When Daniel Coxe began investing in land in the English colonies, he hired explorers and corresponded with them eagerly. He also corresponded with colonial governors and with the principle Indian traders. This activity became more focused in the years after he sold his proprietorship of West New Jersey. It would be fascinating to read these letters; I assume they are tucked away somewhere in England.
proprietors
West New Jersey, 1688
The Courts Carry On
After a long digression to write about the life of Dr. Daniel Coxe before he became governor of West New Jersey in 1687, I am returning to my chronology to study the events of 1688 et seq., beginning with the Burlington Court session of February 1688, in which the list of those present began with “Daniell Coxe Esq. Governour.”
Proprietary Land Titles
What a mystery these things are. Whilst looking for something else, I came across this explanation, given by Chief Justice Andrew Kirkpatrick for how they work. See if it makes sense to you:
“The Proprietors of New Jersey are tenants in common of the soil. Their mode of securing the common right is by issuing warrants from time to time to the respective Proprietors, according to their respective and several rights, authorizing them to survey and appropriate in severalty the quantities therein contained. Such warrant does not convey a title to the Proprietor; he had that before. It only authorizes him to sever so much from the common stock, and operates as a release to testify such severance. This is manifestly the case when the Proprietor locates for himself. When, instead of locating for himself, he sells his warrant to another, that other becomes a tenant in common with all the Proprietors pro tanto, and in the same manner he proceeds to convert his common into a several right. It is true that the survey made in pursuance of this warrant must be inspected by the Surveyor-General, approved by the Board, and registered in their books; but all this is for the sake of security, order and regularity only, and is by no means the passing of the title. It proves that the title has passed, but it is not the means of passing it.”
Daniel Coxe, Merchant Investor
If ever there was a case where armchair research fails to deliver, this must be it. To properly understand who Dr. Daniel Coxe was, I need to go to London. But that isn’t going to happen any time soon. I must make do with what I can get my hands on, and believe me, it is not enough. Not even Samuel Pepys can help me, for he was no longer writing his diary by this time.
The Carolina Constitutions
It has been some time since my last post, so it might help to skim over the previous post before continuing with this one.
The Carolina Constitution of 1669 came out four years after the Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors of East New Jersey. Undoubtedly, Shaftesbury and Locke were acquainted with it. But when Berkeley and Carteret became the first proprietors of New Jersey in 1664, they probably studied the first Carolina Constitution of 1663 before publishing their Concessions and Agreements. Berkeley and Carteret knew what was happening in Carolina because they were among the eight Lords Proprietors of the colony, so we can assume there was a lot of cross-pollination.
Coxe and the Colonies, Part One
As part of the 17th-century appetite for discovery and learning, attention was turned to the blank spaces on the maps of the world, and the opportunities they offered for increased knowledge, as well as increased riches. The New World colonies caught the attention of Daniel Coxe well before he invested in West New Jersey.
East New Jersey, West New Jersey
or North New Jersey, South New Jersey
Grace wondered about the distinction between East-West v. North-South New Jersey. This all goes back to the state’s geography and the way it was settled.
West New Jersey in 1687, Part Two
West New Jersey In Debt
The West Jersey Assembly met in May of 1687. The minutes of their meeting are not included in Leaming and Spicer’s Grants and Concessions, so for many years, people thought they had not met at all. We know of two matters undertaken by the Assembly in 1687. The first was the problem of the Province’s debt. Despite the fact that taxes had been levied, they could not be collected. Much of this was due to the scarcity of coin, which had to come from abroad. By May of 1687 the debt had risen to £1,250.
West New Jersey in 1687, Part One
The year 1687 was intense for West New Jersey and for England in matters concerning politics and management of land, but not very much for the families of Gloucester who might have been connected with Samuel Green. If your interests are limited to genealogy, then you must wait for part two of 1687. If the politics of days long gone are your fancy, then this year and the next will be of particular interest.
West New Jersey, 1684
Note: This article is the 11th in a series that I began on August 20, 2009, concerning the Green family and the early settlement of the Province of West New Jersey.
The Assembly and the Contest for Governor
Through letters to the proprietors in West Jersey, Edward Byllinge had made it clear that he had no intention of acceding to the demands of their Assembly. In response, during the Assembly session of March 1684, Samuel Jennings and Thomas Budd were appointed to travel to England to make their demands to Byllinge in person. Thomas Olive was chosen to act as deputy governor during their absence.