themify domain was triggered too early. This is usually an indicator for some code in the plugin or theme running too early. Translations should be loaded at the init action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /home/goodspeedhist/public_html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Fishing rights in the Delaware River were legally transferable, and that gives us a hint of what was happening at Raven Rock and Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island in the 18th century. In 1782, Isaiah Quinby leased fishing rights in the Delaware River to various people. He may have done this before 1782, but this is the earliest record available.<\/p>\n
The first lease was given out on February 30, 1782 to Ann Quinby, Moses Quinby, John Woolverton \u201a\u00c4\u00faand others.\u201a\u00c4\u00f91<\/a><\/sup> The second lease was given on March 17, 1786 to Aaron Quinby, Moses Quinby, Isaac Rittenhouse \u201a\u00c4\u00faand others.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 Quinby also leased a fishery to George Wall of Pennsylvania on the same date, \u201a\u00c4\u00fabeginning at the head of Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Falls and drawing out near the lower part of the island.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 Its formal name was the Prime Hope fishery, but it was more generally known by the very descriptive name of \u201a\u00c4\u00faSnapjaw.\u201a\u00c4\u00f92<\/a><\/sup> When the property was sold in 1814, exception was made to allow continued access to the river for work on the Snapjaw fishery.3<\/a><\/sup> The Snapjaw came into possession of Jabez White in 1811, when he bought it from the heirs of George Wall.4<\/a><\/sup>.<\/p>\n By 1786, Isaiah Quinby had increased his holdings to 460 acres plus 100 acres unimproved. Sons Aaron and Moses Quinby were taxed with him as single men. In 1790, Isaiah Quinby was taxed on 255 acres and a fishery, while son Aaron was taxed on 150 acres, son Moses on 180 acres and son Job on 50 acres. This comes to 635 acres, which sounds like the original 625 belonging to Bull & Ladd plus 10 acres from Marmaduke Leet.<\/p>\n When Isaiah Quinby wrote his will in 1804, he left his fishery known as \u201a\u00c4\u00faBullcap\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 to his son James and daughter Martha Blackfan. Surprisingly, this fishery was not mentioned in D\u201a\u00c4\u00f4Autrechy\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s book. The will did not describe the location of this fishery, but it must have been in the vicinity of Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island.<\/p>\n I have wondered if the Bulllcap might have been the same fishery that Isaiah Quinby leased on February 20, 1794 to his sons \u201a\u00c4\u00faMoses Quinby, Aaron Quinby, James Quinby and others.\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 This particular fishery is of special interest because of the exceptions in the lease. According to B. A. Sorby, this third lease allowed Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry the privilege of building a mill dam across Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Creek on the south side of \u201a\u00c4\u00faDead Creek\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 with the idea of directing the waters of Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Creek down to Dead Creek, and thus improve the working of their mill. Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Creek was the waterway that separated Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island from the rest of Amwell Township. \u00ac\u2020This is the earliest record of the presence of Mahlon Cooper and Robert Curry at Bull\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island.<\/p>\n