by Jonathan M. Hoppock
published August 31, 1905
in the Democrat Advertiser, Flemington, NJ
The article was written by Mr. Hoppock. The footnotes are mine.
Home of Capt. David Jones
Hunterdon County
Except for articles relating to early West New Jersey, nearly all my posts concern the people who lived in Hunterdon County, which was created in March 1714.
What It Takes To Raise A Village, Part One
The following is an update of a speech I delivered at the Locktown Stone Church in May 1997. I thought it would be a good idea to archive the speech here on my website, especially since it makes a nice short history of Delaware Township. When I gave the speech, I had two large maps showing locations of mills, taverns, ferries, the oldest roads. One map showed the 18th century version of Delaware Township, and one showed the 19th century version. Whatever happened to those maps? If I find them, I’ll turn them over to Marilyn Cummings who has been working hard on just such a map project, one that can be seen on Google Earth.
Saxton’s Politics
As a researcher, there’s one thing I keep learning over and over–if you go looking for an answer to a question, you might not find it, but chances are you will find answers to questions you never thought of.
That was definitely my experience today when I went to the Hunterdon Co. Historical Society, hoping to find some mention of Nathaniel Saxton in Saxtonville between 1808 and 1815, and most of all, some record of who might have been running the Saxtonville Tavern for him while he carried on his legal career in Flemington. No luck.
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.
Schafer, Shaffer or Shepherd
This is a reply to Kevin Shepherd who wrote this comment on my “Basic Resources” page:
Keith Shepherd <kshepherd@yahoo.com> 1/3/2012: Do you happen to have any information on the German or Dutch Shafer/Shepherd families of Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, NJ starting from about the mid 1750’s? I’ve been to the Hunterdon County Historical Society several times and found a few files on them but there are a lot of missing pieces. I’m trying to track down the first Shafer/Shepherd to arrive in 1754. The tradition is that he died on shipboard on his way over from Germany but his wife Margaret and their 4 children named John, Henry, Peter & possibly Richard (he may have been in his Mother’s womb) carried on to Amwell. She later married Andrew Bearder, who was on the ship with them when he traveled to America.
Raven Rock Was Once Bool’s Island
“Village Might Appropriately Have been Called Riven Rock
Quarry Once Busy Place”
By Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N.J.
published in the Hunterdon Co. Democrat, February 12, 1931
Note: This article was written by Egbert T. Bush, not by me. I have only added some footnotes for clarification and the photograph of Raven Rock Station, which was not part of the original article.
Saxton in Raven Rock
Saxton’s First Appearance in Raven Rock
In 1802, Nathaniel Saxton witnessed the will and codicil of Guilbert Van Camp, who lived just east of Raven Rock. In 1807, he witnessed a deed from the estate of William Reading deceased, whose property was in the same vicinity.1 These two events, and probably others I have not found yet, may have served to acquaint him with the neighborhood of Raven Rock.
Nathaniel Saxton, Esq.
Nathaniel Saxton Esq. is one of the more intriguing characters to appear in Hunterdon County history. I have been looking forward to writing about him for a long time.
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.