father of the Bubjecl of this sketch. He was born
near Ainhny, N. J., and afterwards lived near Prince-
ton, where In' was a fanner by occupation. II re-
moved to Mine Brook, Somerset Co., in 1792, and
there bought a farm of A ndrew Kirkpatrick, on which

he lived till bis death, which aired in May. I si 1 ."..

lie married Eleanor Itunvon, who was horn Oct. I.
171*. The children of Daniel Heath and Eleanor

Runyon were John, born A.ug. It, 1772; Ann. horn
Jan. n;, 177 1 ; Hugh, born July 20, 177".; Elizabeth,
horn Feb. 15, 1777; Margaret, horn Nov. 26, 1778;
Daniel, horn July 19, 1780 the seventh child, a son,
born June 27, 1782, died in infancy); Mary, horn

Sept. 10, L788; Daniel, ho,-,, April 26, 1786; 'II las,

born Feb. 10. 1787; Hubert, horn Feb. 0, 17*0.

Robert Heath, father of our subject, married Sarah
Cole, Jan. 1. 1809, who was hunt July 24, 17*7. I'll, v




wit. 1. 1AM HEATH.

The subject of this sketch, horn, as above, at Mine
Brook, married Ann Voorhees, Nov. 15, 1849. She
was born at Mine Brook, A.ug. 12, 1820. They have
one son. John Heath, born mar Burnt Mills, Sept.
25, 1856; married Emma J. Fritts, 1'eh. 8,1879. She
was bora An;. 10, I860. They ha\ - child, Lou-
anna, horn Feb. 17. 1*811.

William Heath was a Whig up to tin- formation of
tin- Republican parly, since which hcjias been a sup-
porter nl Hi.' principles of the latter. He and his

wife are members of the Reformed Church of Bed-
minster.
i i \ in; 1. 1 Voorhees was born Nov. 5, 1784; married

Sarah W'hiltaker, Sept. I'- 1 . 1816. 8he was horn Sept.
8, 1792. Their children were, John, horn June 14.
I -17 : Matilda, horn Oct. I'. 1 . 1818; Ann. horn Aue.
12, 1820; Hannah, horn Jan. I. L828 ; Ellen, born
Jan. 21, 1825; i larret, born March 20, 1827 : Nathaniel

W., horn June i".'. 1829; Sai 1 S., born June l'.t,

L881 ; Mary, horn An,'. 20, I 588; Ruth E.,bora Sept
19, is:;:,; Ralph, born March 20, 1888. All are liv-
ing l.ni Matilda, who died Sept 28, 1861, and Ruth

E., who died Jan. In. 1879.

(larret Voorhees died Felt. I'l, 1X70, aged eifjhty-
six. Surah, his wit',-, died A.Ug. 8, 18*8, She WBS u

member of the Bedminster Reformed Church.



732



SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.



MARTIN LA TOURETTE.

His ancestors removed from France to Holland,
and thence at an early time to Long Island, N. Y.
Cornelius La Tourette, his grandfather, was born
March 27, 1778, and settled in the township of Read-
ington, Hunterdon Co., N. J., where he remained
until the time of his marriage to Miss Elizabeth
Wyckoff, of that place, when he removed to Bedmin-
ster and settled on the place where Peter La Tou-
rette now resides. He became a resident of this town-
ship about 1802.

Cornelius La Tourette had children, — Martin, born
Sept. 11, 1803 ; Peter, born Oct. 3, 1805 ; Henry, born
May 9, 1808 ; Girtright, born Oct. 30, 1811 ; John W.,
born July 23, 1814 ; Margaret E., born Aug. 10, 1823.

