Saxton in Raven Rock

by Marfy Goodspeed on January 10, 2012

in Delaware Township

Saxton’s First Appearance in Raven Rock

In 1802, Nathaniel Saxton witnessed the will and codicil of Guilbert Van Camp, who lived just east of Raven Rock. In 1807, he witnessed a deed from the estate of William Reading deceased, whose property was in the same vicinity.1 These two events, and probably others I have not found yet, may have served to acquaint him with the neighborhood of Raven Rock.

He became acquainted with Sergeantsville in 1804 when he witnessed a deed between Agesilaus Gordon and Godfrey Rockafellar for sale of the 51.5-acre tavern lot.2 The deed gives an extensive recital of the previous ownership, which makes me wonder if Saxton had a hand in drafting the deed.

The first time that Nathaniel Saxton bought property for a long-term investment was in 1808. Saxton was one of the two purchasers of the Cooper-Curry mill lot in Raven Rock. Saxton bought his share on March 15th for $7, while George Holcombe, merchant of Amwell, bought his share on May 1st for $50.3

In Search of a Miller

George Holcombe was busy running the Mill at Headquarters, and had probably bid on the Mahlon Cooper share in order to salvage something from his failed loan to Cooper. Saxton appears to have been the active manager of the Raven Rock mill. In the summer of 1809, Saxton wrote to his father Charles Saxton, then living at Shamokin, Pennsylvania, asking him to come to New Jersey to run his mill on the Delaware River. Here is part of the letter that Charles Saxton wrote back to his son Nathaniel on July 29, 1809 (with apologies for my flawed transcription):

“A few lines[?] From you. By Mr Lawshe [?] which Informed us that you was in Health  and also that you had purchased Mills on the Delaware, and that you wisht either N__[Nehemiah?] or my self to come Down and assist in taking care of them if you think it would be any advantage to you or to us I rather think one of us could come Next spring but I wish you to come up and see us as soon as you can and stay some time with us . . .”

There were other letters referring to the mill, but none of them show that Charles Saxton actually complied with his son’s request.4 One of those letters was dated September 24, 1809. It was mostly about money matters, but at the end he wrote:

“I have nothing more to write to at present only if you think that Nies[?] or my self would be any advantage to you in taking care of your Mill  we would one of us come Nies[?] would be a good careful hand in the mill  and would Like the sawmill very well I think . . . “

I have no idea who this Nies is. Perhaps he was a brother of Nathaniel’s. Since I know little of the Saxton family, Nies may remain a mystery. Census records are of no use for this time period. Charles Saxton’s persistent requests to his son Nathaniel to come visit were probably inspired not only by fatherly devotion but also by respect for Nathaniel’s legal abilities.

Making the trip would have been an ordeal since Shamokin is 126 miles away from Flemington, going by Google Maps. Communication between families who were separated the way the Saxtons were was extremely difficult. Without an efficient post office, people had to depend on unreliable travelers, as shown by this letter, written on September 26, 1809:

“Dear Son I send you a few lines to let you know that I wrote you last week by John Wolverton  I have nothing particular at present only garet Williamson called to see my Mare and told me that he had seen you Lately and told me that you was well and told me also that He had a letter from you to me But he Had lost it . . .”

I did not find any document in the Saxton Papers that identified a miller for Raven Rock. A road return of 1818 mentions John R. Hamilton as miller there, but that was three years after Saxton had sold his interest in the mill to George Holcombe.5 I have no other information about Mr. Hamilton.

Albertus King of Philadelphia

Among the Saxton Papers are letters from Albertus King that are worth including here for the light they shed on Saxton’s business practices. King was born in Amwell Township, in 1781, to Jeremiah King and Sarah Rittenhouse. In 1808, he married Margaret Thatcher, daughter of Joseph Thatcher of Amwell. Shortly afterward, the couple joined Margaret’s brother Joseph Thatcher in Philadelphia, but returned to Hunterdon in 1811 when King started a mill of his own in Croton.6 Once again, apologies for my faulty transcription:

May 30, 1809 Philadelphia, Letter to Nathaniel Saxton Esq. “D Sir  agreeable to promise, I bought 137 long potatoes for you on Saturday last but could not get to see Arnwine, he being constantly on the Easn ble? with his colleague I Waterhouse.  I find Elisha Reading in town with a Boat, which take him directly to your Mills. They cost eight pence P lb. I wish you great luck in East? ing from them   If there should come a run in the river I think you had better send what Board you have ready. — Do not forget the strips for piling as my stock is nearly worked up with Dusenberrys boards

Yours most respectfully, A. King

P.S. the method for planting of the potatoes for to raise the ground about a foot and form a hill of them put in diameter and bury them about two inches.”7

This suggests the breadth of Saxton’s interests. In addition to his law practice and surveying, he was concerned in finding a market for the products of his mill, and he was experimenting with, apparently to him, a new vegetable, to be grown for market. We take potatoes for granted now, but they were not so widely planted in 18o9.

Here’s another interesting letter:

 Jun 30, 1809, Letter from A. King, Philadelphia, by way of Mr. Robbins, to Nathaniel Saxton Esq., Flemington, NJ: “D Sir, Yours __ J. White [Jabez White] with the Raft came to hand this day. I hope to sell the Boards to good advantage. The boards sent to me last week were handsome and saleable, and run 2500 feet pannel and 1690 feet common worth 14 colls p thousand. A sap stained board will not pass for pannel — they were pretty well sawed and were what we call half inch; which is a saleable size, and I wish you to send as many as you can of that description, thhd [?] in 5/8 inch thick  so that they will be full half inch when seasoned. Inch cullens will bring from 10 to 12 Dolls at this time, and if you cannot do better with then send them in a Raft if the __ water keeps high enough.– it will not do to Boat them. 3/4 in cullens well not answer at this market inch is used for scaffolding & fencing. I did not get your letter sent me by mail until after I had returned from Jersey. I went in haste to bring down a Horse and having got hurt from a fall, I returned as soon as possible. I kept some money for you for some time, but as you did not come nor send last week I let it go, however, if you want more I will try and let you have some next week. Wishing you great success I remain yours &c. King.”8

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who can translate some of the words, like ‘cullens,’ Clearly, Saxton had an active sawmill going in 1809, and was shipping his boards to Philadelphia. The Bull’s Island location was perfect for this sort of thing, and Saxton appears to have had a good business partner in Albertus King.

