duly 28, 1789, and died Oct. -. 1862. She was kind,
affectionate, generous, and amiable; and their house
was the ever-welcome resort of many friends and rela-
tives.
William 1.. and Elizabeth King had five children,
— Anne King; Man 1... widow of Maj.-tleii. I
W.Taylor; Joseph King ; Sarah 8chenck King, wife
524
HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
of Barzillai Williams; and Eliza P. King, wife of
Judge James P. Hoffman. They are all living but
Sarah, who died Jan. 26, 1856, much lamented by
very many friends.
Joseph King succeeded his father in the manufac-
turing business in 1846, in which he is still engaged.
He is noted for integrity, affability, and generous kind-
ness.
In 1850 he was elected a ruling elder in Bethlehem
Presbyterian Church.
He and his sister Anne reside at the King home-
stead, near Pittstown.
JOSEPH B. PROBASCO.
Joseph B. Probasco was born at Quakertown, Hun-
terdon Co., N. J., Aug. 1, 1819. He is a son of
William and Eachel (Scott) Probasco. His ancestors
J. B. PROBASCO.
came from Holland, and settled near Pluckamin,
Somerset Co., N. J. The family is now numerous
and widely scattered.
His father was born in Warren County, and came
to Pittstown, where he was a miller several years ; he
then bought properly in Quakertown, upon which he
settled and spent the remainder of his life, pursuing
the occupation of a cabinet-maker. He married
Rachel, daughter of Israel Scott, of Mercer County,
near Trenton, where she was born and reared. He
was the father of twelve children ; two died in in-
fancy ; the others were Theodore, Elizabeth, Mary,
Sarah Ann, Joseph B., William, John, Rynear,
Elisha, and Sylvester. The only survivors are, at
this writing, Theodore, who resides at Quakertown ;
Sarah Ann, wife of Theodore Holcombe, of the same
place; and the subject of this sketch, who lives in
Union township, on the road leading from Pittstown
to Clinton.
He served an apprenticeship at cabinet-making
with his brother in Quakertown, and worked at the
trade about eight years, until his marriage to Eliza-
beth Teeple, which occurred March 20, 1844. He
then went to farming near Little's Mills, where he
remained nineteen years, when he bought the old
homestead in Quakertown, built a residence upon it,
and lived there, retired, till he came to his present
place, in 1873. He has here a fine farm of 140 acres,
well improved, and still owns the old place in Quaker-
town.
By the first marriage, above referred to, he had two
children ; one died in infancy, the other at Quaker-
town, Oct. 21, 1872, where also her mother died, Jan.
29, 1871. He married for his second wife Selinda H.
Hice, June 11, 1872. Three children are the fruit of
this union, one son and two daughters.
In political affiliations Mr. Probasco is a Democrat.
He has held several township offices. He is a self-
made man, having obtained all he has, and all he is,
in a certain sense, by his own exertions. Besides the
knowledge and experience he has attained, he bar-
gained a competence of worldly goods from a very
humble and unpromising beginning. He is a mem-
ber of the Bethlehem Presbyterian Church of his
neighborhood.
NATHANIEL BRITTON BOILEAU.
Nathaniel Britton Boileau was born in Tinicum
township, Bucks Co., Pa., 26th June, a.d. 1833. He
is the son of Daniel Boileau and his wife, Jane Ruck-
man, who was the daughter of James Ruckman, Esq.
His father was a farmer, and at different times held
the offices of justice of the peace, member of the
Legislature, county treasurer, colonel of the militia,
and notary public.
James R. Boileau, his brother, represented Bucks
County in the Legislature, and was county treasurer
of Bucks County.
At a later period Samuel Boileau, his brother, was
a member of the Legislature for Northampton Co., Pa.
He was named for his great-uncle, Nathaniel B.
Boileau, who was secretary of the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania from Dec. 20, 1808, until Dec. 16, 1817.
Simon Snyder was Governor during these nine years.
He received his preliminary education in the schools
of his neighborhood and Doylestown and Franklin In-
stitute, Franklin, Delaware Co., N. Y.
He then, in 1855, became the student of Dr. Charles
C. Jennings, of Easton, Pa., and attended the lectures
of the medical department of the University of Penn-
sylvania, 1856-57 and 1857-58, and graduated there,
the subject of his thesis being cholera infantum.
1 1 If MI BRIDGE.
525
Dr. Henry Holcombe, of Everittstown, Hunterdon
Co., N. J., having died April 7, I808, he immediately
settled there in a large- ami irnod field for practice,
where he r.-maine-'l until April, }<h<, w hen he removed
tu i'ciTvvil !<â– , where he ha-i r..sii|.-d ever -inc.-.
During his residence in Everittstown he was four
years superintendent of public schools of Alexandria
t<>\\ ii-liip, I lunterdon Co.
lie became a member of the I>i-i Hit Medical So-
ciety of the county of Hunterdon, May l". 1-
presidenl in 1866. April 18, 1^71, In- reported
as chairman of the section on obstetrics (which was
printed), of which he continues at the head to the
present time. In I B6 1 he was a delegate to the
ican Medical Association. March 17, 1863, he mar-
ried Miss Nancj Smith Blane, daughter of Dr. John
Blane. They have three children, — Mary B., Caro-
line T., Eleanor.