Martin, the subject of this notice, was the oldest
son. He was a farmer, and followed that occupation
through life, acquiring a comfortable estate and leav-
ing a reputation unsullied for honor and integrity.
He married Mary Armstrong, Nov. 30, 1825. She
was born Sept. 25, 1806. The following were their
children : Henry, born Oct. 23, 1828 ; Hannah, born
Dec. 28, 1831; Elizabeth, born March 19, 1834;
George, born July 23, 1836; John, born April 18,
1839 ; Margaret, born Aug. 5, 1844. All died of con-
sumption, as did also their father and mother. Mar-
tin La Tourette died Feb. 3, 1880 ; his wife died in
September, 1862. He willed his estates to Henry and
his grandchildren. Henry La Tourette remains on
the homestead. He married Harriet Backer, Dec. 10,
1856. Their children are Ophelia, born Sept. 18,
1857; Emma B., born April 12, 1859; Martin, born
Jan. 27, 1861 ; Stephen B., born June 15, 1866 ; Car-
rie B., born June 30, 1874 ; Charlie K., born Aug. 26,
1877. Henry is a Democrat in politics, and has taken
some part in the local affairs of his township. His
father and grandfather were elders in the Reformed
Church of Bedminster.



john Mcdowell.



Ephraim McDowell, an ancestor of John and the
first settler on the estate, was a native of Ireland.
On the 1st of May, 1750, he purchased the property
of William Axtell, a merchant of New York. It then
embraced 238 acres, which he gave to his two sons,
John and Matthew. He afterwards purchased the
adjoining farm (151 acres) of William Cummings ;
this he willed to his son Ephraim, who sold to his
brother Matthew, and the latter purchased a portion
of John's estate. The whole was subsequently di-
vided into two farms of about 200 acres each, a part
of which is now in the possession of John McDowell
and the widow and heirs of the late Dr. William A.
McDowell.

Ephraim McDowell had sons, — John, Matthew,
Ephraim, Peter, and Benjamin. Ephraim and Peter
removed to the West. Benjamin became a settled



minister in Dublin, Ireland, having gone there to
finish his education. He had pursued his prepara-
tory course at the grammar school kept by Rev. Mr.
Hannah on the McDowell estate in Bedminster, — an
old school quite noted in its day.




john Mcdowell.

Matthew McDowell was the grandiather of the
subject of this sketch. He was twice married, — first
to Miss Simpson, of Lamington, and second to Eliza-
beth Anderson, of Bound Brook. By Elizabeth An-
derson he had John, William (both became clergy-
men), and Benjamin, father of our subject, who re-
tained the estate, and was a farmer during life. He
was a justice of the peace for about fifteen years, and
for ten years judge of the Court of Common Pleas.
He married Elizabeth Field, daughter of Jeremiah
Field, of North Branch, and had two children, —
John and Elizabeth A., widow of the late Abraham
Ten Eyck, of Somerville. He died July 24, 1855.
Mrs. McDowell died March 28, 1873, in her ninetieth
year.

John McDowell was born on the estate in Bedmin-
ster, Jan. 12, 1810, and was educated at the common
schools. He married Maria, daughter of Robert
Todd, of Lamington, and has one son and three daugh-
ters living. A Whig from early life, he joined the
Republican party upon its organization in 1856, and
has since adhered firmly to its principles and meas-
ures. He is a man of sound judgment and exem-
plary habits, and is an elder in the Presbyterian
Church of Lamington, of which he and his wife have
long been members.




M \ UI'IX LA TOURETTB.




FREDERICK



LANK.



Frederick II. Lane, son of Matthew P. and Amn
(Hownel) Lane, was born in New German tow n, Hunter-
don Co., N. J., Dec. 22, 1818. Married Mary Ann I
daughter of William Craig, of New German town, Dec.
:'., 1840, and hnd fourteen children, —seven sons an. 1 -• \ en
daughters.— of whom eleven are living in Hunterdon and
Somerset Counties. Mr. Lane devoted his attention t<>
agriculture, and was a thrifty and successful farmer.
In 1866 ho purchased one of the must beautiful estates
in the township of Bedminstor, on which his widow
and sons now reside, where he made various improve-
ments, and -pent the remainder of his quiet and exem-
plary lifu attending to his domestic duties, tin- education
of bis children, and the interests of the church of which
beand bis estimable wife were mombers. They b<
to ill.- I'rosbyloriun Church at Lnmington, N. J. Mr.
Lane died on the 7th of October, 187:'.. From the
obituary notice published at the time of his deaih we
extract the following just tribute to his character :

" \\ ben a g 1 loan dies i great void is left When a

useful man departs row can take his place. Both these
vacancies were made when our friend Frederick II.
Lank left us. Some of the old-fashioned men of honor,
probity, and religion are still loft s> ancient landmarks

among us, n who act out Christianity in their daily

walk and habits. Main i: ran talk Christianity.