Next post: Saxton Buys Up Land in Raven Rock

 

  1. HCDeed 14-483 ↩
  2. Deed 10-153 ↩
  3. Deeds 014-567, 23-110, 25-060 ↩
  4. The Nathaniel Saxton Papers, c.1800-1830s. Hunterdon Co. Historical Society, Ms. 0005 ↩
  5. Deed 23-124 ↩
  6. Egbert T. Bush, “Old Time Sawmills Were A Joy To Watch,” Hunterdon County Democrat, 17 Oct 1929 ↩
  7. Saxton papers 0005 HCHS ↩
  8. Saxton Papers 0005 HCHS ↩

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Nathaniel Saxton, Esq.

by Marfy Goodspeed on January 8, 2012

in Delaware Township,Hunterdon County

Nathaniel Saxton Esq. is one of the more intriguing characters to appear in Hunterdon County history. I have been looking forward to writing about him for a long time.

He was elected to the State Senate (called the Council) in 1834, and in 1841 served as Master of New Jersey’s Chancery Court, and later as the Court’s Reporter. Not only was he a well-respected attorney, he also had a winning personality. In his “Reminiscences of the Bench and Bar,” Lucius Q. C. Elmer wrote that “Nathaniel Saxton, the Chancery reporter, generally called Natty,” was one of the leaders in the fun at the little social gatherings at the Rising Sun Tavern in Trenton, where “songs were sung, old stories revived, and flashes of wit sparked, each one deeming it a duty to contribute as well as he could to the general amusement.”1 After Saxton’s death, Charles Bartles, who studied law under him in 1822 and later became his partner in real estate investments, recollected that Saxton was “a most eccentric man,” who never married.2 In those days, one did not speak of a person’s sexual predilections, and I have always wondered about Natty Saxton’s. Whatever they might have been, his reputation never suffered from them.

When Saxton died in 1850, at the age of 72, a fulsome obituary was published in the Gazette, based on a meeting of the bench and bar of the circuit court in Flemington.3 It read, in part:

Since the last term of this Court, Nathaniel Saxton, Esq., the oldest member of the Bar of this Court, and among the seniors of the Bar of the Supreme Court, has died.

He commenced the study of the law in this County, about the year 1795, with Lucius W. Stockton, Esq., who was at that time Clerk of the County. He continued with him during the term of his Clerkship, when the office was bestowed upon the late Ralph Hunt, Esq., during whose term the entire work and duties of the office were discharged by him [Saxton].

He was admitted to the Bar in 1804, at the age of about 30 years, and for a period of thirty-five years from that time was extensively engaged in the business of his profession.

He was a man of sound legal learning and of varied literacy and scientific acquirements.

Without the advantages of a liberal education, by careful and persevering study he in a great degree overcame the embarrassments incident to the want of early training in the schools.

Strong in the feeling of self-reliance, he was the artificer of his fame and fortune. His associations with the men of the olden time, aided by his quick perception and tenacious memory, rendered him an interesting chronicler of the stirring events of the past.

In the years 1835-6, he represented this County in the upper branch of the State Legislature, and subsequently, for a short period, was appointed Reporter of the cases in the Court of Chancery, as appears by the Volume of Reports bearing his name.

Origins

Saxton was born in Hopewell Township about 1775 to Charles Saxton and Elizabeth Pelton, who were married on April 24, 1774.4 From what I can tell, Charles Saxton was a yeoman farmer, and, as the above tribute described, was unable to provide his son with the sort of education he would need in his chosen profession. So Nathaniel Saxton had to get it on his own. He probably came to Flemington about 1800 when he was ready to begin studying law under Lucius W. Stockton, attorney and also Clerk of Hunterdon County.

Saxton’s Flemington Career

In 1798, Saxton’s name begins to appear on court documents, usually as a witness to performance bonds and wills. According to Snell, he was indefatigable in pursuing his education. While serving as a deputy in the county clerk’s office, he studied surveying and law. I have seen some of his surveys on file at the county archives. They are nicely drawn, but none of those I saw were in the vicinity of Raven Rock.

The first recorded deed for Nathaniel Saxton was dated 1803, when he was given power of attorney by George C. Maxwell Esq. of Flemington to collect debts owed to the estate of John Bryan Esq. of Somerset County, deceased. The debts were to be collected from a George [someone; surname illegible] living in Albemarle County, Virginia, so presumably, Saxton made the trip south to collect the debts.5

In 1804, Saxton was admitted to the New Jersey Bar.6 By 1805, he was working to obtain funding to survey a road to run from the court house in Flemington to the state house in Trenton, and collected subscriptions to pay him for the work. He only found eight people to sign up, and collected $18.7 A document in the Saxton Papers on file at the Hunterdon County Historical Society reads:

“We the subscribers agree to pay to Nathaniel Saxton or any other surveyor who may perform the same the sums annexed to our respective names toward defraying the expense of making an accurate survey and plan of the road from the Court house in Flemington to the State house in the City of Trenton. November 1, AD 1805. [signed] George Maxwell 3 dollars, John Snyder 2 dollars, Alex. Bonnell 3 dollars, Joseph Capner 1 dollar, James Gregg 1 dollar, C. D. Coxe 1 dollar, William Bennett 2 dollars, John Rutherford 5 dollars.”

Although the road did not get surveyed as Saxton hoped, this document shows that he had already made himself acquainted with some of the most important people in Flemington at this time, and had inspired sufficient trust for them to willingly pay him for his work.

The first time that Nathaniel Saxton purchased real estate for himself was on August 20, 1805, when he bought for $800 the one-half interest of James Reading in a grist mill, sawmill and fulling mill on the South Branch of the Raritan River, in “Readington and Amwell Townships.”8. The following May, he purchased for $150 at public vendue the remaining share, owned by one Ellis Reading who had been sued for debt.9 This gave Saxton full ownership of a mill that he had no personal interest in running. On July 27, 1807, he sold it to Samuel Taylor of Flemington for a handsome $3200.10 That was a pretty good start for a novice real estate investor.

