Johannes Rake, an immigrant from Switzerland, is thought to have arrived in Pennsylvania in 1738. He was present in Hunterdon County as early as 1761 when he witnessed the will of Jacob Houshel. Given that his first child was not born until 1768, it seems likely that Rake married his first wife in America. The birthdate for second wife Elsa seems very late, nearly two generations younger than John Rake. More information is needed.
This is a continuation of the history of the old Sutton Farm. Part One can be found by clicking on Sand Brook Had a Tavern Nearby.
The following article by Egbert T. Bush describes an old farm with a distillery located near Sandbrook. The village of Sandbrook is located in what was once the Haddon Proprietary Tract. Just east of the Haddon Tract was the Cook Proprietary Tract, and that is where the distillery farm was located.
Jonas Sutton, the first of that surname to settle in Amwell Township, was married twice. His first wife’s name is not known, but she had five children. His second wife, Elizabeth Runyon, appears to have been related to the Runyon family of Franklin Township. They came to Hunterdon from Piscataway at an early date. Elizabeth also had five children, making ten in all. Because my focus is on Hunterdon County, I am missing information on many of the Suttons who lived elsewhere. Feel free to contribute information, or suggest corrections, in the comments section.
The following family trees for the Taylor families concerns the Taylors who settled near Mount Airy, the Taylors who settled on the Cook Tract in Amwell/Delaware Township, a short distance west of the village of Sand Brook, and the Taylor family of Bethlehem Township who were associated with the Taylor Iron Works.
Surnames of spouses are highlighted in green if they also have a published family tree on this website.
This is the 400th article I have published on this website. Nice round numbers feel like milestones; they inspire us to reflect and to look forward, so that is what I will do today.
Hezekiah Bonham, born 1667 to Nicholas Bonham and Hannah Fuller of Barnstable, Mass., moved to Maidenhead Township in New Jersey when it was still a part of Hunterdon County. Some of his descendants settled in Kingwood Township, others in Clinton Township, others in Amwell Township. Hezekiah died in Maidenhead in 1739 at the age of 71. One of the distinctive things about this family is the naming pattern—it’s very biblical.
Samuel Green, an English immigrant and a surveyor in Gloucester county, was married three times. His first wife, Margaret Kemp died before Green moved to Amwell Township in Hunterdon County. His second wife Sarah Bull was a member of the Bull family of Gloucester County. She died before Green moved to Sussex (Warren) County. His third wife, Hannah Wright, was the daughter of a Dutch couple who moved to Amwell Township from Bergen County.
Here’s a special article by Egbert T. Bush in celebration of Easter. As usual, Mr. Bush manages to include some genealogy—this time the Case and Hewitt families.
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.