How few there are that the whole community know and
fed are good men in word and deed I Frederick 11.



Lane's light was set upon a hill seen of all men. No
man doubted that in hi m the genuine root of the matter
existed. He came from n noble father. A line-looking
man, bis joul was as large as his body. He raised a
family that inherited thoscqualities. Frederick possessi .1
noble feelings and strongly exemplified them. Yen
c >uld not be in his company for a minute without
nizing a noblo Christian man, of fine, commanding
and marked features. He had a large soul, a numerous
family; his children loved and revered him. A. young
man to theendof life, full of innocent fun and mischief,
he never became old. He was the perfect modol of a

wise, skillful, judicious farmer. His judg nt seldom

erred. Surrounded by laboring band-, ha was prompt
in his payments and a most judicious friend and ad-
visor. A- a Christian man be -In with the best and

lustre. From church, prayer meeting, Sabbath-
school he was u-r.-r absent, and their most able sup-
porter. Having a large family, he was a Strong nd-

vocate and efficient sustainer of our common-school
system. As a public man holding office he never pros-
tituted his powers, but retained the firm confident f

his fellow cilizons in his unbending integrity. N
munity that loses such a man has met with a great
mi-fortune. To his friends bo has left the I" -I of

lations; we know and feel that he was a g 1 Christian

man. To hi- I'hiihK lie has given the noble. t \f._
name pure and unsullied, without a single bbmi-h."



BEDMINSTER.



733



WILLIAM A. VAX DORX.
Jacob Van Dorn, the ancestor of the family in
New Jersey, came from Holland with his parents
about the year 1660 when a lad ten years of age.
They landed on Lone; Island, where the city of Brook-
lyn now stands. Jacob afterwards married a Miss
Bennett, and removed to Monmouth Co., N.J. Their
family consisted of six sons and four daughters, one
of whom waa Jacob Van Dorn, Jr., born Jan. 21,
I70:{. He married Maria Sehenck, by whom he had
ten children, and after her death, which occurred Oct.
31, 1756, he married for his second wife Rachel Long-
street Aaron, a son of Jacob Van Dorn, Jr., born
Sept. 14, 1744, married Geshea Sehenck, of Mon-
mouth Co., May 9, 176.3, and had twelve children, of
whom William Aaron Van Dorn, born at Peapack,
Somerset Co., X. .1., July iV,, 17-1. was the eighth
child, He was .me of the most enterprising and
highly-esteemed citizens of Somerset County, and
belonged to a numerous and influential family, many
of whom have since become widely scattered. His
father and the older members of the family settled at
Peapack, where they purchased a large tract of land,
Which has since been divided into nine farms. Wil-
liam A., at the age of nineteen, left home to see the
world and seek his fortune. He wen! to Pittsburgh,

and thence in a "flat-boat" down the Ohio and Mis-
sissippi Rivers to Natchez, where he began to raise
cotton. He cultivated thi' growing crop much in the
same manner that he did corn, and was quite success-
ful, thus doing three-ipiartcrs of a century ago what
planters are just now learning to do in some parts ,,f
the South. At the end of two years, not liking a
state of society where difficulties were settled by a
resort to the knife or pistol, he returned home.

Peapack was then a little hamlet, with its post -office
at New Brunswick, and subsequently at Somcrville,

until by his influence an office wa- opened there
With the proceeds of his cotton he began business in
a store, and extended it until he had also a large
farm, mill, lime-kiln, and other branches of business.
lie took more pleasure in helping bis family and
friends and tie neighborhood than in accumulating
property. Be became identified with all the improve-
ments of the place. By purchasing various strips of

laud he straightened the roads, had bridges built, and

set an example to others in draining and clearing the
land, lie introduced the first threshing-machine in
that vicinity, and other implements now so com-
mon, though there were many evil prediction-, con-
cerning them.

