This past fall, an application was prepared to create a Sandy Ridge Historic District in Delaware Township. This area is full of interesting properties, with the old Sandy Ridge Baptist Church standing at its center.
J. M. Hoppock
Articles by Jonathan M. Hoppock published in the Democrat Advertiser
A 1777 Campground
Camp Ground of the Glorious Old Continental Army in 1777
by Jonathan M. Hoppock
originally published in the Democrat-Advertiser, Oct. 10, 1901
From the photograph and from Hoppock’s description, it appears that this “campground” was located along Route 523 near Sand Brook.
The German Baptist Church in Amwell
Here are two versions of the history of the Amwell Church of the Brethren in Hunterdon County. The first was written by Jonathan M. Hoppock and published in the Democrat-Advertiser on October 17, 1901. Short and sweet. The second one, a little bit longer, was written by Egbert T. Bush and published in the Hunterdon County Democrat on March 26, 1931. Mr. Bush’s ‘history’ is truncated, and as he put it— “it is not the intent to give here anything more than the merest sketch of church history, an indispensable part in any sketch of the community.” He was always more interested in the members of a community than institutional histories, and so he spends more time on those who were buried in the three cemeteries associated with the church members.
Dr. Bowne’s Homestead
This article is meant as a companion to the article by Egbert T. Bush, “The Daybooks of Dr. Bowne.” In this article, Mr. Hoppock goes on at some length about the first owner of the Bowne farm being Jacob Moore. Unfortunately, he was mistaken. As Mr. Bush wrote, Jacob Moore settled on what later became known as the Wagner farm (at Haines and Wagner Roads). The Bowne farm was first settled by Peter Moore, but Mr. Bush does not say when he settled there. It was certainly early, because Peter Moore’s executors (his three sons) sold the farm to Dr. Bowne in 1795.
A Pirate in Old Amwell
When writing about Pine Hill Cemetery recently, the name of John Lewis came up. This reminded me of a wonderful article written by Jonathan M. Hoppock back in 1905 about a mysterious character named Ticnor Lewis who lived not far from Pine Hill. It is one of Mr. Hoppock’s most colorful yarns, and one of his many stories of the early settlers in Amwell Township. This one is based entirely on folklore or family tradition. A bowl-full of salt is highly recommended.
Asa Romine and Sarah Fulper
Postscript to “Asa Romine’s Beloved Farm“
Some time ago I got a copy of an article in the Democrat-Advertiser of 1902. Actually, copies of several articles, but I neglected to file them in any useful way. Today, I stumbled across this particular article and immediately regretted not having it at hand when writing about Asa and Sarah Romine. It is a celebration of their long married life, probably written by Jonathan M. Hoppock. Here it is:
Some Controversial Baptist Ministers
My original intention was to publish an article by Jonathan M. Hoppock on the history of the Baptist Church in Locktown. And that is what I will do here, but after reading his article, I discovered that some of the ministers he listed had troubled careers, and that, of course, makes them interesting. But first, here is Mr. Hoppock’s history of the Church.
Articles by J. M. Hoppock
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.
Rev. Joshua Primer
by J. M. Hoppock, March 24, 1904
published in the Democrat-Advertiser
This is an obituary, for Rev. Joshua Primmer, who died on March 18, 1904. I wrote about Rev. Primmer in May 2014, in my article “From Primmer to Pauch.” At that time, I had forgotten my intention to eventually publish all of J. M. Hoppock’s articles with annotations. So today I am making up for that oversight. If you check the very end of the page “Index of Articles,” you will see a complete list of those articles, separated into those that have been published here, and those as yet unpublished.
It is odd that Mr. Hoppock consistently wrote the name as “Primer.” I wonder if he pronounced the name that way. Apparently that is the way his grandfather wrote it, but it is not the way Rev. Primmer wrote it.
The Old Sergeant Mill
by Jonathan M. Hoppock
published in the Democrat-Advertiser, July 20, 1905
This article is a follow up to the one published in 1901 titled “Sergeant Mansion and Mill, 1745.” Some of the information in this article was taken directly from the earlier one. Perhaps Mr. Hoppock figured no one would remember what he had written before. I am publishing these articles on the website because there are errors and this is a good way to make note of them.
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