The Anderson Farm

The first time Saxton purchased real estate in Delaware Township, he only acted as a middleman. It is a complicated story, one that shows how vulnerable people were at that time to bankruptcy, even more so than today. The property was not in Raven Rock, so I will describe it in a separate post [and provide the link here once I’ve published it]. For now, I will simply say that in 1807, Saxton bought a lot of 47.27 acres near Stockton from James Gregg Esq. of Flemington, assignee for former Sheriff John Anderson, and then turned around and sold the lot to Anderson’s widow Ann. Saxton made a profit of about $50 on the transaction, which seems to me more of a fee for services than anything else.11

In 1807, Saxton made another land purchase, this time a woodlot of 8 acres in Kingwood from John Runyan.12

Saxton’s legal education continued during these years, and in 1808 he was admitted as a Counsellor at Law.13 In 1808-09, he served as Clerk to the Board of Freeholders.14 By this time, his career was definitely on its way.

It has been written that Saxton had a penchant for buying real estate, but seldom for selling, and that as a result, he did not prosper as he should have. I have compiled a list of his deeds as grantee or buyer (47 deeds recorded from 1803-1842) and as grantor or seller (66 deeds recorded from 1807-1852). That seems to argue convincingly against the idea that Saxton never sold what he bought. However, it is true that he died less prosperous than one would have expected.

Next Post: Saxton’s first investment in Raven Rock.

Addendum, 1/10/2012: Added information on Saxton’s sale of the Reading Mill to Samuel Taylor.

 

  1. Lucius Q. C. Elmer, The Constitution and Government of the Province and State of New Jersey and Reminiscences of the Bench an Bar During More Than Half a Century, Newark, NJ: Martin R. Dennis an Co., 1872, page 183 ↩
  2. Snell, pg. 207 ↩
  3. Hunterdon County Gazette, 13 August 1850, “Tribute of Respect” ↩
  4. New Jersey Archives, Marriage Records, pg. 310 ↩
  5. Deed 7-128 ↩
  6. Snell, pg. 207 ↩
  7. HCHS 0005/3-56 ↩
  8. Deed 12-200 ↩
  9. Deed 12-343 ↩
  10. Deed 14-098 ↩
  11. Deeds 14-068; 14-072 ↩
  12. Deed 14-049 ↩
  13. Snell, pg. 207 ↩
  14. Snell, pg. 265 ↩

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Moses Quinby Departs

by Marfy Goodspeed on December 29, 2011

in Delaware Township

Before I write about the new owners of the Raven Rock mills (Nathaniel Saxton and George Holcombe), I must give due notice to Moses Quinby and the remainder of his stay in Amwell (Delaware) Township.

Silhouette of Moses Quinby, from The Quinby Genealogy

Moses Quinby (1759-1824), the son of Isaiah Quinby and Rachel Warford, acquired the land next to Bull’s Island from George Wall in 1801. It amounted to 75 acres. In 1804, Quinby sold off lots from this property until he was left with about 16 acres, about which I will have more to say.

Quinby acquired and sold other properties beside the 75 acres. They were located in the same general area, but it is the 75-acre tract that concerns me here, since the entire village of Raven Rock is situated there. The 75 acres included the triangular 10-acre lot sold by Marmaduke Leet to Moses Quinby’s father Isaiah.

Benjamin Longsstreath

On June 12, 1804, only three years after the 75 acres was acquired, Moses Quinby, yeoman of Amwell, and wife Hannah, sold  19 acres and 33 perches to Benjamin Longstreath, millwright of Amwell for £350.1 This lot ran from Bull’s Creek back up a large hollow in the cliff to a line bordering the farm of Isaiah Quinby. Benjamin Longstreath was almost certainly a descendant of Benjamin Longstreath of Yorkshire, England, a Quaker born in 1679 who immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1698.2 The Benjamin Longstreath who bought land from Moses Quinby was married to Isabella Dennis on December 17, 1801 by John Lambert, Justice of the Peace in Amwell Township.3.

Longstreath the millwright may have done some work for Cooper and Curry, the millers of Raven Rock. A millwright was a carpenter, but also a mechanic who could set up and repair the driveshafts, gears and belts needed for any kind of mill, be it a sawmill, flour mill, linseed oil mill, plaster mill or clover seed mill. In Hunterdon County, millwrights also built the huge wheels that powered those mills. It appears that Longstreath purchased the lot on Bull’s Creek as an investment, since he sold it after only two years. On May 1, 1806, Longstreath and wife Isabella of Amwell sold the lot to Jacob Hunt for $1,166.67 ($61 per acre).4 This was about $500 less than Longstreath had paid Moses Quinby, which is hard to explain. Jacob Hunt in turn divided the 19 acres into smaller lots facing the creek.

Robert Naylor

On August 27, 1804, Moses Quinby, yeoman of Amwell, and wife Hannah sold a 40-acre parcel just east of the Longstreath lot and bordering the Cooper-Curry mill lot. The purchaser was Robert Naylor, also yeoman of Amwell, who paid £4000, or £100 ($477) per acre.5 This is an extravagant price. Naylor seems to have been doing Quinby an enormous favor.

A view of the cliff overhanging the village of Raven Rock

Just like Benjamin Longstreath’s lot, the Naylor lot included what is now frontage along Highway 29 as well as land up on the plateau. Access to this back land could only be from the triangular 10-acre lot that fronts on today’s Quarry Road, which may explain why Isaiah Quinby bought it in 1745.

Who was Robert Naylor?  That is hard to say. I know practically nothing of his family; he may well have been an English immigrant. He bought and sold properties in the Raven Rock area from the late 1700s through 1820, and was identified as a “yeoman of Amwell.” He wrote his will on December 20, 1827, leaving only $10 to his wife Mary, and 50 cents to each of his children, who I believe were Mary, Robert, John, David, Jane and Sarah. All his real estate was left to his son Robert Jr., who sold a ten-acre lot in Kingwood that was his father’s to Joseph Rodman.

After selling 40 acres to Naylor and 19 acres to Longstreath, Quinby had only 16 acres remaining, more or less. This remaining lot was the location of the future Saxtonville Tavern, and might have been where Quinby lived and was trying to keep his store. The sales to Naylor and Longstreath suggest Quinby was running short of cash.

