In my last post I wrote about the durable story that George Washington visited with John Opdycke and that, as a result, the village where Opdycke lived took on the name of Headquarters. Some people will read that sentence and conclude that it happened and is not a myth. They will ignore that phrase “durable story.”
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.
Civil War Taxes-Part 4
Occupations to be Licensed
The occupations included in the tax lists gives us a window into life in the mid 19th-century. It is just as interesting to see what occupations were not listed as which ones were. I have not yet found a complete list of all occupations to be taxed, but the Revenue Act of 1864 lists these principal occupations in this order:
Civil War Taxes–Part 3
“States in Insurrection”
When first reading the Revenue Act of 1864, I couldn’t help but wonder if the taxes were intended to be levied on just the northern states, or if the authors preferred to ignore the existence of the confederacy and apply the law to everyone in what had become a very fragmented Union. The answer came in Section 46 of the Revenue Act, dealing with those southern states where any tax collector for the federal government who attempted to carry out his duties would likely be shot. The act was intended to govern all citizens of the United States, whether their states seceded or not. But it did acknowledge the current situation to the extent that if the laws of the United States could not be executed in any part of the country, the President was authorized to carry out the provisions of the act “as soon as the authority of the United States . . . shall be re-established.” Awkward, and a little disturbing to imagine the tax collector following rapidly on the heels of the Union Army.
Civil War Taxes–Part Two
After discovering the Civil War tax lists available online (more about that here), I was inspired to read the legislation (The Revenue Act of 1864) and to write about the residents of Hunterdon who were listed in the tax levy of 1865. Since this is a time of remembrance of the Civil War, it seemed appropriate. The article will appear in the spring issue of “Hunterdon Historical Newsletter” published by the Hunterdon County Historical Society. Even though the editor graciously allowed me two full pages, I found myself frustrated by how much I had to leave out. Which is why blogs are so wonderful.
The Civil War Tax Assessments
Sometimes you stumble upon a source of information that just knocks your socks off. This is one.
I was researching some names in the Holcombe-Riverview cemetery north of Lambertville when Ancestry.com gave me a glimpse of this amazing source of information of which I was heretofore unaware. For learning about mid-19th century New Jersey residents, this just can’t be beat. I’m talking about the Civil War tax assessment lists that the National Archives have allowed Ancestry.com to digitize. Here’s a sample page:
John Reading’s Diary
This past Saturday, a group of Reading descendants, who have joined together as “The Mount Amwell Project,” gathered in Sergeantsville for one of their regular meetings. I was honored to be asked to speak to the group, and took the opportunity to try out on them a first chapter to a history of Delaware Township that focused on John Reading and his discovery of “Mount Amwell.”
Tyson’s Mill at Headquarters
Modified from part of an article first published in The Delaware Township Post, July 21, 2006, as “A History of Headquarters Mill.”
John Opdycke sold Headquarters Mill to Joseph Howell in 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War. This was probably a shrewd decision on Opdycke’s part, since demand for flour would certainly drop off with the end of the war.
Opdycke’s Mill, Headquarters, NJ
I was going to publish here an article I wrote about the Headquarters mill that first appeared on The Delaware Township Post in 2006. But like many writers, I can never leave well enough alone. Since Samuel Green figures in the history of the village of Headquarters, if not the mill itself, it seems appropriate to focus on the earliest history of the mill.
West NJ 1688 & Daniel Coxe
When Daniel Coxe began investing in land in the English colonies, he hired explorers and corresponded with them eagerly. He also corresponded with colonial governors and with the principle Indian traders. This activity became more focused in the years after he sold his proprietorship of West New Jersey. It would be fascinating to read these letters; I assume they are tucked away somewhere in England.
Samuel Green of West New Jersey
Among the first settlers of Hunterdon County, in “the Western Province of New Jersey” were Samuel Green and his family. Samuel Green was my ancestor, so of course I am interested in his history. The bonus for me is that his history gives me a way to learn about the earliest days of settlement here.