In public life he was well known, his integrity
securing for him continuously SOEOe office Of trust

or honor. Such was the confidence in which he was
held that, though always an ardent politician, he was
continued through all the changes of party for thirty-
live years in the offii f justice of thi peace and judge

of the Oommon Pleas, and, as an indication of the
soundness of his judgment, though an immense



amount of business came before him, his decisions

were never set aside nor an appeal taken but in three
instances.

He was a man of great firmness and dignity of
character; his habits were temperate, and all his ap-
petites and impulses under remarkable control. His
vigor of body and mind was retained to an advanced
age, so that he was able to prosecute improvements at
a stage of life when men generally think such work
out of the question. When nearly eighty years of
age he enlarged his water-power and rebuilt his mill,
superintending the getting out of the timber and
going upon the roof of the mill to see that the work
was well done. He lived to see a dozen years alter
the work was completed, almost reaching the rare age
of ninety years. At his death, June 13, 1871, he was
the last of a long-lived family of twelve children,
himself and five brothers having reached the average
age of seventy-nine.

His life was rigidly moral and upright, and he had
been brought up in the strictest manner. Although
not connected with any church as a member, he was
an earnest supporter of religion, and at one time
raised the subscription money for building a Re-
formed church in the place; but, owing to some op-
position of their pastor at Bedminster, it was not
until afterwards that the building which now stands
was erected. His views of religion are well summed
up in the remark which he made on one occasion:
" I may not understand the letter of the Word, but I

will take its gpiril ami try to live according to that."
Such are a few of the leading traits of this truly
strong and exemplary character. He is remembered
as a man of great firmness and self-reliance, and yet
he possessed an amiable and generous disposition,
was much beloved by his family and friends, and
highly esteemed by all who knew him. lie married
Elsie Sutton, and left at his death two children,—
Mary Ann, born L805, and Ferdinand, born April 17,
1807.



ABRAHAM SMITH.



Abraham Smith was born in Meiidhaiu. Morris Co.,
N. J., Jan. 15, 1880. His lather, Jacob /.. Smith,
removed to the township of Bernard, where the sub-

jecl "l I his sketch was brought up and at ten. led SCl 1

till the age of fifteen. His father settled on the es-
tate of his father, Xackariah Smith, who afterwards
divided the property among his children (see biog-
raphy of Peter /. Smith, of Bernard . At the age of

fifteen Abraham Smith went to learn his trade—that
of a carriage-maker -with his uncle. David B. Logan.

at the Leaser ( to B in Bedminster township,

when' he served an apprenticeship, with hard and

diligent labor, of four years. \l the expiration of

this period he engaged with David Apgar as journey-
man, where he remained two year-, ami in the mean
time, Oct 27, 1849, he married Ann Daily, daughter



T34



SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.



of William Daily, of Readington township. The re-
sult of this marriage has "been four children, — viz.,




ABRAHAM SMITH.



William Anderson Smith, horn Nov. 28, 1850; George
Logan Smith, horn Nov. 20, 1852; Jacob Wesley



Smith, born July 27, 1855; Sarah Ann Elizabeth
Smith, born Oct. 1, 1870. Jacob Wesley died Aug. 7,
1855.

Upon leaving David Apgar, Mr. Smith removed to
Plainfleld, in 1851, where he was for eight years fore-
man for the firm of Heath & Dunning, engaged in
the manufacture of carriages for the Southern trade.
Here he carried on other enterprises, dealing to some
extent in real estate, and building and selling two
houses, out of which he realized a handsome profit.
This was during the growing and rapid period of
Plainfleld. Hard times coming on in 1857, induced
Mr. Smith to leave Plainfleld, which he did in the
spring of 1859, establishing the shops at Peapack,
which he has carried on successfully for the past
twenty years. In 1865 he added the undertaking
business, which he has since conducted in connection
with carriage- and wagon-making.

