otherwise known as Kendall School, District No. 109
Not too long ago, I received an email from one of my readers whose parents had lived in the old schoolhouse in Sergeantsville after it had been retrofitted as a residence. She sent me a charming photograph of the school building with her parents’ Volkswagon in front.
The Wilsons of Hunterdon County were multitudinous, just as were many other families of the 18th and 19th centuries. This is just one of the Wilson clans. There were others completely unrelated. As usual, I’ve tried to begin with the first of the family to settle in Hunterdon County. Children of married daughters are included, but not grandchildren. It’s quite possible there are mistakes; I am happy to receive corrections and additions, either through comments or email.
This article is my somewhat-delayed return to the subject of the grand old building on Flemington’s Main Street built by John C. Hopewell for Flemington’s first bank, the Hunterdon County National Bank. (See Flemington’s First Bank.)
In part one of Summit School, Mr. Bush talked about “the meanest hill that old-timers had to travel on their way to Flemington.” Actually, going TO Flemington wasn’t so bad since it was all downhill. But returning UP the hill was no picnic. In fact, it was a “hard scrabble.”
While going through my files I came upon an article about the Inn by Hunterdon historian Egbert T. Bush. It tells us much about how popular and important the Inn was, not just to Stockton but also to the surrounding towns.
(1) Tunis Hontis Case (1691 – 1772) & Eva Catharine Dubraucke (1695 – after 1774)
My apologies. On May 25, 2021, I found too many mistakes on this tree to let it stand any longer. Making corrections is going to take a lot of work, but I hope to be able to restore the tree before too long.
Raritan Township was in the news not long ago for its effort to acquire and preserve a 48-acre farm to the west of Flemington. It is located near an area that has long been known as “Hardscrabble.”
My last article described the political turmoil in Hunterdon County in the 1850s. There was another kind of turmoil going on at the same time, an economic one. For Hunterdon that meant a local bank was needed.
I first came upon the Housel family while researching early families and their properties in old Amwell Township. Later on, I found Ann Housel, wife of Flemington banker John C. Hopewell (see “One Man Makes a Difference.”) The family is a very old one in Hunterdon County.