Sale of the Tavern Lot, 1809-1810

By 1809, Moses Quinby was obliged to sell the last of his Amwell properties. On June 3, 1809, he signed a “Memorandum of Agreement” between himself and Nathaniel Saxton, in which Quinby agreed to sell to Saxton all that lot in Amwell on that part of the Delaware called Bulls Creek adjoining lands of Baker Phillips, James Quinby and Jacob Hunt of 15 to 17 acres, being the residue of lands owned by said Quinby at that place, for $400, $200 of which was to be paid on a mortgage owned by Mrs. Miriam Quinby, the remainder in two installments of $100 each, on May 1, 1810 and May 1, 1811. The memorandum was witnessed by John Beaumont and Henry Tomlinson.6

The fact that Moses Quinby was forced to borrow $200 from his stepmother Miriam Quinby shows how desperate his finances had become. The Quinby Genealogy states that Moses Quinby had taken up storekeeping at Raven Rock, but that he was not suited for that endeavor. Fortunately, Nathaniel Saxton gave him a way out. But Saxton drove a much harder bargain than Benjamin Longstreath did, paying only about $25 per acre, while Longstreath paid the equivalent of $87 per acre (based on a value of $4.77 per pound)..

The transaction was finalized in 1810 when a deed was signed on March 28th.7 At that time Moses Quinby and wife Hannah were still “of Amwell.”

The next record I have for Moses Quinby is a certificate from the Buckingham Monthly Meeting of Friends dismissing Moses and Hannah Quinby and their minor children Jonathan, Ellinor, Jane and Josiah to the Falls Township Monthly Meeting. From this we know that Moses Quinby was still a practicing Quaker, and that he had taken his family to a new home in 1813. I cannot say where he was living between 1810 and 1813. In 1811, his stepmother Miriam wrote her will, leaving to the five daughters of Moses Quinby, her son, the money due her on a bond from said Moses. There was no other mention of Moses Quinby in her will.

The Quinby Genealogy speculates that he was living for a time in Brownsburg, Upper Makefield Township in Pennsylvania. By 1816 he and his family had removed to Wrightstown where they joined the Monthly Meeting there.8 Apparently life continued to be a struggle, but his son Dr. John Quinby was doing better. He had moved to the vicinity of Wilmington, Delaware, where he bought a farm for his father to retire to. Moses Quinby died near New Castle on November 1, 1824, age 65. His widow Hannah died there on June 22, 1832, age 62.

Although that was the last of the Quinby family at Raven Rock, there was still James Quinby, brother of Moses, living at the old farm up the hill on Federal Twist Road. James Quinby died in 1830, leaving his farm to his sons. But his estate was encumbered by debts, so the land was sold to satisfy creditors, and the Quinby children all moved west.

 

  1. Deeds 009-466 ↩
  2. William Watts Harts Davis, History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, from the discovery of the Delaware to the present time, Democrat Book and Job Office, 1876, 2nd edition, vol. 3 (929 pages), Google Books. ↩
  3. Deats, H.C. Marriages, ref. to vol. 1 pg 63 ↩
  4. Deed 013-204 ↩
  5. Deed 010-132 ↩
  6. Deed 016-180 ↩
  7. Deed 016-406 ↩
  8. Hinshaw pg. 1022 ↩

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Absence and Return

by Marfy Goodspeed on December 29, 2011

in Uncategorized

Much to my dismay, I have written very little on this blog during 2011. There were reasons, of course, but I very much regret losing the thread of so many interesting subjects. I hope I can pick up those threads in the next few months, and follow where they lead.

First of these subjects is a look at the early history of Raven Rock and Bull’s Island, I thought this would be a relatively short piece, to highlight the Saxtonville Tavern, which is very much threatened. As always happens, though, I have found the village’s history much more interesting and complex than I imagined.

Another project left in the wind was my study of the early years of the Province of West New Jersey. I left off at 1691, and intended to continue it  until about the time that Samuel Green became a resident of Hunterdon County. Once again, I found myself fascinated by all the trials and tribulations of these early settlers, and wished to explore that history by writing about it. But how can I write about 1692 unless I finish writing about Raven Rock?

Other projects include publishing the articles of Egbert T. Bush, especially those that pertain to Delaware Township. And speaking of Delaware Township, my hometown will be celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2013, and planning has begun to find the best ways to celebrate this milestone. As part of my contribution, I plan to republish the articles I wrote a few years ago on how the township was created out of the much larger and older Amwell Township.

Another contribution to the anniversary I would like to make is a longish article on the first surveyors of what became Amwell Township, and of the Lenape who were most likely to live on this land before Europeans took possession of it.

The older I get, the better I understand Robert Browning’s observation–one’s reach should exceed one’s grasp (actually he said “man’s reach,” but nevermind).

 

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Cooper & Curry, Aftermath

by Marfy Goodspeed on November 8, 2011

in Delaware Township

What Became of Mahlon Cooper?

It is too bad that Cooper and Curry could not hang on long enough to enjoy the short-lived prosperity caused by the War of 1812. But perhaps that surge in economic activity helped them to recover from their losses in Hunterdon County. I do not know how their creditors recovered, since the sales of the mill property brought in so little ($7 and $50). I gather that Cooper and Curry were not expected to make up the difference, having lost everything in the lawsuit.

It is clear to me that Mahlon Cooper left Hunterdon shortly after the sheriff’s sale of the mill lot. But perhaps some of his children remained. I know nothing of his family except that according to a deed of 1805 his wife was named Jane. They might have had a son named John, for there was a John Cooper who married Mary Nailor (Naylor) at the house of John Rodman on August 22, 1818. Both the Naylors and Rodmans were inhabitants of the Raven Rock neighborhood. In fact, Robert Naylor bought part of Moses Quinby’s 75 acres in 1804 which bordered the mill lot.1

But there is also the likelihood of a Pennsylvania connection. On Jan.  16, 1821, Esther Cooper of Horsham Twp., Montgomery County, married George Lukens of the same place, son of Nathan Lukens. The Lukens family had a connection with the Quinby family; Isaiah Quinby’s daughter Sarah abandoned her Quaker connection to marry Seneca Lukens on Oct. 6, 1777 in Rev. Wm. Frazer’s Anglican church. Lukens died on Dec. 9, 1828 in Horsham Twp. (Seneca Lukens must have been related to Nathan and George Lukens, but I cannot say how.)

Mahlon Cooper may have had a granddaughter named Rachel F. Cooper. In 1845, a woman by that name, living in Saxtonville, married Samuel H. Bray, also of Saxtonville. My usual sources for people living in the early 19th century have not been helpful in this case. But again there is a tenuous connection; Samuel Bray’s sister Sarah married John Johnson, son of Martin Johnson who bordered the Raven Rock mill lot until his death in 1828.

