(1) Francis Besson (c.1720 – bef. 1798) & Anna Elizabeth Case (c.1725 – 1798)
According to the will of Tunis Case in 1769, Francis Besson was married to Tunis’ daughter, Elizabeth. But according to the will of Adam Hummer written in 1781 Besson was married to his daughter Elizabeth Hummer. Besson was named executor of Hummer’s estate along with Hummer’s son Cort.
First Generation:(1) Samuel Barber (c.1690 – 1751) & Eliada Alida Johnson (c.1695 – after 1782)
The Barber Family in present day Hunterdon begins with Samuel Barber who died sometime before May 1751, age about 61. It is not clear who his parents were. The family was primarily located on Lambertville-Headquarters Road in Delaware Township. Much of the family information comes from Hiram Deats’ notebook on the Barber Family at the Hunterdon Co. Historical Society, which includes his transcription of the Barber family bible.
Some time ago, I began to write about a road in Raritan Township that originated as a private lane used by the Carman and Hoagland families to get from their farms to the main road from Flemington to Ringoes. That private road eventually became Johanna Farms Road. In my previous article, I had gotten to the point where the farm on the south side of Johanna Farms Road was owned by Cornelius Voorhees in 1852 (see Hoagland’s Road, part one). Voorhees bought the farm in 1840 from the assignees of John S. Rockafellow.
Shortly after publishing last week’s article, the Heaths of Locktown, David Sherman sent me four very interesting documents from his collection of Heath & Sherman memorabilia. They shed new light on the lives of Edward M. Heath and his son Robert, as well as their friend Lester B. Sherman, and his wife Fayetta Reep’s family.
The Heath family turns up fairly often in my articles without ever getting the attention it is due. They were ‘fruitful and multiplied’ and owned quite a lot of land in various parts of the county.1
In my article, The Heaths of Locktown, I have described family of the original Heath immigrant to settle in West New Jersey, here designated as First Generation. That should serve as an introduction to this tree. Shortly after first publishing this tree, I heard from a Fox descendant who had some suggestions and corrections. As a result, the tree has already been updated.
I confess I do not have a whole lot of confidence in this tree. My first acquaintance with this family came from the properties they owned in the vicinity of Copper Hill in Raritan Township (See “Carman, Hoagland & Higgins”). That family was headed by Joseph Hill and Frances Woodley. My first version of this family tree was based on them and their descendants.
Here is an article by Egbert T. Bush about the Copper Hill neighborhood I have been writing about recently, with additional comments from me.
Last week’s post concerned the farms owned by David Bellis on Hampton Corner Road in Raritan Township. One of them was originally the parsonage farm for the German Reformed Church in Ringoes. Around the corner was a farm known as “Township Farm” on the maps, and the subject of today’s article.
First Generation:(1) Johannes Swallow Sr. (c.1680 – 1749) & Agnes
I know little about this original Johannes and Agnes Swallow. With a name like Johannes, we can presume they were either German or Dutch. There is a record of March 25, 1737 when Johannes Swallow mortgaged 180 acres on “the road leading to Rarington,” which could be almost anywhere.1 A complicating factor is that his son Johannes Swallow, Jr. died the same year he did. Both men wrote wills a short time apart, Johannes Sr. on December 27, 1748 and Johannes Jr. on December 30th. Both were yeomen of Amwell.