Mr. Smith, in connection with his uncle, Peter Z.
Smith, and others, founded, in 1876, the "Smith Fam-
ily and Friends' Reunion," on the grounds of the an-
cestral estate in Bernard, near Peapack, which has
become one of the most popular institutions of the
country, being attended, as it was in 1879, by about
ten thousand people. Mr. Smith is vice-president of
the association, and has filled that position since its
organization in 1876.

His son, William Anderson Smith, married Emma
Violet, daughter of Daniel T. Overton, of Yaphank,
L. I., Dec. 24, 1875.



BEENAK D.



SITUATION AND BOUNDARIES.

The township of Bernard is situated in the north-
east corner of Somerset County, and is bounded north
by Mendham, in Morris County ; east by the Passaic
River and Warren township ; south by Warren and
Bridgewater ; west and southwest by Bedminster and
Bridgewater townships.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

Bernard comprises a superficial area of 41.47 square
miles, or 26,541 acres. The principal valleys are
those of the Passaic and the Raritan, which bound
the township on the east and west, and, with their
tributaries, drain its entire surface, with the exception
of the extreme point of the southern projection, be-



; By Prof. W. W. Claytu



tween Warren and Bridgewater. Dead River, which
forms a portion of the southern boundary, rises in the
southwestern part of Bernard and flows in an easterly
direction to the Passaic River. Two of its most east-
ern tributaries from the south rise near the south-
western line of Bernard and flow in courses nearly
parallel across the northwestern corner of Warren.
The principal tributary from the north is Green
Brook, which rises a few miles northeast of Basking
Ridge and runs southward, nearly parallel with the
Passaic River, and at an average distance of 21 miles
from it, and falls into Dead River below Liberty Cor-
ner. Basking Ridge, the most famous in the town-
ship, lies between this brook and the Passaic, extend-
ing southward and terminating in Pleasant Valley.
At the north end of the ridge is Penn's Brook, rising
near the source of Green Brook and flowing eastward



liKllNARD.



735



into the Passaic River. The streams named and a
few other small brooks are all thai Bow into the Pas-
saic on the eastern Bide of the township.

Mine Brook is quite mm important stream. Ii rises
in the northern pari of the tow nship, near the Morris
county line, and, passing southward through a chain
of small lakes at Bernardsville, keeps theme a general

southwest i Be till it enters the North Branch of the

Raritan, on the western boundary of the township.

This brook aflbrds in it- course se\ . nil I'm.' mill-sites,

which are well improved. A- a general rule, the vel-
Lej a and i tdgea « hich form the mos1 infc n
graphical features of the town-hip follow the courses
of the streams we have described. In many places
the hills are rounded and isolated from the general
ridges, and of a structure entirely different, g
eally Bpeaking. The lesser hills throughout the

township are composed (.1' transported material-, the
drill of the glacial epoch, while the mountains, such

as Mine Mountain, the mountains about Bernards-
ville, and tin- crests of the principal ridges, belong to
the trap formation.

We quote from 1'rofessor Cook's "Geology of New
Jersey" : "South of the village of Basking Ridge trap
outcrops in the hill on the road to Liberty Corner,
and also mi the road to Millington Church. This

ma,] be a part of the Long Hill range. The interval
between these outcrops is low, and indicates only
shale. Denuding forces may bave -wept away the

intermediate trap and left this strange and anomalous
hill ; or this may he the end of the range which curves
round from Lon(! Hill, cut oil', however, by Harrison's
Brook. West of Harrison's Brook the trap extends
almost to the Liberty Corner and liernardsville road,
but none appears west of that limit. Northward, a
ledge of it is seen in the brook east of T. Holmes',
near a road hading to Basking Ridge."

The soils of the township are generally productive,

being well adapted to wheal and grass, and no por-
tion of the country exhibits a liner succession of well-
cultivated farms.