An especially enticing bit of information came from a Google search which showed that a Mahlon Cooper of Philadelphia, millwright, was highly esteemed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe, and was hired to help construct a house in Washington, DC for the years 1815 to 1818.2 Latrobe mentioned Cooper and also one “S. Ellis,” . . . “both from Philadelphia . .  perfect masters of their business.” I hope this was the same Mahlon Cooper, for it would mean he managed to overcome his failure at Bull’s Island by adapting his milling skills to become a well-respected builder.

If anyone knows more about the fate and family of Mahlon Cooper, I would love to hear from you.

What Became of Robert Curry?

I can also say very little about Robert Curry. His family came from Pennsylvania. His father, Laughlin Curry, who was born about 1737, was taxed in the City of Philadelphia as early as 1769, and again in 1774. About 1760 he married Margaret Barber, daughter of John Barber and Magdalene Johnson of Amwell (Delaware) Township. Margaret’s father John Barber named her in his will of 1795, and also her children. Laughlin Curry died on November 1, 1803 and was buried in the Barber Cemetery, as was his wife Margaret, who lived on until August 26, 1828.

Laughlin and Margaret Curry had six children, the second son being Robert Curry, who was probably born about 1765. Since his father was being taxed in Pennsylvania at that time, I assume Robert was born there. Another Robert Curry was being taxed in Pennsylvania in the 1770s and 1780s in Philadelphia and nearby townships. The latest record I checked was for 1781 in Philadelphia. This was probably a contemporary of Laughlin Curry’s, possibly a brother.

To show that the Curry family had a connection with the Quinby’s of Raven Rock, there is the marriage of Robert Curry’s sister Margaret to George Lukens on March 1, 1806. This is probably not the George Lukens who married Esther Cooper in 1821, but then, it might be. And we already have the Lukens family connected with the Quinby’s (see above).

Robert Curry must have left Hunterdon after the sheriff’s sale of 1808. He left no estate in Hunterdon County, so I assume he moved back to Pennsylvania. A Robert Curry did marry Anne Larew on May 5, 1817 in Hunterdon County, although Robert, the partner of Mahlon Cooper, would have been about 52 years old by then. The Larew family in Hunterdon County was an extensive one, but I cannot identify this Anne.

With so many questions unanswered, I must say farewell to the elusive Cooper & Curry, millers of Raven Rock.

  1. More research on the Naylor family might shed some light on Mahlon Cooper. But that will be challenging inasmuch as there seems to have been two Robert Naylors in Hunterdon at about the same time, one  who died in Kingwood township about 1828 whose wife was named Mary and had six children (none of whom was the Mary Naylor who married John Cooper), and the other who died about 1822 and was married to Sarah Larison, whose only known child was named Effie. ↩
  2. from The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, pg. 654 and The Correspondence and Miscellaneous Papers of Benj. Henry Latrobe 1811-1820, pg. 425. ↩

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Cooper and Curry

by Marfy Goodspeed on November 6, 2011

in Delaware Township

It has been a long time since I published my last installment in the saga of Raven Rock. The last post described Moses Quinby’s purchase of the 75 acres adjoining Bull’s Island. This one will discuss the millers Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry, whose 10-acre mill lot was adjacent to the 75 acres and to Bull’s Island.

According to a later deed, the mill lot contained a grist mill, a saw mill and two dwelling houses. I think we can assume that the “two dwelling houses” on the property were inhabited by the Cooper and Curry families. I have no evidence that they lived elsewhere at this time. The ten-acre mill lot is at least partly covered by Highway 29 today. Did either of those houses survive to the present day? An intriguing question.

Cooper and Curry had several creditors. By 1807, they owed $165.05 to John Beatty and $181.96 to Nathan Combes, who assigned the debts to William Moore. But worst of all was a debt of $6,375.16 to George Holcombe Jr. This is a huge amount of money for the time. I have not found a record of the purpose of the loan, and can only assume it was intended to pay for improvements to the mills.

Although I have not done a study of all the millers of Hunterdon County, I have been getting a strong impression that many of them who were in business at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries had a hard time staying out of debt. Perhaps it was the nature of the business in which people were always buying on credit. Local merchants were often reluctant to collect what was owed them from their neighbors, but that made it hard for them to pay their own debts.

Whatever the case, the creditors of Cooper and Curry were not so patient and took them to court in 1807, at which time the Court of Common Pleas at Flemington ruled that the sheriff should levy on their goods and chattels to produce the sums needed, and if that was insufficient, to levy on their lands and tenements. Sheriff Nathan Price advertised the sale of two lots in the Trenton True American. 1

The Sheriff levied on “30 acres of land on the river Delaware, being part of an island called Bulls Island and also on ten acres of land adjoining Robert Nailor with a Grist mill and a saw mill and two dwelling houses, all in the twp. of Amwell.”2 What was offered for sale on the first Tuesday of March 1808 was the moiety or one-half interest of Robert Curry in the mill properties. Unfortunately for everyone concerned, no decent bid was made. The sale was adjourned to March 15, 1808, when the Sheriff accepted a bid of only $7 from Nathaniel Saxton, Esq.

All sorts of questions are raised by this deed. For instance, why was only Robert Curry’s moiety sold and not Cooper’s also? In fact, Cooper’s moiety was sold about 45 days later, on May 1, 1808, to the largest creditor, George Holcombe Jr., for only $50.3

Here is a description from the first deed of the 10-acre mill lot:
Beginning on the bank of Bull’s Creek thence by land late VanCamp’s now Martin Johnson’s
1)  North 6 chains 46 links
2)  North 48 degrees East  5 chains to line of said Johnson’s land, thence by Isaiah Quinby
3)  North 65 degrees West  14 chains 66 links to a black oak, then along a road
4)  South 63 degrees West  4 chains to a butterwood bush on the bank of Bull’s Creek,
5) thence down the same in a direct line to place of beginning.

So we have Nathaniel Saxton and George Holcombe purchasing half shares in the mill lot and 30 acres at around the same time. Saxton got there first, but by just a bit. Saxton’s correspondence suggests he was the one in charge of the mill, even though Holcombe had more milling experience, having acquired the mill at Headquarters by this time.

Before moving on to describe these two new mill owners, I must tell the rest of the Cooper-Curry story.

 

  1. I know—I should get down to the State Library and look up the Sheriff’s advertisement, but I suspect it will not tell us more than the description in the deed. ↩
  2. Hunterdon Co. Deed 014-567 ↩
  3. Deed 023-119 ↩

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Quinby Conveyances

by Marfy Goodspeed on September 7, 2011

in Delaware Township

As the end of the 18th century approached, ownership of Raven Rock and Bull’s Island was changed from a single large landowner to multiple owners with different ways of exploiting the resources of the neighborhood.

