As suggested by the photo above, most 18th & 19th century Hunterdon families were farm families. On this blog, some families get more attention than others. As of the spring of 2018, I began publishing family trees for the first five or six generations. In the list below, the family names whose trees have been published are in caps and links to the family tree pages added.
Gradually more and more family trees will be published, and more family names will be added to the list.
One of the purposes of these family trees is to help readers understand the relationships between family members that I write about. It can get confusing at times. Another purpose is to provide a place for researchers of Hunterdon families to get in touch. If you are such a person, add your contact information in the comments sections to whatever family you are interested in. Perhaps you will find other family members there.
If you wish to see articles in which these families are featured, go to the Families section in the right-hand column. Clicking on the drop-down menu will reveal corresponding links and the number of articles in which each family is featured. If you search for the family name in the upper left-hand search space, you will get all of the articles in which that name is mentioned. Families with published trees are shown in caps and contain links to those trees.
The oak tree depicted here is by one of my favorite artists, Thomas Bewick. It will show up with every family tree.
Little Known of Mill That Existed Prior to John Prall’s
When the Canal Was Dug
by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N.J. published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, February 13, 1930
It is common to speak of John Prall Jr. as the builder of the first mill in this hamlet. But his titles date back to early 1792; and to some of us it seemed strange that a site so attractive with the Wickecheoke Creek rushing into the Delaware, with an established ferry close at hand, and with a solid community back of it should have been so long without a mill. While investigation has so far failed to reveal all that was hoped for, it has demonstrated that Prall was far from being first to carry on milling business here.
There is something fascinating about old roads, especially when their routes differ from the ones we know today. One of the very oldest roads in Hunterdon County was “layed out” in December 1721 and recorded in January 1721/22.
Here is the full text, as transcribed in Snell’s History of Hunterdon County (p. 347), which I will follow with my attempt to decipher what route was being described.1
Near the center of the village of Locktown stands a 19th-century church and its parsonage, waiting for a new owner. The congregation that has been worshipping in this church for the past 30 years or so is joining with the Calvary Orthodox Presbyterian Church on Route 202 in Flemington, so the Locktown property must be sold.
by Jonathan M. Hoppock published in the Democrat-Advertiser, July 20, 1905
This article is a follow up to the one published in 1901 titled “Sergeant Mansion and Mill, 1745.” Some of the information in this article was taken directly from the earlier one. Perhaps Mr. Hoppock figured no one would remember what he had written before. I am publishing these articles on the website because there are errors and this is a good way to make note of them.
by Jonathan M. Hoppock published in the Democrat Advertiser, December 5, 1901
This interesting old property deserves a much longer treatment than Mr. Hoppock was able to give. He did return to this subject when he published “The Old Sergeant Mill” on July 20, 1905. However, that article was focused on the mill, rather than the house—the mill was located just north of the house, but has since been torn down. The most remarkable thing about the house is that it has been in the same family since Charles Sergeant and wife Sarah Green took possession in 1805, over 200 years.1
The family of Samuel Green and Sarah Bull were among the earliest settlers of Amwell Township in Hunterdon County. The part of Amwell they lived in became Delaware Township in 1838. Their descendants were important to the town’s history, and married into other notable local families. Because this one family had such an impact, I thought it appropriate to list them all, or at least down to the great-grandchildren of Samuel and Sarah—all 154 of them. Each of their four children had an astounding number of grandchildren: 21, 50, 31 and 52.
“Repeated Rascalities” Create
Embarrassment for a New Church
A continuation of the Kingwood Baptist division of 1839
The Missionary Baptists of Kingwood got off to a very rough start. After a promising beginning, they turned their backs on the pastor who led them through the creation a new church, and chose instead a newcomer who proved to be a scoundrel. (You can see the first installment of this story here.)
The Kingwood Baptist Church and the Second Great Awakening
This article is based on an article published many years ago in “Friends Report,” the newsletter of the Friends of the Locktown Stone Church. I have added information and made some major corrections.
The Swamp Meeting House
Pediment over a door to the Locktown Stone Church
In the village of Locktown, in Delaware Township, there is a handsome stone church constructed in 1819 in the federal style.
Law Once Compelled Every Town
to Have a Drinking Place
How “Amwell” Originated
by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, NJ published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, May 7, 1931
Sundry notes from old histories and other sources though jotted down in a haphazard way may serve to awaken thought or to throw light upon the ways of the past.
The oak tree depicted here is by one of my favorite artists, Thomas Bewick. It will show up with every family tree.