John Barclay l
John Boyian 4 4
Kin in-/. -r Berry 7
John Berry..... 10
Benjamin Bat - tx â– o
mnton 18 11
rotg 7 4
Widow Oastner 12
Benjamin Ooronton 16
l i II iff 2 6 11
I (I 17 7
i u ob Cull i , ii 15
Gaston 18 11
« i , I >n " 16 l
William Honrj- 10
John Perry 16
I 'in- 1 Semei 10
I. •- v Button 10 4
Samuel Taylor " i •
John Todd (I 16
\Vi.lu« V;ui ii n; :i
Court Voorhees 10
B J| h \ hi ETouton » 7 11
Petei Van Vleel 10
B ti b Van Nest 10
I V...,rlii< ii IE
in-. Ir 10
S< Bdrlck u 15
.I.Jili I[a;-:iman II 111
Aaran Hufl 10 <i
Adam Hair 16
Samuel Juno* u 17 7
10 6
10 ii
i Ml- n 9 10
ii 18 7
Mi: Lawrei 080
Gabrii I Timbroek-. 15
Aai od Kim- ii lfi
Daniel Mealick 10
' Mi Mortry 10
i ' "•.men.." 9 10
Albert Johnson i" !
Bamuel Hlnir 10
Peter Bock. .wr 'i 12 4
Hugh Gaston 10
David Bird Ii 10
Perry 7 11
John Doughty. 14 7
Matthias Demunt o 12 8
hi Ii.-v,-i,t.-r n 10
.1 hi. ii DaleyJr 10 11
Bonjnmln Bcmor 6
John M-. William- n 15 tl
i lure 6
VILLAGES AND HAMLETS.
PLUCKAMLN.
The land apon which the village is located is with-
in the territory described as being purchased of the
proprietors of I-2;t-r New Jersey by l>r. Lewis John-
ston and Mary Johnston (afterwards Mrs. James
Alexander). Later, Jacob Eofl' purchased a large
tract embracing the present site, and east to the top
of "Pigtown Mountain."
In 175G the stone church (St. Paul's Lutheran was
built, and the subscription-list contains the names of
151 persons who contributed, many of whom were
from adjoining towns, notably Fisher, Van Xorden,
Anderson, and others from Bound Brook. Jacob EorT
donated the land, and headed the list with £20.
A cluster of dwellings soon gathered and other in-
terests sprang up. John Teeple opened a blacksmith-
shop in what is now the upper part of the village.
The LafFerty House was buirl the same year with the
church. Col. William McDonald's mill, east from the
bridge crossing chambers' Iirook, was erected before
171','. William McDaniels' mill was before 1744 on
the spot now occupied by Kline's M ills.
The name I'liickaiuin has been the BUbject of wide
conjecture. Tradition points to a colony of French
living lure before the settlement of the Scotch or
German, and giving the locality the name Plaque-
mine, from plaqutminier, meaning, in French, the
"date-plum," or persimmon-tree, which lattei
grew here iii abundance. This is without doubt the
real origin of the name Pluckamin, though another
story is related to the effect that the landlord of the
place was in the habit of going Up and down the
Btreel in\ iting the people to cum. into his house and
partake of his liquor, and for bo doing he was called
Pluck-'em-in. The fame of the landlord and the
tavern grew from his hospitality and good cheer, and
the localit] became known as Pluckamin. This last
version was doubtless an after-thought, — an invention
Of BOme lounger who spent hours by the tavern-lire
in incubating the pun on the original French name.
712
SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
The first record extant of the name Pluckamin is
in a road record, Aug. 19, 1755. The first store of
which any knowledge is obtained was kept by John
Boylan, in the house now occupied by his daughter,
Mrs. Sarah Parker. He came to Pluckamin twenty
years prior to the Revolution, and had stores at Veal-
town, Liberty Corners, Pluckamin, and Van Derveer's
mills. One of the day-books of the Van Derveer
mill store is in possession of Samuel W. Davenpqrt,
of Somerville, and shows the line of purchase of the
people of that time. Some of the prices are here
given, the currency being in pounds, shillings, and
pence. Rum was the staple in liquors, and sold for
5s.~6d per gallon ; molasses, 2s. 6d ; sugar, 8d per lb. ;
tea, 5s. ; coffee, Is. 9d ; butter, Is. ; nails, lid ; red
broadcloth, £1 7s. per yard ; calico, 5s. 3d. ; corn, 4s.
