1838 Township Business: The Dog Tax

May 15, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township Tags: 1838, early legislation, farming, local government

TAKE NOTICE ! THAT the Township Committee of the townships of Amwell, Delaware and Raritan, will meet at John W. Larason’s on Monday the 2d day of April next, to settle with the several township officers. – All persons in said townships having damage done to their Sheep by dogs, are requested to present their bills to said committee on the day above named before 1 o’clock P. M. If there is not a sufficiency of Dog Tax to discharge said bills, there will be a dividend struck at that time, and those not presented will be disbarred from a benefit of the same. – By order of Town Committee. {signed} J. Gary, Clk. March 14, 1838, the Hunterdon Gazette.

Part II, Delaware Twp. Officers, 1838

May 10, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Bonham, Delaware Township, Families, Holcombe, Hoppock, Lair, Sergeant, Williamson, Wolverton Tags: local government, roads

Overseers of Roads

At the first town meeting, the Township Committee voted that $1,000 was to be raised for making and repairing roads. Municipalities were responsible for their roads, while the county took responsibility for the bridges. Generally, it was the landowners along the roads who maintained them, so you can imagine what condition they were in: dust in the summer, mud in the spring and downright impassible in the winter, unless you had a sleigh. The township named many people to be Overseers of Roads. It’s hard to say exactly what their responsibilities were. Most likely, they managed the work that was ordered by the Surveyors of Highways.

Buchanan’s Tavern, The Last Chapter

May 3, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Hunterdon, Raritan Township, Sutton Tags: Buchanan's Tavern, land titles, portraits, taverns

In response to Egbert T. Bush’s article on Buchanan’s Tavern

Where was Buchanan’s Tavern? Recently,¹ I found the first tavern where I didn’t expect it, on the west side of Route 579 near the intersection with Route 523. Most people think it was on the east side of the road, where the Miceks now have a small farm. They are right—there was a Buchanan’s tavern there, but it was the second Buchanan’s Tavern, and here is the rest of the story.

An 1835 Doodle

May 2, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Hunterdon Tags: Buchanan's Tavern

I’ve been hard at work trying finish up the saga of Buchanan’s Tavern, and it still isn’t done. Still some last minute questions to resolve. But I want to share this little surprise I found in the Guardianship papers for the children of Archibald Buchanan dec’d (File No. 73). I guess the Surrogate’s Clerk had some empty moments to fill.

Found on minutes of a hearing in the guardianship papers for Archibald Buchanan dec'd, No. 73 — Found on minutes of a hearing in the guardianship papers for Archibald Buchanan dec’d, No. 73

Was the clerk’s name ‘S. Camaken Houd’ ? Love the tree, the book and the number square.

Delaware Township’s First Meeting, continued

March 27, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township Tags: 1838, local government, politics

The Order of Business

We do not have detailed minutes of that first meeting at Henry Wagner’s “house,” on April 9, 1838. The Hunterdon Gazette merely published the names of those elected to office, and three items of business: roads, keeping the poor, and a dog tax.

First Officeholders of Delaware Township

March 23, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Delaware Township Tags: 1838, local government, politics

In my previous post on Delaware Township’s first meeting. I gave brief biographies of the Township Committee members, but neglected the rest. So, here are some of the other officeholders. (I will save Overseers of Roads for another post.) Many of these biographies are incomplete, either because records are poor, or because I have not spent enough time researching them.

Delaware Township’s First Town Meeting

March 16, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Barber, Delaware Township Tags: 1838, local government, politics

This is a revised version of an article first published April 2, 2008
on the website “The Delaware Township Post”

In light of the politics involved in the division of old Amwell Township and the local distress it caused, Delaware Township did not have a very auspicious beginning. But once the furor died down, local residents got to work and did what was necessary to set up a new township government.

The Two Taverns at Robins Hill, part four

March 9, 2013 By Marfy Goodspeed in Families, Heath, Hunterdon, Kitchen, Raritan Township, Robins, Sutton Tags: Buchanan's Tavern, early settlers, houses, land titles

A response to the article written by Egbert T. Bush on August 7, 1930 entitled “Buchanan’s, A Tavern With A Long History”

The three previous articles on this subject and Mr. Bush’s article can be found by clicking on the topic “Buchanan’s Tavern” in the right-hand column.

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