1799, The Ten-Acre Mill Lot

It appears that Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry were the first millers of record to operate a mill at Raven Rock. On October 14, 1799, Isaiah Quinby sold a ten-acre lot to Mahlon Cooper for £500.1 Cooper is supposed to have sold a half interest in the mill to Robert Curry on December 3, 1799 for £275, according to B. A. Sorby.2 However, the lease of 1794 makes it clear that Cooper and Curry were partners at that time, five years before purchasing the mill lot.

It should be noted that the ten acres sold to Cooper was not the same as the ten acres that Isaiah Quinby bought from Marmaduke Leet in 1745, although it seems to have included a little of that property. The shape of the mill lot has been drawn based on later deeds, with help from a map drawn by Carter Litchfield, whose book on New Jersey Oil Mills should be published before the end of the year.

The Cooper-Curry Mill Lot next to Bull's Island

Since the fishing lease established that Cooper and Curry were already operating a mill in 1794, and later deeds make it clear that this ten-acre lot was the location of their mill, we must assume that Isaiah Quinby had leased the lot to the millers for a period of several years before finally selling it to Cooper. I have no insight into what prompted Quinby to sell in 1799, unless it was failing health that inspired him to begin settling his estate.

From Quinby to Wall to Quinby: Bull’s Island and Raven Rock

Probably as a continuation of his plans to dispose of his property, Isaiah Quinby carved out a tract of 75 acres adjoining Bull’s Island and sold it and most of the island to the most important man on the Pennsylvania side of the river, George Wall Esq., generally credited with being the founder of the town of Lumberville. The original name for the town was Wall’s Landing.

This transaction took place on March 24, 1801. Wall paid $4000 for the whole, excepting out the fisheries that had been leased, and the rights of Cooper and Curry to build a dam for their mill.3 The deed identified the stream of water separating the island from the mainland of New Jersey as “Bull’s Creek.” Bordering owners of the 75-acre tract were Martin Johnson and Mahlon Cooper.

Only six days after this deed was signed, George Wall conveyed the 75-acre tract to Isaiah Quinby’s son Moses Quinby of Amwell for £700.4  Why didn’t Isaiah Quinby sell the property directly to his son Moses rather than use a middle man? The deeds do not enlighten us. Mr. Wall made a handsome profit, however. According to Revolutionary America, 1763-1800 by Thomas L. Purvis, in 1800, one pound (£) was the equivalent of about $4.77. That would make £700 worth $3,340.89. So, although Wall paid $4,000 for the whole tract, he got nearly that much from Moses Quinby for the 75 acres. It does make one wonder what the relationship was between Isaiah and Moses Quinby. It also makes me wonder how Moses Quinby came up with so much money.

Moses Quinby and his first wife, Jane Fell, had 11 children, from 1783 to 1799, the year that Jane died. On January 13, 1801, Quinby married his second wife, Hannah Good, daughter of Edward Good and Eleanor Harris of Plumstead, PA. Moses and Hannah eventually had 7 children, for a total of 18 children of Moses Quinby, almost all of whom survived to adulthood. Moses must have been very prosperous indeed to support such a large family and still have the funds to purchase land from the cagey George Wall. Given the dates of the two deeds, it seems likely that the division (Wall to get the island, Quinby to get the rest) was agreed on beforehand.

Bull’s Island, the “Lower Part”

The lease of a fishery has shown us that Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry were hard at work at the Raven Rock mill by 1794, and by 1799 had acquired title to the ten-acre mill lot. Although their mill was located on the mainland, they were much affected by Bull’s Island, which was divided from their lot by the relatively narrow Bull’s Creek. They must have felt that they needed more control over the waters supplying their wheel or wheels, so when Isaiah Quinby sold Bull’s Island to George Wall in 1801, they probably negotiated with Wall to acquire part of the island.

There is no deed recorded to describe a sale, but a mortgage dated May 1, 1801 shows that Cooper and Curry purchased the southern half of Bulls Island from George Wall, and in order to do so, they mortgaged the property to him, promising to pay $533.33 in two installments.5  George Wall was primarily interested in the northern half of Bull’s Island, which was the location of his “Prime Hope” or “Snapjaw” fishery. The fishery began at the northern tip of the island and ran down the river side nearly the whole length.6

The mortgage to Wall also shows that after Wall’s death, his executors on May 18, 1805 assigned the Cooper-Curry mortgage to Nathaniel Shewell and Samuel Carrey (at least I think those are the names; they are very hard to read).7

The Quinby Wills

On May 22, 1804, Isaiah Quinby of Amwell, “being of advanced age,” wrote his will. He was about 84 years old, which was very advanced indeed. He left to his third wife Miriam (maiden name Betts), £100 and whatever goods she brought with her when she married Quinby, along with a riding horse, a cow, feather bed and bedding, and use of the house during her widowhood, plus the yearly interest of £200. The house “where I now live,” which sits at the top of Federal Twist hill in Delaware Township (Block 46 lot 1), was to be shared with son James, who also got the 300-acre plantation, even though he was not the oldest surviving son.

Son Moses Quinby did not get any bequest. He was only mentioned as a bordering owner to the 300 acres left to James Quinby. The will was witnessed by Isaac Van Camp (a neighbor), Mahlon Cooper and James Major, who lived nearby in Kingwood. Quinby wrote a codicil seven months later which was witnessed by Isaac Van Camp, James Major, and Cooper’s partner, Robert Curry.

The fact that Isaiah Quinby made no provision for his son Moses suggests that the arrangement with Wall to provide Moses with 75 acres was considered part of his  inheritance.

Isaiah Quinby died on June 6, 1807. His wife Miriam survived him until her death on September 20, 1811. She also wrote a will in which she provided for her daughters and for her granddaughters. One of her provisions left to the five daughters of Moses Quinby, her son, the money due her on a bond from son Moses, deducting out moneys due from Miriam Quinby to Moses Quinby and assigned to David Swezy. It appears that after the death of Isaiah, Moses had need of money and turned to his stepmother for it. I wonder if Moses ever paid that money over to his daughters, as the will instructed.

Just to show how important names were to the people of that time, here is another provision of Miriam Quinby’s will. She left a clock to her son James if, and only if, he had a son named Isaiah. If that did not happen, then the clock was to go to Aaron Quinby’s son Isaiah. It is also an indicator of the Quinby wealth that they actually had a clock. Most Hunterdon families of this time did not.

