This old building, erected in 1758 at Head Quarters, now Grover, standing on the corner of the road on the farm at present owned by Smith Skinner, was, between the dates given above, used as a recruiting station.1 As shown by papers in possession of the writer, Captain David Jones, of the Continental line, was the recruiting officer, and at this point, when the alarm was given that the then hated minions of King George had made a landing at Paulus Hook (Jersey City) or Amboy, would assemble the patriotic old citizen-soldiery, armed with the flint-locks, home-made bullets and powder horns, and from thence hasten to the front to assist the great Washington in beating back the invaders.2
A personal note: I am writing this series on the Lenape of Central New Jersey for the benefit of my fellow residents of Delaware Township, who have lacked a local history for all of their nearly 175 years as a township. I realize I am wandering into an area that has been deeply researched by accomplished scholars, and that it is all too easy to get things wrong about this shadowy yet fascinating subject. I am prepared to stand corrected, but hope it won’t be necessary.
In a previous article, I told the story of Martin Kaffitz and his wife Hattie W. Fritts. Kaffitz was employed for many years by William Crater who ran the blacksmith shop in Glen Gardner, Hunterdon County. I learned about the life of Martin Kaffitz from the many entries about him in the Hunterdon Republican newspaper. That paper was equally informative about William Crater, although Crater led a very different sort of life.
This is part two of a series on some of the properties created in the Haddon Tract of Amwell Township, Hunterdon County.
Jacob Peter Sniter and Nicholas Sayn jointly purchased 1300 acres in Amwell Township from Elizabeth Haddon Estaugh in 1748. The two men sold off several lots and then divided the land remaining between them. Part One dealt with Nicholas Sayn/Sine, who acquired the southern half. This article deals with Jacob Peter Sniter who got the northern half.
Who really found the Delaware River boats in December 1776? the boats that Gen. Washington was supposed to rely on to carry his army across the river on Christmas Eve? For a long time I was certain it was David Johnes of Amwell, working with Daniel Bray and Jacob Gearhart. Now I’m not so sure. In fact, I now have serious doubts.
Jonathan M. Hoppock, known as ‘Jonty,’ was born Sep. 20, 1838 to Henry J. Hoppock and Lydia Wolverton. The family lived on a farm near Sand Brook in Delaware Township. Hoppock became a school teacher and developed a love of local history. Late in his life, the Democrat-Advertiser published articles he submitted about the places he knew best, nearly all of them in Delaware Township.
A Chestnut That Acted As Host to a Younger Tree
– Biggest Oak of Them All
by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N.J. published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, January 1, 1931
This month is a big allergy month for me, so I looked up what Mr. Bush had to say about trees. Turns out—quite a lot. Bush had a great affection for the grand old trees that had survived the previous century, and frequently mentioned them in his articles. Now that our trees are leafing out, it seems appropriate to publish this essay. The willow described here once stood in front of Roger Byrom’s house in Headquarters.
In this article, Mr. Bush begins with a discussion of the Caleb Farley farm in Headquarters, but strays from the subject of his headline to also discuss a farm just west of Sergeantsville, once owned by the Larew family.
Myndert Wilson, who purchased the mill lot from George Holcombe for an outrageous $13,000, was smart enough to hand it off a year later to someone else. On March 22, 1815, two months after the Battle of New Orleans, he sold it to James Major of Kingwood.1
Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze
I must begin by congratulating all those who worked so hard to save the Christopher Vought house in Clinton Township. The building is a living reminder of the passions that so profoundly moved Americans of all persuasions during the Revolutionary War. To lose that building would have been a tragic loss through demolition by neglect.
