Hopewell Township

Although Hopewell is now part of Mercer County, it was for over 100 years a part of Old Hunterdon County. But Hopewell was a town before Hunterdon was a county. It was created in 1700 out of the northern part of Burlington County. Much of the settlement of southern Hunterdon came by way of Hopewell Township.

Wolvertons aka Kallikaks

June 2, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Families, Hopewell Township, Wolverton 3 Comments

or The Misuse of Genealogy

On May 29th, my son, Carl Zimmer, published a book titled She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potential of Heredity. This is a book that all genealogists and geneticists will love. (I’m not biased at all!) And there is a special reason for New Jersey genealogists to love it.

In his chapter concerning Mendelian eugenics, Carl wrote about Henry Goddard of the Vineland Training School in south Jersey, and his study of one particular family that proved to him that feeble-mindedness and “moral degeneracy” were inherited. A member of that family was institutionalized at the school, which was established to care for “mentally-defective” children.

John Reading & the Creation of Hunterdon County (part 1)

November 21, 2014 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Burlington County, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Reading, West New Jersey 2 Comments Tags: Daniel Coxe, early legislation, early settlers, Indians, land titles, maps, politics, proprietors, roads, surveying

On November 16, I gave a speech about John Reading and the Creation of Hunterdon County. There was quite a lot of information in that speech, covering the years 1664 to 1718. In fact, it was probably a bit too much.

For example, the beginning of the speech covered the conquest of New Netherland by the English in 1664, the Third Anglo-Dutch War of 1672-74, the Quintipartite Deed of 1676, and John Reading’s settlement in Gloucester County in 1684; also Edward Byllinge and the early settlement of West New Jersey. Rather than rehash material that I have already written about, you can see a list of pertinent articles at the end of this one. They cover the settlement of West New Jersey, its political history, its infamous governor Daniel Coxe, and the early career of John Reading.

For the history of Hunterdon County, it is best to start with 1694. What follows is the first part of a somewhat amended version of the speech.

Old Records Throw Light on the Ways of Past Ages

February 7, 2014 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, E. T. Bush, Hopewell Township, Reading 3 Comments Tags: crime and punishment, early legislation, early settlers, Indians

Law Once Compelled Every Town
to Have a Drinking Place

How “Amwell” Originated

by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, NJ
published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, May 7, 1931

Sundry notes from old histories and other sources though jotted down in a haphazard way may serve to awaken thought or to throw light upon the ways of the past.

Continue reading »

Joseph Moore, “the Maverick Democrat”

March 2, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Delaware Township, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Raritan Township No Comments Tags: 1838, early legislation, politics

This next chapter in the creation of Delaware and Raritan Townships involves a lot of politicking, a lot of ‘inside baseball.’ But it is the story behind the story, and should not remain hidden. I’ve leavened the article with some passing references to mad dogs, passenger pigeons and Lincoln’s first speech. The previous episodes in this saga can be found here: Part One and Part Two.Continue reading »

The Division of Amwell, part two

February 15, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Delaware Township, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Raritan Township 1 Comment Tags: "The Post", 1838, early legislation, politics

This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. Five years ago, in celebration of its 170th anniversary, I published a series of articles on the website “The Delaware Township Post.” It seems appropriate to republish those articles this year on my own website, slightly edited. Here is part two:Continue reading »

The Division of Amwell Township, 1838

January 22, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Delaware Township, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, Lambertville, Raritan Township, Stockton 4 Comments Tags: "The Post", 1838, early legislation, local government, politics

This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. The story of how this came about is a surprising one, and a little disheartening.Continue reading »

Samuel Green of West New Jersey

August 20, 2009 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Burlington County, Green, Hopewell Township, Hunterdon County, West New Jersey 35 Comments Tags: Bucks County, early settlers, surveying

Among the first settlers of Hunterdon County, in “the Western Province of New Jersey” were Samuel Green and his family. Samuel Green was my ancestor, so of course I am interested in his history. The bonus for me is that his history gives me a way to learn about the earliest days of settlement here.Continue reading »