6d. per bushel. In this day-book John Teeple is men-
tioned as tapster ; John Van Horn, tailor. Mr. Boylan
was an extensive manufacturer of potash, that being
then an important article of commerce. He purchased
150 acres on the north side of the village, which is still
known as the Boylan farm, and where he is said to
have entertained Washington in some of his visits to
Pluckamin. On the border of the woods, not far from
his house, a level spot was cleared for dancing pur-
poses and used by the artillery brigade while in quar-
ters at this place. This land was sold previous to
1787, as Boylan's name appears in the assessment of
that year as paying tax only on personal property.
Mrs. Boylan lived to be ninety-five, having been a
widow for fifty years. They are both buried in the
cemetery at Basking Ridge.
Squire William McEown was also a merchant in
Pluckamin during the Revolution. He was a com-
missary for the army, and purchased flour in Hun-
terdon County of Col. John Mehelm, at the mills
now known as Hall's Mills. The flour was loaded
on a large wagon, and, drawn by four yoke of oxen,
was conveyed to Pluckamin and Morristown. He
married Jemima, daughter of Col. John Mehelm
(who settled in Pluckamin after the war and lived
there while surrogate of Hunterdon and Somerset
Counties, and died Oct. 6, 1809, aged seventy-six).
Squire McEown's store was in the building now occu-
pied by James Brown, Sr. He owned 136 acres of
land adjoining in 1787. His only daughter married
Squire Elias Brown; James Mehelm Brown is a de-
scendant. Squire McEown died March 10, 1817, in
the house where he lived and kept store. He was
aged sixty-one.
The following in reference to this store is related
by Dr. A. McDowell :
"At one tlmo the BritiHh cavalry, after a defeat of our army, made a
raid upon the village, took possession of the store, and carried away all
the boots, shoes, clothing, teas, etc. . . . At that time sovoral houses were
plundered. Mrs. McEown took up her floor, concoaled her foathor-bods
and oilier valuables under it, and replaced the carpet. Old Mr. Eoll's
fences and rails were burnt. Peter Lane's father was appointed to col-
lect «ll the pewter plates and dishes, which were much in use In those
days, and deposit them at certain recognized places, — viz., Pluckamin
and Larger Croas-Koads, They were then molted into bullets to shoot
the British. Lead was scarce, and these pewter bullets, rui
moulds, were the substitute."
In 1787, Matthew Lane, of the Lane family, who
settled east of Van Vleet's Mills about 1748 or 1749,
was a merchant and postmaster at Pluckamin. The
house in which he lived is still standing ; the store
adjoined it. It is now occupied by Mrs. Sarah Har-
mer. He continued in business till about 1800. In
this old house, now owned by Mrs. Cornell, of Som-
erville, several of the prisoners — probably the officers
— were confined after the battle of Princeton, and the
glass in the windows yet bears the initials cut by their
diamond rings. "The interior of this house has re-
mained unaltered since the Revolution ; the old-
fashioned doors and cornice show the style of that
day. The steps are remarkable for their easy ascent,
and it is a popular tradition in the village that Gen.
Washington rode up and down over them on horse-
back ; indeed, there are marks on the boards which,
it is asserted, are the prints of his horse's shoes."*
The old church was also used for confining prisoners,
as a hospital, and as a store-house for forage.
Christian Eoff kept the tavern on the spot where
the present tavern stands. Among other jokes attrib-
uted to him is one to the effect that he substituted
stones for hams in the wheelbarrow of Edward Hill,
which the latter wheeled up a steep mountain-road
before discovering the trick.
