My previous three articles concerned the history of the old Howell House on Worman Road, on the periphery of the Rosemont neighborhood. Today I move over to the southwest quadrant of the village, back to the part of Mount Amwell that John Reading kept for himself.
Quinby
QUINBY. Although there were not a large number of Quinby’s in old Hunterdon, they were very important to the history of the Raven Rock area, and since I have written extensively about that place, the Quinby name turns up often. For my purposes, the most important of this family was Isaiah Quinby (1716-1807) and wife Rachel Warford (1725-1777).
Quinby Family Tree
The first members of the Quinby family to settle in Hunterdon County were Ephraim Quinby and his brother Isaiah.
I have little information on Ephraim Quinby’s family. He went into debt, and his children seem to have left Hunterdon County. His brother Isaiah remained and was farm more successful.
Please add comments, additions and corrections in the Comments section, below.
Family Burying Grounds Matter
The following is the keynote speech I delivered on September 19, 2015 for the 2nd Annual Cemetery Seminar, sponsored by the Hunterdon Co. Historical Society and others. It is somewhat modified to make it more readable, less like a speech.
Return to Raven Rock
In 2011, I began a series of articles on the history of Bull’s Island, Raven Rock, and Saxtonville. (For the original post, please visit “Raven Rock and the Saxtonville Tavern,” where you will learn something of how the name Raven Rock began to be used.) Recently three documents turned up to shed more light on this subject–a deed of 1722, and two survey maps, one of them made in 1819 showing the original proprietary tracts. It is time to return to Raven Rock for another look.
Federal Twist Road
This is an update and reworking of one of the first articles I wrote for “The Bridge,” the Delaware Township newsletter, in September 1992. The road is part of the Raven Rock neighborhood, so it might be considered an extension of my series on that village.
Reading Howell’s Map of 1785
Some time ago, I made reference to the map of the Delaware River prepared by Reading Howell. Some people pointed out to me that Howell had made such a map in 1792, but were surprised by the date 1785. I had seen a copy of that map but had been unable to find it in my papers—that is, until today, when I found a very nice copy among the news clippings and other items saved by Edna Laszlo of Raven Rock. I am sorry to say, there was no notation explaining where the original map is kept.
Moses Quinby Departs
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.
Cooper & Curry, Aftermath
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.
Cooper and Curry
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.
Quinby Conveyances
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.
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