Miriam named her son James as executor, along with son-in-law John Wolverton, and another important person in the history of this neighborhood, Nathaniel Saxton Esq. In fact, it was probably Saxton who drew up Miriam Quinby’s will. He was, by this time, an important person in Raven Rock—so important, that the village name was changed to Saxtonville (or Saxtonsville).

  1. Secretary of State Deed AV-168. Note that deeds from the 18th century that concerned properties not sold by the Board of West Jersey Proprietors are designated as Secretary of State Deeds and are to be found in the State Archives at Trenton. ↩
  2. There must be a deed that provides this information, but I have not found it. ↩
  3. Deed 4-006 ↩
  4. H.C. Deed 4-012 ↩
  5. Hunterdon Co. Mortgage 2:549 ↩
  6. D’Autrechy, pg 17 ↩
  7. The assignment was recorded in Deed Book 11 pg 499 ↩

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Bull’s Island Fisheries

by Marfy Goodspeed on September 6, 2011

in Delaware Township

Fishing rights in the Delaware River were legally transferable, and that gives us a hint of what was happening at Raven Rock and Bull’s Island in the 18th century. In 1782, Isaiah Quinby leased fishing rights in the Delaware River to various people. He may have done this before 1782, but this is the earliest record available.

The first lease was given out on February 30, 1782 to Ann Quinby, Moses Quinby, John Woolverton “and others.”1 The second lease was given on March 17, 1786 to Aaron Quinby, Moses Quinby, Isaac Rittenhouse “and others.” Quinby also leased a fishery to George Wall of Pennsylvania on the same date, “beginning at the head of Bull’s Falls and drawing out near the lower part of the island.” Its formal name was the Prime Hope fishery, but it was more generally known by the very descriptive name of “Snapjaw.”2 When the property was sold in 1814, exception was made to allow continued access to the river for work on the Snapjaw fishery.3 The Snapjaw came into possession of Jabez White in 1811, when he bought it from the heirs of George Wall.4.

By 1786, Isaiah Quinby had increased his holdings to 460 acres plus 100 acres unimproved. Sons Aaron and Moses Quinby were taxed with him as single men. In 1790, Isaiah Quinby was taxed on 255 acres and a fishery, while son Aaron was taxed on 150 acres, son Moses on 180 acres and son Job on 50 acres. This comes to 635 acres, which sounds like the original 625 belonging to Bull & Ladd plus 10 acres from Marmaduke Leet.

When Isaiah Quinby wrote his will in 1804, he left his fishery known as “Bullcap” to his son James and daughter Martha Blackfan. Surprisingly, this fishery was not mentioned in D’Autrechy’s book. The will did not describe the location of this fishery, but it must have been in the vicinity of Bull’s Island.

I have wondered if the Bulllcap might have been the same fishery that Isaiah Quinby leased on February 20, 1794 to his sons “Moses Quinby, Aaron Quinby, James Quinby and others.” This particular fishery is of special interest because of the exceptions in the lease. According to B. A. Sorby, this third lease allowed Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry the privilege of building a mill dam across Bull’s Creek on the south side of “Dead Creek” with the idea of directing the waters of Bull’s Creek down to Dead Creek, and thus improve the working of their mill. Bull’s Creek was the waterway that separated Bull’s Island from the rest of Amwell Township.  This is the earliest record of the presence of Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry at Bull’s Island.

Sorby wrote that that mill dam is now lying beneath the canal lock and the road over the railroad tracks.5 However, the railroad tracks he referred to are gone, replaced with the beautiful walking trail along the Delaware & Raritan Canal. The fisheries are gone too, phased out with the coming of the canal and the railroad.

 

  1. According to a later Hunterdon deed of 1801 (Book 4 pg 6). Ann Quinby was not the Ann who was one of Quinby’s daughters, for she married Jeremiah Croasdale in 1772. Isaiah also did not have a sister named Ann, nor was his brother Ephraim’s wife named Ann. Ann Quinby remains a mystery to me for now. ↩
  2. Phyllis D’Autrechy, Hunterdon County New Jersey Fisheries 1819-1820, Flemington NJ, 1993, page 17. ↩
  3. Hunterdon Co. Deed Book 25 pg 60. ↩
  4. D’Autrechy 17;  Dd 25-452 ↩
  5. B. A. Sorby wrote a series of articles in the Hunterdon Co. Democrat in 1959 about the effect on Raven Rock of the new road that the State of New Jersey was preparing to pave along the Delaware River. One of them was titled “Old Grist Mill Pond Hinders Missing Link Construction.” ↩

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Raven Rock (Saxtonville) & Bull’s Island, continued

by Marfy Goodspeed on September 1, 2011

in Delaware Township

John Ladd

John Ladd was one of the Quaker immigrants who came to West New Jersey in 1678. He was also on hand when William Penn was designing the layout of his new town of Philadelphia. Family tradition says that Penn offered him a choice of one of the best squares in the city or £30, and that Ladd chose the money, whereupon Penn said: “John thou art a ladd by name and a lad by nature, doesn’t thee know that Philadelphia will be a great city?” (Ah, Penn—such a joker.)

Apparently John Ladd managed to prosper anyway, for he died about 1740 in Deptford, Gloucester, NJ with £432.6.8 worth of goods and hundreds of acres to leave to his three surviving children. Ladd wrote his will in 1731, leaving to his daughter Catharine, “the 300 acres called Raven Rock above the falls on or near the Delaware River in Amwell Township” [paraphrased]. This gift included the entire island that we know as Bull’s Island.

Catharine (sometimes spelled Katherine) Ladd had married John Howell in 1734. Neither she nor her father had any interest in residing on the Raven Rock plantation. In 1743, three years after her father’s death, Catharine Ladd Howell sold the property to Isaiah Quinby. She and her husband then took the proceeds of the sale and moved to Savannah, Georgia.

Bull-Ladd Tract at Bull's Island, Hammond Map F

Hammond’s map shows the Bull & Ladd tract, and also the property that was sold to Joseph Reading in 1773. That was the land originally allotted to Richard Bull in 1721. It was probably acquired by John Reading Jr. who bequeathed it to son Joseph. Sadly, Hammond did not include Isaiah Quinby to the east of Joseph Reading. The dotted line indicates the course of the dividing line between Kingwood and Amwell townships. Hammond shows Raven Rock on the property of Peter Fretwell, when in fact it belongs in the unidentified tract that was purchased by Quinby, just west of Fretwell’s land.