Dr. Scott, of New Brunswick, a prominent surgeon
during the Revolution, attended the army to Pluck-
amin and remained several days. His quarters were
in the village, and he visited the camp several times
each day. On the way he had to cross a plank over
a deep gully with soft mud at the bottom. The irre-
pressible Eoff, watching his chance, so shifted the
plank that one end barely rested on the bank, within
an inch of the edge. Along came the surgeon in his
brilliant uniform, with a proud, important tread.
He struck the plank, and down he went into the
slough.
About 1800, John Davenport, a native of England,
came to this part of New Jersey from Connecticut,
and purchased the property south of the village known
as the Lafferty property. He married Margaret, the
daughter of Ruloff Traphagen (who lived at the foot
of the mountain south of the Lesser Cross-Roads, on
the line between Bernard and Bedminster). He lived
in the Lafferty house, and built an extensive tannery.
He purchased large quantities of sumach, and pre-
pared it for the use of morocco-manufacturers. He
died in 1830, aged fifty-two. His remains lie in
the Lamington churchyard. Ralph Davenport, of
Pluckamin, is a son by his first wife ; after her death
Mr. Davenport married Mary, the daughter of John
Boylan. Thomas, James, and Samuel Davenport, of
Somerville, are his sons.f The old Lafferty house
* Jacob Magill, from articles published in the Unionist In 1870.
f See sketch of Davenport family, p. 08U, et seq., in this work.
IJEDM1NSTKK.
713
was torn down in 1*7:1, and no vestige of house or
other of the various business interests carried on there
is to be seen.
In the war of 181 1!, William I. Hedges and John
Hunt came to Pluekamin, and both kept store, — Hunt
in a part of the "old Barracks," as it was thru called.
Hunt a little later opened a recruiting-office in the
'Milling. About 1810 this old hostelry was torn
down, and James Herod built the present dwelling
upon the site. William I. Hedges married a duughtel
of Christian Eoff, and kept store in l'luckamin until
1817, when he removed to Somerville. Jacob Locey
came to Pluekamin about 1810. He was a hatter,
and worked at his trade for several years; he was
al-o a ju-tiee of the peace for many years, and post-
master forty-live year-. His shop was close to bis
house, still standing on the west side of Main Street.
John Van Zandt, whose mother was an Eoff, was born
in Pluekamin, and became engaged in mercantile
pin Hits i;i hi native village continuing thli't'. nine
years. He now lives in Somerville, at an advanced
age. Sipiire l'.lias lirown was born at l'luckamin.
lie wa- a -on of Abram lirown, who early purchased
ISO acres in the vicinity.) lie married the only
daughter of Col. William MeKown. He was a farmer
and justice of the peace, and owned 600 or 700 acres â–
of land. Dr. McDowell relates many anecdotes of
the squire and his wife; they are published in "Our
Home" in 1ST.',, to which the reader is referred.
The following is related by .Mr. Magill and is of
interest :
"Garret Conover has in Ills house In Pluekamin a tea-board or toblo
which bean Uio hacks of Hessian swords. It belonged to Wb grand-
father, Abraham Conover, who lived an the turnpike below llound
llrook. A notorious friend ..I the llritish living on l'luckamin Moun-
tain guided a puiiy tu Conover'e house and niado him got out of bed,
harness up bis team, and get 400 muskets from a pile of buckwheat straw
on tho hack part of Abraham Brokaw'a farm, where they bad lnjon con-
oealedbythoA rlcans,and haul them to the British at New Brans-
' I i '01 this ait Mr. ConoTor declared ho would punish tho lcador, I
ami wati -lied Willi his gun several wooks, declaring bo would shool him.
At length he was caught, taken to the sa house ho had invaded,
stripped, and env I with lai, and. (Iran, I moth- r (' v-r v,,linit-eriui;
1 bed foi ih aslon, it was rlppedopen ami tho scoundrel
rolled In ii till he was rufnclently arranged for the ostrich-like nin that
when ho was liberated.