HIGH BRIDGE,
HIGH Blllix'.r-:, one of the smallest of Hunterdon's
townships, contains a population of 2'JIO and includes
ninety-eight farms. It is bounded north by Lebanon ;
south by Clinton; east by Tewksbury ; west by Beth-
lehem and Union. The South Branch of the Itari-
tan Sows diagonally through the town from northeast
to southwest, and in its course provides line mill-
power, especially at the village of High liridge. where
it drives the powerful machine ry of the great Taylor
I ion -Works.
High liridge is a station on the New .lei-e\ I Vntral
Railroad, and one of the termini, also, of the High
Bridge Railway, reaching from the latter point to
Port Oram, with a branch from German Valley to
Chester, The high bridge, from which the locality
took its name, was a massive and costly structure
thrown by the Central Railroad Company across the
South Branch of the Raritan and contiguous valley
at High liridge ullage during the construction of the
railway route previous to 1862. The bridge was re-
garded as a model Of its kind, ami, COSting Up wards
of s-jiiii oiiii, it,,, supposition wa- that ii would endure
for a long while. This conclusion was, however, a
mistaken one, for the greal length of the bridge; —
1300 feet operated against durability, ami in 1 S.V.I it
was determined thai some more substantial work
urn i be substituted. There was some agitation in
favor of a solid stone bridge, bul the decision was
eventually for the filling up of the apace with an
earthen embankment, through which the river wa- to
have passage by means of a double-arch culvert.
The task of constructing the cmbankmenl wa-
ingly begun in 1859. Five years wane required to
complete it. and it cost rally 1600,000, the stone
arches alone costing *St>, nun. A- t- . the- hrielge, the-
declaration is made that the engineers weare compelled
to bury in the embankment 160,000 worth of ire>n
that cenihl not possibly be re-e-.evi-ivil. The embank-
ment is aboul L800feet long, ami Hi' feel from the
road-bed perpendicularly down tee the river.
High Bridge township, mar the village-, was once
rich in iron-mini-s which arc still valuable, although
not worked at present tee a wry great extent. Plum-
lea- e hi- lung he-en kiieewn to exist, but it has
been only lately utilized.
EARLY TIMES.
The history of High lirhlge township, so far as con-
cerns the whites, began about 1700, near the present
village- of High Bridge, and on the land occupied by
the Taylor Iron-Works. I'pon that -pot, in 17oo, or
at all events not for from it, Allan & Turner, of Phila-
delphia, established the firs! iron-works known to
what are now called the United - ites. They owned
1 1 i,f mhi acres in the in-ighhorl I of High liridge and
17,fiiMi near Amlover, where they hod a furnace, and
the-nec to the- forge at High Bridge they causeel the
pig-metal tee he conveyed hy means of pack-horses or
muli -, l"<>r in that day wagons could not be employed,
since there were no wagon-roods except in populous
localities. Of course, under tin- circumstances, there
could not he- other than a limited amount of iron-
working carried on at the High Bridge forge.
Including the- present .em-, live- forges have stood
upon marly the same ground. The first, a one-fire
bloom-forge, was situated about 100 yards west of the
present one; the bi ml near the- embankment < >t" the
dam; the- third aboul 200 yards above; the- fourth
(known t < « have- been in use daring the Revolution),
e.ll tile- Bite eel' tile- one How 036(1.
The history of the- iron-works, or, properly speak-
ing, the forge, between 17'in ami 17">S, can he- but
briefly alluded te>. The product, at first small, as
means of travel began tee grow better, increased, being
at no time-, however, of great importance. Although
not before mentioned, the feet ha-, ..f conn
understood, that the- occasion of the establishment !>y
Allan & Turner of the lli.'h Bridge forge and furnace
at Andover, Cokesburg, and mar Sigh Brid
the- presence -en tln-ir lands of iron eerc in considerable
526
HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
quantities. The available ore in the mines is still
plentiful, and, although not used for the works, is
mined for distant iron interests.
In 1758, Robert Taylor, grandfather to Lewis H.
Taylor (now the head of the iron-works, and always
a resident there, as was his father before him), came
upon the scene as an active participant in the enter-
prise. He was born in Ireland, and, being the young-
est son, determined at an early age to carve out his
own fortune. In 1758, therefore, at the age of seven-
teen, he embarked for America with but a few guineas
in his pocket, bound to make his way by force of his
school education, which happened to be a valuable
one. Directly upon landing he got an engagement to
teach school in the township of Kingwood, in Hun-
terdon Co., N. J. Col. Hackett, then superintendent
at the iron-works, and a man of local importance,
was made acquainted with young Taylor's capacity,
and engaged him as chief bookkeeper towards the
close of 1758. Robert went to live with Col. Hack-
ett in a house now a portion of the Taylor man-
sion, and still occupying the spot upon which it was
first erected, — as early, doubtless, as 1725, and perhaps
before.
Mr. Taylor continued as Allan & Turner's book-
keeper until 1775, when, Col. Hackett dying, he was
chosen superintendent and given charge of the busi-
ness at Andover as well as at High Bridge. Although
slave labor was chiefly employed at the works, there
were also paid laborers, as is evidenced by the exist-
ence, within Mr. Lewis H. Taylor's knowledge, of