Isaiah Quinby

Isaiah Quinby (1716-1807) was the youngest of the eleven children of Josiah Quinby and Mary Mullineaux of New York. In 1743, at the age of 27, he married Rachel Warford (1725-1777)  of Kingwood township, a few months before his purchase of the Ladd property. Rachel was the daughter of John Warford and Elizabeth Stout who came from Monmouth County to Hunterdon County in 1729. Since I have no record of an earlier land purchase for Quinby, I must assume that at the time of his marriage, he was a tenant, or perhaps he was working for John Warford, or maybe even his older brother Ephraim Quinby (1700-1767), who purchased land in Amwell Township, as early as 1727.

Records for 18th century residents of the Delaware Township portion of Amwell Township are woefully scarce. It is not possible to say what use was made of the area around Bull’s Island without far more intensive research than I can do. What I can say is that Isaiah Quinby was a prosperous farmer who likely took advantage of the seasonal fishing opportunities that the island provided, as well as the chance to ship produce and timber down river to Trenton and Philadelphia, and perhaps even to set up a mill on one of the creeks flowing into the river in that area. But I have no real documentation for this.

What I do know is that two years after buying Ladd’s 300 acres, Quinby bought a ten-acre lot from his neighbor, Marmaduke Leet for £9.1 This land was part of the 650 acres owned by Peter Fretwell in 1711, located between the Mount Amwell tract of John Reading and the tract surveyed to John Ladd and Richard Bull (as shown in the Hammond map, above). Why Quinby wanted this funny triangle of land is something of a mystery. Perhaps it was because it contained the lower part of today’s Quarry Road. The lot did not go far enough to include the quarry itself.

The 10-Acre Triangle from Marmaduke Leet

Marmaduke Leet (what a wonderful name) acquired his property from his father, Daniel Leet, who wrote his will in 1727, leaving his home farm of 650 acres, which he acquired from the heirs of Peter Fretwell, to sons Marmaduke and Isaac. The account of his estate included a debt owed to Marmaduke Horseman. Perhaps this was someone that Daniel Leet admired enough to name his son after. Incidentally, Marmaduke’s brother Isaac witnessed the will of John Warford in 1761.

During the Revolution

I also know very little about what was happening at Bull’s Island and Raven Rock during the Revolution. When Washington took his army across the Delaware in 1776, he no doubt made use of boats that were borrowed from Bull’s Island, but whether Daniel Bray and his men made use of the island for concealing the boats is not known.

In 1777, Isaiah Quinby’s wife Rachel died, age 51, after raising 13 children (5 sons and 8 daughters). Only one of them died in childhood—the first one, Samuel. The youngest child was Job, born in 1768. Isaiah married again only a year after Rachel died. His second wife, Hannah Kinsey, was also a Quaker; they married at Buckingham Friends Meeting.

Surprisingly, there is no evidence that the sons of Isaiah and Rachel Quinby served in the local militia or the Continental Army. They all married women from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, which can be explained by the fact that this was a Quaker family who worshipped at the Buckingham Friends Meeting House, and as Quakers, they would have abstained from participating in any military actions.

Aaron and Moses Quinby both married in 1782. Aaron, born 1757, married Lydia Balderston and took up residence in Bucks County. Moses (1759-1824), married a Bucks County woman, Jane Fell, daughter of John Fell of Warwick, PA, and after Jane died in 1799, married Hannah Good, also of Bucks County, in 1801.

Isaiah and Rachel Quinby’s son James, born in 1765, married Margaret Good (sister of Hannah) in 1803, and was too young to fight in the Revolution, as was son Job born 1768, who married Martha Cadwallader. Evidence of the Quaker affiliation can be found in the compilation of Quaker records by William Hinshaw where I discovered that Moses Quinby and his family were granted a certificate to move from the Buckingham Meeting to the Falls Twp. Meeting in 1813. A “Commemorative Poem” written by Watson Kenderdine in 1891, and dedicated to Isaiah Quinby, goes on at length about the simple Quaker faith of the Quinby family, but this was primarily an act of the imagination.

The Map of 1785

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War, Reading (“Redding”) Howell prepared a map of the Delaware River area for the new governments of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was dated December 3, 1785, and was intended to assist the states in setting their boundary along the river. On the Pennsylvania side, opposite Bull’s Island, was “The Hon. G. Wall’s Saw Mill & Plantation.” Across the river in New Jersey, was “Quimby” at the tavern site—just the name. There was no indication that a tavern or a mill existed there.2

The location of the “Quimby” name next to Bull’s Creek  is interesting because that was not where Isaiah Quinby had set up his household. His homestead was up the hill, accessible today by Federal Twist Road. So why did the mapmaker show a separate habitation for “Quimby” by the river? Could a tavern have been there at such an early date? B. A. Sorby was convinced that a tavern was there as early as 1782, but he gave no source for that opinion, and I have not found anything for such an early date. And Reading Howell’s Map only tells us that a Quimby/Quinby was living at Bull’s Creek in 1785. Perhaps the date of 1782 was used by Sorby because that was the year that Moses Quinby got married and set up housekeeping. The Quinby Genealogy recites that after marrying Hannah Good in 1801, Moses Quinby took his new wife “to live in the little house at the bottom of the hill called ‘under the rocks’.” Sorby may have thought that the ‘little house’ was also home to Moses’s first wife. If so, it’s a terribly thin reed on which to hang so much.

  1. As cited in Hunterdon Deed Book 17 pg. 157 ↩
  2. The original map can be found in the New Jersey State Archives. Somewhere hiding amongst my papers is a copy of that map, which is not to be confused with the more famous Reading Howell map of 1792. If I ever find it again, I will add it to this post. ↩

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Raven Rock and the Saxtonville Tavern

by Marfy Goodspeed on August 27, 2011

in Delaware Township

There has been some interest lately in finding a way to preserve the old Saxtonville Tavern in the village of Raven Rock. It is currently owned by the State of New Jersey under its Green Acres program. Sadly, this means it is unoccupied, which is one of the worst things that can happen to an old house. The State of New Jersey desperately needs a program of resident curators for its historic properties.

But that is not the subject for this essay. Instead, I’d like to write about the Saxtonville Tavern itself and its neighborhood, Raven Rock and Bulls Island.

Detail of the Cornell Map of 1851

Continue reading—

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