"Mrs. Sai ah Oonover relates thai the baa often heard hex mother, Ida
1 mi when Washington's army ci from Princeton a
commissary was sont ahead to request the rannera to preparo food for
tl - Bugs pots of meat woro put ovor the lir.-, hut when tho men
Ctms (Jong they wore so nearly starved that thoy fished [tout with their
bayonets and ato it on their way."
Dr. William McKissacfc was a physician in l'lucka-
min before removing to Bound Brook, l>r. McDowell
relates the follow ing Btory of him i
"Hewasalargeburli man, with great rotundity of stomaoh. Doctors
In thus,, days, In visiting thai i one drink at the
ii they wlahed they could take two; nobody thought anything
aboul it. . . . li was almost imp..ssli'h> f..r a physician to bo a
â– I. Our friend went mm Pluekamin to BomerrUle
after dinner in a aulky. He accomplished hi-, nan. i. than drank In • ly.
Night e tma on, Ha lupposad bs bad coma than on horseback, ami far-
netting the sulky, mounted the bona and shuts i for home .\»ho rodo
alnng Uie nobx of « h.'.-i» behind dlaturl ■■Dim, Boa dreadful ii would
bo to bo run over ou a dark night,— to be crushed to death all alone I
16
'Turnout behind I Dont runove u- r F u re-
assured, uml rods farther, still Hum- dreadful, dreadful wheels sounded
behind, it was too much Again agony of fear broko forth Into words:
'Turn out than behind I Tin- nil doctor rides slowly on a dark night.'
At lust l'luckamin was reached. To his dismay, be found the horso still
attached to the sulky . II- bad riddm u,e tons oB Os «oy and left tho
sulky, without an occupant, to follou I
M inh thai pertain- to the history of l'luckamin will
be found in the chapter 011 the I!e\ olulion and in
nijier parts of ibis work. From 1880 the place has
given way to other centres, and is now but an outly-
ing village. It contains a church (Presbyterian .hotel.
two -lores, post-office, two blacksmith-shops, and
about forty dwellings.
LARGElt OBOSS-BOADa
To-day the place has no importance. In 1775 it
contained a hotel kept by John Sutphin ; two years
later another one, across the way, was opened by John
Pinley. The road passing through here from east to
west was laid OU! in 1745 along the north line of the
Maj. Daniel Axtcll tract. Jacob Magill. of the New-
ark Jour, ml, in 1870 gathered many of the Revolu-
tionary incidents of the county and contributed them
to the columns of the Unionitt under the heading of
"Somerset, Past and Present." The following will
be of interest in this connection :
"Larger Cross-Roads lias an almost inexhaustible fund of history.
Hero lived the nghiing men who raised the quotas of Bwlminster In the
Revolution, and here train-bands met for years to fight tholr battles o'or
again ovor a glass of apple-Juice of any age to suit tho losto. a
capturo of Gon. Leo at Basking Bldgo, tho troops of this neighborhood
wero drawn up in lino ot battle expecting an attack, and bullets have
frequently 1 n r..iiud whete they -i I. II,, old men who cams hare
to drill on training-days hud many a talo to tell of tholr advonturca in
tho war. Ou a certain night, when tho army lay at Horrlstown, John
Barclay, win. lived north of the Cross-Beads, and Halachl HcOoUum
were placod on guard. Tho notorious Bill Stowart and bis brother Laf.
forty woro confined in jail, and it was tho duty of theso men to watch
tho prisoners. There happened to be in tholr rounds a barrel of bard
cider, which th-y. with true soldierly instinct, soon discovered. Whether
it was the odd or thecidor wo cannot my, but I n- Hi Ing mode them de-
cidedly ' blue,' and the prlsouore, making ropes of their bed-clothes, es-
caped. Ksq. Peter Sutphin was in th- army at th- tin,,-, in (apt. Logan's
company, and stayed the night of tho occurrence with his brother-in-
law, Oapt Robert Illalr. The escape of tho prisoners caused great ox-
citement, and the two negligent cider-suckers never hoard the last of It.
"A companion of these, ami a rightjolly one, too, was Robert Little.
