Full – 4 Column – Page 25 – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

The Cook Proprietary Tract

March 24, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Moore, Pettit, Rounsavell, Sandbrook, Sutton, Taylor Tags: early settlers, proprietors

The Hammond Maps of Hunterdon County proprietary tracts are a wonderful resource for county historians. Many of the property owners shown on these maps drawn by D. Stanton Hammond in 1963 were the first Europeans to claim title to this part of the state of New Jersey. What happened to those properties in succeeding years has always fascinated me and provided wonderful material for my articles.

The Sine Farm

March 10, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Dalrymple, Delaware Township, Holcombe, Kitchen, Moore, Rounsavell, Sandbrook, Sine, Sutton Tags: early settlers, Haddon Tract, land titles

For the final installment of my study of the Haddon Tract,¹ I am turning to the remainder of the property that was left to Nicholas Sine. As a reminder, Nicholas Signe/Sayn/Sine was a partner with another German immigrant, Jacob Sniter, in the 1748 purchase of 1300 acres of the Haddon Tract, a 2,000-acre plot that was surveyed for John Haddon in 1711. Daniel Robins had purchased the other 700 acres.

Buckwheat Cakes & Trimmer Stew

February 24, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited

An interesting view of 19^th century rural cooking from the perspective of one who grew up on it, and was able to compare it to the food available in the 1930s, when food processing had begun to be modernized. Commercial food production was just coming into its own back then. If Mr. Bush could take a stroll down the aisles of today’s supermarkets, he would be astonished, and probably dismayed. In many ways things have gotten worse.

But they have also gotten better, especially in Hunterdon County. We have access to wonderful locally grown produce and natural ingredients, especially in our many local farmers’ markets. And today there are many creative cooks who have figured out how to make better use of some of these ancient cooking techniques, as well as new ones.

Hoppock Farm Over 600 Acres

February 17, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, E. T. Bush, Heath, Hoppock Tags: early settlers, Haddon Tract, land titles, roads

Not long ago I published some articles about properties located in what was once known as The Haddon Tract (The Haddon Tract, part one). Today’s article by Egbert T. Bush concerns a very large farm located in that tract that I have not yet written about. It was sold by Jacob Sniter and Nicholas Sayn to John Peter Foxe of Amwell, who subsequently sold it to Jost Hoppock in 1749.

Tavernkeeper of Skunktown

February 3, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township, Families, Gordon, Kitchen, Lair, Lake, Rockafellar, Sergeantsville Tags: hotels, houses, taverns

Most of you, my dear readers, know that the famous Rockafellar family had its roots in Amwell Township, Hunterdon County. And we’re all familiar with one particular descendant of this German immigrant family, a man who prospered hugely from the opportunities afforded him in America—the famous John D. Rockafellar. Another descendant, although not a direct ancestor of John D., became the tavernkeeper at Skunktown (now known as Sergeantsville), and I am much more interested in him.

Defying the Blizzard of ’88

January 20, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Historians Revisited, Hunterdon

We are getting some warmer days this weekend, and they are welcome after the very cold weather we’ve had lately. But cold as it was, it was nothing compared to the Blizzard of 1888, apparently the most intense weather ever experienced in Hunterdon County history. There are many stories and photographs depicting it, including this letter by Egbert T. Bush describing how he tried to defy it.

Col. David Bishop

January 13, 2018 By Marfy Goodspeed in Amwell Township, Hunterdon, Ringoes Tags: architecture, Going, houses, stores, The Revolution

For anyone traveling north on Route 579 from the village of Ringoes in East Amwell, Hunterdon County, there is a landmark that will surely catch your eye, standing opposite the old Bel-Del railroad station. It is a three-story house that was once a showplace but has been deteriorating for at least 25 years. People like me who have been watching it all this time marvel that it is still standing.

Cornelius H. Barber

December 16, 2017 By Marfy Goodspeed in Barber, Delaware Township, Lambertville

Sometimes in my researches on Hunterdon people of the past, odd things turn up. Something very odd turned up when I came across Cornelius H. Barber, who lived from 1804 to 1884. I had been asked about the Prall tanyard, which was located a short distance south of Sergeantsville in the early 1800s, and discovered that Barber had briefly been an owner.

So let me tell you a little about Cornelius Hoppock Barber before describing the odd thing I found.

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