All right. Here’s the problem with history research. The more you learn, the more questions you have. If you’re not a curious person, it’s no problem. But if you are, then you are headed down unknown highways and even roads less traveled. I have always skimmed over the statement that Daniel Coxe was a physician to Charles II and Queen Anne. But, as it turns out, that is a road worth taking.
While reading an article about the ‘Monster’ Petition of 1680 by Mark Knights, I came across a reference to Daniel Coxe. He was a signer of the ‘Monster’ Petition, which meant he objected to the decision by Charles II to dissolve Parliament just before it was set to pass the Exclusion Act, which would have barred James Duke of York from becoming king, or anyone else belonging to the Catholic religion. This seems like a risky thing to do for someone who was “on the make,” as most historians describe Dr. Coxe.
Grace wondered about the distinction between East-West v. North-South New Jersey. This all goes back to the state’s geography and the way it was settled.
I’ve been absent for 3 months. (I left off with West New Jersey in 1687.)
Perhaps one reason I stopped blogging is the work it takes to write about a whole year in one post. My daughter-in-law (who has a new blog about gardening that I highly recommend) suggested breaking things down into smaller posts. That’s what I thought I was doing when I decided to take one year at a time. But it turns out that so much happened in these years, one year has become too big a unit of measurement.
Today, Slate Magazine featured the work of Camilo Jose Vegara, who makes it his business to document the slow decay of American buildings and neighborhoods. His photographs are utterly fascinating to me, but what really caught my attention today was his photograph of the William Cooper Manor House located in Camden, New Jersey.
The West Jersey Assembly met in May of 1687. The minutes of their meeting are not included in Leaming and Spicer’s Grants and Concessions, so for many years, people thought they had not met at all. We know of two matters undertaken by the Assembly in 1687. The first was the problem of the Province’s debt. Despite the fact that taxes had been levied, they could not be collected. Much of this was due to the scarcity of coin, which had to come from abroad. By May of 1687 the debt had risen to £1,250.
The year 1687 was intense for West New Jersey and for England in matters concerning politics and management of land, but not very much for the families of Gloucester who might have been connected with Samuel Green. If your interests are limited to genealogy, then you must wait for part two of 1687. If the politics of days long gone are your fancy, then this year and the next will be of particular interest.
Over the years of researching Hunterdon County history, I have often wondered about the early settlers of Gloucester, because many of them became early settlers of or investors in Hunterdon County, chief among them John Reading and Richard Bull. Now, thanks to this blog, I have a chance to learn about this town and how Reading and Bull fit into its history.