Ho was a linn In courage, of powerfully-developed musclo, and one of
tlo tou-h-si \-t. i ans of the war. Ho related t.. tl now |j,|„ K Unit
tho hardest fighting ho over did was at the battle of Sionmouth, whan.
in a haii, l-i, -hand light, they forced a bodj of lieestans back through a
brush fence. A Sootchman, he loved his wlfo and revereni ad the
but was si 10 by his fondness for asocial glass."
Little afterwards lived and died in Branchburg,
Bis -on, John, lived to an advanced age, and died in
1879, His children now reside in that town-hip.
Hobi n Little related the following to l>r. McDowell :
» ""npatiy was as ragged as beggan. How could wo b*l|
pay wils poor, out do â– w wearing out, and we had nothing to re-
plaoathem. At last the tim i'he colonel issued
" r 'i- r I wis ti'-n ih- tail, r of th- company. It was ,. r
leans tl mmand; to rollulltwai s llffaroni bash 9
-w and patch, but when waa the cloth In
gather-, I from all tho families and friends around, and I. with my assist-
ant!, want to work. Wsorarhaolad >• got the
olothea In such ordsi that no rags ma seen. A grand dross-parade was
ordered. Our boys marched with bead erect and a proud step. For once
714
SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.
for a long time they had a suit of clothes without any holes in them.
The light-horse saw them: they became envious. Then a second order
was issued: ' Robert Little must fix up the light-horse and put them in
as good condition as the infantry.' This order was harder to fulfill than
the first one. We ransacked all the houses in the neighborhood a second
time. We found cloth and other material. These we fixed up for the
light-horse. Still we were a little behind; something else was wanting.
The light-horse wore helmets, intended to be ornamented with horse-
tails. We had none of them to spare. We were now in a serious fix.
At last I hit upon a plan. I selected twenty of the youngest, smartest
men. I awoke them all at 12 o'clock at night. At that time they started,
scoured the country for miles around. They drove up every cow tfiey
could find. And I tell you each cow went home with a piece off its tail
about as long as my hand."
LESSEE CEOSS-EOADS.
This settlement commenced after the Eevolution.
The first hotel-keeper was John Melick, about 1780.
A post-office was established about 1835. The Bedmin-
ster church is a short distance below the corner. The
first church was built about 1758, torn down about
1817, and the present one erected the next year. The
hamlet contains a hotel, one store, post-office, black-
smith-shop, carriage-shop, and fifteen or twenty dwell-
ings.
PEAPACK.
This village is located on a road running north and
south along Peapack or Lawrence Brook, and is a long
and straggling village, extending about two miles.
Before the beginning of the present century a saw-
and grist-mill was built on the stream where the Jo-
roleman mill now stands. Daniel Joroleman relates
that when he removed to that place with his father,
in 1808, there were but four houses there besides the
mill, — those of William Logan, Hugh Gaston (stone),
Levi Sutton, and Nicholas Ditmars where Mrs. Ann
Tiger now lives. The Van Dorns lived a little west;
their mill was built that year. In 1814, William Van
Dorn built the residence at present occupied by his
son, Lewis Van Dorn.* The first blacksmith was
William Logan, father of Capt. John Logan ; the shop
was opposite the school-house, where Robert Lay-
ton now lives. Alexander Kirkpatrick was a sur-
veyor and merchant here before 1800. Peter Doren,
about 1814, erected a blacksmith-shop on the spot
where now stands the shop of Henry Van Duyn. A
school-house once stood where the cemetery now is ;
John Herod and Stoflel Logan were teachers. A
stone blacksmith-shop was erected in 1836, near Van
Dora's mill, by Ferdinand Van Dorn ; one Cole was
the blacksmith.
The village now contains a hotel, two grist-mills,
post-office, two churches (Keformed and Methodist),
four stores, three blacksmith-shops, three wheel-
wrights, distillery, six perpetual lime-kilns, and nine
set kilns. f
LAMINGTON.
The land on which this hamlet is located was pur-
chased in 1741 by James Alexander and Daniel Don-
* See biographical department of this township history.
