The first of the Barber family in Hunterdon County was Samuel Barber. He and wife Eliada or Alida Johnson had seven children who became important in the history of Amwell Township.
Here is Egbert T. Bush’s description of the Saxtonville Tavern:
“This community was well supplied with taverns in the old days and somewhat later. Far up in old Saxtonville stands an interesting tavern house, with its four stone chimneys and low stone walls. It seems to be at least 150 years old, but has no date stone to prove its age. The builder is unknown, as are also the early keepers. It was no doubt built expressly for that purpose, everything about it seeming to spell tavern. This was evidently included among the Nathaniel Saxton properties. Bryan Rogan is known to have kept the old tavern 75 years ago. After him came one—Kiley, and then Austin Bray. Thomas McAlone bought the property later. It is now owned and occupied by his son Wallace W., teacher of the Sergeant’s School. No tavern has been kept here for about 60 years past.”1
After John R. Hamilton disappeared, leaving James Major, Mindert Wilson and Geo. Holcombe with the mill lot on their hands, the State Bank at New Brunswick sued either James Major or Mindert Wilson (I’m still not sure which) in chancery court for the outstanding mortgage. The court ruled in the Bank’s favor, and issued a writ of fieri facias to seize the mill lot at Saxtonville “whereon Myndert Wilson formerly resided,” along with its appurtenances (dwelling house, grist mill and saw mills), and offer them for public sale. Sheriff John Cavanagh conducted the sale on March 17, 1820. John Bray Esq. bid on behalf of the bank, and the property was conveyed to the State Bank at New Brunswick on April 1, 1820 for $4000.1
This is another long post; it is the rest of a talk I gave in 1997 on Delaware Township villages (part one can be read here). Part two focuses on the villages in the 19th and early 20th centuries. There is far more to say about them, which I will attempt to do in future posts. Currently I have been researching the history of Raven Rock, which you can read about here and here.
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.
Hunterdon County was once well supplied with covered bridges. Now the lonely last one stands at what has long been known as “Green Sergeant’s Mills.” Some say that there is no other such bridge in New Jersey today. I cannot vouch for that; but the covered bridge is almost a thing of the past.