In this township is the .lanes Mine (magnetic iron
ore), situated on the southwest end of Mine Moun-
tain, on the property of Bishop .lams. It is an old
mine, bui has oev( r been much worked, and is partly
filled with earth. This mine is interesting as being
Located on the extreme border of the gneiss.

There is also a mine opened on another point of the
same mountain, on the farm now owned by Mr. Ed-
munstone. Ore was taken from this mine about six

J ears ago.

LAND 3BANTS A\l> TITLES.
In 1701 the Coventor and proprietors of Last Jer-
sey, then residing in England, being desirous of ex-
tinguishing the Indian title to lands and extending
settlements in their province, appointed John Harri-
son agent for thai purpose. Harrison made large
purchases from the Indian- and their chiefs in the



Passaic Valley, and, among others, about 8000 acres
in what is now the township of Bernard, embracing
the eastern portion of the town-hip between tl
saic River on the east and Green Brook on thi
The tract extended from Dead River on the south to
Pi nn'- Brook on the north, and from the name of the
purchaser and its peculiar shape was long known and
familiarly spoken of as " I larrison 's \, ,1.." The deed
to this land, obtained from Xoweiioik, an Indian
chief, bear- date June 24, 1717. Harrison must have
been living at that time on Rocky 1 1 ill. a- he is called
in the deed " John I Larrison, of Rockie HiU.

Harrison's Indian deed i- believed to be the oldest
in the township. He purchased the 3000 acres, more

or hss, for a consideration of s.",ii, and the validity of

hi- title appear- to have been ever after recognized.
It was probably confirmed by the proprietors in con-
sideration of the services of 1 Larrison, as Indian deeds

W( re uoi usually accepted as valid, they having only
a possessory right, and no title to the land in fee
rimplt .

However this may be, after the death of Harrison
his son Benjamin sold the whole purchase to Daniel
Hollingshead and George Risarick, who again sold

half their interest to < lol. John barker, of Amboy, and
James Alexander, of New York.

Harrison must have died, and the property passed
through Hollingshead and Iii-ariek to Larker and
Alexander as early as 1720, lor in that year Parker
and Alexander sold a portion of the southeast corner
of their purchase to Cornelius Live-, of Si at en 1 -la nd.
The four proprietors had the lands regularly surveyed
in I 7 L" 7 . and laid oul Into farm- of from one hundred
and fifty lo two hundred acres each. These were
drawn by ballot by the four joint owners at the spring
term of the Supreme Court lor L728, held at Perth
Amboy. II:, respective proprietors were then left to

dispose of their lots on their own terms.

James Alexander, father of William Alexander
(Lord Stirling), seems to have drawn what has since
been known as the "Stirling Property." He was also
associated with John limld, of Philadelphia, in lands
which extended north into Morris County.

From the Elizabethtown bill in chancery are given
the follow rag titles of what is now Bernard township:

" Koi thwart paJ l taken np by Dnnstnr and Alexander anil Budd and
Alexander. Tlio land weM uf Ptusaie Kiver, e:iM of the North

and uoi th <>f Dead liiw-r, and loath of lv nn'- Brook irudlrldi I
rurelia.10.
"No. 97, Jiilm Pal M LT28, 117 acres In Harrison's Nock.

John Ayi*' pin. ...

"No. 100, George Blcarlck, March 28, 172s, 184JJ acres between Dc«d
itiv.T and I'eiui Hrook.

v 121, lain.!. Alexander, Sept 17, 171l,785,y, acreetn nix tracts In
Harrlson"-

. IB, Jan llexander, march 28, 1728, 272JI acres on eaat aid* of
North Brani li •>! Dead Btrar.

" No, 103, Dull 1 UolUnahea I, June 1\ L729, 132J acres on the North
Itraneh of Dead lilver.
"No, 111, John Parker, Jnlj 10, 1731,100 acre* In Harrison's Neck.



• Mrsslor's History of Somerset Com



736



SOMERSET COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.



" No. 105, John Parker, Feb. 27, 1730, S3J acres joining Sutton's in Har-