Back in February, I published an article on the cemetery connected with the Locktown Baptist church. Previously I have written about the Baptist congregation here as well as the Locktown Christian Church and its Cemetery. It seems appropriate now to include Mr. Bush’s own history of this neighborhood, which was published in the Hunterdon Democrat, on May 22, 1930. Along with the churches, Mr. Bush discusses the school house, the distillery and the Locktown Hotel, which began its life as a humble tavern, and also some of the old families, like the Chamberlins, Heaths, Lairs, Rittenhouses, Smiths and Suttons. Photographs in this article were provided by Paul Kurzenberger.
Rittenhouse
RITTENHOUSE. The first to settle here was William Rittenhouse (1696-1767). He married Catharine Howell (c.1700-1778), the sister of Daniel Howell, and acquired land at Rosemont, adjacent on the east to the Mount Amwell plantation of John and Elizabeth Reading. The family was prolific and active in Hunterdon County life.
The Locktown Baptist Cemetery
There has been a Baptist Church in Locktown since the early 19th century, and a cemetery associated with it. The church and the cemetery were located on land belonging to Daniel Rittenhouse, whose home was a short distance west of Locktown on the Kingwood-Locktown Road. Most of the names in this cemetery are of families that lived nearby in Kingwood and Delaware Townships, many of them descendants of original German immigrants. Many of the original stones are now missing, even ones that were inventoried in the 1940s. Old cemeteries are hard to preserve.
The “Oregon” School and Other Schools
Ducks’ Flat School, Crossroads School and Their Teachers
Testing a Greeny’s Nerve
by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton. N. J.
published in the Hunterdon Co. Democrat, December 18, 1930
This article by Mr. Bush is a perfect complement to a recent blog post, “Amos Romine’s Beloved Farm.” It is one of my favorite Bush articles. Because there is so much to say about the people he mentions, I will refrain from interrupting him and leave my comments for the end.
The Locktown Christian Church Cemetery
As a follow-up to my recent article on the history of the Locktown Christian Church, here is a list of the people known to be buried in the cemetery adjacent to the church.
A visit to this interesting cemetery will quickly reveal that there are many graves here that are unmarked. So it is impossible to know who might be the earliest person buried here. The earliest gravestone is for Charity Alley who died in 1843, although Cornelius Williamson Carrell might have died a couple years before that. Oddly enough, Ms. Alley comes first on the list. The last known grave to be added was for Arthur E. Jungblut in 1999.
Historic Hunterdon Church For Sale
Once Known as the Locktown Christian Church
Near the center of the village of Locktown stands a 19th-century church and its parsonage, waiting for a new owner. The congregation that has been worshipping in this church for the past 30 years or so is joining with the Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church on Route 202 in Flemington, so the Locktown property must be sold.
Rittenhouse/Bray, Wolverton/Sergeant & Cowdrick
The Pauch farm, continued. The previous article was Joseph Sergeant and Jane Quick.
One item in Charles Sergeant’s will of 1833 is of particular interest to us. It concerned a farm of 130 acres which he had bought from Joseph Sergeant, and which was occupied at that time by Jonathan Rittenhouse. Sergeant ordered that it be sold and the profits divided among his heirs. This was the old Richard Green farm which Charles Sergeant had kept after buying it back from his brother Joseph in 1818. After Joseph Sergeant left the premises, Charles Sergeant rented the farm to a tenant—Jonathan Rittenhouse.
A Scandal in Baptistown
“Repeated Rascalities” Create
Embarrassment for a New Church
A continuation of the Kingwood Baptist division of 1839
The Missionary Baptists of Kingwood got off to a very rough start. After a promising beginning, they turned their backs on the pastor who led them through the creation a new church, and chose instead a newcomer who proved to be a scoundrel. (You can see the first installment of this story here.)
Baptists Divided, or
Who Put the Lock in Locktown?
The Kingwood Baptist Church and the Second Great Awakening
This article is based on an article published many years ago in “Friends Report,” the newsletter of the Friends of the Locktown Stone Church. I have added information and made some major corrections.
The Swamp Meeting House
In the village of Locktown, in Delaware Township, there is a handsome stone church constructed in 1819 in the federal style.
Daniel Rittenhouse of Locktown
One of the most notable people in the neighborhood of Locktown in Hunterdon County was Daniel Rittenhouse. His life makes an interesting story, which we know something of thanks to the collection known as The Rittenhouse Papers, on file at the Hunterdon County Historical Society.
Boarshead Tavern
Boarshead Tavern One of the Earliest to be Established
Efforts to Find How Long It Has Stood Have Been In Vain
Dr. Pyatt’s Varied Career
By Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N.J.