â– f Lime-burning Htarted at Peapack as early as 1794, but it did not be-
come very extcnslvo until 1830. There are now about 200,000 bushels of
unslaked lime produced annually.
alson Dunstar, and consisted of 583 acres. The
Presbyterian church had been built prior to this, on
the ground occupied by the present building. In
March, 1743, they conveyed the church and cemetery
lot to the congregation. The Rev. James McCrea,
the fh'st regular pastor, in the early part of his pas-
torate lived on the west side of the river, in a house
later owned by the father of the Rev. Dr. Messier, of
Somerville. He afterwards purchased a farm where
George Mullen now lives, and still later the farm on
which Peter Lane resides. Rev. J. Halsey purchased
105 acres on the east side of the Allematunk, known
later as the parsonage. Feb. 24, 1772, he sold it to
John Demund. July 1, 1784, William McEown pur-
chased the property from Thomas Berry, executor of
Mr. Demund, and the next clay deeded it to the trus-
tees of the Presbyterian Church of Bedminster. On
this lot was built the parsonage of which the ruins
are still standing.
In the old stone ruin on the bank of the river lived
the Rev. William Boyd ; here he opened a classical
school for young men. As was the custom in New
Jersey, he owned slaves.J
During the ministry of the Rev. Mr. Boyd a singu-
lar and eccentric woman, known as Betty McCoy,
came to Lamington and united with the church. She
soon became known far and near not only for her ec-
centricities, but for her deep piety. This account of
her is given :
" She was stolen away when a small child, by the Indians, and was
never able to give any clue to the place of her birth or her parentage.
She spoke about Minisink, and probably was first taken there, and after-
wards carried down into Virginia. Here she formed a plan to escape to
the Eevolutionary army. Being pursued, she hid in a brush-heap, and the
savages set fire to nearly every pile of brush around her, expecting to burn
her out; but tho heap where she was concealed escaped the conflagration.
ThiB she considered such a miraculous interposition of Providence that
from that hour she became a devoted Christian. Reaching the army, she
served as a vivandiere and ministered to the sick and wounded through
the eventful Southern campaign, and though her voice was rough, her
speech unlettered (for she never learned to read or write), and her face
homely, there never was a kinder nurse than Betty McCoy. On the re-
turn of peace she came north, and, finding her way to Lamington,
though only about sixteen years of age, she commenced her mission,
going from bouse to house scattering gospel seed in her rough but earn-
est way."
At the time Betty came to Lamington, Simon Suy-
dam owned the most of the landed property. The
people were interested in the story of her troubles and
wanderings. Mr. Suydam offered lumber if the neigh-
bors would build Betty a house. The offer was ac-
cepted, and a small house was erected on a lot set
apart for the purpose. Betty built a brush fence
around it. She took charge of the church, which,
with her spinning and visiting (for she was a welcome
guest), kept her very busy.
X "June 13, 1800— Eev. William Boyd certifies that In tho township of
Bedminster he had born of a female slavo a female child named Hannah,
June 28, 1805, which was duly registered in tho clerk's office, and which
said child I do boroby abandon and surrender to said township aa a pau-
per of said township, agreeable to tho Act of tho Legislature, entitled An
Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery."
BEDMINSTER.
715
POTTERSVILLE.
In the records of 1741 tin- name of Potter occurs
in this section, it being a mention of one Richard
Potter, owning land on both sides of tin- Lamington.
Mills have existed here many years. Col. Jonathan
Potter, the father of String and Samuel, lived and
died here. The village contains about 120 inhabi-
tants, a Reformed church (erected in l.stio), a grist-
mill, ami an agricultural implement manufactory.
The property, except the old Potter homestead, i-
owned by Robert Craig. The place was founded bj
Sering Potter, who commenced the improvements
which caused it to become a busy and thriving hamlet.
SCHOOLS.
It is difficult to gain any accurate information of
the early schools of Bedminster, as the records were
destroyed about I - lo. In the early clays the business
pertaining to the -chool- was recurded witli the other